Backpack & Budget : Thai Hostels Cheap and Rich With Elephants

Through a new youth hostel in the ancient city of Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, travelers can join treks intended to help the local culture.

Chiang Mai, about 400 miles northwest of Bangkok, is reached by overnight train from the capital. It has 156,000 inhabitants and more than 300 temples. The old section of the city is still bounded by moats. Chiang Mai is known as a center for crafts and has a popular night market. It is also a gateway for travelers who want to visit the hill tribes.

The new Chiang Mai Youth Hostel (Chang Puak) is at 4 Rajchaphakinai Road (from U.S. telephones 011-66-53-272169). A second youth hostel, Chang Klan, is at 21/8 Chang Klan Road (tel. 011-66-53-276737). Both are affiliated with Hostelling International.

In addition, the hostels have joined with the ministry of education to create a program offering foreign visitors the opportunity to volunteer to help the hill tribes.

Three-day treks begin three times a week. Participants help the local residents by bringing in educational materials, building schools or cutting children’s hair. Three-hour, river-raft excursions and elephant rides are also part of the package. The Chiang Mai youth hostels are probably the only hostels in the world that own their own herd of elephants; they now have five.

Cost of the three-day, two-night trek is $58. Six to 10 travelers are accompanied by a guide who speaks the tribal languages, local dialects and English. The youth hostels also provide necessary equipment such as backpacks, blankets and bedding.

The treks start in Chiang Mai and travel up to the Thailand/Myanmar border. The trip, througha beautiful rain forest, is a fascinating, exotic experience.

Travel in this area is not without problems or risks, however. Anyone planning to trek in Thailand would be wise to consider the following observations:

* See an expert in tropical medicine and arrange to take anti-malaria medication. It’s also important to remember that the medications don’t work 100% of the time. So, if you develop fever and chills and the symptoms of severe flu (even months after you return), you should seek help immediately at a hospital that treats tropical diseases.

* The company with which I trekked several years ago didn’t pack enough warm bedding. We stayed in village huts and still froze. If I were to do it again, I’d take some extra-warm clothing.

* Be careful about leaving credit cards in a hotel safe for several days. Travelers have reported learning months later that their cards were used, then returned. If you are going to leave a credit card, store it in an envelope that you seal and sign; that way you can tell whether it has been opened.

Another option for inexpensive lodging in Chiang Mai is the new YMCA International Hotel at 11 Mengrairasmi Road, Chiang Mai, tel. 011-66-53-221819, fax 011-66-53-215523.

Most rooms are air-conditioned, and have private bath and telephone. A standard single room is about $10; a standard double is $12. If you want to shave costs, a room with a shared bathroom is $4.80 single, $7.20 double. Beds are available in a dormitory for $2.80.

YMCAs also offer lodging in Bangkok and Chiang Rai.

An excellent source of information on Thailand for independent travelers is the 626-page, fifth edition of “Thailand--A Travel Survival Kit” by Joe Cummings ($17.95), published by Lonely Planet.

The book is packed with good advice. For example: “Upon arrival in Chiang Mai--whether by bus, plane or train--you’ll quite likely be crowded by touts trying to get you to a particular hotel or guest house. As elsewhere in Thailand, the touts get a commission for every prospective guest they bring to a guest house/hotel. . . . The commission is often added to your room rate (i.e., walk-ins get a lower rate than those guests brought by touts).”

For additional information on travel to Thailand, contact the Tourism Authority of Thailand, 3440 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1100, Los Angeles, tel. (213) 382-2353.