Chang Mai or bust

[Scuba Susie]

Hey y'all,

Could anyone advise me on cool and different things to do out of Chang Mai? We will be diving Koh Phi Phi for 6 days or so but wanted to try a little land adventure as well. I know we can view the batts and ride the elephants and see the night bazaar but is there any other "must see" things we shouldn't miss? I hear you can mountain bike in that area too!
Thanks for any and all info!
Susie

 

[MoonWrasse]

You might try the lonelyplanet Thailand forum.

 

[2psquared]

Pay the $5 to $15 daily to get a 2 hour massage. Some of the best money you will ever spend.

 

[pakman]

Chiang Mai is one of my favorite places in Asia. Very relaxed city to just walk or bike around. Sure hit a spa for a nice traditional thai massage. you can do one of the day trips to the hilltribes. while its pretty cool out there, its sad that a lot of the "tribes" that you visit have become a bit commercialized (i.e. they kind of ham it up for the tourists for the $'s...) If you're into cooking and love thai food, there's some fun cooking courses as well...

 

[Luko]

Well, it depends how much time you have, if only two days, at least take a car with a driver in a travel agency and get to Chiang Dao to see different hill tribes... it's important to take an individuela tour, not a bus, because you'll then be able to get away from the beaten trails and get to more genuine villages (of course none of them are totally tourist devoid).

If you have more time than that, I suggest you go and spend a day in Mae Hong Son which is really a beautiful hillside place, not far from burmese border and come back through Pai. the road from Mae Hong Son to Pai is probably the best of what you can get for hill sceneries in Thailand.

If you like soft trek adventure, you can also stay and trek in a hilltribe resort like lisu lodge, it mxes trekking, elephant and bike rides in 3 days.

What else in Chiang Mai? Even if it sounds corny, go and see the snake show... your heart will pound faster, I bet.

Anyway, enjoy your stay.

 

[Taxgeek]

I don't know the website, but there are a couple of cooking schools there that give really good one day thai cooking classes - a friend of mine loved them.

 

[Scuba Susie]

As usual, you ScubaBoarders always have such great info!
We will have about 4 days in Chaing Mai. Definitely will get a few massages....just not into the "happy endings" I have heard about! The hillside tribes sound fun. Isn't there a river near there that you can bike next to? Really scenic? Mekong or something like that? I think I saw it in a Lonely Planet Guide. Tell me more about this Snake Show...and where is it? Sounds funky!
Thanks again,
Susie
Pacman your pics were great....got any more?

 

[pakman]

Susie, unfortunately I don't have that many more photos from that trip. For some reason I didn't snap that many in Chiang Mai. I think I had filled my camera's memory card to the brim as I was just coming from Ankor Wat.

Another thing to do is maybe split some time at Chiang Rai which I hear is nice and a little more off the beaten track than Chiang Mai (but I've never been there myself).

Here's a website I just found that has some interesting trips/ activities around Chiang Mai (mountain biking, hikes, white water rafting, etc).
http://www.activethailand.com/daytrips/

 

[jiveturkey]

If you've only got 4 days, the hill tribe treks are out. That's too bad because I really enjoyed mine and made some good friends. When are you going to be there? April has the Songkron water festival which is a total ball. Children and adults having water fights for a week straight. You can cosy up to one of the VW street bars and have a few cocktails. Enjoy some mango and sticky rice. It's a beautiful place and super cheap. Coming from the islands you're going to see a huge difference in prices.

 

[tzeyap]

As usual, you ScubaBoarders always have such great info!
We will have about 4 days in Chaing Mai. Definitely will get a few massages....just not into the "happy endings" I have heard about! The hillside tribes sound fun. Isn't there a river near there that you can bike next to? Really scenic? Mekong or something like that? I think I saw it in a Lonely Planet Guide. Tell me more about this Snake Show...and where is it? Sounds funky!
Thanks again,
Susie
Pacman your pics were great....got any more?

It is possible to do a day trip to Chiangrai and the 'Golden Triangle' where that section of the upper reaches of the Mekong marks the borders between Thailand, Myammar(Burma) and Laos. You can go on a river ride on the Mekong there. Near Chiangrai . the Thai border town of Maesai faces the Burmese market town of Tachilek across a narrow stream. It is possible to do a short tour of the market in Tachilek by walking across the border. You will have to obtain a border pass which cost $10 ( last time I crossed over) Good bargains to to picked up in the market.

When you get to Chiangdao,. you can take a little ride down the river on a bamboo raft. I enjoyed this ride.