Motorcycling in Northern Thailand
by Suzanne Bradbrook, Lafayette California
For those adventurous enough to travel to North Thailand and ride motorcycles,
here is an idea for a fun, exciting and informative tour.
Chiang Mai, Feb. ‘98
Grinding up the steep slope in third gear, the Honda’s two-cycle engine
revving beneath me, we struggle with watering eyes to see through the smoke
from the uncontrolled forest fire blazing alongside the road. A horn just
behind me signals to pass and I hug the left side of the road as near to
the deep culvert as I dare. The muddy diesel Toyota pickup roars past with
his one unmuffled exhaust pipe rapping loudly. A helicopter chops its way
across the sky in route to dump his load of water on a hot spot about a
kilometer away.
My Chiang Mai tour group had just left, giving me a short respite before
heading back to Bangkok. The hotel manager in Chiang Mai had suggested
an outing with a local reputable guide near the hotel, who conducts motorcycle
trips around the local area. It sounded like a thrilling adventure and
having had some cycle experience in America, I decided to give it a whirl.
Four of us set out about noon that day on Honda Dash motorcycles, 125cc’s
of amazing performance, for a Sunday’s drive in the mountains west
of Chiang Mai toward the Burma boarder. 30 km and about one hour later
we reached our primary goal of Prathat Thung Pong, a resort built inside
a Garden-of-Eden setting.
Northern Thailand flowers abound and climb the walls of Swiss chalet look-a-likes
in a blazing display of colors and textures. A waterfall tumbles down the
flower covered hillside next to the outside restaurant and children in
brilliant, golden triangle hill-tribe attire play and chase across the
wooden bridge and over the verdant lawn. Their shrill voices speak hill
tribe dialects, different sounds than the normal Thai language we’ve
grown accustomed to in Bangkok and Pattaya.
We wander by the stream through the flora and into a row of small shops
selling colorful hill tribe hand made clothing. Two farang (caucasian)
men strike up a conversation. It turns out they’re both Scottish,
one a visitor and the other an expat living in Chiang Mai. Advice as to
destinations and scenery is always welcome and the expat Scot recommends
we continue our journey on to Samoeng and then north through the Mae Sa
Valley past the Elephant (Chang) Camp and back to Chiang Mai. “bout
100 km total and a bit windy,” he says in his thick brogue, “but
well wurth the trip. Take abuut two h’urs boot the scenery’s
spectac’lr. A few sha’p U-turns and some ste-p rhoads but nu’thin
to fear.” he concludes. We thank him and go our ways after exchanging
Choke Dee (good luck) greetings.
After a bit of discussion we decide to heed the Scot’s advise and
set off to the west. “A few sharp U-turns and steep roads” are
an exaggeration at best. Lombard Street in San Francisco is the only comparison
that comes to mind. The difference is Lombard St. is 1/4 mile long, one-way
and a 5 mph speed limit. This road is 30 km long, wider, two-way and no
speed limit. Pickups and motorcycles of all vintages and conditions driven
by locals and cars full of tourists mix freely in a LeMans style of driving.
Grades are at least 10% and switchbacks are no more than 30 m apart. The
resulting turns are in the Magic Mountain (amusement park) category for
excitement and challenge. Fortunately, I had acquired fair competence and
cautious confidence with motorcycles. Coupled with the superb performance
of six speeds and two wheel disk brakes we soon are zooming along with
the natives.
The mountain scenery is guardedly spectacular with agriculture and resorts
lining the road between stretches of undeveloped land. This area obviously
once was a forest but greedy and poorly controlled timber harvesting practices
have left little but scrub brush and new-growth foliage. The dense brush
combined with the drought conditions have created a fire potential not
unlike that in California in late summer. That is exactly what was going
on this pleasant Sunday afternoon.
Later from a high vantage point we could see smoke rising from many points
in the thousands of acres visible. Helicopters were continually shuttling
water to the hottest spots. It appeared that there was no hope of extinguishing
the fire, just an attempt to throttle it and save developed areas while
waiting for the next rainsquall to put it out. Our little encounter with
flames was more frightening than threatening. The road served as a firebreak
and no one seemed surprised to drive through the fire itself.
