This month’s 25th anniversary issue has made some hungry stomachs in the offices of Citylife rumble, so we’ve taken the time to fill up on some delicious local comfort food.

Snacking is in our culture and here are three of the sweetest most delicious snack shops in our sugary city.

We have had some gorgeous covers over the years…crazy, strange, odd and downright weird. This month, we ask some members of our team to choose their favourite covers of all time and explain why.

Decisions decisions…one of the hardest, amongst so many, decisions a parent has to make is in choosing the right school for their child. Does the school have a good reputation? Is it academically rigorous? Are the students well rounded and socialised? Is the faculty and are the facilities up to par? Does it have excellent extracurricular activities? Are the children in a safe environment? Will they have a good future upon graduation?

I remember, with some clarity, the first time I came across a copy of Citylife magazine. It was soon after I arrived in Chiang Mai in a small café on the Ratwithi Road (now sadly no longer with us due to the owner’s somewhat misguided investment in a Mai Rim ‘adventure-sports monkey-farm’). But there it was, sitting on the table amongst a bunch of other glossies with the words Citylife Chiang Mai emblazoned across a photo of a beautiful girl, or a couple of sumo wrestlers, or some blokes on bikes, I can’t actually recall what, but I was hooked.

“Here in Thailand, we love new things,” Supamit Kitjapipat, owner and managing director of Siripanna Group told Citylife in his elegant office, walls lined with modern art, with windows looking out onto lush green foliage. “There is nothing wrong with that, but we also tend to not value the old, the traditional. Instead we tear them down and replace them. I have always thought that it was such a shame.”

For years, SF cinema has been marking themselves on the map as one of the largest cinema companies in Thailand, populating malls and other venues across the country. However, what some of us may not realise is that it is indeed SF themselves who often organise special film festivals – offering up a range of world cinema titles from Asia to Europe.

Last year, our Deputy Editor was lucky enough to go and experience a one day Pass Programme at The Pavana Chiang Mai Resort in October 2015, complete with detoxifying drinks, doctors’ visits, massages and even a colema! Since then, The Pavana Chiang Mai Resort has been developing and spreading its name as the place to go in Chiang Mai for serious detox cleanses — high on a mountain side, surrounded by nature, with cool breezes blowing away those cobwebs, leaving you to irradiate good vibes and wellbeing upon your return into the real world.

In 1968, proud parents, Borvorn and Oon Chutima, flew to the United States to drop their son, Jumpol off for college. Very few were so privileged in those days outside the great northern families of Chutima, Nimmanahaeminda, Kittibutr and Na Chiang Mai. The Chutimas were also closely related to the Nimmanahaemindas, all four families wealthy from property development, a rare foresight during a time when Chiang Mai was, at best, a backwater town far from the world’s eyes.

Fair warning, this editorial will be infused with sentimental nostalgia and a fair sprinkling of self-trumpeting. But you know what? 25 years! We are going to shamelessly pat and slap ourselves on the back for that. Like any good story, our founding editors’ first words in what was then called the Chiang Mai Newsletter were, “Once upon a time, there was a free sheet…” not the most original, nor the sexiest, of openings, but there you go.

Managing Director Kriangkri Maiprasert is a Chiang Mai man at heart. He has invested his own personality and community spirit into his unique business that is K-Home, a community based local house and condo construction company that specialises in unique construction projects based on the dreams and visions of their clients.

If you ask the managers of Jing Jai Market, they’ll be the first to agree with many locals when we say that one of the best things about Chiang Mai is our food and coffee culture. It is no surprise then that Jing Jai Market is taking steps to enter into this world of deliciousness with their own personal take on what it means to be a green, open air shopping market in the heart of the Lanna capital.

If you are a beer lover, then you will have been to Nimman’s favourite beer house, Beer Republic. Meet owner Patinya ‘Joon’ Srisuk and get a little glimpse as to how she came to own one of the most popular beer pubs in the city.

“It’s a New Season at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, in the beautiful Mae Rim Valley and we have lots of news,” declares Michael Branham, General Manager of the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai.

You can spot them all over Chiang Mai; a bright pink elephant sitting by the bank of the Ping River, a dizzying-patterned elephant standing guard outside a shop, a cute Akha elephant on its hind legs in your favourite restaurant. All of these elephants are products of an exciting social enterprise, Elephant Parade.

As we age things change, and not always for the better. Last month we introduced you to Dr. Danai Praditsuwan of DIAA Aesthetics Clinic, telling you about this age-challenged 49 year old doctor’s years as an orthopaedic surgeon before he became Chiang Mai’s premier doctors in aesthetics and anti-aging twelve years ago.

When Wawee Coffee first began its life as a small café in Mae Sa, the owner, Kraisit Foosuwan, with an agricultural background, was a coffee amateur at best. Since humble beginnings 16 years ago, Wawee Coffee has slowly expanded, and Kraisit has been gaining knowledge every step of the way, bringing the company into prime position as one of Thailand’s most well-known and respected coffee producers.

