ScandAsia Thailand - February 2014

FEB 2014

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News Brief

Coming Events

Scandinavian Expats Pattaya: Erawan & Siam Center tour February 13, 2014 @ 09:00 – 21:00

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

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Singapore and the rest of South East Asia.

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

Scandinavian Expats Pattaya continue their excursions. On Thursday 13 February 2014, the trip goes to visit the giant threeheaded elephant statue in Samut Prakarn known as Erawan or Airavata, the mythological animal that carries the Hindu god Indra. The statue was built over 10 years by businessman Lek Viriyahbhun, the bronze statue sits atop a three-story museum housing his priceless collection of Thai antiques and art.

Because of the influence of Hindusim on Thai Buddhism, the statue has become a place of worship for Thais, who seek out Erawan’s blessings.

After lunch, the trip goes on to shop in the many hi-so boutiques in Siam Center in central Bangkok.

Price 600 Baht. Departure from the Norwegian Church. Sign up with ingemar.kullgren@gmail.com

Oakwood Bangkok International Rugby Tens Tournament @ Bangkok Patana School February 22, 2014 @ 09:00 – February 23, 2014 @ 18:00 The Oakwood Bangkok International Rugby Tens tournament will be held on the weekend of February 22-23, 2014 at Bangkok Patana School on Sukhumvit Soi 105. The annual event brings together 1600 participants from across the globe, with representatives typically coming from the region, as well as Australia, New Zealand, France and South Africa. The games are highly competitive and are run over two days. Adding to the fun are live music, food stalls, drinks, and a beer garden, as well as a kids area with games and activities, including a bouncy castle, ensuring a festive atmosphere and enjoyment for the whole family.

Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com

More information: www.bangkokrugby10s.net and Facebook: bangkokrugby10s

Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com

February 27, 2014 @ 18:30 – 21:30

Assistant Editor: Wachiraporn Janrut wachiraporn@scandmedia.com

Annual General Meeting in TSCC and Dancham Annual General Meeting in the Danish and Swedish Chamber of Commerce takes place on Thursday, 27 February 2014. The Danes combine the event with an optional dinner afterward at a separate cost. The details about the Swedish AGM was not yet final when ScandAsia went to print.

Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com Karsten Reinholdt Jakobsen karsten@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Supphathada Numamnuay supphathada@scandmedia.com Printing : Lake & Foundtain Printing Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

First Aid & CPR Workshop at Samitivej @ Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital February 28, 2014 @ 09:00 – 12:00 Fee: 1,200 Baht per person, including snacks & lunch Language: English Keeping your child safe is our top priority. Learn how to protect your child inside and outside the house, in case of an emergency.

Empower yourself with First Aid knowledge with Samitivej specialist, Uthen Pandee, M.D. Pediatrics Emergency Medicine.

Attend this seminar on Friday, 28 February 2014 at 09.00-12.00 hrs. at Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital Auditorium 7/F For further information and reservation please contact : Barkha G., International Marketing Associate at 0-2711-8499 or inter01@samitivej.co.th

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY

Past Events

Meet the new Norwegian priest in Pattaya

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he new priest at the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in Pattaya has been flown in from Oslo in more than one sense. For the last 15 years he worked as airport priest in Oslo, but now he is ready to take over the job to serve the Norwegian community in Pattaya in Thailand.

On Wednesday January 8 Ragnvald Seierstad was introduced to the community he is going to serve, when the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in Pattaya hosted an evening get-together.

“I am very excited about this job,” Ragnvald Seierstad told ScandAsia on his second day at work in the new surroundings in Pattaya.

“It is a huge responsibility to lead a big church like this and it has a lot of activities going on. And of course also we as a community should get along with each other very well,” After 15 years of working solo in the airport in Oslo, the big team behind the Seamen’s Church in Pattaya is one of the things that he is looking forward to work with, he said.

In the airport in Norway he served the 15,000 employees and if some of the 22 million

travelers, would need to talk to a priest. That part of the priest’s tasks will he be bringing with him in his daily work in Pattaya.

“The church is a place for people to come and meet. We are the human contact, and that is an important responsibility and part of the Christian faith. We are here to make life better for the Norwegians who live here,” he said and added, that the priest’s job also covers the Norwegians who might be hospitalized, jailed or need help to live their life in another way.

Ragnvald Seierstad already knows a little about the Church in Pattaya, from a summer vacancy a couple of years ago. He has also traveled in Thailand as a tourist, and finds the country very exotic. The new Norwegian priest is 61 years old and has previously worked in the Seamen’s Churches in Miami and Copenhagen in a total of eight years.

His wife and grown-up children decided to stay in Norway, but with his wife he made a commute arrangement so that they will both visit each other twice a year.

T-FCC Pre-Christmas party

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he T-FCC help on Saturday 30 November another very successful Pre-Christmas party at the Lotus Garden on the 26th Floor of the Centara Grand Hotel. Fantastic food and drink, celebrated with more than 150 members and members’ friends. The Chamber thanks all participants and is looking forward to seeing the members again at various functions throughout the year.

6 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

Past Events

Admirals Bangkachao Invasion by Viking Wheelers

By Hans Henrik Melchior

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n Sunday 12 January 2014 at 9 am sharp a group of 9 brave Vikings turned up at Admirals@24 to join the Viking Wheelers Bangkachao Invasion. They were: Bent Laasholt, Claus Gundersen, Lars Henrik Jensen, Beate Stampe Rasmussen, Jan Dam Pedersen, Anika Jonasson with her son and his friend and Hans Henrik Melchior.

The team cycled to the Klong Toey boatlanding, took a long-tail boat across and cycled to the pit stop at the Bang Nam Phung Floating Market, with a brief ride through the garden of the Fighting Fish Gallery. After the pitstop the Vikings returned to the Boat Landing, with a short detour through the Sri Nakhon Khuen Khan Park for the boat trip back across the river and to the Admirals.

At the Admirals Bent had arranged for proper replenishment of carbohydrates and whatever the riders needed to recover from the ride.

A wonderful tour which the riders decided should be repeated every last Saturday of the month (not in February, however, due to the Pattay weekend on 22 and 23 February).

Strong turnout at TSCC Christmas Lunch

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SCC organized its Christmas Lunch at Rembrandt Hotel on 14 December. More than 100 guests and 30 kids participate in the event. On arrival, guests were welcomed with warm “Glogg” and a speech by Jan Eriksson, President of TSCC. During the lunch the Lucia choir came into the room and sang wonderful Lucia song and later, a Jazz bang entertained the guests.

After enjoying the delicious Swedish traditional Christmas food, Santa Claus came and all the kids were very excited. The Santa Claus gave gifts and candies to the kids, and all danced around the Christmas tree, making the room lively and fun.

In the end, the lucky winner of the lottery was announced. There were more than 30 prizes Commerce: Punawa Resort, Dewa Nai Yang Beach, Black Mountain Golf Club, The Landmark Hotel, St.Regis Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Oakwood, Rembrandt Hotel, Samitivej Hospital, Admiral Restaurant, Royal Prestige wine, IKEA, Husqvarna, Electrolux, and Finnair.

The Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce would also like to thank the Platinum sponsor, SAAB, and Gold sponsor Husqvarna for supporting the Christmas Lunch. Last but not least the Chamber would like to thank Rembrandt Hotel for delicious Christmas food and nice services.

8 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

Past Events

Swea Bangkok hosts well-attended Christmas party

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wea Bangkok held a well visited Christmas Party at Rembrandt Hotel on 30 November. It was a traditional Swedish Christmas party with all what it takes to get in the right Christmas spirit.

