WinnieTheKhwai

You may have just upset the one person who could have given you a good answer.. That's not a productive tactic on discussion forums. Anyway, if you want Western products then you will likely end up paying close to western prices but that may not be an issue. So then you're looking at the spas in the top hotels, The Chedi, for example has a very nice spa.

Agreed..! I have been checking all weather sites I know to see where teh information comes from, but couldn't find any with identical predictions. I checked weather.com, yahoo weather (same), bbc weather, weather underground and the Thai meteorological guys. The latter gave me a laugh, seeing what they call 'cold' and worthy of a warm winter jacket icon:

But nothing with the same predictions..

OK you win I lose but still nothing on the east side of town.

And nothing at all in Hang Dong. However George has been vindicated ,if its raining where you , all skeptics should offer him a grovelling apology or we may not find out where this information is coming from.

I hereby issue a grovelling, and sincere apology. It also was a profound experience to be wrong on something; I never knew how that felt! It's liberating, in a sense.

I still have a couple gripes with (any) weather predictions about Thailandthough, but I won't let that distract from this apology, plus I'm off to work.

Thanks, that looks like it's well worth a try! However your link didn't make it.. And chances are a Facebook link can't even be viewed if you're not a Facebook member.

Any chance to reproduce the information in full here on the forum?

I've been fighting myself all day to not reply "Try the spa at the Lavender Lanna" but it is stronger than me.

(Fortunately NancyL above seems well on her way to guide you to the best answer. )

This topic makes me jealous.. I wish mine went silent when upset!

Greenside, it was NOT closed because of the Irish Pub comment. It was closed because the original topic suggested that a fish & chips restaurant was 'biting the dust' when it was merely for sale. Nothing to do with irish pub which is a separate topic.

Honestly I would like to know too as I visit the place regularly. So if anyone has more information on the Irish Pub then please don't be shy to post.

Speaking of food, it's good to bring some just in case the only thing on the menu is cabbage and BBQ squirrel. and then share, of course. If you manage to bring seafood up there in some kind of thermo container then you'll make almost as many friends as with a bottle of Johnny Walker (et al) and a bag of candy. bringing interesting yet healthy stuff is good; easy to find a place to cook & share.

Does anyone know if it's possible to rent a motorcycle in Chomthong, near the turn-off from the main road?

Yes, you can't.

I have a 100 cc but I would prefer to take the bus to Chomthong and ride from there on a 125cc - I also really dread the traffic on the main road, it's a long 55 kms down to Chomthong and then back.

The road is really quite good now.. Separate lanes most of the way and so on. And 100cc really is plenty.

Also, I would appreciate any tips for accommodation at the foot of the mountain or inside the park boundaries. The national park bungalows are far too expensive because they are for large groups.

Yes that's true.. If you don't mind to rough it then you could stay in a hilltribe village.. Or at any side down from the mountain, say on the Mae Chaem side. Or you could bring a tent and camp, that's pretty popular for visiting Thais. (Need sleeping bag. )

I actually have to agree with Heather. I think it is awful to make a people's way of life into a tourist attraction. There are many youths from these tribes that don't want to participate in the ancient customs but are forced by their parents so that they can earn some money from photo happy tourists.

Which is better than 'not making money'. Either way they'd make them work in the fields or send them into town to work. It's a pretty poor area with limited options. And, when venturing over there on your own, it's VERY likely that you avoid commercialized tourist villages. There are actualy pretty few of those, mostly those that happened to be conveniently located near other attractions such as rafting or elephant camps. The logistics of organizing a trekking tour plays a huge part in the villages they visit. With thousands of villages out there, it's really a small minority that get so many tourists that 'making money from tourism' is even a consideration. But all the more power to villagers who are in a position to do that.

> Try doing something like this to a Native American tribe and see how they react.

What a strange comparison.. You know that tourism in Native American areas is huge right? And then people in North America tend to have pretty dogmatic views when it comes to experiencing, enjoying (or even: 'acknowledging') cultural or ancestral differences. (I avoided two words here which always send a discussion South whenever someone mentions them; first word starts with P.)

> These people living in their traditional way of life have dignity and reducing them to an agenda on a sight seeing tour is awful.

Why does this apply only to the Noble Tribes and not to any other area in the world? I visited London one day. My visit didn't impact their dignity in the slightest. I also visited a tiny village in Wales. Same.

> Imagine if Thais started organizing tours to view how Fat old farrang live in Thailand. How would the members on TV like if

Well guess what, they DO!! Khao San Road was a major attraction for a good while and still is. Same for Pai. You get to see Weird Foreigners. Whatever dignity they have, adding some Thais into the mix didn't diminish it further!

Would you ever support a tour group into the heart of the Bronx to see how African Americans have a street party? Wow, lets go watch those dark skin people party. They are unique. I came all the way to NY, I want to see black people.

Actually I would, and I do. Very much so actually. I'd do my research and pick the event and be respectful and all that, but YES I would definitely want to see different scenes and subcultures.

Would be nice if they had one out to the south bus station

Would be nice if they had one out to the Northern & North Eastern bus station.

And before anyone yells "there is a Mo Chit station on both the BTS and MRT!" let me submit that while these stations are named that, they don't actually connect to within reasonable walking distance to the actual bus station.

How silly is that.. have mass transit, nay, TWO mass transit links and manage to make both miss the biggest bus transportation hub in the capital by 2-3 miles?

If anyone doubts that, this is how you get from Mo Chit BTS to Mo Chit Bus Terminal:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source...077162&z=14

(Ok, when walking it's less than 2-3 miles, then it's only 1.6 miles. Still, that's a serious half hour hike in Bangkok's heat, with luggage.)

The slim blond girl at Linda.

