All Thai on-screen content consumers can submit their “reaction-to-the-content” to the campaign website and earn votes, as they go up against fellow consumers from Malaysia and the Philippines for the win. Only one reacting rule applies, and that is to have the reacting scene inclusive of M&M’s consumption. The race has three categories to meet different appreciations of screen-time fun. Campaign participants can decide on the content to watch and react upon based on their own interests – adorable heart-warming contents, hilarious laugh-out-loud contents and heart-stopping contents. A trip for two to Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan goes to the entrant who receives the highest votes.

The Thailand launch of M&M’S latest regional consumer rewarding activity was made through a Facebook live streaming event led by noted singer Nalin “Sara AF3” Hohler, who demonstrated how to make reaction contents for submission to all three campaign categories.

To enjoy Sara’s video and learn more about how you could win, go to https://youtu.be/BrpUrsmNcCQ

Submissions are open until August 22.

How to Join

>>> Watch any on-screen content and have your favourite packet of M&M’S ready.

>>> Record your reaction (with M&M’S) as a photo or video.

>>> Visit http://www.screenbiteawards.com to submit your reaction.

>>> Choose a category that suits your entry best; #BestXOXO – for romantic moments, #BestLOL – for funny moments, and #BestWOW – for wow moments

>>>Upload and submit.

Rules

>>> All entries must visibly contain the consumption of any packet of M&M’S

>>> Videos must be no longer 20 seconds, clear and audible.

>>> No late entries will be accepted.

Two entries per country will be shortlisted by the official M&M’S judges for each category.  Public voting will open from September 7 to 21. Visit http://www.ScreenBiteAwards.com to find the shortlisted reactions, see where Thailand is on the rankings, and vote for your favourite entries. You can vote for one entry per category per day. The winner will be announced on September 29.

For details, go to the “mmsthailand” page on Facebook.

BANGKOK ISN’T yet the art-conscious city that, say, Paris or Milan are, but appreciation for art and culture shows up in the most unusual places, such as constructions.

Samyarn Mitrtown is being developed on Rama IV Road as Bangkok’s “first smart mixed-use project” with an “Urban Life Library” concept.

To get neighbourhood folks expressing themselves and encourage “a sense of ownership” and belonging, the developer, Golden Land Property Development, has invited four young artists to turn the construction hoarding into a gallery of street art.

Pitchaya “Beer Pitch” Srirapong, Tatchmapan “Pomme Chan” Chanchamrassaeng, Akkarapon Munlod and Pasinee “Jeep” Kongdechakul are participating in the Samyan Mitrtown Artist Collaboration 2, a follow-up to a successful earlier project.

The reasoning is that free-to-see street art can “reach” as many people in a month as a major metropolitan museum does in a year. Samyan district residents as well as visitors are getting a treat for the eyes.

The Urban Life Library is the first in a series of planned projects, to be followed by a Learning Library, an Eating Library and a Living Library.

Pattira Charoenchasri, managing director of Ductstore the Design Guru, brought the artists together for the project, recently hosted a gathering to unveil the plans at which White Gallery photographers snapped pictures of the guests against the backdrop of street art.

“Last year we had six artists paint graffiti and this year we have four famous artists offering their perceptions of Samyan Mitrtown,” Pattira said.

Pitchaya takes her inspiration from architects’ blueprints.

Pitchaya explained how she interpreted the “smart mixed-use” approach in the form of lines as seen on the project blueprint. The words “Smart, Office, Building” are printed across her creation in a harmonious way to reflect how Samyan Mitrtown fits well with the city.

“It’s been very challenging, but fun, to create art for this project,” she said. “Putting up a canvas boundary instead of normal fencing means that art can make the area more interesting. I’ve used colours inspired by photos of New York City – vibrant and lively, yet at the same time dark with shadows – to give the idea of a huge metropolis and advanced technology.”

Akkarapon compares learning to playing outside the classroom.

Akkarapon sought to depict different generations of people co-existing in “a learning space outside the classroom”, among books, sports and other activities.

“Normally at a construction site you see a dumpy green fence, but Samyan Mitrtown has all this creative and colourful artwork, which not only makes it more attractive but also

encourages an appreciation of art.”

Akkarapon likened learning to playing, especially if it takes place “outside the box”.

“When diverse thoughts link together, it brings out people’s different characteristics and helps people live more harmoniously.”

Jeep Kongdechakul has passers-by drooling with gorgeous renderings of food. 

Jeep has rendered images of mouth-watering food to represent the Eating Library.

