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  COLUMNS

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
 
Family Money: Get real about real estate
 
The Computer Doctor

Successfully Yours: Erika Keller

Life Force: Vitamin E
 
Snap Shots: Get in Close!
   
Modern Medicine: A Pox on you!

Heart to Heart with Hillary
 
Grapevine

Dining Out: Zeppelin Restaurnat - definitely not the Hindenberg!
  
Lotus Eaters: An upcountry Thai wedding in Phrae

Down The Iron Road: The State Railway Map of1965
 
Coins of the Realm: Pattern, ESSAI and Specimen
 
Animal Crackers: Fleas

Family Money: Get real about real estate

By Leslie Wright

In recent weeks I have received several enquiries with regard to buying real estate property. These have inevitably been from a middle-aged (or older) expatriate who has decided to settle in Thailand with the girl of his dreams that he met last month or the month before, who loves him so much that she’s leaving her place of work in Soi 8 or Pattayaland Soi 2 to settle down in the nice little house she’s found for them somewhere along Jomtien Beach.

Usually, the enquirer wants to find out why the property cannot be held in his own name, and if it’s okay to put it in his girlfriend’s name.

Some of these enquirers are so na๏ve that they even ask how they can obtain a mortgage on the property. “Oh dear,” I think when I hear these tales, “Not another one...”

For their own protection

At the height of the currency crisis in 1997, Thailand had agreed with the IMF to liberalise its laws with regard to foreigners owning real estate in Thailand.

The matter was debated in parliament and the press at great length, and the usual jingoistic (some would say xenophobic) statements were aired that if the protectionist laws were amended, we greedy farangs would sweep in and buy up all the land in Thailand and exploit the poor innocent Thais in our typical colonialist fashion. (I wonder why the fact that Thais or anyone else with money can buy any amount of landed property in the U.K. or U.S.A. is never aired as a counter-argument, and neither the British nor Americans seem terribly worried that their country is going to be taken over by colonising Asians - but that perhaps is another topic for another day.)

So the debate went on and on, and announcements were eventually made that the law was going to be amended to allow foreigners to lease up to 1 rai of land for up to 30 years, on which to build a residential property - provided this was preceded by a remittance equivalent to 10 million baht of hard currency from overseas deposited in a bank in Thailand.

However, like several other politically unpopular bills, this one also is still pending, as far as I’m aware.

Nonetheless, some local real estate firms trumpet in their advertisements that foreigners can now own their own property. But this is just a clever ploy to get you through their doors. The mechanism which has been used for years to get around this protectionist law has not, in fact, changed.

The facts

An expatriate can own a condominium in his own name provided not more than 40% of the apartments in the condominium complex are owned by foreigners. That has been the case for a long time already.

But if you want to buy a house or land, an expatriate can only do so through a legally registered company, of which a single expatriate cannot own more than 39% of the shares (recently amended from 33%), and collectively not more than 49%.

You also need at least six Thai partners to hold the remaining shares (although you can go a long way to protect your interests by being the sole authorised signatory and ensuring these local partners sign their undated resignations and share transfer deeds at the time of setting up the company.)

Of course, you could avoid the costs & hassle of setting up a company by putting the house in your wife/girlfriend’s name. This will undoubtedly make her very happy - even happier than the visits you made to her favourite gold shop and motorcycle shop (which are the usual precursors to visiting the real estate agency).

However, what happens a year or two down the road when you have a major disagreement about something, or her Thai ‘husband’ shows up (they all seem to have them squirreled away somewhere)? You, like so many before you, may find yourself standing on Jomtien Beach with only your passport in one hand and a bag of clothes in the other... and your life savings gone.

Getting a mortgage

In U.K., USA or Europe, getting a mortgage on a property is almost taken for granted. Few people are in a position to buy a property for cash on the table.

The relatively low price of property in Thailand means that many expatriates who decide to settle here are tempted to buy a residential property, or a shop house for their girlfriend to run a travel agency, beauty salon, snooker hall or beer bar on the ground floor, while they love - I mean live - upstairs.

Some of the more na๏ve ones imagine that they can just march into a local bank and get a mortgage on the strength of the property and their ‘personal’ guarantee on behalf of their girlfriend.

Sorry, but that isn’t going to happen.

Unlike in the West, where the title to the property guarantees the bank in the event of default, and an endowment or insurance policy its money in the event of the borrower’s dying, laws in Thailand to help banks recoup bad debts were only implemented last year, and the efficiency of the court system is such that it could take up to 10 years to recoup defaulters’ bad debts.

Banks are not interested in holding real estate on their books, since this is a non-performing ‘dead’ asset; they want to recover the money they lent, to lend it to someone else and earn interest on the loan.

Understandable, since they’re in the money business, not the real estate business.

Look at the numbers of non-performing loans (still around 43% of total loans issued by local banks), and the high percentage of mortgage defaulters, and that might give you some inkling why banks here have virtually stopped offering new mortgages on real estate.

In Europe, banks can seize collateral property and sell it on fairly quickly. Here, in a depressed property market, even auctions have proven less than totally successful in moving those real estate properties which banks have been able to repossess against defaulting loans. More often than not the few meagre bids have not reached the bank’s reserve price, and the bank simply withdraws the property from the auction.

Obtaining a mortgage anywhere will depend largely on the ability of the borrower to repay the loan. This will be evaluated by the lending institution on the basis of stability of employment income and past credit record.

Nowadays, even local business people with good credit records are having great difficulty obtaining mortgages. Typically, they have to show they have at least the value of the mortgage on deposit in the bank already, and are prepared to keep it there as collateral.

So if you’re prepared to deposit the value of the property in the bank - in her name, of course - she might be able to get a mortgage if she has a good employment record and her regular salary is sufficient to repay the loan. And of course the property then has to be in her rather than your name.

