JANUARY 2011

A publication of the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce 01 / 2011

Coming Soon...
The
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Annual Maple Leaf Cup

Golf Tournament

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Bangkok Golf Club

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Friday, February 11, 2011; 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

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11,200 baht/team or 3,000 baht/player

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Corporate Partnership
Premier Sponsors

Executive Sponsors

2010/2011 TCCC Executives
Patron:
His Excellency Ambassador Ron Hoffmann
President – John Casella
Vice President – Sranyoo Chanate
Vice President – Ali Fancy
Secretary – Dr. Tim Cornwall
Treasurer – Michael Howard
Executive Board:
John Casella
Sranyoo Chanate
Neil Chiu
Dr. Tim Cornwall
Kobsak Duangdee
Ali Fancy
Michael Howard
Ron Livingston
Sukanya Rattanavadee
Niccolo Sozzi
John Stevens
Derek Van Pelt
Embassy Representative:
Ping Kitnikone
Advisors:
Raymond Bodemer
Sam Cohen
Surachit Chanovan
Don Lavoie
Luc Métivier
Executive Director:
Randy Shockley
Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce
139 Pan Road, Sethiwan Tower
9th floor, Bangkok 10500
Tel: +66(0) 2266-6085-6
Fax: +66(0) 2266-6087
Email: tccc@loxinfo.co.th
Website: www.tccc.or.th
The Voyageur is the monthly magazine of
the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce,
covering all Thai-Canadian business, legal
and social news of interest to the members
and others who are active in expanding
Thai-Canadian bilateral trade.
Editor:
Randy Shockley, Executive Director,
Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Publisher:
Scand-Media Corp., Ltd.
4/41-2 Moo 3, Thanyakarn Village,
Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok 10230
Tel: +66(0) 2943-7166-8 Fax: +66(0) 2943-7169
Design: Disraporn Yatprom
Email: disraporn@scandmedia.com
Advertising Contact:
Mr. Finn Balslev, Marketing Director
Scand-Media Corp., Ltd.
Tel: +66(0) 2943-7166 ext.151 or 08-1866-2577
Email: finn@scandmedia.com
Calendar
Calendar of events: TCCC
WHEN: Wednesday, January 12, 2011; 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
WHAT: Speaker Luncheon: Khun Pimpaka Nichgaroon, Head Strategist for Thanachart Securities
Research Department will provide a Thailand economic and investment outlook for 2011
WHERE: To Be Advised
PRICE: 700 baht – Members; 850 baht – Non Members
WHEN: Wednesday, January 19, 2011; 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
WHAT: Canuck Connections Networking Night.
WHERE: The British Club - 189 Surawongse Road, Bangkok
PRICE: 200 baht – Members; 400 baht – Non Members
WHEN: Saturday, January 22, 2011; 4:30 pm – 10:00 pm
WHAT: The Great Canadian BBQ 2011
WHERE: Ambassador’s Residence
PRICE: 1,600 baht per person; 500 baht for children 12 & under.
WHEN: Friday, February 11, 2011; 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
WHAT: The 13th Annual TCCC Maple Leaf Cup Golf Tournament
WHERE: Bangkok Golf Club
PRICE: 11,200 baht/team or 3,000 baht/player & 750 baht/non-player
Upcoming events in the region: CCBA
SINGAPORE: www.cancham.org.sg
When: Sunday, 23rd January 2011
What: Terry Fox Run: working together to out-run cancer
Where: Playground @Big Splash 902 East Coast Parkway
Price: (TBD at time of publishing)
The
e
Annual Maple Leaf Cup
Golf Tournament
Bangkok Golf Club
Friday, February 11, 2011
Ladies & Gentlemen, it’s time to form your 2011 Maple Leaf Golf Team!
D
on’t miss this great day of golf with fellow Chamber members, friends and work
associates.
This year’s tee-off time is 11:00 am at the Bangkok Golf Club, our traditional venue for
this annual Canadian community event. We will also continue to utilize the 4-Person Scramble
as it’s the ideal format for this social golfing event since it allows golfers of all abilities to play
and enjoy the game without undue pressure or demanding perfection.
The tournament will offer many recognition prizes for such shots as: Nearest to the Pin,
Near Pin off Tee, Longest Drive in Fairway, Longest Putt and Nearest to Fairway Marker (Target)
Off the Tee. We’ll also be conducting special recognition drawings for… In Greenside Bunker,
In the Water on Fairway Shot, In Left Bunker off Tee, Tee Shot in the Water and more.
So make plans today and arrange you calendar to share in this great annual business
and social golfing event. The price for the 2011 event has been maintained at: 11,200 baht/
team or 3,000 baht/player & 750 baht/non-player.
This year’s mulligan contributions will be donated to the Village Development Partnership
(VDP), so come on out… have a few drinks and shag a few balls with your TCCC friends and
work associates!
The Chamber also thanks Innovasia Graphics Ltd. for its support of the event’s branding
elements. If your need graphic support, you may want to contact Khun Cristel or Khun Nui
at Innovasia Graphics (02-636-7605 or info@innovasiagraphics.com).
 lub Canada Thailand presents

