PattTrad Feb13

Transcription

PattTrad Feb13

Pattaya Trader
A WORD FROM THE ASSISTANT EDITOR
VISIT US AT
www.pattayatrader.com
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DINNER IN DETAIL
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INTO THE DEEP
First, I would like to thank those readers who have taken
the time and trouble to pass on their thoughts and comments regarding the ‘new look’ of the magazine. Thankfully, the comments have been overwhelmingly positive.
As many readers are now well aware, the Trader is
under new management. That said, one of the creative
team to continue to work with the magazine is Khun
Jack, who would be well known to many who used to
visit the Sukhumvit Road offices in recent years.
Jack is easily the longest-serving employee of the
Pattaya Trader, and she seems to know where all the bodies are buried. At the end of December, Jack took the
fateful plunge into marriage. We wish her all the best for
the present and the future and hope she continues to
stay ‘married’, in the employed sense, to the magazine.
The headers for the regular features and articles that
readers will see starting from this issue are all her graphic
design work… and all with a minimum of suggested input. Does marriage help creativity?
Inside this issue we have a free colour sticker with
the opportunity for readers to win cash prizes. As well,
we have instructions on how to play what we’ve termed
‘the Pattaya Trader Game’ (don’t try this if you have a bad
back!), and finally, take our survey (preferably online) and
you could be in a for a nice, if somewhat wet, prize as
well.
As usual, if you would like to make a comment feel
free to email us: [email protected]
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WHAT’S ON PATTAYA?
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38
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SCHOOL’S IN
CRICKET
PATTAYA ATTRACTIONS
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IN THE MARKETPLACE
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TRAVEL THAILAND AND BEYOND
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CLASSIC BIKES
PATTAYA TRADER STICKER
Page 4
PATTAYA TRADER GAME
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
page 93
Issue 148 - February 2013
Email: [email protected]
http://www.pattayatrader.com
Pattaya Trader
PATTAYA INTERNATIONAL BED RACE 2013
Page 6
Pattaya Trader
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sir,
Pepsi Loses That Fizz
Having
read
the comments under the heading
‘Pepsi Loses that
Fizz’ [The Eye, Jan
2013], I wonder just
who in your organisation writes such
nonsense.
As a non-drinker or smoker all my
life I have, over the
years, acquired a
taste for both Pepsi
Cola and Coca Cola,
even being able to
distinguish
taste
within each brand
but marketed in another country. For example Coca Cola ‘Classic’ in the USA
has a different taste to the same product in the UK.
I certainly won’t drink any other brand of cola but
Coke; brands like the ‘Big Cola’ taste like old battery acid.
Going into my local Family Mart for some coke, I found
that they were out of stock, neither did they have any Pepsi. All that was available was EST. So, with much reservation, I purchased a bottle. I was more than surprised to find
that it tasted exactly like Pepsi. I certainly would not have
been able to differentiate between what you might call
the ‘real’ thing and the copy, so I certainly don’t know what
your writer drank.
You only really have to think about it; the people
producing the ‘new’ brand, used to bottle Pepsi, so they
know exactly what the ingredients are, so why should they
change what they have, it seems, been doing for years making and bottling a drink that is now being sold as EST.
Not only does it taste exactly the same, but at 20Bt it is 4Bt
cheaper than Pepsi.
Peter.
With regards to issue 147 Classic Bikes, could you please
forward the following to author Ben Reeves: In your article
about Brough, you
show a Vincent in
the top photo. This
bike is one of my favourites and was, in
my opinion, a much
better bike than
Brough in many
ways.
Would it be
possible to do an article on the Vincent?
David.
Ed note: The Vincent
in the Classic Bikes
article was meant
to be a part of the
header. We had, for
reasons of time, not been able to redesign the header before the last issue, so apologies if it caused confusion.
Ed Note: I guess our writer is not quite an aficionado of the
Pepsi/Coca Cola brands. We suspect he secretly or - knowing him - probably overtly, laces his glass of Pepsi or EST
with a variety of alcoholic beverages. It may well be that
the EST component in his glass was less than his usual 10
percent of the total fluid content.
Sirs,
I could have told you, Vincent!
First of all, congrats on new format. Big improvement
on previous efforts as it does not fall apart on the first day,
as before.
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F
irstly the educational bit. February, as we all know, is a
couple of days short of a full
set. Therefore, in the Thai
calendar it doesn’t qualify
for a khom ending as, say, January
does – makarakhom; instead it gets
the unique phan ending as denoted
by kumphaphan.
More useless information can
be gleaned in this column as the first
three days of the month sees the staging of the Chiang Mai Flower festival –
useless in that this publication comes
out after the glorious floral event. Three being a lucky number means
the Thais have set aside that many days
for Chinese New Year – yet another pirated copy of stuff from abroad. To be
fair Thailand is home to the largest population of Chinese abroad in the world:
FEBRUARY 2013
nine million people, or 14% of the Thai
population as of 2012. Look forward
to deafening displays of firecrackers to
drive away evil spirits and farangs from
their beds at 5am. The official days are
10-12 inclusive. Another import is due on February 14th – St. Walenthai Day. On this
day it is customary to give your loved
ones gifts. Gold is a perennial favourite but Isaan girls would not turn up
their noses at: a parcel of land preferably in Korat, but down-town Jomtien
would suffice; a two-storey house for
mama and papa; or a healthy buffalo –
the one you bought last year has been
ailing on a monthly basis.
Three days later (I told you three
is auspicious) comes National Artist Day. The National Artist is a title
given annually by the Office of the
National Culture Commission recognizing notable Thai artists in literature, fine arts, visual arts, applied
arts (architecture) and performing
arts (Thai and international dance, puppetry, shadow play, Thai music,
drama (TV soaps) and film.
Since 1985, the honours have
been presented on February 24. The
date was chosen because it is the birth
date of Buddha Loetla Nabhalai or King
Rama II, who was an artist himself.
The big day, dreaded by farangs
throughout the land is February 25th
– Makha Bucha Day. The spiritual aims
of the day are: not to commit any kind
of sins; do only good; purify one’s
mind. Thousands of Thais will flock to
the temples for an orgy of merit making. There will be no orgies for farangs
– all the bars will be closed!
Pattaya Trader
in association with
February 2013 - January 2014
DON’T MISS...
Thursday 21st February 2013
Honda LPGA Open Golf Championship
The 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand will take place at Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course on Feb 21-24.
Apart from the US$ 1.5 million overall prize money, an
all new Honda CR-V will also go to the player who hits a holein-one.
The tournament will feature top 60 players on the LPGA
money list and 10 exemptions.
For more information on tickets and the event visit
www.siamcountryclub.com
OTHER SPORTING EVENTS
Mai Techaphan / Shutterstock.com
Thu 21 Feb 2013 - Sun 24 Feb 2013
Where: Siam Country Club
Friday 1st February 2013
Friday 15th February 2013
James Ashton Trophy
The Links Golf Charity Challenge
Fri 1 Feb 2013 - Sun 3 Feb 2013
Where: Polo Escape
Fri 15 Feb 2013 - Sun 17 Feb 2013
Where: Khao Kheow CC Golf Course
Fri 1 Mar 2013 - Sun 3 Mar 2013
Where: Polo Escape
Sunday 3rd February 2013
Saturday 16th February 2013
Wednesday 20th March 2013
Sat 16 Feb 2013 - Sun 17 Feb 2013
Where: Bira Circuit
Wed 20 Mar 2013 - Thu 21 Mar 2013
Where: Bira Circuit
Japday
Where: Bira Circuit
Royal Automobile Association of
Thailand (RAAT) Endurance Championship
Fri 8 Feb 2013 - Sat 9 Feb 2013
Where: Bira Circuit
Singha Racing School
Monday 25th February 2013
The Polo Festival
Mon 25 Feb 2013 - Wed 27 Feb 2013
Where: Polo Escape
Thursday 14th February 2013
Wednesday 27th February 2013
Thu 14 Feb 2013 - Sun 17 Feb 2013
Where: Polo Escape
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Wed 27 Feb 2013 - Wed 13 Mar 2013
Where: Bira Circuit
The Golden Snake (CNY)
Porsche 2013
Friday 1st March 2013
Patron’s Challenge
TEZ Tour (R)
Friday 29th March 2013
Easter Cup
Fri 29 Mar 2013 - Sun 31 Feb 2013
Where: Polo Escape
Do you know about a special event
coming up which is not listed here?
Please let us know by emailing:
[email protected]
facebook.com/ptyatrdr
@PattayaTrader
For regular updates, check out our Facebook page and Twitter feed
Monday 25th February 2013
An Evening of Golden Opera Treasures
Makha Bucha Day Holiday
Fri 8 Feb 2013 - Sat 9 Feb 2013
Where: BEN’S Theater, Jomtien
Featuring Bellini, De Falla, Donizetti, Grieg, Handel, Lehár,
Leoneavallo, Montsalvatge, Mozart, Obradors, Rossini,
Schubert, Schumann, Richard Strauss, Turina.
Doors open at 7.30pm, show starts at 8pm. No admittance during concert. Dress code: smart casual. All tickets
are THB 600. Reservations by email:
[email protected]
Sunday 10th February 2013
Chinese New Year Festival
Sun 10 Feb 2013 - Tue 12 Feb 2013
Thursday 14th February 2013
St Valentine’s Day
(not a public holiday)
Pattaya Money Expo
Friday 1st March 2013
‘The One Acts’ Show from Pattaya Players
Fri 1 Mar 2013 - Sat 2 Mar 2013
Where: Indian By Nature Restaurant, Jomtien
Ticket prices are 1,000 Baht and include an all you can eat
gourmet Indian buffet (dinner buffet opens at 6:30 PM and
show begins at 7:30 PM).
Go to pattayaplayers-theoneacts.bpt.me to buy tickets for both performances. Tickets will also be available for
purchase in person (cash only) through all Board and Cast
Members and at Indian By Nature Restaurant.
The following three one act plays will be performed
on the evening:
- A Jolly Sinister Jape – Directed By Wendy
Khan
- Prince Charming’s Complaint – Directed
By Doug Heron
- Oprah Made Me Do It! – Directed By Christopher T. Parsons
Fri 15 Feb 2013 - Sun 17 Feb 2013
Saturday 9th March 2013
Dive Tribe Shark Tag & Release Program
Burapa Bike Week (Pattaya section)
Saturday 9th March 2013
Fri 15 Feb 2013 - Sun 17 Feb 2013
EFC Precision Flying Event
Saturday 23rd February 2013
Sat 9 Mar 2013 - Sun 10 Mar 2013
Pattaya International Ladies Club
25th Silver Anniversary Gala Dinner
Dance
Friday 29th March 2013
Pattaya International Music Festival
Fri 29 Mar 2013 - Sun 31 Mar 2013
Fri 5 Apr 2013
Breeder’s Cup
Fri 5 Apr 2013 - Sun 7 Apr 2013
Where: Polo Escape
Sat 6 Apr 2013
Chakri Day
Mon 8 Apr 2013
Chakri Day Holiday
LOOKING AHEAD
Sat 1 Jun 2013
Speed Drag
Where: Bira Circuit
Sat 29 Jun 2013
Pro Series
Pro Series
Sat 27 Jul 2013 - Sun 28 Jul 2013
Where: Bira Circuit
Mon 12 Aug 2013
Queen Sirikit’s Birthday/Mother’s
Day Holiday
Sat 29 Jun 2013 - Mon 1 Jul 2013
Where: Bira Circuit
Wed 23 Oct 2013
Chulalongkorn Day Holiday
Sat 13 Apr 2013
Songkran Festival
Fri 5 Jul 2013
PanAsia Hash House Harriers Run
Sat 16 Nov 2013
Loy Krathong Festival
Sun 5 May 2013
Coronation Day
Sat 13 Jul 2013
Thailand Super Series
Thu 5 Dec 2013
King Bhumibhol’s Birthday/Father’s
Day Holiday
Sat 13 Apr 2013 - Sat 20 Apr 2013
Mon 6 May 2013
Coronation Day Holiday
Mon 13 May 2013
Royal Ploughing Ceremony Holiday
Fri 24 May 2013
Visakha Bucha Day Holiday
Fri 5 Jul 2013 - Sun 7 Jul 2013
Sat 13 Jul 2013 - Sun 14 Jul 2013
Where: Bira Circuit
Sun 21 Jul 2013
Pattaya Marathon
Mon 22 Jul 2013
Asarnha Bucha Day Holiday
Sat 27 Jul 2013
http://www.inspire-emagazine.com
Sat 16 Nov 2013 - Tue 19 Nov 2013
Tue 10 Dec 2013
Constitution Day
Tue 31 Dec 2013
New Year’s Eve Holiday
Wed 1 Jan 2014
New Year’s Day Holiday
Pattaya Trader
Students parting with school
haircuts
Thai schoolchildren are celebrating after being told they can grow their hair
long.
Ever since 1975, Thai students
have had to follow strict rules about
what hairstyle they have. Actually,
there wasn’t much ‘style’ to it at all:
girls had a pudding-bowl chop while
boys could have no more than 5cm of
growth.
This love of uniformity always
seemed faintly ridiculous to us, and
now the Ministry of Education has
agreed. This will mean an end to the
practice of teachers hauling up students with 7cm of hair and then randomly lopping off patches to ‘teach
them a lesson’.
The thinking used to be that having short hair helped students focus
on their studies and work hard. Given educational standards in general
though, that doesn’t seem to have
worked particularly well.
Amazingly, several academics are
against the change and some of their
reasons are simply brilliant. Take Chi-
Page 12
ang Mai’s Yupparat Wittayalai School,
for example. Their PTA leader Thinnakorn Namboonjit told The Nation the
old rules kept children well-behaved
and taught them how to follow the
rules so they would become good citizens. Unless we are mistaken, schools
will still have plenty of rules (proper
ones, mind you) for students to follow.
We don’t expect anarchy to break out
any time soon because one kid has a
fringe.
Over at Wat Makutkasat School,
deputy director Alongkorn Niyakij
told The Nation the old rules protected students. He argued the standard
haircuts even stopped sex-related
crimes, as it was easy to tell who was
a child. Better still, he called for a public inquiry before the change is introduced.
We should perhaps be thankful that this is the most serious topic
school leaders have to discuss –
whether perms and curls will prevent
students from learning.
It had never occurred to us that
forcing every female student to wear
a pseudo-Beatles mop would actually
prevent them getting attacked. We always thought those school uniforms
were a pretty big giveaway. Or the fact
that they look 14.
And yes, why not have a public
inquiry over school haircuts. We can
put things like the disastrous rice
pledging scheme, corruption and a
general lack of readiness for ASEAN
2015 on the backburner. Far better to
discuss the evils of a perm and collarlength hair.
Going round and round in circles
Fascinating story about what happens
if you happen to have a bump in your
car.
A friend of ours had a minor
prang at a small roundabout. Roundabouts are relatively few and far between in Thailand and, consequently,
nobody had a clue who was at fault.
Obviously, you’re supposed to
give way to the right. Our friend was to
the right of another car, but this didn’t
stop the latter coming out and hitting
him. Initially a group of locals arrived
on the scene and declared there was
a ‘local law’ that meant our friend was
wrong. Presumably this is the local
law that states any of our friends are
automatically in the right.
This didn’t settle matters, so off
things went to the local police station. Once there, our friend attempted
to tell an officer the other car hadn’t
given way to the right, and was therefore wrong. The officer frowned a little, pondered matters for a while and
then went off to fetch a law book.
After thumbing through it for a
few moments, he had a ‘eureka’ moment. Sure enough, you are supposed
to give way to the right. Who’d have
guessed?
Once this was established, the
other driver was fined 400 baht and
told to pay 3,000 baht to help pay for
the repairs.
It is a relief to know that sometimes the right thing does happen,
but it is a little worrying that the boys
in brown need to dust off the law
books before they can establish how
roundabouts are supposed to work.
[Ed. Note: In Australia, where the
roundabout has been embraced
with an enthusiasm not witnessed
since the Moon landing, the rule
is that cars must give way to other
vehicles already in the roundabout,
which, of course, still means those
approaching from the right-hand
side]
Soap opera axed
We’re not sure whether to celebrate lite companies for a profit (just like a
or not. A new Thai soap opera that de- certain Khun Thaksin used to do) and
picted a slightly deranged Prime Min- a witch who performed black magic.
ister has been axed.
The show had been running since
Now usually we’d be more than mid-December and was approaching
happy that one of these farcical pro- its conclusion, so its demise left fans
grammes had its plug pulled. Howev- frustrated and angry,
er, it looks as though more than a little
Reaction to the decision to axe
pressure was put on Channel 3 to axe the show has ranged from outrage to
this new soap. And that’s not good.
denials of any wrong-doing.
If the Thai government really did
Government spokesman Toslean on Channel 3 in order to take the saporn Serirak tried to explain the
programme off-air it’s a disgrace, and move by saying the station’s decision
a sign the megalomaniacs really are in was to boost the soap opera’s rating.
charge.
If you have any idea what Tossaporn
The station seems to have admit- meant by this, do let us know.
ted it removed the programme as it
Supinya Klangnarong, an NBTC
broke the law. Surprisingly, they didn’t commissioner for consumer protecbreak the law on producing tedious tion, Tweeted that she disagreed with
TV with a mix of mystifying plots and Channel 3’s reasoning that the soap
inane characters. No, that’s perfectly opera might breach Section 37.
ok and still available to view on any
Other shows, such as the hit seother channel.
ries ‘Raeng Ngao’ had no such probNo, the law they allegedly broke lems with the NBTC.
relates to Section 37 of the Broadcast
It’s certainly a worrying time if
and Telecommunications Operations the powers that be are so touchy they
Act. This prevents the broadcast of won’t even allow a show like this on for
content that ‘seeks to overthrow the fear it may touch a raw nerve. Presumconstitutional monarchy, threatens ably producers and channel chiefs are
national security or morality, con- now going to be extremely cautious
stitutes profanity or harms people’s about what programmes they commental or physical health’.
mission and make. Freedom of speech
We would happily agree that is not something Thai politicians are
shows like this could easily damage known to encourage, but this decision
your mental health, but apparently seems to be one of the more absurd
we’re missing the point.
ways of avoiding criticism.
The problem here was that ‘Nua
Mek 2’ told the tale of a corrupt politician who was trying to sell his satelEmail: [email protected]
Pattaya fourth-best nightspot
in the world?
Pattaya has been named as having
the fourth best nightlife in the world –
with Bangkok taking top spot.
Agoda.com’s
online
survey
looked at feedback from over 113,000
travellers.
They rated the nightlife on a scale
of 1-5, 1 being “poor”, and 5 being “excellent”. Overall winner was Bangkok,
which Agoda.com called “Thailand’s
energetic capital known for its tuktuks, temples and street food”. Runner-up was Dubai in the United Arab
Emirates while Boracay in the Philippines was third.
In fourth spot came Pattaya and,
while we’re biased, we would have to
say it’s our favourite place for a night
out. Where else can you find anything
to match Walking Street?
Thailand did rather well in the
Top 25 list, as Phuket came 6th, Chiang Mai was 16th and Koh Samui was
17th.
We’re a little surprised that somewhere as brilliant as London only
came 18th, but then presumably a lot
of those who replied were British and
went for something slightly more exotic. There are also some glaring omissions, such as New York, Las Vegas and
Sydney, but then Agoda doesn’t cover
everywhere, so maybe that explains
the Asian bias here.
For more news and reviews on Pattaya,
visit www.pattaya24seven.com.
Pattaya Trader
f you are an expat driving around
Pattaya it will be easy to see that
general road sense seems to be
set aside for many Thai drivers,
and even some foreigners at that!
Motorcyclists weave in and out of traffic, drive on the wrong side of twoway streets, and rarely use crash helmets, unless of course there is known
to be a police patrol about.
Car owners could also be considered in the same league, often pushing in at give way junctions and not
caring to look if traffic is oncoming
when pulling out.
Safe to say there are plenty of opportunities for accidents to happen
and indeed many accidents do occur,
though curiously not as many as you
might expect given the poor level of
road discipline.
To avoid any long lasting negative effects of even a simple road accident it is necessary to have adequate
insurance in place. For foreigners this
would seem easy to achieve by going
to an insurance broker and securing
the best deal for your car.
However, there are many differences in Thailand as compared to
other countries in Europe and the US.
One notable difference is the ceiling
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Vuk Vukmirovic / Shutterstock.com
I
Getting the Best Car Insurance
amounts of claims payable to third
parties especially in the case of causing serious injury or death. Whereas
these may be several million pounds
in the UK for example, in Thailand they
may be capped at just 1 or 2 million
baht, barely 1/50th of the amount
in the UK, and sometimes even less.
This may mean that there is a serious
shortfall if a claim comes in at over
these limits through the civil courts
following an accident.
As for amounts that you can
claim for yourself for hospital treatment after an
injury, these are
also
similarly
small and it may
be difficult to find
an insurer willing to raise the
capped amounts
to anything you
may consider reasonable in your
home country.
For a smaller
accident where
there is just mi-
nor damage to the car then this is
quite easy to cover and indeed the insurance industry reacts quite quickly
for these types of accidents, normally
directing you to an approved garage
for repairs. Where there may be serious damage to your car, or to your
third party’s vehicle, or where these
may be written off, then the insurance
company can usually reflect the value
of your car but the cap in place may
be inadequate for the third party. For
example if you hit a brand new Mercedes sports car and write it off, your
insurance may not cover enough of
the cost, leaving you out of pocket for
the difference.
Look carefully also at the maximum amount per accident, as this will
often be less than the sum of the parts
that are detailed as maximums for
damage and injury. You may find that
if there is both significant damage
and significant injury your insurance
will cap the total amount and you will
again be inadequately covered.
If you do have a minor accident
then it may well be worth coming to
an arrangement with the driver of
the other vehicle on the spot so as to
avoid the case becoming complicated
with insurance companies and civil
court claims.
As for fire and theft then coverage for the vehicle in these instances
is likely to also be capped to a level
that may not reflect the value of the
car or truck in question.
It may be tempting to get multiple insurances to cover any apparent
shortfalls but there is usually a clause
that prohibits this or restricts an insurer’s liability to pay out given another
insurer has already done so.
The trick to getting the most
comprehensive insurance is to use
a foreign insurer and be prepared to
pay higher premiums to increase the
overall limits for injury, damage, and
the total limit for a single event.
AIA has agents in Thailand as do
some European insurance companies.
That said, many of them do not follow
the international levels and revert to
Thai standards when issuing a policy
for car use in Thailand.
Be aware that older cars are hard
to insure properly. This means classic
car owners will have to endure some
frustration when it comes to getting
the car covered for the full replacement cost, and may never achieve
full coverage. The reason is that the
car is appraised by age and older cars
have very little value on the books.
Even though a restored classic may
be worth a fortune there is little or no
room to express its true value on an
insurance application form.
Fire and theft coverage for older
cars may be impossible to obtain.
You would have thought that if you
offered to pay enough premium you
could get insurance cover up to an
adequate amount, but this simply
doesn’t happen with most Thai insurance companies. Maybe this is why
you see so few classic cars on the road
in Thailand. Either that, they are a rarity in a market that does not recognize
their value anyway.
The best way to avoid any of the
ultimate risks with driving is to simply
consider giving up car use. In some
ways, with transport options in Pattaya plentiful and inexpensive it may
not be necessary to drive anyway!
LIFESTYLE+
Pattaya Trader
T
Eating Out in Bangkok
he choice for anyone looking to eat out in Bangkok
has arguably never been
better. From great buffets to various fares from
all corners of the world, Bangkok has
something to offer every palette.
The Baiyoke tower, which for a long
time held the record as being the tallest
building in Asia, has some sumptuous
buffet offerings at its restaurants that are
based on some of the highest floors.
The Stellar Palace buffet is on the
79th floor in the Stella Palace Chinese
restaurant. This used to be a traditional
Chinese restaurant and was quite a
quiet place before the owners decided
to open up a Chinese and international
buffet. Now it is a bustling affair owing to the great deal that is available.
On offer are Chinese delicacies such
as Peking duck in pancakes with Hoisin source, Chinese fried rice, chicken
and cashew nuts etc. However this
buffet goes one step better and offers
an international and seafood section
that includes a sashimi and sushi area,
fresh steamed crab cooked to order, a
hot pot station, and meats all available
on an unlimited basis. Drinks are not
included in the modest 580 baht price
tag but do not add an unreasonable
amount to the final bill, with a range of
soft drinks, beers and wines available.
On the floor above is the Baiyoke Crystal Grill international buffet,
a slightly less refined setting but still
including a hefty spread of interna-
Page 16
tional cuisine for a similar price.
For both feasts, patrons can buy
tickets on the lobby floor of the Baiyoke tower and proceed to the highspeed lifts. Tickets also give access to
a rotating roof walkway, which offers
superb views of the city skyline.
Not far away in Nana district,
the relatively newly built Sofitel hotel
near to Sukhumvit soi 13 has a seafood buffet featuring lobster and king
prawns for 1,600 baht.
Often the restaurant features special offers such as a “two-for-the-priceof-one” promotion making this a grand
buffet at a tempting price. Also on offer are cheeses from a specially chilled
completely standalone cheese room, a
BBQ station where both seafood and
other meats can be grilled to order
and an extensive dessert station with
a whole range of tasty sweets that will
satisfy anyone’s taste.
The Majestic Grand hotel offers a buffet set in a peaceful setting
at its dine @7 restaurant on the -you
guessed it- seventh floor. The buffet is
located both inside and outside near
the pool area and offers good city
views. This is a good-sized buffet with
BBQ station outside and costs just 690
baht all in, including a glass of beer
or house wine. The buffet features an
extensive salad bar, sashimi and sushi
selection, several mains such as duck
in green curry sauce and wide selection of deserts.
For a traditional pub meal there
are plenty of options in Bangkok.
Check out the Robin Hood pub that
is located near to Phrom Phong BTS
station in soi 33/1. Here you can find
traditional English
fare such as a proper beef and ale pie
with french fries and peas for around
340 baht. Daily specials of late include
roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and
roast potatoes for 425 baht and traditional fish and chips for 360 baht. The
place has well appointed seating and is
not too noisy even when relatively full.
Nearby in Soi Ekkamai the Durty
Nellie’s pub serves Saturday and Sunday 2-course and 3-course specials including a traditional Sunday roast. You
can choose either a starter and main
course or a main course and dessert for
the 2-course set meal price of 300 baht,
or you can have all three courses for 350
baht. Portions are of a good size and so
many may well find the 2-course offerings provide for an ample meal.
For fish lovers, in the Emporium
shopping complex on the 5th floor is
Café Fish, a place where you can get a
thick slice of battered cod in traditional
English style with French fries for around
350 baht. Also on offer are a range of salads, and a selection of other fish dishes
including pan-fried salmon at a similar
price.
In Rama 4 road at the intersection
with soi 24, lies the K Mall shopping
and dining center and within
this is the Wine Connection
restaurant. Serving some
fantastic
international
dishes such as Australian
steak, pizza, and fish and
chips, prices are lean and
the place has a great feel
to it owing to the modern
interior design and excellent service.
…continued next
month
Pattaya Trader
I
THAI
TASTES
Casa Pascal is an almost entirely Westernoriented restaurant. There is a single page of
Thai food in the menu, featuring the typical farang favourites. Very few, if any, of
the available dishes are even faintly
spicy.
Great grub from a faux pub
t is said that the first bite of a meal is with the eye. First impressions make all the difference, particularly with food.
That being the case, calling a venue a ‘pub’ when it clearly
isn’t makes for a very bad start to a dining experience.
Despite this, the Moon River Pub rallies convincingly.
The word “pub” originates from the British “public houses” which were the precursor to today’s licensed premises.
A public house was literally just someone’s house where
the serving of alcohol was permitted. This evolved into the
homely, often dark, ornament-strewn mental image of a
British pub which is seen the world over – that’s just what
houses looked like in those days!
At no point in history has a ‘pub’ ever been a roughhewn log cabin with plaid table cloths and wagon wheels
as
chandeliers.
The only mental
image that stirs
is of an American
bar somewhere
in the mid-west.
Add rock ‘n’ roll
album covers and
random vehicle
license
plates
to the walls and
bowls of popcorn
on every table
and you have an establishment which is about as far from
being described as a “pub” as it is possible to get. You have
the Moon River Bar & Grill, perhaps?
Judging a pub by its name is like judging a book by
its cover, though; while everyone does it, it is not at all fair
and is certainly not an accurate gauge of quality. While the
first bite may be with the eye, the proof of the pudding is in
the tasting. In this regard, Moon River is not found lacking.
The drinks and cocktails list is quite comprehensive
and is a menu which takes almost as long to peruse as the
Advertise in this spot for
just 1,950 baht per month
Contact us now
038 716 390
[email protected]
Page 18
food menu. The Moon River Smile cocktail, while not cheap
(at least that part is like a
British pub!) is almost a
meal in itself. Served in a
hollowed-out pineapple,
it’s smooth going down
and has the sort of latent
after-taste which makes
you wonder if you’ll be
able to stand up without
knocking over furniture.
In fairness to this ‘pub’, the
drinks are excellent.
The food, too, is better than the average pubgrub. The selection lacks
the old British pub favourites, but makes up for it with a good selection of seafood,
pasta and meats. The shrimp cocktail starter carries on the
trend, in a sense, of the Wild West setting. Granted, Billy the
Kid was never known to eat anything out of a fluted glass
bowl, but the flavours proved to be simple, blunt and effective, creating a very appetising appetiser.
The steak (Café de Paris-style) was also simple but effective. Many a restaurant somehow manages to get even
a simple steak wrong. Requested rare, it arrived both hot
and still bleeding. Very tasty and tender, it was served with
some excellent chips (or “fries”) and some fried vegetables.
The ‘Café de Paris’ tag denotes the little bowl of herb butter
it was served with, which complimented the meatiness well.
Quibbling over a name may seem petty, but such a
name – and particularly the use of ‘pub’ – does tend to set
one’s expectations which, when you find that your expectations are entirely wrong, can be quite jarring. The Moon
River Pub is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a pub.
However, it is an excellent restaurant and bar, serving fancy
cocktails and simple but sumptuous food.
Contact us now
038 716 390
[email protected]
Contact us now
038 716 390
[email protected]
Unravelling
Pattaya Trader
with Brian S.
M
ost of you already know Thailand is known as ‘The
Land of Smiles’. However, when walking through the
produce section of your local supermarket, or past
one of Pattaya’s many street stalls that specialize in
fruit, or if you happen upon one of the roving fruit vendors
that ply the city’s sois, you can’t help but notice the delicious
and inexpensive fruits of this nation are indeed plentiful and
diverse. Because of its geographical position, its warm tropical climate, and its rich soil, Thailand surely must also qualify
to be called ‘The Land of a Thousand Fruits’.
The list of unfamiliar and exotic fruits available is long,
and without further ado, this month we’ll take a look at the
Longan, or as it is known in Thai, Lamyai, which in Chinese
means ‘Dragon Eye’.
Longan or Lamyai
The Longon is not native to Thailand.
It was initially brought here by Chinese immigrants and the fruit now
flourishes in Thailand’s Northern provinces. This fragrant, sweet and juicy
fruit grows in clusters on trees. On the
tree, the fruit’s outer-shell resembles
a cantaloupe. However, after harvesting, the Longon’s skin will darken and
turn brown as it ripens.
A fully ripened Longan should
have a leathery, bark-like shell that is
beige to light brown in color, and thin
and firm to the touch. A pale skinned
Logan is generally considered unripe.
The higher moisture content of an
unripe shell makes it softer and more
difficult to peel. While a ripe Longan’s
shell is easily removed by simply
squeezing the shell until it cracks (sort
of like shucking a peanut or cracking open a sunflower seed), or it can
Page 20
be peeled like an orange. It is best to start
peeling near the stem.
Once you’ve separated
a small portion of the
shell, the fruit will usually slide right out.
Beneath the skin,
you will find a translucent, whitish flesh,
that when split in
half exposes a small,
glossy, black seed in
the center. The appearance of the halved fruit
very much resembles
an eyeball --- hence
its nickname of Dragon Eye. Keep in mind that both the
skin and the seed are not edible and
should be discarded.
