I'd read about Kratie, was thinking about it for sure. Thailand is going to lose a bit on this trip, I think we're going to use it just to chill out for a few days at the end of the trip, but I like the sound of Koh Lanta.

I'm not too sure about Burma myself, my GF's planning that bit.

I don't think we'll be rushing around trying to cram a bunch of stuff in, we've got roughly 6 weeks for 4 countries, so I don't think it's going to be too bad. Anyone wanna tell me otherwise?

Burma has some very interesting things to see/places to go...Mandalay, Lake Inle, The Monastery of the Jumping Cats (lol), Schewadagon temple which i think is in Yangon, and Bagan. Be aware that entry points are restricted. For example you can enter via northern Thailand near Chiang Rai but you can't go very far into Burma by bus before you are faced with a restricted zone. I found some cheap airfares from Chiang Mai in thailand to Yangon and back. I am heading over there soon and can report back...

And anyway, Chiang Mai is a fabulous place and definitely worth a visit.

Ratticus - i am going to a lot of those places and can keep you informed on what they are like

Some of the things I want to see/do when I'm over in SE Asia again is:
Cambodia - Siem Reap and all the temples including some of the more out of the way ones, Kep for fresh crab yumyum, Kampot
Vietnam - Phu Quoc Island, boat cruise around Ha Long Bay, trekking in Sapa or Ba Be Lake (not sure whichprobably sapa), the Perfume Pagoda, Mui Ne, Hoi An.

Re: Laos - i spent most of my time in Vang Vieng. I went in the off season, but I believe if yu go in high season it is inundated with drunken disrespectful young foreigners. It is an absolutely beautiful place though and i LOVED being there. I'm not sure whether your time frame is high season or not - Madz will know... Paging Madz!!!
You could definitely skip Vientiane imo... But not Luang Prabang.

Cheers becy, sounds good

Yeah definately dont go out of your way for Vientiane, it's very boring if you ask me.

Cool, will be good to hear some reports on Burma.

My friend has just settled in Delhi to live and work. I think Im going to have to include India in my trip

re: VV. Go between March and October. Highh season tends to be the "summer" break. or any uni break. So avoid at all costs. Mick and I have visited in August, October and November, and November was "the worst" in terms of falangy backpackers around.

Vientiane is ok - its a city with a lot of expats & NGO headquarters. But it has cheese. MMMMM. some of the architecture is gorgeous, really french vibe. But unfortunately its an in-and-out kinda place.

But Vientiane has the greatest building ever - the Beer Laos factory!!!!!!

Free Beer Tour!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mickstah

But Vientiane has the greatest building ever - the Beer Laos factory!!!!!!

really? I seemed to have missed that!! Will have to stop and have a look on the way to Pakse.

It's on the way to the Friendship bridge to Nong Khai.

ahhh I must have gone past it! I went from Udon Thani to Vientiane via Nong Khai I think.

Yeah you would have passed it for sure then!
Lots of massive stacks of those famous yellow crates.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mickstah

But Vientiane has the greatest building ever - the Beer Laos factory!!!!!!

I cant think of any other reason to go to Vientiane.......... apart from the free beer ,

Quote:

Originally Posted by First Strike

I cant think of any other reason to go to Vientiane.......... apart from the free beer ,

FREE BEER!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by First Strike

I cant think of any other reason to go to Vientiane.......... apart from the free beer ,

CHEESE

and the croissants!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by becy

And anyway, Chiang Mai is a fabulous place and definitely worth a visit.

Absolutly..

Just got back from a Thailand/Malaysia adventure, and i gotta say - Chiang Mai was the best place ive visited.

Really cheap accommodation (*we stayed at he Chiang Mai Plaza hotel for roughly $50 a nite), the nite Markets are awesome (although he quality isnt the same as bangkok or Kl), and the tours are awesome there.

Can def recommend Chiang mai

Did you hit up the Sunday Walking Markets?

Far far far far better than the night markets/night bazaar.

booked flights to KL & Penang this morning. saved about $500 due to air asia promo sale, starting up a second flight from Perth to KL later in the year

booking system was mega frustrating though. going around in circles, declining my credit card even though I knew there was enough $$ on there. thought i would miss out on the deals until I finally decided to try the mobile site. payment went straight through.

Becy, Mick and I are *hopefully* doing a jaunt in Burma in June - all dependent on Visa crap at the moment.

i might be in Burma in June too!
Im on Ko Samui right now. Nice place so far.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mickstah

Did you hit up the Sunday Walking Markets?

Far far far far better than the night markets/night bazaar.

