Pattaya Mail — Features

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
Amazing Thailand
 
A history lesson in the 25th Century
 
Poonsri Drug treatment center treated to New Year's Celebration
 
An Xmas with the hacks
 
Sex in the North Atlantic
 
Children's Day activities
 
If you ever need adjustment...
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Amazing Thailand

Introduction

Thailand is amazing for uncountable reasons. Over the next two years, it is the wish of everyone in the Kingdom for all our guests to gain special insight not what makes Thailand unique in the world. We hope to cover just some of the reasons here and hope that one trip will become not just an enjoyable cultural experience, but the beginning of a lifelong relationship with a paradise kingdom that offers the best of both the ancient and the contemporary.

For some, Thailand is first and foremost an Amazing Shopping Paradise. Thai products have been renowned since the fist foreign traders arrived in the Kingdom several centuries ago, and the same crafts have now reached every corner of the world. Shoppers in Thailand are offered more than just low cost by buying locally, but a chance to observe the masters of these beloved works themselves at work applying ancient techniques.

The Amazing Taste of Thai food has also taken its place all over the world as a favorite culinary treat, but visitors who stay in the Kingdom will have an unmatched eating experience. Surely overseas restaurants are good in their preparation and may offer extensive menus, but nothing can compare to the variety and taste of local Thai food. Visitors have a chance to sample Thai cuisine region by region, making each feast also an enlightening cultural experience.

The Amazing Cultural Heritage of Thailand will certainly be of interest to more than just history buffs. Every meal, every craft, every dance, every city in the Kingdom is directly linked to a history that has absorbed the influence of many bordering nations in the region to create an incomparably vast cultural mosaic.

The Amazing Arts and Lifestyle of Thailand, while varying from region to region, are linked by an underlying sense of companionship that has allowed these many diverse groups to converge as one nation. From the hilltribe keeping alive the most ancient traditions, to the new Bangkokian, Thailand encompasses equally well the old and the new.

From ancient burial sites revealing the past to wildlife sanctuaries preserving the future, Thailand’s Amazing World Heritage is a result of both its key position in Asia and its forward thinkers of today.

Thailand’s Amazing Sports and Entertainment unite both the old and new, with traditional Thai boxing and Thai dance as intriguing to visitors as the new foreign sports, like golfing, yachting, and disco and rock dancing, are to a new generation of Thais.

The Amazing Natural Heritage of Thailand is one of its most impressive features. From the northern mountains to the southern islands, the tropical climate and longitudinal length of the country make for an incredible diversity of land features and the adventures that go with them.

Thailand has always been blessed with Amazing Agriculture, the result of a highly temperate climate. In addition to indigenous plant life, it has been proved that plant seeds imported from all over the globe can thrive in Thai soil, which is as accommodating as the people themselves.

Thailand has acted as an Amazing Gateway for thousands of years. In the middle of a highly populated, diverse region of Asia, before the days of flight, it was almost mandatory for travellers to pass through the Kingdom. Today, Thailand is still the perfect starting point for any journey to South East Asia, equally close to India, China, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia.

For the next few weeks, Pattaya Mail will highlight one of each of these nine Amazing Thailand Products as described above and in the message from Seree Wangpaichitr, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Amazing Thailand Message: From Seree Wangpaichtr
Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand

... Amazing Thailand "1998-1999" - a concerted effort to project the country as a quality tourism destination, and create a positive impact in both economic and environmental terms.

We have built the Amazing Thailand campaign around concepts rather than individual destinations - nine core Amazing Thailand products which together embody the finest gifts the kingdom can offer.

Amazing Shopping Paradise

Amazing Taste of Thailand

Amazing Cultural Heritage

Amazing Arts and Lifestyle

Amazing World Heritage

Amazing Sports and Entertainment

Amazing Natural Heritage

Amazing Agricultural Heritage

Amazing Gateways

With the active cooperation of local tour operators, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is vigorously promoting these nine groups through special events and activities, and a host of new tour programmes.

Amazing Thailand reflects an awareness that global travellers are becoming more sophisticated. They are seeking greater rewards and more meaningful experiences than those offered by the mass tourism market. We mean to reach this more discerning market. We want Thailand to be perceived as a superior leisure, travel and cultural destination, and at the same time one which offers the best value for money to visitors.

