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Family Money: Confusing
Ex-rates
By Leslie
Wright
For those of us who have settled here more or less
permanently, there is a strong argument that our base currency is no
longer the Pound Sterling or US Dollar (or whatever), but the Thai Baht.
This is because our base currency is the one we think in and spend most
money in.
On the other hand, there is always the tendency to
argue that if a lump sum of capital has been invested offshore, perhaps
from savings accumulated “back home” or from a pension gratuity, the
currency it was received in - say, Sterling - is the currency to watch.
As we discussed last week, this scenario becomes even
more complicated when your capital was accumulated in Sterling, is
invested into Dollar-denominated unit trusts or mutual funds, which are
themselves investing in regional equities (such as Asia, Europe, or even
globally - as opposed to a single country), and you’re drawing down an
income from that investment to cover local expenditure here in Thailand.
Which currency or currencies do you watch then? Or
doesn’t it matter?
Well, yes it does. But perhaps not quite in the way
most people think it does.
When down is good
Most people are well aware that if Sterling (or the US
Dollar or Deutschmark) strengthens against the Thai Baht, their remittance
of foreign currency will get more Baht when exchanged at their local bank.
Conversely, a purchase of foreign exchange - say to pay
for a mortgage or school fees - will cost them more Baht if the transfer
is going the other way.
When applied to investments, however, the fluctuations
in relative exchange rates are not so clearly understood, as we started to
discuss last week.
If your base currency is Sterling (i.e., you think in
terms of Pounds Sterling rather than Baht), and Sterling depreciates
against another currency, this would have a positive impact on the returns
(in Sterling terms) from an overseas investment made in that other
currency.
Conversely, if Sterling strengthens against another
currency, this would have a negative impact on the returns (in Sterling
terms) from an overseas investment made in that other currency.
Hedging the currency risk?
Many people believe that holding a diversified
portfolio of funds denominated in various currencies provides an automatic
currency-hedging mechanism which can be useful in removing exchange-rate
fluctuation risk.
Similarly, some investors who believe the Euro will
strengthen against, say, Sterling think that holding a fund denominated in
Euros will enable them to make a gain on this movement.
In fact, they are deluding themselves, and demonstrate
a common misunderstanding.
The fact that one currency gains against another does
not increase the fundamental value of the component holdings within a
particular fund, nor vice versa.
Fundamental value is the key
For instance, consider just one stock within an equity
fund. If its price moves sideways (i.e., no gain or loss) and the
denomination of the fund is different from the currency the stock is
valued in, the stock’s value in terms of the denominated currency will
have moved inversely to the currency movement.
As this concept is where the misunderstanding stems
from, let me explain.
Stock A is priced in French Francs but the fund holding
it is priced in Euros. If the Euro strengthens against the French Franc,
but the stock price in FF remains unchanged, its value in Euros will have
decreased by the same degree that the Euro has strengthened against the
French Franc.
In other words, if the Euro strengthens against the
French Franc by 5%, the value of the stock in French Francs remains the
same, but its value in Euros will have dropped by 5%.
If Sterling has not moved upwards along with the Euro,
but maintained its exchange rate with the French Franc, our investor may
well be disappointed and perhaps confused to find that his fund’s unit
value has dropped (being priced in now-more valuable Euros), and even more
confused when he translates that value into Sterling to find that his
Sterling value is exactly the same as it was before the Euro gained
strength!
To make money from this particular scenario would in
fact require Sterling to have depreciated against the French Franc; and
what the Euro did in this scenario is entirely irrelevant to a Sterling
investor.
And this same rationale applies to any other
intermediary currency.
As another example, let’s say a Sterling-orientated
investor buys Thai shares costing Bt.60 each while the exchange rate for
?1 = Bt.60.
The share price does not move, so the investor sells
for Bt.60. Ignoring any brokerage commission that might apply on the
transaction, he gets back the same as he started with.
But let’s say that in the meantime, Sterling has
weakened (or the Thai Baht has strengthened) to ?1 = Bt.55 - i.e., our
investor needs only Bt.55 to “buy back” the ?1.
Our investor has Bt.60, which divided by the exchange
rate of ?1/Bt.55, gives ?1.09.
In Sterling terms he has made a profit of 9%, even
though he is in exactly the same position as when he started in terms of
Thai Baht.
When up is bad
The corollary of this scenario is if Sterling
strengthened (or the Thai Baht weakened) to ?1 = Bt.65 - i.e., our
investor now needs Bt.65 to “buy back” the ?1. He has Bt.60, which
divided by the exchange rate of ?1/Bt.65, gives 92p. So although he made
neither a profit nor a loss in Thai Baht, he has lost money in Sterling
terms.
Hence if the view for Thailand equities is positive and
outlook for the ?/Bt. is also positive, then the overall outlook for a
Sterling-orientated investor into Thailand would be positive. In our
example the positive currency outlook increases the returns to the
investor from the equity investment.
However, if the view for Thai equities were positive,
but the outlook for the ?/Bt. were negative - i.e., it is considered
likely that Sterling would strengthen against the Baht, or the Baht would
weaken against the Pound - then a Sterling-orientated investor into
Thailand should exercise a degree of caution, since positive equity
returns may be adversely affected by the currency movements.
This same scenario applies to any other two currencies
you may care to choose.
But when it comes to considering three or more
currencies - as in the scenario cited earlier of a Sterling-orientated
investor investing into Dollar or Yen or Euro-denominated funds and
drawing down an income in Thai Baht - things become rather more complex.
Just to muddy the water a little more, you may elect to
invest into a diversified portfolio comprising several such funds. You may
then be dealing with perhaps three or more currencies - Dollars, Sterling,
Euros, Deutschmarks, Swiss Francs and perhaps even Yen.
But the exercise of establishing the real worth of such
a diversified portfolio in terms of your base currency is only slightly
more laborious than keeping tabs on the single-country exercise cited
earlier.
