solo traveling in Chiang Mai, Thailand vlog 🇹🇭 best things to do, local food & more

Visiting Chiang Mai was one of my top priorities for my solo trip in Thailand. This charming city moves at a slower pace but is still full of gems and surprises. From historic temples to endless food options and cafes, it's the kind of place that makes it so easy to just wander and I had the best time exploring while also checking out a few of the top attractions. So let's get into a few solo days in Chiang Mai. We have made it to Chiang Mai. I just checked into my room. I'm going to be here for four nights and I have a couple things over the next couple days that I'm very very excited for. I'm staying at the Common Hostel. I did get a private room and I don't remember the exact price of it but it was definitely on the more affordable side and it's honestly such a great location for all the things that I think I'm going to be checking out. I'll put a link to it in the description if you guys are curious and if you are new to this series, I just came from Krabi. I was there for three days and I had the best time ever. This is my second destination in Thailand but my third destination overall, I was at Singapore as my first stop. Since I just got here, it's actually Sunday and they have a night market that only happens on Sundays in Chiang Mai that I intentionally planned to be here for so I'm going to drop my stuff or I've just dropped my stuff. I'm going to quickly get myself freshened up and we're going to get ourselves over to the market. One of my favourite things about Asia are the night markets and all the foods that you can try. The prices are incredible. Like I said, this night market only happens on Sundays. You can tell it is super packed and I'm pretty sure you can buy almost everything here but the food was definitely the main event. I was starving. Thank you. Guys, I nearly bought elephant pants. It's about to happen. I can confidently say this is the biggest market that I've ever gone to. I feel like there are so many different ways to go. I thought it was just one street but it's still a lot. Thank you. You have no idea how excited I am that I found this little corner. It is crazy out there, okay? I knew it was busy and of course it's basically one of the biggest markets here and it only happens once a week so obviously. I was just heading towards what I thought was the exit and then I saw that this man was doing desserts. I'm a huge fan of grass jelly desserts and it looked super delicious so I got one of them and then I ended up finding this little area. I don't know where I am but there are seats and it is quiet and I am so happy to be finally sitting down with a proper table. Alright, let me have a bite of this. I love the little jellies in the bottom. I haven't had this in so long but it's like I think pandan and other types of jellies and then it's coconut milk based which is really refreshing. Oh my god, I just realized the guy who owns the place is on the sticker. That is so cute. It's very good. I think I'm going to finish my dessert and enjoy this little peaceful area. I will say it's not as hot here which makes sense because it's further north so it's kind of nice because I'm not absolutely drenched in sweat like I was every night in Krabi. Good morning, you guys. I am just finishing with getting myself ready. It is... Oop, timer's going off. It is my first full day in Chiang Mai and I'm going to be heading off for a little excursion. We're going on a tour to Doi Inthanon. I think I pronounced that right. I believe it is Thailand's highest mountain. Basically, this tour is going to go to a few different stops. That is one of the stops. There's also a waterfall and a couple other places which I'm really excited for. I wasn't sure if I was going to do this tour because the weather doesn't look so great over the next few days but I think it's going to be clear today and then the following days are a little bit iffy which kind of sucks. I realized on my previous days that I do actually like a good tour. I think it's a great way to see a few things and then I'm going to have some time to still explore and wander around. Putting on a little bit of sunscreen. Apparently, it does get a little chilly up there so I'm going to bring a little cardigan. I'm very excited. First day in Chiang Mai. Last night was low-key. A lot more than I thought it was going to be. I don't know what I was expecting. It's definitely as busy as everyone says it is. I think I'm very happy with the choices I made and which places I'm going to in Thailand. I am going to Bangkok after this but that's my last stop and it's not that long. The most time that I've spent will be in Chiang Mai and then I also of course spend time in Krabi but I think these are two of the quieter places and I like to see things. I like the touristy things and I'm okay with crowds but I don't love when they're too close together and you're actually packed like sardines so that was my review of the walking street but still great to check out nonetheless. Also you guys, I did get the elephant pants and the funniest part, there is only one pocket on these pants. Why is there only one pocket? I don't know. I'm guessing it's a cost saving thing. I've never seen pants with only one pocket. They are very comfortable and I thought what better place to wear them than on today's tour. I had pre-booked this tour online and I'll put a link in the description if you guys are interested but it comes with four main stops and a break for lunch. The first stop was this absolutely stunning waterfall. You can feel the mist on my face. Then we headed to a rural village and this is actually home to the Karen Hill tribe. It's really cool that they open their homes to visitors so you can really learn about their culture and traditions. She wears the white color but this is a modern style. A little change for the