Hey you guys, Phoebe and Matt here from Little Grey Box
We are in the largest city in northern Thailand, beautiful Chiang Mai
Home to Buddhist temples, incredible food, lush jungle, amazing markets and laid-back vibes
And over the next few days, we're going to show you the best things to see, do and eat here in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is home to over 300 Buddhist Temples so you owe it to yourself to do a bit of a temple crawl
If you hear someone talking about 'what's' they're not talking about 'what da freak'
They're talking about places like Wat Chedi Luang, which is where we are right now
It was 40 baht each for us to get in, it's 20 baht for child
If you're under 135 centimetres tall, and they're really just beautiful
It's a great way to experience a little bit of Buddhist culture
some temples even have monk chats where you help the monks practice their English
Just be aware that the dress code is pretty strict
So if you have a look at me
I had to have my knees covered and I just carried this just to make sure my shoulders were all covered up
If you want you can just wear a t-shirt, anything that covers the shoulders and something goes below the knees
You can hire stuff when you get here, it's about a 100 baht, and it girls out the front will cover you up
So that you are modest
And just be aware in some places there are parts of temples that women can't enter
Apparently because we menstruate
Check out the slippery dip
You come in O'Week... and there's 20,000 monks sliding down there
Squad goals
Whole squad's on point
oooh yeah
Getting ready for the slippery dip fellas?
Nice
So there are loads of fantastic
Boutiques and stores around Chiang Mai, selling all kinds of lovely things
Homewares, hats, jewellery
Dresses, pants, skirts everything you can imagine.
I recommend you hit the shops
So we've been getting around a few different ways
We've tried it tuk tuk, we've tried the red bus and they are a great experience
but really the easiest, quickest, most cost-effective way we found to get around is Uber
So our usual Uber account just works
We've been using Wi-Fi at cafes that we go to
If you want, you can pick a SIM card, a local SIM card from the airport.
Uber's just been super easy
The guy just shows up, jump in you don't have to worry about directions, you don't have to worry about money
Don't worry about batering. I mean you cannot go wrong
He was so angry
One of the things I love most about Chiang Mai is there's a lot of really great food for vegans and
vegetarians, and lots of vegan and vegetarian dedicated restaurants.
They serve healthy food, organic options, no MSG and I have a really sensitive stomach
So that kind of thing for me is heaven.
So we found this place by accident actually
Went in, on the first day, and it was amazing so
We ate there twice and now we have decided we are going to go back there again
Because we've eaten here before and we know this place we've gone with their
dumplings, their veggie dumplings here are insane and I have to say
They make my favourite vegetarian spring rolls I've ever had,
ever in the history of the world ever
they are really good. And that curry it is all kinds of fragrant and delicious
It's the perfect amount of like spicy, salty, sweet, sour... yum
Every Saturday and Sunday night in Chiang Mai two streets come alive with my market stalls
So this one is the Saturday night market and it is crazy. It is over a kilometre of stoalls and this
is the small one, Sunday night is even bigger.
So here you find everything from street foods, snacks, sweets, fresh fruit to homewares,
clothing, arts, crafts, jewellery, souvenirs everything you can imagine
Now, for me with pretty bad social anxiety. This is too much
I walked a couple of meters in and I am freaking out
Matt and I have to get out of here, it's just too intense for me, it's way too crowded
As a huge fan of RuPaul's Drag Race
The Chiang Mai Cabaret is really appealing to me and a great way to experience Thailand's LGBTQ scene
The music is fantastic, the costumes are beautiful and the performers, their makeup and choreography are wonderful
Now when we visited tickets were
350 baht per person, which also gets you a drink and if you want to take photos with the girls afterwards
Just be sure to bring cash to tip
If you love the nightlife, and you're keen to sample a few local beers
There are no shortage of great bars in Chiang Mai.
Now obviously some of them are going to range from your wild hostel party scenes like Zoe and Yellow
Right through to North Gate up here, which is more of like a Jazz kind of a spot.
It is a jazz spot actually
You can just get cozy in there, listen to some great live music. There are plenty of people it's always packed
And sip on an ice cold Chang, or a Leo.
Just get ready to nurse that Chang-over the next day
If you wander the streets of Chiang Mai you are bound to find loads of adorable little hipster-style cafes everywhere
Now an iced coffee at these places is going to be a little more expensive than the ones you get
in some cheaper places serving Thai style. Around 70 baht should get you a delicious iced coffee
and really it's worth it to try or local coffee beans
and escape the heat for a little while and have a beautiful hipster coffee
If you want to immerse yourself in the culture of northern Thailand a jungle trek
Like the one we did with the guys at G Adventures could be just the trick
You get to venture out into the region's dense jungle meeting local tribes people and learning about their way of life
What they like to eat how they cook how they live and more
You'll get to explore hidden swimming spots, play football with the locals and experience life away from the busy streets of Thailand
Got a day to spare? Have the guys at Flight of the Gibbon pick you up from your hotel and take you out for
an incredible day of fun and adventure. You'll get to whizz along the five kilometres of zip lines
they have in the jungle including the largest in Asia
Visit a local village, explore a waterfall and learn about local life and hey, you might even spot a gibbon or two
Thank you so much for watching you guys
I hope you found our guide to Chiang Mai useful
and you found some great things to do for your own trip
If you don't already be sure to subscribe and say Sawasdee Ka in the comments below.
Yeah man that's Thai for what's up
Have a great week, and we will see you again next week.
Love ya!