“For this 8th edition of Medical Fair Thailand, we are setting out to deliver a dynamic showcase of quality and relevant products and solutions that mirror the technological advancements in the global medical and healthcare sectors. These offerings will hopefully further spur the country’s development as Southeast Asia’s medical business centre, medical manufacturing hub and medical tourism hotspot,” said Gernot Ringling, managing director of Messe Dusseldorf Asia, organiser of Medical Fair Thailand.

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, this upcoming fair will bring some of the most innovative products and trending solutions. The exhibition will therefore augment Thailand and the region’s medical industry modernisation and progress towards becoming a more advanced medical and healthcare services market. Amidst increasing market demands, the exhibition will also focus on “Rehabilitative Care” and “Connected Care”, following the increased investment in technologies and solutions by health care organisations to better serve their well-informed consumers and needs of the highest healthcare spenders – the ageing population.

The fair has garnered significant international interest this year, attracting 18 national pavilions with first-time official country representations from Canada, India, European Union, Russia and the Netherlands. 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.

With the entry of ‘EU Technologies to Boost Southeast Asia’s Medical & Healthcare Industries’ as highlighted by Philipp Dupuis, head of Trade and Economic Section, Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, the fair has bridged stronger collaborations between European companies and Thailand/ Southeast Asian companies. The contribution of EU companies in bringing high-tech innovations and solutions that are in-line with EU’s Industry 4.0 roadmap for its economic partners will equip local companies with the capabilities to reach higher standards of medical practice and healthcare service delivery. Within this pavilion, companies from Bulgaria, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden will be participating for the first time.

“The fair continues on its growth path as an internationally recognised exhibition for the medical and healthcare sectors and continues to attract trade visitors and exhibitors from all over the world,” said Chiruit Isarangkur Na Ayuthaya, president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau or TCEB. “We are delighted to support the exhibition once again and to build on the strong and long-standing relationship between Thai and MICE sectors in tandem with Thailand’s vibrant medical and healthcare industry growth.”

“With initiatives such as – ‘Thailand Connect Your Vibrant Journey to Business Success’ this reaffirms Thailand’s position as an excellent destination for events such as the fair that can connect businesses and act as a gateway to Asean for companies looking to expand their footprint in the region. The fair’s success further reinforces Thailand’s value proposition as a leading medical hub and MICE destination in the region,” added Chiruit.

Medical tourism is on the rise, especially in Southeast Asia, where the medical industry is valued at US$100 billion, with more than 3.5 million consumers visiting annually. Thailand, with its comparatively low cost of healthcare services, yet high standard of medical infrastructure, has been predicted to become the new medical tourism hub for the region.

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

Sony’s portable Xperia Touch projector turns your wall, desk or any flat surface into a 23-inch HD touchscreen with either horizontal or vertical ultra-short-throw projection. Family and friends can gather around a table or flat wall to enjoy games, watch streaming video services and communicate using messaging apps and social networks. With builtin stereo speakers and a USB Type-C Port, it retails for Bt59,990.

Masters of music

Audio Technica’s ATHDSR9BT Bluetooth-enabled headphones boast a premium-graded overear design. Part of the SR (Sound Reality) Series with advanced technology, they’ve got “Pure Digital Drive” to ensure high-resolution audio, a reengineered 45mm True Motion Driver with a lightweight diaphragm with DLC (diamondlike carbon) coating and an extended 5Hz45,000Hz frequency response. RTB Technology has the sets for Bt19,900.

Nokia 6 looks, sounds sharp

The Nokia 6 phone from HMD Global has its 5.5-inch display of 1920x1080pixel resolution protected behind sculpted Corning Gorilla Glass. You’re looking at Android 7.0, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, plus speakers packing Smart Amplifier with Dolby Atmos. The main camera is 16-megapixel resolution. Expect to pay about Bt8,000.

Nice price on the XA10

Priced at Bt17,990, the Fujifilm XA10 is quite affordable for a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera in this popular series. Compact and coolly retro, it deploys an APSC CMOS sensor with 16-megapixel resolution and a 180-degree tilting LCD display for selfies and has sensitivity of up to ISO25600.

Who’s game for Acer?

