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AustCham Seaboard Sundowner berths at Ocean Marina
This month’s Seaboard Sundowner at the Ocean
Marina was another well attended event, with Aussies (and others) making the
most of the networking evening. It was also an opportunity for the newer
members of the chamber executive to introduce themselves to members on the
Eastern Seaboard.
 Graeme
Hay (left), managing director of PPI (Sub-Sea and Pipe Protection
International), Martin Kyle (2nd left) executive director of AustCham and
Gary Woollacott (right), AustCham president, say thanks to the Ocean Marina
Yacht Club management for a great evening.
The new president is Gary Woollacott, who in ‘real
life’ is the CEO of Opus Executive Search, a group of ‘headhunters’
(as Gary himself described them) working out of Bangkok. One of his
committee members who came down for the evening was Simon Moran, the vice
president for Asia Pacific of Manheim, the world’s largest car and bike
auction house, which is seeing an enormous escalation of business in
Thailand, as the economy improves, and everyone wants a ‘bargain’ motor
vehicle or cycle.
One of the newer members was Christopher Wood, the
assistant MD of Aeroflex International, a new manufacturing company which is
producing 30,000 pick-up bed liners every month. He was seen in close confab
with Steve Walmsley, Nitro Company, another automotive supplies company,
based in Rayong.
The evening was made possible through generous
sponsorship from PPI (Sub-Sea and Pipe Protection International, MD Graeme
Hay) and the Ocean Marina people themselves.
One of the local members, Tim Gladwin from Sallmanns
International Property Consultants, was seen deep in confabs with AA
Insurance’s Peter Smith, who was also trying to chat up a friendly auto
dealer to sponsor the Hole In One prize at the next Lion’s club event.
Another local was Stuart Saunders (the tooth fairy), showing off his
credit/business card sized 50 meters of dental floss, the ideal promotional
gimmick for corporations that are trying to do the right thing by the
environment and the planet.
The next meeting will be publicized through the Pattaya Mail. Keep
reading!
French TV comes to Pattaya
Putting Pattaya on the European health tourism map
In line with the government’s avowed aim in making Thailand a ‘health
hub’, the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital has been carrying out marketing overseas of
the facilities and expertise that can be enjoyed in our local hospital.
One of the
latest countries to look into the options available in Pattaya is France, with a
French TV crew coming out to film a documentary for the France Five channel.
In turn, this has resulted in interest from overseas in
medical or health tourism to Pattaya. One of the latest countries to look into
the options available in Pattaya is France, with a French TV crew coming out to
film a documentary for the France Five channel.
With France’s medical system apparently suffering with high prices and
chaotically long waiting lists, the visiting French journalist with the TV crew
has been most impressed with both costs and absence of waiting times for
elective surgery and other procedures. In general, it seems that prices for
procedures in Thailand are around one quarter of those in Europe. Enough of an
attraction to come to Thailand in the first place. With world-leading surgeons,
such as Dr. Somchai T.chokesatian with his SuperSight surgery, it seems that
Pattaya will soon be inundated with Frenchmen and women, coming out for their
medical ‘holidays’.
First harvest at the Pattaya Farm
Helle Rantsén
PILC Welfare chairperson
On the 14 th of
May representatives from the Rotary Club Jomtien-Pattaya and PILC met to
celebrate the first harvest of Mooring Glory at the Pattaya Farm.
The
Pattaya Farm is the product of close cooperation between the RC Jomtien-Pattaya,
PILC and the Redemptorist organisation.
Organic vegetables will help feed the 1000 children, young
men and women under the care of the Redemptorist organisation. Having daily
access to fresh organic vegetables is a huge help for the Redemptorist
organisation. It is also a project that is relatively easy for the involved
clubs to support. Later, food items like fish, fruit and mushrooms will be added
to the vegetables.
The Pattaya Farm is the product of close cooperation between the RC
Jomtien-Pattaya, PILC and the Redemptorist organisation. Working together,
exchanging ideas and know how, is the foundation of every project’s success.
RC Taksin-Pattaya and U.S Navy spruce up El-Shadai 2 Children’s Home
On 12th May 12, the Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya guided sailors from the
visiting USS Navy Ship the USS Guardian to the El Shadai 2 Children’s Home in
Sriracha. On arrival, the entourage was welcomed by the two caretakers of the
home, Chamnan and Orapan Layotee.
The visiting
sailors took some time out to play with the children at the home.
