Tourists flock to Thailand's chilly North
By Digital Content

CHIANG MAI, Nov 1 -- As temperatures in Thailand's North continue dropping, large numbers of tourists, especially on weekends, are seen wandering around popular tourist destinations in the region to experience the cold.

The ambience at Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai on Saturdays becomes lively again as some 3,000 tourists are seen streaming onto Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain.

The Meteorological Office in the North has announced that temperatures in the North would drop 2-4 degrees Celsius during the next few days.

The temperature early today was at 9 degrees Celsius as thick sea of fog covered the mountain, creating a sensation among tourists.

Pornthep Charoensuebsakul, chief of Doi Inthanon National Park, said the venue has prepared enough places for car parking as well as campsites and cottages to cater to enthusiastic tourists visiting the mountain during the current winter season.

Mr Pornthep said the national park could accommodate more than 10,000 tourists daily.

People wishing to visit the national park for the annual Loy Krathong festival on November 6 should avoid driving if they are not familiar with the steep route and should use buses for their own safety instead.

Park officials will man the route to facilitate tourist needs.

Meanwhile, Phitsanulok province in the lower North also attracts a large number of tourists during the weekend, especially at the mountains.

Tung Salang Luang National Park connecting with the resort province of Phetchabun is packed with tourists spending a night inside a tent in the cold temperatures of 16-18 degrees, so they can view the natural beauty of meadows which are covered with wildflowers. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2014-11-01

Well, it's far from chilly in Chiang Mai, with daily temps of 32C.

Doi Inthanon is hardly close to Chiang Mai, and the car parks are closed as soon as there's too many cars.

Best time of year!

It's strange, I left my country to get away from the cold temperatures and here they flock to it.

Apparently every single one of them was on a Bangkok road getting out of town Friday and Saturday.

Been a long time since I've seen it that bad from my office window Friday afternoon...

Took a taxi today (Saturday) and a normal 30-45 minute ride was over 2 hours long, with 68 minutes on the taxi wait-o-meter. (Still under $7 USD- I luv BKK taxis)

Edited November 1, 201411 yr by impulse

The reference to use buses for safety had me chuckling, although only because I would not consider using one myself, even more so on steep and windy mountain roads.

"Use buses for your own safety"....gotta love it Bus drivers drive these roads everyday. They still manage to plunge down ravines though!

Why on earth would you travel to feel cold?. Does it give them a cheap thrill?

Difficult to grasp....but then.

It was really hot in CM this afternoon.

I had an afternoon nap with the aircon on.

It was so hot my duck spent the afternoon in the washing up bowl.

Edited November 1, 201411 yr by AnotherOneAmerican

Wow, they really speak of a "winter in Thailand" ! amazing ! What comes next, artifical snow ?

Well, it's far from chilly in Chiang Mai, with daily temps of 32C.

Doi Inthanon is hardly close to Chiang Mai, and the car parks are closed as soon as there's too many cars.

Geography lesson:

Doi Inthanon is not just close, it is actually IN Chiang Mai Province.

Edited November 1, 201411 yr by el jefe

Why on earth would you travel to feel cold?. Does it give them a cheap thrill?

Difficult to grasp....but then.

I remember well needing a "cheap thrill" just to go into a wharehouse cold room when living in a hot sweaty country with no relief day or night.

Each to their own.

Here's a business suggestion;- "Save yourself the traffic jambs, come sit in our well appointed cold room. Only 30 Baht for 20 minutes."

Well, it's far from chilly in Chiang Mai, with daily temps of 32C.

Doi Inthanon is hardly close to Chiang Mai, and the car parks are closed as soon as there's too many cars.

Geography lesson:

Doi Inthanon is not just close, it is actually IN Chiang Mai Province.

Dooooh! Do you think I didn't know that.

It is a bit of poetic licence to refer to chilly Chiang Mai, when in fact it is not the whole province nor the city, but the higher altitudes of Doi Inthanon.

A bit of politeness doesn't go astray, much as it is not common on these pages.

In Chiang Mai the high yesterday was 34.5C, and the low this morning 24.5C,

hardly "chilly" by any definition.

Anyway, the article talks about Doi Inthanon and indeed the summit is chilly or even "cold" in winter. Like, 10C.

The problem is that to experience this amazing sensation, the tourists are slowly choking the place.

I am sure the National Park makes a good income from the hefty entrance fee, and I hope it is well used.

Vendors and tourist agencies probably too. But anyone else who has to drive and work there, like me,

dreads this time of the year.

I would have a few recommendations:

- when there is an arcade of 3 or more vans driving together, the drivers should leave gaps so that

cars can safely pass.

- people on a scooter (especially those plentiful tourists from a certain asian country where "cold" is

certainly not difficult to find) should not stop in the middle of the road to take pictures.

- after parking a car on a steep part of the road and securing the wheels with rocks,

do remove the rocks from the middle of the road when you leave.

I know, hard and complicated rules... let me dream.

Right now temps in Chiang Mai are hovering between 32 and a high of 34.5. If you want to enjoy chilly air head to the mountains like Doi Ithanon.That's if you can find some space.

This last wet season was below expectations in regard to the amount of rain and the hot weather continues unabated.

Why on earth would you travel to feel cold?. Does it give them a cheap thrill?

Difficult to grasp....but then.

more likely a cheap chill...

It was really hot in CM this afternoon.

I had an afternoon nap with the aircon on.

It was so hot my duck spent the afternoon in the washing up bowl.

IMG_20141101_133153.JPG

The excessive heat must have sent it crackers quackers !

In Chiang Mai the high yesterday was 34.5C, and the low this morning 24.5C,

hardly "chilly" by any definition.

Anyway, the article talks about Doi Inthanon and indeed the summit is chilly or even "cold" in winter. Like, 10C.

The problem is that to experience this amazing sensation, the tourists are slowly choking the place.

I am sure the National Park makes a good income from the hefty entrance fee, and I hope it is well used.

Vendors and tourist agencies probably too. But anyone else who has to drive and work there, like me,

dreads this time of the year.

I would have a few recommendations:

- when there is an arcade of 3 or more vans driving together, the drivers should leave gaps so that

cars can safely pass.

- people on a scooter (especially those plentiful tourists from a certain asian country where "cold" is

certainly not difficult to find) should not stop in the middle of the road to take pictures.

- after parking a car on a steep part of the road and securing the wheels with rocks,

do remove the rocks from the middle of the road when you leave.

I know, hard and complicated rules... let me dream.

Yes, good stuff and all mostly true. Except it should be understood by readers that winter temperatures on Doi Internon, above the frost line at circa 7,500 feet, can be much colder and ice is common place. Perhaps the best travel advisory in wintrer times is to beware fog and freezing rain, both of which can be truly nasty unless dressed in near survival gear.