February 2023

Another solo trip 🙂

I was here for 2.5 days and it was NOT enough time. I originally had planned and booked to go to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but I changed my mind last minute (and it was the best decision ever), because I had a BLAST in such a short amount of time. Don’t worry, I will visit Malaysia another time.

You know how when you say you want to go back to a place? Chiang Mai is definitely #1 on my list to go back to. I did not get to see/do everything, but for the amount of time I was there, I was very happy. Even though there were a lot of tourists, I still felt the Thai culture and it was not lost/gone. I felt super safe traveling solo there. It was “quiet” and very calm, which is what I wanted. Everyone was so kind and did not push for more. And it was very cheap! I have listed the places of things to see and do, and places to eat in alphabetical order. I also added some photos & information below the list that I have experienced. Ugh, writing this makes me miss Chiang Mai so much. 

How to Get Around Chiang Mai
You can rent motorbikes and drive around. You can walk. You can use a Grab which is like a Uber/Lyft. You can use the Red Taxi, which picks up multiple people and drop off multiple people in different areas – it depends on the route that the Red Taxi is going. I personally did not use the Red Taxi like that, but I used it with my Hostel to go to a Ram bar show! It cost about $20 bhat. Or ride a tuktuk!! I rode on one from the bar back to my hostel for $60 bhat. You can also use a taxi as well or a tour bus if you are taking a tour or something. 

Where Did I Stay?
I stayed at Family Home Chiang Mai (SHA+Certified) in a private room. I took a taxi from the airport to the hostel for $150 bhat and it was about 10 minutes away. It was located near Chiang Mai Gate, which I recommend to stay near or within the square area (when you look at it on the map). Family Home Chiang Mai was about a 5-10 minute walk to Old Town/Chiang Mai Gate, so the location was good for me! The hostel was located more in a neighborhood area. The hostel did a great job at hosting gatherings at night (go to a boxing match, go to a Ram Bar show, etc.) It was very easy to meet people. Once I got out of my taxi, Joe (the host) was there to help me with my luggages and checked me in. The room was fine! They also clean/make up the room every day too. 

How was the weather in February?
It was sunny and warm! I can imagine it only gets hotter as the year continues. Bring sunscreen, sunglasses, bug spray, and hat(s) to protect yourself! 

Things to Do/See
Chiang Mai Gate Market
Chiang Mai Muay Thai Boxing Gym
Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
Get a Massage!!
Night Market
Thai Akha Cooking School
Three Kings Monument
Wat Chiang Man
Wat Chedi Luang
Wat Jet Ling
Wat Muen Tum
Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang
Wat Phan Tao
Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan
Wat Tung Yu

Places To Eat
Honestly, I mainly ate at the night market! I went to one small family restaurant near my Hostel and eat their Khao Soy, it was delicious and spicy! When I was on my Elephant Tour, they provided lunch and when I got back, I just want to the night market and ate pad thai, another noodle dish, etc. When I did my cooking class, I had a lot of food there too! There are a lot of food stalls/restaurants, so it should not be hard to find some food 🙂 

Things to Do/See

Chiang Mai Gate Market
This is where I ate every day for 2.5 days haha! It was like a mini night market but for food only. There are about 30ish food stalls to choose from.

Chiang Mai Muay Thai Boxing Gym
I have always wanted to take a boxing class, so what better way to do it for the first time in Thailand?! This place does not take appointments nor reservations, it is a drop-in. Check online for the schedule. I arrived about 10-15 minutes prior, paid $390 bhat, and did a few stretches before we started. The instructor came over and put the glove wrap (not sure what the actual term is) around my hands. Then told us to run. I was not expecting to run LOL. It was literally an exercise class too. Then we did some push ups and stretches. Then they taught us the basics of Muay Thai. We followed the instructor, then took quick water breaks in between. Then we wore the gloves and started to punch/kick the instructors. Break. Then repeated 3 times. Then we punched/kicked the boxing bag. Break. Then repeated 3 times. Then we went inside the boxing ring and you “box” with the classmates. I met a girl from Malaysia and we were afraid to hurt each other haha. When the class was about to be over, we did some more stretches again and then took a group photo. It was a very fun class! The instructors did not speak a lot of English but were still kind and reminded us to drink water. Please drink water and bring an extra t-shirt or towel because you will sweat like crazy! One thing I would say is that the gloves smelled…I hope they clean it in between each use. Besides that, I would totally take the class again!

