With the increasing use of robotic surgery, 3D printing, implantable devices, use of automation and artificial intelligence in clinical settings and other digital innovations for prevention, monitoring, and treatment across Southeast Asia, the fair will showcase some of the most innovative products and trending solutions.

Another focus will be Rehabilitative Care and Connected Care in line with the needs of today’s highest healthcare spenders – the ageing population.

Eighteen national pavilions with first-time official country representations from Canada, India, European Union, Russia and the Netherlands will be present at the fair. The presence of the European Union Business Avenues Pavilion with 50 companies especially reflects the increased interest of international market players in Southeast Asia’s medical industry.

Others highlights include:

>> The 3rd Advanced Rehab Technology Conference (ARTeC), which will take place from September 6-7, with topics centred on technological solutions for the ageing population. Speakers from leading institutions such as MIT and Fujita Health University will discuss robotic rehabilitation, sarcopenia in the elderly, neurorehabilitation and others.

>> A seminar on the importance of biomedical engineering as a Thai professional qualification: Organised by the Thai Association for Medical Instrumentation, it will bring together speakers from related agencies to explain BME professional qualifications and standards.

Other seminars are: “Digital Imaging in Radiology and Patient Safety” by the Radiological Society of Thailand, “CIO Forum” by the Thai Medical Informatics Association, and the “Interinstitute Conference” by the Thai Gynecologic Cancer Society.

The Taiwan Medical Device Business Matchmaking event organised by the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries Promotion Office under the Ministry of Economic Affair of Taiwan, and the Taiwan Medical and Biotech Industry Association, will allow visitors to explore business opportunities and develop partnerships across Taiwan’s medical device industry.

Find out more at t http://www.MedicalFair-Thailand.com.

Couples can fuse luxury with natural elements for a dream wedding in the hotel’s unique oasis at the heart of the city. Engaged couples booking on the day will be rewarded with a host of benefits for their wedding day, including the opportunity to win a trip to Anantara Maldives for a spectacular honeymoon.

From cake decoration to exquisite garden displays, each stall provides advice and details to enhance your event. Speak to an expert team about your day and let them take the stress out of planning. Visit a range of venues decorated in garden splendour to choose your ideal location for your big day. Special treats will be on hand prepared by the hotel’s chefs to give you ideas for your wedding feast. And newlyweds can spend the night together in one of the hotel’s suites.

Book a wedding on the day and receive special benefits of a two-night stay at the beachside Anantara Mui Ne Resort in Vietnam. Simply pay a deposit of Bt150,000 or more to choose your privileges.

For more information, call (02) 126 8866 or email catering.asia@anantara.com.

 Developed specifically for undergraduate university students in Thailand, the contest offers budding executives from all faculties the opportunity to develop, present and possibly even implement a genuine business strategy for an international hotel group – and win a trip to Tokyo.

Students from universities across the Kingdom are invited to form teams (maximum four students per team) and create a digital business plan that can be used by Best Western Hotels & Resorts in real life. These plans should be submitted to the hotel group by video and the best strategies – based on factors including creative thinking, budget control and presentation skills – will be selected to take part in a live final event, where the teams will present their ideas in person to a panel of expert judges, including Best Western’s top regional executives, in an apprentice-style environment.

The successful team will win a holiday for all four people to Tokyo, including flights and a three-night stay at Best Western Tokyo Nishikasai Grande. The runners up will be rewarded with a trip to Phuket, including flights and accommodation at Best Western Patong Beach. Other prizes will be awarded to all the finalists, and every team that enters will gain valuable business experience.

“Best Western understands how important it is for students to gain practical experience before they enter the workplace,” says Olivier Berrivin, Best Western’s managing director of International Operations – Asia, who will be one of the judges at the live final event.

“This new contest provides a great way for students in the latter stages of their university courses to test their theoretical knowledge in a real-life working environment. We look forward to seeing what ideas the students come up with, and I’m confident we’ll receive some ingenious, creative and professional business plans.”

