Designed by Arne Jacobsen, the first Giraffe was created specifically for the restaurant at the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen – the very same hotel that housed Jacobsen’s the Egg, the Swan and other well-known chair designs. The Giraffe originally had a wooden frame outlining the shell and the base. Jacobsen experimented quite a bit – he even created a special version in leather on a star base as a gift for the hotel manager. This version he then developed into what we know today as the Little Giraffe, characterised by a lower back and a four-legged base.

The Little Giraffe is designed for daily use in hotel lobbies, canteens, restaurants or meeting rooms but also works beautifully around any dining table at home. The chair is available with a removable fabric cover, which can easily be changed with a zipper. Among the many advantages of a removable cover are easy stain removal and cleaning. The cover is easily added: simply put the cover on the shell, zip it up and attach the seat cushion with Velcro.

In addition to fabric, an array of leather is also available though it’s not removable like the fabric cover. The seat cushion offers a great degree of comfort whilst maintaining a look which pays homage to the original Giraffe.

The base for the Little Giraffe comes in two versions. One is a star base on wheels with an adjustable height, whilst the other is a fixed four-legged base. Both bases are available in satin polished or powder-coated aluminium in black.

The Little Giraffe is now available at House of Fritz Hansen, on Soi Somkid off Ploenchit, Bangkok.

Learn more at http://www.NorseRepublics.com.

“I wanted to make a horror anthology with several parts like ‘See Prang’ and ‘Bangkok Haunted’. At first, I intended to do the whole movie myself but later changed my mind and went to look for another two directors. I chose Alwa [Ritsila] whose short films I liked and Prang [Tharnwimol Ornphaplew],” says director Anusorn “Aam” Soisa-ngim, who oversaw the whole project and directed “Happy New Year”.

The anthology is splits into three distinctive segments with no wraparound narrative.

“Happy New Year” centres on office worker Gaem played by Napat “Yeepun” Banchongchitpaisal who agrees work on New Year’s Eve in the hope it will earn her a better position. She does the night shift in the same room as her boss, who died a few days earlier.

“Haunted House” is about two women – Bee, played by Nutjaree “Cherreen” Horvejkul and sister of Nichkhun 2PM, and Ann, by Korawan “Prim” Lodsantia from “The Face Thailand 3”. They both find jobs in Bangkok and rent a house, which is in a good area but which also has a family murder in its past.

“I selected Cherreen because I like what she did in previous movies. I found Prim while watching ‘The Face Thailand’ and thought she’d be perfect for the part. With her unsmiling face, I thought nobody would approach her,” says director Prang.

“Prim is great as Ann, Her lack of experience was evident during the workshop but she did really well during the shoot. I’m excited to play Bee,” says Cherreen.

The anthology wraps with “The Fifth Cinema”, set in a theatre to which admission by the public is prohibited.

“My idea was to make a movie about ghosts in a cinema. Bangkok theatres are large and luxurious and full of dark nooks and crannies. That makes them scary. While writing the script, I could see in my mind Yhok’s facial expression and eyes on ‘The Face Thailand’ and knew she’s be perfect with rapper Ake,” says director Alwa, who also plays a security guard in “Happy New Year.”

Kansiri Sirimat aka Yhok plays the cinema’s manager, Thananya “Pop” Manthawee stars as Oil, and rapper Narawut “Ake” Amnuay as a playboy figure.

“I think this playboy character is ideally suited to me,” laughs the rapper, who also wrote a song for the soundtrack.

TRUEMONEY Wallet is a fun, free and easy to use electronic wallet that can make your life easier in Thailand’s growing cashless |society. The e-wallet service by TrueMoney, which is Southeast Asia’s leading fintech firm, can be used to pay bills and shop online as well as cover goods and services that support the e-wallet.

You can conveniently link TrueMoney Wallet to your bank account or you can transfer money from your bank account to the e-wallet for use.

And now, TrueMoney has collaborated with Google to allow the use of the e-wallet service for Google Play for buying songs, movies, e-books, games and Android apps.

Although you can use your credit card on Google Play, you may feel uneasy about giving away your credit card number. The e-wallet service could thus be a safer way to spend online.

