Chiang Mai, Thailand: travel tips, itinerary, night bazaar, markets, cooking class, how to get around, best temples

Steve and Fam explore Chiang Mai with a steady pace, from khao soi and night markets to river tubing with elephants, Monk’s Trail quiet, and a cooking class that wins over the teens. He shares practical tips, honest laughs, and why travel keeps minds open.

• choosing a calm base near Tha Phae Gate
• anchoring days with food, markets, and rest
• Sunday night market strategy at 5 pm
• river tubing turning magical with elephants and buffalo
• waterfall hike, slides, and safe footwear
• Monk’s Trail to Wat Pha Lat and temple etiquette
• JJ Market finds and avoiding hunger spirals
• Zab E. Lee cooking class with Focus energizing the group
• songthaews, landmarks, and easy laundry logistics
• reflections on travel as mindset expansion

Links to their favorite things:

https://www.facebook.com/graziethaifood/

https://www.tubingchiangmai.com/

https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/enp/visit-volunteer

https://g.co/kgs/ysdhjf2   (Wat Phan On=the best low cost noodle bowls)

https://g.co/kgs/gjL7Yeh.  (Monks Trail)

https://zabb-elee-cooking.com/

Theme Music available on Bandcamp, Spotify or anywhere you stream music:

https://themostfamousstevewebb.bandcamp.com/album/national-treasure

https://open.spotify.com/album/0boqNyhBk1U1sww21uEWaDsi=RRG2ZItGSImrpIN14t_c2ghttps://

Some of the drum tracks on the interstitial music were originally derived from the Pocket Queen’s New Breaks Vol 1 

www.thepocketqueen.com/

If you want to see some pictures of the fam on their adventures, follow on Instagram @wwggwithstevewebb

If you've enjoyed where we're gonna go, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with your friends

contact Steve: stevewebb0201@gmail.com

Transcript

Why Travel And Why Chiang Mai

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Here we are to talk about travel. Specifically, how my wife Christy and I lead our three teenagers and an old guy, her dad, through all kinds of adventures. I'm gonna tell you where we went, what we did, and show you how we paced ourselves to avoid meltdowns and mutiny. If you're trying to plan a trip anywhere with your family or alone, this show will be helpful. If you're looking to stay at home and let us do the traveling for you, that works too. Basically, travel is good and we do it well, and I want to share that with you. This episode takes us to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. We'll spend roughly a week in the area exploring both the city and the surrounding countryside. Don't worry if you don't remember everything I talk about, I'll provide links to our favorite things in the show notes. My name is Steve Webb, and this is where we're gonna go. We wonder where we're gonna go.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

We wonder where we're gonna go. We wonder where we're gonna go. We wonder where we're gonna go. We wonder where we're gonna go. We wonder where we're gonna go.

Settling Into A Zen Airbnb

SPEAKER_00 1:21

A cute little Yoda-esque lady showed us around her place. Before being repurposed as an Airbnb, it was a boutique hotel. It still had a front desk and a little food counter, but behind the food counter was now our kitchen. And the front desk was no more than a place to set our keys. It was rustic and very Buddhist, with religious art and symbolism everywhere. The main hangout area was an outdoor patio on the second floor with a thicket of potted plants growing on all sides, making it feel real pleasant, like a Zen jungle hideout. LL and I were happy to find a high-end espresso machine. We're both addicts, and Northern Thailand is famous for their coffee, so we were excited to get right into it.

