If
you roll off the train or bus in Chiang Mai without a reservation - do not
worry.
Waiting
for you at the bus and train stations will be hotel touts. Normally, you would
ignore these people but in Chiang Mai competition is so cut-throat that prices
are low and quality are very high. It was simply picking a name that I liked
from a Thai tout holding a hotel sign that I had the good fortune to discover
the Libra guesthouse.
If you are
staying on a budget in Thailand beg, grovel or plead to get into the Libra
guesthouse. It is situated just into the Old City along a soi off Moon Muang
Road within easy walking distance of the Thae Pae Gate and Night bazaar. The
guesthouse is a family run affair and the front desk is manned by two sisters.
Tables for guests are out on the veranda, the kitchen is viewable from these
tables and you can smell the chefs cooking lemongrass and chicken.
The rooms are
very clean and cheap (100 baht when I was there, £1.50) and are on the upper
storey or along a soi (lane) and grouped around a tropical garden and the lane
gives a view into the surrounding houses whose smiling families seem to live
their lives outside.
But the Libra
guesthouse is primarily a trekking guesthouse and has an excellent reputation.
Guides hang around the guesthouse and the family will arrange a 5/4/3 day trek
for you for a reasonable price (500 baht a day). There are no worries about
leaving your valuables behind as they seal them in envelopes and lock them in a
safe. The professionalism of these sisters gives the place an excellent
reputation.
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