“Food these days is no longer merely one of the four fundamental human needs – it’s become a fun part of our lifestyle,” she said. “And street food is mobile, with tasty dishes sold at beautiful and creatively designed outlets, just like the Samyan Mitrtown project itself.”

Pomm Chan sets out to make the district more cheerful.

Pomme Chan brings out the idea of smart living.

“The lines and forms in my piece represent a complex electrical system. When the electricity reaches the users, it makes our lives more convenient and comfortable. This piece is rather abstract, but it has a modern look and vivid colours to represent positive energy, and the patterns lend a friendly vibe.

“Art isn’t just for galleries – it should be public art and make our town look cheerful.”

WHAT’S IN STORE

The Bt8.5-billion Samyan Mitrtown project covers 222,000 square metres on Rama IV Road.

Its retail zone will be the Urban Life Library, occupying nearly a third of the area and including shops, a multipurpose hall and a large rooftop garden.

The office zone in the 32-floor Intelligence Office Tower will be another 48,000sqm and boast cutting-edge innovations.

The 33-floor residential zone called the Neo Explorer Living Platform will be a hotel and condominium with state-of-the-art facilities, the two uses separated for privacy and security.

ON REVIEWING the stories submitted for “Mekong Shadows”, the anthology of contemporary writing about Cambodia that he was assembling, Iain Donnelly realised he’d better let a little light into what had been conceptualised as a “noir” collection.

The reasoning had been that Cambodia, with its horrific modern history, could easily match the kind of noir literature that’s found a firm base in Thailand.

But not all of the authors contributing to “Mekong Shadows” – just released on Thursday in paperback and digitally – were giving him noir. In fact, there’s an overt optimism and hopefulness in some of the entries.

As well, all profits from the book’s sales are going to a very cheery cause – the Khmer Sight Foundation, which arranges operations to remove cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in Cambodia. Donnelly reckons that for every eight to 10 copies of the anthology sold, someone gets their vision back.

He and Mark “Bibby” Jackson, publisher of AsiaLife magazine’s local edition, also organised a competition for young Cambodians aspiring to become writers. The two winners whose quite capable pieces are featured in the book are only 15 and 18 years old. Donnelly next plans to assemble two anthologies of just Cambodian writing – one in English and the other in Khmer.

So “Mekong Shadows” didn’t turn out quite as intended, as a follow-up to “Phnom Penh Noir”, the anthology that Christopher G Moore curated in 2012. Nevertheless, there’s noir in the “Shadows” of the title and claustrophobic gloom runs through the bulk of the stories like that broad pan-Asian river in moonlight.

Several of the writers use as an effective setting the Heart of Darkness, the popular Phnom Penh nightspot, tapping the unease and discomfort of Joseph Conrad’s short novel. The Khmer Rouge, when not menacingly close, are rarely far away.

While Bangkok-based Moore, who’s only just made his peace with Cambodia in “A Memory Manifesto”, reviewed here last month, isn’t among the authors in “Mekong Shadows”, other writers well known in Thailand and well versed in Cambodia are in their element here.

James Newman (“Fun City Punch”) delivers one of his signature short, sharp shocks early on in the proceedings with “La Petite Mort”, in which Sartre’s definition of an orgasm is co-opted to signify a state of wilful amnesia. It’s private eye Joe Dylan on the case in a tale of vengeance couched in staccato 1940s-style tough-guy prose.

Jim Algie offers “The Genocide Boys and Girls”, the entire second novella from his excellent double-feature “On the Night Joey Ramone Died” that came out last December. This is the part with the femme fatale who’s keen on terrifying images, like those infamous Khmer Rouge mugshots.

John Fengler, arguably the best writer in Southeast Asia who still hasn’t published a book (despite incessant prodding by friends), contributes another of his classic reminiscences in “Stamp of Approval”, about a chance meeting at the airport on the way into Cambodia and an unnerving glitch trying to get out.

Scotsman Iain Donnelly has mustered a riveting collection of stories set in Cambodia, many from Bangkok-based writers keen to swap Sukhumvit Road for Norodom Boulevard and the Chao Phraya for the Tonle Sap.

In “Two for the Road”, T Hunt Locke, author of a slew of thrillers including last year’s “Repent: A Bangkok Murder Mystery”, doses the reader in complacency with a cosy amble through diary notes on a trek to the Kampot Literary Festival – and then sets off a bomb.

Matt Carrell (“Thai Kiss”, “Vortex”, “Blood Brothers, Thai Style”) pays a visit, shocking despite its brevity, to “The Hill of Poisonous Trees” – the English translation for Tuol Sleng, which became the Khmer Rouge’s main prison, S21, in a tightly wound profile of the crippled math teacher who photographed the doomed.

