A simple, somewhat battered bamboo mat path winds through the rice field, which is lime green in the rainy season and golden yellow just before the harvest. The 800-meter-long Kho Ku So (offering bridge) shortens the journey for the monks of the remote Wat Huay Kai Kiri temple to collect alms in the villages. There is now even a coffee shop for visitors.
You can easily drive to the start of the bridge and then stroll along a springy bamboo structure. The whole thing is built on a sturdy metal frame, which, given the tropical weather conditions, should prove advantageous in the long run compared to a wooden construction – the next few years will show how the project develops.
Right at the beginning, you pass a small pond teeming with fish, which you can attract with the provided food. The donation box for this goes to the nearby school. Liam and his friend Oscar were thrilled; as soon as the first pellets of food fell into the water, it was immediately teeming with fish of all sizes.
You can take a leisurely walk; the path, about 1.5 km long, winds through the rice paddies, and when we first visited at the end of October, the plants were in full bloom, displaying the most intense shades of green – a truly breathtaking sight! Of course, this wasn't so important to the children, who used the roughly 2-meter-wide bridge as a catwalk and probably turned the 1.5 km into more like 3 km. We were lucky that it was very quiet due to several thunderstorms in the afternoon; apart from us, there were only a handful of other visitors. Most tourists get stuck on the road about 2 km before the bridge anyway, where a well-known waterfall is located. This is likely to change now, though, as the beauty of the place has become widely known thanks to social media.
At the end of the road, you come to an old meditation retreat, nestled in the middle of the jungle. It seems like something out of a fantasy novel or a fairy tale, an enchanted spot that until now could only be reached via an unpaved road.
We definitely want to go back before the rice harvest; we should still have a few weeks until the rice turns yellow and can be harvested.
How to best get to the Bamboo Bridge of Pai: The easiest way is with your own motorized vehicle. The approach is via the main road from Pai towards Chiang Mai. If you follow the link below, you will be taken directly to the Google Maps view. ...`` `````````````]` ``````````````````````````]````] From Pai town center, the journey takes about 30 minutes. The road is paved all the way, though you'll encounter some hairpin bends and potholes. It can get a bit tight when there's oncoming traffic, but it's manageable. Along the way, you'll also pass Pam Bok Waterfall. Just one more reason to make the trip.
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