Michael Batson

In the far north of Thailand sits the city they call the Rose of the North. Foreign tourists have been travelling there for years, its history however, runs far deeper than that. Chiang Mai sits at the confluence of cultures. The past and present, has been dictated by ethnicity, culture, language, trade, war, religion and empire. Chiang Mai was at one time capital of the Lanna Kingdom, known as the Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields. In the local language Chiang Mai means New City, Chiang being “city” and Mai meaning “new”. So-named because it was the new capital of Lanna, succeeding its northern cousin Chiang Rai, which even today sits in its shadow.   A key feature of Chiang Mai is the old town with its narrow lanes and historic buildings surrounded by a moat and the remnants of the town’s defensive wall. The city is promoted as one of the few places in Thailand where it’s possible to experience both historical and modern Thai culture coexisting side by side with centuries-old chedis (stupas) and temples next to modern convenience stores and boutique hotels. I like some of the so-called boutique hotels, the convenience stores however, I can do without. Fortunately, these multinational eyesores have largely been kept at bay from the old town.  Today Chiang Mai is laid back. In winter, when I last visited, the nights are cool and the days sunny and mild. Thais can be seen wandering about in jackets. Tourists breakout their polar fleeces. When I asked if my room was fan