Old Names And Faces From Chiang Rai

[p1p]

I used to pass through Chiang Rai, visa tripping from Chiang Mai, with the occasional overnight stay, '95-'99. I recall several people.

Who was the pleasant Aussie who ran Baitong Bar? And the equally pleasant (diminutive) Frenchman, a regular customer there who for some reason taught English?

And 100m south, a bar named Moon & Stars or something similar run by the quietest of quiet Americans, who sadly went back to the US, I heard.

My curiosity peaked with the mention of English Paul Markham and his burger bar. He told me a few years later that it only opened for a day or so due to some local Thai food mafia figure scaring off all his staff. But then he also told me that he was a retired British Army bomb expert occasionally called in by the Thai Army in Bangkok for advice. Later found he was unknown to the British military attache at the Brit Embassy. I last saw him pedalling electric bicycles in a feature in 'The Nation', claiming to have invented them himself. He's still around?

Anyone remember another Brit, prematurely bald, named Dave? Spoke Thai quite well, very low budget, tried and failed to make it up there as an architect/builder?

And then there was the German brick maker (Thai Terrabrick Co?), given to heavy drinking then racing through the night to Pattaya. Lousy manners but good company. Gunther? Embedded his Merc half way through a large parked truck one night, I was told, and went on to that big building site in the sky.

Oh yes and I heard that Count Gerald will sadly be leaving us soon, and that his mansion is on the block for 50m.

[soap]

I used to pass through Chiang Rai, visa tripping from Chiang Mai, with the occasional overnight stay, '95-'99. I recall several people.

Who was the pleasant Aussie who ran Baitong Bar? And the equally pleasant (diminutive) Frenchman, a regular customer there who for some reason taught English?

And 100m south, a bar named Moon & Stars or something similar run by the quietest of quiet Americans, who sadly went back to the US, I heard.

My curiosity peaked with the mention of English Paul Markham and his burger bar. He told me a few years later that it only opened for a day or so due to some local Thai food mafia figure scaring off all his staff. But then he also told me that he was a retired British Army bomb expert occasionally called in by the Thai Army in Bangkok for advice. Later found he was unknown to the British military attache at the Brit Embassy. I last saw him pedalling electric bicycles in a feature in 'The Nation', claiming to have invented them himself. He's still around?

Anyone remember another Brit, prematurely bald, named Dave? Spoke Thai quite well, very low budget, tried and failed to make it up there as an architect/builder?

And then there was the German brick maker (Thai Terrabrick Co?), given to heavy drinking then racing through the night to Pattaya. Lousy manners but good company. Gunther? Embedded his Merc half way through a large parked truck one night, I was told, and went on to that big building site in the sky.

Oh yes and I heard that Count Gerald will sadly be leaving us soon, and that his mansion is on the block for 50m.

the pleasant aussie guy who had the baitong bar was baitong ken really nice guy,closed the bar in 1996 (crazy joe got a video

of the baitongs last night open) .

100m south would be the new moon bar run and owned at the time by american richard.

paul markham (mac) went down to bangkok with old brock (it was a rumour that brocks wife was slowly poisining him)

so he got off,mac did have a electric bicycle company,i heard he sold it for a few million bhat,he told me he had army background.

the german brick maker (i thought he was swiss was erwin i think) went down to pattaya and opened another brick factory down there,they were good strong bricks and you can still buy them ,last i heard of him there was not a pick on him.

dont know the rest