THE FIGURES say it all: 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from their home in recent years and almost 20 people are forcibly displaced every minute. Some become refugees, others are known as internally displaced or stateless, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) freely admits that it is struggling to meet their needs.

It is the only organisation mandated to act as a safety net for the protection of refugees and internally displaced people in the world, to provide shelter, clean water, healthcare, education and other urgent needs to the millions of refugees from Syria, Yemen and Iraq to Africa and many other war-torn countries.

Closer to home, the agency is currently urgently appealing for the funds it needs to assist children, women and men in the refugee camps of Bangladesh as Ramadan draws near.

UNHCR in partnership with the Sheikhul Islam and the Council for Humanitarian Networking of Sheikhul Islam Office in Thailand launched the appeal last week at a press conference held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. They are calling for donations to help them support these Muslim communities in Bangladesh who will be spending the holy month in informal settlements outside their homeland for the first time and in dreadful living conditions without enough food or proper shelter.

The global refugee crisis is at its highest level since World War II and the figures continue to increase. Little wonder then that UNHCR is constantly asking the global population, and Thais of all beliefs, to give generously.

According to UNHCR, almost 900,000 Rohingya refugees and more than 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis live in ramshackle communities in Cox’s Bazar. While the Rohingya have been persecuted for decades inside Myanmar, the crisis only came to the world’s attention last August when tens of thousands were forced to flee by land and sea. The Kutupalong-Balukhali site, where some 600,000 refugees are now living, is today the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world. The Bangladesh Government and the Bangladeshi people, UNHCR stresses, have responded with extraordinary generosity and hospitality.

Now those already precarious conditions for the refugees and the ongoing emergency response are about to be further challenged by the approaching monsoon season, Rohingya refugees are living in places at risk of landslides and floods, in what could become a disaster on top of the current emergency.

Dr Zakee Phithakkumpol, Deputy Secretary of Sheikhul Islam notes that since the Arab spring, a revolutionary wave of both violent and non-violent demonstrations and protests, started in 2010, the called sectarian war has become particularly complicated and, as in most cases of conflict, civilians are the most affected.

“War, conflict, and persecution force

innocent people to become refugees. It’s not by choice that a person becomes a refugee; they have to leave everything behind and seek asylum in a country that is not their own. The refugee crisis requires the global community’s attention and support to improve the quality of living for those forced to flee,” he says.

“During Ramadan, many Rohingya refugees will be observing the holy month in exile. These women, men, and children

have endured dangerous and traumatic journeys to seek asylum in a safe country. Now, they are facing another crisis as when the monsoon rains hit Bangladesh, their lives will become even harder. The refugees might have bypassed Thailand but that’s no excuse for ignoring this humanitarian crisis. The refugee issue requires every country in the world to act together.”

Dr Wisoot Binlateh, director of the Southern office of Sheikhul Islam’s affairs and coordination in Thailand, concurs, adding: “Ramadan is a very important time for Muslims to reflect on the hardships occurring around the world. It is an opportunity to share what we have with those less fortunate.

“Ramadan is a valuable time for family and community bonding, and to think of those who are not able to be with their loved ones during the holy month,” he adds.

“Humanitarian principles share the same core values with the fundamental teaching of every religion: to have sympathy towards fellow human beings in need regardless of race or nationality,” says Arunee Achakulwisut, an officer with the Private Sector Partnerships (PSP).

UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador in Thailand, actress Praya “Pu” Lundberg, supports this partnership, saying she is honoured to see this important collaboration working to support refugees.

“I deeply appreciate the Sheikhul Islam Office’s demonstration of kindness and generosity towards refugees,” she says.

“For the past four years through my work with UNHCR, I have come to realise what hardship really means. This Ramadan, hundreds of thousands of Muslim are facing a bigger crisis than we have ever known. I’m quite religious. I’m

Buddhist, but I have many Muslim friends, I understand how important this holy month is to them. I also pray every day, and I believe those people are sure to pray as well. It is very sad for those refugees, the Rohingya in Bangladesh, who are unable to perform this very important spiritual belief at home. Ramadan is a very special period for every Muslim and for these refugees in Bangladesh, it will also mean the onset of the monsoon, flooding and disease.

“UNHCR certainly has a clear and consistent plan to help refugees in every part of the world, but I just don’t see how they will make the way home in the near future.”

Praya has travelled to camps in Jordan and Thailand to witness UNHCR’s frontline work, and meetings with refugees have helped her to better understand and amplify their cause.

“The images of Syrian elderly, children, mothers and fathers, lack of food and fresh water, are still vividly imprinted on my mind. I haven’t had a chance to meet with the Rohingya but I hope I will. The refugee issue is very complicated and working to resolve it requires not only patience but also understanding. We may not have solutions very soon but we can help make their lives a little less bad. No one want to leave their homes, I encourage everybody to donate to UNHCR’s work,” she says.

Fund raised from this campaign will allow UNHCR to provide emergency shelter for Rohingya refugees residing in areas of high risk of landslides and flooding in Bangladesh.

Donations will be spent during and after Ramadan to make a difference to the lives of refugees, especially the most vulnerable people such as orphans, single mothers or widows.

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY

– Donations can be made at through The Council for Humanitarian Networking of Sheikhul Islam Office for Rohingya and Refugees, Islamic Bank of Thailand, account no 034-108-7440 or through http://www.UNHCR.or.th, #RamadanforRefugees.

Xia Boyu, 69, summited Everest early Monday on his fifth attempt to reach the top of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) mountain.