The mildly sweet, succulent, and
juicy flavour of the Longan is not unlike that of a grape, but the pulp of the
fruit is slightly denser and a bit firmer
than an ordinary grape. Longan’s are
usually eaten fresh as a snack or mixed
into many Thai desserts, and can also jazzup the flavor of a salad.
A real set of
The Longan fruit is
menu
low in calories and high
delights...
in vitamin C. In fact, just
amazing
a half cup of shelled
what a
Longans provide apcouple of
proximately
eighty
little letters
percent of the daily
can do to
recommended
dose
‘change’ a
of vitamin C. Longans
meaning
are also an excellent
from one
source of antioxidants
language to
which help protect the
the next
human body from both
cancer and heart disease.
Thai Stuffed Eggs or Khai Yat Sai
Khai Yat what? Okay, repeat after me,
“KHAI – YAT – SAI.” In Thai, these words
mean ‘stuffed eggs’. Now you’re probably wondering how to stuff an egg.
Well, to be honest, you’ve got me there.
But that’s not really important, because
a Khai Yat Sai is actually a Thai style
omelet that tastes great whether you
eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Essentially this dish is a stir-fry,
wrapped up inside a paper thin parcel
of fried egg that is then served on top
of a bed of steamed rice. Like most Thai
stir-fries, the stuffed eggs or omelet is
quick and easy to prepare and readily
available from most Thai street vendors
who specialize in rice-based dishes.
In most instances the filling inside
the omelet consists of minced pork,
chopped onions, diced tomatoes,
and whatever assortment of seasonal vegetables that the cook chooses
to throw in. These can be comprised
of broccoli, baby corn, bell peppers,
spring onions, carrots, cauliflower,
etc. All the ingredients are stir-fried
in hot oil along with garlic, coriander,
fish sauce, and salt and pepper. What
makes this particular stir–fry special
is its slightly spicy, yet sweet tomato
flavored sauce mixed into the filling
while it is cooking. The combination
of oyster, tomato (ketchup), and chili
sauce combine to give the filling sort
of a Thai/Italian tomato sauce flavor.
After the filling has been cooked,
whisked eggs are poured into a
separate hot, oiled wok and swirled
around until there is a paper thin layer
of cooked egg, roughly ten inches in
diameter. In just a matter of seconds
the egg is cooked, and the filling is
added. The edges of the egg are carefully folded into a rectangular shaped
envelope, and the entire omelet is laid
on a bed of steamed jasmine rice.
For my money, the stuffed omelet is probably the most filling of all
Thai stir fried dishes. I can honestly
say that I have never walked away
from one of these omelets hungry.
Like all Thai stir-fries, minced pork is
interchangeable with chicken, beef
and seafood, or it can be substituted
with additional vegetables to make a
vegetarian omelet. As an added bo-
nus, Khai Yat Sai goes remarkably well
with any of your favorite sauces, such
as chili, sweet chili, tomato, H&P, A-1,
or even BBQ sauce!
Khai Yat Sai is also a great dish for
those foreigners who do not like spicy
Thai food. Virtually every Westerner I
have introduced this dish to, who normally shun anything spicy, have thoroughly enjoyed it. As always, the size,
price, and actual contents of a Khai
Yat Sai will vary, but I’ve yet to eat one
that I didn’t like.
With steamed rice, a stuffed omelet will usually cost between 40 and
70 baht. However, if the omelet and
rice combination turns out to be too
much for you to eat, you can order the
omelet without rice and save yourself
about10 or 15 baht.
Pattaya Trader
The only 100% Philippine cuisine restaurant in Pattaya is Boss King
A
brand new restaurant
opened on 23 October
in Pattaya, behind Big
C Extra across from the
Family Mart. Owned and
operated by Gabie Rawat and her
husband Boss King, who is from India
and works in Saudi Arabia. They both
love Pattaya but Philippines food is a
necessity so they opened Boss King,
offering over 200 menu choices and
a small sari-sari store inside a beautifully appointed restaurant that comfortably seats 40 people. Gabie and
close family live upstairs so boast the
restaurant is a 24/7 restaurant just like
the Family Mart across the street. Occasionally they may be out shopping
so to save disappointment I suggest
you call first: 03841456. If your favorite
Filipina dish is not on the menu, given
a little notice I am sure Gabie will order it for you.
I had a Filipina wife (Rita) and my
favorite dish was the whole banana
eggplant, squashed, dipped and battered in egg batter then pan fried with
a little Soy sauce. My first time in Boss
Page 22
King it was what I ordered and the second time and the third time and the
fourth time. Did I mention I really love
that dish?
One of the difficulties I have is
since Ritzy Rita abandoned me for
someone with a bigger wallet and I no
longer have a Filipina wife or girlfriend
I cannot translate Tagalog but thank
God Gabie had the presence of mind
to do a picture menu for illiterates like
me and maybe you.
I hope by next month to have a
suitable replacement with Amorous
Alon from PI to help me with my reviews but a temporary replacement
was found in Real Estate Rose whose
services were graciously provided by
her loving fiancé Ted. If you need any
Real Estate help I can recommend her
highly. Email me for her email address
if you want.
For our first visit to Boss King
Gabie put together 4 set menus for
us with 5 or 6 items all starting with
soup, salad, main course, dessert,
some including rice and spring rolls.
Our price that night for any of the sets
was B250 or B280
before our 20%
discount.
I chose the
B250 set (being
the Frugal Freddy that I am). It
consisted of vegetable roll appetizer, chicken
soup with vegetable, beef broccoli with side of
rice and Halo
Halo for dessert.
Real Estate Rose
chose a more expensive choice
which was B280
before discount but since I am the last
of the big spenders I let her take that
one. It consisted of six items starting
with Pork Sinigang, vegetable salad,
Pork Shanghai, rice and Jello for dessert. Needless to say she could not finish it all and took some home for Ted
to have for breakfast. Next day he reported that it was great also.
Another B280 set started with
Chicken Soup, Vegetable Roll, Lechon
Paksiw Sotanghon, rice, vegetable
with coconut milk and Fruit salad with
coconut for dessert. The last set, also
at B280, which many people ordered
based on my recommendation of
the eggplant in egg started with carrot soup, followed by pork Sinagang
, eggplant with egg, rice and Jello for
dessert.
Some other items that I will be trying when Amorous Alon arrives will be
things like Bulalo (B 290 for one or B330
for two people), Bonis (B190), Pork Chili
(B150), Chicken Afritada, Beef Nilaga
(B190), Bicol Express (B190) Large
bowls of soups and vegetable are only
B90 some of which are on my list to
try on my next visits include Ginasang
Monggo , Karekare, Pinakbet, Dinengdang. Don’t ask me what they are, I just
look at the menu pictures.
Boss King being a 24/7 restaurant has a lot of inexpensive comIssue 148 - February 2013
plete breakfasts and over six omelets
to choose from and prices start at
B90 with unlimited refills of freshly
brewed coffee, so if you are not sure of
Filipino food, and are not real daring I
guarantee you will find a breakfast of
your choice on the extensive breakfast menu.
I can assure you no one left hungry and many people took home
enough for a meal the next day. With
all of the Filipinos and Filipinas in the
Expat club groups Boss King is a welcomed member of the Frugal Freddy
club. Drinks are very reasonable, including my favorite Red Horse beer.
A large bottle is B72 after discount. A
large selection of beers both local and
imported varieties are on offer at similar low prices.
Gabie has agreed to waive the
B150 corkage charge if you just say
Frugal Freddy sent me and bring your
own favorite bottle of wine or even
champagne. Gabie has the appropriate glassware for any drink. She sets
an elegant table with beautiful table-
ware, glassware
and dishes, the
only thing missing
for a romantic dinner is the candles
and if you ask I am
sure she will provide those also.
The
Frugal
Freddy
dining
group meets each
Monday and Tuesday, meeting times
are always 6pm
and are at restaurants that Hawaii
Bob has determined give good value
for the Baht with most of them even
offering a special discount that evening. With the value of foreign currency
shrinking against the baht and Thai
inflation hitting us in the wallet club
member seek out value dining. If you
would like to get on our mailing list
and join us some evening just email
[email protected]
with
“Frugal Freddy as the subject” and you
will get notices where to go and make
new friends, meet old friends and get
reasonably priced meals. Any restaurant owner wanting us to review or
visit their establishment can do the
same.
Restaurants that are supporters
of Frugal Freddy and PCEC or PEC
give members a 20% discount on
food and drink, any time you and
your guests visit, just show your
card. When we go as a Frugal
Freddy group on weekdays, no
membership card is needed.
Pattaya Trader
from Aksorn School Thepprasit and Garden International School
Susanna’s the Best in Thailand!
National Children’s Day
National Children’s Day was officially
Saturday 12 January this year. It is currently celebrated on the second Saturday in January, and has been since
1963. The day used to be celebrated in
October from its inauguration in 1955,
prior to the change eight years later.
As might be expected, many
schools held special functions for parents
and students on the Friday prior, and
among these was the Aksorn School, off
Thepprasit Road, south Pattaya.
While a stage was set up for the
kindergarten children to perform a variety of acts featuring music (and yes,
the YouTube phenomenon ‘Gangnam
Style’ was played), among the questions asked by the teachers of various
Grand Palace school trip
Year 9 students from GIS enjoyed a
school trip to see the Emerald Buddha
at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. They
had been studying Thai myths, so the
chance to see the palace and its decorated walls that depict local legends
was a great chance to understand
more about these stories.
young students was ‘name a country
in ASEAN’. The five and six year-olds
did pretty well at identifying the
member nations (something a lot of
adults would probably struggle to get
100 percent on), and even when they
missed the mark they were at least regional: with answers like China, Japan,
and Hong Kong being wrong, but not
so far away, at least geographically.
GIS’s Year 11 student Susanna Harms
has been to Bangkok to collect a top
award from Cambridge.
Susanna passed her IGCSE in German and gained such a good score
she was given an Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award for her performance in the June 2012 exam.
Her score was the best in Thailand for IGCSE German.
Susanna was presented with her
High Achievement award at a special
ceremony at the Anglo-Singapore International School in Bangkok. The
prestigious awards are recognised by
employers and universities around
the world as proof of academic excellence.
Are You a Third Culture Kid?
Where are you from?
It’s a simple question for most
people to answer, but if you go to an
international school it can be tricky to
know the answer.
Many students, parents and
teachers have lived in a variety of
countries and been exposed to many
different cultures, so knowing where
‘home’ is can be a dilemma.
To help understand the challenges and rewards of living in different
countries, Mr Michael and Ms Claire
from Primary gave a fascinating talk
on being a Third Culture Kid (TCK) in
the Primary Hall.
They highlighted several issues
that can arise for TCKs, such as the problems with fitting in to a new culture,
having to make new friends and not
knowing their own identity. They also
highlighted some of the many rewards
of being a TCK, such as being more
open-minded, being reflective thinkers
and being able to adapt more quickly.
Mr Michael and Ms Claire also offered some useful tips for parents of
TCKs. These included:
• Try not to mix your languages - be a
good speech and language model
in your home language. If parents
speak more than one language, it’s
suggested that each speaks one
language to their child. For example, the mother speaks only Thai
and the father speaks only English
to their children.
• Read stories and share books
• Encourage curiosity about the
world.
• Priority should be placed on communication - don’t rely on the TV
too much: you can’t communicate
with a television.
• Have conversations about daily life
– develop vocabulary in context.
If you would like your school to be featured in the Pattaya Trader, please feel free to drop us an email with a couple of hundred
words of text and a few photos if possible and we’ll do our best to include you. Email: [email protected]
Page 26
Pattaya Trader
T
he Thai racing season
wrapped up on the streets
of Bangsaen right on the
stroke of Christmas, with
the Bangsaen Thailand
Speed Festival. In just half a decade,
Bangsaen has grown into one of South
East Asia’s headline racing festivals, and
this season’s fixture was better, brighter and even more glamorous than ever,
with every race featuring hard-fought,
bumper-to-bumper racing.
Bangsaen is a 30-minute drive
north of Pattaya, and we count this
festival almost as a ‘home’ event. Every year, there is an influx of race fans
who make the hop, while Pattaya’s top
drivers and race teams are always at
the heart of the action. In fact, the influx of overseas competitors and fans
heading to Bangsaen tend to stay in
Pattaya, as it is the nearest location
with ample hotel vacancies, and allows them to combine their trip with
the lure of the beach.
This year was the sixth edition
of Bangsaen and it came with a twist
– it was the final race of Super Car
Thailand. In 2013, it will be reborn as
Thailand Super Series, opening a new
chapter in Thai racing.
Page 28
Super Car Thailand
signs off in style on
streets of Bangsaen
So there was an extra ‘end of season’ feel. But, at the business end of
the track action and at the top of the
billing – Super Car – the story was all
about the Lamborghini Gallardo GT3.
On its first stab at this tight and tricky
street course, the Italian racing machine won an historic victory on Sunday afternoon in the hands of Vattana
Motorsport’s experienced Chonsawat
Asavahame, while at the same time,
Panusak Techaterasiri wrapped up the
Super Car N/A title, thanks to battling
drives up the order from the back of
the grid and onto the podium on both
Saturday and Sunday. His path to the
title was eased after the points leader
coming into this race, Dutchman Henk
J Kiks in the B-Quik Racing Porsche
997, suffered bad luck in both races
and left without a point to his name.
The age of the Lamborghini had
arrived with a bang, and there were in
fact three of the striking GT3 category
machines on the grid over the weekend, as Bobby Buncharoen made a
last-minute entry into the race with his
new car, while there was also a fourth
example lurking in the paddock patiently waiting for this season. The V10engined sports car’s numbers are likely
to swell even further in the near future,
with more drivers planning imports.
But Bangsaen wasn’t just about
Super Car: the bumper programme
included Super 2000, where the action was interspersed with umpteen
yellow flag periods, Safety Car deployments and even fluttering red flags. It
was as hard-fought as ever from green
to chequered flag in the popular truck
races, and the 4-hour ‘Endurance’ race
saw its usual high attrition rate and a
winner that emerged from the lower
grid order.
The festival was bigger this year
thanks to the arrival of the Touring Car
in Asia Series (TCSA), as well as the new
Lotus Cup Thailand. A large and diverse
support programme included touring cars, historics, amateur and retro
pickup trucks, and as ever the tiny machines of the Hong Kong Mini Club.
Arise the Thailand Super Series
It will be all change for Super Car
Thailand next year following the conclusion of the 10th anniversary edition, which closed off in Bangsaen
last month. A new promoter, Sontaya
Khunplume, the owner of the glamorous Bangsaen Thailand Speed FesIssue 148 - February 2013
tival, Minister of Culture and regular
Super Car racer, will take over – and he
has big plans going forward.
Building on the robust platform he
will inherit, heading upwards and outwards in every direction will be the key
to his tenure with an emphasis on raising the series to international standards.
In this he has a good track record
already – in just six editions, he has
built the Bangsaen Thailand Speed
Festival into the biggest motorsports
extravaganza in Thailand – and one of
the main ones across South East Asia,
attracting drivers and teams from
countries such as Hong Kong, Macau,
China and Japan.
The first step will be a name
change: ‘Thailand Super Series’, carefully reflecting an ambition to follow
the successful model of similar ‘Super
Series’ multi-programme motorsports
formats in Malaysia, China and Japan.
The focus will be on developing
the rules to an international standard,
rather than the rules that Super Car
Thailand has evolved that maximize
inclusivity. This will tie into the current
growth of the championship, which
has this season seen an influx of cars
developed to the global FIA GT3 class
standard, such as the Lamborghini
Gallardo GT3 and Ferrari F430 GT3.
With the rules heading towards
international standards, Sontaya believes this will allow international competitors – both drivers and teams – to
join in. Driving the Bangsaen Thailand
Speed Festival onto the world stage
has been one of his many ambitions,
and with a more focused rules package the event is all set to continue its
rapid growth.
Along with the headlining ‘Super
Car’ class, which is likely to evolve towards FIA GT3 international standards
after a transitioning year, the ‘touring car’ Super 2000 and Super Pickup
Truck rules will also evolve towards
recognized global benchmarks.
Sontaya also promised the Thailand Super Series will provide a broad
platform for racing drivers to grow,
develop and hone their talents, providing inclusivity from basic beginner
level to full professional.
T
he Race Of Champions
came to Bangkok for the
first time at the end of last
month bringing some of
the world’s top two and
four wheel pilots, including Michael
Schumacher, Jorge Lorenzo and Sebastien Vettel. Thailand’s best went
head to head with these global stars –
and they didn’t disappoint. Nattavude
Charoensukhawatana and Tin Sritai
emerged victorious from the curtainraising Thai knockout phase to carry
forward the hopes of the host nation
– as well as the fiercely partisan crowd.
Digging
deep and driven on by the
roar from the
stadium every
time, the two
Thai
drivers
emerged from
Rajamangala’s
bowels and into
the glare of the
spotlights, the
experienced
hand of Nattavude and the
raw young talent of Tin, both
rose to the occasion, turning in a
string of fighting
runs throughout
the ROC Nations
Cup on the Saturday evening
and then all over
again
during
headlining Race
Of Champions
just twenty four
hours later. “This
Thailand
stars at
Race Of
Champions
event is very big, so I have to join this
event so I have to improve in my racing
style. I have a lot of experience after this
event,” Tin said in the handover zone after completing one his many runs.
In cars they were unfamiliar with,
and on a track that many of the leading motorsports stars names knew
well from previous editions of this
physically almost-unchanging format,
Nattavude and Tim acquitted themselves impressively and made the
‘home’ nation proud.
The Race Of Champions will return
to Thailand this coming December.
Pattaya Trader
Man the Buoys; Screw the Reefs!
T
An extensive programme of underwater screwing is planned to help save the local marine life
he largest marine conservation project of its kind
in Asia is due to start in the
waters off Pattaya in coming months. Local company Dive Tribe is intending to install
over 50 mooring buoys in an effort to
reduce damage to coral reefs.
“For 60 to 70 percent of reefs, the
damage is not from ocean acidification, global warming or coral bleaching. A lot of it is man-made. Usually
it’s an anchor which is thrown over,
smashes into the reef and that reef
– which could be 200-, 300-, 400-,
1,000-years-old – is gone. We lose it
really quickly and it sometimes takes
a long time for them to grow back.
What we want is to prevent the an-
chors going over the side,” said Gwyn
Mills, CEO of Dive Tribe.
The waters off Pattaya are particularly rich in sea life, especially
around the Far Islands. However, the
sea life attracted by the ideal conditions in turn attracts fishing boats and
scuba divers. There are currently no
fixed places for boat captains to place
their anchors, requiring them to be
thrown overboard, potentially causing serious damage to reefs.
Dr Wayne Phillips, who is a lecturer in ecology at Mahidol University International College and works alongside Gwyn Mills, added that boats
making the effort to drop their anchors in the sand closer to the islands
rather than into the reefs may still be
part of the problem. “The sand
supports a lot
of important life
too, which can
be damaged or
moved by anchors,” he said.
The solution they think
is to establish
a fixed point to
which boats can
safely fix themselves without
having to throw
their
anchors
into the water.
This
requires
fixing a buoy
in place. Tying
chains around
corals or rocks to
anchor the buoy
is not especially
secure and can
still cause some
damage. ConDr Wayne Phillips and Gwyn Mills with a third of one sand- crete
blocks
screw and the machine needed to drill it into the seabed suffer the same
Page 30
problem as they can be moved about
in extreme weather conditions. The
most expensive but undoubtedly most
effective solution is a Helix Sandscrew.
As the name suggests, this is essentially a giant – six metre-long –
screw. Drilled into the seabed with
a heavy-duty screwdriver, the only
things likely to be able to remove it
are the same screwdriver or an apocalyptic earthquake. With a load capacity estimated at over 20,800lb, nothing
short of an aircraft carrier is going to
be able to pull it out by accident. With
a surface profile of less than a foot of
steel – enough only to attach a chain
leading to the anchoring buoy – the
screw also has far less of an impact on
the look of the reef than a giant block
of concrete.
Dive Tribe is paying for this sort
of quality. The drilling rig cost over
500,000 baht. It comes in two parts:
a compressor, which remains on the
surface, and the drill itself, which produces nine tons of torque and is so
heavy it is impossible for one man to
lift but is virtually weightless when
underwater and supported by inflatable lift bags. Each buoy – including
the steel screw, chains, ropes and the
buoy itself – currently has to be imported from America and will cost between
30-35,000 baht. There is some hope of
reducing the cost slightly by getting
the screws produced in Thailand.
“Our main sponsor is Dragon
Capital, from Vietnam... [who] got in
touch with us... [after hearing] about
the project... I told them all the insand-outs of it and they said ‘we’d like
to sponsor you for all of the machinery and the first two buoys’, which is a
huge chunk of money,” said Gwyn.
“What we’re doing now is actively
look for companies who are happy to
invest in one of these anchors. What
we ask the company to do is sponsor
one buoy and that helps us to sponsor
50. The amount of boats there
now are in Pattaya and the
amount of tourism going on
here – in another five years,
you won’t recognise the reef if
we carry on dropping anchors
on it. In the last three years
we’ve been monitoring it and
we’ve watched loads of it getting wiped out. We’ve got videos of it and photographs of
it. It’s not the dive operator’s
Anchors have been causing serious reef
fault because you’ve got to
damage around Pattaya
put your anchor somewhere
to let people off. They’re not
the reef as well. What we give them
doing
it
deliberately...If we can stop
is their name on the buoy, obviously,
and their name on the reef in the lit- that happening, we can probably protle booklet that goes with the reef. tect and start to regenerate the reefs.”
The 15-minute process of actuEvery six months, the university will
give them a report on the health of ally installing the screws – which will
the coral, with photographs, showing be done with the help of local diving operators, including Seafari Dive
how much it’s grown.”
Amari Resort has agreed to Center, Aquanauts and Adventure Disponsor one buoy and Dive Tribe are vers – is the easy part. Reaching out
hopeful Hard Rock Café would spon- to boat captains and encouraging
sor a second. With plans for at least them to actually use the buoys is the
50 sandscrews (with maybe 30 more more difficult task. Dive Tribe also has
smaller versions, screwed in by hand), plans to begin marine and coral conservation and regeneration education
there is still a lot of work to be done.
Gwyn noted, “We need at least programmes with potential divers as
young as 13-years-old. The intention
is to make Pattaya the eco-diving destination of choice for Southeast Asia.
Pattaya Trader
H
i Folks, well the wind finally turned to its winter direction from the
north, bringing cooler
temperatures at night,
drier weather and very poor air quality from China.
However I think it is too late to
bring the big shoals of horse mackerel
into the Gulf. Hopefully the weather
pattern settles down for next season.
I am missing going on my boat
at 6am for a couple of hours and
catching 8+ fish from the dock area.
Late last December my fishing buddy
Frank and I called it a day at 11.45 am
instead of 1.30 pm as we had only
caught 3 horse mackerel instead of
the usual 30+. That is what the unseasonal weather pattern has done to our
fishing.
No problems on Captain Deang’s
boat, Scott who could not make that
trip missed on a good trip with some
fish of various species being caught.
My pet project of trying for some
bigger fish (barracuda, spanish mackerel or even a big grouper) using live
squid has taken a step forward. I have
found out that casting for squid from
an anchored boat that two out of
every 12 squid die within 30 minutes.
Batfish
Page 32
Trolling for squid using the small 4hp
engine gets more numbers but four
out of 12 will die within 30 minutes
and if I use the 9.8 hp engine six out of
12 die. The rest will survive at least 36
hours in a converted plastic bin.
I anchor the bin in 20ft of water
overnight as at this time of the year
the low water is always during the
night. Come summer I will be able to
keep them in the live well onboard my
boat over night.
Also one
day I tied the
bin only 5ft
from the anchor
and 10 of the 22
squid died. So
the next time I
tied the bin 15ft
from the anchor and all the
squid survived. I planned
a run out to the
reef one mile
(1.6kms) south
of Koh Krok
where I intended anchoring just up
tide of the reef in some 35ft of water.
I took with me the 12 live squid that
had survived and 6 of the biggest
squid that had died overnight, ergo
they were a bit smelly.
The two rods with live bait (one
close to the bottom and one on a float
set at about 10 ft deep) did not even
get a nibble all morning. Such is fishing. Also I put down a bottom rig to
knock out some smaller fish while I
waited for a bite on the live baited
rods. Even the bottom bite was not as
normal and I wondered if the unseasonal weather was effecting these fish
as well. I got a few small groupers and
10 streaked spinefoot over a two-hour
period.
When the smelly bait ran out I cut
up one of the live squid (with no bite
I still had six left) and what a surprise.
No sooner had the rig hit the bottom
when I got two candy striped fish and
it was like that for the next 30 minutes.
I will not be using smelly squid as bottom bait again. It’s all a learning curve!
Pattaya Trader
Streaked spinefoot
I went again to the reef a week later. I put out a rod with a live fish on it.
It was out all the time I was there and
did not get a sniff of a big fish. However my small rod, an uglystick 2lb
- 6lb with 12lb braid and 12lb fluorocarbon traces did very well. I knocked
out some 12 streaked spinefoot, 4 russel snappers, 4 horse mackerel and an
assortment of 15 other reef fish with a
weight of 5.5 kgs.
In the middle of the action I
locked onto the bottom. Just as I was
Page 34
wondering just how
much gear I was going to lose, the bottom gave a thump
and started to move
south with the tide.
The fish moved slowly but powerfully,
taking line and I gave
thanks that I had set
my drag just above
the level of striking
as the rod was bent
at a 90-degree angle.
Finally after some
10 minutes of rod
bending around the boat I netted a
1.7kgs bat fish. What an excellent four
hours out: 7.2kgs of fish, anchor came
up sweet as a nut, I used one litre of
gasoline, lost two hooks and had a fish
that pushed my light rig to its limits. It
does not get any better than that!
Streaky spinefoot on the chart
(some Aussies say it is like a rabbits
foot) has to be handled with great care.
All of its spines
contain a toxin
that will have
you in great
discomfort (agony) and pain
for two hours,
and then it will
slowly wear off.
It will be an end
to your fishing
day, that’s for
certain. Frank
my fishing buddy has been
jabbed twice by
these fish and
says he would
rather take a
full blown kick
to his balls than
go
through
that experience
again.
The locals
fish for these
close to the
dock using a
ball of sticky
rice and a large
treble hook 2 inches below. When
the fish starts to eat the rice they will
strike and foul hook the fish. A stiff rod
and heavy line are the usual equipment, a bit unsporting but given the
fish will try to powerfully dash beneath the dock where the sharp coral
will zip through your line, perhaps it’s
the only way to put fish on the dining
table. Even with a normal bottom rig I
manage to foul hook some of them as
their mouths are very small. The locals
stand on the fish when they remove
the hook. On the boat I do not put
them in the live well, but let them die
and then using scissors, remove all the
spines before putting them on ice.
As usual, if you want any info on
tackle shops etc or you want to share
your photo’s of fish, what you have been
catching lately (or not), shore fishing or
boat fishing, my email is plamafia5@
aol.com or 0808356945. Have fun.
Pattaya Sports Club 19TH
Words: Nigel Cannon
Pictures: William Macey
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
8 & 11 January 2013 - Khao Kheow Country Club (A and B Nines)
Day 1 There were 136 competitors in
this year’s event, which had 6 Flights.
A and B Flights played medal from the
Yellow tees. C and D Flights played
Stableford from the white tees. Ladies
played medal from the red tees.
For the first time there was a ‘Senior Flight’ for those aged over 70 who
had opted to play from the new PSC
silver tees (their handicap adjusted
accordingly) that are on all the local
courses.
All 136 arrived well in time for
the 2 tee start and were welcomed
for registration by Golf Chairman Joe
Mooneyham, Social Chairman Nigel
Cannon and Charity Chairman William
Macey. As more ladies are entering
the monthly competitions, there was
a variation to the design of the ladies
shirts for they had a choice of the
usual design or the sleeveless variety.
The weather was fine and the course
in pristine condition so all was set for
a great 2-day competition.
At the end of day 1 there were
four candidates vying for top spot.
Ning Neal - Ladies Champion
The main contenders for low gross
was Mike Allidi, Dave Stockton, Jeff
Wylie and Paul Smith. In the ladies
competition, there was to be a head
to head between Yui Bietry 78(11) and
Ning Neal 77(10) although there were
Don Leimer - Seniors Champion
a number of other ladies with net totals in the low 70s. An exciting day in
prospect. There was some excellent
scoring in every flight but, since this is
a 2-day event, depends on the second
round.
Day 2 Once again it was Joe and Nigel
on the registration desk and all was set
for a good day to find the three 2013
Champions – Men’s – Ladies - Senior.
There were 135 today with just
one less than Tuesday due to sickness.
The weather was a little cooler and
overcast – perfect for what was to be
a memorable day’s golf. Clearly the
competition was keen as the rounds
were a little longer than Tuesday. Perhaps some nerves were beginning to
have an effect. PSC were using some
recently purchased software to calculate the results both efficiently and
quickly – thanks to help from Office
Manager Mai.
The Presentation was at Dicey Riley’s who again produced an excellent
buffet matched with great service.
After all had partaken of the food
and drink on offer it was presentation
Pattaya Trader
(2) with 152 gross.
Each Champion was greeted with
a standing ovation – which is a PSC
tradition.
All received trophies and Mike
also received a golf bag kindly donated by our major Sponsor Singh who
also provided four umbrellas.
The next PSC Monthly is on Friday February 15th at Plutaluang Navy
Course – sign up at PSC office or with
a PSC golfing venue.
50/50 winner
time – Nigel welcomed all to this the
19th Club Championship and introduced Golf Chairman Joe Mooneyham who expressed his appreciation
for the help he had from Nigel, William
and Tony with a special mention for
Mai. With a full field he expressed his
thanks to all of the competitors and
apologized for those who were unable to secure a place.
‘A’ Flight was won by Jan Anderson (6)
with a total of 143 net.
Winning ‘B’ Flight again – as he did last
month was Colin Greig (12) with 144
net.
‘C’ Flight winner with a fine 82 points
(46 on day 1) was Michael Jefferys (19).
Jean Murphy (29) won ‘D’ Flight with
81 points.
The Ladies Flight was won by Sunnee
Chamanrum (25) with 137 net.
The Silver Champion was Don Lehmer
(17) with 173 gross.
The Ladies Champion on count back
was Ning Neal (10) with 165 gross.
Want to drive further and putt
harder? Get those muscles growing!
The Men’s Champion was Mike Allidi
Sean Murphy - ‘D’ flight winner
Jan Anderson - ‘A’ flight winner
Page 36
Noi and Yui - flight runners-up
Rock Climbing: Hang on Tight
M
y monthly foray into ‘hand holds’ with just fingertips soon
the differing sports becomes quite painful. If able to take
available in Pattaya most of the strain with a foothold, you
has led me to the one get a little respite. This allows feeling
I undertake with res- and some strength to return to the
ervations and trepidation. Rock climb- fingers, before making the next move.
ing. The very thought of it almost putI felt things were going well, until
ting me into panic mode, as I have had I encountered a slight overhang. This
a lifelong fear of heights.
entailed leaning outwards from the face
So with my heart in my mouth, and of the wall. In order to progress further,
a spare pair of underpants, I set off for I needed to not only hold on with one
my appointed ‘lesson’ at Fairtex Sports hand, but reach up for the next hold.
complex on North Pattaya Road.
The climbing wall is an impressive 20 metres high, with climbs of
varying difficulty and skill. My instructor, a young Thai, who appeared
no more than a teenager, and of extremely light build, was awaiting me.
The safety line was already attached to the top of the wall. My instructor set about fitting me with a safety
harness, putting my legs through the
loops and attaching the various clips
and other items. After being kitted up,
I now realise why women prefer wearing tights, and why the demise of stockings came about: all the paraphernalia
required to hold them up.
My instructor then drew my attention to the various routes by which
I could ascend, pointing out the hand
hold points of which I should avail mySteeling myself for the effort I
self on the way up. I began to think it moved quickly, reaching upward I
was ok for him to just point where to go made the next handhold, but at the
and what to hold. Just then he stepped expense of the lower one, and so
up to the wall, and without any safety found myself hanging off the wall, and
equipment, climbed half way up the spinning round on the safety line, forwall, clinging to the face as if he was tunately being held by my young inSpiderman himself.
structor, who lowered me slowly and
The safety line was attached to ignominiously to the ground.
my harness and I approached the wall.
