Apple; Blueberry; Peach; Strawberry Rhubarb; Lemon Merange;
Chocolate Cream; Banana Cream; Pumpkin – all very scrumptious varieties of an
American classic dessert. Throughout my life I have had the opportunity to
attend many varieties of party – from the classic “birthday party,” to the “Sweet
16,” to “Grandma’s 80th,” the “Bah/Bat Mitzvah” (La Heim), even the
occasional “college bash,” all of which opened my eyes to a world of dessert
cakes and pies that can be a satisfying ending to any social gathering. Up
until quite recently, Mama’s Apple Pie and Nan’s Graham Cracker Crust
Cheesecake have been my favorite pies by a landslide. Regarding the former, the
adequate balance of cinnamon and sugar swirl, accompanied by a gooey, crunchy,
buttery crumb top and a scoop of ice cream is always an ideal amount of
unhealthy to make you feel stupendous. As for the latter, a cup of hot coffee
and a slice of Nan’s cheesecake will send me immediately to the couch with
heavy eyelids and a smile on my face. It took me 24 years and a journey of over
8,000 miles to find pie that can even come close to stepping into the ring with
Mama and Nan’s masterpieces – and what I found was a hefty slice of Thai Pai.
"Anytime is a good time of day for pie..."
Leaving Soppong in the midst of our memories was by no means
easy, but the hearsay circulating through the Thai traveling community about
our next destination did nothing but stir up curiosity. We couldn’t get away
from hearing about this little speck on the map north of Chiang Mai. Better
known as Pai, that little speck had been developing quite the reputation: from
what we heard, it was a staple on the Thai travel circuit – a small, earthy village
that is touristy, but holds a sense of community and genuine wholeheartedness
that will win over just about anyone. It was apparently known for its culinary
and art scene, filled with an array of food from around the world and nomadic
artists filling the night markets with their aesthetically pleasing crafts. It
was nice to find out that this hearsay was “realsay.”
Taking hostel advice from the posse of Argentineans was a brilliant kick-start to our rendezvous in Pai. They referred us to a place called “Family Hut” – a gathering of bamboo huts nestled nicely along the Pai River, just off of the main walking street. From what they described, it was a very liberal place, with friendly faces and mellow moods. After taking the stomach spinning minibus ride that consisted of 762 turns up and down the hilly, arduous landscape of the Mae Hong Son Region, we came to find out that they were pretty accurate with their description. The owner of the huts is this Thai guy who sort of reminded me of an 80’s rock star – in his early 40’s with long, straight black hair; faded and torn jeans (almost bellbottoms); a Guns N’ Roses t-shirt; and a cigarette consistently dangling out of his mouth, his presence was that of a “Thai Brett Michaels” (insert other, more relevant rock star here). We found out very quickly that this man was quite the introvert … until the Hong Tong began to flow. By day, this man saw daylight only through the back of his eyelids, but by night, he acted as the generator that always kept the “Family” party going.
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| Show them how its done! |
We spent our time in Pai in a state of chill that had a lot
to do with prominent realization that our 2+ months of travel were shortly
coming to an end. Yes, it was very exciting to think about shortly becoming
foreign teachers, but wandering around a country with no agenda is something
that will always be a primary contributor to the person that I am today. I knew
I would miss that lifestyle for a couple months while I was teaching, but when
one good thing ends, another begins… So, moving back to Pai, we spent our five
days there hanging out with weird people from all over the world. From our
first Israeli friends, to Germans, to an Irish guy who was an extra in “The
Hobbit,” to a happy, incredibly coy kid from India, there was never a dull
moment at the Huts. Conversation went on late into the night as the Thai Brett
Michaels made us spicy snake soup, cranked up some great American Classic Rock,
and rambled on about who knows what. It was a group of complete strangers,
hanging out, bonding over virtually nothing but a few laughs and some good
company.
We did do a little sight seeing while we were in Pai. It was
hotter than a dragon’s gullet every day we were there (it averaged 102 degrees
– and there was no shade anywhere), and despite one day off to watch Star Wars:
Episode I, we took on the dragon daily. We took the motorbike over to Pai
Canyon, which was oddly reminiscent of the Grand Canyon on a way smaller scale.
We pulled off to the side of the road and made our way up, down, and around
this craggy canyon. There were some wild views in this must-see sight.
