Planning our first trip to Chiang Mai in early April. Staying at Yaang Come Village. Read numerous posts on this board which have been very helpful.

We are staying 2 full days (plus 2 half days) and will be there mid-week (unfortunately we'll miss the weekend market).

Our top "must-do's" are: Doi Suthep, ride the elephants and a cooking class (prob. an evening course with A Lot of Thai).

Other possibilities (as time permits): shopping, massage, hill tribes/countryside, night market.

Two questions:
1. I realize that we will need a driver of some kind. Need your advice and/or guidance as to whether we hire a driver (read about Poon) or guide (read about Sgt. Kai).

What are the differences (pros/cons) of each?

2. Itinerary help please. Not sure of travel times or locations, but
definitely interested in a half day at TECC and Doi Suthep for one day.

For the 2nd day, should we stay around CM or is it possible to see some of the countryside? (we will also be spending 5 days in BKK and a few in Phuket.)

Prefer off the beaten path, non-touristy places if possible, but then again our time here is short. It will be hot and we don't want to plan too much so we can enjoy it and not feel rushed.

The hill tribes/craft villages sound interesting, but after reading other posts, it sounds too touristy and not worth it. Doi Inthanon sounds cool, but is it too far for a day trip? Another option is to go to the Four Seasons for lunch.

Thoughts?

From what I can tell, it doesn't sound like you need a guide. You'll need transport to the TECC and Doi Suthep. You can hire a driver for the day. Any taxi driver can take you (they all have hourly rates) or you can contact Poon or another driver in CM.

Decide whether you want to spend all of your second day driving. If you do, you could visit Doi Inthanon, for instance, and see some countryside. I'd suggest you spend the second day around town. I don't think I'd bother to go to the Four Seasons for lunch, unless you want to check it out as a place to stay in the future. If you plan to shop in CM, you'll need a driver for the second day as well. If you are traveling light, you can hail a songthew (pick-up with benches in back used for shared rides), but otherwise, you'll want a car and driver.

If you were trekking in to visit hilltribes not on the tourist circuit, you'd need a guide. For the things you are doing, there is no need for a guide.

Thanks Kathie. I appreciate your feedback. I think Doi Inthanon is better left for a future trip.

The hill tribes NOT on the tourist circuit sound very interesting. I got the impression they were too far for a day trip from CM. Is this incorrect? Also, what about the craft villages-are they touristy as well? Is the Airport mall (or BKK) a better option for shopping (celadon, silver, etc.)?

I'm thinking a driver might be best too, but everyone raves about Sgt. Kai. I just wondered if there was any additional benefit with a guide - or access to other areas we wouldn't know to tell a driver. (Sometimes getting the history on a place makes it come to life more than just seeing it).

Really, you need an overnight trip (with a several hour trek each way) to visit hilltribes not on the tourist track. So I agree, save it for another trip.

The craft "villages" are better described as factories (and they were factories 20 years ago when I first visited them). If you are interested in something in particular, like a set of celadon, or some ornate silver work, it is worth going to the factories, as you'll see a wide selection. The factories are probably 20-30 minutes from YCV. The airport mall is just a mall. You'll find a better selection in Bangkok at the malls.

Guides are great - when you need a guide. None of the places you are going really need a guide. Read the small section in your guidebook about Doi Suthep before you go.

Did you read my trip report from 2006 when I went to Chaing Mai again after 20 years? I found an excellent driver and I describe some off the beaten path craft stores (one in particular). And do you have the Nancy CHandler map? it's really helpful.

I tracked down my trip report from 2006, and here are a couple of sections that may interest you:

Transport: One of the problems in CM is the lack of public transport. Basically, your options are songthews, tuk-tuks and taxis. CM is spread out, and if you have a number of things you want to do in a day, you’ll need a car and driver. We found an excellent driver, Mr. Nakron Buthluang, who drives Taxi No. 75. You can reach him on his cell phone at 08-1884-5649. He charges 250 baht an hour. The trip to Doi Suthep is 800 baht. He drove us to Royal Flora and picked us up as well for 250 baht each way. He was great. His English was pretty good, we had no problems communicating. He was persistent in tracking down the little shops we wanted to visit. One was especially hard to find, but he persisted and did find it. He was born and raised in CM and he couldn’t stand the idea that there was a place he couldn’t find. I recommend him highly.

