What is Chiang Mai like

Been there about 5 years ago, but if I remember right, everything is spread out and very provincial. The saunas were quite good at the time, but if you go out of season the places can be empty.

Has it changed. From lookin at websites, it looks as if there are few more upmarket places. Thoughts and ideas.

Chiang mai is a very nice place, a good time to go is during the water festival. It gets very very hot there so people really get into festivities and throw water over you your car etc.

I found hotels a bit difficult, there don't seem to be very many special boutique style hotels in the city itself,at least the ones we looked at were horrible to say the least. We ended up staying at a hotel a little way out of town, it was great fun some sort of old colonial sport club, Olympic size pool to boot, many policemen and strapping types on Holiday there, working out and being friendly. Accommodation is very good only 2 floors and the grounds are enormous, it doubles as a farm so has acres and acres of fruit trees bamboo etc. The buildings are all in a nice teak wood. Very gay friendly as we discovered.

We asked the receptionist to organize a massage, and 2 of the most startlingly attractive boys arrived on a motor bike. We used 2 rooms for the occasion as there were a few vacant, anyway much to my surprise ,mine stripped completely and sprang on top of me. It was hardly the type of massage I was expecting after a long drive from Bangkok, but after I explained he did a very good job deciding to stay nude as it was very hot and I don't use air-con. I liked Chiang mai a lot it has a lot going for it.There are also some fantastic drives around the hills in the area well worth exploring,even in a bus I should think.

[GayThailand]

Let me suggest PJ's Guest House to you. It is an amazing place, the owners are fantastic and the rooms are very well maintained. The breakfast was excellent. The owners are gay and give great advice on where to go, what time is best and can help you make all the arrangements.

[IEB2004-old]

Cedric,

What was the name of that hotel you stayed in outside Chiang Mai? Was it by any chance the Imperial?

"What is Chiang Mai like "
Like Chaing Mai i suppose :compress:

[Dboy]

The main thing I like about Chiang Mai is that there's so much to do in the area. CM itself can get a bit boring after a few days if you're an ADD city boy like myself. CM is a great place to use as a base to go exploring from. There are alot of tours that run from CM, and its a great way to see alot of things quickly. I guess it really depends on what you like to do. I've not found a good place in CM to meet guys...except the mall (by the airport). I was completely un-impressed with Adam's Apple. I also didn't have much luck at the Peak bars..there are guys there, but what can I say, I'm picky. Simon Caberet was alot of fun though, every bit as good as something you'd see in New York. If you go to Simon, be sure to take a camera so you can get some pictures of yourself with the cast of the show. They go out front after the show to meet the guests.

Dboy

IEB2004 it was the "Chiang mai sports Club" seems to double as a military/police resort. This sounds a bit impersonal and large but its not it has 45 rooms and a couple of rows of 2 story suites. The suites are good value out of season, including breakfast around 6500B for a double.Rooms are about 2500B.
I liked the whole feeling of the place, it felt exciting (immaculate men doing their stuff) like you are staying not so much in a hotel but more of a private compound,hectares to roam, fab gardens. They also have squash courts, badminton ,grass and hard tennis courts, fitness ,sauna and a pucker gymnasium. The whole thing is about 11hectares. Food, kitchen ,bar etc very good, proper Thai food and western if you want.

Its along the Thanon Mae Rim, It might have been called the Imperial before, I know it changed its name sometime.Its not that far from town couple of Kilometres. The thing about the other hotels guest houses etc is that they are bordering on slumming it style. Pools not very well kept dirty, tacky etc. There is also the Regent Chiang Mai resort US360 a night, spa etc but that is truly for the sedate crumblies or honey mooners,while it is very pretty, a bit sterile in comparison, well protected from real Thais and the world out there.