Christmas and New Year in Chiang Mai (2021)

Hello! Just a super short and sweet post, mostly pics, from our Christmas and New Year in Chiang Mai.

We didn’t do a lot for the Holidays. I’d sort of planned on getting a small artificial tree and a couple of streamers to hang up. But we talked about it and, honestly, it just didn’t feel like Christmas to us! Something about being from the Maritimes and used to cold and snowy holidays, the high 20s and sun just didn’t bring on the Christmassy feels.

And that’s absolutely fine with us!

That’s not to say we didn’t want the Christmas food! And unfortunately, thanks to Covid, the places we found that had been doing Christmas meals in previous years, weren’t this year.

So we decided we’d just splurge and eat whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, for Christmas Eve and Christmas! And we did. We didn’t take many food photos, except for these ones, because it was so pretty we couldn’t resist.

That’s a lemon cheesecake smoothie bowl from the Free Bird Cafe. Almost too pretty to eat, but we pushed through that foolishness and ate it anyway, and it was seriously one of the best things we’ve ever eaten. (We know we say that a lot, but we mean it every time). It’s rich and filling and satisfying and creamy and so darn good!

Also, 100% of the profits from the Free Bird Cafe go to charity; look them up, the owner does amazing stuff for the community and surrounding area. Definitely, highly recommend anyone to go there! Buy something from the shop, eat something at the restaurant, and know you’re helping others as well!

We also made a point of getting donuts from the Donut Cafe. Not that we needed an excuse.

We also ate at the Rad Rabbit, a vegan pizzeria. So, so so yummy, a cute little restaurant in a corner of Old City. We had garlic bread and pizza, followed by a brownie and coconut ice cream. Then we bought a locally made chocolate bar to go 🙂

We enjoyed Rad Rabbit so much that we ordered some pasta over the holiday…the alfredo and the “meatball” spaghetti. Both were, again, incredibly rich and satisfying (a bit oily, but that’s okay…it’s the holidays! No regrets!)

And we discovered another sweet Thai vegan restaurant with extensive options, the V. Napaphud Vegetarian Food Restaurant. They also have a lot of take-home ingredients and meals! Definitely a place we’ll return.

Besides the food, we wandered around and took photos. They’ve had some Holiday decor set up around the Old City for a while now; we just come across things on our walks.

The following photos are of Christmas Eve (and possibly Christmas Day, can’t really remember). There were a fair few decorations and some people about, some Christmassy shop music, but not a whole pile of festivus.

New Year’s Eve however, was a different story! We went out early to wander, and there was so much traffic and so many people down by Tha Phae Gate, where the celebrations were centred. We skirted the traffic (lucky we knew the shortcuts due to all our walking!), showed our vaccine certificates, and entered the circus!

Vendors galore lined the canal and people were everywhere! We didn’t stay long, just long enough to grab a couple of photos. Then we left to visit The Cookie Jar (best vegan cookies and flavored hot chocolate/flavored vegan milk ever!) and took a long and windy walk home to watch a movie (refusing an invite to sing Karaoke outside a bar with some locals).

And we made it to midnight! We went outdoors and watched the fireworks (at Tha Phae Gate) from down the street. They put on an amazing show.

Finally, off to bed.

We had an amazing, wonderful, quiet yet busy and very happy and fulfilling Holiday here in Chiang Mai.

We truly hope you had the same, and that you all have one of your best years ever in the coming year!