Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai
 

Planning a family trip next May or June to include Northern Thailand. Do you recommend Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai?

We visited both last christmas time and they're very different. Chang Mai is a large city. There are some spectacular temples (Doi Suthep), a fantastic government-run elephant camp and a beautiful orchid farm. There are also all sorts of crafts factories, teak, umbrella-making, jade, lacquer, silver, etc. The nite market is also lots of fun. You could spend a few days there.
Chang Rai is the jumping off point into the Golden Triangle and you can even take a several hour boat ride across into Laos.
You may also want to consider Mae Hong Son where we went riding on elephants in the jungle (just us-not a string of people!), traveled up the rivers by boat, visited a cave with blue carp and went to the village of the long-necked women (refugees from the Burmese conflicts). In Mae Hong Son, we stayed at an incredible ecotourism place on the side of the mountain at a national park and went hiking in the park led by trail dogs! There's also a magnificent Mon Temple there.
You can fly around among these cities and Bangkok for very little money, saving considerable time; the flights are thru Thai Airways and we were surprised at how little they cost.
We had our trip arranged through an agent in Thailand and she did a fabulous job. Let me know if you want more information.
We also spent time in Bangkok, visited Kanchanaburi (River Kwai) where we stayed on rafts floating in the river and went to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
We didn't go south (to the beaches) because of time constraints and our interests were more in terms of culture, nature, history, etc.
An awesome holiday and very affordable with the US dollar (about 2 1/2 weeks)!

Sharon Hi....we were wondering the same thing and I was leaning toward Chiang Rai. I read an article about someone who drove to Mae Hong Son from Chiang Rai....do you know how far it is, and is it too much to do a day trip?
Thanks

Sharon--
Please tell more about Mae Hong Son. I've only seen one or two other reports on this board. Sounds as if you were at the Fern Resort others have mentioned? Who did you tour with from there? Can you recommend a specific company or guide? Who arranged the elephant ride, etc.? Please give us a day by day account of your time in that area. It's very limited on this board compared to CM and CR.

To stockexchanger: We didn't drive from Mae Hong Son to Chiang Rai, but according to http://www.guidetothailand.com/maps-....htm?distance=, it's about 630 km (370 miles. Obviously, no way you can do a day trip:-)! Based on what I've heard about the roads (no first hand knowledge about them up there tho), I'd be inclined to try to fly. The flights don't seem to cost much more than the trains and are very quick and safe (Thai Airways).
From Mae Hong Son to Chiang Mai is about 300 km (180 miles) thru the mtns. We flew from Chiang Mai; it takes about 35-40 minutes. I think the flight was only about 30usd. But there was a problem with the plane and we had to drive back. The roads were well-paved, but so winding that it took 5-6 hours and people were getting sick all along the sides of the road!
The drive from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai was several hours but it was lovely, passing a hot spring, driving thru the mtns. Besides taking a boat over to Laos (a really touristy area, but fun anyway), we also crossed the border (on foot) into Myanmar (Burma)-methamphetamine of the world and home of unlimited cd/dvd/software piracy) and spent a few hours there. Our Thai guide came over with us and hired a local Burmese guide for a couple of hours to take us around and up to one of their large temples on the mountain.

To Kay: Yes, we stayed at the Fern Resort. It's fantastic and I'd highly recommend it. We arranged our whole trip with Go Thailand (we worked with Sai there - I can give you her email address if you'd like). They set up all our guides and drivers, transfers, accommodations, etc. throughout Thailand and at Angkor. They arranged the elephant rides, temple visits, flights, etc. and did a fantastic job. We wouldn't have known to do a lot of the things they planned for us - you tell them what you like and work off that. If you'd like, I can email you our itinerary and you can pick and choose what you want.

Sharon thanks for your comments. This is very helpful. What is the email address for Sai at Go Thailand? All these places sound very exciting. If you only had time for one, it sounds like you would do Mae Hong Son, followed by Chiang Mai over Chiang Rai.

