Family Money: How much for Thailand?

By Leslie Wright

In recent months many investors have been looking to invest in Thai stocks, believing the market had bottomed out, and the time to buy had finally come.

This happened at the beginning of last year also, and the year before, and the market turned around and looked quite promising for a short time.

This resulting rally was short-lived, however. The big boys and international institutions didn’t come on board except for short-term opportunistic gains, and after speculative investors took profits the SET sunk back to even lower levels than before.

This bump-and-slide phenomenon has in fact happened several times in recent years, with short-term speculators buying into the market, the market reacting positively for a short period, and then sinking back again.

The general trend has, in fact, been a slow decline ever since the crisis first hit some 3 years ago.

Although some believe differently, it is by no means clear that the bottom of the slide has been reached. Many analysts have a gloomy outlook for the local stock market for most of this year also.

Things look bigger up close

Those of us who live in Thailand and read the business pages each day tend to be swayed by the amount of news and commentary devoted to the local market, and most don’t stop to consider what proportion of the world’s money is actually invested into the local stock market.

For example, in terms of the amount of money invested in stock markets around the world, the United States has by far the most, holding rather more than 45% of the world’s total capitalisation in equities.

Japan is the second largest in terms of capitalisation, holding about 14% of the world’s equity value; and the third largest is the U.K. with about 10%.

The fourth largest, Germany, interestingly has less than half the amount of money invested in its stock market than the U.K. does, while the fifth largest - France - has only about a third as much as the U.K.

Thailand now ranks about 37th in the world in terms of relative capitalisation; and it may come as a surprise to many readers that the total capitalisation of the SET constitutes less than 0.3% of the world’s equity value. Yes, that’s three-tenths of one percent, folks.

Of course, no portfolio manager actually allocates his investment capital based solely on the size of each market.

But being too close can distort your viewpoint and make things look bigger than they really are, as they say about woods and trees.

How much for the world?

Constructing what is known in the financial community as an “asset allocation matrix” simply means deciding what proportion of your money you would typically keep in cash, in currencies, in bonds, in equities, in commodities futures & options, to create a ‘balanced’ portfolio.

All things being equal, a typical diversified, ‘balanced’ portfolio would probably comprise about 59% in globally-diversified equities, 29% in major-market bonds, 9% in cash & currencies, and 3% in commodities, futures & options.

These “standard” apportionments would be adjusted according to your individual risk profile as well as current and projected market conditions, going “overweight” in some sectors, and “underweight” in others.

So just as an academic exercise, let’s assume you have $100,000 capital with which to construct a balanced portfolio along the lines of the ‘standard’ medium-risk model outlined above.

Let’s also assume all the world’s stock markets, bond markets and commodity markets were doing okay, and you simply wanted to spread your capital around the world in proportion to each market’s relative size and importance to the global economy. How much would you invest into each of these stock markets?

If the 59% of your $100,000 capital that you’ve allocated to global equities were to be spread around the world based solely on relative capitalisation, you would invest about $26,400 into buying US stocks. (Although that is not what I’m suggesting, given market conditions there at the moment.)

You’d also invest $8,200 in Japan, but only $4,700 spread throughout the rest of the Asia-Pacific region - of which $998 would go to Hong Kong and $780 to Australia.

You’d invest about $5,900 into U.K. stocks, and spread another $12,100 across Continental Europe, with $2,400 going into Germany, $1,900 into France, $1,750 into Switzerland, and $1,300 into Holland.

And 0.3% of your equity apportionment would be invested in Thailand.

In other words, of the $59,000 you would be investing into equities worldwide, you’d put just $183 into the SET.

Yes, I repeat, only $183 out of your $100,000 capital would be invested into Thai stocks, based on relative market capitalisation.

It is worth noting that the $183 earmarked for Thailand is less than one-tenth the amount you would be investing in France, and less than one-twelfth the amount for Germany.

How significant a proportion of your own portfolio is invested in German, French, Swiss and Dutch stocks? How important would you have rated those markets in world terms - or more to the point, how significant are your investments in Thailand relative to the rest of the world?

Even Greece, Turkey & Israel would get more - $211, $197 & $191 respectively - while South Africa would have got a relatively whopping $830.

