Thailand’s tourist authority is focusing on “Muay Thai” to push a sports tourism campaign. The campaign incudes a travel guidebook, “Awesome Muay Thai”, to introduce foreign tourists to boxing schools, training courses and boxing equipment shops.

Given that Muay Thai martial art is popular with both Thais and foreigners, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) considered it the main entry point for reaching potential sports tourists from around the globe, said Thapanee Kiatphaibool, the executive director for tourism products at TAT.

That led TAT to create the boxing tour guidebook, collecting information on basic and professional boxing camps in all regions that are ready to support foreign tourists interested in trying out the sport. “Awesome Muay Thai” provides important information on courses, the history of the boxing institute, and coaches, and includes QR codes so that tourists could easily find the gym using online map apps.

A total of 76 boxing camp nationwide are included in the book, which has also compiled information on souvenir shops, facilities, and tourism services related to Muay Thai, such as hotels, spas and tattoo shops.

Thai boxing superstar “Buakaw Bancha Mek”, who is famous among foreigners, will be on the book cover.

Based on the award-winning BBC television series of the same name and back in Thailand after a successful run in 2010, the $20-million production features updated, state-of-the-art technology and showcases colourful changes to the dinosaurs based on the latest scientific research including the likely feathering of some species.

The one-hour, 40-minute show depicts the well-informed dinosaurs’ evolution with almost cinematic realism. Scenes show the interactions between dinosaurs, how carnivorous dinosaurs evolved to walk on two legs, and how the herbivores fended off their more agile predators. Nine species are represented from the entire 200 million year reign of the dinosaurs. The show includes the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the terror of the ancient terrain, as well as the Plateosaurus and Liliensternus from the Triassic period, the Stegosaurus and Allosaurus from the Jurassic period and Torosaurus and Utahraptor from the Cretaceous period.

The largest of them, the Brachiosaurus, is 11 metres tall and 17 metres from nose to tail. It took a team of 50 – including engineers, fabricators, skin makers, artists, painters and animatronic experts – a year to build the production. Some fun facts including; it takes a team of three people to operate one dinosaur. Each large dinosaur weighs approximately 1.6 tons, and 21 trucks (each 14.5 metres in length) are needed to move the production.

The history of the world is played out with the splitting of the earth’s continents, the oceans form, volcanoes erupt, a forest catches fire – all leading to the impact of the massive comet, which struck the earth, and at last forced the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Tickets start at Bt600 at all ThaiTicketMajor outlets and its website. Seats on the second level are recommended for the optimum experience. See details at http://www.bectero.comor facebook: bectero or Line: BEC TERO CONCERTS or Twitter: @BEC_Tero_Ent or Instagram: BECTERO_ENTERTAINMENT and www.dinosaurlive.com

The event takes place on September 28-29 at Impact Arena and the Thai member of 2PM, Nichkhun Horvejkul, will be working as emcee.

Making their first visit to “KCON 2019 Thailand” is the six-member Boy Story, one of the youngest groups on the idol music scene. They and Got7 will join the star-studded line-up that features AB6IX, Ateez, Bvndit, Chung Ha, Everglow, (G)I-DLE, Golden Child, Itzy, IZ*ONE, Kim Jae Hwan, Nature, Oneus, Stray Kids, The Boyz and Verivery,

Day-1 Meet and Greet artists include ITZY, KIM JAE HWAN, ONEUS, and The Boyz, while Day-2 artists are AB6IX, ATEEZ, IZ*ONE and Stray Kids.

The concert on Saturday features Boy Story, Everglow, Golden Child, Got7, Itzy, Kim Jae Hwan, Nature, Oneus, and The Boyz with (G)I-DLE, AB6IX, Ateez, Bvndit, Chung Ha, IZ*ONE, Stray Kids, and Verivery taking the stage on Sunday.

KCON is the world’s largest K-Culture convention dedicated to every aspect of Korean pop culture (hallyu). The convention and concert franchise launched in 2012, and has grown each year attracting over 966,000 attendees around the world. KCON is now an established annual celebration for fans of Korean music, food, beauty, fashion, drama and more, providing the largest forum for fans to directly connect with each other, as well as with artists and professionals from across the Korean entertainment industry. Since its inception, the brand has expanded internationally, with KCON festivals now taking place in Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Paris, Mexico City and Sydney.

