Chiang Dao....Suggestions?

[Trujillo]

I would like to know if anyone can give me some tips on things to do, other than the cave and hotsprings in Chiang Dao. Places to eat or things that the tourist might miss. 

 

Thanks. 

 

T

[jak2002003]

12 minutes ago, Trujillo said:

I would like to know if anyone can give me some tips on things to do, other than the cave and hotsprings in Chiang Dao. Places to eat or things that the tourist might miss. 

 

Thanks. 

 

T

Seems besides the cave and hot springs there is very little else to do there. 

 

We did stay at a place called The Nest and they had a restaurant that was popular with farang. We found it not to our taste, bit some people seem to like it. 

 

There are lots of home stay places about. That's about it as far as I know. But we did only stay a few nights and that was several years back...so might be more there now. 

 

Hope some other posters can be more help.

 

 

 

[jackdd]

Afaik there are no extraordinary things, besides what you named already, this whole area is for "slow life" tourism.

But the roads over the mountains and through the forest are quite nice.

You could take road 3024 to Muang Khong (เมืองคอง)

There is some bamboo rafting on offer in Muang Khong, i don't have further details, never did it, just saw it advertised on some sign.

[jschorr]

Very close to the cave and the Nest Guest House is Wat Tham Pha Plong.  Up about 500 steps to a cave temple and some spectacular views on a nice day.  Very peaceful and well worth the walk if you are fairly fit.  

[islandguy]

The monument and small museum in Muang Ngai is interesting and further up 1178 is a nice hot springs park and the Kuomintang village of Arunothai which has a Friday market.

[islandguy]

The Nest 2 has good Thai food (reservation) and nearby is Jin’s, a small and heartfelt Italian resto.

[HerewardtheWake]

https://www.facebook.com/azaleavillagethailand/

 

Azalea Village is a wonderful eco-resort. With great food prepared by the young and beautiful chef ,Miss Jang. It has cottages and an absolutely great view of the mountains. It is a must for Chiang Dao.

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, HerewardtheWake said:

https://www.facebook.com/azaleavillagethailand/

 

Azalea Village is a wonderful eco-resort. With great food prepared by the young and beautiful chef ,Miss Jang. It has cottages and an absolutely great view of the mountains. It is a must for Chiang Dao.

 

  How young  is Miss Jang ?

[HerewardtheWake]

[HerewardtheWake]

Sorry, no idea.

[thaibeachlovers]

16 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Seems besides the cave and hot springs there is very little else to do there. 

 

We did stay at a place called The Nest and they had a restaurant that was popular with farang. We found it not to our taste, bit some people seem to like it. 

 

There are lots of home stay places about. That's about it as far as I know. But we did only stay a few nights and that was several years back...so might be more there now. 

 

Hope some other posters can be more help.

 

 

 

More than one Nest and way too expensive. Only for the rich, IMO.

I stayed at Malee's Nature Lovers and it was all that was needed.

Plenty of other places to stay.

 

Other than resort restaurants, the usual cheap Thai restaurants are available.

Some nice jungle temples up past The Nest.

 

Some very nice restaurants on the main road. I ate at one across the road from a short time hotel in the middle of nowhere!

 

There is a much nicer cave temple way up the road to the north- Tub Tim cave. Lovely trip through the jungle to get to it- very scenic. Easy to miss the turn off though. Poorly signed.

 

Many places within a day's drive, like Cave Lodge for the swifts at sunset, or even Mae Hong Song. Need to overnight though.

 

I went for an overnight a few times with my wife in happier days- I really miss places like that

 

BTW it's not necessary to hire a guide in Chiang Dao cave, as it's well lit, but they probably really need the money now.

[thaibeachlovers]

16 hours ago, Trujillo said:

I would like to know if anyone can give me some tips on things to do, other than the cave and hotsprings in Chiang Dao. Places to eat or things that the tourist might miss. 

 

Thanks. 

 

T

I wouldn't make it the only destination, but part of a longer trip. I'd have been bored after 2 days.

When going there if you end up in Chiang Dao town you have gone the wrong way, which is easy to do.

[Trujillo]

The window is only one night. I'd do much more if it were possible. 

 

Has anyone eaten at the Alaskan King Crab place? 

[captainjackS]

Plenty of opportunities for cycling and forest type stuff around.  But at night, I would recommend going out for drinks at Cave Bar.   It's quite a friendly open social atmosphere and the only "farang" bar in Ban Tam (the village near the cave).   There's usually a few Thai folks there too other than the owner.   There's also this new place "Tiger Jungle".  Kinda looks like a raggae / hippy style camp near the bypass road.  It was just being built last time I went.   Also, if you are near the cave, try coffee at Chai Cafe.  roasted locally and delicious.  

