I love Chiang Mai, do you?

[smallmarcuslee]

Hi all, i'm 18 and from singapore. I wouldnt have been here if not for my dad getting an expat job term here in the year 2012 and im extremely thankful for that. Ever since, ive been visiting CNX every school holiday and fell in love with the place. Even after my dad left his job here, we bought a condo and still visit CNX very often and we would stay here for 30days during each visit.

Here are some of the reasons why i love CNX. Please share yours below!

The people here are extremely friendly and helpful.

Place is very peaceful and not fast paced and busy as in Singapore.

I love the space here, in singapore, it is overpopulated and crowded.

The place is cleaner than my home country and the people here do not randomly litter.

I love the mountainous view everywhere i go! And i love visiting doi inthanon!

Theres so much to explore here everytime i go for holiday.

The food and living here is so much more affordable!

Its a place where i can really connect myself to nature.

I am stress free here!

There are many cafes where i can relax and spend my time at!

The dry weather as compared to hot and humid singapore!

The cold "winter" in december! Absolutely love the cold weather at that time of the year

These are some of my opinions and reasons, what about you?

Why do you love CNX?

Damn i tried self learning the thai language but its just so hard lol! Anyone can share some tips on learning the thai language? Like learning the consonants/speaking/writing first?

[1FinickyOne]

I just returned home from CM - my usual 2-3 day monthly or so visit - and yes I too enjoy the parts of the city that have a small town atmosphere. Friendly people, pleasant cafes and restaurants etc...

You are making many comparisons to Singapore - by which standard, in my book, most places would shine. Though I am surprised you find CM cleaner than Singapore...

You can self learn the language - keep a little book with you and write down new words as you come across them. Use them in conversation as often as you can. Then repetition repetition repetition - - it definitely takes time but if you have the interest and put in just a little time, you can do it.

[pgrahmm]

Love the town & variety of different people, venues, & experiences....

Hate driving in it.....

Especially in high season when farangs are renting & driving....

They completely disrupt the synergy of the local drivers and put themselves and others in (more) jeopardy.....

Edited April 3, 2016 by pgrahmm

[TheAppletons]

Comparing Singapore to Chiang Mai is like comparing a 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB to the Ebola virus. One is new, shiny, expensive, and exclusive to living well.....and the other is full of sheer misery that is wildly contagious.

[TheSiemReaper]

Comparing Singapore to Chiang Mai is like comparing a 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB to the Ebola virus. One is new, shiny, expensive, and exclusive to living well.....and the other is full of sheer misery that is wildly contagious.

Eh? Singapore's not my cup of tea at all - too ordered, too rigid. Chiang Mai doesn't make me miserable at all.

[anto]

Agree with you except the clean part .

[stephenterry]

I love CM.

[smallmarcuslee]

Comparing Singapore to Chiang Mai is like comparing a 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB to the Ebola virus. One is new, shiny, expensive, and exclusive to living well.....and the other is full of sheer misery that is wildly contagious.

What a way to compare lol! I wouldn't compare Singapore as a Ferrari, to Chiang Mai as a virus. But yeah i agree that its expensive living in Singapore, its more affordable here!

[smallmarcuslee]

Hey guyssss, yep no doubt it sounds like im making comparisons between Chiang Mai and my home country, but I've been to a few countries, even stayed in China for some years when i was young. But Chiang Mai(Thailand) gotta be the best!

[laolover88]

I NOW dislike CM intensely. I first went live in CM 10 years ago. Indeed I still have a house there. Originally i went because I thought my children could have a good life there. Turned out, of course, that the school were huge and mediocre in spite of their Thai reputation. Dara has 7000+ students. Traffic became a nightmare and I was driving 10s of kilos a day to get them from Doi Saket to Hang Dong and T.Mahidol. Then came a huge influx of farangs and other foreigners. If I want to live with westerners I can go home.

What exactly is it that people like about CM?. Sure off to Pai, Fang and Mae Hong Son it is a great base; but to live there. Like the rest of Thailand unless you know creative and clever Thai people it is a cultural desert. Great for subsistence and poddling about; great probably if you have a business? And the endless smoke.....etc. I think if I was 18 I would try a few other places!

[FolkGuitar]

I find Chiang Mai to be a delightful place to live. Obviously there are some things about it that I'd prefer not to have to deal with. but those are really trivial in the overall scheme of things. People are friendly, prices are comfortable, more than enough cultural events to satisfy me, slow, relaxing lifestyle... Sure, I'd prefer less traffic, fewer tour bus groups, etc., but those impact less than a few minutes of my life each day. There are another 23 hours and 45 minutes spent living more pleasant experiences.

