Nested Fall 2024
Chiang Mai isn’t an easy place to figure out right away. It’s a hodge-podge of ramshackle buildings punctuated by pockets of beautiful modern buildings, spectacular temples and stunning parks. It’s a city of Easter Eggs – you’ll never know when you’re going to stumble upon something wonderful. Population wise, it’s a puzzle as well. Because it’s so inexpensive to live in Thailand, there’s a huge expat population. It’s actually like two cities in one – a thriving expat culture alongside the Thai people. And because as nesters, we were Farang (westerners) we were automatically part of the expat culture. While we made some strong connections with people who have lived here for years – even people who have lived here for most of their lives – we didn’t make connections with Thai people.
Visas
The laws are constantly changing, so probably this will be out of date by the time I’m finished typing it. But currently, Thailand issues a 60 day tourist visa, which means that if you want to stay any longer, you’ll have to do one of two things.
- Head to an immigration office BEFORE your 60 days are up and buy an extension. Right now, the extensions are 1,800 Bht (about $53) and are good for an additional 30 days. There’s an immigration office at the airport and one that’s a lot less crowded at the Central Festival Mall.
- Cross a border BEFORE your 60 days are up. When you go back in to Thailand, you’ll get an additional 30 days for free – but if you don’t say anything, chances are they will stamp you for 60 days like the first time you entered. There are lots of companies offering border runs, but you can make a really nice little trip out of going to Laos. Check out my “border run” page here.
Currency
Thailand’s currency is called the Baht. At the time of this writing, 100 Baht equals about $3 US. The current exchange rate is here. You will be charged about 220 Bahts per transaction at the ATM so it makes sense to exchange larger sums. You will also be charged a fee for using a credit card. It’s a good idea to ask how much if you want to use your card.
When to Go
The high season for Thailand is November to late February. As we nest in shoulder seasons, we came in the fall. Although fall is the rainy season, this is not a place to come in the spring. The farmers burn off their fields every spring, and because Chiang Mai is in a valley, the smoke is trapped over the city. The pollution can be quite serious. Many people leave the city during the smoke season and people we talked to told us that they often got very sick when they tried to stay. Apartments all have air purifiers, and there are special rooms in schools with purifiers that they move the children to when the air gets bad. Therefore, the end of February through the beginning of May should be blocked off of your calendar for coming here.
Chiang Mai had a particularly bad rainy season when we were there. There was some major flooding on the east side of the town, getting as high as people’s waists in some parts. The rain comes down in torrents, but isn’t all day, so it’s possible to fit some sightseeing in between the showers.
The other weather consideration is the heat. When we got here in early September, it often wasn’t comfortable to be outside. By the end of October, the highs were down to the low 90’s or high 80’s. Many places aren’t air conditioned, so it really affects doing things. (and be absolutely certain that your lodgings have air conditioning!) If you are a person who has serious trouble with hot weather, this is probably not your best choice for a nest. Average monthly temperatures are here.
A very good reason to consider going in the fall are the festivals. During October, when it’s full moon, there’s the Dragon Light Festival which is best seen in Luang Prabang, Laos. But when it’s full moon in November, Chaing Mai celebrates their famous Lantern Festival, where they release thousands of lighted lanterns into the night sky. It’s become quite a tourist attraction.
How to Get There
Chiang Mai’s airport is close to the center city, on the west side. If you stay near Nimman, you’ll be in the flight path so you’ll hear the airplanes, although if you’re up by the Maya mall, it won’t be loud enough to be bothersome. Much further south and you might regret it.
Most likely, you’ll have to change planes in Bangkok and take Thai Air to Chiang Mai. It’s about an hour’s flight. But all is not bad – Thai Air gives free massages in their airport lounge. When you land, there will be taxis to take you into the city. There is a standard rate from the airport – when we were there, it was 160 Bht, which is about $4.70.
Food
This is one of the best things about nesting in Chiang Mai. The food can be absolutely amazing. Chiang Mai has some of its own flavors, as it was part of Burma for a while and there are refugees now from there, too. It also is strongly influenced by all the expats living here, so you can find restaurants for just about any cuisine you want. But by far, the best food you’ll get is Thai. You don’t have to be nervous about it being too spicy. While Thai people eat their food at a level of heat I can’t begin to approach, as soon as a wait staff sees that you are farang, (western) they will ask about the spiciness you prefer. Often they will prepare the food without spice but put the sauces on the table for you to add to your taste. Because the expat population is so huge here, they are very used to adapting to western spice levels.
Foods to try – Chiang Mai is known for Khao Soi, which is a delicious curry noodle soup and Panang curry, which is made with ground peanuts. Also try the fruits, especially the mangosteens, which are in season in the fall.
