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 and priority will be given to letters under 200 words. Letters may be edited for clarity or conciseness. Name and contact details must be supplied. • Enter the Entrepreneur ‘Tina in Techland’ was an excellent article. Tina is a very gifted in … Continued
The Life of Wine
The word potential is a lovely one, is it not? Give it a quick Google and there are quotes from intellectual giants such as Winston Churchill, Aung San Suu Kyi and Sarah Palin on the subject. And potential is what Chiang Mai has in terms of wine. Alas, it is still just potential. There are new wine bars springing up everywhere, it seems – and I’ve been to quite a few. Problem is, the wine being se … Continued
This is Thailand
1. I’m looking for a green way to get around town. Where can I buy a bicycle? Tong (intern): Chiang Mai is a great place to ride a bicycle, as it is generally quite flat and bicycles are the best vehicles for scooting through congested traffic jams. Plus no petrol costs, and it’s a good way to get some exercise, especially during the cooler season! There are plenty of places to rent or buy a … Continued
The Community
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 information please call Earl 086 194 6300 or Peter 087 145 9655. 02 AA group If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want help to stop drinking, that’s our business. 2 AA meetings a day, 7 days a week. Call us at 082 186 2518. We are here for … Continued
Full Moon Fever
“Everyone claims they did the first Full Moon Party,” Colin, a Scottish expat who has lived in Thailand for 25 years, told me. “But the real one happened in October of 1988, and I was there.” Is this a fact? Hard to say. Other individuals I spoke with begged to differ. The Paradise Bungalows of Haad Rin Beach in Koh Phangan claim on their website to have thrown the first ever Full Moon Party in 19 … Continued
Painting a Legacy: The Art and Times of Wattana Wattapun
Growing up in a remote village of rice farmers just south of Bangkok, Wattana Wattanapun was always interested in art. “I drew everywhere I could – on sand, on dirt – and I was always making shadow puppets out of cut up leaves,” he told me. “In school, I wasn’t very good at other subjects, except for art. I loved it.” He still does. After spending most of his adult life moving back and forth fro … Continued
China’s Changeover
In November 2012, the Chinese Communist Party, the ruling power in the People’s Republic, held the 18th Party Congress. It was at this weeklong meeting that China’s new leaders were announced. In true Chinese bureaucratic fashion, the expected frustrations for the average person began to build in the days and weeks leading up to the bi-decade event as the Party flexed, or tried to flex, its contro … Continued
An Air of History
Plans are afoot for the old moated city. More cobbled roads are being planned to lend the Old City an air of history, more unsightly wires are about to be buried to keep modernity at bay, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep has just renovated the navel of the city shrine (the gilded viharn jutting out into the road next to the Three Kings Monument), the Chiang Mai Municipality officially opened up the Lanna … Continued
The Life of Wine
It’s January. The carols have been sung, the eggnog has been drunk, and the little baby Jesus once again failed to turn up at the party I held in his honour. Oh well, at least the world did not end as the Mayan priests predicted and that was certainly worth celebrating with a glass or two of wine. So wine and religion – what’s the deal? Just to be clear, the Mayans didn’t drink wine – in fact, nob … Continued
This is Thailand
1. Bottled water at 7-Eleven is expensive! What other options do I have for obtaining clean drinking water in Chiang Mai? Hilary: Have you noticed the rather complicated-looking water dispensers all over town? These are actually the cheapest way to get your drinking water – just 1 baht per 2 litres of water! All you have to do is put your coin in the slot, stick a bottle under the spout, and hit t … Continued
The Community