You simply convert the value of each fund into your
base currency (or any other single currency you may be interested in) at
the prevailing relative exchange rate, to have an overall picture of your
portfolio’s real value in your ‘favourite’ currency.
You can then evaluate your portfolio in terms of that
currency, and see whether you have made a real profit or not - both as
regards the price you originally paid in your then-base currency, and what
it is worth now - either in that same currency or any other you may now be
concerned with - such as Thai Baht.
So when planning to buy or sell units in a fund which
is priced in a currency other than your base currency, with the intention
of remitting the proceeds of that investment at some later stage to
Thailand, you won’t necessarily be taking a bath in Baht.
Nor will you “make a killing” just because the
denominated currency of any particular fund in your portfolio appreciates
against your base currency.
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.
The Computer Doctor
by Richard Bunch
At the risk of being accused of being an alarmist, or
repeating myself, with the recent and widespread outbreak of the
VBS/Loveletter virus, a VB script virus, it is timely to remind readers of
the real threat that viruses and Trojans present to the health of our
computers and the well-being of our businesses.
We’ve all heard about computer viruses and probably
think that they are something that happens to other people but do we
really know what they are and what if we are that other person?
Essentially a virus is program, just like any other program that you have
on your PC except that it is malicious or destructive when executed. It
hunts for other programs, those that we use everyday like Word and Excel
and “infects” them by embedding a copy of itself within them, they
then become Trojan Horses. When these programs are executed, the embedded
virus is executed concurrently thereby propagating the “infection”.
This whole process can be done invisibly to the user, so for the unwary,
the dangers of transmitting it to others is very real.
On the plus side, viruses cannot infect other computers
without assistance, normally from exchanging programs or files with
friends or colleagues or downloading programs from less reputable Internet
sites. However, this latest outbreak and others before it, like Melissa,
come by e-mail, and less commonly, thus far, through infected files
transmitted via programs like ICQ and NetMeeting. The payload of the
different viruses varies; for example, some create ‘joke’ messages,
some capture and transmit confidential information from your hard disk
whilst others destroy data, and as if that wasn’t bad enough it is
possible for the PC’s hardware to be irreparably damaged.
In the case of VBS/Loveletter, the major anti-virus
software manufacturers responded promptly by posting updates for it and
subsequently the many derivatives of it that proliferated. It really is
essential to install an anti-virus program on all PC’s and ensure that
it is regularly updated so that it keeps apace with the ever-growing list
of viruses, this exercise should be done at least monthly. Another method
is to subscribe to something like McAfee Clinic from McAfee,
www.mcafee.com, by using your Internet connection, it checks each day for
updates and if necessary prompts you to install the update. Since this is
an automated process, it means that it is not necessary to remember to
obtain the updates thereby eliminating the human factor. In addition to
having the anti-virus software installed, it should be second nature to
adopt good housekeeping practices, such as if you receive an e-mail from
an unknown source or even someone you are associated with and it has an
attachment that seems inappropriate be wary! After all would you expect
your bank manager to send you an e-mail with a Loveletter attached? If
possible, always have the macro warning enabled in programs like Word and
Excel.
Remember in this latest attack, even those companies
and organisations we would assume to be watertight have become infected so
don’t be complacent about opening files received from sources which you
would hitherto have considered undoubted.
Whilst anti-virus programs will afford you protection
as long as they are kept up-to-date, remember there is always the first
case of infection and a small delay before the virus databases themselves
become updated. So I recommend that if your PC and its data are essential
to you or your business you take additional precautions. These should take
the form of backing up data and/or programs that are deemed necessary to
removable media, such as CDR’s, CDRW’s, Zip disks, etc, ideally these
should be stored in a remote location. This contingency planning is also
good in the event of hardware failure, fire, theft etc. It is a relatively
small price to pay and in the event of disaster striking will undoubtedly
be one of the wisest investments you will have made.
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].
The views and comments expressed within this column are not necessarily
those of the writer or Pattaya Mail Publishing.
Successfully Yours: Cecile
Court
by Mirin MacCarthy
Imagine for a minute, a cross between Mia Farrow and Audrey
Hepburn playing the part of Joan of Arc. A wispy elfin-like figure portraying
the proud and independent thinker of La Belle France. You are now somewhere
towards understanding Cecile Court, a nurse volunteer at the Bangkok Pattaya
Hospital.
 Cecile
is French, 24 years old and positively radiating good health, decidedly an
asset in someone who has made the caring profession her life’s work. The
eldest of four children, born in Lyons to an English teacher father and a
mother who was a nurse, this young girl had found out by the time she was 17
that France was too small for her. It is interesting to note that Cecile had
no “role model” to provoke this “wanderlust” with no members of her
family travelling much outside France. She enrolled in nursing, not because of
any influence from her mother, but because even at that tender age there was
an inner force driving her. “I chose nursing because I knew with this job I
can go anywhere.”
And the first “anywhere” she went to was to New Delhi
to work as a volunteer in the Catholic Mother Theresa’s orphanage for eight
weeks. This was when she was still very much a junior student nurse. As you
may have guessed, Cecile is herself a Catholic (as many are in France) and
states that she does have a strong faith, said very simply without
embarrassment.
Returning to Lyons, she knuckled down to three and a half
years of study, emerging from her training institution as a graduate nurse.
However, it was the call of different cultures, peoples and different ways of
life that was now foremost. Towards this end, she volunteered her services to
the French Catholic NGO, FIDESCO. This organisation sends their volunteers all
over the world, and initially it appeared as if Cecile was bound for South
America, but at the last moment, they decided she would better serve the
organisation by assisting in Bangkok. She was placed in Din Daeng to help the
Sisters of the Good Shepherd who run a home for unmarried mothers there.
This was not as easy as her first small foray in India.
