Travelling up by rail through the central plains, there’s no mistaking when you’ve reached the north of Thailand: somewhere between Uttaradit and Den Chai, the train slows almost to a halt, as if approaching a frontier post, to meet the abruptly rising mountains that continue largely unbroken to the borders of Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. Beyond this point the climate becomes more temperate (downright cold at night between December and February), nurturing the fertile land that gave the old kingdom of the north the name of Lanna, “the land of a million rice fields”. Although only one-tenth of the land can be used for rice cultivation, the valley rice fields here are three times more productive than those in the dusty northeast, and the higher land yields a great variety of fruits, as well as beans, groundnuts and tobacco.
Until the beginning of the last century, Lanna was a largely independent region. On the back of its agricultural prosperity, it developed its own styles of art and architecture, which can still be seen in its flourishing temples and distinctive handicraft traditions. The north is also set apart from the rest of the country by its exuberant festivals, a cuisine that has been heavily influenced by Myanmar and a dialect quite distinct from central Thai. Northerners proudly call themselves khon muang, “people of the principalities”, and their gentle sophistication is admired by the people of Bangkok, whose wealthier citizens build their holiday homes in the clean air of the north’s forested mountains.
Chiang Mai, the capital and transport centre of the north, is a great place just to hang out or prepare for a journey into the hills. For many tourists, this means joining a trek to visit one or more of the hill tribes, who comprise one-tenth of the north’s population and are just about clinging onto the ways of life that distinguish them from one another and the Thais around them. For those with qualms about the exploitative element of this ethnological tourism, there are plenty of other ways of enjoying the great outdoors in northern Thailand.
A trip eastwards from Chiang Mai to the ancient city-states of Lampang, Phrae and Nan can be highly rewarding, not only for the dividends of going against the usual flow of tourist traffic, but also for the natural beauty of the region’s upland ranges – seen to best effect from the well-marked trails of Doi Khun Tan National Park – and for its eccentric variety of Thai, Burmese and Lao art and architecture. Congenial Lampang contains wats to rival those of Chiang Mai for beauty – in Wat Phra That Lampang Luang the town has the finest surviving example of traditional northern architecture anywhere – while little-visited Phrae, to the southeast, is a step back in time to a simpler Thailand. Further away but a more intriguing target is Nan, with its heady artistic mix of Thai and Lao styles and steep ring of scenic mountains.
To the west of Chiang Mai, the trip to Mae Hong Son takes you through the most stunning mountain scenery in the region into a land with its roots across the border in Myanmar, with the option of looping back through Pai, a laidback, sophisticated hill station that’s become a popular hub for treks and activities. Bidding to rival Chiang Mai as a base for exploring the countryside is Chiang Rai to the north, which is also home to an intriguing diversity of museums and temples; above Chiang Rai, the northernmost tip of Thailand is marked by the Burmese border crossing at Mae Sai and the junction of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar at Sop Ruak. Fancifully dubbed the “Golden Triangle”, Sop Ruak is a must on every bus party’s itinerary – but you’re more likely to find peace and quiet among the ruins of nearby Chiang Saen, set on the leafy banks of the Mekong River.
Alamy
KHAO SOI
Highlights
Hill-tribe trekking A chance to visit the diverse hill tribes of northern Thailand and explore dramatic countryside along the way.
Chiang Mai Old-town temples, the best of Thai crafts, cookery courses and fine restaurants – the north’s sophisticated capital is a great place to hang out.
Festivals Exuberant Songkhran, glittering Loy Krathong and colourful Poy Sang Long are the pick of many.
Khao soi Delicious, spicy, creamy noodle soup, the northern Thai signature dish.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Admire the towering views from this stunning example of temple architecture, just outside Chiang Mai.
Nan A welcoming riverside town offering fascinating temple murals, attractive handicrafts and dramatic mountainscapes.
The Mae Hong Son loop A rollercoaster journey – with a chill-out break in laidback Pai – through the country’s wildest mountain scenery.
Whitewater rafting on the Pai River Well-organized excitement taking in rapids, gorges and beautiful waterfalls.
HIGHLIGHTS ARE MARKED ON THE MAP
East of Chiang Saen on the Mekong River, Chiang Khong is an important crossing point to Houayxai in Laos, from where boats make the scenic two-day trip down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.
Getting there and aroundthe north
As elsewhere in Thailand, buses are by far the most important form of transport for getting to and around the north. However, the mountainous topography makes getting around the region necessarily roundabout, with bus routes divided into three main areas: east from Chiang Mai, through Lampang and Phrae to Nan, which is almost a dead end (though one very slow bus a day winds its way over some spectacular hills to Chiang Rai); west from Chiang Mai around the Mae Hong Son loop through Mae Sariang and Pai; and north of Chiang Rai, an area that is well served by buses along the main routes, fed by songthaews on the minor roads. To get between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, you can either take a fast, direct service along Highway 118 or catch a bus to Tha Ton, followed by a boat down the Kok River to Chiang Rai.
By plane There are domestic flights to the airports at Chiang Mai, Lampang, Phrae, Nan, Mae Hong Son and Chiang Rai. In addition, Chiang Mai is served by international flights from and to dozens of cities in China, East Asia and Southeast Asia. There are also flights between China and Chiang Rai.
By train The Northern Rail Line offers several daily services, mostly overnight, between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Although trains are generally slower than buses, the stations at Den Chai (from where buses and songthaews run to Phrae and Nan) and Lampang are useful if you’re coming up from Bangkok.
By motorbike To fully appreciate the mountainous landscape of the north, many people take to the open roads on rented motorbikes, which are available in most northern towns (Chiang Mai offers the best choice) and are relatively inexpensive. You should be cautious about biking in the north, however, especially if you’re an inexperienced rider, and avoid riding alone on any remote trails – for expert advice on motorbike travel, including tips on safety for beginners, check out 
gt-rider.com, the website of Chiang Mai resident David Unkovich.
Maps and guides David Unkovich also produces good maps of the Mae Hong Son loop and “The Golden Triangle” (available locally and online through gt-rider.com, which also covers GPS routes). Meanwhile, Exploring Chiang Mai: City, Valley and Mountains is a fascinating, thoroughly researched and in-depth guide to northern Thailand by long-time local resident, Oliver Hargreave.
The first civilization to leave an indelible mark on the north was Haripunjaya, the Mon (Dvaravati) state that was founded at Lamphun in the late eighth or early ninth century. Maintaining strong ties with the Mon kingdoms to the south, it remained the cultural and religious centre of the north for four centuries. The Thais came onto the scene after the Mon, migrating down from China between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and establishing small principalities around the north.
King Mengrai and the founding of Chiang Mai
The prime mover for the Thais was King Mengrai of Ngon Yang (around present-day Chiang Saen), who, shortly after the establishment of a Thai state at Sukhothai in the middle of the thirteenth century, set to work on a parallel unified state in the north. By 1296, when he began the construction of Chiang Mai, which has remained the capital of the north ever since, he had brought the whole of the north under his control, and at his death in 1317 he had established a dynasty which was to oversee a two-hundred-year period of unmatched prosperity and cultural activity.
After the expansionist reign of Tilok (1441–87), who hosted the eighth world council of Theravada Buddhism at Wat Jet Yot in Chiang Mai in 1477, a series of weak, squabbling kings came and went, while Ayutthaya increased its unfriendly advances. But it was the Burmese who finally snuffed out the Mengrai dynasty by capturing Chiang Mai in 1558, and for most of the next two centuries they controlled Lanna through a succession of puppet rulers. In 1767, the Burmese sacked the Thai capital at Ayutthaya, but the Thais soon regrouped under King Taksin, who with the help of King Kawila of Lampang gradually drove the Burmese northwards. In 1774 Kawila recaptured Chiang Mai, then deserted and in ruins, and set about rebuilding it as his new capital.
Kawila was succeeded as ruler of the north by a series of incompetent princes for much of the nineteenth century, until colonialism reared its head. After Britain took control of Upper Burma, Rama V of Bangkok began to take an interest in the north – where, since the Bowring Treaty of 1855, the British had established lucrative logging businesses – to prevent its annexation. He forcibly moved large numbers of ethnic Thais northwards, in order to counter the British claim of sovereignty over territory occupied by Thai Yai (Shan), who also make up a large part of the population of Upper Burma. In 1877 Rama V appointed a commissioner over Chiang Mai, Lamphun and Lampang to better integrate the region with the centre, and links were further strengthened in 1921 with the arrival of the railway from Bangkok.
Since the early twentieth century, the north has built on its agricultural richness to become relatively prosperous, though the economic booms of the last thirty years have been concentrated, as elsewhere in Thailand, in the towns, due in no small part to the increase in tourism. The eighty percent of Lanna’s population who live in rural areas – of which the vast majority are subsistence farmers – are finding it increasingly difficult to earn a living off the soil, due to rapid population growth and land speculation for tourism and agro-industry.
Although rapid economic progress in recent years has brought problems such as pollution and traffic jams, CHIANG MAI still manages to preserve some of the atmosphere of an ancient village alongside its modern urban sophistication. It’s the kingdom’s second city, with a youthful population of about 400,000 (more than 60,000 of them are students), and the contrast with the maelstrom of Bangkok is pronounced: the people here are famously easy-going and even speak more slowly than their cousins in the capital, a lilting dialect known as kham muang. Chiang Mai’s moated old quarter, where new buildings are limited to a height of four storeys, has retained many of its traditional wooden houses and quiet, leafy gardens, as well as the most famous and interesting temples in the city – Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Chiang Man – clustered conveniently close to each other. These elegant wats may be Chiang Mai’s primary tourist sights, but they’re no pre-packaged museum pieces – they’re living community centres, where you’re quite likely to be approached by monks keen to chat and practise their English. Inviting handicraft shops, some interesting museums, good-value accommodation, rich cuisine and riverside bars further enhance the city’s allure, making Chiang Mai a place that detains many travellers longer than they expected. These days, increasing numbers of travellers are also taking advantage of the city’s relaxed feel to indulge in a burst of self-improvement, enrolling for courses in cookery, massage and the like.
Many colourful festivals attract throngs of visitors here too: Chiang Mai is one of the most popular places in Thailand to see in the Thai New Year – Songkhran – in mid-April, and to celebrate Loy Krathong at the full moon in November, when thousands of candles are floated down the Ping River in lotus-leaf boats. And a pilgrimage to Doi Suthep, the mountain to the west of town, should not be missed, to see the sacred, glittering temple and the towering views over the valley of the Ping River, when weather permits. Beyond the city limits, a number of other day-trips can be made, such as to the ancient temples of Lamphun – and, of course, Chiang Mai is the main centre for hill-tribe trekking, as well as all sorts of other outdoor activities.
Orientation is simple in central Chiang Mai, which divides roughly into two main parts: the old town, surrounded by the well-maintained moat and occasional remains of the city wall, where you’ll find most of the temples, and the new town centre, between the moat and the Ping River to the east, the main market and shopping area. The biggest concentration of guesthouses and restaurants hangs between the two, centred on the landmark of Tha Pae Gate (Pratu Tha Pae) in the middle of the east moat. Also noteworthy is the area around Thanon Nimmanhaemin, near the university to the west of the old town, which is home to an ever-expanding choice of bars and restaurants, especially in the sois on its east side. On the outskirts, the town is bounded to the north, east and south by the Superhighway and two further huge but incomplete ring roads, with Thanon Chon Prathan (Canal Road) providing a western bypass.
Founded as the capital of Lanna in 1296, on a site indicated by the miraculous presence of deer and white mice, Chiang Mai – “New City” – has remained the north’s most important settlement ever since. Lanna’s golden age under the Mengrai dynasty, when most of the city’s notable temples were founded, lasted until the Burmese captured the city in 1558. Two hundred years passed before the Thais pushed the Burmese back beyond Chiang Mai to roughly where they are now, and the Burmese influence is still strong – not just in art and architecture, but also in the rich curries and soups served here. After the recapture of the city, the chao (princes) of Chiang Mai remained nominal rulers of the north until 1939, but, with communications rapidly improving from the beginning of the last century, Chiang Mai was brought firmly into Thailand’s mainstream as the region’s administrative and service centre.
Trekking and other outdoor activities in Chiang Mai
The trekking industry in Chiang Mai offers an impressive variety of itineraries, with dozens of agencies covering nearly all trekkable areas of the north – choose a tour operator carefully. Many treks include a ride on an elephant and a bamboo-raft excursion, though the amount of actual walking included can vary greatly. Below we have listed a couple of operators who offer something a little different. Most of the companies detailed below include free pick-ups and drop-offs in the price of their tours, which can easily be arranged through your accommodation.
General adventure tours
Contact Travel Tasala, to the east of town 
053 850160, activethailand.com. Long-standing, general agency that offers a wide range of adventure tours, including whitewater rafting, trekking, cycling and kayaking.
Trekking
Eagle House. This well-run guesthouse runs the standard type of trek, but to carefully chosen quiet areas and with an educational bent, and passes on a proportion of costs towards funding projects in hill-tribe villages.
The Trekking Collective 3/5 Soi 1, Thanon Loi Khro 053 208340, trekkingcollective.com. This upmarket outfit arranges pricey but high-quality customized treks from one to six days and can cater for specific interests such as animal-watching; it too is involved in community programmes to help tribal people.
Cycling and kayaking
Chiang Mai Mountain Biking 1 Thanon Samlarn, opposite Wat Phra Singh 081 024 7046, mountainbikingchiangmai.com. Mountain-biking tours, ranging from single-track downhill rides, mostly on Doi Suthep, that are tough for beginners, to cross-country leisure or hike-and-bike trips. The same company offers one- and multi-day kayaking trips on the north’s lakes and rivers, including whitewater trips, paddles on the Ping River through Chiang Mai and bike-and-kayak trips (chiangmaikayaking.com).
Chiang Mai Sunday Bicycle Club cmcycling.org. Interesting rides (part of a local cycling campaign) every Sunday morning from Tha Phae Gate that are open to all.
Click and Travel 158/40 Thanon Chiang Mai–Hod 053 281553, clickandtravelonline.com. Belgian–Thai company that offers guided and self-guided cycling tours of Chiang Mai and the north, lasting from a few hours to four days, and maintains a useful website, chiangmaicycling.org, full of all manner of information for cyclists.
Whitewater rafting
Siam Rivers 17 Thanon Ratchawithi 089 515 1917, siamrivers.com. Chiang Mai’s longest-standing whitewater rafting outfit, with high standards of safety (trips run roughly late May to Feb/March), which also offers full-moon trips and whitewater kayaking.
Rock-climbing
Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures 55/3 Thanon Ratchaphakinai 053 207102 or 086 911 1470, thailandclimbing.com. Climbing trips and courses to Crazy Horse Buttress, a limestone outcrop in the San Kamphaeng area, 50km east of town, which offers highly varied climbing with more than a hundred routes. Also caving courses and trips, bouldering trips and a bouldering wall, as well as equipment rental and sales, private guides and a partner-finding service.
Ziplining
Flight of the Gibbon 053 010660, treetopasia.com. Full-day rainforest canopy tours on zip lines and sky bridges in the hills to the east of town.
Jungle Flight 053 208666, jungleflightchiangmai.com. The first, and probably the best, of Flight of the Gibbon’s several imitators, offering similar ziplining trips at cheaper prices.
Chiang Mai boat trips
A pleasant way to get a feel for the city and its layout is to take a boat trip on the Ping River. Hourly two-hour cruises operated by Mae Ping River Cruises (053 274822 or 081 884 4621, maepingrivercruise.com) depart from Wat Chaimongkol on Thanon Charoen Prathet, sailing 8km upstream through lush countryside to a riverside farmhouse for a look around the fruit, herb and flower gardens, plus refreshments and fruit-tasting (B550/person; minimum two people, includes pick-up from your accommodation). Mae Ping River Cruises also offer trips to Wiang Kum Kam.
At the far western end of Thanon Ratchdamnoen in the old town
If you see only one temple in Chiang Mai it should be Wat Phra Singh, perhaps the single most impressive array of buildings in the city. Just inside the gate to the right, the wooden scripture repository is the best example of its kind in the north, inlaid with glass mosaic and set high on a base decorated with stucco angels. The largest building in the compound, a colourful modern viharn fronted by naga balustrades, hides from view a rustic wooden bot, a chedi with a typical northern octagonal base constructed in 1345 to house the ashes of King Kam Fu, and – the highlight of the whole complex – the beautiful Viharn Lai Kam. This wooden gem is a textbook example of Lanna architecture, with its squat, multi-tiered roof and exquisitely carved and gilded pediment: if you feel you’re being watched as you approach, it’s the sinuous double arch between the porch’s central columns, which represents the Buddha’s eyebrows.
Inside sits one of Thailand’s three Phra Singh (or Sihing) Buddha images, a portly, radiant and much-revered bronze in a fifteenth-century Lanna style. Its setting is enhanced by the partly damaged but colourful murals of action-packed tableaux, which give a window on life in the north a hundred years ago. The murals illustrate two different stories: on the right-hand wall is an old folk tale, the Sang Thong, about a childless king and queen who are miraculously given a beautiful son, the “Golden Prince”, in a conch shell. The murals on the left show the story of the mythical swan Suwannahong, who forms the magnificent prow of the principal royal barge in Bangkok. Incidentally, what look like Bermuda shorts on the men are in fact tattoos: in the nineteenth century, all boys in the north were tattooed from navel to kneecap, an agonizing ordeal undertaken to show their courage and to enhance their appeal to women. On one side of the wat is a high school for young yellow-sashed novices and schoolboys in blue shorts, who all noisily throng the temple compound during the day. Dally long enough and you’ll be sure to have to help them with their English homework.
Main entrance on Thanon Phra Pokklao, 10min walk east along Thanon Ratchdamnoen from Wat Phra Singh, with a back entrance on Thanon Jhaban • Daily 5am–10.30pm; B40 • Museum daily except Tues 8.30am–5pm • Monk Chat daily 9am–6pm
At Wat Chedi Luang, an enormous chedi, built in 1421 to house the ashes of King Ku Na but toppled from 90m to its present 60m by an earthquake in 1545, is the temple’s most striking feature. You’ll need a titanic leap of the imagination, however, to picture the beautifully faded pink-brick chedi, in all its crumbling grandeur, as it was in the fifteenth century, when it was covered in bronze plates and gold leaf, and housed the Emerald Buddha for eighty years. Recent attempts to rebuild the entire chedi to its former glory, now abandoned, have nevertheless led to modern replacements of the elephants at the base, the nagas that line the lengthy staircases and the Buddha images in its four niches, including an oversized replica of the Emerald Buddha, funded by the present king for Chiang Mai’s seven-hundredth anniversary in 1996, in its old spot on the eastern side. A cup on a wire stretching to the pinnacle is used to bless the chedi during major Buddhist festivals: it’s filled with water, and a pulley draws it to the spire where the water is tipped out over the sides of the chedi.
In a modern building (which women are not allowed to enter) by the main entrance stands the city’s lak muang or foundation pillar, here called the Sao Inthakin (Pillar of Indra), a brick structure covered in coloured glass and topped by a Buddha. Built by King Mengrai at Wat Sadeu Muang (on Thanon Inthrawarorot) when he established Chiang Mai, the pillar was moved here to the city’s geographical centre by King Kawila in 1800, while he was re-founding the city after the ravages of the wars with the Burmese. The building has recently been renovated, with colourful murals depicting the foundation legends of Wat Chedi Luang and the Sao Inthakin. Above, the Sao Inthakin building is sheltered by a stately gum tree which, the story has it, will stand for as long as the city’s fortunes prosper.
Mengrai mania
The spirit of King Mengrai, the heroic founder of the Lanna kingdom, is still worshipped at dozens of shrines in Chiang Mai and the north seven hundred years after his death, but three in the old city stand out. About halfway between Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang on Soi 6, Thanon Ratchamanka, Wat Kawt Kala was the second temple founded by the king in Chiang Mai (after Wat Chiang Man) and had its name changed to Wat Phra Chao Mengrai (or just Wat Mengrai) in the 1950s. The standing Buddha in its own sala just to the right of the main viharn here is said to replicate exactly King Mengrai’s dimensions – and no wonder he was capable of such heroic deeds, as the image is 4m tall. By the beautiful, stately bo tree at the back of the compound stands a more plausible life-size modern statue of the king himself holding an elephant hook, where people leave all kinds of offerings, including swords.
Between Wat Chedi Luang and Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre stand two further monument-shrines to the great king. The site where he was killed by lightning in 1317, aged 79, is marked by a glittering, much-venerated shrine in its own small piazza on the corner of Thanon Ratchdamnoen and Thanon Phra Pokklao. A few minutes on up Thanon Phra Pokklao, Mengrai features again in the bronze Three Kings Monument in front of the arts and cultural centre, showing him discussing the auspicious layout of his “new city”, Chiang Mai, with his allies, Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai and Ngam Muang of Phayao. The three kings had studied together under a religious teacher in Lopburi, but when they met up again, things were actually rather different from the harmonious picture portrayed by the monument: on a visit to Phayao, Ramkhamhaeng had an affair with Ngam Muang’s wife, and Mengrai had to step in and mediate.
On the northeast side of the chedi, Monk Chat is advertised, giving you a chance to meet and talk to the monks in English. There’s a mildly diverting museum on the chedi’s north side, while on the southwest side, a couple of small viharns shelter astonishingly lifelike waxworks of two much-revered but recently deceased monks.
Thanon Phra Pokklao, next door to Wat Chedi Luang on the north side
While you’re in the vicinity, pop in on Wat Pan Tao to see the recently renovated, fourteenth-century, all-teak viharn. Constructed of unpolished panels, it’s supported on enormous pillars and protected by carved wooden bars on the windows, a classic of graceful Lanna architecture. The teak panels apparently came from a royal palace and still sport a beautiful carved peacock over the main door, the emblem of the Chiang Mai kings. With a very active abbot, this temple is a good place to catch festivals, especially Songkhran, when it’s filled with enormous sandcastles planted with coloured flags.
Thanon Phra Pokklao • Tues–Sun 8.30am–5pm • B90 for each or B180 combined ticket • 053 217793, cmocity.com
Around the landmark Three Kings Monument and its tree-lined piazza, the municipality runs three museums of varying levels of interest.
Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre
Immediately behind the monument, the elegant 1920s former provincial office houses the recently renovated, main Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre – essentially a museum with the aim of conveying the identity of the city and the region through its history, customs and culture. To this end, scale models and plenty of high-quality English-language audiovisuals are thoughtfully deployed. Displays include a recreated streetscape and traditional house, and a whole room devoted to the packed calendar of annual festivals in Lanna, and there’s an engaging exhibit on the hill tribes upstairs. The courtyard in the back half of the building shelters temporary exhibitions, a souvenir shop and a small coffee shop with nice outdoor tables.
Courses in Chiang Mai
The most popular course on offer is how to cook Thai food (especially at the cluster of small schools on and around Soi 5, Thanon Ratchdamnoen), followed by Thai massage. Chiang Mai is also a popular place for meditation retreats; and Lanna arts and culture with Origin Asia.
Cookery courses
Asia Scenic 31 Soi 5, Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 418657–8. This much-recommended school covers all the bases, with an organic farm outside of town (B1200 full day or B1000 morning class) and an organic garden at its in-town school (B1000 full day or B800 morning or evening class). Market visit, recipe book and transfers included.
Basil 22/4 Soi 5, Thanon Sirimuangkarajan 083 320 7693, basilcookery.com. Highly regarded school with small class sizes, offering long morning or evening classes (B1000) on which you’ll learn to cook six dishes (plus a curry paste). Market visit, recipe book and transfers included. Closed Sun.
Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School Office at 47/2 Thanon Moonmuang 053 206388, thaicookeryschool.com. The original – and still one of the best – offering courses of one (B1450) to five (B6700) days, as well as more advanced masterclasses. Courses are held about 30min drive out of town (transport provided). Market visit and recipe book included.
Thai massage courses
We give details on having a massage in Chiang Mai later in the chapter.
Baan Hom Samunprai 9km south of town beyond Wiang Kum Kam 053 817362, homprang.com. Live-in massage courses out in the countryside costing B2200/day, including accommodation in a traditional village-style house with full board and the use of steam baths and bicycles; live-out courses from B1600/day.
Chetawan Massage School 7/1–2 Soi Samud Lanna, Thanon Pracha Uthit, off Thanon Chotana 053 410360–1, watpomassage.com. A branch of the massage school at Bangkok’s Wat Pho, which is considered to be the best place to study Thai massage in Thailand. Thirty-hour courses (6hr/day for 5 days) in traditional Thai (B9500) or foot (B7500) massage.
Old Medicine Hospital Off Thanon Wualai, opposite the Old Chiangmai Cultural Centre 053 201663 or 090 320 2712, thaimassageschool.ac.th. The longest-established centre in Chiang Mai, aka Shivagakomarpaj after the Indian hermit who is said to have founded the discipline over two thousand years ago. Highly respected five-day courses (B5000) with basic accommodation available; foot, oil and herbal compress courses are also offered.
Sunshine Network asokananda.com. An international group of practitioners and teachers founded by the highly respected German teacher, Harald Brust, aka Asokananda, who died in June 2005. Asokananda emphasized the spiritual aspect of what he called Thai yoga massage or Ayurvedic bodywork. Led by one of Asokananda’s followers, twelve-day beginners’ courses (B19,500, including basic accommodation, simple vegetarian rice meals and transport) are held at a rural retreat in a Lahu village between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, often with optional yoga, t’ai chi and Vipassana meditation classes.
Thai Massage School of Chiangmai Northeast of town on the Mae Jo road, 2km beyond the Superhighway 053 854330, tmcschool.com. Accredited by the Ministry of Education and highly recommended by past pupils. Five-day courses (B8500), as well as longer professional courses and foot massage courses. All courses include transport.
Across Thanon Phra Pokklao, the former courthouse, built in colonial style in 1935, is now the smartly designed Lanna Folklife Museum, with an attractive coffee shop in the grounds. An anthropological survey of Lanna culture and traditions, it’s a bit listy and would benefit from more contextual information, but the curators have persuaded some notable local collectors to lend some beautiful artefacts: ceramics, lacquerware, ceremonial wooden betel sets and textiles. You’ll also learn about local styles of mural painting and Buddhist ritual, as well as the fon lep (nail dance), a Lanna women’s dance that’s enhanced by the wearing of 20cm brass fingernail extensions.
Behind the City Arts and Cultural Centre, with its entrance on Thanon Ratchawithi, the Chiang Mai Historical Centre is the most disappointing of the three museums – you’ll get little more out of it than you would from reading a half-decent history of the region.
Thanon Ratchaphakinai
Erected by Mengrai on the site where he first pitched camp, Wat Chiang Man is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai and most notable for two dainty and very holy Buddha images housed in the viharn to the right of the entrance. The Phra Sila, a graceful marble bas-relief carved in northern India, supposedly in the sixth century BC, stands in the typical tribunga, or hip-shot stance. Its partner, the Phra Setangamani (or Crystal Buddha), supposedly made in the second century BC, was taken from Lopburi to Haripunjaya (Lamphun) as a talisman by Chama Thevi when she became queen there, and was later captured by King Mengrai; it’s much revered by the inhabitants of Chiang Mai for its rainmaking powers and is carried through the streets during the Songkhran festival to help the rainy season on its way.
Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC)
1/1 Thanon Muang Samut, behind Muang Mai market • Tues–Sun 10.30am–6pm • Free • 052 080500, tcdc.or.th/chiangmai
The Chiang Mai branch of this resource centre for designers occasionally hosts interesting temporary shows that are worth looking out for. It’s the main hub for Chiang Mai Design Week (chiangmaidesignweek.com), an ambitious and diverse festival of creativity that takes place all over town every year in early December.
Highland People Discovery Museum
About 4km northwest of Chang Puak Gate, signposted off the north side of Route 1266, which runs between Thanon Chotana and Thanon Chon Prathan • Mon–Fri 8.30am–noon & 1–4pm • donation requested
Also known as the Tribal Museum (in Thai, Phiphithaphan Chao Khao), this museum provides a valuable introduction to the hill tribes before setting off on a trek. Set in an artificial lake, Norng Hor, that’s surrounded by restaurants on stilts, the pagoda-like edifice covers the six main highland peoples, with smaller sections on another four ethnic minorities who live in northern Thailand, the Lawa, the Htin, the Khamu and the Mrabri. The collection is especially strong on the tribes’ beautiful traditional fabrics, with labels, display boards and a video in English to flesh out the picture. Behind the restaurants on the south side of the lake, you’ll find reconstructions of the typical houses of each of the ten minorities.
On the northwestern outskirts on the Superhighway • Wed–Sun 9am–4pm • B100
In telling the history of Lanna art and culture, the National Museum – despite a very lengthy recent renovation – is not as informative and user-friendly as its rival, the Chiang Mai Arts and Cultural Centre, though in terms of the quality of artefacts on display, it has the edge. Upstairs, it illustrates Lanna’s history with votive tablets and Buddha heads from Wiang Kum Kam and a two-metre-long footprint of the Buddha from around 1600, made of teak inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Downstairs, the highlight of the museum’s run through the region’s artistic development is the huge, smiling head of the Phra Saen Swe, a lion-type Buddha image; cast in bronze in Chiang Mai, it would originally have stood 6m tall. Look out also for some lovely ceramics from San Kamphaeng and a gilded teak candelabra, elaborately carved with nagas and floral patterns – such sattaphan are found in front of the main Buddha images of temples all over northern Thailand, their seven candles representing the seven mountains that surround Mount Meru at the centre of the Buddhist universe. There’s a good spot for lunch, a branch of Lamduon Faharm Khao Soi, just east of the museum on the north side of the Superhighway.
Set back from the Superhighway, a 10min walk west of the National Museum
The peaceful garden temple of Wat Jet Yot is named after the “seven spires” of its unusual chedi. It was built in 1455 by King Tilok, after a model of the great temple at Bodh Gaya in India, and represents the seven places around Bodh Gaya which the Buddha visited in the seven weeks following his enlightenment; it also houses the king’s ashes. Around the base of the chedi, delicate stuccos portray flowers and cross-legged deities serenely floating in the sky, whose faces are said to be those of Tilok’s relatives. They represent the angels who gathered to rejoice at the Buddha’s enlightenment, showering him with heavenly flowers.
Thanon Huai Kaeo
About 1km beyond Wat Jet Yot at the busy Rin Kham crossroads, the Superhighway meets Thanon Huai Kaeo, a broad avenue that runs from the northwest corner of the moat to the foot of Doi Suthep, where it becomes the winding road up to the summit. Heading out up Thanon Huai Kaeo, past the sprawling campus of Chiang Mai University (CMU or “Mor Chor”), brings you to Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquarium, in an attractive park at the base of the mountain.
Lanna Buddha images
In the golden age of the Lanna kingdom, from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, Buddha images were produced in the north in two main contrasting styles (Ayutthaya-style images also became popular from the fifteenth century onwards). One group, which resembles images from northern India, has been called the lion-type, after the Shakyamuni (Lion of the Shakyas) archetype at the great Buddhist temple at Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment. It’s been conjectured that a delegation sent by King Tilok to Bodh Gaya in the 1450s brought back a copy of the statue, which became the model for hundreds of Lanna images. These broad-shouldered, plump-bellied Buddhas are always seated with the right hand in the touching-the-earth gesture, while the face is well rounded with pursed lips and a serious, majestic demeanour. The second type is the Thera Sumana style named after the monk Mahathera Sumana, who came from Sukhothai in 1369 to establish his Sri Lankan sect in Lanna. The Chiang Mai National Museum is well stocked with this type of image, which shows strong Sukhothai influence, with an oval face and a flame-like ushnisha on top of the head.
Chiang Mai festivals
Chiang Mai is the best and busiest place in the country to see in the Thai New Year, Songkhran, which takes over the city between April 13 and 15 and during the preceding days. The most obvious role of the festival is as an extended “rain dance” in the driest part of the year, when huge volumes of canal water are thrown about in a communal water-fight that spares no one a drenching. The other elements of this complex festival are not as well known but no less important. In the temple compounds, communities get together to build sandcastles in the shape of chedis, which they cover with coloured flags – this bestows merit on any ancestors who happen to find themselves in hell and may eventually release them from their torments, and also shows an intent to help renovate the wat in the year to come. Houses are given a thorough spring-clean to see out the old year, while Buddha images from the city’s main temples are cleaned, polished and sprinkled with lustral water, before being ceremonially carried through the middle of the water-fight to give everyone the chance to throw water on them and receive the blessing of renewal. Finally, younger family members formally visit their elders during the festival to ask for their blessings, while pouring scented water over their hands.
Loy Krathong, on and around the night of the full moon in November, has its most showy celebration at Sukhothai, but Chiang Mai – where it is also known as Yipeng – is not far behind. Thousands of candles are gently floated down the Ping River in beautiful lotus-leaf boats, and people release khom loy, paper hot-air balloons that create a magical spectacle as they float heavenward, sometimes with firecrackers trailing behind. As with krathongs, they are released to carry away sins and bad luck, as well as to honour the Buddha’s topknot, which he cut off when he became an ascetic (according to legend, the topknot is looked after by the Buddha’s mother in heaven).
Chiang Mai’s brilliantly colourful flower festival, centred on Buak Hat Park at the southwest corner of the old town usually on the first weekend of February, also attracts huge crowds. The highlight is a procession of floats, modelled into animals, chedis and even scenes from the Ramayana, and covered in flowers. In early April, the Poy Sang Long festival, centred around Wat Pa Pao near the northeast corner of the old city, is an ordination ritual for young Thai Yai (Shan) men, who are paraded round town on the shoulders of relatives. The boys are dressed in extravagant, colourful clothing with huge floral headdresses, which they symbolically cast off at the end of the festival to don a saffron robe – its most elaborate manifestation in Thailand is in Mae Hong Son. In late May or early June, the week-long Inthakin Festival, a life-prolonging ceremony for the city of Chiang Mai, using holy water from Doi Luang Chiang Dao, is focused around the city foundation pillar at Wat Chedi Luang, which is thronged with market stalls and local people making offerings.
Daily 8am–6pm • B150, children B70 • chiangmai.zoothailand.org
Originally a menagerie of a missionary family’s pets, the zoo now houses an impressive collection of about eight thousand animals, including rare Thai species, in modern, relatively comfortable conditions. There’s a children’s zoo and a colourful aviary, while larger mammals include elephants, giraffes, penguins, koalas, a rhino and the current favourites, two giant pandas on an extended loan from China (B100 extra, children B50). Despite a disorientating layout, it makes a diverting visit, especially for kids, though visitors from temperate countries can probably do without entering the Snow Dome. Feeding and activity times for animals are posted clearly (including on the website), and refreshment stalls for humans are never far away.
The zoo is better visited in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat. The grounds are too big to walk round, but shuttle buses (B30, children B20) are available to take you around, or you can hire your own golf cart (B300–350/hour).
Mon–Fri 10am–4pm, Sat & Sun 9am–4.30pm • B520, B390 children (includes admission to zoo) • chiangmaiaquarium.com
Towards the western side of the zoo (linked to the entrance by shuttle bus), the aquarium is the biggest in Southeast Asia, with what’s said – at 130m – to be the longest underwater viewing tunnel in the world. With the aim of showing landlocked Chiang Mai some rarely seen species, the huge edifice is strictly divided in half: in the freshwater section, you can see not only the Mekong giant catfish, but also thae pha, the Chao Phraya giant catfish; while the salty half displays rare white-tip reef sharks, rays and moray eels. There’s a saltwater touch pool, and a long menu of feeding times, detailed on the website; it’s also possible to snorkel (B1000) and scuba-dive (B4290) with the fishes.
Thanon Suthep • Monk Chat Mon–Fri 5–7pm • monkchat.net
Wat Suan Dork, the “Flower Garden Temple”, is surrounded by walls as part of Chiang Mai’s fortifications. Legend says that Mahathera Sumana, when he was invited to establish his Sri Lankan Buddhist sect here in 1369, brought with him a miraculous glowing relic. Ku Na, the king of Chiang Mai, ordered a huge chedi – the one you see today – to be built in his flower garden, but as the pea-sized relic was being placed inside the chedi, it split into two parts: one half was buried here, the other found its way to Doi Suthep, after further adventures.
The brilliantly whitewashed chedi now sits next to a garden of smaller, equally dazzling chedis containing the ashes of the Chiang Mai royal family; framed by Doi Suthep to the west, this makes an impressive and photogenic sight, especially at sunset. At the back of the dusty compound, the bot is decorated with lively Jataka murals and enshrines a beautifully illuminated, 500-year-old bronze Buddha image. Nearby signs point the way to Monk Chat, organized by the Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University based at the temple, which gives the monk-students the opportunity to meet foreigners and practise their English, and you the chance to talk to monks about anything from Buddhism to the weather – or about the university’s overnight Buddhist culture and meditation courses.
Chiang Mai University Art Centre
Thanon Nimmanhemin, near the corner of Thanon Suthep • Tues–Sun 9am–5pm • Free • 053 218279, facebook.com/cmuartcenter
The modern Chiang Mai University Art Centre is not only confirmation of the city’s growing importance, but also a boon to the large local artistic community. The large, purpose-built exhibition areas are well designed and lit, and the exhibitions generally change each month, giving visitors an insight into modern Thai art, as well as anything from Japanese lacquerware sculpture to Iranian carpetry art. There’s a shop and a good café, and films and concerts are regularly put on here.
Meditation in Chiang Mai
The peace and quiet of the northern capital make it ideally suited to meditation sessions, short courses and longer retreats, many of which are conducted in English. General information and advice about meditation is given in Basics, where you’ll also find details of the retreats at Wat Phra That Chom Thong, 60km south of Chiang Mai.
Green Papaya Sangha greenpapayasangha.org. Offers meditation in the tradition of Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm at the Yoga Tree. It also hosts dhamma talks from teachers of other Buddhist traditions. By donation.
International Buddhist Meditation Centre Wat Phra That Doi Suthep 053 295012, fivethousandyears.org. A variety of Vipassana meditation courses for beginners and experienced students, from five to 21 days. Registration must be made in advance (courses are often full). By donation.
Mahachulalongkornrajavidiyalaya Buddhist University Wat Suan Dork monkchat.net. Introductory retreat courses on meditation and Thai Buddhist culture, for which you need to wear white clothes, available for B300. Including yoga, chanting and almsgiving, they begin at about 1pm on a Tuesday, before departure to the training centre, returning to Wat Suan Dork at about 3pm the next day (B500). Courses are sometimes cancelled so check the schedule on the website.
Northern Insight Meditation Centre Wat Ram Poeng (aka Wat Tapotaram), off Thanon Chon Prathan near Wat Umong 053 278620, palikanon.com/vipassana/tapotaram/tapotaram.htm. Disciplined Vipassana courses (with a rule of silence, no food after noon and so on), taught by Thai monks with translators. The minimum stay is ten days, with a basic course lasting 26 days, and payment is by donation.
Off Thanon Suthep: turn left (south) after Wang Nam Gan (a royal agricultural produce project), then follow the signs to the wat for about 1km along a winding lane
More of a park than a temple, Wat Umong makes an unusual, charming place for a quiet stroll, at the centre of an up-and-coming creative neighbourhood dotted with coffee shops and boutiques. According to legend, the wat was built by King Mengrai, but renovated in the 1380s by King Ku Na for a brilliant but deranged monk called Jan, who was prone to wandering off into the forest to meditate. Because Ku Na wanted to be able to get Jan’s advice at any time, he founded this wat and decorated the tunnels (umong) beneath the chedi with paintings of trees, flowers and birds to simulate the monk’s favoured habitat. Some of the old tunnels can still be explored, where obscure fragments of paintings and one or two small modern shrines can be seen. Above the tunnels, frighteningly lavish nagas guard the staircase up to the bell-shaped, Sri Lankan-style chedi and a grassy platform that supports a grotesque black statue of the fasting Buddha, all ribs and veins: he is depicted as he was during his six years of self-mortification, before he realized that he should avoid extremes along the Middle Path to enlightenment. Behind the chedi, the ground slopes away to a tree-lined lake inhabited by hungry carp, where locals come to relax and feed the fish. On a tiny island here, reached by a concrete bridge, stands a statue of the late Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a famous southern Thai monk who re-established the monastic community here in the 1960s.
Arrival and departureChiang Mai
On arrival at the train station or one of the bus stations, you can either flag down a red songthaew out on the road or charter a tuk-tuk or songthaew to get to the centre. To book tickets for departure, there are several ways to dodge a long, extra trip out to Arcade, including just asking your guesthouse or hotel. Queen Bee, 5 Thanon Moonmuang (053 275525, queenbeetours.com), is a reliable travel agent for train tickets and all manner of minibus, bus and domestic plane tickets, as well as for a wide range of tours. STA Travel on Floor 3 of Maya shopping centre, at the corner of Thanon Nimmanhemin and Thanon Huai Kaeo (052 081140, statravel.co.th), is a good agent for cheap international plane tickets.
By plane
Chiang Mai Airport is 3km southwest of the centre. Its busiest route is Bangkok, which is served by all seven of the main Thai carriers (only Thai, Thai Smile, Vietjet and Bangkok Airways fly to Suvarnabhumi from here). Meanwhile Bangkok Airways does Ko Samui, Mae Hong Son and Phuket, Thai Smile Phuket, Air Asia Hat Yai, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Phuket, Surat Thani, U-Tapao (near Pattaya) and Ubon Ratchathani, and Nok Air Udon Thani. There are also dozens of international routes from China, East and Southeast Asia.
Airport facilities You’ll find currency exchange booths and ATMs, cafés, a tourist police booth, a post office, left luggage and car rental offices such as Avis (02 251 1131, avisthailand.com).
