The variation of dark patches and other skin discoloration depends on the concentration, density and depth of melanin at different skin layers. Pigment or melanin concentration in the inner layer of the skin can be stubborn and difficult to treat. That is why lasers have become the gold standard treatment for dermal melasma and Hori’s nevus.

The laser beam targets the accuฌmulated melanin in the inner skin layer. The melanin absorbs the laser light energy and is broken up into small fragments, which are then removed by the body, rendering them less visible. The treated areas on the face appear brighter and more evenly toned.

Pigmentation treatment with lasers often gives promising results and substantial pigment clearing is noted. Yet darker Asian skin types are quite challenging to treat because they are more prone to complicaฌtions such as post–inflammatory hyperpigmentation or PIH.

However, the newest lasers delivฌer energy rapidly with an ultra short pulse of a trillionth of a second or a picosecond pulse. In effect, a laser is a whole lot of light energy packed into a short duration of pulses.

The novel picosecond laser, then, can generate light energy to shatter pigments under the skin with an extremely short pulse duration, resulting in no heat effect or thermal damage to the surrounding tissue. This lowers the risk of posttreatฌment side effects such as PIH. Moreover the speed of the picosecฌond laser shatters the melanin into very tiny particles, which enables the body to remove them faster and more easily.

Troublesome pigmented lesions can now be lightened and fade more effectively, with no or very little downtime and less painfully, and in fewer sessions. Many dermatologists consider the picosecond laser the most advanced laser treatment for a brighter complexion.

THANISORN THAMLIKITKUL MD is a member of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery and certified in dermatologiฌcal laser surgery. Send your questions for her to info@romrawin.com

Offering everything from traditional to minimal, the spring and summer 2018 collection of the DoiTung Lifestyle brand, part of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, was recently unveiled in a special event hosted by the founฌdation’s headquarters on Rama IV Road. The brand has expanded over the past year, adding a new Nature to Wear line to its readytowear and homeware collections.

Initiated by the late Princess Mother, Princess Srinagarindra, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation has long been known for transforming tradiฌtional Thai highland textile styles into modern fashion items by enhancing their natural beauty and tribal charm through the introduction of contemฌporary designs and innovative weavฌing and cutting techniques.

The new collection, all of it handฌmade by the villagers of Doi Tung, has flowed from the pens of some of Thailand’s awardwinning designers, namely Kris Yensudchai, Jirat Subpisankul of brand Sanchai, and university lecturer, Theera Chantasawat of brand TRa.

Kris, who has been with DoiTung for more than 15 years, says the key elements of the readytowear collecฌtion are very much dependent on its yarns and weaving techniques that creฌate easytowear clothing with a new dimension of imperfections.

“For us, DoiTung textile has special features because it is a handwoven fabric and we appreciate its imperfecฌtions. We don’t consider these as defects. True to our distinctive aesthetฌic, our thinking process goes from the yarn to the woven fabric. The design process starts with the designer working from their inspiration, which can be an image or even a short message. From there, we talk with the lead texฌtile designer and weaving director, Saithong Auksornsri, about translatฌing the idea to a sample piece of fabric to see whether it will work in real life. The weaving process remains tradiฌtional, using an oldstyle wooden loom but the yarn is innovative with natuฌral dyes in pastel colours incorporatฌed in the same thread so that when these individual multicoloured threads are woven, no piece of DoiTung fabric is alike. That randomness makes one shirt different from another and that’s the charm of our readytowear,” he says.

In addition to focusing on design and creating a lighter fabric to enhance comfort, another unique and captiฌvating element in the DoiTung Ready to Wear collection is the inspiration, most of it drawn from the costumes of the tribal people living in Doi Tung area.

“We tend to mix the ideas with clasฌsic and postmodern designs, preferฌably in a minimal silhouette. The clothes are like origami. It is the ‘nodesign design’ yet still has a sense of traฌditional ethnicity due to our skilled local artisans,” he explains.

Saithong, 61, who heads up the weaving department, says she loves being at the loom and her 23 years of experience with the foundation makes her proud.

“Working with designers is never easy but I love it. I’ve no formal eduฌcation so this is a great opportunity for me. I’ll transform the imaginative idea of a designer into a patterned fabric measuring 20 by 20 centimetres first, which takes three to seven days. If this works out well, then I’ll pass it on to aunty Kham to manage the weaving department and take the production full steam ahead,” she says.

Kham Tarkhamjing, 66, who has been with DoiTung for more than 25 years, explains that the distinctive feaฌture of DoiTung textile is that you touch every single yarn with your hands. “We don’t do electric. Our looms are still the wooden ones passed down from our grandmothers. The weavers are aged between 30 to older than 60 and we all love turning the soft yarn into simฌple fabric. I don’t come to Bangkok often, but when I see how beautiful the final products are, it makes me very proud.”

