jodo

We will be in CM vicinity for 8 days early March and looking for 1-2 day excursion out. Maybe Golden Triangle (but we've been before). The 20 minute flight to Pai sounds convenient, but are there any Fodorites who can enlighten us as to why. (we've read the books...it seems sleepy and lovely, but we can't quite get a feel for it. I have a bad back lately, and river rafting isn't quite as appealing as it might have been two months ago) Any thoughts about that or another excursion? We've looked into going south to Lampang (sp)but not a lot of positive input on that area. Anybody out there got a thought? Six weeks and we're gone, so we're stepping up the inquiries.
Thanks
J and D

crellston

I liked Pai, we spent a couple of days there at the Belle Villa when we drove around the Mai Hong Sorn loop from CM. It is quite a laid back almost back-packerish sort of place, lots of cafe type places. For 1/2 days outside of CM have you considered somewhere in the hills like Chiang Dao Nest which gets good reviews and would give a brieif albeit touristic insight into the minority peoples lives?

jodo

We will check that out. Anyone out there been to Lampang?
Thanks
j and d

connette

We stayed at the Lampang River Lodge in November going between Sukhothai/Phisanuloke and Chiang Mai.

We really enjoyed all of the above. Lampang has a few nice temples and we went had a spa day at the Lampang Medicinal Plants Conservation Assembly. All of this was great and not touristy at all. The River Lodge is out of town a few miles in a forest type area and is quite beautiful. They have a couple of restuarants. The breakfast restaurant was adequate at best (included), but the dinner restaurant was really good. You walk on a suspension bridge to get there and it is right on the river. We had what they called a deluxe superior room and it was like a small cottage. Huge shower and seperate tub and a porch - both screened and open - over a small lake. Very good price too.

The big thing to do there is the horse carriage ride. I could have skipped that though myself.

connette

I guess I should add that we also stayed in Pai. Also at Belle Villa which is quite nice. I would say we preferred the Sukhothai/Phisanuloke/Lampang area. Not to say that we did not like Pai - but it was really more of just a stop between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son. It might depend on what you are looking for though.

althom1122

If you want to visit an elephant camp, the one near Lampang is especially nice. We made a short stop in Lamphun afterwards and enjoyed it very much.

connette

We did the one day program at the Elephant camp also. Fun day. It is only 15 minutes or so from the River Lodge. If you have enough time, Sukhothai and Phisanuloke were real highlights of our trip. A great place to stay in Sukhothai is the Tharaburi resort. Small (8 or so rooms), deluxe and beautiful. Also on a small lake. We were there over Loy Krathong as that is where it began and they have the largest celebration. Magnificent.

jodo

thank you guys so much for the input. I think Lampang is gonna get the nod over Pai....Now you have us intrigued by Sukhothai. How far from CM/Lampang area?

connette

Sukhothai to Lampang is 3 hours drive. Two sites worth visiting there are Sukhothai Historical Park, a World Heritage site and Srisatchanalai, which is about 1 hour away. Virtually no tourists at the latter and very few at the former. There is a great place on the river just out side of Srisatchanalai for lunch. Natalie was there too (see below).

In Phisanuloke (only one hour further) I recommend Wat Mahathat, Sergeant-Major's Folklore Museum (largest in Thailand) and across the street from that the same folks have started a bird sanctuary that is just a few baht more to visit with admission. Around 100 birds. Many some of the last survivors in Thailand. They give you a fun (funny too) guided tour. If you can hook up with one of the english speaking docents at the Folklore Museum, you will get much more out of it as they explain how all of the crazy stuff there is used.

The really funny thing on this portion of our trip was that we kept running in to Natalie the Singha spokesperson who won Miss Universe when it was held in Thailand. She is worshiped by the Thai people. She was traveling with her Thai entourage and going around the ruins in white high heels. The first night we saw her was at the Sound and Light Show (great!!) at the Sukhothai park. At that time we did not know who she was, but people were climbing over each other to see and photograph her. This continued for the next few days as we encountered her at restaurants, etc. We thought we were going to die laughing at the whole thing.

jodo

might not have the time to get to Sukhothai...unless we revamp some other things. But I really like the Lampang idea (kind of like Hue, HCMC and Vientiane...some mixed opinions that make me want to visit.

cjmichael

I was in Pai for a few days in December. I had a few extra days in Chiang Mai so I took the bus there. The bus takes several hours and the drive was somewhat interesting. However, flying may have been more practical and the view better, though you do have to consider getting to and from the airports. I stayed in Misty View, just over the river (take the road over the bridge and hang your first left). This place has bungalows which I believe were 300B or less. Very nice and very peaceful. About an 8-minute walk to town. Renting a motorocycle is the best way to get around since many temples, waterfalla and other sites become readily accessible. Definately get a helmet and some places actually offer insurance, which I highly recommend. The town is lovely and small enough to explore in just a few hours. Many veggie restaurants and shops. There are elephant rides, a national park and hot springs to explore, also.

I took many photos which are posted on my website:
http://www.pbase.com/cjmichael/thailand

Enjoy!

- Chris