At my sixth attempt I managed
Looking up it didn’t seem that high, to negotiate the small overhang. If I’d
but I know from experience when had a flag, I’d have placed it there and
you look down, it’s a different matter. made my descent.
The first few feet were quite easy, but
Now things began to get more
gripping on to what are loosely called difficult. Footholds that required me
almost to do ‘the splits’ seemed to be
the order of the day. Handholds became less and less, and needed more
athleticism to reach, started to give
way to cracks in the rock face that required the jamming of one’s hand in
to stay attached to the wall.
I lost count of the times I fell to
certain death, only prevented by my
young instructor and the safety line.
Each attempt sapped more and more
strength from not only my fingers and
arms, but also my legs; my calf muscles
at times feeling like they were on fire, as
they attempted to propel me upwards
from unfamiliar and unusual positions.
On one of my attempts to scale
the wall, with my hand wedged in
a crevice, I found I had gotten into a
position where I couldn’t extricate it.
Worrying that I might have to spend
the night there, like some climber
trapped by a snowstorm on the North
Face of the Eiger, I turned to my instructor for some advice and eventually managed to free myself.
Sadly despite all my efforts, I never
managed to reach the summit. The lactic acid was flowing freely through the
muscles in my thighs, calves and arms.
The tendons serving my fingers had
cried enough, and I think my instructor
was getting tired of my feeble efforts,
arresting my many falls, and was getting a bit disenchanted with constantly
saving my life.
Despite my phobia regarding
heights, I really enjoyed the experience. Of course, knowing that in the
event of falling off the wall someone is
there to save you is a great help. It certainly is a sport that challenges you in
many ways, not only the need for some
physical strength and balance, but also
intelligence in planning the best route
up, and use of the handholds, crevices
and cracks to aid your ascent.
Pattaya Trader
T
The Legacy of Tony Greig
he outpouring of what was
clearly genuine emotion
from some of the most respected names in cricket
over the sudden death of
Tony Greig in late December could
almost have been viewed as hagiographic.
The South African-born and
raised former captain of England who
had settled in Australia was just 66
when his life innings closed. He had
been diagnosed with lung cancer just
a couple of months earlier, but it was
heart failure that took him.
Strange in a way. As an all-rounder
he had a heart as big, if not bigger, than
the lion’s rampant on his England jumper. Yet it was that heart which gave out.
Greig possessed a steely determination
and inner strength, yet it counted for
nought in the final analysis.
His life in many ways was divided
almost precisely in half. For the first 33
years he made his name as an on-thefield cricketer of much better-than-average ability, a fact often overlooked
by the second half of his too-short life.
That second half involved a man
named Kerry Packer, the advent of
World Series Cricket, and a grand career as a commentator behind the
microphone for Channel Nine in Australia where he often championed the
underdog (eg Sri Lanka). It is that second half which is often recalled with
greater division than the first, as many
saw him as a traitor to the hallowed
traditions of the game and nothing
more than greedy corporate sellout.
Yet it was the first part of his career
which informed the second.
Born in 1946 in South Africa to
an immigrant Scottish father and local
mother, Tony Greig grew to be six foot
Page 38
six inches tall, with a mane of blond
hair. He was articulate and competitive, characteristics which he would
need in abundance throughout what
was a sometimes controversial career
and life.
He was diagnosed with epilepsy
early in life, but managed to hide this
fact for much of his cricket career.
After realising an ambition to play
county cricket in England, for Sussex,
he was able to qualify to play for the
England team because of his family
ancestry.
Selected as a bowling all-rounder,
Greig batted at number six and soon
proved a major asset to his adopted
country. He could bowl medium pace
or off-spin and, as a batsman, was
fearless and aggressive.
His first match came against Australia in June 1972. He would play his
last Test match, also against Australia,
almost exactly five years later.
Greig’s first brush with controversy came in the West Indies when he
threw down the stumps of the nonstriker Alvin Kallicharran from the last
ball of a day’s play in Port-of-Spain.
The striker and Kallicharran had begun walking back to the pavilion and,
although Grieg’s action was technically correct and the umpire awarded
the run out, it caused a riot.
The action was not in the spirit of
the game and Kallicharran was re-instated the next day. Greig apologised
for his actions.
The controversy didn’t cause
Greig any real problems with performance as he went on to score 430
runs at 47.77 and snare 24 wickets at
22.62 for the tour. His best efforts were
148 and 6/164 at Bridgetown, the first
England player to make a century and
take five or more wickets in an innings
in the same Test.
At Georgetown he made another
century (121) and in the Port-of-Spain
match took what would be a careerbest 8/86 and then 5/70. His efforts
undoubtedly helped England draw
the series.
On his first tour of Australia in
1974-75 he faced the express pace of
Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson and
was the only Englishman to stand defiant against them in the first Test in
Brisbane, scoring a brilliant 110. His
competitive nature shone through
as each time he hit the fence with a
boundary he would signal his own
‘four’ usually leading the Aussie bowlers to pepper him with a few shortpitched deliveries afterwards.
Successful tours of India and Pakistan followed, where he averaged
42.75 with 342 runs against the former, including a century (103) at Kolkata to become the first Englishman to
take 100 wickets and score 3,000 runs.
When Australia toured England in
1975, the home side were easily beatIssue 148 - February 2013
en and Tony Greig became captain for
the Lord’s Test. Leading from the front
Greig made a well-fashioned 96 and
then 41 to help draw the match. This
‘leader of men’ as Geoff Boycott later
described him led by example and
England gained the backbone they
needed. Greig managed to draw his
three completed games.
In the Centenary Test, played in
Melbourne in 1977, England lost a
thriller by just 45 runs. Greig did well
enough, making 18 and 41 and taking
two wickets and four catches. Yet, he is
often recalled as the man from whom
David Hookes peeled five consecutive
boundaries to help Australia take the
initiative and turn the match.
Soon after came the so-called
Packer Revolution and the advent of
World Series Cricket. It is beyond the
scope of this article to go into the
finer details, but suffice to say Greig
had been the man who had secretly
signed up some of the best player’s in
the world to Packer’s ‘circus’ as many
derided it.
Although made captain of the
Rest of the World teams for the World
Series Cricket period, Greig was outshone by the likes of Viv Richards,
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Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding, Gordon
Greenidge, and fellow South Africans
Mike Proctor and Barry Richards. The
cricket itself was hard-fought and
top-class and no one who watched it
could come to any other conclusion
than the players played as if they were
still representing their countries.
For Tony Greig, he remains one
of the best all-rounders who has
ever played for England. His 58 Test
matches saw him score 3,599 runs at
the good average of 40.43, collecting
eight centuries and 20 fifties with a
highest of 148, made twice. He snared
Anthony William “Tony” Greig
6 October 1946 – 29 December 2012
141 Test wickets at an average of 32.20
and took five wickets in an innings
six times, his best effort being 8/86
against the West Indies.
Although Sir Ian Botham and
Andrew Flintoff are probably the first
two names to roll off the tongue when
talking of England all-rounders, Greig
was superior to both of these with the
bat, his average of 40.43 almost seven
runs per innings better than Botham
(33.54) and nearly nine clear of Flintoff
(31.77). With the ball he lags well behind Botham who took his victims at
28.40, but slightly better than Flintoff
(32.78).
In his Telegraph obituary in the UK
it was noted, ‘To the traditionalists…
he had become a pariah. John Woodcock, cricket correspondent of The
Times, explained Greig’s behaviour by
pointing out that “he was not English
through and through”. Yet Greig had
certainly done the state some service.
He was, moreover, admirably unhypocritical about his motives in throwing
in his lot with Packer: “I did it for Tony
Greig first, and for my family. Secondly
I did it because the Establishment deserved it.”
There was something in that, given that cricketers had been so abysmally paid up to 1977. No one could
plausibly maintain that the Packer
experiment, which ended in 1979, ruined the game. Indeed, in the long run
it strikingly improved the lot of professional cricketers.’
That indeed may be Greig’s greatest legacy.
Pattaya Trader
Why You Should Consider Outsourcing
Your Search Engine Optimisation
I
t is common knowledge that the
internet is ruled by search engines. Most web users will visit
sites like Google, Bing and Yahoo
multiple times every day. The latest statistics show that over 95 percent
of searchers will visit sites located on
What is SEO?
The basics of SEO is to improve your
websites visibility in the search engines when potential clients search
for a specific term related to your
product or services. Achieving high
organic rankings in the search
engines is the best advertising
tool on the internet today.
SEO will bring targeted
traffic to your website allowing you to build a stronger customer base, which is essential if
you want your online business
to succeed.
Why You Should Consider
Outsourcing
the first page of search engines, with
the top three ranking websites getting the majority of this traffic. Hardly
earth-shattering news, just clear confirmation of what most already knew.
As the search engines become
smarter and provide more relevant
websites to searchers, there is, in theory, no longer any need to venture beyond the first page. This means if you
want to succeed online, you should
consider outsourcing your search engine optimization (SEO) to dedicated
professionals who can help your website reach the top of the search engines for your desired keywords.
Page 40
SEO experts have a deep understanding and knowledge
about how the search engines
work and have the ability to increase a website’s rankings using ethical methods involving
both on-site and off-site SEO
techniques.
They can enhance the look
and feel of your site, helping to
create engaging content that will make
the
customer
interested
in
your product
or
service.
They
also
promote
your website
over
the internet through
a range of different services such as
article submissions,
link building, press re-
leases, social media, social networks,
business directories and guest blogging, helping your site to become an
authority in its niche.
SEO companies are also experts
at finding the right keywords to optimize, based on what they know
people are searching for. Keyword
research is paramount for any online
success. You need to find keywords
that have a high amount of monthly
searches, yet relatively low competition from other websites. No easy task
for the amateur or the busy professional with too much else to worry
about.
Further reasons for outsourcing:
• Training your own employees
to use SEO techniques will use up
many resources. Outsourcing your
SEO will be much less costly than
building and training a new department from scratch.
• The major search engines such as
Google, Bing and Yahoo are constantly updating their algorithms
and changing the way they display
search results. This constant evolution makes it hard for people with
little or no experience to keep up.
• Online marketing is an extremely
competitive
field and
therefore you need the best people in your corner when it comes to
SEO. Outsourcing your optimisation
needs to experienced companies
will give you that edge over your
competition.
If you feel that you would benefit from the help of a professional
SEO company, you need to choose a
company that is respected in its field.
Avoid any companies that promise
overnight success as SEO is an ongoing long-term internet marketing
technique, and reputable companies
will not make such a promise.
PPCnSEO is a Pattaya-based international web design and SEO company
that has built a great reputation, both
for their professionalism and achieving
results. If you are struggling to bring
targeted traffic to your website and
would like some assistance, PPCnSEO
are here to help you (see their display
advertising in the Trader for more information).
Pattaya Trader
PETE’S PEREGRINATIONS
Phonsavan
Scenery on the way to Phonsavan
M
y Thai wife and I took
an eleven hour bus
ride from Vientiane to
Phonsavan, up in the
north of Laos. It was a
terrible journey, but I was prepared for
it as I’d done it before – and swore I’d
never do it again. Yet here we were,
obviously total suckers for punishment, wandering around a remote
bus station outside Vientiane, trying
to find our bus to Phonsavan.
It was so packed we practically
had to beg to find a seat. Supposedly a
‘VIP’ bus, a term I have learned to treat
with much amusement when travelling in Laos, it was old and very beaten-up, there was no aircon, people
sat on small plastic stools down the
middle of the bus, in between sacks of
rice and clucking hens, and, like a baht
bus, it speculatively stopped all along
the way for anyone it thought might
want to take a ride.
Bomb casings at our breakfast café
Page 42
But the worst thing about the
journey was being forced to watch
loud, violent Thai music karaoke videos for almost the whole way. They’re
the equivalent of the Fox News channel in the US. They should never be
shown outside their own country, as
people draw unfair and awful conclusions about the whole nation from
them.
My wife thought they played
them because Laotians love all things
Thai. I believe the Communist Laotian
government forces bus companies to
play these music videos as a propaganda exercise, to show its citizens
how their pleasant, peaceful country
could become like Thailand, full of
jealousy, spite, people unable to control their emotions, killing each other,
beating up women, pulling guns at
the drop of a hat, and shooting their
countrymen, if the government of
Lao PDR wasn’t there to protect them
from the Evils of Capitalism.
We arrived in Phonsavan around
7pm and quickly found an acceptable hotel, improbably called the ‘Nice
Hotel’ (en-suite and aircon room for
$12.50), where I set about trying to arrange a tour for the next day.
Because I’m here doing research
for my novel, I have some unusual
agendas, and it would be fair to say
the Vietnam War is my biggest priority.
Mind you, in Phonsavan, it is impossible to escape the war, even if you
only visit to use it as a base to see the
Plain of Jars, which is what most visitors come here to do.
Even on the Plain of Jars (called
the PDJ during the war, from the
French ‘Plaine des Jarres’), the Vietnam War is everywhere. It was a muchfought-over battlefield between the
CIA-backed Hmong and the North
Vietnamese army and Pathet Lao
forces. At the Plain of Jars you can still
see bullet damage to some of the jars
and large B-52 bomb craters litter the
site. It was only finally cleared of UXO
(unexploded ordnance) a few years
ago, and still the guides warn you to
be careful and not stray off the paths.
Looking at old photographs of the
PDJ in wartime, it’s amazing any jars
are still standing.
In Phonsavan town war remains
are everywhere, from yellow cluster
bomb casings used as napkin holders
in restaurants to a (hopefully defused)
Chinese hand grenade sitting in our
reception area. Even the café where
we have coffee every morning is surrounded by large bomb casings.
In a Phonsavan restaurant
I have come here only with two
objectives, firstly to see as many war
remains and sites as I can, and, much
more importantly, to go into the
jungle to a village where they smelt
down aluminum from Vietnam War
scrap metal, in order to make spoons.
…Continued next month
Contact me: [email protected]
P
Words & Pictures by Duncan Stearn
attaya has a multitude of
places designed specifically to attract locals and
tourists. Most of these can
be found by way of Internet searches or picking up a variety of
tourist-oriented publications or simply wandering past a travel agency.
One place that is not likely to
be found on the tourist trail, and yet
it seems to have been discovered by
small numbers of Russian and East European visitors is Wat Khao Din (translated roughly as Temple of the Dirt
Mountain).
The temple is, as might be
gleaned from the title, situated on top
of a prominent hill. It is located in the
eastern part of Pattaya and has sweeping views over the plains beneath, and
of the southern section of Jomtien
beach and out to Bang Saray…at least
on a clear day anyway.
One of the obvious standout features readily visible from Wat Khao Din is
the Buddha image at Khao Chee Chan.
The temple area and buildings are
of no great physical attraction or significance. In fact, they are in need of some
real attention to bring them into what
might pass for pristine condition.
There is a two-storey tower with
a good view of the area, but the real
‘star’ is climbing a metal ladder near
the entrance and looking out at what
is a 180-degree-plus view of the south,
east and west.
So how do you get to it if you are
driving, be it by car or bike? Admittedly, it’s not exactly signposted, at least
in English. Yet it’s obviously not an impossibility to locate, as evidenced by
the consistent numbers of Russian visitors to the temple, most of whom arrive in one’s and two’s on motorbikes,
not with some organised tour group.
Perhaps the ‘easiest’ direction
involves the need to find your way
Wat Khao Din
onto
Sukhumvit
Soi 87 (also called
Soi Nongkrabok, or
derivative spellings
thereof ). Soi 87 is
not far past Underwater World, but
on the left-hand or
eastern side, heading south.
You
follow
Soi 87 all the way
down, past the turnoff for the Bungy
Jump and Elephant Village, past the
Charknork Reservoir and eventually,
as the road narrows and slows through
a small village area. Make sure to keep
following the road to the right. That is,
there are a couple of potential left or
right-hand turns; just be sure to follow to the right.
Eventually,
you
will find your vehicle climbing a
rise and on the
right-hand
side
will be a road sign,
in Thai, indicating a turnoff and
what is obviously
going to become
a steep hill climb.
This road leads to
Wat Khao Din.
The sign is
actually placed a
few metres past
the road turnoff,
so you have to be
alert enough to
see it coming and
then realise the
turnoff is before
the sign.
T r a v e l ling time from
Sukhumvit to the
turnoff is about
five or six minutes
depending on your speed, or about
eight to 10 kilometres at most.
Although not easy to find, Wat
Khao Din is worth the effort. If possible, try and time your visit either for
the hour or before sundown, or, for
early birds, sunrise, to catch the best
of the vistas.
TRAVEL THAILAND
Pattaya Trader
Prachuap
Khiri
Can-Do
P
Page 44
the province’s same-name capital, Prachuap Khiri
Khan, aka simply Prachuap.
attaya, Patpong and Phuket ... you know
Suddenly you’re in the Thailand of the Thais.
they’re in Thailand but you’d never misNone of the usual suspects assail you — taxi touts,
take them for Thailand. Sidestep for
tailors’ pimps, Harley hoons and the “wewcomea while these mutant
hansum-man” chorus-line. Inzones where East
stead you find a low-rise,
meets West (and the worst
low-key town that faces
meets the best) and discovBy train from Bangkok’s Hualamthree horseshoe bays with
er a very different P-place
phong station to Prachuap Khiri
a tall temple mount watchKhan town. Accommodation in— Prachuap.
ing over the shoreline. A
cludes Hadthong Hotel (www.
The province of Pralong seafront promenade
hadthong.com) and Yutichai
chuap Khiri Khan is like its
faces Prachuap Bay, which
Hotel.
full name, long and lyrical.
is perfect for sundowners and
Stretching 220 skinny kilomegood dining in the footpath restres down the western shore of the
taurants that pop up along it. A few blocks inland
Gulf of Thailand, its near-empty beaches are popuat the local night market the hawker food is hot
lated more by driftwood than deckchair jams.
and the beer cold.
The province’s largest and best-known town is
You can hire a bicycle and pedal south across
Hua Hin, 180 km south of Bangkok, and yet it isn’t
the runway of Prachuap’s Thai air force base to a
the capital. Hua
small forest, there to be greeted by a troop of lanHin is where the
gur monkeys with punk Einstein hairdos. These
Thai royals retreat,
friendly monkeys are nothing like their scungy
Scandinavians
cousins, the larcenous macaques that crowd the
and Germans re396 steps up to Wat Khao Chong Krajok temple
tire, golfers gorge
on the headland at the north end of Prachuap Bay.
themselves and
The views from the temple are spectacular, but
the barmy-butmake sure your backpack and any loose possesserious elephant
sions are completely macaque-proofed.
polo tournament
The postcard-perfect arc of Ao Manao, “Lime
is held annually.
Bay” — aptly named for its pale-green waters —
However, bypass
sits just south of Prachuap town. The sands are
Hua Hin. Stay
wide, the waters clear and little beachfront eateron the train (or
ies dish up fresh soft-shell crabs and good tom yam
the highway) for
soup. This beautiful bay was briefly a battleground
another 90 km
between Thai and Japanese forces in December
until you reach
1941. Thai troops and flyers resisted heroically but
Words and pictures: John Borthwick
Getting There
Useful Links
built for King
Chulalongkorn,
Rama V, who often visited here
in the late 19th
and early 20th
centuries.
Pra c h uap Khiri Khan
stretches down
the
eastern
side of the Kra
Isthmus,
the
land
bridge
connecting
mainland Asia
with the Malay
Peninsula. Looking inland from the Gulf beach
in whose waters you should be swimming, you
can see the blue hills of the Tenasserim Range, a
1,700 km granite chain older than the Himalayas.
The farthest ridge you see will probably be the
Thai-Myanmar border. Until 1767 the whole isthmus, coast-to-coast from the Gulf to the Andaman
Sea, was Siam’s (as Thailand was then known), but
long conflicts with Burma saw the western flank of
the ranges lost to Rangoon. As one Thai rationalized their loss, “Sometimes you have to lose an arm
to save your body.”
Just south of Prachuap town is the excellent
but unsung Waghor Aquarium with vast displays
of tropical fish. A little further on, and inland, you
come to Dan Singkhon on the Myanmar border,
AND BEYOND...
the militarily and politically more powerful Japanese soon forced a surrender, leading to the de
facto colonisation of Thailand during World War II.
Prachuap’s slogan translates as “City of pure
gold, delectable coconuts and pineapples, delightful beaches, mountain and caves, land of spiritual
beauty.” A long-winded boast, to be sure, but not
a complete porky, although I’ve never found that
street of pure gold.
Meanwhile, the province’s name translates
roughly as “Land of Many Mountains” and it has
plenty of the latter. Sam Roi Yot (“Three Hundred
Peaks”) National Park, north of the capital encompasses some 100 sq km of mangrove shores,
beaches and
limestone
peaks. Migrating birds are
To “walk across Thailand” at
plentiful here
Wang Duan, contact local guide
from NovemKhun Nithima:
ber to [email protected]
ary but I have
my eyes foTo cycle this coast, see
cussed firmly
Grasshopper Adventures:
downwards
grasshopperadventures.com
while hiking
to the spectacular cavern
of Tham Praya Nakorn, the most photographed
cave in Thailand. It’s a relatively easy, half-hour walk
that brings you to a huge, open-sided sinkhole
within which sits what looks like a small, elaborate
Buddhist temple. It is actually a royal sitting room
Pattaya Trader
where there’s an excellent Saturday
market that teems with orchids, traditional medicines, local coffee and Burmese handicrafts. Thais and Burmese
may cross this border, but not foreigners.
A couple of years ago I cycled
down this overlooked coast (and long
may it remain so), an easy, three-day
cruise on empty back roads and mercifully level terrain. At Wang Duan, a
whistle-stop 17 km south of Prachuap
(where the trains don’t whistle and
rarely stop), I saw a sign declaring,
“The Narrowest of Thailand. 10.96 kilometres.” I determined to return one
day and walk this pinch, from the Gulf
shore to the Burma border.
Meanwhile, we pedalled on,
stopping where we liked and overnighting in very good local resorts. At
one point in southern Prachaup province we pulled into a rubber plantation where the farmer showed how
he taps the latex, then squeezes it
through a mangle into sheets. “It’s a
good business ... people always need
latex,” he said, grinning towards his little forest of tomorrow’s car tyres and
condoms.
A year later I came back to Wang
Duan and did what I’d promised to
do. Starting in the Gulf shore-break,
we ambled inland, crossing a coastal
plain of fruit-salad farms, jersey cows,
satellite dishes and spirit houses. As
the roads turned to tracks, the landscape tilted up towards those blue
ridges. Where the track finally ended
we found a bush clearing with several
shrines.
After my Thai friends knelt to pray
in front of an altar with three Buddhas
we looked back across the plain to the
sunlit Gulf sea. In less than half a day
we had walked across Thailand. Prachuap lets you do things like that.
The TRUE ‘Narrowest’ part of Thailand...
So, there’s a narrow
part in the west and
an even narrower
part in the east... no
surprise if up north
or down deep south
there’s a similar sign,
or signs.
Page 46
Vientiane’s ‘Hotel California
I
Words & Pictures by Duncan Stearn became apparent
n 1976 the five-man west coast what I thought was
US band The Eagles had a world- a grammatical error
wide smash hit with a song enti- in the admonition
tled Hotel California. Perhaps the ‘do not…keep quiet’
most famous lines in the song are may well have been
the last: ‘you can check out any time intentional.
you like/ but you can never leave’.
The hotel was
I happen to think the Dao Kham seemingly built withHotel in the Lao capital Vientiane might out thought to the
well lay claim to the title of being that acoustics. If a person
small city’s version of the Hotel Cali- passed wind in the
fornia. Located in the Sit-down-and- rear kitchen it is likely
smoke-a-bong district (well, not quite the eruption would
that name, but not far off), the Dao be heard on the third
Another Brick In The... Window?
Kham is about 2.5 kilometres from the floor. Basically, every
been to Vientiane before or your sense
city centre. In Vientiane terms, that’s al- sound was magnimost out in another country.
fied, from the closing of a door to the of direction was not up to scratch it
I stayed there for just one night as TV in another room; the walls and doors would be possible to feel trapped in
the confines of the Dao Kham. The
part of the package deal I was on with were merely there for decoration.
one of Pattaya’s visa-run companies.
In my experience hotels are gen- three roads leading to the hotel were
The hotel opened in 2011 and is erally where a person comes to sleep, one degree above plain red dirt. A light
a modern-looking edifice of just three but the operators of the Dao Kham wind is enough to raise a dust cloud in
storeys. It has a car park that could appear to think their rooms are merely summer, while in the rainy season the
easily double as a bus station, but, as places someone goes to have a quick roads would become mud. The recepI was to learn to my chagrin later, it shower and watch television while tion at the hotel said apart from not
filled to bursting point at night.
waiting for the downstairs disco and having any proper location maps the
Our visa-run group arrived at attendant karaoke rooms to kick into nearest public transport could only be
around 9:30am and were treated to life. This it does at around 9:00pm eve- had by walking down to the main road.
a reasonable buffet breakfast. Our ry night and keeps going until around In other words, if you want to leave this
rooms looked impressive, at first. A 2:00am. Hence the expansive car park. place and not spend all your time and
comfortable double bed, air-condiThe hotel has three vehicular money here, it’s no simple task.
Having been to Vientiane a few
tioning, wardrobe, mini-bar, two com- entry points, which you would think
plimentary bottles of water, and the augur well for the traveller. Yet, recep- times I had a pretty good idea of the
standard TV with 400 channels, 397 of tion did not have a map of the city. direction of the city centre so made my
which you’d never want to see again. Their business card only showed the escape by traversing one of the dusty
The bathroom was a decent size with way to the nearest main road. The side roads. Heading north, after about
a good shower.
map on the hotel brochure was simi- 40 minutes of walking I was soon in the
In most hotels a set of curtains is lar, although nearby sights such as the centre of Vientiane. Free at last.
usually an indication there might be a Lao Cotton Facwindow through which a semblance tory and Phongof a view can be expected. In my room savanh
Bank
there were indeed a set of curtains; Branch
were
pulled aside and behind them was highlighted. The
a concrete wall. The hotel brochure brochure noted,
had suggested, among other things, ‘we also service
rooms had ‘access to pleasant view you by modern
(sic)’. I’m not sure a painted concrete vans’.
Somewall constitutes a ‘pleasant view.’
thing to keep in
A set of rules and regulations mind I thought if
adorned part of the wall near the TV. ever I felt like beAmong the prohibitions was number ing ‘serviced’.
2: ‘Do not wash clothes, cook, smoke
Basically, if
Road to Nowhere
on bed and keep quiet.’ It quickly you had never
Pattaya Trader
In the Marketplace
D
The Sukhumvit Road Market in North Pattaya
espite its proximity to
the Mini Siam tourist attraction, this is certainly a
local market, not one catering for tourists as witnessed by the lack of ‘Good guy goes
to heaven, bad guys go to Pattaya’ tshirts; in fact there was a distinct lack
of t-shirts of any description.
I visited the market around
6.30pm on a Tuesday. With great difficulty I found a parking space for
my motorbike on the main road, the
frontage of the market almost completely filled with parked bikes.
Taking a quick count of the number of stalls revealed there were in
excess of six hundred vendors, about
one hundred of these being food orientated. These were, in the main, located down one flank of the market
in four rows. The cooked food on offer for immediate consuming ranged
from sausages on a stick to full meals
in polystyrene containers. There were
also areas where a sit down meal
could be taken.
Fresh vegetables and fruit featured
Page 48
heavily in the items on sale, cuts of
fresh meat of all types including whole
pigs heads were available for purchase.
Much of the produce was aimed solely
at the local Thai population.
To keep the children amused whilst
mum and dad did the family shop, a
large inflatable bouncy castle type of
attraction was available as a distraction.
About fifty percent of the other
five hundred stalls featured clothing.
Denim items were well represented,
many offering brand name jeans for just
99 Baht. Whether these were the genuine item or not, one could not say.
There were stalls selling shoes/
trainers, with literally hundreds of different styles and colours for both ladies and men.
Several small table top stalls
were engaged in selling Buddhist
religious items and artefacts. Many
of the older items were being scrutinised at great length by prospective purchasers. These people obviously appeared knowledgeable and
sure of what they were looking for. It
could well be that they were hoping
with Wilson
to find an old item of considerable
value.
A row of stalls had only secondhand items of clothing for sale, the majority of these items being in piles, with
the price per item clearly displayed.
Live animals were also on sale,
from a humble goldfish for the children’s aquarium, through baby rabbits, birds and onto pet dogs, with
all the items of paraphernalia that go
along with pet ownership.
Other types of second-hand
goods were on offer at differing locations throughout the market. Almost
everything you could imagine was
available, I even saw an antique typewriter that many a missive had probably been tapped out on.
Automotive parts, both new and
used were on sale. One stall was selling
only rubber grommets, rubber gear
lever shrouds, universal joint boots
and the like. The range of items was really amazing, and it seemed he had the
rubber product for any make of car.
One person was selling a ‘hybrid’
motorbike, with facility for carrying
goods or passengers at the rear.
Another ‘shop’ was doing a
roaring trade in massage, every
chair filled and not a foreigner in
sight. Ladies were sitting patiently
at other stalls having their nails cut,
polished and painted in all manner of designs, and several outlets
sold beauty products, shampoos,
creams, perfumes, in fact everything for the Thai femme fatale.
For the DIY freak, virtually
every hand or electric tool could
be purchased. Welders, drills, planers, chop saws, all were there.
Spanners, socket sets, and other
automotive related tools were also
waiting to be snapped up by the
amateur mechanic or the professional one.
Fancy a light-up wall plaque of
your favourite English football team?
Well even that was on offer in what is
clearly an always busy market.
W
with Duncan Stearn
The day Siam recognised the Republic of Slovakia... six decades too early
hen a letter written
on parchment-like
paper and bearing a
large cerise seal arrived at the Foreign
Ministry in Bangkok in early 1929, Thai
officials naturally handled the missive
with great care. Once the contents
had been translated, officials noted
that it requested the Royal Siamese
Government formally recognize the
new Republic of Slovakia.
The letter was signed by a Professor Mihalusz, who claimed to be
the new President of the Republic of
Slovakia, with its capital at Trencsen
(modern day Trencin). Naturally, King
Prajadhipok (Rama VII) and his senior
advisers, led by 46-year-old Foreign
Minister Prince Traidos Prabandh (a
former Siamese ambassador to the
United States), deliberated on the request. Clearly Slovakia had successfully seceded from Czechoslovakia,
which had been created just a decade
earlier at the conclusion of the First
World War from the charred remains
of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Since the President of
Czechoslovakia was Professor Masaryk, the Thai ministers
came to the conclusion the Slovakian secessionists had also
chosen a professor as their first
elected leader.
A few weeks later the postmaster in Trencsen received
a letter emblazoned with the
Royal Coat of Arms of Siam and
addressed to His Excellency the
President of Slovakia, Professor
Mihalusz. The postmaster went
post haste to see the mayor. He
opened the letter and read with
mounting concern the contents in which His Majesty King
Prajadhipok declared himself
graciously and inexpressibly
pleased to accord full recognition de facto and de jure to the
Sovereign Republic of Slovakia.
The mayor of Trencsen
quickly drafted a letter to be
sent as quickly as possible to
Bangkok. He explained Slovakia
had not seceded from Czechoslovakia, the capital city
remained as Prague and
not Trencsen, and the President was still Professor
Masaryk and not Professor
Mihalusz.
The mayor went on
to explain that some time
in the early part of 1928 a
group of Slovakians held
a mass meeting led by Professor Mihalusz, an old botanist
of minor renown, at which they
issued a ‘Declaration of Slovak
Independence’. The mayor wrote
that the whole exercise was more
academic than revolutionary and
was easily suppressed by the loForeign Minister
cal police. Professor Mihalusz,
Prince Traidos Prabandh
obviously frightened by the poEmail: [email protected]
King Prajadhipok
lice interest in him, later fled Trencsen
and had not been seen for some time.
He was believed to be hiding out in
Vienna from where he had probably
written the letter that won Slovakia
recognition from Siam.
Slovakia eventually achieved independence from Czechoslovakia, in
1993.