“He reached the summit this morning, along with seven other members of his team,” said Dawa Futi Sherpa of Imagine Trek and Expedition, who organised Xia’s Everest bid.

Xia’s dream of standing at the top of the world was nearly thwarted by the Nepal government, which last year banned double amputee and blind climbers from summiting its mountains.

The ruling was overturned by Nepal’s top court in March, which branded it as discriminatory towards people with disabilities.

Xia first attempted to summit Everest with a Chinese government-backed team in 1975, but was thwarted by bad weather.

He became stuck in the frigid low-oxygen environment near the top of Everest and suffered severe frostbite, losing both his feet.

In 1996 his legs were amputated just below the knee after he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.

The tenacious climber returned to Everest in 2014 and 2015 but Nepal’s climbing season was cancelled both years due to disasters.

Bad weather forced him to turn back during his previous attempt in 2016 when he was just 200 metres from the summit.

“Climbing Mount Everest is my dream. I have to realise it. It also represents a personal challenge, a challenge of fate,” Xia told AFP last month before heading to the mountain.

The only other double amputee to summit Everest is New Zealander Mark Inglis, who achieved the feat in 2006.

Xia is among the first of hundreds of climbers expected to summit Everest this month during a narrow window of good weather.

Nepal has issued 346 permits for this year’s spring climbing season, which runs from mid-April to the end of May.

Most Everest hopefuls are escorted by a Nepali guide, meaning about 700 climbers will try to reach the top in coming weeks.

Another 180 climbers are preparing to summit Everest from its north side in Tibet, according to the China Tibet Mountaineering Association.

Last year, 634 people made it to the top and seven died trying.

Sinthoranee Property Co developed the 400-square-metre Victoria Gardens Knowledge Park (VK Park) in response to a shortage of learning spaces for young people outside schools in the area.

Sinthoranee chief executive Kaewjai Phaoenchoke McDonald says the project “is in line with the group’s vision, focusing on development for sustainability in business, society, the environment and especially education”.

She says VK Park is expected to have 500 to 1,000 members by the end of the year.

VK Park’s Library and Reading Area are designed to promote a love of reading with more than 1,500 books on topics of interest to young people, and an E-Library is scheduled to open soon.

The Kids Area is full of books and toys for small children, and the Co-working Space with more than 60 seats offers a mini-studio and a cafe.

Dr Athipat Bamroong, director of the government’s Office of Knowledge Management and Development, says VK Park expands a network of the learning centres throughout the country.

“We now have 23 knowledge parks in 17 provinces, and VK Park is the first in western Bangkok. We expect it will help move forward our development by providing new ways to cooperate in fostering knowledge exchange and life-long learning among youth.”

Workshops and other events will be held monthly, beginning this month with a discussion on climate change.

Find out more at (02) 021 6760 and http://www.Facebook.com/vkparkth.

AT A century-old workshop in a quiet Tokyo neighbourhood, craftsman Yuichi Hirose brushes dye across meticulously hand-cut stencils laid on fabric, using a traditional technique to produce contemporary kimono patterns.

Demand for the elaborate, elegant centrepiece of the Japanese wardrobe is in decline, but a handful of artisans and entrepreneurs like Hirose, 39, are trying to revive it.

“The kimono has become something that is very far removed from our daily lives,” notes Hirose, who joined his family business after university.

He specialises in “Edo Komon” – a kimono pattern hand-dyed with a Japanese washi paper stencil, which dates back to the Edo period between the 17th and late 19th centuries.

Yuichi Hirose, a craftsman who dyes white fabrics with meticulously hand-cut stencils for a kimono, works at a century-old workshop in Tokyo. / AFP 

It’s a deeply traditional craft that requires great skill to master, he says, “but we need to create something that is accepted in this modern time”.

Hirose’s innovations include developing new designs to adorn the kimono, including tiny sharks or even skull motifs.

Once a standard of the Japanese wardrobe, the kimono is now often a garment reserved for special occasions, such as weddings and coming-of-age ceremonies, and is mostly worn by women.

They can be hugely expensive and women often hire experts to dress them because the outfit requires seemingly endless nipping, tucking and strapping.

The modern kimono industry peaked in 1975 with a market size of 1.8 trillion yen (Bt541 billion), according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

But by 2008 it had shrunk to 406.5 billion yen and further to just 278.5 billion yen in 2016, according to a survey conducted by Yano Research Institute.

“There are many hurdles” to buying a kimono, says Takatoshi Yajima, vice chairman of the Japan kimono promotion association, and a kimono manufacturer.

“It’s expensive. It’s difficult to wear. It’s too delicate to wash at home.”

“We need to make kimonos that are affordable and wearable. If we do that, I believe more young consumers will buy kimonos.”

He has nearly doubled his number of customers in the past 15 years by selling more kimonos under the 100,000-yen price tag, well below the many thousands of dollars a high-end piece can cost.

“The industry will grow if we can create a market in which as many people as possible will buy a kimono,” he says.

A complete kimono outfit starts with an undergarment known as a nagajuban, over which the kimono is layered, held in place with a thick obi belt and string.

The outfit is completed with tabi, ankle-high white socks divided at the big toe to allow feet to slip into thick-soled sandals called zori.

Models present creations by Japanese kimono designer Jotaro Saito for his 2018 autumn/winter collection at Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo. /AFP

But beyond the basic framework, designer Jotaro Saito says there should be room for experimentation.

“What’s fabulous, what’s unfashionable and what’s cool change every year. It’s wrong that kimonos don’t change even if everything else is changing,” says the Kyoto-based designer, whose work has been worn by American singer Lady Gaga.

“Kimonos are not something old. Wearing a kimono is the coolest and the most fun thing.”

