Joanna James
The city in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai has become quite the favourite holiday destination with lots of things to do – the food, the culture and the temples leave an imprint on everyone's mind.
In Chiang Mai, you can get a foot massage by a prison inmate. You will see that the Women's Correctional Institution is located in Chiang Mai and as part of the programme to integrate them back into the society, there's a foot massage parlour. You might have to wait for sometime to get in, but it sure is worth it.
When talking about top things to do in Chiang Mai, taking a tuk-tuk ride has to be one of them – especially if you are not familiar with this mode of transport. It's cheap and easy, but you have to negotiate over the price before getting in.
You will spend about two hours on the road to get to the place, but you'll love it once you get there. You can feed them, bathe them and watch them play. Baby elephants are too cute to not to get your special attention. If having a close encounter with elephants is one of your bucket list things to do, here you go!
There are about 200 temples scattered all over the city. They are called wats in the local language. You should make some time to visit at least one or two of these temples. It's all about the temples in Chiang Mai!
If you want to learn to make a dish with the perfect blend of spicy, sweet and salty, go to a cooking class, and you will be making Thai dishes in no time. The thing about Thai cuisine is that it doesn't take much effort to prepare a dish and it is something you can easily learn.
There are hotels and resorts like Anantara Chiang Mai Resort, and then there are markets – you can choose either one of them to try the cuisine. But if you opt for markets,you won't be disappointed. For example, you could go to Chiang Mai's Sunday Night Market – the market is packed with food vendors, clothes and gift items.
There's a programme called 'Monk Chat' in Chiang Mai. You can speak to them freely and ask them about their beliefs and whatnot – you also help them by speaking to them in English which consequently helps them to improve their English.
Everything about the temple is white. Wat Rong Khun is a Buddhist temple located north of the city. It takes about two hours to get there, but this is a must-do, so spare some time to visit this temple. It's sort of the highlight of the attractions in Chiang Mai because of its peculiar interior and exterior.
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