THE NATION ASIANEWS March 22-28, 2009

THE NATION ASIANEWS March 22-28, 2009

TRAVEL, FOOD & DRINK, STYLE, ARTS AND TRENDS IN ASIA

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Warhol wigs on

TRAVEL, FOOD & DRINK, STYLE, ARTS AND TRENDS IN ASIA THE NATION ASIANEWS

March 22-28, 2009

PHOTOS/EKKARAT SUKPETCH

ANYROOM ANYTIME

P8

LIN-FA LIVES ON

P13

COVER

CENTERPOINT IS BACK! p9-11

Around Asia

MILEAGE FOR PETS

P14-15 C o v er / K r i angsak T angjerdjarad

BEAUTIFUL KAIPING

GWEN LU STANDS OUT

P32-33

P29

CREATIVE MIX

P20-21 team

Editor: Phatarawadee Phataranawik | Deputy Editor: Khetsirin Pholdhampalit | Photo Editor: Kriangsak Tangjerdjarad | Photographers: Ekkarat Sukpetch and Kittinun Rodsupan| Writers: Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul and Pattarawadee Saengmanee | Contributor: Pawit Mahasarinand and JC Eversole| Designers: Nibhon Appakarn, Pradit Phulsarikij, Ekkapob Preechasilp | Copy-editors: Luci Standley and Rod Borrowman | Sub-editor: Paul Dorsey | Contact: www.nationmultimedia.com, e-mail: ace@nationgroup.com. (02) 338 3461 ACE is published by NMG News Co LTD at 1854 Bangna-Trat Road, Bangkok

p h otocou r tes y pleats please

What’s Hot

Pleats that compete

I

ssey Miyake has opened a store in Bangkok stocking his Pleats Please line.

Club 21 has helped the Japanese maestro get set up on the second floor of Siam Discovery, with a design by

Keisuke Fujiwara: all white, the better to show off Miyake’s colourful outfits.

One corner, though, is all earthtone clothes, that funky “less is more” concept. Less? Not when it comes to prices.

T

he Bangkok Art and Culture Centre is offering a sneak preview of the Thai art project going on display at the p r e s t i g i o u s Ve n i c e Biennale in Italy in June.

From Thursday to March 30, you can see “Gondola al Paradiso

| |

Co Ltd”, a mock tour agency by Michael Shaowanasai, Sakarin Krueon, Sudsiri Puiock, Suporn Chusongdej and Wa n t a n e e Siripattananuntakul that asks whether the image of Thailand is real or an illusion.

Check it out at www.

GondolaAlParadiso. com. The centre is at the Pathumwan intersection opposite MBK and open daily from 10 to 9. Visit www.BACC.or.th.

Size does matter for iPod

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P h oto / A P

Before Thailand sails to Venice...

pple unveiled a new version of its megapopular iPod last week, calling it “the world’s smallest music player” with a new feature that speaks to its owner.

The new iPod Shuffle, which is smaller than an AA battery, includes a feature that voices song titles, artists and playlist names.

It’s selling for $79 - that’s Bt2,820 - in the US. The iPod Shuffle supports 14 languages: English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mand a r i n C h i n e s e , Po l i s h , Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

- AFP March 22-28, 2009

Trends

Nanta

Sa Choom

Speak less, shake more, travel further Non-verbal theatre is leaping language barriers into the hearts of people all over the world

Pawit Mahasarinand

E

asy to read they might be, but let’s face it, those surtitles at foreign-language plays are a pain in the neck — sometimes literally. Like a tennis spectator you move your head from side to side trying to keep up with the action, but often miss the point entirely.

Playing a different game altogether is non-verbal theatre, whose extraordinary dance moves, visual comedy, pulsating lighting effects and audience participation are becoming a big hit.

Non-verbal theatre came crashing to the world’s attention with the dancing drummers of Stomp, who thrashed everything from garbage bins to each other in Edinburgh, New York and London.

Shortly after, South Korea served up its own show, “Nanta”, a comic story about a bunch of overworked chefs that’s now one of Seoul’s top 10 tourist attractions. The Koreans were also responsible for the high-kicking “Jump” and “Break Out” — kung fu and hiphop shows respectively — which Bangkok got a taste of last year.

Following the same flight path is Ja-

pan’s Condors, an 11-member, all-male company that’s launching its “Conquest of Mars” this weekend in Kuala Lumpur before heading south to Singapore next weekend.

The Condors use high-school uniforms, slapstick humour and overblown video imagery to take satirical shots at Japanese pop culture.

Impressed by their bite in the Big Apple, the New York Times raved, “An irrepressible, irreverent bunch of nicely ill-assorted sizes and presences, the men were impressive in their comic timing and knowledge of dance styles.”

A follow-up to their “Conquest of Jupiter”, “Mars” is made up of short scenes comprising commercials, animation, straight theatre and dance. At first it seems to be a meaningless jumble, but the parts gradually kaleidoscope together to give the audience a colourful picture of the important things in life.

And so, Thai producers, any ideas?

No dumb shows

For more on “Nanta”, visit www.Nanta.co.kr; for Condors, www.Condors.jp.

Condors March 22-28, 2009

|5|

Trends

Facebook gets more un Networkers now have an array of games and other interactive gear via iPhone applications

F

acebook is letting users of its flourishing social-networking community play together on the road by using Apple’s popular iPhone and iPod Touch mobile devices.

Facebook senior platform manager Dave Morin revealed the news last weekend, flanked by an array of hip social-software makers at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.

“For the first time, your iPhone apps can now have friends,” Morin said as colleagues demonstrated applications that expand the borders of Facebook’s online community onto iPhones and iPod Touch devices.

Facebook Connect for the iPhone debuted with nine applications available at Apple’s online iTunes store, and a promise that more will launch in coming weeks.

Mini-software programs tailored to mesh with the Face|6|

book operating platform let social-networking service users play games with each other online, share restaurant reviews while on the move, and locate friends.

Facebook members can use the community-oriented applications through iPhones as they would if they were connecting through a home computer.

Facebook launched Connect last year as a way to break down the walls between the networking service and other websites and services on the Internet.

Applications demonstrated to applause from a packed conference room in Austin included a “Who has the Biggest Brain” game by Playfish and a new SGN “Agency Wars” game enabling users to play government spies.

“Agency Wars” lets people pretend to be members of agencies such as the CIA or MI6 and work as mobile teams on missions while becoming “the most deadly spy around”.

“Who has the Biggest Brain?”

has been played by more than 15 million people since it launched on Facebook in 2007. The App Store now has a version that lets Facebook users train their brains while on the go.

“In addition to Facebook and other social utilities, we believe iPhone and iPod touch represent the next generation of entertainment platforms,” said Playfish chief executive Kristian Segerstrale.

Other Facebook-oriented applications premiering at the App Store include Urbanspoon restaurant review-sharing service and Flixster film recommendation website, along with games “iBowl”, “Live Poker” and “Tap Tap Revenge 2”.

“Win or lose, you’ll have the option to publish a story back to Facebook, where all of your friends can see it,” said Facebook engineer Joe Hewitt.

— Agence France-Presse March 22-28, 2009

D Pandering to pop The master of ‘60’s and ‘70’s pop art is celebrated with a Paris revival

March 22-28, 2009

ays before the opening of the world’s first major show of portraits

by Andy Warhol, wacky designer and one-time Warhol associate Jean-Charles de Castelbajac paid his own tribute to the “Pope of Pop”.

“He was more than an artist, he is an icon,” commented de Castelbajac, a member of Warhol’s art and fashion celebrity circles of the 1970s and 1980s.

Ahead of Wednesday’s launch of the “Warhol’s Wide World” exhibition at the Grand Palais, the French designer paraded funky dresses at Fashion Week, printed with a photo of the pop art legend and topped with a fake shock of his white mop-like hair.

Adding a Warholesque touch of art as a mirror of society, the designer trotted out a dress emblazoned with a picture of President Barack Obama and added slogans reading “15 seconds of fame” — a play on Warhol’s famed quote on the fleeting condition of celebrity, “15 minutes of fame”.

From Marilyn Monroe to Chairman Mao, as well as art dealers, business leaders and royals, the Paris portrait show running to July 13 paints a broadbrush picture of society through the ’60s until the ’80s.

Some of the 130 works on display are coming out of private collections for the first time.

Between 1972 and 1986, the year before his death, Warhol produced 1,000 portraits, or nearly one a week, many of them ordered by clients at a set price of US$25,000 apiece.

The Frenchman first met the US artist in 1970 in Italy, then in New York where Warhol acquired a “poncho for two”, one of de Castelbajac’s own iconic creations.

“I had the shock of my life when I went to the Factory to bring him the poncho,” he said, recounting the visit to the hip underground hangout frequented by the likes of Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Truman Capote and Mick Jagger.

“It was my first vision of transversality, totally different from fashion, which is individualistic and self-centred.

“Today you can find neo-Warhol everywhere, in boutiques, souvenir shops, wherever. Yet the Warhol art virus was spawned before the Internet. Imagine what it would’ve been like today.”

— Claire Rosemberg, Agence France-Presse |7|

Go SHOPPING

And not just

any house Anyroom will build you a sleek home of imported pine to fill with its furniture and wares Pattarawadee Saengmanee

P h oto / E kka r at S ukepetc h and P h oto cou r tes y of A n y r oom

A

rchitect Duangrit Bunnag’s store Anyroom is escalating creative living beyond furniture to offer whole houses. They can build you a home in just four months.

The shop is marking its 12th anniversary with the “Anyroomhouse” - an 80-square-metre prefabricated residence designed by Duangrit.

There are four types, each named for a European city: the Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Stockholm. The prices range from Bt3.2 million to Bt3.45 million.

The layouts are simple, functional and smart, geared to constrained budgets with a “one size fits all” concept.

You get a bedroom, living room and bathroom, and some plans also have pantries, dining rooms and dressing areas.