“It was a great party with delicious Swedish Christmas food that Rembrandt had arranged. We started out with mingle and were then entertained by a “svensk spelman”.

Throughout the dinner we sang Swedish “snapsvisor”. After dinner we had a live band playing for us and after that we danced and mingled for many hours,” said board member Gabriella Larsson.

February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 9

News Brief

Deported Thai Girl and Mother now back in Denmark

Thai berry pickers in Sweden to win compensation

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undreds of berry pickers from Thailand who staged a long protest in Umeå , a town in northeast Sweden, over unpaid wages last summer have won their fight for compensation from the staffing company that hired them.

The 200 berry pickers went without wages in the summer but are now to be paid the equivalent of five to 10 months’ salary for a laborer in Thailand by a Thai employment agency.

Berry picker Somsak Samoesap said to Swedish Television News SVT that the wages should be paid on Jan. 20, but that he would not celebrate until he sees the money.

Sources: Radio Sweden/Alaska Dispatch Photo credit: FB Fanpage of Support the struggle of Thai berries pickers in Sweden

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n Saturday January 4 the 8-years old girl Im and her mother Suthida from Thailand landed in Aalborg airport in Denmark.

They were welcomed by family and friends from their hometown Aabybro, who had arranged a limousine to pick them up, told Danish Broadcast DR. Mother and daughter were deported from Denmark last year after Im’s step dad and Suthida’s husband died from cancer in 2012. The Danish Immigrant service decided, that their connection to Thailand was bigger than their connection to Denmark, and therefore they had to leave the country on November 10. At that time they had lived in Denmark for four years.

Im and Suthida Nielsen’s story was published in the medias nationwide and created a public demand to let them in again. After that the law was changed retroactively, so that a foreigner’s permission to stay can not be changed because of a spouse’s death.

KIS International School Invites Super Students for IB Diploma Scholarships

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IS International School is accepting applications for their coveted IB Diploma academic scholarships for the academic year 2014-2015. KIS scholarships are well respected in the international school community and are awarded in order to recognize academic excellence and open up the world of the International Baccalaureate (IB) to deserving candidates. The IB Diploma scholarship winner will be granted full tuition for the duration of the two-year IB Diploma programme, valued at around 1.5 million Baht.

KIS graduates are accepted at top 20 universities in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

The scholarship is open to applicants of all nationalities who are fluent in English and currently in Grade 10 (Year 11). Applicants should be academically strong and well-rounded. Candidates may be eligible for a partial scholarship. Applications are welcome until March 14, 2014 Please request full conditions and details of the scholarships from Ms. Linda Belonje linda@kis.ac.th.

More information about KIS is at www.kis.ac.th 10 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

Flemming Winther Nielsen Niels Henrik Hansen says goodbye to SAS Bangkok

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n Thursday January 9 Scandinavian Airlines hosted this month’s Nordic networking event at Admirals Pub in

Bangkok.

On that occasion the Director and General Manager of SAS Southeast Asia Niels Henrik Hansen said goodbye to the community associated with the Nordic Chambers of Commerce who attended the event.

Not only was he leaving his job in Thailand, he also announced the official closing of the SAS’s Bangkok office. It means that SAS in the future will only by represented in Thailand through an agent office and from the regional office in Tokyo.

The shutdown has been carried out in stages since last year and the last employee has already left the office. Luckily most staff members have already found new jobs elsewhere in Bangkok, he said.

SAS flights had served passengers between Bangkok and Scandinavia for more than 60 years, and continues to offer routes to and from Scandinavia. SAS will be operating up to 4 flights a week Bangkok-Copenhagen until end of March 2014.

Niels Henrik Hansen himself takes up a new position back in Denmark.

passed away

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lemming Winther Nielsen passed away Tuesday 21 January 2014. He encountered a heart attack at home and was taken to Lad Prao hospital where the doctors could not save his life. He was 65 years old.

Flemming Winther Nielsen wrote jokingly about himself n the text “About the Author” on his recently published book about the Danes in Siam: Flemming Winther Nielsen“Flemming Winther Nielsen was born and raised in the suburban parish of Vinding near Vejle, Denmark. He spent most of his childhood on Vejle Fjord sailing dinghies, all of them in sinkable condition. When 18 years old he escaped to Copenhagen by train and got a job renting out cars.

By a strange mistake he was enrolled at a College, studied and got a certificate and diploma in ‘Social Work and Development’ and then worked in the public sector for some years.

Cand. Scient. Soc. from Aalborg University, Denmark.

Lecturer at the College for Social Work and Development. During leaves Flemming Winther Nielsen worked and carried out research in the Sudan (Khartoum), Zambia (Lusaka) and Portugal (Alentejo).

He has published various studies in Danish, among them: ‘Allah’s vej og vores’ (1985). ‘UdstødtUdtrådt’ (1996).

Part time Lecturer at University of Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok (2003-8)” In 1998, he married Khun Pornpan, a lecturer at the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce.

The couple lived in Denmark the first year, then moved to live in Bangkok in 1999.

In Thailand, Flemming soon became a very active participant in the Scandinavian community an studied extensively about the history of Siam. In 2009 he started writing about the historical legacy of the Scandinavian in ScandAsia. In 2011, he joined the board of Scandinavian Society Siam, where he established a special group, the Scandinavian Heritage Section, which arranged meetings and excursions to places of special historical interests.

In December 2013, Flemming published the book “From the Time of the Crocs” subtitled “The Danes in the Mangroves 1860 -” His plan was to gather material for a follow up book to be published in connection with the 100 year anniversary of the Scandinavian Society in 2020.

In Thailand, Flemming leaves behind Khun Pornpan and her two sons from her first marriage.

In Denmark, he leaves two daughters behind from his first marriage.

Flemming wrote a series of three articles about getting old for ScandAsia. The first of these will be on page 22 in this issue – the next two in the coming issues.

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February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 11

Finnish inspir Finland’s new Ambassador, Mrs. Kirsti Westphalen, strongly believes in the Finnish education system which could be adapted to Thai conditions. She is also an expert in social reconciliation. And she believes Myanmar will be one of the next growth spots.

By Teuvo Tuomi

12 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

iration K

irsti Westphalen is exactly as I remember.

She is the same articulate, rational and very approachable person I had met during her welcome party a month ago. An ideal choice to be Finland’s new Ambassador for Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

“Ambassadors are just like any officials,” Kirsti Westphalen laughs. “There is nothing special about us.”

“But I have a very good employer. Nothing is more rewarding than to be able to learn new things all the time.”

That’s what I like about her. She is a smart and educated person. But she is also someone, who understands that her job is not to hide behind a closed door.

Finnish education getting attention Current strengths of Finland are competitiveness, creativity, focus on life sciences and high-class education system. These are the themes that also Westphalen wants to promote.

“Thailand is struggling with the same issues of competitiveness as many countries in the region and in the wider world. As a representative of Finland it’s essential to focus on our strengths upon which you can build your capabilities.”

Finland has long been topping the lists in terms of competitiveness, together with other Nordic countries. Another focus area is the life sciences that focus on health and physical activity. During the recent years more and more startup companies have started focusing on this area also in Asia.

But it’s actually the Finnish education system that is getting lots of attention right now. ”I’m surprised, how well the locals know about our education system and how interested they are in what we are doing.”

The problem is that introducing something new to a country is challenging.

“It’s impossible to export one type of a system as it is to another country. That’s clear. But certain characteristics and how to apply them can be utilized.”

