Chiang Mai

Although rapid economic progress in recent years, due largely to tourism, has brought its share of problems, not least concern about traffic jams and fumes, Chiang Mai manages to preserve some of the atmosphere of an ancient settlement alongside its urban sophistication.

A population of about 250,000 makes this the north’s largest city, but the contrast with the maelstrom of Bangkok could scarcely be more pronounced: the people here are famously easygoing and even speak more slowly than their cousins in the capital, while the old quarter, set within a two kilometer square moat, has retained many of its traditional wooden houses and quiet, leafy gardens.

Chiang Mai’s elegant temples are the primary tourist sights, but these are no prepackaged museum pieces they’re living community centers, where you’re quite likely to be approached by monks keen to chat and practice their English. Inviting craft shops, rich cuisine and riverside bars further enhance the city’s allure, making Chiang Mai a place that detains many travelers longer than they expected. Several colorful festivals attract throngs of visitors here too: Chiang Mai is considered one of the best places in Thailand to see in the Thai New Year Songkhran in mid April, and to celebrate Loy Krathong at the full moon in November, when thousands of candles are floated down the Ping River in lotus-leaf boats.

Chiang Mai “New City” loudly celebrated its 700th anniversary in 1996: founded as the capital of Lanna in 1296, on a site indicated by the miraculous presence of deer and white mice, it has remained the north’s most important city ever since. Lanna’s golden age under the Mengrai dynasty, when most of the city’s notable temples were founded, lasted until the Burmese captured Chiang Mai in 1556. Two hundred years passed before the Thai pushed the Burmese back beyond Chiang Mai to roughly where they are now, and the Burmese influence is still strong not just in art and architecture, but also in the rich curries and soups served here, which are better “Burmese” food than you can find in modern day Burma. After the recapture of the city, the chao (princes) of Chiang Mai remained nominal rulers of the north until 1939, but, with communications rapidly improving from the beginning of the last century, Chiang Mai was brought firmly into Thailand’s mainstream as the region’s administrative and service centre.

The traditional tourist activities in Chiang Mai are visiting the temples and shopping for handicrafts, pursuits which many find more appealing here than in the rest of Thailand. These days, increasing numbers of travelers are taking advantage of the city’s relaxed feel to indulge in a burst of self-improvement, enrolling for courses in cookery, massage and the like.