Pai Walking Street

Pai is a small town in a valley in Mae Hong Son that became a backpacker destination in the 2000s and has been shaped by it since, and the walking street is the centre of the evening. From around six the main roads close to traffic and fill with carts and stalls: grilled meat and seafood, sausages, dumplings, sushi, banana pancakes and crepes, fresh juice, cakes, hill-tribe textiles, silver, hand-made soap, tattoos and clothing. Prices are low and the crowd is mixed Thai and foreign. It is genuinely pleasant and it is also entirely a visitor economy - Pai's own population is a fraction of what walks the street on a busy cool-season night. From May to October it thins out substantially as the low season empties the town. The road to Pai from Chiang Mai has 762 counted curves and causes motion sickness in a great many people.

What you actually see

• The closed roads - the main streets given to carts from about six each evening.
• The food range - grilled meat, dumplings, crepes and juice among the carts.
• The craft stalls - textiles, silver, soap and clothing alongside the food.
• The mixed crowd - Thai and foreign visitors filling a small town's streets.

When to go

November to February, from about six in the evening. It thins out considerably from May to October when the low season empties Pai.

Honest expectations

Entirely a visitor economy - there is little of old Pai left in the centre. Much quieter and half shut in the low season. The road in from Chiang Mai is 762 curves and makes many people ill.

Nearby

Pai Canyon, the hot springs and the Mae Yen temple hill are all short rides out.