One key aspect could be teachers’ training. Improving educators’ status has helped at least in Finland. Actually to be a teacher you need to excel in your own studies and to be an academic achiever.

“Creating a system like this takes time. For us it took 30 years.”

Westphalen also thinks that just putting money into the system doesn’t necessarily help. Everything should be based on a long-term strategy.

Another characteristic of the Finnish school system is to try to encourage children to independent thinking. Relatively small class sizes and flexible curriculum have clearly improved the results.

No easy solutions for the South Westphalen’s specialty has long been political islam, radicalization and intercultural as well as interreligious dialogue. As the Consul General in Los An-

geles she was following the topic closely together with her priority areas: clean technology, sustainable solutions, education and creative industries.

That’s why she also clearly understands Thailand’s domestic problems in the Deep South. At the same time she recognizes that these problems are not easy to solve.

“It would be nice to find an easy solution. But I’m not in a position to say, how it should be done.”

Finland is far away from Thailand both culturally and geographically. But even Finland may have an important story to tell. An example, studied by many in the world, is the autonomy of the southwestern Åland islands of Finland. For those coming from Åland or in Finnish Ahvenanmaa being part of Finland has not always been that obvious. And the lessons from Aland may indeed offer some reference points.

“We always need to learn from each other,” Westphalen summarizes.

Importance to forgive One good example of Finland’s efforts to offer solutions are former President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari’s recent visits to Thailand and Myanmar. The key goal for any diplomatic mission is to bring both parties to the same negotiating table. That’s where peace advocates like Ahtisaari may well be able to help.

One key challenge here is the vast ethnic diversity. Burma has 135 ethnic groups and even Thailand 70.

“If people are treated in different ways and unjustly, they get angry.”

But these issues need to be resolved nationally and locally. The role of a diplomat is to share how similar conflicts in other parts of the world have been resolved by negotiations.

“Finland supports the European Union’s principles. EU wishes to partner with countries and political forces that follow the laws and avoid violence.”

“But we should also be able to somehow forgive the sins of the past. We should get rid of the stone in our shoe,” Westphalen says, sharing the wisdoms of the great statesman Nelson Mandela, who is so often repeated in these days.

Nordic cooperation remains important Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark have traditionally been cooperating closely throughout the world. The ambassadors of these countries are constantly in touch with each other here in South East Asia as well.

“Our ideals and values are similar. That’s why it’s only natural that we are cooperating in many ways,” Westphalen says.

All this cooperation is even more important now than before, because the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will be starting from the beginning of 2016.

“We are doing our best to encourage busi-

nesses for economic cooperation in this region.

This is the right time to move in.”

Myanmar in focus Finnish government’s development projects are already running in neighboring Laos and Cambodia. Myanmar is going to be the next on the list.

“Myanmar has a huge growth potential. Their importance in terms of economic development will be increasing.”

Westphalen is also involved in Team Finland, a network that promotes Finland and its interests abroad. Its key focus is in external economic relations, the internationalization of Finnish enterprises, investments in Finland and sustaining a meaningful country brand.

The Embassy works closely also with the national trade and development organization Finpro, the funding agency for technology and innovation Tekes, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland and the Finnish Academy. Locally the Embassy often partners also with the Thai-Finnish Chamber of Commerce and Finnish Honorary Consuls in Phuket, Chiang Mai and Vientiane.

“I like being involved with economic and technological issues as much as possible. This is absolutely essential.”

Home is where you are Thailand has so far been a good learning experience for Westphalen and her husband.

“I love it here. People are very friendly and helpful.”

Traveling in the capital takes long, because traffic is chaotic. But Westphalen doesn’t let even that bother her. Long hours spent in cars can be used for reading and learning.

“But I haven’t really had time to go anywhere.

During the three months I have been, here I haven’t even visited the big department store next to our office yet,” she laughs.

Crowded cities like Bangkok don’t scare Westphalen. She has worked at Finnish diplomatic missions abroad in Paris, Beijing and Damascus as well as at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York. She has also worked as the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of Finland in Rabat. And even in Finland she was born in Helsinki, the capital.

“Home is where you are,” she states. For a career diplomat like Westphalen it couldn’t be otherwise.

Moving to other countries is still full of surprises. For Westphalen one of the biggest positive experiences has been the food. Bangkok is simply one of the food capitals of the World.

For her, Thai food is simply “yummy.” But she also enjoys all the fusion options that can be found throughout the city. No wonder, why Westphalen doesn’t have problems staying here.

This is her home. At least for now.

February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 13

Be nice to other

By Agneta Bekassy Photos Daniel Herron

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here are many ‘W’s that comes to mind when characterizing Khun Wichien Harnpraween, the legal advisor to many Scandinavians in Thailand. He is well educated, well dressed, well behaved, and last but not least, well known among the Scandinavians living and working in Thailand.

When asking him how he has managed to become so popular among the Scandinavians he burst out in a big laugh and says: “I’m not sure at all if I am popular, but I do have a lot of Scandinavian friends, mostly work related”.

It suits my character Khun Wichien was born in Bangkok and went to school in Bangkok and already in his earlier years, he decided to become a lawyer. In 1986 he graduated from Thammasat University Bangkok and in 1990 from the well known University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

When asked why he wanted to study law quickly he replied: “Honestly, I think it suits my character. I love to talk and I enjoy being able to give people good advice.”

After graduation, he started working as a Legal Clerk at the Thai Shell Exploration Production Co., Ltd in Phitsanulok, a province in the northern Thailand. Then he had the chance to work for a

year in Germany where he was employed by the Max-Plank-Institute in Munich. During that time he also learned some German. Back in Bangkok he was lecturing in law, at the Mahidol University.

Scandinavian connection

Dalahäst ( a painted horse made of wood from the Swedish landscape Dalarna) stands on his desk and in the conference room you can see a crystal sculpture of a Vikinga skepp /(Viking ship) among many other articles.

Among his clients are many well renown companies like Tetra Pak, Atlas Copco, Gunnebo, Nordic Plastic, Ohlin Racing, New Nordic, Skandic Consult, Logonet, Hvidsten Group just to mention a few.

Asked if there was any “case” that has been especially interesting, Khun Wichien answered “Many, many, but I really enjoy working on restructuring businesses and one of the most impressive case for me, was when I won a dispute on custom issue for Atlas Copco.”

Along the way, he has adopted many of our Scandinavian habits and traditions and he is always ready to accept an offer for a big cold Tuborg, Spendrup or Norrlandsöl (Beers).

He also plays golf with his Scandinavian friends and has participated many times in SEB’s Golf tournament and other golf competitions organized by SSS, Skandinavisk Samfund Siam.

Year 2012/13 he was appointed member of the year, as an appreciation of his extensive contribution to the development of SSS’ Society.

A visit to the office shows the many objects he has collected from all Scandinavian countries, a

Next door to his wife

Settling down Even if he worked hard, Khun Wichien started thinking of finding the right woman to marry. That happened in 1999 when he met Khun Veeruthai who took his breath away.

In 2000, the couple married and a year later, their first child was born, baby Pam, today 12 years old and two years later the son Pete made his appearance.

Now with wife and two children, it was time to consider starting his own business and in 2006 the company Wissen & Co Ltd., was established.

A very good location for the office was found near Asoke, which is still today the company address.

Today Khun Wichien has a partner, Khun Nitipat, who is the one appearing in court as Khun Wichien prefers to stay in the office. The staff has increased to 11 employees and probably there are more to come as they are getting busier and busier day by day.

