Northern homes traditionally were built of teak, with beautiful Galae horns at the peak and walls sloping gently outward, but cement has replaced wood as the preferred construction material. Multi-unit dwellings are now commonplace. There are even furnished apartments.
Forty or more years ago, building materials here were mostly natural. But cement became an increasingly powerful force in Thai politics and industry, taking a dominant place in construction until the country was overbuilt. An economic bubble burst in 1997, and many a never-occupied row of shop-houses remains empty.
Tribal homes are often of bamboo, with grass roofs. 30-40 years ago, building materials here were mostly natural. But cement became an incredibly powerful force in Thai politics and industry, taking a dominant place until the country was overbuilt. An 'economic bubble' collapsed in 1997, and many projected housing projects remain noticable only as abandoned gateways.
Thai law allows only Thai citizens the right to purchase land, but foreigners can lease, or buy into a condominium (such as Chiangrai Condotel). Good storage arrangements (closets and cupboards) and built-in kitchen sinks remain uncommon.
Red Rose Hotel boat room
Over 80 establishments offer rooms in Chiang Rai City. A full list, with prices, is available free from the Tourist Authority (TAT office on Singhaklai Rd.) Prices range from B40 to B16,000. The most amusing is the Red Rose, by the north end of the old runway. Your room can have a cartoon or Star Wars theme; your bed can be a boat or a boxing-ringc
An important consideration is choosing a place to stay is noise - especially the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs. Thais sometimes seem oblivious to such noise.
My personal favorite recommendation is Baan Bua Guest House, 879/2 Jedyot Road (tel 053-718880, FAX 053-705357 or e-mail baanbua@yahoo.com). It's accessible (in the center of town), quiet, lovely, nicely priced, clean and comfortable, with good food at good prices.
The electrical power station is on Ratdetdamrong Road, to the south side of Doi Thong (220 volt). Not enough is produced for factories, yet supply is dependable.
Cooking stoves are usually use propane, sold at gas stations, in small cylindrical tanks. Charcoal is also used for cooking and heating, as is wood, though smoke vents are rare.
Trash is picked up regularly by garbage trucks (B10 or 20, usually, for a house in town) and buried as landfill. The plentitude of dead vegetation from wet season's rampant growth is often burned. It might better be composted for fertilizer, but for the pest situation: ants, rats and snakes. There is new legislation, but much doubt about how well it will be implemented.
Newspapers, plastic, glass and metals are usually recycled or reused. Vendors on bicycle carts go about town buying them.
A sewage treatment plant, near the sports stadium, should be ready soon (but until then, waste sits for treatment in open pits, until going into the Kok). Water pressure in the city system has sometimes been disappointingly low, perhaps because a pumping machine was out.