Chiang Mai: Countryside Bike Tour with Train & Local Lunch

4.85

(147 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing that stuck with me was the sound of our bikes rattling as we rolled onto the old Chiang Mai train platform—still half-asleep, but grinning. Our guide, Nok, handed out bananas and checked our helmets twice (she’s got this calm energy). The train to Lamphun felt like pressing pause; windows open, warm air mixed with the smell of diesel and something sweet from a vendor’s bag. I tried to say “Wat Phra That Hariphunchai” right—Li laughed at my attempt. We got off and pedaled through sleepy streets lined with crumbling brick walls and gold-tipped roofs glinting in the morning haze.

There’s this moment after leaving Lamphun when you’re suddenly in open country—rice paddies everywhere, birds darting low over irrigation canals. The road is quiet except for the occasional scooter or someone waving from a field. By midday we stopped at a tiny place on the Ping River for lunch—just simple stir-fried veggies and jasmine rice, but it tasted perfect after riding under the sun. Someone’s auntie brought us iced tea in plastic cups. I still think about that view across the water, honestly.

After lunch we crossed the Ping River (the bridge boards clacked under our wheels) and rode into Ban Tawai village. The woodcarvers there barely looked up at first but then one guy showed us how he shapes elephants from teak scraps—his hands moved so fast I lost track. Nok explained some of the symbols carved into temple doors; she grew up nearby and knew half the people we passed. There were more hills than I expected near Doi Suthep’s foothills, but snacks kept appearing just when I needed them (no idea where she kept them all).

I was tired by Royal Ratchapuek Park but not in a bad way—it was that kind of good ache from moving all day and seeing so much you almost can’t process it yet. We loaded up our bikes for the ride back while dusk crept in around us. It felt like we’d been gone longer than a day somehow.