ScandAsia Southeast Asia- April 2011

APR 2011

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Coming Events Sweden Malaysia Nobel Gala Dinner

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in South East Asia.

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and Singapore.

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com

Date: 6 May 2011 Location: The Grand Ballroom at Hilton Hotel The Swedish Embassy in cooperation with the Malaysian-Swedish Business Association and Swedish Trade Council have the privilege to invite you to the Sweden Malaysia Nobel Gala Dinner at Hilton Hotel.

The Nobel Gala Dinner is an important part of the Sweden Malaysia Innovation Days on 6-10 May. The backdrop for the event is Malaysia’s strive to become a more innovative country as declared by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Chef Michael Elfwing will put together a menu based on actual Nobel Prize Banquet menus. During the Nobel Gala Dinner you will be entertained by both high-profile speakers and top-class musicians. Limited amount of tickets are available so make your booking now at masbakl@gmail.com.

Publisher: Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. 4/41-2 Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com

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Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

Date: 7 May 2011 Location: Kai Eberle’s house The Scandinavian Society Philippines invites you to the Family BBQ on 7 May 2011 at Kai Eberle’s house, 1269 Acacia St., Dasmarinas. The party will start from 4 pm to 7 pm. This is an event held once a year at one of our member’s house or other convenient venue. SSP members bring their families for a day of fun, food and socializing. There are games and activities for the children and plenty of food and drinks for the grownups.

If you are Scandinavian living in Philippines, bring your family and friend to share special family event together!

More information about the event, interested to be SSP member or sign up to this event, please contact president@ssp.org.ph or visit www.ssp.org.ph.

Norwegian National Day Celebration in Kuala Lumpur

Editor-in-Chief: Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Advertising: Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com

SSP Family BBQ

Date: 15 and 17 May 2011 Location: The Ambassador’s residence

The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur organizes the celebrations of the 17th of May in Kuala Lumpur. On the 15th of May there will be a traditional Norwegian celebration at the Ambassador’s residence in Kuala Lumpur from 12 pm to 4 pm. There will be traditional children’s parade, games, sausages and ice cream. H.E. Ambassador Arild Braastad and Nina Braastad is also the host of an official reception at Renaissance Hotel on the 17th of May from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm. Please follow up more details at www.norway.org.my and any inquiries could be sent to emb.kualalumpur@mfa.no. Let’s celebrate the 17th of May together in Kuala Lumpur!

DBA/INBC Joint Event on “The Economic Situation in Indonesia” Date: 25 May 2011 The next joint event is on 25 May 2011 to which the Danish Business Association, Indonesia and the Indonesia Norway Business Council are delighted to welcome you to an interesting evening on “The Economic Situation in Indonesia”. Please contact DBA; Ms. Karina Mosgart; km@dba. co.id; 0812 1381 6300 for further information about this event. Should you be interested in sponsoring this event, please also contact Ms. Karina Mosgart. Don’t forget to check the DBA web page www.dba.co.id for more information or possible changes in date.

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INBC/DBA First Joint Meeting on Infrastructural Challenges Photo & text by Danish Business Association

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ndonesia Norway Business Council (INBC) and Danish Business Association (DBA) had their first joined meeting in 2011 at Kristal Hotel on 22nd March. Special thank to Maersk Line who was the sponsorship. Mr. Shane Burt from Toll spoke about infrastructural challenges in present Indonesia and he gave us a very informative breakdown on the development construction rail and roads. He also spoke about corruption problems, problems with subsidiaries and a number of other obstacles in the quest to make Indonesia more efficient via better infrastructure.

MASBA Pub Evening in March Photo & text by Malaysian - Swedish Business Association

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he Malaysian - Swedish Business Association (MASBA) held the Monthly Pub Evening on 10th March at The Ronnie Q Pub. It was a great evening. Almost 50 members attended. They were from Trinity Solutions,Crown Worldwide, Borsig Boiler, Portensis, Rolls Royce, Paracell, Astra Tech, Handeslbanken, Husqvarna, Swedish Motor Assemblies,Asian Tigers, Delphi, Hans Ekstrom, Tommy Ivarsson, Stil Trading, SAAB, Adalta, Montpelier and Wearnes Automotive. Special Thanks to Intermovers & Storage Sdn Bhd for the successful evening.

