Rose of the North, backpacker heaven, destination for Europeans and Americans of a ‘certain age’ looking for fun… which is it? The answer of course, is all of these things and more; a lot more.

The problem with any tourism is that most of us are on a budget – and the commodity in shortest supply is time; the ‘Europe in 10 days syndrome’.
Whilst this approach allows you to tick off the sights and collect a few passport stamps, you can never really get an understanding of a place, or a balanced picture of what it’s like.
Many years ago I worked in London hotels that were the start and end points for the ‘Europe in 10 day’ tours; Switzerland was reduced to a 1 hour jaunt across the border to visit – you probably guessed - a cuckoo clock factory, but I digress…

Chiang Mai Sidewalk - most countries do waste a lot of space don't they; not here...

Chiang Mai is a big city, with a resident population of about 160,000 and draws in over 4 million visitors a year – a lot of whom are domestic tourists and many Bangkok residents seemed to be here for the Christmas/ New Year period. That’s a lot of people and they need a lot of entertaining, here’s a few ideas…

The city divides in to 4 principal areas:

• Nimmanheimin Rd
• The Old Town
• The Night Market
• East of the river

ark3 Chiang Mai City Map

Nimmanheimin Rd

On a first walk down this road you might wonder what all the fuss is about, its certainly not as smart as some of the publicity would have you believe.
The problem is that much of the activity is time based (evening) and even day based, if you are here at the wrong time you will miss it. The other issue is that, probably more than anywhere else in Chiang Mai, this is an area of Soi… Soi are side streets, and in Nimmanheimin they are where most of the action is – so don’t think of it as just the main road, but rather the area.
This can lead to fruitless wandering, but its the only way to discover – and remember, what seems dead in the daytime can be a thriving restaurant scene after dark. Nimmanheimin is also the closest bar area to the Chiang Mai University and gets that crowd too.

Old Town/ within the moat

The old town is surprisingly large, and completely enclosed by the moat. The fact that this structure is 700 years old gives you some idea how big the city must have been even back then; you don’t build unnecessarily large structures as they are harder to defend…
Some of the oldest and most important temples are in the old town, including Wat Pra Singh, but the area is very varied with a mix of residential, schools, shops and hotels. More tourist facilities (hotels and restaurants) seem to be around the southern side of the old town – just inside Chiang Mai Gate (where Wualai Rd meets the moat). The bottom right hand corner (inside the moat) has a few late night bars and eating places too, several of these are very popular with Thais – local or otherwise.

One of the most popular nights in the old town is the Sunday Walking Market held on Rachadamnern Rd – which is essentially the night market (see below), but on a one night a week basis…

It had been a few weeks since the last health and safety inspection

There do seem to be some different traders at the Sunday Walking Market, and the atmosphere is more ‘market like’ – probably because of the temporary nature. Lots of food stands can be found at the start of the street – in the square just outside the city wall, as well as several spots along the road – notably, in the temple complexes.

Chiang Mai Night Walking Market

Special mention to the ladies at Wat Sum Pow, who operate a massage parlour just inside the gates (many temples do). This bunch are great fun, and you will not escape their attentions once you have caught their eye. The temple across the road from here turns into a food court as well, so you can wander about snacking and ringing bells and banging gongs to your hearts content; this is a working temple though and respect should be afforded – many people seem to overlook this fact.

Night Market

If there is a backpacker centre, then this is it. The area from the old town to the night market area is stuffed with cheap hotels and backpacker facilities; nothing wrong with that if its what you need.
Loi Kroh at the moat end, is the centre of the ‘hostess bar business’, and it calms down as you head away from the moat. By the time you have passed Chang Clan (night market central) you are in to theme bars: Bavarian (complete with Thai staff in Bavarian outfits) and English pubs. Press on a bit further towards and you get to the Rasta bar; Loi Kroh is certainly eclectic.

Chiang Mai Night Market

The night market is exactly what a far eastern street market should be: everything from fake designer goods to pirate DVDs for about a quid (and yes they do work fine) – with everything in between. You need to know your prices, because this lot certainly do, and the usual haggling laws apply.

Chiang Mai Night Market

At the centre of the night market is a food court which is actually quite good, and exceptional value; plates are available from about 30 bht up to 60 bht depending on your choice, and a couple of these dishes is a meal. They operate a voucher system, buy some at the cashier desk and hand them over to the individual stalls instead of money. Surplus vouchers can be cashed in, but only on the same day. Each stall has its own speciality so go ahead and mix and match.