At Tokyo fashion week in March, Saito, who calls himself “a risk taker,” showcased kimonos for men and women, mixing traditional and unconventional motifs and colours.

“I want to present kimonos as a wardrobe in which people can truly feel joy,” he smiles.

And while demand for kimonos is falling among Japanese, services renting the garments to foreign visitors are booming.

Interest is expected to expand, according to the Yano Research Institute, with more tourists visiting Japan and looking for cultural experiences.

Kahori Ochi, right, owner of a kimono rental shop, fits a kimono on Dutch tourist Ruby Francisco, left, at her shop Sakaeya in Tokyo. /AFP

Kahori Ochi serves around 500 foreign tourists a year at her kimono rental store in the trendy Harajuku area of Tokyo.

They pay around 9,000 yen to be dressed in a kimono worth about 300,000 yen.

“Kimono is a piece of Japanese culture. I really wanted to experience that,” explains Ruby Francisco, a Dutch tourist who rented a pale green kimono at Ochi’s shop.

“It’s special. It’s like an honour to wear,” the 33-year-old added, saying that she would post photos of herself in the kimono on social media to show her friends.

Ochi’s mother ran a shop selling high-end kimonos, but she didn’t expect to follow in her footsteps.

“My mother told me the kimono business is risky and volatile,” she says, adding that her mother’s shop struggled after the bubble economy ended in the early 1990s.

“I used to think kimonos were not cool and practical.”

But Ochi changed her mind after spending a summer in Norway, where people complimented her kimono.

She decided to join her mother’s shop, but being the owner’s daughter came with no privileges.

“She said ‘no salary for you,’” Ochi laughs, recalling her mother’s surprise at her sudden interest in the industry.

But now, she says, business is booming and she expects the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will drive new demand as tourists flock to Japan.

“But my goal is not to expand the business,” she adds.

“I hope to meet more people who want to understand Japanese culture.”

WHETHER THEY’RE hauling parcels or children, cargo bikes are becoming a familiar sight in German cities as the nippy, clean alternative to cars and delivery vans – and shaking up urban transport in the process.

A desire to go green has been key to the rise of cargo bikes in a country where dozens of smog-choked cities are considering diesel driving bans to combat air pollution.

“The diesel scandal is a major incentive,” says Arne Behrensen, one of the top promoters of cargo bikes in Germany, a mode of transport as old as the bicycle itself which refers to a two- or three-wheeled bike with a fixed load carrier, usually at the front.

Cyclists sit on the tarmac watching competitors in a cargo bike race./AFP

Financial incentives, more choice in models and the promise of zipping past rush-hour traffic in the bike lane have added to the appeal.

“In the ‘90s, we were happy to sell one a year,” says Gaya Schuetze of Berlin’s Mehringhof bicycle shop, one of the capital’s leading cargo bike centres.

“Then we noticed more and more interest, first from families and then companies.”

Commonplace in northern Europe until the mid-20th century, freight bikes were used to deliver everyday essentials such as milk, bread and newspapers.

But these heavy, unwieldy bikes quickly fell out of favour and into oblivion as motorised vehicles gained ground.

The cargo bike’s revival began some two decades ago in cycling-mad Denmark and the Netherlands, blessed with flat landscapes and comfortable bike lanes, before reaching Germany.

Whether they’re hauling parcels or children, cargo bikes are becoming a familiar sight in German cities as the nippy, clean alternative to cars and delivery vans./AFP

Today Germany is Europe’s largest market for cargo bikes in terms of volume – with industry data showing sales for electrically assisted cargo bikes alone surged to 21,000 in 2017, 42 per cent over the previous year.

Over the years, cargo bikes have evolved from bulky two-wheelers that required serious leg muscle.

Modern upgrades offer lighter frames and more spacious carriers, while e-cargo bikes have allowed the less physically active or those living in hilly areas to also jump in the saddle.

Cargo bikes “now reach a wider audience, people who don’t want to arrive at work sweaty or aren’t especially sporty,” says Sophia Becker, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam near Berlin.

People inspect cargo bikes during a bicycle fair in Berlin. /AFP

According to the European Cycle Logistics project, a staggering 174 models of cargo bikes are now available, while some 50 brands vied for attention at Berlin’s International Cargo Bike Festival last month.

Industry observers say the cargo bike craze has yet to run its course because “they can handle situations where a car previously seemed indispensable”, says Becker.

“In an average European city, half of all motorised trips related to goods transport could be shifted to bicycle or cargo bikes,” Karl Reiter of the Cycle Logistics project calculated in a 2014 study, based on journeys of a maximum of seven kilometres with loads of less than 200 kilos.

But the “workhorse of the 21st century”, as the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper dubbed it, has yet to win over the masses.

Just one per cent of Germans own a cargo bike, a study released by the transport ministry in March found – although seven per cent said they considered buying one.

Becker believes this will change “in the next few years”.

“First people need to be able to try it out,” without spending 1,300 to 5,000 euros (Bt49,400 -$1,500-$6000) depending on the model, she adds

Keen to promote the climate-friendly cargo bikes, several initiatives have emerged to lend them to companies and individuals for free trials.

Last year, German firm Velogut began loaning them out to 150 companies in Berlin.

Among the sign-ups have been photographers, coffee and pastry vendors, florists, chimneysweeps, beekeepers, Christmas tree deliverers and even a travelling anaesthetist.

The federal government has also got in on the act by introducing a rebate of up to 2,500 euros for the purchase of an e-cargo bike with a load of more than 150 kilos, while Berlin authorities offer subsidies of 500 to 1,000 euros.

