Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is a city that a lot of visitors use as a home base to explore northern Thailand. We looked into doing a number of activities/excursions here, including the following:
- Overnight trek with 8 Adventures that included white water rafting, hiking, and ATVing with an overnight village stay. A friend had recommended this company and tour, calling it a highlight of their trip to Thailand. Prices were approximately $300/person. The tour group also offers day trips that include portions of the overnight activities for cheaper. Ultimately, we decided this was too expensive for us and these activities were available in the US (in fact, we had done these on our 3-month camping adventure). However, this group was very responsive to our email inquiries!
- Elephant tour with Elephant Nature Park – specifically looked at the “Saddle Off” programs since the visits to the park were fully booked. A friend had done the Highlands Tour and enjoyed/recommended it; note that her group of two people were the only two in the tour (tours can include up to 24 people). Prices ranged from approximately $85 to $200 per person. We were conflicted about participating in an elephant tour because we didn’t want to bring or cause any harm to the animals. Even though Elephant Nature Park does not allow elephant riding, based on reviews, it still appeared that some forceful techniques may be implemented to give visitors an interactive experience. However, there are plenty of great reviews as well! Ultimately, we skipped the elephant tour, thinking that our money may be better spent on future activities.
- Renting motorbikes to complete the Mae Hong Son Loop. We have never ridden motorbikes before, and based on researching others’ reviews of the loop, it seemed like this might be a difficult trip to learn on. Also based on reviews, the loop didn’t seem to be worth it by car or bus.
- Visiting the famous backpacker town of Pai. Based on reviews, the trip to Pai may be tough for people who get carsick (myself included) and had now become quite touristy. We skipped Pai and opted to visit the Nan and Phayao provinces instead on our way to Laos (blog post upcoming).
Ultimately, we did not do any of the above activities for the reasons described. But these may be worthwhile to you! Instead, we explored the town of Chiang Mai (specifically old city), relaxed with great food and massages, and did a short hike on the outskirts of town.
Upon arriving in Chiang Mai on the first night via the train from Phitsanulok, we walked about 20-minutes to our hotel (the advertised tuk tuk prices of 150 Baht were not worth it for us), Riverside House Hotel. Everyone at Riverside House Hotel was very friendly and helpful. They even offered laundry services for prices similar to that of laundry services in town (60 Baht per kg at the hotel vs. 50 Baht per kg in town). The rooms were clean, and we had a balcony overlooking the back pool/courtyard area. While the bathrooms were not the best quality, there was a divider (short wall) between the toilet and the shower, which we sometimes find is a luxury. The biggest downside to this hotel was the noise; when we arrived around 8 pm, we could hear the music blasting from the bar across the river. Overall, we enjoyed our stay here, it may have just been slightly overpriced at $35/night (although it was the weekend). After we dropped our stuff off, we walked towards the old town looking for food. We found a great small restaurant next to “Lemongrass Thai Cuisine” (typical set up with cart street side and covered tables in the back) where we both got pork noodles. Then we headed back to the hotel, tired from a long day of travel.
The included breakfast at the hotel was a nice spread, similar to that enjoyed at the Scent of Sukhothai resort. We spent the day wandering through old town, with no particular destination in mind. We wandered for about 4 hours and enjoyed bubble tea, a smoothie (all fruit, so delicious), and pork dumplings along the way. In the afternoon, I stopped to get a 60-minute foot massage while Patrick opted for a beer a few doors down at Archer’s Bar. My massage was very relaxing and only cost 200 Baht! I should have been getting massages every day! Afterwards, I joined Patrick at the bar, and we drank a couple beers until dinner time. We walked to the night market at the south side of old town, but it was too crowded to find an open table. Instead we walked back into town and found a calmer street cart with a few tables on the sidewalk. On the walk back to the hotel, we picked up some seafood skewers from another cart (squid, mushrooms, and large shrimp). I don’t think we’ve had a bad meal yet!
