Eight Magazine 01/14 - Street Stories

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street stories

welcome The stories of people’s lives are laced through the walls of our hotels and their surrounds, whether it’s the intoxicating streets of Bangkok’s Silom, or New Delhi’s emerging creative laneways and villages; the colourful shophouses and history-steeped cafés of Phuket’s Old Town; or the flurry of cutting-edge galleries and cultural hubs blossoming in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

In this edition of Eight we take these five Dusit destinations, select a street in each one, and introduce a fascinating collection of people – artists, musicians, chefs, business owners, writers and designers – who live, work or play on that street.

Take acclaimed chef Tim Butler, the creative engine behind Eat Me restaurant, who revels in the hubbub that is Silom – the area both his eatery and our flagship hotel, Dusit Thani Bangkok, call home. Then there’s award-winning Thai photographer Manit Sriwanichpoon, who’s also intrigued by Silom’s blend of traditional and contemporary. We even take you into the Bangkok Seashell Museum, a quirkily alluring space wedged between office blocks and smoky street-food stalls.

In Dubai, we meet a British DJ living in Jumeirah Beach Residences and a Lebanese fashion designer making waves in the UAE; in New Delhi we guide you through leafy Hauz Khas village, brimming with arty types of all persuasions. In Phuket we discover the rich, multicultural heritage of the Old Town’s Thalang Road; while in Abu Dhabi – a city so new it was tricky to single out a particular street – we find most people are from overseas and have relocated to the UAE for work.

Through their stories we give an intimate glimpse into each destination, illustrating the contrasting characters of the cities in which Dusit operates. As Dusit International expands globally, it is with great pleasure that I present to you the first edition of the new-look Eight – m I hope you enjoyy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it for you.

David Shackleton COO, Dusit International

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street stories BANGKOK

PHUKET

NEW DELHI

DUBAI & ABU DHABI

PHOTOGRAPHY

Tom Sturrock

Simon N Ostheimer

Simar Preet Kaur

Peter Feely

David Terrazas

Australian Tom moved to Bangkok two years ago, and edits food, art & travel magazine Bangkok 101.

Hong Kong-raised Simon’s (www.simonostheimer.com) favourite part of his adoptive island is the Old Town.

Formerly a Mumbai-based inflight magazine editor, Simar now writes fiction at her Himalayan home.

Peter moved two years ago to work for Time Out Dubai, giving him unique insight into life in the UAE.

David (www.davidterrazas photography.com) hails from Spain, and has worked in Asia for four years.

Why did you choose Silom Road for Eight?

It’s an old district that has been massively shaped by modern forces. You’ve got skyscrapers and swanky bars, but down the side streets people have been living the same way for generations.

Your favourite Silom places?

Maggie Choo’s and Eat Me encapsulate Bangkok’s growing sophistication.

Quintessential Bangkok experience?

Riding a longtail boat along the Chao Phraya.

Who was the best person to interview?

I learned an incredible amount about Phuket history from Nong at i46, and Phuket Heritage Trails’ Chaya gave great insight into growing up in the area.

How would you spend a day eating on Thalang Road?

Roti and curry at Aroon’s (124 Thalang Rd) for breakfast; i46 (46 Krabi Rd) for kopi cham (coffee and tea); and for lunch, Hokkien mee at Kopitiam

by Wilai (18 Thalang Rd).

Where’s your favourite spot in Hauz Khas Village?

The 13th-century tombs overlooking the lake are an oasis in the busy city, especially on rainy mornings with fewer visitors.

What was the most memorable interview?

The photographer and I spent three hours waiting for comedian Zakir Khan opposite the local barbershop for a shoot.

Meanwhile, the barber closed and reopened six times. Khan arrived on his seventh tea break.

Most enjoyable interview?

Entrepreneur Ahmed Ben Chaibah. Not only was he far more extroverted and open than I expected, he was also inspiring with his relentless work ethic.

Quintessential UAE experiences?

All visitors should cross Dubai Creek on an abra, a traditional form of water taxi; and no Abu Dhabi trip would be complete without experiencing Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Where did you most enjoy shooting?

Hauz Khas at New Delhi. I spent hours with the personalities; it was a great photographic and personal experience.

And who were the most interesting people?

Suryakant and Zakir Khan were both really welcoming, and full of life and energy.

Tips for Bangkok?

Sushi Masa near Rajtaevee BTS station; street food at Sukhumvit Soi 38; and drinks at Maggie Choo’s.

Ink Liz Weselby Editorial Director / Peter Stephens Design Director / Jonathan Evans Chief Sub-Editor / Jeanina Peñas Photo Editor / Helen Punzalan Production Manager Jeffrey O’Rourke Chief Executive Officer / Hugh Godsal Chief Financial Officer / Simon Leslie Publishing Director / Michael Keating Executive Creative Director / Gerry Ricketts Managing Director Maps Martin Sanders - The Illustration Room Dusit International Catherine McNabb Vice President Sales & Marketing / Gerrit Klaus-Gunther Kruger Director of Branding & Loyalty Marketing Advertising Enquiries Pritika Hemmady Group Publisher / Nayarorn Konrajpobmonkol Media Specialist - Tel: +65 6302 2389 - nayarorn.konrajpobmonkol@ink-global.com Eight is published on behalf of Dusit International by Ink Publishing Pte Ltd. All articles and photographs published herein are created by the authors and photographers at their own discretion and do not necessarily represent the views of Dusit. Dusit International holds no responsibility or liability arising out of the publication of such articles and photographs. All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. All prices and data are correct at the time of publication.

Ink Publishing Pte Ltd 51 Changi Business Park Central 2, The Signature, #04-11A/12, Singapore 486066. Tel +65 6324 2386, fax +65 6491 5261, www.ink-global.com. Printed by Comform Co, Ltd. MCI (P) 117/02/2014

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Silom Road BANGKOK

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SILOM ROAD IS WHERE OLD THAILAND COLLIDES WITH MODERN BANGKOK, AND IS FULL OF THE CONTRADICTIONS THAT ARISE FROM SUCH A JUXTAPOSITION Pockmarked with skyscrapers, Silom Road is one of Bangkok’s oldest and busiest thoroughfares, stretching from Lumpini Park at its east end to Charoen Krung and the river at its west. Nowhere else exemplifies Bangkok’s perplexing yet intoxicating character quite like Silom: here you will find luxury hotels alongside multinational corporations, street vendors standing outside top-notch restaurants, and back-soi (street) markets snaking around gleaming shopping malls.

life. Towards the river the road becomes slightly more sedate: an echo of how Bangkok used to be.

Here you’ll find art galleries, antique shops, and bars and restaurants providing thrills of a more epicurean kind.

Around Sala Daeng Skytrain station the road is gridlocked with traffic, and its pavements are crawling with office workers. At night, this area is the epicentre of Bangkok’s infamous after-hours scene as Patpong bursts into

3 Ash Sutton, designer & Sanya Souvanna, managing partner, Maggie Choo’s

1 Tim Butler, chef at Eat Me 2 Manit Sriwanichpoom, award-winning photographer, artist and owner of Kathmandu Gallery

4 Bangkok Seashell Museum 5 Gemstone and jewellery traders

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1 Tim Butler p8 2 Manit Sriwanichpoom p12 3 Ash Sutton & Sanya Souvanna p18 4 The Bangkok Seashell Museum p24 5 Jewellers p26

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Tim Butler Chef Eat Me

“Silom is a living, pulsating thing with all its different areas. It runs the full gamut, from the grittiest and grimiest of Thailand to refined and everything in between. There’s Isaan food, Thai-Chinese stuff, Indian as you move towards the temple and then Chinese again as you get closer to the river. It’s a great place just to wander around.”

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Just around the corner from Silom’s heaving centre,

Dusit’s Pathumwan Princess is a business hotel with direct access to MBK Center mall. Located in old Bangkok, Royal Princess Larn Luang allows for easy exploration of attractions like the Grand Palace and Wat Po (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha). The hotel’s Mikado restaurant is famed for its sushi bar. www.dusit.com

Eat Me has carved out a niche as one of Bangkok’s bestloved and most innovative restaurants; as testament to this it was ranked number 19 among Asia’s best restaurants in this year’s San Pellegrino-sponsored list. Eat Me’s menu defies easy categorisation. It’s hard to narrow it down beyond calling it “modern international”, conceived with a twist and an emphasis on seafood and game.

“I prefer the word ‘schizophrenic’,” the restaurant’s chef Tim Butler insists. “We use products from all over the world, flavours from all over the world. We’re not boxed into French food or American food or Australian food. Our customers are international enough that they appreciate the mix.

“We try to focus on interesting ingredients – we’re not a locally driven restaurant but if there’s a local version that’s better, I’ll use that. And it has to be responsibly produced. Generally, I don’t design dishes – I find a product that I like and the dish designs itself around that. I don’t sit down and think: I want to make a curry. Instead I’ll find something, or something will show up on our doorstep, and I’ll decide it may work in a curry.”

Butler, who was a pastry chef in New York before moving to Bangkok five years ago, has also been influenced by Thai cuisine. A good example of this is his spicy chicken leg, which comes marinated in lemongrass and served with peppers, roasted green mango and chilli sauce. “I’m not afraid of using a lot of chilli,” he says. “In the West it might be too much, but it’s kind of cool that in Thailand you can get away with it. If people show up and order a spicy dish, they know that it’s going be actually spicy. It’s not going to be the Minnesota version of spicy.”

Butler’s red venison loin has a more obvious European influence, served with toasted pasta, pistachio and mushrooms, then drizzled with chocolate-tinged stout beer.

“Not many people use venison in Thailand,” Butler explains. “It’s quite hard to sell – Thai people aren’t big on it. They eat it up country in Isaan, but not so much in Bangkok. They’re a little twitchy about game in general – it’s maybe not considered very sophisticated.”

Butler, though, is betting on tastes changing and horizons broadening. His confidence stems from the fact that he’s already seen seismic shifts in Bangkok’s restaurant scene. “I’m not sure exactly what the catalyst for change was with the Thai dining public. When I first came here, I was often told: ‘Thais won’t eat this or that’,” he recalls.

“Somewhere along the line, that all changed – whether that’s a bigger middle class, people travelling more or food TV, customers

have become more open-minded and willing to try new things.

In the last three or four years, every month there’s something new,” the chef continues. “It’s incredible, the young cooks now coming here and doing their thing. It’s grown exponentially.

When I moved here eight or nine years ago, it was the hotels and that was about it.”

Butler is excited about the change of direction. “This movement right now is still in the very beginning. [Australian chef] David Thompson, for example, is going to produce [up to] 20 phenomenal Thai chefs – what’s that going to lead to? Bangkok’s in the infancy of that. In five years’ time, people like me will be the old men on the block. All the young cooks, that’s what’s super-exciting.”

Eat Me, Soi Pipat 2, Silom Rd; tel: +66 (0)2 238 0931 eatmerestaurant.com

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Manit Sriwanichpoom Owner Kathmandu Photography Gallery

“Silom is a perfect setting for this fusion between the traditional and the cosmopolitan. It’s an old part of Bangkok but has steadily become a hub for small galleries. I hope it can become an art district. On this side of Naradhiwas intersection, you don’t feel like it’s dominated by high-rises; around Patpong, you get that feeling.”