In “Happy Ending”, John Burdett – one of most successful authors writing Southeast Asia-based fiction (“Bangkok 8”, “Bangkok Asset” and others featuring Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep) – chronicles in just a few pages an endearing romance that spans 40 years, four nations and centuries of faith.

From Chiang Mai, travel writer-poet-photographer Alasdair McLeod offers several quick, poignant snapshots from under “A Low Sun”, where a Cambodian has been assigned to show Russian and Chinese investors a future casino site, but her hospitable smiles keep vanishing abruptly.

In the knife-edged “Snow”, John Daysh (“Cut Out the Middleman”, “Like a Moth to a Flame”) is in Shanghai with “a Chinese guy tied up in my bathtub” and a Khmer girlfriend who’s turned him into a killer.

Among the writers more attuned to Cambodia than Thailand, Chad (aka Cead) Evans gets off to a wonderfully lyrical start in “The Tuk-Tukker of Doom”, set in Seam Reap: “Invisible tailorbirds and bee-eaters rustled and chattered. Geckos clicked goodbye and retired up the wall for the day.”

But his protagonist, a cultural historian, is soon in trouble with an evil monk and will need his tuk-tuk driver to rescue him from “la nuit au Cambodge”, a very noir place to be.

Both Donnelly and Mark Jackson are represented, the latter with “Sleeping Beauty”, whose main character wakes up in bed with a babe and a black eye. His gradually reconstituting memories of the previous evening careen to a shocking conclusion.

Donnelly is here in his author incarnation as Steven W Palmer (“Angkor Cloth” and the forthcoming “Bangkok Drowning”). His grim, moralistic story “Oun Srolanh Bong (Girl Loves Boy)” is an emotional roller-coaster ride in which “love” is not necessarily the operative word.

In other yarns, Kampot-based Bob Couttie (“Temple of the Leper King”) explains what “Swing the Cat” means in mariners’ terminology, former humanitarian worker Yulia Khouri describes not one “Woman” but three in the moving poem that opens the book, Kosal Khiev recalls in prose and rhyme what “Returning” to Cambodia was like for him, and former UN translator Ek Madra distils his treatise “The Factors Contributing to Cambodia’s Civil War” into an informative fairy tale of love in the jungle.

Winning the award for scariest story in the collection is Phillip Coggan’s “The Dark Son”, about an ex-Khmer Rouge cadre whose mystical “power to dare” abandons him.

The most bizarre tale is “Shifting Fortunes”, the lengthy but slick end-piece by former Phnom Penh Post writer Joel Quenby, which fictionalises articles he wrote for the newspaper about real people and closes with a gunshot at (where else) the Heart of Darkness.

The anthology’s best episode, hands down, is actually a long excerpt from “The Cambodian Book of the Dead”, a taut and disturbing novel by Tom Vater (“Sacred Skin – Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos”). Rippling with clever wordplay, it’s a very dark reading indeed of Phnom Penh. Vater evokes “the smell of the tropics, saturated with reincarnation and ruin, this hypnotising combination of extremes, of promise and danger, of temptation and failure”.

As for the two young ladies making their published debut as writers, the calibre of their stories is utterly impressive given their youth, their forays into a second language and the fact that the Khmer Rouge not long ago attempted to drain the country of its intellectual sustenance.

“Little Girl and the Hat” by Vornsar Ses, the 15-year-old runner-up, and “Raindrops” by Voleak Phan, age 18, both involve children, as might be expected, but the points of view, pacing and dramatic flourishes are as grown-up as the stark circumstances demand.

Mekong Shadows: Tales from Cambodia

Edited by Iain Donnelly

Published by Saraswati Publishing, 2017

Available at Amazon.com, Kindle US$6.99 (Bt233)

LEADING SWEDISH furniture and home furnishings retailer Ikea turns the spotlight on the bedroom this month, suggesting a Scandinavian makeover for a cosy and relaxing ambience that matches the modern lifestyle.

With its roots in Swedish home furnishings, Scandinavian elegance has become synonymous with Ikea’s identity with furniture and accessories catering to those with both traditional and modern tastes.

The new Scandinavian Modern range brings the simplicity of design traditions to life and integrates them with everyday functionality, with light hues colour accents creating more playful designs.

 Scandinavian Modern mixes vivid colours to add joyful elements to a room.

This style fits well with modern families as generous space around properly positioned furniture creates a light and airy feeling. Striking textiles convey an optimistic feel against a light base of natural wood. The design concept reflects a multi-functional, playful, innovative, smart, and flexible design to make the most of your space.

