Chiang Mai, Kap-Kun-Krup!
As we were packing up to go to Cambodia, we reflected on Thailand’s apparent exceptionalism. Here, staying in more touristy locations is still great. Maybe because it’s not touristy as much as nomad- or expat-oriented. But you can still find excellent cheap food right next to glitzy shops. Apparently, on some islands, like Koh Samui, this is no longer true, but even in Phuket (to jump ahead a bit), on a popular beach you can get a fresh coconut with rum for $3! A delightful mystery.
Living around Chiang Mai
Because we — of course — waited to the last moment to book apartments in Chiang Mai, we couldn’t find a good place for the whole month we were staying there. So, we hopped between three different Airbnbs during this time. This turned out to be a good thing overall.
The first place, in a high rise in Nimman area, was just far enough south of Maya mall to be more chill and have locals-oriented restaurants, like shacks dishing out piping hot soups and noodle dishes. And at the same time, across the street, world-class cafes poured espresso cocktails with Michelangelo-class latte art. A couple blocks down at Nimman One, a new night market would rise up every week, luring us in with its lights and delightful smells
Our second condo was also in the Nimman area, but on a larger, more industrial road, and situated in a giant, aging condotel complex so massive and eerily empty, it would be a perfect setting for a dystopian film noir
We thought all was well within these marble walls, after we cleared out the moth larvae that seem to be everywhere in this neighborhood. Little did we know. Despite our being on the 11th floor, we were jolted out of our blissful ignorance on the first night at 8pm, when the shrimp catching competition located in a shack under our windows got into gear (yes, you read this right)
Most days, the megaphone-powered yelling by the judge would peak around 10pm and go at least to midnight nonstop. At 6am, the flock of roosters that roamed around the shack would start to sing…
We considered trying our hand at the shrimp shack ourselves (the little trophies they award looked pretty cool), but when Masha watched Youtube videos of the rules, she was so disgusted by their arbitrariness, she refused on pure moral principle.
The Astra building, our third place, was definitely the more posh of the three, with a gorgeous rooftop pool
Located on the southeast of the bottom right corner of Old Town and close to the night markets, it was almost as expat heavy, but not as happening and hip as Nimman.
Having seen much of the city over the course of a month, next time we would probably stay a few blocks from the main road in Nimman. A little more authentic, but close to all the good stuff.
Even with all the moving, we still managed to do lots and keep ourselves plenty busy. Leave it to Masha to find all the game cafes in Chiang Mai, including one co-existing with a Ukranian cafe
“No, why would i ever want you to win if we are playing against each other” — when I suggested that she should be happy for me to win
Yet it was more than just games that Masha mastered. Missing her guitar, she thought, things are cheap here, why not just buy a used guitar for a couple of weeks and then return it? Done
Same with traffic (which admittedly can be horrendous): taxi won’t make it to my yoga class or massage in time? Motorcycle taxi it is!
We also, eventually, made it out to their flooded-mining-pit Grand Canyon water park, where we swam, bounced and ziplined in near solitude
which still had a Christmas display — for some reason made of gargoyles?
Not our first lake water park, but this one had a couple cool things you won’t find just anywhere. First, the park had two of those crazy inflatable water catapults. They wouldn’t let Alya go on the large one (I didn’t understand why at first), so we start with the small one, which still launched her at least six feet in the air. So then, I decided to try the large one.
As mentioned above, the waterpark was almost completely empty, so no one had gone on the catapult to demonstrate the scale of what happens. Well, my excursion went sadly uncaptured, but this is a pretty good approximation:
If you do happen to find yourself one day on the business end of these catapults, make sure to fully lie back on it (and, of course, close your mouth). Not knowing better, I was sitting up, so that the full force of the dude landing on the catapult went into compressing my spine. It also meant that once airborne, I was rotating forward, instead of flying in a controlled and graceful fall (maybe that’s expecting too much). Talk about shellshocked! But all’s well that ends well.
And second, in addition to the catapult, the water park also had the below crazy contraption. Not particularly exciting when doing it yourself, but watching others attempt it is a pretty enjoyable pastime
Its who you know
Like Sarande, the social experience was part and parcel of our stay in Chiang Mai. The first week we were mostly decompressing from the whirlwind tour of Japan and getting our bearings in the southeast Asian heat. But a week in, we attended two expat meetups and quickly plugged into the local community, playing games together and hanging out. Then came the Christmas eve vegan lunch and our amazing New Year, which could not possibly have been so fantastic had we celebrated them alone (see this post dedicated to the celebration with our newfound friends)! By the last week, when we moved into Astra where two of the families we met were staying, we had more social activities than when we were living in the Bay Area!
I learned that there were ATV rides to be had nearby, and four days later, the guys were off to the races!
@Kamal H
Meanwhile, Masha toured the trivia-night circuit with Christmas themed trivia,
Alya also found some playmates and frozen yogurt friends at an English school sports camp for a week, picking up some impressive skills in badminton along the way
Ultimately, rich opportunities to connect with other travelers and residents was one of the biggest attractions of Chiang Mai for travelers like us, and what made our stay so amazing. Indeed, it had the largest expat community we have encountered in six months of travel. Of course, this also means you don’t get a true immersive and authentic local experience, as foreign presence is noticeable in most of the city. So if that’s your goal, this is no longer the city for you. But the Thai spirit — including their anything-on-motorcycle and everything-on-truck mentality — is still fully in force
Sawat-dee-Krup Chiang Mai, and Kap-Kun-Krup! We will see you again soon!
