One thing I’ve realized about traveling alone is that some of the best days are the ones when I don’t really have a plan.
No itinerary. No list of attractions that I absolutely need to finish. No rushing from one place to another just so I can say that I’ve been there.
That was exactly what happened during this afternoon in Chiang Mai.
My hostel was close to Tha Phae Gate, so after settling in and getting some rest, I decided to simply go outside and walk.
That was the entire plan.
Walk.
And somehow, that simple afternoon walk turned into one of my favorite ways of experiencing Chiang Mai Old City.
Content
Entering Chiang Mai Old City Through Tha Phae Gate
I started at Tha Phae Gate.
If you’ve seen photos of Chiang Mai, there’s a good chance you’ve already seen this place. Tha Phae Gate is one of the main entrances into Chiang Mai’s historic Old City and one of the most recognizable landmarks in town.
Chiang Mai was once surrounded by defensive walls and a moat, and Tha Phae Gate formed part of that old fortification system. Today, the reconstructed brick gate stands right beside a large public square where tourists gather, locals hang out and pigeons seem to have completely taken over.
Since my hostel was nearby, reaching the gate was easy.
I walked through it and entered the Old City without any particular destination in mind.
And somehow, the atmosphere changed.
There were old buildings mixed with guesthouses, cafés, massage shops, restaurants and little stalls. Motorbikes would pass by, but there were also plenty of people walking. Every now and then, I would see a temple roof rising behind buildings or a golden decoration shining under the afternoon sun.
It felt busy, but not overwhelmingly busy.
There was something relaxed about Chiang Mai in the afternoon.
The sunlight was warm, trees provided shade along parts of the road, and people seemed to be taking their time. I was doing exactly the same.
I just kept walking.
A Temple That Made Me Stop: Wat Phan On
While passing restaurants, shops and different structures along the road, I suddenly noticed a temple on my left – Wat Phan On.
I wasn’t looking for it.
I hadn’t planned to visit it.
But when you see a beautiful Thai temple while walking around Chiang Mai, your schedule immediately becomes:
“Okay. I’m going inside.”
The temple looked striking from the street, with the kind of ornate details that immediately caught my attention.
Coming from the Philippines, this was still something that amazed me.
We have beautiful old churches back home, especially Spanish-era churches, but Buddhist temples like this aren’t part of our everyday landscape.
So whenever I encountered one, I couldn’t help but stop and look around.
Wat Phan On sits along Ratchadamnoen Road, one of the main roads crossing Chiang Mai Old City. The temple has a beautiful Lanna-style atmosphere, with architectural details influenced by the old Lanna Kingdom that once ruled much of Northern Thailand.
Oh, did I mention that it was Sunday?
That changed the atmosphere completely because more food stalls were set up around the area.
And of course, that meant food.
Late Lunch at Wat Phan On
Since it was Sunday, stalls had been set up within the Wat Phan On grounds as part of the Sunday Walking Street atmosphere.
Suddenly my temple visit became a food trip.
Which, to be fair, is a very normal development when I’m traveling.
There were vendors preparing noodles, fried snacks, drinks and different Thai dishes. People were walking between the stalls while others sat underneath the trees eating.
At this point, I was hungry enough that sightseeing could wait.
Inside the Wat Phan On grounds, I stopped for a late lunch and ordered Pad see ew, the Thai stir-fried wide rice noodles with pork, egg and Chinese broccoli.
The noodles were thick, soft and coated in that slightly sweet and savory dark soy sauce. There were pieces of pork, scrambled egg and green Chinese broccoli mixed throughout.
Simple.
Filling.
Delicious.
But apparently one plate of noodles wasn’t enough for me.
Nearby was another stall selling crispy tofu skin rolls filled with seafood.
They had crab, squid and shrimp versions for 30 baht per stick.
Obviously, I needed one.
So I grabbed a skewer to go with my noodles and sat there eating everything under the trees inside the temple grounds.
There was something funny about the whole situation.
I had started the afternoon thinking, “I’ll just go for a walk.”
Less than an hour later, I was sitting inside a Buddhist temple compound eating pad see ew and fried seafood rolls.
This is why I like traveling without overplanning sometimes.
Continuing Along Ratchadamnoen Road
After finishing my food, I continued walking deeper into Chiang Mai Old City.
I wasn’t checking Google Maps every few minutes. I was mostly following whatever looked interesting.
The Old City is perfect for this.
One street might have cafés and little restaurants. Turn into another and suddenly you find an old temple. Walk a little farther and there’s a traditional wooden building beside a modern shop.
There was always something to look at.
Eventually, I reached another building that stood out from everything around it.
Lanna Architecture Center
This was the Lanna Architecture Center, housed in the historic Khum Chao Burirat building.
Compared with the temples I had been seeing, this place looked completely different.
The lower level was painted white with elegant arches, while the upper floor was made of dark wood with a long wooden balcony.
It looked like a combination of traditional Lanna architecture and Western influence.
