Hua Hin vs Chiang Mai: What Looks Better Isn't Always Better to Live In

Are you ready? >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> So, today we want to talk about Hua Hin and Chiang Mai. We last visited Hua Hin and Chiang Mai in 2019 and now we are back on 2026 to see how much these two cities have changed, you know. Both seem more modern with better sidewalk restaurant mall and everything. But, one city have beach, one city have mountain. They offer two very different lifestyle. >> Yeah. So, today we'll talk about both cities, Hua Hin, Thailand and Chiang Mai, Thailand. And we'll tell you which one is our favorite. And we'll talk about subjects such as restaurants apartments walkability cost of living, weather, things to do in case your priorities are different than ours. So, you'll know why we picked what we picked, but maybe you'll pick another one. >> [laughter] >> And we will stay in the end, we will tell you about which one is our personal prefer. And all you guess now and comment which one we will choose.

City atmosphere and surrounding, okay? So, Hua Hin is have beaches and also have some mountain you can hike as well. >> Yeah. >> So, what you think? >> I In terms of comparing the two, the Hua Hin has a very different background than Chiang Mai. Hua Hin was a summer house for the king starting around 1920 and expats started coming to Hua Hin because it's on the the bay instead of the ocean side of Thailand because there was a tsunami that hit Thailand in 2024 from the Indian Ocean side, so they started coming over around 2004, but they Hua Hin really started getting popular about 10 years ago. And so, it's what I call a soft landing where you have restaurants, you have apartments that are sort of westernized, and so people move there because they can recreate their life in their home country in Hua Hin.

There's also other kinds of expats that are more budget-minded, and they're living more of a Thai lifestyle. So, it has both of those. Chiang Mai is completely different. First of all, it's in the mountains. It's not really high elevation, but it's a thousand-year-old city. It was the the it was the center of the Lanna Kingdom uh 1,100 years years ago, and it still has the walls with the moat around it. And it's also a soft landing because it has a neighborhood called Nimman, where a lot of people retire. There's also digital nomads that go there that have a big selection of of all sorts of western foods and and lifestyle apartments. And then you have the city center, which is more charming and historical. Some of those amazing and beautiful and historic temples in all of Thailand. And then you have the east side of the city, where you have the typical tradition traditional nightlife and more malls. And so, it's um but the the big difference I think is the beach is a little warmer.

>> So, you see these two very different cities. One is a big city, one is a mountain city. >> Exactly. >> So, it's very hard to choose, depending on what you want. >> [laughter] >> The next thing is about shopping mall. Uh what I see is um both have a good shopping mall for you to go. And also, I noticed that also in Hua Hin that their sidewalk is much better. It's bigger and nicer, you know? That is what I see the change on. In Hua Hin, um I would say they have aspect grocery store. Okay? And uh in Chiang Mai, they also have. So both is I would say both is tied on the grocery store. >> Yeah. So, Hua Hin I see is kind of two separate cities because you have the old part of Hua Hin, where you have the traditional Thai restaurants run by families where you can still you'll still find meals there like the bread my favorite lunch there was 40 or 50 baht which is a buck buck 50.

>> Mhm. >> And that's sort of the old town and you have the morning market there where all the fruits and vegetables are there and you have the night market there where they have more they have both the local Thai food and some Western restaurants and they also have that in the old part they have that dock where you can go eat out over the water. And the newer part of Hua Hin which is a a couple kilometers away you can take a 15 baht bus there which is I don't know 50 cents. >> Yes. >> And you have a couple of new malls you have the Tamarind Market you have high-rise condos and so that's where you go in Hua Hin if you want to live a Western lifestyle and you know buy meals for 8 10 12 15 dollars. >> Mhm. >> But they also have some some local Thai food there run by local families not as many but you can still find meals there for you know under two bucks here and there. Uh and so you have two different cities and um you talk about Chiang Mai Chiang Mai almost has three different kinds of cities. You have the Nimman area which I spoke about which is Western expats mainly they can be both retired and digital nomad age and then you which all with all the modern like accommodations and and Western style restaurants and cocktail lounges and coffee shops it just feels very Westernized and then you have the two malls there Maya and and one Nimman. And then you have the old town which is gorgeous centuries old temples there

