We spent 5 days in Chiang Mai and are sharing our experiences and the best things to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This region is rich in history and cultural attractions. In this episode we share travel tips, including the best temples to visit, local cuisine, and unique experiences like visiting Tiger Kingdom and our review of participating in a cooking class, as well as our jungle trek adventure. We met up with a fellow squadie on this trip too! If you are ever in the same region as us, reach out so we can meet up!

Take this exact same trip by downloading our Chiang Mai itinerarary and simply following along!

Where to Stay in Chiang Mai:

• Away Chiang Mai Thapae Resort A Vegan Retreat  (we stayed here and loved it) 
• Phor Liang Meun Terracotta Arts
• Coucou Hotel

Don’t forget to check if your cellphone provider gives free international data, if it doesn’t, we like the eSim Airalo for ease of use and data speed. Some other things we recommend bringing on this trip are our favorite Bug Spray, Powerbank, Foldable Backpack (we used this on the jungle trek).

Things to Do in Chiang Mai:

• Thai Farm Cooking Class
• Jungle Trek (2 days/1 night)
• Find more of our favorite things to do in Thialand in our Thialand Viator Experiences Shop

Also check out our episodes on Bangkok and Phuket to continue your travels through Thailand!

Things to Do in Chiang Mai – Episode Transcript

0:35

And get ready to embark on a new adventure with us around the globe.

Hello fellow travelers.

0:42

Hey, squaddies.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast.

0:47

Today we’re continuing on our Thailand trip and taking you to Shang Mai.

So last Tuesday we released our episode on Phuket, and from Phuket we flew directly here to Shang

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Mai.

Chiang Mai was our last stop in Thailand and it was a place where we spent the most amount of time.

1:04

We spent 5 full days in Chiang Mai and I am really happy with this decision because I loved it.

It was my favorite city that we visited.

1:13

Oh, I’m really interested to see why you liked it so much, because when I went to Thailand, I did

not go up here.

1:19

Loved the southern islands.

So let’s get into it.

1:22

Tell us a little bit about it since I have not been.

Well, just in general about Shang Mai, it’s in Northern Thailand and it’s actually the largest city

1:31

in northern Thailand at 1.2 million people.

I think I remember that I read a fact that it’s actually the second most populous city in Thailand.

1:40

Of course, Bangkok being number one.

So then Shang Mai here is number 2 at 1.2 million.

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Like I mentioned, it’s in the North End of the country.

So it’s about 435 miles north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai Highlands.

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And this is just a hill and mountain range that’s all interconnected through Laos, Burma and China,

linking all the way to the Himalayas.

2:04

So you asked a little bit, Kim, like, oh, you’re interested to hear why we liked it?

One of the reasons is I just really felt like we were in hillside jungles up here.

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It was really nice.

Even though it’s warm, it’s not as humid.

2:15

You’re in a bit more nature.

And I really enjoyed it for that.

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And of course, Shang Mai is known for its many temples, national parks and the vicinity, elephant

sanctuaries.

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And it really is a classical city.

It was founded in the year 1296, so really, really old.

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And it’s known still to have the old city, which is the center part of the city.

That is the walled fortress that they made in the year 1296.

2:45

So lots of history and unique things about it.

Yeah, there’s a lot of history in Chiang Mai.

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It’s not as bustling as Bangkok, it’s not as hot as Phuket.

It’s more laid back, there’s over 300 temples throughout the city.

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It’s surrounded by the jungle, so it’s just a nice place to kind of relax but still have a good

adventure at the same time.

3:08

I love that.

So, someone going to Chiang Mai for the first time?

3:12

Let’s hit them with the tips.

We’ve mentioned some of these tips in our past episodes about Bangkok and Phuket, but make sure you

3:19

download the app Grab.

That’s the Uber and Lyft of Thailand and it’s another city where again, you’re going to be spending

3:26

a lot of cash because it’s a cash heavy country culture.

So make sure to pull some Thai baht from the ATM.

3:34

And of course, there are a lot of temples, Brittany mentioned throughout the city.

There’s over 300 of them.

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So just remember to wear proper attire.

To be respectful.

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You really need to wear clothing that covers your knees, midriff and shoulders.

And of course, when you go in, you have to take off your shoes.

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So just be sure to do that when you visit the temples and be respectful.

Another tip that we mentioned in previous episode was that we used our American plugs.

4:01

We did bring our adapters just in case, but everywhere we went had plugs that we were able to use

from the US, so just keep that in mind.

4:08

And then what I feel is the most important thing is knowing the weather.

So the wet season here in Chiang Mai is from May to October.

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The cool season is November to February.

So this is when most people actually visit Chiang Mai and Thailand in general.

4:24

But keep in mind when we say cool, it’s not really cool or cold.

It’s just the most temperate and coolest that it actually is.

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So we still have temperatures ranging while we were here from the high 70s to low 80s, which is

pretty good, but it definitely can be hotter.

4:40

And then the hot season is March to May and we had a guide here on one of the tours that we did that

said hot season, it can get up to like 100 and 10120.

4:50

So really, really nasty and I would avoid going during that.

Yeah.

4:54

So you said you spent five days in Chiang Mai?

You were coming from Phuket, Yes.

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Yes.

And so you arrived.

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Morning, afternoon, evening set the stage for us.

Yeah, we took a flight from Phuket to Chiang Mai.

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It was at 9:00 AM and it took about two hours to get to Chiang Mai.

So we landed around 11:00 AM on on our 7th day of the trip.

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By the way, 11:00 AM is one of the best times to land because by you.

By the time you get out of the airport, get your stuff, get to your hotel, get settled in, more than

5:25

likely they’ll allow you to check in.

It’s like close enough.

5:28

You say that and for the most part I totally agree with you, but not in this case.

We were still there a little too early and they said that the room was not ready, but they allowed

5:37

us to leave our luggage.

But you’re right, we’ve had instances before on other trips where we arrive around this time and

5:45

it’s close enough to that threshold of being able to get in and check in if the room is available.

But I also want to mention something about our flight is we did fly a domestic carrier within

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Thailand.

