The 42-year-old tycoon, chief executive of Japan’s largest online fashion mall, is the country’s 18th richest person, according to business magazine Forbes.

His Instagram feed is peppered with shots of his luxury living — including private jets, yachts and designer watches, but also his beloved art.

Maezawa hit the headlines last year when he bought a Jean-Michel Basquiat masterpiece worth $110.5 million.

But he also often features in the tabloid glossies for his celebrity love life.

He used to date the ex-wife of professional baseball player Yu Darvish, pitcher at US major league team Chicago Cubs and is now reportedly with Japanese actress Ayame Goriki.

The entrepreneur has a passion for modern art and splashed a record sum for Basquiat’s 1982 “Untitled”, a skull-like head in oil-stick, acrylic and spray paint on a giant canvas.

Maezawa founded the Contemporary Art Foundation in Tokyo and was on the 2017 list of “Top 200 Collectors” of the ARTnews magazine based in New York.

He insists he is just an “ordinary collector” — despite his extraordinary bank balance. His purchases are born out of love and driven by gut instinct, rather than the instructions of any art advisor.

“I buy simply because they are beautiful. That’s all. I enjoy classics together with the history and stories behind them, but possessing classics is not the purpose of my purchase,” he told AFP in an interview last year.

And rather than squirrel the work away, he loaned it out to museums including the Brooklyn Museum, in the artist’s hometown.

“I hope it brings as much joy to others as it does to me, and that this masterpiece by the 21-year-old Basquiat inspires our future generations,” he said.

Art was high on his mind when he announced he would blast into space on a SpaceX rocket in 2023, saying he would invite six to eight artists from around the world with him.

“They will be asked to create something after they return to Earth. These masterpieces will inspire the dreamer within all of us,” he told reporters.

He has already shown his appreciation for Musk’s space programme, tweeting his congratulations for the successful launch of Falcon Heavy in February.

“I am moved that I shared the historic moment on the scene. I am so thrilled and encouraged I can’t put it into words,” his tweet said.

‘Routine work’

As a young man, Maezawa had aspirations in the music world and was a drummer with a band named Switch Style, which made its debut in 2000.

In an interview with corporate affairs website Nippon Shacho, he said he eventually discovered that the business world was more creative than music.

Writing songs, releasing albums and touring the country performing was “gradually becoming routine work,” he told the website.

“We were about to become salary worker-like musicians,” he said, referring to the famous Japanese “salaryman” businessman.

Even before the band’s debut, he was dabbling in business, founding Start Today, which operates online fashion shopping site ZOZOTOWN.

Start Today is now a publicly listed company with 900 employees according to its website.

He said his company has grown because he and his staff “are doing what we enjoy.”

“We love clothes, and we love our colleagues who love clothes. We are doing business as an extension of our hobby,” he said.

“Never trust your comrades,” may have been the last words that flashed through Bo Let Ya’s mind as he fell in a hail of M16 bullets. The assault by Karen rebels on his Thailand-Myanmar border stronghold came in November 1978. Three decades before, he had helped liberate Myanmar from British rule as a member of the Thirty Comrades.

Born Hla Pe in 1911 in Pyinmana, central Burma, to a civil servant father and half-Chinese mother, Bo Let Ya was well placed to become a revolutionary intellectual. As a student he joined the liberation movement, desperate to free his country from foreign occupation. He became a close friend of Aung San, and went on to serve as the right-hand man of modern Burma’s founding father.

Dr Khin Let Ya, his eldest daughter, has spent the past three decades tracing Bo Let Ya’s revolutionary path for her book “Burma’s Fate: Vision and Struggle for Independence, Unity and Development”.

In it she tracks her father’s journey through the struggle against colonial rule, the transition administration and his revolt against Ne Win’s dictatorship.

Burma’s fight for independence was waged against the backdrop of World War II with strong support from the Japanese Imperial Army. The author describes how Aung San and Bo Let Ya travelled for military training on the occupied island of Hainan, China, where they were taught strategies for command and administration. Meanwhile their wily comrade Shu Maung (Ne Win) chose battlefield-command training, a decision that paid off. Aung San and Bo Let Ya became skilled in civilian administration, but Ne Win’s military training saw him rise to lead the country with an iron fist from 1962 to 1988.

The three were leading members of the Thirty Comrades, the embryo around which the Burma Independence Army formed in Thailand, in December 1941, dispatching volunteers to fight in Myanmar.

After independence, Bo Let Ya played a key role in the administration, rising to become defence minister, before Ne Win took power in the coup of 1962 and promptly threw his former comrade in jail. Bo Let Ya spent much of his four years in Insein Prison painting artworks that were later collected and published by Khin Let Ya.

