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Thousands turn out for Chinese New Year celebrations
in Walking Street and around the city
Pattaya Mail Reporters
As 8.30 p.m. approached on February 9, thousands of
residents and visitors crammed into Walking Street in South Pattaya to
witness the spectacle of the city’s Chinese New Year Celebration 2005.
The mayor, eloquently dressed in gold Chinese style attire, presided over
the opening of the festivities as locals dressed for the occasion in red
and white costumes.
 Well-known
Chinese figures, Hok-Lok-Siew were on hand...
The early highlight of the evening was the spectacular
lion dances and a 50 meter-long dragon parading through the street. This
was followed by a special surprise.
The Pattaya Chefs Association turned up with a 3.4
meter-wide hotplate. The mayor and Chanyuth Hengtrakul, parliamentary
candidate for Pattaya, were amongst the many who watched as they cooked up
a storm, producing fried Chinese noodles. The significance behind the
event is that it is a Chinese custom to cook this particular dish for
deities and family guests. The believe is that if everyone is fed well, it
will bring good luck and long life to the family - and so it was as both
Niran and Chanyuth gave the thumbs up after 20 chefs from local hotels
created the dish, which was handed out to anyone and everyone.
The fun of the evening came with the Munthow (Chinese
fruit) eating contest. The aim - to eat as many as possible in 12 minutes,
and with over 100 contestants of all ages, shapes and sizes it was fun
evening.
Mayor
Niran enjoying himself amongst the residents of Walking Street
The winner turned out to be Thanthanit Khumum, a city
employee who out ate men twice her size, consuming 20 fruits. She received
3,000 baht in cash and a certificate from the Ripley’s Believe It Or
Not! Museum for her efforts.
Thanthanit said she hadn’t prepared for the event and
didn’t go in it to win. “I just chewed and ate at a constant pace. I
didn’t even worry about not eating earlier,” said Thanthanit.
Throughout the night and until Sunday evening, Walking
Street was decorated as mini Chinatown - with numerous food stalls and
shows and activities.
Four stages were set up for the main event with
performers hopping and changing stages over the night. The highflying
acrobats dressed as lions entertained the crowds as did the fire and water
breathing dragons.
Police, volunteers and representatives from the Bangkok
Pattaya Hospital were kept busy throughout the activities to ensure safety
for all.
Meanwhile, nearly every large hotel and major entertainment venue
celebrated ringing in the Year of the Rooster.
Fireworks
lit up the night sky.
Chanyuth
joins the kids in some fun.
Thanthanit
Khumum out-ate people twice her size to win the competition - she consumed
20 fruits in 12 minutes.
Get
ready, set, eat!
Leading
the contestants to their positions.
MP
elect Chanyuth, Mayor Niran, and Soonthorn Kangsirikul show their
expertise in cooking the Emperor’s Noodles.
Lion
dancers arrive at the Marco Polo Chinese Restaurant and the poolside
Paradise Gardens at the Montien Hotel Pattaya to usher in “The Year of
the Rooster”. It is believed that the lion dance will bring good luck to
households and businesses they visit.
Bangkok
Pattaya Hospital staff on hand to deal with anything medical.
Mayor
Niran Wattanasartsathorn opens the festivities from up on stage.
Smile...
The
friendly lion roars down the street.
Even
the elephants took part in the festivities at Nong Nooch.
Lions,
dragons, and happy Chinamen were out celebrating with the Hard Rock Hotel
earlier.
Kids
young and old enjoyed the fun at the Hard Rock.
Pattaya Mail staff celebrates the New Year
Suchada and Tony appointed editors
Staff Reporters
The Pattaya Mail Publishing Co. Ltd. hosted a new
year’s party on the evening of January 29 at the Diana Garden Resort in
North Pattaya to celebrate and congratulate our team for a most successful
year of hard work and cooperation.
 Peter
always with a happy smile.
