Grist For This Chiang Mai Mill - - Please Contribute Suggestions

[OldChinaHam]

If this were Sydney, then we would be having aboriginal poetry readings in town. Or if it were Vienna, then we might dine on sausage. In Manhattan it would be Woody, and in San Francisco or LA we could be levitating with TM. In Beijing it would be munching on duck and counting Ferrari driven by Princelings. And in Finland it would be searching for and bowing down to photos of Linus Torvalds.

But here in our fair city, one can only do the same thing, and get stuck in the same rut, for so long without becoming so sick of it. So I'm just wondering what in Chiang Mai might break the monotony?

Please keep in mind that we already know about going to bars, getting massaged, and drunk on our asses. There is nothing new nor not boring about these activities. I'm talking about really getting out there, taking a risk, maybe seeing a play like they do in Tokyo when they are bored. Yeah, Kabuki Theater, that's what I'm talking about.

Now everyone knows that this TV forum is brimming with absurdist humor and expressions of nonsense which I find always enjoyable. No one expects this type of behavior to stop anytime soon. But still, I am wondering if anyone here can pull themselves together long enough to make a few useful contributions between their snide remarks and off-color observations?

Thank you.

Please can we list below other more practical options if we absolutely must rule out Kabuki Theater in Chiang Mai? Any contribution will be up for consideration. The masks are on me.

[theblether]

We're needing a Grand Ole Opry type place where we can sit back and watch some genuinely talented musicians and singers.

I've seen some superb Western musicians, singer/ songwriters playing on the quiet In Thailand, we should give them a stage, and let's have the Thais join in and just celebrate music. The current bullying policy is just mental, Chiang Mai should be the live music capital of Thailand, if not Asia.

[Cobalt60]

Cricket. Its all in hand on another thread.

[OldChinaHam]

Yes, there are accomplished pianists here too that have played on the world stage. And you are right, if someone does not build it, then they will have nowhere to come.

Significant western cultural pursuits for everyone might even take the extra burden off the local psychiatric hospital that I pass on the way to the airport.

[hellodolly]

We're needing a Grand Ole Opry type place where we can sit back and watch some genuinely talented musicians and singers.

I've seen some superb Western musicians, singer/ songwriters playing on the quiet In Thailand, we should give them a stage, and let's have the Thais join in and just celebrate music. The current bullying policy is just mental, Chiang Mai should be the live music capital of Thailand, if not Asia.

How about we try to enjoy some of the Thai musicians I have heard there are some very good ones here in Chiang Mai.

[Beetlejuice]

We're needing a Grand Ole Opry type place where we can sit back and watch some genuinely talented musicians and singers.

I've seen some superb Western musicians, singer/ songwriters playing on the quiet In Thailand, we should give them a stage, and let's have the Thais join in and just celebrate music. The current bullying policy is just mental, Chiang Mai should be the live music capital of Thailand, if not Asia.

There are enough expats on the fiddle in Chiang Mai already, we don`t need anymore.

[hellodolly]

Not sure about his list of things to do that are done in other cities around the world.

It definatly is lacking I hope.

I am sure there is some thing else to do in LA and Frisco than TM. Also sure if you look for it you will find TM here.

Never been to New York so I don't know what a woody is. But I have seen scenes in movies and TVs that show some great hot dog carts.

We just have a different kind of food cart with far larger menu.

Now the real failure was the Beijing one

"In Beijing it would be munching on duck and counting Ferrari driven by Princelings"

My understanding of Beijing is you can't see any of that through the smog. They make Chiang Mai in March look like a clear day.

Now I believe their are many different attractions here that people can enjoy., The royal Botanical gardens are open all year round and are for ever beautiful . Try some of the Wats drop in to the monk chat at several of them. Compare the architecture from the different cultures.

In fact try to enjoy what we have before you try to bring more of the west in to Chiang Mai.

Dare to be obviously different. Hire a tuck tuck for the day to give you a tour of the whole city not the highlights go through all the Thai neighborhoods the Farong enclaves and have him take the top of the tuck tuck so you can enjoy the sights.

You don't have to go to Vienna to dine on sausage there are places around town that sell it.

So you can plainly see there is much to do here that you can do in other cities plus many more Thai things that you have not even tried to find. How many Thai art galleries have you found. Did you know that there is Panda Bears at the zoo did you consider the Night Safari.

I am to tired of writing what we have to offer here in Chiang Mai that I would not have the time for a woody what ever that is.

You have so much more here to experience before you settle down to eternal bliss just sitting in a cafe eating sausages. Are they polish or Italian?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I am wondering if anyone here can pull themselves together long enough to make a few useful contributions between their snide remarks and off-color observations?

Hhhhhngnnnnrbl.... okay I got it.