We have the resources, we have the determination and, above all, we have this unique country behind us. It is time to go forward and amaze the world!

Report on Amazing Thailand from Sethaphan Buddhani
Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand in Pattaya (Region 3)

... Amazing Thailand "1998-1999" - a concerted effort to project the country as a quality tourism destination, and create a positive impact in both economic and environmental terms.

We have built the Amazing Thailand campaign around concepts rather than individual destinations - nine core Amazing Thailand products which together embody the finest gifts the kingdom can offer.

Amazing Shopping Paradise

Amazing Taste of Thailand

Amazing Cultural Heritage

Amazing Arts and Lifestyle

Amazing World Heritage

Amazing Sports and Entertainment

Amazing Natural Heritage

Amazing Agricultural Heritage

Amazing Gateways

With the active cooperation of local tour operators, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is vigorously promoting these nine groups through special events and activities, and a host of new tour programmes.

Amazing Thailand reflects an awareness that global travellers are becoming more sophisticated. They are seeking greater rewards and more meaningful experiences than those offered by the mass tourism market. We mean to reach this more discerning market. We want Thailand to be perceived as a superior leisure, travel and cultural destination, and at the same time one which offers the best value for money to visitors.

We have the resources, we have the determination and, above all, we have this unique country behind us. It is time to go forward and amaze the world!

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A history lesson in the 25th Century

(Somewhere in the Universe)

by Jay Patterson

Teacher: ‘Students, please insert your knowledge injectors into your left nostril. Thank you. Today, we are going to learn about ritual festivals in primitive societies.’

Students: (Groans of protest.)

Teacher: ‘Now, now. Do you want me to activate the ‘attitude adjust’ mode of my teaching module?’

Students: ‘No, please!’ (They all assume attitudes of feigned interest.)

Teacher: ‘That’s better. Now, today is the date of a festival celebrated in ancient times. We know about the explosion of the yellow dwarf star Sol. All of us are descended from inhabitants of its satellite, Earth. (A student raises her hand.) ‘Yes, Selene?’

Selene: ‘But ‘Big Bang’ is celebrated in Time Unit 33. We’re only in unit 24.’

Teacher: ‘That’s right, Selene. But we’re not talking about that. ‘Big Bang’ commemorates the Earth’s explosion, predicted by primitive shamans.’

Students: ‘We know all about that. Let’s talk about something else!’

A Male Student: ‘I’d rather talk about ‘little bangs’, like the one I’d like to give Selene.’

(The teacher moves her hand towards the ‘Attitude Adjust’ button.)

Students: ‘No! No!’ (All assume docile demeanors.)

Teacher: ‘We’re going to talk about the primitive Earth festival which commemorated one complete orbit of the planet around its Sun. I hope it helps you realise how lucky you are.’

The Male Student: ‘They had a festival because their planet did a complete orbit? Was there any danger of it not happening?’

Teacher: ‘From a universal time continuum point of view, yes. But as their lives were so short, there was really no danger of it not completing its orbit at least a few times during each of their lives.’

Male Student: ‘But we look at things from a smaller Time Continuum. I celebrate going to sleep and waking in the morning.’

Selene: ‘I always celebrate after I’ve completed my homework. Yesterday, I activated the endorphins in my brain and entered an ideal reality.’

Teacher: (To the male student) ‘But earth dwellers were quite primitive. Most of their festivals celebrated unreal events or commemorated great tragedies.

‘In ancient times, happiness came mainly from group behaviour. A solitary realisation of happiness, such as you and Selene have, was a rather unknown quantity. Even those who attained what they wanted were not truly satisfied. Their ‘successes’ only had value for them within a context of a group. Very few of them could rejoice in their accomplishments alone. Their measure of success was approval of their achievements by others.’

Phobos: ‘I don’t believe all of them were like that.’

Teacher: ‘You’re quite right. But this was a great paradox of their societies. Those who were able to achieve great things and not care about seeking the approval of others were considered anomalies. Most of their great thinkers and creators were so. They did not care what the society thought. Paradoxically, society often persecuted these people whose ideas eventually had the greatest and most beneficial influence on it.’