Khun Wichiens wife, Khun Veeruthai, is conveniently having her office next door to Wissen & Co Ltd.. She is director of the company Sharpener Accounting & Tax Co.Ltd., a company that supports foreign investors and local companies in Thailand with a comprehensive range of outsourced accounting, tax issues and non-cored activities customized to fit with your business needs.

She is a woman with a warm smile, an open mind and from what it seems a caring mom and a beloved wife and life-companion.

Wondering what the couple does in their free time Khun Wichien said: “I’m playing golf and Badminton and my wife is very occupied with our children” and Khun Veeruthai just smiled at her husband, but of course she has her own interests too.

Together, they enjoy music and seldom miss a concert organized by the Rotary Club there Khun Wichien is a long time member.

When asked if they would like to live somewhere else then in Bangkok, Khun Wichien answers: “I would love living somewhere near the beach, but as long as we are both active working Bangkok is “the place”.

Don’t be selfish and greedy My final question was if he would care to suggest one piece of advise, that he would give his children. He thinks for a moment, then says: “Be nice to other people and listen to their needs, be caring and concerning. In short:.. don’t become selfish and greedy.”

My impression is that this advice for his children Khun Wichien follows day by day himself.

14 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

people

February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 15

The Swedish Volvo Experience John K. Lindgren visits the Volvo car plant and takes the new Volvo V60 Sport wagon for a spin in Sweden, the nordic kingdom that gave us “Dancing Queen”

by ABBA, the flat pack IKEA furniture concept and the coveted Nobel prize.

By John K. Lindgren

Torslanda Factory tour and road testing the New V60 Sports wagon Gothenburg – Stockholm

C

ity of Gothenburg is located on the windy west coast of Sweden.

“Göteborg” in Swedish, the kingdoms 2nd largest city sits on the banks near the mouth of Göta river.

Here Volvo cars and trucks are seen everywhere: four door S60 sedans, V60 utilitarian station wagons, diesel powered Volvo taxi cabs and tall tenwheel trailer trucks.

Our Volvo experience starts on a autumn day with clear blue skies. First stop the Volvo Museum near the old Arendal shipyard. This museum is a must see for any auto aficionado. On display is a large collection of Volvo’s most important historical vehicles and the evolution of the brand including construction equipment, industrial and marine engines. Nearby, at the original brick built factory the first Volvo named ÖV4 was rolled out the 14th of April in 1927.

Next Volvo Cars Torslanda visitor center and 16 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

the factory tour, the so called Blue Train. This dinky train is also popular among overseas customers arriving at Gothenburg for the Overseas Delivery Service (ODS), where they pick up their their brand new Volvos at the Torslanda factory.

On the tour we follow the birth of a Volvo car, from a roll of gleaming sheet metal to the finished product. A first-hand impression of how a Volvo passenger car is built “Please keep your hands inside at all times.

And no cameras, please”, says our guide as the tour starts. Outside the factory we see massive rolls of sheet metal that have just arrived. Inside the factory hall the heavy duty press shop. Here doors, hoods, floors and panels are pressed with precision and speed. At the next corner sparks fly all over as hundreds of bright yellow robot work the line sans fatigue. This is called the “robodance”, performed by the robots. Further down the assembly line male and female teams of specialized

workers fit the electronics and wires into doors and dashboards. Next area, the marriage point!

This is where the power pack (the engine) joins with the body. As we approach the next of corner of the aircraft hangar size factory there’s a bright canteen with a sign: HIGHWAY CAFE, “that’s the factory workers cafeteria”, says tour guide.

Moments later the wheels are attached, followed by battery of sophisticated diagnostics and tests. The assembly line ends here and the new Volvos are rolled out. First off the line a bright shining, white V60 followed by a black XC 90 and a metallic silver S60. All brand new Volvo cars ready for delivery to customers round the globe.

Torslanda factory manufactures 165,000 passenger cars per year. Or 800 units per day.

Apart of the Blue Train tour of the plant, Volvo Cars Visitor Center offers a visit to the Volvo Cars Brand Experience Center. Here a permanent core value exhibition focuses on safety & en-

vironment research, on-site accident investigation and crash laboratory research. Remember the Volvo advertising tagline “VOLVO FOR LIFE”.

The aim for 2020 is that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car.

But, what is a premium car brand plant without test track? Volvo Torslanda boasts of a 2.5 kilometer long circuit in a realistic Swedish country road setting with real traffic signs; the moose crossing and speed limit warning signs, tight turns and a long straight. Waiting for us outside the visitor center is a collection of new Volvos with several different engine alternatives. The latest Volvo S, V and XC models; or the sedans, the station wagons and the SUV’s. All lined up outside the paddock just like at the Le Mans race track. We have the whole circuit, all for our selves. What a treat. This track is not for the fast and furious. But it is part of the Volvo Torslanda factory experience for customers, journalists and visitors. A unique chance to drive all the different Volvo models on the road in a secluded, clean and safe environment with pine trees and shrub as a backdrop.

Volvo Design Inside the vast Torslanda Volvo plant there is a top secret department, the design center. Here classic values of Scandinavian design such as simplicity, functionality and durability have been cornerstones of Volvo cars exterior and interior

styling for many decades. We meet Volvos Senior Design Advisor, Jose Diaz de la Vega, a Mexican who graduated in industrial design and later received his degree in vehicle design from Royal College of Art, London regarded as the world’s leading center for vehicle design education and research. “RCA was my ‘Ticket To Ride” says, Mr Diaz de la Vega who has worked 23 years with Volvo. Jose de la Vega presents us with Powerpoint images of Volvos design concepts. Here the materials and colours are often inspired by the Sweden’s beautiful nature. And contemporary Scandinavian art, fashion and music are other sources of inspiration. “Modern Swedish, Scandinavian design is cool not cold!”, says Mr Diaz de la Vega and shows an image of the spectacular Norwegian Opera and Ballet building in Oslo.

The V60 Finally the time for the extended test drive has ar-

rived. Parked outside the visitor center is a bright ice white station wagon that does not look like a station wagon, or estate, (shooting brake if you like). The new Volvo V60 looks more like a sleek stylish, sporty coupe. Gone are the straight lines and severe angles, the “soccer mom” vehicle” styling and in come curves, low-set air intakes, racy exhausts and in front a smaller grille.

The badge reads V60, V for “versatility” and 60 is the model number. AWD, All Wheel Drive or traction in each corner, each wheel pair. I have seen many stationwagons and driven many European, Japanese and US made. But hands down this is the best looking of them all. And it’s Volvo!

The Swedes are practical and versatile people that’s why the “combi” as the Swedes call the stationwagon is the most sold Volvo passenger car in Sweden. “Combi” vehicle customers include the Swedish police. Volvo’s “V” line up consists of three variants: the baby V40, the midsize V60 and the big brother V70.

Our demo unit is the top-of-the-line V60 T6 AWD. Fully loaded with a powerful straight six cylinder petrol engine under the hood. The powerful turbo charged T6 petrol pumps out 304 hp and 440 Nm of torque. Inside it’s all luxury off-black, stitched leather, brushed aluminum accents and a floating centre console, the sweep of the dash is cool and classy and the materials are nice to touch. It’s rationality, simplicity,

vehicles in the offset rear blind spot on both sides of the car. A yellow warning lamp beside the relevant door mirror comes on to alert the driver to the danger.

clarity and functionality at its best. Including a 40/20/40-split rear seat and the fold-flat front passenger seat make it possible to combine passengers and cargo. Perfect for the big IKEA week-end shopping spree.