But to imagine that an expatriate boyfriend (who could leave the country any time) will be accepted by any bank as guarantor of a mortgage being applied for by a local lass whose employment record comprises working in a go-go bar for a year or two, and whose average bank balance has been perhaps 400 baht a month, is na๏ve in the extreme.

(to be continued next week)

Leslie Wright is Managing Director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd., a firm of independent financial advisors providing advice to expatriate residents of the Eastern Seaboard on personal financial planning and international investments. If you have any comments or queries on this article, or about other topics concerning investment matters, contact Leslie directly by fax on (038) 232522 or e-mail [email protected]. Further details and back articles can be accessed on his firm’s website on www.westminsterthailand.com.

Editor’s note: Leslie sometimes receives e-mails to which he is unable to respond due to the sender’s automatic return address being incorrect. If you have sent him an e-mail to which you have not received a reply, this may be why. To ensure his prompt response to your enquiry, please include your complete return e-mail address, or a contact phone/fax number.

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The Computer Doctor

by Richard Bunch

From Brian, Pattaya: Please note the following and advise your readers accordingly. I bought a “Surge Protector” multi-way electrical adaptor (150 baht) for my computer from a well-known store in North Pattaya the other day. Being a long time resident I naturally took the adaptor apart to check that it really was a Surge Protector. It was nothing more than a fuse protected adaptor and did not contain any circuitry to limit damaging electrical spikes, so it is quite unsuitable for use with a computer. Of course I should have known better and gone to a proper computer store in central Pattaya. TIT

Computer Doctor replies: Thank you Brian, a timely warning indeed. This is, however, not the first time I have heard of this. Personally I don’t believe surge protectors are particularly effective in preventing damage, a far better solution is to use an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) made by a reputable manufacturer, e.g. APC or Chloride. Not only do these provide clean power to the PC but they also give a limited amount of life after a power failure to allow for a structured closedown.

From Bill Sullivan, Pattaya: I have two different types of printers: a Canon BJC-80 and a HP 810C. I also use an IBM 600 E laptop and my home PC is an Atec. I can get the computers to print in Thai, but will not print out on my printers. I mainly use the English fonts while working and can print out in English, but I want to be able to print out in Thai, so that my girlfriend can utilize the computer. Any help in this matter would be appreciated.

Computer Doctor replies: This sort of problem is normally down to the Code Page the printer is using and with a bit of perseverance, going through the various permutations will normally resolve the situation; there are normally between 30 and 60. You will need to look at your printer manual to find the exact procedure for doing this. Another solution is often to print True Type fonts as graphics; you will find this option within the printer set up options for the specific printer in Control Panel. You may want to try this one first, as it is somewhat simpler and less time consuming.

From Graham Hunt-Crowley, United Kingdom: I normally read your column on the Internet and like to glean snippets to help me. I am in England, although have frequent trips to Pattaya (where I let Dr Iain beat me at Snooker!).

A small snippet for your column. Microsoft has now released an upgraded version of IE5/OE5. The OE5.1 version included such things as Receipts, but more important to you, as I was upgrading my PC, I noticed that under “custom install” you have a choice of Oriental language support, Thai being the most important to us. (Also Japanese, Korean, Various flavours of Chinese and a few others.

It adds Thai fonts to your system which can be used by changing the settings under Tools | Options | Read | Fonts | Font setting (Choose Thai). There are 5 fonts from which to choose.

This Install/Upgrade is freely distributed the normal way in the UK, on cover disks on Computer magazines, due to high download costs of the UK telephone system. Curiously, the disk I used from “Internet Magazine” says MS recommend you Uninstall any previous versions of IE before installing this version.

If you want, I can bring you a copy when I come over for Songkran.

Computer Doctor replies: Thanks for the offer Graham, but as you might imagine it is also freely available here! Actually I have already covered this topic several times recently, and although this is an excellent and worthwhile upgrade, the way multiple languages are covered within the Windows 2000 environment is much sweeter.

Send your questions or comments to the Pattaya Mail at 370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, 20260 or Fax to 038 427 596 or E-mail to [email protected]

Richard Bunch is Managing Director of Action Computer Technologies Co., Ltd. Providing professional services which include; website design, turnkey e-commerce solutions, website hosting, domain name registration, computer and peripheral sales service and repairs, networks (LAN & WAN) and IT consulting. Please telephone 038 716 816, e-mail [email protected] or see our website www.act.co.th

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Successfully Yours: Erika Keller

by Mirin MacCarthy

The Rotary organisation is often (incorrectly, I must add) thought of as a male dominated group. However, to show just how much equality there really is, the incoming President of the Jomtien-Pattaya Rotary Club is Erika Keller, a Swiss lady who, this month, has been here six years.

So what kind of person is Erika, and how did she come to attain this honour, after all, being President is a very “public” position? Well, looking back at Erika’s life you would not ever have imagined that this would be her future when you consider her background.

Erika Keller was born in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, a tourist region in the German speaking part of Switzerland. With only her sister and herself, they were raised by their mother after their father died very early in their childhood. Mother moved to Basle where she worked in the Knorr food company to raise her two girls and send them to school. Erika’s schooling demonstrated two things - it brought out a love of music (she played the accordion in the school band), a love that is still with her today. It also brought out that the young Erika had a speech impediment - a stammer that was so bad she had to go to a special school for one year! Fortunately, that aspect is not really with her today, although “It still happens when I’m very nervous.”

After completion of her formal studies, she moved to Lausanne in the French speaking part of Switzerland, where she stayed for two years to fully absorb the language. This was followed by some travel, including time in Iran, where she taught herself Farsi, the language of the area.

On returning to Switzerland, she found the country very “small”, but after all, it was her home and she applied herself to working and became a secretary in the pharmaceutical industry. A significant event happened at this time. She met Bruno Keller in 1969 and they were married ten years later!

After their marriage, she tried working with Bruno, but like many couples, found that this was not so satisfactory, so she retired to busy herself with housewifely duties. By this stage, they were living in Bettlach, close to the watch-making region of Switzerland. Her own watch? A Swiss Rado, naturally. “I’m always cleaning it,” she said, with some obvious pride.

