NYTimes Travel - 36 Hours in Chiang Mai - What's Your Opinion
 

Curious if anyone here has read the recent (future?) NY Times Travel article featuring 36 hours in Chiang Mai. I'm tentatively (and excitedly) planning my first trip to Thailand in November and will have 12-13 nights to divide. Wondering what your take is on the article in terms of sites, activities, and restaurants they covered. Did they miss any of your favorites in Chiang Mai?

http://tinyurl.com/4b7ar5

I have no info to add but thanks for the suggestion to this informative link!

well lets get back to reality, having now read this piece....typical NYT misleading info...

let me start by saying i am not one who loves CM....


CM is a huge city, not hi-rise however....it is very spread out except for the center city....

the elephant conservation center is quite a ways from CM....usually you need a reservation to go there, but others will chime in with details...

there are some decent eateries in town, but nothing fantastic, like you find in bkk, imo...

personally i would spend much more time in bkk and less in CM....3 days there would do it for me...

hiking up the mtn to DS??? do you have any idea how hot and humid it will be in nov???

others will be more positive than i am on CM

Well there are a few bits in the article that I would change. We certainly have a cooler climate than Bangkok for most of the year, but we are normally hotter than Bangkok in April and May.

There have been expatriates in Chiangmai for hundreds of years, originally the Teak boys, now the Tobacco boys and the teachers. Missionaries, of course, were here from way back. The oldest expatriate resident I know has lived here for over 40 years.

I can’t comment on the similarity to South Beach, but Nimanhaemin is certainly undergoing a renaissance, but if you are interested in Art there are better places to go to around Chiangmai.

The Wats are special and are, of course, far older than anything you see in upstart Bangkok.

Paying 1,000 Baht for dinner for two is about twice what I would expect to pay, but you can certainly spend a lot more! If you want to spend more, try Le Crystal of the Coq d’Or for European food that is as good as you will get anywhere, although I find the service a bit over attentive.

I consider Wat Doi Suthep special, but I prefer it in the late evening, maybe I am not a “morning person”. But if you want to see Monks collecting alms then you do have to get up early. Incidentally Monks never “beg” nor do they ever say “thank you”. They are offering the people the chance to make merit.

I have never considered Chiangmai to be “a huge city” although it claims to be Thailand’s second city. Normally I can get anywhere in less than twenty minutes and from anywhere in the city you can be in the countryside in 30 minutes – about the time it would take you to reach the Expressway entrance in Bangkok. Naturally, once you get into the old city you can expect delays as, in common with many European cities, it was not designed with the motor car in mind.

However, at the moment all bets are off as Chiangmai is THE destination for Songkran and the streets are crammed – last evening the normal 10 minute run to my Local took over 30 minutes. We have retreated behind locked gates for a week!

The worst I recall Chiangmai being was when the Royal Flora Exhibition was wished on us by the ex PM. It attracted thousands of people and as nothing had been done to improve the traffic situation, for about three months we suffered heavy congestion at certain times of the day – which I believe gave many visitors the wrong impression. We all breathed a sigh of relief when it was over, especially the local farmers who had had water diverted from their farms to feed the exhibition.

I should probably state that I'm not sold on going to Chiang Mai, but as someone who is planning my first visit to Thailand, it is certainly up for consideration - mostly because I hear it mentioned so often.

rhkkmk - I guess when I think of Bangkok, I think of it in the way you've described - a huge city (but hi-rise, unlike Chiang Mai). What is it about Bangkok that you love, but is different in Chiang Mai that makes you not love it? And when you leave Bangkok, where do you go?

Tangata - thank you for such a thoughtful opinion/post. I was surprised by the NYTimes statement of the monks begging for rice; sounds like that is inaccurate. I hate to admit I don't know what Songkran is - I will have to look that up.
I was a bit taken aback by the prices for meals and hotels in the article, but it sounds like Chiang Mai (like many places) has different price points for what people are willing to spend....I'm definitely not in the camp for spending 1000 baht on dinner (well, maybe one special meal).

Very interesting comments so far...thank you.

Songkran is the Thai New Year, it is a water festival and the Thais throw water around with great abandon. The normal result is that you get drenched!

However it is very popular, which is why we currently have 12 guests with us. We expected 10 but 12 arrived, Mai Pen Rai (it doesn't matter) the children will sleep on the floor!

Many restaurants where you can eat at cheaper prices than those in the article. Also many hotels available around the 1,000 to 1,500 Baht level and Bungalows for less than that.

Chiang Mai is a real favorite of mine. I first went there in 1985 and have been back around 10 times since -- last time for 10 days. I can't wait to return. I agree that it doesn't "feel" like a big city to me. I think of it as very laid back, has a sort of 60s feel for me -- lots of NGOS, lots of people there working to solve problems of poverty and abuse. Great art and crafts if you know where to go and a very relaxed feel. unlike Bangkok, it's a good walking city. But you will also need a driver or taxi to go to many sites.