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It’s 33 years since Manit Sriwanichpoom’s first exhibition. In the years since, his work has been showcased internationally, and he has become one of Thailand’s foremost contemporary photographers. Manit is best known for his Pink Man series, which revolves around a Thai gentleman dressed in a garish pink tuxedo, sometimes pushing a shopping trolley, his surroundings flitting between the everyday and the surreal.

Sometimes he is out among Sukhumvit’s gleaming shopping malls; at other times, he towers like Godzilla between Bangkok’s skyscrapers.

Pink Man has become Manit’s signature, a technicolour avatar for his anxieties about the effects wrought on Thailand by consumer culture and rapid modernisation. “My work is meant to raise questions for audiences, and hopefully they can help answer it,” he says.

“Pink Man represents how people look at the world, and how they consume and worry about having this, having that, all the time.”

As Manit talks, a welcome breeze dances in through the open windows of his Kathmandu Photography Gallery, which he set up in an old shophouse on Pan Road, around the corner from Silom Road in 2006, and opened one week after the coup d’état against Thaksin Shinawatra. “We planned to open before that – we spent one year renovating it,” Manit says.

“It was an accident that we had a

gallery. My wife liked the shophouse and suggested it could become a gallery for my work, but I didn’t plan to run it. In Bangkok we don’t have a lot of galleries for photography – it’s not a very popular medium for collectors.

“It used to be an office, and they had covered everything up – the ceilings, the walls and the floor – and the first thing we did was to take everything away because we wanted to see the original structure. We wanted to keep that – to take back the feeling of the building.”

As a photographer, Manit’s abiding fascination is with mapping the faultlines of Thai society, corralling his audience into a moment of selfexamination. It is an approach he carries with him in his other roles, both as a gallery owner and also as a teacher.

“When I teach photography, I open the textbook and it’s all about the Western history of photography,” he says. “But what about in Thailand? Do we have anything?

That is the question I ask. And it’s very difficult to do any research.”

This notion of first looking back in order to understand the present animates Kathmandu’s Forgotten Masters series: regular exhibitions of Thai photographers barely acknowledged in their own time, whose images capture Thailand as it once was. For example, last year, Manit showed the work of Saengjun Limlohakul, who had documented life in Phuket in the 1950s, when it was still a humble tin mining centre. His images show elephants walking through streets lined with colonial architecture, as well as the first manifestations of nightlife.

“In Thai society, there is not much interest in the history of the common people,” Manit explains. “When they record history, it is all about the monarchy or the ruler. But in the area of photography, we should look at what happened in the past.”

If Manit’s role as teacher informs this didactic approach – embracing photographs as a historical document – then his other life as an artist and

Bangkok is home to four Dusit hotels, each completely different in its design and style.

Flagship hotel Dusit Thani Bangkok is a city landmark located opposite Lumpini Park.

During its prestigious 40-year history the Dusit has hosted royalty, international stars and thousands of guests. www.dusit.com

agent provocateur is equally on show. In the collections he chooses to exhibit at Kathmandu, Manit is constantly searching for a new way to hold a mirror to Thai society, to play on its sense of itself and ultimately subvert it. That, he believes, is the role of art.

“I look for something that you’ve never seen before, or that gives a new perspective,” he says. “I also try to support young photographers and look for work that has value for Thai society. I could show work from other countries, but it’s hard for people to make any connection.

“I want work that talks about the social and political issues. That is the role of art – to engage the society. Contemporary art is about today’s events and problems. That’s why it’s so important.

I try to find work that has that dialogue.”

It is inevitable that Manit’s art – and the art of other photographers housed in Kathmandu – addresses Thailand’s ongoing political unrest. As a photographer and as a curator, Manit sees it as his responsibility to shock his audience out of their complacency, to short-circuit comfortable, selfdefeating patterns of behaviour.

“If you look at what’s happening in Thailand now, you can’t just put your head in the sand and ignore everything,” he says. “We need to ask what happened. How did we get here? I think we haven’t done that enough. We haven’t had enough questions, maybe because we enjoy life too much.”

The current situation even raises the prospect of the Pink Man reappearing. Asked where the Pink Man would fit in Thailand’s 21st-century milieu, Manit pauses before giving an answer that reveals the essence of his approach.

“People need to try to find balance,” he says.

“We lose that balance. Look at the world: we let the material dominate the spiritual side. When the spiritual side dominates, that’s okay, but once you lose that, that’s a problem. The material is limited.

Not everyone can have it. But the spiritual is inside you – you can have as much as you want.

“This is something Thai society needs to combat,” says Manit. “This is why Pink Man is still relevant today.”

Kathmandu Photography Gallery 87 Pan Rd, Silom; tel: + 66 (0)2 234 6700 kathmandu-bkk.com

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Sanya & Ash Managing partner and designer Maggie Choo’s

“One hundred years ago, this [building] was a depot bank. If you were a trader, you would arrive by the river, disembark and get carried to this place to stock up until the new transport arrived. Maybe by train or by road – it was unpredictable. So if you had a shipment of tobacco or chinaware, this would be the place where you’d store it while you wait for the next boat. So it does make sense – it does have a context.

A lot of people ask us whether we could do it elsewhere, but it’s also something that has to fit into the locale. It fits.” Sanya Souvanna

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How did you come up with the concept for Maggie Choo’s?

Ash: It’s half-truthful – it being a depot for the East India Company.

The original warehouse is across the river. Maggie Choo is a fictional character in my mind who escaped World War II and came to Bangkok.

Sanya: We were trying to find a name – it was a bank, so we were thinking of locksmiths, and then our initials. Then we decided to have the Maggie Choo’s girls hanging out so it would be like a cabaret/ bordello. So we had to come up with the name of a mamasan. I knew a lady in Hong Kong called Maggie Chu, and that name stuck with me – the Western name with a Chinese surname.

A magical underbelly lies beneath the unassuming Novotel Bangkok Fenix Silom. Tucked in the basement of the hotel is Maggie Choo’s, one of the most innovative and high-concept bars in Bangkok. It comes complete with an intriguing (though fictional) backstory: the eponymous Choo escaped Shanghai during World War II and came to Bangkok, where she moved into an old shipping depot and turned it into a fabulous cabaret bar.

This invention is realised in every detail of the venue – from the authentic Chinese noodle shop out front to the jade lighting, exposed brickwork and plush sofas of the interior. There’s a whiff of 19th-century opium den, and the punchy cocktail list also harks back to that era.

And then, every night, at about 9.30pm, a coterie of Maggie Choo’s girls sashay out from behind the heavy velvet curtains, clad in bright red cheongsams, and drape themselves across the bar, on swings and even the grand piano tucked away in one corner. Impromptu performances punctuate the night and there’s often a live jazz band playing.

At Maggie Choo’s, you never know what to expect; the bar offers one of Bangkok’s most immersive experiences. Here, designer Ash Sutton and managing partner Sanya Souvanna invite us into their imagined world of 1930s Shanghai.

To the east of central Bangkok in Bangna district, Dusit Princess Srinakarin is 10 minutes from the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre. The Chinese Restaurant is the hotel’s main dining attraction, offering Cantonese and Szechuan food. www.dusit.com

It’s been over one year since opening. How’s it going?

Sanya: It’s been quick and eventful. It had its ups and downs – obviously, we were very disappointed by the political situation. There was a definite slowdown in terms of activity and we invested a lot at the end of November. But it’s picking up again.

Ash, you’re renowned for the original design of your Bangkok bars [Iron Fairies, Fat Gut’z Saloon and Bangkok Betty]. How do you come up with ideas?

Ash: I see a space and feel it – an empty space and I think about what can go there. I like history, so maybe that comes into my mind when I’m doing it. I know how to build – it’s easy. I like to get [to grips with] the tools. I designed Maggie Choo’s with the swings and crawling cagework. I built a lot of it myself, probably 90%. It was full of sand and had concrete foundations.

What do you think of Silom’s nightlife?

Sanya: Silom is hectic – the only thing that’s missing is a nightclub. There’s KU DE TA, but that’s very ambitious, very big. I think there should be a medium-sized nightclub.

What’s your background? How did you end up doing this?

Ash: In Australia, I was in boat building and underground mining. I came to Bangkok by accident – I had a business in the US and was buying some raw materials. I designed a studio here for some web designers. That was the Iron Fairies office, and people decided they wanted drinks there – that’s how I got into F&B. Sanya: My father is Laotian and my mother is Thai – I was born down the road in Silom, but grew up in Paris. I’ve been in Bangkok since 1997 – I became a photographer, then I met my partners who opened [nightlife venue] Bed Supperclub. We closed Bed last August, and in the meantime I opened Quince [restaurant on Sukhumvit soi 45]. I like to organise events and surround myself with artists.

How have you seen Bangkok change since in terms of eating and drinking?

Sanya: Bed Supperclub brought nightlife in Bangkok to an international level, but even there I started with a certain customer base and we didn’t really renew ourselves. Every 10 years there’s a new market of young adults who don’t necessarily adhere to an old club; they want something new and different.

Ash: There wasn’t a place in Thong Lor that sold wine [when I first arrived], so it’s changed a lot like that. It’s become more astute and educated, but it’s still missing an intimate cocktail place – that’s what I’m aiming for. I want to turn this place into a nice cocktail place and then a jazz club with cabaret.

Maggie Choo’s, 320 Silom Rd; tel: +66 (0)2 635 6055

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Natthida Sricharoon Manager Bangkok Seashell Museum

With its white frontage, decorated with a large cochlea, Bangkok Seashell Museum is conspicuous among the office towers, street stalls and traffic jams of Silom. Manager Natthida is responsible for maintaining the collection of shells – which runs the full gamut of size, colour and origin.

On the ground floor of the Bangkok Seashell Museum, a giant clam – or bivalve, to use its official name – takes pride of place, spanning at least two metres in width. It’s the centrepiece of a private collection owned by Somnuek Pattamakanthin, one of Thailand’s leading concologists (seashell experts).

“It’s the centre of Bangkok and we have many foreigners who have fallen in love with seashells, having never seen them like this,” manager Natthida Sricharoon says. “Some of the shells are from the owner’s private collection – it takes a long time to find the best ones.”

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The Jewellers Silom Road Bangkok

Silom is Bangkok’s gemstone and jewellery district. In a city where gemstone scams are rife, it’s useful to know where to go for genuine, high-quality stones. Alongside the Jewelry Trade Center (JTC, pictured above), which is made up of wholesale merchants and designers, there are well-reputed, independent shops.

Matinuddin

Yui

Salesperson Sadruddin Jewellers International

Owner Eklada Jewelry

Matinuddin Danishuddin sifts carefully through a pile of opals.

“They come from Ethiopia; we cut them in India, and sell them in Bangkok,” he explains. “Opals were quite rare, but they’ve become cheap recently so they’re more popular.” Matinuddin explains that, when assessing opals, “fire pattern” and “play of colour” are the key indicators of quality. The fire pattern is the way the light is refracted in different shapes through the stone, while play of colour refers to the way the stone flashes, shining in a full spectrum of tones.

