NORTHERN THAILAND

THAILAND - November 2019

We spent the first third of our time in Northern Thailand, in the mountainous region. We are not big city people when we travel, but we still wanted to see Chiang Mai, which felt large despite a population of 127,000 people. It is pretty spread out with so many temples (around every corner!), restaurants, food markets, a giant night bazarr, friendly people, and taxis. The best advice we received was to arrive in the city and pick a few temples to visit as you explore. You could spend multiple days bouncing around touring temples, but we felt 3-4 was enough for our short visit.

Pai, on the other hand, is a tiny town about two hours north of Chiang Mai (near the Myanmar border) with a population of around 2,000 people. We LOVED our time in this small city - so much to offer: outdoor adventures, beautiful mountainous surroundings, quaint “downtown” (just one main street called “Walking Street”), tons of life, amazing street food, and lots of backpackers. Definitely add this city to your list of destinations! Make sure to add a day of travel (to account for there and back) as the only way in and out is by car/van. We booked a “bus” ticket through our Chiang Mai hotel - It is a three-hour drive straight up and down the mountainside. Warning: it is a rough ride with all the ups, downs, and turns. I would pack some motion sickness medicine for the trip - that really helped me!

We ended up planning 2.5 days in Chiang Mai and 2 days in Pai, and I think we hit that right on the mark given our two week timeframe. Below I’ve outlined our days and adventures in Northern Thailand.

Day 1: Chiang Mai

We woke up early in Bangkok and flew north to Chiang Mai. Then immediately took a taxi to the square and visited our first temple, Wat Chedi Luang, which was beautiful! The original temple in the back is now roped off due to its dilapidation but is pretty magnificent, equipped with elephant and dragon “gargoyles” and multiple huge golden Buddhas.

We made a quick stop for lunch (where we tried the famous Khao Soy) and then walked to our hostel (The Entaneer Poshtel) to check in and await our ride to the Baan Farm. If you’re ever in Chiang Mai, sign up for the Baan Farm Cooking class - it’s amazing and SO fun! We each picked FIVE different courses to cook then went to the market to learn about the ingredients. Afterwards, we headed to the farm to pick fresh herbs and started cooking! You’ll see a few of our dishes that we cooked - Jake chose the spicy ones, and I tried not to breathe fire with my mildly spicy courses! We finished off the day at the Night Bazarr, shopping for the best souvenirs.

Day 2: Elephant Sanctuary

Busy day!! We woke up super early and took an open air truck out with new friends (Polish, Germans, and Canadians) to the Maerim Elephant Sanctuary where we spent the rest of the morning. We learned so much about elephants! Did you know that elephants eat 16-20 hours per day, have 6 sets of teeth in their lifetime, and can only see 10 meters in front of them? The elephants at this sanctuary have been bought from either a circus or captivity where they were beaten and ridden by tourists. Because of this, they cannot survive in the wild. At the sanctuary each elephant is given three guardians who each take 8-hour shifts so that one person can stay with the elephant at all times, 24/7. Because they cannot survive in the wild alone, the guardians watch over them so that they do not eat a chemically treated plant or get stolen in the jungle. We fed, bathed and talked to the elephants all morning and had a blast!! We learned so much from the Maerim guides - we highly recommend this half-day tour!

After an amazing lunch of Khao Soi, we headed back to Chiang Mai to rest for a bit before heading to Doi Suthep for sunset. We had quite the drive up the mountain to the base of the temple - when people warn you of winding roads up and down the mountains of Thailand, take them seriously! We rode in the back of an open air truck for 40 minutes and about died of dizziness/nausea. At the top of this mountain, there is a huge temple with over 300 steps! It was a beautiful temple with lots to see and views across Chiang Mai below. If you go, plan to spend an hour up there at least. Needless to say, we splurged the $5 and took a taxi back down with me in the front seat. It was a beautiful night and another wonderful day. 

Day 3: Pai

After two busy days, we enjoyed a relaxed morning before departing on the minibus to Pai. This minibus experience was one I wish I could forget - a three-hour drive, winding up and down the mountainside. Luckily we had some motion sickness medicine that we had taken beforehand! We ate a quick lunch then off to find our hostel, which is the cutest darn thing! Our “hostel” (more like private hut!) was called Pai Country Hut, which was off the main road (dubbed “the walking street”) and over the river. In the late afternoon, we rented a scooter to explore the Pai countryside and visit some local treasures. Jake was the driver, I was the navigator - worked well!

First stop was the Pem Bok Waterfall, which was small but picturesque. Second stop was the Bamboo Bridge, located in a tiny village about 10km from town - beautiful sunset views! Since we got a late start, we headed back to town in the dark, ate some street food for dinner (including a waffle and mango for dessert!) and eventually found our way back to the hostel for an early turn in before another jam-packed day.

Day 4: Pai Adventure Day

We woke early to get the best of the day and our 24-hr scooter rental. We ate a quick breakfast at the hostel, hopped on the scooter and headed to The Land Split, the historic site of the 2009 and 2011 earthquakes. A local farmer owns the land and allows visitors to walk around and through the split as well as eat yummy pumpkin chips and drink roselle juice for a small donation.

After returning the scooter, we started the full-day tour of Pai’s best landmarks. First stop, White Buddha, which sits atop a hill facing West up 353 steps! The ride to the next stop was about an hour by truck and quite windy (easy to get car sick around here!). Next stop, Tham Lod Cave, which consists of three caves, one of which requires a long boat to reach. The tour was about an hour long, and the cave was one of the most impressive caves we’ve ever seen (a must-do if you’re ever in Pai!). The guide was really there just to light the way as she only pointed out animal-like sculptures in the cave formations. Overall, strongly recommend! 

We made a quick stop to look out over the beautiful mountains of Pai and snap some photos at the Doi Kiew Lom view point. After that, we took a quick dip at the Sai Ngam Hot Springs, which was pretty much warm bath water with some tourists and locals.
Next up was Mor Paeng Waterfall. This was more of a rock slide (but not enough for people to slide down, unless you wanted major road rash!). Still serene and pretty. But just a pit stop until ....Pai Canyon! We wrapped up the day at Thailand’s “Grand Canyon” for sunset, and it was breathtakingly beautiful! While it was no Grand Canyon, it had plenty of scary cliffs and tourists! We watched the sun go down over the Pai mountains. It’s good to note that you can only access a couple of these attractions by scooter - so it’s best to pay for the tour (which was pretty cheap).

We ended the night on Walking Street, grabbing some classic Tom Yum soup and Green Curry fried rice from a food stall.

Day 5: Back to Chiang Mai

When you’re trying to see ALL the places, you’ve got to bake in a few travel days throughout your trip - today was one of those. Pai was right up our alley - very laid back, tons of outdoor activities, and lots of beautiful nature escapes. We were sad to leave.

We slept in a bit (8:15!), ate breakfast and checked out of the hostel. We walked into town and booked ourselves our first Thai massage! They were pretty intense but fairly relaxing and cheap! Then we grabbed a quick lunch and ran (literally) to the bus station for our 1pm bus to Chiang Mai. The ride back was rough with so many uphill/downhill sharp turns that my body was feeling a wreck during and after the 3-hr drive.

Back in Chiang Mai, we rechecked in to the same hostel (Entaneer Poshtel) from earlier in the week and did some laundry. We planned ahead to do laundry halfway so that we could bring less clothing - worked perfectly! Then we embarked to find dinner and walk through the night market, where we bought some fun souvenirs and gifts. Highlights of the day: massages, fresh mango smoothies, pad see ew, night market finds, live music and food trucks.