We flew Thai Air Asia and let me tell you, they got us and not in a good way.

6:04

What happened?

So you know, flights are cheap.

6:07

You can find really cheap flights throughout Thailand domestically.

Cheap.

6:11

What are we talking like $12.50 dollars?

Not that cheap but I believe off the top of my head when I booked this flight for me and Brittany

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from Phuket to Chiang Mai it was no more than 150 bucks for both of us, so about $75.

OK, but when you fly from the US to Thailand, you can bring 50 lbs in your luggage.

6:34

Well, if you fly domestically in Thailand, the weight limit is usually 33.

So we were over and they charge you per kilogram that you go over.

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So we ended up paying $150.00 extra in baggage fees for this flight.

Not so cheap now, is it?

6:54

It’s not so cheap and actually I think the flights that I purchased of course included checked

luggage and it didn’t really tell me what the weight limits were.

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So that’s kind of something to keep in mind if you are going and bringing a larger suitcase.

Is that getting to Thailand?

7:11

Yeah, probably not going to pay anything, but when you’re flying within Thailand or maybe even to

another country from Thailand, those weight limits are different in other countries.

7:20

So be sure to check it out so you don’t have that high baggage fee.

So we did have that, but it is what it is in the grand scheme of things.

7:26

We needed our luggage.

What are we going to do?

7:28

So we went and checked into our hotel.

We stayed at a hotel that was called away, Shang Mai Taipei Resort.

7:36

Now when we found this online looking on Expedia or booking, it was labeled as a vegan resort.

And I said to myself, what is, you know, of course I know what it is because they have a restaurant

7:48

on property and it’s a vegan restaurant and hotel.

So of course they don’t serve any meat there.

7:54

Brittany and I are not vegans, but you don’t need to be a vegan to stay there.

This hotel had a very beautiful aesthetic just from the photos that we fell in love with.

8:01

And the photos definitely did not lie to us when we arrived.

It still had a great aesthetic.

8:07

And the fact that it was a vegan place, again, didn’t bother me at all.

But of course, in Thailand, I know I’m not planning on eating at my hotel restaurant.

8:16

I’m going to be eating out on the street, other restaurants within the city.

So I would really recommend this hotel because it was very nice, very central and again, affordable,

8:26

good aesthetic.

Yeah, it was right outside the east side of this old city walls and we booked a room with a swim up

8:33

pool to the room.

So he went right out onto our balcony.

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There was a ladder to get directly into the pool.

Oh.

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My gosh.

So that was amazing.

8:44

And we stayed here twice because as we get into this episode, you’ll hear that we spent three full

days in the city of Chiang Mai.

8:52

And then from Chiang Mai we left for an overnight jungle trek.

And when we came back from the jungle trek, we checked back into this hotel.

9:01

But when we checked back in, we stayed in a three room suite with a private balcony.

What and did you use all three rooms?

9:09

Maybe.

Maybe we did.

9:12

And the balcony.

And for that suite, it was like 125 for the night.

9:18

It was so affordable.

That’s great.

9:20

Which in Thailand that’s expensive for a hotel, I would say depending on where you’re staying,

because you could get a lot more affordable.

9:26

But for a three bedroom or three room suite at that price, I think that’s OK.

And that was actually a splurge because the normal room wasn’t that expensive with the swim up pool

9:38

balcony situation that we did have.

So really look into this hotel away Shang Mai Taipei resort.

9:45

So Brittany mentioned you know we checked in unfortunately room wasn’t ready, but we got what we

wanted out of her suitcase changed from the plane to go explore the old city more particularly the

9:56

temples inside.

So when we say the old city again, the old city that was built in the 1200s.

10:03

But what’s really cool about it is it’s a perfect square.

There is an ancient wall that goes all the way around.

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It’s not 100%.

It’s crumbled in some places.

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Of course, they’ve retrofitted it a little bit, but really cool to go into the old city.

And the old city is also perfectly squared with a Moat.

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So you really get this awesome aesthetic of like, OK, I got to cross a bridge to go over the Moat.

Is there water in?

10:30

It Yeah, absolutely.

So it’s if you Google map Shang Mai and look at the old city, it’s a perfect square with a Moat

10:37

around it and it’s really, really cool.

So we knew today.

10:40

OK, let’s go explore the temples within the old city.

Yeah, and I mentioned in the city of Chiang Mai itself, there’s over 300 temples, but in the walled

10:50

portion of Chiang Mai, there’s over 100 of those temples within.

So on this day we decided to check out six different temples.

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We went to what fan on what Fan Tau, what processing, what Chiang Man, what Chetty Luang and what CN

Huang Ma Luang.

11:11

And again, forgive us for the pronunciation on it.

I really really did try to Google online to figure out how to say these phonetically and it was very

11:18

difficult to find, but nevertheless, if you Google top temples within city walls of old Chiang Mai,

these ones are absolutely going to come up 100% as the must sees.

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And we’re not going to go 1 by 1 into each one because they’re all temples, but they are all really

unique, really beautiful.

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It’s not just a temple, it’s the temple grounds.

And there’s a lot of hidden gems on them and they all have it Park called the V Han, which is the

11:48

actual Buddhist temple, which houses the Buddha images used for prayer, meditation and religious

ceremonies.

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And then usually there’s a Chidi on the grounds, which is a Buddhist monument or shrine that holds a

relics.

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So when you’re at these temples, make sure you’re going into the temple if they allow it, and then

also exploring the the grounds around it.

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If I were to mention one in particular, I would mention what Cheti Luang, because for over 500 years

it was the tallest structure in the region, and it housed the famous Emerald Buddha for a really

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long time.

And the construction of this temple began in 1391.

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So it’s very historic.

And that Emerald Buddha that she’s talking about that was housed at that temple is the same one, if

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you harken back to our Bangkok episode, that is now in the temple on the Grand Palace grounds in

Bangkok.

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So it moved from here in northern Thailand and now it’s in the Royal Palace Temple in Bangkok.

So historic and that right?

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But you know, there’s over 100 temples to choose from.

