Already on the move again, and this time we were off to Pai for a couple of nights. One of the main things we wanted to do in Chiang Mai was visit an ethical elephant sanctuary, and so after research and recommendations we decided on Elephant Nature Park for the day visit. However; they only had availability for Monday which somewhat messed up our timing plans, so we opted for a weekend up in Pai, heading back to Chiang Mai on Sunday night. Although Pai is only about 120km from Chiang Mai it is not a pleasant journey with a reported 300+ sharp bends and turns. Because of this the journey takes between 3 and 3.5 hours. Cute!
We started the day by packing up our bags and then doing an ab workout in our room in order to attempt to counter the excessive 7/11 trips. We then followed the workout with a trip to 7/11 to snacks to refuel, but still, better than no workout right? We were told we would be picked up from the hostel between 11 and 11.30, so we didn't have much time left before we went, and soon we were on the bus. I filled myself with travel sickness pills and thank god I did as it was not a pleasant drive. I wish I could have appreciated the scenery more but I ended up sleeping nearly all of the route which was definitely better than vomiting.
We arrived in Pai at around 2.30pm, and tracked down our hostel. It's pretty basic but at less than £3 a night we definitely can't complain! It's located very near the main road and we have a big wooden hut essentially which we're sharing with one other guy, and there's a pretty much constant sound of insects as backing noise which is funny. But the owner is lovely, there's free water and hot showers, so it definitely does the job.
We got food pretty early due to a lack of proper meals, and all opted for some nice, cheap thai food. I finally got the massaman I'd been craving and it did not disappoint! We wandered around the main street as they set up stalls for the evening and were excited by all the street food and cheap drinks and souvenirs! After heading back to the hostel we spent ages attempting to plan the cheapest but most efficient way to get to the south. It took us several hours of planning due to rules about baggage allowance, but we finally booked flights for the following Wednesday, and headed back into town after a shower. After exploring the main road again we settled for a very quiet bar which had a live singer due to the cocktails being less than £2. We only got 1 each and despite the low cost they were really strong, and we headed home around midnight ready for bed before a busy following day.
Laura x
We started the day by packing up our bags and then doing an ab workout in our room in order to attempt to counter the excessive 7/11 trips. We then followed the workout with a trip to 7/11 to snacks to refuel, but still, better than no workout right? We were told we would be picked up from the hostel between 11 and 11.30, so we didn't have much time left before we went, and soon we were on the bus. I filled myself with travel sickness pills and thank god I did as it was not a pleasant drive. I wish I could have appreciated the scenery more but I ended up sleeping nearly all of the route which was definitely better than vomiting.
We arrived in Pai at around 2.30pm, and tracked down our hostel. It's pretty basic but at less than £3 a night we definitely can't complain! It's located very near the main road and we have a big wooden hut essentially which we're sharing with one other guy, and there's a pretty much constant sound of insects as backing noise which is funny. But the owner is lovely, there's free water and hot showers, so it definitely does the job.
We got food pretty early due to a lack of proper meals, and all opted for some nice, cheap thai food. I finally got the massaman I'd been craving and it did not disappoint! We wandered around the main street as they set up stalls for the evening and were excited by all the street food and cheap drinks and souvenirs! After heading back to the hostel we spent ages attempting to plan the cheapest but most efficient way to get to the south. It took us several hours of planning due to rules about baggage allowance, but we finally booked flights for the following Wednesday, and headed back into town after a shower. After exploring the main road again we settled for a very quiet bar which had a live singer due to the cocktails being less than £2. We only got 1 each and despite the low cost they were really strong, and we headed home around midnight ready for bed before a busy following day.
Laura x
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