Well I’ve been in this wonderfully quainte town called Pai (pronounced BYE) just a few hours north of Chiang Mai, Thailand for the past few days (parent free). This has been a nice little excursion because I’ve learned that I am, in no way, a hippie.
This town is not like any other town I’ve been to in Thailand. It’s a lot like Haight and Ashbury in San Fransico. Musicians roam the town with their guitars, violins or any other object that can produce audible sounds. Many people have dreadlocks, hemp attire is abundant. Bob Marley seems to be the unofficial mayor of Pai. This is a sleepy little town that people seem to escape their travels with. I enjoyed the initial feel of the town when I arrived but soon I realized I was the thing, not like the others.
A reason why I am not a hippie, or fit in perfectly with the hippie culture is because I need to be actively doing something nearly all the time. Shortly after I arrived to Pai I booked a white water rafting trip. This would occupy my entire day and I was really excited. I came back from dinner last night only to find out that the trip was cancelled due to lack of rafters. I was bummed to say the least. I woke up early this morning in search of a day trip to occupy my time. I searched but was unable to find anything at the last minute. Frustrated I wondered what I would do, or what the vast majority of people in Pai do during the day. I looked around and realized that a lot of people here don’t do anything. That’s why they come to Pai! They come to sit on their asses, play some crappy guitar, and get away from reality. I was facing an entire day of nothing, and I was down right frieghtened.
I enjo
y reading to pass time, I’m not a complete idiot, but the thought of HAVING to read for the entire day out of boredom was not the least bit enticing (I bought Jack K’s “On the Road” because I thought it was appropriate reading material). This is when it really dawned on me that I always need to be doing something, planning something, or anticipating something to do. These few hours in the morning as I roamed Pai with no prospects for the day left me feeling lost. As my mom would say, “You don’t know what to do with yourself.”
I eventually found a tour guide who took me around Pai and the surrounding area on a motorbike for the day. It was mildly interesting, seeing a few temples, waterfalls, and hill tribes, but today it was apparent that I do not mesh well with the laid back liberal lifestyle of Pai.
