The first and second runners up were Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green and Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutierrez respectively. Miss Thailand Sopida Kanchanarin was among the top 10 finalists.

Each of the top three finalists go through to the “Final Words” contest, answering the question “What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?”

“I’ve worked a lot in the slums in Manila and life there is poor and very sad but I always taught myself to look for the beauty in it – to look at the beauty in the faces of the children and to be grateful. As Miss Universe I want to show the silver lining in these situations and assert where I can give something, where I can provide something as the spokesperson. And then I think if I can teach people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and children have a smile on their faces,” Gray answered.

Gray is the fourth Filipina to bring home the coveted title, joining Gloria Diaz, Margie Moran, and Pia Wurtzbach who won in 1969, 1973, and 2015, respectively.

“Thank you for your support. I’m so proud to have won the best National Costume and to represent my country. This is the first year we have participated in the Miss Universe pageant and I’m so glad that we can make it this far,” On-anong said.

AS TAIWAN’S economy stagnates, claw crane arcades where customers lower a grabber to try to pick up a prize from a glass box are booming as affordable entertainment, while operators see them as a way to make a fast buck.

According to official figures, there is one claw crane outlet for every two convenience stores in Taiwan, with the number more than doubling last year to become the fourth largest tax income source in the entertainment industry.

Women play a claw crane machine in Taipei./AFP

The concept is simple – for as little as TW$10 (Bt10), customers manually lower a metal claw into a pile of prizes, which are usually soft toys, but can also include electronic gadgets and fashion accessories.

Some claw machines stand in the corner of neighbourhood grocery stores, while others sit in rows in brightly lit arcades spread out in residential and entertainment districts alike.

A whole culture has built up around the craze – enthusiasts give online tutorials on how to most effectively manoeuvre the claw while other websites are devoted to swapping toy prizes.

For Albee Chou, 34, playing the crane machine in her neighbourhood arcade in Taipei is a cheap way to find a gift for her daughter. A skilled player, she quickly picks up a few Hello Kitty storage boxes.

“It’s actually cheaper than buying from a shop. Plus, it’s more fun,” said Chou.

The toy claw evolved from “digger” machines in 1930s America. The early versions were purely mechanical in design and picked up candy.

A more sophisticated electric version quickly spread to Asia in the late 1970s and the last few years have seen a surge in popularity in Taiwan and South Korea.

With salaries failing to keep up with the cost of living in Taiwan, players see the machines as inexpensive entertainment while operators consider them an effective investment.

Vendors usually look for a good location and stock it with claw machines, which in turn are subleased to individual operators.

An elementary school student holds the prizes he won from a claw crane machine at a store in the Xizhi district in New Taipei City./AFP

Nick Chang, 31, leased two claw machines inside a recently opened arcade in a Taipei residential district.

Like most neighbourhood arcades, the 40 toy claws inside are sublet to various owners who then stock them with toys of their choice. Rental fees for each console range between TW$3000 in this arcade to TW$10,000 in busy entertainment districts.

Chang has stocked his claw machine with Japanese action figures.

“I don’t have to be in the shop 24 hours a day which means I can keep my full-time job,” says Chang who works as a magazine photographer.

He makes around TW$10,000 monthly profit per machine, which is more than most operators.

The average monthly revenue for a machine is only about TW$5000, but with Taiwan’s average monthly income including bonuses stuck at TW$50,000, many feel it is a decent return.

“I make more because I am constantly looking for cheaper sources for my toys and I have many returning customers,” Chang says.

Finding the right prize can be key – Ken Chuang, 38, has a claw machine inside the same arcade as Chang. Once he stocked it with underwear resembling Calvin Klein briefs, and found it emptied after two hours.

“Someone must have thought they were the real thing!” he laughs.

There are more than 100 Facebook pages in Taiwan dedicated to claw machines with tens of thousands of members who share their experiences and tips on the latest trends and swap merchandise.

The craze has even prompted Taiwan’s Central Bank to announce that it will issue more TW$10 coins in 2019 to meet demand sparked by the game.

Lo Chi-fu, a radio presenter who hosts a financial programme, says young people are particularly drawn to supplementing poor incomes and often club together with friends to lease a machine, though he feels the number of machines in Taiwan markets has reached saturation point.

But for some it’s simply about the buzz of playing.

Restaurant worker Steven Wu, in his twenties, has just spent six hours playing and admits he has spent “quite a lot”.

“It’s like winning the lottery,” he enthuses.

“The thrill when the prize falls into the chute.”

THE TALLEST building in the Thai capital when it was completed in 1970, Dusit Thani Bangkok will cease operations on January 5, bringing to an end 48 years of hospitality and its position as a landmark of pioneering design.