And I would be prepared to bet that these figures come as something of a surprise to those readers who avidly follow the daily movements of the SET as if it dictated the future of the world’s economy, or at least their next investment decisions.

If you were living in Europe or the USA instead of in Thailand, the activities on the SET would undoubtedly seem far less important than they do to many people living here.

You would then probably allocate a far smaller proportion of your total portfolio to investment in Thailand - probably far closer to its real relative significance in the global economy.

The objectivity of distance can put a quite different perspective on things.

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

From Richard Breeze, Naklua: I have a simple question for you; I have many passwords that I need to enter to gain access to various websites, as invariably they all need differing lengths, some demand special characters. It’s all too much for my tired brain; surely there must be some way of remembering these?

Computer Doctor replies: The good news Richard is that there is a way, or rather several. I will, however, limit this to a couple of ways and they are both free! Firstly, if you are using Internet Explorer 5 or above then go to Internet Options, and select the Content Tab and within this the Personal Information section. Click the Auto complete button and check the options, web addresses, forms, user names and passwords on forms as appropriate. Another way is to use a program like Gator available for download from <www.gator.com> This actually has a lot more features and as well as saving your passwords, it allows you to enter three locations, i.e. work, home and another. This information includes address, telephone, fax and e-mail address. In addition you can enter many credit card details, cardholder name, card number, expiry date, billing address, etc. This is very convenient as forms can be filled in by dragging the information and of course the password feature will auto fill. As the information is encrypted and can be password protected, there is only need to remember one password!

From Phil Cotteril: I think I must be a sad person, but I am bored with the sounds that come with Windows. Every version is the same, boring, boring, boring. Do you have any sites you can recommend that I can get some livelier and even risqu้ sounds from?

Computer Doctor replies: I don’t know whether you are sad or not but sounds are quite a personal thing and some of the ones I have heard can certainly be classed as offensive. Definitely not the sort of thing for an open office or when the kids are about. However, not wanting to disappoint you, here are a few sites you may like to check out. There are literally loads of them out there. Use a search engine or something like Copernic in your quest.

Anyway, < http://www.realms-of-fantasy.com/enter.html> <http://members.aol.com/aerolucky/windows.html>
< http://www.honeylamb.com/soundz/terms.html>
< http://waveevents.com/html/wesounds.htm> 
< http://www.bushwood.net/shack/central.htm>
< http://www.superglobe.com/halloween.htm> 
< http://www.geocities.com/~beebfun/allo.htm#what> 
< http://homepages.udayton.edu/~jonesjom/> 
< http://www.upv.es/~ecabrera/theme.html> 
< http://www-scf.usc.edu/~dberg/openwin.html>
< http://www.homefront.demon.co.uk/HEnf/harry.htm> 
< http://www.beebfun.com> 
I think that’s enough, now go and do your own thing!

A tip for those readers who use ICQ: Try the new release version 2000a. It has many cool new features and a new interface. And for those wishing to send and receive Thai text this is much simpler to achieve on a non-Thai operating system. Go ahead and try it.

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 services which include website design, website promotion (cloaking) turnkey e-commerce solutions, website hosting, domain name registration, computer and peripheral sales service and repairs, networks (LAN & WAN) and IT consulting. Please telephone 038 716 816, e-mail [email protected] or see our website www.act.co.th

Successfully Yours: Pratheep “Peter” Malhotra

by Mirin MacCarthy

With this being the seventh anniversary of the Pattaya Mail, it was decided by the staff writers that the subject this week should be none other than the Managing Director of the Pattaya Mail Publishing. The man who has been at the helm from the beginning, deserves some recognition.

Not that Peter Malhotra goes unrecognised - in fact, he is probably one of the best known faces in Pattaya. An event is not complete without the broad grin of Peter Malhotra where he is generally working as a bilingual MC. Rotary meetings receive his impassioned speeches, as do the Pattaya Sports Club, and the Freemasons. The Chambers of Commerce are all visited, be that the German-Thai, the Australian-Thai or the British Chamber in Thailand. Peter is an active member of the latter two. Many folk in Pattaya are convinced he has been cloned, he appears so often in so many places and in so many guises.

