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Pattaya Orphanage up, up and
away with Gulf Air
Mike Franklin
Children from Pattaya Orphanage were given a rare treat when Gulf Air
brought their hot air balloon to Horseshoe Point on Wednesday January
31. More than thirty children had the opportunity to briefly experience
balloon flight under the watchful control of Captain Don Conner and his
co-pilot Debbie.
 John
Evans talks with the kids.
The gusting wind had abated somewhat by late afternoon to allow the
balloon, all 3000 cubic meters of it, to be laid out on the sports field
tethered, and later inflated. Standing 23 meters high and 21 meters
wide, it is an impressive promotional tool for Gulf Air, proudly wearing
the Gulf Air colors and logo, and traveling worldwide with its crew to
attend travel conventions and events.
John Evans, Gulf Air general manager for Thailand was particularly
enthusiastic at being able to host children from the Pattaya Orphanage
as part of a scheduled hospitality event at Horseshoe Point for travel
agents from Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard.
Proudly wearing their Gulf Air caps presented by John Evans, it was time
for the children to tuck into hamburgers & chips and be fuelled up for
the balloon flight. Four at a time they boarded the basket alongside
Captain Don and co-pilot Debbie for the off. Tethers loosened, it was up
and away with the emphasis being on ‘up’. Of necessity it was a brief
upward excursion of some 15 meters altitude, just to experience the
thrill of balloon travel and see the surroundings from a different
perspective.
It was a memorable outing for the children as the pictures here show, as
it was too for the Pattaya Mail and PMTV crews who clearly
enjoyed filming the event. Look out for the feature film on PMTV and
interviews with balloon Captain Don, Gulf Air GM John Evans and Sister
Joranuch from the Father Ray Foundation.
Nice one Gulf Air, come back soon.
The kids happily receive their new Gulf Air
caps.
Hamburgers & chips fuel up the kids for the
balloon flight.
Captain Don Conner and co-pilot Debbie are
truly enjoying the experience, too.
This is an unforgettable experience for the
children.
Up, up and away in the giant balloon.
The balloon, all 3000 cubic meters of it, is
laid out on the sports field tethered, and later inflated.
Proudly wearing their new Gulf Air caps
presented by John Evans, the children tuck into hamburgers & chips.
Wow! Look at that!
Sister Joranuch and 30 children from the
Father Ray Foundation are excited about the impending new experience of
going up in a giant balloon.
BCCT cleans up with some culture
Dr. Iain Corness
The February networking evening for the British Chamber of Commerce
Thailand (BCCT) members took on a completely new perspective, with the
event being held in an art gallery!
 (Left
to right) Binny and Karan of Taj India restaurant and George Strampp, VP
Business Development Asia Pacific of Interstar Technology Group Co.,
Ltd.
Liam O’Keeffe, well known patron of the arts in Thailand, threw open the
doors of his five storey art gallery (the eponymous Liam’s Gallery) to
the BCCT members, some of whom were seen looking rather awestruck at the
plethora of paintings.
Since my last visit to Liam’s Gallery, he has added some rather amazing
bronze works (5th floor, but worth the climb), and some very interesting
marble sculptures done by Thai sculptor Panthep Manaratcharasri (SK
Marble, Kanchanaburi 087 170 3843), who spent 12 years studying in Italy
before returning to Thailand to express himself in sweeping, sensuously
curved abstract pieces of marble on display (ground floor because they
were too heavy to lift).
Co-sponsor of the evening was Property Care Services (PCS), a group
which is surprising by its size and coverage. With over 20,000
employees, it is one of the five largest private employers in Thailand
and is involved in facility management, pest management, gardening,
security, inventory and audit services, hygiene and janitorial services.
Jim Bottomley, a director of PCS, also let the cat out of the bag, by
informing that Liam O’Keeffee was also the chairman of PCS, which goes a
long way towards explaining the spotless nature of this art gallery.
