ScandAsia Thailand

FEB 2012

Thailand

Danish Nurses

Trained More Swedish in Thailand

Schools in Thailand

Remarkable Turn-Around page 28-29

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

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Coming Events

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ScandAsia

Magazine

in Thailand

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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:

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Bangkok 10230, Thailand

Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8,

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E-mail: news@scandasia.com

Editor-in-Chief :

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Advertising :

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Piyanan Kalikanon

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Nordic Young

Professionals

Night Out

Date: 24 February 2012

Kick off the first Nordic Young Professionals

Night Out for 2012. Enjoy buffet,

drinks and chat with your Scandinavian

Friends in Bangkok. The date will be 24

February 2012.

Venue and more info will be announced at

www.dancham.or.th.

DWN Fastelavn


Danish Women’s Network in Bangkok will organize the

Danish traditional “Fastelavn” on 19 February 2012. Children

will enjoy fantasy costume and adorable makeup. You

will meet many characters from famous films. Meanwhile

parents will have an opportunity to share experience with

others parents. For more information, please contact dwnbkk@gmail.com.

DanCham Annual

General Meeting


Location: The Ambassador’s Residence

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce invites members

to The Annual General Meeting following by Darden

Dinner at the Ambassador’s Residence on 29 February

2012. Only members are invited and registration is a

must to contact@dancham.or.th. Official invitation will

be sent out to member shortly and more info will be

founded at www.dancham.or.th.

Graphic Designer :

Supphathada Numamnuay

supphathada@scandmedia.com

Distribution :

Pimjai Chaimongkol

pimjai@scandmedia.com

Printing :

Lake & Foundtain Printing Co., Ltd.

Daily news and

features here:

www.scandasia.com

SSS Golf Match

Against British Club

Date: 3 March 2012

Location: Thana City Golf & Sports Club

Scandinavian Society Golf Club in corporation with The

British Club organizes the special golf match between

Scandinavian and British on 3 March 2012 at Thana City

Golf & Sport Club. Guarantee a great fun match! Registration

could be founded at www.zabaigolf.com.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY

Opening of the European Asean Business Centre

The European ASEAN Business Centre (EABC)

was officially launched in Bangkok on Wednesday

18 January 2012 at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit,

The Ballroom.

This opening was hosted by the EABC President Mr.

Rolf-Dieter Daniel and presided over by the EU Ambassador

to Thailand H.E. David Lipman and Minister for

Foreign Affairs Dr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul on behalf

of the Prime Minister H.E. Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra.

The mission of EABC is to represent a unified and

comprehensive voice of European businesses in Thailand.

The EABC will work towards increasing European

companies - especially SME’s - trade and investment

trade in Thailand and improving the working conditions

for the companies already established here.

The voice of the EABC will have considerable

weight. It comes with an official mandate of the European

Union. It is backed by the existing Chambers of

Commerce for Germany, Belgian & Luxembourg, Britain,

Denmark, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland,

Italy, Norway and Sweden. And the Embassies of the EU

Member States in Thailand are linked in as partners of

the centre.

The EABC main activities include carrying out of

advocacy – drafting and disseminating joint European

industry position papers and supporting European businesses

with trade related information. In cooperation

with its stakeholders EABC will be organising European

wide events to foster European businesses in Thailand.

Eight sector specific working groups have been established

for the following sectors: Automotive, Food &

Beverages, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, ICT, Insurance,

Intellectual Property Rights and Transport & Logistics.

A key cross-sectoral issues working group including a.o

financial issues facing investors, manufacturers and associated

suppliers in Thailand is named the “Horizontal”

working group.

Membership

European companies or European business interestdriven

companies have the right and are invited to be

members of EABC. The members are encouraged to

take active part in trade advocacy working groups.

EABC will facilitate its members throughout the

development of ideas and thoughts that establish the

European business position on relevant matters in each

industry by:

a) aiding and facilitating the development of trade and

commerce in Thailand through activities aimed at improving

the business environment and the removal or

reduction of regulatory and other political obstacles;

b) collecting, developing and disseminating relevant information

to the stakeholders and the Advocacy working

groups;

c) organising and holding conferences and seminars and

other such meetings as may be considered desirable to

promote the interests of the EABC;

d) communicating with the Thai Government and its

various ministries and agencies to facilitate the conduct

of business in Thailand by EABC stakeholders and members;

e) providing industry inputs for the formulation of EC

positions and suggesting priorities for trade policy negotiations

with Thailand and ASEAN members. Working

closely with the EC-led Market Access Teams in Thailand

as well as supporting the activities of the EUD and

the governments of the EU member states and their

respective institutions pursuing objectives to the benefit

of EABC.

6 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2012

Networking with Swedish Students at

the Huntsman’s Pub

The Thai Swedish Chamber of Commerce were

back in usual style at the Networking Evening

at the Huntsman’s Pub, Landmark Hotel on

Thursday 12 January, sharing views and exchanging

information in the usual friendly atmosphere.

This particular night, the first rounds of wine,

beer, soft drinks and snacks for the evening were

kindly sponsored by University of Boras. The University

ofg Boras is working closely with the Asian Institute

of Technology and other universities in Thailand

exchanging students and faculty members.

Many professors and students had joined and

seemed eager to get to know the Swedish businessmen

in town. Most of these talented students were

available for internship in the members’ company so

there was also good reason for the bussinessmen to

mingle with them before others had been there and

made appointments already.

Scandinavian Society Christmas Greeting

On Christmas Eve, the Scandinavian Sopciety

Siam hosted a small “Merry Christmas Reception”

after the service in Christ Church

on Convent Road.

The event is a dear old tradition for Scandinavian

residents in Bangkok. This year, ScanDeli’s Goran

Nyhlen was in charge of the food - which quickly ran

out - and the wine and soft drinks of which there was

luckily plenty. And anyway, who can be grumpy on a

Christmas Eve?


Remarkable Nordic Networking with dtac

On 24 January 2012, dtac - or to be precise

Total Access Communication PCL - gave

a warm welcome to memers of Nordic

Chambers in Thailand. About 100 members and

guests gathered at the 38 th floor of Chamchuri

Square, home of dtac.

Mr. Axel Blom, President of Thai-Norwegian

Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the guests

and thanked dtac for inviting the Nordic Chamber

to such a wonderful networking tonight. Then

Mr. Jon Eddy Abdullah, CEO of dtac, presented

the description of the business situation, the current

mobile market, consumer analysis, and future

accomplishment.

After his presentation, participants were invited

to step up to the open-air bar that was connected

to the meeting room. The light wind, the

top view of Bangkok’s night skyline, the free flow

of drinks and finger foods and the soft acoustic

jazz music by Trio Band made the night an evening

to remember. Enjoy high resolution picture

click here.

Total Access Communication PCL was established

in 1989. Telenor became a shareholder

in 2001 and introduced the brand name dtac.

The company offers a full range of mobile phone

services to its customers through contract and

prepaid tariff plans. Currently, dtac is the second

largest mobile operator in Thailand.

February 2012 • ScandAsia.Thailand 9

ScandAsia News Brief

Nordic

Countries

Increase Green

Energy Funding

in the Mekong

Region

Finland will double its support for green

energy projects in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam

and Cambodia from 4.9 mil. Euro

to 9.1 mil. Euro. Finnish Ambassador to Thailand,

H.E. Mrs. Sirpa Mäenpää, made the announcement

on 31 January 2012 at the 2nd

Regional Annual Forum of The Energy and

Environment Partnership Programme in the

Mekong Region (EEP Mekong) held in Bangkok.

Ambassador Sirpa Mäenpää said the

programme had been approved for another

three year period and that the Ministry for

Foreign Affairs of Finland has budgeted Euro

9.1 m for the 2013 - 2016 extension.

At the forum, also the Nordic Development

Fund confirmed the extension of the

program and its intend to provide the additional

funds.

The Energy and Environment Partnership

Programme was launched in 2009 by the Ministry

for Foreign Affairs of Finland with support

from NDF, the Nordic Development Fund,

also sponsored by Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and

Sweden. During the first phase of the programme

that runs till this year the donors have allocated

a budget of Euro 7,9 million. To date, more than

thirty projects in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and

Vietnam have benefited from the funds.

The Forum in Bangkok was held for project

managers, equipment suppliers, NGO’s and financiers

to find ways to overcome the common

challenge to find funds to carry through promising

projects that - if successful - may be copied by

others and implemented elsewhere in the region.

“Positive results cannot be sustained without

resources”, the ambassador pointed out being

pleased to see that EEP Forum is touching on this

important issue.

Focus of the conference is to engage government

experts from all four Mekong countries,

NGOs and private sectors companies - project

developers, equipment suppliers, financiers and

others – in dealing with energy and environment

issues and clean energy projects financing in combining

traditional and new financing instruments.

From left to right, Ms.Kati Veijonen, Counsellor Embassy of Finland;

Ms. Marita Meranto, Regional Manager; Mr.Helge Semb,

Managing Director NDF; H.E. Sirpa Maenpaa, Ambassador of Finland to

Thailand, Dr. Hannu Eerola, Program Manager, Nordic Development Fund;

and Dr. Ludovic Lacrosse, Chief Technical Advisor EEP

Mr. Hannu Eerola, Country Programme

Manager of the Nordic Development Fund

said in his address to the forum delegates on

Wednesday that further NDF finance instruments

are also available.

“The Nordic Climate Facility (NCF) is

a possible instrument of funding challenging

and innovative climate change approaches”,

Mr. Eerola says.

“NCF might be beneficial to both the

projects in the sector of climate change

and the donor countries, as the instrument

is facilitating the exchange of technology,

know-how and innovative ideas between the

Nordic countries and the countries of the

Mekong Region.”

Interested project developers may inquire

whether their projects are eligible for

funding by contacting Dr. Ludovic Lacrosse,

Chief Technical Advisor of the Regional Office

of the EEP Mekong in Bangkok. E-mail :

eepmekong@eepmekong.org.

SAS Most Punctual Airline - Again

Scandinavian Airlines won again this year

- punctualy - the award as Europe’s

most punctual airline.

Out of SAS’ 239,320 flights in 2011,

208,972 arrived on time. The arrival statistics

for 2011 is also an improvement of 2010’s

punctuality of 86.47%. In 2009, SAS’ punctuality

record was 89.83% and in 2008 it was

83.92%


New Swedish

Drama Series

Takes Place in Thailand

A

new Swedish drama series, “30 Degress in

February”, about Swedes leaving their home

country to seek happiness in Thailand, has

started being aired on SVT.

The series follows different Swedes coming

to Thailand for their own specific reason: Joys and

Wildas mother, Kajsa, gets rid of job and house and

buys a Bungalow Resort in Thailand. The goal for the

small family is to get happier and stop fighting, but

when they arrive they meet another Swedish family

who claim they bought the same Resort.

The series also follow Majlis who loves Thailand,

as intense as her husband Bengt hates it. After vacationing

in Thailand Majlis suggests that the couple

should stay there, retire and live on Bengt’s retirement

money. Bengt is not happy about the idea and

so the drama begins.

Glenn is 45 years old and his dream is ordinary

- a family. But the women in Sweden do not recognize

a good man. But in Thailand Glenn is sure he

will fulfill his dream.

All the destinies in the series believe that happiness

is somewhere out there and that it is possible

to grasp. Perhaps naively, but the journey exposes

them to the challenges and conflicts they would

never have met in Sweden. “30 degrees in February”

is an emotional drama with excitement, love

and warmth mixed with comedic elements.

Readers with SVT subscription are able to watch

the series directly via satellite.