6 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2011

Party with Big Strong Saigon Vikings

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he big, strong vikings, singing and dancing, swinging their beer mugs, were at the centre of this year’s annual Viking Party on the Saigon River in HCMC this weekend, Saturday 26 March 2011.

The Nordic companies fully backed the event and many had brought several non-viking staff members along. All seemed to have a great time with the good food, free flowing beer and wine and the party continued deep into the night.

“We are having a jolly good time at these Viking parties,” says Sigmund Stromme, Chairman of Nordcham Saigon.

“This has become one of our solid traditions that we will continue to follow up every year,” he promised.

Close to a total of 300 participants sailed up the Sagon River on the special Viking Boat and reached the parrty area where the party took place - including the battle where the Vikings from the different companies competed in friendly tug of the rope.

1. Jan Tromler, the owner of the Au Lac do Brasil restaurants in HCMC, Sigmund Stromme, Nordcham Chairman and Nick Jonsson, Sophie Paris in Vietnam had a great time.

2. Jorgen Lundbaek and Thip were in Viking mood.

3. Andreas and Erik from STX and Sigmund Stromme.

4. Nga Tromler, Au Lac do Brasil, and Hung, Storm P went wild.

5. Kirsten and Jacob Larsen, Sonion A/S. 6. Jacob Lund, Claus Sørensen and Peder Frandsen, Phasion and Viedam.

7. Nordcham’s past vice president Sørens Juelsbak and current vice president Jasper Waale 8. Pulling the rope in the “tug of war”.

9. Good food.

April 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

7

ScandAsia News Brief Qatar Airways Opens Oslo, and Doubles S’pore and KL Flights

Swedish Minister Visited Malaysia and Indonesia

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wedish Minister for Social Affairs Göran Hägglund visited Malaysia and Indonesia 4 - 7 April 2011 as head of a delegation of fifteen Swedish companies operating in the healthcare sector.

Malaysia During his visit to Malaysia, Göran Hägglund met his Malaysian colleague, YB Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, and participated in two Knowledge Sharing Seminars. During the stay he also visited Prince Court Medical Centre, a private hospital owned by Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas, and National Heart Institute, Malaysia’s national center for cardiovascular diseases.

Malaysia is already one of Sweden’s largest trading partners in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia The visit to Indonesia lasted from 5 to 7 April and included on the first day a meeting with his colleague Minister of Health H.E. Dr. Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih. Minister Hägglund invited Dr. Endang to visit Sweden later on this year, where they are supposed to develop details in an MoU in health care between the two Governments.

On the following day, both ministers were keynote speakers at the seminar “Health Care for the Future - A Knowledge Sharing Seminar with Sweden”.

8 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2011

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A second seminar “Linking Partnership between Indonesia and Sweden” - was also held at Pertamedika, with speeches of Minister Hägglund, Dr. H. Mardjo Soebiandono, Director PT Pertamedika, and Dr. H. Sugiharto, President commissioner of PT Pertamina.

Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia, Mrs. Ewa Polano was obviously very satisfied with the outcome of the visit.

“This visit by His Excellency Minister for Health and Social Affairs of Sweden Göran Hägglund further strengthens the already excellent bilateral relations between Sweden and Indonesia”, Mrs. Ewa Polano says.

“We are confident this will lead to increased cooperation between our countries in the field of health care to the benefit of the Indonesian and Swedish people”.

Several of the fifteen world class global leading Swedish health care companies in the delegation signed business deals or MoU's during the visit.

Agreements During the visit of Minister Hägglund, several business agreements were made and signed; • Between the leading cancer curing company from Sweden ELEKTA and the Lippo Group Siloam Hospitals for a Gamma Knife for the MRCCC. • An MoU in the field of upgrading hospital management processes and clinical knowledge and it’s strategies was also signed on Thursday between the Scandinavia Quality Care Company SQC and Pertamedika • As well as with the Jakarta Eye Center, • Swedish company Getinge also signed several contracts with Lippo Siloam Hospitals Group.

• Swedish company KanMed - a UNICEF listed Swedish company - donated an incubator “BabyWarmer” to the leading Indonesian Teaching Hospital RSCM. The ceremony took place on 5 April when the Minister and delegation visited the hospital.

n 9 March, Qatar Airways announced that there will be more expansions to its rapidly growing global network, beginning the second half of this year.

On 5 October 2011, Qatar Airways will start off their five-flights-a-week schedule to Norway’s capital city, Oslo. The airline already operates scheduled services to Stockholm and Copenhagen. Flights to Copenhagen will also be upgraded to daily operations.

