5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

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Big Boy
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5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Big Boy »

My son had been invited to teach at Chiang Mai University, so my wife and I thought we would join him and make it into a mini-break. I will publish the report over several days, and will include photos when we start travelling around.

Planning

The problem we had was that his sessions were to take place on Monday and Wednesday, and it’s a long way to Chiang Mai. To compound the problem, my wife and I are avid Hua Hin City supporters, and never miss a match home or away. The team play on Sundays at the moment, and don’t finish until 6pm. As a result, our travel options were narrowed down to:

• Drive the journey overnight, which would mean me at least being out of action for the Monday. This was the cheapest, but least desirable option.

• Fly from Hua Hin after the match. This would mean driving through weekend Hua Hin traffic, and parking at the airport in just one hour. I was too late for the cheap (990 Baht) flights, but I was able to book at 1590 Baht each way. Parking at Hua Hin Airport is free.

• Leave home early Monday morning and drive to Bangkok to catch an early flight to Chiang Mai. There were flights available at 990 Baht. This would mean the additional cost of fuel and parking. We would probably have to leave home at least 5 hours before our flight. I would still be driving through the night, and I’d hit Friday evening traffic to Hua Hin on the return leg.

We opted for option 2 as it was the least strain on the driver (me), and although on paper a little more expensive, when you take into account meal/snack breaks, there would not have been that much difference.

I arranged to pick up a hire car at Chiang Mai Airport.

The Journey Begins

Remarkably, the Hua Hin City match finished on time, and we’d picked up 3 points – both instances are quite rare these days. We didn’t stop to applaud the team, but rushed straight back to the car.

I actually drove through the Hua Hin weekend traffic (Pranburi to the airport) in 30 minutes, and straight into a waiting car parking space – things were looking good.

Check in at Hua Hin Airport is very fast and efficient, and we were done in 2 minutes.

We sat in the ample waiting room, but were almost immediately called to the departure lounge. Our plane was early, and we actually departed 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

The Kan Air plane, an ATR72, was as good as any I’ve travelled (cattle class) on. It was spotlessly clean, seats were Big Boy sized, I’m 6’ 5” tall, but there was ample leg room, there was a hot meal, which I actually enjoyed (return flight meal wasn’t quite as good), there were free flow soft drinks and coffee (my wife and I were suffering severe colds and plenty of fluids were order of the day, and we abused it), and the hostesses were efficient and kind on the eye. Kan Air definitely get the thumbs up from me.

We arrived at Chiang Mai about 20 minutes early after a very smooth flight.

Fortunately (you’ll find out why in a minute) my son’s host was there to greet us at the airport.

I went straight to the Budget car hire desk to pick up my car. I had deliberately gone for a Honda City/Toyota Vios sized vehicle as opposed to a cheaper Honda Jazz, which I could just about drive for a short distance, but it does not have the necessary Big Boy room for a lot of miles. You’ve probably guessed where this is going – after all of the formalities I was offered a Honda Jazz. I said, “No.”

I was told it was take it or leave it. Despite having already pre-paid for the vehicle, I decided leave it was the only sensible option. OK, my son could have driven it, but he’d been drinking at the match, and I don’t condone drink driving.

There was actually a stand up argument with the Budget rep in the airport car park, but I was adamant that I was not taking his pathetic offering. Fortunately, my son’s host came to the rescue, and dropped us to the hotel.

Budget arrived at my hotel at 08:50 the following morning with the car I’d ordered. As compensation, they had extended my hire until 09:00 on the 29 Aug. Great compensation when your flight to Hua Hin departs at 17:30 on 28 Aug.

I’ve written the mandatory complaint letter. In the unlikely event that I receive a reply (This Is Thailand – TIT), I will let you know how I get on.

