Hiking to Doi Suthep - Cost of Living in Chiang Mai - Thailand Travel Vlog

Busy one today, our last days in Chiang Mai! We visit the Thai Craftsman district called Sankampaeng the first day and then the next day hike up the mountainside to Doi Suthep temple!

So originally we had planned to just head to the old district, grab a bite to eat and explore the area around Nong Buak Hard Park, but after taking our first Tuk Tuk ride to the park we found out it was closed! They were in the middle of preparing it for an upcoming flower festival that was going to take place. Our Tuk Tuk drive then offered to take us for a tour of the Craftsman village near Bor Sang instead (Which is where we were previously on the umbrella festival video!) . We ended up settling on 200 baht round trip with him also waiting at each location for us, which was a steal of a deal since the Grab one way to the umbrella area was 250 alone. I feel like they might get a cut from the factories they take us to though for bringing people in, either way good for them good for us. After learning and watching how Thai silk was made, checking out all the beautiful ceramics and enjoying ripping around on a Tuk Tuk it was back to Chiang Mai old City!

Travelling by Tuk Tuk was a fun experience and even quite a bit faster than by car as we would pass people on the shoulder constantly and get to the front of every red light skipping the line. Zoom zoom. After arriving back in the city it was an easy Songthaew ride home where we freshened up before heading out to dinner at a Thai barbeque. It was a fun dining experience and pretty tasty too. Pro tip, cook your proteins and flavorful stuff early on to let it flavor the broth faster! By the time we were full the soup was starting to get some delicious flavors.

Then the next morning, it was the cookin' hot hike up to Doi Suthep. There are Songthaew options to the top for honestly cheaper than the Grab was to the base of the mountain but the hike was part of the experience for us. A lot of people probably miss the first pit stop we took on the hike at Wat Pha Lat and it was also so tranquil and relaxing with bridges over the river and all sorts of old architecture. From there it was across the road and onward and upward to Doi Suthep. It must have been on average a 45 degree incline from there on with some spots even steeper but we kept on trekking and eventually made it to the top. You'll even hear when we are at the top a loud squealing where Alysha added question marks in. That happened occasionally when trucks rounded the sharp corner there combined with the hot pavement of the road, scorcher out! We grabbed some lunch at one of the local restaurants there along with an ice cold smoothie to cool us down as well before checking everything else the area had to offer. Doi Suthep sure was a nice viewpoint though and a beautiful way to end Chiang Mai. You can see it from our condo and the mall below normally so this time we could see them from above on the mountain top.

After exploring Doi Suthep and enjoying the view of Chiang Mai we caught a ride back down to our condo in Chiang Mai and started preparing for having to pack up and travel to Bangkok!

Next video we rush off to catch the sleeper train which was a 13 hour overnight (with beds) train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. After getting to Bangkok we check in to our next AirBnB and explore some of the vast city of Bangkok!

Thanks for coming along on the journey with us as always everyone, and we'll see you all next time! Also almost 100 subscribers woohoo! It means so much to us and I imagine by next video we could be there so like and subscribe if you haven't! Thanks again!

Luke & Alysha
Instagram: @LukeandAlysha
  / lukeandalysha