A family with a true love of travelling, singer Trai “Boy” Bhumiratna, his wife, publisher Panida Iemsirinoppakul and their daughter Chuenjai were at Central Embassy’s Open House last weekend to introduce their brand new travel guides under the overall title of “Guggig Family Guide by Yayee”.

The books offer plenty of advice for what to do in four popular destinations – Melbourne, Australia, Tokyo and Naoshima Island in Japan, and Barcelona in Spain.

“Parents tend to focus on what their kids will like while they are travelling, but we think every member of the family, regardless of age, should be able to enjoy different places and have their own story to tell. The books look at the different destinations and preparations for the journey and offer various tips on what to do when they get there along with a few blank pages where kids and parents can jot down their memories and save them for posterity,” says Panida, the editor of Yayee Publishing.

The family has been travelling since Chuenjai was just a babe in arms and Boy says the experienced – both the good and the slightly stressful – have brought them closer together. “We’ve always come back understanding each other better and especially the personality of our child. Of all four destinations, my favourite was Barcelona. The architecture is amazing,” he explains.

During the launch, Kloset designer Mollika Ruangkritya and Nla Aurthaveekul with her sons Charvie and Narwhal shared their memories of travelling with children.

“Life changes when you become a mother and travelling with children can be quite a headache but there’s also so much fun that you can share with the kids,” says Mollika.

The series along with other family books will be available at the 46th National Book Fair and the 16th Bangkok International Book Fair 2018, which runs at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre through April 8.

The Pioneer Peripheral set has a docking station, a multiple-port adapter and an external SSD drive. The docking station adds more I/O ports and provides dual-screen support. The adapter adds more USB ports and an SD card reader and provides a 4K HDMI port. The SSD external drive adds 120GB of extra storage. The whole set sells for Bt12,520.

Value for Thai baht

The Thai-built and highly affordable Beyond Curve smartphone boasts a 5.5-inch 18:9 Full View display with 1,280×720-pixel resolution, a front 8MP camera and dual 8MP rear cameras. You get 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage on Android 7.0 OS and a 2,200mAh battery. It’s yours for Bt3,490.

Yourself looking good!

Casio’s Exilim EXFR100L digital camera allows for outstanding selfies in Makeup Mode, which renders complexions brighter and smoother. Makeup Vivid mode boosts the colour for selfies taken against gorgeous backdrops. You can see how you’d look with longer legs and the controller with its own display can be detached from the lens unit for remote shots. Packing 10.2-megapixel resolution, it’s in stores for Bt15,990.

Best ear buddies

SoundSport Free true wireless earphones from Bose have no cord between the earbuds, adding to the comfort. They’re sweat-proof for workouts, you get five hours of battery life and the carrying case can charge the buds twice for a total 15 hours of juice on the go. Get them from Asavasopon for Bt11,000.

Busy little runner’s watch

Next time you run, wear Garmin’s Forerunner 645 Music GPS watch and you’ll be listening to music and paying bills online with ease. It’s got room for 500 songs and just needs Bluetooth headphones to enjoy them. Sync tunes from streaming services for offline listening and use Garmin Pay contactless payment for shopping. The going price is Bt16,990.

A new and very reasonably priced smartphone with a dual-camera setup for both rear and front cameras for perfect bokeh effects, the Huawei Y9 2018 boasts a 5.93-inch Full-View display in 18:9 ratio and high resolution of 2,160×1080 pixels.

The large display is really good for watching HD video clips and for viewing high-resolution photos and better still comes with Eye Comfort Mode that filters out blue light to relive visual fatigue allowing you to read text on the screen for a longer period. It also even has a large 4,000 mAh battery to keep that text legible for longer.

The smartphone is powered by a Huawei Kirin 659 octacore processor with 4 Cortex A53 cores running at 2.36 Ghz and 4 running at 1.7 GHz.

A fingerprint reader on the back lets you unlock the phone conveniently, fires the shutter for those all-important selfie shots and answers incoming calls.