“In the beginning, it was very difficult. I was living with Thai people who
only spoke Thai. I had no real idea of the culture, and much of it I did not
understand.”
But Cecile stuck to her placement, learning Thai and much
of the culture as she worked with the unfortunate girls in the home. She
settled in, met a young Frenchman, with whom she had a romantic attachment and
life for this young French woman was becoming satisfying. However, at the end
of her two year placement she returned to France.
Back in Lyons, she had time to take stock of her life and
career. She found she missed Thailand and everything about it, but also
realised she could not spend all of her life as a volunteer with a welfare
agency. She felt a need to work in a more normal nursing structure. She also
missed her boyfriend!
Cecile returned to Thailand, but it was not so easy to find
the type of position that would be satisfying for her. Bangkok did not have an
opening for this young lady, but Pattaya did, with the opportunity to work as
a nurse volunteer in the Out-Patients Department of the Bangkok Pattaya
Hospital. Boyfriend might have been in Bangkok, but Cecile knew she needed to
work in her chosen vocation.
Speaking fluent English, French (naturally) and now Thai,
she can assist many expats through the anxious moments in a busy Out-Patients
Department. “They are so happy when they see the white face,” she laughed.
While the expats are happy they have found Cecile, this
young French nurse is also happy that her experiences in Thailand are also
helping her to find herself. “I need to know myself. Being here and
discovering how people work helps me to understand myself more, too.”
She has really immersed herself in the culture here, living
in a Soi off Sukhumvit Road and walking through the market every morning to
then catch a baht bus to the hospital. She cautions that, “Not everything is
alright and it is difficult to live in another country - but it is very good
experience.”
When she is not nursing she sometimes visits the beaches
down here, but most weekends are spent in Bangkok trips to movies and perhaps
playing tennis with her boyfriend.
When I asked her where she would be in five years, when she
will be 29 years old, she was unsure, but certain of two facts, “I will
continue to be a nurse, but it won’t be back in France.” She is not
turning her back on her heritage; however, the ten year plan is different. She
wants to return to her homeland when she is around 35 years old and open a
hostel for disadvantaged women. “I am too young now, and there are many
things I have to see first.”
Flashing yet another one of her most engaging smiles, she returned to the
Out-Patients Department to supply that happy white face for those who look for
it. Cecile Court is truly a delightful and remarkable young woman. St. Joan
made her mark in history - it would not surprise me to see Cecile also make
hers - but this time, no burning at the stake, thank you!
Snap Shots: Fun
and Excitement!
by Harry Flashman
A friend of mine came in the other day to show me his
“new baby”. On his back was a kid’s seat with his son strapped in
it, but it was not son and heir that was the cause for his excitement, it
was the new Nikon he had bought in Singapore!
Not only had he purchased an FM2, but 24 mm, 50 mm and
105 mm lenses to go with it. I felt honoured that he had come to share
this feeling with me, as he had stopped in while on a photographic foray
to show me.
What this reminded me, was that all photography should
be “fun”. There should be enjoyment in the taking as well as in the
“looking” at photographs. For Harry as a photojournalist, this fact
sometimes tends to escape one when pictures must be produced to a
deadline, and there is not the liberty of time to just set up and play
with the taking of a shot.
For my friend, he was enjoying the fun of just
strolling with his son, looking for picture opportunities, trying out his
different lenses and seeing how they alter the final composition of the
shot. How many times have you done just that? Gone out with the idea of
taking some photographs for the fun of doing it. No subject matter in
mind, just see what bobs up. If you have not done this, then you should.
Photography is fun, and is even something that families can do together.
You might just be amazed at what junior can come up with using the
cheapest point and shooter. Try it!
Lenses
It is worthwhile looking at the choices of lenses that
are available for your respective camera. My friend’s choices were good; I
liked especially the 24 mm wide angle rather than the more usual 28 mm lens.
The dynamic effects produced by wide angle lenses become even more
exaggerated with a 24 mm lens, while coming back to 15-18 mm lenses though
super wide (almost “fish eye”) produces just too much distortion to make
them generally usable.
The 50 mm lens is the one that comes with all 35 mm
cameras and is known as the “standard” lens, and as such often gets
ignored as not being “arty” enough. However, the 50 mm lens is one which
will allow you to photograph in low light, as most have a very wide
aperture, much more than any longer lenses. It is also a good lens to take
shots of couples or children.
His choice of a 105 mm lens is an interesting one. These
are known as “short” telephoto lenses, and are excellent to bring that
scene just a little closer, if you cannot walk in closer yourself. It is
also a reasonable lens to take portraits with, so does have many good
characteristics. Personally, I favour the 135 mm lens, which is the perfect
portrait length, but there is not so much of a difference between this and
the 105 mm.
There will be some of you who might say, “Why not get
one zoom to cover the lot?” but let me assure you that there is not a
single zoom that can cover 24-105 and still be as sharp as the individual
“prime” lenses. Any zoom that exceeds the 3:1 ratio always has a
fall-off in sharpness and generally is unable to give really wide apertures.
For my friend’s 24 mm, that would produce a 24-72, a very strange lens if
they ever made one. The common 28-85 has neither the wide angle nor the
portrait ability, so there is no one lens to cover his range.
By the way, “doublers” or extenders that convert your
50 mm standard lens to a 100 mm short telephoto also produce lenses with
less than standard sharpness and a reduction of the maximum aperture by a
couple of stops as well.
Modern Medicine: Losing
Weight. It ain't easy!
by Dr Iain Corness
Being overweight is one of the greatest problems in the
western world. Despite all the public health awareness programmes, the
population has got fatter in the last ten years, not slimmer. That
previously great sporting country, Australia, now has more than half the
population overweight. Why?
