|
Naturally mummified monk honored in annual ceremonies at Pong Temple
Residents pay their respects to former abbot with annual changing of the robes
Songklod Kaewvisit
Residents from the sub-district of Pong, near the
Mabprachan reservoir, on April 18 paid their respects Prakru Suttikijjartorn
(Luang Poh Chom Gosro), former Pong Temple abbot, in a traditional ceremony
of changing the deceased monk’s robes. The abbot passed away seven years
ago but his body remains naturally mummified at the Potongdee Pruetthararm
Temple (Wat Pong).
Pra
Chom Gosro passed away over 7 years ago, but his body has not yet
decomposed.
It was a festive atmosphere in which residents paid their
respects to the past abbot who was well known for hosting large Songkran
celebrations at the temple. A parade was held around the temple and along
the roads nearby to rekindle the memory for local residents of the beloved
abbot.
Luang Poh Chom, as he is remembered, was a highly
respected teacher in Chonburi and his many students still honor the memory
of their teacher by paying their respects and performing the annual change
of robes at the temple each Songkran.
The abbot’s body is perfectly and naturally preserved
at the temple with no chemicals used to create such a state. Students and
followers believe the fact the monk achieved this state of preservation has
some religious significance. At the time of the abbot’s death, monks,
students and residents prayed constantly for one month. Residents believe
that it is an auspicious sign and continue to pay their respects each year.
Followers
believe the fact the monk achieved this state of preservation has some
religious significance and that it is an auspicious sign; they continue to
pay their respects each year.
Prakru Suttikijjartorn (Luang Poh Chom Gosro) was born in
Moo 2 of Pong Sub-district, on the 15 night of the 12th lunar month in the
year of the monkey, or November 8, 1908. He became a monk at age 23, on July
1931, and received the title of Pra Chom Gosro at Potongdee Pruetthararm
Temple (Wat Pong).
In 1946, at the age of 34, Pra Chom Gosro was promoted, becoming the
abbot of the temple. He developed the temple greatly during his time as
abbot until his death at age 88 in Chonburi Hospital 11.40 a.m. February 17,
1996.
Classy cars and macho motorbikes make big hit at Pattaya Motor Expo
Held at the new Big C in South Pattaya
Songklod Kaewvisit
Manit Boonchim, director of the Tourism Authority of
Thailand central region 3 Pattaya opened the Pattaya Motor Expo 2003 at Big
C South Pattaya on April 18. Acme Create Organizer Company Limited, a
well-known exhibition organizer in Thailand, beautifully arranged the
exhibition that is currently attracting a lot of people throughout the
exhibiting week. Besides the auto shows, games and many other activities
were also the highlights of the fair.
Tawin
Chaiyo, the manager of Big C Store in South Pattaya, and Manit Boonchim, the
director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Region 3, plus the
managing director of Acme Create Organizer Co. Ltd. presided over the
Pattaya Motor Expo opening.
Big car and motorcycle company brands including Toyota,
Isuzu, Ford, Peugeot, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki brought their
sample products to show to Pattaya and nearby residents.
Many local sound system shops had their powerful hi-end
sound systems installed in the cars for demonstrations.
Manit Boonchim said the exhibition provided a great opportunity for car
and motorcycle buyers to choose their products and hoped that the exhibition
would boost the economy in the region.
Chayada Thepkhunakorn crowned Miss Alcazar Thailand 2003
Most gorgeous man in Thailand contest held on April 19
Songklod Kaewvisit
Chayada Thepkhunakorn, contestant number 66 was crowned
Miss Alcazar 2003, and earned the tag: the most beautiful man in Thailand
during the Miss Alcazar Thailand Contest 2003 held on the April 19 at
Alcazar Cabaret Show Pattaya.
Kamolthep
Malhotra, assistant to the managing director of Pattaya Mail Publishing
Company Limited presented the Press Popular prize to Chayada.
Chayada received a 150,000 baht cash prize, a diamond
crown, a trophy, a gold necklace from Alcazar Cabaret, a one year life
insurance policy covering one million baht from AXA Insurance Company, a
gold member card from Samitivej Sriracha and a certificate announcing him
the most beautiful man in Thailand and 10,000 baht worth of entrance tickets
to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum.
Wanthida Khamwongsa, contestant number 8, was the first
runner-up and received 70,000 baht in cash, a round trip Bangkok-Phuket air
ticket funded by Chaba Tour, and a gold member card.
Second runner-up, Suthira Phutichanya, contestant number
9, received 50,000 baht in cash, Pattaya-Samui round trip tickets sponsored
by Bangkok Airways, and a gold card member.
The contest was broadcast live on ITV.
Sornram Theppitak and Benz Pornchita Na Songkhla, famous
singers performed a number of songs for the audience.
This year additional prizes included Miss Internet, Miss
Perfect Complexion, Miss Friendship, and Miss Press Popular. The winner of
Miss Internet was Araya Yanganm, number 67. He received 10,000 baht, a
trophy, and a gold member card from Samitivej Sriracha Hospital worth 2,500
baht.
