10 advises to have a great time in Chiang Mai

?Chiang Mai is my city!? ? Gonzalo

We arrived at Chiang Mai and finally we could breath again. Already at the beginning the city gave us good vibes with its flair and people.

The first two nights we arranged a Couchsurfing place out of the city. We had our own little bamboo hut in the garden of a wonderful little family.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCSrYIigWMc/?taken-by=loveistraveling

Unfortunately it was far from the centre that?s why we had to take the yellow or red cars and sometimes even a tuk tuk to move around.

 

1. All about the ?public transport?. Or better an own motorcycle?

The difference of the yellow to the red car is the route: The yellow one drives one fix route and you can hop on or off whenever you like. The prices are very cheap. From our Couchsurfing hut to the centre we paid 30 Bath for both of us.

The red one is like a taxi without taximeter. You tell to the driver where you wanna go, negotiate about the price and you can move with it in the city centre. The prices are more than with the yellow car. But for taking the yellow car you have to know its route and not everybody speaks English in Chiang Mai.

 

After the first two nights we arranged another amazing Couchsurfing place. For teaching English we?ve got a bed in the English School for ten nights and made an amazing experience with local kids.

The school is about 10 km from the old city. The best decision ever was renting a scooter. By red car we paid 200 Bath for one way to get to our accommodation. The scooter was 180 Bath for the whole day plus flexibility and lots of fun!

Petrol is quite cheap in Thailand: Filling up our scooter was more or less 90 Bath and we didn?t need petrol every day.

 

?

2. The life inside the wall

Chiang Mai has something so special: an old city that is surrounded by an old wall.

Every side is about 2km long, it’s much fun to drive around the old city.

Besides you will find many temples, shops, hostels and hotels, restaurants and more.

 

3. No boring Sundays in Chiang Mai

Every Sunday there is a huge night market in the centre of the old city. Streets will get closed for you to enjoy food, clothes, music, jewellery and even more things to discover. We got amazed with the young kids singing like big stars!

 

4. Get some rest in the city

A perfect spot to rest a bit is the Nong Buak Hard Public Park, a small place with a small river, lots of trees and enough space to play music, do yoga or meditation, play any sport and more.

The day we went there we sat down and suddenly people started playing ukulele, some practiced yoga, some gave massages to each other, other people just came together to talk or practiced any other sport.

Gonzalo joined the guys who played ukulele and we made a music session. After that one guy of them introduced us to meditation and we practiced it for 20 minutes. It?s a generous ambience in the park and the best place to disconnect from all the cars and sellers in the old city.

 

 

5. The best Thai massage in the city

If you want the famous Thai Massage we have the best place for you!

Chiang Mai Womens Correctional Institute?is located in the centre of the old city.

One hour Thai Massage costs about 200 Bath, two hours will be 400 Bath. Even more Spa offers are available!

The massage will be given by women who are in prison and get provided massage, cooking, English and more skills. Now you might wonder, a killer giving me a massage? For those thoughts and doubts I found a great article that explains you how it works.

In short I can tell you that the women are well selected and they?re not a murder or something else. Their wages will be saved for the day they get released. It?s a great way to help the women to start in a new life.

People say, it?s the best quality massage you will find in Thailand! BUT for that be sure to arrive early!!! They don’t make any bookings for the next day or the next week. You have to go on the same day and reserve your place. We arrived at the institution at 8:30 am. Gonzalo had to wait 30 minutes and I got a place in the moment. The surprising moment was when at 9 am no more bookings were possible. They were fully booked already!

 

6. Life music is guaranteed

The best spots for having a relaxed dinner with life music are the restaurants next to the river. You will find crowed and quiet places with every kind of music for free. Fortunately the Thais have an addiction to life music that?s why almost every bar or restaurant has solo musicians or even a whole band. By the way Thais have incredible voices and play the best covers ? we enjoyed it a lot!

The atmosphere next to the river is just amazing. Go and check it out!

 

7. The landmark of Chiang Mai

One of the must see destination is the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It?s the landmark of Chiang Mai and it?s about 17 km from the center on the top of a mountain. Amazing views are guaranteed! The way up to the mountain is full of enjoyable bends and a good spot for motorcycles. Doi Suthep is famous for the golden Chedi.

Entrance fee to the temple is about 30 Bath.

On the way to Doi Suthep you?ll pass by a zoo and a waterfall. Hopefully there is water! We climbed up?and found a thin stream. But we’re sure the waterfall should be so amazing.

 

 

Now I will tell you about our personal three highlights in Chiang Mai! Actually four?

