Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand’s most significant cities

Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai are the two major and most visited cities in the north of Thailand. Both fascinating cities provide an excellent base, from which where to further explore this unique and historic mountainous region of Thailand. The city of Chiang Mai is a fascinating mixture of modern urban life and a charming old village ambience.

Chiang Mai’s visiting tourists will appreciate the extensive selection of recreational activities. To mention just a few tourist attractions, they have the option visiting several camps housing working elephants, gorgeous waterfalls such as the Mae Sa Waterfall, and plenty of colourful orchid farms. The city boasts a large number of splendid Buddhist temples.

Extremely holy for Thai Buddhists, the magnificent Doi Suthep monastery was constructed 3500 feet above sea level on the summit of a densely forested mountain, which overlooks the fertile valley surrounding the city of Chiang Mai. This stunning religious construction is particularly renowned for housing many of the Lord Buddha’s holy relics.

Another top attraction in Chiang Mai is the vibrant and well-stocked night market (night bazaar), which is always crowded with bargaining tourists.
 
Farther to the north, Chiang Rai is a fascinating city as well. The nearby located hill tribe villages of the colourful Karen, Yao and Akha people attract huge crowds of tourists year-round. Travelling to the mysterious Golden Triangle is a very rewarding experience. It is the spot where the Laotian, Burmese and Thai borders meet.

Golden Triangle Travel Guide

Chiang Mai, a highly entertaining tourist retreat

Wonderfully situated in the northern part of Thailand, the city of Chiang Mai is also known as “The Rose of the North” is surrounded by green tropical landscapes and cool mountains. Chiang Mai’s mesmerizing beauty will impress each first-time visitor and many of them come back for a second time or even more often.

Compared with other larger cities in the kingdom Chiang Mai boasts much more areas of natural beauty. Providing the main gateway to the north, throughout the year the city attracts a steady influx of tourists. The destination’s numerous varied attractions guarantee that nobody here will have a change developing a state of boredom!

The city’s hotels, resorts and guesthouses offer good value for money, while the comprehensive selection of Thai as well international restaurants serve very affordable priced dishes and beverages. Historic Chiang Mai simply offers an entertaining retreat to all types of travellers.

Chiang Mai enjoys an excellent reputation for boasting gorgeous nature attractions such as hot springs, awesome waterfalls, great mountains, lush jungles, and laid-back rural areas but also fascinating museums, stunning Buddhist temples, vibrant markets, enjoyable nightlife and well-stocked shopping malls. Accommodation can conveniently be found in each part of the city including the place’s tourist hot-spots.

Some of the highlights in this ancient city include: the Chiang Mai National Museum, Wat Chet Yot, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Tha Ton, Wat Phra Sing, Wat Chetawan, Chiang Mai Zoo with its two pandas, the Hilltribe Museum, the pulsating Night Bazaar and the atmospheric Somphet Market.

Attractions in the surrounding area feature: Bor Sang Umbrella Village, Doi Suthep Mountain Temple, Doi Pui Hilltribe Village, Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, several elephant camps, orchid farms, Mae Sa Waterfall, Mae Klang Waterfall, San Kamphaeng Hot Springs and many more…

Chiang Mai online tourist guide 

Two of the most lively and fun-filled annual events are the Loi Krathong Festival and the extremely popular Songkran Festival. These festivals draw many participants coming from each part of the globe.

Loy Krathong Festival in the city of Chiang Mai

The more adventurous travellers will definitely appreciate exciting activities such as elephant riding, jungle trekking, white water rafting, mountain biking and bungee jumping, while the golf enthusiasts will be impressed by the several world-class courses.

Speeding down Doi Pui’s slopes in Chiang Mai by mountain bike

Once the more advanced mountain biker has reached the 1,600 metres high mountain’s summit he or she will be enthralled by the reward of rocketing down the road at a velocity sometimes reaching more than 30 mile per hour, while passing by some of the national park’s most gorgeous scenery.

