Family Money: Thy Will Be Done (Part 1 of 2)

By Leslie Wright

I recently received an enquiry from reader H.R. regarding his estate planning. Since it is well over two years since I last covered this topic, it is perhaps time we revisited it.

H.R. wants to know, “Is a foreign will valid in Thailand? If I make a new will here how can I be sure that my foreign assets will be distributed in accordance with my wishes?”

His first question is a very valid one for any expatriate living in Thailand.

While a will written in English is better than no will at all, only documents written in Thai have any validity in Thai courts.

Some readers may scoff at the thought of having to bow to the whims of the Thai courts in this matter. But imagine how a British (or French, or German) court would deal with a Russian’s will with respect to his assets held in the UK (or France or Germany) if it were written in Cyrillic? At the very least they would have to get a certified translation done, which would cause delay in releasing his assets and probably cost his estate (and thus his heirs) more than if he had done the prudent thing while he had the chance: get a separate will made, in English, covering those assets held in the UK (and another in French for France, and a third in German for Germany).

Similarly, it would be prudent planning to have a separate will, written in Thai, to cover your assets in Thailand, and at least one other one to cover your assets in the rest of the world.

And if you have assets in various regimes which quite possibly don’t all follow the same rules on inheritance, get separate wills made for each regime in which you hold assets.

Each such will must clearly state in the preamble (the bit of legalese at the beginning) that this will covers only those assets held in [Thailand /UK /USA /France /Spain /Germany /wherever].

For the will covering Thailand, it should specifically list those items held in your own name - you can’t bequest something held in another’s name, even if you paid for it! - such as bank accounts, cars, condominiums (or should that be ‘condominia’?), shares in companies you might hold (both publicly listed and the one you set up to own your house), jewellery, furniture & personal effects.

Full details should be given - i.e., name & address of the bank and the account number; chassis & engine number as per the log book of the car, etc. - in order that the lawyer appointed by your Executor (about whom more next week) can go into the Thai probate court with a sheet of paper listing all the assets on which the judge is being asked to make a decision, thereby making it easy for the judge to say, “Granted!” and have your assets swiftly and painlessly passed on to your designated heirs and beneficiaries.

Failing to list those assets specifically in your will can lead to delays and complications while discussions go back and forth as to what assets are involved - or subsequently at the bank in trying to demonstrate that the probated will is in fact for the same person whose account your Executor is trying to empty.

Where there’s a Will

But we’ve got ahead of ourselves.

There are quite a number of people in and around Pattaya who are convinced they are immortal - I know because I’ve met quite a few of them. These worthies know they’re never going to die, so have never bothered to make a will.

The chalk marks that appear every weekend on the roads around Pattaya ought to make them consider their mortality and their significant chances of getting squashed by an errant motorcyclist, baht-bus or truck.

But no. They sail through life blithely unconcerned at the potential problems they will leave their loved ones when they die intestate. (That means without a formal will, by the way - not, as some may think, what some of the performers at Alcazar and Tiffany’s have had done to themselves...)

Much as we may like to think that we’ll live forever, most of us are not immortal. It therefore makes eminent sense to ensure while we still can that our loved ones don’t have any additional burdens thrust upon them at what will undoubtedly be a very stressful time should we pass away unexpectedly.

A properly drawn-up will can ensure that the family and the family money are properly taken care of according to our wishes after we’ve gone.

What’s in a Will?

A will is simply a formalised set of instructions to be carried out upon your death. It should cover three principal areas:

1. Your wishes as to the disposal of your remains.

2. The appointment of an Executor (and perhaps a Guardian for young children.)

3. The disposal of your assets.

Lets look at each of these areas in more detail.

First, do you wish to be buried or cremated? Here or ‘back home’? (When deciding this, think of the costs involved) With or without religious ceremony, flowers, etc., etc.

Provision should preferably be made in your will to cover the estimated costs of your funeral (or an amount specified for this purpose), and to charge your Executor with making these arrangements if you haven’t already taken care of them.