The next significant event was a stop-over holiday in Thailand in 1986. She and Bruno met “Mr. Pattaya” Louis Fassbind, through a mutual friend, who suggested they come back in November of that year for the opening of the Royal Wing at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort. They did and then began a regular schedule of one to two trips to Thailand every year.

They enjoyed Pattaya so much, they bought a house here in 1989 and with a trusted maid installed, they had their holiday residence assured for every trip. The next significant step was Bruno taking early retirement and they moved here. This time it was for good and now Erika says, “Home is here” and says it with conviction. Later in the interview she again repeated the simple, “I like to be here.”

Initially, she spent her time between beach and house, where she taught herself Thai, both reading and writing as well as speaking. This ability with languages had come naturally to her, and by now she can speak her native German, French, English (again self-taught), Farsi and Italian, but “my Italian is the poorest.”

It was then that Bruno became a Rotarian. The next door neighbour was also a Rotarian and suggested Erika join as well, which she then did. Erika busied herself with Rotary projects. “I liked Rotary very much and I did everything. Whatever was needed, I was there,” she said simply. This was not a boast.

Last year, when the votes were taken for who should get the top job for 2000-2001, Erika was not present at the meeting. Bruno came home and told her she was next in line but she did not believe him because, “He jokes sometimes.” But this was not a joke. Erika Keller’s commitment to Rotary had been acknowledged by the club. Erika takes over the new responsibilities in July this year, the 14th President and only the second woman to be voted in for this position.

She is looking forward to her term of office and wants to make the emphasis more on helping children locally, particularly in the drug prevention field. “I would like to help Pattaya become a better place.” I am sure that the ever-busy Erika will do just that!

Erika understands, better than most people, the difference between holidaying here and living here and advises anyone contemplating the move to “think it over carefully and get information on everything before you decide.”

Her hobbies include working with her home computer, learning the capabilities of the different software packages as well as surfing the net. Her other passion is music, with her tastes covering everything from Mozart, to the Italian tenors like Pavarotti through to the pop music of the 70s and 80s.

The young schoolgirl with the stammer in Switzerland has become a very poised public speaker in Pattaya. Congratulations, Erika Keller!

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Life Force: Vitamin E

by Tracy Murdoch

The main job of vitamin E is to act as an antioxidant vitamin. In our bodies we use oxygen and convert it to water. In doing so, we release particles call free radicals that can damage proteins, DNA and cell membranes.

Vitamin E works together with Vitamin C in this defence system again highlighting the need for you to eat a variety of foods and not just think of foods or vitamins in isolation.

It is difficult to set a value for recommended intake of vitamin E as requirement depends of the polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) intake of the individual. Confused? So am I! Vitamin E is thought to protect the PUFA’s in you cell membranes.

Good sources of Vitamin E then are found in foods high in PUFAs, including nuts, almonds, brazil peanuts, sesame and sunflower seed, avocado, mango, blackberries, pears, chickpeas and small amounts in fish. Of course sunflower oils and margarines are also high in Vitamin E. Deficiency then is extremely rare.

There is some evidence that Vitamin E may protect against coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancer. The evidence is persuasive but not conclusive.

So once again a varied diet including nuts and seeds is recommended.

The benefits and risks of purified high dose supplements are not fully understood and are not recommended as a widespread policy for CHD and cancer prevention.

Recently a well nourished, retired, heart surgeon asked me what I thought of vitamin E supplement used as an aphrodisiac! Obviously he has a healthy interest in other fields now that he is retired!

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Snap Shots: Get in Close!

by Harry Flashman

Probably the most common mistake in photography is not getting close enough to your subject. There are many reasons for this, ranging from being embarrassed to get in somebody’s personal space, to being technically unsure or to being too lazy! However, nothing drags your shots down more than the “too far away” factor.

So what Harry is going to do this weekend is to give you some ideas to work on and some concepts to digest so that you never are too far away ever again.

Now, equipment - if you have a zoom lens, mount it on the front of your camera, but if you do not have one, do not worry. Really, this exercise needs no special lenses. If you have a compact point and shooter, or even a disposable that probably has a fixed 35 mm lens, then you will still end up with better pictures than you would usually get. And more interesting ones too.

The first item you look for is interesting shapes and patterns. These are things that you would not usually appreciate when you look from a distance; however, when you get in close and look through the viewfinder you can start to appreciate all types of different images. For those of you with the zoom capability, you should begin with the zoom at its widest setting, then slowly zoom in till you have lost sight of the “original” subject and now have textures and shapes in the viewfinder. For the rest of you - just walk in closer! Even with a “normal” lens, you will find you can get in quite close and still be able to focus.

Now while the idea of shapes, textures and patterns is still with us, remember that although there are many shapes and patterns in nature, there are also many that are man-made. But you have to look for these with an enquiring eye. Stacks of drums, tyres, pipes, wood and even shoes in a shop can reveal repetitive images and shapes that can be quite visually appealing.

Even the usual photographs of family and friends can be made into something quite out of the ordinary. While we would normally take a shot of someone’s face, with all the ears, hair, head and shoulders in the picture, try to move in even closer next time. Crop through the hair and see what a dramatic element the closer view produces. Remember, however, that when you do this you have to be very critical with the focus. The tip is to always focus on the eyes and let the rest of the picture look after itself. Harry uses an old “split image” viewfinder and will often turn the camera so that the split can be used on the eyelid margin to get that final super sharp focus, before turning back to the usual picture format.

Always remember that to make good photographs, you have to make the subject the “hero”. If the subject is just a small part of the total area of the photograph, then you end up without an obvious hero. If, however, the subject fills the frame - then you certainly do have a well presented hero. It is that alone which will give the shot impact.

So the tips for this week are simple. If you have a zoom lens, always start in the wide position and then zoom in. You will find many different images in this way.

