I Heart Pai

Last week I wrote a lot about work, this time it is all about the so called "rest". I might be the wrong one to tell you much about the nightlife of Chiang Mai, mud shipping and taking care of toddlers makes you tired. But enough about work! Yesterday a few volunteers went to sticky waterfalls. This is a quite popular place, well known, because the stones in the falls are not slippery at all. You can climb up the falls, which isn´t too difficult. The whole setting is set in between huge jungle trees, so that you can overview an ocean of green tree crowns from the very top – a stunning view. I could have sat there for ages, just watching the forest with the water all around me. Life can be so easy. The falls itself are from such beauty, that I couldn´t get rid of the thought, someone must have planned this. It´s too perfect to be just there, without purpose, without plan.

Pai- more a promise than a name, more mythos than reality. Who hasn´t heart lots of stories about legendary nights in Pai?Most travelers in Chiang Mai are either just coming from or about to leave to Pai. What is it about this small village, that drives people crazy? My travel guide says, Pai is somewhere in between hippie heaven and commerce, a tightrope walk, sometimes working out, sometimes not.

First, the bus drive form Chiang Mai is not as bad as everyone tells you. I slept in both directions nearly the entire time. Pai itself is truly a pearl, surrounded by mountains and forests offers everything that lets a nature lovers heart beat faster. Waterfalls, hot springs, breathtaking views, even a so called canyon. Reasons enough to visit Pai.

It is truth, nights in Pai are magical. Maybe because of the promise, that everything is possible as soon as the sun disappears, maybe because everyone is your friend for the night, maybe it´s the beautiful setting or just the fact, that you cannot be further away from any duties. There are this moments, where Pai seems to keep every promise. You turn around – just for a few seconds and suddenly your friends´ faces are hidden behind layers of paint. Someone starts in the early morning hours an awesome fire show right at the river in the light of the full moon.

Before I left, a Thai friend told me, Pai wouldn´t be a path of Thailand. I can understand why, Pai could be everywhere, especially because the majority are red-white tall Westerners. For me, Pai was a sort of vacation from Thailand, a place where I could stretch my feet, . I didn´t feel a need for a time off the time I left, nevertheless it was very  restorative. But that was definitely enough for me and it feels good to be back to reality, back in Chaing Mai, Thailand, back at work.Pai, that´s a double-edged sword to me. It´s like walking on a small mountain track- it´s all about your balance.

Nicola