Along with the Lanna Folklife Centre, the excellent Chiang Mai Historical Centre is another brand new museum in the northern capital. Here’s a rundown on what goodies to expect inside. Chiang Mai and the North’s history is a long one. The Lanna and Thai period dates back a mere 700 years or so, but before … read the full post

We could almost sub-title this ‘Reclaiming Loi Kroh‘, as usually the mention of this well-known Chiang Mai road tends to bring many locals out in shudders and expats in sniggers. Yes, one small section of the road is, shall we say, sleazy, but the rest of the street is home to some excellent eateries, lively … read the full post

Chiang Mai’s Lanna Heritage Centre, (or Lanna Folklife Museum depending upon which sign you read), is a brand new city museum. Here’s a rundown on what you’ll find here. The compact museum is well laid out, informative with plenty of clear and unusually well translated information and plenty of interesting exhibits. It’s an excellent initiative … read the full post

If you want to try eating something a bit different in Chiang Mai, we strongly recommend Free Bird Cafe, a vegetarian Shan food restaurant, where there really are no meat or fish options, and profits go to a good cause as well. Free Bird Cafe does actually offer Thai, Burmese and Western options as well … read the full post

We’ve written about secondhand bookstores in Chiang Mai so next up is a wrap on where to buy new books, even if the options in Thailand’s northern capital are rather sadly limited. While Thai language readers are spoiled for choice and plenty of excellent secondhand hand options are available, considering the large expat community and … read the full post

Any visitor to Chiang Mai, or for that matter pretty much anywhere in Northern Thailand, will be struck by the preponderance of coffee shops; they are simply everywhere and, a few international chains excepted, provide cheap and excellent quality coffee. Here’s a rundown on the local brew up here in the north. Coffee cultivation in … read the full post

The slightly grubby and often congested stretch of road running between Chiang Mai’s Narawat Bridge and Tha Pae Gate, which goes by the name of Tha Pae Road, has always been firmly in the say light blue or at best purple set on Chiang Mai’s imaginary Monopoly board but these days, while not yet up … read the full post

It’s always any excuse for a party in Thailand (and cynics may say excuse for some merchandising), so Thais are always more than happy to join in a Western New Year celebration, as well as celebrating Thai New Year and Chinese New Year. Here’s a brief rundown on what to expect in Thailand’s northern capital … read the full post

We’re not specifically targeting the blue-rinse brigade, but since we regularly review the more interesting coffee shops in Chiang Mai why not a tea shop for a change? And the excellent Siam Celadon is certainly one of Chiang Mai’s finest. So for the low down on Earl Grey and cucumber sandwiches in northern Thailand… here … read the full post

It’s true that you’ll need to hire or rent transport to get out there but we reckon the stunning setting, well-prepared and very reasonably priced classic Thai cuisine and a chance to splash about in the scenic lake afterwards make a trip to Chiang Mai’s Huay Tung Tao well worth it. Here are some of … read the full post