Back to the real world? Chiang Mai

My gradual reintroduction to the "modern" world suffered a giant shove forward (backwards?) with my arrival in Chiang Mai. A beautiful and very live-able city (just ask the 20,000 or so Westerners who live here full or part-time), Chiang Mai is a sort of the artsy-university-mountain town antithesis of Bangkok, hence its runaway popularity with Thais and foreigners alike. I was here about four years ago and, while I haven't noticed much of a change in the downtown old quarter - more coffee shops, maybe - I've heard that the sprawl and accompanying traffic headaches are getting worse. At any rate, I have to catch the southbound train to Bangkok at the Chiang Mai station, requiring at least one night in town. I stretched my visit out to a couple of days which, given my general distaste for knicknack shopping and suffering from the early symptoms of "temple fatigue" (common in this corner of the world), seems to be just about right.

Chiang Mai has a fascinating history - founded in 1296 by three regional kings (Mengrai, Muang, and Ramkhanamhaeng, for those keeping score) near the banks of the Ping River, it was the royal capital of Lanna (northern Thailand) before being conquered and ruled by Burma for 200 years. Eventually the King of Bangkok fought off the Burmese and merged Lanna into the newly formed Kingdom of Siam - the predecessor of today's Thailand. One result of such a long Buddhist history is the sheer number of temples that were built in and around the city - rumored to rival the number of temples in all of Bangkok. They're literally everywhere you turn and include everything from large active monasteries to random, seemingly abandoned chedis (brick towers) dotting alleyways. The most impressive of all is Wat Chedi Luang - a huge tower in the city center that was partially destroyed by a 16th century earthquake and never really repaired.

Of course, the Chiang Mai of today has more to offer than just old temples. Art galleries, bookstores, coffee shops, yoga studios, cooking schools, cocktail bars, cinemas, tattoo parlors, and sidewalk cafes all jostle for attention. For the big spenders there are luxury hotels, spas, and nine (yes, nine) area golf courses. And finally, for the tourists who just can't bring themselves to cut the cord and dive into the local culinary scene (tragic), there are plenty of McDonalds, Burger Kings. 7-11s, and Starbucks.....always Starbucks.

Yeah, it's official - after all the weeks enjoying (ha!) the little surprises and frustrations inherent in developing-world travel, I seem, for better or worse, to be back in the modern(ish) world....... and I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for it.

Next up, Bangkok!