The contest gets underway on August 15 and student teams will be able to download the registration form at http://www.BwDreamsComeTrue.com. All business plan entries (video and written) must be email to asiamarketing@bestwestern.com by September 25. Only five teams will progress to the live final, which will be held at Best Western Plus Wanda Grand Hotel on October 19. This contest is open to third and fourth year students only

Surprise your mom with a mini-gateway and enjoy an extra 12-per-cent discount on top of current room promotions when booking online with the promo code LUVMOM17 at http://www.WellHotelBangkok.com. The room rates start from Bt2,374-plus for Superior Room, Bt2,803-plus for Deluxe Room and Bt5,063-plus for Executive Suite, including breakfast. Guests can book a room until the end of month for any stay before September 30.

The hotel is a short walk from BTS Asoke and MRT Sukhumvit and has 235 rooms and suites, divided into five room types: Superior, Superior Corner, Deluxe, Executive and Executive Suite. The two latter room types are equipped with an exercise bike, yoga, Pilates and resistance exercise set.

During the day you can treat your mum to a treatment at Well Spa, which is offering a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” promotion throughout the month.

Family members can gather Eat Well Cafe and get a 50-per-cent discount on food and a free mini jasmine tree. The promotion is available only on August 12 from 11.30am to 10.30pm.

Make reservations by calling (02) 127 5995 or email dinings@wellhotelbangkok.com.

All Thai on-screen content consumers can submit their “reaction-to-the-content” to the campaign website and earn votes, as they go up against fellow consumers from Malaysia and the Philippines for the win. Only one reacting rule applies, and that is to have the reacting scene inclusive of M&M’s consumption. The race has three categories to meet different appreciations of screen-time fun. Campaign participants can decide on the content to watch and react upon based on their own interests – adorable heart-warming contents, hilarious laugh-out-loud contents and heart-stopping contents. A trip for two to Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan goes to the entrant who receives the highest votes.

The Thailand launch of M&M’S latest regional consumer rewarding activity was made through a Facebook live streaming event led by noted singer Nalin “Sara AF3” Hohler, who demonstrated how to make reaction contents for submission to all three campaign categories.

To enjoy Sara’s video and learn more about how you could win, go to https://youtu.be/BrpUrsmNcCQ

Submissions are open until August 22.

How to Join

>>> Watch any on-screen content and have your favourite packet of M&M’S ready.

>>> Record your reaction (with M&M’S) as a photo or video.

>>> Visit http://www.screenbiteawards.com to submit your reaction.

>>> Choose a category that suits your entry best; #BestXOXO – for romantic moments, #BestLOL – for funny moments, and #BestWOW – for wow moments

>>>Upload and submit.

Rules

>>> All entries must visibly contain the consumption of any packet of M&M’S

>>> Videos must be no longer 20 seconds, clear and audible.

>>> No late entries will be accepted.

Two entries per country will be shortlisted by the official M&M’S judges for each category.  Public voting will open from September 7 to 21. Visit http://www.ScreenBiteAwards.com to find the shortlisted reactions, see where Thailand is on the rankings, and vote for your favourite entries. You can vote for one entry per category per day. The winner will be announced on September 29.

For details, go to the “mmsthailand” page on Facebook.

BANGKOK ISN’T yet the art-conscious city that, say, Paris or Milan are, but appreciation for art and culture shows up in the most unusual places, such as constructions.

Samyarn Mitrtown is being developed on Rama IV Road as Bangkok’s “first smart mixed-use project” with an “Urban Life Library” concept.

To get neighbourhood folks expressing themselves and encourage “a sense of ownership” and belonging, the developer, Golden Land Property Development, has invited four young artists to turn the construction hoarding into a gallery of street art.

Pitchaya “Beer Pitch” Srirapong, Tatchmapan “Pomme Chan” Chanchamrassaeng, Akkarapon Munlod and Pasinee “Jeep” Kongdechakul are participating in the Samyan Mitrtown Artist Collaboration 2, a follow-up to a successful earlier project.

The reasoning is that free-to-see street art can “reach” as many people in a month as a major metropolitan museum does in a year. Samyan district residents as well as visitors are getting a treat for the eyes.

The Urban Life Library is the first in a series of planned projects, to be followed by a Learning Library, an Eating Library and a Living Library.

Pattira Charoenchasri, managing director of Ductstore the Design Guru, brought the artists together for the project, recently hosted a gathering to unveil the plans at which White Gallery photographers snapped pictures of the guests against the backdrop of street art.

“Last year we had six artists paint graffiti and this year we have four famous artists offering their perceptions of Samyan Mitrtown,” Pattira said.

