How much time in Chiang Mai?
 

Hello
My husband and I will be in northern thailand next month. our time is limited. We are visiting both chiang mai and the golden triangle area. we only have from the afternoon on feb. 15th - early morning feb 20th in that area. not sure how to split up time, as we are driving all the way to the golden triangle (anantara) from chiang mai. i am booked feb 15, 16, 17 in chiang mai and then leaving morning of 18th to golden triangle. wondering if time is better spent leaving on the 17th from chiang mai? Any feedback on what to expect or where there is more to see would be really helpful. also, how long the drive is from chiang mai to golden triangle. thanks so much in advance!

I would leave it as is. There is much more to do and see in Chiang Mai. Enroute to Anatara you can visit some hill tribes. Once you are there the main things to see is the Queen Mother's garden and projects at Doi Tung and the Opium Museum.

Depending on your interests, there are also several wats in the Golden Triangle area, and there are ruins and a museum in Chaing Sean that are worth time time. We also enjoyed a longtail boat on the river, the morning market in Chaing Sean (also went there as part of our cooking class at the Anantara).

Question regarding the Opium Museum. We went to the one in town, an amazing account of Opium, it's use and refinement into morpine and heroin.

However, on the way out of town. We passed a brand new building with a sign suggesting that it, too, was an opium museum. Anyone know what that might have been?

it is a new fabulous opium museum, one that rivals any museum in the west....we were taken by how nice it is...worth at least 2 hours of your time...directly across from the anantara....

the cooking classes at the anantara are exceptional...doi tung is a must...the rest of the area, while decent, is not all that interesting save a couple of wats, especially the one on the hill in chiang saen that overlooks the actual golden triangle...

the border town in thailand with myanmar is worth a one hour walk around...

Bob-- I usually agree with you but I find the border town with Burma to be a complete waste of time. Much too touristy. There are border towns that are interesting but not this one.

gloria, i did not like it either but it could occupy some time....i honestly don't find the northern area all that interesting....maybe if you could get out to hilltribes but it seems many of them are turning into tourist destinations...
doi tung being an exception...

rhkkmk

Thanks for the info on the new Opium museum. Sounds like a must-visit if we get back there.

I've been to CM a number of times. We always seem to go just for one or two nights. It's never long enough. We keep saying we are going to go to CM and spend at least a week. Not sure why we never manage to do that...