The colouring technique used to decorate a bedroom is a mix of bright and vivid colours to add joyful elements. Materials such as natural wood fibres and wool express simplicity and, when combined, create a classic Swedish mood and tone. Blond wood is also prominent, and often combined with other materials like plastic, metal, or paper. Adding bright colours and unique patterns to a white base and blond wood creates a playful, modern Scandinavian look.

The cool tone of blue bed sheets can help you sleep better.

In addition, Ikea is sharing some great bedroom decorating tips with urban residents who live in limited spaces, providing the perfect proportions for a more personal and relaxing area, with every element of leisure.

>>> Use the cool tone of blue bed sheets to sleep better. Several pillows on your bed will also provide more comfort and relaxation.

>>> Cabinets can help you with storage solutions, while wall shelves allow for more functionality. For a room with limited space, a side desk can be placed in the corner to serve as a small work area.

>>> Each layer of Ikea’s two-layer curtains offers a different function. By the window, the opaque or transparent outer layer provides protection from the heat and enables airflow, while the pattern on the inner, more visible layer enhances the atmosphere in the room and provides additional control over access to sunlight.

>>> Curtains can also be used to separate the area between your wardrobe and bed, making your room even better organised and providing a sense of privacy.

>>> Storage boxes under your bed allow you to make full use of your space for storage solutions, Ikea’s Malm bed is a classic example.

Check out these and much more at Ikea Mega Bangna.

A minuscule 140 millimetres tall and 276 grams, the Bluetooth-enabled P2 speaker from Beoplay is about as portable as they come.

It’s protected against splashes and dust and – oh yeah, the sound is great.

Inclement weather isn’t a problem with the drivers sealed inside a casing of aluminium and polymer.

Adding to its mobility, the P2 will play music nonstop for up to 10 hours on a single battery charge. And, if left unused for 15 minutes, it will automatically switch to standby mode to save power.

There’s a USB Type-C port for recharging the battery, which takes about two hours for a full charge.

The Beoplay P2 happens to be quite cute in a choice of Black, Sandstone or Royal Blue. The smooth, round shape feels comfortable in the hand. The case is all premium crafted materials, including a pearl blasted anodised aluminium grill and durable polymer underneath.

The P2 can get amazingly loud with its Class D amplifier (woofer and tweeter) putting out 2×15 watts. You’re hearing Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound, rich and spacious and with good definition in the bass and drums. The new midwoofer driver has a frequency range of 68Hz to 21,000Hz.

The builtin microphone can be used for phone calls and voice commands.

There’s only one button, used to both switch on the speaker and pair it up with other Bluetooth devices. You get at the other functions by tapping and shaking.

You press and hold the power button for two seconds to prepare it for a Bluetooth connection with your smartphone.

You doubletap the speaker top to start and stop music and shake it horizontally to jump to the next track.

Using the Beoplay App on your phone, you can customise these tapping-shaking functions as well as the equaliser setting. Use the app too for pairing two P2 speakers for stereo listening.

To use the P2 as a speakerphone, press the power button or doubletap the top to accept incoming calls, and press and hold the button for two seconds or shake the P2 to reject or end a call.

In my test, I found the P2 reproduced music with good clarity in outstanding highs and midranges. The bass won’t knock you over, but there’s plenty of it.

The Beoplay P2 is available from RTB Technology for Bt7,890.

Key Specs

– Power amplifier: 2x15W Class D for woofer and tweeter

– Frequency range: 68Hz to 21,000Hz

– Connectivity: USBC for charging

– Bluetooth: 4.2, ADK 4.0

– Microphone: Electret type, omnidirectional, supports Apple Siri and Google Now voice commands

– Battery: Up to 10 hours playtime at moderate listening level, lithiumpolymer, rechargeable, 7,2V, 2200mAh, liion, charging time two hours

– Dimensions: 140x80x28mm

– Weight: 275 grams

The life and times of Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, the second child of King Chulalongkorn and Queen Saovabha Phongsri and the younger brother of Prince Vajiravudh, or King Rama VI, are on show for the first time in the exhibition “Duty and Passion” at the Police Museum in Parusakawan Palace.

The exhibition shines a light on the strong and meaningful relationship between Prince Chakrabongse and his father, King Chulalongkorn through 300 letters and rare documents, which were discovered among items put up for sale at Christie’s auction house in 1995, as well as artefacts.