Frequent stops for views and nervous sharing of concerns and a swallow
or two from our water bottles broke up the rest of the trip. A bowl of
noodles and an ice cream cone in a Mae Sa Valley gwaitiaw (Thai noodle
soup) stand were welcome as was the Kodak moment at the Elephant Camp where
the huge beasts were enjoying their daily bath (ab nahm) in the river.
Back on Highway 11 and now heading south toward Chiang Mai again we suddenly
confront a mandatory left turn to avoid going the wrong way on a one-way
road. Of course there are no additional direction signs and even our guide
gets lost and loses direction. A little poking around and some intuitive
U-turns and suddenly there is a familiar landmark and we’re un-lost
yet-again. Back to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes then out
to continue my futile attempt to eat at every restaurant on the list I
acquired in Bangkok.
Tomorrow the sights are set on a trip to a Buddhist Temple atop a mountain
overlooking Chiang Mai City. We hear the Queen is in the Royal residence
near the Temple and leaving tomorrow. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll
catch a glimpse of her or at least her cavalcade of military and bodyguards.
Pattaya Needy Children's Center -
special people helping Pattaya's poor
Lodge Pattaya Westwind, on their yearly charity sojourn last week, visited
the Pattaya Needy Children’s Center on Soi Kor Phai, opening the eyes
of many to a “hidden” problem in Pattaya and the special people
who are doing something about it.
History
The home for disadvantaged children in Pattaya exists for rather ironic
reasons. The city’s economy began to boom about 20 years ago and Pattaya
became a ‘rich’ city, when compared to other areas of Thailand.
This success lured many people here who hoped to take advantage of the
boom to make a better life for themselves.
Most people came from the parched area of Isan, whose environment was and
is dying from deforestation.
People had dreams of secure jobs in the hotel and service industries. Maybe
they could open little restaurants to serve people from their regions working
in Pattaya.
Photo: Master of Lodge Bill Hunter, who brought the Pattaya
Lodge Westwind to the Pattaya Needy Children's Center on Soi Kor Phai,
presents gifts to the children and parents of the area. Pattaya Lodge Westwind
donated food and supplies to the school and urge other benevolent organizations
to help thsi needy cause.
Pattaya thus ended up with 210,000 unregistered residents. People began
putting up temporary shacks on public land that became ‘permanent’.
Unregistered citizens began having children. Many of these people, not
being able to find work, became ‘recyclers’. One can still see
them out collecting papers and bottles for sale to recycling plants.
The children born here were caught in the vicious cycle and most did not
receive any education.
This is due to many factors. If parents do not have a permanent residence,
they could not register in Pattaya. If parents had no house registry, children
could not enter the Pattaya School System.
Children thus became disenfranchised. Instead of being farmers, they were
now officially ‘beggars’. Children whose parents are vendors
may help them eke out a day to day existence.
At present, these children have no future.
Children sometimes resort to prostitution to support themselves and their
families. Most of these children do not know what they are doing is not
healthy. They only know they are providing a service and making money.
They do not realise that they are hurting themselves.
This caused social problems and the foreign media, not looking at the sad
root of the problem, emphasised the ‘sensational’. The media
can be very uncaring and did not wish to analyze or offer help. They rain
shame down on Pattaya as they happily take the money for the stories they
write. We in Pattaya know and love these misguided children.
The foreign media is another matter. If child prostitution stops, then
the fat bonuses for lurid stories will stop. We wonder where their hearts
are.
The media exposes did more than ruin Pattaya’s image. These stories
implicitly encourage paedophiles to come in even larger numbers.
Pattaya saw that there was a need to help all children who were the victims
of economic vicissitudes.
The city set up a program to help these children in 1996. The ‘Needy
Children’s’ program began with a community outreach program.
Volunteer teachers went into the back alleys and crowded neighbourhoods
to inform people that there was now a place where children could get a
proper education. The center, located in Soi Kor Phai, now has only 4 teachers
and the student to teacher ratio is much too high. As the city’s budget
only allows funds for books and very basic educational materials, the teachers
donate their time. This is sad.
