Wat Phra That Lampang Luang: This temple isn’t in Chiang Mai, but we made a worthwhile stop here on our way to Chiang Mai from Sukhothai. Outside of being the most crowded place we visited (unexpectedly!), it was very unique compared to some of the other temples we saw. The outside was mostly wooden with specs of brass and gold, surrounded by an old stone wall. We also stopped by the nearby market and got our first taste of Khao Soi (a Northern Thai specialty with spicy broth and egg noodles). It was delicious and made us excited for more in Chiang Mai

Day tour of Chiang Mai with Kiwi and Ping: We spent our first full day in Chiang Mai touring the city with two fantastically fun Thai ladies, Kiwi and Ping. Initially we were meant to see nine temples in one day (nine is an auspicious number for Thai Buddhists), but we already had our fair share of temples and were more excited to get a feel for other things around the city. Kiwi and Ping were super flexible and incorporated in a few market visits and stops at places that were off the tourist track. Some of the highlights include:

• Friday Muslim market: Our first stop of the day was this awesome market that happens on Fridays next to a large mosque (hence the name). Farmers come from all over North Thailand and even China to sell their produce and foodstuffs which was awesome to see. We tried Thai coconut sticky rice pancakes that Mimi helped cook (the vendor could tell she was a pro), different types of fruits like persimmons and peaches, and a mung bean congee type dish from Myanmar. Jessie was a fan of it while Mimi and Doug thought it tasted like spicy jello

• Wat Phra Singh: The first temple stop was the grandest of the day. This temple was huge and covered in brass, giving it the appearance that it was completely golden. We were here on the last day of the year, so Ping told us to walk around the stupa three times to bring luck for the new year. We made a wish at the beginning of each circle around the stupa. Fingers crossed they come true in 2023!

• Wat Sri Suphan: This temple is known as the silver temple and it’s no surprise why – the full temple is covered in silver. Only men were allowed in (rude…), so Doug went inside while Jessie and Mimi hung back and chatted with Ping

• Wat Phratat Doikham: Ping and Kiwi asked if we wanted to see a very local temple to which we of course said yes. We drove up towards the mountains where this temple is located only to run into a ton of traffic – all going up to the temple. As it was the last day of the year, Thai people from near and far were headed to this spot to pray for luck in the new year and get numbers for their last lottery ticket of the year. At many temples in Thailand, there’s a machine that spits out the numbers you should choose for your lottery ticket if you put in a few baht (lottery is very popular). Doug, Jessie, and Ping made the treacherous trek up to the temple while Mimi and Kiwi met us on top via car. The temple was packed, but we were some of the only tourists there which was a neat experience. We saw some of the largest buddhas we had seen and got nice views of Chiang Mai and the surrounding region

• Lunch of fish ball soup and coconut ice cream: For lunch, Kiwi and Ping took us to a spot they frequent (everything was in Thai so we have no clue what the name is). The specialty there is fish ball soup, so that’s exactly what we had. It was a delicious soup with clear broth and rice noodles that we topped with a generous amount of bird’s eye chilies, fish sauce, and chili flakes. After downing our soup, we walked next door to have coconut ice cream for dessert. At first we insisted on sharing one between the three of us, but it went so quickly that we had to order another. It was the best dessert we had in Thailand 

• Wat Ton Kwen: Our last temple stop of the day was Wat Ton Kwen. It was a beautifully constructed wooden temple in the Lanna style. The atmosphere was serene and quiet with only a few other people there. Apparently the temple is very popular with Chinese tourists (far and away the largest tourist population in Thailand), so we got lucky being the only ones there as China was set to open a week later

