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Royal Navy sails in to rescue longkong growers in South
Patcharapol Panrak
Insurgency trouble in the South is making life for those
living in the region harder and more complicated day by day. The Royal Navy
has been sending more personnel into the region to work together with the
Royal Army, Royal Air Force and other organizations but it seems the
problems are actually getting worse.
 A
happy longkong farmer shows off the beauty of his fruits.
More time is needed to suppress the insurgency because we
don’t know yet who is the real enemy. It’s a long-standing problem that
Southerners have to face. Meanwhile entrepreneurs and investors have
withdrawn from this region, as it is unsafe. In some areas farmers have not
harvested their crops, as there is no market for them. Many families have
had to relocate to more peaceful areas in order to survive. Their daily life
has altered and many are suffering economic problems, especially seasonal
agriculturists. They are afraid to harvest their products. Right now this is
especially the case with Narathiwat, a province well known for its
longkongs.
Admiral Sampob Amarapal ordered Civil Services
Commissioner Rear Admiral Apiwat Sriwattana to find out the best way to help
growers in the five districts of Narathiwat, namely Muang, Yi-Ngor, Bajor,
Luesor and Srisakorn, during the longkong season. As a result, the Civil
Services Department of the Royal Navy has cooperated with the Southern
Marine Department to buy the longkongs direct from the growers at a price of
40 baht per kg to distribute to official departments, officers and Royal
Navy families in Bangkok and Sattahip.
Navy
personnel help load crates of longkong onto airplanes for delivery to
consumers.
The Navy appointed Captain Surapong Aiyasanon, Deputy
Civil Services Commissioner together with Captain Kowit Indhprom of the
Office of Policy and Planning to work with the Marine Department and go to
the villagers of the five districts. Here the fruit is bought direct from
the growers and transferred by Royal Navy transport and by air for
distribution.
People in other Southern provinces and districts have also asked the
Royal Navy to do the same for them, but the Navy has responsibility for only
the five districts.
Salsa Amante Latin
Dance Studio opens
Latin Dance is the fastest growing dance sensation in the world today, for
both young and old and Thailand has not been isolated from this phenomenon.
Seeing a local opportunity, two experienced Salsa dance instructors, Jitrapun
(Sam) Moore and Nick Verbeek, saw the need in the Pattaya area for a dance
school that specialises in Salsa and other Latin dance steps such as Meringue.
Guests
celebrate the grand opening of Salsa Amante.
After much frenzied stepping and turning, on Friday evening
September 16, 2005, saw the opening of Pattaya’s first dedicated Salsa dance
studio, Salsa Amante, at Sam and Nick’s new boutique style studio at Naklua.
The opening night was packed to capacity with many friends, existing students
and well wishers wishing the dancing tutors well. Prominent international
businessman and local identity, Jan Aamlid, who is a friend of the Moore family,
performed the official opening by cutting the ribbon and wishing Sam and Nick
much success. Following the opening ceremony, Sam and Nick provided a
demonstration of Salsa dance steps, which then saw a number of the guests,
including prominent members of the Pattaya Mail family, lining up to form an
impromptu class, which shows just how much interest Latin dance is generating.
Even Dr. Iain took to the floor with his baby daughter Marisa, as his partner!
Sam and Nick
awed the audience by their stunning performance.
The studio will teach private students, as well as small
groups, with an average of eight per class, so that all students receive more
individual attention and can attend at mutually convenient times.
Sam Moore has been a Pattaya resident for more than ten
years, and has been studying Salsa with a professional Latin dance teacher for
the past five years in Bangkok. Hearing of her dancing skills a number of people
contacted her asking if she would teach them, so she decided to take up teaching
Salsa as a career. She has taught Salsa to students at the Asian University of
Science and Technology summer camps and has also performed at a special Latin
night at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.
Nick is a native of Holland but has been living in Thailand
for the past two years. He has more than 20 years experience in Latin dance and
had a dance school in Holland, where for more than 10 years he organised regular
Salsa events. Sam and Nick met at one of Sam’s Friday evening Salsa sessions
at the Moon River Pub and subsequently they decided to set up their own Salsa
school.
The new Latin Dance Studio SalsaAmante is at 268/5 M6
Potisarn, Naklua. Phone/Fax Studio: 038 726 982, or Sam 01 762 5401 or Nick 07
148 1905, email dancestudio @salsaamante.com, Website: www.salsaamante.com.
