Returning to Chiang Mai after 6 years

Hello everybody! I am new to this website and forum.

I am a falang, but I also speak some Thai. I lived and worked in Chiang Mai back in the early 2000's. My last stay there ended in January of 2005. I had a Thai Yai companion that I met at Adams Apple in 2001, but he is married and has a family now!

Over the years I saw some bars come and go. But I don't know what is there now. I will be honest, and admit that I am interested in visiting bars with gogo dancers and escorting. When I left there in 2005, Adams Apple was closed, but I hear its open again. Is this true? In 2005, there was a bar called My Way as well. I prefer the more laid back style of Chiang Mai to the jumpy style of Bangkok.

Any advice, reviews, etc would be great. Thanks!

[Dboy]

One of the biggest things you will notice is the traffic! CM is not quite as mellow as it used to be, although it's still very nice.

Dboy

[chillnorth]

Welcome back, Gwindor. You'll also notice the preponderance of billboards on the superhighway, actual taxis, and cosmetic changes around the Night Bazaar. You might not get far enough out to see the new housing springing up. Chiang Mai is modernizing, but it's still Chiang Mai. Even the Montri Hotel has had a facelift.

Adam has reopened, Circle still seems to pack them in, and My Way is now called New My Way. A place called Free Guy opened up and had some good shows reported recently. Doi Boy finally gave up and the once legendary Coffee Boy was on life-support for a while before expiring. All of the foregoing is second-hand but recent information from friends, though I do stop in at New My Way now and then. The bars at the Peak are completely gone and the area is a construction site. The bars that used to edge the Night Bazaar relocated behind the D2 Hotel, but that happened while you were here, I believe.

[Beachlover]

Are there any good places to meet ordinary Thai boys? Not commercial moneyboys? I've heard there's a club/disco but heard it's only busy on Saturday nights. Where else do they hang out?

[DamienZ]

Bubbles..in back of Night Bazaar, down the soi from Anusarin night market.

[Bob]

Bubbles..in back of Night Bazaar, down the soi from Anusarin night market.

Bubbles was the disco in the basement of the Porn Ping Hotel on Charoen Pratet (the Galare Food Center is between the night market street of Chang Klan and the Porn Ping - whereas Anusarn Market is a couple of blocks south of there). Bubbles is closed and has been for a year or more.

Some people say they have some opportunity to pick up non-money boys at Mandalay (a disco on Moon Muang about 4-5 blocks due south of Taepae Gate) whereas others like to go to the places on the west side (such as Warm Up) where a lot of the college students hang out. Hell if I know, I don't go looking and can't stand the discos.

[llz]

These links could help you find some more information
http://www.radchada.com/index.html
http://www.chiangmaichimes.com/gay-guide-chiang-mai-nightlife.html

[pong]

IMHO the following www have the best actual listing-info for Thailand:
dragoncastle (is joint now with thailandscene.com- which used to be the best uptodate)
tmmsociety.NET (not .com)- its in thai-but scroll down till bottom and youll find links to all known current massage and gogo/bar places. For BKK it is quite uptodate whithin a few days of new places opening, but for CNX I dont know-have not been there for at least 3 years now.
From what I recall in those very same houses where gogo (nah, yah, this is the cool rose of the north-do not expect any BKK -raunchery) bars were there still are, but in a different name.
Also check the blogspot of mr. mack-shamelessmack.blogspot and set for CNX-though I think this also dates from at least 1 year ago by now.
As CNX houses a giant uni-and a few smaller ones too-those are the obvious places to go looking for unpaid connections. As with anything youthful and osotrendy-disco's etc will change by the whim of the day-thats impossible to keep up. There always used to be park beyond the uni (beyond=toward Doi Suthep if coming from centre) which was said to function moreorless sameway as noncommercial-anonymous contacts in some wetern cities might be made.

Thanks to everyone for the information!

The traffic in Chiang Mai was already pretty awful back in 2004-2005!

From the radchada website map, it looks like the area north of Chang Peuak has really developed as an area with gay clubs and bars.

I'll be curious to check out the new places. Chiang Mai has a lot to offer, even without the gay scene. I've missed the place a lot, and I can't wait to get back!

[Bob]

Thanks to everyone for the information!

The traffic in Chiang Mai was already pretty awful back in 2004-2005!

From the radchada website map, it looks like the area north of Chang Peuak has really developed as an area with gay clubs and bars.

I'll be curious to check out the new places. Chiang Mai has a lot to offer, even without the gay scene. I've missed the place a lot, and I can't wait to get back!

Traffic really isn't that bad....although it's a bit thick around 8 in the morning and then again from about 3:30PM to 6PM.

Actually, most of the bars around Chang Phuak were around back when you were here in 2004. Since then, the biggest changes I've seen is that Coffee Boy is no more, Lavender Lanna (next to Chiangmai Ram Hospital) opened about 2 years ago, and the peak bars closed one year ago.

Welcome back to the Lanna Kingdom.