Worth getting out of bed for
Highlights the best Chiang Mai has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.
- Viewpoint
- Join every other tourist in town and visit Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep (www.doisuthep.com). It’s well worth the exodus: a mountaintop temple erected in 1383. At more than 3,000 feet above sea level and just half an hour outside the city, the views from up here are almost as amazing as the temple itself. Hale and hearty holidaymakers can take the grand Naga staircase (290 steps), others might be better off riding the electric tram. The temple is open daily from 6am to 7pm.
- Arts and culture
- Purists will enjoy spending several hours touring the well-appointed Chiang Mai National Museum (www.thailandmuseum.com/thaimuseum_eng/chiangmai), but we prefer goggling the gorgeous handmade art pieces in the city’s galleries and shops. Be sure to visit Studio Kachama on Nimmanhaemin Road, (www.kachama.com). Run by Bangkok-born textile artist and designer Kachama K. Perez, the studio showcases delicate hand-woven textiles, incorporating silk, hemp, cotton, banana fibre and hilltribe fabrics. Perez’s textiles are especially noteworthy because she has revived traditional Thai weaving techniques
- Something for nothing
- Chances are you won’t want to buy any of the tat being peddled at Chiang Mai’s inexplicably famous night bazaar. But it is worth spending an hour or two wandering this always busy and bright street market – just leave your wallet at home.
- Shopping
- Chiang Mai makes a big bleep on the retail radar. You’ll need a car and driver to take you to your shortlisted shops. The best things to buy here are fabulously designed home accessories, furnishings and furniture – most of which is made locally. Nimmanhaemin Road is the place to start your shopping journey. The buying team for Armani Casa makes a beeline for Gerard Collection for smart coffee, dining and picnic tables crafted out of bamboo logs (+66 (0) 5322 0604; www.gerardcollection.com). Taiwanese-owned Paradise Stoneware (+66 (0) 5389 4292) sells decorative tiles covered in intricate white geometric designs. By keeping the shapes of their pieces clean and streamlined, and opting for all-gold or all-silver finishes, the designers at Gong Dee Gallery (+66 (0) 5322 5032 www.gongdeegallery.com) have created chic accessories with global appeal. On different streets but also worth a look are Living Space for prettily designed modern lacquerware and other accessories (+66 (0) 5321 5166; www.livingspacedesigns.com), and AKA (+66 (0) 5389 4413; www.aka-aka.com), an antique-meets-contemporary furniture shop set in a home just outside the city.
- Daytripper
- Set aside a day for the Doi Inthanon National Park tour, much more culturally stimulating than the popular elephant tours. The tour includes a visit to at least a couple of waterfalls, one or two pagodas and a small number of reasonably authentic hilltribe villages, home to Hmong, Karen or Shan people. Tours occasionally bring visitors to a royal farming project whose proceeds go towards supporting the people of these hill villages.
- Perfect Picnic
- Chiang Mai locals head to Namtok Huai Kaew for weekend picnics, and it’s easy to see why: this perfectly picturesque waterfall near Chiang Mai Zoo is a charming, peaceful retreat from the city.
- Activities
- Adrenaline addicts are more than well catered for in and around Chiang Mai: white-water rafting, mountain biking, horse-riding, dirt-biking and rock-climbing are readily accessible. Of course, not everyone wants to do something so strenuous; softer pursuits, such as yoga and meditation, are also available. There are several highly regarded cooking classes in Chiang Mai. The best is the half-day class at Four Seasons Resort (www.fourseasons.com).
Diary
April Chiang Mai Songkran and Lannathai Festival. This is the place to celebrate the Thai New Year’s orgy of water-throwing; join locals in getting everyone else as wet as possible. Chiang Mai International Arts and Culture Festival brings international performing arts groups to the city. May Visaka Bucha Day celebrates the life, enlightenment and death of Buddha, and is the holiest day of the year in the Buddhist calendar: watch the candlelit evening procession to Doi Suthep. November Loy Krathong harks from a 13th century Sukhothai tradition of giving thanks to the Goddess of water and of seeking forgiveness for past misdeeds, and is celebrated through the launching a small float of flowers and candles onto rivers and canals. December Chiang Mai Food Festival sees folk flock to the city to taste tempting traditional treats.
