after a few days in chiang rai i hopped on a bus back to chiang mai – in order to take a mini van to pai. yes, you have to – there’s not direct connection. which wouldn’t be such a big deal if THEY WERE ON TIME! so, yeah – i waited for 2 hours for the bus to chiang mai, and then of course missed my minivan. no big deal for them – maybe i’m just spoiled with bangkok’s BTS and the viennese metro? i did arrive eventually and found myself in the coolest hostel EVA! walking through the dark to get there wasn’t the best thing yet, but you’ll for sure see what i mean!
as i skipped the big sight seeing part in pai and rather spend my time writing, reading, doing yoga, wandering around (i seem to do that a lot!) – i just want to emphasise: i loved the place, the nature, the cafes, the food options, and the hippie flair even though often i find myself being sceptic towards all the free-everything-attitude – i don’t know, at times it doesn’t seem too authentic to me. but then, again – who am i to judge the way people try to share their thoughts and free their minds.
that said, enjoy some pictures of the famous (and apparently longest) bamboo bridge above beautiful rice fields – we were late, so got there, took pictures, ran over the bridge and back to the car. i guess you could do it with more appreciation ..
.. and see me getting sweaty on the way to big white buddha (this was my second try.. – first time we, my hostel-roommates and i, found a big white buddha, turning out to not be the one we were looking for).
part 3 of my holiday-travels is in da making!
until then – i wanna finish off with a few things you might find helpful. so, find ..
.. my recommendations for
PAI
* take a mini van from chiang mai – and take some distraction for the last hour of curvy streets like you CAN’T and neither do you want to imagine! the way back is totally fine though – please somone explain?
* if you want a quiet AND beautiful stay at a hostel, i would definitely recommend ‚jikko harem‘ a little outside of town.
walk up the white buddah (be sure to wear clothes covering shoulders and knees AND bring towel, oh my – these stairs. it’s a hike….)
* go see the bamboo bridge over the rice fields
* enjoy time at the cafes around town
* do yoga
* visit the walking street around town
JH 