A little hut by the river

This weekend we went to Pai ("pie"), a hippy town high up in the hills of Mae Hong Son Province. Sounds awesome, right? And it is. I went with the three other AJWS volunteers (Rachel, Jessie, Julia) plus Kim, who we met while hiking. The five of us met up at the bus stop after work, excited for the weekend, but anxious about the bus ride through the windy mountain roads, which we had heard was not for the weak-stomached. With our pharmacy of over-the-counter motion sickness pills in hand, we boarded the bus and set off for Pai. I'm not usually one to get car sick, however, after three hours of driving through the dark mountains, Thai-style (brakes are optional, as are lanes), I wanted to vomit. Julia and I were having an intense discussion for most of the ride, but towards the end, we both looked at each other and decided we needed to shut up and close our eyes.

We got to Pai before any unfortunate incidents occurred. Wow, it was different than Chiang Mai. Quiet, chilly, the air was crisp and you could actually see the stars in the night sky. We didn't have a hostel reservation because going to Pai with a reservation is so un-Pai. A woman I work with suggested we walk down to the river and stay in one of the little huts down there so that's precisely what we did.

Walking through the city for the first time reminded me of a really small Whistler Village. Julia said it reminded her of Ashland, OR. There are two main streets with guesthouses, restaurants, souvenir shops, tourism offices and at night, it becomes one big market. I would say it's "touristy" but I think that conjers up the wrong image. It's a vacation town where a certain type of tourist - mostly Bangkokians - go to escape the busy city. We made it down to the river, crossed a little bamboo bridge and found hundreds of huts on the other bank. We chose a "family hut" that we could all fit in.

I have to say, I cannot picture (certain members of) my family staying in this hut. Well, maybe back in 1974. It was on stilts, with a lit porch in the front. Inside were two queen mattresses right next to each other on the ground with clean sheets and thick blankets. The mattresses took up two-thirds of the floor space. Pinned to the wall above the mattresses were two tired looking mosquito nets, which we didn't need to use because it was cool enough that mosquitos weren't an issue. Directly across from the front door was another door which led to a cement-floored bathroom out back. There was a shower head, a western toilet, a sink, four walls and most of a roof. Staying in this hut was a liberating experience. The whole weekend I giggled to myself whenever I heard one of us say where we were staying - "In a hut, down by the river!"

I don't know what the best part about Pai was. The food was fresh, cheap and in abundance. The people we met were easy-going, friendly and full of stories. The scenery was beautiful. After dinner on Friday, Jessie, Julia and I found ourselves at "The Bamboo Hut" - an establishment made entirely of bamboo (the floors bounced as you walked), which served cold beers and free barbeque skewers of delicious pineapple, pepper, onion and meat to an eager group of backpackers who were busy swapping stories of Thailand, SE Asia, and educating each other about their respective homelands.

A funny coincidence about Pai was that we were there at the same time as the AJWS Country Rep for Thailand, Guy. Apparently, when not searching the land for NGOs doing good work, Guy helps run his family's little resort along the river in the center of Pai. This is the place I could picture my family staying. My description cannot do it justice, so I won't even try. The thing that's amazing about Thailand is that this incredible resort, which would cost well over $1000 per night in the US or Europe, costs less than $100 per night in Pai. Guy and his family were wonderful and I cannot wait to go back and visit!

On Saturday afternoon I managed to convince the girls to rent bikes and ride up to a Chinese village Guy had told us about. Moments after we set out, Jessie calls out to me, "Emma, I don't know how to say this in bike terms, but my bike is like, tight." The poor girl chose a bike without gears, which proved to be rather impossible since the entire ride was a steady uphill. She was a good sport tho and was in good spirits the whole way. Riding up was great because every one once in a while as you stopped to have a drink of water, you would look off in the distance and realize that you were in the middle of hills upon hills of rice fields and farms. We arrived at the village, 3k up the road, a little over an hour later (yes, I know.) Despite the fact that it was too manicured and clearly no one lived there anymore, it was quite a picteresque viewpoint. The ride down took us about 15 minutes.

As I've been writing this, I thought about one thing that seperates Pai from other Thai cities - the lack of a red light district. Walking through the streets of Chiang Mai, you pass countless "odd couples" - young Asian women (girls) and old European men. I don't like to automatically assume that every scantily clad woman I see around the bars is working as a prostitute, nor should I believe that every older white man I see is here to buy sex. However, it happens all the time and you do see it everyday. It's everywhere and while I wouldn't say I forget about it or stop noticing it, it does become so common place that it has stopped shocking me everytime.

That aspect of culture simply didn't exist in Pai and, even if for no other reason, it was lovely because of that. We got back to Chiang Mai yesterday evening and I miss Pai already. It's a town full of people who brave the rollercoaster-like bus ride because they want to escape to the easy-going, artistic vibes of Pai. I read that in the high season, all the guesthouses and huts fill up and hundreds of people just camp along the river. I know I'm going back, and in the spirit of Pai, I secretly hope I end up in a tent.