Photos by Ian Robertson, Sun Media

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This northern capital of a province with the same name has gone from boom to bust and back again over 800 years.

With 300 temples, or "wats," narrow streets of shops, spas and wide thoroughfares festooned with billboards, this city of 260,000 is a top tourist site. (As a whole, the province draws almost as many visitors as it has residents -- 1.6 million).

Travellers on varying budgets come for a variety of reasons. North Americans feel especially welcome since Thais in the tourist industries and businesses involving foreigners speak at least some English, usually in the most friendly, gracious way, even on the streets.

Many visitors come to shop, historic sites abound and a wide mix of cuisines range from traditional to European.

Thai cooking classes are popular, as are ceremonies, which can include dancers dressed in a variety of colourful costumes and, as my group enjoyed by a lake one night, the launching of several Khom Loi's -- tall hot-air paper lanterns that stayed aloft for about four hours.

The country's second-largest city is also a popular kickoff point for elephant rides, bamboo rafting and backpack trekking. Some tours also include meals and dancing.

Highways are modern and good, but most visitors take a 90-minute flight north from Bangkok, 750 km from the south, or from several airports in other countries. Trains from Bangkok take 11 hours.

In addition to the natural beauty of the surrounding tropical valley between tall mountains, where temperatures average 30C but hit a humid 40C in April, Chiang Mai owes its survival to the Ping River, with trade links China and Burma -- now Myanmar -- to the Gulf of Siam.

The Lawa used iron tools at least 2,000 years ago, but were supplanted 400 to 1,000 years later by the Mon, who founded the first cultured city-state, called Haripunchai.

Chiang Mai is a major centre for elephant rides like those offered at San Patong Elephant Camp.

The city's success soon attracted rivals and, in 1296, powerful Thai leader King Mengrai founded his new capital, called Nophaburi Sri Nakhorn Ping Chiang Mai. His Lannathai kingdom flourished into a 300-year golden age, controlling most of the northern region, north-west Laos, plus the eastern Shan states of Burma and Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan.

But after warring with neighbouring states, the city fell in 1558. Burmese troops stripped its wealth and Chiang Mai was abandoned after a northern Thai and southern Siam force drove them out in 1776.

Aided by the Siamese, the city was repopulated 22 years later by people imported from several regions.

Although the bastions at the corners of the city remain little-changed since the 18th century, protective walls and gates were dismantled to open Chiang Mai 100 years ago. Many wall bricks were used to pave streets.

When newcomers from China, Europe, Great Britain and the United States were attracted around the same time by the beautiful wood from local forests of teak -- still widely used locally and for export to construct homes and furniture -- King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam took over the city's administration to preserve its culture.

A young Thai couple receive a traditional blessing chant early in the morning from young Buddhist monks on a busy street in Chiang Mai.

After the Lanny monarchy ended early in the 20th century, Chiang Mai became a province of Siam in 1932, 17 years before the country unified and became Thailand. Despite increased trade brought by the railroad that first operated in 1921, the area was almost untouched by the modern world until the 1970s and 1980s.

Temple and monument remains dating back several centuries still exist. And when you walk the narrow tree-lined streets and wide thoroughfares, steel grates are visible as coverings for the old moats that once ringed a series of brick walls as a source of water and defence.

Decorative gates leading into this floral paradise, dubbed "the Rose of the North," were rebuilt in the 1960s, with English inscriptions giving up-to-date information. Everything from beautify contests to political rallies are held outside the most popular Thapae Gate.

Another landmark, in a square on Inthawororot Rd., is the site of Wat Sadoe Muang, or "temple of the navel of the city." Elsewhere, a wooden building near the Phrapokklao-Ratwithi intersection once housed white elephants -- a symbol of power and nobility in old Thailand.

Modernization, with new tall buildings and highway congestion as the city sprawled to include a metropolitan population of 700,000, is blamed for a 5% drop in tourism in recent years. The central government now promotes Chiang Mai's range of luxury and inexpensive spas.

Woman in traditional dress entertains in Thailand.

Shoppers still find their way to a series of narrow, winding lanes south of Wat Nantaram, where merchants sell herbal medicines. Many tourists also frequent the traditional silver-making district along Wualai Rd.

For simpler pursuits, the night bazaar on three blocks along Chan Klan Rd. in the city's centre is a big draw.

Stalls spilling onto the street lined with hotels, travel agents, internet cafes, camera shops, coffee houses, plus go-go and karaoke bars offer goods ranging from silk, antiques, made-to-order suits and local handicrafts to fake Rolex and Cartier watches, luggage, T-shirts, electronics, toys, CDs and pirated films. One knockoff I saw was Miami Vice , not then out in Canada on DVD.

Regardless of whether you shop there or at more upscale bazaars such as the two-storey Vieng Ping, bargaining is a must. Goods are much cheaper than at home, but often start at twice what a seller will accept.

On the seedy side, drugs such as pot and heroin -- the latter made from local opium despite its dramatic reduction based on efforts by Thailand's king to get rural residents producing crafts, vegetables, fruit and rice for cash -- are available. But police raid discos and bars seeking underage patrons or sex workers, and anyone caught with drugs faces harsh prison terms and fines.

A new wing at the Mandarin Oriental DhariDhevi hotel in Chiang Mai, which was built as a luxury replica of an old Thai village.

Streets are often busy, so watch for "tuk-tuk" three-wheel taxis, or "songteaw" cab-over pickup truck taxis.

For those seeking succor after shopping, eating -- or carousing in one of the neon-lit pleasure houses outside which scantily-clad young girls and "boy-girls" ply their trade in a liberal country where judgement is God's realm -- early-risers can seek forgiveness on other streets.

Buddhism, the main religion, is especially visible at 6 a.m., when veteran, novice and temporary monks of all ages make a 16-km pilgrimage from the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple, built high above the city in 1383.

The orange-or yellow-robed monks receive food, water, soft drinks and flowers, returning chanted blessings for the faithful who kneel before them.

A farmer with his son in one of the many rural hill villages in Chiang Mai Province.

Locals often bring their own offerings, but tourists are welcome to join in by buying a bowl of these "alms" from roadside vendors for as little as 200 Baht, about $6.

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BOTTOM LINE

GETTING THERE

One-way flights from Bangkok are as low as $30, but book other airline budget flights well in advance. Foreign airlines also land at Chiang Mai Airport. Highly recommended due to the 10-to 15-hour train trips, an overnight sleeper bunk costs only $23. A VIP bus costs $12-$18. If you rent a car, it's British-style -- steering wheels are on the right, driving lanes on the left.

HOTELS

There are lots of classy hotels and resorts. Guest houses offer $3-$15 rooms, but don't expect hot water, heat on a chilly night, or peace and quiet.

NOTE

Passports get 30-day visitor permit stamps. You can get extensions, but delinquents who don't contact Thai Immigration face daily cash fines or arrest and deportation if caught in a sweep of guesthouses. Airline passengers pay departure taxes -- mine cost $15.

WARNINGS

Due to recent unrest, go to the border only with licenced guides and check first with the Thai Tourist Police (Phone 1155).

There are frequent, peaceful political demonstrations, but visitors should avoid them since tourists stand out.

If you encounter problems with petty crime, report it to the Tourist Police because in general, the Thai police aren't keen to take reports from foreigners who have wallets stolen at tourist sites such as temples or markets, or were cheated in bars, by street gem scams or credit card ripoffs, etc.