gorgeous gold uh the gold temples and history and you also have some very nice accommodations in the center of the old town and then you have more typical Thai restaurants more reasonably priced and then on the eastern side of the city and and the outer areas you have cheaper rents you have more Thai food choices at lower prices so there's multiple cities When look at the two in terms of Well, we'll save that for walkability, which comes later. >> That's why I want to say that so far the you know, both city they also have night market. >> Absolutely. >> Night markets also they have playing the live music as well. So, you can go to enjoy in both city. >> Yeah. >> So, now I want to talk about Hua Hin. So, Hua Hin in the night market and morning market is very convenient. And one of our favorite night market is in the you know, the dark side. What they call it called fisherman pier. >> Yeah, fisherman's pier.

>> Yeah, the night market that's our favorite. And then in Chiang Mai they also have several night market, but my favorite one is Sunday night market. >> Yeah. >> I can get all my food over there, so which is I love it so much. >> Yeah. >> For this is so easy to go to get whatever you want. >> Yeah, yeah. >> So, the next one is about food. That is my specialty. >> [laughter] >> Restaurant and night life kind of thing. >> Yeah. >> So, in in Hua Hin we have our favorite restaurant as well. My favorite restaurant is the breakfast restaurant. >> Oh, yeah. >> That is about $3. I get a full set of the you know, breakfast. My one is I can't remember egg with hot dog and bacon and some fresh fruit and toast and also I have oranges, fresh oranges and a coffee is only $1, about 30 baht for your hot cappuccino, hot latte.

>> Yeah. >> It's amazing fresh food, fresh quality, very best value. >> Yeah. Hua Hin is like I said, it has that old town area with with the family owned restaurants that have been there for decades. And you you also have some newer restaurants like in the night market area and scattered about. But you also have in Hua Hin you have that newer part of the city where a lot of expats like to live, where they have you know, where you can get a steak or pizza and you can get in the malls. There's two big malls there and then the basement of those malls, they even have the lower price Thai foods in little booths. >> So in a mall, you can get as low as $6 steak inside the mall. >> Yeah. >> Up to whatever you want and they are using Australian beef to cook for the steak. Also, we have nice pizza over there. They have a lot of western restaurant food or whatever affordable prices. >> Yeah, of course.

>> What is your favorite food in Hua Hin? >> Hua Hin, my favorite food. I'm a vegetarian. I love that little family owned restaurant. Delicious food. They change the choices all the time. You can get it on Grab and delivered and eat it at home or you can go there and eat it. It's right in the center of the old town. That's probably my favorite restaurant there. But I also love that salad bar in the newer part of Hua Hin. I think Is that in the Blueport Mall? >> That's Blueport Mall. >> Yeah, that's a great salad bar. You don't see that many salad bars in Southeast Asia. >> Yeah. >> And I think there's a Sizzler in the Although we didn't eat there. There's a Sizzler which I love the Sizzler in Thailand. We hadn't found out about it yet. But [laughter] those are two of my favorites. The Sizzler is a little more expensive than the local foods and the salad bar is too. But it's nice to have those options. >> Yeah. So in Chiang Mai, we also have our favorite restaurant. They also have western foods and the local foods. So my favorite one is very amazing vegetarian and vegan food restaurant because they use It's a Thai restaurant.

They use a soy meat to cook it. So it's The soy meat is mixed with a curry and everything. So it's a very delicious meal over there. It's about $2 per meal over there. That's my favorite. >> Yeah. Not far from there, around the corner is what we call Grandma's restaurant. >> Yes. >> And that's probably my favorite overall. Although it's really close those two. Um Uh Uh, that And by the way, all of these restaurants are on our report for Chiang Mai, so you can grab the report and and you can see where we ate, what we ate, so you can try some of this local stuff if you don't know what to eat when you're in Thailand. But, prob- for me, the surprise was the in Chiang Mai was that Breakfast House we were going to where you were eating that cheesy egg thing. >> Yeah. >> And I was eating like >> avocado with a bacon >> toast and egg on top. It was very nice. So, and that was it was only like four five bucks or something like that. >> bucks. About that. >> Both of our meals would have been a $20 meal in many parts of the US. So, still a great bargain, but you're getting Yeah. Food from home if you want.