There’s also an amazing array of bells and whistles like ergonomic leather power memory seats, sat-nav, premium sound system, parking sensors, self-leveling headlights and dualzone climate controls plus all the safety gear you could ever wish for. Including; Driver Alert Control (DAC). A unique technology to alert tired and distracted drivers. This function monitors the car’s progress between the lane markers and warns the driver if his or her driving pattern changes in a random or uncontrolled way. Lane Departure Warning (LDW) alerts the driver if the car runs across the lane markers without the turn indicator being used. Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) helps detect

Volvo V60 T6 AWD

The Drive On our 1000 kilometer run from Gothenburg to central Sweden, Stockholm and south to Malmoe and back to Gothenburg, Torslanda plant the Volvo V60, lifestyle wagon passed the test with flying colours. The roads were perfect. Half of the distance on motorways with maximum speed 110 kph. Along the journey at the Shell pumps many large Seven-11 stores with free Wi-Fi!and clean restrooms, shelves stocked with groceries, Red Bull and freshly brewed coffee & delicious cinnamon rolls.

What a drive and what a stationwagon. No! A sportwagon called V60 V for versatility (or could it be V for Volvo). The colour? Ice white, of course. “Swede dreams are made of these...”

PS When driving in Sweden do not forget the 30, 50, 70 kph speed limits. There are many speed cameras. Suddenly you’re slightly blinded by an instant flash. It’s not the reflexion from the sun. It’s the speed camera! That’s when you’re caught on film. We were doing 80 kph in a 70 speed limit area. Fine 1,500 SEK (7,300) THB. No excuses! Road safety is taken seriously in the Nordic Volvo country.

Engine: 3.0 liter petrol engine Max power: 304 horsepower Torque: 440 Nm Top speed: 200 kph Fuel consumption: combined 10 kpl Price: 420,000 SEK www.volvocars.com

Nota Bene Since the V60 T6 AWD model is not available in the Thai Volvo showrooms we recommend you testdrive the V60 T4 F (Flexifuel) model.

Same overall spcifications, same safety package and same cool ice white color but powered by a smaller and more fuel efficient 1.6 liter engine.

Volvo V60 more sportwagon – than a stationwagon.

Price: 2.29 million THB. www.volvocars.com/th February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 17

EEDEN in The Making T

he year 2013 was a remarkable year for the Finnish-Thai couple Päivi Kivikangas and Teerapong Apaseesod (known as Khun Tip), as their housing development project “Lomakylä Eeden” (Eden village) in Hua Hin was launched, and now running smoothly with happy residents.

Their Grand Opening last December attracted large crowds and construction of more houses are already taking shape.

Päivi and Khun Tip are absolutely delighted the event was a success. Houses have been sold, and more importantly people know more about them than they previously thought. The weeks leading up to the event were described as “eventful”, Khun Tip shared his story.

December began with an occasion, as they received a short-noticed visit from YLE, a Finnish television broadcaster, for an interview. “We were happy for an opportunity to spread words about our project.Besides unusually decent clothes (as opposed to fit-for-construction-site style) on the day, I had absolutely no preparation at all, and hoped I didn’t come across funnily since the interview went mostly in Finnish with Päivi as the main character, with me nodding my head and occasionally asserted in English.”, Khun Tip elaborated. They had fun and were amused to be on prime-time TV in Swedish-speaking part of Finland, they both don’t speak Swedish!.

December also witnessed some unexpected, for example, they received random phone calls requesting taxi pickup (they have advertisement banners posted on several taxis in Hua Hin town) which were politely directed away with explanation that they are not taxi service providers. They had encounters with vandals, herds of cows and goats suddenly showed interest in gazing on flowers by the village entrance, “replacing the eaten 18 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

bits when we needed them blossoming wasn’t fun, but the amusing sight of our security man in full uniform chasing away the herds more than made up for” Khun Tip laughingly said.

The good news and the bad news Resolutely Päivi and Khun Tip planned to move into their new homein the village before Christmas, some personalization wasmade, withfurniture bought and delivered. Then the phone rang from their client who penned down his wish to purchase the very house. Both Päivi and Khun Tip naturally were happy to receive a purchase request, only to realize that went something like … where’re we going to stay now?. “We were grateful for our client to have chosen us and let go of the plot, after all Päivi already talked about her likes for another kitchen color scheme for

another house!”, Khun Tip explained. The Christmas went by with them checked in a hotel, that made their busy schedules busier, having to deal additionally with logistics of accommodating belongings, getting to work from a hotel while entertaining their 2-year-old son, Sisu.

As for work-life balance, family helping hand is one thing not to be denied. One detail Khun Tip’s mother asserted her involvement was decorating the pool-side guests-receiving area for the event, she brought a pair of flower banquets (one usually seen in Thai wedding), they’re cutelooking wrought-iron white stands with bright red flowers. “Wow”, Khun Tip exclaimed … Päivi on the other hand, as Khun Tip put it, “had a reservation of the whole look and feel !”. After days of moderating the fine-balance of mother and wife, they settled with subtle plants that Päivi said the Scandinavian would appreciate. “I’d never find out which’ll be more appreciated I guess?”,Khun Tip laughed.

The big day finally arrived Khun Tip stated “thankfully nobody turned up sharp at the opening hour, as we were still setting up coffee and biscuitstands at 9.00am.”, that room to breathe soon disappeared as stream of visitors constantly arrived that fully occupied the 4-person correspondence team throughout the day. They were pleased with the interest, “Obviously there’s always room to sell more, yet we’re happier to attract people who appreciate us and the community we try to build. In the end, we live there (the village) too, and we want to make Eeden village a place where my son can run around in happy and secured environment”, Khun Tip affirmed. www.eedenthaimaa.com

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Singapore the private banking hub of choice for international investors

By Sine Neuchs Thomsen

S

ingapore is fast moving up the ladder as one of the world’s most attractive venues for private banking, according to Fredrik Lager, General Manager, Private Banking, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken S.A. “Switzerland continues to hold on to the number one spot as the world’s largest private banking hub, but Singapore is catching up quickly,” he says.

“Over the past 5-10 years, we have seen a massive shift of private banking business from the more traditional centres such as Geneva, Zurich, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein,” he continues.

The rapid growth in wealth among Asian investors, both local and foreign, has created the need for an enhanced and local private banking offering.

The 158-year old, tradition-bound Swedish bank was the first Nordic bank to obtain a fully fledged private banking licence in Singapore in order to better serve its clients in the Asia-Pacific region. “SEB realised early on that SouthEast Asia would become an extremely important market and with its strategically important location, Singapore was the obvious choice for establishment,” Fredrik Lager says.

Strict regulation and transparency “In Singapore the regulations and the laws are well suited for private banking.

It is considered a safe place to have your money,” he said, adding that when so much wealth is moving towards Asia, the regulatory authorities in Singapore are of course keen on making sure that money, which comes to Singapore, is money which is declared in the clients’ home countries.

“Singapore introduced in July 2013 a new law whereby tax evasion is considered a money laundering offence. So if a bank finds out that a client is not compliant with the new law, the bank has a duty to directly report that client to the financial authorities,” he said.

Benefits of living in Thailand SEB Private Banking in Singapore covers the entire Asia Pacific region, from China and South Korea in the north to Australia in the south, and from Japan 20 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

Fredrik Lager General Manager, Private Banking, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken S.A. in the east to India in the west. In the midst of this vast geographical area lies Thailand, which has always been one of SEB’s core markets.

