Editorial: February 2017
Our Citylife Garden Fair is going to be spectacular this year! As the event has grown and its ambitions expanded, we have found it to have outgrown our wee media company. Thankfully over the past two years a group of volunteers have stepped up and helped us turn our amateur little af(fair) into something which is going to be quite extraordinary this year.
Opening of JoJo Sanctuary: teaching rural children and families about trafficking awareness, healthy relationships, internet safety and parenting strategies
Orawan was heartbroken. She had just seen a young boy from her village in Doi Saket working late at night selling cigarettes and alcohol in the parking lot of the grocery store. When she had questioned him about what he was doing, she found out his parents couldn’t pay for him to continue school after 6th grade and they needed him to go to the city and find work to support the family. When she asked if his parents knew how he was making money, he said that they would be devastated if they knew, but he felt a responsibility to take care of his family. As Orawan drove home, she couldn’t get this boy out of her head and she knew his story was not unique in her village. After spending years working in anti-trafficking in the city of Chiang Mai, she decided it was time she focused on helping the families in her own back yard.
Don’t Open The Castle Door You May Never Come Out
“It’s only ten minutes, I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” grinned Omri Gadasi, the owner of a lesser known, but largely feared, attraction in Chiang Mai. We stood nervously in the reassuringly bright lobby as doors opened, beckoning us into the dark, dank rooms of The Castle. With false bravado and a few nervous giggles, we stepped cautiously inside. Bang! The door slammed shut behind us with finality, and we heard the click of the lock turning behind us. A cackle sounded from deep within the mist from the other side of the room. Our hearts began to pump rapidly…
Happy Glamper
Despite the cool winter months and fresh misty mornings, most of us still see camping as something that sounds like a good idea in theory, but simply too much hassle to indulge in. The hot midday sun still turns the flimsy nylon pod into a makeshift sauna, and those darned mosquitoes always find a way inside, no matter how many layers there are to protect you. As a Brit, there was nothing better than heading out into the woods with a few friends, starting a small fire and pitching a tent in the wild woods of southwest England, as your breath mists in front of your eyes. Here in Thailand, that cosiness is lost thanks to the tropical climate, dense forests, and fear or slithery and creepy crawlies.
The King’s Parade
Two months ago I met with Sudchai Kanonokulsoontorn, a pleasant 63 year old man with a deep love for the King. We were to talk about the International We Love the King Parade — a parade organised exclusively for foreigners in Chiang Mai who wish to express their love and respect for the King independently from the usual collective events that are scattered throughout the city around the 5th of December, His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birthday. We talked, we laughed, we shared stories about the King and about what the expat community in Chiang Mai were doing for him and we smiled, a lot.
Grand Canyon Water Park
The Chiang Mai Grand Canyon has for many years been a not-so-secret watering hole jealously guarded by many of us here in Chiang Mai. This dramatic looking man-made canyon was created when land was quarried to extend the Chiang Mai International Airport runway. Sheer cliffs of up to fifteen metres, off which truanting kids used to enjoy heady afternoons jumping into the azure deep waters which now filled the old quarry. As it became better known and more popular, accidents and deaths have led to frequent headlines, just in the past few years alone, there have been six reported deaths. So, Citylife was highly sceptical when invited by the new Grand Canyon Water Park to review its new facilities.
Under My Gender: An Emerging Artist’s Fantasy
As we develop an understanding of the world through the problems we face, it’s our human reaction to resort to our fantasies; fantasies that we fight so hard to make reality despite hardship. Emerging artist Thepmetha Thepboonta, a graduate from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Chiang Mai University, gives us a glimpse into his fantasy in his first solo art exhibition “Under My Gender” at Seescape Gallery. As an activist for bisexuality through his artwork, Thepmetha will be opening up his work for viewing for the whole month of July.
The New Face of Old Chiangmai
In 1968, proud parents, Borvorn and Oon Chutima, flew to the United States to drop their son, Jumpol off for college. Very few were so privileged in those days outside the great northern families of Chutima, Nimmanahaeminda, Kittibutr and Na Chiang Mai. The Chutimas were also closely related to the Nimmanahaemindas, all four families wealthy from property development, a rare foresight during a time when Chiang Mai was, at best, a backwater town far from the world’s eyes.