Acer’s Predator G3 57171A4 notebook computer will appeal to gamers with its seventh-generation Intel Core i77700HQ processor, 16GB of working memory, a 256GB SSD drive and a full terabyte on the hard drive. The Nvidia GeForce GTX1060 offers another 6GB dedicated video memory. The 15.6inch display is 1920x1080pixel resolution. The going price is Bt52,990.

Easy to use, the new GPS bike computer from Garmin will have you finding your way through the maze of city streets and urban routes without needing to ask for directions.

The Garmin Edge 820 is preloaded with the Garmin City Map for turn-by-turn navigation and also gives you routable roads and bike paths, elevation data, points of interest and an address search. You can even use roundtrip routing to let the Edge 820 select a cycling-friendly route for you, based on how far you want to ride.

The 2.3-inch touch screen display with 200×265 pixels is easy to operate and the battery has plenty of juice, supporting up to 15 hours in GPS training mode.

Moreover, you can ride even when the rain is pouring down because the Edge 820 is water resistant, conforming to IPX7 rating.

With 16 gigabytes, the bike computer has plenty of memory allowing you to store up to 200 way-points or locations and up to 100 courses for racing or training. Moreover, it can record up to 200 hours of your ride.

The bike computer comes with GPS and GLONASS sensors as well as a barometric altimeter.

It also has builtin ANT+ adapter to connect to ANT+ sensor devices, such as Garmin premium heart rate sensor, cadence sensor and speed sensor. The data from these sensors will be displayed on the bike computer screen and can be used to increase your performance.

With the addition of a heart rate strap, you gain access to a variety of physiological data. You read your cycling-specific VO2 max along with a recovery advisor, which analyses your data and tells you how long you should wait before attempting another hard ride.

This connected system of sensors, accessories, cycling computer and postride analysis at Garmin Connect allows you to keep track of how your body performs from ride to ride.

The package comes with a standard mount and extended outfront for conveniently mounting the Edge 820 to your handlebars.

To get the most out of the computer you will of course need a Garmin Connect account so that your ride data will be stored and analysed together with your profile (gender, age, weight and height) for the Edge 820 to calculate calories burned.

Once connected to your smartphone with a Bluetooth connection, the Edge 820 will also display text messages and calls you’ve received.

The Bluetooth connection with your smartphone also allows the Edge 820 to automatically send your activity to Garmin Connect as soon as you finish recording it.

And you can also post an update to your social media network when uploading an activity to your Garmin Connect account.

The Connect app has a wide range of uses, among them sending real-time weather conditions to the Edge 820, searching for courses and workouts and sending status announcements during your ride.

Equally useful are the Bluetooth Connected feature’s LiveTrack function, which allows your friends and family to follow your races and training activities in real time, and the GroupTrack. Once the Edge 820 is connected to Garmin Connect app, GroupTrack can be used to keep tabs on your riding buddies and they on you if you become separated from the group.

Edge 820 offers incident detection capabilities via an integrated accelerometer and sends your location to an emergency contact if you get into difficulty.

To assist with incident avoidance, Edge 820 is also compatible with a wide range of Varia cycling awareness products, including rearview radar and smart bike lights.

The bike computer displays two main sections – navigation and training. In training, you can race against a virtual partner or the computer by setting a speed for the virtual partner. The computer will display its position on the bottom half of the screen in relation to your current position.

You can also race against a Strava segment or download a segment from the web to practice. You can create a workout for practice or download workouts from the web. You can also use the option of training indoors from the training option.

The navigation feature is fun to use if you like to vary your routes and displays a GPS map to guide you.

During the test, I enjoyed biking in my neighbourhood using the navigation feature. The Edge 820 displayed the map of my neighbourhood correctly.

I also tried riding for 16.62 kms with the training feature. The bike computer calculated my average riding speed at 18.2 km per hour and maximum speed of 23.7 km/h and informed me I had burned some 660 calories.

The bike computer measured my average heart rate by syncing with the Garmin heart rate sensor at 136 bpm and my max heart rate at 149 bpm.

The bike computer synced with a cadence sensor and a speed sensor and reported that I achieved an average cadence speed of 64 rounds per minute and maximum cadence speed of 81 rpm. The cadence speed increased in line with the speed of riding. It reported my average riding speed of 18.2 km/h and my max speed as 23.7 km/h.

