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ScandAsia Thailand - May 2016

ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. May 2016 edition of ScandAsia Thailand for Scandinavian residents from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland living in Thailand.

ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. May 2016 edition of ScandAsia Thailand for Scandinavian residents from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland living in Thailand.

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MAY 2016

Scandinavia supports resilient coastal communities:

Mangroves for the future

ScandAsia.dk ScandAsia.fi ScandAsia.no ScandAsia.se


SAVNER DU OGSÅ DANMARK

EN GANG I MELLEM?

Oplev ægte dansk filmhygge med

Olsen Banden og alle de andre

i hele verden!


Coming Events

MAY 2016

Norwegian Embassy

in Bangkok: Norwegian

constitution day

Where: Royal Norwegian Embassy,

Ambassador’s Residence, Sukhumvit soi 38

When: 17 May 11:00 - 13:30

Scandinavia supports resilient coastal communities:

Mangroves for the future

ScandAsia.dk ScandAsia.fi ScandAsia.no ScandAsia.se

17 th May Committee in

Bangkok: Celebration

of the Norwegian

National Day

Where: Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit,

Ballroom 1, 250 Sukhumvit Road

When: 17 May, 19:00 - 00:00

Nordmannsforbundets 17 May Committee in

collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok

invites everyone with relations to Norway to a

traditional national day celebration at the Residence of

the Ambassador.

Gates open 10.45 and the procession starts 11.00

from the residence 74 Sukhumvit Soi 38. (BTS Thonglor).

The 17th May Committee in Bangkok invites all Norwegians

with friends to celebrate the Norwegian National Day at

a Gala Dinner at Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit on Tuesday

17 May 2016 at 19.00.

Regular price is 1800 THB per person - but for youth

12-18 years the price is only 1200 THB

Contact: 17.maibangkok@gmail.com

DTCC Gala Dinner 2016

Where: Chatrium Hotel Riverside

When: 4 June, 18:00 - 22:00

Dancham - Danish Thai Chamber of Commerce - invites

members and friends to a Danish Gala Ball on 4 June 2016 at

Chatrium Riverside Hotel in Bangkok.

The 4 course dinner is accompanied by free flow wine or

beer. Entertainer: Michael Caroe. Afterwards Live music.

Table for 10 costs 28.000 THB. Single tickets 2990 for

members and 3190 THB for non-members.

Email: contact@dancham.or.th

Your FREE

ScandAsia

Magazine

in Thailand

ScandAsia is the only magazine

that covers all the Danish, Finnish,

Norwegian and Swedish residents

in Thailand.

We also publish a ScandAsia

magazine in China, Singapore and

the rest of South East Asia.

Please sign up for

your own FREE copy:

www.scandasia.com

Publisher :

211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29

Prasert Manukitch Road

Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao

Bangkok 10230, Thailand

Tel. +66 2 943 7166- ,

Fax: +66 2 943 7169

E-mail: news@scandasia.com

Editor-in-Chief :

Gregers A.W. Møller

gregers@scandmedia.com

Managing Editor:

Joakim Persson

Joakim@scandmedia.com

Journalist: Frederik Guy Hoff Sonne

Advertising :

Finn Balslev

finn@scandmedia.com

Joakim Persson

Joakim@scandmedia.com

Piyanan Kalikanon

piyanan@scandmedia.com

Nattapat Maesang

nattapat@scandmedia.com

Graphic Designer :

Peerapol Meesuwan

Peerapol@scandmedia.com

Printing :

Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

Daily news and

features here:

www.scandasia.com


News Brief

Easter with SWEA & Swedish Church Bangkok

Text and photos: Agneta de Bekassy

On Easter Sunday the 27th of March 2016,

SWEA (Swedish Women Educational

Association) and the Swedish Church

in Bangkok, organized a short, nice service with

our priest Lars Rydestad, followed by a terrific

Easter Buffet, at Rembrandt Hotel.

Trudi Carlesson played during the service

and even the young kids participating, were

listening to Lars, Trudi, Björn and Mie.

The service was followed by a rich buffet

with all typical Easter dishes presented.

The decorations, were as always at

Rembrandt, great and the kids had fun playing

and posing with bunnies and eggs. Every single

seat was booked and the expectations were big

and all showed a happy face. BRAVO SWEA and

the church!

Thailand’s Team Norway meets Norwegian Prime Minister

In connection with the opening of Norway-Asia Business Summit on

12 April 2016 at the Fullerton Bay Hotel in Singapore, Thailand’s Team

Norway had the opportunity to meet H.E. the Norwegian Prime

Minister Erna Solberg. Seen in the picture with Prime Minister Solberg

(seated) from left to right: President of Thai-Norwegian Chamber of

Commerce Vibeke Lyssand Leirvåg; H.E. Ambassador Kjetil Paulsen,

Ambassador of Norway to Thailand; Axel Blom, Country Representative

for Innovatiuon Norway in Thailand and Myanmar and the host of the

Summit, President of Norwegian Business Association (Singapore) Hilde

M. Nafstad.

4 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016


May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 5


New Norwegian

strategy makes

real estate in

Thailand easy

By Maria Andreasdottir

It is so easy to fall in love with the Asian

paradise in Thailand. But when visitors decide

to actually move to their favourite destination,

it is a far more difficult task.

“I remember how complicated it was to

find a place to live when I came to Thailand from

Norway in 2010,” says Jostein Aksnes, founder of

FindYourSpace.

The Norwegian entrepreneur wanted to

solve this problem with a real estate web portal

for Thailand, which aims to find your dream house

easily.

“I founded FindYourSpace due to the

6 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016

frustration related to finding a place to live in

Bangkok. I wanted to give the home seekers the

tools required to easily navigate the property

market in Thailand to find properties that match

complex requirements.”

New strategy

The concept is still the same, but after two

years Jostein decided to change direction and

focus on the agents instead of the house seekers.

“We did not want to be just another real

estate website.”

When Jostein came up with the idea of the

portal in 2014, he believed the current solutions

were too dependent on the brokers. There were

not many options of website portals finding

property or renting condos either. He made a

demo version of his website in 2014, but he had

to focus less on FindYourSpace for a few months

while managing his new position as Managing

Director of his new start-up company 7 Peaks

Software, although, he was still eager to release

it the soonest.

He hired a Chief Technology Officer in August

2014 to work full time on the software platform.

In the end of 2015 the Norwegian entrepreneur

had time to bring it up again, but since he had

set his project aside for a while, the Internet was

suddenly loaded with user-friendly real estate

websites in both Thai and English. Then Jostein

saw a new opportunity.

