A FOUR-MONTH long festival of dance, theatre, music and film gets underway this Friday in the seaside resort of Hua Hin. And if that sounds like a celebration, which the government is curbing during this period of national mourning, then national artist Patravadi “Khru Lek” Mejudhon guarantees that it’s not.
“Neither is this entertainment, and if you look into the details of our programmes, you’ll see that they all deal with education. [Despite the recent postponement and cancellation of many performing arts events] I also strongly believe that the late King wouldn’t want us to stop everything,” she says.
“Part of the reason why I started this school [which now offers classes from kindergarten through high school] is his speech that we should always persist in whatever we do. I recall one year we didn’t put on any performances here at all and one afternoon I got a call from the Crown Property Bureau asking me why not
and so I decided to keep on working. And part of my work is learning, which is lifelong.”
Performing arts fans may still recall that four years ago when Vic Hua Hin’s organised the last edition of its Fringe Festival, one of the programmes was the internationally acclaimed performance “Pichet Klunchun and Myself” staged in collaboration with the French Embassy’s La Fete festival.
So after years of devoting herself fully to education, why is Khru Lek restarting a performing arts festival this year?
“I’ve been working with students and teachers here on contemporary stage adaptations of Thai literary masterpieces, namely ‘Viva Phra Samut’, ‘Ramakien’, ‘Vetal’, and last year’s ‘Samakkiphet’. The experience students have gained in participating in various aspects of these productions, including taking production photos and designing posters, not only helps the students in their Thai literature classes but also develops their skills and personalities. In the meantime, many artist colleagues, Thai and foreign, have been wanting to perform at Vic Hua Hin and so in curating this ‘Vic Hua Hin Theatre Season 2016’, I’m expanding our educational theatre programme. So it’s education, and not entertainment, that’s at the centrestage here.”
Of the school production this year, Khru Lek says: “[Silpathorn Awarded composer and musician] Anant ‘Khru Nong’ Narkkong suggested ‘Ngo Pa’ and I think it’s also a good choice for our director [Silpathorn Awarded actor, dancer and choreographer]
Manop ‘Khru Nai’ Meejamrat. I’m only writing and performing, not directing, this time.”
“And since people around the world are marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, our students are studying ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ not only in class but also on stage with our guest director and production designer Ruth Pongstaphone.”
Apart from dance, theatre and music performances, films earlier screened by Documentary Club at SF World and selected by Bioscope magazine editor Thida Plitpholkarnpim will also be shown.
“In Hua Hin, it’s difficult for us to watch these films, which not only open up new educational perspectives but also are enjoying a growing number of viewers in Bangkok. Another reason is that we wouldn’t be up to staging performances every weekend, so this is a good balance in our schedule,” Khru Lek explains.
“It would be a waste if ‘Vic Hua Hin Theatre Season 2016’ were a closed door event exclusively for our students, teachers and parents. I firmly believe it will also benefit local residents as well as visitors to Hua Hin. As you can see our ticket prices are very low. We really want to welcome everybody and [with no major sponsors] we won’t get any profit, just some money to pay for the guest artists’ travel expenses.”
The curtain raiser of “Vic Hua Hin Theatre Season 2016” this Friday and Saturday evening is “Chiwit Di Di”, the Thai translation of Duncan Macmillan’s interactive comedy on depression “Every Brilliant Thing”. The play, in Thai with English surtitles and
featuring two alternating cast members Konthorn Taecholarn (Friday) and Sumontha Suanpholrat (Saturday), has been cracking laughter and drawing tears in Bang Saen, Chiang Mai, Maha Sarakham, Khon Kaen and Songkhla after premiering at Chulalongkorn University’s Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts this February.
On Sunday afternoon, the audience can watch Michael Moore’s hilarious documentary “Where to Invade Next”. “Ngo Pa” takes the stage the following few weekends, with back-to-back screenings of “Bolchoi Babylon” and “Iris” back on December 10 and 11.
After the Christmas and New Year break, the festival welcomes 2017 with another two documentaries “Song of Lahore” and “The New Rijkmuseum” on January 7 and 8. That’s followed by “East Meets West”, a dance collaboration between Kent State University from the US and Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University on January 14, and “The Lovers and the Despot” the following afternoon.
Wannasak Sirilar and Sun Dance Theatre’s “Snakes”, recently seen at Tadu Art, has been adapted into a solo performance and will be in Hua Hin in late January and early February along with documentaries “The Wolfpack” and “Art and Craft”.
On the first Sunday in February, the Japan Foundation brings in “Kuricorder and Friends”, comprising musicians from four groups who create songs from simple yet peculiar instruments. Audience members, both young and old, are also welcome to join their workshop, starting immediately after their performance.
The following weekend, just before Valentine’s Day, Patravadi School students will perform in “Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
Closing out the festival in late February and early March is aerial acrobat artist Rajanikara “Leng” Kaewdee’s new work “Tor Mor ImmiGreyZone”, a collaboration with Cirque du Soleil counterparts.
SEE YOU IN HUA HIN
– “Vic Hua Hin Theatre Season 2016” runs from this Friday to March 5 at Vic Hua Hin, a two-hour drive from Bangkok.
– Most programmes are on Saturday 7pm and Sunday 2pm.
– Performance tickets are Bt400 (Bt200 for students); movie tickets are Bt150 (Bt100 for students), at Thai Ticket Major (www.ThaiTicketMajor.com). Free admission for children shorter than 1 metre.
– For more details, http://www.VicHuaHin.com, |or call (032) 827 814-5.