In 1969 he joined up with former prime minister U Nu and formed the Parliamentary Democracy Party (PDP) in Thailand, taking the fight to Ne Win’s regime until his last day in 1978. But the two rebel leaders failed to see eye to eye. While U Nu lived a relatively comfortable life of exile in Bangkok, Bo Let Ya’s focus was firmly on the Myanmar border. He rented a house in Kanchanaburi’s Sangkhla district from where he could monitor his homeland.

Burma’s brightest and best had been united by the struggle against British rule, but faced with a home-grown dictator, fractures quickly began to appear. “Within the first year of the PDP’s formation, different factions had developed within the party, to Bo Let Ya’s dismay,” writes Khin Let Ya. She adds that financing the struggle was also a major problem: “funds weren’t forthcoming while U Nu was leading the revolution. There were reports of mismanagement of funds by his son.”

PDP’s armed wing, the People’s Revolutionary Army, was not strong enough to stand against the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) alone, so it worked together with armed ethnic groups of Shan, Karen, Mon and Shin. Unfortunately, U Nu had fallen out with the powerful Karen militants.

Change came when the Thai government asked U Nu to leave the country in 1973, and Bo Let Ya took leadership of the PDP. But by that time serious differences had emerged between the PDP and ethnic groups. While the objective of the Burmese PDP was nationwide democracy, the ethnic armies were fighting for autonomy in their respective states.

By 1975 the political situation in neighbouring Thailand had swung against Burma’s rebels. After a massacre of students at Thammasat University in October 1976, ultra-rightist leaders dominated Thai politics, making it difficult for the Burmese resistance to use Thailand as their launching pad against Ne Win.

Bo Let Ya was in poor health. Entrusted with his care was Dr Mahn Myint Saing, a Karen physician who happened to be married to a niece of Bo Let Ya’s wife. However, the doctor took advantage of his trusted position to embezzle military funds.

Bo Let Ya’s only son, Aung Let Ya, who had joined the resistance movement in 1969, quarrelled with the doctor over the funding problem. He was shot dead in an ambush in July 1978, less than five months before the assassination of his father.

On the morning of November 27, 1978, as Bo Let Ya was heading towards the toilet at his jungle camp in Prachuap Khiri Khan, he was shot dead by suspected Karen fighters. The author points the finger at Mahn Myint Saing, who allegedly colluded with business interests and Karen rebels to seize Bo Let Ya’s stronghold for logging.

Three of his four bodyguards were also killed in the attack. The fourth is suspected of being the informant who aided the Karen attack. The assassination of Bo Let Ya was the final chapter of the resistance movement, after which fellow rebels were granted amnesty to return home.

The author and her family waited nearly a year before receiving final confirmation that her father was dead. But Bo Let Ya never made it back to his beloved homeland. His remains lie lost in an unmarked grave somewhere on a hillside in Thailand.

Ariya Banomyong, managing director of Line Thailand said: “Powered by our massive user base of 42 million users in Thailand, Line sees an opportunity to bring people who have the same interests together, building up communities by using our platform as a space where people get together, share ideas and update trends on their favourite topics. Line Square will be the largest real-time community in Thailand where users can access various communities, share ideas and engage with topics. It will serve as an all-in-one community platform integrated with Line’s chat application so users don’t have to log in to another website to connect with communities.”

Access to most of the web communities in Thailand is scattered, she added. Users need to look for their preferred communities by themselves and go through various platforms. There is no main hub that would allow them to choose the community based on their interests. Interaction within most communities in Thailand is still based on one-way-communication by posts and comments only, lacking real time engagement for users.

Line Square expects to become a massive community platform, offering users easy access to various communities within, and ease of use with a user-friendly experience. Simultaneous post-and-chat features allow users to interact freely either to discuss or share opinions instantly with new friends by the Chat feature, or to keep up-to-date with the latest movements of your favourite topics from the Post feature.

Tailor-made topic is also a highlighted feature. Line Square allows users to create a main topic while numerous sub-communities in the form of chat rooms can be generated under the square and customised freely by user’s preference to make the community more fun and specific.

For example, fans can create a square for a certain K-Pop boy band consisting of various chat rooms defined by objective (such as “Schedule update”, “Gossip news”, “Fan art” and “Event gallery”), or a popular running community group ‘Wingnaidee,’ which ranks highly as Top Trends in Line Square, divided into sub-communities by specific areas, such as “Wingnaidee@Suanrodfai”, “Wingnaidee@Chatuchak” and “Wingnaidee@Chiangmai”.