Always look for recurrent shapes or patterns as these do make for pleasing images, especially when the shapes flow out all edges of the photograph.

The advice “walk several metres closer” is something Harry has said many times, but it really can be the secret to giving your photographs that extra “oomph”.

Finally, when taking head shots do not be afraid to walk up real close. You will be rewarded with a dramatic portrait, even if the subject gets apprehensive with the lens so close!

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Modern Medicine: A Pox on you!

by Dr Iain Corness

Chickenpox (Varicella) is here again. This nasty condition never actually leaves the community, lying quiet for a while and then attacking in epidemic proportions. Make no mistake about this one, it is a most aggressive disease that sweeps through schools and institutions and while generally a disease of children, it can attack adults too with devastating results.

The culprit is a virus, known as the Varicella Zoster virus, which produces the characteristic chickenpox lesions. These come out very quickly after an initial period of vague symptoms such as fever and aches in muscles and joints. The lesions (vesicles) are very superficial on the skin and grow like a mini-Vesuvius, burst and then crust over. That cycle of events takes around four days, but new crops of vesicles come up in waves in the first three or four days, so you can have some vesicles growing bigger while earlier ones are drying up and crusting over.

The vesicles generally come out on the trunk and face first, but can spread to all over the body and even inside the mouth and on the tongue. Now while scarring is always a worry for the Mums of this world, there are far worse effects from this little virus. There is a distinct possibility of an encephalitis in older children and adults can actually develop a Varicella pneumonia. Pregnant women who get Chickenpox also run the risk of infecting the unborn child, and this can run as high as 10%. Very often, especially if the child scratches the lesions, there can be an extra infection by an opportune bacterium on top of the viral lesions, so you get a double problem.

So what do you do when Chickenpox is doing the rounds? The first thing is to keep away from those who have the disease. It is highly contagious and is spread by inhalation of micro droplets in the air, or by direct contact with weeping vesicles. In a family, this means that little Johnny gets his own towel that no-one else must use and a bed-time kiss is strictly forbidden.

Calomine lotion does help with itchy and weeping vesicles and trim the fingernails in young children to lessen the chances of scratching. With very little ones, I even suggest putting their hands in socks.

If the temperature is raised (more than 37.5) then a little paracetamol will help, and if there is the “super-infection” by a bacterium it will be necessary for your doctor to prescribe an appropriate antibiotic.

The other important duty that you have as a parent, is do not send little Johnny back to school until the very last vesicle has dried up. This is generally around a week to ten days, but is so important in trying to stop the epidemic.

The other nasty part of this virus is that it lies dormant in your system and can strike back many years later as Shingles, or as we doctors refer to it, Herpes Zoster. No, Chickenpox is not fun, and to those of you who are struggling with it right now, you have my sympathies.

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Dear Hillary,

I have a problem. Ten years ago I used to be chased by lots of women and had the choice of any girl I ever wanted. I was a big handsome fellow. Since then, I have settled down and have a steady live-in girlfriend but recently I find I am being chased by a transvestite! What has happened, Hillary? Should I change my after-shave or what?

Arnie

Dear Arnie,

Sounds like you have gone to pot. Perhaps a diet and an excellent hair cut and colour and a new wardrobe may help as well as different after-shave. Perhaps you should stop using her after-shave too! By the way, what’s your dress size?

Dear Hillary,

On every street corner in Bangkok there are shoe repair men, and even in some of the big department stores there are “Mr. Minit” services, but I can’t seem to find any in Pattaya. Surely everyone here doesn’t just throw their shoes away when they get a little down at heel? Do you, oh wondrous wise Hillary, know where I can go?

Sole Mate

Dear Sole Mate,

Hillary did see one excellent little shoe repair man near the corner of Soi Buakhow and Pattaya Klang, just beside Leng Kee Restaurant. He even throws in a pair of thongs for you to wear while he works on your down-at-heels. Enjoy the restaurant while you wait. Hope he is still there when you look.

Dear Hillary,

I went and had a foot massage the other day after one of my friends told me that it made her feel so much better. So much better? I could hardly walk after my hour of torture. Is it supposed to be like that, or do I just have very tender feet?

Tootsie

Dear Tootsie,

Yes, well it appears that some of these foot refloxologists seem to think that pain is good for you. Not Hillary’s cup of cha at all. But if it’s masochism you’re after, go back. The words to remember are Baow-Baow, Baow-Baow which means, softly, softly. In the meantime, wear insoles!

Dear Hillary,

My girlfriend in the UK wants to adopt a baby, but the waiting list over there is very long. Is it OK to adopt a Thai baby, and are there any real problems as far as taking the child back to England? For example, I understand that many of these children have been abandoned at birth, so do they have any papers or passport to allow them out of Thailand and into England? Where should my friend go? Any ideas, please.

Babe

Dear Babe,

Your friend should go to a private adoption agency in the U.K. that has affiliations with orphanages in Thailand. All the paperwork and legalities are conducted through them, including citizenship papers and passports. The waiting time can be anywhere from eighteen months to a few years. Your girlfriend and her husband would benefit by talking to a counsellor about adopting an Asian child. But if you really want to know what Hillary thinks, it’s easy - don’t! Children last 20 years and never say thank you!

Dear Hillary,

Thai girls wear mini-skirts, but the office girl at work seems to be wearing shorter skirts every day. Should I say anything to her, or would she take offence? This is a genuine question, Hillary.

Sam

Dear Sam,

What’s wrong? Has she got lousy legs? Is it your position to say anything to her, are you her employer? If so, and you must do something, very tactfully explain that you would prefer her to wear knee length skirts or dresses, because you do not want to get any of the clients over excited. If you are not her boss, then I guess you just have to grin and bear it, although it sounds as if she’s the one grinning and baring it. You could always wolf-whistle every time she passes and say, “Ooh ooh ohh, sexy knickers!” Bear in mind though that she might resign (or is that “bare” in mind?). Oh, forget it!