So these were the ones that I did a lot of research on that came up as some of the best to visit.

12:57

And each of them are really unique and different.

And we’ve made a Chiang Mai itinerary, so we list out all of the different ones that we visited with

13:07

pictures so you can see really what you’re going to do everyday.

I know in the itinerary we do give a route to take, how long to spend at each one, prices, that kind

13:17

of stuff.

But can you tell me a little bit about do they charge to get in and are you having to take the grab

13:23

between them or they walking distance near each other?

We walked between all of these so we did not have to use a grab to get between any of them, and many

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of them are free.

A few of them do charge, but it was a lot less expensive than the ones in Bangkok.

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The most expensive one I think we paid for in Chiang Mai was maybe like 50 baht, which is a a little

under $2.00 a person, versus in Bangkok the Grand Palace was $15 a person.

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And you had a really good question, Kim, if we had grabs tuk tuks, if we walked within the old city,

it is rather large, but it is a perfect square.

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So it is very easy to walk.

So if you go on trips and say, oh, I’m a Walker, you can do it.

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It is a good walk, but it’s not anything like, oh, I walked 10 miles today, you know, if you stay

within the walls.

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So very, very easily walkable.

Inside the walls, is it mostly historic landmarks, sites or do people live there in homes?

14:25

People live there in homes.

There is a lot of historic things, but most of the historic stuff of course are the temples.

14:32

Otherwise it is a modern city within with shops, restaurants, hotels, homes.

There was even a school inside that we passed a big one.

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So I would wager to say that the most historic stuff in there is going to be the temples and of

course the wall itself.

14:50

We actually did pass that school that Jamal was talking about and across the street from the school

was a stand selling jackfruit.

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Have you ever tried jackfruit?

Kim I.

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Think maybe, but it’s not memorable.

How was it?

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It was so good.

It was so good that we had to get a package every single day.

15:10

My gosh.

And what was it?

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The package only has maybe 10 pieces and so we would just put that in our fridge and have it for

breakfast every morning.

15:18

And it was really the freshest, juiciest, delicious jackfruit I’ve ever had.

My gosh because I know jackfruit only as a meat replacement.

15:28

I see it a lot in like vegan BBQ.

What does the jackfruit actually taste like?

15:33

Funny that you mentioned that Kim, because Brittany told me that she’s seen that jackfruit is high

in protein and the texture also can give off the texture of meat.

15:43

So it is is used in a lot of vegan recipes that way as a meat replacement.

But when you actually eat it as a fruit, there is a large seed that’s wrapped in the fruit casing.

15:54

It is, I don’t want to say like chewy, but it is tougher to chew, but not like you’re really

straining yourself.

16:01

But it has just a really nice sweet flavor, little tangy to it.

I mean, of course, everybody’s palate’s a little bit different, but really worth a try.

16:10

If you are in Thailand or anywhere within Asia, tropical place where jackfruit is prevalent and

inexpensive, do yourself a favor and try it.

16:20

I think you would like it.

Yeah, the pack that we would pick up every day that Jamal and I had for breakfast, it was 20 baht,

16:26

so less than a dollar for this package of fruit.

Score.

16:30

So we saw all six of these temples walking around and just exploring in general.

It took a little bit of time and we did work ourselves up an appetite and of course one of our

16:40

favorite things to do when we travel in countries where they have them is go to markets.

And Thailand has a lot of markets and Shang Mai as a city has lots of markets.

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The most popular and famous one I would wager to say is the Shang Mai Night Bazaar.

So after our time exploring the old city, we made sure to come here, explore the market, get some

17:02

food and enjoy ourselves.

This is outside of the city walls, so not in the old city, but still relatively close to our hotel

17:10

and the old city.

Yeah, it was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel and it’s just a huge maze of different food

17:18

vendors.

There’s art, clothing, souvenir shops.

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They have a whole section dedicated to like the food though, which is what we wanted to focus on.

We started with like a little sampler of mochi.

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We ended up getting satay, pork belly, gyoza and everything we had was so delicious.

So this is just a really fun place to go.

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And Brittany forgot to mention, we ended up getting some more mango sticky rice as well well,

because we pretty much ate mango sticky rice every day that we were in Thailand.

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So fun place to go enjoy the evening.

And something maybe not known about Thailand, but makes sense if you really think about it is they

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allow for open alcohol.

So I’m not saying this is like Bourbon Street in New Orleans or Las Vegas, But while you’re in the

18:03

markets, they’re selling alcohol, some local Thai beer and you can just stroll the market, have a

beer in your hand, no problem whatsoever.

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So if that’s your thing, it also makes it for a nice relaxing and enjoyable evening.

I forgot to ask you this on our Phuket episode, but did you see buckets in Phuket when you were

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there?

Like buckets O beer.

18:23

Buckets of a cocktail.

I did not see buckets of a cocktail.

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No way.

You didn’t see any?

18:30

No.

Oh my God, When I went like buckets were the thing.

18:35

It was like 2 Red Bulls, vodka and ice and I don’t know what else, but no buckets.

I’m sure they were there, but we weren’t paying attention because it was really when we were in

18:45

Phuket.

And they were.

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We were on our own private beach at our hotel, but when we were on Bangla, of course we’re people

watching and by people watching buckets.

18:54

No, we.

Didn’t see any buckets.

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My gosh.

Wow, times changed.

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No buckets in Chiang Mai I guess.

No, but Chiang Mai is a little bit more relaxed.

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I would not even equate it to being anything wild like Phuket at all.

You can still have fun.

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There’s lots of bars to go to that are very, very lively, but nothing, nothing, nothing like Phuket

in that way.

19:16

Wow.

Well, you guys just blew my mind and Squatty’s, I’m going to blow your mind right now because

19:20

Brittany mentioned earlier that we have a Chiang Mai itinerary.

We do have it.

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We’ll link it in the show notes.

It’s on our shop, shop travelsquad.com.

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But as a bonus for you, we also have itineraries on Bangkok and a full one on Thailand and another

bonus 1 coming on Singapore as a little tease to what’s coming next.