Chiang Mai Ping River

East of the river

On the east side of the river Ping there is a slew of fashionable bars, restaurants and galleries; mainly based along the riverside road (Charoenraj) between the Nakornping and Nawarat bridges.

I have given more coverage to this part of town as its where I stayed and so I know it best. Whilst it has some of the more pricey restaurants they are very good value for money.
This area is also very popular with locals and visiting Thais. If you visit Chiang Mai you should come to this area at least once, as it will completely change your perception of what the town is about.

Nights on the Ping - Chiang Mai

Restaurants

Gallery Restaurant – Thai/ Western. Charoenraj Rd. Voted best restaurant in Thailand a few years ago and still very good. Of all the places along this strip this would have to be my winner. Looks like a shop when you first go in (for there is indeed stuff for sale), but press on through and you get to dining rooms and a garden going down to the riverside. Really good selection of menu items, with some Thai traditional dishes that I didn’t see elsewhere. Staff very friendly, food excellent and fairly priced (this is one of the more expensive places, but worth it), highly recommended.

Riverside and CR12 (across the road) – Thai/ Western. The branch on the riverside features live music starting off with Eagles style covers and then getting a bit pop/ rockier as the night progresses. Weekend nights (especially Sunday) can get very loud and packed with a young, predominately Thai crowd – swilling Jack Daniels or Absolut something or other.
The food is good, but the place does suffer from the perennial eastern problem of dish timing - anything you ordered can come at any time – and frankly it shouldn’t, not in a place like this; on more than one occasion I had to cancel dishes I just didn’t want any more.

Vieng Joom On – A little further on from the Gallery and the Brasserie is this tea house. Open in the morning until about 7.00pm. This is a real treat, lovely tea shop at the front, leading through to gardens on the riverside where afternoon tea, cakes and tropical fruit dishes are served.

Arcoba Leon – Italian. Soi 1, Kaeo Nawarat. (First road back from the main riverside drive). Unlikely location, but popular with locals and visitors, I’m never sure what Italian food is anyway (500+ regional cuisines looking for an identity), but they did a passable Caesar Salad (American) and some nice grilled fish. Reasonable wine prices too.

Hinlay Curry House – Soi 1, Nha WatkateRd, (Next door to Sakorn Residence). Another unlikely location, but a great little restaurant in what seems to be someone’s front garden. Small menu, but with good vegetarian selection. Good prices, friendly staff, highly recommended.

Comedara – Thai/ Northern. Charoenraj Rd, not far from the Nakornping Bridge. Round the back of the Colonial House Art Gallery and slightly hidden; although not hidden quite enough as far as I’m concerned… Falls firmly in to the category of style over substance, it was a bit busy when I was there, which is a reason (if not an excuse) for the poor service and food. Spring Roll starter was definitely from the freezer ‘Value Range’, I can’t comment on the main course, because it never came. The accompanying spinach and rice would probably have been alright if warm, as warm as the beer perhaps… Lots of staff running about, but chaotic. No apology or anything like that. Summary: avoid or AYOR.

Bars

Tuk at The Brasserie. This gets a special mention and recommendation. I wandered in here one night and – to put it mildly – was stunned. This guy is world class and is at his best when he just catches a vibe and goes off on one… 20 minute guitar solos might not seem like a good idea – but I highly recommend that you have a look… amazing. Small sample here, show starts about 9pm and Tuk often appears about 11pm:

Look him up on You Tube; most of the recordings don’t do him justice, but you get the idea.

Other places on the east of the river

Between Nawara Bridge and the Iron Bridge are a good selection of lunchtime bars (fast food but oriental), these are very popular with Thai business people and good value. There is a Rimping supermarket by the Iron Bridge on the east side of the river – sells just about everything you could need.

Other areas in Chiang Mai

Central Airport Plaza – Toward the airport is this large mall, its fine if you need western stuff, they even have a Boots Chemists. The Aeon bank in here avoids 150 bhat transaction fee that other banks seem to charge – hardly worth the trip, but if you are going anyway look out for it on the 3rd floor.

Warorot – real Thai market. You may not be the only westerner there but there won’t be many. Quite chaotic, but great fun (I spent hours wandering round here) and you can get anything from clothes, to herbs, to flower arrangements, to fresh fruit – loved it.

And finally (for now), I made loads of web Posts whilst I was in Chiang Mai; have a look under the Category ‘Thailand’ over on the right hand side above and supplementary pages:

Chiang Mai – Elephant Nature Park

Chiang Mai – Trips