Geez, I’ve not been blogging for quite a while. Well, was just looking through some photos from my last trip to Thailand, and decided to put a few pictures up to fill this space. Haha..

Sara and I took a mini-bus to Pai from Chiang Mai bus station, not sure of what to expect because we didn’t really do any research beforehand. We didn’t even book any guesthouse! (We realised later that it didn’t matter anyway, since there were many cheap guesthouses around).

It is a cozy little town that seems to occupy as many westerners as the Thais. The pace of life here is twice as slow as elsewhere. No wonder the westerners prefer to settle down here.

Weather was cool in December, and it was especially cold at night. Most people were seen wearing their beanies and scarves on top of their woollen jackets. It was kind of cool to see such dresscode all around the town. The only thing lacking was snow.

At night, westerners and other local tourists would gather at the pubs along the roads. Sara and I went to one that had live gipsy music performance. I liked it there. Good music and atmosphere!

Pai is quite high in altitude, but you can still see lots of mountainscape around it. I didn’t know I enjoy such mountainous view so much until I travelled to the Northern Thailand. It’s definitely more beautiful and calmer than having a dozen skyscrapers towering over you.

There are many minority hilltribes that live in Pai. They’re especially good in making handcrafted items such as knitted bags, pouches, clothes and beanies. While Sara and I were cycling uphill 15km (with great effort) to a waterfall, we passed by 2 of such hilltribes. Friendly people. We exchanged smiles with them everytime we cycled pass the locals.

We were impressed by the hospitality of the locals, really. At the waterfall, we decided to settle our lunch, and ordered spicy papaya salad and mango salad from a side stall tended by a young lady. When she saw both of us hunching down to eat the food (put on a stool), she immediately carried a table for us, put a blue table cloth over, and even got us a makeshift vase with fresh flowers!

This is why I love Thailand. You hardly see any angry people.