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Family Money:
Scams abound
By Leslie
Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.
Regular readers will recall one
of my favourite adages: “Greed blinds prudence.” There are still
plenty of potential investors out there who get sucked into schemes &
scams because they imagine they’re smarter than the con-men and are
going to get rich quick.
Most people are inexperienced and imprudent investors
who tend to believe “salespeople” too easily. For more sophisticated
investors, greed all too often tends to blind prudence, and even the Big
Boys sometimes get stung. Most of us do not spend enough time and effort
scrutinising proposed investments. We often fall for the “act now or you
lose the opportunity of a lifetime” sales pitch.
That is why Thailand has long been a haven for local
and international scam syndicates. Here are just a few of them:
“ Mae Chamoy Money Pyramid: In the 1980s and up until
quite recently, some community leaders had set up investment schemes to
lure community members into investing millions in them. They promised to
pay high returns to their “members” at no risk. These returns were
actually generated from the principal of members who joined later - a
classic Ponzi scheme which uses new money to pay off old ‘profits’.
The scam expanded until it finally collapsed when the
manager mismanaged the cashflow and some members started to withdraw their
money.
* The Forex Scam: In the tradition of Mr Ponzi, various
dealers in foreign exchange (‘forex’) set themselves up to lure
investors with promises of huge returns for comparatively small amounts of
capital. This used to be a minimum of 1 million baht, but a couple of
years ago one Bangkok-based firm upped the minimum to US$100,000.
People rarely stop to ask why, if he’s so successful,
he still needs new customers and is interested in what should be a
relative pittance in comparison with the millions he’s making - at least
on paper. Despite stories of these scams having circulated for years, I
know of several expatriates who have “invested” in such schemes, and
who have had great difficulty getting their money out when they wanted -
although some have eventually succeeded (assumedly when new investors have
re-seeded the pot, since that is the way this scheme works: no trades
actually take place, so no criminal activity can actually be proven
against the fraudsters. Clever aren’t they?)
* The Nigerian Advance Fee Scam: Many local
businesspeople have received faxes or e-mails from people purporting to be
officers of a state agency in Nigeria. Typically, the writer will say he
urgently needs to transfer to a foreign account US$40 million that he had
secured from over-billing on state contracts, and is requesting your help
with an account number to park the funds. As a return of gratitude, he is
willing to share a large percentage of the sum with you. (How he picked
you of all people is usually glossed over, or mention is made of a
“referee” - whom you may never have heard of - who purportedly gave
him your name as being “a kind, honest and upright citizen.”)
The catch is that, to receive such a transfer, the
contacted person must send up-front transfer/transaction fees of
US$3,000~5,000 to his account in Lagos first. Needless to say, after such
initial transfers, the local victims never hear from this Nigerian
official again.
* The Prime Bank Guarantee Fraud: Many local financial
institutions have been contacted by foreign businessmen, who claimed to
possess financial papers issued by leading international banks - the
so-called “prime banks”. These were typically in the form of bank
guarantees, irrevocable letters of credit or similar notes typed on the
banks’ stationery.
The fraudsters either wanted to sell the papers at a
hefty discount from the face value or use them as a collateral for loans
from financial institutions.
There have been no public reports of any local
financial institution losing money over this scam, but it has cost
investors around the world more than US$1 billion, according to the
International Chamber of Commerce.
* The Gemstone Swindle: Thailand is internationally
recognised for mining and cutting gemstones, especially sapphires and
rubies.
Most people cannot tell the difference between a ruby
and a garnet, which is worth considerably less carat for carat. (Even the
huge Black Prince Ruby in the British Imperial State Crown is actually a
garnet, not a ruby.) Similarly, most people have little idea what a
particular gemstone - even if a genuine one - is really worth, since price
varies so much depending on the four ‘Cs’: carat, clarity, colour,
cut.