Yui Watcharapunjamas often travels far to purchase stock.

“Sometimes I go all the way to [eastern Thai province] Chantaburi to buy,” she says. Although Yui stocks a wide variety of stones, including blue topaz, citrine and purple amethyst, she has found herself specialising in rubies and sapphires – revered gems in Thailand. “The ruby is a special stone for people who collect them or make jewellery,” she says. “It’s the ‘king of stones’; the sapphire is the ‘queen’. We get a lot of them, from places like Myanmar, Mozambique and Sri Lanka.”

Sadruddin Jewellers International Co, 919/1 Floor B1, Room B9F-B10, JTC; tel: +66 (0)8 7683 9021

Eklada Jewelry, Bangkok Fashion Outlet, B1 Floor; tel: +66 (0)8 1420 7939

Weerawat

Panisa

Owner Gemoria

Manager Jasmine Jewelry Factory

When Weerawat Woramahakun opened his store two years ago, Silom was the obvious choice. “It’s the centre of business, and there are a lot of big hotels around here as well,” he says. “It’s easier for tourists to come down and have a look and compare different stones.” Weerawat encourages his clients to broaden their tastes. “I really want to introduce people to different combinations of gemstones,” he says. “Traditionally, diamonds have been popular in Thailand – as are rubies, sapphires and emeralds – but I want to promote other, lesser-known stones.”

Jewellery at Jasmine is design-driven.

“We have the necklaces handmade and the designs are all unique,” says Panisa. “We use raw materials of various kinds depending on the design and what’s most suitable.

We look for beautiful colours, high quality and durability.

“Our customers are mostly guests of the hotel. A lot of them are regulars who have bought from us before and come back,” Panisa says. “We also get a lot of business travellers from China, Korea and Japan.”

Gemoria, B37 B1 Floor, JTC; tel: +66 (0)8 6791 3338

Jasmine Jewelry Factory, Lobby, Dusit Thani Bangkok

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DUBAI’S JUMEIRAH BEACH WALK OFFERS A SNAPSHOT OF THE DIVERSE MIX OF NATIONALITIES AND CULTURES THAT MAKE UP THE EMIRATE’S POPULATION Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Residences, known locally as JBR, was only created in 2008, but is already home to over 20,000 people. With its 1.7km boulevard, The Walk, dotted with hotels, shops and restaurants, JBR has evolved into one of Dubai’s most popular destinations.

cars, people in traditional dress socialising over shisha, and a cross section of young Western, Eastern and Asian tourists – as well as seasoned locals and expats – sharing the walkway against the backdrop of Dubai’s famous skyline.

This year saw the opening of a brand new development at JBR - The Beach. Created directly behind the sands of the Arabian Gulf, the project has resulted in a further 1km of shops, oceanfront restaurants, green spaces and beach facilities, as well as an outdoor cinema.

Unashamedly brash and modern, JBR is home to wealthy locals crawling the strip in their exotic

6 Ghada Kunash, Jordanian collector and owner of Vindemia Gallery 7 Benjamind Martin, Filipino skateboarder 8 DJ Adam, British resident DJ at high-end nightspot Mahiki, and resident of JBR 9 Zayan Ghandour, Lebanese fashion designer, owner of S*uce boutiques

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6 Ghada Kunash p34 7 DJ Adam p38 8 Benjamind Martin p40 9 Zayan Ghandour p42

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Ghada Kunash Owner Vindemia Gallery

A lifelong passion for collecting art and antiques from across the world, manifests itself in JBR’s Vindemia Gallery: a wonderful curio shop stocking a diverse range of collectibles from 19th-century porcelain to mechanical musical instruments.

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Nosing out collectibles in markets in cities like Istanbul, London and Paris is a skill Ghada has honed to perfection over the years. Over time, she has also gained a network of dependable associates to help her source the best antiques: “I try to buy from trusted people and those that I have already built relationships with to make sure the items are authentic. But I’m always on the lookout for good contemporary pieces too, just to provide a good mix.”

Ghada’s showroom is a reflection of the wide scope of her interests, with early mechanical musical instruments, silverware and antique furniture on display alongside elaborately decorated Islamic manuscripts dating back to the 18th century.

She seems so completely at home surrounded by these old artefacts, talking expertly about every facet of their history – yet her first career was as a successful architect and product designer in her native Jordan.

Ghada sees a close relationship between the roles:

heart to cut the best deal: “If I find that the client really likes a piece, then I will be generous in my discount because I feel a responsibility.

When you buy these things, you’re preserving them – you restore them, clean them and keep them in shape. You’re passing a piece of history from one generation to another and preserving its story.”

So does she struggle to reconcile a passion for the past in such an uncompromisingly modern city as Dubai? Ghada smiles as she explains: “I’m not against globalisation, but I am against losing identity – and I think that this is the challenge.”

What’s also different about Ghada is her breadth of appreciation for all artistic periods: an eagerness to embrace both the old and the new: “I started with contemporary art to get something to mix with the antiques – as a contrast. And then you start to meet the artists, and you discover that there are fantastic talents in the area.

Dubai is very young and new, and in terms of art it is even younger.“ Ghada named her gallery after the Latin phrase for the best time to harvest the grapes for wine-making. Browse inside and you’ll soon understand why – this is the realm of someone with uncommonly cultivated taste.

“To be an architect is to understand everything around you – the history, the people.”

It’s a background that may help explain her refreshing approach to the world of antique dealing, treating both collectors and the objects themselves with remarkable sensitivity and respect. With a telling smile, she admits to being too romantic at

Jumeirah Beach Residence, Murjan 5; ww.vindemiagallery.com

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DJ Adam Resident

“It was 15 years ago that I came to Dubai, because I rented a video about the place and it was incredible. I just wanted to travel here and see what it was like. I was DJing in England, but it was only a hobby there. This hotel chain called me up and asked me to work for them in Dubai, so I ended up working as a DJ and they put me in all of the new nightclubs they were opening.�

What’s it like to live on JBR? Really amazing – it has the atmosphere of a permanent holiday with the street’s 24-hour lifestyle, beaches, bars and restaurants. I’m hooked on the buzz.

When did you first realise your talent for DJing?

When I was 13 years old in 1993 and I was into hardcore dance music, I had favourite songs on different tapes and I decided to mix my tapes together. My parents saw me doing it and bought me my first turntables, so I taught myself to DJ. Who inspired you to get behind the decks?

[Barbados-born British house music DJ/producer] Carl Cox British DJ Adam is resident is one – I got to DJ with him DJ at Dubai’s branch of famed when I was just 15 years old. He London nightspot and celebrity played here in Dubai for the haunt Mahiki, and a resident first time in seven years recently, of tourist-friendly JBR. Having but I couldn’t go because I was lived by the beach for over working. When I first knew Carl two years, he’s happily settled, Cox, he was playing hardcore playing five nights at Mahiki and – it was literally 180 beats per an additional three gigs in the minute – not like techno or city every week. A dance-music anything. traditionalist, Adam, now 34, has Where else have you worked? been DJing since age 13. He’s I’ve also played in Abu Dhabi lived in Dubai for more than 15 where I was doing Hed Kandi years, during which time he’s and Ministry of Sound parties. seen the city’s nightlife grow I’ve played all over the UAE and from a couple of bars to dozens Bahrain. of world-class clubs and bars.

How long have you been resident at Mahiki?

Well, it’ll be two years this Ramadan. When I’m there I try to play music that caters to the crowd, but I also like to play some serious stuff for the people that like their dance music. Basically, I just try to keep things fun.

What are your thoughts on the clubbing scene out here?

360° in Umm Suqeim has always done it well, with great music, and they keep opening new house clubs in the city. But I’m not sure that there’s a big enough scene here for it to ever be like Ibiza.

They usually have to play commercial music to fill large gigs here. I’m DJing eight gigs a week at the moment, so I don’t have much time; when I do, I like to head out to see new places.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played – and where would you most love to DJ? [My best gig was] Ministry of Sound in Abu Dhabi – the people were there just for the music, so there would be 800 people in this club, going off to house. If I could, I’d choose the obvious – Ibiza. If I could DJ anywhere there, it would be DC-10.

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Benjamind Martin Shop assistant & skateboarder Adventure HQ

“Compared to my country, the skateboarding facilities in Dubai are complete and very good. Back in Manila we just have the rails, ramps and box; here they have their own skate parks.�

Originally from the Philippines, extreme sports fanatic “Benji” is in his element working in a beachside setting among all the outdoor and watersports kit stocked at Adventure HQ. His biggest passion, however, is skateboarding – a street skater for 14 years, the tattooed 28-year-old loves nothing better than hanging out with his crew, honing his skills.

“There have been a lot of accidents. I twisted my ankle and wasn’t able to skate for five months – all I could do was stay at home,” he explains.

“Skateboarding’s not just a game – it’s an extreme sport.”

Four years ago Benji started work in Dubai for a diving company that gave him the opportunity to learn kayaking, standup paddle boarding, wakeboarding and surfing. Yet none of these sports could replace his first love.

Benji’s encouraged by the impressive skateboarding facilities found on JBR and in the area. and has mastered over 80% of the known

skateboarding tricks, thanks to lots of practice. He remains modest, though: “I’ve been skateboarding for 14 years, but rating myself is very hard – only other people can rate me.”

Skateboarding is clearly growing in popularity in the region, with his company Adventure HQ preparing to open a skateboarding facility at its Abu Dhabi branch.

But it’s the draw of hitting the street that really gets Benji’s adrenaline pumping: “What I do with my friends is street skateboarding, where if you see some obstacle – a rail, ledge or stairs – you just skate on it.”

Isn’t that more risky, though? He smiles: “If you want to learn the sport, you have to live with the pain.”

9

Zayan Ghandour Fashion designer and owner S*uce

“Our first store was at Village Mall on Jumeirah Beach Road, because the larger malls were only interested in big labels and big fashion brands. It started very innocently, and we never knew that we would be in the position we’re in now.”

Lebanese fashion designer Zayan Ghandour doesn’t only have great creative vision, Dusit Thani Dubai is just five minutes from the world’s largest shopping mall, The Dubai Mall, and the iconic Burj Khalifa.

The hotel is home to the Benjarong Restaurant, which specialises in Royal Thai cuisine. www.dusit.com

she also displays a keen eye for new business opportunities.

When she glimpsed plans for the recent beachfront redevelopment on JBR, for example, she knew instantly that it would be the perfect venue for one of her S*uce [pronounced “sauce”] boutiques.

Zayan’s entrepreneurial talents first emerged a decade ago when she and her partners, Fatima Ghobash and Dina Saleh, spotted a gap in the Dubai market for a multi-designer concept store. They opened S*uce in 2004 and it has since become one of the UAE’s most talked-about boutiques, growing from a small affair showcasing just 12 designers to one that carries over 500 lines, including fashion, jewellery and even furniture.

