Looking For Short-term Rental With Dsl And Privacy, Can You Help?

[hammockwoman]

hi, i've been lurking on this great forum for a while, and know you're the people who can help with this.

i'm an american woman in the process of transitioning to spending half my time in thailand, and i am planning to have chiang rai be my home base. eventually, in a year or so, i'll rent a house there, and my companion, who currently lives in bkk, will live there fulltime, while i come back and from from san francisco to thailand in three-month increments.

i've spent 2-1/2 of the past 7 years in thailand, i speak thai passably well and am learning to read and write. i've lived in chiang mai, kho phangan, and spent a lot of time in bkk, but discovered chiang rai a few trips ago and knew it was where i want to be, and have returned to spend more time.

i'll be coming again in may, this time for six weeks, and would like to rent a furnished house, apartment, condo, bungalow, cottage or even a big room in a guesthouse. i want to have:

- dsl or wireless so i can keep up with my business and can use skype to talk to people in the states

- an outdoor area with enough privacy that i can put up my hammock and spend my days reading, writing and thinking, a view of sky and green and a sense of nature around me

- close enough proximity to town to be able to bike or walk to the market and restaurants

- 2 beds or bedrooms is preferable, but not necessary

i'm generally a budget traveler, and strongly prefer funky and interesting to fancy and posh. someone's guest cottage or sublet of an interesting place would be a dream come true, but i'm open to whatever.

ideas? suggestions? people i should talk to? thanks in advance, wise ones!

[sceadugenga]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with finding a new home.

You'll get a few suggestions but I generally advise people like yourself to book into one of the many inner city guest houses and hotels on arrival and spend a few days shopping around for something more permanent.

[hammockwoman]

yes, thanks... that's my plan b, and what i've done my last two trips. and i've read the different threads with suggestions for guesthouses in town....

i'm sort of hoping to get specific ideas from folks who might know of a guesthouse or vacation rentals that have more of a homey feeling, or maybe a place they rent out for the week, but isn't slick enough to post on the real estate rental sites... looking forward to hearing some ideas from people.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with finding a new home.

You'll get a few suggestions but I generally advise people like yourself to book into one of the many inner city guest houses and hotels on arrival and spend a few days shopping around for something more permanent.

[hammockwoman]

i've gotten a few pm's from people, so thank you very much, and please keep them coming!

[hammockwoman]

bumping this up to ask for suggestions of guesthouses in town with wireless that reaches into the room. Baan bua is clearly a place people like... do you know if they have wireless?

thanks.

i've gotten a few pm's from people, so thank you very much, and please keep them coming!

[Sparkles]

bumping this up to ask for suggestions of guesthouses in town with wireless that reaches into the room. Baan bua is clearly a place people like... do you know if they have wireless?

thanks.

I would doubt it but they do have internet available in the office and the first 20 minutes is free !

[Chris and Dan]

Baan Bua Guest House does have wireless internet connection. Don't know how fast, or how well it works as I haven't used it myself. Be advised that DSL, regardless of the speed they quote in the adverts, is not going to be anywhere near as fast as the average DSL connection in the U.S., or Bangkok,and not near as consistent.

[hammockwoman]

hi -- bumping this up again since i'll be there in about a month.

i've got a couple of potential places to rent short-term (five weeks -- mid-may to late june) but they aren't close to town...

so i'm putting it out there again... the perfect situation is: furnished, funky, has a yard or balcony with green space and a place for a hammock, has a kitchen but also has easy food nearby, and has dsl, which is important so i can keep up on my business.

my plan right now is to arrive and stay at baan bua while i look around more, but if anyone has suggestions of other guesthouses that have spacious rooms that have a sense of privacy, or maybe some kind of sublet, or any ideas at all, please send them along!

khap khun maak ka.