Quote: (10-19-2015 03:13 PM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:
Quote: (10-19-2015 02:23 PM)Gemini Wrote:
I'll be in Thailand for about three weeks in December, how many days would you guys recommend checking Chiang Mai for? How much stuff is there to see and do (besides nightlife)? I would like to focus my time on Bangkok and the southern island for the remainder of my trip.
I'm far from an expert of Chaing Mai, but I'd recommend 4-7 days depending on whether you want to do some day tours/trips to outlining areas, or a side trip to Pai.
For me Chaing Mai was more about the chilled out vibe then constantly seeing and doing stuff, the city is very small, walkable, and easily navigated, the people are really nice and friendly.
As for stuff to do, I'd say check out the big markets, the one in the old city where they shut the street down, and the night market with all the food stalls. Walk around the old part of the city and check out the Buddhist temples. I'd recommend spending a day at the park and temple outside of town, I think it's called Soithep (?), the park has a waterfall and some trails, then a huge famous temple up on the hillside that pretty cool and worth checking out.
Outside of that you can do a day tour like white water rafting, hiking, etc., or a 2-3 day side trip out to Pai which I think is worth doing. So basically I'd say 1 week 4-5 days in Chaing Mai, with 2-3 days in Pai.
I'm not a big city guy so I'd probably spend less time in Bangkok and more time in the islands or N. Thailand, but one thing to keep in mind is that the islands are often more expensive, while N. Thailand is much cheaper, so budget may factor into plans.
I was in Chiang Mai for 2 days recently and OG's suggestions are on point. However, I'm more of a big city guy and I found that my 2 full days were enough time to see everything although slightly rushed, 3 days would be ideal in my opinion.
Doi Suthep is the famous hillside temple that's a 45min taxi ride from central Chiang Mai. Highly recommend it as it overshadows all the other 10+ temples I saw throughout Northern Thailand in both size and grandeur. If possible go a few hours before sunset to explore and catch the sunset on the upper deck overlooking the city. There's a meditation center hidden a 10minute walk below the temples that I particularly enjoyed. Most taxi drivers should wait at least 1.5 hours for you within the round trip pricing, although I'm sure you could bargain for more.
I've heard good things about Pai but didn't go. Instead I went on a day long elephant washing/ziplining/rafting tour (rapids are small) for ~2000baht that was 90 minutes outside the city. On the way there, we stopped at an elephant poo ==> paper processing center
![[Image: dodgy.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/dodgy.gif)
, which for how random and atrocious that sounds was actually awesome. High quality notebook paper and a trollsy gift to give a few girls back home. Don't remember what the tour agency was called but it was all booked through the hostel I stayed at called Potae's House (not affiliated), which I highly recommend. It's on the northern edge of the square road that encompasses Chiang Mai. Relatively cheap, free breakfast, lots of AC to combat the humidity, and coolest people of any hostel crowd I've encountered yet. They only house 10-15 people at any time, so it has a family feeling and would be ideal mingling grounds for a solo traveler.
Night market for food that I believe is every weekend night was worthwhile. It's on the southern road of the square that encompasses the city. They sell everything from mango sticky rice, to pork intestine, to rice sausage, to durian. I stuffed up here every night for under 100 baht. The large market (1x/week?) for tourist goods was a bit disappointing. If you're into trinkets, you'll enjoy, but I didn't find anything substantial here.
Nightlife was also disappointing. All the bars closed at midnight (perhaps that's because I went in the offseason-September) and there's only 1-2 areas with enough people. Don't come here for the nightlife.
