Up to the North: Pai, Thailand

Pai turned out to be exactly what I needed after a pretty rough week in Bangkok and then a great stint with my Mom in Vietnam. It helped me to get myself back on track after an overwhelming last couple of weeks. This quiet hippy town of dusty streets, a solemn river, sleepy bungalows and endless live music, is a yoga enthusiasts dream.


I spent my mornings sleeping in in my treehouse. A treehouse was, in theory, much cooler sounding than the bungalows on the ground and much cheaper! However, the unspoken detail was that my house was not just up in the trees, but the tree, and animals that come along with it, were in my house and scurrying all about.



After the sleep in, I headed to my morning yoga session at Mam’s Yoga with Ma and her daughter who were quite the dreamy duo. Yoga with them was much different than any yoga I was experienced in the past. She explained to us that many North American’s don’t like her yoga because it is not a fast pace, sweaty work out like Moksha or Bikram, but her mix of Hatha and Ashtanga is the true way that yogis practice in India. Think what you will, but from her 25 years of experience and the beautiful eclectic décor of the place, I could only smile, relax, and sink into the intensive concentrative mind state she led us into. The best part was the fruit and ‘hang out’ session that followed the 2 hour class.


After yoga, I spent the better part of my days reading and eating yummy veggie food at "The Good Life" restuarant...(I could not post a higher food recommendation...it was great.)



walking the streets and shooting around on my scooter to the nearby canyon, waterfall, hot spring and obviously ending my day at the tacky Fluid poolside bar that I was invited to “hang out on a hot and humid day”. Unfortunately, the dry season brought little water to the falls and poor visibility at the canyon due to the constant forest fires.


Finally, each night ended at a different live music joint, The Edible Jazz bar being my favorite of all.

Pai is a great spot, quite touristy, yet as I said before: a perfect getaway from the craziness of Southern Thailand.