Travel Chiang Mai Crowned Asia's Best City, Bangkok Shines in Third

[fonzo]

14 hours ago, Celsius said:

Went to the website. Chiang Mai comes to impressive second place and Bangkok 4th place in worldwide rankings. 

 

Wonder why Pattaya isnt mentioned. It certainly has many wonders, like Tiffanys and Alice Wonder to name a few.

And soi 6

 

14 hours ago, Celsius said:

Went to the website. Chiang Mai comes to impressive second place and Bangkok 4th place in worldwide rankings. 

 

Wonder why Pattaya isnt mentioned. It certainly has many wonders, like Tiffanys and Alice Wonder to name a few.

 

 

14 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

 

[fonzo]

15 hours ago, Celsius said:

Went to the website. Chiang Mai comes to impressive second place and Bangkok 4th place in worldwide rankings. 

 

Wonder why Pattaya isnt mentioned. It certainly has many wonders, like Tiffanys and Alice Wonder to name a few.

 

And soi 6 

 

[fonzo]

15 hours ago, Celsius said:

Went to the website. Chiang Mai comes to impressive second place and Bangkok 4th place in worldwide rankings. 

 

Wonder why Pattaya isnt mentioned. It certainly has many wonders, like Tiffanys and Alice Wonder to name a few.

 

And soi 6

 

[fonzo]

15 hours ago, Celsius said:

Went to the website. Chiang Mai comes to impressive second place and Bangkok 4th place in worldwide rankings. 

 

Wonder why Pattaya isnt mentioned. It certainly has many wonders, like Tiffanys and Alice Wonder to name a few.

 

And soi 6

 

[Keeps]

Have you got a stutter?

[Srikcir]

I am surprised Malaysia has no city in the top 15 cities.

In the Top 10 Famous Cities in Asia 2025 for Singapore Travelers by Reporter Vidya Amalia Rimayanti, January 24, 2025 :

Kuala Lumpur ranks 4th.

[Luuk Chaai]

On 7/17/2025 at 3:09 AM, webfact said:

Photo of Sasikan Wattanachan courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

Thailand’s tourism splendour has been firmly recognised, with Chiang Mai being crowned Asia’s best city for 2025 by Travel + Leisure, 

 

This accolade has set travel enthusiasts buzzing and promises to boost Thailand's tourism sector significantly.

 

Top 15 cities in Asia for 2025:

• Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Tokyo, Japan
• Bangkok, Thailand

 

Sasikan concluded with optimism, stating, "This is just the beginning for Thailand." Thailand is ready to welcome the world.” We expect the global spotlight on these Thai cities to draw millions of travellers, further solidifying the country's position in the global tourism landscape.

 

******************

They must have started using that new app ....     "HUB" Builder !   to draw millions of travellers ?

Let's go to Chiang Mai for the best French Baguette,  Indian food and

"Breath taking" ....     

 

 

 

[ElwoodP]

Flame removed.

[0james0]

15 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

CM 9

CR 7.5

Nan 7

Lamphun 7

Lampang 4

Phayao 4

Phrae 4

Phrae 9

Phayao 9

Lampang 9

Lamphun 6

Nan 6

CR 4

CM 4

[Harrisfan]

11 minutes ago, 0james0 said:

Phrae 9

Phayao 9

Lampang 9

Lamphun 6

Nan 6

CR 4

CM 4

Nice joke

[Harrisfan]

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

List 5.

Hardly endless. 

300 temples in the city. 2 walking markets. Hundreds of cafes and restaurants. Good pubs. Good fish n chips. Good burgers. Good book stores. Good mountain trips. Waterfals, caves and hot springs. Good rooms from 400 baht. 1 hr masage 150 baht the cheapest in Thailand. Friendly people. Cheap flights, buses to everywhere. Cheap train rides. Cheap rideshare. Best Khao Soi options. Attractive women. Easy flat walking.

 

So there's a few positives.

[quake]

Go there Chiang Mai. 

 

[ElwoodP]

Troll posts and troll removed.

[gearbox]

16 hours ago, Pinot said:

What absolute nonsense. Hoi An is number 5? The list is meaningless.

 

I'm bored in 24 hours in CM. I have no idea why people go there. And the ridiculous air pollution. 

 

CM #1, Hoi An number 5...tsk

I went to Chiang Mai 7 years ago for around 10 days. Truly mediocre place. Probably won't go back again. I only remember Doi Suthep from there, a temple on a hill, which some people call "mountain". I can't figure how Chiang Mai could even  beat KL or Penang, they are miles better.

