Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai

Advantages: Pollution free, Less poverty, friendlier people and better food
Disadvantages: Its a long old journey from Bangkok, will you have enough time

...My fiend and I went to Chiang Mai in March 2002. We had spent our first 3 days in Thailand, in Bangkok. We took the overnight train to Chiang Mai arriving early morning. The train journey however is a pleasant one, comfortable, air conditioned and waiter service. The young waiters will make sure you never run out of beer! Allthough I liked Bangkok, first impressions of Chiang Mai were being able to breathe fresh air! Also how much more modern it looked and there is a distinctly lesser look of poverty here. Probably the most distinct feature of Chiang Mai is its very old moat that surrounds the inner city, it was just being cleaned for the first time in years while we were there. I think the road system in Chiang Mai is easy and efficient. Less traffic than Bangkok! Any city in the world can claim that! The main part of inner Chiang... Read review

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Advantages: Very very cheap once you are there, something you will never forget.
Disadvantages: The price of the original flight

...In August this year I travelled to Northern Thailand for a 2 week trekking adventure. Like many others, what I realy wanted to do was find a beach like Leo Caprio did in the film by the same title but as we were travelling in the monsoon season, we were advised to go north. That worked out to be the best bit of advice that anyone has given me when it comes to travelling. We began our journey by catching a night train from Bangkok up to Chiang Mai. The night train cost me the equivelent of £8.00 GBP and it took 12 hours. This alone was quite an experience! Once in Chiang Mai, we went to find out what treks were available and how long we could do a trek for. We eventually settled on a trek that was organised by the Chiang Mai Guest House and we were informaed that our guide for the duration would be a guy called Cimi, who in my opinion... Read review

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Advantages: The trekking is the main attraction although Doi Suthep and the shopping are both appealing
Disadvantages: More relaxed and less polluted than the Bangkok but still suffers from an abundance of touts and pollution

.... The last day of our trek involved the exciting (in places) and enjoyable pursuit of bamboo rafting. The excitement was provided by the small rapids that the six man crafts had to negotiate and that tranquil beauty of the valley we traveled down added greatly to the enjoyment. On reaching our pick-up point we had a final lunch before heading back to Chiang Mai weary and satisfied. All in all trekking was a great experience, in no small part to the quality of our guide, and at only 1800 baht (30 quid) it is an inexpensive way to see magnificent jungle scenery, experience a night in a hill tribe village and go elephant riding and bamboo rafting. In addition to this all the food is traditional Thai fare and excellent. Admittedly several aspects of the trek had a distinctly packaged feel but there were far more pros than cons and the massive... Read review

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