Pattaya Trader
Plucked from the water for a good scraping
O
Words & Pictures by Duncan Stearn
cean Marina, south of Jomtien, is, as the
name might suggest, the kind of place
where people who mess about in boats
congregate. Visitors without nautical
craft and who are, instead, steering a
land-based vehicle are able to gain entry to this area
via the security gate at the main entrance. No questions
seem to be asked as you drive in; you’re simply handed
a pass and off you go.
Since I had never been to the Marina before I decided one Sunday afternoon it would be interesting to
have a look around, especially as my sister and brother-
in-law were visiting from Australia. My brother-in-law owns a
48-foot gin palace back in Oz, so I figured he’d be interested
in the Ocean Marina setup. For myself, the most nautical vessel I have ever owned was a riverine kayak.
While the entire setup is, as you would expect, full of vessels of all shapes and sizes, unless you really are interested in
a closer inspection of these shapes and sizes then after about
five minutes of sticky-beaking it all gets a bit mundane. In
some ways it reminded me of going to a nautical version of a used-car lot.
The highlight was undoubtedly being there at the
time when a small motorised sailing vessel was being
hauled out of the water and transported to the rear
of the marina to have barnacles scraped from its hull.
The process was actually quite simple. A skilled
sailor motored the vessel into a narrow berth where a
crane-like contraption called a Travel-Lift was waiting.
Prior to the vessel reaching the revetment, someone had
pulled a lever and lowered the Travel-Lift’s slings into the
water. The boat merely idled while the lever was engaged
and raised the boat out of the water.
Once above the height of the concrete berth the
Travel-Lift was started up and slowly took the boat down
past the high tower of the Ocean Marina condominium
complex and towards the boatyard. There its encrusted
barnacles would be removed and the boat returned from
whence it came.
Page 50
SHOW US YOUR LOVE!
Stick a Pattaya Trader sticker…
... on your car, your motorbike, your boat, or your better half!
The Pattaya Trader is about to celebrate its 150th monthly
edition. That’s 12 years and counting. We have arguably
grown up during the genuine expansion phase of this very
modern and cosmopolitan city. The magazine has developed from the germ of an idea, and as more of a hobby for
its originator Phil Sagar, into
one of the most popular
printed products in Pattaya.
Now it’s looking to continue to grow with the city
and we figured it was about
time we gave some of our
loyal readers the opportunity to express their ‘love’
for the Trader, and maybe
even win a cash prize in the
process. And what better
month for us to share our
mutual ‘love’ than February…the month of Valentine’s Day!
Please take the Pattaya
Trader sticker and display it
prominently so that if your
car or motorbike, or boat or
better half is spotted adorned
with this distinctive emblem, someone from the magazine
can take a quick photo and if you happen to be one of 10
monthly pics to be published in the magazine then 1,000
baht in a crisp banknote can be yours for the asking.
All you need to do is contact us directly and identify
your number plate, boat, or better half and we will hand
over 1,000 baht for you to spend as your heart desires.
As the sticker says, Pattaya Trader, ‘For the Young at
Heart’…and in this month when much of the talk turns to
matters of the heart that’s
what we want you to think
about when you think of
the Trader: For the Young
at Heart.
What? I hear you say…
are you kidding me?
Of course not: Pattaya
is a city made up of expats
and regular visitors aged
anywhere from the truly
still young: teenagers to
guys, and gals, in their early
thirties, to the middle-aged
and the downright doddery. Yet even the doddery
still think they’ve got what
it takes.
So, yes, the Trader is
meant to appeal to everyone…after all, one of the
comments we hear time and again is ‘there’s something it
for everyone’…and those comments come from across a
wide spectrum of expats and regulars of all ages and income brackets.
HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE
From the March issue onwards we
are aiming to give away 1,000 baht
to up to 10 lucky people whose car
or motorbike registrations will be
photographed if the vehicle concerned is spotted with a Pattaya
Trader sticker attached.
All you will need to do is contact
us directly by email:
[email protected]
and make sure to put ‘For the Young
at Heart Winner’ in the subject line.
Milk Bump... no, we have no real
idea what ‘Milk Bump’ is... we have
a pretty good idea about draft beer
and toast... we’re not really sure
the milk bump, the draft beer, and
the toast should all be consumed
in the same sitting, but hey, maybe
we’re missing something.
Pattaya Trader
Things to do with a
1. The Pattaya Trader Game
A great party game for all ages!... Get to know your guests better... Have Fun...
1
• Take a Pattaya Trader Magazine
(or three or four taped together)
and place on the floor.
• Place a loop of rope, around
twice the size of the Pattaya
Trader, on the floor around the
magazine.
3
2
• The couple must then stand
with both feet on the magazine or each other’s feet
• One team member must bend
down and pick up the rope
and pass it over both bodies at
the same time.
• Once everyone has completed
round one – make the rope circle about 15-20% smaller and
start again!
5
Guest-starring Pattaya
Trader’s own Mark and Pat!
4
• If you fall off the Pattaya Trader
Magazine or touch the ground
you’re OUT! The team that can
get through the smallest loop
of rope wins!
• Make the game more exciting
by setting a time limit!
Send pictures or videos of you and your friends playing the Pattaya Trader Game to
[email protected] or post on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ptyatrdr.
We will be paying 1000 THB to the photo or video with the most likes!
Page 52
From Thailand
Thailand’s 2013 Growth Forecast increased to 4.9%
In a recent report, the Bank of Thailand
increased Thailand’s growth forecast
for 2013 to 4.9% per year, an increase
of 0.3% from previous consensus. The
move was based on buoyant private
consumption, rising exports and increased private investment. In the
same monetary policy report, growth
is forecast to remain relatively steady
at 4.8% during 2014 with revisions
likely to be in place prior to the period.
In the export sector business is
particularly active with growth expected to be nine percent from last
years 3.6 per cent. Mr. Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, Assistant Governor of the
Bank of Thailand (BOT), cited lower
risk from Europe with the Euro crisis
and Greek debt crisis dissipating as
well progress on US Fiscal issues as
being some of the reasons behind the
committee’s upbeat expectations for
Thailand’s growth outlook for 2013.
3G licenses auction completed
During January 2013 the National
Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) completed
its auction of 3G licenses gaining an
average bid of 4.5 billion Thai baht.
This was the same as the minimum
bid set by the NBTC for around 70 percent of the total value of the 3G spectrum according to an estimate put forth
by a committee from the Faculty of Economics at Chulalongkorn University.
The highest bid put forward was
Bt4.95 billion Thai baht. The committee
estimated the auction would fetch Bt6.44
billion per five MHz band, meaning the
final results came in below expectations.
Amongst the conditions were a
requirement to expand 3G coverage by
50 per cent of the country’s total area in
two years and 80 per cent in four years.
Whilst the capital Bangkok is already
well covered, interim areas require additional rollout of the network. Services are required to be launched in major
cities no more than three to six months
after each license is issued, otherwise
measures would be put in place to ensure consumers are protected.
Dawei deep seaport project to
be developed
The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) will join Thailand and Myanmar in developing the Dawei deep
seaport project according to Industry
Minister Pongsvas Svasti.
The port is to be 270km west of
Bangkok, to the west of Kanchanaburi
and Thailand and Myanmar have already signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop this
important economic project. The two
countries agreed to set up a bilateral
committee to work on the project.
The Japan External Trade Organization Bangkok president Setsuo Iuchi
confirmed Japan’s interest in the Dawei deep seaport during a meeting
with the Industry Minister, offering
Japanese private sector investment
for some parts of the project as well as
offering a financial allocation for infrastructure development.
So as to ensure the Thai private
sector benefits from the project, the
National Economic and Social Development Board and the Finance Ministry are working on a solution to enable
related projects to go ahead such as
the construction of roads and industrial estates in the vicinity of the port
and to construct roads from Dawei to
Kanchanburi province to provide good
transport links to the new port.
Krungthai Card Public Company Limited announces net
profit of 132 Million Baht for
the 3rd quarter
The credit card issuer Krungthai Card
Public Company Limited managed
stellar growth of 233% in the quarter
to land a profit of 132 million Baht and
offset all previous losses whilst leaving a healthy receivables amount of
41.6 Billion baht in hand.
The company cited more focused
receivables portfolio quality control
and more efficient debt collection as
being responsible in a large part for
the excellent results. It takes net profit
for the last three quarters to 63 million
baht. Another reason for the recent
success is the collaboration with partners in the lifestyle sector providing
card holders with privileges and other
attractions.
Mr. Rathian Srimongkol, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Krungthai Card Public Company Limited, said, “We continue to see an overall industry growth of 10 percent for
credit card loans over the first eight
months of this year, compared to the
same period of the previous year.
Non-bank institutions are growing at
12 percent over commercial banks at
8 percent. Personal loan business, on
the other hand, is growing at 15 percent with commercial banks surpassing non-bank institutions at 31 percent and 9 percent respectively. One
of the factors contributing to these is
the government policy where domestic spending is encouraged. Consumer loan industry is growing constantly
as a result.”
New promotions are expected to
increase the card use of existing cardholders whilst at the same time attract
new customers to increase market share.
Pattaya Trader
Guy Randise is...
Buying a condo in Pattaya
Teamwork and DIY skills help ensure winning outcome
B
uying a condo in Pattaya
has become a local sport,
played by a growing number of competitors on an
ever-widening
playing
field. With mounting competition
from seasoned condo owners and
profit-hungry speculators, new players may fear they are getting into the
game too late. Rest easy, there’s more
than enough supply to meet demand.
At least for now.
Granted, hard-line investors are
scurrying to win the sweetest deals
on the choicest properties in play. But
from Naklua to Jomtien and beyond,
both east and west of Sukhumvit, new
construction is booming and existing
units (resale condos) are plentiful.
For buyers new to this market,
help is readily available from hundreds of real estate agents only too
willing to lay out the ground rules
and guide you toward victory in
your bid to purchase the condo of
your dreams. And being a DIY guy
or gal will help ensure those dreams
don’t turn into nightmares. But before strapping on your tool belt or
contacting a broker or even looking
Page 54
at perspective properties, you must
make several crucial decisions.
closing costs, insurance, etc.
Once you are clear about your
financial picture, create a mental picDecisions, Decisions
ture of your condo. Local selections
First of all, deterrange from a onemine how much
room efficiency to
Some Buying Don’ts...
money you can or - Don’t buy a condo simply be- a 5-bedroom pentwant to invest and casue a real estate agent, your girl- house with a panohow much condo friend, or anyone else tells you to.
ramic sea view to a
you want to buy.
600-square-meter,
The choice is pretty - Don’t accept the seller’s oral state- two-storey, freemuch yours--with ments; get everything spelled out standing
house
asking prices start- on paper, in English.
with private pool.
ing at under a milYou’re
limited
lion baht for a stu- - Don’t buy if home-owner associa- only by your imdio. As a foreigner, tion fees are high.
agination and your
you probably will
budget.
not qualify for a - Don’t buy in buildings occupied
Now consider
mortgage or any mainly by Thais.
if you want a new
type of long-term
construction conloan. In addition to - Don’t buy near land fills, water do or a previouslythe purchase price treatment plants, or in an area owned unit. There
in cash, keep ample
are pros and cons
prone to flooding.
sums in reserve to
to both. New concover later expensdos, for example,
es such as decorating, furniture, appli- offer warranty plans, choice of colors
ances, etc. Many such amenities cus- and finishes, and pristine look, smell,
tomarily are included, but not always. and feel. On the other hand, the sellKeep in mind also such future or po- ing price usually is fixed, you may have
tential expenses as repairs, upgrades, to wait a year or two before moving in,
there might be construction delays of
6 to 8 months or more, and there’s the
slim--yet real--risk of an unsavory developer absconding with your upfront
money (it happens).
A resale condo allows you to
see exactly what you are getting, to
move in within a month or two, and
to negotiate price and terms with the
home owner. On the downside, there
is no warranty, you may be stuck with
someone else’s problems, and the unit
may require renovations, alterations,
repairs, etc. (which is where your DIY
skills come in handy).
Now that you know what you can
afford and what you want, it’s time to
consider location. What part of town
do you like? What geographic features attract you? What area do you
find most convenient? Do you desire
a view, tranquility, proximity to nightlife? Also take into account your need
to be near schools, shopping, public
transportation, health care facilities.
newspapers and magazines,
exploring Web sites, talking
to everyone you know, and
cruising those neighborhoods you particularly like.
Don’t rely on your agent to do
all the groundwork for you.
Investigate as many places
as possible to provide the
best chance of finding your
perfect home, and to ensure
you don’t miss out on an opportunity your agent might
overlook.
Once you are serious
about a particular unit, put
your DIY skills to work. Check
out the construction, electrical wiring, plumbing, flooring,
etc. If your skill set is lacking
in any area, enlist the help of a
professional. A contractor can
help ensure that quality building products have been used
and construction is sound.
leash your estate agent to do your
Your team’s plumber can look
You Need Help
for leaks and test water pressure in bidding.
You may late to the game, but
At this juncture, it would be wise to the toilet, shower, kitchen. Rely on a
start assembling a team of profession- qualified electrician to evaluate the with your DIY skills and a team of qualals. Begin by connecting with a quali- quality of appliances and their war- ified professionals, you will emerge a
fied real estate agent. The right agent ranties, and to test air conditioners, winner.
can make the buying process more ef- water heaters, lighting
ficient and actually enjoyable.
fixtures and anything
Using referrals from trusted else that should operfriends and associates, interview sev- ate. Scrutinize every
eral agents. Look for someone who un- nook and cranny for
derstands your needs and shows you mold, rust, rot, odors.
only those properties that meet your Examine doors and
specifications. Ideally, someone with windows for ease of
a track record and familiarity with this opening and closing
market. Remember, this person will and for any gaps. And
be helping you find your ideal condo, get a detailed list of
advising you on the purchase, and ne- every item that will
gotiating the deal. You need someone be
included—and
with experience. Even if buying a new excluded--in the purCats 4 You: Feline of the Month
condo you should take your agent chase.
when viewing the property; the price
If needed repairs
Name: ”Pebbles”
may be firm, but your agent might be are too challenging— able to negotiate valuable upgrades. or if you and your team
Age: 1 year old
He or she can also guide you through detect too many prob- Neutered: Yes
the agreement of purchase and sale lems or substandard
and suggest modifications that would quality—either walk Colour: Tortoiseshell
be to your benefit.
away or negotiate a
While your agent is searching lower purchase price
Details: Very loving and friendly
the market for the perfect condo for reflecting the cost of See more at http://cats4youinpattaya.webs.
you, you can expedite the process by repairs, replacement
com/ or contact Paul or Sandra on 0852875004
scouring classified and display ads in or upgrades. Or unEmail: [email protected]
Pattaya Trader
By Brian S.
H
aving never read Stieg
Larsson’s multi-million
selling whodunit by the
same name, I had absolutely no idea of what I
was getting into when I saw the film
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In a
nutshell, an investigative journalist is
hired to pry into the cupboards of a
powerful Swedish business tycoon’s
empire in an attempt to find out what
happened to his beloved teenaged
grand-niece who mysteriously disappeared some forty years before.
Throw in an ex-Nazi, a creepy nephew,
a decidedly anti-social computer expert/investigator, an ultra-sleazy state
bureaucrat, the possibility of a serial
killer; then dump in a healthy dose
of mystery, consensual and non-consensual sex, retribution, and a dash of
graphic violence; shake all these plot
elements up and set it against the
dreary winter backdrop of Stockholm
and a suitably frozen and secluded
Scandinavian island, and you have the
makings of an intelligent thriller that
is compelling and shocking.
Directed by David Fincher, written by Steven Zaillian, based on the
novel by Stieg Larsson, and starring
Page 56
Daniel Craig (Mikhail Bloomqvist),
To get out from under a libel case
Christopher Plummer (Henrik Vanger), that had gone bad, the investigative
Stellan Skarsgard (Martin Vangard), journalist Mikhail Bloomqvist (Daniel
Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander), the Craig) accepts the job of unraveling
film runs some 152 minutes.
the decades old mystery. After interThe film begins as the elderly in- viewing a retired police detective, the
dustrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher entire dysfunctional Vanger family,
Plummer) engages a
whose family tree includes
bi-sexual, disrespectNazis, rapists, alcoholThe Girl with the
ful, and very compliDragon Tattoo ics, and murderers, and
cated anti-social misfit
2011 reviewing what little evito perform a thorough
158 minutes dence remains, Mikhail
background check on
comes to the conclusion
a recently disgraced
Director: the missing family memjournalist, whom the
David Fincher ber may be the victim of
tycoon has selected
Producers: a serial killer who has run
to look into the disScott Rudin rampant for decades.
appearance and preLacking
sufficient
Ole Søndberg
sumed murder of his
physical
proof
to link
Søren Stærmose
grand-niece. It’s not
Ceán Chaffin a number of unsolved
long before we learn
Screenwriter: murders to the industrialthat Lisbeth Salander
Steven Zaillian ist’s grand-niece, Mikhail,
(Rooney Mara), the girl
Box Office: upon discovering Liswith the dragon tat$232,617,430 beth’s prowess at gaining
too, is a troubled loner,
access to restricted inforwho just happens to be
mation, has an epiphany.
brilliant when it comes to low-level The result of which is that he is conespionage, and is a ward of the state, vinced an assistant with her particular
due to her history of violently lashing skill set will be instrumental in getting
out against society and any authority to the bottom of the missing girl’s
figure.
whereabouts. So Mikhail sets about
recruiting the fiercely independent
computer genius. Unfortunately for
him, Lisbeth doesn’t play well with
others, and is decidedly distrustful of
men. Not to mention the fact she is a
bit preoccupied with keeping her abusive government ordered guardian as
far away from her as possible. Wary
of having a man in her life, Lisbeth is
reluctant to participate in Mikhail’s
case. That is, until she learns that the
investigation in question is not just
another probe into the affairs of a corrupt bureaucrat. As soon as she learns
their combined efforts may lead to
the capture a killer of women, Lisbeth
signs on, and carries out her task with
ruthless efficiency.
The pierced and tattooed heroLisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) and Mikhail Bloomqvist (Daniel Craig)
ine and rumpled, but unflappable
journalist make an unlikely, but nev- what actually happened to the indus- more than a hundred million dollars
ertheless, effective duo of crime solv- trialist’s grand-niece.
word wide. Overall, I found the comers. The pair seem to feed off of each
Lisbeth, the dragon tattooed and plex story line of this noir thriller to be
other’s strengths, and together they pierced, goth heroine, portrayed by spellbinding, despite the fact it was
ferret out, and tie together a string of actress Rooney Mara, all but steals the painfully obvious (at least to me) who
brutal murders that date back to the show. And Daniel Craig, as the mild the real villain actually was.
end of World War II.
mannered
As the case develops Lisbeth, journalist,
is
seemingly devoid of all emotions, unwittingly relslowly begins to thaw and regain a egated to the
modicum of her abandoned human- role of her sideity. Mikhail and Lisbeth work well to- kick.
During
gether, and Lisbeth grudgingly learns the course of
to respect the journalist’s compe- the movie, Listence. However, as events unfold she beth convincdevelops deeper feelings for the fair ingly appears
minded journalist who has treated her to be weak and
with respect and kindness.
vulnerable, inAlthough the two sleuth’s have telligent and
yet to prove it, the clues they un- c o m p e t e n t ,
earthed seem to link the long forgot- complex and
ten murders to the missing grand- sexy, cold and
niece, and the corporation owned by calculating, and
Henrik Wagner appears to be the key brutally vicious.
that will unlock the mystery. As the
The most
pair work out the details, we the au- recent version
dience are introduced to a number of of The Girl with
possible suspects. We witness a sicken- the Dragon Tating abuse of power, and find ourselves too is an Americheering as the shockingly violent, can remake of
punitive punishment is meted out. We the 2009 Swedare told about a series of grisly slay- ish release of
ings tied together by Biblical quotes. the same name
We marvel at the ease in which mil- that was dilions of dollars are embezzled. We get rected by Niels
a glimpse into the mind of a twisted Arden Oplev,
psychopath, and ultimately find out and
banked
EXPAT LIVING
Pattaya Trader
Taking Your Dog Out of Thailand
I
f you have successfully imported
your family dog into Thailand, or
have adopted a Thai dog during
your stay in the Land of Smiles,
and find you must return to your
country of origin there is absolutely
no reason why you cannot bring your
dog home when the time comes for
you to exit the country.
Since this will likely involve international air travel, it is important
you begin your preparations early.
To begin with, the Thai government
requires you obtain an International
Health Certificate, as well as an Animal Export License. Because the rules
and regulations that deal with international animal travel can change at
a moment’s notice, it is vital you contact the appropriate authorities in the
country of your pet’s ultimate destination to ensure the existing rules have
not changed. Remember, if you lack
just one document, or for example,
if your pet’s travel crate is too large,
“Many European
nations now
require all
dogs to be
microchipped
for
identification
purposes”
Page 58
your pet will not be allowed to board
the plane. When inquiring, be sure to
ask about vaccination requirements,
a rabies blood test, whether or not
if it is mandatory to have the animal
microchipped, and if your pet will be
quarantined, or if there is a waiting
period before you will be allowed to
take your pet home.
Since many European nations
now require all dogs to be microchipped for identification purposes,
you may need to locate a suitable Thai
animal hospital capable of injecting a
microchip. Make sure the microchip
contains all the data needed by your
country. Make sure the animal hospital doing the microchipping, provides
you with a correctly filled out microchip card or certificate.
You may also learn that your pet
needs to receive up to date booster
vaccinations for some or all of the
common canine diseases. It is imperative you obtain proof the inoculations were made by a
registered veterinarian
recognized in the country of import. This proof
is usually in the form of
a vaccination booklet or
certificate. If these documents do not have all of
the appropriate signatures and stamps they
will not be accepted by
the authorities.
Certain nations require confirmation that
your pet is free of rabies
and other communicable
diseases via a blood test.
The blood test needs to
be made at a laboratory
approved by the country
of import. Some nations
will not accept a blood
test made by a foreign
lab, and stipulate the
by Brian S.
bloodwork must be processed in a lab
located in their own country.
A properly filled out Pet Import
Form, which can be obtained from the
country of import’s consulate or embassy, is also a must.
In order to take your pet out of
Thailand, you must first apply for export permission from the Thai Department of Livestock Development. At
the time you obtain the export document, you will need to have in your
possession your passport, all of the international animal import and export
documents, as well as the necessary
health, microchipping, vaccination,
rabies, and veterinarian certificates,
if applicable. All of these documents
will need to be certified, stamped and
signed by a clerk from the Livestock
Department in order for your pet to
leave the country.
Most of the time a dog will travel
as excess baggage, but under certain
circumstances a dog may have to travel as cargo. This will dictate how your
pet should be packed. When you book
a flight for your dog find out about the
airline’s specific requirements concerning pet travel crates.
Don’t forget to consult with each
airline and airport your pet will be
travelling through. This will ensure
your pet will not be delayed for any
reason. This is very important because
the rules that apply to international
animal travel can and do vary from
one airline and airport to another.
What’s acceptable at one airport may
not be acceptable at another.
The key to successful international travel with your pet is to start early
and to contact all of the authorities
connected to your pet’s journey. To
avoid any unpleasant surprises always
be prepared, check, double check and
confirm every detail well in advance
of your scheduled date of travel.
VINCENT
BLACK SHADOW
A Spirited Stallion
Information compiled by Ben Reeves, with
special thanks to Dave Orme and John Holmes
he Vincent Black Shadow
Equally, the controls of the Black rider George Brown at the controls,
was, in recent years, fea- Shadow are rumoured to have been taking records for hill climbing aboard
tured in one of the chal- inspired by Royal Air Force aircraft fly- Gunga Din and sprinting on Nero and
lenges of the BBC’s flag- ing over the Stevenage factory. The the supercharged Super Nero.
The standard Black Shadow
ship motoring programme, designers created a bike which could
Top Gear. In a race against a car and a be easily operated by a wounded was guaranteed to do a minimum of
train from the same era, it came an ig- man. Such men may have had a slight 125mph, as displayed on the iconinominious last, not even reaching the shock in their journey, then, because cally oversized speedometer. Indeed,
finish line. It should have won.
the Black Shadow was known to oc- there were incidences of riders purIn the Top Gear race, the Black casionally throw its rider for no obvi- chasing a Black Shadow, testing it to
Shadow was beset by reliability prob- ous reason. It would not happen es- see if it would achieve the required
lems. However, when Vincent’s Series pecially often but, to this day, no one speed and, if they found it could not,
C motorcycles - the racer “Black Light- exactly knows why this widely docu- contacting Vincent HRD. The comning” and the road-legal version “Black mented phenomenon occurred. Also, pany would ask them to come to the
Shadow” - entered production and be- the advance/retard lever was known factory, put them up in a hotel for a
came commercially available in 1948, for breaking more than a few ankles if few days, diagnose and rectify the
problem and send the rider on their
it had amongst the most easily main- it was not correctly controlled.
way - at speeds in excess of
tained engines available.
Rollie Free in the riding position which would come to be 125mph.
Due to the poor qualnamed after him
With such a reliable,
ity of oils and fuels, 1950seasily maintained and
era maintenance generpowerful engine available
ally required the engine to
(for the sum of 50 pounds,
be disassembled in order
at the time, though they
to grind down the intake
are now commonly valued
and exhaust valves, which
at over £40,000), café racers
would build up a coating of
often put the Black Shadresidue. The Black Shadow’s
ow’s beating heart into
engine could be removed
the ever-popular Norton
from the frame and taken
Featherbed frame, creating
apart by a skilled mechanic
a “Norvin”, though this did
in less than half an hour,
require some modification
with barely half a dozen
to the gearbox. The enbolts holding the 998cc
gine was extremely highly
engine in the frame. The
regarded and was very
engine itself was actually
rarely significantly altered,
a structural component of the frame
The most famous image of the
though some riders later replaced the
and the frame itself even provided Black Shadow (indeed, one of the most
Miller 6V 45W dynamo with an altersome of the storage capacity for im- famous in motorcycling history) is of
nator from a Citroën 2CV to improve
portant fluids and lubricants, with the American racing legend Rollie Free,
the electronics.
forward sections of it storing the oil.
stretched out over a stripped down
Unfortunately, the Black Shadow
The engine is believed to have bike; himself stripped down to a bathcame about at a time when cheap cars
been devised entirely by accident. ing suit and crash helmet. This was durwere starting to enter the market. BeSupposedly, two schematic diagrams ing his successful attempt to break the
ing twice the price of a BSA Gold Star,
of the 500cc Meteor engine designed land speed record on Bonneville Salt
the Black Shadow was not particularly
by Phil Irving were coincidentally over- Flats on 13 September 1948, achieving
common. It proved to be the pinnacle
laid in roughly the configuration of a a top speed of 150.313mph.
of Vincent HRD’s success, before they
V-twin. This became the OHV engine
The Black Shadow also had an exeventually went bankrupt in 1959.
which powered the Black Shadow.
cellent racing career with Vincent test
T
Pattaya Trader
This article is for informational purposes only; it does not replace professional medical advice.
MEDICAL MISCONCEPTIONS:
Let’s get some things straight
T
he need to clarify medical misconceptions goes
beyond explaining that varicose veins are not
blood vessels situated too near to each another, that nitrate has nothing to do with the daily
room charge, that barium isn’t what is done
when CPR fails, and that dilate doesn’t mean having lived
a long life.
Nuts cause diverticulitis: That condition, in which pouches in the colon wall become inflamed and infected, had
long been thought to have been caused and aggravated
by nuts, corn, popcorn, and food with small seeds, like
strawberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers. But there is no
evidence of this, according to the Mayo Clinic. In fact, recent studies suggest quite the opposite: people who eat a
high-fiber diet actually have a lower risk of the disease.
On the other hand, Dr. Michael F. Picco, a Mayo
gastroenterologist, suggests that those with
diverticulitis should avoid nuts and stuff if
they believe such foods are triggering attacks. “Just make sure you get enough fiber
from other dietary sources,” the MD advises.
More
importantly,
and
certainly
more seriously, while
health writers have an obligation
to
keep readers abreast of medical
advances and research discoveries that
m a y
benefit their lives, we also have a duty
to correct
misunderstandings that are so common in this digital
age--an era wherein rumors, innuendos, misinterpretations, and outright lies can infect the minds of millions
around the world in a matter of hours.
Here, then, are some of the most widespread health
fallacies that need to be remedied:
Spicy food causes ulcers: If that were true, ulcers would
be endemic in Thailand; they are not. Spicy foods may aggravate existing ulcers in some people, but they do not
cause ulcers. Most stomach ulcers are caused either by a
bacterial infection or by use of pain medications such as
aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen.
Farting is mainly caused by eating beans: Far from it. Milk,
cheese and other dairy products are much more likely to cause
flatulence. Why? As we age we are less able to absorb lactose,
resulting in more toots after eating dairy products. It’s just a natural part of getting older. If the noise or the odor pose a problem, opt for lactose-free products or take the over-the-counter
enzyme lactase before you eat ice cream, drink milk, etc.
Page 60
Constipation comes with aging: Yes and
no. That is to say, it isn’t a person’s aging
body that results in constipation. Rather,
it’s because older people generally have
medical conditions that require them to
take more and more medications, and these
medications often cause constipation. The
old folk also are less likely to be active, may
have poor eating habits, and may not drink
enough water. All of which contribute to
constipation.
If you have diarrhea, avoid fiber: Makes
sense, but it’s wrong. Fiber helps both to
avoid constipation and to control constipation. Fiber-rich foods help regulate the stools
so that they are not too hard, not too loose,
but just right. Fiber in the body works by either pulling more water from the colon to loosen stools
(for constipation) or by absorbing water into the colon to
firm up stools (for diarrhea).
Colonoscopies are frightful: The universally-abhorred
experience--which might help you understand how a
Muppet feels--is not nearly as frightful as sissies make it
out to be. Yes, it does involve the insertion of an unusually
long device into an orifice where (in most cases) no man
has ever gone before. But the procedure intended to diagnose and treat problems
in the colon and rectum usually lasts
less than an hour, during which time
the patient is anesthetized or sedated.
However, the colonoscopy preparation
might make people squirm, since the
colon must be emptied with the help
of a liquid diet and a potent, usually distasteful, laxative drink the day before the
procedure.
Hernias are caused by heavy lifting:
Men (more so than women) have been
warned to avoid lifting heavy objects
lest they get a hernia. Fact is, while
heavy lifting and other strenuous activities can aggravate a hernia, they
don’t actually cause them. Most hernias are suffered by men, and most
are the result of a preexisting weakness in a muscle; many hernias are
present at birth. Other factors,
including advancing age, injury,
and surgical incisions can weaken
muscles too.
Sit up to relieve heartburn: The misconception
is that heartburn sufferEmail: [email protected]
ers should not sleep lying down but must sit up and sleep.
There’s no medical justification for that claim. Or for the
suggestion that sleeping in a sitting position will preclude
symptoms of heartburn the next morning. It might help to
use pillows to raise your head and chest a few inches, but
no need to get any higher.
Light up to alleviate heartburn: Not quite. For addicted
smokers, lighting a cigarette can be relaxing, but it may cause
and aggravate heartburn. Nicotine can relax a muscle between the esophagus and the stomach, allowing the acidic
contents of the stomach to splash back (reflux) into the esophagus. This increased acid reflux is the basis of heartburn.
You know when you get cancer: Many cancers
are symptom free or develop slowly and subtly. Colon cancer, for example, often has no
symptoms whatsoever until its later stages,
which makes early detection so important.
After age 50, routine colorectal screening
should include fecal occult blood tests
annually, a flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years, and a colonoscopy every
10 years (it’s really not that frightful).
Periodic screenings for all types of
cancer is vital.
Stress and diet cause IBD: While
stress and diet can aggravate many
chronic conditions, the cause of
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
remains unknown. IBD is a term
that refers to both Crohn’s disease
and ulcerative colitis, conditions in
which there is inflammation in the
lining of the small and/or large intestines. Genetics appear to play
some role, as do changes in the
body’s immune system, possibly from bacteria or a virus.
Pattaya Trader
Eradicating Cockroaches from Your Home
O
kay, now you’ve made
your domicile into an
impregnable fortress
capable of withstanding the siege of even
the most formidable of cockroach armies, it’s time to turn your attention
towards the vermin still tucked up
safely inside their hidden redoubts.