She attributes its success to her savvy buying team and a shared philosophy of style that embraces the eye-catching and edgy: “We like to work with small designers and customise the collection as much as possible for the region, introducing things that people wouldn’t have seen before. Our style is not necessarily classic; it’s more something new and hip that will definitely make you stand out.

Honestly, it’s just the things that we love.”

A creative force in her own right, Zayan also has her own eponymous fashion brand, Zayan the Label, which debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 2011. This year, it proved one of the highlights of Dubai’s prestigious annual Fashion Forward event.

Zayan comes from a background in journalism, and sees clear parallels between fashion and writing. As she explains it, style and creativity have always been an integral part of her personality. Juggling the roles of designer, head buyer and businesswoman would be daunting to some, but she relishes the challenge. “The things I truly love about my job are the creative aspects which happen on a daily basis,” she says.

It’s clear that an initial sketch or idea is only a small part of getting her final creations on the catwalk: “With design, the creative

input is minimal – you have around 10% creativity, then the rest is about production issues. I love the mixture – fortunately I have experience in retail and production, so that really helped when I launched the label.” The fashion scene in the UAE may be small when compared to Paris or London, but Zayan is keen to play an active role in the development of Dubai’s design culture. She believes that it has the potential to become a style destination in its own right: “I have attended round-table discussions with Dubai Design District to look at the role of fashion in the context of Dubai’s 2020 vision.

They have a lot of plans to support designers and smaller retailers. Although I don’t think Dubai will ever catch up with Paris, London and New York, I believe these moves will definitely bring it up to the level of places like Australia or Brazil, who are getting a lot of international attention at the moment.”

Given her sharp eye for spotting winning opportunities, fashion watchers would disagree at their peril. After all, having started her design journey with a small range of T-shirts in her own store, Zayan has now become a core member of the city’s stylistas.

Ground Floor, The Village Mall, Jumeirah Beach Rd; www. shopatsauce.com

Dusit Thani Maldives

Hauz Khas Village NEW DELHI

K NOW

THE MAIN STREET OF HAUZ KHAS VILLAGE IS AN UPSCALE, ARTSY NEIGHBOURHOOD THAT ATTRACTS MONEYED BOHEMIANS, CREATIVE TYPES AND THE OCCASIONAL EXPAT Named after a historical lake in the area – Hauz Khas translates as “Royal Tank” in Urdu – the once sleepy district of Hauz Khas Village had its first cultural awakening in the 1980s, before sliding into obscurity again a decade later. The village’s renaissance followed in the early 2000s, when a clique of creatives – looking for cheap and interesting spaces in which to work and live – moved into the area. A more recent influx of restaurants has established the area as South Delhi’s prime dining turf.

antique stores, beyond which lies a maze of private residences.

Main Street runs like an artery through Hauz Khas Village, culminating at the entrance to a heritage complex which houses landscaped gardens and the domed tombs of Delhi’s 13thcentury rulers. It is surrounded by chic rooftop cafés and gourmet restaurants, fashion boutiques, contemporary design studios and

13 Suryakant Sawhney, musician and resident of Hauz Khas, who is frontman, vocalist and founder of the San Francisco/Delhi gypsy-jazz band Peter Cat Recording Co

10 Smitha Singh Rathore, designer and boutique owner 11 Ashish Anand, prolific collector of 20th-century Indian modern art and owner of Delhi Art Gallery 12 Zakir Khan, award-winning stand-up comedian, poet, radio scriptwriter and sitar player.

He’s also a Hauz Khas resident

14 Jamun Collective, Ayesha Sood and Udayan Baijal, digital filmmakers who were among the first to move into Hauz Khas Village

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10 Smitha Singh Rathore p50 11 Ashish Anand p54 12 Zakir Khan p58 13 Suryakant Sawhney p64 14 Jamun Collective p68

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Smita Singh Rathore Co-owner CellDSGN

“I like how this place invites you to [put yourself out there] and encourages community interaction, which is not common in cities these days. While walking from the parking lot to the studio with my dog, everyone called out to her by name – just like living in a real village. Commercialisation aside, I still believe it is the only place that has a unique cultural significance in Delhi.�

A keen eye might spot a common design theme running across a number of Hauz Khas institutions: a minimalist fashion line at the 11.11 boutique, a pastel bedspread in a room let out at The Grey Garden, a selection of graceful furniture at Elma’s Bakery, Cakes and Tea Room. The common thread is in-demand designer Smita Singh Rathore, who created many of the pieces in this very district.

“In a sense I really ‘found’ myself in the village.

This is where I grew up, became an entrepreneur and started businesses,” she reveals, laughing as she remembers her childhood days spent visiting Hauz Khas woods and park.

After earning a master’s degree in design in Milan, Smita spent a number of years building a design consultancy that took her all over India.

In 2006, she finally moved back to Delhi, where she and her business partner, Himanshu Shani, established their design studio CellDSGN in Hauz Khas Village. Their fashion imprint 11.11 followed soon after, with its first collection featuring at Delhi Fashion Week.

The label has earned international acclaim not only for its clean lines and unpretentious designs, but also its organic philosophy.

This evolved as a response to the designer’s distaste for sweatshops and the global mass production of clothes, and the label employs many traditional Indian textile processes and uses long-lasting fabrics. Often, products are created entirely by hand, from the picking of the cotton right through to the weaving and stitching.

Always looking for the next challenge, Smita is branching out from fashion into other creative areas, including interior design (for Elma’s Bakery, Cakes and Tea Room), music programming (for The Living Room Café) and festival curating (the threeday Magnetic Fields Festival at Alsisar Mahal, Rajasthan).

Her latest project is a vegan food delivery service called Salad Box: “It’s simple and it solves a problem, which is most representative of how I feel right now and what I want to be.”

CellDSGN A18, The Grey Garden Hauz Khas Village; tel: +91 989 908 8338, 11-11.in / saladbox.in

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Ashish Anand Owner Delhi Art Gallery

“Hauz Khas Village has a unique charm, which has inspired people like us to come here to set up shop. People particularly like its galleries, boutiques, restaurants and designer shops, while the monument adds to the ambience.�

Over the last two decades, the Indian art market and the number of private art galleries has boomed, with Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) becoming one of the leading names on the scene. Since 1996 it has been under the directorship of Ashish Anand, who’s following in the footsteps of his mother – someone who recognised the Indian contemporary art market’s potential very early on.

Ashish has overseen a systematic expansion of the gallery’s collection to encompass both established and lesser-known artists, some of whom he himself discovered during extensive travels throughout India.

Despite dedicating nearly every waking hour to buying and selling art, and spending as much as 15 days each month on the road, he’s lost none of the excitement that first drew him to the profession.

Ashish recalls the joy of purchasing his very first artwork back in 1998:

“It was by an artist called Ram Kinker Baij, and I celebrated with an overnight trip from Kolkata to Puri, strolling down the beach clutching my small painting.”

DAG nows owns an impressive collection of 34,000 Indian paintings, the largest of its kind in the world. This includes earlier modernists such as Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy and Rabindranath Tagore, plus second-wave artists like M.F. Hussain, F.N. Souza and S.H. Raza, who formed the renowned Progressive Artists’ Group. In recent years DAG has expanded, opening galleries in the plush DLF Emporio mall in Delhi and in the prestigious Kala Ghoda district of Mumbai, but their flagship remains firmly in Hauz Khas Village, a place Ashish hopes won’t change too much.

Delhi Art Gallery, 11 Hauz Khas Village; tel: +91 (11) 4600 5300, delhiartgallery.com

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Zakir Khan Comedian, radio show host, sitar player & resident

“While leaving for work, I feel this breeze that drifts through the park gates at around 9.30am – it always seems to say: ‘Welcome to Delhi.’ Returning home at night after finishing my show and looking forward to playing my sitar, I know that if I lived anywhere else in this city, I would’ve left long ago.”

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“Back then the street was deserted, serving as a dandy spot for wellheeled daredevils�

“Galouti kebab was invented for an ageing nawab who refused to give up his favourite dish, despite losing his teeth. The meat’s finely ground and tenderised with papaya before being fried in clarified butter – that’s why it melts in the mouth so well,” says Zakir Khan, as we savour the delights of Raaz restaurant.

A regular customer, Zakir is well known to the waiting staff, although they’re probably less sure about what he does for a living. Disc jockey? Reporter?

Food critic? Some might even guess he’s a boxer – after all, there are photographs online that show him standing in a ring, posing in an orange gown and boxing gloves. These are all good guesses, but Zakir’s career is actually centred around stand-up comedy and producing a nightly radio show.

A winner of Comedy Central India’s Best Stand-Up Comedian Award in 2012, Zakir’s routine is filled with childhood anecdotes: “Every comedian in this world should be thankful to the guy who bullied him; he’s the source of our droll gold,” he explains.

He also credits his home city for

his distinctive brand of humour: “Indore is small and its people are very candid – not rude exactly, but hilariously funny in a way that can leave you completely dumbfounded. That irks me, so when that used to happen I’d spend ages trying to think up cool comebacks. After many times you build up an arsenal of 100 witticisms poised for the kill.”

Zakir first arrived in Hauz Khas Village in 2007. “I moved into a building barely visible beneath rampant cobwebs and took up a variety of jobs – playwriting, ghost-writing television serials, even penning an agony aunt column,” he recalls. “Back then the Main Street would be deserted, serving as a dandy spot for well-heeled daredevils to go street racing. While walking home at night my flatmate and I would squeeze on to the sidewalk to avoid getting run over. In such a scenario our names wouldn’t even have made it on to the news. It’s the car that would’ve stolen the limelight – BMW kills two!”

His main job these days involves producing Fever 104 FM’s evening radio show, but he’s also passionate about scriptwriting. His proudest work to date was a drama about Mahatma Gandhi: “It was a 40-episode radio adaptation of Gandhi’s life that aired over a month and a half. As a comedian, it posed an interesting challenge to work on such a serious subject.”

Beyond his radio and comedy work, Zakir relaxes by playing an evening raga on his 60-yearold teakwood sitar. “I grew up surrounded by a classical music culture,” he explains.

“My grandfather, Ustad Moinuddin Khan, is a renowned sarangi player who worked at All India Radio and performed with many celebrated musicians. Indore is renowned for its musical heritage – my father teaches the sitar – I’ve been learning it since I was nine years old.”

Zakir’s artistic pursuits don’t stop with music; he also loves writing poetry in Urdu – he feels his connection with the city deepens through verse.

Inspired by legendary Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib, Zakir philosophises: “Most of us cannot decide which kind of life to live. Some people burn bright through their lives, yet the flame goes out the moment they die, whereas others like Ghalib live through pain but burn brighter still after they die.”

Zakir clearly has no trouble blending many forms of creativity in his life: “These are layers,” he says. “Comedy is acquired; poetry runs deep down.”

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Suryakant Sawhney Musican Peter Cat Recording Co.

“What attracted me most to this neighbourhood was the fact that there was a park where I could go for a walk in the morning. Now I can’t think of a better place to live in Delhi. I like the cosmopolitan vibe, but it’s also convenient because we get a lot of gigs here – I can just climb down some stairs, play and come back home.”

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With its sweeping, modern architecture and considered landscaping, Dusit Devarana is a surprise find in New Delhi.

