Sending food back to the kitchen?

[WholeHearted]

How can I find out about the routes of the little yellow buses that go up and down Chang Phuak Road? Do any or all of them go into the center of the city, or do they stay outside the moat? Which city gate do they stop near? (I think they all pass near the City Hall complex near Mae Rim.)

For some reason, red songthaew don't like to go to the Chang Phuak area very much, because there aren't a lot of passengers for them. But the yellow buses pass very frequently. They have big signs on them in Thai only.

It would be nice to know the routes where all the different colored songthaew go. They're useful for traveling outside of town, but they also could be very helpful inside the town if we only knew the routes.

Any suggestions?

[Semper]

If they are coming from Mae Rim, they will stop at Wararot market (Cat Luang)

[jayjay0]

Also if anyone knows where they can get on the different colored songtells in the city. I know the blue ones are on the east side of the river by the iron bridge they go to Lampun

Edited December 5, 2010 by lopburi3
to Lahmpang corrected by OP

[Dante99]

If they are coming from Mae Rim, they will stop at Wararot market (Cat Luang)

No, they will all stop at the bus station on Chotonaa Road where most people transfer to the red ones, a few yellow may eventually go to Warorot but not all.

Edited December 5, 2010 by Dante99

[Dante99]

Also if anyone knows where they can get on the different colored songtells in the city. I know the blue ones are on the east side of the river by the iron bridge they go to Lahmpang.

Lampang? are you sure it is not Lampun? A regular songtaew route to Lampang seems quite a bit too far.

[sarahsbloke]

Where they are going is written on the sign above the cab.

In Thai of course.

Mae Rim = แม่ริม

Yellow ones from the start of Hang Dong road near CM gate, go past the aitport mall, through Hang Dong and end at San Patong.

Various colours from the fruit market,

some Yellow go out over the narrow bridge past the bus station and up the 118 to Doy Saket

others Yellow start the same route and go other places, one goes to Mae Rim 118 then turns onto 1001 (I think)

Another White goes over the wide bridge past the train station, up to Bo Sang then turns left to Doi Saket

Edited December 5, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[jayjay0]

Also if anyone knows where they can get on the different colored songtells in the city. I know the blue ones are on the east side of the river by the iron bridge they go to Lahmpang.

Lampang? are you sure it is not Lampun? A regular songtaew route to Lampang seems quite a bit too far.

Edited December 5, 2010 by jayjay0

[jayjay0]

Also if anyone knows where they can get on the different colored songtells in the city. I know the blue ones are on the east side of the river by the iron bridge they go to Lahmpang.

Lampang? are you sure it is not Lampun? A regular songtaew route to Lampang seems quite a bit too far.

You are probably rite.

I have no problem confusing the two I do it all the time

sorry to have given wrong information. Would appreciate a monitor making the change.

[WholeHearted]

Where they are going is written on the sign above the cab.

In Thai of course.

Mae Rim = แม่ริม

Yellow ones from the start of Hang Dong road near CM gate, go past the aitport mall, through Hang Dong and end at San Patong.

Various colours from the fruit market,

some Yellow go out over the narrow bridge past the bus station and up the 118 to Doy Saket

others Yellow start the same route and go other places, one goes to Mae Rim 118 then turns onto 1001 (I think)

Another White goes over the wide bridge past the train station, up to Bo Sang then turns left to Doi Saket

Thanks. I recently rode a white little bus (song taew) from the Warorot Flower Market to Bo Sang, only 15B.

But what I'd really like to know is a little different. I want to go from Chontanaa Road (Chang Phuak) to the moat area, preferably to the Suan Dok gate, (or at least to the Chiang Mai gate -- or I'd settle for anywhere near the moat if I had to). And then I want to be able to go back again to Chang Phuak. A million of those yellow and white buses pass by Rajabhat University, but I don't know their route, esp. if they go to the old city (moat) area.

I can read a little Thai, but not at high speeds. Any advice?

[Dante99]

A million of those yellow and white buses pass by Rajabhat University......

Where is Rajabhat University? I want to go there to see 40,000+ yellow and white songtaews going past every hour, almost 700 a minute, it has got to be a big road.

