THE VILLAGE of Doi Mae Salong in Chiang Rai’s Northern highlands has long been a popular destination with winter weekenders eager to enjoy some chilly weather, savour the local Chinese cuisine and sip the Oolong tea for which its plantations are known.

But once winter is over, the tourists tend to disappear and now the residents, with the help of a group of academics, are trying to woo them back throughout the year by promoting the area as a gastronomic village whose local cuisine tracks the legacy of the Chinese who found refuge here.

The morning fresh market at Doi Mae Salong offers both fresh and preserved produce.

“Many of the residents of Doi Mae Salong are descendants of the anti-communist Kuomintang (KMT) forces who were granted citizenship in return for policing the area against communist infiltration. Their unique cuisine was born out of struggle, bravery, tolerance and love, and speaks loudly about the history and culture,” says Pollavat Prapattpong from the School of Liberal Arts, Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai.

Pollavat has joined young residents to research the roots of Doi Mae Salong foods in a bid to promote sustainable tourism and instil a sense of pride among the local people.

“We want to develop our home in a sustainable way based on our own roots and culture. After completing secondary school here, most young people head to the urban centres to find work. Only the old generation remains in the highlands. The pilot project to promote their traditional comfort foods aims to be easily accessible to the public,” says Danita Tantivanit, 35, a granddaughter of Gen Tuan Shi-wen, leader of Kuomintang’s 93rd Division, which sought asylum in Mae Salong.

A Thai-pocket paperback titled “Ros Mae Salong: Moo Baan Aharn” (“Taste of Mae Salong: The Gastronomic Village”)

With funding and academic support from Mae Fah Luang University, the five-month research project undertaken last year has produced a Thai-pocket paperback titled “Ros Mae Salong: Moo Baan Aharn” (“Taste of Mae Salong: The Gastronomic Village”). One thousand copies have been printed and distributed to restaurants and institutions in Doi Mae Salong and various tourist attractions in Chiang Rai town.

The book compiles the traditional foods found in the valley. Some are family recipes, others dishes available at restaurants, and the book also explains the origins of the community, which is still home to the survivors of Chiang Kai-Shek’s forces and their supporters who in their prime fought the Red Army, but were forced to seek refuge on the Thai border after the communists came to power in 1949.

Stir-fried minced pork with pickled cabbages

After Mao Zedong’s communist party victory in China, the defeated KMT armies led by Chiang Kai-Shek relocated from Yunnan and struggled in the rugged mountain terrain of Myanmar and Laos for many years before moving to Taiwan. However, thousands of soldiers of the 93rd Division led by generals Tuan Shi-wen and Lee Wen-huan refused to surrender and were forced to relocate to the border of Northern Thailand in 1961.

The KMT members assisted the Thai government in policing the area against communist infiltration during the 1970s and early 1980s and were eventually granted Thai citizenship and given land in Doi Mae Salong where the government encouraged them to take up farming. The demography of the village has changed little over the years, with the majority of the inhabitants today ethnic Chinese and descendants of the original KMT soldiers.

Fried moo nam khang (salted air-dried pork) with garlic and dried chilli

“The core food culture of Doi Mae Salong is about preservation. Due to the hardships of living in a remote and deprived area, they had to find ways to keep ingredients edible for as long as possible,” says Pollavat.

“Preserved Chinese cabbage was among the most common ingredients. The weather was generally cold and even in April, the barometer rarely rose above 20 degrees Celsius. Their traditional moo nam khang (salted air-dried pork) was so salty that soldiers could eat only a tiny slice with a bowl of rice. The people raised pigs because they were easy to feed and a single braised pork knuckle could feed a group of soldiers.”

Sauteed wild termite mushroom

Danita runs the resort-cum-restaurant Baan Hom Muen Lee where visitors can find several Yunnanese-style dishes including sauteed hed khon paa (wild termite mushrooms), which are sun-dried then tossed in hot oil, garlic and dried chilli.