Rubies vary from pale pink to dark red, while sapphires
typically range from cornflower blue to almost black. There are also white
sapphires that look like - and are sometimes mistaken for - diamonds. (In
fact, a good quality blue sapphire will be more valuable than a diamond of
equal size.) The much sought-after ‘star’ sapphires are typically dark
grey.
Tourists are especially easy targets for some of the
touts who delight in taking busloads of tourists to their favourite
gemstone dealer - who may very well be operating from a legitimate shop -
where they may be enticed into buying “investment grade” stones,
mounted or un-mounted, at what in many cases later turns out to be vastly
inflated prices. The tout may well receive up to 30% of the sales price,
and the tourist has no recourse for having been ripped off. I must in
fairness mention that by no means all jewellery stores are rip-off
artists; many will give you excellent value for money, provided you’re
careful with your purchases and believe the price you’ve paid is fair.
You may end up with a beautiful piece of jewellery for a reasonable price.
But it is worth noting that neither the Thai government nor the Tourist
Authority of Thailand (‘TAT’) runs supports or sponsors any gemstone
dealer. It is in all cases entirely a matter of caveat emptor: Let the
buyer beware.
What you need to do to protect yourself against these
possible swindles is to be prudent in your investment decisions. Do ask a
lot of questions and never hand over a single baht unless you are
satisfied with the answers.
At the end of the day, use your common sense and the
basic rule of investment - there is nothing free in this world. If you
want higher returns, you should be willing to assume higher risks.
Snap Shots: More
videography tips
by Harry Flashman
 Last
week, I began with the following - I do not claim to be an expert in
shooting video, but there are certain aspects that are true for all types
of photography.
Let us begin with one very important fact. Still
photography freezes a moment in time, while video photography tells a
moving picture story. Try not to shoot ‘stills’ with a video camera
and your videos will start to look professional immediately.
Video work however, is much like still camera work -
the results you get will depend upon your knowledge of technique, and your
ability to work out “how” to produce the images you want.
Here are a few more “rules” which can help you
produce better video. Firstly, no rule is absolute, but you should have a
good reason to break it. Having said that, let’s look at a few basics.
Just like still photography, make the subject the
‘hero’. Fill the entire screen with your important subject matter.
Look at the TV soaps if you want to see how to fill up the TV screen.
Empty space is wasted space.
Your video camera is recording ‘real’ life, and in
real life, walls are vertical, doors are upright and horizons are
horizontal. Avoid the ‘arty’ effect of strange angles. One way to do
this is to use a tripod. While tripods are very effective pieces of
equipment for still photography, I think they should almost be mandatory
for the amateur videographer.
Another area that is often neglected in the excitement
of the shoot is the background. If it is disturbing for you while you are
shooting, it will be worse for the people who will watch your video later.
Movements and bright lights, cars going past, people walking through the
scene, stopping, gawking - they are all distractions and detractions. It
is better to stop filming and move somewhere without the confusion behind
your principal subjects. You can solve most background problems by moving
the subject, the camera or changing the angle of view. Always check the
distracting background details. You can’t get rid of them after the shot
has been recorded.
Since the majority of your videos will include people,
there are a few recommendations here too. When shooting people, place the
subject’s eyes one-third down from the top of the frame no matter the
type of shot. It is that old rule of thirds again. Dead central is boring!
Another shot to avoid is one with large distances
between people. Again, look at the soaps on TV. The people are really
standing much closer than they would in real life (in each other’s
personal space in fact), but if you have them a metre or so apart, you
lose ‘contact’ in the video.
You should also shoot people in full or three-quarter
profile to let the viewers see both eyes. The one eyed effect does not
look good. Again, look at TV. When two people are talking, the camera
shoots over the shoulder of person one to shoot the second person face-on
to the camera. When the first person replies, the shot is taken the other
way, over the shoulder of the second person. You can also take shots of
the person who is listening to the other speak. These are sometimes called
‘noddies’, because the person will be nodding while listening to the
other speaker.
