Northern Thailand is worth a visit whether you are coming from Bangkok or one of its nearby neighboring counties. It’s a quiet contrast to lively Bangkok and felt like the best glimpse into what life in Thailand is really like, that we had the entire trip.

EXPERIENCE

While here we kicked off our visit with a self guided temple tour through the moated Old City. We were sort of templed out at this point but briefly checked out some of the city’s highlights- Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, and Wat Phra That. When the walking got too much we took breaks with massages. Our intial foray into this activity was hilriaous and disasterous with a particularly brutal beating (aka Thai style massage).

Cooking class at Baan Thai Cookery was a memorable part of our visit as was the tour through the Chiang Mai Central Fish and Produce Market. We briefly checked out a muay Thai boxing fight at the Thapae Boxing Stadium on our walk to the night market, the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

STAY

Our accommodations in (our outside of) Chiang Mai were the highlight of our trip in many ways. Airbnb allowed me to find some truly unique properties that enabled us to authentically experience Thailand in a way we couldn’t have otherwise. We had two nights in Chiang Mai and stayed well outside the city for both of them. Both accommodations were fantastic Airbnb finds. The first was an open air Bali Bungalow style house which we had all to ourselves. The Rathang Hideaway was about twenty minutes north of the city and provided a super chill farm environment to kick back in. Breakfast here was lovely, as was the room.

Our second night we stayed even further out at one of the most unique places I’ve ever been. The Tree house Resort was about an hour’s drive outside the city through the rice patties of Northern Thailand. This place was insane- 9 tree houses among the old teak forest that had running water and electricity. They served us an amazing dinner and we made ourselves at home high up in the Moon House Tree. One of my only regrets of the trip is that we did not have more time to explore the National Park or rice patty region of the north more.

EAT

The cuisine of Chaing Mai is greatly influenced by Burma, India and Laos. Not only did we dine well in this city, but we also learned a few tricks of our own in Thai Cooking School. We ate incredibly well in here. Our favorite dishes included papaya salads, mango sticky rice, banana pancakes, spring rolls, panang curries, massaman curries, coconut milk soups and again the fresh fruits. A favorite indulgent meal was at a place called Cooking Love Restaurant where we dined outside as plate after plate kept arriving (at about $2 a piece).

While in Chaing Mai we found ourselves so excited about the local food that we signed up for a half day cooking class which was very informative and fun. We did this at Baan Thai Cookery where we each learned four different dishes and had a thorough tour of the farmer’s market where we got a feel for the ingredients and process of making a perfect Thai meal. We also had a happy hour glass of wine at a great coffee shop and wine bar, that was very hipster-esque on the main drag.

Lunar New Year Decor

The Moon House

Market of Chiang Mai

2 Year Salted Crabs

Old City Farmer’s Market

Temples of the Old City

Temples of the Old City

Happy Hour in Chiang Mai