Grocery Shopping
Grocery shopping is pretty much based on the area you live, and we weren’t in the best place for it. We lived in Nimman, which is the expat area. The pro is that the one grocery store near us, Rimpkin, in the basement of the Maya mall, was very much geared to expats and so had things like cheese and wine. But it was more expensive that shopping in the markets. There weren’t any close by though, so I did the majority of my shopping at the Maya Mall.
There are 7-11’s on every block, but they mostly sell snacks and cheap, microwavable premade dinners. But it works for milk.
The thing is, you can go out to eat for so cheap that you probably won’t be buying a lot of groceries anyway.
Other Shopping
Chiang Mai is a fun place to shop for crafts and gifts. My favorite was the Sunday night market every Sunday night in the old town. It runs all the way from the main eastern gate to the three kings statue in the center of town, and branches off the main road into lots of side roads, too. You’ll find lots of handmade things, and often the craftspeople are right there making what they are selling. Aside from the tons of booths selling elephant pants and cutsey keychains, you’ll find hammered tin and silver, hand carved soap flowers, wood carvings, wicker purses, and even in the courtyard of the first temple from the gate, you’ll find some hill tribe people selling embroidery and weaving. Also lots of street food. It’s a really fun thing to do on Sunday nights. They also have a Saturday one, but we were told there were more handcrafts on Sundays.
There are other markets, too. One I wish I was able to spend more time in was the Warorat Market down by the Ping River, but it flooded terribly while we were there. It is open every day and seemed to be less touristy than the night markets in Old Town, although you still could find plenty of souvenir type things. Nimman had the White Market every weekend, but it was mostly clothing, which tended to run too small to be of interest for me. (also styled for younger folks, although pretty.) There is also a market that runs between the river and the city walls, starting at the Marriott, but again, that area flooded while we were there. Even with those shopping challenges, I still managed to buy enough that we might have to get a second suitcase.
Along the street between Nimman and the Old City is a large two-building silk shop, run by Shinawatra Thai Silk, which is one of the best known silk manufacturers in Thailand. They have a large facility out by San Kampang, which is an area east of the city where there are studios and factories making silk, umbrellas and pottery. But if you don’t want to travel all the way out there, the shop near Nimman is convenient and the prices are good.
For beautiful, high end textiles, go to the Kalm Village in the Old Town. It’s a beautiful facility with a restaurant, coffee shop and small weaving museum. They are mostly shops, though, bringing in quality goods from the Hill tribes.
The Thai Tribal Crafts Fair Trade shop, across the Ping River up by Payup University is a small shop run by missionaries to help support tribal refugees, mostly from Myanmar who are skilled in textile crafts. They also have a Hill Tribe Weaving class where you can be instructed by a hill tribe weaver. I took it, and it was wonderful – 3 hours long, and I was the only one in the class (which is common when it’s not high season.) My instructor was patient and very skilled and probably knew three words of English – but weaving is a universal language! They hold the classes every weekday.
Connecting with the Local Community
It’s very easy to connect with the local expat community. Not so easy for the Thai community. But that being said, there’s some great stuff happening in the expat community.
The very best tip is to check out Payap University’s Lifelong Learning Center. It’s located on the east side of the river across from McCormick Hospital. It hosts lectures and day trips curated by English speaking experts, with several events a week. Sadly, this too flooded while we were there, but we did manage to take a trip to Lamphun with them during their festival and also heard a lecture about the political situation in Myanmar. We had signed up for other events that were cancelled, but by the time we left, they were beginning to run classes again. Not only were the events we attended well done and interesting, it was a great way to meet other expats who were interested in the history and culture of the area.
Of course Rotary is one of our favorite ways of connecting. There is an expat English-speaking Rotary group we got involved in. They do eye exams every Wednesday in the elementary schools in the city, and it’s a great way to help the community.
There is a facebook group called “Chiang Mai – Expats and Locals Living in Chiang Mai.” Highly recommend you join. Not only will you find your lodging there for about a third of what an AirBnb would cost, but you will find out about all kinds of events and have every question you can think of answered, and a few you didn’t think of.
Public Transportation
There are city run busses but almost no one uses them. Instead, there are three ways to get around the city. The first is by tuk tuk, which is a three-wheeled Thai version of a taxi. Negotiate before getting in for your rate. It can be a fun ride, but they don’t go everywhere. The second way is by songthaew, which is a covered pickup truck with bench seats in the back. They are basically communal taxis and can be quite affordable, but the downside is that they will wait until they fill up before leaving an area, will stop for other riders and won’t take you directly on your route as they drop other people off. It can sometimes take a long time to get where you want to go. It’s a fun way to meet people, though. Again, negotiate a price before getting in. The third way is by Grab, which is their version of Uber. It works well, and since tuk tuks and songthaews charge by the person, it might not cost much more. It cost us about 100 bahts to get into Old Town by Grab. ($3)
Discount Cards
There were no discount cards available. Lots of the sights are privately run, and the museums are very inexpensive anyway. Many charge more for foreigners. Often the popular, touristy temples charge for foreigners, too.
