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Visa Run: Sungai Golok
by Nightmarch
The ubiquitous Visa Run is viewed by most expats as one
of the least pleasurable chores they have to perform in order to stay in the
Land of Smiles. For some it is something to be delayed for as long as is
legally possible while for others it provides an opportunity to get out and
about for a little bit of sightseeing. Mind you, once you’ve seen Penang,
Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Aranyaprathet and Had Yai more than three or four
times things do start to get a bit boring.
So, what about trekking off to the wilds of Sungai Golok,
the Thai town literally a stone’s throw from the Malaysian border and the
gateway to Khota Bahru?
How to get there
There are VIP tour buses that travel from Bangkok to
Sungai Golok, but I must confess to being more of a train traveller, even
though they take a lot longer to reach their intended destination.
The best way is to go directly to Hualumphong Station in
Bangkok and purchase a ticket. However, be warned as before I got inside the
station I was approached by uniformed touts wearing ‘Tourist
Information’ ID badges, complete with photo, who asked me where I was
going. When I told them Sungai Golok they tried to tell me that both first
and second-class carriages for the trains were booked out and suggested I
try a VIP bus.
I ignored them and went inside where the real Tourist
Information people told me to try the ticket counter. Sure enough I was able
to purchase a second-class sleeper ticket on the Express for 817 baht. First
class costs around 1,493 baht. Don’t even think about Third Class.
 One
wonders what this visitor to the Customs House has to declare.
I have to say that apart from the Thai food in the
cafeteria, the very best part about going to Hualumphong is getting a cup of
piping hot chocolate from the CoffeeBucks franchise. I can’t wait for the
day someone opens a branch in Pattaya.
The train left five minutes late, at 2:50pm, and not long
out of Bangkok I saw a sign bearing the aphorism: ‘Taking the train is
saver’. Were they trying to tell me a bus would cost more than 817 baht?
Train travel in Thailand is in three classes: Express,
Rapid and Ordinary. Translated into English this should read Slow, Slower
and Slowest because it was nearly 20 hours later that the Express from
Bangkok finally chugged its way into Sungai Golok and disgorged its
passengers.
Where to stay
One thing Sungai Golok is not short of is hotel’s, of
all shapes, sizes and catering to all budgets. Some 41 places to lay your
weary head in a town not much bigger than a postage stamp. Rooms can be had
from as little as 80 baht a night to more palatial sleeping palaces at
anything up to 2,000 baht.
As I was on a sort of holiday I decided to really let my
head go and when I chanced upon a sleeping den bearing the cognomen Savoy
Hotel I knew I’d come to the right place.
Even before entering the portals of the hotel I was
acutely aware that this was not going to be linked in any way to the famous
London Savoy. There were no liveried footman doffing their hats and opening
glass doors with gloved hands. In fact, there were no doors, let alone
footmen, at the entrance to the Sungai Golok version of the Savoy.
When I asked how much a room at the Savoy was going to
cost, “Only the best my man,” I said, the non-descript character manning
the desk replied, “130 baht.”
When I asked to look at a room he looked decidedly
nonplussed as if, once learning the price, no one had ever bothered to look
any further.
He trudged up to the second floor with me in tow and we
passed a number of rooms with doors wide open that had ladies who seemed to
be either just past or well past the prime of life sitting or lying on beds.
They exchanged glances as if they couldn’t believe a foreigner would
actually want to stay in the hotel.
 Yep,
I stayed at the Savoy.
Once the manager opened the door to show me the room I
could understand the reason for the looks. A fan room, cold water,
Thai-style toilet, a mattress with no bedding and walls that probably
hadn’t seen a coat of paint since the death of Winston Churchill in 1964.
“No problem, I’ll take it for one night,” I said.
The manager fainted. No, I made that up, but he may as
well have done for the look he gave me.
Closer inspection of the room revealed no soap and the
hand basin had no drainage pipe so the water just ended up on the bathroom
floor. Sickly green tiles stretched half-way to the ceiling around the walls
of the room, a faded mirror hung precariously from a wall hook and beneath
it was a plastic tray, also green, designed to hold combs and brushes and
the like but from the cigarette scars it looked like it doubled as an
ashtray.
