Disclaimer: We did not have a chance to visit the northern part of Thailand because we had to cut our trip short and simply did not have time. However, we did extensive research on where to go, so we are sharing that information here in case you’re interested.
Things to do in and around Chiang Mai
White Temple of Chang Rai
Doi Inthanon National Park
Chang Mai Lady Boy Show
Doi Sutep
The most famous temple in Chiang Mai is Doi Sutep
Sukhothai
Sukhothai was once the capital of Thailand in the 13th century. Today you should visit the deserted temples and monuments which are a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Elephant Nature Park
Whatever you do, don’t ride elephants in Thailand or visit any elephant “sanctuaries” without doing your research. Watch this video on Elephant Tourism and you won’t want to visit these places as the animals are abused.
The only legit place is Elephant Nature Park, located outside of Chiang Mai, which rescues and rehabilitates elephants. You can even spend the night in the park. Here are some happy videos from Elephant Nature Park to give you a look at what you could expect.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Chiang Mai Night Safari
An animal themed amusement park which offers shows and a safari experience that you can even enjoy at night.
Karen Long Neck Tribe & Chiang Dao Cave
At Chiang Dao cave, the caverns stretch many miles into the mountain yet only a small part of the complex is possible to explore. Two of the caves, Tham Phra Nawn and Tham Seua Dao, are illuminated by electric lights, but the upper caves are pitch-black and requires a local lantern-carrying guides to lead the way. There are some spectacular limestone formations and Buddhist shrines in these caves.
The Karen Long Neck Tribe is not a tribe of angry white women that want to speak to your manager. The women wear brass rings around their necks, wrists and ankles as part of their culture which has the effect of elongating their necks. It is a good idea to explore further up from Chiang Dao Cave, and make a quick visit to the Padung Village where you’ll find the ‘Long Neck Karen’ ethnic hill-tribe. Take a few minutes to walk through the town with respect, to get a feel of their culture and way of life, before supporting their income by purchasing a few souvenirs.
Chiang Rai Clock Tower
Cooking Class
Visit Kanchanaburi & The Bridge Over the River Kwai
The biggest draw to Kanchanaburi is the Bridge Over the River Kwai. Explore Erwan National Park and make time to hike to the Erwan Falls.
The Loi Krathong Festival
Celebrated across the country the Loi Krathong festival is an annual event that happens on the night of the twelfth lunar month. A Krathong is like a small floating basket in the shape of a lotus with a candle in it. The festival celebrates the Goddess of water for all the water that she has supplied over the last year. Thousands of krathongs are lit and left to float away on the rivers and canals, a truly breath taking sight. The festival is full of color and in some cities you will see whole areas turned in processions with dancing and much color.
Take a Trip To The City of Ayutthaya
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ayutthaya needs to be on your Thailand to-do list. Originally the capital of Thailand the city was founded in 1350 when King U Thong relocated to the city to escape an outbreak of smallpox. However in 1767 the Burmese army marched on the city and destroyed nearly every part of it. The kingdom collapsed and was never the same again. The ruins of the city are preserved in the historical park and are certainly worth a visit when in the country.
Best Restaurants in Chiang Mai
Charoen Suan Eak
Charoen Suak Eak, tucked deep inside a small village in the Central part of Chiang Mai, is a destination for savoring homestyle Northern Thai fare. Don’t expect five-star service or white tablecloths; what you get is a full-on, local experience typical of a suan arharn-style eatery. Its offerings, which go beyond your typical northern staples like sai ouer and khao soi, are not for the faint-hearted—wasp, flying ants, as well as raw meat and offals make it into the menu.
Untrained palates can go for the cooked version of the water buffalo salad (locals recommend the raw one dripping in blood and bile, though),which is served dry and salty with a hint of spice from ma kwaen (northern chili peppers). The more adventurous palates, meanwhile, can try ab peung (grilled bee larvae), toasted maeng mun (flying ants) or green chili relish with wasp. Charoen Suak Eak may not give you a meal for the ages; what you get, instead, is an authentic dining experience that’s full of flavor, distinct textures, and will turn your idea of Northern Thai cuisine upside down.
