After breakfast this morning, I walked to the town’s main road and signed up at one of the many tour company stalls set up there for a full-day tour that would take me to all of the major destinations around Pai that I really wanted to see during my time here.

Half an hour later, I’d thrown on a bathing suit under my outfit, grabbed a towel, and was picked up by the tour van. The other eleven people on the tour were all twenty-somethings in transitional phases of their lives doing very similar trips to mine. They came from Germany, Australia, England, Italy, the US, and Canada

Chedi Phra That Mae Yen (White Buddha)

Our first stop was the only man-made sight of the day. This was an enormous white image of Buddha that sits on a mountain two kilometers from town, which you can see from anywhere in or around Pai.

The van dropped us off at the base of a large naga staircase that proved to be an intense climb. The views from the top of the staircase were beautiful, and the Buddha was absolutely enormous and impressive to behold.

Lod Cave

We then had an hour-long drive to the destination that I was most excited about seeing today: Lod Cave.

When we arrived, we were split into groups of three and assigned to a tour guide who was equipped with a lantern. Wordlessly, our guide led my group of three down a forest path to the cave entrance, where she bent over to light the lantern. Then she led us deeper into the cave, where it became clear why the groups could only be three people in size: there were no artificial floors or lights set up inside; if you strayed too far from the lantern, you would be in total darkness and unable to see your way!
(You’ll notice that almost all my photos come from near the entrance or exit of the cave, since even the best cameras can’t do too well in zero light!)

This was an incredible experience. We were led through all sorts of natural passageways, with our guide occasionally pausing to let us admire particularly impressive sights. Every now and then, she’d illuminate a sign that was written in both Thai and English that would explain the formation of sinkholes, stalagmites, etc. She also had just enough English to point to certain formations and say “Monkey” or “Crocodile” to tell us what the rocks looked like. In one area, we were shown some cave paintings that were likely 2-3,000 years old!

Although we were walking on the natural cave floor most of the time, there were also creaky bamboo bridges and incredibly steep staircases that we crossed and climbed to get to different areas of the cave. It’s a good thing it was so dark in there so we couldn’t panic about how high up we were!

Finally, we made it back to water-level and were ushered onto a long, narrow bamboo raft. While the woman with the lantern sat on the front of the raft illuminating the way, a man with a bamboo pole stood on the back and pushed us along towards another one of the cave’s mouths and toward daylight. We found ourselves in a huge cavern, with the sound of thousands of bats squeaking above us and the sight of hundreds of fish (catfish maybe?) swimming below us. There were so many fish so close to the surface of the water that you could reach in and grab one if you really wanted to!

We clambered off of the raft and up another few stone and wooden staircases (whose much-needed railings were covered in bat droppings) to see some more caverns, and then it was back onto the rafts, into the dark, and to the cave’s entrance.

Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint

Our next stop was simply along the drive back towards Pai, which was a supposedly scenic viewpoint. It was so high up on the mountain, though, that we were in the clouds by the time we got there and didn’t have too much of a view.

Sai Ngam Hot Spring

The cloudy, cool weather put us in the perfect mood for our next stop, which was a visit to a hot spring. We had an hour to spend there, though I personally could have stayed in that natural hot tub all day long! It was so relaxing and the water was the perfect temperature and crystal clear.

Mo Paeng Waterfall

We then switched from swimming in hot water to cold. Mo Paeng Waterfall is a destination that many locals come to enjoy; they use the smooth, slippery rocks as a natural water slide, and I saw many Thai kids having the time of their lives doing exactly that. While many of the others on the tour simply admired the view, I went down the slide once just to get the experience. It was fun and refreshing, though clambering back up the slippery rocks to get out was definitely tricky.

Pai Canyon

Our final stop of the day (which was advertised as being perfect for sunset views, though we were an hour too early for that) was Pai Canyon. This canyon really is a spot for gorgeous views, though getting to them was a more than a little terrifying. The paths hovering over the canyon were barely over a foot wide in some spots, and they included steep drops and climbs on packed sand. The pair that I was hiking with and I decided at some point that to keep climbing out would be crazy, and we turned around to retrace our steps back to the beginning of the path. Even without going all the way to the end of the ridge, though, the views over the canyon were spectacular.

Walking Street Night Market

I ended the day with another trip to the night market. The market here in Pai is so different from any of the other Thai night markets that I’ve been to because of all the international influences of the many people who have visited Pai and never left. Amidst the typical Thai food stalls were those selling Indian food, tacos, pizza, burgers, lasagna, and more! I had falafel for dinner tonight, along with a couple of curry puffs.