Undoubtedly “lifestyle” plays a very large part in
it all. We work longer hours, but less physically. Our leisure time is
spent more in the sporting spectator mode than being a participant. With
time constraints upon us, it is “easier” to use “fast foods” than
prepare “healthy” meals. The dice is not loaded in our favour.
Of course the cause of obesity is not just from one
factor - there are many, including genetic disposition and environmental
components as well as emotional and physical issues. However, it will
always come down to what passes between your teeth, and nobody is prising
your jaws open.
One of the problems when dealing with this issue is in
the terminology itself. Patients talk about being a couple of kilo’s
overweight, while we medico’s use a scale called the BMI (Body Mass
Index). You calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms by the
square of your height in metres. (For example, if you weigh 78 kg and
stand 1.8 metres tall, your BMI is 78 divided by 3 - which is 1.8
multiplied by 1.8 and the final result is 26.)
Now we say that if your BMI is less than 18 then you
are underweight, 18-25 is “normal”, 25-30 is overweight, 30-40 is
obese and more than 40 extremely obese.
We also look at your waist measurement, because this
can give a pointer to the conditions from which you are “at risk”. The
magic numbers here are more than 102 cms for men and more than 88 cms for
women.
What illnesses are overweight people prone to? Here’s
the list, so tick yours off as you read - Hypertension, impaired blood
sugar control, Type II Diabetes, poor blood fat control, sleep apnoea
(that’s when you stop breathing for some time while asleep),
gynaecological abnormalities, osteoarthritis, gall stones, stress
incontinence and coronary artery disease. Hardly worth living with all
that lot!
So what can you do when you are overweight? Well, the
first thing is not to try to take it all off in one large lump. Aim for
around a 10% reduction in your body weight over 12 months. Remember that
it took you quite some time to stack the weight on, so it is “natural”
for it to take around the same length of time to get it off. Around 0.5 to
1 kg reduction per month is attainable and sustainable - and that is what
is important. It is no good taking weight off and then putting it back on
within the next few months. No good neither physically or emotionally.
How do you get the reduction? Sorry, nothing magic
I’m afraid. It remains a case of healthy eating and increased activity.
Lifestyle changes that can extend your lifetime. When you look at it that
way, it might be worthwhile looking into.
 Dear
Hilary,
Whenever I go out Thais ask me the most personal
questions. “How much money you make? You married yet? Why not? You got
girlfriend? You want me to be your friend.” Being British I find this
very intrusive and impolite. Do you agree, and how can I deflect these
interrogations?
James
Dear James, old boy,
Unbend a bit and keep your sense of humour. This quaint
questioning is just the good-natured curiosity of the Thais. It is also a
device used to sort out suitable suitors from the already taken. Think
heavily on what your replies will be. Take my tip and indicate modest
means to very modest means without being specific about income. As for the
“Married or not?” answer as to your availability. You might try,
“Married wife in England,” “Married before, wife take all my
money”, or “I don’t want to marry, I like boys”, it is really up
to you. Remember it is just a game. Have fun playing it!
Dear Hillary,
I’m a businessman who frequents the bars after hours
for drinks and conversation with other expats, and bargirls since I can
write and speak fluent Thai. Over the years, I got to know the mamasans,
papasans, and many other bargirls and their tales with Farangs, this
includes romance and scams that those bargirls play on their customers.
And over the years I have met some of their Thai boyfriends and husbands,
as well as their Farang customers, boyfriends, and husbands. Currently and
in the past, I kept those bargirls secrets to myself, but now it’s
starting to get to me. Many of these bargirls will lie and cheat to steal
as much money from their Farang partners, especially when the Farangs have
to return to their home country. Many of those unsuspecting Farangs
provide financial support of 7000 baht to 30,000 baht per month to provide
for her family as well, so they don’t have to resort to prostitution
while he is away. However, many of those bargirls return to their old jobs
as “soapphanee” or with their Thai or Farang previous partners. My
problem is that I have gotten to know and drank with many of their Farang
guys who asked me to “keep an eye out” for their Thai ladies while
they’re away. In the past and present, I always said, “I don’t
know,” when I saw them again in the bars or when they E-mailed me. But
now I feel guilty and uneasy about the whole thing. I actually feel pity
for those men. Anyway, my dilemma is that I don’t know what to do.
Should I tell those unsuspecting Farangs the truth and lose those bargirls
trust and confidence or continue the current situation as is, or just
avoid the bars completely?
Dilemma-ed
Dear Dil-emma,
This is only a problem for you if you allow it. Really,
you have already betrayed the bargirls’ trust. Do not be the carrier of
bad tidings. Keep in mind that no one EVER thanks you for shattering their
illusions or romance. My advice is to continue as you are doing, and be
noncommittal. Step back and ignore some, do not take on the role of judge
and jury. I believe the Christian bible has a message, “Judge not, lest
ye be judged.” Remember everyone including Thai bargirls has to make
their own lives and their own mistakes and their own karma. Put the
blinkers back on, or if you can’t then change bars frequently or avoid
them, but I don’t believe you can.
Dear Hillary,
My maid refuses to use the microwave or the electric
oven, although I have bought her instruction books for both in Thai. She
always says - “Electric-city no good, fire (meaning gas) good.” She
cooks reasonable Thai and farang food for our family in the wok on the gas
top. My concern is whenever we entertain guests at home she still refuses
to use the appliances, even the blender. She just asks her “sisters”
in to help with the cooking. They chatter away for hours and everything is
done agonizingly slowly. This seems bizarre and time wasting to me. How
can I convert her over to modern ways?
Louise
Dear Louise,
You have no hope. Just be grateful that you have
someone to do the cooking for you. Traditionally, entertaining and work is
a community event in Thai societies. The women all cook together on dow
tarns- wood fire barbecues out the back. Everyone helps, even the older
children. The majority of Thai maids, except those who are hotel trained,
are distrustful of electricity and electrical appliances. I would hazard a
guess your maid would also prefer to use a broom rather than a vacuum. You
will not be able to change this. Lighten up - you’ve got a lifetime to
enjoy the different ways things are done here.
