1 hour ago, NormandyCoast said:

Not following, and unsure of the actual worth of this thread content in practical terms unless condensed.

Just like the good old days with @PeterRS!

38 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

Just like the good old days with @PeterRS!

That’s the ticket to the sleeper to Chiang Mai. In just a few words, an obscure nostalgic historical reference makes the thread much easier to follow. Good sir, I retract my cranky observation.

1 hour ago, NormandyCoast said:

That’s the ticket to the sleeper to Chiang Mai.

There are no sleepers in third class. 😏

6 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

I've been to a couple dozen countries and none have made me feel like Thailand does. I've watched far too many YouTube videos, read countless blogs and stories from expats, done the research on visas, healthcare and so forth. Everything pointed to this part of the world. But I wasn't going to make a big decision like this without being here for a couple months. Not seeing and hearing the orange blob on a daily basis has been wonderful… until I fire up my laptop. 😆

Glad you enjoying Thailand!

9 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Please. This isn't a competition and there's no need to apologise even if you felt that you had made a mistake. I understood your post to be your experience based on your 3-day jaunt, nothing more, nothing less. I, on the other hand, was only sharing my experiences of the area that go back a decade at least.

Please stop trying to analyze my posts. Nowhere did I say that my Chiang Mai experience was based on a 3-day jaunt. How presumptive of you to make such an arrogant statement.

On my most recent trip to Chiang Mai, I rented a car from the airport for two weeks, and I drove with my Lao friend to revisit places I first visited more than 30 years ago, along with some new locations. We drove to Chiang Rai, Doi Mae Salong, Chiang Saen, Doi Tung, Mae Kompong, etc.

And I'm pleased to hear that your experience of Chiang Mai goes back at least a decade. My first visit to Thailand was in 1981. I have been to Chiang Mai numerous times, for extended stays over the decades. I have spent a considerable amount of time in northern Thailand, so I believe I have a fair amount of firsthand knowledge of the area.

I spent New Year's Eve of the new millennium 26 years ago in Adam's Apple Club, as I was staying with a Shan boy who worked there in 1999. At midnight, when the clock ticked into the year 2000, Mohammed, the owner flickered the light switches, and comically announced on the speaker system "Y2K, Y2K".

I do not intend to comment further about this. Especially, I do not wish to derail this excellent thread that @aaroninatl started about his experiences in the north. I was merely giving him a few suggestions for places to visit while in Chiang Mai. I think I am not alone in saying it would be appreciated if you would tone down your pompous remarks.

10 hours ago, mauRICE said:

.... my views of Pattaya.......one could barely walk around the main tourist areas in the city without running into a bar or brothel of some kind. Now, all that's changed ......

then why go ? for the beaches and crystal blue water ?

9 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

Straight is a-ok as I'm not looking for sex.

straights have cock too. And bubbly firm assess as well. Not to mention financial needs

8 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

might be a good plan for Sunday when my guy is here. I'm sure I can get a Grab to take us there but would it be difficult to get one back? (Seems remote.)

ask Grab driver if he can come and pick you up in 5 hrs and see what he says.

1 hour ago, mauRICE said:

There are no sleepers in third class. 😏

(Chapeau.)

Says the wannabe travel agent who routinely confuses seating with social standing … and kneeling.😏

8 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

You had Trump1, we got Boris Johnson!

you are truly blessed

5 hours ago, NormandyCoast said:

Not following, and unsure of the actual worth of this thread content

in bahts , ringitts ur USD ?

1 hour ago, mauRICE said:

There are no sleepers in third class. 😏

mat on the floor ?

So what’s the dumbest thing I could do with a guy flying up here Saturday? Here’s a hint: make the same mistake I made in Bangkok.

Yep. Started chatting with a guy on Grindr. Just tapped him and didn’t even message. Figured he’d be way out of my league. 23 super cute. Amazing body. Within a couple minutes, he messages me. Spoke great English, so I assumed he was using Google translate. Come to find out it’s part of his job as he works in hospitality. He joined me as I checked out apartments in Nimman. Had dinner. Go back to my place. And yeah.

Here I go again. I could juggle guys back in my 20s. But that was decades ago. He seriously has the kind of body I always tried to find when I was dating in my 20s. But guys like that were out of my league then. here I am at this age. This is ridiculous. I feel like Ashton Kutcher is gonna pop out at any minute and tell me I’ve been Punk’d.

