[Frost]

Cool idea! I don't have as much basis for comparison as the more seasoned travelers around here, but I can vouch for CM as a fun city with a lot more to do than most people's impression of it might suggest. If you're training martial arts, and have some sort of business/project on the go, you'll never get bored.

I will second Rio that the place you're looking at is too far out of the city. Personally I would trade space for location, or just hunt down deals, and stay inside the city wall. Most of the better clubs are in the Northwest, while the two martial arts gyms mentioned in the thread (Teamquest and GT) are south and east of the walled city.

I'll likely have passed through by the time you gents arrive, but we might overlap by a few days. I'll follow this thread just in case.

[bface]

Can you send me your skype VP?

[bface]

bump...

[Vacancier Permanent]

Hey Frost, awesome site bro!
Btw, since you spent about a month in CM, post a nice data sheet on it man. That would be awesome!

Bface, I pmed you.
Who else is going to be in town in April/May?

[xmlenigma]

A very very weak MAYBE.. if I can make it out

[bface]

Quick update:
Booked my flights, I will be in Chiang Mai for 2 months after the FMP (March 8th). Now I need to get the visa...

Is anyone still interested in getting a guest house/villa or should we just meet up in CM?

[Vacancier Permanent]

I think we need to see who will actually show up, meet up in CM then once there we can take it from there with those who are actually on the ground, able to stick for at least 2 months and able to afford the cost (mind you not much if we're talking of sharing a villa/sick pad between 2-3 or even 4 guys a that would be around 3-400 tops per person.

[DirectDanger]

If you plan on staying in Chiang Mai learn to ride a motorbike!

I am sure you will hear everyone tell you how dangerous it is and blah blah blah....

It makes getting around a 100 times easier plus you get to explore places you never would have with out it. Try not to do stupid shit like get drunk and drive around just because you can probably get away with it.

Having a motorbike is key to happiness in Chiang Mai. You can do monthly rentals very easy.

[Frost]

I'm back in Chiang Mai from now until mid-March. If any of you get here early, drop me a PM.

I will definitely write up a datasheet on Chiang Mai towards the end of my 2nd month here. Also, hazy, half-remembered sheets on Laos and Cambodia are en route.

Moto is definitely key for CM living, I know a place that will give you a monthly rental for 2100 Baht. Dangerous as all hell though, my buddy had to get 15 stitches in a Cambodian convenience store.

[bface]

Got my visa a few days ago.

Where are you staying Frost?

[xmlenigma]

(02-03-2012 02:33 AM)Frost Wrote:  

I'm back in Chiang Mai from now until mid-March. If any of you get here early, drop me a PM.

I will definitely write up a datasheet on Chiang Mai towards the end of my 2nd month here. Also, hazy, half-remembered sheets on Laos and Cambodia are en route.

Moto is definitely key for CM living, I know a place that will give you a monthly rental for 2100 Baht. Dangerous as all hell though, my buddy had to get 15 stitches in a Cambodian convenience store.

Yowza! details? Elaborate?

[gringoed]

I'm on my way to Chiang Mai now, PM'd you Frost.

[bface]

Just arrived today.

[AlphaTravel]

I am also in CM but not sure I plan to stay here more than 1 week. It seems like a cool city but I'm not sure it lives up to BKK in terms of women and partying. What I love most about BKK is that ANY night of the week I can go out and there will be a bar full of people, then a club, then an after hours club and possibly a club after that. Is that true of CM also? I haven't explored it enough to find out but it doesn't seem so.

[WanderingSoul]

(03-05-2012 01:11 PM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  

I am also in CM but not sure I plan to stay here more than 1 week. It seems like a cool city but I'm not sure it lives up to BKK in terms of women and partying. What I love most about BKK is that ANY night of the week I can go out and there will be a bar full of people, then a club, then an after hours club and possibly a club after that. Is that true of CM also? I haven't explored it enough to find out but it doesn't seem so.