Obviously, before you can exterminate the roaches, you need to figure
out where the bugs have set up camp.
If you’ve noticed them in a certain
area, such as the kitchen, that’s a
pretty good clue they’re hidden
away in there.
For a more precise indicator of where the roaches
may be, put out strips of
roach traps that are coated
with a sticky glue to stop
them in their tracks. You
can also buy double sided carpet tape, which will
do pretty much the same
thing. The heavier trafficked
strips will likely be closest to
the roaches nest. You should
probably use the sticky traps
throughout your roach eradicating
mission to check on your progress
and to determine if they’ve moved to
another location.
Roach baits and boric acid are
your next line of defense. You can purchase boric acid as a powder and put
it into a ketchup-style squeeze bottle
Page 62
and lightly dust it into any cracks you
can’t seal with caulk. You can also pour
a fine line of dust along the interior and
exterior perimeter of the kitchen and
bath cabinetry, large appliances, large
furniture pieces, and along all of your
baseboards. If you leave the boric
acid in place permanently, it will
act as a deterrent to future infestation. You
can
also remove
electrical
outlet covers and dust inside the walls,
where the roach nests are more likely
to be located. In extreme cases you can
even drill holes in the walls if there are
no outlets handy,
then squirt in some
boric acid and
patch and repaint
the hole.
One
neat
trick is to mix one
part
powdered
(not granular) boric acid, and one
part white flour,
and one part white
sugar with water
to form a paste
(the sugar acts as
bait and the flour
makes it sticky).
Information compiled by Brian S.
Then you apply the paste like a grout
on cracks and problem areas. Make
sure you don’t use the boric acid or the
paste concoction near food preparation areas or around pet dishes. Also
make sure you store it out of reach of
children and pets because due to the
flour and sugar both children and pets
might want to eat this mixture. Boric
acid is not highly toxic but it is meant
for external use only.
You can also use
baited roach traps in
places where you don’t want
to lay out the powder or
paste, and in other tricky
spaces. Roach bait can also
be purchased in gel form
and applied as needed.
Anything with the name
“Roach Bait” contains
a slow-working poison
mixed in with some tasty
roach food. The roaches
eat the poison and if it’s
not part of a trap, they haul
it back to the nest and share
it with all the roaches. Place
the bait in areas you know the
cockroaches will visit frequently.
If you’re lazy, there’s always insecticide sprays. Make sure you use an insecticide that is labeled for cockroaches, and spray wherever you think they
may be hiding, or sneaking into your
house. Keep pets out of the way when
you are spraying, and follow all the
safety instructions on the label.
If you feel that the insect spray
from the supermarket isn’t strong
enough, look for a professional product online. Professional baits, glue
traps with pheromones, and sprays are
usually much stronger and far more
effective than those you get from the
supermarket or home center.
As a last resort, call in a professional. If nothing seems to work call
a pest-control expert. Exterminators
are licensed to use much stronger
chemicals.
An alternative to a chemical pesticide is believe it or not, plain old
soap and water! Just make a light soIssue 148 - February 2013
Part II: The Eradication Process
lution of soap (dish soap is fine) and
water, then splash it, spray it, or throw
it directly onto the roach. As
little as two or three drops can
kill, but you need to ensure the
solution makes contact with
the roach’s head and lower abdomen. It’s effective because
the roach breathes through its
skin. The soapy water forms a
thin film blocking the breathing
pores and eventually causes the
roach to suffocate.
For an ‘instant kill’ a spray of
alcohol, either rubbing alcohol in
a spray bottle or some sort of aftershave in a spray (as long as it
contains alcohol) works very well.
Hairspray will also work.
Catnip has proven to be effective as a roach repellent. Researchers have confirmed that
placing catnip around the house
definitely keep cockroaches
away. The American Chemical Society reported that cockroaches are repelled by catnip, or more
specifically, by two forms of the chemi-
cal called nepetalactone, found in the
catnip plant.
Vinegar is another effective roach
repellent, it won’t kill the roaches, but
they seem to be put off by the smell.
Unfortunately, you may also find the
smell objectionable! Just wipe
own your kitchen counters, etc.
with plain white vinegar daily,
or leave a bowl of vinegar near
any problem areas. Mixing the
vinegar with boric acid has also
proven to be effective.
If you see just one cockroach
in your home, you could already
have a problem, and if you don’t
take action immediately, you may
find yourself in the middle of a
major infestation. However, by
repairing outside walls, sealing
cracks, getting rid of clutter, and
doing some thorough cleaning
(that probably needed to be done
anyway); you’ll be well on your
way to eradicating cockroaches.
Especially when combined with
roach traps, sticky tape boric acid
and pesticides. Just remember
that doing one thing alone will
not kick the roaches to the curb.
You need a multi-tiered battle plan to
achieve total victory.
Pattaya Trader
UK to simplify child and parent immigration rules
I
UK Government claims to be winning the battle to lower immigration figures
t was widely reported in the UK
press that the number of people
who come to live in the UK for
the long-term and the number
who are leaving fell from 242,000
to 183,000 in the year leading up to
March of 2012.
The fall was attributed to a drop
in the number of foreign nationals
studying in the UK. Although the current Coalition Government set a target to reduce the annual net migration figure whilst still in opposition,
this is the first fall since 2008 – 2009.
Over that period, inward migration to the UK fell by 42,000 to
536,000. Non-EU nationals settling in
the UK went from 317,000 to 296,000.
The immigration minister Mark
Harper commented that their policies
were finally taking effect and this was
in line with their policy of bringing net
migration down from the hundreds of
thousands to the tens of thousands.
On a different subject, here’s a
quote from the House of Lords (Hansard): “I agree with my noble friend that
no area is more complex than the whole
business of the Immigration Rules and
the procedures surrounding them.”
The quote was made during a
debate to amend the change to the
Immigration Rules that will end the
right of appeal against family visit visa
refusals. Sadly, the amendment wasn’t
passed, and the right of appeal will
soon be scrapped.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach said
(amongst other things): “Clause 26
removes the right of appeal against
the refusal of a visa to visit family
members, except where the appeal is
brought on racial discrimination or human rights grounds. I had hoped that
in the five months since we considered this matter in Committee, and in
the light of the arguments that we advanced then, the Government would
Page 64
have had second thoughts about this
clause. It is disappointing to see no
sign of that on the Order Paper.
“I shall explain why we felt the
need to return to this matter. The
Government’s hostility to the right to
family life is exemplified by the making of new Immigration Rules making
it far more difficult and expensive for
spouses and elderly dependent relatives to join heads of households in
the UK, reducing the number by an
expected 35%, over which the Immigration Minister is already crowing.
Clause 26 turns the screw further by
preventing appeals that would have
been successful under the law as it
now stands. I pointed out in Committee that if the argument for Clause
26 was that the number of appeals
had risen to far greater
levels than were expected when the right
of appeal was restored
in 2000, as was argued
before the Home Affairs Select Committee,
the obvious remedy
was to get UKBA’s decisions right in the first
place. Almost one-third
of them are overturned,
according to my noble
kinsman Lord Henley in
Committee, involving
the taxpayer in a great
deal of unnecessary expense. My noble kinsman said that taking
away the right of appeal
would lift the burden of
processing 50,000 appeals from visa staff, but
that was based on the
assumption that officials would continue to
reject bona fide applications at the same rate
as they have in the past. We are told
constantly that UKBA is undergoing
processes of reform, which will enable
them to be more accurate in the first
decisions that they make.
“After the case of Alvi, which your
Lordships have discussed, the information required to be submitted with
the visa application is now set out in
detail in the rules themselves, so that
in theory, there should be fewer cases
where an applicant has omitted a particular document. However, considering the volume and complexity of the
rules... it is inevitable that some applications will be refused for that reason.
The Government suggest that persons
who have omitted a document should
put in a new application rectifying the
omission at a cost of £78.”
Part 10
Expert advice on ways to fend off criminals and avoid danger in the first place
Last issue we highlighted the first part
of zoning and arming details, this is
part two to complete this section.
User codes and Authority levels
Most control panels provide multiple
user codes. This allows the user to assign each operator of the system their
own code, making it easy to remember. The authority levels allow you to
control what features/functions each
user can perform. You may want your
code to control every feature but the
codes you give to your employees
may only arm/disarm the system. This
is also useful if one would like to receive a “user closing and opening report”. In case one wants to monitor if
a certain person is really coming and
going in time or as appointed. Nowadays remote key fobs are more and
more common, either as addition to
hard-wired systems or as standard
equipment to wireless alarm systems.
Multiple areas
It may be desirable to divide your security system into several areas. A multiple area system allows one control to
be segregated into a number of areas
that can be armed / disarmed individually. This allows you to keep the system
active for one area while the rest of the
security system is off. If your control
has authority levels you can also assign
the areas to the individual codes.
Zone bypassing and forced arming
Sometimes you may want to disconnect or bypass some of your protection. If you are having a window replaced, you may have to bypass the
protection on that zone until your
security company can reinstall the
sensor or device. Force arming is the
arming of a system with one or more
zones still open or in trouble. It is similar to bypassing with one exception. If
the troubled zone returns to normal
after the system is force armed it can
become active. This is helpful if the
zone was a motion detector that was
not reset when you were arming the
system but does reset a minute later. A major function of by-passing,
called home / away switching, it is imperative to always utilize your alarm,
not only switching it on when leaving,
but have the perimeter, such as windows and doors switched on and the
interior motion detector switched off
in order to freely move in your premises
and still no-one can break in through
the back door. For that reason, systems
designed with only motion sensors in
every room are in fact useless.
Communication techniques
If your system is monitored it must
be connected to a central monitoring station by some means of communication. The most common used
today is called digital communication,
using your existing telephone line.
When the control needs to send a signal it “seizes” the line, disconnecting
your telephones, and calls the central
monitoring station. These systems
do not require any special telephone
lines but have the disadvantage that if
your telephone line is out the control
cannot communicate. Also, lately, telephone companies in Thailand offer
internet services which use the existing “land line”. In order to do so they
install certain filters which make it impossible for the “monitoring protocol”
to send the alarm signals. The only
solution left is to install a wireless GPS
communicator at extra cost; it operates with a standard SIM card. Certain
wireless alarm panels have this GPS
option build in.
Your control can be programmed
to send a simple test message to the
monitoring office every 24 hours to
check the integrity of the line. If this
signal is not received the monitoring
office knows something is wrong. It
may not detect a burglar cutting the
line but it is better than nothing.
Cellular or SIM line units use the
wireless cellular network to provide a
path for your control panel to call the
monitoring office. As the communicator will call two numbers you could
consider using one land line and one
SIM line connection, this way you ensure 24 hr uninterrupted connection.
Monitoring companies use special phone lines, computers and
trained staff to watch over a home security system and call the appropriate
authorities if the alarm goes off. There
is a yearly fee for the service. Because
quality and experience can vary greatly among monitoring companies, do
some homework before choosing one.
This information is provided by:
Master Safety Enterprises Ltd. 1988
The oldest and foremost security installers company in the Eastern Seaboard.
Address: 124/55 M10, South Pattaya
Road (next to Shell Station), Nongprue
Banglamung 20150, Chonburi Thailand.
Tel 038 489102-3 Direct 038 426423.
Web www.thaisecurity.com -- e-mail
[email protected]
Pattaya Trader
T
The Tax Man Cometh
his article explains the UK
Government’s approach to
raising revenues by tackling tax avoidance and tax
evasion.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer
announced in his Autumn Statement
(2012) that the Government will be
investing a further £77 million which
would allow UK HM Revenue and
Customs (HMRC) to expand their antiavoidance and evasion activity. The
focus will predominantly be on offshore tax evasion and tax avoidance by
wealthy individuals and multi-national
companies. The investment will fund:
• A centre of excellence within HMRC
to bring together and enhance its expertise in tackling offshore tax evasion. This is aimed at building HMRC’s offshore capability by making
better use of HMRC data to identify
tax evaders and developing a more
pro-active approach to international
engagement in this area.
• A number of specialist personal tax
inspectors to tackle offshore evasion and avoidance of inheritance
tax using offshore trusts, bank accounts and other entities. A particular focus will be on the agents and
tax intermediaries involved.
• The expansion of HMRC’s affluent
unit. Particular focus of the affluent unit is upon wealthy individuals
who own property and land abroad
and where information on their tax
returns suggests they would not be
able to afford this.
Enhanced co-operation
agreements
The UK Government has started to address the problem of tax evasion and
tax avoidance by signing agreements
with Switzerland and the United
Page 66
States of America.
The agreement with Switzerland
allows the UK to recover previously
unpaid tax on Swiss bank accounts. The agreement with the US will
mean legislation will be introduced
to bring into effect the UK-US agreement to improve international tax
compliance and to implement FATCA
(US provisions commonly known as
the Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act). This agreement will improve tax
transparency between the two countries and means that the US and UK
will automatically exchange a significantly increased amount of information on potentially taxable income. A response to the previously issued consultation, draft regulations
and guidance were published on 18
December 2012 and can be found on
the HMRC website.
The issue of tax evasion and tax
avoidance is high on the agenda for
most governments. The UK Government intends to establish similar
agreements with other jurisdictions
and it is likely that FATCA style agreements between most jurisdictions will
be in place within the next 12 months.
However you have one last
chance to come clean. HMRC have for
a limited timeframe extended the LDF.
So what’s the LDF?
This is a scheme that allows a UK taxpayer, who has not disclosed all of
their income and gains from funds
held offshore, to come clean and pay
some tax with limited penalties.
What are the advantages?
Firstly the amount you would pay in tax
and penalties will be significantly less
using the LDF than any other amnesty
or if you get caught. You also have an
assurance of avoiding any prospect of
being criminally prosecuted by coming clean yourself in the LDF.
Who is eligible to use this facility?
This particular amnesty is only relevant for UK taxpayers who held an
offshore account with undisclosed tax
liabilities where the offshore account
was opened before 2009. All clear so
far – so what sort of questions do we
get asked?
A typical first question is, “This all
sounds very good, however, can I really trust the UK Revenue & Customs
not to persecute me if I come clean?”
Well in this case yes. The terms of the
agreement are set out very clearly and
if you are eligible for the LDF and make
a full and complete disclosure you are
in the clear. You will not face criminal
prosecution, although you will face a
penalty of 10 percent of the tax due
plus any interest.
However, the biggest advantage
for those who are eligible is avoiding
the normal twenty-year period for
which they have to calculate the back
taxes due – in the case of the LDF it’s
just ten years. In many cases this significantly reduces the tax that would
otherwise be due. Additionally, the
LDF offers a “flat rate” option where
you don’t wish to carry out the specific tax calculations.
“So what’s the catch?” is usually
the next question. The catch is that
you will be paying tax on the interest
and gains in all future tax years. And
is that so bad? – well not really for the
peace of mind that comes with not
waiting for that knock at the door or
the dreaded brown envelope with notification of a criminal investigation.
[email protected]
Emerging economies to outpace developed nations in 2013
- World Bank
The World Bank published its global
growth forecasts for this year and
whilst it outlined the affects of a year
dominated with austerity measures
and high unemployment, the bank
confirmed that developing economies
will lead the way in 2013. The World Bank sees developed
economies growing 1.3% this year,
the same as 2012, whilst developing
countries are projected to expand
5.5%. Developed economies however
did not manage to gain the required
steam amid the European debt crisis
in 2012, the bank explained, whilst uncertainties surrounding the US political
agreement on spending cuts to avoid
the so-called fiscal cliff and Japan’s diplomatic tensions with China, have certainly weighed on the global economy.
Overall, the global economic environment ‘remains fragile’ although
the balance of risks is now ‘less
skewed to the downside’ than it has
been in recent years, experts wrote in
the twice-yearly report. Notably, however, the World
Bank predictions steer further away
from the median economists’ forecasts as surveyed by Bloomberg,
which showed global expansion is set
to be 3.2% this year and 3.8% in 2014. Meanwhile, the MSCI All-Country
World Index has jumped about 17%
since the end of 2011. From the deVere Group
the world arrived at the UN’s ‘millennium development goal’ of halving
poverty in the world three years earlier, the Economist reports ,since it had
a goal date of 2015. With the world going through ‘the
worst economic crisis since the 1930s’
as well as seeing food prices soar since
the 1970s, this news has created a refreshing wave of positivity. Most of the
credit, the Economist reports, is due to
China, one of the emerging markets,
‘which has taken 660 million people
out of poverty since 1981’. Although not as impressive,
Africa can also bear witness to this
positivity as it ‘has seen the largest
recent turnaround’ as the number of
people below the poverty line fell below 12 million in 2008. Similarly, Latin
America also saw its poverty decrease
thanks to social programmes. These figures are palpable proof
of ‘the long-run success of China’,
the importance of structured programmes and the economic growth
in Africa. Despite the fact that there is
still ‘much to be done’, these estimates
are a glimmer of hope in a world facing the worst economic crisis experienced by our generation.
HMRC beefs up inspector team
to target wealthy Brits HM Revenue & Customs is said to be
adding 100 inspectors to its Affluent Compliance Team that targets
wealthy Britons who may be concealing money from the Revenue.
In a press statement, HMRC said
that
it
plans to hire extra inspectors for
The rise of the middle class the ‘affluent unit to double in size’ and
World Bank The World Bank’s Development Re- hunt down Brits who are evading tax. The team, set up in 2010, originally
search Group has issued estimates
which show that ‘for the first time targeted individuals with annual earnever, the number of poor people is de- ings of more than £150,000 (approx. 7.5
million baht) and wealth of between
clining everywhere’. Indeed, the estimates show that £2.5million and £20 million. However,
in 2012, global poverty was half the the clampdown was then extended to
amount it was in 1990 which means Britons with wealth in the range of beEmail: [email protected]
tween £1million and £2.5 million. International Adviser quoted
a treasury representative who said
avoiding tax is ‘immoral’ and ‘illegal’
and those who hide money from the
HMRC will find it is a ‘big mistake’. In response to the announcement,
the deVere Group reminds its high net
worth clientele that it has investment
vehicles in place that are able to mitigate tax liabilities legally and more importantly are HMRC-approved.
HMRC ‘will not tolerate tax evasion’ HMRC has launched new ‘tax evasion
task forces’, one of which targets lawyers, as it predicts the revenue will
amount to more than £19.5 million
(approx. 975 million baht).
Exchequer secretary of HMRC,
David Gauke has stated how they ‘will
not tolerate tax evasion’ especially
during a time ‘when most hard-working people are paying the right tax’.
HMRC has lately been on an intense route to ensure ‘tax dodgers’ are
being caught. The organisation has
even introduced a new module in UK
schools ‘which some argue promotes
the idea of children “spying” in their
community’ for these tax evaders. International Adviser does report
however, how some are ‘sceptical over
whether targeting lawyers will reap
the rewards HMRC is hoping for’ since
lawyers understand ‘tax fraud would
put an end to their careers’ so they will
not ‘risk their livelihood by cheating
the system’. Besides lawyers, the new task
forces will also target grocery and retail
businesses, restaurants and hair and
beauty in different regions in the UK.
For expatriate offshore investment advice from the world’s largest offshore
financial brokerage contact deVere
Group’s Pattaya office on 038 489372/73
or e mail john.hayden@devere-group.
com or [email protected]
Pattaya Trader
Bellwether
End
Thailand’s Got Talent...
with Mike Bell
W
ell, it must, mustn’t it? I mean, every country has a particular
skill or talent for
which it is famous.
Britain, for its tiny size, has produced some of the world’s greatest
musical acts. It is well known for scientific breakthroughs too – the Human Genome, the Internet, Dolly the
cloned sheep. The French make wine,
cheese and rude noises at the English.
What of Thailand then? What is
unique to Thai people that they can
hold their heads up proudly and say,
“Only in Thailand…”?
I started asking this question after a recent visit to the cinema. During the pre-movie playing of the Royal Anthem, an accompanying video
showed a team of young men in football strips holding up a huge silver cup
and cheering.
Then I thought, “Hold on… What
competition did the Thai national
football team win?” Nothing sprung
to mind. Perhaps it wasn’t football…
maybe another sport. But again I
drew a blank. So I decided the video clip was a
phony, made to pretend that Thailand
had won a major team competition in
recent years. That in itself was worrying… surely Thais must ask the same
questions as I do.
What about other talents, then? Thais LOVE music and singing. Every
shopping mall and seedy back soi
holds a karaoke venue, where wouldbe pop stars can belt out their favourite hits with gusto and enthusiasm.
But, as we have seen on the TV
shows, ‘gusto’ and ‘enthusiasm’ don’t
carry you through to the next round. A modicum of talent is necessary. In
contrast, singing is considered so important in the Philippines that ‘My
Page 68
Way’ is nicknamed ‘The Death Song’... Any singer performing this song badly risks being shot and killed by music lovers armed to the teeth waiting
for the next bum note. If that were
the case in Thailand, the city streets
would be littered with corpses, clutching still-warm microphones, mouth
agape, frozen on the big finale they
just couldn’t hit.
One area most people believe
Thailand has made its mark, is cuisine. Can there be a more fitting and traditional way to show Thailand’s originality and talent? Who can deny that Pad
Thai, Massaman Gai and Tom Yam are
amongst the most recognizable dishes in the world?
Well…yes, but… Massaman Gai
originated in Malaysia (and before
that, India), Tom Yam has its roots in
Laos. And as for the national dish of
Pad Thai? Embarrassingly enough, it
was brought to Thailand by Vietnamese traders and then adopted as a
symbol of Thainess by the then Prime
Minister, Pibul Songgram in the 1940’s.
So how about architecture? Is
there anything that encapsulates Thailand more than the steep sloped roofs
of the Lanna-style houses? Or the
golden ‘chor faa’ gables of the temple
roofs? Well, the first came from Burma and the second from India (as, of
course, did the national religion).
Thai dancing? Cambodia. Takraw? Malaysia.
Truly, there aren’t many Thai Icons
that originated in Thailand. There can
be no doubt Thailand has beautiful
temples and dancers. And their Buddhist rituals are lavish and spectacular. But they didn’t START here…
Which, therefore leads me to one
conclusion: Thailand’s national talent
is… Copying.
That’s right. What Thailand does
best is replicate. And in some cases
improve upon.
Who hasn’t watched in amazement the street artists reproducing
Monet’s, Dali’s and Degas? What of
those who painstakingly redraw photographs for tourists to take home?
They can copy and do it incredibly well.
The best Thai bands I’ve seen,
have all been cover bands. Picking
apart songs, note by note until it is exactly the same as the original.
Copying is a national hobby. From early school exams to university,
great efforts are made to devise foolproof ways to copy from peers.
Korean and Japanese trends like
Cosplay and Soap Operas are reproduced exactly for Thai audiences. Young
Thais copy the hairstyles and clothes.
Intellectual property means
nothing… anything that can be copied will be… cigarettes, medicines,
movies, music, software, clothes,
bags, watches. Last week I had a fake
Corona beer! Seriously… someone is
even copying beer!
What does that mean for the future? How will Thailand progress? Well, that all depends on what they
decide to copy. If they choose to copy a SE Asian
workhorse like Singapore, the future
may be bright indeed. However, if
they continue to choose fun, but ultimately frivolous trends to copy, I
believe we will see Thailand sliding
backwards in comparison to its neighbours.
Charles Caleb Colton said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” But
John Stuart Mill said, “All good things
which exist are the fruits of originality.”
And when all is said and done,
Charles Caleb Colton probably copied
his quote from some else…
A
Out of the Rumour Mill
fter more than 13 years sparked by the opening of the Dollof living in Fun Town and house, was yet to happen.
being involved with all
Then, all of a sudden, the managebranches of the various ment of the more popular go-go’s in
media here at some time Pattayaland Soi 2 decided they wanted
(that is, print, radio and television), to cater primarily for the tourists and
I guess it’s no surprise I have been ignore the expats and regular visitors. I
subjected to a variety of rumours. At recall telling one of the foreign flunkies
times some have been quite outland- involved in the management that this
ish, others just plain ridiculous.
was a short-sighted approach which
My first experience with a person- would be unlikely to enhance their
alised false rumour in Pattaya came business in the longer term.
way back in 1995, before I decided
Soon after, I noticed that as Walkto come and live here. I had been in- ing Street began to again draw the
volved with the running of a go-go bar punters, Pattayaland Soi 2 began an
-how unusual you might think- which inexorable slide into go-go oblivion.
had failed, largely due to the stupidity
I began to mention this decline
and greed of the main shareholder.
more and more in my column and
Once the affairs of the place were one day I received an email regarding
all wound up, but not in an amicable my comments from this alleged cusfashion by any means, I returned to tomer. Included in the comments was
Australia. I came back to Pattaya about a suggestion that one of the reasons
four months later to a look of surprise I was so negative towards these busy
on the face of the English partner in and successful go-go’s was I had once
the Anzac Hotel (now Lewiinski’s), in been caught trying to bar-fine a lady
Pattayaland Soi 1. He was told I had or three from one of these dens with
been arrested in Australia on drug’s the aim of getting the girls to percharges, convicted, and sent to prison. form in a dance contest I had supposHe claimed, “I don’t normally listen to edly organised somewhere in Walking
gossip but the guy who told me reck- Street. I had then ‘had my ass kicked’
oned he was the one who’d tipped according to the emailer.
the police, so I believed him. I’m sorry,
When I replied to this person
I am guilty of spreading the rumour.” I pointing out that while I have indeed
just laughed it off.
been involved with numerous dance
In the days when I was penning contests at a number of different venthe ‘Nightmarch’ column, I received an ues over the years, I have never been
email from a man who claimed to be a an organiser of such an event, nor
regular customer at what were then a have I ever paid the bar-fine for anybrace of successful go-go bars along one, anywhere to come and perform
Pattayaland Soi 2.
in another go-go.
In the early days of their history,
There was a grain of truth in the
the aforementioned go-go’s were story in that I remember someone had
very popular and, rightly, were doing tried to bar-fine a girl from one of the
well. At the time, Walking Street was go-go’s with the aim of getting her to
relatively run-down and its revival, dance in a Walking Street go-go conEmail: [email protected]
test. The man was given a few swift
kicks up the butt and seen off the soi.
One morning I was sat chatting to
a couple of mates at my favourite coffee
place (Benjamits in south Pattaya) when
the phone rang. A fellow writer called
and during our conversation I happened
to mention a rumour about a local media person of our mutual acquaintance
who had been thrown out of an upmarket event one evening. He had allegedly
attempted to stick his paws all over the
ample cleavage of an expat Australian
lady who was at that time doing television pieces in Pattaya and Thailand.
“Oh,” exclaimed the writer. “I
heard that it was you who did that!”
Apart from the fact I really don’t
like formal functions, I pointed out to
him I certainly would not have been
likely to be invited to the one concerned
as it involved a leading Bangkok property developer (as I recalled) and I have
no interest in the property market.
The person who was actually responsible for ‘going the grope’ is no
longer in business in Pattaya (not surprisingly) and is not even in Thailand.
A bit like an April Fool’s Day joke,
for a rumour to succeed it has to have a
ring of truth and authority about it. You
have to think the person could indeed
be responsible for the actions and activities laid at their benighted feet.
With that in mind it just shows
how low my perceived social standing happens to be within the broader
community. Maybe it’s time I started
organising some personal achievement awards to come my way via the
seemingly never-ending supply of
organisations who offer some kind of
knighthood, doctorate, or lordship,
preferably with some kind of medal
and a uniform thrown in.
Pattaya Trader
I
Driving the Bus - Part 1
’ve heard it said that if you want to
learn from the experience of others, don’t look at the success stories. Don’t read those self-glorifying books of the “How I Made
a Million in One Year” or “You Can
Be A Success Like Me” type. Those
authors may have indeed been
successful but what they don’t
tell you is they had a lot of good
luck along the way. They were
invariably in the right spot at
the right time or they accidentally met the right person who sped them on their
way to riches. A hundred
people could follow their
given advice to the letter
but, instead of finding
wealth beyond their
dreams, end up losing
their shirts. It is a sad
fact of life that you
cannot budget for
‘good luck’.
Instead, it is
better to learn
lessons
from
those poor souls
who, whether eventually successful or not, have tried hard but been
hampered by failure all the way. To put it another
way, they have graduated from “the school of hard knocks.”
From their stories you will not just learn about what actually works, but most importantly, the thousands of things
that don’t work.
Dear reader, here is your first piece of good luck. If
you don’t already know, you should be aware that I am
an habitual failure. I suspect I know more plans, schemes,
ploys, devices and tactics that don’t or won’t work than
anyone else on the planet … because I have tried them all.
As far as relationships with women are concerned, I have a
doctorate degree in screw up. Some friends have labelled
me ‘thick’ (the kindest translation) but I explain that I like to
take my time and weigh up all options before finally making the wrong decision.
But all is not lost because, through a process of elimination, I think I have discovered what I have been doing
wrong. I may have accidentally stumbled on one of the
main reasons women have been casting me aside over the
past half century. Not only in my case, this could be the
Page 70
reason for the failure of many relationships. It certainly
applies to those with their beginnings here in
Pattaya.
Since the dawn of
time the male of a
species has taken
the dominant, aggressive role, and
when it comes to
finding a mate, he is
regarded as the chaser. Once attracted to a
female, he pursues her,
woos her and eventually
wins her. But there is one
major flaw with this scenario; she did not choose
him. He selected her to
be his mate but what if she
would never have picked him
had the roles been reversed?
What if she doesn’t actually like
him? She accepts the attention
and whatever else he offers, but
what if her heart is not really in it?
In your home country, you are
attracted to a lady and during the
initial conversation you find out if she
is married or already in a relationship.
If that is the case, being a man of moral
principles, you back off and continue
your love search elsewhere. In Pattaya, a
guy goes into a bar and is attracted to one
of the
hostesses. He buys her a drink, chats with
her and, if he is interested and she accepts, will pay her bar
fine. After one night of lust the guy may decide he likes
her and she is exactly what he has been looking for as a
girlfriend. He may pay her bar fine for several nights and
do the whole romantic number by buying her gifts or taking her out to the movies.
He overlooks the fact that in all initial conversations
with the lady, she is not going to tell him the truth. That is
part of her job description. She will never admit to already
being in a romantic relationship. In an attempt to win her
love, he blindly accepts her at her word and he drives the
bus. She becomes just a passenger. She graciously accepts whatever this interloper offers, but he is not her type
and she would never have selected him for a partner had
she been given the original choice. Her working in the bar
is merely a way to support her already happy private life
and she may not want some alien, old enough to be her
father and who she does not understand, disrupting it.
Relationships begun in this manner will eventually
fail. When he finally realizes that the love is all one-sided
and he is not the most important person in her life, it can
send him on an emotional rollercoaster. Not wanting to
lose her, he may plead or beg for her affection rather than
admitting to himself that it was never to be. It was not the
lady’s fault and his only mistake was he didn’t understand
that just because you like or love someone it doesn’t automatically mean those feelings will be reciprocated.
In spite of what many people think, there are not many
ladies residing or working in Pattaya for the sole purpose of
finding a farang boyfriend and settling
The Fool is
down with him. Most
hoping to find
working girls in this
a sleeker and
town already have
younger ‘bus’
a Thai boyfriend or that will go for
husband. Of the othlonger trips,
ers, many have one
not just short
or more part time faexcursions!
rang boyfriends sending them money or
otherwise helping to
support them. Unless
you have the body
of Brad Pitt and the
financial
resources
of Bill Gates, you are
not likely to steal her
attention away from
the other man or men in her life. Attempting a romantic
attachment with her is heading down the rocky road to a
broken heart. Yours.
Now that we know what doesn’t work, it is time to
consider what ‘love strategy’ might just have a chance of
success. How do we separate the chaff from the wheat?
How can we avoid getting into relationships that were always doomed to failure? That will have to wait until next
month’s issue, but here is a little hint:
“If you love something set it free. If it comes back it’s
yours. If not, it was never meant to be.”
… to be continued.
Pattaya Trader
J
im Rogers was making a rare
visit to Thailand. Stopping off
in Bangkok after an Indonesian
job gave him the chance to
look up old friends and enjoy a
couple of days on the soi before heading home to Calgary. Tim and Les were
in Barry’s bar talking past times with Jim.
