Visiting Chiang Mai next week

[Nolster]

I had booked my airfare 2 months ago to visit Chiang Mai a 2nd time for 30 days in June. First time I visited CM for 10 days in March to see if I like the place, which I did. I have been following all the news on the coup situation trying to decide if I should go ahead and visit CM as planned; finally I have decided to visit CM as planned. I hope I have made the right decision. Any comments or suggestions from folks who live in CM?

I hope getting the 30 day visa free entry would not be a problem as a US citizen; my return flight is booked exactly on the 30th day.

Last time I booked a hotel before arriving in CM, this time I thought I'd visit a few places before I rent. Ideally i'd like to rent an 'apartment' for a month. Hopefully it should be cheaper than renting by the days or week. Any suggestions? I don't want to end up too far from the Old City.

I would like to rent a scooter this time as this would make it easier to go around and discover more places. I really have not used a scooter or motorbike in the US, but I am a pretty good bicyclist. Are there places where I can rent a scooter where I can also take lessons? Will I need insurance?

I have been reading about the curfew and the recent relaxation. It does not bother me as I do not drink so I do not go to bars. I do like having nice dinners though not too expensive but good food, as I am used to eating such great food in New Orleans. Any suggestions will be welcome, although I doubt anything else would beat having a shrimp and/or oyster Po-Boy on a Friday in New Orleans and in season, soft shell crab po-boys. My mouth is already drooling!

I have read about the Chiang Mai Expats Club (?) are there any other places, organizations where I could meet expats and locals to get to know more about life in CM and Thailand? I did visit the Chiang Mai Art Museum last time and would like to visit more art galleries and artists.

I would welcome any other advice. Thanks!

[CMSteve]

You will still receive a 30 day exemption when flying into Thailand.

Check out airbnb.com for better apartments inside the old city of Chiang Mai.

Scooters: technically you need a license and IDP to be legal/Insured, but nobody will ask when you are renting. Fine is 400B if caught.

You can get Po-Boys and other Cajun/southern foods from 3 Little Pigs on the north side of the moat.

[Nolster]

You will still receive a 30 day exemption when flying into Thailand.

Check out airbnb.com for better apartments inside the old city of Chiang Mai.

Scooters: technically you need a license and IDP to be legal/Insured, but nobody will ask when you are renting. Fine is 400B if caught.

You can get Po-Boys and other Cajun/southern foods from 3 Little Pigs on the north side of the moat.

Thanks Steve,

What more could I ask for? How about Tex-Mex and Texas Barbeque? Really speaking, I should explore local Thai food though.

[Candyflip]

Try local northern cuisine at Tong on Nimmanheaminhn soi 13

Rank number 10 on this link.

http://chiangmai.sawadee.com/chiangmai_dining.html

Its my local dinner hang out, very good food!

Nimman area is also nice to pay a visit if you love art & creative scenes. There are lot of nice cafe and sweet shops!

[roger1999]

Candyflip, is Tong the place that has a sign in Thai language only? Do they English-language menus? Thanks.

[Candyflip]

Yes Roger, only Thai sign. If i can find my pic there, i ll post it here later.

They do have English menu with Picture too. Try no.303 on the menu, You will not regret!

[Nolster]

Yes Roger, only Thai sign. If i can find my pic there, i ll post it here later.

They do have English menu with Picture too. Try no.303 on the menu, You will not regret!

Thanks Candy,

You posted a great list earlier with 10 restaurants, but I cannot wait to try the # 303 dish at Tong Restaurant.

By the way which region Issan food is from?

[Candyflip]

issan food is northeast cuisine , which is also delicious!

Anyhow if you are heading to Nimman and wanna sip a really good coffee, I recommend this one

http://www.ristr8to-coffee-chiangmai.com

If you are interested in cultural heritage, try http://www.wiangkumkam.com

Have a good trip!

[dave2]

re

Try no.303 on the menu, You will not regret!

hes tellin porkies ;(

just joshin ..... dave2

[BobTH]

As far as a room, I would recommend a place called "Nice Apartment". I am not sure about long stay rates but it is very cheap and clean and right by the Thapae Gate. You can't beat it for value for your money but it is not a luxury room. Just Google Nice Apartment Chiang Mai and you will find it. I have stayed there twice and found it very nice, I would recommend you ask for a ground floor room if you are lazy like I am. I stayed once on the third floor and got tired of walking up and down, the last time I was on the first floor.

[Nolster]

As far as a room, I would recommend a place called "Nice Apartment". I am not sure about long stay rates but it is very cheap and clean and right by the Thapae Gate. You can't beat it for value for your money but it is not a luxury room. Just Google Nice Apartment Chiang Mai and you will find it. I have stayed there twice and found it very nice, I would recommend you ask for a ground floor room if you are lazy like I am. I stayed once on the third floor and got tired of walking up and down, the last time I was on the first floor.

Thanks for the tip, I will certainly check it out.

[Nolster]

Yes Roger, only Thai sign. If i can find my pic there, i ll post it here later.

