BAN PLAINERN was for more than three decades the residence of a great master of Siamese art, Prince Narisara Nuvadtivongs, the 62nd son of King Mongkut (Rama IV).

The wonderful old residential compound on a tranquil lane off the road now called Rama IV later belonged to MC Karnika Chitrabongs, youngest daughter of Prince Naris, until her death in 2015.

Another generation of the Chitrabongs family took over and ordered extensive renovations that began in March and will continue into next spring. The aim is to make the compound a hub for artists and anyone else who has a passion for classical Thai art.

The Western-style brick house contains a veritable treasure trove of Prince Naris’ art collections and personal items. 

The annual open house will return next April 28 and 29, a great chance to admire the buildings, art and artefacts. MR Kalaya Tingsabadh, Prince Naris’ granddaughter, this week hosted a press tour showing the work in progress.

It was also an opportunity to discuss the family’s problems with a development project planned next door.

“Prince Naris lived here until his last day in 1947,” Kalaya explained. “After Unesco honoured him as a Person of International Importance in 1963, the family set up the Naris Foundation to support talented art students, and the following year we renovated the house for a Prince Naris birthday celebration, a fundraiser for the foundation.”

The open house will again feature performances of traditional Thai music and dance and a feast of royal cuisine, along with a wai khru ceremony at which art students will honour their teachers and art masters of the past.

“Last year we promoted the event on the social media and got about 2,000 visitors,” Kalaya said. “The turnout was so phenomenal that we decided to turn the house into an art hub.”

The neighbourhood dispute that’s arisen involves plans to build a high-rise condominium less than 24 metres from the compound. The Chitrabongs family has a petition at Change.org that’s so far collected 9,500 signatures.

“The project is too close to this historical site,” says ML Chittawadi Chitrabongs, Prince Naris’ great-granddaughter, an architect who’s in charge of renovating the estate.

Prince Naris and family moved in 1915 from Tha Phra Palace in Rattanakosin to Ban Plainern.

“We’re afraid the construction might put these 100-year-old buildings in danger. The condo is intended to have more than 400 residents. I don’t even want to imagine what might happen if anyone tosses a cigarette butt off their balcony!”

The history of Ban Plainern can be traced in three stages, the latest beginning in 2015.

Prince Naris, suffering health problems and weary of the chaotic development then rattling Rattanakosin Island in old Bangkok, built Tamnak Thai (Thai House) – known as Ban Plainern – in Khlong Toei in 1914. Two existing houses were transported to the site, the older of which once belonged to Phraya Ratchamontri. The other previously stood behind Wat Kalayanamitr Varamahavihara.

Merged into one residence, the building was elongated to help the breezes flow through. The living room was also the dining area and there was a brightly sunlit art studio. It had a corridor rather than an outdoor deck, and roof louvers set in place in such a way that wooden roof tiles were entwined with nails.

The conjoined structure was home to Prince Naris, his third wife MR To Ngon-rot and their six children.

Chittawadi said renovation so far has seen cement pillars replacing the original wood to strengthen the foundation and all the eaves removed to minimise humidity. “We’ve also improved the electrical and water-drainage systems,” she said.

MR To, seeking more convenience around the home, designed a two-storey Western-style brick house for Prince Naris and two of the daughters, with its own living room, dining room and bedrooms.

“Prince Naris’ bedroom was at one corner on the second floor,” Chittawadi pointed out. “Today it feels like a Prince Naris time capsule – it holds his funeral ashes, hair, fingernails, some of his sketches and all the items he used in daily life.”

The Prince conceived a mural for the ceiling of Phra Thinang Borom Phiman at the Grand Palace, depicting the Sun riding a carriage. 

During the second phase from 1947 to 2015, the property was divided into five parts and the Thai and brick houses were sealed off for conservation.

Newly added was Ruen Khun Ya, a residence designed by MC Yachai Chitrabongs that is famously remembered as the place Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn comes every week for lessons in Thai classical music.

Next to the brick house, MC Karnika Chitrabongs erected a building painted mint green where traditional dancing was taught and performed. Like a rehearsal hall for ballet, it has tall windows that overlook the garden and a pavilion where khon masked dance was taught.

“It was used as an art school where children learned classical dancing, khon and lakhon nai – the performance art of the royal court,” Kalaya said. “But the operation was terminated after His Majesty King Bhumibol passed away in 2016.”

