Pai

Pai is pronounced like paille, French for straw, and I cant think of a good pun or joke to go along with that so if you do feel free to add it in the comments. I changed a setting so you don't need gmail to leave a comment, anyone can, so please do! Yes I mean you... I can see you sitting in front of a screen with a keyboard at arms length....don't be shy!

This is as good a time as any to say Happy Channukah to anyone who enjoys lighting up a bunch of candles in a row.... I am actually time traveling to a moment before Channukah to catch up, but today is the 8th day or so.

Back to Pai.

Pai is a town on the river filled with hostels, restaurants and bungalows. It is also famous with Thai tourists since a movie was filmed there a few years ago. Getting there can be a trap as many tourist offices around Thailand offer buses there at 3 times the price of the normal bus and each day you meet people who learned a little lesson. I settled into a quiet bungalow across a the river and had my very own half comfortable hammock at the place known as Chai Niz. There are some great waterfalls around Pai and the best one I went to was a great adventure.

To reach it you need to head out of town early (the first time we had to turn back and the second time I went alone) as it is a 3 hour hike each way.

The last place on the road/trail before you get into the river is a coffee shop'/farm/soon to be commune. It is land owned by a Thai guy with neat dreadlocks and a super grin. His answer to just about everything is why not. But not just why not. If you say it out loud (please do, why not?) you sound nothing like him. 'Why not' comes out of his mouth like a question mark discovering itself. It is the beginning and end to a deep philosophy. It is a jovial slap in your face that wakes you up and makes you ask if you really meant what you just said and if you are honest with yourself when you speak. It makes you feel like the world is at your fingertips. As you are no doubt at a computer right now the world is at your fingertips, but it is a shadow of the world. Why not throw it out the door and follow it for a walk....(once you finish reading of course)

After being counseled on the first day at noon not to head out for the waterfall for fear of getting lost in the dark I came back the following morning ready to go.

The trail criss crosses a river constantly and is a fun challenge. Sometimes it is on the right, sometimes on the left and sometimes you are just walking up the river. After 2 hours there is a challenging part where you have to do some rock climbing and from then on you are struggling up the center balancing on rocks and tricky stuff for a while. The end is a trail again and then you get to a nice fall with a shallow pool for swimming.

I climbed up passed the waterfall where I found some huts probably used by cattle herders to rest in. When I came down there were a few other adventurers and we headed back together. On the way back the trail headed up away from the river and back down again after just enough time to make us doubt it would. It turns out there was a path going up and over the tricky part of the hike that we all missed on the way in. Its always fun to have and adventure and even better to avoid it on the way back when you are tired and ready for an easier hike...

In Pai there is a restaurant called the curry shack that serves up yummy grub and can give you a coconut curry in a coconut...

Next step is the cave lodge...