“Thailand has a very specific tax regime insofar as you don’t pay tax on the gains from foreign capital income and investments if you manage those assets outside Thailand,” he explained and continued: “If you remit the profit to Thailand within the same year as the profit arises, you will have to pay tax but if you wait until the next year you can remit the profit tax-free, thus making it attractive to structure your investments in a country like Singapore.”

Choose the right bank Historically speaking, private banking is the oldest form of banking. It dates back to medieval times when the need for wealthy families to have someone look after and invest their fortunes started to pick up pace. Private banking is all about trust where the relationship between the private banker and the client is the foundation for successful wealth management.

“Before entrusting the management of your wealth to a particular private bank I think it is important to consider factors such as regulation and location.

It is also a benefit if you and your private banker speak the same language in order to avoid linguistic misunderstandings. From an international perspective it is also a clear advantage if your private bank offers wealth structuring services to optimise the management of your assets from a tax point of view,” Fredrik Lager concludes.

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waiterbutton PRESS FOR SUCCESS

‘From here to Eternity’ About growing old gracefully

By Flemming Winther Nielsen

The photo shows the author, Flemming Winther Nielsen, as a young, self-confident academic with his old father, Hermann Johannes Winther Nielsen, who died in 1984. Flemming Winther Nielsen died on 21 January this year.

I

t is one of Fate’s cruel jokes that young people cannot comprehend the life lived by us, the older generation. They cannot understand our inner life, our conditions, even if they take an interest and try; the ‘generation gap’ it is often called. This is the joke and the condition. Apparently a sort of invisible ring is cast around us; we are inside, fundamentally alone. We are left to our own personal struggle, hope and fear. Furthermore, what we learnt in life, our experiences, are of no value in this so-called nuclear society where everything changes with tremendous speed.

You may say that your children and grandchildren love you, yes, rightly so, but it is still my claim that they don’t have a chance to understand what is going on inside us. Our fear is not their fear; they are in the bloom of their life, not nearing the end of the road.

The first consequence of this fact is maybe grief and maybe isolation if we don’t act and react. We have to get used to standing alone and defend our own positions from there. We can never allow family and next of kin to try to diminish us as old fools who can neither see nor hear, that is the direct route to dementia. But now, let me give a few examples of what is on OUR mind, our invariable peculiarities you might call them with a little glint in the eye.

Our peculiarities • For many of us not a day passes by without grappling with the thoughts of our death. For us this comes naturally, but it would not be natural for a person in the bloom of his life. Meanwhile, these thoughts are solemnly between us and His 22 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

Brightness – or His Darkness.

• We get acutely aware of our bodily functions, alarmed and consulting the doctor on even minor signs of dysfunctions. We know that the final blow will commonly be related to an illness and we fear that. Our relatives will often regard this behavior as hypochondria.

• Many of us get a little obsessed with our dress and our smell, not a spot, no odor, the young can dress as bums, we can absolutely not, and for good reasons we prefer dark trousers.

• We try to hide our physical shortcomings, but we prefer an upright dining table chair for the low and deep ‘comfy’ chair offered. We walk slowly and tell our companion that it is because we want to look around, at flowers, birds and bees.

• One very sensitive issue is the decline of our sexual capacity. In the blue hours, talking with friends about this, we find the grief and the sorrow. It is difficult to cope with this loss and of course we deeply envy the young couples we meet on our way. Then many of us chose Viagra as a way out, but that is a personal choice and solution of course.

• Many of us experience that our possessions lose their value and our appreciation, furniture, even books, the maintenance of the house, we are letting it decline with us. It is a strange to observe that the elegant crystal carafe given to you by a dear friend is now more or less without value. I will give it away.

Will to win – born to lose Today we all exercise, young and old, most useful

thing to do. The risk comes if you believe your current level of fitness will last; that you can maintain your handicap; still win the matches, in tennis, still score high. The decline will come, like a thief in the night, slowly and almost invisible; we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be surprised by this fact.

A friend of mine and of my age, exercised early every morning with four friends. Then he suddenly found out that he couldn’t follow suit. Then he simply dropped out disillusioned –or a victim of his own illusion, that things will last – they never do.

It took him quite a while to get back on his feet.

To stand upright, centered and unbiased If we don’t want to surrender ourselves to the greasy hands of the public welfare system and the nursing home, but will continue as long as possible as freedom fighters, we have to learn. Already the ancient Greeks and old Buddhism deal with the eternal human problem: How to survive with dignity in times of trouble. The Greek philosopher Zenon was the father of stoicism. From this practical teaching we can learn a lot. Almost interwoven we then have the Buddhist teaching.

In the writing about ‘The Middle Path’ we are told to stay neutral, upright and centered.

Meaning to investigate and penetrate the core of life with an unbiased attitude (From Teaching in Chinese Buddhism 1996). It becomes a question of whether or not we want to acknowledge and give up our prejudices and false norms.

In my next article I will deal in more details with these two remedies for a better understanding and acceptance of our situation, late in life.

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Selling sex work for a comfortable living Staffan Nordstrand blames anti-human trafficking NGO’s for selling shocking stories about the victims of the sex industry first of all to cover their own salaries.

By Joakim Persson

24 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

S

wedish author Staffan Nordstrand, whose book, ‘River trilogy’, sheds light on the evil of human trafficking in Southeast Asia, has started an awareness campaign to channel donations directly to organisations that are doing a good job in a cost-effective manner battling the modern-day slave trade. International agencies need not apply. To Nordstrand, they are just a bunch of bloated bureaucracies only interested in lining their own pockets.

Because the main focus of his books is on human trafficking, he has often been invited to speak publicly on the topic. Staffan said he was approached by several international aid agencies in Sweden to speak.

In one case, they wanted him to

educate members of their staff and share his insights – so they could sell (read: raise funds) better. That caused him to look at it from a totally different perspective and to see their real intentions. Staffan turned away from them in disgust when he got to see how they operate and spend the money, donated by ordinary people, on swanky offices at fancy addresses and chauffeured around in fleets of expensive cars.

“They want funding to cover their own expenses, that is their number one priority. It’s not to collect money for those in need – forget it!,” said Staffan.

“I said to myself ‘I should try to connect donors directly to recipients instead of helping them maintain expensive offices in Stockholm!”

rkers stories It all came together towards the end of, ‘The Last Journey’, the last book in his River trilogy launched last year, where some of the characters in the book decide to initiate an action campaign: Bee with us (Bee as in the name of one of the characters in his book).

With first-hand experience in trafficking they decide they should do something to tell the truth to the world. In so doing they speak for the author.

Staffan Nordstrand initially came in touch with this world when he started to take an interest in the stories related to him from workers under his supervision as a developer of residential homes in Phuket.

A number of years travelling and research gathering followed which has resulted in three documentary novels.

And now Staffan brings fiction into the real world with this new international aid initiative - without middlemen.

The website Beewithus.com does two main things. First, spreads information on trafficking of children and young people within the sex

industry and manufacturing in Asia.

Second, it links donors with qualityassured recipients in South-east Asia, without any middlemen involved who just waste large parts of the funds. Donations will go directly and in whole to the particular operation being supported by people.

“Actually, there are many competent organisations out there doing an excellent job. They need support, but the donors don’t know of their existence,” he elaborates.

Bee with us will also reach out through holding lectures and other kinds of advocacy work. At the Göteborg Book Fair (Gothenburg, Sweden) held in September Staffan had his booth designed to reflect the slum in Bangkok and also attended a symposium on trafficking as speaker.

