Chiang Mai Travel Forum

Hi, we are planning a week in Chiang Mai before heading south to Ko Samet and wondered what ancient wonders there are to see in Chiang Mai and what memorable activities there are to do. Also could anyone recommend a guide?
Thanks,
Ian

Things we did in and around Chiang Mai:
- Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, on a hill above the city
- Phu Ping Palace, winter Palace of the royal family
(forget the very commercialised hill tribe village of Doi Pui)
- Bor Sang, the umbrella and parasol village (some places are rather touristy)
- Sankampaeng Hot Springs, with Roong Aroon Resort
- temples/museums in Chiang Mai
- the city of Lamphun, just south of Chiang Mai
- one of the elephant camps (we visited the National Elephant Institute)
- night market (although absolutely not my favourite)

happy travels
jaap

In Thailand you can get tours through travel agencies. Just locate the nearest travel agency to your hotel and check out their available tours. Some of the tours include visits to the Long Neck Villages, Golden Triangle area, Hill Tribes and lots more. These are shared van tours with a guide included. Tour company picks you up at your hotel and returns you there at the end of the trip.

There are other private tours that you can arrange through tour desks at your hotel or through travel agencies, they do cost more of course.

Same for Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai - see a travel agency for tours, tour guides or even your hotel tour desk if there is one.

Good luck.

Of course you can do the trips through a travel agency, but we did it on our way without guides. Lot of freedom and in our own pace.

Hi, here are some tips on CM :

* Wat Phratat Doi Suthep, the most important temple of CM. From the large terrace you have a stunning view over the city.
* of course CM has a lot of other temples worth visiting : more info on the most important temples in CM can be found here : http://chiangmai.bangkok.com/attractions/temples.htm
* an excursion to the Golden Triangle (offered by a ot of tour agencies in the city). Most of those tours offer one or more stops with the hill tribes.
* the handicraft village Bor Sang : just ask any tuk-tuk driver, they all know it, no need for a guide. This village is famous for the handpainted umbrella's and fangs.
* the Samkanpaeng hot springs
* night bazar : just outside the city walls at Chang Khlan Road : it offers a variety of clothes, souvenirs and handicrafts by local tribes
* Chiang Mai has a zoo with a seperate panda-area : the 2 giant panda's are so cute and adorable that they are one of the main attractions in CM.
* there are a lot of touroperators that offer daytours including a ride on the back of an elephant, a visit to an orchid farm and a ride on a riverraft. I can't remember the name of the elephant camp we've been to. There is also the elephant nature park, situated to the north at about an hour from CM. Here you can see the elephants in their natural behavior instead of riding on top of them.

CM is also great for shopping : besides the night bazar and the shops in the city, there is also the Airport shopping Plaza. Here you find all different kinds of shops. There are shops from several wall-known brands (Camel, ...) but the prices are a lot lower then at home (we live in Belgium). Last time we had several extra kilos when we left CM !

I read through the replys on this and they seem to cover just about everything...Don't remember seeing the Ping River Cruise tho...it's about two hours and interesting. As for a guide. Since I live here, I use Paul Collins who is a licensed tuk tuk driver and TAT licensed tour guide for the entire country of Thailand. Paul (see Citylife ChiangMai on line, Feb 2008, Title of Article "Need A Ride?") speaks English, Thai and Northern Thai fluently and is the only farang tuk tuk driver in all of Thailand. You can contact Paul by email at besttuktuktours@yahoo.com or call his mobile 0849483315 or Office: 0850484606. Hope this helps, and enjoy your time in my hometown! Marie (nannyre)