And you can limit the use by transferring as much money to your e-wallet as you need to use without worrying about your account being hacked or having your credit card number stolen.

To use TrueMoney Wallet, you need to download the TrueMoney Wallet app and then open the app and register for an e-wallet account. TrueMoney will send you an OTP (one-time password) as an SMS to the phone number you use for registering the e-wallet account. The phone number and OTP will be used together with phone number to prevent your account from being stolen.

And to start using TrueMoney Wallet with your Android account to buy content on Google Play, you must open the Google Play app and then select TrueMoney Wallet as the payment method.

Then, when you want to purchase an item on Google Play, you simply have to transfer money from your bank account to the e-wallet to cover the cost of the purchase and you can then buy the item in Google Play right away.

If you link the e-wallet with your bank account, you can use your TrueMoney Wallet account like a digital ATM without having to transfer the money from your account first. The limit on each use is set at Bt3,000 per transaction.

I tried using TrueMoney Wallet to subscribe for Google One cloud storage. I found registering for an e-wallet account with TrueMoney was a breeze. Then, I linked my Google account with the TrueMoney Wallet account to deduct the annual fee for the Google One service. When I was linking the service, an OTP access code was sent to my phone number for verifying.

TrueMoney Wallet has also joined with JOOX, NetMarble, NEXON, IGG and more to provide extra benefits if you use the e-wallet to make payments on Google Play.

For example, JOOX users who pay any amount for the JOOX VIP service will receive an additional 30 days at no cost, while the Lords Mobiles game players will obtain special items when purchasing defined packages. Moreover, each time TrueMoney is used for Google Play, you’ll be allowed to play the Chicken Hit game up to three times and win a cash-back reward via TrueMoney Wallet,

The e-wallet app can also be used to buy content from iTunes and App Store.

TrueMoney Wallet is also accepted at 7-Eleven shops and selected other shops. When I paid at 7-Eleven, the app generated a bar code for the cashier to scan and the value of the goods was automatically withdrawn from my TrueMoney Wallet account and an SMS sent to alert me of the deduction.

The TrueMoney Wallet app can also be used to pay utilities bills, top-up the EasyPass service for expressway access, buy tickets at Major Group theatres, make purchases at Makro, CP Freshmart, True Coffee, Chester Grills, McDonald, Dunkin’ Donuts and other shops.

You can also use it to shop at WeShop, Lazada, AliExpress, JD Central, Pomelo, Konvy.com, Agoda, Supersport, all of which offer discounts on selected goods when paying with the TrueMoney Wallet.

Established in 2003, TrueMoney became a part of Ascend Group in 2014. Its TrueMoney Wallet now has about 7 million active users each month. TrueMoney says it’s targeting 10 million users this year.

The service is free for users.

>> Users: 7 million

>> Available in: Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia

>> Established in: 2003

>> Support: Both Apple Store and Google Play

>> Exclusivity: Service available to users of all mobile phone operators

THE YACHTING lifestyle has become increasingly popular in the region, with more people wanting to fulfil their dreams of tranquil and private cruises among idyllic islands with friends and family.

Vrit Yongsakul, managing director of Boat Lagoon Yachting, has led the growth of Thailand’s biggest yacht importer-distributor for 13 years, and he’s seeing interest in the lifestyle surge, especially in Thailand.

It’s largely driven by the appeal of absolute privacy, he says.

“You feel more free,” Vrit says.

“Luxury yachts can take their owners anywhere they wish to go and at any time. And the owners have many destinations to choose from, so it never gets boring.”

Modern yachts are also designed with such a high level of comfort that they’re akin to luxury condominiums, says Vrit, who introduced a range of new British yachts in Singapore last week.

“It’s like taking your own condominium with you, complete with a comfortable living room and kitchen and elegant bedrooms.”

Vrit Yongsakul, managing director of Boat Lagoon Yachting, presents the upper deck of the yacht Princess Y85.

Yachting is a sociable pastime. Friends and family might take several yachts out together, cruising to islands much as the owners of luxury sports cars and motorcycles organise group outings on weekends. It all serves to cement long-lasting friendships, Vrit says.

