More Accommodation Findings and First Ride in a Red Taxi

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A major objective in our four week stay in Chiang Mai was to explore different accommodation options.  We are interested not only in where people live in or outside the city, but the types of accommodations and the cost, nearby (walkable) food shopping options and transportation options.

Our walking journey today was to the Karkanok Condo 3, located north of the Maya Shopping Center and west of the super highway.

Google Maps indicated walking would take 30 minutes, but put us on the busy super highway (route 11) that passed in front of the Maya shopping center.  We were glad to be able to quickly get off that noisy highway and turn left onto much less travelled and quieter streets.

This part of town does not appear to be on the "well worn expat" trail.  We found only one tea shop advertising with English signage.

Once we arrived at the Karkanok Condo building we found no one in the office, but we were very fortunate to encounter an expat named Mark.

He told us that the apartments are privately held and rented through agents. His cost 15,000 baht/month.  Mark had a motorbike that he used for transportation. He also pointed out that the orientation of an apartment should be considered. Apartments getting either morning or later day sun tend to be hotter.

We concluded that these apartments would require some self-owned transportation or arrangements to acquire transportation on demand. We saw few tuk tuks on the roads outside the apartments and no red taxi trucks (song taews).

Helen in the back of a song taew

We walked back to the Maya Shopping Center and opted to grab our first ride on a song taew.

The covered red taxi trucks called song taews (sŏng tăew; taew rhymes with cow) ply all the streets of Chiang Mai.  They are used by local Thais, expats and visitors. They are red in the city and different colors in other areas.

The cost per rider is 20 baht.  When you flag down one of these song taews, you tell the driver or the driver's assistant where you want to go.  If there is a yes head nod, climb into the back of the truck. If the nod is no, that's okay. These taxis have no set route.  They may have passengers that are destined for a location not on your route.

For some song taew etiquette and customs watch this video.

We have also noticed that some newer song taews are attempting to charge 30 baht per rider.

We recommend that you DO NOT ask the driver or assistant "how much" for a ride.  This question is a red flag that could get you a price of 100 or 150 baht.  However, you may need to pay such a price if you are requesting a specific destination outside the city. We paid 250 baht for two people to ride from Hang Dong, 12 km south of the city, to the Kad Suan Kaew shopping center near our apartment.

Travel Tips

• Use the covered red trucks (song taews) for transportation.  You need to know either how to pronounce your destination or show your destination on a map. The rate is 20 baht per person, so if there are 3 or 4 in your group, it's cheaper to call an Uber.