 The
BCCT has also just had its election of office bearers and the previous
vice-chairman Rodney Bain (Market Edge Asia) has taken over the top spot
for 2007, with our Eastern Seaboard representative Graham Macdonald
(MBMG International) taking on the vice-chairman’s duties again. Both
were on hand to meet and mingle, along with Executive Director Greg
Watkins.
Again, being in an art gallery brought out some interesting characters,
including Belgian artist Alann De Vuyst, resplendent in red Bolivian
poncho and matching pants, a straw hat and Red Indian feather ear
jewelry. He certainly brightened up the BCCT evening!
The regulars were of course present, with newly suave George Strampp in
black skivvy and white jacket seen chatting to Jimmy Howard in his
colorful football jersey. A sort of ‘sublime to gor blime!’
Other regulars included the movers Pat Gossett (Transpo Tigers) and Paul
Wilkinson of AGS Four Winds International Movers (081 903 9477) whose
company had moved me across Jomtien that morning (nothing broken either,
thanks Paul).
Another regular was Karan Singh of the new Taj Taste of India
restaurant, along with his even more regular father Binny, in yet
another new suit.
Making sure everyone was fully insured was AA Insurance Brokers with
Peter Smith holding fort on the third floor, but partner Malcolm Scorer
significantly missing. Also handling the legal aspects if anyone fell
down the stairs (before the army of PCS ladies could clean up the
evidence) was Gregory Pitt, the MD of Mackenzie Smith Law, jostling with
Peter Mewes of the London Consultancy, the Legal and Commercial
Consultants.
It was a different style of evening in the art gallery, but all present
enjoyed themselves, business cards were exchanged and increases in
business expected.
The next BCCT networking evening will be publicized in the Pattaya
Mail as usual.
(Left to right) Sebastian Anthony Power,
operations director of Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd., Gregory
Pitt, managing director of Mackenzie Smith Law, Simon Matthers, general
manager of Manpower and Clive N. Butcher, managing director of Highfield
Equity.
(Left to right) John L. Hamilton, general
manager of Waste Management Siam Ltd., Paul Wilkinson, general manager,
Eastern Seaboard of Four Winds International Moving Limited, Susan
Joyce, Bsc, CEng, MICE, FCIWEM Faculty of Liberal Arts of Asian
University, Som and Dr. Iain Corness.
(Left to right) Paul Wilkinson, general
manager, Eastern Seaboard of Four Winds International Moving Limited.,
John McKillop, director of Tara Court and Barney Connolly, director of
Tara Court.
(Left to right) Bruce Hoppe, VP Emerson
Climate Technologies, Asia Operations, Judy Hoppe, past president of the
Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya and Pratheep Malhotra, managing director
of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd.
(Left to right) John L. Hamilton, general
manager of Waste Management Siam Ltd. and Rodney Bain, chairman of BCCT.
(Left to right) Jim Bottomley, director of
Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd. and Arnaud Bialecki, director of
Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd., co-sponsors for the evening.
(Left to right) William Gasson, consultant
of Cotecna Inspection S.A., James Howard, advisor of Milan Crosse
Creative Ltd., David D. Tarrant, FCA, chairman of T.C.T.I. Ltd., Greg
Watkins, executive director of BCCT and Graham Macdonald, vice chairman
of BCCT.
(Left to right) Arnaud Bialecki, director of
Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd., Liam Ayudhkij, owner of Liam’s
Gallery, Heather Suksem, managing director of Property Care Services
(Thailand) Ltd., Sebastian Anthony Power, operations director of
Property Care Services (Thailand) Ltd. and Nuttapong Vongprateep,
environmental business development manager of Property Care Services
(Thailand) Ltd.
Lions charity concert is a roaring success
Sontaya Khunplome, former
minister of tourism and sports, announces the opening of the show.
The show was full of
amazing color.
The Ponglang Sa-On concert
has the spectators bursting with laughter.
Narisa Nitikarn
Pratamnak Lions Club organized a concert with popular band Ponglang
Sa-On at Tiffany’s Theater on January 28 to raise funds for community
projects organized by the club.
Pratamnak Lions treasurer Tassanee Khakhai headed the event, and Sontaya
Khunplome, former minister of tourism and sports, performed the opening
ceremony.
