Bikes, Buses, Boats, Beaches and Beer, on a Budget - Noddy's (mis)Adventures in Asia

PAI & THE PAI PIRANHA FISHING PARK

It was time to make the short journey across to famous Pai and check out for ourselves why this little town in northern Thailand has remained so popular for such a long time. The ride was nice, fairly short at around 100 km from memory and we were soon rolling into bustling little Pai.

Hmmm, first impressions were that it seemed a nice enough town, pleasant surroundings, a very obvious arty, creative, laid back, funky kind of atmosphere exuding from the architecture and the people here, which seemed to be mainly foreigners. We weren’t the only ones a little over whelmed by such a huge presence of tourists - many of the locals we talked to hinted at how good the days of old had been, before seemingly every young backpacker from every corner of the globe converged on the place.

It has made for a great spot to simply chill at and have a ‘holiday’ partying with other youngsters, the apparently still easily available weed in the area I’m guessing is a big drawcard. There was a great night market scene though with plenty of amazing food, but most of the town area seemed to consist of bar/cafes full of farangs, or places to enhance your yogi and spirituality, neither of which was really what we were looking for.

We were probably only going to stay 1 night in Pai, but after searching online, found a fishing park just on the edge of town which we rode out to for a beer and to see whether it was worth a visit. The place looked really nice, a great design and feel to the place, coupled with a friendly owners and cheap fishing - I was sold.

We rode out the next morning with our gear and booked a charming bungalow right over the ponds, once again great design, with a beautiful bathroom and outdoor entertaining/kitchen area, complete with all the things you might need to self cater if you chose to.

Our bungalow was 600 bt per night, but included free fishing, normally 200bt, so essentially only a 400 bt room and superb value for what we got, the kind of place we hoped we could stay all the time, especially at those rates. I did have to buy bait though, but it and the fishing were very cheap.

The whole place was magnificently landscaped, ponds and water features all around the complex, with beautiful wooden furniture in the bar & restaurant area and tropical sala's with hammocks to kick back in. Throw in a couple of super cute and friendly dogs, a family atmosphere, other guests dropping in to chat with, and I can't imagine anybody having a bad time here.

Then there was the food… easily some of the most delicious and healthy food we have had anywhere, they do an outstanding job in the kitchen and you could seriously make the journey here just to eat! I can’t stress enough just how incredible the food here was, sure a bit more expensive than your local Thai noodle shop, but still very reasonably priced.

The fishing was good, a little slow due to it being the cold season, but no shortage of fish coming in over the 3 days we stayed. Oh yeah, we were having such a great time and just loved the place so much that we ended up there for 3 nights and even then had to drag ourselves away.

Dave, the owner, and his family are really friendly, plus he likes to sit and have a few beers with you, the whole place just oozes relaxation with an expensive resort style look, at bargain prices. Definitely one of my favourite places I have ever been to - we have already made plans to go back in the next couple of months!

The place is Pai Piranha Fishing Park and I can’t recommend it highly enough, especially for guy’s that worry about a non fishing partner being bored – your wife or girlfriend will love the place as well, just such beautiful surroundings and a place you lose track of time. Don’t miss it.

When we finally (sadly) dragged ourselves out of there, we made the journey to Fang, a trip of around 220 km, once again through tight mountain roads. Today I’m just having a catch up day on the computer, as I barely turned it on while busy fishing, getting a few important things organized.