color, okay? Whenever you visit the village, you know which one already married and which one not. That is so cool to learn about the history here. I injured myself. This is the old one to grind the coffee. The firewood for hot water. The last stops of this tour were supposed to be the big highlights and the breathtaking views but the weather had other plans for us. Highest mountain in Thailand. Look at this view. The funniest thing was it was actually clear this morning and I was going to say when I got here, look at my mullet. It's such a nice day. This never happens to me and just kidding, this happens every time. If you watch when I was in Japan, I was trying to see Mount Fuji and it literally looked like this. It is kind of cool. This is definitely not the place to wear Birkenstocks, which is what I'm wearing. Yeah. What a stunning view. What's that? She said take a picture of that poster and say that's what we saw. If anyone asks, I saw the pagodas. It was beautiful. I had a great time here. Unless you saw this vlog. The weather was perfect, okay? 10 out of 10. Save me. Come save me. Thank you. You made me nervous. Okay, let me tell you about why we have this one. The funny part was I wasn't sure about booking this because from what I heard, this is something that is best when the weather is good, but that's okay. We're still here and this is actually really... It'd be even cooler if I could see everything, but you know. We finished up with the tour and I just got back to my hotel to drop off some stuff, but I am hungry, so we are going to head out to get some dinner. I am looking for some khao soi because I still have not had it yet. It is one of the top dishes here. I was just going to say that the tour itself, honestly, I'm really, really glad that I went to do it. Yes, the weather was not on my side when it came to seeing the pagodas and also actually walking through the park. The guide we had was great. He was full of energy, really sociable, made a lot of jokes, made everyone feel like we're actually hanging out and just having a good time, so I'm really glad that I had a guide like him. Mr. Avi, I don't know if you ever find this. Thank you for making it such a great day. There was actually a group that apparently lost their driver or something or they didn't have a way back and he was so friendly that he was willing to take them with us, but thankfully they got their ride back, but that would be literally my worst nightmare. Imagine being stuck on a mountain and you've lost your ride. That said, I need to figure out where this restaurant is and I'm hoping to also check out possibly a speakeasy or a jazz club because it looks like there's one around the area too. Yeah, nice little evening stroll. I will also say that it does feel very walkable and quite safe to be honest. In the city, you can see so many people, like a lot of tourists as well, just walking around. In the morning, you can see people running around here and it is a really nice energy. This jazz club was easily one of my favorite parts of the trip. Musicians were so incredibly talented, but definitely try to arrive early because it's so popular that the crowd basically overflows into the street every night. As you can see, it is unfortunately pouring rain today. However, I'm not that upset about it because I actually have something planned today that's another activity. I'm going to a cooking class in Chiang Mai. I knew I had to add this to the itinerary when I found out that they do this. As I found out yesterday, agriculture is a really big industry for Chiang Mai and a lot of produce is grown here and also some very distinct dishes. So, we are going to be going to one of the cooking schools that they have around here. They're coming by to the hotel to pick me up in a few minutes. Hopefully, I can learn a few things and take back some of these recipes to Canada. After we got picked up, the day started with a local market tour. Our instructor, Ms. Zoe, walked us through the ingredients that we ended up using for the dishes ahead. What is the hot and warm like me? I was joking. We've made it to the cooking school. It's about like 20 minutes drive here. This is definitely something that's been on my bucket list. I'm sure you can tell I'm very, very, very excited to be here. That's our station and we're basically going to do five different dishes. One of them is going to be the mango sticky rice and then we get to choose the other four. I'm so excited. I don't know about that. We're preparing about the stir fry. Can you see the separate for you already? And the oil bubbling, put one in. We're going to let it cook 80%. Smells good. That was everything that I wanted it to be and more. I just got back to the city. The weather is not too bad right now. It is a little bit drizzly. Actually, it's starting to rain now. It wasn't bad when I left, but I'm going to try to check out some of the temples because I only have the rest of today and tomorrow as my full days here. And there's some really special temples in Chiang Mai that I have to come see. So that is what we're doing for the rest of the day. The first temple I visited was Wat Phra Seng. Just a heads up, you do need to buy a ticket as a tourist and also make sure that you're following the temple rules. So I had to make sure my knees and shoulders were covered, making sure that your clothing is modest and just keep an eye out for any signage around the area. I just finished at the first temple and I knew I was going to get a coffee, but I was walking towards a different coffee shop when I suddenly stumbled upon this durian cafe. You guys, if you haven't heard of durian before, it is a very controversial fruit. It is a very, very strong odor, very strong taste. Some would say it's very stinky, which I can understand, but I feel like if you grew up eating it, it's something that you're more accustomed to. If you haven't tried