In this second article about the Norwegian explorer and scientist Carl Bock we follow his journey to the North of what is now Thailand.

Carl Bock left Bangkok the 9th of November 1881. A river steamer provided by the King took him to Nakhon Sawan, – Pak Nam Pho. Captain Andreas Richelieu of The Royal Thai Navy was in command, so our explorer was in professional hands. It took four days to cover the 250 kilometers. The ship did 6 miles per hour but the current mounted to 4.

The journey became monotonous and – unless you are a devoted botanicus – it really is. Your outlook from water level + 20 cm’s is limited to the banks of the river with their vegetation, maybe a croc now then, a village is passed. No horizon is visible. So, 6 miles forward but the current sets you 4 back; sometimes miles are longer than sometimes.

Years later, the railway reached Nakhon Sawan town where the waters, River Ping and River Nan with their tributaries meet. That happened in 1905 and from then on, miles were miles and the importance of the rivers started to decline.

North from Pak Nam Pho – and no money
When Bock arrived Pak Nam Pho, the comfort of the journey ended. He hired small boats and crew to take him up River Ping towards Chiang Mai and beyond. It was hard work from the beginning. The crews were not willing to travel north of their own district, new men were to be hired. Boats were lost in the cataracts and some of the men simply ran away.

Finally the strong and stubborn Mr. Bock reached the provincial town he calls ‘Raheng’, it must be the town and province today known as Tak.
Tak town, beautifully situated by the river, is approximately 360 kilometers NNW of Bangkok. It was then the real border town between Siamese and Lao territory and Carl Bock arrived up here the 10th of December 1881.

As mentioned in the first article published in December 2011, Bock was equipped with Letters of Introduction from the King and these still worked. He got a warm reception by the governor and was provided with 6 elephants for the journey onwards. Bock toured town and got impressed by the intense gambling, mostly with cards, here there and everywhere. Even children and grandmothers participated – a tradition well-known to this day.

It is a reliable sign of sovereignty that the country’s currency is accepted on the market. Although still – in principle – on Siamese soil; just a few kilometers north of Tak, around 20 o N. laterals, our traveler learned that the Ticals or Bahts of Siam were no longer current currency and could not be used. He was on Laotian territory. Here, only Rupees of British Burma were valid. This of course also caused trouble.

Furthermore the reception from the Laotian Princes along the route, although allied with Siam, became lukewarm even hostile. The small courts used the old tricks of holding him back for a period, for example by arranging prolonged parties or create ‘misunderstandings’ between him and some more or less noble. They undoubtedly wanted to show that they, not the Siamese King, had the power over this foreigners schedule and travel.

Chiang Mai and beyond
It would be much too extensive and beyond the scope of these articles to describe all Bocks writings about daily life and culture among the Laotian, Shan, Karen people north of Siam. Therefore only that he in the rather small but more developed principality of Chiang Mai established a fruitful contact with the Siamese Deputy Commissioner.

The commissioner himself had got himself so hated, that he had been called back to Bangkok. Many people came to Bock, expressing their grievances over him, especially over his ‘loose justice towards Laotians and Burmese people’, wanting only that a British Consul would be appointed. It should be noted that the Burmese were British subjects under British jurisdiction.

The Chiang Mai Royal House was ailing and the Siamese ready for a full take over. Officially the principality had been affiliated with Siam since 1774.

Of course also The American Mission was visited and Bock is well aware of the importance of this hastily expanding institution, especially in the field of providing medical care – although he suggests that the motives of the many sisters and nurses might not be totally altruistic but more “for ladies with whom, for instance, the course of love has not run smooth, and who are willing to seek solace in devoting themselves to a good work far away from the scene of their disappointments” (p. 223), a bit venomous our scientist can be.

Then what we now call ‘The Golden Triangle’ was travelled and Bock visited the beautiful Pau, as one of the first Europeans ever. His book has many interesting ethnological drawings from these areas. Up here, no Siamese or their rules were seen. But then he turned south and hastily travelled back to Bangkok, where he arrived 14th of June 1882.

Bock had a farewell audience with the King. He showed all his drawings and the King asked in dept about various matters up North. Again, Bock writes with admiration about the King’s noble character and about his aspirations and achievements. Finally Bock was invited to visit the Royal Harem, a very honorable farewell present.

Perspective
As we know it was a narrow escape for Siam not to be swallowed up by the British and French Empires, especially around the time of the Paknam incident in 1893. Not so known is that the Siam of the delta and Bangkok was itself very expansive too, but ‘internal’ so to speak.

By then the northern frontiers ran along a line around 20 o N. lat. from Tak, north of Sukothai, Phitsanulok to around Phetchabun. To the east Korat, Nakhon Ratchachima, was the border, then some Lao townships and the vast area they named ‘Kmer Wilderness’. Nowadays called Esaan, no natural resources then, no fertile land then and now. Not interesting for a power to be.

The land East of Mekong where Siam had a foothold was conquered land with no real relations to Siam.This was the case for the rich province of Burapa containing Battambang, Srisophon and Siemriep. In 1907 Siam had to give over the province, inhabited by Kmer people, to France. This was a serious and real loss. The city and province had for many years been governed by a Siamese Vice regent. The regent of the day, Pharaya Katthathorn had to relocate back to Siam.

To arrange this ‘trek’ became the first major assignment of Captain Erik Seidenfaden of ‘The Royal Provincial Gendarmerie’. An astonishing number of 1350, – one thousand three hundred fifty (!) ox carts and buffalo wagons were engaged in the relocation of the Phraya, his household, Siamese civil servants, his endless belongings and gathered wealth. All transported from Battambang to Prachinburi in the rainy season of 1907 – with no roads but many rivers. Not a small job really.

Meanwhile Siam gained control of more and more principalities to the north, not necessarily with acceptance or blessing of the various peoples. It was not just blood thirst when the Shans immediately killed all and every person of Siamese origin, officials and privates alike, in the principality of Phrae where they made their revolt in 1902.

No politics
When starting his journey Bock had promised the Siamese government to ‘refrain from any political allusions’ and he kept his word. But he travelled a land where only rough and ready borders were made and where a political new order was under creation. Therefore all his ‘clinical’ observations alone speak volumes about the political development process. Also because of his academic references, his observations stand and are often confirmed by other foreign sources.

Denmark’s embassy in Thailand has over the last ten years been marred by the construction of several ugly anti-terror protection measures. I suggest we tear down these useless arrangements and open the Embassy compound for picnics!

Ten years ago, visiting the Danish Embassy was a pleasant experience. Entering from Soi Attakarnprasit there was an unobstructed view to the magnificent old trees, to the Little Mermaid in the pond in front of the chancery and behind it you could see the Ambassador’s residence. The office building, ‘Main Entrance’, was on your right hand, under the colonnade. When you walked through the always open iron gates in the yellow brick wall, a friendly guard would rise from his light slumber and salute you.

In September 2005 the Muhammad cartoons controversy occurred. A Danish newspaper had published 12 cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad and although the newspaper explained the publication as an attempt to contribute to the debate regarding criticism of Islam and self-censorship, the cartoons created a rage in the Islamic world.

In Bangkok, a demonstration was arranged on February 6, 2006 in front of the Danish Embassy in Bangkok. Two years later, in March 2008, another demonstration was also staged there, protesting a reprint of some of the cartoons.

A line of policemen confronted the demonstrators with their back against the embassy gate which was at this point still the open iron bar gate with a view to embassy buildings inside.

Meanwhile Ambassador Michael Sternberg showed sound judgment and leadership. He went out on the street alone to talk to the demonstrators, but after a while he went back in.

“They were not interested in speaking to me, they just wanted to read their statements and to praise Allah,” the ambassador said. Nevertheless, he defused a tense situation and that was more useful than any wall -easily climbed by as bamboo ladder. Unfortunately you can in general neither expect courage nor common sense among the civil servants in the Foreign Ministry. If you read their travel warnings you have the impression that the bureaucrats in charge are afraid of their own shadow.

Right wing swing in 2008
Four months later, a suicide bomb attack on 2 June 2008 against the Royal Danish Embassy in Pakistan killed six people and wounded several more. Two of the victims were Danish embassy staff.

From a cool point of view, this was an isolated case, but that year, fear and paranoia gripped the Danish government and administration. The government entered a strategic agreement with a right wing political party in Denmark, which among other things included setting aside a budget of 26 million kroner for securing the Danish Embassies against terror attacks.

The fortification of Danish embassies around the world has been designed by the foreign ministry in consultation with the Danish National Intelligence Service. It is supposed to be a graduated response modeled differently according to the perception of threat in each location.
In Bangkok, the old gate has been replaced with a solid metal gate at least 2.20 meters tall and with spikes on top. In the door to the right of the gate there is a small trapdoor. A man from inside will ask you what you want, whether you have an appointment – and if that can be confirmed you will eventually be let in. Many will notice an innocent looking lamp that in fact contains a hidden surveillance camera.

Once inside there is a sort of sluice where you see three doors on the side of the building. One leads into a room for visa applications, although the bulk of that work has since been privatized, the second leads into a ‘Citizen Service Office’. That is where you get e.g. authorized letters to Thai authorizes stating domicile, income, etc. This is also where passports are dealt with. All transactions take place on either side of a thick glass wall with an intercom and a shuttle drawer for exchange of documents and money. Behind the third door you can relieve yourself and wash your hands.
At the farthest end of the sluice there is one more gate which has presumable been erected to prevent visitors from walking unhindered to the sign-posted ‘Main Entrance’. This gate is made of galvanized metal mesh and although it does allow the visitor a glimpse of the little ‘Garden of Eden’, the ‘Main Entrance’ and the ambassador’s residence it is from an aesthetic point of view rather ugly.

Photo shepherded
Along with the hostile fortification of the embassy a change in attitude has also taken place. When ScandAsia asked for permission to take photos of and from the embassy, we were given permission but only after some hesitation. And on occasion we were followed by an embassy representative wherever we walked in the peaceful area of exotic trees and plants, instructing us where we could and where we could not take photos, although no sophisticated electronic equipment or other hardware seemed to be hiding behind the bougainvilleas.

