Things to do — Northern Thailand

The region offers two complementary types of experience depending on the destination.

In Bangkok, the must-sees begin with the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), the most visited complex in Thailand and one of the finest in Asia — arrive at opening (8:30 am) to beat the crowds, and remember the dress code is strictly enforced (covered shoulders and knees, no leggings). The Wat Pho, a short walk away, houses the country's largest reclining Buddha (46 m long) and is the birthplace of traditional Thai massage; book a one-hour treatment in the on-site school for the most authentic experience in the city. Across the river, Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) gleams with porcelain and mosaics at sunrise and sunset — the iconic image of Bangkok as seen from the Chao Phraya. The Chatuchak weekend market (over 15,000 stalls) is the largest open-air market in Asia; Chinatown (Yaowarat) is the essential evening destination for street food, especially around Soi Texas where the seafood grills run flat-out until 2 am. A side trip to Ayutthaya, the UNESCO-listed former royal capital, rounds out a Bangkok stay perfectly — 76 temple ruins scattered across an island city that was once larger than London, easily seen in a long day trip by train or by guided river cruise.

In Chiang Mai, the moated Old City packs some 300 temples into less than 2 km². Doi Suthep, 15 km from town on its eponymous hill, is the most revered temple in the north: the view from its terrace over the Chiang Mai plain is worth every one of the 309 naga-flanked steps. Within the walls, Wat Chedi Luang (a partially collapsed 15th-century stupa once 80 metres tall) and Wat Phra Singh (Lanna architecture at its finest) deserve at least a half-day between them. The Night Bazaar and the Sunday Walking Street (Wualai Road) are the liveliest night markets, perfect for crafts, local food and atmosphere — the Sunday version closes a kilometre of central streets to traffic and turns the entire moat-side district into a single open-air dining room. Thai cooking classes are part of the Chiang Mai experience: numerous schools — Thai Farm, Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School, Asia Scenic — offer half- or full-day sessions with a market visit, at very modest prices (700-1,200 THB). One- to three-day treks in the hills around the city let you discover hill-tribe minority villages, follow waterfalls and descend a river by bamboo raft. For seekers of spiritual depth, several monasteries (Wat Suan Dok, Wat Umong) offer Vipassana meditation retreats of a few days, taught in English and surprisingly accessible to beginners.