|
|
|
|
|
Home  Africa Chiang Mai
|
Introduction
Instead of spending our first days in Thailand in Bangkok like most
other travellers, we decided to fly immediately to Chiang Mai. Bangkok
can be a very hot and overwhelming city, and we thought it would be
therefore better to acclimatise to the heat and the jet lag in the
North, and I think that was a good decision.
Getting to the North
By air
Thai Airways has several flights a day
to CM, We had a reservation for the 11.15 am flight, but all
formalities at the BKK airport went so smooth that we managed to change
our booking into the 9.15 am flight without problem. The plane was
almost full though. Price BKK-CM is around 1870 Bht (4/99).
Bangkok
Airways has 1 flight a day with stopover in Sukothai. They are slightly
cheaper at 1400 Bht, but you have the possiblity to stop in Sukothai
(and visit the ruins f.i.) and take the plane to CM the next day on the
same ticket.
By train
A lot of people opt to go by night train to CM. Reports regarding the
availibility of places on these trains differ. I spoke to both people
saying there was no sleeping place left anymore, others saying they had
a place in 2nd class the same night. In fact, a lot depends on which
days you want to book it. If it's a holiday for the Thais, then forget
it without booking, otherwise you might be able to get a place right
away.
It is possible to book train tickets online. Check out this website.
It's a travel agent who will purchase the tickets for you for a 200 Bht
fee. They can also send it to you with DHL for 20 US$.
Note
that these trains stop about 45 minutes after departure time in Don
Muang airport, so people willing to take a train North without going to
BKK center can catch the train there. Check out Richly's site for exact details on this.
By bus
All the travel agencies in Kao San Road offer buses to CM. Price ranges
around 280 Bht for an overnight bus. Sometimes a free night at a
guesthouse is included in the price, but this is not always a good
option and it may depend on your willingness to take a trekking with
them.
A better option if you want to go by bus are the public AC buses.
|
|
