Out of all our destinations Chiang Mai checked all the boxes for a relaxing, beautiful, and budget city. When we first heard of the city it was because it was a central hub for expats and digital nomads, and we continued to hear about it many times from family and friends. However, having visited Bangkok and seen one too many Hangover movies, we were uncertain if this so called paradise would meet our expectations. Something about nightclubs and “ping pong” shows don’t appeal to us, in fact ping pong should not involve anything other than two paddles. When the airport taxi pulled up to our hostel and we were greeted by the friendly folks at Diva 2 guesthouse, the city started to rapidly grow on us.
Which is all very well, spending a day bathing and feeding elephants is something one can get used to. Check out the photos below for a recount of our time in Chiang Mai.
Cooking school in the middle of a lemon grass farmGetting ingredients prepared for red curryFinished red curry with curry paste made from scratchChicken soup, pad thai, and green curryLeaving Sammy’s Organic Cooking School and heading back to the old cityElephant mural
Painted wallTapae Gate is a great place to meet others or grab a taxiRed umbrellas decorate the street in front of this restaurantBeautiful temple in Chiang MaiTemples are around every cornerEvery temple is slightly different, this one has a tower of elephantsShopping at the night marketLooking for a pair of elephant pantsShopkeeper had a somewhat confused looking dogHand painted elephants and handicrafts can all be found at the night marketCoconut jelly and water for dessertColorful paintings line the center of the streetThe view from the balcony of our guesthousePad thai and red curry at the local restaurant came out to only $4