Although the iconic building will be demolished to make way for a Bt36.7 billion mixed-use project featuring residences, retail areas and office space, as well as Mark II of the hotel, the owner – Thailand-based Dusit International – will keep its legend alive by preserving the hotel’s cultural, artistic and architectural heritage in both concrete and archive forms.

Once a Bangkok landmark, Dusit Thani Bangkok will cease operations early next month and the building will be dismantled to make the space for a new mixed-use project.

Dusit International recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Silpakorn University for the project “Dusit Thani’s Artistic Heritage”. This will see the preservation and documenting of elements of aesthetic value, ranging from the massive concrete columns adorned with paintings, the Thai-style facades and handcrafted teakwood carvings to the historical ornaments and big trees. These will be preserved for use at the new version of the hotel that is slated for completion in 2023 and located on adjacent land.

“While change is inevitable if the property is to respond to the lifestyles of today, I will try to maintain the hotel’s spirit and heritage as much as possible in both tangible and archive forms. I’m very bound to this hotel and want to maintain my mother’s [founder Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui] vision of a Thai hotel with international standards that promotes the majesty of Thai culture in harmony with the modern world,” says Chanin Donavanik, vice chairman and chairman of Dusit International’s executive committee.

The wood carvings and a collection of personal items belonging to King Rama VI in the Library 1918 Room will be preserved for use at the new hotel.

Experts from different faculties of Silpakorn University will work together on the project. The Faculty of Architecture is not only documenting the hotel’s significant architectural elements in both print and digital platforms, but also creating an intricate 2×1-metre model showcasing all the building’s key elements.

A study of the plant species grown in the hotel’s grounds will also be conducted. The big trees such as Bodhi, banyan and frangipani will be relocated to the new site while other plants will probably move to Lumpini Park on the other side of Rama IV Road.

“The hotel is very unique in that it blends Thai and modern elements, from the Thai-motif facade to the art deco-style elevator and teakwood carving. The high-ceilinged lobby is very spacious and infused with Thai motifs while the garden with its multitude of tropical plants and the waterfall is designed as an oasis in the big city. Napalai Ballroom, once a popular venue for fashion shows, concerts and weddings, was the pioneering concept for today’s Impact Arena and MCC Hall,” says Dr Chaiyasit Dankittikul, dean of the Faculty of Architecture.

The beautiful water garden filled with tropical plants serves as an oasis of calm in a chaotic city. 

Located at the corner of Silom and Rama IV roads, the 23-storey building with more 500 guestrooms on a triangular terrace tapering slightly towards the top takes inspiration from Wat Arun’s prang. The roof was finished with a spire resembling a chedi, making it an instantly recognisable landmark.

Japanese firm Kanko Kikaku Sekkeisha (KKS) led by architect Yozo Shibata, who designed the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, and Thai Obayashi were in charge of the design and construction of the hotel, which occupies the site of the former Saladaeng Residence of Chao Phraya Yomarat, the interior minister who served King Rama VI, and was later owned by the Crown Property Bureau.

“Instead of constructing the square-shaped building that was ubiquitous in those days, my mother preferred unconventional design infused with Thainess. The hotel’s name was also in Thai in contrast to the popular use of English names. As the location is opposite the statue of King Rama VI at the entrance of Lumpini Park, the name is borrowed from a miniature city built by King Rama VI in 1918 in Phaya Thai Palace to explore the concept of democracy,” says Chanin.

The two-level, spacious lobby is punctuated by large round columns supporting the high ceiling shaped like lotus leaves but does not meet today’s energy-saving requirements. 

“The two-level, spacious lobby is punctuated by large round columns supporting the ceiling shaped like lotus leaves. Today, we are concerned about energy saving but the building’s triangular-shaped structure and the high ceiling in the lobby are not easy to refurbish or twist to meet new hospitality trends. However, we will try best to bring the memory of the original Dusit Thani to the new hotel as much as we can,” he adds.

The hotel’s facades were done in Thai-style arches resembling lotus petals, rising from floor to the upper lobby. They also resemble the arches seen at Wat Benchamabophit (known as the Marble Temple) in a majestic amalgamation of styles. The arches were intricately decorated with pieces of mosaic in shimmering gold and deep green. Chanin hopes to bring part of them to the new hotel too.

The facades were built as Thaistyle arches resembling lotus petals, rising from floor to the upper lobby.

One of the challenging tasks for Silpakorn’s experts is to preserve the entire two five-tonne concrete columns and a five-metre-long mural by the late celebrated artist Paiboon Suwannakudt, aka Tan Kudt, regarded as the neo-traditional pioneer in the modern reinvigoration of Thai mural painting. These two columns are used to support the structure of the Thai restaurant Benjarong while the mural graces the restaurant’s entrance. Benjarong’s intricately carved timber ceiling will also be carefully dismantled for further use.

