Pai for Two
Sunset at the Canyon, Misty Mornings & a Warm Soak

This is Pai's best-known sunset spot, and the most romantic stretch of the trip. Pai Canyon (locals call it Kong Lan) is a maze of red-earth ridges with narrow spines you can walk for views in every direction. In the evening, people settle along the ridges and rocks to wait for the light, and as the last of it comes in, the earth walls and gullies all turn orange-gold. It is the kind of place you sit and watch together in silence until the sky goes dark. Entry is free — a perfect first evening.

If you had to pick the single most Pai moment, it would be early morning at a bungalow on the Pai River. Many stays are wooden cabins by the water or out among the rice fields, and in the cool season you wake to fog drifting over the paddies and the river, the air cold and still. Step onto the deck with a hot coffee and watch the mist slowly burn off in the morning light, with nowhere you need to be. This is the reason couples come to Pai and do not want to leave.

Pai has several natural hot springs in the hills around town. Tha Pai Hot Spring is the most popular — natural pools in the forest with a warm stream running through. Beyond that, a number of resorts have built private soaking pools and mineral-spring spas. It is a lovely thing to do as a couple after a day on the scooter, easing tired legs in warm water. The cool season is best of all, when the air outside is cold and the water is just right. Go in the morning or late afternoon, when it is quieter and more peaceful.

Half the fun of Pai as a couple is riding a scooter out of town along roads that wind through paddies and hills and stopping at the waterfalls. Mo Paeng is the favourite — smooth rock slabs you can slide down into the pool at certain spots, with clear, cool water in green forest, an easy place to sit and dip your feet together. There is also Mae Yen Falls and plenty of rice-field viewpoints to pull over for along the way. Riding through that scenery in the cool air is the heart of seeing Pai as two.

On the hill east of town is Wat Phra That Mae Yen, with a large white Buddha you can see from the centre of Pai. Climb up (there are steps and a road) and the whole Pai valley opens out below you — rice fields, the river, and the ring of hills around it. In the late afternoon the light softens and the air turns cool, and it becomes a quiet place for a couple to sit and take in the view before sunset. It is an active temple the locals hold dear, so dress respectfully when you go up.

If you have an extra half-day to full day and like quiet nature, head out toward Pang Ung, a lake among pine forest where, at dawn, mist hangs over the still water and the pines reflect on the surface. The air is properly cold; some couples camp overnight just to catch the morning. Nearby is Ban Rak Thai, a Yunnanese Chinese tea village with terraced tea fields, earthen houses by a lake, and warm teahouses to settle into together. Both sit deeper into Mae Hong Son province past Pai — the roads are long and winding, so allow plenty of travel time.

For a morning you will remember, get up before dawn and head to Yun Lai viewpoint, on the hill above Santichon village. From here you look down on a sea of cloud filling the whole Pai valley, and as the sun comes up the light slowly burns through the mist — the kind of moment you stand and watch wrapped up against the cold together. There is a teahouse at the viewpoint serving something warm. Below it sits Santichon, a Yunnanese Chinese village with earthen buildings, a big swing, and Yunnan restaurants to carry on to once the mist lifts.

After dark, the main street through the centre of Pai turns into a walking street lined with food stalls, craft sellers, and little lane shops. A Pai date night is simply wandering it hand in hand, grazing as you go — fried snacks, sweets, tiny coffee and ice-cream spots. The mood is easygoing and small-town, with warm lantern light and music drifting out of the bars along the way. There is no rush to it; it is a relaxed, quietly romantic evening of the simplest kind.

Pai is known for its small bars with easygoing live music. Many are open-sided wooden places or have outdoor decks, with musicians playing relaxed acoustic sets. It suits couples who would rather end the night sitting over a drink listening to music together than at a loud party. Pai's bohemian mood makes an evening like this feel especially unhurried. Some bars are on the walking street, others sit by the river or just out of town where it is quieter — pick the one that fits the mood of the night.

The scooter loop around Pai strings together several photo-stop landmarks for a couple. The Boon Ko Ku So bamboo bridge is a long bamboo walkway across green rice fields to a small hilltop temple — a lovely one to walk together. Pai Memorial Bridge is an old wartime steel bridge that has become a popular photo stop. And the Land Split is a fissure in the ground that a farmer opens up for free, where you are welcomed with fruit and herbal drinks grown on the farm. They sit in different directions, so they make an easy half-day ride strung together.