The BigChilli January 2021 Special

STAYCATION IN STYLE WITH THE BRANDNEW ROOMS AND FOUR STAYCATION PACKAGES AT THE MONTIEN HOTEL SURAWONG BANGKOK Staycation in a hotel means a lavish bed, nice view, delicious food and staff who always look after you around the clock.

Now you can staycation in a choice of styles in the very beating heart of Silom, at the legendary Montien Hotel Surawong Bangkok.

After a major renovation and rejuvenation, the Montien Hotel Surawong Bangkok has unveiled its brand-new rooms in the North Wing building.

Amid these challenging times, and against a background of international hotel brands that have flocked into Bangkok, the Montien Hotel has been revived with all its original flair and character – and once again invites guests to enjoy the grace of Thai hospitality, with a timeless design and the latest technology.

To celebrate its new look, the Montien Hotel offers four staycation packages for guests to re-experience the legend of hospitality.

Pack your bags and staycation in genuine style and comfort with a choice of packages providing great value for those booking and staying from now until 30 April 2021.

• Package I - Weekend Escape, a Deluxe Room at THB 999 net (check-in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday) 50% discount breakfast and 20% discount for dinner in the hotel restaurants.

Premier Deluxe Room California King size 56 square meters • Package II – Culinary Escape, a Deluxe Room at THB 2,500 net (check-in every day) with breakfast set for 2 and a dining credit worth THB 1,500 net for dinner in the hotel restaurants.

• Package III – Festive Staycation, a Premier Room at THB 3,200 net (check-in every day) with breakfast set for 2 and a dining credit worth THB 1,500 net for dinner in the hotel restaurants including a bottle of sparkling wine – served in the room.

• Package IV – Suite Escape, a Premier Deluxe Room (56 sqm) at THB 5,500 net (check- in every day) breakfast set for 2 and a dining credit worth THB 2,500 net for dinner in the hotel restaurants including a bottle of champagne – served in the room, private check-in and butler service.

Furthermore, all packages entitle guests to early check-in at 8.00 hrs and late check-out at 16.00 hrs. Also, complimentary welcome drink at Bistro & Wine Bar Phar Ram IV. Enquiries and reser vation, please call 02 233 7060 or, visit the hotel website at www.montienbangkok.com • WEBSITE: www.montienbangkok.com • FACEBOOK: facebook.com/ montienhotelbangkok/ • LINE ID: MontienHotelSurawong • INSTAGRAM: montiensurawongbangkok 4

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PUBLISHER Colin Hastings editorbigchilli@gmail.com EDITOR Nina Hastings ninabigchilli@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Rojjana Rungrattwatchai sendtorose@gmail.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Thana Pongsaskulchoti thanabigchilli@gmail.com ACCOUNTING MANAGER Janjira Silapapairson janbigchilli@gmail.com ART & PRODUCTION Arthawit Pundrikapa PHOTOGRAPHY AP CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Drew McCreadie, Maxmilian Wechsler Zoe Evans, Jessica Weber and Ruth Gerson

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News

By Andrew Wood

Why Thailand’s t will never be the Too much reliance on one sector, says Deputy PM

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recent speech by Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow shows me that tourism will never be allowed to recover to previous levels. The writing is definitely on the wall, windows and front door that there has been a major policy shift in government thinking by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s cabinet.

In a deeply worrying development for Thailand’s massive Travel & Tourism industry, which last year generated a huge Bt 2.2 trillion of income (US$ 55.2 billion), and accounted for 20 per cent of GNP and 10 per cent of all jobs in Thailand, Deputy PM Supattanapong said that the country relied too much on tourism and that this was unacceptable.

This must be as worrying for property developers as well as investors. If the 39 million tourists that 6

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Thailand received last year in 2019 is never to be repeated, why do we need to continue building and investing in new hotels?

According to Thailand’s Nation newspaper, K. Supattanapong admitted that the Covid-19 outbreak had exposed cracks and faults in the Thai economy.

“The Covid-19 outbreak that hit Thailand since April has exposed the fragility of the economy and shed light on the fact that we rely too much on export and tourism,” the Minister said.

This is certainly a departure from what the Minister was saying back in August. The deputy PM, who also holds the Energy portfolio, announced then the formation of a new economic panel, and boasted that the new economic committee will boost tourism and employment. He said the panel agreed to increase

tourism industry e same again subsidies for local tourists and create one million jobs in the near future to combat growing unemployment.

K. Supattanapong is clearly worried about putting too many eggs in one basket and spreading the risk. However, it maybe too early to start walking away from tourism when other industries are simple not ready to take up the slack. Infrastructure improvements; legal reforms, changes in corporate ownership regulations and reduced bureaucracy are just a few of the changes the chambers of commerce have been asking for and must be in place BEFORE we start to cook the goose that lays gold bullion on the floor of the vault in the bank.

The deputy PM, who was speaking last week at the “Restart Thailand 2021” dinner talk held at Siam Paragon shopping complex in Bangkok, said: “The outbreak has had an especially heavy impact on small and medium businesses, prompting the government to spend over Bt 800 billion on SME aid measures including postponing debt repayment worth over Bt 6.8 trillion for 12 million SMEs. “However, from July onwards, economic indicators have been pointing toward an improving trend thanks to cooperation from all parties in outbreak prevention, despite some minor impact from the political situations.

“The tourism industry has shown improvement, with about 30 per cent occupation, jumping from just 6 per cent in April, thanks to the government’s economic stimulus campaigns such as the ‘Let’s Go Halves’ shopping subsidy,” he added.

“Through the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation, the government is also planning to provide an additional Bt 150 billion in loans to help small and medium businesses.

“The battle against Covid-19 is not over yet. The government still has many projects in the coming year to boost the economy, attract foreign investors and build infrastructure for future expansion,” the minister added.

“These projects include the construction of 14 Skytrain lines in Bangkok covering 500 kilometres in the next four to five years, larger than London’s Underground, and the infrastructure projects in the Eastern Economic Corridor to support digital technology, 5G and robotics industry.

“It is unacceptable to let Thailand slide back to the period before Covid-19. Since the global economy is changing we must be more proactive in attracting foreign investors, and the agencies responsible for this are the Board of Investment Office and Eastern Economic Corridor Office,” Supattanapong said.

“The next step will be to put Thailand on the list of top 10 countries with ease of doing business, which is a goal proposed by five countries who are our major trade partners.”

It is unacceptable to let Thailand slide back to the period before Covid-19. Since the global economy is changing we must be more proactive in attracting foreign investors

2021 will be the year of investment.

The deputy PM further explained that next year the government will focus on investing in new industries that will help reduce reliance on export and tourism.

“Bangkok will be the centre of regional offices of multinational companies, while Thailand’s automotive industry will focus on the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs),” he said.

“EVs will create other related industries such as smart equipment manufacturing and electricity generating from renewable energy. This will create a great opportunity for Thailand to further invest in community power plants, as well as biomass and solar power plants in Laos,” he concluded.

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Diplomats

‘U.S. is working with Thailand to make doing business here easier to attract more investment’ M

ichael George DeSombre was nominated by President Trump on July 17, 2019 and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 8, 2020 as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand. All U.S. Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the President.

There is no fixed term.

“As Ambassador, I report directly to the President as his personal representative as well as working internally through the State Department.

“I grew up on the south side of Chicago. My parents were from rural communities in Wisconsin and Minnesota and were the first in their families to attend college. They met at college in Chicago and remained there after I was born. From my parents I 8

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inherited a keen focus on education and a true belief that in America if you work hard enough you can accomplish anything.

“I went to Stanford University where, in addition to studying quantitative economics, I developed a strong interest in international affairs, strategic studies and Asia. As a result, I also pursued a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies with a focus on China.

“After graduating, I decided to forego a scholarship that would have allowed me to pursue further graduate studies in England so that I could live and work in China for a year to develop my Chinese language fluency. Upon my return from China, I enrolled in Harvard Law School.

“The most important development while at Harvard

Interview By MAXMILIAN WECHSLER

The U.S. government funds more than 30 exchange programs in Thailand to connect Thai youth, students, educators, artists, athletes, and rising leaders to their counterparts in the United States and the ASEAN region, and to engage them on strategic priorities ranging from civic engagement to economic sustainability.

was that I met the woman who is now my wife of almost 30 years. She received a scholarship to study law at the University of Tokyo so we took a one year break from our studies at Harvard Law to go to Japan, where I then began my study of Japanese.

“While at Harvard Law, I completed two summer internships at the global law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell. Upon graduation, I started work at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. One of my first deals involved assisting Goldman Sachs in its acquisition of Rockefeller Center in New York. After a few years working in Sullivan & Cromwell’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) department in New York, my wife (who was working at a competing law firm) and I both transferred to the Hong Kong office of our law firms.

“In 2004, I became a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell and took over running the M&A business for Asia.

My primary focus was assisting U.S. and international companies with their expansion (either by acquisition, joint venture or greenfield investments) in Asia.

“Public service has always been very important to me. While living in Hong Kong, I served as Chairman of Save the Children Hong Kong and developed it from a US$10 million a year organization into a US$20 million plus organization focused on the most marginalized and deprived children in Asia. I have always been motivated to serve my country, and I am very honored to be able to do that as the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand.”

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Diplomats Arriving in Thailand for the first time “The very first vacation that my wife and I took after we arrived in Asia was to Bangkok and Hua Hin in the fall of 1997. We stayed at the iconic Oriental Hotel on the Chao Phraya and then at the Dusit Resort and Polo Club in Hua Hin. We fell in love with Thailand at that time.

“Since then, both my wife and I have come back to Thailand for business as well as pleasure prior to relocating here in January. We have part ownership of villas in both Phuket and Samui through a global investment portfolio of luxury villas around the world.”

Duties and responsibilities “I would break my duties and responsibilities down into four main areas. First, there is the role of CEO of a very large multi-dimensional organization. As the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is one of the largest embassies in the world, I spend a lot of time and energy ensuring that all American officers and Thai staff are motivated, coordinated, and pulling in the same direction.

“Second is the policy dimension. My role is to implement the President’s foreign policy initiatives here in Thailand. This requires me to determine what areas are appropriate to focus on and how best to tailor and implement them here in Thailand.

“Thirdly, I personally play an important role coordinating information and dialogue between our Embassy and the senior level government officials in different agencies and departments back in the United States. Finally, I am the personal representative of the United States President here in Thailand and that requires me to participate in various events and ceremonies and also means that I am the only person who can speak on behalf of the United States here in Thailand without specific approvals.

“In all areas, I believe firmly in the importance of personal relationships and thus spend a large amount of time developing relationships. I like to develop relationships through meals and sports and thus

spend much of my time after hours developing and solidifying personal relationships with senior Thai leaders.

“Please also take a look at my video on the U.S. Embassy’s social media platforms: “A Day in the Life of the US Ambassador to Thailand.”

COVID-19 “During the lockdown period in Thailand, we instituted measures to allow staff to work from home and only had around 10% of our staff in the office on any day. From August through November we were back at 100% staffing, but still followed all required protocols such as wearing of face masks in public areas or when sufficient social distancing is not feasible.

“Initially, government and private sector interlocutors were hesitant to engage in person, but in the last few months we have been fully engaging with all people in-person.

In actuality, the global pandemic has greatly facilitated interaction with senior level government and business officials here in Thailand because no one is travelling outside of Thailand – everyone is here.

“However, the pandemic has meant that we have not had the opportunity to welcome many senior U.S. officials to Thailand over the past year. Given that we are in the midst of a global pandemic we continue to be vigilant for any sign of renewed virus transmission in Thailand and are prepared to adjust our work requirements as may be appropriate.

“We have learned a lot about remote working capacity this year and are able to conduct most Embassy business through teleworking, if needed.

It’s always prudent for American citizens and visa applicants to check our website for the latest news on Consular services.”

