Hey everyone,
This week, we make it to our favorite parts of Thailand: Chiang Mai and Chaing Rai, including the gorgeous and iconic White Temple.
On our very last night in Chiang Mai, we were browsing Grab for some food delivery and came across a curious listing:
Look, Pete and I had been traveling for a while at this point, and for some reason, we found the word Sausage “Mookmiffin” to be hilarious. It was completely nonsensical and yet clearly conveyed what they were selling.
Whenever things got too quiet during our trip to Chiang Rai, we’d look at each other and go, “Moooookmiffin!” And we would both start laughing.
But the effect was that we were both dying to try the Mookmiffin. Marketing achieved. We had the opportunity to order one the morning before our flight out. Want our review? It’s towards the end of this email in the food section.
Perry’s Travel Diary
Getting to Chiang Mai
When traveling by land, Chiang Mai is a 10-11 hour journey from Bangkok. But good news: Thailand has a great rail system running between the two cities with an overnight train. We had never experienced an overnight train, so this was the perfect opportunity.
Turns out, lots of other people also think this is the ideal route for an overnight train… and tickets were sold out several days in advance. When we went to purchase our tickets at Bangkok’s train station, they were sold out until two days after we originally planned to leave Bangkok.
I did not have our Chiang Mai hotels booked at that point, so we accepted our delay and extended our stay in Bangkok. Not all was lost – we needed a break at this point in the trip. Staying in one spot was nice for that reason. But in hindsight, we would have much rather spent our “break” days at the calming Nanadoo Homestay in Chiang Rai rather than in the traffic of Bangkok.
In the end, we spent 941 baht each (~$24.70, $49.40 for the pair) on tickets for the more modern train no. 9. The train station only accepts cash. If you’re buying tickets in advance online (as we now recommend), you’ll pay an additional service fee to pay with a credit card.
If you aren’t interested in an overnight train, a number of budget airlines serve this route for about the same price, but you’ll need to pay extra for baggage and an additional night in a hotel room.
The Train
We ordered food delivery from Grab to our hotel lobby, where we were spending our afternoon, so we would have takeaway dinners for the train. We headed to the train station and arrived around 5:30 pm, a bit more than 30 minutes before our departure (as instructed).
An attendant checked our tickets as we boarded and led us to our car. Our seats were the widest seats I have ever had…but they felt like sitting on benches. There was a small tray table in between each pair, which held my dinner.
Our carry-on luggage was stored under the seats. We kept our backpacks with us at all times, either in the seat or in the bed.
The train took off on time and started to make several stops on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Even as motion sick as I get, trains don’t usually upset my stomach. This train was about to be an exception. When we took off out of Bangkok, the train started rocking side-to-side like a boat. My stomach was like, immediately no. I quickly downed Dramamine. Plus side: Dramamine helps me sleep. If you have an iron stomach, you still might want to bring your choice of sleep aid.
The person sitting across from me – who appeared to be a businessman familiar with this route – flagged the attendant down a few minutes after departure and asked, in Thai, that our beds be set up. The attendant made up our bunks with military-like precision.
Our upper bunks folded down from the ceiling. We climbed into it using a foothold on the seat handle. There was no window. The bed was larger than a lie-flat plane seat, but I found the mattress (if you can call it that) to be much harder. We were issued a sheet, a thin blanket, and a pillow. There was an outlet in the bunk, an appreciated addition, and a small net for a phone or small belongings.
There was a curtain to provide privacy, but it did not block out the lights that remained on for the entire journey.
I was glad to have the five things I can’t live without on a plane, which I’ve included in this week’s Travel Tip at the end of this newsletter. This train required a sleep mask and an extra dose of comfort to sleep.
I wore comfy athleisure clothes on the train so I wouldn’t have to change. There was a bathroom at the end of each car with several toilet/sink stalls and a separate open sink. I’d recommend using them towards the start of the journey because they were dirty by the time we arrived.
The ride itself was uneventful. The train does make stops throughout the night. The braking would wake me up.
The attendant will wake you about an hour before arrival if you haven’t on your own.
Overall, it was not the most restful night of sleep, but it was enough to function the next day. We would do it again.