“This mushroom is only available during the rainy season. Because of the limited ingredients available here in the past, the food must be cooked in such a way that a little of it eaten with rice goes a long way. You only need a small spoonful of this mushroom with a large bowl of rice for a satisfying meal,” says Danita, who graduated in fashion design at Rangsit University then returned home to run the family business.

Yupin Cheewinkulthong, a third-generation member of the Wang Put Tan tea family

Another returnee is Yupin Cheewinkulthong, 29, whose family has run Wang Put Tan, one of the largest tea plantations at Doi Mae Salong, for three generations. She came back four years ago after graduating in business from East Central University in the US. In addition to running the family business and a restaurant-cum-teahouse, she has opened a boutique hotel.

“After seven years in the US, I started to look back at my origins. Watching the 1990 Taiwanese drama “A Home Too Far” based on the true story of the 93rd Division taking refuge in Mae Salong, also influenced my decision to come back and help develop my hometown,” she says.

 Fried pork belly tossed with fried tea leaves

In addition to developing blends of Oolong tea, Wang Put Tan also grows Chinese plums, using the fruits for both tea and cider. The brews have proved popular with visitors and the tea leaves are also used in several savoury dishes, among them fried pork belly tossed with fried tea leaves; spicy minced pork salad with fresh tea leaves; and omelette stuffed with minced pork and tea leaves.

Salted, air-dried pork sauteed with green pepper and onion

A variety of Chinese dishes can be sampled at Suehai restaurant. The signature dishes are moo nam khang sauteed with green pepper and onion, stir-fried minced pork with pickled cabbage, and fried goat cheese.

“We only make moo nam khang during winter. I use the meat of black pigs that are fed with corn and banana and raised at Doi Mae Salong. This is then marinated with Chinese herbs and curing salt. After several days, it is air-dried at night and sun-dried during the day for a week. The natural air-drying technique removes almost half of the liquid from the pork, making it tender and tasty. The meat can be kept for six months if stored in a freezer,” says owner Suehai Sae Wang.

The Yunnan Noodle shop is famous for its egg noodle soup.

Yunnan Noodle Shop is the last restaurant to maintain the age-old art of noodle making and Fahlong Sae Suen, 42, makes his fresh egg noodles twice a day –in the morning and the afternoon.

For each session, Fahlong mixes 10 kilograms of flour with 40 eggs and 1.9kg of water. When the ingredients are well mixed and the dough is the right consistency, he straddles a wooden pole, bouncing up and down as if on a see-saw, to knead the dough.

Fahlong Sae Suen keeps the age-old art of noodlemaking alive by bouncing up and down on a wooden pole to knead the dough.

The thin bed of perfectly pressed dough is then placed in machines to further thin it and cut into fine noodles. The whole process takes almost an hour and produces 14kg noodles or about 130 portions. A bowl of noodle soup topped with shredded chicken sells for just Bt40.

Egg noodle soup with wonton and dried noodle topped with shredded chicken

CJ Food is popular for its spicy and sour wonton. Choo Hong Tee inherited the recipe from his aunt who lives in Taiwan. The wonton dumplings stuffed with minced pork are seasoned with sour and soy sauce and tossed with fried garlic, and a spicy seasoning made from fine minced pork, ground peanuts and ground chilli sauteed with oil.

Spicy and sour wonton

Pantipa Kijvithee, whose family runs the tea plantation Ming Yong and a teahouse called Up to You, has turned favourite comfort food stir-fried minced pork with pickled cabbage into an appetiser.

Inspired by kanom tuay (steamed coconut milk pudding in a small-sized cup), the stir-fried minced pork with pickled cabbage is layered in a cup with coconut cream mixed with rice flour and arrowroot and steamed for 10 minutes. It’s then topped with fried shallot, chopped spring onion and coriander leaves, dried chilli and crispy pork crackling. Her creation sells for Bt70 for six cups.

Yunnanese-style kanom tuay

“For dipping sauce, I use home-made soy sauce without preservatives. It’s then mixed with black soy sauce, pounded fresh chill and lemon juice,” says Pantipa.