GRAPEVINE
Gay
pointer
Pattaya holiday maker Mrs Eleanor Simples
from Uttoxeter was devastated after reading in a newspaper that she
could be a lesbian as her ring finger is longer than her index finger.
She is 72 with three children, five grandchildren and nine great
grandchildren. Mrs Simples says she paid a fortune teller on Jomtien
Beach 2,000 baht to find out the truth. However, he said he didn’t
know as he had never read The Daily Sport. She went on to tell him she
had buried four husbands and he suggested she had better get to the
police station without further delay.
Prison breakthrough
Inmates at Phnom Penh’s notoriously harsh
city jail were delighted to be told that their wives could now visit
them once a month in the interests of conjugal rights. However, the
collective whoopee was abruptly halted when the small print was made
known. “Couples will meet in groups of twelve for sixty minutes at
11.00 hours and restrict their conversation to religious themes and
singing songs.” It was not immediately clear from the smuggled out
press release whether lunch would be served afterwards.
Buffet choice
If you fancy Italian food at a reasonable
rate, there’s an excellent pasta station operating at Delaney’s on
Second Road every Tuesday. You choose your style of pasta, vegetables
and sauces and the cook presents you with a plentiful plate in a
couple of minutes. You can go back for as many helpings as you can
manage for 150 baht net. Drinks, sweets and extras can be ordered from
the a la carte menu. Given that the similarities between Pattaya and
the Emerald Isle are not all that obvious to GEOC (Grapevine Eating
Out Collective), Delaney’s Irish atmosphere is a fair crack of the
whip. Even down to the Irish telephone.
The Pattaya scene
The South Pattaya and Third Road junction
traffic lights were again out of action for most of April. Queues were
generally fewer than when the lights are actually working. Let’s
hope City Hall isn’t sending us a signal... There are a dozen or so
railway crossings within shouting distance of Pattaya. When scheduled
trains are coming, the barriers close off road traffic as alarms ring.
However, when the engineers’ rail mini-platform comes thundering
down the line, Keystone Cops style, there are no safety precautions at
all. Something wrong there... We hear that the nitery in gay
orientated Pattayaland Soi One to do the best business in the slack
season does not have persistent barkers instructing you to get inside.
Might be a commercial lesson in that.
|
Anything for a bet
Self styled meditator and skinhead boozer
Andy (Grunter) Hopcroft, 23 and reputedly from Lytham St Annes, got
his comeuppance when he agreed to run fully naked up and down Soi
Yamoto and Soi Post Office for at least ten minutes. He stood to gain
2000 baht. His mates cheered him off at the unearthly hour of 4 a.m.
in the pouring rain from a bar that has asked to remain anonymous in
the interests of good taste. But they grew anxious when he had not
returned by lunchtime. On his release from the police station in a
rented blanket, Grunter said he had made it to the top of the street
whereupon a friendly motorist had opened his door and offered to give
him a lift. It was an unmarked police car. There is currently a lively
intellectual dispute in the bar whether Grunter actually fulfilled the
terms of his bet.
Readers’ queries
Long stay expat TY wants to know whether he
can claim a married man’s allowance from his home country tax
authorities now that he is legally married to a Thai lady. Almost
certainly yes, but you must contact your tax man back home and ask for
the procedure. Some European countries insist that you record the
marriage through your embassy; others may be satisfied with an
authorized translation of the Thai marriage documentation... Pattaya
based reader HG says he is long term sick and asks whether it is legal
to give a third party his passport to take abroad to get a new Thai
visa. No, it isn’t legal. Your best procedure is to get a government
hospital to verify on paper you not able to leave the country. A
friend can then go to the immigration bureau, if you can’t go
yourself, and request an extension on your behalf.
Hot off the press
From The Manchester Evening News:
An elderly man at a care center passed round a box
of mints. Eleven people were taken to hospital after eating mothballs.
A man who eight months ago decided to spend his
life in a tree has died. He fell out of it.
A sex line caller’s complaint to the trading
standards’ authority has been dismissed. He had argued that his
request to hear “Hear Me Moan” was misleading as it was a only a
tape of a woman nagging her husband for refusing to do the washing up.
Postscript
Overheard in The Bunker. First man, “As we
are paired tomorrow, have you a golf handicap?” Second man, “Sort
of. I can’t hit the ball very far.” |
Dining Out: An
inexpensive meal at the Benjarong?
by Miss Terry Diner
Mention the Benjarong Restaurant at the Royal Wing of the
Royal Cliff Beach Resort and people automatically talk in hushed and
reverential tones. Always noted for good food and excellent service, there
appears to be a concomitant thought that this also equates with
“expensive”. After a visit to the Benjarong last week, the Dining Out Team
can vouch for the fact that this is not necessarily so!
 Between
now and the 21st of May, Benjarong Restaurant is having a Mediterranean Food
and Wine Fiesta. This had begun on the 22nd of April, and when Zahid from the
Royal Cliff invited the Team over, we naturally jumped at the chance to
experience this cuisine.
The menu (and Benjarong kitchen) is under Swiss chef Marc
Arnold, who admitted that Mediterranean food is his favourite to cook. “My
home is only four hours from the Mediterranean and I love to use olive oil in
my dishes.”
The Benjarong Restaurant is beautifully fitted out, with
natural wood panelling, carpeted floors and illuminated cabinets with
Benjarong pieces on display. The ambience is quiet, the service personnel
glide in and out of view leaving bread, different choices of butter, glasses
of water and attending to every little whim with graciousness and a beaming
smile. It is very easy to wish to be accustomed to this style of living.