[Cameroni]

47 minutes ago, gearbox said:

I went to Chiang Mai 7 years ago for around 10 days. Truly mediocre place. Probably won't go back again. I only remember Doi Suthep from there, a temple on a hill, which some people call "mountain". I can't figure how Chiang Mai could even  beat KL or Penang, they are miles better.

 

Chiang May easily beats KL or Penang. 

 

Firstly it's always raining in KL. Then you have the annoying Muezzin calling for prayer every 3 hours, how annoying is that? And it's all over KL, even in the centre. 

 

KL also has a quality of visitors problem, it's a prime magnet for Saudis, Nigerians, and other Muslim countries, who mostly travel in huge groups, massive family groups. If you get a condo in KL you'll quickly find out how degraded it is because tons of Saudi families have stayed there with the kids destroying the place.

 

if you walk down the main street of KL you actually feel unsafe, it's not clean, you can feel the sex tourism in the air, and yes KL has become a prime hub for prostitution.

 

Whereas CM has a charming historic city centre, KL has a try hard modern centre, more like Picaddily in London or Times Square in NY, devoid of charm. There's no choice of sprawling themed cafes, no choice of elephant camps, no Mon Jam, no Mae  Kampong.

 

The  food is not as good.

 

And the worst: If you get a Thai massage in KL the masseuse will not massage you  unless you put those ludicrous plastic knickers on! Getting a massage naked in KL is impossible. Chiang Mai is much more relaxed.

 

Chiang Mai easily beats KL and Penang. Hands down. It's not even close.

[Dont confuse me]

Laughable seriously i have friends with young families that live there and every year for 6 weeks they move down to the coast because of the air pollution! 

I once went to visit friends there I got off the train tuk tuk into town didn't even bother to check into hotel immediately returned to train station where I spent the day waiting for the 4pm train back to Bangkok. 

[liddelljohn]

That list is total Bull<deleted> by paid influencers and bull<deleted> artists 

[Hunz Kittisak]

They should work to rid the air pollution else ChiangMai will be ruined in no time 

[ChaiyaTH]

Must be a joke, Chiang Mai died in like 2016 and never returned to be the same. It only got worse. Even khon kaen or udon thani are more exciting nowadays.

[ChaiyaTH]

11 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

300 temples in the city. 2 walking markets. Hundreds of cafes and restaurants. Good pubs. Good fish n chips. Good burgers. Good book stores. Good mountain trips. Waterfals, caves and hot springs. Good rooms from 400 baht. 1 hr masage 150 baht the cheapest in Thailand. Friendly people. Cheap flights, buses to everywhere. Cheap train rides. Cheap rideshare. Best Khao Soi options. Attractive women. Easy flat walking.

 

So there's a few positives.

Cheap flights? It's never been as expensive as it is today, that also accounts for grab where a simple ride now easily costs 150-200 baht which still is 70-80 on a taxi meter in BKK. Most places are dead too, good food can be found anywhere. Book stores? If you want to find a boring novel from 3 decades ago perhaps.  Attractive spoiled and lazy woman mainly too, the good ones all move to BKK as soon they graduate.

 

It's typical with this forum, people sharing their experience of 100 years ago when they were there just for a few days or week lol. 

[angryguy]

I lived in chiang mai in 2016. You could argue it was among the best in SOUTHEAST ASIA then, not anymore. Japan is on another level

[Harrisfan]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Cheap flights? It's never been as expensive as it is today, that also accounts for grab where a simple ride now easily costs 150-200 baht which still is 70-80 on a taxi meter in BKK. Most places are dead too, good food can be found anywhere. Book stores? If you want to find a boring novel from 3 decades ago perhaps.  Attractive spoiled and lazy woman mainly too, the good ones all move to BKK as soon they graduate.

 

It's typical with this forum, people sharing their experience of 100 years ago when they were there just for a few days or week lol. 

Bolt is 63 baht up. There is a great book store in the old city. I was there last month 

 

 

[Harrisfan]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Cheap flights? It's never been as expensive as it is today,

KK to CM is cheap if u book early.

[Harrisfan]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Must be a joke, Chiang Mai died in like 2016 and never returned to be the same. It only got worse. Even khon kaen or udon thani are more exciting nowadays.

Not even close. KK is ok for 4n. UT is better but fairly limited. CM has much better walking, cheaper books and way more restaurants. Obviously your info is not up to date like mine. My Mrs is from Isaan. You loves CM. 

[Harrisfan]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

easily costs 150-200 baht which still is 70-80 on a taxi meter in BKK. Most

Total bs. Bangkok is expensive for Aps and Taxis don't know where they are going.

 

All my Bolt fares were 63 to 85 baht in CM. Maybe you don't even know it exists. 

 

Bangkok hotels are 40% more expensive. A 400 baht CM room is 550+ in Bangkok.