Apart from the bed with a thin mattress and two pieces of
concrete that served for pillows, the furniture consisted of two wooden
chairs with brown vinyl cushions, a small wooden table with a laminate top
and a wall hanging that served as a closet. Brown curtains that hadn’t
seen water since the day they were hung-circa 1980 - covered a window with a
view of the washing line. The window had missing slats and the mosquito
netting had holes big enough to admit a large rat. The room phone would have
been cutting edge technology, in 1930. But then, what would you expect for
130 baht a night: the Savoy?
What to see
In reality, not very much in the town itself. A couple of
faded Mosques impress upon the visitor that this is largely a Muslim
community, a park with murky fish pond, an old steam locomotive and a statue
of King Rama V and another park with a rarely used fitness area and a pair
of water fountains virtually takes up the sightseeing. Many of the signs in
the town are in Malay script as well as Chinese and Thai. The 7-11
convenience store is the only franchise operation I saw in town. A couple of
Internet Cafes have sprung up to cater for the tourists.
One thing I did notice was that Sungai Golok had more
traffic lights than Pattaya, and the place is nowhere near as large.
Older buildings still outnumber newer constructions
unlike so many Thai towns and cities. One building on Chuen Makka Road bears
the Romanized year 1957 in concrete while in Prashavivat Soi 2 the Stellar
Hotel boasts a garish red-brick Martello Tower.
The Visa Stamp
The main reason for going to Sungai Golok is to walk over
the border and get that Visa stamp. The Thai Immigration officers are a
friendly bunch, probably because they don’t get to see large numbers of
foreigners (other than Malays) traversing back and forth.
The Sungai River separates the border and Thai Prime
Minister Thanom Kittikachorn and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdul Razak
officially opened the bridge spanning it on May 21, 1973. The river is only
about 20 metres wide in places and the two sides could easily lob rocks onto
each other’s roofs.
Once through Thai immigration a short walk takes you to
Malay immigration where it is necessary to fill out an Arrival Card. It is
the usual fairly innocuous document asking for name, rank and serial number
but stamped in big red letters is the warning: BE FOREWARNED DEATH FOR DRUG
TRAFFICKERS UNDER MALAYSIAN LAW.
I wondered if I should immediately surrender my two Tiffy
tablets and plead insanity?
There is a Malay satellite town on the other side and if
you have the time and the inclination it is about a 30-kilometre trip to
Khota Bahru. I had neither so I just took a quick look at the Malay border
village and came back to Thailand.
Nightlife
As I mentioned earlier there seemed to be an oversupply
of women staying in the confines of the Savoy with no visible means of
employment, although granted it was a Buddhist holiday and a card game was
in progress on the second floor that afternoon. I noticed they rarely
ventured far from their rooms and were always eager to engage me in
conversation and they even suggested a private consultation for a fee of
around 200 baht.
One thing Sungai Golok is not short of is the ubiquitous
karaoke bar. Singing seems to be a particularly popular pastime in the town
among the young ladies and they gather at night in the karaoke bars. These
places attract a lot of Malaysian customers as well as local Thais and
copious quantities of liquid that look suspiciously like whisky, but in the
case of the Malay customers must surely be iced tea or the like, is
consumed.
The young ladies in a place called the Amazing Karaoke
Bar were quite friendly and will, for the princely sum of 300 baht, make
sure that you get back safely to your room and will tuck you in for the
night. What could be friendlier than that?
Getting Back
The trip on the Express train back to Bangkok took even
longer than going down, but then I suppose it is going uphill. The
contraption pulled out of sunny Sungai Golok at 2:05pm and finally wheezed
its way to a halt in Hualumphong some 21 and a half hours later. It might
have been quicker to walk.
People talk about airline food being drab and tasteless,
I have to say that I consider train food to be less appetising than the fare
dished out on planes and considerably expensive for what you get.
Nonetheless, despite the interminable length of the train
journey it was worth checking out Sungai Golok and at least I can always
brag to my friends that I’ve stayed at The Savoy. I just hope they never
probe any further than meek acceptance of the statement.
Surfin’ the Land of
the Bald Eagle
by The Urban Peasant
The Urban Peasant strikes again. This time she goes all
the way across the Pacific Ocean, soul searching in The Land of Liberty
and Eagles with Scalp Deficiency. From West to East, South to North, by
plane, train and car, she treads the path where no man has ‘never’
been and files her report.
Part I. Houston, we have a problem!
