Minimising our carbon footprint and travelling with the environment in mind are now the most important criteria for many in choosing a place to spend time. Here in Thailand, domestic tourism still has a way to go in meeting green goals and the Tourism Authority of Thailand is giving tourists a helping hand by reminding them to adopt responsible travel practices that pay attention to the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the destination.

“We are trying to motivate Thai people to be more conscious about the environment,” TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn, as he introduces new campaign, “7 Greens”.

Tourism is often cited as a cause of natural resource damage, waste and pollution. Green travel on the other hand rewards the visitor with a memorable time and provides opportunities to share with local communities through volunteering activities, which are enjoyable and regarded as a part of sustainable tourism promotion.

Three pilot destinations have been launched under the campaign: Koh Mak in Trat province, Takua Pa in Phang Nga province, and Nan province. They will serve as prototypes for the “7 Greens” project components, namely “Green Heart”, “Green Logistics”, “Green Attraction”, “Green Activity”, “Green Community”, “Green Service” and “Green Plus.”

“Everything starts with ‘Green Heart’,” Yuthasak says. “We must travel with an environmentally friendly heart. When we are travelling, the focus is on ‘Green Logistics’. This refers to the form of transportation we select, like riding a bicycle, which saves energy while also protecting the environment. ‘Green Attraction’ is about sustainable tourism. Koh Mak in Trat province is a model community that generates its electricity from solar energy, uses an incinerator that doesn’t have an environmental impact, and most importantly has no convenience stores.

“‘Green Activity’ doesn’t mean planting trees but taking part in activities that are suited to the destination such as in Nan, which is a quiet province full of cultural attractions where we can sip coffee but not make any noise. ‘Green Community’ is all about learning the value of the community and preserving its identity. Now, the government is encouraging Thais to go to more communities and secondary provinces, like Takua Pa in Phang Nga province. ‘Green Service’ is about the management of business and requires us to encourage entrepreneurs to be more aware of environmental impacts. This we are doing through a programme of awards.

The last is ‘Green Plus’ meaning helping each other to plant trees or collect wastes. But as I said, everything starts with THE ‘Green Heart’. I think that it will be the first step to protecting the environment,” he says.

Green travel can also expand our minds by promoting intercultural understanding and showing us how we are all connected. But balancing preservation of the land with a desire to travel is a challenge not just for travellers but for the places we visit.

“This ‘7 Greens’ campaign has come at the right time,” says TV host and celebrity Nithi “Job” Samudkojorn, producer of the foodtravel programme, “Samudkojorn On The Way”.

“Travel behaviour has changed and generally it’s for the better. From my encounters with folk at the local level, it’s clear that tourists are more interested in experiencing and learning from communities. And travelling is vital to stimulating the economy of these places.

“Through these pilot provinces, I discovered that natives of Koh Mak are working together to develop their communities by themselves. There’s a hotel with a sustainable waste system, a boat powered by solar panels and the pathways are lit by solar power. There’s a bicycle lane on the island and the use of vehicles and motorcycles is forbidden. Nan is about arts and culture and here tourists must respect the serene environment. Phang Nga is sometimes called ‘The Little Amazon’ for its interesting ecosystem. It’s charming and a perfect example of community-based tourism. I also find that many more tourists are paying attention to negative environmental impacts, taking part in collecting trash along the beach. I think that it is a new trend in tourism,” he adds.

English-Thai actor Alexander Simon Rendell, who goes by the name Alex, is a presenter for this campaign. He takes the work seriously too, riding his bicycle to the press conference to underline the “Green Logistics” component.

“I do a lot of work for the environment because I love travelling and like to spend time both in forests and at the sea. As a byproduct of my travels, I set up my Environmental Education Centre Thailand to promote education about the environment through camps. 7 Greens is encouraging people to travel with the environment in mind and to be friendly both towards the environment and the community. We can change people’s attitudes to environmental protection. I’m very glad to be a face of this campaign. I just came back from Japan after shooting Phi Job’s programme and found that the Japanese have very green hearts and help each other collect waste,” says Alex, who is a scuba-diving enthusiast.

