Things To Do In Chiang Mai

Things To Do In Chiang Mai

Thursday, 1 March 2018

After my visit to Phuket in January, I decided to bypass Bangkok and fly straight back to my favourite part of Thailand: The North. During the first part of my trip last year, before I flew home for Christmas, I spent almost three weeks exploring Chiang Mai and loved it so much that I was eager to go back just a few weeks later. The first time around, I had only planned to spend 4 or 5 nights there but as soon as I arrived, I realised that there was just so much to see and do, it very quickly became my favourite destination of the trip. In total, I must have spent over a month there and I loved every day.

Whilst most people I met moved on quiet fast, travelling so slowly meant I had time to see the place properly, between exciting day trips, exploring the city, eating absolutely everything and even taking a few days to work remotely with a banana smoothie by my side. Throw in a couple of hungover days spent monging out in the common area with my new friends and you've got yourself the ultimate backpacking destination right there. Here are some of my highlights:

Sunset at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep 
I didn't get around to visiting this famous temple the first time I was there so when one of my friends suggested that we get a group together and split a car up to see it, I was ready to go within seconds! Nine of us clambered into a red truck and drove 45 minutes up a twisty road into the mountains. We grabbed a smoothie (priorities) and made a start on the 300 steps up to the top; making it there just in time for the most incredible sunset. After the sun had gone down over the city, we wandered into the temple complex where we saw the famous golden pagoda and listened as monks prayed outside of it.

A Food Tour

The food is one of the things I loved best about Chiang Mai and whilst I liked to stick to my favourite cheap, street eats, a food tour; which I did with A Chefs Tour was the perfect way to get to know some of Chiang Mai's more hidden spots. They carted us around town in a private song-thaw (similar to a tuk tuk) showing us all sorts of local dishes that I would never have thought to try otherwise. One of my favourite new finds was the lady in the cowboy hat (that's how the locals know her) who serves slow cooked, succulent pork with rice and half a ducks egg. I also loved the deep fried sweet potato balls which we found in a local food market outside of the main town - I had had sweet potato balls the night before on the main tourist street and they weren't even half as nice! These guys know where all the best food is and having a local guide to explain to origins and correct ways to eat the food made the whole thing so authentic. Four hours later, I went to bed absolutely stuffed! 

Partying At ZOE In Yellow

Zoe turned out to be my favourite partying spot in all of Southeast Asia. We didn't go every single night but lets just say we went more often than not. It wasn't quite a club, more a bar that spilled out onto the streets, add in crazy strobe lights and some intense electric dance music and that's Zoes in a nutshell. It actually closed very early so from there most people would go on to Spicy, which was a proper club that stayed open later and just so happened to be in the same direction as my hostel. Don't forget to grab a pad Thai from just outside the bar, I may have been drunk when I ate it but I'm pretty sure the stand outside Zoes was the cheapest and best pad thai that I ate in Thailand!

Taking a Cooking Class 

With food involved, of course I chose to do the full day cooking class over just the morning session. I opted to do my class with Asia Scenic; it was rated number 3 on Trip advisor and I can 100% recommend them to you as well. They were a very reasonable 1,200 baht for a full day plus going with them meant that I had the option to do my class at a small farm outside of the main town rather than at the busy head office right in the middle of it. 

 I'm a big city girl but even I appreciated being away from the hustle and bustle and cooking in a serene, open space. The whole day was a great experience - we cooked and ate 7 different dishes - from spring rolls for starters to mango and sticky rice for dessert - and even got an hour in the middle to wander around the grounds - or take a nap, you know, whatever you want. The dropped me back to my hostel at the end of the day, totally stuffed!

Yi Peng / Loy Kratong: The Lantern Festival

I timed my first trip to Chiang Mai specifically around the annual lantern festival which happens every November and it was just a magical time to be there. With different events happening through the week, the incredible atmosphere can be felt all over the city. 

The hostel that I spent the majority of my time at, Stamps Backpackers, organised things each night so we could all get involved and experience the festival together. The festival is all about giving thanks to the goddess of water so on the first night, we made our own kratongs, (which are little flower float things) lit their candles and sent the on their way along the river (before heading to Zoes of course). 