SNOWBALL 2011
Celebrating 50 Years of Thai-Canadian Friendship

Charity Dinner & Dance

Saturday, February 19, 2011
 
Grand Millennium Sukhumvit
30 Sukhumvit 21 (Asoke) Road
 
Cocktails 6:00pm/Dinner 7:30pm
Cocktail Attire
2,700 baht donation

For reservations:
Carla McLean - 084 931 1204 Delphine Jamieson - 086 111 1482

JASPAL

The Inaugural Beaver Invitational
Charity Golf Tournament
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Phoenix Golf Course – Pattaya, Thailand
A New Tradition is Born!
America has the Eagle, Thailand the Garuda
and Canada the formidable Beaver, the ideal
icon for the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Com-
merce (TCCC) and Flying Farangs Hockey
Club as they endeavor to build a new annual
tradition with the Beaver Invitational Charity
Golf Tournament. In this building process, we
provide special recognition to Bombardier
for so graciously serving as the inaugural
‘Title Sponsor’ in helping to bring this char-
ity tournament to life. Without a committed
lead sponsor like Bombardier or the event’s
‘Premier Sponsors’ such as BlackBerry, Air
Asia, PPI and Point of View Media Group it
would have been very difficult to launch this
event. In recognizing all of this year’s Bea-
ver Invitational sponsors, please take time
to look over the sponsor page and reward
these companies with your support in the
New Year.
This year’s inaugural tournament attract-
ed 148 paid players and utilized a 2-person
scramble format to leverage the historical
success formula of past Flying Farangs char-
ity golf tournaments. Without question, it
was an action packed and fun charity event
offering a great time for all and based on the
initial feedback, we should see greater player
participation in 2011.
The primary goal of this new annual tour-
nament is to raise funds for worthy causes.
Fifty percent of net proceeds are being donat-
ed to charities supported by the TCCC (i.e.,
Khun Mechai's Village Development Partner-
ship: http://www.villagedevelopmentpartner-
ship.org/vdp.asp) and the Flying Farangs (i.e.,
Thai Fund Foundation’s community projects:
http://www.tff.or.th). The other fifty percent
of net proceeds is to be split between the
Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce to
support the ongoing operation of this "Not-
for-Profit" organization and the Flying Farangs
to support the continued development of ice
hockey in Thailand, with emphasis placed
on encouraging Thais to learn the skills and
dynamics of ice hockey. Due to the great
support of the inaugural event, each of the
above causes will be awarded approximately
60,150 baht.
More about the Charities
Khun Meechai Virivadhya’s Village Develop-
ment Partnership (VDP) Program http://www.
villagedevelopmentpartnership.org/vdp.asp
The VDP is a successful and sustainable,
22-year old program established to empower
rural communities to eradicate poverty and
improve their quality of life, addressing five
key areas: community empowerment, eco-
nomic development, environment, health,
and education.
Experience has also shown that next to
community empowerment is the need to
introduce business skills and access to credit
in an attempt to raise income and eradicate
poverty. Funds for economic development
and the other activities are given to these
villagers in exchange for tree-planting at a
rate of 40 Baht (US$1.25) per tree.
These proceeds will be used to expand
the program and develop microcredit op-
portunities and empowerment to additional
communities. A separate initiative within
the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce
will also see a group trying to gain outside
corporate support in the form of a matching
funds.
Thai Fund Foundation’s (TFF)
community projects
http://www.tff.or.th.
TFF initiatives provide support to grassroots
organizations working to improve health and
the environment in Thailand. TFF have nu-
merous programs, which include: Stateless
Children Initiatives, Improvement of Worker’s
Conditions in Nonthaburi Province, Natural
Resource Management in Loei Province, and
Agricultural Education for Farmers in Buriram
Province.
The Flying Farangs though funds raise