We have been diplomatic treaty partners for over 187 years and security treaty allies for 66 years.

Today, our bilateral relationship covers the full range of political, security, and economic cooperation.

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Histor y of US-Thai diplomatic relations “Diplomatic relations between the United States

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Diplomats

US Ambassador Michael DeSombre with Thailand's Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith

and Thailand began when King Rama III granted an audience to American envoy Edmund Roberts (on behalf of President Andrew Jackson) on March 18, 1833. The two countries signed the first Treaty of Amity and Commerce in Bangkok on March 20, 1833.

“In 1856, Townsend Harris served as special envoy to the Kingdom of Siam and gained the right to establish the first U.S. Consulate in Siam. The Americans in Thailand officially opened that U.S. Consulate on July 4, 1856, so that the birth of the American Mission to Thailand might share the same auspicious date as the birth of the American Republic itself.

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“In 1947, Edwin Stanton was appointed as the first U.S. envoy to Thailand with the rank of Ambassador.

He and his wife selected the house which to this day still serves as the official residence of the Ambassador to Thailand – where I live with my family now.

“Stanton was followed by William Donovan, the first politically appointed U.S. Ambassador to Thailand.

Like me, he was a lawyer by training. Donovan also served as Ambassador to Thailand at the creation of a defense institution that is the beating heart of the US-Thai strategic partnership – the Joint United States Military Advisory Group, Thailand, or JUSMAG Thai which was established on September 22, 1953.

“The current U.S. Embassy building on Wireless Road was opened in 1996. Today, the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is one of the largest American embassies in the world. Our two countries cooperate on a wide range of programs across a vast range of issues, including education and culture, public health, business and trade, as well as security and military cooperation.”

Current relations between the United States and Thailand

Our security alliance is rooted in history but forward looking, helping to facilitate a free and open Indo-Pacific region where all countries enjoy peace and prosperity.

“The United States and Thailand have enjoyed more than two centuries of friendly relations. We have been diplomatic treaty partners for over 187 years and security treaty allies for 66 years. Today, our bilateral relationship covers the full range of political, security, and economic cooperation.

“Together we have made progress on shared goals such as advancing regional security, expanding trade and investment, addressing public health challenges, countering transnational crime, combating trafficking in persons, and assisting refugees and displaced persons.

“Most recently, we have helped fight the spread of covid-19 by redoubling our efforts to share factual information rapidly and transparently and by ensuring that American health professionals are working sideby-side with their counterparts at the Thai Ministry of Public Health to defeat covid-19. In fact, US-Thai health cooperation is one of the most significant elements of our bilateral relationship; the United States and Thailand have cooperated to solve public health problems for over 60 years.

“In terms of our economic partnership, Thailand is the United States’ 20th largest goods trading partner, and I continue to seek ways to expand commercial ties between our two countries. I believe that Thailand is incredibly well-situated to attract substantial more foreign investment in the years ahead. I have been working closely with the Royal Thai Government to implement reforms to move Thailand up the global rankings in ease of doing business so as to attract more investment.

“Our security alliance is rooted in history but forward looking, helping to facilitate a free and open Indo-Pacific region where all countries enjoy peace and prosperity.

“Thailand and the United States have also had longstanding cooperation in international law enforcement. The U.S. and Thailand jointly operate the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok, which since 1998 has supported criminal justice institution and capacity building. ILEA Bangkok has provided training to more than 20,000 TheBigChilli

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Diplomats students from across East Asia on topics such as counter-narcotics, countering trafficking in persons, cybercrime, and wildlife trafficking.

“U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers have been active in Thailand since 1963 and focus on primary education, youth development, reproductive health, and civic engagement.

“The U.S. and Thailand also have extensive people-to-people ties based on our shared values.

The U.S. government funds more than 30 exchange programs in Thailand to connect Thai youth, students, educators, artists, athletes, and rising leaders to their counterparts in the United States and the ASEAN region, and to engage them on strategic priorities ranging from civic engagement to economic sustainability.

“Thailand’s alumni community from U.S. government programs is robust, with more than 5,000 members hailing from the Fulbright Program, International Visitors Leadership Program, the Young South East Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI), and other programs. The YSEALI network has grown to nearly 15,000 members in Thailand since its inception in 2013, 500 of whom have traveled to the United States as part of a YSEALI fellowship.

Bilateral trade “Over $50 billion worth of goods and services pass between Thailand and the United States each year.

Energy is the United States’ largest export to Thailand at $2.5 billion in 2019, with natural gas in particular enjoying exponential growth from only $26.5 million in 2018 to already over ten times that amount ($226.9 million) this year (through October).

“Agricultural products, paced by soybeans, cotton, and wheat, accounted for $1.8 billion in exports in 2019. Electrical machinery exports - including telecommunications equipment, computers, chips, batteries, and household appliances - reached $2.3 billion in 2019.

“Machinery, including construction equipment, tractors, turbines, engines, air conditioners, etc, reached $1.1 billion, and vehicles reached $755 million. On top of the robust trade in goods, U.S. exports in services to Thailand such as travel and financial services sectors nearly doubled over the past ten years, reaching an estimated $3.4 billion in 2019.

“Thailand, in return, exports nearly three times as many goods to the United States, topped by machinery ($8.4 billion), electrical machinery ($7.6 billion), rubber (such as tires) ($4.0 billion) and $2.9 billion of agricultural products, which are mainly rice, processed fruits and vegetables and their juices, and natural rubber, like latex. Also of note, one-third of 14

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Thailand’s $3.7 billion in worldwide jewelry exports went to the United States.”

Relaxation and hobbies “Relaxation for me primarily revolves around sport and exercise. In Thailand, for sport, I spend most of my time on golf and tennis. Thailand is a golfer’s paradise, and I have had a wonderful time trying out the many courses near Bangkok with my friends. I joined several of Bangkok’s top golf courses, which include championship-level courses and historic properties smack in the middle of Bangkok.

“I am fortunate at my residence to have a tennis court, and my family and I play with a coach three times a week. I also have friends over for friendly games periodically. “ During this year, particularly during the lockdown period, I also rekindled my interest in ping pong and pool (nine-ball). I have a group of friends that come over once a month for some intense games of nineball.

“Most every morning, my wife and I lift weights together to stay fit. We brought our full set of free weights with us to Thailand and have converted the ground floor of our guest house into a gym.

“One of my passions in life is snowboarding but unfortunately that is hard to do in Thailand. We would generally go to Niseko (in Hokkaido, Japan) over the winter to go snowboarding, but it looks like that may not be easy this winter. I will be eagerly awaiting December 2021 to hit the slopes again.

“I also am a fan of fine wine and have been collecting fine wines for the past 20 years. I have been very pleased to have located many similar fans of fine wine here in Bangkok with whom I can share the joy of wine and friendship.”

“My wife and I have definitely fallen in love with Thailand. We thoroughly enjoyed our previous business trips and vacations to Thailand, but it is only after living here that we have truly come to appreciate how wonderful the country and the people are. We believe that Thailand will always be part of our life going forward no matter where our careers take us.”

Property

What I’ve from a de of review the Thai property market He’s been threatened, even with death, over the years, but Mark Wolf continues to sift through thousands of classified ads to get the best results for his business 16

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I

see the bad posts. Some I ban. Some I message. Some send me threatening messages in return. Even the occasional death threat.

I feel like I'm an online addict. For the past 10+ years, I have been reviewing classifieds and property posts on (now) four separate websites in Thailand.

And in the property and tech sectors for over 40 years.

About 500 listings per day. Some days more… some a bit less… and growing every day. On one of our property websites (ProperDee.com), 250,000+ property listings this year. On our newest one with

e learned ecade wing

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Property Thairath, (classifieds.thairath.co.th), increasing daily and growing fast. And more in the works.

Thankfully, I have help. Fulltime Thai staff who are young and full of energy. And AI (artificial intelligence). Unheard of years ago; now my friend.

Unlike many other websites, we personally review every listing. We have always reviewed every listing.

My former partner at BahtSold.com often reviewed listings well into the night and always on weekends. It is a thankless job. We now finish by about 8 pm each day. Including weekends.

What are the weirdest and funniest posts? That is for another article.

I also have a confession. I can't read or write Thai.

"Taxi Thai" is the best I can do after 20+ years in this Kingdom. Maybe it's my senior age; maybe I'm tonedeaf; but likely I am lazy. nd I feel like the property expert in Thailand. Agents and owners post their properties for Sale and for Rent. I review the photos, description, location, and more. I delete or suspend posts if they are not in compliance with our Listing Policy rules; I ban those who I believe are "scammers"; and I write messages to posters if they made an honest mistake.

No photo - delete. Copy of another listing - delete.

An inappropriate photo - delete. No description message. Wrong category (e.g. Office building in Villas for Sale) - message or fix. Location in the middle of the ocean - message or fix. On and on.

But I would love to delete the listings that are double - or half - of the reasonable price. Yet, I cannot.

There are property agents who quote a much higher price to unsuspecting buyers only to collect the difference at closing as their inflated "commission".

This practice has slowed with the loss of tourists, but a few agents still practice it weekly on our websites.

Or agents who lower the asking price to get inquiries. They respond that the property was sold or rented, but they have other great options for you to choose from. And quickly‌.

What categories have the most scammers?

Electronics. Get Rich Quick courses. Businesses for sale. MLM help wanted. Interns needed. And of course, property.

Because there are no licensing laws - or even rules - in Thailand for property agents, everyone seems to consider themselves an experienced agent. If you ever rented a condo or bought a home that is the only experience that most "so-called agents" feel they need to get into the property business. Not so long ago, the Thailand government posted that there were 190,000 freelance property agents in the Kingdom. Who knows? Probably a lot less today. But in any case, too many in my opinion.

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Most do one (or less) transactions a year. Most have no formal training. Many expect a "quick buck" without ever providing a service. And some are downright criminal. The same can be said of some owners and landlords. There are also many professional agents who, like me, wish the bad ones would disappear. But a website is not a good barometer of character - only the listings they post.

I see the bad posts. Some I ban. Some I message.

Some send me threatening messages in return. Even the occasional death threat. I see them all. Just like the prices that are posted. Including a young lady trading her "former" boyfriend's 4-bedroom waterfront pool villa for a used Mercedes. Or accepting 100k baht for a 2-bedroom condo that had the wrong paint scheme. Or the expedited sale of a luxury villa for 1 million baht because a fortune teller said it was haunted. I could continue to expound for hours.

Asking prices for condos and villas - and everything else - vary greatly by numerous factors. But for studio size condos, which I often use as a barometer of trends, current asking prices are lower now than in pre-Covid times. But not in Bangkok. Certainly, lower in Phuket, Samui, Jomtien, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai. In some cases, 50% lower. I have recently seen condos for sale at 15,000 baht/square meter. And rentals of 5,000 baht/month and less. That was unheard of preCovid.

Why does Bangkok seem immune to a worsening residential property market? I suspect many factors.

And maybe it still will. But for now, asking prices seem reasonably solid and transactions are still occurring.

What do I expect the future holds? That is for another article.

Can you make money in the property market during these unprecedented times? Absolutely. Again, for another article.

My young daughter claims that my eyes are popping out of my head from my reviews of listings. Especially when I am supposed to be reading her books at bedtime. She may be right. But how else can I be the "market superhero" who sees all and knows all in Thailand? Until I am replaced by a smart computer‌ Mark is a 40+ year veteran of real estate and technology. He has developed many real estate projects in the US and founded many property and related companies. In Thailand, he is the founder or co-founder of online platforms BahtSold.com, ProperDee.com, ThailandCommercial.com and classifieds.thairath.co.th. He is also the co-founder of the Bangkok Venture Club, SE Asia's first startup investment club.

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Guest review by Bangkok Beefsteak & Burgundy

Chef Philippe puts on a perfect show

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s The Rib Room is under extensive renovation our team assembled in the Executive Lounge which still sports those extensive views of Bangkok - the hallmark of the hotel.