Getting to/from the centre Two licensed a/c taxi companies have booths in the domestic baggage hall and in the arrivals hall, charging from B160 to Tha Pae Gate, for example (they don’t use their meters). From the exit by the international arrivals hall, at the south end of the terminal, a/c minibuses run to hotels in town every half-hour (B40/person). Tuk-tuks and red songthaews can bring departing passengers to the airport (around B120 from the city centre), but are not allowed to pick up fares there. A new R3 blue bus service started in 2018, linking the airport with Thanon Nimmanhemin, the Old Town and the night bazaar (every 20–30min; B20 flat fare).
Destinations Bangkok (25 daily; 1hr); Hat Yai (2 daily; 2hr); Khon Kaen (1 daily; 1hr 10min); Ko Samui (1 daily; 1hr 50min); Krabi (2 daily; 2hr); Mae Hong Son (2 daily; 45min); Phuket (5 daily; 2hr); Surat Thani (2 daily; 2hr); Ubon Ratchathani (1 daily; 1hr 45min); Udon Thani (3 daily; 1hr); U-Tapao (3 daily; 1hr 15min–2hr).
By train
Many people arrive – sometimes an hour or two later than scheduled – at the train station (which has a left-luggage office) on Thanon Charoen Muang, just over 2km from Tha Pae Gate on the eastern side of town. There’s usually a welcoming committee of guesthouse staff, plugging their accommodation and offering free lifts.
Destinations Bangkok (5 daily; 12hr–14hr 30min); Den Chai (for Phrae and Nan; 6 daily; 4–5hr); Doi Khun Tan (6 daily; 1hr–1hr 30min); Lampang (6 daily; 2hr–2hr 30min).
By bus
Arcade bus station Chiang Mai’s main bus station (which has left-luggage facilities) is off the south side of Thanon Kaeo Nawarat, about 3km from Tha Pae Gate to the northeast.
Chang Phuak bus station This small station off the east side of Thanon Chotana handles services from the rest of Chiang Mai province (including Chom Thong and Tha Ton); buses from Lamphun also end up here.
Bus companies The main Chiang Mai-based long-distance bus company, Green Bus (053 266480, greenbusthailand.com), maintains a ticket office in the centre of town, on the corner of Thanon Singharat and Thanon Ratchdamnoen, opposite Wat Phra Singh. If you insist on travelling here with one of the low-cost tourist bus companies on Bangkok’s Thanon Khao San despite our warnings, try to find out exactly where you’ll be dropped in Chiang Mai before making a booking: these companies’ buses have been known to stop on a remote part of the Superhighway, where they “sell” their passengers to various guesthouse touts.
Destinations Bangkok (30 daily; 9hr 30min–11hr); Chiang Khong (2 daily; 5–6hr); Chiang Rai (roughly every 30min; 3hr); Chiang Saen (2 daily; 5–7hr); Chom Thong (every 20min; 1hr–1hr 30min); Fang (every 30min; 2hr 30min–3hr 30min); Kanchanaburi (3 daily; 11hr); Khon Kaen (9 daily; 12hr); Khorat (10 daily; 12hr); Lampang (roughly every 30min; 1hr 30min–2hr); Lamphun (every 20min; 30min–1hr); Luang Prabang, Laos (4 weekly; 20hr); Mae Hong Son (3 daily via Mae Sariang, 8hr; 10 daily via Pai, 6–8hr 30min); Mae Sai (6–8 daily; 4hr 40min–5hr 15min); Mae Sot (2 daily; 6hr); Nan (13 daily; 5–6hr); Pai (hourly; 3hr–4hr 30min); Phitsanulok (over 30 daily; 5–7hr); Phrae (11 daily; 4hr); Sukhothai (over 20 daily; 5–6hr); Tha Ton (6 daily; 4hr); Udon Thani (2 daily; 12hr).
Getting around
By bicycle
Although you can comfortably walk between the most central temples, bicycles are the best way of getting around the old town and, with a bit of legwork, out to the attractions beyond the moat too. Rickety sit-up-and-beg models and basic mountain bikes are available at many outlets around the old town, especially on the roads along the eastern moat, for about B50/day, while knowledgeable and helpful Cacti, 94/1 Thanon Singharat, near the corner of Si Phum (053 212979 or 089 757 9150), rents good-quality, well-maintained road and mountain bikes (B150–450/day), as well as selling new and used bikes and doing repairs.
By songthaew
Chiang Mai has a handful of city buses that mostly operate out of Arcade Bus Station, but their schedules are so infrequent that they’re next-to-useless. Instead, people use red songthaews (rot daeng) within the city (songthaews of other colours serve outlying villages and suburbs). A small number of these vehicles run along fixed routes that are popular with locals (B15/person), but the vast majority act as shared taxis, picking up a number of passengers headed in roughly the same direction and taking each to their specific destination. A journey in the centre of town, for example from Tha Pae Gate to Wat Phra Singh, will set you back B30/person, but it’ll naturally cost more to go somewhere off the beaten track or if the driver thinks you want to charter (mao) the whole vehicle.
By taxi, tuk-tuk or samlor
Chiang Mai’s so-called “meter taxis” never switch on their meters, they only quote flat fares, typically B150 for a 2km journey. You can’t flag them down on the street – ask at your accommodation or try calling 053 262878 or 053 241955 for a pick-up. More prevalent are tuk-tuks, for which heavy bargaining is expected – allow around B60 for a short journey, say from the Night Bazaar to Tha Pae Gate. The town still has a few samlors, which are cheap when used by locals to haul produce home from the market, but not so cheap when chartered by groups of upmarket tourists on sightseeing tours from their hotel. App-based taxi services have recently come to Chiang Mai, of which the most popular is Uber’s Southeast Asian equivalent, Grab.
By motorbike
Motorbikes – most useful for exploring places outside of Chiang Mai – are available to rent in all shapes and sizes around Tha Pae Gate, costing around B200–250/day for a 125cc automatic. Among reliable rental outlets, Queen Bee, 5 Thanon Moonmuang (053 275525, queen-bee.com), and Mr Mechanic, Thanon Moonmuang, near the corner of Thanon Ratchawithi (053 214708, mr-mechanic1994.com), who has bikes of all sizes, can also offer insurance.
By car
Many outlets in the Tha Pae Gate area rent out cars and 4WDs, from as little as B800/day: reliable companies offering insurance and breakdown recovery include Avis, at Chiang Mai airport (02 251 1131, avisthailand.com; delivery and collection anywhere in Chiang Mai); Journey Smile, 283 Thanon Tha Pae (053 208787, journeysmile.com); North Wheels, 70/4–8 Thanon Chaiyapoom (053 874478, northwheels.com); and Queen Bee (see above).
Information
Tourist information The TAT office (daily 8.30am–4.30pm; 053 248604–5) is on Thanon Chiang Mai–Lamphun, on the east bank of the river south of Nawarat Bridge. It’s not to be confused with TAD Travel and Tours on Thanon Ratchaphakinai and other similarly named outlets prominently displaying “INFORMATION” signs, which pretend to be government information offices but are in fact private travel agents.
Maps Nancy Chandler’s Map of Chiang Mai, sold in many outlets in the city (B320) and online in either paper or pdf form (nancychandler.net), is very handy for a detailed exploration: like their brightly coloured Bangkok map, it gives a personal choice of sights, shops, restaurants and various oddities.
Listings Several free, monthly, locally published magazines such as Citylife contain information about upcoming events in town and articles about local culture; they’re distributed in spots where tourists tend to congregate, including hotel lobbies. Citylife also has a website at chiangmaicitylife.com and produces a fortnightly map with events listings, City Now.
Accommodation
Chiang Mai is well stocked with every kind of accommodation to suit all budgets, though places may fill up from December to February and are very busy at festival time, particularly during Songkhran (April), Loy Krathong (Nov) and around New Year’s Eve. Basic guesthouses, often friendly, quiet affairs with their own outdoor cafés, are gathered on the narrow sois inside the old city. Situated close to the eastern side of the moat and Tha Pae Gate, Thanon Moonmuang’s Soi 9 and the south end of Thanon Ratchaphakinai almost warrant being called travellers’ ghettoes (though nothing like on the scale of Bangkok’s Thanon Khao San), but there are plenty of other, quieter options within the moat where you can better soak up the old town’s charm. In the moderate price range, by far the best options are the upmarket guesthouses and boutique hotels, which, as well as good facilities, generally offer much more appealing decor and atmosphere than similarly priced chain hotels. At the top end, there has been a recent explosion of luxury accommodation in Chiang Mai, most of them enhanced by traditional Lanna architectural touches.
Essentials
Scams Beware of tuk-tuk and songthaew drivers at the bus and train stations offering a free ride if you stay at a particular guesthouse – perhaps adding, falsely, that the place you had planned to stay is full or closed – as you’ll probably find that the price of a room is bumped up to pay for your ride. To get around this, some guesthouses send their own staff to the stations, who will genuinely give you a free ride; and many places will offer a free pick-up when you book.
Trekking hassles Many of the least expensive places in Chiang Mai make their money from trekking and tours, which can be convenient as a trek often needs a lot of organizing beforehand, but can equally be annoying if you’re in Chiang Mai for other reasons and are put under pressure to trek; most of the guesthouses we’ve listed can arrange trekking, but at none of them should you get this kind of undue hassle.
Tha Pae Gate area
Guesthouses
60 Blue House 32–34 Thanon Ratchaphakinai 053 206126, 60bluehouse.com; map. Helpful, eco-friendly guesthouse with lots of local information and a small, leafy garden. Most of the turquoise-themed accommodation shares bathrooms: an eight-bed dorm (not bunks), good-value fan or a/c single rooms and a/c doubles or twins. Larger rooms sleeping three or four are en suite and have mini-kitchens. Dorms B250, doubles B800
Awana House 7 Soi 1, Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 419005, awanahouse.com; map. This welcoming, Thai-Dutch guesthouse has a tiny, covered pool and large, nicely furnished rooms (most with balconies), complete with colourful trompe l’oeil paintings, a/c, hot water, cable TV and fridge. There’s also a pleasant, mostly covered rooftop terrace, which shelters two fan rooms with double beds, sharing a hot-water bathroom. Fan B495, a/c B690
Chiang Mai Thai House 5/1 Soi 5, Thanon Tha Pae 053 904110, chiangmaithaihouse.com; map. There’s a choice of smallish but well-furnished rooms with fan and cable TV, or bigger ones with a/c and mini-bar (some with cute mini-gardens on the ground floor), in this centrally located but fairly quiet place, which also has a tiny pool. Fan B600, a/c B1200
Diva Guesthouse 84/13 Thanon Ratchaphakinai 053 273851, divaguesthouse.com; map. Helpful spot with richly coloured murals on the walls, a sociable ground-floor café and a wide choice of clean rooms with en-suite hot showers: mixed, six-bed, fan-cooled or a/c dorms and fan and a/c private rooms of all sizes. Success has spawned two overspill branches nearby. Dorms B120, fan doubles B300, a/c doubles B500
Eagle House 16 Soi 3, Thanon Chang Moi Kao 053 235387, eaglehouse.com; map. Run by an Irishwoman who is keen to promote ethical ecotourism, this friendly, quiet, well-maintained guesthouse offers a spacious garden terrace area with a good café and well-organized treks, as well as Thai cookery courses. Choose from a wide variety of en-suite rooms of different sizes, most with hot water, some with a/c. Fan B300, a/c B500
Gap’s House 3 Soi 4, Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 278140, gaps-house.com; map. Set around a relaxing, leafy compound strewn with objets d’art is a wide range of a/c rooms with antique furniture and hot showers. The room price includes a simple cooked breakfast, and a vegetarian buffet is served in the evening (not Sun); one-day cookery courses available. Decent rates for singles. B550
Giant Guesthouse Soi 6, Thanon Moonmuang 053 227338, giantguesthouse.com; map. This popular option is right next to the market and has its own kitchen – ideal if you fancy practising your Thai cooking. The helpful staff put on films in the comfortable lounge, and there’s a small leafy patio. Rooms come with fan (shared or en-suite bathrooms) or a/c. There’s another, fan-only branch at the bottom of Thanon Ratchaphakinai with dorm beds (B120). Fan B240, a/c B450
Kavil Guest House 10/1 Soi 5, Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 224740 or 089 852 1875; map. Friendly, recently renovated place in a modern four-storey building on a central but quiet soi, offering smart, bright, a/c rooms with small en-suite hot-water bathrooms. The downstairs café is at the front, which means there’s no noisy courtyard effect. Breakfast included. B1200
Libra House 28 Soi 9, Thanon Moonmuang 053 210687, librahousechiangmai.com; map. Excellent, family-run, trekking-oriented guesthouse with keen, helpful service and 24hr check-in. Forty large, plain but well-maintained rooms, spread across five buildings with some quiet sitting areas, are en suite with hot showers. Free daytime pick-ups for advance bookings. Fan B400, a/c B600
Mini Cost 19–19/4 Soi 1, Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 418787–8, minicostcm.com; map. Smart ochre-painted guesthouse and apartment block with helpful staff, offering comfortable rooms with some colourful modern Thai decorative touches, as well as a/c, hot water, fridges, safes, balconies and cable TV. B1150
Pha Thai House 48/1 Thanon Ratchaphakinai 053 278013 or 081 998 6933, phathaihouse.com; map. Wide variety of rooms, all with en-suite hot showers, in a leafy garden setting with a small swimming pool: most boast balconies, colourful decor, fridges, TVs, a/c and antique-style furniture, while plainer fan rooms at the front of the compound by the road are much cheaper. Family rooms also available. Fan B800, a/c B1000
SK House 30 Soi 9, Thanon Moonmuang 053 210690, theskhouse.com; map. Efficient, brick-built high-rise with a ground-floor café, a small, shaded swimming pool and a slightly institutional feel. Fan rooms come with hot-water bathrooms, while the a/c rooms are much more colourful and attractive, with cable TV. Free pick-ups from the train station. Fan B250, a/c B600
Your House 8 Soi 2, Thanon Ratchawithi 053 217492, yourhouseguesthouse.com; map. Very welcoming, old-town atmosphere (though some rooms get a bit of noise from nearby bars) and a wide choice of accommodation: in the attractive, original teak house, six airy rooms share three bathrooms with hot showers; the two modern annexes across the lane, both with hot water en suite, include lovely, big rooms with polished teak floors, small balconies and well-equipped bathrooms. Optional a/c in most rooms. The attractive garden restaurant serves good Thai and French food, with buffalo steak and chips a speciality. Good for treks, day-trips and train, plane and bus tickets. Discounts for singles. Fan B250, a/c B450
Massages and spas in Chiang Mai
Many of Chiang Mai’s top hotels have full-service spas, and there are several upmarket stand-alones. However, some of the best traditional massages in town – no frills but highly skilled and good value – are likely to be had at schools such as the Old Medicine Hospital, which offers consistently good Thai (B250/hour), herbal and foot massages; and out in the countryside Baan Hom Samunprai offers great two-hour massages for B800, as well as foot massages, herbal compress massages and steam baths (for both,).
Let’s Relax Night Bazaar Pavilion, Thanon Chang Klan 053 818498, letsrelaxspa.com. Part of a nationwide chain, with several other branches around town, this reasonably priced spa lays on a few more frills, longer opening hours and a wider range of treatments than the basic massage centres (B600 for a 1hr Thai massage).
Oasis Spa 4 Thanon Samlan, just south of Wat Phra Singh, & 102 Thanon Sirimuangkarajan 053 920111, oasisspa.net. Upmarket spa with a good reputation (B1990 for a 2hr traditional massage).
The Peak Spa & Beauty Salon Twin Peaks Condo, 187/13 Thanon Chang Klan 053 818869, peak-spa.com. Excellent choice, offering a wide range of treatments at moderate prices, but with service and facilities comparable to an upmarket hotel spa (from B800 for 90min Thai massage). Free transfers included.
Thai Massage Conservation Club 99 Thanon Ratchamankha, near Wat Chedi Luang 083 864 1184, thaiblindmassage.com. Basic setup with traditional massages by extremely competent, blind masseurs (B200/hr), who focus on vigorous acupressure rather than stretching.
Hotels
Tamarind Village 50/1 Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 418896–9, tamarindvillage.com; map. Named for a huge, 200-year-old tamarind tree that shades the compound, this small, tranquil boutique resort in the heart of Chiang Mai’s old city is designed in Lanna style around a series of courtyards, though the extremely comfortable rooms, which all enjoy lovely garden views, have modern touches. Good-sized pool, attractive spa, an interesting programme of art and cultural exhibitions and excellent restaurant too. Breakfast included. B7000
Three Sis 1 Soi 8, Thanon Phra Pokklao 053 273243, the3sis.com; map. Genteel B&B opposite Wat Chedi Luang with lots of attractive open-plan public areas to loll about in. Rooms in the new building have wooden floors and tasteful furnishings that also feature a lot of dark wood, while those in the original building are almost as spacious but less stylish; all have a/c, hot water, cable TV and fridge. Breakfast included. B1890
Rest of Chiang Mai
Guesthouses
Baan Kaew Guest House 142 Thanon Charoen Prathet 053 271606, baankaew-guesthouse.com; map. Set back from the road in a quiet, pretty garden, this attractive modern building has twenty large, simple but well-equipped and well-maintained rooms with hot water, mini-bars and a/c. B800
Baan Orapin 150 Thanon Charoenrat 053 243677, baanorapin.com; map. Pretty compound overshadowed by tall longan trees, offering big, comfy and characterful rooms with teak and rattan furnishings and wooden floors. Some rooms come with four-poster beds and balconies. Breakfast included; minimum stay two nights. B2500
Baan Say-La Guesthouse 4–4/1 Soi 5, Thanon Nimmanhemin 053 894229, baansaylaguesthouse.com; map. Handy for Nimman nightlife, this good-value, well-maintained, all-a/c guesthouse has a subtle Thai retro feel, with lots of dark wood everywhere and four-poster beds in some rooms. Some bedrooms have balconies, while the cheapest share bathrooms. Breakfast isn’t offered, but bread and coffee are free. B790
Bon Ça Va 252/13–14 Thanon Phra Pokklao 053 418266, facebook.com/boncavahotel; map. Small, friendly guesthouse with a tasteful antique look, just south of Chang Puak Gate, offering large, clean rooms with a/c, hot showers, fridges, safes and cable TV, some with balconies. B940
Eco Resort 109 Thanon Bamrungrat 053 247111, ecoresortchiangmai.com; map. This former school in huge, lush, quiet gardens has been tastefully transformed into a modern, eco-friendly hostel-cum-hotel, with a/c and hot water throughout. Choose between well-equipped dorms with smart, white bedding, basic private rooms with shared bathrooms and attractive “superior” options with large bathrooms in a subtle contemporary style. There’s a lovely, 25m pool surrounded by hanging plants, an outdoor gym, table tennis and table football. Dorms B450, doubles B1180
Galare Guest House 7 Soi 2, Thanon Charoen Prathet 053 818887 or 053 821011, galare.com; map. Near Nawarat Bridge, this long-standing, well-run upmarket guesthouse is justly popular. Plain a/c rooms, each with hot-water bathroom, TV and fridge, overlook a shady lawn that gives way to a riverside terrace restaurant. B1200
Green Sleep Hostel 5/10 Soi 7, Thanon Ratchdamnoen 061 464 0919, greensleephostel.com; map. Sociable, architect-designed hostel with appealing common areas strewn with pot plants, a kitchen and a washing machine. Hot-water bathrooms are shared by smart, a/c dorms with 4–10 bunk beds (some women only) and by small, windowless doubles. Free bicycles. Light breakfast included. Dorms B350, doubles B540
Hollanda Montri 365 Thanon Charoenrat 053 242450, hollandamontri.com; map. North of the centre by the busy Rama IX Bridge, in a modern building by the river, this Dutch–Thai guesthouse has large, comfortable and attractive fan or a/c rooms with TVs and hot-water bathrooms, and cheerful staff. A very pleasant, terraced riverside bar-restaurant offers a long menu of Thai and European dishes. Free daytime bicycles. Fan B550, a/c B750
Riverside House 101 Thanon Chiang Mai–Lamphun 053 241860, riversidehouse-chiangmai.com; map. Welcoming place with a lush garden on the east bank of the river, though just a short walk from the night bazaar, with plain but clean and good-sized a/c rooms with cable TV, fridges and hot showers, many with balconies, plus a small swimming pool. B1000
River View Lodge 25 Soi 4, Thanon Charoen Prathet 053 271109, riverviewlodgch.com; map. Tasteful, well-run and good-value alternative to international-class hotels, with a small swimming pool and neat decorative touches in the rooms; the most expensive have balconies overlooking the river. Breakfast included. B1800
Hotels
Anantara Chiang Mai 123 Thanon Charoen Prathet 053 253333, anantara.com; map. Occupying a prime riverside site (with an annexe of serviced suites across Thanon Charoen Prathet), this luxury place offers sleek high-concept design in its spacious rooms, along with balconies and river views. There’s a good-looking spa, a cooking school and a 34m riverside swimming pool, while a century-old teak house – formerly the British Consulate – serves afternoon teas, cocktails and Asian food, and the waterfront restaurant dishes up excellent Indian and Peruvian food. B10,640
Chiang Mai Gate Hotel 11/10 Thanon Suriyawong 053 203895–9, chiangmaigatehotel.com; map. Located just to the south of the old city, this place has 120 well-equipped rooms with Lanna touches in the design, a/c, TVs, fridges and hot water, plus a small swimming pool and helpful staff. B830
D2 Hotel 100 Chang Klan 053 999999, dusit.com; map. With its muted orange theme and helpful staff in street fashions, plus stylish lighting and minimalist furnishings, this place in the heart of the night bazaar, run by the Dusit Group, is probably the coolest luxury hotel in Chiang Mai. A spa, fitness centre and rooftop pool are among the amenities. B5420
Dhara Dhevi 51/4 Thanon Chiang Mai–Sankamphaeng 053 888888, dharadhevi.com; map. Occupying huge grounds a few kilometres east of the city centre, the Dhara Dhevi transports its guests into another era, the heyday of the Lanna Kingdom. Traditional Lanna architecture is complemented by modern touches in the villas and residences, which are equipped with every conceivable comfort and look out over rice fields and vegetable gardens. With a breathtaking spa (modelled on the royal palace of Mandalay), cooking school, a daily programme of crafts demonstrations, shopping centre, library of books and DVDs, a kids’ club, two swimming pools, tennis courts, a patisserie and five restaurants, guests need never leave the premises. Breakfast included. B20,480
Elliebum Boutique Hotel 114/3–5 Thanon Ratchamanka 090 318 6429, elliebum.com; map. Stylish small hotel right in the centre of the old town, offering warm hospitality and plenty of clued-up advice about the city. The elegant bedrooms blend carved wooden lintels and other traditional Thai features into an appealing modern look; the cheapest have small hot-water bathrooms but represent good value, while the largest sport bathtubs; all have bay window seats, a/c, fridges and Bluetooth-enabled smart TVs. Also on offer are culinary walking tours (. Tasty breakfasts included. B2000
Four Seasons About 15km north of Chiang Mai on Mae Rim–Samoeng Old Road, at the start of the Mae Sa valley 053 298181, fourseasons.com; map. The last word in Lanna luxury, with superbly appointed rooms and apartments, a swimming pool and a gorgeous spa, all set around a picturesque lake and rice paddies (where you can learn to plant rice) with fine views of Doi Suthep behind. On a long menu of activities, the highlight is a top-quality cooking school. B23,700
Rachamankha 6 Soi 9, Thanon Ratchamanka 053 904111, rachamankha.com; map. Looking more like a temple than a hotel, this spacious, architect-owned property with just 25 elegant rooms arrayed around quiet courtyards is hidden in the backstreets of the old city. There’s a lovely, large pool, a spa, an excellent restaurant and a well-stocked library with sherry laid out for browsers. B11,800
Royal Princess 111 Thanon Chang Klan 053 253900, dusit.com; map. Tidy, centrally located, long-running hotel close to the night bazaar, with two hundred comfortable rooms, a small swimming pool, a fitness centre and a good Chinese restaurant. B2350
U Chiang Mai 70 Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 327000, uhotelsresorts.com; map. Innovative hotel that offers 24hr use of room (no matter what time you check in), breakfast (included) available in your bedroom all day, and free bikes. The reading room and spa occupy the hundred-year-old former governor’s residence, while some of the rooms – decorated in contemporary Thai style, with daybeds on the balconies, rain showers, DVD players and iPods – give straight onto the small, black swimming pool in the central courtyard. Discounts if you book over a month in advance. B8330
Eating
The main difficulty with eating in Chiang Mai is knowing when to stop. All over town there are inexpensive and enticing restaurants serving typically northern food, which has been strongly influenced by Burmese cuisine, especially in curries such as kaeng hang lay (usually translated on menus as “Northern Thai curry”), made with pork belly, ginger, garlic and tamarind. At lunchtime the thing to do is to join the local workers in one of the simple, inexpensive cafés that put all their efforts into producing just one or two special dishes – the traditional meal at this time of day is khao soi, a thick broth of curry and coconut cream, with egg noodles and a choice of meat. The main night markets are at the back and front entrances to Chiang Mai University on Thanon Suthep and Thanon Huai Kaeo; along Thanon Bamrungburi by Chiang Mai Gate; along Thanon Manee Noparat by Chang Puak Gate; plus a few stalls in front of Somphet market on Thanon Moonmuang. Also in the evening you’ll find restaurants which lay on touristy cultural shows with khan toke dinners, a selection of northern dishes traditionally eaten on the floor off short-legged lacquer trays. Of these, the Old Chiangmai Cultural Centre, 185/3 Thanon Wualai (B570; 053 202993–5, oldchiangmai.com), with its show of northern Thai and hill-tribe dancing, has the best reputation. Many of the bars listed in “Drinking and nightlife” have good reputations for their food, especially The Riverside.
Tha Pae Gate area
Thai
Aroon Rai Thanon Kotchasarn 053 276947; map. This basic, long-standing restaurant by Tha Pae Gate serves great northern Thai dishes, such as tasty kaeng hang lay muu (B60), khao soi and a very good kaeng khae, a typical local curry without coconut milk, with lots of herbs and vegetables. They also sell their curry pastes for you to take home. Daily roughly 11.30am–9.30pm.
Ratana’s Kitchen 320–322 Thanon Tha Pae T053 233739; map. A good-value favourite among locals and visitors both for northern specialities (B70–130) such as kaeng hang lay, khao soi and mixed hors d’oeuvres, and for tasty Western breakfasts, sandwiches, cottage pie and steaks. Extensive vegetarian menu, wine and cocktails too. Daily 7.30am–11.30pm.
Ruen Tamarind 50/1 Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 418896–9; map. Overlooking the pool at the Tamarind Village hotel, this elegant restaurant serves up excellent Thai cuisine, including mainstream fare such as tom kha thaleh (coconut soup with seafood) and more creative offerings such as duck-breast laap (B350), as well as a long and interesting selection of northern Thai favourites. Also does afternoon tea. Daily 7am–11pm.
International
Blue Diamond Soi 9, Thanon Moonmuang; map. Popular, mostly vegetarian restaurant with a pleasant garden in a quiet neighbourhood of guesthouses, serving very good Thai dishes, Western breakfasts (sets from B140), home-made bread, shakes, herbal teas and espresso coffee. Mon–Sat 7am–8.30pm.
La Fontana 39/7–8 Thanon Ratchamanka 053 207091, lafontanachiangmai.com; map. Chiang Mai’s best Italian, dishing up great home-made pastas (B150–200), risottos, pizzas, meat and fish dishes, as well as tempting antipasti and panna cotta, ice cream and other desserts, all washed down with imported Italian wine. Daily 11.30am–10.30pm; in low season, sometimes closes Tues and at lunchtimes.
Miguel’s Thanon Chaiyapoom 053 874148, facebook.com/miguelscafechiangmai; map. A warm welcome, a relaxing terrace and good Mexican food: feast on the nachos grande with chicken for B205, perhaps with a side order of guacamole (in season). Daily 9am–11pm.
Mit Mai 42/2 Thanon Ratchamanka 053 275033; map. It looks like a simple Thai restaurant from the street, but in fact Mit Mai serves up excellent food in large portions from Yunnan province in southwest China, including a zesty chicken salad and delicious snow peas stir-fried with Yunnanese ham (B90), as well as more exotic dishes such as fong nom thawt (fried cheese) and white bamboo grubs. Daily 10am–10pm.
The Swan 48 Thanon Chaiyapoom 082 893 6670; map. Don’t let this Burmese restaurant’s narrow frontage on the busy road around the moat put you off: walk through to the lovely courtyard garden and enjoy delicious dishes from across the border, such as tea-leaf salad, aubergine salad and pork curry (main dishes around B100). Daily 11am–11pm.
Food walks and dinner cruises
In the mornings, Elliebum Boutique Hotel offers fascinating guided food walks around the old town (4hr; from B850/person), taking in Chiang Mai Gate Market and the locals’ favourite street restaurants and dessert stalls. With plenty of insights about Thai cuisine and culture along the way, they’re a great way to get to know the city.
Every evening, The Riverside runs a dinner cruise, charging B180/person on top of whatever you order from its very good menu. Booking is recommended, but you’ll certainly need to get there by 7.15pm to put your orders in (boat departs at 8pm).
Rest of Chiang Mai
Thai
Ba Mii Kiaw Stall Thanon Manee Noparat, just west of Wat Lok Malee; map. When the DTAC phone shop closes for the night, this pushcart kitchen with plenty of tables turns up on the forecourt and starts serving the best noodle soup in town, stuffed with roast red pork and wonton (ba mii kiaw; B35). Mon–Sat 6pm–midnight.
Blackitch Artisan Kitchen 27/1 Soi 7, Thanon Nimmanhemin 081 881 9144, blackitch.com; map. Chiang Mai’s most innovative culinary experience, in a simple, tiled restaurant above an ice cream shop. Chef Black conjures up set menus of around ten courses (B1800) that vary according to what is fresh and seasonal, sourcing the best of Thai ingredients and making creative use of regional Thai preparation styles (with Japanese influences). Expect a lot of seafood (as well as home-cured fish) in dishes such as sun-dried squid stuffed with fermented pork, salted egg and rice, served with pomelo. Wash it down with home-made umeshu (plum wine) and Thai craft beer. Reserve at least 24hr in advance. Daily 11am–2pm & 6–10pm.
Café de Nimman Soi 13, Thanon Sirimuangkarajan 053 218405; map. Excellent, creative Thai food such as som tam salad with salted egg (B110), at this stylish, reasonably priced restaurant with lots of attractive outdoor tables. Daily 11am–11pm.
Hong Tauw Inn 95/17–18 Nantawan Arcade, Thanon Nimmanhemin 053 218333; map. Comfortable a/c restaurant done out in “country inn” style, with antiques, plants and old clocks, making for a relaxing environment. The varied menu of home-style cuisine ranges from rice and noodle dishes such as khanom jiin, to delicious central and northern Thai main dishes (around B100), and includes a wide range of nam phrik, spicy relishes, as well as lon, chilli dips with coconut milk. Daily 11am–10pm.
Huan Soontaree 208 Thanon Patan, 3km north of the Superhighway 083 860 8196, huansoontaree.com; map. A convivial riverfront restaurant owned by the famous northern Thai folk-singer Soontaree Vechanont, who along with her singer daughter Lanna Commins entertains diners nightly from the balcony-level stage. Delicious, reasonably priced northern specialities such as kaeng hang lay (B140). Split levels allow a choice of seating, including on a leafy riverside terrace hung with paper lanterns, or on a balcony near the stage. Daily 4–11pm.
Huen Phen 112 Thanon Ratchamanka; map. One of Chiang Mai’s best northern Thai restaurants – and certainly the most famous. Try local specialities such as sai oua (sausage), kaeng hang lay (pork curry) and khao soi (noodle curry; B40). In the evening, the restaurant opens in an old wooden house decorated with antiques around the back (with a pricier menu). Daily roughly 8am–4pm & 5–10pm.
Khao Soi Samoe Jai Thanon Faham, just north of Wat Faham; map. Thick, tasty and very cheap khao soi (spiced to order) and other northern specialities, plus delicious satay, som tam. No English sign – it’s a wooden house with a red, white and blue awning. Daily 7/8am–5pm.
Kiat Ocha 41–43 Thanon Inthrawarorot, off Thanon Phra Pokklao (the English sign says “Hainanese chicken”); map. Delicious and very popular satay and khao man kai – boiled chicken breast served with dipping sauces, broth and rice – from around B40 a dish. This and the surrounding cafés are especially handy if you’re looking round the old town. Daily 6am–3pm, or until the food runs out.
Lamduon Faharm Khao Soi 352/22 Thanon Charoenrat; map. Excellent, very cheap khao soi prepared to a secret recipe, which can be spiced according to your taste; delicious crackling with the pork version. Also satay, som tam, waffles and an assortment of juices. Daily 8.30am–4/4.30pm.
Monsoon Tea 328/3 Thanon Charoenrat 052 007758; monsoon-tea-company.com; map. At the charming teahouse on Thanon Charoenrat, you can not only taste and buy their aromatic, deeply flavoured, organic teas, which are grown wild in the traditional way among the forests of northern Thailand, but also tuck into some excellent Thai and fusion dishes, including nam phrik noom (northern Thai chilli dip with young aubergines; B89), laap burgers, tea-leaf salad and delicious deep-fried chicken with fermented tea paste (B150). They also have a new branch selling teas at One Nimman (north end of Thanon Nimmanhemin t097 918 9892). Mon–Sat 10am–8pm.
Rachamankha 6 Soi 9, Thanon Ratchamanka 053 904111; map. In the courtyard of the boutique hotel of the same name, this is one of Chiang Mai’s classiest places to eat, with starched linen tablecloths and elegant cutlery and often with live traditional or classical music in the evening. From an unusual menu of northern Thai, Shan and Burmese food (main courses around B250) and Western dishes (from around B450), try the delicious Burmese-style beef curry. Daily 7am–11pm.
Samsen Villa Rimping Condominium, 201 Thanon Charoenrat 081 951 4415, samsenvilla.com; map. The best of several restaurants on the east bank of the Ping River, serving excellent, creative Thai food (most dishes B100–200) in the charming waterfront garden of this prominent condo by Nakhon Ping Bridge. Don’t miss the grilled beef with elephant garlic and the lon (chilli dip with coconut milk), but avoid the signature “jelly beer” – unless you like your beer flat and frozen like a Slurpie. Daily 11am–10.30pm.
SP Chicken 9/1 Soi 1, Thanon Samlarn 080 500 5035; map. Justly famous basic northeastern restaurant that’s featured in the New York Times. The signature chickens (B90 for a half) are slowly cooked whole on a rotisserie and eaten with som tam and sticky rice, but the laap is also very good. Daily 10am–5pm.
Wan Lamun Thanon Inthrawarorot (no English sign, but look for the pink flower on its Thai sign); map. Delightful spot purveying excellent lunches such as khanom jiin and phat thai and delicious Thai and Western desserts, to take away – perhaps to the square in front of the City Arts and Cultural Centre. Daily 7am–3/4pm, though some things will sell out earlier.
International
Arcobaleno 60 Thanon Na Wat Ket 053 306254, arcobaleno-cm.com; map. Tasty Italian food (main dishes from around B200) served in and around an attractive wooden house on a quiet lane near Nakhon Ping Bridge. Try the spaghetti arcobaleno (with smoked bacon, mushrooms and tomato sauce) and the delicious panna cotta for dessert. Daily except Wed 11am–2pm & 5.30–10pm.
David’s Kitchen 113 Thanon Bamrungrat 091 068 1744, davidskitchen.co.th; map. Chiang Mai’s best restaurant for fine dining, in a lovely setting with warm hospitality. The food is mostly classic French, with beef and veal a speciality in dishes such as deliciously tender braised beef cheek in red wine sauce (B1050), while desserts like sticky toffee pudding show some British influence. Main courses start at around B500, while a four-course set menu goes for B1450, and there’s a great wine list, with lots of choice by the glass. Mon–Sat 5–10pm.
Elliebum 114/3–5 Thanon Ratchamanka 090 318 6429, elliebum.com; map. This stylish and welcoming café with a shady garden patio serves excellent espresso coffees, made with arabica beans sustainably grown in the nearby mountains, delicious fruit smoothies, all-day breakfasts such as blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and fresh fruit, and great Thai and Western lunches, using local, seasonal and organic ingredients wherever possible. Daily 7am–5pm.
Gallery Seescape Soi 17, Thanon Nimmanhemin wfacebook.com/galleryseescape; map. Gallery, design shop and café run by a famous local artist, offering shady garden tables, very good espressos and creative, attractively presented Western breakfasts and lunches (around B150). Tues–Sat 8am–6pm.
iberry Off the south side of Soi 17, Thanon Nimmanhemin 053 895181; map. Chiang Mai’s best and most famous ice-cream shop, owned by comedian “Nose” Udom – who is portrayed as a pink dog in a huge statue in the quirky garden. Also does home-made sorbets and cakes and good coffee. Daily 10am–10pm.
Nat Wat 330/2 Thanon Charoenrat 081 716 1608; map. Relax amidst the polished grainy wood of the interior or out in the pretty little waterfall garden and chow down on some seriously good Western food: specials such as duck confit with spiced lentils and tomato jam (B280), eggs benedict (B165), pastas, salads and sandwiches, as well as cakes, freshly squeezed juices and drip or espresso coffee. Tues–Sun 8.30am–5pm.
Rustic and Blue Soi 7, Thanon Nimmanhemin 053 216420; map. American-style deli-café that’s hugely popular during the day, quieter (especially the patio tables at the rear) for dinner. Huge selection of brunches, as well as comfort dishes such as fish’n’chips (B345), which you can wash down with Japanese, US and European beers. Daily 8.30am–8.30/9pm (last orders).
Smiley Kitchen Soi 3, Thanon Nimmanhemin 087 176 7566; map. Excellent small restaurant serving authentic Japanese home-style cooking, such as a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) set for B190. Mon–Sat 11.30am–2.30pm & 5.30–9pm.
Tengoku de Cuisine Soi 5, Thanon Nimmanhemin 087 725 9888; map. At this popular, stylish Japanese restaurant, the sushi and the tartare (tataki) of New Zealand beef with spring onion and ponzu sauce are both very good, while the aubergine with miso sauce is not to be missed – best sampled on an all-you-can-eat “buffet” menu (though all dishes are prepared to order) for B800. Daily 11am–2pm & 5.30–10pm.
Drinking and nightlife
Although there’s a clutch of hostess bars bordering the east moat and along Loi Khro, and several gay bars offering sex shows, Chiang Mai’s nightlife generally avoids Bangkok’s sexual excesses, but offers plenty of opportunities for a good night out. The main concentrations of bars are on the east bank of the Ping River, around Tha Pae Gate and to the west of town around Thanon Nimmanhemin. It’s also well worth checking out the strip of good-time bars at JJ Market on Thanon Assadatorn on the north side of town, which sport aspirational Bangkok names like Tha Chang and Hualamphong and which heave at weekends with the youth of Chiang Mai, drinking and watching the live bands.
Tha Pae Gate area
My Beer Friend Thanon Chang Moi facebook.com/mybeerfriend; map. No expense has been spent on décor at this small, friendly bar, allowing you to concentrate on the great Thai craft beers. Ranging from porters to IPAs and English-style bitters, most are brewed by the owners themselves (in Japan, because of Thai brewing laws), some by their beer friends. At B100 for a 200ml glass, you might be able to work your away across all the taps. Daily except Tues 5pm–midnight.
UN Irish Pub 24/1 Thanon Ratchawithi unirishpub.com; map. Though it hasn’t had an Irish owner for a few years now, this is a cordial, well-run pub that serves Guinness on tap, as well as good food, including home-made bread for satisfying breakfasts and sandwiches, pies and pizzas. Appealing beer garden, quiz night on Thursday, and all manner of sports on TV (the schedule is posted weekly on its website). Daily roughly 9am–midnight.
Rest of Chiang Mai
Drunken Flower (Mao Dok Mai) Soi 17, Thanon Nimmanhemin 097 523 5666, facebook.com/thedrunkenflower; map. Laidback and very congenial, this quirky venue is a favourite among university students and 20-somethings, both Thai and farang. Reasonable prices for drinks, Thai and Mexican food and an eclectic range of background music, often with live acoustic music. Wed–Sun 5pm–midnight.
Good View 13 Thanon Charoenrat 053 241866, goodview.co.th; map. A near-clone of the neighbouring Riverside, this large venue on the banks of the Ping River appeals to fashionable Thais with its smart staff, extensive menu of Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Western food, and slick, competent musicians, who play anything middle of the road from country to jazz. Daily 10am–1am.
Gay nightlife in Chiang Mai
For an introduction to the city’s gay scene, check out the roads off the west side of Thanon Chotana, where there’s a clutch of bars around the gay-owned Lotus Hotel, which itself has a popular garden bar. At 1/21–22 Soi Viengbua here, the long-running Adam’s Apple (daily 9pm–1am; adamsappleclub.com) hosts go-go dancers and cabaret shows. Meanwhile, out on Thanon Chon Prathan (Canal Road) just south of Thanon Huai Kaeo, See Man Pub is Chiang Mai’s biggest gay dance club, with live bands and Coyote dancers (daily roughly 9pm–midnight).
Infinity Soi 6, Thanon Nimmanhemin 053 400085, facebook.com/infinityclub.chiangmai; map. At the end of Soi 6 in what’s known as Prasertland or Kad Cherng Doi (a huge car park and loosely designated entertainment zone), this stylish and spacious venue, with live bands, Thai and international DJs and lots of outdoor tables, is one of the clubs of the moment in Chiang Mai. Daily 6pm–12.30am.
Lux & Fabrique 226 Thanon Wichayanon facebook.com/lux.fabrique; map. The ground floor of the President Hotel has been taken over by this highly fashionable club, which features a huge dance hall, industrial-look bars and attractive garden areas for chilling, and occasionally attracts big-name international DJs. Daily 5pm–1am.
