Get better acquainted with Thai Lanna lifestyle.
Be yourself! It's Holiday Inn.

1. Experience Sunrise - Temple Alms - Doi Suthep Temple
2. Discover Lanna Arts, Crafts and Culture
3. Elephant Riding and Bamboo Rafting
4. Adventurous Jungle Trek
5. Visit Baan Tawai Furniture District
6. Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens & Flower Festival
7. Journey Into The Chiang Dao Caves
8. Relax With a Massage
9. Dine on the Mae Ping River for a Lanna Delight
10. Shop at The Night Bazaar

1. Experience Sunrise - Temple Alms - Doi Suthep Temple

Early in the morning, travel to a nearby Wat to give Alms (offerings) to the monks in return for a blessing. Following this ancient spiritual practice, transfer back to your hotel for breakfast.

After breakfast visit Wat Phra Thad Doi Suthep , this is Chiangmai's most sacred temple and most visible landmark, and overlooks the city from its forested mountain backdrop. It is 15 kilometres from town, located 1067metres above sea level, and dates from 1381 A.D. The temple is approached on foot by climbing the steep and impressive mythological Naga (Dragon-headed serpent) staircase, comprising of 306 steps, the less energetic may ascend by rail cars. The temple's golden pagoda contains holy Buddha relics, and attracts Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world throughout the year.

2. Discover Lanna Arts, Crafts and Culture

Visit the Handicraft Village and Factories and see firsthand how traditional Northern Thai crafts are made.

Bo Sang Umbrella / Parasol Village The world - famous village is 9 kilometres from town, along a road lined with handicraft-producing factories. In genuine cottage industries, artisans manufacture silk and cotton umbrellas and paper parasols that are hand painted in various animal and floral designs. Generations of Bo Sang families have been engaged in umbrella and parasol making for more than 200 years.

San Kamphaeng Cotton & Silk Weaving Village This equally famous village is located 13 kilometres from town. The village is the major source of Chiangmai's Thai silk and cotton products. The fabrics are woven by local folk on traditional wooden looms, and are sold in a wide variety of plain lengths, plaids, brocades, stripes, prints and checks.

3. Elephant Riding and Bamboo Rafting

Taking you into a jungle environment along picturesque routes, outside Chiangmai, experience a demonstration of trained elephants at work, demonstrating how they move large teak logs as if they were matchsticks, a skill employed for more than a century. This is followed by an exciting elephant ride perched high in a wooden howdah, which gives an impressive view of the forest and an unforgettable experience.

If you are feeling adventurous and daring, you can visit the Mae Ping River raft station, where you can begin an exciting bamboo raft journey through lush tropical vegetation and, quite appropriately, large stands of elephant grass.

4. Adventurous Jungle Trek

Hmong, Lisu, Yao, Akha, Lawa and Karen hill tribes live throughout northern Thailand's mountains. They share animist beliefs and honour numerous forest and guardian spirits. Each tribe has distinctive ceremonial attire, courtship rituals, games, dances, agricultural customs, puberty rites, languages or dialects, aesthetic values and hygienic habits.

Popular "Jungle Treks", lasting from 2 to 7 days, take visitors through forested mountains and high valleys and meadows, and include visits to remote high altitude hill tribe settlements for overnight stays. The best guides are hill tribe youths who customarily speak English, Thai and at least three tribal dialects.

Treks commonly feature travel by foot, sometimes by boat, elephant-back, horseback or jeep, frequently a combination of two or three modes of transportation. The duration of the trips vary.

5. Visit Baan Tawai Furniture District

For antiques, antique reproductions, home furnishing and decorative art, Ban Tawai is well worth the trip out of town. Located 20 km south of the city centre, Ban Tawai is one of the most important craft centres in where you can get some truly fantastic deals. Woodcarving is the speciality of the artisans at Ban Tawai, a skill passed down for generations.

Thai woodcarvers are among the best in the world and Ban Tawai artisans are incredibly versatile, producing exquisite works in an incredibly diverse array of styles. Aside from d?cor items and furniture Ban Tawai will impress with its wonderful selection of Thai silk, bamboo products, soaps and oils, ornaments and vases.

6. Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens & Flower Festival

In the 1930s, an Englishman Dr. Kerr started a small botanical garden in this location 12 kilometres along the Mae Sa Valley. The current Queen Sirikit Botanical garden was opened in 1992 and incorporates many vegetation types, including some rare species. It also houses research facilities, student accommodation and an information centre. The mountain location makes it an enjoyable escape for everyone. Visitors can take a leisurely walk along the many winding nature trails and generally get away from it all. Thailand 's first Flower Festival was hosted by Chiang Mai in 1977 and was such a success that it was made into an annual event. It is held during the first week of February each year.

7. Journey Into the Chiang Dao Caves

It only takes about an hour to reach Chiang Dao by road from Chiang Mai
The Chiang Dao Cave complex extends more than 12 kilometres into the mountain, but there are five main areas inside where visits can be safely made. Just outside the main entrance is a crystal clear pool containing a lot of very large fish that are extremely well fed due to the ever-present fish food vendor and children eager to oblige. The water comes directly from the mountain.

Inside is a large cavern where there is a Buddha image and a lot of guides with gas lamps offering to guide you through the cave complex and point out all the interesting features. They charge a fixed 100 baht for their services as the sign clearly states. The price is the same for all size groups so it makes good sense to join up with others if possible.

8. Relax With a Massage

The art of Thai massage has been refined during hundreds of years of practice and passed down through generations. In Chiangmai, massage is alive and well and enjoyed by hundreds of visitors every day. The methods used today date back to Indian Ayurvedic practice developed initially by Buddhist monks nearly 2000 years ago.

Spending an hour or two having your muscles kneaded, pushed, pulled and relaxed is an invigorating experience and banishes all the aches and pains you get from travelling, walking and sitting on long bus or air journeys. There are three popular choices of massage.

Thai massage : which involves vigorously treating more than 100 areas of the body, using hand pressure and the masseuses own body to apply forces that aim to work pressure points, and re-align energy lines in the body.

Oil Massage : is gentler than Thai massage and involves deep muscle tissue treatment using specially blended therapeutic oils.

Foot massage : works the internal organs of the body through manipulation of pressure points on the soles of your feet in much the same way as reflexology. This is another skill that has been passed down through the ages and can be quite effective in producing a mild detox effect on the body.

9. Dine on the Mae Ping River for a Lanna Delight

One of the best ways to experience the Chiangmai's Lanna culture and cuisine is to attend a khantoke dinner, a traditional northern Thai way of extending hospitality. The name originates from the small round table made of lacquered wood or bamboo that is used on these occasions. Guests are garlanded with flowers called phuang mali and are entertained with dance performances during the meal. Traditional dishes normally served at these events include kaeng haeng le , a delicious curried pork, Burmese style; nam phrik ong , a spicy dip of ground pork and tomatoes; kaeng khae kai , a chicken and vegetable curry; and khao niao , glutinous rice, the staple cereal of Chiangmai.

You can experience a khantoke dinner by the Mae Ping river, at the Holiday Inn's River Terrace restaurant.

10. Shop at The Night Bazaar

The main venue for shopping in Chiangmai is the world renowned Night Bazaar. This takes up four blocks of Chang Khlan Road . Set up time is around sunset (usually about 18:00) and shopping goes on until about 22:30 with a few vendors remaining open even later.

Here you can find vendors selling almost anything you can think of. The selection is truly amazing but some of the more popular items on offer include CDs, DVDs, clothes, shoes, Thai silk, handicrafts and purses. Low prices mean you almost always get good value for your money. For a step up in quality (and price) there is the two level Viang Ping Night Bazaar, near Tha Phae Road.

There are plenty of restaurants and bars in the vicinity where you can take a break and recharge your batteries before braving the streets again.

Prices in the night bazaar aren't fixed and bargaining and haggling with vendors is part of the fun. Take your time and be patient, but most of all, learn how to bargain! Thai market traders expect it and will usually start at about twice what you ought to pay.