Dining started from the opening bell with a tasty selection of canapés, comprising Chorizo and crumble nacho, smoked potato espuma, Teriyaki Chicken Wing Lollypop, Skagen on Pumpernickel and a Mini Reuben on Rye. Whilst all of the canapés were very good, food spokesman Brendon Winter’s pick was the mini Rueben. Simple and tasty. It came with gallons of Domaine Pinon Vouvray Brut NV (Loire, France).

However, wine spokesman Tom Whitcraft (appointed by David Dean in absentia) claimed not to be a person who knows a lot about wines - our President speaks, of course, in jest.

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“The sparkling wine was OK, ” said Tom, “I am not a sparkling wine kind of guy but I guess for people who like sparkling wines, they probably would have liked it”. But he confirmed he did like it.

Made by traditional method from a plot of very old Chenin Blanc vines, François' Brut NV is kept on the lees for 18 months before being disgorged and bottled.

It has pretty apple, pear, floral and toasty flavours with good acidity balancing the fruit.

There were two appetizers: Beef tartar on marrow bone, air bread (very rich with the air bread moderating the richness thereof) and followed by RR&B Baked sea scallop with Porcini duxelle, a pleasant contrast to the richness of the previous appetizer.

Matching this came Robert Denogent Pouilly Fuisse La Croix Vielle Vignes 2016 (Loire, France), which

spent fully 30 months on the lees. Unwinding in the glass with complex aromas of ripe pears, toasted nuts, smoke, warm bread and vanilla pod, it's full-bodied, fleshy and textural, with lovely underlying tension, a chalky, delicately oak-inflected finish and attracting 93 points from Robert Parker and praise from Tom. We don’t find too many soups on our menus but Executive Chef Philippe Gaudal introduced a Leek soup dressed with foie gras, beef croquette and spinach which was tasty and innovative. It was served with Weingut Ziereisen Pinot Noir Talrain 2015 (Baden, Germany).

The grapes of this wine are hand selected and ferment spontaneously before spending close to two years in a mix of barrique and large wooden barrels, 20% of which are new oak. The winemaker claimed to have found savoury herbs and raspberry on the TheBigChilli

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Guest review by Bangkok Beefsteak & Burgundy

nose, with a palate that has a beautiful dark minerality and length, with earthy, meaty, dark-fruited tones and deftly-integrated oak. Wine spokesman Tom begged to differ somewhat.

The lemon sherbet/lemon caviar/Limoncello which followed was a great preparation for the main course. Chef Philippe has a new dish for the new Rib Room and we were among the first to sample it: Beef tenderloin and cheek Wellington, gratin Lyonnais, orange and cumin glazed carrot. Artfully presented and served medium rare, it attracted universal praise.

It came with Roche Audran Châteauneuf du Pape 2015 (Rhone, France) and Parker awarded 94 points for it. Rich and stylish but not a classic CdP, it offered a mouthful of berried fruits laced with herbs, spice and purple flowers, notes of liquorice, minerals and layers of complexity. 2015 was a bombastic fruity vintage and less herbal and bitter tannins overall than usual and as noted by Tom the wine is still relatively young.

The cheese selection to complete the degustation was mild Morbier cheese, the black line through the centre being vegetable ash topping the initial curd, then further curd added over the top the next day but the accompanying Stilton in a pot and fruit bread was Brendon’s favourite It was birthday time again for Danny Arn and he once more rose to the occasion bringing a delicious

malt whisky to the table, Glenmorangie, a favourite for many. His reward for the generosity: the opportunity to thank the Rib Room team and Chef Philippe for their professionalism and hard work. A great meal and wonderful service.

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New Books

By Dr Yuangrat Wedel and Paul Wedel

Beads on a String All too often left out of the spotlight, the history of southern Thailand is nonetheless fascinating and important to the understanding of the kingdom’s development. Helping to correct this oversight is a couple with all the right credentials – Dr Yuangrat Wedel, an eminent academic and researcher with family links to the south, and Paul Wedel, one of this country’s most experienced journalists, author and member of the board of the Fulbright Foundation in Thailand. Together, this husband and wife team have written a novel that not only entertains but also shines some of that missing spotlight on this still little known region.

“Siam at the turn of the 19th century. Four families in the southern peninsula are tied together by ambition, revenge, love and tragedy.

A young Malay imprisoned for rape reinvents himself as a Siamese aristocrat in royal service.

A beautiful young Thai woman seizes control of the family casino and defies the king’s ban on gambling to form an underground criminal operation A guilt-ridden Thai-Chinese sailor seeks enlightenment and purpose as a wandering Buddhist monk.

A former slave fights to escape the domination of a Chinese secret society gangster and rises in the increasingly powerful police force.

A recreation of life in southern Siam at a time of wrenching change, Beads on a String weaves together these stories and others, immersing readers in a gripping epic, full of intrigue and insight.”

Published by River Books Co Ltd. Tel. 66 2 622-1900, 224-6686 Email: order@riverbooksbk.com www.riverbooksbk.com 24

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New Books

By Matthew Hunt

Thai Cinema Uncensored Thai Cinema Uncensored is the first full-length study of Thai film censorship. Informed by access to rare and controversial films, the author provides a history of film censorship in Thailand from its beginnings when films were censored by the police for ideological reasons, to the present when issues such as politics, religion and sex are the main reasons for Thai films being banned.

Although a rating system was finally introduced in 2008, film censorship remains bureaucratic, opaque, and conservative. The book also examines how Thai filmmakers approach culturally sensitive subjects, and how their films have been censored as a result.

It contains interviews with ten leading directors, including candid and extended conversations with Thai New Wave veterans Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Pen-ek Ratanaruang. The directors all discuss their most controversial films, which range from mainstream studio movies to independent arthouse releases, and explain their responses to censorship: some took the censors to court, while others withdrew their films from Thailand altogether.

Matthew Hunt is a former features writer and journalism lecturer who moved to Thailand from the UK in 2004 and writes about Thai culture on his website, Dateline Bangkok.

Published by Silkworm Books info@silkwormbooks.com www.silkwormbooks.com TheBigChilli

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Feature

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By Les Walsh / Robin Westley Martin

BANGSTOCK When the City Rocked Charity music festival organised by a group of music-loving residents is a resounding success

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angkok enjoyed a rare live musical treat recently when Shenanigans Irish Pub and Restaurant was transformed into an outdoor concert venue that featured eight bands, four comedians, a Brit DJ and a pumped-up crowd that kept Surawong Road rocking from noon ‘til midnight.

The charity music festival was rapidly organised by a group of music-loving residents; including Les Walsh, Robin Westley Martin, and John Campbell to help raise money for the BCTFN Charities after this year’s much-loved Ploenchit Fair had to be cancelled due to restrictions put in place by the government to contain the Covid 19 virus.

The doors opened at noon, and the event was kicked off with Les welcoming an already swelling crowd to the festival. Robin the DJ then asked everyone to stand for the Thai National Anthem, and began his DJ stint with a song from one of Birmingham’s (Robin’s hometown) finest, Black Sabbath.

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After spinning a few more tunes the first band were ready to hit the crowd with the first set of the day, which they did with gusto and rocking precision … setting the tone for the 12 hours about to come.

Raw Hyde brought a unique blend of indie and classic rock music to an already-full terrace. Crumble Pie were next up and delivered an inspired set of vintage blues and rock numbers before The Dead Chillies played an up-tempo set of country-rock and blues.

By this time the venue was pretty full, and the excitement ratcheted up a notch when longtime favourites the Bangkok Beatles took to the stage to perform a set filled with a wide-ranging choice of material from the Fab Four. By this time the festival atmosphere had well-taken hold and the outside deck area with the festival stage at the back was heaving, as well as was the inside of Shenanigans which had guests queuing up at the bar.

The second half of Bangstock got underway with a bang as ex-Titanium favourites The Grumps brought their crowd-pleasing, high-octane version of girl power 30

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to the stage, rocking out in grand fashion. Dom is a great vocalist at centre-stage … but wow … that bass player is something else!

Despite The Grumps being a hard act to follow, Keith Nolan and Cottonmouth proved their class and experience yet again, by bringing soulful, rich, thick and tasty blues to life. When longtime collaborator and diva Deni Hines joined the band onstage the music reached a new summit. The horn section that Cottonmouth borrowed from the Midnight Ramblers certainly helped them reach those heights.

The evening was rounded out with high-energy, uptempo offerings from two of Bangkok’s best tribute bands. HaSip HaSip led with a great presentation of smokin’ hot Red Hot Chilli Peppers alternative, rock, punk and grunge vibes, followed up by the always sure to please Midnight Ramblers, as festival closers, who delivered a closing, thundering set of classic Rolling Stones material, aided by Deni Hines powerful vocals, and perhaps the best horn section in Thailand … Mark la Fleur on sax, and Roddy Lorrimer on trumpet.

Not too many people are aware that Roddy, who now lives in Chiang Mai, was a member of the actual Rolling Stones touring band, and has also performed with The Who, Eric Clapton, the Style Council, etc, etc. He is a friend of the Ramblers’ and often joins them at special gigs. Which Bangstock definitely was.

Between the live bands, entertainment was provided

by British DJ Robin Westley Martin, whose set mixed up 70s, 80s, and 90s music with one or two more contemporary toonz (but not too many) to keep the younger set happy. A team of four comedians took some of the pressure off the DJ, performing their sets throughout the day, as the bands were leaving the stage and the new ones were setting up. Between the band, the DJ, and the comedians, the crowd of up to 300 festival-goers were kept entertained through the whole 12 hours. The pig-roast, Smash Burgers, and outside beer stations, featuring PR girl ‘pretties’ from Tiger and Punk IPA, were all well-attended, as was the bar and inhouse kitchen of Shenanigans.

Other honourable mentions includes kudos and

thanks to pub co-manager John Campbell, his partner Ploy, Nan, and the whole Shenanigans team for making the event a smooth-running success; veteran sound and lights professional Khun Tui from Loma Sound; the dedicated team from Bumrungrad Hospital who stood by to make sure that everyone was safe; Les Walsh and Robin for being the instigators and organisers, the major sponsors RSM, Lawton Asia and Shenanigans, without whose support this could never have become a reality.

And last but not least all the music-lovers of all age groups who came out to support this worthy cause. And had a great day out into the bargain.

After all expenses were taken into account (the bands and comedians all gave their services for free) a commendable total in excess of 35,000 baht was made on the day, which will be presented to a very happy BCTFN, for them to distribute to their charities.

Discussions are now underway about making Bangstock a regular event on the entertainment calendar, so stay tuned for future news, and if you weren’t able to catch this one, don’t miss the next!

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The Thai Silk Way anniversary More than a 100 countries participated in the recent fashion show, the 10th Anniversary of The Thai Silk Way, including many ambassadors and spouses from Kazakhstan, Poland, Switzerland and the EU. This

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sparkling event was held at the Royal Navy Convention Hall, which enjoys a beautiful location on the western banks of the Chao Phraya River, with breathtaking views of the Grand Palace opposite.

Fun lunch gathering Members of the Cosmopolitan Ladies Bangkok showed they know how to party and have fun at

their recent lunch get-together at Kuppa restaurant, Sukumvit 16.

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Chile’s finest wines Some of the finest wines from Chile were enjoyed by a select group at a wine tasting organised by the Chilean embassy at Marriott Surawongse Bangkok. Spaniards

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brought vines to the country five centuries ago and today Chile is the 4th largest exporter of wine to the world.

Pattaya networking The Sunset Bar at the beautiful Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya was the venue for a BCCT Multi-Chamber

Eastern Seaboard Christmas Evening, also attended by members of the German Chamber of Commerce.