But experts say the biggest roadblock to cargo bikes going mainstream is the lack of adapted infrastructure: safe cycle lanes, secure parking and easy-to-find repair shops.

“If they want clean air, they have to protect us,” Antje Merschel, co-initiator of a recent Berlin referendum on cycling policies, points out.

“We’re not going to risk our lives on a bike.”

Online retailer Amazon has started using cargo bikes for deliveries, while shipping giant UPS has been running battery-powered freight bikes in German cities since 2012.

But the big players in delivery are still waiting for bike manufacturers to catch up and mass-produce reliable low-maintenance models, which are so far mostly made by small, independent companies.

There is also the complication of needing “micro-hubs” in often high-rent urban areas from where couriers can collect trucked-in goods for the final kilometres to the client’s front door.

“For families, the bikes are here and they’re reliable,” says urban planner Francisco Luciano of the French cargo bike manufacturer Douze Cycles. “When it comes to cycle logistics, we’re still learning.”

WITH THE COMPLETION of the office and retail space Gaysorn Tower late last year and the renovation of the re-branded mall known as Gaysorn Centre, a new community has sprung up right in the centre of Bangkok. Known as Gaysorn Village, the connecting buildings offer locals and tourists alike the chance to discover a lifestyle and culinary destination like no other.

Located at the corner of Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection, the village plays on its diversity of food cultures to draw customers to a venue that’s generally perceived as a high-end destination specialising in luxury brands.

“Food is what everyone enjoys and we try to bring in various cuisines through our 20 restaurants and cafes,” explains Gaysorn Village’s executive director Korakot Srivikorn.

“The Ratchaprasong area is a community of working people who want a decent balance between life and work. Our aim is to offer them a journey that takes them from a Michelin-star restaurant and cigar and wine bars to tea and coffee speciality shops and Isaan and street-style outlets at prices to suit every wallet.”

Bongkoch “Bee” Satongun reinterprets traditional Thai cuisine in a contemporary context.

Our recent culinary voyage started at the Thai fine-dining restaurant Paste that revises rare classic dishes with creative flair. The restaurant earned one star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok last year and its chef Bongkoch “Bee” Satongun was also named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2018 by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

A self-taught chef, Bee honed her culinary skills while working in her family’s restaurant and draws inspiration from centuries-old Thai cookbooks to reinterpret traditional cuisine in a modern context.

“There is a much larger range of Thai food than we see today and many dishes have long been forgotten. The distinctive character of classic Thai dishes is a fine balance between complex flavours. I use only fresh and artisanal ingredients from small and local producers because good ingredients will enhance good tastes. Curry pastes are made in-house. Our dried chilli comes from Kanchanaburi and is selected for its medium level of spiciness, aromatic flavour and colour,” Bee explains.

Grilled river prawn with pepper-berry curry paste wrapped with mulberry leaves

Inspired by the ancient royal recipe for curry paste created by Princess Dara Rasmi – a royal consort of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) – Bee introduces a starter with grilled river prawn and curry paste made from mamak mad (Northern pepper-berry). Priced at Bt700, the grilled river prawn is cooked with curry paste, madan (garcinia), bai chakhram(sea blite leaf) and pickled mushroom before being wrapped in mulberry leaves. It’s topped with ant eggs and dressed with coconut juice reduction.

Watermelon rind soup with sea bass and jicama dumplings

Watermelon rind gets a second chance at life in a soup – a signature dish inspired by the Snidwongse family cookbook. The steamed watermelon rind is cut into thin slices and cooked in a curry made from the pastes of dried chilli, lemongrass, red onion and pepper. Sea bass and jicama dumplings wrapped with tofu sheets are added and the soup is seasoned with fish sauce, palm sugar and lemon juice. It’s Bt750.

“It may look like gaeng som (hot and sour tamarind soup), but the curry paste doesn’t use krachai (lesser ginger) but takrai (lemongrass). It’s a cross between gaeng liang(spicy vegetable soup), gaeng som and tom yum,” Bee explains.

Nutmeg smoked guinea fowl with winged bean salad

Her yum tua phoo (spicy winged bean salad) comes with a nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste) prepared to a recipe from a centuries-old cookbook written by Mom Somjeen Rachanupraphan back in the reign of King Rama V. Here the roasted chilli is not fried with oil as it is today but simply mixed with nam yum (spicy sauce) – a concoction of fish sauce, lemon juice, palm sugar and chilli oil.

And in another move from contemporary preparation, the winged beans are not chopped and cooked with minced pork but blended with grilled baby corn and imported guinea fowl smoked with nutmeg and dressed with honey and kumquat. It costs Bt1,300.

Pomelo salad with char-grilled scarlet prawns

Another favourite is yum som-o (pomelo salad) made from Siam Ruby pomelo – a species unique to Nakhon Si Thammarat –with char-grilled scarlet prawns from Spain and home-made chilli jam and plankton paste.

“My food strikes a balance between the traditional and the contemporary. I want it to sit comfortably in between the past, the present and the future,” says Bee.

A chef at Sushi Mori is preparing Uni Sawa Shu.

Japanese restaurant Sushi Mori doesn’t only serve sushi but offers customers some 300 dishes in both traditional and fusion styles. Prepared exclusively at its Gaysorn branch is the new creation Uni Sawa Shu – sea urchin on seared sourdough bread, Bt650.

This features a tiny cube of bread slightly seared to obtain a crispy texture and spread with a special sauce mixed with miso, foie gras and truffle oil. It’s then topped with sea urchin, caviar and truffle shavings.

