I agree Chiang Mai is a great city to live. The food is amazingly good. The weather is great. The people are quite friendly and fun to talk to. There are mountains, rivers, waterfalls and lots of nature to enjoy. The cost of living is very reasonable. There are so many good things about Chiang Mai, and I can see why it was listed in the top ten best cities in the world.

The down side of Chaing Mai is that driving in the city can be very stressful. Chiang Mai is an older, historic city. The streets are narrow and disorganized.  There are small motor scooters flying everywhere, lawless for the most part, some with an entire family (three and four on a scooter) and  a baby in the basket!  Drivers in both cars and motor scooters will pull out in front of you without looking or warning at any time, all the time. Bangkok is worse of course!

I am so happy to see that Chaing Mai was listed by Travel and Leisure magazine as a top city. It is also interesting that Bangkok (#3), Luang Prabang (#7, Laos), Siem Reap (#18, Angkor Wat, Cambodia) are on the same Travel and Leisure World’s Best List, and very close to Chaing Mai.

The most important part of a fajita is the tortilla. Unfortunately, the tortilla at Miguel’s is the worst tortilla we have ever eaten. Miguel’s tortillas were soggy, oily and brittle. These tortillas were so bad, they ruined the experience of eating Mexican food, and I could not finish the meal and left Miguels hungry vowing never to return.

After all, just a few blocks down the road you can eat delicious Thai food for 25 Baht a plate, cooked nearly to perfection with rice! Why pay 160 Baht for a soggy, oily, brittle tortilla???

The service at  Amnuay Motor Air 2 was great.    The service reminded me of “the good olde days” in Chiang Mai when people offered you tea, coffee and water in just about every shop.  Those days are long gone, but I did get cool water and great service.  The shop is very large, modern and clean. I might even pay some big bucks for an Apline or JVC DVD / WAV multi-function player for our car.

Amnuay Motor Air 2 is well situation and easy to find.

• Number One Auto Body Shop
• 227 Mu 4 New Chiang Mai – Sankampang Road
• T. Tasala, A. Muang. J. Chiang Mai
• Telephone:  053-245-688
• Mobile: 081-595-5588

Number One provided great service and their paint matched very well.   Highly recommended.

Also, I want to thank the folks at AXA Insurance in Chiang Mai for recommending #1.  I have had a very good experience with AXA in Chiang Mai (but luckily, no claims yet!) AXA Branch Manager Khun Anothai Buranathai is a great guy!

Anyway, the owner was very kind and the atmosphere was modern and clean.   The food was good, albeit I thought it was overpriced for Chiang Mai.  I paid just about the same price for the combo as I would back home, so I thought the prices were too high for Chiang Mai, where labor and rent is very cheap.

But, like I mentioned, the food was good and the overall atmosphere friendly.  My GPS device was connecting and warming up out in my car when I decided to go outside and get it so I could share the location with you.  It was then I was reminded how difficult it can be to train Thai staff to work with foreigners, because I mentioned to the waitress, in nearly fluent Thai, that I would be right back.

Then, on the way out to get my GPS device, the waitress chased me like a common criminal who did not want to pay the bill.  I was a bit shocked by this, as I have been in Thailand, on-and-off, for more than 20 years, and this was the first time anyone had ever chased me!

This lack of manners by the staff soured by opinion of Miguel’s at the time, as I thought I had discovered a charming bit of Mexico in Nong Hoi.  On the other hand, I am sure this was an isolated incident and in no way should others be influenced by my somewhat unusual experience.  After all, “This IS Thailand!”

In a nut shell, the food is good at Miguel’s, albeit overpriced for Chiang Mai.

Unfortunately, getting their was a huge disappointment.   There was no staff outside to greet us or provide any service what-so-ever.   It was around 4:30 PM on a Sunday and the course seemed empty, the pro shop was closed, and only one table of beer drinkers were in the club house.

I ordered a “Thai Ice Tea” but instead, got a glass of Lipton, which is not what I asked for.  The menu was not interesting, and there was no service.  The Mae Joe Golf Club was like a ghost town!

There were no signs, no maps, and after asking a number of people, I found the driving range.  It was a barren field with no targets, no flags, no greens, no traps, nothing.   There was no service.   It was very disappointing.  In a nutshell, I do not recommend Mae Joe Golf Club and will not return anytime soon.  There are much better clubs in Chiang Mai.

In fact, we highly recommend Stardome in Chiang Mai.  Excellent service.  Great atmosphere.  You will be greeted when you drive up.  Caddies are there from early morning until 10pm to take care of your clubs.  This list goes on and on.  Great food and menu.  Nice coffee shop with super iced lattes.   Lots of very nice staff.  Top quality driving range.   Also, second to Stardome, we recommend Lanna Golf.  More on these great clubs later.  Avoid Mae Jo Golf Club.

I plan to visit the various weaving villages in the Jom Tong (Chom Thong) area in the near future.  When I do, I will provide exact GPS map coordinates for the various weaving villages.

One of my favorite places to hang out and drink Irish Coffee, The Good View serves serves delicious Thai, European, and Japanese cuisine. The Good View also has a nice selection of wine, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Situated in a riverside contemporary wooden style, The Good View is a nice atmosphere to hang out and enjoy the Chiang Mai nightlife.  Free WiFi too! See you there!