As the World Gourmet Festival rolls into town once again, we compare how much it would cost to eat at the restaurants of five of the eight visiting chefs with what you’ll be charged to sample their food here. (The annual festival, held at the Four Seasons, flies in world class chefs who each cook on a different night.) We appreciate it’s a little skewed after all, because while eating at these visiting chefs’ restaurants is often much cheaper than the B5,700 fee Four Seasons is charging for dinner, that amount is still much, much cheaper than zipping over to Geneva or New York for the weekend.

Still, there’s the question of whether chefs can really reproduce the food that makes them famous back home without access to their kitchen team and all the local ingredients they usually employ. But that question, in our experience, doesn’t really have an answer either. It depends. Some visiting chefs are wonderful; others really have you scratching your head. Still, here’s who we’re ready to bet our money on.
For reservations, visit www.worldgourmetfestivalbangkok.com, call 02-126-8866 or e-mail [email protected].

Hari Nayak (Sep 5-6)

Where from: Orissa, New York, USA
What: Indian with a twist
What they say: New York Times: “Worth it. These … creative touches make Orissa a restaurant I’ll be happy to return to in the months to come.”
What you’d pay there: Around B750-1,200: apps (US$10-16) + sauces, chutney (US$3) + main (US$14-25). Or eat from 5-6:30pm for US$18.95 (B600).
Verdict: Sounds nice, but it’s a steep markup. We’d rather go back to our own Gaggan (B1,600 for a ten- to twelve-dish degustation) at a fraction of the price.

Ivo Adam (Sep 9-10)

Where from: Seven Asconda, Geneva, Switzerland
What: Swiss haute cuisine
What they say: Michelin gave Adam’s restaurant one star, writing,“The Swiss gourmet dining scene has scaled to new heights.”
What you’d pay there: B7,600 for a 7-course surprise menu or B11,170 with wine.
Verdict: You’re saving B2,000, not to mention the plane tickets to Switzerland. Sign us up!

Anthony Demetre (Sep 5-6)

Where from: Wild Honey, London, UK
What: Produce-centric, Brit and comforting
What they say: Another Michelin star earner. TimeOut London says, “The composition is thoughtful, each main using two to four key ingredients, often with an English bent.”
What you’d pay there: B1,541-B2,247 for dinner: appetizers (B435-B635) + main course (B860-B1223) + dessert (B245-390). There’s also a B1,122 pre-theater 3-course dinner set.
Verdict: Clearly cheaper back in the UK, but we’ve been reading a lot of good things about Anthony. Our plan is to go for lunch, when it’s only B1,500.

David Lee (Sep 9-10)

Where from: Nota Bene, Toronto, Canada
What: Italian and Mediterranean influences with great Canadian seafood
What they say: It ranks four out of five stars on user-generated sites like Yelp or Urban Spoon. The pros are a bit tougher but it still got voted one of Canada’s Top 10 restaurants by Where Magazine.
What you’d pay there: B1,165-B3,390: appetizers (B275) + main course (B820-B2,750) + dessert (B70-B365). Pre-theater menu: B1,050 for two courses or B1,300 for three.
Verdict: The higher-end produce on the menu could set you back over B3,000, but that’s still half what you’ll end up paying here after tax and service. Call us snobs but we’d rather save our pennies for the Michelin chefs.

Adriano Cavagnini (Sep 5-6)

Where from: Amaranto, Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane
What: Modern Italian
What they say: TimeOut writes, “The staff is professional and plentiful. Amaranto is high-flying Italian cooking in a luxurious setting.” Decanter adds, “[The Italian cuisine here] is a long way from its origins, but it’s also ingenious, imaginative, and precisely executed.”
What you’d pay there: B833-2,400: Starter (£7-20) + main (£10-29).
Verdict: It sounds like the multi-million pound revamp of the space which lasted two years and was completed this year has a lot to do with Amaranto’s draw. But the chef is getting high marks, too, and inventive Italian food is in short supply here. Sounds good!

Who else?

Sep 7–8: Guido Haverkock, i Portici Restaurant, Bologna, Italy
Sep 7–8: Kazumi Sawada, Kumoi, Guangzhou, China
Sep 9–10: Dolli Irigoyen, Espacio Dolli, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Kitchen Talk

Ivo Adam

“What will I bring? I’m packing a bottle of Bündner Röteli (cherry liquor from the Swiss Mountains), Noccino (liquor made of green walnuts), Maggia Pepper (humid pepper mix from a valley in Ticiono) and rose water essence. For almost a year, I’ve also been very fond of corn: sweet corn, salty corn, corn puree, corn ice-cream. It is a mild flavour on its own, it’s not expensive and it works great with fish. I will integrate lots of [local] ingredients but I think I’m invited to cook whatever I do in Switzerland. So expect refreshing dishes like sweet chili mascarpone with pomelo and a cucumber and kiwi duo. Guests will also taste avocado in a very different style and some beef tartar with brown sugar flavours. And, yes, they will be served corn and fish, too. My creative process is like playing with Lego. You want to build your own house, in your own colours, and you start combining the bricks into something new. But Switzerland has a tradition of top notch gastronomy, and even though my style is regarded as young, fresh and creative, I always go back to our roots.”

