Pai (Thailand)

Advantages: excellent hang-out place
Disadvantages: none

Pai is a beautiful little village way up in the mountains. It is accessable by bus from Chiang Mai or Mae Hong Son, but even though its less than 100 miles from Chiang Mai it takes about 3 1/2 hours due to the winding mountain roads. The Mae Hong Son road is even worse. Try to sit at the back so you can't see the road ahead...it's pretty hair-raising. Pai has no traffic, good roads, and lots of little places to eat and stay. Just past the school ...
...that will rent you a bungalow for about 200 baht a night. The food has a definite hippie influence, so you can eat hummus and nutburgers to your heart's content. Essential travel items are also quite cheap here. There are many elephant trekking companies out here, but many of them are poorly run. Check them out before you book. A French ex-pat runs a rafting company from here that'll take you to Mae Hong Son. I highly recommend this trip...it's ... Read review

Advantages: escape the husle and bustle of commercial parts of Thailand
Disadvantages: Absolutely none

...visit, peaceful bike rides around Pai and if you are too lazy the you can relax alongside the river and forget all about the rat race.Everyday living is cheap, rooms for a few pounds a night and the food is awesome, as you would expect in Thailand. You can buy the best pancakes at night on one of the handful of streets that makes up Pai and during the day you can satisfy your sweet tooth / munchiesat the German bakery. There is nothing bad i can ... Read review