A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[ypres]

Yes I read that night safari is bigger and more exciting than Singapore. You may consider Tiger Kingdom and Karen tribal village. If adequate timing, can consider border run and visit Golden Triangle. Laos is just a few hours away.

I visited Burma and Thai border the last time. You just walked across Chiangrai to the border town of Burma: Tachilak. This can be arranged by tourguide. If you are into temple, there is plenty of nice temples with Burmese influence.

 

[panzer]

I just love CM!

Sept may not be the best time to visit CM as it is still the raining season there. Best to travel there in Nov to Jan when it is cool and dry.

I think the best places to visit are outside of CM city; eg watching sunrise on the mountain top like Pu Chee fa, visiting and riding the elephants, visiting Mae Sai (the border town to Myanmar), traveling on Mae Hong San loop and visiting the villages along the way including the 2 division of KTM who stayed on after the war etc etc.

Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon, as suggested by ypres, are also great places to visit as well. 4-5 nights is probably too short! Enjoy your trip there.

pii iamfree

Thanks for the tips, as I have my 5 year old daughter in tow, probably can't go too far/adventurous location :-)

Pii you can visit two places which I naenam/recommend. Suay jang lei. Sanook jang lei.
Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon. Hotel you can look at Internet. Chok dii na krap.

Good choice, destination.

Both sat/sun markets (aka walking street) are to-do, and yes Talat Warorot has all local foods and fruits (even free packing service for airport takeaways). Chiangmai night zoo, with white tiger if you have time.

You might want to choose Niman area (near CMU, plenty cafes, restaurants on main stretch) over old city.

Niman Mai Design got low season promo for basic room bht1316, new 1-2 years old and 5mins walk from Niman.

http://www.nimmanmaihotel.com/

Enjoy

pii yingyang - thanks for the tip on location. Yes, think I would pick convenience to food/cafes as will have daughter and mother along. :-)

Yes I read that night safari is bigger and more exciting than Singapore. You may consider Tiger Kingdom and Karen tribal village. If adequate timing, can consider border run and visit Golden Triangle. Laos is just a few hours away.

Thanks pii ypres for the recommendations. Will give the zoo a visit since my daughter will like it. Border run possibly unlikely as won't be easy for city kid to travel far.

 

[lurpsexx]

I visited Burma and Thai border the last time. You just walked across Chiangrai to the border town of Burma: Tachilak. This can be arranged by tourguide. If you are into temple, there is plenty of nice temples with Burmese influence.

Yes.. Tachilek nice.. but need USD to buy day pass? I saw many tour buses going into tachilek.. think is for the visitors to the casinos... Also pls rem there may be Thai police road block to check folks going into Mae Sai and beyond.. just flash ur SG passport and a nice Big smile and the cops will let u on ur way.. road blocks both ways and I think the coming back is due to drugs search.. Enjoy the scenery and do dun naughty stuff K?

 

[ypres]

Yes.. Tachilek nice.. but need USD to buy day pass? I saw many tour buses going into tachilek.. think is for the visitors to the casinos... Also pls rem there may be Thai police road block to check folks going into Mae Sai and beyond.. just flash ur SG passport and a nice Big smile and the cops will let u on ur way.. road blocks both ways and I think the coming back is due to drugs search.. Enjoy the scenery and do dun naughty stuff K?

Hi bro I paid my tour agent and she handled immigration matter for us. Visited Burma and Laos in a day. Yes on the way back to Chiangmai plenty of check point.

 

[lurpsexx]

Hi bro I paid my tour agent and she handled immigration matter for us. Visited Burma and Laos in a day. Yes on the way back to Chiangmai plenty of check point.

Oh.. U can visit Burma AND Laos in 1 day trip? Wow.. Was it rushed? Think can buy good jade in Burma if u know where... For me, Mae Sai is just a one road town, sort of like Main Street only.. Nothing much to do there, except if u wan to go into Tachilek... but i didn't go in as I was alone at that time.. scared kena stuck alone in Burma then siao liao...