Anthony Demetre

“I’m a huge fan of Bangkok; it’s a culinary inspiration. We are flying out of London Heathrow and arriving 12 hours later, at 6am. We will arrive at the hotel for breakfast time, and then head straight to the food markets. There, Alan (my assistant) and I will draw inspiration from what we see on offer and only then will we put the final touches to our menu. My garnish for my main course is still not decided until I see what’s available locally. We will bring a few items with us. I’m using a wonderful Lincolnshire smoked eel as one of my dishes, so that will be sent from England. We also will be using wagyu beef short rib; this will come from Australia. I’m a huge advocate of under-used cuts of meat and fish. I find most chefs shun the lesser known cuts in favour of the prime options: this is a real shame as I find that with expert technique, the flavor you get from the working muscles is unrivalled. It’s a practice we instill at my restaurants and it enables great cooking at very reasonable prices. We scour the London markets daily, and this really inspires us: we really have no idea what we are cooking until we know what’s available. It’s challenging but hugely creative. Changing the bulk of the menu daily helps keep costs down and things exciting for our clientele.”

Ahead of his visit (Sep 5-11 at Spice Market) for the World Gourmet Festival at the Four Seasons Bangkok, Hari Nayak, chef of Orissa in Mumbai, India, and culinary consultant in the US, tells us about how he manages to be authentically Indian and creative at the same time, and about the logistics of cooking in a new kitchen.

What are your plans for the WGF?
I am coming with Chef Kiran, a longtime friend and business partner and the team at Four Seasons will be assisting us. I will be making an authentic Indian menu with a global influence, using seafood, local produce and lots of Thai chilies and coconut. I love the flavor they bring into the dishes, and there are a lot of similarities in Thai and Indian cooking.

What’s an ingredient that’s gotten you excited lately?
I often shop at the Union Square Market in NYC and I always find something new and interesting. I recently found husk cherries. They were gathered in a crate by the hundreds and looked like delicately wrapped bonbons, more like berries than cherries once you peel back their paper-thin husk. They’re lightweight, almost weightless. They taste like pineapple and orange.

What’s your creative process?
I love to cook Indian food but I also like to incorporate my experience and knowledge about other cuisines (as I have lived in the West for more than 15 years) into whatever I create. During this process a new style of cooking was created. I recreate Indian recipes with non-Indian ingredients and my favorite Western with Indian ingredients and flavors. I love to explore the fusion of tastes and flavors that occur between different cultural and ethnic cuisines.

Why is your restaurant called Orissa? It is a boutique restaurant and a wine bar concept. Orissa is a state in India which is famous for its ancient tribal arts, beautiful paintings and handicrafts. This was the influence for the design of the restaurant, and the handicrafts there are for sale. The cuisine is modern and contemporary Indian. I have recreated Indian cuisine with local seasonal ingredients with Western influences and a little bit of my own touch which makes it my cuisine.

HOW TO TAKE GREAT TRAVEL PHOTOS

Athit Perawongmetha is a professional photographer whose work has appeared in AFP, National Geographic, Hello, Osotho, Lifestyle+Travel and Honeymoon & Travel magazines. We ask him for his top tips on what makes for good photos, both of landscapes and people, on your travels.

Look at locals
I love to take photos of people from the places I travel to. Photos of people living their traditional lives give more variety to your photo set.

See the light
Avoid taking photos between 11am-3pm. Get up early for a morning session around 7-8am then go eat and rest before heading out for an afternoon session between 4-5pm. Very bright mid-day sunlight creates too much contrast on skin and objects. My favorite moment is the time before the rain, when there’s a combination of yellow light and dark clouds.

Pick the season
Different places look most beautiful at different times of the year. You need to do some study before going on a trip. For example, if you need a nice photo of lush mountains in the North, September, at the end of rainy season and the beginning of winter, is the best time: you’ll see both lush green trees and foggy mist in the air.

Be a copycat
The easiest way to get the right angle is to learn from postcards sold nearby. Those postcards were taken by photographers who tried several angles and picked the best one. You can simply copy that angle.

BE PREPARED
If you want a sunrise shot, go to the spot at least 30-45 minutes before the first light appears as you need time to set things up and fight with others for the best spots. I have waited for four hours just to take a photo of the sunset. Go inspect the spot one day before the shooting if possible.

Use your compact
Normal compact cameras with 24-28mm lens are normally fine if you’ve got the right light, weather and time. Large DSLR cameras just make pictures look a bit more exciting—but you don’t always need pictures to publish in magazines, right?

Expect the unexpected
You cannot control the weather and animals so, my recommendation is to just pray a lot for that perfect moment.

HOW TO TAKE GREAT PORTRAIT SHOTS

Kachain Wonglaemthong, Chief Photography Editor of Daypoets, has shot legions of local artists and celebrities for Hamburger Magazine and hosts of CD covers. Here, he shares a few tips for shooting stunning portraits.

Start with a talk
If both parties (photographer and model) don’t know each other, a talk will break the ice and allow for more casual poses.

Look at the face
Not everybody has a perfect face shape. So you need to try several times to find the best angle for that person. Somebody might have their own favorite pose, which is probably not the best angle for a portrait shot. You also need to persuade him/her to try other angles too.

Keep it warm
If a studio with a perfect lighting set is not an option, I prefer warm sunlight, around mid-afternoon, when it’s not too bright and doesn’t create harsh, high-contrast shadows.

Focus on emotions
Emotion is the most essential element of a portrait. Good portraits must be able to communicate something. You are taking photos of humans so don’t make them look like mannequins. Try shooting people expressing different emotions and movements. Leave some wrinkles while retouching, too. I don’t follow the old-school rule that you need to see the eyes. I only focus on the emotions of the person I shoot.

Black and white always helps
If you cannot really control the light, poses and emotions of your subject, go for black and white—monochrome often helps portrait photos look more interesting.

Forget fancy gadgets
No need to use high-end cameras or lighting. If you get the perfect angle and natural light, even a phone camera can take a great portrait.

