pattayamail.gif (2145 bytes)

News
Business News
Features
Columns
Letters
Sports

Happenings
Classifieds
Backissues
Index

 Advertising
Subscribe

   FEATURES

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Art exhibition honoring HM the King being held at Burapha University

German-Thai Chamber of Commerce meets again in Pattaya

How well do you know Pattaya?

The Campaign for REAL Bacon

Eurocity - Buyer’s Agent

A Transformational Leader’s Characteristics 2

Art exhibition honoring HM the King being held at Burapha University

An exhibition of preliminary drawings and sketches for art works in celebration of HM the King’s 6th Cycle Birthday Anniversary is being held at Burapha University until February 5th. Many of the Kingdom’s best known artists, as well as many who are not as well known, are exhibiting their work.

The Art Exhibition also pays tribute to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s creativity, showing how He is known as Thailand’s artistic monarch.

The exhibition is being held at the Burapha University’s Art Exhibition Hall. After this it will be touring the country to be displayed in each of the 76 provinces in honor of His Majesty the King.

Back to Features Headline Index

German-Thai Chamber of Commerce meets again in Pattaya

The German-Thai Chamber of Commerce has again demonstrated their feeling and dedication towards the economic importance of the Eastern Seaboard and the depth of German investment in the area.

Dietmar and Lindsay having a gemütlich time

At an informal get together of the Chamber’s members at the Moon River Pub last weekend, President Ulrich Weber reiterated their confidence in this region and the movements in the Thai economy. “Today, eight out of ten German operated businesses in Thailand are saying that economically things are definitely on the way up, whereas two years ago nine out of ten were saying that things were not good at all.”

Another indicator of the German confidence is the 43 million Deutsche Mark investment from BMW in the new manufacturing plant at Amata City. This plant is due to come on stream early this year, with the President of the BMW Manufacturing (Thailand), Dr. Ralph-Rainer Ohlsen, being very confident that the new 3 Series BMW’s will be rolling out of the plant in the next three months. It is also planned that the Land Rover Freelander will be produced locally in this facility.

Gerd-Udo Hauser (DaimlerChrysler), Ulrich Weber (President G-T Chamber),Dr. Paul Strunk (Chairman G-T Chamber).

Another German based group, Daimler Chrysler, is very upbeat about the movements in the local scene. Gerd-Udo Hauser, Head of the Corporate Representative Office in Thailand spoke on the considerable investment by his group and the amazing diversification of Daimler Chrysler these days, encompassing railroads, aviation and freight movement as well as the core business of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler automotive products.

Stefan Buerkle (German- Thai Chamber)

Stefan Buerkle, the Chief of the German-Thai Chamber Business Economics and Advisory Division was equally upbeat and confident. “We run our Advisory Division through the Chamber and are pleased to see that following our business advice, so many of the German based companies are here and going ahead strongly. We, in the Chamber, take this side of business life very seriously - we are not just a social group of German speakers.”

With over 75 attendees at the gathering and such business confidence it was no small wonder that the German-Thai Chamber has decided to hold these gatherings (called Stammtisch) every second month on the Eastern Seaboard. The Pattaya Mail will advise of the date of the next one in March.

Back to Features Headline Index

How well do you know Pattaya?

Answer this short quiz and see just how well you know Pattaya and how well you understand the basic concepts of living in this city. It is suggested you fill in this quiz form in private, so that you will not be embarrassed by your friends and associates finding out how little you know. It takes three minutes. Best of luck. The time starts now .....

1. Gobble and Go is:
(a) A sandwich Bar in the Royal Garden Plaza
(b) A go-go bar in Soi Yodsak
(c) A new Dance craze in Disco 2000

2. When the bar girl asks “How many children you got?” she really means:
(a) Are you still potent?
(b) Is there any money left?
(c) Do they need a stepmother?

3. Rear view mirrors on motorcycles are for:
(a) Looking behind you.
(b) Squeezing pimples in
(c) Hanging shopping bags on.

4. When the shop girl says “One sai fit all.” she really means:
(a) It’s Thai size, but you can try.
(b) It’s too small for you
(c) I’ll sell him two of them.

5. When you ask for a bank statement and they say “Computah dow” they really mean:
(a) They’ve lost your money
(b) 90% of the staff are at lunch
(c) They forgot to turn on the computer this morning.

6. When your son comes home with a katoey it means:
(a) He’s gay
(b) She’s gay
(c) You’ve been here too long

7. When your daughter comes home with a katoey it means:
(a) She’s gay
(b) He’s gay
(c) You’ve definitely been here too long.