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Expat Sport

Phuket Yacht Club on a roll Youth sailing program proves a hit ■ There’s a new, refreshing vibe emanating from the Phuket Yacht Club (PYC) these days and you don’t have to be a sailor to enjoy it. Phuket’s premiere yacht club is attracting people from all over the island both sailors and non-sailors from the very young to those growing bolder. The atmosphere is friendly, inclusive and the good wholesome food coming from the galley just keeps getting better.

PYC Commodore Scott Duncanson has taken heed of legendary sailor Michael Spies’ advice: “Your yacht club is only as strong as your junior sailing program.”

The PYC has created a very successful youth sailing program based on one of the world’s fastest growing youth classes, the O’pen Skiff . The club will soon be taking this unique Open Skiff sail training philosophy to local schools in the hopes of getting more Thai nationals involved in sailing. These learn to sail courses aimed at children aged 7-17 operate every weekend and school holidays with swimming being 36

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the only pre-requisite skill required. A session typically lasts three hours with 30-45 minutes theory and rigging on shore, 90 minutes on the water, wrapped up by a de-brief and time learning how to clean, care for and store a boat.

What the club has discovered is that the more parents see their children enjoy their time on the water; the more they want to become involved themselves and this has been a driver of many new memberships. As such, the club launched a three-day dinghy sailing clinic for adults in July. This included a short passage sail to Koh Lon and an overnight stay at the Cruiser Island Resort.

Scott said it was very enjoyable seeing participating families connecting face to face and building relationships through sailing. A bon-fire on the beach, fireworks, toasting marshmallows, hermit crab racing, the simple things in life that so many young ones are missing out on these days due to the electronic device

and gaming revolution.

In addition to regular club racing and regattas, Family Fun Days are now a main-stay at the Club whereby youth and adult sailors can make a short sailing passage to nearby islands, parents can go along as well in an adult dinghy, or by long-tail boat. Eighty people joined in the last event, which is testament to the very successful formula. One parent had so much fun that he went out and bought a 7m RIB while others have invested in larger adult dinghies to take part in island adventures and the club’s monthly dinghy racing The PYC’s youth sail-training program has continued to gain pace through-out 2020 operating at or near capacity every weekend. The school summer holiday sailing program was an enormous success with six courses varying from beginners to intermediates being held over seven weeks. Nearly 100 children visited the club and took the opportunity to get themselves on the water and try sailing.

The PYC recently took 10 O’pen Skiffs and seven youth sailors to Sattahip for the Thailand National Sailing Championships, they loaned three boats to the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT) and a sailing club in Prachuap Khiri Khan so sailors from those clubs could compete in the class as well.

“Three PYC sailors were supposed to have been in Sardinia, Italy, for the World Championships but unfortunately the Covid 19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions put a stop to that,” said Scott “Although initially very disappointing the Worlds have now been rescheduled to July 2021 so we viewed the Thai National Championship Regatta as a perfect

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stepping stone for these young sailors towards international level competition.”

Aside from its regular club racing program, the PYC stages three annual regattas each year for larger mono and multi-hull yachts. The racing is conducted under the Ocean Multihull Rule, IRC and performance handicap systems for boats over 6 mtres in length.

The Sailor’s Regatta in March, the Multihull Solutions Regatta in July and the Jai-Dee (kind-hearted) Regatta in November keep members and their boats busy for most of the year.

During the COVID-19, these were the only sailing competitions happening in Phuket, indeed most of Thailand and provided a wonderful break from the worries of the pandemic or all competitors. While 38

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most regional regattas have been struggling for participant numbers the PYC’s low cost, sailor focused events are experiencing year on year growth despite the pandemic and tough economic times.

The club is open-air and looks out onto Chalong, Bay which is a very safe anchorage for larger cruising yachts and near ideal for learning to sail. It is largely protected from the full force of the North East and South Westerly monsoon winds making sailing all year round possible.

The Club also has a busy social program stages movie and trivia nights and there is a big screen to enjoy major sporting events.

“There are many yacht clubs in Thailand with superior facilities but people are our strength and we

have developed a unique club, cultural signature, a jai-dee culture,” says Duncanson. “Earlier in the year, the club raised over Bt100,000 for a sick club member, Mark Horwood.”

The PYC also recently donated BHT 38,670 to Disabled Sailing Thailand. The funds were raised through auction proceeds and various donations at a memorial ceremony for dearly loved Phuket Yacht Club supporter Kathy de Cruz who passed away in September The PYC is a non-profit organization, which has been operating out of Chalong Bay for over a quarterof-a-century. It is affiliated with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT) and has recently been accredited by the International Sailing Schools Association (ISSA).

For information about the Club, contact Chris at secretary@phuketyachtclub.com, and for information about the junior sailing program contact Coach Garfield at school@phuketyachtclub.com. And if you drop into the Club either Scott or Garfield can walk you through the programs on offer.

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Expat Sport Photography by Tadamasa Nagayama

Siam Mandalay turning heads in the SHL ■ In a Siam Hockey League (SHL) season dominated by the defending champion Novotel Spitfires, Siam Mandalay is suddenly making things very interesting.

Novotel was 7-0 going into their match with Siam Mandalay on December 13th and odds had the Spitfires led by captain Mike Freeson, Thai national team captain Ken Kindborn, and Swiss star Tomas Stastny (the league’s three top scorers) winning again, especially with the way goalkeeper Ben Kleineschay has been playing. Alas, Siam Mandalay put the kibosh on that dream of a perfect season with a resounding 6-2 thrashing.

Thai national keeper Dream Ungkulpattanasuk returned to the form which saw him capture an SHL title with Hertz a couple years back and Siam Mandalay’s crash line (Darius Konotopetz, Mitch Morrison and Turner Johnson) just would not be denied as they created havoc and scoring opportunities for their squad all night. Siam Mandalay had won their previous game in overtime over KCG and lost a thriller in a wild shootout to Aware two weeks prior to that: it seems every game they are has a dramatic finish.

Heading into the New Year, Novotel still sits atop the standings with 14 points followed by KCG with 11 points: Siam Mandalay with 7 and Aware with 2.

Aware is definitely having a tough season and was winless until a dramatic shoot-out victory over Siam Mandalay on November 22nd. Aware actually had a 7-3 lead early in the third period when Siam Mandalay scored four unanswered goals to tie the game and send it into overtime. After four minutes of extra time failed to produce a winner the teams went to the shootout and Slovak star Denis Omelka finally scored to secure Aware’s first win of the season.

In an interesting transition, many of the league’s brightest stars are luk krungs who will be a force to be reckoned with on the Thai national team. These 40

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include Thai-Swedish players Ken Kindborn and Jan Isaksson; Thai-American Ben Kleineschay; ThaiAustrian Patricl Forstner and the soon to arrive ThaiFinn Kim Aarola.

SHL games take place at the arena on the fifth floor of Imperial Samrong Sunday nights at 9 and 10pm. Check out Dom Dumais’ weekly SHL podcasts sponsored by the BigChilli magazine at www. siamhockeyleague.com. The games are also carried live at www.facebook.com/thailandtv.tv, thanks to producer Keith Mueller.

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Local Business

How breads f freezer can st Local baker Wild Grains opens up its secrets to Tim Cornwall

At the recent Hope Fair, I thought it would be easy to by-pass the wonderful aroma of fresh bread, secure in the thought that I would be wasting my money buying a loaf or two as it would surely go stale before I had had a chance to even enjoy a few slices.

I was wrong! Actually, you can put it in the freezer and take out a slice or two whenever you want to a sandwich or toast. After a few words with Wild Grains, a local baker, I have learned that for a sandwich from the freezer, it’s two slices in the toaster once, or if I want toast, in the toaster twice.

This has led to two problems. First, my freezer is almost full and second, I do not know what to buy next.

Here’s what I also learned from Wild Grains:

What product or ser vice do you provide?

At Wild Grains, we provide a grain-to-table experience, bringing in a variety of flavors from various regular and gluten free grains from around the world.

Our menu includes delicious fresh bread as well as gluten free bread, vegan cultured cheeses, spreads, dips and various other treats.

You can buy bread and other products directly from us (www.wildgrainsbakery.com), making the entire process as seamless as possible.

Our products are all freshly made to order, and as such we ensure there is no wastage, which is 42

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important since we are using the highest quality ingredients possible.

How did you become interested in the products you sell?

Simply put, we wanted to make the best bread possible. This meant we had to start from the ground up and make sure we control the entire process from the actual grain to the finished bread.

We dedicated time, effort and resources into our sprouting, milling, culturing, and fermenting processes.

What is special or unique about your bread?

Our products are all made from scratch in house. We begin from the sourcing of our grains from a variety of places. They are identity preserved, single origin and 100% traceable, and have been freshly milled batch to batch.

This means we actively preserve the wholesome properties of the grains. We then use this freshly milled flour to make our bread and other baked goods.

Many people that have gluten sensitivities have tried our 100% Sprouted Grain products and informed to us they have no reactions.

This is because unlike commercial flour heavily refined to have long stable shelf lives, our product is 100% natural with all the properties of the grain intact including the bran, endosperm and germ.

Every baked good is made by hand and fermented with our sourdough culture. We are ingredient driven and follow our craft processes to make sure that all our products are the best they can be. We also make

from the till taste great

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Local Business

a diverse range of gluten free breads for those who cannot eat wheat, as well as cultured vegan cheeses made in house.

How do you market your products?

For the past four years, we have put the time and effort into local farmers’ markets to talk to customers directly. We have been a loyal mainstay with Hope Fair every two months.

In this way we can regularly keep in touch and customers can try our new offerings before ordering on our website. Order and delivery is available directly through our website.

Who makes your products?

We are the chefs ourselves and therefore we are in full control of the process from beginning to end. In this way, the product is consistent with every order placed.

Making good bread and pastries is a time- consuming process and we take pride in it.

Why did you pick Bangkok?

When we first started four years ago, we noticed bread was offered and marketed as a by-product for a meal.

It was an afterthought and used as an accompaniment to the meal.

We asked ourselves, what if bread was the star. We then set ourselves to make it as delicious as possible.

Your biggest challenge?

Educating new customers about the importance of storing artisanal bread in the freezer. Regular bread bought at the supermarkets has preservatives that keep them shelf life stable in the fridge. On 44

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the other hand, our bread – which has no preservatives - should be pre-sliced, wrapped in foil then stored in the freezer. You can then reheat the slices in a toaster oven or even on a warm pan on the stove.

In this way, the bread will taste like the day you bought it and you can enjoy it whenever to your convenience.

Who buys your bread?

Many of our customers have been with us since when we started at the farmers’ markets four years ago.

Any new products?

Eventually we plan to begin the finer nuances of milling and sprouting. We plan to take our concept to other areas in the

baking field like pastries and desserts. We also sell accompaniments to bread purchases, including dips, spreads, and refined sugar free desserts.

We are especially excited with the launch of our cultured cheeses made from nuts cultured naturally from wild grains. Our vegan cheese follows the same practices of regular cheese but made with nuts.

We still enjoy regular cheese but cheese made from nuts that has been naturally cultured and aged is an option to have especially if you are dairy sensitive or if you are looking for something to enjoy every day.

What’s next?

We have been on-line and delivery based for the last few years under our old name, Bake the Sprout. We recently rebranded to Wild Grains Bakery to cover the concept of grains more heavily and launched our streamlined website.

We plan to have our dine-in ready by the end of this year. We are excited with this opportunity because now customers can come and get inspiration of different ways and combinations to eat our products and recreate themselves at home for their own meals to enjoy. www.wildgrainsbakery.com

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MY VIEW

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By Little Wandering Wren

Learning about elephants

Photos in this essay were taken during a trip organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to Lampang and Chiang Mai to learn about the current situation on elephant care in Thailand, and to hear about more sustainable solutions for elephant-based tourism in the future.

Joining this trip was a diverse group of influencers and journalists for an incredible three days’ learning from vets, elephant welfare specialists and those working in elephant tourism and rehabilitation fields.