“The Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology will be responsible for removing the two columns and the mural with a minimum effect on the original works while the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts is tracing the paintings as the references for restoration. As these columns and the mural have to be kept for at least three years before being reinstalled at the new hotel, the Faculty of Archaeology will maintain them in their original condition while also taking time to research Tan Kudt’s works, particularly those created during the same timeline,” says Asst Prof Chawalit Khaokhiew, dean of Faculty of Archaeology.

Two concrete columns at the Benjarong restaurant were hand-painted by the celebrated late artist Paiboon Suwannakudt, aka Tan Kudt.

The columns and the mural of Tan Kudt were painted in tempera and incorporate the traditional technique but with a contemporary twist, says Amrit Chusuwan, art instructor of Silpakorn University.

“In the mural, Tan Kudt painted the sea in gold to illustrate Suvarnabhumi or the golden land and the patterns and motifs are in contemporary style. The graceful human figures and their postures were probably inspired by Thai performing dancers and the boats were painted in fantastically curved forms,” he adds.

Amrit Chusuwan sees the mural  created in contemporary Thai style by Tan Kudt.

Tan Kudt’s daughter Phaptawan Suwannakudt says that the paintings at Dusit Thani were created between 1969 to 1970, about the same time of his works for the Pupingrajanives Palace in Chiang Mai and Wat Theppol in Bangkok’s Taling Chan district.

“The paintings at Dusit Thani are distinctive because no artists in that period had worked on such a large scale in Thai contemporary style. At Wat Theppol, my father volunteered to paint the mural in the Ubosot (ordination hall) and invited monks and novices to join his project using art supplies left over from the Dusit Thani project. Unfortunately, it isn’t yet completed but our family wants to fulfil his dream and carry on with the project,” says the Sydney-based Phaptawan.

The Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts recently invited 20 leading and emerging artists to create works related to the hotel and their works will be displayed on December 20 as part of an event to be held in memory of the hotel before it closes its door.

The entire research and preservation process as well as the documenting of the dismantlement of the hotel in both photo and VDO formats will be later compiled in a digital book for free download. The Faculty of Music has also composed a special song for the hotel.

The hotel’s vintage-style elevators

“The landscape of the new version of Dusit Thani Bangkok will be easily accessible and friendly to the public no matter whether they travel by Skytrain, subway or road. The green space and the idea to connect the original hotel and the new one with valuable components and emotional attachments will preserve meaningful memories,” says Suphajee Suthumpun, Group CEO of Dusit International.

LG XBOOM OK99 is an all-in-one audio system that can turn your house into a discotheque with 1,800 watts of output power and party lighting effects as well as a karaoke function.

The OK99 comes in a tower design with a very large subwoofer for bass-filled fun. The subwoofer is 12 inches and comes with 900 watts of output power. The front speakers come in stereo design with 2x450W output power. Each channel uses one two-inch tweeter and one four-inch middle speaker.

Although the OK99 is large and heavy at 430mm x 1m054x400mm and 34.3 kilograms, you can move it around with built-in wheels at one side of the bottom.

The OK99 allows you to play from several kinds of music sources. It has CD player, two USB ports, Bluetooth streaming, optical-in, portable-in for connecting to a portable music player and AUX input, as well as LG Sound Sync wirelessly with LG TV. The OK99 also has an FM radio tuner.

Designed for music parties, the OK99 comes with two DJ Scratch jog wheels for you to add various DJ effects while playing music.

You can select the DJ effects from Flanger, Phaser, Wah and Delay. You can adjust the volume of the effects and rotate the two DJ Scratch controls for the desired effects. With a little practice, you can become a DJ in no time.

Or you can use the Auto DJ function that blends the end of one song into the beginning of another for seamless playback.

There are also three DJ Pad buttons that allow you to mix CLUB, DRUM or USER sound effects. Each mode has up to three sound effects. To use your own sound effect, you must install the Music Flow Bluetooth app on your smartphone to register the sound effect to the OK99 first.

To add more fun, the OK99 comes with Party Accelerator, which is a throttle you push forward or slide back. As you push it forward, you can hear the sound build and build until it peaks with a thunderous boom and wild light display. There are three modes of sounds and three modes of lighting.

Under the Party Accelerator, there is also a Party Kick Starter button. When the OK99 is in power-off mode, press the button to turn on the unit with Party Kick Starter sound. When the music is being played, the button will mix the music with the Party Kick Starter sound. You can also use the Music Flow app to change sound effects of the Party Kick Starter function.

The OK99 comes with two rows of LED lights at the top and bottom, as well as an LED light at the subwoofer so that the lights pulse to the beat of the music, so everyone can see the rhythm as well as hear it. You can also turn off the lighting effects of select one from eight options, including Rhythm, Party, Firework, Space, Water and Forest.

