It was so cold in Chiang Mai early that morning.
Okay, maybe “so cold” is an exaggeration if you’re coming from a country with actual winter. Haha. But as someone from the Philippines, the early morning weather in Chiang Mai definitely felt cold to me.
I had just arrived after taking the overnight bus from Bangkok. From the bus terminal, I took a tuk-tuk going to my hostel.
At that point, I was already tired from the long trip, so all I wanted was to get there, leave my bags, and maybe chill for a bit.
I knew that the official check-in time was still around 2:00 PM, but the owner had told me through email that I could leave my bag at the hostel. The plan was simple: drop off my things, explore Chiang Mai for a while, then come back later to check in.
Sounds like a good idea, right? But nope.
When I arrived, the hostel was still closed.
The guy running the hostel usually arrived at around 8:00 AM. He was a nice foreigner who pretty much managed the place himself. Guests who were already checked in were given their own key pass, so they could enter and leave the hostel whenever they wanted.
So there I was, standing outside the hostel in the morning with all my bags, looking a little lost. Haha.
I also found the whole setup quite interesting. The hostel could be left overnight without a receptionist or staff member staying there. I remember thinking that this somehow showed how peaceful and safe Chiang Mai felt.
I couldn’t imagine this setup easily working in some cities in the Philippines. Imagine leaving a hostel or a small property overnight without anyone there to watch over it.
Anyway, I still had a couple of hours before the owner arrived. So I decided to explore. Good thing my hostel was located near Chiang Mai Old City.
I got to experience Chiang Mai in the morning.
Exploring the Chiang Mai Old City
The Old City is the historic center of Chiang Mai, surrounded by a square-shaped moat (canal) and remnants of the old city walls. You immediately notice it because the moat outlines the old part of the city.
But honestly, I wasn’t thinking about history at that moment. I was just trying to kill time. Haha.
The streets were still quiet. Some shops were closed, while others were only beginning to prepare for the day.
I also took some photos around the old walls.
At one point, a local Thai man approached me and offered to take some photos of me with the doves for a pretty affordable price.
Well, that’s one of the dilemmas of traveling solo, right? You can take hundreds of photos of beautiful places, but getting a decent photo of yourself is another story. Haha.
So I agreed. The guy took some photos of me with the old brick wall and the doves flying around, which actually turned out to be a fun little experience.
.The sun slowly started getting brighter, more vehicles appeared on the streets, cafés began opening, and more people started coming out.
Chiang Mai was waking up.
It was almost 8:00 AM, so I made my way back to the hostel. And finally, someone was there.
That’s when I met Nick, the owner of the hostel.
He was a very warm and nice dude.
I told him that I wasn’t planning to check in yet anyway. I just wanted to leave my bag at the hostel and continue exploring Chiang Mai before coming back later.
Then Nick gave me a suggestion. Since it was the weekend, he told me that I should check out one of Chiang Mai’s weekend markets.
He suggested JJ Market, also known as Jing Jai Market.
I checked Google Maps. It didn’t look that far from the hostel.
So there I went. Haha.
Okay, “not that far” turned out to be a bit farther than I expected. But I didn’t mind. The weather was still cool and refreshing, and by then I was enjoying the slow pace of the city anyway.
Jing Jai Weekend Market
I arrived at Jing Jai Market. And I’m glad Nick suggested it.
Jing Jai Market, or JJ Market, is one of Chiang Mai’s popular weekend morning markets. It’s known for bringing together a farmers market, local food stalls, handmade products, crafts, clothes, and other goods from local producers and artisans.
The vibe was also very different from the night markets I had experienced elsewhere in Thailand.
It felt relaxed.
There were trees around, open spaces, people casually browsing from one stall to another, and vendors displaying all kinds of products.
There were a lot of fresh vegetables. And I mean a lot.
Leafy greens, herbs, fruits, and other fresh produce were arranged at different stalls. You could really see the farmers-market side of the place.
Then there were handmade products, clothes, accessories, crafts, home décor, and other locally made items.