Tassanee said that last year the club organized a charity bowling
championship as a fund raiser and this year decided on a concert, which
had proved a good move as the tickets, priced at 1,000 baht and 500
baht, quickly sold out.
Income after deducting expenses was approximately 300,000 baht, which
will go towards club projects such as scholarships, a water filtration
program for remote schools, and the Sight First project for operations
to remove cataracts from the eyes of those who cannot afford to pay for
the surgery, and which is organized with the Thai Red Cross. Funds will
also go to the Thai Encyclopedia program, a project organized at the
personal wish of His Majesty the King.
The Lions Clubs in Thailand were established in 1959, initially as the
Lions Club of Bangkok. Thailand was appointed by the International Lions
as Region 310 in 1968. In November last year there were 300 Lions Clubs
and 8,889 members around the country. Pratamnak Lions Club was
established in 1990.
More than 2,000 people packed into Tiffany’s to enjoy the two-hour
performance of the Ponglang Sa-On band, which uses traditional Isaan
instruments and has a fine line in comedy, a combination that has made
the band a top attraction in Thailand.
Paisan reveals the logic behind curbs on foreign investment
Real estate seminar is a public Q&A forum
Kamolthep Malhotra
Is the real estate boom in Thailand over? Why is it sometimes so hard
for foreign investors to operate in this country?
At a seminar being held today (Friday, February 9) at Jomtien Beach
Hotel and Resort, Paisan Bundityanond, founding president of the Real
Estate Association of Thailand and managing director of Rabbit Resort,
will answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding
foreign investment in Thailand.
 Paisan
Bundityanond.
Paisan, a well known local businessman who has worked in the real estate
business and tourism for many years, is organizing the event, Pattaya’s
first ever real estate seminar. In this preview of his address, Pattaya Mail
talks over some of the often-controversial topics Paisan will be covering.
Paisan says that his reason for holding the seminar is to answer a very
popular and frequently asked question, namely “Is the boom over?” He says
that to understand the context, you have to go back to 1997, and the Asian
financial crisis that began in Thailand.
“Thailand was attacked economically, making our currency value weaker than
ever before,” he says. “Last year, the scenario was directly opposite. Our
currency value in the world market became too strong, with too many
international traders unloading their billions of dollars into the Kingdom’s
market, resulting in a strengthening of our currency value up to 35 baht a
dollar. This was too risky for our economy.
“The ratio of the investment money between Thais and foreigners became not
very proportional. And our stock market became too fragile and too sensitive
to news. If there were just a slight shake in the mood of the investors, our
market would tremble.”
Paisan says the actions of foreign investors who carried dollars into our
market and invested, made profits, and left with larger bag of money to
invest in other countries, really affected and hurt our market and economic
base.
“It created unfairness to Thai investors. So the government came up with a
policy that was called by some players ‘a vaccine injection’.
“This involved 30 percent guarantee fees or the withholding of investment
funds where investors who wanted to buy stocks here had to spare 30 percent
of his or her budget and place it with the Bank of Thailand. Then they could
go down and play with our market.
“On the very day this policy became effective, the Thai stock market fell
down below 600 points.
“But on the other hand this method helped in screening and filtering the
so-called come-and-go investors from the permanent and quality ones.”
In January the government also looked upon another money trading policy very
seriously. This was the nomination scandal that affected Thailand’s real
estate businesses as a whole.
Some investors hired Thais as their nominees to hold shares for their
businesses. The law of investment says a company should have at least 51
percent of Thais as shareholders and they should be able to vote on the
future directions of the company. But many companies had zigzagged their way
out of this situation, even though they appear to have at least 51 percent
Thai shareholders and 49 percent foreigners registered in the book to
declare that they are legitimate Thai companies.
“But in reality it was not how it appeared to be,” says Paisan. “The Thai
government found out that many just hired Thais to hold shares for foreign
investors and sometimes they did not even have the right to vote for the
companies.
“The government laid their concerns over our limited natural recourses, and
the Kingdom’s stability.”
