Pick up a copy of Welcome to Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai magazine at your hotel for listings of special events in town during your stay. But most folks will spend at least one evening at the Night Bazaar . For an impromptu bar scene, you can duck into one of the back alleys behind the Night Bazaar mall that are lined with tiny bars -- there local singer-guitarists play modern tunes.
If you get tired and hungry during bar hopping at the Night Bazaar, you'll want to stop at Kalare Food & Shopping Center, 89/2 Chang Klan Rd., on the corner of Soi 6, behind the bazaar (tel. 05327-2067). Free nightly traditional Thai folk dance and musical performances grace an informal beer garden, where shoppers can stop for a drink or pick up inexpensive Chinese, Thai, and Indian food from the stalls there.
For a more studied cultural performance, the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center, 185/3 Wua Lai Rd. (tel. 05320-2993), stages a good show at 7pm every night for 320B (US$9.15/£4.90), which includes dinner. Live music accompanies female dancers in lavish costumes who perform traditional dances. In between sets, men dance with knives and swords. A khan toke dinner is served, and despite the crowds, the wait staff is attentive. Yes, it is touristy -- busloads find their way here -- but it is a good time. Call ahead and they'll plan transportation from your hotel.
Most discos and lounges, located in major hotels, feature live music, whether it is a quiet piano bar or a rock pub featuring a band. Good View (13 Charoenrat Rd.; tel. 05324-1866) and The Riverside (9/11 Charoenrat Rd.; tel. 05324-3239) are both popular restaurants along the Ping River and feature live music after 8pm and on into the evening. Directly east of the Night Bazaar and in the large compound of the old Diamond Riverside Hotel, River Bar (33/11 Charoen Prathet Rd.; tel. 05320-6169) has live music nightly and is always full. The Amari Hotel's La Gritta (1 Nimmanhaemin Rd.; tel. 05322-1130) has a good jazz band every Saturday night. The small streets in and around Thapae and Loy Kroh roads constitute the town's red-light district with many "hostess clubs" or street-side bars doubling up as brothels or pickup joints.
The Bubble Disco in Pornping Tower (46 Charoen Prathet Rd.; tel. 05327-0099), and Crystal Cave Disco at Empress Hotel, Chang Klan Road (tel. 05327-0240), are two rather dodgy night spots which seem to attract a fair supply of hookers and take turns getting shut down.
