Introduction: Chiang Mai Travel Guide
Any trip to Thailand should involve a stop in Chiang Mai. The city has a lot to offer and is a real culture place in Thailand. There are many temples to be visited but what makes Chiang Mai unique is all the Elephant rescue centres in its countryside.
Be sure to organise a one day visit to one those rescue center to lean about the elephant and interact with them. Ride one on bare back is actually good for them. They don’t feel your weight and will take the chance to exercise a bit.
Table of Contents
Mapping the Chiang Mai Travel Guide
Getting there
The best way to reach Chiang Mai is:
- If you are coming from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai, you can simply take a local long distance bus. It is a 3h20 ride for less than 10€ per person
- If you are coming from Krabi, Bangkok, or someplace south, flying to Chiang Mai Airport will be the better call.
Moving Around
The easiest way to get around Chiang Mai is by renting a scooter/Motorbike. There are pretty cheap and in good shape. This will really allow you lots of freedom to move around town.
There are tons of rentals around town, just ask your accommodations where is the best one nearby.
When to Visit
The best time to visit Chiang Mai are the winter months, from November to February. At this time the weather is cool and pleasant (15 to 25°C without rain). But it’s also one of the peak seasons for tourism.
Avoid July to October as it is the Rainy Season (30°C and lots of rain).
March to June is the hot season with temperatures up to 40°C.
What to Eat
For us the best thai food is from the street store. That is where you will get unique and yummy meals for the best price ever. We loved in Chiang Mai:
- Rice in Pineapple
- Rolled Ice cream (not really local but yummy)
- Local Kebab
- Fried Banana
If you like meat, the street food will be amazing with any type of meat available, cooked or fried.
But Generally, in Thailand, the to-go-food are:
- Pad Thai (Thai Style Fried Noodles)
- Som Tam (Spicy Green Papaya Salad)
- Pad See Eiw (Thick Noodle Dish)
- Khao Pad (Fried Rice)
- Gaeng Keow Wan (Green Curry)
- Pad Phak (Fried Vegetables)
- Kao Niew Ma Muang (Mango and Sticky Rice)
Things to do in Chiang Mai
Mae Sa Waterfall
Relax and chill at Mae Sa Waterfall, a small park with a little waterfall, perfect to rest the day out.
Easy to reach by scooter, around 100bath entrance per person, 20 bath parking. There are over 10 different river’s level with a different scenery for each of them.
Night Bazar
Bargain at the night bazar. Buy some great t-shirt or local souvenir. Have fun trying outfit and hanging around and truly bargain your way in.
Wat Suan Dok
Explore this beautiful and unique cemetery. Located in a Buddhist temple, built in the 14th century. The cemetery is made of many mausoleums for the past away royal family members.
Wat Sri Suphan
Visit the small silver temple, on your way around the city. The temple featured impressive hand-crafted silver decoration. The temple is completely covered in silver, from the walls to the roof and display some detailed silver carvings of Buddhism legends
PS: women are not allowed to go inside the temple.
Ran-Tong Save & Rescue Elephant Centre
Learn about the elephant at Ran-Tong Save & Rescue Elephant Centre. After changing your clothes to be in the mood of the center, learn about the elephants, feed them and if the time allows it, take a bath with them. In the end, ride on the bare back of the elephant.
Our elephant was a teenage male called superman. It was amazing, funny, and friendly. Shaking his head up and down to show how cooky it is.
Doi Suthep
Go explore the mountain of Doi Suthep, some 12km outside of Chiang Mai. The views are breath-taking and the temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a 13th century temple is home to a large white elephant shrine as well as a replica of the Emerald Buddha.
Doi Inthanon National Park
Visit the highest mountain in all of Thailand. The park covers a land area of 48,240 hectares with the highest point of the mountain standing at 2565 metres tall. The park is also home to more bird species than anywhere else in Thailand.
Wat Phra Singh
Stroll int the Buddhist temple and monastery, it is also Known as the Temple of the Lion Buddha it houses two Buddha statues. Founded in the 14th century and in which today live more than 700 monks who regularly come to talk to the tourists and are normally very friendly.
Wat Chedi Luang
The Temple of the Big Stupa is actually the ruins of an ancient temple. It used to be the home of the Emerald Buddha, the holiest religious object in all of Thailand but in 1545 an earthquake damaged large amounts of the temple, plus when the Burmese captured Chiang Mai five years later the temple was left to fall into ruin. Yet, Wat Chedi Luang is still an active worship place where you will see monks going about their daily work as well as several Buddha shrines.
Tiger Kingdom
This is a center where tigers are living and trained to be around human. It’s a kind of zoo but only for Tiger. It’s something we did but it’s not something we would recommend today. We did not like it much by this time as the Tiger’s cage aren’t that big and it seems as if the animals where drugged. It has nothing in comparison with the Elephant center…
Itinerary in Chiang Mai
Day 1:
- Wat Suan Dok
- Wat Sri Suphan
- Wat Phra Singh
- Wat Chedi Luang
- Night Bazar
Day 2:
- Doi Suthep
- Mae Sa Waterfall
Day 3:
Day 4 :
- Doi Inthanon National Park
หนีเสื่อประจระเข้ (nee seua pa jo ra kay) – To escape from the tiger to the crocodile.
Meaning: Out of the frying pan into the fire. (When you get out of one problem, but find yourself in a worse situation.)