it before, it might be a little bit of a shock, but I grew up loving this and I've noticed that durian is pretty popular here. It was also very popular in Singapore. So I had no idea that they even had a coffee shop like this. They've got desserts, they've got coffee. I got a durian iced coffee. Let's give this a try. There's even a piece of durian on the top. That is so good. Oh my god. Who would have thought I'd come across an iced coffee that's durian flavored? There were also so many little shops in this area that I had to pop into before heading to the next temple. It is my last full day in Chiang Mai. So I'm currently in Nimen, which is actually a little bit out of the old city area. There's so many cute little shops and tons of cafes. So I ended up finding one of them on Google and it had a lot of great reviews. This is called The Roastery Lab. And I did get one of the cuter coffees. This is a shaken espresso and it is so delicious. I definitely want to explore this area. I was originally planning to stay here at one of the hostels around here, but I decided that I still wanted to see a lot of the notable temples and more touristy things. So staying closer to the old city felt like the right move. But after visiting, I feel like it is still a very nice place to come and walk around. I can't believe that it's already the last day in Chiang Mai. I feel like it's absolutely flown by. I feel like Nimen has everything I like about Chiang Mai, but even more charming and trendier. It's kind of known as the hipster area. So it's not as traditional per se, but there is still a lot to explore. So you can literally find crafts and knickknack shops everywhere. I realized through my solo trip that this is one of my favorite ways to explore. So I definitely wanted to spend some time wandering around. I've stopped in at this restaurant. Literally just passed it and it looked like it was good. People look like they were enjoying their food and it smelled delicious. So I got a noodle with some beef and it smells so good. I also got a coconut because there's only a few more days left that I can drink coconuts as much as I want. So cheers. I'm seeing so many little coffee shops and stores and a lot of food places. I did hear that the main things here are shopping and food. I'm honestly already thinking about when I'm going to be able to come back because this area is so cute. Not gonna lie, I did have a little bit of bias remorse when I got here because I just didn't expect it was going to be raining the whole day. But lessons learned. Do check what the weather patterns are like when you're visiting. I went in November and that is one of the wetter times of year. It would be so much cuter here if it wasn't pouring rain. But nonetheless, it is still super cute. This little area is known for all the handmade crafts. There's a bunch of different vendors and also you can make things in certain ones. I think the first place that I passed, you can make your own notebook, which is really cool. Obviously, if the weather was nice, it'd be so nice to just have a drink, sit in the sun and everything. But today is not that day. That said, there are still a lot of little shops, so I'm going to take a wander around. That is a reminder. If you are coming to Thailand and it is monsoon season, bring an umbrella because you will probably need it. I'm not going to lie. I thought that they were going to give us some sort of guide to do this, not that I was just going to wing it myself. But shout out to the Instagram video that taught me how to make this. I have not touched a paint since elementary school and I think it turned out okay. I think it's fine. I'm going to leave it at that because anytime that I touch it again, it looks worse. So that is my little souvenir. We are at Graft, which is a little coffee shop inside of this market. And I got Breaking Brown. It has espresso, cold brew jelly, almond milk. I gave it a good mix. I'm thinking it's going to be probably delicious. All right, let's give it a taste. She is strong. Very good. Very rich in flavor. I would say stronger or it tastes darker than the coffee this morning. But I'd probably say the one this morning was my favorite out of the two. But this one is still very good. I haven't had cold brew jelly before. I was just saying to my friend, I feel like I've had the best coffee over the last week and a half. From Singapore to here, the cafes are just so creative and delicious. I ended up, as you guys saw, doing some painting, which I was not expecting when I came in here. They do have other arts and crafts. You can make your own keychains. You can do coloring. You can do a bunch of stuff. I ended up doing the watercolors, which, again, I did not know that's what I signed up for. But I made it work. I think I've already checked out most of the shops around here. I will say it's very, very cute and it was worth coming out. And it was my last morning. And I finally got to try the cafe next door. It's called the Fern Cafe. It's funny because I actually chose this hostel so that I could be close to this place, fully thinking that I'd start my mornings here in this cute little patio area, which is so beautiful. But the weather was obviously not on my side. So this was my only chance and I'm so glad that I went. But that's a wrap on Chiang Mai. It is such a charming city and I really could see myself coming back here. Yes, I know I said that about the last place too. If you haven't watched the other vlogs from this trip, I'll link them below. Make sure to like this video if you haven't yet. It really does support my channel. I'll have one more vlog from my final stop in Bangkok coming in a few weeks. To be honest, I've been savoring these travel vlogs because they make me so nostalgic of this trip. But I will be putting one more out, so keep an eye out. And thank you for your patience. I'll catch you guys in the next one.