About our company . . .
Sanghalei Canoe & Kayak Company is a
uniquely international venture. We have
a home office located in Hawaii .... yet our
production shop is in far-away Thailand,
where we are able to benefit from the
availability of some wonderfully exotic
Southeast Asian woods, a ready source
of naturally skilled indigenous craftsmen,
and lower costs for almost everything ....
advantages which we are able to pass on
to the purchasers of our hand-crafted
artwork.
uniquely international venture. We have
a home office located in Hawaii .... yet our
production shop is in far-away Thailand,
where we are able to benefit from the
availability of some wonderfully exotic
Southeast Asian woods, a ready source
of naturally skilled indigenous craftsmen,
and lower costs for almost everything ....
advantages which we are able to pass on
to the purchasers of our hand-crafted
artwork.
Our modest shop is nestled among the
bamboo and forest flora near the shore of
the beautiful Khao Laem lake .... part of
the community of Sangkhlaburi, a small
town situated where three mountain
streams come together at the beginning of
the lake .... close to the Myanmar border
and the Three Pagoda Pass .... in the
west-central Thai province of
Kanchanaburi .... and just downstream
from the magnificent Thung Yai Forest ....
bamboo and forest flora near the shore of
the beautiful Khao Laem lake .... part of
the community of Sangkhlaburi, a small
town situated where three mountain
streams come together at the beginning of
the lake .... close to the Myanmar border
and the Three Pagoda Pass .... in the
west-central Thai province of
Kanchanaburi .... and just downstream
from the magnificent Thung Yai Forest ....
which is a World Heritage Reserve theorized to be the convergence of three major
ecological systems. It is reported that a full half of the world's tree species survive
within the reserve, and giant bamboo groves thrive, with trunks the size of telephone
poles.
ecological systems. It is reported that a full half of the world's tree species survive
within the reserve, and giant bamboo groves thrive, with trunks the size of telephone
poles.
fact, the Mon word for Sangkhlaburi is "Sanghalei" .... "a place of refuge". Hence our
company name, with the concept that our canoes and kayaks will hopefully provide
a sort of "refuge".
company name, with the concept that our canoes and kayaks will hopefully provide
a sort of "refuge".
Our workers reflect the ethnic mix of the
area's population .... the gentle Karen
"Plu", who reside in the forest and are
the on-site custodians of the Thung Yai
preserve .... the Mon, who also live close
to nature, and who pre-date the Thai
and gave the Thai their Theravada
Buddhism and their written language ....
then there are the Thai themselves ....
and the various groups of refugees from
Myanmar, who for one reason or another
have left their troubled homeland. In
area's population .... the gentle Karen
"Plu", who reside in the forest and are
the on-site custodians of the Thung Yai
preserve .... the Mon, who also live close
to nature, and who pre-date the Thai
and gave the Thai their Theravada
Buddhism and their written language ....
then there are the Thai themselves ....
and the various groups of refugees from
Myanmar, who for one reason or another
have left their troubled homeland. In
It is fitting, perhaps, that the traditional
water-craft of our early indigenous North
Americans should be crafted by another
indigenous people, equally in touch with
and respectful of their natural environment.
One of the purposes of Sanghalei Canoe &
Kayak Company is to promote an
understanding of these peoples, and their
problems .... and to help improve their
welfare.
water-craft of our early indigenous North
Americans should be crafted by another
indigenous people, equally in touch with
and respectful of their natural environment.
One of the purposes of Sanghalei Canoe &
Kayak Company is to promote an
understanding of these peoples, and their
problems .... and to help improve their
welfare.
How did it happen that strip-planked
North American style canoes and
kayaks are being built out in the
boonies in a place called Sangkhlaburi
in far away Thailand, you might ask ??
North American style canoes and
kayaks are being built out in the
boonies in a place called Sangkhlaburi
in far away Thailand, you might ask ??
Allow me to introduce myself .... I'm a Canadian/American who came to
Thailand several years ago to work on a master's degree in international
nutrition at Thailand's Mahidol University, and I fell in love with Sangkhlaburi
"at first sight". Upon surveying the 50 by 10 kilometer Khao Laem lake, I
wondered "where are the boats?" It was a natural site for canoes and
kayaks, but I saw none.
In my youth I had spent several summers kayaking and exploring the natural
wonderland of the Vermillion Lakes, just outside the town of Banff in the Banff
Natioanl Park, in my home province of Alberta, Canada. I built that kayak
myself ... against my father's wishes, I remember ... I was 14 then. I continued
to tinker with building boats throughout my life .... and so it was a natural step
to open a boat shop right here in Sangkhla'.
Thailand several years ago to work on a master's degree in international
nutrition at Thailand's Mahidol University, and I fell in love with Sangkhlaburi
"at first sight". Upon surveying the 50 by 10 kilometer Khao Laem lake, I
wondered "where are the boats?" It was a natural site for canoes and
kayaks, but I saw none.
In my youth I had spent several summers kayaking and exploring the natural
wonderland of the Vermillion Lakes, just outside the town of Banff in the Banff
Natioanl Park, in my home province of Alberta, Canada. I built that kayak
myself ... against my father's wishes, I remember ... I was 14 then. I continued
to tinker with building boats throughout my life .... and so it was a natural step
to open a boat shop right here in Sangkhla'.