The campaign is also receiving the support of Nithi Pattanapakdee, chief media officer at Major Cineplex Group, who is spreading the sustainable message through social media. The “Moviecation” collaboration is now in its third year and the “Amazing Green Route Green Movie” project runs through June 30.

For this third season, the company takes part in “Green Service” by encouraging movie-goers to buy their tickets online. The first two years saw a reduction of seven million paper tickets and this year, the cinema chain is rewarding those registering with the “Amazing Green Route Green Movie” at http://www.moviecation3.com with the chance to join one of 60 exclusive “7 Greens” trips.

The 10 first prizes are a two-day-one-night “Exclusive 7 Greens Trip” in Kanchanaburi Province including a visit to Malika RE 124 – the Siamese Living Heritage Town. Fifty consolation prizes of a “7 Greens Trip” including accommodation at the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and air tickets are also being given out.

Beats Studio3 Wireless overear headphones can add more fun to music listening on your iPhone or iPad with powerful bass and effective noise cancellation.

You can count on long battery life and fast charging, as well as technology that makes it easy to connect to your Apple devices.

Studio3 Wireless is powered by an Apple W1 chip that ensures seamless setup and switching between devices.

When I put the headphones near my iPad Pro 10.5-inch, a dialogue box appeared on the tablet’s screen asking if I wanted to connect them. Then I just followed the instructions to complete the setup.

Once your all hooked up, it’s easy to switch to other devices running on the macOS Sierra, iOS 10 and watchOS 3 – as long as they’re linked to your iCloud account and you’re using the same Apple ID.

The Studio3 Wireless headphones deliver a premium sound experience with Pure Adaptive Noise Cancelling (Pure ANC) blocking external sounds and realtime audio calibration to preserve clarity, range and tone.

It continuously pinpoints external sounds to block while automatically optimising output, so you always hear the music as the recording artists intended it to sound.

I found that the Studio3 Wireless is particularly good for rock music because it reproduces the heavy bass and you get superb clarity in the mid and high ranges.

As for the battery life, when Pure ANC is turned on, it can last up to 22 hours, and if Pure ANC is off, you can get 40 hours. Fast Fuel technology also allows for three hours of play on a 10-minute charge.

The headphones are designed for long-term comfort. The soft overear cushions feature advanced venting and signature ergonomic pivoting, so there’s a custom, flexible fit for any head shape.

The light weight means you can wear them for hours without discomfort.

Connected to your iPhone, the Studio3 Wireless can control music playback. Press the “b” on the left earcup once to pause or play playback. Press twice to skip ahead a track and three times to skip backwards.

Press the “b” twice and hold to scan forward through a track, three times and hold to scan backwards.

To control the playback and phonecall volume, there are buttons above and below the “b”. Press and release Volume Up or Volume Down or press and hold to increase and decrease the volume continuously.

You can also use the Remote Talk cable to control playback volume.

For phone calls, press the “b” once to answer or end a call and press again to answer a second incoming call and put the first call on hold. When two calls are active, press “b” again to switch between them. You can reject an incoming call by pressing and holding the “b” for one second.

To stop listening through your headphones and send the call to the phone, press “b” twice.

To activate Siri on your iOS device or the voicecommand feature on another device, press and hold the “b” until you hear a chime, then say what you wish.

You can check the battery level and charging status on the Fuel Gauge by tapping the power button.

Pure ANC is enabled by default each time you power up the Studio3 Wireless, but you can turn it off by double-pressing the power button while connected to your device. You can turn it on again by repeating the process.

The package includes the 3.55mm Remote Talk cable that can be used for listening to music and controlling playback. The cable has a centre button that functions like the “b” on the earcup.

There’s also a hard carrying case that the headphones fold into for convenient transport.

The Beats Studio3 Wireless is available in Shadow Grey, Porcelain Rose, Matte Black, White, Blue and Red for Bt12,500 at http://www.Apple.com/th.

