Julay and Will’s travellers guidebook

Julay
Julay and Will’s travellers guidebook

Sightseeing

This is a great getaway to discover the awesome natural surroundings of Chiang Mai. It is also quite a unique place as, believe it or not you can walk up and down the waterfall as if it was asphalt. The rocks are sticky but becareful because the flat areas are the most tricky ones.
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Bua Tong fossar
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This is a great getaway to discover the awesome natural surroundings of Chiang Mai. It is also quite a unique place as, believe it or not you can walk up and down the waterfall as if it was asphalt. The rocks are sticky but becareful because the flat areas are the most tricky ones.
This is quite a must-go place in Chiang Mai, which means crowds spoil it a little bit. But actually there is a moment when this place actually recovers its uniqueness, it is right after the sunset. At night Doi Suthep is an amazing place to feel the importance of the place. Tell us to go there at night, we will never say no!
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Doi Suthep
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This is quite a must-go place in Chiang Mai, which means crowds spoil it a little bit. But actually there is a moment when this place actually recovers its uniqueness, it is right after the sunset. At night Doi Suthep is an amazing place to feel the importance of the place. Tell us to go there at night, we will never say no!
It is not a casualty that our house is located right next to Saturday market, this is one of the best markets you can visit during your stay in Chiang Mai. Not as busy as the Sunday market, the Saturday market is a place full of Thai culture, food and life and the best plan on a Saturday evening.
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Saturday Night Market Chiangmai
69 Wua Lai Rd
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It is not a casualty that our house is located right next to Saturday market, this is one of the best markets you can visit during your stay in Chiang Mai. Not as busy as the Sunday market, the Saturday market is a place full of Thai culture, food and life and the best plan on a Saturday evening.
Exploring the jungle is one of the must thing to do in Chiang Mai. The Wat Pha Lat Hike is an easy 40 minutes hike that starts at the end of Chiang Mai University and takes you to Wat Pha Lat Temple. Once in the temple if you are feeling energetic you can make your way to the top of the mountain and visit the iconic Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (2h more hiking). Make sure you have enough time to come back before it gets dark.
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Wat Pha Lat Monk's Trail
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Exploring the jungle is one of the must thing to do in Chiang Mai. The Wat Pha Lat Hike is an easy 40 minutes hike that starts at the end of Chiang Mai University and takes you to Wat Pha Lat Temple. Once in the temple if you are feeling energetic you can make your way to the top of the mountain and visit the iconic Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (2h more hiking). Make sure you have enough time to come back before it gets dark.
It is Sunday evening and you don't know what to do... well there it is the crowded Sunday Market. Sounds like a touristic spot and indeed it is but what is Thailand without night markets, get your ass moving and walk in one of the few opportunities you have to walk without cars trying to kill you in every step.
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Sunday Night Market
Rachadamnoen Road
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It is Sunday evening and you don't know what to do... well there it is the crowded Sunday Market. Sounds like a touristic spot and indeed it is but what is Thailand without night markets, get your ass moving and walk in one of the few opportunities you have to walk without cars trying to kill you in every step.
You can explore Doi Suthep mountain travelling through it: What Pa lat Hike (see other recommendations). Or you can rent a vehicle and start travelling around the mountain. Exploring the route that circles Doi Suthep National Park will take you to local villages, great waterfalls and unexplored caves. Wake up early, get your swim suit, hiking shoes, head lamp and a jacket for the beginning and the end of the day and start your trip around the national park. Some of the spots you will see if you complete the loop are: Mae sa waterfall (Entrance fee 100 THB) Pa ta cave (Free) Tad Kar Tan Cave (Free, unexplored, green crickets inside) Tat Krok Watefall (Free and hard to find, use Maps.me ratehr than Google Maps).
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Mae SA foss
5 Road
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You can explore Doi Suthep mountain travelling through it: What Pa lat Hike (see other recommendations). Or you can rent a vehicle and start travelling around the mountain. Exploring the route that circles Doi Suthep National Park will take you to local villages, great waterfalls and unexplored caves. Wake up early, get your swim suit, hiking shoes, head lamp and a jacket for the beginning and the end of the day and start your trip around the national park. Some of the spots you will see if you complete the loop are: Mae sa waterfall (Entrance fee 100 THB) Pa ta cave (Free) Tad Kar Tan Cave (Free, unexplored, green crickets inside) Tat Krok Watefall (Free and hard to find, use Maps.me ratehr than Google Maps).
This is a great park to just relax, do yoga or exercise. There is free yoga lessons every morning at 9 a.m. (check Yoga in the park Chiang Mai Facebook group for updates), so if you are willing to get started in the yoga world you can just start from here. The evening is also great if you just want to relax after a long day exploring Chiang Mai.
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Almenningsgarðurinn Buak Hard
Thanon Arak
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This is a great park to just relax, do yoga or exercise. There is free yoga lessons every morning at 9 a.m. (check Yoga in the park Chiang Mai Facebook group for updates), so if you are willing to get started in the yoga world you can just start from here. The evening is also great if you just want to relax after a long day exploring Chiang Mai.

