Chiang Mai is the cultural center of Thailand offering great sites and food. There are plenty of cooking classes to instruct you on creating your own Thai delicacies. My class started with a visit to the market, then we got busy making four dishes that we each chose from a list of options.

If you’ve ever wanted to meet a monk, this is a great place with several temples scheduling opportunities for you to ask questions and even eat together. Some places require you book in advance so be sure to check this out beforehand if you’re interested.

There are several styles of temples to visit. For more traditional, you can check out Wat Chedi Luang in the center of town. If you want the best view, catch a songthaew (shared passenger pick-up truck) up to Wat Phrathat perched atop Doi Suthep and overlooking Chiang Mai. Probably my favorite temple in Chiang Mai is Wat Sri Suphan, a temple completely ensconced in silver. It is even more spectacular a night when illuminated by fire and colored lighting. You can visit it from the SW end of the Saturday night market.

Pai

Invariably, you will hear about Pai during your visit to Chiang Mai. Pai is basically just a smaller version of Bali. It’s an expat town filled with yoga retreats, spas, and western food. It is a charming place for a visit if you don’t mind being surrounded by westerners.

There is also the Pai Grand Canyon if you’re up for an adventurous hike. It’s a fairly easy walk to the overlook, but doing the full loop requires a little comfort walking down gravelly slopes, with the help of tree roots to pull you back up.

Mae Hong Son Loop and Doi Inthanon National Park

The road to Pai is filled with young people driving the 763 curves through the mountains that separate it from Chiang Mai. If you’re up for a multi-day trip, you can try the popular Mae Hong Son loop which is a great sampler of northern Thailand’s countryside.

You begin with a 8,400 foot climb up to Doi Ithanon national park where you’ll feel like you’re looking over Thailand from the clouds. It’ll feel like it too, as it’s the only place I know in Thailand that gets cold.

From there, the traditional route goes through Mae Sariang, but I didn’t really find that worth the visit. I recommend to Mae Nachorn and staying in one of the jungle houses on the river, like the Hot Coffee Guest house. Then you can continue on to the town of Mae Hong Song in the morning. Just be sure to take the clockwise route (1192 to 1088) and not the counterclockwise shortcut route like I did!

Mae Hong Son looks good in pictures, but unless you just want to do the loop, I don’t think it’s worth the two day drive. Better to just do the round trip to Pai from Chiang Mai.

Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai is located about 3 hours northeast of Chiang Mai. As a sightseeing tourist, the only thing I think makes the serpentine drive worth it is the fantasy inspired White Temple. At first glance, it seems a fairy tale temple, but upon closer inspection you’ll see that it’s actually a pretty demonic place.

Continuing on with cult style temples, head to Baandam Museum, otherwise known as the black temple. Though this is not actually a buddhist temple, it was built in the style of one. Inside is a collection of oddities by the eccentric Thai painter, Thawan Duchanee.

Outside of those two temples, I don’t see a reason to visit Chiang Rai. It’s not so much as a tourist destination as it is a place to live, filled with great restaurants and less touristy than Chiang Mai. If you’re headed to Laos for the slow boat trip, you should stopover for a day in in Chiang Rai.