Sportchick

We've taken two different bus services to Chiang Mai. The first, a day-time
bus, was a second class Thai bus (not a tourist bus) and the service and
comfort was incredible. You'll find, on some Thai buses, that the seats are
assigned. This was a new thing for us, but we got great seats -- in the
front above the driver (it was a luxury bus, for sure). The cost was quite
a bit more expensive than you can find elsewhere...487 baht, but still
that's around $10 per person.

The second bus we took was a total disaster. We took an overnight tourist
bus (booked on Khao Sahn Road). It was through a company called "Hello
Chiang Mai". The cost was 250 baht per person and included a free night
stay at a guesthouse in Chiang Mai. Here's an excerpt from our website
about that trip:

"This was a "VIP" double level type of bus. Passenger seating is up top, and
the crew and restrooms and storage is down below. We were able to get two
seats up front. Lets just say this was not the most pleasant of our bus
trips in Thailand. To start with the crew, from a bus company called "Hello
Chiang Mai" (and NO, we do NOT recommend them) was hollering at each other
the entire loading process. Then as we are leaving town we notice the smell
of cigarette smoke. There are large no smoking signs posted all about the
bus. We finally traced it to the driver and crew. They were smoking on a
non-smoking bus! Later as we were leaving from a 20 minute rest stop, one of
the passengers mentioned that his friend was not on the bus yet. But they
didn't stop the bus. It had to get to the point where several of the
passengers yelled at the crew to STOP THE BUS before they actually did and
the passenger was able to board, but only as the driver was yelling at the
guy about being there on time and continued to drive away as the was trying
to climb on board. As we were leaving that stop, the crew started smoking
again, and when a passenger politely informed them that this was a
non-smoking bus, she was met with yelling that they could smoke if they want
and the passenger could just get off the bus! For about five minutes, he
yelled at her belligerently, and tried to make her get off the bus,
threatening her and even telling her to change seats. Frequently the bus
would stop by the side of the road for no known reason, and later we found
that one of the other passengers thought the driver was going out to take a
leak. The rest of the ride was bumpy, but otherwise uneventful.

In the morning of March 26, we arrived in Chiang Mai. They had some
sawngthaews (pickup trucks) there at the bus stop to meet us. We were
brought to our "free" guest house and were able to avoid the sales pitch and
checked in to our room. Next we walked over to Jason's Star Cafe to have
breakfast and do some internet. On the way there, we ran into the two girls
who had been sitting next to us on our bus. When they noticed their bags had
been tampered with and complained to the director at the drop-off point, he
told them to check their bags and not to worry. As they were checking their
bags to make sure nothing was missing, all the trucks drove off and left
them stranded. Later today we will try to find a place to ship our gifts
home."

In addition, as we disembarked, we noticed a large number of beer bottles
discarded in the driver's area.

On the whole, I would highly recommend the "local" or Thai buses, but not
the tourist VIP buses. It's definitely worth the extra cost for the Thai
bus. Second class was fine for us. The first class buses looked really
plush, but the second class was quite nice as well.

Hope you enjoy your trip,

Donna
http://www.KirkandDonna.com/


"Lien" <> wrote in message
news:boad1a$gdh$...
    > Hi,
    > Thinking of travelling overland from Bangkok to Chaing Mai. What is the
best
    > mode. Any comfortable coach and how much and time it take to reach there ?
    > Thought this would be a good way to see Thailand and wonder what
interesting
    > things to do in Chaing Mai and Bangkok for a family who is planning to
visit
    > this Dec.
    > From Chiang Mai to Bangkok, what kind of Air Service is available for a
one
    > way trip, to connect our return flight to Singapore.
    > Thanks and appreciate any comments.
    > Lien

Stephen Voss

bluefly wrote:

    > I purchased a round trip day time train ticket from Bangkok to Chaing
    > Mai.
    >
    > The train is old, and broke down 3 times on the way. About 1/3 of the
    > trip the A/C was out then working again, then off again, etc. The
    > sights along the way were OK but more or less the same = nothing
    > exciting.
    >
    > A few days later, I made reservations to come back by air for around
    > $100. I was able to return my train ticket in Chaing Mai and get my
    > money back.


If youre going to take the train, either take the sleeper
or take the special express train, either way bring snacks on board.

I took the third class train, but i I like the local flavor...not for
everyone.