Thailand Mini-Meeting, Jan 19 2008

The Thailand HU Mini Meeting January 19, 2008, in Chiang Mai was an overwhelming success and saw attendees from the far reaches of the globe as well as local travellers locally spend an evening trading global travel tips and information, making new friendships, renewing old ones, and tire kicking in the parking lot.

Present were overland motorcycle travellers from France, Australia, Germany, Australia and Singapore. The parking lot even had one motorcycle with a Chinese license plate!

The three main topics of discussion during the evening were border crossings, shipping, where to find good maps and GPS information, and what road conditions were like. The over 30 attendees enjoyed the jungle environment and reasonable menu of a well appointed restuarant selected by event organizer Robert Sensale. At the conclusion of the meeting travellers left for varied destinations like Nepal, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and one attempt at a Burma crossing.

The one Canadian and six Americans had travelled the furthest and there was a sprinkling of travellers who came from the local area. Germans expats and travellers were the majority of attendees, while the single French-Canadian represented the minority.

As the restaurant closed there was still a collection of hardened travellers trading information about their route accomplishments and plans for China, Vietnam and other points on the globe. A tentative HU Meeting date for 2009 of January 17, 2009 was discussed, with content possibilities suggested.

Report by Greg Frazier

Thanks to Bob Sensale and Greg Frazier for organising the meeting!

Location: Khaomao Khaofang Restaurant (near the Night Safari) 6:00 PM. The Night Safari is about 10 km southwest of central Chiang Mai, just west of the Canal Road. To get to the restaurant from the Night Safari, head east on the Night Safari Road. The restaurant is between the Canal Road and Route 108 - Hang Dong Road.