First Taste Of Khao Soi

SPEAKER_00 2:05

After a high grade jolt, we walked around the city looking for lunch. Fluke, our guide from Ko Samui, who we still talked about every day, said we have to try Northern Thailand's most beloved dish, cow soy. K-H-O-A-S-O-I. We found a little spot called Grazy Thai Local Food, G-R-A-Z-I-E, on Chiapoom Road near our house, and it did not disappoint. We all ordered something different, and the cow soy stole the show. Z loved it so much he ordered a bowl for himself after eating whatever he'd ordered. I believe it was his first experience with curry flavor. But it wasn't too curry. It was a little curry, a little spice, some whiter egg noodles, creamy coconut broth that seemed reddish and yellowish depending how you looked at it, and crispy noodles on top. So good I determined that I might eat it every day. After lunch, we went back to the house to chill for the afternoon. Even though Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city, it has a smaller feel to it. At least to me. Maybe because it's surrounded by mountains, rivers, and jungles, or maybe I read it in a guidebook somewhere and adopted it as my opinion. Or maybe both. Who knows?

Old City Gates And Night Market

SPEAKER_00 3:18

The old part of the city is surrounded by ancient walls in a moat with four main gates. I tell you this because the gates make for great landmarks when you want to get picked up or dropped off by a Songtau or a Tuktuk, or meet up with your family after some wandering. At about five, we hit the Sunday night market that begins at the Taipei Gate and goes on forever. Our host recommended that we get there at five when it started because it gets super crowded as the night progresses. It was a really nice market though, totally worth braving the crowds. Lots of jewelry, clothes, and artwork that ranged from touristy trinkets to high-end quality, with a lot more good than bad. LL bought a wooden vase. Christy bought two cool Thai pillowcases and a picture of elephants made of buffalo hide. There was food everywhere. I snacked myself into not being hungry for dinner, a first for me in Thailand. Everyone else still needed to catch up though, so we stopped into a crowded little place for dinner. Every plate everywhere averaging less than two American dollars and tasting like a million bucks. After dinner, Christy and I still had some juice, but everyone else was tired. The crowds had become so dense that it was difficult to move, but we were set on getting out for a little longer. We dropped the crew off at the house and took a side street around and entered the market from a different angle. We wandered for a while. There was so much great artwork that we found it too difficult to choose, and we resolved to get nothing. We found our way to the Three Kings Monument, where there was an event taking place for the king's birthday. There were Thai people everywhere dressed in traditional seeming, brightly colored outfits, and it all seemed a bit like a dream. With tiredness seeping in, we headed back to the house to find LL and the kids unexpectedly lively, playing cards, chatting away, and listening to music. It was one of those sneaky sessions. We'd expected to have a glass of wine and go to bed, and there we were, two hours later, laughing and jamming and playing cards. All six of us listening to a timeless Jamaican artist on a rooftop porch in Thailand. Incense wafting through the air, lamps hanging with stained glass colors, plants shifting in the breeze, and gentle chimes ringing from nearby temple spires.

River Tubing Turns Epic

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Monday, July 29th. We had a nice lady from tubing, Chiang Mai pick us up in a van at about 11:30. After stopping off to pick up a perfectly friendly Dutch family from their hotel, we had an hour and a half drive ahead of us. The plan for the day was a guided river tubing expedition through the jungle. Then the same nice lady would pick us up down the river and take us back to base camp where we'd hike to a waterfall that was perfect for sliding and swimming. We arrived at headquarters. There were several pavilions, a couple small houses that guests could rent, restrooms, showers, and changing rooms for us to use while we waited for our guide. His name was Bang. He looked to me like a tie fred armison with a ponytail and no shirt. He didn't even flinch as the rain poured down, hard and tropical, while we waited under the pavilion for him to organize. He had different groups and assistants going in every possible direction, but he assured us he'd be right back. We're gonna do some tubing, he yelled over the sound of rain smacking the muddy ground. The kids were being good but mentioning that this might suck. I did not argue with them, but tried to keep the vibes up by saying annoyingly optimistic things like a little liquid sunshine never hurt anybody. Such statements were not well received. It wasn't long at all before we were heading down to the river and climbing into our tubes. For this excursion, I recommend some Tiva-like sandals with a backstrap. I'd purchased some knockoffs at the market the night before for about five bucks. I knew from previous experience that river tubing and flip-flops, my personal favorite footwear, would result in me not having flip-flops anymore. Because rivers love them too. We had our group, the four Dutch and six Americans, all strapped together. Then next to us was a group from the UK with at least one guy that spoke Dutch because he and our guy were yelling back and forth and laughing like long lost pals. Bang hollered out some instructions. Mostly bottoms up, which meant the water was shallow and we had to lift our asses. He was an enthusiastic guy that loved his job, running the whole operation like he was born for it. The rain started to fade, the kids started to lighten, and my fake optimism shifted to the real stuff. I began to whistle, and Christie shushed me, saying we should listen to the sounds of nature. But before I had a chance to resent her, Bang, who loves to party, hit play on his giant JBL speaker strapped to a tube, and the classic bass line for Stuck in the Middle With You came pumping down the river, in the jungle, in Thailand. The laughter came out of us in a wholehearted punch, and she relented, saying, I could whistle if I wanted. The sun was breaking through the clouds, and Bang started passing out beers, and I wondered how the day could get any better.