Garmin Edge 820 is distributed by GIS at the suggested retail price of Bt19,900, which includes a speed sensor, a cadence sensor and a Garmin premium heart rate sensor as well as a standard and an extended outfront mounts.

Key Specs

– Physical dimensions: 49.0 x 73.0 x 21.0 mm

– Weight: 67.7 g

– Water rating: IPX7

– Battery type: rechargeable lithiumion

– Waypoints/favourites/loca¬tions: 200

– Display size: 2.3 inch

– Display resolution: 200 x 265 pixels

– Battery life: up to 15 hours GPS training mode

– Internal memory: 16 GB

– Routes: 100 Courses

– History: up to 200 hours

The event, ending tomorrow (August 5), features cultural performances and box-office-hit movies, all for free, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Organised in collaboration with other member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and India, the event marks the 25th anniversary of Asean-India official relations and the 70th anniversary of Thailand-India diplomatic relations.

The event is composed of interregional forums on trade, investment and tourism and an exposition of the finest products and services from participating nations.

Visitors are introduced to a wide range of native products, services and tourist attractions from Asean nations and India in the Country Pavilions and in Corporate Brands exhibitions.

At the Vietnamese Pavilion, top-quality GI products such as fish sauce, fruit and non la – the classic conical hat – are on sale. The coffee corner showcases authentic Vietnamese GI coffee and fruit drinks, organic dairy products and prestigious Minh Long porcelain.

The Indonesian Pavilion’s star products bear the “Remarkable Indonesia” emblem and include authentic batik in contemporary patterns by master designer Afif Syakur, Tenun textiles in both local and modern variations, ethnic wooden watches, and silver jewellery from the city of Solo, plus a large collection of leather-with-textile bags.

Brunei’s pavilion invites visitors to travel in style with promotions from Royal Brunei national airlines and shows a large collection of rare traditional products such as colourful “Tudong Dulang” food and traditional “Tekiding” trekking bags.

Cambodia is displaying strains of indigenous rice that are now one of the country’s chief exports, an array of processed products such as crispy rice snacks, and spices.

Exquisite arts and crafts, luxurious silver jewellery, wooden furniture and sculptures by skilled artisans are on view in the Lao Pavilion. And don’t miss the gorgeous pearl jewellery in the Myanmar Pavilion, and the ready-to-wear garment, textiles, bags and shoes.

Malaysia provides a wide range of information on trade and investment, including from Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce, with a full-scale directory listing member companies.

For halal food enthusiasts, a rich source of information on food products such as curry paste, sauce and convenience food products, as well as tourist information in every Malaysian city, is on offer.

The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry’s “Slingshot” project, designed to support digital entrepreneurs, has taken over that country’s pavilion. These are the important start-ups that are expected to drive forward the economy in the future.

Cartoon characters and animation are everywhere at the expo, including Thailand’s Majory the Space Traveller, Shew Sheep the Eat-All-Day Sheep, the Nuts So Mond’Sters and the all-time greatest hit Pangpond.

The Thai Pavilion has zones dedicated to AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality), and many more rising-star exports in spa, lifestyle, food, and organic products.

Fronted by the Indian government’s flagship “Make in India” project, its pavilion provides information on industrial corridors that accommodate smooth business operations.

For more information, visit http://www.Asean-IndiaExpo.com.

The museum for Chinese history and the arts tops the list for the first time, receiving 7.55 million people in 2016.

The report has charted global museum trends since 2012 by listing the best-attended museums worldwide and in different regions.

Washington’s National Air and Space Museum ranked second. The Louvre claimed the third spot, having previously garnered the top position last year. The National Museum of Korea ranked 19th, received 3.39 million people in 2016.

The GX501 provides players with the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card, allowing triple-A games to run at frame rates. This means gamers who also demand portability no longer need to compromise when it comes to graphical fidelity and extreme performance and can enjoy desktop-like gaming experiences anytime and anywhere.

The latest ROG gaming laptops have been carefully designed to delight two distinct types of gamer – those who crave the best performance from the latest resource-intensive AAA titles; and those who need certain performance and control-enhancing features to succeed at online eSports games and events. Coming soon to the Thai market, ASUS ROG new gaming laptop is engineered to give FPS and MOBA players a vital edge.

