As I drove through the 700 Year Stadium and past the manned barrier into the Chiang MaiIrrigation Office, I was grimly amused at how the terrain appeared to become more parched, the watered gardens of the sports ground replaced by bare trees and brown leaves, struggling to survive on dusty Indian red soil. Entering the cool offices of Jansark Limpiti, Director of Chiang Mai Irrigation Office, I glanced out of his window at the nearly-empty reservoir with just a few tiny puddles left at its bottom.

Thirty percent of people in the North of Thailand live off less than one dollar a day. Most of these are farmers. Farmers with no formal education. Farmers who have followed farming traditions passed down by the generations, with any new information most often provided via sales pitches by people peddling fertilisers and seeds, with their own very biased agendas.Change is not something that is easily embraced,especially amongst farmers scattered across some very remote terrain. As the burning season begins in earnest, farmers ready their fields and the residents in Chiang Mai close their windows, adorn their masks and get down to another year of anti-smoke campaigns.

Set in the heart of the Night Bazaar, the Imperial Mae Ping sits majestically amongst the bustle on a vast property, attracting tourists and locals alike. The modern Lanna style hotel offers up a fantastic range of facilities, from full service accommodation to multiple dining venues. This month however, on March 11th, Imperial Mae Ping is playing host to something a lot more special.

Climate change. It has become the world’s most malignant mass murderer, constantly shifting from one form to another and often striking without warning. Climate change conversations have been ongoing for decades and numerous initiatives and solutions been proposed and implemented, some effective while others less so. This is where innovators like Sebastian-Justus Schmidt feels the need to step in, and make his own contribution to save the planet.

I found myself in early February joining the Citylife crew in driving down Hang Dong to Papa Rock to meet the legendary Ron Thal of Guns N’ Roses.

It was some time in the seventies. I had mumps. My parents had dragged me to the National Museum on the Superhighway for the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s gala dinner and all I remember was sitting on mats on the ground and being blown away by the most incredible show I had seen up until that point in my young life.

I’m in a rut. With my job and living in this vibrant city, it is utterly embarrassing to find myself firmly entrenched in a furrow. I came to this disconcerting realisation the other day when a friend mentioned taking some out-of-town visitors to Doi Suthep. “Oh, I’m so fed up with going up there, I let my visitors go by themselves,” I announced with a dramatic wave and a sigh. When my friend asked when was the last time I actually went there, well that’s when it all began to unravel.

Design Ideas by Phumiphat Wannakorn (Pae), owner of 053 Chemical Brothers Tattoo & Barber.

Hungry? We’ve got you. Here are some of the most gargantuan, humongous, colossal dishes of food you can find in our fair city.

There is a new trend in town. Seafood platters that you eat with your hands. Armed with only a bib and sometimes a pair of gloves, tuck into an oversized platter of all types of seafood or a pile of freshly fried spicy prawns.

Sweet cakes and puddings are easy to come by, but hard to perfect. This month we found three places that really show off the skills of their makers and bakers.

Here in Thailand, many restaurants serve or are known for only one dish, relying on one single recipe to pull in the crowds. Here are three we’ve found this month.