Once Line users in Thailand update the Line app to the latest version, the Line Square will appear in their friend list or timeline. To join the community, users do not need to reveal their private information or their actual Line ID when selecting their profile photo and nickname in each square. They can invite people to enter a Square by using a URL or QR code. In addition, users can join any existing chat room they would like.

To ensure safety, Line has implemented a variety of security measures. For example, users can report any inappropriate content, including text, images and videos. In addition, Line Square has an internal monitoring system, automatically filtering banned words and reporting people who post inappropriate content.

LIKE MOST of today’s smartphones, the new Huawei Nova 3 is more about taking photos than making calls and does this in style with four AI camera systems just made for beautiful portraits.

The Nova 3 is the top of the Nova line, the brand’s series priced lower than the P and Mate flagship phones but not in the least cheap in terms of components and performance.

Powered by Huawei’s flagship Kirin 970 octa-core processor with four cores running at 2.36 GHz and the four other at 1.8GHz, it comes with a generous 6 gigabytes of working memory or RAM and 128 GB of internal storage.

Graphics horsepower comes from a turbo Mali G72 CPU for a fast and smooth gaming experience. Moreover, the smartphone is equipped with Huawei’s Neural Network Procession Unit (NPU) for handling AI (artificial intelligence) functions of the camera without overloading the CPU.

Boasting a sleek metal body a mere 7.37 thick, the back is protected by glass, adding elegance to the overall look while the 6.3-inch FullView display is a good-looking too with 19.5:9 ratio and 2,340 x 1080-pixel resolution. The size and resolution make it perfect for viewing high-res photos and HD video clips. During the test, I had fun watching Full HD movies via the TrueID TV app of TrueVisions.

The Nova 3 runs on Android 8.1 with Huawei’s EMUI 8.2 on top of it for extra performance.

During the test, the apps and touchscreen were very responsive. Games and HD video clips ran fast and smoothly.

I used AnTuTu v7.1.0 to measure its performance and it got an impressive score of 207170 points.

The Nova 3 is also capable of playing High-Resolution Audio of FLAC 24bit/192kHz format. I tested it with Sony’s MDR-1ABT Hi-Res Audio headphones and enjoyed both the good details and powerful bass. Moreover, the nova 3 supports aptX HD Bluetooth audio format so if you buy Bluetooth headphones with aptX HD, you can enjoy Hi-Res Audio songs wirelessly.

The phone also has fast Internet connection. I tested it on TrueMove H’s LTE 4G network and was able to download apps fast and back up snapshots to my Google Photos cloud storage in no time.

I used the Ookla Speedtest app to measure the connection speed and it achieved a download speed of 90.0 Mbps and upload speed of 42.1 Mbps.

But it’s with the portrait shots that the Nova 3 really comes into its own. The background is professionally blurred thanks to the dual camera system using the bokeh effect for both front and rear cameras.

The main front camera has a 24-megapixel image sensor with a bright f/2.0 aperture lens. The secondary camera, which is used for collecting data for the bokeh effect, has 2MP resolution and uses f/2.4 lens.

An AI algorithm recognises 8 scenes and optimising parameters in real time to deliver beautiful and professional looking shots. The eight scenes are Blue sky, Plant, Flower, Beach, Snow, Night, Room and Stage performance.

The front camera’s system also comes with advanced beauty algorithm that enhances and refines your face, making you look young with smooth and fair skin.

An HDR Pro option controls exposure at the hardware level to ensure precision-balanced photographs even in direct sunlight. With the HDR Pro option turned on, you can rest assured that your selfies will look beautiful even in complicated light environments.

The Nova 3’s rear camera uses an 16MP RGB sensor for the main camera and a 24MP monochrome sensor for shooting in native monochrome output. The resolution captured from the monochrome sensor is also used for achieving the bokeh effect for the main RGB sensor. Both sensors use very bright f/1.8 aperture lens so they can capture good quality shots even in low-light environments.

Here again, the main camera’s AI Master algorithm can recognise up to 22 different scenes and objects to enhance and deliver impressive shots. The recognised scenes include Group photo, Waterfall, Flower, Portrait, Food, Sunrise/Sunset, Fireworks, Autumn leaves, Panda, Ancient Building, Dog, Cat, and Bike.

The AI Master works in the auto exposure shooting mode, which is called “Photo”.

To capture outstanding subjects with blurred background, you can use the Portrait or Aperture modes.

