I’ve been doing this travel thing for a pretty long time and I’ve been on almost every trip with my very long-term boyfriend, Aaron. Over the years we’ve traveled to roughly 25 countries together.

We went on two unforgettable month-long backpacking trips across Cuba in 2005 and 2007 (we even saw Raul Castro speak!), we quit our jobs and sold all of our worldly possessions to travel across Southeast Asia and Colombia in 2013, and in 2014 we threw all caution to the wind and moved to Indonesia.

And that’s just scratching the surface of our travel and expat history. We’ve been places. And we’ve been to them all together. Well, most of them anyway!

While I love having a travel partner and having someone in my life who shares my insatiable wanderlust. I will say that I do really love going solo every now and again. And that’s exactly what I got to do on my recent visa run trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

As an introverted person, I’ve always been rather nervous about traveling alone. But all this changed during my first solo trip to Penang, Malaysia, in 2014. Despite being a bundle of nerves before my trip, I ended up having so much fun meandering around town, scoping out the street art scene, and generally just feeling proud that I’d conquered something that made me feel uncomfortable.

It’s that trip that made me realize that sometimes it’s a good thing to travel on your own and push yourself outside of your comfort zone — even if you do have a travel-loving partner.

Now that I’ve added Chiang Mai to my list of places I’ve explored on my own, I thought I’d give my two cents as to why I think Chiang Mai is the perfect place to travel solo. I know I’m not the only one in the world who gets nervous about the idea of traveling alone.

Why solo travel in Chiang Mai is kinda the best thing ever

…at least for photography loving, temple obsessed, (veggie) Thai food fiends like me!

I could temple hop at my own pace

Chiang Mai is famous for its temples. There are 300 temples located in and around Chiang Mai! I love me some temples. And while Aaron also has an appreciation for them, he’s usually over it by the first or second one.

Me on the other hand? I can temple hop for quite a while. Aaron and I actually visited Chiang Mai (very briefly) back in 2013 and neither of us was that impressed by the city. Maybe it’s because I’m older now or maybe it’s because I traveled to Chiang Mai solo this time around, but I had a great time temple hopping and I walked away with a much better appreciation for the city, it’s history, and it’s temples.

I didn’t have to worry about annoying anyone by my incessant picture taking

Chiang Mai is a photographer’s dream, so it was a pleasure to be able to stop whenever I pleased to snap pictures of all the prettiness and grittiness the city has to offer.

Seriously, I’m no professional… not by a long shot. But I love taking pictures. It’s just a thing I’ve always done since I was a baby backpacker back in the day. And now that I’m all grown up (kind of?) I still love it. But again, when you travel with a partner who’s not quite as into taking photos as you, the habit can get a little annoying.

I could totally indulge in my guilty pleasures

OK, this one isn’t necessarily Chiang Mai specific but just go with it.

Literally, what did I do my first night in town? I went to a place called Vegan Heaven, ordered a “chicken” burger with fries, went back to my hotel and watched the finale of The Bachelor (#nerdalert). It was kind of the best night ever!

I could walk as much as I wanted

I’ve said this so many times before, but my favorite way to experience any city is by walking aimlessly. Aaron’s fairly cool with this but I have to temper myself when traveling with him. But when I’m alone, I’m a walking fiend.

Chiang Mai is the perfect city to just meander around. You never know what you’ll find: a hidden temple, some street art, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, a hip cafe. There are just so many gems all around that city. I walked over 7 miles my second afternoon there. It was really hot and really amazing all at once.

Another thing I love about Chiang Mai is that the city is so easy to navigate. I opted not to get a SIM card during my trip, something I never do. I was sans internet while I was out on the town and it was kind of nice not looking at my phone incessantly or knowing where I was going next. It was like the good old days of travel.

I always felt totally safe

As one of the largest cities in Thailand, Chiang Mai feels so unbelievably small, laidback and safe. Or maybe that’s just me comparing it to my hectic life in Saigon. Chiang Mai seems like a good fit for women (and men!) who are nervous about traveling solo in Thailand. People are friendly and it’s just so easy to navigate.

It’s an easy place to eat by yourself

OK, I realize this one sounds weird. But I talked about this issue when I took my first-ever solo trip to Penang. Basically, I hate eating in restaurants alone. It makes me feel so self-conscious and it’s something I’ve always struggled with. Did I mention I can be introverted?

Anyway, in Chiang Mai eating alone isn’t all that bad. When I first landed in Chiang Mai I was starving and had no choice but to seek out a restaurant right away. I stumbled across a hole-in-the-wall vegetarian Thai restaurant and just pointed to some sort of curry noodle dish and it was the best thing ever. It was so good I almost forgot I was eating all by myself…almost.

Chiang Mai is an excellent city for solo eating. For one, you can totally just stuff your face while walking around one of the many markets but it kind of feels like a lot of people travel to Chiang Mai solo. During my trip, I sampled a few super local vegetarian eateries and ultra-hip western restaurants. The food, of course, was amazing. And I was never the only person eating all by myself. For some reason that put me at ease.

I didn’t have to break the bank because Chiang Mai is super affordable

I paid just over $100 to fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Chiang Mai and back again. Bless Southeast Asia for having so many budget airlines. Flight aside, Chiang Mai itself is blissfully inexpensive so I didn’t have to break the bank and fork out $$$ on a hotel for one person.

If you’re a super frugal backpacker and want to stay in a dorm or if you want to live it up a little in a luxury hotel, there’s something to suit all budgets. Either way, the value you get is excellent.  As for me, I was on a budget. But for a few extra bucks, I got a really lovely, quiet, clean and comfortable room just outside of the Walled City. My room at the Old City Wall Inn cost $25. It was lovely and I highly recommend it.

One thing I didn’t love about being alone…

I got sick my last day in town with a really bad sore throat. I felt unbelievably fatigued and swallowing was super painful. At first, I thought maybe it was a side effect of walking so much in what I later found out was some pretty bad pollution. (Who knew Chiang Mai had an air pollution problem?!) But I soon realized that I just had a really bad cold.

Typically Aaron would run out the door and come back with a bag full of hilarious “remedies” from 7-11 to help me feel better. Seriously, he would have come back with five types of fruity popsicles, Gatorade and Vitamin-C packed beverages. But this time around I had to fend for myself. I suppose being alone has its up and downs.

Sickness aside, I loved my time traveling solo in Chiang Mai and I highly recommend it to any photography loving, temple-obsessed, restaurant-shy, walking fiends out there.

Do you enjoy traveling solo? What’s your favorite thing about hitting the road all on your lonesome?