Things We Love About Chiang Mai

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I love reports from new visitors like this recent one below. (Google Alerts digs them up for me) Article is here: http://globetrottergirls.com/2012/09/things-we-love-about-chiang-mai/

Things we love about Chiang Mai

Imagine you have 365 days a year to travel, to go anywhere you want to…if you were to go back to one place three times in five months, you must really love it, right? That’s exactly what happened to us. The love grew slowly, but we realized just how much we love Chiang Mai, Thailand after visiting it three times during our stint in South East Asia this past year.

Our first visit to the northern Thai city was for the breathtaking Loy Krathong lantern festival. We came back after traveling in Laos for a few weeks and ended up spending a month in town. When we left, we thought it was a final goodbye, but ended up returning a month later again, for a third time, this time after being offered a month-long housesit.

Although Chiang Mai doesn’t impress the way that cities like New York or Singapore might, we find the city to be an excellent place to visit, or stay in longer term. Our love of the city was a slow burn, one that took awhile but we are deeply committed to returning to again one day. We’ve put together a summary of all the reasons why we love Chiang Mai.

The size

Chiang Mai is a comfortable size for a city, large enough to stay interesting but small enough not to get lost or worry about having a car or even a scooter. We rented bicycles for a month and we were able to cycle from one end of town to the other in under one hour. For those who live more centrally, you can walk almost anywhere within 30 minutes. Although over one million people live and work in the greater Chiang Mai area, parts of the city are very spread out so that it never feels crowded at all.

The coffee shops

Thai people love coffee, and its preparation has become a bit of an art form in Chiang Mai. There are more cafes here than any other city we visited in South East Asia. Some are tiny, no more than two tables, others are trendy art cafes, plus there are large coffee shop chains as well. One of the best (read: strongest) takeaway coffees we ever had came out of a coffee truck, which had rows of flowers on a makeshift bar and a full coffee menu. One thing is certain – they all own and operate some sort of state of the art coffee machine, and most have wi-fi, which is great for the hundreds of people in Chiang Mai like us working wirelessly. Among our favorite cafes are: Old Chiang Mai Café, Coffee Zebra, Akha Ama Café, and Doi Chaang. If you’re a coffee-holic like we are, you might also enjoy this list of 30 cafes to visit in Chiang Mai.

Heaven for vegetarians

Chiang Mai is one of the most vegetarian-friendly cities in all of Thailand – we counted over thirty vegetarian restaurants. Despite making a valient effort to sample them all, there were still some that escaped us – until next time. Our friends Erin and Simon did a better job here and covered the best vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai. Our favorites are: PunPun, Beetroot Stories, Juicy4U, AUM, Dada Kafe and Khun Churn for the vegetarian lunch buffet.

..and all the other food!

Chiang Mai is a food lover’s paradise! Not only can you get some of the best Thai food in the country here, but because this is a city of over one million people, its easy to get your hands on a perfectly prepared thin-crust Italian pizza, a good English breakfast, Spanish Tapas, Indian curry, Middle Eastern falafel, German sausages or Mexican quesadillas. There even is a cake buffet – can it get any better?! Some of our (non-Thai) favorites are: Bake n bite, iBerry, Beetroot Stories, Salsa Kitchen and La Lanterna di Genova.

The temples

I have to admit that I am a huge temple geek, and I can spend hours walking around the ornate Buddhist temples all over Chiang Mai. Given that there are over 300 temples, there are always new temples to discover when cycling around town. The big golden Buddha statues or crumbling ancient stupas never cease to amaze me. Among our favorite temples are Wat San Duok, Wat Chiang Man, Wat Lok Moli, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Montien and Doi Suthep.

The monks

With the temples come the monks, and there are hundreds of Buddhist monks in Chiang Mai. In 2011, there was even one weekend with a lot more than that, when over 12,000 monks gathered in Chiang Mai. The really fun part is seeing the monks hanging off the back of motobikes, riding public transportation, topping up their cell phone credit, all with their bald heads, orange robes and peaceful smiles. When you do meet them in a temple, they are usually eager to practice their English and often strike up conversations with foreigners, making it easy to feel connected to this aspect of Thai life.

