In 2019 I decided to travel to Thailand by myself and planned a whole travel route. I wrote everything down and decided to go up to the North first and afterward visit the islands. Well, I never made it to the South and stayed in the North the whole time and didn't regret it. The North offers lots of beautiful temples and rich nature with waterfalls, hot tubs, and a huge jungle.
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Chiang Mai
One of my favorite places to visit in Thailand was Chiang Mai, where you can explore the culture and visit lots of temples. The center of the city is surrounded by a wall.
Things to do
As already mentioned above, you definitely must visit temples in Chiang Mai. My top favorite temples are all located in the historic center of Chiang Mai and are reachable by foot.
Wat Chiang Man was my personal favorite temple in Chiang Mai. Since I adore elephants, I loved that the temple was surrounded by stone-made elephant details. Also, it was a beautiful temple too.
Wat Phra Singh was also a nice visit. They're actually two temples in the visiting area, and both are not as big as the other two temples mentioned above. Nevertheless, the temple has very nice red painted walls with golden details and is built around the 14th century.
Last but not least is Wat Chedi Luang. Like the others, it was built around the 14th century as well and is a temple made out of stone and a "hidden" Buddha at the top.
As already mentioned, I adore elephants, so I had to do a guided tour of an Elephant Sanctuary Park. The elephants were rescued from environments, where they were held under animal cruel circumstances. Just make sure that you’ll book a tour with a trustworthy and ethical project. Unfortunately, I can’t remember my name of mine, but the experience to feed, bath, and walk with the elephants was memorable.
Similar to Bangkok, Chiang Mai has night markets as well. So, visiting night markets in Chiang Mai was also another thing to do. The most famous one was the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. It's very big and you'll find clothes, accessories, and other typical market stuff there. It's also a good place to eat something.
Food:
During my stay in Chiang Mai, I mostly ate street food and wasn't really documenting my travels properly. Unfortunately, I can't really recommend a place.
The only place I'd saved in my camera roll was the Bagel House Cafe, where I got a tasty bagel with lettuce, tomato, egg, and avocado.
Accommodation:
It was my very first hostel experience, and I was indeed lucky that I'd found such a nice place to start with. The Lullaby Hostel was perfect and a very tidy, comfortable place. I stayed there two times and I felt very welcoming and comfortable. The common area is perfect to get in touch with new people and they served tasty breakfast as well. The staff was helpful and around that time it cost me around 8$/night - which is a fair price.
Pai
This place was never on my travel list, but thanks to a bunch of people I'd met in a hostel, I made the whole way to the North and stayed at Pai. It's approximately four hours away and you can get there by van. The town itself has a laid-back hippie vibe and offers great untouched nature.
Things to do:
Similar to other places in Thailand, Pai offers nice temples as well. But almost everywhere you can see a huge Buddha statue: Chedi Phra That Mae Yen. After walking some steps, you finally arrive at the top of it and you can enjoy a nice view of Pai and take a photo with the Buddha.
Also, Pai is surrounded by waterfalls, and hot springs and has a canyon as well. It's perfect to hop on your scooter and just ride and discover nature. We made it to the Pang Mapha Viewpoint in the middle of the jungle which was approximately an hour's drive away from the city center.
While we were driving to the viewpoint we made a stop at the Sai Ngam Hot Spring. The entry fee was 200 Bath + 20 Bath for the scooter and is maintained by the Thailand Conservation Authority.
Food and drinks:
Similar to other places in Thailand, I mostly had street food. Pai has a nice walking street where one food stand follows another. Usually, I ate Pad Thai or Fried Rice/Noodles and in Pai, I discovered Roti, a dessert similar to pancakes or crepes, but traditionally filled with condensed milk, chocolate, and fruits.
In Pai, there are a lot of art cafés, where they brew some homemade Chai Tea. At Art in Chai, we were very lucky, because live poetry took place.
Another special place to visit was the Rabbit Café where you can pet a bunch of cute rabbits.
Chiang Rai
During my research: "What should I do in Thailand" a temple attracted me magnetically and I knew, I must see it. Due to that Chiang Rai was on my travel list and I originally planned to see this place right after my visit to Chiang Mai.
Things to do:
As already mentioned above the main reason for me was to see one temple there, and it's called Wat Rong Khun. A beautiful temple and stands out through its artistic little details and that it's completely white. It was designed by a foreign architect and was newly built.
The temple should symbolize the way to heaven and hell. So by walking through a bridge, which brings you to heaven, you can see hands, dead bodies, and monsters next to eat. What makes the temple so special is definitely the small details for every statue and ornament. The entrance fee is 50 bath and you can get there by a tour, taxi or with your own scooter.
Another beautiful temple and also worth visiting was the blue temple called Wat Rong Seur Ten and is a newly built temple and has a nice blue color. Last but not least, I visited another "temple", which has also its own color; the Black House. It's an artwork as well and inside the temple a creepy museum awaits you. Creepy, because every art piece is made out of animal remains.
Food:
As well as in the other places I mostly ate street food. At Chiang Rai Night Bazaar you'll definitely find some street food as well.
Accommodation:
During my short stay, I stayed at Baan Mai Karden Hostel. It was a tidy and clean space and I definitely can recommend staying there.
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