Chiang Mai

At the mountain's base are two superb waterfalls, Huay Kaew falls (free) and Monthathal falls (200 baht). Here you'll also find the Chiang Mai zoo, home to Asian and international wildlife as well as two famous pandas - 'exchange students' from China on a goodwill mission.

Northern Thailand is a mountainous wilderness of unspoilt forest and Chiang Mai lies at its heart. Not surprisingly it's a popular launching point for hill treks into the interior. These can be arranged from the many travel companies found in Chiang Mai and take you into the heart of rural southeast Asia. Typically they last up to five days, but with less time to spare, we recommend a day or overnight trip to the fabulous Doi Inthanon national park - home of Thailand's highest mountain. Here you can click away at some gorgeous waterfalls, visit hilltribe villages and admire the pristine wilderness area. More on Doi Inthanon.
Chiang Mai visitors are spoilt for choice
Chiang Mai visitors are spoilt for choice

Closer to Chiang Mai is the Mae Sa valley (about 30 minutes' drive), where you'll find the magnificent multi-tiered Mae Sa waterfall (200 baht). orchid farm, monkey and snake farms and botanical gardens. Day trips to this part of Chiang Mai are very worthwhile for the sheer number of activities and sights. You can also experience the thrill of trundling through the jungle on the back of an elephant and learn more about these massive Asian workhorses at the Mae Sa Elephant Camp. More on Mae Sa Valley.
Travellers footage: Poisonous snakes show

To truly appreciate the mountainous beauty of Chiang Mai you can continue on and follow this circular route as it passes through Samoeng and eventually emerges to the south of the city, passing through the lovely resort-laden valley of Krissadadoi. On returning to the city you will be intriqued by the giant Buddha perched atop a hill beside the ancient Wat Doi Kham, near the new Flora Flora Expo grounds and Night Safari.

History

King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning "new city") in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. The ruler was known as the Chao. The city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall, since nearby Burma was a constant threat. With the decline of the Lannathai kingdom, the city lost importance and was often occupied either by the Burmese or Thais from Ayutthaya. Because of the Burmese wars that culminated in the fall of Ayutthaya in April 1767, Chiang Mai was abandoned between 1776 and 1791. Lampang then served as the capital of what remained of Lannathai. Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1774 by an agreement with Chao Kavila, after the Thai King Taksin helped drive out the Burmese. Chiang Mai then slowly grew in cultural, trading and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of northern Thailand, second in importance only to Bangkok.

The inhabitants speak Kham Muang (also known as Northern Thai or Lanna) among themselves, though Central Thai is used in education and is understood by everyone. English is used in hotels and travel-related businesses and many educated people speak English.[2] The Kham Muang alphabet is now studied only by scholars, and Northern Thai is commonly written with the standard Thai alphabet.

The modern municipal dates to a sanitary district (sukhaphiban) that was created in 1915. This was upgraded to a municipality (thesaban) on March 29 1935, as published in the Royal Gazette, Book No. 52 section 80. First covering just 17.5 km2 (7 sq mi), the city was enlarged to 40.216 km2 (16 sq mi) on April 5, 1983.

Chiang Mai is called as “ the city of the handicrafts “ being famous for its handicrafts which are the specialization of different villages . Enjoy and get educated how different items are hand-made step by step, for example how to make the paper from the bark of the tree before tightening it on bamboo frame to get the umbrella. How to take the thread from the cocoon before weaving them to be a beautiful silk. Moreover, open your eyes on to see the silverware , lacquerware making, wood craving and jewelly cutting at the world biggest jewelry store.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Up in Chiang Mai you pay for a good time. I wouldn't recommend anyone come here and soak up the culture on the street, there isn't any. All cultural experience has to be paid for otherwise you're just sat in a cafe watching the local gogo scene. Billed as the opposite of Bangkok, I expected the town centre to be tranquil and reserved but in truth, it's filled with perverts and drunks (I didn't expect to see numerous pubs called Rory's and John's Place). But, that's the way it is so like I said, we got the wallet out.

The first of our two days was spent training to be a Mahout (elephant trainer). Yes this is expensive but anyone who visits Chiang Mai has to do this. It started out shakily, the initial training is tiresome. We fed them whole bunches of bananas and sticks of sugarcane, which was fun (if a little scary). To make matters worse, the smelly clothing we were given caused me great embarrasment .... my trousers split as I jumped on the elephants back. For the rest of the morning I shuffled around hiding my shame. Swing
Swing
There were moments when I doubted the legitimacy of the centre, we were given an elephant trunk swing, were entertained by two playing a harmonica and a tambourine and were given trunk kisses. It all seemed a little circus, but the elephants looked happy and healthy, Mahout
Mahout
they never showed signs of discomfort so I was happy enough.