Another point to consider including in your will is whether any of your body parts are to be available for transplant or left to science. (If so, a special donor card has to be obtained from a recognised hospital and carried with you at all times, to indicate these wishes should you be unfortunate enough to die unexpectedly or by accident. Otherwise, by the time contact has been made with your next of kin and proper permission obtained it may be too late for these parts to be useful for someone else.)

Who gets what?

The disposition of your assets may seem obvious, but it isn’t necessarily. In some countries there are laws which set fixed minimum percentages to which certain family members are entitled, no matter what your wishes may be to the contrary.

Known as “forced heirship”, this can lead to court wrangles that can drag on for years, and drain considerable amounts of your estate in legal costs.

In the meantime, all your assets - including bank accounts - are frozen, and your local ‘wife’ may be unable to access funds to support herself or the children.

If the local marriage was never properly formalised (which many are not), she may have no claim on your estate at all if you haven’t specifically made provision in your will for her.

If you happen to be British and die intestate, the State makes one for you. The UK rules of intestacy state simply that if you have no children, parents, siblings, nephews or nieces, your spouse inherits everything.

Simple, isn’t it? No!

That rule applies to the formalised legal spouse, not the partner with whom you have chosen to co-habit. Common-law marriages may be common, but would have to last for several years (typically five, but this varies from country to country) before they can be claimed as having any legality under the laws of inheritance, and even then, the continuity and intent have to be clearly proven. All your friends and neighbours may know your wife, but the courts in UK don’t.

If on the other hand there are children - say from a previous marriage - the spouse takes the personal chattels (car, furniture, clothing, etc.) and ฃ125,000 and the income only from half of the balance of the estate. The children would be entitled to half this residue when they’re 18 (or upon their marriage if earlier) plus the other half of the residue on the death of the surviving parent.

If there are no children but there are parents, siblings and other relatives, then the spouse takes the personal chattels plus ฃ200,000 plus half the residue. The other half of the residue is given in order to parents, or if they’re dead, to siblings, or if they’re also dead, to nephews & nieces.

If there is no surviving spouse, then the children get everything. (Or parents, siblings, nephews & nieces, grandparents, uncles & aunts, in that order - and if they’re all gone, then the Crown gets the lot.)

Protecting your loved ones

If there are children from a local common-law marriage as well as children from a former overseas marriage it can get very complicated indeed.

I have seen cases where children from a former marriage may be resentful of their father’s new Thai wife (who sometimes is younger than they are), and create all sorts of legal difficulties upon their father’s death to prevent his new wife (and her offspring) from getting her hands on his UK property, bank accounts and investments.

Without a clearly drawn-up will she is often almost powerless to fight this, even if she has the means to do so (which she may well not have, since the bank accounts - even in joint names - may be frozen immediately the bank learns of one signatory’s death.)

Specific bequests to relatives, friends, staff, etc., should be quite clear and unambiguous in order to prevent squabbles and resentment. This especially applies to items of jewellery and paintings, your stamp or coin collection, and the like. Most of us have seen how close relatives can transmogrify into screeching vultures as soon as a family member dies. And the arguments can go on for years and the resentment last for decades if someone who believes (rightly or otherwise) that he or she is entitled to something fails to get it in your will. Making your bequests and wishes crystal clear obviates the intra-familial arguments, and any resentment falls only upon you - and you’re beyond caring at that stage.

(to be continued next week)

Leslie Wright is Managing Director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd., a firm of independent financial advisors providing advice to expatriate residents of the Eastern Seaboard on personal financial planning and international investments. If you have any comments or queries on this article, or about other topics concerning investment matters, contact Leslie directly by fax on (038) 232522 or e-mail [email protected]. Further details and back articles can be accessed on his firm’s website on www.westminsterthailand.com.

Editor’s note: Leslie sometimes receives e-mails to which he is unable to respond due to the sender’s automatic return address being incorrect. If you have sent him an e-mail to which you have not received a reply, this may be why. To ensure his prompt response to your enquiry, please include your complete return e-mail address, or a contact phone/fax number.

