Charlotte Donvang Parks, one of the most high-profile Danish women in Thailand, is in September leaving for Malaysia, where she and her husband David lived before moving to Thailand six and a half year ago.
In an interview with the website of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce, http://www.dancham.or.th, Charlotte Parks says she might sell her ecommerce business in Thailand and start doing something else when back in Malaysia.
“I may either change the concept (of www.jewelpurpose.com) slightly and run it from Malaysia. Or sell it. If I do that, I will of course be looking for something else to do in M’sia. Friends down there have already suggested a number of different business ideas but that’ll take some research to find out whether it’s viable or not,” she says, adding that she might also look for “a plain old job… as long as it’s fun, challenging and I can use my talents and expertise!”
As a pioneer in e-commerce in Thailand, Charlotte has learned both the business of jewellery and the technology involved in ecommerce from scratch.
“I found out that e-commerce is tough to run as a one-woman show,” she admits, “especially when you’re not a tech geek. My background is marketing and that’s one of the main reasons for starting the business. Now I spend more time than expected on graphic design, tech bits and admin.”
During her years in Thailand, Charlotte Parks has been active in both the Danish Women’s Network ‘Margertheklubben’, the Hash Hound Harriers, the Scandinavian Society Siam and on the board of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce. The main reason for Charlotte Parks to move to Malaysia is that her husband David after a one and a half year in Taiwan has now been was offered a job in Malaysia, which is a lot better than Taiwan for both of them.
“We lived there before arriving in Thailand and still have friends there.The plan is to move mid or end September. A lot of logistics has to fall into place when you move a household and home office overseas… so dates are still tentative,” she says.
“The first months will obviously also be busy with settling in… we are moving to a big house with a large garden in the Taman U Thant area which is located very central… close to the city centre and with easy access to all the highways to get to other areas of KL.”
On the leisure side, running cross country in the special fun style of the Hash Hound Harriers is one of the first activities, Charlotte will get into in Kuala Lumpur.
“Hashing is of course one of the more important things to go actively into when arriving on a new destination,” she says.
“I have already during my house hunt in KL been running with Petaling H3 which runs Saturday, a mixed bunch that includes quite a few old friends. I may also try and infiltrate the KL Harriettes which I never ran with before. Obviously, I will also on occasions be joining some of my “old” clubs from when I was living there before: Damansara H3, KL Full Moon H3 and NS Wednesday H3 in Seremban.”
Charlotte hopes, however, to visit Thailand frequently in the future.
“I should be back in Bangkok on a regular basis… and probably also in Chiang Mai. I am part of a committee bidding to host the World Interhash 2006 with main venue in Chiang Mai. This bid is organised by the 6 Mekong countries and I am responsible for the web site and communications. So expect to see me again!”
Charlotte’s husband, David R. Parks will be working on SMART – Storm Water Management & Road Tunnel Project – a Government project for flood alleviation. The project consists of a 12m diameter and 9km long tunnel going from Ampang to Taman Desa with a road tunnel in the middle 3km section. The construction is scheduled to last 4-5 years, and is a joint venture between MMCEG and Gamuda. David Parks will be the Chief Resident Engineer supervising the project and reporting to Gamuda.
In the interview on http://www.dancham.or.th, Charlotte Parks lists her three three top memories from her time in Thailand.
1. The friends
While in Thailand I have made so many very good friends… especially a number of Thai friends that will be lifelong friends. Thanks to them I have experienced Thailand in a very Thai way… my friends sometimes introduce me as Thai (or half Thai) despite the fact that I’m not proficient in their language (only in speaking “food Thai”)
2. The travelling
I love Thailand and have been travelling a fair bit both in Thailand and to neighbouring countries. Thanks to the Hash House Harriers I also on a regular basis see places that even some non-hashing Thais would never go to… this covers places in and around Bangkok as well as in other regions of Thailand.
3. The Danish Chamber of Commerce
I have always enjoyed being a member of the Chamber but have in particular treasured the 2 years I spent on the Board. I am honoured to have been chosen to serve such a fine “club” and would have loved to continue this work. However, life is bringing me to new destinations and challenges. I also feel lucky to have learned a great deal from other members of the Chamber. Everybody have always been there with advice or encouragement whenever I needed it.. thank you so much, I will miss you!
Charlotte D. Parks’ email addresses will remain [email protected] and [email protected]