 

[yinyang]

Good to know of others here visiting and like CM. Laid back, accessible and distinct northern culture.

just walked across Chiangrai to the border town of Burma: Tachilak..

You mean Mae Sot +60km from Chiangrai. Only need to bring your passport (unlike Thais ID only) to cross into Myanmar. Usual markets, border cowboy town stretch (as lurpsexx also says).

read that night safari is bigger and more exciting than Singapore. You may consider Tiger Kingdom

Not really, diff comparison. CNX's white tiger is main attraction. Can go in enclosure, carry and feed baby tiger with bottle milk and take pics.

Panzer, recommend you take a scenic drive up to Mae Rim (easy 45mins from CNX). Nice mountain, valley views with sightseeing spots like elephant, monkey place and tiger kingdom. Beats long drive to Doi Ithanon (with kid in tow), and even snaky mountain 180km drive to CHR. Got resorts like Proud Phu Fa nearby.

http://www.openchiangmai.com/travel_mae_rim_chiangmai.php
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g1766192-Activities-Mae_Rim.html
http://www.chiangmai1.com/chiang_mai/mae_rim.shtml

 

[Froggy]

Waiting for bro rotikosong to come in, he's like the expert of these northern mountain places. Hey where the hell are you?

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

I recently visited Chiangmai but found that some restaurants weren't so friendly. I guess they thought we were from China.
Anyone has this feeling. I just resigned from my job yesterday preparing for my thai study in Chiangmai U next year in Oct.
I will be studying Diploma in Chinese Teaching for the next nine months. Kinda scarce if my plan is crazy.
My HDB here is fully paid for and I have a saving.

I find this really sickening.

So what if you were from china?

It's like outsiders assuming someone that comes from thailand like a female is a prostitute and the man is a good for nothing loafer would they be offended?

Yet these same ppl that get offended would probably find no problem in stereotyping others just like how our local malays for example behave like.

 

[rotikosong]

Waiting for bro rotikosong to come in, he's like the expert of these northern mountain places. Hey where the hell are you?

Pai seh pai seh. Been crazy busy traveling for work so no time to come in here.

Most of the questions already answered thanks to the rich experience of others here. I try my hand at some answers:

>> How and how much to cross into Tachilek?
IIRC 400B or a crisp USD10 note. This you pay to Myanmar immigration and you get a one-day pass. They keep your passport and you get a paper receipt.
You can also ask them to stamp their entry stamp on a loose blank sheet of paper. In the past, this was valuable as Myanmar was a pariah state. These days probably not done anymore because Myanmar is mainstream.

Tachilek tourism is mostly wat (you can see their famous Schwedagon stupa [not the Yangon one but same name] from Mae Sai) visits, casino, golf and their street market where most things are super fake. The type of place you go once and say ok, I'm not coming here again.

>> Laos and Myanmar in 1 day
Crossing in Laos is easy from Chiang Saen which is the next big town over from Mae Sai to the east. You basically cross the Mae Khong river to the other side and you're in Laos. Chiang saen is perhaps 1 hour drive away from Mae Sai. People (local tourists) go over to Laos to shop and again visit some wat. No passport is necessary, just a boat crossing really.

>> CM - what to do?
Already answered by YY who as always gives excellent lay of land. First visit to north, I'd recommend CM because there is nothing to see in CR except for the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) and really nothing to see in Mae Sai at all. Those who go to Mae Sai are there for other reasons besides pure tourism.

CM on the hand is fascinating for the first-timer. Here you have an inner city surrounded like a fort by a moat, with bridges and gates into the city. You either stay at Nimman or perhaps more more popular would be the Night Bazaar area. Lots of temples, lots of shopping and nature and outdoor activities like hill tribe visits, white water rafting, elephant rides, ziplining etc.

One popular activity, especially for Thais, is a stay in a wat. They go for 2 days to a week and stay and pray, and live in dorms within wat. No phones, no electronics, just meditating and chanting and listening to sermons.

If you go to CM be sure to rent a motorbike (if you can ride one) to get around.

