I live in Chiang Mai, and rather thoughlessly committed myself to next weekend in Phayao. Nothing wrong with Phayao, but heres the thing, next Saturday is the second Lions v Australia test, and wonder if anyone out there knows of any bars, restaurants or whatever where Premiership Football is normally shown.......because if theyre hooked up for Truevisions (previous yes I know its moved) football coverage, chances are they will also be hooked in to Setanta on Channel 117, as it generally comes as part of the same (gold) package.

Thanks for any hints or tips!! Failing finding a place looks like I ll be tortured by being able to access no better than the BBC text commentary!!

There are 2 bars down by Kwan Phayao where I sometimes watch the footy - 'The White Bar' and 'The Meeting Point'. They are just around the corner from the 'B.M Pub' (Thanon ThaKwan)... The location according to Google Maps is: 19.165656,99.896399

I'm not sure if there will be many Thais interested in the rugby, but you can certainly ask the owners to put it on if the girls aren't watching the soaps . They are very friendly in both bars, but there are more screens in 'The Meeting Point' so I usually have a few beers there if I am out! The food is OK too (but not as good as some of the other restaurants further down the lake-front road), so you can make a night of it there if you wanted?

The other option is a restaurant called 'Hug' which is not far from the bus station (again, location as per Google Maps: 19.170155,99.896535). The owner, Boy, is a Liverpool fan (for his sins) and shows as many matches as he can during the football season. I'm sure you could get someone there to put the rugby on!?

There is also another bar called 'Mao Ze' a bit further down the lake-front road from The Meeting Point that has TVs with the football on, but I haven't ever been in there myself.

Have fun anyway...

Thanks, mistephenso, for stepping forward with such a helpful post. Sounds like you have pretty much covered all the bases.

Yes, thanks for the information! I m staying at the hotel close to the bus station so "Hug" may be the best option. If not, the crazy Lions fan might be seen racing around the streets of Phayao around 5pm Saturday!!