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So check out shop travelsquad.com and check them all out.

So our second day in Thailand, we started with a trip to Tiger Kingdom and this wasn’t something

19:51

that was actually on our radar before we even started this trip.

As we were getting closer to our trip, we kind of made this last minute decision that we were

20:00

officially going to go because we had heard good things about it from our friend Josh who was just

in Thailand and then other friends Bob and Lorraine that were there previously.

20:10

But I will say going to a place where.

Animals are bred in captivity is a really sensitive topic when it comes to the ethical component or

20:20

not.

So their website did state that their animals are never changed, never sedated, declawed or

20:25

defanged.

So we did feel good about that portion of it.

20:29

We did.

And so Tiger Kingdom is a place where you can go and do multiple things with the tigers.

20:35

You can just go and look at the tigers in captivity as if it’s a zoo.

You can actually go into the enclosures with them in the habitat that they have have for them and

20:45

pet and play with the tigers.

So that’s what Brittany’s saying.

20:49

Of course, sensitive topics.

Some people would say that of course you should never do anything like that.

20:55

But again, we got feedback from some people that this was a really fun experience and we were very

intrigued by it because tigers are native to Thailand.

21:04

They are endangered, of course, but tigers are native to Thailand and in their jungle region.

So it’s not like, oh, let’s just throw tigers here for tourists and that sense of things.

21:12

These are native animals to the country and even in this region.

So we did it and we have mixed emotions about it.

21:21

Yeah.

So a lot of reviews, if you look at reviews of Tiger Kingdom, they say that they think the tigers

21:27

were sedated.

We did not feel that they were sedated.

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We think cats sleep a lot in general because as we touched them, they would wake up, they would kind

of move around, but they didn’t seem drugged.

21:39

And the babies for sure were absolutely not sedated.

They were patting on each other, They were playing with each other.

21:46

To be completely honest, the baby tigers were the most terrifying part of the experience.

Yeah, they were definitely the most aggressive of them.

21:54

So when you get to Tiger Kingdom again, you could just choose to not even interact with them, just

observe them and view this facility as if it’s a zoo.

22:04

Or you can say, hey, I want to get in the enclosure with the babies and pet the babies.

And do they charge you differently based on what you want to do?

22:14

They do, they do and they have packages.

So you then you could do OK, they’re not the babies.

22:18

Now here is still a tiger under a year, but you know, cats, dogs, they grow fast, right?

They’re still big, but it’s not as big as a medium sized tiger.

22:29

Then they have the large, and then they have the giant, and you could do a package of mixing them

all together, doing a couple, doing it a la carte, whatever you want to do.

22:38

And what did you do?

So we did a package where we got to interact with four different enclosures.

22:43

So we did the babies and the babies were about 3 months old.

They had the option to do the newborns, which we did not do, and then we ended up doing the small

22:54

and medium tigers.

We skipped the large and then we saw the giant tigers.

22:59

The giant tigers are 12 years old and 400 lbs.

So the most massive, huge tigers you can get.

23:05

And you went into an enclosure with a giant tiger.

With two giant tigers.

23:10

And ironically enough, they were the most friendly out of all of them.

I mean, of course the babies were playful, but the two giants were the ones that really wanted to to

23:20

interact with us more than anybody else.

They’ve been around longer now I guess.

23:25

I I guess so.

So this is not something I would do, not because of the animal situation, but because I’d be scared

23:32

and it’s it’s totally something you guys would do.

You want to go swim with sharks, You want to go up to the tip top of a Cliff where you can fall to

23:39

your death, and now you want to go into an enclosure with giant tigers.

OK.

23:43

That’s Brittany wanting to go to the tip top of a Cliff where she can fall and swim with sharks.

That was great white cage diving, which turned out to be a bust when we were in South Africa,

23:53

unfortunately.

But yes, we do have that zest and spirit in us when it comes to seeing wildlife, right?

23:59

And I just want to say something real quick while we’re on Tiger Kingdom because again, some of the

reviews, if you look at online, we’re like, no, we don’t think anything is wrong ethically about it.

0:00

Then some people complain, you just really don’t know, right?

24:13

And the perspective I think Brittany and I had just going back to when you were saying that about

Africa and the great whites.

24:19

Well, when we were in Africa, we did a walk with the lions situation and these were actually rescued

lions that were taken from the wild by people inappropriately to try to domesticate.

24:33

Then they didn’t want them anymore.

And of course, at that point, they can’t, can’t release them back into the wild.

24:39

So then this company rescues them to take care of them and of course, to help fund it.

Then they have tourists come and you’re able to interact.

24:48

But those lions, of course, they can’t be released fully into the wild.

But they are not in an enclosure.

24:53

It’s an open Bush that they wander in.

And I really thought that this was going to be something to that degree.

25:02

And you, of course, it is geared towards having tourists come.

And of course, some of them were in cages.

25:06

But I really thought that this is where it was.

I didn’t realize all of them were bred in captivity until we were there and they told us.

25:12

And that’s not anything that I saw online or that we saw.

Yeah, it was nothing that we saw when we were in the cage.

25:17

I was just trying to talk to the keepers and I would, I was asking them like how much do they weigh?

Where were they born?

25:23

And so just got a lot of information that way.

So the pros of this experience was you do get really close interactions with the tigers and it’s a

25:32

one in a lifetime experience.

When we were in the cage with the baby tigers, we actually got to bottle feed them.

25:40

It wasn’t even something that we paid for or even anything that we knew that we could do.

We were just in there.

25:45

They were being rambunctious.

They were all playing with each other.

25:47

You know, kittens are really like feisty little things.

So the tigers were just like that and then all of a sudden they’re like, oh, it’s time to feed them

25:55

and they bring out a whole bunch of bottles and they hand you one and now you’re feeding a baby

tiger and they get milk drunk and they relax and so cute to see.

26:06

So really close, cool interaction going in with the 400 LB tigers.

The giant tigers also really amazing up close interaction as well.

26:16

Both of them were alert when we first walked into the enclosed.