Eva Air landed in Los Angeles in one piece, with
rudder, elevator, fuselage, trim tabs and ailerons intact. As I was
heading for Houston, I loaded my luggage on the conveyer belt again and
asked for the direction to board the next plane. “Go out the airport,
turn right, walk along the curb until you see terminal 6,” said the
security guard. So I walked, and I walked for 30 minutes, along the curb
outside the terminal into the road traffic, being so blond at the hair
roots that I didn’t realize I was supposed to take the shuttle bus. I
reached terminal 6 alright, went straight up, walked through the metal
detector gate and all the works, got to boarding gates... 60-68... “Wait
a minute, I don’t even have a boarding pass.” So down I went, found
the check-in counter, got the pass and went up again.
 Good
food and fine wine are the norm at the Bond’s home.
Continental Airlines was the carrier on this leg and
arm. Why? Because I only fly with the best. According to the statistics,
the carrier experienced a tremendous amount of growth during the 1990s,
serving more than 45.5 million customers in 1999 compared with 35 million
in 1990. In other words, my travel agent happened to book this airline for
me as the time of flight connection was suitable.
The plane took off over the sea, made the curve and
came inland again heading for Houston. The LA coastline looked exactly
like the map. The passenger next to me said we’d be in trouble if it
didn’t.
 A
vacuumed simulator at NASA. The guy is only a ‘Dummy in Space’
The flight was pleasantly bumpy periodically due to the
storm. My neighbor passenger told me not to worry, he’s so used to it.
Sure, he was on his 4th scotch on the rocks.
The plane landed in Houston Intercontinental Airport at
11:00 p.m., and I was received by my dear friends, Catherine, Jonathan,
and Ben Bond. “Howdy Ya’ll,” I tried to impress them. Catherine was
so happy to see me that she yawned all the way home.
I was shown to my room, led by two house cats, B-jim,
the lucky black cat, and Miffy, the poised and arrogant Persian cat. Miffy
just gave me a formal greeting look and went back to bed, thinking,
“Geeezzz what kind of guest would arrive at this time of night to
disturb the hosts?” He thinks like Catherine. I went straight to bed and
turned off the light. After ten minutes, I heard a meow and a scratching
at the door. I opened it and B-jim walked right in and jumped on to my
bed.
 Editor
Trin Le and Jonathan at Fort Bend “Sun” Newspaper.
Great. A black cat on my bed the first night. This is
going to be one lucky trip. He was all over my bed and table and luggage.
Nosy little cat he was. Oh well, I was too tired to bother, so I snuggled
up in the blanket and went to sleep. A moment later, I felt my hair being
pulled, scratched and nibbled. A mouse! I thought. I turned around and it
was B-jim eating my hair!
“What the h..., stop it or you’re a cat-satay!”
He stopped alright, but jumped right on to my opened luggage and dug into
my clothes. The idea of him poo-pooing in my bag kept me from sleeping.
That’s it. “Out!” “Meoow...(but...but...)” “Nope, no meows and
not butts, Out!”
The days in Sugarland, Texas were very relaxing.
Jonathan drove me around town and gave me a brief outline of the Land of
Sugar Mills. Sugar Land has a small town atmosphere with a big Texas-size
heart, full of history, good food, family activities and shopping galore.
Families choose Sugar Land for its outstanding neighborhoods, great
schools and family-oriented community spirit.
Then it was off to the NASA’s Johnson Space Center in
Houston with Catherine as the tour guide. She said if she has to take one
more friend to see that place she would just take a bottle of wine and
wait at the gate. Johnson Space Center is a federal facility, home to the
Mission Control Center, where Space Shuttle missions are run from seconds
after launch to landing. This is where astronauts are trained and the
space shuttle program is managed. This is where we hear man’s phenomenal
phrase from space: “Houston, we have a problem!”
 Downtown
Houston is the same as downtown Bangkok without half the traffic.
Ben showed me Houston by night. There was an old
warehouse, second floor of an old worn out pub, where the art of tango was
learnt in one night, where amateurs meet the professionals. “Lean
forward, bum backward, arms locked and firm and kick your legs back. One,
two, three, four. You’re doing good, just don’t shy away... leaaaan
forward.” This might sound awkward to you, let me assure you, it was...
awkward. I learnt a few steps that night, but too bad it was The Last
Tango in Houston, and no sign of Marlon Brando.
After the tango deal we headed on to a La Carafe pub.
This pub is genuine for its history. It is in the oldest commercial
building in Houston, built in 1845, and is still on its original site.