In South East Asia, Qatar Airways has announced plans to double its weekly flights to Singapore by introducing a second daily service. The Doha-based airline currently operates daily flights from Doha to Singapore with continuing flights to the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Additional non-stop services between Doha and Singapore will start in May when the airline adds three weekly flights to its schedule in October. An extra flight will operate to Singapore from 3 November, doubling its daily flights.

According to Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker Singapore has been one of Qatar’s best-performing routes in the entire region for a long time, with load factors consistently in the high 90s.

Flights to Kuala Lumpur will also be upgraded to be twice every day and beginning this March, there will be a gradual increase of flights from 11 to 14 weekly by October.

Foreign Spouses Granted More Residency Rights

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Cambodia Sets Age Limit for Foreign Husbands

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ale foreigners over 50 year can as of 1 March 2011 not marry a Cambodian woman according to a recent government decree.

Foreigners who earn less than $2,550 per month are also barred from marrying local women. A Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman described marriages between old men and young women as “inappropriate” but for practical reasons the law will not apply to weddings taking place overseas.

Cambodia imposed a temporary ban on foreign marriages in 2008 to prevent human trafficking, amid concern over a sharp rise in the number of brokered relationships involving South Korean men and mostly poor Cambodian women.

That ban followed an International Organisation for Migration report that said many Cambodian brides suffered abuse after moving to South Korea in marriages hastily arranged by brokers who made large profits.

he Indonesian House of Representatives passed a new immigration law early April that introduced sweeping changes for foreign spouses and children of mixed marriages.

Fahri Hamzah, deputy chairman of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, spoke of a “breakthrough” as the gavel was banged passing the bill.

House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso called the new law “monumental,” while Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said the law was aimed at taking good care of citizens’ foreign spouses and children.

“We want to give protection to Indonesian citizens and their foreign relatives,” Patrialis said.

“They are the children of Indonesia. Their [foreign] wives and husbands are part of our big family.”

The law, among other things, grants permanent residency to foreigners married to Indonesians and to their children, and allows foreign spouses to work in the country without sponsorship.

If any figures are known about the num-

ber of foreigners living in Indonesia, those figures are not shared with the public.

In late 2001, the Jakarta Post reported that in 2000, there were 3,256,854 expatriates, including their dependents, registered with Immigration to live/work in Indonesia. This figure includes all non-Indonesian, also members of the non-documented ethnic Indonesian communities.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar says wives and husbands of Indonesian citizens are “part of our big family.”

One Visa for All Asean

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he Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is working on a plan to make one visa for all of ASEAN in the same way Europe’s unified visa system works, reports The Independent.

“You would just have to apply for one visa and you could then visit all the countries using that visa,” said Eddy Krisneidi, an official at the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat, which recently released its Tourism Strategic Plan for the next five years.

ASEAN countries recorded more than 65 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2009. Malaysia led the field, followed by Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Brunei.

Analysts say visitor numbers could be

boosted by slashing the time-consuming and confusing visa requirements for each of ASEAN’s 10 countries, which range from vibrant developing democracies to isolated, militarydominated Myanmar.

While some allow foreigners to simply purchase visas on arrival, others require wads of paperwork, photos and up to a week to issue the required stamp.

“One of the major concerns of the industry, as well as visitors, is the difficulty of obtaining visas, a series of widely differing regulations and information needs for visas,” ASEAN’s strategic plan states.

It is a view shared by Stuart McDonald, who runs an online travel forum for Southeast Asia.

“One of the most common questions that we see on travelfish.org is people asking visa questions: What kind of visa can I get? How long is it valid for? What does it cost?,” said the Australian who travels extensively in Asia.

“The rules change all the time and it introduces a level of uncertainty and confusion that the industry can do without.”

The concept of a single visa has wide support among tourism bodies across Southeast Asia.

Fighting for Malaysian Madeleine had managed to stretch the nine months she had been given to thirteen, but still she was only six years old when she lost the fight with the disease that had haunted her little life for so long.

‘Don’t buy flowers,’ I said.

‘Let’s start a collection of cash,’ and that was when the first donations came in.

By Katrine Bach Sigvardt

N

o one could have predicted the tragedy that hit the Sjonell family in 1999 only a year after they had left Sweden and moved to Kuala Lumpur.

