Overall assessment of Chiang Mai

We loved this town! It admittedly took us a few days to acclimate and was a bit of a culture shock when we first arrived. I guess we just didn’t know what to expect. There are places we visit that we LOVE the instant we arrive - they just have that vibe that resonates with us. This wasn’t one of them. It was a slow growing love. We grew to like it so much that we would actually go back. The people are hands down the nicest we have encountered in the entire world, there are a ton of great restaurants and cool little venues with live music, and we loved the night markets. And it is EXTREMELY safe. Our cooking class and visit to the elephant sanctuary were trip highlights!

It was also incredibly cheap and a great place to get really high quality medical care if needed. We both had our teeth cleaned because we were due and it was only $20.00 each! And I had a dental implant which set me back about $2500.00 when all was said and done (multiple appointments, imaging, extraction, bone graft, meds, etc.) A steal by US standards!!