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 information please call Earl 086 194 6300 or Peter 087 145 9655. 02 AA group If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want help to stop drinking, that’s our business. 2 AA meetings a day, 7 days a week. Call us at 082 186 2518. We are here for … 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. Priority will be given to letters under 200 words. Letters may be edited for clarity or conciseness. Name and contact details must be supplied. • Tiger Tiger Burning Bright I am absolutely in love with Chiang Mai. It is easily my favourite … Continued
The Last Executioner
Chavoret Jaruboon executed 55 people, including one woman; I am very sorry we never got to be closer friends. Chavoret is better known as ‘The Last Executioner’, which is also the title of his 2006 autobiography in English. (The Thai version is ?.) He was the last person in Thailand whose job it was to carry out court-ordered executions by gun before the switchover to lethal injection, which is th … Continued
Escaping the Tiger, to the Mouth of the Crocodile
On the front line, charged with nervous energy and the power of the people, 18 year old Myo Zaw Oo from north-central Burma paraded the walkways of his hometown. Holding a taut screen of blue, yellow, red, white and pink cloth, Myo carried the emblematic colours of the Burmese Buddhist flag proudly across his chest. At the time, Myo knew nothing of the torture, abuse and struggle for survival he w … Continued
The Illegal Entrepreneur
He stands in line at Suvarnabhumi airport immigration alongside the other excited, soiled and impatient visitors to the Land of Smiles. On his back, he carries a 35L backpack, and on his arm, a laptop bag with a MacBook Pro, several hard drives and some documents he’d been reading on the plane. He’s anxious. Not in a sweating, fidgeting, drug mule kind of way. But antsy, in the sort of foot-tappin … Continued
Chiang Mai on WWW
www.ThaiElephantsHomestay.com www.ThaiElephantsHomestay.com Want to live amongst the elephants? Walk with the elephants, talk with the elephants, grunt and squeak and squawk with the elephants? Have your own Dr. Doolittle moment at the Thai Elephants Homestay, where you can learn how to be a mahout for a day, or three! Located in the beautiful Mae Sa Valley, just half an hour north of the city cen … Continued
The Community
• 01 Play For All An acting workshop and self-transformation by Sonoko Prow on 8th December from 9.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m. Free. Reservation, call KCCA 081 969 9166 Kalyanamit Chiangmai or email 2012kcca@gmail.com. • 02 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 information please call Earl 086 194 63 … Continued
This is Thailand
1. Help! My apartment is full of tiny ants. How can I get rid of them? Aung (Intern): This is a pretty common problem in Thailand, and some say it cannot be avoided. It’s important to keep your apartment clean, but sometimes this isn’t enough. You can buy insecticide sprays at most stores but you have to be careful because they contain poisons that can get in your food and pose a risk to you and y … Continued
The Life of Wine
Well, it’s that time again. Another year is nearly in the bag and it’s all flown by so quickly. Christmas is now upon us and it is also the end of another 12 issues of Citylife in which I have been lucky enough to be allowed to bang on to readers about stuff vaguely related to wine. This festive month I have therefore decided to put together a Christmas quiz to see if both of you were paying atten … Continued
Sing It Again, Frank
I have been thinking recently about how we meet, collide and come together in this crazy world. Those occasions when space and time conspire and you meet a stranger for the first time, visit a new place or find yourself in circumstances that change what happens next. No doubt, the most significant meeting for me was when Mrs. D entered my life; and proceeded to turn it upside down. Nothing has bee … Continued
And the Beat Moves On: The Death of the University and the Rise of Chiang Mai’s Independent Music Scene
There has been much debate over the years about Thai education. The general consensus is that it pretty much sucks. Rote learning, unqualified teachers, out of date syllabi, overcrowded class rooms…We have all griped about it. Here especially. Repeatedly. It is easy to complain, to point fingers, to shift and apportion blame. What’s hard is actually doing something about it. Taking charge, taking … Continued
Why Krabi?