The markets

We can pick up a plateful of steaming hot Pad Thai for under $1 next to a stand selling T-Shirts with creative graphic designs, or walk down a few minutes for fresh fruit smoothies and a look at wood carvings or other traditional handicrafts. Chiang Mai simply has great markets, like the Saturday Night Walking Street and the huge Sunday Night Market (both admittedly very crowded after 6:30pm). What we love most, aside from the amazing street food, is that what is on sale isn’t only tourist trinkets. Thais also flock to these stands to pick up any number of creative items from clothes, jewelry and toys to paintings and furniture. One night, we also stumbled across an out of-the-way hip Thai market that reminded us a lot of the East London markets we love so much, where primarily Thai hipsters shopped for cool clothes, second-hand shoes and other accessories.

The hipsters

Speaking of hipsters – Chiang Mai is a university town stuffed with young, trendy Thais hanging out everywhere, but especially in the area around Nimmanhaemin Road with its cool bars and cafes. The great thing about that is that unlike in many cities in the West, the Thai hipsters might be on the cutting edge, but they are still polite and low-key, so its fun to all hang out together. If looking to escape the Western tourists in the Old Town,we really recommend staying and hanging out over near Nimmanhaemin for an authentically Thai feel.

The creative vibe

We also loved the creative vibe that you feel in many of the neighborhoods, starting with cool street art to innovative shop design or brilliant art exhibits in one of the many galleries located throughout the city.

The festivals

Chiang Mai has so many festivals – almost every month there is a big parade or other festival. Some top ones include the Umbrella Festival in January, Flower Festival in February, Songkran in April, Visakha Bucha in May, Yi Peng and Loi Kratong in November and the Rose Festival in December – there is always something to celebrate!

The cost of living

One thing that draws expats, retirees, and visitors alike to Chiang Mai is how cheap it is to live there. You can find a small studio apartment for $150 – $200 a month, or even rent an entire house for $300 a month outside the city center. Street food is usually less than $1, and if you sit down in a local Thai restaurant you will usually pay between $1 and $2 for a meal. In the more touristy areas, meals in a restaurant are between $2 and $4, and even the more expensive Western food is never more than $5 to $7. Seeing a movie in the theater is around $3.50, you can get (really good) massages for $4 per hour and public transportation within the city limits is $0.65. A trip to the dentist office (excellent facilities) for a teeth cleaning is under $30 and other hospital check-ups are equally as cheap. Living life to the fullest, doing as you please, it’s hard to overspend in Chiang Mai. Read these articles by fellow bloggers JetSet Citizen, A Little Adrift, Stop Having a Boring Life and Nomadic Notes for coverage on living in Chiang Mai for around $500 per month.

It’s not all roses

Of course it is not all sunshine and roses in Chiang Mai. We have to admit that apart from the temples and the historic city wall, the architecture in the city did not blow us away – there are mostly functional concrete buildings, not the charming colonial houses that we loved in other cities in South East Asia or the colorful colonial towns of Central America. The apartment building where we spent our first month seemed to be mostly inhabited by old, single Western guys and the number of young Thai girls we’d come across in the hallway or lobby was astonishing. The historic center was a bit too touristy for our taste, filled with lots of cheap hostels and backpacker bars, and we often fantasized what Chiang Mai would be like without the high number of seedy expats and tourists. The number one factor that we didn’t like about Chiang Mai though was its location. Even though the surrounding Lanna countryside is beautiful and you can easily visit places like Chiang Rai or Pai, we missed having a beach nearby, and Chiang Mai is pretty far from everything else.

Still – all the things we love about Chiang Mai are all reasons for us to go back, and we’re already looking forward to it.

[hellodolly]

Great post.

Every so often it takes a new comer to remind us of all that we have here.

Thanks WTK

[daoyai]

Funny that under the "not all roses" section they seem to have an objection to the presence of "old, single western guys" at I assume was Smith residence, based on the roof top photo and description, and then their fantasy of a CM free of " seedy expats and tourists." They must be stylish, young tourists. ....otherwise a good and accurate depiction.

