BRITISH composer Richard Harvey, who shares his year between Thailand and the UK, recently won the best Soundtrack Award at the 2017 ‘Annies’ in Hollywood – the animation equivalent of an Oscar. Richard, who is based in Bangkok during his annual stay in Thailand, won the award for his critically praised score for Mark Osborne’s movie ‘The Little Prince’. The winning score was co-produced with Richard’s friend Hans Zimmer, with whom he teamed up last year on a 35-date stadium tour of Europe Competition for the Annies is always extremely fierce with Pixar, Disney, and Paramount all vying for the top honours. The Little Prince, one of the most innovative animated films released in recent times, has already grossed over US$100m worldwide and also won the Cesar Award for Best Animation in its native France. The score is also nominated at all the upcoming main Award Ceremonies, internationally. |
This issue include Bistro Convent, Arno's Burgers & Beers, Burger and Lobster, The Bestination Street Food of Bangkok at Amarin Plaza, The Gourmet Garden at Siam Paragon, and Clinton St. Baking Company Bangkok, Bistro Convent
The key to overcoming public speaking anxiety By Drew McCreadie
Previously located behind the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel in the heart of Bangkok was a shrine popular with women and families who wished to have children By Morgan Thanarojpradit
From being temporarily blind to giving up her six-figure income, this yogi is taking yoga to a corporate level By Morgan Thanarojpradit WHAT used to be one of the most expensive and disregarded exercise classes, yoga has become a common and popular forms of exercise around the world. It is believed to have a variety of health benefits, for both the body as well as the mind as Voravarai Varikarn found out. Armed to the teeth with self-confidence and ambition, she rose to a high-level position earning six-figures income in a short period of time. Not immune to the office syndrome and stress from work, she was plagued with periodic but crippling headaches. Through the lens of photographer Rammy Narula this century-old train station is still as full of life as ever – despite the fact it’s about to go into retirement by Kelly Harvey AS plans get underway to move the central Bangkok railway station to Bang Sue, more and more artworks and exhibitions featuring the iconic station have begun to be displayed at Hua Lamphong as well as other galleries arcoss the city. Designed by Mario Tamagno and Annibale Rigotti in the early 1900s, Hua Lamphong is not your typical Thai-style train station. Featuring Italian Neo-Renaissance architecture, stained glass windows, and a decorated wooden roof, the structure is a piece of art in itself and has both inspired and become the subject matter of many artists. WITH dozens of laws and regulations up their sleeves, ready to nail wayward drivers, Thailand’s traffic police are not to be messed with. Even when you think you’ve done nothing wrong, there’s a good chance the boys in grey will pin you with some misdemeanour you had never considered. Police are empowered to levy fines, which have a maximum as well as a more reasonable lower limit, which apparently is usually applied. The list of fineable offences ranges from something as general as “driving with disregard to the traffic regulations or breaking the traffic laws” and “driving recklessly or disrupting the traffic” to other more serious crimes like as “driving on the footpath” and “driving trucks carrying explosive or dangerous substances without proper labeling signs or tags on the truck.” It may surprise some regular road users to discover that it is also illegal to “pass other cars on the left side without good reason,” a common occurrence, especially on the expressways. And you can’t pass cars “while driving onto a bridge or uphill or around the curve.” Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol are amongst the toughest – “no more than three months’ jail time and fine of between 5,000-20,000 baht.” Repeat offenders face even tougher penalties drivers of a bus, truck, school bus or taxi who allow the passengers to disembark at an intersection or in a traffic jam can be fined 500-2,000 baht. There are fines for jaywalkers and even people who do not have proper control of animals. And you may be penalised for installing or hanging items that disrupt traffic. A commonly committed offence – a taxi who refuses a fare (except if it is dangerous to the driver and/or the passengers) – carries a fine of no more than 1,000 baht. Below are some more of the rules and fines as issued by the Traffic Police: • Using unstable or unsafe vehicles that might cause harm to the driver and others on the road. Fine ranges between 200 baht and 500 baht • Driving a vehicle without a license plate on the road. Fine ranges between 300 and 1,000 baht • Misusing the signal lights. Fine ranges between 300 and 500 baht • Driving a truck with the load longer than the truck’s length without attaching a red cloth or flag at the end that can be seen at least 150 metres away. Fine ranges between 300 and 1,000 baht • Driving on the footpath (except push-carts, children’s trollies, vehicles for the handicapped). Fine ranges between 400 and 1,000 baht Please find a full list of details below. DR Nick White has become the first Thailand-based British expat for more than 60 years to receive a Knighthood from the UK government. The award, announced in the New Year Honours list, is “for services to tropical medicine and global health.” His appointment as a ‘Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George’ gives him the title ‘Professor Sir Nicholas J White FRS.’ Other than UK diplomats, it is believed that the last British expat based here to win this prestigious award was Sir James Holt in the years after WW2. Sir Nick, 65, is a hugely respected figure in the world of tropical medicine, having worked extensively in Asia, Africa, the US, and Britain. He began his career at Guy’s Hospital Medical School, graduating in 1974 as the best medical student across all of the University of London’s medical schools. His first overseas experience was in Nepal where, under difficult conditions, he carried out work for the Britain-Nepal Medical Trust. After training as a junior doctor in the UK, he came to Thailand in 1980 as a lecturer in the ‘Wellcome Unit’, a collaboration between the University of Oxford and Mahidol University’s Faculty of Tropical Medicine. |