This gorgeous property has won awards from Travel + Leisure magazine and NDTV Design and Architecture among others. It is a luxury retreat with easy access to the city’s business district, cultural attractions and high-end shopping malls. www.dusit.com

Peter Cat Recording Co. Hauz Khas Village; tel: +91 (85) 2758 7491, petercat recordingco.com

Hauz Khas Village, chirping birdsong merges with electronic melodies floating from a barsati, one of Delhi’s unique rooftop dwellings. Built to take advantage of any cooling monsoon breezes, this is where Suryakant Sawhney has his home and creates music. Infused with ’50s nostalgia, the sounds created

by Suryakant and his underground band, Peter Cat Recording Co., defy easy classification. Drawn from a mix of genres including indie folk and gypsy-jazz, the project has earned the band a considerable cult following in India since they played their first gig back in 2010. And when Suryakant isn’t singing, writing songs or playing guitar and keyboards for the band, he’s busy producing ambient electronica for his solo project, Lifafa.

“There are a lot of venues to play here now.

Besides TLR (The Living Room Café), which is like home, there’s Out of the Box, The Verve, Raasta and Moonshine. Almost every venue promotes live music, whether it’s a band or a DJ,” says Suryakant.

“The balcony adjoining my bandmates’ house has also become a venue – we’ve been having shows there for a year now, and we jam in the same building. There’s a lot of freedom in the neighbourhood, and no noise complaints from the landlords either. You could say it’s a safe place in an aggressive city, so the venues more or less stay open till late as well.”

All this has encouraged the setting up of a music school and recording studio in the area, as well as drawing others musicians to come and live in the neighbourhood. Suryakant mentions a group called Nigambodh: “They play music that sounds like Mahabharata [an ancient Indian epic]. It’s very good, and the lyrics are far better than anything coming out of the country right now.”

Suryakant is encouraged by Delhi’s growing love of live music in general: “This is a good place for a band, because there are many live music venues – half of them right here. You can pick from at least 100 different clubs on any given night.”

While the music of Peter Cat Recording Co. seems steeped in melodies of past eras, Lifafa is more experimental. “I’m still learning the techniques of production, getting comfortable with sound design,” he explains, “I want to sing in Hindi for a while, so I’m mixing it all up. I like the idea of nautch [an Indian dance] and old Bollywood sounds.

Essentially, Lifafa is steeped in Indianness.”

14

Jamun Collective Filmmakers

“Back in 2003, when I first moved here, there was no water in the lake and if you walked out at night it was totally quiet. Even as recently as four years ago, the pizza delivery guy had trouble finding this place. Today that’s all changed – the lake is completely filled now, and finding even an inch of parking space is a big issue.

Yet during the brief period in between these two extremes, an artistic community emerged.” Ayesha Sood

Tucked away in a tiny lane branching off the Main Street in Hauz Khas Village, set among a row of brightly lit glass displays, stands a pretty purple door embossed with vividly painted peacocks. Push it open to find a small, leafy courtyard that leads to the Jamun Collective studio – a roomy, multi-level space overlooking the lake.

With sunlight streaming in through its tall glass windows, the elegance and tranquility of the studio contrasts strongly with the bustle in the street outside. It makes an ideal workspace for Ayesha Sood and Udayan Baijal to brainstorm their next film.

Ayesha’s mother, an interior designer, bought the building

during the ’90s boom, but it was Ayesha who converted it into independent art studios that now house her collective, along with a mix of graphic designers, sound engineers and several resident artists. Within the collective, Ayesha plays the role of freewheeling director, while Udayan is the pragmatic producer who transforms her imaginative ideas into tangible projects.

Though the two studied at the same school, their early careers saw them working apart on feature film projects, while Udayan trained in digital distribution and post-production in New York and London. When they met up again in 2011, they realised that not only did they have the same tastes in food, politics and sports, they also shared similar frustrations with the state of contemporary Indian cinema. A creative bond was immediately formed, and soon they were embarking on a collaborative project that gave them the opportunity to explore their artistic beliefs.

“It was a really interesting time for cinema at a global level – the old world system was collapsing.

We weren’t quite sure where things were going – technology was changing everything. So it was a great time for us to experiment with film-making,” explains Udayan.

Named after a deep purple, tangy berry native to South Asia, Jamun Collective’s portfolio presents a similarly colourful blend of flavours.

Commercial commissions range from an advert for a luxury retail brand to a video of an innovative sound-based installation created by Absolut India.

Then there’s the second season of a popular TV show, The Dewarists, which brought together independent musicians from across the world via a travel documentary.

The collective’s own work has included a highly praised series of “Delhi Rising” films that protest against the escalating number of rape incidents in the city. These gained widespread coverage in international media and inspired similar video initiatives elsewhere in India. They also led to a request to make a film about women’s property rights for Oxfam India.

Ayesha and Udayan talk excitedly about other breakthroughs they’d like to make in Indian television, such as creating a major drama miniseries. In the meantime they won’t neglect their other job – helping to nurture this lakeside creative environment. They’re clearly passionate about their surroundings: “Take Elma’s Bakery, Cakes and Tea Room, for example, which we shared a wall with; we loved their cheesecakes so much that we ended up making a video about the bakery.”

Jamun Collective, 24 Hauz Khas Village; tel: +91 981 027 8050, jamun.net

The Corniche ABU DHABI

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RECOMMENDED AS ONE OF THE MUST-VISIT AREAS OF THE UAE’S LARGEST EMIRATE, THE CORNICHE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PARTS OF MODERN ABU DHABI The Corniche stands as a testament to what can be achieved when a city is given a blank slate.

The United Arab Emirates was only established as a country in 1971, so to witness its capital Abu Dhabi’s imperious skyline from the beachside is nothing short of astonishing. Thoughtfully designed with palm-lined walkways and fountains, the Corniche has an expansive free beach, which opens up into the crystal-clear waters of the Arabian Gulf.

The Corniche is a perfect starting point if you’re unfamiliar with Abu Dhabi. A leisurely evening stroll allows immediate familiarisation with the city’s geography and urban archipelagos, and to experience the

rich diversity of people – residents and tourists – who descend on the street. Over 50,000 visitors flock to the Corniche each month, drawn by the blue-flag beach, family atmosphere, cafés, restaurants and cultural attractions.

15 Ahmed Ben Chaibah, entrepreneur, and owner of the largest inflatable slides in the world 16 Alaa Nemeh, manager of Abu Dhabi Theatre 17 Kurt Blum, Swiss art dealer, promoter and owner of Swiss Art Gate UAE 18 Caroline McEneaney, journalist and resident of the Corniche

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15 Ahmed Ben Chaibah p76 16 Alaa Nemeh p80 17 Kurt Blum p82 18 Caroline McEneaney p86

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Ahmed Ben Chaibah Entrepreneur

“I used to run an event called Beats on the Beach in Abu Dhabi. So I saw a gap. We have all these amazing corniches and beaches with blue flags, but there are no activities for the kids or anything to do. You just sit down. In the whole region there was nothing – either clubs with alcohol or just beaches.”

A man with the sort of work ethic

that would make Donald Trump panic, 32-year-old Emirati entrepreneur Ahmed Ben Chaibah is intent on making his mark in Abu Dhabi. The owner of the ambitious inflatable water park located on the Corniche has abandoned his job working for Flash Entertainment, the UAE’s largest events company, to concentrate on growing his business. A restless traveller who regularly needs a new passport to accommodate all of his stamps, Ahmed claims to have visited 81 countries in his time, looking for ideas and projects to bring back to the emirate.

An enquiry about Ahmed’s quirky inflatable tourist attraction quickly reveals a man with great enthusiasm for innovation. Ahmed’s water park was not a straightforward conception, with the Emirati encountering mistrustful associates, bureaucracy and scepticism as he tried to fulfil his ambitions.

Yet the determined young man pressed on despite his detractors. park reflects his strong sense of “I came up with the idea [for individualism. Having previously the water park] and approached worked as a successful club these companies who built these DJ, an unusual pastime for an things,” he recalls. “Both were Emirati, the young man is clearly giving me a hard time, because undeterred by traditionalists, I was a newcomer and I didn’t though he admits to having have any money behind me. So lost his passion for clubbing. “I I took over myself. I flew out of stopped that a few the UAE and viewed 126 factories years ago,” he says. “I was sick until I found a factory that did the work I needed. and tired of the whole industry.

I designed my own games by taking existing games It became less about the music. and improving them hugely. There’s this inflatable park, which I originally saw in Florida – it took 30 minutes to inflate, and it’s only 14m high. Mine is 70m long, 17m high and only takes seven minutes to inflate. I have the two highest inflatable slides in the world.”

With the UAE suffering from high rates of obesity and diabetes, the articulate entrepreneur is also keen to stress the health benefits of a trip to his attraction. “All the games on the water park are team games or competitive, so I always like it when – I was on stage in front 38,000 people come in groups – the bigger the group, the people. I’m a Muslim, so I more fun they have. don’t smoke or drink. It wasn’t “We host birthdays on a daily basis and school just about the music, and that parties on a weekly basis. If you play there for two became less exciting and fun.” hours, you burn between 1,100 and 1,500 calories.

Given that he has a Because the colours are very playful, it’s outdoors, whopping 13 terabytes of data there’s music and you’re with friends, you don’t dedicated to music, it’s clear that actually feel like you’re working out – like you’re in Ahmed still likes to trawl the a gym.” digital world for beats. An avid The unconventional nature of Ahmed’s water listener, his tastes run the gamut

I played at Creamfields for three years and I opened for numerous big names. The last was Coldplay

from R&B, urban, jazz, salsa and merengue to house, reggae, dancehall and Arabic music. Yet, he remains firm on the subject of whether he’s likely to get back behind the decks. “Every week I get offered three or four gigs, but I keep turning them down,” he says. “I did it for 14 years – I’ve played in 28 countries.”

With another seven water parks set to open across the UAE, Ahmed’s inflatable creations seem likely to become an increasingly familiar sight on the emirate’s beaches. Yet, with all the music, travel and business, how does the young man wind down? He doesn’t. “I can’t relax. I don’t understand relaxing – I can’t switch my mind off,” Ahmed says. “In the last 16 months, I only took one day off.”

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Alaa Nemeh Manager Abu Dhabi Theatre

Surrounded by the sea and oering stunning views of the city, Abu Dhabi Theatre is a landmark both to residents and to the thousands of tourists who visit the area to enjoy the beachside promenade.

A native of Syria, Alaa Nemeh has been running Abu Dhabi Theatre on the Corniche since 2007.

Soft-spoken and contemplative, Alaa acknowledges that his main challenge as manager is finding ways to attract audiences to performances. He admits that Abu Dhabi is very much a “working emirate”, so it can satellite TV station in Syria before relocating to Abu Dhabi in 2005. be difficult for residents to find Driven to succeed – “I like my job too much,” he admits somewhat time to take in a show. sheepishly – Alaa has plans to host an international theatrical festival Alaa’s favourite events later this year. And his ambitions don’t end there. He cites the French are those aimed at children. city of Avignon, famed for its annual theatre festival every July, as a Seeing the theatre packed with benchmark for the status that a city theatre can achieve. youngsters, who take a more When Alaa’s not working with members of a committee to plan active role in the proceedings the schedule or complete all the day-to-day tasks involved in running than their elders, is something the theatre, he winds down by watching a movie, playing sports or he’s clearly proud of. simply having fun with his kids. Yet, to him a working day surrounded Alaa worked as the boss of a by music and the arts is a form of relaxation in itself.