[captainjackS]

Also about the Alaska crab place.  been there twice.  Food is delicious.  Plates are massive.   I ate so much crab the first time i went there that i felt drunk without alcohol.   It's a bit pricey, but good food and big plates.  Som Tam is good there too. The plate comes out like 1kg+ . prepare your stomach. It seems like the perfect place for a Chinese tour bus to eat 5000 crabs.   but there are no chinese tour buses passing through these days, so enjoy it in peace while you have the chance.

[happysoul]

18 hours ago, Trujillo said:

The window is only one night. I'd do much more if it were possible. 

 

Has anyone eaten at the Alaskan King Crab place? 

Hello,

 

Don't go for the crab... Or just buy it at Macro and do it home, you'll save a lot and possibly much better... It's a selfie attraction more than food.

 

If you like pizzas and burgers, there is Jens just after the ptt gas station when you come from chiang mai. At night Ding Ding Dong bar for some expats or some local bars on the by-pass (the one, me bar...). 

 

The road to Arunothai is nice. If you have time, push it to Doi Ang Kang, very nice scenic route from Arunothai.

 

Chiang Dao is more a place to live, enjoy nature, ride motorbike or cycle, hike than visit stuff. If you speak a bit Thai, wait for 5 pm and go have a drink in what I call the bamboo bars (small joint selling shots of whisky) and have a chat with locals. It's quite a fun thing to do !

 

If you like cycling, hit me up I'll show you some nice and quiet roads.

 

Enjoy

[rovingypsy]

Alaska Crab Chiang Dao
หมู่ที่ 8 439 Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai 50170
092 267 8550
https://maps.app.goo.gl/QxB3f1wrQHvELk5Q8

[islandguy]

Not much into the crab place, but it is popular and the servings are huge. Nest 2 is good and a good value for a culinary labor of love and I forgot to mention Mikrocosmos for craft beer and a limited but quite good food menu. Plenty of cheap noodle shops and one table informal ‘bars’ also, as everywhere else in Thailand. 

[Kurtf]

Enjoy the local market on Tuesday. Enjoy eating at the Alaska Crab restaurant.

[thaibeachlovers]

16 hours ago, happysoul said:

Hello,

 

Don't go for the crab... Or just buy it at Macro and do it home, you'll save a lot and possibly much better... It's a selfie attraction more than food.

 

If you like pizzas and burgers, there is Jens just after the ptt gas station when you come from chiang mai. At night Ding Ding Dong bar for some expats or some local bars on the by-pass (the one, me bar...). 

 

The road to Arunothai is nice. If you have time, push it to Doi Ang Kang, very nice scenic route from Arunothai.

 

Chiang Dao is more a place to live, enjoy nature, ride motorbike or cycle, hike than visit stuff. If you speak a bit Thai, wait for 5 pm and go have a drink in what I call the bamboo bars (small joint selling shots of whisky) and have a chat with locals. It's quite a fun thing to do !

 

If you like cycling, hit me up I'll show you some nice and quiet roads.

 

Enjoy

Thanks for those photos. Reminds me why I loved Thailand.

 

I doubt the pool could be reproduced in NZ because we have so many health and safety regulations it just wouldn't happen at an affordable cost. Bureaucracy run amok IMO.

[daveAustin]

Can summit/return 6-8 hrs with decent fitness.Temple is a nice walk from those guesthouses up the road from cave, like Nest. Good conversations with monks. Great bird watching in the region. Nest is (was) indeed good on food if a little pricey. Dunno about Malee's; not had good experience there. As mentioned, the road (1178/1340) up to Doi Angkhang is a gem. Spend more time if you can... can come back down to CM via main road, or vice versa. Envy you, the whole region is stunning.

[JonBikeBoy]

Sri Sangwan Waterfall looks nice, I'm suppose to go today https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Sri+Sangwan+Waterfall/@19.606709,98.9520173,13z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x30d0a70db64c47fd:0x40346c5fa8b8be0!2sChiang+Dao,+Chiang+Dao+District,+Chiang+Mai+50170!3b1!8m2!3d19.3678141!4d98.9649024!3m4!1s0x30d0bbd83eac81e9:0x28db2190e7581b74!8m2!3d19.6294107!4d98.9554882

[thaibeachlovers]

7 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Can summit/return 6-8 hrs with decent fitness.Temple is a nice walk from those guesthouses up the road from cave, like Nest. Good conversations with monks. Great bird watching in the region. Nest is (was) indeed good on food if a little pricey. Dunno about Malee's; not had good experience there. As mentioned, the road (1178/1340) up to Doi Angkhang is a gem. Spend more time if you can... can come back down to CM via main road, or vice versa. Envy you, the whole region is stunning.