This ‘no-go’ even included the galvanized steel gate and the public street outside the embassy with the innocent looking camera house. Before we left the embassy grounds all the photos in the camera were furthermore examined, accepted or deleted although the shots had been taken under very close supervision.

The whole affair gave me this feeling of ‘Big brother is watching you’ paranoia, as so chillingly described in George Orwell’s: ‘1984’. Believe me, earlier, visiting Danes loved to see the Embassy and felt proud that we could maintain such a place as our representation in a far away country.

An open flank
The shepherded tour was also a bit hilarious. From the towering high rises very nearby, you have an excellent and most detailed view of the whole plot and even from your home you can get detailed knowledge of the situation plan via Google Earth.

The bombastic and ugly fortification of the front of the embassy is furthermore just put up for show. From the South/Eastern side of the embassy, there is almost unhindered access to the Ambassador’s garden behind the residence. The bush grass on the neighboring empty plot could give cover to a whole squadron of men with ill intentions. The view of the embassy with buildings, windows and trees is completely open from there and even from the little public Soi by the end of this neighboring plot. This because the buildings are facing that direction, South/East. The fence marking the border of the plot is not higher than 1 meter, mostly just old wire and poles. Shouldn’t there here be a wall, 2.30 meters high and with broken glass on top?

Stop the paranoia
I personally beg to differ. I would regard the Danish Embassy as belonging to a very low security risk category regarding violent attacks. To me, the whole arrangement of front wall, solid gate, spikes, photo control and surveillance cameras is bureaucratic and paranoid, it cannot protect anything: ‘The Emperors new Clothes’, it should be demolished and the Embassy Park opened for picnics! Furthermore, recognizing the ‘Arabian Spring’ and the most successful NATO assistance to the Libyan freedom fighters, it would be fair to say that the ‘climate’ is changing.

On Champs-Elysees in Paris you find The Danish House, ‘Maison Danemark’. It has been there since 1955. A bright, courageous and offensive decision back then. A new such house has just been inaugurated in Shanghai.

EU and the speed of IT communication has changed the role and the time for a traditional embassy, so why not create a house for trade and cultural exchange, music, literature, theatre out of the embassy compound?

The lively Danish doctor lived 50 years of joy in Thailand.

When in Aarhus, Denmark, I often pass Tage Hansensgade and it goes through the head: ‘But who was Tage Hansen’. Many streets, many names, once well known, now forgotten.

There is no Einar Ammundsen Street but the man and his story lives on, not only in a golf tournament, but in the memories of so many Scandinavian old hands. But here you are, a bit of information for the newcomers! -Only a glimpse, the material on Einar Ammundsen is big and the anecdotes countless.

Einar was born in 1915. His father became bishop over Haderslev diocese, he died in 1935. His strong mother Charlotte, born Balslev, lived from 1877 till 1961. After her husband passed away she moved to Copenhagen and soon became the fix point for Einar and his 5 siblings. Furthermore ‘Bispinden’ gave shelter to saboteurs wanted by Gestapo, whom Einar brought to her.

Einar Ammundsen joined the Résistance movement early during World War II, at the same time graduating as an M.D. He functioned as a deputy for the Resistance leader Mr. Toldstrup, who was also responsible for the reception of weapons dropped by British flights over the heaths and in the forests of Jutland. Among the saboteurs Einar was only known as ‘Hr. Bloch’ and his job was also to see to that the weapons received were brought to the right persons and groups, The personal risk was high indeed. Late during the war he had to flee to Sweden, he was then exposed.

In 1946, a year after the war ended, a friend asked him to join the general practice he wanted to open in Bangkok and after a four month ‘TropicalMedicine’ course in London, he went off. Three days with KLM the journey took. They opened a practice on the corner of Charoun Krung Road and Oriental Avenue. Ammundsen also worked at Bangkok Nursing Home for many years.

Why did he travel to this far-away country? Once source mentions that Ammundsen was most disappointed with the lukewarm way the courts and the old politicians handled the trials against Danes and Danish Companies in Nazi service. – In a few words: The small thief’s were hanged, the big thief’s acquitted.

Denmark 1946 was a GREY place, grey and poor. He came to a world where colors are bright and smiling, where life is easy going, but it is still possible to get things done. There is furthermore no revenging God like in Haderslev. Ammundsen once said that “Here we don’t feel the same deep pain about death, as we do in the West” [Rastrups Asien, google]. Death was on his heels in Denmark, now he learned that life and death walk together. Peace of mind? At least Einar Ammundsen became a very generous and liked person ‘with a warm heart’ as the Thais say. For more than three decades he was the center of The Scandinavian Society – and the golf.

The last round
Golf was Einar Ammundsens total joy and passion, at least until he met Aks again. She was a teenage girlfriend. They married in 1979 and she took active part in both work and leisure. Einar sponsored his annual tournament alone for many years, including some drinks in ‘Bamboo Bar, Oriental Hotel’, afterwards. As the numbers of golfers grew, he finally couldn’t afford that anymore, but new sponsors were ready.

There are so many, many anecdotes about this man, as a doctor, as a golfer, as a friend. Time and space is not available here, but one last thing:
In 1996 the 25th Ammundsen Tournament was played at Rose Garden Golf Club as usual. Ammundsen himself couldn’t play, suffering from a shoulder problem. He there announced that he and Aks would retire and move back to Denmark. He was not in favour of calling the tournament ‘The Ammundsen Cup’ in the future. He did not like the idea of future participants wondering who this guy Ammundsen was. Einar Ammundsen died in 1999.

Now you maybe know a bit more about this very faceted man – we will keep it that way.

It never came out in the open how the Queen of Siam and the Danish Captain Hans Anton Andersen spent their time together in the paradise called Bang Phra and onboard the big paddle steamer ‘Akaret’ in the winter of 1899-1900. What stands is that there was a romance, offers and promises were given. Meanwhile the affair ruined Antons career in The Royal Siamese Navy and spoilt his reputation at least in certain ways.

But now, dear reader; imagine yourself as a 27 years old young man, healthy and vigorous, in the prime of your life. You are in charge of a most peaceful little fortress in a small fishing village by the sandy coastline south of Chonburi, facing the blue Gulf of Siam and with a Garden of Eden behind you. The garden starting with a civilized jungle, then green hills, a lake with millions of birds and a waterfall at the foothills of the mountains. It never rains and there are no ants or mosquitoes! Enjoy.

Hans Anton Andersen, newly appointed captain in The Royal Siamese Navy, was the happy master of this place. Then the Queen arrived, disturbed the peace and troubled the heart.

The Queen and all the Ladies-in-waiting
The Queen knew of the natural beauty in and around Bang Phra, the healthy climate by the sea and the waterfall, the tranquility. But she of course did not arrive alone. She wanted to go after having just lost her oldest son to typhoid fever. Admiral Richelieu chaperoned her on Akaret and saw to it that the fortress and Anton’s living quarters were readied to receive the high guest, her brother the Prince – and the concubines and the numerous very young ladies-in-waiting of the Royal Court in Bangkok. Anton had to find more humble lodging outside the palisades.

Before heading back to Bangkok with Akaret, Richelieu again reminded Anton of his duties, also the duty to stay on his post in Bang Phra no matter what.

The young girls had the manners of the court life in Bangkok. They had nothing practical to do, so time was passed with giggling, laughing, whispering, and teasing the men folks. They had difficulties keeping away from the handsome young Danish officer. Especially their bathing séances, behind curtains, were surrounded with a lot of precautions and a lot of attempts to break the rules.

One evening, after the sun went down over the gulf, our captain was invited alone to the Queens private quarters formerly his own. This happened many times and Anton was given small gifts. Of course he also escorted, when the Queen wished to visit places and waterfalls around in the area. At that time the population rate was very low.

Sometime later the visit was repeated. Also this second stay was pleasant and enjoyable for all but both the Queen and her brother criticized Richelieu heavily. They didn’t accept his position and influence. Maybe that is why Andersen (1929) claims that he himself was offered the position as manager and overseer of the Queens enormous collection of real estate. He declined, but when the party left on Akaret bound for Bangkok this time, we find Anton onboard, after strong royal wish – and against his masters will.

The Flying Dutchman
But mind you. Old fishermen by the mouth of the Chao Phraya river still claim that they in misty nights see the contours of ‘Akaret’ trying to find its way through the ship lane over the bar. It should be uncomplicated, there are some fishing nets to avoid, but the route is clear and there is water enough. Nevertheless, Akaret moves forward slowly and then the paddles move back slowly, then fast forward for a little while, then a pause, then very fast forward again.

It takes an hour for the ship to pass, but suddenly it seems that the ship relaxes, become steady and knows well where to go. Then the phantom starts to disappear. The contours of the paddle steamer Akaret and the strange sounds fade. Thereafter smooth and easy sailing up to Bangkok.
In his book Anton claims that he, after that hour or so, finally took the helm from the Norwegian captain and easily got the ship over the bar.
When moored by the royal quay in Bangkok Anton immediately abandoned ship and disappeared –too late, Richelieu had spotted him and gave him his well-known icy stare.

A Survivor
A commission of officers was established; they found Hans Anton Andersen’s behavior ‘improper’, he was laid off and left the country. Thereafter Anton in worked many locations in East Asia as a war correspondent for a London daily. He was in Port Arthur 1905 reporting the total destruction of the Russian army and navy in the Japanese-Russian War.

Thereafter we find him back in Siam 1908. With two Russians he founded a Mechanical Workshop. The business became successful but then the three partners were accused of counterfeiting. Since the jurisdiction over foreigners was still in the hands of the home countries, they were deported on an EAC steamer, bound for Copenhagen.

In Suez the Russians jumped, but Anton stayed onboard. At a lower court in Denmark he was sentenced to one year in prison, but The Supreme Court acquitted him completely. –A fishy affair, by and large. We feel some intrigues around.

Then he went back to the Danish Army from where he had started. He was a lieutenant before he went off to Siam on his own initiative in 1892. He served during World War I, where Denmark remained neutral.

After that he met his Swedish coming wife, 23 years his junior. They settled in Gothenburg and Anton established a business. He was born in 1869 and died in 1952 as a very old man. And really, a life lived!