Myst Floor 6, Maya Shopping Centre, Thanon Huai Kaeo facebook.com/mystmaya; map. Chiang Mai branch of a venue on Bangkok’s Soi Thong Lo, this sophisticated rooftop bar offers creative cocktails – what they call “molecular mixology” – imported beers such as Hoegaarden on draught and cool views of Doi Suthep at sunset and the city at night. Daily 6pm–1am.
Namton’s House Bar 196/2 Thanon Chiang Mai–Lamphun facebook.com/namtonshousebar; map. Cosy bar with wooden terraces overlooking a canal, serving well-kept, pricy craft beers from around the world, including the likes of Brew Dog, Mikkeller and Coedo. It’s a bit far from the action, but at the time of writing, Namton’s and My Beer Friend were about to jointly open a Thai craft beer bar, PUOL2OHM, on the rooftop of One Nimman, a shopping mall at the north end of Thanon Nimmanhemin. Daily except Wed 3–11/11.30pm.
North Gate Jazz Co-op Thanon Si Phum facebook.com/northgate.jazzcoop; map. Chilled, open-fronted bar with pavement tables overlooking Chang Phuak Gate and upstairs seats for more serious listeners, featuring high-quality live jazz nightly; Tuesday’s open-mike night is the big event of the week. Open most nights roughly 8pm–midnight.
The Riverside Thanon Charoenrat 053 243239, theriversidechiangmai.com; map. On one side of the road candlelit terraces by the water (best to book if you want a table here) and an often heaving, lively bar for gigs, on the other a spacious complex of rooms, terraces, a stage and a bar area for imported craft beers. Various soloists and bands perform nightly on the two stages, with the tempo increasing as the night wears on. Long, high-quality menu of Western and Thai food (including northern specialities) also on offer, as well as dinner cruises. Daily 10am–1am.
Sangdee 5 Soi 5, Thanon Sirimuangkarajan 053 894955, facebook.com/sangdeeart; map. An all-rounder that’s worth checking out, this non-profit art gallery-café-bar hosts regular DJ parties. Tues–Sat roughly 3pm–midnight.
Thapae East 88 Thanon Tha Pae facebook.com/thapaeeast; map. Set in atmospheric red-brick houses and a garden of half-constructed buildings, this “venue for the creative arts” serves craft beers and usually has something interesting on, notably live music. Mon–Sat 6–11pm.
Warm Up 40 Thanon Nimmanhemin 053 400677, facebook.com/warmupcafe1999; map. Hugely popular venue with students and young locals, offering both live bands and local and international DJs spinning the latest sounds in different indoor and outdoor zones. Daily 6pm–1am.
Writer’s Club and Wine Bar 141/3 Thanon Ratchdamnoen 053 814187; map. An unofficial foreign correspondents’ club for Chiang Mai, this welcoming bar near the centre of the old city is popular among farang residents and visitors, serving a range of beers and wines, plus good Thai and Western food. Daily except Sat noon–midnight.
Entertainment
Cinemas All of the city’s big shopping centres have top-floor cineplexes. Your best bet for English-soundtrack or English-subtitled films near the centre is the Major Cineplex (majorcineplex.com/en/cinema/major-chiangmai) on top of Airport Plaza, southwest of the old town, or SF Cinema City at Maya, at the corner of Thanon Nimmanhemin and Thanon Huai Kaeo (sfcinemacity.com). French-language films with English subtitles are screened at the Alliance Française, 138 Thanon Charoen Prathet, on Fridays at 8pm (053 275277).
Shopping
Shopping is an almost irresistible pastime in Chiang Mai, whether it be for traditional silver bracelets, chic contemporary lacquerware or even secondhand books. Serious shoppers should get hold of a copy of Nancy Chandler’s Map of Chiang Mai.
Markets and the san kamphaeng road
Two main tourist shopping areas, the San Kamphaeng road and the night bazaar, conveniently operating at different times of the day, sell the full range of local handicrafts, backed up by markets, shopping malls and the weekend walking streets.
The San Kamphaeng road
The road to San Kamphaeng, which extends due east from the end of Thanon Charoen Muang for 13km, is the main daytime strip, lined with every sort of handicrafts shop and factory, where you can usually watch the craftsmen at work. The biggest concentrations are at Bo Sang, the “umbrella village”, 9km from town, and at San Kamphaeng itself, once important for its kilns but now famous for its silk weaving.
Getting there Frequent white songthaews to San Kamphaeng leave Chiang Mai from the central Lamyai market, but it’s difficult to decide when to get off if you don’t know the area. You could sign up for a tour or hire a tuk-tuk for a few hundred baht, but the catch here is that the drivers will want to take you to the shops where they’ll pick up a commission. The best way to go is by bicycle or motorbike, which allows you to stop where and when you please, but take care with the fast-moving traffic on the narrow road.
The Night Bazaar
The other main shopper’s playground is the night bazaar, sprawling around the junction of Thanon Loi Khro and Thanon Chang Klan (and into the adjacent, quieter Anusarn market). Here bumper-to-bumper street stalls and several indoor areas (including the original Chiang Mai Night Bazaar shopping centre on the west side of Thanon Chang Klan) sell just about anything produced in Chiang Mai, plus crafts from other parts of Thailand and Southeast Asia, as well as counterfeit designer goods; the action starts up at around 5pm, and there are plenty of real bargains.
Warorot market
During the day, bustling Warorot market (known locally as “Kad Luang”) on Thanon Chang Moi has lots of cheap and cheerful cotton, linen and ceramics for sale on the upper floors. In the heart of the market, you can watch locals buying chilli paste, sausage and sticky rice from their favourite stalls, and maybe even join the queue. There’s also a pungent and colourful flower market just east of here, on Thanon Praisani by the river, while the atmospheric warren of narrow lanes to the south and west of the market is well worth a browse, for everything from silk, cotton and hill-tribe crafts to stationery and plastic.
The Northern Village
The Northern Village in the Airport Plaza shopping centre (Mon–Fri 11am–9pm, Sat & Sun 10am–9pm), at the corner of the Superhighway and Highway 108, is like a market of stalls moved into an a/c mall. It has all manner of slightly upmarket handicrafts and contemporary decorative products, ranging from silver and wood to textiles and herbal products, and includes a branch of Doi Tung Lifestyle.
Fabrics, clothes and contemporary interior design
Few visitors leave Chiang Mai without some new item of clothing and, to tempt you to dig deeper into your purse, upmarket silks and cottons often share shelf-space with bold examples of modern interior design.
Silk The silk produced out towards San Kamphaeng, to the east of Chiang Mai, is richly coloured and hard-wearing, with various attractive textures. Bought off a roll, the material is generally cheaper than in Bangkok, and can cost as little as B400/metre for top-quality four-ply (suitable for shirts and suits). Ready-made silk clothes, though inexpensive, are generally staid and more suited to formal wear.
Cotton In Chiang Mai you’ll also see plenty of traditional, pastel-coloured cotton, which is nice for furnishings, most of it from the village of Pa Sang southwest of Lamphun. Outlets in the basement of the main Chiang Mai night bazaar shopping centre on Thanon Chang Klan have good, cheap selections of this sort of cloth at around B300/metre, plus hand-painted and batik-printed lengths, and ready-made tablecloths and the like.
Fashion and interior design You’ll find some stunning contemporary design in Chiang Mai, often fusing local crafts with modern, minimalist elements. A fruitful place for this kind of shopping is Thanon Nimmanhemin, on the west side of the city, which savvy locals sometimes tag Chiang Mai’s Sukhumvit for its services to well-to-do expats. Its northern end towards Thanon Huai Kaeo, particularly on and around Soi 1, has a concentration of interesting fashion and decor boutiques. Thanon Charoenrat, on the east side of the river, also hosts several stylish outlets for clothes and interior design between Nawarat and Nakhon Ping bridges, while Ban Tawai boasts some creative decor shops.
Doi Tung Lifestyle Thanon Nimmanhemin, opposite Soi 1 053 217981, doitung.org; map. Part of the late Princess Mother’s development project based at Doi Tung, selling very striking and attractive cotton and linen in warm colours, made up into clothes, cushion covers, rugs and so on. Daily 10am–8pm.
Chiang Mai’s walking streets
If you’re in Chiang Mai at the weekend it’s worth heading down to Thanon Wualai, just south of the old city, on a Saturday between about 5pm and 11pm, or to the larger affair on Thanon Ratchdamnoen and part of Thanon Phra Pokklao in the old city on a Sunday at the same time. Closed to traffic for the duration, these “walking streets” become crowded with vendors selling typical northern Thai items such as clothes, musical instruments and snacks, as musicians busk to the throngs of people. The walking streets have become even more popular than the night bazaar, as they are ideal places to pick up a souvenir and mingle with a very mixed crowd of Thais and farangs.
Ginger 199 Thanon Moonmuang 053 287681–2, thehousethailand.com; map. Chichi boutique selling striking and original women’s and men’s wear, accessories and contemporary home décor and kitchenware. Daily 10am–11pm.
Kritiya 46 Thanon Khwang Men, the lane that runs south from the west side of Warorot Market 053 234478; map. This small, atmospheric shop is probably the best place in town to buy bolts of high-quality local silk at competitive prices. Mon–Sat 9/10am–4.30/5pm.
Shinawatra 7km out on the San Kamphaeng road 053 338053–5, shinawatrathaisilk.co.th (with a shop at 18/1 Thanon Huai Kaeo 053 223264); map. Century-old silk factory and showroom, which has entertained luminaries such as Princess Diana and is a good place to follow the silk-making process right from the cocoon. Daily 9am–5.30pm.
Sop Moei Arts 150/10 Thanon Charoenrat 053 306123, sopmoeiarts.com; map. Gorgeous fabrics – scarves, wall-hangings, bags and cushion covers – and stylish basketware, with part of the profits going back to the eponymous Karen village and nearby refugee camp near Mae Sariang, where they’re made. Mon–Fri & Sun 10am–6pm, Sat 10am–5pm.
Studio Naenna 138/8 Soi Changkhian, Thanon Huai Kaeo 053 226042; & Adorn by Studio Naenna, 22 Soi 1, Thanon Nimmanhemin 053 895136; studio-naenna.com; map. If you’re interested in the whole process of traditional fabric production, particularly the use of natural dyes, you can contact Studio Naenna about their 3-day indigo workshops (roughly Sept–Nov) and 5-day one-on-one weaving workshops. It’s part of an eco-friendly, sustainable project set up by Patricia Cheesman, an expert on Thai textiles (her collection of textiles is on display in a gallery at Studio Naenna on Wed or by appointment). Their products, which consist of top-quality, ready-made silk and cotton garments, accessories, home furnishings and art pieces, are on sale at Studio Naenna and their more central outlet, Adorn. Studio Naenna Mon–Fri 9am–5pm; Adorn daily 10am–6pm.
Vila Cini 30 Thanon Charoenrat 053 246246, vilacini.com; map. Sumptuously coloured silk scarves, bags, shirts, ties and cushion covers, as well as bolts of silk by the metre. The 150-year-old teak Sino-Portuguese shophouse in the Wat Ket neighbourhood – site of the first expat community in Chiang Mai in the late nineteenth century – is an attraction in itself. Daily 8.30am–10.30pm.
Chiang Mai’s traditional crafts
Chiang Mai is the best place in Thailand to buy handicrafts, and it’s a hotbed of traditional cottage industries offering generally high standards of workmanship at low prices.
Woodcarving
The city has a long tradition of woodcarving, which expresses itself in everything from salad bowls to half-size elephants. In the past the industry relied on the cutting of Thailand’s precious teak, but manufacturers are now beginning to use other imported hardwoods, while bemoaning their inferior quality.
Wooden objects are sold all over the city, but the most famous place for carving is Ban Tawai, a large village of shops and factories where prices are low and where you can watch the woodworkers in action. One of Thailand’s most important woodcarving centres, Ban Tawai relied on rice farming until forty years ago, but today virtually every home here has carvings for sale outside and each back yard hosts its own cottage industry. There’s an a/c minibus service from Chang Puak bus station, via the Three Kings Monument and Chiang Mai Gate in the old city, to Ban Tawai six times a day (see facebook.com/taxitawai for times; 1hr; B20–30), but it’ll be easier if you have your own transport: follow Highway 108 south from Chiang Mai 13km to Hang Dong, then head east for 2km. A regularly updated, free map of Ban Tawai’s outlets, which now include all manner of antiques and interior decor shops, is available around town (or go to ban-tawai.com).
Lacquerware
Lacquerware can be seen in nearly every museum in Thailand, most commonly in the form of betel sets, which used to be carried ceremonially by the slaves of grandees as an insignia of rank and wealth. Betel sets are still produced in Chiang Mai according to the traditional technique, whereby a woven bamboo frame is covered with layers of rich red lacquer and decorated with black details. A variety of other objects, such as trays and jewellery boxes, is also produced, some decorated with gold leaf on black gloss. Lacquerware makes an ideal choice for gifts, as it is both light to carry, and at the same time typically Thai, and is available in just about every other shop in town.
Celadon
Celadon, sometimes known as greenware, is a delicate variety of stoneware which was first made in China over two thousand years ago, and later produced in Thailand, most famously at Sukhothai and Sawankhalok (Si Satchanalai).
Mengrai Kilns 79/2 Soi 6, Thanon Samlarn 053 272063, mengraikilns.com; map. The best of several kilns in Chiang Mai that have revived the art of celadon. Sticking to the traditional methods, Mengrai produces beautiful and reasonably priced vases, crockery and larger items, thrown in elegant shapes and covered with transparent green, blue and purple glazes. Daily 8am–5pm.
Umbrellas and paper
The village of Bo Sang, 9km east of Chiang Mai, bases its fame on souvenir umbrellas – made of silk, cotton or mulberry (sa) paper and decorated with bold, painted colours – and celebrates its craft with a colourful umbrella fair every January. The artists who work here can paint a small motif on your bag or camera in two minutes flat. The grainy mulberry paper, which makes beautiful writing or sketching pads, is sold almost as an afterthought in many of Bo Sang’s shops.
HQ 3/31 Thanon Samlarn 053 814717–8, hqpapermaker.com; map. Down a small soi opposite Wat Phra Singh, HQ is the best place to buy sheets of beautifully coloured mulberry paper, along with a range of other specialist papers. Mon–Sat 9am–6pm.
Silver and jewellery
Chiang Mai’s traditional silversmiths’ area is on Thanon Wualai, on the south side of the old town, though the actual smithing is now done elsewhere. If you’re serious about buying silver, however, this is still the place to come, with dozens of small shops on Wualai itself and on Soi 3 selling repoussé plates, bowls and cups, and attractive, chunky jewellery. For sterling silver, check the stamp that shows the item is 92.5 percent pure; some items on sale in Chiang Mai are only eighty percent pure and sell much more cheaply.
Nova Collection 179 Thanon Tha Pae 053 273058, nova-collection.com; map. A good general jewellery store which has some lovely rings and necklaces blending gold, silver, platinum, steel and precious stones in striking and original designs. Mon–Sat 9am–7.30pm & Sun 10am–6pm.
Hill-tribe crafts
Thai Tribal Crafts 208 Thanon Bamrungrat 053 241043, ttcrafts.co.th; map. Long-running, non-profit, fair-trade shop, sponsored by a Christian charity, with a huge range of products made by seven of the region’s hill tribes, from bags, scarves, home furnishings and silverware to musical instruments and bamboo basketry. Mon–Sat 9am–5pm.
Books
Backstreet Books 2/8 Thanon Chang Moi Kao 053 874143, backstreetbooksiam.com; map. Large, well-organized, Irish-run secondhand bookshop (plus a few new books) near Tha Pae Gate, where you can buy or exchange books. Daily 10am–8pm.
Suriwong 54/1 Thanon Sri Dornchai 053 281052–6; map. The best place for new English-language publications, stocking a wide selection of novels, books about Thailand and maps in an organized display; it also features newspaper and stationery sections. Mon–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat & Sun 9am–8pm.
The Lost Bookshop 34/3 Thanon Ratchamanka 053 206656; map. A smaller branch of Backstreet Books, but with plenty of titles (mostly secondhand) available in English. Daily 10am–8pm.
Computers and phones
For sales and repairs, either Panthip Plaza, corner of Chang Klan and Sri Dornchai roads, or Computer Plaza, Thanon Manee Nopparat on the north side of the moat.
Directory
Banks, ATMs and exchange Dozens of banks with ATMs are dotted around Thanon Tha Pae and Thanon Chang Klan, and many exchange booths here stay open for evening shoppers.
Consulates Canada, 151 Superhighway 053 850147; China, 111 Thanon Chang Lo 053 280380; India, 33/1 Thanon Thung Hotel 053 243066; Myanmar, 9/4 Soi 3, Thanon Manee Noparat 052 004211; US, 387 Thanon Witchayanon 053 107700.
Hospitals Lanna, at 103 Superhighway (053 999777, lanna-hospital.com), east of Thanon Chotana, has a 24hr emergency and ambulance service and dentistry department; McCormick (053 921777, mccormick.in.th) is cheaper, used to farangs and is nearer, on Thanon Kaeo Nawarat; Chiang Mai Ram, at 8 Thanon Boonruangrit (053 920300, chiangmairam.com), also has a good reputation.
Immigration office In Promenada Mall, 5km southeast of the old city on H1141 (Mon–Fri 8.30am–4.30pm; chiangmaiimm.com), but may move back to its old location by the airport – check thaivisa.com.
Pharmacies Boots branches include Thanon Tha Pae, opposite Tha Pae Gate, and on Thanon Chang Klan near the Night Bazaar.
Post offices The GPO is way out of the centre on Thanon Charoen Muang near the train station, but there’s a far more convenient post office at 43 Thanon Samlarn (Phra Singh PO), near Wat Phra Singh (Mon–Fri 8.30am–4pm, Sat 9am–noon), which offers a packing service. There are also post offices on Thanon Phra Pokklao at the junction with Thanon Ratchawithi in the old town (Sri Phum PO), on Thanon Wichayanon near Nawarat Bridge (Mae Ping PO), and at the airport.
Swimming pool At the Eco Resort, B150/day for non-guests.
Thai language courses AUA (American University Alumni), 24 Thanon Ratchdamnoen (053 214120, learnthaiinchiangmai.com), is the longest-established and best place to learn Thai, certified by the Ministry of Education. Several levels of classes are offered, starting with spoken Thai for beginners (60hr over about six weeks; B5300), with class sizes limited to five to twelve students. Individual and small-group instruction can also be arranged.
Tourist police At the far end of Thanon Huai Kaeo, at the start of the road up Doi Suthep, opposite the zoo, and at the airport 1155.
You’ll never feel cooped up in Chiang Mai, as the surrounding countryside is dotted with day-trip options in all directions. Dominating the skyline to the west, Doi Suthep and its eagle’s-nest temple are hard to ignore, and a wander around the pastoral ruins of Wiang Kum Kam on the southern periphery has the feel of fresh exploration. Much further south, the quiet town of Lamphun offers classic sightseeing in the form of historically and religiously significant temples and a museum. To the north, the Mae Sa valley may be full of tour buses, but its highlights, the Queen Sirikit Botanic Gardens, the intriguing Elephant Poopoopaper Park and the Siam Insect Zoo, as well as the nearby lake of Huay Tung Tao and Darapirom Palace, merit an independent jaunt. Distinctly missable, however, is the Chiang Mai Night Safari to the southwest of the city, which has encroached on land belonging to Doi Suthep National Park, and even announced as an opening promotion when it was launched in 2006 that the meat of all the animals on display would also be available in its restaurant (though the offer has now been withdrawn) – much better to spend your money at Chiang Mai Zoo.
All the excursions described here can be done in half a day; not all of them are covered by public transport, but a car with driver arranged through a Chiang Mai guesthouse should cost you around B1000 for a half-day local trip. There are also some good options for longer jaunts that could be done in a day out of Chiang Mai, notably to Doi Inthanon National Park, to Lampang and the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre and to the Elephant Nature Park.
A jaunt up DOI SUTHEP, the mountain which rises steeply at the city’s western edge, is the most satisfying brief trip you can make from Chiang Mai, chiefly on account of beautiful Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which dominates the hillside and gives a towering view over the goings-on in town. This is the north’s holiest shrine, its pre-eminence deriving from a magic relic enshrined in its chedi and the miraculous legend of its founding. The original chedi was built by King Ku Na at the end of the fourteenth century, after the glowing relic of Wat Suan Dork had self-multiplied just before being enshrined. A place had to be found for the clone, so Ku Na put it in a travelling shrine on the back of a white elephant and waited to see where the sacred animal would lead: it eventually climbed Doi Suthep, trumpeted three times, turned round three times, knelt down and died, thereby indicating that this was the spot. Ever since, it’s been northern Thailand’s most important place of pilgrimage, especially for the candlelit processions on Makha Puja, the anniversary of the sermon to the disciples, and Visakha Puja, the anniversary of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, when thousands of people walk up to the temple through the night from Chiang Mai.
Park headquarters are about 1km beyond the wat • B200 • 053 210244, nps.dnp.go.th
A signpost halfway up the road to the temple is about the only indication that you’re in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, which also encompasses the 1685m peak of Doi Pui to the northwest of Doi Suthep; however, an entry fee is not levied if you are only visiting the wat, Phuping Palace and Ban Doi Pui, a highly commercialized Hmong village near the palace that’s worth avoiding. Despite the nearness of the city, the park’s rich mixed forests support 330 species of bird and are a favoured site for nature study, second in the north only to the larger and less-disturbed Doi Inthanon National Park.
About 5km from the base of the mountain road, a road on the right leads 3km to Mon Tha Than Falls, a beautiful spot, believed by some to be home to evil spirits. The higher fall is an idyllic 5m drop into a small bathing pool, completely overhung by thick, humming jungle.
B30, or B50 including the cable car • doisuthep.com • Monk Chat (a chance to talk to the monks in English), southwest corner of the lower terrace Mon–Sat 9am–5pm • Meditation courses are held here
Khruba Srivijaya
Khruba Srivijaya, widely regarded as the “patron saint” of northern Thailand, was born in 1878 in a small village 100km south of Chiang Mai. His birth coincided with a supernatural thunderstorm and earthquake, after which he was given the auspicious nickname Faa Rawng (Thunder) until he joined the monkhood. Appointed abbot of his local temple by the age of 24, he came to be regarded as something of a rebel – though a hugely popular one among the people of Lanna. Despite the suspicions of the Sangha, both locally and in Bangkok, he became abbot of Lamphun’s Wat Chama Thevi, which he set about restoring with gusto. This was the beginning of a tireless campaign to breathe life into Buddhist worship in the north by renovating its religious sites: over a hundred temples got the Khruba treatment, including Chiang Mai’s Wat Phra Singh, Wat Phra That Haripunjaya in Lamphun and Wat Phra That Doi Tung near Mae Sai, as well as bridges, schools and government buildings. His greatest work, however, was the construction in 1935 of the paved road up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which beforehand could only be reached after a climb of at least five hours. The road was constructed entirely by the voluntary labour of people from all over the north, using the most primitive tools. The project gained such fame that it attracted donations of B20 million, and on any one day as many as four thousand people were working on it. So that people didn’t get in each other’s way, Khruba Srivijaya declared that each village should contribute 15m of road, but as more volunteers flocked to Chiang Mai, this figure had to be reduced to 3m. The road was completed after just six months, and Khruba Srivijaya took the first ride to the temple in a donated car.
When Khruba Srivijaya died back in his native village in 1938, Rama VIII was so moved that he sponsored a royal cremation ceremony. The monk’s relics were divided up and are now enshrined at Wat Suan Dork in Chiang Mai, Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao in Lampang and at many other holy places throughout the north. There’s a statue of him at the end of Thanon Huai Kaeo, where the road to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep starts, and you’ll see photos of him in temples, shops and restaurants all over the north, where Khruba amulets are still hugely popular, eighty years after his death.
Opposite a car park and souvenir village, 11km from the base of the mountain road, a flight of three hundred naga-flanked steps – or the adjacent cable car – is the last leg on the way to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. From the temple’s lower terrace, the magnificent views of Chiang Mai and the surrounding plain, 300m below, are best in the early morning or late afternoon in the cool season, though peaceful contemplation of the view is frequently shattered by people sounding the heavy, dissonant bells around the terrace – they’re supposed to bring good luck. At the northwestern corner is a 2m-high statue of the elephant, which, so the story goes, expired on this spot.
Before going to the upper terrace you have to remove your shoes – and if you’re showing a bit of knee or shoulder, the temple provides wraps to cover your impoliteness. This terrace is possibly the most harmonious piece of temple architecture in Thailand, a dazzling combination of red, green and gold in the textures of carved wood, filigree and gleaming metal – even the tinkling of the miniature bells and the rattling of fortune sticks seem to keep the rhythm. A cloister, decorated with gaudy murals, tightly encloses the terrace, leaving room only for a couple of small minor viharns and the altars and ceremonial gold umbrellas which surround the central focus of attention, the chedi. This dazzling gold-plated beacon, a sixteenth-century extension of Ku Na’s original, was modelled on the chedi at Wat Phra That Haripunjaya in Lamphun – which previously had been the region’s most significant shrine – and has now become a venerated emblem of northern Thailand. Look out for an old black-and-white photograph opposite the northeastern corner of the chedi, showing a cockerel that used to peck the feet of visitors who entered with their shoes on.
4km up the paved road from the wat • Daily 8.30am–4.30pm, last ticket sales 3.30pm; usually closed between Jan and March when the royals are in residence • B50 • bhubingpalace.org • Dress politely – no shorts or bare shoulders
Phuping Palace is the residence for the royals when they come to visit their village development projects in the north. There’s a viewpoint over the hills to the south, rose and fern gardens and some pleasant trails through the grounds, but the buildings themselves are off-limits.
Arrival and departureDoi Suthep
The best way to get up the mountain is in a rented vehicle, allowing you to stop along the way to admire the views. The road, although steep and winding, is paved and well suited for motorbikes.
By shared songthaew Red shared songthaews to Doi Suthep leave from Thanon Huai Kaeo in front of the zoo or Chiang Mai University, but will only set off once they have a complement of at least six passengers (B40 one-way to the wat; at least B70 one-way to Phuping Palace, for which you’re likely to have to wait a bit longer for a full complement of passengers). Some Doi Suthep shared songthaews also hang out on Thanon Manee Noparat near Chang Puak Gate and at Wat Phra Singh, but you’re probably going to have to wait longer for enough passengers to show up here and/or have to pay the driver a bit more money to get him to go.
By chartered vehicle It costs around B600 to charter a whole songthaew, about B800 to arrange a car and driver through your guesthouse.
On foot It’s possible to walk up the mountainside along the scenic Pilgrims’ Trail from the outskirts of Chiang Mai to the temple in about 1hr 30min (without stops). To get to the trailhead, go to the end of Thanon Suthep and turn right, following signs for the zoo (the back entrance), which will bring you to the signboards at the start of the path by a red and white, Channel 7 TV mast (for further details, go to globotreks.com/destinations/thailand-destinations/hiking-monks-trail-wat-pha-lat-chiang-mai/). About halfway up, you’ll reach Wat Palad, a pretty, tranquil and rustic temple by a waterfall, after which you’ll need to cross the main road up the mountain to regain the trail.
5km south of Chiang Mai city centre, beyond the Superhighway, on the east bank of the Ping River
The well-preserved and little-visited ruins of the ancient city of WIANG KUM KAM – traditionally regarded as the prototype for Chiang Mai – are hidden away in the picturesque, rural fringe of town. According to folklore, Wiang Kum Kam was built by King Mengrai as his new capital of the north, but was soon abandoned because of inundation when the Ping River changed course. Recent excavations, however, have put paid to that theory: Wiang Kum Kam was in fact established much earlier, as one of a cluster of fortified satellite towns that surrounded the Mon capital at Lamphun. After Mengrai had conquered Lamphun in 1281, he resided at Kum Kam for a while, raising a chedi, a viharn and several Buddha statues before moving on to build Chiang Mai. Wiang Kum Kam was abandoned some time before 1750, probably as a result of a Burmese invasion. About half of Wiang Kum Kam’s 22 known temple sites have now been excavated, along with a stone slab (now housed in the Chiang Mai National Museum) inscribed in a unique forerunner of the Thai script.
SKY LANTERNS AT LOY KRATHONG
1km south of the Superhighway on the east bank of the river
Head first for Chedi Si Liam, which provides a useful landmark: this Mon chedi, in the shape of a tall, squared-off pyramid with niched Buddha images, was built by Mengrai in memory of his dead wife. Modelled on Wat Kukut in Lamphun, it was restored in 1908 by a wealthy Mon resident of Chiang Mai using Burmese artisans and is still part of a working temple.
About 2km from Chedi Si Liam: backtrack along the river road you’ve travelled down from Chiang Mai, take the first right turn, turn right again and keep left through a scattered farming settlement
Wat Kan Thom (aka Wat Chang Kham) lay at the centre of the old city and is still an important place of worship. Archeologists were only able to get at the site after much of it had been levelled by bulldozers building a playground for the adjacent school, but they have managed to uncover the brick foundations of Mengrai’s viharn. The modern shrine next to it is where Mengrai’s soul is said to reside. Also in the grounds are a white chedi and a small viharn, both much restored, and a large new viharn displaying fine craftsmanship.
If you have your own transport, from here you can head off along the trails through the thick foliage of the longan plantations to the northwest of Wat Kan Thom, back towards Chedi Si Liam. On this route, you come across surprisingly well-preserved chedis and the red-brick walls of Wiang Kum Kam’s temples in a handful of shady clearings set between rural dwellings.
Arrival and departureWiang Kum Kam
By boat and horse carriage A nice way of seeing Wiang Kum Kam is on a trip with Mae Ping River Cruises (2–4 daily, minimum 2 people; 2hr altogether; B800/person including pick-up from your accommodation), which involves a 15min cruise down the river followed by a horse-and-carriage ride around six of the temples.
By motorbike or bicycle About 3km square, the ancient city can be explored on a bicycle or a motorbike, though it’s easy to get lost in the maze of lanes connecting the ruins. If you’re happy to look around under your own steam, the best way to approach Wiang Kum Kam is by heading down Thanon Chiang Mai–Lamphun, then forking right at Nong Hoi market (a short way after the Holiday Inn) onto Thanon Koh Klang, which will bring you under the Superhighway to Chedi Si Liam.
Though capital of its own province, LAMPHUN lives in the shadow of the tourist attention (and baht) showered on Chiang Mai, 26km to the north. Yet for anyone interested in history, a visit to this former royal city is a must and, if you have your own transport, combines very well with a trip to Wiang Kum Kam. The town’s largely plain architecture is given some character by the surrounding waterways, beyond which stretch lush rice-fields and plantations of lamyai (longan); the sweetness of the local variety is celebrated every year at the peak of the harvest season in early August at the Ngan Lamyai (Longan Festival), when the town comes alive with processions of fruity floats, a drum-beating competition and a Miss Lamyai beauty contest. Lamphun also offers a less frantic alternative to Chiang Mai during the Songkhran and Loy Krathong festivals, the Khuang River being a far less congested place to float your krathong than Chiang Mai’s Ping River. Though the streets of the town are usually sleepy, the ancient working temples of Wat Phra That Haripunjaya and Wat Kukut are lively and worth aiming for on a half-day trip from Chiang Mai.
Lamphun claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in Thailand, and has a history dating back to the late eighth or early ninth century when the ruler of the major Dvaravati centre at Lopburi sent his daughter, Chama Thevi, to found the Theravada Buddhist city-state of Haripunjaya here. Under the dynasty she established, Haripunjaya flourished as a link in the trade route to Yunnan in southwest China and managed to resist coming under the suzerainty of the Khmers at Angkor, who absorbed Lopburi and the other Dvaravati cities in central Thailand in the eleventh century. In 1281, after a decade of scheming, the great Lanna king Mengrai conquered Lamphun and brought it under his control.
Chama Thevi’s planners are said to have based the layout of the town on the shape of an auspicious conch shell. The rough outcome is a rectangle, narrower at the north end than the south, with the Khuang River running down its kilometre-long east side, and moats around the north, west and south sides. The main street, Thanon Inthayongyot, bisects the conch from north to south, while the road to Wat Chama Thevi (Thanon Chama Thevi) heads out from the middle of the west moat.
Easiest access through the rear entrance on Thanon Inthayongyot • Daily 6am–9pm • B20
One of the north’s grandest and most important temples, Wat Phra That Haripunjaya has its bot and ornamental front entrance facing the Khuang River. Its main festival is Visakha Puja, the anniversary of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, which is said to coincide with the anniversary of the temple’s establishment, when the main chedi is bathed in holy water donated by the king. However, the date of its founding is actually hard to fathom: the earliest guess is 897, when the king of Haripunjaya is said to have built a chedi to enshrine a hair of the Buddha on the site of Queen Chama Thevi’s original palace. More certain is the date of the main rebuilding of the temple, under King Tilok of Chiang Mai in 1443, when the present ringed chedi was erected in the then-fashionable Sri Lankan style (later copied at Doi Suthep and Lampang). Clad in brilliant copper plates, it has since been raised to a height of about 50m, crowned by a gold umbrella.
The plain open courtyards around the chedi contain a compendium of religious structures in a wild mix of styles and colours. On the north side, the tiered, twenty-metre-high, Haripunjaya-style pyramid of Chedi Suwanna was built in 1418 as a replica of the chedi at nearby Wat Chama Thevi. You get a whiff of southern Thailand in the open space beyond the Suwanna chedi, where the Chedi Chiang Yan owes its resemblance to a pile of flattened pumpkins to the Srivijayan style. On either side of the viharn (to the east of the main chedi) stand a dark red bell tower, containing what’s claimed to be the world’s largest bronze gong, and a weather-beaten library on a raised base. Just to add to the temple’s mystique, an open pavilion at the southwest corner of the chedi shelters a stone indented with four overlapping footprints, believed by fervent worshippers to confirm an ancient legend that the Buddha once passed this way. Next to the pavilion is a small museum which houses bequests to the temple, including some beautiful Buddha images in the Lanna style. Finally, beside the back entrance, is the Phra Chao Tan Jai, a graceful standing Buddha, surrounded by graphic murals that depict a horrific version of Buddhist hell.
Thanon Inthayongyot, across the road from Wat Phra That Haripunjaya’s back entrance • Wed–Sun 9am–4pm • B100
The Hariphunchai National Museum contains a well-organized but not quite compelling collection of religious finds and stone inscriptions, and occasionally stages some interesting temporary exhibitions. The terracotta and bronze Buddha images here give the best overview of the distinctive features of the Haripunjaya style: large curls above a wide, flat forehead, bulging eyes, incised moustache and enigmatic smile.
Thanon Chama Thevi
Art-history buffs will get a thrill out of Wat Chama Thevi (also known as Wat Kukut), where the main brick chedi, Suwan Chang Kot, which was built around 1150 and repaired in 1218, is the only complete example of Haripunjaya architecture.
Queen Chama Thevi is supposed to have chosen the site by ordering an archer to fire an arrow from the city’s western gate – to retrace his epic shot, follow the road along the National Museum’s southern wall to the west gate at the city moat, and keep going for nearly 1km along Thanon Chama Thevi. Chedi Suwan Chang Kot is five-tiered and rectangular, inset with niches sheltering beautiful, wide-browed Buddha images in stucco, typical of the Haripunjaya style. Believed to enshrine Chama Thevi’s ashes, it lost its pinnacle at some stage, giving rise to the name Wat Kukut, the temple with the “topless” chedi. On your way back to the town centre from Wat Chama Thevi, you might like to pop in at Wat Mahawan, famous for the Buddha image amulets on sale there.
Arrival and departureLamphun
It’s not worth considering catching the train from Chiang Mai to Lamphun as schedules are unreliable and the station there is way out to the northeast of the town centre.
By bus Small, a/c buses from Chiang Mai’s Chang Puak bus station, via Lamyai market on Thanon Praisani, will put you off outside the back entrance of Wat Haripunjaya.
By motorbike or car The direct (and scenic) route from Chiang Mai to Lamphun is Thanon Chiang Mai–Lamphun, which becomes Highway 106, for much of the way a stately avenue lined by 30m-tall yang trees that makes for a pleasant motorbike or car ride.
Accommodation and eating
Lamphun Ice 6 Thanon Chaimongkol 090 891 8708. This neat little a/c place with nice booth tables serves tasty Thai food at reasonable prices, with simple dishes such as chicken on rice starting at B35, as well as delicious homemade longan ice cream and espresso coffees; it’s conveniently situated on the road that runs along the south wall of Wat Haripunjaya. Daily except Fri 11am–10pm.
Lamphun Will Hotel Thanon Chama Thevi opposite Wat Kukut 053 534865–6, lamphunwillhotel.com. It’s unlikely you’ll want to stay overnight in Lamphun, but this reasonably stylish, 80-room hotel is a decent choice. There’s a swimming pool, a restaurant, and en-suite, hot-water bathrooms, a/c, fridges and cable TV in all the bedrooms. B1500
Signed off Thanon Chon Prathan (Canal Rd) about 10km north of Chiang Mai, just before it joins Highway 107 (the continuation of Thanon Chotana); it’s then 2km northwest from the turn-off to the paved road around the lake
With your own transport, Huay Tung Tao, a large man-made lake at the base of Doi Suthep, is a great place to cool off during the hot season; it’s safe to swim in, with canoes and inner tubes to rent, and is also used by anglers and windsurfers. Wooden shelters along the water’s edge provide shade from the sun, and you can order simple food such as sticky rice, grilled chicken and som tam.
16km north of Chiang Mai in Mae Rim: look out for a sign on the left of Highway 107 just before Mae Rim police station, then it’s about 400m from the turn-off • Tues–Sun 9am–5pm • B20 • 053 299175, chula.ac.th
In Mae Rim, a small market town that’s now almost a suburb of Chiang Mai, the Darapirom Palace is a gorgeous colonial-style building from the early twentieth century. The palace was once the home of Princess Dara Rasamee (1873–1933), daughter of Chao Inthanon, the lord of Chiang Mai, who became the favourite concubine of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in the days before Chiang Mai was fully integrated into the Siamese state. Extremely proud of her northern heritage – and now something of a heroine to lovers of Lanna culture – the princess had this residence built in 1914, a few years after Chulalongkorn’s death, when she returned from Bangkok to live out her later years in her homeland. Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University has opened the palace as a museum, featuring period furnishings and many items that once belonged to the princess. Photographs of her show her knee-length hair – which contrasted strongly with the fashion among Siamese women of the time to sport short-cropped hair – and the various rooms of the museum display her wardrobe and personal effects including musical instruments.
About 1km north of central Mae Rim on Highway 107, Route 1096, a good sealed road, heads west up the valley
Running west from Mae Rim, the Mae Sa valley has the atmosphere of a theme park, sheltering a menagerie of snake farms, monkey shows, elephant camps, tiger sanctuaries, “adventure sports” venues, and orchid and butterfly farms, but its highlight, the lovely botanic gardens, is well worth the trip. The main Route 1096 through the valley also passes the unspectacular Mae Sa Waterfall (part of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park; B200), where you can walk up a peaceful trail passing lots of little cascades along the way. Once you’ve seen all you want to in the valley, you have the option of continuing west for a scenic drive in the country: turn left on to Route 1269 before Samoeng, and follow this road as it swoops up and down over hills, skirting all the way round Doi Suthep to join Highway 108 8km south of Chiang Mai, a two-hour drive in all.
200m up Route 1096 from the Mae Rim turn-off, turn right for about 1km (signposted) • Daily 9am–5.30pm • B100 • poopoopaperpark.com
Elephants eat between 200 and 500kg of food every day, and download the results 15–20 times a day, so what’s to be done with this mountain of dung? Elephant Poopoopaper Park provides an unlikely but eco-friendly, sustainable and fair-trade answer, that’s also a lot of fun for all the family and surprisingly odour-free (given the creatures’ speedy digestive systems). Entertaining tours guide you through the stages of turning poo into paper in a pretty garden setting, and there are plenty of hands-on activities including the chance to screen the pulp mixture to make sheets. Everything from greeting cards to sun visors made out of the coarse, colourful paper is on sale, and kids of all ages will love customizing their souvenirs with their own designs.
4km up Route 1096 from the Mae Rim turn-off, turn right (signposted) and it’s 100m on your right • Daily 9am–5pm • B200 • siaminsectzoo.com
Founded by a professor of entomology, Siam Insect Zoo shelters just about anything that creeps or crawls in Thailand – whether alive in cages or pinned in glass cases – plus hundreds of specimens from around the world. Detailed labels and display boards in English explain how insects see and how cockroaches can survive decapitation for weeks, and you’ll get the chance to handle caterpillars and stick insects with staff supervision. Outside is a delightful butterfly garden, covered with netting and landscaped with streams and bridges. There’s also an insect-themed souvenir shop and a nice little café.
12km up Route 1096 from the Mae Rim turn-off • Daily 8.30am–5pm, Natural Science Museum daily 9am–4pm • B100, plus B100 per car • Shuttle buses B30 (unlimited rides) • qsbg.org
The magnificent Queen Sirikit Botanic Gardens, which offer fine views across the mountain valley, are the main reason for coming to Mae Sa. If you are at all botanically inclined, you could easily spend half a day here, exploring the four nature trails that link its arboretum, ornamental beds, fern garden, orchid nursery, areas of climbers and medicinal plants and a complex of a dozen glasshouses. There’s also a vertiginous canopy walkway with great views near the top of the park and an interesting and attractive Natural Science Museum, with English labels, to put things in context. Hop-on, hop-off shuttle buses run around the steep, extensive grounds, if the heat gets too much; cars are also allowed to drive round, but motorbikes must park at the entrance.