This then, is the story of Peter Malhotra, the International man. I make no apology for giving him that title - how else do you categorise someone who looks Indian, is a Thai national, speaks fluent German, Punjabi and Thai and yet thinks, writes and speaks in English as if it were his mother tongue? A man who keeps Indian Sikh religious symbols in his shirt pocket and is au fait with every Thai religious holiday and practice and yet can often be heard to say, “Of course I believe in God.”

Peter Malhotra was born in Phisanoloke, the second son to an Indian father and mother. The Malhotra parents ran a successful trading business in textiles, typewriters and sewing machines, but Malhotra senior had an eye to the future. It was he who decided that an ability in English was going to be a pre-requisite for the future of business in Thailand. The most accessible place for his boy to learn English would be to send him to India. Malhotra senior also felt that this would give the young Pardeep (as he was known then) a chance to investigate and understand his Indian roots.

Consequently, he was sent to an Irish Catholic School in Mussoorie, India, at the foothills of the Himalayas, when he was five years old. Malhotra senior was only rewarded with 50% of his hopes. Pratheep returned at age fifteen having learned English very well, but very little of his roots, being known to favour the hillsides around the school much more than the classroom!

At that stage in Thailand’s history, there was a very strong American presence, and Malhotra senior, always astute, drafted his boys into the tailoring business, setting up shops where there was a need. When he found it, he would supply, and so the young Malhotra spent time in Bangkok, U-Tapao, Lopburi and Takhli.

Peter’s late parents Shri Shingara Singh Malhotra and Shrimati Harbhajan Kaur during happy times in Mussoorie too.

It was also at this time that he became “Peter”. Not as many would imagine, as the young man throwing over the Indian family traces to embrace cosmopolitanism he was actually given the name by his father, knowing that the Anglicised version would better fit with their American clientele.

Around this time it became obvious that he was also a very gregarious young man, and holding this fellow down was a fairly difficult task for his father. He had undoubtedly inherited the restless spirit of his father and another important attribute - a willingness to accept new ideas and challenges.

One of those challenges was the departure of the Americans in the mid ‘70’s and their replacement was the European influx. These customers for the Malhotra tailor shops did not speak English, they spoke German, but in a very short space of time, so did Peter Malhotra.

Like his father, he has always had his eyes firmly fixed on the future and the challenges it can bring. Elder brother Marlowe describes Peter as never looking in the rear view mirror as he is too busy looking ahead to see where he is going!

Peter and Marlowe as little boys going to school in the beautiful Himalayan town of Mussoorie in 1958

And as his father had goals, so does Peter. One of those was to start an English language newspaper in this region. “In 1991 I realized that Pattaya needed a ‘voice’ to protect ourselves (Pattaya City) from adverse publicity. I decided we needed a ‘proper newspaper’ in English since the national dailies were not serving the needs of Pattaya. In fact, in many cases it seemed they did not care about Pattaya, or that we were just too small to worry about.”

This was not easy as there were very many obstacles to this, ranging from Thai bureaucracy to initial liquidity problems and everything in between. In addition he was running two tailor shops, but the excitement and challenge was there. And quite frankly, in spades!

However, another of his attributes is his ability to take hardships and obstacles in his stride, and to take them in good humour, though there have been times when this has been tested to the extreme. Those who have experienced his extreme displeasure at a job poorly performed never walk away in half minds!

One of his most obvious traits is his enthusiasm. He will embrace an idea or a concept and run with it, enthusing all those around him to look ahead as well to what is being aimed for. One example was the Pattaya Roadshow to Australia and New Zealand, eventually getting all the local Australian writers to contribute to the Roadshow publication. The amazing thing is that he will be running several of these projects simultaneously, keeping control over them all. In some ways it could be said that this is an inability to delegate - but to whom does a perfectionist delegate the task? Who else can speak English and understand the farang mentality, while at the same time, understand the Thai mind-set and make the necessary adjustments and also speak to the German media and understand their problems while knowing how to deal with the entrenched Indian business people? There is only one, Peter Malhotra.

The international man, however, does always acknowledge his debt of gratitude to his parents and to the other members of his family. While the symbolism may have changed for Peter Malhotra, in all his guises, his personal philosophy never has. He retains the close bonds of the Thai/Indian family unit and a respect for that concept, which his father and mother gave him. That is now, in turn, being taught to his own three sons, nephews and nieces. Hopefully, the strengths which come from that will continue through the Malhotra lineage.

