18. We Get by with a Little Help from our Friends (Part II)

JUI JUIS

The Travelling Apples (see previous post) weren't the only bloggers to respond to our cri de coeur for help in finding Chiang Mai's best street art. We also heard from Lani Cox, who writes the witty, zany, and eponymous blog, Life, the Universe and Lani. If you'd like a good laugh while learning a lot about the ex-pat life, you owe it to yourself to check it out: lanivcox.wordpress.com

Lani was born in Hawaii to a Thai mother and Chinese father. She's lived in a zillion places, making her a real child of the universe. Or at least a child of planet earth - though it wouldn't surprise if she'd done a stint or two on a Jovian moon. For purposes of our tale, however, what you need to know is that she lived in Chiang Mai and was up on the local street-art scene. 

Life, is full of strange coincidences. One of the locations that Lani recommended was well-away from the centre of the city and mostly invisible from the street. But, as it turned out, it was also just around the corner from where we were taking an all-day Thai cooking course. After class, with our bellies full of springs rolls, Tom Yam Goong, glass noodles, garlic shrimp, fried bananas and a number of other Thai delicacies, we waddled over to the street art and started shooting.

Many of the murals were created as part of a 2013 campaign to promote literacy:



NHHS

 



YUREE KENSAKU (Bangkok)

 

(detail from previous picture)

 

SOPER (France)

 

MISS INK (FOR Crew, Bangkok)

 

 

 

 

As you can see, Thailand has a lot of talented street artists working its neighbourhoods. If only they could find the nerve to come out of the shadows and the alleys, and showcase their art on its streets.

 

Well, that's a wrap on our series of posts on Thailand. Next up, Cambodia.