There aren’t any mountain-bike tracks for beginners up here. Some say that these routes even rank among the most difficult on the globe. Even the experienced veterans often have to walk certain strenuous parts of the tracks. However, it rarely happens that somebody gets hurt as the bikers here wisely use bicycles featuring space hopper-suspension and all wear protecting body gear and helmets.

Knowing these safety facts I decided two weeks ago to experience a bike trip myself. Once I arrived in Chiang Mai’s old part of the city at the bike base, I’d told the owner and organiser that the last time I really cycled was nearly two decades ago. He just smiled and introduced me to the group of beginners. Mountain biking in Chiang Mai

Our guide, Steve, said that everyone will crash sometime and we shouldn’t have to think about if but rather when we would hit the surface. But there wasn’t a thing that seemed to frighten the fanatic Irishman. Even the possibility of crashing against a tree didn’t bother him. He described such an unfortunate event as “annoying”.

Suddenly I realised that this was probably going to be one of the riskiest activities I’ve ever had done so far. To me mountain biking always seemed like a pretty extreme sport, certainly harder than rock climbing, white water rafting or mountain hiking. The origin of the sport is surrounded by many controversies.

Probably the coolest story tells about Buffalo Soldiers, being the first persons riding souped-up bicycles. At the end of the 19th century these people were soldiers belonging to the special African-American USA regiments. They covered more than 800 miles distances from Montana to California and back, to test the bike’s military usability.

A rather obese Swede in our team seemed fully in his element, biking with the mobility of a chimp. Making sure not to miss his adrenaline-pumping kick, he rocketed down the 90-degree slopes’ off-the-beaten-track paths. When he decided taking a tumble, instead of groaning, the jolly Swede sub-sided into a muddy pool.

Better not try this as a beginner!

The members of our group all seemed to manage with the litre of water, which was supplied to us before the start of the bike trip. However, the real athletes on the advanced group drank electrolytes containing liquid. Steve explained that certain sections of the trip they were going to tackle and speeding down along had a difficulty level five times higher than the hardest ahead of our team.

As Steve said before back at the base, there was no possible way of enjoying the scenery, which rapidly flashed by. My eyes remained focused on the surface below. Performing a smoother ride we were advised as often as possible to let go of the brakes. This should make it easy to ride over obstacles but I still don’t have a clue how a biker should sail over pine needles as these obstacles are similar to black ice! Guide to sports and adventure activities in Chiang Mai

To avoid a pile-up, five lengths was the distance we should remain with the cyclist in front. I’d remained at the last position throughout the entire trip so at least managed to faithfully obey this rule. After four hours I was very relieved when our group reached flat stretches.

We stopped at a scenic lake surrounded by bamboo huts. As we all were hungry, in one of the huts we enjoyed eating grilled fish and fried rice while appreciating the view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. Our tough Irish guide pressed a ice cube to his sour fingers and the burly Swede took one group picture after the other.

After having finished our meals we slowly cycled back to the city and I finally reached the base exhausted and saddle-sore.        

Thailand for outdoor adventurers (part 2)

Clearing your mind and escaping the daily pressures of life is possible by trekking in northern Thailand’s gorgeous mountainous region. These trekking adventures shouldn’t be too hard for physically fit persons. However, during the wet season the muddy and slippery paths may become rather tricky.

When we made our first en-route stop at a tranquil village, the laid-back ambience created by lots of smiles, pecking hens and wooden huts, really seemed helping me to forget about my busy life back home for a while. Amo, our jungle-trek guide was born and most of the time lived in this village. Before the sun went down he had divided the group and arranged the hosts where we would spend the night.

First I experienced it as pretty difficult for a city boy like me to do something without electric light. However, later the many sounds of the surrounding lush jungle drew my attention and while listening to it I peacefully fell asleep on the hut’s bamboo floor. I can’t remember a night I slept more peaceful!

The distance of the trek we covered the next day was shorter and we were able to move faster through the jungle. Perhaps we got used to jungle-trekking already but it might also have been the elephant ride, which was next on the program after we finished our trek that afternoon and might have motivated the group to move faster.