Uni Sawa Shu 

“I select premium bafun uni from Hokkaido, which is known for its fresh, firm, creamy and naturally sweet taste. I personally like the sourdough bread baked at Eric Kayser (the shop also has a branch at Gaysorn) and ask the bakers to craft my bread by reducing the sourness. In one bite, you can get a balance of flavours – creamy and sweet from the sea urchin, slightly salty from the sauce and slightly sour from the bread,” says co-owner Nacha Hetrakul, adding that customers can swap the sea urchin for A5-grade Tajima beef.

Shrimp tempura tom yum sauce

Other fusion dishes include shrimp tempura on a bed of green salad with slightly spicy tom yum sauce (Bt380) and torched salmon rolls topped with egg yolk (Bt440).

The best place to sit at Sushi Mori is at the counter bar where diners can observe chefs at work. Omakase style sushi, where the selection is up to the chef, is also offered in three choices – traditional, signature and Bluefin tuna – with prices ranging from Bt2,500 to Bt3,500 for nine to 12 pieces.

Lamb massaman curry with roti

For casual dining, Kub Kao’ Kub Pla run by the iberry Group has everything from ham-cheese spring rolls (Bt165) to a new main dish of lamb massaman curry with roti (Bt480) that’s only available at this branch. The tender marinated lamb shank is cooked sous-vide for 48 hours then grilled, and served with crispy fried roti and pickled cucumber relish.

 iBerista’s iced latte

The iberry Group also operates the new cafe iBerista adjacent to Kub Kao’ Kub Pla. Two exclusive blends are on offer here: the Atlantic blend for hot coffee uses beans from Kenya, Guatemala, Colombia, Ethiopia and Brazil while the Marathon blend for iced drinks is made with beans from Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai with hints of citric and chocolate notes.

Worth trying is the iBerista iced latte (Bt130), which is topped with Hokkaido milk ice cream. Another special drink is iced black tangerine (Bt130) – black coffee mixed with home-made orange juice.

Riedel Wine Bar &Cellar offers a state-of-the-art wine dispenser.

A favourite with wine lovers, Riedel Wine Bar & Cellar offers more than 200 labels and state-of-the-art wine dispensers that allow for a comprehensive tasting experience along with Mediterranean tapas and European cuisine.

The special menu, available only on Saturday and Sunday, is a seafood tower with the treasures of the deep served over ice on three tiers. Diners can enjoy Irish Rock lobster, Scottish smoked salmon, Alaskan king crab leg, Sea Almond clam, langoustine, carabineros shrimp, crawfish, Bouchot mussels, sea whelks and Phuket crab. The seafood tower is available in two sizes – Bt2,999 for two persons and Bt4,999 for up to four people with two and four glasses of sparkling wine respectively.

Seafood tower 

The showroom-cum-wine bar at Gaysorn is the German crystal glassware brand’s first concept store. Guests can enjoy more than 40 different wines by the glass courtesy of the automatic wine dispenser that allows you to select your preferred wine in one of three pours – 30ml for taster option, 75 and 150ml for more serious drinking – at prices ranging from just Bt60 a glass to Bt3,500. A row of Riedel glassware is arranged to match the character and body of each wine and in-house sommeliers are on hand to offer advice. The selection changes every two months.

Boyy & Son Cafe serves drinks with freshly baked croissants.

Next to the boutique of world-renowned bag Boyy is the new Boyy & Son Cafe serving coffee, tea and chocolate with freshly baked croissants and cookies. Run by Boyy’s husband-and-wife founders Wannasiri Kongman and Jesse Dorsey, the cafe’s name borrows from Wannasiri’s nickname, Boy, with the second “y” a nod to her husband Dorsey.

Iced dark chocolate mint and almond croissant

The cafe is decked out in turquoise and Italian marble and the signature drink is designed to match the decor. This iced dark chocolate mint (Bt140) is made with milk, mint syrup, Cacao Barry, and 66-per-cent dark Valrhona chocolate and goes well with almond or coconut croissants (Bt130 and Bt110) made with flour and butter from France and baked fresh daily.

GUSTATORY GOODIES

Paste is open daily from noon to 2pm, and for dinner from 6.30 to 11pm. Call (02) 656 1003.

Sushi Mori is open daily from 11am to 10pm. Call (02) 014 7441.

Kub Kao’ Kub Pla is open daily from 10.30am to 10pm. |Call (02) 075 2660.

iBerista is open 8am to 7pm on weekdays, and 10am to 7pm on weekends. Call (02) 075 2661.

Riedel Wine Bar & Cellar is open daily from 10am to midnight. Call (02) 656 1133.

Boyy & Son Cafe is open daily from 9am to 8pm. Call (02) 235 8300.

Find out more at http://www.GaysornVillage.com.

OVER THE past decade Chinese investors have conquered dozens of chateaux in Bordeaux, France’s famed wine-growing region.

Some left after seeing their investments wither on the vine, but Peter Kwok, who has no fewer than seven vineyards to his name, says he is here for the long haul.

The 69-year-old Hong Kong-based billionaire has been in southwest France for the past 20 years, recently snapping up Chateau Bellefont-Belcier, a Saint-Emilion grand cru.

Some in France’s winemaking community are sniffy about the Asian investors who have bought up 140 chateaux in Bordeaux.

The acquisitions – though making up only 1.5 per cent of the region’s 7,000 vineyards – have stirred sensitivities about growing foreign investment, particularly Chinese, in strategic or heritage sectors.

In February, President Emmanuel Macron said he would work to prevent foreign investors buying French farms after it emerged that a Chinese fund had bought nearly 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) of wheat fields in the centre of the country.