Elephants, Buffalo, And Jungle Awe

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Then it happened. Off in the distance I could see some big animals. They became obscured by the curve in the river, then reappeared again. It made me think of dinosaurs. Like I was witnessing a direct link to a prehistoric time. It was a herd of water buffalo approaching the river. Then we saw our first elephant, muddy and majestic. I asked DJ if this was even real, and she asked me the same thing right back. Z was saying, damn, this is cool shit! And I agreed. We were all pointing and spotting elephants everywhere. Then we had to put on the brakes as the herd of water buffalo crossed the river right in front of us. Grumpy teenagerness stood no chance. I'd have been excited with no beer in the rain. We continued our voyage past all sizes and shapes of elephants, strolling along the water, throwing mud on their backs, or standing and slowly chewing roughage. The rain had gone. We were floating through a field of giants. Walk on the wild side was cranking from the speaker, and everyone was happy. I'd never imagined in a million years that I'd be doing anything like this. An old tire tube and some muddy water, classic rock and cold beer, elephants and water buffalo in a jungle mountain background. What the hell was even happening? We sailed out of the elephant camp and passed a fisherman flinging a round net out into the water, hoping for catfish and little minnows. A little further down the river, our nice driver waited with towels, ready for us to hop back in the van. Back at base camp, we prepared for our hike up the waterfall. And by prepare, I mean a ton of bug spray. As recommended, bye bang. We hiked up a trail that was a little slick but not too difficult and wound ourselves deeper into the jungle. After about a half a mile, we arrived at the falls. There was a rope attached to a rock at the top of a steep incline along the side of the rushing water. We were able to use it to pull ourselves up to the top of the waterfall. Bang showed us how it was done, and we all took turns. The slide was a lot faster than it looked. It flung, bounced, and zipped us down into a cinnamon chocolate pool of water. It was intense and super fun. Z started screaming, and it was possibly the most fired up he'd been on the whole trip yet. Christy went down once, DJ and I went down two or three times, and Z and Ro went down like twenty-six times. The two were yelling, flexing, waving and hollering the whole time. LL considered it

Waterfall Hike And Slides

SPEAKER_00 12:13

all, did some math, with a little help from his daughter, and decided to enjoy the view from the base of the waterfall. I took to floating in a tube in the pool, which felt super exotic and tropical, and I didn't understand why Christy was laughing at me until I saw the picture she took. Before me appeared a big bald guy in a tiny tube floating in a muddy puddle of water.