They’re made of 60-year-old Finnish pine and furnished with good-quality sanitary ware and air-conditioning.

“A lot of my friends and fans of my work have said they’d love to live in a house I designed but they can’t afford to hire me,” says Duangrit. | |

The Anyroomhouse comes in four designs for around Bt3.3 million.

“So the Anyroomhouse isn’t just my architecture - it’s like Plop down on a building a house for my Hed mushroom-like friends.” stool of mango Meanwhile, if you’re not lookwood for Bt4,900. ing for a whole new house, you can still furnish your abode with the store’s latest curved wooden The ‘1974 Colours’ chairs mingle furniture and imported decor. rubber-tree wood with acrylics This year’s designs keep the in green, red, orange and black. environment in mind. The The price is Bt7,900. wood of Thai rubber and mango trees is among the materials used.

If you live in a condo there are smaller items, and everything still looks playful and cool.

Brighten your The Carpenter’s Table is made dining table from Italian green marble, the with glasses The Galgatta is a dining table “1974 Colours” chairs of rubber in tints of yellow, with curved oak wood and acrylics. legs. It sells for Check out the cellulose bee- orange, blue, green and Bt79,000. hive-shaped bookshelves, the grey. Each Shang Hai - a round, red wood- costs Bt150. en table - and the Hed, which is a mushroom-like wooden stool.

Abodes to abide in There’s also a selection Anyroom is on the fourth floor of of glassware by Henry the Siam Discovery Centre and Dean that’s imported from open daily from 10 to 10. Call Belgium and Areaware’s (02) 658 0583 or (02) 658 0580alarm clocks, designed by 1 or visit at www.Anyroom.com.

American Jonas Demon.

March 22-28, 2009

Cover

CENTERPOINT PHOTOS/EKKARAT SUKPETCH

IN THE SKY CentralWorld cools down the teenage mecca of fun with air-conditioning, but believe us – it’s still hot

March 22-28, 2009

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COVER

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

C

enterpoint, where Bangkok teens have long loved to hang out – originally in Siam Square – has been reborn at CentralWorld following 18 months at Major Cineplex.

“The new Centerpoint is cooler, thanks to the air-conditioning, and offers more activities for teenagers to show off their abilities, like at Indy in Town,” says Sukrit “Pee” Taso, a DJ at the Centerpoint music club Sound.

“Originally Centerpoint was only about fashion, but now, with the digital playground Cyberia, there’s a bigger focus on technology,” adds Sujinda “Jeab” Termthanaporn, who spins CDs at Shaker Screen. “I love it.”

Centerpoint opened during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and right from the beginning the morality watchdogs assailed the vendors selling trendy spa| 10 |

ghetti-strap tops for promoting promiscuity.

The boutiques were encouraging free spending and keeping them out of school, they complained.

“It became popular very quickly, so I guess those sort of comments were inevitable,” says Infinity Mall CEO Pornnarit Chuanchaiyasit, who, together with his brother Chayaboon runs the teen hangout. Chayaboon is managing director of Centerpoint Entertainment.

“Even a political candidate who came here to canvas implied that it was a bad place,” Pornnarit says.

“Someone else said there were drugs at Centerpoint and sent 40 policemen to patrol.” The claims were unfounded, he adds, and the backers never lost heart.

“I did take measures against some shops that were selling alcoholic drinks,” says Pornnarit, “even though they could legally selling to booze to people over 20.

“The problem was that the over-20s March 22-28, 2009

were drinking with underage kids.”

The new Centerpoint boasts several stark differences. It’s on the seventh and eighth floors of the mall, it’s airconditioned and, with almost 10,000 square metres of space, it’s 10 times bigger than the original.

The investors put Bt150 million into the project and have a 10-year lease.

“We’re spending a lot more on promotion,” says Pornarrit. “Our Indy in Town event, at the front of CentralWorld, is like a window on advertising.”

The place is dazzling, with walls painted vivid orange and brightly coloured restrooms – red for guys and green for gals.

There’s a theatre called the Playhouse, with 567 seats, and the muchtouted digital playground Cyberia.

Both are on the eighth floor.

“Playhouse will be used for everything from student plays, movies, music event and product launches. It’s booked through April,” Pornnarit says.

“The rental fee is reasonable, varying March 22-28, 2009

from Bt10,000 to Bt20,000.

“Cyberia is much more than an Internet café,” he adds. “It will be used for game competitions and product launches. John Rattanaveroj, who’s the executive producer of both Splash Interactive and Cyberia, wants to link some events with TV programmes, so it will also act as a TV studio.”

The seventh floor boasts the 500sqm Centerpoint Square and Music Club and a kor nor – student committee room.

Designed to resemble Tokyo’s popular Harajuku district, Centerpoint also has boutiques and restaurants with goods imported from Japan. Among them shops are Kimamura, Cherry Blossom, Mini Tokyo, Jikkaroo by Hara, Ta-Ku-Ya, Neo Lolita selling Blythe dolls, and Akiba Kiss, a big name in cosplay.

The bookshop Yumeya has a large stock of manga and is sure to become a hot hangout.

Indy in Town, which takes place

every Friday afternoon, has 300 stalls offering products handmade by teenagers.

“Siam Square has changed a lot,” Pornarrit notes. “It was once an area that really belonged to Thai teenagers, but today it’s surrounded by skyscrapers and noisy traffic.”

“I think an air-conditioned indoor space is better and safer,” says 14-yearold Ririn Wongvaravipa, “but the openair venue was more visible, so more people knew about it.”

Centerpoint, even indoors, shouldn’t have much of a problem getting the word out.

Hip hotlines What’s happening in the teenage universe? Check the latest trends at www.Centerpoint.co.th and www.Centrepoint108.com. | 11 |

Hip Hangout

Fantasy and the

alcohol ban

A

Tea with the PM It’s not exactly Parliament, but you can sit with the MPs – sharing nosh at Democrat headquarters K he t sirin Pholdh ampalit

p h o t o s / E kkarat S u kpetc h

P

olitics might seem a natural topic of conversation at the new coffee shop called A Big Seat at Democrat Party headquarters, but there’s always a chance Abhisit Vejjajiva has slipped into a nearby table when you weren’t looking.

Best watch what you say, just to be safe.

The shop on the ground floor was formerly Sapa Kafe, an affiliate of White Café, but times change. For the Democrats, do they ever!

Now Democrat MP Thanitpol Jayanandana’s wife Vorakanya Na Ranong is running the bistro and, yes, it’s entirely possible that the prime minister and other Dem bigwigs could showing up, especially after their Tuesday party meetings.

Vorakanya calls the décor “English eclectic” – sort of a living room with comfy sofas and old-fashioned wooden chairs and tables, and with quiet corners too.

Soothing pastels contrast with vintage fabrics and cushions for a sweet and cosy atmosphere.

If Abhisit fails to appear in person, you can always sample his favourites from the menu – crispy butterfly cookies and a hot espresso Macchiato.

“The cookie is really popular and | 12 |

customers just ask for ‘the prime minister’s cookie’,” says Vorakanya. “But he’s really too busy nowadays to have time to sit here and relax with coffee and a cookie.”

The hot and cold coffee and tea and iced drinks cost Bt30 to Bt65, and there are goodies from Swiss Bakery & Sausage, which Vorakanya’s family has run for three decades.

With prices ranging from Bt20 to Bt45, the sausages and puff pies are arranged side by side with almond, double chocolate and oat cookies, and you can buy the sausage in bulk too.

Alternatively, there’s a tuna sandwich with potato chip, spinach lasagna and minced-pork spaghetti, nothing costlier than Bt65.

Samak in the kitchen?

A Big Seat is at the Democrat Party’s head office on Setsiri Road, next to Vichaiyuth 1 Hospital. It’s open daily except Sunday from 8.30am to 7pm.

Call (02) 270 2520.

nother ill-conceived attempt at tackling alcohol abuse is being reviewed by the government. Get real, Thailand!

Once again using logic that barely rivals tarot-card readings, a committee is considering, among other things, banning alcohol sales on all public holidays, starting this Songkran, while ignoring programmes proven successful elsewhere.

Curbing alcohol abuse relating to vehicular accidents requires effective, ongoing education programmes and consistent, strict policing of driving-underthe-influence laws.

Health education in public schools needs to emphasise the deleterious effects heavy consumption of alcohol and other drugs can have on one’s personal health and ability to operate motor vehicles.

Adults must be continuously reminded through public-service announcements of the consequences that drinking and driving can have on both families and finances.

Equally important is adequate driver training, with emphasis on the operation of motorcycles, which are involved in the vast majority of accidents, whether as a result of drinking or operator ineptitude.

As for strict and consistent enforcement of drunk-driving laws, the success of such programmes is evident in many other countries where, once implemented, vehicular death and injury rates drop remarkably.

Drinking drivers must be identified at regular random checkpoints, relieved of their right to drive and heavily fined. Designated non-drinking driver programmes need to be stressed.

Paying for all of this is simple: Tax local and imported distilled spirits at the same level charged for wine.

Want to ban alcohol sales? Look how effective the 2-to-5pm ban is. If you want a bottle of beer or whiskey during those hours, simply stop at any non-franchise neighbourhood vendor.

You might also want to review the outcome of the nationwide alcohol ban in the US in the 1920s. It made criminals of millionaires and millionaires of criminals.

Practical programmes rather than fanaticism will make Thailand more responsible in the use and enjoyment of alcoholic beverages.

March 22-28, 2009

Politics on the side A favourite haunt of prime ministers reopens after extensive renovation

A

fter undergoing a complete renovation, the 17-year-old Chinese restaurant Lin-Fa at the Siam City Hotel is once again open, satisfying the cravings of Cantonese-cuisine fans and showing off its rich political history.