The musicals Society of Bangkok, the creative team who brought us “Cixi Taihou: The Musical” in 2014 and its restage last year, was back at the M Theatre last month with the strong support of The Nation Broadcasting Corporation for an adaptation of another, if less familiar, Chinese classic “Butterfly Lovers”.
The female cast members overshadowed their male counterparts. With more stage time and plenty more jokes, Her Royal Highness Princess Somsavali’s portrayal of the Queen of Heaven was not merely a cameo performance and it was an honour for all members of both cast and audience to have witnessed this.

The two star-crossed lovers first met in heaven. Nation/Thanachai Pramarnpanich

Kanyapas “Parn Vie Trio” Srinarong was so effortless in her singing and characterisation, including the scenes when she needed to cross-dress, of Zhu Yingtai, one half of the doomed lovers, that the other half Liang Shanbo, performed by singer Nat Thewphaingam, occasionally looked like a minor character, notwithstanding his charming stage presence.
As Yingtai’s mother, newscaster Thatsaniya Ratwong delivered such a knockout performance that her husband’s character, performed by Kriengsak “Victor” Silakong, who also directed this musical, was frequently knocked out.

 HRH Princess Soamsawali delivered a commanding performance. Nation/Thanachai Pramarnpanich

In fact, there were many thespians who excelled, stealing the limelight with their acting prowess rather than their singing skills, in their minor roles. Thanks to playwright Suruj Tipakoraseni who allowed this Thai-style comedy (which included his character of a deity who seemed to oversee all stage actions just like a producer does), the audience often forgot the main plot. That, incidentally, is the everlasting romance of Yingtai and Shanbo which, in this Thai stage version, continued from their times in heaven and on earth, as in the tagline “The love that lasts”.
And despite the obvious entertainment they provided, the performance time could have been shorter had there been fewer supporting roles and had some of them not included a musical number.
While the book of this musical had its flaws, Suruj’s lyrics and music, like those of his “Cixi Taihou” were keenly composed and truly mesmerising. His word choices were also immaculate. Many lines were subtly filled with Chinese philosophy and fitted the notes so neatly that we could clearly understood them. Considerable credit was also due to music director Den Yooprasert.

Zhu Yingtai lamented Liang Shanbo’s death, before their tragic ending. Nation/Thanachai Pramarnpanich

Nuttakom Chamyen’s set design transported the Thai performers to ancient China although it wasn’t quite clear where and when. Supatra Kruekromgsuk’s work here proved again why she’s the most sought-after stage lighting designer. The latter’s work, though, was marred in one scene by the motion graphics of two butterflies, which killed the imagination. Perhaps whoever decided to put these in forgot that we go to theatre to exercise our imagination. The costume designer, interestingly, was not listed in the programme and the characters, rich and poor, were dressed in such finery that at times the show looked more like a charity concert than professional musical theatre.
Even in this record year of restages and revivals despite the current cancellations and postponements, it is always a pleasure to watch a new stage work based on a familiar story. But it’s hard to see how contemporary Thai theatre can progress, if commercial theatre, which reaches bigger audiences than independent productions, does not start presenting original stories and challenging the theatre audience who yearn for what they cannot get from screen works.
Originally scheduled to run for two weekends last month, circumstances forced “Butterfly Lovers” to bring the curtain down after the first weekend. No new dates have been announced.

“Right or Wrong My Home” by Gatot Indrajati. Photo/UOB

Indonesia’s Gatot Indrajati “brushed aside” artists from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to win the grand prize in the UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year Awards in Singapore last Wednesday.
His colourful mixed-media-and-acrylic “Right or Wrong My Home” made Indonesia the first country to claim the top prize three times in a row.
Indrajati, 36, said he was pursuing the notion of “unity in diversity” in depicting an urban landscape populated by dozens of dolls that were fashioned from wood and attached to the canvas. The dolls, he said, were metaphors for “someone who becomes a toy for someone else”.
“I was inspired by the passion that Indonesians have for their country and how that attitude is such an inherent part of the Indonesian identity,” Indrajati said.
“Indonesians also have a wry sense of humour and we often use it to demonstrate our love for our country. I wanted my painting to portray that passion and patriotism.”