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MY VIEW

The Jumbo dilemma O

ver the centuries, elephants have always played a major role in Thai society, from the ancient wars, culture and economy to royal iconography and more recently the country’s tourism industry. That they are Thailand’s national symbol is well deserved.

In the early1900s, there were an estimated 100,000 domesticated or captive elephants in Thailand. Some were used in logging operations as recently as 1989, when Thailand banned nearly all commercial logging because of the rapid destruction of its forests.

Sixty years ago, forests are estimated to have covered 273,628 km2. By 2011, they had dwindled to only 171,586 km, which resulted in a rapid decline in the number of elephants.

A mere 3,456 domesticated elephants remained in Thailand by 2007, along with some 3,000 wild elephants. Ten years later, the number of captive elephants had risen to an estimated 3,783, plus a corresponding number of wild elephants, thanks mainly to them being declared an endangered species in Thailand in 1986.

On Elephant Day 2017, the Department of National Parks announced that the number of wild elephants was increasing 7-10 percent. Areas that had seen the most marked increase were the western forest in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary and the eastern forest in Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai forest complex.

Thai elephant also live in the border areas near Burma and Cambodia as well as a number of national parks.

With the ban on logging, some owners of unemployed elephants would take their animals into Thailand’s cities and beg in the streets. For a while they even became a curiosity and attraction in the red light districts of Bangkok. This cruel exploitation was quickly outlawed because of the heat and pollution.

In recent years, Thailand has seen a significant increase in elephant camps and refuges funded by visiting tourists. These are not without their controversies, however, with welfare advocates questioning whether it is abusive for tourists to ride the creatures.

The debate rages on.

Since the advent of Covid19, unfortunately, the number of foreign tourists has suddenly dropped, which has forced the closure of some of these sanctuaries and now threatens the future of many animals since it is virtually impossible to release domesticated or trained elephants into the wild.

More joint public-government effort is urgently required to protect these majestic animals for future generations to enjoy – C.H.

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Travel

By Melissa Richter

PHUKET’S FAMOUS FIVE Your guide to the island’s best restaurants in 2021

It’s unlikely that Phuket’s busy pre-Covid days will return any time soon, but that’s not stopping domestic travelers – especially expats – from heading south to enjoy the island’s outstanding charms, including some very fine restaurants. You’ll have them (almost to yourself) and the attention to detail will be outstanding.

So here is a list of five great places you should visit on your next trip to Phuket.

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Jaras Located at the InterContinental Phuket Resort, this sophisticated beachside restaurant serves classic Thai fare with a contemporary twist. The kitchen is headed up by Chef Chatchawan ‘Banky’ Varahajeerakul who cut his teeth working at Michelin-starred venues such as Sawaan and La Du in Bangkok.

Chef Bank has created an elegant menu that highlights both the seasonality and plentiful bounty of locally sourced produce. “I really support local farmers.

Our vegetables come from a farm near here called Toltec Organic, the seafood comes direct from Sarasin Seafood, and our chickens are produced at a local orphanage and organic farm called Baan Sarn Fan. Even the goats we use are raised here in Phuket at Bang Tao”, shared Chef Bank.

The restaurant also showcases a line of wild “nativegrown” tea from Chiang Mai called Monsoon, and I highly recommend the Lychee Green Tea. Must-try dishes include the bright and colorful ‘Mieng Kana An-chan’ made with kale, butterfly pea flowers and the ‘Donut’ of Deep-fried Crab & Minced Chicken with Chili Jam. My favorite was the evocative ‘Yum Som O Goong Yang,’ a bright pomelo salad served in a perfectly grilled Andaman prawn. The Blue Crab Southern Yellow Curry with Rice Noodles is exceptional and the signature Massaman Curry with Slow-cooked Goat is a rich, creamy and herbaceous delight that you won’t soon forget.

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Issara You’ll find Issara at Kata Noi. It’s an exciting eatery offering ‘fusion’ Japanese, Korean and Thai food that will fire your imagination and tantalize your palate.

It is the passion project of Chef Nikola Lesar who hails from Croatia and was the winner of the Master Chef TV show in his home country in 2012. Chef Nikola has created a trendy and modern space built directly into the cliffside that features an alluring indoor garden complete with soothing water elements.

The ‘Bao Buns’ are a popular favorite to start with and you can get Korean Fried Chicken, Pork Belly, or Katsu Tiger Prawn, although the steamed bun may be a bit dense for some. I was utterly impressed with the ‘Truffle Yakitori,’ which was swimming in green onions and is exceptionally juicy with a savory umami taste that was not too sweet.

The signature ‘Teriyaki Barracuda with Chestnut Barley Risotto & Ikura’as well as the Iron Chef (Thai TV show) award-winning ‘Penang Crab Cakes’ were also insanely good.

My favorite dish was the thinly sliced ‘Japanese Miyazaki Wagyu A5 Striploin (MBS10) with Mushrooms, Penang Curry Sauce, Coriander & Lotus Root’. The luscious beef melts in your mouth while the spicy sauce cuts through the richness of the meat. It’s simply scrumptious and was made all the better when washed down with a killer custom cocktail created by house mixologist Khun Mann.

There are many reasons to dine at Issara, especially the quality ingredients, unique food, and fabulous service.

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Chalong Bay Distillery Originally launched in 2012, Chalong Bay is a bespoke rum distillery located on the southeast coast of Phuket.

They are open daily for factory tours and have a laid back and breezy open-air venue called Suay X Chalong Bay where you can enjoy live music in the evenings.

They offer a plethora of tasty Asian inspired dishes that are tailor-made to complement their signature cocktails.

This is a small batch operation that produces only 55,000 bottles of rum per year at this one location. They

make seven distinct rum flavors (Pure, Lemongrass, Thai Sweet Basil, Cinnamon, Kaffir Lime, White Spice, and Lime) using pure Thai sugarcane and fresh Thai herbs, spices, and local fruits and botanicals.

One of the coolest things to do when visiting is sign-up for the two-hour Cocktail Workshop, which includes a tour and teaches you how to make three cocktails from scratch while tasting all the rums they offer.

There is also a tapas pairing that is included and I particularly enjoyed the fresh ‘Prawn Spring Rolls’ and the ‘Spanish Style Gambas’. The cocktails all come with a recipe book to take home and if you're smart you’ll pick up a bottle or two of rum for later.

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Rock Salt Rock Salt has an unmistakable cache about it, and guests who go there expect nothing but the best. Ideally situated along the hillside overlooking Nai Harn Beach, you will be treated to balmy breezes, stunning ocean views, and succulent seafood.

The kitchen is led by Chef Mark Jones and they specialize in Mediterranean cuisine with a focus on grilled items. The Panko Breaded Calamari with Oyster Sauce, Chili & Garlic is brilliant, while the ‘Moules Marinières’ of Organic Port Phillip Bay mussels steamed with white wine, shallots, and a dash of cream is almost ethereal.

The highlight is the ‘Seafood Mezze,’ which is a selection of local seafood caught fresh that day and handselected by the chef. I was treated to prawns that were as big as my fist, fork-tender squid fried to perfection, and the freshest grilled grouper I ever tried.

Everything was made even more magical by the upbeat live music and the award-winning selection of wines curated by wine connoisseur James Suckling.

Finish your meal with their addictive Triple Chocolate Brownie Sundae with layers of Dulce de Leche and Chalong Bay Rum & Raisin Ice Cream.

This iconic beachfront restaurant is all about taking your time, enjoying the moment, and treating yourself to something extraordinary.

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Pine Pine is the quintessential spot for enjoying cocktails and casual dining while literally feeling the sand between your toes. Located directly on Kamala beach inside the InterContinental Phuket Resort, there’s no better place to enjoy the surf or watch the sunset with a cocktail in your hand.

Open for both lunch and dinner you will find an eclectic international menu of snacks, healthy salads, seafood, and items from the grill along with a wide range of drink options including mocktails, cocktails, wine, and beer. They also feature an impressive selection of sake in addition to some unique rums from Nicaragua, Barbados, and Venezuela.

Recommended signature cocktails include the ‘Strawberry Hibiscus Margarita’ and the ‘Last Samurai’ made with Japanese craft gin, yuzu sake, pomelo, lime, cucumber bitter, yuzu tonic, and shiso leaf.

The homemade gelato and handcrafted pizzas are another must-try. The pizza is made to order and fired in a woodburning oven. It has a thick, yet crispy and chewy crust that is the perfect vehicle for your choice of fresh toppings.

I also recommend the artisan Gin & Tonics made with locally produced spirits such as Chalong Bay or Kristall.

Whether you stop by in the afternoon or the evening, Pine is the perfect place to lose track of time and let a few hours slip away.

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Return of Ruenton, the Montien’s legendary Thai-Chinese restaurant

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angkok’s famous Ruenton Thai-Chinese restaurant at the Montien Hotel on Suriwongse Road has made a spectacular comeback since undergoing a stunning tip-to-toe refit and major rebranding that began 18 months ago.

A regular haunt for several generations of local diners, Ruenton has the distinction of being recognized by Michelin for its outstanding cuisine, especially its much-loved signature dishes like Hainanese Chicken Rice, Thai Fried Noodles, Crispy Mussels and Dim Sums.

Now, after its stunning refurbishment and redesign by acclaimed architects P49, this iconic restaurant is set to become a preferred dining venue for people of all ages and tastes, thanks to a menu that bridges the generations as well as a dazzling new look.

The return of Ruenton is the first phase in an exciting project that will 58

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also include a new wine bar called Phar Ram 1V prior to the complete reopening of the five-star Montien Hotel early 2021.

In addition to all of its traditional all-time favorites based on the concept of ‘Authentic ThaiChinese’ cuisine, Ruenton is now geared to both corporates who can take advantage of the restaurant’s

private rooms as well as those who are looking for authentic dining experience offering delicious ‘street food’ along with timeless Thai and Chinese dishes.

Ruenton regulars will be pleased to know that Executive Chef Amnuay Aneksuwan is back in charge of the kitchens, along with many of his former team. Chef

Amnuay has been with the Montien Hotel for almost 20 years and has been instrumental in making the Ruenton the most celebrated Thai-Chinese restaurant in Bangkok.

Under his direction, the refurbished Ruenton will continue its tradition of providing outstanding cuisine as well as introducing a long list of new and exciting dishes representing the best of Asian culinary excellence.

The interior design of Ruenton is a breathtaking combination of retro modern and traditional, the latter being ingeniously emphasized in the form of a priceless collection of Chinese pottery and antiques from the owners of the Montien Hotel as well as all kinds of pleasing reminders of the old days.

Covering 800 square metres of multi-purpose space, almost the double the size of the former venue, this legendary restaurant can seat up to 250 diners in a choice of settings that are ideal for lounge dining, intimate dinners, social gatherings and corporate get-togethers. In addition, there are two private dining rooms, three function rooms and a bar for

chatting and chilling.

A hive of creativity, the extended open kitchen and live cooking stations have been clearly inspired

by Thailand’s popular street market scene.

The overall ambiance of the reinvigorated Ruenton is relaxed and friendly, which has been enhanced by the use of humble materials, including cleverly converted old wooden boxes as decorative wall panels, together with modern furnishings, all complemented by palette of retro Thai tones like Basil greens, deep indigo blue and mustard hues.

Commenting on the return of the new-look Ruenton, Managing Director of the Montien Hotel Mr Montien Tantakit, said: “We are extremely pleased and proud to mark this new and exciting chapter in Ruenton’s history as we welcome back our former customers after its amazing transformation.

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Feature

Journey through Thailand’s past: 2002 - 2006

By Maxmilian Wechsler

CentralPlaza Rama

2

2002 was the year five Thai

This eighth installment of our 10-part series describing major news stories in Thailand over the past 50 years begins in 2002. The August issue covered 1997-2001.

of Bangkok was opened. The Conservatory of Music at Rangsit government ministries were University was established and formed: Ministry of Energy; Siam Philharmonic Orchestra was Ministry of Digital Economy founded. The Global Buddhist and Society; Ministry of Natural Network, previously known as Resources and Environment; Dhammakayaka Media, was Ministry of Science and founded and Jamsai publishing Technology, and Ministry of company began operations.