Oh man, the Sunday Walking Markets are by far the best markets I've been to while travelling ever.

There's so much handcrafted stuff, which is sooo much better than all the stupid tourist crap you see at most other markets.

bambi - have you been to the Luang Prabang Night Markets? They're on most nights afaik, and are beautiful. Nothing on the size and scope of the Chiang Mai ones, but really lovely <3

I just put up my Laos tubing photos and it made me want to go back there.

I loved that place sooo much.

<3 i can't wait to get back there. This time we're hopefully going to do the Plain of Jars (Xieng Khuang Province)


and the Four Thousand Islands


oh and Muang Ngoi too




Such a beautiful, amazing, romantic country <3

I only did Vang Vieng last time, but given I'm planning on going for about 2 months (with FMP for NYE in between) I'm sure I'll have enough time to check out the rest of the country.

When are you heading back?

we head back on 3rd May to Chiang Mai (after Joe and Wanz' wedding)

:Jealous fase:

^_^

eggcitement levels at an alltime high!

will see you at the wedding, yes?

yus!

I'll just sneak into your bag afterwards

Trying to book flights to Thailand in December. AirAsia is giving me the willies. Work you POS!

Plans are, Chang Mai, Bkk, full moon party in Koh Samui and Phuket. I feel dirty riding such a tourist trail but some cattle class overnight trains and couch surfing will make me feel better

Quote:

Originally Posted by M_adz

we head back on 3rd May to Chiang Mai (after Joe and Wanz' wedding)

I arrive in Chiang Mai on the 3rd too. Can't wait!! Havent been before

oh that's tomorrow...
I'm so excited to see you guys, Madz!

duvdev, if you want to meet up for a drink, pm me
where are you staying?

Can you guys (Duvdev, Becy and M-adz) recommend things to do over 3 or 4 days in Chiang Mai??

Yep...

The main tourist things that people do here are:
1. Cookery class - lots of fun, I recommend
2. Visiting tiger kingdom - expensive by Thai standards, about $AUD40 iirc, you go and pat tigers. I, of course, liked this
3. Going trekking. BE CAREFUL! Level 5 treks are FUCKING HARDCORE! lol. If you're super fit it doesn't matter, but trekking is great, a great way to visit the hill tribe villages and see how they live, learn about culture. You also get to do things like white water rafting and elephant ride.
4. Visit the elephant sanctuary and take care of the elephants including wash them. Madz did this, she can describe more...
5. Eating and drinking - food is excellent here and there are hundreds of cafes and bars to try. For breakfast try Nice Kitchen on Moon Muang Soi 6.
6. Shopping - the Saturday and Sunday walking street market in the Old City is fab. Went there last night. Best street food!!! The usual Night Bazaar up near Thapae Road is a bit more touristy and expensive, imo. The Chinese Markets up at the end of Chang Moi Road just before the river are awesome. Extremely busy, very noisy, lots of pungent smells etc - check out the fresh flower and fruit section for some gorgeous smells. The Somphet Market is worth a good look, it's where people buy their fruit and veg and meats and what not.
7. River cruise. You can go on a river cruise on the River Ping. We did one via the Riverside Restaurant (which is worth a visit, has live bands and lovely atmosphere) where we ordered our meal then ate it on the boat as we went up and down.
8. Clubs and bars. Avoid "Spicy's". The North Gate Jazz Co-op is good and so is the Warm Up Bar near or on Nimmenhaemen Road. The St Germain De pres near Moonmuang Road plays kinda tech house stuff and serves huge vodka slushies for a tiny price. Roots, rock and reggae is around the corner and has live reggae bands. Their version of Pink floyd's Wish You Were Here is... interesting... ha ha . There's another jazz place I am trying to chivvy my mates into going with me called The Birds Nest on Arak Soi 3. Pretty small, but looks the goods. There's a place called the THC Bar which is ummm on the Kotchasarn Road. Kinda kooky. Psychedelic paint, great view over the square where the walking market is on Saturday. Comfy rattan squares and cushions to sit on whilst you see to a mojito bucket. There's also a place on Tha Pae Road, but I can't remmeber the name of it now :-( It is a modern place and has a number of rooms which are all decorated completely differently in themes. Cool...
9. Restaurants. Avoid Mike's Burgers! Stay native. The Lemon Tree Restaurant on ummm Ratvithi Road Soi 2 has the best food I've had here and the most gorgeous ambience. For breakfasts or for vegetarian, go the Blue Diamond Cafe on MoonMuang Soi 9. The Riverside Restaurant which I already mentioned also has great food, and Chateau Neuf du Pape by the glass!!! ALthough be warned... their idea of a daiquiri is not ours Don't forget to eat Khao Soi here. It is a northern style noodle soup dish. There's a place called Nothing But Khao Soi, i might head there for lunch today in fact. It's in LP. But you can also get a tasty bowl of it very cheaply in the covered Chinese Market.
10. To Stay. I'm at CM Blue House on Moonmuang Soi 6. Cannot recommend this place highly enough. Your House 3 is also very comfortable.
11. 7-11's sell beer! Wewt. But not during some hours, between lunch time and 4pm I think, or something, i can never remember. Go the Beer Leo. About $1.30 for a long neck.
12. Visit the temples - Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon. They are a little way out of town, but you can arrange with your guest house to get a tuktuk to take you. In fact you can arrange all your tours with your guest house.
13. When you need something electronic or modern or if you want a shopping centre/supermarket, try Central Airport Plaza or Panthip Plaza (for electronics).
14. Wander around and explore. Chiang Mai, esp. the old town is wonderful for rambling.
15. Chiang Rai, Pai are all relatively close by and worth visiting but I have not yet seen them - Madz has, she can discuss :-)