EatingMae Sa valley
Pongyang Angdoi Restaurant About 500m beyond the botanic gardens on the south side of the road 053 879151, facebook.com/pongyangangdoirestaurant. By far the best place to eat hereabouts (most dishes B150–200), set on terraced platforms overlooking landscaped gardens and the Mae Sa river. Specialities include muu det diaw, sun-dried then deep-fried pork, and kaeng khua het thawp, a delicious curry made with a highly prized local fungus. Daily 10.30am–8.30pm, closes 5pm on Wed.
Around 50km southeast of Chiang Mai • B100 • 053 546335, nps.dnp.go.th
One of three major national parks close to Chiang Mai, along with Suthep and Inthanon, DOI KHUN TAN NATIONAL PARK is accessible by train from Chiang Mai and Bangkok: a 1352m-long rail tunnel, the longest in Thailand, built between 1907 and 1918 by German engineers and Thai workers (of whom over a thousand died due to accidents, malaria and tigers), cuts through the mountain that gives the park its name. Despite this, and the fact that the king has famously holidayed here, the park remains unspoiled, but has enough infrastructure to encourage overnighting. The park is most popular on weekends, when groups of Thai schoolchildren visit, and during the cool season.
Covering 255 square kilometres, the park’s vegetation varies from bamboo forest at an altitude of 350m to tropical evergreen forest between 600m and 1000m; the 1373m summit of Doi Khun Tan is known for its wild flowers, including orchids, gingers and lilies. Most of the small mammal species in the park are squirrels, but you’re more likely to see some birds, with over 182 species found here.
The park’s trails are clearly marked, ranging from short nature trails around the park headquarters (where maps are available) to the major trail that leads to the summit of Doi Khun Tan – with impressive views of the surrounding countryside, it’s clear how it fulfilled its role as a World War II military lookout. This main 8.3km trail from the train station to the summit, though steep, is very easy, divided into four quarters of approximately 2km each, with each quarter ending at a resting place. While you shouldn’t have a problem getting to the summit and back in a day, a more rewarding option is to do the walk in two days, staying overnight in the bungalows or at one of the campsites along the trail. Alternatively, you can take a circular route to the summit and back, forsaking a large chunk of the main trail for a subsidiary trail that curves around the north side, taking in a waterfall.
Arrival and departureDoi Khun Tan National Park
By train There are three morning trains daily from Chiang Mai to Khun Tan station on their way to Lampang and beyond, and there’s one evening train back (scheduled for 6.23pm), making a day-trip by rail from Chiang Mai possible. The park headquarters is a 1300m walk up the summit trail from the train station.
Destinations Bangkok (5 daily; 11–13hr); Chiang Mai (6 daily; 1hr 30min); Lampang (6 daily; 50min).
By car or motorbike A car or motorbike can take you to the park headquarters, though no further: from Chiang Mai follow Highway 11 to the turn-off to Mae Tha and head northeast for 18km, following signs for the park.
Accommodation and eating
If you want to stay in the park, consider booking in advance through the Department of National Parks website (nps.dnp.go.th). There’s a basic restaurant at the headquarters and beside the bungalows.
Bungalows The park’s bungalows, scattered for over 1km up the main trail from the headquarters, are mostly spacious and well-appointed log cabins with hot-water bathrooms, sleeping up to six people. Some have outside seating areas with great views over the rolling hills. B500
Camping There’s a well-equipped (and often very busy) campsite near the park headquarters; if you don’t have your own tent you can rent one here. B150
A high road pass and a train tunnel breach the narrow, steep belt of mountains between Chiang Mai and LAMPANG, the north’s second-largest town, 100km to the southeast. Lampang is an important transport hub – Highway 11, Highway 1 and the Northern Rail Line all converge here – and given its undeniably low-key attractions, nearly all travellers sail through it on their way to the more trumpeted sights further north. But unlike most other provincial capitals, Lampang has the look of a place where history has not been completely wiped out: houses, shops and temples survive in the traditional style, and the town makes few concessions to tourism. Out of town, the beautiful complex of Wat Phra That Lampang Luang is the main attraction in these parts, but while you’re in the neighbourhood you could also stop by to watch a show at the Elephant Conservation Centre, on the road from Chiang Mai.
The modern centre of Lampang sprawls along the south side of the Wang River, with its most frenetic commercial activity taking place along Thanon Boonyawat and Thanon Robwiang near Ratchada Bridge. Here, you’ll find stalls and shops selling the famous local pottery, a kitsch combination of whites, blues and browns, made from the area’s rich and durable kaolin clay. On all street signs around town, and in larger-than-life statues at key intersections, is a white chicken. This symbol of Lampang relates to a legend concerning the Buddha, who sent down angels from Heaven in the form of chickens to wake up the local inhabitants in time to offer alms to the monks at the end of Buddhist Lent. Perhaps the town’s image as a laidback, sleepy place is justified in the light of this tale.
Founded as Kelang Nakhon by the ninth-century Haripunjaya queen Chama Thevi, Lampang became important enough for one of her two sons to rule here after her death. After King Mengrai’s conquest of Haripunjaya in 1281, Lampang suffered much the same ups and downs as the rest of Lanna, enjoying a burst of prosperity as a timber town at the end of the nineteenth century, when it supported a population of twenty thousand people and four thousand working elephants. Many of its temples are financially endowed by the waves of outsiders who have settled in Lampang: refugees from Chiang Saen (who were forcibly resettled here by Rama I at the beginning of the nineteenth century), Burmese teak-loggers and, more recently, rich Thai pensioners attracted by the town’s sedate charm.
Thanon Phra Kaeo, 1km northeast of the Ratchada Bridge
Lampang’s few sights are well scattered; the best place to start is on the north side of the river (the site of the original Haripunjaya settlement), whose leafy suburbs today contain the town’s most important and interesting temple, Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao. An imposing, rather forbidding complex, the temple was founded in the fifteenth century to enshrine the Phra Kaew Don Tao image, now residing at Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. For 32 years it also housed the Emerald Buddha (local stories aver this to be a copy of Phra Kaew Don Tao), a situation that came about when an elephant carrying the holy image from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai made an unscheduled and therefore auspicious halt here in 1436. The small museum at the back of the compound displays some dainty china among its exhibits, but its main focus is woodcarving, a craft at which Burmese artisans excel.
The clean, simple lines of the white, gold-capped chedi, which is reputed to contain a hair of the Buddha, form a shining backdrop to the wat’s most interesting building, a Burmese mondop stacked up in extravagantly carved tiers; it was built in 1909 by craftsmen from the local Burmese community, employed for the task by a Thai prince (whose British-style coat of arms can be seen on the ceiling inside). All gilt and gaudy coloured glass, the interior decoration is a real fright, mixing Oriental and European influences, with some incongruously cute little cherubs on the ceiling. The mondop’s boyish bronze centrepiece has the typical features of a Mandalay Buddha, with its jewelled headband, inset black and white eyes, and exaggerated, dangling ears, which denote the Buddha’s supernatural ability to hear everything in the universe. In front of the Buddha is an image of Khruba Srivijaya, the north’s most venerated monk.
6 Thanon Ratwattana • Daily 10am–5pm • B50
Not far from Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao can be found Ban Sao Nak (“house of many pillars”), a private museum containing a fine display of ceramics, lacquerware and teak furnishings. Built in 1895 in a mixture of Burmese and Lanna styles, this sprawling wooden mansion is supported by a maze of 116 teak pillars and contains some interesting fading photographs of its former occupants, who were local notables. Here and outside, in the carefully landscaped grounds, you’ll get a sense of how life would have been for the north’s wealthier residents at the turn of the twentieth century.
Thanon Sri Chum, a 5min walk south of Thanon Robwiang
The Burmese who worked on Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao were brought to Lampang in the late nineteenth century when, after the British conquest of Upper Burma, timber companies expanded their operations as far as northern Thailand. Fearing that the homeless spirits of fallen trees would seek vengeance, the Burmese loggers often sponsored the building of temples, most of which still stand, to try to appease the tree spirits and gain merit. Though the spirits had to wait nearly a century, they seem to have got their revenge: due to a short circuit in some dodgy wiring, the viharn of Wat Sri Chum, which is the biggest Burmese temple in Thailand as well as the most important and beautiful Burmese temple in town, was damaged by fire in 1992. Now restored to its former glory, with fresh carvings and murals by Burmese craftsmen, it’s sited in a small grove of bodhi trees.
Towards the west end of Thanon Takrao Noi
To get more of a flavour of Myanmar, head for 100-year-old Wat Sri Rong Muang, which presents a dazzling ensemble: the crazy angles of its red-and-yellow roof shelter Mandalay Buddhas and several extravagantly carved gilt sermon-thrones, swimming in a glittering sea of coloured-glass wall tiles.
South bank of the river • Walking street Sat & Sun roughly 5–10pm
When you’ve had your fill of temples, Thanon Talat Kao, the “Old Market Street”, is good for a quiet stroll in the early morning. It has some very old shophouses and mansions, with intricate balconies and gables and unusual sunburst designs carved over some of the doors, showing a mixture of European, Burmese and Chinese influences – it used to house the offices of English and Burmese logging companies and was known as Talat Jiin, “Chinese market” (or in northern dialect, Kad Kong Ta, which means “Pier Street Market”), but went into decline with the advent of the railway in 1916. On Saturday and Sunday evenings, Talat Kao comes to life as a “walking street”, similar to those in Chiang Mai, with food, clothes, silk and other crafts for sale and musicians playing. (There’s a smaller walking street market on Friday early evening just across the river on Thanon Wang Nuea.)
18km southwest of Lampang • Blue songthaews from Lampang’s Thanon Robwiang run to Kor Kha, about 3km south of Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, every 30min (B40), but then you’ll have to hire a motorbike taxi to take you to the temple and pay the driver to wait for you; alternatively, one of the Kor Kha songthaew drivers, Khun Awt, is now offering to continue to the temple once a day (departing Lampang at 11.30am), with a pick up at 6pm, charging B100/person return (ask at the municipal tourist office if you want more information)
A grand and well-preserved capsule of Lanna art and design, Wat Phra That Lampang Luang is one of the architectural highlights of northern Thailand. The wat was built early in the Haripunjaya era as a wiang (fortress), one of a satellite group around Lampang – you can still see remains of the threefold ramparts in the farming village around the temple. Outside the wat, simple snacks, handicrafts and antiques can be bought from market stalls. If you’re driving yourself to the temple, head south from Lampang on Highway 1, then cross the bridge over the Wang River at Kor Kha and turn right, heading north for about 3km on Route 1034; if you’re coming from Chiang Mai or the elephant centre, just after Hang Chat (before you reach Lampang) turn right off Highway 11 onto Route 1034.
At the main entrance, a naga staircase leads you up to a wedding cake of a gatehouse, richly decorated with stucco, which is set in the original brick boundary walls. Just inside, the oversized fifteenth-century viharn is open on all sides in classic Lanna fashion, and shelters a spectacular centrepiece: known as a ku, a feature found only in the viharns of northern Thailand, this gilded brick tower looks like a bonfire for the main Buddha image sitting inside, the Phra Chao Lan Thong. Tall visitors need to mind their heads on the panels hanging from the low eaves, which are decorated with attractive, though fading, early nineteenth-century paintings of the Jataka (the Buddha’s previous lives), showing battles, palaces and nobles in traditional Burmese gear.
The temple’s main walled compound is home to no fewer than four other viharns. In front of the murky, beautifully decorated viharn to the left, look out for a wooden tung chai carved with flaming, coiled nagas, used as a heraldic banner for northern princes. The battered, cosy Viharn Nam Tame, second back on the right, dates to the early sixteenth century. Its drooping roof configuration is archetypal: divided into three tiers, each of which is divided again into two layers, it ends up almost scraping the ground. Under the eaves you can just make out fragments of panel paintings, as old as the viharn, illustrating a story of one of the exploits of the Hindu god Indra.
Dating from the fifteenth century, the wat’s huge central chedi enshrines a hair of the Buddha and ashes from the right side of his forehead and neck. By its northwest corner, a sign points to a drainage hole in the wat’s boundary wall, once the scene of an unlikely act of derring-do: in 1736, local hero Thip Chang managed to wriggle through the tiny hole and free the wiang from the occupying Burmese, before going on to liberate the whole of Lampang.
At the chedi’s southwest corner, the Haw Phra Phuttabhat (no entry for women) is a small chamber that acts as a camera obscura. If you close the door behind you, an image of the chedi is projected through a small hole in the door onto a sheet hung from the ceiling.
A gate in the south side of the main compound’s boundary wall leads first to a spreading bodhi tree on crutches: merit-makers have donated hundreds of supports to prop up its drooping branches. The tree, with its own small shrine standing underneath, is believed to be inhabited by spirits, and the sick are sometimes brought here in search of a cure.
The path beyond the bodhi tree will bring you to a small, unimpressive viharn to the west of the main compound, which is the home of Phra Kaew Don Tao, the much-revered companion image to Bangkok’s Emerald Buddha, and the wat’s main focus of pilgrimage. Legend has it that the statuette first appeared in the form of an emerald found in a watermelon presented by a local woman to a venerated monk. The two of them tried to carve a Buddha out of the emerald, without much success, until the god Indra appeared and fashioned the marvellous image, at which point the ungrateful townsfolk accused the monk of having an affair with the woman and put her to death, thus bringing down upon the town a series of disasters which confirmed the image’s awesome power. In all probability, the image was carved at the beginning of the fifteenth century, when its namesake wat in Lampang was founded. Peering through the rows of protective bars inside the viharn, you can just make out the tiny meditating Buddha, which is actually made of jasper, not emerald. Like the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, Phra Kaew Don Tao has three costumes, one for each season of the year.
21km from Lampang on Highway 11, en route to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre
If you have your own vehicle, the Thung Kwian market (open daily) offers not only a useful stop for refreshments near the elephant centre, but also a chance to view the panoply of products on sale – rabbits and birds, honeycombs, bugs and creepy-crawlies of every description. This is a favourite spot for city Thais to pick up some exotic taste to take back home with them.
The Thai Elephant Conservation Centre
30km west of Lampang on Highway 11 • Shows daily at 10am, 11am & 1.30pm, with the chance to see the elephants bathing at 9.40am & 1.10pm • B200 • 054 829333, thailandelephant.org • The centre is on the bus route between Chiang Mai and Lampang; from the gates, there are regular shuttle buses into the elephant showground 2km away
The Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (aka the National Elephant Institute) is the most authentic and worthwhile place in Thailand to see elephants displaying their skills. Entertaining shows put the elephants through their paces, with plenty of loud trumpeting for their audience. After some photogenic bathing, they walk together in formation and go through a routine of pushing and dragging logs, then proceed to paint pictures and play custom-made instruments. You can feed them bananas and sugar cane after the show, and even take a ride on one (available daily 8am–3.30pm) – B500 gets you thirty minutes (maximum two people), while B1000 gives you an hour’s ride, with a chance to get out into the nearby forest (longer day-trips, overnight treks and mahout training programmes are also on offer – see the website). Visitors are also free to look around the hospital (best in the early morning), but not the royal stables, where six of Rama IX’s ten white elephants are kept.
Run by the Thai government, the conservation centre was originally set up in 1969 in another nearby location as a young elephant-training centre, the earliest of its kind in Thailand. However, since the ban on logging, the new centre, opened in 1992, emphasizes the preservation of the elephant in Thailand. By promoting ecotourism the centre is providing employment for the elephants and enabling Thai people to continue their historically fond relationship with these animals. Money raised from entrance fees and donations helps to finance the elephant hospital here, which cares for sick, abused, ageing and abandoned elephants. The centre has three simple restaurants on site, and offers the possibility of homestays and bungalow accommodation (from B1000; see the website for more details).
Arrival and departureLampang
By plane Bangkok Airways (Suvarnabhumi Airport; 3 daily; 1hr 30min) and Nok Air (Don Muang Airport; 4 daily; 1hr 20min) run flights from Bangkok. The airport is just south of town, and songthaews and a/c taxis are on hand for the short ride to the centre.
By train The train station lies less than 1km southwest of the centre of Lampang (listed on some timetables as “Nakhon Lampang”). A shared yellow-and-green songthaew from here to the centre costs B20/person.
The elephant in Thailand
To Thais the elephant has profound spiritual significance, derived from both Hindu and Buddhist mythologies. Carvings and statues of Ganesh, the Hindu god with an elephant’s head, feature on ancient temples and modern shrines all over the country and, as the god of knowledge and remover of obstacles, Ganesh has been adopted as the symbol of the Fine Arts Department – and is thus depicted on all entrance tickets to historical sites. The Hindu deity Indra rarely appears without his three-headed elephant mount Erawan, and miniature devotional elephant effigies are sold at major Brahmin shrines, such as Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine. In Buddhist legend, the future Buddha’s mother was able to conceive only after she dreamt that a white elephant had entered her womb: that is why elephant balustrades encircle many of the Buddhist temples of Sukhothai, and why the rare white elephant is accorded royal status and featured on the national flag until 1917.
The practical role of the elephant in Thailand was once almost as great as its symbolic importance, and it’s thought that elephants were first captured and tamed over four thousand years ago. The kings of Ayutthaya relied on elephants to take them into battle against the Burmese – one king assembled a trained elephant army of three hundred – and during the nineteenth century King Rama IV offered Abraham Lincoln a male and a female to “multiply in the forests of America” and to use in the Civil War. In times of peace, the phenomenal strength of the elephant has made it invaluable as a beast of burden and transport: elephants hauled the stone from which the gargantuan Khmer temple complexes of the northeast were built, and for centuries they have been used to clear forests and carry timber and people.
The traditional cycle for domestic elephants born in captivity was to spend the first three years of their lives with their mothers (who are pregnant for 18–22 months and would get five years’ maternity leave), before being separated and raised with other calves in training schools. Each elephant was then looked after by a mahout (kwan chang), a trainer, keeper and driver rolled into one. Traditionally the mahout would have stayed with the elephant for the rest of its life, but nowadays this rarely happens, as being a mahout is seen as a low-status job.
Training began with mahouts taking months to systematically break down the elephants’ natural instincts – training methods often included being confined to tiny pens, and starved or beaten. Over the next thirteen years the elephant was taught about forty different commands, from simple “stop” and “go” orders to complex instructions for hooking and passing manoeuvres with the trunk. By the age of 16, elephants were ready to be put to work and were expected to carry on working until they reached 50 or 60, when they were retired.
Today there are around 2500 domesticated elephants in Thailand and the population of wild elephants is thought to be under two thousand – down from a roughly estimated total population of one hundred thousand in 1900 (the Asian elephant is now officially classified as an endangered species). Mechanized logging destroyed the wild elephant’s preferred river-valley grassland and forest habitats, forcing them into isolated upland pockets that have shrunk even further due to agricultural expansion. The 1989 ban on commercial logging within Thai borders – after the 1988 catastrophe when the effects of deforestation caused mudslides that killed a hundred people and wiped out villages in Surat Thani province – came too late.
A small number of elephants still work in the illegal teak-logging trade along the border with Myanmar, and some are used as cute begging props, but most mahouts struggle to find the vast amount of food needed to sustain their charges – about 125kg per beast per day. Tourism was touted as an alternative to unemployment for elephants and their mahouts, though it’s been a mixed blessing to say the least, as the elephants are often poorly treated, overworked or downright abused. Along with most major tourist companies we don’t recommend riding elephants – if you want to interact with these magnificent beasts, then it’s far better for the elephant (and many would say more rewarding for the tourist) to “walk” with them in their natural environment, tracking them and keeping at a respectful distance. Thailand has emerged at the forefront of ethical elephant tourism and places near Chiang Mai like the Elephant Nature Park and Burm and Emily’s Elephant Sanctuary (bees-elesanctuary.org) are open to visitors or volunteers.
If you really must ride an elephant, do your research and consider somewhere like the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, where the mahouts are well trained, the howdahs (saddles) are well designed, and where the animals get plenty of shade and carry a maximum of two people at a time for limited periods each day.
Destinations Bangkok (5 daily; 10–12hr); Chiang Mai (6 daily; 2hr–2hr 30min).
By bus The bus station is southwest of the town centre, just off the bypass, though some buses also make a stop on Thanon Phaholyothin in the centre. Yellow-and-green songthaews wait at the edge of the terminal, departing when full up (B20/person within the city).
Destinations Bangkok (at least hourly, with a concentration of overnight buses leaving around 8–9pm; 8hr); Chiang Mai (roughly every 30min; 1hr 30min–2hr); Chiang Rai (roughly every 30min; 4–5hr); Kanchanaburi (3 daily; 9hr); Mae Sai (1 daily; 5hr); Nan (7 daily; 4hr); Phitsanulok (roughly hourly; 4hr); Phrae (roughly hourly; 1hr 30min–2hr 30min); Sukhothai (over 20 daily; 4hr); Tak (roughly every 30min; 2hr 30min).
Getting around
The town centre can be covered on foot, but there are alternatives, including the town’s horse-drawn carriages.
By songthaew There are plenty of shared yellow-and-green songthaews that cruise the streets looking for custom (B20/person within the city).
By bicycle or motorbike Bicycles are available free at the municipal tourist office (bring your passport to photocopy). They can be rented (B50–60/day) at R-Lampang and Riverside guesthouses or at O-Zone on Thanon Tipchang (081 287 5527), who also have motorbikes (B250–500/day).
By rented car Avis (avisthailand.com) is based at the airport but will deliver and collect anywhere in Lampang.
Information
Tourist information The helpful, clued-up municipal tourist information centre (Mon–Fri 9am–4.30pm, plus Sat 9am–noon in high season; 054 237229), just west of the clocktower and next to the fire station on Thanon Takrao Noi, can provide a map of the town, which shows horse-drawn carriage routes. The TAT office is on Thanon Baan Chiangrai (daily 8.30am–4.30pm; 054 222214–5).
Accommodation
Auangkham Resort Thanon Wang Nuea 054 221305–6, auangkhamlampang.com; map. At this friendly, leafy haven on the peaceful north bank of the river, the public areas have a colourful, retro feel while the large, bright bedrooms all have French windows and verandas overlooking the lovely garden, as well as a/c, hot showers, TVs and fridges. Free bicycles. B1100
Riverside Guest House 286 Thanon Talat Kao 054 227005, theriverside-lampang.com; map. This peaceful, traditional compound of century-old teak houses with a small, attractive garden offers tasteful en-suite rooms decorated with antiques and traditional textiles, all with access to hot showers (a few sharing) and many with a/c; some boast balconies or terraces overlooking the river. Varied breakfasts and all-day drinks are served on the relaxing terraces of the riverside café (not to be confused with the Riverside restaurant, further west). Fan B400, a/c B600
R Lampang Thanon Talat Kao, just east of Riverside Guest House 054 225278, r-lampang.com; map. Part guesthouse, part doll’s house, R Lampang occupies a prime spot on the riverfront, with shades of pastel green and soft pink providing the backdrop for a weird and wonderful collection of corridor curios – from white-painted samlors to clapped-out old TV sets. The fan rooms are too small, but the a/c rooms with TV and fridge are worth the investment. Fan B350, a/c B650
Villa Rassada 35 Thanon Charoen Pathet 085 365 9697, facebook.com/villarassada; map. Just across the river from Thanon Talat Kao, this good-value, welcoming small hotel offers stylish, contemporary rooms in muted tones, with a/c, hot showers, fridges, TVs and balconies. Breakfast included. B790
Lampang’s horse-drawn carriages
If you want to get out to Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao you might want to employ the services of a horse-drawn carriage, which, along with white chickens, is a prevalent symbol of Lampang (in fact, Thais often refer to the city as muang rot mah, or “horse-cart city”). These colourfully decked-out carriages, complete with Stetson-wearing driver, can be hired at several stops around town, including towards the east end of Thanon Boonyawat and opposite the municipal tourist office. There are two “standard routes” around the town centre; the shorter one (3km) costs B200 (carrying two people), while the longer one (4–5km) costs B300. An alternative is the B400, one-hour city tour, which goes past Wat Sri Chum, Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao, Ban Sao Nak and Wat Sri Rong Muang (though you’ll probably have to pay the driver a bit more for his time if you want to visit all of these sights properly).
Wienglakor 138/38 Thanon Phaholyothin 054 316430–5, lampangwienglakor.com; map. Of several big and expensive hotels in town, this one has the cosiest rooms and the most tasteful decor, with coffered ceilings, parquet floors and ornamental ponds in traditional Thai style, as well as a good restaurant (see below). Breakfast included. B1600
Eating
Artsy coffee houses line Thanon Talat Kao, while the stretch of Thanon Takrao Noi between the clocktower and Thanon Wienglakon is a lively part of town after dark, featuring many simple restaurants and the Atsawin night market running off its side streets to the south, as well as pubs and karaoke bars.
Aroy One Baht Thanon Tipchang 054 219233; map. Cheap eats (most dishes around B50) in a nice old wooden house with outdoor terraces, staffed by happy young Thais. The tom kha kai and the prawn tempura are recommended, and there’s a decent choice for vegetarians. Daily 4–11pm.
Escape Bistro & Café 357/37 Thanon Duangrat 054 322622; map. The most refined snack-stop on broad and busy Thanon Duangrat, this chilly a/c café is adorned with stained glass and fountains and spreads over two floors and a sunny outdoor terrace area. Try the delicious raspberry panna cotta (B85) as you flick through the huge selection of magazines. Daily 8.30am–8pm.
Long Jim 1583 Thanon Charoen Muang 082 892 5009, longjimpizza.com; map. Uncomplicated American-run bar-restaurant serving tasty New York-style pizzas in two sizes (from B150) and calzone, as well as a few simple pasta dishes and salads. Tues–Sun 5–9pm.
Mae Hae Thanon Uparaj; map. This nondescript sky-blue shophouse, 10m from Thanon Boonyawat, serves some of the best sai oua (spicy pork sausage) you’re likely to encounter, bursting with flavour, as well as other excellent northern Thai dishes such as tam khanun (jackfruit salad). There’s no English sign and no menu – just choose and point at the tempting ready-made dishes, which cost around B50 each. Daily roughly 10am–7pm.
Riverside 328 Thanon Tipchang 054 221861; map. Behind its own good bakery-coffee house, this cosy, relaxing restaurant on rustic wooden terraces overlooking the water serves a wide variety of excellent Thai dishes (from B70), including northern specialities, and Western food, to the sounds of live music (quality variable) in the evenings. Daily 10am–midnight.
Wienglakor 138/38 Thanon Phaholyothin 054 316430–5; map. The best hotel restaurant in town with a wide choice of well-prepared, good-value northern dishes and an inviting ambience, overlooking the landscaped gardens. Dinner on Friday and Saturday nights is accompanied by live Thai traditional music (6–8pm). Daily 10am–midnight.
Heading east out of Lampang on your way to the small city of PHRAE, you’ll pass through the tobacco-rich Yom valley, dotted with distinctive brick curing-houses. Phrae province is famous for woodcarving and the quality of its seua maw hawm, the deep-blue, collarless working shirt seen all over Thailand (produced and sold in abundance in the village of Ban Thung Hong, 4km north of central Phrae on Highway 101). The main reason to stop here, however, is to explore Phrae’s old town, with its peaceful lanes filled with temples and traditional teak houses – as in Lampang, the former logging industry attracted Burmese workers and the influence is evident – and to enjoy the old-fashioned and friendly nature of a place still virtually untouched by tourism.
Sited on the southeast bank of the Yom River, Phrae is clearly divided into old and new towns; an earthen wall surrounds the roughly oval-shaped old town, with a dry moat on its southeastern side and the new town centre beyond that. At the centre of the old town, a large roundabout is the main orientation point; running northwest–southeast through the roundabout, through Pratuchai (the main gate on the southeastern side of the old town), and into the new town is Thanon Charoen Muang, where several shops sell the trademark deep-indigo shirts. The main street in the new town, Thanon Yantarakitkoson, intersects Thanon Charoen Muang about 300m southeast of the old town.
Thanon Khamlue • Daily 9am–5pm • B30
The white-and-pink Vongburi House (Baan Wongburi) is a good place to begin an exploration of the old town. Built of teak between 1897 and 1907 in Thai–European style for the wife of the last lord of Phrae, it’s smothered in elaborate, lace-like woodcarving on all the eaves, gables and balconies, and around doors and windows. Inside the house, exhibits include fine silverware, antique furniture, undershirts with magic spells written on them to ward off danger, and various documents such as elephant identity papers and artefacts that shed light on the history of the family, who still live in part of the complex.
Just south of Thanon Rob Muang, around 100m from Vongburi House
Phrae’s oldest temple complex, Wat Luang, dates from the town’s foundation around the twelfth century; it contains the only intact original brick entrance gate to the city, though unfortunately it has been closed up and turned into an ugly shrine to Chao Pu, an early Lanna ruler. Apart from the gate, the oldest component of the wat is the crumbling early Lanna-style chedi called Chang Kham after the four elephants – now mostly trunkless – which sit at its octagonal base; these alternate with four niches containing Buddha images and some haphazardly leaning, gilded bronze parasols.
Over the years, Wat Luang has been added to and parts of it have been quite spoiled in a gaudy modernization process; until recently, a dishonest monk was even taking down parts of the temple to sell. Apart from the ruined entrance gate, this meddling is most evident in the viharn, opposite, where an ugly and very out-of-place laterite brick facade has been placed in front of the original Lanna-style sixteenth-century entrance. Opposite the chedi on the north side of the compound, a museum (irregular hours; free) on two floors houses some real treasures, the most important being a collection of sixteenth-century bronze Buddhas and several glass cases containing old manuscripts with beautifully gilded covers, which are located upstairs.
About a block west of Wat Luang along Thanon Rob Muang
In the far northwestern corner of the old city is Wat Phra Non, established three centuries ago, whose name comes from the 9m-long reclining Buddha housed in a small viharn; look out for the Lanna-style bot’s finely carved and gilded wooden pediment showing scenes from the Ramayana.
Beyond the old town’s west gate • Daily 8am–5pm • B50
Signposted among the tranquil lanes out beyond the old town’s west gate lies the massive two-storey teak house of Ban Prathup Jai, constructed out of nine old houses in the 1970s. A visit here allows you to appreciate the beauty and strength of the wood, even if the overall effect is a bit over the top. The lower floor has an impressive interior of 130 pillars of solid teak carved with jungle scenes; huge wooden elephants wander among the columns, and solid teak walls provide a backdrop for ornately carved furniture. There’s also a souvenir shop where you can buy all things wooden. Upstairs has the feel of a traditional house, and the furniture and objects are those that you might find in a well-to-do Thai home: ornately carved cabinets crammed with bowls and other ordinary household objects, tables displaying framed family portraits, wall carvings and even a teak bar.
Around 200m north of the bus station on Thanon Yantarakitkoson
Built in 1894 by local Shan (Thai Yai), Wat Chom Sawan is a fine example of Burmese-style architecture. Recently restored, the main teak structure (notable for its impressive multi-tiered roof) houses the ordination hall, the image hall and the monks’ residence. Inside, the ceiling and columns are beautifully carved and dotted with glittering stained glass. Treasures include an ivory image of the Buddha in Burmese style, scripture slabs and Luang Pho San, a seated Buddha figure made of woven bamboo covered with black lacquer and gold leaf.
Tucked behind the Phrae Paradorn hotel • Daily 8am–5pm • Free • Enter via the hotel’s reception area (ask at reception if doors are locked)
This fascinating little museum tells the story of Thailand’s struggles during World War II, when the country allied itself with Japan, having been invaded and effectively occupied by the Japanese. Among the exhibits on show are photos and newspaper articles from the era, plus weapons used by Seri Thai (the Free Thai Movement) during their clandestine resistance against Japanese forces.
9km east of town (1km beyond the village of Padang) • Without your own transport, you’ll need to charter a songthaew (about B500) from the bus station
Wat Phra That Cho Hae is an important pilgrimage centre sited on a low hill, approached by two naga stairways through a grove of teak trees. One staircase leads to a shrine where a revered Buddha image, Phra Chao Tan Chai, is said to increase women’s fertility. The small grounds also house a brightly decorated viharn with an unusual cruciform layout and a gilded, octagonal, 33m-high chedi, which is said to house relics of the Buddha’s hair and left elbow and is traditionally wrapped in the yellow satin-like cloth, cho hae (which gives the wat its name), in March or April. To the north of the main compound, a new viharn houses a shiny Buddha and some well-crafted murals and window carvings.
18km northeast of Phrae off Highway 101
Out of town are the so-called ghost pillars at Phae Muang Phi, a geological quirk of soil and wind erosion. Overzealous reports describe this as Thailand’s Grand Canyon, but it’s not a fair comparison, and it’s probably only worth visiting if you’re going on through to Nan with your own transport. It’s recently been landscaped as a kind of park, but some locals still believe the place is haunted.
Arrival and departurePhrae
By plane Nok Air runs two daily flights (1hr 30min) from Bangkok’s Don Muang to Phrae’s airport, 3km southeast of town. Some hotels offer free pick-ups from the airport, or you can take an airport taxi (B100).
By bus or minibus Buses and a/c minibuses stop at the main bus station off Thanon Yantarakitkoson, towards the northeast of town.
Destinations Bangkok (13 daily, mostly in the evening, some in the morning; 8hr); Chiang Mai (11 daily; 4hr); Chiang Rai (at least hourly; 4hr); Den Chai (at least hourly; 30min); Lampang (roughly hourly; 1hr 30min–2hr 30min); Nan (every 40min; 1hr 30min–2hr); Phitsanulok (at least hourly; 2–3hr).
By train Den Chai train station, just 20km to the southwest, is on the main Bangkok–Chiang Mai line. Frequent songthaews and a/c minibuses run from Den Chai (20–40min), the former to a stand south of Phrae’s old town, the latter to the bus station.
By car If you’re driving here from Lampang, turn left from Highway 11 at Mae Khaem onto Route 1023 and approach the town via Long and some lovely scenery.
Getting around
By songthaew A shared songthaew from the TAT office to Wat Luang, for example, costs B20/person.
By bicycle or motorbike The Mae Yom Palace Hotel rents out bicycles (B100/day). Motorbikes can be rented for B200/day at Saeng Fa (054 521598), next to the Bank of Ayudhaya on Thanon Yantarakitkoson.
By rented car Eddy Rent-a-car at Phrae Airport (093 139 8012 or 093 131 5597, eddy-rentacar.com).
Information
Tourist information The TAT office is at 2 Thanon Baan Mai (daily 8.30am–4.30pm; 054 521127, 
tatphrae@tat.or.th).
Accommodation
Gingerbread House Gallery Corner of Thanon Charoen Muang and Thanon Rong Sor 054 523671, facebook.com/gingerbreadhousegallery; map. This landmark, two-storey former hotel is something of an artistic and cultural hub for Phrae and has returned to its original use: retaining many of its rich teak floors and walls, it now offers stylish rooms with a/c and hot showers. Breakfast and bicycles included. B1200
Huern Na Na 7/9 Thanon Sasibutr 054 524800, huernnana.com; map. Phrae’s best hotel boasts an impressive Lanna-style exterior, an attractive swimming pool, a spa and sauna. Bright, luxurious bedrooms have an appealing contemporary style that blends dark wood with occasional splashes of colour. Breakfast included. B2600
Mae Yom Palace Hotel 181/6 Thanon Yantarakitkoson 054 521028–34, maeyompalace.com; map. Good-value traditional upmarket hotel, with a handy central location near the bus station. Facilities include a large, attractive swimming pool, a restaurant with a pleasant outdoor terrace and bicycle rental. Decent-sized rooms are carpeted and air-conditioned, with hot showers, fridges and cable TV. Breakfast included in the price. B790
Phoomthai Garden Hotel 31 Thanon Sasibutr 054 627359, phoomthaigarden.com; map. Attractive, low-rise fifty-room hotel to the south of the old town, featuring a lot of teak and earth tones in its decor and furniture. The bedrooms have balconies overlooking the leafy garden. Free pick-ups from airport and bus station and free bicycles for guests’ use. Various rainy-season promotions offered on their website. Breakfast included. B1300
Phrae Paradorn 177 Thanon Yantarakitkoson 054 511177; map. Not “absolutely clean” as the sign outside proclaims, but it comes pretty close and makes a good budget choice, with a simple breakfast thrown in. The a/c rooms include fridges, the fan rooms balconies, and all have hot water and TV. Fan B350, a/c B550
Eating
To get a cheap and varied dinner in the town centre, your best bet is to head for the lively night market that convenes each evening just outside Pratuchai, the main gate on the southeastern side of the old town, towards the western end of Thanon Charoen Muang. On Saturday evenings (roughly 4–7pm), a “walking street” market on Thanon Khamlue near Vongburi House sells lots of food, as well as handicrafts and souvenirs.
Ban Fai A couple of kilometres south out of town at the junction of the Den Chai road and the bypass towards Nan 054 523114; map. This open-sided barn-like place is the best restaurant around, serving very good Thai food including northern specialities such as nem (spiced pork sausages), the typical Lanna pork curry, kaeng hang lay, and a tasty kaeng ho, a rich curry (originally from leftovers) mixing kaeng hang lay, glass noodles and aubergines. Daily 8am–10pm.
Gingerbread House Gallery Corner of Thanon Charoen Muang and Thanon Rong Sor 054 523671, facebook.com/gingerbreadhousegallery; map. With jazz on the soundtrack, this friendly, civilized café and boutique offers tasty all-day breakfasts (B120), one-dish Thai meals, salads and spaghetti, as well as gingerbread biscuits, waffles and good espresso coffees. Daily 8am–5pm.
The Owl School Thanon Khamlue, opposite Vongburi House 089 433 2595; map. A likeable café set in an old shophouse overhung with ferns, dispensing home-roasted, single-origin drip coffees and homespun philosophy. Daily except Wed 9am–6pm.
After leaving the Yom River, Highway 101 gently climbs through rolling hills of cotton fields and teak plantations to its highest point, framed by limestone cliffs, before descending into the high, isolated valley of the Nan River, the longest in Thailand (740km) and one of the tributaries of the Chao Phraya. Ringed by high mountains, the small but prosperous provincial capital of NAN, 225km northeast of Lampang, rests on the grassy west bank of the river. Few Western visitors make it out this far, but it’s a likeable place with a thriving handicrafts tradition, a good museum and some superb temple murals at Wat Phumin, as well as at Wat Nong Bua out in the countryside. Nan’s centre comprises a disorientating grid of crooked streets, around a small core of shops and businesses where Thanon Mahawong and Thanon Anantaworarichides meet Thanon Sumondhevaraj.
The town comes alive for the Lanna boat races, usually held in late October or early November, when villages from around the province send teams of up to fifty oarsmen to race in long, colourfully decorated canoes with dragon prows. The lush surrounding valley is noted for its cotton-weaving, sweet oranges and the attractive grainy paper made from the bark of local sa (mulberry) trees.
Nan province has a history of being on the fringes, distanced by the encircling barrier of mountains. It flourished from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century as one of the city states that formed Lanna, but in 1558 the Burmese seized control, enslaved a large part of the population and allowed the principality to go into decline. Rama V brought Nan into his centralization programme at the start of the twentieth century, but left the traditional ruling house in place, making it the last province in Thailand to be administered by a local ruler (it remained so until 1931). During the troubled 1970s, Communist insurgents holed up in this twilight region and proclaimed Nan the future capital of the liberated zone, which only succeeded in bringing the full might of the Thai Army down on them; the insurgency faded after the government’s 1982 offer of amnesty. Today, energies are focused on development, and the province has become less isolated with the building of several new roads.
Thanon Phakong
Wat Phumin will grab even the most over-templed traveller. Its late-sixteenth-century centrepiece is an unusual cruciform building, combining both the bot and the viharn, which balances some quirky features in a perfect symmetry. Two giant nagas pass through the base of the building, with their tails along the balustrades at the south entrance and their heads at the north, representing the sacred oceans at the base of the central mountain of the universe. The doors at the four entrances, which have been beautifully carved with a complex pattern of animals and flowers, lead straight to the four Buddha images arranged around a tall altar in the centre of the building – note the Buddhas’ piercing onyx eyes and pointed ears, showing the influence of Laos, 50km away.
What really sets the bot apart are the murals, whose bright, simple colours seem to jump off the walls. Commissioned in the late nineteenth century by the last king of Nan and executed over two decades by a Thai Lue artist, Thit Buaphan, the paintings take you on a whirlwind tour of heaven, hell, the Buddha’s previous incarnations, local legends and incidents from Nan’s history. Packed with vivacious, sometimes bawdy, detail, including katoey (ladyboys), hill tribes and the moustachioed and tattooed artist himself whispering sweet nothings in a woman’s ear (west wall), they provide a valuable pictorial record of that era.
Thanon Phakong • Wed–Sun 9am–4pm • Free
The National Museum is set in a tidy, century-old palace with superb teak floors, which used to be home to the rulers of Nan. It has been emptied of most of its displays in preparation for a planned refit (though with no signs of progress for some years), but its single prize exhibit is still on display upstairs: a talismanic elephant tusk with a bad case of brown tooth decay, which is claimed to be magic black ivory. The tusk was presented to the lord of Nan by the ruler of Keng Tung (now part of Myanmar) over three hundred years ago and sits on a colourful wooden khut, a mythological eagle. Around the tusk are a few kingly exhibits, including a lovely chased-silver betel-chewing set that belonged to the last ruler of Nan.
BETEL
Betel-chewing today is popular only among elderly Thais, particularly country women, but it used to be a much more widespread social custom, and a person’s betel tray set was once a Thai’s most prized possession and an indication of rank: royalty would have sets made in gold, the nobility’s would be in silver or nielloware, and poorer folk wove theirs from rattan or carved them from wood. A set comprises at least three small covered receptacles, and sometimes a tray to hold these boxes and the knife or nutcracker used to split the fruit.
