Backpacker Best of Chiang Mai

Welcome to Chiang Mai! Your driver will be waiting for you holding a sign with your name and will whisk you away to The Common Hostel. The Common Hostel is in Chiang Mai's Old Town. Check-in and relax after your long journey! 

Accommodation: The Common Hostel in a 10-Bed Mixed Dorm
Transportation: Chiang Mai to The Common Hostel by Car or Van

Wake up and enjoy your breakfast, then the morning is free at leisure. Now's the time to either relax or go on a little urban adventure. In the afternoon, make your way to the meeting point for your bicycle tour and begin your adventure. Learn a little about the history of the old town as you cycle through quiet alleys and rarely used backroads before reaching a local night market where you can sample some delicious treats and delicacies. After the visit to the local market, you will make your way back and pass some historical sites along the way before returning to our starting point. Explore the town or make your own way back to your accommodation.

Meals: Breakfast, Snacks
Accommodation: The Common Hostel in a 10-Bed Mixed Dorm

Wake up and enjoy your breakfast, and then get ready to experience real Thai cooking with a little of the special Northern Thai flavor! You will be picked up for your morning cooking class at your accommodation. Get ready to learn how to cook tasty Thai food in a beautiful home garden setting. Start with a trip to the local market to get to know the ingredients and shop for whatever you need for your dishes.

You'll choose to make 6 dishes from 6 different categories:
Appetizer: som tam (papaya salad) or spring rolls.
Curry Paste: green, red or massaman.
Curry: green curry, panang curry, khao soi (Chiang Mai noodles) or massaman curry.
Soup: tom yam kung (hot and sour shrimp soup), tom kha gai (chicken in coconut milk soup) or Thai noodle soup.
Stir Fry: pad thai (fried noodles Thai style) or stir-fried cashew nuts with chicken. 
Extra Dishes: sticky rice with mango or banana in coconut milk.

In the home garden, you will start cooking one dish at a time. 1 work per person so you really get a feeling for the techniques. Thai food is based on a balance between the different flavors; spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. It goes beyond a single dish but seeks to balance a full meal of various dishes. You will understand this philosophy during your afternoon and, once you have cooked all six dishes, you can take a seat to test all the lovely dishes you prepared yourself. You'll return to your accommodation in the afternoon with a cookbook in hand, and a very full stomach!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: The Common Hostel in a 10-Bed Mixed Dorm

Wake up and enjoy breakfast and then check-out from your accommodation. Good luck with your next adventure!

Meals: Breakfast