A Guide to Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand (B)

There at so many blog posts on Chiang Mai online due to the high travel blogger expat community that live there, so you’ll easily find a lot of fantastic posts about Chiang Mai. But if you’re reading this one then it’s quite possible you landed here because you trust our opinion and want to know our personal experience with the city of Chiang Mai.

We were very excited to finally get to Chiang Mai as this was where we would tick off a bucket list experience of visiting rescued elephants at an ethical Elephant Sanctuary. Though in our opinion Chiang Mai’s City itself seemed quite boring and we couldn’t understand why it’s so hyped up online. I guess the lack of liveliness could have been because we visited in burning season, so you’ll have to experience Chiang Mai for yourself to make your own judgement.

Tip: During February, March and April it is burning season in Chiang Mai, which is when the nearby farmers burn fields and bush to get ready for a new season of crops. It’s also the end of high season so over the previous few months a lot more traffic than usual creates a build up of air pollution from the dark smog that comes out of Tuk Tuk Taxis, and Chiang Mai is also surrounded by mountains that create a valley which traps the smoke over the city. We didn’t realise it was burning season until we got here and recommend avoiding it if you can, otherwise wearing a mask helps to protect your lungs and sinuses. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).