After waxing eloquent, let’s get down to the menu. With
fine food, one should also have fine wine. (This was not a night for Singha
Gold!) Unfortunately, in Thailand, wine tends to be expensive and here was
pleasant surprise number 1 - during the Mediterranean Fiesta, the wines are
being offered at “knock down” prices. The most expensive was only 850
baht, with the cheap end a choice of three different wines at 450 baht a
bottle. The selected wines are from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. We
chose a Caves Alianca Casal Mendes Rose, a good all-rounder with most dishes,
and at 650 baht, a “steal”.
We chose from the “old” Mediterranean menu, but after
twisting Marc Arnold’s arm, I was able to get the “new” menu that will
be in force from now till the end of the promotion. It begins with five
appetizers that range in price from B 150 for the Zucchini-Carpaccio in lime,
extra virgin olive oil and rosemary, through a warm duck breast on a cucumber
salad with Pernod and mint (B 220), ending up with pan-fried goose liver on a
warm grape salad and Balsamico glaze at B 490.
The mains, and there is a choice of six, range between B
210 and B 520 including home made Tagliatelli with Roquette, goat cheese,
cashew nuts and sun dried tomatoes, spicy seafood with cous-cous
“Marocain” with the most expensive being the beef - sirloin steak with
marrow and Merlot-shallots on olives. Certainly reads well!
On our evening, Madame chose a tomato and mozzarella cheese
on freshly pounded black olive paste while I went for the bouillabaisse soup.
The tomato dish had a piquant sharpness that had you coming back for more (and
was Madame’s pick for dish of the evening), while my soup was really
brilliant - full of seafood, with crab claws, prawns and scallops.
For mains, we had a pan-fried sea bass and an oven roasted
leg of lamb with baked potato and Tzatziki. What’s a Tzatziki? I must admit
I didn’t know either, but it is a Greek dressing made with yoghurt and sour
cream with garlic, cucumber and olives, and is very nice!
For desserts, Madame managed to put away a parfait of
frozen cappuccino which came complete with a spoonful of chocolate topping,
while I just finished the last of the rose wine!
The Benjarong experience is always good - and this Mediterranean promotion
is surprisingly inexpensive. Try it! But get there before the 21st of this
month!
Shaman’s Rattle:
Shiro Dhara - is this the answer?
by Mirin MacCartry
 Australian naturopath friends practicing massage and
natural health revealed the tantalizing rejuvenating technique “Shiro
Dhara” they had learned in a seminar from an Indian Ayurvedic guru.
Somewhere out of the dregs of fleeting memory I was then reminded of this
ancient system of natural healing therapy, Ayurvedic medicine, a system that
had somehow escaped my attention over the years.
I discovered Ayurveda or, “The science of longevity”
was developed by ancient Indian seers thousands of years ago, and promotes
natural beauty, positive health and long life. Apparently India’s
traditional Ayurvedic medicine dates back 4,500 years to the ancient Hindu
text, the Rig-Veda, which lists 67 medicinal herbs, some of which are still
used today. Over the centuries, Ayurveda has been adapted and refined and is
now a living, growing body of knowledge based on universal principles, as
useful today as it was eons ago.
Ayurveda supports surgical and powerful medications yet
has intact systems of daily health care, meditation, herbology, diet, baths
and rejuvenation techniques such as Shiro Dhara and exercise of Hatha Yoga,
T’ai Chi, Japanese Sotai and Taoist exercises.
Basically, Ayurveda teaches that health and inner and
outer beauty is achieved by the balance of three subtle energies, Kapha,
Vatta and Pitta. Ayurveda brings these forces into harmony so that they
achieve physical, emotional and spiritual growth.
Learning all this inspired me to rush out and buy a book
on Ayurvedic treatments, and I share some of its secrets here. “Ayurvedic
Beauty Care” by Melanie Sachs 1SBN, 0-914955-11-X, Lotus Press, is a find
akin to finding cool spring water in the desert, it demystifies the ancient
Ayurvedic philosophy and gives clear insights into its health promotion and
how to enhance inner and outer beauty with luxurious beauty techniques,
diet, exercise, herbs, massage oils and aromas.
This is an amazing book because it lets you into secrets
that you never believed you could uncover, but does not insist you adopt a
philosophy or rigorous regime. Melanie Sachs wrote the book as a self-care
manual for everyone, with great diagrams for self-massage and other
wonderful recipes, as well as to inspire beauty therapists.
The book fully explained Shiro Dhara and other ‘must
have’ experiences. I learned that Shiro Dhara is the running of a warm
fine stream of sesame oil over the third eye area of the forehead for half
an hour to an hour. Stimulation of the third eye (the exact midpoint of the
forehead, between the eyes, about an inch above the bridge of the nose)
causes the brain to release serotonin, producing a marked sensation of
pleasure and relaxation. It also is said to help the clear the chakras and
channels that calm and clarify the mind.
Not only is it very soothing to the face and forehead,
but it also clears the mind of all extraneous internal chatter. Afterwards
you are said to feel refreshed, renewed and able to make decisions easily
and process information more easily. Traditionally, Shiro Dhara was used for
cases of stress and pain in the face, neck, head and shoulders. It releases
trapped energy and in many people lends a strong flow of psychic impressions
and lucid dreaming. Sounds wonderful to me.
It did occur to me that as soon as I could, I would
persuade a willing friend to give me a Shiro Dhara experience but in the
true spirit of change, to adapt the procedure to have my friend trickle a
warm stream of salty water scented with sage or geranium or turmeric
essential oil over my forehead, instead of sesame oil. The reason for my
change is that salt water is traditionally regarded as purifying and
definitely less messy than oil to wash out of the hair!
The equipment recommended is a massage table, rolled
towel for under the neck, a bowl to catch the oil or saline water, a drip
device (Sachs suggests a chemistry equipment supply of funnel and stand),
though I envision a drip bottle of saline from pharmacy being an excellent
substitute, and 2 pints (1.2 litres) of warm sesame oil or (saline). The
victim just lies back and enjoys and some even have an out body experience
while warm oil or salt water is dripped over the forehead for a half an
hour.