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Kurt Blum Owner and director Swiss Art Gate UAE

Swiss art dealer Kurt Blum’s mission is to improve the cultural dialogue between Switzerland and the Emirates through Swiss Art Gate UAE. The gregarious intellectual first held an exhibition on the Corniche in 2009 and has been hosting them regularly on the strip ever since.

Former music teacher Kurt moved to the UAE

Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi is centrally located, allowing easy access to the Corniche and other attractions like the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Close to the city’s lush Eastern Mangroves natural habitat, the hotel has six restaurants and the luxurious Namm Spa. www.dusit.com

seven years ago and decided to establish Swiss Art Gate UAE with the aim of promoting the arts and culture of Switzerland.

Not long after hosting a photography exhibition by a Swiss Formula 1 photographer, he was asked by various artists to exhibit their work. In 2010, Kurt created the first online art shop in the Middle East.

The first priority of Swiss Art Gate UAE is to promote the arts and culture of Switzerland; the second is to promote the work of various local, regional and international artists in the UAE, and in general to bridge cultures.

Kurt’s first exhibition was with famed Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al Rais at the Swiss Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The second was with the Swiss Formula 1 photographer.

His aim is to make art accessible to everyone who walks into a public place, and to showcase the work of local Emirati, expat and international artists.

In 2011, Kurt was approached by the Swiss Ambassador to organise and curate a photo exhibition called “Late Sheikh Zayed” in Switzerland. Sheikh Zayed, the first president of the UAE, spent his summer holidays at Lake Geneva in Switzerland and his royal photographer took many pictures. The four-week exhibition was held at five-star hotels in Lausanne and Geneva.

Kurt’s personal taste runs to abstract and colourful artworks. A self-proclaimed “positive” person, he’s a fan of humour-infused art: “I do

not deal with political messages.” Upon receiving proposals from artists to display their work, Kurt has two main considerations: the first is, does he like the artwork? The second is, can the artwork be sold in this country or region? If the answer to both questions is “yes”, then Kurt will go ahead with an exhibition.

For many people, Abu Dhabi doesn’t rank high on the list of art hubs. Yet the art scene has grown in the past five years, thanks to the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, the Abu Dhabi Festival and its world-class orchestras, and the forthcoming opening of a number of museums. For Kurt, each year the emirate becomes more attractive, both as a place to live and for tourists. With big brands and events such as the Formula 1, Ferrari World, the Red Bull Air Race and the upcoming Louvre Abu Dhabi drawing visitors from across the globe, he’s confident that the city is making its mark.

Kurt has held five exhibitions at Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, which is his favourite place for shows as it’s surrounded by the stunning architecture of downtown Dubai. It’s just a matter of time until Kurt finds the right sponsor for an exhibition on the top floor.

There’s a lot of work to be done in the future to promote Swiss artists and Kurt is committed to doing his part. Switzerland is famous for its chocolate, cheese, banks and for turning out tennis stars like Roger Federer, Martina Hingis and Stanislas Wawrinka. But it hasn’t been quite so successful it comes to performers, musicians or artists. Kurt believes that bridging cultures is one of the most important issues of our time. www.swissartgateuae.com

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Caroline McEneaney Journalist & resident

“I love living here. It’s my favourite part of living in Abu Dhabi – looking out at the water. And I have a front row seat for many of the events that take place here, such as the F1 free concerts and the Red Bull Air Race. Another reason I love the Corniche is that it’s a great place to go for a run or walk. There are always people walking up and down, exercising and playing. It’s a lively part of the city.”

25yearold

Caroline McEneaney has been a resident of Abu Dhabi’s Corniche since moving to the emirate last October. After studying law in New York, Caroline decided to skip the corporate rat race by upping sticks and heading for the desert sands of the UAE. Caroline has her hands full at the weekly lifestyle publication Time Out Abu Dhabi, covering an eye-watering portion of the city’s cultural landscape. “I do Art & Culture, Sport & Outdoor, Music & Nightlife and Kids,” she says, running down the names of the sections she handles for the magazine. Art is her favourite and as she has become more immersed in the city’s culture, she’s found that she was wrong in her initial impression that Abu Dhabi’s art scene is severely limited. “When I started three or four months ago it seemed really dead, but then if you look a little bit more, it’s happening. And I think that with the Louvre and the Guggenheim coming, it will start to attract new people.”

Caroline didn’t follow a conventional path to Time Out. “I was in law school until June last year, and I took the bar over the summer. Then I moved here shortly afterwards. Halfway through school I worked out that I didn’t want to be a lawyer, but there were lots of aspects of the course that I liked, such as writing and research. I liked the academic parts of being a lawyer rather than working in a firm.”

Highlights of her time in Abu Dhabi include a memorable interview with Dubai-based illustrator Hatty Pedder. The British artist’s playful mixedmedia collages of Beirut’s colourful socialites offered a welcome window into the UAE’s talent pool. “Hatty Pedder – she’s quite a character. Her work is clever and she was an interesting person to talk to.

Most of the artists who come here are from out of the country, and their work isn’t necessarily groundbreaking. If I found an artist from Abu Dhabi, that would be really interesting.”

Having done the rounds of Abu Dhabi’s many attractions, Caroline advises visiting the spectacular Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and taking a stroll along the Corniche. “I would also recommend Saadiyat Island because even though there’s not too much there yet, the beach is stunning,” she says. “And it’s so different from the beach on the Corniche.”

Although people often remark that Abu Dhabi must be very different from New York, Caroline finds parallels. “My life isn’t that different here – I take the bus to and from work, socialise with friends and family, and still feel like I live in a city, just a smaller one. The best thing about Abu Dhabi is the proximity to the beach, and how easy it is to travel.”

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Thalang Road PHUKET OLD TOWN

K NOW

WITH ITS CANDY-COLOURED, CHINESE BUILDINGS AND ECLECTIC MIX OF RESIDENTS, THALANG ROAD IS ESTABLISHING ITSELF AS THE CULTURAL HUB OF PHUKET In the late 19th century, Phuket life revolved around Thalang Road. Not only was it home to the island’s most prominent families, but it was also the centre of commerce – to this day, this part of the Old Town is still known among many Thais as Lard Yai, or “big market”. Trading ships from China would once sail up the nearby river and unload cargo at the end of the street, while disembarking travellers would be picked up by rickshaw and ferried to their destination. People came from all around the world to do business here, resulting in a multi-ethnic mix – Thais, Chinese, Malays and Indians – that lived harmoniously side by side.

As the tin mining industry began to fade, so did the road’s fortunes, and for decades the street went through a period of decline and neglect. Now Thalang Road is rising once again.

19 Wiwan Bumrungwong, Thalang Road resident and manager of Kopitiam by Wilai 20 Kritchaya na Takuathung, founder of Phuket Heritage Trails 21 Roengkiat Hongyok, Thalang resident and owner of i46 Old Town Cafe 22 Kim Steppe, general manager of Blue Elephant Phuket restaurant and cooking school

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19 Wiwan Bumrungwong p92 20 Kritchaya na Takuathung p96 21 Roengkiat Hongyok p100 22 Kim Steppe p104

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Wiwan Bumrungwong Manager Kopitiam by Wilai

In Thalang Road’s grand shophouses, you’d have once found large families living together, three or four generations sharing the same space. These days, most residents aren’t locals; they’re Thais and foreigners who have rented shophouses from locals relocating to other parts of Phuket, and established their own businesses.

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With its worn, antique wooden furniture black and white family portraits, and simple menu of traditional dishes, Kopitiam feels like it’s been here for much longer than six years. The restaurant owes its timeworn aura to the ethnic Chinese Bumrungwong family that runs it, and traces its Phuket roots back five generations. Day-to-day operations are handled by the youngest member of the clan, Wiwan – though with her mother’s name adorning the sign, her father helping to run another restaurant down the street, and her uncle manning the traditional Chinese pharmacy next door, it’s very much a family affair.

Wiwan’s grandparents ran a coffee shop, or kopitiam, in Kathu, a small village built by immigrant Chinese workers, who toiled in the tin mines of the area. Coffee shops like theirs were the “Starbucks of the day,” says Wiwan, providing the exhausted labourers with much-needed caffeine and sustenance. Wiwan’s mother, Wilai, didn’t take over the family business, becoming an English teacher instead. But when she retired in 2002, there was only one thing she wanted to do – so she opened a simple kopitiam on Thalang Road, next door to her brother-in-law’s herbal pharmacy.

(Called Nguan Choon Tong, it was opened by Wiwan’s great-grandfather, an ethnic Hakka from Guangdong province in China).

With business going well at the restaurant, in 2008 she opened up another branch just two doors down, and called it Kopitiam by Wilai, styling it after her parents’ original cafe in Kathu by filling it with simple tables and chairs. Drinks recipes

were original, such as the “kopi cham”, a strong black brew that combines coffee and tea. On the menu was Nyonya food, another name for the Peranakan mixed-culture cuisine found in cities like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. When furnishing the place, they called on Wiwan’s uncle, who had a stash of oldstyle furniture just gathering dust, and vintage Phuket photos fading away in drawers.

that draw on their heritage.

In many ways, by being involved with her family-owned business, Wiwan is a rarity.

Having graduated from the prestigious Prince of Songkla University with a marketing degree, she spent some time studying in the United States before working in Bangkok for a huge conglomerate that sells everything from leather goods to cosmetics. After four years of life in the city, she decided to return home to help with the expanding family business.

While Wiwan doesn’t want to see chain stores like 7-Eleven or Starbucks open on the street – emphasising that traditional family-owned or one-off outlets should come first – she admits that change is inevitable. “The entire island is changing, Phuket is becoming a big city. It used to be quiet.

On Sunday, Thalang Road was dead.”

On that note, she has mixed feelings about the Sunday Walking Street, which transforms Thalang Road into a vibrant, pedestrian-only zone filled with food stalls, street performers and souvenir shops. While she welcomes the fact that it promotes the Old Town, she laments that there isn’t more focus on the distinctive heritage of the area, such as its dancing, music and cuisine. She suggests that if it took place once a month, it would enable more thought to go into the activities and participants, as well as bring together the far-strewn families that once called the street home.

Wiwan worries that if it’s not curated properly, the Walking Street will become like the one in Chiang Mai – famous as a tourist attraction, but not representative of local culture. And what is that culture exactly? “It is people from all cultures living together – Chinese, Thai, Muslim and Indian – in harmony for more than a hundred years.”

Serving local favourites such as Hokkien mee (noodles) and popiah (spring rolls), some 20% of customers are local, usually coming in the evening when it’s quieter.