Miss Friendship went to number 31, Phatutorn Tusayadej
along with 15,000 baht, a gold Alcazar necklace and a gold member card from
Samitivej Sriracha Hospital worth 2,500 baht.
Miss Perfect Complexion, Wanthida Kamwongsa, won 30,000
baht in cash and a gold member card.
Chayada Thepkhunakorn, Miss Alcazar this year, also holds the Miss Press
Popular position and received a 30,000 baht cash prize, a trophy and a gold
member card from Samitivej Sriracha hospital.
Coming home to Nong Khai
by Kathryn Brimacombe
As I look through the dirty window at the Isaan
countryside rolling past, I have to pinch myself to make sure this is not a
dream. Four days ago I was in Canada saying goodbye to family and friends,
one-way ticket in hand back to my beloved Thailand.
"...happy
to be finally in Nong Khai ... happy to be home."
Now, more than 10,000 km, a 24-hour layover, countless
time zones, and one international dateline later, I am sitting in a lower
sleeping bunk on a very slow rapid train destined for Nong Khai. Although I
am itching to get there (I haven’t seen my partner for more than three
months and by looking at my watch I see we are already several hours late) I
am enjoying the long journey from Bangkok.
Isaan and Nong Khai are not strangers to me. When we
lived in Laos, I would always escape the melee and confusion of building a
restaurant in a tiny mountainous town to come to Nong Khai every few weeks
for two-days R and R. Nong Khai was a paradise to me - a place with paved
roads, a language I could understand to a certain degree and wide flat
expanses of landscape that made me feel free.
My favourite time for walking was in the early evening
when the air along the Mekong River boardwalk would chill just slightly and
the sky would turn into delicate velvet. The cool evening withdrew people
from their homes with a soft caress, a welcoming change from the glaring,
intense light and smothering heat that kept them prisoners in the shade of
their houses.
"The
Mekong River has always fascinated me - it is like an animal, a living,
breathing, moving creature."
The Mekong River has always fascinated me - it is like an
animal, a living, breathing, moving creature. Its currents are its muscles;
with the strength of a panther, it moves smoothly and stealthily like a
python. In the evening the Mekong always seemed to come alive, changing its
colour like a chameleon, camouflaging itself against the darkening sky until
it swallowed the sun.
As my thoughts return to the present, my eyes refocus on
the scene on the other side of the glass, and I see we are leaving the city
of Khon Kaen. Tall concrete buildings, trucks, and tuk-tuks, softly lit by
the sun’s early morning glow, are soon replaced by brown rice paddies,
green fields, and tall, arching trees. The train porter shuffles down the
aisle in slippered feet, stopping at each bunk to fold up the mattresses,
removed the bedding, and pull down the seats, now that it’s gone 7 a.m.
and the rest of the travellers are awake.
As he approaches my bunk, I slip away to let him do his
work, and decide to view the countryside from the conjunction between this
car and the next. Wrenching open the door and stepping out of the
air-conditioned compartment, the heat strikes me as if I’d walked into a
furnace, and the smell of dust and smoke is so strong I can taste it on my
tongue. Everything seems so dry-the cracked earth, the dust, my mouth. After
several minutes I return to the cold sanctuary of the car, and the air
tingles my hot skin.
I watch the sun climb higher, burning off the soft peachy
haze that arose with the dawn, until its light becomes glaring white. The
train finally picks up speed and we race past copses of trees, trees that
have extended their limbs upwards and outwards like an umbrella, so that
they form an irregularity in the landscape, giving form, shape and shade to
an otherwise flat land. The arid geography is dotted with colour that stands
out against the dry brown-lime-green banana trees, pools of water covered
with bright pink lilies, and empty dirt roads the colour of ochre that
extend out beyond the horizon to the smoky-blue sky.
For almost half an hour I see no sign of life, except for
an occasional water buffalo or a long-necked white egret standing silent
with the lilies. Then we pass by a field full of tall corn and rows of
yellow flowers. An older woman leads three white cows with large humps on
their backs along a dirt path. An old man stands outside their home-a small
wooden house built on stilts with a rusty corrugated roof, surrounded by
large clay pots and ducks - watching the train roll by, his hands on his
hips, a red and white chequered sarong wrapped around his waist. Then, as
quickly as they appeared before me, they are gone.
Several hours later the train pulls into Nong Khai station. Spotting a
farang face in the car, the tuk-tuk drivers run to keep up, grinning and
waving wildly. But then as we slow to a stop, I see my partner standing on
the platform waiting for me with a smile, and butterflies begin fluttering
in my belly. I smile back, happy to be finally in Nong Khai, but also happy
to be home.
