Indigo Chiang Mai Holidays

So you’ve been in Chiang Mai (or Thailand) for a few days, and you’ve already had your fill of your favourites - Tom Yum, Green Curry Chicken & Pad Thai. Ready to try something new? Here are some delicious dishes to try:

1. Pad See Eiu

This is one of my favourite Thai lunch time dishes (one of many, lol). Pad = stir-fried; See Eiu = Soy Sauce. Wide rice noodles are stir-fried with garlic, chinese broccoli, meat (chicken, pork, etc), egg and dark soy sauce, which gives the noodles a rich, brown colour and sweetish taste. You can add chilli,  sugar, and/or fish sauce at the table to your liking. Sometimes served with a wedge of lime as well.

2. Khao Kha Moo

Khao = rice ;  Kha Moo = Pork leg. Khao Kha Moo = Stewed pork leg on rice. Pork leg is boiled with sweet soy sauce, and various herbs and spices such as cinnamon, coriander seeds and star anise. The result is delicious, deeply flavoured, tender pork. Served on rice with gravy, chinese kale (or pickled vegies) and boiled eggs (optional).

3. Gai Yang

Gai Yang = Grilled chicken. The can be found everywhere and lots of street stalls sell it. Usually eaten with sticky rice and Som tum (see below).

4. Som tum

Som tum, or papaya salad. Very refreshing & tasty salad. Papaya is pounded together with palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and chillis. Som tum is often eating with grilled chicken / pork, and is a good accompaniment for heavier and richer dishes.

5. Lad Na

This is a noodle dish where noodles are pan fried first then poured over with a thick gravy made by simmering meat (pork, chicken, beef, seafood…) with chinese kale, garlic, pepper, soy bean paste, and sauces like oyster sauce, soy sauce. I like to add a bit of vinegar and chilli sauce (can be found on your table) to add a bit of kick. Look for vendors who make lad na fresh (not vendors who use pre-made gravy - not as nice!).

6. Khao Moo Dang

Khao = Rice; Moo Dang = Red BBQ pork. Rice is served with sliced BBQ pork, and covered with sauce / gravy.

7. Khao Mun Gai

8. Pad Krapraw

Krapraw = basil. So, this is stir-fried meat (usually minced chicken or pork) with basil, garlic, chillies, fish sauce and vegies. Very tasty! I love mine with a fried egg (runny).

9. Khao Soi (Northern specialty)

10. Sai Ua - Spicy Chiang Mai Sausage (Northern specialty)

These are Northern Thai pork sausages filled with herbs and spices, grilled over charcoal. You can find these in any market in Chiang Mai. Suggestion: go on a sausage mission to find your favourite Sai Ua!

Sai Uas are usually eaten with sticky rice, green chilli dip, and pork crackling.

…So…here are 10 dishes to try when you come to Chiang Mai (or Thailand). Do you have any suggestions? What are your favourite Thai dishes?

Looking for a different massage experience? Want to try something different other than luxurious spas in the city? There’s a special massage centre in a national park in the mountains of Doi Saket, about 30-40 min drive from Chiang Mai city on the way to Chiang Rai. The massage centre is run by ladies in the local community. The massages are great, and prices very reasonable.

From Chiang Mai Tours

From Chiang Mai Tours

From Chiang Mai Tours

Sorry I can’t give exact directions, as it’s a little complicated, but the massage centre is located near Doi Saket Hot Springs. For more information, please contact us.

Boy Blues Bar is an awesome place - a funky little set up in an alley between two shop houses. Going there feels like being invited in to the band’s jam session. Awesome music is the main attraction at Boy Blues Bar… Just so happens that we can buy reasonably priced drinks there too! Very friendly people, wonderful atmosphere!

Boy Blues Bar is nicely located & very easily accessible - right at Chiang Mai’s famous Night Bazaar, just a couple of doors down Le Spice Indian Restaurant & opposite the Kalare Night Bazaar’s food hall & carpark.

Don’t forget to visit Boy Blues Bar out when you’re in Chiang Mai! Definitely highly recommended if you love blues or jazz music!

Check out their Facebook page.

A friend visiting Chiang Mai once told me excitedly, “It’s not everyday you get to play with real tigers!”. Tiger Kingdom in Mae Rim, Chiang Mai, is indeed a fun place to visit - unless you’re an animal activist who gets upset with the idea of using wild animals to make money from tourists, in which case, Tiger Kingdom probably isn’t a place for you.

Having said that, though, Tiger Kingdom is a lovely, clean and well-kept park. To me, the tigers look pretty happy and healthy. The enclosures are quite large. It’s free to walk around and view the tigers from the terrace of the restaurant. Charges apply if you go inside the cages to “play” and take photos with the tigers, under the supervision of handlers, of course. Prices range from 420 baht for 15 min in enclosures with “Big Tigers”, 420 baht with “Medium Tigers” and 520 baht with “Small Tigers”.

If you don’t want to get too close, you also have the option to have a meal at the restaurant’s terrace and watch other people enjoying their time in the enclosures - which is probably even more interesting than watching the tigers!

The food is at the restaurant is also pretty good and both Thai and Western food are available. My 3.5 year old nephew couldn’t wait to get into the pineapple fried rice! You can order a-la-carte, or if you’re there at lunch time, the restaurant has a good buffet for 200 baht/person.

