Pai - Hippie Town in Northern 🇨🇷 Thailand [4K HDR] Walking Tour

Hidden away in the mountains of Northern Thailand is the famous hippy enclave of Pai: a place where you’re guaranteed to see more dreadlocks than you ever wanted and where you can snack on organic vegan food to your heart’s content. It’s about three hours and 762 curves in the road from Chiang Mai (seriously, someone counted). The journey is rough on a bus and a combination of exhilarating and dangerous on a rented scooter. The destination, however, is absolutely worth it. https://seeker.io/article/pai-thailand/

Pai was once a quiet market village inhabited by Shan people (ethnic Tai) whose culture is influenced by Myanmar (formerly called Burma). Today, Pai primarily thrives on tourism. Mostly a hippie destination, it is filled with hot springs. Known among backpackers for its relaxed atmosphere, the town is full of cheap guesthouses, souvenir shops, and restaurants.[citation needed] In the environs of the town are spas and elephant camps. Further outside of town, there are several waterfalls and a number of natural hot springs varying in temperature from 27 to 39 °C (80–102 °F). Some resorts tap the hot springs and feed hot water into private bungalows and public pools. As Pai lies at the foot of the mountains, some tourists use it as a base for trekking and visiting hill tribes like Karen, Hmong, Lisu, and Lahu. Another notable attraction is the town's Wednesday Market which brings large crowds of local villagers and tribal people from all around the Pai Valley. Tourists are also attracted by Shandicun village (Chinese village) located in the outskirts of the town.[citation needed]

Recently[when?] Pai has appeared on the Thailand tourist map and has received major infrastructure upgrades including an airport with several daily flights, nine (9) 7-Elevens, several small- to medium-size luxury resorts, totaling more than 350 accommodation properties,[2] several live music clubs, beer bars, and three sets of traffic lights. It has led to an influx of business investment and land speculation by both farang (Western Caucasians) and big city Thais.[original research?] While some hail these changes as a new age of prosperity for Pai, others point to the loss of Pai's traditional customs and culture.[3][4]

In the tourist high season of November through March there are large numbers of tourists. Prior to 2006, foreign tourists predominated, but now Thai tourists are catching up in numbers, particularly after Pai was featured in two popular Thai-made romantic movies, The Letter: Jod Mai Rak (Thai: จดหมายรัก, 2004) and Ruk Jung (Thai: รักจัง, 2006). During high season, tourist numbers swell to the point that Pai experiences traffic jams, as well as shortages of electricity, water, and petrol.[2]

Pai hosts music festivals as well as staging an international Enduro championship. Pai Canyon (Kong Lan) is nearby. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pai,_Thailand