What’s Happening?

ARTS & EXHIBITIONS Now – 9th December THE TRAVELLING SOUL: IN SEARCH OF NORTHERN THAI SPIRIT @ Tamarind Village info@tamarindvillage.com This photo exhibition presents 53 stunning photos of Northern Thailand by local artist Chamni Thipmanee. 10th – 11th December MUET @ 137 Pillars House www.18monkeysdancetheatre.com Choreography by Jitti Chompee. Production by 18monkeysdancetheatre. Tickets co … Continued

City Buzz

This brand new vegetarian restaurant and health food shop is bright, colourful and cosy, with a sunny second floor terrace, rotating artwork on the walls, live plants on the tables, and free Wifi.  Warm and friendly owner and head chef Aye works his magic in an open kitchen, so that he can interact with customers and show off the cleanliness of his workspace. Aye raises his own chickens for eggs a … Continued

City Talk

“One year, when I was just a little guy, my older sisterconceived an elaborate plot for my Christmas present. She wrapped a big box andcut holes ‘for air’ all over it, and pretended to feed the thing periodically.The anticipation and curiosity killed me for the week or two before we finallyopened presents on Christmas morn’. I would sit next to the tree just watchingthe box, hoping to see or hear … Continued

Clients’s Spot

For parents seeking the best education for their children, Chiang Mai’s Lanna International School Thailand (LIST) is an excellent choice. The high quality British curriculum caters to students from kindergarten through high school and provides students with a truly international experience that opens doors to universities around the world. In fact, LIST’s student population represents 24 differen … 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. Last month perhaps the biggest story that grabbed everyone’s attention was the horrific murder of a Masters Degree student at Payap University. The culprit was found quickly but the story won’t eas … Continued

Music Box

Brian Eno – Lux Ambient music pioneer and reigning master Brian Eno returns to solo work after a string of collaborative efforts. Consisting of four tracks around 19 minutes each, Lux brings to mind earlier works like Discreet Music and The Plateau of Light. This album takes the listener on a dreamlike journey through colours and textures, rather than tangible places, and stays interesting by taki … 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

Editorial

What’s up with our puritanical-pushing politicians? As cute and young as he may be, our Lord Mayor Tassanai Buranupakorn seems to be as much of a zeitgeist as the tea baggers. He has been on a constant crusade against alcohol since he stepped into office; the latest was lobbying for a ‘dry’ Loy Krathong, not quite as amusing as his attempt to get us to have – oh the irony! – a ‘dry’ Songkran. In f … Continued

Design Ideas

Rattapong Angkasith, Arch.D. Assistant Dean for Students and Alumni, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University My name is Rattapong Angkasith. I was born in Chiang Mai, grew up in Chiang Mai and studied in Chiang Mai.  After I graduated, I received a great opportunity to study abroad where I worked and earned experience. Currently I am a lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai Universit … 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

Holiday Events Listing

@ Centara Duangtawan Hotel 053 905 000 ext.  3227 Christmas Eve & Christmas Day: Indulge yourself with a candlelit international gala buffet featuring a stunning selection of exciting multi-national cuisines. New Year’s Eve: Rock out at the ‘Rock Night’ party, featuring live music and an international buffet with a wide array of sumptuous dishes. 6.30 p.m. – 1 a.m. @ dusitD2 chiang mai 053 99 … 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

U-DAY: A Celebration of the Human Nation

The Apocalypse is coming! Right? As you read this, the higher-powers-that-be are conspiring to end it all this December. The Mayan long count calendar will stop clicking along its ancient stone divets, signifying the end of the last b’ak’tun and of time itself and The Four Horsemen will ride across the Kingdom of God and warn us against the divine Last Judgment (hopefully with sufficiently advance … Continued

A Thai River Runs Through It: Adam Trina’s Fly Fishing Empire

Anyone who has seen the classic film ‘A River Runs Through It’ knows that fly-fishing is more than just a hobby – it’s a way of life. Here in Chiang Mai, we have a real world example of the all-encompassing nature of fly fishing in an American expat named Adam Trina.  A lifelong lover of the sport, Trina worked as a guide in Montana for eight years and tyed flies in the winters to pay for college … Continued

Festival Express

Click above to enlarge 3rd December We Love HM the King Parade @ Royal Park Rachapruek This special parade features the national anthem, messages and entertainment starting at 5 p.m. Free admission. Now – 4th December Padzo – Food and Entertainment Festival @ Prasert Land (Kad Cherng Doi) Don’t miss the new creative food and entertainment festival including food street live, adventure live, indie … Continued

End of the World Party

21stDecember 2012. According to the Mayans, the astronomers, and the good people atDoomsdayPreppers.com, our world as we know it will be coming to an end, so whynot go out in style? Here at Citylife we’ve compiled a few partyessentials for you, including an End of the World playlist, cocktail and horsd’oeuvres recipes, drinking games, and décor tips. So get yourself to thenearest bunker, call in t … 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

Travel Writing Course Launched in Chiang Mai

We all love travelling right? What if you could earn money writing about your travels? A Chiang Mai language school now has the answer, with their recently launched Virtual Travel Writing Course. This month, UniTEFL will begin running three-day courses every two weeks, aimed at introducing travellers to the art of writing features, guidebooks and online content. The course covers twelve modules ov … 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