The Computer Doctor

by Richard Bunch

I am getting more and more questions regarding the installation and operation of Windows 2000. With this in mind, I will try to address some of the more frequently asked questions over the next few weeks. If you have a question about Windows 2000, please contact me and I will endeavour to include it.

Question: How do I know if Windows 2000 will work on my PC?

Computer Doctor’s Answer: You can test the hardware and software compatibility before purchasing the Windows 2000 CD. Connect to Microsoft’s website http://www.Microsoft.com and download the file CHKUPGRD.EXE then run this. It will produce a detailed summary of any known potential problems; generally speaking I have found this report to err to the side of caution. From the report, you can make a balanced judgement as to whether the installation is likely to be smooth or if any potential problems have been highlighted, whether these will be easily corrected or you can live with them until a solution is found. From experience, there are two main areas where problems can arise. These relate to communications, COM ports, modems, Internet, etc., and Twain devices like scanners and cameras.

Question: I have heard that there are many different versions of Windows 2000, how do I know which one is for me?

Computer Doctors Answer: Windows 2000 comes in these main flavours: Professional, Millennium (ME), Server, Advanced Server and Datacenter Server. For the purposes of this column, I will concentrate on those with a wider target audience, Professional and Millennium (ME).

Firstly, the original entrant into the market, Windows 2000 Professional. This was and still is targeted at business desktops, notebooks and I believe the home user. It is infinitely more robust than Windows 98, which it is meant to replace. One needs to remember that this ‘new’ Operating System is based on Windows NT, which has been around for many years and is already been proven in a variety of environments and runs some of the biggest networks and desktops in major international companies. To the average end-user, the operation will seem very similar to that of Windows 98. Admittedly there are differences but also there are many improvements. It is only when you dig deeper and start to configure a network properly and efficiently that you need to draw upon your NT experience.

Installation for a stand-alone PC or Notebook is normally a breeze. It uses the Windows Installer procedure and requires very little user input. If installing many PC’s then the Sysprep utility can be used; this requires quite an amount of initial thought and effort though, as Windows 2000 relies on Hardware Abstraction Layers and if a different HAL exists on the cloned machine and this has not been catered for then that famous blue screen of death will appear. That said, this would not affect the majority of users as they will be doing an installation on a specific machine.

Here are 5 of the advantages that I think many users will appreciate, another 5 next week:

1. I use a variety of image management applications, like ACDSee, LView Pro, and even good old Microsoft Paint. Sometimes I want to open a GIF in Paint, for example, so I can quickly edit it, but I’ve got that file type associated with ACDSee. In Windows 98 you have to select the icon of the image file, hold down the SHIFT key, right-click the icon, choose “Open With” and then select Paint from the list of applications in the dialog that appears. And this has to be done every single time you want to open an image in an application not otherwise associated. In Windows 2000, this process is considerably simpler. Firstly, the “Open With” option is a standard choice on the right-click menu, so you don’t have to go through the “hold down the SHIFT key first” scenario. You simply right-click the image file, choose “Open With” and then select Paint from the dialog box, as before. But Windows 2000 really shines here because it remembers and this choice is added to the right-click menu for that file type. The same is true for all file types, so if you like to use Word and WordPerfect, or whatever, Windows 2000 makes it easy.

2. CTRL+ALT+DEL. The reality is that applications crash. In Windows 2000, this is no problem, just hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and a window full of options appears. Instantly. In Windows 98, you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes nothing, sometimes a list of tasks to stop that don’t usually work anyway. Sometimes your system just reboots.

3. A genuine Task Manager in Windows 2000, like NT 4.0 is a huge bonus over Windows 98. When an application has hung the system, hitting CTRL+ALT+DEL, select Task Manager and choose End Task. It ends the task! And it does it immediately, no muss, no fuss. In Windows 98, it would still often be necessary to reboot the system on many occasions.

