The Life of Wine
Amazing things to make with old corks and wine bottles Once again this month’s column is a response to an intriguing question: ‘Is there anything useful I can I do with my old wine bottles and corks?’ My initial response would have made for a very short article indeed, so I decided to do a bit of research and quickly found myself in the world of ‘upcycling’. Unlike recycling, which returns … Continued
Snowstorm in Chiang Mai: The Claudia Garcia Story
Savouring the balmy pre-scorch of another Chiang Mai morning, I sat near Tha Pae Gate waiting to meet “the Snowflake” (I know, odd in a climate where sweaty skin sucks clothes to you faster than you can say “sticky rice”), also known as Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Garcia. Prepared to be intimidated and maybe even belittled – in my mind, documentarians are all either 65-year-old British men with bif … Continued
Love or something like it
A strange thing happened to me this spring, about a week before I turned 28. For the first time in my life, I started to worry about getting old. Until this year, I always embraced my birthdays, grateful for my years and celebrating them with friends. This year was a particularly great birthday, with drinks at Bar Eve, a surprise party involving homemade cake, a tiara and fire dancing, and a wine … Continued
Everybody’s Bees-ness
“Once the bees have left the earth, man will have four years left on the planet.” According to an April 2013 article in Al Jazeera, this chilling statement was made by none other than Albert Einstein, near the end of his Nobel Prize winning life. While some have questioned the source of this now famous quotation, the message itself is bona fide: the disappearence of bees spells catastrophe for man … Continued
Timeless Luang Prabang
The first time I visited Luang Prabang, I hitched my way down the Mekong on a rice barge. It was 1993. My boyfriend and I had no idea where we were going, but we knew it would be an adventure. We played cards with boatmen on the barge’s roof, occasionally waving at people on the banks from the rare villages we cruised past. We spent a night at some illegal logging camp being wined and dined by a g … Continued
Ten Hours of Eternity
My morning begins with a brisk walk to Wat Ched Yod. Most people have no idea how to get to my house, and I have no idea how to give directions in Thai, so Wat Ched Yod is a pleasant compromise. The sun hangs slack in the sky as if just waking, casting golden light on a monk seated on a guardrail. About one hundred yards past him stands King Tilokarat’s Madha Chedi, the stucco statues stare fore … Continued
Welcome to the Thai-light Zone
Some are creepy, others fascinating; some are inspiring, and some are downright horrifying…but one thing is for sure, Thailand’s history is filled with some very unique individuals and some very bizarre situations. Here, we introduce you to just a few of them. Harn Raksajit, the mad monk So there was this guy named Harn Raksajit, or Nain Ae amongst friends. As a novice monk in 1995, he was arreste … Continued
Your Say
This is an open forum for you, the reader, to express your opinions. Write to: editor@chiangmaicitylife.com. Subject: Your Say. Letters can be on any subject 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. • Controversy, or Something Like It As a former female expat who lived and taught English in … Continued
The Life of Wine
While I was trying to come up with a suitable subject for the column this month, I turned to a chum and asked whether there were any questions he’d ever wanted to ask about wine, but had always been too lazy to Google. He came back, quick-as-a-flash, with: “Yeah, corks. What are they about?” An excellent topic for discussion, and far better than the pros and cons of the champagne enema, a subject … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subcultures, dating; generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to all your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com 1. I’m kind of broke this month, but I can’t think of a weekend without going out. Where can I have a good time with … Continued
Love or Something Like It
I still recall one of the first times I felt genuinely afraid for my safety while travelling. I was in Kuala Lumpur, and a few friends and I were waiting to catch a night bus to Thailand. I excused myself to run to a drugstore I had seen a few blocks away. As I walked, I became acutely aware of the stares I was getting, particularly from a group of men I’d need to pass on my way, and felt afraid. … Continued
Your Say: May 2013
• Conflicting Criticisms I have to say I agree with some of the remarks made by Terry Reardon in February’s Citylife, although not his solutions. Your content seems to have lost its way, the articles headlined having little to do with Chiang Mai; they have become the sort of anodyne pieces that can be found in any magazine Please focus on Chiang Mai, there are enough local problems and contentio … Continued
Rebecca Weldon on the Cultural Evolution of Chiang Rai
“When I first moved to Chiang Rai in the early 80s, the city’s cultural events consisted of parades blaring international and Thai pop tunes carrying along beauty queens in white tulle western style dresses on foam and plastic floats,” recalls Rebecca Weldon of her early years in the northern city.