[TheSiemReaper]

I NOW dislike CM intensely. I first went live in CM 10 years ago. Indeed I still have a house there. Originally i went because I thought my children could have a good life there. Turned out, of course, that the school were huge and mediocre in spite of their Thai reputation. Dara has 7000+ students. Traffic became a nightmare and I was driving 10s of kilos a day to get them from Doi Saket to Hang Dong and T.Mahidol. Then came a huge influx of farangs and other foreigners. If I want to live with westerners I can go home.

What exactly is it that people like about CM?. Sure off to Pai, Fang and Mae Hong Son it is a great base; but to live there. Like the rest of Thailand unless you know creative and clever Thai people it is a cultural desert. Great for subsistence and poddling about; great probably if you have a business? And the endless smoke.....etc. I think if I was 18 I would try a few other places!

A cultural desert? I can't think of anything further from the truth. The city has endless festivals and activities. Photography groups, documentary arts groups, galleries, living, breathing temples, etc. Sometimes I wonder if people actually leave the house when they're here.

As for driving "10s of kilos" a day... why didn't you move? It's not like there's a housing shortage anywhere in this city.

[Smiles]

ChiangMai was indeed a very beautiful place to visit more than 10 years ago. Rich in culture and the people are very gentle and friendly. Peaceful and quiet.

But with every modern development in the city , there is a price to pay.

The haze and smog , the traffic congestion during peak hours around the city , and more and more tourists especially from China lately.

So many sign boards are in Chinese ! The whole city is not China town for for crying out loud!

Personally, ChiangMai has lost about more than 50 percent of the old days charm.

I still love the lanna food and people from ChiangMai.

Gone are those fantastic street food along Tha Phae Gate area and Anusan market.

Sad to see so much influx of foreign influences and many places turned so touristy. ( Only good thing for me are those fabulous new western Eateries that arrives to give such a wide selection of good food in ChiangMai )

There was just one Mc Donalds in Night Bazzar in the whole of ChiangMai for many years.

Kad Suan Kaew was the only big enough shopping center before Robinson underwent a major revamp.

The airport was just for Domestic flights.

The Ping River never dries up unlike in recent years.

Summer was hot but without those bad air pollution.

The discos and Pubs were a blast as I can hop from one place to another. 'Spicy' near Tha Phae Gate is the sleazy place to be after 3.00am!

GiGi Disco along the river and BOSS in ChiangMai land and many more !

The disco under Kad Suan Kaew was also a very happening place to be and so as sib song (12) Huay Kaew area just opposite!

Now only 'Hot Shot' pub and 'Bubble' disco is still in the game but less away 80 percent of the fun!

However, those horror TukTuk drivers are still the same. Demanding ridiculous fares for short distant even more than 10 years ago!

So, I guess I have to enjoy whatever is left of ChiangMai has to offer before it is changed into a Chinese city in Thailand !

So, for those that had a fond memory of the old charming ChiangMai , may I invite you to put in your experience to share here with those newer visitors of recent year.

Cheers!

[CNXBKKMAN]

Ten years ago 2006 Chiang Mai wasn't much different to what is is today. There are chinese tourists now but CM is hardly a china town. Traffic is worse but it wasn't good in 2006. There is more money about now due to the extra tourists, lots of boutique hotels and smart stuff being built. CM traditionally had low room occupancy rates until recent years. Airport had all the same international flights then but not the chinese destinations other than Macau. Smokey season was the same 10 years ago but we didn't have 24/7 instant news and social media reminding us how unhealthy it was. You have to go back much further than 2006 to talk about the "lost charm".

[connda]

Chiang Mai is like my gik. She's happy to take my money and she serves her purpose, but the relationship isn't serious from either side. (Just kidding about the gik part ) lol

Edited April 3, 2016 by connda

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Ten years ago 2006 Chiang Mai wasn't much different to what is is today. There are chinese tourists now but CM is hardly a china town. Traffic is worse but it wasn't good in 2006. There is more money about now due to the extra tourists, lots of boutique hotels and smart stuff being built. CM traditionally had low room occupancy rates until recent years. Airport had all the same international flights then but not the chinese destinations other than Macau. Smokey season was the same 10 years ago but we didn't have 24/7 instant news and social media reminding us how unhealthy it was. You have to go back much further than 2006 to talk about the "lost charm".