in their charity golf tournaments since 2004
have focus on the cause of Stateless Chil-
dren. TFF carries out projects on the rights
of stateless people in Mae Hong Sorn,
Chiangmai, Chiangrai, Payao and Lamphun
provinces along the Thai-Myanmar borders.
Operation of this project revealed a cruel fact
that there existed a large number of stateless
people who lived without any status in Thai-
land and thus were deprived of their basic
rights, such as the right to education, health
care, travel and income earning.
In 2009, these Stateless Children Initia-
tives helped result in: 154 stateless children
and their family members gaining Thai
nationality. Furthermore, cards were issued
for persons with registration status in the fol-
lowing communities: 1,584 stateless children
and their family members from Mae Samlaeb,
617 stateless children in Baan Phosor School
(Mae Sariang District), 101 stateless children
and their family members in Mae Samlaeb
Chamber Activity
village. And 262 families in Mae Samlaeb
village obtained house registration.
Ambassador’s Support
In recognition of the TCCC’s recent ac-
ceptance of a Population & Community
Development Association (PDA) proposal to
raise 2,000,000 baht for a targeted Village
Development Partnership (VDP) project, H. E
Mr. Ron Hoffmann, Ambassador of Canada
to Thailand has received approval to match
the Chamber’s first 100,000 baht contribution
to the VDP project. Additionally, given that
the Beaver Invitational is being established as
an ongoing initiative to generate funding sup-
port for both the VDP and TFF, Ambassador
Hoffmann has contributed the “Ambassador’s
Cup” to this tournament.
The Tournament
The inaugural tournament kicked off on Fri-
day, November 12th from 6:00 to 9:00 pm
with the Beaver Invitational Reception and
Eastern Seaboard Networking Night hosted
by the Amari Orchid Hotel at its newest
beachside venue, the ‘Tavern by the Sea’.
Guests were treated by the Amari to an out-
standing array of finger foods, as well as free
Asahi beer and mixed drinks throughout the
evening. In total, 100 attendees participated
with many players taking time to pre-register
for the following day’s tournament.
On Saturday, November 13th, the players
started arriving at the Phoenix Golf Course
from 9:30 a.m. onward and were quickly
checked-in, so they could ready themselves
for the noon shotgun start. As background,
the key features of year’s tournament were
as follows:
VENUE The venue for the inaugural Beaver
Invitational was the Phoenix Golf Course,
a stunning coastal course offering some of
the best golf in Pattaya. Phoenix has long
been a favorite with the Chamber and the
Canadian community’s players and is com-
prised of three sets of nine holes, named the
mountain, the lake and the ocean. Each of
these nines is set in wooded surroundings
on gently rolling hills. Bamboo and eucalyp-
tus trees line the fairways, which have been
purposefully, designed to be narrow, so that
shade is readily available throughout most
of the course. Similarly its large greens are
Continued on page 10
January 2011 5
 1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12
The Inaugural Beaver Invitational Charity Golf Tournament Photos Gallery
1. Visiting the Four Seasons hole was always a cool and refreshing experience. 2. The D’Pelican Inn
food kiosk was always ready to take care of hungry players. 3. The Allied Pickford team came to the
tournament’s rescue on logistical support. Thank you for helping to ‘Deliver’ a great event both on and off
the course! 4. The Roadhouse BBQ food Kiosk was providing the right question….great BBQ. 5. We
thank the Doug Hood Golf School for running the “Beat the Pro” Hole; Doug Hood & his wife (L) generated
a few extra charity donations on this hole. 6. H. E. Mr. Ron Hoffmann, Ambassador of Canada to Thailand,
presenting the stunning “Ambassador’s Cup” to the tournament’s “Low Gross” winners Messrs. Geoff
Lamantia and Jason Williams. Check-out those beautiful Beaver Invitational motor-cy taxi jackets! 7.
Players admiring the fairway target on the “Nearest to the Beaver Off the Tee” hole. Our course props