“We want to be the heart of the whole real

estate system!”

Instead of competing with the other real

estate portals, his platform turns focus on allowing

agents and brokers to manage their complete

property portfolio online, both through web

and mobile access. This allows them to work

more efficiently, and easier find properties in

their own portfolio, matching customers’ exact

requirements.

Agents can increase their leads by conveniently

allowing for automatic distribution of property

listings to a wide range of lead generation sources.

“The idea is to help each other. We will collect

the whole portfolio of available property and

estate, and connect agents with each other. For

example, if agent A has a client, and agent B has

the house, agent A can connect with agent B and

ask for cooperation. That way everyone is happy

and finally, a client will find the house he requires.”

Real estate agents can subscribe to the

platform as members. This way they will be able

to see all properties available, have their own

presentation website, and order special services

as professional videographer or photographers

to make a presentation video of the different

properties.

“This is all about modernising the working

method for agents.”

The system allows exploring neighbourhoods,

investigating real-estate projects, and discovering

available properties on the map. Jostein Aksnes

believes an overview of the many houses and

rooms is the perfect solution.

The membership is a paid service.


Enjoy timeless Danish films

all over the globe

Dirch Passer, Olsen Banden, Lille-Per

and many more icons from the

chest of Danish film history are

now on deck for online streaming

at every corner of the world.

It’s near to half a century ago since Egon

came up with his first genius plan and it’s been

more than 80 years since Liva Weel sang “Gå med

i lunden”. As times fly Nordisk Film has decided to

catch and collect Danish film classics throughout

time and connect them to the newly launched

streaming service “Dansk Filmskat”.

“Dansk Filmskat” has experienced an

enormous interest - also from Danes resided

abroad. That’s why Nordisk Film has made the

popular Danish films available to watch and enjoy

from all over the globe.

Beyond generations and borders

“Dansk Filmskat” compiles Danish films from

1931 and forth. The variety of films changes

every week, so there’s constantly new cozy movie

moments for you to enjoy.

“The classic Danish films are inherited by

each generation and loved beyond age groups

because they have such a special place in many

Danes hearts. Now “Dansk Filmskat” goes beyond

borders as well, so anyone can benefit from the

cozyness of Danish film regardless of where you

live”, says Ole Martini, Director at Consumer

Channels, Nordisk Film.

A glimpse of Danish lives

The streaming service grants not only Danish

“hygge”, nostalgia and heartwarming humour

for the entire family, but also a sheer insight to

Denmark and Danish lives in the past generations.

“There’s some unmistakably Danish about

these films, which puts them in a central position

in our shared cultural history. Digging into these

pieces of history gives a unique glimpse of the

progress in Danish society, language, fashion, gender

roles, technology and so on”, explains Ole Martini.

“Dansk Filmskat” is available on TV, tablet and

laptop. Members of “Dansk Filmskat” moreover

gets access to amusing Danish commercials from

the 50’s and 60’s and extraordinary interviews

with figures as Ghita Nørby, Morten Grunwald,

Bent Fabricius-Bjerre and a range of other icons

from the history of Danish cinema giving their

insights on the stories behind the films.

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From our branch office in Singapore we provide the increasing number of Nordic

individuals in Asia with the same high quality private banking services as Nordea

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certain countries and their availability may depend, among other things, on the investment risk profile of persons in receipt of this publication or on any legislation to which they are subject. Nothing in this publication should be construed

as an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to purchase, subscribe to or sell any investment or product, or to engage in any other transaction or provide any kind of financial or banking service in any jurisdiction where Nordea Bank S.A.,

Singapore Branch or any of its affiliates do not have the necessary licence. Published by Nordea Bank S.A., R.C.S. Luxembourg No. B 14.157 on behalf of Nordea Bank S.A. Singapore Branch, 138 Market Street #09-03, CapitaGreen

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May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 7


News Brief

Airports of Thailand seminar

On 15 March 2016 a Nordic Seminar

was held in Bangkok, with Dr Nitinai

Sirismatthakarn, President of Airports

of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT)

as speaker. He gave a seminar on the topic of

Future Airport Infrastructure in Thailand: Policy,

investment and business opportunities at

Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit.

He pinpointed several prominent investment

plans due to increasing number of passengers. The

guests were alerted to business opportunities

and updated to interesting trends by the expert.

Source: Thai-Finnish Chamber of Commerce

Swedes set up new association in Udon Thani

By Frederik Guy Hoff Sonne

Swedes in Phuket have one, in Pattaya and

Hua Hin they got one as well. Now time

has come for the Swedes living in the Udon

Thani Province of the Northern Thailand to unite

in their own Svenskförening. “Svenskar in Udon”

will be formally established in the coming weeks,

Sven Arne Hedell, the man behind the initiative

tells.

Reasons behind the initiative is two-stringed

Sven Arne Hedell explains. First of all the numbers

of Swedes settling in Udon Thani increases

according to Sven Arne Hedell:

“There are a large number of Swedes living

in and around Udon. I got no figures, a guess is at

least 200. Just to give an idea, yesterday we had

the every second week Swedish meeting, 25 man

attended. And the number of Swedes living here

on “full-time” is increasing”, he tells.

A newly started and highly active Facebook

group called “Vi Svenskar i Udon Thani” counts 55

members at the moment.

The other cause behind is slightly more

political. ScandAsia has previously written about

how Swedish expats in Phuket and Hua Hin

aired their discontent about not getting covered

by the Swedish States health insurance when

living in Thailand. They eventually posted a

letter to the Swedish Minister for Health Care,

Gabriel Wikström, pledging their discontent and

presenting some proposals.

8 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016

“Actually the trigger was that I saw a link

on Facebook to the article in ScandAsia”, Sven

Arne Hedell reveals. “Hopefully we can influence

government officials by writing to give our support

for the initiative from Phuket”, he explains, when

asked to tell about the ambitions for the union.

Sven Arne Hedell, 65, is covered by the Thai

health insurance BUPA himself. He retired at the

age of 63 and moved from Växjö to Udon Thani

2,5 years ago. The majority of Swedes living in

Udon Thani is seniors over 60 years old and they

all have a great interest in receiving Swedish state

health care insurance, as private insurances gets

more expensive with age and can be hard to pay

on a pension.

“Immediately after Song Kran we will gather

to constitute “Svenskar i Udon”, Sven Arne Hedell

ends.


