“Even a couple of years ago I’d never have imagined we’d build a house in a field, but that’s what we did”

Gareth Marshall is among a growing number of foreigners based in Thailand who have swapped city life in Bangkok for the simple pleasures and empty pastures of Esan, the country’s vast and decidedly rural Northeastern region. Despite obvious challenges and occasional setbacks, the move has proved a great success, with Gareth and his Thai wife Hana building their dream home and working farm in what was once a field with just one tree.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, 49-year-old Gareth first arrived in Thailand in 1996, working initially in a restaurant on Koh Tao. He then taught English at the British Council, and later edited an English language business magazine. For most of the last 15 years, he’s worked at a public relations agency in Bangkok. His Thai wife Hana is originally from the Northeast city of Kalasin. They first met in Bangkok some 13 years ago.

While Hollywood’s major studios have long recognized Thailand as a great place to make movies because of its dazzling scenery, lower production costs, skilled technicians and state of the art gear and facilities, the country is also home to a slate of smaller production houses that are delivering quality TV commercials and films for leading brands across the globe.
One of the most active is Indigo Production, a Bangkok-based outfit launched eleven years ago by veteran advertising executive Adrian Van de Velde. Based in Sukhumvit, Indigo is a “one-stop shop” which incorporates traditional so called ‘live action’ filming with a recently added post-production and CGI (computer generated imagery) division. By doing so they’ve added spectacular cutting-edge 3D animation, to their existing service offering of traditional broadcast tv commercials, documentaries and online content.
Its clients include the mainstay FMCG brands under multinational giants Unilever, P&G and Coca-Cola. A global hotel chain with 1000s of properties worldwide. And a growing number of local and regional brands across Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. One such brand is Nutifood Vietnam a flavoured milk and yogurt producer. This project gave Indigo the perfect opportunity to launch their CGI Division.
  “As it turns out, our timing to launch ‘Indigo Post’ was remarkably prescient. While most of the industry couldn’t shoot live action because of the rolling pandemic restrictions, we didn’t skip a beat.” says Adrian Van de Velde.    

 British architect behind the Foundation funding education for children of underprivileged Thai families

Having spent 30 years in Thailand establishing the multiple-award-winning design studio, the Beaumont Partnership, Tim Beaumont is well known for his work in design and construction - and more recently his advocacy for education for the underprivileged in the kingdom.
 
In 2008, during the ongoing social and political unrest between the red and yellow shirts, Tim and his business partners began the Beaumont Partnership Foundation to create social change through education.

C​ommaso Cecca, Store Manager and Head Bartender of Camparino in Galleria, brings his concoctions and some of the bar’s iconic flavors to the heart of Bangkok at Vesper.
For many drink connois-seurs, having a cocktail at such historic and legendary bar like Camparino in Galleria in Milan would be one of the quests to be crossed off the bucket list. Well, some Bangkok drinkers were in lucky as some drinks from Milan were being served exclusively the head bartender himself at Camparino Takeover event at Vesper, along with his insights into the cocktail trend and how to stay relevant in the fast-changing world.
With 107 years of history behind it, Camparino in Galleria has now consolidated its position as an establishment that is synonymous with the Milanese aperitivo and innovative mixology at a global level, and that is far more than its refined cocktails and sophisticated atmosphere: a legacy that is intrinsically entwined with the soul of the city of Milan. And since its major facelift in 2019, the bar has also become a worldwide pioneer for innovative mixology and went on to be awarded no.27 on World’s 50 Best Bars 2021 list.
“Do you know what’s the best part of working at Camparino?” asked Tommaso Cecca, current Store Manager and Head Bartender of the historic venue, while stirring what looked like a Negroni at the bar of Bangkok’s very own Asia’s 50 Best Bar awardee. “It’s the opportunity to meet people from around the world and work with some of the most talented, most dedicated people in the industry. And I never get tired of the view of the Duomo di Milano!

Expats and high-profile Thais are being targeted in a new and sophisticated ‘Call Centre Scam’ with perpetrators claiming
to be senior Thai police officers. The scam begins with victims being contacted by someone claiming to work for the customs department who says they have intercepted a package from overseas containing drugs, ATM cards and bank books that are linked to “national-level moneylaundering
investigation.”

t this point, they are transferred via a video call to a man wearing a police uniform who claimed he is based at Ranong Police Station in southern Thailand. According to a Bangkok businessman who was cheated out of hundreds of thousands of baht, the “police officer” proved extremely convincing, seated in what looked like a genuine police station, chatting to his colleagues in the background and saying that the police needed his help to catch the money-launderers. The man was assured he was not suspected of any wrongdoing and even shown photos of six men wanted for questioning.