There was one that was laying down and they told us to go put that one.

26:24

Well, the other one was just kind of walking around and then it came and sat directly in front of us

wanting to be pet.

26:30

So again, I didn’t feel like it was sedated and they really didn’t do anything in front of us that

made me think like they were being harmed.

26:39

But of course, there are cons of the situations.

And with the other tigers, the ones that were labeled small and medium, they were asking us like,

26:49

for the photo opportunities.

Do we want them to, like, wake them up?

26:54

And we did not want them to stimulate the tigers in any unnatural way.

So if the tigers reacted to us petting them and open their eyes, that was fine with us.

27:02

But we didn’t want them like touching them so that we could get the tiger to like interact with us

more.

27:08

So we got to Tiger Kingdom by actually taking a Grab because it happens to be about what was it a 30

minute drive away from the city center.

27:18

Luckily, our Grab driver, he was also a driver for hire and he just decided to wait for us.

And he’s like, I’ll take you back to Sheng Mai.

27:26

And we knew when we were done that we wanted to go get some cow soy.

Now, cow soy is a very famous Thai dish, more particularly in the northern region.

27:36

So when you’re here in Sheng Mai, you’re going to see signs all the time for cow soy, Cow soy.

And we told our driver that we want to go back to Shang Mai, This is where we want to go.

27:48

And he knew exactly where this place was because this is one of the most famous places in Shang Mai

to get cow soy, and it’s called Cow Soy Maesai.

27:57

Did you have any cow soy when you were in Thailand, Kim?

No, I’ve never heard of it actually.

28:03

So it’s like a Thai Curry soup with egg noodles and a type of meat.

So you could have chicken or you could have beef.

28:10

It’s spiced very similarly to Curry, but then it’s topped with fried noodles on top so it gives it a

nice crispy crunch.

28:20

And what type of Curry would you liken it to?

I would liken it closely to a red Curry.

28:26

OK.

Honestly, you could really think of cow soy.

28:29

I would equate it to Japanese ramen because it’s a broth and it’s a noodle soup and you could put

whatever toppings you want.

28:36

But of course cow soy has the crispy noodles on top in addition to the non crispy noodles.

But the broth is going to be a Curry based broth, almost like you would just have like Thai Curry

28:48

over rice or something like that.

So really good.

28:51

And then from the Cow Soy restaurant, we decided to explore the temples outside of the city gates.

So there were four temples that we wanted to visit that that we hadn’t seen because these were

29:02

outside of the city gates.

And I’m going to do my best pronunciation.

29:06

We started at Wat Luck Moley and this is one of the city’s older temples.

It’s right outside of the northern gate to the old city, and it’s really popular during Lantern

29:17

festivals because it has really cool decorations.

So we went there, it was free, and then we decided to cross the street because we were in a walk

29:25

through the old city to get to the other ones.

But right across the street.

29:29

This one wasn’t originally on our list, but there was another temple called Wat Ramjamantian and

it’s right across the street from the Watlow Moly and there’s a huge Buddha statue outside the

29:41

temple, but they only allow men in the temple so Jamal was able to go in and I was not able.

To wow.

29:49

Yeah, only men in this one, but it’s still worth going because women can get on the grounds.

You could get up to the giant Buddha that’s on the outside, but to actually go in, it is only men.

29:59

But then we cut through the old city because that was the quickest path to get back to the outside

of where we wanted to go again to see some more temples on the outside of the old city.

30:08

But we really wanted to try durian.

So what?

30:12

We asked you about jackfruit earlier.

Kim, are you familiar with durian?

30:16

No.

So durian is a fruit, of course, it is native to this region of the world and in tropical places,

30:24

and it’s a fruit that people either love or hate.

And it’s known to actually be a smelly fruit.

30:31

So some people don’t like it at all because of the smell, because of the taste, because of the

texture.

30:37

But some people swear by it and they are selling durian all over the place.

And I wasn’t expecting it to be as expensive as they sell it for, but we were like, all right, we’re

30:47

here.

We got to try durian.

30:48

See what all of hype and fuss is about.

So as we pass through the old city, we pick some up before we headed on to the other temples.

30:56

While we were here, when we tried the durian, we actually took a video for you, Squatty, and we had

posted it at the time that we did it, but as this episode airs, we’re going to post it again for you

31:05

guys to see.

We started with a smell test and then we dove into the durian at the same time, and then you got to

31:11

see our reactions.

I was expecting for it to taste worse because of the smell.

31:17

It wasn’t a bad taste.

I wouldn’t eat it again.

31:21

Just.

Because like, I wouldn’t go out and buy it, but if it was there, I would try it again, you know, why

31:27

not?

What does it smell like?

31:30

It’s really tough to describe.

I wouldn’t say it’s like sewage, like odor or anything like that.

31:36

But you said trash.

Did you say trash?

31:38

I can see that.

Like, you know, if you cut one, you’ll smell it, but it’s not really that bad.

31:43

But when they have a whole bunch of it together, then you can really smell it.

And you could smell it from like a block away.

31:49

And it has an odor to it to the point where, one, they give you gloves for your hands when you’re

eating it, so it doesn’t even get on your hands.

31:58

And two, in our hotel rooms.

And within Thailand, more particularly Bangkok, when we were riding the subway, they have signs that

32:07

say it is forbidden to eat durian in the hotel room or on the subways because of the smell on it.

So I guess that is the best way to put it.

32:16

Kind of smells like trash flavor otherwise.

It did not taste like trash, it just didn’t taste good.

32:23

Well, have you ever eaten trash?

I have not eaten trash, but I can imagine what trash would actually taste like.

32:30

What really got me more so was the after taste.

I didn’t like the after taste that was left in my mouth.

32:36

I’m going to be honest, to me it reminded me of the after taste after you vomit.

That’s really kind of like the vibe I got from it, and then the texture almost felt like I was

32:47

eating brains, just kind of like that mushy texture.

Would you eat it?

32:51

No, but Britt, would you rather eat durian or that giant larva from Ecuador?

Durian.

32:59

OK, so it’s not that bad.

