Kay2

Yeah! I now get to spend 5 days in Thailand in December with my husband. Last trip we visited Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and Khao Yai. As on last visit, we would like to experience local culture (boat on klongs), visit a few distinctive sights (Grand Palace), and get out into the country (birdwatching, walking to find gibbons, seeing bats leave cave).

With such short visits we often arrange transport such as private driver when needed and guide when useful. Small groups OK, but not big tour. I've read posts about some local travel folks--should I ask them to arrange our transport and guide or wait until arrival as many of you suggest? We don't want to spend a lot of our time looking for arrangements, but understand the guide could be a pig in the poke from the Internet (except with your great recommendations).

Moderate guest house or hotel fine. Food not a big issue. Shopping only for local crafts. Not looking for relaxation.

So, how do I choose? Flying to Chiang Mai seems to get us to the heart of things. Then..
Show at Cultural Center?
Night bazaar seems to be a must.
Doi Suthep?
Day at Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang?
Doi Inthanon for bird watching and walking (Inthanon Highland Resort)?
Hilltribe or mountain treks (Lisu Lodge)?
Orchids?
Botanic gardens?

So many choices and so little time.
Which do you think we can combine most effectively?
Lampang appears to lie to the SE, Inthanon to the NW, hilltribe walks to the N?

Thanks in advance. Can you tell I'm excited?

Tangata

Well congratulations on the timing, December is perfect.

There are a number of places offering shows and dinner ? locally known as Kantoke. We prefer the one at the Old Cultural Centre because it includes some hill tribe dances. However, there are other good ones available, one of which included some hot air balloon launching. Be aware that you will probably have to eat sitting on the floor ? or relining graciously if you can manage that. There are tables available with ?hidden? leg pits that enable you to sit normally, but large tour groups normally reserve these.

My wife is a fan of the Night Market; I am not. When we have visitors who want to go there, I drop them off and tell them that when they have finished shopping they will find me propping up the bar at the Red Lion. I would suggest a visit to the ?Northern Village? in the Airport Plaza. An excellent place for handicrafts and one avoids the cheap copies and t-shirts at the Night Market.

Certainly visit Doi Suthep for the Wat and if time allows Wat Phra Sing in the old city. Dating back to the 14th century it is the oldest Wat in Chiangmai. Doi Suthep can be comfortably done in half a day.

The Elephant Conservation Centre can also be done in half a day. Although it is an hour?s drive, I believe it to be superior to the elephant camps. If you wish, you could spend the rest of the day in Lampang.

Doi Inthanon really needs a day and it might be nice to stay overnight.

Most treks are for two or three nights, although one day treks are available, they can be readily arranged when you arrive.

The Queen Siriket Botanical gardens (I presume you mean these and not the Chiangmai Botanical Gardens) can be combined with a visit to an orchid farm and would take half a day.

If you decide to spend a night at Doi Inthanon, one possibility would be to detour slightly for bamboo rafting and/or an elephant ride.

Kay2

Thanks, Tangata.
Reviewing the threads you seem to be the Chiang Mai expert.

I'm reading such mixed things about Chiang Mai--it's another big city so it won't be very different from Bangkok except in scale, traffic, and pollution; it's got lots of tourist facilities so it is overrun; and it's a great base for activities in Northern Thailand. I see that some recommend Chiang Rai or Mae Hong Son for a more remote destination.

My problem is one many have--while we enjoyed Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and Khao Yai, we want a different experience on this trip. We like to be active, outdoors, and experience local culture, but we don't mind a few touristy stops as well, especially if we learn something about the way of life or how something is made. Our time is short, so access via plane is important.

So, I'll investigate CM and surroundings first, then consider other options suggested.

I'll check out the Old Cultural Centre as I would enjoy seeing hill tribe dances. Sitting on the floor is no problem. I'll also check out Northern Village in the Airport Plaza for handicrafts. I do like seeing how things are made. Is it better to find a guide to visit some villages where weaving and other crafts are still done, or just see the factories near Chiang Mai? I am always a disappointment to the salespeople as I travel mostly for experience and only purchase small decorative items for our home as souveniers.

