Traveling to Northern Thailand For the First Time? Here's What To Expect

In July 2023, I traveled to Northern Thailand with a volunteer company called GIVE Volunteers and it was my first time in Asia (unless you count a layover in Qatar the summer prior and the Taipei airport I flew through on the way). There was a lot of culture shock as my group was warned, but it was a good kind of culture shock!

We started in Chiang Mai and then traveled to our volunteer location up north in the jungle region of Mueang Khong. We also visited hill tribe villages in Hoi Ngu, Ban Khao Lam, and Pong Ngen. Then, our final days were spent back in Chiang Mai. In addition, since I did the elephant excursion add-on trip, I also got to go from Chiang Mai to Maetang, BEES elephant sanctuary, Huay Pakoot Coffee Farm, Mae Chaem, and then back to Chiang Mai.

Although I only visited Northern Thailand, I still picked up a lot of cultural considerations and norms and GIVE takes these very seriously. The whole trip we were urged to follow through with Thailand’s cultural norms and learned a lot about the area. Here’s what I learned from my trip to the Land of Smiles (and yes, that is Thailand’s nickname)!

ALWAYS Remove your shoes before going inside, unless otherwise instructed

This is a normal Southeast Asia cultural tradition, and honestly, I didn’t mind since the floors were much cleaner this way! I’m also pretty used to it since my mom never allowed me to wear my shoes in the house growing up. However, she’d just yell at me if I wore them on the carpet while in Asia, it is very taboo to do so, especially in the Buddhist Temples.

My education group at the local school! Notice how we’re not wearing shoes?

The Buddhist Temples are truly authentic and sacred

Extending the talk about the Buddhist temples, my group and I toured one in Chiang Mai and it was magnificent. The architecture was amazing, with gold and stone creatively surrounding the temples and pure gold inside as well. There were also giant Buddha statues everywhere, as well as wax figures of monks (these looked freakishly real!) We also listened to a monk do a holy chant in Thai, and were shown how to pay respect to a monk. Before then, I had only visited a Buddhist temple in Michigan and the one in Thailand made that one seem bland. The Michigan temple was not well designed, the monk was white, and the whole experience was not surreal enough. So, if you want to experience Buddhism authentically, Thailand is where to go!

The Buddha Temple area in Chiang Mai

Bowing is the appropriate greeting and also a non-verbal way to say “thank you”

I noticed this immediately and took advantage of it since I did not know how to speak Thai upon arrival. If you want to say hi or thank you to someone, just bow! They’ll more than likely bow back.

Some Thai vocabulary I learned! Sa wad dee ka is hello, and krab koon ka is thank you!

This is all of Thailand, but throw your toilet paper away rather than flushing it!

This was emphasized my entire trip and the reason this is is because the plumbing system in Thailand is different, and too much toilet paper can break the system. This was something that took some getting used to, but the signs on the bathroom wall made it easier to remember!

Couldn’t find a pic of a toilet so here’s my group at a mountainous coffee shop!

Limestone caving is common in Thailand, but during the rainy season, there may be flooding inside

In that case, it’s best to not go! Limestone caving was on our itinerary but due to the heavy rainfall, caving was deemed too dangerous due to the possibility of flooding. This was a bummer but instead, we took a short trip to Hoi Ngu village and learned about simple living while swimming with kids in the river! We also told ghost stories that night and listened to our guide play the guitar!

The village bonfire we told ghost stories around!

The Chiang Mai Night Market has just about everything!

I visited the night market three times throughout the whole trip and it is honestly one of the coolest markets I have seen so far. They have just about everything including elephant clothes, traditional Thai clothing, elephant decorations that range from self-made to glasses, magnets, and metal. There were also parts that sold various types of luggage, boxing gear, jewelry, shoes, swimwear, portraits, etc… In addition, there was also a food market that sold all kinds of food from all around the world, as well as a massage chair part where you can actually get a massage!

One of the many elephant decoration displays!

Everything is cheap… except flights to Thailand!

On average, clothes at the night market were only 100-200 Thai Baht, which is equivalent to about $3-$6 USD! Clothes in America cost almost ten times as much, unless you get them at a thrift store. In addition, food at the market is usually under 100 baht while the massages were only 100 baht! Cheapest massage I have ever had! Hotels on average are also generally less than 100 USD a night, even the five star ones. In the northern villages of Thailand, food and clothes were even less expensive than they were at the market, and this made me not worry too much about conserving my money. While flights to Thailand are $1000-$2000 USD depending on the time of year and length of stay, no need to worry about conserving money once you get there!

