Intro
Hearing my friends telling me how accomplished it was to complete the loop in Mae Hong Son always made me wonder how fine it would be for me to be able to do that. At a recent meet up with another friend who resides in Singapore, Yam who doesn't ride a bike, told me that he would really want to try it out one day, gave me the head start of ideas about this trip.
So naturally, I did some research on bike rentals in Chiang Mai, planned on my flight schedule, and of course, got the approval from the lady of the house, and then.... hotel booked and bags are packed and off I went!!!
Need to say here that Yam, the friend who gave me the idea to go for this trip, decided not to go for the trip at the end. So, this trip would be solo with a capital S and I am all for it!!!
Preparation
Packing for this trip is slightly different from my previous trip as I am taking a flight from KUL to CNX, I would not able to bring my own tools. I feel a little uneasy as I would not even allowed to pack my pocket knife as I can't go pass air port security. Be prepared to loose your tools, even Allen keys if you packed these tools as hand carry luggages. However, for the trip, I packed my own helmet, jacket, pants and boots for this trip.
As at Apr 15, there are 2 daily flights going to CNX from KUL, one departs at 6.55 am morning flight and the other departs 10 mins to 3 in the afternoon. I chose to fly in the afternoon, and start my trip on the next day. The afternoon flight arrives about 4.30 pm in the afternoon, and even if you choose to get the bike on the same day, you might be able to make it as the shop closes at 6 pm local time.
Bike Rentals
There were many bike rental companies in Chiang Mai. I have narrowed them down to
1. Pop Rider - https://www.facebook.com/sompong.chiangmai.5/about
2. Mr Mechanic - http://www.mr-mechanic1994.com/
The biggest bike rental company would be Pop Rider with hundreds of bikes available, big or small. However, I opt for the smaller neighbourhood Mr Mechanic, because they have replied all my email enquiries. If you have a big group coming in i.e. more than 10 of you, you should probably contact them in advance to book the bike. The price ranges from 800 baht a day for a 250 CRF to 1500 baht a day for a Versys 650. If you would like something more exotic like the Yamaha FZ09 (or MT09 in Malaysia) it would cost you up to 2,500 baht a day. The per day calculation if based on 24 hours at Mr Mechanic, between 8.00 am to 6.00 pm daily including Sundays.
More on bike rentals on my next post.
Communication & Navigation
One of the very first thing I spent on in Chiang Mai was the traveller's sim pack. Drop in to any 7 Eleven and ask for an AIS simcard, slip it into your phone and you would get data.
http://www.ais.co.th/roaming/visiting/sim-for-traveller-en.aspx
After some configuration on your phone (follow the user manual which came together with the SIM pack) then it would be a breeze for you to roam the city with Google maps on your phone. More on navigation on my next post.
Accommodation
Chiang Mai is the 2nd biggest city in Thailand, hence it is fairly easy to find hotels or guest houses to stay. Do some research, then you'll know that the airport is about 3 kms from old town city. I stayed in B2 Thipanate hotel, which was about 3 KM from Mr Mechanic. Room rate defers from day to day, book in advance to avoid disappointments.
The room is quite decent for me, with 2 single beds, clean and and my own bathroom with my very own minibar.
Basically, city centre is where the rustic old town with many old temples are, and you will find modern shopping malls outside old town such as Central Festival at the east, Maya Lifestyle shipping centre at the north west and Chiang Mai Airport Plaza situated just next to the airport at the west of old town Chiang Mai.
Staying near to old town would be the easiest for you to get a tuk-tuk or red taxi (Songteaw) to get around. Staying off the grid may be a longer for you to flag down a ride. If you look and act like a tourist the tuk-tuk may charge you around 100 baht to get to any nearby destination. Otherwise, you can pay around 60-80 baht to get around old town.
I would also recommend to stay at guesthouse the gallery 24, the place has plenty of parking, clean room and air conditioning. A friend of mine whom I met on the plane, stayed here 3 nights for 900 baht with breakfast, that's less than $9US per night. But hey, it is a guest house so do not expect a suite with a butler.
After checking in to your hotel, just kick back, relax, and explore the city. My first dinner at the city was at Khai Tim 1 Baht just right in the middle of old town Chiang Mai. Food was decent but no air conditioning.
Singha beer, or locally known as beer sing greeted me at Chiang Mai.
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