MMan

Round trip CNX-LPQ by Laos Airlines: $ 312 USD / person inclusive of taxes.

The above comments by dru2 are good advice. Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam are almost like 3 different countries. 4 decades after the war, I sill hear people in the south say they don't even like the people from the north (and I expect many in the north feel the same about them).

The War Museum in HCMC is very interesting for anyone who grew up during that era, especially if you are American. Of course it tells the story from the communist government's point of view, highlighting the damage done to the country by the Americans. It can be rather eerie and some of the pics and exhibits are on the gruesome side, so I'd think twice before taking children. If you are with a Vietnamese tour guide, the guide will usually wait outside in the courtyard where the helicopters, artillery and other things left behind by the US are, while you go in the main building that has the pics and exhibits - as some tourists become emotional. Most of the people in Vietnam today were born after the war, so to them the war is ancient history, and they will tell you they 'look to the future, not the past'.

Word has it the cabaret show in Anusarn Night Bazaar will soon open a 2nd location where Simon Cabaret was previously. The Anusarn show will then close for about a month for renovations. Same performers will do both shows. An early show at Chang Puak where you have to buy a ticket, then a later show at Anusarn where the current policy of free admission as long as you buy drinks will be maintained.

I suspect the new location will be targeted at Chinese and other Asian tour groups, who typically don't drink alcohol. Expect to see more Chinese Tour Group buses on Chang Puak road soon!

Luang Prabang is a nice place to visit, but driving yourself to Luang Prabang and beyond doesn't sound very practical. For one thing they drive on the right side of the road so you'll have to deal with that. And I'd thing a farang driving a car with a Thai license would be a prime target for people with less than honorable intentions. Further road conditions and infrastructure overall are generally below Thai standards..

Laos Airlines flies direct Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang every afternoon. It's an inexpensive one hour flight. By road driving it has to be a 2 day trip.

I don't like taking antibiotics. After a couple of days the side effects from the antibiotics are usually making me feel worse than whatever it was prescribed for.

Glad the number was corrected from 25 million to 25 thousand as I was afraid there would be no more Europeans and no more Americans in about 12 years time 5555

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Coffee like many things is a matter of personal taste. I quite like McDonald's coffee and do not care at all for Starbucks. Most Asian coffees are too strong for my taste. Enjoy a mild Columbian roast or some Jamaican Blue Mountain!

I concur with the poster who likes the Whole Wheat bread at Butter is Better - really very good. They also make a tasty multi-grain bread, and will tell you up front it is not whole grain.

Just noticed that almost all stock markets across Asia and Europe are trending downward today... with one notable exception... Germany's market is up. Football feel good influence I'm sure. 555

I have been informed by bar workers in Chiang Mai that bars must close on Friday for the Buddhist holy day. Also Saturday too, though I question if that is actually the case. If that impacts your lifestyle plan accordingly.

Out of town on the highway driving is fine, though in town you need to have a lot of patience, be very alert and very careful. Just assume everybody else on the road is a total idiot and bound to do something crazy at any moment. The fact that you are concerned about it means that you will probably be careful, and thus you will probably be OK.

Adjusting to driving on the left is not as difficult as you might think. I been here 7 years and still have to think about which side of the car I need to get in on though. As one other poster mentioned, it can be confusing when turning onto a 4 lane divided highway as you enter from the opposite side.

For internet, a 3G aircard may be your best option. I have both True (which is someshat unstable where I live) and DTAC (which works very well where I live). I also have AIS 3G service on my phone and it works well.

The Visa thing though may be difficult. Thai Immigration has really been cracking down this year on people abusing the Tourist Visa / Visa Waiver privileges, specifically targeting people who are not coming for legitimate tourism and / or plan to stay indefinitely - if they suspect you are doing that they can refuse to allow you to re-enter when you go for a border run. Also it is a requirement when coming for tourism that you can show proof of having a round trip air ticket back home, though they do not often check for that. Further you are prohibited to work in Thailand when on a tourist visa - so if they suspect you are doing that, you can expect trouble.

If arriving as a tourist on the 30 day visa waiver, they will only allow you to do a border run and re-enter 3 times. After that they will send you away and tell you to apply for a visa before coming back to Thailand.

You might be able to get the Education Visa, though they have been cracking down on people abusing that as well.

The US Embassy this week sent out notices to Americans residing in Thailand about the Immigration crackdown, and also mentioned that if you are denied a visa or re-entry, they cannot help you.

I've only seen good things coming from the traffic police crackdown.

The area near the street food vendors around Chiang Mai Gate by the moat has long been a big traffic mess. Motorcycles park on the road near the food carts, then tuk tuks and songthaews double and triple park next to them, waiting around for passengers while blocking the road. Many times it has taken me 10 minutes or longer to get through that area in my car because they had traffic almost completely blocked, with traffic backed up a long way. Late afternoon and early evening were the worst times.