Pitchaya takes her inspiration from architects’ blueprints.

Pitchaya explained how she interpreted the “smart mixed-use” approach in the form of lines as seen on the project blueprint. The words “Smart, Office, Building” are printed across her creation in a harmonious way to reflect how Samyan Mitrtown fits well with the city.

“It’s been very challenging, but fun, to create art for this project,” she said. “Putting up a canvas boundary instead of normal fencing means that art can make the area more interesting. I’ve used colours inspired by photos of New York City – vibrant and lively, yet at the same time dark with shadows – to give the idea of a huge metropolis and advanced technology.”

Akkarapon compares learning to playing outside the classroom.

Akkarapon sought to depict different generations of people co-existing in “a learning space outside the classroom”, among books, sports and other activities.

“Normally at a construction site you see a dumpy green fence, but Samyan Mitrtown has all this creative and colourful artwork, which not only makes it more attractive but also

encourages an appreciation of art.”

Akkarapon likened learning to playing, especially if it takes place “outside the box”.

“When diverse thoughts link together, it brings out people’s different characteristics and helps people live more harmoniously.”

Jeep Kongdechakul has passers-by drooling with gorgeous renderings of food. 

Jeep has rendered images of mouth-watering food to represent the Eating Library.

“Food these days is no longer merely one of the four fundamental human needs – it’s become a fun part of our lifestyle,” she said. “And street food is mobile, with tasty dishes sold at beautiful and creatively designed outlets, just like the Samyan Mitrtown project itself.”

Pomm Chan sets out to make the district more cheerful.

Pomme Chan brings out the idea of smart living.

“The lines and forms in my piece represent a complex electrical system. When the electricity reaches the users, it makes our lives more convenient and comfortable. This piece is rather abstract, but it has a modern look and vivid colours to represent positive energy, and the patterns lend a friendly vibe.

“Art isn’t just for galleries – it should be public art and make our town look cheerful.”

WHAT’S IN STORE

The Bt8.5-billion Samyan Mitrtown project covers 222,000 square metres on Rama IV Road.

Its retail zone will be the Urban Life Library, occupying nearly a third of the area and including shops, a multipurpose hall and a large rooftop garden.

The office zone in the 32-floor Intelligence Office Tower will be another 48,000sqm and boast cutting-edge innovations.

The 33-floor residential zone called the Neo Explorer Living Platform will be a hotel and condominium with state-of-the-art facilities, the two uses separated for privacy and security.

ON REVIEWING the stories submitted for “Mekong Shadows”, the anthology of contemporary writing about Cambodia that he was assembling, Iain Donnelly realised he’d better let a little light into what had been conceptualised as a “noir” collection.

The reasoning had been that Cambodia, with its horrific modern history, could easily match the kind of noir literature that’s found a firm base in Thailand.

But not all of the authors contributing to “Mekong Shadows” – just released on Thursday in paperback and digitally – were giving him noir. In fact, there’s an overt optimism and hopefulness in some of the entries.

As well, all profits from the book’s sales are going to a very cheery cause – the Khmer Sight Foundation, which arranges operations to remove cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in Cambodia. Donnelly reckons that for every eight to 10 copies of the anthology sold, someone gets their vision back.

He and Mark “Bibby” Jackson, publisher of AsiaLife magazine’s local edition, also organised a competition for young Cambodians aspiring to become writers. The two winners whose quite capable pieces are featured in the book are only 15 and 18 years old. Donnelly next plans to assemble two anthologies of just Cambodian writing – one in English and the other in Khmer.

So “Mekong Shadows” didn’t turn out quite as intended, as a follow-up to “Phnom Penh Noir”, the anthology that Christopher G Moore curated in 2012. Nevertheless, there’s noir in the “Shadows” of the title and claustrophobic gloom runs through the bulk of the stories like that broad pan-Asian river in moonlight.

Several of the writers use as an effective setting the Heart of Darkness, the popular Phnom Penh nightspot, tapping the unease and discomfort of Joseph Conrad’s short novel. The Khmer Rouge, when not menacingly close, are rarely far away.

While Bangkok-based Moore, who’s only just made his peace with Cambodia in “A Memory Manifesto”, reviewed here last month, isn’t among the authors in “Mekong Shadows”, other writers well known in Thailand and well versed in Cambodia are in their element here.