Everyone was shocked when the doctors announced that five year old Madeleine only had another nine months to live. Madeleine, who had so easily adapted to her new surroundings, learnt English, and made many new friends had an incurable brain tumor.

Her parents did everything they could to save their little girl, and so did the doctors, but despite getting the best treatment available, Madeleine eventually had to give up. She had managed to stretch the nine months she had been given to 13, but still she was only six years old when she lost the fight with the disease that had haunted her little life for so long.

Feeling lucky The loss of Madeleine came as a devastating blow to everyone who knew her. Her family suffered, but despite tremendous grief and sorrow, Madeleine’s mother Eva decided that she would do what she could in order to give something back to the medical community in Malaysia that had supported and helped her family so much.

When Madeleine was ill, everyone did whatever they could to treat her but her tumor was located on her brain stem - the switchboard of the brain and thus very delicate - and surgery was never an option.

The fact that the Sjonell’s had insurance allowed them to go to the best private hospitals in Malaysia and to a couple abroad as well. Sadly, nothing worked. Madeleine passed away but only after everyone had tried their best to save her.

A while later, when Eva visited the pediatric cancer ward at a local Malaysian hospital, she was shocked at the realization that not all children got the medication or even the help they needed for a fighting chance in the struggle against cancer.

“It really hit me how lucky we were. Not in the sense that we had lost our daughter but we didn’t have that economical struggle. You meet so many families there,” she says and explains that you usually see mothers who have left a family of five or six people in rural parts of Malaysia behind to be with their sick

10 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2011

child. These women have typically never been to KL before, and according to Eva there is a lot of fear and guilt in the air at those hospitals.

She had wanted to give something back, and it became clear to her that her help should go to people and institutions that really needed it.

“Don’t buy flowers” When Madeleine died there was a memorial service at Mont’ Kiara International School where she had been a student since her family moved to KL. People came up to Eva to express their condolences, but at the same time they asked her what they could do and how they could help. “ ‘Don’t buy flowers, I said. Let’s start a collection of cash,’ and that was when the first donations came in,” she says.

The new organization, Madeleine Children’s Fund, or MCF as it quickly became known, soon became a reality as she and a couple of other mothers started raising funds. According to Eva, the hard part was to figure out

how to spend the money in the best way. She did know, however, that it should go to children with cancer in Malaysia as this is a group that received little aid from other organizations. There were two large national cancer organizations in Malaysia, but both of them were mostly for adults. There was no specific children’s cancer fund in the country.

“There is a so-called ‘free medical service’ in Malaysia but it is very basic, and very limited. That’s why we chose not to work with the private hospitals where people like ourselves and other expats go. They have good medical insurances, but the University public hospitals help people who have basically nothing,” Eva explains and says that is where MCF is able to help.

Whatever they need Madeleine Children’s Fund works closely together with two pediatric oncology wards in Malaysia (HUKM and UMMC). Usually, it is the staff at those same hospitals that bring certain children to the organization’s attention.

“They know us well and they know we have funding. Typically, they will suggest children who need special care or medication or families who need help with funeral costs. They make a request to us, and that is usually how it goes. We have also done activities at hospitals, but the major-

Cancer Children dren is tumors, but unfortunately those are always harder to treat.

Once in a while, she and her fellow MCF members receive notice from the hospitals that one of the sponsored children has passed away.

Making a difference

ity of the money goes for medication and equipment,” she says and adds that sometimes the items the children need are so basic. In some cases, it is milk powder rather than chemo that a child needs in order to recover, but hospitals do not always have the means to provide this.

Eva explains that they always

know the name and age of the child they are sponsoring. They have a little bit of background information as well as information about the particular type of cancer the child has.

The most common one is leukemia, which according to Eva has a pretty good chance of retreat. The second most common cancer type in chil-

As mentioned earlier, the whole reason for creating Madeleine Children’s Fund was to give something back to Malaysia and to help the children who are not as fortunate as Madeleine was in terms of treatment. There is no doubt in Eva’s mind that the help MCF is able to provide makes a world of difference to the families that need it. MCF is based solely on volunteer work and charity, and therefore all the money that is raised goes straight to the children.

“There is actually quite a lot of poverty among the families that you would meet in local hospitals, and they really, really need money. Even if they have the basic help, if we compare with our world, the basics

are very, very limited, so buying milk powder for a one year old who also has leukemia, definitely makes a big, big difference,” she says.