4. The Scheduled Tasks icon, which appeared in the user tray notification area in Windows 98, with no way to turn it off, is no longer there. In Windows 2000, the Scheduled Tasks is handled as a front-end to the Task Scheduler and AT services. This makes the Windows 2000 user interface cleaner and scheduling simpler.

5. Applications like Notepad are much easier in Windows 2000. I use Notepad daily for a variety of tasks and the version in Windows 2000 actually lets you use keyboard shortcuts such as CTRL+S (“save”) and CTRL+P (“print”) that are unavailable in Windows 98.

Send your questions or comments to the Pattaya Mail at 370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, 20260 or Fax to 038 427 596 or E-mail to [email protected]. The views and comments expressed within this column are not necessarily those of the writer or Pattaya Mail Publishing.

Richard Bunch is Managing Director of Action Computer Technologies Co., Ltd. providing professional information technology and Internet services, which include custom database and application development; website design, promotion and hosting; domain name registration; turnkey e-commerce solutions; computer and peripheral sales service and repairs, networks (LAN & WAN) and IT consulting. For further information, please e-mail [email protected] or telephone/fax 038 716 816 or see our website www.act.co.th

Successfully Yours: Pojawan Supalarp

By Mirin MacCarthy

Pojawan “Pam” Supalarp is one of many Thai women you can only stand in awe of; beautiful, youthful, efficient, hard working, successful career woman and mother who enjoys challenges and believes in giving back to the society.

Pam is a pharmacist and is head of the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital’s Pharmacy division and in addition is in charge of the hospital’s Quality Control team. Incidentally, Pam is also the representative for the 9002 Project for the hospital, which is separate from ISO and involved with hospital accreditation.

But back to the beginning - Pam, the oldest in the family was encouraged to study and work hard but was constantly forced to change schools because of her father’s career.

At school she excelled in languages, fine arts, singing and poetry. (Thai poetry is difficult and more formalized than English, with more rigid rules.) Pam was obviously intelligent and could have chosen any career, in fact she actually wanted to be a doctor so she could help people, but her father insisted she study pharmacy instead. “I didn’t like the idea to start with but now I love it,” she said.

Towards this end, Pam took her Pharmacy degree qualification at Chulalongkorn University. While she was there, she also sang alto in the university band during her four years of study.

After graduation Pam worked for Sua Chiew Hospital and Nursing School as a hospital pharmacist for eight months. Then she worked for UCB Pharmaceuticals (Thailand) as a Drug Representative for a year, which in turn gave her a working knowledge of generic drugs.

If the work were not enough, fourteen years ago she married her husband, who is a land consultant, and they have one son, Vitoo aged thirteen.

After the representative work, she then worked as a hospital pharmacist at the Vipavadee Hospital in Bangkok for four years, finally joining the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital in 1990, where she has been very happy for the past ten years.

Pam loves her work. “It is a challenge to me to keep on top of all the changing medicines and to make sure the patients get the best medicine at the lowest price. I wanted to be a Dr. before, so pharmacy is another way to achieve my goal of helping people.”

With 60% imported pharmaceuticals and 40% local or generic to keep current with, Pam is kept busy with a staff of twenty and one assistant supervisor. Her day is made up of half a day in the pharmacy and half a day in quality control. Because of her knowledge, Pam actually has quite a following and will order special medicines for farang patients from overseas.

If that is not enough to keep her busy, she enjoys cooking both Thai and European dishes. “I love to read a cook book and then experiment,” she said and smiled.

Pam still sings and plays tennis and swims with her family as leisure time pursuits.

Success to Pam is having a secure career with no debts, but quickly added to this the hope that her son will be successful in his school and career as well. Towards this end, the important values in life she would like to teach him are, “To learn to think before acting and to be mature enough to be prepared for a lot of different situations and meet the different challenges in life.”

