For being so small, Chiang Mai has a lot of different areas and about a million hotel options.  If you’re visiting Chiang Mai for the first time, I usually suggest staying in the Old City (find hotel recommendations here), but the riverside is great for people who have spent some time in Chiang Mai before […]

Chiang Mai was once the seat of the ancient Lanna Kingdom, home to important temples and institutions, and a trading hub and melting pot for the ethnic groups of the region. The Lanna legacy makes “The Rose of the North” a great place to explore the cultural and artistic side of Thailand. Even though Chiang […]

While the Old City of Chiang Mai is a great place for first-time visitors and remains a firm favorite of the backpacking crowd, if you’re looking for something a little different, head slightly west to Nimmanhaemin. Also known by the shorthand “Nimman,” this ultra-trendy neighborhood of Chiang Mai was once the hangout of hip university […]

Chiang Mai is home to some of Thailand’s best luxury hotels and an astonishing variety of boutique accommodation, but even those traveling on a budget will be spoiled for choice. When I first moved here there weren’t many hostels and cheap accommodation was found mainly in the form of basic guesthouses without much personality. In […]

Pai is known for dirty backpackers, relaxing rice fields and a nauseating 3-hour minivan ride winding around a thousand curves through the hills. About three hours away from Chiang Mai, the small mountain town has long been a hub for budget travelers to hang out, check out, spend days in cheap hostels, rent motorbikes to […]

There are a ton of Thai festivals. Between actual holidays, annual festivals and various fairs or celebrations, it seems like something is going on every week, especially November through February. Thailand is filled with interesting festivals and up in Chiang Mai we get to partake in some of the best – plus a few events […]

Living in Chiang Mai means I haven’t stayed in many hotels in Chiang Mai. So when people ask for recommendations, I tend to give the same several answers based off of a couple stays or where I put up family over the years. But there are over 1,600 properties listed on Agoda alone…so many options! […]

A common thing I hear from people who have first come to Chiang Mai is that they eat healthier and get in more fruits and vegetables over here than their home. While there are certainly TONS of fresh fruits all year round and fruit shake stands on every corner, I find that I tend to […]

It’s a trap I easily fall into whenever I’m in one place for a long time. I stop exploring. I get stuck in a routine of doing the same things, going to the same places and see the same people…even if I know there’s still more to discover. When it comes to exploring Chiang Mai, […]

It’s no secret I adore Chiang Mai’s coffee scene. It’s mind boggling the number of cafes that have sprung up here over the past several years and the trend doesn’t seem to be stopping. Apparently, my love for Chiang Mai’s cafes and years of research have paid off as I was asked to create an […]