THE LOCKHEED L-1011 TriStar jet dry-docked at creative space ChangChui in Thonburi is in final preparations flights of culinary adventure – in a restaurant on board the aircraft stuffed with stuffed animals.

There’s already a fascinating place to eat on the grounds – Insects in the Backyard, specialising in edible creepy-crawlies.

But on Valentine’s Day, the restaurant part of the Na-Oh Museum and Restaurant takes wing on the jetliner, deriving its name from Noah of biblical ark fame.

The former passenger jet at ChangChui is ready to take adventurous passengers on an educational and culinary adventure.

The museum itself opens on Children’s Day, January 13, with a menagerie of 50 critters that have been given professional-quality taxidermy treatment. Among others, there are polar bears, an eland, a baboon and a wildcat, all collected by ChangChui founder Somchai Songwatana, the celebrated clothing designer of fashion label FlyNow.

The taxidermy on display in the Na-Oh Museum and Restaurant opening next month is only part of Somchai Songwatana’s collection.

Somchai – a committed non-conformist – wants to give the animals who “missed the boat” another chance on his ark – and another chance to “FlyNow”.

“This is museum-quality taxidermy,” says ChangChui general manager Chanokporn Thinphangnga. “The animals are certified legal and ‘ethical’ – which mean they died of natural causes.

“Somchai wanted to show the public the art that’s involved in preserving the bodies of these rarely seen animals alongside his collection of antique furniture and vintage decorative items.”

Come February 14, the 80-seat, by-reservation-only restaurant will begin offering set-course menus prepared by guest chefs taking turns in the kitchen, three months at a time.

It’s an odd concept – fine dining among stuffed animals – but Somchai sees it as an educational experience. The whole ChangChui project is his way of “doing something good for society before I die”.

The compound is a jumble of galleries, a bookstore and stationery shop, a cinema, bars and craft stores built mainly of rusty corrugated zinc, old wooden windows and doors – another Somchai collection that he cherishes for its historical value. Recycling is part of his “Nothing is useless” philosophy.

This jetliner has taken on all sorts of functions.

The 55-metre jet, formerly in the service of Thai Sky Airlines, was also about to be shredded for scrap. Somchai had it hauled in 20 segments from Don Mueang Airport and painstakingly reassembled on site.

The taxidermy museum is initially expected to draw 200 people a day, with 30 visitors at a time allowed in for half-hour tours from 4 to 8pm. Then the museum becomes part of the restaurant.

“Before boarding,” says Chanokporn, “visitors will assemble in our old-time theatre, Dujit Arai Kor Chang, to learn about the jet’s history and how it’s being given a new lease on life, and they’ll get a brief explanation about Noah’s Ark.”

Next it’s into an antique cage elevator, which carries them into the aircraft fuselage. As soon as the elevator door opens, they’ll see a glass cabinet containing a stuffed mature and juvenile polar bear.

In place of passenger seats on board, there are vintage Art Deco sofas and chairs under fancy chandeliers and amid framed prints of Noah’s adventure. Old steamer trunks serve as tables. Classical music plays.

Mind the polar bears at the entrance. 

Stuffed birds perch on a counter bar fashioned from perfume bottles (Somchai owns more than 30,000 of these bottles). More glass cabinets hold an eland and a baboon, preserved and quite life-like.

The cockpit is a private dining room with a vintage chesterfield. The tail has been fitted with a large window affording views of the grounds.

The baggage compartment is a 10-seat lounge with high-backed maroon sofas and a huge display cabinet of beasts escaping Noah’s flood – white lions, black bear, warthog, caribou, lesser kudu, impala, oryx, a mandrill, a big-eared caracal cat and more birds.

The luggage compartment is a 10-seat lounge.

Chanokporn says they’re keeping the restaurant’s debut menu a secret for now, but the first chef in the kitchen will be Thitiwat Tantragarn, the bug wrangler at Insects in the Backyard. The restaurant took its name from that of the long-banned gay-theme Thai film.

Insects in the Backyard has its own array of stuffed birds on display – and preserved bugs too – but they’re nowhere near as intriguing as the menu.

Seared scallops with bamboo caterpillars

Here you can have a seared scallop topped with pan-fried rot duan (bamboo caterpillar), ravioli stuffed with female malaeng da (giant water beetle), and risotto with fried tak kataen (grasshopper).

