Tag Archives: Chiang Mai

December 5, 2025 · 8:27 pm

Chiang Mai Christmas

Christmas in Chiang Mai: Shopping, decorations and holiday cheer.

“The best way to get in the festive spirit in Chiang Mai is, without a doubt, by visiting one of the malls. Chiang Mai has several large malls, and during December, they go to town on seasonal lights and decorations. Chiang Mai’s malls are some of the best shopping destinations in the country, containing a vast range of Western and local shops. For example, you can find almost all the same things at a Western mall, so they are an excellent destination for Christmas shopping. Here is a rundown of the Chiang Mai malls most worth visiting.

1. Maya Mall

Maya Mall is one of Chiang Mai’s best destinations for shopping and dining, located on the intersection of Huay Kaew Road and Nimman. In terms of decorations, it probably takes the prize for the best in the city! The huge Christmas tree in front of the mall, as well as the lights and decorations, make for a great picture opportunity. Sometimes, they even have fake snow. As you enjoy a spot of shopping, you’ll hear all the Christmas hits being played throughout the mall, but if you’re lucky, your visit might coincide with a Christmas carol session performed by a local choir. Maya Lifestyle Shopping Center is open daily from 10 am-10 pm and can be reached easily on a bike or in a taxi. 

2. Central Festival Mall

In the competition for the biggest Christmas tree in Chiang Mai, Central Festival Mall might just be the winner. Although a bit out of the center, this mall is still easy to reach – and very worth a visit! It’s the biggest mall in the city, and is located about 15 minutes northeast of the old city. Like Maya Mall, it contains the big brand names, but you’ll find even more of them here. In addition to this, its food court and supermarket at the basement level are much bigger than the dining area at Maya, with even more choice.

3. Central Airport Plaza Mall

Another mall worth mentioning is the Central Airport Plaza Mall, due to its truly unique atmosphere. It boasts a massive Christmas tree in the center of the mall, and has a great Christmas shopping atmosphere – you can even find Christmas elves here! 

It is one of the older malls in Chiang Mai, and contains a mixture of some high end shops along with plenty of smaller and more thrifty stores. If a pair of jeans or a sweater for under ten bucks sounds good to you, this is the place to go. 

Central Airport Plaza Mall definitely feels more authentic than some of the more modern malls and has a unique Thai touch, especially within the traditional food and craft market on the ground floor.” ~ PM Tours

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November 5, 2025 · 8:27 pm

Yi (Yee) Peng and Loy Krathong Festivals – November 6th

YouTube

Brian is researching to see if we can go somewhere this evening where I can see some lanterns without getting in the middle of the huge crowd in the dark at the river. I would love to get the flavor of the celebration, but from a distance.

This is practiced at the river in Chiang Mai, as well as all over Thailand. I thought this clip showed the beautiful Krathongs people made and show them putting them in the water for the celebration.

I love the idea of letting go of bad things that happened this year, letting go of bad feelings you might have for any reason, shedding regret over things you did – or didn’t – do, and more, replacing all with embracing a clean slate, a brand new year with the promise of a better year to come. The beautiful ceremonies unite the people in their strong belief. Really wonderful!

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August 1, 2025 · 8:53 pm

Street Market

Brian and I went to a street market yesterday evening. I had not been to one before and had to work at closing my mouth instead of leaving it hanging open!

It seemed like everything in the world was for sale, but primarily it was all types of food, clothes, and jewelry, with places where you could get a foot massage or manicure and more.

There was stall after stall of wonderful food that looked and smelled wonderful. My mouth was watering the whole time we walked around.

The weather was perfect. Apparently, there are street markets all over Chiang Mai. You could spend hours in each one, never seeing everything that was offered. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around at this one.

We got some roasted chicken, a big sausage, and some fresh orange juice to share for dinner. YUM!

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July 7, 2025 · 8:49 pm

Playdate

photo by Dian Adriani David

The family who adopted Harvey and me to be honorary grandparents invited us for a ‘playdate’ today! Brian and I will meet the whole family, including their real grandmother who is visiting from the states, plus nannies, at this stunning place called Fernpresso at Lake.

It’s a really nice cafe beside a lake with lots of area for kids to play, get lots of sunshine, look at a beautiful lake, plus maybe get to play with a dog who is shown in some of the photos I saw online.

photo by Freda

This is part of the area around the cafe.

Photo by AJ

Part of the inside eating space. There are all kinds of places outside, too. I’m not sure which we’ll enjoy. We’re meeting there at 11, so I’m not sure if we’re having breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dessert. I’m up for whatever!😋

No credit given

Latte Lover

We will all eat, and then the nannies will give the parents a nice break by playing with the kids. This playdate will be a real experience! I can’t wait!