“When I was 15, my mother, Elizabeth Chakrabongse, was dying in Cornwall and I remember her going through boxes of letters and trying to sort them out. About 14 years later, when I was in Bangkok researching the book on my grandmother, ‘Katya and the Prince of Siam’, I realised some of the letters were missing,” says Mom Rajawongse Narisa Chakrabongse, daughter of Prince Chula Chakrabongse who was the only child of Prince Chakrabongse and his Ukrainian wife, Ekaterina Desnitskaya. “Thanks to a call from Paisarn Piammattawat I was able to bring them back home. The majority I later donated to the British Library. They include the declaration of love by Prince Chakrabongse.”

“Duty and Passion”, which is on show on the first and second floors of Parusakawan Palace, the former residence of Prince Chakrabongse, is spread over three rooms covering his early life, his education in England and Russia and his life and work in Siam.

Among the items on show in the “Life” section are his costumes, among them the brocade jacket he wore on the occasion of being elevated to the rank of Prince of Phitsanulok Prachanatas a nine-year-old.

The Prince was born in 1883 and was the 40th child of King Chulalongkorn. At 13, he was sent to study in Europe, travelling by boat from Singapore to Marseilles and from there to England. He began writing to his father every week. Some 230 letters have survived along with 70 letters from the King to Prince Chakrabongse.

In 1897, King Chulalongkorn made his first trip to Europe. While there, Prince Chakrabongse joined him in Spain and Portugal, as well as Darmstadt, where he met Tsar Nicholas II and the decision was taken to send him to study in Russia. In England, he met regularly with his older brother, Crown Prince Maha Vajiravudh, and other princes also studying in England.

In 1898, Prince Chakrabongse left for Saint Petersburg, travelling via Paris and Berlin. Tsar Nicholas II arranged for him to stay in the Winter Palace, as well as undertaking to pay for his entire education. He was enrolled in the elite Corps des Pages cadet school.

In 1902, Prince Chakrabongse graduated top of his class while Poum, his Siamese companion, came second, and their names recorded on a marble panel in the cadet school. He joined the Hussar regiment, despite the King’s misgivings about him being in the cavalry.

Three years later, Prince Chakrabongse met Russian beauty Ekaterina Desnitskaya and a few months later the couple eloped, marrying secretly in Constantinople. In 1908, Katya gave birth to Chula Chakrabongse. However, the King refused to accept the marriage and the newborn was not accorded a royal title.

In 1918, Katya left on an extended trip to China and Japan, and the Prince became close to Princess Chavalit Obhas.A year later, the marriage was over and Katya was living in Shanghai.

A large glass cabinet on the second floor of the palace displays letters, pictures and books including a certificate accompanying the bestowing of the St Andre order by Tsar Nicholas II in 1911, a letter from Prince Chakrabongse written from Parusakawan Palace to his mother, Queen Saovabha informing her of the birth of his son, Chula Chakrabongse, and the registration of name certificate she penned for the infant. Also on show are letters written by Prince Chakrabongse to his father, King Chulalongkorn, and the diaries of Prince Chakrabongse, one from 1900 and another from 1916-1918.

“We also have the menu for Prince Chakrabongse’s last meal at the Council of Defence on June 2, 1920, two days before he left for Singapore where he died. The menu, which was embellished with two symbols of the tricolour flag, consisted of soup, plakraphong (sea bass), lamb, turkey, khao Guangdong (fried rice) and ice cream and fruit,” says Paisarn, Narisa’s secretary.

The second room also highlights the Prince’s education at the Corps des Pages, a privileged military school reserved for sons of noblemen and high-ranking officers in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and his life at the Winter Palace. Here Prince Chakrabongse is pictured in several different outfits as well as with his brothers and mother.

The third and last room is dedicated to the Prince’s life and work in Siam as well as the women he loved.

“In early 1911, Belgian aviator Charles Van Den Born demonstrated his Henri Farman four-winged bi-plane at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club, which was originally earmarked to house Pathumwan Airport. The site was later changed to Don Mueang. The two men went on to establish the Army Aviation Company. In late 1911, the Prince selected three officers, Major Luang Sakdi Sanyalawut, Captain Luang Arwut Sikikorn and First Lieutenant Tip Ketuthat to study aviation in France for two years. At that time, the aviation school in France was considered the best in the world. Because of his initial impetus, the Air Force regards the Prince as the Father of the Air Force.

“The Prince also initiated the Royal Thai Survey Department and appointed his first aide-de-camp Luang Surayudh, later known as Phraya Bhakdiphutorn, as the department’s first chief. What is less known is that he served as vice president of the Thai Red Cross Society from 1910. After his death, the Chakrabongse Building was constructed inside King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital,” Paisarn explains.

Other photographs show Prince Chakrabongse performing in the play, “Nou Ja” in 1914, being received by Russian army officers upon his arrival in Vladivostok, and sending the Siamese Expeditionary Force off to the First World War from Koh Si Chang on the ship Empire on June 20, 1918. An oil painting and bronze statue portray the Prince in the uniform of a Field Marshal.