>> we went to the Sizzler salad bar in Chiang Mai, which is about $7-ish, so we go there once a week because I love the fresh stuff, you know, fresh ingredient. >> Our friend Red told us that we had to try the popcorn at the theater in Chiang Mai, so we went to see a movie in Chiang Mai. And the popcorn tasted like American popcorn. So, you go there and eat at the theaters in Chiang Mai. >> he is the one who go to Chiang Mai for fixing his American food in Chiang Mai because he live in Da Lat, uh >> Da Lat, Vietnam, yeah. But, he visits his dad in in Chiang Mai. >> The next one is a nightlife. Both have amazing nightlife. In Hua Hin, they have many night markets and the one of the very nice night market is Khao Si Cardan night market. They have a very good live performance, very, very good sound system and everything. That is, um very nice. And then, so in also in Hua Hin also have a lot of, uh, girl bar if you're interested or you want to go for live music, a lot of thing, activity to do in the night.

>> Yeah, Hua Hin has all the traditional nightlife that you'll see around most of Thailand. It's not the crazy kind like in Pattaya, but you have three different areas where they have the bar girls and shooting pool and pubs and all that stuff. Uh, one's in the central area, one's on Soi 80. >> Yeah. >> And one's on Soi 94. >> Yeah. >> And the 94 is a little crazier. It goes later into the night. Uh, and so those are your And And they have like live music and people dancing in this just traditional kind of western lifestyle also in Hua Hin around Soi 94. And they had it in the um also in the central area where we went and saw uh, some live music and a DJ playing. >> yeah. The Panama Club. That's a very nice bar that you can go for dancing. It's not a girly bar, but it's a people go for dancing and drinking place. >> Yeah, just traditional nightlife. >> Yeah, in Chiang Mai they have a different They also have all sort of the nightlife. They have a live music also in the night market. They have a bar, have a nice performance, you know, live music as well. We also went for the the big kind of the local night >> nightclub area.

>> It's It's like a crazy performance bar with a huge stage and like multiple bands go up there and dancers and It's like Vegas style, you know. Just really high energy. Thousand people maybe that I don't know. 500 or 1,000 people fit in that place. >> They're also selling foods and beer over there. >> Yeah. And also you can go for like also they have like you know bar, you know. And so they have a happy hour bar and >> Oh, yeah. >> all sort of this kind of thing. It's >> Everything's in Chiang Mai. >> Everything in Chiang Mai they have a very nice live jazz playing performance in Chiang Mai as well. So what you want what kind of the nightlife you want you have everything. But one thing I want to share about is girl girly bar. >> Okay. >> You go to the bar and then the girl will come to you, accompany you talking or playing game with you. >> Yeah. >> So we have tried on all these kind of places. We tried in uh Hua Hin in the central place and the Soi 94.

>> Yeah. >> And also in Chiang Mai also. So in these three places, you know I will feel the girl in some Soi 94 is more better. She is not pushing me that much to buy her a drink, but until I feel guilty I need to buy her a drink, but the rest of them they were first they were If they sit down they will ask you to buy them a a drink already. >> Yeah, and the drinks are like six bucks for a lady drink, yeah. >> Yeah, it is you know, I would say that if I alone, even I'm the woman, I if I want to talk with someone, I can go to this kind of bar. They just accompany you to talk, you know? So, I enjoy that to hear about their talking, what is their experience, had them had them been out of Thailand, which country they visit that, you know? That kind of talking. So, you can learn some local stuff. >> Yeah, so apartments are there's a wide range, I would say in both cities.