I still like exploring stuff. Be it natural places, historical places, just plain oddball places or meeting people. This includes hilltribe villages which seem to have all of that combined in a single spot: people, nature, and a different way of life. I'm not big on higher arts and culture, so that makes Chiang Mai a fairly good match; I couldn't tell you if Kabuki was a kind of theater, a type of squid sushi or a Hentai subgenre. But I appreciate 'culture' in the sense of people's social habits, language, food, attitudes and oddities.

When it comes to small communities like rural villages or hilltribe villages it helps if you have a reason for being there. Something related to education, charities or friends or family. The stuff you end up doing there, and the topics you end up dicussing will be very different from regular urban life in downtown Chiang Mai, and make for a great way to break any monotony. Everything of course gets 'boring' if you keep doing it long enough, so a good approach is to try and do radically different things, I don't think there is a magic place where you can go and get yourself 'un-bored'. It's about seeking new places, challenges, skills and experiences.

Most of us probably have some of that basic interest in new experiences, and a curious attitude to change and new things, or else we wouldn't be here. It may be that some of us just hide it very well.

[theblether]

Dimitri has never been so insulted Beetlejuice.

HD.......this wee city is ideally situated to be a performing arts capital, and if you asked any Thai musician I bet they would say they would love to play with and learn from the best of the rest of the World.

So my second idea is............

I would like to see an Edinburgh Festival / Edinburgh Fringe type event take place here in Chiang Mai. This city could easily cope with it.......and it would be a great boon to everyone.

[theblether]

Third idea.......

Chiang Mai should have a Glastonbury type of event.

[OldChinaHam]

Sometimes you write something and you just don't realize that the way it was written did not reflect what you intended to write.

I definitely did not mean to make light of psychiatric care facilities or the need for them. What I meant is that very often participating in cultural activities and the arts provides many benefits. We all realize that western art and music was not intended for the west alone. The passion today for great western music seems strongest now among the Asian youth in many countries. There is no reason why the youth of Chiang Mai, or anyone, should not enjoy exposure to great western music too just because they do not happen to reside in a different hemisphere.

Although, you might wish to steer clear of the Wagner.(No. Just joking again.)

So, my apologies for my remark about hospitals. (Not that I expect that anyone actually read it in the first place, of course.)

[hellodolly]

Third idea.......

Chiang Mai should have a Glastonbury type of event.

I don't think that would be a good idea or an Edinburgh Festival / Edinburgh Fringe type event.

We might get Scotchmen coming here. The next thing you know we would see them trying to carry telephone poles around and wondering where they can get baked sh-t.

Just won't do can't have that kind of behavior here. Then you would also see the Thai's lifting up the kilts to see what is under them. No just can't have that here in a civilized country.

[theblether]

Thailand is a civilized country??

that's it I'm going for a lie down.

Nah seriously they are missing a trick, you can't expect any CM event to quickly or ever get to World Class level but you can but try. Looking at last weeks figure of their being 40,000 tourist beds in the city there should be some work put in to the realistic peripheral weeks of the season, for example right now.

I'm no expert but I think high season is closing out now? The weather is still decent, not too much rain and the smog is clearing, some type of arts festival bringing in a few thousand visitors would be welcome now.

[orang37]

Look in a flower.

~o:37;

[eyecatcher]

I really don’t see why anyone here should find monotony, with so much to do, so many places to explore, people to meet; and restaurants; do you find yourself going to the same 20 places in rotation. I look forward to next month and next year to see what avenues or new experiences I can try.

But for those of you who think they may have seen their “get up and go” gone already I list below some interesting boredom relievers and hope they inspire you to go and do something here that you haven’t done before.

Poke your eyes for interesting light show….See a variety of blobs, stars and flashes just as your girlfriend does all the time. Try to make out things-is your subconscience trying to send you a message? Can you control what you see by pressing different areas with different forces? Then try with needles.

See how long you can hold your breath …. Not that much fun, but it sure passes the time. Play with a friend you don’t particularly like, or try to beat your own personal best. Some tips: hyperventilate before hand, and stay as still as possible. My personal best is 2:00 (exactly). Don’t pass out, the hospital bill may be expensive.

Try to not think about what’s going on in Loi Kroh right now….This is especially hard, because by trying too much, you remember what you were trying to avoid thinking of. If you try too little, you end up thinking about what you’re missing anyway.

Scratch yourself…..Go ahead, scratch yourself now. Even if nothing itches, go ahead. Doesn't that feel pretty good?

Hurt yourself …. What is pain? Why is it unpleasant? There's nothing physical about it - it's all in your mind or wallet. Plus, after pinching yourself for a while, boredom will seem nice next to being in pain.

