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Free guides and downloads
Watch this page evolve! We're in Pai at the moment trying to catch up. Some of the links below will prove useful I'm sure. The text is first draught.... cold beer on the table, sun blazing on the ground outside and insects attacking my feet.
Team Lemur
A major town on the route to the furthest parts of northern parts of Thailand, Chiang Mai is a great city to use as a base to discover the surrounding areas or simply relax. The main city houses many great temples that are easy to walk to and with a bustling night market on Saturday and Sunday it's easy to absorb a few days of your schedule up. More sites and temples outside of the city that can be reached on moped, hired transport or through a guided tour through one of the million "travel agents" mean you really can spend a week here easily. The location of the airport just a few kilometers from town, and only 120B in a taxi make this one for those short on time. It's also on the main line from Bangkok and the night train north was a highlight from our first trip here several years ago. So, interested in visiting northern Thailand rather than the beaches? Hills, adventure, tribes? Then look into Chiang Mai and the surrounding provinces.
Accommodation
Although some of the guide books state that in high season it can be difficult to get accommodation, I'd beg to differ! If there was a beer festival where each and every one of the zillions of bars served free beer and all the accommodation was free, then I think there'd still be room available at the Inn.
Eating and Drinking
Thankfully you can get good Thai food quite easily in Chiang Mai. Unthankfully (is that a word?) you can quite easily get some bad Thai for in Chiang Mai. The tip is to dodge any bar that houses a group of local "entertaining girls". There are quite a few bars that are owned and run by FArang's and their female partners - so the bars are good and so is the food!
We've highlighted 4 zones for drinking on our map and below are listed some of the places that we've really enjoyed food. There really are that many bars and quite a few with "For Sale" signs on them - that has to tell you something about the saturation of bars in the area.
Oh, welcome to Chiang Mai, and if you haven't tried Khoi Soi before... then do whilst you're in town.
Sites & Activities
Chaing Mai has long been on the tourist route and they do their best to keep you in the north and spending you Baht with them. You can do everything from bake a cake Thai style, mountain bike through the region on a 3 day tour, tackle rapids in a canoe and walk through the trees like a gibbon. It seems to have fast become something for newby backpackers to list as an achievement on a visit to Thailand.
Temples
There are so many temples that can be visited and a lot of them are steeped in history. We've put together two routes that you can follow on two separate days: one in the city and one that takes in some of those that could be reached by bicycle but only if you're Sir Chris Hoy!
Walking Temple Tour
You could pay a tour company about 490 Baht for pretty much the same as we’ve written, or just walk along at your own pace and spend the money on a massage and lunch! There’s a digital map to support this walk. There are more temples, but we found this to be the most structured route offering a mixture of styles and structures. [more]
Cycling/ Moped Tour
You can comfortably reach several very nice temples outside of the "walled and moated" city area, though to reach Doi Su Thep you'll really need to get motorised transport. The hill is steep and twisty and even though we met someone who'd cycled a chunk of the way and travelled the rest in the back of a pick-up, there was no way that she was going to risk cycling back down on her hired bicycle.
Activities
VIP guest house just next to night market 250B for a room with private wash room
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Thailand: The land of the elephant, the land of Chang.
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Anek Kuson Sala, Thailand
"Carlsberg don't do museums, but if they did....."
A museum or a temple? Or is it an art gallery? One thing is for sure, if you get the chance to visit you will not be disappointed.
[more]
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Bangkok for Beginners
"Don't judge a city by its reputation"
Bangkok, infamous for... Thai Boxing? Chang? Prostitution? Lady-boys? Booze buckets on Khoa San Road? Or? A first-timers opinion.
[more]
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Wat Than Seua,
Krabi
"Only 137 steps!"
If you're just shipping through Krabi then Wat Than Seua, or "Tiger Temple" is well worth considering a stop-over for.
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Chiang Mai Walking Tour
“So which temple first?” A walking tour around the temples of inner Chiang Mai with a few more within walking distance.
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Erawan Waterfalls,
Kanchanaburi
"From three headed elephant to seven tiered waterfall"
 Seen the history in Kanchanaburi? Well now see the nature with an easy day trip to these stunning waterfalls. |
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Ancient Ayutthaya "The city of gorgeousness"
Taking in the ancient sites and the modern temples of Ayutthaya by bicycle. [more]
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Posted 4 Jul 2013, 02:30 by Elli Murr
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A sample from our facebook page. Follow us for regular updates.
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Garden of Reflection,
Chiang Mai, Thailand:
There is no glory for a lazy person however good looking |
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Temple,
Krabi Thailand:
Solitude and silent reflection seems to be moving with the times |
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Almost Famous,
Pai, Thailand:
Toilet humour, bar humour and a great quiz. |
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Posted 26 Jun 2013, 21:11 by Elli Murr
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Sidebar
Focus Charity Popular City Guides Popular Blogs Recent Trip Reports |
Posted 3 Jul 2013, 03:14 by Elli Murr
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Talking Thai
A little effort goes a long way!
Hello Sawadee
How are you? Sabai dee mai?
I'm fine. Sabai dee.
Thankyou! Kop khun!
See you later. Jer gun.
How much is this? Mee, tao rai?
I don't want a plastic bag. Mae ow toong.
Not spicy Mai pet
Spicy Pet
Vegetarian Jin jay
At the end of the sentences Female speaker: Ka Male speaker: Krup
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Posted 3 Jul 2013, 23:59 by Elli Murr
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Travel Guides
Over 1,000 downloads of "A travellers Guide to Myanmar".
We've had over 27,000 hits in just 7 months! For some, that's nothing, for the charities we support, approx. 2% of our visitors visit on.Which means all of our hard work is worth it.
Looks like we'll be publishing an update to "A Travellers Guide to Myanmar" in September ready for the new season. And already we have Peter and Anne from Balmain, Sydney Australia on board to give us updates for their pending trip in October.
So we have "Fish out of Water" and "Powered by Noodles" and now "Cool for Cats" set to update us in Myanmar. Can you get any more up-to-date?
Free guides and downloads. |
Posted 24 Jul 2013, 21:12 by Elli Murr
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This is all about giving something back to the people of the countries that we've visited, to thank them for the wonderful experiences that we've had. There are no charges for receiving information on this site, because this is about sharing the latest information and not making money. You'll also note, there are no pop-ups or sponsored links to businesses. So, please take the time to look at some of the charities that we've highlighted on our charities page, and if you want to "pay" for the information you've received, then look into some of these worthy causes. Otherwise we'd gladly accept any support to help keep this site alive.
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