Any ideas - planes, trains or automobiles?

Surfing around the cheapest way I have found is flying Chiang Mai - Kuala Lumpur and then on to Beijing with Air Asia.

Seems a bit crazy to go that far out of the way though

Any ideas - planes, trains or automobiles?

Surfing around the cheapest way I have found is flying Chiang Mai - Kuala Lumpur and then on to Beijing with Air Asia.

Seems a bit crazy to go that far out of the way though

Do you mean the cheapest way to get there or the cheapest way flying to get there?

Since flights from CNX to Kunming or Chengdu ceased it's a pain to get into China. Flying Air Asia is probably the cheapest flight.

The other cheaper alternatives are by boat (irregular service from Chiang Saen up the Mekong), or cross the border at Mae Sai and go across Lao by bus. Both these involve bus/train journeys once in China to get to Beijing.

Any ideas - planes, trains or automobiles?

Surfing around the cheapest way I have found is flying Chiang Mai - Kuala Lumpur and then on to Beijing with Air Asia.

Seems a bit crazy to go that far out of the way though

The Air Asia routing is by far the cheapest. I just flew that a few weeks ago. If you do go that route, here's what you need to know:

1. You'll have to overnight in KL both ways. Since you're looking for the cheapest options you can stay at the Tune Hotel just outside the airport. It's within walking distance of the terminal. It's the tiniest room I've ever seen, but otherwise totally acceptable. It's about 100 Ringit (~1000 baht) and you must reserve in advance since they usually fill up.

2. The Air Asia flight does NOT go into Beijing. It goes to Tianjin which is about 120kms east of Beijing. There is a highspeed train from Tianjin to the Beijing South train station. It takes under 30 minutes and reaches a maximum speed of about 310km/hour. There's a bus outside the Tianjin terminal that will go straight to the Tianjin train station.

3. It's a pretty standard Air Asia flight -- no movies, no food, no water.

Any ideas - planes, trains or automobiles?

Surfing around the cheapest way I have found is flying Chiang Mai - Kuala Lumpur and then on to Beijing with Air Asia.

Seems a bit crazy to go that far out of the way though

The Air Asia routing is by far the cheapest. I just flew that a few weeks ago. If you do go that route, here's what you need to know:

1. You'll have to overnight in KL both ways. Since you're looking for the cheapest options you can stay at the Tune Hotel just outside the airport. It's within walking distance of the terminal. It's the tiniest room I've ever seen, but otherwise totally acceptable. It's about 100 Ringit (~1000 baht) and you must reserve in advance since they usually fill up.

2. The Air Asia flight does NOT go into Beijing. It goes to Tianjin which is about 120kms east of Beijing. There is a highspeed train from Tianjin to the Beijing South train station. It takes under 30 minutes and reaches a maximum speed of about 310km/hour. There's a bus outside the Tianjin terminal that will go straight to the Tianjin train station.

3. It's a pretty standard Air Asia flight -- no movies, no food, no water.

buying a hot meal and a drink on board of AirAsiaX (not AirAsia) will cost you less than 200 Baht. that's better than pay 5000 Baht more for a flight with a legacy carrier, isn't it ?

Any ideas - planes, trains or automobiles?

Surfing around the cheapest way I have found is flying Chiang Mai - Kuala Lumpur and then on to Beijing with Air Asia.

Seems a bit crazy to go that far out of the way though

The Air Asia routing is by far the cheapest. I just flew that a few weeks ago. If you do go that route, here's what you need to know:

1. You'll have to overnight in KL both ways. Since you're looking for the cheapest options you can stay at the Tune Hotel just outside the airport. It's within walking distance of the terminal. It's the tiniest room I've ever seen, but otherwise totally acceptable. It's about 100 Ringit (~1000 baht) and you must reserve in advance since they usually fill up.

2. The Air Asia flight does NOT go into Beijing. It goes to Tianjin which is about 120kms east of Beijing. There is a highspeed train from Tianjin to the Beijing South train station. It takes under 30 minutes and reaches a maximum speed of about 310km/hour. There's a bus outside the Tianjin terminal that will go straight to the Tianjin train station.

3. It's a pretty standard Air Asia flight -- no movies, no food, no water.

buying a hot meal and a drink on board of AirAsiaX (not AirAsia) will cost you less than 200 Baht. that's better than pay 5000 Baht more for a flight with a legacy carrier, isn't it ?

I agree 100%, which is why I flew Air Asia. But some people may not want to deal with the hassle of landing in Tianjin especially if they have a connecting flight out of Beijing, as I did. Or they may not have the time for the overnight in KL and the possible overnight in Beijing.