It has also been a rewarding and unique experience to work with my
Mon, Plu, Burmese and Thai craftsmen .... they are natural artisans,
and working with wood is deep-rooted in their respective cultures
Mon, Plu, Burmese and Thai craftsmen .... they are natural artisans,
and working with wood is deep-rooted in their respective cultures
| Our home office: Our shop location: Sanghalei Canoe & Kayak Company Sanghalei Canoe & Kayak Co. Ltd. 758 Kapahulu Avenue, #A-722 72/3 Moo 1, Tambon Nong Lu Honolulu, Hawaii 96816-1198 A. Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi 71240 Thailand Contacts: Brent Bateman, Owner and Managing Director Email Brent at brentbateman@hotmail.com Phone Brent's cell phone at +66 87 033 9052 Website: www.SanghaleiCanoeandKayak.com Shop phone and fax: +66 034 595 591 Chad Bateman, Hawaii Distribution and Sales Phone: 808 561 2202 Email: ckbateman@yahoo.com |
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A little more about the owner: Brent has the crazy notion that life is an
adventure, and should be lived that way. For example, he likes to write, and has told
of one of his early true-life adventures in The Last Voyage of the New Guinea
Trader, which can be purchased from Amazon or BookSurge. Brent has travelled
extensively, and has been immersed in various different cultures.
He is also the editor and publisher of They Called Her Tokyo Rose, by the late
Rex Gunn, a close and dear friend of Brent's.
The owner has spent a lot of time in school, first completing a course in
Mechanical Technology from S.A.I.T. in Canada ... then earning a B.A. in
Economics, with Honors, in 1973, at the University of Hawaii ... then claimed a
second bachelors degree in 1998 from the same institution, this time a B.Sc. in
Human Nutrition ... and finally obtained his Master's Degree in Nutrition from Mahidol
University in Thailand, 2003. Brent reached 60 years of age that year.
Brent plans to write a serious book on nutrition, to be entitled The Nutrition Factor:
A Bold New Perspective, which will draw on his two degrees in nutrition plus his life-
time of interest in the subject ... beginning from the time he "grew up in his mother's
health food store" ... Kathryn Bateman was a pioneer in her own right, and operated
a retail health food outlet in Canada for 29 years.
Brent was married for a number of years to a lovely Japanese-Chinese-Hawaiian
lady, Sandy, and went on to live in Hawaii for 40 years ... they raised two great kids
... Kim is now a schoolteacher in Hawaii, and Chad works at Pearl Harbor and is
also a surfboard shaper. Sandy and Brent were divorced in 1981.
Brent's interest and skill with building canoes and kayaks draws on many years of
experience in various trades, and includes the operation of several construction
related businesses, the most significant of which was Bateman Construction Inc., a
general construction company which he operated successfully in Honolulu for over
fifteen years. He has been a shipwright, a carpenter, a welder, a heavy-equipment
operator, a surveyor, a plumber, an electrician, a submergible-pump technician and
a house builder, plus Bateman Construction Inc. specialized in road and earth-work
projects, including one golf course.
But his life of diversity does not end with just that. Besides the book on nutrition,
Brent is looking forward to launching the Sanghalei Queen in the Khao Laem lake ...
a 100 year old teak Praya River rice barge converted to a lake launch. A regular
scheduled service is planned between Thong Pha Phum on the south end of the
lake, and Sankhlaburi on the northern end. Opening a restaurant-bar in
Sangkhlaburi to serve the visiting farang tourists is also in the works. AND, an old
and dear friend from 20 years back has recently asked Brent to be the manager of a
dress-making operation ... part of the canoe and kayak factory is soon to be
converted to a sewing shop.
adventure, and should be lived that way. For example, he likes to write, and has told
of one of his early true-life adventures in The Last Voyage of the New Guinea
Trader, which can be purchased from Amazon or BookSurge. Brent has travelled
extensively, and has been immersed in various different cultures.
He is also the editor and publisher of They Called Her Tokyo Rose, by the late
Rex Gunn, a close and dear friend of Brent's.
The owner has spent a lot of time in school, first completing a course in
Mechanical Technology from S.A.I.T. in Canada ... then earning a B.A. in
Economics, with Honors, in 1973, at the University of Hawaii ... then claimed a
second bachelors degree in 1998 from the same institution, this time a B.Sc. in
Human Nutrition ... and finally obtained his Master's Degree in Nutrition from Mahidol
University in Thailand, 2003. Brent reached 60 years of age that year.
Brent plans to write a serious book on nutrition, to be entitled The Nutrition Factor:
A Bold New Perspective, which will draw on his two degrees in nutrition plus his life-
time of interest in the subject ... beginning from the time he "grew up in his mother's
health food store" ... Kathryn Bateman was a pioneer in her own right, and operated
a retail health food outlet in Canada for 29 years.
Brent was married for a number of years to a lovely Japanese-Chinese-Hawaiian
lady, Sandy, and went on to live in Hawaii for 40 years ... they raised two great kids
... Kim is now a schoolteacher in Hawaii, and Chad works at Pearl Harbor and is
also a surfboard shaper. Sandy and Brent were divorced in 1981.
Brent's interest and skill with building canoes and kayaks draws on many years of
experience in various trades, and includes the operation of several construction
related businesses, the most significant of which was Bateman Construction Inc., a
general construction company which he operated successfully in Honolulu for over
fifteen years. He has been a shipwright, a carpenter, a welder, a heavy-equipment
operator, a surveyor, a plumber, an electrician, a submergible-pump technician and
a house builder, plus Bateman Construction Inc. specialized in road and earth-work
projects, including one golf course.
But his life of diversity does not end with just that. Besides the book on nutrition,
Brent is looking forward to launching the Sanghalei Queen in the Khao Laem lake ...
a 100 year old teak Praya River rice barge converted to a lake launch. A regular
scheduled service is planned between Thong Pha Phum on the south end of the
lake, and Sankhlaburi on the northern end. Opening a restaurant-bar in
Sangkhlaburi to serve the visiting farang tourists is also in the works. AND, an old
and dear friend from 20 years back has recently asked Brent to be the manager of a
dress-making operation ... part of the canoe and kayak factory is soon to be
converted to a sewing shop.