The Thailand esports market, which had approximately 1.1 million active esports enthusiasts in 2016, has gained in popularity and made significant inroads in recent years, with ROG leading the way in creating products specifically tailored for all types of esports games.

“We are extremely proud to be an advocate in esports and to be hosting the upcoming ROG Masters 2017 esports tournament, which features 527 teams with more than 2,635 participants so far in Thailand. The right gaming gear is essential to a player’s success, and ROG will remain true to its commitment to providing the best gaming experiences to all gamers worldwide,” said Sanranyapong Sinthip, ROG brand manager of Asus Marketing (Thailand).

Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktops, monitors, audio equipment, routers and peripherals.

The ROG Zephyrus GX501 will be available at Asus dealers and IT shops nationwide from August 24.

Bangkok as well as other urban hotspots around Thailand are going through a clean-food trend with consumers wanting to know where their food comes from, what the ingredients are and the calorie and fat content too yet without giving up on easy access and convenience.

This phenomenon is becoming evident in other parts of the world too, with a Blue Diamond survey in the UK revealing that 12 per cent of adults are planning to try a dairy-free diet this year, with many switching to a vegan diet for the first time. More than 80 per cent of those surveyed said they felt they were stuck in a dietary rut and wanted to make big changes to what they consume.

New Blue Diamond Almond Breeze is suitable for vegans as its provides a crucial source of calcium and is both tasty and nutritious.

Almond Breeze is also good for those who suffer from lactose intolerance or, potentially more seriously, allergies to dairy products. The almond milk drink is creamy but has zero-cholesterol and is low in calories and fat.

Californian almonds, which are renowned for their quality, sweetness and depth of flavour, come from trees grown in nutrient-rich soils with water that runs down from the mountains.

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze is manufactured in Thailand in partnership with Heritage Group, a Thai leading producer of premium natural snacks and foods and wholesaler and exporter of nuts, dried fruits and juices.

As well as being a refreshing beverage, Almond Breeze is a good ingredient in healthy recipes. Chef Pol Tantasatien recommends how and what to cook t Blue Diamond Almond Breeze’s page on Facebook as well as at http://www.BlueDiamond.com.

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze is available in Original, Unsweetened, Chocolate and Vanilla versions and can be found at Gourmet market , Home Fresh Mart, Villa Market, Tops Supermarket, Foodland and Rimping. It’sa priced at Bt20 for a 180-ml carton and Bt99 for a 946-ml carton.

IN AN article on this page a few weeks ago, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) mentioned the work it was carrying out to devise a method to screen for breast cancer through a blood test. The aim is to increase opportunities for Thais to access medical services and reduce mortality from the disease. Wacoal and other private organisations are collaborating with the NCI to make the project a reality.

While a mammogram is highly effective in identifying breast cancer, it is too costly to be included in the state-funded basic health check-up services, explains Dr Somchai Thanasitthichai, head of the NCI’s Research Department.

Women of all reproductive ages have a risk of this disease, so they should regularly look for abnormalities and have their breasts checked. At present, there are two preliminary screening methods – a clinical breast exam by a doctor or nurse and a mammogram.

“However, both methods have their limitations. Clinical breast exams have accuracy issues because they depend on the sense of touch and palpation skills and the results may vary greatly between examiners. The number of qualified personnel is also inadequate. Mammogram is the most effective way to date but it incurs a cost too high for Thailand to provide it for every woman aged 40 or 50 years and older.

Compared to Asians, Western women have less dense breast tissue and their breasts mostly consist of fatty tissue, so abnormal cells or tumours can be clearly detected by mammogram alone. Asian women have denser breast tissue and less fatty tissue, making it more difficult to spot abnormalities. It is why ultrasound examination is also implemented in breast screening in Thailand whereas Western countries use both methods only for specific diagnosis after initial screenings. This adds more cost for Thais to receive breast cancer screening and it requires radiologists, who are already limited in number, to perform the ultrasound exam.

A research on the cost-effectiveness of population-based mammography screening programmes in Asian countries shows that this type of test is suitable for countries with a breast cancer morbidity rate of at least 45 persons in a population of 100,000. The morbidity rates in Western countries such as the UK, USA and Scandinavia are about 100 persons in a population of 100,000, but the rate in Thailand in 2012 was only 28.5 persons in the same population despite an upward trend over the previous 20 years.