Thitiwat isn’t really saying anything new when he points out that insects as food are low in calories and rich in protein and nutrients. If more people ate bugs, he notes, the exploding population of humans wouldn’t have to worry so much about other food resources.

Green salad with crickets

His strategy to get more people to eat bugs is to present them as part of a fine-dining experience. “If you find the insects in your backyard disgusting or scary, our approach is to demonstrate ChangChui’s concept that nothing is useless.”

A sizeable portion of the Thai population eats insects routinely, of course, usually deep-fried and seasoned with soy sauce or in a spicy salad. Bangkok street hawkers can set you up with various edible bugs.

Nachos with mixed insects

Thitiwat consults with Associate Professor Yupa Hanboonsong, an entomologist at Khon Kaen University, about just how nutritious different bugs are and how they’re farmed. Attentive to hygiene, he uses only insects from farms certified by the Department of Livestock Develop- ment.

The bamboo caterpillar comes from Chiang Mai and costs more than Bt1,000 per kilogram, hefty compared to the Bt200-Bt300 price of ant eggs.

“This is the first time I’ve cooked insects as fine dining,” says Thitiwat. “They all have their own unique tastes, so I do a lot of testing to find the right combinations with other ingredients.”

He’s done all right with the green salad starter with balsamic dressing and crickets (maeng sading) and the watermelon salad with creme fraiche, chorizo sausage, bonito and those expensive bamboo caterpillars.

Seafood risotto with grasshoppers

“Pan-fried bamboo caterpillar tastes like squid and goes well with sour cream,” says the chef, who previously worked at D’Sen at the Dusit Thani and Sirocco at Lebua. “Cricket has a unique taste and a crispy texture, so it can substitute for bacon.”

Grilled sea bass arrives topped with mae peng (a large tree ant) and its eggs in beurre blanc.

Grilled sea bass topped with large tree ants and their eggs 

The bug in the dessert is silkworm – the meat of chrysalises in vanilla ice cream, topped with the worms’ dehydrated bodies.

“I’m testing duang sago next,” says Thitiwat, referring to the high-protein red palm weevil.

Vanilla ice cream with silkworm chrysalises

A FLY IN YOUR SOUP?

ChangChui is on Sirindhorn Road near the Bang Bamru Railway Station in Bangkok’s Bang Phlat district.

The Green Zone is open daily except Wednesday from 11am to 9pm and the Night Zone from 4 to 11. Call (081) 817 2888 or visit http://www.ChangChuiBangkok.com.

Insects in the Backyard is open the same days from 2pm to 11pm. Call (02) 035 7000 or visit http://www.InsectsInTheBackyard.com.

I had a copy of “Sheila Carfenders, Doctor Mask & President Akimbo” for two months before I started reading it. The author, Richard S Ehrlich, must have been wondering why it was taking me so long to get through a 151-page book. When I emailed him to say I’d finished it, he replied, “Wow, congratulations!”

I recognise cheeky sarcasm when I see it, but I’ll happily let that go. Because this is no elf of a story. What seems at first to be madcap comedy is in fact a psychological drama. And, as quick a read as “Sheila Carfenders” is, it’s got a staggering amount of depth to it.

This deceptively weighted novella is a distillation of “tons of notes, documents, transcribed interviews, tapes and fresh media” amassed over decades, much of it having to do with the psychology of the disturbed mind. Ehrlich originally trained in the workings of the brain and, while making his living instead as a foreign correspondent, it seems he’s been assessing us all these many years.

Much of the book is experimental in nature, the characters’ fluctuating levels of sanity giving rise to strange speech and concepts, and in this, Ehrlich was also attempting to replicate the “cut-up” compositional technique most famously championed by William S Burroughs (whom he greatly admires and once interviewed).

Richard S Ehrlich, an American journalist based in Thailand, earned an enduring place in the literary pantheon of Southeast Asia with the chubby 1992 non-fiction book, “‘Hello My Big Big Honey!’ Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews”.

Co-authored with Canadian Dave Walker, who died in still-unexplained circumstances in Cambodia in 2014, “Big Big Honey” was a pioneering behind-the-scenes study of the nightlife scene that’s deservedly enjoyed worldwide acclaim for its honesty as well as its poignancy.

Ehrlich has since contributed to other works, including “King Bhumibol Adulyadej, A Life’s Work”, but we’ve waited 25 years to see his name this prominently on the cover.