Founded in Germany almost a century ago in 1924, Teka Group manufactures and commercialises kitchen and bath products, ceramic glazes, industrial containers and professional kitchens. Teka’s founders were one of the first people to ever bring the newfangled, totally modern, stainless steel sinks into Germany. Surviving the poor wartime economies, Teka soon found itself growing and expanding across Europe with factories set up in a number of locations and seeing rapid growth. Soon domestic appliances joined the ever growing list of products that Teka supplies and by the end of the century, the then former president Dr. Klaus Graf decided to go international.

One day you may come across a group of artists with their noses deep in their sketch books and a coffee cup cooling at their side, on another you will hear giggling and raucous laughter echoing down the stairs from a private laughing yoga session. Most evenings you will see familiar faces enjoying a carafe of wine or a cool beer as they chat about the latest goings on. Sometimes the debate will be heated as members of a philosophers’ club continue their discussions after a weekly meeting, and if you are lucky you will come across the owner of Sangdee giving his all with a warbled rendition of an old Thai classic on karaoke night. It’s an eclectic venue. And the people even more so.

“Bottoms up!” frowns Rooj Changtrakul, who then giggles gleefully as I empty my glass of champagne, bubbles tickling my nose as the liquid dances down my throat. Rooj, is a bon vivant. A big hearted and extremely generous man who loves the good things in life. He is a collector of fine arts, priceless antiques and interesting friends, all three of which he surrounds himself with. He is also the owner of Rachamankha Hotel, a boutique hotel before they coined the word, and an elegant, intimate sanctuary in the heart of the old moated city.

“I was excited to return to Myanmar,” gushed Ratiros ‘Looknam’ Thanatit, a Chiang Mai woman who lived with her family in Yangon for three years before returning to Thailand recently. “So when my friend Pyone Myat Khaing, who we call by her nickname Celine, invited me to visit her hotel in the Shan State, it took about a second for me to say, YES!”

Eleven years ago when Le Crystal opened its doors, offering an elegant purpose-built river side classical French restaurant with impeccable service and an exquisite setting, some of us worried that Chiang Mai surely wasn’t ready for such a glamorous venue. At the time there were only a handful of five star restaurants in a city which seemed to enjoy wearing flip-flops to dinner at chilled outdoor venues, over anything else.

At a time when the world appears to be in a rush – where to? – with new trends one-upping each other on a daily basis, there is something to be said about knowing who you are and being comfortable in your own skin.

Education is undergoing major transformations due to rapid advances in education technology. One school in Chiang Mai is leading the pack by applying this methodology to grades 1-8. Current educational paradigms lack relevance to the modern technological society and rapidly changing workplace, resulting in students that are not prepared for the real world work force. Consequently, teachers, administrators, parents and students are seeking new ways to utilise technology to improve upon the educational experience and relevance to our increasingly technological world.

The man behind David’s Kitchen, funnily enough named David, is a familiar face in Chiang Mai, especially over the past few years. His eye-catching suits, his attentive service and his interesting stories are all part and parcel of the David’s Kitchen experience as we pass through the doors of one of Chiang Mai’s most popular restaurants. But what people may not know is the vibrant past of David Gordon – a man of eccentric ventures, ideas, careers and style. As a man with a varied professional past, David has some interesting stories to tell, so this month Citylife sat down with the city’s hottest restaurateur, to find out why David is who he is today – and why he still insists on wearing those lavender suits.

Chiang Mai International School (CMIS) has not always been known for its musical performances. We’ve always been recognized as a strong academic school with a long history of athletic prowess, dramatic performances and spectacular art displays. Only recently, however, the music program has really come into its own. The secondary school instrumental music program at CMIS got off to a strong start in 2010, under the leadership of Mr. Chuck Sahagian, when the CMIS Parent Teacher Group (PTG) purchased a variety of musical instruments. Since then, the school has continued to support the program by investing in improved facilities, new equipment, and greater opportunities for students.

For Chiang Mai, the Central Department Store is something quite special. First opening its doors in Chiang Mai an impressive 24 years ago in the now ageing local shopping mall, Central Kad Suan Kaew, it’s aimed to provide Chiang Mai and the north of Thailand with a range of products hot off the shelves from the capital.

The atrium of the 20,000 square metres Boonthavorn showroom is a lush green open-aired space centred around a lively dancing fountain. It was here that we met Wiwat Thayanuwat, CEO and founder of this colossal and wildly successful home supply business. A spry gentleman in his early seventies, a smiling Wiwat greeted us, offered us refreshments, posed for our photographer, told a staff member to change locations of his favourite Charlie Chaplin mascot to face shoppers, as well as organised the location for our upcoming interview.