Dear Hillary,

I will be staying in Pattaya in April and I have been told that this is called Songkran. Is it safe for tourists to come at this time? How long does it last? Should I take any extra precautions?

Sue

Dear Sue,

Songkran is safe but it is very wet. It is supposed to last for two days, but here it lasts about a week unfortunately, and is way out of hand, everyone blasting each other with fire hoses. Pack a rain coat to wear over your clothes every time you venture outdoors and keep your handbag and camera in a plastic bag. Do not catch baht busses or motorcycle taxis and do not leave any valuables in your room when you are out. Due to the tediously long traffic jams there are more break-ins at that time. Finally, bring a good book and a good cook and attempt to stay indoors that week. Good luck.

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GRAPEVINE

Legal eagle
Pattaya Mail regularly receives inquiries about farangs and the law. Many of the questions are answered in this column on a semi-regular basis. However, Grapevine this week presents an overall summary of likely events once a farang is taken to the police station. In passing, note that traffic and highway police normally issue on the spot fines for misbehavior such as speeding, not wearing a seatbelt or leaving your crash helmet at home. Payment of the fine usually concludes the matter.

The reason why
The most usual reasons why farangs are formally arrested by the police are visa overstay and non payment of a hotel bill. Offenders will be produced in court in less than three days and the standard sentence for overstay is one month in detention or immediate payment of the fine of 2,000 or 3,000 baht. The fine actually reduces by 70 baht for each day of incarceration. Non payers of a hotel bill will usually be offered the opportunity to pay back the hotel or be imprisoned for one or two months depending on the outstanding amount. Whether the farang can pay or not, the result will be deportation from the kingdom as the visitor has seriously broken Thai law by misusing his or her status as a guest. If the offender does not have a valid return air ticket, he will have to hang around in police station cells whilst a friend or relative sends the cash.

Illegal working
Working without a Labor Office permit is another common offence. Some farangs are reported to the authorities by a Thai national who feels aggrieved in some way. Others come to light as a result of careless advertising of services such as computer repairs or painting and decorating. Still others by police spot checks on entertainment places or business premises. In the normal course of events, a brief spell of imprisonment will be followed by a substantial court fine and deportation. If the farang is in partnership with a Thai, or works closely with him or her, it may be possible to ameliorate these consequences. Farangs do not need a work permit to invest in a business nor to be a silent partner. But if you do anything more than sit back and watch your money grow, or disappear, you are in breach of the 1979 alien labor legislation. In recent years, work permits have become easier to obtain as the number of exempt categories has risen. The basic issues are the amount of capital invested and the number of workers employed. Your friendly neighborhood lawyer will be delighted to reveal all.

More seriously
Cases involving alleged drugs misuse, malicious wounding, financial fraud, illegal use of passports and the like will be treated much more seriously. As will charges of child sex and molestation. Most serious of all are capital crimes of drugs trafficking and murder which can carry the death penalty, although no foreigner has been executed since the mid 1970s. In all these categories, the foreigner will initially be charged and then be detained three months in prison to allow the prosecution to prepare its case. However, it is possible at any stage of the proceedings to apply for bail. If refused by the first court, recourse may be had to the appeal court in Bangkok. Thai courts, by and large, do not actually set a bail amount. It is up to your lawyer to request bail by suggesting a cash sum and to have on hand a large number of 1,000 baht bills to pay promptly into the court office. The cost of bail has risen sharply in recent years, is rarely under 400,000 baht and is sometimes much more. By no means is bail automatically granted and the police can object. There are rumors of guys who have offered several million but failed to get out. The purpose of bail is to allow the alleged offender to gather evidence for his case from the outside. “Skipping” the country is increasingly difficult owing to the computerization of airports and border crossings and, of course, forfeits the money. Assuming a trial is held, it must begin in just under three months following a number of technical appearances. Some cases may be settled at the first formal hearing of evidence. Others can take years. A plea of guilty will result in a substantial slashing of the sentence. It is only at the very end of the trial that the prisoner will be allowed to speak or make a statement in his own defense.

Money matters
Of course, it does. There is no free legal aid, except in the most serious of cases which potentially carry huge prison sentences or death. Even here, a court appointed lawyer may be a junior and not able to communicate with you in your own language. Detained farangs without their own hired lawyer will not be able to understand the proceedings and won’t have a clue about huge piles of documents all written in Thai. The only recourse is to hire a lawyer experienced in handling farang cases. He or she will typically quote you a global cash amount eventually to get you home, although this can escalate according to how matters proceed. Much has been written about corruption in the Thai legal system. You most likely won’t personally see evidence of any action. Any negotiations are undertaken by your Thai lawyer who represents the inscrutable Orient on your behalf. If you don’t fancy the system, then don’t get into trouble in the first place.

At the airport
Sooner or later, ex prisoners end up at Bangkok airport for deportation, assuming they have a valid ticket. Some airlines won’t accept people with a “Deport” stamp, so it’s best to stick with your national carrier or Thai. Most deportees will not be denied entry back to Thailand just because of such a stamp. However, people deemed to be persona non grata, or those who have caused sufficient offence to Thai authorities by the nature of their offence may be refused entry if they try to come back. Visas can be revoked arbitrarily. As all over the world.

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Dining Out: Zeppelin Restaurant - definitely not the Hindeberg!

by Miss Terry Diner

The Zeppelin German Restaurant and Steak House is on Beach Road, almost at the corner with Pattaya Klang and behind the Nova Lodge, to which it is attached. It has been part of the Pattaya scene for many years and as such, can tend to be forgotten with the plethora of new restaurants springing up. It was time, the Dining Out Team decided, to revisit the Zeppelin.

This outlet for the Nova Lodge is under the watchful eye of Rony Fineman and we dined with Rony himself that evening. The restaurant is housed in a huge wood lined barrel shaped building, with a predominantly nautical theme. Alcoves are around the perimeter and there is one large circular table that can take a party of 12 in the centre. The ambience is “comfortable”.

