Hi Cecilia,
Very helpful info: yep I guess hostels have changed. I will pass all this along to her!

Mai Chau is very often used as a place for recreation & orientation by students(university and high school students) who come from Ha Noi by big buses(5-6 buses=250-300 students).

If you unhappily meet with them in minority villages(for your accommodation place) which are permitted by Cong An(police) as lisenced guesthouses for foreign tourists at Mai Chau , these 2 villages(Lak & Pom Coong Thai minority village) will be occupied with so many students like starling hordes (very noisy till…

Thanks Giora.
-Did you ask the hostel for cheaper alternatives when you slept for $3/night?
-how receptive were hostel/guesthouses when asking for discounts/ alternatives?

I will ask hostels for a discount: no breakfast, I will happily sleep on the floor (even outside)!
-I will also offer English lessons in exchange for free accommodation.
I imagine there'll be lots of walking around to find something that works...

**I'm beginning to realise Myanmar need not be so expensive.

So about a week to see the cities including bkk going overland by train, bus, minibus, taxi.. , 3- 4 nights Chiang Mai. And finish up with phuket. 6-8 nights.

Buy flights now Chiang Mai to phuket, and phuket to bkk for returning flight home... Beware luggage charges on cheaper low cost carriers. .. Suggest you fly Thai Air or Thai smile on hkt bkk route as it goes directly to to Suanabuhmi airport, and Not Don Muong (dmk). This makes for easy connection flights and they include 20kg of luggage…

If you haven't booked any accommodation yet, I would continue straight on to Chiang Mai (so fly home - Bangkok - Chiang Mai), and keep Bangkok for the end of your trip. That way you will avoid having to go into Bangkok twice (and although I love Bangkok, it can be a bit overwhelming and Chiang Mai is a much more relaxed city to start with).

As for your time down South: I would either choose one destination for 6 nights and maybe do a day trip or two out of it. Or 2 destinations with 3 nights…

There is a massive amount of information on worldwide weather on the Weather Underground website. Start here: http://www.wunderground.com/weather-by-country.asp
For example, here is July, 2014 in Chiang Mai, Thailand:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/VTCC/2014/7/24/MonthlyHistory.html

Click on a blue date on the last chart for hourly conditions. The Travel Planner feature is very useful, since it averages several years. I usually put in a 10 day range to average 150 days from the…

There is a massive amount of information on worldwide weather on the Weather Underground website. Start here: http://www.wunderground.com/weather-by-country.asp
For example, here is last July, 2014 in Chiang Mai, Thailand:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/VTCC/2014/7/24/MonthlyHistory.html

Click on a blue date on the last chart for hourly conditions. The Travel Planner feature is very useful, since it averages several years. I usually put in a 10 day range to average 150 days from…

Tue Dec 6 - travel (30 minute flight? 4 hr bus ride? 10 hr boat ride?) to Bagan
- The MDL airport is a 1 hr drive, plus check in plus flight time = 2hrs so take the 4 hr bus ride. And if you don't like bus rides take the boat, it's worth it.

Mon Dec 12 - around Inle (on lake? / 5 day market town? / Pindaya?)
Only 1 day in Inle - the standard boat tour takes a full day, so no time to see the town, day market or Pindaya.

Saturday Dec 17 - Chiang Mai, Saturday Walking Street night market
If you want…

Aside from hostels, which have the advantage of being closer to the city centres, check out Airbnb as you may find a few at reasonable price not too far from the city centre and if they are near public transport, you will likely get to experience an aspect of the greater city that you might otherwise miss.

There are also a few guesthouses about, kind of like private hotels and be it hostel, Airbnb or guesthouse, for longer stays you may be able to negotiate a discount on daily/weekly advertised…

I've just been through Padang Bai, Amed, Tulamben, Lovina and currently in Pemutran.
I'd skip Padang unless you're using it for ferry access.
Lovina is super chilled and plenty of diving / snork on offer.....along with Tulamben.
Your guesthouse can arrange drivers for you, or if you have a good gift of the gab and can negotiate well, try you hand with guys offering "transport" out on the street....you won't have to go search for them...they'll find you :)