Three Nights in Pai

Dear Mom and Dad,

We left Chaing Mai after our cooking class and took a minivan to Pai. Originally, we were going to rent scooters and drive there, but thankfully they were all booked. The ride was uphill with lots of curves. On our drive, we saw a scooter crash next to us, and we barely missed hitting them. Super dangerous. When we arrived, we struggled to find sleeping accommodations. Apparently, the town was having a Thai music festival, and every place was booked. I bet we walked to 50 different places before we found a nice family that let us sleep in a tent under their gazebo. They only charged us $3 a person, so at least we saved money. 

The next day we went on a white water rafting trip for $60 a person. The company picked us up from our tent at 7am and dropped us back off at 7pm, so it was a full day of activity on the river. They also fed us breakfast and lunch. Before we left, the guides were blowing up our tube and getting things ready; we found a friendly Gibbon that wanted our peanuts. It's amazing how human-like these monkeys are.

Chilling down the Pai river.

After our trek, we were starving. Andy was adventurous and tried scallop flavored chips. He was NOT a fan.

Viewpoint of Pai that we stopped at on the drive home.

Our second night, we stayed in a bungalow that cost $4.58 a person. We had mosquito nets because there wasn't any seals between bamboo stalks. There was only enough room for our bed and bag. Nothing special but after a long day on the river, we welcomed a bed of any form.

Today, we rented scooters and explored the town of Pai. Each scooter cost $7.50 a scooter for 24 hours. First, we went to a waterfall that the boys slid down like a slide. They had a blast! The water was too cold for me. I enjoyed taking pictures and stressing over them falling wrong.

Charlie went first.

Andy's turn

Going down the bigger part of the waterfall.

Exploring the town

Our next stop was the Pai Canyon. There was some serious hiking in order to explore. The path wasn't even a foot wide in some places. The drop off was hundreds of feet down, not a lot of room for error.

The boys explored further than I did. I got scared, and someone needed to alert for help or carry the body bags back if needed.

Our last stop was at the hot springs. The water temperature was at 99degrees Fahrenheit. This cost $6 a person to visit. The boys got in the water. I just enjoyed dipping my feet/legs in. I was afraid of getting cold after getting out. I'm a wussy. I know, but I HATE being cold especially since we had to ride a half an hour on the scooters to get back, and the sun had set.

Our accommodations tonight are $10 a person. It was time to splurge and have a clean bathroom with a real bed. Andy got a sewing lesson because his strap on his bag broke today.I'm not much of a seamstress, so I hope it lasts.

Tomorrow we start to travel to Laos. We are taking a "slow boat" there. It will take three days. We overnight at the Thai border, so hopefully it goes well when we have to do a border crossing.

Love,

Sore arms and legs