The green house is for now a temporary gallery exhibiting Prince Naris’ art and collectibles, including his original sketches for the crematorium of King Rama VI.

The Prince’s sketch for the crematorium of King Rama VI 

You can also see a sketch of a talipot fan used at the coronation of King Rama VII, a valuable khon mask of Tossakan with a low-relief floral motif even on the back, and several personal items, among them a leather wallet, walking sticks and a daily appointment book.

“We’re making a list of the art and antiques in his bedroom,” said ML Trichak Chitrabongs. “We just discovered a mannequin that the Italian artist Corrado Feroci [later Silpa Bhirasri] made in Prince Naris’ likeness, as well as 298 art books that Prince Naris must have read.

“There’s also his sketchbook of ideas for his remarkable murals, like the Sun riding a horse-drawn carriage, which is depicted in the Grand Palace, and Lord Buddha descending from Heaven, which you can see at Wat Rachathiwat Ratchaworawihan.”

HISTORY NEVER GETS OLD

>> Ban Plainern is at 1164 Rama IV Road in Khlong Toei.

>> Learn more on the Naris Foundation page on Facebook.

XIAOMI Mi 8 Pro adds two key features to Xiaomi Mi 8 flagship smartphone – in-display fingerprint unlock and transparent back.

Like the Mi 8 I reviewed, Mi 8 Pro is a powerful smartphone with a good-quality dual rear camera system in a sleek design.

The Mi 8 Pro, like the flagship Mi 8, is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 AIE octa-core flagship processor with speeds up to 2.8GHz. It has good game performance thanks to a Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU with speeds up to 710MHz.

The Mi 8 Pro has 8 gigabytes of working memory or RAM and 128GB of UFS storage. It runs on Google’s Android 8.1.0 operating system.

I used AnTuTu Benchmark v7.1.1 to measure its performance and found that it got a high score of 284,365 points.

The Mi 8 Pro also has fast Internet connection speed. I tested it on TrueMove H’s LTE network and I found that applications were downloaded very fast and my snapshots were backed up to my Google Photos’s cloud storage in no time.

I used Ookla Speedtest app to measure the connection speed and I found that Mi 8 Pro got a download speed of 50.6Mbps and upload speed of 29.3Mbps. The location and time where and when the speed was measured could also affect the results due to the density of users of the mobile network at the moment.

The Mi 8 Pro comes with 6.21-inch AMOLED display with similar specifications to that of Mi 8 except the added in-display fingerprint reader.

The Mi 8 Pro’s display has 2248×1080-pixel resolution and it is bright with 430 nits of brightness. The display has a high contrast ratio of 60,000:1.

The display is very good for viewing photos and for enjoying HD movies, such as those played by TrueID TV and iFlix.

A fun thing that is added to the Mi 8 Pro is the futuristic pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint unlock.

The Mi 8 Pro has a pressure-sensitive fingerprint sensor embedded on the display about two inches from the bottom where you can conveniently press your thumb to unlock the phone. The Mi 8 has a fingerprint reader at its back.

Unlike other in-display fingerprint technologies that waste energy by constantly pinging the screen to see if a finger is present, the dedicated pressure sensor only activates the unlocking process once you place your finger on the screen, which is faster and more power-efficient.

Mi 8 Pro comes in Transparent Titanium back that makes the phone look sleek. The transparent back cover allows you to see what lies beneath. You can see the battery, CPU and some chipsets under the transparent back cover.

Like the Mi 8, the Mi 8 Pro comes with an ultra-light-sensitive AI dual camera for the rear camera. The Mi 8 Pro uses the same Mi 8 camera system that got over 100 points from DxOMark, a popular camera-testing website.

The dual rear cameras have a 12MP wide-angle lens with f/1.8 aperture and four-axis optical stabiliser and a 12MP telephoto lens and portrait lens with f/2.4 aperture.

During the test, I found the rear camera captured beautiful photos of night scenes. Lights were captured beautifully with vivid colours and sharpness.

Its AI can detect 25 categories of objects and up to 206 different scenes. It worked effectively during my test.

The portrait mode also captured beautiful portraits with blurred backgrounds.

The front camera has 20MP resolution and comes with a “3D Beautiful” function for improving your look by adjusting some key elements of your face.

The Mi 8 Pro has a 3,000mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 4+. I could survive a day with one charge.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro has as suggested retail price of Bt19,900.

