REGULARS
Why are some people so generous to their bank manager?
If you live here on a monthly salary and most of that is eaten up by normal living expenses, then I’m afraid you have little choice but to use a local bank as a facilitator to your lifestyle.
What amazes me is the expat who has the craft to have opened an offshore bank account, before moving here, and is then content to leave their hard earned lifetime savings sitting there.
Many of us of course need an offshore bank, to receive or make regular payments, either from investments or to pay for living expenses here. Some people have these living expenses paid directly to their Thai bank from their investments. These are usually people who have no other expenditure outside Thailand and who seldom travel abroad.
In this article I try to understand the mentality of people who, say with a minimum cash lump sum of £100,000 or US$ equivalent, are happy to leave it in the bank for pittance interest.
I really believe that as most of these people are in their sixties and retired, they become afraid of the complicated investment world and feel safer in the bank. It may be a cultural thing back home to respect the bank manager in his nice suit and Ford Mondeo; and if you had a large lump sum on deposit, you would have got respect from him that you never got when you were in debt to him and his organization.
Many of the people I meet have had resentment for years with banks and that makes it doubly mystifying why on retirement, they leave their capital on deposit and let the banks make the big bucks with their money. I am well aware that this is an ever- decreasing group of people but among expats there are still a substantial number who keep their offshore bank happy.
I could understand this attitude if the banks were safer. The reality is that international offshore investments have much better consumer protection, confidentiality, tax relief and inheritance planning than offshore banks.
Some of these of course have their own investment arm but most of them are tied to a limited menu and those that are not, will not really want to talk to you, unless you have a few million (and no I don’t mean baht).
The probable cause of reluctance to move away from the banks is insecurity. Fear of the unknown. After all when you mention offshore to many people, they immediately conjure up images of drug runners, arms dealers and even oil drillers.
Some of the behaviour of offshore brokers has driven many potential investors into the arms of the banks. Many brokers employ young enthusiastic employees who pester anyone whose name and phone number appears in a local Chamber of Commerce magazine with constant phone calls. These young guys believe they have found the way to a quick million, until burnout becomes a reality and they quit. Meanwhile, the broker has a few more young guys lined up which eventually results in people advising to refuse all calls from financial advisors.
The second biggest offence, by an unethical broker, after running off with your money, is to fit an investor up with a high commission product that is completely unsuitable for the unsophisticated investor. This behaviour is on the decline, as most of the brokers I know run perfectly ethical business and let’s face it, this behaviour is not confined to here as most of the big scandals in the financial world over the past few years have been with the large International financial banks and brokerage houses.
So how do you protect yourself and make the most of your offshore status?
Firstly don’t be a birdbrain. It’s your responsibility to understand 100% any investment recommended to you. You really do understand your own needs. Remember, offshore investing encompasses everything from guaranteed deposits right through to speculative equity and hedge funds. Talk to a good broker and do nothing until you fully understand what you’re getting into.
It would be a tragedy for any expatriate, no matter how much money they have, to settle for bank interest.
I have a client who had 300,000 sterling invested in an offshore bank deposit account for the whole of 2006, at the end of which she had made 12,000 interest. I persuaded her to invest in a balanced portfolio and at the time of writing, with almost two full months of 2007 left, she has earned 40,732 interest. That’s a difference of 28,000 sterling.
Or to put it another way; why not give the bank 300,000? -At year-end they will give you 12,000 and you tell them to keep 28,000 for themselves.
Do I really need to say anymore?
Your comments appreciated to jerry@swissinvestcenter.net
Mag’s Page
It’s nearly upon us again. You know - that time of year when we over indulge after a mad scramble to shop for all those things we never knew we needed in the first place.
Newspapers and magazines are full of the latest ‘must have’ gizmos, which I am usually quite immune to. Plus the latest cosmetics colours, which never seem to be stocked in my nearest branch of Boots anyway.
