The far end of a quiet country lane in Rayong is the remote but an entirely suitable setting for Elsie’s vision to create a supportive environment for guests to relax, explore and create. “Elsie Evans Art Retreat” is the brainchild of Scottish expat Elsie Evans, whose paintings, drawings and illustrations have delighted and enthralled Bangkok art lovers for more than 20 years.
    
Elsie Evans Art Retreat is, however, one of her finest works. The property is a combination of studio and classroom for students, central lounge and community kitchen, a number of indoor and outdoor relaxation and eating areas, a separate four-bedroom all en-suite residence for overnight stayers, a good-sized swimming pool, encouragingly interactive landscaped gardens with produce all year round, and land and plans for future expansion and evolution.
    
Most guests come to this idyllic spot to tap into Elsie’s considerable experience as an art teacher who is just at ease with kindergarten kids as with retirees. Elsie supplies all the materials, and her classes embrace all facets of art, including sketching using pencils, paints and pastels, and still life drawing. As well as the abundance of beautiful landscapes and scenes that surround the retreat, live models can also be arranged with prior notice.
    
For those who opt out of the classes, the relaxed atmosphere of this genuine away-from-it-all venue is a wonderful alternative attraction. So, while the children learn all about art, mum and dad can sit by the swimming pool with a gin and tonic in-hand or head off to nearby Hat Ram Pheung beach.
    
From the outset, Elsie has endeavoured to make the retreat far more than just an art school. As an expat in Thailand for 30 years Elsie has fine-tuned her passion for hosting, a talent she perfected years ago while running the legendary Attic Studios in Bangkok and the variety of visiting personalities, and she has taken that natural joie de vivre and transplanted it in Rayong. At the retreat, everybody is encouraged to muck in and share the entirety of the space and ethos of the venture.

THOSE looking for the secret to success in the Land of Smiles would do well to study the life and times of Narinder Sachdev. This Indian-born, naturalised Thai is one of the biggest exporters of locally-made fabrics in the country and his family business ventures include real estate and operation of the 33-storey Fraser Suites serviced apartments on Sukhumvit Soi 11. During the course of our interview, Mr Sachdev showed himself to be as charming, caring and humble, as much he is prosperous. As he described his business and private life in Bangkok over the years, he also told a colourful story of how much the city and its people have changed.
    
Mr Sachdev is devoted to his family and the memories of his grandparents and parents. “My father came to Thailand (it was known as Siam then) in 1923 from the part of India that is now Pakistan. My grandparents had four sons and one daughter. My father was number three in the family. One day when he was already grown up, one of my grandmother’s stepbrothers came to our village and asked my father if he wanted to go to Bangkok. He asked his mother and she readily agreed, so my father was the first person in the family to come to Thailand,” Mr Sachdev said.
    
“My father started working in Bangkok as a labourer selling textiles. He did it for one year and said, ‘this is not my piece of cake, I can’t sell textiles’. So he quit and joined a company in Sampeng district in Chinatown area of Bangkok that was importing textiles from Japan. He looked after the company’s finances and when the bosses were short on cash, he would borrow money from them. He had the courage and he was always friendly and willing to help people and they would help him in return. His reputation was absolutely the best. He married the daughter of one of his bosses and continued to work with the company until 1940. In 1931 he invited his two brothers from India to Thailand and opened a shop for both of them.

Voilà!, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit

EXPERIENCE the Magnifique Veuve Clicquot Sunday brunch at Voila!, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. Offering a culmination of fine produce including baked Canadian blue lobster served with garlic and chilli butter sauce, Black summer truffle risotto, and an exceptional array of delectable dishes.
    
Priced at B2,200 net with soft drinks and juices, B3,750 net with Chandon, wines and cocktails, and B4,750 net including Veuve Clicquot Champagne, wines and cocktails. Available from 12-3pm.

Voilà! restaurant at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. 02 126 9999. sofitel.com/sukhumvit

OVER the last 50 years, 139 people, mostly foreigners, lost their lives in eight hotel fires in Thailand, and several hundred people were seriously injured, mostly from smoke inhalation. Six of the fires occurred in Bangkok. In the provinces, in 1997 a fire at the Royal Jomtien Resort Hotel in Pattaya killed 91 people and injured 63, making it the deadliest hotel fire in Thai history. In 2012, three people died in a fire at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Hat Yai.    Bangkok fires causing fatalities occurred at the Imperial Hotel in 1971 (24 dead); Grace Hotel in 1985 (four dead); First Hotel in 1988 (13 dead); Amari Atrium Hotel in 2010 (one dead); Grand Park Avenue Hotel in 2012 (two dead); and the Grand Tower Inn in 2013 (one dead).
    
To put things in perspective, 139 fatalities is about the average two-day death toll on Thai roads. Considering that at present there are more than 400 resorts and hotels in Bangkok and more than 1,200 in other provinces, it’s not all that high. That does little to console the victims’ loved ones or make up for the terror experienced by the survivors.