The Portrait mode allows you to use beautification levels to enhance the look of your subject. You can also select such effects as no lighting, butterfly lighting, soft lighting, split lighting, stage lighting and classic lighting.

In the Aperture mode, you can bring up the aperture value bar and slide it to the desired value. The less value, the more blurred the background will be.

During the test, I captured some beautiful shots in the Photo mode. Using the Aperture mode, I could easily take outstanding subjects with a blurred background.

The Nova 3 comes with good security too, allowing you to unlock the phone with Face ID technology as well as with a finger printer reader at the back.

The phone will guide you to set up your Face ID by turning your face around for the camera to scan.

Battery life is more than adequate too, with the 3,750 mAh capacity allowing me to comfortably survive a day on one charge.

Huawei Nova 3 is available in Black, Red and Iris Purple at the suggested retail price of Bt16,990.

Key Specs

Networks: LTE, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM

OS: Android 8.1.0 with EMUI 8.2 user-interface

CPU: HUAWEI Kirin 970 Octa-Core CPU (4 x Cortex A73 2.36GHz + 4 x Cortex A53 1.8GHz) with Mali G72 GPU

Memory: 6GB

Storage: 128GB, expandable with microSD by up to 256GB

Display: 6.3-inch Full View 19.5:9 LTPS display with 2340×1080 pixels

Cameras: Front: 24MP+2MP, f/2.0+f/2.4 lens; Rear: 16MP RGB with f/1.8 lens + 24MP Monochrome with f/1.8 lens

SIM: Dual nano SIM slots

Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB 2.0

Battery: 3,750 mAh

Dimensions: 156.92 mm x 73.66 mm x 7.37 mm |(H x W x D)

Weight: 165g

BRING THE old-fashioned style of Marshall guitar amps into your home with the firm’s new and upgraded wireless speakers and travel back in time to the heady days of music festivals and their powerful sound.

Now with Wi-Fi capability, the speakers have multi-room function and are defined as such to differentiate them from the earlier Bluetooth version.

The three Wi-Fi models of Marshall are Acton Multi-Room, Stanmore Multi-Room and Woburn Multi-Room.

With the Multi-Room capacity, you can group all the Wi-Fi speakers together with the Marshall app then choose between sending the same playlist of songs to different speakers in different rooms or assigning a different playlist to each speaker.

Best of all, as part of the Wi-Fi capacity, the Marshall speakers come with Chromecast built-in and Spotify Connect function. That means you can use your smartphone as a remote control to direct songs from the Chromecast compatible app for the speaker to handle on its own without the need to use your phone to control the play all the time.

There are, of course, a few steps to get started. First, you need to use the Google Home app to add the Acton to your Wi-Fi router and then the Marshall Multi-Room app to control the speaker to control the music apps that can cast to the speaker.

And if you have a Spotify account, you can use your smartphone to control the Spotify Connect on the speaker to play your Spotify playlist. That’s handy because it means you can still use the phone to make or receive phone calls without disrupting the music as the speaker will directly connect to Spotify’s server to play the music on its own. This also saves the battery life of your smartphone.

And the Wi-Fi Marshall speakers also support Apple AirPlay, allowing you to stream music from your Macbook directly using the Wi-Fi connection.

I got to test the Acton Multi-Room. Although it is tiny at 265 x 160 x 150 mm, it makes up for its size with a powerful sound. It uses a 30-watt Class D amplifier for the woofer and two 10-watt Class D amplifiers for two tweeters that are placed on the left and right side of the woofer.

The speaker uses a bass-reflex cabinet design the enhance bass sounds.

The speaker has good sensitivity of 103 dB and a frequency response of 52 to 20,000 MHz.

Like other Marshall speakers, the Acton Multi-Room has analogue control knobs like a classic Marshall guitar amp. Here too you will find the volume control, with a highest volume of ten.

There are also Bass and Treble control knobs with LED indicators. These allow you to easily fine-tune the music to suite your taste. Forward and backward skip buttons are also provided.

The Acton Multi-Room’s source button is different from the source button of previous Marshall Bluetooth speakers because it comes with preset options and is now called the Source/Preset control knob.

You can use the knob to store up to 7 presets for playing Spotify playlists or Internet radio stations. You can assign your favourite Spotify playlists or Internet radio stations via a Marshall app with the knob directly. And when you are playing an Internet radio station or a Spotify playlist, you can turn the Source knob to one of seven preset positions then press the Source knob for more than three seconds to store the preset. The previous stored preset will be overwritten.

The Acton Multi-Room supports Wi-Fi 802.11 n and ac at 2.4GHz and 5GHz. During the test in my bedroom on the second floor, the Acton Multi-Room had no problem connecting to my Linksys EA-8500 router on the ground floor.