Video is in colour and you should always remember the
impact that colour has on any shot. The most important thing is that your
viewer’s attention is drawn to the most colourful areas of the scene. To
avoid visual distractions, you must be on the lookout for colourful
objects, which may divert the attention of your audience. Either have the
brightest colours or lights in the shot area that is the focus of
attention, or get them right away altogether. The same rule goes for light
and dark areas on the screen. If you place a dark subject next to a bright
object, your viewers will look at the brighter area even though the dark
subject is the main center of interest.
Modern Medicine: Can Cattle Class kill you?
Presented
by
Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
I was sent a press release entitled “Study identifies
short haul DVT danger”. DVT stands for Deep Vein Thrombosis, and these
are the clots that can form in the deep veins of the legs during cramped
travel, such as you get in some economy (cattle) class flights.
It was an exercise on how to present scientific
findings, with a slant towards how you want the data evaluated. Quoting
the press release, “Air travellers on journeys as short as three hours
are at risk of deep vein thrombosis, latest research has shown. Interim
results of a new international study which has already examined more than
500 of a planned 900 passengers flying between UK and Italy between May
and September 2003 found blood clots in 4.3% of high-risk subjects after
their flight. Two passengers participating in the study went on to develop
pulmonary embolisms possibly related to flights.”
The research was carried out by “experts” who seem
to be heavyweights in the field too, led by Professor Gianni Belcaro of G
D’Annunzio University in Italy.
When you read something like that, it seems like an
open and shut case. Economy class gives you blood clots and you can even
get clots in the lungs, which could kill you.
However, it is necessary to look a little more
critically at the findings, rather than the superficial presentation. The
press release did make mention of the scientific study, (which is not yet
completed, by the way), and I went to the web site and took a look.
What the researchers did was to do ultrasound
examinations on the passengers, before and after their flight. 568 had
been fully evaluated, of which 179 were at medium or moderate risk for DVT
and 211 could be considered at high risk. The incidence of DVT was 1.6
percent in medium risk (3 cases out of 179 subjects). There were 9 DVTs
out of 210 (one went missing? - it was 211 before) in the high risk
subjects (4.26 percent). In this group they also recorded two episodes of
pulmonary embolism, admitting that the original DVT was possibly related
to the flights or aggravated by the flights.
So looking at this study with a critical eye, we have
no data given for low risk passengers, presumably no clots, and results
that showed that 1.6 percent of moderate risk passengers had ultrasound
evidence of DVT (but in other words, 98.4 percent stepped onto the tarmac
at the other end, having no clots) and 4.26 percent of high risk
passengers had ultrasound evidence of DVT (or 95.74 percent had none).
What has to be also understood here is that the
diagnosis of DVT was done by ultrasound. The diagnosis was not done on
clinical grounds - in other words, the patients did not know they had
“clots”.
Professor Gianni did state that taking plenty of
exercise during the trip, drinking water and wearing flight socks to help
the blood circulate would reduce the likelihood of clots developing. He
did not mention that half an aspirin daily was also a very good way to
avoid the problem - but you are being told here by me!
It is also significant that medical studies are usually
sent for evaluation by one’s peers before publication, and I am always
suspicious of groups that bypass this safeguard for good scientific data.
The information that the study was carried out by “a group of
researchers with institutional grants and external support from several
commercial sponsors” may explain it.
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
There has been a crackdown recently about copy goods - shirts, CD’s and
watches and the like. Why is this? Everyone knows that you go to Asia and buy
real bargains. I always bring back three or four watches for the girl friends
and a couple of footy shirts for the blokes. What’s wrong with this. If I
can’t get the stuff in Thailand, do you know where I can get them? I’m
coming over in a couple of weeks, so if you can let me know early that would be
good.