Helping individual children, however, is only part of MCF’s work. Through fundraisers and other events, the organization helps creating awareness about cancer, and according to Eva, that is very important.

“We always see a lot of students, especially, in elementary all the way through high school who think that cancer is contagious and that you catch it like you catch a virus. Of course there is a fine line between informing and scaring people.

I don’t think that anyone should live in fear to get a deadly disease but it could happen to anyone. It happened to our Madeleine. She had no symptoms, and there is no cancer in our family. It just happened.

Somehow, I think that knowing that makes you appreciate your daily life a bit more,” she says.

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April 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

11

Three Danish Promotions to Vietnam

By Indius Pedersen

F

irst week of April, 19 Danish textile companies were looking for partnership with colleagues in the Vietnamese textile industry.

Several of the companies found potential partners and are now looking at building up a cooperation in the future, eventually maybe even form a joint venture.

During the visit there were seminars, individual visits and speeches from business people, the Danish Ambassador, John Nielsen and Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh. Close to 250 individual meetings were organized in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The visit agenda was planned and organized by the

Embassy in order to facilitate new long-term partnerships between Danish and Vietnamese companies.

The business opportunity is based on the fact that the salary is low in Vietnam - compared to China. The problem is that the Vietnamese textile industry has to import the raw material, wool and cotton from China. That problem cost extra money for transport from China to Vietnam and makes it more difficult to be competitive on selling on the textile marked in Europe.

Water and pigs Parallel to the visit of the textile group of companies, the Danish Embassy held a water trade promo-

12 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2011

tion activity in Vietnam. As well as a promotion activity from the Pig Research Center in Denmark.

“Vietnam is definitely a future agricultural nation with a potential within pig and cow production," says Lindhart B. Nielsen, Pig Farmer and Chairman of the Pig Research Center of Denmark who participated in the promotion.

“We want to establish a cooperation with the Vietnamese farmers to develop pig production here.

The Vietnamese farmers are very eager to learn and expand. Danish farmer have good reason to cooperate with the Vietnamese farmers about selling pigs, and sell semen for the breeding programme. In the future, Danish environmental indus-

try related to farming will then also have a big potential market here," he added.

40 years in Vietnam The week long promotion initiative was a major success for the the Danish Embassy, which the end of this year can celebrate its 40 Years Anniversary. Denmark was the second country to establish an embassy in Hanoi after the American war. So far Denmark has invested 1.2 billion USD in Vietnam, directly and indirectly.

Sophie Paris Takes Vietnam

by Storm The Swedish Managed French fashion house Sophie Paris has become an instant success in Vietnam.

Nick Jonsson, right, from the opening ceremony with President Director Mr. Bruno Hasson left and one of the many pretty models decorating the stage in front of them.

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ophie Paris, Asia’s leading direct selling Fashion Company which started operating in Vietnam in November 2010, has already taken the city’s fashion enthusiasts by storm.

“We are thrilled to see the success we already have in Vietnam,” says company General Director Nick Jonsson.

“We targeted a sales per month of 200,000 US$ - but we reached that figure after only a few days. In fact sales in the first two months exceeded USD 1 million,” reveals the Swedish-native Nick Jonsson.

Nick believes it is the combination of Sophie Paris’ French designed fashion, the competitive pricing and the fantastic business opportunity the company offers resellers, that has created the instant success.

“If there is one thing we Swedes pride ourselves on, it is our legacy of design, and I have to hand it to our team, they have done an incredible job of designing an amazing range of products at ideal price points suitable for developing markets.”

With products designed by a French design team led by Mr. Arnaud Roca, the products draw inspiration from some of the world’s leading design and creative geniuses, and are priced to suit local budgets for discerning customers with an eye on their purse strings.

“We produce a new catalogue every 45 days, and each catalogue features 40 per cent new styles.

This means the standard of products that reach the market matches the most exacting design and construction standards imaginable,” said Nick.

With a track record of establishing the company in the Philippines and Morocco as well as Indonesia, the $100 million firm has come to be Asia’s leading fashion company selling direct, with over 100,000 active members worldwide. Its Vietnam foundation team brings more than 40 years of experience in direct selling to the fast developing South East Asian Nation.

Fully certified and recognized by the Direct Selling Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, market reception to the

Nick Jonsson General Director

company has been hot, with over 9000 members already selling the company’s products.

