Ultimate Guide to Chiang Mai, Thailand

Ultimate Guide to Chiang Mai, Thailand - Video Diary

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Tucked in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai offers adventure, relaxation, culture, and the most delicious food. There is so much to do here. Within Chiang Mai’s Old City, you’ll find ancient temples, hotels, restaurants, spas, and the famous night market.
There are amazing day trips such as visiting an elephant sanctuary, zip-lining, or hiking up to a sacred temple. My fiancé and I spent three amazing days in Chiang Mai. We wish we had more time.
ELEPHANT NATURE PARK
Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary for sick, injured, and old elephants. We observed the elephants in their natural habitat while learning about their stories and the problems of the elephant tourism industry.
While we did get to feed the elephants fruit (lots of it!) and bathe one elephant in the river, the most enjoyable part was watching them interact with each other. They splashed around in the water, coated themselves in bright orange mud, and munched on mounds of greens. They were so playful - especially the baby! It was breathtaking to witness these animals up close.
HOTEL
During our time in Chiang Mai, we stayed at Rachamankha, a luxury boutique hotel in the Old City. I fell in love with this hotel. Three words to describe this paradise: tranquil, sophisticated, and inspiring.
Located within the ancient walls of Chiang Mai, Rachamankha has a prime spot next to the city’s most famous temple: Wat Phra Signh.
TEMPLE: Wat Phra Singh
Wat Phra Singh was bustling as tourists and buddhist monks weaved throughout the monastery grounds. There are several structures, each lavishly decorated. We slipped off our shoes before entering each place of worship and said a few prayers alongside people from all over the world.
NIGHT MARKET
It is massive. After an hour or so of sorting through clothes, jewelry and art, we picked up a few pieces and were ready to head to dinner. However, we couldn’t easily find our way out! The market stretches for several blocks in every direction!
TUK TUK for Transportation
We hopped into a tuk-tuk for an exhilarating ride to dinner at River Market, a romantic Thai restaurant on the Ping River. The food was insanely good and affordable. In fact, that was our experience all over Chiang Mai. We were over-tipping all the time because everything was fantastic and much cheaper than we are accustomed to in Chicago.
COOKING CLASS
As I mentioned, the food in Chiang Mai is incredible. My fiancé and I decided to take a cooking class so we could recreate the dishes at home. We signed up with Pantawan Cooking for a full evening course. The lesson began around 4pm where they took us to an authentic Thai market. Among the usual suspects you’d find at markets in the United States, we also saw chicken heads and feet, live frogs, and ant eggs - which our guide told us are tasty in omelettes. I sampled some Thai sausage (which our guide said was a must!). It was good, and no, I didn’t get sick on this trip, thankfully!