Indonesia artist Gatot Indrajati won the UOB award for Southeast Asian Painting of the Year. Photo/UOB

He’s won UOB awards at the national level twice and five years earned the same grand prize with a painting titled “Repacking”. His take this year was US$10,000 (Bt350,000) for the overall win and $25,000 pocketed in the national competition.
The judges commended his innovative use of wood – a medium common in the traditional art in Indonesia – along with paint to create “a visually compelling and contemporary artwork”. They liked his “intelligent treatment of composition and layering to create a range of perspective that emphasised a sense of space while reflecting a typical Southeast Asian cityscape”.
The judges included Bandung Institute of Technology lecturer Agung Hujatnikajennong of Indonesia, award-winning Malaysian contemporary artist Choy Chun Wei, Bridget Tracy Tan of Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Amrit Chusuwan of Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts.

 Jongjit Moolmat’s “Awaiting Enlightenment 2” was named “Thailand Painting of the Year”. Photo/UOB

Named “Thailand Painting of the Year” was “Awaiting Enlightenment 2” by Jongjit Moolmat, and oil portraying a human head emerging from the water like a lotus blossom. He said it symbolises the personal struggle to overcome obstacles, metaphor for Buddhist teaching.
“This painting was borne of my struggle with grief and disappointment,” said Jongjit, who earned a month’s residency at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan.
“In the process of dealing with these emotions, I realised they’re a natural and unavoidable part of life. No matter how the storms of life batter us, we have to learn how to rise above the circumstances and live with clarity and hope.”
Yim Yen Sum won the Malaysia award with the abstract “Floating Castle”, while Carey Ngai claimed Singapore honours with the super-realistic “Industry 2.0 III”.

Thailand’s Ketsakda Wimolsong was named “Most Promising Artist of the Year” for his oil painting “Effect of Consumerism”. Photo/UOB

UOB also recognised emerging artists around the region, with Thailand’s Ketsakda Wimolsong named “Most Promising Artist of the Year” on the basis of his oil painting “Effect of Consumerism”. In the painting, the 25-year-old protests against the environmental damage caused by the overuse of plastic.
Singapore’s Yoko Choi Mei won |for her work “City Wandering”, Indonesia’s Ignasius Dicky for his painting “Khanikla mey Moyo Yarate Ate” (they have taken what belongs to us) and Malaysia’s Ng Kok Leong.
The annual UOB competition is Singapore’s longest-running art contest and the bank’s flagship art programme. UOB’s aim to champion art as a pillar of its corporate social responsibility programme began there more than 40 years ago.
UOB deputy chairman and chief executive Wee Ee Cheong reaffirmed the bank’s long-term commitment to helping art develop in Southeast Asia.
“We recognise the important role art plays in strengthening the fabric of a society,” he said. “It connects people and communities, celebrates cultures and enriches lives.
“What is also distinctive about the UOB art programme is our focus on giving back. Beyond nurturing and profiling artistic talents, we also connect our artist alumni and our community partners to bring art appreciation to underprivileged and special needs children.”

GET A LOOK AT THE CHAMPS
– The winning paintings will be on display at UOB’s regional headquarters in Raffles Place, Singapore, from Wednesday through next February.
– The UOB Thailand Paintings of the Year exhibition can be viewed online tomorrow through December 15 at the Thailand Creative Art and Design Community website, http://www.Portfolios.net.

A black performer, muzzled and chained, lies crucified in a lamb carcass. Half-naked dancers laugh demonically as they hack at the meat, then cook raw chunks of it with a blowtorch.
This is just one of many surreal scenes from Chinese artist Chen Tianzhuo’s three-hour-long performance “Ishvara”, a work that highlights a growing generation gap between China’s new and old guard artists.
A six-metre-tall inflatable doll hangs from a noose, a lone naked breast juddering as a performer humps its leg, while Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist iconography mix with emblems of hip hop and rave culture.

Chen Tianzhuo’s “Ishvara” depicts a black performer, muzzled and chained, lay crucified in a lamb carcass. Photo/AFP