In 1907, the Danish Captain of The Royal Siamese Gendarmerie Erik Seidenfaden was in charge of a huge convoy moving the Thai Governor-general out of the now French Cambodia.

The year is 1907. France is forcing Siam to give up the annexed areas of Battambang, Srisophon and Siemrep in Cambodia, populated by Kmers. The Siamese Governor-general or Vice-Roy, Phraya Chum Apaiwong Katthathorn (1861 – 1922) must leave, but can do so with all his wealth and belongings.

For that purpose 1.700, one thousand seven hundred, ox carts are needed. 1.350 of these was forcedly prescribed among the farmers in Prachinburi, Siam – the final destination, where the big man is to settle, more than 300 kilometers West of Battambang.

The orders were clear. They came directly from the Commander of The Royal Siamese Gendarmerie Phraya Vasuthep – among Danes better known as Colonel Gustav Schau:

‘With a detachment of 100 gendarmes you will escort and secure the safe relocation to Prachinburi of Governor-general Phraya Katthathorn and what is his’.

The total trek was divided into nine convoys and then Captain Erik Seidenfaden of the gendarmerie and his men shepherded them all, three month it took altogether.

Rain without end
They started out in late April, the most difficult and also stupid time of the year for such an enterprise. The Siamese were pushed to leave but the French offered that the Governor-general could use their boats, sail the Cambodian waterways and reach Siam. He declined, preferred the route overland, rainy season or not. – And it rained and rained for the whole period of the 1.700 ox cart strong, 300 kilometers long, trek.

From the border towns Poipet on the Cambodian site and Aranyaphratet on the Thai side, the land to the West towards Kabinburi, Prachinburi and Nakhon Nayok is mostly flat scrubland; today big eucalyptus plantations are growing up here. But from mid April each and every year the area gets a lot of water also from the Khao Yai Mountain range to the North.

To get an idea of the ordeal, we drove to the Cambodian border by Aranyaphratet and back to Prachinburi on Highway 33 (Asian Highway No. 1). On this stretch – which is roughly only half of the full distance – we passed on bridges over 22 creeks, streams and rivers. Only very few of those bridges were there in those days.

In Seidenfaden’s days, in the days of the big trek, there were hardly any bridges. The men were in the saddle 15-17 hours a day and got soaking wet, suffering from insect bites of all sorts, not getting sufficient food, and getting plastered in mud; but Erik Seidenfaden nevertheless notes that the Australian racing horses belonging to the Governor-general also suffered a lot in the mud, on the unstable paths and from the stable flies.

Cholera and beriberi broke out among the farmers and gendarmes. It was a miserable and hard endeavor, they were all very near wits end. They made corrals of the carts at night for security but couldn’t get dry. The water penetrated everything, day after day, week after week.

As can be seen on the photos we took from our reconstruction of the trek, the streams and rivers up here have no fords, they are cut deep in the heavy soil and therefore with high and steep brinks. So, all the ox carts were, one by one, lowered in ropes to the bottom and towed up in ropes on the other side.

The landscape indicates that the route then must have been the same as now – the shortest. He may gone a bit upstream or downstream but the waters had to be passed since the streams basically all run North/South towards River Bangpakong and the sea.

During the last period of the trek, the men had to build bridges over the most difficult streams.

The Cargo
The money transported represented a special and delicate problem and Seidenfaden writes at length about this. But before the money matters, I will give a list of the whole ‘export’, transported in and with the convoys; this information is spread over some pages in the written text:
• 1.800.000 Silver Piastres and the best tusks, stored in convoy number 2, consisting of 215 ox carts.
• The whole extended and very numerous family, including 44 concubines and 50 children.
• Siamese civil servants.
• An astonishing lot of costly items and belongings.
• An unknown number of Australian racing horses.
• 37 Elephants. 26 of them carrying the big man’s daughters and ‘ballet girls’ in the howdahs.
• Very many ordinary elephant tusks.
• Herd of ordinary horses.
• Herds of cattle, oxen, sheep and goats.
• 3 Axis deer’s.
• A life guard of 40 men, armed with rifles and swords.

The Silver
When convoy number 2 finally reached Prachinburi – heavily guarded and protected – Seidenfaden felt the relief. A gang of robbers were said to be in the heels of the convoy. The convoy had transported 1.800.000 Silver Piastres. At that time, the Silver Piastre was linked to the French Franc at a fixed value of 10 Franc for 1 Silver Piastre. In 2012 money this silver treasure equals not less than 200 million Danish Kroner or 1.1 billion Thai Baht.

Using the steamers of the gendarmerie, the money boxes were then all and everyone sailed to a bank in Bangkok. Here the staff worked more days to count all this money.

Mission accomplished
Finally, the last convoy reached Kabinburi. From here land transport was impossible because of all the tributaries to the Prachinburi River which were flooding the whole area. Luckily 5 steamers belonging to the Gendarmerie plus 40 big barges could take over and sail all the goods and animals of all the convoys the last part of the way.

Meanwhile the detachment of gendarmes was decimated by mostly beriberi, malaria and dysentery. In this last convoy the small and skinny Erik Seidenfaden himself laid in a cart, fewer stricken and with nobody to look after him. A sergeant found him and tried to help. His Danish colleague Captain Johansen, had heard about the situation and came to his rescue. He was brought to the captain’s comfortable houseboat and sailed down to the Bay of Siam as fast as possible. In the air of the sea he recovered.

Epilogue
The Governor-general was then appointed ordinary Governor over the much smaller Prachinburi Province, where he hopefully could find space enough for his wealth. He was furthermore elevated to Chao Phraya with the name Aphaiphubaet [the romanized spelling varies from source to source]. He had a guest house built by the river. In fact a two storey castle in French rococo with a dash of baroque, as can be seen. It was waiting for king Chulalongkorn to visit, but he never came.

Nowadays it contains a very well assorted pharmacy, dealing in all kind of herbs. The Pharmacy and the castle are well worth visiting.

There is so much more to be told about Erik Seidenfaden, (1881 – 1958) who retired as major from The Royal Siamese Gendarmerie in 1920. He later became Member of the Board, Siam Society, then President and finally honorary member. He wrote much recognized articles within the field of Ethnology and related areas, plus guides to various towns in Siam – but he started as a farm hand on the Manor House ‘Estruplund’ in Jutland. More about all this in a coming article.

Literature
Kann Rasmussen, Aage (1986), Koebenhavn: ‘Danske I Siam 1858-1942’.

Seidenfaden, Erik (1999), Herning: ’Det kongelige Siamesiske Provinsgendarmeri og dets danske Officerer’.

Tuck, Patrick (1995), Bangkok: ‘The French Wolf and the Siamese Lamb’.

(Prachinburi, Kabinburi: Google)

On 29th August 1926 Rasmus Havmoeller wrote in his diary about his first tiger (in my translation):

“We followed the tracks of the buffalo and after some time we realized that we had a competitor, the distinct tracks of a mature tigers paw showed in the tracks of the buffalo. It followed too; but since I so often have seen tiger tracks without seeing His Majesty himself, I didn’t think much about it….then there, to the left, almost covered by bushes, not 12 meters from us, the tiger lay crouching. The tail mowed, that’s why we noticed it. Now it got up, stared at us for a second and sneaked away with fast cat like movements. It showed its broadside and I fired. The animal disappeared, silence for a moment, then a trembling in the ground, as a buffalo galloping away, then silence again”.

The tiger’s skin is still to be found in Havmøller’s ‘Siamese Collection’ in Ebeltoft, Denmark; more about that later.

Between Now and Then
Here we are, Rasmus Havmøller’s son Palle and I, sitting in the silent arcades of Thailand Cultural Center a Sunday in April 2012. The musicians from the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra are arriving one by one with their instruments, rehearsal. They played with success last night, but none of us can rest on our laurels, as we shall learn.

We are talking about old days, about Palles father Rasmus Havmoeller who died in December 1940, when Palle was 1 year old. In a malaria fewer he waded out in the shallow waters of the bay of Ebeltoft and drowned. We talk about his mother, Boon Sri, the strong woman of the Mon people, who stayed on at Egsmark Strand, Ebeltoft and raised the two daughters and three sons. How the conditions during World War II became very difficult indeed for the family and how Palle helped when his mother worked in the moor, turning the peats so they could dry.

The odd academic
Rasmus was born in 1890, son of the old and established Thygesen Havmoeller family in Ebeltoft and on Djursland, landowners and fishermen. He was a bright boy, outstanding compared to his peers, but it must have been beyond imagination in the family that he, for example, should pursue an academic career.

He started his first fauna collection as a very young boy, the collection ‘instinct’ never left him. Rasmus got the well esteemed education as forest ranger -also because of his profound interest in nature.

His education took place in various manor houses in Denmark and Sweden, included was hunting skills and Rasmus proved to be a very good shot.
He then passed a governmental Tropical Forest Course with honors and was hired by EAC as Forest Assistant; in 1914 he sailed to Siam, to Bandon in the southern part of the country where EAC also had a concession, not teak but hardwood for sleepers.

Fortune favors the Brave
The young man of outdoor life and nature really experienced a change in environment; from the somewhat frugal and sparse nature around Ebeltoft to the overwhelming, for a city dweller almost frightening, richness of all things growing – especially in the still existing tropical forests of Siam. Rasmus had all the preconditions to take Siam in and he did. We know that he had a good time, working, hunting; with Boon Sri collecting items and adding trophies for his rapidly growing collection – and being with friends. He was known as one of the best big game hunters in Siam and often mentioned in the hunting notes of Bangkok Times. – Very many oranges in his turban. Danish friends from those days were many and they were loyal and kept contact with the family even after Rasmus died.

In 1920 there was money to build the villa ‘Bakkehuset’, facing the bay in Egsmark. The house became the domicile when the family returned to Denmark for good in 1933. It seems that Rasmus Havmoeller only visited Egsmark once, in 1920, but he undoubtedly trusted his brother who actually build the house.

The work in Siam continued and it seems that there were always jobs to find, big game to hunt and items to collect. During this period he started to work as mining engineer and got a part in a tin mine. The mine seemed to be quite lucrative for a period, then came 1929. His last job was as travelling representative for Siam Cement Plc. 1929-33.

