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[sinold]

Hi Folks,

Looks like I'll have a fairly large freelance project to complete over the next week, and to save me spending days in my guesthouse room gazing at my laptop, I'll likely be spending large chunks of time in cafes. Hence I'm looking for some recommendations - but obviously I'm both giver and taker, so I'll be throwing in a couple of my own as well . . .

Basically what I need is:

A cafe

With wireless Internet (or somewhere very near that has non-secure wifi you can steal)

Decent food and drink, at reasonable prices

Accessible power points for customers a plus, but I have almost a full working days worth of batteries, so . . .

Close to other similar establishments so that when you get bored you can have a change of scene

Not completely dead (don't want to feel like you're keeping the staff awake) but also not full of screaming high school students, etc.

I've only been in Chiang Mai a week or so, so not too sure about the options. Places I've found that might fit the bill are:

Black Canyon at Tha Phae Gate

Hopf Cafe

Chiang Mai Saloon (bit noisy as it's open to the street though)

That JJ's juice bar place (no wifi, but you can pick up someone elses)

Cafe Nero over at Nimma . . Nimmh . . . y'know the bit I mean.

As you can see, I've barely explored outside the moat. Advice appreciated.

[keo]

Hi Folks,

Looks like I'll have a fairly large freelance project to complete over the next week, and to save me spending days in my guesthouse room gazing at my laptop, I'll likely be spending large chunks of time in cafes. Hence I'm looking for some recommendations - but obviously I'm both giver and taker, so I'll be throwing in a couple of my own as well . . .

Basically what I need is:

A cafe

With wireless Internet (or somewhere very near that has non-secure wifi you can steal)

Decent food and drink, at reasonable prices

Accessible power points for customers a plus, but I have almost a full working days worth of batteries, so . . .

Close to other similar establishments so that when you get bored you can have a change of scene

Not completely dead (don't want to feel like you're keeping the staff awake) but also not full of screaming high school students, etc.

I've only been in Chiang Mai a week or so, so not too sure about the options. Places I've found that might fit the bill are:

Black Canyon at Tha Phae Gate

Hopf Cafe

Chiang Mai Saloon (bit noisy as it's open to the street though)

That JJ's juice bar place (no wifi, but you can pick up someone elses)

Cafe Nero over at Nimma . . Nimmh . . . y'know the bit I mean.

As you can see, I've barely explored outside the moat. Advice appreciated.

pretty sure smoothie blues on Nimmanheiman (?sp) has wifi, and the food there is good, if a little pricey.

Bombay cafe just off suthep road (first soi on the left after the gas station if you are heading towards the mountain, couple of hundred metres on the left hand side) also has wifi. nice place, not sure about the food.

Or you could come round my house and steal my neighbours wifi like I do!

[dingdongrb]

Shouldn't you call yourself a 'freeloader' instead of a 'freelancer' as it seems more appropriate since you like to steal errrrrrr 'take advantage' of free wifi services?

Perhaps rent a car (or scooter) and drive around town picking all the free wifi you can scrounge and have a change of scenery at the same time. But please no typing while driving as we have enough crazies on the streets as it is.

Edited October 19, 2008 by dingdongrb

[wedders]

Number 1 Bar off Loi Kroh has a fast internet wifi connection in their upstairs bar, with power points. Quiet (customers rarely go upstairs), good beer, food, central, open from 1.30pm 'til about midnight.

Plenty of company if you need it! But they won't bother you if you don't.

[ollylama]

happy hut on nimmanhaemin across from mike's burgers has good coffee, fast wifi, power points and air conditioning. you can work there all day. but the food isn't very good. but you can pop on over to kasem store and stuff your face with their baked goods and run back across the street before anyone has a chance to steal your laptop (or lock it down).

[Wandering]

This place has great coffee & internet

http://www.thelighthousecoffeeshop.com/index.html

[Bananaman]

This place has great coffee & internet

http://www.thelighthousecoffeeshop.com/index.html

Hmm, aside from the aroma of coffee, I detect the faint smell of Christian fundamentalism!

[Wandering]

This place has great coffee & internet

http://www.thelighthousecoffeeshop.com/index.html

Hmm, aside from the aroma of coffee, I detect the faint smell of Christian fundamentalism!

You must have a delicate palate indeed to disdain coffee served you based on the religion of the server.

These folks offer one of the only shops in town with:

Fair trade, organic, pesticide free coffee.

They even have low fat milk and soy milk.

And no they won't proselytize your delicate sensibilities.

[viqothai]

it is a small cafe restaurant near DK books ,nice place ,cheap,small but good menu,i dont remember the name ,but easy to find.