As part of a new generation of Chinese artists, Chen, 31, seeks to portray himself as part of a globalised, post-internet world, where the words “east” and “west” have become increasingly meaningless.
Chen says his cohort have “moved beyond” questions of identity and do not need to define themselves in a Chinese context.
They have a more subtle and complex relationship with authority and politics than previous generations – or are indifferent to them – and often ignore such concerns in favour of self-expression.
“Nowadays, other than on a very political level, there’s no real difference between living in China and anywhere else,” he says.
Chen’s ideas are not to everyone’s liking: ink painter Lan Zhenghui, best known for black-and-white works that draw on traditional Chinese techniques, stormed out halfway through the performance, dubbing the spectacle “absolutely meaningless”.
Though Lan is himself an abstract painter, he found the show, with its gender-bending cast blending dance styles from Japanese butoh to swing, “more abstract than abstraction”.
A pioneer of the “85 New Wave” movement, he was among the first in China to experiment with conceptual art as the country moved out of the isolationist, anti-intellectual years of the Cultural Revolution.
He and his contemporaries fought back against decades of socialist realism, at a time when no market existed for their works.
“Our generation was interested in revolution for the sake of something; we spoke about principles, we wanted our art to tell people if they were right or wrong,” he says, describing the years of political idealism before the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Now the Communist regime has encouraged people to replace destabilising political aspirations with material ambitions, and the stakes have changed, with the work of contemporary artists widely sought and sometimes selling for astronomical prices.
“These post-’80s and ’90s kids have nothing to fight against, no struggle,” Lan scoffs.
“They have enough to eat and drink, and can always run home to their mothers.”
Other ’85 New Wave luminaries are less dismissive.
Xu Bing, one of the movement’s most renowned artists, says the new generation has a “truly different” way of observing the world, and less of a social and political mission, having come of age in a richer, more geopolitically prominent China.
“We paid attention to society and politics and expressed our opinions on it, whereas their approach is one that emerges out of a much more personal, individual place – their relationships with their friends, or to their own small, private worlds,” he says.
“We can’t claim that they don’t have anything to say just because they’re only making that sort of work.
“Soon we’ll all be dead, and this world will be theirs.”

Artists perform during Chen Tianzhuo’s “Ishvara”. Photo/AFP

Chen, a slight and bespectacled Buddhist, describes his show as an exploration of mortality and the commonalities of religions.
He dismisses criticisms of his generation’s art as self-absorbed and devoid of social and political context.
The older generation, he says, was “like a father looking down on an immature, misbehaving kid” – suspicious of what he calls the “inevitable changes” to China’s art scene driven by economic and political development.
“Unlike in ’85, when artists were pretty much all engaging with the same topics, there’s no one thing that unites young artists now,” he says. “And that diversity is a really good thing.”
His performance eclectically drew from youth subcultures across the globe, mixing a soundtrack of live electronica, sitars and Britney Spears.
Asked what it all meant, Chen is confident in its worth.
“My work is a reflection on the lifestyles, predicaments and attitudes of a big portion of today’s young people,” he explains,
“You can’t say that it’s not also socially engaged and political.”

Since its heyday as the capital of the Thai kingdom, Ayutthaya has always been vulnerable to the forces of nature. Now as the crown jewel of Thailand’s cultural tourism, and a Unesco world heritage site, Ayutthaya’s brick monuments need constant attention as they face up to the perennial threats of seasonal flooding, rain, humidity and bio-growth.
Despite exemplary conservation work by the Fine Arts Department, Ayutthaya needs to refresh its conservation perspective and learn from international perspectives, according to conservation experts who attended a symposium held in Ayutthaya last month.
“The International Symposium on the Conservation of Brick Monuments at World Heritage Sites”, organised by the Fine Arts Department in conjunction with Unesco and the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust for Unesco, brought together a vast array of international experts in archaeology and conservation from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, France, Germany and the United States. They shared views on how to best conserve the brick monuments of Ayutthaya, drawing upon professional experiences from each of the participating countries.
Since Ayutthaya was designed from the start to cohabit with the tropical climate – the rains and seasonal floodwaters – damage from natural threats is inevitable. The old city’s major temples were partially submerged in the great flood of 2011. Since then levees and floodwalls have been built, resulting in complete protection of the famed temples against seasonal flooding.

The temples of Ayutthaya need constant conservation work as a result of the forces of nature. Photos courtesy of the Fine Arts Department

Add to this the ever-present scourge of humidity and soil subsidence during the rainy season and it’s clear why the historical park’s brick monuments are under constant threat.
Ayutthaya’s conservation work dates to 1908 when governor Phraya Boran Ratchathanin Samuhathesa-piban improved the landscape within the ancient palace, resulting in protection against private ownership within the designated area.
In 1991, Unesco’s inscription of Ayutthaya as a World Heritage Site gave rise to the city’s first 10-year conservation master plan. It stipulates that that the standard of archaeological intervention has to rely on the principles and standards of Unesco and the International Scientific Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management (ICAHM).
The current master plan, which contains some revisions, sets out to introduce advanced research data to conservation work, as well as revitalise the historic physical characteristics of the city for modern use. Planned regulations will tackle such unresolved problems such the growing population’s and street vendors’ encroachment on the archaeological sites and lax zoning policy.
Apichat Suwan, a specialist art researcher based at the department’s Conservation of Paintings and Sculptures Division, notes that conservation work in Ayutthaya is mainly about tapping into the Ayutthaya-period traditional construction wisdom as well as modern techniques.

