Shangri-La Chiang Mai continues to elevate the culinary bar. Following last year’s successful series of dinners featuring visiting Michelin-starred guest chefs, this month the hotel welcomes to Chiang Mai a two-starred Michelin chef, which we believe is the first time for our fair city.

It has been 3 years since we last reported on the Chiang Mai Pickleball Club and a lot has happened in that time. The club has changed location, tripled the number of courts and grown an enthusiastic membership of both farang and Thai players.

MINI-INPUT is the largest conference on public television worldwide taking place annually. In 2019, the Goethe-Institut together with Thai PBS, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the Thai Media Fund are hosting the conference in Bangkok for the first time in Southeast Asia this coming May.

In Buddhism, the Buddha mentions three important principles that cover all of his teachings, which are at the heart of what people should follow in order to live happily and peacefully. The three core teaching are simply: To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to purify the mind.

Pizza is delicious, and even the most dedicated Thai food fans will have moments where nothing will cure their appetite like a freshly baked pizza topped with cheese, meat, mushrooms and a thick rich tomato sauce.

The haze season is nearly here. In fact, the smog has already devoured Bangkok and Chiang Mai is only a few weeks — dare we hope months — away from this annual catastrophe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has labelled air pollution a global public health emergency.

It’s still winter-ish! So why not slip into a hot spring, soak away your woes and emerge all fresh and perky!

There are endless debates online about the best pizzas in Chiang Mai and frankly we think it’s a matter of taste and preference. Here are three more to add to the growing list.

You know you have got it right when you find yourself opening a new branch. Here are some of our favourite venue… in new destinations.

Every month we sacrifice our waist-lines to explore new restaurants and eateries, selflessly gorging ourselves on your behalf…you’re welcome!

Kuan Khama is an ancient community located around the north western area of the old city between Hua Lin Corner and Chang Phuak Gate. There aren’t too many reasons to visit this area, unless you are heading to Fah Lanna Spa for a massage, hanging out in any of a number of great cafes or stopping to take selfies with some cool graffiti hidden down the labyrinth of sois.

I am as guilty as most of you: in my lifetime I have likely created an actual (hopefully small) mountain’s worth of unrecycled waste. Blame it on ignorance, convenience or wilful self-indulgence, at the end of the day, I have contributed greatly to the woes of our environment. And so have you.

If you find yourself in need of some quiet time and a good soothing massage while shopping at the hectic Night Bazaar, then head on over to the welcoming Varee Spa, on the 4th floor of Duangtawan Hotel Chiang Mai.

It is very difficult to go against the master template, so Thais have always got their novelty from bringing in things from the outside. Being very receptive to imports, Thais have fun with it. God forbid you have fun with traditions!’

Most of us have had to pick our jaws off the floor because of technology at some point in our lives – the first time we held a remote control, received an email, put on a VR headset…the list goes on.

An investigation following the fate of two U.S. Army Air Force airmen reported missing in action during World War II.

If you were fortunate enough to have gone to Jai Thep Festival last year, then surely you must have already bought your tickets for this year’s event. If you haven’t been yet, read on and then get booking, because this three day festival is one of the highlights of Chiang Mai’s annual calendar.

As the moon shone bright on our winter’s night, we enjoyed the first feast by Chef Marco, who will be serving special lunches and dinners from now until 27th January.

Over the course of the year Michelin-starred chefs were invited to be guest chefs in Shangri-La’s kitchens, where they were challenged with using local produce and collaborating with the hotel’s kitchen crew, to create spectacular pop-up feasts for our city’s diners.

After escaping the 40 degree heat into the stone-walled haven of cool air, I immediately understood why Thai monks wanted to build a temple underground, 700 years previously.

Over 15 million visitors come through Chiang Mai every year, and I felt like the only one who wasn’t in love with the city.

So if you, or your child, dream of studying in the United States, but your current connection to US colleges doesn’t extend further than that gained from Hollywood movies, the idea of leaving home to dive feet first into such a new world can be daunting.

As we wrote in one of our articles once, Cute is the new Cool, and Chiang Mai knows how to do both. Check out these adorable little places guaranteed to charm.

Put a bounce back in your step, wow your friends with a magic trick or spoil yourself rotten with a spa…choices choices.

Chiang Mai has always been a city with a bewildering number of new restaurants opening…and sadly old closing. Here are some of our favourite new discoveries this month.

Apart from the obvious – Doi Suthep, Doi Inthanon, et all – our team came up with this eclectic bucket list for 2019.

Recently, her name has been popping up with even more frenetic frequency as she invites and entices our city’s women entrepreneurs, and our male allies, to join her upcoming Bond Women’s Festival. So, being nosy, we decided to get to know her and find out what is up with this fiery ball of energy.

In late October Citylife was invited to join H.R.H. Prince Richard Duke of Gloucester and the British ambassador for their visit to the Children’s Advocacy Centre Chiang Mai. Following the dignitaries’ departures, we were introduced to Police Colonel Soonthorn Arunnara, Deputy Commander of Investigation Division Immigration Bureau and Police Colonel Thakoon Nimsomboon, Deputy Commander of the Anti-Trafficking in Person Division and the Head of the Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children (TICAC) Operation Team, both of whom kindly agreed to sit down for an impromptu interview.

The past year saw a slowing down of incoming Chinese tourist numbers and now we are hearing people bemoan the lack of Chinese tourists. So we thought we would take a look at where we are with our Chinese visitors and what the future holds for us both.

Having my own company means that I have never had to face any sexual inequality in my workplace. And having my two best friends from childhood working beside me — one is our production manager of 20 years, another our sales manager of nearly ten — means that women haven’t, as far as I know, felt any inequality here either. So that’s good. But the fact is it exists and women around the world live and work in frustration over the unfairness of it all.

Tucked away in the fertile forests of Chiang Mai, deep in the heart of Sameong district, lies a hamlet of traditional villages where the Karen hill tribe live. In these remote communities, the women still wear native handwoven Karen tunics, and the men herd water buffaloes to plough the farm, as they once did 50 years ago.

Last May Alun Cooper put action to his words by bringing together a group of students and offering them a chance to influence the school’s strategic plans. Senior school student council members spent months identifying problems, creating visions, setting strategies and with a vast input of emotions and thoughts, presented their plan to the Head of School.

Elegant, bright from the rays shining down from the sun-roof, with open spaces offering views of the bustling Nimman soi 3, Saruda Finest Pastry is a sophisticated patisserie serving cakes, tarts, torts and sweet pastries at a quality and level of aesthetics hard to find in our city.

Alexa Hostel’s Nimman Social has fast become one of the area’s most popular hang- and meet-up venues. The hostel is aesthetically pleasing and very competitively priced for its prime location, with rooms and dorms available starting in the hundreds of baht.

This is a great spot for teenagers who enjoy playing different board games all day and having a chill weekend break from studying. This game haunt also offers a small selection of video games which you can play with your friends.

We love nothing more than discovering new places to eat and sharing our discoveries with you. Here are three of our recent pleasurable experiences this month. By the way there are many more we share in our other media, so make sure you also pick up a copy of our sister publication, Spoon&Fork, dedicated to all things food!

It is important to get outside of our comfort zones once in a while, whether it is to go somewhere new or indulge in a new experience. So, here you go, what are you waiting for?

“Clothes are the most intimate items for people,” said Wasin a (Aunchanum), costume designer of the mega budget and hit TV drama Raknakara, in a lilting Lanna accent. “It is more than a wearable apparel because it reflects our mindset, our economy, our lifestyle and our values.”