Chiang Mai seems to be a combination of a standard city experience with good access to adventure and culture.
Personal guide services are supposed to be very economical. They have the advantage of giving you an inside look and there is no need to rent a car and all the challenges that can present. One recommended tour guide is Window of Thailand. Just reading about their sample itineraries makes me want to cash in my 401k and get on a plane!
One of the most interesting things looks to be the elephant encounters. Doesn’t sound at all like the a typical sanitized US experience with animals. There were some mixed reviews as people seemed to be surprised by the reality of the adventure, like no saddles, muddy rivers and interfering plant life. But the one thing that could be agreed upon with that the experience was unique and memorable. This is going on the must do list! Here are some of the choices:
Maesa Elephant Camp
Elephant Conservation Center
Cooking classes here seem to be very popular. On many of the travel web site photo pages, people seem to be cooking. I’m not sure why one would need to travel all of the way around the world to do some cooking, but I guess if you get bored with the amazing beaches, elephant trips and temples then this is the thing to do. Here is one of the most popular places.
Doi Sutep looks interesting with its Buddhist encounters and traditional Thai architecture. One particularly interesting part is the Naga Stairs which look like they are flanked on both sides by an incredibly long and large snake.
Some Chiang Mai information sites:
1 Stop Chiang Mai
