18 replies to this topic

[Jason_Bourne]

I would appreciate any information on how to make a trip to Chiang Rai fun and memorable for my GF. She has only been to Chiang Rai once in her life, and that was long ago when she was a little boy. (There's that phrase again - "long ago when she was a little boy.")

I know that I can look on TripAdvisor for some of this stuff, but I enjoy getting feedback from fellow BMs, so please share any info that you might have.

Thanks!

[Beerlao]

chiang rai is more of a backpackers place - maybe best idea is to join in the fun - good guesthouses
there but hotels not so good. Can also rent nice bike around 250cc and head up the hills e.g. mae salong
, doi tung etc. also some nice guesthouses up there. There is the excellent condoms and cabbages restaurant
which is very nice in the evening with music - also a good cause. Saturday night market also very good. Also
famous temple with emerald buddha.

[luv u long time]

Hey bud,
I really enjoyed my time in Chiang Rai. Its like the poor cousin of Chiang Mai, but still has its own character.
Wat Rong Khun (also called Wat See Khaow) is amazing. Worth an afternoon there. You are heading along a pretty run down area and as you turn the corner, you see something that is completely out of place and whiter than white. The video of the artist / architect is good to watch. He is very animated and passionate about the temple.

Also, I highly recommend making a full day trip to Mae Sai market in Burma. Its about a 1 hr bus journey and is perhaps the best market I've been at in the world. A whole village selling everything imaginable. Think of Pat Pong products, multiply the stock by at least 50, but at a fraction of the price. Great fun !!

The red light area in Chiang Rai is very different too. When I was there a couple of years ago, it was just a couple of streets. Remarkably, there is an LB bar, however, when I was there, it was like butch men wearing cheap wigs. Still, its worth a look for a couple of beers and a chat with the girls.

Quite a few nice hotels right in the town centre and not big money. Probably about 3+ star, almost 4 for about 1200-1500 baht per night.

Cheers
LULT

[Lost In Loei]

The tilac reitterated the Mae Sai market and Wot Rhan Khun.

Also recommended a trip to San Laim Tung Com the border river and Doi Tung mountain.

There is another quasi temple to an old king that she recommended Poa Khun Maung Rai.

Sorry if it got a little messed up in the translation.

Have a nice trip

[Nob Hoskins]

Hi Jason, firstly I'd like to say that Chiang Rai is all about the province & not the city, it's a place to tour around
& see the sites rather than hang around the quirky, yet dull centre. They've tried to do things with Chiang Rai for years now, but nothing as ever seemed to take off, in my estimation, probably because it's a full on 'Chinese' town (regardless of where the inhabitants come from) & the quintessential Thai smiles just aren't there... Not unless you get out of the city of course.
NB. If you want to find restaurants go to the south side of the city where the Thais go, it's authentic & far better that anything you'll find around the Falang quarter.

Has Lute said Watt Rong Khun is a must see & they're always adding to it, plus you've got to go to Mea Sai market or even better still, for $5.00 you can cross over the bridge into Takilek, Burma & see a market that makes Mea Sai look like a rainy Sunday car boot sale in Bollockshire, UK.... Plus you're allowed to travel a 15 mile radius out of Takilek with your one day pass.
NB. In addition you can get effective 'snide' Cialis for 80/100 baht per box of 4 & I had one of my most sensual LB encounters ever with a Burmese Kathoy in a massage parlour there once too!!!


Another must do is 'The Halls of Opium' between Chiang Seng & Chiang Khong, it's an educational centre & museum which has actually been built inside a mountain!.. You walk in one side & out the other!! In addition, you'll learn a lot of stuff other than the history of heroin & opium production, for instance as you leave the place there's a placard that tells us that to this day the Chinese have no problem 'ripping off' or 'tripping up' the Brits because of what we did to them during the Opium Wars... it's true, go read it! They also blame us for softening them up to an extent where the the Japs could just walk in & take over.

Also if you're driving from CMX go by the 107 Fang road rather than the conventional 118 route because the scenery is absolutely breathtaking (Tropical Tuscany with mountains, but without the landscaping). It's also the route where you'll find the 'Elephant Nature Park' in Mea Tang & then more protected wild elephants in Chiang Dow.

Please don't go Giant Catfish fishing on the Mekong (virtually fished to extinction now) or to any Elephant camps other than the 'Elephant Nature Park, ENP' which is a charity which runs two sanctuaries where you can see these beasts in as near to a natural environment as possible. I do a lot of work for this charity & the reason that I say don't go to the others or on the rides is that no matter what you might have been told to get an elephant to passively carry people around the poor thing will have had virtually every bit of fight & snot smashed out of it!



Hope that's of some help

Nob


PS. Sorry Lute, but unfortunately the LB bar is gone, but the feral bars with the little Aka tribe girls are still fun! You'll maybe find LB's around the massage parlours at the end of Chula Street (the Falang strip)... You'll also find some well appointed guest houses around this area for around 400 baht per night! I'd personally recommend the Bamboo House.

PPS. Why not go see the Hill tribes & lose a few hours/days in an Opium Den, that'll give you an experience you can carry around for a while!