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May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 9

ScanAsia_ April 2016.indd 1 17/03/16 12.09


News Brief

Second Nordic Networking success for 2016

On 21 April, the successful Nordic

Networking series, this time hosted by

the

Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce

and Thai-Finnish Chamber of Commerce (the for

Nordic chambers alternate to be hosts), continued

with all the four Directors from the respective

chambers of commerce, and also Sweden’s

Ambassador to Thailand H.E Mr Staffan Herrström

and his wife Karin Herrström.

This time the event was arranged in a fabulous

top floor event venue called Altitude at the familiar

five-star hotel The Westin Grande Sukhumvit

Bangkok in downtown Bangkok, with a good

turn-up to fill the rather large and upscale locale,

featuring panorama views of the city centre. Aside

from Nordic countries, the event has also gained

attention by participants from other countries such

as Thailand, Mexico, Germany and Netherland.

This event included fabulous Nordic food

flavours, where The Westin Grande Sukhumvit

Bangkok had really gone the extra mile in lining up

a splendid Nordic selection of, “finger food”, which

was almost like a buffet. Among the sumptuous

temptations were: Poached Norwegian salmon

with piquant mustard sauce; Grandmother Greta’s

meatballs with cream sauce, lingon berries &

pickles cucumbers; and among the desserts: ‘semlor’

pancakes with Nordic-flavoured toppings (very

innovative!) as well as Budapest bakelse arrak balls!

The wine was just as sumptuous! Fruitful

networking among the various nationalities took

place, while enjoying it all!

10 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016


New Swedish series takes place in Thailand

By Frederik Guy Hoff Sonne

News Brief

C

More Entertainment has

begun the shooting for a

new Swedish thriller-series

in Thailand. The series is called

‘Farang’, meaning foreigner in Thai,

and famous Swedish actor, Ola

Rapace, plays the leading role.

Ola Rapace’s character is

“Rickard”, a Swede forced to flee

Thailand where he get’s by as a

petty criminal in the backstreets of

Phuket with a secured identity and

a price on his head. Back in Sweden

“Rickard” has left his family behind

but his 15-year old daughter “Thyra”

travels to Thailand to find her dad.

Intensity rises when “Rickard” is put

in the dilemma between revealing

his identity and risking his life or once

again leave his daughter behind.

“I began with the father and

daughter relation, which I’ve never

seen alike before, and I recognized

myself for good and bad”, Ola

Rapace said in a press release.

The rolelist counts both

Swedish and Thai contributors.

Among others Louise Nyvall as

the daughter “Thyra” and Thai star

actress Yayaying Rhatha Phongam in

a supporting role.

“Farang” premieres on C More

in 2017 and is part of C More’s

parade of Swedish dramas counting

“Gåsmamman”, the “Beck”-films

and coming series “Saknad”.

“This will be a thriller like

nothing we’ve seen before. A drama

that portrays the emotional relation

between a father and the daughter

that he has given up and at the same

time offers a lot of action”, Josefine

Tengblad, TV4 and C More Drama

Director said.

The series is created by Malin

Lagerlöf and Stefan Thunberg. Main

Director is Erik Leijonborg and Anna

Wallmark Avelin is the Producer. The

script is written by Malin Lagerlöf,

Veronica Zacco, Anders Sparring

and Niklas Rockström.

Swedish Ultraman swims around Phuket

On 30 March Swedish

Ultraman World

Champion Jonas Colting

commenced his ‘Swim Around

Phuket’, an eight-day swim trek. He

swam around the island of Phuket,

with the start on Mai Khao Beach, to

raise funds for Yaowawit Orphanage

School and Mai Khao Marine Turtle

Foundation.

As the first-ever such swim the

Swedish athelete circumnavigated

the island of Phuket over eight days,

completing his mission by returning

to Mai Khao Beach on 6 April.

Mr. Colting led a group of

swimmers including four-time

triathlon World Champion Chris

McCormack on the first leg

comprising 14 kilometers from the

JW Marriott Resort & Spa Mai Khao

to Trisara Phuket villas & residences.

The swim trek then proceeded

every day from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in

a counter-clockwise route around

the island passing the Andaman

beaches, the famous sunset point

Laem Phrom Thep, and Chalong pier.

The route then turned northward

past Ao Poh Pier, passed under the

Sarasin Bridge and curve down to

end again at Mai Khao beach.

“I’m very excited and look

forward to getting started on

this adventurous and inspirational

journey around beautiful Phuket!

My preparations have gone well

but I have a lot of respect for the

challenges of averaging more than

15 kilometres per day in the ocean.

My main concerns are the heat and

the sun and I will make an effort to

pace myself over the eight days,”

he said before commencing the

first leg.

Mr. Colting aims to raise funds

for the Yaowawit Orphanage School

which was first built to support

victims of the Tsunami 10 years ago

and the Mai Khao Marine Turtle

Foundation, which is committed to

protecting the marine and coastal

environment and ecosystems for

the wellbeing of the sea turtles that

nest in the Sirinath National Marine

Park and the surrounding areas.

“I’ve known Jonas my entire

racing career,” said Mr. McCormack,

who is also Thanyapura’s executive

chairman. “I believe he’s the perfect

athlete with the endurance engine

and the will to be the first person

ever to swim around Phuket. When

he took on this challenge, we

decided to put our full organizational

support behind him, hosting him and

his team from Apollo Travel Group

as they prepared for the swim.”

Located in northern Phuket,

Thanyapura is Asia’s top sports

training center that offers fitness,

health and wellbeing programs set

in world-class facilities.

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May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 11


Scandinavia

supports resilient

coastal communities:

Mangroves for the future

By Joakim Persson

Following the 2004 Indian Ocean

tsunami disaster, the unique partnerled

programme ‘Mangroves for the

Future’ (MFF), was initiated to promote

investment in coastal ecosystems for

sustainable development. Breaking new ground

and generating new or improved coastal

ecosystem management models, MFF has

continuously received support from Scandinavian

countries for its operations.

In keeping with its unique partnership-based

principle, MFF has established the highest-level

decision-making body, the Regional Steering

Committee (RSC), to provide strategic leadership

for policy change and advocacy. The RSC is cochaired

by IUCN (Asia Regional Office) and

UNDP (Regional Centre in Bangkok) and has

representatives from each of the MFF member

countries, and the institutional partners FAO,

UNEP and Wetlands International.

Within each MFF member country, a National

Coordinating Body (NCB) has oversight of MFF

activities at the national level. Here again, reflecting

the partnership approach of MFF, NCBs include

relevant government departments, civil society

organizations including NGOs, academia, and

individual experts and, in most countries, private

sector representatives

Though mangroves is the flagship of the

initiative, MFF helps countries, sectors and

agencies tackle growing challenges in all types of

coastal ecosystems such as, coral reefs, estuaries,

lagoons, wetlands, beaches and sea grass beds.