For herself, her ideal future is quite surprising. “I would like to be an entrepreneur - not only because of the challenge of it, but to give something back to society, to create jobs, training, and generate income for people.” This in itself is quite the opposite of the reasons most would be (or actual) entrepreneurs would give.

Her advice to University graduates follows the traditional or “old school”. “I believe it is very important for the younger generation to respect their elders and learn from their experience. That is something that the young are growing away from today. When you make a selection of your career, love what you choose and be loyal to your employers.”

Somehow Pam, like Thai women everywhere, manages to combine the qualities of grace, beauty, intelligence, family and society values, and work ethic into one superwoman package. I still don’t know their secret. Perhaps you have to be Thai to start with!

by Mirin MacCarthy

by John D. Blyth

I would warmly recommend the book The Railways of Thailand by R. Raemer, to readers of this series. Published in 1994 by White Lotus Co., of Bangkok, it is in stock at DK Books in Soi Post Office in Pattaya for a modest 775 baht. Among the many illustrations is one of a small, crude little steam locomotive, numbered ‘1’ in Thai script; the picture is not suitable for copying, hence my sketch in substitution; there have plainly been some makeshift modifications at some time. The caption says it was built by W.G. Bagnall of Stafford, U.K. in 1913 and on a track gauge of 600mm, it worked on the ‘firewood railways’ which ran southward from Sung Noen on the State Railway’s line to the North East. Helped by colleagues in the U.K., I set out to identify this engine positively, and even taking second-hand locomotives into account, I drew a total blank.

I wrote in this series about the ‘firewood railways’ in Pattaya Mail for the 12th May issue and mentioning the curious re-numbering of two of the original seven engines which started as 1 and 2, and soon became 8 and 9. I suggested that as no ‘new’ 1 and 2 have ever been identified, they probably never existed - yet here is ‘No.1’! I do not blame Mr Raemer for being, as he was, misled by the State Railway records, which, in a list of metre gauge locomotives, show one 4-wheeled example, said to be by Bagnall in 1913. Nothing, then, to do with the Sung Noen line. By a lucky chance I was put in touch with someone who knew all about it - and yes, it was built by the Bagnall Company!

One of six built in the 1890s for work on the metre gauge lines in and around the British Naval Dockyard in Gibraltar, this and a sister locomotive were at some time transferred to work for a contractor, Topham, Jones & Railton (‘TJ&R’) who was progressing extensions to the dockyard; they took the number 31 and 32 in TJ&R stock, and in 1909 both were transferred to the Naval Dockyard in Singapore, where the same company was extending a graving dock. I have independent evidence of this from a friend who is compiling a book on the railways of Malaya; both my informants state that No.31 was transferred to Siam in 1913 and put to work on the building of the line from Bangkok (Thonburi) to the Malay border. The first section, to Petchburi, had been built with German labour and capital, but politics and finance prevented them from going further, and after some delay it was arranged that the rest of the line should be built by the British. Despite British involvement in a major war far away, good progress was made and Songkhla was reached in 1917, a junction where Hat Yai now stands allowing an extension to Padang Besar to be completed in 1918. The supply of locomotives dried up due to the war in 1915 and no more came forward until 1919; the German section no doubt had enough to operate their own section, but few, if any to spare. In 1913 all that had been built of the southern line was brought under a single management; thus the German locomotives were allowed to enter the British section. The locomotives were numbered into one series, the little Bagnall becoming No.20, almost on arrival. In 1917 a further step was taken to bring all State lines, regardless of gauge, under a single management; again all the locomotives were renumbered, and astonishingly, the small Bagnall became the first of them all, as ‘No.1’!

‘But what about Wang Pong?’ you will ask. Well, it is the venue for the photograph I used for my sketch. It is a known picture, taken in September 1929 by an unknown (but probably British) photographer inside the locomotive shed, whose foundations, and those of the turntable pit, could be seen quite recently. It is just 20 km south of Hua Hin, now a famous resort, of course, and 3 km further south is the small town of Pranburi. At Wang Pong itself it seems there is little more than a small colony of rail workers – not even a shop, supplies coming from Pranburi, these days, I wager, by pick-up truck. Trains can cross there – little more.