were a favorite with this year’s players with a few disappearing along the way as tournament mementos. 13
The beaver tee box makers were a real favorite. 8. Mr. Casella, TCCC President, presenting the coveted
“Beaver Trophy” to the inaugural tournament’s “Low Net” Winners Messrs. Messrs. Anders Frodle & Anders
Henrikson. A fine Friday night recovery by this team to claim the prize! 9. Hole sponsor KPMG was
“Johnny on the Spot” when it came to making group photos. 10. The ladies of IEM took 1st Place in the
“Best Margaritas” category. 11. We thank Bombardier, a premier Canadian and leading global company,
for serving as the Inaugural Beaver Invitational Charity Golf Tournament’s “Title Sponsor”. Featured in this
photo are Mr. Don Lavoie and his associates from Bombardier’s Bangkok office. 12. You could always
count on a few surprises at Bistro 33’s food kiosk which was staffed by Mr. Barry Osborne and his capable
associates. 13. The Thai Fund Foundation (TFF) staff having a great time at our inaugural charity event.
6 Voyageur
January 2011 7
January 2011 9
 Chamber Activity
Continued from page 5
fringed with mature vegetation creating shade
and protecting the players from Thailand’s
strong mid day sun. As currently envisioned,
the tournament committee will periodically
rotate the tournament’s course to ensure the
best possible value proposition and as an
opportunity to expose players to Pattaya’s
wide range of courses.
TOURNAMENT FEE: This year’s player
fee structure offered an “Early Bird” price of
3,200 baht and a “Standard” price of 3,500
baht. Price included: Friday night’s sponsored
networking reception with food & beverages,
green fee, caddy fee, tournament hat & shirt,
goodie bag, on-course sponsored food &
beverages, technical events & prizes, awards
dinner with live music, poolside buffet, open
bar, lucky draw and hotel room discounts
courtesy of the Amari Orchid - Pattaya.
Bottom-line, this event represented a great
golfing value and a great time for an even
greater cause!
PRE-RRGISTRATION: In total, four pre-
registration events were held to support this
year’s Tournament: Friday, October 22nd-
Tenderloins; Friday, October 29th-D’Pelican;
Friday, November 5th - Roadhouse BBQ and
November 12th-Tavern by the Sea.
CADDY BOOKINGS: With the creation of
the tournament’s new permanent website,
the event also offered on-line caddy book-
ings, certainly a first among Thailand’s many
tournaments.
WEBSITE: The new Beaver Invitational site
was created through the generosity of Mr.
John Stevens and the Point of View Media
Group (POV) and serves as the event’s key
point of contact. Please visit www.beaver-
invitational.com, it’s informative, entertaining
and a great place to keep updated on this
annual event.
FORMAT: A two person scramble format
was used in this year’s event to ensure a
fun and enjoyable day on the course and
will continue to be utilized going forward.
This format allows for two players per team,
two teams per foursome with singles being
paired up by committee to form two-person
teams. The player whose shot you are using
plays first; then, the second player plays from
within one foot. On greens, putt from the ball
position as marked.
PLAYER HANDICAP: Maximum handicaps
for the tournament were: Gentlemen 24,
Ladies 36
TEAM HANDICAP: Based on 10% of the
combined 2-man handicap. Team handicap
could not be higher than its lowest handi-
cap.
10 Voyageur
DRIVES: Minimum of 3 drives from each
player per nine holes.
MULLIGANS: Sold on event day with a
maximum of 3 Mulligans per player. Mulligans
could be used for shots anywhere in play,
including putts.
GIMMEE CIRCLES: Utilized in this tourna-
ment to speed-up play.
ON-COURSE OFFERINGS: During this
year’s tournament, we can promise no one
was lacking for drink, food or attention with
PPI & Asahi serving as the on course beer
sponsors and D-Pelican, Roadhouse BBQ
and Tenderloins all establishing kiosks to
serve-up free food and snacks to the players
throughout the day. The players were also
entertained and pampered by the event’s
many hole sponsors including: Four Seasons
Hotel – Bangkok, Marriott Resort & Spa,
AirAsia, Allied Pickfords, Amari Orchid-Pat-
