Lovely Pai (by Laura)

The town of Pai in north Thailand inevitably attracts endless plays-on-words by restaurants and tour operators. Amongst those we've seen are 'Apple Pai', 'Pai in the Sky' and a good one, simply because it is perhaps unintentional, 'Pai Cooking classes'.

We've spent four days here, drawn in inevitably by the very chilled atmosphere, the fabulous green hills and mountains and the misty mornings over the river. You could happily spend four months. There are endless activities on offer (white water rafting, trekking and so on); but the place really got a hold of us when we hired bikes and explored the valley a bit further. You would never get tired of the views.

We've parked ourselves in a guesthouse by the river, which is run by a young couple (half Thai, half English) who have a four month-old boy. They have just opened their doors, only managing to clear out the floodwaters just before the season started, which apparently rose 2 metres in the space of half an hour during monsoon (the highest for 40 years). They've put half their accommodation on stilts now just in case.

Pai is set up to cater for any tourist taste as there are over a hundred eateries and stalls packed into a pretty small space. However, we have become attached to just one restaurant in town, eating there about a dozen times over the last few days (despite passing 30-odd probably equally enticing places on our way there). They offer very cheap, tasty food and constant entertainment from their menagerie of dogs and very cute daughter.
Happily, no pie on the menu either.

Laura