The more than 10 dishes covered in the book can be served as a tasting menu though bookings must be made in advance.

“We try to encourage local people, particularly the young generation, to be proud of the local wisdom and our origins through our foods. We hope it will also generate additional income for the villagers,” Danita says.

TEMPTING TASTES

For a free copy of book, contact the Mekong Basin Civilisation Museum, Mae Fah Luang University,

call (053) 917 067 or e-mail mekong-museum@mfu.ac.th.

Baan Hom Muen Lee can be reached at (053) 765 455 or http://www.BaanHomMuenLee.com.

Wang Put Tan can be contacted at (053) 765 094 or http://www.WangPutTan.com.

Call (053) 727 168 for Suehai restaurant

Call (053) 765 185 for Yunnan Noodle Shop

Call (080) 775 8827 for CJ Food restaurant

Call (089) 162 1528 for Up to You teahouse

Entrepreneurs and freelancers will have the new benefit of hearty, healthy brunches, artisan coffee, home-baked pastries and health-conscious bites prepared by the well-established Rocket X team to kick-start their days and add fuel to their creative fire.

The synergy between Rocket X’s stylish Scandinavian-inspired cuisine and Spaces’ Dutch design made the partnership a natural fit. The partnership’s shared philosophy ensures both the cuisine and the atmosphere – with chic whites, woods and tropical plants – are designed to inspire and to nurture the innovative and social working atmosphere of Spaces.

“We believe that food is the fuel for success, therefore, we looked for a considered and enthusiastic catering partner that fits our concept and understands what we stand for. Rocket X complements our philosophy, style and culture,” says Noelle Coak, country head of Spaces in Thailand, Taiwan and Korea.

The new cafe will also offer catering for the meeting rooms and events.

“Rocket Corp. is excited to collaborate with Spaces to offer food and beverages to Spaces customers including such healthy fast food items as salads, sandwiches, fruit and yoghurt cups, plus daily-baked pastries and freshly squeezed juices to people on-the-go. The nutritious offerings are handmade from our central kitchen and delivered daily,” says John McCosh, managing director of Rocket Corp.

Spaces Summer Hill is on the third floor of Summer Hill next to Phra Khanong BTS Station. It is open every Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 6pm. The second location at Chamchuri Square is expected to be completed by May.

Spaces is aimed at being an inspiring work environment for professionals and growing businesses. Next to office space, there are memberships and meeting rooms to help you think, create and interact with like-minded people. It already has locations in Europe, United States, Latin-America, Australia and Asia. Further expansion is planned in these continents over the coming year.

Keep updated at http://www.Spacesworks.com.

BARBERSHOPS ARE known as places to gather, socialise and get a haircut. But a study released on Monday says they can also help encourage men to get their high blood pressure under control.

When a trained pharmacist met men regularly at their local Los Angeles barbershop, clients were able to significantly lower their blood pressure, said the findings released at the American College of Cardiology conference in Orlando, Florida.

If employed on a broad scale, the approach could make major inroads in treating African-American men, a population that is more likely than other races to have high blood pressure – a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke – and less likely to be in a doctor’s care, researchers said.

“By bringing state-of-the-art medicine directly to the people who need it on their home turf, in this case in a barbershop, and making it both convenient and rigorous, blood pressure can be controlled just as well in African-American men as in other groups,” noted lead author Ronald Victor, associate director of the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.

“If this model was scaled up and sustained, millions of lives could be saved, and many heart attacks and strokes could be prevented.”

Nurney Mason, centre, sits alongside customers in his son’s barbershop at Mason’s Hair Gallery, a barbershop and hair salon, in Washington DC. /AFP

For the study, 319 men were recruited at 52 Los Angeles County barbershops.

All the men had high blood pressure, defined as a systolic blood pressure over 140 mm Hg based on multiple measurements taken on two different days.

