What is Meeting of Styles - Chiang Mai?

So, our friend described the place as an abandoned building, just outside the city, where a bunch of street artist had met and painted. The event was called “Meeting of Styles.” He told us that the building still stands, the art still remains, and you can just drive out there.

We really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into before heading out to the site, but an abandoned building filled with graffiti sounded cool so we decided to do a little research.

Today the building stands as a 7 story abandoned street art museum. Level after level, higher and higher, each floor brings new surprises. As you search around you’ll notice art by many of your favorite Thai artists from Chiang Mai and Bangkok mixed with international artists from places like Ukraine, Vietnam, Italy, and Australia.

What to know about urban exploration in Chiang Mai

Here’ s the thing...coming out here isn’t exactly legal...

However, this is likely one of those scenarios where forgiveness is more easily obtained than permission. We’ve found that if you just relax and act like you know what you’re doing, you’re less likely to be questioned.

If someone asks what you’re doing there your best bet is to be polite and play tourist. Just say you’re taking some photographs and that you’ll be on your way soon.

Is exploring this abandoned building safe?

Definitely not!

You never know what you’re going to find when you enter an abandoned building.

There are all sorts of potential dangers and hazards around.

Empty elevator shafts, stairwells with no sides, and exposed rebar mean you really need to pay attention when you’re walking around. There’s plenty of rubble, industrial garbage, and random shit left behind by previous visitors.

You could really fuck yourself up pretty bad out here...but let’s not focus on that. You promise you’ll be safe. Right?

What to bring to Meeting of Styles

Bring your camera/drone whatever you’ve got. You’re going to want some pictures as proof.

Don’t forget safety gear. There’s a lot of random junk around. You may want to bring a pair of work gloves and a decent pair of shoes for protection.

We came well prepared with sandals, and bare hands. Don’t follow our example.

Rope? I really can’t see why this would be necessary, but it worked out for the best in Boondock Saints, right? You never know.

When is the best time to go to the Meeting of Styles building?

We definitely wouldn’t recommend visiting Meeting of Styles Chiang Mai at night.

We drove out here in the middle of the afternoon and had a couple of good hours to explore.

During the daytime the sun shines in and illuminates some of the rooms, while others remain in shadow.

After 4:00 the sun started getting lower, and the spine tingling shadows started to creep in adding another level to the already unsettling atmosphere of this place.

How to get to the abandoned building

The building sits alongside a highway in Mae Jo District. 20 minutes outside of Chiang Mai

The best way to get out there is to rent a bike in town and take highway 121 north out towards Mae Jo. Red Trucks and Tuk Tuks are not going to drive you out there.

Put the address in your phone and follow your GPS. The building sits on the opposite side of a divided highway so you’ll need to make a u-turn once you pass the building on your right.

We were stopped by police along the highway and fined for not having a proper driving license. If you happen to be stopped don’t panic, pay the fine, and be sure not to mention that you’re headed to explore an abandoned building. Best to play dumb and say you’re out sightseeing for the day.

Parking

Be cool and act like you belong there.

Enter the parking lot and park your motorbike out of the way along the right side of the building or around the back to the right. The front “parking lot” area is very bumpy and a bit tricky to cross by bike. Proceed with caution.

Be on the lookout for anyone else who may be around.

Both times we’ve visited the building we’ve encountered other individuals.

The first time we could hear voices coming from other parts of the building, but never saw the people.

The second time we encountered a group of teenagers smoking cigarettes and hanging out underneath the structure.

Sometimes people pull up with trucks and unload random garbage behind the building. It was obvious that we were there and nobody gave us a hard time.

Entering the Meeting of Styles Building

The easiest entrance is around the back, go around on the right side of the building.

In the back you’ll see a small trail through some bushes that leads to a few makeshift steps up to the first level.

As you wander around, pay attention to the precarious locations of some of the art pieces. Envisioning the way some of these artists would have been perched may lead to some tight butthole moments. You wouldn’t catch me up on that ledge with a spray can. Hell no. That’s commitment.

Conclusion

Helpful Tips

• Come earlier in the day

• Bring a buddy

• Wear good shoes

• Tell a friend where you’re going

• Rent a motorbike, red trucks are not going to take you here.

For 2 days after visiting MOS we couldn’t stop talking about how crazy it was to explore that shit. We quickly found ourselves planning our next trip out there so we could photograph some of the pieces in better light.

Seeing this building and all of the art provided some additional context for the rest of the art around town and enhanced our enjoyment of the local street art scene.  

Since visiting MOS we’ve started to recognize some of the same artists works in other places both locally in Chiang Mai and in other countries too.