Doi Suthep in Crisis
August 2006 You can see it from every vantage point in Chiang Mai’s Ping River basin, the sun sets somewhere beyond its ruffle of peaks to the west, it leaks dozens of waterfalls and streams which gurgle down to the thirsty valleys below and the people of Lanna look towards the glittering golden pagoda, which appears to be at its summit, as one of the most sacred sights in the … Continued
City Sport
[right][/right] There is judo practice at Chiang Mai University on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 8.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. All are welcome. Contact Nigel 081 926 4210 [right][/right] August Little Man Winner For more information contact www.theroyalleague.com PTIS International School (formerly Prem) and their Three Generation Golf Academy Six hundred of golf’s top young players head … Continued
Community Services
01 The Informal Northern Thai Group Tuesday 14th September: Hunting Northern Thailand’s Snakes on a Motorbike A talk and presentation by Sjon Hauser. For more information please call 053 117 319. 02 Care for Dogs – Dog of the Month – Penny “Hi, I’m Penny! I’m a real sweetheart!” This little lap dog is so pretty and adorable! She desperately needs some tender loving care but if nothing else, a litt … Continued
A Retiring Attitude
An expat friend came to me the other day telling me about a problem he had at an immigration check point. “Everything was in order”, he said. “I was polite and did nothing wrong. But the immigration officer wouldn’t give me my visa and ended up throwing my passport at me. Those people are just idiots.” Well, after questioning my friend a little further, I found that there was a little bit more to … Continued
City Vibes
Artist: The Chemical Brothers Album: Further Rating: It’s somewhat of a surprise that the Chemical Brothers are still churning out albums at the end of the decade. The ‘genre’ they were instrumental in creating; ‘Big Beat’ was a short-lived distraction, favoured by Freshers high on E-numbers and 50 pence double voddies. I was never convinced, but many were, and the band sold a feast-full of record … Continued
Chiang Mai on the WWW
http://www.ayatana-resort.com The Ayatana Resort is a contemporary Lanna-style resort situated in a small, shaded hamlet in the foothills of Doi Suthep. Surrounded by the area’s beautiful foliage, amidst the quiet soi and slow pace of life, Ayatana is the perfect sleep or anyone in need of luxury and convenience far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Their new website, that Citylife is p … Continued
Your Say
• Whistling Dixie I recently read in the Bangkok Post that the ‘QuietBangkokGroup’ (www.quietbangkok.org) had started a campaign titled ‘Whistle Free Zone.’ This was to make people aware of noise in Bangkok, especially whistles blown by security staff at hotels, condominiums and office blocks. This campaign has been so successful that management at many of these places has provided their guards wi … 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. Today I saw a creature in the garden, which is similar to what English people call a ‘wire worm’. That is, … Continued
Interview with The Lord Mayor Tassanai Buranupakorn
Citylife: What have you achieved since you took office in December last year? Tassanai: My three main policies are to improve quality of life, to rejuvenate as well as preserve Lanna culture, as well as to fix old issues which require attention. The municipal area of 40 square kilometres has 150,000 registered residents, though at any given time I suspect we have more than 300,000 in the city. We … Continued
The Life of a Modern Dog
They came down one by one: guitar, drums, vocals. Meandering through the lobby and plonking themselves down on the sofa opposite us, the ‘fathers of Thai indie/alternative rock’, aka, Modern Dog, in turns, revealed how life plays out as a Thai rock star. The band have sold more than two million copies of their five studio albums, and have had scores of number one singles, including three from thei … Continued
The Life of Wine
Dom Perignon (Circa 1638-1715) was the first of the Benedictine Order to experiment with cork as closure for bottles of sparkling wine (later to be known as Champagne). Before then hardwood stoppers were used to seal large open neck vases and casks as a crude method of wine preservation. For years now the wine industry has been debating over the ultimate closure for wine. The traditional closure, … Continued
Country 1 Punk 0
N N Nah (2 3); N N Nah (2 3); N N Nah, N N Nah, Na N Nah (2 3)… “Turn it down!” a voice shouted behind me. Not Mrs. D, whose musical taste ends at 1963, but from Daughter #2. A teenager. A young person. Surely she understands the importance of playing AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” with the volume turned up to 11? Could just be retribution for my incorrect naming of one of the recent teen sensations to … Continued
Editorial
If music be the food of love then my heart must be pretty anorexic. In spite of the belief that music is a universal language, I fear I haven’t even mastered its alphabet, let alone learnt how to speak or understand it. I emote better with Cervantes’ quote that he who sings scares away his woes, after all I have managed to empty out karaoke rooms with a few opening notes…though I doubt Cervantes … Continued
Phi Phi After the Storm
Many of my friends in Chiang Mai told me to be wary of visiting Phi Phi Island. It was over crowded, they said. Far too developed, they complained, the consensus was that it was not what it used to be. I can empathise; but as a first time visitor to South East Asia’s beaches and islands, all I saw was utter beauty. You may be spoilt for choices in Thailand, but when you come from cold Toronto, sit … Continued
Expat Power: coming to the aid of Chiang Mai’s elephants
Many readers may have heard of the 200 Club. A group of energetic retired expats got together a few years back to organise a slew of fun and interesting activities – Citylife Garden Fair, weekend getaways, raffles nights, dances and parties – to raise funds to support a handful of selected charities and causes. The latest cause for the 200 Club is to support the formation of a non-profit elephant … Continued
The Taste of Uncertainty: what’s hiding behind MSG
The ‘tom kha gai’ is irresistible, the ‘pad kapow moo’ has a real kick and the ‘khao soy’ is perfection – perhaps deceptively so. Almost instantly, a bland plate of rice, vegetables and leftover meat can become a culinary masterpiece with a little white pinch. That’s how monosodium glutamate is used to transform a meal, and countless cooks in Thailand have grown to depend on its culinary magic. Mo … Continued
Northgate
Success is a vital word for any entrepreneur, though in Chiang Mai it is a rare occurrence when a business, a new idea, manages to become the bubble that doesn’t get burst. Pubs, restaurants, bookshops, tailors, tinkers and toilet seat makers often go out of business as fast than they went into business, giving our city streets of brightly coloured shophouses with their neon signs and slogans, a k … Continued
The Music Scene
Thesis: The Music is Shit “Music, music, music… is SHIT!” shouts the Pre-Madchester band New Fast Automatic Daffodil’s lead singer on their second single from the, unsurprisingly, Music is Shit EP. It was 1989 and the dire UK music scene was thankfully on the cusp of an(other) enlightenment, having ejaculated itself from the fetid mire of all that tacky pop that now defines the deplorable decade … Continued