With the Nature to Wear collection, codesigners Jirat and Theera are aimฌing to give fashion lovers the comfort of nature combined with the aesthetฌics  of Thai textiles in everyday life. After thoroughly studying the beauty of the textures and colours of natural fibres, Theera was able to put his decadelong experience in the fashion industry to good use. Jirat adds that he drew upon nature’s simplicity as his inspiration, creating a collection that is minimalist, easy and casual, yet infused with a sense of modern living.

“DoiTung outfits are not only handwoven from natural fibres like cotton, linen and hemp, but are dyed using natural colours from waste or local sources such as onion peel, macadamia, charcoal, coffee grounds, camellia oleifera, bits of trees, lacquer, sappan and indigo. These are the cash crops of the villagers living near forest areas and by using them in this way, we are conserving local plants and folk wisdom, as well as preserving the enviฌronment through a ‘Zero Waste’ prinฌciple. The patterns and designs on the clothing and accessories of the DoiTung Nature to Wear collection tell the stories of the tribal people around Doi Tung,” Jirat says,

Theera, who only recently returned to the foundation, says he has found many changes since his time there 16 years ago. “At that time, I was young and didn’t have much experience in Thai fabric. I had lots of ideas but didฌn’t know about the market. Now I’m a lecturer in fashion design and have been working with many local textile artisans. There is no better time to come back to DoiTung than now. I creฌate mostly scarves and am delighted to hear that 91 per cent of them are snapped up. That’s because we are the trendsetters and our marketing, which is now handled professionally at the foundation, allows designers to understand the target groups better. To be honest, every Thai fabric is hard to work with but if the designers of my age don’t do anything about it, then we can’t expect young generation designฌers to do it. DoiTung is really famous for its very soft handwoven cotton that’s so light and so comfortable, and its beautiful patterns,” Theera says.

Jackrayu Kongurai, Mae Fah Luang Foundation’s product designer, is equally proud of his new homeware collection called “First Light”, which is inspired by the beauty of the sun’s rays at dawn and symbolises new beginฌnings, freshness and hope. He comฌbined the patterns with the shapes and forms found in the tribal cultures of northern Thailand, and brings them to the designs of the home decor prodฌucts and ceramics in DoiTung Lifestyle’s Spring/Summer 2018 colฌlection.

“The First Light collection is also infused with the joy of the artisans durฌing all stages of production, from the innovative weaving process, to the colouring and firing of the ceramics. It’s the feeling you get when you see the morning light reflected on the rippling surface of water, or on a window or anything around us. More importantฌly, the production process and raw materials we use here have no negaฌtive effect on humans or the environฌment because we rely on the idea of susฌtainable design, which is the path towards safeguarding the future for humankind and the earth,” Jackrayu explains.

These products blend natural raw materials and folk wisdom passed down through the generations with the creativity of DoiTung’s own proฌfessional designers.

The result is a collection of quality products with unique characteristics that are both eyecatching and enviฌronmentally friendly.

ML Dispanadda Diskul, chief execฌutive officer of the foundation, stressฌes that the goal of DoiTung Lifestyle is to attract more young customers like first jobbers.

“We would like to encourage young people to appreciate and wear Thai clothes. They are interested in design and if they have a true understanding of the foundation’s purpose in creatฌing the DoiTung Lifestyle, they will surely support the brand and help creฌate awareness through social media. That’s a powerful message,” he says.

Part of the L’Oreal Group, the store stocks Luminous Silk Foundation, Maestro Foundation and My Armani To Go Cushion, as well as lip colours coveted by women around the world in the Lip Maestro line. Also availฌable are the brand’s skincare products and refreshing floral fragrances.

Skincare from Down Under

The first Jurlique Concept Store in Thailand is now open on the second floor of Gaysorn Village and offers a complete range of skincare products and treatments includฌing the allnatural creams and lotions for which the ingreฌdients are grown at Jurlique’s own organic farm in the Adelaide Hills. Spanning 170 square metres, the new store utilises natural materials to offer a relaxing ambience in its five fullscale treatment rooms. Jurlique’s three signature products including “The Activating Water Essence”, “The Rose Water Balancing Mist”, and “The Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum” to fight free radicals and reduce signs of ageing are all used in the treatments.

