Chiang Mai, for over seven centuries, has been the gateway between southern and northern Thailand While the center of Chiang Mai is still partially surrounded by its original walls and moat, its location as a crossroads has allowed it to become an important industrial, commercial, and transportation center. Yet Chiang Mai has managed to retain the charm of its oldest district, where fountains play and pedestrians can stroll loosely along its flower-bordered walkways.
Passing beneath the Pratou Thae Phae, the most important of the city's original five gates, they will enter the town's bustling market square. From this vantage point they will have a clear view of Doi Suthep, the magnificent 1079 meter (3542 feet) mountain north of the city and the site of the Wat Phra That, one of Thailand's holiest Buddhist temples.
Backpackers will love Chiang Mai's proximity to Doi Suthep National Park, where they can follow the same path used by thousands of pilgrims over the centuries to reach the Wat. A trek from the city limits to the temple compound can be accomplished in only half a day, and if those choose a day which isn't a holiday will probably have little company on the trail.
Another appealing, and much shorter, hike in the National Park will lead to the Wat Pha lat, a more humble temple compound with its own Buddha-filled grotto deep within the mountain forest. Those continuing past this temple, begin an ascent which will eventually lead them out of the forest to the 309-step staircase belonging to the Wat Phra That. Climbing those steps may be a challenge, but it's the best way to watch the breathtaking temple views unfold.
Prefer some less strenuous form of temple viewing? Chaing Mai has over three hundred temples form which to choose. Its oldest one, the Wat Chiang Man, dates back to the founding of the city in 1296. One of the largest of the temples, said to have been constructed at the location where Buddha's bones were discovered, is the Wat Suan Dok, which houses the Phra Chao Kao, a bronze Buddha cast in 1504.
One of the most overlooked yet magical of all Chiang Mai's temples is the Wat Umong, also situated in the forests of Doi Suthep. This temple has its own network of tunnels, which were constructed to prevent the revered but somewhat mad monk for whom the temple was built from roaming off into the forest. The tunnels are decorated with images of forest birds and animals, and the walls of the temple itself have long since become overgrown.
After exploring the city's temples, spend some night time hours at the Chaing Mai Night Safari in the 40 hectare (100 acre) wildlife reserve at the edge of the Doi Suthep National Park, where tigers, leopards, and elephants roam freely. Although the park is open each afternoon, the safari trams which run after dark go to areas usually off limits to the public. The lower slopes of Doi Suthep are also the location of the Chiang Mai Zoo, home of the only two giant pandas in captivity in all of Southeast Asia.
Get a glimpse of Chiang Mai's past at the Chiang Mai National Museum, with its outstanding display of artifacts and even skeletal remains uncovered at local archaeological digs. The museum also has an area devoted to the religious artwork of Thailand.
Chang Mai is famous throughout Thailand for its handcrafts, and has hundreds of shops which offer the products of both hill tribe and artisan workshops. The silks, woodcarvings, umbrellas, fans, silver, ceramics and lacquerware of Chaing Mai are all outstanding, and well worth a trip to the Night Bazaar with its hundreds of stalls along Chang Khlan Road. The Hill Tribe Museum in Ratchamangkla Park gives visitors a closer look at the native handicrafts before they shop.
While the nightlife in Chiang Mai doesn't have the excesses of that in Bangkok, it still has plenty of bars which provide live music. The majority of them are near the city's university in the western part of the city, or near its Tha Pha Gate. The Thai clubs, like the popular Spicy, don't become really busy until the early morning hours, but many of the hotels have their own nightclubs opening well before then.