Its management strategy is based on specific

12 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016

national and regional needs for the long-term

sustainable management of these sensitive

ecosystems - where coastal communities, civil

society organisations as well as the private sector

are stakeholders.

Based on lessons learned, MFF – now in its

third phase – has come a long way, with its own

designed “tools” that are being implemented

in all the 11 member countries. Danish MFF

coordinator Dr Steen Christensen, who oversees

the programme, explains MFF’s achievements to

date and what lies ahead for the initiative’s future

beyond its current funding.

Nordic phase 3 funding

MFF has received core donor funding from

Norad (Norway) and Sida (Sweden) since 2007,

and from Danida (Denmark) since 2012. The

ongoing third phase of the regional initiative

was announced in June 2014, with new funding

from Sida (Swedish International Development

Cooperation Agency) for the period 2014-2018.

SIDA’s decision to fund phase 3 was based

on significant achievements made by MFF in

its first two phases. Up until then, around 200

projects had been implemented through the MFF

grants mechanism, and its unique partnershipbased

model had brought together government,

civil society and private sector to play more

effective roles in the governance of coastal areas

in numerous cases.

But SIDA has also placed demands on MFF

for the future.

“SIDA said that MFF must clearly demonstrate

the added value of a regional programme,

otherwise they could as well support a number

of national projects. So rather than being just

a grant mechanism we aim for the project to

have a regional impact on sustainable coastal

management. MFF follows the principle that

healthy coastal ecosystems can contribute

significantly to human well-being and resilience

to climate change,” explains Steen.

MFF’s main focus is on developing the resilience

of ecosystem-dependent coastal communities,

and to develop “shared understanding and

capacity for building community resilience to

natural disasters and climate change related

impacts”.

Efforts to influence coastal management policy

with an increased emphasis on “soft governance”,

as well as to expand its knowledge management

and capacity development activities (offering

hands-on training and learning opportunities for

coastal management practitioners around the

region) will also continue.

In 2012, Danida stepped in as a donor to MFF

with particular support to a 3-year project (2012

– 2015) aiming at developing an ecosystembased

approach to climate change adaptation in

Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam.

“With Danida’s support, we took the

opportunity to develop our ecosystem based

resilience approach which basically is a set of

tools and guidelines to be followed to ensure a

consistent approach to climate change adaptation

and resilience building. These tools and guidelines

are now the guiding principles for the entire MFF


programme,” explains the Dane, who has been

with MFF since 2011. Based on these results,

Danida decided to join Sida as a core donor to all

11 countries for the period 2015 – 2018.

Steen has vast experience working with

multidisciplinary programmes relating to

management of aquatic resources and ecosystems

in Europe, Africa, Greenland and South and

Southeast Asia. He was previously in Vietnam

as part of a fisheries industry development

programme that Demark supported.

Steen has also worked for the Mekong River

Commission, conducting economic evaluations

within the same industry.

“This is where I got particularly interested

in the livelihood aspects of fisheries, especially

since millions of people are dependent on these

resources.”

Gaps in resilience

A central part of MFF’s work involves the

Community Resilience Framework, with its

analysis platform, which guides MFF’s activities and

interventions. This tool allows the programme

to gain detailed understanding of the gaps in

resilience in the target community’s social and

ecological systems in close collaboration with all

stakeholders in the target area.

“By applying our resilience framework, we

try to support the people living in ecosystemdependent

coastal communities in defining an

own long term visions for their community. And

then we support them in implementing naturebased

solutions for sustainable development

and improved resilience towards climate change

and natural hazards. Of course, as part of the

framework, we also have a ‘Monitoring, Learning

and Evaluation programme’ that allows us to

monitor progress and actual results on the ground.

To be able to do that we need to establish good

baseline data before we start the intervention

and also good and informative indicators that

one can actually measure at a reasonable cost,”

explains Steen.

The ‘MFF Resilience Analysis Platform (RAP)’

takes into consideration both the social and

ecological system, when conducting structured

analysis of the target communities.

“So now, before we do anything, we go out

to the specific site and conduct a resilience

assessment and try to identify with the local

community what the problems and risks are.

Then we try to find out how things were in

this community way back as long as people can

remember and what happened along the way

up till now.”

“How would this community look in a

resilient state? What kinds of organisations are

there? What are the things that you want to

change? Then we identify maybe 25 different

issues that could be improved in the community

of which MFF perhaps can support only a few. We

then try to make the plan by identifying the steps

that need to be taken to work towards the goals

we can support.”

For the next step, NGOs and civil society

organisations are invited to propose their

solutions for identified problems.

May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 13


“It is also important to highlight that it is the

countries that decide which projects they want

us to support.”

Organisations whose proposals are selected

for support will be contracted to implement the

projects.

These projects are highly effective as the

testing ground for new and innovative practices,

which are recorded and then shared through the

own MFF knowledge platform.

“This is a very strategic way to have a much

more directed support to fewer communities and

build model resilience communities. The national

or provincial government can then look at these

communities and conclude if they have came up

with solutions that can be replicated in other

areas,” says Steen and adds: “Because we have

aggregated cluster projects, we can invite people

from other countries to come and see how they

have solved similar issues”

MFF also offers strategic support and,

provides countries with valuable information to

guide them on the development of their national

coastal development policies.

Success story from Trat

Steen highlights, as example, a large project in

Trat, Thailand where a particular community in

the area was still affected by property rights and

land tenure issues that originated 40 years back,

and whereby attempts to rectify the situation had

not been successful.

The project, which was supported by MFF in

2011 and 2012 was implemented by the Regional

Community Forestry Training Center for Asia

and the Pacific (RECOFTC) and succeeded in

strengthening existing community-based coastal

resource management networks by focusing on

knowledge sharing and improving management

practices.

14 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016

“By strengthening the community-based

coastal resource management approach in the

area, the project encouraged the community to

come together, discuss, negotiate and find better

ways to solve their problems,” explains Steen.

Now these community groups are extending help

and support to neighbouring areas facing similar

challenges.

“Here is an area where MFF could play a

larger role. I would like for us to more frequently

go back to already completed projects and

see if there is a need for following up in some

way or the other. In Trat for example, we could

support these successful communities in sharing

their experiences and lessons learnt with other

provinces in Thailand or communities in other

MFF countries with similar issues. This would be

a cost-effective way in improving unfavourable

situations in other areas.”

MFF seeks to achieve demonstrable

results through regional cooperation, national

programme support, private sector engagement,

and community action. The MFF grant-giving

facilities are the main vehicle for delivering work

on the ground.