Emblematic locations

There is several reasons why you should check out this place, great music and musicians (not only pop music but real jazz, blues and any type depending on the day), fun and chill atmosphere and a good place to hang out whether you are planning to hang out with friends or by yourself.
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The North Gate Jazz Co-Op
1-2 Sri Poom Road
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There is several reasons why you should check out this place, great music and musicians (not only pop music but real jazz, blues and any type depending on the day), fun and chill atmosphere and a good place to hang out whether you are planning to hang out with friends or by yourself.
This is a place you can actually skip, it is the residence of the King when he comes to Chiang Mai unfortunately that makes you not able to visit anything else than the gardens, which are beautiful but unless you are a lot into flowers you can skip it. There is nothing to complain about as they make it clear before you entre but, that's what it is, a flower garden.
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Bhubing Palace
1 หมู่ที่ 12 Soi Sriwichai
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This is a place you can actually skip, it is the residence of the King when he comes to Chiang Mai unfortunately that makes you not able to visit anything else than the gardens, which are beautiful but unless you are a lot into flowers you can skip it. There is nothing to complain about as they make it clear before you entre but, that's what it is, a flower garden.
Sometimes when visiting Chiang Mai it might be a bit disappointing to pay entrances to visit every single famous temple of the city, it is okey it is only 40-80 bath but still quite a spend if you visit Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Doi Suthep that is why here I want to focus on some temples that are as beautiful as the previous ones and free to entre. Wat Rajamontean is an only 10 years oldtemple but it doesn't takes its uniqueness. Impressive decorations, a big buda siting aside of the temple and the astonishing view of Chiang Mai roofs makes it a place I really recommend you to visit. It is place right in front of Wat lok Molee dated from the 14th century.
Wat Rajamontean
Sometimes when visiting Chiang Mai it might be a bit disappointing to pay entrances to visit every single famous temple of the city, it is okey it is only 40-80 bath but still quite a spend if you visit Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Doi Suthep that is why here I want to focus on some temples that are as beautiful as the previous ones and free to entre. Wat Rajamontean is an only 10 years oldtemple but it doesn't takes its uniqueness. Impressive decorations, a big buda siting aside of the temple and the astonishing view of Chiang Mai roofs makes it a place I really recommend you to visit. It is place right in front of Wat lok Molee dated from the 14th century.
Wat lok moli or molee is one of the historical temples you shouldn't miss in Chiang Mai (and it is for free). It is believed that the first structures of this temple were built in the 14th century and it conserves the magic of ancient places. It is placed in front Wat Rajamontean an impressive 10 years old temple that can help you understand the different buddist styles amongst the years.
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Wat Lok Molee
298/1 Manee Nopparat Rd
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Wat lok moli or molee is one of the historical temples you shouldn't miss in Chiang Mai (and it is for free). It is believed that the first structures of this temple were built in the 14th century and it conserves the magic of ancient places. It is placed in front Wat Rajamontean an impressive 10 years old temple that can help you understand the different buddist styles amongst the years.
Dated from 1296 Wat Chiang Man is considered the oldest temple of Chiang Mai, a must visit free entrance temple with a beautiful pagoda decored with elephants.
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Wat Chiang Man
171 Ratchapakhinai Rd
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Dated from 1296 Wat Chiang Man is considered the oldest temple of Chiang Mai, a must visit free entrance temple with a beautiful pagoda decored with elephants.
If you feel like geting fancy, visiting Nimman road is a great idea. Tell the red car to stop you in Maya Mall (30 THB/pax) Shopping malls, fancy shops and heaps of food apart from fashion and modern life is what you will find. On the bottom of Maya there is a nice affordable food court, you can also buy your sim card here.
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MAYA
55 หมู่ที่ 5 Huay Kaew Road
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If you feel like geting fancy, visiting Nimman road is a great idea. Tell the red car to stop you in Maya Mall (30 THB/pax) Shopping malls, fancy shops and heaps of food apart from fashion and modern life is what you will find. On the bottom of Maya there is a nice affordable food court, you can also buy your sim card here.

