After having explored a few places in the south of Thailand, we were keen to get to know the northern part of the country. A lot of friends told us about the beauty of Chiang Mai, the biggest city in the north, home to around 150’000 people (and over 1 Mio tourists a year). Upon exiting the plane, we took a deep breath of the fresh air. What a good feeling after the heat and humidity in the south! During the day, the temperature in Chiang Mai goes up to 30°C and by night drops to 15°C: Seems like a perfect climate to us. Chiang Mai offers a lot of hip coffee places, shops, massage parlors and an entertaining night market. The old city is the place to be in Chiang Mai. The city wall forms a perfect square and is surrounded by an artificial river, which helps orientation a lot. It is pretty small, too, only 1 kilometer each side, which makes it a perfect place for a stroll.

On December 5th, it was the king’s birthday. The monarch of Thailand, also called the King of Siam, turned 87, for which occasion the entire country was decorated. You will see pictures of the king and his wife all over Thailand all year round, but strangely, nobody is willing to speak about him. Reminded us a bit of Myanmar…

Image of Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), King of Siam in a temple in Chiang Mai

We went for a 3-day-trek in the hills around Chiang Mai with a group of 10 other travellers and a local guide called JJ. The hiking was easy, compared to the challenges we face in the Swiss mountains. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the impressive landscape and the small trails we walked along. On the way, we visited a Lahu tribe village and saw women with large holes in the ears and very long necks, both apparently signs of their beauty. We saw a lot of elephants, did some wannabe river rafting, carved our own bowls and chopsticks of a bamboo cane and had a lot of fun with our companions. The nights got really cold, and we were thankful for the fire and the woollen blankets to keep us warm in the simple bamboo shacks.

Sea of fog in the hills of Chiang Mai

I would definitely go to Chiang Mai again. It is a very nice city with friendly and helpful people as well as many things to see and do.

A little tip at the end: Even though many locals don’t do it, you should wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. Not only to protect your head, but also your wallet. The one and only time we didn’t wear helmets (it was literally a 2-minute drive to our destination, the gym), we were caught and got fined 400 baht. Turned out to be only 200 if a local pays it, though, so we handed the fine to our landlady. But still – the cops looked pretty mean.