 

[iamfree]

pii iamfree

Thanks for the tips, as I have my 5 year old daughter in tow, probably can't go too far/adventurous location :-)

During my trip a few years ago, my youngest son was 3+ years old then and my daughter was 7+. They had great fun although my son was afraid to take the elephant ride.

I did used a tour guide (ex-Singaporean who is now living in CR for the past 20 years). So it was a preety much worry-free trip. We spent 10 days for this trip and it felt too short!

 

[lurpsexx]

and really nothing to see in Mae Sai at all. Those who go to Mae Sai are there for other reasons besides pure tourism.

Yes Bro you are right... people go to Mae Sai either to get their fixes.. casino or otherwise, while others like me go there to visit relative from Tai Choo across the border.... I still haven't goto CM proper and heard their Uni gals very chio one...

 

[yinyang]

haven't goto CM proper and heard their Uni gals very chio one...

CMU is a sprawling complex, and Niman area is popular hangout for sao saos:p

Another observation is CM hospital setup, being northern medical hub is impressive with distinct complexes for neurological etc.

Many visitors also do cooking lessons in CNX. So Panzer, if your missus is into this

http://www.thaicookeryschool.com

 

[Froggy]

It's been a year so the condo owner wanted the unit back to sell. So I got to move. Happy to move cos found a newer unit and 3 bedrooms (no choice no more that I like). and a jacuzzi too. Anyway the view had changed here are the views from different windows

[video=youtube;FhpcZpmODFo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhpcZpmODFo[/video]

 

[Froggy]

[video=youtube;8pVamHcTu90]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pVamHcTu90[/video]

The other view

 

[Froggy]

CMU is a sprawling complex, and Niman area is popular hangout for sao saos:p

Another observation is CM hospital setup, being northern medical hub is impressive with distinct complexes for neurological etc.

Many visitors also do cooking lessons in CNX. So Panzer, if your missus is into this

http://www.thaicookeryschool.com

Well you have a ex-PM from there who is dynamic and full of ideas you bet this place is impressive.

 

[ypres]

Oh.. U can visit Burma AND Laos in 1 day trip? Wow.. Was it rushed? Think can buy good jade in Burma if u know where... For me, Mae Sai is just a one road town, sort of like Main Street only.. Nothing much to do there, except if u wan to go into Tachilek... but i didn't go in as I was alone at that time.. scared kena stuck alone in Burma then siao liao...

Yes bro. Best to go with tourguide if newbie. Infact, a lot of agencies organize 1 day trip for farang for their visa run. Yes Laos and Burma can be visited in one day.

 

[ypres]

I find this really sickening.

So what if you were from china?

It's like outsiders assuming someone that comes from thailand like a female is a prostitute and the man is a good for nothing loafer would they be offended?

Yet these same ppl that get offended would probably find no problem in stereotyping others just like how our local malays for example behave like.

Thank you pii. I am ok just try to be chai yen yen sabaai sabaai.

 

[ypres]

Oh.. U can visit Burma AND Laos in 1 day trip? Wow.. Was it rushed? Think can buy good jade in Burma if u know where... For me, Mae Sai is just a one road town, sort of like Main Street only.. Nothing much to do there, except if u wan to go into Tachilek... but i didn't go in as I was alone at that time.. scared kena stuck alone in Burma then siao liao...

Yes bro. Best to go with tourguide if newbie. Infact, a lot of agencies organize 1 day trip for farang for their visa run. Yes Laos and Burma can be visited in one day.

 

[yinyang]

CM on the hand is fascinating for the first-timer. Here you have an inner city surrounded like a fort by a moat, with bridges and gates into the city. You either stay at Nimman or perhaps more more popular would be the Night Bazaar area. .

Yo, Roti... I get confused, and keep on driving in circles around the moat ...needing some landmark to get in or out. Blame it on my age and poor sense of directions, perhaps needing SOS by a local :p

 

[ypres]

Doing homework for next year. I have read up to page 71 and current page of this thread. A lot of useful information from pii here especially Yinyang, Joey and Chonburic.
I also read other websites put up mostly by farang.