Since the unit comes with two USB inputs, you can connect multiple USB-enabled devices at the same time for greater convenience. You can also transfer files from one USB drive to another, and record from different inputs including CD, AUX and FM radio.

And the Bluetooth function allows you to connect from three different phones, tablets or other Bluetooth-enabled devices at the same time to create multi-jukebox playlist.

Singing is a fun part of a party, so the OK99 comes with karaoke function with various vocal effects as well. It has two microphone inputs with volume control separate from the music volume control.

Best of all, the karoke feature comes with built-in sound-enhancing voice filters to make your or your friend sound more like stars. The filters can even change voices completely for added fun.

The voice filters can be selected by pressing the Vocal Effects button repeatedly. There are 18 vocal effects to select, including Bass, Soprano, Helium, Robot, Duet Man and Duet Woman. Each of these six effects has two more variations.

The OK99 also has a built-in clock with alarm clock function that can wake you up with music sounds.

And its CD player can handle both Audio CDs and data CDs that store MP3, WMA and AAC files.

A nice feature of the OK99 is its ability to recognise input signals, such as Optical, Bluetooth, LG TV and Portable and change to the suitable function automatically.

During the test, I found the music was really loud and clear – even when I did not pump up the volume to the max.

Key Specs

LG XBOOM OK99 has a suggested retail price of Bt14,990.

>> Amplifier: Stereo Class D with 1,800W RMS (450W RMS x 2 plus 900 W RMS for subwoofer

>> Speakers: 2 x 2-inch tweeters, 2x 4-9nch woofers, one 12-inch subwoofer

>> Frequency Response: 40 to 20,000 Hz

>> Signal-to-noise ratio: More than 75 dB

>> Dynamic range: More than 80 dB

>> Sound modes: User, Pop, Classic, Rock, Jazz, Bass Blast, Football

>> Functions: CD player, FM radio, USB, Optical, LG TV Bluetooth Sound Sync, Bluetooth

>> Connection: 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 microphone (6.5mm) inputs, 1 stereo RCA input, 1 portable (3.5mm) input, 1 digital audio option input, 1 FM antenna

>> Dimensions: 430 x 1054 x 400mm

>> Weight: 34.3kg

IT’S NICE to take a few moments out of your day to indulge by a cup of coffee at home and pretend you’re sitting in a Parisian cafe.

Nespresso has made that “pretend” a little more realistic just in time for the festive season, working with renowned interior designer India Mahdavi to create Variations, a set of coffees of superb taste and aroma, and accessories marketed as Les Collections.

Jay and Jareyadee Spencer share a Nespresso moment.

Paris-based Mahdavi, who conceived the Gallery at Sketch in London, Jean Francois Piege in Paris and APT in New York, has designed for Nespresso the packaging for Variations and Les Collections and the overall marketing campaign.

Mahdavi’s influence is evident in the pastel hues and playful designs.

Two coffees, Macaron and Praline, feature quintessentially French flavours, while Paris Black espresso is perfect for those who prefer coffee in its purest form.

Each of the Variations is based on the Nespresso Livanto coffee blend, which consists of pure arabica from South and Central America. It is well balanced, with roasted, caramelised notes providing roundness and balance.

“What we try to do is bring the most exquisite cup of coffee to the comfort of your own home,” says Nespresso executive Samuel Dambreville. “If you look at all the Nespresso machines, they all feature the same design – one capsule and one button – very simple. You don’t need to be a skilful barista to create the most sophisticated coffee.

“Customers can enjoy Nespresso everywhere, not only at home but also in a hotel, a high-end restaurant and a coffee shop. Some hotels have Nespresso machines in every room.

Interior designer India Mahdavi created the Limited Edition Festive collection.

“The coffee business is a very dynamic and extremely exciting industry because there’s a lot going on and a lot of innovation,” Dambreville says. “If you think high quality, high variety of choices, Nespresso is very well positioned to expand. We come up with many flavours to offer a lot of possible choices, whether you like your coffee intense or balanced, more with cocoa or flowery or fruity.

“Asians love iced coffee, and last season the collection was inspired by Italian summer. Ispirazione was made to drink with ice and syrup, and Salentina iced coffee with milk or almond milk. In Europe, summer is always a special time – people like to be outdoors – but it’s also very hot, especially in the south of Italy. That’s why most food recipes are designed to refresh.”

Dambreville emphasises the importance of the coffee bean’s origin and the way it’s processed.

“Nespresso is always exploring the world for new ways to give customers the best coffee moments. Apart from the permanent range, we do offer limited editions at different times of the year. The idea is to give coffee lovers new ways to enjoy coffee. Customers are more sophisticated and they want creativity and sustainability.”

