We were really sad to be leaving Pai, and it is my first regret of travelling that we weren’t able to spend an extra day and night here, exploring the countryside and enjoying the relaxed lifestyle for a little longer. I am also devastated I can’t use any more of the ingenious Pai puns I have spent hours conjuring up for this blog. Oh well, you can’t have your Pai and eat it too. (I know, that was terrible)
Anyway, the journey to Chiang Rai began at the crack of dawn (7am), and we only pulled into Chiang Rai late afternoon. I will not miss all these long mini-van journeys. On route to the city centre, we were lucky enough to be dropped off at the famous white temple, and had around 20 minutes to wander around and take pictures. Sadly, in May this year there was a rather large earthquake in Chinag Rai, damaging the famous temple pretty badly. As a result, there was still a lot of reconstruction work going on, and we were unable to go inside properly. Regardless, it was still really special site – so different from all the other wats we have seen so far.
Like ‘true travellers’, we had decided not to book a hostel, and to just turn up and hope for the best. After a long day travelling, and a rucksack the size of a small house, this turned out to be pretty annoying, but after a few false starts found a really sweet and very cheap hotel in the centre of town, right next door to the fruit and flower market. We stayed at the hotel for a few hours, sat outside on a gorgeous little rustic balcony as the sun began to set.
We headed out to explore the town after-dark, and, trusting trip advisor, went to find a little local street-side restaurant that sold a famous northern dish called Lab Gai. This is basically a plate of minced chicken meat and deep-fried garlic and onions, served with sticky rice. Although it was nice to try a local restaurant and a local dish, it was pretty weird, and if I’m honest not the best thing I’ve ever eaten.
We headed to the main ‘strip’ of the town, where we were promised bars a little more lively than we had found in Pai. Sadly, the fact it is off-season is beginning to become painfully obvious, and even the most popular bars struggle to gather a small crowd. After grabbing a pancake in a little café (I told you that Lab Gai was unsatisfactory!) we pulled up some bar stools at the busiest bar we could find – a little reggae bar with good music and nice people.
We stayed at Peacebar for a good couple of hours, talking to various travellers and locals over a few beers. Around midnight, it became apparent that the night wasn’t going to get any livelier, so we headed home, ready for our flight in the morning. It’s time for some beaches!