The Great Depression, time to leave
In late October 1929 the American Stock Market on Wall Street crashed and triggered a 10 year long economic and political world crisis and depression. As seen before Siam was not hit immediately, but when realities reached the Bay of Siam the punch became double hard, also since the country had been mismanaged for years, especially during the reign of Rama VI. The coffers, all controlled by the court, were absolutely empty and the middle class came under severe strain. Then the price of commodities, such as rice and many locally mined minerals such as tin started to fall sharply.

The political situation in Siam deteriorated further, culminating in the so-called ‘Revolution of 1932’, when the Absolute Monarchy was finally abolished. Ministers and civil servants of Royal blood were arrested. King Rama VII later went into exile in Great Britain.

For many years the sentiment towards ‘the foreigners’ had been growing in Siam, this animosity was seemingly supported by the King. And in a troubled situation the highest in the land will always look for scapegoats. It was time also for Rasmus and Boon Sri to leave; they were not protected by one of the major foreign trading houses. During these years very few Danes arrived in the country.

Later in 1933 the numerous camphor boxes with what was left of the collections, gathered through all the years, were shipped. A small cash fortune was furthermore secured and brought to Denmark.

A big part of the collection was given to The National Museum in Bangkok. The Parliament of Siam enforced ‘The Act about Antiquities’, only in 1934. But already in the days of the Absolute Monarchy dating back to King Chulalongkorn, we know it was forbidden to take especially religious (e.g. Buddha images) items out of the country. Hunting for elephants and their tusks were also forbidden. I could imagine that ‘authorities’ took their toll of the collection. I dare to doubt whether they are to be found at the shelves in the museum or went somewhere else. Maybe the donation is the reason why the collection in Ebeltoft is carried by artifacts, arts and crafts plus magnificent representatives of the zoological world.

The Personal Decline
Like so many others, just to mention Admiral Richelieu, Rasmus Havmoeller had on certain stage attracted malaria and that seemingly in its most severe form (the form caused by parasites Falciparum). There was no real treatment at that time and without going into details, this malaria crippled the patient’s whole life, since the attacks were frequent and left the person unable to take any care of himself. The malaria followed Rasmus to his death.

Back in Egsmark the elegant ‘Little Siam’ was built for the exhibition. Entrance fee 0.35 Crowns. Rasmus was in attendance, a qualified guide, when the malaria allowed. Later the house was used as guest House and the collection was placed in a building trying to resemble a small Siamese Temple, a Wat. Finally, in 1937, the couple opened a small restaurant in the building. Furthermore Rasmus gave talks and showed slides about Siam. He wanted to go back to Siam where he still had economic interests, but he never did or could. It is also doubtful whether it would have possible to get means of any substance out of that cash strapped country.

After the Germans invaded Denmark 9th of April 1940 the number of tourists to Djursland and Ebeltoft ebbed out. If not for other reasons then because petrol was rationed. As mentioned earlier, Rasmus Havmoeller died in December 1940, 50 years old.

Boon Sri
Just south of Bangkok inner city, Chao Phraya River forms a big loop where the river almost meets itself again. On the tiny and low laying land you find an ancient old Mon settlement, Phrae Phradeng. Boon Sri Chaichanapan was born here the 15. of November 1900; she was the daughter of a local leader in the Mon community. Boon Sri ended her life in 1960, near Egsmark Strand, Ebeltoft then Mrs. (=Nang) Boon Sri Havmoeller.
She and Rasmus met around 1916 and lived together ever since. Here, in The Far East, it is imperative not to think of ‘marriage’ the European way. The first mentioning of marriage Registration in Siam is found in, what can be translated as: ‘The Civil and Commercial Code of 1923’, Chapter 5. But registration at some public office was not compulsory. Instead I’m very convinced that Boon and Rasmus went to the temple (as so many of us have done). Here the monks, five or nine, perform the wedding rites, give us their blessings and wish us a happy life together – and that was regarded as fully comprehensive.

However, EAC didn’t accept mixed marriages. Maybe that’s why Rasmus Havmoeller left the Company around 1924. By the end of it, married ‘The Danish way’ they were. This time the Danish Consul-general Hakon Christiansen was in charge of the ceremonies. The wedding took place in O. Paludan-Muellers home in Bangkok. Around 1932-3 the couple had decided to move back to Denmark and Boon Sri for that purpose needed a Danish passport.

And Boon Sri stayed on in Egsmark, year after year. She liked to receive Thai guests so that she could prepare Thai dishes for them. A true highlight was when she, in 1951, received King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid and presented the collection. She never saw Siam/Thailand again and passed away in 1960.

The Siamese Collection in Ebeltoft
For a start, it is a bit misleading to call the collection ‘Siamese’ since very many of the objects are of Danish origin – from Rasmus Havmoellers young years and his later. First and foremost this place is evidence of two life’s lived. We shouldn’t use the traditional museum ‘ruler’ on this exhibition.

But I suppose a Master of Arts will get the shivers when visiting the museum. It would be much against her systematic training and scientific approach. There are many items of beauty and high value; artifacts of all kinds, there are souvenirs, for example the wooden frogs you can buy on every street corner in Thailand year 2012 and there are many sorts of cheap bric-a-brac. Most items are of Siamese origin, but many are Danish. Some from Rasmus’ early days, brilliantly stuffed birds and fish from the bay of Ebeltoft for example. It is beyond doubt that Boon Sri was the collector of the many silver ornaments, domestic and feminine items.

In many modern museums the advanced pedagogical approach almost takes the life out of the exhibition – no surprises, no astonishment left. That is not the case in the ‘Siamese Collection’ in the old Post Court in Ebeltoft, Denmark. Your eye lingers on a recent Buddha image, the big birds, a head of a buffalo, silver- and glassware – even silver ‘Fig leafs’ for small girls are here. They all invite to a closer look and they call the imagination – if you have any left. When bringing children, who are still blessed with fantasy and imagination, please allow them some time in peace here in this Aladdin’s treasury of the Far East and Egsmark Strand.

We brought Liva, four years old. She was most interested, got very big eyes; especially the birds called her attention and she couldn’t help patting them. She remained concentrated for half an hour, a long time for a four years old girl.
Sources:
Kann Rasmussen, A.(1986) : ’Danske i Siam 1858-1942.

Kaarsted, Tage (1990): ’Admiralen’.

I samlingen ‘Dansk Sømandsliv’: ’Kaptajn Anthon SØLLINGs [1847 – 1925] Optegnelser, Memoirer og Breve’. 0101 1974. Se ogsaa Scandasia April 2011.

Vedsted. Jacob (2012): ’Siamesisk Samling i Ebeltoft – og dens skabere’. (Museum Østjylland). ’My first Tiger’ is quoted from this work’. Originally occurred in: ‘Danmarksposten’ april 1931, p. 67-70.

Wad, Leo (1937): ‘Kalø – Mols – Ebeltoft. Illustreret Fører over Mols og Ebeltoft v/ Kai Elle. Lidt om Djurslands herregaarde’. [Annoncen for Havmoellers restaurant i ’Lille Siam’ findes i denne publikation].

Note:
1. Open Google sources are used, especially regarding the financial/political situation global an in Siam, following the crash on Wall Street, October 1929.
2. Pornpan Boonpattanaporn has looked through Siamese/Thai legislation re. Marriages and antiquities.

Photos: Inge Justesen, Draaby, Ebeltoft.

Asia House was the first Head Quarters of East Asiatic Company in Denmark. The building remains an impressive statement to the solidity of the EAC.

Sitting on a high solid granite plinth, this house really radiates solidity –and that was undoubtedly also the intention. The House on India Quai in the Freeport of Copenhagen was built in 1898 as the first headquarter of the newly founded East Asiatic Company, and an upstart company of some magnitude will always try to signal that it intends to stay. From his time in Siam, the co-founder of EAC, H.N. Andersen, was most aware of this.

At that time the architecture in Denmark was influenced either by Italian Renaissance e.g. the new banks (straight out of Florence) or by the National Romantic Movement, e.g. The Copenhagen Town Hall. Trends come and go, but Asia House is somewhat unique, a ‘stand alone’ house. That it is symmetric in design is nothing special; what makes it stand out are mainly two factors: The very high quality of materials and craftsmanship and the modest ‘decorations’ in a mix of Romanesque and Gothic style, especially the frontispieces over doors and windows. The hard burned bricks come to their right mainly because of the bond style or pattern used.

Gotfred Tvede
I believe that the original EAC Warehouses on Charoun Krung Road in Bangkok have also been designed by the EAC ‘House Architect’ Gotfred Tvede. Tvede was originally trained as a mason, later he graduated as an architect from The Academy of Fine Arts. Like Andersen, he started ‘bottom-up’, and his sense for craftsmanship never left him. Around the turn of the century his architectural firm was the largest in Denmark and he couldn’t supervise all details of the works of his firm himself. One of his trusted architects Valdemar Schmidt was in daily charge of Asia House and influenced the final drawings.

Wood, hardwood
When the heavy door closes behind you, the picture changes dramatically, absolutely no stones any more. Now it is wood, mostly hardwood, everywhere in the house, from the ceiling to the floor and many places in between. Impressive, and again, the highest level of craftsmanship. I don’t think it has been necessary to change or repair the carpentry much during all these years.

After the turn of the century EAC expanded rapidly and what was an adequate headquarter when built became crammed and too small. In 1908 the new and very characteristic domicile in Holbergsgade was inaugurated. But in the spring of 1908, shortly before the move a young man named Ernst Mazar de la Garde[1] (son of the postmaster in Ribe) visited. He had applied for a job in the company’s teak forests in Northern Siam and was called for an interview:  His observations give a lot of atmosphere.

Eyewitness account
When entering the office Ernst Mazar de la Garde immediately saw that “it was much too small to contain the office staff the company already then needed”, nevertheless:

“The office was marked by an unmistakable, impressive dignity, I can almost say distinction. I was interviewed by the Head of Office, later Managing Director, Mr. Madsen Mygdal who was dressed. in a frockcoat; he questioned me for a long time and finally asked whether I was married. I showed him my ring-less finger – That’s good, he said with a smile. The conditions in the teak forests are not suitable for white women. Furthermore the salaries are not big enough for that.”