PILC Holiday Bazaar
draws closer
Gillian Thom
The Pattaya International Ladies Club’s popular Annual
Holiday Bazaar is to be held on Saturday 8 October at the Royal Cliff Beach
Resort, and the organizers are delighted to advise that all vendors’ stalls
have been sold out.
The event is fun for all the family, with organized
activities for youngsters as well as a wide choice of items from around Thailand
for sale. A number of ladies have been hard at work making beautiful Christmas
crackers to decorate the Xmas table, and there will be many other craft,
clothing, d้cor and jewelry items to tempt the shoppers!
A number of exciting prizes have been donated for the Raffle by local
retailers and businesses, and raffle tickets, or books, are available from Judy
Clausen, on 038-240-792 (home) or 01-650-6630 (mobile).
No kidding, Gregory’s goat talk was nothing to bleat about
Elfi Seitz
You are reading correctly, goats were the
subject of the recent Pattaya International Ladies Club luncheon, held at
Horseshoe Point.
Gregory Barton, owner of the Lulu & Daisy Goat Farm at
Soi Suksomboon was the guest speaker and he talked about, well, about goats. He
and his co-workers are making delicious goat cheese, which you can find in
leading restaurants and the deli-corners of supermarkets.
 Gregory
Barton with PILC president Sharon Tibbitts.
Gregory loves goats because, “They are beautiful creatures
and come in many different colors. They are intelligent and sociable, they like
attention, they are affectionate and have different personalities.”
He said that goats are sensitive to food and can eat only
completely dry food, otherwise they get sick.
“Goats love to eat and they can do it nonstop. If they
aren’t eating they are just running around to get hungry again,” he said
with tongue in cheek.
At his 18-rai farm he is raising 66 goats, 40 of which are
female. Of these, 14 already give milk and the workers milk them by hand. From
the milk, his staff produce three different kinds of cheese. The money belongs
completely to the workers: Gregory said he has enough and doesn’t need it, he
is just happy to help both the goats and the people.
The PILC ladies obviously enjoyed his talk and his cheese,
and some of them have already made appointments to visit Lulu & Daisy.
More info can be found on www.asiagoat.com or call Gregory on 038-222415 or
01-9205202.
Bands will fight it out
for 300,000 baht in prizes
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Bands will battle it out at a musical contest to be held on
October 14 as part of the fourth anniversary celebrations for Hard Rock Café
and Hard Rock Hotel.
Hoteliers,
city officials and rock stars are ready for battle.
Details were announced on September 8 at a press conference
co-presented by Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn and Atthapol Wannakit, deputy
director of TAT Central Region 3, and featuring singer John Rattanawaerot.
Battle of the Bands 2005 will be an amateur rock music
contest designed to give young musicians an opportunity to showcase their
talents. Prizes will include musical instruments and over 300,000 baht in cash
from sponsors. Contestants also have the chance to win a contract with the Hard
Rock Café International Band Circuit.
Urs Mosimann, assistant manager at Hard Rock Hotel, said the contest is open
to bands of seven members or under. They must submit three rock songs, with at
least one in English.
Korea raises its profile
as a tourist destination
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Korea Tourism Organization in conjunction with Asiana
Airlines and Sun Moon Tour & Travel Co Ltd hosted a Korean Night on
September 8, at the Dusit Resort.
Jeon Hyo Sik
(left) and Manop Song-Im (right) speak about Thai-Korean tourism relations.
Jeon Hyo Sik, director of KTO’s Bangkok
office, said they saw a lot of potential for promoting Korea as a tourist
destination to people living or working in Chonburi province. He said that one
particularly promising sector was in arranging incentives tours for
Chonburi-based organizations.
Manop Song-Im, of the Thai-Korea Chamber of Commerce, said
that the many joint ventures between the two countries has helped to give
Thailand a high profile in Korea. A recent tourism survey found that Thailand is
the third most popular country for Korean tourists to visit after Japan and
China.
Each year, he said, about nine million Koreans travel abroad, of which
800,000 come to Thailand. Chonburi is their favorite province, with Pattaya the
main destination, because of the beaches, high quality accommodation and the
golf courses.
Baby’s mental development starts
in womb, parents told during seminar
Narisa Nitikarn
Bio Consumer Co Ltd, which markets a children’s product
named D-nee, worked together with Bangkok Pattaya Hospital on September 10 to
conduct a seminar entitled “The right moment to develop the child”.
 Some
listened while some slept.
Jariya Suthisukhon, chairman of Bio Consumer Co, presided
over the event, which featured Assistant Prof Kannika Vichitsukhon of the
pediatric department at Mahidol University’s nursing faculty as guest speaker.