>> Networks: GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE

>> OS: Android 8.1.0

>> Processor: Snapdragon 845 AIE flagship processor, up to 2.8GHz

>> GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU, up to 710MHz

>> Memory: 8GB DDR4 RAM

>> Storage: 128GB UFS flash storage

>> Display: 6.21-inch AMOLED display with 2248×1080 pixels

>> Cameras: Rear: 12MP wide-angle lens, 4-axis optical stabiliser, f/1.8; 12MP telephoto lens, portrait lens, f/2.4; Front: 20 MP

>> Connectivity: WiFi 2×2 802.11ac, USB Type-C

>> Navigation: Simultaneously receives L1 /L5 frequency GPS signals

>> Sensors: Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Electronic compass, Vibration motor, Barometer, Hall sensor, Ambient light sensor

>> Battery: 3,000 mAh with Quich Charge 4+

n Dimensions: 154.9×74.8×7.6mm

n Weight: 177g

The 10-minute show of pyrotechnics set to stirring music will begin just as the clock strikes midnight and the landmark Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will display the numerals “2019” and New Year blessings in various languages on its facade.

The celebration of light and music culminates as the “Celestial Kaleidoscope” dazzles Hong Kong with brilliant flashes of colour and morphing patterns, ending with 45 different patterns of fireworks in one minute. It’s the work of an Italian specialist, all choreographed in synchrony with the festive soundtrack, highlighted by traditional Chinese music.

From 11pm, spectators can also make wish on the pyrotechnic shooting stars launched from the rooftops of highrise buildings around the harbour.

Find out more at http://www.DiscoverHongkong.com/countdown.

I hit a small snag at the recent Bangkok Bank CycleFest. The race marshal on a motorcycle was friendly enough, but he looked askance at my super-streamlined Freeda touring bicycle with slender tyres. “Is that suitable for the offroad challenge?” he asked, knowing as well as I did that it wasn’t.

The encounter took place where the asphalt road veered off onto a dirt-and-gravel track heading into a dragonfly-intensive meadow on the fringes of the Siam Country Club in rural Chon Buri.

The CycleFest rolled past the Siam Country Club’s rustic Old Course.

But Andy Schleck, the event’s international ambassador, had advised me to take any physical discomforts along the track as “small failures, not overwhelming obstacles”. And, anyway, there were booths along the course where bottles of water and Gatorade were being cheerfully distributed.

On third thought, the gearbox on the bike I’d hired the day seemed incapable of actually shifting gears, and this was a bike that at any rate was ostensibly designed for optimised speeds on flat surfaces. Without access to higher gears, the rough ground left me spinning in circles.

Nevertheless, after assuring the kindly marshal that everything would be fine, I turned in the direction of the dirt path and simply disappeared.

The Bank CycleFest is fun exercise for cyclists of all abilities and ages. It covers professional-quality closed circuits of 12 to 62 kilometres, including the CycleFest Open, CycleFest Master, Pattaya Sprint and multirider Team Time Trial.

The VIP Ride drew plenty of enthusiasts.

The offroad challenge was added this year, as was the 12km Charity Fun Ride, which raised Bt720,000 from entrance fees for the Pattaya-based Father Ray Foundation for orphaned, abused and disadvantaged children and for students with disabilities.

Near the start line, Festival Village had everything the participants could possibly need, even mattresses cooled by big fans. Celebrity ambassadors Nut Devahastin Na Ayudhya and Aroonnapa “Varnvarn” Panichjaroon circulated among the crowd.

Schleck, a Luxembourg native who won the 2010 Tour de France, posed with fans for selfies and assured everyone that he too started out cycling just for leisure – until his drive to improve turned a hobby into a life goal.

Patience and self-control are also keys to succeeding, he said, and it was advice I was determined to put to the test over the weekend.

Far off road, though, it quickly became clear that I’d be spending more time communing with nature than cruising to any sort of championship. Bikes capable of being ratcheted into higher gears zoomed past me on the asphalt and those with thicker tyres thundering by on the bumpier sections. I couldn’t even keep pace with the butterflies.

Enjoying some downtime at Festival Village.

Still, the offroad race proved to be a hit with participants for its varied terrain, including a water feature. This entailed a sudden plunge into a muddy pond, complete with a pair of photographers on the opposite bank lying in wait for splash shots.

Realising there was no way to avoid sullying either my dignity or my trainers, I gingerly walked my Freeda through the mucky puddle, emerging just as two contenders sliced past on their final stretch of the 40km trail.

