Bananas and Porn
By James Austin Farrell If I went to Japan (if I had enough money to go to Japan) on one of the many new tours now available to the Thai parvenu, I guess the spectacle of my itinerary would be the pornography tour, or, as it’s apparently known to nudging and winking Thai ladies, a trip to the “gift” shop. A gift, in this case, might be a two hour video of squealing girls dressed in nothing but rai … Continued
Your Say
Beyond the Postcard [Re: Stuck in Place, Frozen in Time, October 2013] The long neck hill tribe villages of Thailand are part of the reason why I wanted to travel to the country. Hearing stories about them, however, I had soon grown ambivalent about visiting them. To this day, after having travelled and even lived for quite a few months in Thailand, I have never been in one such village. I am not … Continued
The Life of Wine
For this month’s column I wanted to write about wine in films. But, a quick Google search later, I realised that this is what wine writers do when they have slammed into a creative cul-de-sac. Now I don’t want you ever to feel like I’ve not ever made an immense effort on your behalf, dear reader, but then again, I have just sat through a bunch of films, and I am certain that you don’ … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subculture, dating, or generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com I want to recycle my old plastic and cardboard in Chiang Mai. What do I do? Sophie (intern): There are many place … Continued
Ink of the Gods: The Myth and Magic of Sak Yant
Sak is the Thai word for tattoo and yant is the Thai pronunciation of the Pali-Sanskrit word yantra, meaning “sacred design.” Sak yant (sacred Buddhist) tattoos have been extremely popular in Cambodia and Thailand for a long time. For hundreds of years, Hindu and Buddhist monks and holy men tattooed themselves with Buddhist prayers, mythical creatures or deities. Along with body modifications such as skin piercing and body binding, tattoos have been used by virtually every major society to cope with the spirit world and mark rites of passage.
One Smart Lady
by Pim Kemasingki The President of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW), Chonchanok Viravan, said in a speech in Seoul in 2008 that Thai women were one of the most entrepreneurial groups of women in the world. This claim has unfortunately not been verified, but as president of an association boasting 45 chapters in 100 nations with a membership of over a quarter o … Continued
Frozen in Time, Stuck in Place
In June of 1979, National Geographic published an article titled “Anatomy of a Burmese Beauty Secret” by Dr. John M. Keshishian, M.D. The article featured a photo of a woman decked out in full traditional Kayan garb, silver pendants dangling from her hair and ears, red and white shirt embroidered with colourful stitching, neck wrapped in approximately 30 gleaming brass coils. She looks tall and pr … Continued
The Laramie Project
Twenty five residents of Chiang Mai – men, women, old, young, gay, straight, Thai, multinational – have spent the past month and a half rehearsing for an upcoming theatrical production, “The Laramie Project.” Everything about this project is intense, starting with the play itself, a docudrama about the real life torture and murder of a 21-year-old gay student in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. Members o … Continued
Heart of Seoul
K-Fever is rife in Thailand, following the explosion of K-pop acts, melodramatic soaps, rom coms, and of course the virally-vile Gangnam Style. Indeed, a trip to Korea is a rite of passage for many young Thais, so Citylife’s office nearly succumbed to a stampede when the invitation for an exclusive media trip to Korea by Centre Korea of North Gate Holiday and Happy World Holiday arrived. Staff wer … Continued
Your Say
Buddhist Bashing Living in a Buddhist country run by the military, no not Burma, where the religion is totally in league with the greedy ruling elite, I find this talk of Buddhism being a religion of peace offensive nonsense. The Christian idea of charity appears to be absent in Buddhist circles and the crass materialism of continuous temple building deprives resources which could benefit t … Continued
The Life of Wine
The Champagne Wars I have a completely unfounded suspicion that the recent kerfuffle over America adding Syria to its long list of bad ideas in the Middle East may in fact be a smokescreen. A cunning diversion to take the eyes of the world off a much more serious situation, the battle lines of which are currently being drawn by the world’s biggest corporation and a bunch of grape-growers just east … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subculture, dating, or generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com Is there anywhere I can eat Vietnamese sandwiches (banh mi) in Chiang Mai? Sophie (intern): There are plenty of g … Continued