Not now! :-) In the last week I've driven through there many times in late afternoon or early evening with no major traffic backups. Only a few tuk tuks and songthaews parked around but not blocking virtually the entire road anymore. Traffic cops on motorcycles keeping the road open.

This is a great little boutique 3 star to 3.5 star hotel. Only 6 months old. Clean, modern & comfortable. Great staff - very friendly and eager to be helpful. While not luxurious and a bit spartan, it is of stylish modern contemporary design. Pool & fitness room are small but do the job. Free wifi works fine. Complimentary mini bar. I have a deluxe room which is roomy and well designed, with a nice balcony overlooking the pool. The breakfast eggs tasted like they came from a microwave but no complaints and overall I thought breakfast was quite satisfactory (the whole wheat bread was excellent).

Location is good - 5 minute walk to night market, 2 blocks from the clock tower and about 3 blocks from the 'farang nightlife' bar street.

Extra bonus points for the very comfortable mattress, and also the bathroom with large counter-top and large walk-in rain shower.

Overall a very solid choice and great value for the price. I normally stay at either the Wiang Inn, Dusit Island or Le Meridien and have had good stays at all three, though now there are 4 hotels I would be happy to stay at when in the area.

As it is new and small, most taxi drivers and even the taxi dispatch call line are not familiar with it.

Great - thanks for the info. I've read good reviews and will do my own.

Booked to stay at this new centrally located hotel, but having a bit of trouble figuring out exactly where it is. Address is 610 Phahonyothin Rd.

If I type the address into Google maps, it appears to be south of the Wiang Inn on the same road, near the Diamond Park. However on the hotel website and also Agoda, both of which refer you to Google Maps, it shows as being north of the Night Bazaar on their version of Google maps. Help?

Does Phahonyothin make a 90 degree turn right north of the Night Bazaar and go out to Hwy 1? (turning where it intersects with Baan Phaparkan)?

On moving to Thailand I quickly learned to look both ways before stepping onto a road or even a sidewalk, even a one way road. And when walking down a sidewalk in Bangkok be sure to look behind you before suddenly changing direction, as a speeding motorcycle may be coming up from behind at 50 kph plotting a course roughly one inch to your left or right. ALWAYS assume that everybody on the road is a stupid idiot and may do something insane at any moment.

Both of these condos appear to have several large and decent looking units available for rentals at reasonable prices. However parking spaces appear very limited at both. Would appreciate hearing from residents or anyone with first hand knowledge on these properties if car parking availability is indeed a problem..

Smoking has been banned in all Thailand restaurants, bars and other indoor public areas throughout Thailand for 7 years. Open air bars and restaurants are exempt. Some hotels are 100% smoke free though most offer both smoking and non-smoking rooms.

Some indoor bars and other places do allow smoking, but most places you would likely go do not.

I don't like to be around smokers either and it is generally not an issue here in Thailand.

How I would get from Myanmar to Luang Prabang:

Air Bagan flies Yangon to Chiang Mai on Thursday and Sunday afternoons (depart 14:20 arrive 16:10). Stay in Chiang Mai overnight (or better yet a few nights).

Lao Airlines flies daily Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang (depart 15:30 arrive 16:30). Cost with tax is about $ 170 USD.

No experience with Air Bagan, but I've flown Lao Airlines including this route and was quite satisfied with them. There are no Mandalay to Chiang Mai flights.

Was at Promenada a few weeks ago on a Tuesday night, which is probably a slow night at most malls. Very few customers around at any store, with one exception - The Dukes. It wasn't 'busy' but between 1/3 and 1/2 of the tables were occupied, which made it easily the busiest place in the mall.

Butter is Better has the best pancakes I've had in Asia. Have had their buttermilk, whole wheat and blueberry pancakes - all excellent! So big though they'll fill you up and not leave much room for other items. Good value too.

Have had pancakes at many hotel breakfast buffets around Asia including several 5 star places, and they are usually tasteless aside from whatever you put on top of them.

The IHOP photo got me looking forward to my next stateside trip! So wish we had IHOP and BOB EVANS here in Chiang Mai!

In the Night Bazaar area:

O'Malleys Irish Pub in the Anusarn Night Bazaar. The Dukes restaurant. Le Bistrot beer garden at the Suriwongse hotel has indoor seating available.

For something with more scenery... Foxy Lady.

I was told as recently as Thursday and Friday by bar managers and employees that they could stay open this weekend - apparently the police did not get the word out much in advance.

Not a problem to find a drink though if you know where to go.

It is RAINING on Chang Klan Road

Where exactly do you find the 'current' PM10 readings. I went to the aqmthai.com website and it only shows a 24 hour moving average, which has about doubled in the last few hours. I've tried the links at the beginning of this thread but didn't find a good source.

The weather forecast shows a 60% chance of scattered overnight storms Saturday night / early Sunday morning. Hope that comes true and it becomes not so scattered.