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• Chiang Mai’s Old City and Cambodia’s Angkor Thom

  First published: 19 Jul 2011
  

  I had a mate from Siem Reap visit me in Chiang Mai recently. He’s a guide, so knows Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom and so on inside out . His first comment on arriving was, “Oh, it’s got a city wall… and a moat, and it’s square shaped is it?!” “Well, yes,” I said. … read the full post

• Lanna style in North Thailand

  First published: 15 Jul 2011
  

  Looking around Chiang Mai’s accommodation offerings it’s clear that for anywhere with pretensions above standard Thai hotel style or backpacker guesthouse chic then Lanna style is flavour of the month — or decade. But what is it? Good question. Historically and culturally Lanna refers to the northern Thai kingdom, founded in Chiang Saen but for … read the full post

• Our favourite Chiang Mai chicken and rice shop

  First published: 12 Jul 2011
  

  Khao man gai, the Thai variant of the original Hainanese chicken rice, is hugely popular in Thailand and found just about anywhere you go in the kingdom. Known in China as wenchan chicken it was brought to Southeast Asia by Hainanese merchants and sailors, so presumably spread out from ports frequented by traders from the … read the full post

• Chiang Mai’s best place for breakfast?

  First published: 08 Jul 2011
  

  The Blue Diamond health-food cafe in Chiang Mai‘s old town is hugely popular with expats, locals and tourists and has a reputation for being perhaps the best Western breakfast spot in town. It is actually open all day — 07:00  to 21:00 — so it’s a lunch, afternoon tea or dinner option as well, with … read the full post

• Mae Sariang: Why go there?

  First published: 05 Jul 2011
  

  In our opinion Mae Sariang, a small town and capital of the district of the same name in southern Mae Hong Son province, doesn’t get the number of visitors it deserves. Here’s why you should go. First up, it just looks lovely. It’s a very picturesque little town on the banks of the Yuam River, … read the full post

• Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai

  First published: 02 Jul 2011
  

  Let’s head up the road from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai for this post, where we’ll check out the unique Rong Khun temple. The temple is located some 15 km south of Chiang Rai city at the junction of highway 1 leading south to Phayao and highway 118 heading Chiang Mai-wards. The ‘white temple‘, as … read the full post

• Chiang Mai Aquarium

  First published: 29 Jun 2011
  

  Instead of trying to cover the whole of Chiang Mai zoo in one post we’ll concentrate on what to our mind is the best part of it — the aquarium. Chiang Mai’s state of the art aquarium opened some three years ago and it’s been improving ever since. There’s an extensive array of fresh and … read the full post

• Common snakes of downtown Chiang Mai

  First published: 21 Jun 2011
  

  We’ll begin with a warning — not about snakes, as the majority of those are pretty harmless, but about our identification abilities. Not being a qualified herpetologist (we ahem looked that up on Google), it’s often very difficult to identify our wriggly friends who tend to vary considerably in colour and markings from region to … read the full post

• Chiang Mai to Vientiane

  First published: 16 Jun 2011
  

  Having found out I had to go to Vientiane for a meeting my first reaction was #@!* — what a trip, or words to that effect, until my wife pointed out there was a Chiang Mai to Udon Thani flight (CNX-UTH). This is extremely convenient, with Nok Air running a twice-daily flight for a little … read the full post

• North Thailand’s ethnic minorities: the Akha

  First published: 07 Jun 2011
  

  The Akha are probably Thailand’s most visible ‘hill-tribe’ group and these days you certainly don’t need to go anywhere near northern Thailand to come across them. The sight, and sound, of an Akha woman with a wooden frog will be all too familiar in any of the country’s tourist hot spots, from Phuket to Khao … read the full post