HOW TO TAKE GREAT FOOD SHOTS

1.) Do lunch. Artificial light sucks. There’s just no way to compensate for how ugly it is. Besides, you can eat in the best restaurants at a fraction of the cost during lunch. Ask for a table next to a big window and snap away.

2) Lean back. Food doesn’t like wide angles and should be shot at least at arm’s length. The problem with using the longer end of your zoom in dimly lit restaurants is blurry pictures from hand shake. Try using the back of your chair as a tripod.

3.) Tuck in. A messy plate of half-eaten food is gross, but that cake will look a lot more exciting with a fork cutting into it. The other variations are chopsticks holding up some noodles, knife cutting into steak—it can get cheesy done systematically though.

4.) Get a fixed focal lens. If you have a DSLR, a 50mm f/1.8 is quite simply the cheapest lens out there. On most consumer DSLRs, this lens acts like an 80mm, which is a really nice focal length for food photography. Stop it down just a tad, f/2 or f/2.5, and you’ll get really shallow depth of field, an easy trick to make anything look great. Also, you need very little light to use this lens.

5.) Move around. Some food looks great from above, like a colorful bento box. Some food is much more vertical (the French seem to love to create little piles of stuff in the middle of oversized plates) and is best viewed with your chin practically on the table.

6.) Cheat. Point #4 was all about creating shallow depth of field (blurry fore and backgrounds). With a mobile phone, you’ll just have to fake that effect. On Adobe’s Photoshop Express App, use the “vignette blur” effect. On Instagr.am, use the “tilt-shift” mode, which allows even more control. Both apps are free (see right).

7.) Style, baby. Point #3 is actually an example of styling, where you groom your food and arrange it to look more exciting. But there’s a lot more you can try out. Starched napkins tucked behind a plate offer a clean, but subtly textured background, for example. Don’t get cheesy and arrange a ton of silverware and long stem glasses, though. Less is more.

8.) Shoot in 3D. The greatest problem you’re facing as a food photographer is that you’re showing a 3D object in 2D, hence the need to add texture. That’s done by sculpting the food with light. Most often your light should come from almost behind the food, at 2 o’clock if you’re facing the plate and looking at it from above.

9.) Overexpose. When your camera sees a big white plate, it freaks out and dials the exposure down. It’s trying to make your plate an average gray. Dial up the exposure compensation by +1 or +2 EVs (stops, or exposure values) so that your plate’s highlights are overexposed and your food is just right.

10.) Don’t love food too much. You need to make a choice: do you want to eat great food or take great pictures? We’ve eaten many sad cold dishes that were brought to us in all their steaming glory before they withered before our lens. If you love food, just eat it.

CAMERA SHOPS

GET IT FOR LESS

Just a few meters away from Saphan Lek, across from Merry King, is Pirom Plaza (Mahachai Rd., Wangburapa, www.piromplaza.com). This is a convenient spot to pick up secondhand cameras, particularly at Takeshi Camera (2/F, 02-222-8700 ext. 241). There, you can find an old twin-lens Yashica film camera for roughly B4,000. The place is full of shops, so just go for a browse. Pirom Plaza sometimes also has gray market cameras. These are new, original models from big brands like Canon, Sony and Nikon. They’re sold cheaper than in other shops because they’re not imported through official channels. Try Viewfinder (2/F, 081-849-4595. www.viewfindercamera.com), though last time we checked, they only had models from Canon Thailand. You can also head to Pantip for gray market cameras. Be forewarned that Canon Thailand will not cover the one-year guarantee on such cameras, though. Ask the shop about this and you will be told the camera comes with a “shop” guarantee, which is (not very) inspiring, when it comes from a gray market store.

GO PRO

If you’re a serious shooter, you’re going to want real service when your camera goes crazy, so don’t buy at Powerbuy (or the aforementioned dodgy places). Instead, head to Fotofile (www.fotofile.net). They’re spread out through MBK, with shops on the first, second, third and and fifth floors but we like the 3/F shop best. They’re always busy, and not very talkative, but they’ll really help you out if you have problems with stuff bought at their store—particularly Canon gear. There’s also one in The Mall Bangkapi (1/F, 02-363-3250), one in Central Rama 3 (3/F, 02-673-6050), and another in Central Bangna (3/F, 02-745-7282). They can be a tad more expensive but we think it’s worth it. (They also do secondhand on the ground floor of MBK.) For yet more superlative service, get your Nikon gear from the Niks Thailand store (166 Silom Soi 12, 02-235-29-29/35). We’ve dealt with them, too, and they really go that extra mile.

TOY CAMERA

Toy cameras encompass instant film cameras and old cameras with such poor optical qualities that your snaps come out looking all arty—basically what Instagram does on your iPhone, only with film. Fotoguffy (www.fotoguffy.com, 081-647-7371) is situated in Soi Chula 50, behind the old Sam Yan market. Khun Boy, the owner, buys his rare toys from eBay, like a B2,500 navy Polaroid 600 or a D.I.Y. GakkenFlex 35mm TLR for B2,100. Fotoguffy opens on Mon, Wed and Fri, 6.30-9.30pm and Sat 4-8pm. If you prefer not to fight the prime-time Bangkok traffic, online shopping is available through the website with an extra B100 for delivery. The more convenient alternative is Digital Gateway (BTS Siam) where you can browse through the many shops selling toy cameras on the 2/F and 3/F. iTrendy (2/F, 085-514-8397), for example, has both mass-produced and limited-edition cameras. You can get a yellow or black Superheadz Blackbird Fly lomo camera for B5,500 and other limited edition cameras from this Japanese brand and from Lomography. We think it’s more fun to just get an old camera from Fotoguffy or Pirom Plaza, but it’s your call.