To use the speaker, you need to download and install Marshall Multi-Room app. Among other things, the app is used to control the speaker as a single unit or group them together as a multi-room network of speakers. You can also use the app to adjust the intensity of LEDs and tweak the equaliser.

During the test, I had no problem playing my Spotify playlist on the Acton Multi-Room. I also tried using Sony Music app on Sony XZ Premium, which is compatible with Chromecast, to play music from a network drive, Synology DiskStation DS418. The playback was smooth.

The music quality of Acton Multi-Room is good with clear mid-range and highs and the bass is solid and powerful making the Acton Multi-Room excellent for listening to rock music.

Apart from Wi-Fi connection, Acton Multi-Room also supports Bluetooth 4.2 and it has a 3.5mm input for connecting to a portable music player with an analogue audio cable.

The Marshall Acton-Multi-Room has a suggested retail price of Bt12,990 and is available at http://www.ashop.asia.

Key Specs

Power amplifiers: 1x 30 Watt Class D amplifier for the woofer, 2x 10 Watt Class D amplifiers for the tweeters

Cabinet type: Bass reflex

Sound sensitivity: 103dB

Frequency range: 52-20,000 Hz

Wireless connectivity: AirPlay, Bluetooth 4.2, Chromecast built-in

Wired connectivity: 3.5mm input

Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz

Dimensions: 265 x 160 x 150 mm

Weight: 2.80kg

WITH 26 per cent of its 127-million population now over the age of 65, Japan is today classified as a “super-aged” society. It also has some six million single-person elderly households and a worryingly high proportion of dementia sufferers that tops five million.

Faced with these statistics, the powers that are working hard to provide facilities and products to make homes as safe and secure as possible, a crucial undertaking as 77 per cent of accidents among the elderly occur in the household and almost half of these in the bedroom and living rooms, according to Japan’s Cabinet Office data.

Visitors can try to walk or sit in a wheelchair in a model house designed with comparative barriers as well as barrier-free at Noda Showroom in Shizuoka.

“The first step to make a safe and secure home is to identify the inconveniences and difficulties in daily life and start to address them. The most common are steps, lighting, size of the toilet and the width of door and stairs. Falls and bone fractures make up the majority of home accidents as about 77 per cent of the elderly fall from a standing position causing femoral neck fracture,” says Shiro Izawa, director of Noda Shimizu Showroom of the Noda Corporation.

Flooring materials that absorb shock and are anti-slip, a door that can be opened from both inside and outside without force, walk-fit stairs with supporting handrails and luminescent strips are among products manufactured by Noda, a leading Japanese company that produces building materials for the elderly housing market.

Vittakarn Chandavimol of AP (Thailand) drops a bowling ball to test the shock-absorbing floor tile designed by Noda.

The company’s factory and showroom in Shizuoka – a three-hour drive from Tokyo – doesn’t only offer a wide range of products to improve safety at home for seniors, but also a simulation zone where visitors can experience first-hand what it’s like to be old.

Designed to reduce the risk of fractures when falling, the company’s pride is its 13-mm-thick shock-absorbing floor tile composed of different layers ranging from a special laminate sheet, polyurethane foam cushion material to high density fibreboard, and non-slippery and ammonia-resistant paint.

Izawa demonstrated by dropping a bowling ball from different heights onto the test floor. The floor responded by flexing on impact, rather than a cracked surface.

Visitors are invited to try on an age-simulation outfit to experience the debilitating effects of ageing.

To experience the debilitating effects of old age, visitors are invited to try on an age-simulation suit. Here range of movement-restricting strapping is attached around the main joints – ankles, knees and wrists to reduce flexibility. The outfit is completed with noise-deadening headphones, earplugs and a pair of spectacles recreating different kinds of visual disabilities. The visitor then tries to walk or sit in a wheelchair in a model house designed with comparative barriers as well as barrier-free.

 The doorway has a foldable stool attached to facilitate putting on and taking off shoes.

“I feel like I’m 70! The steel-weighted suit makes walking and turning round more difficult. I can’t hear well and my visual field is a white mist. It slows me down and reduces any flexibility and I feel quite anxious when going up and down stairs. I realise how it is important to make improvements to a house that are well suited to older people’s needs,” says a visitor in her 30s.

In the model house, the doorway has a foldable stool attached to facilitate putting on and taking off shoes. The floors and the steps are designed two ways for comparison – in similar colours and in contrasting shades.

A clear contrast between floors and steps are important for the elderly to clearly distinguish the junction point. 