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AD_ScandAsiaThailand_Ingemar_192x135_eng.indd 1 13/09/2011 13:45

ScandAsia News Brief

A Proud Moment for the Father

of Thailand’s Dairy Industry

The Danish agronomist, Mr. Gunnar Søndergaard was

January 11 2012 honored at the National Dairy Fair

held at at the Dairy Farming Promotion Organization of

Thailand´s headquarters in Muak Lek District, Saraburi Province.

Mr. Søndergaard received a wristband in gold, at gift from

the staff at the Thai-Danish dairy farm. The gift was presented

by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

His his outstanding effort for Thailand is in helping to establish

the Thai-Danish farm in the 1960’s. The farm was funded

by Danish Agricultural Promotion Board and the project

brought modern dairy technology to Thailand, paid scholarships

for Thai dairy technicians to be trained in Denmark and

made Danish genetic material the foundation of a new, high

yielding milking cow stock in Thailand.

Mr. Søndergaard´s three sons, his daughter, his sister and

grandchildren witnessed the honourable moment in the huge

tent in Muak Lek.

After the ceremony Mr. Søndergaard continued his work

for the Thai dairy industry as he presented the Soendergaard

Award to members of the Thai-Danish farm, whom had performed

with excellence during 2011.

Mr. Søndergaard is already elevated to Commander of the

Most Admirable Order of Direkgunabhorn, Thailand’s highest

possible order for a non-Thai citizen. Also the Order of the

White Elephant was received previously.

Thai Airways to Start Direct

Route Between Phuket and

Stockholm

Thai Airways starts direct flights from Stockholm (Arlanda)

to Phuket from the 1st of November 2012. The

new route is good news to the many Swedes who each

year travel to Phuket and those who use Phuket as a stop before

the journey continues to the very popular Phi Phi Islands.

The departure will be every Thursday and Saturday. The

time of departure is 20:45 from Arlanda Airport and the flight

number of flightTG963. That basically means that there will be

two aircraft from Thai Airways taking off from Arlanda every

Thursday and Saturday.


A chance to completely unwind and enjoy the serene

scenery found on Koh Phangan and in

Salad Buri

Resort & Spa

Salad Buri Resort & Spa

60/2 Moo 8, Haad Salad, Koh Phangan, Suratthani 84280 Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 77 349 146, +66 (0) 77 349 147 / Fax: +66 (0) 77 349 148

Email: saladburi@yahoo.com / www.saladburi.com


Danish

Nursing

Students at

Ramathibodi

Hospital

Students from Danish nursing

schools work regularly as trainees

in Bangkok at Ramathibodi

Hospital, a hospital related to

Mahidol University. The nurses

are supervised by Clinical

Instructor Bualuang Sumdaengrit,

who has trained Thai nurses for

10 years and foreign exchange

students for two years.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

Photos by Disraporn Yatprom

The three Danish students

currently working

as interns in Bangkok

are Nora, Mai and

Therese – all between

21 and 24 years old and here in

Thailand for various reasons.

”I have been backpacking in

Thailand before I started studying

to become a nurse”, says Nora who

studies in Copenhagen.

“I knew that i would like to be

a trainee outside Denmark. For me

Thailand was a natural choice because

I already knew about the culture

from my travelling and i wanted

to know more,” Nora explains.

Mai is studying in Roskilde and

her way to Ramathibodi Hospital

was more coincidental.

”There was an opening due to

a cancellation and I asked if I could

go. I am born in Korea and has always

wanted to try to work in Asia

sometime, now seems to be a good

time”, Mai says.

Therese has known for long

time that she wanted to go, since

she started her studies in Odense,

she was on the waiting list for a

trainee ship in Thailand.

”I wanted to have this cultural

experience as Denmark is increasingly

getting a multicultural society.

The experience I get here in Thailand

will be valuable for me when I

go back to work at a Danish hospital,”

she says.

The appointed supervisor for

the three Danish nurses is Clinical

Instructor Khun Bualuang Sumdaengrit,

Ramathibodi Hospital.

”I have worked with education

of Thai nurses for 10 years now and

two years with foreign exchange

students,” Khun Bualuang says.

“I really like working with western

nurse students, they are more

focused on ethical questions compared

to Thai students. But they are

less skilled when it comes to dose

medicine and to work with instruments”,

Khun Bualuang says.

Some differences

Nora believes that there is not too

much difference between the tasks

of nurses in Denmark and in Thai-


One lesson learned by all of

them is the big difference

in the approach to being

busy. None of the Danish

students have seen or heard

Thai nurses complain about

working hard. It seems that

the Thai nurses appreciate

that they are lucky to be

able to work as nurses.

When it comes to terminally ill patients, we would never keep

the truth away from them in Denmark, but in Thailand it is quite

normal. The family is often informed before the patient,” says Mai

land, but some of the differences

in culture are seen in the methods

used in the two countries, like the

way the nurses communicate with

the patients. Here in Thailand it

seems that the nurses are more

talking to than talking with the patient

compared to Denmark, she

says.

This is acknowledged by Mai as

well.

”Sometimes the relatives are

the first to be informed about the

condition of the patient; that would

never happen in Denmark where

the patient is the first to know,” says

Mai. She has seen terminal patients

unaware of their condition.

She adds that the Thai nurses

seems more skilled in basic jobs

like injections and medicine dosing.

Danish nurses are expected to learn

this after graduation when working

at a hospital.

Therese thinks that the differences

are significant, including the

corporate culture.

”Thai nurses seems to be more

relaxed and informal in their interaction,

the culture seems less competitive

than in Denmark,” Therese

says.

She mentions that the organisation

of the work is different here,

more specialized with one nurse

measuring pulse and blood pressure,

another giving medicine etc.

In Denmark the nurse is the key

person for the patient taking care

of most details in nursing. She also

thinks that the Thai nurses seems

to be higher educated when working

at the hospital, maybe due to

the difference in the education. In

Denmark it take only three years to

become a nurse against four years

in Thailand including two years work

at a hospital.

”The two years practical training

gives the nurses some skills we

don´t get at home”, Therese says.

Much more antibiotics but

less painkillers

Nora tells that antibiotics are much

more frequent given to patients

here, even patients with no need

for this are giving penicillin. She has

asked her teacher if they are not

concerned about resistance from

the bacteria but she was told that

they just order another antibiotics if

resistance is found. Much different

from Denmark, she says.

In Denmark it is regarded as

important that patients are treated

against any pain. The scale for pain

goes from 1 to 10 and here it is not

uncommon to find patients scoring

6 on the scale, still they are not

given painkillers. Pain is much more

accepted here as part of a disease.

Lessons learned

All three Danish nurse students

agree that they have learned a valuable

lesson here in Thailand.

”I have learned that there are

several ways to perform and still be

a good nurse. I have been working

with children here in a much different

way than we do at home, but

the children are as nice and wonderful

as the kids at home, different

treatment can give same result”,

Nora says.

Mai thinks that focusing on basic

skills has learned her much more

than she would have been able to

learn at home.

Therese likes the way Thais

seems to observe the patient and

to make decisions based on observations.

In Denmark most decisions

are founded in statistics and literature,

but she has learned that the individual

treatment can be beneficial.

Also her understanding of cultural

differences are much better now,

she tells.

The main lesson

One lesson learned by all of them

is the big difference in the approach

to being busy working. None of the

Danish students have seen or heard

Thai nurses complain about working

hard. It seems that the Thai nurses

are very happy to be able to work

as nurses and appreciates that they

are lucky to be able to do so. In

Denmark complaining about how

busy work can be at the hospital is

much more common, they tell.


My Wife Took My Son

Preben Pretzmann

has a problem. His

ex-wife took their

son to stay with her

in the USA and there

seems to be nothing

he can do about it.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

Around 15 years

ago Danish Preben

Pretzmann visited Thailand.

He met a Thai

woman, fell in love and

the couple went to Denmark to get

married and to stay. Two years later,

the couple relocated to Thailand and

set up the FBI Udon Real Estate business

in Udon Thani. It was a happy

time, according to Mr. Pretzmann. A

few years after arriving in Thailand

they had a son, the business was

growing and things went well for the

couple. But the happy time came to

an end, and around three years ago

they agreed on a divorce. The divorce

was managed without much fighting

and disagreement.

As the couple was married in

Denmark they had to get married in

Thailand before a divorce could be

granted in Thailand according to the

Thai law. They married on one day

and got the divorce on the next.

“While we were getting the

divorce she asked me if I agreed

that my son could live in her

house, which I confirmed,” says Mr.

Pretzmann. All documents were

signed and the divorce was in effect.

The ex-wife moved from the

house into another house only 500

meters away and their son could

come and see both his parents as

he wished.

Trouble started

About one year ago, Mr. Pretzmann´s

ex-wife met another man, an American,

and she decided to relocate to

the USA. She asked her sister, who

also lives in the neighborhood, to

take care of the boy while she was

visiting the States. But she forgot to

tell Mr. Pretzmann about it.

“When I found out about this

arrangement I was quite disappointed

and my son was not happy

to live together with his aunt, so he

moved back home to live with me,”

says Preben Pretzmann.

Mr. Pretzmann contacted a lawyer

who discovered that when the

couple had divorced Mr. Pretzmann

had not only accepted that their son

should stay with his mother, he had

also accepted that his ex-wife had

the full custody of their son.

“I was quite shocked,” he tells.

But according to his lawyer Mr.

Pretzmann was entitled to take

action because the mother had

fled the country leaving Preben

Pretzmann as the person in charge.

The son now lived together

with his father and Mr. Pretzmanns

daughter from a previous marriage

back in Denmark who had stayed

with him throughout the marriage

and the time after the divorce. It

was a good family life, according to

Mr. Pretzmann.

“Then one Friday afternoon my

phone rang, it was my ex-wife calling

from the US telling me that her

sister was to come and pick up our

son,” says Preben Pretzmann.

He told her that he would not

allow it.

Mr. Pretzmann did seek advice

at the Danish Embassy. He tells that

they warned him about not to let

the aunt take care of the boy.

“This is simply wrong as you can

not transfer the parental rights to

a third party, in this case the sister.

When my wife is not in Thailand, I

am the one in charge of my son. I

am very disappointed that the Em-

Then one

Friday

afternoon my

phone rang, it

was my ex-wife

calling from

the US telling

me that her

sister was to

come and pick

up our son.


Away

bassy gave me incorrect information

and bad advice instead of helping

me,” he says.

What the ex-wife did not

know was that Mr. Pretzmann had

brought the matter about custody

to the court of Udon Thani.

Mr. Pretzmann had asked the

court to make it impossible for

the son to travel outside Thailand

until the case was over. The judge

refused to do so as Mr. Pretzmann

could not present hard proof that

the mother was planning to take

their son out of Thailand.

Armed police in the house

Less than one hour from the

phone call of the ex-wife, armed

police came to the home of Mr.

Pretzmann. Eight policemen in total.

The police officer in charge told

Mr. Pretzmann that he would be

charged for kidnapping his son.

“I called my lawyer and told him

what was going on. He was able to

convince the police that they did

not have to arrest me,” he says.

One of the police officers interviewed

the son and asked him if he

would like to go and live in the US

with his mother. The boy told the

police that he did not wanted to go

but wanted to stay in Udon Thani

with his father and his sister, according

to Preben Pretzmann.

“The policeman then picked up

a mobile phone and called my exwife

in the US. He forced my son to

take the phone and my son talked

to his mother for nearly one hour.

At some point my ex-wife asked my

son about something which my son

confirmed. I don´t know what the

question was, but at the moment my

son confirmed the question, the policeman

said: ´Listen now, your son

wants to stay with his mother´ and in

a hurry my son was taken out of the

house and into a police car,” he says.

Mr. Pretzmann has been seeking

advice at the Danish Embassy when

his son moved back into his home.

They warned him about not to let

the aunt take care of the boy, he tells.

“This is simply wrong as you can

not transfer the parental rights to

a third party, in this case the sister.