No matter how far you go back it won't be as good as today.

(Ok, I'll qualify that: I'd love to spend a couple days in Chiang Mai in the 1970s or so, just to take it all in again, but in all objectivity that's not a place I could actually live in at this point in my life.)

[FolkGuitar]

I met a young traveler who'd just returned from a week scuba diving down in the Gulf. He'd just gotten certified as an Open Water Diver, and couldn't stop raving about all the sea life he'd been swimming with, as well as the tropical 'unspoiled beauty' of... Koh Tao. He thought he'd discovered Paradise. Me? I can't go back to Koh Tao. I remember when there were no roads, no electricity, no phones, not even any cement buildings on Koh Tao.Everything was woven bamboo. There was one small village with about 10 shop houses. In the sea there were huge schools of fish... jacks, trevallies, yellowtails... hundreds of Batfish, Anglefish, Surgeonfish, Morish Idols, etc., to be seen on every dive. Nightime was quiet. Without electricity there was no night life. You could hear the waves breaking on the beach.

That's no longer the situation there. Today there are many large hotels that even have swimming pools. There is a car rental agency. Discos up and down the beach. If you're not a party person, you can't get any sleep because there is so much music going on all around you. And hardly any fish to speak of...

But to this young traveler, it was paradise. It was all new and he had nothing to which to compare it. To him, it was perfect. To me, I can't even think of going back.

Perhaps Chiang Mai is the same. The only changes that affect me are the number of malls (not a negative,) the traffic (I ride motorcycle, so not a negative,) and the hordes of Chinese tourists. Not really much of a problem for me either... To me, Chiang Mai is, other than these three, just about as it was when I moved here 15 years ago. New folks come and they like it. They don't compare it to how it was 25 years ago. They like it today. Me too.

[northernjohn]

I first came to Chiang Mai 10 years ago and loved it. Eventually I retired got rid of my house and all my possessions and moved here for good.

As has been mentioned the traffic is worse. Surprised to hear you say it is cleaner than Singapore. The rest of it so what. Three more big malls with theaters. Still lots and lots of places to get good Thai food or Western food. I also enjoy the food carts.

Chinese tourists so what I was a tourist the first times I came and I really don't think any one cared about my nationality.

As for the night life I am told it is good if you know where to go. But I am not a night person any how so personally for me it is OK. I have been considering revisiting a lot of the places I first went to. They probably haven't changed but I now have a different pair of eyes to see them with.

I don't enjoy the smog season but it is not that much of the year. I also don't like my inability to master the language. If I may offer a suggestion just keep saying the words you can say over and over and you will find it easier to pronounce newer words. I often time have a problem with a word so I ask the wife to say it slowly while I watch her mouth. I have learned to count in Thai and find that a big help in getting around. The really hard part for me is hearing what they are saying when they are talking about some thing that I could understand if I had the time to put the words together.

[johnatong]

Would this be the Chiang Mai that is overwhelmed with Chinese, Backpackers, Digital Nomads,hordes of ever complaining expats and smoke ?

A wise person would give it a miss !

[dcnx]

I enjoy CM. It's not perfect, no place is, but it's safe, fairly clean, cheap, easy to get around, and so on. It could be improved, but I'm happy with her just the way she is, warts and all.

[212Roger]

I like the great bookstores; a lot of Metaphysical books. I have no problem finding a book worth reading. Sleep and read during the day and Loi Kroh Rd. at night. Beats working! 555

[TheSiemReaper]

I like the great bookstores; a lot of Metaphysical books. I have no problem finding a book worth reading. Sleep and read during the day and Loi Kroh Rd. at night. Beats working! 555

I'm a huge fan of the bookstores in this town; I'd like better first-hand stores but the second-hand ones rock. A complete folio edition of Wilfred Thesiger's two most famous works for $10? Get in. The staff and owners are all pretty knowledgeable and while some moan about the pricing; I think it's pretty darned fair most of the time. Now, all I need is for somebody to flog off that huge table hardback about Thai masks... which is 2,500 Baht brand new... and a little more than I am prepared to pay.

[MadMac]

You can't compare it to Singapore, that's like 3rd world to first world. Comparison to Bangkok would be fair.

Lived in SG for 9 years, don't really miss it, a bit, ok, but it was efficient, clean, green and people were usually friendly as any other Asians.

