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ADFEST 2013 returns to PEACH
The 16th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival, ADFEST 2013, will be held at the
Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall from March 17-19.
Founded in 1988, ADFEST is an annual advertising festival which has been
celebrating creativity in the Asia & Pacific region since 1998. Not only
does ADFEST promote and recognize creative excellence, but it is a forum and
platform designed for learning and meeting other pr ofessionals
in the industry. It offers a unique learning opportunity for participants
through seeing the best works and listening to inspiring speakers. With
PEACH providing a relaxed atmosphere and 11,600 sq. m. of floor space,
ADFEST 2013 is the ideal place to engage, interact and exchange views.
ADFEST is open to entries from the Asia Pacific region, including Australia
and New Zealand, and for the first time, ADFEST 2013 will also include
entries from the Middle East to further embrace the cultural diversity and
richness of Asia.
In 2013, the theme will be “Connect the Dots”, which aims to link and
converge strategic knowledge, tools and experiences with creative innovation
and ideas into one massive three-day creative festival. ADFEST 2013 aims to
provide you with the tools and knowledge you can absorb to become one with
networked communications. ADFEST will help you think, connect and socialize
with over 1,000 creative people to prepare for the demands of today’s
marketing challenges and will provide ideas, knowledge and tools to help
delegates build foundations and connections for brands across the world of
creative communications.
“This year’s theme reflects how so many aspects must be tackled in today’s
communication strategies. Strategist and marketers must connect with
increasingly savvy consumers in a meaningful way through a relevant medium
and must always remember they’re communicating to real people. The challenge
is connecting all these dots creatively, objectively and effectively,” says
Vinit Suraphongchai, chairman of the ADFEST Working Committee.
“People are dots. Mediums are dots. Ideas are dots. Markets are dots,”
explained Stanley Wong on the idea behind the design of the icon. “Colors of
cultures are dots. ADFEST; Connect the Dots.”
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THAI welcomes
shareholders and investors
Raj Tanta-Nanta (fifth from left), Vice President of the Thai Airways
International Public Company Limited (THAI) Corporate Finance Department,
welcomed local shareholders and investors, led by DBS Vickers Securities, on
a visit to THAI’s Cabin Crew Training Center to observe flight safety
training, such as emergency situation problem solving and fire fighting.
Shareholders and investors learned about the importance of safety to create
confidence in THAI operations.
THAI conducts regular activities for shareholders and investors to visit
THAI’s offices in accordance with the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s policy to
instill knowledge and correct understanding about activities and business
operations of companies registered on the SET.
Dusit Thani Pattaya appoints James Reppuhn its new Executive Chef
James Reppuhn.
Dusit Thani Pattaya General Manager Chatchawal Supachayanont has appointed
James Reppuhn as the hotel’s new Executive Chef effective 2 February 2013.
Chef James is from the US and has spent the last 12 years of his career
working throughout Asia in such countries as China, Thailand and India. With
world cuisine as his expertise, he will cater to the local tastes while
creating the best fusion of both worlds.
In his new appointment, Chef James will be responsible for the overall
culinary aspect of the 457-room hotel.
Prior to joining Dusit Thani Pattaya, Chef James Reppuhn has worked for
notable hotel groups as Aman Resorts, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, JW
Marriott and with Celebrity Chef Mark Miller.
Bangkok Airways celebrates
its 45th Anniversary
(L to R) Suthikiati Chirathivat, Vice-Chairman -
Central Group; Capt. Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, President of Bangkok
Airways; Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, CEO of Bangkok Airways; Sorajak
Kasemsuwan, President of Thai Airways International Plc.; and Pravit
Maleenont, Executive Director of BEC World.
Bangkok Airways, led by Dr. Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth and Capt. Puttipong
Prasarttong-Osoth, organized a celebration party to thank all customers and
partners under the theme “Circus of the Angle Night” at 22nd Fl., Bangkok
Convention Centre, Centara Grand at Central World.
The event was held to celebrate Bangkok Airways’ 45th Anniversary on March
1, 2013.
Coin-tossing Russians draw looks on Big Buddha Hill
The statue looks bemused as more Russian
tourists toss coins towards its belly, allegedly believing that if the coin
enters its belly, their wish will come true.
Vittaya Yoondorn
Russian tourists are generating smiles and amusement on Big Buddha Hill as
tour groups have taken to tossing coins into a figurine’s belly for good
luck.
