Overview
Go ahead and picture what you think Thailand is like. Take a minute; we will wait.
What came to mind? Crowded streets, beautiful beaches, Pad Thai, drunk sunburned backpackers?
Whatever you are picturing in your head about Thailand, Chiang Mai is definitely not it. Set in the cool jungle forests of northern Thailand, Chiang Mai is a world of its own. It’s calmer, lazier and more welcoming that its big brother Bangkok to the south. Its cuisine is different, its people are so open and nice and it’s a place you just can’t help but to fall in love with.
People generally come to Chiang Mai for its nature and its animals, as it sits below Thailand’s largest mountain. Walk around the city and you will be asked over and over by red truck driving guides whether you want to see the tigers, the elephants, temples all tucked away in the mountains high above.
The old city itself city inside a fortified square wall which wraps around the temples and ancient streets for 5 kilometers on each side. Inside the city you will find more temples than you even thought were possible. Chiang Mai is known as the city of 10,000 temples of course!
While touring temples and sampling northern cuisine can make any trip to Chiang Mai perfect, a tour there wouldn’t be complete without checking out Thailand’s national sport in the place where it all began; Muai Thai.
Is It Cheap?
Yes! Chiang Mai is even cheaper than Bangkok if that was even possible and we found the cheapest hostel we have ever seen anywhere in the world tucked in one of the small hostel lined streets of Chiang Mai, just $5 a night. A plate of food will cost you around $3 dollars on the street, making Chiang Mai the perfect destination to get the most out of your travels.
Wat Chedi Luange
Khao Soi Egg Noodle Soup
Hmong Hill Tribe Gardens
Doi Suthep Stupa
Interior of the Silver Temple
What to Do
Explore the Silver Temple Complex
This temple is spectacular and easily one of the coolest things you can see in Thailand. Set just south of the old city, the temple is completely covered in hand shaped and designed silver plating, nearly 1 million dollars worth of the stuff. The intricate designs are truly a marvel of human ingenuity and something that will absolutely blow your mind.
Note: Only men may enter the silver temple, although the complex is welcome to all. They offer meditation classes and even have free wifi!
Get lost in Chiang Mai’s Saturday Market
The Saturday Walking market starts in the mid afternoon and goes late into the evening every saturday in the city. Located in the same district as the Silver Temple, the market is absolutely massive and attracts hundreds of thousands of people. Whether you want to eat, to shop or just to walk around and explore the nightlife of the city, the market is truly the best place in the city to do so.
Get Historical at Wat Chedi Luang
Wat Chedi Luang sits directly in the center of the old town and has become a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists from around the world. Built in the 14th and abandoned hundreds of years later, the Wat has thus been named a UNESCO Heritage site and one of the coolest places to visit during your time in Chiang Mai.
Spend a Day in the Mountains and Find Peace at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Doi Suthep is the mountain range that sits just north of Chiang Mai, being the highest point in all of Thailand. A trip to Chiang Mai without spending a day in the mountains would just be a waste.
To get to the mountains, load into one of the red trucks around the city offering a ride up the mountain. You can find these trucks pretty much all over the city, and we would recommend getting up early and going to avoid the bad traffic and crowds that the mountain draws.
As the driver takes you up the mountain, they will drop you off after about a 30 ride at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a large temple complex with a golden stupa at its center.
Not only a sacred center for the Thai people, the complex offers one of the best views of Chiang Mai and the valley below. Walking up to the temple requires climbing a very large set of stairs, so be ready to do a little walking.
After exploring the temple complex, we recommend climbing back into a red truck and going deeper into the jungle and higher up the mountain where you will find Phuping Palace and the Hmong Hill Tribe Villages. The Palace was once home to northern Thai kings and royalty and is about a 15 minute ride up the mountain.
From there you will continue climbing until they take you down a sketchy one way dirt road to the Hmong hill tribe villages. There you can get out, explore the vast nature and open spaces of the Chiang Mai forests and see an isolated and interesting community. It is the perfect place to have lunch, buy some souvenirs and also explore their small garden adorned with flowers, waterfalls and the like.
From there, you can return down the mountain, about an hour drive to where the taxi driver picked you up. The ride should cost around $10 dollars round trip
Animal Sanctuaries
At Tastes From The Road we respect and care about the fair treatment of animals and we want to make sure that you know what you are purchasing before you do it. Tiger Kingdom is a “zoo” in the mountains that offers close encounters and pictures with Tigers. We have however heard mixed reviews as to whether they drug their Tiger’s to make them easier to handle.
If you are in Thailand to see elephants, and it is an experience we certainly recommend, we want you to do some research and find a sanctuary that allows you to visit them. Many Thai elephant companies abuse and hurt the animals, and as a company ensuring sustainable tourism and travel, that is something we cannot get behind.
DO NOT RIDE THE ELEPHANTS. They are not meant to be ridden.
There are a few wonderful companies in Chiang Mai that offer experiences to meet and interact with elephants without hurting them.
We recommend Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and Elephant Nature Park, both of which are committed to ensuring the safety of the animals.