The majority of MFF’s grants projects

have contributed to alleviating poverty

and empowering communities through the

development of sustainable livelihoods. These

projects have also led to behavioural changes

that have reduced pressure on natural resources,

particularly by reducing illegal fishing practices. In

addition, the projects contributed to improving

coastal governance by supporting Integrated

Coastal Management, and by influencing national

policies.

“I try to coordinate all the activities in the

countries so that we work towards the same goal.

There are many different issues, which are not the

same from country to country. We cannot use a

one-hat-fits-all approach. Even the term resilience

is defined in various ways and it is important

for a regional programme to appreciate that

the countries have different backgrounds, do

not face the same kind of threats and have not

been through the same kind of development,”

explains Steen. “You need to start where people

are, otherwise you cannot hope to support

any development. Therefore, it requires a lot of

strategic thinking and planning to move towards

a common goal of building resilience.” “I think

MFF is one of the few development programmes

in the world that has actually managed to put the

Resilience Approach into practice in a consistent

way at a regional level.”

MFF in the future...

Among the priorities on the agenda for MFF is

to enhance private sector engagement in MFF

governance structures and reinforce the business

case for green growth. Greater emphasis on

engaging with the private sector involves, both,

harnessing the resources of the sector in support

of sustainable coastal management, and working

with companies to reduce their impact on coastal

ecosystems and communities.

MFF is also preparing a self-financing plan

for the operational needs of MFF beyond 2018

etc.

“Now it’s time that the countries start

considering: can we move from being a grant

receiving country to maybe supporting our own

grants in our own country or even providing

support to MFF? If the countries do not show

interest or willingness or capacity to take over

the financial responsibilities, the programme is

not sustainable. Our donors will not support us

forever. The time has come for countries to take

ownership so that MFF can aim for sustainability

beyond 2018.”


News Brief

Danes Worldwide pioneers

new school concept in Bangkok

By Gregers Møller

Danes Worldwide is for the first time engaging itself directly in

providing education in Danish language to Danish children living in

a specific location abroad by entering in a collaboration with the

community school NIST International School in Bangkok and a group of

Danish parents in Thailand.

Secretary General Anne Marie Dalgaard signed on Thursday 31 March

2016 an MOU with the school which included also the Danish Ambassador

to Thailand as a signatory.

“It is the very first time we try this,” she told ScandAsia after the signing.

“If it works well, we may well want to implement it as a model in other

countries.”

According to the agreement, the teaching material used by the teacher

must be the material developed and provided by Danes Worldwide. The role

of NIST will be to provide the all-important work permit for the teacher and

an educational environment as the home base of the teacher. This teacher

still remains to be selected and employed.

The teacher will be able to teach Danish at all the other International

schools in Bangkok. The many Danish students at for instance Patana School

or ISB will thereby be able to attend Danish mother tongue classes at their

own school seamlessly integrated in their regular weekly class schedule.

Only Danish children whose parents are members of Danes Worldwide

can join the class. The parents must also buy the teaching material from

Danes Worldwide as well as pay to NIST to cover the teacher’s wages and

other related expenses.

Mai Ellegaard, Bangkok representative of Danes Worldwide has been

the key person working for this new offer for Danes in Thailand. On Friday,

she accompanied Anne Marie Dalgaard on visits to Patana School and ISB

to ensure that these schools understand and appreciate the offer they now

have availabale for their Danish students.

“A critical point was, that we wanted this solution to cover all Danish

children in and around Bangkok – not only international school students,”

says Mai Ellegaard.

“This is now part of the deal. Both at NIST and ISB it will be possible for

Danish students – who do not attend any of those schools – to come on the

specific days where the teacher is on that school and join the classes there.

Many children of Thai-Danish marriages do not attend international school

and they should also be covered with this solution!”

Danes Worldwide offers also an online Danish course as a separate

product which many Danish parents already subscribe to. This is in particular

good for children who live outside Bangkok in areas too far to be covered

by the new school offer in Bangkok.

Once the Danes Worldwide school is up and running, it will also look

at offering Danish education for toddlers and teaching Danish as a foreign

language to for instance foreign spouses of Danish parents or as a pre-study

for Thais planning to immigrate to Denmark.

May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 15


Jan B. Djerf presides over

EuroCham Singapore

Undoubtedly Swedish banking executive Mr Jan B. Djerf is one of our most

well known Scandinavians in Singapore.

In Southeast Asia’s undisputed business

hub since 2004 Mr Djerf is not only Senior

Vice President and General Manager

of Handelsbanken Singapore Branch and

Head of South Asia and Pacific; he is also

the President of Eurocham, European Chamber

of Commerce (Singapore), during two years

spanning from 2015 – 2017.

Prior to this, Mr. Djerf took on the role as Vice-

President for 3 years. Mr. Djerf also represents the

Swedish Business Association in Singapore on the

EuroCham Board and has been an active Board

member since 2005.

ScandAsia finds out more about these, his

prestigious additional roles on a European level.

But first, a résumé of his career up to now: In

his professional career, Mr. Djerf’s major step

towards senior level management came with

his appointment as the Head of the Treasury

Department at Ericsson in Stockholm, Sweden.

This sparked his globetrotting career phase,

leading him to be headhunted by Alfinad SA in

Brussels, Belgium, the Treasury Center of Alfa

Laval. Mr. Djerf soon saw his career taking him

to Lausanne, Switzerland as Director Group

Treasury at Tetra Laval. 1994 saw Mr. Djerf’s

entry into one of Scandinavia’s largest banks,

Handelsbanken. In 1998, Mr. Djerf was appointed

Head of Foreign Exchange Money Markets and

Emerging Markets, Europe. This took him to

London and then to Stockholm. After that he

arrived to Singapore and Handelsbanken.

Mr. Jan B. Djerf represents the Swedish Business

Association in Singapore on the EuroCham Board

and has been an active Board member since 2005,

including taking on the role of Vice President since

3 years. In March 2015, Mr. Djerf was unanimously

voted to the Presidency of EuroCham for a twoyear

term.

EuroCham’s Board of Governors comprises

of the Office Bearers, which includes the President,

a Patron, Ordinary Corporate Board Members, as

well as 14 Representatives from the European

National Business Groups (NBGs). EuroCham

works very closely with the EU Delegation to

Singapore for its events and activities. H.E. Dr.

Michael Pulch, Ambassador of the EU Delegation

to Singapore sits on the Board as Patron.

