Pairadise

Pai is described in Lonely Planet's Southeast Asia on a Shoestring: "Pai emerged from nowhere in a cool, moist corner of a mountain-fortressed valley along a rambling river. Foreigners stumbled through here on their way to somewhere else and realised Pai was a mountain paradise of easy living." They couldn't have been more accurate. The small streets of Pai were filed with Thai, Chinese, and caucasian tourists. Bakeries serving croissants, donuts, and other baked delicacies had their registers ringing. Restaurants, bars, and food stands ensured nobody went hungry or thirsty. Guest houses lined the river to accomodate Pai's neverending tourist stream. Finally, shops regularly sold their "Pailism", "Pairadise", and "All roads lead to Pai" T-shirts. This was the Thai equivalent to Colorado's Republic of Boulder! Pai is a four hour bus ride from Chiang Mai along winding roads through mountainous terrain. The town lies along a river in a valley surrounded by mountains. It's difficult enough to get to that you aren't sharing the town with every tourist in Thailand.

Laura and I decided this was the place to rent our motor scooter. The valley was large, and the population was small. Laura had experience driving her father's scooter so she started us into the valley of Pai. I've never had the rumbling power of a Harley Davidson under my control and this may be the closest I get. We rented a 125cc Yamaha scooter. I donned my helmet and shades as I opped into the driver's seat missing only an iPod loaded with Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild". Luckily, as the high-pitched motor "weeeeee"'d at 60 km/h, I recalled the tune in my head.

Our first stop was Thom's Pai Elephant Camp. We requested a bareback elephant ride, and the lady proceeded to ask us if we wished to bathe with the elephant. Bathe with the elephant??? She then showed us a photo of people riding on an elephant that walked in a riverbed. Don't know if I'd call that bathing but sure, sign us up. We were to ride on Phanom, a gigantic elephant. As I approached Phanom, he lifted his front leg. I was told to grab his ear, step up on the raised leg, and throw myself over Phanom. Easier said than done.

Laura proceeded to do the same requiring a few butt pushes to get herself up there.

Finally, we were riding bareback on Phanom.

He waddled down to the river, occasionally wandering against his trainer's orders to get some fresh vegetation. Once at the river, we were told to dismount and remove any clothing that we didn't want to get wet. Then, I was told to mount Phamon behind his head while Laura remained on his back. Once mounted, Phamon entered the center of the riverbed. He proceeded to load up on water and then pointed his trunk back at us and soaked us! He did this enough to drench us both in water; then, he hunkered down his head and shook me off. Plop, right into the riverbed! Laura was then told to climb up to his neck where he same happened to her We repeated this five times, much to our delight. Even Phanom seemed to be enjoying it. When Phanom returned us to camp, we were elated to be on the best elephant ride ever.

The rest of the day, we rode our scooter around the valley stopping at bar, waterfalls, and wats (a good combo of nature, beer, and Buddhist enlightenment). We enjoyed the sunset over the valley from a mountain bar.

Now, we are leaving Thailand to Muang Sing, Laos. We are expecting to sacrifice many of the amenities we've had in Thailand. Don't miss the Lanna Muay Thai post below.

Public transportation in Thailand

Being in Thailand with no personal transportation means we're at the mercy of Thailand's public transportation. We were expecting something similar to what we found in Africa, contorting bodies, sore butts, and close calls on the road. Were we ever wrong. Thailand's roads are in fantastic condition making bus rides much more comfortable. Trains run along major road routes providing a nice long distance alternative.

Train tickets come in numerous classes, from sleeping cabins to private air-con cabins to general-seating cars that shouting food vendors frequent with the craziest Thai snacks. With the exception of the snacks, it's similar to the European train system.

Buses have been our primary form of transportation. First class is a double-decker beast with air conditioning, free snakcs like juice and potato chips, and a free restaurant stop along the way.

There is typically a subtitled Thai movie on board; we were lucky enough to get their latest Muay Thai (Thai boxing) release (think old Japanese kung fu shows). Second class gets you air-con but no other specialties; we've had an occasional bus with karaoke music videos having Latin-lettered lyrics to sing along to. Finally, there is third class which is an open window bus; these typically don't travel long distances.

Once at the train or bus station, it's time to hire somebody to get you into town. Taxis are the most expensive option but they get good business due to foreigner's familiarity. Songthaews are a second option. Songthaews are trucks with benches placed in a covered truck bed.

They hold six to eight people depending on the cargo people are carrying or truck bed size. Sometimes, they act as taxis and can be chartered. Other times, they run a regular route through town. They come in many shapes and colors; in large towns where they are the taxi, they are all the same color to make them easy to spot.

Once in town, there are many options. Tuk-tuks are the most widespread and there is no better sight for a tuk-tuk driver than clueless and confused tourists. They are known for either way overcharging customers or undercharging customers but then taking them to all of their friends' shops until something is purchased and then getting to the desired location. Tuk-tuks look like covered motorcycles or scooters that have been modified to carry at least the driver and two more people. The classic tuk-tuk found in Bangkok and Chiang Mai has the driver in front with the passengers riding in seats behind him.

In the small town of new Sukhothai, tuk-tuks are inverse Bangkok style, with passengers sitting up front.

Finally, in Ao Nang, tuk-tuks are multi-purpose motorbikes with a benched side cart capable of carrying up to four people or carrying freight such as sacks of rice or fruit.

So, how do Thais get around? They use all the transportation described previously except they know the reasonable price for trips. Trucks are the most popular 4-wheeled personal vehicle and many homes have a car. It seems that scooters are the number one choice and they can do a lot more than us on the typical two-seater.

Thailand lets foreigners rent cars, scooters, and bicycles so personal transportation is available. To date, we've only dared to brave the streets as drivers of pedal bikes

but our confidence is growing for a scooter-for-rent!