On one of his many post-war journeys in Thailand, Japanese railway engineer Takao Takada discovered what Wang Pong was all about, and recorded it in his book ‘Steam of Thailand’. All steam locomotives used wood fuel, on which, at best, they could run about 150 km on one loading, so the length of the journey to the south meant re-fuelling several times. Usually this was done at an extended stop at a main station, but Wang Pong was possibly unique in being a ‘specialist’ fuelling point, for that purpose only. In the 30 minutes allowed, the engine would be uncoupled and run some distance to the fuel stack, where a gang of men would throw the logs up to two more on the tender top, who would stack the fuel with care so that the most could be taken on. The 30-minute standing time is confirmed by the 1954 Sate Railways public timetable; at that time there were three steam trains in either direction calling at Wang Pong, and each was allowed just the half-hour recorded by Takao Takad. A fourth train each way is also shown – this is the thrice-weekly ‘International’, Bangkok to Prai (for Penang) and return; just dieselised, it made a 2-minute courtesy stop only.

There would be steam-hauled freight trains, too, wanting fuel at Wang Pong, and they would be the means whereby wood was supplied to the centre. One or two would bring in loaded vans, and another would take them away again empty to the source of the fuel. With all this it is not hard to imagine a nice little job for the veteran Bagnall, taking the loaded vans to a place near the stacking ground and placing the empties conveniently for taking away. Takao Takada makes no mention of the engine and no doubt it had been worn-out ere this time; it is not hard to find ‘Marginal time’ for its not very onerous duties. It would be interesting to know the date of its withdrawal.

One last snippet… In 1954 one of the steam trains came through from Thonburi but the end of its journey was at Pranburi at about 8.00 p.m. Yet it was allowed the full 30 minutes for fuelling, with just 3 km to run – and when it left in the early morning, it was again allowed 30 minutes at Wang Pong, having again travelled just 3 km. Compilers of timetables do not always know the reasons for the time intervals at stations, and this looks like one of them!

by Lesley Warner

While we all know that we can use make-up, color our hair, or buy expensive clothing, it’s useless unless our “inner selves” are feeling good. Without that “inner glow,” no amount of make-up can make us beautiful. While we can’t all be born physically perfect, we can become beautiful by developing self-esteem and taking care of ourselves. That gives one the kind of beauty you just can’t buy in a bottle.

Tips for Developing the “Inner You”

Exercise regularly, even just a daily walk or a swim, it doesn’t have to be an aerobic workout.

Eat well. This means lots of fruits and veggies and plenty of water.

Get plenty of rest - you feel better when you’re getting enough sleep.

Think good thoughts. To think or act badly against others reflects in yourself and your inner self will not glow for you if you are concentrating all your energy on bad thoughts.

Focus on the things you like about yourself. Got great eyes? Play them up! Beautiful hands? Keep them well manicured.

Develop your interests and hobbies. Have you always wanted to paint? Take an art class. Are you a good dancer? Try lessons. A great athlete? Join a team.

Take some time and think about what it is you’d like to accomplish. Then take a step every day towards your goal. For example: You want to be a writer? Write down the steps you will need to take:

Make the time to write. Schedule it.

Take a class to help you brush up on your skills.

Subscribe to newsletters or journals that encourage and keep you motivated.

Talk with experts and listen to their advice and show your work!

Take time for others. Nothing makes us feel better about ourselves than lending a helping hand. Be a big sister, or volunteer at an animal shelter or orphanage or one of the many worthy causes in Pattaya they are always looking for more help.

Keep a journal. Write down your daily thoughts and feelings. You will learn so much about yourself just by noticing what’s going on in your life. Careful that you don’t leave it lying around so that everyone learns more about you!