And, while “Sheila Carfenders” is presented at face as fiction, those “tons of interviews” with real people laid the foundation for the tale, and the almost Dadaist splicing of language makes the story “more real than real”.

“At the New Year’s Eve party, everybody is eating leeches on ice” is the nail-gun opening line. More disorienting craziness follows, and why not, because the party’s taking place in the “psycho ward” of a San Francisco hospital.

“Sheila Carfenders herself is often a verbatim collection of mentally ill women who I interviewed,” the author told me. Many of the quotes in the book were actually spoken by mentally unhinged individuals, politicians among them. “This is not wherever you’re from!” is a standout line worth remembering.

“I have a bad reaction to robots,” poor, deluded Sheila tells her shrink, Doctor Mask. “For years, I was a robot’s motel slave.”

The Mask, as the doc becomes known (or just Mask), realises he’s got a live one here, even though it said on her admission report, “Thinks she’s dead.” Mask has found 17 different personalities in Sheila’s mind, three of them “corpses”.

She’s ripe for his particularly “vicious form of psychiatric therapy”, which extends to beating patients with an electric cattle prod while they’re crushed in a straitjacket. Don’t flinch, though, because there is indeed much comedy in this tragedy.

Fortunately, the Mask has to make a quick exit from the US, sparing us gratuitous scenes of ghastly torture. Unfortunately, he’s taking Sheila along with him, to some decidedly backward Asian nation, where she’ll play a key role in his scheming to foment a coup.

Before anyone rushes to judgement, it isn’t Thailand – not really, anyway. Like the characters themselves, the country is a composite of multiple actual others. The president, Akimbo, is more like the blathering buffoons of Central America and some parts of Africa (and Washington, currently).

Akimbo is as insane as anyone else in the book, of course, first met sprawled across his palace banquet table in an ooze of leftovers. The soup has been “cat’s hearts, mice eyes and baked beans, plus eight tiny diamonds, the size of caviar”. It is the president’s monthly habit to dine on diamonds and have his teeth, tongue and lips painted gold.

On broadcasts to the nation, he claims astonishing superpowers, “though no one believes him”. He owns “the only mirror allowed in the entire country”, a gift from “Queen Lizardbest” (Elizabeth II, more correctly).

Adopting the slogan “You must love me!” he is in denial about just how much the suffering populace hates him – and his wife too. Mrs Akimbo is carried about on a silver platter, “a gelatinous amoeba in stretched pants, stilettos and a bullet-proof vest” who complains that the flies plaguing the palace assure her they have official permits to be there.

Mask has “meanwhile installed Sheila in the city’s red-light district, to ‘meet and greet’ officers of the regime and other influential people”. She spends the evenings “strangling herself with eels of turpentine, inhaling its sinister fumes and lacing liquid whip marks on her eyes”, yet at the same time, she is the plotter Mask’s eyes and ears.

The squalid Sunshine Club takes its name from a bar Ehrlich knew in Mombasa, but he admitted to me it’s a nod to “Thailand’s decadence”. “Oxlips, the bar tout,” he said, “includes some Bangkok quotes when he offers to provide ‘all girls air-conditioned’ and other cheap thrills.”

Despite a few rough edges typo-wise, the novella is highly imaginative and fascinating in its jaunty leaps, but of course, in stories of human dementia there is always a quiet and informative sadness. “We will see tomorrow become tomorrow in this book,” Sheila says at one point, and, at another, the Mask advises us, “Believe it or else.”

There is Chaplin at his zaniest, a current of sorrow just below the surface. There are flourishes of “The Mouse that Roared”, the 1955 Cold War satire. This is a story teetering between absurd hallucination and revelatory Zen koan. The tale can be topical (Russian meddling) and poetic. “Will you take me home tonight?” Sheila begs. “I know you will. You’ll take me home. And I’ll sit beside you. In your old drunken car.”

At the end, justice at least feels as though it’s been done. Ehrlich isn’t finished with us yet, though. He’s planning sequels in prose, has contacted Hollywood about possibilities for the big screen, and has already worked with universities in the US and Canada to produce an hour-long virtual-reality version of the story, brought to life via Ocular Rift.

Considering that “Sheila Carfenders” was an idea that popped into Ehrlich’s head when he noticed the seductively shapely front end of a passing vehicle outside his San Francisco window maybe four decades ago, this yarn has some heavy life to it yet, more real than reality.