John Gallery: intriguing tourists for nearly four decades
Having not ventured out of the states until this summer, I was quickly greeted by an overwhelming wave of culture shock the minute I stepped foot in Chiang Mai. I was overwhelmed by its hectic and stressful traffic, overwhelmed by the amount of food options offered at every corner, and most of all, overwhelmed with the diversity of Chiang Mai while I observed a mix of locals and tourists from all over the world walking the streets going about their day. After I settled into my hotel, I found myself with a full day before I started my summer job writing for Citylife, so I decided to hit the streets to see just how much culture shock I could experience.
Mickey Mouse House
“I never thought it would get this big, but here we are…” These were the words spoken to me when Naren ‘Oak’ Panyapu opened the door to the north of Thailand’s very first independent Micky Mouse memorabilia museum in Lamphun. Walls were covered in glassed off shelves that were stacked to the brim with rows and rows of Mickey Mouse figurines, toys, plushies and wall hangings. “I first starte … Continued
For Little Minds
As a parent, it is always good to keep those little ones engaged and learning throughout their childhood, but finding the right place can be hard. Why not look into these three centres for child development and education and treat your little ones to some new forms of exciting enrichment!
Camp Meating: Hidden Camp of Chiang Mai
As those winter spells call to us again, many thousands of people from across the world visit Chiang Mai and are blown away by the cool breeze and the foggy views. Many tourists however, miss out on the best things that Chiang Mai has to offer, unaware of the secret views, eating places and social hubs that are ever new in the city.
TEDx, the Jewel on Chiang Mai Creative City’s Crown
TEDx Chiang Mai, held this past Saturday at Le Meridien hotel, was a resounding success. With 1,200 attendees, this was by far the largest TEDx Chiang Mai has held. Through AIS’s Line service, there were nearly 900,000 views, with over 3,600 people watching the event on live stream, and the event attracted more than 30% of its visitors from outside Chiang Mai, mainly from Bangkok, making this a truly national event.
A Special Treat at Phuket’s Classic Amanpuri
This was supposed to be a travel story about Phuket’s Surin Beach, but the minute I checked into the exquisite Amanpuri I knew that I wasn’t going to leave until the last call from the limo to return to the airport. Having won just about every single award and accolade in the industry over its nearly thirty years, the Amanpuri is the grand dame of Thailand’s resorts and the first and flagship hotel in the Amanresorts brand.
TEDx Asks if You Dare
For all those who don’t know, TEDx is and international creativity and ideas forum which invites guest speakers to explore a vast range of topics — sciences, philosophies, cultures, religions, politics and anything else you could imagine. This year TEDx will be held here in Chiang Mai on the 30th January 2016, locals and visitors attending the event will be asked to “Dare To…”
Editorial: December 2015
I’m a glass half full kind of girl. Always have been. And while my Pollyannish outlook has often led me into all sorts of trouble, I believe optimism makes me a happier person. That isn’t to say that I don’t treasure my cynicism. Cynicism is a healthy state, it makes us question the world around us and challenge status quos. Which leads us to search for solutions to make things better, which brings us right back to that brimming glass. So my cynicism is in fact most sunny in its disposition.
The Great Escape
We consider ourselves a fairly intelligent bunch here at Citylife; I mean, we write things that people read and all. To be fair, I don’t know many people who wouldn’t describe themselves as intelligent, so I suppose our opinions of our own gray matter are neither here nor there. But when we heard about the soon to be opened Escape Hunt, we reckoned we would get a team together and go along to show off our smarts and come back feeling smug in our intellect.
10 Years of Citylife Garden Fair
This was the 10th year of our Citylife Garden Fair, and was by a long shot the most spectacular affair to date. It all started when a few of our readers came to ask to use our old Citylife garden to organise a small fair to raise money to help the victims of the 2004 tsunami. We invited friends, clients and anyone who cared to join in and had about thirty or forty stalls selling goods to the few hundred readers who turned up. It was such a lovely day that we decided to do it twice a year (choosing two to three beneficiary charities per event), which we did until the whole thing simply got too big so we pulled it back to an annual event.
Escape the City
For those of us who get caught up in the inner-city lifestyle, it is hard sometimes to escape the concrete walls and venture into the nature which surrounds Chiang Mai. Here are three places that help you formulate that perfect excuse to escape town, be it to enjoy the views of the mountains with a fresh coffee in hand, or to do a bit of unique shopping at an organic garden market.
