Summary

Summary
Chiang Mai is great and affordable place to go on vacation.  There is a wide variety of activities, foods, and attractions to experience.  From sight-seeing to relaxing at awesome resorts, Chiang Mai has something appealing for everybody! Chiang Mai presents a complex culture with towering temples, gigantic mountains, and  livley city. This vacation will cost a fraction of the amount of any typical vacation in the United States. You will experience a different way of living, and it may open your eyes to new vacation oppurtunities!

Siam Rice Thai Cookery School

       

          If you are not much of a out doors person Chiang Mai also offers many Thai cookery schools. One of the more popular and tourist attracting schools in Chiang Mai is the Siam Rice Thai Cookery School. 

          Here you will learn how cook real traditional Thai dishes in traditional Thai style. You will learn about the all the different ingredients for cooking. A tour will also be given at the Fresh Market where you will go and pick up what-ever ingredients you will need to cook with.

          The class size ranges from one to nine classmates to ensure that the instructor has plenty of time with you. Courses are available every-day from 9:00am to 3:30pm and at 4:30pm to 8:30pm. Learning how to cook traditional Thai food would be a great gift to take back with from a vacation in Chiang Mai or for just people who love to cook.

Chiang Dao Elephant Camp

         

          In Chiang Mai there are many activities to do.  One very popular activity to do that I would recommend is the Chiang Dao Elephant Camp.

          This would be one of the most interesting places to visit on your trip in Chiang Mai. The Joy Ride Program offered at the elephant camp is among one of the most popular tourist attraction.

          The Joy Ride Program consists of the basic caring and understanding of the elephants.  You will also get the chance to learn how to get on, get off and ride the elephant through wonderful trails in Chiang Mai.

          You will also learn how bath, feed and paint pictures with the elephant.  The Joy Ride Program is available at 8:00am and at 2:00pm.  The program costs about $260 for one or two visitors.

Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventure

          If you are more of a thrill seeker than I would suggest planning a trip to the CMRCA also known as the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures, which would be a great place for fans of rock climbing.



          At the CMRCA you will learn to be a safer and stronger climber.  The CMRCA offers a course about safety and how to use first-aid in the wilderness for beginners, as well as learning the fundamentals of rock climbing.  If you are an experienced climber and would like a challenge climbing at the Crazy Horse Buttress would be one experience for you.

          The Crazy Horse Buttress rock tends towards vertically and slight overhangs with a few wildly steep routes thrown in which makes it a difficult course and pushes your body to the max.  If you’ve had your fun with rock climbing and want to do more exploring the CMRCA also offers caving in the Crazy Horse Buttress exploring is most beautiful and mysterious caves.

          The prerequisite of course is that you must be an experienced climber to do so.  The costs of both activities ranges from $100 to $250 to climb you would have to call and schedule an appointment but it would be worth the experience.

Affordable, luxurious hotels in Chiang Mai!

Secret Garden Hotel


The Secret Garden was declared the number one hotel in Chiang Mai in the year of 2011 (tripadvisor.com). It’s located in a very rural place that is tranquil and peaceful away from the busy, hectic streets on Chiang Mai. It is not a voyage to Chiang Mai from the hotel but it is just fair away enough to enjoy the quiet peaceful scenery.

The hotel provided many services! They have bikes and scooters to rent out for a small cost, this way you don’t have to deal with the traffic that is as slow as malaises during the congested hours of the day. There is a pool, hot tub, and a sauna all in the backyard for those who need a day off. The hotel also includes free shuttles into the city. The hotel is $55 a night for a four person room and customers can upgrade to a suite for a whopping $5!


Rated 3/5 stars (http://www.tripadvisor.com/)



Poolside veiw of the Secret Garden Hotel

The Legend Chiang Rai

The Legend Hotel is a little more expensive then most hotels you will find in Chiang Mai, however it lives up to its name. The resort is located in Chiang Rai, close to King Meng Rai the great monuments Wat Phra Kaew, and Wat pra Singh.

The hotel features a river resort, spa features, a resturante and a bar/lounge. Room service is avalible at all hours of the day. Recreational activities include an outdoor pool, a health club, and a sauna. The bathrooms includes personal robes for those who enjoy trolling around in the early morning.

The cost is $75 with all paid expenses, meaning everything is included. All you can eat, drink, and free room service!


Night veiw of the front entrance


Overhead veiw of The Legend Hotel.

Rated 4/5 stars (http://www.tripadvisor.com/)

Dash! Restaurant, and Bar Chiang Mai Thailand!

Dash Teak House is located off Moon Muang at the thapae gate. It’s inside the moat of the city. It caught my attention because of the structure of the building; it is a very modern crafted building.

                                  

When I walked in the door it was a refreshing smell of steamed veggies and other dishes. The patio on the roof provided a decent view of the buildings and arc texture below us.

I browsed through the menu for about a half hour, they had several appealing dishes. The shishkabobs included smoked peppers, shrimp, steak, and chicken all on the same stick! The whole meal was ten dollars, considering the portion size it is a bargain!

The bartender preformed bizarre stunts while making our drinks. Hurling the bottles through the air and lighting them on fire, then finally pouring them into a glass. The cheap drink specials allowed us to stay longer and we make friends.

Fried shrimp mixed with chicken curry


Thai tofu mixed with green beans, nuts, tomatoes, and a banana leaf.

Visit Night Market

Chiang Mai Night Market


The last place that I would like people to visit in Chiang Mai is Night Market. I recommend everyone to visit this market before they are going to leave Chiang Mai. This is my most interesting place to shop around side walk night market.

In this market you can find many things that you want such as foods, toys, shoes, clothing, jewelry and bags; in addition, you would see a crowd walking back and forth in the market and finding their interesting things. Next, a fun part that I like the most at market was walked around and tried different kinds of food.

There are many kinds of Thai food that you would like to eat such as Khao man kai (Chicken rice), Khao na pet (Red roast duck on rice), Khao soi ( Northern Thai curry noodles) and kuai tiao nam ( Wide rice noodle soup). The price of the food is cheaper than United States. For one plate is about 40 baths a little bite higher than 1 dollar, but it still cheap if you compare to U.S.A.