Falling in love with Chiang Mai
Everyone keeps speaking about Chiang Mai. When I first came to Thailand in October, my initial plan was to head off to North for at least a week and spend some time also in Chiang Mai as everyone is in love with that place. But because of the floods the trains and buses were canceled on the way to North, so I decided to take a short trip from Bangkok to Cambodia and Angkor War. Once I came back, the North of Thailand was still flooded so instead I went to Koh Samui island, Koh Phangan and Koh Lanta.
During the couple of months traveling around SE Asia, my expectations about Chiang Mai were just going higher and higher each time someone asked me if I was there already. So after the 3-week trip around the Philippines, I decided to go back to Thailand for the third time already and finally visit up the North a little bit, it means Kanchanaburi and Chiang Mai before enjoying Christmas in East Slovakia.
With my two buddies we took a sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai which is what most people do. It was a hell of a trip, never-ending story let’s say. It was one of those long train journeys which I actually enjoyed. But I was kind of happy to explore all the beauty of Chiang Mai finally after 3 months of a big desire to go there.
We got off of the train and had a small idea of where to go next. The pick-up taxi brought us to the East Tha Pae gate behind which a lot of guesthouses and hostels are located. We walked around a bit with heavy backpacks checking out the prices, and Holger the softness of the bed :D
Nothing was good enough like the hostel we saw on the leaflet at the tourist information at the train station, so we decided to keep looking for the best place to stay. In the end, we had our lunch first at The Wall restaurant and enjoyed some 30 minutes online (yes, we are all addicted, or should I say hard-working bloggers?!) Then we checked out more hostels, but the leaflet hostel turned out to have different prices, so in the end we took the first nice hostel we found – Kavil. I had the best view ever from my room!
To be honest, the first night I was kind of disappointed by Chiang Mai.
Yes, you hear me. Disappointed. I expected too much from it as not only every single person that once visited Chiang Mai truly loves it, but as well because a couple of bloggers live in here. So there must be something about Chiang Mai they love. But for the first 2 days I was just wondering what it was.
You cannot do a lot of sightseeing in Chiang Mai itself.
The town itself is easy to walk through (if I don’t count the outskirts too). There are just tons and tons of temples, every single street has some of them. I can bet that you would see at least one temple after each 10 minutes of walking.
And I love it. I was really obsessed with the temples once I came to Thailand for the first time. They are a sort of replacement for me for the archeological sites in Mexico. But after visiting plenty of temples during 3 months in Asia, I did not feel like visiting many temples in Chiang Mai again. It’s pretty much the same thing again and again.
But I did stroll through Wat Suandok temple which was built in the 14th century and varies from the other ‘wats’ by white colour of the small temples in front of it. Wat Suandok is located on the Suthep Road which leads to the most important and famous temple of Chiang Mai – Doi Suthep temple situated on the top of the hill with 304 steps and overlooking the whole Chiang Mai area.
So like I said, forget the proper sightseeing in Chiang Mai. There is a bunch of other things to do. You have to get a massage (foot, oil, Thai massage) which is cheaper here than in the rest of Thailand (120 – 200 Baht per 1 hour, e.i. 3 – 5 Euro per 1 hour). I extremely enjoy the foot massage done at the street with passers-by around you as we don’t have this in Europe.
Once you are done with the massages and temples, you should do some shopping at the Night Bazaar like we did. Negotiate the prices though. And Sunday walking street (Rajdamnuen Road) with the Tha Pae gate form the Sunday market which is enormously popular with both Thais and foreigners.
I bought a lot of souvenirs and Christmas presents in there. The Sunday market starts already in the afternoon and finishes at the night hours. You can get a lot of different meals here (I got a special chocolate banana roll), fruit shakes, fruit, soups, clothes, handmade bags, handicrafts, shoes and more stuff.
Apart from the markets, Chiang Mai is famous for its night street stalls. It is pretty cheap to have dinner in one of the stalls and the food is safe so no worries to get any stomachache or diarrhea.