Rainy Day Temples And Laundry

SPEAKER_00 13:04

So if you want to hear me talk in possibly a little too much detail about every single elephant I met, then make sure you check that episode out. Thursday, August 1st. The day after the Elephant Nature Park was a rainy chill day. I would have skipped talking about it altogether, but it's worth mentioning two things. First, while wandering the city in between rain showers, we came across Wat Van An, which is W-A-T-P-H-A-N-O-N. Just a few blocks inside the Taipei Gate, within the temple grounds there are a few little food stalls, and in the middle of that congregation is a husband and wife duo serving up a noodle bowl for 20 baht. For us, it was the perfect lunch. I feel like I've talked too much about the food in Thailand, so I will spare you in trying to describe it. But if you find yourself wandering within the old city of Chiang Mai and you want to keep it simple and very inexpensive, you should go there. And secondly, I dropped our laundry off at a sweet old woman who spoke zero English and I hope for the best. In general, Thailand is great at accommodating travelers. In addition to massage, transportation, food, art, and shopping, you can get your laundry done at a great deal. I didn't do anything special to find the place. These places are everywhere. We were just wandering a side street near our house and we saw a sign that said laundry. So we went home, bagged ours up, and I dropped it off. From what I gather, she charged by the kilo and would have it done by the next day. I walked away from the lady almost completely confident that we'd see our clothes again. Friday, August 2nd.

Monk’s Trail And Quiet Magic

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Christy and I put on our long pants and set out on our own. We caught a Song Tao by the Taipei gate and climbed up a steep hill in the red truck to Monk's Trail. Song Taos are to Chang Mai what yellow cabs word in New York City. They are everywhere. Little red trucks with caps over the bed. You just talked to the driver, climb up and back, and take a seat on one of the benches. The driver knew exactly where the trail was. He even jumped out and found us two walking sticks before seeing us off. Some people on the internet had claimed Monk's Trail to be a magical hike. We'd climb up through jungle switchbacks to a forest monastery known as Watfa Lat or the Sakadagami Temple. That's W-A-T-P-H-A-L-A-T. Or S-A-K-A-D-A-G-A-M-I. I was a bit skeptical of the word magical, but either way we knew it wouldn't be your average hike. And the fact that it was only about a mile, although mostly uphill, made it a perfect way to spend the first part of the day, then get back to the family after lunch. The trail was marked with colorful tapestries about four feet long and six inches wide on the end of tall, swaying bamboo poles. There was a jungle stream coming in and out of view and could always be heard singing somewhere through the trees. There were butterflies, all different types, that took turns swirling around our feet and fluttering ahead as we walked. There were some signs that asked us to respect the monk life and try to be a little quiet. Even without the signs, we would have been a little quiet. The place had a feel to it that made us automatically whisper, even after asking, why are we whispering? About halfway through the climbing hike, the insects, some version of cicada, I think, got so loud, pulsing in stereo all around, that I lifted out of my body for a second, feeling like I'd passed to some invisible threshold. It may have been the humidity, or maybe I just contracted the dengue fever, but dying man, something was happening. I've said it before, but I believe that when you step into