[OriginalPoster]

Funny that under the "not all roses" section they seem to have an objection to the presence of "old, single western guys" at I assume was Smith residence, based on the roof top photo and description, and then their fantasy of a CM free of " seedy expats and tourists." They must be stylish, young tourists. ....otherwise a good and accurate depiction.

Still accurate, I think, whether they like or dislike old single men the fact remains that there are a lot of them in Chiang Mai. Same for the comment about the old city being too touristy and filled with cheap hostels and backpacker bars. I happen to like that about the old city, but different strokes for different folks.

[jez56]

Funny that under the "not all roses" section they seem to have an objection to the presence of "old, single western guys" at I assume was Smith residence, based on the roof top photo and description, and then their fantasy of a CM free of " seedy expats and tourists." They must be stylish, young tourists. ....otherwise a good and accurate depiction.

Speaking as an old, single Western guy myself, objecting to "old, single Western guys" is (ahem) ageist, solitaryist, hemisphereist and sexist. So there.

". . . the number of young Thai girls we’d come across in the hallway or lobby was astonishing.' (Chests of assorted "seedy expats" swell with pride.)

"The number one factor that we didn’t like about Chiang Mai though was its location . . . we missed having a beach nearby . . ." Silly thing to say. If there were a nearby ocean, the city's history and development and character and appearance and people and food, all of which she seems to like, would all be different.

Looked like a good report apart from that, and some fine photos.

[mesquite]

The authors of the article are lesbians and maybe that's the reason they don't want men here in Chiang Mai.

Yes, pick up Chiang Mai, put it down by the beach, get rid of the men, and then it would be a lesbian's paradise.

CM is big enough for all of us: Gays, lesbians, transgendered, and seedy old expats like myself as well.

I'll be happy to leave when Thai Immigration tells me they don't want me to stay, but not until then.

[OriginalPoster]

The authors of the article are lesbians and maybe that's the reason they don't want men here in Chiang Mai.

Yes, pick up Chiang Mai, put it down by the beach, get rid of the men, and then it would be a lesbian's paradise.

CM is big enough for all of us: Gays, lesbians, transgendered, and seedy old expats like myself as well.

I'll be happy to leave when Thai Immigration tells me they don't want me to stay, but not until then.

Maybe they are lesbians, but how many young heterosexual farang women do you know that think that the single retired men are handsome men?

[mesquite]

The authors of the article are lesbians and maybe that's the reason they don't want men here in Chiang Mai.

Yes, pick up Chiang Mai, put it down by the beach, get rid of the men, and then it would be a lesbian's paradise.

CM is big enough for all of us: Gays, lesbians, transgendered, and seedy old expats like myself as well.

I'll be happy to leave when Thai Immigration tells me they don't want me to stay, but not until then.

Maybe they are lesbians, but how many young heterosexual farang women do you know that think that the single retired men are handsome men?

They are. Go to the original article website and hunt around a bit and it's there.

Yes, single retired men are considered handsome by some young heterosexual farang women. The really drunk ones.

[OriginalPoster]

The authors of the article are lesbians and maybe that's the reason they don't want men here in Chiang Mai.

Yes, pick up Chiang Mai, put it down by the beach, get rid of the men, and then it would be a lesbian's paradise.

CM is big enough for all of us: Gays, lesbians, transgendered, and seedy old expats like myself as well.

I'll be happy to leave when Thai Immigration tells me they don't want me to stay, but not until then.

Maybe they are lesbians, but how many young heterosexual farang women do you know that think that the single retired men are handsome men?

They are. Go to the original article website and hunt around a bit and it's there.

Yes, single retired men are considered handsome by some young heterosexual farang women. The really drunk ones.

I don't think that it's relevant that they are lesbians.

[TommoPhysicist]

The authors of the article are lesbians and maybe that's the reason they don't want men here in Chiang Mai.

Yes, pick up Chiang Mai, put it down by the beach, get rid of the men, and then it would be a lesbian's paradise.

CM is big enough for all of us: Gays, lesbians, transgendered, and seedy old expats like myself as well.

I went to the original site, looked at photos of the two female bloggers.