The three essential ingredients for a good chew are betel leaf, limestone ash and areca palm fruit. You chew the coarse red flesh of the narcotic fruit first (best picked when small and green-skinned), before adding a large heart-shaped betel leaf, spread with limestone-ash paste and folded into manageable size; for a stronger kick, you can include tobacco and/or marijuana at this point. An acquired and bitter taste, betel numbs the mouth and generates a warm feeling around the ears. Less pleasantly, constant spitting is necessary – which is why you’ll often see spittoons in old-fashioned hotels in Thailand, re-used as waste baskets. It doesn’t do much for your looks either: betel-chewers are easily spotted by their rotten teeth and lips stained scarlet from the habit.
Thanon Phakong
Wat Phra That Chang Kham was founded in 1406 as Wat Luang, a royal temple where oaths of allegiance ceremonies were held. The main feature here is a gorgeous, gold-capped, bell-shaped chedi, enshrining relics of the Buddha and supported by elephants (chang kham) on all sides; those on the corners are adorned with gold helmets and straps. In front of the chedi, the easterly of the two viharns used to be a ho trai (scripture library). It houses a beautiful, sinuous, Sukhothai-style, walking Buddha image in the gesture of dispelling fear, said to have been made of two-thirds solid gold in the fourteenth century. The western viharn used to be the third masterpiece of Thit Buaphan, the artist of Wat Phumin and Wat Nong Bua, but in the last century the abbot ordered the murals to be whitewashed over – faint traces of birds and rows of heads can just be made out. The temple is attached to a school, a reminder that temples were once the only source of education in the country.
2km southeast of town, just off Highway 1168
Wat Phra That Chae Haeng is a must, as much for its setting on a hill overlooking the Nan valley as anything else. The wat was founded in the fourteenth century, at a spot determined by the Buddha himself when he passed through this way – or so local legend would have it. The nagas here outdo even Wat Phumin’s: the first you see of the wat across the fields is a wide driveway flanked by monumental serpents gliding down the slope from the temple. A magnificent gnarled bodhi tree with hundreds of spreading branches and roots guards the main gate, set in high boundary walls. Inside the walls, the highlight is a slender, 55m-high, Lanna-style golden chedi, surrounded by four smaller chedis and four carved and gilded umbrellas, as well as small belfries and stucco lions. Close competition comes from the viharn roof, which has no fewer than fifteen Lao-style tiers, stacked up like a house of cards and supported on finely carved kan tuei (wood supports) under the eaves.
Arrival and departureNan
By plane
Nok Air (3 daily; 1hr 30min) and Air Asia (2 daily; 1hr 20min) run flights between Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport and Nan. The airport is 2km northwest of town, and is served by a/c taxis (about B100 to the centre; 054 773555).
By bus
The bus station is in the southwest corner of town, off the main road to Phrae; motorbike taxis to the centre cost B20–50/person, depending on how far you’re going.
From/to Chiang Mai The bus journey to Nan from Chiang Mai takes around 6hr, so it might be worth catching one of the more comfortable first-class or VIP vehicles that serve this route, shaving a little off the journey time.
From/to Chiang Rai One bus a day winds its tortuous way over the mountains from Chiang Rai, via Chiang Kham; if you’re prone to motion sickness and want to avoid the worst of the twisting roads, change buses in Phrae instead.
From/to Luang Prabang, Laos In the far north of Nan province, the border crossing at Huai Kon is open to foreigners, with Lao visas available on arrival. This route is now served by one a/c bus a day that departs from Nan for Luang Prabang, via Sayaboury.
Destinations Bangkok (20 daily; 10–11hr); Chiang Mai (13 daily; 5–6hr); Chiang Rai (1 daily; 6–7hr); Den Chai (for the Bangkok–Chiang Mai railway line; every 40min; 2hr–2hr 30min); Luang Prabang (Laos; 1 daily; 10hr); Phitsanulok (5 daily; 5–6hr); Phrae (every 40min; 1hr 30min–2hr).
Information and getting around
Tourist information There’s a helpful municipal tourist information booth (054 775769), which keeps bus timetables, and a national parks information booth (062 985 4709) opposite Wat Phumin (both daily 8.30am–4.30pm).
Tourist police Thanon Suriyapong (054 710216 or 1155).
Bicycle and motorbike rental If you want to explore the area on two wheels, Oversea, a bike and motorbike retailer on Thanon Sumondhevaraj, near the corner of Thanon Mahawong (054 710258 or 097 049 1982), rents out bicycles (B80/day) and motorbikes (B250/day).
Car rental Based at the airport, Avis (avisthailand.com) will deliver and collect anywhere in town.
Accommodation
Despite being a small town with few visitors, Nan has some attractive accommodation options, ranging from family-run guesthouses to clean, reasonably priced hotels. The only times of year when finding somewhere to stay might be a problem are during the Lanna boat races (late Oct or early Nov) and over Christmas and New Year.
Dhevaraj Hotel 466 Thanon Sumondhevaraj 054 710212, dhevarajhotel.com; map. Large, centrally positioned hotel, popular with tour groups, which has a slightly institutional feel but is a hub of Nan social life. There’s an outdoor pool and a wide range of well-maintained though slightly old-fashioned a/c accommodation, all with hot water and nice cosy beds. Breakfast included. B1200
Fah Place Soi Kha Luang 1, 237/8 Thanon Sumondhevaraj 054 710222; map. Just down a small soi off the main road, this striking, modern, cream block contains spacious, very good-value a/c rooms, done out with attractive tiles, tasteful wooden furniture and large hot-water bathrooms. Cheaper rooms are on the upper floors (no lift). B400
Nan Guesthouse 57/15 Soi 2, Thanon Mahaprom 054 771849, nanguesthouse.net; map. Proper guesthouse in a largely wooden house that’s quiet and bucolic despite its central position, with lots of local information, a roof terrace and free drinking water. The very clean rooms either share bathrooms (fan) or have en-suite hot showers, fridges and TVs (fan or a/c). Bicycles and motorbikes for rent. You can get breakfast at their café opposite, which serves espresso coffees and home-baked bread. Dorms B180, fan B350, a/c B600
Pukha Nanfa Hotel 369 Thanon Sumondhevaraj 054 771111, pukhananfahotel.co.th; map. An eye-catching wooden building on the city’s main street, with an imposing chalet-like facade that sparkles with fairy lights. Inside, ornate carvings and wall hangings lead the way to a massive wooden staircase, which twists up towards the elegant, panelled bedrooms. There’s a wonderful first-floor terrace with views over the street, and a small café downstairs. Breakfast included. B2600
SP Guest House 233 Thanon Sumondhevaraj 054 774897 or 088 529 5217; map. Actually on Trok Hua Wiangtai, a narrow alley off the main road, this well-maintained, friendly guesthouse offers fourteen diverse, dimly lit but spacious a/c rooms, with hot-water bathrooms, fridges and TVs. The owners are extremely helpful, and there are big family rooms available. B500
Sukkasem Hotel 119–121 Thanon Anantaworarichides 054 772555, sukkasemnan@gmail.com; map. A small step up in price and style from its sister property, Fah Place, the Sukkasem provides smart a/c rooms with gleamingly polished timber floors, tasteful wooden furniture, en-suite hot showers, fridges and TVs. Rooms are above an attractive, airy lobby and priced according to size; at the back, there are also a few small dorms. Bike rental available. Dorms B450, doubles B600
Eating
Plenty of restaurants cluster around Thanon Anantaworarichides, while the night market is just around the corner on Thanon Phakong. The liveliest night-time scene in Nan is on Kad Nan, an alley of restaurants, bars, boutiques and gift shops, about 1km up Thanon Mahayot from Thanon Anantaworarichides on the right.
Heuan Jao Nang East bank of the Nan River, about 500m north of the bridge; map. The most northerly and best of several restaurants above the bridge, with attractive tables on an embankment by the river that are good for sunset-watching. The food’s great, too (most dishes B150–250): lots of river fish – try the pla khang patcha, fish stir-fried with green peppercorns, lady-finger roots and other herbs – and northern specialities, including delicious, tongue-tingling (literally) deep-fried chicken with Vietnamese mint (kai thawt makhwen). Daily noon–11pm.
Hot Bread Thanon Suriyapong; map. This friendly café near Wat Phumin bakes its own white and wholewheat bread, scones and cakes, and serves good espresso coffees, lots of vegetarian dishes and Western breakfasts – you can’t beat Cumberland sausages, eggs, toast and coffee for B150. Daily 8am–4pm; closes 2 midweek days around the midpoint of each month, and from mid-May to the end of June.
Poom Sam (Poom 3) Thanon Anantaworarichides 054 772100; map. It may look like any other streetside restaurant, but nationally famous Poom Sam prepares excellent, creative Thai and Chinese food in generous portions at reasonable prices, and there’s a comfy a/c room as well. Don’t miss the chef’s signature dish, delicious chicken matsaman curry with pineapple, served with roti and apple (B180). Daily 5/5.30pm–2am; closed last Mon of the month.
Shopping
Loyalty to local traditions ensures the survival of several good handicrafts shops in Nan, most of which are found on Thanon Sumondhevaraj around the junction with Anantaworarichides. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings (roughly 6–9/10pm), the stretch of Thanon Phakong in front of Wat Phumin becomes a “walking street”, similar to those in Chiang Mai, with crafts and food for sale.
Jangtrakul 304–6 Thanon Sumondhevaraj 054 710016; map. The best all-rounder among the crafts shops on the street, selling local woodcarving, silks and cottons, including colourful Thai Lue weaving and hill-tribe textiles. Daily 8am–7pm.
The remote, mountainous countryside around Nan runs a close scenic second to the precipitous landscape of Mae Hong Son province, but its remoteness means that Nan has even worse transport and is even more poorly mapped. This does, of course, make it an exciting region to explore, where you may encounter the province’s ethnic minorities: the Thai Lue. More straightforward targets include the temple at Nong Bua, with its superb murals, and beautiful Doi Phukha National Park.
20km north of Nan up Route 1080 • Daily except Wed 9am–5pm • B20 • 081 989 2912 • Served by buses (roughly hourly) from Nan bus station en route to Tha Wang Pha
The impressive Nan Riverside Arts Space was founded by local, nationally famous artist, Winai Prabripu, in a lovely setting by the banks of the Nan River. Various exhibition spaces display his paintings – many of them local landscapes focusing on details of plants in season and paintings inspired by the Wat Phumin murals – as well as rotating exhibitions by other contemporary Thai artists, sculptures and photos. A visit to the gallery combines well with Ban Nong Bua.
Tours around Nan
Nan is a pleasant spot to spend a day or two, but if you fancy doing something a bit more energetic, it’s worth heading out to the countryside. Your best option is to book with the long-standing Fhu Travel at 453/4 Thanon Sumondhevaraj (054 710636 or 081 287 7209, fhutravel@hotmail.com). As well as dispensing advice about the region, Fhu and Ung, his wife, organize enjoyable guided tours and trekking trips. One-day tours to Wat Nong Bua, include a visit to the local weavers, as well as to silversmiths, batik makers, rattan furniture makers and a waterfall, cost B1800/person in a group of two, including lunch. One-day treks (same price) head west, through tough terrain of thick jungle and high mountains, visiting Mrabri, Htin, Hmong and Mien villages. Fhu can also arrange one-day kayaking trips on the Nan River near town (B1500/person in a group of two).
Spirits of the Yellow Leaves
Inhabiting the remote hill country west of Nan, the population of about three hundred Mrabri represents the last remnants of nomadic hunter-gatherers in Thailand, though their way of life is rapidly passing. Believing that spirits would be angered if the tribe settled in one place, grew crops or kept animals, the Mrabri traditionally built only temporary shelters of branches and wild banana leaves, moving on to another spot in the jungle as soon as the leaves turned yellow; thus they earned their poetic Thai name, Phi Tong Luang – “Spirits of the Yellow Leaves”. They eked out a hard livelihood from the forest, hunting with spears, trapping birds and small mammals, digging roots and collecting nuts, seeds and honey.
In recent decades, however, deforestation by logging and slash-and-burn farming has eaten into the tribe’s territory, and the Mrabri were forced to sell their labour to Hmong and Mien farmers, often under slave-like conditions. But in the last few years, salvation for the Mrabri has come in the form of weaving hammocks: foreign visitors noticed their skill at making string bags out of jungle vines and helped them to set up a small-scale hammock industry. The hammocks are now exported to countries around the world, and the Mrabri weavers have the benefits of education, free healthcare and an unemployment fund. For more information, go to jumbohammock.com.
About 40km north of Nan off the west side of Route 1080 • Roughly hourly services from Nan bus station to Tha Wang Pha, from whose southern outskirts signs in English point you left across the Nan River to Wat Nong Bua, 3km away (coming by bus, either hire a motorbike taxi in the centre of Tha Wang Pha, or walk the last 3km)
BAN NONG BUA, site of a famous muralled temple of the same name, makes a rewarding day-trip from Nan. The village and surrounding area are largely inhabited by Thai Lue people, distant cousins of the Thais, who’ve migrated from China in the past 150 years. They produce beautiful cotton garments in richly coloured geometric and floral patterns; just behind the wat, you can watch weavers at work and buy the opulent fabrics. The quality of design and workmanship is very high here, and prices, though not cheap, are reasonable for the quality.
Built in 1862 in typical Lanna style, Wat Nong Bua’s beautifully gnarled viharn has low, drooping roof tiers surmounted by stucco finials – here you’ll find horned nagas and tusked makaras (elephantine monsters), instead of the garuda finial which invariably crops up in central Thai temples. The viharn enshrines a pointy-eared Lao Buddha, but its most outstanding features are the murals that cover all four walls. Executed between 1867 and 1888, probably by Thit Buaphan the painter of Wat Phumin, they depict with much humour and vivid detail scenes from the Chanthakhat Jataka (the story of one of the Buddha’s previous incarnations, as a hero called Chanthakhat). This is a particularly long and complex Jataka (although a leaflet outlining the story in English is sometimes available, in return for a small donation to temple funds), wherein our hero gets into all kinds of scrapes, involving several wives, other sundry liaisons, some formidably nasty enemies and the god Indra transforming himself into a snake. The crux of the tale comes on the east wall (opposite the Buddha image): in the bottom left-hand corner, Chanthakhat and the love of his life, Thewathisangka, are shipwrecked and separated; distraught, Thewathisangka wanders through the jungle, diagonally up the wall, to the hermitage of an old woman, where she shaves her head and becomes a nun; Chanthakhat travels through the wilderness along the bottom of the wall, curing a wounded naga-king on the way, who out of gratitude gives him a magic crystal ball, which enables our hero to face another series of perils along the south wall, before finally rediscovering and embracing Thewathisangka in front of the old woman’s hut, at the top right-hand corner of the east wall.
Around 80km northeast of Nan off Route 1256 • B200 • 054 701000, nps.dnp.go.th
East of Tha Wang Pha, Route 1080 curves towards the town of Pua, on whose southern outskirts Route 1256, the spectacular access road for Doi Phukha National Park, begins its journey eastwards and upwards. The paved road climbs up a sharp ridge, through occasional stands of elephant grass and bamboo, towards Doi Dong Ya Wai (1939m), providing one of the most jaw-droppingly scenic drives in Thailand. Across the valleys to the north and south stand rows of improbably steep mountains (including the 1980m Doi Phukha itself, far to the south), covered in lush vegetation with scarcely a sign of human habitation. The park is home to the rare and endangered chomphuu phukha (bretschneidera sinensis), a tree that grows up to twenty metres tall and produces spectacular bunches of pink and white flowers in February and March.
From the park headquarters, 24km up the road from Pua, there’s a self-guided, 4km trail, but to hike up any of the park’s many peaks, you’ll need to hire a guide (by donation, about B200/day expected) from the headquarters.
Arrival and departuredoi phukha national park
It’s difficult to get into the park on public transport, and you’ll usually have to stay the night. The trip is most exciting if tackled on a motorbike (though watch out for loose chippings on the bends and, in the rainy season, landslides to the east of park headquarters on the way to Bo Kleua).
By bus and songthaew From Nan’s bus station, buses and a/c minibuses (on their way from Den Chai to the border at Huai Kon) run to Pua roughly hourly (1–2hr), from where irregular songthaews from the market (best in the mornings, though you may find school songthaews in the late afternoon) serve the handful of villages along Route 1256 towards Bo Kleua.
Accommodation and eating
Food is available at the park’s simple restaurant, and there are also several food stalls serving basic snacks.
Bo Klua View About 20km beyond the park headquarters towards Bo Kleua 054 778140 or 081 809 6392, bokluaview.com. This mid-range resort has a dozen stylish a/c bungalows with large verandas and great views set around a terraced rice field, and a restaurant serving good Thai and Western food. B1850
National park bungalows Park headquarters, 24km up the road from Pua 054 701000, nps.dnp.go.th. Accommodation ranges from large chalets sleeping six or seven through rooms for four (all the above with hot showers and fridges), to small, basic, A-frame bungalows for two with shared hot showers. B300
National park camping There’s a large, open, grassy campsite near the park headquarters.
60km south of Nan; head south on Highway 101 to Wiang Sa, then turn left and follow Route 1026 to Na No, just after which a turning on the right leads into the site
One of several brief excursions from Nan possible with your own transport, Sao Din (“earth pillars”) provides a more intriguing example of soil erosion than the better-known site at Phae Muang Phi near Phrae. Here the earth pillars cover a huge area and appear in fantastic shapes, the result of centuries of erosion by wind and rain. There’s little in the surrounding area, which makes wandering among the formations a peaceful experience. If you come here, be sure to wear long trousers and boots, especially in the cool season, as a thorny plant that grows in the region can cause discomfort.
WAT PHRA THAT DOI SUTHEP
Two main roads head in opposite directions from Chiang Mai over the western mountains, meeting each other in Mae Hong Son, at the heart of Thailand’s most remote province – and offering the irresistible prospect of tying the highways together into a 600km loop. The towns en route give a taste of Myanmar to the west, but the journey itself, winding over implausibly steep forested mountains and through tightly hemmed farming valleys, is what will stick in the mind.
The southern leg of the route, Highway 108, first passes Doi Inthanon National Park, with its twisting curves, lofty views over half of northern Thailand and enough waterfalls to last a lifetime; from here, with your own vehicle you could shortcut the southernmost part of the loop by taking the paved but very winding Routes 1088 and 1263 from Mae Chaem to Khun Yuam. Sticking to the main loop, however, you’ll next reach Mae Sariang, an important town for trade across the border with Myanmar and a gentle, low-key base for trekking and trips on the Salween River. The provincial capital, Mae Hong Son, roughly at the midpoint of the loop, is a more developed hub for exploring the area’s mountains, rivers and waterfalls, though it can become frantic with tour groups in the cool season, especially on November and December weekends when the sunflowers are out.
The northern leg follows Route 1095, much of which was established by the Japanese army to move troops and supplies into Myanmar after its alliance with Thailand during World War II. The road heads northeast out of Mae Hong Son towards the market town of Soppong, whose surroundings feature beautiful caves (notably Tham Lot), appealing accommodation and stunning scenery to trek or kayak through. Halfway back towards Chiang Mai from Mae Hong Son is Pai, a cosy, cosmopolitan and hugely popular tourist hangout with plenty of activities and some gentle walking trails in the lovely surrounding valley.
Getting there and aroundMae Hong Son loop
We’ve covered the loop in a clockwise direction here, in part because Doi Inthanon is best reached direct from Chiang Mai, but you could just as easily go the other way round. Travelling the loop is straightforward, although the mountainous roads go through plenty of bends and jolts. The labour-intensive job of paving every hairpin bend was completed in the 1990s, but ongoing repair work can still give you a nasty surprise if you’re riding a motorbike.
By plane From Chiang Mai, there are Bangkok Airways flights to Mae Hong Son.
By bus Mae Hong Son is 8hr 30min from Chiang Mai by a/c or ordinary bus, although services along the shorter but even more winding northern route are now augmented by faster, hourly a/c minibuses, which cover the ground via Pai in about six hours.
By motorbike or car Above all the loop is made for motorbikes and cars: the roads are generally quiet (but watch out for huge, speeding trucks) and you can satisfy the inevitable craving to stop every five minutes and admire the mountain scenery. A useful piece of equipment for this journey is the 1:375,000 map of the Mae Hong Son loop, with useful insets of Pai’s and Mae Hong Son’s environs, published by Golden Triangle Rider (gt-rider.com) and available in local bookshops.
Traversed by Route 1009, which runs west off Highway 108 just north of Chom Thong • A checkpoint by Mae Klang Falls collects the B300 entrance fee • 053 286728, nps.dnp.go.th
Covering a huge area to the southwest of Chiang Mai, DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK, with its Karen and Hmong hill-tribe villages, dramatic waterfalls and panoramas over rows of wild, green peaks to the west, gives a pleasant, if slightly sanitized, whiff of northern countryside, its attractions and concrete access roads kept in good order by the national parks department. The park, named after the highest mountain in the country and so dubbed the “Roof of Thailand”, is geared mainly to wildlife conservation but also contains hill-tribe agricultural projects producing strawberries, apples and flowers for sale. Often shrouded in mist, Doi Inthanon’s temperate forests shelter a huge variety of flora and fauna, which make this one of the major destinations for naturalists in Southeast Asia. The park supports about 380 bird species, the largest number of any site in Thailand – among them the ashy-throated warbler and a species of the green-tailed sunbird, both unique to Doi Inthanon – as well as, near the summit, the only red rhododendrons in Thailand and a wide variety of ground and epiphytic orchids. The waterfalls, birds and flowers are at their best in the cool season, but night-time temperatures sometimes drop below freezing, making warm clothing a must.
Chom Thong, 58km southwest of Chiang Mai on Highway 108
The gateway to the park is CHOM THONG, a market town with little to offer apart from the attractive Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong, whose impressive brass-plated chedi dates from the fifteenth century. The nearby bo tree has become an equally noteworthy architectural feature: dozens of Dalí-esque supports for its sagging branches have been sponsored by the devoted in the hope of earning merit. Inside the renovated sixteenth-century viharn, a towering, gilded ku housing a Buddha relic (supposedly from the right side of his skull) just squeezes in beneath the ceiling, from which hangs a huge, sumptuous red-and-green umbrella. Weaponry, gongs, umbrellas, thrones and an elephant-tusk arch carved with delicate Buddha images all add to the welcoming clutter. The temple is also famous for its meditation retreats.
Four sets of waterfalls provide the main roadside attractions along Route 1009 from Chom Thong to the park headquarters: overrated Mae Klang Falls, 8km in, which with its picnic areas and food vendors gets overbearingly crowded at weekends; Vachiratharn Falls, the park’s most dramatic, with a long, misty drop down a granite escarpment 11km beyond; Sirithan Falls, which looks like a smaller version of Vachiratharn and is just a couple of kilometres further up the hill; and finally the twin cascades of Siriphum Falls, backing the park headquarters a further 9km on. With your own wheels you could reach a fifth and much more beautiful cataract, Mae Ya, which is believed to be the highest in Thailand – the winding, 14km paved track to it heads west off Route 1009, 2km north of Highway 108.
11km beyond the headquarters • Daily 8am–5pm • B40
For the most spectacular views in the park, continue 11km beyond the headquarters along the summit road to the sleek, twin chedis looming incongruously over the misty green hillside: on a clear day you can see the mountains of Myanmar to the west from here. Built by the Royal Thai Air Force, the granite chedis commemorate the sixtieth birthdays of Rama IX and Queen Sirikit; the late king’s monument, Napamaytanidol Chedi (1987), is brown to the more feminine lilac of the queen mother’s Napapolphumsiri Chedi (1992).
Trailhead a short way up the summit road from the chedis • 2hr; open Nov–May • B200 for compulsory guide
Starting a short distance up the road from the chedis is the rewarding Kew Mae Pan Trail. This circular, three-kilometre walk wanders through sun-dappled forest and open savanna as it skirts the steep western edge of Doi Inthanon, where violent-red epiphytic rhododendrons (in bloom Dec–Feb) are framed against open views over the canyoned headwaters of the Pan River, when the weather allows. To do this walk, you have to hire a local Hmong guide at the trailhead.
Doi Inthanon’s summit (2565m), 6km beyond the chedis, is a big disappointment – from the car park you can see little beyond the radar installation. For many people, after a quick shiver and a snapshot in front of a board proclaiming this the highest point in Thailand, it’s time to hop in the car and get back to warmer climes. A small, still-revered stupa behind this board contains the ashes of King Inthanon of Chiang Mai (after whom the mountain was renamed): at the end of the nineteenth century he was the first to recognize the importance of this watershed area in supplying the Ping River and ultimately the Chao Phraya, the queen of Thailand’s rivers. A hundred metres back down the road, it’s an easy stroll along a raised walkway to the bog known as Ang Ka (Crow’s Pond), which is the highest source of these great waterways and one of the park’s best bird-watching sites. The cream and brown sphagnum mosses that spread underfoot, the dense ferns that hang off the trees and the contorted branches of rhododendrons give the place a creepy, primeval atmosphere.
Around 7km after it turns off the main summit road, the paved Mae Chaem road skirts yet another set of waterfalls: look for a steep road to the right, leading down to a ranger station and, just to the east, the dramatic long drop of Huai Sai Luaeng Falls. A 500m trail from the car park will bring you to Mae Pan Falls, a series of short cascades in a peaceful, shady setting.
Arrival and departureDoi Inthanon National Park
The main road through the park, Route 1009, turns west off Highway 108, 1km north of the gateway town of Chom Thong, winding generally northwestwards for 48km to the top of Doi Inthanon, passing the park headquarters about 30km in. A second paved road forks left 10km before the summit, affording breathtaking views as it helter-skelters down for 20km to the sleepy, riverside weaving village of Mae Chaem, southwest of the park.
By bus Frequent non-a/c blue buses to Chom Thong (on their way to Hot) from Chiang Mai’s Chang Puak bus station can be picked up at Chiang Mai Gate. At Chiang Mai Gate, it should also be possible to pick up a yellow songthaew (slower and only slightly cheaper) for the journey to Chom Thong. Once there, you can charter a whole songthaew or a/c minibus to explore the park for around B1500 for the day.
By motorbike or jeep You could do the park justice in a day with an early start from Chiang Mai, or treat it as the first stage of a longer trip to Mae Hong Son: from Mae Chaem, either follow Route 1088 south to pick up Highway 108 again towards Mae Sariang, 25km west of Hot; or take Route 1088 north then Route 1263 west through remote countryside, joining Highway 108 just north of Khun Yuam.
With a tour Most tour operators in Chiang Mai offer day-trips to the national park (around B1500–3000/person, depending on group size) – if you don’t have your own transport, this is the easiest way to visit.
Information
Park information For information on the park, stop at the park headquarters 23km beyond the Mae Klang checkpoint. Ask here about the new, 3km Pha Dok Sieo Trail, which begins about 500m east on the south side of Route 1009 – a Karen guide will lead you past a waterfall and scenic terraced paddyfields to Ban Mae Klang Luang, where you can have a cup of fresh coffee and perhaps watch weavers at work.
Birding information 200m beyond the headquarters on the left-hand side of Route 1009, at Mr Daeng’s Birds Visitor Centre & Restaurant (053 286731–2 or 081 884 8108), bird-watchers can consult a logbook of sightings, pick up a simple, photocopied map of birding sites, or hire a guide for B3000/day for up to five people.
Accommodation and eating
In the daytime, food stalls and/or restaurants operate at the twin chedis, the Kew Mae Pan trailhead, Mae Klang, Vachiratharn and Mae Ya falls (the last mentioned in high season only), while the restaurants beside the park headquarters and at the royal project near Siriphum Falls are open daytime and evening. Camping, an often chilly alternative to the accommodation below, is permitted on a site about 500m from the park headquarters and another site at Huai Sai Luaeng Falls. Three-person tents can be rented at headquarters for B225/night (bedding extra).
National park bungalows 053 286730, nps.dnp.go.th. Park accommodation comes in standard log-cabin or concrete varieties, with electricity, mattresses or beds and bedding. Three- to 23-berth bungalows, set among dense stands of pine near the headquarters, have hot-water bathrooms, while simpler, fifteen-person bungalows at Huai Sai Luaeng Falls cost B1500/night. Accommodation is often fully booked at weekends and national holidays, but at other times you should be OK to turn up on the day. B1000–6500
Touch Star Resort 7km from Chom Thong just off the main park road 053 033594, touchstarresort.com; map. In extensive grassy grounds with a mineral-water pool and a restaurant, this cutesy place has spacious a/c rooms, cottages, thatched bungalows and even a log cabin that sleeps 12, all with hot-water bathrooms. Breakfast included. B1600
Heading south from Chom Thong, the road flattens out a little, passing dusty and seldom-visited weaving villages as it follows the Ping River downstream. Just after Hot the road bends west, climbing up once again towards the Ob Luang Gorge National Park, where attractions include whitewater rafting down the Chaem River.
On the east side of Highway 108 between kilometre-stones 68 and 69, in Ban Rai Pai Ngarm 098 656 6328 • Daily except Thurs 8am–noon & 1–4.30pm; closed the 1st and 16th days of the month • By donation • All buses between Chiang Mai and Hot or Mae Sariang pass Ban Rai Pai Ngarm
Among several weaving villages to the south of Chom Thong, the Pa-Da Cotton Textile Museum at Ban Rai Pai Ngarm is well worth a look; it’s reached down a beautiful avenue of bamboo trees. The museum is dedicated to the work of Saeng-da Bansiddhi, a local woman who started a cooperative practising traditional dyeing and weaving techniques using only natural products and was made a National Artist in 1986. Saeng-da died in 1993, and the museum, which displays some of her personal effects as well as looms, fabrics and plants used in dyeing, was established to honour her efforts to revive these disappearing skills. It’s situated on the upper floor of a large wooden building, while on the ground floor weavers can be seen busy at work. Lovely bolts of cloth and a small range of clothes and scarves in earthy and pastel colours are on sale at reasonable prices.
17km west of Hot on Highway 108 • B200 • 093 242 3458 or 089 263 5055, nps.dnp.go.th
Weaving through pretty wooded hills up the valley of the Chaem River for 17km from Hot will bring you to Ob Luang Gorge National Park, which is billed with wild hyperbole as “Thailand’s Grand Canyon”. A wooden bridge over the short, narrow channel lets you look down on the Chaem River bubbling along between sheer walls 30m below. The park is also tagged “Land of Prehistoric Human” because of the discovery of Bronze Age graves here, containing seashell bracelets and other decorative items, as well as rock paintings of elephants and human figures. Upstream from the bridge near the park headquarters, you can relax at the roadside food stalls and swim in the river when it’s not too fast. At the headquarters you can arrange hour-long 5km whitewater-rafting trips in the cool season on the river’s class II–III rapids (from B1800 for four people up to B2500 for eight, including guides, transport, life jackets and helmets).
West of Ob Luang, the highway gradually climbs through pine forests, the road surface bad in patches and the countryside becoming steeper and wilder.
Arrival and departureOb Luang Gorge National Park
By bus Buses travelling between Chiang Mai and Mae Sariang pass by the park headquarters, as do buses travelling between Bangkok and Mae Hong Son.
Accommodation
National park bungalows 053 315302, nps.dnp.go.th. There are a few large bungalows with three bedrooms and two bathrooms with hot water, fridge and TV sleeping ten people; at quiet times, you might be able to persuade the rangers to rent you one of the bedrooms at a cheaper rate. B2100
Campsite The shady riverbank shelters a campsite; you can rent a two- to three-person tent for B225 (bedding extra).
After its descent into the broad, smoky valley of the Yuam River, Highway 108’s westward progress ends at MAE SARIANG, 191km from Chiang Mai, a quietly industrious market town showing a marked Burmese influence in its temples and rows of low wooden shophouses. Halfway along the southern route between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, this is an obvious place for a stopover. From here you can make an intriguing day-trip to the trading post of Mae Sam Laeb on the border with Myanmar and out onto the Salween River.
Soaking up the atmosphere is the main activity in this border outpost, which is regularly visited by local hill tribes and dodgy traders from Myanmar. If you want something more concrete to do, stroll around a couple of century-old temples off the north side of the main street, whose Burmese features provide a glaring contrast to most Thai temples. The first, Wat Si Boonruang, sports a fairytale castle of a bot with an intricate, tiered, corrugated roof in green and white piled high above. Topped with lotus buds, the unusual sema stones, which delineate the bot’s consecrated area, look like old-fashioned street bollards. The open viharns here and next door at Wat Utthayarom (aka Wat Jong Sung) are mounted on stilts, with broad teak floors that are a pleasure to get your feet onto. Both wats enshrine Burmese-style Buddhas, white and hard-faced.
46km southwest of Mae Sariang and accessible by hourly songthaews from the market in the morning (1hr 30min)
MAE SAM LAEB lies on the mighty, 3000km-long Salween (or Salawin) River, which, having descended from Tibet through Myanmar, forms the Thai-Myanmar border for 120km, before emptying into the Andaman Sea at Mawlamyine. The village is little more than a row of wooden stores and restaurants, but with its Thai, Chinese, Karen and Burmese inhabitants, it has a classic frontier feel about it. The only thing to do here is to take a longtail trip on the mighty river, lined with totally unspoilt jungle-clad hills. It’ll cost you about B1500 for a roughly two-hour return trip if you arrange it yourself in Mae Sam Laeb, or you could book a tour through Northwest Guest House in Mae Sariang (B5000 for a group of two people, including transport from Mae Sariang, boat and lunch).
Arrival and departureMae Sariang
By bus The main company serving Mae Sariang is Prempracha (premprachatransports.com), who run buses from Chiang Mai’s Arcade bus station and Mae Hong Son and a/c minibuses from Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Khun Yuam. Sombat Tour operates two buses a day from Bangkok’s Northern Mo Chit Terminal to Mae Sariang (plus three more that continue to Mae Hong Son).
Destinations Bangkok (5 daily; 12hr); Chiang Mai (12 daily; 3hr 30min–4hr 30min); Khun Yuam (8 daily; 2–3hr); Mae Hong Son (4 daily; 4hr).
By songthaew Scenic Highway 105 up from Mae Sot is covered by songthaews (roughly hourly until around noon; 5–6hr), though the journey’s really too long to make on a rattling bench seat.
Getting around
By bicycle or motorbike Bicycles (B50–100/day, free for guests) and motorbikes (B200), handy for exploring temples and Karen weaving villages in the surrounding Yuam valley, can be rented from Northwest Guest House.
Treks and tours Demand for trekking and tours from Mae Sariang is very low, so arrangements are ad hoc: try Northwest Guest House or send a message to Mae Sariang Tours, preferably a week in advance (no office; facebook.com/maesariang.man).
Accommodation
Mae Sariang has a good range of accommodation for such a tiny town.
Above the Sea 75 Thanon Laeng Phanit 053 682264, abovetheseaguesthouse.com; map. Friendly guesthouse offering bright a/c rooms with exposed brickwork, quirky murals and hot showers, as well as a small swimming pool and bar-restaurant in the pretty garden. Breakfast included. B1200
Mae Loegyi Thanon Wiang Mai 086 920 2835 or 089 637 8899; map. A little away from the riverside action, such as it is, this pleasant, welcoming, slightly quirky place offers creeper-clad, ochre rooms and bungalows with a/c, hot showers and TVs, some with separate sitting rooms. B600
Northwest Guest House 81 Thanon Laeng Phanit 098 360 3867 or 089 700 9928, northwestgh.blogspot.com; map. Clean, friendly spot with plenty of local information and tidy, polished-wood rooms; hot-water bathrooms are either shared (fan rooms) or en suite (a/c). Fan B250, a/c B500
River House Hotel Thanon Laeng Phanit 053 621201, riverhousehotels.com; map. Modern all-teak hotel in traditional open-plan style, where the rooms have simple, tasteful furnishings, fine river views, verandas, a/c and en-suite hot-water bathrooms. Guests can use the pool at River House Resort. Breakfast included. B1500
River House Resort Thanon Laeng Phanit 053 683066, riverhousehotels.com; map. Run by the owner of River House Hotel, this is Mae Sariang’s fanciest place to stay, with a very attractive swimming pool set amidst lawns running down to the river. All rooms come with a/c, hot water, mini-bars and smart teak floors and furnishings; some have river-view balconies, while the more expensive ones boast bathtubs. Breakfast included. B1800
Eating
The small “walking street” market on Sunday evenings at the western end of Thanon Wiang Mai includes plenty of food stalls.
Coriander in Redwood River House Resort, Thanon Laeng Phanit; map. The poshest restaurant in town, in a lovely, century-old redwood building that was once the residence of a British teak concessionary. As well as simple dishes such as phat thai (B50), it offers northern chilli dips (nam phrik) and other specialities such as pork-belly curry (kaeng hang lay) and fish from the Salween River. Daily 11am–9pm.
Intira Thanon Wiang Mai; map. The locals’ favourite, a slightly scruffy roadside restaurant with an a/c room, which does a good chicken with cashew nuts (B100) and some interesting local specialities such as boar in red curry. Daily 7/8am–9pm (last orders).
Sawatdee Thanon Laeng Phanit; map. Popular with local NGO workers, Sawatdee bar-restaurant offers Thai and Isaan food (from B40), sandwiches, pastas and a few other Western dishes, on a terrace overlooking the river, with a pool table and some low tables, hammocks and axe cushions for chilling out – the view is superb. Daily roughly 5pm–midnight.
North of Mae Sariang, wide, lush valleys alternate with tiny, steep-sided glens – some too narrow for more than a single rice paddy – turning Highway 108 into a winding rollercoaster. The market town of KHUN YUAM, 95km north of Mae Sariang and served by all buses between Mae Sariang and Mae Hong Son, is a popular resting spot, especially for those who’ve taken the direct route here (Route 1263) over the mountains from Mae Chaem.
Thai-Japan Friendship Memorial Hall
On the left of the main thoroughfare, Thanon Rajaburana • Daily roughly 8.30am–noon & 1–4.30pm • B100
At the north end of town, the Thai-Japan Friendship Memorial Hall commemorates Khun Yuam’s role as a supply base for the Japanese army’s campaigns in Burma, including their largest hospital in Thailand. It hosts a curious collection of rusting relics from the period – old trucks, rifles, water canisters and uniforms – though there’s no mention of the thousands of Thais who died building the Death Railway, or indeed the road west from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son, for the Japanese. Lining the walls, hundreds of black-and-white photos document the later period of the war, when after their retreat from Myanmar in 1944, many of the Japanese rested or convalesced here for two years and longer; some stayed on and married locally, among whom the last survivor died in 2000.
Accommodation and eatingKhun Yuam
Ban Farang Just off Thanon Rajaburana, north of the museum and well signposted 053 622086, banfarang-guesthouse.com. In a leafy setting on the edge of town, each of the smart, very clean rooms and bungalows here has duvets and a hot-water bathroom; there are cheap dorm beds, too. The restaurant serves up good Thai and Western food, at reasonable prices. Dorms B150, doubles B500
Just north of Khun Yuam, Route 1263 branches off to the east over the hills towards Mae Chaem; after about 20km, a side road leads north towards Ban Mae U-Khor and the Buatong fields on the slopes of Doi Mae U-Khor, where Mexican sunflowers make the hillsides glow butter-yellow in November and early December. You’ll often see the same flowers by the roadside at this time of year, but the sheer concentration of blooms at Mae U-Khor, combined with sweeping views over endless ridges to the west, draws dozens of tour groups in air-conditioned minibuses.
On the spur road that branches north from Route 1263 to the Buatong fields, around 15km beyond Ban Mae U-Khor • B200 • 053 061073, nps.dnp.go.th
Mae Surin Waterfall in Nam Tok Mae Surin National Park is arguably the most spectacular waterfall in the whole country, the waters hurtling over a cliff and plunging almost 100m before crashing on huge boulders and foaming down a steep gorge. The kind topography of the region allows a great view of the falls from directly in front, but the best view, from below, requires a steep and at times precarious three-hour hike down and back from the park’s well-appointed campsite.
Back on Highway 108, 35km north of Khun Yuam, a right turn leads up to Mae Ko Vafe – a Thai rendition of “microwave”, referring to the transmitters that grace the mountain’s peak; the paved road climbs for 10km to a Hmong village, where the fantastic view west stretches far into Myanmar. Around 15km beyond this turn-off, Highway 108 climbs to a roadside viewing area, with fine vistas, this time to the east, of the sheer, wooded slopes and the Pha Bong Dam in the valley far below. Subsequently the road makes a dramatic, headlong descent towards Mae Hong Son, passing the Ban Pha Bong hot springs, 7km north of the viewing area (11km before Mae Hong Son). These have been turned into a small spa complex with hot spring-water baths, traditional masseurs, private treatment rooms and a restaurant.
MAE HONG SON, capital of Thailand’s northwestern-most province, sports more nicknames than a town of ten thousand people seems to deserve. In Thai, it’s Muang Sam Mok, the “City of Three Mists”: set deep in a mountain valley, Mae Hong Son is often swathed in mist, the quality of which differs according to the three seasons (in the rainy season it’s low cloud, while in the hot season it’s mostly composed of unpleasant smoke from burning fields). In former times, the town, which wasn’t connected to the outside world by a paved road until 1968, was known as “Siberia” to the troublesome politicians and government officials who were exiled here from Bangkok. Nowadays, thanks to its mountainous surroundings, it’s increasingly billed as the “Switzerland of Thailand”: eighty percent of Mae Hong Son province is on a slope of more than 45 degrees.
To match the hype, Mae Hong Son has become a popular tourist destination, sporting, alongside plenty of backpacker guesthouses, several upmarket hotels and resorts for Thai and farang tourists. Many visitors come here for trekking in the beautiful countryside, others just for the cool climate and lazy upcountry atmosphere. The town is still small enough and sleepy enough to hole up in for a quiet week, though in the high season (Nov–Feb) swarms of minibuses disgorge tour groups who hunt in packs through the souvenir stalls and fill up the restaurants. At this time of year, lakeside Thanon Pradit Jongkham and the small roads that run up to the post office become a pedestrianized “walking street” in the evening, allowing vendors to sell souvenirs, handicrafts and clothes and to serve food at low tables on the waterfront.