The building was once a historic residence and is now connected with Chiang Mai University’s work on preserving and presenting Lanna architecture and cultural heritage.
I spent some time looking around the grounds.
What I liked about this stop was that it gave me another perspective on Chiang Mai.
The Old City isn’t only about temples.
There are old houses, architectural styles and buildings that tell you something about how people lived here in the past.
Then I continued walking.
And, once again, another temple stopped me.
Turning Into Wat Phan Tao
After turning left, I saw Wat Phan Tao.
And this one immediately looked different.
The main viharn is constructed largely from dark teak wood, giving it a much heavier and more dramatic appearance compared with the bright white-and-gold temples nearby.
I went inside.
The interior was beautiful.
Large dark wooden columns supported the structure, and at the center was a golden Buddha image surrounded by elaborate decorations and flowers.
The contrast was what made it impressive.
Dark timber everywhere.
Then this bright golden Buddha sitting in the middle of it.
Outside, I walked around the temple grounds and saw the golden chedi shining under the afternoon sun.
Again, I found myself thinking about how different all of this was from home.
I knew Chiang Mai had a lot of temples before coming here.
But knowing that is different from actually walking around and repeatedly stumbling into one beautiful temple after another.
And I still wasn’t following an itinerary.
Walking Around the Old City
By this point, I had already been walking for quite a while.
But Chiang Mai Old City didn’t feel like a place where I needed to hurry.
I enjoyed simply observing everyday life around me.
There were tourists carrying cameras, locals riding motorbikes, tiny restaurants preparing food, vendors setting things up for Sunday evening and travelers sitting in cafés probably planning their next destination.
Meanwhile, I was still just wandering.
Sometimes solo travel can feel lonely.
But there are also moments when being alone feels incredibly freeing.
Nobody was waiting for me.
Nobody was telling me it was time to leave.
If I wanted to spend ten minutes looking at a temple, I could.
If I wanted to eat something, I ate.
If I saw an interesting street, I followed it.
That freedom became the theme of the afternoon.
Wat Chedi Luang
Not far from Wat Phan Tao, I reached Wat Chedi Luang.
This is one of Chiang Mai’s most important and famous temple complexes.
The name is closely associated with its enormous ancient chedi, which once dominated the skyline of Chiang Mai. Although parts of the structure were damaged centuries ago, its massive scale still makes Wat Chedi Luang one of the Old City’s most recognizable historical sites.
The complex also has impressive temple halls decorated in classic Northern Thai style.
During my visit, restoration work was visible around parts of the complex, but that didn’t take away from how impressive the place felt.
Everything here seemed larger.
The buildings.
The decorations.
The sense of history.
A Quieter Stop at Wat Phra Chao Mengrai
I continued farther south through the Old City until I encountered yet another temple.
Compared with some of the bigger attractions I had visited earlier, this area felt quieter.
And I liked that.
The temple is associated with King Mangrai, the founder of Chiang Mai, which immediately gives the place an interesting historical connection to the city itself.
There were beautiful white temple buildings decorated with gold details, multi-tiered roofs and intricate Lanna designs.
I walked around looking at the different structures.
By this time, you’d think I would have reached my temple limit.
Apparently not.
Each temple still looked different enough that I wanted to stop.
One had an impressive wooden viharn.
Another had massive structures.
Another had elaborate golden patterns.
And Wat Phra Chao Mengrai had this calm atmosphere that made it feel almost hidden compared with the more famous temples nearby.
And Then I Just Kept Walking
After Wat Phra Chao Mengrai, I continued walking.
There wasn’t really a dramatic ending to my little tour.
I didn’t reach some final attraction and declare the day complete.
I simply kept wandering through Chiang Mai Old City.
And somehow, that felt right.
By late afternoon, the city was slowly preparing for Sunday evening. More stalls were appearing, streets were becoming livelier and that relaxed afternoon atmosphere was gradually turning into the energy of the Sunday Walking Street.
Looking back, I realized I had accidentally created my own walking tour.
Not bad for someone who started the afternoon with absolutely no plan.
Sometimes You Don’t Need an Itinerary
Travel planning is useful.
I plan trips too.
You need to know where you’re staying, how you’re getting somewhere and which places you really don’t want to miss.
But afternoons like this remind me why I don’t want every hour of a trip scheduled.
If I had been rushing through a checklist, maybe I would have walked past Wat Phan On.
Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed the food stalls.
Maybe I wouldn’t have sat under the trees eating Pad see ew.
Maybe I would have looked at the Lanna Architecture Center for five seconds and moved on.
I wasn’t rushing to get anywhere.
So I wandered.
I ate.
I entered temples simply because they looked beautiful.
I walked down streets because I wondered where they went.
And by the end of the afternoon, I had seen far more of Chiang Mai Old City than I originally expected.
Sometimes the best walking tour is the one you never planned.
You just walk out of your hostel, pick a direction and allow a city to introduce itself to you.
A new story from The Weekly goes live every Thursday at 6:00 AM. Stay tuned!