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
I booked a half day morning tour with Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. I partially paid for half of it online and paid the other half when I was there. They take card or cash in person if you need to pay the leftover. They did not send a reminder e-mail about the tour, so remember that you book it and do not forget! They came to pick me up in an open back jeep and the ride was about 1.5 hours away. They pick up others along the way as well. Once we got there, we put on the tshirt that they gave us, and listened to the instructors of what and what not to do, safety guidelines, etc. Once that was done, we fed the elephants bananas! You can feed them by their nose or put it in their mouths. If you put the bananas in their mouths, you say “boom boom”. I was afraid to do that because I did not want my hands to get stuck LOL (but I did feed them another food in the mouth later on). After that, the elephants ate the plants and we were able to pet them and take pictures with them. Then, we went back to the main area to make food for the elephants. We fed them the food and it was time for the mud bath. The weather was nuts! It started to rain so it was a quick mud bath with the elephants. You cannot wear your slippers in the mud math, so it is your barefoot stepping in mud and elephant poop. The mud and elephant poop helps keep their skin cool from the heat. It was so much fun! After that, they had showers for us and we all took a shower and changed into our new clothes. They provided lunch for us, then we wrapped up and they dropped us all back off at our accommodations. I had a lot of fun, but if I am being 110% honest – I don’t think I would want to do it again, because, even though it said it is a jungle sanctuary and they do seem to treat the elephants well – I don’t know…I feel like the elephants and all other animals should be able to roam freely! Like they should not have a timeline of “when” to eat or bathe. They should just go whenever they please and for however long they choose to! Besides that, I met such amazing people from this activity! I met people from the Philippines, U.K. and Hong Kong! 🙂 

Get a Massage!
There are a ton of massages in Chiang Mai! There is a massage place probably every block or two! The one I wanted to go to was fully booked, so I was like okay, let’s just go to a smaller massage spot: Nida Thai Massage. It was okay. I had better massages haha. If I had more than 2.5 days in Chiang Mai, I would have went to more massage places! 

Night Market
There is the Saturday and Sunday night market. I heard the Sunday night market is WAY bigger than Saturday’s. I can’t even imagine because I thought Saturday’s Night Market was huge already! There are a ton of food vendors, clothing, souvenir stalls, etc. It was super fun and I enjoyed walking and strolling along.

 Thai Akha Cooking School
I booked the morning class a day before and luckily, they had one more spot open! The morning tour includes a 1 hour market tour and the rest was cooking. The entire tour/class took about 5 hours and it was fun! They have a meet up spot in the morning OR you can choose to get picked up from your accommodation. My hostel was very close to the Thai Akha Cooking School, so I was going to walk over, but the instructor came to pick me up, because it was on the way to the market. We all met at a temple, wore aprons, went around and introduce our names and where we were from. Then we took the red taxi (included in the tour) to the market. The instructor was so much fun and knowledgable about the foods. She told us to try the foods BEFORE she told us what it was. I unfortunately don’t remember all of the names, but we ate spicy chips, crab shit, pig’s brain, and so much more. I like everything that I tried except 1 of the food that taste like tobacco and had a chewy texture haha. I am glad I tried the foods, because if I did not doing this cooking class and I saw this food somewhere, I do not think I would have tried it. The instructor also bought some of the ingredients we needed for the cooking portion as well. It was fun seeing the market and shops. After the market tour, we took the red taxi to the cooking school, and wow, it was so aesthetically pleasing and clean! We all took about a 5 minute restroom and water break. After that, we learned and cook! We made papaya salad, fried spring roll, pad thai, coconut & chicken soup, (another soup and salad), and we helped with the mango sticky rice! It was easy to follow and fun. We had the option between 4 currys: red, green, panang, or massaman curry and I made the red curry. It was spicy but good! We were all so full at the end! After the class was over, the red taxi drops you off at your accommodation. 

Three Kings Monument
This is a quick 5 minute stop to see the 3 founding fathers of Chiang Mai. The area is located near a museum and cultural center. I visited at night and there was a Chiang Mai arts and crafts festival going on with performers and singers and all. It was very nice quick stop.

Temples/Wats
I listed all of the temples/wats above, and they are located within the square/old town of Chiang Mai. All of the temples were so beautiful and near one another. Majority of them are free and some you do have to pay to go in. Remember to cover up and take off your shoes when you enter in the temple.

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That is my short blog on Chiang Mai! I am still so sad that I did not have more time. I would have went to the sticky waterfall, the white/blue temple, and to more massage places. In those 2.5 days, I saw what I wanted to see, but it was not enough. I had a blast and met a TON of people from all around the world. I would say it is pretty easy and safe to travel solo to Chiang Mai. Majority of the people speaks English. Chiang Mai has a special place in my heart and I will 110% come back. I would say it is top 3, maybe top 1 of my favorite places that I’ve been to so far 🙂 

 As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to the Chiang Mai? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section about your experience. What should I do when I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know. Let’s chat! #viviansventures