Jim was infamous and young
Jamie was listening to the reminiscences of the three older men. During a lull in the stories of jobs that had
gone well, or badly, Jamie broke in.
“Jim is it true you spent five years
in a prison in Gabon for killing the police chief’s son?” he blurted out.
“No on all counts Jamie. It was
two-and-half years. The prison was in
Douala in Cameroon. I didn’t kill anyone and the dead man was not the
police chief’s son, but a police sergeant’s nephew.”
Surprised that he had been acknowledged by Jim Rogers, Jamie
stuttered out a string of questions.
“It must have been bad. How did
you survive it? What was it like? Who
did do it then?”
Winking at Les and Tim, Jim answered “If you buy a beer for myself
and these two fine gentlemen Jamie,
I might tell you the whole story, and
maybe set the record straight on some
of what’s told on the crews today.”
Jamie was only too happy to
oblige thinking of the tales he could
tell later.
Jim Rogers told his story which
even his contemporaries, Tim and Les,
hadn’t heard so fully before.
“It was September 1967 when
the boat arrived in Douala. Cameroon
was an oil exploration hot spot following its neighbour Nigeria, but Douala
was a much better port call. I think it
was the French influence that made
the difference.”
“That’s true. It’s more relaxed and
good bread and good wine helps.”
Page 72
A Punch Too Far
said Les.
Jim continued. “We started drinking in the dockside bars early and I was
talking with a working girl. She was
stunning to look at and I remember
the smell of coconut oil in her hair to
this day. Most of the boys headed back
to the boat for chow and then planned
an evening at the yacht club which was
a well known dive. I decided to eat in
town and took the girl, whose name
was Marie, with me. The food was good
as was the bottle of red wine.”
“After dinner Marie suggested
going to a bar and I went along with
the idea. Now in the bar we were
drinking but I wasn’t drunk. Up to our
table comes this guy who seems to
know Marie and he is drunk and not
happy. It was early and there are only
half-a-dozen in there including three
guys standing at the bar.”
“It was over in seconds. The unhappy drunk smacks Marie. I punch
him. He hits me on the head with a
bottle and I fall backwards. The three
guys at the bar jump in and after a
short struggle, exit the bar leaving the
drunk on the floor dying from a stab
wound. The police arrive and, along
with Marie and a waiter, I’m taken to
the police station.”
“I always suspected the police
knew who the three guys were, but
for whatever reason they were untouchable. I was separated from Marie
and the waiter and then found myself
being charged. I never did see Marie
again and my lawyer couldn’t track
her down to be a witness at the trial
less than a month later. I was found
guilty of accessory to murder and
given a seven-year sentence. The Canadian consul said I was quite lucky, it
could have been longer.”
“I served two and a half years be-
fore Canadian pressure got me an early
release. The company didn’t do that
much, I was off the payroll as soon as I
was found guilty, but the shipping agent
bought me cigarettes and toiletries
every month which I guess he charged
the company for. Being a foreigner I was
kept in the section with the local political prisoners which made it easier and
four to a cell is a lot better than you get
in a prison here in Thailand.”
“I guess I got quite stoical in the
end Jamie. I don’t hold too many
grudges over it. I learned some things.
I’m very careful in countries I don’t
know. I tend not to go off alone or
with people I don’t know well. Most
of all I do not get involved with other
people’s problems. Is that enough to
be getting on with Jamie?”
Jamie nodded and said “Jeez,
I bet you would be cautious about
throwing a punch today.”
“Well we could test it if you want
Jamie.”
Hmm... just shows what happens
when you test the happy hour
products before you write the
specials on the board!
W
with A Fool in Paradise
elcome to the second edition of Up
Your Soi, where I
stroll through the
sois of Pattaya to report anything and everything of interest. Last issue I was heading through
Soi Diamond off Walking Street and
describing The Windmill Club, a Go Go
Bar which caters to those of us seeking an evening of unbridled fun and
integration with the local lasses.
From the Diamond Beach Hotel, Soi Diamond tapers into a very
narrow lane about four metres wide.
(For American readers, that is approximately 13 feet). From that you can
subtract 1.5 metres each side to account for the parked motorbikes, food
stalls and other obstacles. That leaves
one metre open for the actual thoroughfare; just wide enough for three
Thai ladies, one motorbike or one fat
farang. And not all abreast. What I am
trying to say is that from the Diamond
Beach Hotel to Second Road is a pedestrian’s nightmare.
Now, for anyone who is hungry,
directly across from The Windmill Club
is my favourite Swiss restaurant, which
is simply called Swiss Food Restaurant. Having dined there on several
occasions, I can recommend the food
and the prices are still reasonable.
Heading towards Second Road,
on the left are Lassi Beer Bar, Gletscherallee Beer Bar, Bar 007, The Crab Beer
Bar, Baron Club A Go Go and Harem
Pattaya just before the 7-Eleven on
the corner. I first visited The Crab Beer
Bar about seven years ago and I have
had quite a few good times there
since. There is an American pool table
and karaoke facilities should I be overcome by an urgent desire to sing ‘Hotel California’ my way. Of course, there
are new ladies working there now and
frankly, the last time I stopped in for
a drink I was totally ignored by all of
them. Maybe they were just having
a bad night so I can forgive it – this
time. As is my usual response whenever that happens (and unfortunately,
me being ignored by the female staff
is happening more frequently these
days), I had one beer and left no tip. If
more customers did that, perhaps the
myopic staff would get the message.
Back to The Windmill Club, next
on the right is Black Horse Beer Bar fol-
lowed by The Swiss House Restaurant
which proudly advertises it has been
operating for 12 years. Then comes
the Casino Club, a late night nightclub/disco for the yuppie set, followed
by a small tattoo shop appropriately
named ‘House of Pain’, and finally ByBlos Club on the corner with Second
Road.
That ended Soi Diamond so I
headed back to Walking Street to decide on my next plan of attack. The
adjacent Soi 15 next to the Family
Mart was the obvious choice.
On the corner opposite Family Mart is V2O Cocktails and Ice Bar
which I have heard is a nice place to
chill out. (Don’t you just love stupid
puns?) Seriously though, if you are
looking for shots of ice-cold Stolichnaya vodka, then this is the place.
If you are hungry, Soi 15 may be
only short in length but it has a lot of
cheap Thai food offerings from vendors and small open-air restaurants.
It is also home to several Go Go, table
dancing and show bars including The
Beach Club, Angelwitch, What’s Up,
Illusion Pattaya Club, Sapphire Club,
Smile Rock Girl’s, Private Dancer and
Baby Dolls. If your taste is skilled
female choreography then Angelwitch is the place. If you
prefer to interact with the staff
and want your entertainment to
be a little more down and dirty,
then I recommend Baby Dolls
and the latest cultural addition
to the soi, Private Dancer.
Soi 15 ends at a T-junction
with Cats Corner Beer Bar where
several attractive ladies vied for
my attention. Not being one
to disappoint, I stopped in for
a small non-alcoholic libation
and a chat. But fear not, I will
be back next month to further
report what is going on Up Your
Soi.
Pattaya Trader
My Girl’s Different
I
know what you’re thinking: not
another foreigner meets bargirl
story with all the tale of joy and
consequent woe. Read on, just
a little bit more, because this
story is a little different and has a
bearing on you, especially if you are
a foreigner in a relationship with a
Thai lady who is young enough to
be able to have children, and you’re
old enough to still have and want
them as well.
A hard-working middle-aged
English expat meets an equally hardworking Thai lady; and by hard working it means she wasn’t, in this case,
involved in the night entertainment
scene.
A relationship begins and after a
few months a happy little surprise is
confirmed after a visit to the hospital.
The foreigner tells his family in
England; the Thai tells hers. East meeting West is never easy, but everything
seems to be working out.
The baby, a girl, arrives and it’s joy
all around. Families from both sides
visit and the future is looking good.
Of course, now the responsibilities begin. Cool heads are needed financially. Lots of lifestyle changes are
required and priorities change. The
foreigner, of course, earns the bulk of
the income and refuses to get drawn
into the “let’s spend it all on payday”
mentality. He is looking at the big picture: the future, not so much for himself, as his little girl.
A homestead is slowly kitted out,
it’s nothing flash, but comfortable. Babies, of course, need lots of care and
attention. The new lifestyle change is
so different from the heady days of
a Pattaya newbie when he was the
sexiest thing to saunter down Walking
Street. But he welcomes the change.
The road is never smooth with opposite cultures and religious viewpoints.
Very soon the strains on the relationship make it clear it will soon be over.
As the relationship reaches its nadir, no
arrangements have been made for the
little girl caught up in the middle.
One day the foreigner goes to
Page 74
work as usual. He comes home in
the evening to find his whole life removed. The car, the entire contents of
the house, and, of course, the prize ‘asset’, his darling little girl are all gone.
Battle is about to be joined. He
goes to the police and makes a report.
Then the mud slinging starts. First,
abusive emails, phone calls and SMSs.
Lawyers are employed and some serious money starts being spent.
The little girl is shipped off to a
village in Rayong province for a ‘better
life’. The Englishman stays in Pattaya,
as does his former girlfriend, but obviously no longer together.
As the girl’s father, the Englishman, investigates his rights regarding
the child. None. He wasn’t legally married to the mother and, more poignantly, although his name is on his little
girl’s birth certificate as the acknowledged father, he is not registered at
the Amphur in Banglamung.
He wants to be responsible for
his daughter, he wants to take care of
her, yet when he asks the British Embassy what can be done, they can only
suggest he reports the girl as ‘missing’.
Although he likes being in Thailand, the father decides it would be
best to take his daughter back to
the United Kingdom to give her the
chance of good health care, a good
education and be embraced by his
huge family who would only be too
pleased to help. He offers this to the
Thai family. Not only is the offer cal-
A cautionary tale
from a broken-hearted Briton
lously and selfishly rejected, the
email and phone abuse continues.
A month passes. Finally he is
able to arrange to make a visit to
see his little girl. He knows supplies
must be running short for the baby.
He is given vague directions but,
with persistence, he manages to
find the right village. As he expected, the village has no close medical
facility, and no decent shops where
his daughter’s needs can be taken
care of.
Upon arrival he finds he cannot
call his erstwhile Thai relatives: their
mobiles are turned off. So he is left
to scour the village hoping to find
his daughter. The search proves fruitless and he is forced to come back
to Pattaya alone. He feels gutted. It’s
been four weeks since he last saw the
one person he adores. It’s been four
harrowing weeks of deep concern.
The abusive SMSs and emails
continue. She’s going to inflict as
much emotional pain as she can. The
Englishman realises he has some awesome family and friends who rally
around him. They have children of
their own and genuinely understand
the pain. They also understand that,
whatever happens in a relationship, a
child’s welfare must be paramount.
As he notes, there is often some
collateral damage in a break-up, but
why does that collateral damage have
to be an innocent child? Can this get
any worse? Do we have to wait until
the little girl is physically or mentally
suffering? How far does one need to
go to get ‘even’?
Still his ex-girlfriend is an educated one; his girl’s different.
The above story is true. No names
have been used to protect the identity
of the writer and his daughter. It serves
as a reminder of the need for foreigners
involved in a relationship with a local female and, where there are children from
that union, to ensure the necessary legal paperwork is in place. At least then,
it becomes possible to involve the local
authorities, your own embassy and, if
necessary, the courts.
Pattaya Trader
Navingating the
Bangkok Noir
by Chris Coles
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Editions
ISBN: 978-981-4346-49-8
The collective musings of Chris Cole,
combined with the artwork he created inside the 128 full color
pages of Navigating Bangkok
Noir will turn any reader of
this book into an ‘armchair
punter’ searching for manufactured romance while basking beneath the spectral glow
of neon inside any go-go bar,
teeming with tourists, touts,
Thais and tarts in such places
as Patpong, Nana Plaza and
Soi Cowboy.
Navigating the Bangkok
Noir takes the reader inside
the minds of the bargirls and
guides them on a whirlwind
tour through the notorious,
seemly, and occasionally
poignant nightlife scene of
Bangkok without ever once
stepping outside their front door.
When the editor of the Trader
presented me with this particular
book to review, it didn’t take long to
realize that there was no obvious narrative to review. It was a picture book,
or more specifically, an art book. How
was I supposed to review a book with
very little text? In fact, the only text
inside the softcover ‘art book’ was
made up of an introduction, followed
by a number of reproductions of Chris
Cole’s colourful artwork.
Fortunately, each one of the
author’s expressionist, water color
paintings was accompanied by an
evocative caption that explained its
inspiration and subject matter.
The images in the paintings Chris
Page 76
Review by Brian S.
Coles has created are reminiscent of
a modern day Toulouse-Lautrec. The
cast of characters, displayed in gaudy
colors depict the good, the bad, and
the ugly. The gay, the straight, the bargirls, ladyboys, partiers, punters and
pissheads are the ingredients that inspired the images, and give Bangkok’s
noir its spiciness.
At age twelve, she finished school and
joined her father in the rice fields. Before
she was eighteen, she had two babies.
Her boyfriend ran away. The kids are
teenagers now, living in the house on
stilts. Someday they too will come to
Bangkok.”
Another piece by the name of
Patpong Girl explains the ability
of a seasoned bargirl to size up
any man:
“For two years she’s been
dancing in a Patpong bar, about
a hundred tourists a night, thirty-five thousand a year, seventy
thousand in all, from Europe,
Australia, the Middle East, Japan,
Korea and the U.S. She looks at
each one, knows them better than
they know themselves, who they
are, what they are looking for and
whether they are worth her time.”
To me the narrative descriptions
of the settings and characters which
accompanied each painting is what
makes this book shine. Each vignette
of words enhance our understanding
of the paintings. For example the description penned for a painting titled
Washington Square Girl provides the
reader with some insight as to how so
many Thai women end up in a Bangkok bar:
“Sometimes she sits the whole day
without any clients or drinks. She thinks
about her life as a little girl, in a house
on stilts, taking care of the chickens and
water buffalo. Her mother worked from
dawn till dusk, taught her kids to smile
and sing, no matter how hard their life.
While another work called
Lover’s Quarrel aptly illustrates
the huge chasm that separates a
youthful foreign bar patron from
an equally young bargirl:
“He’s still young and naïve, learning how to live. She spent the last five
years working in a Bangkok bar, at least
three lifetimes compared to him. Both
twenty-three, they’re not from different planets but separate solar systems,
intersecting in the heat of a Bangkok
night.”
Whatever one might think of the
Bangkok nightlife scene, Chris Coles
has successfully painted a vivid and
sometimes lurid portrait, using both
paint and words of what transpires inside of Bangkok’s bars and nightclubs,
between the pages of Navigating the
Bangkok Noir.
Review by Daniel Schwartz
What is not to like about a book with
chapter headings like:
• Herman and Tip: Tuna Fish and Mekong Whisky
• Donald and Porn; Snap Unhappy
• Spam and Muay; The Girl with the
Porcine Tattoo
• Sven and Long; The Truth Hurt
• Duke and Wichai; A Very Queer Tale
• Timothy and Orn; Prisoner of Love
• Martin and Su-Lin: Murder at the
Ocean Winds Hotel
This was a great book to read,
I found myself laughing at some of
the stories. Nothing surprises me
anymore as I have been living in
Thailand for eight years, coming
to Thailand for 14 years and have
seen and heard a lot!
Men have been coming to
Thailand for many years now to
enjoy the infamous night-life of
cities like Pattaya, Bangkok and
Phuket and to experience the
girls that work in the thousands
of bars around them. Some have
found out to their cost that there
are devils amongst the young
women that ply their trade in
the neon-lit forests of the country and others have been lucky
enough to have discovered angels.
Peter Jaggs’ previous books
about the characters and locations on the seedier side of the
streets of Thailand have reached
bestselling status in their respective categories on Amazon’s lists
as well as those of other distributors and have sold thousands of copies to date. His first work, From Beggar
to Butterfly, was described by the legendary Bernard Trink in a review in the
Bangkok Post as one of the best books
written on Pattaya. Thailand Bar-girls;
Angels and Devils, is in the same genre
and written in very much the same
style.
During more than a quarter of a
century in Pattaya the author has seen
and heard many tales of true love, deception and even murder and death,
with Thailand’s bar-girls taking the
part of the main players. This book
contains the very best of them. Many
of the stories are funny and others are
heart-warming. Some are distressing
and one or two are bizarrely insane.
Let’s see what our wonderful author
has in store for us in the book. I only
picked a few gems out of the chapters
and put in some highlights so you can
get a feel for the book and what you
will learn from reading it.
Deviant Donald – Unbelievable
story of what happened to him after
taking pictures of Porn (yes that was
her name), a run in with the police,
what it cost and a surprising result at
the end!
Muay and the Porcine Tattoo –
Another funny one. Guess she didn’t
know what the word meant when she
had the tattoo done on her back!
Sven and Long – Why jump?
Amazing story of love gone wrong,
Sven the Swede and his Soi 6 GF who
he had even taken back to Sweden for
the summer before. You will be surprised at the reason why, but to give
you a little hint, her name was Long
because she had long legs and big
hands!
Thailand Bar Girls,
Angels and Devils
by Peter Jaggs
Publisher: booksmango.com
ISBN: 978-616-222-112-5
Duke and Wichai – A Very Queer
Tale – From the early 90’s when things
were much more relaxed, everyone
came to Pattaya to have fun. Gay or
Straight it didn’t matter, it just meant
hopping into a different set of Go-Go
Bars! He meets K. Wichai, falls in love,
but then finds out something quite
surprising. Peter was going to put
this one in the Devil’s section, but
it actually belonged in the Angels.
Timothy and Orn; Prisoner
of Love – One of the Devil Stories in the book. Who brings a 16
year old to Pattaya? Especially a
good looking young gentleman?
A father who has been through
a messy divorce? This was in the
day that a bar girl showing off a
handsome young bf was enough
face in town! They were throwing themselves at him, freebies
galore! But watch what happens
to him when he picks the wrong
girlfriend.
Martin and Su-Lin: Murder at the Ocean Winds Hotel –
Martin the career criminal leaves
home to settle into Pattaya (where
have we heard this case before?).
The bar girls saw him as a polite,
attractive guy, not too weird and
as long as he had a pocketful of
Baht no problems with him at all.
He met up with Su-Lin, a beautiful
and sweet bar girl who had her pick of
temporary boyfriends on holiday, living her life at the pool of the nice hotels they usually stayed. They wind up
married, however not a match made
in heaven as Martin can’t forget what
she did before him. All was not fine at
the Ocean Winds Hotel. It all turns out
quite badly in the end, but you have
to read the book to find out for whom!
As you can see by the small subset of highlights, a quite interesting
set of stories for your enjoyment.
Short Stories
Email: [email protected] with your short story
The Green-Eyed Monster
H
er name was Saifon Glahan and she was proud
of it. It meant threads of rain she told her boyfriend Steve. She was proud of him too; he
was young and handsome. He worked in computers making lots of money designing websites. Naturally he had a state of the art computer in their
house at Silk Road ; a prestigious housing estate just outside
Pattaya. He had taught her so much about computing and
showed her how to set up an email account for herself.
She sighed as she replied to her older sister’s latest
troubled message. Malee’s love life was so complicated
that she often threatened suicide to escape the abusive
relationship she found herself in. Her Thai husband was a
violent drunk who often beat her if he thought she had
looked at another man. Steve too was extremely jealous
even with Saifon who never gave him cause. Sometimes he
would remonstrate with complete strangers who looked
too long or too longingly at Saifon. He went to great pains
in The Londoner, his local in Soi Post Office, to stress she
came from a good family and had never worked in the bar.
His drinking partner Ian begged to differ. ‘They’re all the
same under the skin. They weigh up every guy’s financial
prospects and move onwards and upwards.’ He snorted
into his drink only happy when badmouthing women.
Why Steve allowed the words of such a misogynist to influence him is one of life’s mysteries. He found
himself becoming obsessive about the time they were
apart. Sometimes she visited Malee or went out for a
drink with her. Occasionally Steve followed her. His full
face helmet allowed him to follow the family car in traffic
with impunity. The more he watched the more he burned
inside. Had she favoured that man with a smile? Did she
touch his hand when she reached for a drink?
Once he sat all day in a car park outside her office. The sun beat down on his helmet. Too obsessed to
leave and buy water he watched for four hours before he
fainted from heat-stroke and was revived by the attendant. When she went on an office outing one evening, he
sat unobserved whilst the ants and mosquitoes feasted
on his flesh. Despite these lonely vigils he was never able
to prove the infidelity that Ian claimed was endemic in all
Thai women. One night Saifon was away all night, she said
she was comforting Malee and dared not leave her. He sat
sleepless in an agony of inertia till he heard her taxi. When
Saifon asked if Malee could stay a few weeks with them to
escape finally from the blows of her drunken husband, he
almost jumped with joy that he would be spared another
such night.
Page 78
By Mike Bell
Soon he regretted his hospitable decision. The sisters
would sit talking in Thai for hours, excluding him. He was
sure their conversation was about other men. When they
weren’t talking, they were on Facebook, exchanging messages in Thai with God knows who. It was Ian who suggested the Keystroke Logger; a program which recorded and
saved every keystroke. Steve took to accessing his home
computer remotely from his work’s office. That was when he
discovered the secret email account. She wrote messages
only in Thai and Steve burned to know their contents.
He paid eight hundred baht for the translations. It
was worth every baht to finally learn the extent of her deceit. She was lonely, her life hardly worth living. She had
decided to leave as soon as possible and couldn’t wait to
be in her new lover’s arms.
He was incandescent with rage. He had loved her utterly; surrendered his heart to her and her infidelity had
broken it into a thousand pieces. He drove home in the
heat of the afternoon. By the time he had ransacked the
house and packed all her belongings and those of her sister, his shirt was soaked. He had just placed them outside
the house gate when Saifon’s taxi drew up.
All afternoon he had rehearsed words, phrases, full
sentences. These he delivered in an unending flow; his
voice cracking with anger. He was immune to her tears,
her protestations of innocence. A lesser man would have
been fooled by her act but he had the proof and clung to
the bundle of papers as a drowning man hugs a lifebelt to
his chest.
He watched the taxi dwindle into the distance taking
her out of his life for ever. He felt as if he had swallowed
a heavy stone which hung round his aching heart. At the
same time there was also a feeling of release; there would
be no more sleepless nights; no more sweltering days in
strange car parks.
He celebrated his new found freedom at The Londoner. He went directly over to Ian. ‘You were right all along
mate. She has been two timing me for months.’ Over a
number of drinks he relayed his trials to his one true
friend. He shoved the bundle of emails and their translations over the table. He rang the bell to signal drinks for
all. ‘Ladies, I’m celebrating being back on the market,’ he
announced to the world at large. He watched triumphantly as his friend scanned the emails. Ian turned to the Thai
originals, a worried look on his sweaty face. He licked his
lips nervously, his piggy little eyes suddenly shifty.
‘What did you say her name was? Her full name?’ He
was staring hard at the Thai names at the foot of the inIssue 148 - February 2013
Have your work read by up to 30,000 Pattaya Trader readers
Short Stories
criminating emails. Steve knew Ian had studied Thai for a
number of years since they first arrived and whilst not fluent he perused the Thai originals intently. ‘Her name is Saifon, Saifon Glahan, otherwise known
as faithless bitch.’
He watched the puzzlement grow on Ian’s face. When
he spoke there was a note of dread in his voice.
‘All these emails were unsigned. I thought you told
me Saifon is the youngest daughter? Yet one of these letters she mentions her younger sister. Has Saifon got an
older sister or not?’ As he stared into Steve’s face he saw the colour drain
from it. He clutched the table for support as he seemed
about to faint clean away. Through dry lips, he whispered,
‘Her name is Malee; her sister’s name is Malee.’ He laughed
bitterly, ‘She’s just broken up with the love of her life, too.’
WORLD SURVEY BY PHONE
Recently a world-wide survey was conducted by the UN.
The only question asked was:
“Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?”
The survey was a huge failure because of the following:
1. In Eastern Europe they didn’t know what “honest”
meant.
2. In Western Europe they didn’t know what “shortage”
meant.
3. In Africa they didn’t know what “food” meant.
4. In China they didn’t know what “opinion” meant.
5. In the Middle East they didn’t know what “solution”
meant.
6. In South Africa they didn’t know what “please” meant.
7. In the USA they didn’t know what “the rest of the
world” meant.
8. In Australia they hung up as soon as they heard the
foreign accent.
HARD PUZZLES THIS MONTH
PROVIDED BY SUDOKU-PUZZLES.NET - SOLUTIONS ARE ON PAGE 86
Email: [email protected] with your short story
Pattaya Trader
THE PATTAYA CITY EXPATS CLUB
PCEC Meeting – Monthly Review – December 2012
The Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) meets every Sunday at Amari Orchid Resort’s The Tavern by the
Sea Restaurant at the northern end of Pattaya Beach Road. For more information regarding not
only the PCEC Sunday meetings, but also the large number of mid-week activities, visit the Club’s
website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com. The website also has useful information about living in Thailand and about Thai immigration and visa requirements. If you would like a copy of the
Club’s weekly Newsletter emailed to you, you can subscribe by visiting the Club’s website.
The meeting atmosphere is always relaxed, informal and friendly with everyone being welcome. The format of the meeting is similar each week. There is usually a guest speaker, sometimes
more than one, on topics of interest to Expats. In addition to announcement of forthcoming events
in and around Pattaya, the Open Forum, which follows the regular program, is always a lively and entertaining session,
when questions can be asked or information exchanged about Expat living in Thailand and Pattaya in particular. If you
weren’t there, here are the highlights of the meetings for each Sunday in December 2012 – the Club’s Newsletter on their
website contains a more detailed description of the presentations.
If you are an Expat living in Thailand, you have probably had
occasion (more than once) to remark on the corruption in
this country, and you have probably said to your buddies,
with a degree of smug satisfaction, that this is not the way
things work “back home.”
Well, if you were in the audience for the Sunday, December 2, presentation from John Wayne Ryan, you might start
to think differently. In talking about his recently-released
book, “I Survived,” John described a complex web of organized crime, murders, kidnappings, prostitution and corruption in Australia – corruption that extended up to some very
high places. He described witnesses disappearing, kidnappings, extortion, bribery and drug running – all operated not
only with the knowledge of senior police officers but in fact
under their control. “The cops ran everything,” John said.
Board Member Judith presents Greg Barton, owner of Lulu
& Daisy Goat Farm, with a Certificate of Appreciation for
his very informative presentation on the relationship between carbs, sugars and fats in the human body.
Is fat in your diet good for you? If you are pre-diabetic (or
even diabetic), Gregory Barton says you may want to consider adding more fat to your diet in place of carbohydrates.
Gregory, known to many expats here as the owner of Lulu
and Daisy Goat Farm, spoke at the December 9 meeting
about the best way to control blood sugar levels.
What should one do if levels are too high? The obvious
answer, Gregory believes, is to cut down on carbohydrates. .
The best replacements for carbs in the diet, he feels, are fats.
He also recommended fruits and vegetables that are low in
carbohydrates.
John Wayne Ryan, author of I Survived, describes law &
order in the Australian state of Queensland in the 1970s
and 80s, with rampant police corruption, and kidnapping,
murder and arson and mass murder.
Page 80
‘Mother Superior’ (Khun Toy) poses with some of her delightful charges at Pattaya Orphanage, as they assemble
to perform for the lucky members and guests of Pattaya
City Expats Club.
It was a Christmas double feature at the December 23 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club. The program featured
two presentations by Club members; both with a Christmas
flavour. Club (and Board) member David Garmaise, who has
come to be known as the PCEC’s “Mr. Movies” because of
his many presentations about the movies, was first up and
provided a slideshow presentation entitled “A Hollywood
Christmas” depicting scenes from some classic movies along
with providing some interesting facts about them.
The second presentation was given by PCEC member
Dervis Tippen, a writer of newspaper and magazine articles,
and also short stories. Dervis provided a brief summary of
his short story, “Miss Bessie’s Finest Christmas.” This short
story can be downloaded as a Kindle eBook for only 99 cents
(US). He donates all the proceeds to the Pattaya Orphanage.
It was again a joyous Christmas celebration on December
16. As with the past four years, it was almost standing room
only in expectation of the enjoyment of hearing again those
wonderful voices of the Children’s Choir from Pattaya Orphanage. Jolly ol’ St Nick also made a presence with a bag
full of goodies for the children. While the gifts were being
handed out, Khun Toy briefly mentioned the history of the
Orphanage.
PCEC was again treated to one of member David Garmaise’s
‘film digests’ - this time very topical, called ‘A Hollywood
Christmas’. He discussed the many versions of Dickens’ A
Christmas Carol with short excerpts, including the 1938 and
1951 versions, as well as the Muppets version.
Dressed in traditional Thai costumes, these young ladies
looked lovely as they performed a variety of Thai and
Christmas songs.
Board member Richard Smith thanks Santa for taking the
time to visit and to give out presents to the children.
Adventure, politics, romance, culture and travel – these are
just some of the ingredients of Every Man Truly Lives Alone;
an historical novel penned by Curt Ayers, writing under his
pen name, C. P. Tertius. Curt spoke about his novel at the
December 30 meeting. Curt said that it took him two years
to write the book, another year to find a publisher, Hellgate
Press, and yet another year working with the editor assigned
by the publisher.
Curt Ayers’ novel tells the story of a US Army captain and the
Thai-Karen woman with whom he falls in love, and draws
attention to the plight of stateless refugees, in particular
the Karen hill tribe who live on the Thai-Burma border.
Pattaya Trader
The Pattaya Expats Club - (http://www.pattayaexpatsclub.info)
THE Pattaya Expats Club is the original foreigner’s advice
forum, with member newsletters continuously since 2001.
We are expats helping expats, all are welcome. Whatever your
question or problem, you can be sure there is another expat
who has ‘been there, done that’ and figured it out. Free advice
for expats on visas, health insurance, Thai law, investments,
medical checks, wellness evaluations and nutrition from
professionals in our meeting foyer ‘Expat Expo’ display. Our
tropical look Website, (teasing ‘armchair expats’ stuck in cold
countries that they aren’t here) helps with practical aspects of
day-to-day living here in Thailand.
Join us Sundays at the Mercure Hotel, Pattaya Second Road, Soi 15. Come through THE AVENUE Mall on 2nd Road, turn
right and it’s a short way down on your left
Recent Featured Speakers
13 January – Board Member, Open
Forum Presenter, Financial Auditor
and Proof Reader, Brian Maxey: 2G,
3G, 4G What does it all mean? Why
should I even care?
Our resident technical expert
shared his knowledge on current and
not so current mobile phone technology. In case you didn’t know, 2G,
3G, 4G are the various generations of
mobile phone networks available out
there. Brian explained and most importantly told how they impact us and
what are the benefits of using each.
About the Speaker: Brian grew-up
and lived on the south coast of the
UK for 35 years, during which time
he qualified as an electrical engineer,
and later taught electronic maintenance for seven years. A chance encounter in a cafeteria in the late ‘70s
suggested the possibility of working
in foreign countries - and his life forever changed! What followed over
the next 20 years opened his eyes
to the world, himself, and his home
country, none of which was as perfect
as he had imagined. He loved it, and
didn’t want it to end. Eventually, as
the Millennium rolled over, Brian realised it couldn’t continue forever, so he
looked to move on.
At 55, Brian came to Bangkok
for six months to ‘think over what
was next’ - fell in love with Asia, and
to no surprise he is still here. Brian
Page 82
joined PEC in May 2002, and the rest,
as they say, is history. He says he has
no notion of moving on today, but
you never know!
You can reach him on: [email protected]
6 January - Dr. Santa Methasiri, Ophthalmology specialist with a sub specialty in Glaucoma with us from Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.
White sticks and Labradors. Are
they in your future?
About the Speaker: Dr. Santa, in 2005,
completed his Fellowship in glaucoma at Ramathibodi Hospital Mahidol
University, is a 2002 Diplomate Thai
Board of Ophthalmology Ramathibodi Hospital Mahidol University, in 1996
a Doctor of Medical from Ramathibodi
Hospital Mahidol University.
Starting in 1996 he has had an
Internship at Queen Naval Hospital,
Chonburi, was Director of Songkhla
Naval Hospital, Ophthalmologist,
Queen Naval Hospital,Chonburi, Ophthalmologist, Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, Ophthalmologist, EENT Hospital,
Bangkok, Ophthalmologist, Phaya
Thai Hospital 1, Bangkok, Glaucoma
Specialist, Ramathibodi Hospital,
Bangkok, Glaucoma Consultant, BMC,
Bangkok prior to his current position.
