I had a similar experience my first day in Chiang Mai as I did in Dublin, overwhelmed by tourist tat.  It wasn’t until day two that I started to see past it to the reality.

We were at a photo exhibit about a local area within the old city, and all the captions said the same thing: Chiang Mai is drastically different than it was, all the families have moved away and those remaining are aging.  For some, the tourist explosion is a plus, allowing them to, for example, change jobs to become a tour director or sell more of their art, but for many it’s felt as a loss.  The people we meet are lovely,  but they are very focused on serving us in their many roles.  It doesn’t feel like I’m making a connection.