“We are extremely confident that Vietnam will continue turn a little pinker with us here,” said Mr. Jonsson.

“Our bright branding is already all over the city, and we are sure that our products will continue to be the talk of the town.”

Interested members can view the full catalogue online at www.sophieparis.vn and they are welcome to visit the Sophie Paris showroom in Ho Chi Minh City.

About Sophie Paris Sophie Paris is a French owned fashion company selling direct. It

is present in four countries including Indonesia, Morocco, Philippines and Vietnam. With head office in Jakarta, Indonesia the company employs more than 500 staffs and has more than 100,000 active members around the world. The company produces a new catalogue every 45 days full of French designed fashion for woman, men and children.

Sophie Paris Vietnam was launched in November 2010 and has its office on 84B Tran Quoc Toan, Ward 8, District 3. Ho Chi Minh City. The company employs 75 staff as well as more than 9000 members. See news here: http://www. scandasia.com/viewNews.php?coun_ code=vn&news_id=8502

With over 15 years in roles ranging from business development to marketing communications, Nick leds the Sophie Paris team with a diverse portfolio of experience behind him. Nick cut his multi-level marketing teeth working with beauty company Oriflame in Vietnam, where he was Area Sales manager based in the Ho Chi Minh City branch. During his time with the company he grew the consultant number by more than 50%.

His most recent role saw him employed as Business Development Manager at International SOS Vietnam, and roles before that included periods consulting in communications in Thailand, the UK and Australia, as well as his native Sweden.

In his spare time, Nick enjoys watching football and playing tennis and golf.

With almost four years of Vietnam under his belt, the dynamic father-of-one is also very active in the European and Scandinavian business communities, indeed he currently sits as the Vice Chairman of NordCham Vietnam.

Nick holds a Masters Degree in Public Relations and a Bachelor of Communications, both from Bond University in Australia.

April 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

13

Former Teen Actor Sel Antiques, and Five Star

Carsten Jørgensen is truly one of the special characters in Bali. The Dane came to the village of Ubud with several containers of antiques and started to sell the stuff inside or outside his restaurant Coffee & Silver. At the same time he is designing for some of the regions best regarded hotel chains.

By Bjarne Wildau

M

any years ago a complete Danish Antique shop arrived in the artistic Balinese village of Ubud. The antique dealer Carsten Jørgensen, former actor, model, and restaurateur in the Danish town Arhus, was on the move.

One of the things from the containers, a typical Danish coffee mill is now greeting his guest when they enter Carstens restaurant Coffee & Silver close to the Monkey Forrest in Ubud. The rest of the stuff you can find in the Danes’ Antique shop in the backyard.

In one of several rooms in that shop you will also find examples of Carsten Jørgensen’s creations to solve the need for “exclusive” but cheaper designs to the modern world, namely sinks in bronze.

Should stay one month Back in the restaurant its time to find out how the containers and Carsten Jørgensen ended up in this 14 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2011

quite touristic and artistic village of Ubud. ”My old man turned fifty, and the family turned to me to find a place where we all could celebrate his birthday,” Carsten explains.

“I planned to stay one month but Ubud this place has so many things that I find so appealing. It’s a very beautiful place. The nature outside town is fantastic. During my first years here we had rice paddies in the middle of the town, and not least, you have all these more or less crazy people from all over the world living here, some of them are bastards, but most of them are lovable”, Carsten Jørgensen says with a laugh while massaging his moustache.

Suddenly he makes a decision.

He gets up from his chair and walks over to another branch of his antique shop attached to the restaurant. Second later he is back with a huge scrapbook.

After Carsten has been holding me three steps from his story, it

lling Jazz, Vilas in Bali seem like it is now literally going to unfold in front of my eyes.

Looking in a Scrapbook Some pictures from the most watched Danish movie appear.

Those pictures show Carsten Jørgensen as one of the most wellknown Danish film characters, namely “Jønne” in the film director Nils Malmros’ movie Beauty and the Beast (Skønheden og udyret) where he played together with superstars like Jesper Klein and Merete Voldstedlund.

The film was huge. And the same was the reaction to the movie, and the people behind this outstanding peace of art.

“It was just too much. I couldn’t step outside my room without someone I had never seen before was my best friend”, says Carsten Jørgensen.

However, it was a lifelong enemy from the schoolyard who showed the teen actor that it was time to go.