The one new gadget that really caught my eye though is an absolute ‘must’ for anyone who has a thing about telephones. Not the all singing and dancing variety, but the old fashioned plug in type, that were once only available in black and, unlike mobiles, required the user to sit in one place while using them.
Now some bright spark has come up with the same old fashioned looking handset complete with curly cord, which plugs into your mobile phone! The idea is to avoid nasty emissions from your mobile, and to provide an alternative to the ‘bluetooth’ earpiece with its dodgy transmission. (There’s another of life’s great mysteries. Why is a phone earpiece called ‘ bluetooth’ for heavens sake?)
So now we have the perfect solution. Your nice compact mobile phone, easily held in one hand, and small enough to slip into a jeans pocket or evening bag. Plus a traditional handset with curly cord. Now you can have mobility with both hands full, and a bigger handbag to stash it all in as well. Just don’t try to get your bus fare out or blow your nose at the same time.
Now back to my old favourite - that infernal McCartney woman. Just when we thought all was quiet on the divorce front she does it again. Lady McCartney, now known simply as Heather Mills (which must be quite an embarrassment to the real Heather Mills, daughter of the late Sir John) has declared her suffering to be on a par with that of Kate McCann. An astute move which placed her firmly back on the front pages of the tabloids.
For anyone who has been in solitary confinement for the last 6 months Kate McCann is the mother of 4-year-old Madeline, who went missing in Portugal. I must admit to not being a particular fan of the McCanns either, and went through the ‘did they do it’ phase. But the tragic loss of a child really can’t be compared to a multi million pound divorce settlement. Unless of course you are Heather Mills.
Despite all the controversy though there are some striking similarities between the two women. Not least in age and looks. Both seem hell bent on remaining in the glare of media publicity at whatever cost. Heather Mills for no apparent reason other than to maintain her hate campaign against the ex. Kate McCann meanwhile wants to maintain public awareness of her missing daughter. A laudable aim for a Mum who was apparently downing quantities of vino collapso with chums, and hadn’t bothered to employ a childminder.
Kate has even announced that she will not be returning to her career as a Doctor. A career for which she will have trained long and hard and, lets face it, they don’t get paid peanuts these days. Instead she wants to help other parents who have lost children in similar circumstances to her own.
Are we starting to see a pattern here? Both women have been caught up on a bandwagon of publicity that seems to have become addictive. Both have chosen to use their own experiences to help others (Heather Mills helps other amputees in between court appearances.)
Neither seems able to get on with their lives in anything like a ‘normal’ way. In particular Kate McCann, whose skills as a doctor could benefit so many.
So who really needs the help?
Happy Christmas All
Pub Quiz
Time for the Hua Hin quizmasters to tell you about the comings and goings in this questionable world. Terry has been on his travels and Hugo has been oiling the wheels of industry via On Point. They are both back and enjoying seeing the quizzers squirm with indecision as they read out the questions. Numbers have been steady but there is room for a few more teams. So if you like to tax your mind and think you know it all, then come to Dick’s Office and pit your wits against the boys.
After the recess the quiz will take place every two weeks, with the first one in December being on the 2nd, start about 8 pm. If you want one of Dick’s superb roast dinners then try to get there a bit early, otherwise the answer sheets get covered in gravy!
As usual there are six verbal rounds and one picture round. Some of the categories that have been foxing the contestants are Sporting Sequences, Put The Country To The Make Of Car and Famous Birthdays. Here is one question from each.
2005 Chicago White Sox, 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, 2007?
Lada Made?
Wartime leader 20th April 1889?
If these were easy then bring your thinking caps to Dick’s Office on the 2nd. See you there.
Terry and Hugo.
Arts & Culture – Alvar Aalto
This month we bring you the third in our series of international architects this time from Finland.
If you have not heard of Alvar Alto that may not be surprising if you are not into design, but you will certainly have seen some of his work or at least work influenced by him.