7 minutes ago, aaroninatl said:

So what’s the dumbest thing I could do with a guy flying up here Saturday? Here’s a hint: make the same mistake I made in Bangkok.

You know what this means….threesome

1 minute ago, hank75 said:

You know what this means….threesome

😆 Are you trying to kill me?

That guy who questioned the value of this thread has a valid point lol. I’m gonna pass on the bars tonight. I’m obvi not horned up now. My Ko Samui thread should’ve been called “lack of adventures…” and sorry I’m not providing much on the scene in this thread either. I planned to!

For what it’s worth, I’m entertained

1 minute ago, Travelingguy said:

For what it’s worth, I’m entertained

+1

21 minutes ago, aaroninatl said:

He joined me as I checked out apartments in Nimman. Had dinner. Go back to my place. And yeah.

congratulations !

10 minutes ago, Travelingguy said:

For what it’s worth, I’m entertained

+1

These travelogues have really livened up the board.

And I've learnt a lot about CM.

The side issues when we go off-topic a bit have also added interest.

Don't stop!

Thanks guys. Chiang Mai deserves the love. It's a great city. The scene here is obviously not on the Bangkok level. But how could it be? It's in the shadow so there's naturally the comparison. But it's cool that there are some fun spots when you've got that itch!

But man the quality of life here is great. The mountains are gorgeous. The people are so kind. I've yet to have a bad meal here... Asian or Western. Grab is my BFF. I love that it's a walkable city. Love the idea of living a car-less life. Burning season is def a concern. Been talking with a lot of locals about it to get an idea of how well I'd handle it. Daytime heat is more of a challenge than I thought it'd be given the elevation difference. But the nights here feel fantastic. And I miss being a night person.

2 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

😆 Are you trying to kill me?

That guy who questioned the value of this thread has a valid point lol. I’m gonna pass on the bars tonight. I’m obvi not horned up now. My Ko Samui thread should’ve been called “lack of adventures…” and sorry I’m not providing much on the scene in this thread either. I planned to!

You are def worth reading. I’d be keen to read a trip review and details without distractions. Maybe a longer report when it’s completed. Travelogue over live commentary. Less detours. I find it hard to remember who introduced the topic.

That doesn’t preclude, at that point, response posts, humour, Q&A from other chatty types, references, suggestions, etc. My sense is that the collective intelligence of the chatroom let loose upon report completion would not be any less entertaining and interesting. Obviously that doesn’t mean the core author cannot ask for suggestions. Just my two nickels.

3 hours ago, vinapu said:

in bahts , ringitts ur USD ?

Time, the only currency you can’t get back, so if what’s on offer doesn’t earn interest, what’s spent is sunk cost.

---

But I saw this as a notification in my feed without my mentally embedding it in somebody’s travel report of several pages, so I now grasp better how the trend evolves, how easy it is to inadvertently contribute to conversation that actually exacerbates the premise I suggested, and why a newer less familiar reader is less capable of seeing the forest for the trees.

Oh, now I see ‘author’ designated. That helps a bit with focus but I could only make it to Page2 of 11. Page Six may not make it. Carry on. There are faster, easier ways to get oriented for a Thailand vacation. I see what’s going on and it makes sense for those to whom it makes sense. I’ve been to Bangkok a few times without FOMO.

@aaroninatl you've mentioned Chiang Mai being in the mountains and therefore cooler a few times. I don't know which video gave you that idea but the city is only 300 m above sea level. Considering that temperature drops on average about 6 to 7 degrees per 1000 m increase in elevation, we're only talking about 2 degrees effect on temperature. However, being inland, the air is usually drier unlike the high humidity of Bangkok. But inland can also mean that the summer maximum temp will be higher than Bangkok, say 40-42 degrees on bad days.

Good that you're asking people you meet how they cope with haze. You may also want to ask about the hot season (after the haze).

5 hours ago, daydreamer said:

And I'm pleased to hear that your experience of Chiang Mai goes back at least a decade.

No, I'm afraid you misunderstood again. I meant the space where Chiang Mai 19 is. I first went to Chiang Mai on my own as a young adult in 2001. We went as a family when I was a kid a couple of times. But, as I said earlier, it's not a competition, not from my side of things anyway.

6 hours ago, daydreamer said:

I have spent a considerable amount of time in northern Thailand, so I believe I have a fair amount of firsthand knowledge of the area.

Fantastic. Again, not a competition.

6 hours ago, daydreamer said:

I do not intend to comment further about this.

Great! Neither do I.