pam

My husband and I will be in Chiang Mai for 3 days March. We have decided to hire a private driver and car for at least two of those days.<BR><BR>We are considering visiting the North (the Golden Triangle, Chiang Saen, etc) as well as doing a trek to some hill tribes. We can visit the immediate Chiang Mai vicinity as well as Doi Suthep on our own. <BR><BR>I just do not want to spend time doing the typical &quot;touristy&quot; things. I know I only have three days, but I would like to see and experience some less visited areas. Does anyone out there have any suggestions. We are staying at the Regency in Chiang Mai.<BR><BR>Thanks for your help.<BR><BR>Pam

Caren

Pam-I just returned from Chiang Mai this week-and, I must say, of all the places I visited in my 3 week journey to Thailand and Cambodia, without question, Chiang Mai was my favorite. It is everything that Bangkok isn't-specifically, wonderful clean air, you can actually breathe deeply-not advised in the toxic mix of Bangkok!), people are friendlier, and don't seem to want to scam you as much as they do in Bangkok, it has a lovely ancient wall around the town with a moat that is lit up at night. <BR> Let me tell you some of my favorite things to do there and go to-and bear in mind that the Regent is some distance from the town, so you will be using their shuttle or paying a tuk-tuk driver to take you into town:<BR><BR>1. Hit the Night Market-it can be addictive-I got some GREAT buys on Thai bronze and rosewood flatware, Thai silks, pillowcase covers, bronze Buddha heads, lovely, Thai puppets (at 150 baht each- a bargain!). I was there every night, having fun bargaining-it's not to be missed. <BR><BR>2. There are all sorts of treks and trek companies in CM-and you should definitely visit the Golden Triangle-take a boat trip on the Mekong out of Chiang Saen, and see both Burma and Laos on either side-really fun, and then visit the Opium Museum, both informative and quite interesting. <BR><BR>The Lampuang Elephant Conservation Center, is, I believe, not to far from the Regent Hotel-you can visit and ride elephants there-it's a world reknowned center to preserve elephants in the wild. <BR>You can also do an interesting trek to visit the hillside tribes of the Karen, Hmong, long-necked Karen, and Akha-but be advised, they are so used to tourists, their children come out begging and expecting baht immediately-it's not exactly the scene I envisioned, but interesting nonetheless-one feels a bit as if they are on parade for us, and of course, are making out nicely on tourist hand-outs!<BR><BR>Make sure you eat at the lovely Gallery restaurant on the Ping river, the best Thai restaurant in Thailand, in my humble opinion. It used to be a turn of the century house, decorately with lovely Thai furniture and objects-and you can dine riverside with live Thai classical music playing in a pavilion. Really lovely ambience and food!<BR>Pay a visit to Loi Krup Rd. which has a lot of funky little stores selling silver jewelery, Thai silks, etc. It also has some very good bars and restaurants as well.<BR>For something a little different, visit the Royal Gymkhana Club-a former polo club founded in the late 1800s in the old British colonialist tradition-you can sit on the veranda and sip cocktails looking out on the lovely green expanse-it's now got a golf course, and other club facilities-a lovely place for a bit of serenity!<BR>A lot of Westerners like CM so much, they end up spending several months here, because CM is, more than any other Thai city, really set up to cater to the Western traveler, and the costs of things there, from massage to hotel rooms to shopping is generally much cheaper than in Bangkok. <BR>Hope this helps, and bon voyage!

Lora

Thanks Caren,<BR>I will be spending 5 days in CM next month and you have many wonderful insights. Can you please give me some more details about your private driver - was it worth it?, cost? where did you book/find him?<BR>thank you!

Dan

Chaing Mai is overrated. The air is very bad and the sprawl is for 30 miles in every direction. I liked the countryside but the city is self was nothing special. Prices for nice hotels, very inexpensive.

pam

Caren,<BR><BR>Wow! Thnak you so very much for your insights. I will let you know what we decided to do.<BR><BR>Pam

Elaine

Our driver was lovely. Reliable, honest, helpful, pleasant, etc. He was the taxi driver who took us from the airport. He gave us his name and number to call if we wanted him. I did and he drove us for 5 days. We did not go to Chiang Rai, Golden Triangle, etc. as we had sick grandchild. But he took us touring to the Temples, elephant camp, etc. He also had our laundry done, found the best pharmacies. We did no shopping with him and so he got no commissions. When we left he drove us to the airport and would not accept any money for that trip. We paid him 1400 bhat for a full day. Less if we only needed him for part of the day. He is Mr. Paul telephone 019808754. If you do call him, tell him that &quot;His Uncle&quot; who stayed at the Westin and had grandchildren at the Regent.