The next evening, we got in another red truck and made our way to the Mae Jo university which is where the main event happens. There we bought paper lanterns, wrote our hopes and dreams on them and sent them up into the sky. It was pretty amazing but actually it was the night afterwards which was the most memorable for me. A few of us headed back to the river and sat on the banks as hundreds of people let off more lanterns from the bridge. It was an absolute health and safety disaster with alot of them flying strait into the trees and crashing down in flames all around us but what an incredible experience. I would count it as one of my favourite nights ever. 

Chiang Rai Day Trip

Chiang Rai is three hours away from Chiang Mai and is home to some of the regions most interesting and recognisable temples; specifically the white temple. It is a very long day, leaving at 7am and not getting back until around 10 that evening but it was worth it to see the famous temple. As well as the white temples, the tour included lunch and then on to two more temples and a stop off at a traditional long neck village. 

A Few Days In Pai

If there is one thing that you must do when you're in the north of Thailand, it's visit Pai. This little hippy town is three hours away, up in the mountains and the journey itself is an experience with 762 twists and turns in the road,  it was the craziest drive I've every been on but I loved every minute of it.

Apart from that, Pai is an incredible place surrounded by big open roads, beautiful waterfalls and hot springs - it's perfect if you want to rent a bike although still so much fun if you don't. Apart from all the natural beauty, it's home to my favourite street food market in Thailand and is absolutely avocado heaven; like you wouldn't believe. Honestly, you guys know how much I love my avo, I've never seen anything like it before. 

Again, the few days that I planned to stay turned into 6 nights because I wanted to stay for a new jungle party event which has taken the area by storm. I went to one of the first ever Electric Valley nights; a rave in the middle of nowhere; but they are happening every few weeks now as they are so popular. 

Eat Everything

 As well as all of these things, I have spent many a day just wandering around the city hoping from temple to cafe and back again - there are so many of both through the city that you can actually do this day after day and still not see them all. The food scene in Chiang Mai is utterly amazing and incredibly cheap so obviously I took full advantage of that on a daily basis. It's not unusual to find a freshly cooked meal for 35 baht, that's less than a pound. My favourite was a plate of garlic chicken with rice and a fried egg. 

 I'd recommend trying the local dishes such as Khao Soi, which is a curry noodle dish and mango with sweet sticky rice whilst you're here, it's the best you'll find in the country believe me.

Visit An Elephant Sanctuary
This is a really popular thing to do in northern Thailand and you'll find a whole array of different tour companies to book through. A lot of people booked up the day before but I actually booked online a couple of months in advance because I'd heard so much about The Elephant Nature Park beforehand and spaces on their tours fill up months in advance.

All of their elephants have been rescued from abusive pasts and it was super sad to hear some of their stories, especially when you could see how they have been affected but here the elephants have much better lives and are free to wander around as they please.

I did the whole day trip again and between walking around the ground with a guide to meet some of them, we spent the morning feeding them fruit and the afternoon washing them in the river. All in all, its quite an expensive day trip at 2500 baht but a big buffet lunch was also included as were transfers too and from my hostel so it was well worth doing!

And that brings an end to my incredible month in Chiang Mai - I hope I've inspired you to visit if you ever get the chance! 

*Thanks to A Chefs Tour for hosting me on the food tour

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Five Amazing Places To Eat In Seminyak, Bali

Five Amazing Places To Eat In Seminyak, Bali

Thursday, 6 October 2016

Food is a big thing for me, like a real big thing. Trying out new restaurants can become the highlight of my week so obviously it is always a huge part of my travel experience as well. Whenever I visit anywhere, I always do my food research before and continue it whilst I am there. Google is all well and good for full on reviews but Instagram is my number one this sort of thing. I love that you can see exactly what food looks like and what people think of it. I also like to see what photos people post of the actual place, who they are there with and what the vibe is and I get that best through instagram.

We were in Seminyak for five days and of course we ate out a lot. There were so many unique places out there, and as well as some amazing food we had, there were also some pretty incredible locations. Here are a few that stood out for me.

