Bryson writes · Chiang Mai and Pai, Thailand · 16 February–4 March 2026
Open the camera roll (32 photographs)
After Kuala Lumpur, we flew to Chiang Mai and stayed on Walking Street inside the Old City walls, close to all the temples Emily could ask for.
We walked until Emily became hungrier than she was interested in religious buildings, then tried northern Thai food for the first time. The pork disappeared quickly. After too much food and two bottles of Singha Soda Water, we walked back past Wat Phan Tao and Wat Chedi Luang in the last bit of evening sun.
The next morning we visited Wat Chiang Man before meeting our driver to Pai. She attacked the winding mountain road like an F1 driver late for a nail appointment. Apparently she made the journey three times a day, so she was relaxed. We were not.
She stopped to buy us chilled roasted coconuts, which helped. My only complaint was the playlist of AI generated boy bands. Hours of synthetic noise performed by no one. I am fundamentally against AI music.
Our Airbnb in Wiang Tai had a front patio and views towards the hills. For once it felt like a small house, not another temporary room.
Almost next door was Toon Neua Tun, shown on the map as Noodle House @ Pai. It served cheap braised beef noodles and simple Thai food with Singha Soda Water. We walked over, ate lunch, and went home. Then we did it again the next day. And most days after that.
Pai settled into a routine without us planning one. Emily went to yoga at Bamboo Studio. I walked around town, looked through shops, and slowly learned which streets led where. We usually met again for lunch.
Somehow, doing very little kept us busy.
When we did go sightseeing, we climbed to the Big White Buddha at Wat Phra That Mae Yen, hiked the narrow orange ridges of Pai Canyon, found hilltop cafés, played chess, and stayed until sunset.
At the beginning of March, Emily’s brother Oliver joined us after Phuket. We showed him the markets and cafés. He immediately began investigating Pai’s matcha latte scene.
Several photographs show Oliver holding another iced matcha, with satisfaction varying by cup. Pai has a lot of cafés.
Emily and I often took the red scooter to Two Huts for sunset. We sat above the valley and took the required swing photographs. It was touristy, but we are tourists.
With Oliver, we rode through the countryside in the back of an open pickup and unexpectedly saw elephants walking through the river and beside the road. None of us had expected that.
That evening we walked to Sleeping Partner for Thai hot pot. The tables looked over the countryside. The railing was sometimes present and sometimes not. One of our favourite restaurants in Pai was also one of the closest to home, which was convenient.
Our final loop included a natural hot spring, the Bamboo Bridge through the rice fields, purple flower gardens, pigs, swings, and the Chinese influenced Santichon and Yun Lai area.
There were heart shaped seats at almost every viewpoint. Slightly ridiculous. We took the photos anyway. We are ridiculous people.
By then, Pai was the sort of place where we had a regular noodle shop and opinions about matcha.
On 5 March we packed and left the little house. We drove back through the mountains to Chiang Mai and had dinner with Oliver at The Gallery. The following day Emily and I flew to Hong Kong.
We drank a lot of Singha Soda Water.
Sponsored by Singha Soda Water.
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