Chiang Mai for Digital Nomads
Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city and is known as the "rose of the north". It falls into the same category as places like Bali, Medellin, Mexico City and Lisbon, as somewhere that, for reasons I've never understood, has become a digital nomad hub. Digital nomads, and tourists in general, flock here like bees to honey.
That's not usually my kind of place - I like isolation. But if there's one digital nomad hub that is going to be up my alley, it's going to be the one in Thailand - a country I've spent seven of the past fifteen years in. So should you come here too? Or is it a place to be avoided at all costs? Read on to find out.
It's a place that should be avoided at all costs. I hate Chiang Mai.
In life, we all have some hills that we're willing to die on, where we just say "I'm not crazy, it's everyone else that's crazy." Chiang Mai is one of mine. Other people seem to love it here, but I just don't get it. There's not even any Thai people in Chiang Mai.
Apart from those working in the bars, restaurants and other services catering to tourists, the only people anywhere near the centre of Chiang Mai are tourists. There's no Thai culture here, there's nothing authentic about it. There's just a fake local culture that's used to make money off foreigners. It's essentially a big tourist resort.
I don't understand the motivation of British people for example, to fly halfway around the world, to go to British style bars and hang out with other British people speaking English. You could have done that at home. It's easier to get western food in Chiang Mai than it is Thai food.
I didn't like Chiang Mai on my previous visit in 2022, but at least that was right after Covid, before tourism had really picked back up. Even so, I wouldn't have come back but for two of my Thai teachers living here - I thought that it would be cool to meet in person. And it was.
Other than that? I would avoid Chiang Mai. It's one of my least favourite places on earth. There are many wonderful cities to visit in Thailand, and Chiang Mai is not among them.
Or if you do come here, at least understand what it is you're coming to: A faux local culture to make money off foreigners, where you will see twenty times more white faces than you will Thai.
If that's what you're looking for, then this probably isn't the app for you.
How affordable is Chiang Mai?
Relative to the rest of Thailand, Chiang Mai falls in the middle. It's cheaper than Bangkok, roughly comparable to the other tourist honey pots in the country like Pattaya, but more expensive than the non-touristy parts of the country.
Expect to pay over 1,000 baht per night for a nice room, a meal in a local restaurant will be upwards of 50 baht, but in a western restaurant will be more like 150 to 200. A small local bottle of beer in a bar will usually be less than 100 baht.
Is it worth it?
Absolutely not. You can find much better value in much nicer places in Thailand. Lampang for example, in the north of Thailand, or one of several cities in Isaan.
Is it easy to get by with English in Chiang Mai?
Yes. Any Thai person that you encounter in the city centre is only there because they have a tourist-facing job, so will have the English to accompany it. Every menu in every restaurant is in English. Good luck finding one in Thai.
How is the Internet in Chiang Mai?
Fast and stable - I've had no issues here.
Is Chiang Mai safe?
Pretty much. Crossing the road isn't always so easy, and given the mesh of people from around the world that come here, a lot of them intent on drinking, it can be a bit rowdy after dark, but all in all is very safe.
Who is Chiang Mai suitable for?
People that want to come to Thailand and experience as little Thai culture as possible. If you want to meet other foreigners, eat western food, and have everything in English, come to Chiang Mai.
Being sociable in Chiang Mai
You'll have no trouble meeting people in Chiang Mai. Several Meetup groups now exist in Chiang Mai, and if you can't find what you're looking for on there, there's a very active community on Facebook.
One such example is Yoga in the Park, which does yoga classes every morning in Nong Buak Haad Park. They're completely free and run by volunteers, although can fill-up so it's worth going early to get a spot. If you don't have a yoga mat, you can rent a grass mat for 15 baht, although they don't provide much padding. It's a great way to start your day and a good way to meet new people.
Another good option is the Chiang Mai Language Exchange Party, which takes place on the top floor of The Moat House every Tuesday.
It's called a language exchange - the reality is that everyone speaks English and gets drunk, but that can be fun too.
Yoga in the Park takes place every morning in Nong Buak Haad Park
Where to run in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai isn't a great city for runners, especially if you don't have your own transportation.
You'll often see people running around the moat that surrounds the old town, but this isn't a good route. The pavement is at times blocked, you have to cross a lot of roads, and there's a lot of pollution from running beside traffic.
The only place that I've found close to the city centre that's good for running is the Chiang Mai Municipal Stadium. It's the stadium of Chiangmai F.C., so perhaps coming here on matchday isn't recommended, but for the rest of the time is has a 400m running track that looks like it was recently relaid. There's also a road that goes around the outside of the stadium, of which one side is blocked-off for walkers and runners, and you get as many people running on this as you do the track itself, although it's narrow enough that it can be a pain to pass people that are running in groups.
That's the best place within the city centre, however if you can make it out there, then running laps of the lake at Chiang Mai University is perhaps preferable. The whole campus is absolutely gorgeous in fact. The downside being that if you don't have your own transport, then to walk here, even from the north edge of the old town, is about 45 minutes along a main road.
I've not gone up them myself, but from the university I'm pretty sure you can get onto the paths that go up the mountains behind the university if you want to turn it into a trail run.
