As the end of 2023 hurtles towards me, I am frantically typing up the 13th edition of my annual specialty coffee and food awards, in which I share my favourite coffee shops, eateries, bars and individual dishes from among those I visited for the first time in 2023 — in London and on my travels around the world.

From Bangkok, I took a short flight to Chiang Mai and spent four days exploring the former capital of the Lanna kingdom and the nearby area. With a wider urban population of close to 1.2 million, Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand but the Old City and central area are relatively compact and it's easy to get around on foot or by hopping into a songthaew (shared van) or tuk tuk.

After Bangkok, my next step was Chiang Mai, the largest city in northern Thailand. Chiang Mai province and its neighbour, Chiang Rai, are also some of Thailand's biggest Arabica coffee growing regions so I was looking forward to enjoying even more Thai-grown coffee than in Bangkok. 

The city also has a very well established specialty coffee scene and I knew I wouldn't have much need for my Aeropress while I was in town. During my stay, I visited excellent eight coffee shops — some of which were already on my list, others I spotted during my wanderings — but I spotted many more that I'd have loved to have visited if I had more time.