Pai is not Pai anymore
Pai, the once peaceful and tranquil town, home to backpackers and tranquility seekers, has turned its back on many other once peaceful islands and small towns in Thailand.
Only a few years ago there were only a few charming idyllically situated accommodations where you could spend the night for little money. You didn't go to Pai for real luxury, but for that blissful tranquility that the small town exuded.
Silence
The quiet river Pai, after which the place is named, and the shaky bridge made of bamboo poles meant for the walker, who wanted to cross the small river in peace and quiet, something like 'The bridge over the river Pai'. You hardly met anyone and at the cremation site, which was tucked away among the beautiful nature, you thought about the meaning of life, and then cheerfully continued walking and absorbing the greatness of nature.
Pai only had one real main street with a few nice and cheap restaurants where the mainly youthful backpackers gathered in the evenings. If you wanted to open your wallet a little more generously, there was a very nice little French restaurant and you preferred it Thai food then you went to Waan-Prik. They have both disappeared, at least not to be found.
Riding a horsefairground attraction
According to an Thaiinsider would currently say 'Benjarong; being the best Thai restaurant in Pai, but unfortunately that was closed for two weeks during high season. After years, I have watched Pai with bewilderment. The place has become a fairground attraction with a night market to rival Chiangmai's Night Bazaar.
In the 'Thai Post' you can listen to live Jazzy music every evening and you will also find the necessary musicians at the night market. Of course I have nothing against jazz at all, I am even a big fan of it, nor against street musicians, but this does not fit in the peaceful Pai.
The small Chinese village of Kuomintang, village is already a big word for the few houses that are there, takes the cake. You can ride a horse, participate in games and of course there are many stalls with all kinds of odds and ends. To underline the kitschy even more, the horses have also been provided with large sunglasses. A large cap is still missing from this disgusting equipment.
It may be the taste of the average tourist, but Pai is no longer Pai. The beautiful nature has remained, but the blissful tranquility has been expelled.
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I was in Pai in 1997.
I was in Pai in 2015.
Unrecognizable.
Nothing left of it.
Overcrowded with tourists.
Everything and everywhere changes, that's called evolution 🙂
Dear editors, the article refers to 2010, so I expect it to be a reposted article and not a typo. Apart from the above, I am happy to have learned how it is now in 2017 certainly incomparable with my previous visits in 2002 and 2004. Finally I had put it back on my list of intended places to visit, but with the current information it is rap off again. Too bad but I like to keep the good memories alive. Gr. Paul Schiphol
Matter of taste, we drove there by motorbike from Changmai in December 2016, very cozy place, also the "resort" across the bamboo bridge, cozy market you name it.
It may not be the same as it was in 1997, but , NAME ONE PLACE IN THE WORLD WHERE IT IS STILL THE SAME AS IT WAS IN 1.
Time just doesn't stand still, not even in Thailand.
The tourists who already came there when it was still quiet have of course been the reason for the start of all these changes. And they are now looking for another quiet spot that they will talk enthusiastically about and so it goes on, because 'among the tourists' these people do not wish to stay.
They would prefer to stay in an idyllic village and put a fence around it to keep others out. Fortunately, the world doesn't work that way.
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Pai in 1991:
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https://youtu.be/sn2HPFwueqU
December 2015 I was in Pai, many Western backpackers and many Thai tourists. My tip is to continue to Mae Hong Son, where you will find peace and local pride!
Everything used to be better. Everyone must live. Be glad that the people of Pai have found a gap in the market. They don't fade away.
I remember when there was a large glass-door fridge in front of a resort right on the street in Pai.
There was no lock on it, day and night that refrigerator was there. Full of beer, soda. Surprised, I then asked the owner: Has anyone ever taken something without paying? He never said. Well that was a while ago of course. That box is no longer there.