There is also another fun activity for children - feeding fishes!

Nearby attractions: Bungee Jumping, ATV, Monkey School, Snake Farm, Long Neck Village, Mae Sa Elephant Camp, Mon Cham.

For more information or to book a tour in Chiang Mai, please contact us!

Enjoy glorious views from Mon Cham!

A drive through the beautiful Mae Sa Valley, climb up (by car!) a picturesque steep and windy road up to the Royal Project, keep driving through small roads of local villages, arriving at the peak of the mountain to take in the vista of mountains and valleys below. We’ve arrived at Mon Cham (also spelt Mon Jam).

At Mon Cham, we wander through strawberry fields and ovely flower gardens; enjoy lunch (or dinner) at the charming open air bamboo restaurant while enjoying to cool air and and drinking in glorious views. Not a bad way to spend a lazy Sunday (or any other days for that matter)!

If you would like to stay overnight, you can as well! “Tents” which look more like huts, are available for rent. Camp out in style - Mon Cham even offers private hot showers!

Mon Jam is only about 45 min drive from Chiang Mai city, and is near attractions such as Tiger Kingdom, Mae Sa Elephant Camp, Monkey School, Snake farm, Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, Orchid & Butterfly Farms, ATV, Bungee Jumping, etc.

Sit in the huts, enjoy your meals, drink in the vista

Stroll through the gardens of Mon Cham

Enjoy lovely views at Mon Jam!

The food is great too!

For more information, please contact us!

Do you and your kids love elephants? Would you like to spend the afternoon with them - give them their daily health care checks, take them for a bath, ride them bareback to the river? If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, then Patara Elephant Farm’s Elephant Day Care Program is for you!

The Elephant Day Care program is a “mini” version of Patara’s famous “Elephant Owner for a Day” program, and is more suited for families with young children as you’ll be looking after pregnant and baby elephants. You’ll also get to ride your elephant to the river, and enjoy a delicious snack in the jungle while you watch the elephants roam and relax in their natural environment.

The tour includes:

- Return transfer to hotel in Chiang Mai, picnic break, drinking water, photos of your experience on DVD, training outfit & equipments needed.

Please bring:

- T-shirt, long pants, extra clothes, sandals or slippers, sun-block, insect spray & camera

Price: 3800 baht / person

For more information or to book, please contact us!

Vieng Joom On is one of my favourite places to bring visitors when they come to Chiang Mai. Literally, Vieng Joom On means “pink city” …and yes, it’s a pink themed tea house / tea shop. Guys, don’t worry, other than the bright pink main building, the rest of the tea house isn’t totally pink! There is also a beautiful garden terrace out the back where customers can relax, sip tea, have snacks and chat with friends.

There is a huge selection of tea to choose from - various Chinese teas, masala, chai, rooibos, fruit teas, as well as Vieng Joom On’s own blends. They also serve various snacks, sandwiches and desserts such as Cherry Panna Cotta, scones and High-tea set.

If you happen to like any of the teas offered and want to take some home, you’ll be able to buy them from the gorgeously decorated tea shop. Warning - it’s not cheap - but the packaging is so beautiful and the tea very high quality.

Highly recommended for tea lovers.

Vieng Joom On Teahouse

53 Charoenraj Rd

T. Watgate A. Muang Chiang Mai 5000

Opens daily 10:00am-7:00pm

Tel: 053 303 113

Website: www.vjoteahouse.com

While you’re in Thailand and looking for something fast, tasty (and cheap!) to eat, try Pad Krapraw. These are spicy chicken or pork stir fries with basil leaves, chilli, garlic, onion and fish sauce - all Thai flavours rolled into one dish. Don’t forget to order a fried egg on top, sunny side up and yolk still runny, with your Pad Krapraw. This will make your lunch/dinner/snack even more delicious!

You can get Pad Krapraw just about anywhere in Thailand -  just go into any road side shack or street stall and order it. It’s cheap too - only about 30 baht (US $1). Don’t forget to try some!

Three Kings Monument, Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre

There’s more to Chiang Mai than pretty temples, elephants and beautiful mountains and waterfalls. Chiang Mai is a city rich in history, and if you make the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre your first stop and learn a little about the history and culture of Chiang Mai, you’ll be rewarded with a more meaningful experience when you visit important sites around the city.

Housed in historical building in the heart of Chiang Mai’s old city, the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre is a modern museum with interesting interactive displays. As you enter the building, you are ushered into a room to watch an English-subtitled Introduction to Chiang Mai Video. Next, go through to the exhibition areas covering the region’s history & culture. Learn how the three regional kings who founded the city based on ancient religious beliefs and cosmology. Gain an insight on how the city looked a hundred years ago. Walk through life-sized models of traditional Lanna houses and markets. Learn about the dynastic rulers of Chiang Mai, and more!

Worried that you won’t understand what’s going on? Fear not. Information in each section is written in (good) English and Thai. In addition, you can listen to voice recordings explaining each exhibit in various other languages such as Japanese and German.

How to get there:

The Chiang Mai city Arts & Cultural Centre is situated behind the Three Kings Monument in the old city.

Prapokklao Rd, Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 217 793

Opens: Tuesdays-Sundays (incl. public holidays) 8:30am-7:00pm.

Entrance fee: 90 baht

For tours in Chiang Mai, please contact Indigo Chiang Mai Holidays!