Shoot Cameras, Not Guns
Diana Sabreen originally came to Thailand to rock climb. A professional photographer living in Colorado, USA, she was invited by some friends to join in a kind of working holiday to take some photos, enjoy a good workout and relax amidst the country’s famous mountain vistas. The trip was ultimately cancelled, but Diana decided she still wanted to take the journey to Thailand by herself. This was about seven years ago.
Editorial: May 2013
She was wailing, sobbing uncontrollably, her face twisted in despair. My heart went out to her. I didn’t know her from Eve, but this well dressed woman in her mid twenties, very pretty under the streaked mascara and smeared lipstick, was blubbering inconsolably about her loss. We passersby were looking on with great concern. She had obviously just lost someone. “But what am I going to do without mun? (Mun in Thai is anything from a very close ‘she’ or a ‘he’ to a mere ‘it’.) Mun has been with me for years. I don’t know where to start,” she moaned to the increasing distress of a gathering crowd.
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subcultures, dating; generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to all your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com 1. What is that horrid buzzing sound I’m suddenly hearing everywhere I go? Melissa (intern): That buzzing sound you … Continued
The Life of Wine
A huge thank you to everyone who took some time out from what, I’m sure, were some extremely hectic schedules to participate in my wine survey last month. The importance of a good survey can never be overestimated, I’m sure you will agree, and an opinion poll about wine, even less so. I had hoped to spend most of Citylife’s office-moving-budget on getting whoever so assiduously runs polls for the … Continued
Your Say
• Reader’s Retort I found myself taken aback by the letter from Mr. Terry Reardon [Your Say, March 2013], who condemned Citylife’s recent trend toward covering more ‘social issues’. I had to read Mr. Reardon’s letter several times to make sure I had understood him. It’s not often that you find a reader clamoring for more fluff and less substance in a magazine. Having written for expat publication … Continued
Vientiane, Laos: How to Turn Your Visa Run into a Mini Vacation
Visa runs don’t have to suck. Sure, the smelly minibus ride is torture, but that’s why god invented Valium. Here are some tips to keep things simple: Make sure you have several passport photos, your Thai departure card and at least three blank pages in your passport prior to crossing the Friendship Bridge (that Lao visa is a real space hog), and bring both Thai baht and American dollars for the be … Continued
Kiss with a Fist: A Look at Thailand’s Domestic Violence Act
The first time I came by domestic violence in Chiang Mai was the first day I came to Citylife. I was starting my internship at the magazine, and stupidly, perhaps in all the preparations and nervousness of any first day, I forgot my laptop. So the staff coordinator set me up at the desk of the receptionist who was absent that day. “Do you know when she will be back?” I asked. “Not sure,” she repli … Continued
Further to Fly: Todd ‘Tongdee’ Lavelle and the Lanna World Festival
“I was an ugly kid,” Todd ‘Tongdee’ Lavelle told me, sipping on a glass of fruit juice. “My brother used to say I abused the privilege of being ugly.” Lavelle grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was one of six biological offspring in a family that included 40 foster kids and a deaf autistic sister named Kelly whom he cites as his greatest creative inspiration. His father, a German-American … Continued
Love or Something Like It
When I was five years old, I decided that I was going to grow up to be a writer and travel the world. A few years later, I amended that dream: I would become a writer, move overseas, meet the love of my life and begin the greatest romance in history. This vision for my life got me through a lot of dateless Friday nights in my adolescence; through the grueling months leading up to prom spent wonder … Continued
Of Magic and Men
Susan Conway didn’t know what to make of it. There she was, sitting cross-legged on the floor, while a man in just a small loincloth performed a dance and mime in front of her. He had two swords in his hands. One of them he pressed against his skin, trying to stab himself, but to no avail. It wouldn’t penetrate him, or even leave a mark. His skin was invincible to all harms and ills, or so he said … Continued
Easy Rider: The Ups and Downs of Motorbikes in Chiang Mai