[sinold]

Thanks folks, will be checking these out - maybe even the Christian Coffee place. Attempted a bit of work at the Chiang Mai Saloon this afternoon, but between music blaring out from the back, and tuk-tuk's roaring past in front I didn't get a great deal done . . .

More suggestions are of course welcome.

[ollylama]

just drove by ratana's kitchen 2 on the moat road (the one on the other side of the moat from moon muang, forgot the name, and noticed they have a sign advertising free wireless. their food is good and their front door is closed to the street (AC?)so looks pretty good for what you're looking for.

[sinold]

Nice one. Looks like I'm spending most of the next 96 hours in front of my laptop, so will be good to be able to do so in a few different places.

[rishi]

There are more places offering free wifi in chiang mai than there are phone booths.

[Sathip2008]

"TODAY COFFEE" on Loy Kroh : Free WI-FI, Excellent coffee and bakery, nice place.

[Wandering]

This place has great coffee & internet

http://www.thelighthousecoffeeshop.com/index.html

Hey, sorry guys, I just found out that they are closed all week.

[sinold]

Well, just sat in Ratana's Kitchen 2 for a couple of hours. Not bad - breakfast was ok, wifi worked, and the doors are kept closed so traffic noise isn't too bad. Seats aren't massively comfy, but that's maybe being a bit picky.

[Wandering]

Oh I just thought of a great one.

Mong Pearl on Huay Kaew across the road from Boat restaurant.

[StevieH]

This place has great coffee & internet

http://www.thelighthousecoffeeshop.com/index.html

Hmm, aside from the aroma of coffee, I detect the faint smell of Christian fundamentalism!

you order one cup of coffee and a chap with a beard comes and turns it into five cups?

Oh I just thought of a great one.

Mong Pearl on Huay Kaew across the road from Boat restaurant.

lovely little place is mong pearl. good food, coffee and comfy seating.

[sinold]

That Mong Pearl place looks just about perfect, will certainly be checking that one out. And further out of the center than I've ventured before, so I get an adventure thrown in.

[Sathip2008]

you order one cup of coffee and a chap with a beard comes and turns it into five cups?

[dingdongrb]

There are more places offering free wifi in chiang mai than there are phone booths.

Now why would there be any phone booths? It's quite obvious by watching the drivers of the scooters and their 4 passengers that everyone has at least 2 mobile phones each.

[wedders]

This place has great coffee & internet

http://www.thelighthousecoffeeshop.com/index.html

Hmm, aside from the aroma of coffee, I detect the faint smell of Christian fundamentalism!

You must have a delicate palate indeed to disdain coffee served you based on the religion of the server.

These folks offer one of the only shops in town with:

Fair trade, organic, pesticide free coffee.

They even have low fat milk and soy milk.

And no they won't proselytize your delicate sensibilities.

They won't? They just want to, quote, "make new friends around ChaingMai"? (see website).

Pull the other one!

Personally I "disdain" any charitable efforts with strings attached.

[Puwa]

This place has great coffee & internet

http://www.thelighthousecoffeeshop.com/index.html

Hmm, aside from the aroma of coffee, I detect the faint smell of Christian fundamentalism!

You must have a delicate palate indeed to disdain coffee served you based on the religion of the server.

These folks offer one of the only shops in town with:

Fair trade, organic, pesticide free coffee.

They even have low fat milk and soy milk.

And no they won't proselytize your delicate sensibilities.

A note on terms. A widely accepted definition of Christian fundamentalism is "militantly anti-modernist evangelical Protestantism." Anti-modernism includes young-earth creationism, denying evolution and the natural sciences, substituting prayer and other magical practices for medicine, and rejecting the legitimacy of secular politics in favor of theocracy. Reading the website, I think the term applies. Interestingly, neither "fair trade" nor "organic" has a binding definition, except within particular schemes to certify and regulate particular brand and label associations, such as TransFair and Certified Organic. This means that these terms can be used pretty loosely. Can't really tell though from the website what these terms mean in context. Anyway I'll have to taste the coffee for myself.

[sinold]

Let me add Peppermint Cafe - not sure of the name of the Soi it's on, but it's the one that runs between Hopf Coffee and the temple next to AUA, more or less. Quiet as it's not on a main road, accessible power points, wifi, and I can't remember what the coffee was like.

Edited October 23, 2008 by sinold

[sinold]

And also Daily Delight, further along (east) the same street as the Art Cafe and JJ's. Wifi, powerpoints, air-con, oddly uncomfortable chairs - who really sits at a 90% angle? Seems like a nice place though.

[JuniorExPat]

Mad Dog has WiFi as does Tuskers - both could fit your requirements depending upon the time of day etc.

JxP