Thai girls in England cook for Thai kids in Thailand

Having seen what Jeep and Lek have been doing for the last four years to help educate Thai children with their “Computers For Thai Kids Charity Project”, four Thai girls (and Nung’s mother), held a fund raising event in Bungay, England. The two couples responsible for planning and organizing the “Do” are Steve and Nung Lee, and Mark and Kaew Jenkinson.

(Left to right) Kaew, Ya, Dang and Nung

The “Green Dragon” Pub in Bungay donated their premises for a Sunday and the girls cooked Thai food and sold it to patrons and friends. Much of the food was donated by the pub and a local Thai restaurant named “Thai Kitchen”.

A raffle was also held at the event with prizes of travel bags and flight items donated by Thai Airways, and a much in demand collection of “Harry Potter” books donated by “Clay’s Ltd, St. Ives plc”. Steve and Mark (who work for Clay’s Ltd) say the company is the largest printer in the world and the main factory is located in Bungay. They said that the raffle tickets for the books sold out quickly and due to the current popularity of the Harry Potter series and movie, that is quite understandable.

Over 80 people showed up to enjoy the Thai food and participate in the festivities. All who attended had a great time and have asked the girls to please do it again in the near future. The girls are already planning on having a barbecue in the summer months and another party in the fall. They said that the feeling they had while raising funds to help the disadvantaged Thai kids here in Thailand was overwhelming and it was a win, win, win, win situation.

Some of the people attending said it was not long ago that they too were not in such an advantaged position as they are now and that to give something back was a very good feeling.

The girls say they all won by being able to get together and cook, the pub won by having many more customers than usual on a Sunday, the sponsors won with great advertising, and most important of all, the Thai kids Jeep and Lek are helping won through the donations.

Steve and Nung Lee and Mark and Kaew Jenkinson are here in Pattaya now to present 621 Pounds Sterling raised for the kids. Jeep said, “Boy, if we had a couple more of these charity events a year we could help a lot more of the poor Thai kids get a little further ahead in life. This donation came at the perfect time since we have to fix up a lot of the computers donated to us by the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital so we can send them out to schools, plus the tuition is coming due for a lot of the 83 kids we are sponsoring in government schools. This donation is a very nice surprise.”

If you are able to assist Jeep and Lek in their worthwhile endeavor, please contact: Glenn “Jeep” Holthaus or Jaruay “Lek” Kingjorhor at [email protected] Phone: 038-424-998 or visit their website for more info on their “Computers For Thai Kids Charity Project”: www.ptty.loxinfo.co.th/~glenp or http://jeep .htmlplanet.com/

Presided over by the city mayor, Pairat Suttithamrongsawat, and attended by many dignitaries, Pattaya City and the Gay Association of Pattaya led people from all walks of life in a parade along Beach Road to mark the 20th World AIDS Prevention Day on December 1.

(left to right) Michael Burchall and Dr. Phillip Seur (Heartt 2000) flank Khru Yodthong Senanand, Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat and Chanyuth Hengtrakul as they cut the ribbon to let the parade go by.

Realizing that the disease is widely spread throughout the country with currently no cure, it is necessary that people are educated and learn prevention from infection.

The World AIDS Day is aimed at reminding people just how serious the disease is and to unite the people to create awareness of the prevention.

The 13 groups of gays in Pattaya paraded along Beach Road and handed out condoms as well as T-shirts with the message, “Your cooperation can cut down AIDS”.

The Royal Cliff Wine Club’s final meeting this year

PILC celebrates Christmas lunch

Hot on the trail of the Moonlit Charity Ball, the ever-active Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC) hosted their final luncheon for the year at the Royal Cliff last week. The Christmas luncheon, billed as one of the most popular for PILC members and guests and held in the Orchid Room of the Royal Cliff Grand, presented the opportunity for PILC members, guests and sponsors to get in early for some Christmas cheer and shopping.

Children from St Andrews International School perform a gymnastics show at the PILC Christmas lunch.

Christmas cards from the Fountain of Life, Christmas and chocolate cakes from the Rayong Remand Center for young women and other sponsored stalls enabled everyone to do some early Christmas shopping.

The highlight of the day was a gymnastics, ballet and Christmas carols performance by the children from St. Andrews International School, led by everybody’s favorite headmistress Jill Thomas.

The PILC ladies will also hold a Christmas Brunch at Casa Pascal on Tuesday December 11th at 11:00 a.m. before most of the members go off on holidays for the festive season. Look for the details in the Pattaya Mail or call Angela on 01 945 4260 or Elizabeth 038 306 105.

Blue Lagoon Water Sports Club opens

An exciting new recreation venue has come to Pattaya. The first of its kind in this area, the Blue Lagoon Water Sports Club offers a variety of water sports for all, including windsurfing, kayaking and even the new ‘extreme’ sport known as kite sailing.