Sheila Carfenders, Doctor Mask &

President Akimbo

By Richard S Ehrlich

Published privately, 2017

Available at Amazon.com, US$10 (Bt325)

The two companies have co-developed the highly-innovative clothing that perfectly harmonises style and technology, commencing with Heattech in 2003.

The Art and Science of LifeWear showcases how the two companies’ unconventional but highly complementary partnership has underpinned the advancement of Uniqlo LifeWear to become the world’s most responsive, relevant apparel for the human experience today. Experimental and revelatory in nature, the event is the first time the companies have come together outside of Japan to publicly spotlight the inner workings of the fabric technologies they co-develop to make the world a better place for millions of people globally – cooler, warmer, more comfortable.

Commenting on the event, Tadashi Yanai, president and chief executive of Uniqlo parent company, Fast Retailing, said: “Toray’s revolutionary technologies have been vital in Uniqlo’s quest to create LifeWear clothing, which makes everyday life better and more comfortable for people everywhere. I encourage people to attend this exhibition to see the innovations stemming from this partnership that have enabled us to deliver new value by combining unparalleled functionality and comfort with contemporary styling.”

“Our corporate philosophy is about contributing to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies, and products. As an integrated chemical company, we engage in research and development from long-term perspectives in the conviction that materials can change our lives. I hope the exhibition of Heattech and other technological fruits of joint development with Uniqlo will give attendees a solid understanding of why this partnership can keep delivering new value in the years ahead,” added Akihiro Nikkaku, President of Toray Industries.

A series of large-scale installations and live experiential displays allow visitors to become fully immersed in the fascinating science behind AIRism, Kando-pants and Dry-EX. Exhibits include a deconstruction of the Heattech technology to bring visitors down to a molecular-level perspective of the fabric and its special heat-retention properties, and a special experiment to discover the absolute minimum volume to which Uniqlo’s Ultra Light Down can be compressed.

Visitors to the Art and Science of LifeWear can also preview other advanced Toray technologies from the world’s most innovative fields – aircraft, racecars, rockets – with opportunities for a sneak peek into the future of clothing and how these might be expressed through Heattech.

For more information, visit www.Uniqlo.com and www.FastRetailing.com.

The Beoplay E8 comes tuned by acclaimed Bang & Olufsen sound engineers for a rich, full-bodied and precise sound. Each earpiece has a 5.7mm dynamic speaker, a small electromagnetic transducer, NFMI (Near Field Magnetic Induction) technology and a Bluetooth 4.2 chip with Digital Sound Processing that allows for dynamic sound tuning and sound without interruption. It also comes with Hi-Res Audio. It’s distributed by RTB Technology (www.RTBTechnology.com) for Bt13,000.

This speaker can swim

The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom is a tiny Bluetooth speaker with monster sound. Waterproof to an IP67 rating, it can be doused a metre deep for up to 30 minutes. It’s a mere 102 by 93.5mm and weighs 425 grams. Sensitivity is 86dB from two 40mm drivers. Get one in Stone (grey), Phantom (black), Fireball (red), Subzero (blue), Cashmere (pink) or Lilac for Bt3,490.

Fast on the focus

Sony’s RX10 Mark IV all-in-one compact camera features ultra-fast auto-focus of 0.3 second thanks to a 1.0-type Exmor RS CMOS image sensor with DRAM chip in 20.1-megapixel resolution. It uses 315 phase-detection AF points covering 65 per cent of the image area. With a 24600mm-equivalent Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens. It sells for Bt59,990.

For rich gamers only

Acer’s Predator GX21717060 is a powerful (and expensive) notebook computer for gamers. You get a 21-inch IPS curved screen with 2,560×1,080-pixel resolution, a seventh-generation Intel Core i77820HK processor running at 2.9GHz and an Nvidia GeForce GTX1080 sLI graphic adapter with 16GB of DDR5 memory. The main memory comprises 64GB of DDR4 RAM and you have 512 SSD and 1TB hard drives. The price tag is Bt349,900.

In the Mix with Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s Mi Mix2 phone packs a powerful octacore Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 6GB of memory and 64GB of storage. The 5.99-inch display boasts 1,080×2,160 pixels in an 18:9 display ratio. The 12MP rear camera has a Sony image sensor and fouraxis OIS. The front 5MP camera comes with 36 “smart beauty” profiles. It’s in stores for Bt17,990.

