Sripoom Soi 1 is the charming little street in Chiang Mai where we spent the first five days in what is to be our new hometown. Located in the northeast corner of the Old City not far from the main road, this beautiful little street is adorned with an assortment of guest houses ranging from single rooms for rent to larger mom and pop bed and breakfasts, as well as lined with many eclectic restaurants, massage parlors, and small convenience stores.
Just Another Relaxing Little Street
This soi has an easy-going, almost sleepy feel to it. It is rather quiet with the exception of the soft sounds of birds chirping and motorbikes purring. It is lightly trafficked by tuk-tuks and motorbikes, and cars are lucky to squeeze by in the single lane.
Another shot of the little street decorated with small plants and Tuk-Tuks
Unique to Thailand
There is nothing quite like this street in the States. The buildings are nestled together, merely separated by trees that have grown up from the small areas of ground that have been left unpaved. Potted plants adorn the entryways of each building. Most restaurants are entirely opened aired, which is refreshing and exotic to be able to enjoy a soft breeze while enjoying a good budget friendly Thai meal.
Open air restaurants decorate this little street in the northeast corner of Chiang Mai
Foodie Heaven
Only a short walking distance to the main road, this little street is a small gem in Chiang Mai. It is a wonderful area to find a guest house for an overnight stay, choose a lounge area enjoy a cocktail, or to treat yourself to a Northern Thai meal.
An expat sports bar at the intersection offering budget meals in Chiang Mai
I know this place very well, my favourite place to people watch was at this intersection, although can’t remember the name, it wasn’t ‘bar 1 on’ (i think that was the name of the bar opposite, it had a lovely large dog, I think a rottweiler. The bar I used was opposite, but also with a pool table, and a lovely ladyboy hostess…great pizza’s, vert very friendly and the place I met my first scorpion as I have shown on my blog from last year bloginasia.com
Yes, we’ve watched football at 7am at Bar on 1 with the rottie. Well behaved dog! That little stretch of back streets is totally different from the stone’s throw to the moat. The tropical plans growing up the walls and birds chirping – you’d forget you were in the city. We still like to drive through there from time to time if we’re in that corner of the city.
Great post! Chaing Mai is a gem in Thailand, and I am jealous you are calling it home for a while. I am just finishing up a two week tour of the country, and I have to declare that the north was my favorite. Your blog is a helpful resource for travelers, thank you for all that you share! Cheers :-)
Thanks, Max. It’s great to hear that our blog helped you out. We originally did a two week tour of Thailand as well and fell in love with Chiang Mai. So much we moved there six months later!