Try to swallow your tongue….. There's not much to say about this one. It is possible..unfortunately

Get yourself as nauseated as possible….. Best achieved by looking straight up and spinning around or hitting a superstore and asking staff for advice. Try to be so dizzy you can't even stand up.

See what's in your neighbour's trash…..You can learn a lot about people by what they throw out. You might uncover some dark secret about them. Plus, they might be throwing out something with value that still works, like a VCR.

Watch Thai TV, and pretend to translate everything said in an Italian accent….. Just love this one; so entertaining. Fun to pretend the people on the screen are actually talking that way.

Make a prank phone call….. Very entertaining when the recipient speaks no English; but requires discipline. Remember - vulgarities don't make a call funny, but getting the other person to believe a ridiculous story will. Call McDonalds or Burger King whilst in there and, try to make a reservation.

Pretend all humans will die except for people in room with you…..What would you do if this really happened? Would the group stay together, or would there be factions? Who would join what group? Remember, there would only be power for a few days before the plants ran out of fuel or broke. Now you can appreciate the bicycle more than before..

Step off a curb with eyes shut, imagine it's a cliff…..To get any benefit out of this one, you have to have a good imagination. Don't step off immediately, build up to the jump. Study the ravine below. Feel the winds at that altitude. Step off and...Arghhhhh!!! Alternatively try to cross the road normally; potentially will be the same result.

Burn things with a magnifying glass….. Ants are always fun to use for this, but burning the face of someone you don't like, under some circumstances, can be just as entertaining. Try using your glasses tomorrow.

Have a water drinking contest….and like Songran,.while the competition is fun, you probably won't feel too good afterward. To give your event an old Western theme, slam the buckets upside down on the tables after you have emptied them.

Stare at the back of someone's head until they turn around…..This works on the "I have the feeling I'm being watched" principle. Conduct an experiment-does this really work?

Have a "Who is less competitive" competition….. Trying to win at this will make you lose. Trying to lose makes you win which makes you lose. Not trying at all makes you lose which makes you win which makes you lose.

Pick up a dog so it can see things from your point of view…..Think about it: your dog has only seen the house from a viewpoint from 6" to 2' high . It's never seen the tops of counters, what you keep on your desk, the tops of shelves, etc. Try looking at things from its point of view, too….now that’s great when there are lovely girls around.

There is just so much to do even when bored….even writing so much bull$hit as I just did!

[OldChinaHam]

Very sorry, but good effort.

I am afraid the above is still just this side of flippant.

[FolkGuitar]

My wife an I were talking about this very thing last week. We realized that even though we lived in Chiang Mai for almost 10 years, we really didn't 'know' Chiang Mai. We only knew the few areas we regularly walked/shopped/ate, etc. Because we usually drove, we just passed through entire neighborhoods without the slightest idea of what was really there. Street after street of shophouses selling things that we really never thought about because we just didn't happen to 'need' them. Think about how many people post here asking 'where can I buy XYZ?' Or 'who sells ABC?' You know where, because the shop just 'happens' to along a route that you usually travel, but they don't. We usually have 'set routes of travel' through town, never moving over even a street or two (usually for good reasons... traffic, one-way, etc.) so we simply don't really 'know' Chiang Mai. We only know small, isolated parts of it that fit into our normal lifestyles. We quickly discovered what we needed to make our lives comfortable, and stopped looking around for anything else. We met some people with similar interests and stopped looking to meet more.

If you're bored, and looking for something new, try walking down a street you've only driven on, and look in the shops. Try going at 10am instead of 4pm. Take a selor across town and walk back. The exercise might even do some good. Try some Tai Chi in the park at 6am. That might involve not getting plastered the night before, but that too might do some good. Or not.

[Joop50]

It has nothing to do with being bored, enough to do and see but I do miss classical music and theatrical performance. Eyecatcher could be a great stand-up comedian.

[hellodolly]

Dimitri has never been so insulted Beetlejuice.

HD.......this wee city is ideally situated to be a performing arts capital, and if you asked any Thai musician I bet they would say they would love to play with and learn from the best of the rest of the World.

So my second idea is............

I would like to see an Edinburgh Festival / Edinburgh Fringe type event take place here in Chiang Mai. This city could easily cope with it.......and it would be a great boon to everyone.

How are you going to get the best from the rest of the world to come to Chiang Mai?

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun EyeCatcher,

You mouthed a most enjoyable saidfull, there, thanks ! I can't help agreeing (because he's threatened me if I don't) with Khun FiftyKisses, aka Joop50, that you could be a great stand-up comedian, but I'd take that one step -up or -down further, and assert you could be equally great prone, sprawled, seated, standed-head, limbo, or askew.

My only suggestions for your "Lonely Planet Guide to Ennui's" Chiang Mai chapter would be:

1. Set out to find monotony: do not stop until you do.

2. Look in a flower.

~o:37;