For stucco, conservation involves traditional materials with the same or similar characteristics and properties to the original materials used to build monuments. Lime mixed with molasses or animal skin is preferred to cement.
Substitute materials like certified synthetics from scientific methods can be used to replace traditional materials in some processes of conservation.
To restore damaged murals, conservators use certified Paraloid B-72 that acts as glue connecting the foundation and paint layers to the lime plaster. It replaces the tamarind-seed glue, a traditional adhesive material.
However, conservation work has been hampered by two major problems.
“We lack skilled craftsmen and budget. Our contractors tasked with restoring some historical structures usually lack a proper knowledge in traditional construction methods and in restoring brick monuments of Ayutthaya. They tend to use modern construction materials like cements as their solutions,” lamented Pratheep Pengtako, director of the 3rd Regional Office of the Fine Arts Department based in Ayutthaya.
The symposium provided Ayutthaya with some solutions as it exposed local technicians to new and familiar perspectives in conservation.
Foreign speakers from Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Japan and Germany shared somewhat similar views.
Dr Ly Vanna, Director of the Department of Conservation of Monuments in the Angkor Park, said the use of traditional materials and techniques ensures the durability of a brick monument’s authenticity.
“New materials and techniques are only allowed in case old materials are no longer usable, and traditional techniques cannot secure the structure,” he said, adding new bricks are great as interlocking pieces.
Current brick conservation in Angkor involves partial structural intervention, consolidation and water infiltration prevention. Tests and experiments on brick, mortar, plaster and stucco are needed to determine mechanical properties and similar compositional properties.
Dr Christophe Pottier, head of Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient (EFEO) in Siem Reap, agreed, adding that Angkor is facing broadly similar challenges. Some 100,000 tourists visit Angkor each day yet because Siem Reap remains one of the poorest cities, many monuments are vulnerable to seasonal flooding.
“We need to control urban development, improve the city’s irrigation system, and take local communities into consideration,” he said.
Dang Khanh Ngoc, from Vietnam’s Institute of Conservation of Monuments, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, presented an update on conservation work at the World Heritage Site of My Son. He is of the view that monuments should be preserved as they were found.
“Only partial reconstruction by anastylosis can be initiated using the original materials found on site. The introduction of traditional or new materials different from the original ones (as steel, concrete, cement mortars, etc) should be in principle forbidden to avoid incompatibilities,” said Ngoc.

Dr Gurmeet Rai identified types of damage to the walls of Wat Mahathat. Photos courtesy of the Fine Arts Department

Dr Gurmeet Rai, a conservation architect and director of the Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative (CRCI), has directed restoration projects throughout India, including the Moghul Empire’s Serai Lashkari Khan and Qila Patti of Tarn Taran District. She recommended removal of vegetation on archaeological sites using organic products like a mixture of asafoetida and lime putty instead of herbicides.
Experts from Japan and Germany have undertaken restoration work at temples in Ayutthaya in collaboration with the Fine Arts Department.

Leisen advises the use of traditional materials for restoring Ayutthaya ruins. Photos courtesy of the Fine Arts Department

Dr Hans Leisen, a professor emeritus at the University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, has led a four-year safeguarding project at Wat Ratchaburana since 2012. The project, to be completed early next year, aims to slow down the temple’s damage process through a systematic procedure: anamnesis, diagnosis, and therapy.
“This approach is necessary as every intervention is also a risk to the preservation of the monument,” he asserted.
Leisen introduced in-depth scientific investigations into the state of the temple, which was greatly damaged by the 2011 flooding, and developed individual conservation concepts for each part of the temple: from stucco to brickwork.
Through scientific analysis, Leisen found that the stucco showed a different weathering behaviour compared to brick or laterite. Besides the material properties (water transport, water storage, water vapour diffusion), external damaging factors like moisture, mechanical stress or load played an important role in development of damage at an individual monument.
Leisen tried different traditional materials for mortar such as a mixture of lime and river sand, and a mixture of lime, sand and molasses. He found the latter recipe resulted in the surface darkening over time.
Masahiko Tomoda from the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, found that salt weathering at Wat Mahathat occurred as a result of water evaporation from the surface and subsequent salt crystallisation. During the restoration process, he experimented with the use of hydrophobic resin to prevent water penetration into the surface. The method ensured durability of the treated brickwork but resulted in darkening of the surface over time.
Dr Nishiura Tadateru, head of the Asian Cultural Heritage Conservation Division, Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties, provided broad-brush recommendations for Ayutthaya.
“Bring back the protective city walls. Then construct a drainage system within the walls. Plant bamboos, which grow quickly, or other trees at places where water is expected to flow.

