There's so much to do in Chiang Mai and having stayed there for 2 weeks, we pretty much saw the lot of it. Here's what to do, where to stay and what to see.

Where To Stay:

Being backpackers, we moved around quite a lot during our time here. Never knowing if you're going to like the place or how long you'll be staying, booking for say 3-4 nights each time is ideal. Hostels are your best bet too, you'll pay between £3-£10 a night depending on location/rating and www.hostelworld.com is the greatest app you'll come across. You simply pop in where you want to go, select the hostel you fancy, pay a small online deposit to secure the booking then that's it - all done. Chiang Mai city is fairly small, and you ideally want to get yourself somewhere inside the 'old city' (you'll know what I mean when you get there). Everything is in walking distance if you stay either inside or just outside the walls, and you can get really great, modern hostels. We stayed in 3 during our 2 weeks there but these were our favourites:

- '@box Hostel' - A really modern hostel made out of shipping containers, located North of the Old City. Great staff, very clean, very safe and each room has an en suite and air con. Roughly £6 per night.

- 'Sunny Hostel' - Again, really modern and clean. Air con in each room, shared toilets/showers but still lovely and clean with friendly staff. Located South East of the Old City. £5 per night. 

What To Do:

Chiang Mai is famous with backpackers for its excursions and trips in and out of the city. You'll find yourself spending a good chunk of your money here but it's well worth it, the activities are so much fun. We visited an elephant sanctuary, did a Thai cookery class, a 2 day jungle trek and visited Chiang Mai's own 'Grand Canyon'. There's also the infamous tiger temples which we were definitely not doing as they're so cruel, and a Thailand version of 'Go Ape' called 'The Flight of the Gibbon'. We've heard this is so much fun and is advertised all over the city, but we'd spent quite a lot of money already so went against it. Plus we weren't actually that fussed on doing it but if you like all that outdoor adventure kind of stuff then it's definitely the thing for you! If you want to do Chiang Mai properly, then expect to pay about £150-£250 for all of the activities. Sounds a lot I know, but you'll regret missing out.

Where To Eat:

There isn't actually a main place to eat in Chiang Mai as there are restaurants, cafe's and food markets all over the place. You can go for posh meals, cheap meals, casual meals, quick meals - you name it, Chiang Mai has it. If you just wander around the Old City you'll constantly find little places to eat and sometimes the not-so-attractive places offer the best food at around £2 a dish. But if you do want to stick to western food then McDonalds, Burger Kings and Subway's can be found all over. The best food we had was at a place called the 'Coffee Club' and was the day after our 48 hour trek when we were just craving British stodgy food. You can have anything from burgers to fish and chips, pizza's to pasta and the deserts are unreal. You do pay a little bit more (around £6) but it's so worth it. We even went back for brunch! It's located at the East entrance of the Old City. 

If you also fancy quick and traditional Thai food one night, head to the Bazzaar night market East of the Old City walls. There's loads of little restaurants (again, nice and cheap), a big square full of food/drink and live music and there's also the 'hay bales' as we called it where there's food vans offering all kinds of dishes. You then grab what you want, sit yourself down on hay bales in the middle of the square and watch a live band. We saw this one night after we'd already eaten so went back the next day (Sunday) and found it was closed! Gutted. So if you do go, don't go on a Sunday! 

Nights Out:

We had a few nights out here and every time, headed towards the middle of the Old City where you'll find the main bar/club 'Zoe Yellow'. If you ever get lost just ask someone along the way where it is, everyone knows of it. It's located in a square full of different bars, where the backs of them face out into a courtyard. The courtyard is filled with long tables and decorated in fairy lights, it's quite a cool little place to spend the night actually. What we didn't realise on our first night out is that all the bars here close at 12pm, and there really is no hanging around. As soon as the clock hits 12pm the song stops playing, the lights come on and the shutters come down. It's a little strange but you get used to it. 

There's places to go though after this called lock-ins, so just follow the crowds and you'll find yourself in one. The drinks in Chiang Mai are quite cheap if you're ordering beer. About 50 baht for a Chang, but can get a bit more pricey for your spirits and cocktails - about £2-£3. Still cheap compared to back home I know, but when you get into the backpacking swing £3 for a drink suddenly seems like a lot! Also the bars here literally have no measurements and pour your spirit in quite generously, so be prepared for that. Whether you're travelling alone or in a group though, this area is great for meeting people. Everyone is really chatty and willing to make conversation, so don't be afraid to go - it's so much fun.

Getting Around:

The city is really easy to get around and can mostly be done on foot. The Old City is definitely walkable, and you can go from temple to temple whilst having a look inside the shops on the way. If you want to go outside of the city walls it's still walkable depending on where you're staying, but it can be a bit of a longer walk so hop in a Tuk-Tuk or one of the red taxis - just make sure you negotiate a price with them beforehand so they don't take advantage of you being a tourist.

