South and West of Chiang Mai

Sukhothai was Thailand's first capital, after several Thai principalities in the Mekong valley united in the 13th century. The old town, spanning 45 square kilometres, includes the huge temples’ complex of the old Thai capital and offers endless opportunities of joy.

Mae Sot is a tiny town on the border with Myanmar, where the Thai thirty-day Visa can be renewed. At the night market Burmese and Thai dishes blend together with the Karen, Chinese and Indians sharing the town, into a delightful fusion cuisine thus enriching the visit with a tasty touch. The border is six kilometers west of town, next to the Moei River. To cross you pay 500 baht (around ) or to the Burmese immigrations who keep your passport and let you stay in Myanmar until 4pm. On the way back the Thai immigrations give the much sought after, new Visa to Thailand.

Mae Sariang is a great place to sit by the river and relax. Few tourists reach it, and despite that it has a more than adequate infrastructure for the visitors. Most guesthouses can organize boat trips on the Salween River and there are many opportunities for trekking in this area where several Karen villages are located. The temples in town, set amidst humble streams, lush gardens and awesome sunsets, are gorgeous. Wood structures adorn the riverside; they have big balconies and are suspended by columns over the waterfront. A small, handsome bridge over the river connects both sides of the town.

Lampang is the city where highway #1 leading to Chiang Rai, and highway #11, leading to Chiang Mai, make their northern encounter and thus is a central crossroads in Thailand; however, there are more reasons than that for visiting the town. The town is scarce in accommodations, thus the visit should be scheduled as a day trip from Chiang Mai, or as a stopover in the way to Bangkok or Sukhothai. Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao is where the Emerald Buddha was stored during its stay in the city. The temple is an extravagant mix of Thai, Burmese, Buddhist and European styles and includes a small museum. The Emerald Buddha was here for 32 years, from 1436 to 1468AC and then it was moved to Chiang Mai.

Quick Tips:

The mild climate of the city allows visiting Chiang Mai at all times; even the monsoon season should not stop a visit since the strong monsoon rains are limited to an hour or so per day and offer thus the perfect excuse for visiting a top-quality restaurant or coffee-shop until the rain stops. However, if staying in the east for a long period of time, it is sensible to schedule the visit to northern Thailand for the hot and dry season just before the monsoons. Then, this area is a bit cooler than the rest of the steaming country.
If traveling by bus, it is recommended to do that during the day, so that the beautiful way among the green north of Thailand would be fully enjoyed. The main destinations are served with many buses along the day and night, thus choosing the right one for you is a breeze. The cheap private buses offered by several guesthouses to Bangkok and other main destinations are better avoided due to safety concerns. In any case they are usually old and not match to the modern, air-conditioned, first-class buses leaving from the terminals.

Chiang Mai’s center hosts a plethora of guesthouses and hotels; it is worth dedicating a few hours to a careful survey until the perfect place is found. There are choices for all tastes here and patience is the key for finding your place. However, the Tha Phae Gate area is the recommended spot to begin the search, due to its central location, the amount of travel agencies and other tourist’s services in its area and the charming setup of the mote and restored walls. These travel agencies are a good place for renting a car with a guide.

Best Way To Get Around:

The major means of public transport in Chiang Mai town is little open trucks which take passengers in two rows of seats places in their back. Locally they are known as son-tao, literally meaning “two rows,” a name that makes reference to the seats arrangement in the vehicles backside. The regular fare is ten baht, but the drivers tend to ask for more from tourists; negotiate the price before boarding, and if the driver is too greedy, wait to the next one. Some of them make long distance trips, including to Lampang. Private taxis can be hired for long trips to the destinations mentioned in this journal; however, the trip’s price wouldn’t be convenient.
Tuk-tuks and motos are handy, but they tend to overprice tourists and may attempt to take the passenger to visit their uncle the tailor. If in a hurry, regular taxis are safer and not more expensive. Motorized vehicles can be easily rented at the several rent companies in downtown.
Chiang Mai’s international airport is connected to the main cities and islands as well as to cities like Xian and Kunming in China. From there, taxis and minibuses services reach downtown. First class hotels provide free transport, hence if planning to stay in such a hotel it is worthwhile to make an early booking.
A train connects Chiang Mai with Huanglamphu Station in Bangkok, but it is less safe and fast than a first class air-conditioned bus.
The city has two main terminals of buses. Chang Phuak Bus Station near the Chang Phuak Gate, serves mainly destinations within the province, while the Arcade Bus Terminal (pronounced Akaed) on Kaeo Nawarat Road, serves the rest of the country. The buses to the destinations described in this journal leave from the Arcade Terminal, and it is recommended to arrive at least an hour before the departure to get the good places (some buses have marked seats). The nearest 7 Eleven is on the main avenue; it is recommended to get enough snacks to make the trip pleasant, in some routes the stops are scarce.