This is consistent with a research by the Institute of Medical Research and Technology Assessment under the Department of Medical Services, which found that investment by state on a population-based mammography screening service was not cost-effective and once again pointed to the shortage of relevant equipment and personnel.

To help more Thais to access breast cancer screening at a lower cost, the NCI started a research project in 2015 to develop a new screening method by identifying breast cancer markers in blood. The project has been financed by a number of private organisations, including ICC International and Thai Wacoal, but funding from other sources is welcome.

The NCI research focuses on a different marker to that of the current tumour marker test, which aims to find a large protein with a complex structure that is usually found in large cancerous lumps or terminal cancer. This, however, is very rarely to be found in early stages of cancer and therefore it is more appropriate to tracking cancer recurrence or responsiveness to treatments.

“This is a promising project and now it is in the phase of increasing sample groups and testing the marker’s accuracy. If successful, this project will provide Thailand with a new breast cancer screening method that can be accessed as easily as an annual health check-up. You will have to receive a mammogram and other tests for treatment planning only if the marker test shows abnormalities. This will enable us to use our medical resources more efficiently,” says Dr Somchai.

To support the NCI’s researches financially, please contact the Research and Treatment Fund by Dr Somchai Thanasithichai, National Cancer Institute Foundation on (02) 202 6800 extension 1509.

TWO YEARS AGO, when Chulalongkorn Hospital’s Cognitive Fitness Centre launched its movie screenings for the elderly, a small conference room was more than adequate to comfortably host the 60 or so participants who turned out for the monthly shows.

Thanks to better dissemination of information among Thailand’s greying population and increased concerns about dementia and Alzheimer’s, the screenings are now held in a much larger room to accommodate the hundreds of spectators who make a point of coming along.

The films, just one of several activities run by the centre to stimulate the brain and keep dementia and emotional problems at bay, are carefully selected, covering issues to which the elderly can relate, such as disease, family relationships and moving on after a loved one dies.

Discussion sessions take place after the screening led by moderators and guests and the talks are lively and always interesting.

The idea for the movies came from Khunying Chamnongsri Hanchanlash, who was approached by the centre’s head Dr Sookjaroen Tangwongchai when it opened in 2015. The centre was already offering singing and dancing classes as well as brain-training games and wanted an activity that would instruct as well as entertain.

Now 88, the well-known writer and philanthropist came up with the movie idea immediately after seeing the conference room. Having grown up in England, she says that films and the theatre greatly influenced the way her brain developed and would certainly benefit the elderly.

“Unlike in other medical fields, a psychiatrist must be interested in social science, such as reading, watching movies or TV dramas and keeping up with world through the social media. That help us understand our fellow human beings and the patient’s context when we have to diagnose symptoms,” says Dr Sookjaroen.

He adds that a movie, when properly selected, is a life lesson in brief and inspires people to think about something that relates to their personal experience.

Although he is quick to admit that he was not a cinema fan as a youngster, Dr Sookjaroen now loves the movies and even applied for the well-known three-month Film Appreciation course operated by the country’s film critics to learn more about the silver screen.

The Thai Film Archive’s deputy director Sanchai Chotirosseranee is also lending a helping hand and the three experts work closely together in choosing the movies and running the discussions.

The activity, says Dr Sookjaroen, helps seniors to exercise their brains, get out of the house, and to interact with others.

“The movies make them think and we choose films that have a conclusion rather than an open-ending. It would be great if the movies make them happy too. We certainly don’t want to have sad thoughts or be traumatised,” he says.

This is especially important for those who have suffered in life. While they might well be over whatever traumatised them, a movie could remind them of that earlier pain.

And even though many older people love to see their favourite movies from the past, the centre tries to select current films.

“We want them to catch up with the present so that they can understand what others are thinking and doing,” says Dr Sookjaroen.

The project started with “The Theory of Everything”, the drama that relates the early life of renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking before he fell victim to the paralysing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Other films that have been shown include the award-winning Japanese film about death “Departures”, Zhang Yimou’s “The Road Home” and “We Bought a Zoo” – a movie about a man who tries to start over by buying a zoo after losing his wife.