We all enjoyed a tasty lunch while watching the mighty elephants bathing in the river. I will never forget the fantastic trip on the back of one of these intelligent creatures and definitely will do this once again. Northern Thailand trekking guide 

Amo woke us up in the early morning of the next day. Together with him and several villagers it was our task building two decent rafts on which later we would navigate down the river to our final destination. Constructing the rafts really strengthened the group’s comradeship and after a gentle float on the scenic river we reached a small town. From here our mini-bus did bring us back to our hotel. After enjoying a nice hot shower at my hotel I decided to have another soothing and relaxing foot massage.

We constructed our own rafts and floated gently down the river

Next day we departed from Chiang Mai heading back to Bangkok for one overnight stay.

Not much visited by both backpackers and tourists, Khao Sok National Park was a stunning destination I before had heard several great facts about. The place didn’t have a main bus terminal and getting there without experienced guidance is pretty difficult but luckily our tour guide knew exactly what way to follow.

Our first night in the park we were accommodated in adventurous tree houses spending the night with the birds. Our lodging the 2nd and 3rd night was provided by raft houses constructed on a man-made dam, located in an area boasting unbeatable natural beauty. In this area we mainly spent our time by swimming in the flooded caves, taking showers provided by a crystal clear waterfall, hiking, kayaking and some of us simply relaxed while absorbing the whole paradisiacal scene.

What could’ve been better than ending this splendid Thailand journey on one of Krabi’s sun-soaked beaches? Can’t hardly wait going on my next similar holiday to the majestic land of smiles!

Part 1 of this article is available here 

Siamese history and the Karen people

Northern Thailand is very famous for its ethnic minorities such as the colourful Akha, Hmong and Lisu hill tribe peoples and they certainly are one of the country’s main tourist highlights. However, not many people are aware of the important role some of these minorities played in Thai history and that these people also lived and still live in other parts of the kingdom.

When hearing the name of Ratchaburi province, the tragic day when a Thai special army unit killed 10, medical treatment demanding, young Karen who were members of “God’s Army” and earlier had raided the hospital, will probably come to many people’s mind. After the 10 were executed it became clear that they hadn’t hurt anyone and they were only trying to find medical help for their severely wounded comrades.

However, there is so much more to tell about the Karen. News broadcast reporting about the Karen’s political conflict with the junta in Myanmar is where the majority of the Thai people know these ethnic people from. What they don’t know is that in Ratchaburi province the Karen, for centuries enjoyed a respectable social status, also according the view of Siam’s Royal Court. There is plenty of historic evidence backing up this fact, such as drawings of the Karen featuring in ancient Thai literature and murals.

Karen people working in the rice field

In Samut Songkham province you can find the Bangkhae Yai temple and one of its murals depicts a Siamese officer receiving a delivery of ivory from a Karen. This temple was constructed when King Rama II reigned, in 1814. Depicting a Karen as a hunter and guardian on the Siam-Burma border can be seen on another mural. Historical records also showed that a Karen immigration officer, named Suwan, assisted Siam with capturing 36 Burmese in 1822.

In 1845 King Rama III assigned armed Karen units guarding the borders of the Siamese Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi and Tak provinces. Mentioned in Ratchaburi province’s history was a community staying in Suan Phueng district, naming themselves ‘Sgaw’ and ‘Phlow’, who more than two centuries ago, migrated from the Burmese settlement of Tavoy to Siamese soil.

Today the Karen community in Suan Phueng still struggles with the inhumane and discriminating laws with regards to obtaining Thai citizenship. For years and years hundreds of the Karen waited in vain for their, often by the authorities promised, Thai citizenship. No citizenship for these people means that they’re prohibited to freely travel outside of Ratchaburi province and they can’t benefit from public services.

Introduction to ethnic minorities in Thailand         

Garden of superb culinary vegetarian delights

Lately numerous of new restaurants opened in Chiang Mai but the family-run Khun Chern is one of the few still standing out after 15 years and reputed for serving a range of the tastiest vegetarian MSG-free dishes.