Cafe Organic

I had been following Cafe Organic on instagram for months and fell in love with their colourful and carefree feed. They opened last year and are all about the super foods but whilst what they serve is healthy, it also looks amazing. Five minutes after leaving our resort in a cab, we arrived in instagram heaven. Before we even saw any food; with white wall and a glass store front, inside was full of bright, natural light. The specials were written in coloured chalk on chalk boards, the table tops were white marble and there were cactus scattered around everywhere.

Andrew doesn't do fruit or vegetables so he went for eggs on toast. I ordered a juice and The Acai Coco smoothie bowl which was full of all sorts of berries, passion fruit, mango, oats, granola, coconut, cacao nibs and bee pollen and served in a coconut, obviously. The only issue here was that the service was pretty slow but honestly, that didn't bother us. It was bright, comfortable and air conditioned so we didn't mind sitting there for a bit longer than we would have liked.

The total came to around about £7.50 and for me, it was the perfect healthy afternoon snack. The food was very refreshing in the bali heat and whilst I love a smoothie, eating fruit isn't usually as fun as eating chocolate but here it was; they made it fun. The food looks good and more importantly it tastes good.

 Woo Bar At The W Retreat 
From 4-6, Monday to Thursday, The Woo Bar at the W does two for one signature cocktails plus you get a complimentary pizza so obvs we popped along one afternoon. We spotted two big comfy chairs which was a bit of luck because the place was packed and buzzing with people so we grabbed them and settled down there for a few hours.

I ordered a pretty Peach Strawberry Mojito and Andrew had a Strawberry & Champagne Martini which both looked great when they arrived at our table. They had a little more alcohol in them than I would have liked but that didn't bother Andrew and I loved how fruity mine was; I sat there eating it with a fork when I'd finished my drink. Whilst they were quite expensive for Bali at around £7 each, living in London meant that for us, it was rather cheap. Along with our cocktails we got our complimentary cheese pizza, a duo portions of truffle fries and I ordered chocolate milkshake afterwards as well. It was poolside pizza and chips but it was good! The fries were my favourite.

Moving on to the reason that we actually went there in the first place - the sunset! We had heard that The W hotel is the place to be and by 6 o'clock, we agreed. Sunset anywhere along that beach would have been pretty but the palm trees, lanterns and the famous W around the hotel made for an extra special silhouette.

Sisterfields

Whilst I'd been following Cafe Organic for a long time, I only spotted this little gem on Instagram once we were out there, then when we were out, we spotted it very close to where we were staying so we went back for lunch the next day. Obviously, the next day there was a queue outside but we were happy to wait because everyone online seemed to be raving about it plus we were pretty sure that we were going it love it after reading through the menu. I think you'd agree #BrunchGoals.

According to their Facebook, it is supposed 'represents the iconic café culture of Australia' but for us Brits, it had a very Shoreditch vibe so we felt right at home too. There was all sorts of delicious brunch style things on the menu from banana brioche french toast to berries & bavarian cream but after eight days away, I was craving a portion of my beloved avocado toast which I ordered on gluten free bread. I love how easy it is to get gluten and dairy free in Bali, its so readily available.

My smashed avocado arrived with semi-dried cherry tomatoes, popped capers and feta and seriously, it was so good. I wish we had found out about this place a little sooner into our trip as we would both have definitely have come back and ordered the same thing all over again. With brunch, I had a mango madness smoothie, made with their house made nut milk.

Whilst I was happy, Andrew also loved this place because it has a good selection of meat dishes as well. He went for the dirty burger and thanks to instagram, I knew he was in for a bit of a treat but I just couldn't pass up the avocado opportunity although admittedly when it arrived I was a little bit jealous.

So these next two definitely deserve a mention but it was was totally dark by the time we got to both of them so you're going to have to bear with me when it comes to photos.

Breeze At The Samaya Hotel

Breeze was a very last minute decision for us, we had spotted it on Google before we left and at the time, decided not to book because the menu was very western and to be honest, I thought it was going to be a bit gimmicky, playing on being at the sea front and not actually being very good. We were on our way back from Tanah Lot Temple and didn't have any dinner plans, it was getting late just decided we'd try Breeze because after a week of eating rice (and loving it might I add), Andrew wanted some western food and we knew we could get it there.