James Newman (“Fun City Punch”) delivers one of his signature short, sharp shocks early on in the proceedings with “La Petite Mort”, in which Sartre’s definition of an orgasm is co-opted to signify a state of wilful amnesia. It’s private eye Joe Dylan on the case in a tale of vengeance couched in staccato 1940s-style tough-guy prose.

Jim Algie offers “The Genocide Boys and Girls”, the entire second novella from his excellent double-feature “On the Night Joey Ramone Died” that came out last December. This is the part with the femme fatale who’s keen on terrifying images, like those infamous Khmer Rouge mugshots.

John Fengler, arguably the best writer in Southeast Asia who still hasn’t published a book (despite incessant prodding by friends), contributes another of his classic reminiscences in “Stamp of Approval”, about a chance meeting at the airport on the way into Cambodia and an unnerving glitch trying to get out.

Scotsman Iain Donnelly has mustered a riveting collection of stories set in Cambodia, many from Bangkok-based writers keen to swap Sukhumvit Road for Norodom Boulevard and the Chao Phraya for the Tonle Sap.

In “Two for the Road”, T Hunt Locke, author of a slew of thrillers including last year’s “Repent: A Bangkok Murder Mystery”, doses the reader in complacency with a cosy amble through diary notes on a trek to the Kampot Literary Festival – and then sets off a bomb.

Matt Carrell (“Thai Kiss”, “Vortex”, “Blood Brothers, Thai Style”) pays a visit, shocking despite its brevity, to “The Hill of Poisonous Trees” – the English translation for Tuol Sleng, which became the Khmer Rouge’s main prison, S21, in a tightly wound profile of the crippled math teacher who photographed the doomed.

In “Happy Ending”, John Burdett – one of most successful authors writing Southeast Asia-based fiction (“Bangkok 8”, “Bangkok Asset” and others featuring Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep) – chronicles in just a few pages an endearing romance that spans 40 years, four nations and centuries of faith.

From Chiang Mai, travel writer-poet-photographer Alasdair McLeod offers several quick, poignant snapshots from under “A Low Sun”, where a Cambodian has been assigned to show Russian and Chinese investors a future casino site, but her hospitable smiles keep vanishing abruptly.

In the knife-edged “Snow”, John Daysh (“Cut Out the Middleman”, “Like a Moth to a Flame”) is in Shanghai with “a Chinese guy tied up in my bathtub” and a Khmer girlfriend who’s turned him into a killer.

Among the writers more attuned to Cambodia than Thailand, Chad (aka Cead) Evans gets off to a wonderfully lyrical start in “The Tuk-Tukker of Doom”, set in Seam Reap: “Invisible tailorbirds and bee-eaters rustled and chattered. Geckos clicked goodbye and retired up the wall for the day.”

But his protagonist, a cultural historian, is soon in trouble with an evil monk and will need his tuk-tuk driver to rescue him from “la nuit au Cambodge”, a very noir place to be.

Both Donnelly and Mark Jackson are represented, the latter with “Sleeping Beauty”, whose main character wakes up in bed with a babe and a black eye. His gradually reconstituting memories of the previous evening careen to a shocking conclusion.

Donnelly is here in his author incarnation as Steven W Palmer (“Angkor Cloth” and the forthcoming “Bangkok Drowning”). His grim, moralistic story “Oun Srolanh Bong (Girl Loves Boy)” is an emotional roller-coaster ride in which “love” is not necessarily the operative word.

In other yarns, Kampot-based Bob Couttie (“Temple of the Leper King”) explains what “Swing the Cat” means in mariners’ terminology, former humanitarian worker Yulia Khouri describes not one “Woman” but three in the moving poem that opens the book, Kosal Khiev recalls in prose and rhyme what “Returning” to Cambodia was like for him, and former UN translator Ek Madra distils his treatise “The Factors Contributing to Cambodia’s Civil War” into an informative fairy tale of love in the jungle.

Winning the award for scariest story in the collection is Phillip Coggan’s “The Dark Son”, about an ex-Khmer Rouge cadre whose mystical “power to dare” abandons him.

The most bizarre tale is “Shifting Fortunes”, the lengthy but slick end-piece by former Phnom Penh Post writer Joel Quenby, which fictionalises articles he wrote for the newspaper about real people and closes with a gunshot at (where else) the Heart of Darkness.