When it opened, Kopitiam

by Wilai was an immediate success, drawing in a local crowd that reminisced about the past, and curious tourists. However, as Wiwan reveals, younger members of the community – “anyone aged under 30” – rarely eat Nyonya food any more, preferring Thai dishes to those

Kopitiam by Wilai, 18 Thalang Rd tel: +66 (0)83 606 9776

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Kritchaya Na Takuathung Owner Phuket Heritage Trails

As a child Chaya would pass through the Old Town daily on the way to and from school, riding on the back of a scooter with her mum driving and little sister Pam sat in front. Back then, Thalang Road seemed “big and smelly”, thanks to the open drains that lined both sides of the street. Her mother taught dressmaking at Satree Phuket School, and would take the girls to buy fabric at the street’s batik stores.

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Going by the nickname Chaya – as is the norm in Thailand – the founder of Phuket Heritage Trails is not your average tour guide. On her mother’s side, Chaya is related to Phuket’s famous heroines, the sisters who led the successful defence of the island against Burmese invaders some 200 years ago. Then there’s the fact her grandfather was the governor of Phang Nga province – directly to the north of Phuket – during the tumult of World War II. As if that weren’t enough, her father was once personal chef to a direct descendant of Thailand’s King Rama IV. Despite all these high-society family connections, in person Chaya is down to earth and more comfortable in a T-shirt than a cocktail dress. She talks about her family, childhood and the changing face of Thalang – one of two areas (the other being the Old Town) where she now plies her trade.

The surname Na Takuathung was given to Chaya’s mother’s family

by King Rama VI in the early 20th century – before his modernising reign, Thais only had one name.

Because it’s highly respected, both Chaya and her sister Pam, He took a position at a restaurant in Patong – back a local TV host, have taken when the west coast town had only five eateries – when one evening in the early 1980s, their mother’s surname instead he had a visit from royalty, Mom Luang Tridhosyuth Devakul. A direct descendant of of her father’s. (“It makes life King Rama IV, Mom Tri – as he is universally known on the island – had a holiday home a lot easier,” jokes Chaya.) on the bluff at Kata Noi where he would frequently entertain guests from the capital, Their half-Thai, half-Chinese including ambassadors and aristocrats. After eating the food of Chaya’s father for three dad is originally from Samut nights in a row, an impressed Mom Tri asked him to become his private chef.

Songkhram province outside of Chaya studied at the Pattani campus of Prince of Songkla University, Bangkok, and met their mother in the deep south of Thailand. Now a troubled, restive region, back then it was very while she was studying in the peaceful. She remembers that in Pattani town, where the university was located, the capital. When she was offered population was almost entirely ethnic Chinese, but out in the countryside you’d find a teaching position in Phuket, only ethnic Malay Muslims; the two populations rarely mixed. “This was in stark they moved back and he looked contrast with the Indian, Chinese, Thai and Malay families that live side by side on for work as a chef.

Thalang Road to this day.”

Demonstrating how From 2003 to 2008, Chaya worked in Krabi at a five-star resort, only coming much Patong has changed home every two months. It was during these homecomings that she first began to since she was young, Chaya appreciate the charms of Thalang Road. “One time I came home and they’d removed recalls riding a bike down the electricity poles from the street [they were placed underground as part of a Bangla Road – then a dirt gentrification project]. I noticed how beautiful the buildings – which I’d been looking track, now the epicentre of the at for more than 30 years – were. You have to grow up to see things differently; you town’s nightlife – falling off, need to leave and come back.” then looking up to see a water When she led her first tour down Thalang Road in 2010, the locals ignored buffalo staring at her. She’d her (“just another tour guide, they thought”). That was until they learned her name, at regularly accompany her father which point “everything changed and we were welcomed in their homes”. on shopping trips to Sin & Lee on Thalang Road, then the only Phuket Heritage Trails; tel: +66 (0)85 158 9788, phuketheritagetours.net store in Phuket where you could Shot on location at Baan Chinpracha, 98 Krabi Rd; tel: +66 (0)76 211 167. buy foreign goods like ketchup.

Entry fee 200 baht. Closed Sundays

Their dad was the best cook in the family, learning much of what he knew from his father.

Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket is located in the Laguna complex, so guests have access to a wide range of leisure facilities and the championship 18-hole Laguna Phuket golf course. www.dusit.com

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Roengkiat Hongyok Owner i46 Old Town Café

“When I was young, this street and Phuket Town were quiet, with a small community, where everyone knew each other. The local families used to send their children to Bangkok to study, but they never came back. I was lucky to become a tourist guide, as it gave me a reason to stay. It was important to me to look after my family.”

Until very recently, it was traditional in Phuket for generations of the same family to live under the same roof. Indeed, the distinctive Chinese shophouses in Phuket Town were designed for such cohabitation, with their multiple living spaces, and divide between the commercial shopfront and the private living space behind. Over the last few years, many of these shophouses have been converted into private homes or small hotels. An exception is i46, owned by Roengkiat “Nong” Hongyok, who lives with his wife, his child and his parents, and has transformed his family home into a café and information centre.

Nong is a fourth-generation Phuketian and descendant of one of the island’s most influential families. His great-great-grandfather was a Chinese monk who came from Fujian in China to preach in Phang-Nga, the province directly north of Phuket, where he married a Thai woman. One of his children, Nong’s great-grandfather, moved to Phuket where, over many years, he built up a successful tin mining business. His wealth became such that at one point he is said to have owned more than 80 houses on and around Thalang Road.

In recognition of his influence and wealth, he was given the Thai name Hongyok by Royal decree – to this day, the extended Hongyok clan remains one of the richest and best-known families on the island.

Nong was born in Phuket on Christmas Day, delivered by a foreign doctor at the Christian-run Mission Hospital on the far side of Phuket Town.

Despite showing an aptitude for languages at school, he chose to study maths in his final years, and ended up failing the entrance exam for university. Instead

of heading to Bangkok with his peers Nong stayed in Phuket, learnt Japanese and worked as a tour guide for 16 years. Nong recalls it was a fantastic time, when he would take his guests all around the island, attend wild parties and often disappear for the better part of a week.

Eventually, the partying took its toll, he quit and turned his family home into a café and tourist centre, where he could use his experience and language skills (he had also mastered Chinese).

Despite being a selfprofessed devotee of Steve Jobs – he admits nicknaming his two-year-old daughter “i” after the “i-generation” – Nong remains a traditionalist at heart, and takes his role of informing people about the area’s past very seriously.

Remarking on the growing entertainment scene in the area, he says,

dusitD2 phuket resort is a modern, young hotel only a short walk from Patong Beach, along with the island’s liveliest entertainment and shopping. www.dusit.com

“It’s great that there are many new restaurants and bars opening up in the Old Town, but it’s both good and bad for the community – it shouldn’t be about quantity, but quality.

You want people to understand about the local culture, not just flit through.” Nonetheless, i46 Old Town café is benefiting from the renewed interest in the town, with locals, expats and tourists appreciating the chance to sit and chat with Nong and his family. When pressed, he reveals that the secret lies in “taking an old thing, and presenting it in a new way.” i46 Old Town, tel: +66 81 895 4795

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Kim Steppe General Manager Blue Elephant Phuket

Phra Pitak Chinpracha Mansion – once Phuket’s grandest home – had fallen into disrepair by the turn of the 21st century, so it underwent complete renovation when bought by the Blue Elephant Group. Opened in 2010, Blue Elephant Phuket reflects the owner’s passion-led approach to business, and was a chance to restore the glory of the Old Town.

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The Belgian-born scion of the Blue Elephant Group, Kim Steppe brought his family company’s story full circle by opening the Phuket restaurant in 2010.

Founded in 1980, when Kim’s Thai mother Nooror Somany and Belgian father Karl opened the first restaurant in Brussels, Blue Elephant is an international assemblage of restaurants and cooking schools with offshoots in Bangkok, Dubai, London, Jakarta and Phuket. It is the most notable proponent of Royal Thai cuisine – delicately flavoured food that was once served in the palace kitchens.

Why Phra Pitak Chinpracha Mansion?

Having a glamorous setting represented our mission of bringing Royal Thai Cuisine to the world [the Bangkok branch occupies a similar heritage building], but also reflected my father’s profession as an antique dealer. Having such a large building gave him a huge canvas in which to display his collection of Thai furniture and objects.

He told me that when he was first taken around the building by its owner, he was saddened by the poor state of the building. There was a huge hole in the roof where the shop is now – it was like a waterfall when it rained. Despite the obvious expense required to fix up the property, my father – a passionate man not given to market research – decided to just do it, embarking on a two-year renovation project.

How did you become involved in the Phuket branch of Blue Elephant?

At the time my dad was looking at opening up in Phuket, I was general manager of the Brussels branch of Blue Elephant, overseeing both the restaurant and product sales [Blue Elephant’s line of Thai cooking pastes, sauces, spices, sweets and snacks is sold in airports and supermarkets]. With the announcement of the new Phuket branch, there was the chance for a promotion, but first I had to go through the same interview process as everyone else.

I got the job, but wasn’t really aware of the scale of the challenge I had taken on. Before Phuket, Blue Elephant had always opened in cities, never on an island, let alone a seasonal destination.

I was told by someone that it would take at least seven years to break even, which I scoffed at.

I remember telling my wife that we wouldn’t stay here longer than three years – otherwise we wouldn’t be able to go back to Belgium.

You’ve been here four years now, so does that mean you consider Phuket home?

It makes things easier that I have a Thai passport, as does my daughter, and I can communicate with my staff, locals and officials. We have a nice home, and are now looking at building our own, so yes, I’d say we’re not going anywhere soon. Given that we’re occupying the largest heritage home on the island [Blue Elephant has a 30-year lease on the mansion], I’ve considered it important from the very start that we not only get on well with our neighbours, but make a big effort to become part of the community.

Did you find it difficult to gain acceptance on Phuket?

The biggest mistake we made at the start was coming in with our “Bangkok luggage”. We basically reproduced the menu from our Bangkok location, which instantly raised the hackles of locals, who often view central Thai dishes as bland, and geared to the tourist palate. While Bangkok cuisine is actually refined as opposed to tasteless, we redid the menu to incorporate many southern favourites.

However, what really ingratiated us into the local community was when we hosted a function for the Phuket governor, local officials and the island’s honorary consuls at an event intended to promote the best of southern Thailand. Wanting to make a good impression, and show that I understood local tastes, I sought out and persuaded the Old Town’s best stalls to sell their wares for one night only, in a fair held on our property’s expansive lawn. When they all arrived, they were amazed. We served desserts that many Phuketians didn’t even know about. What had begun as a very formal occasion [ended up with everyone] talking excitedly about the dishes – you could say it was the ice breaker, that we had now properly “met”.