Copycat
Dear Copycat,
How would you feel if you made some type of special goods and then found that
cheap copies were being marketed at half the price you sell them for? Mind you,
I think that many of these overseas goods are highly over-priced too. The whole
question of copyright is well beyond Hillary’s brain, I’m afraid. I’m
just worried about getting ‘copy’ champagne. As to where you can go to get
the things you want - the markets still have them I believe, but don’t tell
the police. Unless the police are running the market!
Dear Hillary,
How do you work out what size shirts you are supposed to buy in this country?
In the UK I am a Medium (M) but over here the shop girls all say I am XL. I
believed her and got three shirts, all XL, but only two of them fitted, the
third was miles to (sic) big. When I went back the little shop was not there
any longer, so I am left with this big shirt. What’s your suggestion,
Hillary?
Mr. M
Dear Mr. M,
Have you never thought about holding the shirts up against you to check the
sizes before you buy? Seems fairly obvious to me, Petal. So the shop’s done a
midnight flit, give the large one to a large friend, or wait till you grow into
it yourself. Most farang males seem to get bigger as they get older. It’s
something to do with the refreshment they drink. Or perhaps you are boasting
about being XL?
Dear Hillary,
Are all Thai girls as forward as the one I met the other night? I was sitting
on my own in the bar and I didn’t want to listen to the usual inane chatter
that the bar girls carry on with, “Hello sexy man. Where you come from?”
that kind of stuff. I started to talk to the service girl and she seemed a nice
enough lady, so I bought her a couple of drinks, but then went home. The next
day she rolls up at my office with some flowers for me! I was so embarrassed,
as all my work mates were laughing, and the girls in the office weren’t all
that impressed. I asked one of the girls to find out what she wanted, but all
they said was that the lady liked me. What do I do with this? The last thing I
need is unwanted visits.
Embarrassed Edward
Dear Embarrassed Edward,
Just how did this girl know where you worked? If she is clairvoyant, then I
think you should keep her, my Petal, and cash up on all the winning lottery
tickets she will predict for you. But if, on the other had, it was because you
gave her your business card, then you have nobody to blame but yourself. If you
don’t want to be followed up, don’t hand out your business cards. Of course
you can always use someone else’s card, but I didn’t tell you that.
Dear Hillary,
I have a regular watering hole, so you do get to know the staff who work there.
The other night one of them was having problems reading a letter from a
boyfriend overseas and I said that I would read it for her. It was the usual
missing you, love you, sort of letter, with money enclosed (but I didn’t ask
how much). He wrote that he was coming back to Thailand next month and was
looking forward to being with her again and he was bringing over a watch for
her. This sounded all very nice, and I thought she would be happy to hear all
this, but no. She couldn’t remember who he was! I was stunned. How can these
girls take money and watches and the like and not even remember the poor
sucker’s name? I feel like warning him. What do you think, Hillary?
Staggered
Dear Staggered,
Unsolicited advice is never appreciated. The boyfriend is just one of the many
who come here and fall in love with a Thai lady. The girls do not have to
wheedle their way into the holiday pay packet, these men empty their wallets
willingly. He will not believe you anyway, looking at the world here through
rose coloured beer glasses. Do you remember the names of all your business
clients? These girls look upon it as a business too (in fact the oldest
business), so you can’t expect them to remember every one of their business
clients either. If it upsets you, then stop offering to read someone else’s
mail and then break the trust needed in such a sensitive subject by wanting to
tell the unknown writer that his sweetheart might just be a tad mercenary.
A Slice of Thai History: Pridi Banomyong: a Life of Controversy
Part Four 1945-1947
by Duncan steam
The day after Japan surrendered, in August 1945, Pridi
obtained the approval of the National Assembly to repudiate Thailand’s
declaration of war on Britain and her allies.
Khuang Aphaiwong resigned as Prime Minister, was
replaced by Thawi Bunyaket, who, on 17 September handed the mantle to Seni
Pramoj, newly returned from the United States.
The scramble for power among factions in late 1945
created political divisions in the ranks of the civilian leaders,
destroying their potential for making a common stand against the resurgent
political force of the military in subsequent years. Accommodations with
the Allies also weakened the civilian government.