“As people age, many changes occur that affect vision and colour perception. There should be a clear contrast between floors and steps so that the junction can be distinguished easily,” adds Izawa.

Stairways with high and low steps can also be tried out. For people with limited mobility, stair width should be about 990 mm, with step height and width 160 and 267 mm respectively. Solid handrails and luminescent strips that glow in the dark along the stairway are also important.

The corridors should be around 920-mm wide, making it easy to turn around in a wheelchair.

In remodelling a home for elderly residents, Izawa suggests that corridors should be around 920 mm wide, making it easy to turn around in a wheelchair. The company also has universal design doors – sliding, folding and two-way – that can fit limited spaces. The doors can sport a clear frame in which pictures of people can be inserted, helping those with dementia to recognise which is their room and their caretakers to look inside the room. Electric wall sockets should be about 40-45 cm for the low position and 90cm-1m for the upper.

The usual size of the toilet in Japan is about 780 mm but the appropriate size for a wheelchair is 1.69 metre.

“The usual size of the toilet in Japan is about 780 mm but the appropriate size for a wheelchair is 1.69 metres. We also have L-shaped easy-access toilets with sliding and assisting doors, allowing more space for both an elderly person in a wheelchair and a caretaker. The maximum opening size should be one metre,” he says.

The L-shaped easy-access toilet with sliding doors, allowing more space for both an elderly person in a wheelchair and a caretaker. 

In Japan, the share of single-person households, already the largest at 34 per cent as of 2015, is expected to grow further to 39 per cent by 2040, according to a report by the Japan Times. Meanwhile, households with married couples and children, which used to account for more than 40 per cent of the total, are projected to slip to 23 per cent. With these projections underlining the changes in demographic make up and the strong increase in the greying population, Japan is being urged to develop improved security structures to support seniors living on their own.

The door can be opened from both inside and outside without any force.

Thailand’s current population is estimated about 68 million and the number of people aged 60 or over currently stands at about eight million, accounting for 13 per cent of the population. The country is set to become a super-aged society in less than two decades when elderly citizens (age 65 and over) will exceed 20 per cent of the total population.

The United Nations’ World Population Ageing data covering countries in Asia also show that in 2030, the proportion of elderly people in Thailand will increase to 19 per cent, putting it in third place after Japan and Singapore.

 Stairways with high and low steps can also be tried out.

To learn how Japan is coping with its ageing society so it can keep up with the growing senior population in Thailand, real estate developer AP (Thailand) is expanding its urban condominium portfolio catering to Generation X, defined as those between 37 and 57 years old and born between 1961-1981.

“Gen-X accounts for 32 per cent of the total population and they will become what we call the ‘young old’ in the near future,” says chief of corporate strategy and creation Vittakarn Chandavimol. “These people have different behaviours from the baby boomers. They’ve learned from their parents’ experiences, so they are financially prepared for retirement, open to technology and social activities and lead an active lifestyle. They don’t expect their children to care for them and so their main concern is self-care.”

Residences and communities for the elderly are often located deep in the provinces and far from urban conveniences, but homes for the “young old” wanting to maintain an active lifestyle should be in the urban area, he says. AP is planning to launch a pilot condominium project in 2020 in the Sathorn-Taksin area, only five minutes away from Wutthakat Skytrain station.

Shiro Izawa of Noda suggests the appropriate height of electric sockets.

“The design concept is based on intergeneration living with three core ideas. Rethink Space is where universal design principles are used to design a space for all generations. Redefine Living is to deliver prime urban location, larger common areas and the use of technology to make life convenient and safe. Remodel Community is to develop a physically and psychologically healthy life,” says Vittakarn.

The estate segment in providing houses designed for people in the active ageing category is growing. Housing of this kind can incorporate a universal design that is suitable for all family members living with elderly parents.

Kasikorn Research Centre estimates that investment in large retirement community projects between 2018 and 2020 will reach about Bt6 billion, leading to accumulated investment of about Bt27 billion by 2020.

Kasikorn adds that many investors have seized on the potential of businesses that cater to the growing number of senior citizens, whose ranks make up almost 20 per cent of the population. The investment in retirement estates in suburban Bangkok and other provinces between 2012 and 2017 was Bt17.7 billion.

The writer’s trip was made possible courtesy of AP (Thailand).

This year will see the launch of the “25 For 25 Sprint”, a sprint-distance triathlon race of 25 kilometres (swim 0.5km, bike 18.5km and run 6km), and a new “Run for Fun, Run for Kids” led by charity ambassador, actress Rachwin “Koy” Wongviriya. Other activities include the “Tri Tips & Tricks” session led by Witthaya Maneejakr and Jaray Jearanai, and workshops on swimming techniques, sport nutrition, running, cycling and triathlons.