None of the children approached have refused the offer of an education.
During the school term, classes at the centre run from 6:00-8:00 p.m. During
school vacations, classes begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at noon.
When there is not enough cash at home, parents may forbid their children
to go to the center as they need them to help with work.
Mr. Thaworn Boonsak, Deputy City Manager of Pattaya, told reporters if
the community gave some assistance, children could receive free lunches
and medical care. This could persuade parents not to take the children
out of the centre. This would effectively take some financial burden off
parents.
Mr. Thaworn says that the center’s work will continue and more centers
built in other areas.
When asked about the lack of budget, Mr. Thaworn refuses to be discouraged.
He is sure that if more people know about the centre, they will help.
Several charitable organisations have given assistance, but it is not enough.
Mr. Thaworn requests groups, such as Rotary, Lions and other charitable
foundations to look into their hearts and then look into their wallets.
He is sure that a little bit taken out of the wallet will put a lot more
back into the heart.
Those wishing to help the ‘Pattaya Needy Children’s Centre’
may telephone the office of the Pattaya School System at (038) 423-293
during business hours.
Young English professionals tour Pattaya
for "hands-on" experience
As Buddha said, “See with your own eyes. Hear with your own ears.”
Teachers hope this will be possible for all their students.
Truly learning something means one must experience it ‘first hand’.
Geography would be real if students could visit the countries they studied.
A century ago this form of ‘finishing’ was a necessary part of
every young person’s education. It was called a ‘grand tour’.
Members of a Group Study Exchange sponsored by Rotary International had
the opportunity to do this with their recent visit to Pattaya.
The visitors were young English professionals from District 1190 RI, which
comprises two English counties, Cumbria and Lancashire. It contains the
beautiful Lake District National Park and is bounded on the eastern side
by the Pennine Hills and on the west side by the Irish Sea.
Solicitor Alison Kinder, Mechanical Engineer Andrew Kent, Dietician Tracy
Murdoch and Livestock Specialist Dawn Taylor gained ‘hands on’
knowledge that is a once in a life time experience and the knowledge gained
will be of great use to them back home in England.
They learned about the ‘real’ Thailand during their five-week
stay. With Thai families as hosts, they heard the language, ate Thai food,
saw the infrastructure, and lived in the culture. They now have knowledge
of Thailand no geography book could ever teach.
Rotary Clubs in District 3340 RI, which covers all of the east and northeastern
part of Thailand, hosted the group.
David Medcalf, Past President of the Rotary Club of Over Wyre in Lancashire,
was the team leader. Employed by the British Post Office as Regional Manager
for Information Technology in the North West of England and North Wales
he was particularly interested to observe the operations of the Thai postal
system. He visited the Central Post Office and Mail Centre in Sriracha.
Photo: Prem and David
Andrew Kent and Dawn Taylor learned about working methods in the antipodes
on tours of farms and factories. “It’s so different to our farms.
Life is so casual here and it’s just like being in paradise watching
water buffaloes plough the fields and the farmers toiling away, to all
appearances, at such a leisurely pace,” observed Dawn.
Of great interest to Tracy Murdoch was the complete tour of the Bangkok-Pattaya
Hospital. Speaking of the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital, Tracy Murdoch praised
the service and treatment. “It was more like a hotel than a hospital.
One also had immediate access to specialists, as they were resident at
the hospital.” She praised the expert modification of the liquid and
semi-liquid diets.
Andrew Kent, impressed with traditional Thai friendliness and hospitality,
took every chance to observe the workings and ways of Thai society. Andrew
said, “There are some similarities between the British way of life
and the Thai life, but far more differences than we can even hope to appreciate
in six weeks. We have been given a unique opportunity to begin to understand
and build.”
Alison Kinder was intrigued by the workings of Thai law as was often related
to her by Premprecha Dibbayawan, President of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya
and a respected lawyer in his own right. Incidentally, Premprecha is the
Chairman of Group Study Exchange in the district and chaperoned the group
throughout their stay here.
