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Travel & Leisure, in and around Pattaya

Terrorists hit Pattaya? No, just spirited fun at Paintball Park.

by Ken Bailey

Paintball - bruises, exhaustion and good fun!
The signal to start each game sends both sides frantically scrambling for cover. The more Rambo-like players run as far towards the ‘enemy’ as possible before the hail of paint balls has them hitting the deck.
The objective: take the enemy flag and return it to your own timber hut HQ. Sounds easy? Not quite. Each game lasts only 15 minutes, so daring raids on enemy positions are needed to beat the clock. The thing is that these daring raids are often suicidal, in the paintball sense of course.
Not only does running around in hot camouflaged fatigues leave you exhausted, paintball ‘wounds’ can leave you with the most colourful, yet painless bruises. In fact the most popular post-paintball discussions seem to be the proud comparison of bruises.
The fun doesn’t end with the game. An afternoon of paintball provides hours of excited discussion and debate concerning the victories, defeats, and thrills, normally over several ice-cold beverages at the players’ favourite bars.
If you’ve not tried paintball, or are looking for a thrilling social afternoon, then grab a group of at least eight and head to Pattaya’s paintball park for the most fun you can have while being shot at.
Bang Saen - Sight of Sam Muk Hill, haunted by the spirit of lost love
A little north of Pattaya, in between Sriracha and Chonburi, lies the seaside village of Bang Saen. Here Sam Muk Hill (Khao Sam Muk) commemorates the sincere love of the incredibly beautiful Sam Muk.
Legend has it that this stunning lady from a poor family fell deeply in love with a lavishly handsome boy, Saen, who was born into a wealthy clan.
Rather than let love run its course, Saen’s father forced him to marry another girl. Devastated by losing her true love, Sam Muk committed suicide by jumping off a cliff the day Saen wed. Moved by Sam Muk’s devotion and sacrifice, locals named the cliff Khao Sam Muk. On the rocks below, the shrine of Chao Mae Sam Muk commemorates her selfless love.
To this day locals believe that her weeping spirit can be seen atop the cliff, as it forever haunts the area. Believers make offerings and pray to Chao Mae Sam Muk hoping that she will bring good luck into their lives. Scenic and peaceful, it is worth a day trip visit.


WHO wants liveable cities

Chonburi Province has been chosen by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a test area for its ‘liveable cities’ improvement program, Songkram Korsuthithirakul, Deputy Governor of Chonburi, announced.
Four other cities in Thailand have been chosen for the organisation’s project. Bangkok, Nakhorn Rachasima (Khorat), Yala and Phayao. Chonburi has already begun preliminary plans for the project’s implementation in Phanat Nikom, Nong Sua Chang Municipality, Khao Sok, Harng Soong and Nong Yai.
The public will be given a large role in the implementation of projects to improve the environment and public health in homes, workplaces, factories, schools, hospitals, markets, shops and other public places.
This will call for an augmentation of people’s self-discipline in the use of the environment and following existing and new public health laws.
It is hoped this project will effect statistically provable gains in public health by the year 2000.
The Phanat Nikom project will begin on July 25th, 1997.


Rousing scout celebration

As July 1st is the anniversary of the founding of the scout movement in Thailand by His Majesty, King Vachiravuth, a ceremony of gratitude is performed throughout the country. The sea-scouts of Sattahip held a parade to honour Country, Religion and King this year. One-hundred and fifty scouts were in the ceremony and parade.


Joke of the week?

The LAPD, the FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it.
The CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations, they conclude that rabbits do not exist.
The FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming.
The LAPD goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling: “Okay Okay! I’m a rabbit! I’m a rabbit!”


World news

collected by Tookada

Tallin (AP)
To eat bananas as fast as you can during a banana-eating competition is nothing special. But the way Mait Lepik won the last competition in Tallin was quite sensational. He ate 10 bananas within three minutes - without peeling them. That gave him the victory over all other competitors who ate the bananas the classical way. The press-agency BNS didn’t report how Lepik felt after his victory.
Cologne (AP)
A thievish cockatoo in Cologne stole the dentures of his owner and fled the scene. The bird itself came back after a few days, but didn’t bring the dentures with it. The cockatoo refused to answer when questioned about the whereabouts of the rather expensive dentures. Police reported the first reaction of the owner towards his bird was a tooth-less: “I hatche jyou!”
Oslo (AP)
Money doesn’t stink - only to look for it can sometimes be a stinky affair. Employees of a bank, together with police, ransacked in despair a huge garbage depot in Tvedestrand for app. 2,720,000 Baht. The money was locked into the safe two weeks ago, five days later it disappeared. The managers of the bank guessed that some employees might have thrown it away by accident.
Munich (AP)
A judge, who was supposed to preside over a trial against an alcoholic who allegedly killed his wife, had to be sent home. As soon as he entered the courtroom everyone became aware of his alcohol-smelling breath. The decision why he was sent off was: ‘one drunkard can’t be judging another-one. There might be too much sympathizing involved’.
Pattaya
A Welsh super-model, currently residing in Pattaya, had to be rushed to a hospital with minor injuries. She was quoted as saying: “I’ve just worked out that I have been using these squat toilets the wrong way and that’s why I kept banging my head.”


HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]

Travel & Leisure, in and around Pattaya

WHO wants liveable cities

Rousing scout celebration

Joke of the week?

World news