lea pof travels: Chiangmai, Thailand: 8 Things to Do About Town

After a long hiatus, I can finally say I'm done with Europe. I'm skipping USA 2015 and Japan 2016 for now, and working backwards - Chiangmai 2016! All of which I have put aside my trusty Olympus PEN mostly and used my Sony Xperia, which explains the less than desired photo quality (but much lighter and less bulky).

I haven't visited Southeast Asia or flown budget for a while (excluding Malaysia because it is just a bridge away, really), but it quickly became clear to me that if I wanted a place to just chill and relax, Chiangmai is the place! Instead of beaches, you have mountains and hills, with a good mix of retail, dining and accommodation options, all sans the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

Getting around Chiangmai is pretty easy - just hail a ~~cab~~ Songthaew, which is basically a van with two benches and an open rear door that you can climb into. We typically save locations in Google Maps and either tell or show the driver the location, after which, track the journey (using GPS, without the need for data or WiFi - snazzy!). You'd usually be charged by per head, with the possibility of the driver picking up other passengers "on the way", and there is a slight leeway to bargain. It'd be best if you can give the driver the location in Thai (written or spoken), especially if you are headed to obscure hipster hotels. Within the gates of the walled city, I recommend walking, there's always something to see, eat or snoop around every nook and cranny. Just see the distribution of the places I've star-ed (interactive Google Map towards the end of the post!).

Here are my top picks on things to do:

1. Akha Ama Coffee Journey*
*Subject to availability. Read more about my journey here.

2. Gorge yourself silly with food
An entire post dedicated to food here.

3. Shopping
There are many places to shop till you drop - whether it is a night market, day market, mall, or just a random store along the streets. While the markets have rather common offerings, what you find in the malls would be different. Also, Chinese tourists and Alipay were pretty big when we visited back in late 2016, and the fever might not have subsided.

Sunday Night Market has got to be my favourite, look out for the stall that sells bags made by the Hmong hill tribe. I bought some sauce packets of Lobo (Tomyum in particular) and my sister raves about it, so I guess sauce packets make for rather practical and yummy souvenirs?

Oh, which reminds me, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital has a rather extensive day market. We visited it to get our (endless) supply of scarves. Since it mainly targets nursing students, I guess it's safe to assume that the wares are cheaper and more youthful.

Crafty loot

Complete loot. Notable mentions: mango Koala's March and waffle cut Lay's seaweed snacks.

Warorot Market is huge, sheltered and opens in the day.

As mentioned, some things just scream "MALL"

We visited several malls, but I think MAYA would suffice. P.S. Free shuttle at Central Plaza. I always check out customer service for tourist privileges and WiFi passwords.

4. Attend a class from Backstreet Academy

I thought the platform was a brilliant idea - learn a new skill from a local, while traveling. It's doing my little part to ensure that these skills don't die out, while getting a chance to experience and interact with locals.

We attended a silversmithing class within the grounds of a temple. We got to choose our own design, and make either a bookmark (unrolled) or a bangle (rolled). I guess the bangle can also be a napkin holder of sorts. #becreative

It can get tedious but anyone can do it! It's pretty eyeopening how easy it is to add texture to our pieces, and how much of a difference it makes to the piece. The temple grounds is also very serene, with good canine company. Oh, and Kru Tu, our instructor was patient, helpful and skilled (obviously).

5. Attend a cooking class

As an educator, I would say our cooking class was seamlessly executed - flawless down to the tiniest detail (to the point of that our food "magically" covered and uncovered by "itself"). It was enjoyable, and suitable for beginners who have never stepped into kitchens or held cleavers. But even with the complimentary recipe book, I'm not so sure if I can replicate the dishes in my kitchen.

Our class at Zabb-E-Lee included a visit to the market, and hands-on preparation of a multi-course meal (with options for most courses). The class size was manageable - about 10 pax?

Here are shots from the class - from prep to table to tummy.

6. Get a massage
There are plenty of options for massages, at different price points. Green Bamboo Massage (call ahead to make reservations) was a winner in terms of value and service (if you like a good, hard massage). You can also support ex-offenders at the Women's Massage Center, which has several branches.

We entered this fancy massage place to use the bathroom. I peeked into the "menu" and realised that I didn't even have enough cash for the most basic package listed (and I think this was at the start of our trip). Till next time.

7. Squeeze in time for some sightseeing
Wat? What Wat?
Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, and Wat is temple in Thai. Also, the Wats are gorgeous. We just stumbled into Wats within the walled city and the Three Kings Monument - which is why I advocate walking.

We thought of getting a day tour beyond Chiangmai but it didn't make sense to make a separate trip to Chiangrai (we were making the coffee journey afterall). We did however, make it a point to visit Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. We went to the Chang Phuak Gate to take a songthaew up, and with four passengers, we helped to fill it (there were about five people waiting inside) and off we went. The driver would typically give you a few hours, and you'd have to search for the parked songthaew when the time was up. Be considerate and don't be late please.

Mind you it's located on a hill and you still had to climb stairs. Look out for the gold stupa and legendary white elephant. And let sleeping dogs lie.

You're rewarded with... an instagram-worthy backdrop of Chiangmai.

8. Learn some Thai

Granted, this was kind of pushing it to hit the big 8. Throwback to our time in Halong Bay, if Japanese find Thai difficult and you find Japanese difficult, what can you conclude about learning Thai? I got a brief introduction to numbers in Thai, over lunch on the way back to Chiangmai (cue: fishball noodles).

Here are most places I've listed in this post. We didn't visit every place that was star-ed and we might have visited places that are not. I think a blue marker is considered a "must-visit" for me, and a purple marker meant "if got time, can visit". If you look carefully, you can figure out our hipster accommodations.

In closing:
Three posts later, I've managed to condense our short but sweet getaway to Chiangmai.

Here are some random shots to round up:

Seen at our hipster hotel. Don't wing it.

I enjoy leafing through onboard flight magazines. Things stay relevant for a while so why is there a need to keep updating content?
Chiangmai was featured so I snapped some pictures for reference.