Sharon, you are so kind.
I'd love to get the contact and see your itinerary. If you don't want to post here, I use email at: metwo3 @ hotmail
Thanks

To Pagors: You can reach Sai at [email protected]. They really did a fabulous job for us - the itinerary, the guides, hotels, meals, etc. It's tough to pick among the 3 cities; they're very different. How many days would you have to spend? Are you traveling with kids? How old are they? Are you more into nature, culture, religion, etc? In Mae Hong Son, btw, we got up at sunrise one morning and went up to the temple on the mountain and visited the morning market. You'll definitely need either a guide or a rental car to do all the things that I've written about, especially if you stay at the Fern Resort which is not in town.

To Kay: I've e-mailed you the itinerary and contact information.

Could have written some of these same questions. You've all been so informative.

Sharon, if you don't mind, I'd love a copy of your itinerary. My address is [email protected] I've been looking high and low for a travel agent in Thailand, so I am thrilled to see your recommendation.

Hi travelin girl.
Sorry I didn't reply to you. My computer's been a problem lately so I haven't checked this board. But I've emailed all the info to you.
Let me know if there's anything more I can do.

Sharon. I would love a copy of your trip also and will contact gothailand as they sound great. email [email protected]. Thanks

Hi jbtraveler.
Just e-mailed you everything.

Can you also send me a copy of your report and the guide in Go thailand to
[email protected]

THanks

Hi Joh.
Sent to info to you. Hope it helps. Sharon

Sharon, could you send some info on your Thailand trip? This sounds exactly what we are looking for! Thanks! [email protected]

Clif, I'm e-mailing everything to you now. Enjoy!

sharon, I'd also love to see your report -- [email protected]

Thanks

Hi there Gloria. I'm doing that now.

Sharon-
I'd also love to get a copy of your itinerary. My email is [email protected]. Thanks so much!

Another itinerary request Sharon, thanks for all the information! [email protected]. :)

Here's another request. My email is [email protected]
Thanks so much.

Hi, europhile, frecklez and lana.
I sent everything to you. Let me know if I can do more.

Sharon-If possible I'd like a copy at [email protected]. Thanks.

Hi gpanda. It's on the way :-)

sharon may i please have the info thans for your time [email protected]

cmazza: i've been trying to send you the info, but the e-mail keeps getting bounced back to me. do you have another address i could use?

Sharon. Your trip sounds wonderful. How kind of you to do all this e- mailing.Would it be possible to send me a copy of your itinerary please. My e mail address is [email protected] so much.
Linda

I would love a copy as well.
[email protected]

Thank you.

Hi JH, done!

Sharon, Please email me your Northern Thailand itinerary as well as the telephone # for Go Thailand tours if you have it. Did you visit Chang Rai? Thanks in advance! My email address is: [email protected]

Sharon I'd also like a copy of your itinerary, please.... send to [email protected]

Also, on a scale of 1 to 10,with 1 being rustic and 10 being luxury, what would you say in general about travel in Thailand?

Stefanie and chicago999: I've e-mailed you our itineraries for Thailand and Angkor Wat.
Sai's phone numbers in Bangkok are
66-2-2376910 - 4; 66-2-237 2322 - 3; 66-2-233 6918 and the fax: 66-2-2372321. We made all our arrangements thru e-mail with no problem.
Chicago, as far as rating "luxury," we are not high end in terms of what we look for in hotels. There are definitely some very expensive hotels throughout Thailand. As for us, we're concerned mostly with location, clean, safe, etc. but not ultraexpensive touristy places; we'd rather put our money into the things we do. That said, the places we stayed were all well-rated, quite nice, very clean, with a/c, tv, telephone (except as noted below); all included incredible breakfasts and the food everywhere we ate in Thailand (and Cambodia) was consistently very good. While restrooms in isolated areas were not flush toilets, they were uniformly kept quite clean; usually porcelain type seats (that you don't actually sit on) with troughs of water that you ladle into the toilet to flush. I was pleasantly surprised because I had never traveled in this type of situation before. We did make sure we all had small containers of purell hand sanitizer with us (since there may not always be water to wash your hands) and all carried pocket packs of tissues. In the Fern Resort - which is ecotourist - we were in private cabins with fully equipped bath/hot water shower (heat/no phone). The jungle rafts on the River Kwai were a bit more rustic, since there is no electricity, with propane lanterns at nite and ladle-flushing toilets. There were cold water showers, but we all just swam in the river instead! Again, the food in both of these places was excellent. We did not drink the water anywhere; all hotels provided bottled water (no charge) and we did use it to brush our teeth as well.
We didn't go south to the beaches at all, so I can't speak to that region.
Hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything more I can tell you.

