Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai, which is the gem of Northern Thailand according to guide books and the Thai themselves, is situated near the Golden Triangle, in the border area of Thailand, Laos and Burma (nowadays called Myanmar). It is a tidy, rather modern town which has no air pollution problem like e.g. Bangkok. As Chiang Mai is in the highlands, its climate is pleasantly temperate.

There is much to see in Chiang Mai, e.g. 300 Buddhist temples or “wats”, the old town walls, a big zoo with its giant pandas (a gift from China) and of course the night markets full of noise, lights, smells and much more.

The Doi Suthep temple mountain is almost a must see attraction and so are the day tours to nearby mountain tribe villages.

It is also possible to do multi-day guided treks. Only for well-trained people, we think! We did just a one day trek to a Hmong minority village.

Muay Thai kick-boxing is something you should definitely see. The FarAndFurther team went only went to see a free performance and we assume that it was only a sparring session, as it did not seem to be too serious. On the performance stage nearby the “lady boys”-dancing group seemed to be working out of real belief in their cause and not only for their wages, though.