His trilogy has sold well. During the book fair alone, Staffan signed over 500 books. The first book has sold around 30,000 copies and is about to be translated into English and other languages.

The books and Bee with us constitute various part of the same effort to counteract human trafficking

and prostitution with exploitation of those poor and vulnerable.

“More organisations should inform about human trafficking. We know that at present this is the largest form of slavery ever on earth.

And still most people believe that slavery is something we abolished globally a long time ago. The truth is that the sex trade and sex slavery has not been stopped, so we need to start a new war to stop it,” states Bee with us.

“Child sex trade, young girls and boys, kidnappings… that’s where we should work hard to fight it. I think it’s very important that people come to understand that tourism plays an important part. On Bangla road in Phuket, for instance, the main sex customers are Asian tourists. Up towards 90 per cent of the customers in the brothels are locals.

On top of that you have the tourists coming here and using the sex trade, which they do,” Staffan explains his view.

Tourists seeing something involving other tourists, what can they do?

“Confront them and report

to the authorities,” replies Staffan.

“And don’t sanction places like Bangla road by taking your family there to look around at what is forbidden back home but somehow acceptable just because being on holiday!”

You can also become active with beewithus.com.

“Forget governments and go down to field-level and try to connect locally with the police etc. Build small cells that work together and get joined later in a central part.

Top-down control won’t work.”

Being an ambassador for this cause is what Staffans intends to be.

“It is very important that more persons. It’s the children we must reach out to: they are the future, so they must go home to their families and say that trafficking is bad and illegal.”

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February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 25

SilkAir

getting attractive The regional carrier of Singapore Airlines is in fast forward mode as it enters its 25th year of operation.

New destinations, new services and new flights are added.

By Gregers Moller

26 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

S

ilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will be celebrating its Silver anniversary this year. The airline has warmed up for this jubilee for a couple of month with a stream of new services and route expansions.

In November, the all passengers were upgraded to bring on 10 kg more baggage than previously. Free baggage went up to 40kg in Business Class and 30kg in Economy class, respectively.

The same privilege was offered passengers on Sinagpore Airlines.

Later the same months, SilkAir started flying on Yogyakarta in Indonesia as a new destination.

Yogyakarta was the 45th destination in SilkAir’s network, extending the airline’s reach to 12 destinations in Indonesia. SilkAir’s other Indonesian destinations include Balikpapan, Bandung, Lombok, Makassar, Manado, Medan, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Semarang, Solo, and Surabaya.

Yogyakarta is where you fly to explore the famous Borobudur Buddhist Temple and Prambanan Hindu Temple in Central Java – both Unesco World Heritage sites. A city steeped in history and tradition, it was the seat of the ancient Mataram Empire in the 18th and 19th century, and is the second most visited Indonesian destination after Bali.

WiFi entertainment on board In December, SilkAir launched a wireless inflight entertainment system on one of its Airbus A320 aircraft. Initially the launch was a trial enabling the customers on the aircraft to stream a wide variety of multimedia content such as movies, TV programmes and music directly onto their personal laptops, Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android tablets and smartphones while onboard their flight.

“Upon successful trial, we look forward to introducing this system across our aircraft fleet by next year, providing customers with the complete SilkAir experience,” said Chief Executive, Mr. Leslie Thng.

Two days into the jubilee year, the airline announced two new destinations to be added to the network, Kalibo in the Philippines and Mandalay in Myanmar. Kalibo will be served three times a week through circular-routing flights with Cebu from 27 May 2014, and Mandalay will be served three times a week through a circular flights between Mandalay in Myanmar and Yangon from 10 June 2014. Kalibo is the capital of Aklan province and gateway to the idyllic Boracay island, which is located off the northwestern tip of Panay. The island is known for its stunning white sandy beaches

and crystal clear waters. Besides soaking up the sun on its beautiful beaches, Boracay also offers a wide array of land and sea activities.

Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar and the centre of culture and religion in the country. The city is home to the magnificent royal palace as well as many other attractions built during the Konbuang Dynasty. Bagan, long considered one of the world’s greatest archeological sights, is also accessible through Mandalay.

Starting from 30 March, the frequency of flights to almost all destinations will also increase.

The Phuket route will go up from 30 flights to 35 flights per week, the Darwin route will go up to 5 flights per week In Indonesia, services to Palembang will be increased to five times weekly and subject to slots approval, services to Balikpapan will also increase from the current six times a week to daily flights.

New fleet of Boeing 737s To cap it all off, SilkAir will in early February be taking delivery of the first aircraft in its new fleet of 54 Boeing 737s. A total of eight planes are expected this year, with the remaining aircraft to be delivered by the end of this decade. With the new aircraft, several enhancements will be offered to improve the in-flight experience for travellers including upgraded cabin interiors with more spacious overhead luggage compartments and lighting systems.

In addition, SilkAir will roll out a host of surprises and celebrations for their avid Asian traveller target. For starters, to rally consumers and involve them in SilkAir’s historic Boeing delivery, the airline will bring fans and aviation lovers together

to virtually deliver the new aircraft to Singapore.

Tracking the actual delivery route, from the Boeing Renton factory in Seattle to Singapore’s Changi Airport via Honolulu, Majuro and Guam, the ‘Bringing Boeing Home with SilkAir’ programme is Asia’s first 25-hour flight simulator event that will allow up to 150 selected members of the public to fly a simulator SilkAir Boeing 737-800 plane into Singapore. The event will take place overnight from 7th to 8th February 2014 at Flight Experience Singapore, located at the Singapore Flyer.

SilkAir travellers will also be rewarded through special promotional deals where 250,000 tickets will be made available at special rates for consumers in Singapore and across the region.

Thanks to the staff Commenting on the anniversary celebrations, SilkAir Chief Executive, Mr. Leslie Thng, said: “It is a tremendously exciting time for the airline, and I am honoured and humbled to be part of such a milestone celebration. I would like

We are always looking at ways to enhance the journey for our customers.

to pay a special tribute to our 1,500 employees who have been with us on our incredible 25 year journey. Without their unwavering support, dedication and heart, we would not be here today.”

“SilkAir’s success is also due to the on-going support from our passengers and the public. We are always looking at ways to enhance the journey for our customers. Our new Boeing fleet will enable us to put the passenger at the centre of our focus, with the objective to deliver a higher level of quality and experience.”

The first aircraft is planned to enter service from 20 February 2014, flying to destinations including Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Phuket and Medan while the arrival of the second plane will allow the addition of other routes for the new aircraft including Siem Reap, Danang, Davao, Cebu and Kochi from 17 March 2014.

Early start till today SilkAir took to the skies in February 1989 as Tradewinds the Airline, before evolving into SilkAir in 1992. In its early days, the airline catered to passengers holidaying in exotic destinations in the region, including Phuket and Tioman. As the carrier developed, regional business destinations such as Phnom Penh, Yangon and Kuala Lumpur were added.

Today, the full service airline operates more than 300 weekly flights to 45 destinations in 12 countries.

Latest additions to the network include Hanoi (June 2012), Visakhapatnam (October 2012), Semarang (July 2012), Makassar (August 2013) and Yogyakarta (November 2012).

For more details on SilkAir, visit silkair.com or http://www.facebook.com/SilkAir

February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 27

National Danish Performance Team hits Asia on world tour 2014 Gymnastics athletes from Denmark visit Asia this year to share the concept of living an active and healthy life. Ahead of the tour, the list of things to be planned is long.