The Y9 2018 has three 3 gigabytes of RAM or working memory and 32 GB of internal storage, that is expandable to 256 GB. And the expansion slot comes in addition to the two nano SIM slots.

The Y9 2018 runs on new Google Android 8.0 and has Huawei’s EMUI 8.0 user-interface.

Although the Y9 2018 sells for less than Bt8,000, its performance is good and I found the touchscreen and menus responsive and apps fast. Moreover, it can play High-Resolution Audio of FLAC 24bit/192kHz files. I tested it with Sony’s MDR1ABT headphones and the sound quality was good.

Internet connection was fast too. I used it with TrueMove H’s LTE network and it quickly downloaded apps. Snapshots were backed up to my Google Photos’ cloud storage in no time.

I tested its connection speed with Ookla speedtest app and found that it achieved a connection speed of 55.8 Mbps and upload speed of 32 Mbps.

The dual-camera set allowed the Y9 2018 to capture good quality shots with both the rear and front cameras. The front main camera has 16-megapixel resolution with 2 MP for the secondary camera. The rear main camera has 13-megapixel resolution also with a secondary camera of 2 MP. The purpose of the secondary cameras is to allow the main cameras to achieve blurred backgrounds by simulating wide aperture mode. In other words, the 2MP secondary cameras capture depth-of-field data for the main cameras.

The front camera can capture selfie shots with outstanding portrait and blurred backgrounds of the same quality as the main camera.

To achieve photos with sharp focus and blurred background, you need to use two shooting modes – Wide Aperture Mode and Portrait Mode.

When you use Wide Aperture Mode, there will be a slide bar for you to select the aperture. The lower number means the wider aperture. The wider it is, the more the background will be blurred.

The Portrait Mode will not only blur the background but also enhance the beauty of the face of your subject.

The rear camera also has Moving Picture mode that captures two seconds of video along with the still photo.

The front camera has three modes – Portrait, Smart Face Recognition, and AR Lens.

The Portrait mode of the front camera makes every selfie perfect with beauty mode and blurred background.

The Smart Face Recognition automatically recognises and chooses proper beauty level  for different gender and skin of your subjects.

The AR Lens mode provides a lot of funny cosplay to be superimposed on your selfie shots. Or you can use provided template to change your background.

The front camera also supports gesture selfie function. You can raise your hand and close it to have the selfie camera shoot automatically two seconds later.

Huawei Y9 2018 is available in black, blue and gold for only Bt6,990.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

– OS: Android 8.0 with EMUI 8.0 user-interface

– Network: GSM/ HSPA/ LTE

– Camera: 4 Cameras: Front camera: 16MP+2MP; Rear camera: 13MP+2MP

Display: 5.93-inch Huawei Full-View Display with  2160×1080 pixels resolution

– CPU: Hi-Silicon Kirin 659 CPU, Octacore (4x Cortex A53 2.36 GHz + 4x Cortex A53 1.7 GHz)

– Memory: 3GB

– Storage: 32 GB, expandable with microSD up to 256 GB

– SIM: Dual nano SIM slots

– Battery: 4,000 mAh

– Dimension: 157.2mm; Width: 75.3mm; Depth: 7.89mm

– Weight: 170g

A project that aims to prevent human trafficking and exploitation, IOM X has partnered with some of Thailand’s top YouTube creators in an attempt to reach 13 million young Thais and convince them to take the lead in making smart purchasing decisions that reinforce the fair treatment of workers in the manufacturing industry.

This will be achieved through stories posted on YouTube that that highlight both the good side and the bad side of the manufacturing industry.

From Bie the Ska’s drama depicting a father’s misery on the production line of a mobile phone factory, producing the very product his daughter is begging him for, VRZO’s “Happy”, an ironic look at how clothes are marketed, versus how they are made, to BILLbilly01’s animated music video highlighting the fact that there are real people making the clothes that we wear, IOM X’s “Do you know who made it?” campaign deep dives into the manufacturing industry.

