For me, Thailand was heat, markets, ornate temples and eating all day long. Unlike most people, I avoided the paradise beaches of the South and focused on the North. After working in the chilly winter months of busy Hanoi, I was looking for green landscapes and smaller crowds.

Here is what I discovered during my trip in Northern Thailand:

Trains

I highly recommend taking a train to Chiang Mai. From Hanoi, flights to Chiang Mai were pricey, and they stopped for an overnight layover in Bangkok anyway. Flights from anywhere to Thailand will likely stop in Bangkok. Since I was arriving from a city – and since I was avoiding the city – I decided to skip Bangkok and jump straight onto a train from my flight. Luckily, if you fly into the Don Mueang Airport (DMK), you can cross a bridge and find yourself at the Don Mueang Railway Station. No cabs or ventures into the chaotic city needed. I had a bit of a layover between my flight and train, but there were several food stalls available down another set of stairs connected to bridge, so I was well fed before my next form of transport. I had a great start to Thai cuisine with Tom Yum soup.

The train can be from 11 to 14 hours, but it really isn’t bad if you’re taking it overnight (check out the train schedule here). There are overnight options with bunk beds, which is actually pretty fun. The top bunk is a cheaper ticket price, although I wish I had booked the bottom bunk for one of my trips so I could look out the window. When the top bed is pulled down, you’re above the window, so you don’t get to enjoy the views anymore (at least its usually dark by this time). During the day, you sit in comfortable seats, and then at night the train attendant comes and pulls out comfy little beds, complete with curtains for privacy. Traveling by train is much more comfortable than by bus or plane, with more leg room, space to walk, and huge windows where you can watch little towns, several temples, and rice fields pass by. Don’t be surprised if you spy a large Buddha on a hill too.

As for food on the train, this can be a little bit like rolling dice. On my way up to Chiang Mai, people hopped on the train and walked down the aisle with various foods and drinks to sell, well into the evening. There was even food served directly from the train, and the menu prices were very reasonable (and I even found an option with no meat). However, when taking the train down from Chiang Mai back to Bangkok, maybe three people total came onto the train to sell food (all of which were fruit or peanuts), and this only happened at the beginning of the trip. The train also had its own restaurant, but this time the menu options were very expensive. I’ve also heard different things from friends who took the train. One friend wasn’t able to find a vegetarian option, so regrettingly ate meat, while another friend told me his meals were included as part of his train ticket. So I suggest bringing snacks just in case.

Overall, taking a train ride is a nice, cheap way to travel up to Northern Thailand, while taking a nice breather and reading a good book.

Chiang Mai

Trying to get away from the city, I was hoping Chiang Mai would be a quieter, greener place. Turns out it was just another city, although it is a laid back city. It has a lot of history, so you will enjoy its charming old city walls and the beautiful temples that sneak up on you on down quiet streets. If you need to get away from the bustle of the Old City, you can visit the Doi Suthep temple (Wat Phra That) on the top of the mountain, overlooking Chiang Mai. It’s another tourist spot, but its quieter and greener, and the temple really is beautiful to look at. I visited it twice, using two different ways of transportation.

First, I took one of the red taxi trucks (songthaew) you’ll see driving all over the city. These taxis are pretty convenient since you can hop on for a flat rate of 30 baht to various areas of the city (less than $1). The only problem is that they can say no to giving you a ride if it’s not where they want to go, and they will often ask you to pay more if you’re going a little out of the way. You have to pay more to go up to Doi Suthep. From the Old City to Doi Suthep, it costs 500 baht roundtrip, or you can hop on a songthaew from the Chiang Mai Zoo and pay 40 baht to go up (or 80 baht for them to take you back down to the city). This is only if you have about 10 or more people in the truck – so you’ll actually be thankful for touristy crowds. I had to pay more because only two other people were waiting with me at the Chiang Mai Zoo.

The other way to visit Doi Suthep is by renting a motorbike for the day for 250 baht. This gives you much more freedom to make stops, as well as visit different areas in the city. My friends and I were able to make a stop along the way up the mountain and tried coconut rice and boiled peanuts. Another benefit is that you don’t get carsick on the windy roads. Although, I personally didn’t like driving along the curve-y roads, especially going downhill. It depends on how comfortable you are on a motorbike. Be careful for road blocks from police. You won’t get in trouble, you’ll just have to pay money if you don’t have an international driver’s license (I’ve heard it’s a 500 baht ticket). If you’re feeling risky, you can speed by them, or I’ve heard they let you pass through if you have a go pro camera on (or that could’ve been in other countries, this is from hearsay). Otherwise, just take a detour to avoid the road block. That’s what my friends and I did, hehe.