Tickets for the concerts are through ThaiTicketMajor outlets and online at www.thaiticketmajor.com as well as by calling (02) 262-3838. Follow @KCONThailand on Twitter.

The four-day exhibition and auction was organized by Art of Time with the support of Gaysorn Village and the Tourism Authority of Thailand and brought together 18 watch brands, most of which are not represented in Thailand, who introduced themselves to clients by at exclusive hospitality evenings.

Ludovic Ballouard of Ludovic Ballouard, Xavier De Roquemaurel of Czapek and clockmaker Sebastian Naeschke of Matthias Naeschke were in town along with the chief executives of the houses of Alchemists, Ateliers DeMonaco, Azimuth, Christophe Claret, Cyrus, Hyt, Kerbedanz, Kudoke, Manufacture Royale, Paul Design, Perrelet, Romain Gauthier, Schwarz-Etienne, Speake-Martin and Storm.

Eight exclusive custom designs were created to mark the exhibition in Thailand and were auctioned off to raise funds for the Kamlangjai Project, an initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha that provides assistance and adequate care to female and pregnant inmates, as well as the children of female inmates at women’s correctional institutions.

One of the timepieces up for auction was the Ludovic Ballouard Half Time Thailand Edition inspired by the coronation of the new King and bearing the number 10 written in Thai at the position of 12 o’clock and the remaining numerals cut in half, offering a perpetual reminder that the most important time is the present. The Matthias Naeschke Clock was inspired by Thai tradition and architecture with the shape of the main plate of the clock taking on the form of Bangkok’s temples and featuring hands engraved with Thai numerals and the date that also paid tribute to King Rama X.

The Kudoke White Elephant Unique Piece boasted a dial engraved with a White Elephant on the upper half of the watch movement. The Perrelet Turbine Unique Piece for Thailand featured the distinctive styling of the angel guardian with gold leaf painting a traditional pattern. The Christophe Claret Aventicum Thailand Edition incorporated a mirascope in the centre of the dial with a micro-engraving of an elephant and Wat Arun Temple. Ateliers DeMonaco Poincon de Geneva Wat Arun created a new model from the same collection, which is very prestigious as it carries the Geneva seal certification. Kerbedanz Tribute to Thailand featured the map of Thailand in bas-relief in rose gold inside a case made of 18-carat rose solid gold with sapphire crystal and anti-reflective coating. Azimuth Thailand Edition Piece Unique GT presented a sculptural work of art and a unique case inspired by the roar of an engine at full throttle; the rush of pushing a racing machine to its limits.

Reserve prices ranged from US$5,000 to $90,000 and the auction was held at Crystal Box on the 19th floor of Gaysorn Urban Resort in the presence of Bangkok’s A-listers and celebrities.

Taking home the Grand Winner Award are Chef Daniel Franco and mixologist Thanavorn Sitichai from The Ritz Carlton Koh Samui for their food and beverage recipes with Dilmah tea as the main ingredient. They wowed the judges with a food and beverage menu crafted to provide a contrast in flavours that when paired together were in perfect balance.

The competition welcomed 18 teams of chefs and mixologists from leading hotels nationwide, namely Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, Hilton Sukhumvit and DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, Pullman Bangkok King Power, Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong hotel, Anantara Sathorn Bangkok Hotel, Avani Riverside Bangkok Hotel, Zazen Boutique Hotel Resort & SPA, Avani+ Hua Hin ResortAnantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, The Ritz Carlton Koh Samui, Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort, Banyan Tree Phuket, and Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa.

“We want to introduce and cultivate a new tradition among Thais that tea can be an integral part of all our everyday livea. It can be enjoyed as cold and hot beverages, cocktails and savory dishes as well as desserts. This is why Dilmah initiated the idea for tea to be reinvented into new tastes, allowing everyone to experience the best leaves in ways that are entirely different from what we are familiar with. Our competition welcomed young chefs and mixologists to showcase their talents in designing dishes and beverages inspired by Dilmah’s Ceylon tea, introducing foodies around the world to some new, exciting recipes,” said Tasanee Asawagovitwong, general manager and founder of Global Premium Wine, the official importer of Dilmah Tea in Thailand.

