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WORKING OFF THE RICE GUT

Chiang Mai doesn’t have a central park like Bangkok but it does have a few green spaces where the locals go in the evenings to exercise without working up a sweat – a Thai speciality.

Suan Buak Hat (Map; Th Bamrungburi) is the old city’s only park with a well-maintained running track where you can do laps around the shuffling Thais. There’s also a fish pond, a vendor selling fish food and a small playground.

The area around Chiang Mai University has loads of green space, including the wooded exercise course at Huay Kaew Fitness Park (Map; Th Huay Kaew) and nearby Ang Kaew reservoir. For city views head to Galare Lake (off Th Suthep); it isn’t much of a workout but the students like this spot because no one seems to mind an open container.

Carving out a slice of civilization at the southern base of Doi Suthep, Royal Flora Ratchaphruek (off Rte 121/Th Klorng Chonprathan; admission free; sunrise-sunset) first opened in 2006 as a 65-hectare garden exposition in honour of the king’s 60th anniversary on the throne. In 2008, the landscaped grounds opened to the public, but are only useable during the cool hours of the day because of the lack of shade. The same access road leads to Doi Kham, a popular jogging route that winds past Brahmin cows to the summit. You’ll want to have your own wheels to reach this area as a taxi ride would be expensive.

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A community of Chinese traders and Western missionaries populated the eastern riverbank directly across from Talat Warorot. Today the neighbourhood is called Wat Ket, the nickname of the nearby temple, Wat Ketkaram (Map; 0 5326 2605; Th Charoenrat). The temple was built in the 15th century and houses an eclectic museum of attic-like treasures. Th Charoenrat is still lined with relics from those early days, like the missionary hospitals and the old Chinese shophouses that now support restaurants and antique stores. If Th Charoenrat had footpaths, this area would rival the old city for its ancient ambience and tourist appeal. But speeding traffic claims the narrow space between buildings. Instead, dive deeper into the neighbourhood along one of the little lanes off Th Charoenrat and behind the temple.

Further south is Talat San Pakoy (Map; off Th Charoen Muang), a low-key municipal market that offers all manner of goods and sees few tourists. San Pakoy opens around 4am and does a brisk trade until around 10am. Nearby is a little soi completely canopied by towering trees; the residents have built their ramshackle houses around the thick tree trunks because they don’t own the land, instead renting it from the government, sometimes for as low as 900B a year.

WIANG KUM KAM

These excavated ruins (8am-5pm) offer an easy trip into the country. Climb aboard one of the horse-drawn carriages (200B) and relax into the mellow pace of an old-fashioned conveyance. The driver typically passes pleasantries with the locals who live among the old ruins, which are mainly half-buried brick foundations spread out over 3 sq km. The actual ruins are of more historical importance than spectacle but it is the peaceful surrounding village that completes the attraction.

Wiang Kum Kam was the earliest historical settlement in the Chiang Mai area and was established by the Mon as a satellite town for the Hariphunchai kingdom. It was occupied by Phaya Mengrai in 1286 and used as the Lanna capital for 10 years before the construction of Chiang Mai. The city was abandoned in the 16th century due to massive flooding when the Mae Ping changed its course. Only the four-sided Mon-style chedi of Wat Chedi Si Liam and the layered brick pediments of Wat Kan Thom (its Mon name; in Thai the temple was known as Wat Chang Kham) are left. Chedi Si Liam is said to have been inspired by the similar chedi at Wat Kukut in Lamphun.

Over 1300 inscribed stone slabs, bricks, bells and chedi have been excavated at the site. The most important archaeological discovery has been a four-piece inscribed stone slab, now on display in the Chiang Mai National Museum. The