The best pub or bar in Chiang Mai
The best pub or bar and mexican restaurant in Chiang Mai, probably best bar or pub in Thailand (!) and the best recommendation by the Lonely Planet Guide too, is "The Drunken Flower" SOI 17, NOT SOI 1 - it has moved! Why is it the best? The simple reason is the warmly welcoming fluent English-speaking Thai owner, Pi, and the intelligent and friendly mixed Thai/Western crowd he attracts. He immediately makes you feel at home and you feel like a part of the community rather than an 'anonymouos tourist', like in so many bars, particularly the sleazy terrible ones around the Tha Pae gate which are to be avoided. The Drunken Flower is a bit out of the strictly "Tourist zone" there, and in a new sukhamvit-style district where the Thais go to party. Literally round the corner from this pub, if you want to carry on partying when it closes, is the excellent Warm-Up bar, which is all young Thais - aged 18-24, and it is a bit expensive for drinks - unlike the Drunken Flower - but there are two live bands inside and out. The Drunken Flower is a MUST even if you are only in town one night - make sure it's the coolest bar and mexican restaurant in town according to Westerners And the Locals! Have a great night and if you see Pi, say Hi from Motorbike Mark!