Thai Cooking Class With Focus

SPEAKER_00 17:08

a place where people have meditated or prayed for centuries, you're gonna feel something. It's related, I think, to the human law of mindset. If you cultivate a positive state of mind, good things tend to happen to you more often. If you ruminate in negativity, you'll be living in Frowntown. A place of meditation that is centuries old is a generational compounding of that law. The thing that felt so unusual to me was that we were still out in the jungle. We weren't even in the temple yet. I was catching these big feelings just being in the backyard. Like the whole hilltop was in a spiritual force field gated by those deafening cicadas. So maybe the internet was right. It was an ascending pilgrimage with swirling butterflies through a split second psychedelic porthole. What else would you call that but magic? After about an hour of hiking, we arrived at the temple, with its ancient little buildings tucked along the stream. Looking back from where we came revealed that we were on the top of a waterfall with a view of the city of Chiang Mai. Slowly, in a mild trance of beauty, we waded into the water and rinsed out our gritty sandals. Since its inception, about six hundred years prior, the temple had been a resting point for monks hiking all the way to the top, the temple of Doi Suthep, D O I S U T H E P which would have been another two or three miles with some steeper inclines and more rugged terrain. We decided that we'd had the perfect amount of magic already and wouldn't need to get greedy. After enjoying the view and the cool water, we explored the Wat. Despite my out-of-body moment of enlightenment, I was right back to being myself again. You can drive there, and many did, so the place was a little crowded, and I found the people mildly annoying. After righteously concluding that everyone should have to hike there to appreciate it like we did, I realized I was kinda happy to have the option to catch a ride down the hill. We walked around the grounds in appreciation of the tall green bamboo lined staircases, the giant white dragons guarding the temples, the gold Buddha with offerings from travelers placed at his feet. Most notably a bag of Doritos and a bottle of orange Fanta. We met our first Americans in a while. Two young girls, probably twenty, from Oklahoma, who bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok. They had light in their eyes because they were doing it, as I like to say, about anybody who's really doing it. Christy chatted them up for a while and later admitted, in seeing her younger self, that she had to hold back and not tell them where to go and what to do. She had to let them live their own life. At least one of us is enlightened. This place was definitely worth the visit, and I stand behind the idea that the hike there made it feel more special. But catching a ride is okay too. There was a little snack shop and a parking lot. We easily found a Songtau down the hill back to the Taipei Gate where we started. We wanted to catch lunch at a place called Blue Noodle because there was always a line when we walked by and it was always full and it seemed like the place to be. But after standing in line for five minutes, we started to think it was dumb. Why wait in this possibly overhyped place when the nice old couple that served us delicious noodle bowls the day before was right there across the street? We left the line, got a bowl in a minute, and didn't regret it for a second. After all this talk about Thai food, we're finally going to get to the bottom of it. Back at the place with the whole fam, we were prepping to get picked up for the Thai cooking class at Zab E. Lee Cooking School at Z-A-B-B-E-L-E-E. We waited at her gate because they asked us to be ready. Suddenly, a Thai girl appeared with level eleven out of ten energy. I'm not even sure how to describe this woman because I have not met a parallel. Our reaction, though, was wide-eyed, what the hell was that? Smiles at each other, all six of us instantly knowing that we, at the very least, would not be bored. Her name was Focus. She knew English well but had her own brand of accent. She spoke fast and laughed a lot at the end of each sentence. She smiled and cooed and buzzed like a bee. After we picked up yet another nice Dutch family, she popped up from the front seat and turned. Okay, everybody. Then she explained our options from the menus she passed out. She took our votes on what each of us wanted to cook. She called me a sexy man, it's always nice to feel seen. And had the driver pulling up to the market with blinding efficiency. Our family and the Dutch family all continued to exchange what the fuck faces with big eyes and smiles. I thought about fluke. If I had a beer, I'd have spilled it for 'em. Focus was on a whole other level. She took us to the market to educate us on Thai vegetables. I gathered that the Dutch and Americans had similar produce because we all didn't recognize the same things. Focus flew through the lesson and gave us some free time to wander the market for about 15 minutes. I bought some fried chicken skin, Z got a watermelon, and Roe got some cake. We got back to the van and headed out to the spot. The cooking school was 30 minutes outside of town and was so impressive. Beautiful gardens, koi ponds, five kitchens, each open-aired under the most interesting bamboo pavilion I'd ever seen. Focus was not only our guide for the pickup and the market, she was the teacher too. She barked out orders with a quick military tone to get us in line. Then she put on dance music loudly and had us dance while we cooked. She laughed and called me a sexy man at least ten more times, and succeeded at getting everyone into it. Z was smiling and looking like a chef. Ro, who came in with the world's biggest eye roll, was over there lost in the process of cheffin. LL, DJ, and Christy were all having genuine, completely in the moment fun. We made papaya salad, spring rolls fried and fresh, curry, pad Thai, fried rice, and mango sticky rice. Focus flew around like a mad scientist while crazy Thai music pumped from the speakers, tasting all our dishes and adding a little of this and a little of that if necessary. Except for LL's, she claimed his was perfect. By the time we got to the third or fourth course, both the Dutch and the Americans had decided that the rest of the food should be boxed up to go. There was just too much food, and we were stuffed. On the ride home, every one of us, teenagers included, said it was a lot more fun than we thought it would be. Z ate more varieties of vegetables than he's tried in his entire life combined. It was definitely a trip highlight for everyone. And even if she didn't keep calling me a sexy man, I couldn't recommend Focus and the Zab E. Lee cooking experience more highly. As far as getting to the bottom of what makes Thai food so special, I think we're gonna need more time. Saturday, August 3rd.

