Bangkok and Chaing Mai tips for solo travel

[Roseshavethorns]

Hi
I am going to Bangkok and Chaing Mai in November/ December. I am going with DH but he is taking his bike and will probably be out on his own most mornings. It was my suggestion and I am happy to be on my own but now I am trying to plan my time and becoming completely overwhelmed.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me to do things on my own for mornings or full days. There seems to be so much on offer that I find it hard to choose. To complicate matters my mobility isn't great and I can't hike for miles anymore.
Thanks.

In Chiang Mai would you be up for doing a cooking course one morning? They have loads of choice there and can be a really nice intro to the food (try and get one where they take you round a market first or round a farm/garden to pick the herbs etc). Chiang Mai also has lots of palaces and temples you could visit.

Yes, a cooking class is great fun.
Have you looked at Get Your Guide? They do organised group trips, also TripAdvisor and Airbnb experiences.
They will usually (in Chiang Mai at least) collect you from your hotel.

Visit an elephant sanctuary.
This one is very good www.elephantnaturepark.org/
No riding or bathing.

We are going in December! Have you looked at Pai? It's easy to get a taxi for the day for less than £30, so travelling around by taxi opens up a lot more for you. It's one of the safest countries I've travelled in.

He’s a brave man cycling in Bangkok! Depending on where you are staying in Bangkok you could hop on a river boat, that takes you directly to some of the temples. You can get boat tours but we just used the standard public ones. Very easy. The metro system is also very easy to get around on. You could just visit one of the big malls, they are air conditioned and have good food halls.

The elephant sanctuary mentioned above is fabulous but does involve a fair bit of walking, though you would see elephants (and lovely rescue dogs) from the main building terrace. We did a cooking lesson in Chiang Mai, it was great fun and they picked us up and returned us to the hotel. There are a couple of interesting museums in Chiang Mai as well.

There is a glorious restaurant in Chiang Mai where the chef and his family cook with love. The food is extraordinary and the whole place radiates with kindness. There were a few people eating alone there. We were so taken with the kindness shown to us that we were driven to pay it forward and paid for the dinner of a guy eating alone.

Look up Samcook B which I think takes you to their Facebook page.

It was inexpensive by European standards but probably slightly expensive by Thai standards.

I agree with the cooking class and elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai. I would get a guided private day tour in Bangkok so you can be driven to all the places you want to visit. We used Tour with Tong when we went 15 years ago (I can't believe I just typed that) and the tour was great.

I also recommend the elephant sanctuary. I’m not sure which one we went to but we made food (energy balls for elephants!) and fed the elephants from a raised platform.

What do you like?
Bangkok and Chiang Mai are both amazing places
You can always arrange a guide and transport if your mobility is limited - it's affordable in Thailand.

Bangkok - grand temple, wat pho (reclining buddha), wat arun, flower market, floating market, food tour and/or cooking class, day trip to ayuthaya or trip to ancient city in samut prakan, icon siam (or the malls along sukhumvit)

Chiang Mai - Stroll around old city, , sticky falls (not too much walking), elephant poo paper farm, Doi Inthanon - highest mountain in Thailand (not too much walking - can take car most ofthe way), elephant sanctuary, insect museum, I'd also recommend a day trip to Chiang Rai which is beautiful, rafting if that's your thing

Thanks for all the suggestions.
How do you pick a guide? I have seen lots of drivers with cars in Facebook?

@Roseshavethorns Your DH will definitely not be cycling in Bangkok! Have you been before?

Yes I raised an eyebrow at the thought of cycling in Bangkok, marginally better than Hanoi - maybe 😀

Hi
We are only in Bangkok for 3 days. Apparently there is a cycle track round the airport that he intends to go to. Mainly using the bike in Chiang Mai.

I can’t imagine wasting part of a short stay in Bangkok by trekking back out to the airport to cycle, but each to his own.