Chiang Mai in Thailand

"A day in Chiang Mai is long enough" affirms the travel agent, and the client nods, alas, knowing no better.

"Enough to see the main sights, and do the Night Bazaar" he adds confidently, as the computer screen confirms a one night hotel booking in Thailand's oldest continually inhabited city, thus depriving the tourist of some of the most interesting travelling experiences in Asia.

For years, the travel industry has mistakenly considered Thailand's northern capital to be a side excursion, or an overnight stop on a seven day "See All Of Thailand" coach trip. The truth is that like Venice or Vienna, this centuries-old city is a prime destination in its own right.

If Bangkok is to Thailand as London is to England, then Chiang Mai is to Northern Thailand as Edinburgh is to Scotland. Indeed, it is almost similar in size and population to the Scottish capital, and with a past equally as turbulent, and customs as distinctively different, a week here might not be long enough for the serious traveller.

Without delving into linguistics or history, it is interesting to know that the Thai word for twelve is Sib-song. A thousand is Pan and a million is Lan. A paddy field translates as Na, and by joining these words, we form two names that are fundamental to understanding Northern Thai history, ie. Sib-Song Pan-Na and Lan-Na. Respectively, they mean twelve thousand, and one million rice fields. For those who have thrilled to the irreproducible iridescent green of ripening paddy, this is a wonderful image to consider before we even start.

Much like Australia or America, modern-day Thailand is composed mainly of migrant races. Various ethnic peoples of the Mon-Khmer group, such as the Lawa tribe, which is still in evidence today, originally inhabited Northern Thailand. The majority of today's northern "Thais" are in fact are descended from "Tai" or "Dai" immigrants, mainly from Northern Burma, China and Laos, who displaced the indigenous races, and over centuries were eventually, and very often painfully, united.

Evidence of this clearly exists in archaeological and linguistic studies, but nothing is more compelling than a visit to Sib Song Panna (Xishuangbanna) in China's Yunnan province. This might be called China's Mini-Thailand, for it is indeed more Thai than Chinese, with the Buddhist "Dai" people in the majority, said to number over 800,000. They celebrate distinctly Thai customs, and worship in Thai-style temples. Familiar sights such as saffron-robbed monks are also common, and although it is clear that there are Tai origins elsewhere in Asia, many older Thai people look on Sib Song Panna as their ancestral home.

Exploring the forests and tribal settlements on foot with a local guide has become immensely popular over the last decade, particularly with Chiang Mai's influx of young travellers. Travel shops advertise a range of trekking options, from a basic overnight hike to arduous week-long safaris. The recipe is usually the same - basic accommodation in consenting hill tribe villages, mixed with varying degrees of soft adventure such as sectors on elephant back or exciting stretches of white water rafting. These itineraries vary from the memorable to the mundane, and some routes have suffered from tourism overkill, with a foreseeable negative effect on both authenticity and hospitality. There are still however a number of dedicated and eco-friendly operators who operate less-frequented routes, and a well-chosen trek can be a hugely rewarding experience.

Chiang Mai's tribal settlements are a separate fascinating study, with their origins in different parts of Asia, and correspondingly very different beliefs, languages, customs, laws, dress and traditions. Individual descriptions are well beyond the scope of this web site, but Chiang Mai's larger bookshops stock some excellent coffee-table publications with stunning photography enhancing the thoroughly absorbing text.