Phobos: ‘They never received recognition?’

Teacher: ‘Strangely enough, most of them did. At first it was usually negative, but after they dissociated from their bodies, the society applied their ideas with a vengeance. But the ideas were often applied in the wrong way. The society was not interested in these creators’ ideas when alive, so everything was what they called ‘interpreted.’

Selene: ‘What in the cosmos does ‘interpreted’ mean? I’ve never heard the word.’

Teacher: ‘That’s the problem. ‘Interpreted’ really means nothing. It was just a way they used other’s ideas to their own end.’

Phobos: ‘What was the result?’

Teacher: ‘The ideas lost their true meaning.’

Selene: ‘So this ‘orbit completion festival’ was celebrated in large groups and only once in many time units?’

Teacher: ‘Yes. All of their festivals were like that.’

Students: ‘Really?’

Teacher: ‘Yes. It was quite mixed-up. They also celebrated the birth of a child.’

Selene: ‘That’s disgusting!’

Teacher: ‘When a new life was thrown into their terrible world of war and disease, they counted it a blessing. Yet, when a soul left an old, tired body, they counted in a tragedy.’

Students: (Shudders all round) ‘Brr! How cruel!’

Phobos: ‘What about this ‘orbit completion festival?’

Teacher: ‘They called it ‘New Year’. At that time, each orbit of the Earth around the Sun was called a ‘year.’ That’s how they measured time.’

Selene: ‘Ah, so they had a circular time continuum and not a linear one like we do.’

Teacher: ‘You’re right Selene, but the earth dwellers mistakenly considered it linear.’

Phobos: ‘But if one of these ‘years’ consisted of an orbit, why did they call the succeeding one a ‘new year’. It wasn’t anything new. It was just another year.’

Teacher: ‘Psycho-anthropologists believe that earth society worshipped ‘new’ as they were easily bored.’

Selene: ‘How did they celebrate this festival?’

Teacher: ‘In their early history, ‘New Year’ was celebrated by rejoicing, comradeship and sometimes human sacrifices.’

Phobos: ‘So some of them were lucky enough to get out of their bodies quickly.’

Teacher: ‘Yes. But as their society continued, this festival came to reflect the great misery in which they lived. Earth society seemed to constantly regress. It was an example of true retrograde motion.’

Selene: ‘How did it regress?’

Teacher: ‘The day became a ritual of self-poisoning. Almost all members of the post-pubescent population drank alcohol in huge quantities.’

Phobos: ‘They consumed primitive rocket fuel? Ha! Why didn’t they become extinct?’

Teacher: ‘Because they didn’t usually consume lethal doses. As time passed they developed a tolerance, so they could ingest more and more alcohol.’

Selene: ‘But if they didn’t die, what effect did it have on them?’

Teacher: ‘They became stupefied and reckless. But even if they didn’t die from the poison, there were many accidental deaths and maiming due to the reduced control induced by the poison.’

Phobos: ‘But if they wanted to die, why didn’t they just take a nice dose of cyanide and have done with it?’

Teacher: ‘The earth dwellers were alienated from their own subconsciouses. They didn’t know they wanted to escape from life and though they had doctrines about the life continuum, most of them really didn’t believe it.’

Selene: ‘What was the purpose of all this then? It didn’t seem to accomplish anything.’

Teacher: ‘Earth people could only rely on ritual based on hope.’

Phobos: ‘I don’t understand.’

Teacher: ‘You see, by marking off orbits of their planet and calling each a year, they could compartmentalise time. Each time the earth began another orbit, they called it ‘new’. This gave them hope. They believed they could renew themselves and their lives.

‘They mistakenly but optimistically thought each succeeding orbit of their planet heralded a new beginning.’

Phobos: ‘Why didn’t they celebrate the old year? They knew what good had happened.’

Teacher: ‘They always thought that what was to come must always be better than what they had accomplished. They gave themselves little credit.’

Phobos: ‘It sounds like gambling. The eternal dream that the next roll will be better than the last. But the odds don’t usually change. Didn’t they know that it would all even out eventually?’

