Mae Hong Son Loop Day 6 – Exploring Pai

Day 6 was another rest day. We've never been good with rest days. Sitting around. Not doing stuff. Instead we decided that the best way to rest would be to spend the day touring the area around Pai.

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First, we headed back to Good Life for a breakfast of tea, wheat grass shots, borsche, eggs and tomato. It was fantastic!

Before heading off we moved accommodation. Although our bungalow was fine we'd come across the opportunity to get a fantastic room just down the road for an excellent price. A big balcony looking out over a beautiful garden and the Pai river, a huge room, possibly the most comfortable bed in the world and even an outdoor shower. Goodbye bargain bungalow, hello reasonably priced luxury!

Once we'd shifted our stuff to our new home and fuelled up the bike we headed off to try and find a “healing pyramid” that was marked on our map of Pai. We were curious and figured it was as good a starting point as any. On the way we passed a mysterious building that had been done up as a Chinese castle. We never conclusively found out what it was. Leading suggestions were a hotel or a temple. It had huts out out the back that looked like they were accommodation as well as a restaurant. No idea what the main building was or will be. Whatever it is, it has a nice view from its roof.

While wandering the grounds we also discovered this swing/ferris wheel. It really needed four people to make it work but we gave it a good go with just the two of us.

Continuing on our way we eventually came to the conclusion that we wouldn't be finding the healing pyramid. We passed a gate displaying a bunch of signs for Reiki, yoga and meditation classes. Most likely it was in there.

After looping around to the opposite side of town we stopped at a cafe called Coffee In Love. It's quite a famous cafe after featuring in a popular Thai film. Although the smoke hid much of it it still has a wonderful view. The day was already warming up so iced coffees were in order.

Just a few minutes down the road is Pai Canyon. It's certainly not the largest canyon in the world. It is however quite pretty, it's free and you're able to wander around however you see fit. You can be as adventurous (or not) as you like. The tops of the ridges have been worn flat by the feet of the more hardy souls.

To get from the car park to the canyon walk through the shops to the paved walkway. When we were here previously in 2009 the paved path didn't exist. You had to slog your way up a steep dirt track. We did the same this time and were almost there before our jungle adventure path joined the convenient paved path and we realized there was an easier way. Ah well, live and learn.

On the way back to town we passed a rail bridge built by the Japanese as part of the infamous Burma railway. If you read the fine print you'll learn that the current bridge was actually built after the war. The one built by the Japanese was destroyed. The current bridge is however roughly in the same spot.

Elephants also made a surprise appearance in our trip back to town. We passed two places where there were elephants doing their thing. We saw another on the road. Surprise elephants are always nice. It's something we've sadly not encountered outside of Thailand.

It wasn't long before we were back in Pai. It's quite a scenic little area filled with art galleries, organic farms and meditation retreats. After a shower and a bit of a rest in our glorious room we took to the streets to eat, drink and people watch. The crowd is interesting and varied in Pai…

Mae Hong Son Loop Day 6 Costs

At the time 30 Baht was about $1.

Breakfast. 1 chai tea, 1 wheatgrass, 1 borsche, 1 fantastic tomato and egg creation = 220B

Accommodation = 780B

Petrol = 230B

2 x iced coffee @ Coffee In Love = 120B

phone credit = 100B

Beef burger, chips and coke = 99B
Tofu vegie burger = 49B

Watermelon shake and banana shake = 40B

Bonus extra video

Here is a look at the two places we stayed at Pai during this visit. Hopefully it gives you an idea of the range that is available.

• Mae Hong Son Loop Preparations
• Mae Hong Son Loop Day 1 – Chiang Mai To Mae Chaem
• Mae Hong Son Loop Day 2 – Mae Chaem To Khun Yuam
• Mae Hong Son Loop Day 3 – Khun Yuam To Mae Hong Son
• Mae Hong Son Loop Day 4 – Hanging Out In Mae Hong Son
• Mae Hong Son Loop Day 5 – Mae Hong Son To Pai
• Mae Hong Son Loop Day 6 – Exploring Pai
• Mae Hong Son Loop Day 7 – Pai To Chiang Mai
• Advice For Doing The Mae Hong Son Loop