Residents of Chiang Mai : Comparing pre-COVID to now.

[Iamfalang]

It's not an easy trip to CM, but it's not difficult.    What's the harm in one post?

 

Scale of 1 to 10.   10 means SAME SAME.    1 means super ghost town, super lockdown, even the rats are afraid to come out.

 

I'm just curious about the people traffic, energy, feel, etc....

 

Haven't been to CM since 2018.

 

Any thoughts?   

[sqwakvfr]

Living in CNX for 7 years.  I would say about a 6 or 7 now.  Just an example is some of the higher end hotels can be had for under $90 per night.  These same hotels were going for over $200 before Covid.  I work out at a gym in a hotel and the hotel has very few guests and the gym averages 8 to 10 visitors per day.  

Edited September 29, 2022 by sqwakvfr

[Bill97]

3

[arithai12]

It depends on the area.

Nimman area: 9. Night Bazar area: 2. Old town inside the moat: 6-7.

Shopping malls, restaurants: 10 (but we lost a few of both). Traffic: 9.

Red buses and tuk-tuks, unfortunately, a solid 8.

 

IMO this is a great time to visit CM: very affordable hotels, most activities as pre-Covid, about half of usual non-chinese tourists, about 0 of usual chinese tourists. Night life so so, not that I would know, but then CM has never been the place for that. Clean air, no extensive flooding, pleasant temps.

[FolkGuitar]

I eat lunch in the Old City or around town every day. I am seeing more and more tourists walking around the city than in the past 2-3 years, but it's not nearly at the pre-Covid level. The restaurants in which I eat have fewer than half their tables filled mid-week at lunchtime. Weekends are a bit busier, but other than traffic, which has already become a problem, Chiang Mai has a long way to go.  I do see progress, but there is still work to be done. New restaurants and guest house/hotels are opening every week, and the feeling is positive.

 

Agoda and Booking,com are telling us that most hotels and guest houses only have one or two rooms available, but I don't see the people yet.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, arithai12 said:

IMO this is a great time to visit CM:

If you don't mind torrential rain and flooding every day. 

[arithai12]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If you don't mind torrential rain and flooding every day. 

We have already established that you and I live in two Chiang Mai's located in alternate universes.

Actually, as far as I can tell from your posts, you don't even live in Chiang Mai itself.

In my Chiang Mai, no rain in the past two days and the only flooding in recent weeks was a flash flood neat Immigration, it lasted a few hours.

 

[roo860]

21 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If you don't mind torrential rain and flooding every day. 

Bloody hell mate, have you had an early start on the sauce ?????

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, roo860 said:

Bloody hell mate, have you had an early start on the sauce ?????

Two wine coolers with a dawn breakfast of bacon and eggs. 

[connda]

Just walk down Thapea Road, or Chang Klan, or walk around the Old City. The number of permanently shuttered business is epic. Then talk to some of the business owners who managed to stay open.  Most are fully masked and still quite fearful of Covid.  Many require the patrons to mask up before entering their shops.  It's rather at odds with the foreign tourists who are unmasked and who have moved on to full acceptance of Covid as as another seasonal respiratory illness.
It doesn't make for a "normal" vacation.  The psyche of the majority of Thais seems to have been permanently damaged.  Until they can heal, take off their masks, and come out of their morbid fear of viruses, there will never be any 'going back to normal.'

[connda]

2 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Nimman area: 9. Night Bazar area: 2. Old town inside the moat: 6-7.

Shopping malls, restaurants: 10 (but we lost a few of both).

Kad Suan Kaow shopping mall is a vacant overgrown lot with a ghost mall next door.  Thai movies producers could now use it as a prop for a new Thai zombie movie.  When I first came here Kad Suan Koaw was a vibrant, busy mall.  Dead as a door-nail now.  It makes that section of town look run-down and shabby.  In fact, the entire Old Town and Thapea area look run-down and shabby.  Not exactly a tourism mecca.

[connda]

43 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If you don't mind torrential rain and flooding every day. 

The Cool Season is right around the corner.  Outdoor cannabis is starting to bud.  Tourists can just visit the cannabis dispensaries and then head down to the banks of the Ping and stare at the river.  Who cares if business are open or not. 
Cheers!  <sound of clinking wine cooler and bottle of Lao-Dark>

[roo860]

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Two wine coolers with a dawn breakfast of bacon and eggs. 

