Chiang Mai (Thailand) > Reviews > Backpacking in Chaing Mai

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
Family Friendly

Advantages:	Vibrant capital of the North, Scenery, Choice of activities
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Just because it hasn't got a beach, don't whatever you do put off a trip to Chiang Mai if you visit Thailand.

This place is the friendliest and most vibrant place in the whole of the Kingdom.

Its situated about 8 hours from Bangkok be it by train or coach.There are also regular flights direct from most of Thailands major cities. Once here it makes a perfect base for exploring the rest of the North, or to visit other countries such as Burma and Laos.

Places to stay are plentiful, and you'll find prices a lot less than you would pay down south. We stayed in an original thai teak house which had been converted into a medium size hotel. The place was spotless, with a swimming pool, restaurant, and all mod cons. The price was 250Baht a night!

Chang Mai is known as the cultural centre of Thailand.It has over three hundred temples, some of them the most important in the country.The old part of the town is surrounded by a moat with the rest city encompassed around it.
Although its a fairly large place its not hard to navigate as say somewhere like Bangkok.

There is a large night market every night, where you will find traditional handicrafts amongst the usual T shirts, caps and Sunglasses. There are numerous places here to eat with plenty of good quality and value Thai restaurants, plus the usual McDonalds and Burger King.

Chang Mai is also the best place to book a Trek in the mountains further North.

Don't just go for the first one you see as the cheapest is not always the best. Get advice from other travellers if you can. A lot of Treks won't be bothered if you have no expierience in rock climbing and will expect you to scale vertical cliffs with the natural aqbility of Sherpa Tensing. Most treks last an average of 3 days although 6 day ones are available.YOu do have to be physically fit to do any type of trek though. There are varying extremes of weather and a hell of a lot of walking, but its well worth doing providing you choose the right one.

Its also possible to visit burma here on a day trip.Get the bus to Chang Rai and then another to Mae Sai on the Burmese Border.Unfortunately you have to pay to get into the country with the money going directly to the oppresive military junta that runs the country.The moral decision is yours.

Chiang Mai shouldn't be crossed off anyones list if visiting here. We ended up staying here for a whole month,and weren't bored once.