I was looking at the one day experience at the Elephant Conservation Centre to actually work with the elephants rather than just go for a half a day for the demonstration. The website says it runs from 8:30 until 16:00.

Doi Inthanon overnight or another out of town destination with walking/trekking, bicyling would be fun. We walk 5 miles a day at home for exercise and go day hiking for fun in state and national parks here. We also ride our bikes, but easy to moderate trails.

We're not too interested in rafting unless it takes us through interesting country or bird territory. We've done both float trips and white water rafting in the US and Canada--all quite fun. We've also been kayaking in mangrove swamps and Alaska bays.

We'll either hire a private guide and driver or find a small tour group. Hubby doesn't want to drive.

Kathie

You might want to consider going farther north - fly into Chaing Rai and go another hour into the heart of the Golden Triangle and stay at the Anantara. There are lots of posts about the Anantara, beginning with one I did on December, 2003. ( I stayed there shortly after it opened).

Tangata

Well Chiangmai is not really a big city, from anywhere within Chiangmai you can be in the countryside within 30 minutes. It is about 1/40th the size of Bangkok. Over the last few years it has certainly not been overrun by tourists, which suits me fine. People who do come here seem to be more interested in culture and local shopping than those who go to the south.

I feel that Chiangrai is much more dependent on tourism and is therefore less attractive.

Mae Hong Song is certainly more remote and there is enough there to occupy two or three days. It is also a good base for trekking.

Wherever you go in the north, it will be different to Bangkok and Ayuttahya; Lanna culture is very different to that of the Bangkok region.

There are plenty of outdoor activities here in Chiangmai and many of the touristy stops incorporate a visit to the workshop; celadon and silver being just two examples.

Chiangmai certainly has far more connecting flights than Chiangrai. There are also flights from here to Mae Hong Song.

The Northern Village will not show you how things are made; the various stops along the San Kam Paeng Road are probably the best places for that. You can certainly see weaving there. There are also one or two weaving villages, but they are some distance from town and normally only interest the experts. For instance, you won?t see backstrap weaving locally. One such village lies on the road to Doi Inthanong.

You can certainly spend a full day at the elephant centre if you wish. You can stay overnight if you want to.

If you have your elephants at the centre and are not particularly interested in rafting, then Doi Inthanong would probably meet your requirements and would combine walking with bird life. It is a different environment to Khao Yai, which I know quite well. http://welcome-to.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/int-birds.htm should give you a good introduction. Tony Ball, see http://www.thaifocus.com/birds.htm used to conduct bird watching treks. I am not sure if he is still doing these.

Getting a car with a driver/guide is not difficult.

randig

We are leaving next week for Thailand
and since we will be in Bangkok and then Hong Kong I wanted to experience something more than a city. I thought the beaches would be iffy at this time of year.We're going to Chaing Rai and taking a 5 day bike/motorbike trip through the mountains, into small villages and ending with 2 days at the Anantara resort and spa. The tour is with smilingalbino.com and they assure us that there is always a car ride to the next destination! Never done anything like this before and I'm way past the the days for backpacking.

randig

p.s. the anantara houses it's own elephant mother and baby along with cooking classes and spa facilities.

john44

Randig

Please let me know what you thought of the Anatara

cjackson

Randig - when you come back, let us know about this motorbike tour! That sounds like great fun. I'll visit their site, but there's nothing like feedback from someone who's been there. Thanx and have a great trip.

randig

I will gladly give an update.
We have contacted several people that have gone on this trip for references and they were all extemely satisfied. One comment was that the accommodation was not the fanciest, but you are up in the mountains, that is why we are staying at the Anantara for two days after. Smiling Albino is operated by two guys from Canada who went to Thailand to teach English. One of them
will be taking us on our 5 day trek.