I stayed at Malee's a few times and never had a problem. However, anything can change.

[thaibeachlovers]

7 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Can summit/return 6-8 hrs with decent fitness.Temple is a nice walk from those guesthouses up the road from cave, like Nest. Good conversations with monks. Great bird watching in the region. Nest is (was) indeed good on food if a little pricey. Dunno about Malee's; not had good experience there. As mentioned, the road (1178/1340) up to Doi Angkhang is a gem. Spend more time if you can... can come back down to CM via main road, or vice versa. Envy you, the whole region is stunning.

From Chiang Mai avoid the road that goes through Mae Rim. It's impassable at school getting out time.

I always went up the other side of the river and crossed to where the road to Mae Hong Son goes off to the left from the main road north. Excellent road and they built a proper link to the main highway north. Before they did that it was easy to get lost on the backroads. Don't miss the turn off or spend hours going the long way around to get back to the main road north.

[Trujillo]

Some info having been and back...

 

First, someone wrote: "BTW it's not necessary to hire a guide in Chiang Dao cave, as it's well lit, but they probably really need the money now."

This is only partially true. Once you enter the cave, there is a section to the right which is in fact lit and quite nice. However, if you want to see more, go to the left where you are obligated to pay 200 baht for a person (plus tip) to carry a kerosene lantern along the unlit cave section to both provide some illumination and to keep you from getting lost or at the end of the passage, falling to your death. I would advise going through both sections as each has its own interesting features (the unlit side has very large caverns and is, in the main, quite spacious -- besides a couple "doors" where you have to crawl or scramble through the narrow passages. There is a small bat colony on one ceiling.). 

 

One part of the lighted section: 

 

 

Did not make it further than the Chiang Dao hot springs, which are a few cement rings along the creek (which are free to use) and a couple of pools, nicely done in a very countryfolk sort of way, which are 50 baht for an hour, I think. The creek beside the research station is quite pleasant and if a person had it in mind to pack a picnic lunch, he would be well content. 

 

Chiang Dao Hot springs creek:

 

 

Chiang Dao free hot springs (Temperature 62C): 

 

 

Chiang Dao Nest 1 resort was pleasant and there was only one other bungalow occupied. We looked at Nest 2 before and the woman there was rather unfriendly/put out to have to show us a bungalow. No one appeared to be staying there at all. 

 

Nest 1 (overflow bungalows kitty-corner behind the parking area): 

 

 

Doi Chiang Dao:

 

 

As for food, didn't go to the (what seemed to me to be exorbitantly overpriced) crab restaurant.

Ate lunch and breakfast at the Nest 1. While it seems to self-promote it's food quite generously online, in actuality the fare is decent but nothing to write home about. The staff is friendly, however, and competent. 

Had dinner at a place up the road (550 meters away) called Jin's. Deserted, of course, but was greeted by a very old man who seemed to be associated with the Thai owner, who was quite friendly. We went to this place on the strength of the 36 five-star reviews that Google had for it, but after eating there I was pretty much at a loss as to how they got that ranking. 

The mushroom soup was, well, pretty pedestrian and reminded me of Campbell's with a little too much water added. On a whim, I ordered a glass of red wine and got a standard wine glass with about 25 percent of it "filled" with wine. I almost said out loud, "Is that it?" but caught myself. It was literally three or four small mouthfuls. And adding insult was the fact that it was some grapey house wine of no particular character. 

The elderly man came out and saw my empty glass during the starters and asked if I wanted another and I said, "Oh, I'm okay," to which he bruskly said (smiling?), "Is that a yes or a no?" 

Pizza came and it was also...well, bland and zestless. Whatever sauce was used added nothing to the flavor and it was more like flat bread with melted cheese and a few pepperonis. Edible but disappointing. 

The bruschetta starter with cold meats and olives/oil/sun dried tomatoes, was very tasty, however. 

Out of 5 stars I'd be generous giving it 3. 

 

One thing about Chiang Dao outside and in the environs of the cave is the absolutely unbelievable number of street dogs. I can tell you, I've been around and I can't ever remember seeing so many dogs wandering around in loose packs, singly and some tighter groups. Along one section of road there were four that I saw that had clearly a good dose of husky in them. 