In terms of getting around with trips and excursions, e.g. the elephant sanctuary or treks, these can all be done at tourist information shops all around the city or through the trips official website/phone number. They'll almost always arrange to pick you up on the day of the trip, so it saves you having to arrange your own transport. You can also book all of your transport to other cities easily the same way, such as trips to Pai or your busses/trains to Laos or Bangkok. Chiang Mai also has an airport so you can just as easily get a flight to anywhere you want. We got our slow boat from Chiang Mai to Laos sorted in Bangkok, but pop into a tourist shop or even your hotels information desk and book it trough them. Everything is so easy!

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At home I'm a rubbish cook. Honestly, the most advanced I go is beans on toast or something involving a poached egg and again, toast... So we thought a cooking lesson was the perfect thing to try out.

Like all the other touristy things to do in Chiang Mai, there's a shed load of advertisements and a mile long list to pick from. It's all a bit overwhelming actually. But we decided to keep it simple and looked at which Thai cookery school popped up as one of the best on Trip Advisor - that's how we found the 'Thai Orchid Cookery School'. With a long list of 5* comments it was a no brainer really. 

A quick drive there, a trip to the local market, a masterclass on how to make the dishes and 5 courses later - we were full to the brim and made up. From the minute we got there we had the best time. You put on your apron, pick 5 dishes you fancy making from a list of about 15 and begin. 

The woman who owns it and took our class, 'Ai', was amazing. The cooking area/school is attached to her own home so is away from the hustle and bustle of the cities main streets and is decorated beautifully. She was so lovely and took us through everything we needed to know as well as sitting us down before each dish and step-by-step showing us just how to make it. What was even better was that after every dish she made we got to sample it, so we were stuffed by the end! My first dish to make was spring rolls:

Considering I'm an awful chef at home, I was pretty impressed with how they turned out! I also made Thailands (and now my) favourite food 'Pad Thai', a yellow curry (another new fave), a spicy soup and the famous mango sticky rice. It was all surprisingly easy to make and tasted so so good. 

It was such an amazing experience and I'd hands down do it again. The ingredients were all freshly bought from the local market that day, and the staff working at the cookery school couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. We heard about Thai cookery schools being a popular tourist attraction before we headed out to Chiang Mai, but had no idea just how much we'd love it. I'd definitely recommend people to give it a go if you visit as it turned out to be one of the best things we've done and so much fun. I mean who doesn't like spending their whole day just pretty much eating? 

Our class cost around the 1000 baht mark (£18) but was well worth it. It included pick up and drop off, transport to and from a local market, all the food you make that day, unlimited water/tea/coffee, as well as being able to take home a laminated recipe book of all the dishes available to be made that day plus many many more. It's also a full day thing (9am-4pm) so you definitely get your money's worth.

Tips:

- DO NOT EAT BREAKFAST. Yes, you're up early to be picked up and taken to the place but you eat so much amazing (and filling) food throughout the day you'll regret having that breakfast at your hotel. 

- Look around. You'll find this particular cookery school as one of the top ones on Trip Advisor, but there's also other pretty good ones. Have a nosey at a few, compare prices then decide which to go with.

- Enjoy it. It's honestly so much fun whether you can or can't cook. They really do get you involved in every single bit of it and make the most of your day!

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Our first stop was the Mork-Fa waterfall in Chiang Mai's National Park. About a 45 minute drive out of the city centre, it's well worth a visit. We struck lucky and had the most amazing tour guide, Kalu, who pointed out every little nature-related detail along the way and really did know everything about the place. Our tour group was quite small (only 5 including Kalu himself) but worked out perfectly as it meant we had a very personal and private tour and could ask Kalu questions whenever we wanted. 

We spent a good half hour just paddling in the water and sitting on the rocks before moving onto a local food market and grabbing a bite to eat at a little family-run cafe pitched up at the side of one of the roads. They also had the cutest puppy which made the lunch even more enjoyable!

After filling our stomachs it was time to begin the actual trek... When we were asked at the booking office if we enjoyed walking, we didn't realise just what kind of walking we were going to be doing. Not trying to be over the top or anything but the next 3 and 1/2 hours seriously tested our fitness and how well we could keep up. I think we genuinely thought we'd just be walking on pretty flat land with the occasional hill here and there but nope, full on mountain trekking. It was a little bit daunting at first but once we'd found our pace it became so much fun and the views along the way were absolutely incredible! 

Again, Kalu constantly pointed out wildlife and facts about the jungle the whole time as well as singing, joking and basically keeping us all up beat. He even chopped down bamboo trees and carved them into cups for us to use the next morning with our coffee. Genius. 

