Chiang Mai : What We Did & Where We Went

The (many) gates of Chiang Mai.

The old city is surrounded by walls and moats to protect them against constant threat back in the day. [They used to be the capital city of Lanna kingdom]. The area within the moat is called Old City.

There are four sides of the moat, with some area more lively than others.

It's fun, walking along the walls, sightseeing. Recommended at least once through out your trip to Chiang Mai. Most happening gate : Chiang Mai & Tha Pae.

Taken at the Tha Pae Gate

Massage(s)

The place is sprawled with massage parlors which will definitely meet your budget. You can get decent massages from as low as 150 Baht up to 8000 Baht for luxury packages at renowned spas.

Lila Thai Massage (6 branches in Chiang Mai)

The price starts at 250 Baht per hour for body / foot massage. The masseuse are either ex-inmates or women with troubling background. They all went through training to become certified masseuse and this initiatives is fully supported by the local government. PS - the interior design was very beautiful!

Fah Lanna (2 branches)

Still in the affordable price range. The massages starts at 250 Baht (700 Baht at the Old City branch which is more luxurious that the Night Bazaar branch).

Old Town Branch

Night Bazaar Branch

A Nondescript Massage Parlor near Halal Street

For a cheap, no fuss and good massage. It's only 150 Baht per hour! Been visiting this place since 2013.

It's the corner shop, right beside the Halal Street gate

Lake Huay Thung Thao

This is a where the locals go during weekend! Relatively a tourist-free area. It is a large lake, with many (hundreds) bomboo huts overlooking the mountain, Doi Pui. There's an entrance fee of 50 Baht for foreigners.

It will take around 20 / 40 mins to get here depending whether on your mode of transportation.

They serve fresh and cheap seafood on the hut. No English menu (I've read some huts do provide them), and they can't speak any ounce of English 😂. So my mom helped us ordered (I love technology!)

This meal only cost us 270 Baht

Cr : Mad Monkey Hostel

Cooking School

I've been to 2 cooking classes in Chiang Mai; Thai Akha Cooking School (ranked 1st in TripAdvisor) and Thai Orchid Cookery School (ranked 8th). Surprise, surprise, I really would suggest Thai orchid over Thai Akha.

Thai Orchid offers more conducive learning environment, more hands on approach, and the menu are better , I would say.

[Guess how Thai Akha got to be ranked first? They offer free gifts for students who rated them in TripAdvisor. Naturally everyone ranked them excellent 😂]

Don't worry. They have vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options for the dishes. Alternatively, you can bring you own halal meat.

Some of the dishes at Thai Akha

Best experience at Thai Orchid Cookery School!

Kad Farang Starbucks

Me and N don't drink coffee so we went here exclusively for the photo op 😂

Cr : Smartlocal

Sunday Walking Market

It is always packed! Packed! But a must-visit attraction nonetheless. Bear in mind though that there is no halal stalls here (except rotee) . But you can have the vegetarian snacks, desserts and grilled seafood.

You can find food, crafts, souvenirs, and even open air massage stations (for when you're tired walking along the 1km crammed street).