Music Box
Tensnake – Glow “58 BPM,” the leadoff single for Tensnake’s long-player debut, sounds like a lost slow jam from Prince’s classic period, even using the same LM-1 drum machine. While the remainder of the album isn’t a full on tribute to His Purpleness, it is a delightfully funky dance album that throws in plenty of 80s and 90s R&B references, while employing just the right doses of contemporary … Continued
The Adventures of Tom
I’ve just returned from teaching a swarm of young Thai people how to say, “She sells seashells on the seashore.” I am not a teacher, but have been lucky enough to be invited to do a few English Day Camps where I make an attempt at helping young teenagers to pronounce the seemingly simple words we English speakers take for granted. Now, it is important to understand that it has been scientifically … Continued
City Buzz
Rustic and Blue Teashop With a pretty grassy lawn out front and an icy air-con oasis (all antique wood and calming colours) inside, this lovely little tea and snack shop is the perfect place to get your zen on during the hot summer months. Owner Meen makes all her hot and iced tea blends by hand, and there are dozens to choose from, including black tea from Sri Lanka, green rooibos from South Afri … Continued
City7: Where to Beat the Heat
01 Snow Dome at the Chiang Mai Zoo Wring out that sweaty towel and suit up in a complimentary parka to beat the heat in a big way with icy temps down to -7° Celsius in the Snow Dome, where you can zoom around on snow tubes and even have a snowball fight! www.chiangmaizoo.com 02 Camping at Doi Luang For a natural temperature dip, escape the busy city and head to Chiang Dao’s Wildlife Reserve to hi … Continued
Something Rustic, Something Blue
Down a rutted dirt road in the verdant mountains of Doi Saket sits a trio of rustic cabins, connected by a pretty green courtyard and a spacious lawn framed by a shallow stream. As the sun goes down, flickering candles are lit inside mason jars hung from the trees and the sounds of violin and guitar drift softly from the hut where two musicians play beside the swimming pool. We sip on Som-gritas ( … Continued
City Talk
Laura Gibbs, 26 Teacher, British “I have great memories of Songkran. I try not to celebrate in the same place so every year I take a holiday to a nearby country. After experiencing the fire hoses used in Myanmar and the talcum powder equivalent of Songkran in Cambodia I can definitely say Chiang Mai’s Songkran has been my favourite so far!!” Turn Argo, 18 Student, Thai “It’s sometimes scary, but m … Continued
CityGuide: Nong Hoi
Resident Expert: Josh Morris, 38 Occupation: Rock climber, caver and owner of Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures What are the defining characteristics of your neighbourhood? Nong Hoi is an old and traditional area of the city. It is where the ancient temple complex of Wiang Kum Kam is located and has many characteristics of a typical quaint traditional Thai neighbourhood. There is no shortage … Continued
Clients’ Spot
The FOX BBGun Get ready to go to battle at The FOX BBGun, Chiang Mai’s largest and oldest airsoft battlefield. Founded in 1999, the combat zone stretches for well over two acres on a patch of land on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, about three kilometres from the city centre. Though you’ll spend the majority of your time at The FOX BBGun waging playful warfare against friends and famil … Continued
Design Ideas
Patima Jitpakdee Project Manager of Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC) Chiang Mai A. Mobile from Nook Nook Nook nook means very fun in Thai and these toys (handmade by local hill tribe people) will make you feel as young and carefree as you did when you were a child. 133 Boonraksa Road, T. Tasala, www.nooknook.com 053 262 786 Price TBA B. Paper Panphum by Pubpiabriabroy Usi … Continued
Your Say
The Kindness of Neighbours In my late 70s and with limited mobility, suddenly being obliged to move out of my house near Nong Hoi, I panicked about finding another suitable place in Chiang Mai. A dear friend suggested that I manifest the perfect little house for me, so I visualised this cottage in Baan Bo Hin, and have been very happily settled in for over three years. But eventually, the owner … Continued
Traffic Troubles
People who live in or even visit Chiang Mai are well aware of the problems regarding traffic. Crossing the street can sometimes seem like a life or death decision and motorbiking across town a game of survival. Thai citizens might be able to keep a cool head in enraging situations, but it does not take away the fact that something has to be done about the current situation and all the dangers that … Continued
This is Thailand
It’s hot! Where can I find some good, non-artificial ice cream in Chiang Mai? Natacha (intern): You can find many ice cream shops in Chiang Mai, probably due to the hot temperatures. The most famous (and pricey) would be Swensen’s at Airport Plaza or Cold Stone Creamery at Central Festival or even H?agen Dazs in the Night Bazaar. But delicious and relatively healthy ice cream can be … Continued
Songkran: The Ultimate Guide
Chiang Mai is known around the world for being perhaps the greatest place to celebrate Buddhism’s wettest and wildest holiday, and there is plenty to do in the city and surrounding areas during Songkran. Here, we break it all down, just for you. Happy splashing! Songkran in the City Love it or hate it, this city of ours is the ultimate place to celebrate Songkran, if you have the stamina for a fiv … Continued
The Other Side of Paradise
The fish comes hissing to my table. Its freshly grilled scales sizzle against the aluminum foil it’s wrapped in. Steam curls from its eyes, its fins. Before piercing its skin with a spoon, the young woman who brought it to my table tells me in Thai that it came from the river behind her home, the same river from which comes all the fish she cooks in her small food stand with the bamboo shoot roof … Continued
Hazed and Confused
Pluming smoke obscures the path of the speeding van, which brakes into corners and swerves over potholes to make it back to Chiang Mai from Nong Khai in good time. The passengers are groaning behind me; one has already been sick while another has had an alarming outburst: “Slow down, man! You’re gonna kill us all!” But I’m preoccupied with the view, beyond the forested edge of the road. There’s no … Continued
Being Young and Gay in Chiang Mai
As I flick through the messages I’ve sent and received on the gay social apps Grindr, Jack’d and Scruff, it’s hard not to feel utterly hopeless at finding anything that resembles love or good sex in this city. The messages I’ve left unanswered, inquiring into my status as a bottom or a top or the size of my penis or if I like leather, pulse in my mind like small cyber ulcers. Where are all the qui … Continued
Editorial
As my tiny Air Bagan plane wobbled its way towards terra firma, bumping and grinding through the brown porridge that has become the visual for Chiang Mai’s air, I didn’t spare more than a few moments thinking of the horrors of the ambiance I was (hopefully) soon to breathe, because all I could concentrate on was making it to my own next swallowed gasp of breath. You see, I have a fear of flying. W … Continued
At Face Value
So, Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year for 2013 was selfie, beating out bitcoin, binge-watch, twerk, and the clear underdog, olinguito (which for the record is a small furry mammal from South America that will now never get its due day in the sun, because we’re all too obsessed with our own faces). #sorryolinguito. Defined as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with … Continued