Moving To Nan

[WaterlessFish]

I'm going to be moving to Nan at the end of this week to start a new job there. I was wondering if any of you had been out there, or even live there now (which would be fantastic) and if you had any knowledge on the city.

Firstly, which guesthouses would you recommend there? I'll have to bunk in a guesthouse room for a week or so while I'm looking for an apartment there.

Second, do you know how much a decent sized apartment costs per month there? I don't need something huge, and a kitchen would be great to have (I do want to cook occasionally for a change of scenary). One room is enough too.

Lastly, how much is a motorbike to rent there? I found places around Chiang Mai for 2000 Baht a month. Would it be the same there?

Anything else you could tell me would be great too! Like good restaurants, good places to shop, etc.

Should be interesting going there with almost zero Thai speaking skills too.....I should see a rapid increase in this ability (or I'll be living off fried rice for the entire time I'm working there )

[chanchao]

I like Nan, great little town. There's not a whole lot of tourist industry there, which means not a lot (or any?) motorcycle rent shops, traveller guesthouses, etc. There are some of course, but it's not like Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai or Mae Hong Son / Pai.

Still, you'll be okay. ..

[Ulysses G.]

I like it too, but you better learn Thai FAST!

[sceadugenga]

For what it's worth, my 5 year old Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand Lonely Planet reveals the existence of a number of Guest houses and Hotels and indicates that a couple of motorbike hire places are there.

[Ulysses G.]

Last time that I was there, I stayed at the cheapest guesthouse in the book, but no one bothered to mention the amazing loud disco that is directly next door.

Avoid that one!

[waveydavey]

re the lack of language skills, I hope you don't run into the same problem as me. I'm currently living in a small village about 40km from Nan and trying to learn Thai. The problem is that around here they don't speak standard Thai, they speak a dialect which is part Thai, part Hmong so even though I study my book and think I'm picking up some of the language I'm still totally lost when I listen to the locals conversing. I'm not sure if it's the same in Nan town or whether it's confined to the villages however.

You will have to pick up the language quickly though as they get relatively few farangs so you won't find too many English speakers in shops / restaurants etc.

Apart from that, I like Nan town. It may not suit some people though as it's a fairly quiet place and seems to close down fairly early at night.

[Ulysses G.]

I speak Thai fairly well compared to most Farangs, but I usually understand very little of a conversation between two Thais unless they are purposely speaking slower and more simply to include me. I don't think that will affect your learning Thai because everyone will automatically switch to Bangkok Thai when talking to a Farang and they all can speak it because that is what they watch on TV every day.

[WaterlessFish]

For what it's worth, my 5 year old Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand Lonely Planet reveals the existence of a number of Guest houses and Hotels and indicates that a couple of motorbike hire places are there.

Ah right, I've only got a five year old SE Asia Lonely Planet guidebook so it has about two paragraphs on Nan before moving on to a more touristy town. It doesn't say anything bout motorbike rental places. Could you give me the name of the guesthouses there that rent bikes then? I know they may not be around right now but at least it's a lead.

Ulysses, do you remember the name of the guesthouse? And was the disco any good? No sleep = plenty of time to head over there to drink

Good to hear they'll all speak Bangkok Thai. I don't want to learn TWO languages at the same time. I already get confused here having three languages going through my head. English, really really basic Thai, and then Cambodian from the time I was living there. Having Lanna in there (or some other hill tribe dialect) will really mess things up for me.

[Ulysses G.]

Good to hear they'll all speak Bangkok Thai.

If you visit Laos, you can get by very well in Thai as everyones watches Thai stations on TV.

[davidgtr]

The # 1 Pub & Restaurant in Nan is the Verachon.

Channel X is the disco to go to late.

The Poom 3 Italian restaurant was the place to for farang food, but I think it might be closed at the moment.

Dont know about apartments, but ask the PG gals where they stay...

[WaterlessFish]

PG Gals?

[sceadugenga]

For what it's worth, my 5 year old Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand Lonely Planet reveals the existence of a number of Guest houses and Hotels and indicates that a couple of motorbike hire places are there.

Ah right, I've only got a five year old SE Asia Lonely Planet guidebook so it has about two paragraphs on Nan before moving on to a more touristy town. It doesn't say anything bout motorbike rental places. Could you give me the name of the guesthouses there that rent bikes then? I know they may not be around right now but at least it's a lead.

Ulysses, do you remember the name of the guesthouse? And was the disco any good? No sleep = plenty of time to head over there to drink

Good to hear they'll all speak Bangkok Thai. I don't want to learn TWO languages at the same time. I already get confused here having three languages going through my head. English, really really basic Thai, and then Cambodian from the time I was living there. Having Lanna in there (or some other hill tribe dialect) will really mess things up for me.

