Chiang Mai

I am thinking of doing the 3 days/2 nights Doi Chiang Dao Trek has anyone participated in this trek? If so, what is the mongering like?

Easy Rider 2:

I have been in and out of Thailand for over 10 years. I took some courses before many years ago in bangkok. Then I bought the study books and tapes from Asia Book. I usually keep a small notebook with me when I don't know a vocab I write it down in Romantized sound and check with my lady friends or try to look up in the dictionary. There is a Romantized Thai dictionary. You can buy from Asia Book.

So I know quite a lot of vocab already from studying over 10 years mostly by myself with helps from girls. It really helps in picking up ladies. It makes them feel easier and be able to speak basic Thai can reach out a bigger lady market as well.

RCA,

Then you maybe can help me with a useful phrase I have forgot; "Do you want to go with me?"

Havana Moon,

Pai duai dai mai ?--lets fo together,ok?

In Asia Book stores, there are quite a few good phrase books and dictionaries. You shoud go check it out.

Hello friend,

Can anyone one give me some info as to where to get the best chick in town that comes with a good price.

I will be in Chiangmai on 25 Oct 04

freeman,

the best girls are to be found in the karaokes but this can often be expensive.

for good value and good quality girls i recommend the main bar-beer centre on loi kroh road, next to the star six go-go bar. officially this place is called the chiang mai entertainment complex but the tuk-tuk drivers call it the star-six bar beer centre. there are loads of good bars here, and the best ones for girls are at the back behind the boxing ring.

dante bar normally seems to have the best looking girls and often has about twenty girls working, although on some nights not as many. a few of the girls are university students and so don't go with customers. dante is definitely the best beer-bar in chiang mai.

there are many other good bars in this same centre and further down the same road (loi kroh) you will find a bunch more bars plus a few more rep001tered close by just across the moat.

there are a few go-gos in town such as spotlight, foxy lady, star six, stairway to heaven, they are all good but the girls tend to be in and out with customers a few times per night. plus in foxy lady many of the girls flirt a lot but don't go with customers, i've watched many guys storm out after buying the girls drinks all night long only to be given the "time of the month" excuse.

annoyingly everywhere shuts at midnight these days except for a few discos. the main disco is bubble, at the porn ping hotel, it is full of freelancers and bar-girls but is a pretty shit place to hang out, as it is also packed with cheesy tourists and the staff are infamous for short-changing customers and selling fake alcohol. after bubble closes at 2am girls still looking for customers go to an outdoor bar/restaurant called spicy this place stays open all night. all these places are easy to get to, and nowhere in the centre of town costs more than 40 baht in a tuk tuk.

pm me for any further information.

I am off to Chiang Mai next week with my new friend who is the Front Desk Manager at my Bangkok Hotel. Any suggestions on a nice hotel with a Spa? Are there any good nightclubs there? We'll be there for five days.

Playboy,

It depends on what you mean by nightclubs. There are several disco's in and around town, several impressive karaoke's, beer bars, and then there are a few really nice, and comparetively expensive bar/restaurants. The nicer ones are easily world class and might be a great place to impress your new friend. They are not pick-up bars and you generally won't be doing any socializing with others. They are elegant, quiet, romantic. If you need more info or want to clarify what you are looking for, you can PM me. I'd be happy to help and make a few recommendations and maybe even help with directions.

As to hotels with spa, I can't really help. There are two great boutique hotels in town but they are probably booked well in advance and I'm not sure about their facilities. One is Rachamankha, the other is Tamarind Village. Furhter out you might try the Inmperial Mae Ping or Belle Villa. Also, Baan Saen Doi. Oasis Spa is one of the nicer spa's and is close to some very nice hotels.

I'm sure you could Google these for more info.

T

Playboy.

The best hotel/resort is the Four Seasons but it is outside of town. Has an excellent spa though, apparently the best in the North of Thailand. There are several out of town retreats with spas if you want to escape from the centre.

The best centrally located hotels are The Sheraton (formely Westin) and the Duang Tawan, I don't know if they have spas or not. For a more Thai style hotel I recommend Tamarind Village (http://www.tamarindvillage.com) or Rachamankha (www.rachamankha.com) or, if you are on a budget, The Pagoda Inn is very nice. I recommend www.precisionreservations.com for hotel bookings.

There are plenty of spas all over town but I'm not sure which are in hotels, I'm not really a spa man. If you PM me for more details I can easily find out whatever you need to know. Always happy to help.

Good nightclubs- that depends on what you like, there are plenty here, Bubbles (which I hate) caters to Westerners, Nice Illusion and Hot Shots are a good-mix, but Thais enjoy Bossy, X-Zone, Legacy, Fashion House, Warm Up, Sixty One, etcetera etcetera.

Chiang Mai is a good place to take a girl, especially now that the early closing times are killing off the bar-scene. Still plenty of girly action for visitors but once you've lived here for a while you get bored of the same faces.

Anyone have any experience with the Montri Hotel? I understand that its close to the train station and the bars.

The Montri is near the bar scene, but not the train station, which is a fair ways away on the far side of the river. The Montri is in the old city, right near Tapae Gate, so it's easily accessable to pretty much everything. It's decent but not four-star, was a bit run down the last time I was in it, but also reasonably priced.

I stayed at the Montri. remember it as functional, nothing stands out, except the western-style diner attached to the corner which attracts a lot of travellers.

As Zop says, it is not close to the trains but is in the center of the action and was girl-friendly when I was there in '00.

Girlfriendly hotels?

Dear friends, I will visit CM for my first time in November 04.
After reading your reports in this thread, i have got a lot of valuable information.

But not so much information about the different hotels policy regarding bringing back girls to your room.

Please inform which hotels are guest friendly, or oposite.
And which ones demand joiner fee?

Gregbro.

I have found Rydges, Star Inn, Suriwongse, Royal Lanna, Chiang Mai Orchid and Sheraton to be girl friendly.

I do however always book a double room.

I've had joiner fee requests at Imperial Mae Ping and Royal Princess but not every night, I guess it depends on who is on duty. Often the fee was forgotten once I explained that I had booked a double room but on other occassions they were stubborn and I paid.

Occassionally when I have been asked for joiner fees from night-staff in hotels I tell them to add it to my bill. It has very rarely appeared on the bill so I suspect it was a scam and would have ended up in that employee's pocket.

It is easy enough to ask hotels about whether it is possible to bring in a guest, they rarely appear embarrassed or rude, especially if you are friendly and polite.

Tanks Coma Boy, nice info.

You or anybody else know the policy at Chiang Mai Plaza (Westin) or Tamarind.

And which hotel do you think is best value for money?