TOP Free Photography Apps

iPhone

Leme Cam
Eight lomo and high dynamic range (HDR) styles, fifteen photo effects and eleven frames are packed together in this super cute interface app. Unlike others on iTunes, Leme lets you choose the camera and lens before you shoot then, either save it onto your camera roll, email or share it online through Facebook or their Leme photo network.

Instagram
Instagram works almost like Flickr where you can browse thousands of creative photos that other users uploaded. But this application also allows you to apply retro Polaroid-like effects to your images. Choose a preferred effect, name the photo and then share with your Instagram buddies (and Facebook). In turn, you can also follow anyone you admire and to see their regular updates. Sharing and commenting makes this app a lot more fun.

Camera+
The application has an easy-to-use interface which lets you develop multiple effects onto your images. There are scenery, cropping, special effects and framing options. There is also HDR and auto contrast adjustments to fix sub-par pictures with one touch of the screen. Photos are then added to your private camera roll immediately without pestering you to share them online.

Action Cam
Fun multiple photo shooting is what this app is all about. You can choose from a 2x2, 4x1, 4x2, 3x3 or a tricolor photo booth framing style. Different timing is also made available including a manual mode. There are two color effects to choose from: Romo (Lomo) and ocean tide.

Adobe Photoshop Express
This app from Adobe isn’t particularly fun, but it’s the only one to offer actual Photoshop-like controls: saturation, contrast, sharpening, etc. The effects and frame options are really lame, though.

Android

Roidizer
This app helps you create a Polaroid picture with a caption in just one click. Take a new photo or choose photos from your gallery and turn them into Polaroids. Then type the caption in and share it to social networks including Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Pudding Camera
All the menus are in Korean, but with simple icons you’ll get used to it after some trial and error. The app allows you to take photos with seven choices of toy camera features including fisheye, fantasy color, motion 2x2 lens and motion 4x lens with eight choices of film from vignette to noir. You can swap to the front camera to take photos of yourself too.

BlackBerry

PixTrix
PixTrix is one of the best BB photo apps with 13 styles of photos, from Instant Autumn and Half Sepia to RG Contrast and Lomo (our favorite). Its newest version also allows you to adjust brightness, contrast, hue and saturation as well as rotate and share photos to Facebook.

HIP BAGS FOR HOTSHOTS

1.) Billingham 335. B20,800 from Fotofile

2.) Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite. B73,200 from Louis Vuitton

3.) Herringbone leather and canvas. B7,500 from Mayisell

4.) Vida Classic Wide Chocolate. B2,500 from Loft

5.)  Korean artificial leather. B450 from Mink

6.)  Tenba Messenger Photo. B3,100 for small, B3,300 for large from Mee Camera

7.) Vlashor Scottish-print canvas. B2,500 from Loft

8.) Herringbone 2011 Discovery Canvas Small. B2,590 from Mayisell

9.) Billingham f/Stop 2.8. B8,900 from Gadget Villa

10.) Herringbone V2 genuine leather. B11,500 from Mayisell

11.) Herringbone Canvas. B6,500 from Mayisell

12.) Vida Classic Wide Brown. B2,500 from Loft

Essentials

Fotofile. 1/F, MBK Center, 02-620-9200. BTS National Stadium. www.fotofile.net
Gadget Villa. 085-255-5589, www.gadget-villa.com
Loft. 4-5/F, Siam Discovery, 02-658-0328/-30. BTS Siam. www.loftbangkok.com
Louis Vuitton. G/F, Gaysorn, 02-656-1010. BTS Chit Lom.
May I Sell. www.mayisell.com
Mee Camera. http://tiny.cc/bv9rz
Mink. http://tiny.cc/e7d1e

PETITE BUT PRO The Latest Crop of Mirror-Less Cameras

Sony NEX-C3

Price: B21,990 (18-55mm lens) or B24,990 (18-55mm + 24mm F2.8 lens)
Specs: 16MP / 720p HD video / 225 grams / ISO100-12,800
The second generation of the popular NEX series sees a number of improvements: lighter, more user-friendly interface, swivel LCD screen, and a host of fun effects like pop art looks, retro tones and 3D panoramas. There are three colors to choose from: black, silver and bold pink.

Olympus E-PL3

Price: B27,990 (14-42mm)
Spec: 13.1MP /1,080p full HD video / 265g / ISO100-12,800
The E-PL3 is perfect fit for style-centric photographers as it looks more fashionable than the E-P3 white and comes with better features than the younger sister E-PM1. Olympus also claims that with its latest technology all three cameras feature the world’s fastest auto focus.

FujiFilm X100

Price: B32,990 (23mm fixed)
Spec: 12MP / 720p HD video / 445g / ISO100-12,800 / built-in flash
One of the most sought-after at the moment, due to a production problem in Japan, Fujifilm’s first vintage-designed, Leica-like magnesium alloy camera comes packed with top-notch specs. Highlights, apart from its classy feel, include the hybrid view finder system and the lens. Though it is not interchangeable, the 23mm single-focus Fujinon len is actually equivalent to 35mm full frame so you can still get a pretty wide angle.

Panasonic Lumix GF3

Price: TBA
Spec: 12MP / 1,080 full HD video / 264g / ISO160-6,400 / built-in flash
Only six months after the launch of the GF2, Panasonic decides to put the GF3 on the market to fight with NEX and PEN. Built on the GF2 platform, GF3 is simply a smaller offspring with few improvements (like better continuous shooting speed and new Intelligence Auto mode) for a more amateur photographer. Launched in Japan this month and should be here very soon.

REVIEW Canon 600D

1. Do lunch.

Artificial light sucks. There’s just no way to compensate for how ugly it is. Besides, you can eat in the best restaurants at a fraction of the cost during mid-day. Ask for a table next to a big window and snap away. For a roundup of the best lunch deals in town, head to bit.ly/luxelunches.

