Archive for
August, 2006
August 8th, 2006
by anni
from:http://anni.whereareyou.net/index.php?intMessageId=35865
SPLASH! and lost of giggles. you just got hit by watergun…or even better, a bucket full of COLD water.
happy happy songkram that is. thai/lao/khmer/buddhist/whatever new year. also known as water festival. year 2549 starts also in pai with celebrations all over the town. tommorrow, hopefully, the last day when everybody goes to the temple in the morning and lits a candle for good luck. and well after that i guess more throwing water.
before ten on my way to yoga class everything is peaceful, but when we get out…by 12….thisit how it looks: people standing in front of their houses at least every second family is on the steet - and as home and shop/restaurant/business is the same house you can work and celebrate same time) , with large bucket of water, smaller ones (or cool waterguns) in their hands. and when ever motobike, car or anyone by foot walks by…they throw water. cars and motos even stop and wait for the water. and well…pick up cars have ten people on the back with the water and they throw it also. many times little girl got cold shower from car without noticing in advance. you walk all day long soaked, until around 6pm it is safe to change for dry clothes and stay dry till next morning.
but i kinda like it. walk with water bottle in my hand and whensomeone throws water i can defend myself (or well…as if it was possible). everybody is walking paint in their face and clothes wet and everybody is smiling and laughing. families and friends are gathering. from the babies to the grannies everybody is with. and all the falangs among them.
well not all. michel, titus, simon and rest of the guys at the guest house tend to stay there till 6, for not to get wet. and well that is also kinda wise. they drive motobikes, and it is not always easy to control the bike when someone throws large bucket water in your face. my new israeli friend yuval (or something) already got to hospital, 2 days before this all carnival thing was supposed to happen. people started slowly slowly but he got hit by loads of water an fell from bike on the way back from waterfalls. now it is 5 days and he still has to go to hospital everyday to change bandages etc. and what i heard 2000 people have been injured already and 200 died or so, all over thailand during these celebrations. hell of a new year this is.
but pai….ohpai ohpai. it is still the haven i remebered. this time at poms guest house. listening to all the dreams he has. having my daily morning coffee in the kitchen, and shake after yoga. and mam is the same crazy yoga lady. and my home hippies monika and alex are coming back…and michel and his wireless internet….and lots of new people.and i got bamboo tattoo….and done some necklaces and took some photographes….and so many things
still… am a bit tired to move around all the time, so i decided i stay here longer. i still dont feel like going finland but my dream about nepal seems like it is not going to happen. the situation there has gone bad bad bad….and am crying for that, and for myself too. but trying to figure out what to do next. maybe india….i’ll find after songkram.
now time for the nightly wonder as it is safe to go around the streets…..
sabai sabai, shanti shanti. my friends
August 8th, 2006
Author kindberg37
from:http://www.globosapiens.net/kindberg37-travelogue/Pai.html
The entire city is fun (and easy to walk around) so just explore. There are a couple of wats and older buildings to see and a ton of restaurants to try.
What’s really great:
The bus stop drops you off right in the middle of everything, so even if you don’t know where you’re going someone will be able to point you in the right direction.
Sights:
I rented a bike one day and went on a (long) ride to the hot springs nearby. The road was paved, luckily, but a little hilly. Still, it was a nice ride. But when we got to the hot springs they were so hot we could barely touch them! It made for a great day of seeing the country though.
Nightlife:
There is a small jazz club where a local man plays his own music (he writes the lyrics and music). It’s an amazing place, with space for only 15 or so people. he just sits on a stool and plays for a couple of hours. I’ll add the name of the place when I find it - but go looking for it if you’re headed there.
August 5th, 2006
Getting There
By Bus — Five buses a day leave for Pai from Chiang Mai (trip time: 4 hr.; 60B/$1.50). Five buses daily connect Pai and Mae Hong Son (trip time: 4 hr.; 60B/$1.50). The Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Terminal is on Kaew Narawat Road, northeast of the old city across the Ping River (tel. 05324-2664). The bus terminal in Mae Hong Son is on Khunlumprapas Road (the main street) 2 blocks north of the main intersection. All buses drop off and pick up at this “bus terminal” (more like a vacant lot).
By Minivan — Frequent minivans (called “Rot Too”) make connections between Chiang Mai, Pai and Mae Hong Son for 150B ($3.65) for each leg. Contact any storefront travel agent for details.
By Car — The scenic route is long, with steep, winding roads that make for some very pretty rural scenery: Take Rte. 107 north from Chiang Mai, then Rte. 1095 northwest to Pai.