The anthology’s best episode, hands down, is actually a long excerpt from “The Cambodian Book of the Dead”, a taut and disturbing novel by Tom Vater (“Sacred Skin – Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos”). Rippling with clever wordplay, it’s a very dark reading indeed of Phnom Penh. Vater evokes “the smell of the tropics, saturated with reincarnation and ruin, this hypnotising combination of extremes, of promise and danger, of temptation and failure”.

As for the two young ladies making their published debut as writers, the calibre of their stories is utterly impressive given their youth, their forays into a second language and the fact that the Khmer Rouge not long ago attempted to drain the country of its intellectual sustenance.

“Little Girl and the Hat” by Vornsar Ses, the 15-year-old runner-up, and “Raindrops” by Voleak Phan, age 18, both involve children, as might be expected, but the points of view, pacing and dramatic flourishes are as grown-up as the stark circumstances demand.

Mekong Shadows: Tales from Cambodia

Edited by Iain Donnelly

Published by Saraswati Publishing, 2017

Available at Amazon.com, Kindle US$6.99 (Bt233)

LEADING SWEDISH furniture and home furnishings retailer Ikea turns the spotlight on the bedroom this month, suggesting a Scandinavian makeover for a cosy and relaxing ambience that matches the modern lifestyle.

With its roots in Swedish home furnishings, Scandinavian elegance has become synonymous with Ikea’s identity with furniture and accessories catering to those with both traditional and modern tastes.

The new Scandinavian Modern range brings the simplicity of design traditions to life and integrates them with everyday functionality, with light hues colour accents creating more playful designs.

 Scandinavian Modern mixes vivid colours to add joyful elements to a room.

This style fits well with modern families as generous space around properly positioned furniture creates a light and airy feeling. Striking textiles convey an optimistic feel against a light base of natural wood. The design concept reflects a multi-functional, playful, innovative, smart, and flexible design to make the most of your space.

The colouring technique used to decorate a bedroom is a mix of bright and vivid colours to add joyful elements. Materials such as natural wood fibres and wool express simplicity and, when combined, create a classic Swedish mood and tone. Blond wood is also prominent, and often combined with other materials like plastic, metal, or paper. Adding bright colours and unique patterns to a white base and blond wood creates a playful, modern Scandinavian look.

The cool tone of blue bed sheets can help you sleep better.

In addition, Ikea is sharing some great bedroom decorating tips with urban residents who live in limited spaces, providing the perfect proportions for a more personal and relaxing area, with every element of leisure.

>>> Use the cool tone of blue bed sheets to sleep better. Several pillows on your bed will also provide more comfort and relaxation.

>>> Cabinets can help you with storage solutions, while wall shelves allow for more functionality. For a room with limited space, a side desk can be placed in the corner to serve as a small work area.

>>> Each layer of Ikea’s two-layer curtains offers a different function. By the window, the opaque or transparent outer layer provides protection from the heat and enables airflow, while the pattern on the inner, more visible layer enhances the atmosphere in the room and provides additional control over access to sunlight.

>>> Curtains can also be used to separate the area between your wardrobe and bed, making your room even better organised and providing a sense of privacy.

>>> Storage boxes under your bed allow you to make full use of your space for storage solutions, Ikea’s Malm bed is a classic example.

Check out these and much more at Ikea Mega Bangna.

A minuscule 140 millimetres tall and 276 grams, the Bluetooth-enabled P2 speaker from Beoplay is about as portable as they come.

It’s protected against splashes and dust and – oh yeah, the sound is great.

Inclement weather isn’t a problem with the drivers sealed inside a casing of aluminium and polymer.

Adding to its mobility, the P2 will play music nonstop for up to 10 hours on a single battery charge. And, if left unused for 15 minutes, it will automatically switch to standby mode to save power.

There’s a USB Type-C port for recharging the battery, which takes about two hours for a full charge.

The Beoplay P2 happens to be quite cute in a choice of Black, Sandstone or Royal Blue. The smooth, round shape feels comfortable in the hand. The case is all premium crafted materials, including a pearl blasted anodised aluminium grill and durable polymer underneath.

The P2 can get amazingly loud with its Class D amplifier (woofer and tweeter) putting out 2×15 watts. You’re hearing Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound, rich and spacious and with good definition in the bass and drums. The new midwoofer driver has a frequency range of 68Hz to 21,000Hz.

