Archives: March 2011

Shan State Earthquake Relief project

Author: BonTong 31 Mar 2011, Be the first to add a comment

The Best Friend Library, based in Chiang Mai is already up and running with a fundraising and relief project for victims of last week’s earthquake in Shan State. With the death toll almost certainly already over two hundred, the Burmese government seem to be doing nothing other than mount a cover up and block the activities of journalists and outside relief organisations.

According to the Best Friend’s web site, money raised will be provided to organizations that have direct access to the affected areas inside Shan State, and can help the people directly. it won’t be provided to the central government.

The Best Friend have already designed and produced a fund raising T-shirt with all proceeds going to earthquake relief.
Best Friend Charity Earthquake relief T shirts

Shirts priced at 280 Bt or $14 (USD) each, are available from The Best Friend Library on Nimanheminda Soi 13 from 4th April. See their website for other methods to order them.

Since many owners of Gay bars in Chiang Mai rely on Shan boys to stay in business, it would be great to see all of them get behind this campaign by buying these T shirts for their staff to wear and also by selling the T shirts in their bars.

Or you can donate to the Best Friend directly – see link on out title bar.

Metro Bar under new management

Author: admin 29 Mar 2011, Be the first to add a comment

Metro Bar, located downstairs from Adam’s Apple Club on Viangbua Rd in Chang Puek, is under new management and being run separately from the club upstairs.

The new boss is Ian Chenoweth who many will know as the former Marketing Director of the the newish gay magazine Out In Thailand. Ian is running Metro along with his Thai boyfriend Tada, who has also recently been organising the special promotions at Adam’s Apple Club such as their recent Black Velvet Party



According to Ian, “we have been very lucky to get a chance to take over this bar, which is only 2 years old and and is New York style and quite chic”. “My friend owns the building and was running this place as well as a nightclub upstairs and spent about 5mil Bt renovating 2 years ago”. He went on to add, “we are going to change it into a cafe as well and have it cater more for Thai’s especially uni students that live all around the area”.

Metro Bar is now open from 10 a.m. daily. We wish Ian and Tada well with their new enterprise. In our observations Adam’s Apple has been rather quiet lately, hopefully this new direction will help revitalise both businesses.

Two new blogs

Author: admin 29 Mar 2011, 1 Comment - Add Yours

Here’s a couple of blogs you might be interested in we’ve added to our links:
dancing with the devil in the city of angels

A new (about one month old) blog from a gay foreigner in Bangkok: Ramblings, rumblings and travel tales. Bangkok and beyond.
The beauty Hunter

Not new, but has been re-incarnated after getting blocked by Google – you can read about it on the Blog. This is Deejohn’s latest efforts and we’re glad to see him back. Not specifically Thai but plenty of good eye candy.

Comments So Far

  1. David says:
    March 31, 2011 at 7:03 am

    Thanks for giving us a mention. I have linked you up.
    Haha! i recognize ‘Note’ an old friend of Jerry and Art.

    David.

Update: Shan State Earthquake

Author: admin 27 Mar 2011, 2 Comments - Add Yours

Irrawaddy is now putting the estimated death toll from Thursday night’s earthquake in the south eastern Shan State at 150

According to this article in Irrawaddy The hospital in Tachilek, Shan State is, “already filled to capacity, the hospital has been forced to leave many patients out in the open.”

According to local officials, around 700 people have filled the hospital and its compound, many of them suffering from life-threatening injuries.

In Mae Sai, Burmese officials were not allowing Thai and other foreign doctors to enter the country. Journalists have also been banned.

Earth Quake Damage in the Shan State
Earth Quake Damage in Shan State (From Irrawaddy)

More pictures can be seen here at Shanland.org and Irrawaddy

Comments So Far

  1. Note says:
    March 29, 2011 at 6:50 pm

    The Irrawaddy is now reporting the Junta are covering up the death toll which maybe as high as 200.

  2. Assessment of Burma's earthquake slow to emerge | Natural Disasters says:
    March 31, 2011 at 12:07 am

    [...] Update: Shan State Earthquake | Chiang Mai Gay News [...]

Poy Sang Long Festival

Author: admin 25 Mar 2011, 1 Comment - Add Yours

If you’re visiting Chiang Mai this weekend the Go-Go bars are likely not the best place to go. Most of our friends who work in Chiang Mai’s commercial gay venues are Tai Yai refugees from the Shan State in South East Burma and today marks the start of a three day Tai festival of Poy Sang Long at which most of the bar hosts will be partying with their families late into the night!

Poy Sang Long
Poy Sang Long
Poy Sang Long
Poy Sang Long Festival

By tradition young Shan boys undergo a three day celebration following in the footsteps of Lord Buddha as little princes before being ordained as novice monks in the temple. The boys are dressed in magnificent multicoloured silk costumes, jewellery and make up then paraded around the temples and streets being carried on the shoulders of their father’s and relative’s.

Poy Sang Long Poy Sang Long
A little prince at Poy Sang Long

In Chiang Mai Poy Sang Long is held at the two main Tai Yai Wats: Wat Pao and Wat Ku Tao. During the festival there are many other parties and shows including traditional Shan music and dancing as well as Shan food traditional Shan clothes and merchandise too.

Wat Ku Tao
Wat Ku Tao

The festival is colourful and fun – well worth a visit!

Update: Some more photos on this Blog.

