Chiang Mai, The Rose of the North

This Chiang Mai is nestled amongst the forested hills. Chiang Mai is located in a fertile valley some 300mts above sea level. It is the old city of the Lanna Kingdom. This city is the second largest city in Thailand. It has its distinct beauty that has its own cultural heritage. This place is called as “ROSE OF THE NORTH”. Many tourists get attracted to Chiang Mai because of its colourful city. Along with its numerous ancient temples and buildings, itis also famous for its handicrafts,their own dances and their own distinctive cuisine. Chiang Mai has derived its beauty from its natural majestic mountains, hill tribes and because of its beautiful scenery.

There are many attractions for the tourist like elephant camps, orchid’s garden, butterfly farms, trekking tours and river raft expeditions, Night safari and religious places

One can visit some of the Temples like the WhiteTemple where wishes are fulfilled .It looks marvellous because each and every stone carving is in white. Wat Phra Singh is known as the temple of the Lion Buddha,WatChediLuang where visitors can get more information from the monks about the Buddhism, life and the universe. WatChiangMan is the city’s oldest temple and famous for its two immense Buddha statues.

TigerTrailOutdoor Adventures is a two days trek and PoohEcoTrekking is also a two days trek. Anyone interested can contact the trekking committee.

Most of the elephantscamps are put up where the elephants show off their various skills like they dance, play musical instruments, paint a picture, play soccer and basketball and the most amazing thing is the elephant massages you with its foot. Elephant rides are also there where the tourists are allowed to ride for an hour or two through the jungle.

The NightSafari is an enjoyable trip for people of all ages. It is twice the size of Singapore and one of the specialty of Thailand. It is basically a Zoo set out like a theme park. There is a day time area called JaguarTrail zone consists of a walking trail around the lake. There are almost 400 animals to see here .

The nighttime is spilt into two zones the SavannahSafariZone and the PredatorProwlZone. One of the features of a trip to Night Safari is the nightly musical fountain and water screen laser light show.

Outdoor market bazaars on Chang Khlan road are busy during the evenings with lots of fast food sold on carts like mouth-wateringdishes like grilled chicken, pork shank braised with anise and rice noodles with curry.

The Thai people have been known for their preparation of healthy meals. There is a ThaiFarmcookingschool where they pick up tourist from their hotels and drop them back. They teach them right from shopping, touring the farm, collecting fresh ingredients and hands on learning how to cook 6 different Thai meals. Where; surely many of you can enjoy this experience.

Chiang Mai Flower festival is a three day festival occurring during the month of February. One can feel the fragrance and tropical flowers in full bloom.

So anyone wanting to enjoy a trip to this beautiful artistic city should go in the month of November to January since it is very cool and a very pleasant atmosphere.