Top 5 Must DOs in Chiang Mai

After successfully and somewhat recovered from our overnight bus journey from Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai, we took a tuk-tuk at 7:00 am to our booked hotel. Chiang Mai is a really beautiful city, much quieter compared to Bangkok. This was the first time on our entire world trip that we stayed in the same place for more than a week, so we can provide some tips for the city and activities. It was really beneficial for us to slow down the pace of travel, and our hotel impressed us with its great location and unbeatable price.

If you are looking for accommodation in Chiang Mai, we highly recommend Leechiang. The staff is super friendly, the rooms are nice and clean, and we paid about 17€ per day for a double room. Additionally, you can use bicycles for free, so all destinations in the old town and the temples can be easily reached without any problems.

Since we probably spent more time in the city than other tourists, we have compiled a list of the top 5 activities from our perspective.

1. Elephant Nature Park

We wanted to see elephants in their natural environment and spend time with these impressive animals. So, we did extensive research to choose the right provider for the tour. After going through countless brochures and websites, we ended up with the top-rated provider on Tripadvisor, the Elephant Nature Park. It was incredibly important to us that the elephants are well taken care of and treated properly, and we did not want to ride on them as it is usually not associated with good treatment.

Therefore, we did not choose the cheapest provider, but we can actually highly recommend this tour. We did not visit the Nature Park itself, but we booked the Elephant Freedom Tour (price per person: 2,500 THB = approx. 64€). We were in a small group of 10 people, visiting 4 elephants south of Chiang Mai, while the actual park with more elephants and over 100 visitors per day is located in the north of Chiang Mai.

The day program, including pickup in a modern minivan instead of a truck, and the great lunch provide a worry-free package.

(our pickup)

(pickup from other tours)

In the beginning, we got to know the elephants and fed them bananas and mangoes. Then we took a short walk with the elephants, and at first we felt a bit uncomfortable because of their unimaginable size and power. However, they are treated very well and warmly, so we never felt that they were not doing well.

After lunch, the highlight of the day was scheduled, which turned out to be a lot more fun than we expected. The elephants were playing in a mud pool and enjoying a mud bath while we watched. It was impressive to see these giants play like small children and look quite clumsy in the mud and then in the river. Of course, some amazing photos were taken, including elephants showering in the water.

After the bath, we fed them again and said goodbye. The day tour ends around 4:00 pm back in Chiang Mai.

2. Sunday Night Market – Walking Street

The Sunday Night Market in Chiang Mai is incredibly huge and beautiful. It was only a 2-minute walk from our hotel, Leechiang. Although the market is very crowded, it is designed like a large plus sign with many side streets, so if it gets too crowded, you can simply move to another street. There are also numerous diverse stands with great crafts, clothes, and everything a woman's shopping heart desires, where you can buy beautiful souvenirs at very reasonable prices. Bargaining is not necessarily required, as the prices are already very cheap and fair, but you can always try anyway ;-)

Furthermore, it is advisable to go to the market hungry, as there are countless delicious treats for every taste. For example, we had fried noodles, grilled chicken skewers, waffles, and chocolate cake for dessert, as well as a freshly brewed cappuccino, all for a total of 3€. =D

If you find the hustle and bustle too much, you can also comfortably watch the action in one of the many restaurants directly on the Walking Street with a cold beer.

In contrast, we did not like the Saturday market that much, so we recommend the Sunday market to every traveler.

3. Tour to Chiang Rai & Golden Triangle

If you do not plan to continue your journey to the north for a longer stay, we recommend a day tour to the famous white temple in Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle, the 3-country border of Southeast Asia where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. We thought about whether to travel further north or do it in a day tour. However, since we decided to use the border crossing to Laos from Nong Khai, we wanted to visit the north and the Golden Triangle in a separate day tour.

We had an incredibly beautiful tour and experienced a lot, so we will dedicate our next blog post exclusively to this tour. So, stay tuned =)

4. Thai cooking class

It was Tobi's wish and one of the reasons for our trip to the north of Thailand that he wanted to take a cooking class. After extensive research, we chose the Zabb-E-Lee cooking school. For 900 THB per person (about 23€), you get everything you could wish for. The entire course lasts 5 hours, including hotel pickup, visiting the market where the various vegetables and spices are explained, and then cooking several courses. You get to do everything completely by yourself, which is not always the case with cooking classes.

You can choose from several options for each course and create your own menu with dishes you want to learn.

For example, we had a hot and sour prawn soup and chicken with cashew nuts as an appetizer. For the main course, we had spring rolls and green chicken curry, and we even made the curry paste ourselves. The green curry was honestly the best curry I have ever eaten (according to Tobi).

The cooking class was incredibly diverse, perfectly organized, and we had Art as our cooking teacher, whose name nearly says it all. He reminded us more of an artist at the wok, and he was extremely entertaining. It was just fun to cook with him!

If you are interested in a cooking class, you must definitely do it at Art's cooking class. You won't regret it.

All participants also received a high-quality cookbook, which includes all the dishes that were not selected.

You definitely won't go home hungry, and you can take the remaining food with you. =)

If you don't feel like taking a cooking class but still want to eat well and cheaply, we recommend the "Lucky Too" restaurant. We ate there several times, and both the Asian dishes and the homemade pizza are incredibly good and rarely found in this form in Asia.

5. Tailoring

Since we planned to stay in Chiang Mai for several days, we wanted to take the opportunity to have some tailored shirts made for Tobi. Again, we did some research and, as often, decided on the number 1 on Tripadvisor, as so many people cannot be wrong ;-)

Again, we were absolutely not disappointed, but rather completely convinced by the service at CM Custom Tailor. We did not choose the cheapest fabric but the fabric that made the best impression on us. We paid about 75€ for 3 shirts (1,000 THB per shirt). We were able to try on an initial sample after one day, and after making the desired small changes, the shirts were ready in perfect quality after 2 days. As a bonus, we received a tie as a gift, and the measurements are stored by the customer number, so you can easily reorder by email with delivery to your doorstep in Germany (cost of shipping to Germany is about 15€).

They also produce suits, evening dresses, coats, etc. on request, although it did not make sense for us.