Yacht owners obviously don’t have to worry about money. They had previously been concerned about how often the yacht was used and how best to maintain it, and whether friends were available to join them on a cruise, says Vrit.

His customers these days are more sophisticated and have more knowledge about yachting, and they can differentiate among various models, he says.

They might even consider the financial status of the manufacturer when deciding to buy a boat because they might want to upgrade later.

Customers make the decision to buy faster than in the past because they have more confidence in after-sales service, says Vrit.

Distributors typically place an order with the boat builder once a customer decides to buy. There can be a wait or one year to one and a half years for delivery.

Prospective customers can make their choice among models by taking a “test run” on one of the yachts Vrit has in stock, and he’ll also accommodate them if they want to buy right away.

“Many of our customers are financially ready to buy and they don’t want to wait – they want to get it right away,” he says.

Vrit’s long experience has taught him what his customers like and expect, and the boats he’s imported meet their demands, so they sell quickly.

His company’s sales have grown 10-15 per cent annually over the past 10 years. It sells about 40 yachts a year at prices ranging from Bt40 million-Bt900 million.

Vrit says his company has a great record of customers remaining loyal. First-time buyers often come back quickly to either upgrade their yachts or buy additional boats.

What Vrit was showing in Singapore last week was three new models of the Princess Yacht, the world’s most popular choice and built by a well-known British boatyard.

The range, including entry-level super yachts and sport yachts, were being shown for the first time in Asia at One 15 Marina Sentosa Cove. Visitors got to admire a Princess Y85, Princess F45 and Princess R35, together worth Bt450 million.

One was sold beforehand and two people expressed interest in the Princess Y85, alone worth Bt300 million.

The Princess Y85 is regarded as the pinnacle of the Motor Yacht class, offering elegant luxury living, lots of space, and great performance.

KNOW YOU should exercise more but unable to find the motivation to get started? If so, you might want to invest less than Bt3,000 in the Fitbit Inspire, a highly affordable and fashionable fitness tracker that keeps a close watch on your activities and alerts you to your smartphone notifications.

The Inspire is light and small and comfortable enough to wear all day and night to track both your activities and your sleep.

The Inspire is available in two colours, black and red. The black one has a white LED illuminating its greyscale display while the red one has a red LED and looks great with a red strap. I tried the red one and can confirm it looked sleek rather than gaudy.

The Inspire can also be made more fashionable with optional accessories like a premium hand-crafted Horween leather or trendy metal mesh strap.

The fitness watch tracks all-day steps, distance, active minutes and calories burned. And when you go to bed with it, its automatic sleep tracking works with the Fitbit app to let you understand your rest to try improve it. That’s important because medical experts are constantly stressing that a good night’s sleep can decrease the risk of diabetes and help with obesity.

Fitbit Inspire uses a 3-axis accelerometer and vibration motor to monitor your movements and calculate them into steps and calories burned, based on gender, age, weight and height.

It has sufficient memory to save seven days of detailed motion data – minute by minute.

To use it, you need to download and install the Fitbit app that will link with Inspire through a Bluetooth connection. You also need to register for an account with Fitbit for cloud space to store the data logged by the tracker.

The Inspire comes with SmartTrack function that automatically recognises workouts like walks, runs, swims, bike rides and more. It logs the data and syncs with the Fitbit app to your online account to keep as your fitness record. Fitbit then sends a weekly report to compare that week’s fitness data with the previous one.

You can also use Fitbit app to customise the clock face. Options include a helpful stats clock face for workers or a polished clock face for work. Ten clock faces are available for you to select.

Fitbit can keep the Inspire’s price lower than Bt2,800 by cutting features like the heart rate sensor and floor climb tracking.

However, the Inspire is swim proof and water resistant to 50 metres, but while it tracks how long you have been swimming, it won’t tell you how many laps you’ve completed.

The touchscreen has a backlit OLED display which responds swiping and scrolling and boasts such functions as an easy-to-use dashboard that provides data on your steps, calories burned, activity, sleep and more from your wrist without having to check the app.

It’s intuitive to navigate too. You can do it by tapping the screen, swiping up and down or pressing the back button. You swipe down to scroll through the apps on the tracker, tap to open the app or swipe up to see your daily stats.