Running north to south, Mae Hong Son’s main drag, Thanon Khunlumprapas, is intersected by Thanon Singhanat Bamrung at the traffic lights in the centre of town. Beyond the typical concrete boxes in the centre, Mae Hong Son sprawls lazily across the valley floor and up the lower slopes of Doi Kong Mu to the west, trees and untidy vegetation poking through at every possible opportunity to remind you that open country is only a stone’s throw away.
“Long-neck” women
The most famous – and notorious – of the Mae Hong Son area’s spectacles is its contingent of “long-neck” women, members of the tiny Kayan Lahwi tribe of Myanmar (sometimes called Padaung) who have come across to Thailand to escape Burmese repression. Though the women’s necks appear to be stretched to 30cm and more by a column of brass rings, the “long-neck” tag is a technical misnomer: a National Geographic team once X-rayed one of the women and found that instead of stretching out her neck, the pressure of eleven pounds of brass had simply squashed her collarbones and ribs. Girls of the tribe start wearing the rings from about the age of 6, adding one or two each year up to the age of 16 or so. Once fastened, the rings are generally for life, for to remove a full stack may eventually cause the collapse of the neck and suffocation – in the past, removal was a punishment for adultery.
The origin of the ring-wearing ritual remains unclear, despite an embarrassment of plausible explanations. Kayan Lahwi legend says that the mother of their tribe was a dragon with a long, beautiful neck, and that their unique custom is an imitation of her. Tour guides will tell you the practice is intended to enhance the women’s beauty. In Myanmar, where the practice is now discouraged, it’s variously claimed that ring-wearing arose out of a need to protect women from tiger attacks or to deform the wearers so that the Burmese court would not kidnap them for concubines.
In spite of their handicap (they have to use straws to drink, for example), the women are able to carry out some kind of an ordinary life: they can marry and have children, and they’re able to weave and sew, although these days they spend most of their time posing for photographs like an exhibit in a carnival sideshow. Only half of the Kayan Lahwi women now lengthen their necks; left to follow its own course, the custom would probably die out, but the influence of tourism may well keep it alive for some time yet. The villages in Mae Hong Son, and now also in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces, where they live, are set up by Thai entrepreneurs as a money-making venture (visitors are charged B250–500 to enter these villages). At least, contrary to many reports, the “long necks” are not held as slaves: they are each paid a very basic wage of about B1500 per month, supplemented by whatever they can make selling handicrafts to tourists. However, their plight as refugees is certainly precarious and vulnerable; those in Mae Hong Son are in theory allowed to move around the province, but those in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are confined to their villages.
Mae Hong Son was founded in 1831 as a training camp for elephants captured from the surrounding jungle for the princes of Chiang Mai (Jong Kham Lake, in the southeastern part of the modern town, served as the elephants’ bathing spot). The hard work of hunting and rearing the royal elephants was done by the Thai Yai (aka Shan), who account for half the population of the province and bring a strong Burmese flavour to Mae Hong Son’s temples and festivals. The other half of the province’s population is made up of various hill tribes (a large number of Karen, as well as Lisu, Hmong and Lawa), with a tiny minority of Thais concentrated in the provincial capital. The latest immigrants to the province are Burmese refugees, based in camps between Mae Hong Son and the border, who generally do not encourage visitors as they’ve got quite enough on their plates without having to entertain onlookers.
Towards the southeast of the town centre, just south of the lake
Mae Hong Son’s classic picture-postcard view – either by day or when illuminated at night – is its twin nineteenth-century Burmese-style temples, Wat Chong Kham and Wat Chong Klang, from the opposite, north, shore of Jong Kham Lake (Nong Jong Kham), their gleaming white and gold chedis and the multi-tiered roofs and spires of their viharns reflected in the water. In the viharn of Wat Chong Kham is a huge, intricately carved sermon throne, decorated with the dharmachakra (Wheel of Law) in coloured glass on gold; the building on the left has been built around the temple’s most revered Buddha image, the benign, inscrutable Luang Pho To.
Next to Wat Chong Kham, just south of the lake
Wat Chong Klang, the other of the two lakeside temples, is famous for its paintings on glass, which are said to have been painted by artists from Mandalay more than a hundred years ago; they’re displayed over three walls on the left-hand side of the viharn. The first two walls behind the monks’ dais (on which women are not allowed to stand) depict Jataka stories from the Buddha’s previous incarnations in their lower sections, and the life of the Buddha himself in their upper, while the third wall is devoted entirely to the Buddha’s life. A room to the left houses an unforgettable collection of teak statues, brought over from Myanmar in the middle of the nineteenth century. The dynamically expressive, often humorous figures are characters from the Vessantara Jataka, but the woodcarvers have taken as their models people from all levels of traditional Burmese society, including toothless emaciated peasants, butch tattooed warriors and elegant upper-class ladies.
Mae Hong Son Living Museum Co-ordination Centre
Thanon Singhanat Bamrung • Daily 8.30am–4.30pm
It’s worth calling in on the Mae Hong Son Living Museum Co-ordination Centre, the welcoming information office for an interesting project to open up Mae Hong Son as a living cultural showcase. You’ll be able to pick up a useful map showing good local restaurants and the remaining examples of Thai Yai teak architecture in town.
Between Thanon Nivetpisarn and Thanon Panishwattana • Daily from dawn until around 9am
The town’s vibrant, smelly morning market is worth dragging your bones up at dawn to see. People from the local hill tribes often come down to buy and sell, and the range of produce is particularly weird and wonderful, including, in season, porcupine meat, displayed with quills to prove its authenticity.
Thanon Panishwattana
The many-gabled viharn of 150-year-old Wat Hua Wiang shelters, under a lace canopy, one of the most beautiful Buddha images in northern Thailand, the Chao Palakeng. Copied from the Mahamuni image in Mandalay and brought over to Mae Hong Son a hundred years ago, the strong, serene bronze has the regal clothing and dangling ears typical of Burmese Buddhas.
On the hill to the west of town
For a godlike overview of the area, drive or climb up to Wat Doi Kong Mu on the steep hill to the west. From the temple’s two chedis, which enshrine the ashes of respected nineteenth-century Thai Yai monks, you can look down on the town and out across the sleepy farming valley north and south. Behind the chedis, the viharn contains an unusual and highly venerated white marble image of the Buddha, surrounded in gold flames. If you’ve got the energy, trek up to the bot on the summit, where the view extends over the Burmese mountains to the west.
Pha Sua Falls, Mae Aw and Ban Ruam Thai
North of Mae Hong Son: if driving yourself, turn left off Route 1095 10km north of town, following signposts for Pha Sua
Tours and trekking around Mae Hong Son
Once you’ve exhausted the few obvious sights in town, the first decision you’ll have to grapple with is whether to visit one of the three villages of “long-neck” women around Mae Hong Son. If all that sounds too easy, Mae Hong Son is a popular centre for trekking.
There’s no getting away from the fact that trekking up and down Mae Hong Son’s steep inclines is tough, though the scenery is magnificent. Most of the hill-tribe villages here are Karen, interspersed with indigenous Thai Yai (Shan) settlements in the valleys. Heading east, where many villages are very unspoilt, having little contact with the outside world, is preferable to the more populous, less traditional west; to the southeast, you’ll be able to visit Hmong and Karen, to the northeast, Lisu also. In the latter direction, if you’re very hardy, you might want to consider the five- to six-day routes to Soppong or Pai, which have the best scenery of the lot. Several guesthouses and travel agencies in Mae Hong Son run multi-day treks, on which guides can often build a camp of natural materials while overnighting in the forest.
Chakraphan (Chan) Prawinchaikul 089 552 6899, naturewalksthai-myanmar.com. Chan is a highly recommended, currently independent guide, who speaks good English, specializes in flowers and insects and offers everything up to a six-day trek to Pai (one-day treks from B1500/person).
Rose Garden Tours 86/4 Thanon Khunlumprapas 053 611681, rosegarden-tours.com. A reliable company for guided tours around the area, with day-long excursions starting from B1100.
Tour Merng Tai 89 Thanon Khunlumprapas 053 611979, tourmerngtai.com. Among a wide variety of trips, including cycling tours around town, Tour Merng Tai offers several community-based tourism programmes, employing village guides and cooks and contributing part of the profits to local communities. They include one-day treks, visiting Lahu, Thai Yai or Karen villages (from B1700/person, including 4WD transport where necessary, English-speaking guide and lunch), though longer homestays with trekking are possible.
Poy Sang Long
Mae Hong Son’s most famous and colourful festival is Poy Sang Long, held over the first weekend of April, which celebrates the ordination into the monkhood, for the duration of the schools’ long vacation, of Thai Yai boys between the ages of 7 and 14. Similar rituals take place in other northern Thai towns at this time, but the Mae Hong Son version is given a unique flavour by its Thai Yai elements. On the first day of the festival, the boys have their heads shaved and are anointed with turmeric and dressed up in the colours of a Thai Yai prince, with traditional accessories: long white socks, plenty of jewellery, a headcloth decorated with fresh flowers, a golden umbrella and heavy face make-up. They are then announced to the guardian spirit of the town and taken around the temples. The second day brings general merry-making and a spectacular parade, headed by a drummer and a richly decorated riderless horse, which is believed to carry the town’s guardian spirit. The boys, still in their finery, are each carried on the shoulders of a chaperone, accompanied by musicians and bearers of traditional offerings. In the evening, the novices tuck into a sumptuous meal, waited on by their parents and relatives, before the ordination ceremony in the temple on the third day.
North of Mae Hong Son, a trip to Pha Sua Falls and the border villages of Mae Aw and Ruam Thai takes in some spectacular and varied countryside. Your best options are to rent a vehicle or join a tour (B1100–1400/person for a one-day excursion, including a visit to the highly overrated Fish Cave). With your own wheels, you can stop off en route at the Phu Klon Country Club (053 282579, phuklon.co.th), more commonly known as the mud spa, where you can get a face or body mask or a massage, or bathe in the hot spring water.
About 20km from the turn-off from Route 1095 you’ll reach Pha Sua Falls, a wild, untidy affair, which crashes down in several cataracts through a dark overhang cut in the limestone. The waterfall flows all year round but is in full roar in October after the rainy season. Take care when swimming, as several people have been swept to their deaths here.
Above the falls the paved road climbs precipitously, giving glorious, broad vistas of both Thai and Burmese mountains, before reaching the unspectacular half-Hmong, half-Thai Yai village of Naphapak after 11km. From here, a largely flat stretch of tarmac (built by the Thai military to help the fight against the opium trade) heads north for 7km to MAE AW (aka Ban Rak Thai), a settlement of Kuomintang anti-Communist Chinese refugees, right on the border with Myanmar. The tight ring of hills around the village heightens the feeling of being in another country: delicate, bright-green tea bushes line the slopes, while Chinese ponies wander past long, unstilted bamboo houses. In the central marketplace on the north side of the village reservoir, shops sell great bags of Oolong and Chian Chian teas, as well as dried mushrooms.
Heading 6km west from Naphapak along a fairly rough paved road, you’ll come to BAN RUAM THAI, a Thai Yai settlement where a royal project has had a lot of success in substituting coffee for opium. At the western end of the village lies Pang Oung, a large reservoir surrounded by pine-clad slopes that’s very popular with Thai tourists and has been dubbed “Switzerland in Mae Hong Son” – the locals have even put bells on their cows.
Arrival and departureMae Hong Son
By plane Mae Hong Son airport is close to the centre (about B60 in a tuk-tuk), towards the northeast of town. Bangkok Airways runs direct flights from and to Chiang Mai twice a day (45min).
By bus The main company serving Mae Hong Son is Prempracha (premprachatransports.com). From Chiang Mai’s Arcade bus station, they run one daytime bus a day (plus two overnight) via Mae Sariang and one a day via Pai, as well as nine a/c minibuses a day via Pai. They also offer one a/c minibus a day from Mae Sariang. Minibuses coming into Mae Hong Son via Pai go past the Crossroads bar, so ask the driver to drop you there if you’re staying in town. From the new bus station, tuk-tuks run north into the centre for about B80.
Destinations Bangkok (Sombat Tour; 3 daily; 15hr); Chiang Mai (13 daily; 6hr–8hr 30min); Mae Sariang (4 daily; 4hr); Pai (10 daily; 3hr–4hr 30min).
Getting around
Local transport, in the form of songthaews and tuk-tuks from the north side of the morning market, is thinly spread and unreliable, so for all excursions it’s best to rent your own vehicle or join an organized tour through your guesthouse or one of the many travel agents in town.
By motorbike or four-wheel drive PA Motor on Thanon Pradit Jongkham opposite Friend House (053 614220, pamotorcarrent.com) rents out motorbikes for B150–250/day, as well as cars and 4WDs from B1500.
By bicycle Edd Titan on Thanon Khunlumprapas (084 372 3515, facebook.com/eddtitanbikerentals) rents out good-quality bikes for B100–150/day.
Information
Tourist information The TAT office is on Thanon Ratchathumpitak, towards the northeast of the city centre (daily 8.30am–4.30pm; 053 612982–3).
Accommodation
Mae Hong Son has a healthy roster of guesthouses, many of them being good-value, rustic affairs set in their own quiet gardens; most huddle together around Jong Kham Lake while a few spread themselves out on the northern slopes of Doi Kong Mu on the northwestern edge of town, which greatly adds to their scenic appeal. If you’ve got a little more money to spend, you can get out into the countryside to one of several self-contained resorts, though staying at most of these is not exactly a wilderness experience – they’re really designed for weekending Thais travelling by car. Finally, several upmarket hotels have latched onto the area’s meteoric development, offering all the usual international-standard facilities.
Baan Mai Guesthouse Thanon Chamnansathit, northeast of the lake 080 499 1975, baanmaiguesthouse.com; map. Welcoming homestay in a cosy, plant-strewn, traditional wooden house with shared hot-water bathrooms. Informal cooking classes offered. Light breakfast included. Fan B400, a/c B600
Baiyoke Chalet Thanon Khunlumprapas, just across from the post office 053 613132–9, baiyokehotel.com; map. Set around a a topiary-filled courtyard, this upmarket hotel offers standard rooms that are small, simple but more than serviceable, with varnished parquet floors, plain white walls, bedside lamps, a desk, a mini-bar, TV, a/c, hot shower and a balcony. Breakfast included (good-value half-board packages also offered). B1380
Fern Resort 6km south of town on Highway 108, then signposted 2km east on a paved minor road 053 686110–1, fernresort.info; map. By far the best resort around Mae Hong Son, this eco-friendly and sustainable place employs local villagers as much as possible. In a peaceful, shady valley, a brook runs through the beautiful, spacious grounds, past rice fields and stylish, large cottages with hot water, a/c and verandas (no phones or TV, wi-fi only around the lobby and restaurant). There’s an attractive swimming pool, nature trails in the surrounding Mae Surin National Park, mountain bikes for guests’ use and campfires in the evening; free pick-ups from town and regular free shuttle buses to the Fern Restaurant in town. Breakfast included. B1700
Friend House 20 Thanon Pradit Jongkham 053 620119; map. Basic but clean teak-and-concrete house with upstairs balcony giving views of the lake. Larger rooms have hot-water bathrooms, smaller ones share hot showers and have mattresses on the floor. B250
Imperial Mae Hong Son Resort 149 Moo 8, Tambon Pang Moo 053 684444–5, imperialhotels.com; map. On the south side of the town by the turn-off for Huai Deua, this low-rise building is set in pretty, sloping landscaped gardens, overlooked by spacious, bright rooms featuring lovely polished-teak floors, satellite TV, balconies and mini-bars; there’s a large swimming pool, too. B2680
Mountain Inn 112 Thanon Khunlumprapas 053 611802–3, mhsmountaininn.com; map. Large, neat and tasteful rooms with a/c, hot-water bathrooms, mini-bars and TVs, set round a flower-strewn garden and swimming pool. Look out for the stencilled wall art and quirky smiling statues in the lobby. B1800
Palm House 22/1 Thanon Chamnansathit 053 614022; map. The decor in this two-storey block near the lake is plain, to say the least, but the welcome’s friendly and the clean, tiled a/c rooms have hot showers, TVs and fridges. B690
Panorama Hotel 51 Thanon Khunlumprapas 053 611757; map. Welcoming, five-storey hotel near the town’s main crossroads, where the no-frills but comfortable a/c rooms have hot showers, fridges and TVs. B800
Piya Guest House 1/1 Soi 3, Thanon Khunlumprapas 053 611260, facebook.com/piyaguesthousemhs; map. Friendly, well-run, hotel-like guesthouse, boasting large, brightly painted, clean bungalows with spacious, hot-water bathrooms and a/c, in a lush garden dotted with fruit trees and a small swimming pool beside the lake. B700
Romtai House 22 Thanon Chamnansathit 053 612437, mhs-romtai.com; map. There’s a wide choice of spacious, well-kept rooms and bungalows with hot water at this tranquil place that’s set around a rambling, colourful garden and a big lotus pond. B400
Sang Tong Huts Down a small lane off Thanon Makkasandi 053 611680, sangtonghuts.org; map. Upmarket, German-run guesthouse with a cute swimming pool, offering rustic chic on a steep, jungly slope on the edge of town. Roofed with traditional, thatched tong teung leaves and equipped with mosquito nets on the beds, the posh cottages have verandas, rugs, tapestries and large, attractively tiled bathrooms with hot water. Home-baked bread, croissants, jam, yogurt and muesli for breakfast. B1200
Eating
In addition to Khao Soi Panoon listed below, you could head to the Mae Hong Son Living Museum Co-ordination Centre for information about other traditional restaurants favoured by locals. There’s also a small, popular, takeaway-only evening market on Thanon Panishwattana, along from the day market, that closes around 8pm.
77 House 77 Thanon Khunlumprapas 053 611977, facebook.com/housemaehongson; map. Chic cafe-restaurant next door to its own boutique, with tables on the pavement for people-watching, sofas inside and French chansons on the soundtrack. It’s popular for breakfast, with very good espresso coffees, and later in the day serves Thai and Western meals (from around B70), including Pon Yang Kham beef (Thailand’s version of wagyu beef) and organic salads, washed down with imported beer and wine. Daily 7.30am–10.30pm.
Alawaa South side of Jong Kham Lake, across from Wat Chong Klang 053 611552; map. Stylish, a/c, polished-concrete café with a small garden patio, serving good espresso coffees, teas, smoothies and cakes. Mon–Sat 8.30am–5.30pm.
Fern 87 Thanon Khunlumprapas 053 611374; map. Large, justly popular eating place, set in a lovely teak building with a nice terrace, serving good Thai food (from B80), such as spicy coconut shoot salad and river fish with spicy mango salad. It also offers a few Thai Yai, northern Thai and Western dishes. Daily 10.30am–10pm.
Kai Mook Thanon U-Domchaonitesh; map. Friendly and congenial old-timer with lots of interesting menu choices including northern Thai dishes: chilli dips (nam phrik), deep-fried mushrooms in soy sauce and a zingy mixed nut salad (B90). Daily 10am–2pm & 5–10pm.
Khai Kata Just off Thanon Singhanat Bamrung, immediately inside the gate to the morning market opposite Krung Thai Bank; map. Mae Hong Son’s best breakfast – which may well leave you asking for seconds – is the Vietnamese-style khai kata here (fried eggs with minced pork), served with mini-baguettes and traditional coffee. Daily 5am–1pm.
Khao Soi Panoon Thanon Padungmuaytaw, next to Kadkam Plaza; map. This simple housefront restaurant does a superb version of the northern breakfast and lunch soup with egg noodles, khao soi, creamy and toothsome, served with either chicken or pork (B40). Daily roughly 8am–4pm.
Salween River 23 Thanon Pradit Jongkham 084 687 8891; map. Cosy, welcoming restaurant and bar with a book exchange. The kitchen serves up good breakfasts with home-made bread and a wide variety of Western favourites (main dishes B100 and up), as well as northern Thai, Thai Yai and Burmese food, including a delicious green tea salad (B50), and Arabica coffee produced by local hill tribes. Daily 8am–10pm.
Sunflower Thanon Pradit Jongkham maehongsontravel.com/sunflower; map. Despite the strange grotto-like architecture, this is a good, friendly place for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a drink, with a large terrace overlooking the lake and the temples behind. Pizzas, espresso coffees, and some tasty Thai dishes, including Lanna specialities and Pai River fish. In high season you’re likely to catch some live music here in the evenings. Daily 8am–midnight (kitchen closes 10pm).
Drinking
Crossroads 16 Thanon Singhanat Bamrung 053 612500; map. This welcoming, aptly named bar – located at the junction of the town’s two main roads – is a great place to chill out in the evenings and watch the world go by. Set in a lovely old Thai Yai teak house that’s now filled with retro knick-knacks, it’s best for a drink – including great shakes and cocktails – though it also serves Thai and Western food, including breakfasts. Daily 8am–midnight.
Directory
ATMs and exchange There are several ATMs, banks and exchange booths along Thanon Khunlumprapas and on Thanon Singhanat Bamrung.
Hospital Sri Sangwarn, Thanon Singhanat Bamrung 053 611378.
Immigration office Thanon Khunlumprapas, north of the town centre (Mon–Fri 8.30am–4.30pm; 053 612106).
Pharmacy Helpful, English-speaking Paaset, Thanon Singhanat Bamrung (daily 7am–9pm).
Tourist police Thanon Singhanat Bamrung 053 611812 or 1155.
The small market town of SOPPONG, 68km from Mae Hong Son on Route 1095 in the district of Pang Ma Pha (which is sometimes used on signposts), gives access to the most famous of over two hundred known caves in the area, Tham Lot, 9km north in BAN THAM. Due to its proximity to Pai, Soppong has become popular for day-trippers, and now even supports several ATMs. On Tuesday mornings, it hosts a weekly market that draws many hill-tribe villagers down to sell their wares.
Ban Tham, 9km north of Soppong; Thai Yai guide with lantern B150 per group (up to three people), bamboo raft B300–400 for up to three people
Turn right in Ban Tham to find the entrance to the Tham Lot Nature Education Station, set up to look after the cave. A short walk through the forest brings you to the entrance of Tham Lot, where the Lang River begins a 600m journey through the cave. How you access the various parts of the cave depends on the time of year and how much rain there has been, and usually involves hiring a bamboo raft for some or all of your journey. Normally two hours should allow you plenty of time for travelling through the broad, airy tunnel, and for the main attraction, climbing up into the sweaty caverns in the roof.
The first of these, Column Cavern, 100m from the entrance on the right, is dominated by a 20m-high cave stalagmite snaking up towards the ceiling – be sure not to touch any of the cave formations. Another 50m on the left, bamboo ladders lead up into Doll Cave, which has a glistening, pure white wall and a weird red and white formation shaped like a Wurlitzer organ; deep inside, stalagmites look like dolls. Just before the vast exit from the cave, wooden ladders on the left lead up into Coffin Cave, named after the remains of a dozen crude log coffins discovered here, one of them preserved to its full length of 5m. Hollowed out from teak trunks about 1700 years ago, they are similar to those found in many of the region’s caves: some are raised 2m off the ground by wooden supporting poles, and some still contained bones, pottery and personal effects when they were discovered. It’s worth hanging round the cave’s exit at sunset, when hundreds of thousands of tiny black chirruping swifts pour into the cave in an almost solid column, to find their beds for the night.
Arrival and departureSoppong and Ban Tham
By bus All buses connecting Mae Hong Son with Pai and Chiang Mai pass through Soppong. From the bus stop in the centre of Soppong, it’s possible to pick up a motorbike taxi (B70) or pick-up truck (B300) for the gentle run along the paved forest road to Ban Tham, which branches off Highway 1095 just east of Little Eden Guesthouse.
Accommodation and eating
Soppong
Little Eden Guest House A short walk east of Soppong’s bus stop 053 617054, littleeden-guesthouse.com. This tranquil spot offers neat, attractive bungalows, plush rooms and deluxe two-storey houses, each with a private hot-water bathroom. The pretty garden has a kidney-shaped swimming pool and slopes down towards the Lang River, which is flanked by a relaxing pavilion and crossed by a suspension bridge that leads to a short loop walk through the forest. Services here include motorbike rental and massage, and there are plenty of tours and treks on offer. B450
Soppong River Inn At the west end of town, about 500m from the bus stop 053 617107, soppong.com. On this extensive, densely foliated, quiet riverside plot you’ll find a variety of bungalows and cottage-style rooms, tastefully decorated and thoughtfully designed, all with hot showers, many with outdoor bathrooms and some with luxuries such as a/c, DVD players and iPod docks. As well as a good café serving Western, Thai and Thai Yai food, there’s a lovely, partly thatched deck over the Pai River, which here runs swiftly through a craggy, jungly defile. Thai massage and treks available. B700
ANCIENT WALL MURALS IN WAT PHUMIN, NAN
Tours from Cave Lodge
The owners of Cave Lodge (see below) can provide plenty of useful information about Tham Lot and other robust, active caves that can be explored in the region (many of which they themselves discovered), and organize guided trips (from B750/person, including equipment and lunch). They also offer a variety of kayaking tours year round, including trips through Tham Lot, plus 6km of fun rapids (roughly June–Jan; from B650). Maps (and packed lunches) for self-guided walking from the lodge to local Thai Yai, Karen, Lahu and Lisu villages are available, as well as local, English-speaking guides for one-day hikes and full-on trekking (typically B2500 for 3 days).
Ban Tham
Cave Lodge On the other side of Ban Tham from the cave 053 617203, cavelodge.com. Set amongst trees above the Lang River, this long-established guesthouse makes an excellent, friendly base for exploring the area. The owners can arrange local sightseeing trips and activities and there’s a good range of accommodation, from dorms to wooden rooms and bungalows, some with shared hot showers and others with their own bathrooms. There’s also a herbal steam sauna and a relaxing communal area around an open fire for hanging out and eating Thai, Thai Yai and Western food, including home-baked bread and muffins. Dorms B180, doubles B300
Ban Nong Tong
Lisu Homestay In the village of Ban Nong Tong, a 10min motorbike ride from Soppong 085 721 1575, lisuhilltribe.com. A genuine Lisu homestay where you can go trekking, have a massage and herbal steam bath and learn the hill tribe’s crafts, music, dance, massage and cooking (courses extra at B700/day). Full board per person B300
Set in a broad, gentle, mountain-ringed valley 43km beyond Soppong, PAI was once just a small-town stopover on the tiring journey to Mae Hong Son, but in recent years has established itself as a major tourist destination in its own right. There’s nothing special to see here, but you can partake of all manner of outdoor activities, courses – there’s even a circus school – and holistic therapies, not to mention retail therapy at the art studios, bookshops and jewellery shops. The guesthouses, out-of-town resorts and restaurants have tailored themselves to the flood of Westerners who make the journey out from Chiang Mai, some of whom settle into the town’s full-on traveller culture and laidback, New-Agey feel for weeks or even months. Meanwhile, Pai is now firmly on the radar of Thai tourists, so in high season, especially on weekends when the sunflowers near Mae Hong Son are out, the narrow through-streets get clogged with air-conditioned minibuses. It can be an odd mix, but an evening promenade along the “walking street” of Thanon Chaisongkhram, with its Thai-style galleries and gift shops in the traditional buildings at the western end and more traveller-oriented outlets to the east – plus a sprinkling of local hill-tribe people and shrouded Thai Muslims – is undoubtedly pleasant and sanuk.
Pai hot springs, spas and traditional massage
Just because you’re hundreds of kilometres from the nearest beach, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good soak. The Pai area is home to some natural hot springs and a clutch of decent spas, all of which offer massages.
Accessible from the minor road south from Wat Mae Yen, about 7km southeast of town (or by turning left off the main Chiang Mai road straight after the bridge over the Pai River), are some hot springs (B300), part of Huai Nam Dang National Park, which have one or two very hot, rough pools that aren’t really up to much. Much better than the pools, however, are the nearby spas, which put the piped hot water from the springs to more productive use. Pai Hotsprings Spa Resort (053 065746, paihotspringssparesort.com), down a side road about 1km north of the springs by the Pai River, has a large, shady mineral pool that’s open to non-guests (B100), as well as offering various massages and accommodation with spa-water bathrooms.
Massages are available at several spots around town. Having trained at the Old Medicine Hospital in Chiang Mai, the staff at Pai Traditional Thai Massage (PTTM) on Thanon Tessaban 1 (083 577 0498) have a good reputation for traditional massages (B200/hr), and run government-approved, three-day massage courses (B3000).
Wat Mae Yen and the swimming pool
Fluid: daily 9am–6.30pm; closes for about 2 months during the rainy season • B60 • facebook.com/fluidswimmingpool
Several undemanding walks can be made around Pai’s broad, gently sloping valley. The easiest – a round-trip of about an hour – takes you across the river bridge on the east side of town and up the hill to Wat Mae Yen, which commands a great view over the whole district. On the way to the wat, you’ll pass Fluid, the town’s well-maintained open-air 25m swimming pool, with landscaped lawn areas for sunbathing and a popular bar-restaurant.
To the west of town, beyond Pai Hospital, the continuation of Thanon Chaisongkhram will bring you, after 3km, to Wat Nam Hu, supposedly founded by sixteenth-century nationalist hero, King Naresuan, and housing a Buddha image with an unusual topknot containing miraculous holy water. A kilometre further on, you’ll pass the Kuomintang village of Ban Santichon and its Chinese theme park of thatched adobe buildings, housing tea and souvenir shops and several popular Yunnanese restaurants – which appeal mostly to Pai’s many Chinese visitors. As you continue, the road gradually climbs through comparatively developed Thai Yai, Lisu and Lahu villages to Mo Pang Falls, with a pool for swimming, about 10km west of Pai.
Arrival and departurePai
Air Asia now offers combination tickets from Bangkok, including flight from Don Muang to Chiang Mai and a/c minibus transfer to Pai. Aya Service, a travel agency on Thanon Chaisongkhram (053 699888, ayaservice.com), sells bus, air and train tickets. It also offers one-way motorbike rental between Chiang Mai and Pai for B300 plus the daily rental charge, with your luggage carried free on one of their a/c minibuses.
Outdoor activities and courses in Pai
Pai makes a good base for trekking which can be arranged through guesthouses or operators such as Thai Adventure Rafting (see below). The cost starts at around B800/day (in a large group), with bamboo rafting extra. Thai Adventure Rafting’s two-day trek, for example, heads off to friendly, hassle-free Karen and Lahu villages to the north near the Myanmar border, taking in some beautiful scenery. Its one-day treks take in Lisu and Lahu villages and a three-tiered waterfall, and it also offers combination tours of one day trekking and one day rafting (from B2900/person), as well as afternoon mountain-biking tours (from B1100/person). Another reliable all-rounder is Pai Adventures on Thanon Chaisongkhram (053 699326, paiadventures.com), which besides trekking and white-water rafting offers one-day caving trips (from B1800; Jan–May).
As well as trekking, agencies in town can arrange bamboo-rafting, kayaking and tubing on the Pai River. Pai also offers massage courses (see opposite).
Cookery school
Pai Cookery School Thanon Wan Chalerm 081 706 3799, paicookeryschool.com. Thai cooking courses of 2hr in the morning (B600), 4hr in the afternoon, including a trip to the market to learn about ingredients (B750), or up to three days; vegetarians catered for.
Elephant Camp
Thom’s Office in town on Thanon Rungsiyanon 053 065778, thomelephant.com. Among several elephant camps about 5km south of town on the minor road from Mae Yen towards the hot springs, Thom’s offers a variety of experiences, starting from an hour-long trip, either riding bareback or bathing with an elephant (from B800, including transport from town and a free bathe in a hot spring pool), as well as mahout training courses (on-site accommodation is available).
White-water rafting
Thai Adventure Rafting Thanon Chaisongkhram 053 699111, thairafting.com. The reliable and experienced, French-run Thai Adventure Rafting specializes in rubber-raft trips. Heading down the Pai River to Mae Hong Son, you’ll pass through gorges and sixty rapids (up to class IV) and take in waterfalls and hot springs. The full journey lasts two days, including a night at a comfortable jungle camp by the river, and costs B3500/person, though one-day trips (B1800) are also available; the season normally runs from June or July to February, with the highest water in September, and participants must be able to swim.
Yoga retreat
Xhale Yoga In Pai Resort, 6km north of Pai xhaleyogapai.com. Certified tutor Bhud runs highly recommended, five-night yoga retreats (see the website for the schedule; from B12,500 including vegetarian meals, accommodation, transport from Pai bus station and guided meditation).
By bus Prempracha (053 492999, premprachatransports.com) runs one non-a/c bus a day from Chiang Mai Arcade bus station to Pai (4hr), which continues to Mae Hong Son (4hr 30min from Pai) via Soppong, as well as speedier, more expensive, hourly a/c minibuses on the same route. Aya Service (053 699888 in Pai, 053 231815 in Chiang Mai) runs hourly a/c minibuses from Chiang Mai only, but offers pick-ups from your accommodation.
Destinations Chiang Mai (hourly; 3–4hr); Mae Hong Son (hourly; 3–4hr 30min); Soppong (hourly; 1hr–1hr 30min).
Getting around
By car If you’re driving yourself, note that the eastern part of Thanon Chaisongkhram, the north end of Rungsiyanon and Thanon Tessaban 1 are pedestrianized, at least in the tourist season. Wat Luang on Thanon Khetkalang is a handy place to park. North Wheels on Thanon Khetkalang rents out cars (053 698066, northwheels.com; from B1200/day).
By motorbike taxi Yellow-vested motorbike taxis and songthaew taxis wait on Thanon Chaisongkhram opposite the bus station, but if you’re staying in one of the more central guesthouses it’s easy enough to walk.
By rented motorbike Aya Service, on Thanon Chaisongkhram, rents motorbikes, charging from B100/day, not including insurance, which starts from B80/day. The reliable North Wheels charges B200/day including insurance.
Information
Events listings The free, monthly, English-language Pai Events Planner, available in bars such as The Jazz House, restaurants and guesthouses, has news about what’s on.
Accommodation
The streets in the centre of town teem with places to stay, and there are dozens of hotels, resorts and “treehouse retreats” in the quiet countryside around Pai. However, you’ll have to put up with guesthouse owners’ penchant for Pai-based puns: think Pai in the Sky, Pai Chart and so on.
Central Pai
Breeze of Pai Just off Thanon Chaisongkhram near Wat Pa Kham 081 998 4597, facebook.com/breezeofpai; map. Congenial, well-maintained place with large, simple but chic, ochre bungalows and single-storey rooms with nice parquet floors and hot showers. The compound’s a little crowded but lent privacy by plenty of rich foliage, enhanced by seasonal flowers and fountains. Fan B500, a/c B800
Golden Hut North of The Jazz House, next to the river 053 699949, goldenhut.wordpress.com; map. Very cheap bamboo fan rooms with shared hot showers, in a quiet garden set back from the river, or riverside bungalows on stilts. B150
Hotel des Artists (Rose of Pai) Thanon Chaisongkhram, across from Pai River Corner 053 699539, hotelartists.com; map. On a corner plot near the river and centred around an attractive glass-sided living room, this stylish hotel has just fourteen bedrooms, the best of which have fantastic terraces that face out across the water. In the spacious rooms, bell-shaped lanterns illuminate the beds (which are raised off the ground on platforms made from local wood) while facilities include a/c, TVs, DVD players, and artfully tiled en-suite bathrooms. Breakfast included. B4000
Mr Jan’s Thanon Sukhaphibun 3 (Tessaban) 053 699554; map. On one of a mess of small streets behind and to the east of Thanon Chaisongkhram, these quiet, comfy concrete rooms are set in a fragrant garden and offer good value for the facilities: a/c, hot shower, fridge and TV. B500
Pai Chan Cottage About 300m east of the bridge 081 180 3064, paichan.com; map. Overlooking paddyfields and the resort’s attractive swimming pool and gardens, the thatched wooden bungalows here are colourful and tasteful, with en-suite hot showers and mosquito nets. Free pick-ups from town. Good rates for singles. B800
Pai Circus Hostel East side of the river 099 273 3678, paicircushostel.com; map. Free fire juggling lessons and a slack line give this spacious, popular resort its name, but there’s also a swimming pool with great views of the valley, free yoga and a great party vibe. The cheapest dorms have bamboo bunks with mosquito nets, while the cheapest doubles are basic, thatched A-frames with shared bathrooms, but there’s a wide range in both categories. Free pick-ups from town. Dorms B160, doubles B380
Pai Country Hut East side of the river 087 779 6541, paicountryhut.com; map. Friendly guesthouse in a lovely garden surrounded by very attractive bamboo bungalows thatched with leaves in the local style; all have hammocks on their balconies, while the cheapest share hot showers. Free pick-ups from town. B400
Pai Fah Boutique House Thanon Tessaban 1 053 064448, pai-fah.com; map. Terracotta-coloured walls separate this good-looking hotel from the road, creating a surprisingly quiet little enclave. Inside, the a/c rooms are small but tastefully pieced together, with spacious private bathrooms, and there are plenty of shady public areas to relax in on sunny afternoons. Fan B850, a/c B1000
Pai River Corner Eastern end of Thanon Chaisongkhram, by the river 053 699049, pairivercorner.com; map. Elegant, Mediterranean-style resort with beautifully furnished, balconied rooms, some of which have their own large jacuzzi in a private courtyard, set around an attractive garden and swimming pool. B5000
Pai Village Boutique Resort South off Thanon Chaisongkhram, by the river 053 698152, paivillage.com; map. In the heart of Pai, rural simplicity – bamboo and teak huts with roofs of tong teung leaves, traditional sunburst-design gables and golden-teak furniture – with plenty of home comforts, including verandas and large bathrooms with hot showers. About B500 more gets you a/c and more living space in a “Deluxe Village” bungalow. Clustered rather closely together in a lush garden, but with seductive corners for sitting out. Fan B3315, a/c B3835
Out of town
Belle Villa About 1km north of town, signposted to the right off the Mae Hong Son road 053 698226–7, bellevillaresort.com; map. Elegant luxury rooms and villas on stilts, all with balconies, mini-bars and safes. Traversed by a stream and decorated with rice fields, the grounds sport two stylish pools. Early-bird discounts and other promotions available on their website. Breakfast included. B2800
Mountain View 500m up a side road by the tourist police at the south end of town 086 180 5998, themountainviewpai.com; map. Laidback, old-style resort of wooden bungalows with private bathrooms and hammocks on the balconies, set in ten acres of hilltop land among a small arboretum of flowering trees, with a sociable campfire burning in the cool season. Call for free pick-up from the centre. Free access to Fluid swimming pool. B270
Reverie Siam About 2km south of the centre on the west bank of the river 053 699870, reveriesiam.com; map. Set in lush gardens by the river with two saltwater swimming pools, the large rooms and villas at this boutique hotel are decorated in a fetching colonial style, with repro antique furniture, curios, prints and a touch of Gallic flair; all have rain showers, DVD players and view-filled balconies or verandas. There’s a good restaurant and a free shuttle service to town. Breakfast included. B2950
Spicypai Around 700m east of the Thanon Ratchadamrong bridge; keep right at the junctions you pass along the way and then follow the signs to the hostel 052 040177; map. Ultra-cheap and ultra-sociable dorm beds with mosquito nets, in a series of lofty, stilted bamboo huts thatched with tong teung leaves, surrounded by vivid green paddy fields. Facilities include shared hot showers and lockers for your valuables. Simple breakfast included. Dorms B180
Eating
Central Pai
Art in Chai Thanon Wan Chalerm; map. Old-school hippy café that’s famous for its strong masala chai. It also serves tasty sandwiches (around B90), veggie and vegan salads, various porridges and homemade yoghurt, as well as cakes and cookies. Daily except Tues 9am–10pm.
Baan Benjarong South end of town on Thanon Rungsiyanon 053 698010; map. In a town where you can get everything from sushi to falafel, this is one of the few places to offer a wide variety of authentic and tasty Thai dishes – the banana-flower salad (yam hua plee) is especially delicious. Small, often full on busy nights (no reservations) and service can be a little begrudging. Daily approximately 11am–1.30pm & 5–8pm, though hours are temperamental.
Big’s Little Café Thanon Chaisongkhram facebook.com/bigslittlecafepai; map. Run by Big, who has worked as a chef in England, this tiny streetside café is renowned for its tasty and keenly priced burgers, sandwiches, jacket potatoes and Western breakfasts. Customers sit around on bar stools while their food is prepared right in front of them. A good spot for meeting other travellers. Daily except Sat 9am–4/5pm.
Cafecito Down a quiet soi off Thanon Rungsiyanon on the south side of town 086 587 2107, facebook.com/cafecitopai; map. It’s well worth the trek out to this café for excellent home-roasted coffee, scrummy home-baked cakes and great Mexican food such as tacos (B110). Daily except Thurs 9am–5pm.
Khaotha Down a quiet soi off Thanon Rungsiyanon on the south side of town facebook.com/khaothapai; map. Coffee roaster and wholesaler that’s also a cool café, decorated with graffiti and old fans, with jazz on the soundtrack and quiet seats on the front terrace. There are a few teas and sodas on the menu, but the main event here is the seriously good espresso coffee (B40). Daily 8.30/9am–5pm.
Nong Beer Corner of Chaisongkhram and Khetkalang 053 699103; map. One of Pai’s longest-standing and most popular places for cheap eats dishing up great khao soi, pork satay and a wide range of buffet stir-fries and curries, including northern pork belly curry (kaeng hang lay). Daily 8am–9pm.
Nong Best Thanon Khetkalang, just south of Pai Flora Resort; map. This friendly bare-bones restaurant with an open streetside kitchen doesn’t look like much from the outside but it’s justifiably very popular with locals, and you can taste why – excellent pork with basil and chillies (B70) and crispy pork with snow peas (B70). Daily 9am–9pm.