Teacher: ‘Probably not.’

Selene: ‘How very sad.’

Teacher: ‘For us, yes. For them, no. It gave them a future to anticipate.’

Phobos: ‘What was the end purpose of it all?’

Teacher: ‘I think it could be summed up by the ritual incantation they would recite to each other: ‘Happy New Year.’

Phobos: ‘Did they ever officially rejoice about the year past?’

Teacher: ‘Not that I know of.’

Selene: ‘Even more sad. (To teacher) You’re right. I realise how lucky I am.’

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Poonsri Drug Treatment Center treated to New Year's Celebration

In an outpouring of brotherhood, the Lions Club of Phra Tam Nak, Rotary Club and Thai Sikh Association for Internal Security, and the District Chief of Banglamung joined Police Lieutenant Colonel Jirat Phichitphai, the Head of Thai Narcotics Suppression for Pattaya in celebrating New Year at the Poonsri Drug Treatment Centre with residents presently receiving treatment for addiction.

The Poonsri Drug Treatment Centre is named for Pattaya businessperson Phoonsri Homhuan, who founded the treatment centre in 2533 by donating his own house as the first treatment centre.

Lt. Colonel Jirat and Dr. Kittiviroj, Assistant Director of the Banglamung Hospital administer the treatment centre.

Eighty thousand people have been treated at the centre and at present there are 80 residents.

The centre has been totally functional without one baht of government funding.

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An Xmas with the hacks

by Phileas Foghorn

For your next Christmas, if you hate the traditional family dinner where everybody belches carols so heavy on goose liver, overstuffed turkeys with a pink and gold ribbon around the neck, and not to forget the traditional chocolate and cream log with sugar dwarfs fiddling with their trousers or hatchets... so heavy that the carpet becomes another Villa Market on a Special Sales Day... remember the FCCT. And what about the sweet white wines, the syrupy liqueurs, the candles leaking red wax on your brand new shoes, so new that you can’t even invite your mother-in-law for a Jingle Bells tango... and God, how she would love to be heavy on your toes, she hates so much the blond wig you gave her on this auspicious night.

Photo: Ian Crawshaw (right) in a daze dreaming about his days as a Monolian war lord, oblivious of the presence of these charming tequila guzzling maidens and knaves.

Nothing of the kind happened at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand’s new Clubhouse, where for the first time in 40 years of existence, an Xmas Eve Party was held for the journalists and members who did not feel like, or couldn’t, attend a family event. Responsible for this totally pagan night was Ian Crawshaw, Editor of Metro-Magazine, the monthly glossy that turns Bangkokians, rich or poor alike, into night-owls, and he (Ian) should get the Knighthood for that, not Elton with his syrup for the ears. Ian and his gang, who brought in the Club the weirdest Xmas carols ever recorded, and in contrast, lovely Xmas cakes donated to the cause by the Erawan Hotel, plus a serious amount of Tequila Sauza, but what has it got to do with the event, only God and Ian know... Paula Kruger, the best newscaster at 95.5 FM, deeply involved that night in the Sauza stint, may also know the truth.

Don Felipe, the Prez of the Club, turned up with 2 liters of 146 proof Canadian Navy Rhum which were drowned in a huge fruit punch bowl by Khun Rung, the Club’s Barman for over 20 centuries, and once again, what has this booze got to do with this holy night?!

And worse, as the party was going full swing, everybody getting nicely sloshed and in perfect mood, for once no bitching around, some hacks like U Kim Goi (Time mag) with the kids, the lovelies of the Paparazzi Restaurant, Sigrid Stelling and Khun Ni with Santa Hats, landed in the Clubhouse, their baskets loaded with pizzas (thin crust if you please) that never ever tasted so good. Done with love, brought in with love, the Christmas Spirit seen in a different way. And mind you, on those beautiful representations of the fantastic Italian cooking, no sugar dwarfs to sniff the oregano, beat the parma, bathe in the olive oil or ski on the parmigiano.* A real treat and a good reason for more drinking until late in the night, with Heineken Draught at the rescue when the tequila and the punch were gone.