Key Specs

– Form Factor: Over ear

– Connections: Bluetooth, Wireless

– Batteries: Rechargeable lithiumion

– Height: 18.4cm

– Weight: 260g

– In the box: Headphones, carrying case, 3.5mm Remote Talk cable, Universal USB charging cable (USBA to USB MicroB), Quick Start Guide

You get 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage running on an Android 8.1 OS, a 6.1inch OLED Full View Display and a Huawei Kirin 970 CPU octacore processor. It retails for Bt27,990.

Enjoyable pokes in the ear

Jabra’s Elite Active 65t true-wireless earbuds are built for wearing while playing sports. There’s a secure fit, an integrated accelerometer for tracking via the Jabra app and protection against sweat, water and dust. Count on five hours of listening time on one charge. Get them in navy/copper for Bt6,990.

Sound goes vertical

Sony’s HTZ9F is a 3.1-channel Dolby Atmos/DTS X soundbar with the company’s new Vertical Surround Engine that fits perfectly in any home. Three front speakers reproduce “vertically”, creating virtual surround sound that seems to come from all around. Advanced digital processing converts audio into immersive sound. With power output of 400 watts, it sells for Bt26,990.

Good God, gamers!

The Nitro NP5155188BC notebook computer from Acer is plenty powerful for gaming. An eighth-generation Intel Core i78550U processor running at 1.8GHz, 8GB of RAM, a full terabyte on the hard drive and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 adapter with 4GB of video memory will get you through anything. It’s in stores for Bt37,990.

Office mates will ‘Flip’

The 55-inch digital display on Samsung’s Flip phone lets you effortlessly connect and interact in the workspace. Up to four people can introduce content or annotate simultaneously in real time just by drawing or writing with a pen directly on the UHD-resolution screen. Flip users can write up to 20 pages per file. Expect to pay Bt129,000.

Watching content streamed by iflix on your big screen TV just became a whole lot easier with the release of the GMM Z Stream, an Android OS-base IPTV box.

Before, tuning into the TV series and movies available through the iflix service on your large-screen TV meant attaching a Google Chromecast to your TV then “casting” from the iflix app to the Chromecast.

Now the GMM Z Stream, which runs on Android 6.0 operating system, can run the iflix app and thanks to its HDMI output, plays iflix movies directly onto your TV.

The box is a powerful multimedia hub. It’s powered by AMLOGIC S905X quadcore 64bit cortex-A53 processor with a clock speed up to 2 GHz and uses a pentacore MALI450 processor to handle graphics tasks.

It has two gigabytes of working memory or RAM and 8 GB of storage for installing apps. The box is capable of decoding and outputting up to 4K video at the rate of 60 frames per second. It also supports decoding 1080P video at 60fps.

The IPTV box comes with two USB ports and a microSD card reader, one HDMI port, and one optical digital output as well as a LAN network port. It also supports wireless connectivity with dual Wi-Fi bands of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. With the builtin Wi-Fi connectivity, the box supports DLNA, AirPlay and Miracast multimedia streaming.

In fact, the box is just like an entertainment computer for playing Android games and apps with output to your TV. You can connect a keyboard and a mouse to its USB ports to use it more conveniently than through its remote control alone.

During the test, I used a Logitech wireless mouse to navigate and interact with apps on the box. I could click the onscreen keyboard to log on to my iflix and Google accounts effortlessly. The box streamed movies and TV series from the iflix server with good 1080p quality and excellent sound without any performance hiccups. I tested it using LAN cable connection as well as with True Online’s SuperSpeed Fibre 50/29 Mbps package. The iflix movies streamed beautifully and both sound effects and dialogue matched the pictures perfectly.

Using the wireless mouse, I could conveniently browse through iflix’s vast library of popular international, Asian and local TV shows and movies, while selecting audio language and subtitle options.

I could also browse TV series and movies by category – movies, TVs, kids and studios, for example. The TV series currently include Top 200, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Thriller and Horror while the movies category has Top 200, Action, Animation, Chinese, and Korean.

The GMM Z Stream box is also pre-installed with YouTube, Atime-Online, OneHD 31 and GMM 25 apps.

