Welcome to Paapu House & Paapu Next Door.
CONTACT - Reach me on 098-3297835 or whatsapp +66983297835 if you have urgent matters. I will be around in the house most time of the day, but will be out for dinner, shopping and things.
WIFI - passcode for Paapu House is 'Americano98', for Paapu Next Door it is 'kopisusu'
BREAKFAST at Paapu House - every day except on Sundays from 8.30am till 2.30pm, not included in the roomprice. If you need very early breakfast, go to 'Early Bird 626', 400 m inside the city, they start at 6am.
COFFEE & BREAD & PASTRY at Paapu Next Door - every day except on Sundays from 7.30am till 4.30pm
FRIDGE UPSTAIRS / DRINKING WATER @ PAAPU HOUSE - there is a fridge at your convenience, to store small stuff. Also you find drinking water in there (do not drink the tapwater) , please do not throw away the bottles, the waterguy wants to reuse them.
SMOKING - please do not smoke in the house, nor on the balcony in Paapu House. i made a corner next to the frontdoor in the garden for smokers.
If you're staying in 'Paapu Next Door' you're allowed to smoke on the balcony if you're in a room with a balcony.
RESTAURANTS
- THAI FOOD is basically good in every restaurant. Across the street you will find restaurants like "Aroi Dee", "Grazie", "Number 9".
- PAAPU HOUSE - had enough noodles lately? Try our delicious Spaghetti Menu, from 5pm-9.30pm
- My boyfriends favourite: TON GOOM RIVER FRONT, if you are there around 6pm you will be able to see the sunset on the river. It is a local restaurant, very basic, excellent thai food. Order 'Tom Ka Kai' (coconut soup with chicken), 'Kor Moo Yang' (grilled porkneck, eats like a snack), and lots of other stuff
- THE FACES - fancy dining, thai food, not overpriced, lovely staff
- THE GINGER HOUSE - also fancy dining, thai food, little bit more expensive, opposite Paapu House
- SUSHI UMAI - fancy small Japanese restaurant in Nimman. Reservation recommended
- PIZZA by HAND, 350 m from Paapu house if you are fed up with noodles and curries.
- NEIGHBORHOOD - also 350m from Paapu house, also for Pizza, very good, think of pizza with blue cheese, figues. bonus: you can get craft beer from tap
- ROTEE PA DAY - roti pancakes you can get all over town in small street shops. But this particular one in Tha Phae street made it up to the MICHELIN guide with a BIB GOURMAND
- Pride of the North is 'Khao Soi', a noodle soup with some fried noodles on top. You can get it in lots of restaurants. Specialised restaurants are 'KHAO-SO-I' and 'KHAO SOI MAESAI' (with also a BIB GOURMAND), both 3km from here and , if you're a foodie you might want to try out.
- LANNA SQUARE - nice vibe foodcourt at 10 minutes walking, eating on straw bales, touristy
- NORTH GATE and SOUTH GATE foodcourts - every night starting around 6pm large foodcourts at the outside of the north gate and of the south gate.
VEGETARIAN & VEGAN
Chiang Mai has lots of vegan and vegetarian places, some of our guests favourites:- MAY KAIDEE - 450 meter from the house
- MR. GREEN - opposite of Paapu House
- VEGAN HEAVEN - in Loi Kroh Road
- ANCHAN VEGETARIAN - in the Nimman area
CONVENIENCE
Walk south of Paapu House in the direction of Tha Phae Gate. Within 300/400 meters you will find- ATM's, in all colours - remember, 220 THB withdrawal fee, and at the end the machine always asks 'WITH or WITHOUT conversion': always click 'WITHOUT CONVERSION', you will get a much better exchange-rate
- 7/11 - THE most important store in Thailand, everything from mosquito-repellant to Lays Chips. And of course the famous TOSTI, they will prepare for you while waiting, 29 THB. Lots of other food too, especially convenient when you are hungry at 3am: open 24 hours per day
- Motorbike rental shops
- Laundry shops
- Pharmacies
MARKETS
EVERY DAY- WAROROT MARKET - CHINA TOWN - local market where Thai buy their stuff, daytime covered market, nighttime outside food and manicure
- NIGHT BAZAAR - touristy market, though nice vibe, foodcourts, live music, starts around 6pm
- BAAN KANG WAT - not really a market but a small charming area with lots of small creative shops. Combine with a visit to Wat Umong
- RATHVITI SOI 2 - Small local market with like 20 shops - starts around 6pm. Navigate to 'Delight massage', shop in the beginning of that street
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
- JING JAI MARKET - artzy market little bit north of the house, not typical asian, rather you would expect to find it in southern France, open till 2/3pm, sat&sun
- CHAMCHA MARKET - half an hour outside of town (take a bolt taxi), arts, crafts, open till 2pm, sat&sun
- SATURDAY NIGHT MARKET - starts at the south gate, typical thai night market, 6-10pm
- SUNDAY NIGHT MARKET - THE big thing in Chiang Mai, 2km of streetmarket, start at Tha Phae gate, 6-10pm, everything from t-shirts to scarves, candles, blind people singing songs, foodcourts, footmassage in the street, must-go!
