Chaing Mai visit

[thrillbill]

I always appreciate some of the viewers' impressions of their visits to places in Thailand, so I will give a couple "tidbits" to the cause...
Chaing Mai-- Though I have lived/worked in Thailand for 7 years, it had been 10 years since I visited the place and at the time it was only for a few days and (I was with my straight friends).
This time I was with my Thai bf and had a week to spend in CM. Since we wanted to walk around and be able to take in the historical sights, temples, boutique restaurants and bars, we wanted to stay in a "gay" hotel close to the city center. We decided to stay at the Lavender Lanna Hotel which is walking distance to Central shopping center and behind it is the well known House of Male sauna. For a 3 star hotel, it wasn't bad (about 1200 baht per night including breakfast). After reading some reviews, I was wise enough to ask for a "quiet room" so our room was located away from the main street and NOT above the "Powerboy Go Go Club". (NOTE: Whenever I enter the room in these older, neglected hotels,before I unpack I check to see the the AC, hotwater, and TV are working. I discovered that the hotwater heater wasn't working so the clerk gave us a different room.) We were able to walk around inside the old city and then take a tuk-tuk back. We discovered that the red "baht bus" was cheaper than the tuk-tuks that were always asking for 100 baht for even a short distance. (I should have known since this is the case in BKK)

We went to "New My Way" club to see the show (starts after 10:30 - 200 baht for a drink. The show lasted over 90 minutes and had a variety of acts: lip sync; ladyboys doing dance numbers; and guys showing off their cocks in different skits. My Thai bf thought it was "good" but I found the acts "same same" and boring. But I am sure the new visitor to Thailand would be "wowed" by the show. What bothered me about the boys in the show (compared to the ones in BKK or even in Pattaya) -- they didn't seem to enjoy the entertainment they were doing... It wasn't a face of boredom but their somber faces seemed to indicate they were embarassed in what they were doing. (Who knows, if they were Shan (from the hills of Burma), then maybe they didn't have a choice...???)

Next, House of Male--- I found the place relaxing and clean - but on a small scale. The old Lanna wooden house where the small dark rooms are and the upstairs terrace add to the uniqueness of the place. The locals there a bit on the "shy side" but the older ones (which I prefer) were more open to get to know "outsiders".


The last three night we booked a superior room at the new Club One Seven guesthouse/sauna,located on the Ping River south of the city. Club One Seven (partly owned by the Club One Seven group in Singapore who also has a gay hotel in Phuket). The 100+yr. old teak wood Lanna house has been revamped into a 12? room guest house. A couple new additions (done in Lanna syle) have been added on which is the sauna, steam room,showers and private cubicles to "relax" in. The gay sauna sextion is larger than House of Male. Also there is a small garden pool to dip in along with a small fitness room and bar. My Thai bf and I are on the muscular side and it seemed that the young locals who visited the place were more "sticky rice" and a bit too shy to make any encounters. The scene is definately NO Babylon. For a place to stay, I liked the Club One Seven guest house for a few days of relaxing and having everything there at your door step.We'll stay there again.To get to the venues in the city, it is about 100 baht by tuk-tuk from the place on the edge of the city.

[lukylok]

To complement the above poster, I also spent 6 days in CM earlier this month. I stayed at PJ's place which is ideally situated. The house itself is in a lovely garden, full of fountains. Peter and Jiab are the owners, and Jiab fetched me at the airport. (It's all included if you stay three days).The room is good sized and has all the amenities wanted including free wifi. The breakfast is very nice and there is always two places laid, in case you have company.
I had previously been in CM and done all the wats and temples which are all very interesting but three times is enough. I wanted to do some shopping and Jiab very kindly drove me to all the best places, as much as I wanted.
The first night, after a very good meal at Spirit, I went to Adam's Apple. I was early and the bar downstairs was closed that day, but I was made welcome in a very friendly manner. The show is was you can expect but with a lot of nudity and some f.... live. Not that much to envy to BBB in Bkk. I met there a very nice young man and as we were both happy together, he stayed with me the six days.
So we didn't see any other gogo, but enjoyed thai boxing twice and the bars in night market. We went to see the elephants, bamboo rafting, the tigers, and also
the old city of Wiang Kum Kan recently discovered.
My friend had of course a motorbike, very old, which suited me fine, as it didn't go fast, but it was easy to go places.
CM interest points are fairly far apart, and I think if - rather when- I go back, I think I'll hire a bike myself. The traffic is quite manageable even for me.
We had several evening meals at restaurants on the ping river, and another at a place called Satahip ? ( not sure of the spelling)
which is in an old wood house and the food delicious.
Chiang Mai is really the rose of the North !

[bao-bao]

Chiang Mai is indeed a delight, despite the sometimes horrible air quality - and PJ's Place is without a doubt (in my opinion) a great place to stay. At the risk of boring some of the regulars by repeating the link you can find a review and photos of it here:
http://khunbaobao.blogspot.com/2010/04/accommodations-part-3-pjs-place.html

[Khor tose]

Chiang Mai is indeed a delight, despite the sometimes horrible air quality - and PJ's Place is without a doubt (in my opinion) a great place to stay. At the risk of boring some of the regulars by repeating the link you can find a review and photos of it here:
http://khunbaobao.blogspot.com/2010/04/accommodations-part-3-pjs-place.html

Club one seven is a very nice place to stay, but for the best hosts in Chiang Mai, who are dedicated to seeing you have a good time, there is no place like PJs. The only draw back to Pjs is that they have so much repeat business that you often have to book way ahead.

[jolyjacktar]

Every time ive sent a reservation to PJs place ive always been out of luck always full and normaly 3 months ahead.
However i mainly stay at Lotus just by The Adams Apple and the staff and people there are so nice and always welcoming.
This time of the year i always get a good room deal, and the rooms are clean and with nice beds.
Ive never been to club oneseven but might take a look at it one day when im out in Sept. I f anyone is also out in sept between 13 -24 and would like to meet up for a drink please get in touch, i would enjoy meeting some of the Boards members.

[Beachlover]

the tuk-tuks that were always asking for 100 baht for even a short distance.
Are the tuk tuks doing their price fixing thing in Chiang Mai too?

Last time I was there was 3-4 years ago. I had no problem getting tuk tuks to take me as far as from one side of town to the other for as little as 60 baht. Plus, I thought they did a better feigned heart attack impersonation than the Bangkok and Phuket tuk tuk drivers during the haggling...