Growing, roasting and tasting coffee demand specific talents. Nespresso’s Master Origin blends – five distinct coffee sensations – evoke their places of origin, from the forested mountains of Sumatra to the highland vales of Nicaragua. Within each region Nespresso has formed a partnership with local farmers with the goal of crafting superlative new aromas and tastes.

Mocca Latte is chocolate squares melted under Nespresso coffee, topped with milk and, if desired, cocoa powder.

In Ethiopia, the beans are raked hourly to ensure even drying. In Colombia, the traditional harvest time was pushed to the limit, with the coffee cherries left on the bushes, risking fermentation, until they were exactly the right shade of deep purple to be picked.

In Sumatra, Indonesia, farmers use a time-tested wet-hulling method, while in Nicaragua, the “black honey” technique involves leaving the bean inside its fruit rind while it soaks up the natural sugars. Coffee from India experiences a “monsoon” process that replicates the natural absorption of moisture and swelling that used to occur when the beans were being transported across the ocean.

“Then there is another part of innovation,” says Dambreville. “Every capsule has a story to tell.”

Mahdavi set out to invoke dreaminess in her creativity for Nespresso, making the capsules seem like imaginary delights, “floating like sweet clouds in the sky”.

“These voluptuous forms, reminiscent of childhood, suggest a gourmand’s fantasy,” she says. “Nespresso speaks to the senses, celebrating taste in all its aspects, ranging from sight to touch via smell, with subtly sweet aromas.

“I wanted to add a hint of reverie. Offering delight for the eyes to relish and to then flying away in each and everyone’s imagination.”

Find some great ideas for hosting a Yuletide coffee party at Nespresso.com/recipes.

A PAIR OF wireless earphones perfect for anyone who jogs in all weathers, the Jabra Elite Active 65t have good sound quality and a long battery life.

The phones conform to the IP56 rating against sweat and dust and come with a two-year warranty. The rating means the Elite Active 65t are protected from limited dust ingress and protected from high-pressure water jets from any direction so you’ll have no worries if you are running in the rain.

The Elite Active 65t come as compact earpieces without any wire but communicate instead through radio signals.

The in-ear phones look sleek, especially the black ones with a gold finish in the middle circle.

The right earphone weighs just 6.5 grammes and the left a little less at 5.8g while the charging cradle is only 65g so you can carry it along comfortably. Each piece has a footprint of only 27x30x22.5mm.

The earpieces are small and lightweight enough to wear for hours with discomfort. The package comes with three sizes of silicone eargels so you can choose the best fit and enjoy music while you exercise.

The Elite Active 65t phones have great sound quality. Each earbud uses a 6.0×5.1mm driver and the speaker has a sensitivity of 103dB and impedance of 16 ohms as well as frequency response of 20Hz to 20 kHz.

Actually, the Elite Active 65t could be regarded as a smart headset as the phones come with motion sensors to detect whether they are in your ears and the settings can be further customised to suit your music taste using an app.

And for those who tend to forget where they have left their possessions, the Jabra Sound+ app will find the earbuds wherever they are.

The Elite Active 65t is intuitive to control with two volume control buttons on the left earbud and the multi-function button on the right.

Apart from using the multi-function button to play and pause the music, you can simply remove an earbud from your ear while listening to music and the music will automatically pause. To unpause, pop it back in the ear within 60 seconds. The auto-pause music settings can be configured using the Jabra Sound+ app.

The multi-function button can also be used to turn the earbuds on or off.

When there is an incoming call, you press the multi-function button to answer and hang up or double-press to reject a call.

The same button can also be used to activate voice assistant of either Siri or Google Now by pressing and holding it for about one second when not on a call.

The volume up button and volume down buttons can also be used to skip to the next track or previous track respectively by pressing and holding it for two seconds.

I found during the test that the silicone eargels and active noise cancelling function using built-in microphones effectively blocked the environment noises and allowed me to enjoy the music. This, of course, can be dangerous if you happen to be running on a road so the Elite Active 65t comes with HearThrough function.

This uses the built-in microphones to enable you to pay attention to your surroundings and engage in conversation without needing to remove the earbuds. You can turn the HearThrough on or off by double-pressing the multi-function button when not on a call. You can also use the Jabra Sound+ app to configure the HearThrough settings, which cover travelling, working and exercising.

What I liked most about the Elite Active 65t is that you can use the app to adjust the sound settings. The are six pre-set sound settings to choose from – default, Speech, Bass boost, Treble boost, Smooth and Energise. You can also drag the music equaliser curve to find the sound setting that you like.

During the test, I enjoyed using the Bass boost to listen to rock music for hours. I found the bass was powerful despite the tiny speakers and the mids and highs were clear as well.

The earphones can be used as a fitness tracker to count your steps while exercising or walking just by activating the Jabra Sound+ app.