(We posted an Instagram reel about our train experience, too. Check it out here! )
Exploring Chiang Mai
Thai Massages
Our first stop after we showered off the night train was the Home Massage for a famous Thai massage. Compared to a normal massage, a Thai massage includes more stretching. There’s less deep tissue work, though you can request more of that by asking for a balm or oil massage.
Home Massage has a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor, and there’s a reason for that. The spa is modern, clean, and a wonderful experience. They even include a taxi to and from the spa in the price of your massage.
At 450 baht per person (~$12) for a Thai massage or 550 baht per person for a balm massage (~$15, our selection), I’m questioning why we didn’t get a massage every day. It was fantastic.
Pete’s review of the massage: The gal may have only been as tall as my hips but she could twist a person into a balloon animal with seemingly minimal effort. I am now a well-massaged poodle without so much as a muscle knot out of place.
Dinner at Dash
On day 2, we went to dinner at Dash , a restaurant recommended by the budget travel blogger Nomadic Matt . This restaurant was one of our top meals in Thailand. I enjoyed the northern Thai sausage and the fried tamarind chicken. Pete went for classic pad thai.
The best part of the meal was our conversation with the owner, also named Dash. He shared so much Thai history with us. Dash had grown up in Thailand, the UK, and the USA (specifically, the Seattle, Washington area), so we had an easy time communicating and comparing cultures across our countries.
At the end of our meal, Dash asked us if we were going to explore the Chiang Mai Gate night market. We told him we were feeling tired and had explored the main night market the night before.
“But no,” he insisted, “you have to go!” He explained that the Gate Night Market had different things to buy and lots of tasty foods. We took his advice and were glad that we did.
Chiang Mai Night Markets
We ended up exploring three night markets in Chiang Mai:
Daily Night Market – The daily market includes both a covered market during the daytime and a collection of street food vendors in the main square at night. There were many different food stalls. Pete sampled one of the meat-on-a-stick vendors on our way to dinner.
Saturday Night Market – This night market branches off of the south end of the daily market. It included a wide variety of knick-knacks, clothing, wallets, snacks, and other standard night market items. Pete bought a passport wallet for 100 baht (~$3), and I’m questioning why we didn’t buy more than one.
The Sunday / Pratu Tha Phae (East) Gate Night Market – We went here on the recommendation of Dash. This appeared to be the largest night market and lived up to Dash’s hype. We didn’t try the food since we were already stuffed, but the selection of stuff to buy was wide-ranging.
Overall, any of the night markets in Chiang Mai were worth visiting. They did include a different selection than the other night markets we had seen. I found them to be more interesting and authentic.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple
Long story short, legend has it that an elephant carrying a Buddha relic was released into the jungle, climbed Doi Suthep mountain, trumpeted three times, and died. This was considered an omen, and a temple was constructed on the site. (You can read the slightly longer legend in this Wikipedia article. )
The temple has a gorgeous view of Chiang Mai. Inside, you’ll find an ornate, gold-covered spire.
Bus to Chiang Rai
The cheapest way to get from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai is on the GreenBus. Tickets are ~$13 per person when purchased online in advance through Bookaway. They can also be purchased for ~$11 in person at the bus station. Why do we know that? Well…
In a complete first for both of us, we missed our original departure.
According to Google Maps, the Chiang Mai bus station was only 15-20 minutes away from our downtown Chiang Mai hotel. Our bus departed at 8:00 AM, so we checked out of our hotel at 6:30 AM. I requested our Grab at around 6:40 AM and was shocked that it didn’t arrive to us until after 7:15 AM.
Turns out that Google didn’t account for morning rush traffic in Chiang Mai. The traffic was bumper-to-bumper as it crept through an unexpectedly large number of school zones.
Our Grab didn’t arrive at the bus station until 8:15 AM. Our Grab driver also decided to stop for gas in-route, which was fun and not at all stressful.
Bus tickets are non-refundable, so we lucked out and purchased new tickets for the 9:00 AM bus at the station itself. Please learn from our mistakes and get to the station hella early if you find yourself taking the same route.
Chiang Rai
That Famous Photo of Thailand: The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)
The only reason we originally came to Chiang Rai was to see the White Temple. (Turns out, there’s way more to Chiang Rai than this temple, but I digress…)
Before we traveled to Thailand, this photo of the White Temple was about all I knew of the country. It was the only landmark I would have recognized.