Listen to your body. Everyone has a different internal “schedule.” Eat when you’re hungry; sleep when you’re tired. I’ve spoken to a few ladies like myself that find living in the heat they don’t really get hungry - the body is just not sending eating messages. In that case we have to remind it when food would be a good idea. There’s nothing so unattractive as ‘an older lady’ being too skinny. Have you noticed that the skin tends to hang on the bones in loose folds? Is it better to be a bit chubby and fill those folds, because it’s far more attractive?

What better place to live to get a good all round diet. Look at the choice of fruit and vegetables that we have to choose from and you can always supplement your food with a good multivitamin.

Smile and mean it! People are attracted to those who are happy!

I thought that I would put in a daily thought to make you smile. This was sent to me by a friend when I was feeling down I think it’s great.

Work as if you don’t need the money

Love as if you’ve never been hurt.

Dance as if no one is watching.

In recent month’s Pattaya has been the subject of a couple of damning articles published in glossy magazines in the United States, Germany and Australia. The two that I have seen represent amongst the worst reporting I have ever read on Pattaya, full of half-truths, innuendoes and downright salacious lies.

Journalism for some publications has become a very subjective rather than informative medium with the average reporter no longer interested in the vagaries and complexities of a place like Pattaya. It’s become a medium of sound bites and snippets, reflecting the general public’s desire to be given a black and white case in a few sentences and paragraphs. Unfortunately for Thailand in general, and Pattaya in particular, the place is far too enveloped in shades of grey for the average journo interested in the reality of the joint to sift through and come out with something that resembles the truth.

The problem is that these pathetic members of the fourth estate come here on an all-expenses paid two-week slap up holiday with the headline for their story already in their tiny minds and spend that fortnight trying to make the paradigm fit the headline. They don’t want information as such, just some way of making the piece they’re penning sensational enough to satisfy their editors and the magazine’s readership. No wonder so many of these hacks are treated with suspicion, contempt and even open hostility by many of the people who have set up shop here, be it in the boozing, ogling or noshery trade.

Parties: Tonight (Friday) Kiwi Peter will be celebrating his birthday at Freelancer Bar (past the big tree on Walking Street), starting at 8:00pm and going on into the wee small hours. The usual free nosh (yes, another poor pig has met its maker) as well as giveaways (I’m not sure if this includes the odd female; odd as in a couple or three, not odd as in weird). Peter’s better looking other half Anne said she’ll be cutting the birthday cake at about 12.30am. With a party, a live band and beer bar prices, freelancer should be heaving. Probably so will Peter some time in the wee small hours.

Worst Kept Secret In Town: On September 28 that Pattaya institution, Delaney’s, will be changing its cognomen to Shenanigans, an Irish slang word that the dictionary says means frolicking, playing tricks, etc. Kim, mine host at Delaney’s, will still be on board as publican despite the fact he was against the new name for the simplest of reasons: how the hell does the average Thai pronounce Shenanigans. I can barely write the word let alone pronounce it and after a few tumblers of the amber fluid, I’d venture to suggest most other people would have the same problem. A committee (similar to the one that designed the camel) must surely have arrived at the name Shenanigans after a hard night consuming unusual substances. There are those around town who reckon they will still refer to the place by its original handle, a bit like Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.

Seen Around Town: The world famous Hard Rock Cafe is set to open a bigger-than-Ben-Hur franchise here in the not too distant future following the closure of the Merlin Hotel. So get ready for yet another over-priced Yankee burger and chips shop to hang out a shingle on Beach Road.

Bon Voyage (almost): Popular Belgian restaurateur and Hash House Harrier Patrick is leaving Pattaya for a two-month stint in a Muay Thai boxing training camp in Chiang Mai. In recent years all that good Pattaya living has caught up with the nuggety one and he has decided that the best way to lose weight and get back in trim is to retreat to the wilds of Northern Thailand and stay off the booze. When he returns, sometime around November, he hopes to then go off with his boxers for a series of bouts in Europe, in the ring that is, not the bars.

My e-mail address is: [email protected]

Copyright 2000  Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
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