Pandora goes BoHo chic

Whether at work or at play, fashionฌistas can look and feel freespirited instantly by layering Pandora’s brandnew necklaces in sterling silver and leather. From chokers to colliers, Ychains to low chains with gorgeously crafted details, these adjustable necklaces shout out to be layered. And, for the first time ever, Pandora’s collection consists of vibrant tassels combined with sterling silฌver for a hint of the chic Bohemian look ranging from the Spiritual Dreamcatcher charm inspired by Native American culture to carefully handcrafted feather earrings in sterling silver finished with turquoise enamel.

In celebration of the Cosmolite

As it celebrates the 10th anniversary of the first Cosmolite case, Samsonite is releasing an exclusive Gold/Silver limited edition to mark this milestone. The iconic case has become ever lighter while still preserving its unique shape and the result of this 10year evolution, which includes several design awards, is a suitcase that fully embodies the core values of the Samsonite brand, namely lightness, strength and design. The anniversary ediฌtion boasts golden embellishments and special executions in honour of its design legacy. The pull handle, the zipper pullers and details are accentuated by traces of gold and the black embossed lining perfectly complements the outside material weave.

Entitled “Rattanakosin Guide”, the application aims to provide local and foreign tourists access to useful information about great destinations as well as products and services in the area, plus special promotions offered by entrepreneurs where everything can be reached in one mobile application.

Rattanakosin Guide’s main focus is to add competitiveness digitally to entrepreneurs, allowing them to connect their offline and online worlds seamlessly while building a digitalised experience for tourists who come visit. Interesting features on the app include Online Storefront for stores, hotels and tourist destinations inside the Rattanakosin area; a Digital Map that can lead users to where they want to go in the area with information about interesting places provided; and Suggested Trip where users can create and plan their own trips all around the area. Stores can also offer promotions through the app to boost sales in real-time. In the future, app users will be able to buy trips or tickets to selected destinations in the area directly through the application.

And to help make it easier for entrepreneurs to manage information, update details about their products and promotions, SCB has also come up with Super Seller application .

The Rattanakosin Guide application should help boost the tourism industry . The app was created in collaboration between the government and private sectors and benefits start-ups in the Rattanakosin area, allowing them to offer valuable services and be more competitive not only locally but globally,” says Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Thailand’s tourism industry continues to grow. In the first half of 2018, the foreign tourist segment grew in terms of both quantity and revenue. It is expected that there will be 19.6 million foreign visitors this year, a 13-per-cent increase in numbers but a 16-per-cent increase in terms of revenue to Bt1.16 trillion.

Revenue is expected to reach Bt2 trillion by year-end, with visitors from other Asian countries as main target. For the local tourist segment, the first half of the year saw 71.6 million visitors, a 3.8-per-cent increase, while revenue rose by seven per cent to Bt489 billion. Total revenue from both local and international markets should pass Bt3 trillion this year.

“Thammasat is part of the Rattanakosin community. Therefore, it is our duty and commitment to preserve the legacy of this community for our country. When Siam Commercial Bank saw the potential of boosting tourism through the making of ‘Rattanakosin Guide’ application, which would allow entrepreneurs to have a digital storefront while tourists would have easier access to information, Thammasat was more than happy to support the project. We sent our lecturers and students to collect information, evaluate business problems, conduct training and give advice to entrepreneurs who needed it. The information we have gathered was genuinely beneficial to the development of this application we have done in collaboration with Siam Commercial Bank and the Tourism Authority of Thailand,” says Associate Professor Gasinee Witoonchart, Chancellor of Thammasat University.

“Rattanakosin Island is a historic area of Bangkok and is visited by Thai and foreign tourists every day. In this digital age where every dimension of products and services are digitalised, SCB sees how we can help bring more competitiveness to entrepreneurs in the area by applying our know-how to their businesses. This led to a collaboration where SCB, which has a business knowledge centre located inside Thammasat University, assigned our own Digital Ventures to develop a digital platform to help them. The app, was created to provide a digital storefront allowing buyers and sellers to connect easier online. All promotions offered by stores or hotels in the area, which currently have 250 stores on app, can also be found here. Any entrepreneur that is interested to join the app can reach out to SCB to gain benefits from it,” adds Pikun Srimahunt, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of SME segment, Siam Commercial Bank.

The “Rattanakosin Guide” application for iOS and Android can now be downloaded. It’s available in Thai, English and Chinese.

For most of us, a bad night’s sleep is a passing thing. For others, it can turn into a chronic condition that can cause real lifestyle issues. More often than not, poor sleep is a function of poor sleep hygiene (habits), but there are some medical conditions that cause or exacerbate insomnia.

Dr Wanviput Sanphansitvong, an anti-ageing physician at the Vitallife Wellness Centre at Bumrungrad International Hospital explains five medical conditions that are common culprits associated with poor sleep and insomnia.

