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Elevation: 1,031 ft
GPS: 18.78803, 98.98511
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Shared By: Tony B on Dec 7, 2006 · Updates
Admins: Brian Boyd, Tao Techakanon

Description Suggest change

Overview:

Chiang Mai is a medium-sized but rather developed city in Northern Thailand, up towards the border with Burma and Laos. It is considered Thailand's 'Second City,' second of course to Bangkok. This perhaps owing to its population, and perhaps to its feel and nature. Although there are certainly metropolitan areas much larger than Chiang Mai with its population of perhaps a quarter-million, such as Korat (2 Million people). These larger metro areas are actually clusters of smaller cities. Chiang Mai, as such retains it's title to second largest despite a relatively small-town feel. 

Chiang Mai does however have a large town feel in other ways.

It is similar to Bangkok in it's large markets, including the night market there which is one of the world's largest; I could compare it to the famed Street Bazaar of Cairo. Thailand is famous for it's markets, and this is one of the big ones.

Lodging:

There are hotels and guest houses galore in town. If you want 4-5 star accommodations, stay at a major hotel. If you prefer a guesthouse, then choose more carefully. Typically you choose by environment and neighborhood. The East end of town by the old city walls is where all the nightlife is and might be a little 'seedy' for some people's standards, whereas the west central area inside the old walls is relatively quiet. Within a block of the climbing shop, there are more than 1/2 dozen guesthouses with rates from $10-20 per night. The ones I recall are the TK guesthouse, the Same Same guesthouse, the J&J guesthouse, and the Julie Guesthouse. I stayed at the J&J in an AC room for $15 per night and it was clean and comfortable. The Same Same had the best fast and cheap breakfast on the block, and there were convenience stores and very cheap internet places all over. 

In the last few years, the place called Jira Homestay has become popular. It is only about 150m away from the turnoff to Crazy Horse, and has been well-reviewed. If you intend to spend more time at the crag than in town, perhaps this option is the best and you can save the time and money otherwise spent on transportation.

Eating:

Hawkers are in many places. Watch how food is prepared before ordering something. If it is well cooked and does not mix a lot of sauces (IE: marinades) in after cooking, or add suspect 'fresh' ingredients, it is probably fine. Most Thais are aware of how to cook hygienically and make excellent-tasting and reasonably healthy food. In a few months of working there and eating from street stands, I was never sick.

Restaurants are everywhere and again, mostly safe. Order well-cooked food and of course, bottled water. Better yet, bring your own safe water from a sustainable water source (refer to later note on sustainable water).

Snacks are generally available too. Perhaps one of the reasons that Thais are not fat like Westerners, is that agriculture is cheap and processed foods are expensive. A whole-cut pineapple or an entire bunch of bananas will likely cost 1/2 as much as the bag of Doritos you are thinking about. 

Meals are delivered daily to the crag by the driver of the bus from the climbing shop to the wall. You can arrange for them to bring you a hot meal that is filling, tasty, and safely cooked. The price is very reasonable and you are supporting the local community businesses as well as strongly associating your money spent with climbing- which makes the entire community all the more happy to have the climbers visit.

Amenities:

There are many ways to use the phone in that area. If you'll be there for a while, consider getting an international cell phone, with prepaid minutes. This can be done at any number of stores. Local internet shops also sell phone time. Speaking of internet shops, there are such "cafe's" all around, with fees being pretty cheap- on the order of a dollar an hour. 

Rental Cars are available, like many other places in the world, but for a short visit not very cost effective and worrisome. You have to not only find your way, but adapt to local driving habits, find parking, etc... It is not really recommended when cabs and Tuktuks are so cheap!

Scooters are a somewhat viable alternative. If you are at the point were you are going to be there long enough to know your way around, a scooter can be rented for a few dollars per day, plus extra for insurance. These are more easily parked, but you may be taking your life into your hands riding one in traffic. The local car drivers will presume that you 'know how to drive' in local traffic. If you don't, that will be your loss. I saw a lot of bump-and-wipe-outs in Thailand. Drivers hit and run since the Thai law puts medical treatment costs on the offending driver. Also be aware that they will try to have you taken to the cheapest possible public hospital- which is not a good deal for you. Forewarned is forearmed.

Drinking Water: (SUSTAINABLE Water).

 Josh and the crew at the climbing shop run a sustainable water program. You can fill water bottles at the shop for a small donation of a few Baht per liter. Their suggested donation is considerably cheaper than buying a bottle of water anyway! So consider taking a few bottles or saving a few from your first purchases that are big enough to last a day, and then last a night. You can go into the shop and fill up daily, or fill up at the trailhead of the Crazy Horse Buttress main trail. Please do leave a donation at the shop and keep this program going.