I then started making relatively decent progress on a section of the course that was not too stony and which provided another opportunity for appreciating good exercise, fresh air and the beauty of the great outdoors.

After a bit of fishtailing that necessitated more walking through a suddenly desertlike segment, I came across a mirage. Evidently the dome of Thammasat University, instantly recognisable, had been moved to Chon Buri. I was beginning to tire, but surely I hadn’t cycled all the way back to Bangkok!

A quick check of the convenient app that keeps racers on track and their basecamp supporters informed of their whereabouts told me that I was cutting through Thammasat’s Chon Buri campus, which has a replica of the dome. And I was nearing the finish line.

Despite completing only one of the two 20km circuits due to needing a tuneup, I was greeted at the finish just like everyone else – presented with an official medal hanging from a ribbon.

I vowed to return next year and conquer that offroad challenge, this time riding a mountain bike.

The third annual Bangkok Bank CycleFest is being planned for late 2019. For the 2018 results and information about next year, visit https://BangkokBankCycleFest.com/en.

The festival, staged by Index Creative Village, aims to launch the new concept of Run, Eat, Fun in One Go in Vietnam.

It follows the first series held in Bangkok and Bali.

Kilorun Hanoi will have two categories – the kilometre and the kilogram. Runners can register for the first from 5 to 8.30am at Ly Thai To Park.

The route will pass iconic attractions such as the Ly Thai To Statue, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi Old Quarter, Opera House and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in three distances – 10.7, 6.7 and 2.3km.

Registration for the KG category is from 2pm to 6.30pm. Runners can walk or run while tasting or eating the gorgeous food served at different landmarks on the 2.3km route.

More information is available at Kilorun.com and Kilorun on Facebook.

Kaif’s inclusion in the London Madame Tussauds is extra special, as she was voted for by fans. In addition to her budding fame from her debut Bollywood film, “Boom” (2003), the half British-half Indian actress is literally a Barbie girl, as she is the first Bollywood actor to have a Barbie doll modelled on her. Kaif’s s figure, clad in an elegantly embellished outfit, is now at Madame Tussauds Bangkok, offering star-studded glamour to the IIFA Award celebrity lists in the Bollywood Zone.

Ranbir Kapoor, one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema, is an Indian actor and film producer, who has featured in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Ranbir’s figure, dressed top-to-toe in his dapper suit made by Indian designer Manish Malhotra, joins Kaif’s figure in filling up the Green Carpet in the Bollywood Zone.

Have your own walk down the Green Carpet, meet Kaif and Kapoor, and enjoy the Bollywood vibe at Madame Tussauds Bangkok, 4th Floor, Siam Discovery.

Admission is Bt990 for adults and Bt790 for kids aged three to 11.

For more information, call (02) 6580060 or visit the museum’s website at http://www.MadameTussauds.com/Bangkok/

This year, MBK Centre is adding to the mix with its “New Year Celebration 2019 Tuk Tuk Wonderland”

The tuk tuk, one of Thailand’s national emblems has been transformed and incorporated in the 19-metre-tall Christmas tree. The convertible tuk tuk rolls out from the tree, pulling a big box of presents, wrapped in the word “Thailand,” to bring joy to both Thai and foreign visitors. The land of amusement and happiness is also surrounded by nine chairs, decorated with elephants of prosperity whose eyes are the headlights of the tuk tuk, a luminous tuk tuk tunnel, and numerous chairs of various designs and colours spread out all over the place.

“MBK is committed to bringing the best experience possible to our customers, while creating excitement and amusement at every step throughout our mall. The end-of-year festivities, therefore, feature both interior decoration and the installation of the Christmas tree outside the mall on the theme, ‘Mbk Center New Year Celebration 2019 Tuk Tuk Wonderland’. Together, MBK will be the destination that all Thai and foreign visitors can visit, take pictures, and count down to the New Year’s together,” says the centre’s Somphol Tripopnart.

Saran Yenpanya, the man behind the design of the wonderland and the owner of 56th Studio, adds: “I wanted to introduce a Christmas tree that is filled with joy, Thai flavours, and the uniqueness of MBK Centre.

“The tuk tuk definitely reflects Thainess that foreigners know and love. Various details are embellished with styles and fun, transforming itself into Tuk Tuk Wonderland. Different parts are utilised to retell an interesting story to celebrate Christmas in a Thai style that perfectly integrates both Thai and Western qualities.”