The love stories of the Prince Chakrabongse and Ekaterina Desnitskaya and his second wife, Princess Chavalit, are told through a series of photographs. The young prince met Katya in 1905 when he was a colonel in the Russian Army but the couple was separated for a while because of the Russian-Japanese war where Katya served as a nurse. In 1906, the couple married secretly in an Orthodox church in Constantinople. Knowing that his parents would be against their alliance, the Prince did not ask permission to wed and as a result Katya was never acknowledged, becoming something of an outcast of the Siamese Royal Family. The Russian bride tried to build bridges, dressing in Siamese costumes and mastering the Thai language. King Chulalongkorn however still refused to meet with her.

After the King’s death, Katya was awarded official status and became Mom Catherina Na Phitsanulok, named after the province for which her husband was responsible. After 10 years of married life, the Prince had an affair with his young cousin Princess Chavalit and Katya divorced him, heading to Shanghai in China to help refugees fleeing the Russian revolution.

This exhibition, which also marks the 120th anniversary of Thai-Russian Diplomatic Relations and 100 Years of the First World War, has been launched in parallel with a book, “Letters from St Petersburg – a Siamese Prince at the court of the last Tsar” published by River Books.

BOX

Looking back in wonder

The “Duty and Passion: The Life and Times of Prince Chakrabongse” exhibition is showing at Police Museum, Parusakawan Palace until September 30. It’s from Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free.

Find out more at by calling call (02) 225 0139 or (02) 222 1290 or visitwww.facebook.com/River-Books.

“For this 8th edition of Medical Fair Thailand, we are setting out to deliver a dynamic showcase of quality and relevant products and solutions that mirror the technological advancements in the global medical and healthcare sectors. These offerings will hopefully further spur the country’s development as Southeast Asia’s medical business centre, medical manufacturing hub and medical tourism hotspot,” said Gernot Ringling, managing director of Messe Dusseldorf Asia, organiser of Medical Fair Thailand.

With the increasing use of robotic surgery, 3D printing, implantable devices, use of automation and artificial intelligence in clinical settings and other digital innovations for prevention, monitoring, and treatment across Southeast Asia, this upcoming fair will bring some of the most innovative products and trending solutions. The exhibition will therefore augment Thailand and the region’s medical industry modernisation and progress towards becoming a more advanced medical and healthcare services market. Amidst increasing market demands, the exhibition will also focus on “Rehabilitative Care” and “Connected Care”, following the increased investment in technologies and solutions by health care organisations to better serve their well-informed consumers and needs of the highest healthcare spenders – the ageing population.

The fair has garnered significant international interest this year, attracting 18 national pavilions with first-time official country representations from Canada, India, European Union, Russia and the Netherlands. The presence of the European Union Business Avenues Pavilion with 50 companies especially reflects the increased interest of international market players in Southeast Asia’s medical industry.

With the entry of ‘EU Technologies to Boost Southeast Asia’s Medical & Healthcare Industries’ as highlighted by Philipp Dupuis, head of Trade and Economic Section, Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, the fair has bridged stronger collaborations between European companies and Thailand/ Southeast Asian companies. The contribution of EU companies in bringing high-tech innovations and solutions that are in-line with EU’s Industry 4.0 roadmap for its economic partners will equip local companies with the capabilities to reach higher standards of medical practice and healthcare service delivery. Within this pavilion, companies from Bulgaria, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden will be participating for the first time.

“The fair continues on its growth path as an internationally recognised exhibition for the medical and healthcare sectors and continues to attract trade visitors and exhibitors from all over the world,” said Chiruit Isarangkur Na Ayuthaya, president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau or TCEB. “We are delighted to support the exhibition once again and to build on the strong and long-standing relationship between Thai and MICE sectors in tandem with Thailand’s vibrant medical and healthcare industry growth.”

“With initiatives such as – ‘Thailand Connect Your Vibrant Journey to Business Success’ this reaffirms Thailand’s position as an excellent destination for events such as the fair that can connect businesses and act as a gateway to Asean for companies looking to expand their footprint in the region. The fair’s success further reinforces Thailand’s value proposition as a leading medical hub and MICE destination in the region,” added Chiruit.

Medical tourism is on the rise, especially in Southeast Asia, where the medical industry is valued at US$100 billion, with more than 3.5 million consumers visiting annually. Thailand, with its comparatively low cost of healthcare services, yet high standard of medical infrastructure, has been predicted to become the new medical tourism hub for the region.