What To Eat and Drink
Northern Thai cuisine is quickly becoming the most beloved food to come out of Thailand. Foodies from all across the planet are skipping Bangkok and the coasts to explore the Lanna Thai cuisine of the north. Spicier and more robust, also featuring ingredients you wouldn’t typically associate with Thai cuisine, Chiang Mai’s food scene is just waiting for you to fall in love with it.
Just as with Bangkok and other larger Thai cities, the best food in the city will be found on the streets, sitting among the crowds on plastic chairs and child size tables.
Khao Soi: A curry noodle soup made of egg noodles, crispy wontons and aromatic vegetables. A mix of spicy and sweet, this dish is the most popular and beloved dish in the region. It’s typically topped with pickled mustard greens to add a sour flavor to the broth.
Sai Oui: An aromatic sausage featuring lemongrass; a trip to Chiang Mai would not be complete without trying it. Normally it is grilled and served from street stands along the road.
Laap Kua Mu: Spicy pork larb as we call it in the US is a dish made of chopped pork cooked with chiles and scallions, served salad style with lettuce or in a wrap.
Miang Kham: Typically this dish resembles a (small bite) composed of betel leaves filled with different textures and flavors. You will often find small shrimp, scallions, chile, peanuts and ginger within the leaf for a varied and absolutely tasty experience.
Roasted Chicken: Sounds pedestrian, but Chiang Mai may be making some of the world’s best rotisserie marinated chicken. Simply spun, roasted, chopped and served, the best place to try this delicacy is at a small shop called SP.
Transportation
While it is great to get lost walking around the old city of Chiang Mai, the city is large and at times quite toasty. We recommend either taking tuk-tuks or motorbike taxis as they are both incredibly fun to ride but cheap!
Pro-tip: Just as with anything in Thailand, you can bargain the price of a ride in Chiang Mai. We wouldn’t recommend getting in a tuk-tuk or on a motorbike without knowing how much it is going to cost you.
How to get to Chiang Mai?
There are daily flights that leave from Bangkok’s domestic terminal Don Muang and the flight time is around an hour. A one way ticket will generally be between $30-45 dollars on either Thai Lion Air or Air Asia.
If you would like to travel to Chiang Mai via bus from Bangkok, the central bus station (Mo Chit) offers tens of different options for you to choose from; from classy bus companies to the more pedestrian sort. While the tickets are cheap, the buses take almost 9 hours and often drive on the very bumpy roads of central Thailand, making for quite the journey.
Where to After Chiang Mai?
Pai – A backpackers paradise set in the forest to the northwest of Chiang Mai, its the perfect place to get off the grid and enjoy the beauty of Thailands nature.
Chiang Rai- Thailand’s’ largest northern city, Chiang Rai is known for its spectacular white temple complex.
Sukhothai- The ancient capital city sits about 4 hours south of Chiang Mai towards Bangkok and is home to spectacular ancient temple complexes.
Clubbing and Nightlife
Pretty much every backpacker in the entire city ends up at Zoe in Yellow and the surrounding bars on a night out. It’s always packed, the beer and drinks are always flowing and it is a very interesting place to spend your night out. You can grab a big Chang or Leo in the bar next door for around $2 and drink it out on the street while you watch drunk tourists and locals create one of the weirdest atmospheres you can find anywhere. It’s trashy, but so so fun
If you are looking for something a bit less ridiculous, the Nimman Road area of Chiang Mai is budding with modern bars and cafes.
My Travel Essentials For An Asian Backpacking Trip
Below you'll find a list of my must bring backpacking items. I have gotten this list down to my essentials through trial and error over 4 years of living in a backpack. I hope you'll find these items helpful on your journey!
►Main Backpacking Backpack: https://amzn.to/3vUHdik [Amazon]
►Great Front Facing Duffle-bag : https://amzn.to/3SjK6Ra [Amazon]
►Quick Dry Towel : https://amzn.to/3uarxH8 [Amazon]
►Multi Country Charger Adapter : https://amzn.to/3Ul37p0 [Amazon]
►Refillable Water Bottle : https://amzn.to/48SnG0n [Amazon]
►Padlock : https://amzn.to/3SdyYp7 [Amazon]
►Earplugs : https://amzn.to/498xTpl [Amazon]
►Power Bank : https://amzn.to/3SyXP8e [Amazon]
Travel Photography & Video Favorites
If you're interested in creating your own video content on your trip, these are some of my favorite items I've had. They work, they're effective and besides the Sony Aa7C, they aren't going to break the bank either!
►On the Go Video | Go Pro Hero 12 : https://amzn.to/3u38oHh [Amazon]
►Photography | Sony A7C : https://amzn.to/3u1Y6ap [Amazon]
►Portable Tripod | https://amzn.to/42ojHqc [Amazon]
►Lavalier Microphone | https://amzn.to/3SbL41U [Amazon]
►Drone | https://amzn.to/47TCwSY [Amazon]
►Portable Monitor | https://amzn.to/3Hzv2dg [Amazon]
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