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Disabled children enjoy day out
at Royal Varuna Yacht Club
Staff Reporters
The Rotary Club of Bangkok South (RCBS) took more than 200
disabled children to the Royal Varuna Yacht Club for a day out on April
3. An annual adventure for the children, this is the 12th year RCBS has
organized the event.
 Rotary
Club of Bangkok South President Graham Brain (left) and Rotarian Andrew
Macpherson supervise the event.
Club president Graham Brain together with other RCBS members were in
charge of the outing for the children, who were mentally and physically
handicapped youngsters from the Nontaphum Home in Pak Kred, Nonthaburi.
RCBS has long had a policy of supporting disabled children, having
organized activities every year for more than a decade. The visit to the
Royal Varuna Yacht Club was designed to allow the children to enjoy the
sea and the natural surroundings of the bay in which the club is
located.
A number of other organizations lent their support, including students
from Assumption University, who acted as chaperones. The children
enjoyed splashing in the sea and climbing aboard the boats, and they had
great fun in the swimming pool. At midday, they enjoyed lunch in the
clubhouse.
Children and chaperones
enjoy a fine lunch at Royal Varuna.
The sand feels strange,
but it’s fun to play in.
Students from Assumption
University are a big help on days like this.
Rotarians and children
frolic in the azure waters of Pattaya Bay.
For some of the children,
this was the first time they experiences the coast.
It’s a special day for
everyone.
Frolicking in the pool on
a hot summer day. What could be better?
The joy on the children’s
faces warms the heart.
The Bridge of Hope
Charity dinner to brighten the future of underprivileged children
Organizers and main sponsors,
from left: Pichai Chirathiwat of Central Marketing Group; Cindy Burbridge
Bishop; Lino Geretto; Father Giovanni Contarin of Camillian Center Rayong;
Eugenio Collavini, Pres. of Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce; and Chakrit
Benedetti of Ital-Asia with their certificates of appreciation.
Pattaya supporters (from left)
George Rothstein, Roseanne Diamente, Judy Hoppe, Sue Kukarja of Pattaya
Mail, Ursula Rothstein of Ursula’s Antiques, and Pat Burbridge look stunning
at the opening of the event.
Sue Kukarja
The Thai Italian Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with Cindy Burbridge
Bishop, Central Trading Co., Ltd, and Italsia organized a charity dinner to
raise funds for the Camillian Social Center of Rayong.
 Cindy
Burbridge Bishop (left) leads the auction.
The event took place at the Centara Hotel at Central World on March 27,
2008, where half a thousand supporters, including well-known celebrities and
who’s who at where’s where turned up in force to support the cause.
The Camillian Social Center is a charitable institution operated by the St.
Camillus Foundation of Thailand since its opening in 1995. It is located in
the district of Huae Pong and supports and manages seven projects in the
Southeast of Thailand. The center is involved in palliative care, child
care, prevention education, supporting a network of PLWHA (People Living
with HIV/AIDS), supervising a self-sustaining rehabilitation community,
providing scholarships for affected orphaned children and a center for HIV
positive orphaned teenagers. All the projects comply with the latest
HIV/AIDS strategy outlined by the World Health Organization. The projects
are part of an integrated approach that links prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation and support to people living with HIV/AIDS.
 Glass
harpist Weerapong Taweesak gives an unusual but captivating performance.
The objective of the charity dinner to raise funds to support the Camillian
Center in Rayong was successfully met. The event raised over a million baht,
of which the net earnings will be transferred to the Camillian Center for
their charitable projects.
The highlight of the evening was the “Red Dress” fashion show that auctioned
off all the dresses at the end of the show, by the beautiful auctioneer
Cindy Bishop, who drew the biddings to unimaginable high prices through her
charm and fierce-full persuasion.
Not only is this Pattaya homegrown girl a beauty, she is also a big asset to
our society when it comes to charity work. Well done, Cindy!
More private cars switching to LPG or NGV as gasoline prices rise
Jariya Jittakit from S.O.