Two apps that are available are Timers and Alarm. You must first use the Fitbit app to set or delete alarms and use the Alarm app on the Inspire to turn the set alarms on or off. The Timers app provides a stopwatch and countdown timer, which can be handy for certain workouts.

The Inspire also supports the female health-tracking feature of the Fitbit app. The tracker and the app will let a woman follow her menstrual cycle and record symptoms.

You can stay connected on the go with updates from your smartphone apps and receive calls and text alerts as long as your phone is nearby.

The tracker has a good battery life. It can stay on to track your activity for five days after one charge. It takes about two hours to fully charge from zero battery level.

During the test, I found the Inspire was comfortable to wear and having it on my wrist during the night didn’t cause a problem. I tested it by walking for about one-and-a-half hours. At the end of the day, the Inspire reported that I had taken 15,991 steps, covered 11.25 kilometres and been active for about 109 minutes.

A nice feature of the tracker is that it reminds and encourages you to stretch your legs and take 250 steps every hour from 9 am to 5pm. This is good because sitting for too long is not good for the spine.

I also liked the Fitbit app feature that allowed me to monitor and log my meals and compare calories eaten to calories burned. This is handy if you want to lose weight.

Fitbit Inspire has a suggested retail price of Bt2,790 and the package comes with two sizes of wristband, small and large. It can be ordered from the Fitbit official store at Lazada.co.th.

Key specs

Small wristband: Fits a wrist between 5.5  7.1 inches in circumference

Large wristband: Fits a wrist between 7.1  8.7 inches in circumference

Operating Temperature: 10 degrees to 45 degrees C

Water Resistance: Water resistant up to 50 metres

Maximum Operating Altitude: 8,534 metres

Sensors: 3axis accelerometer, vibration motor

Display: Greyscale OLED touchscreen

Radio transceiver: Bluetooth 4.0

Syncing range: 6 metres

Memory: Saves 7 days of detailed motion data – minute by minute

Battery: Lithiumpolymer, twohour charging, fiveday battery life

Locals, expats and tourists are invited to select from thousands of fiction and nonfiction books in English plus a selection of other languages, donated by Neilson Hays Library supporters or withdrawn from the library shelves. Prices start at Bt20. Paper bags will also be pro¬vided for Bt10 and Neilson Hays cloth totes for Bt350.

Parking is available across the road in the Voravit Building for an hourly fee of Bt30.

For more information, call (02) 233 1731.

Asian invasion

Rising star DJ FF is one of the most popular and talented DJ and remixers from China and he’s hitting town tomorrow night with a gig at Insanity Bangkok starting at 10.

Entrance is Bt400 for men and Bt300 for ladies with one free drink.

Call (082) 731 8885 or Line: @insanity.

Doubling up

Ben Prok and James Fitch – one of the most exciting duos on the house music scene – will be vibrating Levels Club in Sukhumvit Soi 11 next Wednesday from 9pm to 2am.

The pair has more than 18 years of experience as DJs and has played such major music festivals as Ultra Music Festival, Global Gathering, Sunburn Festival and Sensation White.

Find out more or book your table at (082) 308 3246.

Putting the fun into getting fit

Fit Fest 2019 is back in Bangkok next month taking over more than 6,000 square metres of CentralWorld from June 69.

The festival will feature Thailand’s biggest rhythm cycling class by Absolute U; Thailand’s biggest barre class by Phisique 57; hiphop yoga by Yoga and Me and a lineup of non-stop activities from fitness idols Thanchanok “Bebe” Ritnaka, Patcharasri “Kalamare” Benjamas, and Yodchai “Noom” Yamakupt; a Thai boxing masterclass by popular boxer Buakhao, and the Thailand Koht-Fit Championship 2019 with prizes worth Bt50,000. Also featured will be booths manned by leading sport stores and more than 100 healthy food shops and a fitness concert.

Follow the movement of Fit Fest 2019 at Facebook: Fitfest.

Beauty in motion

Bangkok Beauty Show 2019, a one-stop-service trade show for the beauty industry, takes place at Hall 101 of Bitec Bangna during July 11-13 from 10am to 6pm.

This year health care industries from more than 10 countries including South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Pakistan will be taking part.