Orientation & Getting Around
You won’t find a tourist information booth in Pai, but restaurateurs, bungalow owners, and fellow travelers aplenty are usually happy to share their knowledge and experience. Most guesthouses and restaurants offer photocopy maps of town and the surrounding areas. Tiny Pai consists of four streets. Route 1095, or the Pai-Mae Hong Son Highway (colloquially known as Khetkelang Rd.), runs parallel to Rangsiyanon Road, which is the main commercial street. Chaisongkram and Raddamrang roads run perpendicular and many guesthouses and restaurants are in or around this central grid (with many more guesthouses in the surrounding countryside). You can walk the town in 5 minutes. Mountain bikes and motorcycles are available at guesthouses or shops along the main streets for about 50B ($1.10) and 200B ($4.55) respectively.
August 5th, 2006
Written by Adam Foltyn, Contributing Writer
Pai’s hot springs are really cool. Especially at night with candles. Biking to a waterfall with a broken bike is a very bad idea.
We also went to a little town called Pai (maybe 3 hours from Chang Mai) and lay in some natural hot springs in the middle of the night with candles all around. Really funky. It only takes 100 feet for the water to go from egg boiling to stuff that’s great for a hot tub. Then you let it go another 100 feet and it’s cold.
Let me explain: Pai’s hot springs start on top of a small hill, rolls down hill with all this steam coming off. It then goes into a creek bed that the locals have grouped into kinda hot tubs that are 20 feet long. Maybe they look like “locks” for ships. In this case though they try to get the temperature uniform for each level.
We got into Pai a bit late but then tried to get to the hot springs. Actually that’s not true, being cheap travel folk, we wanted to get teh best rate possible for the taxi. Turns out that there is only one rate for the taxi as there is only one taxi company with a few flatbed trucks! Only takes 15 minutes by Taxi an welll the guy was really cool and we paid the rate and got in and bam, park closing. He negotiated with the “ranger” on he front gate and we got in, but had maybe one hour to enjoy.
Turns out that anonther few groups were already there with candles and some wine and stuff (Israleis so I guess a bit more sophisticated than this aussie.)
Next day we got some bikes and went cycling to the waterfall (other direction fromn the hot springs). Turns out that it is REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT to test out your bike before you start out. I tested mine, two of my travelling buddies tested theirs but the 4th didn’t. So she struggled for the flat terrain but then we got to hills (remember we are going to a waterfall.) So being a nice guy I agreed to ride the bad one. I got 200 meters and basically had to stop. It was insanely tough. Colin (the guy traveling with me) had a turn. He was was in pretty good shape but got 500 meters. We then struggled on for a bit more trading ever few hundreds meters until we found that we had gone like 1/3 the way and th rest got STEEP. OK, so a judicous stop at a new hotel/restaurant complex worke dout well. Owners were great and we talked. Learned a lot about Pai. I bet by now these “outskirts” are built up parts of tourist Pai.
Anyway, whoe things, including the springs, was really cool…err. warm.
Refer:http://www.travel-journal.org/asia/thailand/hot-springs-in-pai,-thailand.htmlÂ
August 5th, 2006
Author Roh
Pai Travel stories from http://www.traveljournals.net
Pai is a sleepy little town nestled in the mountains in the far North of Thailand. The Northern area is famous for its hill tribes, spectacular scenery and relaxed way of life. On the day I arrived it was pissing down and covered in cloud so I didn’t really see much in the way of scenery, but the friendliness of the locals was immediately apparent.
Wil had already been in town for over a week and was more or less settled into a guesthouse already. There was a spare room so I joined him there. Ting Tong guesthouse is quite small with only four rooms, a shared kitchen, and a living area complete with TV and DVD player. The others in the guesthouse were Chessy, an English travel writer in Pai for a few weeks already, and Francesca, and Italian photographer for Armani in Thailand to photograph local and traditional fashion (or something like that). The owner of the guesthouse- Tu, and his brother Chuwawa were possibly the nicest people I’ve ever met. They also owned a bar across town where we spent most evenings.
Straight away I fell in love with Pai. The feel of the place is so laid back and everyone (foreigner and local) are so cool and friendly. Just about every Westerner I met there had come for a week and stayed for a year!
In the week I spent in Pai I mostly sat around watching episodes of Oz, or cruised around of the scooter I hired. In the evening we’d go out for a drink at Ting Tong bar or to one of the Thai Whiskey bars across town. Then retire with a few beers at home with a DVD.
In the last few days there were torrential rains in North Thailand that caused widespread flooding and did a fair bit of damage. Only weeks earlier there was a serious deluge in the region that Pai was only just recovering from, so fresh floods were the last thing they needed. But is the spirit of the Thai’s the whole community got stuck straight into the clean up and repair job and after 2-3 days most of the work was done.
As our time in Thailand was drawing to an end we forced our selves to say a sad goodbye to Pai and all our new friends there, and made the trip back to Chiang Mai to prepare to cross into Laos.
Laters
Roh
refer link :http://www.traveljournals.net/stories/9619.html