Israel Lozano stars opposite Nancy Yuen, Southeast Asia’s leading operatic diva. Also in the cast are Nadlada Thamtanakom, Falko Honisch and Damian Whiteley. Get tickets at https://goo.gl/Gaw2Hs.

Stars align for New Year’s Eve

BEC-Tero Show’s “Sawasdee Bangkok 2018” on New Year’s Eve from 7pm until midnight at Show DC’s Oasis Arena features the Palace, Pu Anchalee, Jeed Royal Sprites, Pink Panther, the Shadow, Too Direk, Auan Warunee, Tor Saksit and many more. Seats cost Bt1,000 to Bt2,000 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com, (02) 262 3456 and http://www.BECTero.com.

Countdown fun at The One

Another option for New Year’s Eve is the Neon party at the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel’s The One beer garden. There’ll be a live band and an EDM DJ, an array of food trucks and great draught beer, whiskies and cocktails. Admission is Bt1,000-net. Call (02) 125 5111.

Classics in aid of kids

The Sai Dek 1387 (Childline Thailand) Foundation is hosting a fundraising concert starring violin virtuoso Paloma So and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra in Mahidol University’s Prince Mahidol Hall on January 6. Seats cost Bt400 to Bt1,500 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456. Find out more at (02) 561 0981 and http://www.ChildlineThailand.org.

Arty doings in Palio

The Palio Art Festival New Year Countdown at Palio Khaoyai, continuing into January 2, has a street market, mimic David, Flamingo, craft workshops, live music and a Venetian parade. The Bt1,000 admission price also gets you a Dog Lover mug. Check out http://www.Facebook.com/welovepalio.

A new feature of the popular photo editing app from Meitu Inc, ArtBot allows you to turn your selfie shots into paintings like Picasso and Van Gogh.

The editing app has s become something of an instant hit, with MeTiu reporting that it’s now generating more than 6 billion photos per month globally.

Now, Meitu expands its expertise to Artificial Intelligence and has created its first ever AI painting robot – Andy, the ArtBot.

To use the function, you start by using the app to take your selfie shot. Do remember to align your face in the provided frame before pressing the shutter button.

Andy then reconstructs the photo, turning it into a painting within five seconds. Its segmentation technique is so humanised that it recognises humans in photos and is able take them out from the backgrounds behind them, and turn them a brand new paintings.

You can access your photos on your smartphone and turn them into paintings too.

The ArtBot function has several effects for you to try.

Meitu says Andy is continuing to learn and more painting styles will created.

To save the painting created by ArtBot, you first need to register for an account with Meitu by using your current Facebook or Google account. Then you can save and share your facial art painting with friends.

Apart from the ArtBot function, other features added to the photo app are Dollhouse, Dimensional Camera and Girl’s Photobooth features.

Each of these functions has several fun effects to apply to your photos. For example, the Dimensional Camera has Fairy Tale, Paper Frame and Frost that allow you to turn your photos into painting-like images in fun photo frames for sharing. As with ArtBot, these features let you take your selfies or you can access your photos on your smartphone’s gallery to apply the effects.

Meitu, Inc, which operates through Xiamen Meitu Networks Technology, commenced its current business in October 2008. Meitu has created a series of software and hardware products — including Meitu, Beauty-Cam, Meipai (a video and live streaming community app) and Meitu smartphones — which have been transforming the way users create and share beauty, precipitating the selfie phenomenon in China. Meitu’s portfolio of mobile apps had been activated on more than 1.1 billion unique devices as of 31 October 2016 and recorded approximately 456 million MAUs globally in October 2016.

The Meitu photoediting app and the ArtBot function is free to use.

Requirements

– Android or iOS smartphohe or tablet with front facing camera

– Facebook or Google account

– Internet connection

Sony’s WH1000X Mark 2 overear Bluetooth headphones reproduce impressive music quality for travellers thanks to effective noise cancelling and ambient sound technologies.

Light and foldable and shipped with a carrying case and an adapter for use on board planes, it comes with a button to switch between effective noise cancelling and ambient sound control. That means they’re safe for walking around in.

You can also control play by simply tapping and swiping on the right ear cup, which is really a smart design concept.