CM can not stand up to BKK in terms of the amount of hot girls and nightlife. CM is 150,000 people or so, and the total area is around one million. BKK is at 10 million people, so it is unfair to compare the two. It's apples to oranges.

I prefer CM to BKK, but I cut out of BKK after about 3 weeks. I think I would have more love for BKK on a second trip, since I have quite a few friends there now.

In CM you will find night life every night of the week, but not anything like BKK, and it will probably mostly revolve around Spicys. Spicys is a shithole pickup joint, and the only place in my 4 months in Thailand where I almost socked someone, foreigner, not a Thai.

Other than Spicys, you will probably find stuff going on around Yellow bar and Reggae bar, but it will be all backpackers. I don't recall going to the Neimanhamen nightclubs on weeknights, so not sure if they are crackin with the Uni crowd on Monday-Wednesday or not.

It will just come down to personal preference. I'm not a big city guy, so CM was the place for me. If you are into the big city, then you might find CM too laid back.

[AlphaTravel]

There are many things about BKK that piss me off, like the traffic, the taxi drivers, the pollution, busyness etc but the nightlife and other things definitely make up for it. Spicy isn't sounding that appealing but I may check it out, is it on Neimanhamen road?

[WanderingSoul]

(03-06-2012 12:01 AM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  

There are many things about BKK that piss me off, like the traffic, the taxi drivers, the pollution, busyness etc but the nightlife and other things definitely make up for it. Spicy isn't sounding that appealing but I may check it out, is it on Neimanhamen road?

No, Nimmanhaemin will have all of the more upscale and trendy clubs and is by Chiang Mai University. Spicys will be by Tha Pae gate and will be all backpackers and sex tourists. It can be fun if you go with a group of friends. I pulled a girl out of there for free who was more than likley a pro. If you feel like partying at 3 or 4 am and have a good buzz it can be a blast, especially watching the old ass ugly guys trying to dance to some MTV top 40 with a 20 year old prostitute hah. But if you are not in party mode you probably will just think it smells like shit and feel like punching an old man in the face.

[AlphaTravel]

Oh right I'm staying a few minutes walk from Tha Pae gate but haven't seen it. Where exactly? If you're able to tell me something it's close or next to I'll maybe check it out tonight, I'm in the mood for a party.

[Frost]

^^ Spot on description of Spicy, RN.

Alpha, I wouldn't recommend making Spicy your plan for the night. In fact I would say no one should ever PLAN to go there. But when it's 3am and everywhere else is shutting down, it can be a blast. Good first night in Chiang Mai:

~10:30, Warm up or Monkey Club - CM Uni bars, fun places. Very hard to pull a girl same night, but get there early and lock down some #s

~12:00, Zoe's/Yellow bar - Backpacker central. Several bars in one little area, easiest place in CM to pull a ONS.

~3:00AM, Spicy's - Get a few drinks in ya and go in without expecting much. As Rio said, it's an... interesting... place. Definitely not like any after hours spots in bangkok that I've been to.

[AlphaTravel]

But can you confirm that places like Warm Up and Monkey Club are busy / open mid week? It's Tuesday and I'm not sure there's going to be much happening. Think I'll save it for the weekend.

Maybe I'll hunt out Zoe's Yellow Bar instead.

[Spike]

Hey guys,

I posted this in the meet up thread also.

I met a friend in Malaysia in 2010 who told me about Roosh and this forum, he's a long time reader and now lives and works in Chang Mai - Thailand. He can't register to the forum now due to the restrictions but wants to meet some people to go out with.

This is his number : 0829628974 . His name is Marcus, a young white guy from Germany.

Have a beer and ask about his devious Couchsurfing technique, its master !

[Soma]

So who is actually in Chiang Mai now? I'll be arriving in about a week for a while.