The restaurant changed its location a couple of times but Kuhn Chern looks motivated and ready to settle his business on the popular Nimmanhaeminda Road Soi 17 trendy shopping strip. The vegetarian restaurant moved to this spot two weeks ago.

The new restaurant features a gorgeous Zen-inspired interior which explains its name’s expansion to Khun Chern Garden. Outside in the trees’ cool shades guests will find the majority of the seating but enjoying air-conditioned dining inside is still an option as well.

Should a convinced beef eater accompany you visiting the restaurant, no worries as he’ll most likely stop whining as soon as he taste the meat substitutes such as bean curd and mushrooms. The 80 baht priced lunch buffet will probably surprise him as well.

Lunch at Khun Chern Garden might be a feast of noodles, curries and healthy salads. A fine selection of culinary specialties is served here including nam prik noom, khanom jin naam ngeow and egg curry.

Delicious vegetarian salad

For dinner an a la carte menu is offered. You definitely should try the brown rice with northern-style curry. It is the restaurant’s owners aim to serve the best vegetarian cuisine to both the young and old generation.

The average price of 60 baht for a meal at dinner, are still as inexpensive as for a dish when having lunch. In addition, Khun Chern Garden is facilitated with counters serving guests coffee, ice cream and fresh juices. 

Recommended Chiang Mai restaurants               

Elephant polo tournament in Chiang Rai

Besides the Thai cuisine, postcard perfect beaches and golden Buddhist temples, Thailand’s most beloved characterising symbol must certainly be its mighty elephant. It is not really a surprise that the 25-year old elephant polo sport, which was introduced here seven years ago, immediately enjoyed huge success.

Never had the chance attending a match of elephant polo? Well, now you can as the King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament will take place in Chiang Rai’s Anantara Golden Triangle from March 31 until April 6. The event is absolutely worth the journey up north. Obviously it isn’t common considering polo played by 10-ton elephants as a serious sport. However, since the early eighties competitions have been played in Sri Lanka, Nepal and India and the sport is currently trying to achieve Olympic recognition.

It all started when two English aristocrats at a Swiss pub, enjoying several cocktails were discussing the possibility of an elephant polo competition. Today elephant polo is enjoying the recognition it deserves. World-famous people including Ringo Starr, Billy Connolly and Steven Seagal starred in annual competitions. Also several athletic stars from many traditional sports featured in the games. And underneath all the fuss, there’s a firm doses of heart as well: via charity auctions and entrance fees raised money is donated to organisations protecting the Siamese endangered elephant itself.

World Elephant Polo Association 

Only a century ago, 90 per cent of Siam was lushly forested. Drastic development projects have reduced the nation’s forested areas to less than 15 per cent and this resulted in a miserable natural habitat for the population of the Thai elephant. About 100 years ago there were still over 100,000 elephants living in Siam while today a population of 4,000 is all what’s left. The majority of those 4,000 have to live in captivity avoiding the number to increase further.

Obviously it isn’t an easy task taking good care of so many of these gigantic animals. It is the in Lampang located Thai Elephant Conservation Centre’s main task to figure out a way of avoiding the numbers to drop further. One of these ways is organising the King’s Cup annual Elephant Polo Tournament, which so far has raised an amount of 5.1 million baht for the conservation centre.

The first five editions of the elephant polo tournament took place in Hua Hin but since 2006 the event is being held in Chiang Rai. The new location’s ideal position being closer to the elephant’s natural habitat is a great improvement. This year’s event promises to be more spectacular than all the ones before offering an unforgettable northern Thailand culture festival along with many more elephantastic celebrations.

Complete Northern Thailand tourist guide   

Smoked out in Northern Thailand

Last weekend local forest fires in Indonesia and Malaysia resulted in parts of Northern Thailand being hit by severe smog. Residents in Lampang and Chiang Mai suffered from respiratory problems caused by the thick smog.

Such forest fires normally occur during the hot season when land encroachers and farmers burn down trees. Local authorities warned residents not to make campfires in forested areas and to wear protecting masks for as long as the conditions do not improve.