Although this site has been a temple for many years, artist Chalermchai Kositpipat began building its current form in 1997, opening the temple as a tourist site.
The White Temple lives up to its photos and is beautiful (and weird) in person. Bring sunglasses, because darn if it isn’t very reflective. Break a mirror in our world and it’s 7 years of bad luck, break a few thousand mirrors in Thailand and you’ve got yourself a vibrant temple.
What I hadn’t seen in the photos before visiting were the hands at the base of the entrance bridge. Yes, hands. Hundreds of white concrete hands are grasping up from the depths of hell towards the sky.
It’s a disturbing display among the otherwise opulent structures. Feel free to read into the symbolism here.
Inside the temple, you’ll find fiery murals depicting western pop-culture icons among demon faces. A monk meditated inside, but he was so still and perfect that I could not confirm whether he was a human or a wax sculpture. We were not allowed to take photos.
Admission is 200 baht per foreigner. If you’re on a tight budget, you can easily get a nice photo from the sidewalk without paying anything. You won’t be able to see the creepy hands from there, though. Go in the morning if you want the sun to be shining on the front of the temple or in the evening for golden hour when the temple will be backlit (as in my photos). The temple closes at 5 PM.
The Blue Temple & Our Favorite Restaurant
The second most famous temple in Chiang Rai is the Blue Temple. It is, in fact, very blue.
There is a large, also blue Buddha in the temple itself.
The most interesting sight at this temple was a large group of young monks, who were touring the temple just like us. Their orange robes were a beautiful contrast to the temple itself. You aren’t supposed to photograph monks without permission (and only men can ask permission – Pete was in the restroom).
Visiting the Blue Temple is free; there’s no admission.
Our hotel host informed us that the Blue Temple was lit up at night, so we decided to go get dinner while waiting for the sunset. We headed to Chivit Thamma Da Coffee House, Bistro & Bar , a short walk from the Blue Temple, and our jaws dropped when we walked in.
Had we just entered the Jungle Cruise?
This restaurant was gorgeous and ended up being our favorite meal in Thailand. Pete had a divine braised beef curry dish.
I had a spicy guava salad with shrimp tempura. I failed to learn from my previous mistakes and told them to make it spicy. It was fantastic – and I almost died from my runny nose, face sweats, and burning mouth. (I would order this again, to be clear. I’d just ask for less spice. That’s all.)
Chivit Thamma Da was more expensive than our typical hole-in-the-wall food, but it was still an incredible value for the quality and ambiance.
After dinner, we returned to the Blue Temple to see the lights. Well worth it.
Other Chiang Rai Temples & Things to Do
We had a view of the giant Buddha at Wat Huay Pla Kang temple from our room at Nanadoo Homestay. You can visit the temple if your hotel doesn’t have a view. Our hotel hostess recommended visiting at sunset.
The Chiang Rai Clocktower lights up in color at night. We wandered by on our way back from dinner one night.
We could have easily spent another 2-3 days in Chiang Rai. The town was charming, beautiful, and full of things to do. Other tourists go trekking to explore the hill villages, which we wish we had more time for.
Itinerary
Hotel
- The Entaneer Poshtel (Chiang Mai, $25/night) – This place was recently renovated and is in a fantastic location just a few steps from Chiang Mai’s night market. They were very accommodating and allowed us to check into our room early. The private room did not have a window, which was not uncommon in our budget hotel stays but is something we try to avoid. There is a reasonably priced coin-op washer and dryer in the lobby and a full kitchen available to guests.
- Hop Inn (Chiang Mai, $25/night) – We stayed here for one night before our flight out. The room felt brand new. I’d compare it to something like a Comfort Inn in the United States. Great value for the price. I would not suggest staying here while touring Chiang Mai since it’s further away from the main town and is in a less appealing neighborhood.
- Nanadoo Homestay (Chiang Rai, $22/night, breakfast included) – Nanadoo was easily our favorite budget hotel from this entire trip. It’s a calming retreat was outside the town of Chiang Rai, surrounded by rice fields. Our large and exceptionally clean room had a balcony where we could listen to the sounds of nature. Bunny rabbits hop around the yard, which has a great pool and playground equipment for kids. The owner, Moo, was warm, welcoming, and a pleasure to talk to. We would have happily spent a week here.
