Bargash Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hi dear people! As some of you know, me and my wife will be moving to Chiang Rai. I've opened up a topic about this last year, and in 6 days we will be landing in Chiang Mai where a friend will pick us up. We just got our wedding ceremony here in Kunming, China, so now it's time to head out! First I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of helpful replies in my last topic! Thanks! (except to my last question but hey... ) Okay, down to business, I do have some questions about the city, region etc... How is the weather in Chiang Rai? Is it comparable with the regions more down south like BKK? It took me about a week before I stopped sweating without even so much as moving, so I just want to be prepared How easy is it to buy a scooter/motorbike, and what kind of price range could I expect? It's just going to be something temporary for the first 3 months or so until I buy a car. Are there any community events? I think last year I was reading up about people organizing bbq's and things like that. As I am very social, I would love to participate. Are there any rafting options in Chiang Rai? I did find some on google, however, I am not sure about the reliability of the companies I've found there. As I've been a white water rafting instructor in Uganda, I would love to raft here as well! Thanks for taking your time to read this, and if there is anything you could help me with, I would love to hear about it! Thanks again, and maybe I'll see you in Chiang Rai! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villagefarang Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 How is the weather in Chiang Rai?--------Hot and very polluted right now. How easy is it to buy a scooter/motorbike, and what kind of price range could I expect?-------Easy and cheap. Are there any community events?--------Potluck, Hash both walking and bicycle, Expat Club, Book Club, Motorcycle Clubs, Wine Tasting, Art Exhibits and I am sure many more. Then of course there are all the Thai community events. No shortage of events in Chiang Rai. Are there any rafting options in Chiang Rai?-------Don’t know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomchop Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 the only "rafting" i am aware of is up near the elephant camp towards the hot springs on the mae kok but not sure i would call it rafting....there is a guest house that has a bamboo raft of sorts that they use to take their guests to the elephant camp....sometimes you see one coming down the mae kok from up near tha ton where you can actually spend the night on it and they feed you and it has a sort of covered area in the rear for toilet into the river privacy...and of course both kinds have a thai pilot at the helm....and of course there are daily long tail boats that come to CR from Tha ton but those aren't rafts but have the big noisy engines... not sure why nobody has started a raftting biz where they haul tourists up the river in a songtaeow and then let them kayak or innertube float down the river like they do in vang vien laos where it is a HUGE business...you wouldn't want to try it during the peak of rainy season but most months it would be fine...good biz for some thais that could put it all together as i think a lot of the backpacker types here might be up for something other than the same old same old trecking or bicycle riding tours that seem to do quite well here......including one where they haul the bikes and riders up to the same area of the mae kok and then let them ride the bikes back to town...sure would seem like rafting or kayaking back would be an equally viable option....but ... i am almost completely sure you would have to be a local thai to make a biz like that work as farang woudl need a work permit which i kinda doubt you'd be able to get for that type biz.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bargash Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Got it, thanks for the information! Hot and polluted ey? Ah well, they don't burn their fields the entire year, however it could have a serious impact on your health if you're having any lung/airway issues. What could be considered cheap when it comes to getting a scooter? The HHH walk I would definitely be interested in, was reading the topic before, and I hope I can attend the next event. Regarding the rafting, I figured as much. Once you've rafted 3 weeks in a row on the Nile over and over again, there is not much that could top it when it comes to rafting. One more question, and I hope it exists, but is there any place that has Dutch specialities? As in fast food or anything related to that? I'm Dutch, and after staying in China and other countries, I'm dying for a Frikandel Speciaal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimoMax Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Hello BG and Wife. Welcome to Chiang Rai. Winter temperatrues in Chiang Rai are quite nice, but get a bit cool in the nites. Very similar to California weather. Daytime Hi's are about 25-30 and Night time Lows are 10-20. Summer Hi temps are 35-40 and Lows 23-26. We get a bit of rain during the Monsoon season from about May to September. Overall, the weather is quite pleasant compared to most of Thailand. CR as well as most of S/E Asia gets its fair share of smoke and pollution from about late February to end of March from the field burnings etc. New motorcycle/scooters are priced between 38,000 and 55,000 thai baht. Honda Wave, Click, Dream, or similar Yamaha, Suzuki, etc. Prices dependent on make, electric start, automatic, and engine size. Can be bought cash and registered to foreigners. Can Not Finanance if you or your wife are not Thai Nationals. I have heard of quite a bit of River Rafting in the general Chiang Rai and North Thailand area. but I have not gone myself. Sounds like you will do well socially here BG. There seem to be many things and events of interest in Chiang Rai. Go to the Old Dutch Restaurant near the Night Bizzare. You will find a lot of local Dutch contacts and food there. CR has a fair sized Dutch expat community. Edited February 25, 2012 by KimoMax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldBattles Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Don's Cafe, Bakery and Deli situated in the foot hills of Doi Hang between 2 lakes is a great place to eat western food and buy steaks to cook at home. The Longhorn Saloon is a local social place for friends and customers to drink, watch TV and go fishing. I have been doing business in Kunming for several years involving Mexican peppers and find that it is a great place to visit.. Don Battles www.donsfoods.com [email protected] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Welcome to Chiangrai....but you did not have to bring that chinese smoke and pollution with you.. It truly is not like this usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomchop Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Got it, thanks for the information! Hot and polluted ey? Ah well, they don't burn their fields the entire year, however it could have a serious impact on your health if you're having any lung/airway issues. What could be considered cheap when it comes to getting a scooter? The HHH walk I would definitely be interested in, was reading the topic before, and I hope I can attend the next event. Regarding the rafting, I figured as much. Once you've rafted 3 weeks in a row on the Nile over and over again, there is not much that could top it when it comes to rafting. One