When my wife is not in Thailand, I am

the one in charge of my son. I am very

disappointed that the Embassy gave

me incorrect information and bad advice

instead of helping me,” he says.

Meanwhile, the police was still

waiting for a conclusion on the case

and Preben Pretzmann’s lawyer advised

him to drop the legal battle to

get the custody of his son.

With no support to be found

from any other party, Mr. Pretzmann

felt that he had no other option than

to do as the police told him to do.

Held a Danish passport

The boy holds both a Thai and a

Danish passport, and when he left

for the US he travelled on his Danish

passport. Doing so the ex-wife

was, however, not able to get a

permanent stay for the boy as the

US authorities asked for a signature

from the father. She then made a

U-turn into Thailand together with

the boy in order to travel back into

the US on the Thai passport.

“After three month my ex-wife

called me. She and our son was in

Thailand and she offered me to see

my son during the weekend which I

did. We had a great time together.

(,) but I got sad when I learned that

my son lives under difficult circumstances.

He has not his own room,

he sleeps in the same room as his

mother and her husband. Where

they live, you need a car to get

around, but can not afford to have

one. The only way I can contact my

son is through his mother on Facebook.

I really don't feel comfortable

about this situation. And my son

told me that he would rather live in

Udon with me and his sister,” Preben

Pretzmann says.

Eventually, with neither his son

or his ex-wife living in Thailand, Mr.

Pretzmann decided to withdraw the

case at the Udon court.

Preben Pretzmann thinks that

he will most likely not get to see his

son again until the boy gets older,

maybe 16-18 years old, and on his

own initiative contacts his father. He

hopes that the boy will find his father

on the Internet and send him

an email and that Mr. Pretzmann will

then get the chance to send him a

ticket to Thailand.

“When I look back I made a big

mistake about not having the divorce

documents translated before

signing. It was a huge mistake. If I

knew that my son was well and lived

under good conditions in the US, I

guess that I would be able to accept

the situation not living near him. But

as it is, I feel this is a very bad situation,”

Preben Pretzmann says.


The Wilderness and Th

In this second article about the Norwegian

explorer and scientist Carl Bock we follow

his journey to the North of what is now

Thailand.

By Flemming Winther Nielsen

Carl Bock left Bangkok

the 9 th of November

1881. A river steamer

provided by the King

took him to Nakhon

Sawan, - Pak Nam Pho. Captain

Andreas Richelieu of The Royal

Thai Navy was in command, so our

explorer was in professional hands.

It took four days to cover the 250

kilometers. The ship did 6 miles per

hour but the current mounted to 4.

The journey became monotonous

and – unless you are a devoted

botanicus – it really is. Your outlook

from water level + 20 cm’s is

limited to the banks of the river with

their vegetation, maybe a croc now

then, a village is passed. No horizon

is visible. So, 6 miles forward but the

current sets you 4 back; sometimes

miles are longer than sometimes.

Years later, the railway reached

Nakhon Sawan town where the waters,

River Ping and River Nan with

their tributaries meet. That happened

in 1905 and from then on, miles were

miles and the importance of the rivers

started to decline.

North from Pak Nam Pho

– and no money

When Bock arrived Pak Nam Pho,

the comfort of the journey ended.

He hired small boats and crew to

take him up River Ping towards Chiang

Mai and beyond. It was hard

work from the beginning. The crews

were not willing to travel north of

their own district, new men were

to be hired. Boats were lost in the

cataracts and some of the men simply

ran away.

Finally the strong and stubborn

Mr. Bock reached the provincial

town he calls ‘Raheng’, it must

be the town and province today

known as Tak.

Tak town, beautifully situated

by the river, is approximately 360

kilometers NNW of Bangkok. It was

then the real border town between

Siamese and Lao territory and Carl

Bock arrived up here the 10th of

December 1881.

As mentioned in the first article

Official photo, 1884.

published in December 2011, Bock

was equipped with Letters of Introduction

from the King and these still

worked. He got a warm reception

by the governor and was provided

with 6 elephants for the journey

onwards. Bock toured town and

got impressed by the intense gambling,

mostly with cards, here there

and everywhere. Even children and

grandmothers participated – a tradition

well-known to this day.

It is a reliable sign of sovereignty

that the country’s currency is accepted

on the market. Although

still – in principle - on Siamese soil;

just a few kilometers north of Tak,

around 20 o N. laterals, our traveler

learned that the Ticals or Bahts of

Siam were no longer current currency

and could not be used. He

was on Laotian territory. Here, only

Rupees of British Burma were valid.

This of course also caused trouble.

Furthermore the reception

from the Laotian Princes along the

route, although allied with Siam, became

lukewarm even hostile. The

small courts used the old tricks of

holding him back for a period, for

example by arranging prolonged

parties or create ‘misunderstandings’

between him and some more

or less noble. They undoubtedly

wanted to show that they, not the

Siamese King, had the power over

this foreigners schedule and travel.

Elephants taking a break outside the Missionary Hall in Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai and beyond

It would be much too extensive and

beyond the scope of these articles

to describe all Bocks writings about

daily life and culture among the

Laotian, Shan, Karen people north

of Siam. Therefore only that he in

the rather small but more developed

principality of Chiang Mai established

a fruitful contact with the

Siamese Deputy Commissioner.

The commissioner himself had

got himself so hated, that he had

been called back to Bangkok. Many

people came to Bock, expressing

their grievances over him, especially

over his ‘loose justice towards Laotians

and Burmese people’, wanting

only that a British Consul would be

appointed. It should be noted that

the Burmese were British subjects

under British jurisdiction.

The Chiang Mai Royal House

was ailing and the Siamese ready for

a full take over. Officially the principality

had been affiliated with Siam

since 1774.

Of course also The American

Mission was visited and Bock is well

aware of the importance of this hastily

expanding institution, especially in

the field of providing medical care –

although he suggests that the motives

of the many sisters and nurses might

not be totally altruistic but more “for

ladies with whom, for instance, the

course of love has not run smooth,

and who are willing to seek solace in

devoting themselves to a good work

far away from the scene of their disappointments”

(p. 223), a bit venomous

our scientist can be.

Then what we now call ‘The

Golden Triangle’ was travelled and

Bock visited the beautiful Pau, as

one of the first Europeans ever.

His book has many interesting ethnological

drawings from these areas.

Up here, no Siamese or their

rules were seen. But then he turned

south and hastily travelled back to

Bangkok, where he arrived 14th of

June 1882.

Bock had a farewell audience

with the King. He showed all his

drawings and the King asked in dept

about various matters up North.

Again, Bock writes with admiration

about the King’s noble character and

about his aspirations and achievements.

Finally Bock was invited to

visit the Royal Harem, a very honorable

farewell present.

Perspective

As we know it was a narrow escape

for Siam not to be swallowed up

by the British and French Empires,

especially around the time of the

Paknam incident in 1893. Not so

known is that the Siam of the delta

and Bangkok was itself very expansive

too, but ‘internal’ so to speak.

By then the northern frontiers


e Power

Sources:

BOCK, CARL (1884) :

‘Temples and Elephants’

(Oxford University Press, 1986)

Wat Chedi Luang in the centre of the

old ruined city of Chiang Saen, which

Bock visited on his travels.

SEIDENFADEN, ERIK (1999) :

‘Det Kongelige Siamesiske

Provinsgendarmeri og dets

danshe Officier’

(Poul Kristensens Forlag, 1999)

ran along a line around 20 o N. lat.

from Tak, north of Sukothai, Phitsanulok

to around Phetchabun. To the

east Korat, Nakhon Ratchachima, was

the border, then some Lao townships

and the vast area they named

‘Kmer Wilderness’. Nowadays called

Esaan, no natural resources then, no

fertile land then and now. Not inter-

esting for a power to be.

The land East of Mekong where

Siam had a foothold was conquered

land with no real relations to Siam.

This was the case for the rich

province of Burapa containing Battambang,

Srisophon and Siemriep.

In 1907 Siam had to give over the

province, inhabited by Kmer people,

Bock had a farewell audience with the

King. He showed all his drawings and

the King asked in depth about various

matters up North. Finally Bock was

invited to visit the Royal Harem, a

very honorable farewell present.

Siamese 5 Ticals banknotes - front and back - issued during the reign of Rama

V by Banque de L’Indochine, Bangkok. Siamese banknotes like these were

rejected when Bock entered Laotian territory just North of what is today Tak.

to France. This was a serious and

real loss. The city and province had

for many years been governed by a

Siamese Vice regent. The regent of

the day, Pharaya Katthathorn had to

relocate back to Siam.

To arrange this ‘trek’ became

the first major assignment of Captain

Erik Seidenfaden of ‘The Royal

Provincial Gendarmerie’. An astonishing

number of 1350, - one thousand

three hundred fifty (!) ox carts

and buffalo wagons were engaged

in the relocation of the Phraya, his

household, Siamese civil servants,

his endless belongings and gathered

wealth. All transported from Battambang

to Prachinburi in the rainy

season of 1907 – with no roads but

many rivers. Not a small job really.

Meanwhile Siam gained control

of more and more principalities to

the north, not necessarily with acceptance

or blessing of the various

peoples. It was not just blood thirst

when the Shans immediately killed

all and every person of Siamese

origin, officials and privates alike, in

the principality of Phrae where they

made their revolt in 1902.

No politics

When starting his journey Bock had

promised the Siamese government

to ‘refrain from any political allusions’

and he kept his word. But he

travelled a land where only rough

and ready borders were made and

where a political new order was

under creation. Therefore all his

‘clinical’ observations alone speak

volumes about the political development

process. Also because of

his academic references, his observations

stand and are often confirmed

by other foreign sources.

Note: To get the full story, please read

the first article in the December issue

of ScandAsia Thailand.

Prince Indavijayanond became the

ruling prince of Chiang Mai in 1873,

and was promoted to King of Chiang

Mai in 1881 by King Rama V of Siam.


Hands-on Integration

of Karen Refugees

Birgit Tybell and Annica

Alexanderson are two

Swedish enthusiasts who

have shown how innovation

and nonprofit efforts

can achieve social integration of immigrants.

The two women started

the not-for-profit company “Handtaget”

- The Handle - in Lindesberg,

a small town between Orebro and

Borlange in central Sweden - with

the purpose to create jobs for immigrants

who have fled the military

dictatorship in Burma.

“Handtaget is about Fair Trade

at home where all parties win,” the

two explains.

Immigrants are allowed to work

and pay taxes of their wages. “Paying

taxes is good for the future,”

stated the employees when they

received their first pay check.

Households too busy to take

care of certain household chores get

help with cleaning, ironing, mowing

and other household services - and

they do not have to feel guilty for

paying “black market” money.

Society wants the immigrants

integrated into the labor market

that provides tax revenue instead of

being a cost.

“And we can feel satisfaction

and pride to be able to contribute

to this,” said the two executives

who run “Handtaget” on a voluntary

basis since they retired.

“The big advantage of a small

town”

Birgit Tybell previously worked

with coordination of the newly arrived

immigrant families with children

in child care and school in

Lindesberg. Her involvement continued

after retirement - and with

the help of Birgit's large network

of contacts, many immigrants in

Lindesberg received help during

their integration phase.

“It is the great advantage of a

small community - there is a closeness

and it helps in many cases,” explains

Birgit.

Annica Alexanderson previously

worked in marketing and public

relations in a major international

company. When she reached retirement

age she saw the need to assist

the newly arrived Karen people

integrate in Lindesberg.

“But I did not really know how

to start,” says Annica who was unaware

that Birgit had similar plans.

“It was only when we met that

our business idea took shape and

we formed a joint partnership - not

to make money but to be able to

handle the administrative task of

paying bills and salaries.”