Their ages ranged from 35 to 71. They tended to be long-time regulars at their barbershops and went about twice a month for a haircut.

Some men were randomly assigned to meet with a trained pharmacist at each barbershop visit. The rest were given advice and encouragement on healthy lifestyle choices from their barber, who urged them to see a doctor for follow up.

Those who met with the pharmacist monthly in their barbershop lowered their systolic blood pressure by 21 mm Hg more, on average, compared with the other men, said the report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“On average, men who interacted only with their barber and were referred to their own doctor saw their systolic blood pressure drop from 155 mm Hg at the start of the study to 145 mm Hg after six months,” said the report.

“By contrast, men who interacted with their barber and a pharmacist saw their systolic blood pressure drop from 153 mm Hg at the start of the study to 126 mm Hg after six months.”

Previous studies have shown that barbers who give health advice could encourage better lifestyle choices.

“High blood pressure is a chronic illness that requires a lifetime commitment to medication and lifestyle modification,” Victor said.

“It is often a challenge to get people who need blood pressure medication to take them, even as the costs and side effects have gone down over the years. With this programme, we have been able to overcome that barrier.”

Fitbit’s Ionic is an all-in-one smartwatch with GPS chip that lets you stay healthy by tracking your activities, monitoring your heart rate in multiple sports while keeping you connected to your smartphone.

You no longer need a separate tracking watch, chest-strapped heart rate monitor, fitness tracker or smartwatch, because all these functions are integrated.

To start with, you can use it to track your runs, bike outings, swims and others forms of workouts. You have your music on the watch ready to play, and with other apps you can read the news, monitor the weather and other things.

The Ionic has a sleek, bright and colourful display, 1.15x.83 inches and 1.42 inch across diagonally and 348×250 pixels. I found it bright enough to easily read during outdoor exercise under bright sunlight.

You get a small wristband (140170mm) and a larger one (170206mm), and there are more fashionable ones for sale at Fitbit.com, including perforated leather, sport and classic, each in various colours.

The storage is a hefty 2.5 gigabytes, enough for up to 300 songs and minute-by-minute details of your motion data for up to seven days and daily totals for past 30 days.

The lithium-polymer battery will last five days per charge even if you’re using the watch daily. Use of the builtin GPS to track runs and biking will reduce that to about 10 hours, though, so a recharge is recommended every few days to ensure nothing gets missed. It takes two hours to fully charge.

The Ionic will automatically record any form of exercise if you keep at it for at least 15 minutes. Use the Fitbit app to lower or increase that default time if you wish.

Forgetful runners will appreciate the new Run Detect feature, which kicks in GPS tracking if you haven’t switched it on manually. Just start running and you’ll see real-time pace and distance displayed. When you pause, this function pauses too.

A builtin antenna transmits data to and from the GPS and Glonass satellites above you, ready to record all that’s been mentioned as well as elevation climbed, split times and a map of the territory covered.

Heartrate monitoring is essential for improving your exercise performance and is useful for your doctor to check retroactively if problems arise. The Ionic uses Fitbit’s enhanced PurePulse tracking technology to measure calories burned and provide realtime heartrate zones so that you can optimise the intensity of your exercise.

A new Relative SpO2 sensor estimates blood-oxygen levels, another solid health indicator.

To use the Fitbit Ionic, you must first download and install the Fitbit app and create an account at Fitbit.com. That’s where your data will be stored for life, free of charge. You can also connect to other Fitbit users via the website to compare performance and boost motivation.

During setup, you need to add a four-number pin that’s displayed on the Ionic. Use the app to link the Ionic to a home Wi-Fi router. The Wi-Fi connection is needed to upload music to the Ionic.

The touchscreen and three simple buttons are intuitive to use. Press the left button to review menu layers, while the buttons on the right have contextual functions depending on current function or app being used on the watch. For example, the bottom button can be used to pause or resume an exercise and the top button to end it.

You can also navigate by swinging the screen. In clock mode, swipe up to see notifications, down to control music playback and right to view shortcuts. If you want to scroll through the apps installed, swipe left.

