HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Motor show promotes vineyard as new tourist destination

Diana Group conducts blessings ceremony

Losing those wrinkles without surgery

Songkran hangover

Motor show promotes vineyard as new tourist destination

 Suchada Tupchai

Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn presided over the opening ceremony for the Pattaya Motor Show & Country Fair 2005, held from April 14 – 17 at the Silver Lake Vineyard in Pattaya. The mayor was welcomed by Iti Puknilratana, president of Golden Ax Promotion Co Ltd, along with many well-known personalities from different organizations.

Mayor Niran tests the power of an all-terrain- vehicle.

The show began with a parade of classic cars, promoting the “Don’t Drink and Drive” campaign, the cars starting out from Pattaya City Hall and wending their way through the city to Beach Road before heading to Silver Lake Vineyard.

Thais and foreign tourists attended the fair, which featured country music and activities such as an automobile exhibition with sports cars, classic cars and car accessories. Also on display were jet skis, water sports equipment, small airplanes and gliders. Activities included walks through the 1,000-rai vineyard. Food was served from booths and there were beverage stands with wine, beer and soft drinks.

The classic car parade promoted the “Don’t Drink and Drive” campaign.

The fair was the first to be organized by Golden Ax Promotion Co, and it helped to promote the vineyard as a new tourist destination of natural outdoor beauty.

Mr Iti said he was glad to see the public and tourists participating in the fair. “It’s been a little bit hurried because it was the first organizing of the event,” he said. “However, there was good cooperation from the organizations involved, and it is helping to create another natural tourist location for Pattaya City.”

Many interested visitors visit the vineyard.

The company plans to use this location to honor His Majesty the King’s 80-year birthday for the “Thailand World Fair”. This would be the first fair in Chonburi to have a gathering of many countries for sales and marketing promotions, and will feature a diversity of activities.

Diana Group conducts blessings ceremony

Suchada Tupchai

Diana Group staff participates in the ritual water-pouring ceremony.

After the busy Songkran season has passed, many companies and businesses perform blessing ceremonies for senior management. Staff and management of the Diana Group held their event at the Diana Inn on Second Road, with group managing director Sopin Thappajug, and distinguished guests including Mike Franklin and Peter Malhotra present along with senior hotel guests to take part in the ceremonies.

The blessings fall into a number of areas based on Buddhist philosophy, such as politeness and correctness in speech, thought and behaviour for the good of all and a better society.

The ceremonies took place with staff paying their respects to the seniors of the group and honoured guests.

Losing those wrinkles without surgery

Suchada Tupchai

Dr Ruangwit Thamaree, a medical doctor specialising in skin tightening and contouring without surgery, utilising an FDA-approved process called Thermage, gave a talk at the Pattaya City Expats Club on the benefits of this therapy.

Dr Ruangwit Thamaree MD speaks at the Pattaya City Expats Club.

Thermage is a non-surgical, non-invasive process which uses radio frequencies to heat the collagen in the deep layers of the skin, Dr Ruangwit explained. The process also cools the outer layer of skin, causing it to tighten - resulting in a smoother, less wrinkled appearance. As the heat from the RF frequency stimulates the collagen, a cryogen spray is used to cool the outer layer of skin to tighten it up, and to prevent any burning effect. The only sensation is a warming feeling in the skin during the process.

Dr Ruangwit said that trends in beauty care are changing. Many people, especially young people in their 20s to 40s, are concerned about aging and rejuvenation. It seems that it is no longer “in” to “grow old gracefully” he said. People now want to stop, reduce, or reverse the effect of aging on the skin.

Aging happens on every part of the body. On the face, in the areas where there is soft tissue, aging lines will develop: crow’s feet around the eyes, frown lines on the forehead and marionette lines near the mouth and cheeks. While it is possible to have collagen injections, or undergo surgery, the procedures involve some risk.

The non-surgical procedure he performs, however, causes a tightening of the skin without the need to open the skin. The procedure can eradicate or substantially reduce wrinkles on all the areas of loose facial skin - forehead, eyes, cheeks, double and triple chins, and eliminating those unsightly bags under the eyes. It is also effective in removing the scars left by acne.

The procedure is considered to be very safe and over 70,000 people have undergone the treatment worldwide with little or no difficulty. Cost of the treatment depends on the areas to be treated - the average patient charge is in the 40,000 baht range.

The results of Thermage come gradually. They become noticeable within two to six months, and will last for up to two years depending on the location of the Thermage treatment, the environment in which you live, and how much exposure to the sun you get.

Dr Ruangwit’s Pruska Clinic is on the second floor at Carrefour, Central Pattaya Road.

Songkran hangover

For revelers who had been drinking throughout the Songkran, or traditional Thai New Year period, the aftermath of the extended vacations can be an extended hangover.

But for the Ministry of Public Health, the post-Songkran period is also proving a headache, as hospitals and health centers needed to prepare for an influx of people left dazed and confused by drink.

Every year, hospitals are left to cope with people whose post-Songkran hangovers tip them over into a condition bordering on mental illness.

With Thailand holding the dubious accolade of being the 5th heaviest nation of drinkers in the world, the condition is a particularly severe one for the government to deal with.

According to statistics cited last week by Public Health Minister Suchai Charoenratanakul, people whose brains have been left addled by alcohol over the Songkran period tend to seek medical care around 5-7 days after the festivities have finished.

This year Dr. Suchai ordered psychiatric hospitals and other hospitals to reserve beds for the influx of post-drunken patients.

Dr. Suwat Mahatnirankul, director of Chiang Mai’s Suan Prung Hospital, agrees that there is a problem. He said that the hospital regularly sees a huge increase in alcohol-related conditions following major festivals.

Around 70 percent of those suffering from post-alcohol conditions tend to be men, he said, while the majority are of working age.

Most take between 3-7 days to rehabilitate, although in some cases it can take two weeks for confusion to abate.

Data from the World Health Organization suggests that one in three cases of mental illness is alcohol-related.

Such conditions exert both a social and an economic toll, with each patient costing around Bt10,000 to rehabilitate.

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