Pai: A Birthday Abroad
“Lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy…The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
-Chris McCandless in a letter to friend, Ron Franz, published in Into the Wild
Heralded as a backpacker haven, Pai is as perfect a place to enjoy a fresh fruit mojito and jazz bands as it is to brave canyon climbs. But the most notorious thing you can do is ride a motorbike in town. Everywhere you look, people sport “Pai tattoos”—bandaged road rash and broken bones that will turn into storied scars from that time they collided their motorbike with a fellow, clueless Westerner.
(Thanks to Louise’s expert driving, I do not have any Pai tattoos.)
Offering adventure and the potential to meet other travelers, Pai became our destination for Louise’s 26th birthday. We were after the joy of an “endlessly changing horizon.”
Birthday Party Treasure Hunt
Birthdays are not a big deal in Thailand or Buddhist society. If Thais choose to celebrate, they will usually buy a turtle, fish or bird to release at a temple to attract a long life, peace, or freedom, respectively. If you’re lucky, a monk will bless you.
No cake. No candles. No presents.
This did not sound satisfying for Louise’s Golden Birthday. Instead, we scavenged Pai for essential party provisions like champagne, cheesecake, and candles. We needed to take it up a notch.
We started Louise’s birthday with a morning appetizer of cheesecake and mimosas, enjoyed poolside, before digging into our big breakfast of waffles, bacon, tropical fruit, and eggs. Then, we went into town for back-to-back Thai massages, lunch, and shopping. After afternoon cheesecake, we hiked to Pai Canyon for sunset, and then hit the town for drinks and live music. We finished the celebration with a third cheesecake.
All of this cost about what I would normally spend on Louise for her birthday in the US, so the luxury was less extravagant and more simply indulgent.
A birthday breakfast portrait of my beautiful friend.
One place in Pai made cheesecake, and we took full advantage. This is cheesecake #1.
Between our appetizer and breakfast. Our guesthouse was pretty posh.
Even after 15 years, you still learn new things about old friends. For example, I had no idea Louise was obsessed with bunnies until we walked by the Rabbit Cafe in Pai. This was Pai's ultimate gift to Louise. I thought eating with animals on the table was ultimately bizarre, but it's apparently a thing in Asia. There are cat cafes, snake cafes, bird cafes, and the like. I would like a coffee cafe, please.
Hands down, these fresh, passion fruit mojitos are the best ones I've ever tasted. Chok dee, Louise!
Hiking in Monsoon Season
Pai offers exceptional hiking opportunities, like the path to the secluded Mae Yen Waterfall, accessible from a six- or seven-hour roundtrip hike through the jungle. Louise and I excitedly told our guesthouse host where we were headed, and she warned us that the major rainstorm from the night before may have washed out the trail. We decided to at least check it out.
We found what looked like the trailhead, but was instead a stoner hostel in the woods. We asked the dudes reclining in hammocks where the trail started, and they laughed at us. They gibed at us that the trail starts by crossing the creek—now river—and we should try again tomorrow.
I don’t appreciate when men tell me I can’t do something, so again, I ignored the feedback. I wanted to see this waterfall! And I knew that we’d turn around if the trail truly got impenetrable or dangerous. So I took off my shoes, waded into the rushing river that came up past my knees, and said BYE to the bros.
Upon reflection, I think reading Into the Wild persuaded me that I should be more contumacious in my nature-related risk-taking. For about an hour, Louise and I did have quite the adventure. We crossed the river five more times, walked through the pouring rain, and listened to the omnipresent and unidentifiable sounds of the jungle. Finally, the river was too wide and strong to cross, and we turned around. I didn’t want to emulate Chris McCandless that much.
In the afternoon, we changed plans to hike to the waterfall closer to town.
An Endlessly Changing Horizon
For our final day in Pai, we woke up at 5am and walked to Pai Canyon in hopes of catching the sunrise. The first time we explored the Canyon at sunset, hundreds of other tourists simultaneously climbed all over it. It was hard to appreciate the natural beauty amidst the drones and selfie-sticks.
As I’d hoped, we were the only ones there. We had miles of hiking and climbing to ourselves. Monsoon season brings dense clouds, so it wasn’t quite the sunrise we anticipated.
But the new horizon certainly brought endless joy.
By Mel Grau