Contact; K. Nui at (Janya Rattanaliam) [email protected] for further
details.
30 December - We were blessed (no
pun intended) with a talk by Father
Theo on Death and Dying. About the Speaker: Father Theo Lewis
is an Australian and has been a priest
for 46 years, the first 14 years as a
priest of the Orthodox Church and the
remainder in the Anglican Church. He
has served in parishes in North Africa,
the UK, Spain, Greece, and Australia
and for the past six years he has been
the priest in charge of the St. George’s
Congregation here in Pattaya.
During the past six years
Fr. Theo has been involved in
many deaths amongst the expat community and called upon to deal with
many unusual problems and situations which a priest would not normally be expected be deal with.
He related some of these and advised people as to how to prepare for
that one inevitable event which we
are all one day going to experience.
Some of his stories are somewhat
tragic, others are rather amusing.
Father Theo can be reached
at: [email protected]
23 December - Famous novelist,
Christopher G. Moore returned to the
Pattaya Expats Club.
for ‘noir’ fiction, with its track record
of genocide. Publishers and authors
earnings will go toward charity organisations in Cambodia. Club TV Reports: We are on Pattaya
People Television, (both Sophon cable, Ch. 12 & BTV Ch.4)). If you live
outside Sophon or BTV TV areas you
can view this great Club resource online via your PC. Scroll down below
all the print news stories on www.
pattayapeople.com homepage to the
bottom left corner - to ‘Pattaya Expats
Club – TV’ window. Click to view our
current report or any one of our past
meeting video clips.
About the Speaker: The multi-awarding winning author gave his 12th literary talk / book signing at the Pattaya
Expats Club. Moore launched no less
than three fascinating new titles. The first, the 13th in Bangkok detective Vincent Calvino crime novels this time with the development boom
in Burma as the backdrop. Missing in
Rangoon has Calvino and Pratt’s lives
entangled with invisible forces inside
the old regime.
The 2nd new title The Orwell
Brigade, features twelve contemporary authors banding together in one
volume to carry the political ‘Animal
Farm’ author George Orwell’s banner
forward with essays from around the
world on social justice issues, state tyranny and inequality.
Finally a ‘noir’ anthology, by star
contributors Moore gathered together, including the film director Roland
Joffe (The Killing Fields) and bestselling Bangkok novelist John Burdett
(Bangkok 8, Bangkok Tattoo, the series
with the Thai Buddhist police detective). Phnom Penh Noir is the title and
as capital cities go, is a perfect setting
PEC has 4 different Help Lines.
Call 084 3489 501 for general enquiries. For Christian spiritual comfort call
Father Theo Lewis 087 133 1601. Legal emergencies, please call Lawyers,
Khun Suthipong Trakulsak, 081 914
8193, (www.suthiponglaw.com) or
Khun Somsak Chopaka, 081 808 9175,
([email protected]).
Life Membership is just 600 Baht,
only by personal application at the
Club each Sunday. The one-time joining fee provides a Photo-ID Card - no
renewals needed, secures a free copy
of Pattaya People Newspaper with
current entry ticket, access to member
services, discounts (see our website
www.pattayaexpatsclub.info for complete list of merchants offering member discounts) and interest groups,
and Lucky Draw prizes. Bring two very
small photos, card is prepared and
laminated right between 10:30am
and 11:30am.
Six-A-Side Football - PEC Members now only 40 B every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday between 1700
and 1800, a social game of six-a-side
football at the state-of-the-art artificial grass stadium, “Planet Football”
located on Siam Country Club Road.
Selling Electronics?
Contact Andy, 080 641 9742 .
Job Vacancies free?
Badminton – at Diamond BadWant rid of an old car or
minton
Centre on Pattaya Third Road,
motorbike?
near Soi 17 traffic lights, Thursdays
Go to
18.30 pm.
PattayaTrader.com
Free ‘DVD and Book Swap‘ taand place a FREE ad in our
ble. Donate some stock and take 1:1.
general classifieds section.
Bring books, magazines and DVD’s
you’ve already enjoyed, and swap
them. There is a newly formed Bridge
Club too plus Club Fishing trips, every
month organized by James Duffy, call
084-871 7649. Trips leave 4am and return 6pm, usually from Sattahip.
Lucky Draw prizes for wellness
evaluations and meals for 2 at good
restaurants, at each meeting, example’s – The Nutrition Club free week of
healthy breakfast, value B 3,000– we
also have a free entrance to the next
meeting and gift vouchers from various merchants as well.
Our ‘Club Shop’ – has low cost
polo-shirts with the club logo and
tropical blue silk shirts with our original club palm tree motif. New range of
light blue and mid-blue shirts, cotton
silk mix at 379 B with club badge too.
Entry tickets 180 baht from 10am1120am. For that we enjoy excellent
facilities at Mercure Hotel, large screen
TV’s in overspill areas of wine bar and
pool terrace, a fabulous breakfast buffet that normally costs 300B! Reduced
entry ticket price from 1130am onwards of 80B for coffee/tea/water and
to help pay for our meeting facility.
As ‘mother club’ in Thailand for
foreigners advice forums we assisted through the ‘Association of Thailand Expats Club’s’ similar clubs to be
founded, with Constitution’s, in Pattaya city and from Chiangmai to Koh
Samui. We have a German Language
Pattaya Expats Club – Meet first (1st)
Saturday in each Month 10:00am in
the Conference Room of Wat Chaimongkon on South Pattaya Road, near
2nd Road. For info call: Andi 08064
197 42, or visit http://www.pattayaexpatsclub.de.tl
French Language Pattaya Expats Club - Monthly meeting every
2nd Thursday at 15.00 hrs at the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital on Sukhumvit
Road. See: www.club-ensemblethailande.com or call 09 0124 5611
and the Finnish Language Pattaya
Expats Club – Meet at Dongtan Restaurant, Dongtan Beach, Jomtien,
10.00 am, 2nd & 4th Saturday of
the month. Contact: Tiiti 08-90982057 email: [email protected] OR Ritva 08-47645517 email: [email protected]
Pattaya Trader
Page 84
TRADER GIANT X WORD - FEBRUARY 2013
Across
1. Visual communication (5)
4. Show for kids, mainly (9)
8. Exuberant (9)
12. Fair (9)
13. A person’s brother or
sister (7)
15. Humiliation (7)
17. Wall painting (5)
18. Pandemonium (5)
20. Acute (7)
21. Topic (5)
22. Charge per unit (4)
23. A drink before a meal
(8)
25. Mixture (10)
30. Pensive (7)
31. Building (7)
34. Epidermis (7)
35. Even (5)
37. Sailor’s dance (8)
38. Moguls (8)
41. Sense organ (3)
42. Not difficult (4)
43. Enduring (7)
44. Mature (4)
45. In the past (3)
48. Height (8)
49. Dwelling (8)
50. Panache (5)
52. A small piece of
anything (7)
54. Loss of memory (7)
55. Article of clothing (7)
57. Unbelievable (10)
59. Anatomical structure (8)
60. Performs (4)
64. Bulbous plant (5)
66. Apparition (7)
68. Small boat (5)
69. 4th letter of the Greek
alphabet (5)
70. Rebukes (7)
71. Train (7)
72. Asked (9)
73. Worthy of imitation (9)
74. Cognition (9)
75. Display tripod (5)
Down
1. Flash of light (7)
2. Equipment (9)
3. Harbinger (6)
4. Head teacher (9)
5. Nothing (3)
6. Fertile part of a desert (5)
7. Decree (5)
8. Locomotives (7)
9. Relative (5)
10. Spooky (5)
11. Bicycle for two (6)
14. A short duration (5)
16. Try (7)
19. Anteater (8)
24. Theatrical performer (8)
25. Dessicated (4)
26. Come to terms (9)
27. Absolutely essential (9)
28. Wealthy (8)
29. Philanthropic (10)
30. Large African antelope
(10)
32. Impulsive (9)
33. Flair (4)
36. Fluctuation (9)
37. Dithered (9)
39. Pirate’s hoard (8)
40. Imagine (8)
46. Notion (4)
47. One and a half dozen (8)
51. Part of the leg (4)
53. Low wall (7)
55. Monstrous (9)
56. Intensifies (9)
58. Courage (7)
59. Brazilian dance (5)
61. Disgraceful event (7)
62. Unchanging (6)
63. Stick (6)
65. Big (5)
66. Italian dish (5)
67. Large case (5)
68. Fishing basket (5)
72. Pole (3)
SOLUTIONS ARE ON PAGE 86
Pattaya Trader
SOLUTIONS
Page 86
Pattaya Trader
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number of pages.
which infringes
copyright. The Pattaya 7. A l l a d v e r t i s i n g i s
Trader will not accept
subject, by Thai law, to
material which they are
7 percent Value Added
aware has been copied
Tax (VAT).
without the copyright
Rotary Club of Eastern Seaboard
owner’s permission.
Meets every Thursday at 18:00 (6:00pm)
4. Material that is by way of
public proclamation to
the general public either
Pattaya International
Ladies Club (PILC)
Meet on the first Tuesday of
each month and the third
Tuesday of each month for
coffee. For more information
visit their website: www.pilcpattaya.com or contact them
by email: [email protected]
at the Diana Garden Resort, on Soi
S S Villa. Meetings are conducted in
English and Thai. Website: www.rotarypattaya.org
Pattaya Sports Club
Promoting spor ts and
supporting local charities.
Clubhouse on Third Road, next
to the Pattaya Driving Range.
For club details call 038 361
167. Full details are posted
on the club website: www.
pattayasports.org
Shenanigans Bar & Restaurant, Jomtien
Road, Jomtien
The Village Shopping Market, cnr Soi
Chaiyapreuk & Sukhumvit Road
EAST
Bangkok Bank, Sukhumvit Road & Soi Siam
Country Club (opposite Numchai)
Star Books, Soi Khao Noi
Collingbourne Auctions, Soi Chayapreuk 2
OUTSIDE PATTAYA
Mokador Café, Main Road, Bang Saray
Malee’s Café, Main Road, Bang Saray
The Pantry, Soi 5, Bang Saray
The Bakery, Soi 5, Bang Saray
Pizzo Rante Restaurant, Soi 1, Bang Saray
ADVERTISING AND NOTICES - TERMS
AND CONDITIONS
The Pattaya Trader is published by Chang Siam Publishing
Co. Ltd at the Registered Office: 6/28 M9 Sukhumvit Road,
Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi 20260, Thailand (aka
Albartec Car Centre). The name Pattaya Trader is a Trademark.
Contact Information
Telephone: + (66) (0) 38 716 390
Fax: + (66) (0) 38 38 716 985
Website: www.pattayatrader.com
Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) is a not-for-profit club
which meets every Sunday at the Amari Orchid Resort
Tavern by the Sea Restaurant at the northern end of Beach
Road. Everyone is welcome; you don’t need to be a member
to attend. For more information go to the website: www.
pattayacityexpatsclub.com or phone 038 412 197.
Pattaya Expats Club
Established in 2001. They
meet every Sunday for brunch
from 10:00am with the meeting
starting at 11:30am at the
Mercure Hotel, Pattaya Soi 15
(see the large hotel sign and
right turn off Second Road).,
or, from Soi Buakhow, right
turn into Soi 15, or, from Beach
Road, come up Soi Yamato
(Soi 13/1), cross over Second
Road into The Avenue and
walk through to Soi 15, turn
right and walk 100 metres
or so. Life Membership
600 baht. Website: www.
pattayaexpatsclub.com
Public Utilities
Pattaya City Hall
Tel: 038 429 124-5
Pattaya Electricity
Tel: 038 221 572; 038 221 463
Pattaya Garbage Collection
Tel: 038 429 494
Pattaya Health Department
Tel: 038 429 374
Pattaya Post Office
Tel: 038 429 341
Pattaya Water Works
Tel: 038 429 012
Banglamung Post Office
Tel: 038 428 225
Jomtien Post Office
Tel: 038 231 944
Pattaya Train Station
Located off Siam Country Club Road
One train per day between
Monday and Friday going to
Bangkok, leaving 14:30
Pattaya Trader
MINI BUSES TO AIRPORT/BANGKOK
MINI BUSES
A number of companies provide mini bus services to Bangkok, but they are usually listed in one schedule available
from travel agents and tour operators. They will collect you
from your hotel.
OTHER DESTINATIONS
CHIANG MAI
Air conditioned coaches run to Chiang Mai from the bus station
on Sukhumvit. 15:00, 17:55, 18:20, 19:00 hours daily. This can
be booked direct (038424871) or through travel agents and
tour operators.
KOH SAMUI
There is one flight per day (flight times vary) to Koh Samui
from the local airport, U-Tapao. The price is 2,305 Baht, tickets from Bangkok Airways or travel agents and tour operators.
Please note prices and times quoted are correct at the time
of going to press but can be changed without notice. Please
check with the service operator or your local travel agent
tour operator for the most recent information
From Suvarnabhumi Airport - www.airportpattayabus.com
There are 2 departure locations at Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya:
Tickets cost Baht 124
BELL TRAVEL SERVICE
Offers a daily service to and
from Suvarnabhumi International airport and Don Muang
airport. There is an office inside
the Rung Ruang bus station on
North Pattaya Road. Bookings
are recommended either by
phone or search online.
http://belltravelservice.com/
1. Airport Bus Terminal & 2. 1st floor of Airport Building between Gate No. 7-8
Departure Times:
Airport Bus Terminal : 1st Fl. Airport Building Gate No. 7-8
06:50 07:00
08:50 09:00
10:50 11:00
12:50 13:00
14:50 15:00
16:50 17:00
20:50 21:00
From Pattaya City
There are also 2 departure locations in Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport:
1. Office on Chaiyapruk Road (Not sure of the location)
2. Office on Thappraya Road (north of Thepprasit Road opposite Pan Pan Restaurant)
Departure Times:
Chaiyapruk Road Thapphraya Road
07:40
08:00
09:40
10:00
11:40
12:00
13:40
14:00
15:40
16:00
17:40
18:00
19:40
20:00
Pattaya Office Hours:
Office on Thapphraya Road 07:30 - 20:00 7 days a week
(North of Thepprasit Road opposite Pan Pan Restaurant)
Tel 038 -250-795 Tel 086-324-2389
Suvarnabhumi Airport Counter Service Hours:
1. Airport Bus Terminal: 06:30 - 21:00 7 days a week
2. 1st Fl. of Airport Building Gate 7-8 06:30 - 21:00 7 days a week
Tel: 086-324-2391
Page 88
MINI BUSES
A number of companies provide mini bus services to
Bangkok, but they are usually listed in one schedule
available from travel agents and tour operators. They
will collect you from your hotel.
LEAVING PATTAYA
OTHER DESTINATIONS
CHIANG MAI
Air conditioned coaches run to Chiang Mai from the bus
station on Sukhumvit. 15:00, 17:55, 18:20, 19:00 hours
daily.
This can be booked direct (038424871) or through
travel agents and tour operators.
KOH SAMUI
There is one flight per day (flight times vary) to Koh
Samui from the local airport, U-Tapao. The price is
2,305 Baht, tickets from Bangkok Airways or travel
agents and tour operators.
Please note prices and times quoted are correct at the
time of going to press but can be changed without
notice. Please check with the service operator or your
local travel agent tour operator for the most recent
information
COACHES
Our coaches from Pattaya arrive at 3 different bus terminals in Bangkok: the Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekamai), the
Northern Bus Terminal (Morchit 2) and the New Southern
Bus Terminal (Sai Tai). For those passengers traveling to
Morchit 2 and Sai Tai, there will be an additional stop at Aou
Udom bus stop. Contact Number: 038-429-877
Pattaya Bus Terminal to Northern Bus Terminal (Morchit 2)
Bus Route: Pattaya Bus Terminal – Motorway - Morchit 2
Departure Times: Buses leave every 30 to 40 minutes from Pattaya Bus Terminal
- The first bus leaves at 04:30
- The last bus leaves at 21:00
Bus Fare: 121 Thai Baht
Aou Udom Bus Stop: The bus from Pattaya Bus Terminal will stop
only if there are passengers from Aou Udom.
Departure Times: Buses leave every 30 to 40 minutes from Aou
Udom Bus Stop
Pattaya Bus Terminal to Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekamai)
Bus Route: Pattaya Bus Terminal-Bangna-Trad Rd. (Toll way) –
Ekamai
Departure Times: Buses leave every 30 to 40 minutes
from Pattaya Bus Terminal
Before arriving at Ekamai, passengers can also elect to get
off at the following Bangkok stops:
1. HomePro (Bang Plee)
2. Pedestrian Flyover opposite Central Bangna
3. Bangna Intersection
4. Onnuch BTS
Pattaya Bus Terminal to New Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai)
Bus Route: Pattaya Bus Terminal - Bangna-Trad Rd. (Toll way) New
Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai)
Departure Times:
06:00 07:00
08:00 09:00
10:00 12:00
13:00 14:00
15:00 16:00
18:00
Bus Fares: 113 Thai Baht
Aou Udom Bus Stop: The bus from Pattaya Bus Terminal will stop
only if there are passengers from Aou Udom.
Departure Times:
06:20 07:20
08:2009:20
10:2012:20
13:20 14:20
15:20 16:20
Pattaya Trader
EMBASSY AND CONSULATE LISTINGS
Australia Embassy in Bangkok
37 South Sathorn Road
Phone: +66 2 344 6300
Website: http://www.thailand.embassy.
gov.au
Austria Embassy in Bangkok
14, Soi Nandha, off Soi 1, Sathorn Tai Road
Phone: (+66/2) 303 60 57 to 59
Website: http://www.aussenministerium.
at/bangkok
Austria Honorary Consulate in Pattaya
504/526 Moo 10, Soi 17, 2nd Road
Phone: (+66/38) 71 36 13
Bahrain Embassy in Bangkok
100/66-67 31st Floor Sathorn Nakorn
Tower
North Sathorn Road Silom Bangrak
Phone: 006626367892
Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok
House No. 47/8,
Ekamai Soi 30, Sukhumvit 63.
Phone: (66-2) 3905107-8
Website: http://bdembassybangkok.org/
index.html
Belgium Embassy in Bangkok
Sathorn City Tower - 17th floor
Tungmahamek
Phone: +66(0)2-679.54.54
Website:
http://www.diplomatie.be/
bangkok
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Canada Embassy in Bangkok
15th Floor, Abdulrahim Place
990 Rama IV Road
Bangrak
Phone: 662-636-0540
Website: http://www.thailand.gc.ca
Hungary Embassy in Bangkok
20th Floor, Oak Tower, Prakanon
President Park Condominium,
99 Sukhumvit Soi 24
Prakanong
Phone: (+66) 2661-1150 / 1 / 2
China Embassy in Bangkok
57 Rachadapisake Road
Huay Kwang
Phone: 0066-2-2457044
Website:
http://www.chinaembassy.
or.th/eng/
India Embassy in Bangkok
46,Soi 23 (Prasarn Mitr)
Sukhumvit Road
Phone: 00-66-2-2580300-05
Website: http://indianembassy.gov.in/
bangkok
Croatia Consulate in Bangkok
No. 138/51 Jewelry Center, 14th floor,
Room No. G-4, Nares Road
Bangruk District
Phone: +66 2 266 6911, 848 2209 (press 2)
Indonesia Embassy in Bangkok
600-602 Petchburi Road
Ratchatewi
Phone: 02 252 3135-40
Czech Republic Embassy in Bangkok
71/6 Ruam Rudee Soi 2
Ploenchit Rd.
Phone: 0066-2-250 9223, 250 9224
Website: http://www.mzv.cz/bangkok
Denmark Consulate in Bangkok
East Asiatic Company (Thailand) Ltd.
Lumpini Tower, 36th Floor, 1168/92-109
Rama 4 Road, Thungmahamek
Phone: +66 (0) 2285 6677
Website:
http://www.ambbangkok.
um.dk
Ireland Consulate in Bangkok
28th Floor, Q. House Lumpini Building
1, South Sathorn Road
Tungmahamek, Sathorn
Phone: [66] 2 677 7500
Website: http://www.irelandinthailand.
com/
Israel Embassy in Bangkok
25th Floor, Ocean Tower II
75 Sukhumvit Soi 19
Phone: 02-204-9200; 02-204-9237; 02204-9226-7
Website: http://bangkok.mfa.gov.il
Egypt Embassy in Bangkok
6 Las. Colinas Building 42 nd Floor,
Sukhumvit 21 (Asoke Rd.), Klong Toey
Phone: (+662)6617184- 2620236
Italy Embassy in Bangkok
399, Nang Linchee Road
Thungmahamek, Yannawa
Phone: 662 285 4090
Belgium Consulate in Rayong
Pae Village, 95/2 Moo 3
Tambon Chakapong, Amphur Klang
Rayong 21190
Phone: (+66) (38) 64.83.08/ 2585 3853-4
Finland Embassy in Bangkok
Amarin Tower, 16th floor
500 Ploenchit Rd 10330
Phone: +66-2-250 8801
Website: http://www.finland.or.th/fi/
Japan Embassy in Bangkok
177 Witthayu Road
Lumphini, Pathum Wan
Phone: +66-2-207-8500
Website: http://www.th.emb-japan.go.jp/en/
Brunei Embassy in Bangkok
No. 12, Soi 2 Ekmai
63 Sukhumvit Road
Prakhong Nua District
Phone: 662 714 7395 -99
France Consulate in Bangkok
35 Charoenkrung Road
Soi 36
Phone: [66] (2) 657 51 51
Website: http://www.ambafrance-th.org/
Kuwait Embassy in Bangkok
No. 92/48 Sathorn Thani
Building 2, Sathorn Road
Bangrak District
Phone: (+66-2) 2342948, 2342943,
2354222
Bulgaria Embassy in Bangkok
83/24 Soi Wireless 1
Wireless Road, Lumpini
Pathumwan
Phone: (+66)-2627-3872 (+66)- 627-3873
Website: http://www.mfa.bg/bangkok/
Germany Embassy in Bangkok
Phone: 66 2 287 90 00
Website: http://www.bangkok.diplo.de/
Vertretung/bangkok/de/Startseite.html
Email: [email protected], rk@
german-embassy.or.th
Cambodia Embassy in Bangkok
518 / 4 Pracha Uthit Rd.
( Soi Ramkamhaeng 39 )
Wangtonglang
Phone: ( 02 ) 957-5851-2
Greece Embassy in Bangkok
Unit No. 25/9-5. 9th Fl, BKI/YWCA Bld,
No. 25 South Sathorn Rd, 10120
Tung-Mahamek Sub District
Phone: (00662) 6791462, 6791464
Email: [email protected] , bangkok@
embgreece.or.th
Lao Embassy in Bangkok
502,502/1-3 Soi Sahakarnpramoon
Pracha-Uthit Road
Wangthonglang
Phone: (+66) 2539-66679-8
Website: http://www.bkklaoembassy.com
Email: [email protected],
[email protected]
Page 90
Lebanon Embassy in Bangkok
CTI Tower, 15th Floor ,Suit 191/ 67- 191,
Ratchadapisek Road, Klongtoey,
Phone: (662) 261 1013,261 1015, 261 509,
0 2261 9858, 0 2261 9879
Malaysia Embassy in Bangkok
33-35 South Sathorn Road
Tungmahamek
Sathorn
Phone: +66-2-6296800
Website: http://www.kln.gov.my/
perwakilan/bangkok
Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok
132, Sathorn Nua Road
Phone: (662) 233-2237, 234-4698, 2337250, 234-0320, 637-9406
Netherlands Embassy in Bangkok
15 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Road
Lumpini, Pathurmwan
Phone: +66 (0)2 3095200
Website: http://www.netherlands
embassy.in.th
New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok
M Thai Tower,
14th Floor, All Seasons Place,
87 Wireless Road
Phone: +66 2 254 2530
Website: http://www.nzembassy.com/
home.cfm?c=21
Poland Embassy in Bangkok
100/81-82, Vongvanij Building B, 25th Floor
Rama 9 Road, Huaykwang District,
Phone: (00-66) 2645 0367- 9
Website: http://www.bangkok.polemb.net
Email: bangkok.amb.sekretariat.@msz.
gov.pl
Portugal Embassy in Bangkok
26, Captain Bush Lane (Soi New Road 30),
Bang Rak
Phone: (+66) 22342123, 22340372,
22347435
Switzerland Embassy in Bangkok
35 North Wireless Road
Phone: ++66 2 253 01 56
Email:
[email protected],
[email protected]
Russia Embassy in Bangkok
78, Sap Road, Surawongse, Bangrak
Phone: +66 2 234-9824, 268-1169
Website: http://www.thailand.mid.ru
Taiwan Consulate in Bangkok
20th Floor, Empire Tower
Yannawa
Phone: (+66) (2) 670-0200 - 9
Email: [email protected],tecocomu@
ji-net.com
Saudi Arabia Embassy in Bangkok
82 Saeng Thong Thani Bldg.,
23rd & 24th Fl., North Sathorn Rd., Silom
Phone: +66-2-6392999/+66-2-6392960
Singapore Embassy in Bangkok
129 South Sathorn Road, 10120
Phone: +286 2111, +286 1434
Website: http://www.mfa.gov.sg/
bangkok/
Norway Consulate in Pattaya
384/22 Moo 12, Jomthien Garden #52,
Jomthien Beach Road, Nongprue Banglamung, 20260
Phone: +66 (0)38 231-630
Slovakia Embassy in Bangkok
Pantip Court 68 South Sathorn Road
Phone: +66 (2) 285 0220
Website: http://www.mzv.sk/Bangkok
Pakistan Embassy in Bangkok
31 Soi Nana Nua Sukhumvit (3) Road
Phone: (+66-2) 2530288/9
Website: http://www.spacco.com/pak/
Index.html
Papua New Guinea Consulate in Bangkok
Sino-Thai Tower, R Floor, Asoke Road,
Sukhumvit 21
Phone: (+66-2) 2602801, 2602803
Philippines Embassy in Bangkok
760 Sukhumvit Road, cor. Soi Philippines
(Soi 30/1)
Phone: (00662) 259-0139 to 40; 258-5401
Website: http://www.philembassybangkok.net
Email: [email protected] or
[email protected]
Sweden Honorary Consulate in Pattaya
391/69 Moo 10
Thappraya Road
Phone: +66 (0)38 364 485
Romania Embassy in Bangkok
20/1, Soi Rajakhru, Phaholyothin Soi 5
Phaholyothin Road, Phayathai
Phone: (+66) (2) 6171551
Norway Embassy in Bangkok
Office Address: UBC II Building, 18th floor,
591 Sukhumvit Road, Soi 33
Phone: +66 (0)2 204-6500
Website: http://www.emb-norway.or.th
Oman Embassy in Bangkok
82 Swng Thong Thani Tower
32 Floor, North Sathorn Rd.
Phone: +662-639-9380
Website: http://www.mbendi.com/orgs/
dkkz.htm
Sweden Embassy in Bangkok
20th floor, First Pacific Place
140 Sukhumvit Road
Phone: +66-(0)2 263 72 00
Website: http://www.swedenabroad.se/
bangkok
Email:
ambassaden.bangkok@foreign.
ministry.se
Slovenia Embassy in Bangkok
298/2 Silom Road, Soi 28
Phone: +66-2-2347637
South Africa Embassy in Bangkok
Floor 12A, M-Thai Tower
All Seasons Place
87 Wireless Road, Pathumwan, Lumpini
Phone: + 66 2 659 2900
Website:
http://www.saembbangkok.
com
South Korea Embassy in Bangkok
23 Thiam-Ruammit Road
Ratchadapisek, Huay Kwang
Phone: (+66) 2247-7537 - 9
Website: http://tha.mofat.go.kr/eng/as/
tha/main/index.jsp
Spain Embassy in Bangkok
23 Lake Ratchada Office Complex
193/117 Ratchadaphisek Road
Phone: 02 661 8284
[email protected]
Turkey Embassy in Bangkok
61/1 SOI, Chatsan Suthisarn Road,
Huaykwang
Phone: (+66) 2274-7262 - 3 /(+66) 22748574
United Arab Emirates Embassy in
Bangkok
CRC Tower, 29th Floor, All Seasons Place
87/2 Wireless Road (Thanon Witthayu)
Lumpini, Phatumwan
Phone: (+66) 2 402 4000
Ukraine Embassy in Bangkok
87 All Seasons Place, CRC Tower, 33rd
Floor, Wireless Road Lumpini
Phone: +66-26853215
Website: http://www.ukraineinfo.gov.ua/
main
United Kingdom Embassy in Bangkok
14 Wireless Road
Lumpini Pathumwan
Phone: +66 (0) 2 305 8333
Website: http://www.britishembassy.gov.
uk/thailand
[email protected]
United States Embassy in Bangkok
120 - 122 Wireless Road and 95 Wireless
Road
Phone: +66-2-205-4000
Website: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/
Email: [email protected], visasbkk@state.
gov
Vietnam Embassy in Bangkok
83/1 Wireless Road, Lumpini,
Pathumwan
Phone: 0-2251-5836 - 8
Website: http://www.vietnam
embassy-thailand.org
Pattaya Trader
Take the Pattaya Trader Survey and WIN!
As you will see below, we have created a special survey in the hope that
the results will give us a better understanding of our readers and what they
are looking for in the Pattaya Trader.
The printed survey you see here
is available online by keying the following link or using the QR code:
https://apps.facebook.com/ptsurvey/
It should just take three to four
minutes of your time and you might
be the lucky winner of a free introductory diving course courtesy of
the Seafari Dive Center.
If you have the urge to physically fill this survey in then you have
a choice of four places where you
can drop in your thoughts to us.
And yes, you can literally tear out
the page and bring it in rather than
deposit the entire magazine!
1. When you think of the Pattaya Trader what do you think?
(tick as many options as you want)
o Boring
o Fun
o OK
o Useful
o Dated
o Interesting o No Opinion
2. How often do you read the Pattaya Trader?
o Every Month
o Most Months
o Rarely
o I don’t read the Pattaya Trader
3. Where is it most common for you to read or get the Pattaya
Trader?
o Pick up your own copy
o Read a copy found in pub
o Read a copy found in a waiting area
o I don’t read the Pattaya Trader
4. When you pick the magazine up, how do you read it? (tick
as many as apply to you)
o Always read the Pattaya Trader Side
o Always read the Property Section
o Sometimes read the Pattaya Trader Side
o Sometimes read the Property Section
o Don’t Read the Magazine
5. Please rate what content you would like to see in the
Trader (some of which is already featured)?
Yes, a lot
Yes
Ok
Classifieds o
o
o
Short Stories
o
o
o
Useful Information
o
o
o
Events/Promotions o
o
o
Sporto
o
o
Nightlifeo
o
o
Community Information
o
o
o
Dining out
o
o
o
Cartoons o
o
o
Movie Reviews
o
o
o
Book Reviews
o
o
o
Business & Finance
o
o
o
Hobbies/Things to Do
o
o
o
Homes & Garden
o
o
o
Buy/Sell/Rent Property
o
o
o
No
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
1. The ground floor of the Seafari
Dive Center, Soi 12, off Beach or
Second Roads in South Pattaya.
2. Pattaya Trader office, Albartec
Car Centre, Sukhumvit Road (just
past Soi Siam Country Club Road
lights heading north).
3. Pattaya City Expats Club, Sunday mornings at the Tavern by
the Sea, Beach Road, North Pattaya.
4.Pattaya Expats Club, Sunday
mornings at the Mercure Hotel,
Soi 15, South Pattaya.
7. Please choose the format you would most like to see for
the Pattaya Trader magazine layout
o Two sided as it is now (Trader/Property)
o Two sides (one for retiree / one for younger)
o One sided with Property integrated throughout
o One sided with Property at the end
o Two separate magazines (Trader/Property)
8. Please rate Inspire eMagazine
o I like it
o Its OK
o I don’t like it
o I have never heard of Inspire
9. What does Inspire eMagazine do? (tick as many as you
want)
o What’s on in Pattaya o Newsletters o News Stories
o Video Features
o Not really sure
o I don’t know
Your Information
10. Which age bracket do you fall within?
o under 30
o 31-40
o 41-50
o 51-60
o 61+
11. Your Status (tick best fit)
o Retired in Pattaya
o Business Owner / Decision Maker
o Work in Pattaya
o Holiday Pattaya (2month+ per year)
o Holiday Pattaya (less 2 months per year)
o Other:
……………………………………………………………………
Email Address:……………………………………………………
Optional Comments:
6. If there was an up to date classifieds section would you
like to see this?
o Yes, a lot o Yes o Maybe
o No
Page 92
Automotive
Boats
Lee Marine
International Marine Brokerage.
