Of fakes and amazing genuine fakes

Thailand is approximately three hours away and if the service is as good as Thai Airways gives it out, you’re barely burping your last meal and you’re touching down effortlessly in the runway of this amazingly progressive Asian country, with pleasant memories of champagne as you’re seated down, wine with your meals and cheese and fruits to cap it.

I was just here exactly a week ago, at the kind invitation of Ford Group Philippines for a test drive of their new Ford Everest, to be launched in the Philippines this November. Before that, as I mentioned last week, I was in Thailand six years ago at the invitation of Ambassador Sorayouth Prompoj. We were feted by the Taipans of Thailand and I remember discussing on parallel ground the economies of our two nations, with basically the same rate of exchange against the dollar. I was aghast that, six years later, we floundered at P55 while the Thais kept a steadfast hold at Bt40, a testament to where we have gone in the better part of a decade. More important to them, it’s what they have accomplished in the face of worldwide recession, where the resilient Thais dug in their heels and refused to slide back, while we surrendered to the flow. A timely advice to travelers to this part of the world change your pesos to dollars first as the savings can be quite hefty. Imagine changing your peso to baht at 0.47 to 0.50! Talk of reality check.

But back to amazing Thailand. We found ourselves back here at the invitation of General Motors this time for a ride and drive experience of their Chevrolet Optra, courtesy of top marketing honcho of GM Philippines Nicky Mariano and very ably coordinated by Bobby Shaw. Bobby was a "father hen" to the Filipino journalists who attended the motoring event.

We landed in Bangkok on Wednesday evening and proceeded immediately to the resort town of Pattaya, 147 km southeast of Bangkok and a good two hours of restful drive. One can appreciate the rise of Pattaya from a small fishing village some 50 years ago to a world-class resort that it is now. It is Thailand’s premier beach resort, and judging from the ratio of foreigners to locals walking around town, it has come a long, long way. Its tourism infrastructure obviously attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year who enjoy its world-class hotels and restaurants. We stayed at the sprawling Royal Cliff, and it was a huge complex, comfortable and very impressive indeed. Foreigners kept coming and going in colorful tropical wear and they couldn’t seem to get enough of the sea and the sun. While I didn’t swim (no time), I did get to have a close-up view of their sandy shores. Not to downgrade their much-touted beaches, the Thais have managed admirably to package the Pattaya experience to world-class standards largely because of the tourism infrastructure. To be honest about it the pristine waters of Palawan, Cebu and Bohol, and the white powdery sands of Boracay are a class apart and quite incomparable in these parts. Make that in all parts of the globe. Brown sands and not too pristine waters notwithstanding, we trail behind Pattaya in terms of tourism income.

While shopping here is not quite as exciting and diverse as the night market of Bangkok, they’re making an admirable effort at it, but believe me, the night market of Pat pong is still where the action is, and here you can feast on a variety of colorful Thai silk, and a wide choice of gems and jewelry, plus handicraft stores, tailors and boutiques. Very progressive indeed.

The ever-efficient senior manager for public relations of GM Thailand Chartchai Suwanasevok, a mild-mannered soft-spoken, highly educated young man showed us a Pattaya beyond the realm of the average beach-loving tourist. One fine Friday morning a whole busload of us journalists hied off to the Teak Palace, a vast edifice built entirely from Teak and Mahogany, all 2,500 sq. meters of it. The palace was not even half-finished yet (they expect to finish it in 15 years!) and already it showed promise of unparalled grandeur.

At the entrance, as you mounted 12 intricately carved steps was a grandiose sculpture of a family, with a royal son and daughter towering over the visitors. All the balusters were intricately carved, and there was an ornate archway of reddish wood, the same reddish wood used in a high circular ceiling that features 16 ladies in various gracious poses. Massive circular wooden columns supported the edifice. I counted 37 and tired of it – imagine all that wood, over 100 meters high. There were interesting sculptures of their versions of cherubs – celestial bodies in various playful poses, in contrast to faceless half-bodies and gargoyles, all intricately carved down to the folds in their clothing. The inner sanctum had more detailed carvings and a whole wall featured a Buddha in all his glory, all in red and brown teak. There were celestial bodies with musical instruments, stern sentinels and pot-bellied cherubs, an interesting mix of detailed sculpture. Outside, young Thais sat on flattened carton boxes chipping away at huge blocks of teak and we sat in awe as figurines slowly emerged from all these chipping and chiseling. A huge chariot was in the making. Another plodded away at an ornate baluster. No chatting or idle potter. Just serious sculpting, each worker with a dozen or so tools in a box nearby. Amazing, hardworking Thais. In 15 years, it is worth a trip to Pattaya to see the finished Teak Palace in all its ornate glory. They have one unique, authentically Thai tourist attraction to be proud of. Thank you P-Boy (did I spell that right?).

Speaking of P-Boy Suwanasevok, he’s one jewel that GM Thailand can be truly proud of. The whole project was highly successful and very efficiently run. It definitely was a team project that had the timber of precision and professionalism, but the extra touch of warm hospitality made a difference.

Our last night was spent in Bangkok and we crammed in a night of shopping in our full calendar. To Pat pong we went as we were curious to find out how it now compares to Hong Kong’s Mongkok night market. Watches were hawked at Bt650, but can be haggled for Bt200. But of course these are fake signature watches. And there’s something quite amazing here. There is a price difference between a fake and a genuine fake, the latter being a little more expensive being of higher quality. And bags that were ridiculously selling at Bt850 can be had for Bt250! Remember this tip when you go to these night markets!

As always, a Thailand trip is memorable because of their excellent cuisine. But the company of old and new friends made half the trip more than pleasant. Bobby Shaw never ran out of energy and at 2:00 am, after a crazy time at the night market, Bobby was cool as cucumber, ready to go another mile with Pinky Colmenares, motoring editor of Bulletin, Dong Magsajo, motoring editor of Phil. Star and Tessa Salazar of the Inquirer.

Thank you guys for the wonderful trip. But as always nothing beats being back to our beloved Philippines.

Mabuhay!! Be proud to be Filipino!!!!

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