The YouTube app allows you to conveniently watch YouTube clips on your large screen TV while the One 31 and GMM 25 apps get you live content from the two TV stations, streamed via the Internet. The Atime-Online app lets you listened to Internet radio stations from the Atime Media, including Chill89, Hot915, 94EFM, and Greenwave 106.5.

Since the box supports a mouse and keyboard, you can use the builtin web browser and a Chrome browser to browse websites just as you would with a computer and mobile phone.

You can also use Google’s Play Store to download and install more games or apps that support Android 6.0 to run on the box.

Another option is playing Full HD 1080p movies stored on external hard drive or USB flash card. Several apps are pre-installed for playing movies, including Kodi 16. During the test, I tried using the pre-installed Kodi 16 to play Full HD 1080p movies on a flash drive connected to one of the USB ports. The movies played smoothly and it was easy to select both soundtracks and subtitles.

iflix is currently collaborating with GMM Z Trading to allow buyers of the new GMM Z Stream box to enjoy three months of unlimited access to iflix content.

GMM Z Stream is distributed by Z Trading, a subsidiary of GMM Grammy, for Bt2,490 and is on sale at GMM Shops, PowerBuy, MegaHome, JIB, O Shopping, Big C, HomePro and Amorn Electronic shops.

Key Specs

– OS: Android 6.0

– CPU: Amlogic S905X QuadCore 64bit CortexA53

– GPU: Penta Core ARM Mali450 GPU up to 750MHz+ (DVFS)

– Memory: DDRIII 2GB

– Flash: EMMC Flash 8GB

– Wi-Fi: 2.4G + 5G (Dual Band)

– Video: UHD 4K, FHD 1080P, VP9 HW decoding

– Audio: MP3, AAC, WMA, RM, FLAC, OGG, AC3, Dolby

– Picture: jpg, JPEG, MJPEG, PNG

– Multi Screen: DLNA, AirPlay, Miracast

The Environmental Education Centre Thailand, an organisation set up by English-Thai actor Alexander Simon “Alex” Rendell to provide direct education on environmental conservation, is helping the Tourism of Thailand Authority “Go Local” by taking young people as well as their parents on camps in various parts of the country and getting the messages over through a host of fun activities.

“Go Local”, the TAT’s latest campaign, aims to promote 55 secondary tourist destinations nationwide while better balancing the distribution of tourist arrivals between urban and rural areas, evening out the seasonality factor between the months of travel, and encouraging more travel during weekdays to reduce pressure on the weekends. Its targets are young people, families and the so-called Generation Y.

“Gen Y refers to the young people who prefer to travel alone, or sometimes with friends or family members and use the social media to post and promote the beautiful tourist destinations they have discovered. Gen Y takes selfies and talks about their finds with others. These youngsters play an important role in attracting other generations to tourist destinations. This is the second year that we are focusing on tourism in the secondary provinces, and it is to these places that we would like Gen Y to travel, spend time in the communities and help keep the environment clean and safe. So we have joined with Alex, who is passionate about environmental protection, to encourage these young people to share his love for the environment and take care of nature,” says Somradee Chitchong, executive director of TAT’s northern region.

“People are travelling more than ever, and they are choosing to spend time either in forested areas or under the sea. Natural or green tourism industry is growing and scuba diving is now so popular that you have book a place on a boat well in advance. Social media has done a lot to promote the beauty of the waters off Thai shores and two of the top ten dive sites are in Thailand,” Alex adds.

“My aim is to build a platform that educates people about the environment, as I firmly believe that education is key to sustainable tourism. There are two groups of participants who are interested in our camps. The first is children who love nature and animals, and the second is the parents who sign up their kids for camps. That’s important because we don’t advertise the camps but rely on word of mouth,” he explains, adding that the partnership with TAT covers 15 camp activities and continues through September.

“I’m a single mother of two and am involved in the ‘New Generation Tourist Pays Attention to Environment’ campaign presented by Tik Jesdaporn,” says Somradee. “After taking part in a culture camp and a birdwatching camp, my kids lost interest in playing games on their mobile phones all the time. They had a great time at both camps and really enjoyed learning. I find they have a lot more self-discipline. Alex’s activities aren’t created just for children but also for parents and other adults. I think these activities help family relationships.”

