Thailand: Chiang Mai vs. Chiang Rai?

Hi,

Considering spending a week in northern Thailand sometime in the next few months. Chiang Mai is always mentioned as a place to go. Since I started researching it, I’ve also started to wonder whether it is just too busy. The option of Chiang Rai was suggested. One item to mention: I’m not much of a “tour bus” sightseer. Prefer doing it on my own when feasible.

I would be interested in hearing any information about these two places to help me make a decision. Two things would be especially helpful:

  • Comparisons
  • List of regretable things I’d be missing if I skipped Chiang Mai
  • List of things I’d wish were in Chiang Rai if I went there for a week

Thanks,

Seeker4

Chiang Rai is quiet and laidback without a lot of Westerners and Chiang Mai is bustling with a lot of tourists/backpackers.
You’ll likely find more to do in Chiang Mai but if you want to get away from the large tourist/backpacker hordes then Chiang Rai is the place to go. You can do both in a week. There’s only an hour or two between the two places.

Weren’t you heading over there earlier this year?

[quote=“Matchstick_man”]Chiang Rai is quiet and laidback without a lot of Westerners and Chiang Mai is bustling with a lot of tourists/backpackers.
You’ll likely find more to do in Chiang Mai but if you want to get away from the large tourist/backpacker hordes then Chiang Rai is the palace to go.

Weren’t you heading over there ealier this year?[/quote]
What stuff could I do in CM that I couldn’t do in CR?

Whoa! Timely. Thanks for the question and the response. I’m heading to Chiang MAi next week with a Thai friend.

Keep 'em coming.

HG

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Whoa! Timely. Thanks for the question and the response. I’m heading to Chiang MAi next week with a Thai friend.

Keep 'em coming.

HG[/quote]
There’s a separate (older) Chiang Mai thread also. Not much in it now. Want to keep these two threads separate at this point.

[Chiang mai

There are lots of prostitutes in Chiang Mai.

One can also rent a motorbike and ride in circles around the hot dusty city to escape the heat and the boredom, or just hang out in the pool at the hotel.

They are not that far apart. I think go to Chiang Mai hire a car and drive upto Chiang Rai for a couple of days.

Cheers.

I have this perception of Chiang Mai as some kind of minorities theme park, which I’d rather avoid.

Is it possibe and if so how to, cross to either Burma or Laos from Chiang Mai/Rai?

HG

Sure, just swim.

Actually Chiang Mai and Rai are really not that interesting as they are just large provincal towns. I think you would have a better time hiring a car and driving through Pai to Mae Hong Son on the Burmese border. The roads are all sealed, you will get the most spectacular mountain scenery imaginable, there are a wide variety of hilltribes’ cultures to see including the long neck women of Mae Hong Son whom I’ve never seen even after years of living there and Pai is a very charming place. You can do it on a motorbike as well. I’ve done both. The jeep was better when it rained. I also ran over a guy on my motorbike on that road. :smiling_imp:

Chiang Mai has a large nightmarket. You don’t have to hire a motorcycle as there is also the bicycle hire option. Cycling around Chiang Mai can take a day and cycling around Chiang Rai would only take a couple of hours at most. Chiang Mai has things like Thai cooking classes available.

I have a friend who goes to Chiang Rai to work on his website because there aren’t a lot of distractions. If you stay a week in Chiang Rai and don’t leave town to go trekking etc. you’ll need a couple of books.

The north of Thailand can be cold at night.

We had a nice trip in Chiang Mai this time last year. Fortunately for us our trip coincided with the King’s birthday. There was a huge street parade, lots of great food and music. We didn’t really see the “real” Chiang Mai, but I guess it is just a small provincial town. I rented a motorbike, on my Taiwanese licence (!) and we escaped into the mountains for some walking. At this time there were a huge amount of foreingners, every second person seemed to be white.

If you’re taking a lady, then you’ll find the shopping not as plentyful in terms of shopping centers and western stlye places. I remember finding a huge place near the airport though.

I found the weather cooler than expected, so take a sweater and long trousers. I was expecting it to be hotter and was disappointed. The food is great and the people very friendly. Near the hotel there were lots of second hand book shops. I stocked up and brought a load back to Taiwan.

We went to relax and take things slowly for a few days. I can’t tell you about bars, clubs and the like…sorry…I’m an old fart.

If you like temples, good food, and fresh air then I’d recommend a visit.

L.

:bravo:

I agree. CM and CR are fairly tame and heavily visited by tourists. CM is also very hot, flat and dusty. That’s not to say that it’s not enjoyable – I enjoyed CM too – but I believe Mae Hong Son might be worth visiting as it’s more remote, off the beaten track and has lots of short, steep scenic hills that are great fun to explore by rented motorbike. You could see CM and MHS in a week.

Fox, did you ride east from MHS, along the main highway to a place with lots of giant coi (goldfish)? If so, did you happen to notice/stop at the beautiful forest temple on the way there, with lush green lawns, incredible scenery, and a small temple. I did and found it so beautiful I almost took the head monk (a thai who had been there 10 years) up on his invitation to stay for a while – days, weeks, etc. Interestingly there were a few other monks staying at that temple from Burma and Cambodia. Also, he told me there was a woman from California who would visit for a month or so every year to eat veggie food, meditate and relax there. It was so beautiful and peaceful that I can see how such a visit could work wonders. The head monk appeared to be extremely happy, peaceful and relaxed.

MT,

I did stay at that spot. I don’t recall the goldfish though. The lawns, and temple most definitly. That spot is featured on an ad on TV now as a back drop for something. It is spectacular and hard to miss. I’ve been there a few times taking the road both ways. It doesn’t matter which way you go I don’t think as its just a circle.

