“Chiang Mai was not a place originally on my bucket list, but it was surprisingly one of the BEST locations I could have traveled to.” 🇹🇭
Trip Report Card
- Accommodations: B+
- People & Culture: A
- Experiences & Excursions: A+
- Cost & Affordability: B+
Trip Highlights
- Solo travel friendly
- Accommodating culture and lux hotel
- Animal Interactions
- The New Year’s Lantern Festival
Trip Breakdown
It all started when I wanted to find a great New Year’s location. Chaing Mai, Thailand ended up being one of the top 5 destinations due to the lantern festival on New Years Eve. That was enough to sell me on a trip!
Let me tell you, traveling from Atlanta there? It was a lonnnng track well worth the 6 hour flight to South Korea for a 6 hour layover (find the article here) to finally a last 6 hours to Chiang Mai.
When I arrived that night I took a taxi ride over to my hotel. I found a bug in my room, so I promptly exited, informed management, and headed out to the night market. I do not go out alone at night in Atlanta, any young lady or woman would strongly advise against it because…ya know, human trafficking, but in Thailand it felt so safe. I saw children unattended on the streets without a shred of worry, and I too felt safe enough to shop at the various vendors for souvenirs for my family back home in the states.
Breakfast at the hotels in Thailand without a doubt were top notch. Do not ask me to try to repeat some of the dishes – I couldn’t pronounce some of it even if I wanted to. All I know is that it was good and that’s good enough for me.
I walked around and decided to explore the temples. There are many in Chiang Mai, all around every street. One thing to note, you do not wear shoes inside. I respect that because I do not allow shoes in my house either. Friends have been fussed out on a few occasions over that.
In other temples, you must be especially aware of your attire. I walked around a temple with complimenting gardens and was very cute or whatever in my little shorts. Sounds nice right? Nahhh, long legs and shorts do not mix. When Thailand grandma saw me walk, she bee-lined to me to lightly smack my legs before pointing to the nearby monks. I respectfully exited so I wouldn’t offend the nearby monks with a bashful nod and a smile. So, note to the ladies, cover them legs up least you also get the corrective light tap of a grandmothers correction.
I loved the animal interactions
One of the delightful animal surprises was the petting zoo. And bucket-list item of course was the Thai-owned and ethical Elephant Sanctuary. For my animal rights friends out there, I want to stress the importance of finding an ethical sanctuary. My moms favorite animal is an elephant and seeing these magnificent mammals up close and personal was paramount. The Elephant Farm experience did not disappoint in any way with the Elephant experience. Even though I was not down for smelling dung to gauge elephant health, I loved connecting with “Mama and Baby” as I affectionately named them.
My hotel recommendation
Hotel-wise I would strongly recommend Akyra Manor Chiang Mai hotel. Between the big beautiful bowl tub, lux room layout, and California king bed complimented with body sized pillows…I was mad I had to come back to the states.
New Year – New Experience
Okay I talked about a lot, but let me get to the original intent of my trip: New Years.
Thailand was top of the list for new years destinations and it did not disappoint. I had a general idea of where the festival was located, but of course once the clock struck midnight I followed the trail to the many who had gathered to release their lanterns into the sky. It was a sight to behold and I cannot wait to go to Thailand again.
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