Pai, Thailand

From Wikipedia: Pai, Thailand:

Pai (Thai: ปาย) is a small town in northern Thailand near the Myanmar border, north of Chiang Mai on the northern route to Mae Hong Son. It lies along the Pai River. The town has thesaban tambon status and covers parts of the tambon Wiang Tai of Pai district. As of 2006 it has a population of 2,284.[1]

Traffic

Pai is located on the Thai highway 1095, which connects Mae Hong Son with Chiang Mai. The Pai Airport had been refurbished recently, after being decommissioned for 20 years. It is currently served by Siam General Aviation with a daily flight from Chiang Mai International Airport.

Tourism

Pai was once a quiet market village primarily inhabited by Shan people, whose culture originated in Burma. As it lies at the foot of the mountains, it's a good base for trekking and visiting hill tribes like Karen, Hmong and Lisu.

Well-known among backpackers for its relaxed atmosphere, the town is full of cheap guesthouses, souvenir shops and restaurants. In the proximity of the town are spas and elephant camps. Outside of town, there are several waterfalls and a number of natural hot springs varying in temperature from 80 to 200 degrees Celsius. Some bungalow style resorts can tap the hot springs to feed the hot water into private bungalow and public pools. Another notable attraction is the town's excellent Wednesday Market which brings large and colorful crowds of local villagers and tribal people, from all around the Pai Valley.

Recently Pai has appeared on the Thailand tourist map and has received major infrastructure upgrades including an airport with daily flights, two 7/11's, several small to medium-size luxury resorts (adding to the more than 118 guesthouses and restaurants which existed as of June 2007), a couple of live music clubs, beer bars and two sets of traffic lights. This has done little to dampen the small and peaceful spirit of the town out of season. However, it has led to a recent influx of business investment and land speculation by both farang (non-Asian foreigners) and big city Thais. While some hail these sweeping changes as a new age of prosperity for Pai, others point to the loss of Pai's traditional customs and culture. In the tourist high season of November through March there are large numbers of farangs and even greater numbers of Thais who now come to Pai after it featured in a popular Thai-made romantic movie in 2006. Pai has music festivals regularly as well as staging an International Moto-Cross Championship.

Pai suffered a huge mudslide and severe flooding in 2005, resulting in major structural damage to homes, resorts, storefronts, and bridges. It rapidly recovered however.

You see, my previous entries about Pai were being kicked off the page. So I had to put another one up. This is also for you. If you'll check your email about the Air Asia air fares I sent you, this means that a trip to Pai for NYE next year will be well within our means.

A few things should pop out at you, namely cheap guesthouses, natural hot springs, music festivals, and an International Moto-Cross Championship. And non-Asian foreigners.

I want to be in pai,
where I can sit with people from all over the world and laugh at international politics,
where it's just far enough away from home for absence to make the heart grow fonder,
where music isn't about electronics or being as nude as a girl can be without being considered nude,
where all the principles of the Sixties' hold true,
where I can be happy with the products that I have and not feel like I need an overpriced handbag,
where I can let the tensions free ...