Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) Tourist Guide


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Chiang Mai -
City of Novice Monks Skilled at Massage and Cooking?
Yes! but so much more too!

Text & Images: Merin Waite

Burmese influence

Chiang Mai used to be famous for people finding nirvana by a swifter method than the ones recommended by the temples, and those who came to 'chase the dragon' probably gave precious little attention to eating food. Times have changed. No longer is there a ready supply of opium from the hills and the odd emaciated hippy ones sees wondering round looks a bit non-plussed: 'What's happened to all the opium dens brother?' The answer, one might suspect, is that they have all been turned into massage and cooking schools. With some of the prices being charged at these teaching establishments, cooking and massage might be as lucrative as drug dealing. However not everyone is interested in gaining dubious qualifications and inflicting hours of pain on friends and relatives in the form of badly-cooked meals and ill-executed massages. What is there for these people in and around Chiang Mai?

Rather a lot as it turns out.

It is always a bit embarrassing after coming back from a holiday to be asked about where you have been and have absolutely no idea about the place except the inside of a couple of bars and the garbled information, slanted towards some mercantile deal, that a tour guide has given you. Equip yourself to be ahead of the pack by visiting two excellent and inexpensive museums that give an informative introduction to Chiang Mai and its environs. The main museum is situated on the super-highway, a pleasant building full of artifacts and displays dealing with Chiang Mai's ancient past - from the original Lawa inhabitants of the region to the Burmese invaders and finally the North's incorporation into Bangkok's orbit after the Burmese were finally driven out. What comes across is the strong sense of identity of Chiang Mai and the North as a country, much as Scotland and Wales consider themselves separate from England. Then, from a museum for a people with a country, go to a museum dedicated to a group of people with no country who are denied many privileges because of their precarious official existence: the hill tribes. In a beautiful setting in the middle of an artificial lake this storehouse of information includes a library on the various tribes for the serious scholar, and a monthly market for hill-tribe goods. To get there take the road towards Lanna Golf Course and ask for Ratchamankla Park. The museum is situated within the park's boundaries.

Shady pleasures

Clean living ex-pats of the type who inhabit the invigorating climate of the North who enjoy sport find an enormous range of sporting activities on offer in and around Chiang Mai that keeps them happy - and fit! Golf is one of them, and there's no shortage of great courses, with attentive female caddies and at reasonable prices that combine to make for a pleasant afternoon. The Gymkhana Club is the club most easily reached but there are several other options within half an hour of the city. Try The Royal or Chiang Mai Lampoon if you can really play the game. Tennis, squash and badminton are all popular. The 700 Year Stadium is the place to visit for these and it also has a stunning swimming pool and glorious setting next to Doi Suthep. For those who like a little flutter an afternoon at the races is a novelty. One does not have to don haute couture head gear - there's no royalty in attendance and betting is strictly the 'blindfolded with a pen variety' to pick out any horse. I am convinced that half the time the jockeys are trying to hold the horses back. In the middle of the race course is a golf course, though golf is not played whilst the racing is on. Muay Thai or Thai boxing is also taught in the city and the school near the university spares no punches to get the flabby falang who join into good shape.

Out for a flutter

Being flushed with one's winnings or sorrowful after losing are good excuses to go out and have a drink. Chiang Mai is not Pattaya and the options are a far cry from the Sodom and Gomorrah on offer at that hedonist's paradise. The possibilities here come in the form of rather twee little restaurants cooking up Italian food and serving wine, or expat bars run by unlikely characters from provincial towns. By the river there are a host of places to eat overlooking the rather murky depths of the Ping. Many are grotesquely overpriced and punters would be well advised to avoid the four-star establishments. Instead try eating on the street and in the smaller restaurants, and eat Thai food, especially Northern Thai dishes such as khau soi and sai krok, the Northern Sausage. For the tired foot soldier in need of soothing female company there are a few bars along Loi Kroh road though the demi-monde that the ladies here inhabit might not be to everyone's taste. Bubbles and Spicy are late night establishments which are glorious after six large bottles of Heineken and about as much fun as being in a regulated riot with a bunch of lunatics when stone cold sober. Then of course there are the massage parlours, delivering more, some less, some skilled, some inept but always fun and relaxing services.

Tired after the excesses of the evening? A day wandering the cool slopes of Doi Suthep is a great way to get rid of the hangover. From the waterfall at Montatan it is possible to walk all the way up to Doi Suthep temple itself - taking dips in the cool mountain stream on the way. Alternatively it's possible to hike to the top of Doi Pui after driving up to within about half an hour's walk of the summit. For the skilled cyclist a loop can be done going up the road leading to the temple and returning via tracks that eventually, god willing, lead you to an artificial lake about nine kilometres north of Chiang Mai - Huay Tung Tau. This is a great ride but quite difficult in parts, especially in the wet season when the unpaved route becomes very slippery. Since it's also almost without signposts, a good sense of direction is useful.

Though Chiang Mai has much to explore, during the months of March to May/June, clean air is not one of its delights; heavy traffic and its geographical location giving rise to smogs rather worse than you'll find in a number of cities of a similar size. In other words, at that time of year it's not a bad idea to get out into the magnificent country all round. A very popular trip is to the small town of Pai, and I've occasionally gone there on a 90cc bike. The road is so winding that a bike of this size is almost as fast as a car. The surfaced is pretty good all the way, though you have to watch the traffic on some of the steeper sections. The trucks have a bad habit of cutting corners and in general it's better not to get into arguments with them about the right of way. If you go in the winter, make sure you take some warm clothing. It can be chilly on the higher sections of the route. Pai itself is a town in metamorphosis. Originally an outpost to which out-of-favour government officials were shunted off, it has became a Mecca for hippies and the more marginal members of mainstream society. They make for a very unusual community in a refreshingly-pleasant natural environment. Long walks to waterfalls and cycle rides are recommended to those who don't wish to get too involved in Reiki, meditation or, yes, learning cooking and massage. Chiang Mai isn't just about becoming a meditative Thai cook with massage skills, though on first impressions you might think so. It maybe that some of the more recent establishments - those Western ethnic eateries, and one or two of the non-traditional outfits offering sybaritic health treatments, for example - are not precisely what you've come to the north of this remarkable country for. Never mind, as we say here. They all add to the amazing variety of delights in this city, and you'll be an exceptionally unadventurous character if you don't bump into and enjoy some of the more enduring traditional experiences on offer here. The 'Rose of the North' is growing and changing all the time. That's natural. What hasn't changed is the character of its people and the landscape it and they stand in.

Come here and see if you don't agree.