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April 14, 2025 · 9:11 pm

“Seasons in Chiang Mai, Thailand

  • Hot Season (March-May): This is the warmest time of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching above 35°C (95°F). 
  • Rainy Season (June-October): This season brings heavy rainfall, especially in June to August, with July having the most rainfall. 
  • Cool Season (November-February): This is the most comfortable time to visit, with daytime highs around 30°C (85°F) and cooler evenings. 

Key points to consider:

  • Air Quality: During the late dry season (March-May), air quality can be affected by agricultural burning in the surrounding areas. 
  • Festivals: Chiang Mai has several festivals throughout the year, including Yee Peng and Loy Krathong in November, and the Chiang Mai Flower Festival in February. 
  • Songkran: The Thai New Year, Songkran, is celebrated in mid-April and involves water throwing. 

The image above is from Harvey’s and my creating of metal decorations to attach to our mailbox when we lived in Greenwood, Arkansas. This we called, “Hot Man,” and a lot of people related to him during the hottest part of the summer.

In our new home, there are three ‘seasons,’ but ALL of them are hot. Right now, the ‘hot season’ is also known as the ‘smoky season,’ because farmers are burning off the residue of harvesting crops for the season, to prepare for the next one. Air purifiers are really getting a work out now, and they do a great job. We have two of them in our air bnb. I don’t know how many we’ll need in the new condo when we move (around the end of April or beginning of May when all the paperwork is done, filed, etc.)

Our son describes the seasons as “smoky,” “rainy,” “hot,” and “hotter.” 😳

I AM starting to acclimate a bit. I used to shower in the morning and then it would take me half an hour or so – sitting in front of the fan over and over – to get dry enough to dress. This was with the a/c set at 19 or 20 degrees celcius (66.2 degrees F.) Now I have it set to 29 (84.2 degrees F). With the fan moving the air in the room, I’m comfortable. I’m taking a much cooler shower and blow drying my hair with the cool setting.

When we go to the hospital, they have the temperature set at 20 – making it feel like a meat locker. We have to put up with it in the ICU, but in the private room we found where we could turn it OFF! 👍🏻

My husband had his pacemaker installation yesterday and spent the night in ICU. Hoping he can move to his private room again today. We leave in a second.

Have a good day.

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April 6, 2025 · 8:12 am

48 Hours of Travel

I think I told you that the total time of travel from Greenwood, Arkansas to Chiang Mai, Thailad was 48 hours, but I would like to share more of the trip with you.

We drove to the Fort Smith airport and waited for the first leg of our journey. We actually went through a pretty good security check. I showed my magic card that gave information on my pacemaker implant, plus my ID bracelet and they skirted around some of the xraying. Apparently, the security check was good enough that we didn’t have to do more until we were in Bangkok, Thailand.

This was a short one hour flight to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, where we waited again. We had to do a lot of walking we weren’t expecting to GET to the railway or whatever they call it that will whisk you to the next gate. It was a bit much for two old recently sick people.

We then flew the LONG flight – 14 hours – from DFW to Doha, Qatar. This was in the lap of luxury, our first ever business class flight. We had good food, comfortable recliners that eased into all kinds of positions for maximum comfort, including the makeup into a bed by the attendants, with a nice pillow and the best blanket I have ever slept under. I think I showed you a picture or two of the seats we had, with my husband and I sitting side by side and across from our son with the partition removed. We basically slept most of the flight after enjoying the amenities.

All of the airports were nice, but this one at Doha, Qatar, was spectacular.

This was followed by another pretty long flight, from Doha, Qatar to Bangkok, Thailand. Another nice business class flight, not as nice as the first one, but nicer than any other flight I’ve taken in my life, 2nd only to the one to Doha.

We were met in Bangkok by a team of experts hired by our son to meet us, handle the baggage change, customs check, security check, and all the other things required when landing in the main hub city in a country. Even with all that my husband’s energy gave out and we needed to find a wheelchair to get where we needed to go.

We left the Bangkok airport only minutes before the earthquake. The pilot came on saying that we would have to turn around and return to Bangkok because the Chiang Mai airport had closed. Our poor son was then trying to figure out what he would do for accommodations there, booking a new flight to Chiang Mai, meals, and more. The pilot came on again saying the Chiang Mai airport had reopened and we were resuming our flight there. Whew!

Now we find we MAY have to fly to Laos to the Thai embassy there, to get a magical stamp on our passports that the banks here will like so they will let us open bank accounts. Then we should be able to take the bank account information to the visa people and get a retirement visa. Fingers crossed!

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June 12, 2017 · 1:30 pm

Gorgeous Carving

Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, Chiang Mai, Thailand

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