Chiang Mai ??

do you know where Chiang Mai is actually located? or shall i ask, have you ever heard about Chiang Mai? if im not working in this travel industry, i must be like some other people - dont know bout this place, dont ever bother to ask around. some said "chang mai? how to spell ar? i think that place must be in Viet, nearby Ho Chi Minh.." huhu sucks!

you know what, i've been to Chiang Mai (CNX) before, north area of Thailand. my first trip was on Nov 2009 (sacrificed my hari raya aidiladha holiday that year). also considered as my first time travel to Thai

since this is a new tourist destination, there is only one direct flight from KL, which is Air Asia. thanks to Air Asia~~ no wonder the airfare quite high. one flight per day, with the 'best' timing ever! 7am from LCCT, and return back to KL, flight at 9am.. however, the journey is bout 2hrs and 40mins, i enjoyed my sleep on-board.

other info: CNX 'young' 1hour than M'sia. using local language. English is not widely used. Muslim community so far only 10%. use Thai Baht (THB) @ THB 100 = RM10

"Sawasdee kaa" or "sawasdee chow" = greetings.... "chang" = elephant in Siamese language

what do they have in CNX:-
1) Royal Flora Garden - similar like Mini Malaysia, Malacca, but bigger. or if you've been to Jakarta, you may think this place looks similar like Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. my POV, i think this place better with those nice flowers

2) City Tour - seeing moat. old ppl built these moats surrounding to protect their city from bad ppl. also the museum - Art & Cultural Centre

3) Doi Suthep temple - a temple on the top of the highest hill in CNX. cooling atmosphere. can view the whole city here. the dome made from gold. i'm taking the cable car  to go up (seems like the cable car in Bukit Bendera, Penang) while taking the stairs (like Batu Caves) to go down.

4) CNX zoo - using the same road to the above temple - downstairs. got panda, koala n big aquarium (like Aquaria KLCC) & Ong Bak - the famous elephant

5) Mae Sa Elephant Camp - elephant riding, elephant bathing, elephant show (they painted, they performed, they are cute). i also went to other camp, Mae Ta Man - they offered elephant camp + ox cart riding + bamboo rafting river crossing. they called "Chang", means "elephant" (ever heard about their famous local Chang Beer??)

6) Monkey School - nearby the elephant camp. also available for the Orchard Shop and the Extreme Sports xtvt such as ATV, bunji jumping, shooting etc etc etc

7) Karen Long Neck - the main attraction in CNX

8) shopping at Sam kampheang Village & Baan Tawai - home industries : umbrella, gems gallery, honey, wood carving, silverware, leather, Sinawatra Silk and many more. baan means village. there's plenty of hand-made factories in this village. let's learn the manual or traditional way on how to produce the umbrella from Sa Tree, how to shape and shine the rocks to become a jewelry, to see the real crocodile skin before it become a handbag, how to make a silk material from silkworm cocoon and many moooorrreeeeee

9) river cruise along the Mae Ping river - a famous river during Loy Kratong. this river flows till Chao Phraya, Bangkok. packed Thai Dessert available on cruise with additional THB100 per person (please order in advance)

10) Chiang Rai (CEI) means the Old City. while Chiang Mai is the New City. 3hrs journey from CNX town (enroute can stop at the Mae Kajan HotSpring). we can enter the Burma (Myanmar)'s border also known as Mae Sai from here, but need to apply visa for Malaysian (around THB1200). i'm taking the 'tuk tuk' ride for the light Myanmar sightseeing tour. shopping heaven for cheap imitation items; namely LV (my fav), Gucci, Prada, Hemes etc. also known as Golden Triangle (Thai + Myanmar + Laos) after 1hour journey from the CEI town. can enter the Laos by boat ride crossing the river. they said the original Long-Neck tribes are from Chiang Rai before some of them migrated to Chiang Mai. i didn't get managed to visit both Opium Museum and the famous White Temple yet

11) a small town of Lampang, 1 hour from CNX town. must try the horse-carriage. visit the Ban Saok Nak (house of 100-pillars with free drinks and local Kueh Cakar Ayam). Shopping at the cheap Ceramic Outlet for souvenirs or kitchen utensil. we skipped to visit the Jungle Market (where the exotic food available)

12) Shopping in town - Night Bazaar (open daily 530pm - 1130pm), can bargain. also got the Anusarn St. or we called it Arab street cz there got Arabic foods, surely Halal.

13) other shopping area - Warorot Market - sell dried longan, lukchup etc.
Saturday Market & Sunday Market - biggest
Robinson or the Central Airport Plaza

14) Hotel available - cheap, good condition, nearby the bazaar is Suriwongse Hotel, 3star. location wise cause it's located at the night bazaar street, in front of Le Meridien
UPDATE : now it's under Movenpick - Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel.

my 1st and latest visit to Chiang Mai, i stayed at Imperial Mae Ping Hotel. 5mins walk to the night bazaar. it's a 4 star hotel with a beautiful swimming pool and better room condition

15) Khantoke Dinner - dine and enjoy the local cultural performance at the same time.

Hot Lantern Release at Khum Khantoke Restaurant

16) Halal Restaurants- Jen Pao (poor services), Bisminla (small shop but serving the best ox-tail soup ever!), Ruammit, Feng Ming (San Kamphaeng), Regent (Lampang), Feng Ming (Chiang Rai) and Sa Grina (Chiang Rai). i've been recommended to try Ban Pee Huan Nong Restaurant, maybe some other time ya

17) best menu - tom yam of cz + black pepper beef + fried eggplant + belacan + crispy fish fried yumyummy

just FYI, Chiang Mai is a clean city i've even been. no smoking : local / tourist cant smoke in public area, not even in a club (night life); no littering as well. i cant see any single piece of trash in Chiang Mai.


i'm going to CNX, again next week
would be my 6th time


1st - Nov 2009
2nd - Jan 2010
3rd - Apr 2010
4th - July 2010
5th - Oct 2010


Chiang Mai... i'm coming!!!!!!


UPDATE : my 7th time to Chiang Mai was last May 2013 - hot season