Chiang Mai Fees

[brall3]

Any CURRENT information on the off fees and tip for the go-go boys in Chiang Mai?

[Boy69]

1000 to 1500 Baht tip to the boys should be fine.

[bkkguy]

and the visitor/joiner policies of the major hotels around the night market - eg Dusit or Le Meridian?

 

and is Grab still a reasonably priced and reliable option? they are getting ridiculously priced in Pattaya/Jomtien

 

bkkguy

[brall3]

Grab's prices are still reasonable in Chiang Mai, but slowly increasing.

 

You are correct about Grab's prices in Pattaya, they are ridiculously expensive. For example, a Grab car from the Hilton hotel to walking street is almost 200 whereas the blue bus is only 10. Grab needs to seriously re-adjust its prices.

[bkkguy]

I thought Grab in Pattaya had already had its original reasonable prices adjusted by baht bus drivers with baseball bats and was wondering if the same was happening in C'Mai

 

my last two meter taxi fares in Bangkok from Silom to Ekami Soi 4 and Silom to Sukhumvit Soi 16 with traffic were both less than 100 baht

 

my last two Grab taxi fares in Pattaya from Jomtien Complex to Central Festival (with traffic) and Jomtien Complex to Pratumnak Soi 4 (no traffic) were both almost 200 Baht

 

I am hoping Grab C'Mai is more reasonable - I am not a fan of negotiating the red baht buses or rip-off tuk tuk drivers in C'Mai

 

bkkguy

[bucknaway]

When I'm in Chiang mai, once I find a good driver, I ask his number and ask him if he will be my night driver for 500 baht to take me a few bars and back to my room. It's worked out well for me.

[ChristianPFC]

I am hoping Grab C'Mai is more reasonable - I am not a fan of negotiating the red baht buses or rip-off tuk tuk drivers in C'Mai

 

The dire public and private transport situation in Chiang Mai is the reason I nowdays only go there with friends who have a car. I haven't been alone in CM for over 5 years as I don't want to walk (situation for pedestrians worse than in Bangkok) longer distances or pay rip-off prices.

[Boy69]

The last time I was in CM 3 years ago for very short distance they charged me 100 Baht at night.

[Bob]

The dire public and private transport situation in Chiang Mai is the reason I nowdays only go there with friends who have a car. I haven't been alone in CM for over 5 years as I don't want to walk (situation for pedestrians worse than in Bangkok) longer distances or pay rip-off prices.

Come on, Christian, a bit over the top.  I go lots of places via the Songteaws for 30 baht (regardless of distance).  And Grab, although a bit more expensive than when Uber ruled the streets prior to March of this year, is still relatively cheap.  Plus now we have the various inter-city bus lines that are cheap as hell and air-conditioned (although not exactly screaming fast to get where you want to go).  You spend $100 (?) to fly up here, another 700-1000 baht for a hotel,  and then decide not to come because somebody wants ninety cents to a couple of dollars to haul you around?

 

I know we both walk a lot....but to suggest that the situation for pedestrians is worse in CM than Bangkok is simply nuts.  

[Bob]

The last time I was in CM 3 years ago for very short distance they charged me 100 Baht at night.

 

I do agree the tuk tuks (if that's what you're talking about here) are a bit of a pain in the ass and surely too expensive for what service they are offering (in a usually hot, stinky, and noisy glorified tricycle).  If you can get a tuk tuk at night for 100 baht, that's actually a bargain (most of them will ask for 150 baht+ and you have to haggle aggressively to get them down to maybe 120 baht). 

[ChristianPFC]

Come on, Christian, a bit over the top.  I go lots of places via the Songteaws for 30 baht (regardless of distance). 

 

Plus now we have the various inter-city bus lines that are cheap as hell and air-conditioned (although not exactly screaming fast to get where you want to go). 

 

I know we both walk a lot....but to suggest that the situation for pedestrians is worse in CM than Bangkok is simply nuts.  

The public transport situation in Chiang Mai is one of my pet peeves, I could bitch endless about it. Only Phuket and Samui are worse.

 

But the bus or songtheo in Bangkok or in the provinces is 7 or 9 THB, and even in Pattaya songtheo is only 10 THB.

 

Intra-city bus lines in Chiang Mai. I have to try next time. (Inter-city would be between different cities.)

 

I'm referring to one incident when I had to wait 10 minutes to cross from outside ringroad (around the moat) to inside ringroad, and there it appeared to me that in Bangkok we have at least pedestrian overpasses (and a few tunnels as well), whereas Chiang Mai has not! However, there are traffic lights in both, and I don't remember why I didn't cross at a traffic light. There are roads in Bangkok that are impassable unless you cross at a traffic light or pedestrian overpass. Although I once managed to cross Rama 4 road, and survived to tell the story, without using either (where the railway line crosses and there is no barrier in the middle).

[spoon]

Talking about overpriced tuk-tuk, hua hin beats the rest. Its 150 min even to go to a short distance.

[paborn]

"Intra-city bus lines in Chiang Mai. I have to try next time. (Inter-city would be between different cities.)"

 

Damn Christian, your English is good. I could give that test to 1/2 the people in South Florida and cringe at the thought of the failure rate.

[Bob]

I'm referring to one incident when I had to wait 10 minutes to cross from outside ringroad (around the moat) to inside ringroad, and there it appeared to me that in Bangkok we have at least pedestrian overpasses (and a few tunnels as well), whereas Chiang Mai has not! However, there are traffic lights in both, and I don't remember why I didn't cross at a traffic light. There are roads in Bangkok that are impassable unless you cross at a traffic light or pedestrian overpass. Although I once managed to cross Rama 4 road, and survived to tell the story, without using either (where the railway line crosses and there is no barrier in the middle).

 

Kind of a blanket condemnation of the transport system in CM because you had to wait 10 minutes once?

 

I will grant it's become difficult to cross over the outer moat roads (we call farther-out roads the ring roads) excepting at the corners, near Thaphae Gate, at the southwest pedestrian overpass, or at the push-button light across from the market by Chang Phuak Gate.  I cross the outer moat roads at least a few times a week at the corners and have no difficulty at all (sometimes I do have to wait 3-4 minutes especially on the north end).  

 

You're lucky to have crossed Rama 4 in Bangkok and lived to tell the story.  I wouldn't have the nerve to try that. 

[ChristianPFC]

Talking about overpriced tuk-tuk, hua hin beats the rest. Its 150 min even to go to a short distance.

But Hua Hin has some songtheo lines that are clearly labelled and cost 10 (or is it 20? I don't remember clearly).

[ChristianPFC]

Kind of a blanket condemnation of the transport system in CM because you had to wait 10 minutes once?

 

No. I have limited (let's stay 3 times) and distant (let's say five years ago) experiences with songtheo as well. And as I said, it's one of my pet peeves, just make a post that has "Chiang Mai" and "songtheo" in it and I will tell for the umpteenth time what I think about the public transport system in Chiang Mai.