​Famous artists, such as Joan Cornellà Vázquez, are also featuring their works in the 5th Hotel Art Fair Bangkok. Through his outstanding works of dark and satirical humor towards the society, the Spanish illustrator is acknowledged worldwide among art collectors and appreciators. 

​Another outstanding talent from Tokyo is Manabu Koga – a Japanese underwater photographer. His works are well-known by their common nature of unique portrayal – a snap shot of a woman in her bikinis, for instance, is the hybrid of ideas of art, Japanese fashion, manga and cosplay.   ​

​Last but not least is Niam (Surachai) Mawornkanong, an acrylic painter who views art as a therapy.  His exhibition last year, A place called Earth, was an example on how creating art was the only way he felt he was communicating with somebody, relieving the pain he was going through and connecting with the world again. Art for Mawornkanong, thus, became a therapy to help him out of his dark corner.

​There are also other international works to see and experience in Hotel Art Fair Bangkok 2018 from many leading galleries and artists around the world.​the Clear Gallery Tokyo, Japan; the G13 Gallery, Malaysia; Joan Cornellà, Spain; Peap Tarr & Lisa Mam, Cambodia; The Drawing Room, Philippines;     WE Gallery, China

​VINTAGE fans rejoice! This issue, The BigChilli is dropping in on another must-visit where all vintage treasure lies.
 
Operated by the people behind the Sri Nakarin and Ratchadaphisek Train Market, one can be certain that this location is sure to draw numerous respectable shops and products.
 
Dwarfed by next door’s Chatuchak weekend market, The Camp won’t tire you out walking from end to end. But, as Shakespeare observed, “though she be but little, she is fierce”.
 
Strolling into the market, lined both sides are small shops showing off their goods. There’s something for everyone here from shops selling old vinyl records and record players, vintage furniture, home decor, rustic (possibly second hand) clothes, old cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles and big bikes shops. It is like a treasure hunting grounds for adults. The Camp sets itself apart with its commitment to keep everything on-theme. 

The Camp’s management made sure to curate and personally approved all shops by the relevance of the products and decoration plans. So do not expect any cheap clothes, cheap shoes, cheap accessories or the things found at Chatuchak flea market here.
 
If one gets tired after a good few hours of treasure hunting, there are also an array of food stalls and restaurants to choose from including known street food names like Ari’s Summer Street and Paper Butter Burger and many more.
 
The Camp opens Tuesday to Thursday from 11am to 10pm, and Friday to Sunday from 11am to midnight and is closed on Mondays. The best time to visit, however, is from Friday to Sunday around sundown.

VIKROM Kromadit is not your average billionaire. As much adventurer as entrepreneur, he is the founder and CEO of AMATA Corporation, one of Thailand’s leading industrial estate developers. A title he takes no less seriously is that of ‘Emissary of Goodwill and Friendship’ given by the Thai government. He was appointed to promote bilateral ties at the people-to-people level between Thailand and other countries along the route of his ‘Caravan Asia’, an epic journey undertaken by Mr Vikrom and 20 people in the summer of 2013.
    
The caravan of mobile homes made their way from Bangkok to Lao and China and on to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast of the Russian Federation. From there the caravan took a route through unspoilt wilderness and the Siberian cities of Irkutsk, Kransoyarsk and Novosibirsk. After a side trip to Kazakhstan, the adventurers returned to Bangkok by way of China and Myanmar.
    
The door to Mr Vikrom’s office on the 6th floor of the Kromadit building on New Petchaburi Road opens onto a large indoor garden fitted with Thai-style wooden houses. Inside one of the houses, with Deng a large lovely dog that he says is ‘like a bodyguard’ lying close by, Mr Vikrom talked about his experiences and what compelled him to take the ultimate road trip. Actually, he said, this was the third Asia Caravan; the first was the GMS Caravan 2011 (Greater Mekong Subregion) and second in 2012 was through China and Mongolia. 

“I first learned about Siberia when I was just a kid. I was fascinated for some reason and I really wanted to know how it looks and what it’s like. I learned about Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. It’s the largest freshwater lake in the world. If you learn about some place when you are small you naturally want to see it when you get older.
    
“Russia always seemed so far away from Thailand, so I was excited when I had the chance to go to Moscow for the first time in 1982. I went with a Thai delegation that included former Foreign Minister and Chief Air Marshal Siddhi Savetsila,” said Mr Vikrom, who has written several books that have been translated into eight languages and sold around seven million copies.

IT has been one of our top travel destinations even as a couple BB (before baby) so we wanted to see what it would be like to go there as a trio. This was Maya’s 12th destination and second time to Indonesia – what a wanderlust baby she is!
    
Travelling there was easy, with directs flights from Bangkok to Denpasar. Pack all essential items in a separate diaper bag or carry-on, in case your luggage gets lost. We always have diapers, formula, bottles, and change of clothes, food, and toys in the carry-on luggage.
    
We stayed at Villa Bagherra – a private villa that is big enough for six people. It also has full-time staff working there, including 24/7 security guard, and two house-keepers. Ketut, one of the house-keepers, prepared our daily breakfast and was available to do laundry, ironing and even booking private massage sessions for us.
    
The tap water in Bali is not safe to drink so we used a steam steriliser to sanitise bottles and utensils for Maya. It is handy to have microwavable boxes when you travel. Any hotels will gladly pop that in the microwave for you. For formula and drinking water, we used boiled or bottled water instead.
    
For the fun activities, there are plenty of beach clubs in Bali. Most of them are family-friendly so we enjoyed our days hanging out by the pool.
    
For the cultural experience, there are an abundance of temples. We checked out Uluwatu temple overlooking the ocean. Maya was impressed by the chanting and the eye-catching costumes.

LOCATED just a five-hour drive (plus a short speed boat ride) from Bangkok, lies the enchanted island of Koh Kood. Last month, the three of us – the Travelbook family – had the pleasure of visiting this small piece of paradise for a little getaway and a friend’s wedding.
    
While browsing for accommodation on our travel-sharing platform, I couldn’t help noticing a recurring theme. There was Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and Wendy the Pool. This made me think, of course, of the legendary book by J. M. Barrie about a free-spirited young boy who never grows up – Peter Pan – which made our choice of where to stay even easier, the Peter Pan Resort. How fitting for a free-spirited family!
    
There are two ways of getting to Koh Kood – drive or fly, though it takes about the same amount of time for both options. We chose to drive to Trad province to make it easier as we were traveling with our 11-month old baby, Maya. We made sure we were armed with a lot of entertainment to distract her with on the long drive. We brought all of Maya’s favourite toys and I even let her dig through my makeup kit which always satisfies her for hours on end.

ASK a seasoned Thai traveler for his or her bucket list of to-do destinations, and Bhutan will definitely rate high amongst their choices. They may not be able to pinpoint Bhutan on a map or tell you much about its history, but this isolated Himalayan kingdom has certainly captured their imagination as well as a good number of hearts ever since Bhutan’s handsome Crown Prince visited Thailand in 2006.

Dubbed ‘Prince Charming’ by the Thai press for his good looks and elegant manners, the Crown Prince has gone on to become King of Bhutan in 2008 and three years later married his beautiful 21-year-old Bhutanese bride.