Elaine

If you are staying at the Regent, they have their own cars and drivers. We used them one day and it was very nice but I would hate to know just how much it cost. My daughter and family were staying at the Regent and she felt she should use them one day.

phoenix

We stayed 4 nights (extended from 2 nights after cancelled our elephant conservation camp trip) in Chiang Mai January 4-8 and enjoyed it very much. It is much more laid back and less traffic than Bangkok. Shopping is a lot of fun and I felt safe walking around the streets by myself. After 2 weeks eating Thai food--it was fun eating at the expat hangouts (e.g., chocolate croissant with latte at J.J., vegetarian New Zealand cheesburger and fries at Mango Tree Cafe). Cost of tours is much less than in Bangkok (I paid 900 Baht for a half-day shopping tour with guide and driver through a travel agency). Definitely plan a visit to Doi Inthanon if you are interested in nature. There is an easy 5 km hike which few take--we saw silver pheasants and the unique green-tailed sunbird (only found there). Also, plan on taking a cooking class in Chiang Mai--definitely a highlight--between the 5 in my class we cooked 14 dishes.

Lora

Hi Phoenix<BR>I would love to know where you took your cooking class. I am planning on being in CM in a month and at the top of my to do list is a cooking class. What school did you go to and where did you register? any other details would be appreciated...<BR>thanks, Lora

bob

i am so glad to know that i am not the only person whi thinks CM is overrated...i have visited twice for a week each time and found it boring almost, but I LOVE BKK so maybe thats why<BR>once you are at the regent you won't want to leave, but it is not really thailand is it??..only the look..it is 5 star any place around the world...you will love it..<BR>three days is not much especially if you intend to go to the triangle...i'd skip that and concentrate on the area around CM..<BR><BR>our driver was Mr Manop..we have had him twice and he was excellent and accomodating..ask for him at the airport...he is always there

Caren

Pam, Lora-<BR>Glad to be of some help on CM. I really enjoyed it, and I know you all will too-nearly everyone in my group agreed that they had a much better time in CM than in Bangkok-and we are all a reasonably well-traveled group. Sorry I can't offer help on a driver-I was with a group that had some things arranged-such as the trip to the Golden Triangle-but left most of us to make our own arrangements while in CM-which is the way we liked it. I mostly got around by tuk-tuk or arranged day trips through various local trek companies. I must say that Phoenix' post of 900 baht for a driver and tour down the shopping road of Sangkampheng (sp?) seems a bit high. I talked to one tour place across from my hotel, the CM Plaza, and they offered a driver and stops at 6 handicrafts stores for 100 baht! My advice is to check around-and by no means buy anything on that road until you check the Night Mkt. prices first! My flatware was 50% MORE at the bronze factory store-same for the silver store they took us to.<BR><BR>I also would agree that it is a nice change to go to the ex-pat bars and restaurants-most of which seem to be concentrated on Loi Kroh Rd.-easy enough to find from the Night Mkt.-just turn left at the street corner by the Starbucks. (yes, SB lovers-it's there-you won't have to miss your fix!).<BR><BR>If you have the time, I would DEFINITELY try to make it to Chiang Saen and the Golden Triangle for a boat trip on the Mekong-I'm not sure, but I think C.Saen is only about 2 hours away from CM-and there's a superhighway running through the G.Triangle that's as good as any interstate here in the US. The boat trip was interesting because you can get quite close to the banks of Burma and Laos, you can see people washing themselves and their clothes -watch the Chinese boats fill up with goods to take back-I really enjoyed it-and highly recommend it. I also hired a driver for 500 baht in Chaing Saen to take me approx. 45 min. north to the border town of Mae Sai, paid US $5 , made a copy of my passport, left it with the Thais, and walked over and spent 2 hours in Burma's marketplace on the other side-(not much there, I'm afraid, no comparison with Mae Sai!). I happen to love international border crossings, and those seedy, slightly dangerous border towns on either side!-Although I saw nothing much to buy on the Burma side, there were great bargains to be had in Mae Sai for rubies, puppets, just about ANYTHING! (Must also add, no one dared to accompany me on my brief journey to Burma-but that, of course, didn't stop me, it was interesting-I just wish I could have spent more time there!)<BR><BR>I would recommend a map/guide of CM called &quot;Chiang Mai by Night-an Insider's Guide to What's Hot!&quot; I bought this guide in Bangkok, but it's readily available in bookstores, and possibly international travel bookstores in the US. Very helpful for all the best things to see and do in CM.<BR><BR>Please provide us with a trip report when you get back!<BR><BR>Caren