By coincidence we found two magnificent places just next to our Couchsurfing place:

 

8. The Royal Park and its details

About 15/20 minutes from the center of Chiang Mai?is the wonderful Royal Park with on of the most amazing Royal Pavilions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCeilELgWHd/?taken-by=loveistraveling

This kind of architecture is found in the north of Thailand:?Lanna architecture. Inside the Pavilion are some pictures of the work from the King.
We totally fell in love with the building and its details!

The park has even more to offer: Orchid Garden, Fruits Orchard, Thai Tropical Garden, Amphitheater and so much more. One important thing gives the whole park a relaxing and dreamy tough: the music!

It’s such a magical place especially at the late afternoon when most of the visitor has left.?We went there at sunset time and got lost in the magnificent gardens.

Its Landscape, its park, its details, its monuments and the whole environment in The Royal Park is something that you can’t miss if you are in Chiang Mai!

 

9. Best spot to jump into refreshing water

Before going to see the sunset at the Royal Park we recommend you to jump of the Grand Canyon cliffs into refreshing water.

For 50 Bath you get a huge kind of swimming pool with clear water and an adventure for the whole family! Some rafts in the middle of the Canyon are perfect to rest or just get some sun. Grand Canyon also provides a climbing wall and air mattress.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCXjxK7gWLB/?taken-by=loveistraveling

 

I have to tell you a behind the scenes story. In the video of Thailand is on scene in the Grand Canyon of Chiang Mai. You see people jumping of the cliff and you might wonder: ?Who are those people??

It?s not Gonzalo. He?s always driving the drone. But it?s either not me or any other friend.

Our friends from Colombia and me jumped of the cliffs. Unfortunately we jumped too fast: It?s not so easy to communicate with Gonzalo when he?s 100 meters on the other side driving the drone. Of course we make agreements about which sign means what and how the drone has to be that it catch my jump.

But can you imagine standing on the cliff just few centimetres away from the precipice, seeing the water so far? I got so nervous and my friends too. I had the responsibility to give the starting signal, but the only thing I thought about was: ?Keep the body strong and straight.? I wanted to arrive well! So I heart the drone and I just wanted to jump!

Sadly it wasn?t the right timing because the drone was too far to catch our jump. At least we arrived well in the water and did a 14 meters jump. The only thing you can see on the video is the water splashing up.

 

10. The highest mountain in Thailand

Doi Inthanon is the highest spot in Thailand with 2.565,33 meters. The way up is steep, curvy and full of different and rare species like butterflies, birds, tigers, snakes, gibbon, deer, trees and many plants. The Thais take a lot of care of the huge national park and its unique nature. For entering the park you will pay about 300 Bath per person and additionally 20 Bath for the motorcycle. (I didn?t pay attention to the prices of other vehicles. But should be around 50 Bath.) Of course it?s kind of expensive if you compare it with other prices in Thailand. But for protecting that gorgeous landscape it has its price and worth it!

Doi Inthanon is about 100 km far from the old city centre of Chiang Mai. It?s a long way to go and the first part of the road is pretty boring because it?s just highway. Even at night you could drive that road ? good road conditions and lights. The second part is the national park. We recommend checking the petrol before driving up. The streets are quite steep so you will need some more petrol as usual and there is hardly a petrol station. But in any case you should need some, ask some locals they know about the family petrol stations somewhere in the villages. The petrol will be more expensive for sure.

Moreover there are several waterfalls on the way to the top.

Don?t forget your swimming suit!

A last tip for your trip: Take warm clothes! Because of its location and the height it can get pretty cold. One of the displays mentions 16 degrees and it was 6 degrees at 6 am. Might snowing one day in Thailand 😀

 

Insider news: The national park has two monuments in honour to the royal family: The Chedis were built for the King and the Queen of Thailand.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCwjpAwgWBf/?taken-by=loveistraveling

The Chedi of the King were built when he turned 60 years old in 1987. It?s the brown one with a little garden. The Chedi is 60 meters high, exactly the number of his age.

Five years later the Queen turned 60 years old and the purple Chedi were built with 55 meters. (The favourite colour of the Queen is blue and purple.) That number symbolises that the Queen is five years younger than the King. People say because the Chedi of the Queen is smaller she got the more beautiful garden: a little pond with a bridge and several flowers and little paths.

The national park worth a visit!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDymIZWgWJ1/?taken-by=loveistraveling

 

Chiang Mai was our first destination of our trip. We had a wonderful time in that cosy city. Now while looking back it was the best decision to have a base for the whole stay. Form our base we made many trips and got to know the city and the region so well.

 

Are there any questions?

You know, it’s Gonzalos’ city. Don’t hesitate to ask!