Chiang Mai to Pai

 

Road Trip Thailand, Chiang Mai to Pai

The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is innocuous enough in the beginning, with some 30 odd km of dual carriageway heading directly north. Even when you turn off left towards the distant mountains, the road gently glides through many villages but, there is a reason why it takes almost 3 hours to do 132 kilometres and it starts to become very apparent as you start to climb the mountains. The sheer number and tightness of the bends is amazing and actually quite tiring. The road is one section of the famous "Mae Hong Son Loop" considered by the biking fraternity to be one of the world's best motorbike routes with 1864 bends on its 650 km route. It felt like there were 1864 bends on the one stretch we did!

We changed our hotel booking to The Quarter and on arrival, we were glad that we did as the hotel is very conveniently located a few minutes walk from downtown Pai (if you can call it that!) and is quite lovely with a good swimming pool that, considering the heat (38 degrees), is very welcome. Our lunchtime arrival meant that we had time for a walk around before returning for a swim and then out again for dinner and to the market.

Swimming pool, The Quarter, Pai

Cafe/restaurant Pai

Night Market, Pai

Night Market, Pai

Night Market, Pai