The announcement of the winners was held at Rosewood Hotel Bangkok in front of the judges Dilhan C. Fernando, CEO of Dilmah, acclaimed Australian chef, Peter Kuruvita, Dilmah’s brand ambassador, and renowned mixologist and Tomek Malek, the fourth winner of World Champion Flair Bartender. First prize is a trip to Sri Lanka to experience the abundant Dilmah tea plantation and the process from growing tea tree and meticulous selection of tea leaves before the production of famous Ceylon tea, and enjoy the retreat at luxury seaside hotel, Cape Weligama.

The winning team demonstrated the preparation of a Dilmah tea-based beverage called Chai Masala Iced Macchiato using 20 grams of Dilmah ceylon ginger tea, 10 grams of cinnamon, 5 grams of cardamom, 5 grams of star anise, 3 grams of cloves and 1 litre of milk. All ingredients were cooked in a sous-vide vacuum bag at 85 degree celsius for one hour to make 60 ml. of Masala Chai Tea, then mixed with 10 ml. of Dilmah almond extract tea in a glass and garnished with masala foam, cinnamon stick and dried orange.

Visit www.dilmahteathailand.com for details.

Nevertheless, in order to find gem faceting masters to further support Thai craftsmanship achieving a global standard, the Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand Public Organisation (GIT) is hosting their first-round selections for their 13th World Jewellery Design Awards 2019, together with the final-round selections for the Gems Faceting Master 2019 award, with cash prizes worth a total of Bt1 million and an honoured trophy.

GIT recently selected eight jewellery designs from around the world to compete in the contest.

The Design Awards will be hosted this year under the theme of “Blue by Day, Green by Evening, Red by Night” focusing on red, blue and green jewellery, Duangkamol Jiambutr, director of the institute, revealed on Monday.

As well, GIT’s World Gems Challenge Faceting Master 2019 will be separated into two categories – Chantiburi Lapidary and General Lapidary. The objective is to open up an opportunity for lapidaries to further develop their skills to match the global standard and to win cash prizes.

“This year, the institute received a total of 660 jewellery design submissions from all around the world, [broken down into a total of] 557 design submissions from Thailand and 103 design submissions from 14 countries around the world,” Duangkamol said.

For the first-round selections, the institute is honoured to have five judges for the GIT’s 13th World Jewellery Design Awards 2019 –Supatra Srisook, a design expert and advisor to the Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand; Siriporn Panupong, a former Ambassador to Vienna and the vice president of Royal Law; ML Kathathong Thongyai, an aadcemic expert; Asst Professor Veeeawat Sirivesmas PhD, the deputy dean for academic affairs at the faculty of decorative arts, Silpakorn University; and Suriyon Sriorathaikul, the managing director of Beauty Gems Factory and Beauty Gems Group of Companies.

The judges have selected a total of 30 designs for two categories of awards – the Ruby (red) or Sapphire (blue) or a semi-precious stone with a similar shade for a total of 15 designs; and Peridot (green) or a semi-precious stone with a similar shade for a total of 15 designs. From the 15 designs of each type, the judges will select four designs with the highest score (for a total of eight designs) to transform their jewellery designs into actual jewellery pieces, to be further select in the final round on September 27.

The Institute would has also invited the public to vote for their favourite design piece from among the selected 30 designs via www.gitwjda.com. The designs with the largest number of votes will win the Popular Design Awards 2019, with cash prizes worth Bt30,000. Participating voters will also have a chance to win an authentic gemstone jewellery piece.

In the Challenge Gems Faceting Master 2019, the competition is also separated into two categories, with accompanying prizes –Chanthaburi Lapidaries and General Lapidaries. The institute has received a total of 82 gemstones in submissions from lapidaries around the world, including a total of 22 gemstones for the Chanthaburi Lapidaries Prize and 60 gemstones for the General Lapidaries Prize.

An awarding ceremony will be hosted by the Institute for the winner and finalist of GIT’s 13th World Jewellery Design Awards and the Challenge Gems Faceting Master 2019. An exhibition from the participants will be held on December 4 as part of the International Chanthaburi Gems and Jewellery Festival 2019 in Chanthaburi province.

The institute hopes that the competition will play a crucial role in developing design and lapidary skills, in an effort to guide them into the gems and jewellery industry and help the Thai industry find a place at the centre of the gem and jewellery trade and production, Duangkamol said.