Registration is also available online at http://www.LagunaphuketTri.com until November 11.

Find out more by calling (076) 362 300 extension 1404 or visit Facebook @LagunaPhuketTri.

Eat, drink and be merry

137 Pillars Suites & Residences, the luxury boutique hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 39, is celebrating the world’s largest festival, Oktoberfest, at its Jamjuree Garden over three weekends: September 22-23, September 28-30, and October 5-7, from 5pm to midnight.

There will craft beer, Paulaner’s famed Oktoberfest Bier and traditional German food plus live music.

Find out more at (02) 079 7000 or visit http://www.137PillarsHotels.com.

Talking digital

The Prof Sangvian Indaravijaya Foundation, in collaboration with XMBA and Thammasat University’s Faculty of Commerce and Accounting is hosting the “Prof Sangvian Forum 2018” at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre on September 17 from 6 to 9pm.

Held on the theme “Digital Economy & Transformation”, speakers include Dr Suvit Maesincee, Minister of Science and Technology.

Tickets cost Bt3,000 including the gala dinner.

Make your reservation at (061) 591 3999 or email anyawan@gmail.com.

Romance on the road

“Bus Stop”, a romantic comedy by William Inge, will be performed in the conference room of BNH Hospital Bangkok in Soi Convent on September 20-22 and 27-29 at 7.30pm.

Directed by Michael Allman and produced by Charles Chester and Don Harrelson, the romantic comedy starts in the middle of a howling snowstorm when a bus out of Kansas City pulls up at a cheerful roadside diner. All roads are blocked, and four weary travellers are going to have to hole up until morning. They are Cherie, a nightclub singer, the 21-year-old cowboy who’s pursuing her, a middle-aged scholar, the bus driver, the owner of the diner and a young girl who works there.

Tickets cost Bt500 at http://www.BangkokCommunityTheatre.com.

The Supreme Court’s historic decision last week to scrap a colonial-era ban on gay sex sparked joy as activists held rainbow-coloured celebrations across the country.

Now the community can expect to see businesses lining up to offer a range of tailored products, in fashion, health and other industries, providing a massive boost to Asia’s third-biggest economy.

“It can bring billions of dollars to the Indian economy if they can activate the spending of gay people in India,” Keshav Suri, a hotelier and petitioner in the landmark case, told AFP.

“There is business to be done, real estate to be bought and sold, holidays and all the services that go with that.

“The value of the pink economy and the social aspects of the LGBT community are too large now for us to ignore,” added Suri, executive director of the Lalit hotel group.

India is home to more than 55 million LGBT adults, according to Out Now Consulting, a marketing agency that helps businesses target gay and lesbian consumers.

Their nominal income is around $113 billion annually, the firm estimates. LGBT couples have fewer children than other groups and higher-than-average salaries, meaning plenty of disposable cash.

“They represent one of the world’s largest LGBT markets,” Ian Johnson, the founder of the Australia-based Out Now Consulting, told AFP.

He predicts that drinks brands and travel companies will be the first to target the LGBT community following the scrapping of Section 377, which was introduced 157 years ago.

LGBT bars, clubs and cafes will provide new employment and boost sales in the food and alcohol industries while people will be able to attend holidays designed specifically for the gay market without fear of legal reprisal.

Nakshatra Bagwe, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur, runs The BackPack Travels, a company specialising in organising trips for LGBT tourists.

He says it has been profitable since it was set up in October 2016 but he expects to see an increase in revenue following the law change.

“With legality and freedom on our side businesses will invest in the community and opportunities will increase in the coming years,” he told AFP.

Legal and free

Inder Vhatwar, another businessman based in India’s financial capital, also hopes to profit from the ruling by judges who said members of the gay community deserve an apology for the treatment they have suffered.

Shortly after gay sex was briefly decriminalised before by the Delhi High Court in 2009, Vhatwar opened a store called D’Kloset in Mumbai’s trendy neighbourhood of Bandra, where several Bollywood stars live.

He sold glitzy clothes, handbags and party masks but after the ban was reinstated in 2013 Vhatwar was evicted by his landlord.

“I faced a lot of challenges due to Section 377 and had to shut down but with this recent judgement I am planning to start the store again,” the 37-year-old told AFP.

Gay sex has long been a taboo subject for many in socially conservative India, with religious groups in particular fiercely opposing any liberalisation of sexual morality.