Past President Chalaw Paranan of the Rotary Club of Pattaya will be leading
a Thai team to England in April where by they will get a chance to receive
the same kind of English hospitality as is quaint in the northwest part
of England.
Rotary International is famous for its exciting exchange programs, designed
to broaden the outlook of young professionals. They are able to experience
the culture and language of a different continent in an applied learning
situation.
Rotary gives them a chance to “see with their own eyes”.
Tracy related one incident that still evokes squeals of laughter from the
team. “You know that one of the first gestures and greetings that
we had to learn was the putting of your palms together in a “Wai”
and greeting by saying “Sawadee Ka”. Well we were really getting
good at this and were “wai-ing” and greeting everyone as we went
along. One evening after a hectic day out, arriving at our hotel tired
and hungry, just dying to go to our rooms, at which moment we heard someone
behind us say “Sawadee Ka”. We all turned around in unison mustering
up our best “wai” and greeted the person with a “Sawadee
ka”, only to realise that we had just spoken to the television set.”
It would be weeks, maybe months, as they go about their daily lives, that
the lingering memories of what they had just experienced would become a
constant reminder of the friendship and love that disregards every boundary
of colour or creed. These fond memories would be with them for the rest
of their lives.
British Chamber of Commerce presents
"Does AIDS Affect Your Business" special luncheon
The British Chamber of Commerce is presenting a special luncheon entitled
“Does AIDS Affect Your Business”. The luncheon will take place
on Thursday, April 2nd at the Regent Bangkok, Pimarnman Room from 12 noon.
Speakers will be William Black, General Manager of the Regent Bangkok,
Liam Ayudhkij, Chairman of Property Care Services Thailand Ltd., and Anthony
Pramualratana, Executive Director, Thailand, Business Coalition on AIDS.
It is estimated that a minimum of 40 million people worldwide will be infected
with HIV by the year 2000. According to an economic analysis by McGraw-Hill,
Inc. the potential - worst case scenario - impact on the world economy
could equal 1.4% of the annual global domestic product (i.e. equivalent
to that of Australia or India today). According to another study, the impact
of AIDS on the consumer markets of South East Asia could reduce the GDP
of Japan by 1 to 2%.
But why should companies be concerned about HIV or AIDS? The macro-economic
consequences could lead to a loss of profits for many reasons: the possible
loss of experienced personnel; the increased absenteeism and labour turnover
not only from those infected but also employees who refuse to work with
an infected colleague; decreased productivity and increased health-care
costs.
The Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS (TBCA) was established in 1993
with the support and technical advice of the Thailand Ministry of Public
Health and the World Health Organisation. It is a non-profit alliance which
serves business interests by promoting coherent HIV/AIDS policies and work
place education. The guest speakers are TBCA co-founder William Black,
General Manager of the Regent Bangkok; TBCA Board Chairman Liam Ayudhkij,
Chairman of Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd.; and TBCA Executive
Director Anthony Pramualratana.
The cost of this luncheon is Baht 450 net per person (including soft drinks)
Payable at the Door Only. However, please fax your booking to the British
Chamber of Commerce office on 260-7287 so that they may keep an eye on
numbers. Please do not send payment to the British Chamber.
Service with a smile
by Iain Corness
Where can I get my Mitsutoyuzu Mk 99 serviced? This is a cry in the
wilderness I hear all over the world, so Pattaya is really no different.
Undoubtedly, there is a dearth of good service outlets, and with today’s
electronic engine management systems it has become even more difficult
to find a good garage.
Ever opened the bonnet on your latest automobile and gazed in wonderment
at the mess of pipes, leads and plastic doo-dads that occupy the space
where the engine is supposed to live? When something goes wrong, do you
ring for a mechanic, a plumber or a computer technician? (The correct answer
is probably one of each!)
With all this in mind, Automania has set foot into the wilds and wilderness
of auto servicing. Now, it is obviously impossible for me to take the Mighty
Mira to every servicing outlet on the Eastern Seaboard and give you a count
of how many greasy fingerprints get left on the upholstery - so any recommendations
I can give you are purely based on what I can see and after discussions
with the principals of the businesses.