MBK is an important landmark for tourists from all over the world who are determined to shop and have a photograph taken with the “Makrub” and “Maja” sculptures.

In his 19 years in a school leadership role, Wasan Panya has seen his share of struggling schools. Hailing from Phetchabun province in the north of Thailand, he somehow found himself as a school principal in the southern province of Krabi, where he felt like a stranger.

The first time Wasan stepped into the dilapidated building of Krabi’s tiny Baan Thum-Phet School in 2008, noting the cobwebs in every corner, the poor sanitation, the lack of any school supplies or furniture other than shabby old desks and chairs, he knew he had to do all he could to save the school, and, more importantly, the children learning there. He couldn’t have been assigned a more difficult school for his first full-fledged principal position, but he remained undeterred. “I wasn’t shaken,” he recalls. “I knew I had to fight.”

School principal Wasan Panya addresses the 19th UnescoAPIED International Conference

And so, with a staff of four teachers and a limited budget of just Bt30,000 per semester, plus Bt80,000 worth of debt inherited from the previous administration, Wasan set about utilising the network he’d built to find people who could provide support and help him improve the school.

“First, you just need to make whatever doesn’t work, work,” he explains. “It doesn’t have to be beautiful.”

Wasan is a school principal legacy – his father was a school principal, as was his grandfather. As a child, he felt inspired by seeing his father ride his horse to school in a far-off district every day, witnessing how much he sacrificed for the school and the community.

“I’d see my father sitting and eating with his staff,” he says. “I’d be somewhere near the meeting room and see him sitting at the head of the table. I’d watch how he talked to the teachers, and as a kid, I soaked it all in. Afterwards, he’d invite them to dinner and my mum would cook for all of them.”

This image of his father as a warm and caring leader stuck with him as he started out on his own school leadership journey. “I came back to this when I became a manager and when I was learning management. This work that my father did, the stories he told about the work his own father did, it was a great example for me.”

“Nothing predicts the sustained improvement of a school more than the active, passionate engagement of its teachers in their own learning.”  School leadership expert Professor Philip Hallinger

Moving away from a more traditional notion of school leadership, one of top-down authority and leading with control and force, what’s needed now is a school leader who is a coach, facilitator and mentor with high emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills. “The school leader used to be on a pedestal, higher than the other teachers,” Wasan says. “I did away with the formalities, I sat alongside the teachers and made it a flat management structure.”

He is quick to say that leading by force doesn’t work and that it’s better to lead by example. “You can’t use power, especially as a leader; you have to be softer.”

In the 21st century, it’s also crucial that schools and their leadership contribute to sustainable development. One of the 23 working principles for sustainable development of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej that Wasan took to heart was the concept of “exploding from inside”, meaning that development must start from one’s internal thoughts, knowledge and ambition, not from external factors or from someone else telling you to do so. According to this principle, a person or a community should be developed and strengthened from within rather than trying to put external developments upon them, and what’s most important is that the person or community is open and willing to change. Wasan has found this particularly relevant in his school leadership role.

“Before development can happen, you and your co-workers have to be a team. You have to understand your shared purpose, and then take action together. Start from the heart. Only then can sustainability happen.”

But what happens when the leadership efforts are not sustained? To Wasan’s dismay, under new management, Baan Thum- Phet School was shut down. “Sustainability lives and dies by the leader,” he says. “If the next leader doesn’t continue on the sustainable path, then it’s over.”

This raises new questions: How do we develop school leaders who will sustain quality education for the future? What does this kind of leadership entail?

School leadership expert Professor Philip Hallinger talks about sustainable leadership as Bhutanese participants Dorji Nidup, right, principal of Lhuentse Higher Secondary School, Lhuentse and Udai N Bhattarai, left, principal of Tashidingkha Middle Secondary School, Punakha look on.

School leadership expert and Thailand Sustainable Development Foundation (TSDF) chair Professor Philip Hallinger agrees that, when it comes to sustainable leadership, the emphasis must be on the leadership and not just the leader.

“Leadership has to be at all levels of the organisation,” he says, referring to distributed leadership, which increases the leadership capacity in the school by extending beyond principals and senior managers to include other staff and teachers. This harnesses collective strengths and expertise for the betterment of the school, regardless of hierarchy or years of experience.