2. Lean back.

Food doesn’t like wide angles and should be shot at least at arm’s length. The problem with using the longer end of your zoom in dimly-lit restaurants is blurry pictures from your hand shaking. Try getting up and using the back of your chair as a tripod.

3. Tuck in.

A messy plate of half-eaten food is gross, but that cake will look a lot more exciting with a fork cutting into it (see picture). The other variations are chopsticks holding up some noodles or a knife cutting into steak—it can get cheesy when done systematically though.

4. Get a fixed focal lens.

If you have a DSLR, a 50mm f/1.8 is quite simply the cheapest lens out there. On most consumer DSLRs, this lens acts like an 80mm, which is a really nice focal length for food photography. Stop it down just a tad, f/2 or f/2.5 and you’ll get really shallow depth of field, an easy trick to make anything look great. Also, you need very little light to use this lens.

5. Move around.

Some food looks great seen from above, like a colorful bento box, while other food is much more vertical (the French seem to love to create little piles of stuff in the middle of oversized plates) and is best viewed with your chin practically on the table.

6. Cheat.

Point #4 was all about creating shallow depth of field (blurry fore and backgrounds). With a mobile phone, you’ll just have to fake that effect. On Adobe’s Photoshop Express App, use the “vignette blur” effect. On Instagram, use the “tilt-shift” mode, which allows even more control. Both apps are free.

7. Style, baby.

Point #3 is actually an example of styling, where you groom your food and arrange it to look more exciting. But there’s a lot more you can try out. Starched napkins tucked behind a plate offer a clean, but subtly textured background, for example. Just remember, less is more (don’t crowd the shot by arranging a ton of silverware and long stem glasses).

8. Shoot in 3D.

The greatest problem you’re facing as a food photographer is that you’re showing a 3D object in 2D, hence the need to add texture. That’s done by sculpting the food with light. Most often your light should come almost from behind the food, at 2 o’clock if you’re facing the plate and looking at it from above.

9. Overexpose.

When your camera sees a big white plate, it freaks out and dials the exposure down. It’s trying to make your plate an average gray—ugh! Dial up the exposure compensation by +1 or +2 EVs (stops, or exposure values) so that your plate’s highlights are overexposed and your food looks just right.

10. Don’t love food too much.

You need to make a choice: do you want to eat great food or take great pictures? I’ve eaten many sad cold dishes that were brought to me in all their steaming glory before they withered before my lens. If you love food, just eat it.

Need more help? Sign up for photography classes at these places.

If you need to buy a new toy to play with, check out these three hot new semi-pro cameras.

Every day, for the past two months, Anuttama “Jib” Amornvivat, a 34-year-old Pheu Thai constituency candidate, has been canvassing the streets of Huay Kwang, which would be a leisurely enough activity if her stride didn’t border on a run. Trotting alongside her, yelling out questions over the incessant barking, we soon run out of breath. But she’s not even breaking a sweat, despite the white Pheu Thai jacket, the red garland, the discreet makeup and the flowing mane of hair. We planned to simply tag along to get a feel for a day in the life of a candidate but Anuttama seemed anxious about our presence and, after a couple hours, told us she was done for the day. Here is a very short glimpse at this exciting new candidate who is very likely to be Huay Kwang’s next MP: young and foreign educated, but also heir to a powerful, staunchly Pheu Thai family.

Huay Kwang is a longstanding Pheu Thai stronghold. It was one of only five districts to elect all Pheu Thai councilors in the last city council elections. (Democrats swept all seats in 27 districts in Bangkok, a crushing win.) Despite the odds being in her favor, Pheu Thai isn’t taking too many chances with Anuttama. First of all, she is even better looking in real life than on her ubiquitous posters, which in an election, is anything but trivial. But she also has a political science degree from Chulalongkorn University, a master’s in International Business from Boston University and a master’s in International Economic Policy from Columbia University in the United States. She is currently an economics lecturer at both Chula and Thammasat, and at first glance, she could be the antithesis of the old cliches on Democrat (the party of disconnected Oxford-educated elites) versus Pheu Thai (the party of old-school patronage politics).

“Is your political color ever a problem with your colleagues at Chula. It’s a mostly Democrat school, isn’t it?” I ask.
“We don’t discuss these things. But my students are curious.”
“And can you talk to them openly?”
“It’s not really direct questions. Mostly just teasing.”

Our conversations are never much longer. When asked about policy, she gives a brief sound bite, “I’m a teacher so I believe in education.” The same quote I’ve read in the profiles that ran in the dailies. And also, “People have a lot more economic problems than we can imagine. Salaries don’t match inflation.”

But it’s not an ideal interview scenario either. Every few houses, one of the handlers racing in front of her spots someone in their backyard, then directs her to them. In the Sunday afternoon heat, most people at home are elderly, or housewives. Anuttama executes a graceful wai, then gently holds their arm, something either totally spontaneous or right out of the candidate handbook on creating rapport in five seconds flat.

The man introducing her to most homes is long time Pheu Thai district councilor, Yuth Intarapan, 67, who has recorded four straight wins since 1998. He’s able to chat amicably with the locals, and knows a thing or two about their households. When we hit a Pheu Thai pocket, matriarchs come out of their homes holding up their index (the number one) fingers, and offering assurances of their support and of her victory. “This whole house is Pheu Thai. The whole house!” one middle-age woman announces, dressed in a Pheu Thai t-shirt.

“Do you feel like this is a pointless exercise, running around wai-ing people?” Iask
“No, this is how you find out about people’s problems.”
“But you don’t really get to talk to them.”
“Sometimes you do. And you see the problems. Like this.”