The Chinese tycoons present in Bordeaux see wine mainly as a way of diversifying their fortunes.

But Kwok, who has invested 60 to 70 million euros (Bt1.92 to Bt2.25 billion) in the region, insists he’s not in it for the money – though as an investment banker he keeps an eye on the numbers.

Hong Kong investor and chairman of CITIC Resources Holdings, Peter Kwok, 69, poses for a photograph in the wine cellar at the Chateau Bellefont-Belcier, in Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, France. / AFP 

“Other friends who own vineyards warned me the only way to make a fortune in wine is to invest an even bigger fortune!” says Kwok, who heads the energy subsidiary of Chinese investment group CITIC.

It wasn’t his love of a plummy merlot that brought the Vietnamese-born businessman to Bordeaux.

“My children study in the United States, so I was looking for a place halfway for vacations. France is halfway,” he explains.

But there was also a touch of whimsy in his decision to set up shop on the other side of the world.

Growing up in Vietnam under French colonial rule – living in the capital’s sprawling Chinatown – he was enthralled by “images of De Gaulle, black coffee, baguettes and dreams of Paris.”

But instead of buying a pied-a-terre in the French capital, Kwok opted for a house in the country.

“I pictured a French country house, and it just so happened that it had eight hectares of vines around it,” he laughs.

That was his first chateau, Haut-Brisson in Saint-Emilion, which he purchased in 1997, without ever having sampled the fruits of the vine.

He quickly learned that winemaking isn’t just about planting and harvesting vines – it’s a way of life.

And as in life, “there are many things that you cannot control. You do the best you can, but then you have to wait for nature.”

At first, he sold most of his wines in Asia, particularly Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China.

But as the reputation of his wines grows so too has his global distribution.

With a few harvests under his belt his goal now is to build his “Vignobles K” brand.

“The other aim is to make good wine, which will also take years, but not quite as many.”

At Bellefont-Belcier, something of a sleeping beauty in Saint-Emilion, one of his first tasks will be to clean up the woods that dot the rolling limestone hills over which the estate is spread.

Kwok has earned his chops when it comes to revamping older chateaux, having restored the 18th-century dry masonry terraced vineyards at the Tour-Saint-Christophe estate he acquired in 2012.

Reflecting on those Chinese peers who bid farewell to Bordeaux after a brief dalliance, he says: “It (owning a chateau) became the fashion. They just wanted the experience. But they slowly realised that winemaking is not the business they thought.”

His time in France, which he visits three or four times a year, has taught him that the key ingredient in wine is not equipment or skilled labour, it’s the “terroir” – the land.

“It’s like being the owner of a piece of art,” he says. “Only with wine, it’s a piece of art you can work on.”

Fitbit Versa is a fitness smartwatch that looks sleek and lets you stay healthy and connected to your social networks with alerts from your connected phone.

Versa has similar functions to Fitbit’s flagship Ionic smart fitness watch, except it has no builtin GPS chip. Regardless, it still can be connected to your phone and utilise its GPS for exercise apps while running and cycling.

Versa appears the sweeter of the two and women will like the beautifully rounded edges, whereas the sharp-edged Ionic looks like a man’s watch. But, hey guys, the Versa does come in black too.

In fact Fitbit on May 1 added a Female Health-tracking function to its Fitbit app that helps women monitor their menstrual period along with the usual sleep, activity and weight statistics.

Versa might even be a fashion item with its wristbands available in peach, grey, white and periwinkle. The optional leather bands are sold separately in cognac, lavender, midnight blue and saddle stitch.

Men’s metal links come in black, silver, tapered silver, black mesh and silver mesh.

As a smartwatch, Versa can display notifications of your selected apps on your phone, such as from Line, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Calendar, apart from incoming calls and SMS messages.

You can select which apps to send notifications to Versa. Versa can store up to 30 notifications, after which the oldest are replaced with newer ones.

And when Versa receives calendar events from your phone, it will show the title, location and time of the event in addition to any details you have entered.

When paired to an iPhone, Versa can be used to accept or reject an incoming phone call, but you must converse via the phone.

Android mobile-device users can respond to messages on the go using Versa to create and send up to five custom prepopulated quick replies of 60 characters or less to text messages and messenger apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

Versa is lightweight (50 grams) and comfortable for tracking your activities all day and your sleep at night. The wristband can be 140-180mm or 180-220mm.

It uses a touchscreen colour LCD display that’s easy to read even outdoors thanks to 1,000 nits of brightness.

The Versa is water-resistant to 50 metres underwater, so it can be used to track your swimming activities with a provided app.

It uses a rechargeable lithiumpolymer battery that can last four days. It comes with a recharge cable that magnetically snaps to the back for charging.

The Versa has a builtin Wi-Fi adapter that can be linked to your home Wi-Fi router for syncing, using the desktop Fitbit app, or for uploading music files to the watch’s internal storage.

Yes, Versa is like Ionic in that it has enough internal memory to store 300 songs without the use of a phone. It can connect to Bluetooth headphones like the Fitbit Flyer, for motivating your exercise with music.

I tested playing music from Versa to Flyer and the music quality was good in the details and bass level.

To upload music to Versa, you need to create a playlist on iTunes and upload from a desktop or notebook computer that’s linked via the same router that Versa is using. You can also download your favourite Pandora stations or Deezer playlists to listen to during your exercise.

To use Versa, you need an ID registered for free with Fitbit.com. Then you must download and install the Fitbit app on your phone and log in with the ID. You can then use the app to add the Versa to your account, and from now on, it will keep track of your activities and sleep.

