First full day in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, Day 65

So for our first full day in Chiang Mai, we are just going to take it easy today. We have nothing planned, so after breakfast, we do some chores (washing, emails,, etc.), and then at about 11.30 am, we leave the apartment to head in towards the walled area of the city.

Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province, and the second largest city in Thailand. It is 435 miles north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands and has a population of 1.2 million people as of 2022.

Chiang Mai (meaning "new city" in Thai) was founded in 1296 as the new capital of Lan Na, succeeding the former capital, Chiang Rai. The city's location on the Ping River (a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River) and its proximity to major trading routes contributed to its historic importance. Its Old City area still retains vestiges of walls and moats from its history as a cultural and religious centre. It’s also home to hundreds of elaborate Buddhist temples, including 14th-century Wat Phra Singh and 15th-century Wat Chedi Luang, adorned with carved serpents.

Chiang Mai is a very popular tourist and retirement destination for many people, and our aim in coming here was to see for ourselves what draws people to this location and if it's a place that we enjoy too. As Chiang Mai is in a more mountainous region in the north, the temperatures here are generally a bit cooler than those of Bangkok and southern Thailand. However, I think this is a lie as the temperature here since we arrived has been about 30 °c. Of course, it will be cooler first thing in the morning and later in the evening, but our outings don't quite align with these times as of yet. Of course, it is worth noting that from late February and during most of March, the air quality is very poor in Chiang Mai due to the burning of crop fields by the farmers, so you won't want to visit here then, even if the prices are very cheap!

We first stop off at the Pantip Lifestyle Hub, which is nearby, where there is both a Bic-C grocery store and a food court (we went there last night for our groceries after we arrived). As it was almost lunchtime and we were too late the night before to see the food court, we decided to grab lunch here. I was still taking things easy with my previous upset tummy issue, so I went with a plain Hainanese chicken rice with soup broth, and R went for a chicken khao soi dish.

We had a quick wander around the hub area, and as we were leaving, I spotted an interesting sign on the door that I'd not seen before in Thailand: no cigarettes, no dogs, and no GUNS! Not sure I'm liking Chiang Mai so far.... :O

After this, we walk along a main road towards the south end of the walled centre, and then from here, we head north a bit and cross over into the centre area.

It's got a lovely sort of moat and bits of the ancient wall remaining around the whole city and it's quite charming looking.

At this point, I think a combination of the heat and my knackeredness sort of kicks in, and we make a little pit stop for a rest and a cold drink. I'm not in the mood for doing much more walking about today, and we decide to head for the Tha Phae Gate on the middle east side of the wall and then start heading back to the apartment.

As we headed back to the apartment, we took a couple of photos of the hotel and noticed you can see the rooftop pool from the road. As I'm thinking that I might go for a little swim later, I suddenly remember the evening in Da Nang, when it was 'raining' on one part of the road and a woman, had said something must have happened to the hotel rooftop pool.... and now I'm not so keen on going for a swim in this glass rooftop pool!

We got back to the apartment in the afternoon and we both just chilled a bit more. I needed to get my blog posts written up as was way behind and once I had done this, then I could start to check out what we might want to do in Chiang Mai.

We had some items in, so we didn't need to go out later for dinner, and that was good also.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

23 January 2025