Durian over the larva, huh?

33:02

You’d seem to handle the larva like a champ when we were in Ecuador.

I mean, I did handle it like a champ, but it and it tasted like nothing.

33:08

But you know what it is?

Durian.

33:10

At least it’s a fruit and it has somewhat of an OK taste.

So yeah, I’d eat that again.

33:16

I’d eat them both again but durian more.

OK, OK.

33:20

Well, Squatty’s, you got to try it.

And then we went and saw two of the beautiful Burmese temples that were also near a hotel.

33:28

And then we just took a quick break before we went out and got massages.

We mentioned in our Phuket episode that I got a one hour deep tissue Thai massage and Jamal did not

33:41

get a massage that time.

But I think you, I think in Phuket it was an hour and a half, wasn’t it?

33:44

No, it was an hour, OK.

But I saw that there was an advertisement at one place and it was a 2 hour massage with foot back a

33:54

hot compress and it was a Thai massage and it was 20 bucks for this whole 2 hour.

Experience.

34:01

And Jamal was like, no, that’s too long for me.

So he just got a one hour traditional Thai massage.

34:08

What did you think, Jamal?

I mean, it just confirmed my opinion.

34:11

I’m just not a massage person.

Honestly.

34:14

Maybe I’m just not a Thai massage person.

Oh, I hate Thai massage.

34:18

Yeah, but you’re in Thailand, you’re going to get Thai massages.

You’re going to find very rarely that it’s just, oh, just a back massage.

34:24

They’re too rough.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

34:27

And I don’t mind it actually.

And you could tell them to go a little bit softer.

34:32

They don’t listen.

They don’t.

34:33

Yeah, they don’t listen.

They well, yeah, that that’s true.

34:37

Maybe here in the US they listen.

No, they don’t.

34:39

They don’t listen.

Well, what’s so funny is you guys think it’s too rough.

34:43

I’m over here snoozing away.

Jamal heard me like, gently snore.

34:48

They’re like right next.

To.

34:50

Each other so so this wasn’t in a private room, right.

So I mean we started off with our massage and when you start off with the whole experience, they

34:57

first wash your feet.

They have somebody who washes your feet and then they took us up to the room and it wasn’t in a

35:04

private room.

So they took me and Brittany to the same room together.

35:07

But Brittany got her feet washed first.

So she was already in and changed and ready to go waiting for her masseuse.

35:14

I get in there and then of course they’re like go ahead and change And so again, not a private room,

but they have little curtains blocking the area.

35:21

So you have the privacy while you’re actually changing.

And then my masseuse comes in and as soon as she comes in and starts massaging me, she starts

35:29

talking to the other masseuse who’s working on Brittany.

I hate that I get that you’re working and you’re probably bored don’t really want to be rubbing on

35:38

strangers.

But to me it ruins the experience when somebody’s talking giving a massage.

35:43

It’s like that defeats the whole purpose.

Plus it’s not my style of massage.

35:47

And then I really thought because it wasn’t a private room that they brought in a third person at

some point because I heard snoring, but it sounded further away.

35:57

Than Brittany right next to me and I’m like man did somebody fall asleep.

But it was Brittany who got in super like relax mode during her massage while they’re pulling her

36:06

apart that somehow she started snoring so like I could I could do massages on my back.

But like Thai massage and then you like stretch me and do all that stuff, I’m not feeling it.

36:18

Really beat you up.

I love it.

36:20

They had the hot compress they were putting all over my back and they did a foot massage and they

stretched me out and they did a whole body Thai massage.

36:29

That’s my thing.

I love it.

36:30

I like deep tissue massages.

You guys like the more gentle things so.

36:34

You know what the best part of the massage was for me?

What when it was done?

36:38

That was literally like the best part of the massage.

You know, I tried to talk Jamal into a more of a luxury spa experience and he was like, it’s a Thai

36:50

massage, what’s the difference?

He’s like, all you’re doing is paying more.

36:54

But I think if I were to go back, there was a luxury spa and I have it in our itinerary for you

guys.

37:00

But it started with the one hour Thai massage.

They pick you up from your hotel, you get mango sticky rice after tea, afterwards.

37:09

So it’s like a whole situation.

And then we were done with this massage.

37:12

Jamal was like, maybe we should have done the luxury experience.

Well, maybe because the massage would have still been the same, but I felt like I would have gotten

37:21

something in terms of being picked up and sticky rice and tea to make it feel like a spa.

But it’s one of those things when we’re on vacation, I really try not to think about what we’re

37:30

spending.

And I know that’s a luxury to not really have to have that thought of like, oh, what are we

37:35

spending, right?

But when I can get a massage on the street for 5 bucks and then the same massage and the only

37:41

difference is I get tea, mango, sticky rice and a hotel pickup when I don’t really need the hotel

pickup and they’re charging me $35 for that, then I’m thinking to myself, I don’t need to do that

37:53

because I’m getting ripped off.

You know what I mean?

37:56

And that that’s where my thought process was on the massage.

Yeah, I get that.

37:59

Let me ask you this about your massage.

When you were laying down, were you naked as you normally would be?

38:06

No, they had like little thin linen pajama type clothing.

For you.

38:11

OK.

When I had a massage in Thailand, they had this teeny little thin towel that in in America, you

38:19

know, they have a sheet, they pull out your leg.

They keep you very well covered.

38:22

My experience was this teeny tiny little towel that basically she would pull off every other move

she made.

38:28

I know you did multiple massages in Thailand.

Did you have any little towels like that?

38:33

No.

I always have like thin linen pajama type things that they put me in and then they just rolled me

38:39

out.

And did you happen to get a happy ending either?

38:42

No.

I, I did not, you know, Brittany was right next to me.

38:46

I thought it would be a little inappropriate create if we were in a private room.

I may have just decided to be wild, Kim.

38:51

I don’t know, you know.

Squatty’s Before we move on to the next day, I do want to remind you that we have a hack that will

39:01

get you upgraded for free on flights.

Now there are some stipulations around it.

39:06

You have to go at a certain type of a flight and you have to do certain types of things.