You can then use the app to customise your Versa with several more choices of clock faces that can be downloaded from Fitbit. You can also download more apps FitbitOS apps to be used on the watch. For now, the watch runs on FitbitOS 2.0.

The Versa has an optical heartrate monitor that uses PurePulse tracking technology to provide your cardio fitness level.

The information will give you a better understanding of your fitness level and show how you can improve over time with a personalised Cardio Fitness Score. You can see the score via the dashboard of the Fitbit app and the watch displays your current heart rate and your resting heart rate.

The Versa is easy to use with its touch screen and the intuitive user-interface of FitbitOS. It also has three buttons – back button, top button and bottom button.

The back button is used to go back one level in the menus while the two others are app shortcuts.

For example, the top button opens the app located in the top left of the first app screen, while the bottom button opens the app at the bottom left of the first app.

Or you can swipe the touch screen around to browse through screens of apps and tap on the app you want to use.

From the home screen, which displays the clock, you can swipe down to see notifications, swipe up to see your daily tips and stats, and swipe left to scroll through the apps installed on your watch. To open and an app, you simply tap on it.

You can use the Fitbit app to find and install more apps on the watch. Apps are organised in groups of four per screen. Some apps on Versa require your paired phone, such as the running or biking app, because they need the GPS function of your phone.

The apps installed on Versa are Exercise, Music, Alarm, Coach and Relax.

Exercise provides Run, Bike, Swim, Treadmill, Weights, Interval Timer and Workout exercises. To use Run and Bike, you must connect to your phone to use its GPS. All in all, there are over 15 exercises for you to select.

The Versa also has a SmartTrack function that automatically records selected exercises like running, biking, and elliptical and aerobic workouts automatically. By default, Versa will record any exercise you do for at least 15 minutes. You can use the app to adjust the time period.

Fitbit Coach provides guided bodyweight workouts on your wrist to help you stay fit. Three workouts are immediately available on Versa – 10-Minute Abs, 7-Minute Workout and Treasure Chest. You can create a Fitbit Coach account for more workouts, including one that’s personalised.

The Relax app is very useful and it can help you ease tension. It provides guided breathing sessions. It will guide you to sense your breathing and use a circle that expands and shrinks in intervals. You breathe in when the circle expands and out when it shrinks. You do this for about two minutes and Versa will report whether your breathing alignment to the guide is low, medium or good, as well as your heart rate.

During the test, I used the Run function on a short 4.7km walk. The watch has no “walk” exercise and I have a spine injury and cannot run. Versa had no problem connecting to my phone and using its GPS to correctly display the map of my neighbourhood. The app reported my distance, pace and elapsed time of my walk.

Fitbit Versa is available at B2S, Life, King Power, Powerbuy, VMart and Lazada. The device is also available for sale on Fitbit.com and at major online retailers for Bt8,490 in black with a black aluminium case, grey with a silver aluminium case, or peach with a rose-gold aluminium case.

Accessories range from Bt1,090 to Bt3,290.

The Fitbit Versa Special Edition costs Bt9,490 in a lavender woven band with rose-gold aluminium case or charcoal woven band with graphite aluminium case, both with an extra black classic band.

KEY SPECS

– Display: touch screen LCD

– Case dimensions: 36×29.23x21mm

– Sensors: 3axis accelerometer, 3axis gyroscope, Optical heart rate monitor, Altimeter, Ambient light sensor, Vibration motor, SpO2 sensor

– Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi antenna (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0

– Memory: Saves 7 days of detailed motion data – minute by minute, saves daily totals for past 30 days, stores heartrate data at 1-second intervals during exercise tracking and at 5-second intervals all other times

– Water resistance: 50 metres underwater

– Battery: Lithiumpolymer, two-hour charging

Costing only Bt2,590, Wiko’s Jerry3 smartphone features an 18:9 widescreen and 5.45-inch display with IPS technology in a compact size. It runs on the latest Android 8 (Go Edition) and comes with 5MP rear and front cameras. You have a QuadCore 1.3GHz, CortexA7, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

Master of the dark

A great 4K UHD projector for home entertaining, the ViewSonic PX7474K boasts a high brightness of 3500 ANSI Lumens, the latest XPR technology. It projects 8.3 megapixels of true 4K UHD resolution for maximum big-screen detail. It can handle HDR enhanced content, producing images with more information in the darker and brighter areas. It’s in stores for Bt59,900.

Iron Man to the rescue

Acer’s Swift 3 notebook – the Marvel Studios “Avengers: Infinity War” Iron Man Edition – features a sturdy aluminium top cover decorated with Iron Man’s glowing Arc Reactor. Inside is an eighth-generation Intel Core i58250U processor, NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphic adapter, 256GB of SSD, 8GB of memory and 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO wireless technology. Outside is a vivid 14-inch Full HD IPS antiglare display. Expect to pay Bt29,990.

Go higher definition

The Sony UBPX700 4K Ultra HD Bluray Player is great for HDR (High Dynamic Range) TV and the resulting improved picture detail. The player can also upscale normal-quality movies to 4K and will play most high-definition video and audio formats from several popular streaming services. It’s on shelves for Bt10,990.

Hear only the tunes

Shure’s SE112 Wireless in-ear headphones have comfortable sleeves that block up to 37dB of ambient noise for extended distraction-free listening. You get vivid sound with deep bass and battery life of up to eight hours. The going rate is Bt4,990.

“Chumphon is the gateway to the South, but it’s only a small city that most travellers pass through on their way to Phuket, Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao,” says Veera Thongphichit. He and others are aiming to change that and keep the travellers around a little longer.