Parking is outside on Beach Road, though you can also park in Nova Lodge and walk through the gardens to the restaurant.

In common with the barrel theme, the menu is shaped like a beer barrel and begins with hot and cold starters. There are nine choices, generally around 140 baht, and include home made duck pate, deep fried prawns in a dill sauce and home made beef in aspic on tomatoes and cucumber vinaigrette. This is followed by seven soups at 70 baht, including green pea with bacon, Bavarian liver dumpling, goulasche and a clear seafood.

The next section has various “wursts” (130-190 baht) with the usual German favourites. Next up are the side dishes, six at 60 baht each, with potato salad, sauerkraut, french-fries and saut้ed potatoes with bacon, for example.

The menu is quite large, with seven schnitzels (195-260 B), four seafood dishes (195-300 B), fourteen specialities generally around 220 baht with lots of German pork and beef dishes, seven different steaks (250-400 B) and then cheese platters and desserts. Whew, that’s a 70 item German menu.

For starters, Rony had the shrimps in tomato and garlic, while Madame chose the deep fried variety with the dill sauce. I skipped starters and had the goulasche soup instead, but had a nibble at the other two’s plates. The shrimp had a smooth garlic tang, not at all overpowering, while Madame’s dill sauce was perfect. My soup had enough “bite” from the paprika and was served hot - good.

For mains, Rony suggested I have the fried pork knuckle, so I accepted, while Madame had rock lobster thermidor as her selection. Rony selected a bottle of Beaujolais to go with the meal and it was an excellent choice.

The mains arrived on pre-heated plates - one aspect of good dining that is forgotten by many restaurants in Pattaya (even some of the better ones that should know). The pork knuckle was huge and came with a small container of hot English mustard. The pork was also served hot and was truly delicious. Just a smatter of mustard on each piece to give you that tingle at the back of the nose followed by the Beaujolais. It is no wonder that the Zeppelin is famous for its pork knuckle. Madame enjoyed her lobster but was well finished while I was still attacking my pork.

While waiting for me, still munching, Rony suggested Madame try a crepe which came with cream cheese, raisin and cinnamon sugar filling. A great dessert. A liqueur afterwards, and it had been an evening to remember.

The Zeppelin Restaurant is quite moderately priced and has a very good range of German cuisine. The settings are high standard and the presentation of the food excellent. The Dining Out Team can easily recommend this restaurant as being of a much higher standard than the prices would suggest. However, if you are going to have the pork knuckle, leave lots of room! Thank you, Rony. It was time we re-visited and remembered!

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Lotus Eaters: An upcountry Thai wedding in Phrae

by Mirin MacCartry

An upcountry Thai wedding is no ordinary affair. It is a party that starts at dawn and finishes at dawn up to three days later! It results in exhausted revellers, can take many months of preparation and even years of repayment!

The groom Bjorn Richardson and his lovely bride Noi ready to greet guests as they queued up to tie sacred Sai Monkon string around their hands.

Baht and gold feature heavily in Thai weddings, which may seem peculiar to Westerners. Before the great day, the two families meet up to decide what will be the budget for the ceremony, with the lucky groom getting to foot the bill. Both sets of parents also visit the local Wat to ask the monks for an auspicious date and time for the wedding. This is supposed to be worked out using the date and day and time of birth of both the bride and groom. It is amazing, however, how often a really early time is chosen, which allows the monks to be able to breakfast, after hours of chanting at the ceremony! But I am sure they deserve it.

The bride’s parents enjoy the dowry - now called “gifts” - of money and gold from the groom.

This wedding that I attended had something special for Pattaya too, with Swedish Bjorn Richardson, the Resident Manager of the Royal Garden Resort, marrying Noi, a lovely girl from Phrae. Never would I miss the wedding of friends even if it meant an eleven hour bus trip, but fortunately there was a reprieve, flights to Phrae go a couple of times a week leaving four days for R&R and local sightseeing to recover from the festivities.

The wedding ceremony in Phrae started at 6 a.m. with the groom and most of the groom’s friends collecting prepared trays of sweets, fruit, gold and baht offerings for the parents of the bride. In a noisy, dog barking, drum banging, cymbal clashing procession they arrived at the locked gates of the bride’s home. There they asked and were given permission to enter.

Bjorne, the happy groom, looked very regal in his Thai jacket (not surprisingly being a former member of the Swiss National Guard) and his bride, Khun Noi, stunningly beautiful. The high-set teak timbered house was filled to capacity as the 200 guests trooped upstairs, sat and knelt on the floor.

The happy couple tests the wedding bed, where, by tradition, they were supposed to spend the next 3 days and nights, often under the observation of an elderly related couple!

Then the monks arrived and commenced chanting in Pali. This was even more difficult to understand because of the northern accent, but none of the farangs present were hypnotically sent to sleep because of our incredibly uncomfortable positions.

After what seemed like days, the monks blessed the union. The senior monk anointed their heads with sacred fragrant ointment and tied a white string called a sai monkon around Noi and Bjorn’s head and wrists. It was also extended around the family and a banana tree arrangement holding symbolic gifts. The Sai monkon thread acts as a conduit for merit. It also acts like a feng shui symbol of protection to keep the good spirits inside and the evil spirits away.

The monks were then served their breakfast by the guests who afterwards are then allowed downstairs to start theirs. But there was much more ceremony yet. As soon as the monks departed we all trooped upstairs again for more kneeling on the floor.

The couple knelt in a crouched position with their hands joined over a bowl of holy water. The senior family member poured water over their hands. At that stage, Bjorn the groom, had to ask permission to marry Noi and then present her family with gifts of baht and gold.

The guests then queued up to tie more sacred Sai monkon string around Bjorn and Noi’s hands, and escorted them downstairs to their marriage bed where they were supposed to stay for three days! “Can you imagine it!” said Bjorn.

In a noisy, dog barking, drum banging, cymbal clashing procession, the wedding procession arrived at the locked gates of the bride’s home where they asked for and were given permission to enter.

