A visit to 319 countries and territories

Ray Woods likes to travel. Ray’s grandmother, a Cherokee Indian, told Ray when he was a kid that his mission in life was to travel and to come back and reassure his family that the people he met were friendly. So, Ray took her literally, deciding to visit all 319 countries and territories listed as destinations by the Travelers’ Century Club.

MC Richard Silverberg opens the PCEC’s 17th March meeting, inviting new visitors to introduce themselves.

The Travelers’ Century Club is a non-profit social organization open to world travelers who have visited 100 or more of its destinations. Member Ray Woods told the Pattaya City Expats Club about his travels at their Sunday, March 17 meeting. Ray visited the 319 countries and territories in about ten years, ending in 2010. He visited about half of the destinations by himself; for the other half, he linked up with other world travelers. Ray said that there are fifteen people who claim to have visited all 319 destinations. It’s all based on an honor system, since it would be very difficult to provide proof of each visit.

‘Hawaii Bob’ Sutterfield introduces friend & fellow member Ray Woods, to tell us of the ‘The Travelers’ Century Club’

Ray described how he was part of the first group of Americans to visit North Korea. The group was accompanied by two North Korean guides who showed the visitors the best things about the country and who asked them to say good things about North Korea. One of his early trips was to the People’s Republic of China. He went with a group of travelers out of Hong Kong who travelled to the Chinese border area. Ray noted that he was the only one of the group to go right into China.
Ray indicated that he was the first tourist in Afghanistan after the overthrow of the Taliban Government. He recounted an incident going through the Khyber Pass in Afghanistan when the vehicle he was travelling in came across two men standing in the middle of the road with sub-machine guns. The driver was very nervous, but the driver and Ray were relieved that it turned out that the men were just looking for a ride. Ray said that this was the most dangerous moment he encountered on his travels, and that for the most part he was quite fortunate.

Ray has been a member of the Travelers’ Century Club for 13 years, and has visited 319 countries, including territories. Rays’ grandmother was Cherokee Indian, who told him his mission in life was to travel, and to come back and reassure his family that the people he met were friendly.
He mentioned that seven countries claim parts of Antarctica - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Norway. Ray has visited all seven parts and commented that the Antarctica trips were the most costly ones he took describing their remoteness and the efforts needed to visit. Like Antarctica, he explained that some countries are more difficult to visit than others, and that a certain amount of common sense is required. Ray did cross over the border into Syria in order to add that country to his list, “but no one in their right mind would go to Damascus today,” he said. Other destinations included in the list of 319 are also quite remote - including the Pitcairn Islands near Tahiti in the South Pacific; Easter Island, also in the South Pacific; and Jeju Island, off the coast of South Korea. For the more difficult destinations, Ray said, it helps to have a guide.

Ray points to the Antarctic territories, and has visited them all. One of the cruises here cost almost 1 million baht.

Ray mentioned that some of his trips were planned three years in advance. There are often challenges in obtaining visas in time. Ray revealed that he had to have two passports because one was often tied up in the visa application process. One of Ray’s more eventful trips was to the Central African Republic (CAR). One day, his scheduled plane trip was cancelled. Ray met a woman from Cameroon who was living in the U.S., but who was in CAR at that moment. She calmly explained that the President of CAR took the scheduled plane that day for his own use, but that the plane would be back the next day.

Member Philip Morris invites all to visit Buriram with him, including the PCEC ‘Friends of the PDA’ supported village of Ban Kok Klang Noi. The PDA (Population Development Association) was established by Mechai Viravaidya to help rural women plan their families; at that time family sizes of 7 - 8 were not unusual. Now the family size is a much more sustainable 1 - 2 children. The PDA evolved to become the preeminent NGO helping in AIDS prevention in Thailand.

Ray first visited Thailand in 1963 when there weren’t even any guide books. Ray stayed with the family of a Thai student he had met at the University of Kansas. That visit included a 22-hour train ride to Chiang Mai. In response to the question did he heed travel warnings from the American Department of State; he replied “No,” because “if I did, I wouldn’t go anywhere.”
Ray was born the U.S. about 71 years ago. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas and performed service with the Peace Corps in the Philippines in 1965-1966. He now resides in Thailand with his Thai wife. The website of the Travelers’ Century Club is http://travelerscenturyclub.org. There is another, similar club called Most Travelled People (http://mosttraveledpeople .com).
Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg provided an update on upcoming events and called on Roy Albiston to conduct the Open Forum where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand; Pattaya in particular.
For more information about the many activities of the Pattaya City Expats Club, visit their website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com. 

Californian wine gala dinner lives up to its promise

John Crawford, David Millière, Manantana Chaisamut and Christoph Voegeli.

Elfi Seitz
Once again, the wine-dinner at the Royal Grill Room & Wine Cellar of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort on March 9th was fully booked and it lived up to its promise.
Californian wines were the highlights at this event and its exquisite taste was underlined by Chef Walter Thenisch’s culinary art.
Royal Cliff’s general manager, Christoph Voegeli, welcomed the guests, amongst whom were Panga Vathanakul, her husband Chan and Son Vitanart, and introduced guest speaker David Millière, a French sommelier who lives in California.

Vorakamol Uta, Suphunnee Chaimipak and Pisit Suwankomaen.