When we arrived though, my mind changed instantly. All I'd seen of it before was the beach front but as we walked though the hotel to their pool and dining area, I fell in love with the place. It was dark by this time so sadly no sunset views but instead we had candle lit walk ways, lanterns and fairy lights winding up the trees.

We originally wanted to sit right at the sea front, like the photos I'd seen but the waves were really loud and over powering so we moved back to a little candle lit hut. As it was so dark, I didnt get any good photos of where we sat but I found this on Trip Adviser (Thanks Derekneo21) and it shows exactly where we sat.

Here are the few that I got

Bambu

Bambu was our last night and probably our favourite meal in Bali! It was pretty surreal being dropped off on the busy road to then turn into Bambu and be greeted by candle lit stepping stones across to a restaurant floating in the middle of a pool. Big thanks to TripCanvas for this one:

Whilst the setting was super romantic, the food was all delicious as well from the ceviche I had for a starter to the amazing seafood noodle both we had for a main and even the steamed coconut rice we had as a side. We couldnt find the menu for this place anywhere online so maybe they change the food quite often but I would 100% recommend giving it a visit if you're in the area! 

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Lunch at Le Pain Quotidien

Lunch at Le Pain Quotidien

Tuesday, 3 May 2016

I am in the terrible habit of buying lunch every day. I know, it's expensive and I could save loads by bringing in food but it is seriously the highlight of my working day and I feel sad when I haven't got a nice lunch to look forward to. As much as eating nice food, I love to get out of the office for an hour and usually go exploring with Juanita. There's lots to be seen in Fitzrovia and recently, rather than visiting a new shop to pick up something exciting to go, we've been enjoying actually having a sit down lunch in a restaurant.

Whether it's google, or more recently, Instagram, I am always hunting for new places to visit and I recently came across Le Pain Quotidien, a cute little Belgium chain with a pretty delicious looking menu and after a quick search, I realised that we walk past our local one, on Tottenham Court Road every day. So today, we went in.

We arrived at 12:30 and the lunch time rush had already started - it was already packed out. We found a table by the window and setteled down for an hour. I could already tell this place was going to be good. There was a little takeaway counter at the back which was full of delicious looking bread and cake and some very yummy looking specials up on the board. As for the menu, it had some many perfect lunch time choices from salads to tartines (much more on this to come) and lots of hot options.

It was the first time I'd ever seen a whole section on the menu just for tartines. Actually it was the first time I'd ever heard of a tartine in the first place. I soon learned that an open topped sandwich actually had a name, it was a tartine - and their choices looked just my style - three of them had avocado on them! I went for chicken avo and feta and I think I made a good choice. Plus it didn't make me fall asleep at work afterwards (this has definitely happened) so maybe just once slice of bread at a time is the way forward!

Piled high with toppings (which I was very pleased about as I have been known to shun bread altogether in the past when it comes to sandwiches.) The bread was smothered with smooth avo and topped with thick strips of chicken and chunks of tomato, then sprinkled with feta cheese.

I'm actually starting to love feta on things that aren't salads. The scattered pieces give a nice little kick of flavour.

Juanita ordered the potato and chorizo frittata. I didn't know what a frittata was either but turned out its similar to an omlette but much chunkier with much more filling. It came with a large plate of salad and a couple of slices of bread.

We also decided on hot chocolates and we're both very amused when Juanitas turned up with a teddy bear in the froth. It's much harder to do with soya milk so mine had a simple love heart but still, when your just expecting a plain drink to arrive it was a lovely, happy surprise that made us both smile. 

We smiled a little harder when we realised the hot chocolate came with a little jug of more chocolate that you could add to flavour. No testing needed. We both tipped the whole thing straight in. 

 To finish off we picked up a tart each to take back to work! One lemon and one strawberry with thick whipped cream underneath. SO delicious and the perfect late afternoon pick me up.

*Our lunch was complimentary in return for this review although all thoughts are 100% my own. And we will be going back very soon.

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