taya, Baker Tilly, Bourbon Street Restaurant,
BlackBerry, Bombardier, Doug Hood Golf
School, Fenix, ICMSASIA, IEM, Jog Sports,
KPMG, Jelly Belly, Point of View Media Group
(POV), Raja Fashions, Rajawongse Clothier,
Siam Wheels, Tango Condoms, Wave 88 and
Yamira Cleaning.
TECHNICAL PRIZES: This year’s tourna-
ment offered technical (and in some cases…
less than technical) prizes on every hole
including: longest drive, longest putt holed,
nearest to the pin, nearest to the pin in two,
nearest to the beaver target off the tee, one
putt competitions, life on the beach (sand
trap) awards and “Happy Gilmore” holes.
Technical prizes ranged from free AirAsia
round trip tickets, luxury resort stays at Four
Seasons-Chiang Mai and Marriott Resort &
Spa, hotel and service apartment stays at U-
Hotel, Frazer Suite and Oakwood Residence,
golf shorts from Rajawongse Clothier, shirts
from Raja Fashions, cases of Canadian beer,
bottles of liquor and more.
AWARDS: The winning “Low Gross” team
was recognized with The Ambassador’s Cup
while the winning “Low Net” team received
The Beaver Trophy. Additionally, the event’s
Low Gross and Low Net winners were pro-
vided with engraved pewter hip-flasks and
bottles of Scotch. As a special recognition
award, this year’s “Low Gross” and “Low Net”
winners received Beaver Invitational branded,
bright red motor-cy taxi vests. While certainly
more whimsical than the bright green jackets
given out at Augusta, they were certainly
worn with great pride. Other prizes for 2nd
and 3rd place Low Net finishes were also
provided during the awards ceremony.
Awards Ceremony & Dinner
This year’s awards ceremony was conducted
pool side at the Amari Orchid’s new Ocean
Tower pool. The hotel did a beautiful job in
preparing the pool side venue for our awards
ceremony and provided a jazz duo, open bar,
BBQ buffet, ice cream station and more. No
one walked away from this evening without
feeling like a special guest of the Amari
Orchid-Pattaya.
Following dinner, Les Walsh and John
Casella conducted the presentation of the
tournament’s technical and player awards,
as well as the raffle and lucky draws. The
winners of the inaugural event’s “Ambassador
Cup” with a “Low Gross” score of 62.8 were
Messrs. Geoff Lamantia and Jason Williams.
We thank Ambassador Ron Hoffmann for his
participation in the tournament and for being
on-hand to present this beautiful trophy.
The Beaver Trophy for the “Low Net”
score was presented to Messrs. Anders
Frodle & Anders Henrikson with a score of
62.8. “Low Net” 2nd and 3rd place winners
were Messrs. Malison & Steve Marker with
a score of 64.0 and Mr.& Mrs. Rick & Noi
Cassidy with a score of 64.5. We congratu-
late these individuals for their fine play and
support of this year’s charity tournament.
The lucky winners of the event’s Air Asia
tickets included: Mr. Keith Johnson, Mr.
Thomas Riedlienger and ironically, Mr. Daniel
Althaus, Executive Chef - Bangkok Air Ca-
tering. Congratulations to all of the Air Asia
winners.
Committee Recognition
In closing we thank Mr. John Casella, TCCC’s
President, for taking time to serve as the
inaugural tournament’s chairperson and his
wife for allowing him to continue his duties
following the birth of twin girls. Additional
recognition is also offered to Mr. John Ste-
vens and the POV team for delivering all
of the creative and branding elements, Mr.
Les Walsh for his professional assistance in
managing the course set-up and the game’s
technical aspects, Ron Livingston for sponsor
coordination, and the TCCC office for provid-
ing the financial controls and administrative
structure for this year’s event.
We also thank all of the Beaver Invita-
tional committee members for their personal
commitments in delivering a great charity
tournament. In alphabetic order, the 2010
committee members were: Charlie Argue,
John Casella, Neil Chiu, Ali Fancy, Michael
Howard, Zoltan Kosa, Don Lavoie, Ron
Livingston, Geoff McIntyre, Adrian Meyers,
Scott Murray; Craig Noon, Randy Shockley,
Ted Spevick, John Stevens, Todd Switzer,
Clint Towl, Derek Van Pelt, Les Walsh, Scott
Whitcomb and Michael White
We look forward to seeing you at the 2011
Beaver Invitational!
 
