Pai: A Curvy Road to Hippie Haven

A sleepy town of only 3,000 residents (with probably twice that number in kale-chip-devouring hippie expats from the UK), Pai has transformed from a small rest stop along the much further route to Mae Hong Son, and turned itself into a backpacker destination in itself. Comprising a grand total of 3 primary roads, the majority of the town can be walked in less than 20 minutes, with almost every building representing the "brain-child" of a health-conscious expat owner. From a mix of ridiculously cheap restaurants, bars and sugar-free fruit shake stands (have you noticed the "health" trend yet?) to second-hand bookstores and bike rental shops, for most, this tiny village is an opportunity to experience the slower-pace of life Thailand is world-renowned for.

For us, our 3 days spent in pure relaxation (aka pool-side hanging, Friday Night Lights watching, and the occasional book reading), at an amazing rice paddy/mountain-view bungalow for all of $18/night, had only one slight obstacle - A 3 (but basically 5) hour windy/hilly/swervy/curvy motobike ride from Chiang Mai. Encompassing all of 762 turns (yes, someone decided to count), the typical path from Chiang Mai to Pai involves a vomit-inducing van ride which, while very enticing-sounding, was exchanged for a slighter sorer ass, and a handful of near-death motobiking experiences. With Julie resting semi/not-so-semi comfortably behind me, the majority of our journey was spent carefully navigating every one of the 762 turns, most taken at a pace so slow, Miss Daisy probably would have encouraged an opening of the throttle. Yet, with the alternative involving a visit to the overly-populated Pai hospital (apparently kept in business 24/7 thanks to the booming "i've-never-ridden-a-motobike-so-may-as-well-learn-now" trend), we decided to keep ourselves scab free for the interim.

Overall, our drive to (and from, despite a conveniently-timed cold-front/rain-storm) were completed in relative safety, with only 2 near-fatal experiences from, what I can only assume, were local Thai's testing my motobike riding skills. And despite returning to Chiang Mai with a slight limp and/or waddle from our ass-numbing journey, the relaxing time spent in Pai was well worth every regurgitation-free turn.

Onto the pics:

	Commencing our journey along the 762-curve road to Pai (this section provided an obviously refreshing lack of said turns)
	Turn #457 of 762... I rate this one a 7/10 on the "Miss Daisy Slow Driving Level"
	You gotta give credit to whoever cleans the rest stops along this "lunch-stealing" route
	One of the various non-gas-station fuel vendors along the way - "That'll be $1 for a used Sprite bottle full of gas please"
	Coin-operated version - Amazing
	And probably my favorite - A literal fuel pump
	Arriving in the appropriately-described "sleepy" town of Pai
	Nice little view over "The Bamboo Bridge" (with 3,000 residents and only 3 main roads, usually everything comes with a "the" before it)
	$18/night view from our open-air bungalow - Not too shabby
	Semi-outdoor shower for those seeking a little bit of luxury
	Creeper shot of our hammock-filled days of just about nothing
	While we did not eat here, it was great to see a little slice of Texas in the middle of nowhere Thailand (and yes, this lady just about screamed true-blood Texan)
	"Borrowed" photo of one of the many hippie-expat-inspired restaurants around town
	I'm guessing rent on this nice little plot is about $85/year
	When your town becomes an official "destination" on the backpacker trail, it is necessary to come up with as many "must see highlights" as possible - I introduce you a waterfall with a name we did not remember
	Double-armed selfie to avoid potential disastrous camera drop into 3 feet of water
	The Land Split - Long-story short, a farmers land on the outskirts of town kept developing insanely-large crevices all over his property. And thus, as to follow the rule from 2 photos above -- This became a highlight
	Unlimited free/donation-based food from the land itself, served by probably one of the friendliest people we met all trip. He pretty much is the definition of turning lemons (aka guavas) to lemonade (guava juice)
	Making the slow/rain-filled journey back to Chiang Mai
	Turn #351 - Much more fun in slippery rain