Admission is free and pre-registration is now open at bit.ly/bangkokbeautyshow2019

Find out more at http://www.BangkokBeautyShow.com.

The study examines vacation usage and trends across 19 countries. The report also found that global vacation deprivation is on the rise, and that workers in Thailand took the fewest number of vacation days in the world in 2018, alongside Japan and the US.

Incorporating insights from 300 fulltime working adults in Thailand, the study revealed that 80 per cent of Thais agree that they deserve more vacation days than they are given, ranking them fourth highest in Asia to express that, after Japan (54 per cent), Hong Kong (86 per cent) and India (82 per cent).

Consistent with 2017, most Asian have the hardest time leaving work behind when taking vacations. Asians also have the highest incidence of cancelling or postponing vacation plans due to work. The top three reasons for Thai workers not taking a holiday are: Don’t know where to go (27 per cent), saving up time for a long holiday (25 per cent) and can’t get time off work (24 per cent).

“Over the years we are starting to see more and more workers take short vacations, and this could be due to public holidays falling over a weekend, allowing for long weekend holidays. Thailand is a great example of that. While bigger trips are great, a quick break can drastically improve quality of life,” said Lavinia Rajaram, APAC Head of Communications for Brand Expedia.

Twenty four percent of Thais go six months or longer without a vacation, with more than a quarter (42 per cent) going three to six months a year without time off. Considering time off is so precious, one might be surprised to hear that almost a quarter (24 percent) of Thai workers admit to checking work email/voicemail at least once a day while on vacation.

While this behaviour has stayed mostly consistent over the past decade, perhaps there’s hope for future generations – younger workers are the least likely to check in frequently, at 19 per cent for 18-34 year olds, compared to 31 per cent of the 50 and over crowd.

Interestingly, the pressure to be available may be selfimposed – only a small number of respondents say their managers (17 per cent), junior staff (10 per cent) and clients (12 per cent) expect them to checkin daily while on vacation, proving most people need to simply give themselves permission to unplug.

The growing focus and conversation around mental health may be changing how Thai workers vacation, with 35 per cent of Thai respondents saying they regularly take vacations where their primary goal is “mental wellness”, and they overwhelmingly feel that vacation is a chance to “hit the reset button” on stress and anxiety. Thai workers also report taking an average of two mental health days each year, which most feel should be considered vacation days (82 per cent), rather than sick days (18 per cent).

“A wellnesscentric trip doesn’t have to mean a spa or yoga retreat, although those are popular options among Thais,” says Rajaram. “For most of us, recharging simply means we need to disconnect and slow down. Whether it’s a family vacation or a solo escape, set rules about how often you’re allowed to check email and try not to overschedule your days.”

The 2019 edition of the annual Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA), formerly known as Singapore Arts Festival (SAF), opened last Thursday. And while there are fewer posters in public or non-arts spaces, there are plenty of new faces among the audience, and that’s thanks in part to festival director Gaurav Kripalani’s curation, which seems to live up to the promise that there’s something for everyone.

At the Victoria Theatre, Japanese theatre director Tadashi Suzuki made a rare visit to Singapore, and indeed Southeast Asia, for the staging of his “Dionysus”, an adaptation of ancient Greek tragedian Euripedes’ “The Bacchae”. Three years in the making, the production was put out by veteran Indonesian producer Restu Imansari Kusumaningrum and her team at Bali Purnati Foundation. She was also behind Robert Wilson’s “I La Galigo” 15 years ago and gave a talk on intercultural projects at the Festival House on Monday when she revealed that 16 Indonesian performers underwent the Suzuki method of actor training workshops for two years before starting their work with the Japanese director.

Soon to be seen at the Theatre Olympics 2019 in Japan, “Dionysus”, with dialogue in Bahasa Indonesia dialects, Mandarin and Japanese reflecting the multinational cast’s mother tongues and with most of the audience relying on the English surtitles, last Saturday afternoon was highly anticipated. The Japanese master of intercultural theatre didn’t let us down and watching his production, live, is always a special treat for any theatre-goer. Suzuki himself also worked with Indonesian costume designer Auguste Soesastro and the result was immaculate. The same can be said for the work of music composer Takada Midori who worked with musicians from many parts of Indonesia. That led some of us to wonder if the production would have been more unique – and less like other Suzuki productions – had the Indonesian actors been allowed to share their diverse backgrounds with the Japanese master.