In the Active section of the app, you can tap on the start button for the earbuds and the app to track your fitness activity that will report in length of time, total steps and speed of your walking or running.

The Elite Active 65t is good as a smartphone headset thanks to its active wind noise cancelling function. The four built-in microphones help effectively reduce wind noise so your conversation partner can hear you clearly.

The earbuds have a good battery life too. Once fully charged, the Elite Active 65t can last five hours and the portable cradle can charge it twice, each time providing five more hours of use.

Jabra Elite Active 65t is distributed by RTB Technology for Bt6,990 and it is available at Studio7, iStudio by SPVi, iStudio by Copperwired, Jaymart, King Power, Digital lab Siam Discovery, Power Buy, Amcon, Loft, TG, http://www.Lazada.co.th, http://www.GadgetThai.net, http://www.Shopee.co.th and http://www.Shop24.com.

Key Specs

>> Headset type: In ear

>> Speaker size: 6.0 x 5.1mm

>> Speaker sensitivity: 103dBSPL at 1kHz/1mW

>> Speaker impedance: 16ohm plus/minus 15 per cent at 1kHz

>> Speaker frequency range: 20Hz to 20kHz

>> Microphone type: 4 x MEMS

>> Microphone sensitivity: -38 dBV/Pa

>> Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0

>> Battery: 2 hours of charging time; five hours of battery life (10 hours more from portable charging case’s power bank)

>> Main unit dimension: L 27 x W 30 x H 22.5mm, charging case L 72 x W 51 x H 26.5mm

>> Weight: 6.5g right headset 5.8g left headset, charging case 67g

Thailand’s latest turn to host the Miss Universe pageant has, through the power of the global social media, had the added benefits of promoting Thai fashion and raising awareness about LGBT issues, as well as boosting tourism, observers say.

Social media have been riveted on this and other beauty contests for a decade, and Instagram in particular in recent years.

And since Thailand has so many citizens glued to Instagram, Twitter, Line and other networks, the Miss Universe organisers this year formally accredited the administrators of six different Thai social-media pages that specialise in beauty competitions to cover the events being held in Bangkok and Chon Buri.

Their representatives are attending the pageant alongside hundreds of reporters and photographers from the traditional media, feeding news and views back to their followers.

The official Miss Universe Instagram feed has 2.7 million followers and the contestants, mobile phones in hand, maintain their own vast Instagram audiences, recording their every experience.

“Social media is having a big impact on this year’s competition. It’s so powerful,” said Narong Lertkitsiri of Pasaya Textile, a partner of organiser TPN 2018, which spent Bt400 million for the right to run the pageant in Thailand.

“Viewers around the world can watch live streams on the official website and the video of the National Costume segment racked up over a million views within 24 hours.”

Thai talent in fashion design is drawing as much interest overseas as local tourist attractions and other elements of Thai culture. Miss Universe Thailand 2018 Sopida Kanchanarin wowed onlookers at the kick-off Thai Night Gala Dinner at the Dusit Thani Bangkok last week with a gown designed by Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, who also dressed Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, the young lady about to relinquish her crown.

Plus, the other 93 contestants graciously thanked the host country by wearing “contemporary Thai” costumes that 19 other leading Thai designers created using hand-woven silk from Her Majesty the Queen’s Support Foundation.

Showcasing worldwide

“Getting to dress all the contestants in the prestigious Miss Universe pageant was a great platform for our designers to show their talents to the world. Thai fashion will be the biggest beneficiary of this year’s contest,” Thammasat University lecturer Thitipong Duangkong, an expert on beauty pageants, told The Nation Weekend.

In a preliminary round on Thursday night at Impact Arena, the contestants wore sexy swimsuits conceived by Princess Sirivannavari with the apt theme “Across the Universe”.

Sopida then donned a dazzling embroidered silver gown by Milin Yuvacharuskul of the clothing brand Milin. Milin also dressed Miss Universe USA Sarah Rose Summers, who has 172,000 followers on Instagram, and Miss Universe Russia Yulia Polyachikhina.

It was quite a showing for Milin, who’d never before participated in such an event, and she returned the favour by posting on Instagram the inspirations for her designs. Her photos and video clips from the contest have been attracting 100 times the number of viewers she normally gets.

“It was a great opportunity to dress Sopida and the girls from the US and Russia,” Milin told The Nation Weekend.

“Both Sopida and Sarah have plenty of followers, and their social media has helped spread my brand to the world. Some of the contestants are interested in my clothes and I hope to collaborate with them in the future.”

Veteran designer Polpat Asavaprapha, who has been involved with Miss Universe since 2015, will be dressing Sopida in a red “mermaid gown” for the final on Monday morning (TV primetime in the US).