The hotel I’d booked was the Holiday Garden Hotel. Hotels in Chiang Mai are very cheap, and it was hard to decide which one to stay at. My eventual choice proved to be very good (I had taken review advice and booked into the tower as opposed to the garden area). My only complaints (and I love complaining) were:

• The hotel was used daily as a conference centre. If we arrived back at the wrong time of the day, there was no car parking left.

• We wanted to go into the city centre one evening, and asked reception to phone us a taxi. We were abruptly told to go outside and flag one down ourselves. I’ve stayed in many hotels in many countries. This is the first time I’d received this treatment.

• My wife was too ill to go out one evening, so we ate in the hotel restaurant. The food was barely fit for human consumption. My wife rewarded the chef’s hard work by throwing up over the restaurant floor. Fortunately, we were the only ones in there. They actually took the incident quite well, and were quite caring.
Holiday Garden Hotel - Grounds
Holiday Garden Hotel - Grounds
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Holiday Garden Hotel - Lobby Area
Holiday Garden Hotel - Lobby Area
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Holiday Garden Hotel - Lobby Area
Holiday Garden Hotel - Lobby Area
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Holiday Garden Hotel - View from lift
Holiday Garden Hotel - View from lift
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For a moaning git like me, the above put the hotel into the ‘very good’ bracket. I’d have been hard put to have found somewhere better at that price – well satisfied.

Tomorrow, just a chilled day around Doi Suthep.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by buksida »

Been looking forward to this one, heading up that way next month with the tribe.

How much was the car rental? Will be needing one.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Big Boy »

I booked through rentalcars.com, and it cost me THB6494.40 (inc CDW and additional driver). OK, a little more than picking up an inner city rental, but with Budget, I knew I'd be fully covered, and the car should be what I ordered.

My mishap with the car offered was peculiar to me and should not put most people off (unless you're over 6' 5" tall). I was driving an average of 4 hire cars per week during the last 25 years of my working life, and in that time encountered the same problem time after time. I was very well known by all of the reputable car hire companies in the UK.

Incidentally, the response to my complaint was they'd do their best to make sure it wouldn't happen again, but couldn't guarantee it.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by kendo »

Hotel looks fab. Never been that far up might have to have a bimble up there one day.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Big Boy »

Hotel was excellent for the money - £16 per night incl a decent buffet breakfast with a good Thai/Western selection, and that included paying for an upgrade into the Tower.

There's a hell of a lot to see and do up there - we only scratched the service. You could spend an entire holiday up there, and not run out of things to keep you amused.

However, as my conclusion will tell you, bars close at midnight, and police are out in numbers enforcing that. They also strictly enforce the 300 mtr ruling. I'm not a drinker, so I didn't test it, but my son was thrown out of a couple of places at midnight (because they closed, not because he was unruly :wink: ).
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Takiap »

Thanks for the report. The hotel looks really good and especially at that price. Having said that, I found that just about everything up there was way cheaper than here in Hua-Hin.

Did your son even get to see much up there other than the "Chiang Mai" women lol?


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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Big Boy »

Takiap wrote:Did your son even get to see much up there other than the "Chiang Mai" women lol?
Yes, but we had to fit him with a set of blinkers first :D
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by migrant »

Nice pics and report. Been up there a few times since I have a couple clients living there. Great town, growing fast.

It was on our short list of places to settle but the lack of an ocean crossed it off.

Thanks BB, look forward to next installments :thumb:
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by hhfarang »

^ Was my number one choice of places to settle but air quality for 3 or 4 months out of the year crossed it off as I have asthma... I think other than that I would have been happier there as they do actually have a bit of a winter and golf is affordable.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

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Day 1 – A Chill Day

This started with a meeting with my son’s host for breakfast, which went on until about 11:00.

We had always planned this as a ‘chill’ day, so we just went for a drive around one of the local mountains – Doi Suthep (I concluded Doi means mountain in that area). I soon learnt that driving around Chiang Mai’s mountains meant a lot of hills and some VERY bendy roads, with a lot of sheer drops, and no crash barriers. Only an idiot would drive fast on these roads.