It's pretty much something for everyone. I'll just talk a little bit about it. Like when we were in Hua Hin, we interviewed a fellow named Fred, and his apartment was $100 a month. >> Yeah. >> And uh and then but we stayed in an apartment that was I think it was 490 per month. >> 490 per month including electricity, Wi-Fi, and everything. >> And that Yeah. >> And we are in the low season. >> Yeah, and we were and that included everything and low season and it's for just 1 month. Now, if you go to Hua Hin and you look for a 1-year lease, you're not going to have to pay that much for that apartment. >> Yeah. >> Uh you could pay more. I mean, there's apartments there. I saw one sign for one that's 800, but more typically if on 1-year leases, you know, their typical expats are renting somewhere between like 300 and 600 a month. Um but they do have the low end stuff like but the low end stuff even the one Fred was in had a swimming pool, had a gym. Not the greatest gym, not the greatest swimming pool, but then it also had a little refrigerator and a hot plat hot plate.

So, there's a bit prices available in both. >> Yeah. >> And it's all about what area, what size, how old is the building. >> Yes. >> Who's renting there? Is it expats or locals? So, there's a lot of variables to it and it's kind of applies to Chiang Mai also. If you're in the city center, it's more expensive. If you're in the Nimman area, it's more expensive. But, if you want to go out a little bit outside and and ride a baht bus, you'll find stuff out there that's cheaper, you know, 200 to 50 a month. So, there's something for everyone in both cities. >> So, if you want to see where we stay in Chiang Mai and Hua Hin, we both stay for a month. So, you can check out the video in the end. I will put the link in the end. >> Very nice. >> [laughter] >> Next one is the weather and the air quality. Everyone talk about that. >> Yeah, of course. So, this is pretty important. This is really for me the biggest one of the biggest distinction. There's two distinctions. One of them is weather and I'll I'll talk about them in context.

So, give you an example. Hua Hin has seasonal weather, but not as seasonal. It's more consistent. To give you an example, Hua Hin highs in the hottest part of the year during the day, not at night, but during the day they run from about 87 to 93 Fahrenheit, which is 31 to 34 Celsius. To give you a contrast, Chiang Mai hot part of the year average highs for season runs from around 81 to 90 Fahrenheit. So, you have a little bit lower there. Instead of 87 is the low. Now, the low is 81. That's a big difference. And by the way, Celsius that's 27 to 32. But, here's an even bigger difference, the lows. The lows in Hua Hin the year-round lows season is 74 at night. And that it only gets up to 79 at night. So, that's cooler than than Chiang Mai. By the way, that's 23 to 26 Celsius at night.

That's the low at night in the cooler season. The low at night in the cooler season in Chiang Mai first Fahrenheit 52 to 63 Fahrenheit Celsius 11 to 17. So this is a big difference. It's it's not cold. It's just a little cooler at night and that makes a big difference and it's not all year round. It's just it's just it's seasonal and so for people that have trouble with the with the humidity or the heat at sea level Chiang Mai is a great choice. There's one problem though and that's the burn season. Yeah. [laughter] Chiang Mai has a burn season in in Southeast Asia they don't till the soil. What they do is burn it. They just burn the top off. I guess it's easier whatever in the it's still happening around much of Asia and so you have a burn season where the air quality drops while you're in Chiang Mai and so some people go to the beach during that because Hua Hin that the the air quality is more consistent without the year. It's not perfect but it doesn't have that burn season and it's pretty good and so a lot of people just go to the beach. You can take a train, you can fly, whatever.

>> Healthcare and hospital. As you know that Thailand is one of the well-known medical tourism in Southeast Asia. It's almost the top ones for everyone to go to Southeast Asia. >> Yeah, it's it's one of the top in the world. It's always in the top five in the reports I've read. Sometimes it's all the way up in number, you know, one and two. It's not just price, it's also quality. And it's consistent decades long. So in terms of healthcare it's really hard to beat Thailand. It's um and it's true for both Chiang Mai and Hua Hin I would say. They're both really top quality. >> Yeah, they have a good hospital in the Hua Hin and Chiang Mai. >> The next one is walkability. That's important to us. We don't want to get in the car every day. We want to be like in a neighborhood or an area where we can walk somewhere. We don't mind walking a kilometer or two, you know, half mile, mile uh it's healthy. >> Yeah. >> So what are your thoughts about walkability?

