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The true spirit of Christmas emerges during the annual Fountain of Life Christmas party

HRH Princess Soamsawalee graciously presides over opening of YWCA International Bazaar

Royal Cliff Beach Resort says “Thank You!”

The true spirit of Christmas emerges during the annual Fountain of Life Christmas party

Who was having more fun, the children or the adults?

Christmas is a special time for all of us, but especially for the kids at the Fountain of Life Center in Pattaya. So in the spirit of the season and to bring some joy into the children’s lives, a special Christmas program was arranged on December 18th.

It was difficult to tell who was having more fun, the children or the adults, when the Jesters, PILC and FOL got together to throw their annual Christmas party at the Fountain of Life. Sister Joan, shown here with little Sara Paladeau, is considered by many to be a true saint, and the annual party is a good way for benefactors and recipients to say thanks to each other for everything they did for each other during the past year. 

The center held its traditional Christmas pageant attended by friends and kind-hearted benefactors including the Jesters Motorcycle Club and the Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC). These organizations have generously provided for the children and supported the center throughout the years.

Children from 3 to 15 years old put on a beautifully orchestrated show for guests and were duly treated with a jolly visit from Santa Claus (aka Jester Kevin) who handed out wonderful gifts to all the delighted kids.

Santa says, “This one’s for you”.

Sister Jemjit (left) leads the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Jeff Paladeau, who was away at work and couldn’t attend the function. Serge (right) cares for Jeff’s daughter Sara, as Woody (center) readies to hand out Jeff’s birthday cake. This particular scene was set up by Jeff’s wife, who wanted to send a birthday greeting to him. Happy Birthday Jeff!

Woody and one of the magical traditional Thai dancers exchange a gift of thanks.

The epitome of Christmas in Thailand - a beautiful performance of classical Thai dance.

Santa’s helpers keep the beat in a modern song and dance version of Christmas.

It’s a Hula Christmas, with a little Rap thrown in.

The children look on in anticipation of the great Christmas meal they are about to embark upon.

Laurence Fatus (back row, 2nd right) from the PILC and the Jesters’ Lewis “Woody” Underwood are all smiles as they watch the show. The children in front of them are all smiles thanks to the generous supply of ice cream.

After the children received their presents from Santa everyone feasted on a sumptuous lunch, plenty of sweets and children lined up for second helpings of ice cream.

The PILC members who help out at the center showed off their special talents by putting on a show of their own, adding more fun and festivities to the day’s event in the true spirit of the season.

“Merry Christmas to all, and happy birthday daddy,” little Ms Sara Claus says, and throws him a kiss.

Look what I got from Santa!

Ho, Ho, Ho! Jolly old Saint Nick has arrived.

It’s important to keep healthy, which is a message these fine aerobics dancers were passing on to the children (and adults).

Red ant meets Santa’s helper.

The Jesters Motorcycle Club watches with justifiable pride the smiles they have brought to the children’s faces.

Look what Santa has for you! Wow!

Some members of the Jesters who happened to be celebrating their birthdays got surprise gifts as well.

The Fountain of Life along with the Jesters Motorcycle Club and the PILC have been supporting children from the ages of 3 to 15 who are orphaned or from very poor families in and around the city by providing education, basic medical care and scholarship funding for youngsters who want to continue their education to higher levels.

The Fountain of Life currently takes care of 168 children on a daily basis. This traditional Christmas pageant is one of the highlights in the year when the kids can show their appreciation for those who have worked hard to provide opportunities for them to be able to look forward to a better life.


HRH Princess Soamsawalee graciously presides over opening of YWCA International Bazaar

In conjunction with a group of ambassador’s wives, YWCA recently held their 49th International Bazaar at Seacon Square shopping plaza in Bangkok. The proceeds of this bazaar will be used to help underprivileged children and women.

HRH the Princess was very interested in the goods of the different countries.

Chairwoman Alexandra Tomasikova, wife of the Slovakian Ambassador, and the organizing committee, including Lynne Zafiropoulos, wife of the Greek Ambassador; Olbisi Aderele, wife of the Nigerian Ambassador; Christina Helweg-Larsen, wife of the Danish Ambassador and Noreerat Noprattanaraporn, executive-director of the YWCA Bangkok coordinated the event.

HRH Princess Soamsawalee graciously presided over the opening ceremonies. Afterwards, welcome speeches were made by Alexandra Tomasikova, Chittra Wattansin and Noreerat Noprattanaraporn.

(From left) Chittra Wattansin, chairwoman of the YWCA Bangkok-Chonburi; Chairwoman Alexandra Tomasikova, wife of the Ambassador of Slovakia; and Nittaya Patimasongkhro, President of the YWCA Pattaya pose for a picture before the official opening.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening, HRH walked around the bazaar, visited all the booths, received the wives of the ambassadors and purchased a great many items in order to support the bazaar.

