City Vibes
Artist: Flying Lotus Album: Cosmogramma Rating: In 2008, Flying Lotus released his second album Los Angeles, which cemented his role as a true musical pioneer and has made Cosmogramma one of the most eagerly awaited albums of the year. Not one for the minimalists, Flying Lotus injects acres of artistry into a complex musical journey, where tracks subtlety converge and diverge and blend and fuse, e … Continued
The Dawn of the Dude
Certainly if there’s one thing that sets civilised man apart from his primitive ancestors, it’s furniture. Forget about the wheel and fire and birth control and all that – modern man’s room is always well-tied together with various home furnishings. Even the sloppiest crackhead has a chair, and most likely some sort of shelving. Otherwise the crack gets lost in the carpet! But why is furniture so … Continued
A Retiring Attitude
Good fences make good neighbours – Mending Wall, Robert Frost I wonder how many expats living in Thailand make like “Tim the Tool Man” from the popular US TV series of a while back, and talk to their neighbours over their walls or fences every day. Not many I’m afraid. I ask this because I have been hearing a lot lately about expats having troubles with their “bad neighbours”. You’ve heard the sto … Continued
Editorial
This month Citylife celebrates our 19th anniversary – hence the Milestone Issue. Though I am the first to admit that we have certainly had happier birthdays (in spite of my personal feelings about our ex prime minister, he did shower Chiang Mai with love during his time in office, and many businesses would be hard pressed to deny benefit from such largess…those giddy halcyon days), we have certa … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with any questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, sub-cultures, dating; generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of three experts who will respond to your enquiries. Email: james@chiangmaicitylife.com. 1. Do you know if there are any women’s football teams in Chiang Mai? Would it be possible to join one? James … Continued
Your Say
• No Place to Skate! I just wanted to say Thank You! Thank you for representing the X-treme people. It’s about time that they get some notice. I really believe that we (the CM youth) need a skate/bike park here in Chiang Mai. I can’t believe that the local government hasn’t noticed this. The second largest city in Thailand, but nowhere for these extreme warriors to play! The city of Chiang Mai nee … Continued
The Life of Wine
Hyams grew up in the Adelaide Hills, a well known wine growing area of South Australia. After eight years as a sommelier in some of the finest establishments in the country, he won the Australian Sommelier of the Year in 1990. He has been a wine importer, wholesaler and producer for 20 years and was a wine educator at the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School for three years. We are … Continued
The US Consulate General…60 Years On
The consulate is an important part of development in Chiang Mai, presently and in times past. Having opened on 10th Dec 1950, the history between Chiang Mai and the Consulate General has been a lengthy, and close, one. The consulate offers more than just visa applications to Thai citizens, it also provides emergency assistance to American citizens involved in situations concerning serious injury o … Continued
Community Services
Motivated volunteer teachers needed for the Children Animal Awareness Programme for 1-2 hours per week. You will be demonstrating compassion towards animals to school children as well as teaching how to care for pets. A love of animals (especially dogs!) is the best credential! If you are interested, visit www.carefordogs.org, and either contact Soraya Holbrook at 087 002 1792 or soraya@carefordog … Continued
“What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?”
The film “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” is set in the Middle East some two thousand years ago when much of it was under the rule of the Roman Empire. There is a scene where Brother Reg is trying to incite his gang of incompetent freedom fighters to rebel against the occupying Roman army. After a few minutes of debate, he utters the immortal line: “Alright! – but apart from the sanitation, medicine … Continued
A Gem of an Indigo Pearl
The 227 room Indigo Pearl hotel was retrofitted three years ago by the mighty architect and designer Bill Bensley (his previous properties featured in Citylife include Four Seasons Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Tented Camp Chiang Rai, Hotel de la Paix Siem Reap, among many others). Inspired by the property owner’s tin-mining past, the hotel is a tribute to both the island’s tin mining industry as we … Continued
Decade of Decadence
‘November 6th 1999 – somewhere in Sarth East Landan Find dead rat behind fridge in a house we’re demolishing from the inside out; told to remove carcass. All these Victorian houses are being modernised. How did I end up here? I suppose this week will buy me a month where I’m going. Find family photo album of deceased family: depressing. Some guy assures me I can remove asbestos without safety equi … Continued
Seeing Things with Joei
Reporters from a TV station and another magazine impatiently sit outside the offices of Apichatpong’s production company, Kick The Machine, in Bangkok. They’re all waiting to talk to the man who in May picked up the Cannes Film Festival’s most sought after prize, the Palme d’Or, for his film ‘Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives’. Catapulted from virtual obscurity, he’s recently become an A … Continued
No Foam for Food
The world through the lens is a curious thing: it can blur, distort; like an infant it has a one-dimensional view of the world; yet at times it can bring the obscured, the unnoticed, into sudden brilliant clarity. When film editor Sawit Prasertphan set out to make a documentary about the Sunday Walking Street, the last thing on his mind was starting an environmental campaign but the camera told a … Continued
Milestone, from the founder of Citylife
“Once upon a time…is how we began, but this is not folk-tale but real life, the beginning of what could be a long-term contribution to the multi-cultural life of this city.” So wrote the editor in the first edition of The Chiang Mai Newsletter and Advertiser in early 1992- a time when many of the present staff of Citylife, as the old Newsletter is today called, were still mewling in their nurserie … Continued
Major Roy Hudson: 50 Years in Chiang Mai
Major Roy Hudson, like his ancestors before him, and his children and grandchildren today, has always looked, and wandered, beyond the green shores of England. For 50 years now, Chiang Mai has been his home and many of us residents will have seen him either sitting on his favourite barstool at The Pub – where he has been a patron for over forty years – or, most likely, have read any one of his art … Continued
Lanna Chic
Fashion in Chiang Mai has evolved from a distinctive cultural heritage into modern city couture. This contemporary style owes its allure to an endowment of elegance from the artful textiles of the past. Most prominent in the 19th century, the Lanna textile industry was a thriving force that made a statement about the individuality of northern Thailand and its traditions. Today, fashion in Chiang M … Continued