Sukhothai was Thailand's first capital, after several Thai principalties in the Mekong valley united in the 13th century. They took Haripunchai (modern Lamphun) from the Mons and the lower north from the Khmers to form Lan Na Thai or the million Thai rice fields kingdom; on the former Khmer territories, the "Rising of Happiness" (Sukhothai) city was founded as their capital. They declared independence in 1238 and were annexed by Ayuthaya in 1376. This period consolidated the Thai scripture and the Theravada Buddhism, brought by the Sri Lankan Sinhalese. Nowadays the capital site is referred to as Old Sukhothai, while the modern city got the prefix "New."

New Sukhothai and Old Sukhothai are separated by a few kilometres; it is highly recommended to stay at the Old City since the new one lacks any attractions and is quite far from the ruins. Since Sukhothai is close to the route between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, many buses pass there daily and most of them stop at Tak’s terminal, except for the express, first-class ones. The best way to reach Sukhothai is to stop at Tak, and from there to take one of the buses covering the few kilometres left.

The old town, spanning 45 square kilometres, includes the temples complex of the old Thai capital. The central part of the temples is enclosed and visitors are requested to pay separately fort the different areas; after 6:00 PM the entrance is free, thus the first day can be used to watch a glorious sunset over the Buddha statues of the central complex. Away from the central complex, across the highway and free of charge, there is a wonderful stupa with sculptured elephants' heads supporting it, an almost unique site in Thailand (Nan has a similar one).

The old town is a pleasant place to stay and relax, with a delightful night market along the central street, inexpensive, glorious fruits and several guesthouses with large, comfortable rooms. The nearby town of Mae Sot, on the Burmese border, offers an opportunity to renew the Thai visa by the simple process of exiting to Myanmar and returning the same day. Hence, carefully timing the visit to Sukhothai may facilitate a prolonged stay in Thailand.

Lampang is the city where highway #1 leading to Chiang Rai, and highway #11, leading to Chiang Mai, make their northern encounter and thus is a central crossroads in Thailand; however, there are more reasons than that for visiting the town. A bit south of Chiang Mai, it can be reached by the frequent buses leaving from the Arcade Bus Terminal, or the minibuses leaving from the flowers’ market. The town is scarce in accommodations, thus the visit should be scheduled as a day trip from Chiang Mai, or as a stopover in the way to Bangkok or Sukhothai.

Just south of the bus terminal there is a big branch of Big C (supermarket) which is the perfect place to buy things for a picnic along the river. The bus terminal and the train station are in the southwestern part of the town, while the Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao temple is in the rural outskirts across the Wang River in the far northeastern part. Walking from the terminal to the temple takes around one hour and the path crosses the town’s center.

Lampang’s center is a dense grid of small streets, at the southern bank of River Wang. The river banks are completely walled and a few bridges connect both parts of the city.

At the center there is a green clock tower by a big traffic circle with a big nice and refreshing fountain at its side, some 7 Eleven branches, one KFC and a big market with local dishes’ stalls.

Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao is where the Emerald Buddha was stored during its stay in the city. The temple predates the stay of the Emerald Buddha (the Thai kingdom power talisman, actually at the Grand Palace in Bangkok) and was built especially to enshrine the image of the same name that resides now in the Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, away from the town and next to the village of Kor Kha. Once the Emerald Buddha arrived on an elephant from Chiang Rai, it displaced the original image. The temple is an extravagant mix of Thai, Burmese, Buddhist and European styles and includes a small museum. The Emerald Buddha was here for 32 years, from 1436 to 1468AC and then it was moved to Chiang Mai.

To reach the temple by foot, reach the river and follow it until the bridge where the river bends north, on Thanon Thamaoo; cross the bridge and continue along the river until Thanon Suchada and then climb along this street away from the river, after a few minutes the temple will appear at the right side.

Horsecarts are one of the best known features of the town, as it is the last city in Thailand hosting them for the tourists' benefits. Most of them are around the Wats at the very center of town. The carriages are heavily adorned and the horses are very small, almost ponies in size.