[amexpat]

Would this be the Chiang Mai that is overwhelmed with Chinese, Backpackers, Digital Nomads,hordes of ever complaining expats and smoke ?

A wise person would give it a miss !

Chinese, Backpackers, Digital Nomads, smoke.

Does anything else annoy you? Oh, that's right. Complaining expats!

[hugocnx]

Ten years ago 2006 Chiang Mai wasn't much different to what is is today. There are chinese tourists now but CM is hardly a china town. Traffic is worse but it wasn't good in 2006. There is more money about now due to the extra tourists, lots of boutique hotels and smart stuff being built. CM traditionally had low room occupancy rates until recent years. Airport had all the same international flights then but not the chinese destinations other than Macau. Smokey season was the same 10 years ago but we didn't have 24/7 instant news and social media reminding us how unhealthy it was. You have to go back much further than 2006 to talk about the "lost charm".

I totally disagree with you. If you really lived in CM city or around, how can you say these things.

Traffic was okay 10 years ago

Smokey season was always there yes but worsened year by year plus the heavy traffic exhaust and you probably didn't notice the red sun in the early afternoons in 2015

You seem a bionic man since you don't feel your eyes burning and your throat getting dry much earlier than your regular aperitive time.

2006 was still charming.

[puukao]

all depends...

IF you get to CM in late-October and stay until late-January.....just fantastic. not perfect, but nothing is perfect.

IF you get there smog season.......worst of the worst. you just paid money to die quicker

IF you get there in rainy season.......if you are not from a wet climate, very nice. very nice

IF you get there in the hot, no-wind season........you are better off than the smog, but now paying to live in an oven

i rate CM 85/100. You can get bored, hot, sick, exhausted if alone or with people.....your "gf" may have trust issues

but the highs are very, very high.....and i think outweigh the lows.....

it's not a love-hate with me......it's more a love-exhausted

[Cpkt8]

Cnx is so much hotter than Singapore. I'm here since a month ago, and still trying to adapt to the drier hotter weather.

People here are friendlier for sure. Pace is so much slower, so is efficiency.

[Smiles]

Ten years ago 2006 Chiang Mai wasn't much different to what is is today. There are chinese tourists now but CM is hardly a china town. Traffic is worse but it wasn't good in 2006. There is more money about now due to the extra tourists, lots of boutique hotels and smart stuff being built. CM traditionally had low room occupancy rates until recent years. Airport had all the same international flights then but not the chinese destinations other than Macau. Smokey season was the same 10 years ago but we didn't have 24/7 instant news and social media reminding us how unhealthy it was. You have to go back much further than 2006 to talk about the "lost charm".

If you read carefulily , I wrote 'more than 10 yrs ago' to qualify my statement.

You can compare all those Chinese wording signboards up now with those more than 10 yrs ago. ChiangMai will soon turned into a huge ChinaTown in no time!

I visited ChiangMai way before SARS and mad cow disease. That is the comparison I am referring to!

Edited April 3, 2016 by Smiles

[slipperylobster]

If you smoke, you can save a ton on cigarettes....as you won't need any.

[MilesofSmiles]

Ten years ago 2006 Chiang Mai wasn't much different to what is is today. There are chinese tourists now but CM is hardly a china town. Traffic is worse but it wasn't good in 2006. There is more money about now due to the extra tourists, lots of boutique hotels and smart stuff being built. CM traditionally had low room occupancy rates until recent years. Airport had all the same international flights then but not the chinese destinations other than Macau. Smokey season was the same 10 years ago but we didn't have 24/7 instant news and social media reminding us how unhealthy it was. You have to go back much further than 2006 to talk about the "lost charm".

I totally disagree with you. If you really lived in CM city or around, how can you say these things.

Traffic was okay 10 years ago

Smokey season was always there yes but worsened year by year plus the heavy traffic exhaust and you probably didn't notice the red sun in the early afternoons in 2015

You seem a bionic man since you don't feel your eyes burning and your throat getting dry much earlier than your regular aperitive time.

2006 was still charming.

Singaporeans have 'the haze' for a month or so around september/october, so he's used to it.

Also remember the guy is 18, he's still invincible, as we all were at that age

To the OP.

I lived there for a year and ended up getting bored of it and moving back to Bangkok.

It's nice, but a bit quaint and boring for my tastes.

If you lived your whole life in singapore, I can see how you'd find CM very appealing tho.