Chiang Mai is known for it’s temples, so most likely your day will be wrapped around temple visits all over the city. They are quite beautiful, and luckily entrances are cheap (the most I paid was 40 baht, just over a dollar). But after walking around in the heat, you might want a break from the tourist crowds. In Thailand, temples are called Wats. I grew tired of wats so I decided to go see some cats. Yes, cats. Turns out Chiang Mai has a cat cafe called Catmosphere, where several cats of varying breeds nap and prance around as you sip on Thai tea. If that’s not for you, and if you’re willing to visit another temple while getting away from the concrete heat of the city, you can take a tour, hire a taxi, or drive yourself two hours out to Doi Inthanon National Park. Here, you can visit waterfalls and walk on beautiful temple grounds on Thailand’s highest mountain. I didn’t have time to make it to Doi Inthanon, but I wish I did.

Chiang Mai has markets EVERYWHERE. Even though its tempting, try to save your hunger for the night markets, where you’ll have endless cheap food to choose from (or forget it, you’re on vacation, eat as much as you like). You can find curry, smoothies, sticky rice, barbequed squid, banana crepes, you name it. The Chiang Mai Gate food market begins at around 5pm and some food stands can be open as late as midnight. At the night bazaar – which is huge – you can have a hay day with shopping. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, bags, string lights, anything you’ll ever want. Even if you don’t want to do any spending, it’s fun to walk through. The night bazaar also runs from dusk to midnight (although some shops will close up sooner).

I’m not a big tour person, but there are several tours offered, most of them being Elephant Sanctuaries. It may be difficult choosing one, but definitely make sure that they don’t offer elephant rides – that’s a big no no. I visited the Elephant Family Sanctuary where you can tell they really took care of their elephants, and it didn’t have any zoo-like feel to it. The elephants roam around, get well-fed while being hugged and stroked by doting tourists, then have a mud bath (performed by us), complete with a cleanse in the river. It’s like spa day every day. You can tell the people who work there are loving and are intentional of running a morally correct facility.

Pai

Pai is a little town about three hours away. Turns out, it was exactly what I was looking for in terms of getting out of the city. The town is tiny, and full of little cafes, restaurants and shops (and there’s even a bunny café!! – which is exactly what it sounds like, cute furry bunnies sitting on your table). There is a river running along the town with bamboo bridges leading to the other side, where it is hostel paradise. And I do mean paradise – Pai is full of artsy hostels covered in palms, decorated with bungalows and hammocks, and is pretty much backpacker heaven. You won’t want to leave. I stayed at Suandoi Backpacker Resort and definitely could’ve stayed longer (and I stayed for 4 nights!)

Surrounding Pai are several waterfalls to visit, a huge cave you can ride a bamboo raft through, a fault line to visit while being served roselle juice and homemade banana chips on donation, and a beautiful canyon that you have to visit at sunset. To get around you can hire a taxi or rent a motorbike. Once again, it depends on how comfortable you are with driving, but renting a motorbike is definitely the cheaper option. Driving on the main roads are easy as there’s no traffic up here, and the landscapes and fresh air are a plus. But many of the routes to tourist sites get curve-y and go up and down crappy pavement, which can make driving difficult – be careful!

My favorite part was the night market, which was even better than the markets in Chiang Mai. The food here was cheaper and the market was much cuter and more intimate. Artists had jewelry and amazing prints out for display, and food stands had a variety of foods, ranging from Thai food, homemade brownies, smoothies, Burmese salad, falafel, and more. Due to the small size of Pai, you quickly get a community feel. You’ll run into the same people, easily make friends with people at the hostel, and find that many people decide to prolong their stay and work at hostels or bars.

To get to Pai you have two options. One, you can take a bus for about 160 baht. It takes about three hours, but it may feel longer due to the sharp turns all the way up. You’re going to feel car sick. The other option is renting a motorbike for 250 baht and driving yourself. People have told me they enjoyed the ride, as the scenery is gorgeous. You can take your time if you’d like and check out some quirky spots on the way (Pai is full of interesting stops, like Strawberry Land). If you’re worried about your luggage, you can pay for a service to bring your luggage up to Pai. And if you only want to drive one way, you just pay a little more for the service and someone drives the bike back to the rental for you. I personally don’t like long motorbike rides so I opted for the bus.

If you’re planning on visiting Northern Thailand, make sure you squeeze space in your itinerary for this little happy backpacker land.

I loved my time in Thailand and am glad I opted for the hillier, green landscapes over the popular beaches down south. Even though my visit was in the dry season, when hills were brown and waterfalls trickled, I felt the North was absolutely beautiful. If it was lush with green and full of water, I might never have left.