Chiang Mai was great for getting into the mountains on short day trips. There's a MTB place there run by an aussie guy and they also do rides with bikes provided and stuff. If anything it's worth visiting the cafe he has just to drink cold smoothies and watch some MTB racing on TV.
Be careful with elephant places. I found a good one where it seems like they are very well looked after. I've heard others are more dodgy. If I can remember the name of the place we went to I'll report back.
Koh Chang was the island I visited. Its a quieter option so avoids all the full moon party stuff. But still has amazing beaches (main one being white sands) and a nice night market for a little bit of street food.
Also went to Bangkok which is, well, a massive city. So it was nice, but coming from London, it wasn't as nice as the North or the southern islands. I could happily skip it next time.
Pad thai is an obvious suggestion but it's great almost everywhere you can get it and I ate tons of it. There were also dishes named something along the lines of drunken chicken or drunkard something, very spicy with what I think was fresh peppercorns. If you like spicy stuff you have a ton of options.
Oh and in the North they have a traditional spicy sausage (varies a little on region) that's worth a try
Not sure on weather as I went in Jan 2020
Chiang Mai was great for getting into the mountains on short day trips. There's a MTB place there run by an aussie guy and they also do rides with bikes provided and stuff. If anything it's worth visiting the cafe he has just to drink cold smoothies and watch some MTB racing on TV.
Be careful with elephant places. I found a good one where it seems like they are very well looked after. I've heard others are more dodgy. If I can remember the name of the place we went to I'll report back.
Koh Chang was the island I visited. Its a quieter option so avoids all the full moon party stuff. But still has amazing beaches (main one being white sands) and a nice night market for a little bit of street food.
Also went to Bangkok which is, well, a massive city. So it was nice, but coming from London, it wasn't as nice as the North or the southern islands. I could happily skip it next time.
Pad thai is an obvious suggestion but it's great almost everywhere you can get it and I ate tons of it. There were also dishes named something along the lines of drunken chicken or drunkard something, very spicy with what I think was fresh peppercorns. If you like spicy stuff you have a ton of options.
Oh and in the North they have a traditional spicy sausage (varies a little on region) that's worth a try