We cannot guarantee any uncharted rocks or icebergs on this cruise and the Nam Ou, Sangkar River, or even River Kok it is not, so don’t expect dramatic scenery; yet a cruise on the Ping River is a very pleasant way to while away a couple of hours. At least a couple of companies now … read the full post

Wat Pan Tao is not one of Chiang Mai’s most famous wats but this small temple with its attractive teak viharn is well worth a peek, and since it’s conveniently located right next door to the prestigious Wat Chedi Luang it wouldn’t be going far out of your way to drop by. Wat Pan Tao … read the full post

“Forget it, Jake — it’s Chinatown!” is a classic line from a classic movie, but a Chinatown in LA, London or Sydney is going to stand out far more than a Chinatown in Bangkok or Chiang Mai will ever do. Chiang Mai’s so-called Chinatown is the Worarot market and commercial district though apart from a … read the full post

It’s taken us a while to get around to writing a post on what is really Chiang Mai’s most important temple, Wat Phra Singh, and while walking around this afternoon we had the distinct feeling it was possibly actually our first ever visit!? Our office is directly opposite the main entrance — but then we … read the full post

Greater Chiang Mai weighs in these days with a good million inhabitants (the exact figure varies according to where one draws cut-off points), and it has most of the attributes a modern city aspires to have. It has whopping shopping malls and chic boutiques, a Chinatown,  a professional football team (albeit an embarrassingly bad one), … read the full post

We’re covering a very different kind of market compared to our last post’s one on Prathu Chiang Puaka though it’s certainly another of our faves in Chiang Mai. Kamthieng market is what in the West we might call a garden centre, as it sells flowers, plants, trees, garden equipment, furniture, decorations and so on. This … 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

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

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