ASIAN TRAVELING

Introduction
Pai district is situated about halfway between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Sorn, the misty town on the Burmese border. At about 600 meters above sea level, surrounded by high mountains. Pai offers one of the most fertile and beautiful nature in the North of Thailand, clean air and no pollution. People from many different tribes live here peacefully together and still maintain their traditional way of living.

The serene Pai river runs from the northern border with Burma through Pai town and along virgin jungle to Mae Hong Sorn. Hardy adventurers use this route for exciting rafting.

How to get there?
Start from the main tourist hub: From Chiang Mai on route 1095 towards Pai it is 132 kilometer. The bus from Chiang Mai Arcade bus station takes about 4 hours.

Weather in Pai
cold season: 12º C - 28º C from November - March
hot season: 24º C - 35º C from April - June
rainy season: 24º C - 32º C from July - September

Activities in Pai

• padelling rubber boat along Pai river


• adventure rafting and canoe along Pai river


• explore caves or go mountain trekking


• elephant riding through jungle


• mountain bike cycling or motorbike-trekking (Nop's bike shop offers 2 - 3 - 4 days motorbike trekking with 250 ccm trail bikes around northern part of Mae Hong Sorn province. Guide available or on your own. Also available Honda Dream, good maps and other information.)


• jungle-treks: Pai is well known as a base camp for trekks to hill tribes.


• Walk through green jungle and spend the night in a hill tribe village to experience their traditional way of life. In Pai there are local or hill tribe guides and porters available.


• Herbal Sauna and Thai Traditional Massage as well as herbal medicine or Burmese Massage


• Reading (Nop's book shop)


• Thai cooking course at Peter's and Wandee's Hut in Mae Yen

Facilities in Pai
Pai is a small town but can offer enough facilities such as a post office, hospital, long distance call and fax service. Accommodations and food are good and cheap. Most of the guest houses are in town and the scenic most beautiful ones are along the river. Local restaurants and western style restaurants are available (e. g. Chez Swan Restaurant, Thai Yai Restaurant) with home made brown bread.

Pattaya is a popular tourist resort in Thailand located about 150 km south of the capital Bangkok. Although Pattaya has become notorious as an adult playground for men, there are a few interesting attractions that can be enjoyed by couples and families.

Pattaya Elephant Village
Pattaya Elephant village is home to a few dozen elephants that are trained to do all sorts of tricks including playing football. There are daily shows held for the tourists at the village every day at 2.30pm. There is also the opportunity to do a spot of jungle trekking on elephant back which costs 500 Baht for 30 minutes for adults, 200 Baht for children.

Pattaya Mini Siam
Mini Siam is an interesting place to come to if you want to know about all the major sites and landmarks in Thailand without actually having to go to them. Mini Siam has scale replica models of all the most important features in Thailand, both natural and man made. Mini Siam is open to receive visitors from 7am until 8pm daily. Entrance costs 200 Baht for adults and 100 for kids. Mini Siam is best reached by car as it is a short drive north of Pattaya city.

Pattaya Go Kart
Pattay has a good Go karting track which is about 400 metres long and available for use by adults and kids alike. The cost for hiring a go kart to go round the track is 100 Baht for ten minutes.

Nong Nooch Garden
Nong Nooch is a giant botanical garden situated about 18km outside Pattaya city. Aside from the vast array of plant life there are also some elephants that are resident here and daily shows are put on for the benefit of tourists. The show is a real crowd drawer as in addition to the elephants there are dancers, acrobats and even Thai boxing demonstrations.

Wat Khao Prayai in Pattaya
This is a Buddhist temple located high on the hills to the south of Pattaya. In addition to the great views of Pattaya and the sea that can be had from here, there is also a 10 metre statue of Buddha facing the sea that makes for a good photo opportunity.

see also :
Pattaya Night Life
Buffalo Racing in Chonburi
Loi Kratong : The Festival of Light
Koh Samui
Koh Chang