Thailand is a developing country with so many amazing things to do.  Chiang Mai is one of the most historic cities in Thailand and it has a thriving past.  It’s a great place to explore the ancient past and modern present.  Although the city is littered with over 300 temples, the Chiang Mai area has so much to offer.  It’s a great place for any person to spend some time in an area that interests them - from temples, art, cooking classes, nature, the list goes on.

This city itself has everything a person needs, and you can easily get around using public transportation.  Tuk Tuks and Red Trucks are inexpensive and can get you around the core of the city in about 15 - 20 minutes.  However, after exploring the Old City, maybe stopping in at a few temples, Why not take in a movie (the cinemas are SUPER cheap in Thailand!) or step outside the city to see what a beautiful country Thailand is.

One of the main reasons for visiting this area for me was to be able to see and experience some time with the animals that are wild in Thailand.  The country has been working hard to stop the exploitation of animals, therefore creating sanctuaries for rescued wildlife.  

Asian Elephants have an interesting history in Thailand, as they were used as work and war animals.  The sad truth is that they have been treated very badly, beaten into submission in order to perform logging duties, circus tricks and transportation.  In the past five years there have been more and more ethical sanctuaries set up to give these rescued animals a home.  These elephants were raised by humans, mostly for logging, so they are very friendly.  You can get up close and personal, feeding and bathing the elephants!  The elephants won’t perform tricks and you can’t ride them, but you’ll see how gentle these giants really are.  This experience was absolutely amazing!

Being a huge animal lover and a bit of a ‘cat lady’ we hummed and hawed over going to see tigers at Tiger Kingdom.  There are some really bad reviews that say the tigers are drugged and beaten, but then there are just as many people that say it was a fabulous place to visit.  We decided to check it out for ourselves and figured if we saw anything that gave us an uneasy feeling we would leave.  The facility was well kept and the enclosures were clean, although they definitely aren’t as big as I’d like.  I didn’t see any mistreatment of the animals, and when you were close to them, they all looked pretty healthy (maybe a little over fed!).  After being there, I’m a little unsure of how I feel about the whole experience.  For me, I felt so grateful to be up so close to these majestic animals.  The thing that bothers me is that there doesn’t seem to be an effort to rehabilitating the cubs for the wild.  Tigers are an endangered species and they are being bred in captivity.  Although it is difficult, you can prepare cubs to be sent into the wild.  You’re left with the question of what’s better - being sent into the wild where they are meant to be, fending for their lives and food? Or living in an enclosure where meals are prepared for them and medicine is available to keep them healthy?  

The other part of northern Thailand we loved was the beautiful nature.  There are so many National Parks you can visit within an hour or two of the city centre.  We chose to rent a car and drive to Doi Inthanon National Park.  Although there are more popular areas to visit, this area has some cool places to see.  If you plan to go, I do suggest either renting a car or taking a red truck (we’re not a fan of tours, but you could also use this option).  It would be a long journey in a red truck, but you wouldn’t have any worries about getting to the top of the mountain.  Our little car we rented had a hard time in the heat and elevation and broke down on our way back to the city!  The rental company was great, and rescued us, but if you’re on a time line, something like this could be pretty inconvenient.  

Doi Inthanon is the highest point in Thailand and it is a perfect place to go and escape the heat.  It was only 20 degrees celsius up there, where it was 37 degrees in the city.  Close to the summit are the King and Queen Pagodas which feel like they are floating on the clouds.  I’m sure on a clear day the views are amazing, but I didn’t mind being surrounded by the clouds in the cool temperature.  

During your drive in the park, there are many paths to trek, and a couple of waterfalls to stop and visit.  Unfortunately we didn’t make it to Mae Ya Waterfall because of our car trouble, but the ones we saw were very beautiful.  

Now we could have busied ourselves doing so much more in Chiang Mai, however we like to just go with the flow.  The food at the night market and other street food was amazing, not to mention a toastie from 7-Eleven!  When we first arrived we weren’t sure if we were going to enjoy our time in Chiang Mai, but after spending a few days walking around and seeing how much this area has to offer, we quickly changed our minds.

It’s a perfect stop for anyone doing a South East Asia tour!

Check out a few of our other stops in Thailand