37 Soi Sun Sai Ton Kok, Chiang Mai, 0 5385 2778. Open Thu-Tue 10:30-22:30
Larb Gai Baan Hong
Ask around Chiang Mai where to find the best meat salad and many would recommend going to a larb (Thai meat salad) restaurant like Larb Gai Baan Hong. The house specialty, as its name suggests, is chicken larb, here served on the salty side with a sprinkling of makwean and heaps of fried shallots. Also worth a try is the classic water buffalo larb, which features a slight bitterness from the addition of bile. The restaurant also whips up other specialties indigenous to the north like ab ong or (pig’s brain cooked in banana leaf) and fried pla som (fermented fresh water fish).
Sompoch Chiang Mai Road, Mae Rim, 08 3204 6935. Open Mon-Sat 9:00-21:00
Heun Jai Yong
Heun Jai Yong may be packed with tourists and tour coaches, but it’s one of the best restaurants to enjoy northern specialties in a pretty Thai-inspired setting. Wooden pavilions, set in a leafy garden, have been converted into various dining areas, with the best seating on low tables (meaning you have to sit on the floor) on the second floor. The menu includes a long list of Northern Thai staples whipped up using seasonal aromatic herbs and greens. Highlights include gaeng hanglay with pork belly; gaeng ho (stir-fried vermicelli with meats and herbs) and sai oeur, which is best enjoyed with relishes like namprik ong and namprik noom. While you wouldn’t call the food as authentic as its more rustic peers, Heun Jai Yong is worth the short trek out of town for a great introduction to Northern Thai cuisine.
64 San Kampaeng Road, San Kampaeng, Chiang Mai, 08 6671 8710. Open daily 10:00-16:00
The Redbox
The Redbox is the brainchild of wife-and-husband team Pimmada Kankulsuntorn and Chindarnai Boonchaliew who met in Brunei and decided to put up a small eatery churning out ready-to-eat Thai meals. Now a full-fledged restaurant in Chiang Mai, Red Box prides itself on using local ingredients, some of which are grown in their own orchard, while rejecting the use of refined sugar and prioritizing top-notch natural sugar such as palm sugar and jiggery in all of their dishes. Try the refreshing scallop carpaccio, which comes as a phla salad, and the outstanding, oh-so-tender lamb shack served with an appetizing panang sauce exuding in the complexity from palm sugar. The couple’s travels throughout Southeast Asia have resulted in the introduction of regional influences in their dishes. For example, gula melaka (palm sugar) from Malacca in Malaysia is used desserts, and also elevates the taste of Thai milk tea.
Mongolia Café
You’ll be hard-pressed to visit Magnolia Café without being seduced by the charm and affability of chef/owner Busarin “Noy” Larpadisorn, who makes guests feel as if they’re dining at the house of an old friend. The Naan-born chef can be partly credited for the success of many of Bangkok’s well-known culinary masters, who come to her to learn Northern Thai classics.
At her own restaurant, Chef Noy offers dishes based on old family recipes. Simple-looking fare hide surprising elements, and benefit from the expert chef’s meticulous selection of ingredients, and refusal to add extra salt and MSG. The mango salad is refreshing, its sweet flavors offset by salty dried fish and a tangy yum dressing, while the grilled pork is lean yet oh-so-tender, served with spicy dipping sauce and black mint. The stir-fried cabbage is a revelation, juicy and packed with a tasty charred flavor. Also worth a mention is Chef Noy’s yellow kua curry, which comes with juicy and perfectly blanched cockles. The restaurant also occasionally hosts chef’s table sessions with both Bangkok-based and international chefs.
Midnight Chicken
One of Chiang Mai’s most legendary eateries is this shack-like shrine to bubbling oil. Choose your deep-fried protein — chicken, pork belly, sun-dried beef, among others — and enjoy it with a mountain of steaming sticky rice, a plate of crunchy pickled mustard greens, and a spicy northern Thai-style dip. As the name suggests, this is for late-night noshing only.
Aroy Dee
some good, cheap comfort food. Located in a shack literally built under a tree, Aroy Dee serves a variety of Thai dishes for under a dollar. The joint is always crowded and for good reason. At Aroy Dee, a simple plate of pad thai has an extra zing. Tom Yum soup is loaded with shrimp plus a deep flavor that western chefs can only dream of creating. And the omelets – let’s just say that we’ll dream about the crispy Khai Jiao for many moons… until we visit Thailand yet again.
Also we’d highly recommend that you follow 2foodtrippers, who do wonderful write-ups for the food they eat when they travel and have given us some of our favorite recommendations, but are particularly good with their write-ups for Thailand