Toilets:

There are primitive flush toilets at the crags. Please read the directions carefully and use them properly. Take hand sanitizer for yourself if you can, as these are not exactly Western toilets. Do NOT use the forest. The man who runs the trucks from the climbing shop to shuttle climbers in and out built these and maintains them. Please consider giving him a tip worthy of his efforts to keep the climbing nice there.

Getting There Suggest change

Chaing Mai has an airport. Thai air travel is cheap. Combined, these two facts mean that you will probably be flying into Chaing Mai. You can take an overnight bus, or a train, but this will be a sleepless night in perhaps less than ideal quarters, and not be as safe and secure for you or your belongings. Although Thailand is not a dangerous place by most standards, it is a developing nation, and caution or at least awareness of your situation is necessary when traveling there. As well, you are unlikely to save much money by going overland compared to flying. Presently you can book a flight round trip from Bangkok to Chain Mai on Air Asia (www.airasia.com) for well under a ninety dollars if you have some flexibility on your travel dates and times. The flight is under two hours and Air Asia is a pretty new fleet with good services. Expect to pay $3-5 extra to check a large bag if you can't carry on what you have.
Once in Chaing Mai, there will be cabs a plenty at the airport. They are tightly regulated and on the level. They will not scam you if you know where you are going. It is a flat rate into town, at present exchange rates, about $10US. Do not expect your driver to know your destination in English unless it is a major hotel (I.E. Sheraton or Meridian) or the most popular guesthouse in town (Julie Guesthouse). Have your destination name and address ready when you touch down. A phone number would also be handy- the driver will have a cell phone and can call for directions.
Maps are marginally useful in Thailand. They might be good for you, but the locals don't use them. Orienting by map for them, even written in Thai, is a foreign concept and practice. They don't get the 'North' thing, nor will they recognize what anything represents. I have not yet figured out if the problem is illiteracy or the entire concept, but every time I've tried to show a driver something on the map, I gave up after 15 or more minutes of them flipping the map around and driving 1/2 block only to do it again. They will not, in fact, tell you that they do not know where you are going. This may be to try to make you happy, and may be to be sure not to miss out on a fare. The point is, make sure that you know where you want to go and make sure that the driver knows the place- use facial expressions and other social cues to be sure, or have a phone number.
Once in town, Cabs will be harder to find, but the three-wheeled Tuk-Tuks are omnipresent. They are not metered, but do have standard fares to go about anywhere. Around old town the fee will be 40 Baht, maybe 60 to the airport (it is presently 33Baht/$US) but they may ask for more. It is up to you to decide if you will shake your head politely and let them see that you know the real going rate, or to pay the extra and make them entirely happy for $.30 extra. Personally, I let them know that I am aware of the going rate, but I'll give them the extra in a tip if they are gracious and friendly or get there trouble-free.
To go to and from the climbing area, arrange to ride on the bus from the climbing shop or rent a scooter (unpreferred if you are only here for a short time), but more on that later...
Even if you do not take the bus, bear in mind that the driver does a lot for the climbing community (refer to the mention of toilets and meals) and tip him like you care. Even if you can afford only a small amount, or even nothing, a heart-felt thanks will go a ways. Without him, we'd have a mess instead of a nice crag, and we'd be wasting money time and fuel all commuting back and forth in separate taxi's. At the end of every trip there I split my "remaining" cash in the water project donation jar, the bolt replacement jar, and with the truck driver. It is paying it back.

Guidebooks

Suggest change
-Guidebook sales help CMRCA pay for the expansion and development of Crazy Horse Buttress

  • Sam Lightner Jr's Thailand: A Climbing Guide
-100% of the profits from sales of Sam's guidebook goes toward the rebolting effort)

Guide Services and Climbing Equipment:

Suggest change

I have no real experience with The Peak, so I can not comment on them. However, I have dealt extensively with CMRCA and based on my VERY positive dealings with them choose to continue to support them and their contributions to the crags and community in the area.