1. Poor thyroid function. Hyperthyroidism or an overactive thyroid overstimulates the nervous system making it hard to fall asleep and may cause night sweats. Since the thyroid affects every organ and system in the body, the symptoms can be wide-ranging and sometimes difficult to diagnose. Checking thyroid function is easy and requires only a simple blood test.

2. Nocturia. This is the frequent need to urinate during the night and typically affects older adults. The mild version happens at least twice during the night and in severe cases, a person may get up as many as five or six times. Nocturia may be a product of age, but could be a function of diabetes, an enlarged prostate, or medication (especially diuretics).

3. Kidney Disease. People with kidney disease can no longer eliminate liquid waste and keep electrolytes in balance as they once did when they were healthy. Kidney disease can cause a build-up of waste product in the blood resulting in insomnia or symptoms of restless legs syndrome.

4. Arthritis. This musculoskeletal pain can make it hard for people to fall asleep or get back to sleep once awakened. The pain makes people restless and oftentimes the treatment with steroids either causes or exacerbates insomnia.

5. Headaches. People prone to headaches need sleep but struggle to get it because of the pain. Cluster headaches and migraines are two types of headaches that cause real discomfort when the walls of the blood vessels dilate.

When we don’t sleep well we suffer. Insomnia makes our brains foggy, impairs cognitive skills and plays havoc with mood. Typically, we tend to think about sleep only at night but the reality is we really should be moderating our behaviour during the day in order to get the best quality sleep at night.

Research on sleep shows that we are sleeping less than we used to – 20 per cent less than we did 100 years ago – and its easy to see why. We live in large, noisy urban centres tethered to our phones and computers where we spend several hours a day playing on social media or catching up work; often at night before we go to bed.

“We just don’t know how to power down anymore,” says Dr Wanviput “and that creates a real problem when it comes to sleeping. As a society we have become addicted to stimuli, and as individuals we have becoming undisciplined in our sleep hygiene.”

She points to several common mistakes people make that prevent them from having a good night’s rest. Here are the top five.

Too much caffeine. With coffee shops now on every corner, we are beginning to abuse coffee in our diets. Coffee is no longer just a stimulant we use to get us going in the morning, it is now a social scene and a lubricant for get-togethers. Coffee itself is not bad, but drinking coffee too much or too late in the day will cause sleep problems for most people.

Too much screen time. We just cannot seem to put our phones and iPads down and this causes two big issues for sleep. One, it causes hyperactivity or overstimulation in our brain, and two, it causes dependency so that we want that stimuli all the time. Like coffee, screen time is fine, but too much time staring at the phone or computer too close to bedtime overstimulates the brain and makes it hard to go to sleep.

Too much food at night. As a society, we have near immediate access to food anytime we want it, and eating too close to bedtime is a poor habit to get into as it leads to poor sleep and weight gain.

Too much alcohol at night. A little bit of alcohol will make you feel relaxed, but too much alcohol will cause problems with the quality of sleep and the amount of sleep you get. Heavy drinking causes a host of health problems and sleeping is one of them.

Too much worrying. Anxiety is a real impediment when it comes to sleep because it overstimulates the brain and won’t let the body shut down. Without a proper pre-sleep ritual to calm the mind and the body, we leave ourselves open to a constant stream of thoughts coming into our head at night.

Doctors who specialise in lifestyle medicine often talk about insomnia as a lifestyle disease, because it is influenced by our daily routines and habits. Experts in the field of sleep recommends that the best set-up for a good night’s sleep is to power down the electronics, put the phone down and turn the screens off. The ideal setting is a very dark, temperature-controlled room, that is relaxing and safe with no distracting bright lights or noise that will disturb sleep time or sleep quality. If you think a medical problem might be to blame, have a thorough health evaluation.

Bangkok goes wild for the time this week as three of the world’s best-known watch brands hold major exhibitions in downtown Bangkok.

Central Embassy hosts “From Le Brassus to Bangkok”, a show that looks back at Audemars Piguet’s 143 years of history, while Siam Paragon morphs into a stylish playground for the “Hermes, Time is an Object” exhibition and Swiss brand Blancpain celebrates World Ocean Day with the “Blancpain Ocean Commitment” show, also at Siam Paragon.

Audermas Piguet

Narrating the Swiss brand’s rich heritage for the first time in Southeast Asia, the Audemars Piguet exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the company’s ground-breaking innovations. Also showcased is the brand’s first collaboration with Thai contemporary artist, Arin Rungjang.

The company’s Oliviero Bottinelli and Jonathan King hosted the opening reception in the company of special guest Jetrin “Jay” Wattanasin, Audemars Piguet’s Thai ambassador.