We will share our hack with you.

39:13

All you have to do is leave us a five star written review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Send us a screenshot of it either Gmail travelsquadpodcast@gmail.com or Instagram DMS at Travel

39:25

Squad Podcast.

We will send you that hack.

39:28

So our third day in Chiang Mai, we did an all day Thai farm cooking class and this is something that

I was really excited about because we had heard from multiple people, our old roommate Josh

39:39

included, that this was one of their favorite things that they did in Chiang Mai.

I was surprised how much food you guys made.

39:47

We made a ton of food.

Yes.

39:49

So it starts with an 8:00 AM pickup from your hotel and then she takes the class to the local market

and shows us different ingredients that are normally used in Thai cooking.

40:01

Then we took the van to the farm and then they showed us around the farm and showed us some of the

ingredients that they grow organically at the farm.

40:10

But there was five different dishes throughout the day that we were making.

We were making a soup, a noodle dish, a Curry paste which then we would use to make a Curry, a stir

40:22

fry and then we would end with a dessert.

Did you book this on Viator or get your guide or how’d you book this?

40:29

We booked it direct with Thai farm cooking class.

I have seen a lot of these cooking classes available to do through Viator or get your guide.

40:38

This company that we did it through Thai farm cooking class.

I did not see him having it there.

40:44

So I think they really just keep it to direct bookings and our cat sitter when we’re out of town and

we cat sit there cat as well.

40:52

When they were in Thailand, Lisa, she told us she did this one and she really loved it.

So we knew regardless we were just going to do this one based off of her recommendation.

41:02

So once we got there, you would first get a demonstration of each dish and then once the

demonstration was over, you would go cook it and then you would have an opportunity to eat it.

41:14

And we basically repeated that for every step of the way.

So Jamal and I decided to make two different things.

41:21

So we didn’t want to make the same dishes, we wanted to make 2 separate things so that we had more

variety to choose from.

41:26

We could split it and try separate things.

So for the soup we made Tomka, which I made and then Jamal made Tom.

41:33

Yum.

And then for the noodles, I made a pad Thai and Brittany made drunken noodles.

41:40

And then we got to make the Curry paste, which we got to actually pound out ourself and like make

the paste, which was really cool.

41:47

And so Jamal made panning and I made the cow soy.

And then for the stir fry I made a sweet and sour chicken, Brittany made a chicken basil.

41:58

And then for the dessert I did the mango sticky rice and Brittany did bananas and coconut milk.

Yummy.

42:07

And so each course, again, we did 5, but there were at least 4 items to choose from from each course

of what you could do minus the dessert.

42:16

I think the dessert there’s only three choices, but you had multiple other choices of what you can

actually make from each one of those courses.

42:23

So that was really cool.

And one thing that we didn’t mention too is as soon as we got to the farm, I mean, it is a

42:29

legitimate farm and everything they grow is all organic.

So they started us off like Brittany had mentioned, going to the market just so we could see like

42:37

these are the typical ingredients.

Most people here living in Thailand, this is what they’re going to buy to make this type of food.

42:43

But on the farm, before we did our cooking, they grow all of the stuff that they can there.

So all of like the Thai basil, other types of herbs, the roots that you would use when you actually

42:54

make the Curry paste, they all grow that there.

So she gave us a demonstration, even picked a couple of those items.

43:00

We got to eat them raw before they were actually cooked and try it out.

So it’s a really immersive experience.

43:05

And if you like to cook, it’s fun.

Even if you don’t like to cook, it was a fun experience and you just get to eat a bunch of food all

43:12

day, leaving really really full.

Yeah, we were so full by the end of the day, but we got to meet new people and everyone made

43:21

different things.

So one of the choices to make was spring rolls, and we didn’t choose that.

43:25

So we got to watch them make the spring rolls.

And almost every single type of Curry was chosen to make 2.

43:32

So we got to see how each of those Curry paste were put together and made and kind of see the end

result.

43:38

So very informative, really fun, very immersive.

And then at the very end they give you a digital E cookbook with all of the recipes for everything

43:48

that you could make.

And I actually downloaded it today and saved it.

43:53

They make it so simple and easy that I feel like you could definitely make it at home in the US.

Well, I know what Jamal’s making next time we’re together.

44:01

I’m going to make you some Thai food.

You already love my Drunken Noodles, but I’m going to have to differ up the recipe a little bit and

44:07

try a different type of Thai dish that we cooked here at the Thai farm cooking class.

So when we were done and taken back into town, because this was pretty much all morning and

44:18

afternoon type situation because we were done at 2:30, by the time we were done, taken back into to

town and got to our hotel was what, maybe 33345 something like that.

44:29

So there was one more temple we weren’t templed out yet that we wanted to go see.

And we’re like, well, we just need to walk off all this food that we’ve been eating anyway.

44:39

So we went to Watsri Supan and this is a silver temple just South of the city walls.

And when I say silver, I mean the temple itself is literally made of all silver.

44:52

Now, I don’t know if it’s true 100% solid silver or just silver coated, but it was really impressive

to go see.

45:01

You can get onto the grounds if you’re a man or woman.

You do have to pay to go in at this one.

45:08

But this is like the other temple that we mentioned earlier, men only inside.

So Brittany didn’t get to go inside.

45:15

I did.

I took photos but even looking at it on the outside, all silver, super impressive, really cool.

45:21

Like what’s on the inside?

Is it?

45:23

On the inside, they actually had some murals that you could look at.

Of course, there is a Buddha at the center of the temple, as there always is in all temples and even

45:34

along the walls.

I don’t want to say they were relics, but there was like little cubbies that were covered with glass

45:40

that they had artifacts on the inside of them as well.

And then the doors were really ornately carved out of wood with traditional Thai design, Buddhist

45:52

design and symbols.

And it it was just really beautiful in there.

45:56

All of the temples, you know, you could say like, oh man, I’m templed out.

And I really thought I was too.

46:01

But at some point, you’ll honestly get to the point where you’ll say, well, do I need to see another

one?