Shopping: One of the things I wanted to look into this trip was buying a set of Celadon. I had looked at Baan Celadon on the web, and they had some lovely designs. We looked at two places in CM, Baan Celadon and Siam Celadon. I was looking for a blue celadon glaze, and the “blue” at Baan Celadon was too green for me, while the blue at Siam Celadon was perfect. Siam Celadon also had more design options, and was about 2/3 the price of Baan Celadon. Fortunately, Siam Celadon had the design I liked best. We decided to order a huge set: Eight place settings with 4 sizes of plates, two sizes of bowls and many serving pieces and extras. With shipping, the total is just over $800. The shipping more than doubles the price. Had we shopped at Baan Celadon, the shipping would have just doubled the price (as it was more expensive). The set will be custom-made for us, and it will be 3 months or so before it arrives. I will let everyone know how and when it arrives.

Crafts: I opted to visit only fair trade and non-for profit craft places this trip. All of these places are listed in Nancy Chandler. Our stops were Sop Moei Arts, Thai Tribal Crafts, and the Golden Triangle. We also looked for Northern Crafts Center, but it turns out to be an exhibition space, and there was none going on at the time.

Many of you probably know Sop Moei Arts. They have gorgeous things. I was a bit surprised at how limited their selection was. Nonetheless, we found some lovely gifts there.

Thai Tribal Crafts has many items made by a number of the northern hilltribes. The items are inexpensive and charming, and we picked up a lot of small gifts.

The real find of this trip was The Golden Triangle. It was hard to find! Our driver (who could actually read the Nancy Chandler map, and my printing!) was very persistent. We were all triumphant when he found it. But the gate was closed and locked (it was after 5:30). Not to be deterred, he called the phone number and the owner came out and let us in. The Nancy Chandler book says no English is spoken but that is not true. The owner is an Akha woman who was married to a Dutch anthropologist for many years (he is now deceased). Sales of the textiles benefit the Akha women who make the items. She does have old Akha textiles from time to time. We were able to buy several old pieces as well as some new pieces. The items are really unusual. We didn’t see anything like them anywhere else. The owner is a wealth of information about the textiles. We talked for quite a while, and she pointed out that many of the new needlework pieces are done on modern synthetics, as it is less expensive. We bought a number of pieces made from local cottons and dyed with natural dyes. She can tell you which pieces use which techniques and what the various motifs mean. Note that she takes NO CREDIT CARDS. Bring cash!



Sunday Walking Market: We did go to the Sunday Walking Market. We bought a few items. It reminds me of how the old night market used to be. It was fun, but for me, it was like many, many markets in SE Asia I have visited. Frankly, it wasn’t as “special” as I had expected. If you are in CM on a Sunday, by all means, go. But I wouldn’t schedule my trip around it.


Thanks Kathie! Yes, I had read your trip report a while ago (I will re-read again since I am finalizing itineries now). I noted your driver info as well.

I've heard of Nancy Chandler maps for JJ market in BKK, but didn't realize there was one in CM too (and they included shopping places). I will get one online for both before we arrive.

I realize that CM isn't your favorite city, but any suggestions as to what we can do our 2nd full day?

There is a Nancy Chandler Bangkok map (which includes the market) and a Nancy Chandler Chiang Mai map.

If it were me (and it isn't), I'd spend day 2 walking a bit in CM, visiting a couple of the small wats in town, visiting craft stores and doing a couple of hours at a spa.

Thanks Kathie. I really like your suggestions a lot. I think I will have to look into Legends and Oasis spas - I love spas/massages so more spa time is never a problem

Also, how often are the Nancy Chandler maps updated? I'd like to order them online so we have them before we go.

DS is not all that far from CM....you will want to spend about 1 hour there i should think....you could do the whole thing in 2 1/2 hours and add on some other things, like shopping for the other time....the driver might take you someplace nice for lunch and then more shopping or sightseeing....

there is nothing non-touristy about CM....and after all that is what you are there for...

Kathie -I just checked Siam Celadon online. Their pieces are beautiful! Are you happy with your dining set?

rhkkmk-yes we are tourists. I guess I was hoping to have experiences that are not as common mixed in with the more touristy stuff, but maybe that is a future trip.

Yes, Kimberly, we are very happy with our celadon. It was fully custom made for us, and arrived as promised sveral months after we returned. It was packed exceptionally well and there was no breakage.