Arin conjured up the magic of the brand’s home in the remote and wildly beautiful Vallee de Joux in his photographic installation “Voyage”, combining moving images and lightboxes and setting them to a musical composition that blends natural and horological sounds. The piece’s poetic imagery was inspired by sites in and around Le Brassus and was a fitting introduction to Audermars Piguet, whose museum director Sebastian Vivas has selected 50 timepieces for the show.

Among them are several world firsts and one-of-a-kind models such as an original Triple Complication pocket watch from 1880. An Art Deco timepiece featuring jumping hours with an aperture display from 1930, the original Royal Oak Offshore from 1993, as well as the world’s thinnest self-winding Perpetual Calendar, the Royal Oak RD#2 are also on show.

Est ablished in 1875, the exhibition highlights the main milestones of this epic watchmaking story, while demonstrating the manufacturer’s unwavering loyalty to its core philosophy: “To Break the Rules, You Must First Master Them”. The exhibition is divided into different sections, the first dealing with origins and the founding families. The Vallee de Joux is a ruggedly beautiful region in the Jura Mountains, north of Geneva. Covered with snow for well over a third of the year, the natural resources of the Vallee de Joux –the forests, water, ice and iron-bearing rocks, provide the means for the watch industry to evolve and thrive.

Audemars Piguet has never left the hands of the founding families but passed down the spirit of innovation and independence as well as an immense respect for tradition to their descendants.

The Royal Oak, designed by Gerald Genta, made its debut in 1972 and was the world’s first luxury sports watch made from stainless steel.

“This watch is an icon of watch history. It was inconceivable at that time to craft a watch from stainless steel as they were all supposed to be encased in a precious metal. People were very sceptical and it was not the classic shape. But the identity of the watch is very strong and the price is very high. It has become stronger and more inspiring over years,” Bottinelli explains.

Over the past 46 years, the Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore and Royal Oak Concept have been interpreted through hundreds of different models covering all watch categories – sport, classic, complications and women’s watches.

In a laboratory space, the brand historian comments on, handles and reveals the technical secrets of exceptional watches dating from the 19th century through to the most recent innovations such as The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar RD#2, presented in 2018, which broke the thinness record for a self-winding perpetual calendar movement – a record held by Audemars Piguet for 40 years.

And, of course, there are the special editions created especially for Thailand. In 1950, Audemars Piguet sold to a Bangkok-based customer its very first perpetual calendar wristwatch, model 5516, of which only 12 were produced.

Other special limited-editions include the 2008 Royal Oak Pride of Siam steel-and-pink gold edition. The Royal Oak King of Thailand 80th Birthday watch paid tribute to this major milestone in the late monarch’s life and a one-of-a-kind pink gold model was officially gifted to the King himself.

The second model dedicated to Thailand, the Royal Oak Offshore Pride of Siam, features a sculpted engraving depicting the royal white elephant of Thailand, a sacred animal for which Audemars Piguet had so much admiration that it became the main sponsor of the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament.

“The 100-piece Pride of Siam collection was successful around the world,” Bottinelli says.

Blancpain

One of the oldest Swiss watch brands, Blanpain launched its exhibition “Blancpain Ocean Commitment” by aligning the glamour of luxury with the underwater world.

Taking place at Siam Paragon’s Crystal Court, the extensive exhibition by Blancpain is being held in collaboration with local distributor Pendullum and features more than 20 underwater images by world-renowned photographer Imran Ahmad in “Art in Ocean”.

Fifty Fathoms watches originated more than 65 years ago and the vintage models are on display along with the latest model launched at Baselworld 2018.

Blancpain’s historical connection with the oceans dates back many years with the development of the first modern diving watch, the Fifty Fathoms. This new iconic timepiece has served as the model of standardised diving watches from the past to the present especially with the world’s first function of elapsed time-tracking in diving watches. In addition, Blancpain has committed and raised awareness to protect and preserve marine resources around the world.

“Birth of a Legend” presents the brand’s story and its creation while “Ocean Exploration” allows visitors to learn about the projects supported by Blancpain such as Pristine Seas and Gombessa, which research, study and protect the world’s oceans.

Hermes

The French high-end fashion house continues to pursue its watch expertise through a truly stylish interpretation. The exhibition “Hermes, Time is an Object” sets out to draw attention to the brand in a way that is both interesting and a whole lot of fun.

Housed in a playground setting and with a “Let’s Play” attitude, the opening last Wednesday at Siam Paragon presented an all-new show devised by the London-based company Gandini Juggling.

Mixing up the rules and playfully subverting them, the show saw peculiar characters mingle with the guests. In their hands, apples pirouetted in a ballet of fluid and precise gestures. Gravity is a question for the apples alone, caught in time, every time. By the end of the performance, exactly one hour had passed. Time had slipped away, at the whim of the artists and apples shaping the space.