One aspect that does put Peter apart from many others is his understanding of people and their strengths and weaknesses, and he has never stopped helping those in unfortunate circumstances. But even with his staff in the paper, he shows a compassion and understanding of their psychological needs, making for harmonious relations in what can sometimes be a highly pressurised mine-field.

While Pratheep “Peter” Malhotra may seem an enigma to many, he is not really. He is just a man driven by his own quest for excellence, a quest that has been the same for all pioneers, whether they were the Pilgrim Fathers, Christopher Columbus or Magellan. A pioneer has to have a mission, a pioneer has to have forward vision and a pioneer has to have boundless enthusiasm. Peter, the pioneer has all that.

It was probably just coincidence that the initials of his newspaper are “P.M.” - but those letters also stand for Peter Malhotra. The two are one being. While Peter will say that the paper is us all, he cannot see with everyone else’s eyes. He is the Pattaya Mail. Long may they both prosper!

by Mirin MacCarthy

by John D. Blyth

Bulleid was well prepared for the outbreak of peace in 1945. A second batch of ‘Merchant Navy’ locomotives had been completed despite the war, another 25 ‘Q1’ freight engines had been ordered and he had designed another express locomotive, the ‘West Country’ Class, a scaled down version of the ‘Merchant Navies’, and intended to use over most lines of the Southern.

Side elevation diagram of ‘Leader’ Class 0-6-0 Tank Engine, as built with some minor interior features indicated.

An absurd order, totalling 110 engines, was placed and in due course fulfilled, resulting in some of these complex and inexpensive machines being seen working three-coach local trains on the minor lines of North Devon, doing it no better than the old ‘T9’ class locomotives built 50 years earlier.

Come Nationalisation, at the start of 1948, and an attempt was made to use some of these engines on other parts of the system, but they were always returned after a short trial. They were not in any way in line with the steam policy of the new British Railways, which was for the simplest and easiest to maintain that were possible: ‘Do we rebuild? - or do we scrap them?’ The recommendation had to come from R.G. Jarvis, a man of long steam experience and he said ‘Rebuild - I will submit proposed designs’. He did so, and all the ‘Merchant Navy’ Class and half of the lighter series (of which later examples had been dubbed the ‘The Battle of Britain’ Class, and bearing names associated with that heroic period), were rebuilt. Most of the good Bulleid features, frames, wheels especially the boilers, were retained, the chain-drive valve gear, oil bath outer casting, etc., being ruthlessly discarded. Bulleid, in retirement but doing things for the CIE (the rail system of the Irish Republic), looked from afar and was saddened that he had not at least been told!

Rebuilt ‘Lightweight’ Pacific No. 34089, at Exmouth Junction, 1965

Just as there had been two series as built, calling for some expertise to tell one from the other, so it was in their rebuilt condition; last week I showed a heavy Pacific built, so this week I show a lightweight Pacific as rebuilt. Fireman and maintenance staff no doubt were best pleased.

Bulleid had also been involved in the mechanical parts of two main-line electric locomotives during the war and afterwards for the Southern’s few main-line Diesel-electrics also. The 25 ‘Q1’ 0-6-0s referred to were not built, but the material had been supplied.

In early 1946 Bulleid was approached by the Traffic manager, asking to be supplied with a number of small tank locomotives for various menial jobs in the London area for which the existing power had become insufficient and uneconomical. Bulleid must have been waiting for this, as he quickly and cheerfully built this small request up to a scheme for a new tank locomotive which, with the ‘Q1’ 0-6-0s and the two ‘Pacific’ types, could work all the system’s traffic other than a few small branch lines, have maximum route availability and have all modern conveniences.

With Board support, this was approved for development: a 90mph locomotive, to haul 480 ton passenger trains or 1200 ton freight trains, run 150 miles without taking coal and 80 miles before seeking a water supply. The materials not used on the unbuilt ‘Q1’ locomotives could be used, and indeed the ‘Q1’ form the basis for some early schemes. No less than eleven of these are revealed in Antony Bullied’s book ‘Bulleid of the Southern’, and I am sure there were many more! I would not want to put my signature to some of them!