Typically, as soon as the crew arrived the sailors where
ready to work. One group painted the wall with cartoons, while the other group
went about repairing the water fountain and rearranging some ornamental
lettering. Around noon they all stopped working to enjoy some lunch with the
children.
Prior to leaving for the ship they donated the sum of 15,000 baht to be used
for repairing the roof, purchasing paint to finish the wall painting and, as a
special treat for the kids, some of the money was used to buy ice cream which
was served after lunch.
EDITORIAL: Let’s blame Mother Nature for the water crisis
By Suchada Tupchai
The issue of water shortages in Chonburi and specifically
Pattaya has been with us for half a year. The shortages have created problems
for residents and over a thousand businesses in the area. City administrators
have been delivering water to residents in need and calling for water saving
measures. We can look forward to seeing this problem for quite some time in the
future.
 Phichet
Sathirachawan, Provincial Waterworks Authority chairman explains the current
status on the shortage of water during last week’s meeting.
Despite the numerous efforts to solve the water problems,
whether through cloud seeding, or buying water from private enterprise, the
larger picture reveals the lack of planning in finding a “total” solution,
and instead the blame is placed on Mother Nature.
This year in Chonburi and Pattaya, water supplies in the
reservoirs are greatly diminished. The problem has reached the upper echelons of
central government, and last week Somchai Sunthornvut, deputy interior minister,
called an urgent meeting with provincial officials on the issue. The outcome was
twofold. The long-term solution, to build a pipeline from the Bangpakong River
to the Bangpra reservoir, the largest in the province, will pump in 40,000 to
60,000 litres per day. Construction will take at least eight years, beginning
from next year. The short-term solution is to dredge the current reservoirs to
enable more water to be stored during the rainy season, with the government
throwing an additional 200-plus million baht into problem, trying to save
tourism, business and face.
The long-term plan appeals to residents, with the government
dangling the proverbial carrot in front of their face. The short-term plan
cannot be entirely dismissed, specifically for Pattaya City and the local water
authorities. These two organisations must cooperate and help those residents in
need. Especially the water authority. Why? This particular organisation is known
for its headache inducing qualities. Numerous complaints are made over the lack
of water or other related issues, but the water authority has a tendency to
either refuse to acknowledge the complaints, or claim that their vehicle is
broken down, or say they don’t have enough staff, or that the quality of water
is not what it “should” be. Yet you have water trucks parading around the
villages charging almost extortionate prices for this vital resource.
The city has called for water saving measures during this time. It is a
campaign that should be followed, before we start to scream, “There is no
water to save, what do we save instead?”
Royal Cliff Wine Club to host French Winemaker’s Gala Dinner
Royal Cliff Wine Club will be hosting another great winemaker’s gala dinner
on June 3 in their Grand Ballroom, featuring a select range of Burgundy’s
prestigious Maison Louis Jadot wines.
At Maison Louis Jadot the choice of the grapes is their
number one priority. Their philosophy is to respect the origin of the grapes.
Therefore the villages and growths of Burgundy are individually expressed in all
the wines that carry their name. Maison Louis Jadot controls a 105 hectare
“domaine” in Burgundy with more than 70 hectares in the C๔te d’Or,
exclusively in Premier and Grand Cru.
The forthcoming French Winemaker’s Gala Dinner all in all
offers a total of five world-class wines to complement an extensive gourmet menu
designed by the Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s gourmet team led by Executive
Chef Walter Thenisch that includes: Petite terrine on game jelly with
marinated mushrooms, biscuit of duck liver, mascarpone and goat cheese on
pumpernickel with fresh fig, pan seared blue fin tuna on spring vegetables with
Madagascan vanilla flavoured beurre blanc, timbale of veal sweetbread on roasted
red pepper coulis accompanied with a Burgundy wine snail baked in filo dough,
oven roasted and rosemary basted venison loin on p้rigord truffle jus with
bread knoedel and semolina cake, medley of chocolate-almond macaroon, white
chocolate-peanut butter ice cream and crunchy milk chocolate nougat cream served
with a berry compote and to finish off the feast freshly brewed coffee or tea
with home baked almond, coconut, lemon and pistachio bar.
Cost is 1900 baht net per person (price includes a
glass of each reception and dinner wines, gourmet dinner, service charge and
VAT).
As always, limited seating will be offered to members and
friends of the wine club and prior reservation is essential.
The Royal Cliff Wine Club is accepting limited memberships.
For applications or inquiries, please call (66) 038-250-421 ext. 2782 (from
09:00 to 18:00 hrs) or ext. 2007 or 2037. Email us at wineclub @royalcliff.com
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