This post is part 5 covering our epic Mae Hong Son loop. It covers our adventures and experiences in and around Chiang Mai. Feel free to jump to the “TLDR” section to get a quick run down of what to expect and some tips. Read through the full post to follow our day by day, stop by stop experience.
By the time we completed paper making at Poopoopaper (see part 4), it was already slightly after 5pm, and rush hour traffic (what little of it there) was already clogging up the road to our hotel. We arrived slightly after 6pm and Mummy checked in while Daddy met up with Budgetcatcher to return the car. There was a slight hiccup where Budgetcatcher wanted to charge me some (ridiculous) surcharge for the tar splatters along the side of the car (picked up while driving on a freshly tarred road, something we couldn’t avoid). We shook hands on a compromise and parted ways.
Chiang Mai Gate House where we would be staying while we were at Chiang Mai was a gem of a find! Located inside Chiang Mai old town, it looks like an old building converted to function as a guesthouse. It sounded like the current owner recently took over management of the place, post-Covid. Check in was super smooth, and the owners were also super friendly. The quaint guesthouse had a small common hall with a small shared garden, really made us felt at home. We bagged ourselves a room with a mezzanine floor and the girls screamed in excitement and immediately rushed up to claim the upper deck for themselves when they found out (we kept it a surprise).
The Honda City 2019 we got, with its large boot space and comfortable ride really made navigating the Mae Hong Son loop so much fun.
Chiang Mai Gate House (not to be confused with Chiang Mai Gate Hotel) is a small guesthouse located to the south of old town, near the Chiang Mai gate.
Dinner was a simple affair at nearby restaurant, Baan Na Na. Food was honestly mediocre, eventhough they garnered a strong 4.3 star rating on Google map. Service was pretty fast, but we still managed to squeeze in a couple of rounds of Pictionary.
Wall & Gates of Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai city consist of an “older” section surrounded by city walls and a moat, with the newer section surrounding it. The old town roads are narrower, but point of interest are also closer to each other. We were so full after dinner, that we decided to walk around and explored some of the tourist attractions close to our guesthouse. There’s not much to see at the gates and walls, but you still see many people hanging around the area. The 3 king monuments we visited on the other hand was devoid of any crowd, except a couple of shirtless skateboarders.
One of the more popular “gate” along the old city wall is Tha Pae gate. Located on the east, this used to be the city trade center, connecting directly to the river Ping. The word Tha in Thai means ‘harbour’ and Pae means ‘floating house’. One of the few remaining intact ancient gates.
Some of the other gates and section of ancient walls that we visited
One of the traders at Tha Pae Gate that caught our attention was at this stall with handmade figurines crafted from hemp rope
3 Kings Monument Square. The statue portrays the three founders of Chiang Mai, King Mengrai, King Ramkhamhaeng and King Ngam Muang.
Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang is located beside the 3 Kings Monument. This little visited temple named after the Pali name for the Chiang Mai city pillar, the Sao Inthakin. The pillar is no longer housed here after it was moved to Wat Chedi Luang nearby.
Temple Hopping in the Morning
After a good night’s rest, it was time to explore Chiang Mai. Mummy and the girls will be visiting some friends later in the day, while Daddy will temple hop. There are so, so many unique temples in and around Chiang Mai, and multi-day trip will definitely be required if one intends to visit all.
The Chiang Mai Gate Market is closeby. A great place to rub shoulders with early morning crowd, browse the variety of food and cakes for sale.
Chiang Mai is a beautiful culturally rich city. There are many, many temples spread throughout the city. Besides temples, there are also many other activities and place to visit for everyone. It’s also a perfect hub for you to plan your exploration of Thailand north. The little time we had, we spent temple hopping, hiking and sampling Thai cuisine, while traveling around using Tuk-tuks and Songtaews.
I would identify fried pig skin as a unique staple food for the Thais. You will see this being used in many of their dishes and found being readily available in many spots enjoying brisk sales. The oil used to fry them are also packed and sold. Enjoying breakfast in the open Cafe at the guesthouseWat Muentoom was the first temple we visited. Hands down, this is the most unique temple we ever came across. Many out of this world statues can be seen around grounds. Wat Chedi Luang is arguably the most popular temple in Chiang Mai. This 14th century temple has a few ancient structures in the grounds. It is also very much sacred to the residents of Chiang Mai as the pillar of the city is located here. Note that women are not allowed into the building housing the pillar. One of the 3 “landmark”, planted when the pillar was first moved here. These 3 trees is said to assist the pillar in protecting the city. At the back of the temple ground are a couple of stand alone prayer halls. These prayer halls houses was figures of long dead monks. These was figures looks eerily life like and you will see devotees dropping down on their knees to pray in front of them. The exterior of the Viharn, housing the was figures and other relics.
An Exciting Ride to a Unique Art Gallery
It was time to head off to our next destination. We walked over to a row of tuk tuks parked outside the temple and haggled the fare before boarding one. Tuk tuk usually ferries 3 and I needed to squeeze in front with the driver, to our next destination, a privately ran art gallery. It is somewhat remote and not well advertised. We ended up getting lost, but it was worth the ride over.
