City Buzz
Hidden in downtown Chiang Mai near the bustling Tha Pae Gate awaits a serene hideaway hotel -De Naga. If you’re not staying the night you can still take advantage of two great hotel assets; Kopi-o, a high-quality yet affordable gourmet bakery, and Naga Restaurant, serving luxurious Thai classics. Kopi-o offers deli-style sandwiches and tempting French fancies; breads, macaroons, scones and more. N … Continued
Special Scoop: 32 Coffee Hill & Resort
32 Coffee Hill & Resort As spectacular as the drive to Pai is, the winding mountain journey could do with a break or two, and 32 Coffee Hill (so named as it sits on kilometre 32 on the road to Pai) is the perfect pit stop. This charming resort, restaurant and coffee shop serves up its own locally grown coffee along with tasty baked goods while offering plenty of photo-ops for the shutter-happy … Continued
Special Scoop: Sneak Peek Pai…Baan Kung Kang de Pai and Madame Ju coffee
Sneak Peek Pai… Baan Kung Kang de Pai Baan Kung Kang de Pai is a massive resort located just outside Pai centre. Look out for the prairie-style wooden archway as you enter the resort, as well as the yellow windmills and the trim multi-coloured flower beds – Thai-style photo opportunity alert! The large grounds provide ample space to stretch around the landscaped gardens and vegetable patches, wh … Continued
Special Scoop: Baantawan Pai
Baantawan Pai’s Boutique Guesthouse Bursting with understated character, we are not going over the top here when we say that Baantawan really is a special Pai find. Baantawan combines tasteful and comfortable living with the natural beauty of Pai, and will make you feel as though you are relaxing in a rainforest. A well established boutique guesthouse, the resort’s wooden structures stand amidst a … 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
Visual Literacy
Documentary Arts Asia (DAA), based in Chiang Mai, is an organisation that strives to “advance visual literacy and support documentary artists in Asia”, by offering photo based galleries, grants for Asian short film makers and workshops for anyone interested in photography and documentaries in Asia. Ryan Libre, who founded DAA in 2008, told me, “images are worth more than words, and people are taug … 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
Eat your Pai…and Drink it too
• Om Garden Café For delicious andwholesome meals and shakes, this open-air oasis is a lovely place to linger.Dig into a crunchy bowl of khao soi salad for a unique and healthy twist on thenorthern Thai classic. 60/1 Wiang Tai (near Pai in Town Guesthouse) 082 451 5930 anony_hk@hotmail.com • Good Life: Herb and Health Restaurant Swings hanging from theceiling, wheatgrass growing on the window sil … Continued
CityNews Chiang Mai
CityNews, Chiang Mai’s first daily-updated English language online news site brought you the city’s biggest news events last month, as well as some hard-hitting feature stories that we hope you enjoyed. So, what was the big news last month? Well, we have a new governor, a Thanin Supasaen. Chiang Mai hosted large boxing events, motor racing shows, and will have its own jazz festival soon. The polic … Continued
Clients’s Spot
Neo Entertainment Gallery There’s nothing worse than great music being played through bad speakers. There’s nothing better than hearing your favourite tunes played crisp and clear. Luckily nowadays you don’t need to spend a fortune to get quality sound systems; so pop over to Neo Entertainment Gallery to test out some of their audio products for free. Citylife is sure you’ll appreciate the immen … 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
What’s Happening?
More events and photos, visit www.city-now.com ARTS & EXHIBITIONS 5th November A PASSION FOR WATERCOLOURS @ Sangdee Gallery 082 893 3379 Scenes from Southeast Asia showcased by Worawuth Srakaeo. 9th – 30th November THE 58TH NATIONAL EXHIBITION OF ART @ CMU Art Centre See many artistic showcases hosted by Chiang Mai University and Silpakorn University. 9th – 28th November THE 58TH NATIONAL EXH … 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
The Life of Wine
There are so many things that worry me about the word ‘buffet’. For one, I’ve always suspected it to be a word we English nicked from the French – and it is unmistakeably French – that the French never actually use. A bit like ‘négligée’ or ‘double entendre’ or ‘Tu parles trés bien français pour un anglais’. I have however done some research and been informed by a real live French person that this … 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: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com ………………………………………………………………………………………………. … Continued
Let Them Eat Cake
I’ve never been to Pai. A shame really because I’ve always fancied myself with a ponytail. The reputed hippy centre of northern Thailand sounds like the perfect place to sport strands of long, grey, hair down my back. As opposed to those appearing to grow out of my back. And front. Until a few years ago, my torso was smooth and bald. Now, to keep my ears and nose company, my body appears to have s … Continued
Editorial
Fear of flying, especially on those tiny ten-minutes-to-ascend, then level-for-three-minutes-for-a-snack-pack-of-peanuts, followed by the dizzying ten-minutes-to -wobble-back-to-terra-firma, planes to Pai; along with rude friends who refuse to get in a car with me unless I promise not to sing the whole way – which I shan’t – has meant that until now, I hadn’t set foot in Pai for seven years. Rampa … Continued
A Bite of Moon Pai
Pai’s outskirts are full of hidden gems, dotted around the quiet expanse of rolling green hills that surround the little town. One such gem is Moon Village, a small Japanese hippy settlement tucked away in a quiet corner of Pai’s lush countryside. Established in July 2002 by two dreadlocked Japanese wanderers, Toron and Keiji, Moon Village has become a self-sustaining community of permaculture, or … Continued