Som Tam Na Amphoe Thanon Ratchadamrong, next to Payi Resort 053 698087; map. The green papaya salad here (B40) is a must-eat for Thai visitors to Pai, served with grilled chicken (B70), or available in the Khorat version, tam sua, with rice noodles (B40). The sign’s in Thai, but includes the phone number. Daily 10am–4.30/5pm.
TTK Thanon Ratchadamrong, next to TTK Guesthouse 053 698093; map. Famous for its kebabs (B120), falafels and other Middle Eastern dishes, this large, welcoming indoor-outdoor restaurant also serves reasonably priced beer, espresso coffees and Western and Middle Eastern breakfasts. Daily 8am–9.30pm.
Witching Well Thanon Tessaban 1, opposite Pai River Corner witchingwellrestaurant.com; map. Choose between the cute garden with its waterfall fountain and the wine bar-like interior with its bare brick walls, and tuck into good Western food such as spaghetti with pesto (B185), burgers and breakfasts – or just sip a glass of wine, an imported beer or an espresso coffee. Daily 8am–9.30pm.
Out of town
Silhouette Reverie Siam Resort; map. High-class bar-restaurant serving everything from tapas (around B100), through cheese and charcuterie boards, to sophisticated dishes such as salmon fillet with marinated cherry tomatoes and tarragon cream (B335), on a lovely terrace overlooking the hotel gardens and the valley. Live music nightly and free shuttle service from the centre. Daily 7.30am–10.30pm.
Drinking and nightlife
Several bars around town offer live music and DJs: as well as those listed below, look out for posters around town, which sometimes announce one-off parties too. The free Pai Jazz and Blues festival rocked the town over a weekend in late July 2017 and hopefully will be staged again in future years.
Don’t Cry Thanon Ratchadamrong; map. Just across the river from the centre, this classic reggae bar (with a bit of EDM and hip-hop thrown in nowadays) features live bands, DJs and fire shows. It’s the last place in town to close . . . Daily 7pm–late.
The Jazz House Just off Thanon Chaisongkhram near Wat Pa Kham 064 370 0182, facebook.com/jazzhousepai; map. This mellow and sociable bar-restaurant on a quiet, leafy lane occupies a wooden house and a shady garden with hammocks, cats and low-slung tables. It offers Thai and creative Western food, live music from 7.30pm Mon–Sat and an open mike night on Sun from 6.30pm (as well as hostel rooms, if you really want to immerse yourself in Pai’s music scene). Daily 9am–9.30pm.
Mojo Thanon Tessaban 1 facebook.com/mojocafepai; map. Cosy bar done out with dark wood and black-and-white photos of the blues greats, where a good blues band plays every night (about 8.45pm), with live acoustic as the overture (about 7.45pm). Wed is jam night (from about 10pm). Tues–Sun 5–11.30pm.
Directory
ATMs You’ll find ATMs in the centre, on Thanon Chaisongkhram and Thanon Rungsiyanon.
Hospital Thanon Chaisongkhram 053 699211.
Bookshop Siam Books, Thanon Chaisongkhram (086 255 6944; daily 9am–8/10pm), has a good selection of used and new paperbacks.
Tourist police South end of town, on the road to Chiang Mai 1155.
Once out of the Pai valley, Route 1095 climbs for 35km of hairpin bends, with beautiful views north to 2175m Doi Chiang Dao near the top. In the cool season, with your own transport, you can witness – if you get started from Pai an hour before dawn – one of the country’s most famous views of the sun rising over a sea of mist at Huai Nam Dang National Park (B300). The viewpoint is signposted on the left 30km out of Pai; take this turning and go on 6km to the park headquarters. Back on Route 1095, once over the 1300m pass, the road steeply descends the south-facing slopes in the shadow of Doi Mae Ya (2005m), before working its way along the narrow, more populous lower valleys. After 55km (at kilometre-stone 42), a left turn leads 6.5km over some stomach-churning hills to Pong Duet hot springs, where scalding water leaps up to 4m into the air, generating copious quantities of steam in the cool season. A few hundred metres downstream of the springs, a series of pools allows you to soak in the temperature of your choice. The last appealing detour of the route is to Mokfa Falls (part of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park; B200), where a cascade tumbles about 30m into a sand-fringed pool that is ideal for swimming, making an attractive setting for a break – it’s 2km south of the main road, 76km from Pai. Finally, at Mae Malai, turn right onto the busy Highway 107 and join the mad, speeding traffic for the last 34km across the wide plains to Chiang Mai.
If you’re coming up from Chiang Mai, the quickest and most obvious route to Chiang Rai is Highway 118, a fast, 185km road that swoops through rolling hill country. A much more scenic approach, however, is to follow Highway 107 and Highway 1089; a two-day trip along this route will leave you enough time for an overnight stay in Tha Ton and a longtail boat trip along the Kok River. There are other diversions en route, including the famous Elephant Nature Park and several good guesthouses in the countryside near Chiang Dao.
12km beyond Mae Taeng • Full-day trip costs B2500/person • Best to book your visit online as far in advance as possible, though they have an office in Chiang Mai at 1 Thanon Ratchamanka • 053 818932, elephantnaturepark.org
From Chiang Mai the route towards Tha Ton heads north along Highway 107, retracing the Mae Hong Son Loop as far as Mae Malai. About 3km after Mae Taeng, a signposted left turn leads 9km to the Elephant Nature Park, which is essentially a rescue centre and hospital for sick, orphaned and neglected elephants, where hands-on educational visits by the public are encouraged. On a daytime visit, you’ll get to feed, bathe and learn about the elephants close up, but it’s also possible to stay for two days or sign up as a paying volunteer for a week. The park’s owner, Sangduan (“Lek”) Chailert, has become something of a celebrity in recent years, being featured on the BBC and in Time magazine for her conservation efforts. Visits must be booked in advance and include transport from and to your accommodation in Chiang Mai.
Around kilometre-stone 72, CHIANG DAO, which hosts an interesting hill-tribe fresh market on Tuesday mornings, stretches on and on along the old main road (now Route 1359) as the dramatic limestone crags and forests of Thailand’s third-highest peak, Doi Luang Chiang Dao (or Doi Luang, “Great Mountain”; 2240m), loom up on the left. Highway 107 now follows a bypass that sweeps round to the west of town, carrying traffic heading straight for Fang and Tha Ton. From the high street just north of the market, Route 3024 heads west, crossing the bypass before passing the caves and the accommodation listed below.
5km northwest of the town centre, across the bypass on Route 3024 • Daily roughly 8am–4pm • Admission to the caves is B40 and guides ask around B100 to take a group of up to four people on a roughly 30min tour • Access from Chiang Dao by yellow songthaews and motorbike taxis
An extensive complex of interconnected caverns, Tham Chiang Dao has an attached monastery (the caves were given religious significance by the local legend of a hermit sage who is said to have dwelt in them for a millennium). Several of the caverns can be visited; a couple have electric light but others need the services of a guide with a lantern; guides will point out unusual rock formations and keep you on the right track – it’s said the deepest parts of the cave are 12km underground, and just a few of the caverns are considered safe to visit.
Treks up Doi Luang Chiang Dao
Guided treks to the summit of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, famous for its many rare alpine plants and birds, can be arranged by both Malee’s and Chiang Dao Nest during the cool season, roughly from November to early February. There’s an altitude difference of 1100m from the trailhead to the summit: fit hikers can do it in one day (from B1100/person in a large group), though it’s more pleasurable to spend two days (from B2200/person in a large group, including camping below the summit).
Arrival and departureChiang Dao
By bus Take one of the buses or a/c minibuses from Chiang Mai’s Chang Phuak bus station bound for Fang or Tha Ton, which drive along the main street (Route 1359) through Chiang Dao town. Get off at the main bus stop (rather than the bus station further north), which is near Tesco Lotus Express opposite The Star, where you’re most likely to find a motorbike taxi (B60) or yellow songthaew (B150) to take you to the cave or the guesthouses.
Accommodation and eating
Chiang Dao Nest About 1500m further north along Route 3024 from the caves 053 456612, chiangdaonest.com. There are two branches of this farang favourite, one on each side of Malee’s, with around twenty bungalows in total – all with attached hot-water bathrooms and verandas. The one nearer to the caves has a/c and serves Thai food, while the further one – which has a small swimming pool – turns out gourmet Western dishes (mains at around B300–400). B1095
Chiang Dao Roundhouses Just off the east side of Route 3024 near the caves 087 496 1571, chiangdao-roundhouses.com. Set on a landscaped grassy slope with attractive sitting areas and great views of Doi Luang, this laid-back resort offers three spacious and comfortable adobe roundhouses, one thatched, with indoor-outdoor hot-water bathrooms. Closed mid-March to June & Sept. Breakfast included. B1300
Malee’s Nature Lovers Bungalows About 1500m further north along Route 3024 from the caves 081 961 8387, maleenature.com. In a cosy orchid-filled garden, delightfully set in the shadow of the mountain, you’ll find comfy bungalows of varying size, all with hot showers, as well as a camping area (B200/person), a saltwater plunge pool and good food. They can arrange treks and bird-watching trips, and have information for self-guided hiking and birding; mountain-bike and motorbike rental is available. B750
Back on Highway 107, the road shimmies over a rocky ridge marking the watershed between the catchment areas of the Chao Phraya River to the south and the Mekong River ahead, before descending into the flat plain around Fang and the Kok River. Branching off to the left some 60km from Chiang Dao (at kilometre-stone 137), a steep and winding 25km road, Route 1249, for which you’ll need your own transport, leads up to the mountain known as Doi Angkhang (1928m). Besides a royal agricultural project that produces peaches, raspberries and kiwis in the cool season, the mountain is home to a luxurious resort, where you can stop for food and spend a couple of hours soaking up the scenery.
AccommodationDoi Angkhang
Angkhang Nature Resort 1/1 Moo 5 Baan Khum 053 450110, mosaic-collection.com/angkhang. At this gorgeous hillside resort, the luxurious teak pavilions have balconies with great views (and electric blankets for the cool season), the restaurant uses organic produce from the royal project, and bird-watching, trekking, mule riding or mountain biking to nearby hill-tribe villages are the main activities. Breakfast included. B2600
The tidy, leafy settlement of THA TON, nearly 180km north of Chiang Mai, huddles each side of a bridge over the Kok River, which flows out of Myanmar 4km to the north upstream. Life in Tha Ton revolves around the bridge – buses and boats pull up here, and most of the accommodation is clustered nearby. The main attraction here is the longtail-boat trip downstream to Chiang Rai.
On the west side of the bridge • wat-thaton.org
The over-the-top ornamental gardens of Wat Tha Ton, endowed with colossal golden and white Buddha images and an equally huge statue of Kuan Im, the Chinese bodhisattva of mercy, are well worth the short climb. From any of the statues, the views up the narrow green valley towards Myanmar and downstream across the sun-glazed plain are heady stuff.
Arrival and departuretha ton and around
By bus or songthaew Regular non-a/c buses run between Chiang Mai’s Chang Phuak bus station and Tha Ton (every 90min–2hr; 4hr). Otherwise, you could take one of the half-hourly buses or a/c minibuses to the ugly frontier outpost of Fang, 153km from Chiang Mai, then change onto a roughly half-hourly songthaew to Tha Ton. From Tha Ton, it’s also possible to move on to Mae Salong by songthaew or Mae Sai by a/c minibus (1 daily; 1hr 30min).
By car or motorbike If you’re coming up Highway 107 with your own transport, you can give Fang a miss altogether by branching west on a bypass signposted to Mae Ai. In Tha Ton, you can rent a motorbike just south of the boat station for B400/day.
Accommodation and eating
There are several simple restaurants opposite the boat landing; in addition, the following resorts have restaurants that are open to non-guests.
Khun Mai Baan Suan Resort On the east bank of the river, about 500m north of the bridge 053 053551, khunmaibaansuan.com. At a bend in the tree-lined river, this friendly resort has comfortable, tiled, log-cabin-style bungalows, some right on the water’s edge, and brick-built rooms, all with a/c and hot showers and set around a lovely, big garden. Breakfast included. B900
Old Trees House About 400m east of the bridge on the north side of Route 1089 081 168 9847, oldtreeshouse.net. This small, French-Thai resort is set in a lovely, lush, shady garden, with thatched salas for hanging out, an elevated terrace with a panorama over the valley and two landscaped swimming pools. The comfortable, roomy thatched bungalows sport sturdy bamboo furniture, verandas, hot showers, fridges, DVD players and fans. The owners can arrange one-day treks for B1000–1100/person, including lunch. Thai dinners served. Breakfast included. B1500
Boat trips along the Kok River
Travelling down the 100km stretch of the Kok River to Chiang Rai gives you a chance to soak up a rich diversity of typical northern landscapes, which you never get on a speeding bus. Heading out of Tha Ton, the river traverses a flat valley of rice fields and orchards, where it’s flanked by high reeds inhabited by flitting swallows. After half an hour, you pass the 900-year-old Wat Phra That Sop Fang, with its small hilltop chedi and a slithering naga staircase leading up from the river bank. Beyond the large village of Mae Salak, 20km from Tha Ton, the river starts to meander between thickly forested slopes. From among the banana trees and giant wispy ferns, kids come out to play, adults to bathe and wash clothes, and water buffalo emerge simply to enjoy the river. About two hours out of Tha Ton the hills get steeper and the banks rockier, leading up to a half-hour stretch of small but feisty rapids, where you might well get a soaking. Beyond the rapids, crowds of boats suddenly appear, ferrying tour groups from Chiang Rai to the Karen village of Ruammid, 20km upstream, for elephant-riding. From here on, the landscape deteriorates as the bare valley around Chiang Rai opens up.
boats
The best time of year to make this trip is in the cool season (roughly Nov–Feb), when the river is high enough after the rainy season and the vegetation lush. Canopied longtail boats (B400/person) leave from the south side of the bridge in Tha Ton every day at around 12.30pm for the trip to Chiang Rai, which takes three to four rather noisy hours. The slower, less crowded journey upriver gives an even better chance of appreciating the scenery – the longtails leave Chiang Rai at 10.30am. However, if there are fewer than four passengers, these public boats won’t depart – though there’s always the option of buying up the extra seats. If you can get a group of up to six people together, it’s better to charter a longtail from the boat landing in Tha Ton (B2500; 053 373224), which will allow you to stop at the hill-tribe villages and hot springs en route.
Accommodation
A peaceful guesthouse between Mae Salak and Ruammid, from which you can go trekking (guided or self-guided), might tempt you to break your river journey. Akha Hill House (064 229 9094, akhahill.com; dorm B80, fan double B250, a/c B1100), on the south bank of the Kok, 3km on foot from the riverside hot springs near Huai Kaeo waterfall, offers lofty views, comfortable rooms and bungalows, with shared or en-suite hot showers, and free transport daily to and from Chiang Rai, 1hr away.
Beyond Tha Ton, Route 1089 heads east towards Mae Chan and Highway 1; about 20km out of town, at Ban Kew Satai, a dramatic side road leads north for 16km to Mae Salong, this Akha settlement has been opened to visitors, who pay an entrance fee of B80 (income goes into a village development fund). A guide leads you on a 1km walk through the village, which is strategically dotted with interesting display boards in English, and you’ll get a chance to have a go on an Akha swing (not the ceremonial one), see a welcome dance and watch people weaving and tool-making, for example.
Sprawled untidily over the south bank of the Kok River, CHIANG RAI continues to live in the shadow of the regional capital, Chiang Mai, but in the last few years has acquired several genuine sights of interest, notably the Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park, a beautiful storehouse of Lanna art, and the contrasting inspirations of two local artists, Baan Dam, the “Black House Museum” and Wat Rong Khun, the “White Temple”. There’s now also a good choice of guesthouses and upmarket riverside hotels in which to lay your head, and from here you can set up a wide range of trekking, day-trips and other outdoor activities in the surrounding countryside. The town quietly gets on with its own business during the day, when most of its package tourists are out on manoeuvres, but at night the neon lights flash on and souvenir stalls and ersatz Western restaurants are thronged.
Chiang Rai is most famous for the things it had and lost. It was founded in 1263 by King Mengrai of Ngon Yang who, having recaptured a prize elephant he’d been chasing around the foot of Doi Tong, took this as an auspicious omen for a new city. Tradition has it that Chiang Rai then prevailed as the capital of the north for thirty years, but historians now believe Mengrai moved his court directly from Ngon Yang to the Chiang Mai area in the 1290s. Thailand’s two holiest images, the Emerald Buddha (now in Bangkok) and the Phra Singh Buddha (now either in Bangkok’s National Museum, Chiang Mai or Nakhon Si Thammarat, depending on which story you believe), also once resided here before moving on – at least replicas of these can be seen at Wat Phra Kaeo and Wat Phra Singh.
Northwest of the centre
A walk up to Doi Tong, the hummock to the northwest of the centre that was the site of Mengrai’s original ring fort, is the best way to get your bearings in Chiang Rai and, especially at sunset, offers a fine view up the Kok River as it emerges from the mountains to the west. On the highest part of the hill stands a kind of phallic Stonehenge centred on the town’s new lak muang (city pillar) representing the Buddhist layout of the universe. Historically, the erection of a lak muang marks the official founding of a Thai city, precisely dated to January 26, 1263 in the case of Chiang Rai; the new lak muang and the elaborate stone model around it were erected 725 years later to the day, as part of the celebrations of King Bhumibol’s sixtieth birthday. The lak muang itself represents Mount Sineru (or Meru), the axis of the universe, while the series of concentric terraces, moats and pillars represent the heavens and the earth, the great oceans and rivers, and the major features of the universe. Sprinkling water onto the garlanded lak muang and then dabbing your head with the water after it has flowed into the basin below brings good luck. The old wooden lak muang can be seen in the viharn of Wat Phra That Doi Tong on the eastern side of the hill, which is said to be older than the city itself, dating back to the tenth century.
Thanon Trairat • Temple daily dawn–dusk • Sangkaew Hall daily 9am–5pm • Free • watphrakaew-chiangrai.com
Thailand’s most important image, the Emerald Buddha, which had supposedly been sculpted by the gods in Patna, India, in 234 BC, was placed in the chedi at Wat Phra Kaeo by King Mahaprom of Chiang Rai in 1390. However, lightning destroyed the chedi 44 years later, allowing the image to continue its perambulations around Southeast Asia, finally settling down in Bangkok. A beautiful replica can now be seen here in a tiny, Lanna-style pavilion, the Hor Phra Yok. Carved in China from milky green Canadian jade, the replica was presented by a Chinese millionaire to mark the ninetieth birthday of the Princess Mother, Mae Fah Luang, in 1990, and consecrated by King Bhumibol himself. At 47.9cm wide and 65.9cm tall, it’s millimetres smaller than the actual Emerald Buddha, as religious protocol dictated that it could not be an exact copy of the original. There’s much else of interest in the temple complex, which has recently been renovated to a high standard, notably the Sangkaew Hall. Distinguished by its informative labels on Thai religious practice in English, this museum houses all sorts of Buddhist paraphernalia, including the belongings of famous monks from Chiang Rai.
Tours and trekking from Chiang Rai
Communities from all the hill tribes have settled around Chiang Rai, and the region offers the full range of terrain for trekking, from reasonably gentle walking trails near the Kok River to tough mountain slopes further north towards the border with Myanmar. However, this natural suitability has attracted too many tour and trekking agencies, and many of the hill-tribe villages, especially between Chiang Rai and Mae Salong, have become weary of the constant toing and froing; the south side of the river to the west of town is generally a better bet. Sizes of group treks from Chiang Rai tend to be smaller than those from Chiang Mai, often with just two or three people, with a maximum of about seven in a group. Most guesthouses in Chiang Rai can fit you up with a trek – Chat House is responsible and reliable, typically charging around B2500–3500 per person for three days and two nights in a group of between two and six people. It’s worth avoiding the several camps of “long-neck” women around Chiang Rai, who live as virtual prisoners for the convenience of tourists. Different ways to see the countryside around Chiang Rai include Chiang Rai Bicycle Tour’s half- to five-day cycling tours, which include hill-tribe villages, boat trips on the Kok, waterfalls and Wat Rong Khun (085 662 4347, chiangraibicycletour.com; from B1450/person including pick-up from your accommodation); and horseback trail-riding for beginners and experts with Appaloosa Stables (096 836 8701, appaloosa-stables.com; B900/hr).
More expensive treks are offered by several nonprofit foundations promoting community-based tourism that are based in and around Chiang Rai, as detailed below.
Natural Focus 053 758658 or 085 888 6869, naturalfocus-cbt.com. Set up by the Hill Area and Community Development Foundation, this CBT initiative offers one- to five-day tours to learn about mountain life, as well as youth, community development and volunteer skills programmes.
PDA At the Hill Tribe Museum 053 740088, pdacr.org. This development agency offers one- to three-day jungle treks to non-touristy areas, usually including a longtail-boat trip. It also lays on a wide range of guided tours, to its Akha project at Ban Lorcha, Mae Salong and other places of interest.
Thailand Ecotour thailandecotour.org. Part of the excellent Mirror Foundation, with an interesting and well-received programme that includes one-day bicycle tours and one- to seven-day treks.
The Hill Tribe Museum and Handicrafts Shop
620/25 Thanon Tanalai 053 719167, pdacr.org • Mon–Fri 8.30am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • Museum B50
The Hill Tribe Museum and Handicrafts Shop stocks an authentic selection of tasteful and well-made hill-tribe handicrafts. The shop, on the second floor, was started by the country’s leading development campaigner, Meechai Viravaidya, under the auspices of the PDA (Population and Community Development Association), and all proceeds go to village projects. The museum is a good place to learn about the hill tribes before going on a trek, and includes a slick, informative slide show (20min). You can donate old clothes, toys or money for jumpers and blankets, and the PDA also organizes treks and tours themselves (see above).
Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park (Rai Mae Fah Luang)
5km west of the city centre in Ban Pa Ngio • Tues–Sun 8.30am–5pm • B200 • maefahluang.org • To get here, charter a songthaew for about B100 one-way, or B200 return; with your own transport, head west on Thanon Tanalai for 1.7km from Thanon Trairat, turn right at the traffic lights onto Thanon Hong Lee and follow the road for 2–3km until you see the entrance on the left-hand side
By far Chiang Rai’s most compelling attraction is the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park, a beautiful showcase of Lanna art and architecture, and its influences from Myanmar, Laos and China. In particular, the museum displays the consummate skills of local woodcarvers, with a focus on teak, which in Thailand is associated with concepts of dignity. It’s set in lovely parkland, including a young teak garden that holds 43 varieties from northern Thailand.
The main reason for coming here is to see the Haw Kham, an amazing, multi-tiered barn of a building on massive stilts. It took five years to construct in the 1980s, in honour of the auspicious 84th birthday of the Princess Mother, Mae Fah Luang, using materials from 32 old houses in Chiang Rai province. Look out especially for the ben grit (fish scales) roof tiles, which inevitably are also made of teak. The interior’s dramatic centrepiece is a huge, slender, wooden prasat, representing the centre of the universe, Mount Meru, set in a sunken white sandpit – which not only symbolizes the Ocean of Milk, but also soaks up moisture to protect the teak. Dozens of very fine wooden artefacts surround the prasat, including a beautifully serene Burmese Buddha in a delicate, many-frilled robe that looks as if it’s moving. Standouts among the displays in the nearby Haw Kaew – which is also made entirely of teak – are some ornate oop, or ceremonial alms bowls, and a bed headboard and footboard that sport scary carvings of Rahoo: the monster eating the moon connotes not only eclipses, but also a good night’s sleep.
Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple)
13km south of Chiang Rai on the west side of Highway 1 • Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat & Sun 8am–5.30pm; B50 • Catch one of the roughly half-hourly songthaews bound for Mae Khajan from the old bus station
Wat Rong Khun almost defies description. Begun in 1997, it’s the life’s work of local contemporary artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, who has rediscovered Buddhism in a big way since spending time as a monk in 1992; he is also training dozens of “disciples”, as he calls them, to finish the temple long after his death, hopefully by 2070. Taking traditional Buddhist elements such as nagas and lotus flowers, and Lanna features such as long, slender tung kradan banners, Ajarn Chalermchai has enlarged and elaborated them, adding all sort of frills, layers and tiers. Surrounded by ponds, fountains and bridges (as well as a burgeoning village of souvenir shops and cafés for tourists), the temple is all white (to stand for the Buddha’s purity), inlaid with clear glass tiles (to represent his wisdom); the end result is like a frosted wedding cake. Inside the bot, which houses an eerily lifelike waxwork of the wat’s former abbot, you can often watch Chalermchai’s disciples painting the golden-toned murals; an earthquake in 2014 damaged the plasterwork and toppled the temple’s uppermost spire, but the work goes on. In the adjacent Hall of Masterwork, some of the artist’s original paintings are on display, while reproductions are on sale (to raise money for the project) in the souvenir shop, along with a useful B100 booklet on the temple in English, which explains the meaning of the complex design.
If you’re a fan of Chalermchai’s work, you’ll want to check out his new clocktower, back in Chiang Rai at the junction of Banphaprakan and Jet Yot roads, which hosts a mini son et lumière for five minutes every night at 7, 8 and 9pm. His designs can also be seen in the florid lampposts all over town.
Baan Dam (the Black House Museum)
About 1km west off Highway 1 (signposted), 10km north of Chiang Rai • Daily 9am–5pm; B80 • Catch any bus heading up Highway 1 (towards Mae Chan) from the old bus terminal and walk
If Wat Rong Khun almost defies description, Baan Dam thoroughly boggles the mind. The former residence and studio of the late, Chiang Rai-born National Artist, Thawan Duchanee, it houses a bizarre array of objects that were collected by Ajarn Thawan to inspire him in his work – blackened crocodile skins and conch shells, elephant skulls and stone circles, pinned insects in glass cases and bamboo fish traps. Set in a grassy, shady park, the collection is neatly displayed in and around forty or so buildings, many of which are exaggerated forms of traditional Thai structures: the ho trai (a library on stilts) is typical, painted black with a buffalo-horn staircase. Most of the buildings are locked, though you can look in through windows or doors, and none of the objects are labelled, so you’re likely to be spending most time in the “main sanctuary hall”, a lofty black “viharn” with an impossibly steep, multi-tiered roof. Here, as well as his inspirational objects, you’ll find some typical examples of Thawan’s paintings and woodcarvings, featuring gnarly, muscular and sharp-toothed mythical creatures – look out especially for the tung, traditional Lanna wooden banners, which in this artist’s hands become more like totem poles.
Arrival and departureChiang Rai
By plane Bangkok Airways, Thai Smile, Vietjet (all use Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport), Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Air Asia (all Don Muang Airport) each fly between Bangkok and Chiang Rai 2–4 times daily (1hr 15min); Vietjet flies direct to Phuket once daily (2hr), Air Asia to Hat Yai once daily (2hr). The airport is 8km north of town on Highway 1 – about a B150 taxi ride.
By bus Chiang Rai’s new bus station (sometimes called Terminal 2) is about 6km south of the centre on Highway 1. It handles inter-provincial routes (including a/c and some non-a/c services from/to Lampang), while the old bus station (Terminal 1) on Thanon Phaholyothin serves Chiang Rai province (Mae Sai, Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong and Sop Ruak), plus Nan and most non-a/c buses to Lampang; some services, to Chiang Mai and Mae Sot for instance, stop at both, however. Shared songthaews shuttle between the two bus stations for B20.
Destinations Bangkok (24 daily; 11–12hr); Chiang Khong (roughly every 30min; 2–3hr); Chiang Mai (roughly every 30min; 3hr); Chiang Saen (every 20min; 1hr–1hr 30min); Houayxai, Laos (1 daily; 4hr); Khon Kaen (6 daily; 12hr 30min); Khorat (6 daily; 12hr 30min); Lampang (roughly every 30min; 4hr–5hr 30min); Luang Prabang, Laos (4 weekly; 17hr); Mae Sai (every 20min; 1hr–1hr 30min); Mae Sot (2 daily; 9hr 30min); Nakhon Phanom (3 daily; 19hr); Nan (1 daily; 6hr); Phitsanulok (around 20 daily; 7hr); Phrae (around 20 daily; 3–5hr); Rayong (4 daily; 18–19hr); Sukhothai (4 daily; 7hr 30min); Udon Thani (3 daily; 13hr).
By boat Longtails from/to Tha Ton dock at the boat station, northwest of the centre on the north side of the Mae Fah Luang Bridge.
Getting around
By metered taxi or tuk-tuk The city’s a/c metered taxis charge from B37 (plus a B20 call-out fee; 053 750773), while tuk-tuks start at around B50. App-based taxi service Grab has recently come to Chiang Rai.
By bicycle Fat Free, 448/2 Thanon Klang Wieng (086 430 5523, fatfreebike.com), rents good sit-up-and-begs for B50/day and mountain bikes from B200/day.
By car or motorbike Car rental is available through North Wheels – who also have motorbikes with insurance – west of the centre at 88/14–15 Thanon Ratchayota (053 740585, northwheels.com), or through Avis at the airport (02 251 1131, avisthailand.com). Motorbikes, big and small, can also be rented at Chiang Rai Big Bikes on Thanon Jet Yot (090 891 0997, crbigbikerentals.com), and several other places on the same street.
Information and maps
Tourist information TAT has a helpful office at 448/16 Thanon Singhaklai (daily 8.30am–4.30pm; 053 717433 or 053 744674–5, tatchrai@tat.or.th) with some useful free maps and brochures. Ask here about the renovated old provincial office opposite, which may be turned into a museum, and, if the “White Temple” has given you a taste for big, gaudy, modern temples with catchy nicknames, you could also ask about Chiang Rai’s “Blue Temple” (Wat Rong Seua Ten) and “Nine-tier Temple” (Wat Huai Pla Kang).
Accommodation
A wide choice of good guesthouses is within walking distance of central Chiang Rai, while several very appealing hotels hug the tranquil banks of the Kok River on the town’s fringes.
Akha River House Just west of busy Thanon Ratannakhet, on the south bank of the Kok River 063 290 5662, akhahill.com; map. Under the same Akha ownership as Akha Hill House, with part of the profits going to an educational project. The cheapest rooms share bathrooms in an old building, but you might well be tempted to cough up for their smart, a/c offerings with terraces overlooking the lawn and the river channel, en-suite hot showers and chunky bamboo furniture. Fan B200, a/c B800
Baan Bua Guest House 879/2 Thanon Jet Yot 053 718880; map. Congenial and well-run establishment arrayed around a surprisingly large, quiet and shady garden, set back off the road. The very clean and attractive concrete, single-storey rooms and dorms all come with hot showers. Dorms B200, fan doubles B500, a/c doubles B600
Baan Rub Aroon Guest House 65 Thanon Ngam Muang 053 711827, baanrubaroon.com; map. In a pretty, quiet garden, this lovely early twentieth-century mansion has polished teak floors, lots of houseplants and immaculate hotel-style rooms with a/c and clean white sheets. The downside is that most rooms share hot-water bathrooms, but there’s also a very well-equipped kitchen and a nice terrace for eating breakfast (included). Cooking classes available. B650
Baan Warabordee 59/1 Thanon Sanpanard 053 754488, facebook.com/baanwarabordee; map. Among a number of similar, slightly upmarket guesthouses on this surprisingly quiet, dead-end street in the town centre, a traditional wooden gate welcomes you into the pleasant, fountain-cooled garden here. The surrounding rooms are large and tastefully decked out in natural tones, with a/c, hot showers, TVs and fridges; some have their own balconies. B800
Chat House 3/2 Soi Sangkaew, Thanon Trairat 053 711481, chatguesthouse.com; map. Located behind its own garden restaurant and bakery on a quiet soi, this is Chiang Rai’s longest-running travellers’ hangout, with a laidback, friendly atmosphere and backpacker-oriented facilities. The cheaper rooms (including a dorm for B150/bed and three singles for B250) are in an old, mostly wooden house with shared hot showers, while a concrete row of garden rooms have en-suite hot water, with either a/c or fan. Fan B350, a/c B600
Dusit Island Resort Hotel 1129 Thanon Kaisornrasit 053 607999, dusit.com; map. Set on an expansive island in the Kok River offering unbeatable views of the valley, this is one of the swankiest places to stay in town, with high standards of service. The huge rooms are lavishly furnished, with fancy bathrooms, mini-bars and big TVs. Hotel facilities include a rooftop steakhouse, fitness centre, tennis court, jogging track and an expansive swimming pool with a swim-up bar. B4000
Golden Triangle Palace 590 Thanon Phaholyothin 053 711339, goldentrianglepalacecr.com; map. Despite a gaudy recent makeover, this place still offers reasonable value, its main asset being its setting in a garden compound in the heart of town, where the large, comfortable rooms come with a/c, hot water, TVs and fridges. B1200
Imperial River House Resort 482 Moo 4, Thanon Mae Kok 053 750830, imperialriverhouse.com; map. Opposite The Legend on the north bank of the Kok, this resort has elegantly designed and sumptuously furnished rooms and cottages with lovely wooden floors, all overlooking the large swimming pool and landscaped riverside gardens. Extremely relaxing location and excellent service. B3660
The Legend 124/15 Thanon Kohloy 053 910400, thelegend-chiangrai.com; map. Describing itself as a “boutique river resort”, this place offers large luxury rooms decorated in contemporary Lanna style with verandas, DVD players and indoor-outdoor bathrooms. Hugging the south bank of the Kok, the compound also features a huge infinity pool, a fitness centre and a top-class spa. Breakfast included. B4750
Mercy Hostel 1005/22 Thanon Jet Yot 053 711075, mercyhostelchiangrai.com; map. At this friendly new hostel and coffee shop, arrayed around a small but attractive pool on a quiet soi, smart mixed and female-only dorms and private rooms come with a/c and hot showers (the rooms also have TVs and fridges). Dorms B250, doubles B800
Tourist Inn 1004/4–6 Thanon Jet Yot 053 752094, facebook.com/touristinnhotel; map. Clean guesthouse in a modern four-storey building run by a Japanese–Thai team. The reception area downstairs has books for guests’ use and a European-style bakery, while bright, light rooms upstairs come with hot-water bathrooms. Breakfast included. Fan B400, a/c B500
Wiang Inn 893 Thanon Phaholyothin 053 711533, wianginn.com; map. Set back off the main road, this 260-room hotel has a bright and spacious lobby, an attractive pool and comfortably furnished rooms equipped with all facilities and decorated with Thai murals. Breakfast included. B2800
Eating
Chiang Rai’s restaurants, including a growing number of Western places, congregate mostly along Thanon Phaholyothin near the night bazaar, which itself shelters a huge but indifferent food centre. You need never go without a good coffee fix in Chiang Rai: the stuff grown on nearby mountains such as Doi Wawee and Doi Chaang is served up at several cafés around the clocktower.
Accha Thanon Jet Yot 052 055223; map. This friendly restaurant with appealing courtyard tables under the trees does tasty versions of all the Indian classics (chicken tikka masala B170), with good breads and plenty of choice for vegetarians. The combo meals (dal, curry, rice and nan bread) are good value at B220. Daily 11am–3pm & 5–10pm.
Baan Chivit Mai 172 Thanon Prasobsuk, opposite the old bus station 053 712357, bcmthai.com; map. Bakery run by a Scandinavian charity that helps children in Chiang Rai and Bangkok slums. Very clean a/c café, serving excellent sandwiches, cakes (chocolate cake B45) and espresso coffees, plus Swedish meatballs and simple Thai dishes. Mon–Sat 8am–9pm.
Cabbages and Condoms At the Hill Tribe Museum 053 740657; map. Proudly proclaiming “our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy”, this restaurant covers its walls with paraphernalia devoted to family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention and hosts regular live music. The Thai food, including some traditional northern dishes and a few dishes suitable for vegetarians, is a bit hit and miss, but it’s for a good cause. Daily 10am–midnight.
Chivit Thammada On the north bank of the Kok River, immediately west of the Highway 1 bridge – turn left at the first traffic lights over the bridge, then second left down a (signposted) soi 081 984 2925, chivitthammada.com; map. A destination café for visiting Thais, with leafy riverside terraces. Sustainably run, with high standards of service, it uses local, organic and seasonal produce whenever possible, in Thai fusion and Western dishes such as decadent and tasty duck eggs Benedict with truffle hollandaise, bacon and smoked salmon (B220). The home-made cakes are also very tempting, as well as a huge range of very good coffees, smoothies, detox drinks and imported beers. Daily 8am–9pm.
Khao Soi Por Jai Thanon Jet Yot, opposite the Wangcome Hotel; map. Run by the sisters of Chalermchai Kositpipat, the artist behind Wat Rong Khun, this simple, fluorescent-lit restaurant is hung with prints of his works. They offer tasty khao soi with chicken, prawn or fish (B40), good som tam and northern delicacies such as sai oua (spicy sausage), kep muu (pork scratchings) and nam phrik noom (chilli dip with young aubergine). Daily 7am–4pm.
Salungkham 834/3 Thanon Phaholyothin, on the east side of the road between King Mengrai’s statue and the river 053 717192, salungkham.com; map. Justifiably rated by locals as serving the best Thai food in town (main dishes around B150), with a garden for evening dining. Try the superb kaeng hang lay, a northern Thai pork-belly curry, or the equally good banana-flower salad with fresh prawns; any dishes using their home-smoked ham or bacon (also on sale to take away) are well worth trying, too. There’s no sign in English, but look out for Our Lady of the Nativity Church next door or the Cosmo petrol station opposite. Daily 10.30am–10pm.
Shopping
The night bazaar off Thanon Phaholyothin next to the old bus station is open daily roughly from 5–11pm. It sells all sorts of souvenirs and handicrafts, some of good quality and competitively priced – though it’s usually crowded with tour groups. At weekends, Chiang Rai’s walking streets, similar to those in Chiang Mai, come alive with musicians and all manner of stalls, including lots of food and local crafts and products such as coffee and macadamias. There’s one on Thanon Tanalai, around the junction with Wisetwiang, on Saturday evening; and another on Thanon San Khong Noi, to the southwest of the centre, on Sunday evening (aka “Happy Street”). There’s also a good handicrafts shop at the Hill Tribe Museum.
Orn’s Bookshop 1051/61 Thanon Jet Yot, off Soi 1 081 022 0818; map. Secondhand fiction and travel books to buy or exchange. Daily 8am–8pm.
Directory
Cookery classes Chat House runs one-day cookery classes including transfers from your accommodation and a trip to the local market (B950/person).
Pharmacy Boots (Thanon Phaholyothin; daily 11am–10pm) is a well-stocked chemist with English-speaking staff.
Tourist police The tourist police have moved their office out to Highway 1, 17km south of town, though they’re still accessible to tourists by phone (1155 or 053 152547).
The northernmost tip of Thailand, stretching from the Kok River and Chiang Rai to the border, is split in two by Highway 1, Thailand’s main north–south road. In the western half, rows of wild, shark’s-tooth mountains jut into Myanmar, while to the east, low-lying rivers flow through Thailand’s richest rice-farming land to the Mekong River, which forms the border with Laos here.
At a push, any one of the places described in this section could be visited in a day from Chiang Rai, while hardly anyone visits Mae Sai on the Burmese border except on a visa-run day-trip. If you can devote two or three days, however, you’d be better off moving camp to Mae Salong, a mountain-top Chinese enclave, or Chiang Saen, whose atmospheric ruins by the banks of the Mekong contrast sharply with the ugly commercialism of nearby Sop Ruak, the so-called Golden Triangle. Given more time and patience, you could also stop over at the palace, temple and arboretum of Doi Tung to look down over Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, and continue beyond Chiang Saen to Chiang Khong on the banks of the Mekong, which is now a popular crossing point to Laos.
For hopping around the main towns here by public transport, the setup is straightforward enough: frequent buses to Mae Sai run due north up Highway 1; to Chiang Saen and Sop Ruak, they start off on the same road before forking right onto Highway 1016; regular buses also run northeast from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong; other routes are covered only by songthaews.
Hill Tribe Culture Centre and Ban Therd Thai
For driving to Mae Salong from Chiang Rai, locals recommend heading west from Mae Chan towards Tha Ton along Route 1089, then turning north at Ban Kew Satai along Route 1234, a longer journey but on slightly better roads. The old, more direct approach is on Route 1130, a dizzying, narrow rollercoaster of a road that ploughs its way westwards up to Mae Salong for 36km from Ban Pasang, 32km north of Chiang Rai on Highway 1. With your own transport, a few marginally interesting attractions might tempt you to stop along this route, notably the Hill Tribe Culture Centre, 12km from Ban Pasang, where there’s a small hill-tribe handicrafts market, and a couple of Mien and Akha souvenir villages. At Sam Yaek, 24km from Ban Pasang, a paved side-road heads north for 13km to Ban Therd Thai (“Village to Honour Thailand”). In its former incarnation as Ban Hin Taek (“Village of Broken Stone”), this mixed village was the opium capital of the notorious Khun Sa: the Thai army drove Khun Sa out after a pitched battle in 1983, and the village has now been renamed and “pacified” with the establishment of a market, school, hospital and even a Khun Sa museum in his former headquarters.
Perched 1300m up on a ridge, commanding fine views of sawtoothed hills, stands the Chinese Nationalist outpost of MAE SALONG – the focal point for the area’s fourteen thousand Kuomintang, who for three generations now have held fast to their cultural identity, if not their political cause. Though it has temples, churches and mosques, it’s the details of Chinese life in the backstreets – the low-slung houses, the pictures of Chiang Kai-shek, ping-pong tables, the sounds of Yunnanese conversation – that make the village absorbing.