The builtin microphone can be used for phone calls and voice commands.

There’s only one button, used to both switch on the speaker and pair it up with other Bluetooth devices. You get at the other functions by tapping and shaking.

You press and hold the power button for two seconds to prepare it for a Bluetooth connection with your smartphone.

You doubletap the speaker top to start and stop music and shake it horizontally to jump to the next track.

Using the Beoplay App on your phone, you can customise these tapping-shaking functions as well as the equaliser setting. Use the app too for pairing two P2 speakers for stereo listening.

To use the P2 as a speakerphone, press the power button or doubletap the top to accept incoming calls, and press and hold the button for two seconds or shake the P2 to reject or end a call.

In my test, I found the P2 reproduced music with good clarity in outstanding highs and midranges. The bass won’t knock you over, but there’s plenty of it.

The Beoplay P2 is available from RTB Technology for Bt7,890.

Key Specs

– Power amplifier: 2x15W Class D for woofer and tweeter

– Frequency range: 68Hz to 21,000Hz

– Connectivity: USBC for charging

– Bluetooth: 4.2, ADK 4.0

– Microphone: Electret type, omnidirectional, supports Apple Siri and Google Now voice commands

– Battery: Up to 10 hours playtime at moderate listening level, lithiumpolymer, rechargeable, 7,2V, 2200mAh, liion, charging time two hours

– Dimensions: 140x80x28mm

– Weight: 275 grams

The life and times of Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, the second child of King Chulalongkorn and Queen Saovabha Phongsri and the younger brother of Prince Vajiravudh, or King Rama VI, are on show for the first time in the exhibition “Duty and Passion” at the Police Museum in Parusakawan Palace.

The exhibition shines a light on the strong and meaningful relationship between Prince Chakrabongse and his father, King Chulalongkorn through 300 letters and rare documents, which were discovered among items put up for sale at Christie’s auction house in 1995, as well as artefacts.

“When I was 15, my mother, Elizabeth Chakrabongse, was dying in Cornwall and I remember her going through boxes of letters and trying to sort them out. About 14 years later, when I was in Bangkok researching the book on my grandmother, ‘Katya and the Prince of Siam’, I realised some of the letters were missing,” says Mom Rajawongse Narisa Chakrabongse, daughter of Prince Chula Chakrabongse who was the only child of Prince Chakrabongse and his Ukrainian wife, Ekaterina Desnitskaya. “Thanks to a call from Paisarn Piammattawat I was able to bring them back home. The majority I later donated to the British Library. They include the declaration of love by Prince Chakrabongse.”

“Duty and Passion”, which is on show on the first and second floors of Parusakawan Palace, the former residence of Prince Chakrabongse, is spread over three rooms covering his early life, his education in England and Russia and his life and work in Siam.

Among the items on show in the “Life” section are his costumes, among them the brocade jacket he wore on the occasion of being elevated to the rank of Prince of Phitsanulok Prachanatas a nine-year-old.

The Prince was born in 1883 and was the 40th child of King Chulalongkorn. At 13, he was sent to study in Europe, travelling by boat from Singapore to Marseilles and from there to England. He began writing to his father every week. Some 230 letters have survived along with 70 letters from the King to Prince Chakrabongse.

In 1897, King Chulalongkorn made his first trip to Europe. While there, Prince Chakrabongse joined him in Spain and Portugal, as well as Darmstadt, where he met Tsar Nicholas II and the decision was taken to send him to study in Russia. In England, he met regularly with his older brother, Crown Prince Maha Vajiravudh, and other princes also studying in England.

In 1898, Prince Chakrabongse left for Saint Petersburg, travelling via Paris and Berlin. Tsar Nicholas II arranged for him to stay in the Winter Palace, as well as undertaking to pay for his entire education. He was enrolled in the elite Corps des Pages cadet school.

In 1902, Prince Chakrabongse graduated top of his class while Poum, his Siamese companion, came second, and their names recorded on a marble panel in the cadet school. He joined the Hussar regiment, despite the King’s misgivings about him being in the cavalry.

Three years later, Prince Chakrabongse met Russian beauty Ekaterina Desnitskaya and a few months later the couple eloped, marrying secretly in Constantinople. In 1908, Katya gave birth to Chula Chakrabongse. However, the King refused to accept the marriage and the newborn was not accorded a royal title.