Aalto is primarily known for his architecture but this was only one of his design talents.
Alvar Aalto was born on February 3, 1898 in Kuortane, Finland, situated between the lake country of central Finland and the flat farmlands of the western province of Ostrobothnia. The son of a surveyor, he graduated with honors from Helsinki Polytechnic in 1921 after which he opened his own practice.
He held the position of Professor of Architecture at MIT 1946 to 1948, and was President of the Academy of Finland 1963-68. He was an architect and designer, sometimes called the “Father of Modernism” in the Nordic countries.
Aalto’s mature work embodies a unique functionalist/expressionist and humane style, successfully applied to libraries, civic centers, churches, housing, etc. His work also included furniture and glassware.
Aalto’s designs were particularly significant because of their response to site, material and form. Aalto generated a large body of work in Germany, America, and Sweden. Often at work on multiple projects, he tended to intermingle ideas and details within his work. The spectrum of Aalto’s work exhibits a sensual detailing that separates him from most of his contemporaries.
After marrying fellow architect Aino Marsion, Aalto moved his office to Turku and started collaborating with architect Erik Bryggman.
The Aaltos designed and built a joint house-office (1935-36) for themselves in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, but later (1954-55) had a purpose-built office built in the same neighbourhood. Aino Aalto died in 1949 and in 1952 Alvar married architect Elissa Mäkiniemi. In 1957 they designed and had built a summer cottage, the so-called Experimental House, for themselves in Muuratsalo, where they spent their summers.
Most Finnish people will see in his work the same metaphors of nature and the Finnish experience as in the music of Jean Sibelius or the creations of designers such as Wirkkala, Sarpaneva and others. But Aalto’s importance as an architect goes beyond the borders of his homeland. Like all great art his has the power to evoke feelings and the right to its own place in the world’s cultural heritage.
Although sometimes regarded as the first and the most influential architect of Nordic modernism, a closer examination of the historical facts reveals how Aalto (while a pioneer in Finland) closely followed and had personal contacts with other pioneers in Sweden, in particular Gunnar Asplund and Sven Markelius. But what they and many others of that generation in the Nordic countries had in common was that they started off from a classical education and were first designing in the so-called Nordic Classicism style before moving, in the late 1920s, towards Modernism.
The Viipuri Library (1927-35), went through a transformation from an originally classical competition entry proposal to the completed high-modernist building. His humanistic approach is in full evidence there: the interior displays natural materials, warm colours, and undulating lines. The Viipuri Library project lasted eight years, and during that same time he also designed the Turun Sanomat Building (1929-30) and Paimio Sanatorium (1929-33): thus the Turun Sanomat Building first heralded Aalto’s move towards modernism, and this was then carried forward both in the Paimio Sanatorium and in the on-going design for the library.
It was not until the completion of the Paimio Sanatorium (1929) and Viipuri Library (1935) that he first achieved world attention in architecture. His reputation grew in the USA following the critical reception of his design for the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, described by Frank Lloyd Wright as a “work of genius”.
His perception of organic links between people, nature and buildings matured in the late 1930s when he designed the Villa Mairea, one of the most admired private residences of modern architecture. Aalto’s later masterpieces include the municipal building in Säynätsalo, completed in 1952, and the Vuoksenniska Church (1959).
It could be said that Aalto’s reputation was sealed with his inclusion in the second edition of Sigfried Giedion’s influential book on Modernist architecture, Space, Time and Architecture. The growth of a new tradition (1949), in which Aalto received more attention than any other Modernist architect, including Le Corbusier. In his analysis of Aalto, Giedion gave primacy to qualities that depart from direct functionality, such as mood, atmosphere, intensity of life and even ‘national characteristics’, declaring that “Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes”.
Aalto’s awards included the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects (1957) and the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1963).
