Introduction
It’s a long way up north but Chiang Mai is a must on any Thailand holiday itinerary. There really is something for everyone. If you’re into history and culture, this 8000 year old fortified city features over 300 temples. If you’re an art lover, there are some exceptional artists working from Chiang Mai and a host of interesting galleries to look around. If nature is your thing, the surrounding countryside and forests are vast and spectacular, not to mention that the city is built in the shadow of Doi Suthep, a 5498 feet high mountain and major religious site. Plus, with all the delicious street food, foodies will be in heaven.
Where To Stay in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is built around the ‘old city’, the ancient settlement which is surrounded by a city wall. The main areas to stay are the old city itself, Nimmanhaemin to the west, the Night Bazaar area to the east and Wat Ket, by the riverside, a little further out of town.
The old town is quiet and packed with temples and history, Nimman is the trendy student area, whilst the riverside is tranquil and tends to be cheaper. However, personally, I think the best area to stay is on the eastern edge of the old city, by the Tha Phae gate. There are some really nice places to stay, eat and drink here. Plus it is walking distance to the majority of the temples, the nightlife of Loi Kroh road and the Night Bazaar.
Accommodation Recommendation:
At Home at Chiang Mai
We were really pleasantly surprised by this hotel. Due to a last minute change of plan, I booked without doing much research. It was cheap (1000B/£25 a night for Superior Double Room) and in the area I wanted so I just booked it. However, when we arrived I couldn’t believe how great the room was. An enormous bed, plenty of space, two small balconies and a spotless bathroom.
It’s great value for money in a great location. It’s at the entrance of a small alleyway which contains a number of places to eat and have a drink. The couple who run it are helpful and friendly. I have stayed in a number of places in Chiang Mai, but At Home is my current favourite. There are also slightly smaller rooms available for 720B (£18).
25/1 Moonmuang rd. lane 2 T.Prasingha A.Muang, Chiang Mai, Phra Sing, 50200 Chiang Mai
Alternatives Options
Awana House, which is right by the Tha Phae Gate and has a small swimming pool (530B/£13 for small double with fan or 1150B/£30 for deluxe double).
Kittawan Home & Gallery, beautiful guesthouse situated a little bit out of town in the riverside area (1150B/£30 for deluxe villa).
What To Do in Chiang Mai
Temple Tour
With over 300 temples in the city, its a good idea to pick out the highlights. Plenty of companies offer tours of the temples in the old city, but you can easily do this yourself.
1. Wat Chiang Man
At 8000 years old, this is the oldest temple in the city and well worth a visit for the Chang Lom Chedi, the pagoda surrounded by ornate elephants.
2. Wat Lok Moli
Another ancient temple, which once served as the Royal Palace for King Guna in the late 1300s. A peaceful temple with beautiful grounds.
3. Wat Phra Singh
Also know as the Temple of the Lion Buddha, this is the most popular temple in Chiang Mai and tends to be busy all day with tourists, locals and the 600 monks who worship here. But definitely worth seeing, despite the crowds.
4. Wat Chedi Luang
If you’re only going to see one temple, it should probably be this one. It’s a large complex with plenty to see: the city pillar (Inthakin), the sermon hall, Phra Chao Attarot (a giant standing Buddha statue), some incredible art, an ENORMOUS gum tree and the pagoda itself.
5. Wat Sri Suphan
This one is a little out of the way and perhaps not quite as impressive as some others on the list but its USP is that it is entirely silver. Whilst the material may have fairly little genuine silver in it, it makes for a very interesting and impressive temple nonetheless.
Tour
If you enter the first four temples on this list, in that order, into google maps you’ll see they are in a logical route that takes about 30 minutes to walk. So if you spend 30 minutes at each, that’s a 2.5 hour tour and a whole lot of history.
Day Trips
There’s all sorts of day trips you can do in the area surrounding the City. The main attraction is Doi Suthep, the holy mountain, and if you can face the early wake up there are several tours that head up there for sunrise over the city.
Doi Inthanon is a spectacular and vast national park around 90 minutes drive from the city where you can get immersed in the forest.
It is possible to do a day trip to Chiang Rai, just to the North East of Chiang Mai, though this cool town deserves more time if possible. There are also many Hilltribes in the area and plenty of tour companies offer the chance to visit their villages and take part in activities with them.