For Hermes, time is an object born of uncompromising expertise.

“At Hermes, time is freedom. It can be fun, it is beyond fantasy and design imagination, and it is forever. The Hermes watch is a combination of art and creativity,” says Philippe Delhotal, creation and style director, Le Montre Hermes.

The experience continued with disconcerting scenography – monolithic windows in which the watches appeared and disappeared in time with pulsating light. Then came the interactive screens, human sized to better appropriate the forms.

Before these two-way mirrors, silhouettes of the visitors were displayed before slowly vanishing into smoke. Videos and images succeeded each other, stretched and duplicated in the manner of a kaleidoscope.

Several timepieces are on display, among them the new playful version of Cape Cod. It features a rhodium-plated dial, polished to create a mirror-like effect and coated with precious translucent lacquer with a single or double tour Milanese mesh bracelet.

All three exhibitions continue through Sunday.

“We may think of the Antarctic as a remote and pristine wilderness. But from pollution and climate change to industrial krill fishing, humanity’s footprint is clear,” said Frida Bengtsson, who is in charge of Greenpeace’s Protect the Antarctic campaign.

“These results show that even the most remote habitats of the Antarctic are contaminated with microplastic waste and persistent hazardous chemicals. We need to stop these pollutants ending up in the Antarctic in the first place. We need an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary to give space for penguins, whales and the entire ecosystem to recover from the pressures they’re facing.”

The samples were gathered during a three-month Greenpeace expedition to the Antarctic from January to March. Seven of the eight sea-surface water samples tested contained microplastic.

In addition, nine samples were taken using a manta trawl and analysed for microplastics. Microplastic fragments were detected in two samples. Seven of the nine snow samples tested contained detectable concentrations of the persistent chemicals per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances, or PFASs, which are widely used in many industrial processes and consumer products and have been linked to reproductive and developmental issues in wildlife.

The snow samples gathered included freshly fallen snow, suggesting the hazardous chemicals were deposited from the atmosphere. There are relatively few data for microplastics in Antarctic waters, and this analysis provides valuable new information on the presence and status of such contamination in the region.

“We saw all kinds of waste from the fishing industry down in the Antarctic,” Bengtsson continued. “Buoys, nets and tarpaulins drifted in between icebergs, which was really sad to see. We took them out of the water, but it really made clear to me how we need to put vast parts of this area off-limits to human activity if we’re going to protect the Antarctic’s incredible wildlife.”

“Plastic has now been found in all corners of oceans, from the Antarctic to the Arctic and at the deepest point of the ocean, the Mariana Trench. We need urgent action to reduce the flow of plastic into our seas and we need large scale marine reserves – like a huge Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary which over 1.6 million people are calling for – to protect marine life and our oceans for future generations.”

Greenpeace is conducting scientific research, including landmark submarine dives to little-known Antarctic seabed ecosystems, as part of a campaign to create an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.

At 1.8 million square kilometres, it would be five times the size of Germany and the largest protected area on Earth. The sanctuary is being proposed by the EU and a decision will be taken at the forthcoming meeting of the Antarctic Ocean Commission (CCAMLR) in October.

TWO YEARS in the making, the world’s first Line indoor theme park opened last Friday in downtown Bangkok, allowing fans of the characters seen in the popular chat application to interact with their favourites in both a virtual reality world and in real-time themed photo rooms.

Called Line Village Bangkok, the Bt500-million project occupies 1,500sqm over three-storeys at Siam Square One Building, opposite Siam Paragon. The theme park completes the Line Friends store, which was opened last year to sell official merchandise.

The gigantic cute bear Choco wais customers at the front door.

Eleven of the main Line characters who make regular appearances on the chat stickers live in the new house and invite visitors into their rooms. Here you can spend time in Brown’s bedroom, Cony’s kitchen, Moon’s rooftop room, Boss’ office and Choco’s cheerful pad. Every spot demands a selfie while virtual reality and physical games provide the immersive experience.

Line’s most popular character, Brown the brown bear, waits to welcome his fans at his room in Line Village Bangkok.

“Like most Thais, the first thing I do when I wake up is grab my phone and check Line. The Line characters have become our friends. And Thais also love taking photos so Line Village Bangkok is a perfect match for today’s lifestyle,” says Rupop Shinawatra who is licensed by Seoul-based Line Friends Corp to run Line Village and serves as chief executive.

The Line application has users in more than 230 countries and territories. Line Thailand says 42 million of the 45 million Thais with mobile Internet use it – making Thailand the second-largest market in the world after Japan. Research conducted by Line Thailand also shows that Thais spend an average of 216 minutes a day on their smartphones, and 63 of those minutes are devoted to Line.