Comments So Far

  1. Note says:
    March 28, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    Frank has put some great photo’s taken yesterday on his blog asiancoop.com see his slideshow with many colourful shots of the young princes.

    Nice work Frank – we hope you get the Camera fixed soon. Note xx

Earthquake in Shan State

Author: admin 25 Mar 2011, 1 Comment - Add Yours

A strong Earthquake has hit the Eastern Shan State causing major damage and widespread deaths and injuries. The main tremor registers 6.7 on the Richter scale and was clearly felt in Chiang Mai along with a series of aftershocks.

Data from TMD website

Date Time Magnitude Depth
Mar 25, 2011 07:22 4.9 40
Mar 24, 2011 22:54 5.3 40
Mar 24, 2011 21:23 4.9 10
Mar 24, 2011 20:55 6.7 10

No reports of any damage or injuries in Chiang Mai but some damage has been sustained in Chiang Rai near the Burmese border with at least one death reported in Thailand.

Please spare a thought for our Tai friends from the Shan State.

Comments So Far

  1. Assessment of Burma's earthquake slow to emerge | Natural Disasters says:
    March 31, 2011 at 12:08 am

    [...] Earthquake in Shan State | Chiang Mai Gay News [...]

Note’s Birthday

Author: Note 23 Mar 2011, 1 Comment - Add Yours

It’s that time of year again. Yes, today is my birthday and don’t dare even think about asking how old I am!

To celebrate I went with a couple of the Bontong Boys to Doi Mae Salong in the very north of Thailand close to the border with Burma. Doi Mae Salong, also known as Santikhiri is a beautiful Chinese style village built along the crest of a mountain with fabulous views of the surrounding mountains.

The village was originally built by renegades from the KMT (Chinese: Kuo Min Tang) army after they fled from Burma following a period in exile there after the chinese civil war. The village was formerly a center of the Golden Triangle’s opium trade but more recently has become a major tea producing area and tourist attraction. The architecture is Chinese and most of the people living here are directly descended from the original KMT founders and still speak their Chinese dialect.

We took a few pictures:

Doi Mae Salong
Doi Mae Salong

Note at Doi Mae Salong Note at Doi Mae Salong

Note at Doi Mae Salong Note and Ice at Doi Mae Salong

We stayed overnight in a nice villa and ate some excellent local Chinese style food including black chicken soup, Yunnanese style tofu and baked wild mushrooms. Our rooms included a great balcony for sitting outside and enjoying the view whilst drinking beer!

Note at Doi Mae Salong
Our villa on the mountainside
Note and Ice at Doi Mae Salong
Cooling mountain water

Comments So Far

  1. Ex says:
    March 29, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    Why my sister she never leave the glass???;)

Hallelujah – It’s raining Men!

Author: BonTong 17 Mar 2011, Be the first to add a comment

Well, unfortunately not, but the current weather in Chiang Mai is just as unbelievable. For what is meant to be the start of the hot season, and one of the most miserable periods of the year, it’s current raining and 17 °C at midday!

The current rainy spell started with evening showers on Friday, and has culminated in almost non stop rain for the last three days! Yesterday’s temperatures reached a tepid 19 °C whilst last night’s minimum was a shivering °C. OK for those of you reading this from Northern climes it’s not THAT cold, but for Chiang Mai where the seasonal average is 34 °C Max and 20 °C Minimum; it’s cold.

The good news is the rain has completely halted the burning season with associated air pollution and the temperatures make a refreshing change! It will be interesting to see whether this means air pollution stays low, or whether there is a last minute burning frenzy once things dry out.

Either way, the temperate relief will be short lived. The sun is due to re-emerge tomorrow and temperatures forecast to steadily climb reaching 37 °C by Monday. Enjoy it whilst it lasts!

Songkran is coming

Author: admin 15 Mar 2011, Be the first to add a comment

It’s now only a month to Songkran in Chiang Mai and what is one of the busiest periods of the year for the travel and hospitality industry, with trains, planes and hotels often fully booked over the holiday period.

If you are thinking of a trip to Chiang Mai don’t leave it too late before booking. For gay friendly hotel accommodation try Club-one-seven in Chiangmai. Club one Seven is located in an old teak mansion on the banks of the Ping river just south of the city center giving you an authentic yet modern Thai experience in tranquil surroundings. They still have Superior and Deluxe rooms available from April 12 to 16, (For more information contact K. Ken 053-274317).

Club one Seven www.cluboneseven.net Club one Seven www.cluboneseven.net Club One Seven
Club One Seven – Chiang Mai
Club One Seven rooms
Club One Seven Rooms

For other alternatives check out the accommodation page of the Radchada Gay Guide which gives details of several other gay guest houses and hotels in Chiang Mai

Quiz Night at the Garden Bar

Author: admin 14 Mar 2011, Be the first to add a comment

It’s that time again. Wedensday 16th March is the date for the next quiz night at the Garden Bar at the Lotus hotel on Viangbua Road, Chang Puek.

Quiz Master Steve Yarnold’s categories this month include:

  • General knowledge
  • Current affairs
  • Oscars
  • literature
  • Disco music
  • Geography

    • Fun starts 8 p.m.

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    • Welcome to the Radchada Cafe's website about Gay Chiang Mai. Here you will find all the latest news about gay life in Chiang Mai and a full guide to all the latest venues including interactive maps.

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