Kite sailing involves the use of a parachute-style kite attached to a 35 meter rope and a harness. Bruce Vickery, manager of the Blue Lagoon Sports Club emphasized that thrill seekers wishing to experience kite sailing must undergo at least 5-6 hours of instruction on land before moving to the water to take on the elements. Being dragged through water and ‘flying’ above water level is a thrill, and these hours of training will ensure a safe and enjoyable ride and will prevent injuries.

An ISR student receives some brief training from Blue Lagoon instructor, Od.

Windsurfing and kayaking are gaining popularity everywhere and on the opening day, the national Starboard windsurfing team and national kayak team were on hand to teach the finer techniques to beginners, as well as demonstrating how the pros do it!

Blue Lagoon Water Sports Club caters to all ages and abilities and has on duty lifeguards with rescue boats and certified instructors to ensure safety on and off the water. Members and guests can also unwind in the clubhouse bar and restaurant overlooking the private beach.

The Blue Lagoon Water sports Club is located south of Pattaya at the end of Soi Najomtien 14 near the Ambassador Hotel. For details dial 038 255 115-6.

Pattaya’s Finnish Community celebrates Christmas early

Pattaya’s Finnish and Scandinavian community celebrated Christmas early this year with a traditional show at the Jomtien Palm Beach Hotel. The show was organized by Juhani Waarna, an evangelist pastor residing in Florida, USA.

Pastor Juhani Waarna hosted an early Christmas in Pattaya.

Pastor Waarna saw the need to bring a touch of Christmas cheer to the Finnish community and arranged for the Finnish Bible School and the Finnish Children’s Group from Bangkok to perform for the local community. The entire event was sponsored by Pastor Waarna’s church with the help of the Finnish community in Pattaya and Bangkok.

Shows such as these are typically held in Scandinavia during the first week of December.

Steak Lao changes name to Steak Bao

Chakrapong Akkaranant

The Steak Lao Restaurant on Beach Road and Soi 10 has changed its name to Steak Bao Restaurant, and members of the Carabao Band signed their names to the restaurant’s new signboard to leave a long lasting memento.

After signing the new restaurant sign, the Carabao Band played at the newly named Steak Bao restaurant.

After officially changing the name of the restaurant, the members of the band performed for a crowd of special guests and customers.

The Steak Bao Restaurant is open daily from 11 in the morning to 1.00 a.m. and offers a long list of Thai and European dishes with a variety of steak entries.

Band member Anupong Pratompatama, also known as Ot Carabao, and his wife Joy will be on hand to welcome diners.

Likay performers from Nakhon Sawan uphold traditional entertainment or visiting tourists

Boonlua Chatree

Thai stage plays were once popular among people of all ages, and played an important role in Thai culture. They preserved an ancient art and episodes in history whilst wrapping current events into scripts as the times changed.

Likay actor from Nakhon Sawan, Sumet Charunwithaya keeps the tradition going

“Likay” in Thai, or another type of play referred to as “Nata Dontree”, can still be found around the country, but their popularity is mainly with older generations that grew up before the advent of modern day entertainment. Sumet Charunwithaya, a 30-year old Likay actor from Nakhon Sawan and owner of a troupe of performers, is intent on carrying on the age old cultural art and he has continued performing with the group ever since the death of his father and former mentor. The name of the 30-member troupe is “Butchai Rungpralo Sumet Charunwithaya”, in remembrance of his father’s talents in the art.

Sumet explained that it was his father who trained him in his early childhood, and by the age of 15, he too, was acting on stage carrying on the traditional roles.

It is still his goal to continue performing and presenting the ancient stage plays for interested audiences. Sumet said that he is also happy to perform for foreign audiences, affording people from around the world the opportunity to view the age old art. He added that his troupe supports the fight against drugs, and integrated into some routines are sarcastic remarks covering sensitive subjects currently in vogue.

Sumet’s Likay troupe performs nightly in Soi Bua Khao

A Likay production requires musicians skilled in playing traditional Thai music on a variation of drums, the “ranad”, which is a type of xylophone, accompanied by cymbals, chimes, a flute and ancient stringed instruments.

The curtains providing the background scenes on stage are highly important and each piece of drapery is a very costly item. But the curtains are not nearly as expensive as the costumes for the actors, which have fine gems and other objects woven into the fabric, some costing up to B100,000.

Currently, Sumet’s troupe is performing nightly in Soi Bua Khao, entertaining crowds of people without charging any admission, which is common for this type of entertainment. The performers rely on the good will and appreciation for the art. The actors take turns walking among the audience, accepting whatever the individuals in the audience are willing or able to part with. Some nights are more profitable than others, but the show goes on regardless, as long as there is enough to make ends meet.