Birgit and Annica -

a successful combination

Birgit Tybell and Annica Alexanderson

was a successful combination:

“In order to package and market

such a service concept a genuine

knowledge of immigrants' possibilities

and limitations is required,” Annica

explains.

It was easier than expected to

find the right task and customers to

handle:

“The friendly attitude and high

work ethic of the Karen immigrants

has actually made them very popular

- and they want nothing more

than to work and be self-sufficient,”

says Birgit.

Birgit and Annica knew they

were willing to work and diligent -

but they had no prior work experience

after many years in refugee

camps in Thailand before coming to

Sweden.

“For them to just go and register

as unemployed doesn't work

- what should they write in their resume?”

says Birgit and Annica who

chose a different path.

“We investigated what kind of

work they could do and wanted

to work with - and, from there we

tried to find solutions.”

Have developed faster than

expected

Bsck in Burma and Thailand the men

were mainly working with growing

rice and vegetables.

“So we rented allotments of the

municipal housing company where

the Karen now grow vegetables

which they sell themselves to the

retailers in town,” says Birgit.

The women wanted to learn

how to clean a house “the Swedish


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way” - including window cleaning,

which was something completely

new for those who lived in refugee

camps with no windows.

“They learned quickly - and after

a few weeks they were out on their

first cleaning mission,” says Annica.

Since then (March 2011) the

business has evolved faster than

Birgit and Annica dared hope for -

from eight hours invoiced in March

to 425 hours in October.

And the positive trend continues.

“Our satisfied customers recommend

us to their friends and acquaintances,”

Annica says.

The timing is also right. More

and more Swedes see paying for

household chores as a convenient

way to contribute to the integration

of immigrants into society and

at the same time there are public

funds that can be applied for to help

pay the cost.

Helps the elderly- and learn

Swedish

‘Handtaget’ has already broadened

its range of services from a growing

social need - to help older people in

addition to home care.

“Older people can stay longer

in their homes if they receive help

both with housework and gardening,”

says Birgit.

“And our Karen immigrants are

trustworthy and are enjoy instinctively

talking with the elderly - it

is the best way to learn Swedish,”

adds Annica.

“Handtaget” has currently six

Karen immigrants employed on an

hourly schedule - four women and

two men - who all completed an

introductory course in Swedish.

“Ultimately this is about confidence

and trust - trust in us who

sell their services as well as trust in

our staff whom they let into their

homes,” explains Annica: “Language

difficulties can lead to misconceptions

- that we minimize, for example

by teaching our staff the basics

of how a Swedish household work.”

For ‘Handtaget’, the ultimate

ambition is that theeir staff gets so

integrated that they can find full time

employment in another company.

“Then, we will recruit some

new immigrants into our business,”

summarizes Birgit Tybell and Annica

Alexanderson.

The two enthusiastic champions

were recently recognized for their

voluntary efforts by Lindesbergs Rotary

Club. The business is also supported

by Lions Clubs in Lindesberg

and Sparbanksstiftelsen Bergslagen.

Handtaget offers:

Cleaning (weekly cleaning, autumn

/ spring-cleaning and final cleaning);

Window cleaning; Ironing;

Mowing / snow removal;

Easier repairs;

‘Handtaget’ will invoice 250 SEk per

hour, minus government support,

which means the customer will pay

only 125 SEK per hour for the services.

About the Karen people

Karen people are the largest of the

ethnic groups in Burma. The Karen

people have systematically been repressed

by the military regime since

the end of the second world war.

Karen are also found in southern

China and northern Thailand.

Since 2004, Sweden has annually

received a large number of socalled

“refugees” from Burma. Most

have been granted refugee status by

the UN for many years in refugee

camps in Thailand.

Today there are nearly 800 immigrants

scattered all over Sweden.

The Karen immigrants in Lindesberg

are from Burma and have been in

refugee camps in Thailand for 10-

15 years before they 5-6 years ago

came to Lindesberg with the help of

UNHCR.

Contact Information:

Birgit Tybell,

phone 0581-61 18:09,

070-382 20 91

Annica Alexanderson,

phone 0581-12013, 070-227 95 98

E-mail: info@handtaget.com

www.handtaget.com


Finnish-Swedish Second

Dewa Karon is a

Finnish-Swedish

second home project

come hotel on

Phuket which now

rises from the ashes

of the mismanaged

Baan Paradise /

Priority Village

project, that fell apart

in 2008 leaving many

Swedish investors

with their money

wasted... or so they

thought.

By Joakim Persson

The Scandinavian-initiated

second home project

Baan Paradise, a holiday

dream investment

for many foreigners, fell

apart in 2008 along with the market

changes. Many investor feared bitterly

that all their money was lost.

After some six years, up until the

spring of 2011, this project, built on

a hillside a short walk away from

Karon Beach, had still not been

completed.

But now, in a remarkable turnaround

and thanks to a new investor

and big efforts from the various

stakeholders, the project has now finally

been completed. In December,

it was ready to open, rebranded as

Dewa Karon hotel.

The doomed second home

abroad project on Phuket have thus

now eventually been saved but at

high cost for the individual property

investors - half of whom are Scandinavians.

Their very own paradise

living had to be turned into a hotel

operation in order to get the finances

back on track. This was indeed

a different outcome than the condominium

project they had initially

bought into.

Inexperienced developers

Many of the turns in this mishandled

property bugger-up cannot be verified

but one thing is for sure: the

two initiators from Finland could

not get their ambitious project

completed. The individual buyers

fell victim to these two Finnish entrepreneurs-come-developers

with

no previous experience of building

in Thailand and also to the global financial

downturn that came with full

force in 2008.

“Starting a project in Thailand is

very complicated - it’s not easy by

any means, which one can be led

into thinking since it is a fairly simple

environment to live in and a carefree

setting to have vacation on,”

says developer and hotel operator

Lars Ydmark of Tri Asia, now operating

Dewa Karon.

“There are many projects of this

kind more or less designed by companies

with no sort of experience

within either this or that – being very

opportunistic, seeing the market:

‘Here it is, let’s go! Wow! Let’s build

something and sell!’ I’d say 99 per

cent of them have good intentions

from the start, but it‘s a complicated

world here and one encounters difficulties

all the time,” says Lars who

is someone with enough practice

to know the ins and outs of what

it takes - and with a track record of

project completions.

“One must keep track of it all

in order for things to run smoothly.

And buying something you don’t

see, you must have certain trust in

the person you are dealing with.”

With so many green field projects

back then Lars describes the

market as resembling Russian roulette

regarding whom to buy from

etc.

“One can do due diligence but

it doesn’t say much about a particular

person or company’s basic intention

- or what happens if the market

drops.”

No ending in sight

Looking back at the heydays for

real estate on Phuket around 2003

- 2005 Lars was himself active with

housing projects.

“It was very much starting to

take off with plenty of buyers and

a sound financial world. Things felt

sort of enormous. One almost

thought there would be no end to

it; that this was to be the norm for

the coming 20-25 years,” Lars recalls.

His residential project Grove

Gardens was a product out of that

development where he not only

built a new home for himself but a

whole estate for residential investors.

“But I’m much more conservative

than most other entrepreneurs;

doing one thing at a time. I could

see then a number of projects taking

off extremely and moving on

with the next before the previous

one was finalized.”

“Those who did not have time

enough to finalize with the cash flow

Before repair...


Home Project Saved

...and after the complete restoration.

at hand from the buyers ended up

in a very problematic situation when

the market halted in 2008. And the

finalization when something is not

ready is a difficult equation getting

together if there are no more buyers

for any unsold units.”

This was most likely the scenario

with Baan Paradise - a typical

off-plan project, meaning that the

financing mainly comes from the

sales of the units. Then there are all

kinds of other influential factors such

as increasing construction costs, the

market conditions, construction delays

etc.

“I might have been lucky being

able to deliver, but I don’t think developers

aimed at tricking customers,

but had bad luck.”

“Today the market looks completely

different than back then

when the byers themselves were

senseless and bought with their

eyes closed. You have other buyer

It was still a

stormy period

then and I saw

as the simplest

possible solution

was converting

it to a hotel in

order to get

financing.


groups now, a different mind-set

and the products are different.”

Condominium becomes

a hotel

In the summer of 2010 the apartment

investors’ group at former

Baan Paradise contacted Lars per

recommendation in order to look

at what one could do. These investors,

who were only supposed to be

condominium owners, had by then

managed to get legal control of the

whole development.

“This was in itself positive, because

their investments had financed

the project which they nearly lost.”

“It was still a stormy period then

and I saw as the simplest possible

solution was converting it to a hotel

in order to get financing.”

The market was not strong

enough in order to sell the remaining

units and besides a lot more

money was needed.

All the 39 apartment owners,

whom are all recognized as investors

in the hotel, endorsed this plan

together with a local group had entered

into the company as new investor

in order to finalize the project.

ScandAsia has been unable to

reach any apartment investor to get

further details on how their money

had actually been spent prior to this.

As for the initial developers, last

time in contact Jonas Broberg (featured

as their representative in

ScandAsia in 2006) disclosed that

he had sold his shares in Priority Village,

the company behind Baan Paradise,

in 2007 and that he regretted

not having followed the saying that

one should not do business together

with one’s best friends; indicating

a split.

His business partner Staffan

Libäck promised to tell his side of

the story as late as in May 2010,

claiming that he had finished negotiations

regarding financing of

the remaining work and that they

would “complete the project whatever

it takes and hand over the sold

units to their buyers” as “the only

viable and honest thing to do”. But

his lawyer later advised him not to

comment due to an on-going legal

dispute. He has then gone quiet.

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High quality products are used throughout.

According to Lars Ydmark the

project had halted twice and after

the intended condo owners could

eventually gain legal control of the

land it was moved to a new company

in early 2010.

When final construction could

start in March of last year more or

less everything in terms of installations

such as piping and air-conditioning

had to be redone.

“The standard is really good here,

and the structure and facades were in

good shape. But with a project on and

off construction for so many years

many things happen in this climate

with products being unused.”

Dewa branding

“I saw the potential to work with

this group, and not only because of

that we were on good terms but

also that the product had certain

synergy with Dewa in Nai Yang.”

The Dewa concept is Lars’s

own where the resort on Nai Yang

beach - by now well established on

the market - is also a mixed-used

property. Gradually he realised that

the project in Karon was similar

and would fit well into the same

branding which focuses on giving

the guest an experience of a quality

product and destination.

“We are very clear on what we

are selling and delivering and this is

for me a relatively easy product to

attach to Dewa Nai Yang, since we

have apartments there too.”

He says the owners also feel

comfortable in that he has experience

in running this type of mixed

hotel product.

“We have turned to a very

traditional market active in Karon,

which is also a very strong destination

already promoted hard all over

the world so one just have to jump

on board that merry-go-round and

position it correctly price-wise.”

Dewa Karon will continue the

hotel operation until 2013 in a

first stage in order to go through

any teething problems. Then they

are jointly to define the next stage

about what to do with the product

from 2016 and onwards.

Meanwhile each individual investor

will enjoy four free holiday

weeks yearly. The worldwide standard

is 28 days for this kind of leisure

home.

“The investors ought to be happy,”

says the hotelier, “going from

buying a dream to loosing it completely,

and coming back from that

– is fantastic. Then this might not

be the kind of investment they had

anticipated from the very beginning,

but hey, at least it exists now!“

“It’s not this group of owners’

fault that that things turned out differently.

But it’s their happiness and

success that they have been capable

of taking over the project, getting

it finalized and then turning it into

something that can generate revenue.”

“The time ahead is the positive

thing,” Lars ends while sitting

in the restaurant with lights on in

the apartments and listening to the

sound of the waterfall in the spot lit

pools.

