Philippines Vs Chiang Mai

[MichaelWilliams2]

I have been to the Philippines and loved it. I have never been to Thailand, but am very interested in it, specifically the Chiang Mai area. I wonder how the climate compares. Have any of you been to both locations? What do you think?

[kcore]

try bagio as this place is full of smoke for the last 5 mos. how is the pi these days...been a few years but, need to get to AC soon.

Kcore

[ManilaLover]

Hi, I/m living in/ near ChiangMai for a 10 years or so and visit Phils very frequent.

Compared, Thailand is smooth and easy and safe. You won't see any armed guards and corruption won't touch you. In Bangkok you can more or less walk anywhere day or night without feeling unsafe. In the center of Chiangmai you still find simple but good and safe hotels starting 200-300p in stead of 30$. Far as I know they use no dollarprices at all.

Meaningful communication with locals however is hard to find, most of them don't speak English even university students have a communication problem. They usually talk about where you come from where do you go and have you eaten already. I don't know what climate you refer to but Chiangmai you can compare with most parts of Phils, daytime hot, nitetime chilly. CM is, at best, a dusty, polluted, congested city.

Life in Philippines is more a challenge there. I suggest forget Chiangmai and try the capital of Laos instead, its more interesting, a mix of Asian and mediterranean and much nicer people, high quality food and inexpensive, it has a nice boulevard along the Mehkong river and many beautiful buildings. For Chiangmai you don't need to bring your camera. Easy connection between both by air.

[martijn12345]

Lived in Lao for 3 months, its def. not cheaper then Chiang Mai. Unless you are willing to eat the local food from the market (which I am perfectly fine with in Thailand) where pork means: the bones and skin, where chicken means the bones, head and feet. If you need normal meat, you will have to go to restaurants that are not more cheap then here in CM. You will find out you need a lot of stuff that has to be imported cause Lao produces not much. Orange juice, cheese, etc. They all gotta import it from Thailand, making it even more expensive then here. Do have to agree that Vientiane and Luang Prabang are very nice places to visit.

[MichaelWilliams2]

Thank you for your replies. My wife is a filipina who doesn't want to live someone hotter or more humid than the Philippines. You have given me things to think about. I'll look into Laos, too. I thought that although there was times when the air was smoggy, it cleared out occasionally. Also, being further north, it would be a little cooler. I will continue to check out this forum and see what else I can learn.

Thanks again.

[Donnyboy]

CM is, at best, a dusty, polluted, congested city.

depends, im on the outskirts of CM 15kms away in San Kamphaeng, its not as bad as you describe it to be

[PhilHarries]

Chiang Mai is definately cooler and less humid than Pi although it does have a smoke haze problem at this time of the year.

[BarnicaleBob]

I have been to both places and I find Chiang Mai to feel cooler because of the lower humidity and the people are much more friendly and easier to get along with. However, not as many of them speak English here. You will also find that the Chiang Mai area has a very large population of Europeans, Aussies and Americans, heard one time as many as 17,000 but I do not know if that is a correct figure or not. I do know I see a lot of us where ever I go.

Yes, there is a lot of smog here from about Jan to May but the rest of the year it is as clear as the PI. I also feel very safe when I go out and in my home, the crime rate is very low here. This is not to say there is no crime but it is a lot less of it here. I come from a mid sized city in the States and I feel much more safe here than I did there. Of course I take precausions so as not to upset anyone by learning the dos and don'ts of the customs and by making my home secure.

[Donnyboy]

weather/climate wise:

i love it here from oct to late jan due to the cooler climate, and clearer air

rainy season is usually a welcomed relief from the hot summer months, so i rate that 2nd

feb-may is my least favoured months, hot, hot, hot, and smokey

Edited April 11, 2010 by Donnyboy