Depending on the clock face you choose, you can also tap the clock screen to scroll through your daily statistics. Swipe to find the right app and then tap it. More than 80 clock faces are available via Fitbit app.

By default, the notification function will display SMS messages sent to your phone, calendar events and incoming calls. Use the Fitbit app to set which apps on your phone pass on alerts.

You might want the iconic to pick up alerts from Facebook, Line, email and Instagram so you don’t need to carry your phone. But I found that the Ionic can’t display messages in Thai. Hopefully Fitbit will release firmware to fill that gap.

Among the installed apps are Music, Wallet, Exercise, Strava, Alarms, Weather, Today, Relax, Timers and Coach.

Strava is a social network that tracks millions of runners and cyclists. With a Strava account, you can use the Ionic to record and store your activities to compare with other users.

The Weather app displays current conditions, but swipe up to see forecasts. Wallet is for making electronic payments.

Today is for monitoring the current day’s activities thus far – how many steps taken, kilometres travelled, calories burned, steps climbed and how many minutes you’ve remained active.

For the nine hours of monitoring, from 9am to 6pm, the Ionic will prod you to walk at least 250 steps, equal to three minutes of walking. This can be useful for office workers who don’t realise they’ve been sitting for ages, possibly leading to chronic joint or vertebral injury.

The Ionic also tracks how well you sleep. I found that, although the watch is large, it wasn’t uncomfortable to wear in bed because it’s lightweight and the band is comfortable.

When you achieve the daily goal of 10,000 steps’ walking, the Ionic will “celebrate” by vibrating and displaying animated fireworks.

I used the Ionic on an 11.37km bike ride. The GPS satellite data arrived fast and rendered an accurate map of my neighbourhood. At the end of the ride, the Ionic reported an average speed of 16.33 km/hr and average heart rate of 117 beats per minute and said I’d burned off 269 calories.

Next I had a 100-metre swim, adjusting the setting according to the pool’s length. It recorded the distance, time elapsed, lap distance and calories burned.

There’s a Coach app that offers guidance for three kinds of exercises – 7-minute Workout, 10-minute Abs, and Treasure Chest.

The first covers 13 exercises, each lasting 30 seconds. It starts with jumping jacks and ends with forearm pranks left and right.

To play music from the Ionic, you need to connect to Bluetooth headphones. I had no problem hooking up Sony’s MDR1ABT. Next, use the Fitbit app to upload tunes from your computer to the watch, both connected through the same Wi-Fi router. This too was easy to do. You must use iTunes to create playlists for uploading, even on a Windows PC.

I found the music quality really good.

For all the purposes it covers, I think the Fitbit Ionic is really worth the going retail price of Bt11,690.

KEY SPECS

– Display: 1.15×0.83 inch (1.42 inch diagonal) with 348×250 pixels

– Sensors: Three-axis accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope, optical heart rate monitor, altimeter, ambient light sensor, vibration motor

– Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0

– Memory: 2.5GB for storing 300 songs, seven days of detailed activities

– Water resistance: 50 metres

– Operating temperature: Minus4 to 113 F

– Maximum operating altitude: 30,000 feet

– Battery type: Lithium-polymer, full charge time two hours

Bright yellow for extra fun, Avior’s French Fries optical gaming mouse boasts 5,000 native DPI optical sensors for one-milli-second response time. That’s perfect for those tough Overwatch clutch moments or clicking “buy” on the newest Supreme hoodie. The ambidextrous shape fits both right and left-handers. Get one from http://www.AShop.asia for Bt1,790.

Never miss a shot

Sony’s Alpha 7 III fullframe mirrorless camera packs a 24.2-megapixel image sensor and can deliver up to 10 frames per second in continuous shooting. It has ISO 100 to 51000 sensitivity, 4D Focus capabilities, and 425 contrast AF points that work with a 693-point focal-plane phase-detection AF system. The body on its own retails for Bt68,990.

