Pai

Art in Chai

Beautiful place built by an artist, Otto. Warm cosy atmosphere with great chai and cakes and cookies. Nice atmosphere for playing your instrument. Free Wi-Fi.

Bamboo Bar

Bamboo-floored venue perched on the riverside next to the other late night venues. Open until late, cosy atmosphere and good food.

Bebop Bar

Be-Bop Karaoke & Nightclub

Offers a range of live music. Amazing Saturday night show starts at 22:30. Variety night 21:00 on Wednesdays. Great talent friendly atmosphere.

Boomelicious Cafe

Some of the best breakfasts/brunches food in Pai. Great Australian coffee.

Closed · opens 8 am·60-180 baht

Burger House

Owner Nat and husband, Matt, offer 12 different real beef burgers, chili, sandwiches, specials, dinners, pork chops the size of a Clive Cussler novel, beer, wine.

Charlie & Lek's

The vegetables used in the cooking are grown fresh on their own farm and the bar has a wonderfully relaxed and romantic atmosphere. They also offer cooking classes for 750 baht a day.

Thai food is 50-100 baht a plate

Chew Xin Jai Restaurant

Classic Thai/Taiwanese-influenced vegan restaurant. Two mains from a buffet and rice cost 35 baht at lunch. Delicious and favored by many expats. Dinner is à la carte.

Thai food is 30-70 baht a plate

Chinese village

Santichon

Village settled by Yunnanese hill-tribes who crossed the border in the middle of the 20th century to escape Communist rule. Shops selling different Chinese teas with varying health properties, and other interesting oddities include a human-powered Ferris wheel. Well worth a look, even as a brief stop on the way to Mo Paeng waterfall

Don't Cry Bar

Mostly open-air bar with fire shows, reggae music, and pool table. One of the only bars open after 00:00 but usually deserted before then, kind of expensive.

Fat Cat

In a community focused on organic and healthy eating, Fat Cat is Pai's best kept secret. Almost all ingredients used are from their organic permaculture farm. If you order a salad, you can literally pick your own ingredients from the soil. Specialties include homemade yogurt, kefir, and pure kombucha. Great sandwiches and baked goods, all baked in their mud oven. Permaculture farming and mud oven building classes available.

50-100 baht

Good Life

Serves organic and vegetarian foods at decent prices. Rice (including brown) dishes with vegetables starting at 40 baht. Breakfasts from 100 baht. Has a good selection of tea.

Mo Paeng

น้ำตกหมอแปง

A little more accessible than most of Pai's waterfalls, this multi-tiered waterfall flows through a verdant green valley and is popular for its pools to swim in. The upper section of this waterfall is a natural water slide during the dry season. The rocks are smooth, just find a small section and slide on down like the locals do.

Mojos

Mojo Bar

Blues and jazz bar, open every night but Monday. Live music 19:30-23:00.

Na's Kitchen

Na still works in the kitchen everyday, serving northern food to tourists and Thais. She speaks great English, and will even teach you a bit of Thai if you ask nicely. Na's is always a favourite of the long-stay travellers and the ones returning for a second, or third go at Pai.

60-150 baht

No Name

The Thai local restaurant of choice. Very few Westerners to be found, but the menu is in English. Excellent Thai salads and sticky rice.

Nong Beer Restaurant

Family-owned restaurant that serves "fast Thai food" (food is already cooking and comes straight from the pot). Very good food and very cheap.

Kao soi beef for 40 baht

Pai Adventures

Family-owned and -operated eco adventure company that specializes in white water rafting, jungle trekking, jungle survival, and caving. They offer 1- and 2-day rafting adventures as well as 1- to 3-day trekking adventures.

Closed · opens 8 am·1,200 to 1,800 baht

Pai Canyon

Kong Lan

Somewhat optimistically described as Pai's answer to the Grand Canyon, it could more accurately be described as a narrow red ridges with steep-sides valleys either side filled with pine and dipterocarp forests. The steep 50m drop either side and stunning views over the surrounding countryside are impressive, but you'll need to be careful here - the path is extremely narrow in some places and requires a scramble in others. A set of steps up to a viewing platform provides the safest way to admire the scenery and the canyon makes the perfect spot for a sunset

Pam Bok

น้ำตกแพมบก

Nice secluded waterfall with high cliffs surrounding it, making this a cool place to escape the heat. Go for a relaxing bathe in the shade during the dry season.

Peace of Pai

Home grown organic food is served here but the main attraction is the postcard-perfect view from the upper floor terrace. Hemp clothing is sold downstairs, which may or may not fully explain the prominent THC signs.

Reggae Bar

This hard-to-find bar is the place for hippie hang-outs. Look for the people sitting around a camp fire with acoustic guitars and djembe drums. Live music every night sometimes provided by the customers. Feel free to bring along your own instrument!

Sai Ngam Hot Spring

Basic hot springs in a rustic riverside setting. It is signposted.

200 Baht

Sor Wisarut Muay Thai

Managed by a friendly Thai/Italian couple, this camp offers professional training. Not far from town centre, the camp is surrounded by mountains that present a breathtaking view. Two sessions a day (morning, evening) with reasonable prices and accepting trainers at all levels.

Tha Pai Hot Springs

Bathing here is supposed to have therapeutic properties, but you'll want to save it for a cool day. Sulphuric water bubbles out of these hot springs at temperatures of up to 80 degrees Celsius and simple baths have been created where the springs meet a stream which cools temperatures to bearable levels. A short, marked forest trail takes you through the compact national park more noticeable for its smells than its sights. Last entry to the springs is at 18:00. You can also bathe in a mineral pool in the nearby Aroma Pai Spa or Pai Hotspring resort for much more reasonable price of 80 baht, and as it is open later, enjoy the hot water after sunset as it gets cool. The price for government run hotspring is

300 baht for foreigners, 100 Baht for Thai

Village Farm

Pai Village Farm

Less than 5-minutes from the center of Pai, the Village Farm offers the chance to experience a unique world of fruits, flowers, animals, including the star attraction, a lovely pair of Alpaca known as Rosemary & Aron. You will also enjoy local coffee and snacks as well as a souvenir shop. The Village Farm is the perfect scenic opportunity for the most memorable photos of Pai.

Closed · opens 10 am·40 - 80 baht per person

WWII Memorial Bridge

The original bridge here was built by the occupying Japanese. The current steel truss bridge which sits alongside the present main road was assembled in its current position in 1976, but as with Pai's "canyon", the bridge invites very loose comparisons with the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai.

Yellow Sun Bar

Great hangout with good selection of reggae music, a pool table, and friendly owner. A pre-night popular hangout with most of the travelling crowd.

toast office ปังษณีย์ ปาย 烤面包

Toast office is a Thai snack style, serving whole wheat bread toast with butter with many styles and First Soy milk cafe in Pai. The place is so relaxing and comfortable and there is also free high speed Wi-Fi.

Tue-Sun 09:00-20:00 closed Mon·15-120 baht

Elephant Trek

For several years now, travellers have enjoyed riding an elephant and concluding the trip with a romp in the Pai River. For this adventure, take as little as possible, you'll be enjoyably wet as the elephant is encouraged to shower you. Some operators, and there are several, are willing to take photos of you while you enjoy the elephant antics in the river.

Tubing

Floating down river on an inflated rubber tube has long been a favourite pastime of SE Asian backpackers, and the gentle current of the Pai River and attractive scenery make this a good spot to try. Unlike the more famous Vang Vieng in Laos, the Pai River isn't lined with raucous bars playing loud music, which some may consider more a blessing than a curse.