Peter and the Wolf

Singaporean multi-disciplinary artist Ho Tzu Nyen, a new co-curator of Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan, has been presenting his “Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia” through different forms of arts around the world. The latest was a stage performance “The Mysterious Lai Teck” at the School of the Arts (SOTA) Drama Theatre. The title character was the leader of the Malayan Communist Party in the 1940s who was suspected to have worked as a spy for France, Britain and Japan, and was rumoured to have been killed in Thailand. If this were a Hollywood film, it might have been a fun international thriller. Instead, Ho keenly put his audience in the mix of fact and fiction, aurally and visually, with the help of lighting, projections and a humanoid. The experience was like attending a lecture, and after a while you wondered whether the professor really knew what he was talking about. At the end you felt like the professor wasn’t even there and we’d only been listening to his voice.

The Mysterious Lai Teck

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Silo Theatre brought “Peter and the Wolf” to the KC Arts Centre in Robertson Quay. A challenge for makers of children theatre productions these days is not only to keep the accompanying adults equally entertained, if not amazed, but also to keep the full attention of media-savvy kids, even for 50 minutes.

Silo Theatre was up to the task here and having a local narrator onstage – it was Kripalani himself last Sunday morning – was a smart trick and a nice treat. The deft mix of stringed puppets and live animation, shot and projected onto the large screen above, as well as the contemporary rearrangement of Sergei Prokofiev’s classical score, performed live, made this show immensely fresh and relatable.

The long queue of kids, holding their parents’ hands, who wanted to get up close to the puppets and performers after the show was also a good sign for the future audience of this international arts festival now that many of them have enjoyed their first SIFA experience.

The writer’s trip was fully supported by SIFA. Special thanks to Huntington Communications’ Juliana Tan for all kind assistance.

More this weekend and next

– SIFA 2019 continues until June 2. A few highlights this weekend are Shiro Takatani’s “ST/LL”, with music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who’ll give a talk this evening prior to his soldout concert “Fragments” on Tuesday; and the world premiere of Huzir Sulaiman’s “Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner”. Three Thai theatre critics will also join Asian Arts Media Roundtable (AAMR), a SIFA’s affiliate programme.

– For more details and ticket reservations go to http://www.Sifa.sg.

Music, dance and exhibitions are all set to light up the nation from tomorrow as the week-long arts and culture extravaganza celebrating the coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn gets underway in Bangkok and the 76 other provinces of the country.

“This festival will be an assembly of national artists and performers from many different types of arts,” said Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat, during the recent press conference at the small hall of the Thailand Cultural Centre.

In Bangkok, the festival is being held at Sanam Luang, the royal field at the heart of old city, and will feature a main stage in the middle of the ceremonial ground and two minor stages on the side fronting on to the Supreme Court and Thammasat University.

The opening ceremony in Bangkok will kick off at 6.30pm on the main stage with blessing dances under the title “Asirawat Thuay Rat Nom Chom Rachan”. That will be followed by a khon drama involving more than 600 performers.

The masked dance is based on a story of the Ramakien, Thailand’s national epic derived from the Hindu epic Ramayana and is being staged under the name “Phra Baramee Ming Fah Ramavatar”.

“Ramavatar” picks up at the beginning of the story in heaven when the demon Nonthuk, who has been abused by the angels, is granted the powerful diamond index finger from Phra Isuan (Shiva). He uses the finger to kill masses of angels as he claims his revenge. Phra Isuan assigns Phra Narai to kill Nonthuk and so Nonthuk is reborn as the 10-faced and 20-handed giant Tosakant on Earth. Phra Narai is reborn as Phra Ram with a mission to take down all the demons including Totsakant. The conflict starts when Totsakant abducts Nang Sida (Sita), Phra Ram’s wife. Phra Ram then sets off on a journey to the Kingdom of Lanka, along the way meeting the monkey chief Hanuman who helps him rescue Sida. The “Ramavatar” ends at the point when Phra Ram arrives in Lanka before a series of wars begin.