Sport and Tourism. Also

founded were the National Januar y Office of Buddhism, an • Urine tests became independent public agency of mandatory in all schools and the central government, universities in an attempt to and Airports of identify students taking Thailand Public illegal drugs. The testing Company. plan was the latest CentralPlaza Rama 2 of a series of moves shopping center bun om in Interior Minister in Bang Khun ms Piu ai ach Pur 2002 (January) Purachai Piumsombun’s Tian district 60

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2002 (February) Rodney Tasker (left) and Shawn Crispin

‘social order’ campaign. Drug enforcement officials said the use of methamphetamines, or ya ba, had become rampant in society.

• The government banned a sex education handbook for teenagers, saying it contained improper language and was too blunt. The book was published by the Siam Care Organisation at the instruction of the Prime Minister’s Office, but the ban was enforced before all 100,000 copies could be distributed.

• Ten-baht coins fooled some vending machines in Europe which took them for new two-euro coins that were eight times as valuable.

Some European tourists and others who realized they could cheat the machines began hoarding 10-baht coins during holidays in Thailand or even shipping them in large quantities to Europe.

Februar y • The police asked the Interior Ministry to blacklist two Bangkokbased foreign correspondents and their colleagues in Hong Kong for publishing a story suggesting the relationship between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the palace was not harmonious. Shawn Crispin and Rodney Tasker from the Far Eastern Economic Review magazine were held responsible for a column published in the January 10 issue. “If they repent and apologise a heavy penalty can become light,” said National Police Chief Sant Sarutanond.

Immigration authorities later scrapped a February 23 order that revoked the journalists’ visas after the magazine apologized. A formal statement read: “We are well aware of sensitivity issues, and the Thai traditions and customs, particularly in respect to the monarch. We can assure that all of us have no intention to violate Thai traditions, or cause any disturbance in Thai society.”

• Academics slammed a proposed new ‘master law’ enabling the government to quickly amend previous laws without going through Parliament. The proposed Civil Service Administrative Reform Bill raised fears that it would give PM Thaksin and his cabinet excessive power. It was denounced by critics as a backward step that would erase many of the country’s hard-won reforms and obliterate Parliament’s oversight role. The bill’s supporters said it would streamline the creation and amendment of laws and reduce the cumbersome and often politicized role of the bureaucracy, which they claimed was stifling Thailand’s progress and allowing unelected officials to maintain a choke-hold on the country’s legislative processes.

March • The first locally produced

cocktail of generic anti-HIV drugs made by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation went on sale. The monthly supply for one patient cost 1,200 baht, making it one of the world’s least expensive HIV/AIDS anti-retroviral drug regimens. It was estimated that approximately 695,000 people in Thailand suffered from HIV/AIDS and 29,000 cases were added each year.

• The Nation Multimedia Group chose self-censorship to protest interference in its news coverage and announced it would not broadcast political programs on its television and radio channels.

The announcement came after revelations that police officials had ordered the Anti-Money Laundering Office to investigate the assets of several high-profile journalists.

• In her role as UN High Commissioner for 2002 (May) Angelina Jolie Refugees American actress Angelina Jolie flew by helicopter to the Tham Hin refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border. The camp housed about 9,000 ethnic Karens who fled Myanmar due to government-backed persecution.

Jolie, who was in Thailand to shoot the second Tomb Raider movie, promised to donate US$100,000 of her own money for the education of refugees.

• A Buddhist monk armed with an AK-47 assault rifle stormed into Parliament and fired in the air 2002 (May) PM Thaksin while demanding to see PM Thaksin.

Phra Maha Sayan Jirasutho was able to smuggle the rifle into the Parliament building by hiding it • PM Thaksin said in his regular under his saffron weekly radio address that his robe. After arguing political enemies were riding in with politicians taxis as passengers and spreading and police he was malicious gossip about him in overpowered by hopes the drivers would pass the an anti-riot squad hist 2002 (May) Budd gossip on to other passengers. pretending to be a monk with AK-47 “The government will take legal TV crew. action against anyone caught spreading rumors,” PM secretarygeneral Prommin Lertsuridej warned.

2002 (June) Rama V

2002 (May) Rama VIII Bridge

May • The cable-stayed Rama VIII Bridge across the Chao Phraya River in Bangkokwas opened on May 7 and inaugurated on September 20, the birth date of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII), after whom it was named.

Bridge

June • Rama V Bridge, named in the honor of King Chulalongkorn, was opened across the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi province on June 21.

• The Royal Irrigation Department announced that despite its belief that dams were an effective tool for water TheBigChilli

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Feature management, it was shelving all dam projects opposed by locals and environmentalists.

• According to a report published

by Cam Gemini Ernst & Young consultancy and Merrill Lynch, Thailand could claim about 20,000 US-dollar millionaires (excluding property assets) as the recovery from the 1997-1998 financial crisis continued. Many of the millionaires had made a killing from the region’s stock market boom over the previous 12 months, the report claimed.

2002 (June) Siam Intercontinental Hotel

• The Siam Intercontinental Hotel closed its doors and awaited demolition to make way for the sixbillion baht Siam Paragon project.

The elegant 400-room hotel opened in 1966 and was one of the best known hotels in the country.

October • PM Thaksin insisted that the torching of five primary schools in Songkhla province and the bombing of a Buddhist temple in Pattani province were the work of local criminal gangs and not resurgent separatists. “The people responsible for the attacks are not terrorists. They could be people with interests in illegal businesses such as drugs and crime,” Thaksin said. e ember) Th 2002 (Nov eng da ng To

story of November • The story of ‘Tongdaeng’ penned by King Bhumibol sold out its first printing of 100,000 copies 62

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within hours of its release. The 84-page book written in English and Thai offered a unique look into the heart and personal life of the King. Some readers found parables in the description of the King’s relationship to his favorite dog, an adopted stray. Some 320,000 Tongdaeng polo shirts also quickly sold out.

December • As the number of foreign visitors 2002 Dec 2002to Thailand Jan 2003) Jamboree continued to grow it became clear that many were now coming for high-quality healthcare at a fraction of the cost they would pay in their home countries. Medical treatment in Thailand with the added bonus of nearby tropical beaches provided an enormous draw for the already booming tourism industry.

• The 20th World Scout Jamboree took place at the naval base in Sattahip from December 28 to January 8. It was the second World Jamboree to be held in Southeast Asia. The event was attended by about 30,000 Scouts from all over the world, under the theme Share our World, Share our Cultures.

2003

saw the Bangkok Jazz Festival established, partly in recognition of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s love of jazz. The Bangkok International Film Festival was also founded and the state-owned CAT Telecom Public Company began operations in charge of Thailand’s international communications infrastructure, including international gateways and satellite and submarine cable network connections.

Shrewsbury International School Bangkok was established and the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre museum and research center in Kanchanaburi province was opened. The facility was founded and funded by Australian Rod Beattie.

2003 (January) Sukhumvit Square demolished

Januar y • After anti-drug measures such as border blocking, public education and promotion of sports and peer pressure campaigns against drug use proved more or less ineffective, PM Thaksin initiated a three-month ‘war on drugs’. With the stated goal of eliminating illicit drugs from the country by April 30, the program changed punishments for drug addicts, set provincial arrest and seizure targets and rewarded government officials for achieving these targets. Thaksin ordered the “ruthless” implementation of the program. According to Human Rights Watch reports, in the first three months 2,275 people were killed, a large number of them extrajudicially executed.

• In the early morning hours of January 26, about 200 men using heavy machinery demolished Sukhumit Square, the site of a popular night market. The violent eviction took place following a four-year dispute between landlord Chuvit Kamolvisit and tenants. People who lived on the premises were forced to escape into the street while open-air bars and shops were raised, unable to even retrieve their belongings.

Denouncing the tactics, PM Thaksin said that ‘mafia rule’

2003 Thailand-Burma Railway Centre

would not be tolerated. Two days after the demolition 140 people were arrested. Massage parlor mogul and aspiring politician Chuvit, who allegedly ordered the demolition, was arrested in May. Februar y • About 3,000 demonstrators marched from Lumpini Park to the nearby American embassy, where they submitted a letter addressed to US President George W. Bush protesting the imminent US-led attack on Iraq. Some protesters then marched to the British embassy where they burned missile-shaped papers to protest London’s support of the invasion.

2003 (March) Krating Daeng March • Red Bull tycoon Chaleo Yoovidha, whose Krating Daeng energy drink became a worldwide sensation, joined the ranks of the world’s billionaires, according to an annual survey by Forbes magazine.

• Air travelers returning from Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan were ordered by the health ministry to stay indoors for at least 14 days to prevent an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Thailand. Legal action was threatened against people ignoring the order.

May • Tens of thousands of people lined up at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre to order low-cost computers. By the end of the day more than 19,000 units had been reserved. Desktop computers were priced at 10,900 baht and laptops at 19,500 baht.

The event was chaired by PM Thaksin.

• A rule dictating students’ hairstyles was rescinded, ending a policy requiring military-style crops for boys and neck-length locks for girls. Previously a boy’s hair could not exceed 5cm in length at government-run schools.

“Times have changed and it would be unrealistic to expect boys to continue carrying on with the conventional bowl cut,” said Kamol Rodklai, an official from the education ministry.

July • Chuvit Kamolvisit was picked up by police on a highway claiming he had been kidnapped, drugged and then abandoned on the roadside.

Chuvit appeared semi-conscious and went into convulsions when he arrived at the station and was later taken to hospital. He had disappeared a few days earlier after claiming he was paying police 12 million baht in bribes every month so they would allow him to run his businesses.

• In an attempt to stop illegal lotteries, the government began selling legal two-and three-digit tickets, anticipating around 35 million customers for the first draw. Tickets were available from vendors approved by the Government Lottery Office and could also be purchased at 375 post offices nationwide.

• An assistant professor of plant science at Thammasat University claimed to have developed an inexpensive way to convert used vegetable oil into a more environmentally friendly motor fuel. “You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to make recycled biodiesel,” said Dr Suthatip Bhamarapravati.

• Thailand repaid the final installment on a US$14 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). PM

Thaksin congratulated the people of Thailand and promised it would be the last time the country would owe money to the IMF for a bailout.

2003 (July) Queen Sirikit Gallery

• Queen Sirikit Gallery or Queen’s Gallery art museum in Bangkok was established after a request from Her Majesty to found a permanent public exhibition hall to promote the works of Thai artists, both young and acclaimed masters. The Queen presided over the official opening on August 9.

n ust) Ridua 2003 (Aug li August aka Hamba in ud m Isam • Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorist, Riduan Isamuddin aka Hambali, was arrested in Auytthaya.

The BigChilli published an investigative article on the case in the June 2016 issue.

See: https://issuu.com/thebigchilli/ docs/the_bigchilli_june_2016

2003 (October) APEC sum

mit

October • Political leaders from countries in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group gathered in Bangkok for a summit and witnessed a Royal Barge Procession on Chao Phraya River in which 2,082 oarsmen participated.

Leaders from Australia, China, Russia, the US and 16 more countries attended the summit.

November • India and Thailand signed a freeTheBigChilli

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Feature trade agreement to eliminate tariffs by 2010 to boost bilateral trade.

PM Thaksin said the agreement would give Thai businessmen access to India’s market of more than a billion people.

December • In his annual birthday speech King Bhumibol warned his subjects not to let success go to their heads. Recalling the Princess mother, the King said: “She said when I did something good it is alright to know what I did, but I should not be too proud.” The King also referred specifically to PM Thaksin’s ‘war on drugs’ and asked how the PM would take responsibility for it. Thaksin was also urged to allow a greater degree of press freedom.

