Leave Chiang Mai be

Re: “Chiang Mai growth not so bad”, (PostBag, Jan 13). I found Mr Bourne’s response to my criticism of Chiang Mai interesting for the fact that two men of similar age can feel so different about their world. First I would just like to correct the assumption that the city I fear for is a “bolt-hole” when it is in fact the place I chose to build a house, raise a family and spend more time in than any other country. The place that he found “boring”, I found fascinating, didn’t wish to alter and was quite happy to pass on unchanged to my children. What he calls development I call destruction, where he sees man’s hand as improving I see it as diminishing. Mr Bourne is, I assume, what I would call a city dweller whereas I am a “hayseed” country man. He is correct in that I have this “sentimental nonsense” for the old things such as clean air, uncontaminated water and unlittered streets. I enjoy the natural beauty and am happy to live in it. As for Chiang Mai being “manageable” I suppose that’s true if you wish to wear a suitable mask, perhaps flee the city as some do in March or take the experts’ advice of staying indoors at certain times. I chose to just move farther out of town, 200km to be exact. Mr Bourne however, has no need to worry about my type who are losing the battle and his desires will be fulfilled. Higher energy use, more roads, bigger malls and possibly even factories will almost certainly be the city’s future. Conservation and the preservation of our ecosystem don’t appear to be high priority, which is maybe why many scientists think climate change is inevitable. LUNGSTIB