Find out more at http://www.MedicalFair-Thailand.com.

Sony’s portable Xperia Touch projector turns your wall, desk or any flat surface into a 23-inch HD touchscreen with either horizontal or vertical ultra-short-throw projection. Family and friends can gather around a table or flat wall to enjoy games, watch streaming video services and communicate using messaging apps and social networks. With builtin stereo speakers and a USB Type-C Port, it retails for Bt59,990.

Masters of music

Audio Technica’s ATHDSR9BT Bluetooth-enabled headphones boast a premium-graded overear design. Part of the SR (Sound Reality) Series with advanced technology, they’ve got “Pure Digital Drive” to ensure high-resolution audio, a reengineered 45mm True Motion Driver with a lightweight diaphragm with DLC (diamondlike carbon) coating and an extended 5Hz45,000Hz frequency response. RTB Technology has the sets for Bt19,900.

Nokia 6 looks, sounds sharp

The Nokia 6 phone from HMD Global has its 5.5-inch display of 1920x1080pixel resolution protected behind sculpted Corning Gorilla Glass. You’re looking at Android 7.0, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, plus speakers packing Smart Amplifier with Dolby Atmos. The main camera is 16-megapixel resolution. Expect to pay about Bt8,000.

Nice price on the XA10

Priced at Bt17,990, the Fujifilm XA10 is quite affordable for a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera in this popular series. Compact and coolly retro, it deploys an APSC CMOS sensor with 16-megapixel resolution and a 180-degree tilting LCD display for selfies and has sensitivity of up to ISO25600.

Who’s game for Acer?

Acer’s Predator G3 57171A4 notebook computer will appeal to gamers with its seventh-generation Intel Core i77700HQ processor, 16GB of working memory, a 256GB SSD drive and a full terabyte on the hard drive. The Nvidia GeForce GTX1060 offers another 6GB dedicated video memory. The 15.6inch display is 1920x1080pixel resolution. The going price is Bt52,990.

Easy to use, the new GPS bike computer from Garmin will have you finding your way through the maze of city streets and urban routes without needing to ask for directions.

The Garmin Edge 820 is preloaded with the Garmin City Map for turn-by-turn navigation and also gives you routable roads and bike paths, elevation data, points of interest and an address search. You can even use roundtrip routing to let the Edge 820 select a cycling-friendly route for you, based on how far you want to ride.

The 2.3-inch touch screen display with 200×265 pixels is easy to operate and the battery has plenty of juice, supporting up to 15 hours in GPS training mode.

Moreover, you can ride even when the rain is pouring down because the Edge 820 is water resistant, conforming to IPX7 rating.

With 16 gigabytes, the bike computer has plenty of memory allowing you to store up to 200 way-points or locations and up to 100 courses for racing or training. Moreover, it can record up to 200 hours of your ride.

The bike computer comes with GPS and GLONASS sensors as well as a barometric altimeter.

It also has builtin ANT+ adapter to connect to ANT+ sensor devices, such as Garmin premium heart rate sensor, cadence sensor and speed sensor. The data from these sensors will be displayed on the bike computer screen and can be used to increase your performance.

With the addition of a heart rate strap, you gain access to a variety of physiological data. You read your cycling-specific VO2 max along with a recovery advisor, which analyses your data and tells you how long you should wait before attempting another hard ride.

This connected system of sensors, accessories, cycling computer and postride analysis at Garmin Connect allows you to keep track of how your body performs from ride to ride.

The package comes with a standard mount and extended outfront for conveniently mounting the Edge 820 to your handlebars.

To get the most out of the computer you will of course need a Garmin Connect account so that your ride data will be stored and analysed together with your profile (gender, age, weight and height) for the Edge 820 to calculate calories burned.

Once connected to your smartphone with a Bluetooth connection, the Edge 820 will also display text messages and calls you’ve received.

The Bluetooth connection with your smartphone also allows the Edge 820 to automatically send your activity to Garmin Connect as soon as you finish recording it.

And you can also post an update to your social media network when uploading an activity to your Garmin Connect account.

The Connect app has a wide range of uses, among them sending real-time weather conditions to the Edge 820, searching for courses and workouts and sending status announcements during your ride.

Equally useful are the Bluetooth Connected feature’s LiveTrack function, which allows your friends and family to follow your races and training activities in real time, and the GroupTrack. Once the Edge 820 is connected to Garmin Connect app, GroupTrack can be used to keep tabs on your riding buddies and they on you if you become separated from the group.

Edge 820 offers incident detection capabilities via an integrated accelerometer and sends your location to an emergency contact if you get into difficulty.