Alex concurs. “One of our popular activities is the ‘Elephant in the Mist’ camp, where we take children walking along a nature trail in Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima and use instructional media for learning and analysing elephant housing and elephant saltlicks as well the history of relationships between pachyderms and man. We tell the kids to collect elephant dung and they analyse it under a microscope. Our experience shows that the youngsters develop emotional strength from this kind of outdoor activity and cultivate an environmental awareness that they will pass on to others. We also took children to a Moken village in the South and they were fascinated. They instinctively understood it was not the place to take selfies. Conservation isn’t only about the forest and sea but also about humanity.”

Set up slightly less than a year ago, Alex says he was inspired to create the Environmental Education Centre Thailand by his happy memories of some 18 years ago.

“When I was young, I got to know khru Alongkot Chukaew, an elephant expert and now a highly esteemed member of the EEC Thailand family. At that time, I went with him to the forest to help a wild elephant that had injured its leg. When we came back, we helped raise funds to purchase medications. When I grew up, I met khru Alongkot again and watched him use an elephant in the development of blind children with multiple disabilities. It was a lovely scene and made me determined to support elephant conservation. Then I had the idea of setting up a centre to educate people about conservation and as a stage to teach kids about giving. Now my aim is to mix environmental education with tourism,” he explains.

“The main focus is organising camps but we also want to promote environmental education through the social media and through collaborations with government and private organisations. We don’t expect all kids to be environmentalists but we hope to build a conscience about environmental protection. Some children tell us they want to become veterinarians or marine biologists, or maybe work with the UN. We try to help their dreams come true by facilitating innovative science camps,” he continues.

A certified divemaster, Alex instructs, tests and awards diving certificates and serves as the MC for other camps.

“With the number of celebrity influencers around, I think this year will see many more people take up scuba diving. It’s not hard to master and Thailand’s dive sites are too good to miss.”

Dig a little deeper

For more information about EEC and a schedule of upcoming camps, visit http://EECThailand.com/en/.

TAT Governor  Yuthasak Supasorn says this latest English edition of “Little Chiang Mai” will serve as a unique guide for international travellers looking to discover Thailand’s ‘Rose of the North’ from a new perspective.

The book set combines Chiang Mai’s culture, gastronomy and art in a way that brings the city to life in a new light, targeting young active travellers looking to discover its hidden gems along running or cycling routes.

The book is divided into five individual sections: ‘Ride’, ‘Run’, “Restaurants”, “Gallery Museum” and “Bookshops”.

According to the Rabbithood Studio, the Chiang Mai-based studio and design lab commissioned to create the guidebook, the initial brief from TAT was to create a map of Chiang Mai’s bookshops, restaurants and museums that bring together the city’s local establishments with bicycle and running routes in Chiang Mai being added as a bonus.

What differentiates Little Chiang Mai from most guidebooks is each section has a character that is relatable to its content, which is divided into five individual pocketbooks distributed within the one package.

In addition to the design, another important element is the way it views reading as an experience. The design team intended for Little Chiang Mai to have a bit of everything people cannot get online; each of the five books comes in different sizes and uses different types of paper to the printing and binding techniques. For example, the design of the page layout of the Gallery/Museum pocketbook uses a diecut technique creating a final presentation that looks similar to how a painting is framed and exhibited in an art gallery.

It is priced at Bt1,500 available at the TAT. For more information, call (02) 250 5500 extensions 21162119.

Offering their take on grunge and punk are Madman, The Layers, Jimmy Revolt, Nirvalung and Pretty Punks. Tickets are Bt250 with one drink (pre-show) and Bt300 at the door. The Rock Pub is adjacent to Ratchathewi BTS Station

Find out more or book a table at (099) 191 5666, email therockpub1987@gmail.com, or check out LINE: @therockpub.

Suds sensations

Where Is My Beer?, Bangkok’s first dedicated beer cocktails & crafts bar, holds its grand opening party in Sukhumvit Soi 89 next Friday. Come early to enjoy free beer as well as Bt50 off all beer cocktails.