What a way to go, what a brilliant way to rejuvenate. I
would recommend this, combined with gentle Swedish or Ayurvedic massage or
Reiki hands on energy balancing as a wonderful way to end a stressful busy
week.
Next week I will give you some more indulgent beauty
techniques to leave you glowing inside and out.
The Pattaya City Council is holding animal inoculation
days on Thursday and Friday mornings May 18 and 19th from 8.30 to 12.30, at
five different beach locations in North Pattaya, South Pattaya and North and
South Jomtien. Pattaya Animal Welfare Society members (PAWS) have been
invited to assist and will be donating 2,000 baht of rabies vaccine. Come
along and meet PAWS members or bring along a community dog or cat that may
need vaccinating.
 Down
The Iron Road:
Siam’s “Firewood Railways”
by John D. Blyth
Following the end of World War 1, the Royal State Railway
of Siam faced two major tasks. One was the conversion of the early 1435mm
gauge lined to the metre gauge; the second being extension of existing
lines-from Lampang to Chiang Mai, Khorat to Ubon Ratchathani and to the
North East - Udon Thani and eventually Nong Khai. The line from Bangkok Noi
to the Malay border had been completed by the British in 1918 but was
woefully short of locomotives and rolling stock. All this would call for
more locomotives, more powerful to cope with the heavier trains that would
be needed. This in turn would result in the consumption of more fuel - at
that time always wood, of which there seemed plenty, but in some areas it
may not have been very close to the railway.
So, in 1921, two small lines with a track gauge of 600mm
were opened, based on Hwa Wai (Northern line), and Sung Noen (North Eastern
line), and 204 km and 234 km respectively from Bangkok. A useful map is
included in R. Ramaer’s ‘The Railways of Thailand’ (available in
Pattaya at DK books in Soi Post Office), but the statement that the Sung
Noen line was opened as early as 1913 is incorrect. The Hwa Wai line was
closed in the 1950s, maybe as early as 1952, but Sung Noen carried on for
some more years. Following the closure of the Hwa Wai line, a metre gauge
line intended to reach Tha Tako was commenced, but this 54km line did not
the see the light further than the first 19km, due to lack of funds. It was
not used and was lifted about 16 years ago.
 No.
32 outside Hat Yai station in January 1972
Seven small 0-6-0 locomotives were supplied to work these
lines; they were ordered through an agent, Robert Hudson of Leeds, England;
this resulted in their true identity remaining unknown to their owners. Some
confusion in the railway records mixed them up with the very earliest
locomotives built for the Bangkok-Ayuthaya section of the State Railway
system, and although built in 1920 and delivered in 1921, they are on record
as centenarians of 1895 vintage! In fact, they came from the firm of
Hudswell Clarke & Co., also of Leeds, and on delivery carried numbers 1
to 7. Soon after delivery the first two, 1 and 2 became 8 and nine! - more
confusion, and for what reason? At this stage no one knows, and many
compilers of lists of the State Railways’ locomotives have pencilled in
imagined builders and even wheel arrangements. It is possible that two more
locomotives of a different type were in mind, but there is no evidence that
this progressed beyond informal enquiry. Had there been an order, even
provision and later cancelled, there would have been an allocation of serial
numbers, later endorsed ‘Not Built’. No such entry has been found in any
builder’s list. Whatever the facts, there is no evidence as yet to
convince me that another No. 1 and No. 2 were ever supplied. The little
Hudswell Clarke locomotives were built to one of their firm’s standard
designs, and were quite satisfactory, but were rather rough riders; this was
righted by fitting a pair of carrying wheels under the driver’s cab. It is
not known for certain if all were so modified, but this was probably the
case.
 No.
7, as restored to working order, with tender, in steam at Makkasan Works,
Bangkok, 17 March 1999
All locomotives, and railway equipment in general,
suffered badly during the Japanese occupation of the country, and these
would have been no exception; it is known that No. 7, a ‘Hwa Wai’
engine, had been transferred to Sung Noen by 1952, possibly due to a
shortage of working engines at the latter place. But in 1949 the firm of
Kyosan Kogyo of Japan had supplied three small 4-wheeled locomotives to
assist the older locomotives, and all these, which bore numbers 31 to 33
(for no very obvious reason!) were allocated to Sung Noen and remained there
all their working lives.
I find no date for the closure of the Sung Noen line; it
could have been in the early 1960s, but at least some locomotives survived.
Of the Hudswell Clarke engines of 1920, two have survived in preservation,
Nos 7 and 9; a claim that No. 6 has also been kept is, at least, suspect; I
think it was sold to a private person for scrap.
No. 7 was kept at the State Railway’s Makkasan works
for many years, but in 1997, the at request H. M. Queen Sirikit, it was
restored to working order, converted to oil firing, provided with a tender
to contain the oil pump, and will eventually be used to haul tourist trains
on a railway in the grounds of Her Majesty’s Handicraft Training Centre at
Bang Sai, near Ayuthaya, hauling trains of ‘period’ wooden coaches. The
railway has not yet been constructed, no doubt due to the continuing
recession in the country. For the present, the engine remains at Makkasan.
No. 9 has also been kept, and this has for many years
been part of a three-engine display on the station approach at Chumpon
station, on the Southern line.
All three of the Japanese locomotives have also survived. No. 31, after
years of standing in the open at Chiang Mai Station, has been returned to
Makkasan works, where I saw it a year ago being restored to working order as
a ‘stand-by’ for No. 7 at Bang Sai. No. 32 stood for years on waste
ground at Hat Yai, but when the station was partly rebuilt following a bomb
outrage, it was mounted on a plinth near the station entrance. No. 33 was
kept for a long time in Makkasan works, but is now on loan to the ‘Thai
Rail Fan Club’, whose President is a well-known Bangkokian, Professor
Sanpasiri Viryasiri. He has a small transport museum in the northwest corner
of Chatuchak Park in Bangkok, with other items of railway interest.