The training centre can be reached at (02) 634 4999, ext 301-313.

Dragonfly360, a regional platform based in Bangkok, is designed to connect an active community and awaken awareness by shining a light on issues that women face and break down the barriers that hold them back. Hosting its inaugural summit on Saturday, November 2, Dragonfly Wo=Men Summit 2019 brings together influencers, activists and celebrities who are making a difference to the world.

“The Dragonfly symbolizes our ability to overcome times of hardship and to take the time to reconnect with our own strength, courage, and happiness,” says founder Pranapda Phornprapha. “Each generation must break new ground to ease the journey for those who follow. Good role models for every generation just do that. The more people stand up and understand the urgency for gender equality, the faster we advance forward as a society. Mobilising gender equality happens faster when the private sector makes it a priority.”

A full day of immersive experiences, the Dragonfly360 Summit aims to deliver a journey that sparks curiosity, inspires fresh outlooks, moves the heart and ignites the collective spirit. Participants can network and exchange ideas on what it means to be a responsible citizen in the 21st century, while also sharing the challenges of women in various industries across the globe. Speakers includes Maggie Q, Jameela Jamil, Marina Mahathir, Abhisit Vejjajiva, Sunitha Krishnan, Lina Khalifeh, Cindy Bishop, Woody Milintachinda, Chitpas Kridakorn, Robert Candeloni, Praya Lundberg, Vatanika Patamasingh and Pearypie Chittasenee.

The project is supported by Plan B, Tencent, Central Group, Kasikorn Bank, Bangkok Bank, Indorama, IVL Foundation, Yamaha, Cape Kantary, Siam Paragon, Daikin, Accor, Komatsu, GS Battery, Wisesight and VGI.

Special early bird tickets are available athttps://dragonfly360.co.

The pair burst onto the scene in 2006, and with their distinctive sound and concept immediately caught the attention of the music industry. Signed with labels like Spinnin’ Records, EMI Music, Universal Music, Smash the House Recordings and many more, their releases have become popular spins on the radio charts, beatport charts, and peaked at No 4 on the USA Billboard Club Play.

With more than 15 Million Spotify Streams and support from artists like Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Tiësto, W&W, Alan Walker and many others, tracks “Victorum”, “Raveheart”, “Shake” and “Warchant” continued the trend of heavy-hitting bangers. Part of the Smash the House Family, they’ve played at Tomorrowland, Miami WMC, Summerfestival Belgium, Laundry Day Belgium, and Cityparade.

Tickets cost Bt400 for males and Bt300 for females inclusive of one drink. Book a table at (082) 7318885 or email info@clubinsanitybangkok.com. For more, log on toFacebook.com/events/2446729045555482/.

As always, enthusiasm is much more important than experience, and the auditions, which take place on September 14, will be relaxed and informal. The venue is Bistro 33, Sukhumvit 33, Bangkok and registration for singers is 11:30am, and for actors 12.30pm, Auditions are open to English-speaking performers of any nationality age 16 and above.

Find out more by emailing info@bangkokcommunitytheatre.com, or call (081) 7410703.

For more than three decades since 1984, the Philadelphia-based DJ Cash Money has pioneered the art of turntablism with the likes of many American colleagues and artists. Now it is time for the Thai audience to enjoy his award-winning performances while being impressed with his decades-long experiences.

WHEN: August 17

WHERE: 2802 CHOW Cafe & Bar/Metropole Hotel ( Thonglor Pier ) Thong Lor / New Petchaburi Road 10110 Tel 02 318 2273

DJ Cash Money’s pioneering musical arts had seen his roles with famous artists like DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, MC Kool Breeze Steve, MC Marvelous and DJ Grand Wizard Rasheen. Becoming a cultural icon in the DJ world, DJ Cash Money has been known in the industry as a DJ, turntablist and producer. He has produced tracks and remixed for world famous artists Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Public Enemy, Mantronix and PM Dawn.

The 55-year-old is known as the undisputed champion on the turntables as the only DJ to win, within the same year, all three DJ championships for the New York Music Seminar DJ Battle, The DMC American DJ Championships and the DMC World DJ Championships in London. He is the first DJ inducted into Technics DJ Hall of Fame.