KAMPHAENG PHET is a small and peaceful provincial capital on the Ping River, which flows south from Chiang Mai to help form the Chaophraya River. It is near the point where the river emerges from the hills of Tak province and spreads majestically across the soft soils of the central plains.
    
To the west are rugged, heavily forested mountains that form a network of splendid national parks. To the east are endless fertile flatlands, where farmers grow rice, cassava, sugar, mangoes, and tiny, bright yellow fruit called kluai khai, or egg bananas. Its main attraction is a UNESCO World Heritage historical park, which contains the ruins of a fortress, fortified walls that protected a city and more than 60 ancient temples.

If we go back in time this sleepy little town halfway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai was once a garrison town that protected two kingdoms, a trading centre and an important centre of Buddhism that was also contributing to the early development of Thai architecture.

DEDICATED to the Allied prisoners of war (POW) and Asian labourers, the Hellfire Pass Museum in Kanchanaburi was officially opened in 1996 to commemorate the suffering and sacrifices on the Burma-Thailand railway during WW II. The memorial museum provides important educational information and is a moving tribute to those POW and Asians who suffered and died during the construction of the railway from 1942-1943.
    
On 7th December 1941, the Pacific War began with the Japanese air strike on Pearl Harbor with no warning. In the devastating strike, hundreds of American aircraft were destroyed, 18 ships sunk and more than 2,400 Americans killed. In addition to Hawaii, the first wave of Japanese attacks included Malaya, Hong Kong and the Philippines. By mid-1942, Japanese forces were combating the British forces in Burma with the ultimate goal of reaching India.  
    
In order to transfer resources and supplies to Burma, the Japanese decided to build a 415 km-long railway through the jungle and mountains instead of shipping through the vulnerable sea-lanes. The railway construction started in Thailand at Ban Pong in Ratchaburi Province and was to reach Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar.
    
With the aim to complete the railway in 14 months, the Japanese used forced labour, gathering more than 250,000 Asians and over 60,000 Australian, British, Dutch and American POW to work on the line. Prisoners and the workforce were transferred from Singapore, Java and Sumatra to Burma and Thailand in extreme conditions. The railway construction began in October 1942 from both ends and the two sides were finally linked in Konkoita, in Sangkhla Buri district of Kanchanaburi on 16th October 1943.

His Excellency Jaime Nualart began his term as Mexican Ambassador to Thailand in June 2016. He has since worked tirelessly to boost bilateral trade, investment and tourism, and he puts an emphasis on cultural exchanges. The ambassador outlined professional priorities and gave some interesting personal insights in a recent conversation with The BigChilli at his residence, which is beautifully decorated with paintings and sculptures by Mexican artists. At the start of the interview, he provided a brief sketch of his distinguished 35-year foreign service record.
    
“I was born in Mexico City, studied at the National University of Mexico and worked for the Mexican cultural sector before starting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). I have travelled extensively and had the privilege of been posted in beautiful, culturally rich countries like Thailand. I was posted to Japan in 1982 early in my diplomatic career, then India, Italy, Belgium and back to Mexico. After working in my home country for a while, I was appointed an ambassador to Egypt, then I went to India for the second time. Now I am happily in Thailand.
    

DESPITE its awful past, the infamous River Kwai’s ‘death’ railway built by WWII prisoners is an ideal location for the River Kwai Trophy Adventure Race, the largest race in Southeast Asia.
     
I was not always into endurance sports. I think it came to me as a mid-life crisis thing. I enjoyed Bangkok’s party scene for years, becoming overweight and unhealthy in the process. I read about this River Kwai Race where people swam, biked and ran the trails. I’d already done plenty of these activities in Canada; in fact, my fondest memories growing up in a small town derived from being a free range kid cycling on 10-speed bikes on dirt trails.

HIS Excellency Andelfo Garcia began his term in April 2013. Since then the Colombian Ambassador to Thailand and his wife Astrid, who was present during the interview, have become a highly visible and respected duo in the local diplomatic community. They were both delighted when they learned that Mr Garcia had been chosen to head the embassy here and have thoroughly enjoyed their time in the Kingdom. “We don’t know yet when my term in Thailand will end. We could be here for another few months or maybe a year; we are definitely not in a hurry to leave,” said Mr Garcia at the couple’s residence on the 64th floor of a high-rise in central Bangkok.
    
“Before I took my ambassadorial post, my family visited Thailand for the first time as tourists in 2007. I had travelled in Asia, to China, India, Korea and Japan, but it was my first time in Southeast Asia. There were many surprises waiting for me here and I learned a lot about Thailand during that trip. However, after I arrived in 2013 to take my post I realised that Thailand had seen many changes since the visit in 2007. First of all, Bangkok now seems even more modern and vibrant. There are more activities going on, more tourists everywhere and lots of economic development. I could see many positive changes, especially in terms of economy, infrastructure and public services.