Well, it’s been a few weeks since I last caught you all up in THE JOURNEY #12. Back then we were still in Bangkok, and looking to head on to Chiang Mai. So much has happened since then, and here I am, just landed back in Jakarta, Indonesia, and we having not only been to Chiang Mai, but also a rather impromptu trip to Siem Reap. Therefore, I have decided to entitle this update Chiang Mai V Siem Reap, and I will explain why.
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On the surface, when we decided to go to Siem Reap, it was because we were enjoying our time in Chiang Mai so much. We were loving the temples, the Monks, the night markets! So going to another city famous for its temples was a big drawcard. We were not really prepared for how different they would be though. In the end, we loved both places for different reasons, and you will see why someone really has to compare Chiang Mai V Siem Reap to understand.
For now, though, let’s have a look at all that has happened since Bangkok.
Chiang Mai – First Impressions
From the moment we flew into Chiang Mai, we loved it. Nothing bad happened at the airport, which is always a bonus when it comes to first impressions anywhere. It’s an easy airport to catch a taxi, as they have a great system in place, and before we knew it we were checking into our hotel.
The hotel was great too, and in a really good location, although I had really researched that in advance. So I take full credit for it! If you are ever going to Chiang Mai, I recommend making certain that you stay in the Old City. It is really close to everything that you will want to see and do, and basically within easy walking distance. If you have to stay outside of the walls of the Old City, then make it somewhere on the East side of town.
Anyway, our very first evening we wandered down toward the Southern gate, as I had read that there was a nightly food market there. As it turns out, they are pretty much everywhere around the Old City, but this food market was pretty good! We ended up going back there on most nights, and found some places with wonderful food that we still reminisce about weeks later.
So our first impressions were really good. Within an afternoon and evening we were settled, and really looking forward to temple hunting the next day.
Temple Hunting in Chiang Mai
The next day it was time to go Temple Hunting. Now, hunting for temples is not that hard in the old city. Basically, this city is about 2km square, surrounded by an ancient Moat, and the remains of an old wall. Inside, there are over 300 temples! You literally cannot walk a hundred meters without finding one!
The trick is finding the really good ones. So a bit of research goes a long way. I will be doing a full guide to Chiang Mai in the near future to help my readers (you guys) out, but for now I had to figure it out myself. We started by heading south to Wat Sri Suphan, and continuing in a sort of anti clockwise direction, following some marks I had made on Google Maps.
The day was incredible. We visited about 5 temples, and it could have been so many more! But we were in no hurry, and really took our time when exploring, plus stopped a few times at cute cafes. We are suckers for a good café! Plus the weather in Chiang Mai is a lot more amenable to walking and exploring than the stifling heat of Bangkok, so we were lapping that up and taking advantage.
As it turned out, we spent two full days exploring temples. We found some amazing places, and learnt a lot. By the time we were done, we wanted more, so we decided to tick another thing off my list, and booked a side trip.
A Chiang Rai Day Trip
Chiang Rai is another town to the north west of Chiang Mai. It’s on the way to the infamous Golden Triangle, and is famous these days for a couple of amazing temples that have been built there. If you follow me on Instagram, you will already know what I am talking about.
On a side note. When I do a Chiang Mai v Siem Reap comparison, Chiang Rai really comes into the equation. Because a side trip to this city is a must, in my opinion! For a full review of the trip that we did, read the article I wrote about it HERE.
It was a 7am pick up by our wonderful guide Puma, and a 3 hour car trip to Chiang Rai. We were really keen for this trip, as we had heard some great reports. We were not prepared for how good it actually WAS though!
We visited the amazing White Temple and Blue Temple on the trip. These still rate as the most beautiful temples I visited in South East Asia, and you will be able to read why and see photos in my review. They are totally different to the temples in Chiang Mai, though, as they were built only recently, as opposed to the history that surrounds the others.
We rounded out our trip to Chiang Mai by hiring a scooter to see a couple of temples up in the hills. They offer wonderful views of the area, and one of them is a very famous temple in Chiang Mai. Once again, I will touch on more about that in my full guide.
The other thing about Chiang Mai that I really recommend is the weekend night markets. The Saturday night market is in a different location to the Sunday night market, but both are amazing. We weren’t originally supposed to be there for the weekend, but extended just to see the markets. Now, we are so glad that we did, and it was a highlight of our entire trip. If you are planning a trip to Chiang Mai, make certain that it includes a weekend!
Phnom Penh
Ok, so now we are getting closer to the second part of my Chiang Mai v Siem Reap comparison. But first, we had to spend a few nights in Phnom Penh.
