chiang mai -- Getting the Most Bang for your Buck.

My neighbour in Chiang Mai had some Australian visitors over last night for a BBQ, and invited me along. A brilliant evening unfolded. I really should be still in bed sleeping it off, but no, dear readers, I'm up early to tell you this cautionary tale ...

These two travelling couples in their late 50s/ early 60s have just spent a week or so in Tuscany. They started the evening off name-dropping Tuscany as often as possible and saying how f-ab-u-l-o-u-s everything was, darling.

And so it should have been. They paid AUD$10,000 to stay in a villa for the week. Ten thousand dollars, jing jing! 'Even then it wasn't that flash, it needed a coat of paint,' said Husband # 1, as he nursed a Singha beer, watching the light fade over Doi Suthep. 'And the bloody bread was nowhere near fresh,' grumbled Husband # 2 in retrospect, as we stood under the huge mango tree finishing off the BBQ cooking of huge pork steaks, beef sausages and chicken fillets fresh from Northern Farm store nearby.

By contrast, they are staying at the Rachamankha Hotel in old town Chiang Mai, a Relais & Chateux 5-star boutique property. It is costing them just around AUD$140 per night, breakfast included.

It is a magical property, evocatively decked out (click their website above for proof), with hot and cold running staff padding about to satisfy your whims.

Soon the stories started of what they'd been up to in just the day and a half since they'd arrived from Europe and lobbed into Chiang Mai. A visit to the Mae Taeng Elephant Park enjoying elephants in their natural mountain habitat. Dinner at Huen Phen for 6 people (including 8 bottles of beer) which had cost them about 800 baht (not even $30 all up, total for all 6). Then they'd spent the morning at the Hill Tribe Museum just outside town, before taking a table at the nearby lake where bamboo raft-house style restaurants serve the largest and yummiest prawns and river fish (my favourite is served with lemon and chilli). Oh, and Husband # 2 had 'fallen in love' with the waitress who turned out to be a katoey, much to his wife's amusement!

 Then here they were, enjoying a barbecue under a spectacular full moon. Our neighbour rigged up some khum loy lanterns for them to release, replete with strings of fireworks attached. So as these paper lanterns were filled and drifted off serenely into the Chiang Mai sky, they'd leave a shower of colourful sparks in their wake, like a meteor. It was truly magical ...

The slogan Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You came to life right there.

 By the end of the evening, all their time in Tuscany was long forgotten. All those dollars spent on renting that villa irretrievably blown. Never mind the value they were enjoying in Thailand, the sheer fun they were having here, eclipsed their European trip many times over.

When their taxi driver Mr Por arrived to pick them up, he joined us for a beer while waiting. And then off they went merrily into the night, not looking forward to having to leave Thailand today.

Oh, they'd used Mr Por all day (and it was now midnight) to drive them to all of these places. And that cost them only 1000 baht between the four of them. Surely nowhere, nowhere, can compete with Thailand for value.

Chiang Mai - Beyond the Brochure

The following is an edited extract of an interview with me (I know I'm schizophrenic sometimes but no I wasn't interviewing me, someone else was!) that appeared in Traveltalk, Australia's leading travel agent publication. I hope it sheds some light on my passion for northern Thailand ...

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Traveltalk Thailand correspondent, Stu Lloyd, has been travelling to Thailand since 1987 and had a house on Koh Samui for five years before settling in Chiang Mai. ‘If you hang around the pond long enough, you’re sure to fall in.’ He loves the cultural depth of Chiang Mai compared to the more one-dimensional beach destinations.

What has been your stand-out ‘tourism find’ in northern Thailand? 
Stu: That enchanting Chiang Mai is the gateway to so much else: the wonderful jungles of Chiang Rai and the irresistible evocative lure of the Golden Triangle just a few hours north, then the Greater Mekong Subregion (especially Laos, Cambodia and Yunnan) so easily accessible by plane, boat, elephant, motorbike … you can drive all the way to China now.

Everyone loves Thai food, but nothing comes close to eating this delectable cuisine in its country of origin. What tips can you offer someone keen to try the local delicacies?
Stu: Street food is good and cheap … pad Thai for 25 baht (less than $1). But for first timers, start somewhere ‘cleaner’ where they can adjust the spiciness to your liking. Huen Phen Restaurant (112 Ratchamanka Road) is regarded as the best northern Lanna food in town. Try soi khao (curry noodles), som tam (papaya salad), khao niao (sticky rice), naem and sai-ua spicy sausages, and khaao niao ma muang (mango rice dessert). You’ll be full for around $10, including a beer!