Food
Chiang Mai:
- Palak Pad Thai – Hole-in-the-wall, cheap pad thai across the street from our hotel.
- Cozy Cafe – Our go-to for breakfast.
- Dash Restaurant – Highly recommend, see above.
- Khao Soi – Make sure to try Khao Soi, a northern Thailand noodle dish, while you’re in Chiang Mai. It includes chicken (or your choice of meat) and noodles in a coconut curry sauce, often garnished with pickled vegetables. We tried it twice: once from a small shop on the street and once from Grab.
- Grab
About that MookMiffin: We ordered ourselves a MookMiffin the morning before our flight out. It was delicious! 5 stars. It included a hefty amount of homemade sausage. You can order it from the Butter is Better Diner & Bakery.
Chiang Rai:
- Chivit Thamma Da Coffee House, Bistro & Bar – Our favorite meal in Thailand.
- Awe’s Cafe – Cheap but tasty Thai food.
- CAT ‘n’ A CUP Cat Cafe – We needed to kill some time between getting off the bus and checking into our hotel room. Luckily, there was a cat cafe right around the corner from the bus station. The food is okay, but there’s cats! It did our cat-loving hearts a lot of good.
- Nanadoo Homestay serves delicious spicy basil and other basic Thai dishes.
Transportation
In Chiang Mai:
- Grab is best for short trips, including from your hotel to the bus stop.
- To get to Doi Suthep, you’ll want to take a red songthaew – a pickup truck that has two covered benches in the back. Songthaews to Doi Suthep pick up at the Chiang Mai Zoo and depart whenever they are full. Go early in the morning when other travelers are likely to be departing, or else you will either 1) wait for hours for other travelers or 2) be coerced into paying for the entire songthaew yourself (our mistake).
In Chiang Rai:
- Grab is the best and cheapest for point-to-point journeys, like from your hotel to town.
- To see the White Temple, Blue Temple, and/or other temples, you’ll want to arrange a tuk-tuk. The price is more reasonable than Grab and will include having the tuk-tuk driver wait for you. We had our hotel call and request a tuk-tuk for us to ensure we received a fair price. We paid around 350 baht to visit both temples.
Perry’s Travel Tip of the Week
The five things I can’t live without on planes, trains, and automobiles
Fun fact: I (Perry) have traveled over 280,000 butt-in-seat miles on United Airlines, and that doesn’t count any flying I’ve done on Southwest or other flights from my childhood.
After all that time spent on planes, I have a few items that drastically improve my comfort on economy flights (along with budget hotels, sleeper trains, or anywhere else I might be traveling). And I can fit these in my bag even if I’m only traveling with a backpack.
The five things are:
- A well-made travel pillow – I use the Cabeau Classic because it has 1) high sides that actually support the neck, 2) a flat back that won’t push your neck forward, 3) a strip to secure the pillow around your neck, and 4) a small pocket that holds items #2-4 on this list. It also works as a pillow if you like to lean forward onto your tray table.
- Ear plugs – You might not think these are necessary for a short flight, but you have no idea just how loud the white noise is on a plane – not to mention the piercing screams from the baby three rows behind you. Pop these in and enjoy blissful silence. I like the kind that is attached with a string, but literally any earplugs that you can steal from a hotel, amenity kit, flight attendant, or another dispenser will work.
- Sleep mask – Blocking out light makes a huge difference. Combined with the earplugs, you can have your own little sensory deprivation cocoon. I save eye masks from business-class amenity kits.
- Dramamine – For the comfort of the people around me as much as myself. I prefer the drowsy kind when I need to sleep, but I also try to keep some of the non-drowsy formula around in the event I need to be semi-alert.
- Blanket scarf – One of the most versatile items in my bag, my blanket scarf serves as a plane/train/hotel blanket, winter scarf, shawl, sarong, and second pillow. I prefer a knit or woolen fabric for warmth, but you could use a cotton sarong if you’re exclusively traveling to warm climates. Mine came from Target; similar on Amazon here and here.
Pulling this kit out on a plane may result in strangers commenting, “Wow, you’re prepared,” and, “Sleep well?” And yes, I did, thankyouverymuch.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, we’d love it if you would share us with your friends.
All our love,
Pete and Perry