The mysterious library

“Bangkok is very poorly served compared to Japan, which has plenty of tourist attractions like Disney Land, Universal Studio and Lego Land. Line Village Bangkok has the potential to become a new business model for Line Friends Corp. The company’s insisted on the venue being in the prime shopping area of Bangkok and the space here fits that criterion. The target is social media users aged between 15 and 40, both Thai and tourists, and we expect to draw 12 million visitors a year,” he says.

The secret steps

Line Village is set up along a one-way route with 23 spots to check out. After passing the tunnel, the mysterious library and the secret steps, the most popular character – the brown bear called simply Brown – welcomes visitors to his bedroom, a cool space decked out with books and boxing and karate paraphernalia – in a nod to his favourite sports. Visitors can sit next to the larger-than-life figure of Brown on his sofa and take selfies with the bear who always wears the same unruffled expression.

The cheerful rabbit Cony invites everyone to her culinary world. 

As the adorable female rabbit Cony loves cooking, visitors can hang out in her kitchen, which has loads of utensils and fitting as well as digital cooking games. Like his name, Moon – the anthropomorphic alien who is passionate about the galaxy – wears a space suit and hangs out in his rooftop room surrounded by rockets, stars and telescopes.

The stubborn and adventurous Moon shares his passion for the galaxy in his rooftop room.

“We’ve worked closely with Line headquarters in South Korea to ensure that every character and style and all content precisely matches the brand identity,” says Rupop. “The graphics, the colour code and the proportions of each character, as well as the props, and the digital and physical games are carefully conceived. All items are exclusively produced for us. Though there are 45 Line Friends stores and cafes in major cities around the world, this theme park is the first.”

The self-centred James opens up his luxurious room to visitors.

Narcissistic blond James lives in a room decorated with self-portraits and luxurious high-backed sofas, inviting visitors to sit and get close to him. Boss, a bald, pot-bellied man who is of course a boss, is found in his office decked out with glass cabinets filled with accessories like wristwatches, sunglasses, hats, perfume bottles, cameras and pens.

The strict and sneaky Boss keeps an eye on you from his office.

The new character Choco, who represents the social media-savvy, fashion-conscious young woman, has a pink room furnished with a wardrobe filled with fashionable items and a dressing table covered with the trendiest cosmetics.

“The different Line characters are cleverly designed to match different people’s style,” Rupop adds.

“The mood and tone and even the music are customised to match each character. The cheerful Cony comes with a fun beat and the sound in Choco’s room recalls the runway vibe. Boss’s office boasts the James Bond’s theme song.”

 Choco’s house is dominated by fashionable items.

First introduced in 2011, the Line sticker characters were an instant hit. They’re fun to send and receive and fit into the daily routine. They are also the stars of collectible items, animated films, games and cafes. Line Thailand reckons that about 500 million sticker sets were downloaded last year. On average, it adds, every single person using Line in this country owns 15 sets.

Visitors can join the virtual reality rollercoaster ride with the Line gang.

Another highlight in Line Village is a virtual reality rollercoaster ride, developed with Samsung Electronics, for which visitors don VR headsets and join the adventurous ride with the Line gang. Two selfie machines allow visitors to capture their pictures in video format and decorate them with animated Line characters. They can be shared instantly on social media.

The selfie machine allows fans to play with animated characters and share the photos on social media.

A dim mirrored room is filled with 100 white illuminated Brown dolls in various sizes that are reflected thousands of times. The final mirror room has the animated characters popping up everywhere and the mirror is specially designed not to give a reflection when you’re taking pictures.

Illuminated white Brown dolls are endlessly reflected in the mirror.

“Line always updates its characters to match the changing lifestyles of people. Line Village, too, can adjust the digital content, the mood and tone and the props so that visitors can come back to enjoy new exciting experiences,” he says.

Line recently turned the bear Brown into a hip-hop DJ, a skateboarder and even a dino to appeal to the growing segment of young customers.

Brown, the hip-hop DJ

“Like my kids, I personally like the cunning chick Sally because she’s cute and also the main character Brown thanks to his calm personality,” says Rupop.

Visitors will also go home with an exclusive set of stickers that are available to download to their mobile devices. The motion stickers have Brown and his paws dressed in Thai traditional costumes and performing a wai. Another shows them riding in a tuk-tuk. The sticker set will change every six months.

The mirror room has animated characters in every corner. 