With a warm and friendly atmosphere, it draws an eclectic crowd of artists
and business types. Displayed beside the old classic cash machine, not to
be missed, are the two large candles that never die. Started out with a
simply lit white candle, they were constantly topped up and kept burning,
at that time standing two feet high with candle tears as wide as three
feet in circumference. The latest one has been lit for the last 15 months.
For the following day’s lunch, Ben took me out to his
secret place. It’s called The Last Concert. Sounded depressing to me. We
parked the car along a small downtown alley in Houston, then walked over
to a house with a red door. Found that it was locked, I told Ben it was
probably closed.
“Let’s try knocking,” he said.
A woman came to answer the door and led us into the
room full of people enjoying the authentic Mexican food. Tortillas,
Burritos, Enchiladas and more. Beer was the thirst quencher, and even
though the fat lady didn’t sing, the pumpkin custard made the sweet
finale.
All play and no work is not what I was paid for (hint
to my boss). I had the opportunity to visit a local newspaper in Fort Bend
County and talked to the editor, who not only is a skillful female editor,
but just happens to be Vietnamese. A change from an American editor in
Pattaya.
Fort Bend/Southwest’s editor Ms. Trinh T. Le was a
refugee from Vietnam who came to the States in 1975 with her family. She
went to college in Austin, Texas and got her first job at the Austin
American Statesman as a typist. After 6 years, because of the large
Vietnamese community, she was transferred to Port Arthur to bridge the gap
between the Vietnamese and the government officials. She came to Houston
in 1994 and then joined the company as a reporter and finally became the
editor. She enjoys her work very much. Her ways of editing news are
simple, she says. Editor must not forget that readers are intelligent.
Editors must play a neutral role and it’s best to be under stated at
times. “Write news like you would write for 5th graders, even if it’s
about medicine, law and jargon.”
After bugging Catherine and her family for ten days, it
was time I hit the road again. I must thank the family for their kind
hospitality. Even though being super busy with their work, they were so
kind and went out of their way to make my stay so warm and worthwhile.
Asked what I thought of Houston so far, “Texan people
are very polite, but man, the world is FLAT.”
My next stop, Illinois: The Corn Belt.
I went into a coma when I found out how much it would
cost me to fly there. Convinced by Ben that the train trip would be more
romantic anyway, and that I would find my Prince Charming sipping coffee
and croissants, writing poems in the dining car on the train, I quickly
bought the idea.
So stay tuned for my second episode: Amtrak-ing America.
Victoria Atwater,
Soprano extraordinaire
Peter Malhotra
Victoria Atwater world renowned and extremely gifted
American coloratura Soprano, performed A Musical Pastiche for a
packed ballroom of music lovers last week at the Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit
Hotel.
This concert was organised by D&M Music Studio under
the direction of the brilliant dynamic duo, Mongkol and Duangdow
Chayasirisobhon. Victoria , regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera
Competition and star of numerous stage and theatre productions, presented an
evening of songs from Opera, Operetta and the Musical Theatre.
 Peter
Malhotra (2nd
right), MD of the Pattaya Mail,
hosted a dinner for Victoria Atwater (2nd
left), Soprano Extraordinaire, Khun Mongkol and Duangdow Chayasirisobhon at
Bruno’s Restaurant - all under the watchful eye and care of Bruno Forrer,
Restaurateur to the Stars.
Victoria Atwater was her usual stunning self and it was a
joy to see how she captivated the audience not only with her inimitable
voice but also with her charm and wit.
This music loving family of sons and father were not only
totally overwhelmed by the show but also by the excitement of meeting
Victoria again.
Victoria had performed in a Charity Concert organized by
the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort here in
Pattaya a few years ago. That was when Louis Fassbind was still with us. She
captivated our hearts and imagination then and still does now.
Taking a respite from her successful concert, Victoria
spent last weekend with us in Pattaya, renewing old acquaintances.
Before her departure, Victoria promised to return just to
perform a special concert in Pattaya for all of us to enjoy. I for one am
looking forward to attending her next performance.
Thought for the week: Doing
Business Across Cultures (Three) Cultural Influences
by Richard Townsend,
Corporate Learning Consultant
http://www.orglearn.org
When will these people ever make a decision? I’m on a
tight schedule (and budget) and these fools seem to need to consult with
their entire corporation before they make a move. Why can’t they see the
need to get the job done? I have the power, I’m ready to do business,
sign a contract; I’ve told them honestly and openly of my position and
still they procrastinate. The company expects a result... why is this so
hard?
