Friends in Chiang Mai

Robin Holmes · Aug 9, 2007

My plan (dream) is to re-locate from England to Chiang Mai Province. Max 15 - 20km from the city. I'm an off road rider mainly. What would be the best area to look? I'm thinking of easy access to the city, out in the countryside close to some trails and a few riding friends.

Robin

dirthonk · Aug 9, 2007

both mae rim and hang dong to the north and south have access to off-road riding areas and are within 15-20kms of the city, im not sure about the eastern side of chiang mai though, send an email to ian bungy about off-roading from the mae rim area, and we have the ktm mounted belgian jean -marc lurking in the trails around hang dong so maybe get in touch with him( gyspyrider). good luck!

SilverhawkUSA · Aug 9, 2007

I have lived in Chiang Mai for almost 5 years. I choose to live about 10km north of the city. I believe it to be quieter and have better access to shopping and to the Mae Rim and mountain areas.

Realistically, easy access to off road riding should not be a major factor in where you live in Chiang Mai. Through the use of the fairly new "ring roads" you get from one side of CM to the other in no more than 15 minutes. Come and spend some time looking around at the different areas, access roads, shopping, housing, etc.

Any where you live getting to great motorcycling areas, on and off road, is easy.

Ian Bungy · Aug 10, 2007

Hi Robin.
You could live right in Town and still be only minutes away from off Road Trails. I like it out here in Mae Rim but everyone has their own idea as to where is best? Easiest to just spend a month here looking around and decide then. lots of guys to meet here and help you out so you will have no problem finding your way. Good Luck.
Cheers Ian.

Chino · Aug 10, 2007

Well me and the missus plan to move from BKK to CM too. I'll be there with a thai friend this weekend. We're going to buy a CB 1000 and would like to meet all these (in)famous GT riders guys. So were do you hang out and would anyone know a nice house I could buy?

GypsyRider · Aug 11, 2007

Hello Robin,
I agree with Luke, Dave and Ian, that access to riding areas is never far away from anywhere you might choose to live in or around CNX. I currently live just south of CNX, in Hang Dong, on the entrance road to Ob Khan National Park, which is a fantastic area for off-road riding, whether on dirt bike or mountain bike. Numerous trails and single track right on my doorstep! With the dual lanes on the Irrigation Canal Road currently being extended all the way to San Patong, CNX city access from Hang Dong will be a lot faster in the near future (15 minutes). But the Mae Rim area would be just as good a place for a dirt/mountain biker to set up base camp. The best thing to do is to hang out and cruise around for a while and discover the various areas yourself. The convenience of living in Hang Dong is its closeness to the airport and shopping facilities. Cnx's best shopping mall Central Airport Plaza as well as Tesco Lotus, Rimping and the soon-to-open Big C supermarkets are all located on Hang Dong Road.
When are you planning to move to CNX? I'm glad to see a new off-roader setting up camp here, as there are only a few expat dirt bikers around (the GT-R community consists almost entirely of road riders).

GypsyRider · Aug 11, 2007

quote:

Originally posted by Chinosnake

We're going to buy a CB 1000 and would like to meet all these (in)famous GT riders guys.

I'm probably one of the worst sources of information on this board when it comes to CNX night life, but a few GT-Riders seem to be regulars at the Kafe (inner east side of the moat, on the stretch from Tha Pae gate to the northeast corner). GT-R uber(web)meister David U's Africa Twin has been spotted in front of this establishment on quite a few occasions...