JJ Market And Temple Tour

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Our landlady peer pressured us into going to the JJ Market by arranging a ride for us. Which was actually really nice of her. She just wanted us to enjoy Chiang Mai and didn't realize how much we already were. Our driver dropped us off in a crowded corner and we gaggled into the market. The Thai people love markets. We've been going to all kinds, and they're great. Always good food, which is my priority. The JJ seemed a little higher end than the others. A lot of handicrafts and clothing. But our first stop was food. I was on the edge of despair hungry, and Christy could see it in my eyes. My brain takes on the character of a spaced-out child, unable to process anything. Anyway. I wasn't there yet, but I was getting close. Crispy pork and purple rice dye purple from the pea flour, which we learned in our cooking class. The boys got pizza. The girls got some creative juices, lemongrass and such from the guy in the hat. A definite highlight. If you like classy lady, flowy linen clothing, this is your place. It was beige and breezy everywhere. I wasn't in the shopping mood myself, so I munched a bag of chicken skin and drank coffee. Which sounds like a weird combo, but it's not. We stayed for a couple hours and then took two took tooks home. Our team, LL, DJ, and me, lost the unspoken race. In case you were worried about our laundry, I went back to the old lady to find it cleaned and perfectly pressed. I wish I could share a link for her business, but she was not a link type person. After that, we took a four-hour tour of three Watts with a guide and driver recommended by our host. We revisited by van the same temple that Christy and I had visited the day prior. Then we ascended to the highest place in Chiang Mai, Wat Doi Suthep. Wat Doi Suthep was founded roughly six hundred years ago by a king and his white elephant. I'll admit that the gaggle was a little tired at that point. We weren't completely connecting with our guide, and it started pouring super hard. Our driver was nice enough to grab

Reflections, Links, And Farewell

SPEAKER_00 27:16

us some ponchos, and our tour guide pressed on, as rainy season people do, unflinchingly, through the downpour. I did enjoy the stop though, because it was the first temple that we'd seen in action. Monks were all around, chanting together. There was a gong with deep bass that filled the air like far-off thunder. One monk posed for a picture after we asked him if it was okay. It was a timeless National Geographic shot. He was generous, proud, and kind. He was every monk ever. Ending that part of the adventure exactly where we started it. And as you might be able to guess, it did not disappoint. One of the best parts about these trips for me is mealtime. Not just because I love food, but because we all sit together and replay this crazy experience we get to live. At that point, we were nearly three weeks deep into the journey, and by then everyone was completely unguarded. We'd seen so much that our heads were blown wide open, and in some ways, we were more ourselves than ever. There's something a little extra about the final night anywhere that ramps up the energy more than usual. Maybe we're proud because we came, we saw, and we pushed out the boundaries of our brains. We steeped ourselves in the discomfort of a new place and made it more comfortable. Not that any of us can ever fully understand a place, especially in such a short period of time. But through travel, we found an inoculation for the mind's tendency to close itself. A little taste of the previously unconceived lets you know that the world is very big and we are very small, and that is okay. Links for most of the places I discussed will be in the show notes. And if you want to see some pictures of the fam and I on our adventures, follow me on Instagram at wwg.com. With Steve Webb. This show is written, recorded, and produced by me, Steve Webb. With music by me, Steve Webb. If you like the theme song, check out my album National Treasure by the most famous Steve Webb. Anywhere you stream music. If you've enjoyed where we're gonna go, please leave a starry review and share it with your friends. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoy the trip. Boom boom, you gotta get going.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

Boom boom, you gotta get going.

unknown 30:34

Boom boom.