Far Fewer Farang Waltzing Down the Chiang Mai Streets These Days. Why?

[blazes]

11 hours ago, Antonymous said:

Agree with you that the City of Chiang Mai has lost its charm: the Rose of the North now has many thorns. Over development without proper planning. But Chiang Mai is a big province and you don't have to consider going to neighbouring countries to find peaceful, quiet and charming places as there are many within easy reach of the City.

 

As a province to live in, Chiang Mai still has enormous appeal. I have moved house a few times over the 30 years that I have lived here, moving progressively further out and now live in what I consider to be a perfect, very beautiful location surrounded by rice fields and forests and friendly, helpful Thai neighbours. I don't like to go into the City any more, but important things like very good hospitals, restaurants and shopping are all there, not too far away, on the few occasions I need them.

 

But what do you do in the Smoke Season?  Does not your "perfect, very beautiful location surrounded by rice fields and forests" get affected by the smoke in Feb-April???

[thaibeachlovers]

19 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

8. Few like an army junta administration, even if they pretended to get elected. 

Few tourists give a monkey's about the government of a country unless it's really dire like Burma ( and even that doesn't put tourists off Burma ).

IMO it's just that Thailand just isn't as good as it used to be. The beaches which were always the draw have been destroyed by concrete, and the traffic puts people off places like C M.

Plus, the mass tourism in places like Phi Phi has to be hurting. No western person wants to go somewhere crowded with too many tourists, unless it's really special like Venice, and no where in LOS is that special anymore, though it used to be.

[thaibeachlovers]

13 hours ago, Ajarnbrian said:

Chiang Mai is perhaps not the fascinating small city it used to be when I first visited 30 years ago. Sure, there are now shopping malls, many restuarants, markets aimed at tourists. But for peaceful, quiet and charming places within the city it`s harder to find than ever. Much of the city is not distinctive any more and of course there are more alternatives in the region, with Laos and Vietnam opening up. But plenty of westerners still stay in Chiang Mai. The immigration office is far busier than the one room office I remember back in the day!

Hmmmm. I was in Chiang Mai in 1974, and the traffic around the moat was as dire as it is now. It's better now because they have pedestrian lights that work.

[earlinclaifornia]

I think the exchang rate of the US dollar to the baht. 1$ = 30.41 baht

[bkk6060]

The "city charm" comments seem dumb.  People expecting to sit by the quiet moat all alone drinking your tea watching the pigeons and ducks?

Yes, it is a popular city not the country and from my information, the second largest city in the country.

 

When I am here I stay about 20 minutes outside the city.  Lots of nature, open spaces, local markets, small shops, some golf courses, etc.  Friendly people from my experience.

 

If you are stuck in the city for some reason ( bought that condo ?) still lots of charm here if you make an effort to go a short ways out of the city.

 

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by bkk6060

[tigerbeer]

Chiang mai has developed same way many cities around the world has. population has increased globally demographics have changed. agree with many posters that you can just go a little out of the moat and still enjoy Chiang Mai how it used to be. the only let down is the open burning seasons which last many months out of a year. many outlets and restaurants have opened up along the ring roads and closer to where expats live. only people you would find along the old city are tourists. those who come out to drink feel safer to drink near to home due to the increased police checks on driving whilst under the influence of alcohol.  as far as difference in currency exchange is concerned, its a cycle isn't it? remember the days when USD 1 was 25 Baht for a very long time? things changed around tom yum gung 1997 when everything changed better for the western countries as far as ASEAN was concerned. 1997 and it went tops 56.1 THB to 1 USD. between the 1970s to 1981 it was 20THB to 1USD. then again buying power was a lot more in the older days. so each to their own on where an individual can afford to stay at. many retirees have left as retirement visa requirements have really put a huge burden on them. 

[gk10002000]

On 10/2/2019 at 3:25 PM, Sandy Freckle said:

You what ?
Your maiden post and you have used up all of your column space. 
but...., I've never heard any music with waltz timing..., anytime on the streets of CM.

Maybe "Vietnamese Waltz"

[cerox]

For me and many others:

1. Air pollution got out of control

2. Currency got out of control (1 EUR now 32 THB after fees)

3. Cannot get a visa unless I pay 1M Baht

 

Reason 3 was the trigger to decide to leave.

 

I saw many young Westerners in Saigon in August, so I can tell you they did not go home (most of them at least).

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, cerox said:

I saw many young Westerners in Saigon in August, so I can tell you they did not go home (most of them at least).

I was in Hanoi at the weekend, packed out with western tourists.

I couldn't believe how many there were.

[FolkGuitar]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I was in Hanoi at the weekend, packed out with western tourists.

I couldn't believe how many there were.

 

That's great news!  I hope more go there, and leave us to enjoy the peace and tranquility of Chiang Mai. Yes, there ARE plenty of peaceful places around the Old City, and you can find delightful pockets of tranquility without having to travel outside the city. You just have to know where to look. The Chinese tourists rarely venture off the main streets in town, so they aren't a bother either. Small cafes, open-air restaurants, coffee shops and tea rooms... even temple gardens with chairs to sit and chat with friends. By all means, please immigrate to Vietnam or Lao.  ????

 

[Antonymous]

11 hours ago, blazes said:

 

But what do you do in the Smoke Season?  Does not your "perfect, very beautiful location surrounded by rice fields and forests" get affected by the smoke in Feb-April???

