48 Hours in Chiang Mai

Feb 28, 20218 min read

Northern Thailand's largest city is a perfect balance between past and present, and ideal for travelers seeking unique cuisine, picturesque treks, and an abundance of culture. Founded in 1296 as the capital of the ancient Lanna Kingdom the city is a beautiful combination of traditional temples standing side by side with modern buildings.

The backstreets of the historic centre feel residential with an atmosphere still firmly Thai despite the modern city that has developed around it. Just a short bike or red taxi ride out of the city you'll find stunning rainforest countryside filled with waterfalls, hidden wat, and great treks.

Fresh off the 12-hour bus from Bangkok my friend and I were wide-eyed to Chiang Mai's charm and with only 48 hours in the city, we were determined to take in both the bustling city rhythms and scenic countryside. We stayed in a Hostel near the Tha Phae Gate at the edge of the Old City Moat as we wanted to be centrally located so we could explore the city on foot.

Follow our 2-day journey through Chiang Mai to see the best this unique city has to offer!

Day One - an adventure in a red taxi

We started our adventure by hiring a red taxi, driven by a smiley Thai woman, to take us out of the city and into the countryside. Sat in the back of the rickety taxi lined with green leather chairs and handle rails we were quickly out of the city and onto windy roads lined with rainforest, clinging onto the bars as we veered round the bends.

Hiring the taxi for the day wasn't expensive and spent that we were able to see three major cultural sites on our own time; Wat Palad, Huay Keaw Waterfall, and Wat Doi Suthep.

Trek to Wat Palad

Our first stop was the beginning of the trek to the forest temple, Wat Palad - a lesser-known temple often driven past on the way to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Originally built as a refuge for devotees undertaking the pilgrimage to Wat Doi Suthep it now serves as a monastic residence.

We followed the Monk's Trail to the Wat. Marked by tree trunks wrapped with orange cloth the trek took around 40 minutes and was a beautiful hike through the rainforest of the Doi Suthep mountain.

Reaching the last orange cloth wrapped tree trunk we laid eyes upon a temple built within the forest. A waterfall ran through the heart of the temple cascading over the rock looking out to the Chiang Mai skyline. One of the advantages of visiting in the wet season was that we could see the waterfall in its full glory.

As we sat by the waterfall hiding under the tree's canopy Wat Palad felt like a haven of peace. The only sounds were our footsteps, gasps of amazement followed by rigorous pointing to hidden statues, flowing water, and forest animals as we had the sanctuary to ourselves.

The temple was surrounded by a garden of beautiful statues and small details blending seamlessly with its surroundings, at times being reclaimed by the forest.

Wat Palad, translated to "Forest Monastery of the Sloping Rock," quickly became the most enchanting temple we visited in Thailand and a perfect beginning to any Chiang Mai trip. With a sense of calm, we left the hidden treasure and met our driver in a nearby car park where we encountered a peacock with its feathers fanned - a fitting ending to the visit.

Huay Keaw Waterfall

Continuing around the bends we found our way to Huay Keaw Waterfall. A small waterfall surrounded by plants, flowers, and jungle scenery. It's free to enter and a great place to escape the heat.

It's best seen in the wet season (when these photos were taken) as the flow can be extremely low to dry during dry season. You can climb up the rocks to see different vantage points. We scaled the rocks to this vantage point only to realize that there was a rope nearby, so look out for that when you go!

Wat Doi Suthep

Driving further up the mountain we ended the day with a visit to Wat Doi Suthep, one of Thailand's most sacred temples, and the most famous site in Chiang Mai.

At the entrance of the site, you are greeted by crowds and a 300 step climb to the temple. The staircase is adorned by the longest naga (mythical sea serpent) in Thailand and worth the climb for the summit's commanding view of the city.

The Wat's Thai legend makes the experience even more enchanting as you're greeted by the mythical sea serpents guarding the staircase. The legend says that the temple was erected in the 14th century to enshrine a piece of bone said to be from the shoulder of Buddha.

The story goes that a monk from Sukothai found the bone shard after following a vision. He brought the bone to his King, King of Sukothai, but he lost interest when the bone displayed no mystical powers and told the monk to keep it. King Key Naone of the Lanna Kingdom, however, was intrigued by the relic and called for the monk to bring it to him in Chiang Mai. The King built a chedi to house the relic, but when it was being interred the relic broke in two. The larger piece was placed in a small chedi on the back of a sacred white elephant, who was to be followed. Said elephant departed from Chang Puak (Elephant Gate in Chiang Mai), walked up Doi Suthep, trumpeted, and died. On that spot, the King ordered the temple to be built.