For the FCCT, just opened 15 days earlier at the Penthouse of the Maneeya Center, that night was an excellent test of the ambiance in the new location, with a completely different design. And it seems to work better than expected; it did all the way since the soft opening. Everyday correspondents, and associate members socializing at the bar, but that Xmas Eve, although Santa had been very generous, was a hit and the talk of the town - to the extend that the 24th will become a tradition at the FCCT where the Pattayans will be welcome, just as any other happening at the Club, Ministers Press Conferences, Wednesday night panels, book launches, Embassy nights, or just plain dining, drinking and socializing.

If you want to know more about the F.C.C.T. call: Khun Vilai at 02-6520580-1 or e-mail [email protected]. Maneeya Center Building 518/5 Ploenchit Road Bangkok 10330.

* For those unfamiliar with European folklore and culture, sugar dwarfs on cakes and busy around the Christmas tree are supposed to bring good luck. A bigger version in ceramic with bright colors can be found in European gardens generally doing stupid things around a well made of old tyres painted brick style. Those products of the German cottage industry have been copied and developed into all kinds of weird dwarfs doing very weird things and are on sale at very cheap prices on the road between Praha and Pilsen (Czech Republic). So far this reporter has not seen any in the gardens of the Pattaya Community. Yet they are supposed to be good luck charms and guardians of the home!

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Sex in the North Atlantic

Barrie Kenyon reviews the new movie Titanic (1997)

The trouble with making movies about the Titanic is that you can’t alter the ending and still be believed. So you simply gotta have a sub plot or theme. The first full length feature film about the doomed liner was made in 1935 on the orders of Doctor Goebbels. Blatantly propagandist, it shows wealthy UK Jews scrambling over women and children in the mad scramble for the lifeboats. Hollywood’s first attempt, Titanic, appeared in 1953 and starred Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. Most of the movie concerns lengthy arguments between the unhappily married couple about custody of their twelve year old son. The liner collides with the berg only in the last half hour. In 1958, the Rank organization produced A Night To Remember, most certainly the best documentary style treatment of the disaster ever to have appeared before or since. It devoted much footage to the so-called Californian incident, the presumed mystery ship which lay 20 miles from the Titanic but ignored its distress signals, thus sparking anew a controversy which is still going on today.

The 1997 movie, starring Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winsley, is essentially a love story in the tradition of The Poseidon Adventure. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, almost form a suicide pact, try imitation flying at the prow of the ship, and get mixed up in a priceless Louis XVI diamond theft which results in the boy being chained up in the master at arms’ detention cell. They also find time to indulge in nude drawings and to make love in a vintage car in the cargo hold. And all this occurs before the inevitable collision, thus demonstrating that you don’t need a shipwreck to create confusion and mayhem on board amongst passengers and crew.

The plot is frankly silly. The idea that a young man and woman can get up to so much mischief in under four days is scarcely believable in today’s shopping mall and hamburger culture. To imagine it happened in 1912 between a steerage nobody and a first class passenger is little short of ridiculous. Of course, what sells the movie are the special effects and virtual reality scenes: notably the death agonies of Titanic as she breaks in two prior to her final plunge and the watery destruction of the majestic first class ballroom which has been recreated from what is left on the seabed.

Titanic buffs, and that includes most British adults, will notice a few new interpretations. Officer Lightoller, the unblemished hero of A Night To Remember in 1958 and played there by Kenneth More, is shown in 1997 as a dithering seafarer who is not sure how many people should fit in a lifeboat. Officer Wilde, for the first time on screen, shoots a panicking passenger and then blows his own brains out. Mr. and Mrs. Isidore Strauss retreat calmly to their first class bed to await their watery grave, although how this is possible with the Titanic’s propellers already sticking out of the water in a seventy degree list is not explained.

Of course, none of this matters. The most expensive film ever made is cashing in on the fact that the actual wreck was discovered in the mid 1980s which has allowed the special effects team to get to work on the most famous disaster in maritime history. Pity about the poor script and dreary music, but that won’t stop the Oscar nominations. Maybe, when the shouting has died down, the Titanic - or what remains of it - will be allowed to rest in peace. And not before time.

