Pai To Laos

I’ve been lazy with my blogging. I thought coming into this I would be blogging just about every day but it has not happened. My thoughts and experiences about this trip are therefore very general so that the viewer does not read 10,000 words of certain times of my trip. However I will try to tell you guys what I have been doing the past week or two leaving off from where I was before, Chiang Mai.

This whole trip I have just winged along the way. I feel like this second paragraph shouldn’t go here but oh well. Originally I thought I was going to go down to the Southern islands of Thailand and then to Cambodia to renew my visa and then up to the north. When you talk to people though and say I think I’m going to stay in Thailand for two months, most of them say why? There is so much more to see than this country itself. If you ever plan a visit to Thailand on a two month visit like me, go to countries around Thailand like Cambodia, Laos, and especially Vietnam. I am fortunate enough to have met people that have told me to do this instead and I have come along for the ride. So far this is how the journey is going and will continue to go. First I flew into Bangkok and stayed there for a few days to get my bearings. Then I took a 100 something dollar flight to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. Then I took a bus to the hippie land of Pai in Thailand. After that, I took a bus back down to Chiang Mai and flew into the country of Laos to Luang Prabang and stayed there a couple days. And now I am finally here in Vang Vieng, Laos. Soon I will be in Vientiane and then fly over to Ha Noi, Vietnam for new years. I will buy a scooter or motor bike (sorry mom) and then drive through the whole country for two weeks and then off to Cambodia. From Cambodia I will then fly to Phuket and finish my journey in the islands of Thailand then off to Australia. That is the plan thus far.

Pai is a hippie city. There are a lot of Stoners and trippy people that are really nice but far out. The town is known for beautiful sites to see like caves and waterfalls and beautiful landscapes to drive through and also known for partying. I stayed in Pai for five days at a hostel named The Common Grounds.

The hostel was alright. It had a bar and a cool common area to chill out, but it was definitely a party scene always at night no matter the day. It was fun the first couple of days and then I got tired of hearing people party till 1 in the morning outside my dorm. However the staff were really nice and location was unreal, right on walking street. The things I got to do in Pai was go to a Jungle party, walk through the market on Walking Street for some food, and visit some cool nature sites. The Jungle party was pretty cool, they do one every Saturday so me and my buddies all went to that and got pretty tipsy. They send a Tuk Tuk to come pick you up and then you go off an hour to middle of the jungle where they set up this stage with electric house music and lights everywhere. It felt like a cheap small music festival but hey it was still fun. Walking Street Market is another thing you have to do here and it’s just a street that you walk, with some food to grab along the way. Everyone loves the food on this street but again I’m a pretty picky eater. One thing I recommend doing in Pai is immediately getting a scooter. I didn’t get a scooter until day four and it would of changed my whole experience if I would have had one day one. The thing that was holding me back is the number of moped crashing injuries I have seen. There are some people that go fucked up on a moped from sliding through gravel or falling off it, breaking legs and arms. I just bit the bullet and said yolo and got one and boy it is amazing. It’s seven dollars a day for this thing and you can go anywhere with it and it brings down the cost of hiring a Tuk Tuk everywhere. If you do get one be very careful. I never get too cocky and always slow down before my turns or if the going gets rough. One of the sites that is a must do is Sunset Canyon. It’s a canyon (obviously) that cuts through the land and you walk on a very narrow strip throughout the whole park.

Here is one of the many trails I did. It is scary if you are not used to hikes but definitely exciting with amazing views. 

You pick a view point like the one above and then you just kick back and relax and wait for the sun to go down.

On the fourth day I got most of my nature stuff in. There were about eight of us that all rented scooters and went to key waterfalls that everyone says you have to go to. The waterfalls were truthfully alright. They were nothing too special.

Pretty dang average. If you want to see real waterfalls though Laos is the place to be. The view though going to these places on moped is stunning.

Views like this are all along the way and worth a couple seconds to pull over to the side and take a quick glance a this scenery. So that’s basically it for Pai, things I wished I would of done is go to the hot springs and the caves but oh well till next time. Mind you though if you’re going to Pai be warned about the ride up there. It is about four hours and has 760 turns. One person threw up on the way up and two people on the way down, it’s a hell of a drive.

So now I am in this country named Laos, never even heard of it. The waterfalls and the nature hikes are all god damn amazing. Like seriously way better than Thailand, if these are two things you like to do then go through this country. I landed in Luang Prabang five days ago from Chiang Mai by airplane. The things I did there is again go to the night market and find some cool shit like the snake and lizard whisky and weird shit in that nature. Then go to this mountain in the morning and see the city come alive. Also before going up to see the sun rise watch all the monks get handed out food in the morning, a tradition that happens every day for hundred of years here. Here is a picture of the sunrise I got on the mountain top.

It was pretty cool but over here in Asia everything is hazing a shit so the quality of the picture doesn’t come out too well. The sounds of the city coming to life though is the best part.

The best though is seeing waterfalls in this place. They were just stunning. Probably top ten waterfalls I will ever see in my life. There are two main places to see waterfalls. One of the places, and I am sorry I don’t know the name is called “small waterfalls” to the locals. The other is “big waterfalls” or Kuang Si Waterfall. Here is a couple pictures from the smaller waterfall site;

The nature hike is really cool and you see multiple waterfalls areas like this one above. The hike is about 2 miles long through the jungle and there is barely anyone there at the park. I felt like I was in an enchanted forest with magical blue pools and buddha was somewhere resting underneath a tree.

The bigger waterfall was pretty amazing as well. Probably the best waterfall I have seen in my life. However since it is so amazing there are a lot tourists that want to see the same thing. Still worth the time if you are in this city. Here is a shot I got of this beauty.

That’s a goddamn post card picture right there if I ever seen one. But in all seriousness definitely worth seeing.

Sunsets in Luang Prabang are just as good as the sunrises. A buddy and I had a couple beers to finish the day out by the river and started getting ready for the markets at night. It is really cool to see all the slow boaters come in for the night and local people roasting a fire and sharing the same experiences and moments as us foreigners.

I am now in Vang Vieng known as the party city of Laos but the nature again is breathtaking and the best I have seen so far. Huge mountains are around this city with beautiful clear water that you can tube or kayak down. I have rented a scooter and drove to a couple blue lagoons 30 km away yesterday and the lagoons weren’t worth it but the views were.

This trip has really been fun though man. The people and the culture and the places I have been, have made it a hell of a good time. Too many people are scared to get out of their comfort zone and go to a place that is completely foreign to them. You just got to do it. That is the only advice I have, and once you do, you’ll realize how easy it is to travel and slowly you will become addicted. You only live once so live it up the best that you can and grow from each experience that you gather. I am looking forward to Vietnam for News Years. From what I hear it is supposed to be the best country out the ones I listed.