A popular haunt with politicians since the 1980s, when then-prime minister Chatichai Choonhavan was a regular guest, Banharn Silpa-archa, Chuan Leekpai and Thaksin Shinawatra continued the tradition of holding discussions over relaxed lunches and dinners. A cabinet displays silk-lined boxes of chopsticks engraved with the names of the various dignitaries.

Current PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has yet to acquire his own chopstick box, perhaps because he favours spaghetti and sushi over dim sum and Peking duck.

Leading design firm P49 has changed the decor from luxurious Chinese teahouse to contemporary dining room in silver and grey. The stylish chrome-fretwork panels blend perfectly with the dark-toned furniture, marble pillars and floral-motif carpet.

An old wooden door leads to the spacious and elegantly decorated room, enhanced by recessed shelving displaying oriental antiques from the collection of hotel owner, Kamala Sukosol.

Diet-conscious diners will be pleased with the menu that offers each dish in three sizes - small, medium and large. The emphasis is still on Cantonese classics, though more tofu and vegetables have been added.

The best-selling dish is still the Peking duck (Bt900), which is prized for its thin and crispy skin, soft pancakes, spring onions and cucumber and sweet sauce.

Another favourite is braised dry fish maw in imperial brown sauce served in a casserole and priced at Bt350 and Bt500.

For dessert, try the ginko nuts flambe with vanilla ice cream for Bt120.

Lin-Fa can accommodate 189 diners and has 10 private rooms suitable for 10 to 40 guests. A special 15–seat conference room comes complete with an LCD projector, allowing guests to conduct meetings while enjoying a gourmet lunch or dinner.

Lin-Fa at the Siam City Hotel is on Sri Ayutthaya Road and is easily reached from BTS Phayathai station. It’s open daily from 11.30 to 2.30 and 6 to 10.30. Call (02) 247 0123 extension 1820.

A 25-per-cent discount is offered on weekdays (excluding dim sum menu) until May 30. All-you-can-eat dim sum is available for lunch on weekends at Bt490++ per person.

March 22-28, 2009

| 13 |

P h o t o s / E kkarat S u kpetc h

K he t sirin Pholdhampalit

Laid-back Think you know

Thailand?

nati o n p h o t o s

The Tourism Authority gooses Thais out on the road with a cheap set of guidebooks – including one for your travelling dog

Koh Kret | 14 |

Sunflower field in Saraburi

March 22-28, 2009

Pattarawadee Saengmanee

W

ith fewer tourists arriving from overseas, now is the time for Thais to take back their country!

In case you’re not familiar with every square metre of it, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has published a series of guides called “Thiew Thoa Thai Lak Style Rai Kheen Chumkad”.

The title means something like “Travel Throughout Thailand without Boundaries and in Unlimited Style”, but they’re all in Thai anyway.

The series is a dozen guides, each just Bt39 and each in turn devoted to a different aspect of the Kingdom. There’s “One-day Trips around Bangkok”, “Elderly but with the Heart of a Traveller”, “Travelling with a Child” and “Opening the World of Tourism for Disabled People”.

Then there’s “Lovely Pet and Traveller”, a handy list of sightseeing destinations and hotels where your dog is just as welcome as your money.

Along with all the where’s and how’s and many beautiful photos, the book offers tips on preparing your pet for his big vacation.

Right off the bat, you and Rover are paddling (in a boat) along the Tha Cheen River in Nakhon Pathom’s Nakhon Chaisi district.

The two-hour cruise tours the orchards and prawn farms before a visit to the Pet Paradise Park, where the canines get their own luxury hotel, training camp, swimming pool, restaurant, racetrack and grocery.

If you can drag your dog away, you can also stay together at the Kaeng Krachan Country Club and Resort in Phetchaburi province, where the speciality is outdoor sports.

The resort has a “lagoon-style” pool, tennis, badminton and basketball courts and a football pitch. They’re mostly for people.

If Fido is fond of nature, head to the lush forest of Kaeng Krachan National Park and have a look at Pa La-U Waterfall.

Or you can sail up the Phetchaburi River and soak up the rural life, explore a mahogany forest and fish on the Kaeng Krachan Dam. The humble town of Saraburi appeals with its array of farms and vineyards. The guidebook recommends the red grapes of Vin De Ray, where you and your best friend can see how wine is made.

In Kaeng Khoi district come November and December there’ll be massive fields of sunflowers in bloom.

This summer head to the long white beaches of Bang Sapan and Ban Krut district.

The guidebook also suggests Koh Talu in Prachuap Khiri Khan, which is a paradise for scuba divers, although finding a facemask and flippers that will fit a dog is never easy, let alone teaching him to breathe through the tube.

Maybe you should stick to the deep limestone valley in Chumphon and the flocks of seabirds on Takiab, Day and Kai islands.

On Nonthaburi’s own island, Koh Kret, a short float across the Chao Phya River, you’ll find charming old temples with beautiful architecture, and hundreds of vendors selling handicrafts and delicious food.

Finally, right at the “top” of the country is Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep-Doi Pui National Park, with its Karen villages and lovely wats.

It’s a big country You can buy the whole set of “Thiew Thoa Thai Lak Style Rai Kheen Chumkad” guidebooks for Bt399, or just pick up the ones you like for Bt39, at the Se-Ed Book Centre, most 7-Elevens or the Tourism Authority office on New Phetburi Road. For more information, call (02) 250 5500, extension 4520-1.

Vineyard at Saraburi

March 22-28, 2009

| 15 |

Laid-back

A couple who appreciate the old ways bless Chiang Mai with a terrific new inn, the Yantarasiri Boutique Resort Pattarawadee Saengmanee

N ation p h oto / K ittinun Rodsupan

C

hiang Mai’s charming Lanna ambience spills into all 42 spacious rooms at the new Yantarasiri Boutique Resort.

The venerable, northern-style house fenced within a shady courtyard on shopper-friendly Nimmanhemin Road belongs to Thongchai Yantarasiri and his Chiang Mai-born wife Phantila Daopat.

They love Lanna culture, and have striven to re-create something of the ancient kingdom in their hotel.

A graceful, captivating river of dark wood curves from the front door to the roof, all set against a lush garden of towering auspicious trees – phayom, sala (cannonball), phikul (bullet wood), mujarin and chanuannam.

“We want to conserve the beauty of Lanna culture,” says Thongchai. “The hotel is designed in contemporaryLanna style, with every corner adorned with antiques, some of them once owned by the Lanna royal family.”

There are five room types – superior, | 16 |

Old-fashioned elegance The Yantarasiri Boutique Resort is at 24/17 Nimmanhemin Road Soi 6. Call (053) 214 214 or visit www.YantarasiriBoutiqueHotel.com. deluxe, executive, executive suite and presidential suite – a saline swimming pool, a pavilion for reading and sunbathing, a restaurant that serves local and foreign dishes, and a spa with a menu of aromatic treatments and massage. The prices range from Bt7,000 to Bt 18,000 a night “We use recycled electric current, which is better for the environment, and salt in the pool instead of chlorine,” Thongchai points out. “The rare tropical trees have lots of branches to shade the hotel and provide fresh air.”

The presidential suite, given the Thai

name Ruen Settee, shows off the best of this 100-year-old teakwood house.

Converted into a luxurious abode for couples and families, boasts cottonbased pillows and Lanna-style wooden furniture.

It has two bedrooms with king-size beds and two bathrooms with a separate shower and Jacuzzi, as well as an LCD television, DVD player, tea and coffee maker, hairdryer and wireless Internet.

The living room is big enough for the whole family to spread out among the comfy cushions, sofa beds and wooden chairs.

March 22-28, 2009

Wellness

Shopping for strays

Give us your

P h oto / cou r tes y of Reju A soke

aches The Reju Asoke centre will pound out, flush out and blast out whatever’s bugging you

K he t sirin Pholdhampalit

R

eju Asoke, an integrated wellness clinic

by Q Medical Centre, can relieve your liver of toxins, boost your immune system and burn off your cellulite, but I want to unload the heap of back and shoulder aches that come with my job.

The equilibrium massage sounds right for hammering out the dents on this beleaguered chassis of mine, so a therapist who’s all hands and elbows gets busy with a rhythmic assault, focusing on the muscles and tendons.

The pressure is firm and surprisingly intense, not unlike in traditional Thai massage.

Toxins from the air I breathe and the food I eat contribute to the aches, I’m told. They gum up the lymphatic system so fluids collect and stagnate, turning your whole system into a swamp.

Enter the lymphatic drainage massage to get things flowing again and ease joint movement.

This one’s quite gentle, though firm, reminding the built-up gunk where the exit is and untangling the traffic jam.

The water I’ve been retaining around my ankles is evicted as well with the help of a good flushing with hot water.

I’m feeling so soothed that I’m easily talked into an antioxidant treatment to neutralise those way-too-free radicals that go around damaging cell tissue.

This feels a bit like a stay in hospital, because the multi-vitamin antioxidants are pumped directly into a vein. It takes about two hours, but there are no bad side effects, only good results: the skin looks brighter and younger.

Healed from the inside, I decide I might as well have my face re-sculpted.

A 20-minute treatment called “jetpeel” involves being blasted with a high-pressure jet of saline and oxygen, collagen and vitamin C. This stream of goodness from a handheld device travels at 200 metres per second, so you know something is going to happen. What happens is your skin is oxygenated, hydrated and exfoliated as the outer layer is sheared away.

Kneaded, flushed out and sand-blasted, I’m feeling pretty good, but it’s impossible to say after one treatment session how beneficial the effects might be. Several visits may be in order.

In the meantime, I’ll just have to exercise and watch what I eat – and what I breathe.

What’s this cost?

The 90-minute equilibrium massage and the two-hour lymphatic drainage massage cost Bt1,200 each. The 20-minute jetpeel and the two-hour antioxidant treatment are each Bt4,500.

Reju Asoke is in the 253 Asoke Building on Sukhumvit 21 Road. Call (02) 260 6911 or visit www.ReJuAsoke.com.

