Thai tourism: Further doom and gloom from the North

[donnacha]

40 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

I am looking around me: all windows are open with the closed mosquito net. Cooling down the house without aircon.

Sure, but I live in an area where people can afford aircon.

[Langkawee]

28 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

In the bigger cities of Vietnam I have never seen tourists on rented motorbikes. And in every travel guide is written: "don´t drive in Vietnam". I would never ever do it because the traffic is crazy.

You need an eye doctor if you never saw tourists riding motorbikes in HCMC and Hanoi, ever watch Jeremy Clarkson TV show? Travel guides are written by idiots. Never felt safer riding in the big cities of Vietnam where there is a safety conscious method to the apparent madness. If pedestrians would only close their eyes to cross the street they would never be hit. 

[Stokakrishna]

I blame inflated pricing for <deleted> service. 

[CNXexpat]

1 hour ago, donnacha said:

Sure, but I live in an area where people can afford aircon.

Really, wow! It must be a hi-so area and you must be very rich. Congrats!

[CNXexpat]

55 minutes ago, Langkawee said:

You need an eye doctor if you never saw tourists riding motorbikes in HCMC and Hanoi, ever watch Jeremy Clarkson TV show? Travel guides are written by idiots. Never felt safer riding in the big cities of Vietnam where there is a safety conscious method to the apparent madness. If pedestrians would only close their eyes to cross the street they would never be hit. 

They nearly killed me two times in Hanoi when I crossed the street at green pedestrian light. If I had not jumped to the side the motorcycle driver, who drove at red light, would have run me over. Perhaps you are a guy like a tree and the others are afraid to damage their vehicles if they hit you. 

[Langkawee]

45 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

They nearly killed me two times in Hanoi when I crossed the street at green pedestrian light. If I had not jumped to the side the motorcycle driver, who drove at red light, would have run me over. Perhaps you are a guy like a tree and the others are afraid to damage their vehicles if they hit you. 

Nobody expects vehicles to stop at green lights in Vietnam, that's your mistake, walk blindfolded and I guarantee you won't be hit. 

[Ron jeremy]

2 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

In the bigger cities of Vietnam I have never seen tourists on rented motorbikes. And in every travel guide is written: "don´t drive in Vietnam". I would never ever do it because the traffic is crazy.

I would never ride a bike in any big city, Bangkok, Saigon or Hanoi. 

But smaller places in Vietnam are quite easy to ride in. They drive much slower than the Thais.

motorcycle riding in the north of Vietnam is very very popular. 

The ha giant loop is the best ride in SEA. 

I will spend 7-10 days touring in March. And BTW, no worries of getting pulled over. As a matter of fact, we have been waved thru roadblocks, not even asked for documents etc. Totally unlike Thailand.

[donnacha]

52 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

Really, wow! It must be a hi-so area and you must be very rich. Congrats!

Just try to focus, work hard, and keep moving forward. There is nothing to stop you following your dreams and eventually making it out of the Keenok slums if that is what you really want.

I believe in you. Remember that.

[Ron jeremy]

I guess tourist numbers are down in Chang Mai, the place is as boring as udon Thani.

where else in the civilized world are things shut down at midnight?

people come on holidays for a little nightlife. 

[donnacha]

2 minutes ago, Ron jeremy said:

motorcycle riding in the north of Vietnam is very very popular.

Owning cars would probably be even more popular if their economy hadn't been stunted by decades of Socialist dictatorship.

[donnacha]

1 minute ago, Ron jeremy said:

I guess tourist numbers are down in Chang Mai, the place is as boring as udon Thani.

Oh, sad to hear that. I was hoping that Udon Thani might be good alternative to Chiang Mai if the air quality continues to deteriorate. I figured that, at the very least, Isaan folk are a good laugh.

[Ron jeremy]

6 minutes ago, donnacha said:

Owning cars would probably be even more popular if their economy hadn't been stunted by decades of Socialist dictatorship.