Right on cue, we hit an open sewer with water so black it looks like motor oil. It’s full of trash and is not protected by a fence, so a kid could easily fall in. It illustrates her point quite perfectly. Except no one pauses to take notes or snap a picture. Nor does anyone discuss it. There are just too many streets to canvas—that is the real job at hand.

At most intersections, the big Pheu Thai campaign truck awaits. There’s a sense of being trapped in a maze, where all the streets of Huay Kwang end with the same giant white campaign truck, plastered with Anuttama’s likenesses. She has been in this maze for months—that and meetings.

“So when you’re not canvassing, you’re in meetings?” I ask.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well we’ve been trying to follow you for the past two days, and you were always in meetings. You were in meetings all morning today too, right?”
“Yes.”
“So who are you meeting with?”
“It depends.”
“These are mostly internal Pheu Thai meetings or are you meeting with local organizations?”
“It really depends.”
“Well, what about today?”
“Today was nothing specific.”

At first, I think Anuttama is just not in a talkative mood but then she steps in between my fellow writer Monruedee Jansuttipan and one of the Pheu Thai staff, just as Monruedee begins to question him.

“Why are you talking to him?” Anuttama asks Monruedee.
“We’re just asking questions about his involvement here.”
“He works for me.”
“Yeah, but we’d just like to know—”

She switches to Thai, explaining to Monruedee that she should speak to her directly, as she can better answer her questions. In fact, she also dismisses the aforementioned district councilor as “her staff” when I ask to specifically speak to him. It was only later that we got to find out who he was by chatting to him while she was talking to some residents. Why didn’t she want us to talk to a veteran of local politics who is clearly instrumental in connecting her to her voter base? And what terrible slip-ups did she fear her staffers would make?

We all pile into the campaign truck and drive out of the residential streets and into the commercial thoroughfares. She wais right and left. Taxis honk at the truck. For a second, we’re almost having fun. But then the truck comes to a stop in an alley and we’re told that they’re done for the day and that it’s going to rain. But no one is getting off the trucks and it feels like we’re actually being kicked out. We begin to walk towards the MRT but then spot the truck a couple blocks away. We follow and sure enough, Anuttama has started canvassing the sellers and shoppers of the local market.

We later reached Anuttama on the phone who says they ended up changing plans on the spot. The real question, though, is why did our presence and questions make her so uneasy? Granted, it is unusual for journalists here to follow candidates beyond the press conferences. But given her young age and international background, we expected Anuttama to embrace an opportunity to show the press how she works. One clue lies in her conventional—and powerful—background. She is the daughter of Pol Maj Gen Sombat, former Department of Special Investigation chief, the niece of Sompong Amornvivat, a former deputy leader of the defunct People Power Party and a cousin of former Pheu Thai MP Chulaphan Amornvivat. A level 6 public servant at 31 (according to one Pheu Thai supporter we spoke to), she worked at the Department of Export Promotion, before becoming a lecturer at the big two, Chula and Thammasart universities. We would argue this is a system where people don’t like to be asked too many questions. Ironically, it’s also the system the Red Shirts described as an entrenched elite and vowed to bring down.

Ultimately, though, it is not the press who will decide if she sits in parliament. As the sun begins to set on Huay Kwang’s market, we speak to sellers she’s just greeted in the market and they all say they like her and will vote Pheu Thai. They mention crime and flooding and the fact that they haven’t seen much happen in the past two years. But most importantly, there’s inflation cutting into their profits, and forcing them to raise prices, which in turn reduces sales. With macroeconomics and a great smile going for her, it makes sense Anuttama doesn’t want anyone overcomplicating her narrative. This is Ajarn Jib, candidate #1. She is a lecturer at Chula. She believes in education. She is beautiful. Love it or get off the truck.

Read part IV of the Campaign Trail series: Chitpas Bhirombhakdi: Singha heiress making her debut in politics.

Biscotti (Four Seasons Hotel, 155 Rachadamri Rd., 02-126-8866), is a bit of an institution. "The first of the new Italians," one food writer called it, meaning that you didn't have to wear a jacket to eat in its gorgeous Tony Chi decor, even back when it opened in 1998. Hence the hubbub over its recent change of chefs. Our first taste of newcomer Daniele Cason's cuisine indicates he's going to play it safe, though, so that tycoons and their families can continue to count on their favorites. There's a marathon 7-course set (B2,900), but you can always go for lunch (B690 or B740 for 2 or 3 courses) or a big plate of homemade ravioli filled with porcini mushrooms and ricotta cheese (B520)—our favorite. Here, we speak with Cason:

What’s some produce that’s going to be in season this spring that you’re particularly excited about?
I have to say the pencil asparagus, which is in season now both here in Thailand and Italy. It has a great flavor and gives a crunchy touch to the dishes.

Biscotti is a long-standing restaurant with a lot of regulars. Do
you feel like you can express yourself freely in a restaurant where the guests have such precise expectations?
The guests at Biscotti are truly knowledgeable about Italian cuisine and I feel that they will have a genuine curiosity towards my new creations.

What’s the dish that you’re adding to the menu (or plan to add the
menu) that you’re most excited about?
I would say the home smoked lobster risotto. That dish always brings me a great recognition from the guests.

What would you say is the restaurant’s signature dish? Will it evolve with you as the chef or remain perfectly identical?
The best seller at the restaurant is still the focaccia mascarpone and will remain so. It's a simple, yet sophisticated, creation.

