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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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