Update January 2012: Taking over a successful restaurant, keeping the exact same menu, increasing prices and employing totally new kitchen and waiting staff doesn’t sound common business sense to us and the cliche ‘recipe for disaster’ springs to mind. Logically you keep at least a couple of key staff members to smooth over transition but … read the full post

Definitely one of Chiang Mai’s most unusual and interesting temples, Wat Umong, (or ‘tunnel temple’ – umong meaning tunnel in Thai), is set in forested grounds near the foot of Doi Suthep. An artificial earth mound in the temple grounds covers a series of underground passageways whose purpose has never really been explained but which … read the full post

Every Thai town has its public transport idiosyncrasies and Thailand’s northern capital of Chiang Mai, is no exception. Firstly, despite being one of the kingdom’s larger towns, there is no public bus service — well, there are a few buses, but not much of a service. Probably under pressure from the songthaew and tuk tuk … read the full post

There isn’t actually an official ‘walking street’ in Chiang Mai, but every Sunday the whole length of Ratchadamnoen and Pra Singh Roads, the old city’s principal east/west axis (see map), plus several side streets, are closed to traffic and become one long street bazaar, stretching all the way from Wat Pra Singh down to and … read the full post