These are High-Resolution Audio headphones supporting frequency response from 4Hz to 40,000Hz when you use wired headphones with a provided audio cable.

As Bluetooth headphones, Hi-Res Audio sound is still possible, but with a slightly less resolution when the 1000XM2 is connected to a music player or phone that supports Sony’s LDAC 96kHz codec.

With the LDAC Bluetooth connection, the 1000XM2 supports frequency response of 20Hz to 40,000Hz.

The headphones will also work with the aptX HD codec, which is a high-definition sound codec that is getting more use among new portable music players and new models of phones.

The 1000XM2 uses 40mm dome-type drivers and aluminium-coated Liquid Crystal Polymer diaphragms, resulting in good sound quality.

The micro-USB port on the right ear cup is for recharging the builtin battery. You can use the provided USB cable to connect to your computer, turning the headphones into a High-Res sound system or a headset for making video calls.

The builtin S-Master HX amplifier reduces distortion and brings out all the subtleties in the music. It deploys a Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX (DSEE HX) to upscale compressed digital files, bringing them closer to the quality of High-Resolution Audio. By restoring the high-range sound lost in compression, the engine reproduces digital music in rich, clear tones.

The noise-cancelling circuit actually senses outside noise with builtin microphones and sends an equal-but-opposite cancelling signal to the headset.

A toggle switch on the left ear cup turns on and off the noise cancelling and the ambient sound control function. The button will cycle through these three modes when pressed. You’ll hear voice guidance as to which mode is on, or you can glance at the LED indicator next to the NC/Ambient button. When it’s green, noise cancelling is active. Yellow means Ambient Sound Mode is on. When both are off, you see a flashing green.

You can use the Sony Headphones Connect app to control and personalise these functions.

Meanwhile, Automatic AI (Artificial Intelligence) Noise Cancelling constantly analyses ambient sounds and automatically selects the most effective cancelling mode – NC Mode A, B or C.

Mode A is good when you’re riding in a plane, because Atmospheric Pressure Optimising kicks in at high altitude. Mode B is mainly for buses or trains, while Mode C is useful in an office environment where copiers and air-conditioners might be making a mild racket.

Another function further optimises noise cancelling by detecting the shape of your face, your hairstyle and whether you’re wearing glasses, as well as pressure changes on board a plane.

Even if you’re not flying, you should activate this function the first time you use the headset. Hold the NC/Ambient button until you hear the voice guide say, “Optimiser started.” Once the process is finished, it tells you so.

In Ambient Sound Mode, you can hear what’s coming into the microphones embedded in the left and right units. That’s how you avoid walking in front of a bus.

Use the app to switch between Normal and Voice modes. In Normal, you can hear surrounding sound just as though you weren’t wearing the headset. In Voice, you might have rock music banging away and you’ll still be able to hear stuff like Skytrain station announcements.

The app makes use of the headphones more fun and allows you to better control its functions and sound quality.

Among other things, the app displays the remaining battery life and the Bluetooth connection codec. You can even auto-adjust the noise cancelling by behaviour recognition, allowing the headphones to detect, for example, whether you’re walking or sitting.

You can use the app to select which direction the sound is heard from, or choose virtual surround sound in several modes, including Arena, Club, Outdoor Stage and Concert Hall.

The app will help you pick equaliser settings, including Bright, Excited, Mellow, Relaxed, Vocal and Bass Boost.

Connecting the headphones to a phone with NFC (Near Field Communication) is a breeze. You simply align the “N” mark on the left cup to the one at the back of your Android phone and NFC pairs them up. I did this instantly with a Sony XZ Premium phone.

Listening to Hi-Res Audio songs from my XZ and from Sony’s NWA25 Hi-Res Audio Walkman, I found the music quality impressive, with good details and powerful bass.

There’s a touch sensor panel on the right ear cup for controlling music on Bluetooth-connected devices. Tap twice to pause a track and double-tap to resume play. Swipe forward to skip to the next track. Swipe up repeatedly to increase the volume and down to lower it.

The battery life is a decent 30 hours and quick charges are possible. You can get 70 minutes of playback with just a 10-minute charge.

The Sony WH1000X Mark 2 has a suggested retail price of Bt14,990.