The last spot, of course, is the store and it’s now filled with more than 2,000 items, from clothing and stationery to dolls and accessories. Also on sale are goods produced in collaboration with world-famous brands, among them a Lamy fountain pen, Swarovski necklace, Moleskine notebook, Be@rbrick doll, and Thermos water bottle. Limited-edition items available exclusively in Thailand are a wai’ing Brown doll and the whole gang in their tuk-tuk.

Line Friends store

BEAR NECESSITIES

Line Village Bangkok opens daily from 10 to 10 at Siam Square One.

Admission is Bt850 for Thai adults and Bt990 for non-Thais. Thai children pay Bt650 while foreign kids are charged Bt790. Kids under 90 centimetres in height get in for free.

Tickets are available at the door or online at http://www.LineVillageBangkok.com.

For details, call (095) 503 6666.

Montessori, the school system that provides a child-centred approach to education, woos parents of preschool children with the Montessori Preschool app from Edoki Academy.

Available for iPad or iPhone, the learning tool covers colours, shapes, phonics, reading, counting, addition, subtraction and music.

The number of lessons on the free app is limited and parents wanting to take it further will need to pay a monthly or annual subscription to get full access.

The app is designed by certified Montessori teachers with years of classroom experience. The fun child-centred app is divided in four subjects: Maths, Early Literacy, Arts and Practical Life.

The app allows the child to play mini-games, interact with cute avatars and customise his or school using the points earned while playing.

The Maths curriculum covers learning to count, recognising numbers and tracing them from zero to 1 million. An introduction to addition and subtraction using Montessori materials is also available.

For example, in one lesson, a fairy tells the child to touch a castle and says one castle.

In the Early Literacy section, your kid will be exposed to sounds, which will train their ears to identify the sounds before giving them a name. In the Sandbox activity, the little one will hear how each letter sounds. When he or she taps letter “A”, the app will pronounce it.

In the Initial Sound activity, the game lets the child touch a picture and hear the word then select the letter with which the word starts.

The Arts class includes an introduction to colours (primary and secondary) as well as many games using colours and shapes. It also offers music games to discover pitches, rhythm and nursery rhymes.

In the Busy Shapes and Colours activity, the child can drag a circle, square, triangle to the correct hollow frame and hear their name read out.

The free version also provides a colouring book.

A fun song in the Interactive Wheels on the Bus activity invites the child to learn and play along with the nursery rhyme in the free version. For example, the song starts with “the wheels on the bus go round and round”. The child must touch the left front and left back wheel to earn stars and the song will move to the next rhyme.

In the Practical Life, your kid will find a range of activities like dusting, taking care of plants, cleaning a mirror or washing clothes. Montessori Preschool welcomes users in a digital school with lockers, a corridor full of daily responsibilities or discoveries.

In the free-activity School Infirmary, children will learn about basic first aid in school. And in the Chinese Classroom, which is also provided in the free version, your kid will learn Chinese words, such learning to count from one to 10 in Chinese and see how each number is written in the language.

I tried the app on an iPad Pro 10-inch and it played smoothly.

The app is free and the monthly subscription is Bt99 while the annual subscription is Bt699.

Key facts:

– Seller: Edoki Academy

– Size: 651.2 MB

– Category: Education

– Compatibility: Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and Apple TV.

– Languages: English

– Age Rating: Rated 4+

– Price: Free

It is powered by Class D amplifier with 2×12 watts of power and it uses two 50mm full-range drivers and two bass radiators for powerful bass response. It has a 3.5mm stereoin jack apart from Bluetooth connection. It retails for Bt16,900.

Stay amazingly fit

Xiaomi MI Amazfit Bip is a fitness smartwatch that comes with a 1.28-inch LCD with 176×176 pixels, plus GPS for running and biking. It also has heart-rate sensor and will pass on alerts from a connected phone. It retails for Bt2,299 in the Xiaomi store on Lazada.

Try a French phone

View Max, a new smartphone from French firm Wiko Mobile, comes with a 5.99-inch display in 18:9 ratio in 1440×720 pixels and a large battery capacity of 4,000mAh. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quadcore processor and has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It also has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It has Face Unlock and a finger-print reader for added security. It retails for Bt3,890.

Safer headphones from AT

Audio-Technica Sport-70BT Bluetooth headphones have sweat and water protection certified with IPX5. The control and microphone allow you to operate music and hear surrounding sound without removing the headphones from your ears, for outdoor safety. The battery supports up to six hours of continual use. Available in black and rose-gold for Bt4,990.

Be a rock star

Dreamwave RockStar is a portable Bluetooth speaker for parties. It has 80 watts of power and comes with a  26,000mAh battery that supports up to 12 hours of audio playback. It also has DSP for karaoke. It can handle up to 8 audio inputs. It retails for Bt24,900.