Once all the commands were mastered and we had been for a test drive we had lunch, after that the fun really started. Firstly, we went for an hour ride and to my surprise the professional mahouts really didn't get involved that much. Not that it really mattered, my elephant (Christina) brought up the rear most of the time and just followed the gang. Mahout
Mahout
This is more than I can say for Charlotte's elephant, she had her work cut out trying to manoeuvre it away from the bushes at every turn, I think it was hungry. The only hairy moment I experienced was when Christina got a bit peckish and mounted the hillside nearly chucking me off the back, I just clung on for dear life.

I was in a great mood. Being a bit of a tightarse I like to get my money's worth, and we were. Incredibly though it got so much better. Mahout
Mahout
We led the elephants down to the river and they got in and had a bath. The group leader then tossed us a scrubbing brush each and ordered us to get in. We each scrubbed our own elephant and climbed all over them, they're very friendly and incredibly well trained. Once they were clean (ish) we had a water fight! I couldn't believe I was having a water fight with an elephant. You'd grab the trunk and aim it at your enemies and BOOM, they're soaked. Mahout
Mahout
Finally, the elephants showed their great strength as they picked us up with their trunks for a photo op.

Maybe I sound over-excited but I can't recommend it enough. The elephants are healthy and well looked after. Where as in the past they were used in war and labour in Thailand, many are now orphaned and mistreated so supporting a centre like this is worthwhile. The company is called Chiang Mai TIC Travel, if anyone is interested.

Our second day was spent trekking through nearby Mae Wang. We visited the Karen Hilltribe village and I went for a swim in a secluded waterfall pool. ass scratch
ass scratch
We were driven to another area where we rode another elephant, only this time we were chauffeured around as we sat on a sort of saddle at the back. Finally we went bamboo rafting down the river. This was great, the rafts barely stayed afloat and you ended up soaked, not least of all because the locals, relaxing by the banks on the weekend took it upon themselves to kick water at us constantly. I didn't mind, this is what i've enjoyed about the activities at Chiang Mai, the interaction. Bamboo Rafting
Bamboo Rafting
I just tossed water back at them and they didn't seem to care. We did this tour with the same company as the Mahout day, highly recommended.

Our final night ( a sunday) was spent wandering around the weekend market which has brilliant food and craft stalls. This is how I expected Chiang Mai to be, charming and interesting. I guess nowhere in Thailand can escape the inevitable effects of mass tourism.

CHIANG MAI is Thailand's

CHIANG MAI is Thailand's second city, famous for it easy-going ambience and an old quarter that's retained many of its traditional wooden houses and quiet, leafy gardens. Elegant temples are the primary tourist sights, but these are no pre-packaged museum pieces – they're living community centres, where you're quite likely to be approached by monks keen to practise their English. Inviting craft shops, good-value accommodation, rich cuisine and a tempting number of courses, in everything from Thai cookery to traditional massage, further enhance the city's allure, making Chiang Mai a place that detains many travellers longer than they expected.

Several festivals attract throngs of visitors here too: Chiang Mai is considered one of the best places in Thailand to see in the Thai New Year – Songkhran – in mid-April, and to celebrate Loy Krathong at the full moon in November, when thousands of candles are floated down the Ping River in lotus-leaf boats.

The most famous and fascinating temples in the city – Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Chiang Man – are clustered conveniently close to each other in the old town, though the main local place of pilgrimage, for Buddhists and tourists alike, is Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which glitters in the sun from its perch some 1300 metres up the neighbouring mountain. The city is also well-endowed with museums: the Arts and Cultural Centre in the old town for high-quality displays on Chiang Mai and Lanna culture, the National Museum to the north for the best of the region's historical artefacts, and, further north again, the Tribal Museum for a useful introduction to the hill-tribes of northern Thailand.

Beyond the city limits, a number of other day-trips can be made, such as to the ancient temples of Lamphun or to the orchid farms and elephant shows of the Mae Sa valley – and, of course, Chiang Mai is the main centre for hill-tribe trekking.

CHIANGMAI NIGHT SAFARI

CHIANGMAI NIGHT SAFARI
ChiangMai Night Safari is located in Doi Suthep - Pui National Park area of Mae Hia Local Area.
The Total area about 131Hectares, and 10 Kilometers from ChiangMai City ( South Of ChiangMai )
ChiangMai Night safari offer 4 Zone for tourist to spend your activities in ChiangMai.
Zone Lanna Village
Discover the modern services and the passenger' s station fir the trip to view / admire wild animals in the atmosphere of Savanna Safari, get exited in Predator Prowl and enter the Jaguar Trail to take a walk and closely watch the wild animals.
JAGUAR TRAIL
This wild animal zone starts from Lanna Village and goes around swan Lake and fishes at Lanna village again. There are many small animals to be seen such as bear cat, Brazil Tapir, dwarf hippopotamus, spotted cat, water pig and flamingo.

