Hi all,

I hope it's OK for me to post here, even though I'm not resident in Thailand. I'm on a long-term backpacking trip here, and I've seen that this forum often has the best advice in English anywhere online. So I wondered if I might respectfully ask for some advice about upcoming travel to Chiang Mai.

Right now (Jan. 17), I am in Bangkok, after traveling up from the south. I had originally had a plan in mind that would see me spending time between here and Sukhothai until early February. Then I was thinking of going to visit a friend in Myanmar (the best time for her), and then returning to Thailand in early March, to visit Chiang Mai and the north.

However, I'm just learning -- for the first time, from this forum and elsewhere -- about the smoke issues in Chiang Mai in the spring. That gives me pause. I have asthma, which means I'm not a big fan of smog. I was also in Singapore and Malaysia this past autumn when the haze from Sumatra burnings were hanging over them, and it kind of sucked.

Now I'm wondering whether I can rearrange my itinerary to visit Chiang Mai when it's not too smokey, or whether, given my time constraints, that's just not likely to happen on this trip. (Which would be OK, I can accept that sometimes things just don't work, and maybe I'll get there some other time.) I'm particularly confused about the situation because I've read here that there's some sort of effort afoot to start and 'finish' the burn season earlier this year (?)

I know there's no way to predict conditions exactly. But, with your locals' knowledge, may I ask if you would you suggest any of the three following options as my best plan of action? :

1. Stick with original plan, and visit Chiang Mai, Pai and the region in early- to mid- March.
2. Change itinerary: go to Chiang Mai in late January/ early February instead (and save visiting central Thailand for later, in March.)
3. Just forget about it this trip: it's already smokey, and will be at least until April. Spend the time and money going somewhere else instead this time around.

Thank you so much, in advance, for any advice or recommendations. (And, again, apologies if this isn't the best place for me to post this. If I should move it somewhere else, please just let me know.)

It's a very topical question. Only last week, a local videographer launched a new film on exactly this topic. I strongly recommend you watch this before deciding what to do:

https://vimeo.com/151150793

Just saw this is a duplicate topic of this one Recommendations for travelers re spring haze conditions

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