The land on the road to Ban Boonyuen is scarred. The rolling hillsides previously lush with teak and fruit trees now a barren horizon of dusty, brown mounds and scattered rice cultivations. I tightly hug each turn of the narrow road in anticipation of passing cars, but there aren’t any. The land is a shadow of what it once was, a dense jungle thriving with wildlife and an intricate ecosystem that supported the ways of hunter-gatherers for at least a thousand years. It is obvious, looking at the bare terrain that there’s nothing left to hunt; there’s nothing left to gather.

No one is breathing. The thousands gathered at the 700th Anniversary Stadium today fall silent as we’re abruptly submerged into one of those magical football moments where time freezes, but a lone ball keeps moving. It glides through the air above the neatly cropped grass of the field when suddenly, shattering the silence and stillness, it collides with the nylon weaves of the goal net and sends the crowd into a fury.

Let’s get something straight; Josh Morris is much more than a climber. But for him, climbing is where it all began, the catalyst that would lead to much, much more. When we first meet, I have to force him to don his sunglasses, I just couldn’t recognise him from his pictures online. He laughs, retrieves them from his bag, and the image fits. This is the founder of Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures (CMRCA), an organisation that has transformed Chiang Mai into a climbing destination sought out by adventurers from all over the world.

Now that the end of summer is nearing us and the rain clouds are slowly blowing in, its about time we all stock up on a few hearty reads to see us through those wet evenings when leaving the house is off the table. Here are seven of Chiang Mai’s best bookshops, offering romantic fiction to political history and everything else in between.

Looking for somewhere new to grab a bite to eat or sit and enjoy a previously unseen angle of your favourite city? Then check out these three new business offering delicious food, exciting new drinks and a new place to see Chiang Mai buzz and thrive.

A chicken’s foot in my soup. A CHICKEN’S FOOT IN MY SOUP! Floating around like a wizened old witch’s claw in amongst the vegetables and lump of congealed blood. I don’t mind the blood, or most of the vegetables, but how can there be any possible benefit, conceivable excuse or imaginable additional taste sensation attached to the culinary abomination that is a severed chicken’s foot? Feet should never be floating in anything, unless they are attached to something that is splashing around in a swimming pool or bobbing about in a Jacuzzi. This is not to in any way deny that Thai food is some of the most delicious on the planet. But, a chicken’s foot…in my soup?

The owner of Swoozepop’ Store, Suthipa Kiattisarn, nicknamed Fahsaii, gives us five of her favourite independently designed products you can get right here in Chiang Mai and across Thailand.

To some the sound track of Thailand is nothing more than a proliferation of earnest but relentless acoustic covers of Wonderwall in coffee shops all over town, but plucked from the dusty corners of libraries, radio station back stock, and forgotten crates in antique shops around the country, record collectors and DJs are rediscovering a funky and freaky era of Thai music that is earning international attention.

No one likes to be called a hypocrite, let alone admit to being one. And as horrid as it is to admit to, I am one. I wax lyrical on these pages about social responsibility and rules of law…ad nauseam. But I must admit that I’ve not always practiced what I preach.

Whacky gambit? Innovative trendsetter? Gimmicky theme? Creative ideas? Brand new styles? Whatever they are, these places are like no other in Chiang Mai, and all deserve your special attention.

Whether it’s a mini hotel tucked away in the inner city or a short trip into more natural settings, these three hotels are all found down un-suspecting sois, but are guaranteed to give you a great night’s sleep and delicious breakfasts included.

“In Chiang Mai, things aren’t fixed. Art is fluid here,” said Lyla Phimanrat, founder and curator of Lyla Gallery, Chiang Mai’s newest art space. Lyla debuted her gallery with AN-TI-TLE, a selection from Chiang Mai artist Mit Jai Inn. Lyla guides me through the pieces; vast, paint-splotched canvases on the floor and wall, welded steel tumbleweed like sculptures and metre-high free-standing canvas scrolls.

This month I’m going to look slightly outside the borders of the North and look at one of the biggest success stories to come out of this country. As the electronic scene here grows, so too have local talents that are starting to see recognition on a worldwide scale.