Perhaps this scenario is a little over dramatised,
however, it does highlight a common cross-cultural dilemma experienced by
many when they first venture overseas. In view of Hofstede’s findings
(as mentioned last week) I suggest that these situations arise as a result
of the cultural differences between those from ‘individualistic’
societies v.’s those from ‘collectivist’ societies. Asian leaders
also talk a lot about ‘Asian family values’.
So what are the differences between individualist and
collectivist societies? Well it is “I” v.’s “We”, the wife and
kids need me to support them v.’s the ‘extended’ family, parents,
uncles, aunts, etc., will protect me in exchange for my loyalty. It is
also about speaking our mind, regardless of the situation, as honesty
counts and leads to respect v.’s think before you speak, harmony is
imperative, what I say may bring shame and loss of face to my group, I
must show respect. In individualistic societies employees contract their
services to achieve a common goal based on aligned visions and they are
promoted primarily on competence. In collectivist societies employees
build relationships with their organisations based on the moral worth of
the employer along similar lines to the family concept and expect to be
promoted due to their overall connections and associations. Managers in
the first case manage individuals and the task rules the relationships
whereas in the second case they manage (or control) groups in which the
relationships are more important than the task.
In individualistic societies education is about
learning how to learn and ‘academic degrees’ signify economic worth
and create self-respect v.’s the attitude that education is to learn how
to do things and the value of a degree is its power to provide a way into
higher status groups.
Also in individualistic societies personal rights, such
as the right to privacy and personal freedom prevail; whereas in
collectivist societies group interests prevail to the point where groups
are likely to invade our privacy as equality overrides the rights of the
individual. In these societies individuals are expected to join a state of
‘groupthink’. Finally, in individualistic societies self-fulfilment
(almost at any cost) is the ultimate goal v.’s that of a collectivist
society where harmony and consensus are the ultimate goals.
So what do you do if you’re like the guy in the first
paragraph... spend time, build relationships, see business as a long-term
partnership, think total group... and most of all... be prepared to do it
their way!
Worth a thought?
To contact Ric mailto: [email protected]
Quiz Dilemma may end in
compromise
Hard pressed Barry Kenyon is not finding it easy to give
up his four year stint as question setter for Pattaya’s popular twice
weekly pub quiz league’s. He had indicated to bar owners he wished to give
up all quiz responsibilities by the end of the year.
A compromise is now being floated under which Barry would
continue to set the questions but take no part in collecting the answer
sheets, judging the appeals, issuing results or calming down people who
always thinks they are right.
 Barry
Kenyon
Barry said, “Sitting on a computer and preparing
quizzes is actually quite interesting. Under the new proposal, I would be
freed from most of the administration, collation and hassle. These duties
would be taken on by individual bars on a rota system for one season at a
time.”
Some bars are concerned they do not have the brains to
deal with the appeals. But Barry sought to reassure them, “In fact, I know
absolutely nothing about most sport and pop music but I have been bluffing
my way through for nearly four years. Many people think there’s a mystique
or secret formula for judging appeals, but it’s just common sense. You
learn by doing.”
It is still open for people to come forward and offer to
assume responsibility for the quizzes in their entirety. But bar owners say
they have to feel confident that a new question setter will be 100% reliable
and assess correctly the overall level of difficulty needed in the
questions. The busy quiz evenings are thought to be most profitable for the
bar owners involved.
One bar owner said, “Better the devil you know in my
opinion!” But there are still a couple of months before a decision has to
be made in both the Sunday and Wednesday leagues.
Barry Kenyon is the British Embassy’s Pattaya
representative for consular cases involving British nationals arrested,
imprisoned or otherwise in serious trouble. He has asked the Pattaya Mail to
point out he has no responsibility at all for Thai nationals seeking to
obtain visas to enter UK. They should contact the visa section at the
embassy in Bangkok.
Lam Morrison on the move
 Lam Morrison, the rock legend and Thailand’s leading
guitar player has moved! Every Friday and Saturday night from 6 p.m. till 8
p.m., he can now be caught on the stage at the Winchester Club (Soi Wat Boon
Kanjana) in Jomtien.
Being a more “intimate” venue, this is your chance to
see the man and hear the music he can wring out of his guitar. This is a man
whose riffs are steeped in the Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards style. To
hear him play solo is an honour.