It took me 12 years to get to Krabi, which is funny because it was one of the places I most wanted to visit when I first arrived in Thailand. Phuket – with its hordes of hungry sun burnt tourists searching for the remnants of postcard beauty amongst the traffic jams and ever-increasing development – is evidently what most people want. That’s understandable, but in my humble opinion, and after visi … Continued
Clusterf**ked: The International Disgrace of Cluster Bombs
During my tour of the COPE Visitor Centre in Vientiane, Laos, I met a young man named Phonsavath Sonilya, age 19. Phonsavath lost both his hands and his sight three years ago from the blast of a UXO, which stands for Unexploded Ordinances, a.k.a. cluster bombs left behind from the Vietnam War. He couldn’t see me but sensed I was there and, smiling, asked for my name. When I told him, he responded … Continued
Best and Worst of 2012
Best People: Elizabeth II, for her 60-year reign as Britain’s Monarch. South African Oscar Pistorius, for becoming the first amputee to compete at the Olympics. Also Malala Yousufzai (school student and education activist, 15 years old), Aung San Suu Kyi, Hillary Clinton, and Prince Harry, for being young, free and who he is. Best Decisions: America’s re-election of Barack Obama. The American E … 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 and priority will be given to letters under 200 words. Letters may be edited for clarity or conciseness. Name and contact details must be supplied. ——————————————————————————————— … Continued
Keeping Lanna Culture Alive: An Interview with Ajarn Mai
As Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Arts and Culture (CPAC), Assistant Professor and full-time lecturer of the Faculty of Thai Arts at Chiang Mai University (CMU), Vilawan Svetsreni-better known as ‘Ajarn Mai’ – is a very busy woman. She has an iPad and an iPhone, several websites, multiple email addresses and a Facebook page. She knows the words to Gangnam Style. And yet, she is trying … Continued
Pai’s Growing Pains
An elegantly svelte lady, demurely dressed in a traditional sarong, Patcharee Arjhan, owner of Baantawan Pai Guesthouse, sat down to talk Pai to me in her wooden sala by the Pai River. Former president and current Planning and Projects Director of the Tourism Association of Pai, few people understand the delicate balance of Pai’s growth and development like she does. Having spent her career workin … Continued
Pai Sleep
A ubiquitous bamboo shack with obligatory hammock for 100 baht a night or a luxurious world class resort with all the bells and whistles for 17,000 baht a night? Decisions decisions… The good news is that for most of us whose tastes, bank accounts and needs are in varying degrees somewhere in between, we are spoilt for choice. Pai offers up a bewildering – and arguable – 10,000 ‘beds’ for rent … Continued
Life of Pai
Shhhhhh! We’ve got a secret. Or rather, we were told some during our recent trips to Pai. Getting in with the locals, we got the lowdown from them as to what their favourite things to do in Pai are. What secret ingredients have them living in this distant valley? • Sathien Manochat Designer of the new Oia Resort & Spa, this landscape, construction, interior and décor expert is originally from … Continued
The Road to Pai
It is a long and winding road, so pop your motion sickness pill as no one wants to share a car with you with your head stuck out of the window. But if you must, at least the views are spectacular. With 760+ bends in the road, however, you will be forgiven for going slightly green. You can do Chiang Mai to Pai in well under three hours with improved roads…but what’s the rush? The road trip itself i … Continued
Do Pai
…or not. Part of the charm of Pai is to simply be, without having to actually do much. Lie in your hammock all day and read a book, meander around town at your own pace, or simply sit in a café somewhere with a cup of coffee. But those with a more active bent will find plenty to fill your hours. Rent a bicycle, motorbike or car, grab the excellent Pai Explorer map and guide and head off. • Yunna … Continued
Your Say
• Sick of Seven Are 7-Elevens taking over? I wouldn’t mind but there seems to be one, or often more, on every street…if 7-Elevens continue to pop up all over the city then how do small Thai businesses plan to contend? It is another example of Westernisation in Thailand, and people will use the shops and pay out to the large American companies purely for convenience when they could be helping th … Continued
The Community
01 Animal Farm A spirited adaptation of George Orwell’s notorious satire Animal Farm, presented to you by the students of Lanna International School on 22nd – 23rd November at Lanna International School (7 p.m.). Watch as the tension on Manor Farm escalates in to an uproar of comradely spirit, as they oust the drunken tyrant farmer! Tickets: 200 baht for adults, 100 baht for child/student, (price … Continued
Chiang Mai on WWW
www.learn2speakthai.net www.learn2speakthai.net For those who want to learn to speak Thai, whatever the reason, Mia is a professional bilingual Thai teacher located in Chiang Mai. Mia gives Thai language lessons to people all over the world using Skype. After studying English in America and teaching Thai in the local community college, Mia turned her attention to teaching online. On offer are a ra … Continued