Chiangkhan.

by **trubrit** » May 11, 2011, 11:00 am

Shado wrote:truebrit,

What does your visit to Chiangkhan have to do with a different sense of history? I'm just trying to understand the meaning of your statement.

I wouldn't worry about it Shado. Everyone else , including the poster to whom I replied seemed to understand perfectly well and I am not about to give lessons in English punctuation on here . I'll give you a clue though . Look for the full stop . :roll:

by **fdimike** » May 11, 2011, 12:00 pm

Can I add just a bit more to this please. The guy I was cycling with was a retired teacher from the UK. We were both in full agreement rgarding value for the money. Every place we looked at did not have a toilet in the room, nor any other amenity other than a bed and a fan. Of the ones we looked at most had mosquito nets because they did not have window screens and the openings between the wall wooden slats and the floor planks were large enough to negate any advantage offerred by a window screen. Rooms like this were running from 500B on up. The place we finally found (1 street up from the river) met all our needs to include cleaniness, a bathroom in the room and air con & fan along with the reasonable price of 500B. This guesthouse was run by a teacher and her retired brother.

Quite frankly I don't understand Truebrits post either re: the history issue.

by **parrot** » May 11, 2011, 12:43 pm

Realizing everyone has a different meter when it comes to 'fun factor', after reading all these posts, I thought back to what made our trip memorable.
The sunrise/sunset over the Mekong was the highlight. Having my bike along make it easy to pick out good viewing spots. Another lasting memory....albeit strange....we were sitting along the river late at night, drinking some Regency and yakking....out of the corner of my eye, I saw what seemed to be a laser-like red flickering pass by about 20 feet away. Maybe I saw it, maybe I imagined it......but I was too stunned to say anything....rather, I hoped to see it again so I'd have time to point it out to others. It didn't happen again.
I also stopped by one of the quilt shops along the river......a lady was 'smoothing' the cotton filler with a paddle. I stopped by to yak.....a younger lady was also there. I thought she was the daughter. It turned out she was a university student visiting from Bangkok. She came for a night, but after meeting the quilt family, she stayed another 2 nights and got some on-the-job training as well. The lady on the bench was the original owner of the shop....the mom.....now watching from the sidelines as her children took over the business.
I always enjoy pitstops like this......next time you use a quilt, you'll appreciate the work that went into it (much like stopping by the rubber plantations and watching the process involved in tapping, mixing, drying, smoking the rubber....I doubt many people know what's involved in that rubber sole on their Nikes)

by **trubrit** » May 11, 2011, 1:09 pm

fdimike wrote:Ron

You missed my point completely. I was not concerned about the price. I think the best way to end this is by simply saying to each his own. .

You seem to have changed your mind re your last paragraph Mike . So I feel obliged to reply .You say you were not concerned about the price but your original post was over 90% about price and less than 10% about the attractions or lack of . So naturally I pointed out from my view that I went there to see the historic aspect of the town and although I agree the room rates were significantly higher than other places in Thailand, as I was only staying for two nights anyway, the difference between paying 20 or 30 dollars didn't enter into the equation or spoil my enjoyment of seeing the town.
I attached importance to the experience whereas you seemed more concerned about the room rates .This I attributed to a difference in priorities, possibly because of the cultural awareness of our different nationalities .

I originally posted as I thought there would be other members interested in seeing outside of the normal big city attractions and wouldn't niggle about paying a little over the norm for their accommodation for a couple of nights .I could understand your concern if it was another Farang rip off, but it wasn't, the Thais paid the same rate, seemingly without any problem .Perhaps in future I should keep details of my excursions private if it is going to lead to these sort of discussions. You forgot to mention the bike rental was over a dollar 70c a day, but of course you took your own . :roll:

by **Bronco** » May 11, 2011, 4:08 pm

Well Val,I for one certainly hope you keep posting pictures and accounts of your adventures.Parrot has some nice photos and interesting tidbits also.All you have to do is look at the views vs the replies and you could deduce that quite a few people are enjoying the threads but maybe don't comment.
I enjoy technology, yet I don't comment much anymore on forums.I just don't think forums are as friendly as days gone by.Still,lots of good people about that are interested in helping one another.
I think the most popular threads have always been travel and food threads.They're my favorites,by far.

Life is Good.

by **trubrit** » May 11, 2011, 4:34 pm

Yes I agree Bronco it was nice to see Parrot also enjoyed the simple pleasures of Chiankhang as well. The photos were also nice .May I suggest to those where price is the main consideration to where they go on their travels that they get themselves a copy of Lonely Planet. They could save themselves, if not a fortune, at least a few baht . :lol:

by **Shado** » May 11, 2011, 5:08 pm

trubrit wrote:
Shado wrote:truebrit,

What does your visit to Chiangkhan have to do with a different sense of history? I'm just trying to understand the meaning of your statement.

I wouldn't worry about it Shado. Everyone else , including the poster to whom I replied seemed to understand perfectly well and I am not about to give lessons in English punctuation on here . I'll give you a clue though . Look for the full stop .

I wasn't worried trubrit, just wondering. I read and write English quite well and I still don't understand the meaning of your statement about a different sense of history. Mai bpen rai.

by **fdimike** » May 12, 2011, 10:03 pm

Truebrit
I think you need to go back and read what I originally wrote again. I would start with the third sentence. Nearly my entire post dealt with value for the money. Despite the fact that I'm American I do know how to read & write fairly well.

by **losername** » May 12, 2011, 11:33 pm

[quote="trubrit"]Yes I agree Bronco it was nice to see Parrot also enjoyed the simple pleasures of Chiankhang as well. The photos were also nice .May I suggest to those where price is the main consideration to where they go on their travels that they get themselves a copy of Lonely Planet. They could save themselves, if not a fortune, at least a few baht . :lol:

[/quote]

I first visited Chiang Khan in 2005 as a tourist and, yes, I was guided by Lonely Planet. I returned there with four Thai friends this month. On both occasions I thoroughly enjoyed it. On my latest visit we wandered the streets and the Mekong-side path, checked out the shops and old style buildings, ate supper and slept in a characterful hotel (The Suksombun Hotel - there's lots to choose from but I like to overlook the river) for a night. The next day we hired bicycles and explored further afield, had breakfast overlooking the Mekong and drove down to Kaeng Khut Khu where we had half an hour boat hire (400 baht) before lunching under the shaded area of beach nearby. The novelty of the kung ten (spelling from LP) "dancing shrimp" was just one small part of the good food and fun.

Despite having such fun I returned home solvent. If I had read some posts on this thread, I would never have gone there. I am so glad I did and I hope, trubrit, that you will continue to provide good information for others.

by **Barstool** » May 12, 2011, 11:43 pm

It was our visits to Chiangkhan in 2003 & 2004 that made up our minds to move to Isaan from Phuket; a decision I have never regretted.
We stayed at the Loogmai Guesthouse (further to the west end of the town) on both occasions, timing the visits for the Aug Pansa Morlam festival. Excellent; good times.

by **trubrit** » May 13, 2011, 6:35 am

fdimike wrote:Truebrit
Despite the fact that I'm American I do know how to read & write fairly well.

Now I start to see the problem. :-"

In England we keep our chips to eat with fish. :lol:

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