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!

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.

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!

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.

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.