8. The rules state that the rider at the front of a motorcycle must wear a helmet. Does this include:
(a) The 3 year old in front of the rider
(b) The person on the pillion who has control of the throttle
(c) None of the above between intersections.

9. It is acceptable form to wear a wet suit at Songkran when:
(a) Walking down Soi Post Office
(b) In bed sleeping
(c) Dining out at Bruno’s.

10. The opening time for shops in the Royal Garden Plaza is:
(a) 10.30 a.m.
(b) 11.00 a.m.
(c) 12.00 noon.

Answers:

Question 1. (a) 0 points. You are thinking too much about food.
(b) 10 points
(c) 5 points. But only after midnight.

Qn. 2. (a) 5 points. Perhaps another Viagra is needed.
(b) 10 points, but buy more Viagra.
(c) 0 points.

Qn 3. (a) 0 points
(b) 10 points
(c) 10 points, plus a bonus 10 if you can do (b) and (c) together. Qn 4. (a) 10 points Farang Yai.
(b) 10 points Farang Yai
(c) 10 points if you’ve bought both.

Qn 5. (a) 0 points. This is a bank.
(b) 5 points. This is a Thai bank.
(c) 10 points. Jam mai dai. This really is a Thai bank!

Qn. 6.(a) 0 points. He’s pissed.
(b) 0 points. She’s a he.
(c) 10 points.

Qn 7. (a) 0 points. She’s pissed.
(b) 10 points She’s a he.
(c) 10 points and another bonus 10 for admitting it.

Qn. 8. (a) 0 points
(b) 0 points
(c) 10 points. Between intersections is a helmet free zone.

Qn. 9. (a) 10 points. Mandatory Songkran day wear.
(b) 10 points. Mandatory Songkran evening wear.
(c) 0 points. Suit is more appropriate.

Qn. 10. (a) 0 points. Nobody opens early in Pattaya.
(b) 0 points. This is only the advertised opening time.
(c) 10 points. Most will be open by noon.

Scoring:

If you scored 85 - 100 points or more you have either been here a long time or are lying.

Scores between 50 and 85 show you have some redeeming features, but still tend to lie a lot.

Scores less than 50 show that you should go back to your own country immediately, or hire a nanny, or both.

Back to Features Headline Index

The Campaign for REAL Bacon

What is the most expensive water money can buy? Here’s a few clues:

1. It costs several times as much as Perrier.
2. It doesn’t’ have a designer name.
3. It’s not fashionable or trendy.
4. It tastes terrible.

Have you guessed? Well, the answer is: It’s the water that is injected into pork to turn into bacon. And when you fry the bacon it’s released into the fat and turns into an unappetizing scum while the rasher shrinks to half it’s original size.

Norman Denning

But soon this could all be thing of the past. Pattaya has a crusader with the mission to bring back REAL BACON. His name is Norman Denning, a Brit from Yorkshire, and he wants everyone to enjoy the taste of real bacon with the genuine old-fashioned flavor it used to have when it was cured and sold by butchers, rather than supermarkets.

“It’s much easier and far cheaper to cure your bacon by using a machine that clamps hold of the meat and injects it with hundreds of needles and then soak it in brine,” said Norman. “And the trouble is that lots of younger people have never tasted the real thing.”

Norman knows what he is talking about because he served an eight-year apprenticeship to become a Master Butcher. After working as a manager for a large butcher’s shop in Bradford, he branched out on his own and built up a successful business over the next 20 years.

During that time he perfected his own secret recipe - a mixture of salt, spices, herbs and other things he won’t divulge. These are rubbed into the meat and it is left for just the right amount of time to be absorbed and cure the pork.

Then Norman came to Thailand for a holiday and fell in love with the place - except for a couple of things. He missed real bacon, English sausages, home-cured ham and top quality pork pies and decided to do something about it.

He went back home, shut his business and packed all the equipment and fridges he needed into a shipping container. After the normal nightmare of dealing with Thai customs departments, he got it to his guesthouse and restaurant in Jomtien Beach Road, near Nang Nual Restaurant and started to make bacon.

“There were a few lessons to learn,” said Norman. “For a start the pork quality in Thailand is excellent, but it is much more tender and softer than the meat I was used to in England and it needs a lot less seasoning.”

He also refused to compromise on quality and that meant rejecting parts of the animals that some butchers put into their products.

“When I cure and bone a pig in the old-fashioned way it loses about 30 percent of its weight as waster actually comes out,” said Norman. “So that means I am paying a lot more for my pork, but if you want quality and taste you have to do things properly.”