To assist with incident avoidance, Edge 820 is also compatible with a wide range of Varia cycling awareness products, including rearview radar and smart bike lights.

The bike computer displays two main sections – navigation and training. In training, you can race against a virtual partner or the computer by setting a speed for the virtual partner. The computer will display its position on the bottom half of the screen in relation to your current position.

You can also race against a Strava segment or download a segment from the web to practice. You can create a workout for practice or download workouts from the web. You can also use the option of training indoors from the training option.

The navigation feature is fun to use if you like to vary your routes and displays a GPS map to guide you.

During the test, I enjoyed biking in my neighbourhood using the navigation feature. The Edge 820 displayed the map of my neighbourhood correctly.

I also tried riding for 16.62 kms with the training feature. The bike computer calculated my average riding speed at 18.2 km per hour and maximum speed of 23.7 km/h and informed me I had burned some 660 calories.

The bike computer measured my average heart rate by syncing with the Garmin heart rate sensor at 136 bpm and my max heart rate at 149 bpm.

The bike computer synced with a cadence sensor and a speed sensor and reported that I achieved an average cadence speed of 64 rounds per minute and maximum cadence speed of 81 rpm. The cadence speed increased in line with the speed of riding. It reported my average riding speed of 18.2 km/h and my max speed as 23.7 km/h.

Garmin Edge 820 is distributed by GIS at the suggested retail price of Bt19,900, which includes a speed sensor, a cadence sensor and a Garmin premium heart rate sensor as well as a standard and an extended outfront mounts.

Key Specs

– Physical dimensions: 49.0 x 73.0 x 21.0 mm

– Weight: 67.7 g

– Water rating: IPX7

– Battery type: rechargeable lithiumion

– Waypoints/favourites/loca¬tions: 200

– Display size: 2.3 inch

– Display resolution: 200 x 265 pixels

– Battery life: up to 15 hours GPS training mode

– Internal memory: 16 GB

– Routes: 100 Courses

– History: up to 200 hours

The event, ending tomorrow (August 5), features cultural performances and box-office-hit movies, all for free, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Organised in collaboration with other member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and India, the event marks the 25th anniversary of Asean-India official relations and the 70th anniversary of Thailand-India diplomatic relations.

The event is composed of interregional forums on trade, investment and tourism and an exposition of the finest products and services from participating nations.

Visitors are introduced to a wide range of native products, services and tourist attractions from Asean nations and India in the Country Pavilions and in Corporate Brands exhibitions.

At the Vietnamese Pavilion, top-quality GI products such as fish sauce, fruit and non la – the classic conical hat – are on sale. The coffee corner showcases authentic Vietnamese GI coffee and fruit drinks, organic dairy products and prestigious Minh Long porcelain.

The Indonesian Pavilion’s star products bear the “Remarkable Indonesia” emblem and include authentic batik in contemporary patterns by master designer Afif Syakur, Tenun textiles in both local and modern variations, ethnic wooden watches, and silver jewellery from the city of Solo, plus a large collection of leather-with-textile bags.

Brunei’s pavilion invites visitors to travel in style with promotions from Royal Brunei national airlines and shows a large collection of rare traditional products such as colourful “Tudong Dulang” food and traditional “Tekiding” trekking bags.

Cambodia is displaying strains of indigenous rice that are now one of the country’s chief exports, an array of processed products such as crispy rice snacks, and spices.

Exquisite arts and crafts, luxurious silver jewellery, wooden furniture and sculptures by skilled artisans are on view in the Lao Pavilion. And don’t miss the gorgeous pearl jewellery in the Myanmar Pavilion, and the ready-to-wear garment, textiles, bags and shoes.

Malaysia provides a wide range of information on trade and investment, including from Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce, with a full-scale directory listing member companies.

For halal food enthusiasts, a rich source of information on food products such as curry paste, sauce and convenience food products, as well as tourist information in every Malaysian city, is on offer.

The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry’s “Slingshot” project, designed to support digital entrepreneurs, has taken over that country’s pavilion. These are the important start-ups that are expected to drive forward the economy in the future.

Cartoon characters and animation are everywhere at the expo, including Thailand’s Majory the Space Traveller, Shew Sheep the Eat-All-Day Sheep, the Nuts So Mond’Sters and the all-time greatest hit Pangpond.

The Thai Pavilion has zones dedicated to AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality), and many more rising-star exports in spa, lifestyle, food, and organic products.

Fronted by the Indian government’s flagship “Make in India” project, its pavilion provides information on industrial corridors that accommodate smooth business operations.

For more information, visit http://www.Asean-IndiaExpo.com.