KEY SPECS

– Headphone type: Closed, dynamic

Driver unit: 40mm, dome type (CCAW Voice Coil)

– Magnet: Neodymium

– Impedance: 46 ohms (1kHz) when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned on, 14 ohms (1kHz) when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned off

– Frequency response: 4Hz to 40,000Hz

Sensitivities: 103dB/mW (1kHz) when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned on, 98dB/mW (1kHz) when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned off

– Inputs: Micro USB, Stereo Mini Jack

– Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.1

– Supported wireless audio formats: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC

Bluetooth profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP

– Battery: Fourhour charge time, 30 hours playback with NC on

– Weight: 275 grams

Celebrate the countdown to 2018 with dinner under the night sky on the rooftop at Furama Silom’s De Sky. The buffet tables will groan under a large selection of international and local dishes while the winner of the DJ Fighter Champion contest 2017 mans the decks. Tickets are Bt2,590 for two persons, Bt1,650 for one and Bt800 for children. The party runs 6.30pm to 1am. Book your table at (02) 688 6824 or email: fnbmgr.silom@furama.com.

All the fun of the fair

Al Meroz hosts a Night Carnival & Fun Fair on December 31 starting from 7pm, offering a cabaret show, magic, percussion, jazz and fun games. It takes place on the 16th floor of the hotel in Ramkhamhaeng Soi 5 and also features an international and BBQ buffet feast, special cocktails, sparkling cider and the chance to win prizes worth more than Bt200,000 including air tickets to Kuala Lumpur. Tickets cost Bt3,500 for adults and Bt2,000 for kids. Call (02) 136 8700 or check out Facebook.com/almeroz.bangkok.

A magical Christmas

Christmas is a time for family and friends to be together and Sunday night from 6 to 10, they can do that at Kantary Hills, Chiang Mai over Christmas cocktails and canapes while listening to Carol singers. A mouthwatering buffet of seasonal dishes is also available at the Nimman Bar & Grill. It’s priced at Bt1,100-plus per person and half that for children under 12. For reservations, call (053) 222 111 or visit http://www.KantaryCollection.com.

Christmas, Italian style

If you’re in Bangkok for the holidays, take time out on Sunday night to enjoy a festive dinner at No 43 Italian Bistro at Cape House. Served from 6pm, it features traditional favourites with an Italian flavour including Salmon Carpaccio on pumpkin cream with caviar, a refreshing Passion fruit sorbet, Fillet of snow fish served with sauteed vegetables in Pesto sauce or Roasted turkey, followed by a creamy pineapple and passion fruit dessert. It’s priced at Bt1,400-plus. Book now at (02) 658 7444 or visit http://www.CapeCollection.com.

The first Noel

The Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok joins with BE Health Association to host a series of Christmas carol performances by children from Chumchon Moobaan Pattana School in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district at the lobby this Sunday at 5 and 6pm and on Monday at noon and 1pm. The performances are an important element in the hotel’s Corporate Social Responsibility calendar. Call (02) 162 9000 or email dining.siambangkok@kempinski.com.

The “nightlife and lifestyle destination” is in the mood to party through December 31.

At Toro Bangkok, which is the world’s only other outlet of the celebrated Barcelona-style tapas bar, is serving an “XMAS-NYE Special Course Dinner”. On the menu for Bt750-plus are Boquerones Salad, Spanish Meatballs, Saffron & Almond Chicken and Churros.

Book a table at (02) 392 7790 or http://Bkk.ToroRestaurant.com.

At Touche Hombre, the mouthwatering banequet of authentic Mexican food includes Pork Stew, Roasted Turkey De Habanero Tacos and Torta De Helado. Make reservations at (02) 392 7760 or http://www.ToucheHombre.com/hola.

At Evil Man Blues, there’s great jazz and three Christmas cocktails – the Claus N’Blues, Polar Dance and North Pole 101. Try all three for Bt850. Learn more at (02) 392 7740.

And Savoy has come up with three seasonal punches – Las Posadas, Punch & Judy and Caribbean Parade – all ready for the New Year Karaoke Party. Get the details at (02) 392 7636 and info@barsavoy.com.

Santa Claus will be at Beer Belly tomorrow and Saturday (December 22-23), as will the entertaining Balloon Man. The Toys, a hot dance band, will be performing for the New Year’s Eve countdown. Book a date at (02) 392 7770.

New Year’s Eve will also see the resident DJs at Beam – Marmoset, Sarayu, Supersonic and NT66 – pumping out the tunes in the main room, while King Khan from Thaitanium, Double Trouble, Noxro B2B Foresto and Quay Records hold court in the Dalmatian Room.