Pratheep Pengtako introduced the current conservation work at the Ayutthaya Historical Park. Photos courtesy of the Fine Arts Department

Pratheep was full of praise for the symposium, saying that such meetings provide instructive forums for exchanges of views.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to any conservation work. I like the fact that foreign experts were on hand to give advice and new ideas. Whatever techniques are introduced; they need to be adjusted to the local context. Our concept is that Ayutthaya has to co-exist with communities, people and water,” he said.
 HERITAGEAND HISTORY
For the updated symposium documents, visit

http://www.UnescoBkk.org/culture/heritage/wh/conservationsymposium/presentations/

COCKTAIL lovers get to enjoy an extensive new drinks menu at Up & Above at the Okura Prestige Bangkok, created with exotic local spirits, fresh ingredients and cool twist with Japanese flair.
Head up to the hotel’s 45th floor, sink into oe of the comfy cushioned sofas, and quench your thirst with some cool cocktails.
Start the evening with something crisp, unique and very Thai – the Royal Thai Sabai – with locally made Mekhong spiced rum, simple syrup, lime and bubbly. The drink is garnished with fresh basil to complement to herbaceous notes of the rum and refresh the palate.
If you like your drink a bit smoother and more fragrant, opt for Tea O’clock, with gin, egg white, honey, lemon and popular Number One Brand, the red Thai known locally as Cha Tra Mue, an excellent match for honey and lemon.
Phraya Rum, a premium blend from Nakhon Pathom, forms for a base for the Phraya Sour, a Whiskey Sour but with a twist on the classic tipple, using the deeply matured and rich gold rum. With lemon juice, sugar and Angostura bitters in the mix, the drink is very masculine, but with smoothed edge, thanks to the slightly sweet and refined rum.
If you can handle a bit of a spicy kick in your drink, get an Absolutely Spicy, with Absolut Vanilla vodka that’s been strongly infused with chilli. This vodka martini recipe also has Edinburgh Gin’s Elderflower Liqueur, lime and a bit of honey to round things out.
Also on the new menu are few selections with Japanese influences. A bold and herbaceous rendition of the classic Vesper, the Shiso Vesper Martini entices the palate with the poignant fragrance of a shiso leaf infused in gin. This stiff concoction also has Absolut vodka and Martini Bianco in the mix.
Sudachi, a Japanese citrus fruit, is the star in the Sudachi & Spices. Reminiscent of a voyage to India with the refreshing and distinctive notes of citrus, the drink is made full-bodied yet crisp with Cointreau, grapefruit juice, lime, simple syrup and Flor de Cana 7 Years Rum infused with Mariage Freres Chandernagor.
For a still bolder choice, look for Japan is Calling, made with Hibiki, Japan’s premium blended whisky.
The luminous, delicate and unmistakable Kagoshima citrus note in Hibiki Japanese Harmony, a blend of 10 malt and grain whiskies from three distilleries, aged in five different cask types, goes wonderfully well with the herbaceous Campari and Komasa No Yuzushu Shochu, the citrusy and sweet liqueur.
The Japanese version of a beloved classic American cocktail, the Kyushiki Japanese Old Fashioned, indulges those who prefer richer, flavourful cocktails. The mixture includes Suntory Hakushu Whiskey, Kuru Sato black sugar, Creme de Gingembre and Angostura bitters.
The last section of the menu contains other modified classics and new creations inspired by botanical splendours. The bar’s version of the gin and tonic, named Scottish Botanicals, is made to perfection with Caorunn, a sophisticated Speyside gin made with 11 different plants, Mediterranean Fever Tree Tonic and slices of red apple.
Journey through a garden in full bloom with Le Jardin Rouge, which is perfumed with berry and citrus notes and hints of sweet vanilla and rooibos. The light and refreshing cocktail is a mix of cranberry juice, lime, simple syrup, cherry liqueur and Mariage Freres Rouge Metis-infused gin, topped with a dash of soda.
Bangkok’s garden of paradise and oldest public park, Lumpini, inspires a cocktail creation of the same name that’s delightfully fragrant and thirst quenching. The peculiar flavour of Hendrick’s is enhanced with cooling cucumber, rose water, lime and simple syrup.
The new signature cocktails are priced from Bt475.

The Up & Above Bar is at the Okura Prestige Bangkok, adjacent to the Ploenchit BTS stop.
It’s open daily from 7am to 1am.
Find out more and make reservations at (02) 687 9000.