The khon performance features three sequels: “Sathonlamas Chalerm Raj Chakri” (“Royal Land Procession to Honour the Chakri Dynasty”) by the Sala Chalermkrung Foundation, “Leh Asuree Muang Longka” (“Trickery of Longka Giant”) by the Foundation of the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, Thailand, and “Borom Rajaphisek Phra Ram” (“Coronation of Phra Ram”) by Office of Performing Arts, Fine Arts Department, and Bunditpatanasilpa Institute. In the latter tale, Pra Ram is the son of the king Thotsarot of Ayutthaya and the incarnation of Phra Narai.

Wednesday’s grand opening will be shown live on Channel 9 MCOT HD, National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) and Thai Global Network (TGN) for viewers in more than 170 countries and starts at 5.30pm local time.

“It will be magnificent on the 80-metre stage,” says Ministry of Culture Permanent Secretary Kritsayapong Siri. “For the grand opening, we are providing a special area at the front of the stage for the disabled and the elderly along with parking at the Government Lottery Office. For the remainder of the festival, the parking lot will be at the north end of Sanam Luang.”

Cambodia

The festival’s programming includes a concert by the Ruamjaiphak Symphony Orchestra, which will perform “Tosama Rachan Khwanla” on Thursday, a luk thung (Thai countryfolk) performance on Friday, the “Symphony of Rattanakosin” on Saturday, the musical “Phasan Jai Phak Thawai Ong Rachan” on Sunday performed by Sinjai Plengpanich, Thanavat “Pope” Wattanaputi and Ranee “Bella” Campen, an international dance festival on May 27 performed by troupes from Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam and, to wrap things up, a procession from the four regions of the country offering floral offerings in honour of HM the King and drum performances on May 28.

India

The two small stages will be used for folk music and arts performances including lamtad, pleng choi, pleng esaew, Lakhon Chatree, Nang Yai Wat Khanon, and traditional Thai puppet shows by Joe Louis, Baan Tookkatoon Hoonkrabok, Pramothai Shadow Show and Sema Thai Marionette.

South Korea

Upcountry the shows will focus on folk arts, culture and traditions, portraying the identity of each of the provinces, says Pornpoj Penpas, deputy permanent secretary of the Culture Ministry. Chiang Mai’s events run from Wednesday to May 28 between 5 and 11pm at Lanna Folklife Museum and Three Kings Monument. The main shows for the Central region are being held in the multipurpose yard of Prachuab Khiri Khan City Hall from Wednesday to Friday between 5.30 and until 9.30pm while the Northeast bash is at Thung Si Mueang in Ubon Ratchathani from Wednesday until May 28 from 6.30 to 9.30pm. Folks down south should head to the Tinnasulanon Stadium in Songkhla from Wednesday to May 26 between 7pm to 11pm, and the lawn of Phuket City Hall until May 28 from 5.30 to 9pm.

Myanmar

Another major highlight is the light, sound and water screen show, entitled “The Glorious Grace of His Majesty” and which celebrates the Royal Coronation of King Rama X, which will see more than 10,000 lights in form of spectacular flowers and trees spread over Sanam Luang. The lights will be switched on from 7pm onwards with the show itself running from 9.30 to 11pm.

“It is the first time we have having a water screen show in Thailand,” says Sermkhun Kunawong, the founder and chief executive of CMO event organising company. “It has been growing in popularity around the world and recently featured at the Tokyo Midtown.

The Philippines

“It will make for beautiful scenery in front of Grand Palace. The light flowers will morph into several colours, while the water screen will be 15 metres high. We will also create two light tunnels, each four to five metres long for people to take pictures and selfies.

“The coronation is an important event in our history and it should remain in our minds.”

Shoot for the stars

– Find out more by calling the Culture Hotline 1765 or visit http://www.MCulture.go.th.

DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY for sportsmen and women as well as gym rats, the new Audio-Technica Ath-Sport7TW wireless in-ear headphones are sweat and weather resistant and can be rinsed after workouts. Moreover, they come with four interchangeable sizes (XS, S, M, L) of ergonomic Freebit ear fins to give you a custom – and comfortable – fit designed to stay in place during physical activity.