But even Norman couldn’t get everything right the first time. His first batch of pork pies tasted nothing like the intended. “The difference in the meat and the flavorings changed the taste so much that I wouldn’t sell them.”

After a few more experiments Norman has now perfected the “English” tasting pork pie that made him famous in Yorkshire. He also made a batch of super-lean pork sausages for health-conscious customers.

“Personally they are a bit too dry for my taste, but you can eat them with a clear conscience,” said Norman.

Although his guesthouse is quite a long way down the Jomtien Beach Road, the word about Norman’s gammon rashers is spreading. Ex-pat Brits are already starting to home in on him to have breakfast and roast lunches in his restaurant and to take bags of bacon, ham and pies to put in their fridges.

Back to Features Headline Index

Eurocity - Buyer’s Agent

Eurocity International was formed in 1999 as a result of direct market research into the real estate industry in Pattaya. It was discovered that many potential purchasers were not getting the right information that they were entitled to, such as the legal position on land and house ownership, the correct structuring of company formations for ownership of condominiums, what taxes you should be paying, plus lots more questions that went unanswered.

Barry Young, Managing Director of “Eurocity International, Pattaya.

Furthermore, those individuals that did purchase found that they received no aftercare service and in some cases had bought at hugely inflated prices and were unable to re-sell at a later stage.

Operating from modern offices, equipped with the latest technology, right in the center of Pattaya, Eurocity International aims to offer their clients a new concept (for Thailand) in real estate services, that of the Buyer’s Agent. Representing the Buyer’s interest 100% of the time, therefore, not creating any conflict of interest.

Whether you wish to buy a property to live in or as an investment, renting or buying a business, Eurocity International can help you along the way to make the purchase safe, secure and reliable.

Sirikanrat (Jen) Sangthong, Business Development Manager, Eurocity International.

With British management and English speaking Thai Nationals, Eurocity International intends to become a major service provider on the Eastern Seaboard, also by offering the traditional services of a real estate company such as lettings and property management.

Eurocity International is proud of the fact that they are the first real estate company in Pattaya to become members of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand and are committed to a major networking program for the year 2000.

The future of real estate is very much focused on the Internet. Sales of goods and services have exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations; a significant part of this will be in real estate related commerce. Visit their website at www.eurocitythailand.com and see for yourself.

For Further information or advice on any aspect of real estate purchase, contact Eurocity International at the Royal Garden Resort or call 412 120 ext. 1991

Back to Features Headline Index

A Transformational Leader’s Characteristics 2

by Richard Townsend, Corporate Learning
Consultant

http://www.orglearn.org

Three more (of the six) personality characteristics of transformational leaders

Empowering

Empowerment is fourth aspect that Hackman and Johnson (1991) suggest is important. Empowerment is the ability to “translate intention into reality and sustain it [for the followers]” (Bennis & Nanus, 1985). B & N further explain that “empowerment is the reciprocal of power and that empowerment puts duality into motion”. In other words, power translates into empowerment and empowerment, in turn, creates more power. Without leaders promoting responsibility and displacing power, followers cannot fully achieve their potential. This as we know is a big challenge in some Asian cultures. The key is if you want to have a modern successful organization, you as a leader must address this issue.

Passionate

“Transformational leaders are passionate in their commitment to task and people alike” (H & J, 1991). Bennis and Nanus (1985) again elaborate, “like explorer and artists, [leaders] seem to focus their attention on a limited field - their task - to forget personal problems, to lose their sense of time, to feel competent and in control”. To transform leaders must have a strong commitment to their vision. Passion is essential for this strong commitment, without passion there is no real direction and vision is short-lived.

Ethical

One final notable characteristic is that of high ethical standards. Any discussion of transformational leadership must include ethics. Burns (1978) comments, “Leaders must effectively ‘connect with’ followers from a level of morality only one stage higher than that of the followers, but moral leaders who act at much higher levels relate to followers at all levels...” Blanchard and Peale (1989) suggest that a manager with strong ethical standards is armed with the ability to do the right thing all of the time. They further conclude that ethics must not only be the result, but ethics must be involved in the process of decision making. An effective leader must be committed to ethical responses to any situation.

Worth a thought!

Refs: Hackman, M. & Johnson, C. (1991) Leadership. Waveland Press. Bennis & Nanus (1985) Leaders: strategies for taking charge. Harper & Row Blanchard K & Peale N (1988). The power of ethical mgmnt. Fawcett Crest. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.

Back to Features Headline Index

Copyright 1999 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]

Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.