Pai

Lonely Planet said that "the hippy spirit is alive and well in Pai". Lonely Planet was right!

Pai is a small town (3000) in the north-west of Thailand. The trekking and hill tribes that are a
popular trip from Chiang Mai are close here. Chinese Muslims from Yunnan are here too.

At some point, Pai became the spot for bohemian Westerners to drop out for awhile. In certain parts of town, it seems the fareng outnumber the Thai...

We had lunch at the appropriately named Drop In Cafe where we had the best Thai food we've had yet, but we could go back tomorrow and have bangers&mash or a croque monsieur. The proprietor was a Swede who took our orders and relayed them in Thai to the rest of the staff. He drank beer and smoked cigarettes while they did the busy work. Seems to be a workable business model.