Find out more by calling (083) 089 8720.

Splendours of Panama

TK Park continues its contemporary world film series on April 28 starting at 3 with the screening of “Donaire Y Esplendor” (“Grace & Splendour”), a film from Panama that portrays the beauty, energy, and variety of this unique country, with its lush beaches, mountains, lively cityscapes, passionate people and stunning Carnival spirit. Directed by Arturo Montenegro, it blends a large and assorted range of colorful characters, plenty of fun, action, melodrama, ribald humour in a film that is both a social comedy and a sumptuous entertainer. Entry fee is Bt20 at https://goo.gl/forms/GdZmHeYIqp6ys5HR2, http://www.tkpark.or.th, or by emailing: yuttinai@tkpark.or.th and filmforum17@gmail.com.

Playing by the pool

Liquid Pool Bar of Compass SkyView Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 24 brings back the old party crew featuring DJs Fred Jungo, Tom Funkygangster, Mizz G and KC to an infinity pool party on May 26 from 1 until 9pm.

Entry is Bt400 including one drink. For more information and special VIP table packages, call (096) 945 8255.

Insanity gets the ‘trap’

South Korea’s Reverse Prime and China’s Casper Yu join up for a night of high energy EDM and bass-heavy trap music tomorrow from 10 until late at Insanity Nightclub on Sukhumvit Soi 11.

Reserve your table at (087) 804 9542.

Organised by sportswear label Under Armour, the event sets out to celebrate human performance through intense functional training challenges for the most determined athletes, goalgetters and fitness aspirants.

Under Armour’s ultimate fitness challenge will be championing the will and vigour of Thais. The highlight of this year’s challenge includes the introduction of age categories to level the playing field (18-34 years, 35-44 years, and 45+ years). Most significant is that the minimum age to qualify is now 18, extending opportunities for more young fitness enthusiasts to put their will to the test.

Dialling up the intensity from last year, 2018 participants will compete in an all-new fourminute circuit challenge – Over and Under (Hurdle), Deadball Squats, Kettlebell Farmer Walks and Bear Crawls – that will test their strength, endurance and power. Each competitor will be scored based on the maximum number of correct repetitions they can achieve within 60 seconds.

The Top 3 male and female athletes in each category will receive a limitededition Test of Will 2018 medal. This year’s Thailand Test of Will champions (male and female) who achieve the highest overall score will walk away with a cash prize of Bt50,000 each.

Participants are encouraged to study the training guide for specific movement standards and tips to maximise their performance.

Registrations are available on line at http://www.testofwill.com and the fee is Bt500. Participants will automatically receive a Test of Will 2018 exclusive “Willbreaker” T-shirt valued at Bt1,250. Registrations are limited to Thai residents only.

For more information, visit http://www.UnderArmour.co.th or UnderArmourThailand at Facebook.

The photos reflect the lifestyles of a new generation of professionals who have found a good work-life balance and understand the sustainable relationship between human and nature. This exhibition aims to encourage everyone to get out, explore and discover their own style.

Chalisa, a former social editor of Vogue Thailand and the owner of Taste of Nowhere website, said: “Taste of Nowhere serves as a channel to tell my stories. It used to present fashion stories to promote Thai designers. After working in the fashion industry for a while, I felt I had enough. So I decided to leave it behind and started travelling again, becoming an explorer, which I had always dreamed about. When taking trips, I come to understand people, culture and nature. When standing in front of huge icebergs, I feel awed and so small because of the power of nature. These experiences not only make me humbler, but also happier in myself. The stories on Taste of Nowhere have changed to the connection between man and nature. My aim is to enhance the environmental awareness and build self-esteem.”

Napat remains a fashion icon although he no longer holds the position of fashion editor at Elle Men. To inspire fashionistas, he presents outstanding styles on his own social media pages.

“I discovered style thanks to my trips. I spend most of my time travelling the world and observing the local way of life and dressing style. When visiting New York, I like watching people in subway. That is because the way people dress says a lot about the nature of that city. It is great to find people outside the fashion industry in chic outfits because it confirms my belief that it is not what you wear or how expensively you dress; it is about how you wear it.”

