Pai district

Pai (Thai: ปาย, pronounced [pāːj]; Northern Thai: ปาย, pronounced [pāːj]) is the northeasternmost district (amphoe) of Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand. The central town is Pai.

Pai ปาย
District
Tha Pai Memorial Bridge in 2009.
District location in Mae Hong Son province
Coordinates: 19°21′31″N 98°26′24″E
Country	Thailand
Province	Mae Hong Son
Area
• Total	2,244.7 km2 (866.7 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	29,526
• Density	13.2/km2 (34/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Postal code	58130
Geocode	5803

Geography

The Daen Lao Range dominates the landscape of this district. Neighboring districts are (clockwise from west): Mueang Mae Hong Son, Pang Mapha of Mae Hong Son Province; Shan State of Myanmar; Wiang Haeng, Chiang Dao, Mae Taeng, Samoeng, and Galyani Vadhana of Chiang Mai province.

The main rivers in the district are the Pai and Khong Rivers.

History

"Pai" in Lanna script

In the year 1477 during the King Tilokaraj's reign of Lanna Kingdom. He ordered Prince Si Chai to attack Burmese army at Ban Don. During the battle, two of his white elephants fled. He asked the soldiers to find before found that they were swimming in an unnamed river. Therefore, he named this river "Pai", which comes from the name of the elephant "Chang Pai".

After winning the war. The King established him as Lord Chai Songkhram and has been in charge of Pai since then.^[1]

Administration

The district is divided into seven sub-districts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 66 villages (mubans). Pai itself has township (thesaban tambon) status and covers parts of tambon Wiang Tai. There are a further seven tambon administrative organizations (TAO).

Pai canyon

No.	Name	Thai name	Villages	Pop.
1.	Wiang Tai	เวียงใต้	8	6,493
2.	Wiang Nuea	เวียงเหนือ	10	3,727
3.	Mae Na Toeng	แม่นาเติง	14	6,417
4.	Mae Hi	แม่ฮี้	6	2,835
5.	Thung Yao	ทุ่งยาว	12	3,990
6.	Mueang Paeng	เมืองแปง	9	3,198
7.	Pong Sa	โป่งสา	7	2,866

Santichon Village

Sights

Pai, at present^[when?] it is well known as an important tourist destination of Mae Hong Son. It is therefore very popular with both Thai and foreign tourists especially young people and also being used as a location for filming movies such as Ruk Jung in 2006, Pai in Love and Kat Rattakarn's Ya Kuet Nak-MV in 2009, Timeline in 2014 etc.^[1]

• Wat Si Don Chai (Luang Sa Ri Bua Ban), the first temple of Pai, older than 700 years.^[1]
• Tha Pai Memorial Bridge^[2]
• Wat Nam Hu
• Wat Sai Khao
• Mo Paeng Waterfall
• Pam Bok Waterfall
• The Pai Secret Hot Springs
• Tha Pai Hot Spring
• Yun Lai Viewpoint
• Santichon Village, Chinese Yunan Cultural Village
• Huai Nam Dang National Park (shares with Mae Taeng and Wiang Haeng Districts of Chiang Mai Province)
• Pai River
• Kong Lan or Pai Canyon
• Pai Walking Street