This dress only cost me 100 baht! Or $2.84 USD!

Drag shows are big in Thailand as well

I had not even been to a drag show in America so once GIVE surprised us by telling us we had an opportunity to visit a drag show, I was so excited! In Thailand it was only about 400 baht ($11.38 USD) while in America they are not that affordable most of the time! How could I say no?! I loved the show, as the choreography was amazing, the costumes were outstanding, and the stage graphics per act were well depicted as well. Now I think I’ll go to a drag show in America!

Caught some of the performers before the show!

Rice is the main staple of the Thai diet, and pork is a common source of protein

That’s why almost every meal my group and I had consisted of chicken and rice. Most markets in the street sold pork on a stick though, and there was one night where we had a cook your own bbq dinner festival! I got sick of rice fast since we had it literally every day, but the pork in Thailand was something else! It was actually tasty and did not make me feel sick (unless I ate too much, lol!)

Our final dinner in Mueang Khong! Pork, mango, fried chicken, sticky rice, and an egg dish!

The Pad Thai is a little bit different in Thailand

From my experience eating Pad Thai in America, everyone uses a peanut butter sauce, which I personally am not a fan of. However, in Thailand it is of course much better and it is a non-spicy red sauce, and this prompted me to try it! We had one night where we made our own Pad Thai and it was amazing and much more authentic!

Me making my Pad Thai!

Tea and Coffee are also popular

I am not a huge fan of tea, but according to my co-volunteers, the tea in Thailand was the best they have ever had! We also had coffee nearly everyday as there are coffee shops literally everywhere. I get what I always get: an iced mocha, but the ones I had in Thailand had a unique flavor that I never had anywhere else! This is also why we loved the Huay Pakoot Coffee Farm so much!

The menu at the Huay Pakoot coffee farm!

Thai children are very self-sufficient and happy

If anything, they are the exact opposite of American children. The children I taught at the schools actually were excited to come to class everyday and showed nothing but respect for my group and I! American children generally hate school and do not show that much respect and appreciation for their teachers and watching those Thai children certainly made me realize how much better Americans can do. These Thai children also do not have everything Americans take for granted, but they are okay with that! Simple living makes them more self-sufficient and appreciate hard work at a young age. In fact, while my group and I were doing permaculture work, the kids from the neighboring school came over and helped us fill our rice bags with corn without being asked! I was so impressed; American children normally have meltdowns when they have to do dirty work!

I wish she was looking at the camera, but here is one of the kids from the school!

It is very humid and this means that the mosquitos are AWFUL!

I got eaten alive and ended up with some pretty gnarly scabs on my arms and legs. Bugspray does not usually work for me so I did not use it the whole trip, and that’s why the situation got much worse. I ended up with a viral infection from the gnarly bites towards the end of my trip, and had to go to the hospital to get tested for dengue and what not. Thankfully, it was not dengue and I was given antibiotics! Point is, at least TRY to use bug spray while in Thailand!

Ban Khao Lam, a beautiful village but one of the worst spots for mosquitos!

There is a village only accessible by raft or foot, and it’s called Pong Ngen!

The reason being is because there are no direct roads to this village, and my group and I reached the location via bamboo raft. There is a third method by helicopter but it is very rare and only in case of emergencies. The raft ride was very calm and it allowed us to have a better view of the jungle we were in and we also watched our guides do some fishing! In addition, we saw tourists from the Netherlands hiking in and touring the village which kind of surprised us! Maybe it’s not that remote after all!

My raft group and me! That wooden tripod is holding up our bags!

Elephants are a very cared for species in Thailand

Sadly, the number of elephants is decreasing so the elephant mahouts work very hard to keep them alive in the wild and at sanctuaries. They walk deep into the jungles with them, feed them pounds of food daily that consists of fruit and rice balls, and bathe them. Elephants are also sacred in the Buddhism religion, and are cared for rather than held “captive”. Yes, they were my favorite part of the trip! You can see elephants at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, BEES elephant sanctuary in Chang Keung, and many other places all over Thailand.

Want to learn more about advice for traveling to Northern Thailand and/or GIVE Volunteers in general? Feel free to contact me!