Disaya, a singer with Kidnappers band, loves diving with her friends off remote islands. She set up the Sun Tan Tour facebook page to host freediving activities. Freediving relies on holding the breath until resurfacing rather than using any form of breathing apparatus.

“Freediving has helped me discover freedom because I don’t have to carry any equipment. When I’m in the sea, I feel light because the water wraps around me. Seeing the underwater world is amazing. I leave everything behind and free myself. Nature has given me so much joy and happiness. It’s given me a sense of ownership and now I would like to protect nature,” said Disaya.

Chayanee, known as “Pedduck”, is a well-known freelance photographer with many Instagram followers. She said, “I like travelling and always take photos of what I like. Most of my photos reflect nature, the mountains, forests and the sea, which can tell stories. Instead of easy and comfortable trips, I prefer adventure and going off course on roads less travelled to find new perspectives.”

Siam Discovery is also collaborating with global photo app EyeEm, in holding an activity for globetrotters and photo enthusiasts. The activity invites everyone to post memorable trip photos under the “Summer Exploratorium” concept on Instagram, hashtagging #godiscoversummer #siamdiscovery and setting them to public. EyeEm will select the photos that match the concept and keep them in its gallery. The most beautiful photo will win free flights from Air Asia for a whole year. Ten runners-up will receive a two-day-one-night accommodation package from Goo Glamper. You can post photos from today through April 30.

Customers, who register, book and fly by June 30 can collect 4,000 bonus Avios when taking two or more British Airways return flights and 16,000 bonus points for four or more return flights.

Flights to Europe connecting through London are also included, meaning a customer taking two return trips from Hong Kong to Paris, Amsterdam or Rome would earn 4,000 bonus Avios, thanks to the connection through London.

You can register at http://www.BA.com/executive-club/offers/bonus-avios or https://www.BritishAirways.com/en-hk/executive-club/offers/bonus-avios.

Riverside bliss

The luxury X2 Chiang Mai Riverside Resort continues the Thai New Year celebration by offering a Summer Lovin’ package that invites guests to book by April 30 for any stay between now and June 30.

The room rates start at Bt5,098 and special benefits include 20-per-cent discount from Best Available Rates and a daily Bt500 cash voucher to redeem for food and beverages at all the resort’s outlets.

Guests booking a room directly via its official website will also get VIP check-in with welcome drink, coffee or tea upon arrival, 15-per-cent off food and beverage and spa, free use of Handy mobile phone with internet, early check-in and late check-out.

Make your booking online at https://X2Resorts.com/offers/summer-lovin.

Soulful at the Shilla

The Shilla Seoul Hotel in South Korea marks the beginning of spring with the Urban Island package that’s available until the end of the month.

Starting KRW 310,000 (Bt9,035), the package offers an overnight stay in a Business Deluxe Room or Executive Business Deluxe Room, breakfast at the Parkview, complimentary all-day access to Urban Island, indoor pool, fitness centre and executive lounge.

Check out the best rates at http://www.ShillaHotels.com.

Tropical treat

Phi Phi Island Beach Resort welcomes vacationers with a special package for Thai and expatriate residents that continues through the end of April.

Starting from Bt21,200 for a three-night stay in a Superior Bungalow, the promotion also includes sea transfers between Phuket and the resort based on a regular boat schedule, daily breakfast for two, a one-time set dinner for two (food only) and a one-time 60-minute Thai massage for two.

Make a reservation by calling (075 628 900 or email reservations@phiphiislandvillage.com.

Spectacular Sendai

Japan’s spectacular Sendai Aoba Festival returns on May 19 and 20 with a full calendar of activities rooted in its 350-year tradition.

Known locally as Yoi Matsuri, the event features the Yamahoko procession, the Sendai Suzume Odori (sparrow dance) by local residents and the wheeled tall Yamaboko parade (festive floats with gorgeous ornaments) and a procession of samurai wearing traditional armours.

Find out more at http://www.Aoba-Matsuri.com/ (in Japanese and English).