OUR COMMUNITY
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Mayor welcomes Skål International secretariat to Pattaya

Champagne corks pop as Green Bottle Pub celebrates 18th birthday

Vietnamese water puppet show debuts in Pattaya

Sharing Love Project makes donation to the children of Ban Jing Jai

Abattoir quality control course aims to reassure overseas buyers

Costs and management qualifications agreed on for call center project

PILC visits their projects in Pattaya

10 children are first to benefit from Bikes for Tykes project

GTCC regulars meet at Moon River

Liam’s Gallery opens with display of 170 works from Thai and foreign artists

Mayor welcomes Skål International secretariat to Pattaya

By Iain Corness
At a glittering, yet relaxed, evening around the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, Pattaya’s mayor, Nirun Watthanasartsathorn with local dignitaries, hoteliers, Tourism Authority of Thailand, political figures and members of the local Skål club, welcomed Skål International Secretary General Jim Power and Congress Coordinator Daniel Cervera to Pattaya.

(L to R) Jim Power, Panga Vathanakul and Andrew Khoo talk about the Skål World Congress coming to Pattaya.

The festive occasion held on March 6 was the climax of their fact-finding visit to Pattaya to ensure that we were ready for the influx of 1,500 tourism professionals from all over the world, coming to Pattaya for the Skål International World Congress in October this year.
Mayor Nirun Watthanasartsathorn spoke on the fact that the municipality understood the importance of such a congress for Pattaya and the private sector, and reconfirmed his backing of the event. For such a congress which can bring so many of the world’s top tourism professionals, the people who influence the destination of the world’s tourists, it was necessary for all sectors to make sure they showed the world, just what we can do.
Secretary General Jim Power was particularly impressed with the facilities offered by our resort city and stated that the standard of the hotels and resorts was definitely world class. He publicly acknowledged the efforts that had been put into winning the bid for the 2006 congress, by the local Skål International of Pattaya and Eastern Thailand, beating London for the privilege and honour of hosting the congress.
Panga Vathanakul, the MD of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort said in a televised interview on Pattaya Mail on TV, that she was very proud of the “new” Pattaya and was looking forward to showing our resort city to the world. With the plenary sessions of the congress being held at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), itself the largest convention centre in SE Asia, she was sure the Skål International world tourism leaders would return to their own countries very impressed. She also acknowledged the financial support that has been given to Pattaya by both central and local governments, to assist us to throw off the old image, to truly become the “new” Pattaya.
The president of Skål International Pattaya & East Thailand Andrew Khoo, the GM of the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, spoke on the advantages and opportunities that this world congress would bring to Pattaya as a whole, not just the hotels, with a ‘knock-on’ effect which would see increased tourism over the next few years. Additional tourists bring increased financial turn-overs for all businesses in Pattaya, and that is why it is important that everyone gets behind the concept of the world congress.
In 2002, when Pattaya won the right to host this world congress, many people did not fully understand the importance of this for Pattaya’s future. With the City and the private sector now fully committed, this Skål International world congress will be an important factor in the future prosperity of this region.

The mayor (center) and local dignitaries welcome Jim Power and Daniel Cervera to Pattaya.


Champagne corks pop as Green Bottle Pub celebrates 18th birthday

Managing director of the Diana Group, Sopin Thappajug pours the champagne celebrating her and the pub’s birthday.

Managing director of Diana Group, Sopin Thappajug cuts the cake celebrating her and the pub’s birthday.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The Green Bottle Pub on Second Road celebrated its 18th birthday on March 4, an anniversary it shares with managing director of the Diana Group Sopin Thappajug, whose birthday also falls on this day, and as the Green Bottle is located next to Diana Inn the two celebrations are traditionally held together.

Jennifer Kim & ‘KO’ Mr. Saxman perform a romantic mini concert at the party.
A friendly and happy atmosphere marked the occasion this year, as it does every year, and Jennifer Kim and “KO” Mr Saxman performed a mini-concert.
Green Bottle Pub regulars and Diana Inn guests mingled, enjoying the food and drink and the lively conversation. Then champagne corks popped and a big birthday cake was cut.
Sopin presented a bouquet of flowers to the performers, and to great applause Suwanthep Malhotra, director of sales and marketing of Pattaya Mail presented a bouquet of flowers to Sopin. Then everyone lifted their glasses and toasted another year of success, and many of them, to the Green Bottle and to Sopin Thappajug.

Suwanthep Malhotra, Pattaya Mail’s director of sales and marketing presented a bouquet of flowers to Sopin Thappajug.


Vietnamese water puppet show debuts in Pattaya

Only one of its kind in Thailand

The Water Puppet Show from Vietnam is the only one of its kind in Thailand.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
A Vietnamese water puppet show, believed to be the only one of its kind in Thailand, recently made its debut in Pattaya.
The entrepreneur behind this new attraction, Bunchai Paopongrattanachai, said he initially had the idea during a visit he made to Vietnam several years ago. He is interested in this form of traditional performing arts, and he decided to bring the concept to Thailand.
Water puppets have to be manipulated by expert puppeteers so that they appear to have a life of their own. The puppet is carved from wood and needs six manipulators. Each show lasts about an hour.
Most of the plays are based on a Vietnamese lifestyle theme, but are being modified to meet Thai styles. This theater can hold 250 spectators and charges an entrance fee of 300 baht for adults and 150 baht for children. Foreigners are charged a different price.
Bunchai said he expects the theater to be fully open in March, and that he is planning charity events.
The Water Puppet Show is located on North Pattaya Road opposite World Gems Collection. Show times are every day at 6:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 9 p.m.