They do have English menu with Picture too. Try no.303 on the menu, You will not regret!

Hi Candy and Roger,

Attached is a photo of the yellow sign for the Tong restaurant. It is visible from one side only, the other side has some other sign pasted on. I had trouble finding the place even with Google Map since it showed the restaurant a couple of buildings ahead. The sign is not on the building's compound wall but on a pole in the street.

Yeah, dish no. 303, the Burmese Style Pork Curry was delicious! Next time I will go with more friends and try more of their local dishes. They have a little section in the menu indicating Farang approved dishes or something like that.

Next to the Tong restaurant is an Italian restaurant named "Why Not1" if I remember correctly. I only had their homemade Italian Ice Cream but other dishes looked very delicious. I will go there to try out their other Italian dishes.

Cheers!

[kaptainrob]

You may be interested in my Burmese Pork Curry, developed from a mix of farang and hill tribe recipes, using only onion, garlic, ginger and Hinlay Curry powder ... small yellow/green pack at any local store, talad or Wororot Market. I'll post a pic if you like and can PM the recipe.

[Candyflip]

Hi there,

I am glad you like my favorite 303! It was really yummy indeed. Surely nothing beat the Italian ice-cream next door for a dessert.

I will be in CM for a couple days next week. I wont miss TONG for sure. Join me if you like

Now the puff mushroom is in season. Its also quite interesting, in term of texture.

Enjoy Chiangmai

[Nolster]

Sure, let me know when you are in Chiang Mai. Thanks!

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[Nolster]

You may be interested in my Burmese Pork Curry, developed from a mix of farang and hill tribe recipes, using only onion, garlic, ginger and Hinlay Curry powder ... small yellow/green pack at any local store, talad or Wororot Market. I'll post a pic if you like and can PM the recipe.

Rob,

Thanks for your offer to share your Burmese Pork Curry. Sure I'd like to try your recipe. Sorry for the late reply but I kept looking for your post in the wrong thread! What's in Hinlay Curry Powder?

[bina]

i was in chiang mai as a guest of someone from this forum , and i had the time of my life. i could easily spend much more time there... i was there at the start of the coup thingy... didnt bother, but i dont do the going out to bars thingy either.

i found great small places to eat, and good issan food and thai food and a great restaraunt of , i guess, fusion asian vegetarian food that was amazing... (anchan vegetarian restaraunt) off of nimanaham (or however u spell it) ; cant remember which soi but i have the address somewhere in teh house here... not to mention the 'feel' of the city... i was so totally amazed as i am not a city person, but felt that chiang mai was a city in personality but easy enough for me to go around and not feel the overloaded feel of cities or the migraine type feel i get when in bangkok (or even tel aviv i have to admit).

i just wished i was able to convince my husband to join me instead of hanging out in his village while i lived it up in chiang mai... i also found the museums were really well set up (and looking back, compared to ayuthaya, amazingly well set up , descriptive and well kept) ... but in some ways im not overly sophisticated (although as a child raised on gourmet food and culture in D.C. but kibbutz living has mellowed me) so maybe i am just easy to please...

[walkerun]

Useful Websites and Cultural Contacts

You asked about cultural activities in Chiang Mai so here are some ideas for more cerebral activity during your stay.

1. Art Asia (www.artasia.org.uk/‎ Art Asia home page). Its mission is to communicate the rich and exciting experience of South Asian Arts to the widest possible audience. It organises exhibitions of paintings and photographs, and has a programme of excellent documentary films and talks.

2. Meetup (www.meetup.com) is the world's largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 9,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities. There are many groups in the Chiang Mai area ranging from walking, naturism, hypnosis and publication.

3. The Chiang Mai Expats Club (www.chiangmaiexpatsclub) reaches out to the Thai Community to seek those Thais with specific expertise, who will help expats transition into their new lives in Thailand. Assistance of immigration officials, law enforcement officials, medical providers, insurance providers, educators, realtors, building contractors, home decorators, etc., is sought to make this transition as smooth as possible. We will also look to the Thai community to provide the expat community with lists of cultural events that will help expats learn and understand more about the beautiful Thai culture. Meetings are held on the 4th Saturday of every month. An introductory video can be seen on YouTube.

4. Raintree Resource Centre ( http://northernthailand.com/a/en/chiangmai-ngos/faith-based-projects/353-raintree-resource-center.html) is a faith based service which offers information, support programs and English books and videos for English speaking residents of Chiang Mai. It has a good and steadily growing library of VDOs, VCDs, music CDs and books for both children and adults. Membership is free and is available for residents who are planning to stay for more than 6 months. Library items are on loan for 2 weeks at a time and a family may borrow up to 20 books at one time. The Centre offers a variety of classes on many topics including childbirth), seminars and workshops. Referrals to counsellors can also be made. Location: 3 Charoen Muang Road (2nd door east of the police box at end of Nawarat Bridge).