Gud lad!????????

[bkk6060]

The whole place is about a 4 or 5 at best. Backpackers and Thais most tourists.  Several weeds shops popping up in and around the old city.

CM is a Chinese tourist town anyway it will never be like it was until they come back.

As someone else said, good time to go if you don't mind the rain.

[connda]

44 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Two wine coolers with a dawn breakfast of bacon and eggs. 

Back in the day at Ocean Beach San Diego it would be havos rancheros and a couple of Dos XX Equis.  So 35+ years later, retired and over 70, whose to fault a guy for a morning toddy with breakfast.  We all earned it. 
I did that at a local breakfast with one of the Chiang Mai expat groups and had people leave the table like I was a leper.  <laughs>  
Some people simply don't know how to enjoy life.

Edited September 30, 2022 by connda

[roo860]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Back in the day at Ocean Beach San Diego it would be havos rancheros and a couple of Dos XX Equis.  So 35+ years later, retired and over 70, whose to fault a guy for a morning toddy with breakfast.  We all earned it. 
I did that at a local breakfast with one of the Chiang Mai expat groups and had people leave the table like I was a leper.  <laughs>  
Some people simply don't know how to enjoy life.

Chiang Mai expat group, swerve them at every opportunity! I ride out with a motorbike group, quite acceptable to have a beer first thing!✌️

[seedy]

5 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

Agoda and Booking,com are telling us that most hotels and guest houses only have one or two rooms available, but I don't see the people yet.

Because of what they charge the hotels for the booking most only set a limited number of rooms as available for use by Agoda, etc.

Many times here I have looked and found no rooms. Fone the hotel itself and get a room no problem.

Now I look on Agoda - book direct.

[Iamfalang]

I'm going to take a hard pass on Chiang Mai......maybe I'll rethink things in December.

 

I had a feeling things were still bad, and why spend the time and money to see something "sick."  Less tourists also mean Thais are hungrier for your money.....I don't need that either.  I get that where I'm at if I go to a place I've never been before.    

 

I'm still taking a trip in October, just not to CM.    CM is a comical touristy, chinese, backpacker Bangkok "slumming" mixfest.......with a nice view.   I'll wait until the energy comes back.   With CM I have expectations.....If I go to some small city, I have zero expectations and then I don't mind a post-COVID dystopian atmosphere.  lol  

 

Thanks everyone.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Iamfalang

[roo860]

2 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

I'm going to take a hard pass on Chiang Mai......maybe I'll rethink things in December.

 

I had a feeling things were still bad, and why spend the time and money to see something "sick."  Less tourists also mean Thais are hungrier for your money.....I don't need that either.  I get that where I'm at if I go to a place I've never been before.    

 

I'm still taking a trip in October, just not to CM.    CM is a comical touristy, chinese, backpacker Bangkok "slumming" mixfest.......with a nice view.   I'll wait until the energy comes back.   With CM I have expectations.....If I go to some small city, I have zero expectations and then I don't mind a post-COVID dystopian atmosphere.  lol  

 

Thanks everyone.

Missing you already!

????????

[chalawaan]

9 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

I eat lunch in the Old City or around town every day. I am seeing more and more tourists walking around the city than in the past 2-3 years, but it's not nearly at the pre-Covid level. The restaurants in which I eat have fewer than half their tables filled mid-week at lunchtime. Weekends are a bit busier, but other than traffic, which has already become a problem, Chiang Mai has a long way to go.  I do see progress, but there is still work to be done. New restaurants and guest house/hotels are opening every week, and the feeling is positive.

 

Agoda and Booking,com are telling us that most hotels and guest houses only have one or two rooms available, but I don't see the people yet.

Aggregate sites are seemingly "scammy" FOMO traps now. There is often a better discount if booking a room directly on their own website. 

The internet wheel it seems, has come full circle. 

[freedomnow]

On 9/30/2022 at 4:26 AM, connda said:

Tourists can just visit the cannabis dispensaries and then head down to the banks of the Ping and stare at the river. 

See how long that works before the fines start rolling from loitering 'plain-clothed' cops with the bumbags/fanny pack slings in tow.

 

Edited October 2, 2022 by freedomnow