When I was planning to go to Thailand, Pai was the number one place on my list to visit. I needed to experience the colourful hippie town that the majority of backpackers seem to love. I’d researched it more than the other northern locations and had a long list of things I wanted to see and do while I was there.

I ended up going to Pai about a week into the trip, after talking to a girl from North Carolina that we met at Brick House Hostel who absolutely loved the town. Some guys that we were sitting close to informed us that Pai isn’t very nice in March/April because the farmers all burn their fields during that time of year.

How did I miss that very important piece of information while doing my pre-trip research?

It was disappointing to hear that’s for sure, but of course we went to check it out anyway. Although Pai was lovely, after going during the burning season I would definitely recommend making the effort to go sometime between November and February instead.

Looking for a chill getaway in northern thailand? Here’s how to spend 4 nights in Pai

Day 1

I’d read about the journey to Pai, 762 turns through the mountains in a mini bus for roughly 3 hours. Travel blogs that I’d read had all given warnings to people who get motion sickness easily, but I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it actually was.

I have a very weak stomach, and when my anxiety is high the nausea gets even worse. So I prepared by taking a couple Gravol in hopes of keeping my stomach at ease and to knock me out for the ride. My friend and I also decided that It would be best for us to have empty stomachs for the ride, so we didn’t eat breakfast before leaving our hostel at 9am and caught the first bus to Pai that we could.

We made the mistake of not booking in advance and it’s a very popular route, so the earliest departure time ended up being 12pm and we didn’t end up arriving in Pai until after 3pm. The combination of being extremely anxious, car sick, and way over hungry, had my stomach doing flips. I ended up getting out at a check stop to puke and was an absolute wreck when we finally arrived.

Luckily, my friend was able to get us a taxi, probably the only taxi in Pai might I add, to take us to a hostel. Public transportation is almost non-existent in Pai. For the most part, locals and tourists either walk or use motor bikes. However I could barely walk from being so sick, never mind walking with my backpack and daypack.

Originally we had planned on staying at the Sunset Backpackers Hostel, since it was connected with the Sunset Bar and I wanted to try the oh so famous happy shakes, but when we got there we decided that the location was too far outside of town.

The taxi driver turned around and we ended up staying at the Huan Saran Guesthouse on Walking street. Which made taking a taxi so not worth it, since it’s located only about 100 metres from the bus station.

Oops, my bad.

I ended up going to sleep immediately after we checked in, and slept until almost noon the next day.

Day 2

With the amount of rest that I’d had, 2 fruit shakes and a cup of strawberries from a stall down the street, I felt pretty rejuvenated.

I spent the afternoon by myself, exploring Walking Street a little bit and buying gifts for a few people back home. Then I went back to the guest house where my friend was waiting. She let me know that a solo traveller we met at the previous hostel was coming to stay with us.

When he arrived we decided to check out the Pai nightlife. We met up with an Australian couple that he also met in Chiang Mai, then grabbed drinks and strolled up and down Walking Street, trying some different foods from the street food stalls and exploring the market.

Then we walked further into town and searched for somewhere to sit down for drinks. We found a place and a few of them ate again, but we didn’t stay for very long.

We walked back to where the Australian couple were staying at Purple Monkey Backpackers to relax and smoke a joint in the hammocks.

Everyone burned out pretty fast, so the three of us started the trek back to our guesthouse- but not without a quick stop at 7-11 for some ham and cheese toasties of course.

Day 3

I started the day off with another fruit shake, then we got picked up from the guesthouse and set off on a tour of Pai and the surrounding areas.

The first stop on our tour was Doi Kiu Lom viewpoint, the first mountain on the way from Pai to Mae Hong Son. Unfortunately because of the burning season, there wasn’t much of a view.

Next we went to Tham Lod Cave where guides took us walking through the three natural limestone caves with gas lamps. The system was a lot deeper and had so many more levels than I expected. It was really interesting to explore, and at some points even a bit scary.

Stalactites and stalagmites formed by the slow dripping of calcium from the cave’s ceiling are all over the place, some even looking like perfectly carved sculptures of animals. At the end, we were taken on a bamboo raft through the cave.

After the group was finished in the caves, we had a traditional Thai lunch at the restaurant just outside.

Then we got back on the bus and headed back towards Pai to soak in the Sai Ngam Hot Spring. They called it the “secret” hot springs, but believe me when I say it was no secret. It was one of the busier places that we visited throughout the day. The springs feature a 3-tiered natural, the top section being the hottest at 34 Celsius.

Our next stop was the Pai Memorial Bridge, a bridge built of steel and wood during World War II.

The day ended with sunset at Pai Canyon.

Day 4

In the morning we moved accommodations across the river to Family Hut Pai, since we were just paying by the night and Huan Saran Guesthouse had no availability for the next night.

For breakfast, we had bagels at a restaurant across from the bus station, and I grabbed a fruit shake from a stand on the street (of course).

Then we rented a couple motorbikes for the day to do some sightseeing around town- I feel like renting a motorbike is a right of passage when visiting Pai.

Our first stop was the Container Cafe. I’d seen tons of pictures of the cute swing chairs and stunning views at this place on Instagram, so I really wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, it ended up being closed because of the off-season- but they had a swinging chair outside so I still snapped some photos on it.

Next, we headed for the Land Split. This used to be a functioning farm until an earthquake caused the land to crack. The farmer ended up turning his property into a tourist attraction where they offer things that they still grow on-site, and all they ask for is a donation. The family was super friendly, and this was such a unique place to see near Pai.

Then we went to check out Pam Bok waterfall. If you climb up behind the waterfall, there are supposed to be some deeper pools that you can swim in but unfortunately, due to the dry season, it was all dried up.

We were going to continue on from there, but ended up having a little bit of a motorbike accident (another right of passage in Pai) and turned back and went back towards town to Coffee In Love.

Shit happened and I got left there, so I thought it would be a good idea to walk back to town. iPhone maps said it would take an hour and that didn’t seem so bad.

Well, I ended up walking nearly an hour in the wrong direction. I stopped at a few cafes to ask if I was going the right way or if I could call a taxi, but no one spoke English or could understand what I was trying to ask.

Eventually I came across a fruit stand on the side of the highway where 2 women were working. At this point I was in tears. The ladies didn’t speak English either, but they understood that I was trying to get back to Pai. These were 2 of the nicest women I met on my trip- they insisted on giving me water and then one of them started up her motorbike and took me all the way back to town.

I could not have been more appreciative. If it hadn’t been for her, I would’ve continued walking in the wrong direction for who knows how long.

When I got back to the guest house, the other two were getting ready to go out for drinks. By then I was starving and exhausted, so I freshened up and then went to grab some Pad Thai for dinner from a stand on Walking Street and just had a chill night.