I have a residence in Wat Ket and as I have a same given name as an intended letter recipient Thai Post has delivered me a letter (from a bank I gather) with an address of "The Bears Den".

Now "The Bears Den" had some issues with management and investors....and I gather an allegation of "boiler room" involvement and went the way of the dodo. Shame really, nice pub, lot of money into it, but sadly never took off (The River Deli that was on the site previously was very popular so I gather location was not an issue).

So without putting the name out there.....is there an Ulsterman still about town that may have used "The Bears Den" as a postal address. If so please pm and I will get letter to you. If no success will RTS.

I remember the bears den. I quite liked it - nice bar next to the river but away from the tourists.

The first sign I saw of it not going to work was when they posted an ad in one of the magazines suggesting people should use it as a place to catch an early drink on the way home from the office! It told me that these guys had no inkling that this was sleepy Chiang Mai and not bustling Hong Kong or Bangkok with it's big earners.

Attracting the pensioners on the way home after collecting their pension at the post office was much more likely, though not as lucrative maybe.

I remember it.. went in there once or twice. A LOT of money spent, a LOT of money lost in just a few weeks/months..

They forgot to cater to Thai people..

As for the office crowd: some time has past since then and it might actually be feasible now; but still not in that location and at that price level.

OH now I remember the Bears Den, I was searching around in the Karen Hut era bits but was almost 20 years too far back. It was pleasant on the river but do not recall any Ulsterman.

How about Cowboy's Guest House.... U Member Dat ???

Run by Paul and June (?).

He was Electrical Engineer working in mid east and she was Thai from BKK and had knowledge of the hospitality industry.

I seem to remember it was the wife who annoyed other wives and they did not want their husbands frequenting the Bar.

john

The guy who had the place (I think as the River Deli) was Swedish so it might be him.

The guy who had the place (I think as the River Deli) was Swedish so it might be him.

A Swedish Ulster man,nah can't see it myself.

Are we talking about the Bear's Den that was over by the Rimping Condo? Did they have a pool table in a gazebo out in the garden by the river? When I lived on that side of town we used to play pool in the afternoons at a place over there and it was always empty except for the mosquitoes. The pool table was in decent shape compared to most.

Grin

I used to enjoy going there at sunset and sitting by the river doing the NYT crossword puzzle. Pool table was decent and it was a nice place to play because you could watch the boats on the river. I even remember talking to the owner who was from BKK but I can't remember his name.

When Bear's Den closed I defected over to Le Brasserie which soon became half the size (had to sell half for some reason) and eventually moved to the moat and now is gone. Not sure what happened to guitar guru Tuk. He was a strong presence when the restaurant was on the river years ago. Always had a good crowd.

"June" was actually 'Joy'.

And yes it was located near the Rimping Condo.

john

Went a couple of times but can bearly remember it now.