March 22-28, 2009

SCAD (formerly known as Soi Dog Rescue), in conjunction with the Bangkok Network of Women, is hosting a charity garage sale on March 28 from 10 to 2 at NIST on Sukhumvit Soi 15.

Bargain hunters can find a wide range of used appliances, furniture, toys, clothing, books and much more.

The proceeds will go towards SCAD’s operations.

SCAD is a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organisation, working to improve the lives and reduce the numbers of Thailand’s street dogs.

Entry is Bt50. All visitors are required to bring ID. For more information or to participate as a vendor, call Shayasorn at (085) 920 1863 or e-mail oh@bnow. org.

A map is available at http://NIST.ac.th.

Boost that bliss at the Cenvaree spa Spa Cenvaree has undergone extensive renovations at both Centara Villas Phuket and Samui.

The Phuket branch (SpaCenvareeCvp@chr. co.th) has five treatment rooms of stone and teakwood with bamboo over the windows. On Koh Samui (SpaCenvareeCsv@ chr.co.th) the design is “deep rainforest” with six multifunction rooms.

Treatments include hotstone massage, jet-lag massage, Ayuraveda healing and “indigenous hair” and scalp treatments. | 17 |

PHOTO ESSAY

Benoa Harbour Kuta Beach

Alluring Bali Text and photos by Thuy Ha

Gasoline in vodka bottles

Asia N ews N e two r k

H

ome to the vast majority of Indonesia’s small Hindu minority, Bali is the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music.

The smiles, friendliness and warm hospitality of Bali people lure tourists to the Indonesian island despite the horrific bombings which killed over 200 people over six years ago. | 18 |

Kuta downtown Falun Gong practioners meditate on Kuta Beach March 22-28, 2009

Balinese statues in Ubud

Ubud arts

Horse carriage in Kuta

Kuta Art Market

March 22-28, 2009

| 19 |

LIFESTYLE

Raising

Mixologists: (from left) Kim Min-hyoung, Kwon Hyuck-min of Seventy Four and Kim Bong-ha of Lound with a Bokbunja Margarita, Sweet Revenge and Rosemary Pear Martini.

The Bar

Mixology has come to represent the intricate and artisanal labour of bartenders-turnedmixologists who have dedicated themselves to the creation of new drinks SEOUL

Jean Oh The Korea Herald

I

n a classic watering hole called Coffee Bar K, mixologist Lim Jaejin incorporates the flavours of Korean bokbunja into a signature drink. He tosses the dark, lush berries—fresh off his family farm in North Jeolla Province’s Gochang County—into a tall glass with brown sugar and mint.

Lim crushes the ingredients with a pestle, mingling the sweet juices of bokbunja with the fragrance of the mint. Ele| 20 |

gant and controlled, he tops his ‘Bokbunja Mojito’ off with mojito syrup, blackberry syrup, lemon juice and his own homemade bokbunja rum infusion.

One sip unearths the round ripeness of the berry, balanced by tart lemon, refreshing mint notes and a wash of rum laced with the scent of Lim’s bokbunja.

Inventive? Yes. Delicious? Absolutely.

The 27-year bartender and his innovative drink represent a growing set of Korean mixologists who are tinkering with infusions, syrups and indigenous ingredients in the quest for a better drink.

For some, better means healthier, for others it means creating a beverage that

transcends all pre-existing beverages, and for yet another set, it means riffing off the classics.

Though by no means on par with the wild and wacky experimentations of molecular mixologists like Tony Conigliaro or Eben Klemm, the concoctions of Korean bar chefs are taking Seoul’s sipping culture to new heights.

“These days people’s tastes have grown fickle,” said mixologist Kim Bong-ha. “They want it fresher, tastier and aesthetically pleasing. As a result, mixology is on the rise.”

Mixology, a term that once referred to the art of mixing drinks, has come to represent the intricate and artisanal labour of bartenders-turned-mixologists who have dedicated themselves to the creation of new drinks.

This new breed of bartender makes syrups, liquors and infusions (the process of steeping herbs, fruits, etc in vodka and other liquors to extract each element’s flavours) from scratch and draws from a diverse array of ingredients to concoct their own unique beverages.

“The difference between a bartender and a mixologist, in my opinion, lies in the issue of creativity,” said Korea All Bartenders Association PR Director Jeon Jae-gu. “If a bartender focuses on making existing cocktails good, then a mixologist takes it a step further and invents new cocktails, or researches existing cocktails to find ways to improve them.”

Mixologist Kim Bong-ha, director at the newly-minted bar Lound, ventured into the world of mixology five to six years ago. Finding inspiration from Frances Case’s “1,001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die” and a text on Ferran Adria’s El Bulli, this maverick bartender draws from a limitless stock of ingredients to create his fantastical potions.

He invents a drink on the spot, combining black garlic extract, vodka, grapefruit juice and serves it in a martini glass with a skewer of garlic cloves.

His elixir hovers somewhere between prune juice and licorice, not bad for a spur-of-the-moment cocktail.

Don’t like it? The 29-year-old mixologist whips out another drink, a blend of mango puree, spicy curry powder, lime juice, mandarin vodka and syrup. The turmeric interplays with the mango. An alcoholic lassi with a kick?

“Indians put mango in curry and eat it like kimchi,” Kim explains.

March 22-28, 2009

Fellow mixologist Kwon Hyuck-min exercises more restraint with his inventions, combining fresh grapefruit juice, citrus vodka, syrup, Angostura bitters and rosemary to create a fragrant yet tempered martini.

Behind the bar at Seventy Four, he stands ramrod straight, decked out in a crisp white suit jacket. Off-duty Kwon presents an entirely different persona.

A cross between a liquid chef and home brewer, Kwon creates his own syrups, infusions and makes his own liquor, Korean liquor.

“I use Korean acacia liquor often,” said the 29-year-old Seventy Four chief, who also uses Hallabong (a Jeju

Island citrus fruit) and Cheon Hae Hyang for his liquors.

Kwon showcases a cinnamon syrup he made, pouring a little dab into a shot glass. Sweet, warm and spiced, his syrup could enhance a number of fruitbased drinks: a persimmon martini, an apple cinnamon martini, or perhaps, even, a pumpkin martini.

“I started making infusions and syrups because when I saw cocktails from abroad, I thought they were good, but we could not make them in Korea. We did not have the ingredients,” said Kwon, who concocted a port wine syrup as a substitute to Chambord, which according to him, only started entering Korea recently.

“There is a limit to the ingredients that are imported in Korea,” said Korea All Bartenders Association PR Director March 22-28, 2009

Jeon. “So there are no opportunities for bartenders to work with them.”

Without a doubt, the lack of diversity and variety in liqueurs, liquors and key cocktail making ingredients will make it difficult in the long run for Korean bartenders to hone their skills.

Yet, the lack of cocktail making materials has also served as the impetus for the rise of mixology in Korea, fueling the creativity of a small group of bar chefs, encouraging them to turn to indigenous ingredients.

Both Kwon and fellow Seventy Four mixologist Kim Min-hyoung have been toying with Korean materials, while Lound’s Kim Bong-ha plans on developing health-conscious Korean cocktails, citing Sanghwang and Youngji mushrooms as potential ingredients for his drinks.

Coffee Bar K mixologist Lim tried his hand at an Andong soju cocktail and is currently working with ginseng liquor.

While both Korean-style drinks received a warm response from foreign clientele, they did not go over well with domestic customers.

“It does not suit Korean tastes, because Koreans are into sweet and fruity drinks,” explained Lim, who wants to create Korean alcohol-based cocktails for Korean palates.

KABA’s Jeon, who is starting a new association tentatively named the Korean Beverage Culture Research Institute, wants to hold a traditional Korean liquor-based cocktail competition this year.

If grassroots cocktails are stirring things up on the home-front, the creations of mixologist Kim Hyun-jin, captain at Grand InterContinental Seoul’s Blush, are garnering international recognition.

The 34-year-old mixologist placed second at the International Bartenders Association’s Asia Pacific Bartender of the Year cocktail competition in 2007.

The winning drink, his Blushed Cafe, a velvety brown creamsicle of a cocktail

capped with foam and intricate latte art executed with Spanish chocolate and orange syrup, layers muddled anise, vanilla vodka and espresso.

In the pursuit of a new drink, Kim Hyun-jin will be jetting off to France, Great Britain and the Netherlands to study molecular cocktails in May. And he promises to showcase a new and exciting cocktail a month from now.

“It will surpass expectations,” he says with a sly smile, leaving behind a solitary hint: seafood.

Seafood? “Incorporating salmon into a drink, does not make it unpalatable,” said Mix Lounge manager Yoo Jun-sung.

The 27-year-old mixologist derives inspiration from Italian cuisine and sports a collection of cinnamon, ginger and chili vodka infusions.

“If you get into cooking, then it opens a whole new arena of potential cocktail making ingredients,” says Yoo. For mixologist Mark Kim, cuisine plays an important role in the art of mixology.

“A mixologist works with all beverages,” said the 29-year-old beverage culture group Mix It Up Director. A firm believer in melding cuisine with beverages, Mark eventually wants to open a dining bar: “I want to pair drinks with courses.”

Yet, the efforts of mixologists like Mark will go unnoticed without an audience. KABA’s Jeon believes that Koreans are ready.

“There are a lot of people who want to go to bars that serve good drinks and possess a pleasant ambiance,” said Jeon.

“The atmosphere is slowly ripening.”

Seventy Four chief Kwon, also believes that a cocktail renaissance is underway, and attributes it, in part, to the burgeoning spirit market. “(Spirit brands) educated people on what a mojito is and what a martini series is,” said Kwon. “These brands became aware of the great potential of this market.” | 21 |

HERITAGE

Saving Old Quarter

Bird’s-eye view: An overview of the Returned Sword Lake and its surrounding areas.