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Children's Day activities

Tomorrow, January 10th, is National Children’s Day in Thailand. If you are wondering what you can do to make this day special for the kids, we ‘got a little list’ of places which you and your children might enjoy.

1. The Mini-Siam City is offering a special price of 10 baht for kids and 40 baht for adults. The park is located on Sukhumvit Road in North Pattaya. There will be prizes for kids. Open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

2. The Tiger Gardens in Sriracha located on Sukhumvit Road. Admission is free for children and special activities are planned. Open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

3. The Million Year Stone Park and Crocodile Farm in Pattaya. Children get in free. Activities and gifts for the kids. Open from 8:00-5:00.

4. Chang Village on Soi Country Club. Free admission between 2:30 and 4:00 p.m.

5. Ripley’s ‘Believe it or Not!’ Museum in the Royal Gardens Shopping Plaza is offering a discount on admission.

6. Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens in Sattahip offers discounts and a host of activities and gifts. Open from 8:00-5:00.

7. The Tiffany Show in Pattaya offers free admission to children all day.

8. The Alcazar Show in Pattaya is offering all day free admission to kids.

Schools and government offices are also holding celebrations to further spoil your progeny.

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If you ever need adjustment

By Ariyada

Chiropractic medicine just celebrated its 102 year anniversary in the Western world. In 1895 a healer named Daniel Palmer put his hands on the upper back of a patient named Harvey Lillard. Several years earlier this man lost his ability to hear after injuring his back. Dr. Palmer moved his vertebra back into the proper position and Harvey could hear again. Thus the art, science and philosophy of Chiropractic were born.

Dr. Ronald J. Watkins is one of the successful practitioners of this science. His results bring all the pioneer’s stories to life, since he has had many astounding recoveries. Dr. Ron, after studying at Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles, began working as a Doctor of Chiropractic in 1942 at the Lincoln Chiropractic College in Indianapolis, Indiana. Besides his title as a doctor, he also holds many titles, such as Dean of Graduate Studies, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Research, Diplomat for the American Board of Chiropractic Roentgenology, and for the Radiological Health of the US Department of Health, Education & Welfare. He was president, chairman, charter member, tutor and lecturer, not only in the States but also in Tokyo, Sydney and many other places, and is the author of many technical and scientific scripts and books. He set up the very first Chiropractic Clinic in Toronto in 1947 - the first of its kind in the British Empire, and helped to set up the world’s biggest Chiropractic Center, Maritta Georgia, in Atlanta. Dr. Ron has also made six different licensures. Two years ago, at age 76, he came to join Dr. Don’s Center for Natural Health, first in Bangkok and now permanently for four days a week in Pattaya.

What is chiropractic? Chiropractic is a completely natural healing system, with no drugs and no surgery utilised. It helps in cases of stress, headaches, low back pain, neck pain, blood pressure problems, digestive problems, and insomnia; just name it. The human body is a self-healing entity. All physicians, medical doctors included, will admit that it is not the doctor who heals the patient, but that the body heals itself.

Chiropractic is based on the fact that an intact and properly functioning nervous system is needed for the body to maintain a state of good health. Dr. Ron, like any other Chiropractor, is trained to locate, evaluate and eliminate areas of nervous interference within the human body. These areas are called subluxations. If not corrected soon, asthma, ulcers, arthritis, haemorrhoids, gout, deafness or kidney stones can develop, depending upon the joint levels that are disturbed. This complex has been called nerve interference.

Chiropractors use their hands with carefully guided pressure to gently remove these areas of nervous interference. This is called a chiropractic adjustment. It is not painful and actually feels quite good. When I interviewed Dr. Ron, he asked me if I felt pain in my neck. I admitted I did and he started to work on me. He twisted my neck and my back with just a few slight movements of his hands, with remarkable ease, leaving me startled and astounded by the sudden feeling of being free of pain.