Giving young people a better chance in life than their circumstances might otherwise allow, Phra Dabos School, initiated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, offers non-formal occupational training for underprivileged people denied formal schooling.
Throughout his reign the late King regarded a proper education as crucial to people’s wellbeing.
“There are many underprivileged people who can’t attend higher
occupational-training schools due to poverty and lack of standard knowledge,” he said in 1975 to Police Major General Suchart Pueksakol, who went on to become Phra Dabos School’s first secretary.
“These people strive to learn more, especially to acquire occupational knowledge that will help them earn a living, support their families and contribute to the country,” His Majesty said.
The free-tuition, non-profit school for needy students, which offers a curriculum of vocational training courses, began modestly and expanded from there, in accordance with His Majesty’s wishes. The Phra Dabos Foundation under the King’s patronage and the Ananda Mahidol Foundation now oversee the school project.
Since 1975, thousands of students have completed the one-year, three-month programme and gone on to find jobs in various industries. “Many of them have become very successful in life,” says Orasuda Charoenrath, assistant secretary-general of the Phra Dabos Southern Border Province Project.
His Majesty once explained the school’s name. It derived from the story of the hermit monk Phra Dabos in the legend known as “Chandagorapa”, he said. The hermit was a learned person who nevertheless chose to live in deep in a jungle, where he shared his wisdom with disciples.
Chandagorapa in turn comes from the heroic King Chandragupta, who liberated India from the occupying forces of Alexander the Great.
The hermit would use various methods to test the earnestness of applicants to his jungle school. By travelling a great distance to seek out his knowledge, they demonstrated perseverance. Once satisfied with their keenness, Phra Dabos was ready to pass on his wisdom and skills wholeheartedly and never asked anything in return, other than the disciple’s best efforts and continued perseverance.
Phra Dabos’ acolytes would pay tribute by looking after his daily needs, such as cleaning the hermitage and bringing him fruit and herbs.
His Majesty’s notion was to bring the hermit out of the woods to a place he could do the most good. “Since the natural forests are nearly all exploited today,” he said, “Phra Dabos would nowadays have to live in concrete forests instead.”
Orasuda points out that non-formal education didn’t come to Thailand until 1979, so the school had to set an unprecedented course.
“The qualifications required of the students aren’t specified – age, religion, gender, birthplace or place of residence, nor even standard knowledge level. What’s important is the willingness to learn and persevere.
“The students are expected to acquire occupational knowledge – in fields like mechanics – so they can earn an income and lead decent lives,” she says. “But it’s also important to provide them with a moral education to bolster their integrity. Ideally they’ll learn to be patient, honest, persevering, self-sufficient, respectful, modest and thoughtful. All of these qualities are encouraged in their studies, inside the classroom and outside, since this is a boarding school.”
The teachers are volunteers, chosen because they display goodwill and genuinely wish to share their knowledge with the students without expecting any reward. “They have to be particularly loving and kindly, compassionate, sympathetic and joyful,” Orasuda says.
Phra Dabos School’s inaugural class comprised just six students, all immersed in radio repair and maintenance. The current curriculum covers eight subjects, the electives being electrical, electronics, radio and mechanical technician and agriculturalist, plus courses designed specifically for women.
With Thailand rapidly becoming an ageing society, the school has developed a course in the care of both the elderly and young children, Orasuda says. “Students who successfully complete the course receive their diplomas personally from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.”
The Phra Dabos School in Bangkok is limited in scope, able to accept just 150 students each year, ages 18 to 35. In 1998, though, the King initiated the Phra Dabos Junior Project in Samut Prakhan, and Princess Sirindhorn followed up in 2010 with the Phra Dabos Southern Border Province Project.
Both of these schools together could only take in 250 students last year. That was 30 per cent of the 800 applicants, underlining the drastic need for more such training institutes. Phra Dabos School would be the obvious model for others to follow.
Orasuda stresses that the best model of all is the King.
“Considering His Majesty the King’s talents in many fields, there is one particular quality that every Thai should emulate, and not just the students of Phra Dabos School. And that is to have an ambition to learn and to persevere in achieving it, to genuinely learn about a particular subject.
“His Majesty kept on learning all through his life. His childhood creativity led to ideas that became practical in later life, such as his irrigation schemes.
“His Majesty was a role model. His thoughts can contribute to success in life for anyone who strives to learn and applies knowledge and morality.”

Around 200 paintings by the US singer-songwriter, produced by the 75-year-old in the last two years, are on show from November 5 at the Halcyon Gallery in the British capital’s plush Mayfair district.
The collection of oil, acrylic and watercolour paintings reveals a different side to Robert Allen Zimmerman, an icon of 20th century US popular music, whose poetic lyrics earned him the Nobel Prize for literature last month, to much surprise.
Dylan announced last week that he would travel to Stockholm to receive the prize, making the timing of this exhibition all the more apt.
“It’s a great honour for us hosting the exhibition and for him to have received that honour at the same time,” Paul Green, president of the Halcyon Gallery, told AFP.
Dylan began exploring the visual arts in the early 1960s. He designed the cover of the 1968 album “Music from Big Pink” by Canadian roots-rock group The Band.
More recently, his works have been exhibited in Milan and New York.
“Dylan has been passionate about art since he first moved to New York and was taken by his girlfriend Suze Rotolo around museums,” said Green.
Since then he has not stopped painting, using his numerous tours to sketch out the homeland which he describes so often in his songs.
The exhibition, entitled “The Beaten Path”, retraces the singer’s travels across the four corners of the United States, from its supercities to its immense expanses of desert.
“The common theme of these works having something to do with the American landscape – how you see it while criss-crossing the land,” Dylan explains in a written introduction to the exhibition.
More specifically: “staying out of the mainstream and travelling back road, free-born style”.
In San Francisco, Dylan chose to paint a seafood seller in Chinatown, rather than the city’s endless Victorian houses or its skyscrapers.
“The San Francisco Chinatown street stands merely two blocks away from corporate, windowless buildings. But these cold, giant structures have no meaning for me in the world that I see or choose to see,” explains Dylan.
One picture shows the Manhattan Bridge in New York City, whose imposing metal structure rises up between two red brick buildings.
Another features Roy’s motel, on the famous Route 66 in the middle of California’s Mojave Desert, which Dylan brings to life with cartoon-like brushstrokes.
And there is the little doughnut shop, whose red and yellow front window leaps out of the canvas thanks to the striking use of acrylics.
One of the standout works of the exhibition shows an “endless highway” – a clear allegory of the artist’s life: always on the road, between two towns, two hotels.
“This is the largest painting that Dylan has ever undertaken, it’s monumental on every scale,” said Green.
“This is the never-ending road… almost a rollercoaster of Dylan’s life.”