“One Saturday evening when I enjoyed my self with my real friends, a guy came up to me from behind and offered me a beer. It was my enemy from as far back as I can remember. We had been fighting each other for years, and now he would share a beer with me. He would be honoured to pay the bill. Oh my dear, I simply had to get out, as far away as possible”, says Carsten Jørgensen rolling his moustache once again.

Back in front of cameras That place turned out to be Japan, where Carsten Jørgensen easily could walk around in Tokyo without anyone padding his shoulder.

Years later his was ready for another turn in his career.

Carsten turns a page in his scrapbook. Now he is a photo model for brands which at that time were the biggest of the biggest like Pierre Cardin and Versace.

When Carsten left to get the scrapbook I noticed he is leaning forward a bit while standing and working, and I could recognise the same posture, lesser but still the

same, on the ads for Versace. The answer to my question came right away: “I have rheumatism in my spine, and it already started when I made that commercial”, the former model says.

here to his new Coffee & Silver restaurant where Carsten still provides beautiful jazz twice a week. And that’s the place where you meet the guy if he his not out doing something else.

Jazz and Antiques

“I has always been about selling. I never sold my own mother, but apart from that, I want to find things someone made already and I love to make my own stuff too - and then sell it!” Carsten says.

“So during the first years out here I spend loads of time travelling around on all the small islands nearby, Lombok, Sumba, Sumbawa, Flores and Timor and even the eastern part of Java, to see what they were good at. I was mapping the villages my own way, giving them new names in my notebook. Table village, bronze village, wood table’s vil-

Later when Carsten had his antique shop in Århus, he and his brother opened a restaurant named Coffee & Silver. One of the things making the places famous, except from jazz music, was the fact that everything in the restaurant was for sale, like in Carsten’s shop around the corner.

“Our guest could literally risk that the chair they thought were theirs for the evening, would be sold and then taken away right from under their bottoms”.

But eventually all the stuff, including the Coffee mill, was moved

Mapping the Islands

lage, blacksmith village, and so on”.

The bronze sink that Carsten keeps in his antique shop in the backyard he found in a village in Java. Now you can find washbasin and even bathtubs made in bronze in five star rooms in Bali and the surrounding islands, and as far away as in Langkawi Malaysia, The Maldives and the Seychelles islands. And where ever the hotel chain Four Seasons is around.

Lately the Dane made his entry to a new business.

“I help people build their villas or maybe they want to create a new hotel. I find the land, the architect, take a fight or ten with him, then I secure the quality of the construction designs, the work, the material and especially secure the end result. When people contact me, they know that guest will get a good feeling in their stomach when they enter one of “my” rooms”.

3000 US $ per Nigth The latest project, and the biggest, is a five star villa in a remote villa.

The owner is an Indian millionaire with an Australian passport, and he wanted the former teen actor to create a five star villa, 1600 m2, for typically Indian movie stars and similar types of guests who are ready to pay 3.000 US $ per night for five bedrooms and a little more.

“It was difficult to understand why it was me, among hundreds, who got that project. He saw what I had done before and liked it. And that was it”, Carsten Jørgensen is laughing massaging his moustache one more time.

Life is good to Carsten Jørgensen now that he has settled down in Ubud on Bali with his Indonesian wife and their cute baby - and... what? Is that a new baby coming along?

April 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

15

Nyborg Gymnasium

N

yborg Gymnasium is an unusual Danish college, offering both STX (a standard Danish A-level), HF (2 year exam that gives access to university studies) and IB (International Baccalaureate) - and further takes in boarders.

As a consequence, young people from the local town of Nyborg meet young people from other regions of Denmark and from abroad at Nyborg Gymnasium. It gives a special educational atmosphere, being local, national, and international at the same time.

All three educational lines are characterized by • a high educational standard and personal attention to each student • development of the student in terms of competence in the subjects, excellence in cooperation and an appetite for further learning • participation in the IT education and it-based communication between students and their teachers related to their everyday working environment • tolerance, involvement and responsibility for creating a safe and pleasant living atmosphere for all • positive and fun experiences, school parties, sports days, etc.

Read more on our website: www.nyborg-gym.dk and our school magazine: http://issuu.com/nyborg-gym/docs/ magasin2011

Stenhus’ Student Exchange in China

S

tenhus Kostskole in Holbaek in Denmark entered last year a cooperation with Tianjin Experimental High School in China aimed at exchanging students. The first two students to study in China were Jonathan Hvid and Kira Bach Pedersen.

