Pie? No, Pai
Welcome to Pai. This was the smallest town yet and we still had plenty to do. We started on main street and the evening street market was already hopping. The primary mode of transportation was scooters and they were everywhere. It was spring break and Friday was Tipsy Tubing on the water so the town was teaming with young adults, all looking for a good time. Once a month, Tipsy Tubing is a one day event of sun, water, alcohol, and inner tubing. The river is so packed you can walk from one side to the other just on the inner tubes.
Travel from Chiang Mai to Pai was about 4 hours through the winding mountains with 762 turns. The van was air conditioned, but it was full and the trip was long. After settling into our Airbnb and getting dinner, we decided a pedicure was just the ticket.
The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, we head to the Lod Caves for another great adventure. It was a two hour trip each way in the back of a pickup truck. The truck was covered, open on the sides and had side benches. It was a convenient way to transport people, but it was not very comfortable. Glad we had a good breakfast to get us started.
With a guide, we hiked through two huge caves and the formations were stunning. These pictures don’t do it justice as some formations were 50 to 100 feet tall. As with most caves, they were filled with bats.
There was a river running through the caves and we took a bamboo raft tour as well. The water was only 12-15 inches deep and easy to navigate.
Our rafting companions were ever begging for food. We bought a bag of feed and kept them happy. Some of these fish were 24-36 inches long and there was a catfish at least 36 inches long. He was huge. They swam right along side the raft, waiting for the next handout.