New Bar in Chiang Mai

Khun Mai has taken over the Orion Bar in the Night Bazaar.
It is a very friendly bar, and as the trend is in Chiang Mai, not exclusively gay but friendly to everyone. There is a pool table, plenty of games, the staff is very willing to play with you.
Good drinks at very reasonable prices.
Open till very late.
Frequently, some boys of the gogo-bars come to relax when their bar is closed.
Really worth a visit if you want to spend a good relaxed evening ![attachment=0:mrvl4nmg]Orion card (1).JPG[/attachment:mrvl4nmg]

Will second that! Orion Bar is definitely a fun place to go that's gay friendly with a mixed client├иle. The inclusion of younger tourists in the mix gives this place some life that's been missing in Chiang Mai!

More here: Chiang Mai Gay News - Orion Bar

I like the sound and looks of this place already. Maybe even worth a trip to Chiang Mai to check it out. If I went only to go to Orion Bar, what would be the best place to stay in the area?

Unrelated observation:

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Originally Posted by lukylok

It is a very friendly bar...

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You often read about "friendly staff", but what is the opposite, are there any bars with unfriendly staff or unfriendly atmosphere?
The recent events in Double Shot answer my question!

I am not the good person to suggest an hotel near Kalae Night Bazaar but there are plenty. Maybe Bontong ?
You should not be afraid of distances. Places of interest are scattered about in CM. If you don't want to rent a motosay or a bike, there are plenty of tuk-tuks and song thaews and their prices are not those of Phuket. Or your boy du jour most probably has a motosay and will be delighted to show you around, and even places you haven't heard of. :)

Thanks lukylok. This is the kind of place that could rekindle my interest in making a visit to Chiang Mai. T.D.

@ Thai Dyed: Orion is located in tourist central area so you are spoilt for choice with hotels. However, there are no specifically gay places here; nearest would be Club One Seven but that's still a couple of km South. All the other "gay" accommodation is in Chang Phuek on the opposite side of town.

Your options really boil down to budget. There are several good 4/5 star hotels within walking distance of Orion where you can often get excellent rates in low season. e.g. D2, Le meridien, Shangrila, Anatara (fromerly the Chedi) to name a few - there are also several resort style places within walking distance too. At a lower budget there are the older night bazaar concrete block hotels, Porn Ping or Lanna are the closest, also Suriwongse, Duantarwarn or imperial Maeping. However, some of these are long in the tooth, if not past there sell by date. Then there are loads of smaller places, ranging from real cheap guesthouses to small boutique style places.

But, as Lukylok stated, don't be afraid of moving around. There is much more going on in the North western parts of town - Nimmanahaeminda/Chang puek - not just gay, but many good clubs, restaurants and bars here too. Mixed places popular with gays and a younger crowd. You can get from there to Orion easily by Tuk-Tuk or Songtheaw

@ Bon Tong,
Thank you for your very helpful reply. One of the comments in the original post that appealed to me was that Orion is not specifically a gay place, and therefore one of the nearby hotels which as you say are not specifically gay might be perfect for me. A mid-range type of accommodation would be ideal and it appears from your comment that I will have no problem finding such a place in the area.

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Originally Posted by Thai Dyed

I like the sound and looks of this place already. Maybe even worth a trip to Chiang Mai to check it out. If I went only to go to Orion Bar, what would be the best place to stay in the area?

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I don't like the sound of it at all. Worth a trip in the opposite direction- maybe to Pattaya even.

Another catch-all place with pinkyred-skinny women from Farangland fag-hagging around with their gay queen friends.

No thanks.