There is no admission charge at the Winchester Club,
which is celebrating the “mini-concerts” with free bar snacks for the
patrons as well.
FCCT Events
Laos and Rebellion
Wednesday August 23, 2000 (7pm) Dinner Bt280 members;
Bt400 non-members; Bt250 non-members entry only. Panel discussion 8pm.
Laos - a small, landlocked country in the center of South
East Asia - doesn’t often attract a lot of attention. Other, bigger and
richer players tend to overshadow the state which once earned the dubious
honor of being the most heavily bombed country in history. But recent,
violent events have brought this poor, communist land into the limelight. A
total of seven bomb explosions have rocked Vientiane and other provincial
cities over the past few months and numerous explosive devices have been
defused, including at the capital’s airport and outside the Vietnamese
Embassy. Reports of a rise in Hmong insurgency and rumors of Vietnamese
intervention abound. And a failed border raid on July 3 at the checkpoint of
Vang Tao in Laos’ Champassak province has even put a slight strain on
Thai-Laos relations.
No matter the attempts of Laos’s authorities to deny
the unrest and discontent that has obviously taken hold throughout the
country, observers all agree that something is brewing among the
impoverished population. This something may not be widely coordinated or
organized and it may not pose a real threat to the regime. But this
something is real and has led to violence and instability.
Confused? Come view a screening of a short film on the
current situation of rebellion in Laos recently completed by ABC Australia
correspondent Ginny Stein. Ms Stein will also join panelist Sunai Pasuk of
the Asia Forum on Human Rights to answer questions. Other distinguished
panelists, from Thailand’s Foreign Ministry or the Royal Thai Army, to be
announced.
Rayong Crystal finds
outlet in Pattaya
 Jum
Yoodee, Bernd Schiller and Rita Hesling (a customer) at the opening of the
Crystal World Shop in the Duck Square Shopping Plaza.
The newly opened Crystal World Shop in the Duck Square
Shopping Plaza has secured the marketing rights for Lotus Crystal produced
in Rayong. These crystal pieces are the only blown crystal glasses
manufactured in Thailand, with the majority of the output going to fulfil
the high overseas demand for these items.
Somjai (Jum) Yoodee, the owner of the new shop was very
enthusiastic about having the Lotus Crystal products and believes that there
are enough discerning people in Pattaya to make the venture a financial
success. Bernd Schiller, the Manager of Lotus Crystal, was equally as
enthusiastic, both for his products and for the new outlet for them.
Every little bit helps
The New Vision Christian Fellowship in Pattaya has kept
its eyes open - especially around the local Thepprasit area where the tiny
church is located. The Pastor, Rev. Surapon Yuthiwattana and several of his
parishioners finding a group of displaced people from Supanburi living in a
slum area behind the Thepprasit Road housing development.
 Poor
slum dwellers receiving rice and clothing from Jerry Johnson (center) and
Pastor Surapon (right).
Food and clothing seemed to be the primary need, and a
quick whip around and some door knocking by Jerry Johnson produced some
clothes and bags of the staple rice for the needy shanty town dwellers.
The happy faces who stood quietly in line for the charity
hand-out were enough to make this a very rewarding experience for both the
givers and the receivers. An experience that will be repeated as often as
the small congregation can. It wasn’t quite the “loaves and the
fishes” parable - but it was a start. Every little bit helps. Pastor
Surapon can be contacted through the Fellowship on (038) 300 361.
AFL Grand Final
Breakfast
2 September 2000
210 tickets are already booked for the biggest AFL party
outside Australia.
To book your table for the AFL Grand Final Breakfast at
the New Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel please send a return email stating the
number of tables of 10 required, your name, company and phone number.
Individual tickets are, of course, available. The cost is 1,300 baht per
adult and 500 baht for children under 16 (children under 5 free).
Tickets will be available for payment and collection from
Friday 4 August from the ATCC office.
Once again, ATCC members have been generous in their
sponsorship of our Grand Final Day event. Sincere thanks to: Qantas,
McConnell Dowell, Ferrier Hodgson, Autogas, Colliers Jardine, Readymixed
Pioneer Concrete, Thai Leighton, Ayudhya, CMG, Bangkok Fine Wines, Vanich
Watana, Raja’s Fashion, Federal Express, Central Equity, Royal & Sun
Alliance, Clough, Westpac, ANZ, Ansell
The ATCC Grand Final Breakfast is all inclusive from
8.30am to 4.30pm. We serve a full buffet breakfast with Australian red,
white and sparkling wine, Foster’s beer and soft drinks. Traditional meat
pies and sausage rolls are served at half-time. FedEx fly over the official
Footy Records for us and we will run a sweep with two chances to win - cash
for those who draw at or near the final winner and margin and then all
entries go back for the major prize draw including a trip for two to
Australia flying Qantas.