The annual party brings together all our colleagues and
their families for a night of fellowship and camaraderie. There were
almost one hundred people which included staff from the Pattaya Mail,
the company’s flagship, the Pattaya Mail on TV, our English
language TV show, the Pattaya Blatt our sister publication in the
German language and the newest baby, the Chiangmai Mail.
A host of VIPs attended the festive gathering,
including Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn, Bruce Hoppe and his team from
Emerson Electric, Judy Hoppe and a host of Rotarians from the Rotary Club
of Jomtien-Pattaya plus a delightful group of leading Thai and foreign
businessmen, not forgetting to mention our patron, Sopin Thappajug,
managing director of the Diana Group, without whom, this party would not
have been possible.
 Khun
Noi our respected patron.
A lavish buffet was laid out and of course drinks
flowed freely, putting everyone in a happy mood. This led to a lot of our
colleagues scrambling to get on stage and sing. Some were real good and
some were tolerable. But a few of us should stick to selling advertising.
We even convinced the mayor to sing a few songs for us.
The highlight was when Peter with his eldest son Prince sang ‘My Way’.
It was a joy to see father and son enjoying themselves together.
In his speech, Pratheep our MD conveyed his best wishes
to all the staff and thanked us for our dedicated and hard work, which
helped augment the company’s growth and encouraged us to continue with
our renowned high quality of reporting and news presentation, which have
made the newspapers such a success and acclaimed as ‘The Best in the
East’ six years in a row. He wished us a very happy and prosperous New
Year, but not before he presented us all with an abundance of gifts, which
included anything from pillows all the way up to television sets. Our MD
made sure that every member of the Pattaya Mail family now has a TV to
watch at home.
 PC
thumbprints his approval for the year gone by.
Peter then made an official announcement appointing
Suchada Tupchai as the editor of the Pattaya Mail and Suwanthep
‘Tony’ Malhotra as the editor of the Pattaya Blatt. Suchada and
Tony are two young members of our family, who have shown tremendous
initiative and dedication in their work. They have earned these honours
and we too congratulate them.
In his speech to us, Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn
praised the Pattaya Mail for its tireless commitment to the
community as a vital bridge linking the local community with foreign
residents and visitors. Mayor Niran also congratulated the Pattaya
Blatt for its outstanding performance and rapid development in
providing the German speaking community with a newspaper that links them
to the public and provides them with the latest news in their own
language.
 Pa
Taew our beloved aunty and sister.
“Business groups and tourists fervently pursue the
news in their respective languages. The German newspaper also supports
tourism and news of Pattaya City. I congratulate and convey my best wishes
to Suchada and Tony on their appointment as editors of their respective
newspapers.”
We then voted for the best employees of the year. Our
favourites were Maliwan Phengpitak, (Accounting) Thepporn Dornwithai,
(Messenger) Ekachai Kamolsri (PM-TV) and Suchada Tupchai (Editorial) who
of course received the most votes and with that received many rewards too.
During the course of the evening everyone was invited to sign the huge
balloon lantern, which was lit at midnight and let fly into the night sky,
taking with it all the ills, troubles and sadness of the year gone by,
leaving us on the ground to enjoy another year of hope, friendship, peace,
prosperity, happiness and good health.
Korn
made sure all had enough to drink
Pee
Poo always enjoys the party
Tony
the new Pattaya Blatt editor
Suchada
the new Pattaya Mail editor
Mayor
Niran came by to wish all the staff a prosperous 2005.
The
huge balloon lantern was lit and let fly into the night sky taking away
troubles and sadness of the year gone by.
Khun
Noi taking a moment with the PM administrative team.
Som,
Dr. Iain and their lovely daughter Marisa.
Pa
Taew and Lung Nop receive a token of love from the MD.
Boonlua
receives thanks for his devotion to the company and his vocation.
‘Big
One’ captain of ‘PM Dream-Team’ promises a victorious year.