HER ROYAL Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn last Saturday brought a little light into the sombre mourning period for her father by lending a hand in the public kitchen.
Opening the Patpat Camellia Oleifera Tea-seed Oil Festival at the EmQuartier mall, the Princess used the oil to season gai naab krata (chicken in a pan) and kai pra athit (the more charmingly named “fried egg and the sun”).
The Chaipattana Foundation and The Mall Group are hosting the festival, which ends today.
Princess Sirindhorn recalled that, when she was young, her father, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, occasionally cooked kai pra athit for the family, so all of his children know how to prepare it.
“His Majesty would crack an egg into a bowl and add boiled rice seasoned with sauce,” she said. “The rice has to be beautifully well-cooked already and then fried in the pan, so that on the plate it looks as if the sun is shining on the rice.”
She recorded the name of the dish in her journal and remembers asking her father why he called it that. He explained that the sun’s surface, viewed through a special telescope, looks like a mass of rice grains.
While cooking the dish at the mall, the Princess asked Sumet Tantivejkul of the Chaipattana Foundation where the eggs came from. He confirmed that all the ingredients were locally produced in different areas under the foundation’s auspices.
The Princess flipped the egg, joking that a professional chef would toss it in the air, but she didn’t dare, lest it end up on the head of a nearby photographer recording the action.
While preparing the kai naab krata, she said it wasn’t one of His Majesty’s specialities, but the palace chef made it. The chicken is marinated overnight in garlic, pepper, coriander root and brandy, then “pressed” into a heated pan rather than being fried. She sprinkled some Patpat Camellia oleifera tea-seed oil into the pan first.
She said she’d been up at 5am practising this dish. If you prefer the chicken darker, oyster sauce will do the trick, she said, but it makes it salty too. “And if it’s too salty, you just eat it with rice.”
Adding white wine to the pan, the Princess quipped that monks would still be able to eat the dish because all the alcohol evaporates during the cooking.
It was Princess Sirindhorn who in 2004 suggested that the Chaipattana Foundation cultivate Camellia oleifera tea seeds from China. A research centre was established and tea-seed oil eventually went into production. A factory now produces the high-quality oil both for consumption in food and as an additive for cosmetics.
The Doi Tung Development Project in Chiang Mai is the focus for the venture. As of last February the tea was being grown on 952,000 bushes over 3,650 rai. The plantations have proved to be an excellent use for deteriorated forest areas. The income earned by local residents underlines the late King’s lessons in living in harmony with the land in a sustainable way.
Nutritious Camellia oleifera tea-seed oil has been known in China for a millennium. It’s been called “the olive oil of the East” thanks to its anti-oxidants, healthy fats and absence of trans-fats. Its saturated fat is said to prevent or help with heart and arterial disease, paralysis, high blood pressure and diabetes.
With a boiling point of 250 degrees Celsius, the oil can be used in frying, marinating and in salad dressings.
Tea-seed oil is healthy for all ages and equally for people who are overweight or pregnant. Its quality is guaranteed in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice under the Thai Food and Drug Administration and Thai Heart Foundation. It even has a halal rating.

– The Patpat Camellia oleifera Tea-seed Oil Festival ends today in the Quartier Gallery on M Floor of B Building at the EmQuartier.
– On sale are the tea-seed oil, cosmetics containing it, and other products from Patpat, the Chaipattana Foundation and Junkapak.
– Chefs including ML Kwantip Devakula are hosting cooking demonstrations using the oil and coffee beans from Dao, Thai Peppery and Happy Beef by M.
– Patpat Camellia oleifera tea-seed oil is sold at Patpat shops (Sanam Suea Pa, Rama VIII, Rama IX), Chulalongkorn Hospital, the Paseo Town, Gourmet Market, Home Fresh Mart, Central, Big C Super Centre, Golden Place, |Phufa, Doi Kam, Verasu and S&P.