Regular features from December 2002 84th Issue

In last month's Observer we published a letter from a T. Gallanger which detailed a nightmare visit to a hairdressing salon for his wife and daughter. It appears that this was completely fictitious. We failed to check the authenticity and this letter slipped though and was printed. The same letter appeared on the world wide web on at least one website.
The owner of the salon was outraged by the slur on her salon and has asked us to point out that this family were never in her salon and although she has many foreign customers, she has never had a complaint from any of them. She is convinced that somebody is trying to put her out of business and is resorting to "dirty tricks".
We tried our hardest to find the origin of the letter (which was sent to our office via e-mail), but due to a server failure all messages were wiped from our records. However we are as sure as we can be that the content of the letter is completely untrue and that the salon provides a clean and fair service for all the customers both Thai and foreign.
As it happens this month there were no letters to the editor, but please note if anyone wishes to make their feelings known through the pages of the Observer we will insist on a full name and contact address, and we will call them to ensure the authenticity of their comments.

Ever wondered what all the wierd and wonderful insects and animals are called? Find out here so you don't cross your dogs with your horses or get bitten by a rambutan!.

Insects and small beasties:
insect - maleng - แมลง
fly - maleng wun - แมลงวัน
cockroach - maleng sahp - แมลงสาบ
millipede - gingue - กิ้งกือ
centipede - dta-karp - ตะขาบ
gecko - jinjok - จิ้งจก
big gecko - dto-gae - ตุ๊กแก
spider - maeng moom - แมงมุม
locust - dtuk-daen - ตั๊กแตน
scorpion - maleng bong - แมลงป่อง
dragonfly - maleng bor - แมลงปอ
butterfly - pee sua - ผีเสื้อ
mosquito - yoong - ยุง
ant - mod - มด
rat - noo - หนู
bee - peung - ผึ้ง
snake - ngoo - งู
termite - bpluak - ปลวก
venomous - bpen pid - เป็นพิษ
dangerous - undarai - อันตราย
bite - gud - กัด

Animals:
animal - sudt - สัตว์
zoo - suan sudt - สวนสัตว์
cat - maew - แมว
dog - mah(rising tone) - หมา
rabbit - gra-dtai - กระต่าย
elephant - chang - ช้างtiger - sua - เสือ
lion - sing dtor - สิงโต
cow - wua - วัว
buffalo - kwai - ควาย
horse - mah(high tone) - ม้า
bird - nok - นก
fish - bpla - ปลา
shark - bpla chalarm - ปลาฉลาม
jellyfish - maengaproon - แมงกะพรุน
eel - bpla lai - ปลาไหล
squid - bpla meuk - ปลาหมึก

There are a few nasties to beware of including the centipedes (dta-karp)
which can give a nasty bite, any snake (ngoo) must be treated as venomous
and jellyfish (maengaproon fai) can also give you a sting.

If you have any language questions or would like translations, send us an email at the Observer.

The Best Investment In The World

While walking around the Hua Hin area notice the many “Farangs” who are happily married to local Thai girls. Many of them indeed are very proud of their beautiful children and no doubt have great plans for the children’s future.
In most cases there is a distinct age difference between husband and wife. Thankfully this does not raise as many eyebrows as it would in the West but the one thing that these husbands may not want to face up to is that they will probably die many years before their wives
When this happens how will it affect the plans for the children’s future?
Generally in the west when you approach a married couple about life insurance they mostly answer “O Thanks but we have enough already” I always reply “Enough for what?” “How many widows do you know who thought their husbands had too much life insurance?”
In Thailand many care for their families and make sure they have adequate cover but many more reply "May pen Rai” When I die my wife will return to the village where she came from. Her family will look after her and anyway we are insured locally for B300,000 What a cop out. The one thing that this type of cover will ensure is that your widow and your children will eventually be dependent on someone.
However I do understand the reluctance to insure your life adequately. Before I came into this industry my thoughts were "Why should I insure my life for $1 million and have my widow running around town in a Ferrari". But it was pointed out to me that life assurance is to fulfill my plans and objectives for my widow and my children and that good insurance companies would make an annual payment to help fulfill these objectives. They are well aware that someone not used to large amounts of money could blow it all in a few years if presented with a huge amount.
When I said to them I would rather sell investments than life insurance, the reply was “Investments”? The best investment in the world is the one that pays the most when you need it the most and that is life insurance.”
Imagine this scenario. Father A died last night but luckily for his family he was fully insured. Father B also died last night but unfortunately had little life insurance. Both had 5 year old boys. Move the scene on 20 years. Son A is driving out proudly in his new BMW from his first year job as a junior hospital doctor. He blows the horn at son B who was his school friend. He is sitting on his motor cycle taxi and acknowledges by waving.
Son A is proud of his late father who was thoughtful enough to provide for his education in his absence through life insurance To Son B his father was a ‘Farang” he has no memory of.
All I’m saying here is know the price about doing something and know the price about doing nothing.
Remember that paying the monthly premium isn’t the problem. Paying the premium is the answer to the problem.
If you would like clarification or further information on any matter discussed contact
Jerry McMenamin at info@swissinvestcenter.com

