The Chiang Mai Chronicle

A translation from Dai Yuen of one of the major versions of the Chronicle of Chiang Mai, a major city in northern Thailand, which was the capital of Lanna Thai, a former kingdom in northern Thailand.

Declan Power, the intrepid investigative reporter of the Chiang Mai Chronicle, receives an envelope stuffed with cash. It is sent by his longtime nemesis Martin Gay. The message is simple: Rescue me.Chiang Mai suddenly finds itself gripped with terror as a serial killer wreaks havoc in the seedy underbelly of the ancient city. This mirrors the mood of the nation as Thailand is embroiled in a political turmoil that is teetering on civil war. All the while, a Chiang Mai tycoon has set his sights on reviving the long dormant Lan Na Kingdom and placing a crown on his head.Power sniffs a story. The disappearance of his enemy, a mass murderer on the loose, and the political intrigue gripping the nation, are all wrapped in one package. Can Declan Power put the deadly clues together and solve the riddle?Follow Power as he treads through the erotic nooks and dark alleyways of the exotic city of Chiang Mai. The city comes alive as Power tracks down the psychotic killer who would bring Chiang Mai to its knees.

Chiang Mai (literally, “new city”) suffered badly in the 1997 Asian financial crisis as the Northern Thai real estate bubble collapsed along with the Thai baht, crushing dreams of a renaissance of Northern prosperity. Years later, the ruins of the excesses of the 1990s still stain the skyline. In Ghosts of the New City, Andrew Alan Johnson shows how the trauma of the crash, brought back vividly by the political crisis of 2006, haunts efforts to remake the city. For many Chiang Mai residents, new developments harbor the seeds of the crash, which manifest themselves in anxious stories of ghosts and criminals who conceal themselves behind the city’s progressive veneer. Hopes for rebirth and fears of decline have their roots in Thai conceptions of progress, which draw from Buddhist and animist ideas of power and sacrality. Cities, Johnson argues, were centers where the charismatic power of kings and animist spirits were grounded; these entities assured progress by imbuing the space with sacred power that would avert disaster. Johnson traces such magico-religious conceptions of potency and space from historical records through present-day popular religious practice and draws parallels between these and secular attempts at urban revitalization. Through a detailed ethnography of the contested ways in which academics, urban activists, spirit mediums, and architects seek to revitalize the flagging economy and infrastructure of Chiang Mai, Johnson finds that alongside the hope for progress there exists a discourse about urban ghosts, deadly construction sites, and the lurking anxiety of another possible crash, a discourse that calls into question history’s upward trajectory. In this way, Ghosts of the New City draws new connections between urban history and popular religion that have implications far beyond Southeast Asia.

Chronicles of Chiang Khaeng goes far beyond a mere annotated translation of four Lu chronicles. The polyglot co-authors, Grabowsky and Wichasin, take the annotations out of their meticulously researched footnotes of the translation proper and deftly integrate them into a history not only of a principality in northwestern Laos but a panorama of the jostlings for power among other chiang and their respective chao in the upper Mekong region. This geographic area outlines a cultural realm that shared Buddhist ethics and dhammic writing while also subscribing to the notion of hierarchy reinforced by demands for tribute, the display of regalia and pomp, and the brutal armed removal of local populations in incessant wars over human resources. Myth and history merge in these chronicles, which document sibling and spousal rivalries in networks of intermarriage and political alliances among the elite of the region. All of this was taking place at a time in history when the British and French arrived on the scene to engage China and newly emerging Siam in a mapping exercise that brought an end to centuries of regional rule by previously fairly autonomous city states. In this careful study, Chiang Khaeng emerges as a paradigm of a Southeast Asian tributary state with more than one overlord. Chronicles is a model of translation skill and historical acumen at its finest.

History of Northern Thailand.

Lan Na is the name of a conglomerate of Thai city-states that covered roughly the area of modern north Thailand between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Lan Na's influence reached far into the neighbouring regions, most under the leadership of the city-state of Chiang Mai. Beginning with the popular legends, this wide-ranging narrative takes us through prehistoric and protohistoric periods, through history, up to the present day. While the writing of Lan Na history is still in its infancy, this brief and highly readable volume is a welcome step towards developing a fuller history of Northern Thailand.

An English translation and a commentary on the chronicle of Queen Cama, an important but neglected female monarch who founded a dynasty in Northern Thailand.

What happens in the ancient and hidden world of Thailand's second city?Have you ever met a Blacking Man or seen a tree top spear fisherman or wondered why there is a huge, pointless and stagnant six mile canal running around the outer reaches of the south side of Chiang Mai? Far away from the Karaoke bars, dodgy massage parlours and the glitzy modern shopping malls there is a fascinating, but fast disappearing, world of ancient street trades, country markets, superstitions and dying occupations. This booklet is a little peep into that world. The hidden world of Chiang Mai."Definitely on par with Bill Bryson but with more of a personal touch." Alan, goodreads.com"I love his books. They are very funny, inspiring and interesting. Highly recommended to anyone." Valerie, amazon.co.uk"My wife and I have just finished reading your first book, and we both agreed that it is one of the best and most entertaining books we have ever had the pleasure of reading. The style was thoroughly refreshing, it's funny and at times deeply philosophical and thought provoking. Thank you very much." Craig, England"There is no depth to the book and provides little information that is of value about living in Thailand. He comes across as trying not to understand Thailand." Anon, amazon.comContact Alex at: www.thelifechangepeople.com