20,000 kilometers later Chiang Rai got my vote.

Day 29: Living in Thailand

Today I decided to take it easy and catch up on work. A quick trip to the market in the morning to break things up, then I met up with a friend later for ice cream.

• Groceries 225 Baht - $7.55
• Ice Cream 50 Baht - $1.70

Total for the day: 275 Baht $9.25 - Total Remaining: -650 Baht.





Chiang Rai great accommodation with all the western conviniences.
After Pai I headed on towards Mae Hong Song. After a few kilometers I pretty much did an abrupt u-turn in the road and decided to head on back to Chiang Rai ending my search. I had stayed there a month and loved it; of all the towns I had stayed in it was the only one that had all I deemed to be the perfect town. An abundance of cheap western accommodation, access to all western foods, great people Thai and Farang, close to a border and a decent airport with plenty of flights daily. I like to think of Chiang Rai as a small Chiang Mai, It is possible to run back to Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai. Having been here before I checked in to one of the guesthouses I'd seen before and started to look for an apartment. I have since found even better short-term accommodation in Chiang Rai. The B2 hotel group offers excellent deals in many towns.

The main things that made Chiang Rai so attractive was the choice and quality of the accommodation within my budget, less than $150 per month. It is difficult to drive down a street and not find a building that is not being renovated, or a new one that is under construction. Plus all those that are finished.

Spotting a Thai apartment building one would think should be easy; it took me a while to figure out what the basic rental buildings looked like. They all look very similar like this one with out the corner. I settled on this building, the design and size is pretty much the same in all of them, all over the country, one big master plan. The only difference you will find is; Age and condition, TV and fridge or not, Internet speed, and the amount of windows / daylight. I have never seen one with cooking facilities.

The old saying you get what you pay for, is a good bench mark to use I did not find anything in any town that was excellent, for less than 3000 baht $95 a month. The good ones tend to start around 3500 baht. Simply put the cheaper ones will attract students, which equals late nights and noise. On the plus side those around 4,000 are quite the opposite and offer excellent value, for an extra $30 a month. 5,000 is really the max, anything more and your been ripped off, half decent houses start at 3,000 baht a month.    Continue Reading Day 30: Other expenses to consider, if your living in Thailand.