Mae Sariang is a great place to sit by the river and relax. Few tourists reach it, and despite that it has a more than adequate infrastructure for the visitors. Most guesthouses organize boat trips on the Salween River and there are many opportunities for trekking in this area where several Karen villages are located. The temples in town, set amidst humble streams, lush gardens and awesome sunsets, are gorgeous. Wood structures adorn the riverside; they have big balconies and are suspended by columns over the waterfront. A small, handsome bridge over the river connects both sides of the town.

As if that was not enough a justification for a visit, Mae Sariang is an exciting way to reach Mae Sot from Chiang Mai. In Mae Sot the Thai visa can be easily be renewed for another thirty days, simply by crossing the border to Myanmar and returning on the same day.

One of the best places to stay in town is the River Side Guest House and Resort, on 85 Langpanich Road. Its rooms are not very good, but the classic Thai teak house structure is practically built on the river and has a gorgeous restaurant within an open balcony. The breeze and the views transform it into the perfect place to hang around, and the rooms became just a secondary aspect of the stay there. The staff is friendly and can help to organize trips in the area and to rent vehicles. A single fan room with a private bathroom costs B300, while a double room with air conditioner costs B450.

Buses from and to Chiang Mai leave during the mornings; an air conditioned bus costs B124, the trip takes around four hours. An interest way to reach Mae Sariang is through Mae Hong Son; again, buses on both directions leave during the mornings, and the cost and duration of the trip are similar to those from Chiang Mai. Trucks to Mae Sot leave in the morning and cost B150; midway the passengers change trucks, so that the drivers return to their departure point. The way to Mae Sot crosses a big Burmese refugee camp, where the army checks the tourists’ passports before entering it and at its exit; it is not recommended to begin the trip without a passport. However, the plethora of huts densely populating the hill sides and roofed with big, dry and folded elephant leafs’ roofs more than compensate for the troubles. In the afternoon, there are two VIP buses to Bangkok at 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM, which cost B420; the trip takes almost twelve hours.

If planned carefully, the stay in Chiang Mai, and Thailand, can be easily extended by the easy procedure of visiting Mae Sot, a tiny town on the border with Myanmar.

Mae Sot looks smaller than it is; the low buildings with relatively big distances among them create the illusion of a small village. However, the market size reveals the truth and competes in size with the one across the border. The night market on Prasitvithi Road is an excellent place for a local dinner in which Burmese and Thai dishes blend together with the Karen, Chinese and Indians sharing the town into a delightful fusion cuisine.

The final station of the minivans coming from Tak is by an empty roofed market; next to it is the Kame Guesthouse, a Japanese tatami style place with cheap but spotless rooms. The rooms include a square and low table, a folded carpet, a futon, a cushion, a bed-sheet and an electric fan. The bathroom with hot shower is shared by three rooms; a single room costs B100/night. Internet at the reception costs B25 per hour and a bike can be rented for B30/day. Behind it, there is a wooden bridge leading to the town’s center. At the first street east of Kame guesthouse (behind the minivan's terminal) there is an impressively rich Chinese temple.

The border is six kilometers west of town, next to the Moei River. To cross you pay 500B (around $15) or $10 to the Burmese immigrations who keep your passport and let you stay in Myanmar until 4:00PM. On the way back the Thai immigrations give the much sought after, new thirty days visa to Thailand. Across the border, a new world comes into existence; Burmese pagodas, a huge trinkets market and Indian coffee shops offering samosas and chai fiercely compete for the visitor’s attention.

From Chiang Mai, Mae Sot can be reached with trucks from Tak – where most of the buses from Chiang Mai to Bangkok stop – or through Mae Sariang; the last is much more exciting. Buses and trucks to Tak leave every thirty minutes, between 6:00 AM and 8:30 PM and cost B33, the trip takes ninety minutes. Trucks to Mae Sariang leave from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM and cost B150; midway the passengers change trucks and the trucks return to their departure point, the trip can take up to seven hours. The trip to Mae Sariang passes through picturesque Burmese refugee camps; before and after them there are military checkpoints where tourists are registered by the authorities.

An air conditioned bus to Chiang Mai costs B220, they leave before 9:30 AM and the trip takes up to seven hours. If these buses were missed, the best is to travel to Tak; from there buses leave to Chiang Mai at all hours. Direct night buses to Bangkok leave from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM; the air conditioned ones cost B272 and the trip takes eight hours.