David grew up in wine country, being from the French wine region of Rhone, whilst his parents came from the Burgundy region.
The sponsor of this event’s wines was Canpac Beverage Ltd., whose sales manager, Suphunnee Chaimipak, was amongst the guests.
The first delicacy was golden baked goat cheese with grilled Peckham pear, grapes and endives salad laced with roasted nuts. For me it was one of the best dishes I ever tasted. A Chateau Sauverian, Chardonnay 2006 of the Alexandria Valley was served to this dish. A light fragrant wine, fitting perfect to starters.

Andrew Barnes, Thanakiat Keawwapee, Alan Heath and David Darby.

Pan-seared Pacific scallops on a flavored celeriac mash and jalapeno emulsion followed. Again a great taste and the wine, a Chateau St. Jean, Fume Blanc, Sonoma 2006 complimented this dish well.
A seared Margret duck-breast was served next, accompanied by a shallot compote on Roselle reduction.
The meat was beautifully cooked and it melted on the tongue. The first red wine served, a Beringer California Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 had a wonderful taste; mild and smooth to drink. A perfect combination.
Since it was a Californian wine-dinner, a steak, a beef tenderloin, was not to be missed. This, too, was served with a red wine, a Chateau St. Jean Pinot Noir, Sanoma 2007. For me the second best wine of the evening after the California Collection.
A sweet temptation with dark chocolate, blueberries and vanilla crème bruille ended this sumptuous meal. Lucky for me the wine served to this dish was not sweet but a very tasty Chateau Souverain Merlot, from the Alexander Valley 2005.
Near the end of the evening, Panga Vathanakul presented gifts to guest speaker David Millière and Suphunnee Chaimipak, and expressed her gratitude towards them.

Michel Jansen, Ingrid and Harkus Stalder.

Otto Gerth, Christoph Voegeli, and Dieter Reigber.

Hubert and Ria Zanten, Yvonne and Willem Stevent.

IB and Kanikar Ottesen, Sudasawan and Kurt Lawrence.

Christoph Voegeli, Elfi Seitz, Chan Vathanakul, Vitanart Vathanakul, David Millière, and Panga Vathanakul.

Wine tasters raise 200,000 baht to protect sea turtles

(L to R) Chutima Jeeramongkol, Yuwathida Jeerapat, Tina Termsomket, and CDR. Kwanmoung Karestre host a charity evening to “save the turtles”.

Warunya Thongrod
More than 70 wine lovers raised 200,000 baht to save endangered sea turtles when the Wine & Spirit Education Trust hosted a charity tasting at Pattaya’s Ezy Ezy Eatery.
Pattaya spokeswoman Yuwathida Jeerapat and WSET sommelier Tina Termsomket hosted the March 14 event to benefit the Royal Thai Navy’s Sea Turtle Conservation Center in Sattahip.
Termsomket demonstrated the correct way to sip wine to enjoy the sweetness of the grapes and offered the right foods to snack on and bring out the flavor.
“My friends and I wanted to help the center, so we brainstormed how we could raise funds. Since I like to drink wine and Tina is already an expert, we decided upon a wine tasting to raise funds for sea turtles, which are threatened with extinction.”

Termsomket said she already runs a program called “Bring It Back Thailand” devoted to showcasing Thailand’s emerging talents and how they “bring it back” to their family, culture and country. Organizing the sea-turtle project was even more exciting, she said.
Kwanmoung Karestre, deputy commander of the conservation center, thanked everyone who turned out and donated. He said the center plans to open an animal hospital to help injured turtles with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and Chulalongkorn University.
“If the hospital is built, the turtles will get much-needed help and care to survive,” he said. “They are indicators of the ecosystem’s status in the sea, the water condition and the abundance in water.”

Chonburi Red Cross collecting donations for Songkran giveaways

Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai (center) and his wife Red Cross Chairwoman Busrawadee Ekachai (7th right), along with members of the Red Cross announce the giveaway.

The Chonburi Red Cross opened the doors of its Matcha Charity Shop, which is collecting donations of cash and merchandise to hand out to the poor during Songkran.
Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai officiated at the March 22 opening at the Chalerm Prakiat Pavilion as local residents and businesses lined up to donate goods to the charity shop.
Red Cross Chairwoman Busrawadee Ekachai said during the province’s nine-day Songkran celebration, the Matcha shop will give out five motorbikes per day, as well as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, fans, irons and other appliances. Smaller handouts include rice, oil, sugar and instant noodles.
Cash collected will be used for blood drives, health promotion, disaster relief, bicycles for the poor, and scholarships.
Khomsan said the Matcha shop is both a way to aid the needy in Chonburi and raise vital funds for the Red Cross and its mission. (CPRD).

Disabled students learn about media careers

Students and lecturers pose for an after-seminar photo.

Warunya Thongrod
Disabled students learned about photography, news writing and public relations at the Father Ray Foundation’s “Creative Media Created by Our Hands” seminar.
Photography Professor Mongkol Sonthichai of Rajamangala University of Technology - Rattankosin, and Tony Malhotra, business manager for Pattaya Mail Publishing, spoke at the March 23 workshop at the Redemptorist School for People with Disabilities.
Father Ray Foundation President Rev. Peter Pattarapong Srivorakul said media careers have become increasingly important in today’s society and, to prepare disabled students to support themselves, the Foundation organized the seminar to cover visual, newspaper, television, radio and online media.
Malhotra discussed news-writing techniques and lectured on “Techniques and Principles in Public Relations,” with Rungratree Thongsai joining in on the lecture.
Srivorakul said public relations training can also be of benefit to the Father Ray Foundation if its students proceed into jobs with the organization.