Softpomz gets the inside scoop from kids on what’s fair and what’s not when it comes to work and Picnicly interviews restaurant owners working to improve the lives of their staff and suppliers.

“Here’s the truth: whenever we make a purchase, we risk supporting exploitation. But if we choose what we buy wisely, we can contribute to breaking the cycle of abuse that harms the people behind the products,” said Tara Dermott, IOM X Program Leader.

There are approximately 16.6 million people in forced labour in Asia Pacific, across a variety of industries, including manufacturing. Annual illegal profits from forced labour in Asia, including manufacturing, are an estimated US$52 billion (Bt162 billion).

Human trafficking victims in manufacturing jobs in Asia Pacific often live in substandard housing, are not paid their full salaries, and have their documents confiscated to prevent them from leaving their jobs. They may be subjected to unpaid overtime, hazardous working conditions (such as working with toxic chemicals and dangerous machinery) and are at risk of injuries resulting from repetitive motions. Not having the right protective clothing and gear can lead to serious health issues such as cancer, respiratory illnesses, dermatological problems, liver damage, hearing problems and neurological problems.

Debt bondage – the practice of forcing someone to pay off a loan by working – is a common practice used in the manufacturing industry to keep victims bound to their workplace. For example, a migrant working in the electronics manufacturing industry in Southeast Asia pays an average of $500 to $1,200 in recruitment fees; often these fees are then deducted from the worker’s salary.

Find out more at IOMX.org/tham to learn to understand where the products you buy come from, and how you can help prevent the exploitation of the people who make them.

Roland Cohan will lead the first-level training, titled “The Art of Being Human”, demonstrating the simple technique of mindfulness and awareness, which can benefit people of any spiritual tradition and enrich their existing spiritual path.

This path shows how to take the challenges of daily life in our modern society as opportunities for both contemplative practice and social action.

Suited for both beginners and those with experience, “The Art of Being Human” offers a foundation of sitting practice together with mind-body practices. Participants will be introduced to the Shambhala path of “warriorship” based on the development of genuineness, confidence, humour and dignity.

Cohen is a senior teacher in Shambhala who has served as resident senior teacher for Shambhala in New Zealand and resident director of Shambhala training in Boulder, Colorado. He has taught at Naropa University and continues to teach in the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Shambhala Training is inspired by the ancient legend of the Kingdom of Shambhala, said to be a society that drew its gentle and fearless sense of social responsibility from the practice of meditation.

The legend has been a guiding vision for many centuries in Asian culture and has parallels in Western traditions. All aspects of our daily life and society – family, commerce, education, the arts – can be permeated with a sense of sacredness.

The Art of Being Human” sessions from April 13 to 15 include talks by the director, individual meditation instruction meetings, periods of walking and sitting meditation, mindbody exercises and group discussions.

Learn more at https://Bangkok.Shambhala.info.

The Hope Fair – a socially responsible project set up in 2014 – returns for its summer edition and takes place in the second floor ballroom of The Rembrandt Hotel Bangkok on May 31 from 9am to 3pm. Shoppers have the opportunities to give back to communities by supporting the exhibitors so they can continue their mission and donate to kids in need in the slums of Khlong Toei. Entrance is free. Join the conversation at Facebook.com/events/1813246942053259/

A night with Bill Bailey

The Westin Grande Sukhumvit plays host to Bill Bailey on April 5 for a low down on his travel tales and general shenanigans over 20 years as a travelling comedian. With brand new material interlaced with Bailey’s signature musical virtuosity, surreal tangents and trademark intelligence, he tackles politics, philosophy and the pursuit of happiness. Tickets are Bt1,000 available at http://www.TicketFlap.com/billbaileybkk18 or through Facebook.com/events/209376689807542/.