However, since the businessman’s name and personal details had been discovered in a bank account, not his, holding an unexplained sum of more than 13 million baht, he needed to prove his innocence by making a personal visit to the station in Ranong, an extremely
inconvenient journey of several hundreds of kilometres. If he refused, an arrest warrant would be issued.

Alternatively, the businessman was told, he could send the ‘police officer’ access to his bank account so it could be cleared of any money laundering. Having been lulled into a false sense of security by the quietly spoken and clearly educated scammer who added to his credibility by displaying a copy of the man’s ID card, he did as instructed – thus enabling the scam, with all his money being subsequently stolen from his account. How did an otherwise sensible businessman fall for this scam?

The Coronavirus has been a scourge on our lives for the past three years, with many of us facing long days of quarantine wondering how to use this unexpected break from our usual routine.
I found a solution. Since a young age I have always loved books, whether they were being read to me at night by my mother before I went to sleep, or when I proudly finished reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears by myself at the age of four.
Although I use a computer to write every day, I have never been a big fan of reading a book online, or on a laptop or smartphone. It just feels so much nicer to have something physical to hold, feel, read … and smell!  Indeed, the smell of a new (or very old) book is satisfying in itself … the content within is the added bonus.
Since the dawn of the digital age the publishing industry has been going through challenging times. I looked at what has been happening in the print industry in the UK since Covi and discovered that the news is upbeat. Just as there has been a big surge in the sale of vinyl music albums so there has also been a boom in purchasing physical books – and the ‘bricks and mortar’ bookshops have been busy, full of customers browsing the shelves, and buying printed books.  In 2020, over 200 million print books were sold, the highest number since 2012.
Many people turned to books for entertainment, with some doubling the amount of time they spent reading.  The movie industry, Netflix, other streamed services and the TV have also helped. There are a lot of first-time readers who want to delve deeper into the movie they have just watched, or they want to read the book before they go to see the movie.
The pandemic has shown that reading is still an activity highly valued by millions of people, particularly in situations whereby increased leisure time has,  and is, becoming the norm.  While recent results have shown that the publishing industry is undoubtedly sustainable, it also has to be flexible and innovative.
Are we seeing similar developments in Thailand?  Let’s look at independent publisher River Books, and seek the opinions of its owner Khun M.R. Narisa Chakrabongse.

A Bangkok resident for over 26 years Christian Schulz nevertheless still keeps very close ties to his childhood home in the south western part of Africa. Even the onset of Omicron early December did not stop him from visiting his many friends he grew up with together in his beloved Namibia. Christian was also able to catch up with Namibian wild life conservationist and author of ‘Capture to Be Free’, Annette Oelofse, and experience firsthand the passion she has for her work.
Africa has seen numerous female conservationists like Joy Adamson raising lioness ‘Elsa’  documented in the 1966 film ‘Born Free’; Diane Fossey’s dedication to mountain gorillas in Central Africa (inspiring the Academy Award–nominated film, ‘Gorillas in the Mist’); or Jane Goodall, spending years working with chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, just to mention a few.
Had these courageous women inspired Annette Oelofse or was it her own desire to fight for the survival of the wild rhinoceros in Namibia against the growing number of poachers? Together with Annette’s late husband Jan (a world renowned conservationist and animal trainer who started as a mass game capturer and whose knowledge and passion for wild animals earned him the role of animal trainer for the classic Hollywood film ‘Hatari’ featuring John Wayne and Hardy Krueger) and her son Alex, Annette founded ‘Mount Etjo Safari Lodge’ in the heart of Namibia.
While Namibia is home to many varieties of African wildlife this private game reserve on 36, 000 hectares of land not only hosts but also shelters many of those not protected in this wide open and rugged land. Rhinos have always been a top priority for the tireless conservation efforts by the Oelofse Family, and the sanctuary was rewarded in 1993 for being as one of the very first rhino custodians for the black rhino custodianship program in Namibia.

W​ith so much emphasis on sensible and healthy eating nowadays, the growing presence of Thammachart Seafood retail outlets and supermarket counters right across Thailand is a welcome development in helping to upgrade the nation’s diet and provide nutritious food for all.
Established in July 2007 by wife and husband team Yeeran and Julian G. Davies, Thammachart Seafood has grown into a major force based on a simple but important premise: “We are creating a healthy lifestyle community through healthy eating.”
Operating in more than 190 stores nationwide with 700-plus staff, the company is well on its way to achieving that vision.
Each Thammachart Seafood counter as well as the company’s own brand retail operations offer the highest quality and sustainably sourced seafood, including fresh seafood, frozen seafood, value-added seafood products and a number of gourmet imported items.
With two young children of their own, this enterprising Thai-British couple is perfectly placed to understand the need for safe and nutritious seafood for their family and the community at large.