Pattaya Samaritans carry on with daunting task of helping to rebuild the south
Three more shelters arrive in Phangna
Our intrepid lads and lasses from Pattaya, urged on by
tremendous support from local charities, are carrying on with the daunting
task of trying to bring some semblance of normalcy to an area that
desperately needs it.
The
frames go up at Thap Lamu.
Just a couple of weeks after successfully completing
their first effort, building a school in Phuket, “the crew” reached a
new height of success: a second school, this time made from three pre-fab
shelters, in Phangna.
Mandy
and Rob speak to Brian Haffenden (right) representing the Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of Western Australia. Brian is in Phuket inspecting and
evaluating the shelter project for future assistance.
The second school building site is located directly
opposite the Phangna Thai Naval Base at Thap Lamu in the Phangna district.
Every school building on the school grounds was rendered inoperable by the
tsunami. Some buildings were completed washed away while the remainder are
unsafe and will be demolished shortly.
Floors
are painted in a lovely blue color.
Three standard size (14.2 meter long) building domes
were combined into two 21.3 long buildings. These were provided by various
sources (Jesters-Care 4 Kids, Sportsman Inn, Rotary Club of
Jomtien-Pattaya, Lodge Pattaya West Winds 1803 S.C., Grand Lodge of
Western Australia), plus private donators who channeled their funds
through the Rotary or Masonic organizations.
Rob
and Mandy hard at work.
These two long school building domes were divided into
2 sections each providing a total of 4 classrooms. A team of volunteers
from Lodge Pattaya West Winds (Middy Campbell, Anthony Shuttelworth, Kevin
Fisher, and Dave Doll) were joined by Kevin Smith, Allan and June Lewis,
plus Naiyata Roknoi who traveled from Pattaya to assist to set up and
paint the buildings.
The
finished shelters stand proudly waiting to take in school children to
receive care and knowledge within.
Rob Creelman and his wife Mandy Reeves from Canada
joined with the Pattaya team and merrily spent the next 6 days roasting in
the sunshine to help provide a cool, clean, and comfortable environment
for the children of Thap Lamu to continue their education.
Villagers
gather for the handover ceremonies.
For the first 3 days on site, a group of navy
volunteers from the base helped with the construction of the buildings. On
the weekend when the government officials were off duty, school teachers
and students turned out to assist with building their school building.
A
happy moment. The volunteers congratulate each other for a job well done.
Normally it takes 3 working days to set out and fully
construct one of the domes. Due to the skills and hard work, led by Rob
and Mandy, this schedule was accelerated greatly. It took exactly 6
working days to fully construct, paint, and turn over the 3 building domes
to the Phangna Navy Commander and the Superintendent of Phangna Schools.
Everyone
including the locals lent a helping hand.
David Lee, who resides in Phuket and works with Dave
Doll of Sea and Oilfield Services Co. Ltd., is working closely with the
superintendent of Phangna Schools and other government officials to select
the next sites for school buildings. There are several abbots from various
Buddhist temples and village chiefs that have seen the domes and asked if
they too could be put on the list for some assistance too.
Hey
Kevin, get back to work!
An inspection trip to the north of Phuket and the Khao
Lak area has shown many areas that have been severely damaged and require
immediate help, before the monsoon rains come. The Phuket and Khao Lak
areas have received the majority of aid and will soon be ready for the
next tourist season. However, the areas that are NOT directly affected by
the tourist market seem to have much lower priorities.
As long as the funds are made available, and as long as
legitimate requirements for such domes are discovered and verified, the
volunteers will continue to erect them in the places that they are
required.
Your help is urgently needed. Donations will be
gratefully accepted. Please help us to help the children. Contact David
Garred tel. +66 4 755 3100, e-mail: [email protected] or David Doll at
drd@loxinfo .co.th or Middy Campbell at [email protected]
From all of us who come and set the buildings up in the locations where
they are required, we would like to say thank you to all of the sponsors
who have helped make this possible. We would also like to thank David Lee
and his family for donating so much time, fuel, vehicle expenses, to visit
the sites and co-ordinate with the requestors, government officials, and
the construction teams. Rob and Mandy, a special thank you from the
present and future Masons of Lodge Pattaya West Winds, and the Grand Lodge
of Western Australia.