VIET NAM N EWS P H OTO S

Preservation work in Ha Noi’s oldest section is often held up by obstacles like red tape and lack of funds, leaving residents trapped in century-old buildings falling into ruin HA NOI

Ha Nguyen Viet Nam News

T

he countdown is on, there are only less than 500 days to go until Hanoians celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of their city. But for preservation of one of the city’s iconic landmarks—the Old Quarter—time is also running out.

Historian Le Van Lan says copious documents have been written, programmes devised and projects launched to save, restore and promote Ha Noi’s Old Quarter.

“To me, most of it doesn’t go beyond ‘selective’ talk,” he says. “By ‘selective’ talk I mean the incessant discussions by researchers, managers and city officials ‘on behalf’ of residents living in the Old Quarter.” | 22 |

Residents themselves don’t seem to be doing much talking. And if they did, it might well be different or far removed from the musings of the echelons above, Lan says.

“Most of the enthusiastic ‘selective’ talk about the Old Quarter focuses on the material—the quarter’s architecture—and regrettably there is little of this left.

Unfortunately, the quarter’s greatest assets—the people who have lived there for generations—are left out.”

Alarm bells

A house in Ha Noi’s Old Quarter may need extensive repair but that does not mean its inhabitants can make a decision about its future.

But these inhabitants have become accustomed to not complaining because their properties are listed as ‘protected sites’, which means that housing officials can do nothing for them.

Shiny: A design of Trang Tien Street in the city centre.

Their predicament caught the spotlight early last year when four historic houses in the World Heritage-listed Hoi An collapsed.

The ‘situation’ was extensively reported by the mass media and prompted this question among the residents of the Old Quarter, “How long will our houses last?”

The Ha Noi Old Quarter Management Board has the house on its list of protected houses, and is now responsible for its renovation. But years have passed and no improvements have been made.

Unfortunately, its owners are not allowed to make any major renovations themselves because the city has given orders to keep these houses intact until the government has sufficient money to do the work itself.

That could take a long time. Meanwhile, major thunderstorms threaten to destroy the property.

March 22-28, 2009

Almost every resident we talked to said they were not happy with their living situation. All of them wanted to move to safer place. No one would deny the importance of protecting these houses, which are part of the country’s heritage, but the safety of their residents should be even more of an impetus for action.

Historians say the Old Quarter, first formed as a commercial hub in the 11th century, is not as old as it seems because of the destruction wrought by war, natural disasters and demographic change.

The oldest part of the quarter is the network of narrow, winding streets that were the headquarters for traders and artisans from 36 guilds. The residential area was expanded and new houses built along earthen roads as more artisans arrived from the provinces.

Urbanisation by the French colonials at the turn of the 20th century had the paths paved and brick houses replaced thatched huts.

Now the oldest houses, mostly in Hang Buom, Hang Dao, Hang Duong and Hang Bac, are little more than 100 years old with only aged timbers as evidence that they might be older.

around 300 and only 10 per cent of these are sound.

Most are significantly deteriorated.

Ha Noi administrators listed about 840 out of the 4,341 houses in the Old Quarter as ‘ancient’. They also issued rules affirming their determination to preserve the Old Quarter houses by forbidding repairs without official consent.

Hoan Kiem District chairman Hoang Cong Khoi says initially when an application for any repairs or rebuilding was received, his people had to seek the consent of the management board and it was very time consuming.

The Department of Planning and Architecture has rejected all applications because it is accepted that nothing should Renovation: A project of renovating the ancient house at 38 Hang Dao be done to compro- was launched to celebrate the 990th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi. mise the integrity of the buildings, so the houses continue to table. Owners of less valuable properties should be encouraged to sell, uprot and residents continue to suffer.

Municipal officials have grade or renovate to improve living discussed ways to remedy conditions, he said. the situation, but to no avail.

Many conservationists say the city should buy some of the ‘ancient’ houses for restoration and relocate many of the Old Quarter’s residents.

But it seems the city’s shortage of funds is making this impossible.

Ancient street: In the past, Hang Gai, a favourite shopping street for foreigners, was part of the Vu Village.

Long wait

Architect Nguyen Thi Hoa says physical value in the Old Quarter is determined by the design of its houses and the objects for worship—wooden statutes, stele, and incense burners—in the dozen or so pagodas and churches.

Hoa says the latest statistics compiled by the Old Quarter Preservation Management Board show that the largest estimate of ‘ancient’ houses number March 22-28, 2009

including those owned by the public.

“We need suitable investment policies and strict management for key historical and cultural sites and residential housing, as well as concrete guidelines to help local people and organisations preserve and repair these properties to blend in with the surrounding architecture.

Nghi also put several solutions on the

Relocation

Ha Noi Party Secretary Pham Quang Nghi urged Ha Noi and Hoan Kiem District authorities at a working session to encourage residents in Hoan Kiem District to move away.

He asked the municipal Department of Planning and Architecture to finalise planning in the district and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to co-ordinate with other relevant agencies to re-examine, evaluate and classify which streets, and historical and culture sites, should receive priority preservation,

Final cut

There is one part of the city centre that has received a lot of attention – Returned Sword Lake.

The area is set to see a massive revamp, with design ideas for the preservation, renovation and development of the lake showcased in competition at an exhibition titled “Ideas Planning and Urban Design for the Returned Sword Lake and its Surrounding Area.”

Winning rchitect Hoang Thuc Hao says he sees Returned Sword Lake as a vital city green space, together with Ba Dinh Square, West Lake, the Hong (Red) River and the Thong Nhat Park.

The area from the Ba Kieu Temple to Ngoc Son Temple will be fully pedestrianised, he says.

“It was not by chance that French architect Ernest Hebrerd designed the Municipal Administration Building next to Returned Sword Lake. It was and still is in the heart of every Vietnamese.” | 23 |

ARTS & CULTURE

Funny... Ha-ha Or Peculiar?

BEIJING

Gan Tian China Daily

E

very culture has its own sense of humour. That’s why Jim Carrey in The Mask might not make all Chinese people laugh, but a piece of crosstalk can. The Chinese do humour in several forms: xiangsheng (crosstalk) was the most popular, then came xiaopin (comic skit), and now errenzhuan (two-person sketch).

Crosstalk, known in China as the ‘art of laughter’, is a traditional art form between two performers satirising society and its people through funny stories. Although a good crosstalk performer is said to be “earning a living by talking”, it is not the case in the West.

English entertainment journalist David Drakeford, who has lived in Beijing for five years and has learnt a little bit of this art, finds it is interesting because the jokes are all about ordinary people.

“I heard one skit that went like this: A says ‘I work at a famous English school’.

B asks him ‘Are you a teacher there?’ A replies ‘I only open the door for others.’

This common joke between two ordinary people is very funny. Of course they are professional comedians so the timing | 24 |

is important,” Drakeford says.

He likens Chinese crosstalk to the Western tradition of a comedy duo and requires four skills of its performers: speaking, mimicking, teasing and singing. “Chinese humour uses slaptick and wordplay,” says Drakeford. “Western humour is probably more political, more satirical and sometimes kind of nasty.”

Xiao Shenyang made a name for himself after he performed a comic skit Enough Money for CCTV’s 2009 Spring Festival Gala. His skit took some jokes and performing styles from errenzhuan, a Northeastern art form, which involves storytelling, singing and dancing between two performers, and is considered grassroots because it is rich in local style.

Before Xiao Shenyang appeared at the gala, he had already introduced errenzhuan to parts of China, performing on provincial TV variety shows. His first routine had a funny man being teased mercilessly by a plump woman. In Beijing TV’s gala, he appeared in a black suit but carrying a women’s bag and speaking with an effeminate voice. During the show, he demonstrated his skills in singing, dancing, telling jokes and communicating with other actors.

The very popular Xiao Shenyang has boosted awareness of errenzhuan thanks to his authentic Northeastern accent and acting skills.

CHI NA DAILY

Who says the Chinese don’t have a sense of humour? Get ready to roll with laughter with China’s funnymen

ART OF LAUGHTER: A cartoon image of the most popular Chinese comic Xiao Shenyang who became a huge hit thanks to his performance at the 2009 Spring Festival gala show.

Rynn Chaw, a crosstalk fan from Hong Kong, saw Xiao Shenyang as great fun. “Maybe other people find errenzhuan to be a little bit tasteless, low and dirty but I don’t think humour is serious. It is not serious in any culture,” says Chaw, who believes that the Chinese way of presenting humor is a work in progress.

“The Chinese attitude to humour is that it does not have to pretend to be ‘fake’ or ‘elegant’. That might be why Xiao Shenyang and errenzhuan have become popular,” Chaw says.

Instead of finding humour in ‘tasteless’ jokes, Westerners have their own way of getting a laugh. “American Jews are famous for comedy — The Marx Brothers, Woody Allen, Larry David all use self-deprecation, so they are joking at themselves, their families and all Jews,” Drakeford says. He notices, however, that “Chinese never joke about China”.

Chaw finds Chinese versions of stage comedy are similar to each other.

“Compared with Westerners, Chinese people are likely to be more reserved and indirect, no matter whether it is a comic skit, a piece of crosstalk or errenzhuan,” he says.

The result, says Chaw, is that when you hear a Western joke, you might laugh instantly but when you hear one in a Chinese crosstalk or comic skit it might take three or four seconds.

March 22-28, 2009

C H I N A ’ S FUNNY Xiao Shenyang This year Zhao did not perform with his long-time partner Song Dandan. Instead, he introduced two of his apprentices, Xiao Shenyang being one of them.

He played a waiter in a restaurant, won million’s hearts with his simple and unaffected humour, and his command of the rich and lively colloquialisms of the Northeastern Chinese dialect.

Ma Ji As a seventh-generation crosstalker, Ma was synonymous with it to Chinese people. Many even worried about the future of crosstalk when he died in 2006.