>> Um I would say that um Hua Hin is smaller city, smaller town. So, the walkability is is more easier. But Chiang Mai also is walkable. It is is is a more bigger choices to walk around, you know. >> Yeah. >> Every direction you can go and it's so nice. >> Yeah, I would I would agree. I would say Hua Hin is more walkable because there's just those two main areas. Really, and both of them are independently walkable and they're not that far apart, like 2 km. We we walk that many times. It's not a problem. Maybe on a hot day you take a baht bus, which is only what 15 baht, which is like 50 cents. So, it's walkable within the two areas and then if you take a baht bus between them, the whole place is walkable. And so, you can if you're in one, you take a baht bus to the other and once you're there, it's walkable. So, I would say Hua Hin is more walkable. If Chiang Mai struggles a little there, there's those three neighborhoods I talked about. You have the central city, you have the east the east side over there where the nightlife is and another mall and some great food choices and then you have the Nimman area. Nimman's totally walkable.

>> Yeah. >> The central's part of the city's totally walkable. They all they all have food, restaurants, shopping, everything you need. And same with the east side. Um but the difference is it's kind of three neighborhoods and and if you pick Nimman, it's going to be a run a long run over to the east side. You might want to take a a grab for that, but they do have grab available. So, it's a little less walkable, but they're both walkable. You find your favorite neighborhood, everything will be that you need there in both of them. So. >> That's true. So, what is your favorite neighborhood in Chiang Mai? >> Um that's really hard >> [laughter] >> because I really love the traditional Thai lifestyle with the traditional restaurants and I love the feeling of being around those ancient temples and being inside the the city walls. Um but I also love Nimman. You go there and you have great malls and you can go have the popcorn. You have the food in the basement. Uh >> Talk about the food in the basement. They also have a vegetarian's in the Maya Mall. And surprising, I checked about that, they did say that they cook their food use only olive oil.

Very healthy food. >> Very nice. >> It's Mediterranean food, that one. >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, so there you go. >> Yeah, but you didn't tell us what is your favorite. >> [laughter] >> That's really hard. Um I I don't know. I don't know. I really don't know. I What do you think? >> I will choose in the Nimman area. >> Nimman, okay. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, so you like the all the Western restaurants and nightlife, the malls, and >> Not the Western restaurant, they also have a local restaurant. >> They do in the basement of Maya and some other ones, too. >> They also have in the outside the neighborhood also. >> Absolutely, absolutely. >> So, I would say over there is more convenience for me. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, because I can have a one-bedroom apartment with gym, with swimming pool, you know, with a reasonable price, you know, 4 500 US dollar a month. That's my favorite. >> That's a good point, and that that's a good reason to take you out of the center part of the city, because it's more expensive there, potentially.

Um and um and if I pick between Nimman and East side, I would probably favor Nimman for the same reason. Plus, if you're happy there, I'm happy there. >> [laughter] >> If you want to know where we stay, check out the video in the end, and also go to vagabondbuddha.com, check out the country list under the Thailand, and go to Chiang Mai, and you will see where we stay and where we eat, including Hua Hin, as well. Our report, everything is based on our feet on the ground. >> the ground, yeah. >> It's all about our video and picture and experience about where we eat, where we shop, where we color our hair, where we see the doctor. People when they moving to overseas, or the first time to go overseas, so they want to know where they can get more, like friends, easy to make friends. So, they call it aspect community and the social life. >> Yes, that that's important. Um it's also important to make some local friends cuz that's where you learn about the culture and local family restaurants and that sort of thing. But it's also important to have expat friends because they'll know where to get things that a local won't know about or care about because they didn't grow up in your home country. And so I would say both Chiang Mai and Hua Hin are soft landings. That means you're going to find accommodations that are feel like home and restaurants that feel like home and you'll be able to find expats from many different countries, many different languages that have moved to Thailand. They're both similar in that regard. I would