2004

is the year Benjakitti Park on Ratchadaphisek Road next to Queen Sirikit National Convention Center was created. The National Astronomical Research Institute (NARIT) under the Ministry of Science and Technology was formed. The Miss International Queen was held for the first time in Pattaya and instantly became the world’s largest and most prestigious annual beauty pageant for transgender women. The Silpathorn Award was presented for the first time to living Thai contemporary artists by the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry of Culture. The award was established to promote artists with established careers who have made notable contributions to fine arts and culture in Thailand. Thai Air Cargo was established as a joint venture between Thai logistic firm Commercial Transport International and Australian Airline Qantas.

The World 64

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Professional Muay Thai Federation was formed by the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand.

Januar y • Martial law was declared in the three southernmost Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani after suspected ethnic Malay Muslim insurgents killed four soldiers in a raid on an arsenal at a Thai army base. The insurgents stole hundreds of assault rifles and other weapons. In a wave of simultaneous attacks 17 schools and three police stations were torched, mostly in Narathiwat.

Meanwhile, a message was delivered to Buddhist teachers anonymously telling them to leave the South.

Thailand (EGAT) in Nonthaburi to protest a plan to privatize the state-owned entity. The protests and criticism from labor leaders forced PM Thaksin to reverse his approval of the sale and admit his mistake.

2004 (April) Krue Se mosque

April • April 28 was one of the most violent and bloody days the South had seen in many years.

Thai security forces killed 107 Muslim insurgents in clashes in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla. Five Thai soldiers also lost their lives.

Troops killed 32 insurgents who retreated to Krue Se mosque in Pattani after attacks on police and military positions. The attack commenced in the morning with insurgents using machetes, guns and grenade launchers mounted on pickup trucks.

• The death of a six-year-old Thai boy from bird flu was Thailand’s first confirmed casualty and led to the mass slaughter of chickens, ducks and other domesticated birds. “We cannot yet say how many chickens will be destroyed in the next few days, in addition to the 850,000 head of poultry already slaughtered,” said the Agriculture • Interference in the media by the Ministry. government was the worst since the October 1976 Thammasat

March University massacre, said • Muslim Layers academic Nidhi Eowsriwong Association chairman at a seminar on alternative Somchai Neelaphaijit media. Thammasat lecturer Ruj vanished while on Komolbutr pointed out that the 2004 (March) the way to meet a government had banned the Somchai Neelapha ijit purported witness Khor Kid Duay Khon (Thinking in a case involving alleged ethnic Like the People) TV talk show, Malay insurgents captured in intervened in the Ruam Duay the South. Somchai had been Chuay Kan (Helping Each Other) defending suspects accused radio programme, issued warnings of attacking the army camp in to Thai and foreign media, Narathiwat province in January. deprived the Thai Post and Naew His relatives and colleagues Na newspapers of advertising and immediately became worried that indirectly caused the dismissal of he might have been abducted. editors at the Bangkok Post and Siam Rath.

• About 10,000 people gathered outside the • About 10,000 passengers headquarters of the Electricity flocked to ride on Thailand’s first Generating Authority of underground train system in a

trial run. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority and its concessionaire, Bangkok Metro, unveiled the first railway tentacles under the city in a route covering 20 km from Hualampong to Bang Su. The halfhour journey made stops at 18 stations.

2004 (April) New Thai national ID card

• The government began issuing new national ID cards with personal information contained in a microchip, but the National Human Rights Commission warned it was an invasion of privacy. The ID showed a fingerprint as well as a photo and information including religion and blood type. The microchip also gave authorities easy access to data banks containing information on things such as social security benefits and medical history.

July • The XV International AIDS Conference was held in Bangkok from July 11 to July 16 at IMPACT Arena in Nonthaburi. It was the first international AIDS conference in Southeast Asia. At an opening ceremony screened live on national television the main speakers were PM Thaksin and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Thaksin surprised the conference by pledging to adopt a “harm minimization” approach to AIDS prevention among drug users, and to work co-operatively with NGOs. • Alien workers began registering for labor cards that allowed them to work or seek employment for the following 12 months. Most of those who registered were Burmese, Lao and Cambodians working manual jobs.

August • Apirak Kosayodhin was 2004 (August) elected governor Apirak Kosayodhin of Bangkok, boosting his Democrat Party’s stature and presenting a challenge to PM Thaksin’s monopoly on power. Outgoing governor Samak Sundaravej ended his four years in 2004 (June) Somchai Khunpluem charge with a legacy of lackluster June leadership during Bangkok floods, • A court sentenced 66-yearfires and other crises. old Somchai Khunpluem, alias

Kamnan Pho and dubbed the September ‘Godfather of Chonburi’, to 25 • US President George W. Bush years in jail for paying assassins removed Thailand from the to murder business rival Prayoon American Sittichote. The gunmen linked to government’s list of countries that Somchai failed in four attempts to featured significant illicit drug kill Prayoon. He was later trafficking. The new list named shot dead by another 22 countries, included China, group.

Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

• Former PM and October military dictator Thanom • On October 25 around Kittikachorn died of a 1,500-2,000 people gathered in heart attack. He was 93 2004 (June) front of a police station horn Thanom Kittikac years old. in Tak Bai in Narathiwat

2004 (October) Tak Bai incident

province to protest the detention of six men jailed on suspicion of stealing weapons from progovernment militia. Several hours into the protest crowd members attempted to cross a police barrier into the station. Security authorities responded with tear gas and water cannons, and the crowd began throwing rocks. The security forces fired into the air and then into the crowd, killing seven people. More than 1,000 protesters were detained at the scene and then transported to Inkayut Army Camp in Pattani province. The trip took a few hours and by the time the trucks arrived at the destination 78 detainees had died, apparently from suffocation or organ collapse. The incident added fuel to an already raging fire in the Muslim-majority deep South.

• PM Thaksin began his Thai Rak Thai party election campaign at a packed Hua Mark stadium by promising to deliver on a number of populist policies. Thaksin said to thousands of cheering supporters that his ‘poverty eradication caravan’ would scour the country to help bridge the economic divide with occupational training, scholarships for students, low interest loans for farmers, land for landless farmers and a 30-baht health care for all.

• On November 2, Jaran Torae, a Buddhist deputy police chief, was found beheaded in Narathiwat province. A handwritten note said the act was in retaliation for the deaths of Tak Bai detainees.

Several other killings of Buddhist village leaders and police officials were attributed as revenge for the Tak Bai incident. PM Thaksin expressed regret for what happened at Tak Bai, but TheBigChilli

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Feature he insisted there had been no wrongdoing by military personnel.

2004 (December) Tsunami

December • Thousands of people died in Thailand after a 9.3 magnitude earthquake – the second largest on record – triggered a series of tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean.

The BigChilli published an article on the catastrophe in its October 2017 issue under the headline: Killer waves in paradise – the Asian tsunami. See: https://issuu. com/thebigchilli/docs/the_bigchilli_ october_2017

2005

witnessed the establishment of Ramangala University of Technology Srivijaya in Songkhla province and Ramangala University of Technology Thanyaburi in Pathum Thani province. The original Ramangala campus is in Chiang Mai province. Siam Paragon shopping mall opened in Bangkok, as did the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum. Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra gave its inaugural performance in a gala event for the International Trumpet Guild Conference.

Government-sponsored Princess of Naradhiwas University was established in Narathiwat. The World Boxing Council Muaythai (or WBC Muaythai) was formed and commissioned under the jurisdiction of the World Boxing Council.

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Februar y • General elections were held on February 6 with a turnout of 60.7%. PM Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party won a landslide victory, taking 375 out of 500 seats in the House of Representatives.

Five other parties contested the election. The Democrat Party won 96 seats; National Party, 27 seats; and Great People’s Party, 2 seats.

A total of 14,077,711 voters (56.4%) cast ballots for TRT candidates and 4,018,286 (16.1%) for Democrats.

March • Frustrated by the mainstream media’s dependence on commercial revenues, Senator Jon Ungpakorn founded Prachathai website to provide in-depth reporting on issues deemed to be politically sensitive or that conflicted with advertisers’ interests. The senator compared freedom of the press under the Thaksin government to the situation under a military dictatorship.

April • The government promoted the use of alternative fuels with subsidies to lower prices in an attempt to make Thailand more energy independent. Motorists in Thailand were open to alternative fuels such as gasohol and natural gas as petrol and diesel prices continued to skyrocket.

May • Miss Canada, Russian-born Natalie Glebova, outshone 80 other contestants to win the Miss Universe pageant held at Muang Thong Thani’s Impact Arena.

June • A non-confidence motion against Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkij was debated in the House of Representatives after it was made public that InVision and Patriot Business Consultants, InVision’s Thai distributor, had

overcharged the government for Suvarnabhumi Airport’s X-ray 2005 (June) Suriya baggage security Rungrungreangkij system. Critics said that the market price for 26 CTX scanners was 1.4 billion baht, much less than the 4.3 billion baht agreed to in the contract. InVision admitted to the US Department of Justice in 2004 that there was a ‘high probability’ its agent or distributor bribed ‘officials or political parties’ to push products in Thailand. PM Thaksin instructed TRT MPs to support Suriya.

2005 (June) Bill Ga

tes

• During a visit to Thailand by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, PM Thaksin pledged Thailand would soon become a nation with full access to computers and the internet. Thaksin said he wanted computers and internet access in every school in the country within four years. Microsoft agreed to invest 180 million baht for computer education and e-government systems. The bulk of that amount, 136 million baht, went to the Thailand Net project, which aimed to train 69,000 web developers in the Kingdom within three years.

July • Security authorities decided to repatriate 6,558 Hmong refugees living in Phetchaburi province, forcibly if necessary, saying they posed a security threat. The Hmong allegedly paid 2,000 baht each to human smugglers to be transported into Thailand from Laos. About 400 were former

soldiers who fought against the communist regime in Laos who said they fled Laos with their families to escape persecution by the military.

• Around 10,000 monks, nuns, students and social activists took to the streets to protest the listing of Thai Beverage on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. ThaiBev is a holding company under which Chang beer, Mekong whisky and other alcohol brands are produced.

August • THAICOM 4, also known as IPSTAR 1, was launched on August 11 from the European Space Agency’s space center in French Guiana on board an Ariane rocket. The satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for Thaicom Public Limited Company was capable of providing service to up to two million broadband users or nearly 30 million mobile phone subscribers in the Asia Pacific region.

• General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin was named army chief, the first Muslim to hold the post. The appointment was seen as an attempt by the government to address international perceptions of mistreatment of Thai Muslims as well as questions over efforts to resolve long-standing divisions in the far South.

September • Miss Thailand World, Achara MacKay, gave up her crown only 10 days after winning it, claiming she hadn’t fully understood the contract she signed. Specifically, she was unaware that as Miss Thailand she would have to remain in the country for a full year. The Thai-Australian was not fluent in Thai and wanted to continue her studies and modeling career abroad, where she had spent most of her 21 years.

2005 (November) Sondhi Limthongkul

November • A study from the Office of the Auditor-General concluded that every road and bridge construction project under the supervision of local administrative bodies was rife with corruption or sub-standard in its contracted work.

• Thousands of people packed Lumpini Park on Friday nights to listen to media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul speak out against an alleged government attempt s to muzzle the press and unleash new ‘evidence’ of state corruption.

2006

is the year the sale of the Shinawatra’s family’s share of Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings caused a great controversy. Chuvit Kamolvisit opened Chuvit Garden,

a private park at Sukhumvit Soi 10 in Bangkok. The park was created on the site of the old Sukhumvit Square, which was demolished in the middle of the night allegedly on Chuvit’s orders. The Esplanade shopping and entertainment complex was opened on Ratchadaphisek Road in Din Daeng district of Bangkok. K-Mile Air cargo airline based in Bangkok was founded. Khlong Toey Market opened to become the biggest fresh market in Bangkok.