SAVANNA SAFARI
Enjoy the African Savanna atmosphere and view the harmless animals such as Elephants, giraffe, and Zebras. The open type trams are provided for your journey at savanna safari to enable you to have an experience of the outside atmosphere. Approximately 40 tourists can be fitted in this tram.

PREDATOR PROWL
Experience the adventure of sitting in the tour bus and watching the wild animal closely. Be exited and every second watching the Action of wild animals such as Lions, Asiatic black bears, tiger, hyenas and crocodiles, and more. The transportation is made by open type tour bus with a security system to protect you from the harmful animals. Approximately 20 tourist can travel in the Tour Bus.

SOUVENIRS AND OTOP PRODUCT
Enjoy shopping for handicraft products from the local communities, CNS Souvenirs and many types of exotic, fine food provided in our various beautiful and impressive facilities. You will enjoy the tasty food at our elegant restaurant.

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar or just Night Bazaar (Thai: ไนท์บาซาร์, Nai Basa) is located in the heart of the city, on the Chan Klan road, between Tha Pae and Sri Donchai roads. It is famous for its handicrafts and portrait paintings. There are also jewelry, toys, clothing and high tech items such as, CDs and DVDs. The market is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Chiang Mai.[1] At first, the market was owned by Chinese merchants, but since it grew in size as more commercial buildings were built, it was no longer owned by a single group of people. Instead, there are many owners, and most of them are Thai.

Chiang Mai Night Market and Bazaar

Every evening, the centre of Chiang Mai comes alive with a massive Night Bazaar, and few people visit the city without picking up a few bargains here. In fact, the stalls that are squeezed on to the pavement and in the purpose-built arcades are one of Chiang Mai's biggest attractions.


Here you can pick up everything from antiques to fake Rolex watches, choose from an astonishing variety of handicraft souvenirs, sample the smoothness of the colourful silk on sale everywhere, have a suit measured up, ready for your collection the following evening, browse exquisite Asian silver jewellery or stock up on cheap DVDs.

The Chiang Mai Night Market is considered legendary and certainly one the cheapest places for tourists to shop in Thailand, due its close proximity to the source of products and the lower cost of living in Chiang Mai. It is situated along a three block stretch of Chan Klan road in the heart of the city, within walking distance of most hotels. Clustered around it are many restaurants and other useful services, such as camera shops, travel agents, internet caf�s and more. One
popular activity is to have your portrait done all dressed up in traditional Thai costume.

Pad Thai

Pad Thai

This is the one noodle dish to master and to love, over all the others (including the best that Italy has to offer). It's so addictive that it alone would keep Thai cuisine alive, were we ever to become too jaded for our own good and eschewed everything else.

Pad Thai is a splendid lesson in how the simple, and bland, rice stick (a.k.a. rice vermicelli) can evolve in the culinary hands of a tasteful culture. The result is so harmonious, so perfect in every way that it would be hard to imagine it without even one of its vast symphony of flavors and ingredients. Though daunting at first
(so many ingredients), it is actually relatively easy to concoct. The only caveat is that one cannot stint on the oil content, although it appears excessive. Too little oil, the noodles will stick and you'll have a mess in your wok. I've gotten away with 5 tbsp instead of the full 1/2 cup but I had to work awfully fast to avoid the sticking. This one is a treat; give it its full due and it'll pay back in memorable pleasure.

Wat Chiang Man

Wat Chiang Man


This temple was built in 1297 at the site of the camp King Mangrai used when he supervised the building of Chiang Mai. It was the first temple to be built in Chiang Mai and contains several very old artifacts. The oldest structure is the Chang Lom chedi, which is in a style that could have originated from Sri Lanka via Sukhothai, or from Pagan. Fifteen elephants represent a sea of unformed matter upon which the cosmos of the chedi floats.