Green spaces surrounding old city 
Park in old city
A bridge over the canal just outside old town 
Exercise machines in the park!
The next morning, we switched hotels to the Darley Hotel, just to try something different. The Darley Hotel was a bit nicer (especially the bathrooms and the bed softness) and quieter than the Riverside House Hotel. The employees at the Riverside House Hotel were nicer, more accommodating, and spoke better English than those at the Darley Hotel (not that they were rude by any means!). In Chiang Mai, the big market is on Sunday evenings/nights starting around 4 pm; it shuts down Rachadamnoen Road across the old town and some side streets as well. There are so many stalls selling food, artwork, clothes, souvenirs, and the list goes on. We had a hard time choosing what to eat! So, we ate a bit of everything – pork dumplings, quail eggs, chicken feet, khao soi (soup with egg noodles and fried noodles), mochi, daifuku (mochi outside, fruity inside), and of course, a coconut. We also bought a couple of small souvenirs; Patrick got a Buddha necklace and we got a small elephant coin purse (needed this to keep our coins handy!). Overall, a very successful market visit. We capped the night off by getting a second bowl of khao soi at a restaurant just north of the old town (cheaper than buying at the market).
Chicken feet 
Since we were not doing any trekking or side trips from Chiang Mai, we planned to head to Chiang Rai the next day, but some friends had recommended hiking to the Doi Suthep Temple. So, we got up early, ate breakfast at the hotel (included with our stay), and took a Grab (Southeast Asia Uber equivalent) to the trailhead. The trailhead is not programmed in the Grab app, so we actually got dropped off about 10 minutes’ walk from the trailhead. Many others have written blogs about this hike, which we used to guide us (see here and here). The first part of the hike was easy and worthwhile! Just stay right along the trail to get to the first temple (Wat Pha Lat) and this should only take about 30 minutes. We detoured to the left at one point and eventually dead-ended 20-minutes later, so we had to retrace our steps. Wat Pha Lat is situated up in the hills and overlooks the city of Chiang Mai – we loved this temple, probably our favorite visited thus far! Unfortunately, we got nervous about time (had to check out by noon), so we elected not to continue the hike up to Doi Suthep. We also looked to see if we could catch a tuk tuk or songthaew up to Doi Suthep, but there were none waiting at Wat Pha Lat when we were there. Oh well! We hiked back down the way we came and ordered a Grab to take us back to the hotel. We quickly showered and checked out before walking to the Chiang Mai Arcade (Terminal 3) Bus Station to buy tickets to Chiang Rai. In hindsight, we probably should have taken a tuk tuk to the bus station, but we opted to walk the 30-minutes and arrived extremely sweaty around 12:30 pm. The next available Greenbus (easier to see times here) wasn’t until 4:30 pm (140 Baht each), so we had a few hours to kill. There was a Dunkin’ nearby with A/C, so we got a donut and coffee. The bus ride was uneventful (always a good thing) and took about 3.5 hours. They stopped about halfway for people to use the bathroom (our bus did not have a bathroom). There are two bus stations in Chiang Rai – the center of the city is the second stop, located near the night market. From here, we could easily walk the 10 minutes to our hotel – Mercy Hostel.
Chiang Rai
Mercy Hostel offers single beds (co-ed and female only) with shared bathrooms as well as private double rooms with a private bathroom. We always opt for a private bathroom. For the price, $20/night, this hostel is great! Clean, quiet, and comfortable. There is a shared kitchen area with couches and a pool table and an outdoor patio with a pool and tables/chairs. We spent both mornings relaxing on the patio, drinking coffee. On the first day in Chiang Rai, we got lunch down the street from the hotel (pork noodles, a staple) and then took a Grab to the famous Wat Rong Khun, or White Temple (142 Baht from the city). This place really does live up to the photos! It’s incredible, a must-see if you are in Chiang Rai! A light show at the temple was being advertised for November 22 through the end of December, held at 6:30 and 8:30 pm each night. We had planned to be back in Chiang Rai for one night after our trip to the Nan and Phayao Provinces, so we felt this was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up and booked tickets (400 Baht per person).