“With an excuse Mr. Madsen Mygdal left me. He walked towards a door, about which I at once got the impression that it wouldn’t give access to all and everybody. I noticed a certain deference in his attitude, when he knocked the door; and when he carefully and silently opened he delivered a deep bow.”

“A moment later he came out and told me that Etatsraaden[2] wanted to see me. A moment later I stepped over the great man’s threshold”.

Photo tour
The many photos and captions provided along with this article serve as a virtual tour of the house on India Quai. Then you will get an impression, also of details and items. Thereby we hope it will be possible also to sense the atmosphere of the house in its heydays – and today.

Feared as a drillmaster, admired for his courage and determination.

For many years the most prominent relic on the desk of Colonel August Kolls was the polished skull of Ai Muang, the bandit and robber chief. He had been caught by Kolls, sentenced to death, and immediately beheaded by the executioner. After dark the ordinary gendarmes didn’t dare to enter the room, they were afraid of Ai Muang’s spirit.

It is in no way possible for us today to imagine how life was lived in the countryside and jungles of Siam, around year 1900, complete lawlessness reigned; conditions were not for sissies or a weak-willed nature that is for sure.

The gendarmes in Denmark and Siam
The Royal Siamese Gendarmerie was the first police corps in the Siamese provinces. It was established in 1897 after order by the absolute monarchy, represented by King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) and Prince Damrong, his brother. Before that lawlessness reigned in the countryside and the hand of the central power was not to be seen outside the provincial towns. The officers recruited were mostly Danish. It has not been discussed much, but there cannot be much doubt that the inspiration for the corps is also to be found in Denmark.

Around this time Prime Minister J. B. S. Estrup headed the government in Copenhagen; he did so by using provisional laws since the majority in Parliament was against his ultra right wing ruling party, but he had the support of King Christian IX. On 27 October 1885, a provincial corps of Gendarmes was founded by Estrup, called ‘The Blue Gendarmes’ because of the color of their uniforms. Their organization and duties in the provinces were much the same as the later corps in Siam -although conditions were very different. Prince Damrong, Minister of the Interior, visited Denmark as early as 1891 where there are all possibilities that he was informed about ‘The Blue Gendarmes’. King Chulalongkorn visited Europe and Demark 1897, only a few months after the start of EAC. More of his sons got their military training in Copenhagen. The relations between the two Royal Houses were most cordial. The Danish Commodore Richelieu in the Siamese Navy and H.N. Andersen had years earlier been instrumental in establishing the contact.

It can be mentioned that some of the officers of the Siamese corps came from The Royal Danish Life Guard. They could not have been granted a leave without the King knowing; among them was Hans Marqvard Jensen, ‘The Hero of Lampang’.

But a fantastic experiment it was: tall and slim young blond and blue eyed officers, from a totally different culture, transferred to the jungles of Siam working with short Siamese privates from the backwaters of Siam. Young men who had never in their life seen a ‘farang’ before and who were without any knowledge of military skills, many of them were not literate.

The Man from the Moon
August Kolls was one of these ‘Men from the Moon’, tall, blond, sporting an impressive moustache and with penetrating ice blue eyes that his gendarmes didn’t dare to meet.

But in fact it started in the village of Pedersborg by Soroe the 23. July 1867. Here Maria Dorthea Wendt, married to farmer C.A.F. Kolls, brought a son to the world. He was baptized August Theodor Frederic but soon thereafter adopted by steam miller Kolls (his uncle we suppose) in Tappernoeje. Next we meet him as Second-lieutenant 1888. He arrived in Bangkok on 16 January 1890, where he was immediately promoted to Premier-Lieutenant. For years he worked in the army and in the Marine-infantry as instructor and a heavy handed drillmaster, feared by his soldiers.

When the gendarmerie was founded he was hired and for many years headed the Gendarmerie station in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), where he, among other duties, trained and instructed the enrolled Danish officers. On16 October 1902, it was also his sad duty, as the liaison officer, to forward the detailed Death Certificate of Captain Hans Marqvard Jensen to the acting Danish Consul in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, the most important task was to make the mountainous route from the southern plains to the plateau of Korat safe for the merchants and their caravans. The mountains were in the hands of gangs relieving all travelers of their belongings. Kolls traced them down, he himself in front, an extremely easy target as he was. In a year or so he simply cleansed the mountains out, many dead and wounded on both sides. It was on such an expedition he learned that Ai Muang was that night sleeping with a mistress in a certain house – a traditional house, on piles. Kolls banged the floor from underneath and called for Ai Muang to come down and meet him. Ai Muang did, undoubtedly knowing that he had ran out of luck and life.

In the South
Then, in 1908 August Kolls was transferred to the South, in 1909 promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. Also here he found the ordinary robbers and highwaymen, but also some very disgusting elements among the public officials in the Southern provinces. When he exposed these people’s doings, they of course became his sworn enemies.

It seems that the Colonel simply did what he found it right or necessary to do, without thinking much of the consequences or personal protection. That also goes for the physical challenges he gave himself; extensive travelling in the jungle, drinking raw water and so on. He had more dysentery bouts. He was admitted to the Presbyterian Mission Hospital late June 2011 with yet another attack of dysentery. From that he died on 4 July 1911. He left a Siamese wife and two young sons, one of them being Charoen Kollasutr, who lived for many years in Chiang Mai. In Kolls’ family it has been a part of the family saga for generations to tell that when King Rama VI heard about Kolls’ death he should have exclaimed with a sigh: “Now I have lost my right arm in the South”.

On the memorial in Trang we read: ‘By the Gracious command of His Majesty the King of Siam this stone is erected in recognition of long and faithful services to the memory of Lieut. Col. Kolls born in Denmark 23rd July 1867 died in Trang 4th July 1911’.

The EAC Foundation – the charity foundation of East Asiatic Company – has donated 50.000 DKK (250.000 Thai Baht) – to support the work of the Heritage Section of Scandinavian Society Siam to renovate some of the graves of Danes buried in Thailand.

The grave of the first Danish Consul to Thailand, Carl F. Købke and his wife Bolette is in a historical sense one of the most important Danish graves in Thailand. The grave is located on the Christian Cemetery in Bangkok and one of the first graves to be identified as in need of renovation by the Heritage Section of the Scandinavian Society Siam. The headstone was tilting to the left and the inscription hardly readable.

“We have now had the stone straightened up and the painted letters in bas relief refreshed both on the headstone and the plate,” says Flemming Winther Nielsen who is the head of the heritage section.

The work has been possible because of the financial support received from The EAC Foundation – the charity foundation of East Asiatic Company in Denmark.

The majority of the graves in need of restoration are located at the Christian Cemetery in Bangkok. But also outside Bangkok, several graves were identified as Danish heritage by the SSS Heritage Section.

The monument in Phayao over Captain Hans Marqvard Jensen, who led Thai troops in a battle that prevented the North of Thailand to become part of Burma, is taken well care of by the Thai authorities. Less so with his grave, that was originally placed in Lampang, the city he defended, which has since been moved to Chiangmai.

In Trang in the South of Thailand, two graves have been renovated with the support of the the EAC funds. One is the grave of Commander, Capt. F Haurowitz in Trang who drowned at the entrance to the harbour. Another is the grave of Colonel August Kolls who served in The Royal Siamese Provincial Military Police.

In Muak Lek around 150 km north of Bangkok, a grave right next to the railways station bears witness to Danish involvement in other aspects of the modernisation of the Kingdom. Here rests Knud Lyhne Rahbek an only 19 year old land surveyor. A Bodhi tree that undoubtedly has been planted at the same time as the burial had overgrown the grave, but the grave has now been cleaned up.

“When we – myself together with Claus Gundersen and Gregers Moller – applied for the support from The EAC Foundation, I was fairly optimistic that we could soon finish this task,” says Flemming Winther Nielsen.

“But the task just keeps growing. One major frustration is, that the cemetery in Bangkok gets flooded every year. We have to push for the main caretaker – the British Embassy – to lay down drain pipes so our limited funds are not wasted,” he says.

So far, 20 graves mostly in the cemetery in Bangkok have been registered as worthy of preservation and 15 have by now already been renovated with the support of the EAC Foundation.

The Danish Embassy in Bangkok is located in the middle of what is today downtown Bangkok. It is hard to believe that just one hundred years ago, this area was just a swamp to the east of the city.

The development of the area goes back to 1892, 24 years into the reign of King Rama V, when Chao Sua Yom a wealthy Chinese immigrant was commissioned to dig a canal linking the Chao Phraya River near Wat Yannawa to Hua Lam Pong canal. The soil from the excavation was used to build a road running along each bank of the new canal and the concession-holder was granted ownership to a strip of land 1,600m wide on both banks of the new canal.

In recognition of his services, Chao Sua Yom was awarded the royal title Luang Sathon Rachayuk and the name of the road and canal were subsequently changed to Sathon in his honor.

Luang Sathon parceled the land on the banks of the Sathon canal into smaller lots and sold it to rich merchants, both foreign and Thai. European styled mansions were built on some lots, other lots became orchards and plantations.

The area, where the Danish Embassy is today located, was bought by ‘The Borneo Company’, one of the earliest British companies in South East Asia. The Borneo Company opened a branch in Bangkok in 1856 following introductions made to King Mongkut by the Danish explorer and merchant Ludwig Verner Helms who early on was recruited to join the company by the British ‘White Rajah’ Brooke of Sarawak. This was all a result of ‘The Bowring Treaty” (1855) between Great Britain and The Kingdom of Siam.

Building history
In 1954, Denmark appointed its first Ambassador to Thailand, Gunnar Seidenfaden, who consequently served 1955-1959. Gunnar Seidenfaden was a prominent botanist and a world class expert on orchids. It is thanks to his botanical interest that Denmark has today not only an old Embassy in Bangkok, but also a substantial park around it with plenty of interesting flora and fauna.

Gunnar Seidenfaden recommended shortly after his arrival that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Denmark acquired the large piece of land along Soi Attakarnprasit – today Sathorn Soi 1 – from the Borneo Company. On 29 July 1955, the permission was given on the condition that the acquisition and re-construction of the existing villa on the plot did not exceed the amount of 1.2 million kroner.

