Today was my last day in Pai, and I had another very peaceful day there. In the morning I went for a walk around the outskirts of town, taking in the sights and crossing as many bamboo bridges as I could find.

I walked through fields that were filled with butterflies of all colors and sizes flittering around.

Around midday, I grabbed my book and walked over to a café to sip a coffee and read.

At one point, a cat came running in with a mostly-dead mouse hanging from its mouth. They were both promptly kicked out of the establishment.

I heard the sound of live music coming from nearby, and I wandered over to find its source. It turns out that Pai’s third annual jazz and blues fest was just beginning!

I arrived in time to see the tail end of the local school’s jazz band’s performance, followed by opening remarks about how this jazz fest will help put Pai on the music and tourism maps. I stayed for the next couple of performances, and made a very enjoyable afternoon out of it. Though it was a small festival, there were food and drink vendors set up and a good number of people came to listen to the music.

In the late afternoon, I picked up my bag and made my way over to the bus station to catch my minivan back to Chiang Mai. (I’m only going to be in Chiang Mai for the night, as I’m heading to Chiang Rai early tomorrow morning.)

Before we could pull out of the bus station, a dog hopped into the van and didn’t want to get out. I think he was as desperate for the van’s A/C as I was! This was the first of many animal encounters we had during the drive. Along the journey, we had to wait for a herd of cows and about half a dozen dogs to get out of the road!

My thoughts on Pai

Pai was not one of my originally planned stops on this trip, but I was convinced to spend some time there based on the non-stop recommendations I received from other travelers. Although I thought the town was charming and the sites surrounding it were beautiful, I am not sure how it’s gotten as popular as it has! At one point I’m sure it was a charmingly untouched Thai town, but it now has such a strange vibe because of all the backpackers who have infested it, and it feels like westernized vegan, yoga, and hippy culture is taking over.

That’s not to say I didn’t have a nice time! But I don’t think I’d put Pai on my itinerary again.