All posts filed under: THAILAND

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Chat with Li Ching – Artist & Illustrator from Singapore Who Ignited her Artistic Flame Later in Life at 42, Proving It’s Never Too Late to Follow Your Passion

Published by Pooja Ghose

It can be challenging to manage a hobby alongside our regular job. Lost in our hectic 9-5 lives, we often find ourselves struggling to make time for personal passions. Yet, there are those among us who skillfully create a new realm through their hobbies, offering respite from the urgency that surrounds us.  One such inspiring individual is Artist & Illustrator Li Ching from Singapore. We were absolutely mesmerized by her art so we approached her for an interview. As we started delving into her background, we were even more inspired by her story about how her life meandered into the dream life she had always wanted at 42!  Having graduated from the National University of Singapore, she spent a good amount of her career as an HR professional. Then she moved to Thailand to teach Geology and Chemistry to International students. It was during this period that Li Ching acquired a newfound love for teaching – and reconnected with the art world, eventually giving her the much-needed opportunity to dive fully into the world of …

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A Cafe for Serious Coffee Lovers | Graph Cafe in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Published by Thantip Upree

  To travelers who are familiar with the city of Chiang Mai in Thailand, many would agree that cafes are showing up in almost every corner of the city. Yes, there’s a vibrant coffee culture that is brewing within the heart of Thailand’s cultural capital – driven by the popularity of coffee+ leisure among the local youth and travelers alike.  It’s in the middle of this chaos, that ‘Graph Cafe’, tucked away in one of the old town’s streets, caught our attention. Meet the owners of  ‘Graph Cafe’- Kharuaporn Satraphai, 39 and his wife, Pae – Ajaree, 33. Thee gave up a lucrative job in Bangkok where he worked as an engineer to pursue his dream of owning his own cafe business. Despite no experience in the cafe business, the couple have managed to take their dreams to the next level with lots of passion, hard work and coffee – of course. They now own two outlets : Graph cafe and Graph Table Why did you name your cafe ‘Graph Cafe’? This is inspired by our journey …

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Finding Beauty in the Mundane – Captured on the Streets of Chiang Mai.

Published by Pooja Ghose

“I was wandering around the streets of my new neighborhood and this scene caught my eye from the road. I snuck through the front gate like a ninja and got as close as I could, behind him. I was in and out in seconds before he was alerted to my presence. This is a simple capture of a moment when he was engrossed in his daily ritual of cooking food.” ~Contributed by @beatthegrind     

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Feeling Nostalgic | School Kids in Thailand on their Last Day of School

Published by Pooja Ghose

  “I was invited by a high school student to click photots on her last day of school  (Yupparaj Wittayalai School in Chiang Mai, Thailand). The students exchange gifts, flowers and photo collages, and take lots of pictures! It was a noisy day with excitement and nostalgia in the air. Overall a beautiful day. Happy to have helped capture those precious moments with their school friends”  ~ Photographer Madan FiveMonkey “We are really excited to be graduating but also sad that we will no longer see each other everyday. Maybe this is our last photo together! :'( “ “Take a picture of the two of us – me holding this big teddy!” “Hey I need one photo with the guys too!” “I think my friend needs some help here – too many gifts!”

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Faces | Street Seller Selling Hipster Stuffs in the Streets of Thailand

Published by Pooja Ghose

“Spotted this man at the local ‘Night Market’ or ‘Pasar Malam’ in the streets of Greenway market at Hat Yai city, in southern Thailand. At first glance, he came across as a homeless man with ragged clothes; but when I went closer to take this photo, he actually turned out to be pretty cool, and spoke really well. I think he looks like Sinbad (the sailor) with his head scarf. More interestingly, he was selling some cool handmade stuffs  – clothes, bags and accessories made from organic materials. Me and my friends really loved his unique items. Sadly, we forgot to ask his name  – so we went back to the market the next day but we couldn’t find him anywhere. Hopefully we get to see him again at the night market.”  ~narrated by contributing photographer @lensakhaza_bwn 

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Baking Bread for the Soul | Meet the Lovely Duo Behind Flour Flour Bakery in Chiang Mai

Published by Roots & Leisure

When we got introduced to Dontree Siribunjongsak, 27 and his girlfriend Namfon Udomlertlak, 29 through a friend, we were immediately drawn to their story about their obsession with baking – and their luscious breads. Less than a year ago, they started a bakery called ‘Flour Flour’ after calling it quits from their boring jobs; and by the looks of it, their passion venture has definitely taken wings in the right direction. Let’s meet the lovely duo behind ‘Flour Flour’ bakery in Chiang Mai, Thailand, who has turned baking bread into an experience of creating art – and now a dream venture. Hi Dontree, we are absolutely in love with your handmade bread! What’s so special about ‘Flour Flour’? Flour Flour is a bakery that attempts to create homely handmade bake stuff using local ingredients. Our aim is to make artisan bread [bread that is hand-crafted and not mass produced] of superior quality. We use natural fermentation technique to make our breads.What we make depends a lot on our mood or rather, what we want to eat on a …

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Meet a young Entrepreneur from Thailand | Tanyapat

Published by Roots & Leisure

Meet Tanyapat Witayapreechasilp. You can call her TK 🙂 She is our first international guest and we are extremely excited to feature her on R&L! So say hi to this 27 year old passionate entrepreneur based out of Chiang Mai, Thailand.   Speaking to her, we could feel the connection that she shares with the 700 years old city Chiang Mai city even though her family is not originally from there. The city has hosted 20 different tribes over the centuries and has culminated into a hub of inspiration and creativity for not only people from Thailand but across the world. Drawing inspiration from the city, its culture and people TK now owns a business named “FIFTEEN” which is an online fashion brand and hopes to expand globally soon. “Hi! I live in one of the most charming city in Asia Pacific. I am in love with Chiang Mai. After I graduated in Creative Arts from Chulalongkorn university, I joined my family business [an architecture firm]. While at home, I used to travel to the mountain villages …