16 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016


Under Mr Djerf’s leadership, EuroCham has

emerged as an instrumental body in the business

community, making concrete efforts in enhancing

and encouraging a vibrant trade relationship

between Singapore and the EU. Locally, EuroCham

has had several engagements with a myriad of

government agencies and representatives in a bid

to foster a conductive business environment. As

Singapore continues to develop itself as a regional

hub for major industries, EuroCham’s relevance

becomes strikingly important to offer a support

base for European companies that are looking to

Asia to expand their operations.

To date, Singapore plays host to approximately

11,000 European companies and more are

expected to arrive in due course.

The EuroCham collection of sector

committees has grown from 9 to 11 –

Commercial Vehicles, Financial Services, ICT,

Internship, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR),

Human Resources (HR), Regional Finance & Tax,

Regional Trade, Sustainability, Food & Pharma

Packaging and Wine & Spirits. Sector committees

offer a common European platform to exchange

information, discuss common issues businesses

are facing and undertake coordinated initiatives.

In line with the work of the sector

committees, EuroCham has successfully

published a number of Position Papers, which

summarise policies and trends in Southeast

Asia with recommended proposals. Examples

are: Traceability: The Cornerstone of Food

Safety Policy (introducing new regulations in

Singapore’s Food Regulations); Position Paper

on Degradable Packaging & Plastic Ban as a

Solution to Littering; and HR White Paper

(outlining priorities for the development of

human capital in ASEAN in lieu of the ASEAN

economic integration project).

“EuroCham has been involved in many

advocacy initiatives in collaboration with

Singaporean authorities, and more projects will

follow. We have been active on diverse fields,

ranging from tourism to taking actions against

counterfeiting, not to mention our engagement

on many policy dialogues on HR or FS. As such,

our presence and close ties with the Singaporean

Government allows us to be a key interlocutor

for European businesses, and we hope to see our

voice growing stronger.”

“In addition, as our scope of action is

constantly widening, EuroCham now aims to

strengthen its collaboration with the Singaporean

Government by taking more initiatives based

on corporate social responsibility, a key aspect

frequently mentioned in the Budget in March,” Mr

Djerf comments on the activities going forward.

Furthermore EuroCham organizes two

annual flagship events – Europe Day Luncheon

and Schuman Lecture Gala Dinner. During these

events, the Chamber has the privilege to host

high profile personalities to deliver a keynote

speech, sharing their thoughts and views of the

global economy and its future implications for

businesses. EuroCham also offers a less formal

platform for its members and the wider business

community to network and access a wide and

diversified audience (arranged four times yearly).

For Mr Djerf his experience from being

President also for SBAS (Swedish Business

Association of Singapore) is significant in his

EuroCham role.

“Not only it is possible but I would say

essential to apply past experiences to future roles

as experience come with knowledge and lessons

on how to overcome a challenge. Each National

Business Group has its own topics of interest.

However, building an advocacy and lobbying

strategy in Singapore is a constant challenge to

all. If the issues are different, the approach remains

the same, and it is crucial to follow the business

environment and culture in place in Singapore.”

And one may also wonder how the head

of Handelsbanken in the region can balance his

additional President roles also with family life?

“Every day is a challenge with many obstacles

to overcome. However, being the President of

EuroCham does not mean I have to face them

alone. I am blessed to have the support of my

family. In addition, I have the great pleasure to

work with a dynamic team offering the support

I need to carry on the work and responsibilities

I hold.“

May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 17


Kaanda Beach

Life beachwear

by Katarina Bonér

Swede behind the beautiful beachwear collection

By Agneta de Bekassy

Katarina has lived with her husband and

two children in Phuket, Thailand since

2009. After having sold their Relais &

Chateau Hotel “Krägga and Thoresta

Herrgårdar” in Sweden, her husband

retired. The kids were still young and her husband

wanted to stay active, so the family decided to go

for an adventure, moving to Phuket.

While having Swedish friends visiting them

and complaining about the lack of good bathing

suits/bikinis here in Thailand, Katarina’s friend, got

a brilliant idea.

After his almost 30 years’ work experience

with underwear and bathing suits for a Swedish

post Order Company with production in Hong

Kong, he decided to connect Katarina with his

former contact in Hong Kong, who also owns a

big factory.

Katarina thought about maybe making her

own brand of beachwear, but the Hong Kong

contact instead suggested she should sell his label

“Sunseeker Australia” and so she started. She also

added a few other labels.

In year 2013 Katarina felt mature enough and

ready to introduce her own collection: ‘KAANDA

Beach Life’ was born.

The name tells a story, Katarina says: “It’s a

bringing together of KAtarina and the ANDAman

Sea and the name also has many meanings in

different eastern languages and cultures; The Sixth

Sense, Goddess and Protector of Mankind”, to

mention a few.

Her collection has been very welcomed in

Asia and is most appreciated as it stands for high

quality and a modern, classy style. Katarina has

focused on creating an ideal tropical beachwear

and bikini brand, inspired by the beach life in

Phuket.

Where does your inspiration come from

I ask? Katarina answers quickly; “Oh, from the

beautiful island Phuket and the exotic life style

here and the Buddhist way of life.”

She focuses on young, feminine shapes and

colourful prints.” I want my customers to feel

confident and beautiful while wearing my bathing

suits and bikinis” Katarina says.

All women can wear my brand, she adds.

The soft fabrics and seamless features make the

swimsuits/bikinis very comfortable and easy to

wear.

Among her favourite prints are tropical and

jungle prints, leopard, paisley and snake, just to

mention a few.

KAANDA also includes the LUXE group that

offers more sophisticated prints, graphic prints

and florals in classic styles.

Today you will find “KAANDA beach wear”

in 15 different department stores, at 30 resorts

and in 2 own boutiques (one shop is located at

Surin beach and the other at Boat Avenue, next

to Villa Market).

“Today we have between 20 and 30

employees, with offices both in Bangkok and

Phuket,” she tells. “We are organizing fashion

shows on a regularly basis in Phuket and we have

also had a few in Bangkok.”

One of these shows at Siam Paragon a few

years ago was quite an experience! The theme

was “The Cabaret” and the models presented the

beachwear in a very professional and interesting

way, along with great music!

Katarina should be very proud of herself. Her

collection has been published in most magazines

in Thailand including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Vogue,

Harper’s Bazaar, Image, Lips Women’s Health,

Preaw, Lemon, EXPAT LIFE and now she can also

add ScandAsia.

Images of her pieces have been on the cover

of several different magazines including IMAGE at

least 5 times with Thailand’s superstar Ya Ya Ying

and as cover on Playboy magazine with Aum

Lukkana.