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How TTA Turned Baconc

Company Around

Norwegian

businessman

Sigmund Stromme

is a legend among

Nordic businessmen

in Vietnam. In

2009, Sigmund

Stromme became

the Chairman of

the 15 year old

fertilizer company

Bacono. Last year,

only two years

later, the company

produced a profit

242 percent above

the performance the

year he took over. In

this article, Sigmund

Stromme shares

his strategy for

successfully turning

the company around.

By Indius Pedersen

Baconco is today a fast

growing fertilizer and

crop care company in

Vietnam, Since 2009, it

has been chaired by the

Norwegian businessman Mr. Sigmund

Stromme. Last year, the company

produced its best result ever,

delivering a profit of THB 197.16

million or 242% above the performance

in 2009.

Baconco’s core business is the

production and sales of NPK chemical

fertilizers, including imports and

sales of single fertilizers and crop care

products viz. insecticides, pesticides,

herbicides, and spraying fertilizers.

Related businesses areas are

warehousing, logistics and bagging

of fertilizers for client companies.

“Today, 70% of our income

comes from NPK fertilizers, another

20% is from single fertilizers and

crop care products, and the remaining

10% is from warehousing and logistics,”

Sigmund Stromme explains.

First the staff

When Thoresen Thai Agencies

Group took over and Sigmund

Stromme came on board as the

Chairman, Baconco had been for sale

for several years. The company had

been taking fairly large losses during

the financial crisis and staff moral was

very low. Something had to be done.

“The first thing we did was to

make an interview with managers

and supervisors. Then we reorganized

the company, re-assigning to

suit skill sets and to increase responsibilities

and accountability. All this

made the work much more interesting,”

Sigmund Stromme explains.

“We then gathered up all the

supervisors and staff for English lessons

and organized leadership skill

The Boss

Sigmund Stromme

Norwegian

Chairman of Nordcham

Residing in Vietnam for 19 years, a shipping

executive with more than 30 years working

shipping industry.

Worked for T.Klaveness Group, Oslo, Norway

from 1980 to 1993.

Arrived in Vietnam in 1993 and established

Thoresen-Vinama Co - Joint Venture and currently

holds the following positions:

• Managing Director, Thoresen - Vinama Co -

Joint Venture Company, largest none container

ship agent in HCMC - Baria Vung Tau Area, active in

Maritime Logistic for Offshore sector, forwarding/logistic/

warehousing as well as chartering/operation of Vietnamese

vessels.

• Chairman of the board of Thoresen-Vinama Logistic, 32.000m 2

bonded warehouse complex in Phu My industrial zone.

• Chairman of the Board of Baconco Co fertilizer company,

100% foreign invested company acquired by Thoresen in

July 2009, 410 employees, producing 200.000 mts per year.

• Board Member of Baria Serece Phu My Port J/S Co, where

Thoresen acquired 20 % of the shares in 2010.


o Fertilizer

sessions for department heads. We

also provided a good health insurance

for everyone. At the same

time we established a transparent

promotion, remuneration, and merit

system, and were able to provide

our employees with 2-3 months bonuses

in the first profitable year.”

“We have focused on development

and growth of the company,

giving the employees confidence in

the future. Prior to this, our staff

had no opportunity for training, nor

were there any HR personnel looking

after personnel development. All

this we are doing for our staff, so

that it can develop and grow with

the Company.”

A recent staff survey indicated

that of the current 365 people

working in the company, around

80 percent have been there for the

past 8 years and the staff turnover

rate remains below 1%.

More turn-around tools

“Baconco’s extraordinary sales and

profits last year come from first of

all from our employees. They are

loyal and motivated, driving performance

in the truest sense,” Sigmund

Strommme modestly says.

But several other factors have

clearly also contributed to the higher

profits.

“We switched from leasing to

owing the production machinery

and at the same time we took over

our own machinery maintenance

and terminated third party contracts

for such services,” Sigmund Stromme

explains.

“As for procurement, we have

particularly focused on centralizing

purchasing and inventory management,

reducing raw material reserves

from 4-5 months to less than

The Teams

three weeks. The purchasing policy

was changed to reflect more frequent

but smaller volume purchase.

Raw material sourcing has also been

reoriented from 90% imported to

60% local sourcing. This sharply reduced

previous high financial cost.”

“Furthermore, our cash only policy

also provides us with a stable cash

buffer,” Sigmund Stromme adds.

Future growth

There are six large fertilizer producers

in Vietnam, four of which are

government owned. The remaining

two, including Baconco, are foreign

owned. Sigmund Stromme estimates

Baconco’s market share to

be currently 10 percent.

Although the year 2011 was

a year of high growth, Sigmund

Stromme is confident there is room

for great market growth in future.

“Demand will remain strong as

Vietnam is 2 nd largest exporter of

rice and coffee,” he says.

“Baconco’s strength lies in the

quality of our products,” Sigmund

Stromme explains.

“Baconco’s “Conco” brand is

well known as good quality fertilizers

and the farmers are willing to

pay a premium for our products.”

“Our fertilizers come in 60 formulations,

meeting the individual

needs of the farmers. Although the

niche market is small, we have few

competitors. Furthermore, we have a

flexible production system that allows

us to adapt our products to changes

in market needs very quickly.”

“Our strategy is to provide

products that meet high standards,

to continually innovate and provide

new products, and to focus on

niche market products to keep our

competition at a minimum.

Factory:

310 workers, technicians, engineers and high rank managers

Administration:

30 financial, HR and general administration

Sales And Marketing:

50 sales engineers, sales administration and marketing

Haiphong Branch:

20 people

Great Party and

Norwegian Colors

Thoresen Vinama Logistic inaugurates a bonded

warehouse near Phu My in the province of Baria

Vung Tau near Ho Chi Minh City.

By Indius Pedersen

Thoresen Vinama Logistic

with its foreign

shareholders Thoresen

Thai Agencies, Elkem

Chartering and Preco

Norway as well as Japanese Maritime24,

affirmed its desire to invest

in Vietnam by inaugurating a 16,000

sqm warehouse near the deep sea

port that has Thoresen Thai Agencies

as co-owner. The new warehouse,

built in record time, will in

future be used to store 64,000 mtgs.

cargo. And yet another warehouse

is underway from the option of

warehouses at Thoresen Vinama’s

disposal.

It all started when Thoresen

Thai Agencies bought the thendeficit

given Baconco Fertilizer Factory.

The company then made a

thumping deficit. In just two years,

Thoresen Thai Agencies changed

the scene. From a turnover of 197

million THB a tidy profit of just

over five million was made - after

taxes. No debt to the bank, and

only bright prospect for the future.

Behind all this is the daily management

headed by Sigmund Stromme.

Among several hundred participants

he was the proud participant at

the feast when the new warehouse

in Phu My in the province of Baria

Vung Tau was inaugurated.

“The good reputation we have

established with our many clients is

demonstrated by the fact that the

new bonded warehouse facility, in

which we are today, is in fact already

filled up with cargo from the

day of opening. The open storage is

filled with steel oil from BP, and bulk

cargo will arrive to fill up the new

warehouses this evening, right after

the opening ceremony is over. This

only show that we want to continue

investing in further projects here in

Phu My,” Sigmund Stromme says.

Sigmund Stromme stressed

that all this had been no success if

not the local authorities had been

very cooperative. Both political and

technical wise and from customs

authorities. Through the entire process

they have given us highly professional

advice.

It was party all day. First the

opening ceremony followed by

lunch. Then the inspection of Thoresen’s

latest investment in the Baria

Serece deep-sea port. The investment

that was completed in 2010

has furnished Thoresen with a 20

percent of the share capital. Finally,

there was a great celebration with

dinner at the Grand Hotel in Vung

Tau.


Finns, Flatties and Sauna

in Chalong Bay

Think of Finland

and mention what

comes to your mind.

Sauna?

Finlandia Vodka?

Santa Claus?

Finnish cuisine? Eeeh…

By Joakim Persson

In Chalong Bay on southern

Phuket Finns are pretty common

thanks to Raya Group

Asia, run by Finns and hiring

dozens of diving instructors

from their home country not to

mention the steady stream of fellow

countrymen who are among their

core customers.

But aside the admiration for marine

life, what else are those exotic

Finns from the Land of the Thousand

Lakes and Santa Claus up to in

Chalong these days?

Well, last high season they became

reality TV-show stars when

no less than 48 episodes about the

life of the Raya divers were portrayed

on prime time TV in Finland!

And actually being sailing enthusiasts

from the beginning they launched

in 2010 their new Raya Sailing

cruise division and bought their

own catamaran to offer something

more price-friendly to both five-star

guests as well as charter tourists.

As for Finnish restaurants, this

is a rare species in the area, just as

in Thailand as a whole. So why not

opening one! This was however not

what the diversifying Raya Group

Asia first thought of, as Janne Miik-

with large ice blocks and, as a result,

freezing water. That combination is,

so to speak, the Finns’ cup of tea -

and now also some Thais’!

“It’s really freezing and you can

dip in after the sauna and feel really

cool and fresh for the rest of the

evening. First the Thais looked at us

like: ‘These guys are absolutely mad!’

And we were prompting them to

try and they were watching it for six

months. Eventually one tried it and

then many others followed suit.”

After the sauna they usually

head for the spa neighbour; the

since on year ago opened Restaurant

Skifffer, which is just slightly

tucked away from the main street,

enough to give it a much more laidback

and unrestrained atmosphere.

Guests chill on comfy sofas lining

the walls around the open-air but

roofed, and slightly rustic, dining

room. And, suitable when close to

the beach and like its sister restaurant

in Helsinki, it has a maritime feel

- even though it still awaits some

more decorations relating to boats

and the sea.

Restaurant Manager Janne

Moilanen explains what is their

‘unique’ offering aside the ambience

which does not all resemble

those ubiquitous, kind of year-round

Christmas-decorated bars found all

over the island.

“You can see when guests are

coming over here from the sauna,”

he smiles.

“It’s really laidback and from my

point of view you can come here

just as you are and always be welcome.

And our service is unconditional;

whatever you want we try to

deliver.”

“We try to be different in our

own unique way with the atmosphere,

really good service and our

food,” he adds.

Most of all they are known for

their ‘Flatties’ (or ‘liuska’ in Finnkulainen,

COB, explains how Restaurant

Skiffer came to life.

“We didn’t plan to open a restaurant

from the start - but starting

a kitchen that could prepare meals

for all our diving and snorkelling

trips.”

Regarding Finnish saunas these

are just as scarce, while the chance

to jumping into a hole in the ice (another

habit of those strange Finns!)

is certainly non-existent. And yet,

remedy for the lack of these things

now exist on Phuket - within a spa

situated next door to Restaurant

Skiffer in Chalong.

It features a steam sauna combined

with a substitute for the Finns

habit to take dips in frozen lakes after

their sauna sessions - Janne calls

it “a specialty brought in for the crazy

Finns”. On weekends a large tub

with room for three people is filled

Janne Miikkulainen, Managing Director of Raya Divers.


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orchids, fits together in

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quiet and peaceful scenery.

Our private beach is

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ish), a sort of a gourmet pizza with

distinctive fillings (such as one with

goat cheese, strawberries and cashew

nuts, or the one with a special

little tasty fish from Finland) and an

uneven, oblong shape. The Flatties

concept, just as the restaurant actually

comes from the original Skiffer

restaurants in Finland.

Once Raya Group hade decided

to open a restaurant they turned

to their friends in Finland for help.

“We started thinking it would

be nice after all to have our own

restaurant that would be a kind of

expat place where you go to hide

away from tourism and all this,”

Janne Miikkulainen explains.

Previously they only had a handful

of restaurants, all a bit cosy and

hidden, that they kept on going to

again and again, which becomes too

repetitive after a long time. And

the Raya Divers team have lived on

Phuket for many years now.

