Photo by Greg Rodgers
Funny how random meetings and conversations with travelers met along the way can change your life.
Back in 2006, I was sitting in a cafe in Chiang Mai, Thailand, when I met a French couple who were talking excitedly about a charming, riverside town just a few hours north of Thailand's second-largest city.
That little town was called Pai.
I call Chiang Mai my second home, however, the scorching temperatures in April and tourist-clogged streets were getting to me quickly. The French couple convinced me to rent a motorcycle and ride through the mountains with them to check out little Pai where we could cool down in waterfalls and ride elephants through green rice fields.
I nervously agreed to the impromptu adventure and rented my very first motorbike. The French couple never turned up the next morning, so I soon found myself riding solo through the spectacular mountains of Northern Thailand. I ended up driving through Pai, Mae Hong Son, and all the way to the Burmese border.
Never having driven a motorbike before, I did fairly well; no skin was sacrificed. A feat in itself considering all the miles spent bouncing along the unfinished, mountain road. I did, however, have a flat tire in the middle of mountainous nowhere and even managed to run out of gas -- Pai is just outside the maximum range for these scooters!
All setbacks aside, the adventure went on to become on of my favorite travel memories, and I repeated the trip in 2010 -- only this time I was smart enough to stop for fuel at a roadside shack along the way.
On both accounts, Pai was well worth the effort, although now the tiny town has grown up with a small airport and much more tourism. The bumpy, unfinished road that threw dust into my eyes is now a smooth, finished highway cutting straight through the mountains.
Despite Pai no longer being a hippie and backpacker secret, it's certainly still worth a visit if you find yourself with some extra time in Chiang Mai. You can enjoy the spectacular scenery yourself on motorbike with my directions to Pai, or you can take the four-hour minibus ride there as well.
But with hundreds of hairpin turns along the way and the local drivers' penchant for speed, bring an MP3 player to drown out the sounds of people getting sick on the bus!
- Read this Pai travel guide for things to do.
- Read about options for getting to Pai.