Aalto’s wide field of activity ranged from furniture and glassware designs to architecture and painting. His vase designs are world-famous. He invented a new form of laminated bent-plywood furniture in 1932. Aalto furniture is manufactured by Artek, a company Aalto co-founded. Aalto glassware (Aino as well as Alvar) is manufactured by Iittala.
The following are some Alvar Aalto quotes which perhaps give some idea of the man behind the work:
“The very essence of architecture consists of a variety and development reminiscent of natural organic life. This is the only true style in architecture.”
Alvar Aalto is cited by Göran Schildt in his book “Alvar Aalto; The Decisive Years”
“Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes. It provides him with that inner source of energy which always flows through his work. It is as Spain is to Picasso and Ireland to James Joyce.”
“There are only two things in art - humanity or its lack. The mere form, some detail in itself, does not create humanity. We have today enough of superficial and rather bad architecture which is modern.” (1957)
“Yes, of course you can and must fly, but it should be with one foot on the ground - or at least a big toe.”
“God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper.” Alvar Aalto, Sketches, 1978, 104.
“We should work for simple, good, undecorated things, but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.” Speech in London 1957.
“Pórticos del Camino”
An exhibition by Dr. R.A. Ambara Baratawidjaja MSc., 1-29 December 2007.
“Pórticos del Camino” (Journey Gateways) is the title of Indonesian artist R.A. Ambara Baratawidjaja’s first Bangkok solo exhibition, which comes after several joint exhibitions in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Born of royal lineage from Java’s ancient Majapahit Kingdom and a medical doctor by choice, ever joyful Ambara will be showing traditional Chinese scrolls with un-traditional images of places emanating from her world’s journeys.
Ambara’s ink and watercolor paintings have been influenced by her intensive travels from deserts to glaciers and living in places such as Singapore, Chile, Kenya, Malaysia and Thailand. Her work is characterized by its strong ink strokes and beautiful soft color pallet of water color paint, which make her paintings even more serene, dreamlike and unforgettable.
Ambara’s art is as unconventional as her training, rooted in her deep fascination with painting early on in life. At the young age of 8th she became 4th place in a worldwide children’s competition held in the United States. Since then she has been eagerly learning different techniques from art masters around the world. A major milestone came in 1984, when she met her first Chinese Painting Master, the late Professor Mr. Chaw I Chow, who introduced her to classic style Chinese brush and the philosophy behind it. Later in Kuala Lumpur, she studied under painting masters Chong Cheng Chuan and Chong Buck Lee, who taught her the joy of free style and scenery techniques. Today she thrives under the caring guidance of Master Lu Shan Yun. Over the last twenty years Ambara has been able to perfect her own style which will be visible in her “Pórticos del Camino” exhibition.
The opening reception, which was held on Friday 30th of November from 7.00 p.m until 9.00 p.m., was presided by H.E. Joaquin Montes, Ambassador of Chile, and M.R. Priyangsri Watanakun, Assistant Secretary General of the Thai Red Cross Society.
The Rotunda Gallery & the Garden Galleries are at the Neilson Hays Library, 195 Surawong Road, Bangkok
(Tel. 02-233 1731) and it’s opening hours are: Tuesday-Sunday 9.30 am - 5.00 pm.
Health Matters By Dr Michael Moreton
The day’s get shorter, the weather gets a little cooler; the winter will soon be with us. Winter in Thailand is very mild but it can be accompanied by some unwelcome visitors, including influenza viruses. Almost every year there are outbreaks of this unpleasant disease, part of a worldwide epidemic. Some of the bugs are worse than others and become famous as the epidemic gets a name; in 1918-19 there was the Spanish flu, in 57-58 the Asian flu and in 68-69 the Hong Kong flu. It is a long time since the last major epidemic; we are overdue for another...
Influenza, commonly called the flu, is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract. It is spread rapidly from person to person. Compared to other viral infections such as the common cold it can be a very severe illness and can progress to pneumonia. The elderly and chronically ill are at particular risk.