“Together we came up with

the idea to open Skiffer in Thailand

and the chef who designs the menu

there came and it was really hard

at the start: ‘cause if you look at it

quickly you think: ‘It’s just another

pizza place’. But the thing with our

pizzas is that they are these Flatties!”

“The main chef from Finland

had to spend a lot of time here to

get it right; again and again, shape,

size, sauces… it took us a couple of

months.”

Then they have also added

Thai cuisine to the menu and cooks

it properly: making sure that Thai

guests think the dishes are genuine,

and thus, as for most Thai dishes,

doing it relatively to very spicy.

“I put really big effort in having

our Thai menu tasting like real Thai

food. Last season it was considered

only O.K.; Thais are very critical

about Thai food. We made changes

to do the genuine - like for Thais

and not like cross-kitchen, which we

do with the Flatties.”

And, after all, the client base

of Raya Group are tourists so they

also offers an activity where one

can taste and get an introduction to

Thai food, aside the ordinary menu;

held by the restaurant manager who

has studied the background of each

dish and the traditions within Thai

cuisine carefully. One sits down at

a long table where different kinds

of Thai food are served while Janne

Moilanen explains each dish and its

origin.

Then there is also something

for the Scandinavians: Every Thursday

evening one surprise dish in the

form of a Scandinavian specialty,

cooked by Janne himself, is served

- it could be Potato Hash, Creamy

salmon soup, Mama’s meat balls

with mashed potato etc. He picks

from the local expat community’s

favourite menu and anyone can

place a request.

“Scandinavian food is my responsibility.

And of course I try to

teach the Thais how to do it, but if

you try to teach something to Thai

people they always like to put chilli

in it - always” he laughs.

As for the vodka - yes they have

it.

“Of course, every bar with a

Finnish owner has to have it. However

guests come here mainly for

the food.”

Website: www.skiffer.fi/chalong


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Finns Finding a Way to

Study in Holiday Paradise

Every university school

term a number of

Scandinavian exchange

students, primarily

Finns, study on Phuket

at the satellite campus

of Prince of Songkla

University. It turns out

that Asia Exchange

from Finland enables

such students to go

there since four years

back.

By Joakim Persson

Asia is among the fastest

growing economic

regions and who says

no as a young business

student to swap

the harsh winter period in northern

Europe for studies in Asia’s tropics?

During the autumn term of 2011

Anna Vuorinen and Antti Säynätkari,

both 23 and from Helsinki, took full

studies at the Faculty of hospitality

and tourism on Prince of Songkla

University’s (PSU) Phuket campus –

in the eyes of many a paradise destination.

One logically assumed that their

studies aimed at a career within hotels

and tourism. But when seeing

them before their departure, along

some 28 other Finnish students,

back to university studies in Finland

it turned out that they were studying

real estate and business, with a

major in Real Estate Economics.

“This faculty is responsible for

the business education on this campus,”

explained Antti, as they were

about to attend a farewell dinner

hosted by PSU.

“And our exchange was arranged

by a Finnish company called

Asia Exchange or just AE,” added

Anna.

AE has offered ‘freemovers’ an

opportunity to take part in studyabroad

semesters at selected partner

universities currently in China,

Indonesia, and Thailand since 2007.

In Thailand students can opt

for Kasetsart University and Siam

University in Bangkok or PSU on

Phuket.

The universities represented by

AE are ideal for students who are

interested in Asia, but aren’t able to

find suitable options via their own

universities or are left outside the

placement quotas.

Unless the student’s home university

has a bilateral agreement

with the host university, finding a

study place on one’s own is very

troublesome and the tuition fees

are high, AE states on its website.

There are not enough available

options but thanks to its services

more students interested in Asia

get to study there and get discounts

on fees. In addition, in its role as a

representative for Asian universities

they can most often decrease the

administrative steps of the home

universities.

So far students from over 100

universities have participated in such

semesters via AE, including 30 % of

all the student movement from Finland

to Asia.

“They are trying to expand their

target markets also to other Scandinavian

countries and other parts of

Europe,” says Anna.

AE, the only facilitator for foreign

students at this Thai university

on Phuket, encourages students to

plan their studies carefully and to

include the course syllabi in their

study plans to help their home

universities make decisions about

transferring credits.

The home university also decides

any scholarships. The university

paid for Anna and Anti’s student

term fee (1400 Euros per person)

to study abroad.

“We can’t replace the official

courses back home, but our student

point total will get us closer to graduation

after the term here. As for

the freely chosen courses, we can

use those in our Master’s studies,”

said Antti.

“Lots of Finns come here from

many different schools and most

students can get scholarships if they

apply for it.”

Most of the courses Anna and


I find that nice

because in Finland

you just go to the

classroom and

basically just

listen and that’s it.

Here’s much better

cause you get to

do something and

speak. Then you

learn the things

better than if you

just listen to it and

then study at home.

Antti Säynätkari (left) and Anna Vuorinen (right) with their lecturer, Pornpisanu Promsivapallop, Ph. D.

Antti chose study on were business

courses; such as international business,

marketing, strategic management and

human resource management.

“There were some international

courses that were quite close

to tourism but we did not choose

those as we felt they were less suitable.

For our education in Finland

the basic business courses were

better,” elaborated Anna.

“The courses we studied here

are a bit different than back in Finland.

It has been O.K but the overall

quality here haven’t been that good.

I think that if studying like tourism

or hospitality back home then this

school would be really good because

of this faculty,” she also thought.

A few other things both the

Finnish students especially noted

were the obligatory classes and secondly

the many case studies which

they found striking. Says Anna: “In

our university we don’t have to do

that many cases studies, or it depends

on the course, whereas here

all of the courses have case studies.

But if you compare altogether the

amount of work it’s about the same.

Here you cannot skip it while in Finland

you can if you know it.”

”And we had a lot of in-class

exercises and group assignments,

which is different from our university

in Finland where it’s only a lecturer

speaking and maybe ask questions,”

said Antti.

“I find that nice because in Finland

you just go to the classroom

and basically just listen and that’s it.

Here’s much better cause you get

to do something and speak. Then

you learn the things better than if

you just listen to it and then study at

home” Anna added.

As for interaction with Thai

students the language barrier was

obvious even though all courses are

taught in English on this faculty.

“Most students couldn’t converse

in English that well, said Antti.

“That’s a shame ‘cause they did put

together the exchange students and

Thais for the reason that we would

be able to mix and get to know

each other but it was really hard.”

“And it really depends on in

which school year they are; there’s

one course where they are in their

third or fourth where we could see

a difference in that are more used

to English,” said Anna.

IB

“The teachers also say the studies

are much harder for Thais because

of the English language. But

anyway it’s good for them that they

are forced to use it daily, then you

learn it!”

“Some are really active even

though they don’t know English that

well; they try to learn and come to

speak to you at the best of their

ability,” added Antti.

“But we’ve made friends outside

the school.”

And noteworthy: when returning

home they have made new great

friends from all over Finland as well!

“Next summer in Finland we

can travel to meet our new friends,”

Anna smiled. You usually know

people mostly where you live but

it’s also nice to have friends around

Finland.”

Without exception, students

have described their time in Asia as

the best experience of their lives,

according to AE.

Preferring Phuket to a major city

they had time for leisure too and

the favourite pastime activities were

sunbathing, snorkelling, and cable

skiing according to Anna.

“It’s been a really great autumn

for us, a good mix between lying on

the beach and going to school and

actually learning something,” ended

Antti.

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post@nyborg-gym.dk, www.nyborg-gym.dk


Sakon Nakhon

2

1

1. A form of Star handmade

2. Star of David Parade

3. Worship Ceremony

4. The Birth of Jesus Performance

on stage

5. Phrathat Narai Cheng Weng

Sakon Nakhon is located in upper

Northeastern of Thailand. The most

famous attraction is the Puparn Royal

Development Study Centre. If your visit

is in December, one festival that you can’t

miss is Parade of Christmas Stars Festival

during Christmas time.

By Pimjai Chaimongkol

Sakon Nakhon province

has a long story. Legend

says that the present city

of Sakon Nakhon was

built in 11 th century when

Khmer ruled this region and named

Nongharn town. When the Khmer

lost its power, the town was under

the rules of Lanxang or Laotian

Kingdom, it was renamed “Muang

Chiang Mai Nongharn”.

During the Thonburi dynasty,

King Taksin successfully won the

war with Vientiane and Luang Prabang,

and the city was returned under

control of Thai as a colonized

town and renamed again into “Sakon

Thavapi”. In 1830, during the

reign of King Rama III, it was finally

named “Sakon Nakhon”.

As could be expected with this

mixed bag of heritage, the language

spoken in Sakon Nakhon is a mix of

Thai and Lao but your Central Thai

will be understood by most. There

are few ex-pats living in the city and

few foreign visitors so don’t expect

much in the way of spoken English

or English translations beyond road

signs.

3 4


An interesting heritage of the

many years under Laotian rule is the

significant presence of Christianity in

the area. Sometimes, a place named by

the locals as a Wat - a temple - turns

out indeed to be a Christian church.

5

The Parade of Christmas

Stars Festival

Especially the village Baan Tha Rae is

well-known for its Parade of Christmas

Stars Festival. During the month of December,

Tha Rae residents will decorate

their houses, shops and street with

beautiful small to big stars, colorful light

bulbs, or Christmas trees. The event

culminates December 23 - 25.

The celebrations feature the

Star of David. There will be about

200 procession of vehicles joining

in the parade. Santa Claus and little

goddess will be on board, too, and

greet all visitors with candies and

sweets along the parade path.

At St. Michael the Archangel

Cathedral, the children will perform

the birth of Jesus following by

a Mass and carol singing concert.

Food stalls and souvenir shops are

of course never far away.


6

6. Mr. Richard Barrow enjoyed

feeding milk to a calf.

7. Development of

Black Puparn Chikens

that is good for health.

8. Tilapia fish experiment

Puparn Royal Development

Study Centre

An all year attraction is the Puparn

Royal Development Study Centre.

During His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej’s

frequent visits he realized the

area suffers from soil deterioration,

water shortage, forest encroachment

as well as the lack of technical

knowledge on agriculture. In 1982,

Puparn Royal Development Study

Centre was established as a place to

conduct research and experiment

on actual factors and problems.

The Centre provides one-stopservice

demonstrations of development

methods and techniques that

is appropriate to the conditions of

the area. One of its key activities is

the “New Theory Demonstration

Project” designed for the study and

experimentation of appropriate agricultural

techniques, which enable

small-scale farmers to have enough

agricultural production for yearround

consumption and eventually

become self-reliant.

Visitors are welcome but need

to inform the centre in advance.

Please call +66 42 712-975.

How to Get There

• The distance is about 647 km from Bangkok.

• Nok Air operates daily flights from Bangkok to Sakon Nakhon.

Another option is Thai Airways which operates a flight from

Bangkok to Udon Thani. Here you can catch a bus to

Sakon Nakhon, 159 km away or a r3 -4 hours drive.

• The public bus service from Bangkok operates daily at Mor Chit 2

Terminal. It takes about 8 hours from Bangkok.

• If you like to drive yourself, start from Highway no. 1 to Saraburi

then turn to Highway no. 2 though Nakhon Ratchasima and take

the right to Khon Kaen on Highway no. 2 to Baan Tha Phra and

onwards to Highway no. 23 approaching Kalasin and finally go on

Highway 213 leading to Sakon Nakhon.

7 8


Don’t Asian

Women

Suffer During

Menopause?

Most women in the western world believe Asian women suffer less

from the effects of menopause, says Danish author Hanne Jensen.

Dr Michael J. Moreton, Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin, tends to agree.

Having practised as a gynaecologist both in Beijing and Bangkok he

believes Asian women have a different attitude to the issue.

By Kirsty Turner

Like sex, menopause is a

taboo subject in the Nordic

countries. Not many

people feel comfortable

talking about it.

