Special Scoop: Fujian
Dhara Dhevi’s Fujian restaurant has long been a stalwart of fine Chinese cuisine here in Chiang Mai, serving up scrumptious Cantonese dishes in a sumptuous 19th century Sino-Portuguese style setting. Walk through the charming Kad Dhara Shopping Village where wooden shop fronts line cobbled walkways leading to this stylish and welcoming restaurant. Impeccable table settings and refreshingly aromati … Continued
CityGuide: Chang Klan
Why did you choose this neighbourhood? It is near the Ping River, I like the old fashioned wooden houses by the river, the lovely black Iron Bridge, and there are always activities here to keep anyone from being bored. What do you like least about it? I think that there are too many cocktail lounges, massage parlours and karaoke bars. Who lives here? Mainly tourists and business owners. Best eve … Continued
What’s Happening?
ARTS AND EXHIBITIONS Inside Asia Now – 9th February @ 3rd Floor, Central Plaza Chiang Mai Airport 053 999 199 ext. 1308 Chiang Mai Photographic Group will host a photography exhibition from now until 9th February, featuring more than 50 photos taken in many areas in Asia to show its culture and people’s way of life. Birds & Habitats Exhibition Now – 28th February @ Chiang Mai City Art and Cu … Continued
City Buzz
Word of warning: the Buddhist holiday Makha Bucha Day just so happens to coincide with Valentine’s Day this year, meaning the selling of alcohol is technically illegal on February 14th. So, if your evening of love requires a dose of, ahem, liquid romance, you might want to consider celebrating the day before or after. Regardless, we’ve got plenty of romantic bistros, charming spas and stylish salo … Continued
Your Say
Festival of Errors Central Festival: at least they know how to take complaints! And that’s the only plus point I can see from our first – and last – visit this afternoon. Once you drive in along the (poorly signposted) route and actually get under the building, your problems begin. We did two laps of a totally full ground floor car park, looking in vain for signage to an upper level or any indica … Continued
Undercover Brothers
As an undercover policeman, Police Lieutenant Colonel Apichart Hattasin rarely wears a uniform. His style is casual and his manner approachable, more like that of a friendly local bartender than a cop, and not at all what I expected for the head of the Transnational Crime and Child and Woman Protection Unit of the Royal Thai Police Region 5. When I meet him at the soccer field, he’s wearing a bagg … Continued
This is Thailand
For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, subculture, dating, or generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts ready to respond to your enquiries. Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com ————————————————————————————————————– Where c … Continued
Music Box
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Give the People What They Want Besides having a sound unmistakable from 1960s–70s era Motown and Stax Records, what makes Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings the current standard bearers for classic soul revivalism is their ability to continually release exciting, original songs. It’s reassuring that after big-time recording and touring stints with Mark Ronson … Continued
Here Comes Hollywood
I’m sitting in the lobby of the Imperial Mae Ping with Chris Lowenstein, the producer for The Coup and executive director of Chiang Mai-based Living Films, a dedicated Thai-Western film production company that has achieved passionate praise over the last 17 years. Living Films has worked on everything from Hollywood box-office hits like The Hangover Part II to TV’s megahit reality series Survivor: … Continued
Back on the Block
Tassanai Buranupakorn, 39, was reelected as mayor of Chiang Mai for another four year term on the 3rd November 2013, after resigning eight weeks prior to the end of his first term to mourn the death of his uncle, Member of Parliament Pakorn Buranupakorn. The Buranupakorn family are heavily involved at major levels of public office in Chiang Mai. Uncle Pakorn was mayor in the late 90s before becomi … Continued
Hua Hin
About ten years were shaved from my life navigating Bangkok’s intimidating toll ways as Mercs zapped past our rented Toyota at warped speed. The start of our grand Thelma and Louise style Bangkok to Phuket road trip (sans driving off a cliff) was looking a bit grim. Things got progressively worse (perhaps progress not being the best choice of words) as New Year’s traffic slowed us, along with the … Continued
Fighting Fit
Many expats and Thais in Chiang Mai are familiar with the Good Morning Chiang Mai café. Its distinctive trendy-cum-retro atmosphere provides a welcome escape from the ever-increasing hustle and bustle of the old city. Walk in the door and you’re always greeted with a smile and a friendly “Good morning!” as you order up an avocado omelette or a stack of gingerbread pancakes. But perhaps it is the … Continued
Love Bites
Yes, some of the best food to be found in Thailand is street-side and humble. Restaurants, stalls, shacks or trolleys serve up mouthwatering meals with no frills and often little atmosphere. But for many of us, a special occasion night of fine dining is something to look forward to. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, here are some of Citylife’s picks of the best fine dining experiences i … Continued
Behind the Mask
My heart weeps. My heart weeps because human ideals and traditions have been replaced with consumerism and greed. We live in a world where success is shown through appearance. Often someone’s success can be shown through their possessions, for example we often associate someone with a sports car as being successful and wealthy. Society has given rise to unhealthy spending habits. We have been enc … Continued
Clients’ Spot
Punna Oasis In the Lanna language, “punna” is a word that means town or community, and that is the core idea behind Punna Development. From the first location off Nimman, to two more in front and behind Chiang Mai University, all of Punna’s condominium complexes provide cosy yet cosmopolitan living in prime Chiang Mai locations. The husband and wife team behind the company has stuck to their origi … Continued
City Talk
Andrew Smith, 26Electrician, English My worst 14th of February was when I paid for my girlfriend and me to stay in a luxury hotel. We had champagne, chocolate, strawberries and roses… But she was not “in the mood.” I mean, seriously!?!? Anuar Valle, 23MMA Trainer, Mexican Last year I took my girlfriend to have dinner and then we went to the theatre. It wasn’t that special but my girlfriend was! … Continued
City7: V-Day Getaways
01 Sukantara Cascade Resort Layers of cascading waterfalls, fall-side spa for him and her in tandem, cosy nooks to canoodle in and private dining not near but ON the Taad Yao waterfall in Mae Rim. www.sukantara.com 02 Fern Paradise Snuggle up in your own private rice barn at this Sansai hideaway and make out discreetly amidst a rather impressive number of ferns. www.fernparadise.com 03 Khun … Continued
Editorial
Living in Nimmanhaemin, I see a lot of tourists, mostly Thai and many foreign, and these days especially, loads from China. It’s generally all good, business owners enjoy their shares of the pie and the road is a bustling – if bursting at the seams – hub of activity and commerce, great for those of us who enjoy going out and about. It’s adorable to watch tourists take pictures of each other in var … Continued
The Adventures of Tom
They are everywhere, especially at this dreaded time of year. Pithy little quotes, thoughts, sayings and messages telling me how to be happy, how to have a better life, how to make other people’s lives better, how to love more, and how to be loved more. Quotes like, “The world is a fine place and worth fighting for” (E. Hemingway), “Kiss me and you will see how important I am” (S. Plath), and “Som … Continued