Live coverage of the final will be via huge screens set
around the room and our own Thailand Tigers will provide the pre-match
warm-up. This event is not to be missed by anyone, whether you closely
follow the game or not.
For tickets, contact the Australian-Thai Chamber of
Commerce 20th Floor, Thai CC Tower, 889 South Sathorn Road Tel: 210 0216-8,
Fax: 675 6696, E-mail: [email protected] Tickets must be paid for and
collected by Friday 25 August 2000.
A talk with Chitra
Chandrasiri Training Manager, Royal Cliff Beach Resort
by Tony Malhotra
Chitra Chandrasiri is the training manager at the Royal
Cliff Beach Resort. She is responsible for training the staff in all areas
of the hotel, including food and beverage, housekeeping and front office.
Her duties involve the training of new staff in the hotel’s policies and
procedures, teaching them the technical side of the job. She also trains
people at the supervisory level, teaching them about supervisory techniques,
how to handle and motivate staff, and how to run the hotel’s various
departments at the management level. She also provides training in
leadership skills, as well as conducting special training, such as customer
service and suggestive selling.
 Chitra
Chandrasiri, Training Manager, Royal Cliff Beach Resort
Pattaya Mail’s Tony Malhotra sat down and had a
talk with the effervescent, always-busy Chitra.
PM: Regarding leadership, how do you motivate your
staff?
Chitra: We work very much on team spirit. One of the
topics I teach is team building and working as a team, which is very
important in a hotel like this because, as you know, when we have a big
function in the hotel everyone needs to help - secretaries help with the
food and beverage, etc. It is very important to work as a team.
PM: Have you met with any disputes?
Chitra: As part of what I do, negotiation skills and
how to manage conflicts are included in the leadership skills training.
PM: How long have you been here?
Chitra: One year in this position as training
manager, but I’ve been living in the hotel for one and a half years.
PM: From where did you graduate?
Chitra: I graduated from the hotel school in Sydney,
Australia. I then worked in Sydney for ten years before I came here.
PM: Are you satisfied with what you are doing now?
Chitra: Yes, but there’s still a lot to do. With
1,200 staff, it’s not only one area I look after. Sometimes, for example,
if there is a problem in the laundry I have to look into that area, or if
the front office needs improvement then I’ll have to look into that area -
so I have a very vast area of responsibility and I’m never board.
PM: What’s your motivation?
Chitra: My background has been in the hotel industry
and in my last position I worked as Executive Assistant Manager in the rooms
division in Sydney. With this background, my profession has always been in
hotels. Working with people is something that I really like.
PM: What are the characteristics you look for in
putting together a good staff?
Chitra: In Thailand we look for good, outgoing people
who are polite, have good personalities and who enjoy working with people.
The English language is a problem here, but we have classes for English
training, so language skills are not necessarily important if they have a
good personality and a willingness to serve people. Those are the main
things we look for.
PM: What qualifications do you look for?
Chitra: We don’t put a lot of emphasis on
qualifications at the entry level; we look for basic education,
well-motivated people with good personalities and a willingness to serve.
PM: What is your mission statement?
Chitra: We are just about to launch our mission
statement, which states that we consider ourselves to be the premier hotel
in Pattaya, perhaps even in Thailand. We want to maintain this position as
the premier hotel, first here, then in Thailand, then in Asia, and then
maybe in the world. I work on five principles: look after all our
shareholders, our staff, our guests, our customers and our owners. The
things I concentrate on are teamwork and empowerment of the staff, giving
them the chance to develop in the hotel. And, of course, for the owners to
make a profit. Most important is to make sure guests have all their needs
taken care of, exceeding their expectations.
PM: Do you still provide training for staff that
already know their duties well?
Chitra: Yes we do because we have to see that they
have a career here, not just a job, so if they are good with their job then
we look at how we can develop them to advance to the next step. I
concentrate on this kind of staff and how to get them to the next level,
i.e., so a waiter can develop and become a captain.
PM: How do you deal with staff that do not follow the
rules?