Edited by Nob Hoskins, 12 February 2012 - 06:57 PM.

[travis bickle]

Great post nob hoskins-i wished id consulted PLB FORUM before i went to the god forsaken place that is chiang rai TOWN......plus 1 mate

[anders11]

travis bickle, on 12 February 2012 - 05:58 PM, said:

Great post nob hoskins-i wished id consulted PLB FORUM before i went to the god forsaken place that is chiang rai TOWN......plus 1 mate

^{same same cap!!!!.not a great place to bring your lb girlfriend,i felt like all eyes were on me when i was their,freaky,now the landscape is amazing,but it stops their.the bus journey to chiang mai has some of the most beautiful scenery ive ever seen}

[Solice]

anders11, on 12 February 2012 - 06:36 PM, said:

^{same same cap!!!!.not a great place to bring your lb girlfriend,i felt like all eyes were on me when i was their,freaky,now the landscape is amazing,but it stops their.the bus journey to chiang mai has some of the most beautiful scenery ive ever seen}

Got to agree about the scenery Anders, I was stuck there a few years ago, all the coaches were full and it didnt look like I would make it to Chiang Mai, managed to get a bus that must have been made in 1920, you could walk faster, there were Thais on it with their livestock, the journey took 7 hours but I ended up loving it. The scenery was amazing and because we were going so slow we had time to take it in, also stopped in a number of villages for a piss stop and food and the locals were great. Would do it again.

[Jason_Bourne]

Great replies from all. Thanks so much. Anders, could you elaborate a bit more on "not a great place to take your LB girlfriend," as this is exactly what I am planning to do. Her village is just an hour or so from Chiang Rai, but she has only been there once in her life - when she was a little boy.

Sounds like renting a motorbike is the best option for checking out the sites, and I definitely want to cross the bridge to Burma if we can get my GF a passport the week we are in Chiang Mai.

[icebergjr.]

Nob,Thanks for the concise update about Chang Rai, +1 for sure! I would love to be able to get out of the path most travelled in LOS,and really experience what the country has to offer, the market in Burma really seems like the place to go!

Thanks again,
Iceberg

[Beerlao]

don't think thai people need passport to enter burma at land border - id card should be ok - check
with locals to make sure.

Edited by Beerlao, 15 February 2012 - 01:35 AM.

[Jason_Bourne]

Beerlao, on 15 February 2012 - 01:01 AM, said:

don't think thai people need passport to enter burma at land border - id card should be ok - check
with locals to make sure.

Thanks, I did some checking already and it appears that the ID card used to be enough, but that now a passport is required.

[Twoshots]

Don't know how quick it is in up north, but to get a Thai passport in Bangkok is really quick and easy. Only took a couple of days.

[Jason_Bourne]

Have checked with a Thai who recently got one in CMX. For him it was five days. We will apply on Monday, and hopefully have it in hand by Friday.

[Ivor]

Another thing to consider when you are up there and very popular with thie thais is this. http://www.chiangmai...cal-garden.html

[anders11]

Jason_Bourne, on 13 February 2012 - 09:59 PM, said:

Great replies from all. Thanks so much. Anders, could you elaborate a bit more on "not a great place to take your LB girlfriend," as this is exactly what I am planning to do. Her village is just an hour or so from Chiang Rai, but she has only been there once in her life - when she was a little boy.

Sounds like renting a motorbike is the best option for checking out the sites, and I definitely want to cross the bridge to Burma if we can get my GF a passport the week we are in Chiang Mai.

i just had an uncomfortable feeling with all eyes on us jason,im planning to take my lady to chiang mai in march for a few days,i love it their.i think you will be ok with nong because your in a long term and solid relationship.it is however very different from anywhere else in thailand,has to be experienced once.enjoy my friend.ps,ill defo do a trip report this time,last trip was to big a disaster

[Jason_Bourne]

anders11, on 18 February 2012 - 12:27 PM, said:

i just had an uncomfortable feeling with all eyes on us jason,im planning to take my lady to chiang mai in march for a few days,i love it their.i think you will be ok with nong because your in a long term and solid relationship.it is however very different from anywhere else in thailand,has to be experienced once.enjoy my friend.ps,ill defo do a trip report this time,last trip was to big a disaster

Anders, are your referring to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai where you had a bad experience. I have been with Nong in Chiang Mai many times with no problems. Assuming you are talking about Chiang Rai, could you give me more details of what you experienced?

[anders11]

Jason_Bourne, on 18 February 2012 - 08:26 PM, said:

Anders, are your referring to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai where you had a bad experience. I have been with Nong in Chiang Mai many times with no problems. Assuming you are talking about Chiang Rai, could you give me more details of what you experienced?

was referring to chiang rai,i couldnt wait to leave the place,ive been all over thailand during the last 12 years,stayed in the jungle many times, but i never got an eary feeling like i did in chiang rai town,i dont want to dish the place on one experience jason,life has thought me that it could have just been me at that particular time,so you go for it,your only a short bus journey from one of the most wonderful place in the world(chiang mai)

[Beerlao]

was there a few months ago and found it more or less same as other small cities in thailand - natives seems friendly
enough !