Ideas came up in rapid succession: total adhesion, all engine weight available for braking; and then: drive from either end, like electrics, so do not turn the engine; oil bath as on the ‘Pacifics’ with all the motion inside, so no heavy work between visits to main shops at about 10,000 miles; eventually oil firing... All had to be fitted into a basis not by any means settled, and it was a race against time with unsympathetic public ownership (detested by Bulleid, an arch-Tory), on the horizon. The forays into the unknown led to the initial order being cut to five engines only; of these, in the event, only one was ever steamed and run, before the money really did run out and all was stopped.

Photographs tell little; the ‘Leader looks more like a box on wheels, so I have included a diagram, and in it you can discern the main parts of the boiler assembly (but not its unusual interior in which the water ‘legs’ at the firebox sides were replaced by an assembly of fire-bricks). You can see the two bogies, but not the three cylinders in line between the frames of each; you can see the casings outside the wheels, which contained the chain’s coupling wheels, two by two, replacing the usual coupling rods. The location of the fireman led the need for the boiler to be offset from the centre-line and the locomotive was not ‘balanced’ until ballast was put in the gangway, making the whole even more over-weight than before.

The B.R. authorities were very tolerant, but they must have see that years of expensive research would be called for to get such a machine up to traffic requirement, and in 1949, on the recommendation of R.G. Jarvis, all work was stopped. To detail the test results would tedious and there is much missing. On its day it ran quite well, and best of all on the day when it took on a full load of 480 tons!

But the axe had fallen and that was the very last day; soon all five of the ‘Leaders’ were no more, and we have only memory of a brave experiment by a brilliant but unorthodox man.

And where was this man, when the axe fell? He was working for the Irish Railways, officially on dieselisation, but in between times on a ‘turf (or peat) burning locomotive’, with some features in common with the ‘Leader!

by Jan Olav Aamlid President House of the Golden Coin
http://www.thaicoins.com

H.M. King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910) visited Europe twice. His second European journey took place in 1907 and the King was away from Thailand for 235 days. During that time he visited Italy, France, Spain, Germany, England, Denmark and Norway.

Medal commemorating H.M. King Chulalongkorn’s return from his 2nd tour of Europe

To commemorate the safe return of King Chulalongkorn to Thailand a medal was struck. The obverse of the medal shows King Chulalongkorn facing right in the full dress uniform of a Royal Officer with his name at the top and his title, Great King, below. On the reverse is inscribed Return from Europe RS 126. Above RS, it says 40, which means that King Chulalongkorn had been King for 40 years. RS 126 marks the beginning of the Rattanakosin Era, which began in 1782.

The medal was struck in gold and nickel. The gold medal was presented to children of high rank and members of the Royal Family. The condition of the medals I have seen is often in not so fine. The reason for this was that officials often wore the medal on their uniforms . For medals in nickel the price is about 15,000 to 20,000 Baht. The one in gold is much more expensive, at about 80,000 to 100,000 Baht.

King Chulalongkorn spent almost one month in Norway during his second trip, going all the way up to the North Cape. Here he carved his initials on a stone at this most northern point of Europe. In 1986 a television team followed the footsteps of King Chulalongkorn and the historical stone was shown on television, whereupon Rotarians in Thailand took the initiative and built a Sala Thai museum in North Cape.

Medal commemorating HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s visit to North Cape and the opening of the SalaThai Museum

The Ministry of Education of Thailand also took a great interest in the project. In 1989 HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn opened the museum and thousands of Thais have visited the North Cape since then. The main attraction at the museum is the stone with King Chulalongkorn’s initials.

Before HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn returned to Thailand in 1989 she also paid the city of Kongsberg a visit. This is the city where the Royal Norwegian Mint is located. She visited the Mint and struck the first medals to commemorate the visit of King Chulalongkorn in 1907 and the opening of the Sala Thai Museum in 1989.

The obverse of the medal shows HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the reverse shows the stone with King Chulalongkorn’s initials. The artwork was done by artists from the Royal Thai Mint and the Royal Norwegian Mint. It has both the marks of the Thai Ministry of Finance and The Royal Norwegian Mint.

The medals were struck in very limited editions and the money raised was given to the Sai Jai Thai Foundation. Only 100 medals were struck in gold, and it is almost impossible to find one for sale in this metal.