Bloody hell ...... you're right ....... well spotted.

[NancyL]

The photos are beautiful and it seems the gals had a very good time.

I got a chuckle about how they were gushing about the low cost of everything in one paragraph and then shortly decrying all the seedy retired single guys and backpacker tourists. Duh -- why do you think those "lowlifes" are here -- for the same reasons you are, ladies, plus the added attraction of the beautiful young Thai women who find them desirable.

I was a little disappointed they didn't have any photos to illustrate their paragraph about "it's not all roses"

[Beetlejuice]

Chiang Mai is probably the cheapest place in the world, if you like to sit and meditate with monks in temples all day, want to become a chain smoker, be an alcoholic and eat yourself to death.

As for the social scene, plenty here if you’re gay, or for the old one-foot in the gravers that normally go to bed at 9.00pm and die from old age by the end of the year.

Besides that, I often say to friends and family who are considering holidaying here; please move along, nothing to see here folks.

The good news for Thai visa members is, that I’m off to Bangkok next week for some real fun and the bad news is, that I will be returning to Chiang Mai in the near future.

[TommoPhysicist]

The photos are beautiful and it seems the gals had a very good time.

I got a chuckle about how they were gushing about the low cost of everything in one paragraph and then shortly decrying all the seedy retired single guys and backpacker tourists. Duh -- why do you think those "lowlifes" are here -- for the same reasons you are, ladies, plus the added attraction of the beautiful young Thai women who find them desirable.

I was a little disappointed they didn't have any photos to illustrate their paragraph about "it's not all roses"

If they hadn't come 'as a couple', they might have been more appreciative of the beautiful young Thai ladies hanging around reception.

[OriginalPoster]

The photos are beautiful and it seems the gals had a very good time.

I got a chuckle about how they were gushing about the low cost of everything in one paragraph and then shortly decrying all the seedy retired single guys and backpacker tourists. Duh -- why do you think those "lowlifes" are here -- for the same reasons you are, ladies, plus the added attraction of the beautiful young Thai women who find them desirable.

I was a little disappointed they didn't have any photos to illustrate their paragraph about "it's not all roses"

If they hadn't come 'as a couple', they might have been more appreciative of the beautiful young Thai ladies hanging around reception.

I thought that it was a very positive review despite the shots at old farangs and backpackers in the final paragraph. It seems to me that sexpats and backpackers say worse things about each other than what these gals said anyway.

[Rob8891]

The post illustrates and sums up CM very well, IMHO.

The author's living arrangements are not our concern, and aren't germaine to the thread, so please, guys, don't sideline the thread (...there are LOTS of other threads ripe for that )

Thanks, WTK. A great read. Glad you found it....

[barefoot1988]

The good news for Thai visa members is, that I’m off to Bangkok next week for some real fun and the bad news is, that I will be returning to Chiang Mai in the near future.

chiang mai is full

Chiang Mai is probably the cheapest place in the world, if you like to sit and meditate with monks in temples all day, want to become a chain smoker, be an alcoholic and eat yourself to death.

As for the social scene, plenty here if you’re gay, or for the old one-foot in the gravers that normally go to bed at 9.00pm and die from old age by the end of the year.

Besides that, I often say to friends and family who are considering holidaying here; please move along, nothing to see here folks.

The good news for Thai visa members is, that I’m off to Bangkok next week for some real fun and the bad news is, that I will be returning to Chiang Mai in the near future.

have fun in bkk, chiang mai is full

[Chicog]

Girls if you want a beach go to tacky, overpriced beach resorts and do us all a favour.

[mesquite]

The post illustrates and sums up CM very well, IMHO.

The author's living arrangements are not our concern, and aren't germaine to the thread, so please, guys, don't sideline the thread (...there are LOTS of other threads ripe for that )

Thanks, WTK. A great read. Glad you found it....

The authors' living arrangements were not discussed - their sexual orientation was and was offered as a possible reason for their implied dislike of "old, single Western guys" living in Chiang Mai. Recall, too, that they were astonished at the number of "young Thai girls" near these men. Therefore the authors' dislike of certain CM residents is based on the age, marital status, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation of those residents.

