The ex-hotelier is Dr Olivier P. (I'll keep his surname confidential). His grand-father built a luxury hotel in Switzerland and it was one of the highest, in terms of altitude above sea-level, in the world. Apparently, Adolf Hitler once stayed there. Olivier sold the hotel to retire early and live in Thailand with his Thai wife, who he met at university in Geneva. Last time I ran into him he, just like me, had developed throat cancer and he was having radio-therapy in BKK. As in my case, it must have been successful, or you would not have run into him in Chiang Kong. I stayed at his 'palace' in Amphur Pong in 1998 and have old (non-digital) photos of it. As David says, a truly lovely bloke and I'm glad that he is still alive and well. His home is too spectacular for words to do it justice. The staircase alone is solid teak and a good three metres wide. The house is filled with life-size carved teak animals, including a giraffe.