He is famous for creating his own art style and making great contributions to its evolution. Traditional crosstalk saw big names such as Ma Sanli, Liu Baorui, and Hou Yaowen in their times.

Dashan Mark Henry Rowswell, a Canadian crosstalker also known as Dashan, was first put on the gala bill in 1989 and one year later became the first foreigner formally accepted into the strict xiangsheng hierarchy.

Guo Degang Guo revived traditional crosstalk as a popular art form. Although he has not featured on CCTV’s gala, his live crosstalk shows have become increasingly trendy since he emerged in 2006.

It was back in 1995 that Guo happened to walk into a teahouse and found a few young people performing crosstalk.

One year later he and his friends founded the Deyun Crosstalk Club to reintroduce it as teahouse and theater entertainment.

Guo’s pieces mainly draw on aspects of everyday life. Today, even young people who previously have had no interest in crosstalk are downloading his skits on to their MP3 players.

March 22-28, 2009

Zhao Benshan Jacky Wu The Taiwanese sense of humour reached the mainland market with the help of the Internet. Jacky Wu’s variety show Guess became the most downloaded clips among college students and white collared workers. On the mainland, crosstalk and comic skits have always avoided political and sexual issues but this was not so in Wu’s shows. Especially popular was his witty, sarcastic skit on his female partner’s breasts.

This actor became the godfather of Chinese comic skits by re-creating farmers’ lives on stage. Zhao was recommended to the 1987 CCTV New Year’s Gala and has been on it every year since.

For nearly 20 years Fan Wei, Gao Xiumin, Song Dandan and Zhao have dominated the CCTV Spring Festival Gala stage.

Zhao became a household name after he and Song played an old couple appearing on a famous talkshow. Zhao’s skits portrayed the typical behaviour of farmers in Northeastern China, and focused on ordinary people’s funny stories. | 25 |

ENTERTAINMENT

Goku is a Caucasian?

Some ‘Dragon Ball’ fans are boycotting the film BECAUSE the cast do not resemble the beloved manga characters BANGKOK

Yong Shu Hoong The Straits Times

T

he hair has survived the transition from page to screen.

As Goku in the movie Dragonball Evolution, star Justin Chatwin sports a full-bodied spiky do that replicates the character’s look from the classic manga.

As the young warrior who travels the world in search of seven mysterious dragon balls, he was a controversial choice as the lead in this highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s immensely popular Japanese manga series, Dragon Ball.

Fans of the manga, originally serialised from 1984 to 1995, insisted that an Asian actor should play Goku, who is loosely modelled after the Monkey King from the Chinese literary classic, Journey To The West.

No wonder Chatwin, a 26-yearold Canadian best remembered for playing Tom Cruise’s son in War Of The W o r l d s (2005), admitted recently that he had stagefright: “I was pretty nervous, because I really look up to Goku. But I love getting into the character.” | 26 |

He added: “I have no idea why they picked me. For me, the character is a fun, goofy, nerdy kind of guy who can turn to fighting mode at the flip of a dime. In his heart, he’s more of a lover than a fighter. And that’s kind of like me. I’m not a fighter, I’d rather talk things out.”

Director James Wong, 49, said: “I was surprised by the reactions.

Goku is an alien, so to me, he’s not any race at all.”

Despite negative fan reaction to his casting choice, he said firmly: “I don’t have any bad feelings about it.”

The Hong Kongborn American director, who also wrote episodes of The XFiles TV series, is well aware of the weight of fan expectations riding on this US$100-million adaptation.

The manga h a s

sold more than 300 million volumes worldwide.

The franchise comprises about 20 animated films and three animé TV series that boast more than 500 episodes.

The original Dragon Ball animé series, which first ran in Japan from 1986 to 1989, aired on Animax Asia last year with high ratings across the region.

Of course, this fan base could be as much a liability as it is an asset, if the fuss the fans have kicked up online over such issues as casting is any indication.

Some disgruntled fans have already complained that the cast look nothing like the manga characters.

Hardcore fans described the decision to adapt Dragon Ball as “insulting” and “an abomination” and made emotional calls for a boycott.

But some other fans prefer to reserve judgment until they have seen the film.

Director Wong is quick to pay tribute to the source material.

“I have tried to preserve the essence of the manga, its sense of fun, as it evolves into a new medium,” he said.

Wong defended the casting choice, saying Chatwin was the “perfect choice for the lead role”.

Wong said he was ‘colour-blind’ during the casting process in Hong Kong, London, New York, Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Shot in Mexico City and Durango in Mexico, the backdrops were enhanced by computers to recreate the story’s different environments.

The film makers took pains to ensure the final product lives up to expectations, for example, by using visual effects to give the dragon balls the right luminescence and by engaging 87Eleven, a renowned stunt team that had worked on The Matrix (1999) and Watchmen (2009), to train the cast in fighting styles and acrobatics.

Sandy Lee, a 21-year-old fan who is a polytechnic student, said she was initially hyped up after getting wind of the movie.

“But when I saw the trailer, I was shocked to find Goku being played by a Caucasian,” she said. “But I’ll still watch it because I’m a little curious about how the movie will turn out.”

March 22-28, 2009

MOVIE REVIEW

Evolution... Not SEOUL

Yang Sung-jin The Korea Herald

D

ragonball: Evolution is funny—not because it’s entertaining but because its quality is laughably below expectations.

The film, directed by James Wong, has drawn interest from Korean fans, particularly because one of the leading actors is none other than Park Joonhyung, former member of Korean R&B group G.O.D.

But if you’re a big fan of the Dragonball franchise, or have fond memories of the 42-volume manga series, you are strongly advised not to watch the firstever silver screen adaptation.

The risk is that you might set out to find the seven “dragonballs” and ask the mysterious dragon to remove what you have just seen from your memory.

The inevitable disappointment the film adaptation will bring to viewers contrasts the unprecedented success of the original series. When Akira Toriyama serialised the graphic novel in 1984 and 1995, he secured a huge number of fans around the world thanks to his addictive storytelling and interesting characters. In Japan alone, it sold about 150 million copies, breaking previous records in manga sales. More than 300 million copies are estimated to have been sold across the world.

Surprisingly, Toriyama has joined March 22-28, 2009

the film project as executive producer and yet failed to rescue the film from slipping into the abyss of clichéd plot turns and cardboard characters.

The main plot, written

by Ben Ramsey, is too simplified to build up any dramatic sense. A high school boy sets out on a journey to collect the legendary dragon balls to save the world from a monstrous creature, which has escaped after being imprisoned for 2,000 years. All the minor characters are conveniently eliminated, interesting episodes mercilessly cut out and fighting tournaments inexplicably shortened. Only a couple of dragon balls (there are supposed to be seven) are featured. It’s a sorry attempt to link the film to the manga series.

In the film, an American boy named Goku (Justin Chatwin) gets martial arts training from his grandfather Gohan (Randall Duk Kim), but Goku is treated as an outsider who is timid and weak in the face of h i g h school bullies.

Mysteriously enough, Goku decides to reveal his awesome power when he gets invited to a party by Chi Chi (Jamie Chung), an attractive girl he has a crush on. The film does not explain why Goku endured the humiliation at school for so long, even though he can dodge any attack with his acrobatic skills.

There is no time for throwing in dramatic details. The movie hurriedly pushes Goku to embark on a quest to find his master Roshi (Chow Yun-fat) and other dragon balls. Along the way, he is joined by Bulma (Emmy Rossum) and Yamcha (Park Joonhyung). Don’t even think about the original series—that’s the whole team in the film.

Chow hits a new low here. He wears a gaudy Hawaiian T-shirt and imitates Roshi’s girl-chasing habit, but his performance is at best awkward and at worse unbearable.

The highlight, of course, is the dragon. Thanks to the film’s poor computer graphics (inferior to the notorious Korean monster romp DWar), the dragon looks like a little chubby snake.

One of the mysteries surrounding the film is its bold and misleading subtitle, “Evolution.” Considering its crude computer graphics, a disoriented plot and ludicrous dialogue, the bigscreen adaptation is not an evolution but a painful step backward. | 27 |

People

always reaching out Designer Andre Kim believes one of the fastest ways he can spread the beauty of Korean culture is through the friendship he shares with diplomats from all over the world SEOUL

Kim believes one of the fastest ways he can spread the beauty of Korean culture is through the friendship he shares with diplomats from all over the world.

“Meeting and speaking with ambassadors and diplomats, I could get a vast amount of information about their

Ahn Hyo-lim The Korea Herald

Andre Kim

lowing the fashion trends that come and go every season.” orty-seven years after his de“It doesn’t mean you should not design but as a designer, Andre Kim trendy clothes or accessories,” Kim said. says his childhood “But it means as a fashion dream has come true: designer, you should be able He recreates the beauto incorporate the commerty of the world in his designs cial aspects of the industry and people appreciate them. into your artwork for better “Designers and artists alike results.” should avoid indulging in their “When you can amalgaown creation. If what they do is mate all those elements into considered by other people as a your design and still gain simple ego trip, they cannot be people’s sympathy, then you called true artists, can they?” can call yourself a successful Kim said. designer,” Kim said.

The fashion icon has shown The fashion maestro wears strong commitment to social a white suit wherever he causes over the years both as a goes and accentuates his celebrity and a Unicef goodwill eyes with black mascara.

Andre Kim’s Thailand-inspired pieces ambassador.

As a celebrity, he has an “There are so many beautiful aura around him that sets things in this world, but at the same countries and cultures in a short time. him apart from other people. But he time, there are a lot more ugly, unhappy It’s the same deal for them. I can help insists he does not love the limelight. things taking place worldHe is also more down to earth than them better understand Korea and Kowide, especially in regards his style suggests: his favourite foods are rean people through my designs.”

