As we all know some of the best Thai food can be found in markets and street stalls. In Chiang Mai, the night market at Prathu Chang Puak or Chang Puak Gate market, is one of the best food markets we know of in town. It’s located on the exterior side of the northern moat … read the full post

Look up Chiang Mai province in a guide or on a map and you’ll see the same Thai place names cropping up over and over again: Doi this, Mae that and so on. So what do they all mean? Some you may well have already guessed at but here goes with a few of the … read the full post

I like Christmas in Chiang Mai — most decent nearby getaways from here are either booked out ages ahead and/or charge ridiculous festive season supplements. There’s a crisp edge to the weather in Chiang Mai too which, without climbing Mount Fansipan, is about a festive season a feel as you’ll find in most of Southeast … read the full post

We’ve been a bit reluctant to try this popular Chiang Mai attraction out to be honest since swinging through tree tops didn’t really sit well with our vertigo. But as it came recommended by several mates and, apart from anything else, its ads are plastered over every other tuk tuk and outside every tour agent’s … read the full post

Having plumped for Chiang Mai Blue House as our Chiang Mai budget recommendation and suggested Chiang Mai Thai House as a mid-range fave, we’ll round out this mini-series with our top pick in the upmarket category. If any of our visiting rellies or friends don’t mind splashing the cash a bit then The Rim Resort … read the full post

A long-standing favourite of ours in Chiang Mai’s mid-range accommodation category is the excellent Chiang Mai Thai House (see here for our budget pick). Location’s one of the strong points of Thai House, which falls somewhere in the range between upmarket guesthouse and boutique hotel. Situated on Tha Pae Road, Soi 5, it’s about a … read the full post

One of our clear budget accommodation favourites in Chiang Mai is the aptly named, to give it its full title, Chiang Mai Blue House. Being a pleasant shade of blue, full of lush plants and attractive wooden and bamboo furniture, it’s also one of the most photogenic. Blue House consists of a three-storey, L-shaped building … read the full post

The correct name for this historic, attractive and unusual Chiang Mai temple is Wat Potharam Mahavihara, though locals generally use the name Wat Jet (or Chet) Yot, meaning the Temple of Seven Spires for its famous centre piece, a seven-spired chedi, or stupa. According to the Thai Fine Arts Department, the wat was originally constructed … read the full post

Chiang Mai’s National Museum, located on the ‘super-highway’ close to Wat Jet Yot, (see map), isn’t  a huge museum but is nicely laid out, well lit and large enough to provide an easily followed and succinct outline of the northern city’s history from prehistoric times until the 20th century. In fact it’s a jolly good … read the full post

Mon Cham is a restaurant and “camping resort” situated in the Nong Hoi Royal Project in a remote corner of Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim district.  Numerous Royal Project agricultural sites are scattered across Northern Thailand, (such as Mae Fah Luang) and are generally devoted to  assisting villagers, in particular hill-tribe people, to diversify their farm … read the full post