Originally this medal was only struck in gold and silver. A number have now been struck in copper-nickel, with a loop, for the 7th Anniversary of Pattaya Mail. After the rumour of this medal production came out, I have already had several eager collectors wanting to buy this beautiful medal with the portrait of the most revered Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Guests who attend the celebrations of Pattaya Mail’s 7th anniversary this weekend will be able to purchase this commemorative medal, whereby all the proceeds will accumulated in the ‘Pattaya Mail Scholarship Fund’ to be donated for the education of needy children in and around our community.

by Lesley Warner

Girls! It’s time we had a little spot just for us, so here is the first of a few health and beauty tips.

This week let’s start with what I call the inevitable.....

The inevitable: Fine lines, wrinkles, a dull complexion and loss of elasticity in the skin and everything seems to move downwards. I think we all know what this is called, the inevitable ‘old age’. It doesn’t seem to matter how fast and desperately we try to hold it back it always catches us. Unfortunately I don’t have the answer and I don’t think there is one in the near future but I might be able to give you some tips to slow it down.

Possible Causes: Extreme sun exposure, an unbalanced diet, lack of sleep, smoking, drug abuse and excessive alcohol consumption, to name a few of the more obvious causes.

There is an enormous range of creams on the market some with a supposedly magic formula that will hold back time but it has yet to be proven that any of them really work. It’s not necessary to spend a fortune - there are plenty of good reasonably priced moisturizers on the market.

Look for products that contain alpha or beta hydroxyl acids, antioxidants or retinoids; they help speed up cell renewal. If your fine lines are stubborn, ask your dermatologist about prescription creams, like Retin-A and Renova.

It is important not to leave it until it’s too late to start looking after yourself, so take note, you lovely young things with perfect skin, start now and it will pay off for you in the future. For those of you that did leave it too long you may need a more invasive procedure: Botox injections contain botulinum toxin and are shot into wrinkled muscles to temporarily paralyze them and create a smooth surface. Collagen injections fill out unwanted creases and furrows with a natural fibrous gel made from the dermis of cows. Chemical peels smooth out rough skin and minimize fine lines. Laser resurfacing uses an ultrapulse C02 laser to scan skin layers deeper than a chemical peel. (Note: a dermatologist or plastic surgeon should perform these procedures.)

Beauty Tips

Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions.

Do lash curlers work?

Yes they do work and you won’t find most makeup artists without one. First, make sure you curl your lashes before you apply mascara. Otherwise, you may damage or break them. Squeeze at the base, and then once in the middle and once at the ends. Give lashes a minute to relax and then apply mascara. If they seem bent and not curled, a good tip is wetting a Q-Tip and touching it to your lashes, before applying the mascara. This will get them back to normal and you can start the process again.

How can I stop my mascara smudges under my eyes?

You could try using your regular mascara on the top lashes, but for the bottom lashes, try applying a clear mascara or waterproof. It’s the mascara on the bottom lashes that cause the smudging beneath the eye.

How long should you keep mascara?

To avoid a possible eye infection and a dried-out ineffective product it is recommended to discard tubes of mascara after three months of use. If you don’t remember how long you’ve had mascara, watch for flaking when you pull out the wand. This signals that the product is starting to dry up and that, in order to have the best looking lashes possible, it is time for a fresh tube.

How often should I color my hair?

This depends largely on the growth rate of you hair. Highlight application is needed about every two to four months and single process color application about every six weeks. Hair does tend to grow faster in the summer but naturally lightens up, so you don’t have to get your highlights done as often as during the winter.

I colored my hair at home, it’s a disaster, what can I do?

Don’t try and fix it yourself because you could make it worse. Go to a good hairdresser and have a consultation. They may be able to remove the existing color and replace it with what you wanted in the first place and provide a gloss or treatment for the hair to restore moisture to the hair in case it was damaged.

Should I always use the same shampoo?

Popular belief by some dermatologists is that hair looks its best when you switch shampoos. Opaque shampoos have different chemistries and may even affect the cuticle of the hair differently. We often use a shampoo because we love the way it treats our hair. Hair can adapt to a certain shampoo, which may cause it to become less effective over time. Switching shampoos also protects your hair from product build-up. This can mean switching between brands of the same kind of shampoo, as well as switching the type. For example if you have oily hair you don’t always need to use a shampoo designed for oily hair. Instead you could try and alternate between one shampoo for oily hair and one for normal hair, for the best results.