The iconic designer came onto the kimchi and rice cakes, along with Kento children in underdevelfashion scene at a time when there tucky Fried Chicken. oped countries,” Kim were few universities, let alone desaid, adding that he With a career encompassing nearly sign departments—a far cry half a century, Kim has witnessed the felt a great sense of from Korea today, where burgeoning and blooming of the fashion duty to help. fashion schools abound and industry in Korea. Yet, as a designer and Kim has also there are many role mod- artist, he said there are still many facets worked to proels in the field. mote Korean of the world he has yet to see and feel.

“What I think (young culture around Ultimately, he would also like to prodesigners) should al- duce a film himself that embodies everythe world. He ways keep in mind thing about “Andre Kim.” And if he has done much though is to build opens a fashion theater as he wishes, of this through their career on their that is where the film will be showcased. bonding with unique individuali- It just goes to prove at age 75 Kim has the expat comLee Jun-ki and Thai actress May Pitchanart ty, instead of fol- no intention of slowing down. munity. | 28 |

Ahn Hyo -lim/The Kor ea Herald

Ahn H yo -lim /T he Korea H erald

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March 22-28, 2009

Conquering The Catwalk

The Star

Malaysian model Gwen Lu’s androgynous features make her stand out

KUALA LUMPUR

William KC Kee The Star

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amine best describes Gwen Lu. The 175cm-tall lass sashays into the Ode To Art gallery in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur for our shoot without a trace of make-up on her face.

Her hair is cropped short while her

March 22-28, 2009

frame is lanky and slim.

She is a little on the shy side and softspoken. To the uninitiated, they would not know at a passing glance that Lu is an award-winning model making fashionable strides abroad. But once you put her in front of the camera, Lu’s timid demeanour vanishes, replaced by what Tyra Banks would describe as “fierce” posing.

In an overtly competitive cat(walk)eat-cat industry, Lu’s androgynous features make her stand out and serve her well. The Penang-born clotheshorse, now based in New York with the prestigious Elite Model Management agency, is on an upward career trajectory.

Lu, who is in her 20s, describes her growing up years in Penang – aside from a rebellious phase during her teens – as ordinary. Her father worked as a school bus driver and her mother, a tailor.

In early 2005, she moved to Kuala Lumpur to work as a quantity surveyor.

When modelling beckoned, she resigned from her 9-to-5 job that year. Lu reveals that her family still disapproves of her chosen field of work.

“I didn’t tell them when I first joined modelling until my career became more stable. Even now, they are hoping that I will quit this job.”

Lu feels that her parents’ resistance to her profession stems from a misconception that many Malaysians have about modelling. “There are girls who aspire to be models but lack the height or other criteria.

So they end up posing in the tobacco or alcohol business and they call themselves models,” Lu figures.

“This is why my parents think that being a model is unsavoury. Even

though I have proven them wrong, they still feel that this is not something to be proud of. It doesn’t help that they are conservative in their thinking.”

Before Lu relocated to New York in November 2007, she had done modelling in Malaysia, Singapore and even a two-month stint in Athens. Her move to the Big Apple, she reasons, was destiny.

“During my debut at the Singapore Fashion Fest in March 2006, I was scouted by Roman Young (the thendirector of Elite Model Management) who was in Singapore on the lookout for fresh faces. He approached me after seeing me on a big screen on the streets, which were highlighting runway scenes from the fashion fest.”

Lu says the most challenging assignment has been a photo shoot in Milan, where she had to don 13cm heels to do rock climbing. “It was an almost impossible task,” recalls Lu. “I had to hold and balance all of my body weight on the tip of the platform shoes until the photographer got the shot.”

What are the qualities that set her apart from others? “My patience and easy to work with attitude. Also, my inner strength that is not easily shattered,” says the Scorpio.

Her advice to aspiring models is to first consult the professionals.

“They have to be aware of scams and keep themselves updated on what’s happening in the international fashion scene.

“I find it’s good to talk to someone experienced, like (veteran model) Simone Teh who has been through a lot in life. I get inspired by people like her, and their wisdom,” says Lu, whose philosophy in life is to “do things that make me happy so I won’t regret if I die tomorrow.” | 29 |

Explore MOC CHAU, Viet Nam

Ha Nguyen Viet Nam News

Under my umbrella: Dai Yem (Pink Blouse) Waterfall is one of Moc Chau’s top sites for travellers to visit.

The Green Village Moc Chau has everything to offer, from love markets and waterfalls to sustainable development | 30 |

Local farmer Hoang A Choong says the best time to come is September 1, when

VNA /V NS Photo Anh Tuan

VNA /VNS P hoto Dinh Na

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ubbed a ‘paradise for tourism’, Moc Chau Plateau, wrapped in swathes of sunflowers and dairy pastures, has become a cool destination for intrepid travellers with a conscience.

Tucked up in the mountains, 1,050m above sea level, Moc Chau has a temperate climate with average summer temperatures of 20oC and is a haven for city slickers seeking refuge from the summer heat.

The plateau covers 1,600ha of prairie, with vast tracts of dairy farms, tea plantations, paddies and fields of sunflowers. Many different ethnic groups still follow traditional ways of life here, like the Dao, Thai, Mong, Muong and Kho Mu people.

Korean visitor Kim Min-baek says ethnic people welcomed him and his party with traditional dances. “Our favourites were the Thai people’s folk dance xoe and the Mong’s people’s khen (pan-pipes) dance. They took us by the hand and drew us right into the thick of things,” he says.

For the khen dance, young Thai women play the pipes and dance in tune with the music. Mong women, decked out in their traditional costume, perform xoe dances during festivals or for special occasions.

Natural art: Son Moc Huong or Doi (Bat) Cave’s stalactites and stalagmites form fantastic shapes inside the mountain.

March 22-28, 2009

Yen Village in Phu Mau Commune.

The year-long project, supported by the Netherlands Development Organisation, was promoted as a model for eco-tourism. It wrapped up last year.

“The consultancy programme included surveys of potential tourism sites and the potential market for tourists,” says chief planner of the Son La Province’s Trade and Tourist Department Nguyen Dinh Phong.

The village, 330m above sea level, was selected from 16 other sites because of its natural landscape, traditional oc-

Although the Netherlands Development Organisation consultancy programme has ended, the work has motivated the district’s administrators to continue with the idea.

A provincial Trade and Tourism DeOther ethnic groups, like the Dao, partment team is working on establishKho Mu, Muong and Thai also enjoy ment of the eco-tourism model and the the festival. Similar to the Khau Vai Moc Chau District is a part of the effort.

The project focuses on how to develop Love Market in Meo Vac in the northeco-tourism so that it eradicates poverern province of Ha Giang, many young ty. It includes a collection of the inforMong people go to the market hoping mation necessary to establish an ecoto find their soul mate, while others see tourism model. The information will be it as a reunion of old friends. disseminated to villagers so that they understand the concept of ecoMust-see list tourism and adapt themselves to A favourite spot to enjoy a view tourism services. “Every aspect of of the plateau is Son Moc Huong eco-tourism in the region will be or Doi (Bat) Cave. Inside the cavcovered,” says Phong. This will inern, stalactites and stalagmites clude development of service skills form fantastic shapes inside the and, most importantly, awareness mountain. of the need to preserve traditional Also a feast for the imagination values and the environment. is Thac Nang (Girl Waterfall) or Promising results information Dai Yem (Pink Blouse Waterfall) about tourism in Moc Chau Disat Vat Village. Sourced from Bo trict has been widely disseminated Co Lam and Bo Ta Chau, Vat New Year’s jig: New Year celebration of Mong ethnic among tour companies and tourstream merges with Bo Sap minority people in Moc Chau District, Son La Province. ists. The provincial Trade and Stream and tumbles over a preciTourism Department has organpice to become Dai Yem Waterfall. ised many fact-finding tours of the With its lush vegetation and village to introduce tourism induspolished coloured pebbles, locals try representatives to the model say the waterfall is one of nature’s that combines eco-tourism with gifts to the long-standing village, poverty eradication. which is home to a number of his“The village has welcomed more torical buildings like Vat Pagoda than 300 visitors,” says Phong. as well as folk songs, dances and “Although this is not a consideratraditional cuisine.

At the bottom of the falls, visitors ble number, it signals that investcan have a rest in Vat Village where ment will attract more visitors.”

Thai ethnic people in their stilt Dissemination of information Old McDonald: Dairy cows belonging to a farmer in Lam houses weave traditional brocade. about the model to the villagers Thach Tran, Moc Chau District.

If you want to get your hearthas motivated people to protect rate going, the climb to Phieng the environment and conserve traLuong Peak, about 1,500m above sea cupations and culture. It is home to 90 ditional values, he says. The planner is level, and Chieng Vien Pagoda, reveals a families—most of them farmers. confident that the draft project will not stunning panoramic view of the plateau.

“The commune is one of Moc Chau only ensure the village’s development, it A good way to quench your thirst is District’s poorest villages,” says Phong. will also help eradicate poverty in the with a fresh cup of warm milk, sold “But it has the potential for tourism de- remote northern highlands.

Moc Chau Tourism Site has been listfrom small shops on the road through velopment.” the plateau. Most of the dairy cattle Apart from the peaceful landscape, ed as one of Viet Nam’s priority projects produce milk for a State-run dairy tourists visiting the village will have the until 2015, says Dr Nguyen Minh Duc, farm, one of the biggest suppliers of chance to taste its culture and enjoy the head of Son La Province’s Moc Chau fresh milk for the country. peaceful life of the local community. Tourism Site’s Management Board.

“The Son La Province aims to preThese features distinguish the village Green scene from other popular tourist destina- serve a number of villages for agriculKeeping tourism in harmony with tions, argues Son La Trade and Tour- ture and avoid disrupting the lives of the environment has been a priority for ism deputy director Nguyen Van Binh. local people while, at the same time, a project to develop Moc Chau’s re“Tourism development could help encouraging more farmers to take admote, mostly Thai-speaking Chieng eliminate poverty,” he says. vantage of tourism,” Duc says.

