manneca

Thanks for your help. I'm going to Bangkok, Myanmar and then the Maldives in Jan-Mar. I just found out I can leave about a week earlier than I had thought. So, I'm trying to figure out what to do with that extra week in Thailand. (I've been to Bangkok three or four times, love the city, just never done anything outside of BKK). I've been to the other SE Asian countries and don't want to revisit them on this trip.

I love mountains and hiking (easy hiking), canoeing, kayaking, and eating (but not elephants). Chaing Mai looks interesting. I'm more interested in doing outdoor stuff than seeing yet another temple.

Are there places to stay in the national parks? Or near them? Or just mountain "resort" sort of places?

Do you have any suggestions? Again, thanks.

CrazyInteg

Why not stay a little longer in Burma?

manneca

I don't really want to stay longer in Burma. Besides, I bought the air to/from Burma before I knew I'd have longer to spend on this trip.

dsquared37

If you're amenable to renting a car there's a great loop out of CM to Pai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang and back to CM through Doi Inthanon NP.

Visually it's not as aesthetically pleasing as it would be at the tail end of rainy season but there's activities to be had in Pai and Doi Inthanon and it's an interesting area of Thailand culturally. It's also bound to be chilly in the evenings.

It's a combination of mountain and valley drives so you'd need to comfortable and confident driving in varied terrain - and driving in Thailand is offputting to many.

manneca

Thanks.

Is this a one day loop or are there places to stay?

I've driven in Malaysia and Georgia (the country not the state). I'd never drive in India. Where does the driving fall in relation to those countries?

dsquared37

It is a multi-day loop. You can stay in Pai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang and Mae Chaem. The former two towns have a fair bit to do, the latter is simply a staging area for Doi Inthanon

Driving is not necessarily safe. I've logged thousands of miles without problems but road safety is a big problem in Thailand. It would really depend upon your comfort level and driving ability.

I learned to drive in and around Manhattan plus an additional several hundred thousand miles in the mountains of Colorado - there's not much that concerns me on the road.

tide

Similar to Malaysia - like for like i.e. the non-metropolitan settings of Chiang Mai province would map to a similar locale in Malaysia.

Avoid driving at night (more drunk drivers), watch our for lane splitting motorbikes, plenty of 2 lane undivided roads so more defensive driving when oncoming traffic is aggressively overtaking in your lane, watch out for speeding buses and heavy vehicles and occasional slow farm vehicles.

Otherwise, driving is OK. Roads are generally good but a little mountainous . Drivers are generally not aggressive. Nostra GPS app possibly has the most POIs.

timster

The night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is fun to do once, in a first class cabin. Cheap, but needs to be booked ahead (can be done online through a number of travel agents IIRC). It's not first class as you would get in a western country, but a bit more interesting than flying (which you can do on the way back to BKK). You get 2 bunk beds and a basin, so fine for 1 or 2 pax. Toilet down the hall. Breakfast can be brought to your cabin. Takes slow course through the mountains in the morning, although you don't see much more than trees going past your window.

RustyC

You can also try to bargain down the "road tax." 'Tis said it's generally best to play the dumb foreigner and not argue too much or blow your top. Just don't expect police to be like they are in western countries.

RustyC

When they say air-con they really mean it, too. I did my train trips (1 CM and 2 Nong Khai/Laos) when it was the only affordable option besides the bus. Now the budget airlines have really upended things.

RustyC

I think the loop including places like Pai and the golden triangle itself is generally the right idea. The area used to have a certain exotic kind of appeal due to opium and hilltribes and that sort of thing, but the roads are better, the poppies are gone and the whole hilltribe thing has gotten more touristy because there are a lot more visitors these days and if CM starts getting non-stops from all over China then that could be all she wrote. Basically what was a "frontier" has gotten pushed back, so you'd have a better chance at a more authentic version of that experience in Burma or Laos. (Luang Prabang being more discovered these days but with potential treks or river trips closer).

You can still have a good trip to CM and surrounds and it's a lot more comfortable these days (can even fly from BKK to other spots and bypass CM), but it keeps getting tamed. Wat Doi Suthep really deserves a visit if you see only one wat.

eponymous_coward

I liked Sticky Falls when I visited. And I stayed here during my trip and saw fireflies at night. Liked both places (but might not be everyone's cup of tea).

Amelorn

The CM area does deliver what you're after, as previous posters have said. I found it a great place to recharge as well. I was coming off of a marathon of research work and intensive 10am-5:30pm on-my-feet walking around Bangkok all day for 3 days. You may or may not need a day to relax, sip an iced tea, select a mango-based dessert, and people watch.

Going into the bush around CM and the Golden Triangle do entail some extra travel medicine precautions that you may want to look into.

Dr. HFH

If you're from Memphis, you also need to factor in that you drive on the left side of the road in Thailand; and rental cars accordingly have the driver on the right. This may take some getting used to.