Chiang Mai, Thailand
Now it’s time for part two of our Thailand adventure: Chiang Mai! From Bangkok, we took the overnight train (which was a freakin’ awesome BTW) to Chiang Mai. The city is a lot less crowded than Bangkok a.k.a. you don’t feel like you’re going to get runover by a Tuk-Tuk or moped haha, and the weather during this time of year is perfect, so we never needed to carry a jacket.
Here are some of the awesome places we loved in Chiang Mai:
Fresh ingredients straight from the Thai farm where our cooking class was held.
The Astra
We found this gem of the north on Airbnb and I can describe it in three words: The. Best. Hospitality. Seriously... Everyday, each employee greeted us and if we ever needed help they were right on it. Plus, it’s conveniently located near the night market, coffee shops and small restaurants.
It’s a condo, but it’s also a hotel.
This art museum is walking distance from The Astra and open for a good chunk of the day. All art is an optical illusion and some of it is interactive. They even have an augmented reality app that you can download that brings some of the art to life.
Night Bazaar (or Night Market)
Once night time rolls around, the streets come alive with tons, I mean tonnnsss of vendors. Anything from clothing, to accessories, to food. They’ve got it! But make sure you barter!
I’m no cook by any means, but this day class makes you feel like you could be the next top chef. Located on a family farm, we learned how to cook traditional Thai dishes and even made our own curry paste. Our teacher Gift even gave us a tour of some of the farm and educated us on the ingredients we put in our food.
Gift, our cooking instructor. She truly is a gift.
The classroom.
I cooked that!!!
Brunch was difficult for us to find, but this hidden restaurant is heaven sent. Angel’s Secrets offers 100% Arabica coffee and the food is very fresh and healthy. I got the fruit bowl with yogurt and it was to die for!
Nimmanhamin Road
This road is filled with lots of shops and restaurants to visit and at night, street vendors also join in on the fun. Three places we loved were Maya, Elephant Parade and Beer Lab.
Maya, large, indoor shopping mall.
Elephant Parade sells elephant statues and 20% of the net profits are donated to elephant welfare and conservation projects.
Beer Lab also offers beers from around the world.
Looking for a specialty coffee crafter? This is THE place. Their first shop is on Nimmanhamin Road, but we went to the shop that’s open later right around the corner on Soi 3. Ristr8to Lab has won numerous awards including 5th in the 2015 World Latte Art Championship.
World award winning Satan Coffee.
Siphoned Coffee
So I saved the best for last... The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. This is by far the highlight of our trip. These animals are incredibly intelligent and so much fun to be around. During your visit, you get to feed them bananas, bathe them and take a hike through the jungle with them. If you go to Chiang Mai, you HAVE TO do this!
Stayed tuned for my next post on Ko Phi Phi!