When Hanne Jensen, Danish

television journalist and writer,

discovered that she suffered from

menopause at the age of 39, she

found getting information on the

subject very difficult.

Few of her peers had experienced

the effects of the menopause

at that time, and she felt depressed

and went through a long period of

depression.

“In my job I am used to performing

a lot of different tasks at the

same time and making quick decisions.

I remember how I suddenly

felt unable to do this, it was very

confusing and distressing.”

Hanne Rolsted Jensen

Hanne Rolsted Jensen, 51 years

Journalist, author and lecturer

Hormone Replacement

Hanne finally went to see a doctor,

who confirmed that she was going

through the menopause. Because

she was thin and a smoker, Hanne’s

doctor prescribed Hormone Replacement

Therapy, which she went

through for seven years.

However, Hanne was concerned

about the risks of taking the

hormones and finally decided that

it was time to find a new approach

to deal with the emotional and

physical effects of the menopause.

Hanne’s quest to find information

on menopause has not been easy.

“Nobody prepares women for

the menopause in the same way that

they do for their period. They simply

pretend it doesn’t happen,” she said.

“People associate getting the

menopause with being old and useless

Has worked in television since

1989. This spring she will work

as the editor of the program

“Denmark coast to coast” on DR1 to

be aired this summer on Denmark’s

DR1 channel.

Has written the book “Studieværterne”

(The Television Hosts) together with reporter

Irene Manteufel - about Jes Dorph Petersen,

Michael Meyerheim, Soren Smoking,

and try to turn their back on it so that

they can pretend they are still young.”

Hanne’s research into the menopause

has led her to write a book,

which is divided into two sections.

One section focuses on the physical

effects of the menopause, while the

other focuses on the psychological

effects. The book has generated a lot

of interest in Denmark, and Hanne

also leads several special seminars

and discussion groups.

No problem in Asia?

One comment that Hanne often

hears from women in Denmark is

that Asian women seem to suffer

less from the effects of menopause

than women in the Western world.

This sparked her interest and inspired

her to travel to Thailand to discover

if there is any truth behind this belief

Mik Schack and Cicely Frøkjær and their

path to the host role and views on this role.

Has also written the book “Hedeturen

- rejsen til et andet sted” (Hot Flashes

- journey to another place) about menopause.

This book is currently being revised

for publication in a 3 rd edition.

The book is published by Forlaget

Radius, and is available as a book, audiobook

and ebook.

and, if so, the possible reasons for this.

Hanne met Dr. Michael J. Moreton

at Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin

to discuss this with him.

Dr. Moreton originally hails

from Canada and spent several

years living in the northern English

city of Liverpool. Now in his 70s,

Dr. Moreton has had a long and successful

career as a gynaecologist and

obstetrician. He developed a special

interest in menopause in the 1980s,

when there were big changes occurring

in the way that the condition

was thought about and treated.

After completing his studies in

England and Canada, Dr. Moreton

spent five years working in a Beijing

hospital, where he was perfectly positioned

to observe the differences

both in Eastern and Western medical

care and the attitudes of the patients

that he treated.

Dr. Moreton now lives in Thailand,

dividing his time between the

large medical facility in Bangkok and

its sister hospital in Hua Hin. Around

50% of the patients he currently

treats are from Scandinavia and either

live in Thailand permanently or

have come here on holiday.

Or they complain less?

When asked whether women in

Asia suffer less from the effects of

the menopause than those in Europe,

Dr. Moreton replies:

“It’s hard to say from sure. This

is mainly because Asian women


Menopause is an

unavoidable change

that every woman

will experience,

assuming she

reaches middle

age and beyond.

Menopause has

a wide starting

range, but can

usually be expected

in the age range of

42–58 and signals

the end of the fertile

phase of a woman’s

life. It is helpful if

women are able to

learn what to expect

and what options

are available to

assist the transition.

tend to complain less about medical

conditions in general. There tends

to be a lot more acceptance in Asia

regarding medical conditions.”

“Older people also get a lot

more respect in Asia than they do

in Europe,” he continues.

“This means that conditions

such as the menopause, which are a

sign of aging among women, are less

likely to feel like a burden to them.”

Diet may also play a role in lessening

the symptoms of the menopause

in Asian countries. One thing that Dr .

Moreton has observed regarding diet

is that Asian people tend to eat a lot

of tofu, which, he says, could maybe

help to minimize the negative effects

of the menopause.”

Difference in attitude

The doctor also highlights the fact

that people from wealthier countries

have more time to focus on themselves,

both internally and externally.

They pay more attention to what is

happening to them personally, while

many Asian people are simply concerned

with living and surviving.

It seems that when it comes to

the menopause, as with so much

else, the main difference between

the East and West is attitude.

Hanne Jensen agrees with this.

“In Denmark, women try hard

to fight against the effects of aging.

We try to deny aging and push it

away with surgery and special skin

care products. Menopause is another

sign of aging and we try to turn

our backs on it,” she says.

“When a daughter in Denmark

asks her mother about menopause,

her mother simply answers; ‘yes, I

had it.’ Subject closed.”

Hanne describes menopause as

a “new crisis of identity”, as women

going through this transformation

within themselves struggle to rediscover

what they are capable of.

She says that when women are

going through the menopause it is

“important to talk about it. Let your

family know what is happening so

they can support you.”

Relationship issues

Hanne explains that this is particularly

important when women are in

a relationship.

“Some women may find sex

painful sometimes and turn away

from their partners. However, without

talking, the man in their life may

think it is their fault and that they are

not loved.”

Although some women may

find talking about sex and their feeling

a bit difficult, it is important to

learn to talk freely and open about

what is happening both physically

and emotionally.

More recommendations

Hanne recommends carefully examining

your diet and eliminating foods

that seems to trigger symptoms. Also

the symptoms of menopause vary

for each person, Hanne’s book contains

a comprehensive list of possible

symptoms to help women identify

what is going on with their bodies.

She also recommends that

smokers quit smoking immediately

and take up regular exercise, as this

helps to boost hormone levels.

As with many medical conditions,

stress can act both as a trigger

and to accelerate symptoms. It is

best to avoid stress in our daily lives

as much as possible and to learn

techniques to reduce stress at times

when it is possible to avoid going

through a certain amount of stress.

Busy TV editor

Although Hanne often suffered severely

from symptoms of menopause

such as hot flashes, she has refused to

simply give in. Now 51 years old, she

is extremely active, and her career

has gone from strength to strength. In

fact, when she returns home from her

travels in Thailand, Hanne will be working

as chief editor on the high profile

television programme Coast to Coast,

which features some of the coolest

coastal travel destinations in Denmark.

Hanne also plans to continue

spreading information on the menopause

and empowering women

to talk about their symptoms. Although

more people are starting to

talk about menopause in Denmark

these days, there is still a long way

to go before the taboo status of the

subject is finally lifted.

Michael Joseph Moreton

Born and raised in

North of England - British

and Canadian Citizenships

Medical School - Liverpool

• Worked 2 years in UK National

Health Hospitals

• Went to Canada for 2 year

fellowship - stayed 32 years

• Trained in Obstetrics and

Gynecology - Mc Gill program

in Montreal

• Practised in Ottawa - Associate

Prof at Univ of Ottawa

• Moved to China in 97 - started

first two western styled

Maternity programs in Beijing

and Shanghai.

• Now International Medical

Coordinator BKK Hospitals BKK

& Hua Hin


Danish Support for

Thai Motorcycle

Helmet Campaign

Mikael H. Winther, Ambassador of Denmark to Thailand and his

wife Ratanawadee H. Winther played in each their way a significant

role at an event on 11 January to promote the use of motorcycle

helmets in Thailand.

By Gregers Moller

The Ambassador led a

convoy of motorcyclists

on his big Honda Trans-

Alp motorcycle around

the block in a central

part of Bangkok while Mrs. Winther

represented the Asia Injury Prevention

Foundation that co-hosted

the event at the Interior Ministry's

Department of Disaster Prevention

and Mitigation.

The Danish stamp on the event

was complete with the participation

in the motorcycle convoy of the

Ambassador's driver, 'Thom' Surasak

on his own chopper.

The helmet wearing campaign

took off last year and is designated

to last throughout the decade 2011

to 2020 to achieve that 100 pct. of

all motorcycle drivers and passengers

will be wearing safety helmets.

In selected areas, where the campaign

in 2011 has been going all out,

significant results were achieved. In

Phuket, for instance, the number of

motorcyclists killed in road accidents

Surasak ‘Thom’ - the Ambassador’s driver

- participated on his own big motorcycle.

Ambassador Mikael H. Winther

and Mrs. Ratanawadee H. Winther

with the ambassador’s big Honda

TransAlp motorcycle.


I support this campaign

so warmly, because I feel

deeply with the bereaved

families who looses one

of their loved ones in this

meaningless way, and also

because these many traffic

fatalities are such a big loss

for the whole country.

Mrs. Ratanawadee H. Winther presented the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation

and its commitment to the next steps of the road safety campaign.

dropped from 58 in 2010 to 26

deaths in 2011 although the number

of accidents were unchanged.

For all of Thailand, the number

of people killed in traffic accidents

remains shockingly high: On an average

day, the death toll is 34 people

- that is one dead person every

forty minutes.

Thailand records roughly a

million road accidents every year

- including non-fatal collisions. Of

these accidents, 75 percent involve

motorcycles. And half of those accidents

involve drivers or passengers

who did not wear a helmet.

Mikael H. Winther sees the situation

as a tragic loss both individually

and for the nation.

“I support this campaign so

warmly, because I feel deeply with

the bereaved families who looses

one of their loved ones in this

meaningless way, and also because

these many traffic fatalities are such

a big loss for the whole country,”

the ambassador says.

Ratanawadee H. Winther mentioned

in her presentation of the

Asia Injury Prevention Foundation

some of the areas, that the campaign

would need to focus on in the

years to come.

“This year, especially the use of

helmets for children and students

is an area that we will focus on,”

she said. In Vietnam, the Asia Injury

Prevention Foundation has already

had a major impact within this area,

among others by supporting a legislation

that makes it illegal for children

under 14 years of age to drive

a motorcycle.

The culmination of the event

was the signing of an MOU between

the Department of Disaster

Prevention and Mitigation and the

Asia Injury Prevention Foundation

that marks another step forward

in reducing the high fatality rate of

motorcycle-related road accidents

in Thailand.

Putting helmets on kids. Among the areas to be focused on this year is the promotion of 100 percent use of helmet for

children and students.


Surrounded by Nature

Located in Thong Nai Pan Yai, Koh Phangan, Thailand

One of Koh Phangan’s most beautiful beaches.

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Tough Youngsters Go

for Gold at Thanyapura

Ironkids Phuket Triathlon

Hundreds of children

from all over Asia,

from future world

champions to those

who just want to

have fun, converged on the world's

new Ironman and Triathlon mecca,

Phuket, in December last year to

contest the Thanyapura Sports &

Leisure Club IronKids Phuket Triathlon,

presented by True Visions.

IronKids is one of the world's

fastest growing youth sports movements

and provides the perfect antidote

to the sedentary habits of the

Playstation generation. For these

kids, their play stations are the pool,

the track and the bike.

A total of 228 children registered

for the race, including 126

individual racers and 102 children

in 34 relay teams. Most were in it

for fitness and fun, but some serious

future champions put their elders in

the sport on notice.

The brightest star and overall

winner was Kuala Lumpur-based

Australian Zoe Bowden, 12, the

defending champion and one of the

world's fastest triathletes in her age

group. Not only did she beat all the

older girls from the 13-15 year old

category, she also beat the older

boys as well, shaving three minutes

off her previous personal best to finish

in 39 minutes and 23 seconds.

She has been tipped as a possible

future world champion by none

other than TSLC's triathlon director

Juergen Zack, himself an eight-time

world champion in the sport.