Thai Parliament Television was launched and the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology was formed under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Elections for local councils in Bangkok were held.

Februar y • An estimate 50,000 people descended on Royal Plaza to call for PM Thaksin’s resignation.

It was the biggest protest to date against the TRT leader,

organized by media baron Sondhi Limthongkul, who had joined with political activists and other disgruntled groups to form the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The PAD set up a camp at Sanam Luang in Bangkok and held daily rallies there.

2006 (February) Chiang Mai Night Safari Park

• Chiang Mai Night Safari Park opened its door as officials ignored protests from animal rights’ groups. PM Thaksin presided over the opening ceremony at the 1.15 billion-baht site. The zoo’s director, Plodprasop Suraswadi, imported animals from China, Kenya, Australia, Germany and elsewhere.

• PM Thaksin dissolved the House of Representatives and called for a snap election on April 2. He hoped to return with a new mandate that would help him crush his opponents following months of street protests led by the PAD. “I cannot allow mob rule to supersede the law. I am ready to accept the decision of the people,” Thaksin said.

March • Erawan Shrine’s plaster Hindu statue was smashed by a man who was then beaten to death by street cleaners. The statue was one of Bangkok’s most revered landmarks, attracting thousands of people daily. Police described the attacker as mentally deranged.

His body was found near the shrine at the entrance to a five-star hotel. Two men were arrested and allegedly confessed to killing him.

Caretaker PM Thaksin replaced the statue with a metal version that was installed in an elaborate Hindu and Buddhist procession on May 2.

April • Parliamentary elections were held on April 2 with TRT TheBigChilli

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Feature registering 61.1% of the vote (15,866,031 ballots) and winning 460 of 500 seats in the House of Representatives. The opposition Democrat Party boycotted the election. On April 3 the PAD petitioned the Administrative Court to suspend election results and accused the Election Commission of violating voters’ privacy. Thaksin announced his resignation two days after the election.

• On April 8 the Constitutional Court nullified results of the April 2 election parliamentary elections in a bid to end a political impasse that had left the country unable to form a new government. The decision struck a hard blow to Thaksin’s embattled interim government. New elections were scheduled for October.

May • Central Group parted with a rumored 3.3 billion baht to buy an 8.8 rai plot of land from the British embassy on Wireless Road. The details of the sale were kept secret by seller and buyer, but sources said the land in the capital’s central business district was valued at around 950,000 baht per square wah, making it the priciest real estate in the country.

June • The whole country celebrated the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s accession to the throne. Visiting 2006 (June) royals from 25 countries, Khan Kluay including 13 monarchs, four royal consorts, six royal princes and two royal representatives, gathered in Bangkok to celebrate with the King. The King thanked all well-wishers, saying their spirit and kindness had lifted his inner strength. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at Royal Plaza in Bangkok to view the event while millions more watched a live TV broadcast.

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• A computer-animated film called Khan Kluay captured the fancy of the nation. The film produced by Kantara Studios portrays a young elephant searching for its father and a kindhearted animal trainer who adopts him. Produced with a budget of 150 million baht, the movie won a number of domestic and international awards including Best Feature Film at the 2006 International Animation Festival in Spain. It was the highestgrossing film of the year in Thailand.

July • Petroleum giant PTT was named one of the world’s top 500 companies in terms of corporate scale by Fortune magazine.

PTT rose by 108 places from the previous year to become the 265th largest company globally, and was the only Thai company in the top 500. With total revenues listed at 878 billion baht, up by 44.2% year on year, the company raked in a profit of 81 billion baht.

August • Caretaker PM Thaksin was the target of an assassination attempt, but he avoided a car bomb set for him by leaving his home an hour earlier than usual.

The police arrested an army officer who was driving the car that contained the bomb. “It’s my lucky day,” Thaksin said. He then immediately fired General Panlop Pinmanee, deputy chief of the Internal Security Operation Command.

September • Six bombs killed four people and injured 70 as Muslim separatists triggered 2006 (September) General Sonthi simultaneous Boonyaratkalin explosions in the South. Blasts in Hat Yai targeted a Big C department store, the

Lee Gardens Hotel, the Monkey Pub and the Odeon Shopping mall.

Most of the targets were popular with tourists.

• The government of Thaksin was overthrown in a bloodless military coup launched while he was in New York to deliver a speech to the UN. As tanks rolled on the streets of Bangkok, a desperate call from New York by Thaksin was broadcast on state television announcing a state of emergency in Bangkok. Thaksin ordered troops not to move ‘illegally’ and announced that coup leader and army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin had been removed.

Undeterred, the coup leaders set up the Council for National Security and threw out the 1997 Constitution.

• Suvarnabhumi Airport was opened, but officials were uncertain about what to do with Don Muang. There were suggestions that it be transformed into a convention center or be used for some other non-aviation purpose. Others insisted that Bangkok needed two airports.

Meanwhile, the new airport continued to generate controversy due to allegations of corruption.

October • On October 1 an interim civilian government headed by retired general Surayud Chulanont was appointed after a temporary constitution granted amnesty to junta leaders and their collaborators.

December • Stocks dived after the Bank of Thailand introduced controversial new currency controls on 2006 (October) General Surayud Chulanont foreign investments, prompting a panic that saw the Stock Exchange of Thailand plunge 14.84% in the biggest oneday fall in its history.

*Sources for this story include archives of UPI, AFP, the Bangkok Post, The Nation and Wikipedia.

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Concrete Therapy

Advice for modern city-dwellers Despite our best efforts, life in the big city can get pretty complicated, tr ying to juggle work, social life, personal problems—not to mention the never-ending stream of stressful traffic. We can talk to friends and family, but their involvement might be a little too close to home…sometimes a professional opinion really helps to put things into perspective. Calling our concrete therapists from New Counseling Ser vice (NCS) to the rescue for some solid advice!

Do you have a question for one of our counsellors? We will never print your real name, you can ask anything anonymously. Just send your problem to: info@ncsbkk.com or message @ ncsbangkok on IG, FB, or Line.

Dear NCS, I work in IT and data security. In my line of work, I come across a lot of sensitive information and I get to look behind the scenes of many companies and people’s personal lives. Because I take confidentiality very seriously, I cannot really talk to my friends about my work. This is fine overall, we have other things to talk about, but what really bothers me is their laissez faire attitude towards privacy & security. My friends have zero awareness whatsoever about how easy it is to steal personal information; they might as well have their passwords stamped on their foreheads! I find it increasingly irritating, and I have made a few comments before, but they just laugh and say I’m too serious. However, I’m the one that has to help people when they’ve been cheated out of money or blackmailed with private information. I don’t want the same thing to happen to my friends. How can I stress the importance of this topic to them without being patronizing or too lecturing?

-Secure Friend

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Dear Secure Friend, ■ I can see it would be frustrating that your friends don’t understand the importance of this issue when you witness the potential consequences of it on a daily basis.

Convincing people they need to be more concerned about something can be quite difficult, particularly when they can’t appreciate the risks involved. I agree that coming across as preachy or patronizing will probably cause them to switch off, so try to accept they have a very different attitude due to their different knowledge base about this issue and then try to find varied ways to raise the issue with them so it doesn’t sound too repetitive and is more likely to get through.

There’s a good reason why people tend not to worry about something they believe is unlikely to affect them significantly. If people were to worry about every possible thing that may affect them in the future it would create an exhaustive list of things to worry about, which would be totally overwhelming. Therefore, people need to prioritise their worries based on their own experience and situation. It makes perfect sense that digital security would Counsellor David Ogden

Photo by Verity Tan

be a high priority for you because you deal with it every day, but for your average technology user they probably see the risk of something bad happening to them as very unlikely, hence they don’t feel a need to worry about it too much.

Not only can it be a challenge to shift people’s beliefs but even if they believe the risk is real, getting them to change their habits is an additional challenge. I’m not saying this to deter you from trying to help your friends with this issue, but to help you understand the obstacles required to change both the beliefs and behaviour of another person, which ultimately is something you can’t actually control. Understanding and accepting this reality may help you to develop a bit more patience and in that way, may enable you to let go of your frustration a little.

While you can’t control another person’s behaviour, there are some things you can do to influence their behaviour. There could be several barriers to them taking their online security more seriously, such as lack of technical knowledge or confidence in knowing how to do so. This is where you could help them by making it easier to take action. Consider the following: • Doing something about this

issue will involve effort on your friends’ part, so acknowledge this but make it sound as simple and worthwhile as possible.

• Create a step-by-step guide describing what steps they can take to enhance their online security, including links to appropriate software or apps (preferably free ones).

This will remove some of the guesswork that may be involved for them.

• Offer to actively help them improve their security if they don’t feel confident doing it themselves.

Actions speak louder than words, and by showing a willingness to go through this process with them it demonstrates how important this issue really is to you.

Ultimately you can only do so much as it’s up to your friends to make the change themselves.

Just remember that people tend to change their beliefs and behaviours quite slowly, so be patient and keep gently plugging away and reinforcing your concerns over time, to give your friends the best chance to hear and believe your message. Good luck and I hope they come to appreciate the concern you have for them as their friend.

Dave Counsellor TheBigChilli

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Dear NCS, My favourite bar closed recently, another victim of this never-ending year. This was a place I went to hang out with friends, have a drink after a long week at work, and just get away from it all. It was my refuge and a great hangout place.

I feel so stupid for even caring, but when this place closed, I got really angry at everything. I thought “is this my life now?” Are we never going to feel normal again? Two weeks later I’m still kind of in a rut and not optimistic about the future. Maybe you have some ideas for how to make it through the rest of 2020.

-CoroNO

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Dear CoroNO, ■ Times are difficult and the feelings you describe are understandable. The regulations regarding this virus and how we see things falling apart make us

feel powerless and more or less victims of uncontrollable forces.

When we feel cornered, it is normal for feelings of anger to arise, as there is nothing that we can do. We are restricted in our own decisions and this is upsetting.

Whether our life will become normal again is an unanswered question and this uncertainty can bring on the mood you are in.

Although you feel like you are in a rut and it’s understandably hard to stay optimistic, one possible way to improve your situation is to reach out. Invite one or two people over to your place for a meal and/ or a game. Try to recreate some of the things that you loved so much about your favourite bar – was there a signature drink you and your friends always ordered? Is there a specific type of music or lighting you enjoy there? Create a small ritual that evokes the same feelings of fun and release that you had at ‘your’ bar after a long week at work.

Another increasingly popular way to connect is starting an activity online, like a course or workshop, especially one with group participants. This way, you can start online friendships with people who have the same interests as you.

Many studies have shown that being in nature or even looking at plants can help with feelings of depression and overall wellbeing.

Try to leave the house at least once a day (if you are working from home) by taking a walk. You could give yourself a purpose like an item you need to shop for and spend time admiring the beautiful ‘green walls’ at the mall—take deep breaths until you feel your body and mind slowing down—or you can immerse yourself in nature at the park. Try a hobby that literally brings life into your home, such as keeping plants in your house

Counsellor Johanna de Koning

Photo by Verity Tan or caring for a pet.

Start a daily routine of exercising and/or meditating for 10 minutes when you wake up, so you will create the natural serotonin which makes us feel better. If most of your work is on the computer, take breaks so you feel refreshed and reenergised (research advises after 50 minutes of work to spend 10 minutes doing something without any devices). Make a daily routine and specifically schedule your time off work or devices.

These are just some ideas to help you get started. Finally, most important of all, don’t be afraid to acknowledge your feelings of anger and being upset. It is normal to have days where you don’t feel happy, and it is certainly ok to mourn the loss of one of your favourite hangout spots. Life is indeed uprooted at the moment, but with these coping strategies in place I hope that you can find pockets of joy through the rest of 2020 and into the new year.

Johanna Counsellor TheBigChilli

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