The Danish engineering company Christiani & Nielsen was given the contract to transform the property into an embassy with the villa as the residence and a chancery opposite. This expansion added the current reception area in the residence where guests enter the building and the “modern” spiraling staircase up to the second floor of the residence.

The chancery building opposite was where the embassy’s offices were located, but only on the ground floor. The second floor was the attache’s residence and this remained so until the mid 1990’s

The lotus pond with the Little Mermaid replica placed on the lawn between the residence and the chancery was also added as part of the Christiani & Nielsen transformation of the property. Denmark’s first tourism promotion in Thailand.

In 1956 the whole project was concluded and the Danish Embassy in Bangkok was a reality.

In the early 1990’s, the chancery was renovated. The apartment of the attache on the second floor was changed into offices and the living room of the attache became the current Ambassador’s office. In 1993 it was decided that the Danish Ministry for Environment and Energy should establish its own development cooperation organization called DANCED and to create offices for this new organization, a further expansion was undertaken on the ground floor to the west where part of the garage was located.

Since then, no further expansion has taken place; only minor maintenance projects.

In 2007, the responsibility for Danish public property was transferred internally from one financial authority to another under the Danish government. For the purpose of this transfer, the value of the property was that year estimated to be 90 million kroner. Given the current land prices in Bangkok, this estimate is probably rather conservative.

“Danish Graves in Thailand” is an eBook published by the Heritage Section of the Scandinavian Society Siam. It presents the status of the currently 68 Danish grave that have been selected for the ongoing maintenance and restoration project supported by EAC’s Public Fund, Asia House, India Quay, Copenhagen.

The book is authored by Flemming Winther Nielsen, Claus Gundersen and Gregers Møller.

While most people prefer books in their physical paper form, the eBook format offers in this case several advantages over traditional publishing. First of all active links: It means that for every grave, an interactive map is shown. The reader can click on this map and a Google map will open in a new window, showing you the location of the cemetery. From there you can ask for direction to go there yourself.

Another benefit of the eBook format is, that readers can click on each page and zoom in on the images by using the navigation tools over the page spread – then enjoy the very high-resolution close up details of each stone that makes it possible to read even the fine print.

The graves are sorted alphabetically by their residents’ last name. Biographical data – albeit in Danish – are available for many of the deceased if looked up in the book “Danske i Siam 1858 – 1942” by A. Kann Rasmussen (1986). If mentioned here, the reference number, that will lead you to the bio data is the year of arrival in Siam.

In most cases a single photo shows the current status (October 2012 – February 2013) of the grave. Some are in a condition that does not call for a renovation. Some have just been washed down to remove the soot and grime that comes from modern day smog in Bangkok. The regular flooding during the rainy season contributes to the deterioration.

In some cases, the work undertaken has been more substantial. If possible, these works have been documented with photos showing before, during and after the work. Examples are Consul Købke’s burial place in Bangkok, the young Knud Lyne Rahbek’s walled-in burial place in Muak Lek in Saraburi province and the two graves of Colonel Kolls and Captain Haurevitz’s at the Presbyterian Cemetery in Trang province in southern Thailand.

Outside Bangkok you also find the Graves of Dr Carl C. Hansen and his daughters at the Presbyterian cemetery in Lampang province and the grave of the most well-known Captain Hans Marqvard Jensen which is now to be found at ‘Chiang Mai Foreign Cemetery’ in Chiang Mai from its first location in Lampang.

The vast majority of the photos throughout the book are taken by Claus Gundersen. Some photos are by Flemming Winther Nielsen, Gregers Møller, Tinakorn Sirithawanakul, Pissiee Bunt, Pasu Saowo.

Many stones originally carried lettering in lead. Some of the letters have disappeared. But the small holes drilled in the headstones following the frame of the letters and then filled with lead, enable us still to read the names. Unfortunately the lead gives a grey coloring to the stones that can not be washed of.

According to the authors, the publication is a ‘half way’ status of sorts.

“There are still at least 20 graves not yet found (no registrant exists), but they are there – somewhere. We will register these too and decide possible renovation,” the foreword explains.

The post New eBook shows Danish Graves in Thailand appeared first on Scandasia.

We have detailed information about many of the Danes who lived in old Siam; either because they wrote themselves or because other people wrote about them. Andreas Richelieu and Captain Sølling, for example, guide us, with admiration, into the life of Consul Købke, back in the 1870’s. Detailed or just controllable knowledge is sparse regarding Dr. Carl C. Hansen.

Meanwhile, a misty day in late November 2012, we are walking the big and colorful Presbyterian Graveyard in the northern town of Lampang, Thailand. In front of us we now have three identical black granite stones, cut from one long piece; Memorial over Dr. Hanson and his two daughters; the inscriptions are almost invisible, since the stones are almost buried in the soil and in vegetation, but Pastor Tinakorn of the church, knows the burial place and takes us directly there.

It is as if Dr. Carl C. Hanson also in living life preferred to remain in the shades, half hidden in the wings; this although his life was most extraordinary, that kind of life fairytales are made of. Not one friend to be found and not one foe, no ‘Købke anecdotes’ are circulating – and of course, only sparse sources and sometimes these are in conflict with each other. Nevertheless we couldn’t allow the graves just to disappear, so with grants from The EAC’s Public Fund we started a renovation.

Early December 2012 the efficient but careful graveyard contractor has managed to get the stones up, now lying on the ground, readable; the Doctor’s data with the American Coat of Arms (the flags, not the Eagle) engraved on the upper part of the stone. Clear and readable are the data’s of his daughters Ruth who died four years old and June who died one and a half years old.

Then to the little more we know with certainty: Carl was born in 1862 in the parish of Povlsker, Bornholm, an island in the Baltic Sea to the East of Sjælland. He was the fourth out of seven siblings in an ordinary family of fishers and farmers. After confirmation he became a Nexø shoemaker’s apprentice. Then there is a lacuna – we next meet him as a student of San Francisco Theological Seminary and then medical student at one of the most prestigious Universities in the USA, Cooper Medical College at Stanford.

From here he graduated as Medical Doctor. My theory is that he early in life got in contact with Presbyterians missioners. In religious matters they were in reality not far from the Nordic Protestant faith and they were already heavily engaged in the hospital and Health Care world, maybe they saw the talent and threw their weight behind Carl’s education!

Support and marriage

Now in mid December 2012 the contractor is measuring the burial places and starts to build the low cover structures, ‘Northern Siamese Christian style’, not sarcophagus, only raised 20 centimeters or so. Much cement is used to support where the headstones will be placed.

Seemingly early in 1895 Carl married Lillian D. Reinhart. They were then both working for the Presbyterian Church and supposed to support each other also regarding work. They travelled to Lampang in order to take over the responsibility of the church hospital there:  “At this time [1895] the medical work was taken over by Carl. C. Hansen and Mrs. Hansen. This marked a new era in medical work. For fourteen years the work was carried on under their leadership and the prestige of the hospital was much increased. In 1908 on the resignation of Dr. Hansen…….” (Mc Farland, p. 133).

Mrs. Hansen involved herself in teaching, she had two ‘Bible women’ to help her and: “They now have on their list of women learning to read, twenty five persons, half of whom are outsiders. The two workers are employed fulltime and could easily find more work than they can overtake .”  (‘Laos News’*, October 1908, p. 76).

So the couple was still working together at this time, but they had a home leave in 1909, where we assume that at least Mrs. Hansen went back to the US. During the period  they decided to resign from their posts in ‘The Service of the Foreign Mission of the Presbyterian Church, USA’.

Back in Bangkok and finally Lampang revisited

In Bangkok Dr. Hansen, now alone, ‘while wife and children travelled back to America’ (Kann Rasmussen, p. 126). He sat up a General Practice and established a Pharmacy – always needed in the mangrove swamps. In the years that followed his wife visited only a few times and then briefly. We don’t hear more about more children who eventually followed their mother home in 1909.

It is noted that Dr. Hansen was a great collector of Siamese art, but also that he was very reluctant to show his purchases. He only opened the boxes for very close friends. I cannot help wonder what was in reality in the boxes, Buddha’s or?

One, normally reliable, source mentions that the doctor presumable died in the US. That at least is not the case. He died the 2nd of August 1929 in Bangkok. The coffin was sent with the Post Train to Lampang and the burial took place the 5th of August. An article mentions how his coffin was carried to the grave by his daughters together with old friends from the town. At the Consulate building the flag was on half mast. -Again these living daughters that we have not heard of before-.

It is also of importance that we from the article learn that the American consulate was established in Lampang while Dr. Hansen was a resident of the town and with him as the consul we believe.

The 1st of February 2013 the renovation is complete. It is the tradition here to plaster Christian burial places with white or light-colored tiles. We don’t follow the tradition, but let the three burial places show in dyed gray smoothened cement, it match the stones.

Pastor Tinakorn and I are on the graveyard. The pastor gives a little prayer. We arrange the flowers – flowers are the optimistic link between them and us, still around for a little while.

Local obituary

DEATH OF DR. CARL C. HANSEN

We regret to record the death of Dr. Carl C. Hansen, Honorary Vice Consul for America, in Bangkok, for many years. Dr. Hansen like most elderly men felt his years at times, but considering his long and continuous residence in Siam, enjoyed remarkably good health until between two or three month ago. He tried living in different parts of the town but his illness was incurable – cancer of the intestines it is believed – for he would not have medical treatment. For some weeks past he had been gradually growing weaker and weaker. He died last evening at eight o’clock at his residence near the American Legation. By his own wish he will be buried in the Lampang Christian cemetery where two of his children lie buried and where several colleagues of an earlier generation are at rest. Dr. Hansen enjoined that no service be held over his remains in Bangkok. The coffin will travel by the express tomorrow to Lampang, and Dr. Aller G. Elis will journey by the same train. A funeral service will take place at Lampang prior to the interment.

