SAMUT SONGKRAM

Khlongkhlone Coastal Experience

Cruise pristine coastlines, monkey around with the crab-eating macaques, go “coast boarding” (basically wakeboarding in very shallow, muddy waters), hang with fishermen, chill on bamboo platforms three kilometers offshore while enjoying fresh seafood—oh, and plant mangrove trees to help restore local ecological systems. Suntan guaranteed.
Destination: Khlongkhlone district, Samut Songkram
Itinerary: Meet at Victory Monument at 7am to take a van to Samut Songkram. Spend the day helping locals replant mangrove trees and exchange knowledge about environmental conservation before returning to Bangkok at 7pm.
Price: B2,530 per person/day
Contact: 085-833-9218, www.bangkokvanguards.com

BANGKOK-SANGKLABURI

Freedom to Walk

Freedom to Walk is a 15-day, 370-km walk from Bangkok to the Three Pagodas Pass in Sangklaburi that supports efforts to combat human trafficking. This year, the campaign hopes to raise B3,000,000. Each day, in addition to the walking, volunteers will be informed about human trafficking-related issues and learn about the lives of local communities along the way. Volunteers are expected to raise awareness and funds within their communities but are also promised free food and accommodation. The walk can be done in whole or in part.
Destination: Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi.
Itinerary: The walk heads off on Nov 3 from Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall and finishes at the Three Pagodas Pass in scenic Sangklaburi.
Price: Free/16 days.
Contact: www.freedomtowalk.org

CHIANG RAI

The Mirror Foundation’s homestay in Chiang Rai

A Chiang Rai homestay offers people a chance to learn the different cultures and ways of life of various tribal villages. Hilltribe guides are employed to lead visitors on a trek to different villages. The tour starts in the afternoon to accommodate travelers whose planes land later in the day.
Destination: Chiang Rai
Itinerary: The tour starts at 1pm at the pick-up point (TBA). After a video orientation at the foundation office, visitors are driven to Ban Jalae museum and trek up to Ban Yafu, where they’ll spend their nights. On the second day, guests get acquainted with their surroundings with help from local guides and swim at the waterfall. On the last day, guests trek up to the mountain’s viewpoint, and enjoy an elephant ride before making their way back to Amphur Muang, Chiang Rai, for departure.
Price: B5,300 per person and B4,000 for a group of 3-4 persons/3 days, 2 nights
Contact: [email protected]

CHIANG MAI

Elephant Nature Foundation

There are a number of famous elephant camps close to Chiang Mai that let you book a day visit to learn about the elephants and help the staff feed and bathe them. Try Maesa Elephant Camp in Mae Rim (053-20-6247, www.maesaelephantcamp.com) or, our favorite, the Elephant Nature Foundation (053-27-2855. www.elephantnaturefoundation.org), which is nestled in Mae Taeng Valley and is a real conservation center that offers a natural environment for injured or abused animals to recover. Do try and avoid elephant centers that offer rides on the animals.
Destination: Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai
Itinerary: After getting picked up at your hotel at 8am, your day at the camp starts with a bit of an education, learning about the individual elephants and how they were rescued. But the real fun is to be had learning how to bathe and feed the elephants. B2,500, lunch is provided. Sleep over and you’ll get to follow the elephants into the neighboring jungle and fields in the morning. B5,800, dinner is provided.
Price: B2,000/half day
Contact: 053-27-2855. www.elephantnaturefoundation.org

NEPAL

Restoration Works International

Formerly known as Cultural Restoration Tourism Project, this organisation seeks to create economic and social benefits for local communities by restoring culturally important sites. Volunteers and locals work side by side to restore significant landmarks and exchange cross cultural understanding. In addition to restoration, RWI joins hands with local craftsmen to create jobs within the community and ensure a successful and accurate renovation. In short, save an old temple, make friends and get your hands dirty.
Destination: Chhairo, Nepal
Itinerary: Volunteers take a flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara and spend a night in Pokhara before walking to Chhairo, passing through the village of Marpha for orientation and inspection of the restoration site. Visitors then get to work alongside locals to restore the buildings and explore the area. On the eleventh day, volunteers walk to Jomsom where they spend a night before going back to Kathmandu.
Price: B91,228/12 Days
Contact: www.restorationworksinternational.org