Good info, please keep it coming.

A question about maps. Assuming I start in Chiang Mai and want to rent a motorcycle to drive around to nearby cities (Mae Hong Son, etc), are there maps available for purchase that make this easy enough? In English even? Where is the best place to get maps for driving in that area?

[quote=“seeker4”]Good info, please keep it coming.

A question about maps. Assuming I start in Chiang Mai and want to rent a motorcycle to drive around to nearby cities (Mae Hong Son, etc), are there maps available for purchase that make this easy enough? In English even? Where is the best place to get maps for driving in that area?[/quote]

There is a widely available map called “The Mae Hong Son Loop” which is made by the man behind this website:
gt-rider.com/

You should be able to get it in local bookstores in Chiang Mai. But I could lend you my copy if you keep it nice!

There are some motorbike rental shops in CM. They have various bikes but the most popular kinds are: spindly little stepthroughs (some of the rather zippy 150 2-stroke variety), 225/250cc dirt bikes (some pure dirt, pain-in-the bottom kickstand only and too tall for a shortarse like me, some reasonable dual-purpose models), and 400cc street bikes. I rented a CB400 Super 4, but there are some V-twins as well which I think would be nice.

Around 550-600 baht per day for a 400cc bike with insurance (N.B. the ‘insurance’ offered in Thai rental shops is a recovery service offered by the shop itself and a guaranteed maximum charge in case of accident/theft). Smaller bikes are cheaper.
A decent, friendly rental shop is Mr Mechanic:

4 Soi 5 Moonmuang Rd.
T.Sri Phum A.Muang
Chiangmai
50300
Tel. 053-214708
Mob. 01-8824402

A nice quiet, clean guesthouse in CM is Somwang. Very friendly, helpful owners; clean, quiet rooms; showers have plenty of hot water; meals if you want; can arrange cookery courses, rafting, trekking etc. About 200 baht for a twin room (two double beds)

2 Rachamankha
Soi 2
Chiangmai
50200
Tel. (053) 278505

I know I mentioned before about the 5Mb worth of web pages that I made about my North Thailand trip, but I don’t have space for them on my site, which is free and only offers 20Mb. I will try to figure out how to either repost them publically or split them off and email them to you, but it’s not easy because they’re all in a big mess caused by my poor grasp of Frontpage and HTML.

There are lots of prostitutes in every Thai city!!!

To go to Burma you need to go to Mae Sai in Chiang Rai province. For US$5 you can purchase a one day visa to enter Burma. The border town is quite interesting, although most people cross just for shopping in the market. Mae Sai is about one hour by bus from Chiang Rai.

To go to Laos go to Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai province. You can take a boat across the Mekong to go into Laos. YOu need to pay US$30 for 15 day visa though.

The city of Chiang Mai has more interesting temples and attractions than Chiang Rai, but it is the surrounding mountains, towns and villages that are the real attraction. I prefer Chiang Rai as the town is quieter and easier to get around. Chiang Mai is over developed and the traffic and pollution is getting bad. Some of the top attractions around Chiang Rai are Chiang Saen, Mae Salong and Doi Thung.

Pai is extremely popular with backpackers and is a great place to relax or go trekking. I also like the nearby Soppong which is even more out of the way. If you go there stay at CAve Lodge.

imho the north of Thailand is the best place in Thailand to travel and offers an incredible diversity – there is something to please everyone. I am planning a one week trip there in a few weeks. I will be visiting Kamphaeng Phet, Phrae and Phayao mainly because they are less visited by tourists and I have never been there before.

www.thailandguidebook.com are excellent sources of information available totally free online.

Wix: Superb post. Please come back and add more info after your trip. Look forward to hearing about that.

Joesax: Great info. If you find a way to make any of that other info available, that would be tremendous.

Anyone else?

A question about motorcycle rentals. I’ve heard someone describe renting a motorcycle that came with a driver/tourguide. I’m not interested in that. Do the rental motorcycles that people have described here come without drivers?

Are the rental places accustomed to an extended rental period, like a week?

Anything tricky to know about renting a motorcycle, such as documentation required? Have to leave your passport for collateral (which I would never do)? Will they rent a cycle on a U.S. drivers license?

Seeker4:

Totally agree, everything I wanted right there.

I’m leaving for Bangkok Friday, and while the bulk of my time I’ll be happily pottering around there, I do plan heading north with a Thai friend and possibly a Thai speaking Oz mate to visit yet another Thai speaking mate living in the hills around Chiang Mai.

I’ll be sure to report back.

Seeker, re renting bikes, my experience elsewhere in Thailand would suggest a current licence (US is fine) and money oughtta do it. But watch the cops. They like to “fine”, but not too savagely. You wanna hire from where? If I’m there I’ll check.

HG

Seeker4, did you check out the GT Rider site? Some very useful info there. Specific bike rental details here:
gt-rider.com/bikes.html

Lots of other useful tour info on the rest of the site.

As I said, you’re welcome to borrow the Mae Hong Son loop map.

Highlights of the trip for me were Doi Inthanon (Thailand’s highest mountain, with some lovely waterfalls on the way up), a dirt road trip to an even more beautiful waterfall (though had a tense hour riding back with very little petrol) and the beautiful temples in Mae Hong Son.

Pai was alright though it’s what my brother disparagingly calls a “backpackers’ Mecca” meaning that you can buy such traditional Thai delights as falafels and check out ads for all kinds of New Age therapies.