Wrapped in glorious sound

From JBL comes Everest Elite 750NC headphones for enjoying up to 20 hours of music on a single charge. In Adaptive Noise Cancelling mode, control what you want to hear for up to 15 hours. A three-hour quick recharge, an echo cancelling microphone for hands-free calls, JBL Pro Audio sound, compact hard carrying case and flatfold design elevate these headphones to a travelling companion par excellence. They’re in stores for Bt10,900.

Take a call, Tommy

Wiko’s Tommy3 smartphone has an 18:9 widescreen and 5.45-inch display with IPS technology. You get a QuadCore 1.3GHz, CortexA53, 16GB of storage and 1GB of memory running on Android 7.1. There’s an 8MP rear camera and 5MP front snapper, complete with Soft Light Selfie Flash. It comes in metallic Anthracite, Gold or Bleen for Bt2,990.

Coming next month

The Nokia 8 Sirocco phone is elegant and compact with enhanced DualSight, Zeiss optics and carefully tuned acoustics. Just 2mm thin at the edges, the device combines a curved edge-to-edge OLED 2K 5.5-inch display with smaller bezels and moulded body curves to create an ultra-compact profile. It will be available in April for about Bt29,000.

Staying somewhere with great interior design makes for not just an enjoyable experience, but an amazing photo opportunity too.

Booking.com conducted research across nearly 19,000 global travellers and found that social media is always at the forefront of our minds, no matter where we are. More than half of Thai travellers (51 per cent) say they get much enjoyment from staying in accommodation that’s “Instagrammable” (compared to 32 per cent among global travellers, 63 per cent from India and 59 per cent for both Chinese and Brazilians).

One-third (33 per cent) of cheeky Thai travellers even said they have taken pictures of their holiday accommodation to try and pass it off as their own home!

Getting the right shot of our holiday property is of paramount importance. When it comes to making the cut for social media, travellers say they are most likely to share images of the outside area or view (78 per cent), followed by the bedroom (61 per cent), the lounge and living room (49 per cent) and bathroom (20 per cent).

But what inspires them to book this accommodation in the first place? Seeing beautiful images of the property online and in brochures influences 21 per cent of Thai travellers’ decisions when selecting their holiday accommodation.

A picture really is worth a thousand words, as more than two-thirds of Thai travellers (68 per cent) say they have stayed in a property where the photos looked better than it did in reality, and on the flipside, just under half (45 per cent ) have stayed in a property where the photos didn’t do it justice at all.

The research was commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among 18,500 respondents, 1,000 each from UK, US, Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, India, Singapore and Russia and 500 each from Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Croatia, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Thailand and Taiwan. Respondents completed an online survey in November.

Juneyao Airlines is expanding its network in Asia and the Japanese market to give passengers a greater range of choices when travelling between China and Japan. Under the codeshare agreement, Juneyao Airlines will place its own “HO” code on ANA-operated Sino-Japan trunk routes connecting Shanghai Pudong with Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya and Osaka Kansai, and also routes within Japan to Tokyo Haneda, Sapporo and Naha from Osaka Kansai.

For its part, ANA will have its “NH” code on Juneyao operated Shanghai Pudong  to Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Osaka Kansai and Nanjing  Osaka Kansai flights. Passengers will also see the “NH” code on Juneyao operated domestic flights from Shanghai Pudong to Chongqing, Xi’an, Harbin and Changchun.

Both sides have agreed to start codeshare sales through both official channels and authorised agencies from Thursday (March 22). In addition, both parties will set up transit counters in Shanghai Pudong and Osaka Kansai airport, offering a seamless experience for transit passengers.

Juneyao Airlines and ANA have also reached consensus on intensifying FFP (Frequent Flyer Program) cooperation and providing top-notch FFP services. The FFP cooperation will start on the same day as the codeshare implementation and will allow customers from Juneyao Air Club and ANA Mileage Club to earn miles on certain classes and redeem them for flights.