In addition, school leaders must encourage learning not only in the students, but also teachers. According to Hallinger, nothing predicts the sustained improvement of a school more than the active, passionate engagement of its teachers in their own learning. In doing so, leaders must be models of learning themselves. Hallinger urges school leaders to be the “head learner” – a model learner – and to take on the challenge and responsibility to inspire, encourage, and support the learning of their staff and teachers.

“Remind teachers how important their work is every day. There is no role in society that will have more to do with the sustainability of our planet and our societies than teachers. But they have to see that and remember it, and that really requires leadership.”

Wasan agrees that the success of a school counts not only on its leader, but also on those who support the leader, whether they are teachers, staff, students, parents or even the community. He saw that when he received overwhelming support after reforming Baan Thum Phet School, and to this day, he’s still very appreciative of his co-workers at his current post at Muangkrabi School.

“A smart principal listens to his or her vice principal,” he says. “I don’t do anything on my own. My vice principals and I, we work as a team.”

Today, Muangkrabi School is a model example of a flourishing sustainable and future-ready school. The use of paper is discouraged and documents are distributed digitally by downloading with QR codes. ICT tools are utilised not just for the sake of having ICT tools, but for the benefit of the students. Every semester, the school has an open house showcasing students’ work and an open class for parents and potential students’ parents to observe the teaching in the classroom.

The school received the Asean Eco Schools Award in 2012. And Wasan is most comfortable being a role model to other school leaders, documenting the school’s innovative practices and achievements online.

“You have to be a PR person too,” he laughs.

These kinds of practices are needed now more than ever if we are to provide quality education for future generations. “The idea of sustainable leadership is nowhere more relevant than in schools,” Hallinger adds. “It’s the values and virtues that we pass on to the next generation that will determine the sustainability of life on this earth and the sustainability of our organisations and societies.”

– Chariya Chiumkanokchai is a Programme Assistant for Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship at Unesco Bangkok.

Learning to Lead

– Both Wasan and Hallinger were speakers at the 19th Unesco-APIED International Conference this year. Hallinger gave the keynote Raja Roy Singh Lecture on the importance of sustainable leadership in schools, while Wasan was a presenter during a session on technological innovations on the ground.

– Unesco Bangkok has been organising the conference since 1995, providing a forum for dialogue and information sharing on educational innovations and best practices in Asia-Pacific and beyond.

The seven boys lads are JB, Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung, Youngjae, BamBam, and Yugyeom and they’ll be performing on a central stage for the first time, taking them close to their fans, who are known as the AhGaSe. Ticket holders will also receive a special gift from the Korean boy band.

Tickets cost from Bt1,900 to Bt5,900 at Thai Ticket Major outlets, online at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and at (02) 262 3456.

Let’s talk about love

Perawat “Krist” Sangpotirat and Prachaya “Singto” Ruangroj, two actors from 2016’s Thai LGBT drama “Sotus The Series”, will be guests of DJs Techin “Matoom” Ploypetch, Chawalit “Chao Chao” Srimankongtham, and Puttichai “Push” Kasetsin, on the “Chae Tae Chao” programme of radio station EFM 104.5 tomorrow morning from 8 to 10.

Krist and Singto will talk about a new LGBT series, titled “Our Skyy” featuring stories about five boy-boy couples. Fans can listen to what they have to say and ask questions at Facebook Live: EFM Station and Youtube Live : AtimeOnline Channel.

Counting down the hours

Mild, Klear, 25 Hours, Tattoo Colour, Room 39 and DJ Kongkwan take to the stage for non-stop music at the “New Year Countdown 2019” being hosted by the Crystal Design Centre (CDC) on Ekamai-Ramindra Expressway on December 31. The party gets underway at 6pm in the event park, which is being done up to resemble New York’s iconic Time Square.

Find out more by calling (02) 101 5999.

Kid comes to town

German DJ and turntablist Kid Fresh will be in town tomorrow night for a show at The Club at Koi from 9 until late.

Tickets cost Bt300 including one drink and are available at the door. For more information and table reservations, call (02) 108 2005.

It’s all an Illuzion

Spanish house and electro house DJ and producer Danny Avila headline the NYE-2019 party at Illuzion Phuket on December 31 from 9pm until late. Avila won the “Best Newcomer DJ’ at the Vicious Music Awards in 2011 and today he is ranked 38 on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs list. He is best known for his collaboration with Tujamo on “Cream”.

Book your spot at (093) 583 4766.