Not many people in SEA canafford cars, couldn't imagine the traffic jams if everyone owned a car. Thank god for motorcycles.

their economy happens to be the fastest growing in SEA at the moment. 

The social dictatorship is really outperforming the military dictatorship in Thailand.

look at the mess  thailand is in because of the military dictatorship.

[CNXexpat]

17 minutes ago, donnacha said:

current 
Just try to focus, work hard, and keep moving forward. There is nothing to stop you following your dreams and eventually making it out of the Keenok slums if that is what you really want.

I believe in you. Remember that.

Thank you sooooo much. The first step will be to find a better house than my current bamboo hut. Perhaps one day I can afford an aircon too.

[Dumbastheycome]

This  gets  boring. Face the facts of the moment.

International destination tourism is in decline due to  economic  factors coupled  with various  restrictions   applied  by  many nations due to both reasonable and unreasonable justifications.

If "tourism" is  defined  as traveling about  for  recreation then  no surprise  that significant commercial investment interest based on a historic  era of readily disposable excess  income is feeling  the  "pinch".

Tourist  destinations can be likened  to  a restaurant where even if the  food is  good and the price is equatable  there is always the risk that another venue can prove more appealing simply because  it  is new, more convenient to location, perhaps a little cheaper, and  horror of  horrors.......is customer oriented!

Thailand seems to  have  missed the  mark in retaining such appeal to the masses who are relatively becoming  less endowed  with genuine excess disposable income.

 

 

 

 

[Langkawee]

11 hours ago, donnacha said:

Owning cars would probably be even more popular if their economy hadn't been stunted by decades of Socialist dictatorship.

Vietnamese government has a brain unlike Thailand, they realise cars make traffic jams. 

[mercman24]

so i assume chinese (and others) think its ok to ride a bike with no licence, so that would mean that would invalidate any  insurance they THINK they have ? an insurers dream. * you have big accident ? sorry (he he) run along *

[moe666]

21 hours ago, donnacha said:

This is the wrong way to look at it. When considering exposure to any form of toxin, it is the extremes that are most dangerous. For example, drinking a bottle of whiskey over the course of a week can be fun, but downing the whole thing in one night could kill you.

Even if the year-round pollution Bangkok works out higher on average (they actually average out to about the same), Chiang Mai's more extreme days are far more dangerous.

Being exposed to one day at, say, 320 is not twice as dangerous as one day 160, it is an entirely different category of risk. People in the north, which already has among the highest levels of lung cancer in the world, are now part of an unprecedented experiment on human beings. We have no idea what the medium to long term consequences will be, but all indications suggest that they won't be good.

 

This discussion is in the Chiang Mai Forum. It's a fair assumption that everyone bothering to post here has first-hand familiarity with the region.
 

 

The current pollution levels, especially at night, are far from normal for this time of year. Usually, around this time, you can see the mountains clearly from my suburb but, this year, they have been blurred by pollution every day.

At night, walking around my village at this time of year, I would usually enjoy the exotic scents coming from the many splendid gardens but, this year, you can taste the smoke in every breath. Everyone here closes their windows and switches on their aircons as the evening draws in.

This is the worst I have seen it during high season in over a decade here. Last year, we did not hit these levels until around mid-January. It is already widely accepted that people with options get out of Chiang Mai between January and April. It will be a disaster for Chiang Mai tourism if that danger zone now spreads into the high season too.

I can see Doi Suthep just fine

[donnacha]

4 minutes ago, moe666 said:

I can see Doi Suthep just fine

I can see it too but, from my suburb, it is blurred. I am noting, at the start of December, a subtle effect that I would more usually associate with mid-January. It is possible that you live in a different part of Chiang Mai, possibly closer to Doi Suthep.

[Langkawee]

19 hours ago, mercman24 said:

so i assume chinese (and others) think its ok to ride a bike with no licence, so that would mean that would invalidate any  insurance they THINK they have ? an insurers dream. * you have big accident ? sorry (he he) run along *

Difference in China and Western countries are they don't have 15 checkpoints pulling over only motorcycle riders (lowso) in a very small area as in Chiang Mai, one of the most touristic places in Thailand almost everyday --- therefore clearly fits the definition of touristic shakedown. Tourists would also have more confidence to travel to Chiang Mai if autopsies were carried out by independent coroners appointment by respective embassies rather than current use of Police Hospitals throughout Thailand. 