46:06

But if you’re passing it, it’s very easy to just say like, yeah, let me go and why not?

And then they’re all uniquely different.

46:14

So they’re all kind of the same because they’re temples, but they’re all different too that you

don’t really get that burnout, but you also blur the line of which one was what at some point if you

46:24

see a lot of them too, and.

This one was just South of the wall.

46:28

It was on the outside and there was a market on the South side of the wall too.

So we walked through that area because I decided that I wanted to get a haircut and I figured, you

46:39

know what, we’re in Thailand.

It’s going to be very affordable.

46:42

So I got my haircut and I paid $10 to get it cut, wash and blow dry included.

Wow.

46:49

From a local stylist.

She actually does it in her home.

46:54

The bottom entry level to her home is her little salon and then she has an upstairs portion which I

believe is her actual home.

47:02

Where did you find her?

On Yelp, actually.

47:05

Oh wow.

Yeah, so there were quite a few hair salons in the area, and she actually had almost 100 reviews and

47:14

she was rated very highly.

So I was like, OK, I’ll do it.

47:18

So we walked by before we went to the temple and asked, and I made an appointment, which was an hour

or so later.

47:25

So we went to the temple, then we went to the market and then we went back for me to get my hair

cut.

47:29

Very cool.

So the next day we woke up and we had our jungle trek.

47:33

Brittany mentioned this earlier that we checked out of our hotel for one day.

The reason why we did that is we had an overnight trek into the jungle.

47:42

That was with a local guide where we got to hike through the forest and then spend the night in the

jungle and then the next day do a little bit more hiking, ending by taking a bamboo raft through the

47:55

forest.

So there was nine of us total.

47:58

They picked us up in a converted truck bed.

So there was two benches, There was four of us on each side.

48:05

And then one person rode in the back of the truck.

There was three people from Belgium, two people from France to German and us, two Americans.

48:14

And we actually have a just the tip mini episode specifically all about the jungle trek.

So we’re not going to go super deep into it.

48:23

But you all mentioned we went to a waterfall, we had lunch, We hiked about 3 hours in the forest.

We made it to a village village.

48:31

There’s about 70 families that live in the village and our guide was from that village.

We saw an elephant while we were there, which Jamal thought was a little switching bait because we

48:41

were supposed to go to an elephant sanctuary the next day.

But because we saw this elephant in the village, he said that was our elephant experience, which I

48:51

thought was OK because it was such a unique experience.

The elephant lived in the jungle right outside the village, had its own ancient Tri member keeper

49:00

that walked her to the jungle every night and he would care for it during the day.

So very unique experience.

49:07

We stayed in a village Hut on the upper level.

All nine of us slept together in the same room.

49:13

So very unique.

You just meet these people that morning and by night time you’re all sharing the same room and one

49:20

bathroom up there.

Hostile style.

49:23

It really was hostile style, but it it was a really fun experience and when we were in the village

staying with our guide, him, his wife are hosting us doing the cooking.

49:35

We had an amazing traditional Thai dinner.

They had breakfast for us in the morning before we started.

49:40

Breakfast buffet.

Yes, but no.

49:43

I mean, it’s not like a buffet buffet.

But she made French toast, regular toast.

49:47

There was eggs, there was fruit, there was coffee and tea to have.

So of course you can have whatever you want.

49:53

I mean, it’s not menu service out there, right?

They’re hosting you and serving you.

49:57

But you had good options, and we did not go hungry.

And so that was night #1 really is just hiking through.

50:05

And then of course, the next day is coming back home, getting back to Shang Mai with a hike along

the way, rafting down the river.

50:13

And as Brittany mentioned, we have a specific Just the Tip episode on this.

So since we’re pretty much an hour into this episode right now, if you’re going to be listening to

50:23

that, we don’t want you to have to hear this twice.

So this was just a really great experience.

50:27

And if you want to know more, tune into Just the Tip.

But I do we want to say at the end of this day, which is our last night in Chiang Mai, we had gotten

50:35

Adm from one of our squaddies, Gavin.

Gavin.

50:40

And he had reached out to us earlier in our trip saying, hey, I think I’m going to be in Chiang Mai

the same time you guys are.

50:46

So we matched up our dates.

We said we would get together this night.

50:49

So once we got back from our jungle truck and got settled back into our hotel, Gavin met us at our

hotel and we walked over to the night bazaar and we all had drinks and food together at the food

51:03

market in the bazaar.

And then we also walked to a weekend market that was right outside of the gates on the east side

51:10

near our hotel.

And it was just so nice to meet a squatty in person.

51:15

I love that there’s been a couple cases over the years where we’ve met Squatties in person and it’s

just so special to put a real life person, follower, friend to the name, to the screen, right?

51:28

It really was, and it’s not the first time that we’ve really had, we had a long interaction with

Gavin.

51:32

I mean, we had him on as a guest on our podcast before.

But you’re right, just meeting somebody in person, it’s always that much more fun.

51:39

I would say the thing that was the most disappointing about meeting up with Gavin when we were there

is that you weren’t there, Kim, and it wasn’t a true squad meet up in that sense of things, but

51:50

nevertheless, really fun.

And any of you squaddies who listen, if you’re keeping track and tabs when we’re on our trips, when

51:56

we’re posting on Instagram, let us know if you want to get together.

We always love to meet up with you guys, just like we did with Gavin here, and I think that was a

52:04

really great way to cap off our last night in Thailand.

Yeah.

52:08

So we had a really great time in Chiang Mai.

This really ended our time in Thailand as a whole.

52:13

But stay tuned Squatty is because our next full length episode is going to be on Singapore because

we did a two night stopover in Singapore as we made our way back home.

52:24

Thanks so much for tuning into this week’s episode.

Squatty’s keep the adventures going with us on all the socials That Travel Squad podcast and send us

52:31

in your future questions of the week.

You found the information this episode to be useful, or if you thought we were just plain funny,

52:38

please be sure to share it with a friend that would enjoy it too.

Please subscribe, rate, and read our podcast and TuneIn every Travel Tuesday for new episodes.

52:46

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