Lazy days in a hammock are a favorite in Pai....

.."Lazy days in a hammock are a favorite in Pai, along with just staring at the mountains and rivers... "
pronounced as "bai" or "bye"

The sleepy hippy town of Pai is situated 135kms northwest of ChiangMai, halfway to MaeHongSon. As you enter Pai area, the mountain road makes a meandering decline into a large green valley of padi fields and fruit groves. Pai is a tiny place with 4 main roads but offers a rich bohemian atmosphere where you can collect your thoughts and commune with nature. Trendy cafes and boutique B&B, slow pace of life and lots of cyclists and motorcyclists..

A decade ago, Pai was virtually unknown and today it has developed into a thriving, multi cultural town. Fortunately it has retained its down-to-earth feel and prices are still reasonable, making it especially popular with backpackers and free-spirits...who sometimes stay for months. Recent consciousness of health and environment has largely reduced the open consumption of opium or marijuana and even normal cigarettes are a rare scene !

Pai can be reached by bus, 3 - 4 hrs from ChiangMai and less from MaeHongSon. We rented a little car (we would recomend a 4wheeldrive) and it takes less than 2 hrs fr ChiangMai ..very good roads on highway. However off highway, watch out for the thousands of pot holes. Contrary to the many write-ups in the Net regarding the weather & road conditions on this "MaeHongSon loop" , we assure you it is totally safe even in our normal city wheeler ! thanks to our Asian upbringing, we are much "toughened up" and can eat practically everything!

so Peterpatterpot takes to the road ... 1180km road trip, 1864 curves or even more..

DAY 7

Day 7 - we start on road trip to Mae Sam Laep at the borders of Burma on the river Salween and end up in Mae Cheam for the night.
Scenery on the drive to Mae Sam Laep.



Mae Sam Laep is a small village on the banks of muddy Salween river.The roads leading to it is not advisable to tackle with a normal vehicle while low on gas and very short of time.Please be well prepared.If not then just volunteer to be a passenger and sleep through it.Across on the other side is Burma.Got border guards and we were told to register our names before getting on the boat.We are not allowed to set foot on the other sid of the river.Got M16 machine gun.

The road is 10 times worse then this photo.It runs out of tarred road.


Mae Sam Laep Village.Gave 2 kids watches to village kids.
Border guard with M16 gun.

Boats.

The Beetlenut chewing boatman!Super high!He doesnt know where to get opium tho.

Union of Myanmar(Burma)

The beetlenut chewing speeding boatman of the Salaween River!

2 very brave ladies made it right to the northest part of Thailand, the part where you see the doted lines on maps but very afraid of the scorching sun.

Rapid hole!
We left Mae Sam Laep with a flashing red empty tank,rush for time and very hungry tummy.Missed lunch again because there is no decent food in Mae Sam Laep.

Water buffallo on the road,bathing in a muddy stream ,the same road we had to drive through.

Patricia is the best driver ever!45km on a dirt road in a Toyota Yaris.Amazing feat!We actually made it back to this lovely resthouse for lunch in quick time.Its amazing how she drove all the way mostly on neutral gear because had no more petrol!Helen even had a good shut eye.

After a 4pm lunch,we had to make a dash for Mae Cheam- the village with the most refined silk weaving or so we were told.

Some jungle people selling wild mushrooms on the road side.Real cheap.

We arrived in MaeCheam again just before sunset.While looking for a decent room for the night we visited the famous silk weaving shop.Prices were extremely high.Dont bother.

Woven hats cost about Thb800.

We found only one hotel worth staying in.The Pongsara hotel-its on the outskirt of town.The hotels in this small town do not have air condition.The room was extremely humid because of the hot sun in the day,however it cools down at night.This is a really cheap hotel.

The hotel has mini bungalows for rooms.Black out happened here.The whole town had a power failure.We had really good pork basil rice at a stall over candlelight.Too dark to actually see what we ate.

Room with lizardssss above the door.

The End of Day 7.
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