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Imagine two sisters. One wears dizzy heels, manages three phones at the same time, and drinks her iced coffee between two crowded underground trains. The other lives barefoot, does yoga at dawn to the sound of crickets and raises plants by speaking softly to them. These two women are Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the two beating hearts of Thailand, separated by 700 kilometres and a whole inner world.
Where Bangkok is an urban symphony in electro-fury mode, Chiang Mai takes you by the hand and invites you to listen to the bells of a temple at dawn. And yet this unlikely duo works perfectly. One makes you tired, the other recharges you. One pushes you into the whirlwind of life, the other helps you catch your breath. And in between, your travel diary fills up with sweat, incense, noodles, elephants, smiles and inquisitive mosquitoes.
Bangkok : Vertical, vibrating, visceral
Welcome to Bangkok, the capital where every pavement is an enigma, every alley a mini-scenario, and every taxi a mobile version of hell or heaven, depending on your karma for the day. As soon as you set foot in Suvarnabhumi, the temperature rises, your T-shirt sticks, and your brain starts to recalibrate: "Okay. Here, we don't think. We feel."
For the first few days, Bangkok takes you by the scruff of the neck. Not maliciously, but with the tenderness of an elephant playing tag. You walk, you slip on a crushed durian, you dodge a scooter that passes on the pavement, you get a coconut juice in your hands without having asked for anything, and you see a procession of fluorescent orange monks pass in front of a Starbucks. And that's it. And welcome.
I remember one afternoon in Chinatown, sandwiched between two golden temples and a crab seller shouting "fresh like your ex! The air smelt of ginger, burnt oil and cheap spirituality. I bit into a lukewarm bao without knowing what was in it. Spoiler: duck eggs. Very good. Unforgettable.
Bangkok is also about crazy contrasts. You go from a buzzing tuk-tuk to a Wat Arun temple that takes your breath away. You cross the Chao Phraya River on a ferry that miraculously holds up, then you stumble across a 5-star rooftop with a Swedish DJ and mojitos for 12 euros. And you say to yourself: "Why not?"
And let's not forget the markets: Chatuchak, temple of labyrinthine shopping, where I bought a hammock, a dog kimono and a banana-shaped lamp. All before noon. There are also the food courts hidden away in the malls, veritable places of gastronomic pilgrimage. A special mention goes to the one at the MBK: 4 euros for a feast and an iced tea offered by a granny who said to me, laughing: "You eat spicy food like a French baby." Touché.
Chiang Mai: The gentle north and the slow pace of life
And then, when your soul starts to get asthma from the pollution and too much curry, you head north. To Chiang Mai. The overnight sleeper train is an experience in itself: it rocks, it honks, it smells of warm plastic and the reassuring smell of steaming rice. You're half asleep, dreaming of buffalo on a scooter, and then you arrive in another Thailand.
Here, the watchword is relaxation with spiritual intent. Everything is slower, softer, more... mellow. Even the horns seem to whisper. The streets are lined with trees, the cafés are tastefully decorated by people who read Paulo Coelho without irony, and stray dogs greet you with yawns.
Chiang Mai is the capital of temples. There are temples around every corner. From Wat Phra Singh to the magnificent Wat Chedi Luang, the gilded stucco, chanting monks and flower offerings envelop you in the atmosphere of a Buddhist novel. I found myself meditating for 20 minutes without understanding how. A woman offered me a lotus flower. I cried a little. It must have been the curry.
And if Bangkok is the city of skyscrapers, Chiang Mai is the city of pointed roofs and misty mountains. You can climb up to Doi Suthep, listen to the bells tinkling in the wind, admire the view over the whole valley, and come back down wondering if you've become a better person in the meantime.
And of course, the food of the North. More subtle, more herbaceous, with dishes like khao soi (crispy noodle curry) that slaps you in the face with every bite. I ate it in an alleyway, on a plastic stool, with a dog at my feet and a monk reading Cosmopolitan next door. Unforgettable.
Bangkok vs Chiang Mai: The bittersweet duel
So, should you choose between these two cities? Bangkok is an evening too long to regret. Chiang Mai is a morning without waking up and smelling of jasmine. Bangkok gives you IV adrenalin. Chiang Mai gives you green tea infused with clarity. In Bangkok, you run after the metro. In Chiang Mai, you walk barefoot through a wooden temple. Bangkok is capitalism on steroids and noodles at 2am. Chiang Mai is all about the spirituality that caresses your calves during an essential oil massage in a bamboo hut. And then there's the nightlife: Bangkok with its giant rooftops, clubs hidden behind washing machine doors and Japanese karaoke bars; Chiang Mai with its bars featuring acoustic guitars, craft beers and metaphysical discussions with a Norwegian in tantric reconversion. Do you get it? It's not a duel. It's a cosmic complementarity. A bit like saying your trip to Thailand needs two heartbeats. One that races. The other to calm down.
The perfect balance exists, and he wears a sarong
There's a reason why so many travellers fall in love with Thailand and never quite return. It's not just for the beaches. Nor for the food (although, by golly, that pad Thai in a rowboat stays in my heart forever). It's because this country lets you live several lives in one. Bangkok and Chiang Mai are two sides of a magic mirror. One confronts you with yourself in the noise, the movement, the crowds. The other allows you to listen to yourself, to heal a little, and to understand that sometimes doing nothing is already a lot.
So whether you're team horn or team bell, team rooftop or team temple, team tuk-tuk or team bike ride, one thing's for sure: together, these two cities make Thailand a joyful, messy and infinitely human playground. To find out more, check out our mini-guide to Thailand. Thailand and Bangkok and see also the references of these two hotels in the 137 Pillars group to make the most of these two paradises.