Hi Sharon: Enjoyed your report. Would like to receive a copy of your itinerary. Will be gone a month to Jan 1 to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and then 10 days gto Thailand. What clothes did you pack? for riding elephants and also in BKK? Thank you for your help.
email: [email protected] Johanna

Hi Johanna. I sent you the itinerary. Pretty much all we wore were casual clothes - shorts and t-shirts. It was very hot in Bangkok (end of December), but to go to the grand palace, you have to cover your legs and shoulders so you can just throw a pair of lightweight pants on (even over your shorts) and just take them off afterwards. We didn't run into any other restrictions, altho just as a precaution i avoided tank tops. It was also quite warm up north, but not as oppressive as in bangkok. One morning when we got up at around 6am, we needed a very light jacket for a brief time. But even the evenings are warm and we wandered around the night markets without any jackets or sweaters. We didn't go anywhere where we needed dressy clothes; i had packed a skirt, but never wore it, along with my several pairs of jeans. For elephant riding shorts were fine; throw in a light windbreaker if you're riding around in the longboats just in case.

I would be interested in the portion of your trip report of Nothern Thailand.We have 3 days/4 nights and want 2 day trips within 50-60 miles of Chiang Mai. We have a guide/driver. Thanks.

[email protected]

Would you please forward a copy of your report on Northern Thailand to me too? Here's my email address.
[email protected]
Many thks in advance.

Hi Sharon,
Your internet information are very helpfull.

Could you please inform how did you get to Ankor Wat? From where? Did you have guided tours from SAI there, as well?

Can I have your itinerary, please?

Renato

Hi Renato. I'm e-mailing you the itinerary for both northern Thailand and Angkor. Sai arranged both land portions for us and also took care of all the flights. We flew from Bangkok via Bangkok Air. (There's another thread in this forum about people having trouble getting reservations on the limited flights available, so that might be something you'd want to lock in as soon as you know your travel dates.) I know some people do Angkor on their own (with a good guide book) and in the past, most of my travel has been without guides. However, I really feel we got so much more out of the trip by using a guide than we would have otherwise. There are all sorts of historical, cultural, political, social things a good guide can share with you, not to mention interpretting all the stories in the carvings. There are more places to see in the area than time permits so he helped select the highlights and timed them for certain times of day. Our guide also knew great places to see sunsets, take photos (at certain times of day they were like postcards!), do some climbing, eat and snack, pick up some souvenirs and do some evening entertainment.

Hi sharon815- you shold get paid for all the emailing and advice you're giving! Thank you for all your great ideas-
if possible-I would also love to see your itinerary-Im trying to plan a trip to thailand to iclude chiang mai, chiang rai, angkor wat and phuket in 12 days this december 2004.I know, its kinda last minute...I hope not too late...
thanks!

Hi michelle. I've sent you the info for both thailand and angkor. It's actually been fun for me emailing everybody and talking to all sorts of people - not really work at all:-).
I'm going to new zealand in a few weeks and got lots of help from people of the aus/nz board, so i'm glad i can have the opportunity to help people back! In fact, we're going to meet up for breakfast on our trip with some people we met on this thread:-)! pretty neat...