Hey friends!

I’m back with my second instalment of my travel blog series: Things to see and do in Chiang Mai! We have a pretty jam packed few days here, but here’s a low down of my favourite things I’ve experienced in this beautiful city!

Visit the Old Town

All of Chiang Mai is lovely, but the Old Town in particular is beautiful! Not only is it full of adorable restaurants and plenty of tourist-friendly things, but it also has loads of culture and temples you can visit.

Visit The Temples!

This city is literally packed with more beautiful temples than you could count. When I came here a few years ago, I saw the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temples, which were absolutely stunning but also completely overrun with tourists. This time, I stuck to temples in the Old Town and saw the Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh Waramahavihan temples, which were both so incredibly beautiful but even more importantly, not at all crowded. This made the overall experience like 200% better as me and Nylah actually got a chance to walk around and really take everything in peacefully, without having to mill through massive crowds. 10/10 would absolutely recommend checking out some of the smaller temples if you visit.

Visit An Elephant Sanctuary!

This was honestly one of the days best spent in my time in Chiang Mai. The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary is in the business of rescuing elephants from tourist elephant ride attractions, circuses, and other areas that abuse these creatures. When you spend a day here, you get to feed, play with, and wash the animals in a space that keeps them safe and happy. It is so clear that they love these animals and put their needs first, and all the elephants were so friendly and gentle. When I came here a few years ago, sanctuaries like this did not exist and instead there were parks where you could ride the animals, such as the one this sanctuary rescues their elephants from. The difference in the happiness of the elephants is clear as day. I’m not even sure if you can ride elephants in Thailand anymore, however, if you’re considering it, please think about this instead. You still get to spend a whole day with the animals and it was honestly such a highlight of the trip for me.

Hit up the Night Market!

Chiang Mai offers two night markets, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Me and Nylah went to the Sunday market, which was in the centre of the Old City and absolutely packed with hundreds of adorable little stalls. They offer art, clothes, food, desserts, fresh fruit, and more! Not only was it super fun to just walk and look around, they had all kinds of cool stuff to try. I had some durian for the first time, which was super interesting, and some sticky rice with mango which is hands down one of my favourite foods. Overall, it was a 10/10 experience.

Take A Tour Of Doi Inthanon National Park!

Oh my GOD was this place ever magical. If you’re going to go, I would highly suggest taking a tour as it’s both likely cheaper and easier than making your way there yourself. We stopped at two waterfalls, a textile village, and a lunch break on our way to the peak of Thailand’s tallest mountain, where we did a nature walk through the rare habitat of the cloud forests. On our way back down, we visited the two Chedis pictured above, which were honestly two of the most beautiful temples I have ever seen in my life. This was honestly one of my favourite places on our trip so far, and if you’re ever in Chiang Mai it’s 100% a must see.

Check Out The Street Markets!

The street markets, or anywhere in Chiang Mai really, have the most AMAZING fruits you will ever eat in your life. Seriously. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried some. If you’re ever in Thailand, be sure to stop by your local market and pick some up. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

So that’s all for now! I hope you’re all having a lovely week and enjoying my little travel series. Be sure to keep checking in for adventures, recommendations, updates and more!

Xoxo,

Meredith