When Katarina is not working, she loves

spending time with husband and her two

children Mathilda, today 13, and Carl Ola, 11,

and of course she enjoys when her Swedish

friends come to visit the family on the Paradise

island Phuket.

18 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016


May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 19


Photographer: Daniel Herron

Agneta’s

World

Dear readers,

Last month, photographer Daniel and I took you along to a few places on Sukhumvit

and ThongLoh. This month we have moved a bit further up to Ekkamai.

Like ThongLoh, Ekkamai has developed a lot these last years and become very popular

with all new bars and restaurants.

Dermaster

We started the afternoon with a visit to Dermaster. This beauty clinic is like

a small, luxurious Boutique hotel, located on Sukhumvit 63 between soi

Ekkamai 18-20.

If you feel you need a real make over, I think this must be one of the

best and most inviting places. Here you can get just about everything

fixed. They offer Skin Laser & Aesthetic, Cosmetic Surgery, Slimming, Hair Restoration and last,

but not least, Holistic Anti-Aging.

Are you familiar with Thermage CPT e.g.? I wasn’t, but now I am. Thermage CPT is a safe,

non-invasive, radiofrequency (RF) cosmetic procedure that’s clinically proven to help smooth,

tighten and contour skin for an overall younger looking appearance - suitable for all skin types.

This procedure can effectively and safely treat skin on most of the body parts and can

temporarily reduce cellulites. If you are a person who wants the dramatic results of surgery, well

when Thermage CPT might not be the right choice as it’s shows a more subtle, gradual result.

This treatment is the option when lotions and potions are not enough and surgery is too much.

Dermaster also offers the most wonderful facial treatments; you’ll think you’re in heaven.

Believe me, I’ve tried…

The motto of Dermaster seems to be ‘Live Beautifully’ and who doesn’t want to do that?!

Sasi SPA

A

bit further, on Sukhumvit soi 71, next to St. Andrew’s school,

you will find a newly opened petite and very personal SPA

called Sasi SPA & beautee. Sasi SPA got its name after its

owner Sasi. A chat with Sasi is really interesting. She is born Thai,

married to an Englishman, a drilled business woman who early

dropped out of school, but found out she had a talent for doing business.

Her father was a businessman who spoiled us kids, Sasi told us. As a young

woman, she loved visiting different Spa’s.

“When I was young here [I interrupted and said: ‘younger!’], there were

only good Spa’s at the 5-star Hotels and of course they were quite expensive.

When Sasi’s husband retired, she decided to fulfil one of her old dreams

to open her own SPA. She found a town house on Sukhumvit soi 71, not

too far from her home, started to change it completely, as she wanted more

bathrooms than there were and she needed steam baths, Jacuzzis and so on.

Thinking about all things she herself would look for at visiting a Spa, she also

added a coiffeur chair so the customers could have their hair washed and

done after their treatments.

Sasi is a kind of “meticulous” woman who wants the very best; she orders

her products from a French company, labelled “Le Club des Professional”.

These products are 100 % natural and ideal for people with allergies as no

perfume is added.

Does Sasi know anything about Spa treatments? I was wondering. But I

saw some diplomas hanging on the wall and she explained she had learned

about beauty treatments and make-up at the Ketwadde School, among

some others.

As I know this lady, there is no doubt that she will become successful!

At Sasi’s you can also buy 5 vouchers of any treatment and get one for

free. Most Spa’s and beauty salons offer 10 vouchers and one for free, already

a reason to spend a morning or afternoon at Sasi.

After our visit to Sasi’s she invited us home for a chilled glass of wine.

She resides, together with hubby and three dogs, in a huge, very beautiful villa

built around a beautiful pool. I couldn’t help thinking how this is the nonplus

ultra place for an ambassador to live. Got to know that Sasi and her husband

want to sell and asked why.

“Well, there are only the two of us today, no children hanging around,

we don’t need this much space”.

So here we go, any ambassador who needs a representative living with

lots of entertainment space, first book a Spa treatment and then take a look

at Madame’s residence!

20 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016


Ambre Jolie

Now, happy and relaxed after wine and a nice visit, we went

to see a German lady, Fine, who has opened a show room

in her town house in Ekkamai Soi 28. I had met Fine at

IWC (International Women’s Club). As my second mother

tongue is German I was delighted to find someone to speak

German with.

Fine told me about a collection with extra ordinary garments, designed

by a French/Khmer (Cambodian) designer, that she had discovered when

she was out looking for a dress for herself. She fell in love with Romyda Keth

collection and already in 2007 she bought her first dress from this label.

Her friends had immediately complimented her and they also wanted

the same label. Unfortunately this collection couldn’t be found in Thailand.

A few years later, she realised she had to ask for a license to import and

sell this collection in Thailand. In year 2012 the mission was completed, the

Showroom named ‘Ambre Jolie’ was born.

Today she has a nice showroom at her home and her clients love to drop

by and enjoy choosing between all colourful garments. In my opinion, it is a

very special collection consisting of both long and short gowns in all kinds

of colours and a unique design. A collection that you could say is inspired of

both the east and the west.

I couldn’t resist trying out two very sexy, long dresses and I could easily

have brought both back home with me. Asking about the price range, I was

surprised as her price range is quite modest, starting from about 6,500 baht

and up to around 22,000 baht for a long dress.

When the Ball season starts again come the autumn, I can warmly

recommend a visit to Fine. You will be impressed when you see the

presentation at her showroom. I asked if she is doing a lot of advertising as

she is a bit hidden, you don’t just happen to pass by her atelier. Fine replied:

“No, I haven’t yet; it has been growing by word-of-mouth.”

Iron Balls

I

can also tell a secret, I have promised to help Fine with her very first

fashion show taking place in September, just you wait and see…!

Early evening has arrived when I told the photographer: “Time for

our last

Stop, let’s go for a gin at IRON BALLS!”

This unique bar is located on Sukhumvit Soi 63 (Ekkamai). I have only

been there twice, but love the atmosphere. The owner is Australian and first

he only wanted to distil his own gin, but learned that to be able to do so,

he had to open a bar. When you’re longing to making a top class gin is big,

yes why not open a bar, if that gives you permission to distil? The decision

was taken and Iron Balls opened up. It’s the most cosy, crazy little bar where

you can see the shiny cupper distil equipment, the designed gin bottles and

much more fun curiosa. My favourite place is on the tiny balcony, there only

2 old armchairs find space. Here you have a view over the bar and its guests

coming and going.

The bar opened up 2 ½ years ago and the man in charge, the distiller, is

Khun Nalin from Sri Lanka. I asked if the visitors are mainly Thais or foreigners

and Nalin answered: “ 50/50.”

