Outdoor Bargain Hunting

Since Chiang Mai is not the home of seemingly endless gargantuan shopping centers like Bangkok most of the best shopping opportunities are at various fairs.  Most people I talked to in Chiang Mai recommended shopping at the Sunday walking street fair instead of the night bazaar which was overpriced.

While all three places I stayed at were withing a 5 minute walk to the old moat gate which is where the fair starts, Montri hotel was located right on the corner surrounded by Sunday’s street fair.  I was staying at the nearby Royal Guesthouse when I decided to check out one of Chiang Mai’s biggest tourist attractions.

To say the Chiang Mai walking street fair is a tourist attraction is not doing it justice.  It seemed all of northern Thailand was there.  People from northern Thailand were there selling souvenirs, art, food and more and many people from Chiang Mai were also there.  Much of the goods for sale I have seen everywhere I’ve been in Thailand but I would guess that most of the people that make them live in northern Thailand.

One of the Many Local Tribes People Selling their Sourvenirs

Near the Moat Gate

The square near the remnants of the brick wall and the old gate which used to surround the city is where I started my Sunday night walking market experience.  The big square covered with baby blue and yellow paper lanterns is filled with booth after booth of goods.   There are many people just lounging around along with tourists and Thai people there primarily for the food and being social.

I didn’t know whether the square by the moat gate was the entire Sunday street fair so I decided to walk up Ratchadamnen Road.  Up the street I immediately noticed there was plenty more to the Chiang Mai walking street fair than just the square by the moat gate.  I immediately noticed an alcove with solely food restaurants which I had to stop at.  I ordered this omelet looking thing with noodles.  As I was eating the omelet I started talking to a Thai girl who turned out to have been living in Australia for the last 7 years.  She asked if I would join her and her 3 sisters for a walk through the fair.

Moat at the Beginning of Street Fair in front of Montri Hotel

On and On

I walked up the street with the Thai Aussie girl and her sisters and the streets seemingly got more crowded.    It was very crowded to the point where  I  would get stuck in a bottleneck for a minute at a time in some spots.  We stayed primarily on Ratchadamnen Road which included a couple temples and the fair seemed like it went on endlessly.  After a few blocks we turned around and headed back towards the moat gate.  My new Thai friend had to take her sisters home so I went to business and bought some gifts for my sisters.

View from Top of Apartment Building along Ratchadamnen Road

Overall Impression

While the Sunday walking street fair in Chiang Mai was huge it was nothing I haven’t seen before.  For me the highlight was the delicious food which was easily available almost everywhere I looked.  While it was crowded, there was absolutely no motor traffic which is unusual for Thailand.  People traffic was pretty heavy but no motorcycles, trucks, scooters, etc. made the Chiang Mai walking street fair a pleasurable experience and a must for anyone staying in Chiang Mai over the weekend.

Guest House Fit for Royalty?

After staying in a very nice, albeit excessive serviced apartment and a mid-range hotel for my first couple nights, I decided to stay in an older guesthouse.  Royal Guesthouse offered hostel style shared rooms for as little as 200 baht ($6USD) per night.  For anyone busy visiting temples and touring the local areas, during the day, and partying in a local bar at night, having anything other than a cheap room may be overkill and Royal Guest House definitely caters to this.

At this point in my life, sharing a $6 room is probably not going to happen but luckily for me Royal Guest House offers a few different types of rooms.  They offered a room with private bathroom and fan (no Air Conditioning) for 500 baht ($15USD) which is what I initially booked but I opted for a 750 baht room with a private bathroom, air conditioning and a balcony.

The room was a little bit stuffy at first coming from a giant serviced apartment but I quickly got used to it as I blasted the efficient but loud air conditioning and watched an interview on Larry King with Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel.  The cable offered at Royal Guesthouse is noteworthy as there were tons of English speaking channels.  The bed was not the most comfortable and the bathroom was very basic but I have no major complaints.

View from Each Side of Royal Guest House Room 217

Location

Coincidentally Royal Guest House was located a couple blocks from the main gate (brick wall) just as the places I stayed at the previous two nights were.  It is kind of difficult to find as there is a narrow pathway under a bush covered overhang which leads to the front gate.  If you turn away from the moat road on 5 Kotchasarn Soi 4 pay close attention on the left hand side until you see the pathway which leads to Royal Guesthouse.  You can find more information on the Royal Guest House website.

Overall Impression

Royal Guesthouse is definitely not going to win any awards for luxury travel but it was adequate for the single traveler wants nothing more than a comfortable room to sleep in.  Royal Guest House also has a pool and a cool staff and “chilling out” area where you can meet fellow travelers over a cold beer.  If the circumstances were the same (traveling alone for sight seeing) I will probably choose Royal Guest House again simply because I like the idea of not paying for stuff that you don’t use in higher-end hotels and serviced apartments.

Recommended

I first learned of Studio 99 serviced apartments from an Aussie classmate in my Thai Language class.  He said he had a blast when he stayed there during this year’s Songkran festival which is a very festive week long celebration for Thai new year.  I tried to book a room for the day I arrived a few days before but they were booked.   I exchanged a few emails with the manager named Supattra and managed to get a room for a single Saturday night for 500 baht less than the listed price.  When I finally arrived to Studio 99 I was immediately impressed.