LAOS

Organic Farm

Located north of the Song River in Phoudindaeng village, 4km from Vang Vieng town center, the Organic Farm is the hub for several community projects including chemical-free mulberry tea farming and goat cheese production. The Organic Farm welcomes volunteers who can help out either working on the farm or teaching English to kids in the village. There are mud huts for cheap stays, as well as a restaurant serving Lao and international food prepared from fresh ingredients on-site.
Destination: Vang Vieng, Laos
Itinerary: Your daily itinerary is quite flexible, depending on the activities you are participating in. For example, if you are teaching English, there are classes on Mon-Fri 10:30-11:30am, Mon-Thu 5-7pm and Fri 5:30-6:30pm. You can spend your available time learning and helping the locals collect mulberry leaves or produce goat cheese. Oh, and cool off by tubing along the Song River afterwards.
Price: 30,000-250,000 kip (B120-1,000) per night, depending on how fancy your accommodation is.
Contact: www.laofarm.org

How did you become The Split?
So: I first met New in 8th grade. It was around the time of the school’s festival and the organizers were looking for a band. I knew that New could play guitar so I asked him to join me for the event and we have been playing together since. Then [record label] RS’s Kamikase found us on oTHESPLITo’s channel on YouTube and set up a meeting.
New: At the beginning, we had a couple of friends with us, but it got more and more complicated trying to get everyone together and controlling the sound quality, so we decided to just stick with the two of us. I’m now learning to play the drums and developing my vocal skills.

Why did you start covering songs on YouTube?
So: During our first year of high school we noticed this trend of people uploading their covers on YouTube. By the third year, we decided we wanted to join the bandwagon. That’s how it started.

What’s it feel like being a YouTube sensation?
New: We’ve had both good and bad comments but we understand that comes with the territory. We signed up for this. Some people enjoy stirring up drama on the internet, but if you don’t play along, there is only so much they can do.
So: Once you get exposure, it’s normal to receive criticism, but we take it constructively and constantly try to improve ourselves.

As Demo Project, what makes you guys different from other teen bands?
Fah: Unlike other teenage bands that just perform pop dance and K-Pop, we can actually sing and play our own music. We want to inspire those people to come back to the Thai music industry.

What do you do outside of music?
So: Initially, I wanted to study engineering, but that’s changed as I’ve started learning more about the music industry. Now I want to study communication arts. I also want to write songs that stay in people’s minds for a long, long time.
New: I love psychology. I always get friends consulting me about their problems and I love trying to see things from other people’s perspectives. I also want to write a book which resonates with people.
Fah: I want to be a film director. I enjoy the process of movie making. The entertainment business fascinates me. I’m particularly interested in stage management.
Carol: I want to be a biologist. I am very passionate about it. I love adventures and working with animals. I haven’t decided yet whether I want to study communications or biology.

What do you guys think about the Thai education system?
New: It’s like Thailand is in the midst of developing a system that works. We have just not found it yet.
Fah: It’s like we’re starting over every year. We need some stability. We are not guinea pigs.

Au Naturel

Spring’s fave look makes a surprise appearance on the Fall runways. This one is all about the pursuit of perfect-looking skin and nude tones. At Valentino, as well as Dior, makeup artists play with neutral tones while Michael Kors adds a dash of color.
Get the look: Use foundation that gives your skin a dewy complexion, like Chanel Vitalumiere (B2,080) or Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer (B1,700). Cover dark spots and blemishes using concealer like Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage (B1,300). For hiding those sleepless nights under the eyes, Make Up Forever HD Concealer (B1,335) provides seamless coverage. Apply Benefit Sun Beam (B1,050) on high points of your face, e.g. cheekbones, forehead, and brow bones. For eye makeup, opt for an earth-tone eye shadow to create dimension and keep the brows natural. Use a lipstick which has light coverage and a sheen finish, such as Chanel Rouge Shine (B1,250) to complete the look.
Tips: Add some life with a warm-color blush like Chanel Rose Initiale (B1,850) or Bobbi Brown Sand Pink (B1,100). When applying eye liner, keep close to the lash line for thicker lashes, and use white or light pencil liner on the water line to give your eyes a refreshed appearance.

Colorful Smoky Eye

Pimp up the traditional black smoky eye look with colors like turquoise blue, as seen in Prabal Gurung’s shows, or satin green, as in Jason Wu’s.
Get the look: Apply an eye-shadow base, using NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (B950) or a blendable pencil liner like Chanel le Crayon Khol in Claire (B880). Once you finish preparing your eyelids, apply eye shadow like the multidimensional Mac Club (used in Jason Wu’s show, B700) before finishing off the look with a black liner.
Tips: Cream eye shadow helps intensify powder eyeshadows; try MAC’s Paint Pot (B850) or Chanel’s Illusion d’Ombre (B1,320). To bring even more focus to your eyes, line up the inner eye and water line, as well.