Seaboard Sundowners: More coming by popular request
Peter Cummins
It was an all-Antipodean affair when the Australian and
New Zealand Thai Chambers of Commerce held a well-attended Eastern
Seaboard Sundowner at the splendid pool-side of the Pattaya Marriott
Resort and Spa last Friday.
Wan
Smith celebrated her birthday that day and according to Peter, “...put
the wrong speech in his shirt pocket.”
It was the first for 2005 and AustCham executive
director, Rob Bridge said that, in future, this most popular networking
evening would be held every two months, rather than previously every
quarter.
Regular
Austcham networkers were out in force for a night of business talk in
relaxed surroundings at the Marriott’s Sala Rim Nam.
One of the highlights of an exceptionally good evening
was the introduction to AA Insurance Brokerage by Peter Smith who is the
founder of the AA Condo and Real Estate and together with “old hand,
Malcolm Scorer, joint owner of the Brokerage company.
Nothing
like good food and a couple cold ones to wind down after a hard day in the
office.
Actually, I was a little nervous upon entering the
beautiful garden setting, for high up there on the background screen were
the huge letters “AA”. Known for my propensity to have a drink or
three, I thought this was a set-up to induct (bludgeon would be a more
appropriate term in this context) me into Alcoholics Anonymous.
Sponsors
and organizers (l-r) Rob Bridge, AustCham executive director, Somsak
Tantuengsri, Pattaya Marriott Resort Spa cluster general manager, Malcolm
Scorer and Peter Smith, AA Insurance directors and David Wright, AustCham
president welcomed members and guests to the first AustCham Seaboard
Sundowners for 2005.
But Peter, a man of considerable experience on the sea,
under the sea and in the air, soon dispelled any fears a latent alcoholic
might harbour. His opener was a classic: “I wish to thank you all for
braving wind, rain and snow to come here”. Darn, he said, looking at his
lovely Thai wife, Wan who, incidentally, celebrated her birthday that day,
“She has put the wrong speech in my shirt pocket.”
Somsak
Tantuengsri (left), Pattaya Marriott Resort Spa cluster general manager
draws the next round of lucky door prizes at the first AustCham
Sundowners’ for the year.
Peter then launched into a detailed explanation on what
the Brokerage firm was all about. Although the sophisticated imaging
processing was well ahead of its time, the client is always the king at
AA. “Despite the fancy technology,” Peter said, “We want to give our
customers the best deal possible – the highest levels of cover at the
lowest prices. Our aim is to do just that,” adding that “AA Insurance
Brokerage has brought a new and different approach towards insurance to
the people of Pattaya.”
It was net-working at its best, as the wine (Aussie, of
course), beer and spirits flowed like the exchange of business cards and
the usual fine fare provided by the Pattaya Marriott never seemed to
finish.
David Pollard was one of the winners of a very good
Australian vintage which was poured at the next day’s sunset, aboard his
X-yacht “Foreign X-Change”, gently rocking at anchor off Koh Pai.
Incumbent AustCham President David Wright reminded the
members of the forthcoming AGM and called for volunteers for the
traditional school visit the day after the Sundowner, for English Language
tuition at the Ban Khao Huay Mahad School.
It was with regret that the gathering learned of the
imminent departure of the executive director, Rob Bridge who, even in his
relatively brief tenure, had done so much to upgrade the Chamber’s
activities, especially from the PR perspective, producing a splendid
monthly newsletter.
I remember clearly David’s words on Rob’s
appointment: “If he ever has to leave, it won’t be because he is
pregnant”.
Rob is resigning to fulfil some family obligations in Australia and all
of us wish him well.
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