If I’m not mistaken, your last job was in Cairo, which is in a Mediterranean country. How easy, or how difficult, are you finding working with local produce from Thailand? Are there some things that you don’t think are worth importing because they taste just fine here?
Markets in Thailand have a lot of the same products available in Italy. The overall quality is pretty good, but, of course, there are some exceptions such as cheeses, cold cuts and some kind of tomato.

What’s your favorite food or dish when you’re dining out?
Chargrilled ribeye  and, of course, spaghetti!

EARTHQUAKES

The Close Call

The 2007 building code stipulates buildings higher than 23 meters (about 8 floors) must resist earthquakes greater than a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale. But the law is not retroactive, so any building that received its construction permit before that date is not built to earthquake-proof standards. This year, the BMA said that 2,700 buildings were at risk. After the Mar 2011 quake in Burma (6.8 on the Richter scale), the following buildings were inspected: Sermmitr Tower, First Tower, MBK Centre, the All Seasons building, Empire Tower, Chai Tower, the Benjinda building, Shinawatra Tower III, the Thai Military Bank building and the Sun Tower building. None had been damaged.

The Case Study

One comparable scenario is the 1985 Mexico city earthquake. The epicenter was 350km away from the city—even further than the Kanchanaburi fault line is from Bangkok—yet, like Bangkok, Mexico City sits on a water-logged lake bed. There was a magnitude 8.2 quake followed by two aftershocks of magnitudes 7 and 7.5. There is dispute on the death toll, which was officially 10,000, but some experts claim up to 40,000 people died. 412 buildings collapsed and 3,124 were seriously damaged.

If the building is shaking, do this:

• Put some shoes on. It sounds silly but running around on broken glass hurts.
• Are you on the first floor? Get out and head for open ground. If you’re in an urbanized area, that means don’t stay close to buildings.
• Are you in a building? The biggest risk is a floor collapsing on you. You need to huddle under, or next to something very resistant, like a big stack of papers (seriously!).
• Avoid things that might tip over, like wardrobes.
• Don’t try to leave the building until the shaking has stopped.
• Stay calm. It sucks to survive an earthquake only to get crushed to death in a stairwell of panicked office workers.
• Don’t use elevators.

The Odds

According to the Department of Natural Resources, there are 15 active fault zones across Thailand. Most of them are in the north and west of the country. The nearest ones from Bangkok are the Sri Sawat and Three Pagodas fault zones in Kanchanaburi, which are around 240-280km away and about 200km long. Ultimately, although an earthquake of a high magnitude in Kanchanaburi would be disastrous, it is highly unlikely. Japan is located on the Ring of Fire, where the seismic activity is very high, unlike the situation here.

The Plan

In case of a disaster, the National Disaster Warning Center will alert the population through traditional media like radio and television but also through its twitter account (@BKK_BEST) and, soon, SMS. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (who just got an B8.9 billion budget) would take operational control. Who heads the DDPM actually depends on the scale of the disaster (see right): Prime Minister for Scale 4 disasters, Minister of Interior for Scale 3, Governor for Scale 2.

1. Small Scale Disaster
Normal accidents, floods or fires that happen in a limited area in small communities or districts and can be handled by a district office.
2. Medium Scale Disaster
Disasters that cause damage which are beyond the capability of the district office but can be handled by a province’s administor
3. Large Scale Disaster
Disasters that cause damage in several areas and require support from other provinces, as well as advice from professionals and experts.
4. Maximum
Disasters with mass destruction. Several areas in the country are severely affected. PM or Deputy PM takes control.

In Case of Emergency

191
Police (crimes, emergency cases)
199
Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department (fire, accidents)
1784
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (disasters)
1555
BMA Call Center (floods, small disasters)
1669
Narenthorn Center, Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand (emergency health cases)
1646
Erawan Center, Bangkok Emergency Medical Service (emergency health cases)
1677
Ruam Duay Chuay Kan Network (emergency cases, news updates, accidents)
1182
Meteorological Department (weather forecasts)
1644
FM 91 Traffic Radio (news & event updates)
1137
FM 100 Traffic Radio (news & event updates)
1667
Department of Mental Health Hot Line (psychological consultation)

PACK THIS:

What You Need to Survive a Disaster

• Mama noodles for three days.
• Two liters of drinking water per person per day.
• A flashlight (and batteries)
• A first-aid kit.
• Your camping gear (if you have any) and clothes: wind breakers, rain coats, boots, tents, backpack, sleeping bag.
• Cash and ID in a ziplock bag.
• A radio that uses batteries. Your iPhone is not going to last very long without power.
• Emergency numbers

FLOODING

The Close Call

Bangkok’s flood walls are 2.5 meters high. In Oct 2010, the terrible flood that ravaged much of the Northeast and Central regions came dangerously close to that limit, reaching roughly 2 meters, despite Governor Sukhumband’s fears that it would reach 2.3 meters.

The Odds

Pornthep Techapaiboon, Deputy Governor of Bangkok, told BK: “Bangkok is at risk from floods from three sources: localized rain, floods from the North and rising sea levels. We have levees on the Chao Phraya River that can withstand up to 2.5 meters of water above sea level—that’s for floods coming in from the North. We’ve also completed seven giant new drainage systems, which can drain 155.5-cubic meter/sec—that’s almost four standard swimming pools emptied in one second, stretching around town from Phaya Thai to Ladprao. These drainage pipes are 20-30 meters below ground level and can drain off water from flooded areas in eastern Bangkok directly to the Gulf of Thailand. Based on past data and our budget, this is the most we can do. But irregular things can happen—and tend to happen more and more these days—so we don’t really know what we are facing in the future.”