You could also take a tour to see the Golden Triangle, which is the point where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. If you want to tick off a few of these activities one go, this 12 hour tour has an action packed itinerary.
Street Food Tour and Cooking Classes
Food in Chiang Mai is really good so its a great spot to do some street food tours or cooking classes, and there is no shortage of choices. For example, this small group tour takes you to two food markets, with at least 8 dishes to try.
In terms of a cooking class, I did this one with Sammy a few years ago and it was great. You get picked up and taken out to her farm via a local market to pick up the ingredients. Then you have a wide choice of dishes to make (starter, soup, stir fry, curry and dessert). It’s really good fun, well taught and a good escape from the city for the day.
Handicraft Village
The nearby villages of San Kampaeng and Bo Sang are home to numbers skilled crafts people. There are experts in wood carving, silk production, Celadon pottery, silversmithing, jewellery making, lacquer-ware, leather work, and, in Bo Sang especially, traditional decorative umbrellas.
You could use a tour company to organise a day out here, but it is only a 15 minute drive from the city so you can easily jump in a taxi and go yourself. There are courses for you to learn the basic techniques yourself, or you could just go for some cool souvenirs.
Shopping
Chiang Mai is quite a good place to buy your souvenirs due to the abundance of local craftspeople. There are three main markets. The Night Bazaar runs daily from 6-11pm. If you walk up Loi Kroh road for about 10 minutes you wont be able to miss it.
The Sunday Walking Street Market takes place along a kilometre-long stretch through the centre of the old city from 6-10pm on Sundays. You will find the start of it at the Thapae Gate. Finally, if you find the Sunday market too busy, the Saturday Walking Street Market tends to be quieter, but with pretty much the same stalls. You’ll find this one on Wualai Road from 4-10pm.
Art and Galleries
There’s a ton of cool artists working from Chiang Mai and as such there are plenty of galleries to view or buy their work. Some of the bigger galleries such as the Chiang Mai University Art Center and the MAIIAM are permanent fixtures with regular exhibitions.
However, due to the nature of the business, many smaller galleries and exhibitions come and go. The best way to find out whats on when you’re there is to check out the very handy Chiang Mai Art Conversation website.
Finally, I would recommend checking out John’s gallery on Thapae Road. I stumbled across this great little shop for the first time last year and loved it. John is a really cool guy who paints onto fabric. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but its so much fun to trawl through the, literally, thousands of different pictures and you can get yourself a great, cheap, and handmade souvenir.
Where To Eat in Chiang Mai
For street food, there are a number of good areas in Chiang Mai. The main spot is by the Chang Pheuak Gate (North Gate), where, among the many great food stalls, you will find the famous ‘Cowboy Hat Lady’ who cooks up delicious slow roasted pork. Other good spots are found at the Chiang Mai Gate (South Gate) and around Kad Suan Kaew (a shopping centre near the North-West corner of the old city wall).
If you eat one dish in Chiang Mai, make it Khao Soi. This Northern delicacy consists of a curried noodle soup, topped with crispy fried noodles. It is really tasty and you’ll find it all over the city.
Khao Soi Khun Yai
The best place in town to sample khao soi. Found on the north edge of the city wall, this place is totally packed most days by midday, tends to be closed by 2pm and pretty much just serves one dish. But there is no better place in the city for lunch, and it shouldn’t cost you more than 2 or 3 quid for two bowls!
Sri Poom Road Just After Sri Poom 8 Alley, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Kat’s Kitchen
This small restaurant on the eastern edge of the city wall is one of my absolute favourites. It serves up delicious, traditional Northern Thai food. The dishes and cheap and huge, so make sure you’re hungry when you go. A word of caution, they offer a normal sized and large sized bowls of Khao Soi. The large bowl is ENORMOUS! I thought it would make a good side dish for two of us to share along with our main, but it was honestly big enough to fill up three people on its own!
17 Ratchamanka Road, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Rajdarbar Indian Restaurant
If you’re craving a curry, I would recommend this Indian place on Loi Kroh road not far from the night bazaar. It serves the kind of food you’d expect in a British Indian takeaway/restaurant but really good quality. Definitely hits the spot if you’re craving a curry.