In the same day, we also checked out the WW2 Memorial Bridge: this was built by the Japanese in 1942 and used as a transportation route from Chiang Mai to Myanmar. Next, came a super cool Chinese Village (where we helped this French chick get her motorbike running again), and then we went to a local watering hole. The Chinese Village had a similar layout to a small Italian town – there were steep hills with narrow alleys and aged buildings everywhere. The local watering hole was fun as well. It was smack in the middle of a local Karen Village, and it seemed like every traveler from Pai was there, as well as every local Thai kid in the area. There was a natural rock-slide to slip down, with a pool on the top half and at the bottom as well. It was a great place to end our day.
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| WW2 Memorial Bridge |
-The Curry Shack:
I believe we ate here 4 times. The owner was awesome and his curry came close
to putting me in a state of shock every time my taste buds came into contact
with it. Green Curry, Red Curry, Khao Soi Curry, and Penang Curry, coupled with
white rice and our first experience with Thai Brown Rice (simply delicious) had
the pleasure of getting in my belly. If you go to Pai, you’d be a fool to skip
the Curry Shack.
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| Red Curry |
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All the Flavors... |
Khao Soi: This is
an amazing, northern dish that has been dubbed, “Thai Chicken Noodle Soup.” As
seen above at the Curry Shack, it is essentially a curry soup that includes
yellow noodles, braised chicken, and a side dish of ground chilies, pickled
mystery vegetable, red onion, and lime. This goes down in history as one of the
baddest Thai dishes out there (for you old folk, in this context, “baddest” is
a great thing). From the first time I had it in Chiang Mai at the beginning of
my Thai adventures, I fell madly in love with this Thai spectacle. It comes in
many forms, but it is always good. Try it!
Burger Queen: A
knock off of Dairy Queen, or maybe Burger King…we don’t know, but this burger
joint in Pai was responsible for my and Emily’s first cheeseburger and fries in
Thailand (we went just over two months without having a burger). A pile of
homemade French Fries with homemade mayonnaise (I’m not normally a mayo fan,
but this mayo was the perfect dipper) and a juicy quarter pounder on a potato
bun was a great taste of home that I feel is necessary every once in a while. I
am writing this post over a month after this burger escapade and I have yet to
have another one. In the small town that we live in, it may be a while before
my next Burger Queen session.
Deep Fried Ice Cream:
I have never had deep fried ice cream in my life until Pai. Frankly, I don’t
understand the science behind it. How does the ice cream stay so frosty and
frozen after being dunked in a deep fryer? I am fully aware that the protective
pancake batter armor gets golden and crispy, leaving the vanilla ice cream
untouched by the scorching oil, but come on! Oil is hot, ice cream is cold, and
when the two meet, science should stand up and prove itself. Since the Thai
gentleman who fried my ice cream couldn’t communicate how he made it to me, I
still stand behind my theory that there is something fishy going on when it
comes to fried ice cream…
Good Life Café:
We most likely spent about 38 percent of our time here. We ate many meals,
drank many teas, sipped on copious amounts of coffee, played a ton of cards on indoor
swing-set-seats, and got giggly on Kombucha Tea for the first time. Kombucha
Tea is great – it is sweet, slightly bubbly fermented Japanese Tea. Perfect for
a mellow evening in Pai, we became closely acquainted with these beverages
throughout our stay here. Good Life Café provided us with a comfortable place
to chill out, try some new food and beverage items (I forgot to mention our
first experience with Wheat Grass shots; they are a good energy boost, but they
really do just taste like you took the lawn mower shavings out of the bag, put
them in a blender and gulped them right down). Needless to say for as much time
as we spent in here, we really broadened our horizons.
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| Deep Fried Ice Cream |
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| Indoor swings are cool. |
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| Home-Brewed Kombucha Tea |
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| Wheatgrass with a little mango |
Our night life in Pai was pretty limited to the Family Hut Community (no regrets at all, it was a great time), but we did spend one night out at an open mic at the Jazz Bar. The Jazz Bar is a really great spot filled with every traveler aged 18-50 looking for a good time. There were tons of great musicians, some spoken word, and some really bad musicians with great attitudes that got up on the tiny stage and entertained the small pack of nomads. There were healthy dogs running around in the crowd, weird insects buzzing around my head and the overhanging luminescence, and cockroaches scurrying past my feet – just the right amount of weird to make me realize that I was far away from everything I knew. Although I am constantly amazed at how weird this place is, I am also frequently reminded of how greatly vast and different the world can be from the people that live in it.
Don’t miss Pai. Check it out. You won’t be discouraged that
you did. Over and out cub scouts.
-Bob
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