Thai Night last week also saw contestants from Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos and South Korea wearing his outfits, as well as the highly social-network-popular Miss Philippines. “The social media helped promote my brand very broadly,” Polpat said.

“Frankly it doesn’t affect marketing much because my signature is smart and minimally elegant, quite different from the gorgeous costumes seen in beauty contests.

“Creating a costume for Miss Universe Thailand is a great honour – and a challenge, dressing her so she can be her most beautiful and most confident.”

Thais are cheering for Sopida to be crowned the Kingdom’s third Miss Universe after triumphs by Apasra Hongsakula in 1965 and Pornthip Simon in 1988. Pornthip is among four women judges at this year’s event.

The pageant is meanwhile rewriting history with Spain’s Angela Ponce Camacho competing as the first transgender contestant. “No matter whether she wins or not, Ponce has already raised awareness about gender and LGBT issues in Thailand,” said lecturer Thitipong, who’s also an expert on gender identity.

Ponce counts plenty of Thais among her followers on Instagram.

“If I were lucky enough to be crowned Miss Universe, I would give emphasis to such issues as the lack of education on diversity,” she told The Nation Weekend at Thai Night.

“I’d be a very different type of Miss Universe because my experience growing up has been so very different. I’d become a voice for gender equality for every group of women, including transgender, LGBT and children, as well as highlighting the factors that lead to bullying, prejudice and violence.”

Thitipong said Ponce would help the Spanish Embassy and Thammasat University promote LGBT rights with a campaign in Thailand. “Thailand is LGBT-friendly and we’re pushing for an LGBT law, so Ponce’s involvement will help the Tourism Authority promote its new LGBT segment, for which it plans to take a roadshow to Madrid in January.”

VEERAPORN Nitiprapha’s epic and epically baroque tale “The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth” was |subsumed in praise when Matichon Books first published it in Thai as “Saiduean Ta Bod Nai Khaowongkot”. It promptly won the first-time novelist the 2015 SEA Write Award, catapulting her into the front ranks of Southeast Asian literary talent.

Now, thanks to Kong Rithdee, the eminent arts commentator at the Bangkok Post, the book has appeared in English and should surely begin to earn the far wider audience it deserves.

River Books hosted the formal launch on November 25 at Central Embassy in Bangkok, fully confident in its new listing after Veeraporn scored yet another SEA Write triumph, winning this year’s prize with the wordily titled “Buddha Sakarat Asadong Kub Songjam Khong Songjam Khong Maew Kularb Dam”.

We can only hope an English translation of the new book is forthcoming.

The reviewer must apologise for lacking the Thai-language skills to properly judge “Blind Earthworm” in its original form or the fidelity of the translation, but what is presented is undeniably an engaging read.

The writing in the English edition is of a calibre that surpasses most of the |fiction produced by expatriate foreign novelists in Thailand who strive to describe their experiences here.

Veeraporn, of course, began with a crucial advantage owing to her nationality. She is steeped in classical Thai literature, an entire body of work to which foreigners have limited access beyond certain examples, such as the wonderful translation of “Khun Chang Khun Paen” by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongphaichit, previously reviewed in these pages.

The great Siamese literature, imbued with Buddhist lore and at the same time offering allegories about Asia’s place in the world, is a keystone to Veeraporn’s story about a free-thinking rural girl’s troubled ascent to womanhood. The undercurrent here is the bloody denouement of the 2010 red-shirt protests that shook Bangkok and left a permanent scar on Thai society.

“The Blind Earthworm” is a work of magic realism, the form most often associated with Gabriel Garcia Marquez, utilising fairy tales, parables and mythology to address fundamental social issues.

In mundane life, extraordinary events might well be best explained through supernatural allusions, and here the terrible events of 2010, when blood flowed in Bangkok in a bid to end an ideological uprising, find echoes in a tenuous, branching romance that spans many years.

“Myths like peace and unity are promoted in society,” Veeraporn said in a 2015 interview with online BK Magazine, “but why is the result never what you expect it to be?” Myths begot the violence of 2010, she told Prachachat Online. “The elites-versus-serfs refrain … helped awaken many people, not just those who support the red shirts, to problems of inequality and injustice that have long existed in the country. However, when people subscribed to the idea without question, it became a kind of all-encompassing myth. Before long, the idea was both simplified and extended to imply that all the rich and elites are bad and some people just hold onto this as the absolute truth.” The ultimate legacy was “a deeper social divide”.

The SEA Write judges also noted, among other attributes, her depiction of “a confrontation between illusion and idealism in the Thai family institution”.

Veeraporn alludes regularly to Siamese folktales and the rural knowledge of plants, whose scents and herbal potency in recipes evoke memories not just of smell and taste but also of time and place. Kong helpfully charts the flora and traditional foods in footnotes and endnotes, and even adds a “playlist” of all the music pieces mentioned.

