Pai Paradise

The first photo in this post in the hot springs near Pai. The second is a bamboo bridge in the town of Pai.

We got into Pai early afternoon yesterday (Sunday). The bus ride up was spectacular. A narrow winding road into the hills with stunning scenery, rain and mists. At the higher elevations there was the smell of pine. Basically pristine upland monsoon forest.

I was expecting Pai to be a tourist trap but all my expectations were upended. It's a beautiful little town that's popular with farangs for good reason. It's in a valley ringed by mountains. There are waterfalls, hot springs, and hill tribe villages nearby. We're staying in a teak bungalow by the river, and there's mango trees and beautiful flowers all around the bungalows.

That's where Zander ran into Seth, the older brother of one of his old middle school friends. Strange small world. Seth is married to a Thai woman and has a kid. He's a great guy, and we ended up going to a barbeque over at his house in the evening.

The highlight of the day though was taking a motorbike out to the hot springs, which are out in the jungle. Some of the springs are hot enough to boil eggs in, and Thais often do that. We had a good soak before finding that our motorbike had a flat. There was an inch long thorn in the tire, but thankfully, we got some help from some Thais at the park entrance. The ride back into Pai at twilight was as beautiful a stretch of scenery as any I've seen while I've been here.