STUBBORNLY SUBURBAN

As I walk,

The scenery is stubbornly suburban.

The sublime chedis of timeworn temples and

The ancient walls and

The historic moat of

The old city are almost fifteen kilometres

Away to the south.

Around here,

There are modern two-storey houses —

Some in gated estates — and

Occasional apartment blocks —

Mostly on the main streets.

There are pockets of older housing but

Few structures approach the grandeur of

The majestic teak dwellings that one associates with

Traditional Thai architecture.

It is an area that attracts teachers and

Students of the nearby university.

Like the rest of Mueang Chiang Mai,

Restaurants and bars pop up in regular clumps,

Even in the most unlikely places where

Parking is inadequate and

Almost always claimed first

By greasy motor bikes and

Glossy streamlined scooters.

The scale of these businesses is typically small and

The modest fare varies.

Emerald green advertisements for Chang beer

Outnumber the crimson posters

Singing the praises of Leo and

There is little promotional evidence of

The availability of Singha and Heineken

Despite the presence of their bottles and cans

In glacial glass-fronted refrigerators.

Mini-supermarkets vie for the best positions on

The busiest corners and,

Close to the university,

Bank branches and specialty shops

Line the busy road that eventually runs

North to Tilokarat's town of Phrao.

Some of the minor roads are dangerously narrow and

They wind through sunken paddy fields and

Vacant land that is no longer cultivated and

Probably awaits the arrival of truckloads of migrant labourers and

Thai engineers with their construction machinery.

Footpaths are apparently an extravagance and,

Where they exist,

They suffer from lack of maintenance or

They are blocked by the ever-present motor scooters.

There are also several food markets —

That most Thai of amenities — and

More novel innovations like automated laundrettes and

Cafes with their baseball-capped baristas.

Service stations and

Repair shops abound,

Catering for the scooters, motor bikes and

Cars, of which pick-ups and

Sports utility vehicles predominate,

Most of them made or assembled in Thai factories

Despite their Japanese labels.