In view of all the above, a comment about the authors' sexual orientation is quite appropriate.

[NancyL]

The post illustrates and sums up CM very well, IMHO.

The author's living arrangements are not our concern, and aren't germaine to the thread, so please, guys, don't sideline the thread (...there are LOTS of other threads ripe for that )

Thanks, WTK. A great read. Glad you found it....

The authors' living arrangements were not discussed - their sexual orientation was and was offered as a possible reason for their implied dislike of "old, single Western guys" living in Chiang Mai. Recall, too, that they were astonished at the number of "young Thai girls" near these men. Therefore the authors' dislike of certain CM residents is based on the age, marital status, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation of those residents.

In view of all the above, a comment about the authors' sexual orientation is quite appropriate.

Yes, I must agree. The authors brought up the age, appearance and sexual orientation of a certain segment of CM's population, so they must be prepared to have their own age, appearance and sexual orientation brought into the discussion.

[Rob8891]

Fair enough.... I stand corrected

............but still don't agree

[hellodolly]

Chiang Mai is probably the cheapest place in the world, if you like to sit and meditate with monks in temples all day, want to become a chain smoker, be an alcoholic and eat yourself to death.

As for the social scene, plenty here if you’re gay, or for the old one-foot in the gravers that normally go to bed at 9.00pm and die from old age by the end of the year.

Besides that, I often say to friends and family who are considering holidaying here; please move along, nothing to see here folks.

The good news for Thai visa members is, that I’m off to Bangkok next week for some real fun and the bad news is, that I will be returning to Chiang Mai in the near future.

Interesting you live here carouse at night and feel the need to tell others

"I often say to friends and family who are considering holidaying here; please move along, nothing to see here folks"

Move along indicates they are already here and you are telling them there is nothing to see.

Do you think they are stupid and can't see the nothing you see but choose to live in. You don't have to go back to the Country

you choose to leave there are lot's of other places in Thailand. Why are you here in Chiang Mai?

[Beetlejuice]

According to those girls, we are all seedy ex-pats.

I think their interpretation of seedy is any guys that are 50 or over. In they’re opinion they probably think that all male ex-pats should be dead and buried, or humanely put down or incarcerated and taken out of society by the time they reach 45.

The sight of so many young Thai girls walking about seemed to offend them. Perhaps they were afraid of the competition. Beautiful young Thai girls vs. Vegetarian, frigid, holier than thou attitude farang girls. Sorry no contest.

But the number one factor that they didn’t like about Chiang Mai was its location, as they much prefer the resorts with beaches. Why not construct a private women only beach resort on the outskirts of Chiang Mai? Where they can all be special friends together, shielded from the people and men beasts that scare and irritate them in the outside world.

If these girls consider Chiang Mai as seedy, than Heaven forbid that these daughters of wholesomeness and goodness, unblemished by the touches and sexual desires of the depraved male species should ever visit the lust dens and hellfire provinces of Pattaya. I think someone should warn them.

I read the article and here’s what I think of it so far: Rubbish.

BTW, what`s a Hipster?

[Beetlejuice]

Chiang Mai is probably the cheapest place in the world, if you like to sit and meditate with monks in temples all day, want to become a chain smoker, be an alcoholic and eat yourself to death.

As for the social scene, plenty here if you’re gay, or for the old one-foot in the gravers that normally go to bed at 9.00pm and die from old age by the end of the year.

Besides that, I often say to friends and family who are considering holidaying here; please move along, nothing to see here folks.

The good news for Thai visa members is, that I’m off to Bangkok next week for some real fun and the bad news is, that I will be returning to Chiang Mai in the near future.

Interesting you live here carouse at night and feel the need to tell others

"I often say to friends and family who are considering holidaying here; please move along, nothing to see here folks"

Move along indicates they are already here and you are telling them there is nothing to see.

Do you think they are stupid and can't see the nothing you see but choose to live in. You don't have to go back to the Country

you choose to leave there are lot's of other places in Thailand. Why are you here in Chiang Mai?

Because I chose to be and whatever you say; I`m not leaving.