Thailand is also well-known for exceptional shopping. How does northern Thailand compare in this department, and where are the best shopping experiences to be had?
Stu: Northern Thailand is amazing value. For designer fashion in western sizes, you’re better off in Bangkok. But for sunglasses, shirts, jeans, artworks and hill-tribe handicrafts hit Night Bazaar (Chang Klang Road, nightly) or Sunday Walking Street (Rathchadamnoen Road and surrounds, weekly).

Where do you like to stay and why? 
Stu: At home in the Nimminheiman Road area. Stunning views of Doi Suthep sunsets, and hundreds of cafes, art galleries, restaurants, and nightclubs on my doorstep. Hotels: hard to beat the Mandarin Oriental Dara Dhevi for sheer epic romantic scale, and the Shangri-la’s lush inner city setting. Then there’s funky D2; and quaint Chedi. But the hidden gems are boutique resorts such as Ruen Raya Resort Residence in Mae Rim and the Field Village outside town.

 Is there a better time to visit?
Stu: Northerners celebrate with more gusto than elsewhere. So Songkhran  (Thai new year) water festival in April is craziness not to be missed. Bring plenty of spare clothes – or a raincoat – because tourists score extra points as targets for buckets of water and high-powered super-soakers.

What are one or two things that every visitor to northern Thailand should experience?
Stu: Peace and tranquility.

Nature-based tourism in this part of the world is simply awesome. Do you have a favourite nature experience?
Stu: 'Flight of the Gibbon' is a high adrenaline jungle canopy zip-wire experience that tourists rightly rave about and has been voted Thailand's Number 1 tourist attraction. But it now has a competitor called 'Jungle Flight' which I think is even better, jing jing! I know this because I was far more shit scared at Jungle Flight -- which you can tell by the way I was hugging the centuries-old teak trees so tightly in all the photos.

What is the best way to get around?
Stu: On a bright yellow BMW F650 GS motorbike, for sure! For tourists, song taew (red trucks) run set routes to just about anywhere for around 20 baht, or quintessential tuk tuk anywhere for less than 100 baht. Within the old city wall, walk it. It’s flat and you’ll appreciate the slow pace, the interesting sois (small side streets), and see more of the enchanting town.

Is there any health or security risks for travellers in northern Thailand?
Stu: Idiots that ride scooters and motorbikes without helmets! Otherwise, not really, unless you’re really far off the beaten track on the northwestern Thai-Burma border which is often disputed territory. In very remote areas, be vigilant about some of the Thai minorities and Burmese illegal immigrants who can be a little desperate, but I’ve never experienced anything other than the world famous warm Thai welcome.

Chiang Mai's Huen Phen: A touch of northern spice.

Northern Thailand has it's own distinctive brand of Thai cuisine, quite distinct from the southern and central parts. And Huen Phen is well regarded among local Thais as perhaps the best local restaurant for northern Lanna Thai food ...

Walk in via a beautifully lit stone walkway into a restaurant which is quite big, but all the diners are separated by Lanna wooden screens, creating cozy corners and privacy. Lush decoration of handicrafts and artifacts from this region set the tone for an upmarket local experience.

Huen Phen feels more like you've accidentally walked into an antique store.

Enjoy their extensive menu of local items, all of which they can do in low, medium or oh-my-good-someone-call-the-fire-brigade-and-maybe-the-proctologist-too spicy. Jing jing!

Suggestion: ask the waiter to bring a selection of plates, ie something with pork, chicken, fish, veggies to put in the middle. The hors d'oeuvres are stunningly presented too. It's all great! And when you get the bill, a pleasant surprise. Three of us ate our fill (with a large beer each) for 300 baht a head! That's about 10 bucks in your language.

My Favorite Dish: You've gotta try the Khao Soi noodle, a Chiang Mai speciality. Locals argue it's the best in town. Also have local spicy sausage and sticky rice with whatever you order for something different.

Phone: 053-814548
Address: 112 Rathchamanka Rd, Chiang Mai.