The bridal bed was decorated with more baht and rose petals. There were also masses of flowers everywhere. The sacred string tying them together was then cut allowing Bjorn and Noi to sneak away to change, joining their relatives later.

Back that evening, the partying started in earnest. The bride and groom were standing under a now flower bedecked entrance. Banquet tables were set out in the grounds and we all sat down to great Thai food and drink. A stage had been erected with speakers and lights and I thought we would be in for an evening of speeches and Karaoke entertainment. No such luck. A few members made short speeches, including Bjorn in his very creditable Thai. Khun Noi’s beautiful sister in traditional costume performed a graceful Thai dance.

Then it was our turn, just when we thought we could all relax and watch the performers, all of us were dragged up by smiling Thais to do our shambling semblance of Thai dances. They were determined to teach us, unfortunately. No sooner had we sat down there would be another grinning Thai wai-ing to us as an invitation on to the floor. There was barely time to drink enough anaesthetic in between.

Another difference was seen at this point. Instead of the Western traditional wrapped gifts, friends and relatives gave money in envelopes to the circulating bride and groom. Apparently this is meant to help pay for the cost of the reception as well as start the couple off in family life. These parties of good food, good friends, fun and dancing, traditionally carry on for three days and nights while the bride and groom are occupying the marriage bed, often under the observation of an elderly related couple! Indeed, as Bjorn had said, “Can you imagine it!”

In Thailand 20 years ago, and even still today in some parts of the country, the happy couple do not spirit away on a honeymoon but move in with the bride’s parents and real family life begins in earnest. As a token, Bjorn and Noi spent an obligatory one night under her parents’ roof before leaving for Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

We all wished them well until the early hours of the morning and following the very different ceremonies associated with a Thai wedding, their future is hopefully assured.

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Down The Iron Road: The State Railway Map of 1965

by John D. Blyth

This week we have a map instead of a picture; it comes from an English railway monthly magazine ‘Railway Gazette’ and dates from 1965. It is not very inaccurate; some place names are not spelt as they are today, but they can be recognised. Most serious is the transplanting of the Bangkok inner suburb of Makkasan to a point a little way west of Prachin Buri, a journey of some three hours on the slow Eastern line trains! The Bangkok area is not too clear, but it seems that both the Maeklong Railway and the little Pak Nam Railway are both included. Both were taken into the State Railway set-up in the ’50s, but by 1965 the Pak Nam Railway had been closed for some six years. Only one line of the State Railway itself has been closed since the drawing of the map; this is the short branch from Hat Yai to Songkhla, replaced as usual by a less convenient bus service. Songkhla station, a fine wooden building dating from 1917, still stands and parts are in use for offices and a restaurant.

Most fascinating are the ‘dotted lines’, which show ‘lines under construction or proposed’. Had they all been built it would have increased the State Railway’s route kilometreage by some 50%, and a lot of money saved on jerry-built ‘Expressways’ now covering the country, and which, battered day and night by ten-wheeler ‘artics’ will be in ruins within the lifetime of many of us. Railways are not ‘fashionable’ in Thailand, although one day a change may come, from a realisation that a well run railway has no equal for the rapid carriage of goods and passengers, safely and in bulk.

Of all the lines shown ‘dotted’, just two have been built in the intervening 35 years. One best known to us here in Pattaya is, of course, the line that passes the city to the east of Sukhumvit Highway; access other than from North Pattaya is not easy, thanks to the failure of the City Hall to provide easy reach to the access road. The line currently terminated at Sattahip, and one of the considerations was supposedly the traffic that would emanate from an enlarged commercial port at that place; it doesn’t seem to have come to rail, and I suspect that the far bigger Laem Chabang Port has most of the traffic anyway. It is interesting to note the name of ‘Laem Chabang’ on the map, with no one told what was, even then, in mind. There is no sign of the connection to Map Tha Put, but this would no doubt be encompassed by the extension to Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat - not likely to be built!

The other line which has been built, for freight only, so far, is that from ‘Na Bua’ to a point on the Eastern line near the printed position of ‘Makasan’; this is always referred to as the Kaeng Khoi to Khlong Sip Kao line. Its use is to avoid through freight trains in both directions between the North Eastern lines and Laem Chabang Port from passing through the congested Bangkok area.

And that is all! End of Story? Well, I hope not, and in fact I believe that quite a lot of the proposals are still ‘on the books’ although I have no official details. Let us look at some.

Denchai to Chiang Rai is still, almost certainly wanted; it is difficult country, but even more so from Chiang Mai, otherwise perhaps an obvious choice. Phrae and Phayao would be served, the latter shown as Pha Tao on the map; Ngao, also shown is incidental, and so seems to be the extension to tiny Chiang Saen on the Laos border.

‘East/West’ lines are a long felt want, and the plan provides for two. Mae Sod to Nakhon Pakhon, with a connection to Mukdahan seems good, service as it would Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Loei, but missing out Udon Thani in favour of a small place, Khumphawapi, which is not even on the line to Udon and Nongkhai today! Udon is important enough to be served. Turning the Suphan Buri branch into a trunk route via Lop Buri, a point at Ban Lam Narai (first word ‘Pho’ on our map), on the Kaeng Khoi to Bua Yai line which avoids congested Nakhon Ratchasema, thence from Bua Yai to Mukdahan, serving Roi Et, but apparently missing both Maha and Yasothon also seems sensible, especially as some of it exists already, and through traffic to and from the south would gain access to the north avoiding Bangkok. I recall that a recent Prime Minister ordered the State Railway to start work on the Bua Yai-Mukdahan section, but as was his habit, he changed his mind the next day. The connection from Ban Lam Narai to Loei does not seem to have any potential, other than speculative development, nor does the short branch from Nong Songhong (not on my map) to Si Chang Mai. The ‘Friendship Bridge’ at Nong Khai was probably not even thought at that time!

