Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai highlights

Elephant Nature Park
Night markets
Wat Phra Singh temple
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple

Why visit Chiang Mai?

For exciting night markets, elephant sanctuaries and temples, temples and more temples.

Getting there and around

We visited Thailand in April 2019 with our children who were aged 4 and 7.

We flew from Bangkok - a short 1 hour domestic flight. The hotel was 20 minutes from Chiang Mai airport.

We used tuk-tuks to get around the city, plus a private driver for excursions further afield.

Accommodation

We stayed at the Amata Lanna in Chiang Mai, a small boutique hotel.
It had a small, shady pool and provided a simple but very good breakfast. The staff were incredibly kind and provided impeccable customer service.
Our star rating: 5
Our cost rating: 5

Amata Lanna Hotel

Elephants

We had read some horror stories about the treatment of elephants in Thailand. We prefer to leave animals alone in the wild and don’t visit animal attractions unless we are sure they have high welfare standards.
**We chose to visit Elephant Nature Park because it provides sanctuary to injured elephants & places the upmost importance on animal welfare.**

Our day began with assisting the park workers to feed the elephants. We then walked around the park and down to the river where we watched the elephants bathe from a distance.

After our long walk seeing the elephants we were treated to a yummy vegetarian lunch.

Upstairs is a veranda where you can sit in the shade and admire the gorgeous views and watch the elephants in peaceful surroundings.

Markets

Our hotel was just a 5 minute walk from the famous Chiang Mai night markets, and the markets were easy to find thanks to the noise, lights and crowds of people.

The markets were an attack on the senses. Busy, loud, and packed full of tasty treats including spicy kebabs, noodles, barbecued corn, ice cream sundaes, sticky mango rice, and donuts.

The markets also sold lots of unofficial merchandise and questionable fashion items. It was as if Borough market and Camden market had merged and tripled in size!

Wat Phra Singh temple

Wat Phra Singh is a peaceful and intricately decorated complex of buildings in the old city walls.

We had the pleasure of seeing the novice monks preparing for their daily lessons and tasks.

The kids were fascinated watching the monks, some of whom were not much older than them.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

We also visited Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple. Located on the mountainside above Chiang Mai, this temple offers stunning views of the city. We climbed the 300+ steps to the top and soaked up the views and tranquil atmosphere.