After the good few hours of walking we finally arrived at the Maenai village in the middle of the jungle where we were staying that night. We were shown to our room (a wooden hut made out of mainly bamboo) and sat down at the table ready to eat what they'd prepared for us. It was delicious and consisted of spring rolls, a Thai yellow curry (our new favourite), sweet and sour tofu/chicken and plenty of veggies and rice. We then spent the rest of the evening sat around the campfire chatting under the stars and singing along to Kalu playing the guitar. He even got us to write a wish onto a paper lantern and released it into the sky with a small firework attached which was quite cute.

We were so shattered from the whole day we were in bed by 9:30! But it was quite cosy sleeping next to eachother under huge mosquito nets. It was colder than we'd expected being in the middle of the jungle in the evening, but we pretty much fell asleep instantly ready for day 2!

There's so many different sites/booking offices offering you treks (which can sometimes be quite pricey for a not-so-great trip), but we booked ours with Chiang Mai Trekking - By Piroon. It cost us 3000 baht (just over the £50 mark) and included pick up/drop off, a 2 day trek, accommodation in the village we stayed at, all food included, bamboo rafting and our excellent guide - Kalu. Many tours offer a cheaper price in Chiang Mai but you're often with a larger group and don't actually go to proper tribes. FYI, the 'long neck' tribe everyone raves about is made up purely for tourists. 

I'd definitely recommend who we booked with as it was well worth the money and such a fun 2 days! Here's the link if you fancy looking into it: 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293917-d7816313-Reviews-Chiangmai_Trekking_by_Piroon_Day_Trip-Chiang_Mai.html

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For anyone who is a huge animal lover like myself, this post is for you. Sadly Thailand is infamous for its elephant rides but we happened to find the best sanctuary you can visit.

Walking around Chiang Mai you'll see hundreds of tourist information shops advertising places to ride the animals and  watch 'shows' - sadly most tourists don't realise the pain and suffering these creatures go through on a daily basis and end up paying a hefty price for a pretty short day. I won't go into detail on what actually happens behind the scenes but Google it - it's horrifying and not enough people realise.

After lots of research and searches on Trip Advisor we decided to go with Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. Right from the beginning the website and mahouts (keepers) emphasised how riding is strictly not allowed and that all the elephants at the sanctuary were rescued from previous neglect. We were picked up at around 8:15am and drove an hour North into the mountains just outside of Chiang Mai. 

The day was absolutely amazing. We were firstly given hand-made tops to wear and the mahouts told us all about the elephants and what our day would include. We then spent the next 3 hours playing, feeding, washing and following the elephants down a river and into rockpools. The best thing about the whole experience was that we were pretty much left to our own devices to do what we pleased with the animals and basically just followed them around the sanctuary like little tag alongs.

After the first hour or so we broke off for lunch which was kindly made by the people working there. It was delicious and what made it even better is that we sat in a bamboo hut overlooking the elephants grazing in the open land below. After that we all mucked in to make traditional medicine for the elephants which we fed to them before stripping down into our swimwear and helping them (and eachother..) to a mud bath. 

After being completely covered in mud and scrubbing the elephants clean, we followed them down to a waterfall and rockpool area to wash off the mud and basically have a huge waterfight. For me this was personally the best part of the day, the elephants were absolutely loving it rolling around and letting us splash them with buckets of water. It was so cute to see them sticking their trunks up out of the water to help them breathe. 

It was honestly one of the best days of my life and I can't express just how much I'd love to be able to do it all again. The elephants are so well cared for and fed, and the mahouts really do know how to handle and treat them. Before the trip I was nervous and sceptical about finding a place that didn't abuse the animals but I can hand on heart say that I didn't feel uncomfortable at any point during the day. The elephants were able to walk around freely and there were no chains or hooks in sight like many other places have. 

The day trip cost us 2500 baht, which works out at about £45 and included a pick up/drop off from where we were staying, the tops (which we were allowed to keep), all the sugar canes and bananas for feeding the elephants, our lunch and professional photos taken throughout the day. It really was worth every single bit of the money and the group size was about 15-20 people which looked a lot a first but was perfect and so much fun in the end. 

If you're looking at visiting Chiang Mai and wanting to do an elephant trip, I highly recommend this one but I also can't express enough just how careful to be with what company you go for and do your research! Lots of it. Any place that says 'rides' or 'tricks/shows' do not treat the elephants in a humane way and you'll see this advertised everywhere. It was so sad to travel through the villages before we got to ours and seeing the poor elephants just stood there in tiny areas with seats strapped on their backs and chains on most of their legs waiting for a tourist to drop by and make them wander around.

Tips:

-For 15 minutes of the journey you go down a very off road bumpy windy dirt track. So if you're not great with travel sickness, definitely take tablets.

-You'll get muddy, very muddy. They have showers and you wash off in the stream but take a change of clothing.

-Take a towel. You'll need it.

-Enjoy every part of it, it's amazing! 

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