V NA /VNS P hoto /Ng o L ich

VNA /VNS P hoto Anh Tuan

the Love Market takes place. The market is part of a traditional festival of the Mong ethnic people, and brings together different Mong groups like the Mong Do (Mong wearing white), Mong Du (black), Mong Si (red) and Mong Lenh (flowers).

March 22-28, 2009

| 31 |

Kur niawan H ari /The JA KA RTA P OST

Explore

OLD IS BEAUTIFUL: A brick house in Zili Village in Kaiping.

TRAVELLING INTO CHINA’S PAST Kaiping City, about 140kms away from Guangzhou, Is a perfect place to look at China’s glorious past and natural beauty GUANGZHOU

Kurniawan Hari The Jakarta Post

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hina today is a modern country, after rapid infrastructure development in almost every city.

In Beijing, the construction of the Bird’s Nest stadium and the Water Cube aquatic centre for last year’s Olympic Games is nothing less than hard evidence of | 32 |

its economic might.

In Guangzhou, a city in southern China, we can also witness the robust economy, as seen from the massive construction of public facilities such as highways and bridges, not to mention skyscrapers.

Despite its modernity, China is admirable for its strong devotion to the preservation of its culture and traditions. Several journalists from Southeast Asia were recently invited to look at China’s glorious past and natural beauty.

Our tour guide Thomas Shau jumped out of the bus that took us from downtown Guangzhou in southern China to Kaiping City, about 140kms to the southwest.

After talking with people at the ticket booth, Thomas shouted to us: “This way, please! This way, please!” This was heard repeatedly on our trip as he was worried we may get separated which might disrupt the tight schedule.

On that sunny day, Thomas had brought us to Li Garden to see the attractions and beautiful old buildings in the estate belonging to the wealthy family. Covering an area of more than one hectare, the complex consists of a man-made lake, narrow canals, hills and old buildings of outstanding architectural interest.

The area was built between 1926 and 1936 by Xiewei Li, a Chinese man who migrated to the United States.

After he became wealthy, he returned to China and built the houses and spacious garden later known as Li Garden. The property combines exotic Chinese gardens with the charm of Western architecture.

In the complex, all the houses, some multi-storey, are alike architecturally and share similar amenities. The windows are protected by four different coverings; the outer part is an iron panel, followed by iron bars, mosquito nets and then a wood panel.

“They used extra safety measures because they wanted to defend themselves from Japanese invaders. One window was damaged when the Japanese tried March 22-28, 2009

LI GARDEN: The gate to the Li Garden estate.

be a mistake as we have lessons to learn from this old village, which was inscribed on the list of Unesco’s World Cultural Heritage sites in 2007.

Located in Tangkou Town, still in Kaiping City, the village consists of three sub-villages constructed between 1821 and 1920. There is a cluster of nine towers known as Diaolou and a group of six Western-style villas, along with single-storey houses built of brick and with tiled roofs among the rice fields.

The nine Diaolou are Anlou, Juanlou, Longshenglou, Mingshilou, Quianjulou, Yinonglou, Yunhualou, Zhenanlou and Shulinglou. They were built around the same time in the 1920s by prosperous Chinese emigrants returning to their roots from the United States and elsewhere.

Although different in ornamental detail, the Diaolou are all built of reinforced concrete and are similar in concept: five or six stories high with a bal-

of the guest, they will open the door and welcome them. But, if they don’t know, they will shoot them through the holes,” Thomas said.

The furniture and interior decoration show visitors that those who lived in the Diaolou were extremely wealthy families. The beauty of the old standing clock, the chandelier, the paintings and sculptures would impress all visitors.

They present a complete picture of the success and aspirations of the returning Chinese immigrants.

Our next stop was the Nanfeng Ancient Kiln in Shiwan, the hometown of the ceramic industry. Built during the Ming Dynasty in the 1500s, its wood fire has lasted for 500 years, and it is still producing ceramics in to pry it open,” Thomas said, pointing the original way. to a damaged window.

As we were visiting the kiln, an old The houses are special because there man showed us how to make pottery is a kitchen on each floor. Thomas exwith the help of his young apprentice, plained that the kitchen allowed the who turned the pottery wheel by inhabitants to still cook meals when the means of his right foot. Within few lower floors were inunminutes, the man had dated by floods. created a vase, which The entrance to the was removed from the rather grand garden has wheel using a strong a stone-arched gate cord before being put which declares the resiinto the kiln. dency of the Li family Walking through in two large, handwritnarrow corridors, we ten Chinese characters arrived at the Shiwan meaning ‘Li Garden’.

Ceramics Museum, The garden incorporates where we saw displays a walk-in aviary, a small of ancient ceramic collake and a flower pavillections with various ion along with numerdesigns and the history ous trees and plants. of the kiln.

Standing erect in the The Borneo Post edigarden are two steel poles tor Harry Anak Julin called the ‘tiger whip’ who was on the tour exWHERE WATER FALLS: The beautiful man-made waterfall decorates the Shiwan which were built to scare Ceramic Museum. pressed his admiration away evil spirits. of the creativity and arAs many of us were still tistic skill the Chinese enjoying the breeze in this subtropical ustrade-equipped terrace at the lowest people possess. region, Thomas ordered us to gather level and arcaded loggias at the top lev“I would like to spend one or two and get on the bus. el to catch the breeze. more days here to learn about the pot“It’s time to go and see Zili Village,” We had the opportunity of entering tery making process,” he said. he said. one Diaolou, Mingshilou, and climbed At the end of the tour, we came Zili Village is only minutes away to the rooftop. Similar to the build- across another stunning view: It was of from Li Garden to the northeast. As our ings at Li Garden, the Diaolou at a man-made waterfall created from bus stopped in front of the gate, we got Zili Village also applied extra secu- hundreds of pieces of colourful pottery out and went to the old village on foot. rity measures. There are two holes pots over which a steady stream of With a dry landscape, dirty ponds and above the main door through which sparkling water flowed. old brick houses, frankly, the village the inhabitants can peep to identify Its stunning beauty highlights the does not provide a feast for the eyes. anyone knocking on the door. creativity of Chinese people from the To ignore this place, however, would “If the inhabitants know the identity past to the present.

March 22-28, 2009

| 33 |

DATE BOOK HONG KONG

33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival

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he festival showcases the best in Asian cinema, with red carpet premieres and a glamorous awards gala for the 3rd Asian Film Awards. Nominees for the coveted title of ‘Best Film’ include Chinese films Red Cliff and Forever Enthralled. The festival will screen over 250 titles from more than 50 countries, one of the opening films is Jackie Chan’s The Shinjuku Incident.

When: March 22-April 13 2009 Info: www.hkiff.org.hk

PAT TAYA

Pattaya International Music Festival 2009

T

he grand Pattaya Music Festival is back in town to entertain music lovers. This is an unrivalled opportunity to enjoy a weekend of listening and dancing to beautiful music performed by more than 100 musicians. The event is supported by well-known music companies such as GMM Grammy and its partners Modernine TV, Channel [V] Thailand, Channel [V] International and the Korea Foundation for International Exchange. It features Thai musicians Golf&Mike, Pancake, Clash, ABNormal, Paradox, Bodyslam, Ebola, Zeal, Joey Boy and THE STAR. International artists such as SHINEE and Girl’s generation from Korea, Kym Jin Sha from China, Cirque due Freak from Australia, Minh Thu from Vietnam, Rynn Lim from Malaysia, and Kenny Kwan from Hong Kong will also join the event.

When: March 20-22 Info: +66-3842-1005-6 Email: tatchon@tat.or.th

JAIPUR

Gangaur

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angaur is one of the most important festivals in Rajasthan, held each spring in honour of Gauri, the goddess of purity and patron of unmarried girls. Expect colourful processions and noisy celebrations—especially from the women. Colourful decorated images of Gauri are taken out in processions with huge fanfare. In Hindu mythology, Gauri is generally the unmarried goddess Parvati, before she married Lord Shiva. She underwent extreme penances and purifications in order to attain the glory of marrying the ascetic and emotionally invulnerable god.

When: March 29-30 Info: http://www.rajasthantourism.gov.in/

TOKYO

International AnimÉ Fair 2009

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okyo, the animé capital of the world, hosts an international fair dedicated to those much-loved Japanese cartoons. Trade stalls, exhibitions, screenings and the Tokyo Animé Awards take over the capital’s Big Sight centre for the fourday event. Note that the first two days are trade only, when designers, animators and amateurs hobnob with industry moguls.

The doors open to the public on Friday and Saturday.

When: March 18-21, 10am-6pm Where: Tokyo Big Sight Info: http://www.tokyoanime.jp/en/

S I N GA P O R E

Pictures of Asia: Modern and Contemporary Art Larasati’s 13th Sale

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arasati will preview a collection of unique and engaging works to the world of visual arts. The recent attentiveness to Korean Art has seen the works of Cho Jung Wha (Korea), Park Ji Hye (Korea) and sculptor Lee Yong Deok (Korea) gain increased focus and discussion among academics, collectors and appreciators. Both artists are highlights in the upcoming auctions among others, which include established names such as Agus Suwage (Indonesia), Yunizar (Indonesia) and Alit Sembodo (Indonesia) in the modern contemporary section. Old masters considered as founders of modern Indonesian Art such as Sudjojono, Affandi and Hendra Gunawan will be included in the collection. Young and emerging Indonesian talents to look out for are R.E. Hartanto, Ugy Sugiarto, Edy Gunawan, Gusmen Heriadi and Sapto Sugiyo Utomo. Also, highlights in the collection are Japanese sculptor Hiroto Kitagawa, and painter Ayoko Rokkaku.

When: March 19-22 Preview: 8am-11pm Auction: Starts at 1pm Where: HT Contemporary Space Tickets: Free admission Info: http://www.larasati.com

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