give them both, you know, near 100% for that. >> I would say that in Hua Hin it's more easy to find a expat community and expat friends because I see them everywhere. >> [laughter] >> And in Chiang Mai it's more because it's a little bit bigger city, so they are more spread around. And they have more younger crowd in also in Chiang Mai. If you want to have some younger feeling, then you go to Chiang Mai. So if you want to make friends easily, Hua Hin is your choices. >> That's a great point. I mean the difference with Chiang Mai is it's an older expat crowd. It's been going on longer. And so that crowd you're going to find more online. There's There's more They both have online, but it's easier to make the connection when you're in Chiang Mai. Hua Hin you're just bumping into expats when you're in the expat area. >> True. Now it's the next one. >> Okay. >> We talked about the good thing about the both place. >> Yeah, yeah. >> Now we need to talk about the disadvantage of living in the each city.

>> Yeah, yeah. These are These are two places that don't really have much disadvantage um in my opinion. Um but just two pop into my mind. One is in at the at the beach in Hua Hin, um it can be a bit warm for some people. You know, we we're fine with it. We know this is the lifestyle. We'll stay indoors in the hottest part of the day. We're out in the mornings. We're out in the evenings. Um Uh it's could be a bit warm for new people. You won't know until you go um to see how it fits for you. So you So someone like that's going to do do better in Chiang Mai. Uh but Chiang Mai has the the has the burn season we talked about. >> Yeah. >> And so you're going to want to You know, many people actually leave Chiang Mai for those couple months. Some people say, "No." Comments in my "No, we just stick around. We have uh air filter in our house and we don't go out as much during those couple months." And they don't they don't want to you know, leave. So they just change their life a little bit during the smoke season. >> I would say that the disadvantage in Hua Hin is that uh because Hua Hin is a smaller city and we are and our apartment is living in a very convenient spot to walk to the mall and walk to the old town area.

>> Yeah. >> And next to us is about like less than 5-minute walking, maybe 3-minute walking. And we have a Aspect grocery store. So it's easy for us to get whatever Aspect comfort food over there. So that is also meaning that it's very hard to keep on our budget. We spend more >> [laughter] >> in Hua Hin. >> It's true. >> And so also it's very easy to get foods as our location-wise, you know, walking distance, you know, and but but um you know, we can get you know, like your salads and then the pizza and then uh a salad bar, you know. They also have local food as well. It's very reasonable price like 40 baht is about $1.25, $1.30, you know. That's what we eat most of the time as well. >> Right. >> But sometimes, you know, we will be hardly to control the budget. I would say that the disadvantage is quite hard to to keep the budget down.

>> [laughter] >> Yeah, because of temptation. We joked about it. It's very temptation there. And I would say there's even more temptation in the southern part of Hua Hin where where many of the expats live. >> Yeah. >> Because there you have the higher-end restaurants, you have the really nice condos and and the more expensive nightlife and in the old town area is more traditional expats that are, you know living on Thai food and cheaper rents and they're they I don't know they're a little more Thai oriented and less trying to recreate their their old life. >> It's quite hot but we manage it. You want to see how much we spend in a month in Hua Hin you check out the video in the end. So the disadvantage in Chiang Mai is what I'm thinking is uh I'm a person is more to the beach so I prefer to have near to the beach area you know. >> yeah. >> Yeah so that is a thing Chiang Mai have good for everything. If you are the mountain lover Chiang Mai is your choices. >> Yeah and you're not far if you if you if you like to go spend time at the beach the beach isn't that far away you you know there's flights round trip for 100 bucks so.

>> Yeah. So now is our conclusions about which one is our prefer. >> Yeah. >> But obviously I already say my choices right? >> Yeah for me it's also it's Hua Hin. >> Yeah. >> I would say Hua Hin and but it's they're both great. >> But we really need to keep our budget down if we go to Hua Hin we have to stay far away from those expat grocery store. Not walking distance to the expat [laughter] grocery store. So uh here is our video in some both place our cost of living in Hua Hin and our cost of living in Chiang Mai and this is uh how we live in Hua Hin and how we live in Chiang Mai. So you will see what we eat what we spend you know the food. Thank you so much for watching. We'll see you in the next one. Bye-bye. >> Bye-bye.