Bounce Magazine May 2015
Featuring the Kaiser Chiefs, The Suffolk Show, Seckford Hall Review, Fathers Day Fashion and The Latitude Festival preview.
Featuring the Kaiser Chiefs, The Suffolk Show, Seckford Hall Review, Fathers Day Fashion and The Latitude Festival preview.
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MAY <strong>2015</strong> | ISSUE #31<br />
By Matt hulland<br />
Travel<br />
While visiting the Northern Thai town of Chiang Mai,<br />
we met a few people out and about and the one thing<br />
they had in common was their love of Pai.<br />
Whenever we asked why it is so<br />
great, no-one could quite tell us but<br />
they all unanimously agreed, “It’s<br />
awesome”.<br />
To get to Pai you have to ride a bus from Chiang<br />
Mai along a wonderful scenic mountain road. Well,<br />
wonderful if you don’t suffer from travel sickness.<br />
The staunchest of stomachs<br />
struggle on that road as bus<br />
drivers take on the 762 twists,<br />
turns and hairpins on the 3 hour<br />
drive with the speed, sadly not<br />
skill, of Lewis Hamilton. If you<br />
are brave enough to keep your<br />
eyes open you will see some<br />
spectacular scenery.<br />
When we arrived, pretty<br />
shaken, we were slightly hungry<br />
so set off to find some food<br />
and discovered a nice little<br />
Who doesn’t love Pai?<br />
local place with delights such<br />
as pork blood soup with pig<br />
entrails on the menu. Given the delicate state of our<br />
digestive systems, we decided to leave that dish for<br />
another day!<br />
So why is Pai so awesome? Well the streets of the<br />
little sleepy town flow peacefully with a healthy mix<br />
73<br />
of tourists and locals. Whether it’s the relaxed mountain<br />
air or a lack of tourist attractions meaning there is no<br />
pressure from touts trying to sell you their latest trips,<br />
it a haven of calm. There are coffee shops, bars and a<br />
busy night market. A lazy river splits the town and you<br />
can hire tubes to spend a relaxing afternoon floating<br />
down stream, Pai is just nice. After our weekend<br />
relaxing in Pai it was time to head back down the<br />
mountain with only 762 bends and demonic bus drivers<br />
in our way. Luckily this is where we<br />
discovered the highlight of the whole Pai<br />
experience.<br />
There is a company that will transport<br />
your bags for you so you can ride<br />
a moped back to Chaing Mai where<br />
your bags will be waiting for you. An<br />
opportunity to ride a moped through<br />
some of the most stunning mountain<br />
scenery Thailand has to offer, stopping<br />
off at your leisure to snap some paps as<br />
opposed to riding on the death bus … it’s<br />
highly recommended.<br />
Matt is a travel writer sharing stories of<br />
his trips with us.<br />
He has a website set up for travel advice that can be<br />
found at www.matthulland.com and has two books<br />
currently available on Amazon with a third and fourth<br />
in production.
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