Edwin Thiang, also from KL,

finished second in a time of 40

minutes and 36 seconds. Eight corporate

teams of 12 to 14 children

were sponsored by local businesses.

The corporate awards went to 1st

Place Team Quest and the children

from Ban Manik School, 2nd place

to Lee Marine and the children from

Ban Bangtao School, and 3rd place

to Team Anantara Club from the

Anuban Phuket School.

Speaking after the race and

looking like she'd barely broken a

sweat, Zoe Bowden revealed her

secret.

“I train every single day,” she

said.

“I mostly run and swim. I don't

often cycle, that was something that

I later on developed exclusively for

the triathlon”.

She said this year's race was

much more competitive than her

last race in Phuket. As for the future,

her vision is clear:

“My ambition is to be a professional

Ironman.”

IronKids triathlons are raced

over various distances depending

on age groups:

Junior (ages 6 to 8): 50m swim, 3km

bike and 500m run

Intermediate (ages 9 to 11): 150m

swim, 6km bike and 1km run

Senior (ages 12 to 15): 300m swim,

12km bike and 3km run

TSLC's partnership with

IronKids includes races and professionally

led training camps run

throughout the year, under the banner

of TSLC IronKids Phuket.

Phuket has become one of the

world's leading locations for serious

ironmen and triathletes, and

Thanyapura's world class facilities

have captured the interest of leading

exponents of the sport. Globally

renowned triathlons and training

camps are offered on the island every

year, such as the Laguna Phuket

Triathlon, Phuket Ironman 70.3,

Phuket International Marathon and

the FIVB Women's Beach Volleyball

World Tour.

TSLC has the ideal facilities

and surroundings to host events

and training camps for professional

or amateur triathletes, as well as

young athletes tackling their first

ever multi-sport event. The 50m

and 25m pools offer ideal swimming

conditions, while the quiet

roads are perfect for young cyclists

to learn biking skills. Most running

is done on the property or on surrounding

tracks in the National Park

area. This spectacular location is set

to become the "home" of triathlon

for young, upcoming triathletes.

The next Thanyapura IronKids

Phuket races will be held on 22

April, 2012 and 1 December 2012.


Weekend Getaway

Package at

X2 Kui Buri

X2 until 31 March 2012.

Kui Buri is offering a special “Weekend Getaway Package”

for three days and two nights in Deluxe Pool Villa

The package is aimed at those city dwellers that need to take time

out from their busy lives and focus on themselves and their own needs,

a personal retreat can be a great way to unwind and recharge.

Aim

Higher

at Altitude

Altitude, the new rooftop function space at The Westin

Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok is designed to take meetings

and events to new heights.

The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok’s refreshing approach

to meetings and events transforms your vision into reality.

Now, with the opening of its innovative rooftop function

space, “Altitude”, you can take your event to new heights.

Altitude includes an indoor function space, an elegant breakout

room called The Library and The Terrace. The 502-sqm

chic new function space is located on the 25th floor and takes

advantage of dramatic views of downtown Bangkok. Guests can

gather on The Terrace for appetizers, wine and cocktails and

take in what is surely one of the best panoramas in the city.

Designed to exceed the requirements of today’s discerning

guests, Altitude provides the personalized service and amenities to

make your event stand out from the crowd. With no access to the

public, Altitude also benefits from total privacy and security.

At Altitude, the expansive 255-square-metre indoor room

called Lounge is bathed in natural daylight and is ideal for meetings,

events, conferences and cocktail receptions for 80 to 250

guests. Guests can also enjoy delectable dining and refreshments

from a buffet island and live cooking stations with a talented

culinary team serving gourmet a la minute cuisine.

The 49-square-metre Library makes the ideal break-out

room or meeting space for up to 30 guests. It includes comfortable

lounge seating, a large LCD TV, and a refreshment centre

stocked with your favourite beverages and snacks.

Designed to ensure unique ‘out of the box’ meetings and

events, Altitude combines contemporary luxuries, the latest

technology, absolute privacy, and a dramatic elevated setting– all

at sky level. With dedicated staff providing thoughtful service,

and the best facilities creating the perfect ambience, a rewarding

experience is assured.

Enviable location

Guests of The Westin Grande Sukhumvit also enjoy direct

access to BTS Asok SkyTrain and MRT Sukhumvit underground

stations, providing ease of access to all Bangkok has to offer.

With quick access to the expressway, guests are only 40 minutes

from Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Inspire fresh thinking.

For your next special event, aim higher.

To discover more about Altitude and The Westin Grande

Sukhumvit’s refreshing approach to meetings and events, please visit

westingrandesukhumvit.com or call 02 207 8000 ext. 8111-15

The Weekend Getaway Package includes:

• Complimentary daily Champagne Breakfast for two

• Complimentary one time signature set dinner for two at

4K Restaurant & Bar

• A 1-hour massage of your choice, for 2

• Welcome drink and cold towel upon arrival

• Complimentary fresh fruit bowl in room on arrival day

• Complimentary Internet Wi-Fi

• 50% discount off best available room rates on extended night(s)

Rates: Only Baht 16,200 per package for 2 persons. Rates valid until 31

March 2012.

X2 Kui Buri offers 23 uniquely designed villas with fixtures and furnishings

carefully chosen to be consistent with the X2 concept of using

luxurious designs with maximum function. All villas come with their very

own private plunge pool ranging in size from 20 to 30 sqm. The pools are

accompanied by generous terrace and garden courtyard areas.

Inside one will find a very spacious bathroom with both indoor and

outdoor rain showers. All villas feature a full range of home theatre

and entertainment options along with complementary Wi-Fi internet

access.

X2 Kui Buri also has a range of recreation activities for guests’ enjoyment

including kayaking, fishing, snorkeling, mountain biking and Petanque.

For more information

please contact

Corporate Public Relations

Department

at Bangkok Office

Tel. +66 2696 8200 ext 107

Email: projects@bhmasia.com

For rates and reservations call X2 Kui Buri at tel +66 3260 1412 or

+668 4466 5553 or email book.kb@X2Resorts.com or visit the website

www.X2Resorts.com


Vikings Kicked FC Cosm

Scandinavian Vikings

played the best

football this season

when they won 2-0

against Cosmos on

Saturday 21 January

2012.

On Saturday afternoon

Scandinavian

Vikings took on FC

Cosmos in a crucial

game. In order

to avoid relegation, Vikings were in

desperate need of three points, and

a loss against Cosmos, another team

in the bottom third of the table,

would be devastating. How did Vikings

handle the pressure, you might

ask? By playing the best football of

the season!

Vikings started off at a furious

pace, leaving no room to breathe

for the noticeably stressed Cosmos

players. Five minutes into the game,

after a beautiful through pass from

Filip, Martin V was alone with the

keeper, but the linesman raised his

flag for offside. From the sideline it

definitely looked like the wrong decision.

However, Vikings' supporters

had no reason to worry as there

would be plenty of more chances

this afternoon.

A few minutes later, Filip tried

another through ball, this time to

Siva, but the swift-footed midfielder's

shot was denied by the keeper.

In the next attack Filip decided

not to pass, instead he simply ran

through the visibly astonished Cosmos

defence and placed the ball to

the right of the keeper. 1-0, and a

very well-deserved lead for the Vikings.

The rest of the first half followed

the same pattern – Vikings

dominated completely. They created

chance after chance, the next

player in line to test the keeper was

Mofok, but his beautiful first touch

was unfortunately followed by a

poor shot. Three corners in a row

caused a lot of panic in Cosmos'

penalty area, at least one of them

should have resulted in a goal. It was

just a matter of time before Vikings

would extend their lead, and when

the second goal finally came it was

a thing of true beauty. Martin V was

kicked down 2 meters outside the

penalty area and took care of the

free kick himself.

In what might have been the

most beautiful free kick ever seen

on the Arsenal pitch, he blasted it

around the wall, into the upper right

corner. There was absolutely no

chance for the goalkeeper, in fact

he didn't even move an inch. Vikings

ran circles around perplexed

Cosmos players and kept creating

chances for the remaining 15 minutes

of the first half. The half-time

lead was only 2-0 though, a score

the Cosmos players must have been

very happy about.

The second half wasn't exactly

something to write home about. Vikings

defended their lead, Cosmos

tried to get back into the game, but

all their efforts were taken care of

by Vikings' rock solid defence. Cosmos

never got closer than a shot

that hit the post, apart from that

very few actual chances were created.

A brilliant first half was enough

for Scandinavian Vikings this afternoon,

and all-in-all the 2-0 victory

was very well-deserved.


os Back Into… Cosmos


Medium

Flæskesteg

Roast Pork

Evil

Nothing is as nice as a traditional Danish pork roast. You

need to find a shoulder of pork with the fat rind on. If

you can’t find pork roast with the rind attached then look

for a fresh ham, remove 2/3 of the skin and you will get

crackling with the rest.

Ingredients

4½-6½ lbs of Shoulder of pork w/rind on

2-3 spoons of course salt

2 lbs small cold boiled potatoes

4 spoons sugar

1½ oz butter

1 pint of water

2 lbs canned red cabbage

Are you done?

When you have completed the above puzzles, please send your

solution by fax to +66 2 943 7169 or scan and email to puzzles@

scandasia.com. We will make a lucky draw among the correct

answers. Five lucky winners will receive a ScandAsia polo shirt.

Name:

___________________________________________________

Age: ________________________ Mobile: ___________________

Address: __________________________________________________

Email:

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Deadline for submitting your solution is 15 March 2012

The Roast

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put the roast in a

roasting pan with water with the rind facing

downwards. Let the water cover the rind. Use

as small a pan as possible to get good tasty gravy.

Leave the roast in the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes. Using a sharp,

heavy knife cut deeply through the rind and fat until you reach the meat,

making the incisions 1/2” apart lengthwise and crosswise. Rub salt liberally

into these gashes. It will make the crackling to bubble up and get crispy.

Put the roast in bottom part of the owen for 1½-2 hours. Take it out

and pour the gravy into a pot to make brown sauce from it. Put the roast

back in the oven and set the temperature to 530°F. Watch the crackling,

it may suddenly be overdone.

Brown sauce

Let the gravy rest a while in the pot and remove the grease from the

surface. The gravy is thickened by a mix of flour and cold water, add black

gravy color, and salt and peper.

Red Cabbage

Use precooked red cabbage in a can or in a glas. If of German origin pour

in two spoons of sugar. Add some water in the pot and let it cook at low

or medium heat for 30 minutes. Alternatively, the cabbage can be heated

in the microwave owen which will make the cabbage more crispy.

Candied Potatoes - Brunede Kartofler

Caramelised Potatoes is delicious with almost all kind of roast meat, especially

pork. It is important to follow the recipe exactly for a good result.

Run the cold tap over the cold boiled potatoes just before starting.

Use new potatoes if possible and boil well in advance to ensure they

are cold before use. Run cold water over potatoes before starting.

Put the sugar on frying pan and heat until melted and golden. Add

butter and mix well. Add potatoes and shake frying pan well. Add water

carefully and stir lightly until water has evaporated.


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we’re exceptionally open.

Every business has a different story and a different goal. We understand that.

Over many years in this market of unique opportunities, we’ve developed the

local knowledge, resources and connections needed to turn ambitions into

reality. That’s why we’re one of the most well-established northern European

banks in the region. For corporates, financial institutions and private banking

clients, we’re ready to listen and cater to your needs – in Beijing, Shanghai,

Hong Kong, Singapore and New Delhi.

Welcome to contact us at

Tel: +65 63 57 08 95

singapore@sebprivatebanking.com.sg

www.sebgroup.com/privatebanking

ScandAsia Thailand - February 2012

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

ScandAsia Thailand - February 2012

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

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