New and pre-owned Yacht Sales
and authorized dealers for Riva,
Ferretti, Pershing, Riviera, Prestige and
Jeanneau. Trade in considered. New
listings wanted. Contact Mark Heath
on 081 787 9408 [email protected]
Phone: 081 787 9408
Bayliner 20ft, Bowrider Incl. Trailer
For Sale
Mod. CAPRI 1996, mainly fresh water
used boat in very good condition,
ready to go, powerful and reliable
MERCRUISER 5,0L/V8 220HP Inboard
engine with ALPHA sterndrive and
excellent compress. diagram, Thai
registered for 8 persons, TAX paid
475000 THB
Phone: 089-7189977
6 Berth Rv Motorhome For Sale
Cars and trucks
Toyota Soluna Vios For Sale
New Thai Tuk Tuk For Sale
Rarely available. Vantech (Japan)
designed. 6 berths, 2 seating areas.
Toilet/shower, hotplate, sink, deepcycle batteries, TV, Satellite, 2 stereo/
DVD players, 3 aircons. Powered by
mains (with meter) or 2 on board
generators. low mileage.
1250000 THB
Phone: 0899303324
For Sale: 2006 Toyota Yaris
SALE: 2006 Toyota YARIS, Automatic:
67,000 km, sky blue 295,000 BPattaya,
Pratamnak area. Eng- 0860240702;
Thai -0868311419
295000 THB
Phone: 0860240702
Nissan Tiada
NISSAN TIADA 2009. 40,000 kms.
Oyster white/light grey interior.
Purchased new Feb 2009. Beautiful
luxury. Need to buy truck. 389,000
baht. 12,966 US dollars. English: 086
157 3739. Thai: 087 861 6628.
Phone: 087 861 6628
Kia Carnival Ceo Limo
KIA CARNIVAL CEO LIMO. Reg. January
2009. Silver, Auto, V-6. 184 HP. 110,000
kms. 7 leather seats. 2 DVD/TV. Low
price. Financing available. Telephone
Erik: 081 857 9961. Pa: 086 147 8787.
Phone: 081 857 9961
Rent Pickup 4 door, Automatic 16K
Nissan Sentra 4 door, Automatic, 12
K Nissan Sunny 4 door, manual. 9 K.
Every with LPG system & third party
insurance, etc. Motorbikes for rent.
Semi or Automatic 2K/month or 100
Bt/day Call: 086-8684369 (D.En.Thai)
100 THB
Phone: 086 - 8684369
For sale. 1990 Toyota Mighty X Wagon
SSR. Fitted with Toyota 2.5 cc JZ
Straight 6 engine and automatic
gearbox. All paperwork correct and
up to date, Taxed and insured. for full
details email [email protected] or
telephone Kevin 0813010017.
190000 THB
Phone: 0813010017
Privat Truck / Car & Motorbike 4
Hire !
Chrysler Neon Car For Sale
1997 Chr ysler Neon, excellent
condition. Recent service, brake job
done 3,000 km ago. The air blows cold,
automatic transmission, full power.
141,820 actual km.
99000 THB
Phone: Maas
Ford Ranger 2008 High Rider
Extended Cab.
Rent Pickup 4 door, Automatic 16K
Nissan Sentra 4 door, Automatic, 12
K Nissan Sunny 4 door, manual. 9 K.
Every with LPG system & third party
insurance, etc. Motorbikes for rent.
Semi or Automatic 2K/month or 100
Bt/day Call: 086-8684369 (D.En.Thai)
100 THB
Phone: 086 -8684369
For Sale: Volkswagen Sedan
Sokon Dfm Minibus
SOKON DFM MINIBUS. Reg April 2012.
White, 5 gears. 1300cc, 85HP, LPG Gas.
7 seats. Low price, financing available.
Telephone Erik: 081 857 9961. Pa: 086
147 8787.
Phone: 081 857 9961
Toyota Fortuner
TOYOTA FORTUNER 2007. 3 liter diesel,
with 96,000 kms, and many options.
825,000 baht. Tel: 081 290 7310.
Phone: 081 290 7310
Ssr.
Truck / Car & Motorbike 4 Hire!
Please call +66818403203
Phone: 0818403203
For Sale Toyota Mighty X Wagon
2003 Toyota Soluna Vios ‘S’ 1.5L
car for sale. Mileage: 160,000km.
Two previous owners and regularly
serviced. Airbags, electric lockings,
power steering. Great 2nd-hand car.
130,000B. Tel: 087 818 0400
310000 THB
Phone: 087 818 0400
Ford Ranger Wild Track Truck
FORD RANGER WILD TRACK TRUCK.
2011. Automatic, 4 doors. White with
white leather. 35,000 kms. 675,000
baht or will trade. Call 084 779 7591
[email protected]
Phone: 084 779 7591
2008 Ford Ranger High Rider 2 door
Extended Cab. 2.5ltr Diesel 55000km.
C h ro m e l i g h t cove r s / S p o i l e r s.
New Rear Carryboy. Many extras.
Excellent Condition. 5 Months 1st
Class Insurance and taxed. Chonburi
registration. Price 475000bht
475000 THB
Phone: 0897539751
Honda City
HONDA CITY 2010. Automatic, with
21,000 kms. New price 665,000 baht.
In new condition, asking 525,000 baht.
Tel: 081 290 7310.
Phone: 081 290 7310
Approx 1962 , Pink Colour, White
Interior, In need of restoration. Not
used. Have Vehicle papers.
70000 THB
Phone: 0843476953
Nissan Sunny Neo Gl
Nissan Sunny NEO GL for sale. Black,
Automatic, LPG (3 months). CD
Changer, Alarm. As new! Tel: 084 778
4317.
Phone: 084 778 4317
Private seller?
Go to PattayaTrader.com to add your property to our classified adverts
Pattaya Trader
2005 Chevy Optra 1.8ltr: Thai Wife
Automatic, PS, PB, AC, electric windows, mirrors, door locks and
trunk, radio/DVD player w/TV screen,
secure fuel door and probably other
stuff I don’t know about. Includes
Owner’s Manual (in Thai), spare tire,
jack, Thailand Atlas and whatever
else is in the car. Smooth, quiet and
strong. I have ownership book in
my name, free and clear, easy sale,
includes new insurance. Located in
Pattaya. 169,320km. I have print-outs
of two other 2005 Optras on market
for B390,000 and B345,000. I wish to
sell soon for only B245,000 OBO. Call
090-135-1939 afternoons to midnight.
245000 THB
Phone: 090-135-1939
Nisan Sunny For Sale
NISSAN SUNNY Auto 4 door. 120,000
k m s. AM / FM . Le at h e r i nte r i o r.
Power steering, brakes, windows,
air conditioning, American owned
and maintained. All service at dealer.
Excellent condition in and out. 200,000
baht. Cliff: 086 036 6753. 200000 THB
Phone: 086 036 6753
Black Toyota Fortuner 3.0d4d 4x4
Honda Cbr 250 Motor Cycle.
Motorcycle
Yamaha Elegance
Top of the range Toyota Fortuner Great
Optics tons of Extras over 150000bht
on Extras alone. 20 Wheels, Leather,
DVD MP4, Chrome Custom Trim.
Huge Custom speaker system all 4
doors, Pre-Amp great sound system.
Hood and rear tail gate covered with
Black Carbon film. Custom Headlights,
roofrack, and much more. Taxed
Insured 132000km All in All excellent
condition runs perfect. Real eye turner.
Email or call the Numbers I do not
answer cell phone text messages.
Thank you. Would take Harley in PX or
a good custom Chopper 600cc +
799000 THB
Phone: 0897539751
Open Top Jeep For Sale
First registered March 2011, Excellent
condition, runs smooth & fast, rego\
& insurance til March 2013, green
book, easy transfer, farang name, well
serviced, 135cc, Auto.bike in Pattaya
37000 THB
Phone: 0839 113965
Motorbike For Sale
Beautiful red PSX150 Honda. 6 months
old. 2,000 kms. Cost 80,000. Sell 66,000.
English: 086 157 3739. Thai: 087 861
6628. Phone: 087 861 6628
Email: 087 861 6628
Yamaha Mio
YAMAHA MIO 2008. 6,000 kms. 25,000
baht. 087 147 4073. Phone: 087 147 4073
Email: 087 147 4073
Swap Exchange Toyota Station
Wagon For Nissan Nv.
For sale. 1990 Toyota Mighty X Wagon
SSR. 2.5 cc JZ Straight 6 engine and
automatic gearbox. All paperwork
correct and up to date, Taxed and
insured. for full details telephone
Kevin 0813010017. I will exchange (
swap ) this car for a Nissan NV Queen
cab automatic with cash adjustment
either way.
190000 THB
Phone: 0813010017
great fun and practical car, 4 seats,jvc
flip off stereo, great runner, best
looking one around and you dont
often see come for sale so be quick
on this one, viewing and calls only
mornings please 0865743921(6am
to 12 midday)email any questions all
replies within 24 hours, can be viewed
in central pattaya 5 mins from Big c on
2nd road.495,000 bhat
495000 THB
Phone: 0865743921
Email: christophermoss123@hotmail.
com
Real Estate Agent?
Lots of properties on your
books?
Contact our team and we can automatically
stream your adverts into our system.
Business
Honda CBR 250. Black with gold trim.
LED lights etc. Very low kilomitors only
2 years old. Had a lot of money spent
on it. Tax paid and available on 7 Feb
from Honda main dealer.
90000 THB
Phone: 0802193428
Suzuki Bandit 1200 Cc, Good
Condition
Selling Suzuki Bandit 1200 cc, year
1997, very good condition! Tax and
insurance just paid new for 1 more year,
95 000 Baht only, phone: 0892241427
Phone: 0892241427
Harley Davidson For Sale
Harley Ultra Classic, Year 2008, 1600cc,
6 Speed, ABS, Stage1 Kit,32000km, very
good Condition, Extras, new Paintjob,
green Book, new first Class Insurance,
original bought from Powerstation
BKK, 0867757856 [email protected]
1000000 THB
Phone: 0867757856
Food and Drink
Coffee Shop/bistro
Pattaya, good location near Big C-Extra
and Foodland, fully licensed including
company, work permit and 1 year visa,
650,000 baht. [email protected]. 084
009 7009.
Phone: 084 009 7009
Email: [email protected].
Sale Restaurant Pattaya Walking
Street Soi 16
I want to sale my restaurant location is
walking street soi 16 Turkish restaurant.
60m2 ; rent is 36.000 baht montly; very
good location ; near the arabic shisha
shops..
1200000 THB
Phone: 0876876645
Our Hookahs & Shisha Help You
Relax & Socialize With Friends!
(m003605)-(e-dec02)
Choose from simple, short hoses, to
long, embroidered, ornate hookah
hoses. When your hose cracks, breaks,
or doesn’t smell right anymore,
affordable replacement hoses are
here. There are 3 main types of hooka
coals - easy lite round, japanese style
square & silver, and coconut shells.
A good supply of coals doesn’t cost
much and can keep you smoking for
a month or more.
Phone: 0092
Businesses wanted
Want To Purchase A Café
I wish to purchase a profitable Coffee
Shop/Cafe or similar in Pattaya or
Jomtien! Please, no phony figures or
exorbitant rent. I am cash buyer. Sale
subject to my lawyer’s approval! Call
Ian on 080 827 5307.
Phone: 0808275307
Page 94
Investments
Investors Needed Pattaya Business
Hotel Developer with timeshare/
holiday club membership sales
requires investment to upgrade. Very
profitable business - guaranteed 20%
interest pa. Minimum investment
100,000 US$
100000 THB
Phone: 0835960375
Businesses for sale
Pattaya Real Estate
business for sale Established with
agreements with major developers
in Pattaya and private sellers/renters,
with properties throughout Pattaya.
Good earnings, include company/
work permit
1950000 THB
Phone: 0892406891
Huge Bar, 220 Sqm, One Level!
Aircon-bar with outside terrace, central
but discrete location off 3rd Road,
near Soi Buakhao, fully licensed incl.
company, work permit and 1 year
visa. Only 1.25 mb, no key money, six
months rent free! (084) 0097009
1250000 THB
Phone: 0840097009
Nice Internet Shop
Food Wholesale Business
Opportunity to be part of a well
established food wholesaler. THB 2.3
million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
2300000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Pub With Rooms
Pub with rooms. Soi Buak hao.
Profitable business. Rent paid annually.
Sale price: THB 12.95 million. Tel. 087
283 5349.
12950000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Drive-in Motel
Drive-In Motel. East Pattaya. Sale price
includes land and building. Sale price:
THB 14.95 million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
14950000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Bar With Rooms
Bar with Rooms. Jomtien. 5 rental
rooms, Rent 30k/month. Sale price:
THB 1,65 million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
1650000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Bar With Rooms
Bar with rooms. Central Pattaya. 11
rental rooms. Rent 26k/month. Sale
price: THB 2.2 Million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
2200000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Bar With Rooms
Bar with rooms. Central Pattaya.
Profitable business. Long Lease. Sale
price: THB 2.3 million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
2300000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Agoda Affiliate Pattaya Travel
Website For Sale
Pattaya Agoda Affiliate Travel website
for sale! We Love Pattaya Contact us
today at www.welove-travel.com for
more information.
99000 THB
Phone: 0875965201
Coffee Shop / Bistro
good location in central Pattaya,
fully equipped, 380,000 Baht. (084)
0097009.
380000 THB
Phone: 0840097009
A Go-go Bar For Sale
Ask for Peter 085 275 3100 Thai 086
644 2203.
Phone: 085 275 3100
Landmark Hotel, Bar & Restaurantcentral Pattaya
Bar With Rooms
Bar with rooms. South Pattaya.
Profitable business. Long lease. Sale
price: THB 2.65 million. Tel. 087 283
5349.
2650000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Go-go-bar For Sale
Go-Go-Bar. Walking Street. Turn key
business. Long lease. Sale price: THB
5.5 million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
5500000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Guesthouse With Bar
Guesthouse with bar. Central Pattaya.
8 rental rooms. Long lease. Sale porice:
THB 4.9 million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
4900000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
Want to advertise in
the Pattaya People
AND
Pattaya Trader?
No problem!
Place an ad with
either of us and get
into both!
Hotel/Bar In a prime position in central
Pattaya and well known worldwide. 16
stylish spacious rooms, large corner
bar, restaurant, shop & penthouse
area it is a popular meeting spot
and showing excellent returns. Huge
potential. Phone +66844 640432
9900000 THB
Phone: +66844640432
Media Company For Sale
Media Company. Exclusive license for
printing of foreign newspapers. Price
on application. Tel. 087 283 5349.
Phone: 087 283 5349
Bar With Rooms
Bar with rooms. Located in Central
Pattaya. Price inc. of land and building.
Price on application. Tel. 087 283 5349. Phone: 087 283 5349
Wild West Saloon For Sale
Established 2010. Largest music venue
in Jomtien. Contact details: 081 160
3785, 091 180 8095.
Phone: 081 160 3785
Thailand Real Estate Website,
Valuable.com & Property Database
Bar With Rooms
Bar with rooms. Central Pattaya. 7
rental rooms. No key money. Sale price:
THB 2.95 million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
2950000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
good location in central Pattaya,
fully equipped, 680,000 baht, (084)
0097009.
680000 THB
Phone: 0840097009
Massage Shop
Massage Shop. Central Pattaya.
Profitable business. Long lease. Sale
price: THB 6.9 million. Tel. 087 283 5349.
6900000 THB
Phone: 087 283 5349
This Real Estate site advertises Property
for sale and rent and allows individuals,
Real Estate agencies, and Property
developers to advertise their Sales
and Rental properties including Land
for Sale.
59000 THB
Phone: Please Email
Business In Lk Metro
Business for sale in Soi LK Metro. Shop
and 5 furnished rooms. Rent paid
until April 2013. 850,000 baht. Tel: 089
094 7945.
850000 THB
Phone: 089 094 7945
Buy a FEATURED AD!
Your product will be at
the top of the listings,
highlighted and
feature a picture.
Be seen, be noticed, SELL!
with Pattaya Trader
Pattaya Trader
St Happy Chicken Co. Ltd Franchise
For Sale
ST HAPPY CHICKEN CO. LTD franchise
for sale. 60,000 baht. The best fried
chicken in the world. Low investment.
High profit margins. High return.
Sell from booth. Only 1 trained staff
required. ST Happy Chicken restaurant
Soi Lenkee, Pattaya. Phone English 089
608 7808 Thai: 082 708 7796.
60000 THB
Phone: 089 608 7808
Business Opportunity
Business for sale (because of other
business interests) 999.000 Bath
, established company in Central
Pattaya (visa services for Thai wants
to go abroad and auxiliary services)
.Translation service, travel agency.
This business can easily be run by a
Thai/farang couple . Excellent location
. Monthly rent only 10,000 baht , no
key money .Profits will be more than
120.000 Bath/month .
999999 THB
Phone: 0869304005
Xmas Promo: New Apple Iphone 5,
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Apple iPhone 5 (Unlocked) Apple iPhone 4S 16GB,32GB,64GB Apple iPad
4 With Retina Display Apple iPad 3 +
Wifi 4G 16GB,32GB,64GB Apple iPad 2
+ Wifi 3G 16GB,32GB,64GB BlackBerry
Porsche Design P
Phone: 0998585858
Xmas Offer For Apple Iphone 5
/16gb/32gb/64gb/ Black/white
Buy New Release Iphone 5 64gb,
New Samsung Galaxy S2&3,
Blackberry Porsche Design P9981
Daily Deals | Up To 90% Off On The
Best Stuff In Your City
Hello from ELECTRONICS247 LTD, We
are the Supplier of a wide range of
Original and Factory Unlocked Mobile
products such as Apple iPhone
450 THB
Phone: 447024051435
Email: Electronics_247ltd@hotmail.
com
For Sale:apple Iphone 5
64gb,apple Iphone 4s 64gb , Ipad
(unixf80d) Snap Deal features a Best
deals Coupons at an unbeatable price
on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and
buy in your city.It provides vouchers
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One attractive deal everyday in your
Inbox •Refer friends & win movie
ticket vouchers Buy more &win gifts
(Company- Snap Deal)
Phone: 9228007455
Electronics
Mobile Phones
On Sale: Apple Iphone 5, Ipad 4,
Samsung Galaxy S3 !!!
NEW RELEASED: Brand New Apple
iPhone 5 16GB/32GB/64GB (FACTORY
UNLOCKED) OS: iOS 6 IN THE BOX:
iPhone 5 Apple EarPods with Remote
and Mic Lightning to USB Cable
USB Power Adapter Documentation
F E AT U R E D P R O D U C T S : A P P L E :
* Apple iPad 4 ( Wi-Fi/Cellular)
16GB/32GB/64GB * Apple iPad mini
(Wi-Fi/Cellular) 16GB/32GB/64GB *
Apple iPad 3 with Wi-Fi + 4G 16GB /
32GB / 64GB SAMSUNG: * Samsung
Galaxy S III 16GB/32GB/64GB
(Factory Unlocked) BLACKBERRY: *
Blackberry Porsche Design P’9981
(Factory Unlocked) Contact us for
Inquiry & Order Placement: Email:
[email protected] SKYPE:
bestprice.trading Tel: +44-7035953298
550 THB
Phone: 447035953298
3 4g
we sell all kind of mobile phones
,games, laptops and many more brand
new phones all our phones are unlock
with one year int
700 THB
Phone: +447045707324
Nokia Lumia 800
same new in box only 12000,- bath
12000 THB
Phone: 0841204500
Selling Now : Apple Iphone 5
Hsdpa 4g Lte Unlocked Phone (sim
Free)
SELLING NOW : Apple iPhone 5 HSDPA
4G LTE Unlocked Phone (SIM Free)
SEASONS GREETINGS TO ALL OUR
BUYERS!! CHRISTMAS OFFER!!! BUY
3 GET I FREE INCLUDING 5 APPLE
T-SHIRTS. BUY 5 GET 2 FREE + 1 APPLE
IPHONE 5 INCLUDING 10 T-SHIRTS. BUY
10 GET 3 FREE + 2 APPLE IPHONE 5
INCLUDING 20 T-SHIRTS. Apple iPhone
5 is the thinnest, Lightest iPhone
Ever Features all-New aluminum
design, and a stunning 4-Inch Retina
Display. An Apple-designed A6 chip for
blazing fast performance; and ultrafast
wireless technology including LTE and
DC-HSDPA - all while delivering even
better battery life. The iPhone 5 comes
with iOS 6, the world
600 THB
Phone: +44567665467
For sale Factory unlocked Brand
New Mobile phones In Stock.STORE
PROMOTIONAL OFFER: BUY 3UNIT
GE T ONE FOR FREE..Black berr y
pin:219A5188Skype:moshood.
basitApple iphone 5 16GB--$400USDApple iphone 5 32GB--$450USDApple iphone 5 64GB--$600USDApple iphone 4S 64GB--$400USDApple iphone 4S 32GB--$350SUDApple iphone 4S 16GB--$250USDApple iPad 3 Wi-Fi + 4G 64GB
Unlocked cost $ 750usdApple iPad
3 Wi-Fi + 4G 32GB Unlocked cost $
700usdApple iPad 3 Wi-Fi + 4G 16GB
Unlocked cost $ 650usdBlackberry
Bold 9900---$300USDBlackberry
porsche p9981--$600USDBlackberry
TK Victory - $450USD ( With Arabic
Keyboard )Samsung Galaxy S III--$380USDSamsung Galaxy Note II
N7100 - $300USDSony Xperia SL $400USDThe item are in Good Working
Condition:Brand New!!! Factory Sealed
in Box Original/AuthenticBlackberry
pin:219A5188Skype:moshood.
basitSTORE PROMOTIONAL OFFER: BUY
3UNIT GET ONE FOR FREE..Your prompt
inquiry will be greatly appreciated.
For sale Factory unlocked Brand New
Mobile phones In Stock.
Phone: 000000000
Gadgets
Jbl Docking Speaker System
JBL Docking Speaker System for
iPhone for sale. Cost 10,000 new in
I-Studio Shop. Will sell for 5,000 baht.
Hardly used. Excellent condition. Call:
087 139 1570.
5000 THB
Phone: 087 139 1570
Desktop PCs
27” Apple Imac Desktop
27 16:9 wide screen 3.1 Ghz quad core
Intel core i5. Wireless key board and
mouse.New in box and never used
55000 THB
Phone: 038241775
Home Entertainment
Sony Surround Sound System
for sale. HD, DVD player with 5 speakers
and sub woofer. S.1 Dolby Surround.
Four tower speaker (2 wireless) and
one centre. Good condition. Paid
22,000 baht new. Will sell for 8,000
baht. Call 087 139 1570. 8000 THB
Phone: 087 139 1570
Employment
Part Time
[INSERT YOUR ADVERTISEMENT HERE]
Get excellent rates on advertising with Pattaya Trader and Pattaya People!
Go to PattayaTrader.com or contact our sales team on 038 716 390 now!
Page 96
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Staff required for new gentlmans club.
must speak some english and want to
learn. experienced ok but new people
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photo.
Phone: 0909129124
Email: actorsmodelsthailand@gmail.
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Offering work
Piano Teacher/player Wanted
Piano Teacher/Player wanted to teach
Chord Progressions I read. 085 320
3053.
Phone: 085 320 3053
It Specialist Required (thai
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Leading local IT company requires
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LAN and W-LAN. Competitive salary,
generous holidays and good working
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Phone: 038360400
Sales Representative
Sales Representative for a new alcoholic
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8,000 baht + high commission. Fun
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Contact Nick: 083 413 3279 or sales2@
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8000 THB
Phone: 083 413 3279
Popular Pattaya Restaurant Needs
Waitress And Cooks Good Salary
Bonuses Tips
Security Closed Protection Officer.
Ex- Royal Marines/SAS, looking for
work in Thailand. Full international
driving license. SAD registered for
work permit.
Phone: 082 968 6185
Work Wanted.
Clerk of works/size supervision –
construction. 25 years experience.
English expat, residing in Pattaya.
Phone: 087 685 0833
Staff Wanted
STAFF WANTED. Female 25 + for
Business Admin Manager. Experience
in Pharma/Med, clinic or direct
sales. Salary 20,000 ++ Resume to
[email protected]
Seeking work
Job Wanted
HOUSEKEEPER reliable 45 years old
offers to work in Pattaya and vicinity.
English speaking. Car owner. Call
Sunantha: 088 215 5014.
Phone: 088 215 5014
Private English Tutor - Jomtien/
pattaya
American English teacher. 14 yrs
experience. M.A. Linguistics, B.A.
English. TOEIC/TOEFL, SAT, GRE, IELTS,
Business English, Technical/Academic
Writing, and Conversation. Certified,
recommendations on request. Call for
more info.
500 THB
Phone: 0827813381
Email: ;[email protected]
Housekeeper
Housekeeper. Reliable 45 years old,
offers to work in Pattaya and vicinity.
English speaking, car owner! Call
Sunantha on 088 215 5014.
Phone: 088 215 5014
Working Holiday In Australia?
Are you between 18 and 30 years of
age? Do you want to work in Australia?
Do you want to make money? Skype id:
silicon_heaven
Phone: 89556898565
Thai National
English speaking male, 31 years old,
seeks employment as a waiter in a
restaurant or a hotel.
Phone: 090 912 9514
Fishing Spear Gun
Fishing spear gun for sale. 6,000 baht.
Tel: 080 743 7817
6000 THB
Phone: 080 743 7817
Golf
Golf Membership Wanted
for Green valley 15-25 years. call
Murray 0844977767
Phone: 0844977767
Home and Garden
Antiques and Art
Show Case Cabinet With
Handmade Painted Crockery
Sweet Sellers Wanted
Thailand Fun Food is looking for staff
to sell sweet snacks in a new outdoor
shopping mall in Na Jomtien. Working
hours only 7.5 hours per day, 10.000
baht salary per month plus bonus.
Transportation provided. Please call for
more information. Company: Thailand
Fun Food, co. ltd. Phone: 0861381072
Cooks and waitresses required for
popular Central Pattaya restaurant
with good benefits, salary, tips and
bonuses. 2 Waitress and 2 Cooks must
be Thai citizen and some restaurant
experience is preferred but not a
requirement. Training is available
Phone: 089-401-6022
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Phone: 0347
Private English Tutor & Other
Subjects
English tutoring for all levels aged 5+ to
adults, reasonable rates, in my home or
your home including weekends. i can
also tutor social studies i.e. geography,
history, biology and human resources
subjects. references provided upon
request.
Phone: 0892243720
16 Pieces set of Thai hand painted
crockery. Any reasonable offer is
welcome. Must been sold not later
than at the end of January 2013.
Phone: 0910076762
Furniture
3 Piece Leather Sofa Recliner In
Excellent Condition.
Hobby and Sport
Music
Emusic’s ‘scenes’ App For Ipad Can
Turn You
into a Hipster (or at Least a Scenester)
Music comes from “scenes.” Scenes
arise in cities and other areas due to a
unique confluence of people, timing,
building blocks from previous scenes,
economics, geography, demographics,
real estate prices, and countless
other X factors.h t t p : / / w w w .
freeshiponline.com/als/emusic
Phone: 0847879874
Fishing
New price 75,000.00 THB. W189xD95160xH98-79 + W137xD95-160xH98-79
+ W89xD95-160xH98-79. Any
reasonable offer is welcome.
Phone: 0910076762
Pattaya Trader
Bar Fittings For Sale
FOR SALE: Wooden Bar Stools, Pub
Projector BENQ with Screen, Pool
Table. Cost 90,000, will take half. Air
Con 32 BTU. All can be seen working.
089 246 2146.
45000 THB
Phone: 089 246 2146
Standard Process: Manufacturer Of
Aluminum Pressure Cookers
We are manufacturers of all types
of aluminum pressureCookers.
Also all size of aluminum pressure
c o o k e r s w i l l B e a v a i l a b l e . Fo r
more information contact us on
+91-9974622368ktocon0009
Phone: 9974622368
Miscellaneous
Cosmetics and skincare
Organic And Natural Spa And
Cosmetic Wholesale And Do Under
Your Brand
Hey, I am selling my 9 month old
English Bulldog. I got him from a
professional breader near Bangkok.
He is a great dog and great with
young kids. Reason for selling: Work
commitments mean I just dont spend
anytime with him and with the kids
being at school he is at home all day
alone.
Phone: 089 832 4809
Email: michael.andrews@ceaprojects.
com
Clothing and Fashion
Breitling Colt Watch
for sale. 18 months old. 100% original
with box and papers. Excellent
condition. New: 140,000 baht, will
sell: 80,000 baht. Call 087 139 1570.
80000 THB
Phone: 087 139 1570.
Personals
Page 98
Business support
Seeking Women
Lonely Elderly English Gentleman
Lonely elderly English gentleman, own
home, car, good secure income, would
like to meet lady to share it all with.
If you are up to 65 years old, speak
and understand English well, do not
smoke or drink, would be good friend
and companion, I would love to hear
from you. Please phone 038 421 502
any time between 9am and 9pm. A
monthly payment for your personal
needs will be made.
Phone: 038 421 502
Teaching and education
Thai For Living In Thailand
If you are the foreigners who wanna
learn Thai for talking to Thai people I
can teach you !! Learn one on one , it
costs 300 THB/ 1 hr.
Phone: 084-685-2151
Email: vaness_pomme_zaizai@
hotmail.com
Building and decorating
Alien Building Services.
Renovation/maintenance for
guesthouse, condo, residential works.
Phone: 080 641 7461
Building Contractor.
New work, houses, condos, refits,
modifications, extensions.
Phone: 081 846 6295
Legal and accounting
Pattaya Lawyers (siam-legal
International)
We Provide Good Quality
Education And Childcare
(m000154) - Cn-nov12
We provide good quality education
and childcare to all children, in an
environment that is welcoming,
healthy, secure, and educationally
stimulating and that encourages
children to develop personally, socially,
creatively, intellectually, physically and
emotionally. Growing up and learning
is a fun and happy experience. 177
Earlham Grove, London E7 9AP
1 THB
Phone: 03009965478
We Hope You Will Find All The
Information You Need (m000879)wlc-nov12
If you want to learn a new skill, our
courses offer you that little bit extra
so you leave us with so much more
than a qualification. Here are just some
examples of what our students get to
experience as part of their course....
So Contact on:Gunnersbury Lane,
Acton London W3 8UXCourse/College
Enquiries: 0800 980 2185
Phone: 03339733009
Siam Legal prides itself as a premier
legal service provider in Bangkok, and
in key cities within the country, making
it the largest Law Firm in Thailand. We
provide all kinds of legal services in
Thailand including international visa
processing.
Phone: 038370786
Pets
Koi Carp - Biggest 50 Cm Long And
Fat - About 20 Fish
plus sucker fish about 8 fish 35cm long.
Located in Chantaburi Province. Want
50,000 Baht. email me for more details
and video.
50000 THB
Phone: 0878338017
Anyone For Table Tennis
ANYONE FOR TABLE TENNIS? Call John:
087 106 4405 or 087 166 4405. Phone: 087 106 4405
Organic spa, Natural spa, skin care
product for wholesale or do it under
your brand. Easy nd make good
income. If interest just call Miss Srirat
082-059-6998 [email protected]
10000 THB
Phone: 0820596998
Services
Appliances
9 Month Old English Bulldog
FLIP THE BOOK!
Check out the
Property Trader classifieds for hundreds of
houses and condos for sale or rent right
across the region or visit
PattayaTrader.com
for more!
Selling Electronics?
Job Vacancies free?
Want rid of an old car
or motorbike?
Go to
PattayaTrader.com
and place a FREE ad in
our general classifieds
section.

PattTrad Feb13

Transcription

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