I love it here! Could live year round for sure

oh one more thing, avoid Loi Kroh Road imo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by becy

Yep...

The main tourist things that people do here are:
1. Cookery class - lots of fun, I recommend
2. Visiting tiger kingdom - expensive by Thai standards, about $AUD40 iirc, you go and pat tigers. I, of course, liked this
3. Going trekking. BE CAREFUL! Level 5 treks are FUCKING HARDCORE! lol. If you're super fit it doesn't matter, but trekking is great, a great way to visit the hill tribe villages and see how they live, learn about culture. You also get to do things like white water rafting and elephant ride.
4. Visit the elephant sanctuary and take care of the elephants including wash them. Madz did this, she can describe more...
5. Eating and drinking - food is excellent here and there are hundreds of cafes and bars to try. For breakfast try Nice Kitchen on Moon Muang Soi 6.
6. Shopping - the Saturday and Sunday walking street market in the Old City is fab. Went there last night. Best street food!!! The usual Night Bazaar up near Thapae Road is a bit more touristy and expensive, imo. The Chinese Markets up at the end of Chang Moi Road just before the river are awesome. Extremely busy, very noisy, lots of pungent smells etc - check out the fresh flower and fruit section for some gorgeous smells. The Somphet Market is worth a good look, it's where people buy their fruit and veg and meats and what not.
7. River cruise. You can go on a river cruise on the River Ping. We did one via the Riverside Restaurant (which is worth a visit, has live bands and lovely atmosphere) where we ordered our meal then ate it on the boat as we went up and down.
8. Clubs and bars. Avoid "Spicy's". The North Gate Jazz Co-op is good and so is the Warm Up Bar near or on Nimmenhaemen Road. The St Germain De pres near Moonmuang Road plays kinda tech house stuff and serves huge vodka slushies for a tiny price. Roots, rock and reggae is around the corner and has live reggae bands. Their version of Pink floyd's Wish You Were Here is... interesting... ha ha . There's another jazz place I am trying to chivvy my mates into going with me called The Birds Nest on Arak Soi 3. Pretty small, but looks the goods. There's a place called the THC Bar which is ummm on the Kotchasarn Road. Kinda kooky. Psychedelic paint, great view over the square where the walking market is on Saturday. Comfy rattan squares and cushions to sit on whilst you see to a mojito bucket. There's also a place on Tha Pae Road, but I can't remmeber the name of it now :-( It is a modern place and has a number of rooms which are all decorated completely differently in themes. Cool...
9. Restaurants. Avoid Mike's Burgers! Stay native. The Lemon Tree Restaurant on ummm Ratvithi Road Soi 2 has the best food I've had here and the most gorgeous ambience. For breakfasts or for vegetarian, go the Blue Diamond Cafe on MoonMuang Soi 9. The Riverside Restaurant which I already mentioned also has great food, and Chateau Neuf du Pape by the glass!!! ALthough be warned... their idea of a daiquiri is not ours Don't forget to eat Khao Soi here. It is a northern style noodle soup dish. There's a place called Nothing But Khao Soi, i might head there for lunch today in fact. It's in LP. But you can also get a tasty bowl of it very cheaply in the covered Chinese Market.
10. To Stay. I'm at CM Blue House on Moonmuang Soi 6. Cannot recommend this place highly enough. Your House 3 is also very comfortable.
11. 7-11's sell beer! Wewt. But not during some hours, between lunch time and 4pm I think, or something, i can never remember. Go the Beer Leo. About $1.30 for a long neck.
12. Visit the temples - Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon. They are a little way out of town, but you can arrange with your guest house to get a tuktuk to take you. In fact you can arrange all your tours with your guest house.
13. When you need something electronic or modern or if you want a shopping centre/supermarket, try Central Airport Plaza or Panthip Plaza (for electronics).
14. Wander around and explore. Chiang Mai, esp. the old town is wonderful for rambling.
15. Chiang Rai, Pai are all relatively close by and worth visiting but I have not yet seen them - Madz has, she can discuss :-)