Wearing a mask like this will avoid respiratory problems. During severe smog free masks will be distrubuted throughout the city.

Also affected by the smog are the provinces of Phetchabun, Tak, and Chiang Rai. Since the unhealthy air began to reach the Northern provinces last weekend there were fortunately no reports yet, of local residents being admitted to hospitals.

During the days in early February similar problems were experienced in this region. Hopefully the rainfall which is expected by the end of this week will reduce the smog and wash out sedimentary particles and dust.

Chiang Mai measured the highest amount of dust particles smaller than ten microns, 206.2 micrograms/m3, while the detected amount in Lampang was 153.5 micrograms/m3.

Smog in Chiang Mai 

Especially young children and the elderly should wear masks to avoid breathing problems. Symptoms caused by exposure to the smog usually include: sore throat, rash, eye irritation and breathing difficulties. When residents or tourists start wheezing they should quickly seek treatment.

Guide to Chiang Mai health issues  

Keeping the pandas cool

As during this time of year the heat starts to increase in Thailand it is highly important to keep the two from China imported pandas comfortably cool. The Chiang Mai Zoo’s two pandas are blessed to live in a comfortable chilled environment. Refreshing snacks such as frozen carrots and large ice blocks are daily served to Chuang Chuang and Linhui to ensure the two black-and-white friends don’t feel the high temperatures.

I was observing these mighty animals while they were enjoying their special snacks and I really got the impression that they looked quite happy.

 Frozen watermelons, much appreciated by the pandas

The animal’s chief caretaker only underlined my impression as he told me that the frozen appetizers will relieve the panda’s stress. The two Chinese imports arrived in 2003 and will live in the Chiang Mai Zoo for ten years. Chiang Mai for kids

The Chiang Mai Zoo’s two happy pandas

The panda’s air-conditioned living environment is also facilitated with reflective curtains, which significantly decrease the sun’s heat. Meanwhile, another zoo located in the north eastern Khorat province is making efforts to refresh its inhabitants with deep-frozen mangoes, bananas, guavas, pineapples and watermelons.

The director of the Nakon Ratchasima Zoo, Banyat Insuwan explained: “The current extreme heat can negatively affect the animal’s health as exposure to it may cause aggressive behaviour or even illness.” To avoid these problems it is necessary to provide cooling measures such as more sprinklers, frozen fruits and more electric fans.

Chiang Mai travel essentials    

Nan Province, blessed with a rich cultural Lanna heritage

Most tourists still not have discovered what the rich cultural town of Nan has on offer. The Lanna heritage that can be found here is absolutely the finest in Thailand. Nan features unique architectural styles along with traditional music, textiles and friendly welcoming locals. Some Thai experts on culture can not understand why Nan doesn’t receive more visiting tourists.

One of the town’s highlights is Wat Chang Kham, which dates back to the 15th century. The temple was built according the fascinating Sukhothai architectural style and the base of its pagoda is surrounded by 24 stucco elephants. Nan online tourist & travel guide.

Wat Phumin is another gorgeous nearby positioned Buddhist temple. The story of the Lord Buddha is beautifully depicted in the excellently-conserved murals. The colours which were used to create these paintings are extremely vivid they may be Fauve works. The interior’s four walls stunningly illustrate how this northern town’s population of farmers remained faithful to the Lord Buddha’s teachings.

 Wat Suan Tan

Nan’s lodging options to accommodate its limited visitors remain very basic. The town doesn’t even represent an internationally well-known hotel establishment. This situation resulted in a dilemma for the locals as they would to welcome much more foreign travellers, but once visitors discover and are being impressed by the province’s tranquil ambience, they would rather not see this changed and prefer to keep the masses out.

The Conservation Project of Nan Arts was recently established by the provincial administration. The project’s aim is to stimulate tourism via monthly cultural events. Each of these different-themed events will take place until September. For info you can phone the Nan Cultural Office, Tel: (053) 711 650 1

Nan general information