Pai, Northern Thailand

We only spent one night at our first place in Pai (at Pai Radise Resort) as they were fully booked. Their staff helped us relocate to a nearby ‘hut’ at Pai Doo See! Glen went on the back of the owners motorbike and I went with the luggage! (Chuckle)

There are lots of ants of various colours and sizes in Pai and giant spiders…….oh and bats!!!!

We loved spending dusk sat on the balcony of our ‘hut’ at Pai Doo See Guest House watching as the bats swooped again and again just over our heads at high speed catching the flies and hopefully the Mosquitos!

The amount of monks here has been made up by the amount of dogs which are everywhere; resting or running along in the most inconvenient places. Pai is lush and green…. and, well just lush basically. It is a quiet place with less weird characters about than Chiang Mai. Having said that there was a guy who is known as Jack Sparrow….can’t think why!

There haven’t been many birds singing at dawn considering how many trees we’ve been nestled amongst but those we have see were cute, and some looked like parakeets…maybe they were parakeets.

When we arrived there were banners across the main road announcing something to the Thai people but we didn’t know what it said. Then one day every shop and cafe had people sat outside on the floor making some sort of floral arrangements. Some were small and some were so large we saw two women struggling to carry them. Stalls went up around town too, selling Chinese lanterns. Then one night the locals paraded through the streets, some in traditional outfits carrying large floral baskets and flags. One group carried and played an unusual instrument and dressed as some sort of mythical creature. They all marched down to the bridge and lined up by the river and put their flower baskets in the river. The Bridge was lined with stalls selling smaller floral baskets which we had seen being made by people sat cross legged on the floor amongst banana leaves and flowers earlier in the day. Hundreds of lanterns were being released and a band was playing on a make shift stage at the rivers edge. Fireworks were randomly being let off all evening. The locals were having a wonderful time despite us tourists not because of us which was good to see. It was a lovely atmosphere.

I googled it up…. (Smile)

The Loi Krathong festival is celebrated annually throughout Thailand. We were lucky to be here to experience it. The name could be translated as “to float a basket”, and comes from the tradition of making krathongor buoyant, decorated baskets, which are then floated.

On the night of the full moon in November, Thais (and some areas in Burma and Laos) launch their krathong on a river, canal or a pond, making a wish as they do so. The krathong’s floating symbolises letting go of all one’s hatred, anger, and defilements. People sometimes cut their fingernails or hair and place the clippings on the krathong as a symbol of letting go of past transgressions and negative thoughts apparently. That would perhaps explain why we have seen so many men with very long nails in Burma on at least one hand! Maybe they were growing them in readiness of this festival. (wink)

There were fireworks in the evening and then random loud firecrackers could be heard late in to the night. Because Pai is set in a valley surrounded by mountains they resinated around the valley and it sounded like bombs being dropped. (that’s just typical of my imagination!)

Loi Krathong coincides with the Lanna festival known as Yi Peng which is why we saw so many lanterns being released too.

So there you are, we now know what the large banner said I guess.

As well as very long finger nails, men in Asia have very long random facial hairs growing, seemily having never been cut, that has got to be annoying surely? And painful if you pull one by mistake! Surely babies are naturally curious and pull them! Zoom in to the photo below,(Tap or click on the picture and it will open in a new tab and then you can zoom in) which was taken to show the grey hairs (Just showing from the other side of is face) not to see me stood on the Memorial Bridge. We have seen this a lot in Indonesia, Vietnam and last month in Burma.

Although it all looked magical at the time (the lanterns not the hairs!) I couldn’t help but think about where the lanterns would land once they burnt out and what sort of dam/log jam the floral baskets would make down stream until they decomposed.

Since experiencing that happy procession we have seen another procession through town; this time not so exciting as It was a funeral.

We didn’t follow this one like we did in Sanur, Bali last year. The mourners looked different, not sad but sort of private. (as private as you can be parading through the town like this)

More photos of beautiful Pai

We walk by this stall everyday and I have twice seen children sneaking a sample as if they were trying/taking a sweet! Just how and where you are brought up I guess.

This huge ‘cricket’ type creature was on the sign of the next food stall, I assume he was meant to be fried along with the other insects but got away!!!

Pai’s tiny airport, with the shortest runway we have ever seen! Glad we arrived by minivan!