They will be followed by more Stenhus students in the years to come.

This year, a group of 9 Graders will travel to China to stay with families of some of the students and follow the classes at the High School in the vicinity of Beijing.

New BioTech College Degree

B

agsvaerd Boarding and High School in Denmark has established Denmark’s first five year BioTech College with a vision of turning out some of the brightest future BioTech researchers.

Starting in Grade 8 and for the next five years, the students are taught at the highest level within a range of science disciplines, including biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics.

Experiments, field trips and internships in connection with major written assignments will be

16 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2011

Stenhus Kostskole is a boarding school located next to the Stenhus Gymnasium with a total of 850 students. Located some 60 km west of Copenhagen, the school has room for 50 students who are under the care of seven boarding school inspectors, two of whom live on the premises.

Stenhus Kostskole was founded in 1906 by the educationalist H. E. Hass whose basic principles were religious devotion, modesty and respect for truth and justice.

Although the school has developed over the years, Stenhus Kostskole remains based on the principle

of freedom under responsibility and mutual respect among pupils, teachers and parents as evidenced in some of the specific rules of the school: • Bullying is not tolerated.

• No visible piercings.

• Students must dress properly.

• Mobiles must be turned off during lessons, tests and exams.

Stenhus Kostskole DK-4300 Holbæk Tel. +45 59 43 02 69 E-mail: admin@stenhus.dk Website: www.stenhus.dk

BioTek - Danmarks første

femårige gymnasieforløb 8.kl.-3.g

Bagsværd Kostskole & Gymnasium løfter den faglige overligger. I samarbejde med Novozymes, DTU og KU tilbyder vi nu en femårig gymnasial BioTek-uddannelse for elever, der har talent inden for naturvidenskab og bioteknologi. Uddannelsen indebærer bl.a, at BioTek-elever i 9. klasse vil blive undervist på det, der i dag svarer til 1.g niveau.

an important part of the educational activities.

BioTek students will join with other students who share their interests. They form a strong community that undertakes many social activities. Bagsvaerd Boarding and Highschool cooperates with the Danish Technical University and BioTech Academy in forming the education so the students can get be affiliated with mentors from these institutions.

Students with an interest and a talent for sports will also have plenty of opportunity for training and developing their talent.

“We want to equip our students for tomorrow’s global job market while at the same time provide our boarders a consistent and secure home with space for both studies, homework and friends,” says Head Master Jimmy Burnett Nielsen.

Bagsværd Kostskole og Gymnasium Aldershvilevej 138 2880 Bagsværd tel: +45 44980065 Att: Soren Borgesen e-mail: bk@bagkost.dk website: www.bagkost.dk

Læs mere om BioTek på www.bagkost.dk

Bagsværd Kostskole & ium Gymnas

Vi glæ der os til Vi glæat se der odig... s t il at se dig...

Tag en bid af kundskaben på den fede måde!

Aldershvilevej 138, 2880 Bagsværd, Telefon + 45 44 98 00 65, www.bagkost.dk

April 2011 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

17

Medium

Pork Liver Pâté

Evil

I

nexpensive and simple to make, this dish serves as a great starter or light meal and is healthy choice of light eating.

Although usually eaten with Danish rye bread, the pâté can also be spread on any cracker of you choice. Tweaking the recipe to fit personal taste can make it better and especially more personal when served.

This amazing dish does great at parties and gatherings.

Ingredients 500 gr. pork liver (pork liver is great) 300 gr. pork fat 1 medium onion 3 anchovies (can be left out) 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup light cream 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon allspice

Are you done?

W

hen 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:

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Address:

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Deadline for submitting your solution is 15 April 2011 18 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2011

Directions • Put the liver, anchovies, fat & onion through a meat chopper at least 3 times or use a food processor.

• The mixture should be quite fine in the texture. Mix in the flour, cream, eggs, salt, pepper and all spice.

• Spoon the mixture into a buttered loaf pan.

• Put it in a pan of water and bake in a 350F oven for an hour.

• If the pate is browning too quickly place a piece of foil loosely over it.

This dish is usually served with fried mushrooms, bacon bits, and cucumber pickles on Danish rye bread.

The pork liver pâté is a tasty mix of ground liver and fat minced into a spreadable paste which is later added with a choice of vegetables, herbs, spices, or wine.