Bold Brow

Retro elegance is here to stay. Designers like Donna Karan and J. Mendel choose to keep it simple, while Chanel puts a modern twist on it by adding sparkles.
Get the look: A strong graphic brow looks its best when the rest of the makeup is played down. Follow the natural shapes of your brows as guidelines. Slowly intensify the brows as you go. Increase the strength of the brows with Anastasia brow powder (B1,000). Add a lot of mascara to your lashes to maintain a feminine look. Apply shading like NARS Lagoon (B1,350) to the side of your face to bring focus and create dimension.
Tip: The hero of this look is, needless to say, the brows. Keep the rest simple and clean.

Dark Velvet Lips

Red lipstick is like a little black dress—a woman can never go without it. And this fall, mulberry red (dark red with chocolate undertone) is your best bet, having starred on the runways of Gucci, DKNY and Givenchy, with finishes ranging from matte to glossy. The key is to keep the skin clean, and let your lips do the talking.
Get the look: Hydrate your lips using lip balm and use a napkin to dab off excess oil. Create the preferred shape of your lips using a lip liner. Use a lip brush to apply the lipstick for easy application and precision.
Tip: Red is most powerful when it’s on well cared for lips. Prepare your lips by gently scrubbing away any flakes using lip scrub or petroleum jelly and a Q tip. For heavily pigmented lips, use foundation to neutralize the lip color before applying lipstick. A dark lip liner is also useful to add dimension to the lips; first apply a base lipstick before gently lining the outside edge, blend it with pre-existing lipstick before applying thesecond base. Use a lighter shade in the middle to complete the three-dimensional look. Try Chanel Rouge Allure No.38 (B1,200) and MAC Lady Danger (B800).

Essentials

Above portraits courtesy of MAC. All brands are available at beauty counters in leading department stores. Try Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., BTS Siam, 02-610-7685, Central Chitlom, Sukhumvit Rd., BTS Chitlom, 02-793-7777, and Emporium, Sukhumvit Rd., BTS Phrompong, 02-664-9121

It was four years between albums; what took you guys so long?
Well, we did come out with an EP called Night Train (2010), which we ended up spending a bit more time touring than we had anticipated. We thought we would just put out an EP and that would be it. Then we spent a year doing this record. But, you know, we wanted to have time to sort out our lives, as well. We have friends and families and it’s important to make time to see those people.

What in particular inspired Strangeland?
It’s definitely about the things we’ve been through. We’ve been growing up. We’ve been friends our whole lives and music has been something that’s been there throughout our lives. Obviously we all have experienced difficult things. Songs like “Silenced by the Night” and “On the Road” talk about being positive. And “Day Will Come,” as well, talks about those difficult points in your life that eventually pass. I think in a way, this is more personal than ever. “Sea Fog” is a song about those darker times in life when you just want to get swept away. And I don’t think many are brave enough to write songs about them. As for how it sounds, we took a long time playing the songs as a band in the studio and we really refined them, just making them as catchy as possible. It’s much more about the four of us in a room playing songs rather than the production trickery or extravagance of Perfect Symmetry (2008).

Do you feel any pressure from your fans when you release an album?
There’s always pressure, but I don’t think there’s been any more for this album than before. Maybe we’re more used to it now. We’re used to the idea that you just have to forget about everyone else and do what you think is best. And if people like it, that’s good. If they don’t, you know, it’s something we have to deal with. I don’t think you should make music to fit a certain market. Unless you’re one of the best pop music writers out there, people are going to realize that you are faking it. The music that we make is very much from the heart and I don’t think you can fake that. There is some cynical TV-based music out there that’s part of a factory trying to make money. But we feel like there’s one record in us and that’s the one we’re going to make.

What are your memories of Bangkok when you visited in 2006?
That was a pretty strange time. We were going through quite a lot of stuff, but I do remember the trip pretty clearly. I remember being taken to a temple complex and having an interesting time walking around there. We were driven around with a police escort. So that was pretty strange. I don’t know why. And then later in the day we just wandered off and got to see some of the city. It was a really good time. But the next few months were quite difficult. I guess we didn’t know what was coming at that point.

What are you looking forward to most this time?
I’m looking to reconnect with our fans out there. I always take my camera. I find that if I go out with my camera, I’m always going to find something interesting. And that’s really the thing I want to do: capture new memories in Bangkok.

What are your future plans?
We’re going to keep touring into next year and after that we’ll work on new songs. At some point we’ll get into the studio. I think it’s important that if you want to do this for a long time, you have to make room for, your life outside of the tour bus. We’ll take some time off at the end of next summer and see where we are. Right now we’re just enjoying the tour.