Assistant Prof Kannika, who has over 20 years’ experience
in this field, said that children began learning when still in their mother’s
womb. During pregnancy it is important for the mother to have a positive mental
attitude because this frame of mind is also passed on to the child.
The newborn child should be fed directly by the mother from
day one to cement the mother/child relationship, said Assistant Prof Kannika.
D-nee products were available at special prices for the parents in
attendance, and a Baby Zone and a Kids’ Zone had been set up to keep the
infants happy.
Vocational training leads to new career at very low costs
Chatchanun Chaisri
Inexpensive training that can lead to a new career or to a
way of supplementing the family income was on display at the Vocational College
Banglamung, which held an open day at its Wat Phothisampan branch to publicize
the short professional courses available during the current educational year.
Students
enjoy learning how to prepare food.
Lecturer Raenoo Polprukrat told Pattaya Mail that this
is the only government vocational college in Pattaya, teaching courses that
include Thai food and desserts, bakery, tailoring, beauty, and English for
professionals. The registration fee is 10 baht per subject and 1 baht per
learning hour except for English lessons, which are 5 baht per hour and 10 baht
for registration.
The courses are available to both men and women, of any age.
Lessons are held Monday to Friday, with a morning session from 09.00 to 12.00,
an afternoon session from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and evening classes from 5 p.m. to 8
p.m. Most of the courses present certificates upon completion, which can then be
used to run businesses both in Thailand and abroad.
 This
lady became quite adept with the sewing machine.
Cooking classes attract many types of students, including
graduates who plan to open Thai restaurants abroad.
Supamai Pattanapanit, who has an MA from Lincoln University
in San Francisco, said she has opened a Thai restaurant in the United States.
She is currently back in Thailand for personal reasons and in her free time she
is learning Thai cooking so she can use her new found skills to create the new
dishes for her restaurant.
Two other students, Kiattisak and Pornphan Kongkiattikhun,
said the reason they were taking a Thai food and dessert course at the college
was so they could open a Thai restaurant in the US. The college lecturers had
been very helpful in telling them the differences between Thai and foreign
tastes, and they were delighted by the low cost of the course.
The Vocational Collage Banglamung, Wat Phothisampan branch, is now open to
the public to apply for short professional courses up to October 4. Those
interested are invited to visit during office hours, or to call 038-22544 for
more information.
Moon River memories for the Stammtisch
Elfi Seitz
The German Stammtisch met on September 9 at one of their
favorite venues, the Moon River Pub. Members and their families packed the
venue, meeting old friends and creating new ones, taking the opportunity for the
German community to get together and enjoy the traditional gemütlichkeit.
Stefan
Bürkle welcomes members of the GTCC and guests to the Stammtisch
Deputy executive director of the club Stefan Bürkle
announced a few important upcoming events and also described the success of the
vote-by-post scheme for the German elections, which were held last Sunday.
Moon River as usual provided a superb buffet, and the Power Point band
entertained guests with some great music.
Germans and
Thais, young and old enjoy the true feeling of gemtlichkeit.
Royal Cliff Beach Resort receives more accolades
Peter Cummins
The Royal Cliff Beach Resort scored again, adding two more
awards to its already-distinguished list of firsts in the highly-competitive
hotel and tourism industry, food and beverage sectors.
A splendid reception, with sumptuous food - appropriately
called “Dining around the Royal Cliff” - was held at the Royal Cliff Grand
Ballroom last week to celebrate yet another great accomplishment for the resort:
two of the Royal Cliff’s dining outlets having been honoured with the
prestigious “Award of Excellence” from the renowned New York-based Wine
Spectator Magazine. The Grill Room and Wine Cellar for the third time and a
first for the Rossini Italian Restaurant.
Fifteen wine
distributors stand proudly with their certificates of appreciation presented by
Panga Vathanakul, MD of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.
Highly coveted worldwide, the award is given by the
magazine’s judging panel of wine experts, connoisseurs and editors to
establishments which possess a superlative combination of first-class wine
lists, menu, ambience, pricing, wine program and overall quality. Each year
thousands of restaurants and hotels around the world are reviewed for the
magazine’s Restaurant Awards Program, but only a few are recognized as the
world’s best.
Panga Vathanakul, Managing Director of the Royal Cliff Beach
Resort, addressing the huge gathering of press, Royal Cliff Wine Club members,
guests and friends of the Royal Cliff said, “As I stand here today, it feels
as if it was only yesterday that we celebrated the opening of the Royal Cliff
Wine Club. Yet, it has already been five years since we established the Royal
Cliff Wine Club and welcomed our first members. So far, it has been a great
journey!”