Music on the beach

Sunset Beach Music Festival 2018 – a ska and reggae music festival on the beach – is back on Cha-Am Beach in front of Platoo Restaurant in Phetchaburi tomorrow. Running from 1pm until late at night, it features T-Bone, Job 2 Do, Srirajah Rockers, Pongsit Kampee, Singto Numchok, Miraculous, Deep ‘O’ Sea, Mocca Garden, Walrus, Gold Red, Samainainiyom, Rastafari 4e, BKing, Dajim, 90110, Hexthree, and DJ Peachy.

Tickets are Bt900 at 7-Eleven and http://www.AllTicket.com.

All gassed up

American DJ and producer Butane, the founder of Alphahouse Records and Little Helpers, will be in Bangkok tonight performing at Glow on Sukhumvit Soi 23 on March 30 from 9.30 to 3am. DOTT shares the bill. Entry is Bt350 including one drink. Book a table at (086) 614 3355.

Pooley on the spin

German-born record producer and DJ Ian Pooley mans the decks at Beam on Sukhumvit Soi 55 tomorrow night from 9 until late. He will be supported by Wildealer in the main room and Knatz and Foresto in the Dalmation lounge.

Find out more at (02) 392 7750.

The 2018 list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was announced at Wynn Palace, Macao. Now in its sixth year, the latest list includes eight new entries, with Thailand claiming nine restaurants.

The nine Thailand entries include newcomer Paste (No 31), headed by Bongkoch “Bee’ Satongun, who was also named elit Vodka Asia’s Best Female Chef 2018.

Gaggan Anand of Gaggan, the Best Restaurant in Asia 

Other returning favourites include Suhring (rising nine places to No 4), Nahm (No 10), Le Du (rising 23 places to No 14), Eat Me (No 33), Bo.lan (No 37), Issaya Siamese Club (No.39) and The Dining Room of the House on Sathorn (No 43).

For Japan, Den (No.2) rises nine places to earn the title of The Best Restaurant in Japan, replacing five-time title holder Narisawa (No 6). The top 10 also has Florilege (No 3) and Nihonryori RyuGin (No 9). Tokyo-based Il Ristorante – Luca Fantin – is a newcomer to the list, landing at No 28.

La Cime in Osaka makes its debut on the list at No 17, earning the Highest New Entry Award, sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles. With a menu dedicated to modern French cuisine, Chef Yusuke Takada sources local, seasonal ingredients to present dishes of impeccable style and refinement.

Japanese chefs and restaurants were recognised in several individual award categories. Acclaimed chef Yoshihiro Narisawa is this year’s recipient of the peer-voted Chefs’ Choice Award, sponsored by Estrella Damm. For two decades, Narisawa has earned the respect of his peers with his refined dishes and ability to blend French cooking techniques, employ sustainable practices and honour Japanese culinary traditions.

Ranked No 20 on the 2018 list, L’Effervescence in Tokyo won the inaugural Sustainable Restaurant Award. The award is given to the restaurant with the highest environmental and social responsibility rating, as determined by audit partner the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Rising four places to No 5, chef Julien Royer’s Odette claims the title of The Best Restaurant in Singapore. Singapore claims seven entries on the list, including Burnt Ends (No 12), Waku Ghin (No 23), Les Amis (No 29), Corner House (No 36) and Jaan (No 44) as well as first-time entry Whitegrass (No 50).

Amber (No 7) in Hong Kong is named The Best Restaurant in China for a third successive year. The nine Hong Kong restaurants on the list include such perennials as 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana (No 13), Ta Vie (rising 17 places to No 16) and Lung King Heen (No 24). They’re joined by two newcomers, Neighborhood (No 32) and Belon (No 40).

Hong Kong’s The Chairman (No.22) and Mume in Taipei (No.18) tie for the Highest Climber Award with both restaurants rising 25 places.

The chefs of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018

Macao is represented by Jade Dragon (No 35) while Mainland China counts Shanghai restaurants Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (No 8) and Fu He Hui (No 30).

