I strongly believe in the magic of a place, in seeking and discovering countries, cities, villages or deserted places which make you see beyond spectacular landscapes and tourist attractions. It`s great to feel its pulse in a different way, to long for staying there as much as possible and to tell about meeting them all through your life!

Thailand is such a magic place that, when I discovered Chiang Mai – a vibrant city which gets into your soul with its cultural energy, with its 700 years of history, I knew it was one of those absolutely special colored experiences which must be shared.

Would you like some sensational food, and shoping for genuine products, cooking schools and all day and night bazaars, street food and fascinating flower markets? Chiang Mai has it all. Do you fancy visiting temples and museums? What about some culture? In Chiang Mai it would be difficult for you to make a choice. Do you want festivals and spectacular parades, music and rhythm? Well, yes, you can find everything you want here. To say nothing of the Thai massages, orchid plantations, and butterflies farms, the traditional tuk-tuk with which you can travel and hundreds of adventures, events, smells, flavours and colors…

Chiang Mai “Colored list”:

1. Visit Chiang Mai during Loy Krathong festival and you can also enjoy Yi Peng, which is being held within. The festival is on the list of  “1000 world events to be in a lifetime” and it deserves its position there.

2. If you are here for the festival, don`t miss the flower market, where you will discover a lot of incredibly elaborate krathongs (flower arrangements which are launched on the water).

3. Take a look round the Wat Phrathat temple, the symbol of Chiang Mai, to enjoy an hour of perfect calm and meditation.

4. Go for a walk in the old center of Chiang Mai, where you have lots of shops and cafés.

5. Check the temples in the Old Center, by all means.

6. For a good restaurant in the Old Center, book for the restaurant of the Rachamankha Hotel or the Ruen Tamarind Restaurant in the Tamarind Village Hotel.

7. Go to the restaurants and bars on the left bank of the Ping river, such as Riverside Bar&Restaurant or Deck 1, to watch the sunset while enjoying dinner or savoring a cocktail.

8. Go to Vieng Joom On Teahouse, on the bank of the Ping river, to have a flavourful afternoon tea or a good cake.

9. In order to watch a show with super exciting traditional dances and to taste some food from an exceptional cuisine, Le Grand Lanna restaurant at Dhara Devi is the spot!

10. SaturdayNight Market Walking Street in Wua Lai Road, a kind of bazaar which is held on Saturday, with all kinds of handicrafts, is worth visiting(during the week you can find shops which sell silver objects, wonderfully shaped.

11. If you are curious to find out more about Hill tribe villages, visit the specially planned village, Baan Tong Luang, where you will find Karen, Akha, Miao, Yao and others, each of them with its own language and culture.

12. Handicraft lovers must go to San Kamhaeng Road, where many centres with the above mentioned  crafts spread one after another: some are specialized in silk, celadon ceramics, antiquities, silver, varnished wood products, even furniture, and Bo Sang village is renowned for its  handmade umbrellas.

13. If you want to buy a special, handmade jewel, go to Metal Studio.

14. The romantics can go on a boat trip on the Ping river, at sunset.