Loi Krathong
by iammon
This is a festival (best celebrated in the North) where the Thais thank the godness of water. Therefore the main activities are centred along rivers, lakes and canals. Krathong means raft. So all the Thais put small lotus-shaped baskets containing flowers, candels and money in the water at night. Big communes or companies have big rafts floating on the rivers. They are shown to the public during the day in the center of town. In Chiang Mai the Thais get crazy with fireworks as well. The also launch lots of paper hot-air ballons into the sky. It is very croweded close to the river and acctually a bit dangerous as well as they light the fireworks in the middle of the crowds. The latter at night the more crazy it gets I guess. But you should not miss that fun! It is on a full moon night in November.
Wooden Souvenirs
by evancheong about P.M. Woondcarving
This is the place you should visit if you are intending to buy any wooden carvings like those typical wooden Thai elephants. They are 1 of the exporter and producers of Teak wood handicraft and other carved furnitures. Being a wholesaler and retailer, its cheaper than other stores, more varieties and better quality. I finally bought a thai wooden statue which I have been eyeing for a long time. I paid only US$18 when other shops along the street offered me US$40 and some even higher. Can you see the price discrepancy!!
Cheap Flights from Bangkok
by nattybabe
I shopped around to find a cheap flight from Bangkok and I was spolit for choice with airlines. Only an hours flight it is a quick and easy way to get to Chiang Mai and the Chiang Mai airport is close to town so you don't have far to travel once you get there.
We ended up flying with Thai Airways as surprisingly they were the cheapest at the time: 200B one way. Not bad!!
If you're short on time then fly, it's cheap and easy!
Reasonably priced and sooo good
by riproy about The Lemontree
On two levels with a patio upstairs out back, the decor here is nothing to write home about but it is clean and tasteful (and there is no TV in sight).
The food here is just wonderful. Very tasty indeed. And it is not expensive at all, i think most dishes about between 40 and 60 baht. They also make great 'pun' - the fruit shakes.
This place is off the backpacker circuit but but it does see some expat traffic. The 'chu chee pak', the 'pla muek tot kratiem' are so good, and this place has the best wing bean salad ' yam toowa ploo' i have ever had in thailand.
Scale Doi Suthep
by riproy
On the west side of Chiangmai is Doi Suthep, a mini-mountain topped by a temple (Wat Phra That Doi Suthep) and a Royal palace. The temple itself is pretty spectacular to look around, and the view over the city is great too - however smog often obscures the view especially in the cool season (Dec-Jan) as farmers are burning rice stubble in the fields.
This place is heavily touristed so there will be no shortage of trips climbing the hill. When you get there you will see all the tour buses. Still, it is worth the trip.
If your accommodation does not offer any organized trips to Doi Suthep, you can easily hail a little red truck that will take you up for enough baht.
Doi Suthep is right next to the city, past the University and the Zoo. It is a steep climb (11 km) as it rises up behind Chiangmai Zoo, but if you have the gluts, you can rent a bicycle and go nuts. It took me just over 40 minutes and a lot of water being in average shape. However you might not be able to climb the stairs to the temple once you get up there. Make sure your brakes are good for the trip down.
Sign in with Facebook
"Old man's beard" inside the greenhouse
Artist
Wat Chedi Luang
In Nov.2006 Thaewan made some advances to Thaewee