Unlike Chiang Mai, Phnom Penh began badly. The phone kiosk at the airport passed off some dodgy currency to me that I had trouble using. (Read about the currency issues HERE.) Then, we got taken to our hotel, that I would have rated 1/10. Not the 7/10 that booking.com seemed to give it.
There was only really one thing that I wanted to do in Phnom Penh, and that was to visit the Killing Fields and the S21 Prison. We arranged that for our first day there.
All I can say about these places is that they were horrific. What the poor Cambodian people went through during this period was atrocious, and as far as war crimes go, it is reminiscent of what the Nazi’s did to the Jews. Taking a walk, seeing and reading about the history there was something that I will never forget, for all the wrong reasons.
As for the rest of Phnom Penh, I would recommend you never, ever visit. I could not find anything I liked there, and as a result we checked out of our dodgy hotel a full day early, happily forgoing the extra night that had already been paid for. Buses to Siem Reap were few and far between, and we jumped on the first available!
Angkor Wat and Pub Street
If you ever catch the bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, or anywhere around Cambodia, for that matter, then try and book on Giant Ibis. They are very good buses, safe and clean.
We arrived in Siem Reap, and my first impression was that it looked hot, dry and dusty. And I was pretty much spot on. Our hotel was really great though, and so were the people of the town.
It didn’t take us long to find Pub Street, which during the downtime after covid was fairly quiet. We loved the ambience, and I very much loved the 50 cent beers! In total, we must have gone to Pub Street on most of the nights that we were in Siem Reap, even just to wander down the street at night and take in the atmosphere. I always stopped for at least a couple of beers though. Even when we extended for an extra 3 nights in the town, I booked a new place closer to pub street!
The main reason to compare Chiang Mai v Siem Reap though, has to be for Angkor Wat. I had always wanted to come here, and the reason had always been Angkor Wat. I was not prepared for everything else that is included though. The Angkor Archeological Park is huge, and contains over 400 temples, INCLUDING Angkor Wat. In the end, we purchased a 3 day pass, (that had a special post-covid that extended it to 5 days for free), and explored non stop for the entire time.
The temples are amazing, and the oldest are from the 8th or 9th century. Incredible that such amazing structures could be built in such a remote location at that time. I highly recommend you visit some day yourself. Once again, I will be doing a full guide on Siem Reap, and you can look forward to reading some more about them in there. Otherwise, check out THIS article for some of my best tips for visiting Cambodia.
We left the hot, dry and dusty Siem Reap after just over a week of amazing exploring. It was a dodgy mini bus that took us across the border and back to Bangkok, where we spent two more days. This time we explored the more upper class neighborhoods around Jim Thompson House and the Siam Paragon mall. Definitely different to our first experience of Bangkok.
Chiang Mai V Siem Reap
Ok, so now I turn my thoughts toward the Chiang Mai V Siem Reap question. It is actually one that Jo and I have discussed at length. I will try to keep it brief for you though.
Here are a few of the main points for and against.
Chiang Mai
- The ambience of the city is amazing, friendly and relaxed
- Temple exploring is easy, as everything is so close
- The temperature is mild compared to other locations such as Bangkok
- You can get out of the city easy to visit Chiang Rai, or hike and explore locally
- The Night Markets and daily markets are good value!
Siem Reap
- The Temples of Angkor are incredible, and a once in a lifetime experience.
- Pub Street brings something fun to the city
- The Cambodian people are very friendly and accommodating
- Other than the temples, there is not much else to do
- Siem Reap can be very hot, dry and dusty
- No daytrips other than to the over rated floating villages
- The temples are away from the city, and a long way apart from each other
So there you go. I highly recommend visiting Siem Reap. But on a whole I think Chiang Mai has more to offer, and even if you don’t like temples you can still find something to do and enjoy. Not so in Siem Reap.
Another thing I like to do when writing a comparison such as Chiang Mai v Siem Reap, is the livability comparison. This comes from living in Bali, where you realize that LIVING is different to HOLIDAYING. With that in mind, I have to say this:
I could live in Chiang Mai, and still enjoy the markets and everyday life, even if I didn’t visit temples all the time. I could NOT live in Siem Reap. Once you take away visiting the Temples, and get tired of the hoards of tourists in Pub Street, you are only really left with a boring, hot, dry and dusty town with no where else to go.
See what I mean?
Ok. So that’s it for now. I am currently in Jakarta, about to transit onto Bali where I will plan to rest up and save some money for my next trip. Hopefully that will be to Turkey and the Balkans, but time will tell. I will keep you all up to date in THE JOURNEY #14.
Thanks for reading. Till next time!
J
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