Carl Hansen was born in Denmark and graduated in medicine in San Francisco. He married Miss Lilian [Lillian] D. Reinhart, and prior to coming to Siam, both served in Persia, where perhaps the doctor first began the absorbing hobby of his life – collecting. He joined the American Mission in 1898 [1894] with his wife, and settled down happily to the busiest part of his life. Thirty-one years ago foreign doctors were still few and far between in the north, and apart of the growing claims of the Lao people for the benefit of foreign medicine and surgery Dr. Hansen found his practice extending among the timber firms, later more numerically strong perhaps than now. The doctor’s reputation as a skilful surgeon – especially in cases of stone – brought him reward. For fourteen years and Mrs. Hansen carried on the work of the mission hospital and its prestige increased. Dr. Charles H. Crooks followed on after Dr. Hansen, and the hospital is now known as the Charles T. Van Santwood Hospital and Lampang Dispensary.

When Dr. Hansen left the north he settled in Bangkok, and Mrs Hansen and the children went to America. They once visited Siam, some eight years ago perhaps. Dr. Hansen practised little in Bangkok. He opened a dispensary but, that like his Consular duties, merely occupied the fringe of his time.

“Buddha” Hansen as he was known amongst collectors had friends in Denmark, in New York and many other places, and while he disposed of much to them, there were pieces with which he refused to part. These were never properly set forth, but sometimes he could be persuaded to open up baskets used long ago on the trail, Shan bags and other paraphernalia wherein he kept many treasures, and tell the story of their acquisition. When he first settled down he sold of a lot, many pieces went to add to Royal collections, for the north was not so get-at-able then as now. Inaccessible to all but a few, to outsiders it appeared he spent a lonely life, but his hobby absorbed his real interests.

Flemming Winther Nielsen passed away Tuesday 21 January 2014. He died close to 6 pm at home 65 years old. His wife, Khun Pornpan, called an ambulance that took him to Lad Prao Hospital but the doctors could not save his life. The cause of death was according to the autopsy failure of the respiratory system.

The funeral rites will take place from tonight, Wednesday 22 January at Wat Lad Prao temple in Sala 11. The day of the cremation will be Monday 27 January 2014.

Flemming Winther Nielsen wrote jokingly about himself n the text “About the Author” on his recently published book about the Danes in Siam:

“Flemming Winther Nielsen was born and raised in the suburban parish of Vinding near Vejle, Denmark.  He spent most of his childhood on Vejle Fjord sailing dinghies, all of them in sinkable condition. When 18 years old he escaped to Copenhagen by train and got a job renting out cars.

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

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

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

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

Part time Lecturer at University of Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok (2003-8)”

In 1998, he married Khun Pornpan, a lecturer at the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce. The couple lived in Denmark the first year, then moved to live in Bangkok in 1999.

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

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

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

Flemming left rather specific instructions what he wished should be done, when “some day in the distant future” he would pass away. It included the Thai funeral rites and cremation that is now scheduled for Monday 27 January. Later, he wanted to be buried at the Protestant Cemetery on Charoun Krung, which Flemming had worked hard to preserve as a Scandinavian heritage site, culminating with his publication of the e-book Danish Graves in Thailand”.

ScandAsia’s Agneta Bekassy has asked a two well-known Scandinavian residents in Thailand, who have lived in Bangkok for more than 20 years, what they think about Bangkok of the past and now. What are their favorite restaurants, shopping malls and things to do!

Photos: Daniel Herron

Mrs Eva Sophonpanich, born in Bangkok to Swedish parents.

 Eva knows Bangkok by heart and she remembers her first school and how they used to have lessons sitting outside by the khlongs, in the middle of Bangkok.

She said, in the 1950 the city didn’t have all the high skyscrapers you see now. The tallest buildings at that time were Dusit Thani Hotel and Narai Hotel. There were many more small khlongs (waterways) than today. Bangkok use to be called “the Venice of Asia. “

The streets were bordered with trees and no sky train or underground transit system.

She also points out what a difference the developing of Sky Train and MRT have done to the traffic and city life, the whole infrastructure has changed a lot, both for good and for the not so good Eva says.

We asked her if she has a favorite restaurant where she goes for lunch alone, or with friends, her answer comes quick:

“In this city we have plenty of lovely restaurants e.g. Ariya som Villa at Sukhumvit Soi 1, a genuine restaurant and small hotel that takes you away to the past, serving healthy dishes and with a huge choice of vegetarian dishes, which suits me perfect. If I want something more casual and modern I often chose Kuppa at Sukhumvit soi 16. They serve good Italian food, lovely salads and sandwiches in a modern atmosphere.

For dinner I like Rossano’s at Sukhumvit soi 19. That restaurant gives you a feeling of being in Tuscany and the food keeps a very constant, good quality.”

Last question, what is your favorite shopping mall in Bangkok? The answer is Central Chidlom.

Mrs Tina Zarlimee

 Mrs Tina Zarlimee, also Swedish, has been living in Thailand for more than 20 years. Tina is married to a Thai, has a 23 years old son and lives in Hua Hin, but is often in Bangkok where she has a successful travel agency “Nordic Travel” in Sukhumvit soi 20.

Tina came to Thailand due to her job. She didn’t know much about Thailand until destiny took her here. Today by looking back, she also points out the differences Bangkok has gone through during the years.

“When I first moved into my little town house at Sukhumvit soi 20, the area opposite our house, was kind of a slum area. With cock fighting games every Sunday and lots of motorbikes with black smoke just outside our living room, but today, this area has become exclusive and very popular.
To get from one place to another in a taxi took over 2 hours at that time, but I got used to it and learned the Thai way of accepting the situation without getting stressed. The word “stress” did not exist then, just had to follow the lifestyle, which made me feel good. Her feelings about Sky train and MRT are mixed, of course she sees the advantage with these conveyances, but she mourns the lack of old trees along the streets.

Tina also has noticed that during the last years, interest by her clients to visit neighboring countries like Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. Now she has to arrange customized trips for her customers to these countries all year around.

I asked her about her favorite restaurants, she also laughs and says:

“I have many, many, but if I go myself for a quick bite, I often chose Greyhounds at Emporium or Tong Lee, which is more like a hole in the wall, but with delicious Thai dishes and close to my office. Another very nice place is Kin Lom Chom Saphan by Rama 8 Bridge; from there it is near to the Khao San Road, an interesting road for visitors. I could mention many more, but these are among the preferred ones”.

What about shopping malls I ask.

“Well, I feel most at home at Central Chidlom, not so found of the big malls and if I have visitors I also like to take them to Asiatique, both for shopping and dinner.” Tina says.

Photo: Thyra, thyra2005.blogspot.com

The old Thai style house in Moesgaard Museum near Aarhus will now be renovated on the initiative of former Member of the Thai Senate Dr. Pensak Chagsuchinda Howitz. The Thai House has long been a symbol of the significant relations between Denmark and Thailand.

The Thai House was given to Denmark as a gift by the government of Thailand in 1975 and was erected at Moesgaard to be part of the museum’s summer exhibition that year, which was dedicated to Thailand. The house is around 100 years old and originally from Ayutthaya, the old capital of Siam, 200 km north of Bangkok.

In 2006, it was renovated for the first time, again with involvement of Dr. Pensak, whose interest in Denmark goes back to her  time when she was married to former Danish Ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Franz Howitz.

From 18 August until 26 August, Dr. Pensak arranged for a week long visit to Denmark of Mr. Anek Sihamat, Academic Advisor to Princess Sirinthorn Institute and former Director General of Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture. During the visit, they met with Mr. Ulrik Høj Johnsen from the Institute for Culture and Society under the University of Aarhus, Curator at Moesgaard Museum, Professor Mikael Gravers and Professor Jan Skamby Madsen, Director of Moesgaard Museum, Svend Erik Jensen, building manager at the museum, as well as Mr. Tobias Mürsch,  a  young talented  Danish architect likely to be involved in the project.

After an inspection of the Thai House and a meeting to outline the project in a Memorandum of Understanding, it was decided to try to renovate the house back to its original form 130 year ago in Thailand. It will be attempted to bring one or more Thai  architects to Aarhus along with one or more Thai carpenters skilled in building this style of house to carry out the renovation and transfer their Thai wood working techniques to a team of Danish carpenters working with similar kind of renovation projects at Moesgaard and other museums in Denmark.

Previous news about the house: Re-opening Thai House at the Moesgaard Museum

Peder Madsen Jorgensen, who has been more closely involved with the lives of the poor rural people of Thailand than any other living Dane today, celebrates on Sunday 27 September the 80th birthday of his adventurous life.

Peder Jorgensen and his wife Ruth Eleanor Jorgensen – born Leed – lived altogether 22 years in Thailand as missionaries; first 1962-71 in Central Thailand and then in North East Thailand from 1983 to 1995.

The couple has since several times revisited the country on shorter travels.

Son of a farmer, Peder grew up in Bøvl Mark near Sønder Omme in Denmark. This hands-on knowledge of farming and the mentality of farmers became useful during his stay among farmers in the North East of Thailand.

During Peder Jorgensen’s intermediary years back in Denmark, he continued his humanitarian work. Here he is portrayed collecting used eye glasses to be sent to Thailand.

Peder Jorgensen was educated deacon from Filadelfia in Dianalund in Soroe and had worked at Kirkens Korshaers Nicolai Tjeneste in Copenhagen. Ruth was educated a midwife. When they left for their first period in Thailand, the couple had already two children, a three year old daughter Kirsten, who had been accompanying her parents on a language training course in England, and the only five month old son Thorkild. Later they had one more daughter, Anne-Marie during their stay in Thailand.

In her book published a few years ago, “Fra Limfjorden til Mekhong” http://www.blissart.dk/ruths-bog.html, Ruth recalls and tells vividly of how difficult life with three children was for the family in Thailand when the husband was more away helping others than at home helping her.

Leprosy work
During their first period in Thailand, from 1962 to 1972, Peder and Ruth were on an assignment for OMF – Overseas Missionary Fellowship. While Ruth worked as a midwife, it was Peder’s task to work with people with leprosy in Nongbua in Nakornsawan and Manorom in Chainat in the western part of Central Thailand. Leprosy was at that time still quite wide spread. It was an uphill task to teach the population about new medicines that could cure the disease and help the ones already disabled by it. Most of them lived as professional beggars. Among his achievements during his work in Nongbua was the creation of a hospital and leprosy rehabilitation center for OMF. The patients were here surrounded by a farming area of 80 hectare of land which could sustain up to 100 families. At the time this was built, 1966, the Thai population was only 32 million people.