I am doubtful if the extension from Rayong to Trat would ever be built, despite all the development on the Eastern Seaboard area. And finally, now that everyone flies to Phuket, I don’t think the extension on the island from the end of the Khirirat Nikhom branch from Surat Thani would ever be even looked at.

The thoughts in this piece are mine alone, with an inexpert knowledge of the country; the ‘dotted’ lines on the map are the thoughts of, no doubt, more than one man, and understanding of transport needs in the Kingdom half a lifetime ago. Readers may have their own ideas too: let me have them, maybe for a follow-up, at P.O. Box 97, Pattaya City 20260.

Lastly, try to find Wang Pong on the map. There’s a railway story there too, which I’ll tell another time.

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Coins of the Realm: Pattern, ESSAI and Specimen

by Jan Olav Amalid,
President House of the Golden Coin
http://www.thaicoins.com

When collecting coins or bank notes, these words often turn up. Most know what a pattern or specimen is, but do not know why they were made.

Last week I wrote about the One Baht, RS127 (1908) struck during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910). This coin was sold last week in the Singapore auction with an estimate of US$10,000-12,000. The price for a coin like that is normally Baht 200,000, but because the word ESSAI is written very small on the left side of the Elephant, the price is much higher.

Specimen banknote, 500 Baht, issued on the occasion of His Majesty the King’s 50th Anniversary as King of Thailand. Both the regular banknote and the Specimen banknote were sold above face value, regularly for Baht 1,200 and the Specimen in a much lower number, Baht 1,500.

And what makes these few letters on this coin so much more valuable? Collectors of stamps know that printing mistakes make a stamp much more valuable. But this is not a mistake. Coins are being struck with dies, and when the dies are finished, a Mint normally likes to get the final approval from the authorities before striking the number of coins ordered.

Then a few pieces are struck, and given or sent to the ones that will give the final approval. Since the coin is not yet approved, and they might be lost or by mistake spent, one wants to be able to distinguish these coins from other coins. In the case of the One Baht RS127, ESSAI, I believe it was His Majesty the King that had to give the final approval. I would think that The Mint in Paris, who struck this coin, sent a small number of ESSAI coins for approval, so Ministers and others involved in the matter could inspect the coins before striking the number ordered, in this case 1,037,000 coins.

King Chulalongkorn, One Baht, RS127. ESSAI written small at the elephant’s left side. Estimated at US$10,000 to 12,000 in Singapore auction last week.

In this case approval was given, but unfortunately the King passed away, and these coins were only distributed at His Majesties Funeral. Some of the ones that got the ESSAI or Pattern might have kept it, and this might be the reason for this rare coin being sold in Singapore last week.

Another reason might be, since this was a new design for a Thai coin, the authorities might have sent some coins to other National Banks to show them the new design. One can even speculate more how a pattern coin comes up for auction; another reason can be that the Paris mint sent the coin as an example of their work to another client to show the beauty of their work.

Specimen bank notes are often seen for sale. The reason for this is also the same as for the coin above. But for bank notes, it was or is even more important for the National Banks to inform other National Banks of their new bank note, designs, colors, watermarks and other ways to distinguish copies and fakes. Today, with the advanced color and printing equipment so many have access to, someone might be tempted to make their own banknote.

Some National Banks even distribute their new banknote, in specimen, to commercial banks and money-changers, and these are suppose to be returned. But sometimes this is forgotten and some private individual gets hold of it and sells it. The prices can be enormous.

Over the years, some National Banks have noticed this, and they have started producing specimen notes for the collectors’ market. The Bank of Thailand has made some that have turned out to be very popular among collectors.

The price of the old coins like Patterns, ESSAIS (different countries have different names) and old Specimen bank notes produced for another reason than attract collectors in the first place will still do good in the collectors’ market. But these modern Patterns and Specimens produced by Mints and National Banks only for the collectors’ market, sometimes by “mistake”, I do not believe will keep their price in the long run.

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Animal Crackers: Fleas

by Mirin MacCarthy

“Big fleas have small fleas
On their backs to bite ‘em,
And small fleas have smaller fleas,
And so on ad infinitum”.

Make Fleas Leave Home

Fleas are plentiful pests that cause an extremely irritating itching skin disease in animals. Simply tagging on some medication or a flea collar is not enough to protect your pets. The environment has to be treated too.

These annoying little pests breed in the house dust and actually spend most of their time off their host animals, so pest control is needed in and around the house or kennels. Every six weeks spray the premises with a residual environmental insecticide after thorough vacuum cleaning.

Defleaing your Pet

All cats and dogs in the household should be treated regularly with residual insecticides (i.e., ones that have a lasting action). Many insecticides are toxic to cats so seek a Veterinarian’s advice before buying and applying them. Preparations are available as sprays, dips, pour-ons and spot ons. There is even a new oral flea control available.

Powders and flea collars are not really all that useful. Shampoos are not residual as they are rinsed off, and it is not much fun washing the average house cat. Some so called ‘flea-control’ products, such as flea traps and ultra sonic collars, are virtually useless.

Flea Allergy

The saliva injected when the flea feeds causes an allergic reaction in some dogs, cats and even people. This causes itchiness and an urgent need to scratch. The skin damage in animals varies and can range from simple hair loss to extensive dermatitis with scabby lesions.

Flea ID

The presence of fleas can be seen by brushing an animal’s fur on to a sheet of white paper. The flea poo will show as minute flecks of dark red, evidence of their feasting on Fido.

Dog Eared Sayings

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” — Josh Billings

“I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers.” — Unknown

“I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.” — Rita Rudner

“Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we’re the greatest hunters on earth!” - Anne Tyler

“There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” — Ben Williams

“Cat’s Motto: No matter what you’ve done wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it.” — Unknown

“No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.” — Christopher Morley

The Pattaya Animal Welfare Association PAWS is a newly formed club of Thais and farangs helping Pattaya’s stray animals. For information on monthly meetings Email [email protected] or fax PAWS 038-231675

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Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.