Things to do

Suggest change
  • The Chiang Mai Zoo has a nice evening tour or program, if you prefer to do something after climbing all day. Paying a few bucks extra for the 'tour' is probably worth it if you want to know more about the animals and environment. The laser show and 'performance' are pretty cheesy though, so find something to go back and see more of at the time that those are happening.
  • Visit the Museums and the large, world-class Chiang Mai Night Market
  • Consider an overland and River Tours - the white water rafting there is excellent, well run, and the Thais are a hoot to go with on the river. The lunch it comes with on most packages is just so-so, but it picks up quickly after lunch and the river is great. The jungle scenery around it will have you smiling the whole way down.
  • I have not personally been to the Tiger Kingdom but it generally gets good reviews, so if big cats are your thing, it is probably worth seeing.
  • Mountain Biking trips are rentals are available, but you'll have to get details on that from someone else.
  • There is a Bar Scene - which is... a bar scene. I preferred walking down the street and stopping at a rickshaw bar. The drinks were good, reasonable cheap, and served with a smile. It's also less of a hooker and expat deal than some of the "real" bars in town.
  • If you have more time and are staying there for weeks, consider a cooking class. A few mentioned as good by another contributor are Thai Cookery School and Smart Cook
  • Some of the Elephant places are cool... (IE Patara Elephant Farm) and I and some friends enjoyed this activity and felt OK about it. But some of the places are less interesting, or even reported to be exploitative of the animals. This is not an area to scrip on - just spend the money to go to a nice place and do it, not an imitation place. Odds are you need to book weeks in advance. I went middle-of-the road and wish I'd gone upper end.

Edit to add... I was asked by a poster to include the following consideration on the elephants, and am adding it in respect of the awareness and do not necessarily endorse the idea wholly:
"One thought I hope you'll take in to consideration- more and more information has come to light on elephant riding and how it's actual a pretty brutal process to train the elephants to allow humans to get on them (chains, beating, you get the idea...). The newer guide books for Thailand recommend against riding for that reason. There are some good alternatives (e.g. elephantnaturepark.org/). Maybe consider editing that part? Thanks for the effort put in to writing this. It's been really helpful on our stay here."
My response:
Well, yes, which is why I mentioned exploitation. Some places do this. Others are at least ostensibly NOT exploiting elephants much, but taking retired working elephants (IE from the loggers) or formerly exploited animals on and running a center funded by relatively benign rides. I will endorse the idea that one should at least carefully consider their choices and do their research on all of this before creating demand for the service.

I submit for you:

Some (more) 'ethical' elephant places...

135 Total Climbs

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Location: Northwest - Around Chiang Mai Change
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Classic Climbing Routes at Northwest - Around Chiang Mai

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
 30
Morning Glory
Sport
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
 32
Skyscraper
Sport
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 27
Ruam Jai (Community)
Sport
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 23
Jai rawn (Hot Headed)
Sport
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 17
Flushed
Sport
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 17
Black Hole Sun
Sport
5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 21
Dee Jai Ti Dai Geud (It's Great…
Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 15
Dtang Jai (Determined)
Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 31
The Tree Surgeon
Sport
5.11b/c 6c+ 23 VIII- 24 E4 6a
 31
Blood, Love and Steel
Sport
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
 17
Jai Yen Yen (Patience)
Sport
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 18
The Wasp Factory
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 19
Jai Glah Reu Blao (Are You Coura…
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 18
The Balance of Power
Sport
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
 17
Intensify
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
Morning Glory Crazy Horse > Windy Cave
 30
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a Sport
Skyscraper Crazy Horse > Rooftop
 32
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b Sport
Ruam Jai (Community) Crazy Horse > Heart Wall
 27
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Sport
Jai rawn (Hot Headed) Crazy Horse > Heart Wall
 23
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Sport
Flushed Crazy Horse > Ant Hill
 17
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Sport
Black Hole Sun Crazy Horse > Furnace
 17
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Sport
Dee Jai Ti Dai Geud (It's G… Crazy Horse > Heart Wall
 21
5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Sport
Dtang Jai (Determined) Crazy Horse > Heart Wall
 15
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Sport
The Tree Surgeon Crazy Horse > Archway
 31
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Sport
Blood, Love and Steel Crazy Horse > Crazy Horse Buttress
 31
5.11b/c 6c+ 23 VIII- 24 E4 6a Sport
Jai Yen Yen (Patience) Crazy Horse > Heart Wall
 17
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Sport
The Wasp Factory Crazy Horse > Ant Hill
 18
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Sport
Jai Glah Reu Blao (Are You… Crazy Horse > Heart Wall
 19
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
The Balance of Power Crazy Horse > Furnace
 18
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
Intensify Crazy Horse > Ant Hill
 17
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b Sport
More Classic Climbs in Northwest - Around Chiang Mai »

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