more question, and I hope it exists, but is there any place that has Dutch specialities? As in fast food or anything related to that? I'm Dutch, and after staying in China and other countries, I'm dying for a Frikandel Speciaal a "cheap: motorbike could be as low as 2000 baht up to around 30,000 or even more if you want all the bells and whistles....there are a few that get sold dirt cheap that you may see sitting in front of stores etc but some have no papers which doesn't seem to bother some of the village thais...depending on what you want i would guess you could buy a decent dependable used one in good shape and with proper documents for around 15,000 baht with no problems...and if you need any kind of motorbike repairs it is normally cheap and efficient beyond belief as there are a lot of motobike mechanics that seem to know everything there is to know about bikes...i took one yesterday that had not been started for two years....changed the oil, adjust chain, drain brake fluid and clean gunk, replace spark plug, adjust brakes, drain old gas out of tank as no good , air in tires....the TOTAL bill..??? 140 baht....and of that most was the cost of the oil and the sparkplug...truly amazing at least to me... the "best" weather in CR is subjective but for me i;d say nov, dec,jan are the abosolute best followed by feb sep oct are also not bad...for me the worst is march april may which is hot as hell...jun july august are wet but not so bad either....CR actually does have some fairly distinct weather seasons....it can get downright cold in dec/jan/feb as you will likely discover if you have to get up early and take a shower in a house/bathroom with no heat....or ride a motorbike early in the morning... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 A new honda is round 40000baht but at the moment they have supply problems because of the floods and I believe they will only sell the ones they get on finance. A friend told me thy expect this to sort out in a couple of months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Fot raftimg you would have to head to Thaton or fang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiscalFizz Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Got it, thanks for the information! Hot and polluted ey? Ah well, they don't burn their fields the entire year, however it could have a serious impact on your health if you're having any lung/airway issues. What could be considered cheap when it comes to getting a scooter? The HHH walk I would definitely be interested in, was reading the topic before, and I hope I can attend the next event. Regarding the rafting, I figured as much. Once you've rafted 3 weeks in a row on the Nile over and over again, there is not much that could top it when it comes to rafting. One more question, and I hope it exists, but is there any place that has Dutch specialities? As in fast food or anything related to that? I'm Dutch, and after staying in China and other countries, I'm dying for a Frikandel Speciaal You typed all this out just so you could drop the fact that you spent "3 week in a row" rafting down the Nile. Oh, yeah, on a related note- Just last week, I was hanging out with my buddy George Clooney, we were on our way over to the French Riveria, when we decided to take our private jet on a detour...... yeahhhhhhhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villagefarang Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Seems we have a new cynic gracing our forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpio1945 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Seems we have a new cynic gracing our forum. Cynic or troll.... is yet to be determined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bargash Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Actually 3 weeks in a row, then rest, then the same thing again... for a whole year! Why is that so special? You dont earn any money with it, the thing you get out of it is a one year amazing experience, 250 dollars worth in Uganda shillings per month which you spend on living expenses and food. Since I've But judging by your posts in other topics I'll let you go, you seem to get a kick out of being an ass. Maybe you should hang around in the Pattays forums more, they might even buy your story with George Clooney and might tell you all about their "SAS days" For the normal people here, thanks for the constructive replies, you've been a big help! I've been looking around for some good options, and indeed I might look for a Honda scooter type of thing. Currently we are so busy, so I see you all in Chiang Rai! Thanks again, really appreciate it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiscalFizz Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) Hahah, geeez, just joking with ya man...oh, and I am def. A cynic, no troll. >_> Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com Edited February 26, 2012 by FiscalFizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmacdon61 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Bargash On the west coast of Canada, we have had to invent our own Classification system for white water rivers. We use Niagara Falls as a Class 4 and we raft up to Class 6 HaHaHa Just kidding. Have experience with white water and the Nile is an awesome system up Uganda way. Don’t let the Mekong fool you, down into Vietnam some serious fun water. No experience there and no idea of commercial rafting available but might be worth your while to have a look see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klikster Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 re: rafting Might try Google for details on: Maenam Pai - Maehongson Maenam Wa - Nan Maelamao - Tak Maeklong - Tak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bargash Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Well we are high up in the hills very close to mfl university. Got the house and land and currently working on selling a 7 rai piece and a 6 rai piece next to ours. So far besides the smoke, I really love chiang rai. The people, environment and the food is amazing. Might get a pizza at rico's, since I've been on Thai only food for 2 weekst Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvwork Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Hi Bargash,how much are you selling your land for?,those are quite big plots near the university,its very nice up there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvwork Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Hi Bargash,how much are you selling your land for?,those are quite big plots near the university,its very nice up there now. Sorry meant to ask do you have all the necessary paper work for the land(chanoot's) many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bargash Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Currently the land title is nor sor 3 Gor. It depends on which piece you are interested in when it comes to the price. I can make some pictures or if you can, you are more than welcome to have a look. Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvwork Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Currently the land title is nor sor 3 Gor. It depends on which piece you are interested in when it comes to the price. I can make some pictures or if you can, you are more than welcome to have a look. Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com So no Chanoot,thanks but only after land with the proper title deeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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