Blue Elephant Phuket, 96 Krabi Rd; tel: +66 (0)76 354 355 blueelephant. com/Phuket

HRH Princess Srirasm at the Glenn Miller Orchestra charity concert at Dusit Thani Bangkok

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Srindhorn (centre) at the 84th Anniversary of Thanpuying Khunnatee Krairiksh

Former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos at the “Frankly I’m Back” concert at Dusit Thani Manila

Welcoming Jean-Marc Ayrault (right), former Prime Minister of France

His Excellency Mr Thierry Viteau (left), French Ambassador to Thailand, and his wife at Dusit Thani Pattaya

NBA superstar and Shanghai Sharks owner Yao Ming at Dusit Thani Manila

Professor Sir Harold Kroto, Nobel Laureate (centre) and his wife Mrs Margaret Kroto at Dusit Thani Hua Hin

Mr Romano Prodi, former Italian Prime Minister, and his wife Mrs Flavia Franzoni at Dusit Thani Hua Hin M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Governor of Bangkok, arrives at Dusit Thani Hua Hin

Welcoming His Excellency Mr Rolf Peter Gottfried Schulze, German Ambassador to Dusit Princess Korat

Greeting the King and Queen of Tonga

Russian TV presenter Andrey Malakhov (middle) filming at Dusit Thani Pattaya

Mr Pairoj Wayuparb, President of the Supreme Court at Dusit Princess Korat

Dusit International draws on over 65 years of experience in the hotel and hospitality field. The group was founded in 1948 when Honorary Chairperson Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui opened her first hotel, the Princess, on Bangkok’s New Road.

The successful venture represented a major breakthrough for Thailand’s hospitality industry and eventually led to the creation of one of today’s leading Asian hospitality brands.

Continuing in this pioneering spirit, Thanpuying Chanut embarked upon developing a luxurious city-centre property, Dusit Thani Bangkok. Opening in February 1970, the Dusit Thani Bangkok immediately set new standards of hospitality and became the city’s pre-eminent social hub, even holding the distinction of being Thailand’s tallest building for nearly a decade.

The essence of the Dusit Thani brand is best symbolised by the statue of King Rama VI, which stands across the street from the hotel. Reigning from 1910 to 1925, King Rama VI’s philosophy on the ideal modern state blended Western and Thai influences. He also conceived the utopian ideal of Dusit Thani, which means “town in heaven” – an important belief for all Thais.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dusit responded to Thailand’s growing popularity as a tourist destination by opening lavish, resort-style properties under the Dusit Thani brand in Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The company also acquired the Hotel Nikko Manila in 1995, later renaming it Dusit Thani Manila. In early 2001, Dusit Thani Dubai also opened, adding the Middle Eastern market to the group’s portfolio.

In 2006 dusitD2 hotels and resorts was created as an expansion of the main Dusit Thani brand.

The dusitD2 concept is the company’s contemporary second-generation offshoot, which balances tradition and trend with chic comfort and convenience. The first dusitD2 opened in 2006 in the historical city of Chiang Mai, followed by a second location in Pattaya. In 2013, the brand became the first of the Dusit family to launch in China with the dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Changzhou Hotel, by way of the company’s joint-venture initiative established earlier that year. New dusitD2 properties in Phuket, Nairobi and Pasadena, California will follow in 2014.

Expanding further afield, Dusit International has entered into two joint-venture hotel management agreements in India and China. The first of these is with hospitality technology company Bird Hospitality Services. This pairing’s first hotel, Dusit Devarana New Delhi, opened in late 2013 to much international acclaim. including being named ‘High Design Haven’ by Travel + Leisure magazine and appearing on Conde Nast Traveler’s Hot List of the 50 Coolest New Hotels.

Additional hotel and resort

projects in Gurgaon, New Delhi and Aerocity are in development.

The second joint-venture agreement established Dusit Fudu Hotels & Resorts, the operational name of Dusit Fudu Hotel Management (Shanghai) Company Limited, which expands the hotel chain to China. Hotel management agreements confirmed include three hotels in Changzhou, one each in Conghua, Dianchi, Dongtai, Fushun, Panzhihua, Qingdao, Qingyuan and Shaoxing, and two hotels and a residence in Fuxian Lake, all anticipated to open between this year and 2017. Dusit Fudu Hotels & Resorts is targeting a portfolio of 100 hotels within the next 15 years, all offering high-quality facilities and services inspired by the unique artistry and culture of Thailand.

Dusit’s accomplishments are not limited to developing and managing hotels.

In 1993, pioneering Thanyunping Chanut founded the first hospitality college in Thailand, Dusit Thani College – now the region’s leading centre for hospitality training.

In August 2007, Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School opened, a culinary education partnership that was another first-of-its kind initiative in South-East Asia. In 2009, Dusit Thani College launched a hospitality programme in conjunction with Lyceum of the Philippines University in Manila.

Dusit International has built upon its Thai heritage to create a one-of-a-kind, first-class experience for all. It is an experience unique to Dusit: one that endeavours to enliven the individual spirit, no matter what the journey.

Rustom Vickers Director of development Dusit International

Dusit International’s group director of development talks about the brand’s expansion plans, and the challenge of adapting its classic Thai style to a more international portfolio.

What are your plans for the Dusit brand?

Expansion! It will be Asian-focused, but also [new hotels will open] from the Middle East through to Africa and North America. China’s a big focus for us, with 12 new hotels under development. It’s a uniquely big roll-out – there was always that demand for Thai hospitality brands, so we think we’ve got great momentum there.

We’re also expanding dusitD2 – predominantly in Asia, where there’s a rising middle class that wants something a bit more hip, and not all the bells and whistles that you get in deluxe hotels.

Where will those be opening?

We’ve got four hotels in the dusitD2 category open already and eight more coming up, from California to Kenya. There’s been terrific interest in the brand.

Dusit Thani is known for its classic Thai style – what is it about the Dusit brand that’s distinctive?

It’s a 65-year-old company, so it’s ingrained in the culture and has become synonymous with Thai heritage and Thai hospitality. That’s what Dusit is all about. And it’s something we now want to grow, extracting the best aspects – the warmth, the design aspects – and introducing these overseas.

Do you find that you need to adapt depending on where you’re operating?

You definitely have to adapt. It’s about thinking global and acting local and then personalising it. If you go to Nairobi, you’re not expecting to step into a piece of Thailand. But you are expecting the best elements of Thai hospitality adapted to the local culture. We’re not a cookie-cutter package – it’s not a generic offering. Good food, engaging the senses, the spa elements: these are our core strengths.

It’s a team effort – the local partner will bring their input. Every hotel is a collaboration that makes it possible.

What is it about Thai hospitality that has such an appeal all over the world?

For me, warmth is what captures it. Not to say that the big companies don’t have it, but they need to standardise it more because they operate on a bigger scale. A lot of developers have personal experiences from Thailand and want elements of that replicated in their country.

Within an Asian context, Thailand is number one in terms of hospitality.

So we’re growing within Asia, and anything to do with Asia is hot at the moment.

Which aspects of Thai heritage do you emphasise?

For a Dusit Thani offering, it has to have both mystique and authenticity about it. With our hotels in Guam, Abu Dhabi – we have hints of Thai design in there, so it’s a very

subtle thing. It’s something we deal with on an everyday basis – how much Thai do we bring? The best way to do it is through service implementation – certain touch points. There’s that sense of respectfulness, as well as an affiliation with the royal family. Those are the parts of Thailand that we’re trying to be. And we can still have that modern twist.

What are you doing with the food and beverage side of things?

The two core pillars of Thai hospitality are food and wellness. We see some of the big chains moving away from F&B and outsourcing it, but that’s generally not our approach – we don’t prescribe that our outlets should be driven by local tastes.

In Bangkok, we’ve relaunched our Thai restaurant Benjarong – it’s been traditional before, but it’s now more contemporary. That concept will hopefully travel better, allowing us to adapt it to overseas markets. The chef is Danish, in line with a lot of foreign chefs who have taken Thai cuisine to the next level.

We’re very excited.

Dusit International Hotels & Resorts Worldwide properties

Upcoming properties

Dusit Thani Hotels & Resorts: ● Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi UAE ● Dusit Thani Bangkok Thailand ● Dusit Thani Dubai UAE ● Dusit Thani Hua Hin Thailand ● Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket Thailand ● Dusit Thani LakeView Cairo Egypt ● Dusit Thani Maldives ● Dusit Thani Manila Philippines ● Dusit Thani Pattaya Thailand ● Dusit Island Resort Chiang Rai Thailand

Dusit Thani Hotels & Resorts: ● Dusit Thani Castle Fushun ● Liaoning China ● Dusit Thani Dongtai Jiangsu China ● Dusit Thani Fudu Qingfeng ● Changzhou China ● Dusit Thani Fuxian Lake Yunnan China ● Dusit Thani Guam Resort USA ● Dusit Thani Huangdao Qingdao China ● Dusit Thani Hot Springs Qingyuan China ● Dusit Thani Resort Panzhihua ● Sichuan China ● Dusit Thani Shaoxing China ● Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore

Dusit Devarana Hotels & Resorts: ● Dusit Devarana New Delhi India dusitD2 Hotels & Resorts: ● dusitD2 Chiang Mai Thailand ● dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Changzhou China ● dusitD2 Phuket Resort Thailand Dusit Princess Hotels and Resorts: ● Dusit Princess Srinakarin ● Bangkok Thailand ● Royal Princess Chiang Mai Thailand ● Dusit Princess Korat Thailand Dusit Residence Serviced Apartments: ● Dusit Residence Dubai Marina UAE ● Pearl Coast Premier Hotel Apartments ● Dubai UAE

Affiliate properties ● ● ● ●

Royal Princess Larn Luang Bangkok Thailand Pathumwan Princess MBK Center Bangkok Thailand

Dusit Devarana Hotels & Resorts: ● Dusit Devarana Hot Springs & SPA ● Conghua Guangzhou China ● Dusit Devarana Baoting Hainan China ● Dusit Devarana Dianchi Lake ● Kunming China dusitD2 Hotels & Resorts: ● dusitD2 Constance Pasadena USA ● dusitD2 Fudu Hongmei ● Changzhou China ● dusitD2 Khao Yai Thailand ● dusitD2 Nairobi Kenya ● dusitD2 New Delhi India ● dusitD2 Urbana Gurgaon India Dusit Princess Hotels and Resorts: ● Dusit Princess NAIA Gardens Manila ● Philippines Dusit Residence Serviced Apartments: ● Dusit Residence & Suites Doha Qatar ● Dusit Residence Fuxian Lake ● Yunnan China

Hotels under planning & development Dusit Thani Hotels & Resorts: ● Dusit Thani Brookwater ● Golf & Spa Resort Australia ● Dusit Thani Cam Rahn Vietnam ● Dusit Thani Tianmushan ● Hangzhou China ● Dusit Thani Huangdao Qingdao China ● Dusit Thani Samara Beach Sousse Tunisia ● Dusit Thani Tong’an Xiamen China ● Dusit Thani Zhozhuang Shandong China Dusit Devarana Hotels & Resorts: ● Dusit Devarana Maldives dusitD2 Hotels & Resorts: ● dusitD2 Huitang Changsha China ● dusitD2 Fudu Hongmei ● Changzhou China ● dusitD2 Davao Philippines ● dusitD2 Yongtai Fuzhou China ● dusitD2 Residence Yangon Myanmar Dusit Princess Hotels and Resorts: ● Dusit Princess Jingxi Fuzhou China