Both carriers will offer priority privileges for elite members on codeshare flights, including priority checkin, priority baggage handling, priority boarding, extra baggage allowance and lounge access.

But the few New Yorkers and tourists browsing the aisles on Thursday are in disbelief that the wonderland of their youth is closing down.

Toys ‘R’ Us announced that it would liquidate its US operations — shutting down all 735 stores in a move that could slash 33,000 jobs, and finally falling victim to heavy debts and the internet buying culture.

“It’s like an end of an era,” Jorardo, a 30-year-old Brooklyn resident, told AFP, saying he has been shopping at the retail chain since he was four.

“It’s like a big chunk of my childhood is gone,” he said. “It was not all about shopping, it was the experience, going in — it was the best place to hang out.”

“Where does a kid have to go now?” he said, lamenting that the youth of today will not know brick-and-mortar shops, and instead will turn to online retailers like Amazon.

– ‘A loss’ –

At this three-story shop in one of New York’s splashiest neighborhoods, many display cases and shelves sit empty. One employee doodles on a blank sheet of paper.

Roger Malone, who lives in Harlem, ventures into the store, looking for superhero figures from the hit film “Black Panther” for his three children.

“I am going to miss it,” he said. “I bring my kids, my daughters, and they love it.”

“It’s going to be a loss because they are not going to get a physical experience to come into a store.”

The chain saw the first signs of trouble in Manhattan in 2015, when the company shuttered its Times Square flagship, which had featured a giant Ferris wheel and huge Barbie dream house.

The firm then opened a smaller store in the area.

Stiff competition

Thirty blocks south, at Union Square, the impact of the online shopping revolution is even more acute.

The Babies ‘R’ Us — the baby brand launched in 1996 — store is nothing but a shadow of its former self, with banners boasting discounts up to 60 percent.

Cardboard boxes litter the store, while some areas are vacant, save for a few stray strollers discounted up to 40 percent.

Employees roam the aisles and chat in small groups, but say they have been told to shy away from media.

Brooklynite Vicky came in seeking a discounted stroller, and called it “sad” that the decades-old chain could not stay afloat.

The Babies ‘R’ Us store will close on March 31.

Started in 1948, Toys ‘R’ Us was a retail force throughout the 1980s but, facing pressure from larger stores with deeper discounts as well as the online retail boom, it was taken private in 2005 by a consortium of investors that included the KKR Group and Bain Capital.

The move saddled the company with billions of dollars of debt, leading to a chain of events that ultimately resulted in Thursday’s motion to liquidate all US operations.

Back in Times Square, the security guard at Toys ‘R’ Us greeted shoppers with a smile and a cheery “Good morning!” but admitted the future was gloomy.

“I’m waiting to see what happens,” said the man, who only gave his initials, AP.

For the first time since its launch five years ago, two separate competitions are being organised, one for Asia and one for Greater China. Applications for the Asia competition were accepted from the beginning of January and closed with a 117 per cent increase in the number of entries from 107 properties. Finalists for Greater China will be announced on July 16.

Five finalists from 16 categories and eight general manager finalists for Asia were announced recently in a ceremony held at the Park Hyatt Bangkok. The hoteliers were carefully selected by a panel of expert judges, who flew in from around the world to finalise their selection.

The judges include Alison Gilmore of International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), Michel Lamuniere of Edipresse Asia, Christophe Laurent, of Ecole Hoteliere De Lausanne (EHL), Jenny Soo of Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants  and Christine Gamarra of LRA by Deloitte.

Laurent, a newcomer to the judging panel, said he’d read though the testimonial of this year’s Hotelier Awards finalists with emotion.

“I am captivated by the high standards of the applicants and feel privileged to be a part of the judging panel for the first time. My task is challenging, proof that we are dealing with truly, committed hoteliers, regardless of their current professional activities, responsibilities and achievements.”

Thailand has four possible candidates for the awards. Nopparat Aumpa, area VP/general manager of Banyan Tree Bangkok, is among the finalists in the general manager category and Azizskandar Awang, executive chef of Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort is the representative for chef hotelier.