W

hen the National Danish Performance Team in October 2014 begins its world tour there will be few things left to chance in the itinerary. That is how it has to be when 33 people travel together for nearly 10 months, told Assistant Manager Thomas Dahl.

These days he is travelling Singapore and Malaysia to meet partners and set up venues for the team’s performances and appointments with schools and universities.

28 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

“We move the world” is the slogan of the National Danish Performance team, consisting of 28 Danish gymnastics athletes and five team leaders. And they are literally travelling around in effort to move the world, explained Thomas Dahl.

“What’s unique about us is that we create a room for sport from the opportunities and partnerships we have in the city we come to. In that way we try to spread our understanding of what sport, healthy living and movement is. And that is a very popular issue almost everywhere at the moment,” he added.

Next years world tour starts in South Korea and continues to Taiwan afterwards. It is already planned that The National Danish Performance Team is going to contribute on a special occasion in Taiwan.

“We found that we share some ambitions with our partners in Taiwan, which means that we are going to be there around the World Diabetes Day in November 2014,” Thomas Dahl said.

Except spreading the concept of healthy living and the idea of moving every day, the Danish Performance team has another important message to spread about enjoying sport in groups.

“In Denmark we have a unique culture in the local societies with local gymnastics and sports association where a large number of volunteers work many hours in effort to make the spirit of the gymnastics culture live on” Thomas Dahl said and added: “And that is what we want to share and spread out on our world tour. We make workshops and create events with different sport activities in schools and universities to teach them how our understanding of moving and being together in a sport team is in Denmark.”

That is also the reason why Thomas Dahl is working hard to make his co-partners understand, that the National Danish Performance Team does not want to be considered as a professional sports team who stays at a 5-starred hotel with

own private chef.

“We have a huge interest in getting to know the culture of where we are. We visit refugee camps and stay with private families, which gives us just as big an experience as we hope to give the people we meet all over the world.” he said.

The National Danish Performance Team travel around the world for 10 months every second year, where they end up performing their big show to the National Gymnastics Rally in Denmark. The “break” year is spent on planning the trip and recruiting the athletes, who must go through a difficult selection procedure, before they can join the team.

“They are of course tested physically, because they need to be able to do our big performance show more than 100 times during the tour. But we also look at each person to consider if they have what it takes to participate in and arrange sports workshops for people all over the world,” said Thomas Dahl.

On the 2014 World Tour will The National Danish Performance Team visit six countries in Southeast Asia. After South Korea and Taiwan they continue to Japan, before they head to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Thomas Dahl is not going to join the trip himself; he already travelled with the team a couple of times some years back. Now he is planning the trip, and that is a job he finds quite interesting.

“Especially here in Asia I have experienced another way of getting in touch with people. We don’t just meet and make an agreement or appointment.

We often go out a few times and wait to see if we can work it out as partners,” he explained.

See the highlights from this year’s performance by The National Danish Performance Team at the National Gymnastics Rally in Denmark, by following this link. http://www.ndpt.dk/tour_shows.aspx

มุมภาษาไทยสำ�หรับฝรั่ง

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mum pha:să: thai sămràp fàràng

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Thai Language Corner for Farangs

THAI IN THE

TAXI

By Klavs Johansen

I

n the December issue of ScandAsia Thailand, we covered the sounds of Thai using one consistent way to write the language with an adaption of the Latin alphabet. That December article may be a handy reference to better understand the Thai parts of this month’s article.

Learning a language, to my experience, is a lot about repetition. Repeating useful phrases over and over again until they become part of your active speech. Listening to audio and repeating the phrases aloud to yourself is one way to practice, another is to hire a teacher to listen and offer immediate corrections. At some stage, however, you would want to try out the acquired phrases in real life. Unfortunately, most real life situations does not allow for much repetition. For instance, you can only reasonably ask your Thai partner, colleague, or fellow student so many times.

There are situations, though, out there in real life, each of which offers the opportunity to start a simple conversation all over again. I am thinking of the encounters with Thai service workers, such as taxi drivers or waiters that most farangs are likely to have on a frequent basis.

For one thing, a taxi driver may feel obliged to talk to you, the customer, but you will also, more often than not, find that he, like most people, enjoys talking a bit about himself. That is your chance to try out some of those useful phrases, and a continuation of the conversation could run as follows: Thai: อายุสี่สิบปีแล้ว/ a:yú’ sì: sìp pi: láe:o/ ~ I am 40 years old Thai: เป็นคนอีสาน/ pen khon i:să:n/ ~ I am from North Eastern Thailand.

You: จังหวัดอะไร/ jangwàt àrai/ ~ which province?

อายุเท่าไร / a:yú’ thâorai/ ~ how old are you?

This is one of my favourite questions as it allows you to practice some Thai geography as well, and you could continue:

or

เป็นคนที่ไหน/ pen khon thî: năi/ ~ where are you from?

You: อยู่กรุงเทพนานหรือยัง/ yù: krung thê:p na:n rŭe: yang/

Thai: สิบกว่าปีแล้ว/ sìp kwà: pi: láe:o/

~ more than 10 years

You: มีลูกกี่คน/ mi: lû:k kì: khon/

~ how many children do you have?

Thai: มีห้าคน ลูกสาวสอง ลูกชายสาม/ mi: hâ: khon, lû:k să:o sŏr:ng,

...

lû:k cha:i să:m/ ~ I have 5 kids, two daughters and three sons

And so you can go on, and start all over again on the next taxi ride or restaurant visit, with a new ‘victim’ in the form of a driver or a waiter. Textbooks on Thai are filled with useful phrases to try out in real life this way. The trick is controlling the dialogue trying to stay within the comfortable limits of the textbook and hence the active speech you have acquired, and don’t despair, if you don’t quite succeed the first many times. Besides language and geography, you will find that you learn one or two things about Thai society and culture along the way.

~ have you lived in Bangkok long?

February 2014 • ScandAsia.Thailand 29

Medium

Swedish

Semlor (fastelavnsboller)

Evil

Makes about 18 buns • 700g plain flour • 140g caster sugar • A pinch of salt • 350ml milk • 2 teaspoons of freshly ground cardamom • 2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast • 150g salted butter, softened • 1 large free range egg Almond paste: • 250g of skinless, blanched almonds • 225g caster sugar • A few tablespoons of milk • A little icing sugar to dust • 750ml double cream, whipped

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:

___________________

Address:

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Email:

__________________________________________________

Deadline for submitting your solution is 15 March 2014 30 ScandAsia.Thailand • February 2014

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Melt the butter in a large saucepan and pour the milk in, heat until lukewarm. Mix in the yeast.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and the cardamom.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix in the wet ones along with the egg. Bring a dough together and knead on a clean floured work surface for 4 minutes. Place back in the bowl and cling film and a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm, dark place for 45-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface, divide the dough into 18 pieces (80g each) and roll each into a ball. Put the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the buns with a little beaten egg or milk and bake in the centre of the oven for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire wrack.

Prepare the almond paste by blitzing the almonds and caster sugar in a food processor. Then add a few drops of milk until you have thick smooth paste. Place in the fridge to firm up and become solid.

Cut a triangle out of the top of each bun and scoop out some of the insides, to make a small hole for the filling. Save the breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl.

Grate the almond paste into the breadcrumbs and bring together a creamy paste using a few tablespoons of milk. Fill the buns with tablespoons of the filling and then pipe whipped cream on top.

Place the the tops back on, dust the buns with icing sugar and serve.

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