The focal point of the temple is the 24m tall gold-plated Chedi, which in the sunlight shines over the city. It is circled by gold ceremonial parasols added later in the 16th century. You can tell the temple is very sacred as it is ornate and shines in gold - a stark contrast to the faded presence of Wat Palad which we visited earlier in the day.

Night out - Pad Thai and our first night in a Party Hostel

After a quick repose in the hostel, Pad Thai at Be Beez, and an outfit change we were sweat-free and ready for a night out.

This was our first introduction to a 'party' hostel and it was definitely an adventure. We were greeted at happy hour by a man wearing nothing but his underwear and a board with a checklist on it - needing to check off being blindfolded for 10 minutes, kissing 5 different nationalities, and someone shaving his eyebrow, among others. Turns out it was his last night working at the hostel and this was their goodbye ritual.

We played raunchy Jenga, which ended in 2 girls running around the hostel naked and went on a pub crawl. After visiting a few bars Chiang Mai had to offer, and many a Chang beer, we ended the night at 7/11.

In Thailand, you are never far from a 7/11. Which was an absolute godsend, as we developed quite an addiction for their bao buns, and trying every exotic crisp flavour over the course of our trip.

There are many different types of hostels that you can stay at in Thailand - there's the party hostel, the quiet hostel, the themed hostel, the great location hostel, the pool hostel. And I would say that where you stay is really important for the mood of your trip. I would recommend using Hostel World and looking at the comments to select the best place for you.

Day Two - Ruins and rain

Considering we only had 48 hours in Chiang Mai we wanted to make sure we hit all the landmarks and tasted as much local food as possible. So our second day consisted mostly of sightseeing the city on foot and eating lots of food!

Wat Chedi Luang

Our hostel was only a short 10-minute walk to Wat Chedi Luang, as it's located close to the centre of the old walled part of Chiang Mai.

The Wat is a distinctive feature of the Chiang Mai skyline and is also known as "The Temple of the Great Stupa." It is very impressive in size and I can only imagine how much more impressive it would have been before it was damaged during an earthquake in the 16th century and reduced to nearly half of its original size. When we visited half of the Chedi was being restored, but you could still see the beautiful mythical naga staircase on each face with elephant statues adorning the base.

Needing a repose from the heat we sat on a nearby bench. Looking up at the Wat we were able to see the detail and colour of the layered stone walls more closely and we were taken aback by its beauty. Monks strolled past us going about their duties and we noticed small quotes written on wood hung from trees dotted around the grounds.

The atmosphere made it feel like an important site and we later found out that in the 15th century the most revered Buddha image in Thailand, the Emerald Buddha was installed and stayed there for almost a century.

Wat Phra Sing

Our day of sightseeing continued with a visit to Wat Phra Sing, "The Temple of the Lion Buddha," another Wat located in the old city.

The Wat contains a number of classic buildings which makes for a beautiful stroll around the grounds. The most important building is the striking gilded chapel which holds Chiang Mai's most revered Buddha statue - the Phra Singh, an image of the Lion Buddha. It's an important location for the Songkran festival when the statue is carried in the parade procession for good luck.

We found comments hanging from trees in this Wat too. We weren't sure if they were supposed to be comical or serious, as one of them read "there is no glory for a lazy person however good looking." We felt that one deeply as it was getting rather hot and we wanted to sit down for food soon.

Koi Soi and Rainy Streets

When we left London to travel to Thailand we made a deal that we would only eat local food and try all the delicacies Thailand had to offer.

One of the dishes we knew we had to try in Chiang Mai was Koh Soi Neua - a dish with noodles in gravy with beef and crispy noodles on top served with a side of spices and roasted chili sauce. We walked to Koh Soi Islam to try the local dish. Located next to the night bazaar it's known to serve an authentic version. It was very tasty, but you certainly needed to add the chili sauce as the flavour was quite neutral.

As soon as we sat down at the restaurant the heavens opened.

When you visit in the rainy season you get to see waterfalls in their full glory, but you also have to deal with heavy downpours at any moment. By the time we had finished eating it was still tipping it down and we walked back to our hostel in the rain traversing street rivers as best we could.

Sunday Walking Market

On our last night, we wanted to visit the Sunday Walking Market, which is known as the most popular shopping experience in Chiang Mai. We quickly realised how popular it really was when we were immersed in massive crowds navigating the market.

The market starts at ThaiPae Gate and runs along Ratchadamnoen Road every Sunday from 4pm to about midnight. There were all kinds of things on offer, including clothes, food, souvenirs, bowls, etc. but of course, we made a direct line for the food.

You order from each individual stand and eat it on the tables in the middle. There were lots of different cuisines on offer. I chose the green Thai curry which wasn't the best choice, but it was worth it to be in the atmosphere.