Bodhi Tree 
Fountain 
Predator and Alien 
Ninja Turtles!
Covered walkway 
Golden Toilet 
Wishing well 
We saw the light show a week later, arriving around 6 pm to pick up our tickets at the entrance gate. When we entered, they had everyone sequestered near the entrance until around 6:15 pm, when the artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat gave a welcoming speech. Unfortunately, this was in Thai, so we didn’t understand one word, but others around us laughed. Another man then got up and gave a (much shorter) recap of what was just said. There were two parts to the lights show; the first part included five, 2-3-minute shows each throughout the White Temple area. Zones 1-2 were both on the White Temple itself (side and front), Zone 3 was in the astrology area, Zone 4 was at the Bodhi Tree (“Englightening”), and Zone 5 was located near the gold temple. We (as a collective crowd) were given about an hour to walk around and view these shows as many times as we pleased. We both liked this part – the light shows told interpretive stories and were of good quality. Zone 2, located at the front of the White Temple, was the most elaborate as it incorporated fire (note that you can observe Zone 2 without purchasing a ticket). The second part of the show was in “Zone 6”, or the stage area built outside the gold temple. We had the cheapest (Group N) seats, so we were off to the side, but could still see the stage. It turns out this play/musical was about the artist’s life (and appeared to be put on by the artist himself). Honestly, it was a disappointment and seemed a little conceited given that the artist must have had a large hand in it. The play/musical was in Thai, but we generally knew what was going on because we were provided pamphlets that summarized the artist’s life when we entered the show (again, we didn’t realize at the time that this was what the ultimate “lights show” would portray). One part that I did enjoy was when they used lights projected onto a large water fountain to display images (that the artists were painting during the play). Overall, we were happy that we went mostly due to the first 5 zones of the light show and were so happy we didn’t purchase the more expensive tickets.
After our White Temple visit, we shared a songthaew back to the city with several others (much cheaper than a taxi at 30 Baht each). Then we walked around Chiang Rai for a couple hours. We passed the clock tower a few times and walked through one of the afternoon markets; this market had a lot of raw meats, vegetables, and seafood, uncharacteristic to most of the markets we have seen where there is only prepared food. We walked back to the hotel to enjoy a beer on the patio before heading to the night market for dinner, where we got a delicious hot pot with a mix of seafood and meats – only 200 Baht! This hot pot was much better than the one we had in Ayutthaya. Afterwards, we got coconut ice cream and a roti for dessert.
Checkout the next day was at 11:30 pm. We had a Grab take us to Lab Sanam Keela, which we had read was a popular restaurant in the northeastern part of the city. Here we ordered the highly advertised fried garlic fish (SO MUCH GARLIC) and BBQ pork with rice. Very tasty and very filling. From here we walked 30 minutes to the Templo Azul, or Blue Temple. Entrance into this temple was free, and as you can guess from the name, everything is blue colored. After this, it was off to the airport to pick up our car rental from Avis to explore the Nan and Phayao Provinces (see blog post here for more information)!
On our return from our road trip, we stopped at Baan Dam, or the Black House, before dropping off the car since this site is located north of the city. It was very interesting to visit! Part estate, part museum, part artwork, it was created by Thuwan Duchanee (who taught the White Temple artist). Objects found within range from animal skins/bones (many crocodiles), phallic structures/statues, chairs constructed with horns/animal hides, and more, all located within gardens. There are many buildings housing all of these objects and art pieces, all with their own unique style. We spent about an hour walking around the grounds, but you could easily spend longer exploring. From what we had read, Thuwan used to reside within the strange whale-shaped building. Definitely worth a stop if you have the time!
We ultimately enjoyed Chiang Rai more than Chiang Mai because of its slower pace. Chiang Mai does offer more trekking tour opportunities than Chiang Rai, so keep that in mind if you are planning a trip!