NEIGHBORHOODS
OLD CITY - Cross the street (the moat) and you are inside the old city. Stroll around and get lost, you will stumble upon coffeeshops, restaurants, temples....CHANG MOI - take a turn left-left when you leave the house and you will be strolling around Chang Moi, upcoming area with hip coffeeshops, here and there fashion. End up at China Town, especially in the late afternoon nice area because of lot of shadow, lots of shops.
NIMMAN - the hip modern part of Chiang Mai, west of the moat. Especially young Thai and students love to hang out there, as well as Expats. Fancy international restaurants also to be found here, Italian, Japanese/Sushi and so on.
TRANSPORT
SONG THAEW - the red jump on/off taxi's; you can pull them over, for 30THB per person they will bring you all around the old town; airport, trainstation or busstation will be likely 150THBTUK TUK - you pay for the experience/fun, not for the transport - always more expensive, but negotiating can be useful. 100-200THB to get anywhere
GRAB and BOLT - essential: get GRAB or BOLT app on your phone. BOLT is cheaper than GRAB. Works very good in Chiang Mai
TRAFFIC
Thai drivers do not understand the concept of pedestrians being part of the traffic. Be careful, especially with motorbikes, they meander through the cars. Unlike in the West, traffic will not hold before a pedestrian crossing, probably they think a Zebra-crossing is a kind of pop-up art consisting of white stripes painted on the road.
NIGHTLIFE
- SYLVIS ADD OIL - opposite of Paapu Next Door you find a hostel called Sylvis. They run a terrific cocktailbar for decent prices. Bartender is an artist, makes towers, fires....
- ZOE IN YELLOW - backpacker area, starts getting busy around 10pm
- NORTH GATE JAZZ Co-op - hotspot for live music, every night next to the North Gate - TUESDAY open mic!
- PAAPU HOUSE - THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE music event
- RAM SHOW BAR - must do when in Chiang Mai, ladyboys dressed up as Tina Turner, dragshow every night sets at 9.30pm, 11pm and 12pm, free entry, drinks more expensive
- CHAI RESTAURANT - next to the south gate, more often traditional music, bar looks like an antique store
- MAHOREE, D.O.D, Charoendee ... - 5 bars in a row, cocktail-barrish vibe, live music every night
- TONG BAR - close to Zoe in Yellow, lots of locals, coverbands, thai music
- DEAF SHOP - open from thursday till sunday, alternative little bar, with a wall full of Vinyl records which you can pick and the owner will play for you a track. Special Cocktails
- LOI KROH ROAD - we have our own small red-light district in Chiang Mai. Men alone, beware: 'hey misterrrr, where you're going, you want massaaaaaage,....'
TEMPLES
Dozens of them...