Studio 99 Serviced Apartments

Location

Studio 99 serviced apartments are located very close to Chiang Mai’s old town’s moat in the center of Chiang Mai.  It is a bit tricky to find if you’re not familiar with how the streets are organized in Chiang Mai and especially if you’re driving a motorcycle.  It is located a few blocks from the last remaining section of the former brick wall which surrounded the moat but it’s a little more complicated than that.

There are one way streets on either side of Thae Phae Soi 3, the street which Studio 99 is located on.  It confused me and it will confuse you that each street has numbered sois (streets) so if you’re on any other street and find a soi 3 you will not be on the right street.  To make it simple, think from the gate.  If you walk east (towards the river) from the gate, away from the walking market, past the Starbucks and Air Asia offices you will see Thae Phae Soi 3 on the right.  Once you get to Soi 3 a narrow winding street you will see the sign for Studio 99 rather quickly.

Unlike the Montri Hotel which I stayed at the first night, the location of Studio 99 serviced apartment was very quiet.  I could hear birds chirping and only once in a while did I hear a motorcycle zoom by or a car rev its engine in the neighborhood.  The location is located right in between 2 of Chiang Mai’s most popular shopping attractions, the nightly night bazaar and the Sunday walking street market as you can see on the map below.

The Apartment

The apartment was 65 square meters with 2 balconies 1 which was covered, a fully stocked kitchen, nice bathroom and a walk in closet in the bedroom which was bigger than most hotel’s bathrooms.  Furnishing the brand new hardwood floor apartment was a sectional leather couch, desk, entertainment center, dining room setup and more.

You can read more on the Studio 99 website.  There isn’t much else to say other than Apartment number 4 at Studio 99 serviced apartments met and exceeded all my expectations of a night stay in Chiang Mai Thailand.  You can view the entire layout on the video on the bottom of this post.

On Deck Number 1 Looking Through Bedroom to Living Room

Overall Impression

Studio 99 serviced apartments were very nice and felt like (even better than my) home.   Throughout my travels I would rate Studio 99 serviced apartments in the top 5 places I ever stayed as far as the actual room (apartment) goes.   The location was great, the facilities were brand new, clean, spacious and top notch.  For 1500 baht ($45USD) a night, Studio 99 serviced apartments was a huge bargain.  While spending 1500 baht on a giant, fully furnished apartment was probably overkill while traveling by myself, anyone traveling with a group and/or family would find Studio 99 optimal to feel like home while traveling.

Welcome to Chiang Mai

By browsing hotel websites it is almost impossible to easily find out which is the best location to stay in a city for what you want.  Every hotel seems to claim to be centrally located so I turned to the Thaivisa forum and asked.  The first response I got was Montri hotel so without further ado I immediately booked a room at Montri Hotel and arranged an airport pick-up.

The pickup from the airport cost a ridiculously low 150 baht ($4.50) and included the guy holding the sign for you after baggage claim and a nice air conditioned ride into Chiang Mai.  Once I saw the brick wall, the gate and tons of tourists, I immediately got the impression I chose the right place.

Montri Hotel Location

You really can’t ask for a better location for a hotel in Chaing Mai than the exact spot the Montri sits on.  Montri sits next to the last renaming tiny portion of the ancient wall that used to surround Chiang Mai’s moat.  This happens to be the location of the very beginning of the huge Chaing Mai walking street fair.  For anyone in Chiang Mai on Sunday staying in Montri Hotel is a great shopping base and allows bargain hunters to store their buys in their hotel room while shopping for more.

There is a place which packages and ships off your buys if you don’t want to pack them in your luggage or simply want to ship them to your family and friends overseas.  They charge huge fees but for some (like me) the convenience factor was just too much to pass up to ship off some gifts for my family.

In addition to the Sunday walking market related places there is a HUGE 3 story Starbucks across the street as well as an Air Asia airline office, book store, pharmacy, a bunch of restaurants and bars and more.  There are also numerous places which rent out motorbikes and even cars within 20 meters of the Montri Hotel

Night View from Room 323 in Montri Hotel

Montri Hotel Amenities

Montri Hotel does not have a ton of extras such as swimming pool or fitness center.  The enormous lobby and restaurant are great places to relax in the midst of a day busy with tourism.  Montri Hotel’s convenient location was an amenity in itself but aside from that, a very fast and reliable wireless internet connection was complimentary with a night stay along with free breakfast.

As I mentioned before there were a bunch of bars and restaurants along the streets surrounding the Montri hotel but I never left the restaurant on the bottom floor of Montri Hotel which  is very nice, large and has good service to go along with.  Blix restaurant has a nice air conditioned indoor seating section as well another large mist cooled outdoor seating section.  I had the hamburger on two separate occasions along with the American breakfast which was complimentary with the room.

Blix Restaurant on Ground Floor of Montri Hotel

Overall Impression

For the price of almost 1000 baht per night ($30USD) which is a little higher because November-February is considered the high season Montri Hotel was worth it based on the location and restaurant alone.   Since the room was located right next to busy street surrounding the canal, traffic noise is audible (at least in room 323)  for almost the entire day and night even though the double pane windows help quiet the street noise.  The room was completely 100% adequate, clean, large enough but nothing spectacular.

The service was above average in the hotel and the restaurant.  Overall I would recommend Montri Hotel for anyone looking for a great location in Chiang Mai looking to spend around 1000 baht ($30USD) per night.