Citylife Garden Fair ’15
Over the past ten years our Citylife Garden Fair has grown up, evolved, and simply grown into a pretty incredible annual event which, according to JJ Hobby Market, attracted over 5,000 people last year, raising nearly 220,000 baht for two local charities in 2014. The fair is now way bigger than our small staff can handle, and thankfully we have been supported by a team of dedicated volunteers, who are promising to make this year’s event the biggest and best yet.
Something Speche?
Spanking new businesses perfect for your special needs, whether your wee one needs a nursery or a baby sitter, your family is coming to visit and needs a no-frills accom which is easy on the wallet or you are on a health drive and wanting to change your lifestyle, these new business have something a little special for you.
No Motor, No Cry
The Chang Puak bicycle shop is not a busy place. Most of owner Pakin Buranapanich’s customers stop by to rent one of the scooters he keeps in his garage while Niwat, the shop’s mechanic, fine tunes the bicycle inventory. A cluster of vintage bicycles I spotted in the back of the shop motivated me to emerge from the suffocating traffic of Chang Puak road one evening, and Pakin instantly jumped to his feet.
Fourth of July Celebrated at River Market
The fourth of July was celebrated with Western style and Eastern elegance at the River Market Restaurant in Chiang Mai. The American Independence Day celebration drew a crowd of about 300. Good food, entertainment and about 90 raffle prizes kept the celebrants busy throughout the day.
Feeling Board?
There I was, stuck in a gas station, zombies banging at the door and only a pile of garbage and a small knife to determine my fate. The atmosphere is tense and tentative. One false move and I’ll lose the last bag of medical supplies that I desperately need to get back to camp. I roll…I get bitten and I die. The medical supplies are lost; a harsh blow to our remaining zombie apocalypse survivors. I pass the dice to the right, bringing my disastrous turn to an end. I order a coffee, take a breather, and begin to hatch a new plan for my only surviving character, vowing to make up for my poor choices that left me dying in a pool of zombie blood.
The School of Endless Hobbies
I arrive at Ramby’s School to find founder and director Sahrah Boeck lying on the grass outside with her face covered in gold leaf. She looks up at me and jovially apologises. “It’s a new beauty treatment that I’m testing, so I can perhaps teach it if anyone wants to learn it!”
A Year of Free Hugs
It all happens quite seamlessly. You’re at Tha Pae Gate on a peaceful Saturday morning. The square is mostly empty save for a few stray tourists, some street vendors, and a flock of pigeons. Then a frail old man with a puffy gray beard casually rides along your line of sight on his three-wheel bicycle. He stops, looks at you, smiles, and opens his arms wide, revealing the design on the oversized t-shirt he’s wearing, which reads “free hugs” in over a dozen different languages. You know what you’re supposed to do next, but understandably you might hesitate a bit. He’s a scruffy man in his early 50s, and looks like he might be homeless. But he has kindness in his eyes, and gives you a head nod to let you know it’s alright. You open your arms and it happens: a hug. Stepping back, returning to your day slightly changed, you may wonder why people don’t do that sort of thing more often. It’s kind of nice.
Gotta Cache ‘Em All
In this month’s edition of Stuff White People Like, we explore geocaching, which I just recently learned was a thing.What is geocaching, you ask? A fair query. According to the official geocaching website, it is “a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices” that has been going on under our noses since the year 2000.
10 Weirdest Places in Northern Thailand
When was the last time you saw a chair of animal horns or a Buddhist temple depicting hell’s tortures? If you’re the sort that like to get off the beaten path in your travels, however, you’ve landed on the right page. Rent a scooter or car and make your way to some of the best places around the region.
You Are Your Ridges and Grooves
I am a skeptic. I just can’t bring myself to take giant leaps. That is why I felt a tad uncomfortable when new client, myDNA, invited me for a free dermatoglyphics (yes it’s a word) analysis. It all sounded a tad voodoo hoodoo to my scoffing mind. As I arrived in a professional looking office at Arcade’s Star Avenue, with its floor-to-ceiling glass panes and shiny new furniture, I was surprised to see a few families with young children, some babies even, sitting in the waiting area. Hmmm… curiouser and curiouser.