Thailand Volunteer Locations: Pai

Pai offers volunteers a combination of laid back rural Thailand and a lively scene of international travellers interested in arts, culture and nature. Located between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son on the banks of the Pai river, the stunning mountain scenery the surrounds the town has made it a popular part of the Thai travellers scene, and created an intruiging blend of Thai and Western culture.

The Shan people established the first permanent community in the Pai valley more than 700 years ago and it was given the name "Pai" the Shan word meaning escape. Since then many visitors have come to Pai to escape from the congestion and busyness of the cities. Most of the Thai's in the Pai area descend form the nearby hiil-tribe villages and you'll find a huge variety of cultures and languages around the town including Thai Yai (Shan), Lisu, Lahu, Akha, and Karen. If you hike in any direction, it won't take long before you encounter one of these villages.

Volunteer Teaching in Pai

Mae Yen Primary School is located about 15 minutes walking distance from the dorm. The students are between 6 and 12 years old.

Paiwittayakran School is a secondary school and a high school located in the center of Pai. It has about 850 students in the ages 12-20 years old. It's about 5 minutes walk from the dorm.

Anuban Pai School is a primary and secondary school located in the centre of Pai. Only 5 minutes walk from the dorm. The student’s ages are between 6 and 14 years old.

Anubansiriumpon School is a primary school located in the centre of Pai about 5 minutes walking from the dorm.

We also teach English to the local community in private classes.

Summer Camps/Thai School Holidays
Thai schools close for summer holidays in the middle of March and do not resume until Mid May. During this time we teach English at summer camps. A typical day teaching at a camp involves two/three hours of English teaching followed by an afternoon of games and activities.

Volunteer Programs in Pai:
English Teaching
Summer Camps

General Pai Information

Accommodation
The T2T dorm in Pai is a big wooden Thai style house with a large living room and a separate dinning/study room. There are 3 bedrooms with bunk beds and mosquito nets that can accommodate up to 3 volunteers each. The kitchen area is equipped with a gas cooker, toaster, fridge, water kettle and all the necessary cooking ware. The bathroom has a Western style toilet and a hot water shower. There is also a computer for preparing lesson plans. The dorm is located in a typical Thai neighborhood, so it is perfect to experience Thai culture and life. Furthermore, the dorm is within walking distance of the schools and all the shops.

Food
The kitchen is well equipped with a fridge, toaster, water kettle and gas cookers so you can cook your own food. In the past, we have enjoyed buying fresh fruit and vegetables from the market in order to practice our Thai cooking skills with the support of Mam. There are an abundance of restaurants and food stalls offering Thai and western food in Pai, some open in the morning, some at night. Every afternoon there is a food market in the main street of Pai and there are several bakeries, food stalls and stores, as well as a Seven Eleven so you can buy “western” food, milk, yogurt etc. If you eat Thai food you can count on spending 30 bath/meal. If you want western food, the cost is approximately 120 bath/meal.

Weather
Due to its elevation, Pai is considerably cooler than most of Thailand. Although still hot during the day (20 to 25 degress in the November to January cool season and above 30 degrees during the March and April hot season) tempratures drop to below 10 degrees at night particularly in the cold season. The cooler climate also brings advantages as its far less humid during the day and the coolor tempratures discourage mosquitos.

Activities
Pai offers plenty of opportunity for adventure and sight seeing. There is climbing, hiking, tubing or rafting down the Mae Nam Pai and numerous waterfalls and hot springs. In Pai town there is a swimming pool and a gym as well as a herbal sauna and we can arrange socio-culturally sound trekking tours to ethnic minority villages.

Pai also offers many opportunities to learn and practise spiritual arts such as yoga, Tai Chi, meditation or massage as well as cooking classes. There is a lively music scene in town with frequent concerts and jam sessions which anyone can join. There is also an excellent selection of books available in the many book stores and last but not least Pai has a little cinema where movies can be chosen individually

How to get to Pai
Pai, is a three hours bus ride from Chiang Mai. Public buses to Mae Hong Son leave from Chiang Mai´s Arcade bus station at 8.30, 11, 12 am and 2, 4 pm and costs 80 baht. The slightly more expensive 12 seater mini vans leave every hour and costs 150 baht.

We will meet you at the bus station in Pai and spend the first few days together with you in Pai where you will get acquainted with the projects. We will show you around the town and introduce you to Thai culture and language. When you have chosen a project we will prepare you for your placement, going through material, discussing lesson plans, work tasks and techniques.

Staff
Mam takes care of the volunteers in Pai. Check our Personnel page.

How to get around Pai
Pai downtown only consists of a few crossroads and can be easily walked or biked around. There are no tuk-tuks or any other means of public transportation around town. Motorbikes can be rented for excursions and private transportation can be arranged on request.

Back to top