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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2016)
October 17, 2016 ASIA / PACIFIC THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3 A bit wild: Asian animal cafés go from mere cats to meerkats By Martha Mendoza and Natnicha Chuwiruch The Associated Press B Samsung sends fire-resistant boxes for Galaxy Note 7 returns By Youkyung Lee AP Technology Writer S EOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics says it is sending fire-resistant packages to its customers in the U.S. as a precaution against possible fires or explosions from Galaxy Note 7s they return to retailers. Samsung is offering prepaid shipping boxes as an option for U.S. consumers who purchased the phones on its website, Samsung.com. It said consumers who purchased their Note 7 phones from mobile carriers should visit the websites of their carriers for recall instructions. Samsung said it was discontinuing the Note 7 phones just two months after its launch, after two recalls and many reports of fires. Samsung must now deal with receiving back more than 1.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones, both the original ones and those issued as replace- ments. Most were sold in the U.S. and South Korea. A video on YouTube shows a man it says is at the XDA Developers office in the U.S., unpacking a kit containing a static shield bag, thermally insulated boxes, gloves, and instructions for ground shipping only. “We have just received this crazy Galaxy Note 7 return kit,” the person said in the video. According to the XDA Developers forum, Samsung’s packing instructions say the Note 7 should be put in the static shield bag and then in a box labelled “OEM Replacement” to be put inside an “Inner Box” and a “Recovery Box.” Shipping companies reportedly had complained they did not want to handle Note 7 returns because of fire concerns. Samsung said the packaging kits conform with U.S. requirements for shipping lithium-ion batteries or devices containing them that are subject to a recall. CRITTER CAFÉS. A visitor pets a fennec fox, left photo, at the Little Zoo Café in Bangkok, Thailand. In Asia, where the first cat café opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At the Little Zoo Café, meerkats, raccoons, and little foxes with the hugest, softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. In the right photo, a visitor plays with a meerkat at the Little Zoo Café. (AP Photos/ Sakchai Lalit) more are planned. They’re also popular in Europe, with would want to eat a meal surrounded by animals who are recent openings in the Netherlands, Finland, and Italy. imprisoned in cages and pens that are tiny fractions of the The Cat Flower Café in Taipei, Taiwan, took credit as size of their homes in the wild.” the first-ever cat café when it opened in 1998, although But café owners say they’re trying to help the animals some aficionados say cats meandered through a Viennese by allowing people to safely and compassionately interact. café almost a century earlier. The real boom began in 2005 Tokyo Snake Center café manager Hisamitsu Kaneko in Japan, where few apartments allow pets. There are now said visitors can gain new appreciation of the oft-maligned more than 100 cat cafés listed in Japan, 50 in Tokyo alone. reptiles. But new goat-, rabbit-, and bird-themed eateries now offer “People have biases, or preconceptions about snakes, competition. that they’re disgusting or scary,” said Kaneko, whose American and European cat cafés have stringent health customers choose from about 60 snakes. “I think there are and safety regulations that sometimes ban actually no animals as beautiful.” petting animals, or require cats to remain well separated At Bangkok’s TrueLove@Neverland café, more than a from food. Most are affiliated with local humane societies dozen imported and bred huskies were panting — if calm or rescue shelters. — as they lounged for an hour outside on a humid 95° In many Asian countries, where there are fewer hygiene Fahrenheit day, chewing ice cubes and carrots while rules in restaurants and pets can be bought in street visitors marvelled at their thick fur. markets, animal-rights activists say the cafés are At the end of a one-hour dog encounter, customers cruel. peeled off plastic foot covers, sanitized their hands, “These animals often become despondent and develop checked their husky selfies, and climbed into waiting neurotic and self-destructive behavior,” said Jason Baker tuk-tuk rickshaws. Barking and yipping, the dogs dashed at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ en masse into their air-conditioned quarters to rest up and international campaigns office. “I don’t know why anyone eat before their next human visitors. Ballot Measure Discussion October 23, 2016, 4:15pm Oregon Buddhist Temple 3720 S.E. 34th Ave., Portland Join CACA and the Portland JACL for an evening of non-partisan discussion on the Oregon ballot measures and candidates followed by a light supper and social conversation. Please let us know if you are attending. RSVP by October 20 to marleenwong@comcast.net or (503) 526-1340 Tu Phan Call for: Refinances Purchases Offering: FHA/VA/Conventional Mortgages NMLS # 1071 MLO # 7916 12550 S.E. 93rd Avenue Suite 350 Clackamas, OR 97015 (503) 496-5718 <tphan@financeofamerica.com> <www.financeofamerica.com> October 22 –23 Oregon Convention Center 10am – 5pm FREE FOOD SAM PLES! Speakers Ř Chef demos Ř Fitness Ř Fashion / Beauty Films Ř Kids‘ & teens‘ activities Ř Restaurants 150+ Exhibitors Free admission for volunteers: volunteer@nwveg.org www.PortlandVegFest.org AR ANGKOK — Cat cafés where customers sip lattés while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines. At Tokyo’s Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra. At We Are The Furballs (WTF) in Singapore, Mochi and her puppy pals yap at ankles and occupy guests’ laps for peaceful dognaps. And at Little Zoo Café in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons, and little foxes with the softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries. Some sell the animals, or offer them for adoption. Others invite customers to bring their pets, or just offer encounters with creatures — from penguins to hedgehogs. “I wanted there to be a place where people can come learn about the animals,” said Wachiraporn Arampibulphol, who opened an exotic animal café in Bangkok a year ago after visiting an owl café in Tokyo. Snuggling Jelly, a blond fox, Wachiraporn said she used to import chinchillas, meerkats, and other exotic pets, but worried owners bought them impulsively and then abused them or let them collapse and die in Thailand’s heat. She said customers at her Little Zoo Café get a reality check when they’re so close to the animals; she’s only sold a half dozen this year. “When you see pictures and photos of these animals, you see their cuteness,” she said. “But people don’t think about what the animal would smell like or how actually raising one would be.” Indeed, a musky odor floated above two red foxes — Mocha and Cappuccino — as they boisterously wrestled and skittered around customers’ legs. Nearby, Nuttida Chaloembun, 23, from Bangkok, watched a waitress grapple with Cracker, a 25-pound raccoon, who chattered and swatted her away with little hand-like paws. “It’s fat and really adorable but it won’t let me touch it,” laughed Nuttida. Shirley Chaifong came to the Little Zoo Café all the way from Malaysia after seeing photos of meerkats on Instagram. But it was the tail-wagging corgi, an uncommon breed in Asia, she fell for. “It’s a great way to see the animals,” she said, her hands running through his fur. 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