I find the observation of people as if they were animals in a zoo quite disturbing. Rather than view the villagers as a tourist attraction perhaps you would be better off volunteering for one of the Chiang Mai based organisations that are helping hill tribes people. Then you might get to know them as individual human beings with real lives rather than objects of interest.

Oh come on. How is visiting a hill tribe village any different from visiting Chiang Mai Town, or Bangkok, or Hong Kong.. The whole point of travelling is to visit new and different places, and meet different people. I'm not sure where you're coming from on this so I won't make assumptions, but quite often when reading such statements I perceive an undercurrent of wanting to 'preserve their culture and isolation without disurbance' as if it's a group of gorillas in the mist. That, is ludicrous. There's no reason why you wouldn't visit a hilltribe village but would visit a predominantly Thai village or town.

Also consider that it's completely impossible to visit the rural mountainous North and visit forests and waterfalls and NOT pass through hilltribe villages. That scenic winding dirt road is there BECAUSE is leads to a hilltribe village and their fields. So almost inevitably you WILL visit hill tribe villages when venturing out of town into the hills. Unless you advocate slashing your way through the forest to avoid them.

You can visit by yourself as well. However an organized trek has the benefit of not having to do any thinking, researching or exploring, and you'll see a lot more in a short time. Plus they often throw in fun things like waterfalls, rafting, elephants, etc. You can pick and choose.

Here is a recent report from someone doing a trek in the Chiang Dao area, presumably booked from Chiang Mai:

http://travellingdad.wordpress.com/2009/12...rek-experience/

But if you have time, and a map, then you can basically venture up just about any small mountain road and expect to find hilltribe villages.

when it rainys do u ppl ride ur motosai?

ive never ridden on rain b4, but with wet oily roads, its gonna be very slippery?

In the rainy season when it rains a lot, the roads are not overly slippery.

HOWEVER, and this is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to take note of, the very first rain after a period of drought turns the roads UNBELIEVABLY slippery. Especially if it's light rain and/or soon after it starts, all the accumulated grime and dust forms a thing layer of sludge that's seriously slippery. You can see cars and bikes slide around when this happens.

Best not to go out until it either dries up, or until a lot more rain falls to wipe it all clean. Or if you must drive, then take it VERY slow and hope that no pick up trucks slide into you.

International forecasts are just the same; You can check weather.com, cnn.com yahoo weather, bbc weather.. When it comes to Thailand they all completely lose the plot.

Awww come on, don't hold back!! Please be all the reporter you can be and provide all the details, juicy or gory as they may be!!

I honestly don't see the point of providing incorrect information.. Weather forecasts about Thailand are a joke. I can beat ALL of them by just giving yesterday's weather report as tomorrow's forecast. I'd only be wrong three times a year when the seasons change.

Segio has a couple ideas that involve Chiang Mai and food. Don't worry. The place on the river is obviously a bit too big for ANY non-Thai restaurant. No other non-Thai restaurant would fill that place up except, as Sergio did, for events like Loi Krathong.

Different formula and location; wait and see.

Although, I haven't needed to do this, you can also do an over the counter teller cash withdrawal at most banks with no fee.

That applies to credit cards though, not bank cards. And if it's a credit card then there may be substantial fee involved from your own credit card supplier.

Phad Thai probably, when done well.

And french fries, but only in a late night bar environment. A few of the expat bars serve them, but quite a lot of the Thai pubs.

I do acknowledge the foot-long cheese big-byte from 7-Eleven mentioned above.. Given that you can chuck that bag full of tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and some onion, and that there is mayo and mustard, it basically turns into a very reasonable salad for the money. It's one of the few low-carb things they have at 7-Eleven.

I'm here because this site offers a wealth of useful current information.

I'm here because I can offer a wealth of useful information and common sense.

The idea of hanging out with a bunch of old farang gits, while they complain about everything Thai, makes me ill.

Well, yes, to an extent I agree with that. Of course not everyone falls into that 'sad old git' category, however I feel that searching out that remaining 5% or so is easier on my own than by joining a club. A club by the way where STILL 95% (or worse) will be in the category you mentioned, especially if women are excluded as per quite a lot of votes above.

EDIT: I don't mind the 'old'. I do mind the 'sad'.

Strange how it seems so hard to get this information right..

* If you withdraw from a local Thai bank account, within the region where your bank branch is, then it's free for all banks. Outside of your area, or when withdrawing from a different bank, then a 20 baht fee applies for most banks.

* If you withdraw from a non-Thai bank account using an ATM card, then a charge applies.

Not all ATMs charge this even now. I think the Aeon ATMs don't charge this. They're not many of those though, typically located at branches of the Aeon credit company. Those are for example at Airport Plaza, Tesco Lotus (both branches) and there is an ATM (no office) at Big C Hang Dong as well. (Possibly other locations as well, I'd be interested to know).

I mostly use a local bank account so it's not a super important issue to me, but occasionally when withdrawing from a foreign account it's nice to save a beer or two on the withdrawal charge.

U may consider using your present phone, getting an iPod Touch, and splitting the considerable saving with me....

Saving is a little less than considerable, if you want data access in the middle of nowhere. Because in that case his present phone better be a Nokia Symbian model so he can share the GPRS-EDGE connection to the iPod over wifi using the Joikuspot Symbian app.

If his phone is anything else then he'd first have to get a Nokia phone, a cheapo Symbian one runs about.. 8000 baht or so?

But is IS a good combo.. Cheapo Symbian phone, say E52 or E63 and then the iPod.

Did it on an ancient 100cc Honda Dream. It's easy. Be sure to break on the engine going down to save the brakes. (Especially if they're drum brakes).

There's fuel available. Fill up before going up the road to Doi Inthanon.