From Chang Mai To ..where? Burma? Suggestions

[aussiecollin]

Hi, I am going to Chang Mai in May...just for a few days..family stuff.

I would love to go to ...err..maybe Burma, or somewhere different..

I am a very devout monger..

Any suggestions will be gratefully received..

Collin

[ThaiPauly]

Waste of time going to Burma, you need 13,000 permits to travel outside of the border town of Tachilek

There ain't enough time on your schedule to get them...just enjoy Chiang Mai...plenty to keep you occupied

[Maejo Man]

When you enter Myanmar at Mae Sai you are issued with a "paper passport" with your photo, and this entitles you to a stay of 14 days now. Prior to this it was only a one day pass. You can quite easily overnight in Tatchilek as there are many small hotels there. Two casinos to blow all your hard earned cash in. If you are into temples there is the large golden temple in town, or you can take a mule ride to the rather quaint one that sits right on top of the hill on the ourskirts of the town.

Plenty of places to eat, and some great ruins to the west of town. If your leaning is towards "night entertainment" there's plenty of that too.

[Mahseer]

Luang Prabang before it gets completely overrun.

[sabaijai]

When you enter Myanmar at Mae Sai you are issued with a "paper passport" with your photo, and this entitles you to a stay of 14 days now. Prior to this it was only a one day pass. You can quite easily overnight in Tatchilek as there are many small hotels there. Two casinos to blow all your hard earned cash in. If you are into temples there is the large golden temple in town, or you can take a mule ride to the rather quaint one that sits right on top of the hill on the ourskirts of the town.

Plenty of places to eat, and some great ruins to the west of town. If your leaning is towards "night entertainment" there's plenty of that too.

That 14-day permit allows you to travel as far north as Kentung/Chiang Tung/Kyaingtong (3 hrs by road from Tachileik), an interesting Thai Khun town, well worth a trip. The paperwork is quite simple now, one single transaction at the border immigration post.

[Ajarn]

Yeah, the Kentung trip is fast and easy. I enjoyed the drive a lot...

[Blinky Bill]

If you were to travel to far north Myanmar and got way off the beaten track you might be lucky enough to see Hkakabo Razi in Kachin State, this is Myanmars highest hill at 19,295'. I was lucky enough to be working there with the Myanmar Air Force a few years ago. Apologies for the quality of the snap, it was taken through the window of our beaten up a/c.

Edited February 23, 2008 by Blinky Bill

[cnxmike]

When I was in Kentung about 6 months ago. There was only power between 6 pm and 10 pm. It was a very hot day. No air-con, no fan and no cool drinks.

[lotus eater]

Yeah, the Kentung trip is fast and easy. I enjoyed the drive a lot...

Should one even think about driving across in one's own car, or is the paperwork etc too troublesome?

If not, is the arrangement for these trips easily done in a Tachilek hotel? Are all arrangements better done there or in Thaialnd?

What currency money is best taken there and permitted?

[barrysandal]

You can take a flight to Mandalay from Chiang Mai. Once in Mandalay you can stay at a clean enough hotel for abut 10 bucks while wandering around a city forever trapped in the early fifties. From there you can catch a boat down the Ayerawaddi to Bagan and the night bus to Yangon. It’s a thrill; it’s cheap, and adventurous. You need about 5 days. Take diarrhea pills.

There are also direct flights to Kunming and, as mentioned , Luang Prabaung.

[wjmark]

Hi, I am going to Chang Mai in May...just for a few days..family stuff.

I would love to go to ...err..maybe Burma, or somewhere different..

I am a very devout monger..

Any suggestions will be gratefully received..

I added the emphasis. No-one has reallly answered his question.

Only Maejo Man alluded to it...

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Back 'off-topic' - if you go to Tatchilek, there is a seedy-looking tout hanging around just inside the border, named 'Slim', who is really a hel_l of a nice guy.

Indian background, and university educated, he does make his money from tourists, but can help you find anything (back on-topic: anything!), and is a good guide, and a really interesting man...

[iainiain101]

I was a bit confsed..devout monger so I looked it up..

mon·ger (mnggr, mng-)

n.

1. A dealer in a specific commodity. Often used in combination: an ironmonger.

2. A person promoting something undesirable or discreditable. Often used in combination: a scandalmonger; a warmonger.

tr.v. mon·gered, mon·ger·ing, mon·gers

To peddle.

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I assume it is neither of the above, and you are using the English slang of someone being a 'Monger', as in bad looking, a bit of a Mongrel. Thailand is probably not your best bet if you are into ugly women!!!

Iain

[Rasseru]

I was a bit confsed..devout monger so I looked it up..

mon·ger (mnggr, mng-)

n.

1. A dealer in a specific commodity. Often used in combination: an ironmonger.

2. A person promoting something undesirable or discreditable. Often used in combination: a scandalmonger; a warmonger.

tr.v. mon·gered, mon·ger·ing, mon·gers

To peddle.

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I assume it is neither of the above . . . . .

Perhaps, just perhaps, he was using the term in the sense of the Latin term from which it derives, which means a dealer in slaves. Such a person might wish to travel to Burma, these days.

[wjmark]

To find out what 'monger' means to many farang in Thailand, do a Google search (don't use quotes) for:

thailand monger

That should clear things up a bit!

[elektrified]

Indeed a Google search of Thailand and Monger does clear things up a bit. The first hit shows the definition to be "...a man of low morals who repeatedly consorts with loose women. A disgraceful fellow..."

[Ulysses G.]

Monger is short for Whore Monger.

[bunta71]

My mother (rest her soul) used to call me that frequently