In 1918, Katya left on an extended trip to China and Japan, and the Prince became close to Princess Chavalit Obhas.A year later, the marriage was over and Katya was living in Shanghai.

A large glass cabinet on the second floor of the palace displays letters, pictures and books including a certificate accompanying the bestowing of the St Andre order by Tsar Nicholas II in 1911, a letter from Prince Chakrabongse written from Parusakawan Palace to his mother, Queen Saovabha informing her of the birth of his son, Chula Chakrabongse, and the registration of name certificate she penned for the infant. Also on show are letters written by Prince Chakrabongse to his father, King Chulalongkorn, and the diaries of Prince Chakrabongse, one from 1900 and another from 1916-1918.

“We also have the menu for Prince Chakrabongse’s last meal at the Council of Defence on June 2, 1920, two days before he left for Singapore where he died. The menu, which was embellished with two symbols of the tricolour flag, consisted of soup, plakraphong (sea bass), lamb, turkey, khao Guangdong (fried rice) and ice cream and fruit,” says Paisarn, Narisa’s secretary.

The second room also highlights the Prince’s education at the Corps des Pages, a privileged military school reserved for sons of noblemen and high-ranking officers in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and his life at the Winter Palace. Here Prince Chakrabongse is pictured in several different outfits as well as with his brothers and mother.

The third and last room is dedicated to the Prince’s life and work in Siam as well as the women he loved.

“In early 1911, Belgian aviator Charles Van Den Born demonstrated his Henri Farman four-winged bi-plane at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club, which was originally earmarked to house Pathumwan Airport. The site was later changed to Don Mueang. The two men went on to establish the Army Aviation Company. In late 1911, the Prince selected three officers, Major Luang Sakdi Sanyalawut, Captain Luang Arwut Sikikorn and First Lieutenant Tip Ketuthat to study aviation in France for two years. At that time, the aviation school in France was considered the best in the world. Because of his initial impetus, the Air Force regards the Prince as the Father of the Air Force.

“The Prince also initiated the Royal Thai Survey Department and appointed his first aide-de-camp Luang Surayudh, later known as Phraya Bhakdiphutorn, as the department’s first chief. What is less known is that he served as vice president of the Thai Red Cross Society from 1910. After his death, the Chakrabongse Building was constructed inside King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital,” Paisarn explains.

Other photographs show Prince Chakrabongse performing in the play, “Nou Ja” in 1914, being received by Russian army officers upon his arrival in Vladivostok, and sending the Siamese Expeditionary Force off to the First World War from Koh Si Chang on the ship Empire on June 20, 1918. An oil painting and bronze statue portray the Prince in the uniform of a Field Marshal.

The love stories of the Prince Chakrabongse and Ekaterina Desnitskaya and his second wife, Princess Chavalit, are told through a series of photographs. The young prince met Katya in 1905 when he was a colonel in the Russian Army but the couple was separated for a while because of the Russian-Japanese war where Katya served as a nurse. In 1906, the couple married secretly in an Orthodox church in Constantinople. Knowing that his parents would be against their alliance, the Prince did not ask permission to wed and as a result Katya was never acknowledged, becoming something of an outcast of the Siamese Royal Family. The Russian bride tried to build bridges, dressing in Siamese costumes and mastering the Thai language. King Chulalongkorn however still refused to meet with her.

After the King’s death, Katya was awarded official status and became Mom Catherina Na Phitsanulok, named after the province for which her husband was responsible. After 10 years of married life, the Prince had an affair with his young cousin Princess Chavalit and Katya divorced him, heading to Shanghai in China to help refugees fleeing the Russian revolution.

This exhibition, which also marks the 120th anniversary of Thai-Russian Diplomatic Relations and 100 Years of the First World War, has been launched in parallel with a book, “Letters from St Petersburg – a Siamese Prince at the court of the last Tsar” published by River Books.

BOX

Looking back in wonder

The “Duty and Passion: The Life and Times of Prince Chakrabongse” exhibition is showing at Police Museum, Parusakawan Palace until September 30. It’s from Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free.

Find out more at by calling call (02) 225 0139 or (02) 222 1290 or visitwww.facebook.com/River-Books.