I have a dependant wife, adult children still living off me, dogs, cats, buffalo and inlaws to provide for, plus half the village rely on me to spend my money with them. If I take your advice and leave, then they all starve, it will be your fault.

[KRS1]

They are. Go to the original article website and hunt around a bit and it's there.

Yes, single retired men are considered handsome by some young heterosexual farang women. The really drunk ones.

...or the really broke ones.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I think their interpretation of seedy is any guys that are 50 or over. In they’re opinion they probably think that all male ex-pats should be dead and buried, or humanely put down or incarcerated and taken out of society by the time they reach 45.

The sight of so many young Thai girls walking about seemed to offend them. Perhaps they were afraid of the competition. Beautiful young Thai girls vs. Vegetarian, frigid, holier than thou attitude farang girls. Sorry no contest.

But the number one factor that they didn’t like about Chiang Mai was its location, as they much prefer the resorts with beaches. Why not construct a private women only beach resort on the outskirts of Chiang Mai? Where they can all be special friends together, shielded from the people and men beasts that scare and irritate them in the outside world.

I read the article and here’s what I think of it so far: Rubbish.

Good grief, you do manage to be a negative bitter mysogynist kind of chap at times ain'tcha..

Here's a topic on a wonderful experience two tourists had, with stunning pictures; really the ultimate answer to send to anyone who might ask "So.. why Chiang Mai?" and you manage to focus on the token piece of criticism, included to balance out the blog post.

Sheesh!

[TommoPhysicist]

Good grief, you do manage to be a negative bitter mysogynist kind of chap at times ain'tcha..

Here's a topic on a wonderful experience two tourists had, with stunning pictures; really the ultimate answer to send to anyone who might ask "So.. why Chiang Mai?" and you manage to focus on the token piece of criticism, included to balance out the blog post.

Sheesh!

Misogyny is a hatred of all women, I really don't think a few negative thoughts about two women in particular fits that definition do you? But accusing these two female bloggers of misandry, racism and ageism might well be in order.

It's time all men banded together in an international and peaceful brotherhood to defeat this institutionalized hatred towards men that has become so widespread across all forms of media.

[muchogra]

The photos are beautiful and it seems the gals had a very good time.

I got a chuckle about how they were gushing about the low cost of everything in one paragraph and then shortly decrying all the seedy retired single guys and backpacker tourists. Duh -- why do you think those "lowlifes" are here -- for the same reasons you are, ladies, plus the added attraction of the beautiful young Thai women who find them desirable.

I was a little disappointed they didn't have any photos to illustrate their paragraph about "it's not all roses"

If they hadn't come 'as a couple', they might have been more appreciative of the beautiful young Thai ladies hanging around reception.

I thought that it was a very positive review despite the shots at old farangs and backpackers in the final paragraph. It seems to me that sexpats and backpackers say worse things about each other than what these gals said anyway.

+1

[muchogra]

Visitors to a new country often make presumptuous comments based on their limited exposure. No big deal really.

I remember many years ago, about 20, a consultant hired to give a management training in another country for USD200,000 for a week. He and his wife subsequently visited me here in Thailand. I took them for dinner. I gave B20 to the guy who openned my car door when we left. He said something implying that I was flashy! Different custom which the guy couldn't understand. What pissed me off a bit was my wife added that I like people kowtowing me. It was a joke from my wife but did that guy and his wife understand?

If CM turns into a Red Village, that's the time we say adieus.

[DowntownAl]

I don't care one whit about their sexual orientation as long as they don't diss this old recently seedless falang but, I will admit to ending my read when I encountered the word 'vegetarian.'

Definition - Vegetarian: Ancient tribal slang for the village idiot who can't hunt, fish, or ride.

[keo]

Imagine you have 365 days a year to travel, to go anywhere you want to…if you were to go back to one place three times in five months, you must really love it, right? That’s exactly what happened to us. The love grew slowly, but we realized just how much we love Chiang Mai, Thailand after visiting it three times during our stint in South East Asia this past year.

Cringe! I thought it was a badly written gush. And would have liked to have seen some pictures supporting the 'not all roses' section too!

That burger swimming in cheese does look good though. Any ideas where it was taken?