Mae Salong straggles for several kilometres along Highway 1130, which heads west to a central junction near the morning market, the 7–11 and the steps for the Princess Mother Pagoda, before turning southwards past the petrol station, a big souvenir market and the Thai Military Bank (the way out towards Tha Ton). It gets plenty of Thai visitors, especially at weekends in the cool season, when they come to admire the cherry blossoms and throng the main street’s souvenir shops and stalls to buy such delicacies as sorghum whisky (pickled with ginseng, deer antler and centipedes) and locally grown Chinese tea, coffee, mushrooms and herbs. Free cups of tea are offered nearly everywhere, and it’s possible to visit, for example, Mae Salong Villa’s own estate and factory – ask at the resort for directions and tea-processing times. It might also be worth braving the dawn chill to get to the morning market, held in the middle of town near Shin Sane Guest House between 6am and 8am, which pulls shoppers and vendors in from the surrounding Akha, Lisu and Mien villages.
The ruling party of China for 21 years, the Kuomintang (Nationalists) were swept from power by the Communist revolution of 1949 and fled in two directions: one group, under party leader Chiang Kai-shek, made for Taiwan, where it founded the Republic of China; the other, led by General Li Zongren, settled in northern Thailand and Myanmar. The Nationalists’ original plan to retake China from Mao Zedong in a two-pronged attack never came to fruition, and the remnants of the army in Thailand became major players in the heroin trade and, with the backing of the Thai government, minor protagonists in the war against Communism.
Drugs and the Golden Triangle
Opium will always be associated with the Far East in the popular imagination, but the opium poppy actually originated in the Mediterranean. It arrived in the East, however, over twelve centuries ago, and was later brought to Thailand from China with the hill tribes who migrated from Yunnan province. Opium growing was made illegal in Thailand in 1959, but during the 1960s and 1970s rampant production and refining of the crop in the lawless region on the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos earned the area the nickname the Golden Triangle. Two main “armies” operated most of the trade within this area. The ten-thousand-strong Shan United Army (SUA), set up to fight the Burmese government for an independent state for the Shan (Thai Yai) people, funded itself from the production of heroin (a more refined form of opium). Led by the notorious warlord Khun Sa, the SUA attempted to extend their influence inside Thailand during the 1960s, where they came up against the troops of the Kuomintang (KMT). These refugees from China, who fled after the Communist takeover there, were at first befriended by the Thai and Western governments, who were pleased to have a fiercely anti-Communist force patrolling this border area. The Kuomintang were thus able to develop the heroin trade, while the authorities turned a blind eye.
By the 1980s, the danger of Communist incursion into Thailand had largely disappeared, and the government was able to concentrate on the elimination of the crop, putting the Kuomintang in the area around Mae Salong on a determined “pacification” programme. In 1983 the Shan United Army was pushed out of its stronghold at nearby Ban Hin Taek (now officially Ban Therd Thai), over the border into Myanmar, and in 1996, Khun Sa cut a deal with the corrupt Burmese military dictatorship. The man once dubbed the “Prince of Death”, who had a US$2 million bounty on his head from the United States, was able to live under Burmese army protection in a comfortable villa in Yangon until his death in 2007.
The Thai government has succeeded in reducing the size of the opium crop within its borders to an insignificant amount, but Thailand still has a role to play as a conduit for heroin; most of the production and refinement of opium has simply moved over the borders into Myanmar and Laos. And in the last few years, opium growing within northern Thailand, although still at a very low level, has apparently started to increase again, based on small patches in remote mountains and using a high-yield, weather-resistant breed supplied by the Burmese drug barons.
The destruction of huge areas of poppy fields has had far-reaching repercussions on the hill tribes. In many cases, with the raw product not available, opium addicts have turned to injecting heroin from shared needles, leading to a devastating outbreak of AIDS. The Thai government has sought to give the hill tribes an alternative livelihood through the introduction of legitimate cash crops, yet these often demand the heavy use of pesticides, which later get washed down into the lowland valleys, incurring the wrath of Thai farmers.
The dangers of the heroin trade have in recent years been eclipsed by the flood of methamphetamines – either yaa baa (literally “crazy medicine”) or the purer Ice (crystal meth) – that is infiltrating all areas of Thai society, but most worryingly the schools. Produced in vast quantities in factories just across the Burmese border, mostly by former insurgents, the United Wa State Army, yaa baa and Ice are the main objective of vehicle searches in border areas, with perhaps a billion tablets smuggled into Thailand each year. It’s estimated that three million Thais are methamphetamine users, prompting the Thaksin government into a fierce crackdown in the first half of 2003 which, much to the consternation of human rights watchers, led to two thousand extra-judicial deaths and 51,000 arrests. Things have quietened down since then, but the frequent busts of methamphetamine dealers show that the problem has not gone away.
treks and tours from Mae Salong
Little Home Guest House produces a decent sketch map of Mae Salong’s environs and staff can give out enough information to enable you to walk to some neighbouring hill-tribe and Chinese villages yourself. Alternatively, they can hook you up with an English-speaking Akha guide who leads day-trips on foot and/or by pick-up to Akha, Lahu and Lisu villages (from B1000/day); homestays in his village are also possible.
In the 1980s, the Thai government began to work hard to “pacify” the Kuomintang by a mixture of force and more peaceful methods, such as crop programmes to replace opium. Around Mae Salong at least, its work seems to have been successful, as evidenced by the slopes to the south of the settlement, which are covered with a carpet of rich green tea bushes. Since its rehabilitation, Mae Salong is now officially known as Santikhiri (Hill of Peace).
Towering above the village on top of a hill, the Princess Mother Pagoda, a huge, gilt-topped chedi, is so distinctive that it has quickly become Mae Salong’s proud symbol. It’s a long and steep climb up 718 steps from near the morning market to get there, but with a rented vehicle you can follow the road to the southern end of the village and branch right beyond the bank on a road that carries you heavenward, revealing some breathtaking views on the way.
Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum
At the southern edge of the village, on the way out towards Tha Ton • Daily 8am–5pm • B20
The Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum recounts the origins of the Kuomintang in Thailand, giving details of battles such as the famous one fought against Thai and Lao Communists and Hmong at Phu Chi Fa near Chiang Khong, and depicting the Kuomintang as heroic protectors of the Kingdom of Thailand. The huge Chinese-style complex encompasses a shrine to the KMT martyrs who fell in the fighting.
Arrival and DepartureMae Salong
From Chiang Rai Buses (every 20min; 40min) leave Chiang Rai’s old bus station for Mae Chan, 29km to the north on Highway 1. You’ll then need to change to a green songthaew for the 1hr 30min–2hr chug up to Mae Salong from Mae Chan market, via Route 1089 and Ban Kew Satai (5 daily; last departure about 1pm). There are blue songthaews from Pasang, 3km north of Mae Chan on Highway 1, that head up the old Route 1130 to Mae Salong, but they only leave when full and are unreliable.
From Tha Ton There are four direct yellow songthaews a day between Tha Ton and Mae Salong (1hr 30min), via the interesting Akha village of Ban Lorcha, with the last one leaving Tha Ton around noon.
Leaving Mae Salong When it’s time to depart Mae Salong, you’ll find the songthaews for Tha Ton and Mae Chan by Little Home and Shin Shane guesthouses, just west of the central junction.
By rented motorbike Little Home Guest House rents out motorbikes for B200/day.
Accommodation
You’ll appreciate Mae Salong best if you spend the night here, after the day-trippers have left. Fortunately, there’s a wide range of accommodation, including half a dozen budget guesthouses clustered around the central junction. Rates are significantly lower out of season, when the village feels wonderfully peaceful.
Baan Hom Muen Lee (Osmanthus House) Between the central junction and Mae Salong Villa, opposite Sweet Mae Salong 053 765271, W baanhommuenlee.com. Boutique hotel done out in ochre and black paint and polished concrete adorned with Chinese calligraphy, where the spacious rooms provide fantastic views northwards from their large balconies and even from their bathrooms; they’re equipped with platform beds, big-screen TVs, mini-bars and hot showers. B1200
Little Home Guest House Central junction 053 765389, maesalonglittlehome.com. This friendly hillside spot offers smart bungalows in a tightly packed but pretty garden and new rooms with polished concrete floors and walls above their good Yunnanese restaurant, all with hot-water en-suite bathrooms and verandas/balconies. The staff bend over backwards to help guests in their explorations and make them feel at home. Fan B800, a/c B1000
Mae Salong Villa On the main road towards the eastern end of the village 053 765114–5, maesalong-villa.com. Choose between large, comfortable rooms in a two-storey block and Chinese-style family bungalows with better views from their picture windows, all with hot showers and fridges. In a pretty, sloping garden facing the Princess Mother Pagoda and Burmese mountains. Breakfast included. B1200
Shin Sane Guest House Central junction 053 765026, shinsaneguesthouse.com. Prominent place with plenty of local information, offering small bedrooms with shared hot-water bathrooms in a funky wooden building and well-kept bungalows (with hot showers; B800) in the garden behind. B400
Eating
The choice of restaurants in Mae Salong is narrower than its hotel selection, but there are some excellent places to sample Yunnanese dishes.
Mae Salong Villa On the main road towards the eastern end of the village 053 765114–9. Has great views from its first-floor terrace and cooks up some of the best food in town, including delicious but expensive Chinese specialities like roast pork, het hawm (wild mushrooms) and kai dam (black chicken), which is usually served in soup with Chinese herbs (B300). Daily 7am–7.30pm.
Salima A short way west of the central junction before the bank. Welcoming Muslim-Chinese restaurant that rustles up delicious Yunnanese specialities such as deep-fried mushrooms in soy sauce (B120) and black chicken soup, as well as cheaper dishes on rice and noodle dishes (including beef and chicken khao soi; from B40) and fusion dishes such as spicy tuna and tea leaves salad. Daily 8am–8pm.
Sweet Mae Salong Between the central junction and Mae Salong Villa, on the south side of the road 089 874 9656. This place hits the spot with delicious, home-baked cakes and croissants, excellent espresso coffees, mellow sounds and awesome views from the rear terraces. Daily 8.30am–4.30pm.
Steep, wooded hills rise abruptly from the plains west of Highway 1 as it approaches the Burmese border. Crowned both by a thousand-year-old wat and by the country retreat of the Princess Mother (the present king’s late grandmother), the central peak here, 1322m DOI TUNG, makes a worthwhile outing just for the journey. A broad, new road, Route 1149, runs up the mountainside, beginning 43km north of Chiang Rai on Highway 1, just before the centre of Ban Huai Khrai.
Cottage Industries Centre and Outlet
Around 1km from Ban Huai Khrai • Daily 8.30am–4.30pm
The old road to the mountain from the centre of Ban Huai Khrai passes after 1km or so the Cottage Industries Centre and Outlet, set up by the Princess Mother, where you can watch crafts such as weaving, ceramics and paper-making from the bark of the sa (mulberry) tree in progress and buy the finished products in the on-site shop.
12km up the main summit road, then left up a side road • Royal Villa: daily 7am–6pm; closed if royals in residence • Villa B90; combined ticket to villa, Hall of Inspiration, Mae Fah Luang Garden & arboretum B220
The largely Swiss-style Royal Villa on Doi Tung was built for the Princess Mother (the grandmother of the present king, she was never queen herself, but was affectionately known as Mae Fah Luang, literally “royal sky mother”). She took up residence here on several occasions to work on development projects in the area, before her death in 1995.
In the Grand Reception Hall, which also features some beautiful floral wall panels made of embroidered silk, the positions of the planets and stars at the time of the Princess Mother’s birth in 1900 have been carved into the ceiling. You can also visit her living room, bedroom and study, all left as when she lived here.
The Hall of Inspiration and the gardens
Hall of Inspiration Daily 8am–6pm • B90 Mae Fah Luang Garden Daily 6.30am–6pm • B90
On the access road to the Royal Villa, a few hundred metres back down the hill, the Hall of Inspiration contains hagiographical displays on the Princess Mother and her family and is strictly for royal-watchers. Next door, the immaculate ornamental Mae Fah Luang Garden throngs with snap-happy day-trippers at weekends. The Princess Mother’s hill-tribe project has helped to develop local villages by introducing new agricultural methods: the slopes which were formerly blackened by the fires of slash-and-burn farming and sown with opium poppies are now used to grow teak and pine, and crops such as strawberries, macadamia nuts and coffee, which, along with pottery, sa paper, rugs and clothes, are sold in the shops and stalls near the entrance to the gardens. There’s also an information booth that has simple maps of the mountain here.
Beyond the turn-off for the Royal Villa, a paved road heads northeast, climbing over a precarious saddle with some minor temple buildings and passing through a tuft of thick woods, before reaching Wat Phra That Doi Tung on top of the mountain. Pilgrims to the wat earn themselves good fortune by clanging the rows of dissonant bells around the temple compound and by throwing coins into a well, which are collected for temple funds. For non-Buddhist travellers, the reward for getting this far is the stunning view out over the cultivated slopes and half of northern Thailand. The wat’s most important structures are its twin chedis, erected to enshrine relics of the Buddha’s left collarbone in 911. When the building of the chedis was complete, King Achutaraj of Ngon Yang ordered a giant flag (tung), reputedly 2km long, to be flown from the peak, which gave the mountain its name.
Daily 8am–6pm • B90
A very steep, sometimes rough, paved back road runs right along the border with Myanmar to Mae Sai (22km), via two army checkpoints and the Akha village of Ban Pha Mee, beginning near the saddle beneath the peak of Doi Tung. After about 4km of asphalt, you reach the delightful arboretum at the pinnacle of Doi Chang Moob (1509m), a landscaped garden planted with rhododendrons, azaleas, orchids and ferns and furnished with fantastic terrace viewpoints looking east to Chiang Saen, the Mekong and the hills of Laos beyond, and west to the mountains around Mae Salong. For the most awesome view, however, continue a short way up the Mae Sai road to the Thai military checkpoint, to gaze at the opposing Burmese camp and seemingly endless layers of Burmese mountain stacked up to the north.
Arrival and departureDoi Tung
It’s best to rent a vehicle from Chiang Rai or Mae Sai to explore Doi Tung. Otherwise, any bus between Chiang Rai and Mae Sai can put you off in Ban Huai Khrai, where you’ll have to charter a songthaew (about B600) to take you up the mountain and back.
Accommodation and eating
There’s a Doi Tung coffee shop, an excellent restaurant and a self-service café on the access road to the Royal Villa, in the complex of shops near Mae Fah Luang Garden.
Doi Tung Lodge In the woods below the Royal Villa 053 767015–7, doitung.org. The spacious, bright, recently refurbished rooms at this upmarket, two-storey tourist lodge are set in tranquil, pretty gardens and all come with a/c, hot water, balcony, TV and fridge. Breakfast included. B3000
With its bustling border crossing into Myanmar and kilometres of tacky souvenir stalls, MAE SAI can be an interesting place to watch the world go by, though most foreigners only come here on a quick visa run. Thailand’s most northerly town lies 61km from Chiang Rai at the dead end of Highway 1, which forms the town’s single north–south street. Wide enough for an armoured battalion, this ugly boulevard still has the same name – Thanon Phaholyothin, after an early-twentieth-century general and revolutionary leader – as at the start of its thousand-kilometre journey north at Bangkok’s Victory Monument. The road ends at the Mae Sai River, which here serves as the Thailand–Myanmar border.
MAE HONG SON LOOP
For a lofty perspective on the comings and goings, climb up through the market stalls to the supposedly second-century BC chedi of Wat Phra That Doi Wao, which enshrines some of the Buddha’s hair, five minutes’ walk from the bridge on the west side of Phaholyothin, behind the Top North Hotel. As well as Doi Tung to the south and the hills of Laos in the east, you get a good view up the steep-sided valley and across the river to Thachileik.
Arrival and departureMae Sai
By bus From Chiang Rai, frequent non-a/c buses and a/c minibuses to Mae Sai run due north up Highway 1. They stop 4km short of the frontier at the bus station, from where shared songthaews shuttle into town. Returning to the bus station, the songthaews head off from the corner of Soi 2 on the east side of Thanon Phaholyothin, about 50m south of the border bridge, or you should be able to flag one down further along its route.
Destinations Bangkok (12 daily; 12–13hr); Chiang Mai (6–8 daily; 4hr 40min–5hr 15min); Chiang Rai (every 20min; 1hr–1hr 30min); Mae Sot (1 daily; 10–11hr); Phitsanulok (6 daily; 8–9hr); Tha Ton (1 daily; 1hr 40min).
Getting around
By motorbike Motorbikes can be rented from Pornchai, about 500m south of the bridge on the west side of Thanon Phaholyothin, for B250/day.
Accommodation and eating
The huge night market that stretches far down Thanon Phaholyothin from the border is the best place to eat in the evening.
Navy Home About 1km south of the bridge on the east side of Thanon Phaholyothin 053 732929, navyhome.com. Owned by a retired admiral, this hotel greets guests with a gangway over a pond, a display of his ceremonial uniforms and “Welcome aboard” signs, not to mention spent naval missile casings. It’s even shaped like a ship and, although some of the rooms are cabin-like in size, they’re all neat, clean and, well, shipshape, with a/c, hot showers, fridges and TVs. B500
Piyaporn Pavilion Just off the west side of Thanon Phaholyothin about 500m south of the bridge 053 731395, piyapornpavilion.com. This imposing seven-storey block is one of Mae Sai’s best hotels, with well-equipped rooms in a smart, contemporary style, plus a/c, hot-water bathtubs, TVs and fridges. B1120
Rim Nam (Riverside) Right under the western side of the bridge, down a slip road to the left of the border checkpoint. A popular, reasonably priced restaurant with a riverside terrace, which gets crowded during the day with tourists watching the border action and serves cheap one-dish meals as well as its speciality, crab with curry powder (B300). Daily 7/8am–8/9pm.
Sai Lom Joy 5min walk west of the bridge along the riverside Thanon Sailomjoy (Soi Tessaban 21) 081 952 1249, sailomjoy.com. New boutique hotel with lots of Lanna design touches and a waterfall fountain in its relaxing garden. Spacious tiled rooms done out in earth tones come with a/c, hot showers and TVs. Breakfast included. B1200
The “Golden Triangle”, a term originally coined to denote a huge opium-producing area spreading across Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, has, for the benefit of tourists, been artificially concentrated into the precise spot where the borders meet, 70km northeast of Chiang Rai. Don’t come to the village of SOP RUAK, at the confluence of the Ruak (Mae Sai) and Mekong rivers, expecting to come across sinister drug-runners or poppy fields – instead you’ll find souvenir stalls, pay-toilets, a huge, supremely tacky golden Buddha shrine, two opium museums and lots of signs saying “Golden Triangle” which pop up in a million photo albums around the world.
Crossing the MYANMAR border to Thachileik
Thanon Phaholyothin ends at a short pedestrianized bridge over the Mae Sai River, which forms the border with Myanmar. Armed with a visa, you can enter the country here, notably for trips to the historic Thai Yai (Shan) town of Keng Tung. Even without a visa, you can have the dubious pleasure, during daylight hours, of crossing over to Thachileik, the Burmese town opposite, for yet more tacky shopping. You’ll first be stamped out by Thai immigration at the entrance to the bridge, then on the other side of the bridge, you pay US$10, or an exorbitant B500, to Burmese immigration for a one-day stay. Coming back across the bridge, unless you already have a multiple-entry Thai visa or re-entry permit, you’ll be given a new fifteen-day entry stamp (the “tourist visa exemption”) – thirty days for UK, US, Canadian and other G7 citizens – by Thai immigration. However, note that you’re only allowed two tourist visa exemptions per year and that visa requirements change frequently – go to the forums on thaivisa.com for the latest information.
At the Mae Sai end of the village • Tues–Sun 8.30am–5.30pm, last ticket sale 4pm • B200 • doitung.org
Under the auspices of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation based at Doi Tung, the ambitious Hall of Opium took B400 million and nine years to research and build, with technical assistance from the People’s Republic of China. It provides a well-presented, largely balanced picture, in Thai and English, of the use and abuse of opium, and its history over five thousand years, including its spread from Europe to Asia and focusing on the nineteenth-century Opium Wars between Britain and China. Dioramas, games and audiovisuals are put to imaginative use, notably in a reconstruction of a nineteenth-century Siamese opium den, playing the interactive “Find the Hidden Drugs”, and, most movingly, watching the personal testimonies of former addicts and their families.
On the main through-road near Wat Phra That Phu Khao • Daily 7am–7pm • B50
The House of Opium is smaller and cheaper than the similarly named Hall of Opium, which it imitates, and it tends more to glorify opium use. All the paraphernalia of opium growing and smoking is housed in several display cases, including beautifully carved teak storage boxes, weights cast from bronze and brass in animal shapes, and opium pipes.
The confluence of the Ruak (Mae Sai) and Mekong rivers is undoubtedly monumental, but to get an unobstructed view of it you’ll need to climb up to Wat Phra That Phu Khao, a 1250-year-old temple perched on a small hill above the village. To the north, beyond the puny Ruak River, you’ll see the mountains of Myanmar marching off into infinity, while eastwards across the mighty Mekong are the hills and villages of Laos. This pastoral scene has now been marred, however, by the appearance of a Thai luxury hotel, which is actually over on an uninhabited strip of Burmese land immediately upstream of the confluence. The attached casino bypasses Thai laws against gambling, and the usually strict border formalities are waived for visitors coming from Thailand.
Arrival and departureSop Ruak
By songthaew from Mae Sai Blue songthaews make the 45min trip in the morning to Sop Ruak’s main river road from the corner of Soi 8 on the east side of Thanon Phaholyothin, about 300m south of the bridge in Mae Sai (they leave when they’re full, sometimes only twice a day).
By songthaew or bicycle from Chiang Saen You can take a blue songthaew from (and back to) Thanon Phaholyothin in Chiang Saen (best in the morning; 15min) or rent a bike and cycle there – it’s an easy 10km ride on a quiet dual carriageway, which will give you the chance to gawp at the domes and half-built tower blocks of Kapok City, a Chinese-owned casino town across on the Lao bank of the Mekong.
A quick trip to Laos
Sop Ruak puts you tantalizingly close to Laos and, even if you don’t have time to spend exploring the country properly, you can still have the thrill of stepping on Lao soil. A longtail boat from next to Siwan Restaurant, for example, will give you a kiss-me-quick tour of the “Golden Triangle” (B500), including a stop at a souvenir market on the Lao island of Done Xao (B30 admission).
Accommodation
There’s nowhere decent to stay in Sop Ruak for budget travellers, but for those willing to splurge, there are some excellent options on the outskirts of the village, including a couple of places that offer great views of the Mekong River.
Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort Opposite the Hall of Opium, at the Mae Sai end of the village 053 784084, goldentriangle.anantara.com. Tastefully designed in a blend of traditional and contemporary styles and set in huge, peaceful grounds, this palatial luxury hotel is one of the finest in northern Thailand. The balconies of all its rooms and its swimming pool offer breathtaking views over the countryside to the Mekong, Myanmar and the hills of Laos. Rates include round-trip limousine transfers from Chiang Rai airport, full-board meals, drinks and a range of daily activities, notably programmes at their excellent elephant camp (helpingelephants.org), treatments at the spectacular spa, and Thai cooking classes. B44,800
Greater Mekong Lodge In the Golden Triangle Park, next to the Hall of Opium 053 784450–2, doitung.org. Good-value if slightly institutional rooms, all with a balcony, fridge, hot water and a/c. You can choose between rooms in the main hotel building or stilted chalets (where the views are better). Includes breakfast. B1200
Serene at Chiang Rai About 500m south of the House of Opium, on the riverside 053 784500, sereneatchiangrai.com. As well as good service, a handy location and an elegant pool right by the Mekong, this place offers big, contemporary a/c rooms with balconies and an all-day café on a riverside terrace. “River-view” rooms cost about B600 more than the cheapest “city-view”rooms. Breakfast included. B1800
Eating
As well as the places listed below, there’s a row of ramshackle restaurants by the waterfront, serving up basic Thai food and some decent fruit shakes.
Baan Dhalia At the Anantara 053 784084, goldentriangle.anantara.com. This opulent Italian restaurant serves a wide range of antipasti, pizzas, Mediterranean main courses and an imaginative menu of pastas, such as pumpkin ravioli with saffron gazpacho and olive salsa (B560) and spaghetti prepared tableside in a parmesan wheel with black truffle cream (B1150). The resort’s other restaurant, Sala Mae Nam, offers very good Thai and Western lunches and dinners on a panoramic terrace. Daily 6.30–11pm.
Siwan In front of the Imperial Golden Triangle Hotel, along the main river road. The best of the riverfront restaurants, welcoming Siwan specializes in tom yam pla (spicy and sour soup with river fish; B220), but also offers cheaper dishes such as fried rice (from B60), as well as great views of the Mekong. Daily 7am–8.30pm.
Combining dozens of tumbledown temple ruins with sweeping Mekong River scenery, CHIANG SAEN, 60km northeast of Chiang Rai, is a good base camp for the border region east of Mae Sai. The town’s focal point, where the Chiang Rai road (Thanon Phaholyothin) meets Thanon Rim Khong (the main road along the banks of the Mekong), is a lively junction thronged by buses, songthaews and longtails and lined with market stalls selling goods from China. Turning left at this T-junction soon brings you to Sop Ruak, and you may well share the road with the tour buses that sporadically thunder through (though most of them miss out the town itself by taking its western bypass). Very few tourists turn right in Chiang Saen, passing the busy port for cargo boats from China, along the road to Chiang Khong, even though this is the best way to appreciate the slow charms of the Mekong valley.
The layout of the old, ruined city is defined by the Mekong River running along its east flank; a tall rectangle, 2.5km from north to south, is formed by the addition of the ancient ramparts, now fetchingly overgrown, on the other three sides. The grid of leafy streets inside the ramparts is now too big for the modern town, which is generously scattered along the river road and across the middle on Thanon Phaholyothin.
Originally known as Yonok, the region around Chiang Saen seems to have been an important Thai trading crossroads from some time after the seventh century. The city of Chiang Saen itself was founded around 1328 by the successor to the renowned King Mengrai of Chiang Mai, Saen Phu, who gave up his throne to retire here. Coveted for its strategic location guarding the Mekong, Chiang Saen had multiple allegiances, paying tribute to Chiang Mai, Keng Tung in Myanmar and Luang Prabang in Laos, until Rama I razed the place in 1804. The present village was established only in 1881, when Rama V ordered a northern prince to resettle the site with descendants of the old townspeople mustered from Lamphun, Chiang Mai and Lampang, to reinforce the extent of Thai rule in the face of increasing colonial interest.
Thanon Phaholyothin, just inside the old city walls • Wed–Sun 9am–4pm • B100
The National Museum makes an informative starting point for a visit, housing some impressive architectural features rescued from the surrounding ruins, with good labelling in English, as well as a plethora of Buddha images – the two typical northern Thai styles of Buddha are sometimes referred to jointly as the “Chiang Saen style”, though most academics instead use the more helpful term “Lanna style”. As in many of Thailand’s museums, the back end is given over to exhibits on folk culture, one of many highlights being the beautiful wooden lintel carved with hum yon (floral swirls representing testicles), which would have been placed above the front door of a house to ward off evil and for ventilation.
Thanon Phaholyothin, next door to the museum
Wat Phra That Chedi Luang, originally the city’s main temple, is worth looking in on for its imposing octagonal chedi, said to house a relic of the Buddha’s breastbone and now decorated with a huge yellow ribbon, while handicraft stalls in the grounds sell Thai Lue cloths among their wares. In March 2011, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar, and the aftershocks (felt strongly in Chiang Saen) caused the top of the spire to break off, though it’s since been rather cack-handedly restored.
Just beyond the ramparts to the west • Open access, but there’s a B50 admission fee if the custodian’s around
Wat Pa Sak’s brick buildings and laterite columns have been excavated and restored by the Fine Arts Department, making it the most accessible and impressive of Chiang Saen’s many temples. The wat’s name is an allusion to the hundreds of teak trees that Saen Phu planted in the grounds when he built the chedi in 1340 to house relics of the Buddha’s right ankle from India. The chedi’s square base is inset with niches housing alternating Buddhas and deva (angels) with flowing skirts, and above rises the tower for the Buddha relic, topped by a circular spire. Beautiful carved stucco covers much of the structure, showing intricate floral scrolls and stylized lotus patterns as well as a whole zoo of mythical beasts.
Outside the northwest corner of the ramparts
The open space around modern Chiang Saen, which is dotted with trees and another 140 overgrown ruins (both inside and outside the ramparts), is great for a carefree wander. A spot worth aiming for is the gold-topped, crooked chedi of tenth-century Wat Phra That Chom Kitti out on the western bypass, which houses yet another relic of the Buddha himself and gives a good view of the town and the river from a small hill.
3km southeast along the river road – look out for the tall brick gate on the right
Wat Phra That Pha Ngao, well worth the short detour from the centre, is thought to have been the main temple of the Yonok principality, built originally in the sixth century. The temple contains a supposedly miraculous chedi perched on top of a large boulder, but the real attraction is the new chedi on the hillside above: take the 1km track which starts at the back of the temple and you can’t miss the gleaming, white-tiled Phra Borom That Nimit, designed by an American, with attractive modern murals and built over and around a ruined brick chedi. From here, though you have to peer through the trees, the views take in Chiang Saen, the wide plain and the slow curve of the river. To the east, the Kok River, which looks so impressive at Chiang Rai, seems like a stream as it pours into the mighty Mekong. On the way down from the chedi, have a look at the new Lao-style viharn, which was inaugurated by Princess Sirindhorn in 1999 and is covered from tip to toe in beautiful woodcarving.
Boat trips on the Mekong
If you’re twiddling your thumbs in Chiang Khong while waiting to cross to Laos, or simply want to spend some time out on the water, ask at your guesthouse about one-hour boat trips on the Mekong (B700) from a pier near Wat Luang. As you leave Chiang Khong itself and chug past sandy outcrops, it’s likely you’ll catch glimpses of villagers fishing, playing or washing in the river (usually met with big smiles and lots of frantic waving).
Arrival and departureChiang Saen
By bus or songthaew Non-a/c buses and a/c minibuses from Chiang Rai (every 20min; 1hr–1hr 30min) and, in the morning, blue songthaews from Mae Sai (roughly 2 daily; 1hr) via Sop Ruak (15min) stop by the market on Thanon Phaholyothin. Songthaews from Chiang Khong (2hr; best done in the morning, usually involving a change at the Thai Lue weaving village of Ban Hat Bai) stop on the river road to the south of the T-junction. Motorized samlors wait to ferry people around town.
Getting around
By boat Speedboats congregate along the riverside near the central T-junction, offering local tours of the “Golden Triangle” lasting a couple of hours (B700), including the Lao souvenir market on Done Xao island (B30 admission).
By bicycle or motorbike To get around the ruins and the surrounding countryside, bicycles (B80/day) and motorbikes (B200/day) can be rented from the no-name barber shop opposite the Bangkok Bank on Thanon Phaholyothin. Motorbikes are also available for B200 at Gin’s Maekhong View Resort. Fat Free, about 1km north of the T-junction on Thanon Rim Khong (086 430 5523, fatfreebike.com), rents good sit-up-and-beg bicycles for B100/day and mountain bikes from B200/day.
Information
Tourist information The municipal tourist office (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; 053 777084) on Thanon Phaholyothin, opposite the National Museum, houses some forlorn exhibits on the architecture and conservation of Chiang Saen and hands out a simple map of the city.
Accommodation
Gin’s Maekhong View Resort and Spa Outside the ramparts, about 2km north of the T-junction 053 650847, ginmaekhongview.com and facebook.com/ginsmaekhongview (for bookings); map. Set around a pretty lawn and an attractive, small swimming pool on the river side of Thanon Rim Khong, the a/c rooms and pricier bungalows at this friendly, clued-up resort are bright, tasteful and well equipped. All have verandas/balconies that offer vistas of the Mekong and a dry-season field of sunflowers, a view that’s shared by the resort’s café-restaurant. A few cheaper rooms (B680) in a thatched wooden “cowboy house” are also available. B1100
Pak Ping Rim Khong About 500m north of the T-junction 053 650151, facebook.com/pakpingrimkhong; map. Friendly boutique hotel with a pleasant garden area, where the bright, contemporary rooms are decked out with dark wooden furniture, crisp white linen and a few splashes of colour, and equipped with a/c, hot showers and fridges. Breakfast included. B1000
Tan Rak Home Just off Thanon Rim Khong, 250m north of the T-junction, down the soi by Chiang Saen Guesthouse 089 434 4345; map. Friendly guesthouse in a modern, two-storey building providing clean, colourfully painted, tiled-floor rooms with a/c, TV, fridge and hot shower. B400
Eating
Food in Chiang Saen is nothing special; you could do worse than try the street-food stalls on the riverfront promenade just north of the T-junction, where you can sprawl on mats at low tables in the evening, followed by a drink at one of the small, lively bars opposite. On Saturday evenings, this stretch of Thanon Rim Khong becomes a “walking street” market, selling plenty of food and handicrafts.
Khong View Station Thanon Rim Khong, about 2km north of the T-junction, between Gin’s Resort and the bypass 081 991 7301; map. This appealing bar-restaurant gets its name from a railway carriage on the imaginary “Chiang Saen–Sipsongpanna” line that’s now marooned on the property (Xishuangbanna, as the Chinese call it, is an ethnically Thai prefecture about 300km north up the Mekong in Yunnan). At the shady outdoor tables with views of the river, you can tuck into espresso coffees (during the day), cheap beer and good Thai food such as fried rice with naem (northern fermented sausage) and Mekong catfish fried with garlic (B150). Daily 7.30am–11pm.
Samying Thanon Phaholyothin, on the west side of the Krung Thai bank 053 777040; map. Popular with locals, this is a cheap, clean, well-run restaurant serving river fish in various preparations (around B150), chicken khao soi (B40) and good Thai salads. Daily 7am–4pm.
As one of the jumping-off points into Laos from Thailand, CHIANG KHONG is constantly bustling with travellers waiting to go over the river to the Lao town of Houayxai and embark on the lovely Mekong boat journey down to Luang Prabang. On a high, steep bank above the water, Chiang Khong is strung out along a single, north–south street, Thanon Sai Klang, which runs down to the fishing port of Ban Hat Khrai. Once you’ve admired the elevated view of the traffic on the Mekong and glimpsed the ruined, red-brick turrets of the French-built Fort Carnot in Houayxai, there’s little to do in the town itself. On Friday mornings, there’s a bustling market at the District Office, while two “walking street” markets operate on weekend evenings: Fridays at Ban Hat Khrai, Saturdays on the main street in front of Wat Phra Kaew.
Arrival and departureChiang Khong
By bus or a/c minibus Direct buses between Chiang Khong and Chiang Rai follow three different routes taking roughly 2hr, 2hr 30min or 3hr (each route approximately hourly, from Chiang Rai’s old bus station); be sure to ask for the quickest time, sawng chuamohng. All buses arriving in Chiang Khong stop on the main road at the south end of town, except services to Laos and some to Bangkok, which use the Baw Khaw Saw terminal on Route 1020, 4km south of town towards the new Mekong bridge. Because of the popularity of the border crossing here, there are now direct buses from and to Chiang Mai run by the Green Bus Company, as well as tourist a/c minibuses; you can arrange tickets for the latter through travel agents such as Queen Bee and guesthouses. Nok Air offer fast combination flight-and-bus tickets between Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport and Chiang Khong, via Chiang Rai Airport.
Destinations Bangkok (9 daily; 13hr); Chiang Mai (2 daily; 5–6hr); Chiang Rai (roughly every 20min; 2–3hr); Luang Prabang, Laos (4 weekly; 15hr).
By songthaew from/to Chiang Saen This 2hr journey is best done in the early morning and usually involves a change of vehicle at Ban Hat Bai. In Chiang Khong, songthaews drop off and leave from the roadside near the post office.
By car from/to Chiang Saen If you’re driving yourself between Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong, it’s more scenic to branch off the direct Route 1129 onto the winding, paved roads that hug the northward kink in the Mekong River.
Getting around
By tuk-tuk If you need transport from the bus to the centre of town, the local version of a tuk-tuk (a converted motorbike) will charge B40/person.
By mountain bike Good hybrid bikes (B100/day) can be rented from The Hub.
By motorbike or car Baan Fai rents motorbikes for around B300/day, cars for around B1500/day.
Crossing to Laos
Tourists cross the border via the Fourth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, 8km downstream from Chiang Khong, where thirty-day visas for Laos are available on arrival (US$30 or B1500 and up, depending on nationality, plus $1 overtime fee after 4pm and at weekends) – for information about other means of getting a Lao visa, see Basics. As paying in baht at the border is so unfavourable, banks and gold shops in Chiang Khong sell dollars.
From Houayxai, the Lao town opposite Chiang Khong, there are buses to Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Luang Namtha and Oudomxai, for example, but by far the most popular option is to catch a passenger boat to Luang Prabang. Generally departing between 10am and noon every morning, these glide down the scenic Mekong in two days, with an overnight and usually a change of boat at Pakbeng. An alternative is to take one of the early-morning speedboats (6–7hr), on which passengers should be provided with helmets and life jackets, but they’re cramped, noisy and dangerous. More luxurious cruises down to Luang Prabang are also available, including an ultra-luxe two-night trip aboard the Anantara hotel group’s Boheme, a thirteen-cabin barge with an on-board spa and activities along the way such as trekking, mountain-biking and cooking classes (anantara.com).
To get to Houayxai from Chiang Khong, you’ll need to catch a tuk-tuk to the bridge, then a shuttle bus across the bridge, then a songthaew on the Lao side to the pier for Luang Prabang boats in Houayxai – your best option is to book a passenger boat ticket through a travel agent or guesthouse such as Baan Fai in Chiang Khong for around B1350, which will include all transport from your guesthouse to the pier in Houayxai.
Giant catfish
The Mekong giant catfish (pla buk) is the largest scaleless freshwater fish in the world, measuring up to 3m in length and weighing up to 300kg. Chiang Khong has traditionally been the catfish capital of the north, attracting fish merchants and restaurateurs from Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Bangkok – the mild, tasty meat of the pla buk is prized for its fine, soft texture, and one fish can fetch up to B100,000. The catfish season (when water levels in the river are low) is officially opened at the port of Ban Hat Khrai on April 18 with much pomp, including an elaborate ceremony by Thai and Lao fishermen to appease Chao Por Pla Buk, the giant catfish god. However, the fish is threatened by new (and proposed) dams on the Mekong in China and Laos, which affect water levels, and by the dynamiting of rapids to allow passage of large cargo boats to and from China – a plan to blast the stretch from Chiang Saen all the way down to Luang Prabang is currently being resisted by environmentalists. The season’s haul used to be between thirty and sixty fish all told, but recent years have been so disappointing (some with no catches at all) that Thailand’s Fishery Department has set up an artificial spawning programme.
Accommodation
Baan Fai 27 Thanon Sai Klang 053 791394, baanfai-chiangkhong@hotmail.com; map. This welcoming spot has a wide variety of rooms, from singles with shared hot showers (B200) to newly renovated doubles with fridges and attached hot-water bathrooms, in some nice old wooden houses tightly packed onto a small plot of land in front of Nam Khong Riverside Hotel. Fan B350, a/c B500
Baan Tam-Mi-La Soi 1, Thanon Sai Klang (signposted down a lane in the middle of town among a cluster of shops) 053 791234, baantammila@gmail.com; map. With helpful staff and a scenic, easy-going riverfront location, this place has tasteful, well-designed rooms and wooden bungalows on a leafy slope, with en-suite hot showers, and sells good hammocks. Basic bicycles free for guests to use. Fan B450, a/c B700
Funky Box Hostel Soi 2, Thanon Sai Klang 093 278 2928, funkyboxhostel.com; map. This hostel owned by The Hub does what it says on the tin: one large, fan-cooled, shed-like dormitory, decorated in bright, funky colours, is equipped with comfy beds, lockers and three hot-water bathrooms. They now also offer bright, fan-cooled private rooms with polished wood floors, shared hot showers and free use of bicycles (decent rates for singles). Good breakfasts can be had at the pub. Dorms B100, doubles B350
Ibis Styles Thanon Sai Klang 053 792008, ibis.com; map. This new outlet of the French Accor group offers tasteful, well-designed, upmarket rooms with all the usual amenities (half of them with river views) and a great, infinity-edge, riverfront swimming pool. Breakfast included. B1380
Nam Khong Riverside Hotel Thanon Sai Klang 053 791796, namkhongriverside.com; map. Low-rise, forty room hotel set around a pretty riverside garden with a river-view restaurant and smartly furnished rooms, all with a/c, hot water, fridges, balconies and Mekong views. Accordingly, ground-floor rooms tend to be cheapest. B1000
Eating
Baan Fai 27 Thanon Sai Klang 053 791394; map. With some nice, shady streetside tables and a souvenir shop selling Thai Lue textiles, this welcoming guesthouse café serves decent espresso coffees, fruit shakes, all-day breakfasts and sandwiches (B70). Daily 6.30am–10pm.
Baan Tam-Mi-La 113 Thanon Sai Klang 053 791234; map. Excellent guesthouse terrace restaurant with a sweeping view of the river, making it an ideal spot to while away the time. Very good Thai food, lots of vegetarian options and a few Western dishes, plus espressos, home-baked cakes and bread, and hearty breakfasts. Daily 7am–7pm.
Fai Nguan (Fai Ngern) Nam Khong Riverside Hotel, Thanon Sai Klang 053 791796; map. Well-appointed hotel restaurant with great views of the river and a wide range of Thai dishes, notably salads (B150) and northern specialities. Daily 6.30am–9/10pm.
Drinking
The Hub Soi 2, Thanon Sai Klang; map. Fun, lively and sociable bar with a pool table, board games and Western comfort food such as fish’n’chips (plus veggie and vegan options), run by a Liverpudlian who used to hold the world record for going round the world on a bike (106 days). Daily 4–11pm.