Britain demanded war reparations in the form of rice
shipments to Malaya, while France refused to permit Thailand to join the
new United Nations until Indochinese territories annexed during the war
were returned. The Soviet Union insisted on the repeal of anticommunist
legislation as a condition of its support for UN membership.
The government set up an agency to manage the delivery
of rice as part of war reparations. The reparations initially totalled
about 10 percent of the annual yield, but the figure was adjusted downward
and the reparations were paid off by 1948. However, the government
retained the policy of regulating the rice trade as an income-producing
mechanism. A peace treaty was signed with Britain in January 1946 but
discontent grew due to inflation, reparations, and the surrender of
territorial gains many Thais considered to have been legitimate.
With Pridi’s support, Khuang Aphaiwong was returned
as Prime Minister on 31 January, but when he refused to accept a bill put
up in the National Assembly to cut public expenditure he resigned and
Pridi took up the post. He became Thailand’s eighth Prime Minister on 24
March 1946.
Elections, the first involving political parties, were
held. The election campaign was violent at times with one incident
involving a hand grenade being thrown into a rally run by the opposition
Democrat Party, which had been founded by Khuang Aphaiwong, with Kukrit
and Seni Pramoj in early April.
Two parties, the Constitutional Front, led by Pridi,
and the Cooperation Party, won the majority of seats in the lower house
and therefore nominated pro-Pridi parliamentarians to sit in the new
Senate. The Democrat Party led the opposition.
The new constitution was unveiled on 10 May and called
for the creation of a bicameral parliament. The lower house, the House of
Representatives, would be elected by popular vote while the upper house,
the Senate, would be elected by lower house members. This constitution
suited Pridi and his party, giving him a parliamentary majority that would
support his programs.
Just two weeks after the election of the upper house,
King Ananda Mahidol died unexpectedly. A series of no-confidence
parliamentary debates followed public outcry and Pridi resigned as Prime
Minister on 21 August 1946 after just five months in power, citing ill
health. Nevertheless, his replacement, Rear Admiral Thawal Thamrong
Navaswadhi, was a pro-Pridi nominee.
A year later, Pridi was forced to flee Thailand when he
became the main target of a coup launched against Thawal’s government by
Field Marshal Pibulsongkram. He escaped with the aid of the naval attach้
of the British Embassy. After first going to Malaysia, he sought exile in
China. Khuang Aphaiwong became Prime Minister for the third time while
Pibulsongkram was made supreme commander of the armed forces.
Personal Directions: Suffer or Celebrate the Consequences
by Christina Dodd
I wonder if we ever
really fully understand that we are totally accountable for everything we do in
life. Our actions that come from our thinking ultimately create results. This is
very true and it is good to take action and to have results, but we have to take
heed of the fact that the results also bring with them - hand in hand and
whether we like it or not - consequences.
In the real world, which is where we all have to live, we
have to learn to understand that our actions need to be thought through and not
just taken lightly, or in a desperate attempt to satisfy either others or
ourselves. Our actions can determine the happiness of another person, the
success or failure of a business, and this is just for starters. The
consequences of our actions are infinite.
This topic is one that comes up time and time again and hits
people in the face like a load of bricks when they seriously think upon it. Not
only from the point of view as to what you - the doer - creates but also what
you - the person at the other end - receive. Each and every one of us is a giver
and a receiver of consequences. There is no way that we can escape this fact and
part of life. This is why it is so important that we realize the full impact of
our actions.
I brought this subject to the forefront in a recent program I
held on problem solving and decision making for a group of young executives.
They were all so very eager to assess problems and work out plans of action and
to initiate action. But they had to stop and think carefully about the action
before taking it! Problems don’t just sit there having arrived out of nowhere.
They originate from actions of people (as was the case in this particular
industry) and therefore all have an owner or an originator. And what the owner
does to solve that problem will have consequences. In taking action - any sort
of action - we have to be prepared to suffer or celebrate the consequences.