What many people (bloggers – digital nomads) brings and most of all keep in Chiang Mai for longer is also another reason – wifi areas everywhere. Almost every restaurant and hostel has good reliable wifi. I think I have never seen such a good internet connection anywhere else in SE Asia than in Chiang Mai.
And we all know that we do need good wifi to work. So great cheap food, wifi, fruit shakes, vibrant town and lovely friendly atmosphere is what many young people love about Chiang Mai. And I have to say, my third day in Chiang Mai I started loving the place, too. It was not love at the first sight, but I guess it will last for longer :)
I had a chance to meet up with some bloggers that lived there at that time. I really had a great time at the dinner and then lunch meeting up with these guys. Hope to see you around guys again somewhere in the world!
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Joseph:
Yep, Joseph, this might help ;)
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Jay:
It definitely would be super cool :)
Joseph
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Comment@ Jay:
I am a dark Puerto Rican and wandered through there for about a month alone. Hope that helps, they will most likely think you are a sailor.
Jay
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What are your thoughts about a 25 yr old black male travelling alone in Thailand? I am seriously thinking about doing an island hopping trip but just want to make sure everything would be cool. Thanks
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Lindsay:
Sorry, Lindsay, I didn’t take their card with me so I have no idea. Good luck!
Lindsay
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Hi there, do you happen to know if you can make a reservation at Kavil in advance? I haven’t been able to find a valid phone number/e-mail/website. Thank you :)
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Dani:
Yeah, I saw your photos from Cameron Highlands, such a beautiful place! I can’t remember the name of the place where I took the last photo of this post, it was in one of the small side streets North-East of CM.
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Nomadic Samuel:
Sure, when I return to Thailand, I will do the same, I so miss the food and fresh coconuts from there :D
Dani
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Glad you to hear you fell in love with Chiang Mai:) – We are actually returning to Chiang Mai this weekend :) After four weeks in Malaysia, we’re ready fro some of the yummy fruit shakes, the markets and the delicious food! Where did you take that last photo? I want to make sure we’ll eat there while we’re in CM :) And I am sure our paths will cross again somewhere – it was great meeting you!
Nomadic Samuel
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I personally love Chiang Mai. I’ve been several times but never for an extended stay. I’ll base myself there soon :)
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Micamyx|Senyorita:
You should visit Chiang Mai if you can! I miss the food from there, and the fruit shakes haha!
Micamyx|Senyorita
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I’m here in Bangkok right now and some friends are convincing me to extend my stay. Hmmm… I want to visit Chang Mai too to know firsthand what the buzz is all about
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Heather:
I was riding elephants in Kanchanaburi, not in Chiang Mai so can’t speak about my own experience about this one … But wifi, food, prices and people there are amazing!
Heather
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I visited Chiang Mai mainly to see elephants and temples. As you said, the temples are everywhere. I was still intrigued by them at that point, so that was okay.
What I wasn’t prepared for were all the scammy/ circus-y elephant “shows” disguised as “sanctuaries.” I did find a good but pricey one – Patara Elephant Farm – which was an amazing experience.
I also enjoyed the food and WiFi everywhere!
Glad you experienced the city and got to meet up with some other bloggers!
Cheers!
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Montana The Explorer:
Yes, Jason, you have to go to Chiang Mai, you will be eating there all the time like you did with me :D And fresh coconuts haha
crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Will – My Spanish Adventure:
Will, no I haven’t read Kate’s post yet, I don’t read posts about the places I’m gonna write about so I’m not influenced by them! And Anthony was not there yet when I was!
Will - My Spanish Adventure
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Interesting to see how you love it! It seems to be tearing other people apart. Did you see Adventurous Kate’s post recently? I’m sure I’d love it based on everything you’ve described.
Have you not met Mr Man Vs Clock hanging around yet?
Montana The Explorer
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exactly ! Every travel blogger/traveler that i know always recommend Chiang Mai as one of the best place to visit in Thailand and i was really intrigue by it. Anyway , it’s one of my itineraries when i visit Thai soon and hopefully i wont be disappointed :)