jtkauai

We will have 2 extra days in Chiangmai (4 total), and having been there before, were contemplating going to Ankor Wat, or Myanmar, etc., for even a brief visit. We have nothing special in mind, but thought it would be interesting and give us a opportunity to see however briefly another place outside of Thailand.

Does anyone have any experience and/or recommendations?

Much thanks.

mtacchi

Not outside Thailand, but if you want to go furhter north into the Golden Triangle, I recommend www.anatara.com

Check it out

Sandal

The best elephant camp is approx. 1 hr from Chiang Mai. If you stay in FS, they will prepare you lunch box to enjoy the trip plus many activities. Chiang Rai and Golden Triangle also worth a visit (2hr. by car). Anantara is one of the best in the Golden Triangle area. There are so much cultural and temple to see both in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, if you want to see.

For the eco-type, I recommend to go to Pai (also 2.5 hr form Chiang Mai). Still virgin both the way of life and the scenery especially from Oct-Jan. Many of the bangalow are by the creek. Price range from US$ 2 - 100 depend on the quality of what you want. Many hiking trips availble.

Get yourself a nice guidebook eg:Lonely Planet or ..... You'll find it 4 days in Chiang Mai is not enough.

Good luck

opushomes

For $5 U.S. (new bill only) you can visit Myanmar for the day. From Chiang Rai, go directly north for about 25 miles to Mai Sai. Drive is quick, bus runs frequently, samlor takes longer. Go to Thai immigration in Mai Sai and present passport to leave the country. Receive exit stamp. Go up the road and cross the bridge into Myanmar. It has been reported that they keep your passport for the day visit, but this may not be true. The certainly keep your $5 for a day pass and stamp your passport in and out as I found out at Victoria Point in the South. I have not been across this border crossing-stood at the northernmost point in Thailand and looked into the the town on the other side of the little river. It did not look overly interesting and not much different from the Thai side. Coming back, reverse the process. Be sure to get your new Thai entry stamp and 30 day visa upon return.

You might also consider a quick flight to Mae Hong Song. Beware, it is often fogged or smoked in and you may not get back. Airfare is cheap for the RT.

Personnally, I would echo the comments of the above poster. Go one-way from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai thru Fong. The main road further east is pretty boring. Fly back from Chiang Rai to Bangkok. I personally like the Dusit Island Resort in Chiang Rai, although there are certainly many less expensive choices and some more expensive ones.

jtkauai

Thanks very much for the help!

We will already have spent a number of days in and around Chiang Rai, and have also spent much time in Chiang Mai on 3 different trips.

We were thinking of renting a car and going northwest (Mae Hong Son), as it is supposed to be beautiful with blooming flowers (this will be late October).

Perhaps the idea of going into Myanmar or Laos isn't such a good one as nobody seems to have done that, and there certainly are cautions on doing so (especially to Myanmar).

Dianne47

You can fly to Luang Prabang in Laos from Chiang Mai, it's about one hour of flight on a Thai International ATR-72 turbo prop. The flights do not operate every day, you would have to see if your dates work. Lao Aviation also flies this route, but I recommend TG for safety reasons.

I went to LPQ early last November (as described above) and the weather was perfect. It was a wonderful experience seeing LPQ, a UNESCO World Heritage Site French colonial town.

Darren

Air Mandalay goes from Chiang Mai to Mandalay or Yangon. You can get the visa pretty easily over the internet in about two or three days. Overall painless procedure. If you go, bring mucho dollars. No ATMs or any other way to get hard currency and it is needed. MYR is expensive and others have said how worthwhile their visits were even though mine differed greatly. I will defer to them on this and just count myself in the minority. Again, Myanmar is pricy but easy. Easier than going to Laos from my recollection. I considered going to both but decided on MYR because of the hassle factor for Laos (I was in BKK and needed a visa quickly).

Sandal

Both Sukhothai (2hrs from Chiang Mai) or Luang Pra Bang (an hour fly from Chiang Mai) are also interesting. Both are in the same era and share the same passion to be explored. They also worth couple days to visit. Why don't you try ???

Good Luck

jtkauai

after all the suggestions and more investigation, we've decided to rent a car and spent a few days in and near mae hong son. we'd like to go to laos and will put that together with another trip soon, perhaps including vietnam. it was too expensive and complicated to do in the limited time we have this trip. myanmar doesn't feel comfortable due to the gov't issues, but sounds really interesting as well. but perhaps later. thanks again!

Sandal

Going to Mae Hong Son pass by Pai is the very nice scenery route. The road is quite tricky, don't drive at night. Leaving Chiang Mai in the morning, let's say about 9am, you'll be at Pai before noon. About an hour from Chiang Mai, before getting into the mountain, you'll see a nice log home selling coffee and fast food on your left handed side. It's the only nice house in the rice field. The coffee and sandwiches are so good. Stop by, you won't regret.

Good luck !!

Dianne47

For future readers of this thread, I will add the comment that visa on arrival is very simple for a visit to Laos. One needs a couple of passport-type pictures and the visa costs about US$25 (cash!). When you arrive you are processed in a fairly efficient way at the airport. It really is easy and no hassle.

Darren

Now that you mention, I believe that the only place for visa on arrival at the time was Vientaine but it appears that they have extended it. Thanks for the clarification. I wanted to go into Luang Prabang where it was not available so I had to get a standard visa.

pointsforthepeople

1st choice: fly to Luang Prabang, Laos. One of the quietest, most peaceful places in the region. Awesome food, friendly people. beautiful

2nd choice: rent motorbikes or cars and go around the chiang mai-mae sariang-mae hong son-pai-chiang mai loop. Incredible scenery, a unique part of Thailand.

Scandalous

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