We had another slow start to the day
But still managed to be out and on a bike by just before 10am! We decided to do the loop around the outskirts of Pai, taking us to the canyon, across the WW2 memorial bridge and to the white Buddha.
Our first stop at the canyon was amazing. We parked up and walked up a path leading us to the top where you look out across incredible views and winding red dust paths. We had a bit of a look around but a lot of the paths were very narrow with really steep drops! There wasn't a lot of shade up there either so it wasn't long before we headed back down.
From here we rode to the memorial bridge. This stands in the place of a bridge that was used to transport things during the Second World War, but was destroyed by the Japanese towards the end. It was rebuilt and then ruined again by natural causes and then rebuilt in the 70s for what it is now! We parked and walked from one side of the other, looking down at the river where locals were in the water building bamboo rafts. We got back in the bike to ride across the main bridge which runs alongside it to continue our day.
From here we rode through lots of lovely countryside, up winding roads and past loads of elephant camps, meaning elephants were just wandering around with on the side of the roads! Our final stop on the loop was the White Buddha. This is an unfinished Buddha statue, the White colour is a base coat for the gold paint it should be covered in, which sits at the top of a hill, at the top of a massive set up stairs, looking over Pai. It is a giant Buddha which towers over you when you reach the top and stand underneath it. There was also a small temple at the bottom of the steps so we took a quick look around before heading back into town. Although we had done quite a bit it was only just after midday at the point! The road back into town took us past fluid, so we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon there by the pool, which was lovely!
Later in the evening we took the bike out for another quick ride to use the petrol. We headed back to the White Buddha to watch the sunset, but had left it a bit too late. However, we did get to see the very end and the amazing colours of the sky. The rest of our evening was spent in town, having some food and drinks and resisting spending any money! We will be up early for our bus to Chiang Mai, where we will spend the night before heading to Sukhothai.