The World Bank said in a 2014 report that homophobic attitudes and a reluctance to hire LGBT people hampered India’s economic growth by up to 1.7 percent annually.

Research shows that LGBT-friendly policies in the workplace, such as equality training and non-discriminatory hiring practices, can boost profitability.

Activists hope the court ruling will help shift attitudes and boost the LGBT community’s economic engagement as the commercial benefits are realised.

“The LGBT community is definitely an untapped market. The business potential is huge and set to grow,” Parmesh Shahani, who heads up the cultural arm of India’s Godrej conglomerate, told AFP.

“The verdict will catalyse change and more companies will invest in products and services catering to the community. I hope the judgment creates more jobs and companies vie for LGBTQ talent,” he added.

Spanning 437 square metres on the fourth level, the zone offers over 3,00 items, including spa and beauty products, souvenirs, lifestyle products and Thai herbs, food and snacks.

Based on the concept “Celebrate Localnity (local-community) Everyday Thai Gift”, Discover Thai was created as the answer to the unmet need identified in studies on customer behaviour and consumer insights.

“Thai customers want to find suitable gifts for their foreign friends or business partners, while foreign tourists want to buy memorable Thai souvenirs to take home.

“However, they were often unable to find a one-stop destination that could fulfil all their needs in terms of product quality, price and design,” said Usara Yongpiyakul, chief executive officer of Siam Piwat Retail Holding Co.

The spa products are selected for high quality and well-designed packaging, reflecting Thai values and perfect as premium gifts. The available brands include Bath & Bloom, Akaliko, Shidara, Pranali and Urbanban.

The beauty products include leading Thai brands of cosmetics and skin nourishment products such Mistine, Voodoo, ELE, Snail White, Ramayana and Water Angel.

Lifestyle products are made from natural materials found in Thailand and reflect local wisdom, but are designed to suit modern international lifestyle trends.

Examples of the products in this category are Parcharakorn’s scarves and ties, Busaba’s Pa Kao Ma-inspired products, Siam Original’s modern jewellery made from authentic silver, Shadara’s spa clothing, Eleph’s elephant bags, Juno’s contemporary Asian bags, and Siam Bronze Factory’s bronze, stainless and copper works.

Souvenirs are elegantly designed and meticulously crafted with a unique Thai appearance and a modern touch. The selection of souvenirs includes T Original’s Bangkok magnets, Op Post Card’s postcards with stylish designs, and T Jack’s pop-up cards featuring famous Bangkok’s landmarks.

Herbal products reflect Thai wisdom in medicinal properties of local herbs. The world-famous herbal products available include Tiger Balm products, Siang Pure ointments, and Jan Hom massaging oil.

Food and snack products accurately represent authentic Thai culinary traditions that have become global hits.

They include Thai Aree’s beef noodle, Tom Yum soup and paste, Maetuk’s dried Som Tam papaya salad, Mon Chan’s Pla Ra source and dried Khanom Chin noodle, Spice Story’s Tom Yum paste, pepper and other spices, and Happy Plus’s DIY durian and coconut milk ice cream.

There are also snacks of various popular Thai brands such as Freppy, Tamarind House, Almilk, Benefruit and J Fruit.

“Not only is Discover Thai offering a thoughtful and wide selection of gifts and souvenirs based on the needs of customers, we are also providing services to deliver these products to the tourists’ hotels. This will allow our customers to carry on with the day without having to bother with bags,” added Usara.

For details, visit http://www.Facebook.com/siamdiscovery or call (02) 658 1000.

Some 35 percent of kids aged 13 to 17 years old said they would rather send a text than meet up with people, which received 32 percent.

The last time the media and technology-focused nonprofit conducted such a survey in 2012, meeting face-to-face hit 49 percent, far ahead of texting’s 33 percent.

More than two-thirds of American teens choose remote communication — including texting, social media, video conversation and phone conversation — when they can, according to the study.

In 2012 less than half of them marked a similar preference.

Notably, in the six-year span between the two studies the proportion of 13 to 17-year-olds with their own smartphone increased from 41 to 89 percent.

As for social networks, 81 percent of respondents said online exchange is part of their lives, with 32 percent calling it “extremely” or “very” important.

The most-used platform for this age group is Snapchat (63 percent), followed by Instagram (61 percent) and Facebook (43 percent).

Some 54 percent of the teens who use social networks said it steals attention away from those in their physical presence.

Two-fifths of them said time spent on social media prevents them from spending more time with friends in person.

The study was conducted online with a sample of 1,141 young people ages 13 to 17, from March 22 to April 10.