It was the kind of place where you could easily spend a couple of hours just looking around.
And of course, there was food.
Food.
Now we’re talking. Haha.
Aside from people-watching, eating was my favorite part of visiting Jing Jai Market.
There were so many food stalls that I eventually stopped pretending that I was “just looking.”
I started eating.
And then I ate some more.
One of the things I tried was Moo Satay.
Moo means pork in Thai, so moo satay is basically Thai-style pork satay: thin pieces of marinated pork placed on bamboo skewers and grilled until slightly smoky and caramelized.
The pork gets its yellowish color from seasonings like turmeric and curry spices, while coconut milk gives it a bit of richness. It’s commonly served with a thick peanut sauce and a sweet-and-sour cucumber relish on the side.
Simple food, but really good.
You get the smoky grilled pork, the creamy and slightly sweet peanut sauce, and then the cucumber relish gives it a fresh contrast.
I could easily eat several sticks without realizing it.
I probably did. Haha.
Then I tried something that felt much more connected to Chiang Mai itself.
If you’re traveling around northern Thailand, this is one of those foods you will encounter.
Sai ua is a traditional northern Thai pork sausage commonly associated with Chiang Mai and the wider Lanna region. It’s made with minced pork mixed with herbs and spices such as lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, chilies, garlic, shallots, coriander, and curry paste before being stuffed into a casing and grilled.
And you can smell it.
Before you even taste it, you already get all those herbs coming through.
It wasn’t like the regular sausages I was used to back home. Sai ua was much more aromatic. You could taste the pork, of course, but there was also the lemongrass, the spices, the slight heat from the chili, and all those herbs mixed together.
It was flavorful without needing a complicated sauce.
Just slice it.
Eat it.
Then take another piece.
Haha.
Between the fresh produce, local products, people with their morning coffee, and all the food stalls, I really enjoyed Jing Jai Market.
And to think, I wouldn’t even have gone there if Nick hadn’t suggested it.
That’s another thing I like about traveling.
Sometimes the best recommendations don’t come from hours of research or some list you found online.
Sometimes you just ask a local—or in this case, the guy running your hostel—and you end up somewhere you hadn’t even planned to visit.
After all that food, there was one more thing I needed.
Coffee.
Cool Muang Coffee
So on my way back toward the Old City, I stopped by a local coffee shop called Cool Muang.
The café is located by Chiang Mai’s moat, close to Tha Phae Gate, so it was a nice place to sit down after a full morning out. It has both indoor and outdoor seating and serves coffee, other drinks, and some bakery items.
At that point, though, I wasn’t looking for anything fancy.
I just wanted coffee.
A nice cup of coffee after an overnight bus ride, an unexpected morning around the Old City, a market visit, and a ridiculous amount of Thai food.
Perfect.
I sat there for a while and just enjoyed the moment.
And that’s when it finally hit me that this was only my first morning in Chiang Mai.
I hadn’t even properly checked into my hostel yet.
Haha.
What was supposed to be a simple plan of arriving at the hostel and leaving my bag somehow turned into an entire morning adventure.
I explored the quiet Old City.
I got my solo-traveler photos with the doves.
I discovered Jing Jai Market because of a random recommendation.
I ate moo satay and sai ua.
And I ended everything with a good cup of coffee near the moat.
Not bad for a morning that started with me standing outside a locked hostel wondering what to do with myself.
I headed back.
This time, I could finally check in.
I got my room, put down my things, and after being awake for what felt like forever, I finally climbed into bed.
And slept.
Really slept. Haha.
Looking back, I think that first morning introduced me to Chiang Mai.
Things didn’t exactly go according to plan, but somehow everything worked out.
No planned itinerary.
No rushing from one attraction to another.
Just a cold morning in Chiang Mai, a few unexpected stops, and a lot of food.
Definitely a lot of food.
Sometimes, that’s all you need for a really good travel day.
*A new The Weekly story is published every Thursday at 7:00 AM Philippine time.