Theerasak Kumwong, chief of concierge at Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok and Benjaporn Wongsomboon, assistant director of food & beverage at The St. Regis Bangkok, will compete against other finalists in the same careers.

The winners will be announced at the Sofitel Singapore City Centre on May 23.

View the full list of finalists for The Hotelier Awards Asia 2018 at http://hotelierawards.com/the2018awards/2018finalists/.

Born on January 8, 1942 — 300 years to the day after the death of the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei — he believed science was his destiny.

But fate also dealt Hawking a cruel hand.

Most of his life was spent in a wheelchair crippled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neurone disease that attacks the nerves controlling voluntary movement.

Remarkably, Hawking defied predictions he would only live for a few years, overcoming its debilitating effects on his mobility and speech that left him paralysed and able to communicate only via a computer speech synthesiser.

“I am quite often asked: how do you feel about having ALS?” he once wrote. “The answer is, not a lot.

“I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many.”

Stephen William Hawking, though, was far from normal.

Inside the shell of his increasingly useless body was a razor-sharp mind, fascinated by the nature of the Universe, how it was formed and how it might end.

“My goal is simple,” he once said. “It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

Much of that work centred on bringing together relativity — the nature of space and time — and quantum theory — how the smallest particles in the Universe behave — to explain the creation of the Universe and how it is governed.

Life on Earth at risk 

In 1974, he became one of the youngest fellows of Britain’s most prestigious scientific body, the Royal Society, at the age of 32.

In 1979 he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, where he had moved from Oxford University to study theoretical astronomy and cosmology.

A previous holder of the prestigious post was the 17th-century British scientist Isaac Newton.

Hawking eventually put Newton’s gravitational theories to the test in 2007 when, aged 65, he went on a weightless flight in the United States as a prelude to a hoped-for sub-orbital spaceflight.

Characteristically, he did not see the trip as a mere birthday present.

Instead, he said he wanted to show that disability was no bar to achievement and to encourage interest in space, where he believed humankind’s destiny lay.

“I think the human race has no future if it doesn’t go into space,” he said.

“I believe life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers.”

More recently he said artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute to the eradication of disease and poverty, while warning of its potential dangers.

“In short, success in creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation.

“Alongside the benefits, AI will also bring dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many,” Hawking said in 2016, at the opening of a new AI research centre at Cambridge University.

Pop culture and politics

Hawking’s genius brought him global fame and he become known as a witty communicator dedicated to bringing science to a wider audience.

His 1988 book “A Brief History of Time” sought to explain to non-scientists the fundamental theories of the universe and it became an international bestseller, bringing him global acclaim.

It was followed in 2001 by “The Universe in a Nutshell”.

In 2007, Hawking published a children’s book, “George’s Secret Key to the Universe”, with his daughter, Lucy, seeking to explain the workings of the solar system, asteroids, his pet subject of black holes and other celestial bodies.

Hawking also moved into popular culture, with cameos in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “The Simpsons”, while his voice appeared in Pink Floyd songs.

Beyond scientific debate Hawking also weighed into politics, describing Donald Trump as “a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator” ahead of his election as US president.

Hawking also warned Britain ahead of the Brexit referendum in 2016 against leaving the European Union: “Gone are the days when we could stand on our own against the world.”

Making the most of ‘every minute’

Hawking first married Jane Wilde in 1965 and had three children. The couple split after 25 years and he married his former nurse, Elaine Mason, but the union broke down amid allegations, denied by him, of abuse.

The love story between Hawking and Wilde was retold in the 2014 film “The Theory of Everything”, which won Britain’s Eddie Redmayne the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of the scientist.

The Oscar triumph was celebrated by Hawking, who has reportedly said there were moments watching the film when he thought he was watching himself.

He was also the subject of a 2013 documentary, “Hawking”, in which he reflected on his life: “Because every day could be my last, I have the desire to make the most of each and every minute.”