The phones have good sound quality, reproduced by 5.8mm dynamic drivers, a frequency response of 20 to 25,000 Hz and a high sensitivity of 91dB and impedance of 14 ohms.

The package comes with four sizes of eartips – XS, S, M, and L – and an M size of Comply foam eartips. If you select the size that perfectly fits your ear canals, the music quality will be optimised.

I found during the test that the earbuds reproduced good music sounds with clarity and outstanding highs and mids as well as good bass. I listened to rock music for hours and the earbuds didn’t slip out once during my workout.

The Sport7TW have a microphone built-in so that you can use them as a wireless headset for your smartphone.

For additional safety when using outdoors, particularly in areas with heavy traffic, the headphones include a switchable hear-through function that allows you to keep track of ambient noise. You can select three levels of hear-through from low to middle and high or you can turn it off. When the hear-through mode is turned on, the volume of the music is automatically reduced to enhance the surrounding sound.

Each of the earpieces has a touch sensor for controlling the operations, such as answering phone calls, playing music and adjusting volume. You can also access the Audio-Technica Connect app on your smartphone to quickly and easily adjust headphone settings.

For example, you can use the app to turn the hear-through on or off. When it is turned on, you can use the app to adjust the level of ambient sounds that you can hear. The app can be used to select between AAC and SBC audio codecs.

The app also displays level of battery of the wireless ear buds. When fully charged, the earbuds have up to 3.5 hours of battery life. The portable charging cradle has a built-in power bank that lets you charge the earpieces

four more times, extending the Sport7TW’s life by 14 more hours.

That means with the charging case, you have a total battery life of 17.5 hours.

The use of the touch sensors to control the earphones quickly becomes second nature.

While playing music, you touch the sensor on the right side once to play or pause the music, twice to skip to the next track or three times to play the previous track. Or you can hold it for about two seconds to activate your connected smartphone’s speech recognition feature, such as Siri on iOS device.

You can also touch the sensor on the left side once to increase the volume or twice to turn it down.

If a call comes in, touch the right earpiece’s sensor to answer the phone call hold it for two seconds to reject the call. During a call, you can touch the right sensor and hold for about two seconds to end it.

You can also use the app to switch the functions of the right side and left side of the touch sensors.

The earbuds are light so they are comfortable to wear for long hours especially when you use the right size of eartips. Each side of the earpiece weighs just 6.4 grammes while the charging cradle weighs about 64 grammes.

The ATH-SPORT7TW supports Bluetooth 5.0. I had no problem connecting it to my smartphone. It was ready for pairing once I removed the earpieces from the charging cradle.

The ATH-SPORT7TW is distributed by RTB Technology for Bt7,690 and available in black and grey. You can buy it at Mankong Gadget, Pro Plug In, Soundproof, Indy Gadget, Soundaholic, AV Value, Power Mall or online including at Lazada, Mercular, ToHome and Shoppee.

KEY SPECS

Driver:  5.8mm dynamic

Frequency Response: 20  25,000 Hz

Sensitivity: 91 dB/mW

Impedance: 14 ohms

Battery: Headphones: DC 3.7V lithiumion battery; Battery case: DC 3.7V lithium polymer battery

Battery Life: approximately 3.5 hours plus an additional 14 hours with charging case

Charging time: Headphones: Approx 2 hours; Charging case: Approx 3 hours

Weight: Headphones (Both L and R): Approx. 6.4 g / Charging case: Approx. 64 g

Microphone Type: MEMS type

Microphone Polar Pattern: Omnidirectional

Microphone Frequency Response: 100  8,000 Hz

Microphone Sensitivity: 42 dB(1V/Pa,at1kHz)

Charging Time: Headphones: Approx. 2 hours

Charging case: Approx. 3 hours

Bluetooth: Version 5

Support Codec: AAC, SBC

Compatible Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP

RF output: 4.74 mW EIRP

Maximum communication range: Line of sight  approx. 10 m (33′)

Frequency band: 2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz

Modulation method: FHSS

Accessories include: USB charging cable (30 cm USB Type A / Micro USB Type B), Eartips (XS, S, M, L), Ear fins (XS, S, M, L), Comply foam eartips (M)