On the night of January 1, Funky gangster and Sweed will be in the main room and Noxro, Arnon and Bunnyman in the Dalmatian.

Set it up at (02) 392 7750 or http://www.BeamClub.com.

Counting into 2018, 72 Courtyard will host an 18-hour party starting at noon on December 31, with lots of champagne and vodka, glitter, disco balls and kickass tunes.

Head up to the second floor of Touche Hombre after 1am for a free-admission “secret party” and the Slum Disco Sound System.

Make reservations at (02) 392 7999 or info@72courtyard.com.

“We’re clearly living in interesting times,” says Sheryl Connelly of Ford. “Shifting global priorities, rampant political upheaval, and a spotlight on social inequity have upended the status quo and left many disoriented.

“But, out of the chaos and conflict, a new energy and creativity are motivating people like never before. From compassion and guilt to heightened activism, most adults believe their actions have the power to influence positive change.”

The sixth annual Looking Further with Ford Trends Report says 39 per cent of adults don’t mind sharing their personal information with private firms, but 60 per cent were frustrated by how much of their information had become public.

Seventy-six per cent of respondents said they find it “creepy” when companies know too much about them. Meanwhile, 52 per cent of adults believe artificial intelligence will do more harm than good, but 61 per cent were hopeful about a future of autonomous vehicles.

Sixty-eight per cent of respondents were overwhelmed by the suffering in the world today, and 51 per cent felt guilty about not doing more to help. Eighty-one per cent were concerned about the widening gap between rich and poor.

Seventy-three per cent wanted to take better care of their emotional wellbeing, while 54 per cent felt more stressed than they did a year ago.

“In today’s fast-moving world, consumers have less patience for the frivolous, and they demand greater emphasis on what’s meaningful and impactful,” says Connelly. “This ethos is reflected in the work we do at Ford, and our relentless focus on providing trustworthy solutions that make consumers’ lives better.”

The Trend Report serves as a blueprint for understanding how key trends are expected to influence consumers and brands in 2018 and beyond. Ford has identified and explored 10 trends.

* The Edge of Reason: Global upheaval is evident in everything from politics to pop culture, and people are responding to these changes in polarised fashion. As divisiveness grows, a sense of being overwhelmed intensifies. Consumers are hungry for inventive ways to cope and adapt.

* The Activist Awakening: This culture of polarisation means consumers are being jolted out of complacency. Conventional wisdom and expectations are being toppled as individuals debate the change we need.

* Minding the Gap: Worldwide, the spotlight is on inequality. Activists and entrepreneurs are experimenting with new ways to improve access to quality education, increase productive employment, close wage gaps, and provide everyone with affordable access to basic living standards and infrastructure.

* The Compassionate Conscience: With an omnipresent news cycle, we are more aware than ever of the challenges consumers face around the world. People are becoming more reflective of their roles in society and more focused on how they can be more engaged.

* Mending the Mind: Consumers and institutions are realising that you cannot have a healthy body unless you have a healthy mind. As such, mental health and wellbeing are moving to the forefront for individuals, governments and companies to address.

* Retail Therapy: Many consumers are on an endless hunt for something new and different – seeking material goods or experiences that bring happiness. As services aiming to provide efficiency experiences proliferate, consumers now find they can buy the one thing that was never for sale – time.

* Helplessly Exposed: Big Data claims to be able to interpret our behaviours, which in theory should help consumers. But with Big Data can come Big Bias, and once personal information is relinquished, all consumers can do is hope companies use it responsibly.

* Technology’s Tipping Point: Virtual reality, artificial intelligence and autonomous technology – long far-fetched notions – are now being incorporated into our daily lives. Worldwide, humans are wondering what the onslaught of intelligent technology will mean for society.

* Singled Out: Are marriage and parenthood still the desired norms for happy living? Couples today – with more choices and longer life spans to consider – are rethinking commitment and fulfilment.

* Big Plans for Big Cities: By 2050, nearly 75 per cent of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas. To capitalise on the full potential of cities – ensuring they are happy and healthy places in which to thrive – we must smartly plan for transportation, employment, housing, wellness initiatives and an infrastructure that can accommodate booming populations.

For the full report, visit http://www.FordTrends.com.