Mingles (No.11) in Seoul retains the title of The Best Restaurant in Korea while Jungsik lands at No 26, TocToc, the 2017 recipient of the Miele One To Watch Award, enters the list at No.42.

Locavore (No 21) in Bali keeps The Best Restaurant in Indonesia honour while Indian Accent, rising 11 places to No 19, is awarded The Best Restaurant in India for the fourth time. Other country winners include Raw (No 15), winning The Best Restaurant in Taiwan title for a second year, and Ministry of Crab in Colombo (No.25) securing honours as The Best Restaurant in Sri Lanka for a third successive time.

“The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list welcomes eight new entries in 2018, reflecting the ongoing culinary innovation happening in this region. In its sixth year, we continue to recognise new talents, identify industry trends and celebrate excellence. We are thrilled to honour the 50 restaurants on the 2018 list, as well as the individual award winners, who inspire us with their singular visions and remarkable achievements,” said William Drew, group editor of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Nicolas Lambert of Caprice in Hong Kong also receives Asia’s Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Valrhona. Hailing from a family of patissiers, Lambert honed his skills training alongside world-acclaimed French pastry chefs, including Christophe Michalak at Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris. Since joining Caprice in Hong Kong in 2015, the French chef’s delicate creations and artful plating have earned him a devoted following. His signature La Framboise Reconstituee reveals his technical skills as well as his ability to push creative boundaries.

The Art of Hospitality Award goes to Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet in Shanghai. Consistently within the top 10 of Asia’s 50 Best, Ultraviolet is an immersive, multi-sensory dining experience that combines gastronomic mastery and theatrical wizardry. Transported to a mystery purpose-built venue, guests are served a tasting menu in which each course is accompanied by bespoke lighting, visual effects and other senses-stimulating cues.

Other award recipients include Toyo Eatery in Manila earning the Miele One To Watch Award for its modern interpretations of Filipino culinary traditions. Celebrated chef Andre Chiang, of Raw in Taipei and formerly of Restaurant Andre in Singapore, is this year’s deserving recipient of The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award.

Find out more at http://www.TheWorlds50Best.com/asia.

The city has 16 foreign consular missions and 281 Fortune 500 enterprises, and is steadily becoming the first choice for industries, capital and talent in mid-west China.

Compared with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other firsttier cities, Chengdu boasts greater radiating power and potential, as well as lower marketing costs by means of exhibitions and fairs.

In the past five years, a large number of agricultural organisations, business associations and enterprise representatives from a dozen countries and regions have been attracted to each exposition for transactions and exchanges.

This year’s expo will occupy 55,000 square metres and host 1,500 exhibitors. An estimated 50,000 professional purchasers will be invited, including wholesalers, agents, distributors, chambers of commerce, supermarkets, hotels, industrial parks, government agencies, farmers running large plantations and breeding sites, scientific research institutions, universities and colleges and military outfits.

As a professional operation, the Chengdu expo provides a variety of exhibition services, including project cooperation promotion, product purchase resource matching, points of contact with agricultural parks and factories about visitations, consultation opportunities regarding governmental policies, points of contact with industry and business associations, and individual interviews and key media reports.

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) — based on sales data for 76 countries — shows that consumption of antibiotics increased 65 percent from 2000 to 2015, driven by users in low- and middle-income countries.

The research team headed by scientists from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in the US capital said countries needed to invest in alternative treatments, sanitation and vaccination.

“With antibiotic consumption increasing worldwide, the challenge posed by antibiotic resistance is likely to get worse,” said the authors of the study, which was published in Monday’s edition of PNAS.

“Antibiotic resistance, driven by antibiotic consumption, is a growing global health threat,” it said.

“As with climate change, there may be an unknown tipping point, and this could herald a future without effective antibiotics.”

In the 76 countries studied, the number of so-called “defined daily doses” consumed rose from 21.2 billion in 2000 to 34.8 billion in 2015.