Flight News

With thanks to Alain de Rocker
* On October 24, the European Parliament voted on common rules on compensation and assistance to air passengers in the event of denied boarding and/or cancellation or long delay of flights. The members agreed that for denied boarding, passengers should be compensated EUR200 for flights less than 1,000 km, EUR400 for flights between 1,000 and 3,500 km and EUR600 for flights of 3,500 km or more. The European Parliament also voted that passengers on delayed flights will have a legal right to refreshments, meals or hotel accommodations and established performance scoreboards on lost luggage, delays and overbooking to “name and shame” culprit airlines. In addition, the law includes a new amendment exempting carriers from paying compensation when delays or cancellations are owing to force majeure, such as strikes outside their control, bad weather or security problems.
* British Airways (BA) have introduced a “yellow card” system in response to an increasing number of so-called “ground rage incidents.” Similar to the system used in football, the card acts as a final warning to passengers who are disruptive or abusive toward a member of BA’s staff. The yellow card warns passengers that if they do not moderate their behaviour, they may be refused travel or the police may be called. The system is already in place for BA flights in the air.
* Wireless internet access will soon be widely available at airports across Europe, enabling passengers to log on to the net anywhere in the terminals. The Megabeam system has gone live at Brussels airport and is set to be launched at Liverpool John Lennon, London City, Oslo Gardermoen, Milan Malpensa, Rome Ciampino, Turin and Venice airports over the next few weeks. Copenhagen and Istanbul airports and a hotspot at Munich airport will also be online thanks to agreements with partner companies.
* Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is to open a purpose-built art museum. The museum, situated behind passport control on the Holland Boulevard, the corridor between the E and F Pier, is a joint initiative by the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport. It will house a permanent exhibition of about ten works by famous masters from the Dutch Golden Age, all selected from the Rijksmuseum collection.
* British Airways is to impose a weight limit of 32kg (70lb) on any single item from January 1. Passengers will be asked to share out the weight into an extra bag provided free. Exceptions include pets, musical instruments, wheelchairs, sport equipment, professional TV cameras, commercial spares and diplomatic baggage, if 24 hours’ notice is given. Normal excess baggage charges still apply. Limits vary but as a general rule the combined maximum for Business Class travelers, regardless of number of bags checked, is 30kg (66lb).

Favourite Holiday Dishes from Tantawan's Kitchen

TOM YAM GOONG Ingredients:
1/2 litre Chicken Stock (standard recipe)
12 Prawns, peeled and cleaned
2 stalks of Lemon grass, thinly sliced
40g Galangal root, sliced
4 Kaffirlime leaves
2 Tomatoes, diced
5 Bird chillies, crushed
100g Straw mushrooms, quartered
3 tbs Fish Sauce
3 tbs Lime Juice
1 tbs Chilli Paste in Oil
10g Coriander Leaves
Preparation: Bring the chicken stock to the boil, add the lemongrass, galangal, karriflime leaves and mushrooms and boil for approximately three minutes.
Add chilli paste, chillies, tomatoes and prawns and simmer on low heat.
Then season with fish sauce and lime juice to your liking. Sprinkle coriander on top and serve with steamed rice.

Chef's tip: If no straw mushrooms are available fresh champignons can be used as substitute. Tom Yam can also be made with fish or seafood. For vegetarian tom yam, add tofu and season with white soy sauce instead of fish sauce. With thanks to the chef at Jasmines for supplying this recipe

Grand opening at Beachcomer

Observer entrant (left) with the Rotary girl at the Hua Hin Food Festival Beauty Pageant

 
The Huddersfield ladies enjoy a Ram Wong, while the men belt out a traditional Yorkshire classic at a recent Rotary Family Night

Canadian connection! Craig and Chuck celebrate Craig's birthday at U Turn, his ability to hold a golf club is impaired, but he manages ok with a Canadian Club

Rtn Sureerat Ardoonyasak (right) presents a gift to a guest at the Ayudhya Allienz C.P. thank you party

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