It isn’t pleasant being on the receiving end of someone’s
actions especially when they are of a negative nature. In being the receiver of
a problem we can know that an action can affect us this way. Suddenly we have
something we really don’t want and it wasn’t our fault in the first place,
but now we have to deal with it. We have something in our possession that is the
result or consequence of someone else’s actions and we ask ourselves, is that
fair?
And if we are not careful, we can do to others just as easily
what has been done to us. We can make others feel just as we do when they
receive the consequences of our actions. Whether we are looking at this from a
personal or professional point of view, each of us is accountable for our
actions and the consequences of them. And consequences don’t necessarily stop
at one level, they can be far reaching and have multiple levels with a final and
extreme impact.
Take a look at your life and try to pinpoint an event in
which you acted and really didn’t think too much about what would happen as a
result. I’m not saying that we should always make the right decisions because
that would be impossible to do. What I am saying is that we should pay more
attention to the decision and what can happen as a consequence of our actions.
I’m sure that you can find numerous examples of things you have done where you
wish you had thought things through just a little more or perhaps a lot more,
before acting!
It’s a fact that you can make someone’s day by your
actions. A simple but true scenario: I was recently in DTAC attending to some
matters and the service I received was outstanding, so much so that I commended
the customer service staff and gave my comments to the supervisor on duty at the
time. I found out later that the young attendant who took care of my case was
awarded for her excellent performance not just as a result of my actions, but my
actions contributed in part to her success. It’s a good feeling to know that
you can act in a way to bring about positive consequences and make something
good happen for someone you don’t even know. This way we can “celebrate the
consequences.”
Then there are those many times in our lives where we have
done the opposite and have had to “suffer the consequences.” In those
moments we so easily look back and ask ourselves why we did this or did that.
What made us take that course of action? Why didn’t we think it through more
carefully? Why did we act in anger? The questions as to why we did or did not do
something are endless.
Because we are all accountable at the end of the day for the
way we act and the consequences of our actions, you would think that this should
make us stop and think more deeply about the actions we are going to take before
we take them. However, we don’t stop to think about the consequences. We think
more about the action. And is some ways we haven’t really grown up, we are
still like children exploring life.
I remember one incident as I was growing up with my younger
brother. We were all very little at the time and my brother was fascinated with
the electric frying pan my mother used to use. He couldn’t see any flame like
he could see when mum used the gas stove so his level of intrigue was running
high as to how this pan could be hot without a flame underneath it. So he would
move in close and watch the cooking. One day he moved in just a little too close
and too quick and kind of “sniffed” the pan with his nose. Well - he let out
a screech and went running away with a rather red nose but fully understanding
where the flame is in an electric frying pan.
Sometimes we learn the hard way about the consequences of our
actions - and it can hurt us.
If you would like to send me your thoughts on this subject or
to contact me about personal life direction or indeed our professional training
and executive coaching programs, please email me at Christina.dodd
@asiatrainingassociates.com. Until next time, have a wonderful week!
Social Commentary by Khai Khem:
Is Thailand really not cheap anymore?
This is a loaded question. There have been
some recent comments published by readers declaring that Thailand is not
cheap anymore. This is a subjective observation and it depends on one’s
point of view. Prices for goods and services have risen in this country
through the years. But the quality and value of what we now have available
has also improved. The old saw about “getting what you pay for” is a
fact of life. Still, for the most part, Thailand is a bargain for residents
and tourists compared with many other places in the world.
Our great advantage is the wide variety of choices. How
we chose to spend our disposable income is mainly up to us. For well-heeled
tourists, there are plenty of ways to rid themselves of the burden of too
much money, do it in style and still come out ahead. Anyone who has spent a
month’s holiday in Paris, Monte Carlo, London, New York or San Francisco
before coming to Thailand could help us do the math.