99/2 Loi Kroh Rd, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Reform Kafe
A nice vegetarian spot, with plenty of vegan options too. They offer good quality Thai food, as well as Western options such as freshly made sandwiches and veggie burgers.
1/4 Sripoom Rd. Lane 7, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Nun’s Restaurant
Small, traditional Thai restaurant in the old city. Really good quality Thai cooking, at a low price. They also do a very good Khao Soi. Plus the owners are very friendly and accommodating
7/1 Rachadamnoen Rd Soi 5, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Where To Drink in Chiang Mai
Nimmanhaemin
Nimman is the trendy party of town, full of great coffee shops (e.g. Ristra8to) and bars selling local and international craft ale (e.g. Beer Lab). You’ll be able to find some decent live music most evenings. Sangdee Gallery is always worth a look as they often have some really interesting stuff on. You could also grab yourself a swanky cocktail at the chilled Baa(n) Din bar. Finally, the busiest place in the area is usually Warm Up, where you can take your pick from the multiple rooms, each playing something different.
Old City
Most of the old city is very sleepy, however, in the north east corner, there is a large, mainly outdoor area full of busy bars and restaurants. If you head to the corner of Ratchapakhinai Road and Ratvithi Road you’ll find them all. The most popular spot is Zoe in Yellow, which is sort of an outdoor club. Its surrounded by other bars, such as Roots Rock Reggae, Havana Bar and Pentatonic Rock Bar, each worth a visit depending on your music tastes.
Loi Kroh Road
There’s no getting away from it- this is the seedy end of town. Its not a red light district or anything, there aren’t any strip clubs to my knowledge. But there are plenty of ‘bar girls’ around here, especially in the bars found in the boxing ring. There is actually Thai boxing on at the ring, mainly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday, but don’t expect the same quality as in Bangkok. Obviously, it’s best to stay clear of this area if that’s not your thing. But you can definitely still have a non-seedy good time here!
Riverside
The Ping Riverside is fast becoming one of the best places to spend an evening. Obviously, being by the riverside means the scenery is really nice and its definitely quieter than the other areas. One of the most popular spots is the Bus Bar, so called because they literally serve drinks out of an old double decker bus. Its cheap and cheerful, but a nice outdoor spot for a beer at sunset. Many bars on the riverside focus on live music. For a pop classic covers you could check out either the Good View or the Riverside.
Other Bars
Tiny Corner: this really might be the smallest bar in the world. There’s 4 chairs, 2 little tables and a bar. The barmaid, Laa, is hilarious and so warm and friendly. Its directly opposite the At Home hotel I recommended above, on Moon Muang Rd Lane 2. For another tiny bar, further down the alley, check out Lost Hut.
North Gate Jazz Co-op: as you’d expect from the name, this is Chiang Mai’s home of live jazz music and it can be found near the North gate of the old city wall.
THC Rooftop Bar: this is a popular backpacker hangout. It is technically a rooftop bar, but that’s not what people really come for. The real draw is the chilled vibe and the cheap drinks.
We Didn’t Land on the Moon Since 1987: finally, a bit of a left field suggestion. This super trendy bar/art gallery has been reinvented three or four times now but it always comes back just as cool as before. The current incarnation feels a bit like drinking in a space ship.
How To Get To/From
Chiang Mai has an international airport, only a 15 minute drive from the city. You can fly here direct from practically anywhere in South East Asia, and obviously this is the easiest way to get in or out. However, if you’re coming from Bangkok and time isn’t an issue, I’d really recommend getting the train at least once. There are overnight sleeper trains that depart Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong train station each night at 6.10 and 7.35 (although never expect them to leave on time…) You can get yourself a bed in 2nd class for 1000B (£25) and it takes around 13 hours. The two main advantages of taking the train are a) it saves you paying for a night in a hotel and b) the scenery on the way into Chiang Mai in the morning is amazing. It’s such a nice way to wake up. As always for train travel, check out the excellent seat61 website for more details, and you can book tickets with 12go.
Note: alcohol has been banned on trains since some idiot tourist got drunk and caused trouble in 2014. It’s a real shame because they used to have the ‘party train’ which was great fun. Staff will tend to turn a blind eye if you bring a few beers on and keep it hidden away, but bear in mind you could end up with a big fine.