The goods which were sold at the bazaar were divided in three categories. The first category was merchandise from 36 embassies, imported from the various countries and of outstanding quality. The second category comprised items which the YWCA received via donations and are not sold at supermarkets or department stores. The third category of merchandise was all made in Thailand.

Some embassies set up booths where wine was sold at 30 baht per glass, Christmas cookies donated by various hotels and much more. A raffle was held and the prizes included expensive electric equipment, airline tickets, golf memberships, gold chains and jewelry.

This year’s participants were from the following countries: Australia, USA, Bangladesh, Belgium, Indonesia, Slovakia, Japan, Norway, Czech Republic, Egypt, Romania, Hungary, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Finland, France, Morocco, India, Nigeria, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Russia, Italy, Burma, Denmark, South Africa, and Vatican City.


Royal Cliff Beach Resort says “Thank You!”

Media and travel agents go hic! and burp!

By Miss Terry Diner

The annual “Thank You” party thrown by the Royal Cliff Beach Resort has become one of the favoured social events for both media and travel agents in Pattaya (and Bangkok). Each year, the resort seems to ‘out-do’ its previous party and each year the resort also seems to out-do itself in the awards and recognition it receives from the tourism and hospitality world at large.

(L to R) Hans P Tuggener, managing director of LTU Asia, Panga Vathanakul, Sheila Williams, Andrew J Wood, and Axel Borsdorf, TUI representative with a friend.

The personal touch of all the guests being greeted by the Royal Cliff Beach Resort executive staff, led by the managing director, Panga Vathanakul and general manager, Andrew Wood, made everyone feel that little bit “special” and set the tone for the evening.

Set around the pool at the Royal Wing and Spa, it was a glittering extravaganza, with food stations dotted around the perimeter, serving everything from smoked Norwegian salmon, to assorted satays, to papadums and duck. The waiters and waitresses calmly and efficiently made sure everyone had their fill of food and wine, while executive chef, Walter Thenisch moved around the throng, making sure all his chefs were performing at top levels.

(from left to right) The Royal Cliff resident manager team, Vipavee Withichat, resident manager administration, Ross Ferguson, resident manager of Royal Cliff PEACH, Ranjith Chandrasiri, resident manager of the Royal Cliff Grand, Nick Bauer, resident manager of the Royal Cliff Royal Wing, and Choosakdi Srivatjanapong, resident manager of the Royal Cliff Spa.

One of the highlights of the night was the resort’s achievement of winning 7 awards (foreground) over the course of the year.

The welcoming speech given by MD Panga was indeed a warm welcome and she gave mention of the great strides taken by Pattaya this year, including the momentous Pattaya Night, graciously hosted by HRH Princess Ubolratana, at the world’s largest travel trade show, the ITB in Germany.

She was followed by GM Andrew Wood, who listed some of the achievements reached by the Royal Cliff Beach Resort during 2002. These included the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH) which was honoured with the 2002 CIM Magazine Accolade Award. Voted for by readers of Australia’s leading MICE publication, the award was received by PEACH for the second year in succession.

Other awards saw the Royal Wing & Spa being announced as the proud recipient of the “Mark of Excellence Award” for the best hotel in Asia-Pacific at the Summit Hotels & Resorts annual general meeting. Other accolades included the Thailand Tourism Awards, organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, where the Royal Cliff Beach Resort won the award for “Best Resort Accommodation in the Eastern Region”.

Bernard Daly (3rd from left), managing director of BD Incentives (Ireland) and one of the resort’s top incentive clients, with managing director Panga Vathanakul (3rd from right), general manager Andrew J Wood (4th from right) and the MICE sales team (L to R) Rakamon Hirunrat, Sarayudh Sanva, Richard Dodds and Jurairat Povibool.

The evening’s entertainment included a performance by “Dek Thai”, winners of the recent Amazing Thailand singing competition organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Other awards included the prestigious TTG Travel Award for “Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel” voted for by readers of TTG Asia, and the Thailand Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment selected the Royal Cliff Beach Resort as a recipient of the 2002 Environmental Impact Awards. In addition, Hotelplan Holland selected the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel as the “Best Hotel” in 2001 and Tropical Places UK acknowledged the Royal Cliff Beach Resort as the “Best Resort in the Far East”.

GM Andrew finished by again acknowledging the guests saying, “I’d like to thank you for the significant role you’ve played in helping us attain (the awards). We are the first to admit that none of these awards could have been possible without the support, cooperation and mutually beneficial relationship that we have shared with each and every one of you over the course of the year. So on behalf of the entire Royal Cliff Beach Resort and our 1,470 strong team - Thank You!”

The evening continued with entertainment from the amazing singing group, Dek Thai and then the resident band which kept everyone in good spirits (and good wine) until late. It was an evening to remember, and even though it was a “Thank You” party given by the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, the team from the Pattaya Mail, Chiangmai Mail and the Pattaya Blatt reciprocates with our thanks too!