I agree that it is better to go to Doi Suthep in the late afternoon.

Oh-- one more thing. There are many better restaurants and hotels than those noted.

I've eaten at Dalabaa (sp) and can recommend it. I've been to the Good View and found it too lively for my taste. I prefer something a little more Thai and laid back. For sea food I like Nang Nuan (sp), also located along the river.

Carol

as many of you know i am unable to say why it is that i don't like CM...there is just something about it that leaves me flat and that is after 3 visits there... for one thing there is nothing in CM that is not available in bkk, except perhaps lots of green in the outskirts...

where do we go from bkk: koh samui, phuket, hua hin, pattaya, koh chang, krabi,golden triangle. khao lak, burma, siem reap, vietnam, bali, india, malaysia, and many more places.....it is a great hub....

we like that it is totally thai, and totally international in feel....it has great restaurants at reasonable prices....the shopping is fantastic, the sites are wonderful, the smells....the only thing we hate is the heat and humidity and that it is such a long ride from our home...

we used to love how cheap it was but that has vanished for the moment....but you can still get a hotel for a very reasonable price or a serviced apartment for $100 or less...you can stay in true lux at a place like the peninsula hotel for less than $250 or in something very reasonable like centre point silom for $85....can't beat either of them for value and comfort....

The way Bob feels about Chiang Mai is the way I feel about southern thailand and Hua Hua -- will never go back. Feel whatever is there can be found much closer to home. Nothing unique.

we are all looking forward to gloria's house warming party in CM....the problem is what to bring for a gift??? maybe some towels lifted from the oriental??

Chiang Mai is like Bangkok - people either love it and can't get enough of it (like Gloria) or they dislike it and can't think of any reason to go back. I'm in the camp that finds CM underwheleming.

I was first there in the late 1980s. I think we spent three days there and at the end of the time I felt I never needed to go back (I can't think of anywhere else I've felt that way about). At that time there were very limited options of where to stay. We stayed at the "best" place in town which I would describe as plain and clean, nothing special, no particular Thai feeling to it. We visited Doi Suthep early in the morning, it was really lovely. We did the usual things, the "craft villages" (which even then were factories) the night market (mostly tourist items, but a few gems such as some Hmong silver) the elephant center, orchid gardens, etc. CM is spread out, real urban sprawl, and had no public transportation. I was also bothered by the air pollution there which was worse than Bangkok.

I returned to CM a couple of years ago when Royal Flora was there. We stayed at a nice place - Yaang Come Village - which we really enjoyed. Traffic is terrible, in part due to Royal Flora, but also because there is no public transportation. We visited Doi SUthep in teh evening and it was packed (blame Royal Flora). I was bothered by the particulates in the air (they still burn garbage in CM). We shopped and found some interesting items in fair trade or NGO shops. In CM, you really need a car and driver to get anywhere or to shop. Restaurants are mostly just ok. We ate at only a couple of places that were of a quality we find in Bangkok. We enjoyed our time there, but I'm not inclined to return.

Bangkok, on the other hand is a huge city with great public transport (skytrain, subway, water taxis), world-class hotels and restaurants and great shopping. I find it much easier to get around Bangkok than CM.

Love CM. If CM is considered huge than Bangkok, is "huge, huge, huge". Never would substitute Bangkok for CM. Was surprised at the prices to eat. On the Thai massage - as far as I am concerned who wants a massage dressed in a Judo outfit, and trying to put your left foot over your right shoulder. Just get a regular oil massage and it will be terrific. Loved the markets. Can't wait till we get back, hopefully in 2009.

This has happened before; The "36 hours" article is by no means intended as a travel guide. It is one person's choice of a massive range of possible choices and ought not be viewed as some comprehensive & in depth study of some location. I seldom have done/would do, the things their reporters choose to do in the places they have reviewed.

I'm glad I went to Chiangmai in the 90s. It's sounding like the place has become somewhat of a mess. Happy Travels!

I was in chiang mai the first time in 1985 and loved it. No question it has changed but so has Bangkok. For my money, chiang mai is still great but in a different way than before. Bangkok, on the other hand,I find myself less drawn to except for having clothes made and staying at the Oriental. Now I still love it and think EVERYONE should spend at least 6 days there but it's not a city I feel connected to any longer. Chiang Mai is certainly a city but has a much more laid back feel.

I never rely on newspapers for travel info. The best is here!

What I also find interesting about the article and many people's responses here is the focus on shopping.

Does Bangkok (and/or Chiang Mai) offer the same appeal to non-shoppers as it does to those who love to shop while traveling?

When I think of markets that I would like to go to, I think of primarily food markets. I don't shop while on vacation - never buy souvenirs...just make memories. But I do like to wander food markets out of curiosity. When markets are discussed here, are they of the souvenir variety or the food variety?

We enjoy both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and pretty much hate shopping. There is lots to do besides shopping.