Hands up if you’ve ridden a motorbike in Thailand. Most foreigners have; whether you straddled a big boy to Pai when you first arrived as a backpacker, rented a Honda Dream by the month during your first year of living here or own one straight out. It’s cheap, you are generally not even asked for your driver’s licence and you can learn how to drive in five minutes…enough to think you know how, a … Continued
Daughters Unite: One Woman’s Fight Against Sex Trafficking
On Thanksgiving Day 2011, Alexa Pham was on her annual fall trip to Chiang Mai, checking in on her non-profit, Daughters Rising, when her Thai translator was called in by a farang in need of assistance. Alexa went with him, and walked right into a scene that would change her life. A 60-something European man was seated on a picnic table in front of a hotel in downtown Chiang Mai. Next to him sat N … Continued
From Chiang Mai to Hollywood: An Interview with Aria Inthavong
Aria Inthavong is a former Chiang Mai resident who left Thailand a few years ago to work as an actor and filmmaker in Los Angeles. In ‘Development Hell’, an upcoming comedic web series he co-created, Aria plays Damien Lockwood, a failed and arrogant director who plans to conquer Hollywood by staging a disastrous movie-musical project. With the imminent release of the first episode, I had an opport … Continued
The Community
Citylife is taking more and more of our regular content online so this will be the last month which Community Services will be found here in our magazine. Contact details for relevant community related services will still be available in our Directory. 01 Nicotine Anonymous Want to stop smoking? It works! Meetings on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1 p.m. at the 7 Fountains, Huay Kaew Road. For more i … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subcultures, dating; generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to all your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com 1. Where can I watch foreign films on the cheap in Chiang Mai? Hilary: There are quite a few different places … Continued
The Life of Wine
I think we can all agree that there is no more gorgeous a sound than that of a wine cork being removed from a bottle. Whether it’s the sudden explosion of a champagne cork or the squeaky sound of a corkscrew being twisted home followed by that most satisfying of pops, the sound is just heaven. Because the pressure in a bottle of champagne can be as much as 90 pounds per square inch (imagine the pr … Continued
Your Say
• Not Such Big Cheeses From your article The Illegal Entrepreneur [Jan 2013]: “The average virtual entrepreneur often spends in excess of 50,000 baht a month. It would not be remiss for them to claim that they actively contribute to the economy whilst taking nothing more from it than a gourmet coffee, a pad thai and a good time.” 50,000 baht a month doesn’t even come close … Continued
Mommy is a Mermaid
When I was assigned to go interview the Belarusian mermaid that performs in the shark tank every weekend at the Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I found was a seemingly normal family, parents with two young children living in an upscale moo baan near Mae Hia. The spacious living room was strewn with toys, Jimmy Buffett memorabilia and a floppy grey bunny named Fluf … Continued
Street Eats
When you settle down somewhere, your life tends to take on certain patterns, especially when it comes to cuisine. My Chiang Mai food habit is a soup called yen ta fo. I discovered it in the first few weeks I was here, and happily ate it for months before being informed that the ‘black tofu’ I was so cheerfully munching away on was in fact congealed pig’s blood. Today when I order my favourite squi … Continued
Turning a New Page: Magic at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Rangoon
One of my biggest regrets in life was bowing out of a school trip to Berlin because of homesickness. Had I gone, I would have been able to witness the opening of the Brandenburg Gate shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall, in December 1989. There are momentous events in life which one never forgets. The personal, of course, we all have, but when one’s path crosses with something that is far fa … Continued
Immigration Frustrations: An Interview with the Superintendent of Chiang Mai Immigration
When Citylife posted on Facebook that we were about to interview the superintendent of Chiang Mai, Lamphun and Lampang Immigration, we were inundated by comments and questions. There were the usual gripes about overcrowded facilities, lengthy queues, inefficient service and seemingly nonsensical laws which appear designed for discomfort rather than any practical purpose. Many readers asked questio … Continued