No Place to Call Home
One of the most negative aspects to develop out of the newly democratic and open society of Burma is the use of freedom of expression and freedom to gather as a catalyst for ethnic and religious hate mongering. While ethnic tensions between the Buddhists in Rakhine state and their Muslim Rohingyan neighbours have been underlying for generations in both civil society as well as politically, the new … Continued
Born Twice: The Shauna Pugh Story
“When I hit puberty, I became afraid of my own body,” says Shauna Pugh. “I had always identified as female, so I was shocked when my body wasn’t changing like a woman’s.” Now 51 years old and living in Chiang Mai, Shauna co-owns the popular Soho Bar and Guesthouse with her partner, Shattida Jaima, a slim and vivacious 27-year-old Thai woman whose friends call her Rabbit. Shauna is tall and elegant … Continued
Destination: Phnom Penh
Welcome to Phnom Penh, the crazed and colourful capital of a country steeped in brutal history and contemporary political turmoil. Today, it’s something like Bangkok, but a bit (okay, maybe a lot) rougher around the edges: tuk-tuks honking, motorbikes flying, exhaust bellowing, beggars begging, hawkers hawking and the occasional cow ambling along the side of the road. Step into the fray and you’ll … Continued
Citylife Old Site – 22 – 9 –
Welcome to Phnom Penh, the crazed and colourful capital of a country steeped in brutal history and contemporary political turmoil. Today, it’s something like Bangkok, but a bit rougher around the edges: tuk tuk honking, motorbikes flying, exhaust bellowing, beggars begging, hawkers hawking and the occasional cow ambling along the side of the road. Step into the fray and you’ll find a cornucopia of … Continued
Monks Behaving Badly
Lately, in news both national and international, there has been an increase in coverage of Thailand’s misbehaving monastic communities. The problem itself, however, is no new phenomenon. Novel, perhaps, but not new. Wavering figures hold that Thailand is home to between 35,000 and 40,000 temples, with Chiang Mai holding a particular touristic allure precisely because of this: the modern city … Continued
Love or Something Like It
I firmly believe that one of the greatest things travel can do for your romantic life and perspective is that it forces you to see relationships in a new light and challenge your own biases. Progressive though I like to think I am in principle, I know that on some level I still identify strictly with the heterosexual monogamous relationship. That’s not just a product of my Catholic upbringing, but … Continued
The Life of Wine
As I was standing in 7-Eleven waiting for my foot-long spicy hot dog to warm up in the microwave and wondering what the devil to write about in this month’s column, my eyes came to rest on a half-bottle of well-known Australian chardonnay gathering dust next to the cigarette rack. The rack is cleverly designed so the cigarette packets cannot be seen by the young or the impressionable. But once the … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subculture, dating, or generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com I’ve heard that dengue fever isn’t that severe, but I’ve also heard people can die from it. What should I do if I thin … Continued
Your Say
A Tourist is a Tourist Good article on Chinese tourists. It’s a welcome relief to have them here; to distract us from culturally insensitive Westerners. Good observations about the insularity of group tours. Recently, in Istanbul, I saw a busload of Thai tourists acting just like the Chinese do here: being loud and pushy. But they were picking their noses instead of spitting. So it goes. … Continued
Killing in the Name of Buddhism
It was not so long ago that Burmese monks dressed in saffron robes organised brave protests and peaceful processions against the brutal military junta led by General Than Shwe. It was dubbed the Saffron Revolution. In 2007, the monks’ Gandhian non-violent resistance was watched with awe, and commanded the respect of millions around the globe. But these images etched in our collective memory are ha … Continued
From East to East: The Chinese Tourist Boom in Chiang Mai
China’s Global Times prophetically stated as long ago as December 2012 that Chiang Mai would soon see an influx of Chinese tourists, following the huge success of the surprise Chinese blockbuster Lost in Thailand (the second top-grossing film ever in China, after Avatar), shot on location here in Chiang Mai. “Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai is expected to attract an increasing number … Continued
Who Are We to Judge? An Interview with Chart Korbjitti