ThankyouInauguralBeaverInvitationalSponsors!

TitleSponsor:

PremierSponsors:

  

HoleSponsors:

    

    

 

FoodSponsors:

   

ProductandPrizesponsors:

     

 

  
January 2011 11
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12 Voyageur

Forget About the Imaginary
Monsters Under Your Bed…
The Lowly Dust Mite is the Real & Present Danger!
This unpleasant-looking fellow is
the reason that you keep waking
up feeling lousy – watery eyes,
headache, runny nose, coughing,
sneezing, depressed. These are
dust mites - microscopic spiders
that live in your mattresses,
couches, pillows, and duvets,
among other places - and produce
200 times their own body weight
in excrement, all of which is
loaded with guanine, the key
cause of allergies that can also
trigger asthmatic attacks.
T
hey are everywhere, and often come
pre-installed with the mattress. Since
mattresses are a sealed environment,
they are difficult to clean and the
mites are left alone to breed in isolation,
aided by the heat and humidity that they
love, making a mattress more and more
contaminated. Even a six-month old mattress
can pose health risks to its owners.
Beds are a prime habitat (where 1/3 of life
occurs). A typical used mattress may have
anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites
inside and it is estimated that as much as
10% of the weight of a two year old pillow
can be composed of dead mites and their
droppings. Their favourite food is what we
politely call “dander”, which is both human
and animal skin flakes. Humans shed about
1/5 ounce of dander (dead skin) each week
- about 80 percent of the material seen
romantically floating in a sunbeam is actually
skin flakes. Also, bedroom carpeting and
household upholstery support high mite
populations.
One of the most strongly allergenic
materials found indoors is house dust,
often heavily contaminated with the fecal
pellets and cast skins of House Dust Mites.
Estimates are that dust mites may be a factor
in 50 to 80 percent of asthmatics, as well as
in countless cases of eczema, hay fever and
Member Profile
other allergic ailments. Common causes of
allergy include house dust mites, cat dander,
cockroach droppings and grass pollen.
Symptoms are usually respiratory in nature
(sneezing, itching, watery eyes, wheezing,
etc.), usually NOT A RASH. However,
there are reports of a red rash around the
neck. Other allergic reactions may include
headaches, fatigue and depression.
The wheeze-inducing proteins are
digestive juices from the mite gut which are
quite potent. An exposure to the mites in the
first, crucial year of life can trigger a lifelong
allergy. There is no cure, only prevention. One
must control house dust mite levels.
“There’s more to it than just what’s inside
the mattress,” Walsh added.
The University of Manchester performed
a 2005 medical study of pillows that found
up to 16 species of fungi in a single pillow.
They tested feather and synthetic pillows in a
range of ages, finding thousands of spores of
fungus per gram of pillow; more than is found
on an average used toothbrush.
Here are some more fun numbers:
• On the mattress surfaces: contain 1
billion germs per cm2, including bacteria,
mold, viruses, and fungus. By comparison
a toilet has 30,000/cm2
• Inside the mattress: 10 million dust mites
January 2011 13
 Member Profile
in a typical 5-6 year old mattress (plus
dead mites and all that accumulated
excrement)
• Body fluids: 24 litres of sweat per year
per person, not including saliva, spills,
and other body fluids
• Dead skin: 1 kilo of dead skin per person
per year. This is mites’ main source of
food - if they don’t get this they can eat
their own excrement 3 times
The solution to all this is a simple treatment
done once a year. It takes 15 minutes per
bed and is done on-site, leaving the mattress
clean, sanitized and revitalized.
TCCC Chamber member Les Walsh is
the owner of Yamira Cleaning, a company
specifically set up in 2008 to offer this
specialized service to both residences and
hotels. The company removes years of
allergens, sweat, dead skin, bacteria and
other contaminants that have accumulated
using an all-natural, chemical-free, dry