Previously open Sunday mornings only, the museum is now open on weekdays,
and the Sunday opening is uncertain. The building was to have housed the
exhibits of the intended National Railway Museum, but this floundered due to
disinterest by a subsequent Transport Minister. How these politicians do
make our lives that little bit poorer!
Coins of the Realm:
Commemorative coins for 17th May
by Jan Olav
Amalid,
President House of the Golden Coin
http://www.thaicoins.com
In a few days Norway and Norwegians all over the World
will celebrate the 17th of May. The reason for this is that on the 17th of
May in 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was ratified. Delegations from all
over Norway met at a building in Eidsvoll, stayed there for several months,
and in between all the celebrations, the Norwegian Constitution was written
and ratified.
More than 100 medals have been issued to commemorate this
important occasion for Norway. This year one special medal is even being
struck for the Norwegian Community in Thailand. A presentation can be found
in this issue of Pattaya Mail.
 2
kroner 1914. Sold for face value in 1914, 2 kroner, at that time about 1
baht, value today about 1,000 baht.
Three coins have been struck to commemorate the Norwegian
Constitution. The first were struck in 1914; 2 kroner coins struck in
225,600 pieces (PC). On the obverse was the coat of arms with Norwegian
wood, and the reverse shows “Mother Norway” looking out on the sea. My
first contact with this coin was when I was about 12 years old. My
grandmother had some coins that were given to her by her father. She gave me
one of these 2 kroners. A coin-dealer in 1966 appraised my first coin to be
worth 100 baht. He also recommended I go to the bank and get the
commemorative 10 kroner coin from 1964 issued for the 150th anniversary of
the Constitution. The reason for the coin not being sold out yet was that it
was minted in 1,408,000 PC. My collection was started, I had two coins in my
collection, and it was complete. I was collecting coins that had to do with
the 17th of May.
 10
kroner 1964 with the coat of arms and the Eidsvoll building issued in
1,408,000 PC, about 1/3 of the Norwegian population.
In 1989 I had been a coin-dealer for 15 years, and a
consultant for the Bank of Norway. We were discussing the new coin to be
issued commemorating the 175th anniversary for the Norwegian Constitution.
The design was agreed. On the obverse would have the coat of arms with the
Chain of the Order of Saint Olav. The reverse would have the Eidsvoll
building where was the Constitution was ratified.
The question was what the face value of the coin should
be. 100, 150 and 200 kroner were discussed. Ole-Robert Kolberg, the director
of The Royal Norwegian Mint, came up with the very odd face value, 175th
Anniversary -175 kroner. It was agreed. It was also agreed to issue a total
of 100,000 PC, 85,000 in un-circulated condition to be sold for face value
of about 800 baht and a special edition with a mirror like surface to be
sold for about 2,200 baht.
 175
kroner of 1989, sold for 175 kroner, about 800 baht, value today about 2,400
baht.
Some time later when the coin was put out for exchange
and sale, there were lines with hundreds of people outside banks and
coin-dealers. I do not know if the great interest was because of the low
mintage, the interesting face value, hopes that the coin would increase in
value or the appreciation of the Constitution.
For most it is a combination. And the ones hoping to make a good
investment and who were able to get the coins did well. The value for the
two coins issued in 1989 is today about 3- 4 times more than they paid.
Animal Crackers:
A Badger, no less!
by Mirin
MacCarthy
Recently we were astounded by the sight of a weird animal
riding round Pattaya in the front basket of a motorcycle. It was
unrestrained, claws up on the basket, apparently enjoying the ride with wind
in its fur. With a long snout, black and white striped face and bushy tail
it looked like a cross between a tiny bear cub, a possum and a ferret. Our
driver, from the U.K. knew it, having seen them before, “Hey that was a
badger, you must have them here too.”
Right again, indeed the territory of the Eurasian or
Oriental badger runs across Europe and Asia, including Japan.
 The
badger is a social, bear-like animal with a stocky 1 metre body, short tail
and short but powerful legs armed with wicked claws on the front feet. It
also walks on the soles of its feet like a bear, but the resemblance ends
there, as the badger is actually from the same family as otters and weasels.
One characteristic is that their footprints show five toes, compared to
dogs, which only have four.
A badger’s coat looks grey, but the individual hairs
are black and white. The most striking part of the badger, however, is its
head. This is white with two black stripes running from behind the ears
almost to the tip of the muzzle.
Eurasian Badgers live in social groups of, on average, 6
adults (although groups as large as 23 have been recorded). Most people
aren’t aware of them though since badgers are only seen by humans when the
animals are out alone at night to forage. How some brave person actually
introduced this nocturnal creature to motorcycle riding is truly amazing.
Badgers actually live together in large underground
catacombs called “setts.” These are systems of interlocking tunnels with
nest chambers, toilets, and several entrances. Badgers inherit setts from
their parents, generation after generation, while always expanding and
refining them. The result is huge tunnel systems that are, in some cases,
actually centuries old. Excavation of a sett in England revealed that it
contained 879 meters of tunnels, 50 chambers and 178 entrances. The
researchers estimated that its construction required the removal of 70 tons
of soil!
Badgers are correctly termed omnivores as they eat an
extremely wide variety of foods. Insects, other invertebrates, small
mammals, reptiles, fruits and other plant matter, worms and carrion are all
part of their diet.
Badgers generally have 3 or 4 cubs in a litter. The cubs open their eyes
after 1 month and nurse for about two and a half months. They can leave home
when an animal is as young as 7 or 8 months, but usually hang around, and
many badgers (particularly females) never leave their parents at all.
Copyright 2000 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. |
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