Long-time foreign residents from the middle-income class
generally agree that Thailand is not only an enjoyable place to live, but
also reasonably priced. Oh, the ‘big-ticket’ items like cars, modern
home appliances, and high-tech merchandise, up-market consumer goods and the
very latest gadgets are more expensive, depending on which nation we are
being compared with, but here again, one is faced with choices. Sometimes
there are domestic brand substitutes and locally manufactured items which
will do pretty the same thing, taste as good and work nearly as well as
those from the ‘home country’.
It’s true that there are an enormous number of things
one can buy in Europe or the USA that are not available in Thailand - things
we’ve never even heard of over here. Surely that complaint is universal in
this highly multi-cultural, globalized world of today. I’ll venture an
elegant Indian woman whose husband’s company has posted him in Kansas City
will have a hard time finding a sari in her local K-Mart.
One reader complained that doing business in Thailand is
not cheap, Thai workers are unproductive and slow as snails. That protest
was common when the Pharaohs were building the pyramids.
On my last visit to the USA I stayed with friends in
Tucson, Arizona. Elderly, wealthy and retired, this couple had an enormous
home on a huge plot of land, and a decorative garden complete with
waterfall, spa and swimming pool. Well-off enough to employ a maid,
gardeners and a full-time maintenance team for the residence, I made a point
of observing the paid staff “at work”. Just watching them made my head
ache.
The maid came in 3 times a week to clean. The house had
every modern convenience known to man. That meant she put in 3 hours a day
and left. After which, in my utter boredom, I finished the work she felt she
didn’t have to do, just to thank my friends for their hospitality.
The two gardeners arrived in the afternoon with a
contraption strapped to their back that made more noise than a 2-stroke
motorcycle and blew away fallen leaves and flowers - into the adjacent
neighbor’s property - watered a couple of potted plants and beat a hasty
retreat.
The swimming pool and hot-tub never worked properly the
whole time I was there. The pool was green with algae because they
couldn’t figure out how to adjust the filtering system. The spa was
supposed stay heated at a set temperature. The men who maintained it never
got it right, but they always insisted it was, “now fixed.” Every
evening my hosts and I naively slipped into freezing water or leaped back
out like scalded cats. These “Western” employees were being paid top
wages in US dollars and their performance was no better than Thai laborers I
see on the job everyday.
I managed to squeeze in a little sightseeing into my last
trip to Europe. The SIGHTS were dazzling. The prices of tours and admissions
to attractions were high enough to provoke a heart attack. The bill for a
meal in a good restaurant could have supported a Thai family for a month. I
went shopping in Zurich - window-shopping. The goods on sale were so
magnificent I was worried the stores would charge me for drooling on the
plate glass.
I recently checked friends from Canada into one of our
4-star hotels in Pattaya for a three-week stay. The hotel will sort out
their travel itinerary and the couple has already enrolled in a scuba diving
course so they can enjoy an underwater trip to Pattaya’s outer islands. I
just got a phone call from them last night. They plan to extend their visit.
As they put it, “We could spend the whole winter here in Pattaya for the
cost of our heating bill in Toronto.”
This couple is still too young to retire, but they have
already looked into the possibility of spending their Golden Years in Fun
City. In fact, they mentioned the possibility of investing in a business
here so they wouldn’t have to wait 10 more years. I didn’t ask them if
they thought Thailand was “cheap”. It seemed superfluous.
Cheap-like beauty - is in the eye of the beholder. I am
definitely not encouraging Thailand to price itself ‘out of the market’.
That is usually a prescription for disaster in any developing nation. There
might be cheaper places to live and do business, but the trade-off is living
standards and quality of life.
I recently had lunch with a lady from Australia who has
been living in Pattaya for a year and asked how she liked the city. She said
that with the exception of the language difficulties and traffic congestion,
her lifestyle had not changed very much. I made a quick mental comparison of
life in Perth and living in Pattaya. Globalization has sure made an impact.
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