The first to get the Automaniacal eye cast over it is Albar Thai, 389/114
M.6 Sukhumvit Road (close to the U-turn before North Pattaya Road). This
is a reasonably large outfit which has been in Pattaya for 10 years, so
there is a fair chance he’ll still be there tomorrow! The principal,
Urs Schonenberger, is originally from Switzerland and has a strong motor
sport background both as a competitor and as a race car preparer.
Urs also has a large paint and panel shop, so he can claim to be able to
look after all aspects of your pride and joy.
The work he undertakes is on all makes and models of cars. He has the necessary
equipment to be able to service the modern electronic engines and has the
basic understanding to work on any model, no-matter how bizarre. “Underneath,
they are all cars,” he said, reminding me what a damn stupid basic
question I had asked.
The business is in the throes of expansion, with a new workshop being built
behind the existing facility. A suspension alignment booth is also being
added. A showroom will replace the current shop at the front, for both
new cars and good second hand vehicles.
Albar Thai has servicing contracts for several large organisations along
the Eastern Seaboard, but Urs is quite happy to have private service and
repair work as well.
Like all companies which have outgrown their premises, Urs’ workshop
looked fairly chaotic on my unannounced visit, however, this should all
change within the next four months with the new building. A workshop manager
has been appointed and I believe that shortly you should be able to expect
similar workshop facilities to that which you would expect in overseas
countries.
Definitely worth a try!
Dem’s is the brakes!
I was delighted to bump into Albert Chong the other day. Albert is the
Operations Manager for Bendix (Thailand) - the company that ensures your
car doesn’t bump into someone else’s!
Bendix are a very well known and respected brand of brake materials throughout
the world, and Bendix materials have been used most successfully on all
my own race cars for the past three years. So they get my personal guarantee!
Up till now, the local pad material has actually been sourced out of Australia
where Bendix have a big plant in Victoria. This will soon change as Bendix
are currently building a manufacturing facility right here in Thailand.
The projected capacity of this new plant is such that 30% of its output
is earmarked for export - the weaker Baht is certainly good for some markets!
Official opening is a little later this year, but trial production runs
will commence shortly.
Bendix gets a big plus from me for forging ahead with expansion during
these somewhat troubled times.
Bedding in
Before I leave the brake topic, did you know it is important to “bed
in” new brake pads and linings? In motor racing it is so critical,
that the crew stick a notice on the centre of my race car’s steering
wheel saying “NEW PADS!”
The reason for this is that until the pads are “bedded in” they
do not work as efficiently and can even exhibit a decrease in stopping
power which we call “green fade”. This is caused by gaseous chemicals
coming out of the pad material for the first few dozen applications.
To get around this you don’t need to take your road car to the Bira
circuit to bed in the pads, just be gentle with the brakes for the first
couple of days and it will be fine. Your brake technician should advise
you on this anyway.
Autotrivia
I see I beat you all with a “Sprague” a few weeks ago. It was
actually a metal spike which the driver dropped down from the rear of the
early cars to stop them running backwards downhill! Now wasn’t that
a sensible idea? Some of the drivers round here could do with a Sprague
or two, I’m sure.
And so to the “Mercedes” question. This lady was the daughter
of the Paris agent for Daimler, Emil Jellinek. It was Emil who suggested
that the name “Daimler” be dropped and the cars sold as “Mercedes”.
When Daimler-Benz was formed they continued to sell cars as “Mercedes”
and eventually called them “Mercedes-Benz” in the 1920’s.
By the way, thank you all those people who have been giving me their little
snippets of information. As I’ve said before, between us all we are
the repository of the world’s greatest autotrivia!
Now since we’ve been dealing with brakes this week, a FREE BEER on
me to the first reader to fax me the correct answer to this: Which company
were the first to run 4 wheel hydraulic brakes on their cars? Hint - it
was a famous American car.
Copyright © 1998 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]
Created by Andy Gombaez