 

Had a few drinks in the evening at the Cave Bar. Again, deserted but for a single foreigner who lived down the road and apparently spends evenings there. 

Challenged on the walk back to the Nest 1 along the road in the dark by a pack of about six to eight dogs, but they backed off once we stopped and turned to face them (thankfully). 

 

Had a coffee at the Villa de View Cafe (and resort). Nice grounds and probably even nicer when the rice paddies in front of the modern, box-shaped bungalows is planted and green. I did think it odd that the bungalows were built facing away from the karst mountainside, but what can you say? 

The coffee was fine but the girl taking the order was oddly terse and slightly testy for some unknown reason. Maybe she was related to the woman at the Nest 2. 

 

Had a nice, lengthy chat with a woman at one of the several shops next to the cave temple selling flower bulbs. Great selection and if ever someone gets it into their head to sell them in Chiang Mai, I'm sure they will sell out fast. 

 

Bulbs!

 

 

Finally, stopped at the "Tuesday Morning Market," which was told to me as, "A market where hilltribe people come to sell things." This is actually not what it sounds like. The goods for sale are all cheap items from Vietnam or China -- rubber shoes, knock-off shirts and various hardware supplies, etc. There isn't anything there you would be interested in, and nothing you can't find in Chiang Mai markets and stalls. 

 

It was not a bad little overnight trip (although I detest the main road getting there. I did try going up the MaeJo Road on the way there and cutting over on the 1414 but many slow vehicles mixed in with others hell-bent on passing, come what may, made it a bit frustrating -- stuck behind someone going 45kph with no chance to pass (although that didn't stop some Thais who muscled their way in, highlighting a cause of the rather large number of accidents in the country, I imagine).

 

I'd go again if I had more time to explore farther afield next time. 

[thaibeachlovers]

9 hours ago, Trujillo said:

This is only partially true. Once you enter the cave, there is a section to the right which is in fact lit and quite nice. However, if you want to see more, go to the left where you are obligated to pay 200 baht for a person (plus tip) to carry a kerosene lantern along the unlit cave section to both provide some illumination and to keep you from getting lost or at the end of the passage, falling to your death.

I obviously missed the unlit part, but they didn't advertise it that I saw. I thought they were there for the lit part, but I assumed they were touting to make some money. I wish I'd known. My wife didn't tell me about it either, and none of the ladies came and asked me if I wanted to go there.

 

9 hours ago, Trujillo said:

We went to this place on the strength of the 36 five-star reviews that Google had for it, but after eating there I was pretty much at a loss as to how they got that ranking. 

Perhaps they got a 5 * rating for their Asian food.

 

I'm always at a loss to understand why people would want to eat western food in LOS when the cooks in every restaurant I could afford to eat in, in LOS, don't know how, IMO, to cook western food properly. Especially when they cook Asian food just fine.

[thaibeachlovers]

9 hours ago, Trujillo said:

One thing about Chiang Dao outside and in the environs of the cave is the absolutely unbelievable number of street dogs. I can tell you, I've been around and I can't ever remember seeing so many dogs wandering around in loose packs, singly and some tighter groups. Along one section of road there were four that I saw that had clearly a good dose of husky in them. 

That's new. Don't remember any dog packs in all the times I visited.

[thaibeachlovers]

9 hours ago, Trujillo said:

many slow vehicles mixed in with others hell-bent on passing, come what may, made it a bit frustrating -- stuck behind someone going 45kph with no chance to pass

Just regard it as a chance to chill and enjoy the view. Isn't that what it's all about?

[Trujillo]

"Perhaps they got a 5 * rating for their Asian food."

 

I went also because I thought they had Thai items on the menu; I was mistaken. There was NO Thai food on the menu (or available; I asked). 

 

"Just regard it as a chance to chill and enjoy the view. Isn't that what it's all about?"

 

I hear you, but having to keep your eye on the vehicle right in front of you and being aware of the ones trying to pass you and the one in front in one go with not enough room for oncoming traffic focuses the mind away from casual viewing of the scenery. 

[canthai55]

2 hours ago, Trujillo said:

I hear you, but having to keep your eye on the vehicle right in front of you and being aware of the ones trying to pass you and the one in front in one go with not enough room for oncoming traffic focuses the mind away from casual viewing of the scenery. 

If you are in control of a motor vehicle on a public road you are supposed to concentrate on driving said vehicle - not gawking out the window.

Want to look - park and get out