The Chiang Mai Municipal Stadium has a gorgeous running track in great condition, and if you run here in the daytime you'll likely have the whole thing to yourself.
Getting vegan food in Chiang Mai
If I was going to give one reason to actually come to Chiang Mai, this is it. Travelling around Thailand as a vegan, you can often find yourself limited to little more than 'jay' buffet restaurants, the mundanity of which can wear you down.
With nothing but tourists in Chiang Mai, all the food here is aimed at foreigners, and so the vegan scene is vast and very diverse.
Salsa Kitchen is a meat-serving Mexican restaurant with several vegan options on their menu. These vegan carnitas and guacamole soft tacos cost 249 baht, and you will not regret it.
Reform Kafe
Right at the top of my list of vegan restaurants in Chiang Mai is Reform Kafe. I love this place. It's part of the Green Tiger House hotel, which itself is a vegan hotel.
I don't know what that means.
Reform Kafe takes up a large space on the ground floor. It's open air with a beautiful water feature and some cats wandering around. The menu includes smoothie bowls, burgers and some really good cakes.
Even though there's plenty to make you fat on the menu, you can also be healthy here. This falafel avocado bowl costs 190 baht
Rad Rabbit
Another of my favourites is Rad Rabbit. It's a fully vegan restaurant that serves, among other things, pizza, pasta and sandwiches. I haven't eaten anything here that I didn't like. It's amazing vegan food and great service.
All of the food at Rad Rabbit is good, but I especially recommend their pizzas. They're either tomato based or pesto based, and you have a choice of four crusts. The 12" Rad pesto pizza with wholewheat crust is 205 baht. I had at least three while I was in Chiang Mai. And grew tits.
Kinphak Cafe
I almost don't recommend getting Thai food in Chiang Mai, because if you're like me and spending most of your time in non-touristy parts of the country where the only vegan food you can get is Thai food, then Chiang Mai offers you some respite. However, if you are going to get any local food, then perhaps go to Kinphak Cafe.
It's a fully vegan Thai restaurant. The menus are in English of course, and the staff speak English, but this is Chiang Mai, what do you expect? The food is Thai - that's what I mean.
Dishes are all 50 to 75 baht, and if you like khao soi like I like khao soi, then get the khao soi.
Khao soi is my favourite Thai dish, and seeing as it's a northern Thai dish, when I'm in northern Thailand I get it a lot. At Kinphak it costs 55 baht.
Where I stayed in Chiang Mai
DewyHouse
| Room | 13,650.00 THB |
| 7% VAT | 955.50 THB |
| 1% City tax | 136.50 THB |
| Total |
14,742.00 THB
(1,053.00 THB per night)
|
For whatever reason, I didn't really take to Dewyhouse. It was very new when I stayed here, and it kind of felt like it.
At first glance, the room looked really nice, but it somewhat flattered to deceive, and I felt like a lot of its contents was there to give the illusion of grandeur, rather than having any practicality. For example, I had a bathtub in the room, but there were no taps to fill it with, or even a plug. And there was a big kitchen space, but absolutely no facilities to cook with. And there was a nice picture above the mirror, but it had been placed with so little care that it was upside down. And the bedside table just got in the way of the chair's wheels when you were sat at the desk.
There were also little annoying things in the room, that didn't really warrant complaining about, but that bugged me after two weeks of staying here.
The first was that the TV had a fault where the screen had a purple hue. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't use it for my workouts, and I figured that to complain would require workmen coming into the room either to repair or replace it, and I couldn't really be bothered with that, but by the time I left I was bored of everything being purple.
The other was that the shower dripped constantly, every few seconds. I also didn't want to have to deal with a plumber coming into the room, so I again opted to ignore it, but fuck in Hell I was bored of the constant dripping by the time I left.
The staff here were lovely, the location is good, and the Internet was fast and reliable, but I didn't ever really enjoy my stay here.
The bed is comfortable and there's good space in front of it to do yoga.
Oldy De Garden
| Room | 21,355.93 THB |
| 7% VAT | 1,494.92 THB |
| 10% Property service charge | 2,135.59 THB |
| 1% City tax | 213.56 THB |
| Total |
25,200.00 THB
(1,200.00 THB per night)
|
Just north of the old town, Oldy De Garden is a very leafy property well away from the main road and any noise. If you want to get the feeling that you're staying among nature while actually being in Chiang Mai, this is a good place for it. The room is very spacious, and it includes a balcony with a chair on it if you want to sit outside amongst the flora.
That sounds lovely on paper. In reality I tried sitting out there to code one day but only lasted about fifteen minutes because I was getting bitten by mosquitoes. And all the trees combined with the balcony covering, mean that very little daylight actually gets into the room, which is something I hate. For me there's no greater correlation to depression than a lack of natural light in the room that I'm staying in. If that's not an issue for you, then I can't really complain about anything else here.
The Internet is fast and reliable, it's peaceful, Lotus and 7-11 have branches nearby, and you're an easy walk from all the vegan restaurants that I recommended above. It's a lovely place with a certain rustic charm.
Oldy De Garden is more rustic than fancy. That's right up my alley, so I really liked it.
Summary of Chiang Mai
Do I want to come back to Chiang Mai again?
No.