The scenery was fantastic, and didn’t look like Thailand at all. We came to one huge valley, which looked like something out of the Hobbit. Lots of little Hobbitesque type buildings sat in a very green valley. Many with smoke coming out of the chimneys. I should have stopped to take a photo, but I was concentrating on keeping my 4 wheels on the road. We did stop for coffee, but the views were nowhere near as good here.
Doi Suthep view 1
Doi Suthep view 1
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Doi Suthep Coffee Stop
Doi Suthep Coffee Stop
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Doi Suthep view 2
Doi Suthep view 2
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Doi Suthep view 3
Doi Suthep view 3
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Everything was so green and fertile. It was beautiful, but only an appetiser for what the rest of the holiday would bring.

Day 2 – Wat Rong Khun and The Golden Triangle

An early(ish) start (don’t forget we’re on holiday as well) today because we had a lot of miles to cover (about 340 if I didn’t get lost), with quite a few of them being very bendy. My wife has been on to me for a long time to take her to the temple, and I’ve wanted to say that I’ve been to the Golden Triangle for about 25 years, so we had a lot to achieve in a day trip.

It took about 2.5 hours to drive to the temple. Roads weren’t too busy, but the sheer bendy nature, combined with unfamiliarity did slow us down a bit. Parking was a bit of a pain, but we managed to find some road parking between a few mini buses.

First impressions were that it was indeed a beautiful temple, but not as big as we had expected. As with many Thai temples, it seems to have a sinister theme (I’ve yet to research what the theme actually is). Even the road bollards had skulls on them.
First impressions were that it was indeed a beautiful temple
First impressions were that it was indeed a beautiful temple
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Even the road bollards had skulls on them.
Even the road bollards had skulls on them.
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There were heads hanging from many trees, and many of the attractions were built from skeleton parts (not real of course).
heads hanging from many trees
heads hanging from many trees
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heads hanging from many trees
heads hanging from many trees
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built from skeleton parts
built from skeleton parts
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built from skeleton parts
built from skeleton parts
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There were some evil looking masters, controlling what seemed to be slaves in a ship’s hold.
evil looking masters
evil looking masters
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seemed to be slaves in a ship’s hold
seemed to be slaves in a ship’s hold
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It really was a Beauty and the Beast type of place. We were about to go inside, when a tannoy announcement stated that the temple was closing for lunch, and would re-open at 13:00.

So we had time to have a coffee followed by a good look around the grounds. The first thing we came to was a marvellous gold building. This turned out to be what must be the world’s most glamorous toilet block. None of us took advantage of the facilities, so we can’t say if it was as good inside as it was out.
the world’s most glamorous toilet block
the world’s most glamorous toilet block
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the world’s most glamorous toilet block
the world’s most glamorous toilet block
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There were plenty of little things to look at in the grounds, not least the cool wishing well.
the cool wishing well
the cool wishing well
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Tight git that i am. I thought it was so cool that even I had to have a go (scored 2 out of 2, but only 2nd level – my wife scored a level 1 and a level 2).

Keeping one eye on the clock, knowing that the Golden Triangle was still some way away, they eventually opened the gates. OK we were able to get a few close ups of the gruesome figures, but I was quite underwhelmed by the inside of the temple.

So, it was back to the car, re-set the SatNav and we were on our way to the Golden Triangle. I’ll never forget a visit to Inverness a few years back because of the lack of traffic, even in rush hour. Well, we were at the top of Thailand, and the traffic was about the same – negligible.

I’d been warned not to expect too much when I got to the Golden Triangle, and the warnings were sound. A few meaningless Buddha images, a lot of tourist tat and a few piers where boats left from.
A few meaningless Buddha images
A few meaningless Buddha images
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A few meaningless Buddha images
A few meaningless Buddha images
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A few meaningless Buddha images
A few meaningless Buddha images
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Where we were
Where we were
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I wanted to go on a boat to say that I’ve been there, but had no desire whatsoever to step foot in Burma or Laos. My wife enquired how much for just the boat ride, and was told 800 Baht each – I didn’t want to get wet that much. Anyway, she negotiated it down to 500 Baht for the 3 of us on our own boat. I didn’t commit at that point, but wandered off to see what others were charging – then I was shocked.

