chiang mai & chiang dao (the journey)

travel mates:

• alex, joyce, stewart, ling, gary, lj & raymond

date of travel:

• 20th october 2007 to 24th october 2007

duration:

• 5 days 4 nights

route:

• chiang mai city -> chiang dao (tribal village) -> chiang dao (chiang dao nest) -> chiang mai city

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal review):

• raming lodge, 3.5* good location (near to night bazaar), nicely decorated and clean room and superb breakfast. should have gotten a 4* instead but was disappointed on the way they miss-handled my check-out. managed to get a good room rate through wotif.com, thumbs up to the agency, will be happy to book through them again.
• lisu village's hut, 5* nothing beats this tribal hut with basic facility, but perfect hosts and stunning view. imagine watching sun rise when you are having your morning cup of tea, what else can you ask for? for me, this is perfect!
• chiang dao nest, 4.5* friendly host and staff, clean room and very comfortable bed. hut is small and lovely with lots of greeneries around.
• baan nam ping, 4* owner is a very kind lady, who took the hassle of driving us to the town since it is a 30mins ride which could cost us a bomb if we decided to take 2 taxis. she is also very helpful in arranging budget transportation for our group of 6 persons. the breakfast that they served is of very high quality, can't forget the tasty ham and yummy mango juice. location is ideal for those seeking peacefulness (it is along river ping) but a bit far for those who want some night activities.

~ upon arrival ~

• take the licensed taxi to city, it costs 120baht per head

~ chiang mai city ~

• this is the ideal place should you need some serious retail therapy. shopping is great at chiang mai gate night market (only at weekend) but try to avoid night bazaar if possible. price quoted at night bazaar is exorbitantly high, which could still cost you a bomb even if you bargained hard. there are a few stalls at night bazaar that offers item/service at a decent price, but you just have to search harder for it. chiang mai gate market on the other hand is frequented by locals. the price quoted at this market is always affordable and you could bargain for another 10-20% the most. the other drawing factor is food stalls that offers a large variety of chiang mai food or snack. we have lots of fun tasting each and every of it, including the fried insect. to shuttle around night bazaar and chiang mai gate night market, fare is 15baht per person using the red songthaew. chiang mai is filled with lots of massage establishments and one of the recommended one is "just relax", which is located at the same building as mcdonald, along night bazaar. joyce was satisfied with the foot massage but gary wanted a more aggresive type, so he rated it as average.

~ chiang dao ~

• chiang dao is 1.5hrs from chiang mai city and we were heading there for a 2 days trekking. we started around 11am on the first day at chiang dao nest, took a 45mins ride to reach our starting point, a village. from there, we went for a caving trip then back to the same village again for lunch, before stretching out further to the waterfall and finally reaching lisu village at 7pm, the place where we stayed overnight. the village faces a very nice valley and mountain view and the valley was misty during night and early morning.
• second day started with the spectacular sunrise, followed by a sumptuous breakfast, and gift distribution for the childrens. we headed to a small village for a simple blessing ceremony by the shearman at 9am. after that it was a 2hours trek to another cave, which is big enough for you to walk without the need to bend your knees. we then had our lunch before visiting another tribal village, "karen village". most of the childrens were not around when we were there because they were helping out in the plantation. we managed to distribute some stationeries to the children and also requested a teacher to share the rest of it with those that we have missed out. after visiting the village, we had the toughest climb of the whole journey, a continuous up/down hill until we reached our pick-up point at 6pm. who was the happiest person when we reached the end point? ling, of cos.
• the trek is somewhat demanding to my opinion. you can do without the caving and waterfall. but a visit to the villages is a must. children at the village are innocent and they are often too shy to accept a gift from you. comparing to other places where the kids are basically begging you for money. it is the best testimony of what civilization is capable of bringing upon the community, "poison to the innocent mind". my advice when visiting this rural villages is to bring their need to them but not to "poison" them by offering them money.
• chiang dao tuesday day market is where locals pick-up their usual supplies, including the small resorts where we stayed. nothing fantastic but worth a short trip to see the life of the locals.