Chonburi and Rayong companies present computers to needy kids at Baan Nern Tong School
by Peter Cummins
photos by Songklod Kaewvisit
This year the project was considered a major and a
successful one where there were many kind-hearted people from many companies
in Chonburi and Rayong regions donated some of their profits to the project
that aided in purchasing computer sets for the kids of Baan Nern Tong School
where, in a warm, friendly ceremony, George Strampp, the computer project
coordinator and Khun Prapai Uottama, the head teacher introduced the new
computer facilities to their tiny, eager charges who immediately went
"hands-on" to experience their new marvels.
The
computer project’s coordinator, George Strampp addresses the assembled
Samaritans.
Buddhist
monk Smuviwat Viwattano blessed the project signboard for prosperity.
Buddhist
monk Smuviwat Viwattano presents Sushira from TRW Co., Ltd., supporter of
the project, a certificate of thanks.
George’s own enthusiasm and dedication to the children
and the school was evident. During the course of erecting a new flagpole and
finishing the spirit house over the past few years, influenced by Somnuk
Surakul, the school principal, George and a small committee embarked on the
construction, equipping and furnishing of the new computer room project.
George personally thanked each donor, singling out Noah
Shepherd and Simon Carey, as well as Exel Logistics, DCO Computers, Sumitomo
Electric Wiring and, of course, thanked Peter Malhotra and Pattaya Mail
Publishing Company for not only passing the word regarding the need of the
children throughout the region, but for the regular follow-up on this
project which was initiated in 1999.
Grant
Enders, MD of Exel, a certificate of thanks from Buddhist monk Smuviwat
Viwattano for his generosity. Many children of the company’s employees
attend this school.
Buddhist
monk Smuviwat Viwattano presents Peter Cummins, the classic "PC"
in the PC Classic Regatta, a certificate of thanks.
Prapai
Uottama, one of the fine teachers at Bannuantong School, presents computer
project coordinator George Strampp a certificate of thanks.
The
supporters pull the ribbon together to unveil the project’s signboard.
Peter
Malhotra brings a smile to the face of this youngster as he shows her some
fun things to do with her new computer.
"These are great kids and they deserve the
opportunity of computer training," said George. "Maybe we could
have another Bill Gates come out of Baan Nern Tong School," he added.
He could have added ‘gates’ after ‘school’, I thought.
The new computer facility was packed to capacity with the
sponsors, the school staff and provincial officials who witnessed the ritual
blessing and the award of certificates to the donors, who comprised: Dana
Spicer (Thailand) Ltd., DCO Co., Ltd., Exel (Thailand) Ltd., General Seating
(Thailand) Co., Ltd., Hemaraj Land and Development, Inergy Automotive
Systems (Thailand), Ltd., Ingress Autoventures Co., Ltd., Katoen Natie
Sembcorp (Thailand) Ltd., Noah Shepherd-RPT/ASIA, Pattaya Mail Publishing
Co., Ltd., PC Classic Regatta Committee, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Simon
Carey-MBJ Advanced Polymers, Steel Processing (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Sumitomo
Electric Wiring Systems (Thailand) Ltd., Toyoda Machine Works (Thailand)
Co., Ltd., TRW Fuji Serina Co., Ltd., TRW Steering and Suspension Co., Ltd.,
TNT Logistics (Thailand) Ltd., and Yorozu (Thailand), Co., Ltd.
The
children receive some tutoring – the child in front has already figured
out how to play solitaire.
All the
supporters’ representatives gather for a group photo with the computers
they donated.
Cash and kind from the companies on the Eastern Seaboard
reached almost 200,000 baht.
The Baan Nern Tong School, set in a charming rural area
in Moo 2 Tambon Nongkam, Sriracha, is administered by the Offices of Primary
Education of the Sriracha District and Chonburi Province and presently has a
student body of some 140, fairly evenly divided between boys and girls,
ranging from kindergarten up through Prathomsuksa 6.
Founded in 1966, the school aims for progressive academic
principles and excellence in sports in a democratic ambience dedicated to
environmental conservation. It promotes high standards of scholarship, good
health, the practice of self-discipline and the attainment of high moral
values. The nine teachers and officers are creative, able and imaginative,
especially for innovative ideas and the use of technology.
A tour of the school was followed by a performance by the
children and a Thai classical dance.
But it was George who was the REAL star of the show, not
failing to inform the gathering that he was about to leave for Italy.
"But, don’t put away your checkbooks too readily," he urged.
"I shall return in November and there is a dire need for new
blackboards, as you observed on your tour, and some audio-visual teaching
aids," George said, adding "Maybe we can meet again like this next
year."
The 2003 Pattaya Mail PC Classic Royal Cliff Beach
Resort International Regatta came and went, but for one special group,
the event will continue throughout the year and in the years following.
Along with 19 other donors, the PC Classic Committee contributed part of the
Regatta proceeds to the Baan Nern Tong School Computer Project, to enable
the students to learn computer techniques.
The PC Classic Committee will certainly be "aboard" next year.
|