P Bike opposite the Wat Hua Wiangtai rents Honda Dreams. Oversea shop near the Dhevaraj hotel rents motorbikes. Nothing about guesthouses renting them but you can always ask.

Why don't you go into GECKO BOOKS and ask the kindly old owner to give you the latest travel book for the region at the special TV.com discount?

[Ulysses G.]

Why don't you go into GECKO BOOKS and ask the kindly old owner to give you the latest travel book for the region at the special TV.com discount?

Actually, this is a good idea as the old gent has quite a few now and would give you a reasonable price.

[Johpa]

Last time that I was there, I stayed at the cheapest guesthouse in the book, but no one bothered to mention the amazing loud disco that is directly next door.

Avoid that one!

Reminds me of my overnight in Surat Thani ages ago waiting for the morning boat to Koh Samui when I went to get a room at the cheapest hotel recommended in the Wheeler Lonely Planet book (pre-Cummins Thailand book) only to discover too late that the hotel was also a bustling brothel adjacent to a boisterous night, and I mean late night, market. I could have gotten a better nights sleep on a park bench.

[davidgtr]

PG Gals?

PG = Promotion Girls...... you know the girls in the hot sexy outfits promoting BOOZE: Tiger, Cheers, Chivas, Leo, Beer Chang, Benmore, Heineken. They should know where the cheap party apartments are...

[el jefe]

I found Nan to be a very pleasant town. It's much quieter than CM. It has many wide estreets but little traffic. Lots of green space and open areas. There's a small night market (now further north on T Phakwang) with excellent food, very inexpensive too. Not much else in the way of restaurants other than the Italian restaurant that david mentioned. I never tried it but I've heard from several others that it's excellent.

100cc motorbikes were 100 or 150B/day at "Oversea" on T Sumondhevaraj, corner T Mahawong. I'm sure there's a discount for a longer rental.

The Dhevaraj Hotel have very reasonably priced rooms considering the quality.

Good luck finding an apartment. I didn't see anything that looked better than a standard, small, one room Thai apartment. I doubt you'll find one with a kitchen. If you do, please let me know. Thanks.

[chanchao]

re the lack of language skills, I hope you don't run into the same problem as me. I'm currently living in a small village about 40km from Nan and trying to learn Thai. The problem is that around here they don't speak standard Thai, they speak a dialect which is part Thai, part Hmong so even though I study my book and think I'm picking up some of the language I'm still totally lost when I listen to the locals conversing.

The original poster though is 'starting a job', perhaps teaching, perhaps something else, but regardless it will mean interacting with locals who will be able to speak good standard (central) Thai. So I don't expect serious issues there, other than things like understanding a granny in the market; then all bets are off. (And then most people would speak Kham Muang (=Northern Thai, same as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, etc), don't confuse that with Hmong; only Hmong speak Hmong.

[cm das]

It was about 3 years ago that I went to Nan but if I remember correctly I stayed at at place called Amazing Guest House. It wasn't quite amazing but it was cheap, comfortable & run by a very friendly family. Good luck with the move. I moved to Phayao last year after 3 years & Chiang Mai. If Nan has little foreign tourist presence Phayao has none (0 guest houses, the town isn't even mentioned in my 5 year old Lonely Planet) but I enjoy the quiet, the natural beauty & the chance to experience northern Thai culture outside the city.

[Wizzard of Oz]

el jefe, are you living in Nan right now? I'd like to meet up with some expats there seeing as I now know a total of three people in the whole town (my bosses, and another teacher at my school who I met for an hour)

And yeah I know the PG gals. I just hope they don't misunderstand me wanting to find an apartment and think I'm asking to move in with them.

As for the granny at the market, well, I've never understood grannies anyway

Edit: Dammit. This is Waterless Fish. My friend didn't log out of his account here when he left the apartment. Is there no way to delete a post?

Edited May 7, 2007 by Wizzard of Oz

[el jefe]

el jefe, are you living in Nan right now? I'd like to meet up with some expats there seeing as I now know a total of three people in the whole town (my bosses, and another teacher at my school who I met for an hour)

Sorry, Fish, I'm living in CM now.

The good news for you is that during my visits there I have seen several other farang living in Nan. Good luck.

[richard10365]

I drove to Nan once. The road is winding and scenic. Don't plan on a fast trip. They did have a big c there I think. ATM machines are easy enough to find around town. I had a good impression of the town.