[scotinsiam]

I'm in Chiang Mai just now after about a 6 year absence - I am surprised how expensive it is now. Also Thapae area and Night Bazaar etc seem very very quiet considering its December.

Most restaurants and bars seem brutally quiet - It must be tough for the owners. The reception staff in my Hotel almost jumped over the counter to hug me when I asked if I could stay longer.

I admit I don't understand all the reasons why but it is quiet.

[ChipButty]

What time do the bars close in CM?

[SmartyMarty]

But the airbnbs are full.

[dcnx]

On 12/11/2019 at 3:15 PM, scotinsiam said:

I'm in Chiang Mai just now after about a 6 year absence - I am surprised how expensive it is now. Also Thapae area and Night Bazaar etc seem very very quiet considering its December.

Most restaurants and bars seem brutally quiet - It must be tough for the owners. The reception staff in my Hotel almost jumped over the counter to hug me when I asked if I could stay longer.

I admit I don't understand all the reasons why but it is quiet.

What’s not to love about 190+ AQI in December? Everyone loves masks, coughing, and burning eyes.

[Ron jeremy]

On December 11, 2019 at 3:15 AM, scotinsiam said:

I'm in Chiang Mai just now after about a 6 year absence - I am surprised how expensive it is now. Also Thapae area and Night Bazaar etc seem very very quiet considering its December.

Most restaurants and bars seem brutally quiet - It must be tough for the owners. The reception staff in my Hotel almost jumped over the counter to hug me when I asked if I could stay longer.

I admit I don't understand all the reasons why but it is quiet.

I am afraid you're wrong, a recent thread spoke that prices have stayed the same in 15 years. Nothing has risen. Perhaps this poster can refer us to an optometrist .

[Evobase]

I have been in Chiang Mai Province for 9 days now. The first few days were in the city. It was great to visit people and places from past travels. I use Chiang Mai City as a hub for my travels. I rented a motorbike for 5000 baht/month and spend my time traveling many provinces in the North. There is plenty for me to see and do. Yes, the air quality isn’t great and I hope the farmers and others who burn would find a better alternative. I have no interest going to Southern Thailand. Too many bad tourists and a bit more expensive. I prefer the mountains and roads on the motorbike. 
If one is here for the bars and girls, just stay home. You can do that there.

[mickyr55]

On 12/5/2019 at 5:51 AM, Langkawee said:

Difference in China and Western countries are they don't have 15 checkpoints pulling over only motorcycle riders (lowso) in a very small area as in Chiang Mai, one of the most touristic places in Thailand almost everyday --- therefore clearly fits the definition of touristic shakedown. Tourists would also have more confidence to travel to Chiang Mai if autopsies were carried out by independent coroners appointment by respective embassies rather than current use of Police Hospitals throughout Thailand. 

WOW did you really say better autopsies would improve tourism.

Must be the stupidest comment I have heard in my 64 years.

[3NUMBAS]

38 million going where its a mystery ?

[jackdd]

38 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

38 million going where its a mystery ?

They replace westerners with Chinese.

Chinese push the number of arrivals up, but stay way shorter than westerners.

So the number of arrivals is going up, but the number of nights spent in hotels is going down.

But of course the TAT would never publish this ????

[aspenbkk]

the goverment have known it was going to be down and empty in pattaya phuket and the north but keep saying record entries and every white person knows its garbage brainwashing people with rubbish posts . Other asian countries on the up thailand on the way to disaster with tourism Tell The Truth For once .

[opalred]

the Chinese do the same as Japs did years ago when they had the money 

only spend at own hotels/ shops/ restaurants and transport

did the same in oz /so money goes back to them /not the locals

were a pain in the ass in oz