Veera is Chumphon’s provincial permanent secretary, and with Tikomporn Suttiudomrut and Somchai Semmanee, directors of the provincial Tourism and Sports offices in Surat Thani and Chumphon, respectively, he recently launched a Bt4-million campaign to promote the area.

Folks who whiz past Chumphon are “missing out on a great opportunity to explore many interesting historical, cultural and natural attractions”, Veera told participants in a 50-car caravan touring his province and neighbouring Surat Thani.

The same caravan heads next to two other Gulf provinces, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung.

Among the draws in Chumphon are a monument to Prince Chumphon, father of the Royal Navy, Wat Phra That Sawi, Hat Sai Ree, coffee, durian and mangosteen plantations, and the finger bananas that are renowned throughout the country.

Wat Phra That Sawi is regarded as one of the most sacred sites in the four provinces on the tour, Tikomporn pointed out. Others include Wat Phra Borom That Chaiya in Surat Thani, Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Wat Khien Bang Kaew in Phatthalung.

The first stop for the caravan was Chumphon’s Nong Yai Area Development Project, initiated by His Majesty King Bhumibol as one of the kaem ling (monkey cheek) water-retention areas he envisioned spreading across the land to help in times of flood and drought. And floods there were in Chumphon after Typhoon Gay struck in November 1989.

The development project also includes a habitat for several species of birds, a farm demonstration area, homestay cabins and the Phato Watershed Conservation and Management Centre.

A long wooden bridge is being built across a lake to connect with No 9 Island, where guests will be able to try planting mangrove shoots and making nipa palm sugar. There are also areas for snorkelling and rafting.

At the Swallow’s Nest Learning Centre, Tee Baan Nok, we got to see how various products are made from bird nests. At Baan Thamsing Coffee Community Enterprise, we saw beans make their way from the initial hulling to ageing in a sunny greenhouse.

All southern coffee is Robusta, but there’s a remarkable difference in the flavour of Thamsing and Khao Tha Lu, two brands from the South that Bangkok aficionados know well.

“They taste different because they’re processed differently,” a Baan Thamsing official explained. “All 14 provinces in the South cultivate the same Robusta coffee beans. The difference comes in the processing, especially the roasting.

“Robusta beans naturally have a bitter taste, so the processing has to overcome that. We use the same production processes that are used for Arabica beans. And we earned an award from the Food and Drug Administration for top-quality halal products.”

Day 2 of the tour rolled up to historic Wat Phra That Sawi, which is one of three temples in the South housing revered Buddha relics. It has a golden pagoda shaped like a bell – and a remarkable legend.

According to local lore, King Sri Thammasokarat, after whom the nearby province is named, was marching his army past this location in 1260 (even monarchs, even then, were “just passing through”) and saw a flock of crows around a mound of bricks. One of the birds was white.

The king interpreted this as a sign and ordered his soldiers to dig up the mound. Beneath it they found an urn containing relics of the Lord Buddha. The king, overwhelmed by the discovery, had a chedi erected on the spot to enshrine the relics.

After lunch we were off to Surat Thani to see Wat Phra Boromathat Chaiya Worawihan, surely one of the most beautiful temples in the South. At its centre is a stupa reconstructed in the Srivijaya style. The National Museum nearby has several important artefacts from the original structure, including wonderful Buddha statues.

Wat Suan Mohkha Phalaram, not far away, is the famous forest monastery founded in 1932 by Phra Buddhadasa, perhaps Thailand’s most revered Buddhism scholar. Monks were listening to a sermon in a plaza of paving stones and there’s an interesting “spiritual theatre” populated by religious statues.

Tikomporn told us that Surat Thani was “the most important province on the southern Gulf of Thailand”, ranking sixth among all the provinces of Thailand in terms of tourist visits.

“Fifteen million tourists visit the four provinces every year, generating Bt100 billion in revenue,” he said. “Surat Thani’s tourist magnets are Koh Samui, Koh Pangan and Koh Tao, which tourists, particularly from Germany, Sweden and China, find fascinating. The number of visitors keeps increasing and there are now four charter flights arriving every week, as well as all the commercial flights.”

But there’s much more to the province than the resort islands, Tikomporn said.

“We want to draw the tourists’ attention to the attractions here on the mainland in addition to the islands, where the density of visitors is so great already. We’re developing more mainland tourist attractions that should be open next year or by 2020. For now, there are the Cheow Lan or Ratchaprapha dam and Khao Sok National Park, which draw a lot of tourists.

“And Surat Thani is famous for its ngoh rongrien rambutan and durian, especially Ban Na San district, where we encourage visitors to tour the plantations. Surat Thani will also be promoted as an herbal hub, because we grow turmeric, which is processed into several healthy products that will interest Chinese tourists especially.

“In fact, we’re planning a ‘health tour’ with visits to spas and Tha Chang Hospital, where turmeric is used, at Phanom district, where it’s grown. We’re creating several different kinds of tours that can be related to each other.”

Our journey ends with a paddle-boat ride along a canal to the Pracharat Floating Market in Bang Bai Mai district. It’s a lovely outing, proceeding through a natural tunnel of bending nipa palms, and the market vendors offer samples of such traditional treats as khanom jang, khanom tom yang, khanom kho, khoei jee and niew aub.

The southern provinces’ grand plans will get major boosts from the construction of a double-track railway crossing the isthmus from the Gulf to the Andaman Sea and the expansion of Surat Thani’s airport.

In addition, the Surat Thani ferry pier that’s always busy with travellers is being moved from Donsak district to the provincial capital itself, just 20 minutes from the airport.