The flu is a particularly clever virus. Each year it comes back in a slightly different form, so that the antibodies formed against previous flu attacks do not protect us. It is as if the virus changes its overcoat and puts on dark glasses; it’s the same old flu but the immune system does not recognize it.
Where does the flu start? Right here in our neighbour’s back yard. Most of the new variations evolve, in the province of Guangdong in south China. It is thought that the proximity of humans, pigs and ducks living together assist the flu bugs to pass from species to species and undergo the changes that make them unique. The American Centre for Disease Control (CDC) monitors the outbreaks each year and has teams in the area, year round, testing patients and identifying the viruses. In recent years the epidemics have been with relatively mild viruses but one of these years, and it could be this year, we are going to have a more severe form.
The Avian flu (Chicken Flu) that you have heard about is an entirely different problem from the regular flu. The virus is NOT very infective to humans and at the present time there are no human-to-human transmissions documented. The Thai authorities, both medical and agricultural, monitor any suspicious cases and take appropriate action to avoid spread. The best advice is to keep away from LIVE chickens, wash chicken before cooking and clean the counters and implements well afterwards. Be sure to wash eggs, before putting them into the ‘fridge.
If you wake up one morning with a runny nose and congestion; you know that you have a virus. How can you tell if it is a common cold or the flu? Generally, if it is a cold you will be debating whether to go to work. If you have the flu, there is little debate, you feel so bad that it is unthinkable. A cold comes on slowly; the flu can be very sudden in onset. With a cold you feel tired; with the flu you are exhausted, even getting to the bathroom can be a major accomplishment. With a cold you may feel a little achy, with the flu your whole body, even your toenails feel sore. With a cold you may have a mild fever, with the flu you can have a high fever (over 38.5C or 101F) and sufferers, especially children can have chills. A severe hacking cough is more typical of a cold than the flu. Nausea and even vomiting is not common with either but loss of appetite is more noticeable with the flu.
If you have the flu you need to take care of yourself. Stay home, stay in bed, and take plenty of water and other fluids. Patients who try to fight it and do not rest can lose out; in the end they are sick and out of work longer than those who take to their beds immediately. Tylenol or Panadol can be useful if you are feverish. Antibiotics do NOT kill viruses. Let me repeat that, antibiotics do NOT kill viruses. Taking them by mouth, by injection or intravenously does no good at all. They may, however, be needed if a secondary bacterial infection occurs as the result of having the flu. There are some newer antiviral drugs that if taken very early in the illness can help to modify and shorten the course of the illness.
Dr Michael Moreton is the International Medical Coordinator at the Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre, he can be contacted to answer any Health Care questions. Moreton@bgh.co.th
Useful Telephone Numbers for Hua Hin
Railway station
032-512 770, 032-511 073
Bus station of Hua Hin
032-511 654, 032-512 543
Bus station of Prachuabkirikhan
032-601 901
Bus station of Pranburi
032-621 443
Hua Hin Hospital
032-520 401
Dog Rescue Center
0-1981 4406
Wild life Rescue Center (Tayang)
032-458 135
Department of Land Cha-am office:
032- 430 846-7
Department of Land Hua Hin office:
032-536 164, 032-512 407
Department of Land Prachuabkirikhan:
032-611 211
Department of Land Pranburi
032-622 199
Local Government (Hua Hin)
032-521 340, 532 471
Local water supply
032-511 677
The Power Board of Hua Hin
032-512 215, 032 513 165
Observer office:
032-531 078
Red Cross.
032-512 567
San Paolo Hospital
032-532 576-85
Polyclinic International
032-516 424, 032-516 425
Shell Cooking Gas
032-511 144, 032- 515 620
The Communication Authority of Thailand
(Hua Hin)
032-511 351
Rotary Club of Hua Hin
0-1916 6637
Meeting every Thursday 8.pm
at Hua Hin Grand Hotel & Plaza
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