We left Kanchanaburi on a bus bound for Bangkok. We then caught a super cheap flight out of Bangkok (only $23!), landed in Chiang Mai International Airport, and took a taxi to our hostel just inside the north gate of the old city of Chiang Mai. It was quite a busy day that finally ended as we checked into a private room in Hug Hostel. Once settled in, we grabbed a couple plates of our favorite dish, Pad Thai, at the street food market just across the road. Surrounded by travelers at the hostel as well as the food market, we became increasingly excited to see a new city. We initially wanted to go to Chiang Mai to visit an elephant sanctuary or do a “hill tribe trek,” but actually ended up doing neither of these. We had already seen the elephants in Kanchanaburi and the trek no longer appealed to us for some reason, so here’s what we did instead.
On our first day, we set off to explore the old city and check out a few of the over 300 temples. Having seen so many temples in Nepal, Tibet and other parts of Thailand, Whitney kindly narrowed it down to only a few of the recommended ones. First, we caught the Songthaew (a pick-up truck with benches in the back) to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep to see the amazing temple perched high on the mountain and overlooking the city of Chiang Mai. Our driver dropped us off at the steps to begin the easy climb to the top where we could marvel at the sights. Removing our shoes just inside the gate we were drawn up the steps and into the courtyard area where an enormous golden Stupa shined in front of us. So many people were filling the area, but the beauty distracted us from them all (thankfully, I didn’t realize how many people were there until I was looking at pictures on my camera). We circled the Stupa a few times then wandered around outside of the temple for expansive views over the city.
From there we caught the same Songthaew back to the city and spent the rest of the day exploring the area. With a short list from our “Southeast Asia on a Shoestring” guidebook, we were able to see a handful temples that were listed in the book. Our favorites turned out to be Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh, both of which were on the list of top sites meaning a bit crowded and paid admission. Even so, they were both worth seeing.
Once we had our fill of temples, Whitney wanted to check out an old bookstore for a change of pace, i.e she read about it in her travel book. We found the Backstreet Books just outside of the old city wall and skimmed through the shelves casually joking about some of the random books that have made it here. Then as it was nearing dinner time, we decided to walk a little further outside of old town to one of the riverside restaurants for a drink. As I was sipping on a coconut, I noticed a little flyer for the boat docked just in front of us on the river’s edge. It didn’t take much for me to impulsively sign us up for a romantic dinner cruise. It was only a few extra Thai Baht for the cruise, and it left within the hour, so why not. There wasn’t much to see on the river, but it was still a nice relaxing atmosphere for dinner (and surprisingly no bugs bothered us). After dinner, we wandered through the nearby night market where we bought a few t-shirts before calling it a day.
Up early, we spent our second day in Chiang Mai with Sammy at his farm outside of the city. Before our trip, Whitney added ‘participating in a cooking class’ to her bucket list and what better than learning to cook Thai food at Sammy’s Organic Cooking Class. (I was surely excited for her to learn!) Anyway, we set off from our hostel with a small group. We visited the local food market learning about some of the necessary ingredients then drove out to the farm. Our curious group spent the day putting together some very tasty dishes with the often comedic instructions from Sammy. We got our hands dirty making everything from papaya salad, to red curry, to spring rolls and mango sticky rice. We learned that the actual cooking could be the easy part, but finding the ingredients would truly be the challenge. I now have a little recipe booklet that Sammy gave us on our way out, but some of those ingredients are going to be hard to find.
I can now say I’ve cooked some real Thai food and it was actually delicious. Of note, the red curry and mango sticky rice are definitely at the top of the list. Then, with our bellies stuffed after a day of cooking and eating, we took it east once we got back to the hostel. We only ventured out for a couple mango and passion fruit smoothies, some of the best we’ve ever had, and caught up with friends and family over Wi-Fi. Not a bad way to spend our first Thanksgiving abroad!
For our final day in Chiang Mai I was determined to tour the region on a motorcycle. However, our backpacking budget provided us with only a 110cc scooter. Even so, it was comfortable for the two of us. I researched a daytrip on a scooter and decided we would circle the Mae Sa Valley Loop in a counterclockwise direction, which should take about 4-6hours depending on the stops. Excited and nervous about the trip we started off about mid-morning.
Not more than 10 minutes outside of town I come to a police checkpoint. Ok, so I read that this was an issue and expected to get a ticket just because I’m a tourist…then all of a sudden it became real. This wasn’t actually a ticket though. I was flagged to the edge of the road and approached by one of Chiang Mai’s finest. He asks for my license, which I provided. Then he says “no, that’s not good” and points to a paper flyer in his hand that is almost entirely in Thai (aside from the numbers 500 and 1000). He says “you have to go to the city for an international license for 1000 baht.” All the while he was wearing a mask and sunglasses and telling me to sit back down on the bike. Then it happened. “Just give me 1000 baht and you go!” He insists. I didn’t know what to do as we went back and forth a little as I tried to say I have a license. He continued to insist that it wasn’t ok and that I needed to pay. Whitney spoke up, “whats the 500?” “OK give me 500 baht and you go now,” he responded.
Needless to say, I can report I was robbed by a Chiang Mai police officer. In reading about it online afterwards, I am here to warn you that the scam continues in this city. For anyone reading this and planning to rent a motorcycle in Chiang Mai as a tourist, you absolutely do not need any international license unless you are a resident. It is illegal to give money to an officer like this (bribes are illegal for both parties). If I were in the same situation again, I would absolutely refuse to pay any money and see what happens.
Now back to the story, we got back on the road and carried on with our day. Along the north side of the loop there are various places to visit including a couple orchid farms which we checked out and some “animal shows” that we absolutely avoided for all the reasons you can think of. We later decided to hike up to the Mae Sa Waterfalls, a series of 10 waterfalls along a small but long trail. It wasn’t that spectacular to see in the dry season, but it was still a nice hike.
Later, we stopped at one of the handful of places for lunch before heading up the steeper part of the road to the viewpoint over Samoeng Forest. From here we just enjoyed the ride through the gorgeous countryside as there weren’t many specific things to see after this point. It was an easy ride back to our hostel to relax until we head off to our next destination.
To bring it together, we found Chiang Mai to be a very friendly, but touristy part of northern Thailand. There is plenty to see and do even if your first choice such as visiting an elephant sanctuary is booked out. If we return we would spend a little more time relaxing in the old city at the various cafes and restaurants. We would still plan a drive outside the city better informed and prepared for crooked cops. Lastly, don’t miss out on a Thai cooking class as it was one of our favorite parts of our time in Thailand so far.
Next stop is Chiang Rai!
-Jeremy