Eili Klein, a researcher at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy and one of the study’s authors, said the jump signifies “increased access to needed drugs in countries with lots of disease that can be effectively treated with antibiotics.”

But, Klein warned: “As more and more countries gain access to these drugs, these rates will only increase and that will drive resistance rates higher.”

One group of experts formed in the United Kingdom in 2014 estimates that in 2016, there were at least 700,000 deaths related to drug-resistant infections.

– Stop overuse –

Over the 16-year period studied, the increase in antibiotics consumption was marginal in the three countries with the highest usage — the United States, France and Italy.

But it was a different story elsewhere: in Asia, consumption of antibiotics more than doubled in India, skyrocketed 79 percent in China and rose 65 percent in Pakistan.

The three countries are the biggest users of antibiotics among the countries deemed low and middle-income for the purposes of the study.

They are also countries that suffer in some areas from poor sanitation, irregular access to vaccines and a lack of cleaning drinking water — all conditions that allow infectious diseases and drug-resistant infections to spread.

“Radical rethinking of policies to reduce consumption is necessary, including major investments in improved hygiene, sanitation, vaccination, and access to diagnostic tools both to prevent unnecessary antibiotic use and to decrease the burden of infectious disease,” the study says.

For Klein, eliminating overuse of antibiotics should be “a first step and a priority for every country” especially given the alarming projection that by 2030, consumption may have increased by another 200 percent.

“Estimates are that 30 percent of use in high income countries is inappropriate,” Klein told AFP.

“Kilorun 2018: The Running Festival of Food/Fun/Friend/Family” introduced an entirely new race concept, motivating everyone, no matter their level, to get outdoors and keep fit. It was held last weekend at Lan Khon Muang Plaza and the course took runners through Rattanakosin Island and offered them an opportunity to indulge in gastronomic experiences.

The first race “KG (Kilogram) Aroi Run” held on Saturday was set up as a leisure route of eating and sightseeing. Along the 2.4 kilometre route, runners could chow down on signature dishes from Kopi Hia Tai Gee, Udom Pochana, Err Urban Rustic Thai, Krua Apsorn, Mont Nom Sod, Lan Fha, Radna Yod Pak Sood 40 Pee, Matsaya, Nutthaporn Ice Cream and Made by Todd Chili Chili. Runners passed such scenic locations such as Giant Swing, The Golden Mount, Wat Ratchanatdaram (Loha Prasat) and Rajdamnoen Avenue and those who gained between 0.5 and 1 kilogram were awarded with special rewards. More than 600 entrants took part.

The KM (Kilometre) Breakfast Run kicked off the activities on Sunday at Lan Khon Muang Plaza. The route covered a loop of beautiful attractions such as the Giant Swing, Wat Ratchanatdaram (Loha Prasat), Democracy Monument, Sanam Luang (Royal Plaza), the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Museum Siam and San Chao Pho Sua (Tiger God Shrine) and the race itself was classified into three distances of 2.5, 5.5 and 9 kilometers. More than 2,000 entrants participated in and received a race pack exclusively designed for the event.

The two-day event was organised by Index Creative Village in collaboration with Air Asia and the Traffic Foundation. An exclusive line-up of stars, celebrities and other public figures also showed up at the series, including actor Thana “Nhong” Thana Chatborirak and his little sister Wanmai, DJ Archawin “Ton” Lhaisakul, former professional tennis player Danai “Pick” Udomchoke and his family and actress Ratchawin “Koy” Wongviriya.

Three runners wearing the best fancy dress costumes in the KG Aroi Run were rewarded with an exclusive “Baowhill” plush doll as well as air tickets to Osaka, Bali and Hanoi.

The male and female winners of the KM (Kilometre) Breakfast Run took home a year’s supply of domestic flights along with tickets to Osaka for two seats. The winners of the 5.5 kilometre won an international flight, as did those to cross the finish line first in the 2.5 km Kids Run.

The next event is slated to take place in Bali on June 2-3.