“The Grill Room and Wine Cellar is not only known for its
superb menu and ambience but it also encompasses a walk-in wine cellar storing
over 750 of the world’s best wines. Rossini, furthermore, is regarded widely
as Pattaya’s premier ristorante Italiano,” Khun Panga added
To match Khun Panga’s ‘great journey’, the celebratory
evening featured a ‘smorgasbord’ of excellent fare from the Royal Cliff
Beach Resort’s 10 restaurants - including, of course, the evening’s stars,
the Grill Room and Wine Cellar and Rossini.
As well as showcasing the delightful cuisine of its
fine-dining outlets, there were top-quality wines with over 100 vintages from
the Cliff’s award-winning wine list.
“Over the years,” Khun Panga pointed out, “the Royal
Cliff Beach Resort has been in the forefront of adopting modern developments to
the travel industry of Thailand. Many of you present here today can attest to
the innumerable changes that have taken place over the last three decades.”
“We’ve made it our priority to meet - rather exceed - the
expectations of our guests and partners in every area. Our restaurants and wines
are certainly not an exception.”
“I assure you that when we established the Wine Club five
years ago, everyone expected that we would make it successful, but neither our
friends nor our competitors could have predicted that it would grow to become
the best wine club in the Kingdom. Nevertheless, that has always been our goal
from the very beginning,” Khun Panga asserted with obvious, justifiable pride.
“It took a lot of careful consideration, a great deal of
skill and more than one touch of inspiration to develop the perfect combination
of dishes and wines to satisfy the most discerning palate. The prestigious
Awards of Excellence from the Wine Spectator magazine that we are receiving
today are a testament to the outcome of this momentous effort.”
“Much of our success should be attributed to the President
of the Royal Cliff Wine Club Ranjith Chandrasiri, whose enthusiasm and skill
have been the driving force behind the success of the Wine Club, as well as our
fine dining establishments. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him
for his immense contribution.”
“Yet, even with everything we have done, our success would
have been impossible without the unwavering support of our wine suppliers, whose
backing proved invaluable to us and ultimately led to the great honour of being
chosen by Wine Spectator as the only hotel in Thailand to have received this
honour three years in succession,” Khun Panga concluded.
Deputy General Manager and President of the Royal Cliff Wine
Club, Ranjith Chandrasiri acknowledged the tremendous contribution of all the
Royal Cliff staff. “Credit goes to our staff and management who have done a
wonderful job maintaining the world-class standards of our resort.” he noted.
“Besides the Grill Room and Wine Cellar and Rossini, our
resort has so much more to offer when it comes to fine wining and dining. Just
last year we opened Caprice, Pattaya’s most stylish restaurant. And more
recently, we renovated our Chinese restaurant, Chrysanthemum Palace, and are now
in the process of transforming the Panorama dining room,” Ranjith added.
Finally, in appreciation of their invaluable contribution,
Khun Panga presented certificates of appreciation “to our wine distributors”
(listed below, in alphabetical order.
1. Ambrose Wine Limited - Lt. Chawalit Techapaibul, Executive
Chairman, 2. B.B. Groups Trading Company Limited - Khun Chalie Nontaprapan,
Sales Manager, 3. BJC Marketing Company Limited - Khun Thakul Kijadetch, Wine
Specialist, 4. C.P.K. Plantation Company Limited - Khun Tanisorn Paokamhang,
General Manager, Chateau de Loei, 5. The California Wine Company Limited - Khun
Sorrasit Wongsantivanich, General Manager, 6. Cannon Pacific Company Limited -
Khun Ekachai Mahaguna, Managing Director, 7. Cititex Enterprises Company Limited
- Khun Natta Petchvari, Sales Manager, 8. Festive Wine and Beverage Company
Limited - Khun Ruangkan Laokawong, Managing Director, 9. Food com (Thailand)
Company Limited - Bruno Begni, 10. Independent Wine and Spirit (Thailand)
Company Limited - Michel Conrad, Wine Manager, 11. Italthai Industrial Company
Limited - Eric Cornetet, Division Manager, Food & Beverage Group, 12.
Nicolas B.C. Company Limited - Dr. Niti Meyer, Managing Director, 13. Royal
Coffee Company Limited - Riko Schachemeyer, Managing Director, 14. Vanichwathana
(Bangkok) Company Limited - Georges Barbier, Representative, 15. VS Classic
Wines Limited Partnership - Khun Virach Siriprasert, Managing Director
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