Sharing Love Project makes donation to the children of Ban Jing Jai

Wattanarat Srisuthiwattana, representative of the Sharing Love Project presents the scholarship package to Piangta Chumnoi, director of Ban Jing Jai.

Narisa Nitikarn
The Sharing Love Project initiated by Chonburi Kanyong Co Ltd arranged lunch and a donation of utensils and stationary to the children of Ban Jing Jai on Soi Nernplabwan on February 26.
Wattanarat Srisuthiwattana, the company’s assistant marketing director, said the project was organized so that customers and employees could donate clothing and educational materials, and that the donation period had started on February 4. Along with the donations and lunch, the visitors presented scholarships worth 5,000 baht to Ban Jing Jai.

The Sharing Love Project Team distributes food to the children.

Director of Ban Jing Jai Piangta Chumnoi said this home is for vagrant children, orphans and the poverty-stricken. There is room for 64 children, although only 55 are at present living there. The youngest is three years old and the eldest is 17.
Ban Jing Jai supports the children’s education until they are ready to leave school and begin work. The home still lacks enough of a budget for monthly expenses, but it does receive support with donations from organizations that include Pattaya Sports Club, Jester Care for Kids, and PILC.
For more information or to make a donation to Ban Jing Jai please contact Piangta Chumnoi, tel 04-6144389, or 0 3873 0125.


Abattoir quality control course aims to reassure overseas buyers

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Safety and hygiene control in slaughterhouses was the subject of a training course conducted for 150 managers from meat processing companies and organized by the Bureau of Livestock Standards and Certification at the Town in Town Hotel February 21 to 24.

Veterinarian Wimonporn Thitisak, director of the Bureau of Livestock Standards and Certification, presides over a seminar on abattoir quality control.

Amongst the international standards discussed in detail was the General Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) standard, one of the most important for food producers worldwide.
In addition to consumer safety at home, the course was designed to reassure overseas buyers of the quality of Thai meat products.
In 2005 Thailand was the seventh largest country in the world for chicken meat production. Thailand produced 1.2 million tons of chicken, and exported 265,000 tons at a value of almost 30.5 billion baht. The biggest exporters were Japan and the EU.
After this training course at Pattaya City, a second group was scheduled for training at Nakhon Nayok from March 7 to 10, and a third at Petchaburi from March 21 to 24.
“Meat production and exporting faces many problems including a shortage of workers, quality of raw materials, and animal epidemics,” said veterinarian Wimonporn Thitisak, director of the Bureau of Livestock Standards and Certification, one of the speakers at the course. “The countries receiving exports have difficulty in coming to the source country to check and certify the industry, and therefore the exporting countries need to be extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of quality control.”


Costs and management qualifications agreed on for call center project

Narisa Nitikarn
System costs and qualifications for management personnel at the proposed Pattaya Call Center were discussed at a February 27 meeting chaired by city engineering director Sittiparp Muangkhum, and attended by members of the center’s working committee and representatives from supplier TOT.

City engineering director Sittiparp Muangkhum presides over a meeting of the call center working committee.

Sittiparp said that three IT specialists had been appointed, namely Bunchote Sonkhom, head of architecture, Kittisak Aramruong and Prasobchok Phromin, Pattaya City Council lawyer, who will oversee all aspects of mobilizing the call center.
The meeting discussed system maintenance costs provided by the supply company over a three-year period. As proposed earlier, over the first two years no charges will be incurred, but 11 percent of the price of the equipment will be charged. During the third to fifth years 1,263,000 baht will be charged per year, totaling 3,789,000 baht over the three-year period.
Software maintenance will be charged at 9 percent of the cost of the software for the first two years, after which software maintenance will cost 1,747,350 baht from year three to year five, a total of 5,242,050 baht and a grand total of 9,031,050 baht.
Remuneration for system administrators and the qualifications of the call center manager were also agreed. The manager must have a BA and computer system management experience of between three and five years and have worked with not less than 50 agents and projects valued at not less than 50 million baht.
The IT consultants added that the call center manager would have responsibility for the system 24 hours a day and therefore an assistant manager would be required. Representatives from TOT agreed and will seek assistant managers who will work over three shifts.


PILC visits their projects in Pattaya

PILC members, shown here at the Banglamung Boys Home, took a tour of some of their projects in Pattaya.