Almost every evening you can meet khun Sopida Pachana there and we

asked what her interest in the bar is. She smiled and said: “This has become

my second home and I am here almost every evening, but don’t think I’m

an alcoholic now. I just love the atmosphere and I always take my friends

and visitors here.”

Nalin learned how to distil gin in Thailand and he said it takes about

2-3 weeks before the gin is ready. Their gin has a very smooth taste and we

learned that the juniper berries are imported from Australia.

The bar is opened every evening, best customer days are Friday - Sunday

and the customers are not really the young hip hop girls and boys, more like

me and Daniel, middle age or maybe I should say “people in their best age”.

What a day!

May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 21


มุมภาษาไทย l mum pha:să: thai l Thai Language Corner

Thai in Stickness

and in Health

By Klavs Johansen (thai@snakthai.dk)

No, despite the headline, we will

not discuss Thai matrimony, not

this time at least, but rather

pick up from our last month’s

recommendation of health

insurance (make sure to have one!) and look

at some useful words and phrases pertaining

to health สุขภาพ / sùkkhàphâ:p / and staying

healthy รักษาสุขภาพ / ráksă: sùkkhàphâ:p / in

Thailand. As usual, we can only cover but a few.

Just like in English, a polite question when

meeting up with someone could be

สบายดีไหม / sàba:i di: mái / ~ how are you,

are you well?

The normal reply is

สบายดี / sàba:i di: / ~ I am fine, to be well,

while

ไม่สบาย / mâi sàba:i / ~ I am not well, to be

sick, fortunately is less common and immediately

produces a เป็นอะไรหรือ / pen àrai rŭe: / ~ what

is it, is something wrong?

Having heard the complaint, ไปหาหมอหรือยัง /

pai hă: mŏr: rŭe: yang / ~ have you been to see

the doctor (or not yet)? is a frequent response

from the sympathetic listener. Depending on the

ailment, another response could be กินยาหรือยัง /

kin ya: rŭe: yang / or, the more formal version,

ทานยาหรือยัง / tha:n ya: rŭe: yang / ~ have you

taken medicine (or not yet)?

To be outright ill is ป่วย / pùai / and, as we saw

with the question เป็นอะไร / pen àrai /, the verb to

use when having some illness is เป็น / pen /, e.g.

เป็นหวัด / pen wàt / ~ to have a cold, or

เป็นไข้ / pen khâi / ~ to have fever.

22 ScandAsia.Thailand • May 2016

Other symptoms อาการ / a:ka:n / are:

เจ็บ / jèp / ~ to hurt [from exterior or

interior cause], e.g.

เจ็บนิ้ว / jèp nío / ~ the finger hurts, and

เจ็บคอ / jèp khor: / ~ (to have a) sore throat,

ปวด / pùat / ~ to ache, to be in pain [generally

from some interior cause], as in

ปวดหัว / pùat hŭa / ~ (to have a) headache,

ปวดท้อง / pùat thór:ng / ~ (to have a)

stomachache, and

ปวดฟัน / pùat fan / ~ (to have a) toothache,

แสบ / sàe:p / ~ to sting, to smart, e.g.

แสบตา / sàe:p ta: / ~ having irritated eyes,

คัน / khan / ~ to itch, for example

คันหู / khan hŭ: / ~ the ear is itching,

อาการคลื่นไส้ / a:ka:n khlûe:n sâi / ~ nausea,

อ้วก / ûak / ~ throw up, or, as the doctor

would put it, อาเจียน / a:jian / ~ to vomit,

เวียนหัว / wian hŭa / ~ to be dizzy.

Some often heard of diseases โรค / rô:k / in

Thailand are:

ไข้หวัด / khâi wàt / ~ common cold,

ไข้หวัดใหญ่ / khâi wàt yài / ~ influenza,

ปอดบวม / pòr:t buam / ~ pneumonia,

ไข้ป่า / khâi pà: / ~ malaria (literally ‘jungle

fever’), and

ไข้เลือดออก / khâi lûeat òr:k ~ dengue fever.

Again, these diseases may be preceded by

เป็น / pen / to convey the meaning that someone

suffers the disease in question. Another word

used with contagious diseases is ติด / tìt / as in

ติดเชื้อไวรัส / tìt chúea wairát / ~ to have a virus.

The word for infection is อักเสบ / àksè:p / as in

คออักเสบ / khor: àksè:p / ~ tonsillitis

(inflammation of the throat).

Arguably the most common ailment is known

as

ท้องเสีย / thór:ng sĭa / ~ stomach upset,

which generally implies

ท้องร่วง / thór:ng rûang / ~ diarrhea.

Turning to injuries อาการบาดเจ็บ / a:ka:n bà:t

jèp / and accidents อุบัติเหตุ / ùbàttìhè:t /, we get:

ขาหัก / khă: hàk / ~ broken leg,

แขนหัก / khăe:n hàk / ~ broken arm,

กระดูกหัก / kràdù:k hàk / ~ broken bone,

บาดเจ็บ / bà:t jèp / ~ to be wounded,

บาดแผล / bà:t phlăe: / ~ wounds,

เลือดออก / lûeat òr:k / ~ to bleed (blood type

is หมู่เลือด / mù: lûeat / by the way),

สลบ / sàlòp / ~ to faint, to be unconscious.

Last, but not least, following this long list of

sufferings, the chance of staying healthy in the

first place is increased by eating fruits กินผลไม้ /

kin phŏnlámá:i /, drinking plenty of water กิน

น้ำาเยอะแยะ / kin ná:m yóe› yáe› / and getting

enough sleep นอนให้อิ่ม / nor:n hâi ìm /, while,

once struck, you may cure รักษาให้หาย / ráksă:

hâi hă:i / yourself with medicine ยา / ya: / as in

ยาแก้ปวด / ya: kâe: pùat / ~ painkillers, and

ยาแก้อักเสบ / ya: kâe: àksè:p / ~ antibiotics.

รักษาสุขภาพดีๆนะครับ / ráksă: sùkkhàphâ:p

di: di: ná› khráp / ~ stay healthy, and see you at

the Thai Language Corner on Facebook or here

again next month!


Ria Bintan Golf, Kepri Island

No. GF-37

May 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 23


Planning your future for you and

your loved ones. Together.

At SEB Private Banking, we acknowledge that everyone has a unique set of challenges.

We concentrate on developing meaningful, long-lasting financial relationships and

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To find out what we can do for your personal wealth,

contact us in Singapore on +65 63 57 08 95

or via singapore@sebprivatebanking.com.sg

sebgroup.lu/privatebanking

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