At the main pier was an Immigration Office where people seemed to be doing a lot of paperwork (a notice did say it was free) before going on the various boats. I couldn’t be hassled with that. I moved to an observation point – it was only the piers near the Immigration Office going through hassle. The pier were we first enquired had nobody checking people on or off, and after all, it wasn’t as if I wanted to land in another country. I just wanted a boat ride.

We went back to the first pier, and paid our 500 Baht. My wife decided the climb down to the boat and back would be too much for her, so it was just my son and I.
Our pier, but our boat was about 1/3 the size.
Our pier, but our boat was about 1/3 the size.
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We donned our life jackets and boarded our boat (what a wuss I was getting on that boat). Our driver took us as far as the casino in Burma,
the casino in Burma
the casino in Burma
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back to the market in Laos
the market in Laos
the market in Laos
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and then back to our departure point again. It was quite funny actually. He drove quite fast, but literally put the pedal to the metal as he passed the pier with Immigration Police waiting.
Giving it some wellie past the 'manned' piers.
Giving it some wellie past the 'manned' piers.
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I was back ashore, and had the long drive home awaiting me.
Our little boat.
Our little boat.
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As I said, very little here, but for people with more time on their hands there are other attractions such as the Opium Museum to visit.

Tomorrow: In search of a long necked woman.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by buksida »

Were you based in CM or CR? Would you choose the Temple or the Triangle if you had to do only one? Mrs buksi wants to go to a place called Phu Chi Fah on the Laos border for some misty sunrise climb in the cold. :shock:

I hate driving here (4 wheels anyway) so would like to keep that to a minimum!
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Big Boy »

We were based in Chiang Mai as my son was teaching at the university. Ideally, we would have moved our base further North, but had to fit excursions (spelling looks wrong, but spell checker rules :oops: ) around his teaching.

As I said in my report, my personal preference would have been the Golden Triangle, but apart from a few touristy things, there is very little to see. It's just nice to say you've been. A bit like visiting Lands End - nothing there, but good to say you've been there.

The temple was very good (if you like that sort of thing), but I think I was most impressed with the toilet block. Seriously, it looks just like the millions of photos we've all seen before, but a little smaller than I'd expected.

Doi Inthanon (report after next) is about an hour from Chiang Mai, and might satisfy Mrs buksi's desire for a misty sunrise climb in the cold. We were there on a warm day, and it was only 13C. Plenty of mist (fog at times). Real English grass, Fuchsias , Hydrangeas, Buzy Lizzies etc - beautiful.

Basically, there is a lot (real and plastic) to do in each location - you need to plan carefully. Definitely consider a roving base station to reduce mileage - we had no choice.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Bamboo Grove »

I have been to Doi Inthanon but never to Phu Chi Fah. However from the photos I've seen of the latter it easily beats the view of the former.
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

Post by Big Boy »

LOL - too much cloud at the summit to see what the view was like. Just a bit of nostalgia to see real grass and flowers, and to remember what English rain feels like - too bloody cold :cry:
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Re: 5 Days in the Chiang Mai Area

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buksida wrote:Were you based in CM or CR? Would you choose the Temple or the Triangle if you had to do only one? Mrs buksi wants to go to a place called Phu Chi Fah on the Laos border for some misty sunrise climb in the cold. :shock:

I hate driving here (4 wheels anyway) so would like to keep that to a minimum!
Buksida: I Went to Phu Chi Fah in Jan 2014. relatively easy to get to. a bit of a walk up to the top. beautiful view of haze but I thought worth the drive, but I only drove from Phayao. Can't be that cold anyway. (more details in previous post.)
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