Helle Rantsén
PILC welfare chairperson
In the beginning of March a group of PILC members joined welfare chairperson Helle Rantsén on an organised welfare tour to the various PILC projects just outside Pattaya. These welfare tours have two purposes: one is to show the members and sponsors what is accomplished with donated funds, and the other is to create awareness and knowledge about the many different government institutions in our area.
The first stop was for the Karunyawet Home for 370 disable ladies. This home is known to quite a few PILC members because of the ongoing activity for 170 ladies (makeup workshop) that some of them take part in. This time everybody was shown the rest of the home and had an opportunity to meet the other 200 ladies living at the Karunyawet. With only one caretaker helping 40 women at each dormitory, the more mobile ladies have to help to less mobile. This is the reason that all different handicapped ladies are living in the same room.
The next stop on the tour was to visit the Banglamung Boys Home. Last year PILC and the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya renovated a dormitory for boys between 7-10 years old. Helle explained to the PILC members that one of the first “rooms” she visits when “inspecting” a new project is the toilets.
“You can find out a lot about the condition of a building by looking at the toilets,” Helle said, showing the newly renovated toilets to the PILC members. Today the toilets, like the rest of the building, look their best.
While showing the PILC members around the dormitory Helle told the women that one of the conditions the welfare team have before the team recommends a new project like a renovation is that the dormitories are kept clean. “When keeping a dormitory clean you show an interest in the maintence of the building and teaches the children that this is their home and they (and the staff) have to look after it.”
The dormitory at the Banglamung Boys Home are kept clean thanks to the hard working staff who takes very good care of the 250 boys who come to Pattaya to receive an education. Most of them are from poor or broken families all over Thailand.
The last stop was the Chonburi emergency shelter and canteen. PILC worked together with PSC and Jesters Care for Kids on this great project. PSC paid for the new shelter building and the 2 other clubs shared the cost for the canteen. Everyone with problems can come and stay at the emergency shelter, so the numbers of people staying changes from day to day. The PILC members were impressed with the shelter building; being mothers themselves they could not help notice how one of the sinks in the toilet had been lowered to suit all the younger children who stay at the shelter.
After having a cup of coffee in the nice canteen the PILC members said goodbye after yet another eye opening welfare tour.


10 children are first to benefit from Bikes for Tykes project

Mercy Ministries Foundation and Pattaya Sports Club combined to organize the bikes presentation.

Narisa Nitikarn
Ten bicycles were presented to 10 lucky students at Muang Pattaya School #7 on March 8 under the Bikes for Tykes project organized by the Mercy Ministries Foundation and Pattaya Sports Club.
The presentation was made by Ministries projects manager, Prachuab Kurdnirund and PSC charity chairman, Bernie Tuppin, who received a warm welcome from school director Manat Kongwattana and his staff.
Prachuab said the purpose of the project was not only to give the students these bikes to use for their private purposes, but also to use them for the benefit of their families and neighbors. The children selected were good in class and came from poor families, and were chosen from a list of 35 possible recipients. The intention is to make another donation of bicycles next year.
The Mercy Scholarship project additionally distributed 35 scholarships to the school.


GTCC regulars meet at Moon River

Peter Nordhues
The German-Thai Chamber of Commerce held their Stammtisch meeting, the table of regulars, on Friday March 10, within the familiar surroundings of the Moon River Pub.
Neither Dr Paul Strunk nor Stefan Bürkle could attend this time, for both were attending ITB in Berlin. Therefore honorary director Volker Fischer, who has been living in Thailand for 43 years, presented the opening speech.

(From left to right) Volker Fischer, Helmut Buchberger and Harald Sandow enjoy the evening with a cool German beer (or two).

He reported that the GTCC had elected a new board. Lothar Herrmann (Siemens Ltd) and Vitoon Asampinpongs (Festo Ltd) are new, while Volker (Polipharm Co Ltd), Andreas Klocke (KfW), Sumate Tanthuwanit (Ngoro Aock) and Dr Vichit Kiatsrichart (Thai Saeng Charoen Polymers Co Ltd) were confirmed. Karl-Heinz Heckhausen (DaimlerChrysler) is again the president of the chamber while Dr Vichit is vice president.
Following the presentation, the many guests enjoyed the buffet and the great hospitality of the Moon River Pub, along with the company of Alexandra Mueller, guest service manager of the Thai Garden Resort.
The German-Thai Chamber of Commerce can be reached at GPO Box 1728, Bangkok 10501, Thailand, or by visiting http://www.gtcc.org.


Liam’s Gallery opens with display of 170 works from Thai and foreign artists

Vimolrat Singnikorn
A new art gallery has been opened on Pratamnak Hill Soi 4 by Liam Ayudhkij, with many Thai and foreign artists gathering for the inauguration on March 4.

Liam Ayudhkij has opened Liam’s Gallery on Soi 4 Pratamnak Road.

For the opening, Liam’s Gallery presented an exhibition of 170 drawings and sculptures by 16 Thai artists from Chulalongkorn University and Silapakorn University. Part of the income from sales will be presented to children’s charities.
The exhibition is on the 5th floor, and on the 2nd floor is a library corner with Thai and foreign art books and information.
Liam’s Gallery is located at 352/107 Soi 4 Pratamnak Road, Moo 12 Nong Prue, Banglamung, tel 0 3825 1808. It is open every day from 10:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.