Dr. Ron elaborated on how subluxations can be corrected, "If a joint is ‘kinked’ and ligaments are torn, there will be slight swelling, and a minimum healing time depend upon the severity of tearing. If only stretched slightly, the recovery time is much shorter. In either case the ‘kink’ must be ‘unkinked’, straightened and re-aligned. A proper chiropractic adjustment is a time proven popular method. If the injury is several days old the swelling prevents complete correction with only one adjustment. If the joint has been subluxated and misaligned for a month, then there is much stretching of ligaments and muscles on one side, with shrinkage and shortening on the other side. Vigorous, frequent adjusting to stretch the ligaments, plus corrective exercises to increase flexibility and rebuild weak muscles, can speed recovery. It still depends upon how old the sprain is."

Chiropractors and their patients have found through the years that by removing these areas of nervous interference, amazing things start to happen to the patients’ bodies. Headaches, allergies, low back pains, neck pains, digestive problems and many other symptoms of ill health start to disappear when pressure on the nerves involved is finally released.

Dr. Ron decided to become a Chiropractor after he had a fall from a 47 foot high building. As soon as he recovered, with the help of Chiropractors, he knew what he was going to study. He also had a scull fracture once after a bad accident. Finally, after five days in coma, he woke up and yelled for chiropractic treatment. He knew his neck had to be adjusted. Soon after the treatment he was fully recovered.

Dr. Ron has also had amazing experiences treating patients in Pattaya, including his adjustment of the neck of a five year old boy who suffered from epilepsy. Now, after several treatments, the boy doesn’t need medication anymore, feels much better and has only had a few paroxysm’s since then.

In another case, a thirteen year old girl had a blood-clot in her brain. She was not able to walk for more than two years. After just the first treatment she could walk out of the clinic alone and she’s getting better and better.

The stories Dr. Ron could tell are endless. He is a very dedicated doctor and chiropractor, who strongly believes in good health. Good health, according to him, is based upon three basic premises: 1. The body needs whole, natural goods to get good nutrition, and enough sleep that the body requires. 2. The body needs some form of daily exercise. 3. The body needs to have a fully functioning, interference free nervous system to be able to enjoy a state of good health.

I asked Dr. Ron if he ever had a face lift, since he surely doesn’t look his age. He just smiled at me and said that he only gets adjusted at least once a week, which not only helps the body but the beauty as well. "See, even a new Rolls Royce will need an occasional tune-up. A car driven once a week can do with a yearly tune-up. Taxis are tuned every week or two. A race car is tuned several times daily. How fast do you want to drive? This is in reference to maintenance. Most people thrive better with one check-up per month. Many people have spinal sublaxations, which interfere with normal health. But these sublaxations can be detected by competent chiropractors and can usually be easily and quickly corrected.

"There is much that each of us can do to promote good health and younger looks. Even young children and babies need some help. It would be advisable for parents to practice the "finger-walk’ with their kids. It could help a lot to prevent spinal deformations. When the child is first put up on the shoulder, long before it can hold up its head, people can start training every joint in that spinal column. Two fingers placed astride the spinal column, fingertips together, can be lightly pressed to barely move that joint. Now move one finger up about 1/4 inch and press with the tip, repeating with each finger as it advances. This will be a definite walking action with the fingertips, not through the yellow pages but up the spinal column. Every light fingertip pressure moves the joint and sends a flood of impulses, proprioceptive reports, to the spinal cord. The child will squirm, wiggle and giggle as this is very gently done for about one minute, twice a day. With this very simple method of exercise, enriched development will be taking place every day. The child will grow and develop at its maximum speed without retardation (if no subluxations are present). Anyone who is interested can pick up more information at the clinic."

Remember, Dr. Ron is there four days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Treatments are possible by appointment only - except in emergencies. To reach him, contact the Pattaya Chiropractic Center, 571/33 M.5 Pattaya-Naklua Road (1 km past the Dolphin round-about), Tel. 422 657 or Fax 429 742.

Subluxations, areas of nervous interference, are many times painless and can remain undetected for years, even decades in some cases, causing insidious damage without our knowledge. That is why many doctors refer to subluxations as silent killers. Only a chiropractor is trained to find and remove these areas of nervous interference that compromise your body’s ability to function at an optimal level. Yet, to get proper treatment, make sure that your chiropractor is a graduate of a CCE accredited chiropractic college. There are many people out there claiming to be chiropractors, so please be careful. You have only one body - and it’s hard to get spare parts.

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