The project has also been forced to adapt with the move from a compact conference room to a large lecture room as the elderly like to bring their offspring and friends along with them for the show.

The wider audience does not, however, affect the choice of movie, with care taken to stick to topics in which the elderly are interested

“The response to ‘Still Alice’ was overwhelming and drew lots of questions about Alzheimer’s disease,” says Sanchai.

“Still Alice” centres on a linguistics professor and how her world, as well as her bonds with her family, begin to change when she is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dr Sookjaroen says that the film is a good example of films suitable for the project, as the medical information is correct and it doesn’t over-dramatise the story.

The discussion session that follows provides a space for seniors to learn more about the disease, particularly the aspects of interest to them.

“It’s not something that can be covered in a doctor’s appointment. This is a platform that allows sharing of information and ideas with others,” Sanchai says.

Many other institutions and hospitals are now interested is launching similar initiatives but Dr Sookjaroen warns that organising such an endeavour is about far more than choosing a movie and screening it for local seniors.

“Every community has different backgrounds and interests. It is useless to force people who don’t enjoy watching movies to come along,” says Sookjaroen.

Khunying Chamnongsri adds that the organiser should sit down with its group of seniors and find it if they want to watch films and if so, the kind of films they like.

“It should start with a simple and entertaining movie that has enough content to stimulate a discussion after the screening,” says Khunying Chamnongsri.

The session also needs a doctor or staff member able to understand the film and lead the talk.

And some sort of pre-screening or research is essential to ensure that the content doesn’t upset or offend.

“We learned a lesson when we showed ‘The Bridges of Madison County because the story involves an adulterous relationship. Some of our seniors walked out because they found it immoral. The reaction taught us that we need to prepare the audience first by giving some details of what is covered in the film,” says Khunying Chamnongsri.

And while some might wonder why the elderly can’t just watch the movies at home, Dr Sookjaroen stresses the importance of using the movie screening as a two-way communication through talks both before and after showing the film.

“Watching movie alone at home or at the cinema doesn’t help the brain develop,” he says.

“More than 90 per cent of my dementia patients stay home and watch TV all day long. For them the small screen is company not entertainment,” he says.

Joining the regular movie screenings and talks not only helps enrich older brains but gives them a life outside the home. Interaction with others helps stem loneliness and promotes enjoyment of life.

The project has recently published “Phabphayon Ya Bumroong Phoo Soong Ayu” (“A Film is Supplementary Medicine for the Elderly”) and a DVD of the talks following the first 10 movies to help institutions and communities interested in organising a similar activity.

STIMULATION SUPPLEMENTS

– The screenings are held monthly or bi-monthly. Admission is free.

– For more information and updates on the next films being shown, check out Facebook.com/cognitive fitness center.

The package includes a one- or two-night stay in a spacious room overlooking Na Jomtien Beach plus one or two days at the 18-hole championship Plantation course. Other benefits include a spa treatment, daily breakfast and a set dinner menu for one at Twist Restaurant.

“Seasoned players or novice golfers can enjoy an inspiring combination of sun, sea and sport while taking in stunning panoramic views of Pattaya’s Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf of Thailand,” says general manager Marc Sittl.

“Leisurely luxury is a signature at Movenpick’s flagship 5-star beach resort, and the experience is perfectly complemented by a round or two at Siam Country Club Plantation Pattaya. It’s a world-class golf destination.”

Designed by famed golf course architects Schmidt & Curley, the Siam Country Club Plantation is the longest course in Pattaya and one of the longest in Thailand. The 27-hole course, boasting rolling fairways, big bunkers and sloping greens, is named after the area’s past as plantation land and includes the 9-hole Tapioca and Pineapple courses along with the par-36 Sugar Cane course.

The course also features the first triple greens in Asia with three greens of three holes stretching over 3,000 square metres. The hilltop clubhouse has a reputation as one of the country’s finest, with a challenging layout that takes in the natural landscape of mountain terrain and creeks.

After a thrilling experience on the course, guests can sink into a complimentary treatment at the resort’s Wave Spa then enjoy a three-course dinner at all-day dining room Twist.

The Dream Golfers Escape Package is available until October 31 and requires a minimum stay of one night.

Online booking can be made at http://www.Movenpick.com/pattaya.