And, because this is a story of lyricism and enchantment, even readers familiar with such elements will find themselves on a mystical stroll through the earthworm’s garden (“gauzy in sunshine”), as if striving to recall a fond but fleeting dream.

Sisters Chalika and Chareeya are raised in Nakhon Pathom, in Nakhon Chai Si district, and are treated to occasional chaperoned outings to wondrous Bangkok.

After their mother discovers their father having an affair with a classical dancer, the marriage devolves into subdued but seething disappointment. When the broken-hearted father dies, he’s buried in the backyard without love or grace, food for the worms, his unforgiving wife sitting vigil lest other usurpers approach, her tears moistening the ground, until she too dies, both parents lost to the labyrinth.

The girls fall into the care of a non-conformist uncle who’s travelled overseas and introduces them to jazz, classical music and foreign cuisine. A shy boy, Pran, is gradually adopted into their lives and their fates become as intertwined as ivy. Pran eventually rents an apartment close enough to Chareeya’s house that he can smell the flowers in the garden, and watches her discreetly, introducing a curious voyeurism, sensual but never sexual, in which the reader participates.

Another male character is Natee, a veteran of the old communist insurrection who becomes Chalika’s boyfriend but verbally abuses her for her bourgeois attitudes.

Admiration for “The Blind Earthworm” has not been universal. Kaona Pongpipat wrote a scathing review in the Bangkok Post soon after its release, objecting to, among other aspects, the TV-soap-style melodrama. But surely the Thai arts – and Buddhist mythology – have always relied on dire circumstances and fortunate salvation.

Rather, if there is criticism to be made of “The Blind Earthworm”, it is simply about “too much of a good thing”. The storytelling is relentlessly ornate, the use of fantastical imagery and surrealistic curlicues so constant that the literary pyrotechnics of the text become tiresome.

Even amid insights into the realities of Thailand’s ongoing political evolution, only occasionally does the telling come to plainspoken passages that serve its themes better. Instead, the message – about living in harmony with nature and with our fellow man – tends to get overrun in the tendrils of an overripe garden where ecstasy and melancholy grow side by side.

It would be lovely to see “The Blind Earthworm” come to the screen, perhaps at the hands of Alejandro G Inaritu of “Birdman” fame or Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”) or, maybe, preferably, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang.

But we know there is difficulty in accomplishing this. No one has yet satisfactorily turned Garcia Marquez into cinema, after all. Hence all credit rests with the published story, the imagination expressed in gorgeously detailed lines of print that will forever elude capture.

The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth

By Veeraporn Nitiprapha’

Translated by Kong Rithdee

Published by River Books

(English edition), 2018

Available at Amazon.com, US$16 (Bt520)

Designed on the theme “Heat Winter”, the ecofriendly shopping event will be packed with more than 170 shops offering delectable street food, beverages, fashionable apparel and accessories and also boasts a Cashless Street managed by Siam Commercial Bank that’s home to 50 booths where shoppers can easily pay through their QR Code system.

Sansiri itself is offering limitededition Winter totes or visitors, who check in at the event location “T77 Community” and add the hashtag #WinterMarketFest6 on social media while shoppers bringing their own shopping bags can get more discounts and promotions at participating shops.

In partnership with PTTCG, all food and beverages are served in 100per cent biodegradable plates, cups and utensils and all decorations and furniture are created from recycled materials that will be sorted for further waste management. PTTGC will also offer fun interactive activities and games to raise awareness on waste reduction, proper recycling, composting and garbage sorting.

The third floor of Habito Mall next door will be transformed into the Santa Garden Zone that is home to the Wishing Pond and surrounded by a luminous light and sound experience engineered by the Eyedropper Fills, Thailand’s renowned multimedia designer.

The first floor is home to the Kids Playground Zone by Daikin and pet lovers can romp around the newly opened Bito Yard. A giant threemetretall snowman invites shoppers to take photos and explore its colourful space and write warm and loving messages of inspiration on greeting cards and donate to children in need through Unicef just by scanning their QR code.

Tomorrow, Bell Supol, Praew Kanitkul and Two Popetorn will be on stage. Pop Pongkul and 25 Hours entertain on Sunday along with DJs selected by BEC Radio.

And don’t forget to stop at the Giant Gashapong by Bangkok Bank. This fourmetretall machine of fortune invites you to donate to charity and get a chance to win four air tickets to Hong Kong and Japan, sponsored by Cathay Pacific as well as other exciting gifts.

Shuttle buses are available at Tesco Lotus Onnut (next to BTS Onnut station) as well as at Wat Tai and Wat Mahabut.

Find out more by calling 1685 or visit https://www.facebook.com/events/352911765465721/.