Taming the rapids Rafting from Pai to Mae Hong Son is a challenging and eventful excursion not meant for the faint-hearted Apart from driving on Highway 1095, one of the country's most treacherous roads, rafting is another way to travel from the resort town of Pai to Mae Hong Son. In the decade past Pai was a quiet town and for those travelling between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son it was regarded as a convenient stop midway through the drive over mountain slopes and curves, nothing more. Today however, it has become a famous destination for backpacking tourists. Pai sits in a valley surrounded by rice fields. A majority of its residents are ethnic Tai people, a kind and friendly lot. Pai offers a choice of bungalows, guesthouses and hotels, as well as night time entertainment to tourists who come to savour its natural beauty and cultural heritage. Thai tourists invariably always visit Wat Nam Hu to pay homage to the revered statue of Luang Por Oon Muang because of the water - considered sacred - that mysteriously accumulates in its skull; the hilltop temple of Wat Phra That Mae Yen for a panoramic view of the town and entire Pai valley; the Tha Pai hot spring where they relax by dipping their feet in water; and the weird-looking, eroded hilly landscape at Kong Laen. On the modern side is B-Bob, a bar and disco that stays up late, the meeting point for tourists who enjoy a drink or two and fancy dancing into the wee hours of the morning. From Pai to Mae Hong Son by raft is an interesting choice for those who feel sick in the stomach negotiating road curves up and down mountain slopes. Rafting the 70-km stretch of the Pai River takes two days but it is worth the challenge and fun. Early this month I joined the first group of rafters setting out for Mae Hong Son from Pai to herald the start of the rafting season which last year was disrupted by severe flooding. A small party was held to mark the occasion where we're shown a documentary featuring the flood and damage it caused. The entire Pai valley was caked in red mud. "Many riverside resorts were swept away by the flood. Refrigerators and other home appliances were seen floating all over the town," said a local resident. The starting point was the village of Ban Mor Paeng, 30 kilometres from downtown Pai, from where we would be heading west through an untouched side of Pai to Mae Hong Son. The river was calm. Both its banks were surrounded by lush vegetation and high mountains and we enjoyed the natural scenery. Occasionally, we came across rapids but they were gentle and didn't pose much of a problem. The biggest rapid, we were told, was the Ob Luang where two big rocks jut out to narrow the river's passage. "Spare your films for tomorrow when it will be more exciting. There are stronger rapids as well as whirlpools to negotiate through. On the way, you can enjoy a mineral mud wrap or take a plunge from a 10-metre high cliff into the river," our Lahu rafter Sua Torsang-Ma-Ngern declares. We stop for a short break at small waterfall that feeds into the river. Some of us play around while others choose to wait in anticipation of more exciting rapids the following day. After six hours on the river we reach a jungle camp, our stop for the night, that is essentially a long bedroom built on stilts with a canvas roof. We are given mosquito nets, mattresses and blankets, while our Lahu oarsmen croon songs by a campfire. That is when the heavens open up. But safe and dry under our tent we are not too bothered until we wake up the next morning to find that it's still raining. And my mind flashes back to scenes from the documentary we were shown yesterday. "Water level is up by 50 centimetres," announces Sua as we board our rafts. We all know what that means: higher level of water means we will go faster and the rafts will be more difficult to control. And the longer it keeps raining, the fiercer the stream will become as other sources of water would be emptying their contents into the Pai River. The Pai is completely different from the river we knew yesterday. It is the colour of mud, raging and overflowing its banks submerging rocks and bushes in its path. Logs are floating freely and whirlpools await us at every bend in the river. A few hours later the water is still rising, but we cope with it nicely. The first real challenge comes where the Pai is met by the smaller Khong River. The Khong is spurting its muddy contents into Pai River and the current at this point is quite strong. We shout and paddle like crazy to negotiate a safe passage. When the 10-metre-high cliff, the challenge for rafters, comes into sight it looks just half its height. Which probably means the water must have risen five metres overnight. That sends shivers down the spine. By now the river is in full rage. We're paddling alongside an assortment of logs swept down the mountains, minerals, clay and strong waves that rock our rafts and test our skills to the fullest. That is the way it goes for several kilometres. Three rafts get swept upside down and their occupants caught in a whirlpool. We manage to rescue all of them, but some are so panicked with fear that they can't even help themselves. Probably they can't so we literally had to haul them on board from the raging current. We continue paddling through falling rain and strong waves and arrive at the end of our 70-km rafting excursion completely exhausted, but safe and wiser in knowledge that this was a challenge and we had passed the test. In Mae Hong Son, we are welcomed by a large contingent of admirers who are there to hail us on this inaugural expedition of this year's rafting season. They are a bit surprised that we made it, given the uncompromising conditions, and want to hear it all straight from the horse's mouth, as the saying goes. Even those who earlier in the day had spent some anxious moments after being tossed in the raging river by now have regained their composure and bragging about their exploits in glowing terms. Without doubt it was a thrilling experience. For a long while Pai and its night life take a back seat as we take turns to pour over the events of that day. Yes! rafting on Pai River was more absorbing and eventful than travelling from Pai to Mae Hong Son by road. TRAVEL TIPS Rafting on Pai River is available from July to February. |