Why do my nails split?

Hormonal changes and nutritional deficiencies can cause Split nails. Try upping your zinc intake, and wear at least one coat of nail polish at all times in order to keeps the nail protected. If you have one nail that is continually splitting, you may want to try getting a light silk wrap on the damaged nail to keep it from tearing. A silk wrap will allow your nail to breathe far more than an acrylic nail and will keep it bonded, as it gets stronger.

The Bank of Thailand issued a new set of rules on June 6th this year requiring foreigners who wanted to open a bank account in the country to either have a work permit or be on a house registration paper (in other words have a residence permit). If you do not have a work permit or residency then when your passbook comes up for renewal it is being said that the banks are refusing to issue a new one, thereby compelling you to withdraw your funds. It is also being said that all banks must have all foreign accounts in order within the next six months.

As per usual nothing is cut and dried as many people have experienced different reactions from their various banks as managers interpret the rules to suit themselves.

The BoT ostensibly introduced this law to prevent money laundering, but clearly did not think through the consequences for people like ex-pat retirees, many of who have their pensions paid directly into their bank accounts here.

According to one story, the manager of a Bank of Asia branch said foreigners could open Non-Resident Accounts that have extremely low interest rates and no ATM card facility. It is also my understanding that money can only be taken out of that account at the branch at which it was opened.

An accounts executive for the Bangkok Bank was quoted as saying that, “many foreigners have expressed anger”. That’s got to be the understatement of the year!

Basically, if you are in any doubt, go to your local bank branch and ask them what they require. If the reply is that you will have to terminate your account then go along to another bank and ask what they are prepared to offer.

I know of one ex-pat who is simply loading up his Visa Card and if everything goes ‘south’ he will revert to accessing his funds through it.

Welcome to Paradise: The American freelance writer Stan Sesser once wrote, “When I’m asked about the perils of reporting from remote places in Southeast Asia, my standard reply is that the most dangerous thing I have ever done was to cross the street in Bangkok. Those who have visited Bangkok would immediately understand that this isn’t a joke...”

Now Pattaya should be added to the list if this incident is anything to go by. It should also serve as a salient reminder to watch your step.

An Englishman and his Thai wife who had spent some months enjoying the quiet upcountry life decided to come to Pattaya and open a beer boozer up in Naklua. Just a few short days after opening the boozer they were crossing Naklua Road to get into a Baht bus when a speeding vehicle struck them.

The Thai wife bore the brunt of the impact, suffering serious injuries that required a stretch in the Intensive Care Unit of Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital as well as neurosurgery. I’m happy to report that both are well on the way to recovery although their bank account took a hammering. The driver of the car...fled the scene, of course.

In the Hot Spots: Talk about a breath of fresh air! Playpen (Soi Yamato) officially unveiled the new regalia of its dancing maidens in a party on July 13, and if crowd response is anything to go by then the new partnership team have struck a winner. With Lady Drinks priced at 75 Baht, the amber fluid available for 50 Baht, and a good (free) pool table, I guarantee you’ll be coming back for more.

Soi Chaiyapoom (off Soi Buakhow) is slowly starting to become an enclave of affordable nosh-houses. On one corner is the New Buffalo Grill and opposite it is The Chippy while further into the road are the Yorkshire Rose and Seaside 2 feed bins and now we have The Red Lion. I’ve also been told that most of the shophouses currently with the shutters down have also been rented, though for what purposes one can only surmise at this stage.

In the Hot Spots: Which ogling dens have the cheapest Lady Drinks in town? I know of three that seem to be very reasonable. Diamond (Soi Diamond) charges just 65 Baht for a Lady Drink while Spicy Girls and Spicy Girls Too (Pattayaland Soi One), run by Martin and Ewan, require you to part with 70 Baht. Considering a large number of outside beer boozers try to scam upwards of 80 and 90 Baht for a Lady Drink, these air-conditioned dens deserve honourable mention.

My e-mail address is: [email protected]

Copyright 2000  Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
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Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.