[AlphaTravel]

I am there now but not sure for how long Soma. It's getting a bit boring already after just 4 days. CM seems 'nice' but not that much to keep me interested in the city it's self. There's a ton of stuff nearbye that you can do on day trips (e.g. hill tribe visits, treks, elephant riding, big sea fishing, mountain biking, bungee jumps, wite wafter rafting, jungle experiences etc) but the city it's self seems quite boring with lack of decent nightlife options midweek unless you want to hang around backpacker bars. I'm puzzled why so many people tell me it's their fave place / city in Thailand.

I realised earlier tonight that Zoe Yellow Bar that got recommended by 2 or 3 people in other threads was a few hundred yards away from my hotel. Literally on the same street. Went along about 10:30pm and found there was a few bars in that soi. Went into one with a live thai ska and reggae bar that were really good but the bar it's self was unexciting. No locals and all guys or couples. Left there about midnight and went to enter Zoe Yellow bar when I realised that song from a decade ago "I'm blue daba dee daba die, daba dee daba blue daba dee daba die" was playing and further more several dozen backpackers were jumping about like crazy to it as if it was the first time they'd heard it and it was actually good. Couldn't bring myself to go in. Checked out the other bars in the Soi, nothing much happening in any of the others so called it a night. Come the weekend I'm hitting the thai clubs and bars, these backpacker places are not for me.

[Soma]

(03-06-2012 12:26 PM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  

It's getting a bit boring already after just 4 days. CM seems 'nice' but not that much to keep me interested in the city it's self. There's a ton of stuff nearbye that you can do on day trips (e.g. hill tribe visits, treks, elephant riding, big sea fishing, mountain biking, bungee jumps, wite wafter rafting, jungle experiences etc) but the city it's self seems quite boring with lack of decent nightlife options midweek unless you want to hang around backpacker bars.

That's actually exactly why I'm going. I want to get a lot of work done, and Bangkok's 24h hedonism is too tempting. Weekend nightlife and online gaming suits me fine.

[WanderingSoul]

(03-06-2012 12:26 PM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  

I am there now but not sure for how long Soma. It's getting a bit boring already after just 4 days. CM seems 'nice' but not that much to keep me interested in the city it's self. There's a ton of stuff nearbye that you can do on day trips (e.g. hill tribe visits, treks, elephant riding, big sea fishing, mountain biking, bungee jumps, wite wafter rafting, jungle experiences etc) but the city it's self seems quite boring with lack of decent nightlife options midweek unless you want to hang around backpacker bars. I'm puzzled why so many people tell me it's their fave place / city in Thailand.

I realised earlier tonight that Zoe Yellow Bar that got recommended by 2 or 3 people in other threads was a few hundred yards away from my hotel. Literally on the same street. Went along about 10:30pm and found there was a few bars in that soi. Went into one with a live thai ska and reggae bar that were really good but the bar it's self was unexciting. No locals and all guys or couples. Left there about midnight and went to enter Zoe Yellow bar when I realised that song from a decade ago "I'm blue daba dee daba die, daba dee daba blue daba dee daba die" was playing and further more several dozen backpackers were jumping about like crazy to it as if it was the first time they'd heard it and it was actually good. Couldn't bring myself to go in. Checked out the other bars in the Soi, nothing much happening in any of the others so called it a night. Come the weekend I'm hitting the thai clubs and bars, these backpacker places are not for me.

I am not sure if the Uni clubs will be crackin mid week or not, I only hit them on the weekends.

I had a pretty decent social circle while I was in CM, so it made it a lot more fun for me. I was also training Jiu Jitsu, so I was only going out about 3 nights a week once I got settled. I had half a dozen girls on call, so I would train Jiu Jitsu a few nights a week, go out with friends a few nights a week, and have girls over a few nights a week. I was "living" there for 3 months, so my situation is not the same as yours.

IMO, CM is a great place to LIVE. Probably not as great if you are just passing through looking to party mid week.

I prefer CM over BKK because the city is much nicer, better weather, less people and just more my style. All just gonna be personal preference. I have quite a few friends who work in BKK and say they wish they could live and work in CM instead.