The important ones in town are
- WAT PHRA SINGH
- WAT CHEDI LUANG - beautiful large brick stupa, try to go after sunset, beautiful lighting
- WAT SUTHEP on the mountain - view on the city, very touristy, lot of shiny gold - Suthep is the Thai word for 'enlightment'. To get there go to north gate, there is a step up point, for red taxi, 60 THB per person; they wait till they are full. You can walk up in 2.5 hours with the Monk's Trail (second part of the trail is relatively hard/uphilly)
- WAT PHA LAT - beautiful jungle temple, halfway up the mountain to Wat Suthep. Consider walking up there. Navigate to 'Monk's trail' or 'Cafe basecamp'; in 45/60 minutes you reach Wat Pha Lat
- WAT UMONG - tunnel temple outside of town
- WAT LOK MO LI - close to the north gate, you can water the plant in the pagoda with some cable-system
- WAT MAE KAET NOI - horrible temple showing how thai people think hell will look like. 15km outside of town (45 minutes)
YOGA & MEDITATION
- YOGA IN THE PARK - Every morning at 8am and 9.30am, you can attend to a public Yoga session in the park in the southwest corner of the moat (Nong Buak Haad Public Park). For more information find 'YOGA IN THE PARK, CHIANG MAI', a group on Facebook. You will find their program, every day another teacher and another type of yoga. Be early if you want a spot in the shadow. Mats for rent at 20THB, teacher gets tips.
- CHIANG MAI HOLISTIC - yoga studio, more info www.chiangmaiholistic.com
- THA PHAE GATE USPACE - yoga studio, more info www.instagram.com/thaphaegateyoga_uspace
MASSAGE
If you're a first-timer, you might want to try out a so called 'oil massage' first. More strong is the Thai massage, in which your body is stretched and muscles are squeezed, sometimes it hurts. But your masseuse will tell you 'no pain no gain'.My recommendation is DEVI MASSAGE - 300 meter from the house in an alley of the moat. Best you pass by and make a booking, they are quite popular.
Whereever you go, give the girl a nice tip 50 or 100 THB if you can miss it.
MOTORBIKE RENTAL
There are a dozen shops south of Paapu House. Usually you have to leave about 2000 THB deposit plus copy of Passport. A 125 cc bike like Honda Click, Yamaha GT will be around 200THB per day, sometimes more expensive depending on the time of year. BAMBOO BIKES, 200 m down the road, is good, no nonsense, although sometimes old bikes. Tell them you come from Paapu House, you will get some discount.INTERNATIONAL DRIVING PERMIT - business model of the local Chiang Mai Police is pulling over tourists on their bikes and asking for an international driving permit, that is a grey booklet, and it should contain an A-stamp for motorbike (125cc feels like a moped, but officially is a motor). They will have checkpoints all over town, mostly on the moat, on the corner close to Paapu house, on the way to Doi Suthep, on the Nawarat Bridge, daily. You will be charged 500 THB if you are not able to show the IDP. You will have to pay at the Police station within 24 hours, do not pay in the street if you do not get a ticket: the fine ticket will remain 'valid' for a few days, if they pull you over tomorrow again you can say 'i already have a ticket...'
Wear a helmet anyway, fine for no helmet is 2000 THB.
TOURS
Tours to the elephants, cooking class, rafting, .... Ask me for recommendations. For some organisations i will get commission if i book for you, in which case i will give you a 10% discount on their published prices.Few examples
- MAE RIM Sanctuary - for bathing with the elephants, feeding, touching
- ELEPHANT NATURE PARK - for hands off experience, only observing the elephants
- SMILE ORGANIC FARM - cooking class, pickup around 3pm, go the local market, make some salads, curries and so on, vegetarian option available
- CHIANG RAI - full day 3 temples
- DOI INTHANON - go visit the highest peak in Thailand, with a 2 hour trek - full day
- DOI SUTHEP/WAT UMONG - evening temple tour, pick up at 5pm
- FOODIE TOUR - https://chiangmaifoodietours.com
PAI
Is Pai your next destination?Bookings can be made through:
- https://12Go.asia
- Aya service Chiang Mai - more info https://www.ayaservice.com
- Prempracha transport - more info https://premprachatransports.com/
POOL
One block away from Paapu House you find 'Mesa cafe': they have a nice dipping-pool which you can use for 100THB. Nice place to hang out with a book.More luxurious is RatiLanna, somewhat south of town, last time i checked was 400 THB per day.