When studying at Chiang Mai University last year, I was required to choose an area of Thai culture on which to write a research paper. For me, a student of Thai language and English literature, the answer seemed obvious: what could teach me more about contemporary Thai society than contemporary Thai literature? Having had little prior knowledge of the whos and whats of the Thai literary world, I w … Continued
Not Just Beaches and Bikinis: Visiting Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla
The people of Hat Yai must watch with great frustration, as the hordes of tourists pouring out of the arrivals terminal are whisked away by tour busses and vans shuttling them off to other southern destinations such as Samui, Koh Phangan or even Malaysia. International airport it may be, but major tourist destination Hat Yai is not. We, 11 representatives of the Chiang Mai media invited by … Continued
When It Rains, It Pours: Preparing for the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community
Text and graphics by Anna Brooks It balloons out at you from strategically placed billboards around town. You vehemently nod along, pretending to know the ins and outs of it at a supercilious dinner party where the pompous try to one-up each other. News outlets have been shouting out its every move like sportscasters on crack. ASEAN, more lengthily known as the Association of Southeast Asian Natio … Continued
The Life of Wine
Booze, Bribes and Karaoke at the Citylife Wine Crawl Last month, the beautiful and vibrant people of Chiang Mai did the sensible thing and gathered early one Friday evening to kick off the inaugural Citylife Wine Crawl. The aim was to skilfully navigate 13 wine bars, stopping off for a snifter at each, indulging in games and uploading photos to social media in order to score points. And as we all … Continued
Your Say
This is an open forum for you, the reader, to express your opinions. Write to: editor@chisngmaicitylife.com. Subject : Your Say. Letter can be on any topic but priority will be given to letters under 200 words. Letters may be edited for clarity or conciseness. Name and contact details must be supplied. Chiang Mai Chagrin I believe your magazine should raise the issue of the continuin … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subculture, dating, or generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com I bought a used motorbike. How do I register it in my name? Hilary: First things first: if you have a work permi … Continued
Small Girl, Big Impact
She is a writer, a poet, a dancer, a musician and an activist. As part of the THINK Global School (the world’s first travelling boarding school) she’s visited over 30 countries. She’s also studied economics, launched an online think tank, started her own dance initiative to empower hospital children, and is working with the Thailand Research Development Institute developing policies that will shap … Continued
Love or Something Like It
One of the perks of living abroad and travelling means you’re meeting a whole world of people who you might otherwise never have known existed. The opportunities for connecting with someone from another country and culture are limitless, and there is a certain dreaminess to carrying on a romance abroad. But these relationships often come with a built-in expiration date that can make things.. … Continued
An Inside Look at Creepy (and sometimes crawling) Cuisines
Thailand is home to some very strange foods, including bugs, blood and babies (animal babies, that is). But even the most audacious of eaters may not know the health risks and benefits behind foods that squawk, squirm and scuttle. Here, I’ll take you on a journey through some of Thailand’s most vexing victuals. Taste at your own risk! Credits Wikimedia Commons / Istolethetv Scorpion Not far … Continued
Your Say
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, sub-culture, dating; generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts who will respond to your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com Fightin’ Words Corruption in Thailand has never been worse. You have so little respect globally that a British TV st … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, sub-culture, dating; generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts who will respond to your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com Are there any English lending libraries where I can check out books in Chiang Mai? Emma (intern): While there are … Continued
The Price of Ivory
Western countries have seen their fair share of elephant mania. We flock to zoos, caption cute pictures for Facebook, and reminisce over childhoods spent with Disney’s Dumbo and Dr. Seuss’s Horton (or Stampy from the Simpsons if that’s more your thing). But, for all of our excitement over floppy ears and long memories, the Western relationship to this imposing creature is relatively shallow. Eleph … Continued