Looking back, I wonder how 5 adults (us and the driver) managed to squeeze into this little vehicle. Half the time, my body was sticking out of the tuk tuk, and the engine really strained whenever we hit any incline. We got lost and the tuk tuk driver was getting impatient. He was grumbling on and on about not realizing the location being this remote, under charging us, etc, etc. It was time to get off, pay the fare and walk the rest of the way through this backlane Roi Dvarapala Ban Devalaya is beautiful privately ran art gallery. What makes it really unique is that majority of the art is painted directly onto the building structure. Mr Khem, the gallery owner is super passionate and will be more than willing to share his dream and vision with you. Pictured behind us is the nearly completed hand drawn 15×12 feet (I think) painting that would adorn his next project, a temple dedicated to Hanuman. The sound as you swing open the main door, replicating the sound of an elephant welcoming you into the gallery. The art gallery was actually not the center piece of this place. Instead, the pride of Mr Khem is actually the world’s largest single wood carving of the Hindu God Ganesha, measuring 6 meter tall. We found out that Mr Khem recently launched 2 more single wood statue carvings of Erawan, a three headed elephant (said to be 5 times larger than the Ganesha statue) & a “smaller” 3 headed Buddha (3 times larger than the Ganesha statue) at nearby Wat Fai Hin. He assured us that we would be the first Malaysian to see it, if we visited. I decided to walk over while the girls stopped for lunch. Girls grabbed a quick bite at a local Cafe, Basecamp. Little did we know this was also out starting point for our hike to another temple the next day.
More Temple Hopping
We headed back to Chiang Mai and headed separate ways. Mommy and the girls went off to visit some old friends, while Daddy decided to explore more of the nearby temples.
Mei-Mei has been on the look out for the mango gummy that Mummy bought the last time she came over. Surprisingly we couldn’t find it until now. I decided to head over to Warorot Market, a flea market selling mostly items that a tourist will purchase (snacks, nuts, gummies, etc).
The moat surrounding the old town on the left, while the newer section of Chiang Mai continues to expand on the right. Wat Chai Si Phum is another lessert known temple located just outside the walls, near the Si Phum corner at the North East. Its relatively quiet, but well worth the walk over. The red lacquered “ho trai” (building where sacred texts are stored) distinctively stands out. Wat Lok Moli is another ancient temple, built in the 14th century. The temple was known as a royal temple to one of the dynasties ruling here. There’s a massive chedi located right in the middle of temple grounds.Wat Phra Singh is one of the “Big Three” temples in Chiang Mai, like Wat Chedi Luang, is located in old town. The distinctive “golden chedis” The main prayer hallRow of wax statues of dead monks
A Hidden Temple
The last temple we wanted to visit was Wat Pha Lat, a relatively hidden temple located deep in a jungle. It was originally used as a resting place for worshippers making their way to to Doi Suthep, it lies somewhat abandoned amongst trees. Hiking up the relatively easy ‘monk’s trail’ from Chiang Mai transports you somewhere seemingly far away. The city below feels distant and the temple’s gentle atmosphere has an instantly relaxing effect.
Rushed off again to the nearby Chiang Mai Gate market to grab breakfast. Girls made a special request for rice and egg custard, which was quickly gobbled down. We finally got to sit on a songthaew, the red truck synonymous with Chiang Mai. We booked ours using Grab by selecting the “RodDaeng” option, to and from the Monk’s trailhead.We hiked the Monk’s trail to get to Wat Pha Lat. The trailhead is actually just further away from basecamp, roughly 15mins walk up a mild incline, and its clearly marked on Google Map. The hike itself I would say is not too challenging. Its a nice leisurely walk, taking you roughly an hour to get to the temple.Catching a breather, while seated on a thick Liana vine, that snaked across the path.We really felt like “Lara Croft” when we first came upon Wat Pha Lat. We arrived somewhat early, with only handful of locals lounging around. This “temple in the jungle” fell into a state of disrepair and was restored by a wealthy local businessman in the mid 90s.Statue dotting the temple ground. Temple itself was pretty peaceful, and a good place to just kick back and relax. Sound of a mini waterfall, flowing water and wind rustling the leaves will accompany you as you close your eyes and catch a breatherExploring temple groundPoisonous looking spider spotted sucking on a recently captured prey, seen at one of the structures at the temple.Our turn to rest on the liana vine on our return hikeThis drink stall (สมูทตี้พี่แพรว สาขาประตูเชียงใหม่) makes delicious smoothies. The proprietor was also very open to customizing your drink. The girls chose a mango shake and strawberry shake with boba each as their treat for completing the hike. Lunch was at Dash, another restaurant that garnered good review on Google map. The local Thai dishes were yummy, but the carbonara that Mei-Mei wanted was not good at all. What made our experience there a not so good one was the level of service we got when we dined there. Imagine rudely being told that you needed to pay for a bucket of ice, when you accidentally tipped over your glass filled with ice (and no offer to clean up too)!
TLDR
Chiang Mai is a beautiful, culturally rich city filled with attractions and activities for almost everyone. Besides the multitude of temples, there are also many pubs, cafes, restaurants serving good local cuisine, etc. It is also very tourist friendly, making it a perfect hub for you to explore northern Thailand. The short time we spent in Chiang Mai only allowed us to explore a handful of these (temples, cafes, restaurants). Below is a summary of the adventures we managed to cover.