Paisan explains that companies with Thais who carry 51 percent of shares yet
lost their right to vote would fall into a category called “foreign company”
straight away. But it was still a major problem as it was difficult for the
government to find out who the real shareholders are and who their nominees
are.
“Most of the time nominees will keep quiet and let the companies run as they
used to, but the situation will become hot when there are disputes amongst
shareholders and some of them file a lawsuit against each other. Then the
court will step in and in the end someone will be punished according to Thai
law.”
Paisan explains how this kind of confusion or problem affects Pattaya’s real
estate market. He says Pattaya’s main income generation currently depends on
two key factors: one, as no one can deny, is tourism; the other is the real
estate business. Growth in residential development in the industrial area
also plays a role but is not as great as the two mentioned.
There are cases where foreigners are not fully valid to buy a condominium
apartment over more than 49 percent of the whole space of the condominium,
he says.
“Let’s say the whole space of a condominium is 10,000 square meters. In that
case, the ownership rights should be in the name of Thais to the amount of
not less than 5,100 square meters.
“Likewise, if an alien wants to own a house, in Thai law it says land is not
to be purchased or owned by a foreigner over a proportion of 49 percent.
“Some foreigners then hired nominees to buy that piece of land for them.
Most of the time, those nominees are found to be their wives, company
shareholders, or staff or business consultants at law offices to meet the
legal land ownership regulations.”
He asks us to imagine the case of a foreigner owning a house and selling it
for a price that exceeds the reality of the market price.
“That would create an undesirable trend in the real estate business. Thais
would find it more difficult to buy houses as the prices had been hiked. No
one could call a stop to it.”
He said the power of a Thai to buy a house has a limit. Currently most are
looking for a house of a value in the region of 2-3 million baht. But these
days there are some houses in some areas that are selling at 30-40 million
baht.
“Who would be able to afford that if not another foreigner with a big bag of
dollars?”
House developers definitely love to see hikes in land and building value, he
says, but on the other hand, for those in desperate need of a house and who
cannot afford to buy one, it could create unfairness in society.
Paisan said the number of attendees expected at the seminar was initially
300 but now it seems the number will be 500 or more. He said one third will
be foreigners and two thirds will be Thais.
He urged everyone interested in real estate to attend this after lunch
seminar. Book your seats through 038-723-030. Entrance fees are 590 (Thai)
and English Transfation with headphones 990 baht.
Abstract Distraction - an exhibition by Paul de Blieck & Juliette de Salle
‘’Everything has its beauty - but not everyone sees it.’’ Confucius.
Photo compositions by Juliette
de Salle
Michael Bulley, Art Critic
The two Belgian artists on show at “Gallery Opium” on Thepprasit Road
have very different methods of expressing abstract art. Both are
concerned with the imagery of the “abstract”, one with the brush and the
other with the lens ... Juliette de Salle is an artist who finds
inspiration through the lens of a camera. She sees beauty and visualises
her photography by looking at the most mundane of objects. She says “the
camera can draw out remarkable and strange images that the naked eye
sometimes cannot see.” She looks beyond the obvious, she sees patterns,
and textures in such things as broken drinking glasses. It’s important
for her to reduce the scene; employing close-ups and the use of short
focal lengths, so as to make the “recognisable almost unrecognisable.”
 “Unknown
World” - Acrylic on canvas by Paul de Blieck.
Juxtaposing these unusual photographs with the pure abstract art of Paul
de Blieck, his works of expressionism are so powerful and his use of
pure colour so clear in his mind and on the canvas. He works from
feelings, “I just have no idea what to paint until I start to paint.” He
communicates his art with the nature of his feelings. Breaking the
rules, which are always the joys of abstract art. Paul is always
experimenting as shown in his contrasting works on display. The
spontaneity of his approach to the “abstract” with such methods as
“dipping” and “smearing” paint add to our pleasure. This unusual
exhibition is such a striking contrast of styles, different and yet the
same.
Come and see for yourself, “Abstract Distractions” runs until Saturday
17 February at Gallery Opium, 315/26 Moo 12, Thepprasit Road, Pattaya
City.
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