The Plan

Again, Deputy Governor Pornthep: “There are three more giant drainage pipes to be built with the total project scheduled to be completed in 2016. Normally the amount of rainfall in Bangkok is at around 1,900mm per year while the system is designed for an amount of 2,500mm per year or 60mm per hour.”
Ironically, New Orleans’ levees were scheduled for completion by 2015. And there is also the question of rising sea levels. Pornthep says, ““In the last 10 years, around 5,000-rai of space have been eroded by higher sea levels and waves. For now, we’re working on the bamboo project. Sticks of bamboo are lined along our coast so when waves come in these sticks will retain soil, sand and mud before the water goes back to the sea. These muddy spaces will later turn into mangrove forests. Bamboo sticks can stay for around five years so for the long-term, we need to cast t-shaped concrete barriers to be dropped along the coast. The budget for this is now being finalized.”

If your home is sinking, do this:

• Shut off the electricity at the main circuit breaker.
• Collect a survival kit (see box).
• Don’t drive, don’t try to escape. Just move to the top of your building.
• Avoid water. Swimming in flooded water puts you at risk of electrocution caused by damaged electric wires.
• Beware of animals like snakes or scorpions which will also try to move to dry areas.

The Case Study

In the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina, the levees protecting New Orleans broke, flooding the city with as much as 4.5 meters of water in some parts. 1,464 people died and one study estimated the total economic damage at over US$150 billion. Although caused by a hurricane, it does give some notion of what damage a massive flood in a densely urbanized area can wreak.

SIX CLASSIC APOCALYPSE FLICK

Screw Roland Emerich’s (2012, ID4, The Day After Tomorrow) relentless destruction of the world. Here are more classic options you should BitTorrent right now.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Rarely do sequels improve so dramatically on their predecessor but Mad Max 2 defined the gritty post-apocalyptic future for generations to come. And guess what, the future looks a lot like Pirates of the Caribbean without the water or the kid-friendly rating.

La Jetée (1962)
The inspiration for the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys is a slideshow of black and white pictures showing a terrifying post-apocapytic underground world. The most gripping, arresting, unnerving slideshow in the history of slideshows. (And they didn’t even have Powerpoint back in 1962.)

Dawn of the Dead (1979)
Long before 28 Days Later brought the prospect of a world dominated by zombies to a kind of almost medical hyper-realism, zombies were just riotous symbols of punk anti-consumerism. If you were stuck in your condo during the May 2010 protests, you’ll probably relate to this one.

Dr. Strangelove (1964)
In the sixties, there was no HIV or global warming, but there was the constant threat of instant and utter annihilation. It took Stanley Kubrick’s madcap movie to really expose how “Mutual Assured Destruction” (MAD) was not a very inspiring guarantee for world peace.

Planet of the Apes (1968)
It takes this movie’s final shot to realize that it isn’t about interplanetary travel but is actually about time travel, to a future where apes rule men. A huge cinema classic, we can’t help but see it as a vestige of sixties America, where white men fear they may no longer be the country’s ruling class.

BK ASKS: If you had to abandon your home, which object would you take with you?

Suwanna Julpansak, 21, design student
I would grab my fake-eyelashes collection. I just couldn’t live without them for they bring me confidence in any situation.

Warat Tongbunsing, 23, student
A stuffed-Snoopy that the girl who lived next door gave me when I was a kid. I’ve been hugging it every night and it would feel weird not having it around.

Wanna Tipphitakchoke, 59, housewife
A photo album of my around-the-world trip with my brother in 1973. We went to India through Israel, Turkey, Iran and all the way to America. We stayed only one night in each country. It was darn tiring.

Decha Pongpundecha, 27, industrial designer
My first car sketch of a BMW series 3. I would keep it with me and when everything is gone, I’d put the sketch in a museum so that the next generation could know what a cool car looks like.

Q&A: Design for Disaster

Noppadon Tueksuban, architect, university professor and co-founder of Design for Disasters

What is Design for Disasters?
It’s a group of architects, professors and others who are aware that disasters are a big issue. We want to warn the masses about this risk and we’ve started with students.

What’s worse, floods or earthquakes?
Look at Hat Yai. When it was flooded last year, people had no electricity, fuel, and clean water. We really need proper emergency life-sustaining systems to secure these supplies even when everything shuts down. For earthquakes, high-rises are designed to resist strong winds, which is similar to earthquakes. Low-rise condos are actually more at risk.

What should we do?
We need a community building that could host displaced people for a few days. The building should be a building that can produce its own electricity, water supply, grow food and stock supplies. I am also designing a house that could float when submerged.

Should we be scared?
We should be worried about disasters but we shouldn’t be panic. Planning is the most important factor that would help everyone survive. People will die from disasters if we don’t study them, behave like know-it-alls and no one cooperates

Heuer Monza Calibre 36

There are watches whose production goes on forever—like Cartier’s Tank or the Omega Speedmaster—and there are others that fall by the wayside, only to resurface decades later as re-editions. Tag Heuer’s most inspired re-edition was probably its revival of the 1969 Monaco in 1998. But after having tapped their 60s and 70s models extensively, 2011 sees the Swiss watchmaker turn to a much earlier period with this re-edition of the 1933 Monza. It will be available in June, as a limited edition of 1,911 watches, for 8,000 Swiss Francs (275,000 baht).

Longines Twenty-Four Hours

This other 2011 re-edition from Switzerland takes its cue from a 1950s model that was specially commissioned for Swissair pilots. That explains its unusual 24-hour dial, a feature that helped pilots calculate flight plans. This is not a strict copy of the original, though. It has gained in refinement and features, like a date dial and a little button beneath the crown which opens up the back, allowing you to ogle the mechanism. Too bad, we liked the utiliarian severity of its ancestor. Charted for release later this year, its price has yet to be announced, but we bet it won’t be very utilitarian either.