Nearby are a lotus pond, a raised scripture repository and an ubosot. The stela in front of the ubosot was inscribed in 1581, and is one of the oldest known records that establishes the founding date of Chiang Mai.The temple has two Lanna style viharn. The larger viharn was renovated by Khru Ba Srivichai in the 1920's. The standing Buddha image (front right of the altar) has an inscription on its slightly lopsided square base that dates it to 1465. This makes it the oldest dated Buddha image to be found so far in Chiang Mai. Close study shows new gilt veneer covers pits and cracks that indicate the image's real age.The smaller viharn to the north (open 09:00-17:00) contains two small but very famous Buddha images. The Phra Sila image is a bas-relief that probably came from Ceylon in about the eighth century. The image is believed to have the power to bring rain and is the focus of a festival at the temple held from April 1-5.
The Phra Sae Tang Khamani crystal image belonged to Queen Chamadevi, who brought it from Lop Buri when she became the first ruler of Haripunchai. The image reputedly survived the burning of Haripunchai when it was razed by King Mangrai, and is honored for its powers to protect against disaster.

Located within the walls of the old city, near the Chang Puak gate, Chiang Man is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai. It was supposedly built by the founder of the city 700 years ago, King Mengrai, on the spot where he stayed while planning his new capital. It's a small temple, and not on the main tourist trail, but it was important for quite some time.


Several small buildings dot the temple compound, and behind the main prayer hall is a chedi. The base of the pagoda is lined with elephants crafted out of plaster. All the other buildings are finely decorated in the Northern style, with red lacquer, gold leaf and many-colored mirrors. Of special interest is the roof and stairs of the Wiharn to the right of the main chapel which houses two sacred Buddha images. The stair banisters are colorful naga dragons typical of the North. The roof gable-ends also forms beautiful nagas using colored glass and mirror tiles.

Giant Panda Live in Chiang Mai Zoo

In 2001, The vice-prime minister and minister of defence (a full general Chawalit Yongjaiyut) talked with the president and prime minister of The People's Republic of China about the giant panda.

He wanted to display giant panda in Thailand. The government of China was glad to give 1 pair of giant panda for friendship ambassador and celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's 6 cycle birthday anniversary in 2004. So, that is the reason for the project for panda research and display in Thailand.

The government of Thailand entrusted the Zoological Park Organization to take responsibility for these very rare giant panda. They are on display at Chiangmai Zoo in Chiangmai province.

Giant Panda Entrance Fee:
Foreigner : Adult 100 Baht, Child 50 Baht
Thai : Adult 50 Baht, Child 20 Baht
Giant Panda & Koala Zones open daily from 8.30 - 17.30 hours.

The Songkran Festival in Chiangmai

One of the high spots of the Thai calendar is the annual New Year celebration, or Songkran, which falls on or around April 13, when the sun moves into Aries, and lasts for three days or more. The word 'Songkran' originates from the Sanskrit meaning 'beginning of the solar year'. The holiday-loving Thais therefore get to celebrate New Year three times each year: the Western New Year on January 1, the Chinese New Year in February and the Thai New Year in April.

Traditionally, Thais visit temples at this time of year to offer food to the monks and to participate in bathing ceremonies for Buddha images. At home, young people pour scented water into the hands of their parents and elders as a mark of respect and to receive the blessing of the older folk.

April 12 is Wan Sungkharn Lohng. This is a day for house cleaning and general preparation for the New Year. In the evening it is traditional for Thais to dress up as a signal of the coming new year.

In Chiangmai, the Songkran procession is held on this day. This is a parade through Chiangmai comprised of Buddha images and attendants on floats, which are accompanied by minstrels and the town's people. The procession begins at Nawarat Bridge on the Mae Ping River and moves the Thapae Gate before approaching its final destination of Wat Prasingh.

April 13 is Wan Nao. On this day people prepare cooked meals and preserved food for the Buddhist merit-making that takes place on the following day.

Activities at Wat Prasingh continue on this day and in the evening local residents go to the banks of the Mae Ping River and gather sand to be deposited in piles topped by flowers in the temples. This practice is the ancient "raising the temple grounds" ritual which was necessary in the old days because then Thai New Year was held at the end of the rainy season in the first month of the old Thai Lunar Calendar.

April 14 is Wan Payawan. On this day a grand new year begins with early morning merit-making at the temples. Preserved and cooked foods, fresh fruit, monks' robes and other offerings are made at the temples. In the home, people do the final cleaning of Buddha images using scented water.

Traditionally this is the day that the pouring of water begins. It was once the practice to pour gently, but the fun-loving Thais have transposed this into a relative water free-for-all.

April 15 is Wan Parg-bpee. On this day homage is paid to ancestors, elders and other persons deserving respect because of age of position. This is called 'Rohd Nam Songkran', meaning 'The Pouring of Songkran Water', and the water is sprinkled on the elder persons while uttering wishes of good luck and a happy future.

In Chiangmai, this is the final day of the celebration and the day on which people have built up to a crescendo of water throwing. It is the day when all family and religious obligations have been completed and the people are totally dedicated to "Sanook...Sanook."