Favorite Restaurants
One of the things Chaing Mai has is an overwhelming abundance of restaurants. The best I can do is tell you about ones we tried and liked, but know that there are nearly 4,000 restaurants in the city, and 51 of them have Michelin stars. Knowing what you feel like eating that night is a good place to start. But here are a few that we found that made an impression on us.
The House By Ginger – In the old city, along the eastern wall. Probably my favorite. Accessible Thai food in a beautiful atmosphere. Frequented by both farang and Thai people. Michelin star.
Ginger Farm Kitchen – located in One Nimman, this restaurant has its own organic farm and sources most of their food from there. Accessible Thai food in a pretty, boho type atmosphere. Always enjoyable.
Misora Sushi Bar and Bistro – If you like sushi and Japanese food, this is a special treat. Not the cheapest place (sushi never is) but it’s quite wonderful – all you can eat. There are three levels you can choose from on the menu. The atmosphere is beautiful and the service is great. In the Nimman area.
Chennai to Rangoon Indian Restaurant – Simple, not too expensive and really delicious. It’s really more Burmese food, which is a nice change and really good. The people there are pretty wonderful, too. Very convenient location when you’re exploring the Old City or there for a night market.
The following are Western restaurants popular with the expat crowd. Mentioned because if you hang out with any expats you will probably wind up at these.
Dukes – Several locations, one being in the upper floor of Maya Mall. Basically an Applebys or similar to that. More expensive than most good Thai restaurants, but if you just want western food, it’s probably the place to go. The expat club has a Saturday breakfast at one of their locations north of the city once a month.
The Moon Eatery – very good western style breakfasts and lunches. Great salads. Recommended. Near Nimman, connected to The Earth Hotel.
Food4Thought– several locations around the city. Good food, a little pricier (as the Western restaurants tend to be.) But high quality food and good burgers. One behind Maya Mall and one very near to Payung University and the Learning Center on the other side of the river.
Finally, for a fun and really inexpensive eating experience that’s not street food – go to the top floor of the Maya Mall. There’s a huge food court there. You buy a card and put an amount on it, and then go to the various kiosks to order your food. Each place makes three or four different dishes, fresh while you wait. It’s huge – there’s everything from sushi to pizza to everything Thai to bubble tea. The food is solidly good, it’s quick and it’s fun to go from kiosk to kiosk and figure out what you want. However know that if you leave a total on your card, it will expire in 30 days. I learned this the hard way. Best to cash out your card each time when you’re done eating.
That being said, the only bad meals we have had in Thailand were in western style restaurants. You stick to Thai food and it’s hard to go wrong.
Weather – Simply put, come in the fall. Spring is smoke season, and people leave the city. Any time you come, it’ll be hot. They don’t over-aircondition. Pack one sweater for going home on the plane. Weather is here.
Health Care
Thailand is proud of their health care. The expats we talked to were very comfortable in getting care in country, and the prices were low.The only area we heard that approached US prices was eye care, but you probably won’t need that while you’re here for three months.
Festivals and Events
There are festivals all the time here. The two biggest in the fall are tied to the lunar schedule, with the Dragon Light Festival in Luang Pragong, Laos, on the first full moon in October (Awk Phansa) and the Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai (Yi Peng) on the first full moon in November. (Both are celebrated all over – I just mentioned where the biggest celebrations are.) Many tour groups sell tickets to the Lantern Festival, but you can see it for free down by the Ping River. There is also a festival in Lamphun in September where villages bring huge poles to the Wat in the city, decorated with offerings to the monks. (Salak Yom) There are lots of other minor festivals as well.
Dress in Chiang Mai
Dress is very informal here. It’s really hot, so people dress to be comfortable. Elephant pants seem to be the Chiang Mai costume, worn by locals and tourists alike. They don’t tend to over-aircondition, so you won’t even need a sweater in a movie theater. That being said, you can’t wear shorts and sleeveless tops in temples.
Electricity
Thailand uses regular western-style (both US and European) plugs, but the electrical current is European (220v). Most electronic devices from US and Europe will work fine, but electrical items with fans and heating elements (e.g. hair dryer) from USA will burn out immediately at 220v even though their plug will fit into the wall without any adapter needed.
When Packing for Chiang Mai, Make Sure you Bring…
Your coolest clothes
Extra room in your suitcase for shopping
An umbrella