[Beetlejuice]

Here it is in plain English.

Most of the yellow taxis begin at the Chiang Mai gate.

From there they travel up through the 108 - Hang Dong road. Passed Tesco Lotus, into Hang Dong, Sanpatong and then onto Chom Thong.

Now this is where it becomes a little confusing. The taxis with the sign boards with white text and a red background go the whole journey into Chom Thong. The ones with the sign boards with white text and green background only go as far as Sanpatong.

The whole journey from Chiang Mai into Chom Thong costs 20 baht. Takes about an hour and 20 minutes. There are also the old bone shaker blue coaches that do this trip, a little more expensive and quite slow at times.

The blue taxis begin at the Rim Ping supermarket river branch and go on to Lamphun.

[Flatouthruthefog]

This is a good description of the yellow songtows (also called seelors) that go south.

The yellows that serve the north are based at Worarot Market on the west side of the river, south of Nakhorn Ping Bridge (the one with the cycle tracks each side).

They will take you way up north on the 118 to Doi Saket and much furthur towards Chiang Rai.

But beware and ask at their little bus station (a little English is spoken), stating clearly where you really want to go. Because SOME of this lot curve south as described here already, and (at km 9 on the 118) some suddenly turn left up a winding road to nowhere in particular.

Caveat travellor.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

These vehicles don't look too safe. I think I'll stick with the Camry.

[Asmerom]

I can read a little Thai, but not at high speeds. Any advice?

Why not just jump on one of those millions and see where it goes. It would be worth15baht to find out. You know it makes sense.

[Dante99]

I can read a little Thai, but not at high speeds. Any advice?

Why not just jump on one of those millions and see where it goes. It would be worth15baht to find out. You know it makes sense.

Excellent advice Khun Asmerom

[searcher22]

Avoid using the yellow bus during peak hours, as they're often packed like sardines in there and you may be left stranded. I know there's a bus route that goes a certain distance along Mae Rim road, but good luck with that too! I'm still waiting for a dependable bus system along that route and throughout Chiang Mai.

[NancyL]

I think the OP is talking about song thaews different than the yellow ones that go to Hang Dong. They wouldn't be running up and down Chang Puek Rd.

The OP's idea is good. I know someone who lives at Riverside Condo near the Holiday Inn and she has problems finding red songthaews there, too. If she goes to the Holiday Inn, normally all she finds are tuk-tuks that want to charge her tourist prices. So, she hops one of the blue songthaews from Lampun in front of the Riverside Condo, goes to Warorot Market for 10 baht and then easily finds a red songthaew to complete her journey in town.

If I were in the OPs situation, I'd go to see the song thaews that herd up just outside Chang Mai gate, on the outside moat road, armed with a local area map with village names in both Thai and English script. Then, the OP could study their signs at leisure and jump on one that appears to be going to a location to the north of the city. What's the worst that can happen? The OP could end up in Chom Thong, but all s/he'd have to do is find a songthaew heading back to Chiang Mai. The trick is to start this adventure fairly early in the day since many long-distance song thaews don't operate after dark.

This is how I figured out how to take a Mae Jo green songthaew from Warorot market to get to the fabled Rim Ping supermarket Mee Chok (it wasn't that good, incidentally. I'll stick with one in town.) I found the drivers didn't speak English, but the passengers were helpful, some speaking good English.

[Dante99]

So there are yellows everywhere, some going south to Chom Tong, some going to Doi Saket and others going to Mae Rim? What fun.

[NancyL]

Well, it really does help to learn how to read Thai, at least to the extent that you can sound out words written on a stationary vehicle.

[WholeHearted]

If I were in the OPs situation, I'd go to see the song thaews that herd up just outside Chang Mai gate, on the outside moat road, armed with a local area map with village names in both Thai and English script. Then, the OP could study their signs at leisure and jump on one that appears to be going to a location to the north of the city.

That's a great idea, for me to try working backwards from CM gate. I can probably speak enough Thai to ask a driver at that point if he's headed to Chang Phuak. Sounds like it really will be feasible for me to go from there to Rajabhat on a yellow bus. Thanks!