Hi,

I am a budget traveler looking to stay in Chiang Mai for one month. Specifically, I'm looking for a guesthouse and hotel room. Here are my priorities in order of importance:

1. Solid Internet Connection. My work is entirely online and real-time.

2. Price. I'm looking for a place between 4500-7000 a month. I will likely choose the most budget option that has a good internet connection.

--Everything below is a perk. Not a must have.

3. Proximity to cheap food. I'd like my meals to be nearby and under 40 baht (without drink). I've been eating around the Chiang Mai gate area.

4. Proximity to old city. I really like the old city because it's easy to meet people!

5. I prefer to walk everywhere.

6. Swimming pool. This is not necessary at all, but I'd like to get some swim exercise. I'll probably get a gym membership, so this isn't too important, but it's a nice perk.

Here's a list of places that I'm considering. Please let me know about your experiences with the internet connection at any of these places.

Royal Lanna Hotel. (Might be out of my price range. But I hear there's a good pool. I don't know if the internet is good.)

Veerchai Court (I haven't heard anything about the internet. I've e-mailed to inquire prices.)

RCN Guesthouse (I've read the internet here is above average.)

Varada Place (I've heard from only one person that the internet is good. But they didn't really define what good is. I need something consistent, and I understand that's hard to find here.)

If you know of any other good budget options, please let me know! It's really all about the budget and internet. The rest are perks.

Let's try this over in the Chiang Mai forum. Might get a few more replies over there, but a link will stay here in the travel forum.

Topic Moved.

OP, maybe if you defined what you mean by "Solid" Internet Connection, it would help. Download speed requirements, etc. What's good for some people might not be good for you.

OP, maybe if you defined what you mean by "Solid" Internet Connection, it would help. Download speed requirements, etc. What's good for some people might not be good for you.

Good ideas!

A solid internet means I need to stream data at a continuous clip for about 3 hours at a time. That means 3 hours of no signal drop.

Parameters of good internet:

1. A ping of less than 150ms.

2. Download speed above 2.0 mbps.

3. Upload speed of at least 512 kbps

My internet connection is for work. Period.

I'd really like to be able to work from home, so the internet shop wouldn't really be ideal.

And what's a BiB?

And what's a BiB?

Boys in Brown. A reference to the local police.

A few posts discussion gambling have been removed from view.

The problem with internet can often be outside the owners control.

Many times I've had to chase up the ISP to tell them speeds just not acceptable.

Especially so in last couple of months.

Thanks for your replies.

I've found a guesthouse called Cozy Home near the NE part of the gate. They have a LAN cable connection, but it's shares the same source as the Wi-Fi. The owner speaks excellent English and says the internet is quite fast and reliable.

I'm going to take her word for it, and I like that it is a (CAT 5 cable) LAN connection. In case any solid internet hunters are interested, the place is 5000 baht for a standard room. 6000 baht for superior room. Comes with all western amenities including fridgerator and TV.

I'll give an update on the internet reliability after my month is up. I wouldn't want you guys to come storming in and stealing the bandwidth

I will not be renting the place until Tuesday, so there is still hope for the Royal Lanna if a room becomes available.

I checked out Veerchai court, and it just didn't meet my living standard. Varada has excellent reviews, but I'd really like to be 'near the action'.

If anyone has any input for a budget hotel with solid internet, please let me know. I have until Tuesday to change my mind.

Thanks for your replies.

I've found a guesthouse called Cozy Home near the NE part of the gate. They have a LAN cable connection, but it's shares the same source as the Wi-Fi. The owner speaks excellent English and says the internet is quite fast and reliable.

I'm going to take her word for it, and I like that it is a (CAT 5 cable) LAN connection. In case any solid internet hunters are interested, the place is 5000 baht for a standard room. 6000 baht for superior room. Comes with all western amenities including fridgerator and TV.

I'll give an update on the internet reliability after my month is up. I wouldn't want you guys to come storming in and stealing the bandwidth

I will not be renting the place until Tuesday, so there is still hope for the Royal Lanna if a room becomes available.

I checked out Veerchai court, and it just didn't meet my living standard. Varada has excellent reviews, but I'd really like to be 'near the action'.

If anyone has any input for a budget hotel with solid internet, please let me know. I have until Tuesday to change my mind.

Looking forward to your update. My guess is the LAN cable connection might be a blessing in disguise. It seems to me the hotels and guest houses have good internet coming in, but they screw up the local wifi network. Just a guess, though.

You may want to take a look at Pachkit House in the old city. I believe it meets all your criteria except for the swimming pool. They have a LAN connection in every room and I've always found it to be fast and reliable. "Reliable internet" in Thailand means it works fine most of the time but it won't work for that hour when you really, really need it! You should definitely have a back-up plan (e.g. USB stick or smartphone) if the Internet is that important to you.

Thanks for the tip on Pachkit House. I will look them up and check them out.

I currently stay by Taphae Gate and have True's data plan. When I tether from my phone to my computer, it is pretty awful. It's not solid enough for Skype or video conferencing. On my phone, the signal is showing H (3g+ or 4g), but the connection seems to drop in and out.

I have contemplated getting a USB stick, but my understanding is that it would work much like tethering with USB from my phone.

If you have had a good experience using Skype or video conferencing using a USB stick, please let me know.