Chiang Mai Uncovered

Text and Photos by: Mick Shippen

Steeped in tradition and local culture, the northern city of Chiang Mai is one of Thailand’s most appealing provincial capitals. With its own dialect, delicious northern cuisine, cool cafés, a vibrant arts scene, and unique Lanna architectural style, it’s a fabulous destination for a rewarding getaway.

For visitors, there’s an immediate visual appeal to Chiang Mai. The city and its surrounding villages are home to more than 300 temples, including some of the country’s most important sacred sites: the mountain top Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a place of pilgrimage for many Thais which crowns the 1,676-m (5,500-ft) Suthep mountain and offers panoramic views of city below, the imposing earthquake damaged Wat Chedi Luang, and the atmospheric forest temple, Wat Umong. And then there’s the city’s popular old quarter – a web of narrow alleyways to explore, all framed by a pretty tree-lined moat and the remains of the original city wall and entrance gates.

All that glitters

Chiang Mai has long been known as the creative heart of the nation. Skilled artisans in the Wua Lai district have been producing exquisite silverwork for centuries. The techniques are thought to have been introduced by Burmese and Shan craftsmen during the 13th century. The crowning achievement of Wua Lai craftsmen and women is the glittering Wat Sri Suphan, an exquisite temple which includes a spectacular silver ubosot or ordination hall. 

For decades, crafts from lacquerware to woodcarving and furniture making have been practiced in outlying villages such as Ban Tawai, and the products were exported around the world. In recent years, though, the market has changed, and businesses have been forced to adapt. One of the first to benefit from the interest in traditional Thai crafts in the 1980s, NK Ban Tawai, now imports beautiful decorative arts and furniture from India and Indonesia. Current owner, Nok, who took over the business from her father, one of Baan Tawai’s original woodcarvers turned entrepreneur, says, “The change has been a necessary move to adapt and survive. Traditional craft skills, the bastion of my father’s generation, have been slowly dying out. However, the huge interest in new imported products shows the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of Chiang Mai.”  

That is not to say that local creativity is on the wane, far from it. The city’s arts and craft scene today is more vibrant than ever. In recent years, the city has acted as a magnet for young creatives. Many who moved northward to study at Chiang Mai University’s prestigious Faculty of Fine Arts and, after graduation, stayed on in the city to establish workshops, small businesses, and cafés. 

Local expat and writer Roy Cavanagh, who has lived in the city for more than a decade, has enjoyed witnessing Chiang Mai’s evolution. “The creativity of the population seems endless. The younger generation has tapped into the

northern Thai aesthetic but skillfully reimagined it for our time. This is evident throughout the city, from the cool café culture, markets full of locally made products, and trendy boutiques with an emphasis on contemporary Chiang Mai chic.”

The café culture that Roy highlights has boomed in recent years. Décor ranges from the distinctly retro to modern minimalism, but the brews are always local, made using coffee beans grown in the mountains that lie just beyond the city. Standout cafes include Akha Ama, Graph, Artisan, and Thor Phan, but there are dozens more to discover. A more surprising artisan product to emerge in Chiang Mai is chocolate produced from recently introduced and now locally grown cacao. There are many brands available, but one of the most successful is Siamaya, which has a small workshop in the Wua Lai district that visitors can tour to see chocolate being made. The company sells an intriguing selection of flavored chocolates, including durian, khao soi, tom yam, coconut curry, and many more.

Weekend markets galore

Markets are a great way for creatives to sell their work, and they, too, have boomed in Chiang Mai. At weekends, there’s the hugely popular Jing Jai Market, where you can spend your free time shopping for arts, crafts, and clothing, and eat local food. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, you can also head to the lovely Nong Ho Secondhand Market. Located a few kilometers from the city center, numerous vendors gather in the tree-lined area to sell a vast array of vintage and collectible items. And there’s the most recent addition to the market scene, Baan Kang Wat, a self-styled artist community in the Suthep district. Here you can shop, eat, drink, chill, and listen to live music, or take part in creative workshops. 

Chiang Mai is also an exciting destination for food lovers. If you are in town on a Friday, don’t miss the Yunnan Food Market from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. It’s a wonderful place to discover regional and ethnic foods, particularly those of the Haw Chinese. Nearby on Charoen Prathet Road at Khao Soi Islam, you can savor Thai Muslim favorites of khao mok gai, or biriyani rice with chicken, samosas, and of course, the city’s famous khao soi noodle soup. 

Whereas the cuisine of central and northeast Thailand has found popularity throughout the country, northern food is far less common outside the region. However, it is incredibly popular with Thai and foreign visitors to Chiang Mai. Recommended restaurants for Northern food include the longstanding Krua Phech Doi Ngam, the Michelin Bib Gourmand and TV chef Charan Thipeung-owned Heun Muan Jai, and the extremely popular Tong Tem Toh in the trendy Nimmanhaemin Road area. Few people head home from the city without bags full of local delicacies such as sai oua, herb-rich pork sausage, and nam prik num, roasted chili dip. For these, go to the daily Warorot Market.

Getting there:

Lao Airlines has daily flights to Chiang Mai from Luang Prabang.

Links

nkbantawai.com

siamayachocolate.com

jingjaicentralchiangmai.com