5. The Gate Theater (www.facebook.com/TheGateTheater) The Gate Theater Group is the only English Language theater group in Northern Thailand. It has been producing plays in Chiang Mai since 2007. The Laramie Project is TGTG’s most ambitious and daunting endeavour to date since its inception. The record-size 25-member cast and crew for the production is comprised of actors and stagehands in the Chiang Mai community who hail from eight countries. The crew work as teachers, students and are retired folks of little leisure, who must carve out time from their active volunteer schedules to learn their parts and rehearse four nights a week.

6. Informal Thai Northern Group. The INTG was created in December 1984 by a few Chiang Mai residents to arrange talks on Northern Thailand, Thailand, Asia and even on more general topics. The total number of talks given up to now amounts to almost 400. The meetings are held, in principle, at 7:30 pm on the second Tuesday of each month but extra talks may also be scheduled on other days. The venue is the Alliance Française, 138 Charoen Prathet Road, Opposite Wat Chaimongkhon and the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO). To receive the announcements and the Minutes of the talks, please send your mail address to Louis Gabaude on <[email protected]>. To check the current schedule as well as past Minutes, check the website on http://www.intgcm.thehostserver.com.

[Nolster]

i was in chiang mai as a guest of someone from this forum , and i had the time of my life. i could easily spend much more time there... i was there at the start of the coup thingy... didnt bother, but i dont do the going out to bars thingy either.

i found great small places to eat, and good issan food and thai food and a great restaraunt of , i guess, fusion asian vegetarian food that was amazing... (anchan vegetarian restaraunt) off of nimanaham (or however u spell it) ; cant remember which soi but i have the address somewhere in teh house here... not to mention the 'feel' of the city... i was so totally amazed as i am not a city person, but felt that chiang mai was a city in personality but easy enough for me to go around and not feel the overloaded feel of cities or the migraine type feel i get when in bangkok (or even tel aviv i have to admit).

i just wished i was able to convince my husband to join me instead of hanging out in his village while i lived it up in chiang mai... i also found the museums were really well set up (and looking back, compared to ayuthaya, amazingly well set up , descriptive and well kept) ... but in some ways im not overly sophisticated (although as a child raised on gourmet food and culture in D.C. but kibbutz living has mellowed me) so maybe i am just easy to please...

Hi Bina,

Thanks for your reply. Yes you are right about the small city atmosphere here in Chiang Mai. That's exactly why I chose to come to Chiang Mai. The city has everything a bigger city would have but none of the congestion and hassles.

I will try the Anchan vegetarian restaurant next.

Thanks!

[Nolster]

When I had asked for recommendations for reasonably priced places to stay in Chiang Mai someone had suggested The Elegant Lanna guest house saying that it was a reasonably priced nice clean guest house in a very good area of Chiang Mai. I tried to get in touch with them via email before I came to CM but was unsuccessful in contacting them. In the meanwhile I rented rooms via a travel site first for 2 days in the Old City and second for 3 days in Nimmanheiman area which gave a good idea of both areas. Then I asked around a few places for a better monthly rate.

Finally I decided to take a Tuk Tuk and visit the Elegant Lanna guest house. It turned out that their website was not working when I contacted them. In the meanwhile I had already spent 5-6 day out of my 30 day visit in other hotels hence I requested that they prorate the monthly rate. They were very understanding and did prorate the monthly rate. I could not be happier besides the place in a nice quiet part near Sompet Market and near many nice restaurants and Thapae Gate just on the other side of the Moat.

I must thank all the ThaiVisa members for their helpful suggestions. It is a great forum and a great resource!

[Nolster]

issan food is northeast cuisine , which is also delicious!

Anyhow if you are heading to Nimman and wanna sip a really good coffee, I recommend this one

http://www.ristr8to-coffee-chiangmai.com

If you are interested in cultural heritage, try http://www.wiangkumkam.com

Have a good trip!

Candy,

Thanks for your recommendation for the Ristro8to Coffee House. I went there with a few friends a couple of days ago and I really enjoyed the coffee there. I prefer coffee with milk and their Cafe Latte was indeed really rich and flavorful. One of the friends in my group was a Michelin Rated French Chef and he preferred a very strong coffee without anything else. I saw his cup which just had very dark coffee about 1 CM deep at the bottom and he really loved it. I can say that Ristro8to passed the gourmet test!

The only thing I missed was the New Orleans style Cafe-Au-Lait with Chicory in the coffee and mixed 50/50 with boiled milk and the famous Bignets (French donuts pronounced 'bineyeys'). Of course the waffle from Ristro8to was quite good also. Hopefully they will add the Cafe-Au-Lait and Bignets to their menu.

[JRA]

Bikey has two locations and is the best place to rent a motorbike as I have rented monthly 2 of the past 3 years and the owners are Thai and on the up and up and don't try to screw western folks like me. From the NW corner of the moat travel about 1km towards the mountain and it's on the left hand side. Bring a copy of your passport. Goggle them if you need more info, the husband and wife are very nice people and they have a great staff and many to choose from.

Sent from my iPad

[Nolster]

Thanks!

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