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 Traveller's Tales: Advise for travellers in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Heed our handy tips on safe travel in Chiang Mai, Thailand. You may read about travel warnings, health, what to wear, travel with kids, travel with pets, local weather, local government, medical information and traffic information in the area.Also, you might want to read our
Bangkok city guide,
Chiang Mai city guide,
Hua Hin city guide,
Koh Samet city guide,
Koh Samui city guide,
Krabi city guide,
Pattaya city guide,
and Phuket city guide.
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| S Poh |
08 March 2005 |
Stayed at Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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Be careful of an old Chinese man who comes up to you in street with sob story of how he was pickpocketed and even showing you his Singapore passport which I'm sure is forged. He asked for money to take train to Bangkok. He spoke in Cantonese but obviously not with Singaporean accent. We refused to give him any money & saw him later approaching another Asian tourist on his motorbike. I tried to grab his fake passport & he push me away & rode off. He is obviously a Thai Chinese conman. Wondered how many tourists he has conned.
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| R Hazelwood |
02 August 2002 |
Stayed at Empress Hotel Chiang Mai, The - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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Chiang Mai--Trekker Tours is not terrific. Too much down time--we got into our camp at 3pm and didn't leave until 9am the next morning. That might have been okay if I had taken a book, as it was, we were all twiddling our thumbs. Also, the elephant ride and rafting are tacked on at the end and are both pathetic.
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| S Thompson |
21 June 2002 |
Stayed at Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, The - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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We went on the elephant safari (be careful the Bangkok airport Thai airways group said they were the cheapest offering this - not so it was cheaper in Changmai get the local Changmai booklet at the airport or should be in your hotel. The tours of the handicraft villages is a complete rip off - you can buy all the staff much, much cheaper in the night markets.
Jewellery is cheaper in Changmai too - overall we found this to be the cheapest place to buy handicrafts much cheaper then Phuket and Malaysia. We spent a great 4 days here with a family of two adults and three children under 14.
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| A Oaks |
13 June 2002 |
Stayed at Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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We read a recommendation about a restaurant called Once Upon a Time, that is located at the River Ping Palace hotel. This was terrific and we would definitely recommend it! It is a little out of the way and it took a couple tuk-tuk drivers to figure out how to get there, but it was definitely worth the extra effort. We went there twice, taking friends the second time. Each time, we were the only people in the whole restaurant that sat right on the river. It was very romantic, and extremely affordable. Their English skills suffer, but through charades we had great time ordering some of the best Thai food we've ever had! We highly recommend the appetizer of minced prawns with lemon grass, served with a coconut sauce. YUM. Also, their curry/coconut milk sea food stir fry was inspiring. I can't say enough about this place.
As a word of warning, we learned from a trusted citizen of Chiang Mai that there is some shady business practices that go on with the tailoring (& jewelry) industry there. Be wary of any "locals" or other Asian tourists that pose as individuals who are also buying tailored goods, and who recommend particular shops and are willing to send you there. They are paid by the shop owners and receive a large commission for targeting you. We unfortunately were had on this one before we found out the system, but believe me we weren't the only ones!
We met countless tourists that had the same experience but still don't know that they were had. We found out too late that we had paid at least $75 too much on a suit. Just make sure that you do your own shopping around, and don't a commit to a single shop until you know what you want. Also, haggling is free game even in these stores. Hope you can benefit from our stupidity. Next time we go back, we'll handle it much differently.
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| P Demediuk |
03 June 2002 |
Stayed at Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, The - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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Lunch at Jim Thompsons.
Beware of touts telling you things are closed.
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| G Tawes |
07 April 2002 |
Stayed at Lana Thai Villa - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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The best thing about Chiang Mai is the Regent resort. We visited a few temples, and did some shopping, but feel the shopping (and prices) in Bangkok are better. Chaing Mai now has over a million people, loots of cars and associated pollution, and is no longer a nice place to visit, in our opinion. We also visited when they were burning off the rice fields, and the haze was almost impentrable. Try Chiang Rai instead.....
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| M Eidelman |
16 March 2002 |
Stayed at Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, The - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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Chiang Mai is really a fun destination. I took a trek, but three days was way too much for me to hike around all day in 95 degrees so I cut it short by one day
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| D Sylvia felder |
31 March 2001 |
Stayed at Amity Green Hills Hotel - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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I had traveled to Chiang Mai 11 years ago and this time was sadly disappointed due to all the pollution.
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| P Manning |
20 February 2001 |
Stayed at Royal Princess Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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The local tailors are very variable in their quality. The fellows located right outside the RP front door to the right charge prices which are almost as high as those in Singapore - so no great savings there. Around the corner to the left, opposite the Surinwongse Hotel, is an outfit called Big Boss. Their tailors unbelievably sew the collar stripes of a striped shirt in the wrong [i.e. vertical] plane! Their prices are lower than those of the counterparts right outside the RP, but then I guess you get the quality you pay for.
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| R Lindberg |
18 January 2001 |
Stayed at Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, The - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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The elephant ride is fun, and the countryside around Chiang Mai is nice. But Chiang Mai is drawing thousands of tourists every day, so don't expect to see unspoiled old Thailand there.
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