Chitra: We have very strict guidelines in the hotel
regarding staff discipline. First we issue a warning. If that doesn’t
work, we take further action, possibly resulting in dismissal. With a staff
of 1,200 people, it is important to maintain stability.
PM: How do you create a pleasant learning environment
for training?
Chitra: I try to make it fun. My training program
includes a lot of role-play and games. People enjoy attending my training
sessions, as they are not really strict learning, like in a school.
PM: How do you go about promoting your staff? What do
you look for?
Chitra: I don’t deal with promotions directly, but
I do evaluate their performance and their attitude towards their work.
PM: Does the hotel ever have a staff party?
Chitra: Yes, once a year, in March, we put on a party
for all management level staff. We also have a program, which I started
here, called CARE, or Customers Are Really Everything.
Starting in April this year, we began rewarding staff that have shown
excellence in the area of guest relations and service. We reward these
people with a party, which is really for them, but it’s also a party for
everyone. We plan to continue it every year.
PM: Do you have other activities involving
staff participation?
Chitra: Sure, we have football matches, birthday
parties, weddings, lots of activities.
PM: Do you deal directly with guests?
Chitra: I don’t really deal with the guests
directly, but the front line staff do, and if they have any problem they
often come to me asking for suggestions.
PM: What do the guests say about the staff?
Chitra: Ever since I started the CARE program, we
have received a lot of letters from guests writing about how happy they were
during their stay here. They even talk directly about the CARE program,
which is very useful. Guest satisfaction is something that we always stress.
If the guest complains about something, we try to make sure that those
problems are solved right away.
PM: How do you motivate your staff from inside out?
Chitra: Providing them with an environment where they
will be motivated is very important. It’s not like saying, ‘be
motivated’, but we try to create an environment for them that induces
motivation. We provide incentives so that if they work well, they have a
chance for future advancement - that’s what usually motivates them.
PM: What do you gain from being in this position?
Chitra: Future advancements. My background has been
in rooms division management; with this training, I have the opportunity to
work in other areas, like food and beverage, sales and marketing, spa, those
kinds of things. One day I would like to be the general manager - that’s
my next position.
PM: What’s your plan for the future?
Chitra: My future plan is to be a general manager of
good hotel, preferably a five star hotel. If not, I would like to start from
a smaller one and then work my way up.
PM: What’s your advice for those who are planning
to enter the hotel industry?
Chitra: They have to work hard, be able to work and
deal with people, they have to like people, be very tactful, and take very
good care of the guests. Basically, you just have to work very hard.
PM: What about those who want to become trainers like
you?
Chitra: They need to have background working in the
hotel business, ideally be a hotel graduate, be creative, and keep their
mind open to new methods, which is important as the hotel industry is always
developing new systems and new processes - you have to be very up to date.
Thai-German Cultural
Foundation to host evening with Mercedes Alonso and Pierre Frederic Proteau
D&M Music Studio presents internationally known
husband & wife from France, Mercedes Alonso and Pierre Frederic Proteau
in a piano concert “Duo Alonso De Proteau Four Hands Piano Recital”.
They both are graduated in piano studies in the Ecole Normale de Musique de
Paris and obtained highest distinction in music diploma. The couple has
performed numerous concerts and music festivals throughout Europe, Canada,
United States, South America, Asia and public concerts on radio and
television in Spain and Italy. They are winners of international piano
competitions. Their last CD (1999) is dedicated to French Music for piano
(Four Hands). They have also performed a series of concerts in Canada in
Commemoration of the 350th Anniversary of the Foundation of Montreal.
 Mercedes
Alonso and Pierre Frederic Proteau will be performing in a piano concert
entitled, “Duo Alonso De Proteau Four Hands Piano Recital”.
The evening performance includes works by Chabrier
(Espana), Debussy (Atardecer en Granada), Granados (4 Danzas Espanolas),
Bizet (Suite de Carmen), Albeniz (Evocacion) and Falla (Danza de “La Vida
Breve” and Danza del Fuego de “El Amor Brujo”).
The concert will be held at the Auditorium of the
Thai-German Cultural Foundation on South Sathorn Road Soi 1 on Thursday, 7th
September 2000 at 8.00 p.m.
Tickets are priced at 300 baht and 150 baht (students
with ID card). Available at D&M Music Studio tel. 391-9318 and Asia
Books Sukhumvit tel. 252-4373 and at the door.
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]
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