New Year’s Eve at Tha Phae: We intentionally planned to be in Chiang Mai on New Year’s Eve so we could participate in one of the coolest NYE traditions around the world – releasing lanterns into the sky. We asked a handful of locals about where this tradition took place, but were not able to get a straight answer. Some people said that the lantern release was no longer allowed, while others encouraged us to go celebrate in bars rather than in the old town. We did some research online and it seemed like Tha Phae was the place to be if the lantern release was going to happen. After wishing Mimi a Happy New Year and putting her to sleep, we decided to make our way to Tha Phae around 11pm. We figured that it would be a fun adventure, even if the lanterns weren’t happening this year. When we were five minutes from the old town, we caught a glimpse at the sky and saw many small lights rising up in the distance. We immediately recognized them as lanterns and were so stoked that we had come to the right place! We hopped out of the car and walked the rest of the way, passing hordes of locals and tourists all heading in the same direction. The atmosphere was extraordinary – everyone was in the streets lighting lanterns and releasing them into the night sky. We jumped into the crowd and found a spot right along the river to ring in the new year. The crowd started counting down ten seconds to midnight and right at midnight a flurry of lanterns were released. It was truly sensational and one of the most memorable NYE experiences we’ll probably ever have. We hopped in a tuk tuk back to our hotel shortly after midnight for our first sleep of 2023

Grandma’s Cooking Class: One of our favorite activities to do together (Jessie, Doug, and Mimi) is cook, so it was without question that we were going to take two cooking classes in Thailand. We spent our first day of 2023 cooking together which was such a treat!  We stopped at a local market to check out the ingredients we would be using that day (they were already familiar to us from our cooking class in Bangkok) and shop around. We excitedly picked up a few ingredients to jumpstart Mimi’s Thai cooking career back in Colorado. After the market visit, we got back in the van and made our way to Grandma’s. The cooking class was situated in an open air pavilion on a farm where many of the ingredients grew – a lovely setting! We made hot and sour soup (it was more hot than sour), khao soi, and pad thai. Though we liked the vibe of the Bangkok cooking class better, the food was undeniably better at this one. We’ll definitely try out both sets of recipes when we’re home!

Sunday Night Market: After putting Mimi to bed on New Year’s Day (it had been a big few days), we set out for the Sunday Night Market. We had a blast walking around – the streets were lined with hundreds of crafts vendors, locals getting massages (a new one for us), and street food for miles (definitely one of the largest and most unique night markets we’ve been to). The vibe was super high energy, so much so that we could’t help but reflect on the differences between this and the US – no chance as many people would be out and joyfully roaming around on a Sunday night. We had a banana roti with Nutella and shrimp dumplings from the street food section of the market for dinner and shot our shot at a balloon dart game. We got 4 out of 5 required to win a prize which was just fine for us as we don’t have any room in our backpacks to bring home a jumbo stuffed animal 🙂

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar: When we returned to Chiang Mai after our four day road trip around Northern Thailand, we decided to make the night bazaar our last stop. Unlike the Sunday Night Market, this market happens every night after 6pm. We spent a few hours walking around the night bazaar and other markets close by. While enjoying live music, we indulged in some delicious pad thai, our last khao soi, and a banana roti with egg to celebrate our last night in the north. We also finally participated in the market part of the market and purchased two pairs of sandals for our time at the beach

Wat Suan Dok: We happened upon this temple on our way to the Old Town the day after New Years. Jessie made the controversial decision to wear shorts that day (accepting the trade off of comfort vs. going into temples), so Doug went in on behalf of us both. It was a neat temple with two huge buddhas back-to-back and a handful of white chedis outside 

Wat Lok Molee: We also stumbled upon this temple the day after New Years. Dating back to the 14th century, it is one of the oldest temples in Chiang Mai. The temple is wooden and built in the Lanna style with a 16th century Chedi just behind it. It was one of the more unique and quieter temples we saw in Chiang Mai, making it a fun spontaneous stop

One Nimman: We stayed in the Nimman area of Chiang Mai with Mimi, so we were just a short walk away from the center of the action at One Nimman. One Nimman is a super modern area that is part market, part food hall, part fun place to hang out. We came here a few times to walk through the different markets, including a hip clothes market (more like street clothes than kitschy souvenirs), a second-hand clothes market, and a street food market