Food scene

I know, everybody knows this place. It is the first or the second in Tripadvisor if you search for budget meals. But to be honest, the people of Tikky Café cook great and real Thai food (not westernized) and one of the best pineapple fried rice I have ever tried. It is open from 9.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and if you don't want to wait, try not to go at main eating hours.
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Tikky Cafe
20 Taeparak Rd
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I know, everybody knows this place. It is the first or the second in Tripadvisor if you search for budget meals. But to be honest, the people of Tikky Café cook great and real Thai food (not westernized) and one of the best pineapple fried rice I have ever tried. It is open from 9.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and if you don't want to wait, try not to go at main eating hours.
This is a great inexpensive restaurant to get introduced into real Thai food. Wide selection, local and fresh products and a lovely family that even though might take a while to bring your food due to the amount of orders, it won't disappoint you.
Pakorn's Kitchen 팟타이
7 Sridonchai Road
This is a great inexpensive restaurant to get introduced into real Thai food. Wide selection, local and fresh products and a lovely family that even though might take a while to bring your food due to the amount of orders, it won't disappoint you.
It is not complicate but almost imposible to find good affordable food inside the square (city centre) of Chiang Mai but this place is a very good place to enjoy Thai food right in front of the shiny Wat Phra Signh
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Its Good Kitchen
175/6 Rachadamnoen Rd
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It is not complicate but almost imposible to find good affordable food inside the square (city centre) of Chiang Mai but this place is a very good place to enjoy Thai food right in front of the shiny Wat Phra Signh
Feeling like you don't know what to eat? We also do and this is our getaway. Kad Manee is a nice food market located just 20 minutes walking distance from our house, here you will find any type of thai food. Our favourite is the grilled fish to share with lime sauce.
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kad Manee Market
18 Thanon Thipanet
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Feeling like you don't know what to eat? We also do and this is our getaway. Kad Manee is a nice food market located just 20 minutes walking distance from our house, here you will find any type of thai food. Our favourite is the grilled fish to share with lime sauce.

Borgartillaga

Samgöngur

Red cars are the easiest way to move around

Red cars are all over Chiang Mai, they are pretty simple to use. Stop them, tell them where do you want to go and hop on. The ride is 30 bath/person. Well, that is the theory, the reality is a bit more tricky, but that is Thailand. Our best advice is say or show where you want to go and hop on, don't ask for the price (it is 30 bath if you go anywhere near the city centre). If you ask for the price then you will probably have to negotiate and end paying more.
Samgöngur

Motorbikes are cheap but be careful with the police

Motorbikes are a cheap, easy way to move around the city, but becareful as if you don't have an international license (to drive motorbikes) police will pull you over and fine you with 500 bath. If police stop you, remember to ask for the invoice/ticket of your fine as it give you 3 days of driving license. (Ask us where the police checkpoints are we might be helpful)
Siðir og menning

Saying hello and goodbye

Inclining your head with your hands in "please position" is a symbol of respect for the person you have in front. It is important to use it to say hello or goodbye but it is even more to not overuse it.
Ekki missa af

Street food

It is impossible to locate the best street food stalls as they are continuously moving but we advice you to really explore your way into street food. Most heath services in your home country might have told you to be careful with street food and so far they are right but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. Thai street food is very safe and generally clean, make sure everything is well cooked right in front of you, soups, curries and other types of hot plates are a safe enjoyable option.
Siðir og menning

Visiting temples

Some people will go straight into the temple and start praying, others might not feel like that. In any case, we recommend you to start slowly by just going in, sitting into your knees, placing your hands on your head in praying position and saying to your self "Sawat dee Krap (men)/Ka(woman)" which means hello in Thai. Never place your feet facing Buda main statue in the temple, be silent and respectful.
Samgöngur

Apps to get the most out of Chiang Mai

There is a few apps that are highly recommended if you are willing to discover Chiang Mai surroundings: Maps.me: It works like Google Maps but it is made for travellers, so you will basically only see spots that travellers has marked as interesting. Last but not least, it works offline! Great tool to discover waterfalls, getting to know the area and calculate distances. All Trails: It is an app for hiking lovers, here you will find all sort of hiking trails but be careful as off road motorbike trails are also marked. Google Maps: the best way to find new spots.
Bókaðu áður en þú leggur af stað

Elephants in Chiang Mai

Even though almost everybody agree that riding elephants must not be done, there is a bit of controversy about this topic on whether sanctuaries are a good way to interact with them or not. "Sanctuaries" in Chiang Mai are basically places where you feed elephants, walk next to them in the jungle and finally wash and shower them. It is a great and unforgettable experience and we highly recommend you to go and live it *Jonny boy is our favourite, ask Julay in person or in Airbnb and she will book the tour for you for 1100 THB/Pax.