The statue of Phra Sanghkhajai at Khao Phra Yai Temple sits behind the
statue of Lord Buddha. Posed as if in meditation, the statue features a
small hole in the belly that Russians compete to hit with 10 baht coins.
The Russians, at least, pay enough respect to make wishes or pray before
tossing the coins, so the temple has allowed the odd donations to continue.
But the coin-tossing has drawn smirks from Thais visiting the temple, who
abstain from throwing money at their gods.
Apart from tossing coins, foreign tourists also take pictures as souvenirs,
filling the temple with foreign and Thai tourists visiting to admire the
beauty of Thai temples and learn of Buddhist teachings.
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Bhutan’s famous landmarks
An absolute must see for all visitors
Hike to the Temple of the Divine Mad Monk.
Andrew J Wood
The Temple of the Divine Mad Monk and Punakha Dzong
Our first stop after leaving the capital Thimphu, on the journey east, is
Dochu La Pass at 10,500 feet or approx 3000 metres. Only 45 minutes from
Thimphu, it offered us our second glimpse of the Himalayan range. (Our first
was on the flight into Paro airport on our inward journey from Bangkok.)
At the pass we reached our highest point of the day, down here on the valley
floor, although lower, I still had to catch my breath. You really started to
notice the air was thinner. We hiked to Chimi Llakhang in Punakha. It is a
temple dedicated to the 15th century figure known as the divine mad monk.
The locals go there to receive blessings of fertility.
Chimi Llakhang-Punakha.
We hiked about 3 km through fields and empty rice paddies - our objective
lay ahead, on a rise in a landscape dotted with small holdings and fields
and streams.
It was a day like the previous one - bright, clear and warm in the sun rays,
but with a crispness that comes with altitude and cool air. The ground and
air were bone dry - this was winter and water was plentiful in the brooks
and streams, but no rain and no humidity.
The temple’s golden apex glittered in the bright morning sunlight as we
traversed the fields and followed a small brook that flowed swiftly through
the green and brown dirt fields and now empty rice paddies. The water was
clear and ice cold. Temperatures drop to -5°C and lower at night.
Shop with a difference.
The temple is dedicated to one of Bhutan’s more colourful characters. He was
actually Tibetan and not a monk, but a devote Buddhist, who had a reputation
as a womaniser and also enjoyed a tipple or two.
On the hike to the temple we passed many young women with babies wrapped in
blankets who were carried snuggly in their mother’s arms or across their
backs. They were on the way to the temple to give thanks and to make an
offering to the image of the Tibetan for having been blessed with a child.
It’s a short step from womanising to being a symbol and a celebration of
fertility. Culturally it’s easier to swallow, being a more user friendly
image for the guide books. The locals, however, clearly believe the monk
even today, could help them to conceive.
Phallic symbols adorn buildings everywhere in the village en route to the
temple and are even sold in the village shop.
Punakha Dzong.
The monks in the temple also tap you on the head with a wooden phallus and a
replica of the mad monk’s bow and arrow (he rid the village of witches and
fierce dogs according to folklore). Before you leave, the monk blesses you
with holy water made with saffron which turns the water yellow, a symbolic
gesture to all visitors which makes the journey to reach the divine monk’s
temple even more satisfying.
The previous day we visited the Punakha Dzong. A gorgeous Dzong (fortress).
The sun casts breath-taking light on the Dzong and the adjacent canter-lever
bridge spanning the river.
The Dzong dominates the valley floor. Before Thimphu was made the capital of
Bhutan, Punakha held the title as winter capital because of its more
temperature climate. Thimphu’s monk body and the Je Khenpo (leader of
Bhutan’s religious order) still come to Punakha to pass the winter and the
Dzong is home to hundreds of monks.
The author dwarfed by a massive prayer wheel at
the entrance to the Punakha Dzong - Bhutan.
Punakha Dzong was strategically built at the confluence of the Pho Chu
(male) and Mo Chu (female) rivers by the first Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal of
Bhutan, in 1637. It has been destroyed by four fires and an earthquake in
1897 and has frequently been devastated by flood water coming from the great
northern glaciers.
The Dzong has now been fully restored to its original splendour. It is
magnificent and a ‘must see’ on your visit to Bhutan.
Andrew J Wood is director of Worldwide Destinations Asia Co., Ltd.
www.worldwidedestinationsasia.com
Our Yangphel Adventure Travel guide, Mr Sonam,
inside the Punakha Dzong.
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