Who are the Flying Farangs?
It’s been said that you can take
a Canadian out his country, but
you can’t take ice hockey out
of a Canadian. Albertan Craig
O’Brien proved that when he hit
the tarmac of Bangkok’s Don
Muang airport back in 1995. The
first thing he did was look for
an ice rink and then he started
gathering like-minded Canadians
to put together the Flying Farangs
ice hockey team (farang meaning
foreigner in Thailand).
14 Voyageur
treatment cleaning and sanitizing process
using specialized equipment. Beds, pillows,
duvets, and couches are left disinfected,
fresh-smelling, rejuvenated, and most
important of all – allergen-free.
“We offer what is – at present – a very
niche service,” Walsh explained, adding
with a smile that “it’s kind of un-glamourous
and explaining what we do can really ruin
a dinner party. However, people who suffer
from allergies love us.”
It has been far from easy for the fledgling
company, as their launch took place just
before the PAD came along and closed
the airport, followed more recently by the
tourism-killing protests by the Red Shirts.
“Our business model was heavily focused
on the hotel sector,” Walsh explained, “and
for last few years they have been going
through very difficult and uncertain times,
making it tough for us to get their business.
We are all hoping for a big high season and
W
hat started as a way to just play
some shinny away from home has
developed into the 4-team Thai
World Hockey League (TWHL) featuring
Thais and expats based in Asia. The Farangs
have an all-star squad that competes against
the best amateur teams in Asia and the
Flying Farang jersey has even made it to the
Hockey Hall of Fame, twice. Every year the
Farangs stage an international tournament
and teams from around the world come
to Thailand to participate. Ex-NHLers like
Neal Broten and Troy Crowder have brought
teams to Thailand to play and current and
ex-Farangs have played with or against NHL
greats such as Peter Forsberg and Scott
Niedermayer. There’s an auction held during
a return to happier days. However, despite
all the upheaval, we have managed to build
a solid client base of top-quality hospitality
properties like The Rembrandt, Oakwood
and Chiva Som, along with a rapidly-growing
residential clientele.”
The company is extending a special offer
to TCCC members living in the Bangkok
area – they will clean beds and pillows for
Baht 1000 per bed and couches for Baht 800
per couch. For those members living outside
Bangkok, Yamira will travel to you – contact
them directly to discuss the details.
Along with the bed cleaning service, the
company is introducing a new line of products
that are targeted for use by homeowners,
hoteliers, restauranteurs, factory owners
and just about anyone else living in Thailand.
“Let’s face it,” Walsh says, “when it comes to
things that are disgusting, cockroaches are at
the top of pretty much everyone’s list. We will
be introducing a new, 100% natural and safe
bacterial product that kills them stone cold
dead in seconds. We handed out samples to
the players at the recent Beaver Invitational
and I am looking forward to hearing the horror
stories from the people who use it. We hope
that this product will help us make inroads
to the hotels and we are hoping to get the
product into the market for retail distribution
in 2013.”
Chamber members wishing to try a
free sample may contact them directly at
mobile number 081 919 7638 or at les@
yamiracleaning.com
Yamira Cleaning (Thailand) Ltd.
Les Walsh
Tel: 081 919 7639
e-mail: les@yamiracleaning.com
the tourney to support Father Joe Maier’s
Human Development Centre in Klong Toey.
And after the 2004 tsunami the Farangs held
a memorial game with the benefits going to
the Thai Red Cross.
Floods, civil unrest, horrible traffic jams,
rink closings, electric blackouts – come what
may – the Flying Farangs always seem to find
a place to play and are intent on spreading
good will and sportsmanship through the
game’s fastest sport. The first time the Thais
iced a squad at the Asian Winter Games,
they were coached by Aaron Story, Howie
Meeker’s grandson, so it’s safe to stay
Canada’s rich hockey history has spread to
the Land of Smiles.