For Peder Jorgensen, bringing Christ to people is only one side of being a missionary. But the living proof of Christ is to work to alleviate the poverty of the people around him. When someone took to his good example and wanted to be baptized, he always asked a local Thai priest to baptize the newly converted Christian.

In 1972, the couple returned to Denmark after nine years – interrupted by a few breaks – in Thailand and settled in Karup in Jutland. The main reason was the consideration for the school education of their three children. Ruth became mid-wife for the region and Peder found employment with the local municipality until a few years later he became secretary general for the Santalmissionen.

Phibun Mangsahan
But in 1984 Peder and Ruth returned to Thailand again, this time to Phibun Mangsahan north of Ubon Ratchathani in the Northeast of Thailand on a mission for the Norwegian Missionary Society. It was during this period, that Peder and Ruth Jorgensen started the project of building a home for bright children of poor people who this way would get the chance to take a higher education. This home, Ban Immanuel, became the crown of their work in Thailand. It made it possible for for hundreds of young people in the area to move up in the Thai society and achieve positions they would otherwise never have been able to.

Another achievement was in 1994 to built a Church in Phibun Mangsahan. The unique octagonal building is designed by the Danish architect Henrik Chr. Thomsen. The bell tower next to the church received the bell from Hjortshoej Church near Aarhus in Denmark. The building and the Church bell are still there, but under the influence of Thai lack of understanding of maintenance, the Danish legacy is slowly falling apart.

Artifact collection
Peder Jorgensen has always been fascinated by the old skills of the rural Thai people and the tools of their skills. He found it genius how the managed to use simple materials available in their natural surroundings to produce tools to exist in harmony with nature. He started early on collecting rarities simply out of curiosity. As his collection grew he soon became more systematic and over more than fifty years he has diligently built up the number of specimens and value of this collection. Often these items were simply daily household tools that he was keenly aware would soon no longer exist.

For many years, the collection was the pride of his large study in his home near Ikast in Denmark, but over the past few years, the majority of the artifacts have been cataloged and transferred to the Thailand collection at Moesgaard Museum’s near Arhus in Denmark where they will be preserved for the future.

For Moesgaard Musuem, the collection is unique because many of the old skills, production methods and trades no longer exits.

In 2001, when it was decided to establish a major exhibition in Bangkok during the upcoming State Visit to Thailand of H.M. Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Peder Jorgensen was called upon to establish this together with Sigurd Rambusch of the National Danish Archive and then curator at Moesgaard Museum, Professor Jesper Trier.

H.M. the Queen opened the exhibition on 8 February at the National Museum of Thailand in Bangkok. It presented examples of the long and close relationship and cooperation between Denmark and Thailand including the archaeological work of Dr. Pensak Howitz, wife of the former Danish ambassador to Thailand.

Peder Jorgensen had shortly before this event published a book by Major Erik Seidenfaden entitled “The Royal Siamese Provincial Gendarmerie” in which Major Seidenfaden had served for a number of years. Peder Jorgensen noticed when going through material at the National Archives in Copenhagen that it said that Major Seidenfaden had written a book, but it had never been published. Curious, Peder Jorgensen found the manuscript in Bangkok and with the help of benevolent foundations he managed to have it published. The book is today only available as second hand.

Peder Jorgensen with his Friends of Thailand award, which he received in Bangkok 2010.

Friend of Thailand
Peder Jorgensens love for Thailand and the Thais have also led him to undertake numerous trips as a guide to Thailand for Danish travel agents and readers of a range of Danish local papers.

In 2010 he received official recognition for his dedication to introducing Thailand to the many groups he had been leading around the country when the Tourism Authority of Thailand awarded him the Friends of Thailand award.

The year after, in 2011, Peter Jorgensen and Ruth visited Thailand and Phibun Mangsahan for the last time so far. The visit was to inaugurate a new building at the Immanuel home which Peder Jorgensen had worked tirelessly to collect 600.000 Danish kroner – over 2 Million Thai Baht – for the construction of. The new building increased the capacity of the home with another 16 boys and 16 girls to a total of 60 students. The existing building that Peder and Ruth erected during their time in Thailand was at the same time given a thorough maintenance check-up.

Peder Jorgensen’s 80 year birthday will be celebrated with his wife Ruth, who over the recent years has suffered from a number of rheumatic and other illnesses, as well as with the couple’s three children.

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It has been this writer’s privilege over the years to write several articles about Peder Jorgensen. Here are links to some of them:

A Life at Rice Root Level

Old Danish graves – who cares?

Friends of Thailand Award

All photos: Hasse Ferrold.

Royal Thai Embassy in Copenhagen hosted an event at the Residence of the Thai Ambassador, H.E. Mrs. Vimol Kidchob on 7.March 2016 where the Royal Thai Navy uniform of Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu was given to back to Thailand. Admiral Richelieu served prominently King Chulalongkorn of Thailand in a number of positions, among others as Chief of the Royal Thai Navy.

Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu (1852-1932) was born on 24 February 1852 in Loejt Kirkeby, Southern Jylland.

In 1875, Richelieu, then a young Danish naval officer, came to Siam with the letter of introduction by King Christian IX of Denmark. Richelieu served as the captain of the Royal Yacht for many years and sailed extensively with King Chulalongkorn, especially during seasons of inspection.

He went on to become the first and only foreign-born commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy, from 1900 to 1901. For his contributions, King Rama V awarded him the noble title of Phraya Chonlayutthayothin.

When Richelieu moved back to Denmark in 1902, King Chulalongkorn and members of the Royal Family saw him off to Singapore on board the Royal Yacht “Maha Chakri” as a sign of friendship.

Royal Thai Embassy received the in total five navy uniforms from Richelieu’s grandson Andreas Hastrup at the reception on 7.March 2016.

ScandAsia has spoken with a few Scandinavians living and working in Singapore about their children and how they handle the challenge of maintaining their mother tongue when living in a foreign country.

Maintaining the Danish language in Singapore

Mikkel Aabye recently moved from Denmark to Singapore with his wife Christina Aabye. Together they have three children attending the Overseas Family School. Mikkel and Christina were fond of the school’s values and were also attracted by the offer of Danish-taught classes within the institution.

Mikkel and Christina’s children are in the Kindergarten 2 and pre-Kindergarten 2 levels of their education (K2 and pre-K2 for short). They have four lectures a week in Danish and the rest in English. According to Mikkel Aabye, their children are very satisfied with the variation in language.

The Overseas Family School houses many international students in Singapore

Mikkel and Christina plans on bringing their children home to Denmark in a couple of years. For that reason, it’s important to them that the children maintain their native language, Danish. They speak Danish at home, but practices English as well. They read good-night stories in Danish and they watch Danish television for kids like DR Ramasjang – a Danish channel by Denmark’s media giant, Denmark’s Radio.

“Most of the communicating is in English when we’re out”, says Mikkel. “They are still learning it but we hope they can do both languages fluently soon. They’re still young, so they are eager to learn!”

Norwegian, Polish and English – finding the balance

Another couple facing the same challenge is Harald Lundestad and his polish partner, Agnieszka. Together they have 4 year old Leopold. He is currently attending Eton House International Pre-School where the classes are mainly in English.

Eton House International Pre-School offers education for the youngest foreginers in Singapore

At home, Harald and Agnieszk are taking a “one parent, one language” approach. Agnieszk talks polish with Leopold and Harald speaks Norwegian with him. Agnieszk spends the most time with Leopold so Polish is the dominating language for their son and Harald admits that Norwegian actually comes in third, behind English.

However, they do travel to Norway every summer for three weeks where Leopold plays with the Norwegian children and gets a sense of Norway’s culture, environment and language.

Leopold also picks up a lot of German which he tends to mix with his Norwegian. “It is a bit annoying when he sometimes says “Ich bin” instead of “Jeg er”, or “danke” instead of “takk”, says Harald. The German comes from short visits to family and friends in Germany, and from playing with German kids.

Adding Chinese to the mix

Trine came to Singapore, from Denmark, with her children in October 2014.

Her son is 10 and her daughter 5 years old. They’re both attending the Canadian International School, Tanjong Katong Campus.

The Canadian International School is another, among many alternatives for expats to educate their children in Singapore.

The son’s classes are exclusively in English, the daughter however is taught both English and Mandarin. Neither are taught Danish in school but it’s important for the family that they learn about the Danish language and culture. Therefore, all communication at home takes place in Danish. They also visit Denmark annually.

In their freetime Trine’s son plays soccer and her daughter attends several different dance classes. They prioritize activities over Danish lessons to avoid school days that becomes too long and exhausting.

Mainting a language can be difficult for a child abroad but it’s definitely possible, especially in an international diverse city as Singapore.

Scandinavians Women’s Association (SWA), Italian Women’s Group (IWG) and Charlotte Chu invite you on a journey through Singapore and uncover the mystery surrounding eastern medicine.

You will be visiting three places of healing to observe and learn from practitioners and teachers about treatments like acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage,

The meeting point is at the Little India MRT station, Exit E along Buffalo Road at 9.00 am on 15 November.

RSVP to swasingapore1975@gmail.com no later than Sunday 13 November.

Charge per tour is SGD 35 for members and SGD 55 for non-members.

The extra money charged from non-members will go towards charity.

Vietnam and Denmark celebrated 45 years of diplomatic ties on 25 November. This happened with a gathering in Ho Chi Minh City organised by The Royal Danish Embassy.

For more than four decades, Vietnam and Denmark have evolved a very strong partnership, said Danish ambassador to Vietnam, Charlotte Laursen.

Over the years, Denmark and Vietnam’s collaboration has expanded to things like economy and tourism, along with cross-cultural activities being held, like the Danish Film Festival in Hanoi.

Le Quang Long, Acting Director of HCM City’s Department for External Relations, said that the two countries relationship has flourished ever since Denmark became one of the first European countries to re-establish diplomatic ties after the Vietnam war. Especially their partnership in climate change and green growth has escalated since 2011.