Pichai Chawla, 46, is the owner of the B2 hotel group, a successful chain of budget hotels, soon to number 23 branches throughout Thailand and beyond.

คูเมืองของเราตอนนี้ดูสวยงาม ล้อมรอบไปด้วยต้นไม้ที่แผ่กิ่งก้านสาขาในทุกช่วงฤดูร้อน เจ้าหน้าที่ตกแต่งสวนต่างปฏิบัติหน้าที่จัดแต่งและแต่งเติมแปลงดอกไม้รอบๆ คูเมือง เขตเมืองเก่ากำลังจะถูกบูรณะให้กลับมาดูดีขึ้นในไม่ช้า สิ่งเหล่านี้เป็นผลมากจากการบังคับใช้กฎระเบียบต่างๆ นั่นเอง ไม่ว่าจะการจัดระเบียบการควบคุมความสูง การออกแบบและแนวทางการใช้สีของอาคาร สิ่งเหล่านี้กำลังจะถูกปรับปรุงให้ดีขึ้น และเงินภาษีของประชาชนกำลังถูกใช้ไปกับการพัฒนาเชียงใหม่ในหลายๆ ด้าน

“No matter where I go, or what I do, I always want to come back here,” explains Waewdao Sirisook fondly, gesturing to the sunny, bustling streets of Chiang Mai that surround the coffee shop where we meet. Waewdao has been dancing for over 20 years, a passion that has jettisoned her around the globe, a skill that can be seen in the slightest of her movements, a connection to her body evident in the nonchalant but elegant wave of her hand. “The people here, no matter how I perform, no matter what kind of dance it is, come out and support me. I will always come back to show them what I’ve learned, no matter what.”

I begin this month with an apology. Once again, an eagle-eyed reader has spotted a glaring error in my scribblings. I thank that reader for taking time out of what I can only assume is a very busy life for pointing out that witches do not have claws, as I suggested in last month’s article, but hands – because they need opposable thumbs for gripping their broomsticks, apparently. I would like therefore to publicly apologise to that reader – and of course all witches. Am I an idiot or what?

In my relatively short time here in the Kingdom, Thai music is one thing that interests me greatly, yet it seems to be, for me at least, a very difficult genre to really sink my teeth into. The few stores at Kad Suan Gao that I’ve found that have LP’s have a limited selection and the records aren’t exactly cheap. But every now and then I’ll hear a dusty radio in a som tam restaurant with some catchy music and I can appreciate the musical heritage of this place. But these are deep waters.

Chocks away! We shook tentatively on the breeze in a small 12 seater Cessna 208B Grand Caravan as its tyres kissed the tarmac goodbye and we slowly climbed into the candy floss cloud filled sky. The flight was to be one of two in just 24-hours, after Citylife was invited to experience Mae Sot; a hidden gem on the border of Burma, with beautiful secrets, often missed by your local and international traveller alike.

Nipan Chawcharernpon, 26, Video Producer and Video Post-Production shows us some of his move favourite items.

On the surface Chiang Mai appears to be a wonderful place to retire. But as Sawang Kaewkantha, Executive Director of the Foundation for Older Person Development pointed out, there is another side to the coin. Beneath the sabai life, the tropical weather, and all the pleasantries that make Chiang Mai attractive to retirees are a number of issues that make the city a challenging place to live out the autumn of life.

We are inundated by advertising; and no, the irony is not lost on me. Whether by emails, in text messages, on Facebook, online, on television and radio, or in print, everywhere we look, we are told that we need to whiten our skin, blacken our hair, de-yellow our teeth. We’re urged to detox, retox and get botox. We’re seduced by images of luxury cars, penthouses, trips to Europe, if only we’re willing to put ourselves just that little further into debt. Temptations, temptations…

Dazzle and sparkle with some new jewellery or add some ornate decorations to your home from one of these three exquisite jewellers in the city.

Check out these three stores that are bound to serve you whatever you are looking for, no matter how wacky and weird it may be. Party accessories, fancy dress hire and a sea of second hand ‘stuff’ means nothing, however amazing, is beyond reality here in Chiang Mai.

Sink your teeth into some exciting new menus our city’s chefs are producing inspired by world cuisines ranging from Spanish tapas, Japanese curries to all American burgers.

Brainstorming? Conceptualising? Banging heads together? You need a place to work! This month we’ve found the seven best work spaces to buckle down and get serious with your team, or pull up your boot straps and hit the books. With plenty of brain food to go around and the focused, productive atmosphere you need, it’s time to get stuff done!

There I was, stuck in a gas station, zombies banging at the door and only a pile of garbage and a small knife to determine my fate. The atmosphere is tense and tentative. One false move and I’ll lose the last bag of medical supplies that I desperately need to get back to camp. I roll…I get bitten and I die. The medical supplies are lost; a harsh blow to our remaining zombie apocalypse survivors. I pass the dice to the right, bringing my disastrous turn to an end. I order a coffee, take a breather, and begin to hatch a new plan for my only surviving character, vowing to make up for my poor choices that left me dying in a pool of zombie blood.

Matters concerning gender and sexual orientation have not been easy for the Christian Church. The church is still divided on what’s fundamentally the right way to be, just as sections of the hoi polloi – after all this so-called cultural modernisation we’ve ostensibly embraced – still denounce or renounce the way some people just are. It’s a sin, say some denominations such as the Evangelical Covenant Church, concerning homosexuality; while the Roman Catholic Church has merely called being gay a ‘moral disorder’ that is part of the devil’s wicked scheme. And while some progressive measures have been taken in the name of LGBT rights and the church, such as an actual ‘Inclusive Church’ being formed; the acceptance of gay marriage (notably, recently in Ireland), or denominations forming their own branches of the church that are more in tune with human rights, it looks like in many good church-goers’ eyes you are destined for an afterlife in the eternal fire simply for loving or lusting after someone whom they say you shouldn’t.