I love it here! Could live year round for sure

Wow! Thank you for writing up all of that!

Next question, how many days would it take to do it ALL? hahaha. Maybe I can convince the boy to stretch out our time there to a week

Quote:

Originally Posted by becy

Yep...

8. Clubs and bars. Avoid "Spicy's".

Plus it smells like URINE and full of hoookers . Music used to be good. There used to be a DnB club next to Beaches but the police closed it down cause there was too much drugs.

I do love Mikes burgers, Has it gone downhill since last year? Mind you I go every year to Chiangmai for the last 6 years and it had it's ups and down but there is nothing else open that late.

Sunday night markets and Tai pei Gate extremely rated. Check out the Zoo, Doi Suthepth.

Take the Night train from BK to Chiang Mai. 2nd class is fine but 1st class has privacy. Very safe with theives as carriage doors are locked and have guards all night doing rounds. Plus you get your bed made by them too. old school Service!!!

lol i just didnt enjoy the way the meat tastes in burgers made here

OK i'm off now, goign to Just Khao Soi restaurant then heading for the ancient foreigner cemetery to take some pics!

Harv3y... If you only there 3 days, don't go trekking. I'd say come on a weekend so u can see the walking markets though. The bars and restaurants are good for night time stuff

I might go to the zoo tomorrow, thx for the tip agvicsa.

planning a trip to thailand in aug! cannot wait!

awww i just remembered on my way back home now...

If you can meet a local, get them to take you to one of the barn-like all you can eat BBQ restaurants.
Totally awesome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by becy

oh that's tomorrow...
I'm so excited to see you guys, Madz!

duvdev, if you want to meet up for a drink, pm me
where are you staying?

Im staying at Nice Place 2.
Sending you my number now, ITM meetup in Chiang Mai!!

sweeeeet yes!
i'm only a few sois up from you actually! I know where nice place 2 is located
me = cm bluehouse

Jesus fucken Christ. Bit fucking mao khang today That turned into a longer night than I thought.
I hope you got home okay boyz. HOpe you had more luck in getting home than I did in trying to find the fucken roof top bar!!!

hey becy when are you leaving asia?

Shit Becy I could have told you where the roof top bar is.

THC rocks.
Thanks for showing us all the cool places Becy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by agvicsa

Shit Becy I could have told you where the roof top bar is.

i was just toooooo drunk ... lol
Next day when i was sober i found it without any trouble at all


worla - i'm here til2 5 june

duvdev - u r welcome
do u wanna come to bbq all you can eat tonight?

It's fucking awesome to be back! Feels like I never left! Although being this close to my favourite mugataw might kill me...



Sif not go to Spicy's just to see the sign above the entrance that says "NO LADYBOY!"

One thing I think everyone who is arriving to Chiang Mai for the first time should do is take a walk around the moat. It gives you a good chance to get your bearings of the old city, you get to see some really interesting sights, and it's just an awesome walk.

If you want a good burger avoid Mike's and go to the UN instead, cheaper, bigger, tastier and comes with chips as well (if you want some comfort food).

Seriously recommend Pai to anyone who has the time to afford. So lazy and laid back with a nice arty vibe to it. Lots of great thatched bungalows to stay at by the riverside. Thai people love to come here for holidays, so you know it is good!

One sweet place that Becy left out to drink at is Chiang Mai bar - it really starts to kick off after 1am and it is more of a local haunt so not as many tourists than say around the Roots Rock/Zoe/Babylon etc.. area.

Oh and don't feed the elephants that come to the bars. It only encourages the practice further.

booked and payed the deposit for flights and accom today for thailand. departing melbourne on the 18th. first stop koh sumui/kohpangnan for the full moon!

18 nights, return airfares, plus all connecting flights in thailand $3,800. staying at pretty decent places too.

Holy shit! Are you staying at the most expensive places possible or something?