This past weekend we got Thursday and Friday off because our teachers had some sort of conference/field trip situation happening. So Emiliya and I took this four day weekend as an opportunity to finally volunteer with elephants!! It's something we had been planning on doing since day one, we just haven't had the time to do so yet. The best elephant sanctuaries are located in the hills of Chiang Mai which is about 12 hours away by car, or 1 hour by plane. Chiang Mai is thailand's second biggest city (Bangkok being the largest) and is known to be a little more eclectic and popular among expats and tourists. We planned our trip to Chiang Mai for the sole purpose of volunteering with elephants and didn't have many expectations for the city itself, so we were pretty blown away when we landed.
We took an hour long flight from Bangkok and got into Chiang Mai just past 11pm and were greated by the lively and crisp evening of a Wednesday night. Although Pattaya (where we live) has a nightlife, it's rather rambunctious and a little seedy at times, appealing more to the party crowd than anything else. There's also an absurdly large population of middle-aged men roaming the clubs, so overall it's not always the best of times. Right away it was obvious that Chiang Mai was different than Pattaya and we were amazed to see that the city was alive with more than just bars. Our taxi took us through the streets which were littered with Thais and foreigners, all out and about just enjoying their time. It was more than just bars and night clubs, there were cafes lit up with fairy lights, pubs performing live music and people just relaxing near the canals that surround old town. We were blown away with how nice Chiang Mai is, even at 11 at night. Within that first hour I think we both realized how run down Pattaya and surrounding areas are. Sure, we have an expat community and there are places to find western food, but the whole area of Pattaya can often be dirty and the only places open late are night clubs. There's one main street that has a decent amount to offer when it comes to restaurants and shops, but beyond that there isn't really much worth exploring. Chiang Mai was composed, clean and alive. There's more to it than just one or two main streets, instead any small alley or turn takes you to a colorful neighborhood that offers markets, cute cafes or small restaurants.
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an awesome breakfast of coffee and fresh fruit with granola and homemade
yogurt. Not something we would normally find near us! |
When we weren't off exploring, Emiliya and I spent the majority of our time just relaxing and trying all the drinks and food we could find. Chiang Mai offers a much larger selection of fruits and the restaurants do a really great job of mixing Thai food and western food, to provide a meal that's more than just rice and vegetables. We were especially excited to find sandwiches made with French bread! That's almost impossible to find anywhere south.
Old town, the most popular area of Chiang Mai is only about a mile across, but there's so much to enjoy within such a small area. In reality, Chiang Mai isn't much different from any other touristy city. There are bars, cafes, cute shops and sites to see, but coming from Pattaya it was a breath of fresh air. The city is so much more composed and maintained than Pattaya and it felt like there was a relaxed aura throughout the city, giving off "hippy vibes" as some people say. This area is extremely popular with expats, and almost everyone I know who's chosen their location in Thailand (as opposed to being placed like me) has chosen Chiang Mai. I definitely advise this city for anyone who needs a few relaxing days during their Asian adventures.
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| Playing with elephants at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary |
Although it would've been easy to spend our days in Chiang Mai in a food coma, we did our best to adventure outside of the restaurants and bars. Day one obviously consisted of elephants galore. We spent a 9 hour day romping in the hills of Chiang Mai volunteering at an elephant sanctuary, which I would definitely advise to anyone who has any interest in seeing elephants or participating in ethical animal treatment. There's a whole post
here about our experience at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary.
Our second full day in Chiang Mai we wanted to get out of the city walls and find some sites further away. We calculated how much it would be to take taxis everywhere, and although that option was still cheap, we quickly realized renting a motorbike would be the easiest and cheapest method of transportation. We found a place that rented out bikes for 200฿ for the entire day, that's right, we threw down a whopping $5.60 for an entire day with a motorbike. Fortunately Emiliya has her motorcycle license (although that's definitely not a requirement, they'll hand out bikes to anyone with money) and is comfortable driving the both of us, while I ride in the back and stay in charge of all the important things: directions, snacks and reminding her to stay on the left side of the road.
Grand Canyon
Our first stop was the "Grand Canyon" of Chiang Mai, also known as Hang Dong Quarry. This area used to be a mining quarry but was eventually left to the mercy of the adventurous tourists who now use it as a swimming place. The biggest draw to the quarry is the cliff jumping, which is available from varying heights depending on how crazy you're feeling. We spent the afternoon meeting other travelers and taking turns jumping off the canyon walls into the chilly water below. There are also bamboo rafts anchored in the water which are a great place to lay and watch others brave the jump.