Alas my perfect location gets affected the same as Chiang Mai City, but I find it far more tolerable in the country than the years I lived in the City, as the air clears quicker in the country - far fewer polluting emissions and heat from vehicles and buildings that exacerbate the situation in a conurbation.

 

Personally I've found the haze is previous years tolerable and easily found workarounds, by taking holidays mid-Feb to mid-April, cutting back on country walks on some days and using good quality air purifiers in my house. It has never been more than an inconvenience for me and far from debilitating. Certainly nothing serious enough to make me want to give up this idyll and to move elsewhere.

 

Do you live in Chiang Mai, 'Blazes' (good name for this topic)? If so you'll be aware that the 2019 season was significantly worse than all other years and that's what has made this a 'hotter' topic recently. We are all hoping that 2019 was an anomaly and not the start of a new trend. Let's wait to see.

 

[moe666]

On 10/3/2019 at 6:10 AM, MisterBleach said:

As I recall, back in 2016, there once was a whole host of very old guys gabbing in coffee houses near the university. They spoke of trivial matters, and often repeated themselves almost every few minutes.  But, now they are gone.  Where did they go?

 

Did they die from the smoke during this past year?  Or, did they finally return to nursing homes in their home countries?  Or, are they lying low in their Chiang Mai bungalows?

 

The point being that you just do not see them these days.

 

Even the Chinese are not out in force, these days, which seems quite odd.

 

I would estimate that the number of foreigners of all kinds here has diminished by about 50 percent, compared to 2016.

 

The Grab drivers are hurting, for sure.  Just ask them.

 

I am not saying that the dearth of farang or other foreigners scares me.  In fact, this new scarcity calms me because, in the past, I found some of the newly arrived foreigners overly noisy.  I mean that they often talked at very high volume.

 

My question is:  Why is it suddenly so quiet after about 4 years of growth?  And, equally importantly, can we look forward to continued relative peace, or will the foreigners soon return, just as inexplicably as they so suddenly left?

 

 

I will bite what time of the year were you here in 2016

[moe666]

Actually afew young folks running around CMat present. There has been a uptick since the first of Oct. more than likely more will arrive from here out untill Feb.. My wife works at a local hotel and there number of full rooms has increased. A combination of Chinese, farange, and Thais. They just had a German staying there who tried to work a scam. You can see him on the CCTV screwing around with his bike, then he goes into the hotel gets a couple of the night shift to come out and he is complaining about someone messed with his bike. the next morning they look at cctv and see he is the one responsible. They called the policeand get him out but the hotel would not file a complaint aganist. I asked wife why and she says we do not want trouble with the police. I told her the only person with a problem is the German guy. But no no complaint. Getting more tourist but also the scam artist that come with them.

[sanemax]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I was in Hanoi at the weekend, packed out with western tourists.

I couldn't believe how many there were.

Were  all the local working girls already taken up by these Westerners  ?

As you havent mentioned it, I take it that you didnt manage to bang anyone this time ?

[chingmai331]

Fully agree with FolkGuitar on this one.  

You don't like it here, welcome to depart.

Neighboring states may invite you in, please send us a postcard.

[FolkGuitar]

1 hour ago, chingmai331 said:

Fully agree with FolkGuitar on this one.  

You don't like it here, welcome to depart.

Neighboring states may invite you in, please send us a postcard.

 

Just between you and me, I could probably survive without the postcard...  ????

 

[DLock]

MisterBleach, you were here briefly in 2016 and now you are a Grab Driver here?

 

Regardless, I think the reason you are looking for can be found in the last line of the very song you posted.

 

"When will we ever learn".

 

Chiang Mai is still a good place to live, but Thailand needs to take responsibility for why tourists are shunning places like Chiang Mai in favor of other destinations and ex-pats are leaving. You have partially answered your own question in your post.

 

Certainly the haze, the value of the baht, the changing attitude of Thai people and how we are treated (i.e. "However, to Grab drivers, this question is important because it is the farang who tip the best") contribute.

 

But you need to look deeper, at things like TM30, 90-day reporting, crime, safety, environment, scams, owning 49% of a company, not being able to own land, corruption...etc etc.

 

And then you need to understand that other places are just more attractive now. Thailand had a good run, and it will always be popular with tourists, but I feel like Thailand will never recapture the glory days without massive re-thinking.

 

I can't leave at the moment. But if I could, I would.

 

You might want to get a second job as well as Grab.

 

[MisterBleach]

Some of the best and least injurious comments I have ever read on this site in response to such an open-ended topic.

Good job, guys!

Not even one comment was hurtful to anyone.

Astounding and equally heartwarming.

Maybe, Neil Young tunes work their magic, even here.

Neil Young seems to lack even one bad bone in his body.

And yet, he became successful, in anyone's estimation.

I believe that Neil Young was not referring to skin color when he wrote this tune.

My very best to all kind souls who lurk about us.

In fact, I do believe that there are far more kind people among us than we might know.

chôok-dii-ná!!!!!

(Snip)

However, since all the comments above, with the exception of one, are nice, then I will be happy to conform.

 

In fact, just like Tina Turner.....

 

I want to keep it NICE.

 

Nice........

And Easy.

 

So, in this tribute to Tina Turner.......

 

Let's keep everything NICE....

 

And, EASY.