Guide For Touring Old City? Songthaew To Doi Suthep?

[VinceAU]

My brother and I will be visiting Chiang Mai for a week in October, and would like to spend the first full day (Sunday) just looking around the city. The internet shows plenty of City & Temple Tours; I thought of Samlor Tours (http://www.chiangmai...val.com/samlor/) but we don't enjoy the thought of being dragged to see seven temples, three markets and God knows how many silver shops offering a kickback to the tour guide.

What I was thinking is more along the lines of:

A ride around the moat and gates (preferably in a samlor)

Thapae Gate area on foot (my brother would undoubtedly spend some time checking out the 2^nd hand bookstores!)

Arts & Cultural Center

Just one local market (probably Warorot)

Temples: Wat Phra Singh, Chedi Luang and Wat Umong

Anything else that catches our eye...

And the Sunday market at night.

Thought of just walking around ourselves and hiring a vehicle if we got tired, but it would be nice to have a local guide explain what we are looking at and answer any questions. Can anyone recommend a good English-speaking guide who does a walking tour of the old city?

Also, we'd like to see Doi Suthep, but arrive before the tourists (around 7am). Seeing as we'd likely be seeing other stuff in the area (e.g. the zoo, the Hmong village) I thought the best approach would be to hire a songthaew for the day. What would be a reasonable price to negotiate for? I hear the taxi mafia prevent the songthaews from visiting the village - is this true? Should we hire a car and driver instead? (we're a bit cautious about driving in an unfamiliar country)

[sfokevin]

Lunch at Huen Phen - Not far from Wat Chedi

Order the fried Papaya Salad

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293917-d1210654-Reviews-Huen_Phen-Chiang_Mai.html

Edited August 27, 2011 by sfokevin

[shepsel]

You can hire a song-taew up to Doi Suthep and a hilltribe village--you can pick up one in front of the zoo, and then get one for the return trip--it is very inexpensive rather than hiring a driver for a day. The hilltribe village near Doi Suthep is quite touristy, though. For your jaunts around Chiang Mai it would be easier to flag down a song-taew and have them take you to your next destination in and around the city, if you care not to walk from one place to another.

You have quite a lot of places on your itineary for one day. It may be wise to cut a few of them out and really take in the ones that you decide to go to.

[anselpixel]

For about fifty USD, you can hire a car and driver for the day and do what you like. Many drivers speak enough English to make it easy for tourists.

[wolf5370]

For about fifty USD, you can hire a car and driver for the day and do what you like. Many drivers speak enough English to make it easy for tourists.

...but as you say, be careful you don't get taken to every shop that offers them kick backs - and don't believe the old lie "Oh, [put in any place - e.g. Zoo] shut today, [some seemingly non sensical reason] can take you to [some kick-back paying over-priced tourist shop with a craft display]"

I don't know how fit you and bro are, but personally I would get a good sightseeing map (free ones can be found easiliy at the airport etc - often marked as Taxi maps) and wander around the old city on foot - its not that big - see Thapeai Gate and maybe Chiang Mai Gate and the corner between (the park) and you have pretty much done the moat - looks much the same elsewhere. Night Bazaar is picking up again (it was rather sparse a few months or so ago) and worth a wonder in the everning. If you are here for a few days only, I would ignore the zoo as its nice (very long walk all of it seems to be up hill!) but a zoo is a zoo and you probably have a nice one at home too - maybe even with polar bears (sore point for CM Zoo I guess!). A quick look at the silver temple and the laquer temple (both near to each other) is interesting too - as is their history. Personally can't stand Do Suthep temple - just too commercial and touristy and crowded these days for me - but I guyess its a standard POI for visitors.

I agree with the above about getting a song taew to specific places too - much cheaper than hiring a car (especially with driver) - but will be slow if on a common route (or driver will want more than the usual 20 baht or so for places he is unlikely to get other fares to/from or for private direct travel - still cheap though). For a visitor's first time, a tuk tuk is a must at lease once - its worth the extra cost for the experience (and often white knuckle ride).

Oh and if you are taking a samlor, pick a time when there is not much traffic as "dooing the moat" at rush hour will not be a fun experience.

Good luck and have fun.

[KRS1]

Rent a couple of scooters for the day, if you can ride a bike you can ride a scooter.

Pay no attention to the people that say you will die.