Without GPS we never would have found this place. It's on a random side street off the side of the highway with no signs leading the way. Even on a hot day there were very few people there, sometimes only 5-10 people in the water, but the ones who were there were all tourists and expats. It seems that this area is still undiscovered by mainstream tourism and is a good way to escape the crowded streets of Chiang Mai. If you've got a hot day in Chiang Mai then I suggest you visit the canyon for an afternoon.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
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| The 300+ stairs leading up to the temple |
Next we headed north and took a 10 mile uphill windy road to the top of Doi Suthep mountain. At the top is
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple, which is popular among Thais but attracts tourists for a different reason. Although the temple itself is beautiful, most people flock to the top of this mountain to see the amazing views of Chiang Mai. It was a foggy and humid day so the visibility wasn't super clear, but we could still see the canals and walls of Chiang Mai and the airport which is located just a few miles away from the heart of the city. We got there in hopes of seeing the sunset, without taking into account which way the mountain faced, which turns out is the opposite direction of the sunset. woops! Either way, we still got awesome views and managed to descend the mountain before it turned pitch black outside.
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| Inside Wat Doi Suthep |
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| View from the top |
Day 3: Temple Hopping
On our last full day in Chiang Mai we stayed close to the heart of the city to take advantage of some of the nearby temples. There are endless adventure tours available from Chiang Mai which we considered doing, but because we were taking a night bus on our last evening we didn't want to do anything that would make us sit in our own filth for a 12 hour overnight journey. Instead we used the morning as a rare occasion to sleep in, and then took off on a walking adventure of Chiang Mai.
First we visited
Wat Chedi Luang, which was originally built in the 14th century but was later destroyed by an earthquake. Although the earthquake was over 400 years ago the temple isn't rebuilt yet and is still considered to be a work in progress. On the grounds of the temple they had a little area set up with piles of tiles and bricks, which we learned were going to be used for the new roof of the temple. Visitors could write wishes or sign the tiles which would later go into the temple roof, hopefully providing a little good luck!
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| Wishes to be built into the new temple roof |
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Wat Chedi Luang
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| Wat Sri Suphan |
Next we walked about a half mile away to the infamous
Wat Sri Suphan, the only silver temple in Thailand. Unfortunately there are some temples in Thailand that don't allow women to enter, and this is one of them. Instead we happily marveled from the outside and explored the grounds of the temple. It wasn't until after we left Chiang Mai that I researched Wat Sri Suphan a little more and found that the temple was built in the early 1500s but it wasn't built with silver. That addition didn't come until the 21st century and was only recently finished. The temple sits in the silver district of Chiang Mai, so it was redone to fit in with it's neighbors.
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| Night bus from Chiang Mai to Pattaya |
It was a hot day with plenty of sunshine, so we happily retreated into the shade for the rest of the day, spending our evening lounging at coffee shops and relishing the last bites of western food. At 7:30pm we hopped on our night bus to Pattaya and did our best to sleep through the 12 hour journey south. We rode a "gold status" bus, which gave us reclining seats, a blanket, a tv (with english movies!) and dinner. Not too shabby for $20.
Our time in Chiang Mai was much more exciting than anticipated and it's a city that I would really love to visit again some day in the future. It's also a good place to keep in mind for backpackers who need a break from the constant moving. Chiang Mai is cheaper than other parts of Asia and would serve as a good location to wind down a little.
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Logistical Info
- One way flight on Air Asia from Don Muang (Bangkok) --> Chiang Mai was about $45
- Hang Dong Quarry has an entrance fee of 50฿. The location has a decent bathroom and a nice cafe with traditional Thai food and a few western foods
- Wat Doi Suthep had signs pointing the way to buy entrance tickets (30฿) but after purchasing them we realized no one was around to actually check our tickets.
- Neither Wat Chedi Luang nor Wat Sri Suphan have entrance fees, they also don't provide robes to cover knees and shoulders, it's best to bring along a sarong or sweater to be respectful when visiting these temples.
- We purchased our bus tickets two days in advance from Arcade Bus Terminal. We got 2/4 of the last open seats on this journey. Tickets were 683฿ (just under $20).
