@travyling A piece of Pai: the nature & adventures Pai could very well be my favorite place in Thailand! I will be back some day! #pai #paithailand #thailand #travel #travyling #traveling #paicanyon #canyon #cave #bats #namlodcave #khokusobamboobridge ♬ The Trip - Still Corners
Today is the first official full day of solo travyling. Through my hostel, Circus, I rented a motorbike for the day for 200baht (~$6USD), then went to a nearby breakfast spot recommended by my friend Gunnar from when we walked past it and into town last night. I generally trust the word of mouth recommendations from friends and travelers I meet. They have not yet led me wrong. Based on my research and all of the recommendations from other travelers, I had some ideas for sightseeing and landmarks to check out.
Belly full of fuel for my solo adventuring day, I rode to Wat Mae Yen (Big Buddha Temple). You can observe the large white Buddha sitting near the top of a hill as you approach the temple grounds. I did a seated meditation at the first Buddha shrine at the bottom of the hill, then walked up the large flight of stairs to get to the large Buddha statue. The elevation of this temple and mountainous views surrounding made it one of my favorite temples I’ve visited in Thailand. I practiced mindfulness with another round of seated meditation in front of the Big Buddha.
After the temple, I rode to the outskirts of town to the Koh Ku So bamboo bridge. A sturdy bamboo bridge stretched far across fields of cows and farmers, bordered by a few shops and cafes, connecting to a few smaller temples. I visited Wat Phaem Bok first, then walked to the opposite end of the bridge to a small temple sitting in the middle of a forest.
Following Koh Ku So Bamboo Bridge, I rode further outside of town to Thai Pai hot springs. Somehow I had never been to a natural hot spring until now, and it did not disappoint. There were many pools of water heading further up the hill to the main hot spring, getting incrementally hotter as you got closer. I found a pool that stayed a comfortable 36 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) and sat here for about an hour. The pools were not too crowded and surrounded by forest, making the experience quite relaxing and zen.
I left the hot springs feeling rejuvenated and made way to Pai Canyon. Here, I enjoyed a Pad Thai snack before heading up to the trail head. Atop a set of a couple hundred stairs were beautiful views of mountain ranges in every direction. There wasn’t a single set trail for the canyon, but many different paths through some ridges and breaks that could be explored further and further. Eventually, I found a good spot to post up and catch an unobstructed view of the sunset. I sat next to a guy from USA (Washington state) named Brian, who was doing a one month trip in Thailand. Brian was a friendly and cool guy that I have a lot in common with (apart from being cool). While my phone recorded a time lapse of the sunset for nearly 2 hours, Brian and I made great conversation. After the sunset, we hiked back to the trailhead and parking lot, where he unexpectedly ran into his friend Caroline who he met a couple weeks prior in Koh Tao when they were in the same scuba certification group. Small world! Brian and I exchanged contact before going separate ways back to Pai.
After returning to the hostel, my friend Ethan and I rode my rented motorbike into town to walk the night market and grab a bite. We got some tasty Thai food at a restaurant then hit a 7/11 to stock up on alcohol for tipsy tubing tomorrow afternoon. Back at the hostel, I ran into my friend Mees, who mentioned he wasn’t tipsy tubing tomorrow because he was going to Nam Lod Cave, a must see landmark about one and a half hours outside of Pai. Intrigued, I looked up the cave online, and was determined to not let it pass me on my last day in Pai. If I wake up early enough, I could visit the cave in the morning and make it back to the hostel in time to be picked up in the afternoon for Tipsy Tubing. I reached out to Brian, and he and his friend Caroline were down to leave Pai at 7:00AM the following morning to see Nam Lod Cave.