Garage Part., Ltd.
guarantees that biofuel installations will save money over the long run.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Many Pattaya residents are switching their car fuel systems to the
use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) because the fast increasing price of
gasoline is making their vehicles too expensive to run.
 Tanet
Khruakhun explains how, of the two fuels, LPG is far more popular than NGV.
Taxis had already led the way in Thailand when the price of crude oil and
therefore gasoline began its inexorable upward trend a few years ago, but
the past two years, with prices rising even more steeply, have seen private
car owners also making the switch.
March 20 saw gasoline prices reach 34.59 baht/liter for benzene 95, 33.49
baht/liter for benzene 91, 30.59 baht/liter for gasohol 95, and 31.44
baht/liter for diesel. For many residents, this was too much.
Although there has been a traditional distrust of LPG technology, with
people wary after reading news reports of engines bursting into flames,
confidence has improved with the greater number of mechanics skilled in LPG
installations. Certainly, the price benefits can far outweigh any fears.
There are two types of biogas available, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and
natural gas for vehicles (NGV), which is a newer formula. The price of LPG
is 9.96 baht/liter, and NGV is 8.50 baht/liter.
Tanet Khruakhun, whose LPG and NGV garages have more than two years
experience in installing the systems, said that of the two fuels, LPG is far
more popular than NGV, the latter also having relatively little success
overseas.
The Thai government, however, has lent its support to NGV, and not LPG, even
though both fuels can replace gasoline and thus help to keep the nation’s
fuel bills down. The reason is, said Tanet, that NGV is a natural gas while
LPG is liquefied petroleum gas.
Installing the systems requires different components, he said. NGV needs a
large capacity tank, built to withstand internal pressures of up to 200 bar
and consequently weighing 100kg, whereas an LPG tank requires only 7 bar and
weighs 20kg. This extra weight creates problems for vehicle owners, said
Tanet.
Currently, there are 15 to 20 vehicles per month installing LPG systems at
Tanet’s garages, a sudden rise in demand coming with the latest round of
gasoline price increases. For 100 baht, LPG will power a vehicle for the
same distance as 300 baht of gasoline, so the more a car is used, the more
attractive the price saving will appear.
Tanet said there are two main types of conversion system, Fix Mixer and
Autronic, and both can be installed in new or used cars. Fix Mixer is the
more popular of the two because it is half the price at 16,000 baht,
compared to the 32,000 baht of the Autronic system. The installation price
for an NGV system is 30,000 to 40,000 baht, and the job will take up to
three days to complete, depending on how busy the mechanics are. A one-year
guarantee is provided.
The main equipment for an LPG installation is a gas tank, a boiling tank,
and a control switch. LPG can cause an engine to deteriorate faster than a
gasoline system, which should be taken into account. New vehicles have a
usage period of about 10 years, but changing to an LPG system reduces this
to nine years. However, says Tanet, vehicle owners bear in mind the cost
savings over gasoline, and seldom think that far ahead.
Regarding safety, the main precaution is to continually check for leaks.
This is especially the case for the tank and valves, to see if they stand up
to the rigors of bad roads and things banging against them.
Jariya Jittakit of SO Garage Part Ltd said that currently they have more
clients coming to install NGV systems, with 30 small vehicles and 300 large
vehicles every month. The safety aspect of NGV impresses many vehicle
owners. In the event of an accident the tank won’t explode, and the gas will
evaporate into the air. Also there is no odor.
Another incentive is the government promotion for NGV, in which a 5,000 baht
discount is offered for an installation with a one-year guarantee. Most
customers install the Fix Mixer system, rather than the Autronic system,
because as with the LPG version it is cheaper. The Fix Mixer system starts
at 40,000 baht, while the Autronic system costs 60,000 baht for a small
vehicle.
With gasoline prices likely to continue rising, more people will be making
the change to one or the other biofuels, and the garages at least are happy
at the prospect.
Condo law dominates
PCEC meeting at H. J. Bean’s
The series of full programmes continued at the Sunday meeting of the Pattaya
City Expats Club (PCEC) on March 30th at Henry J. Bean’s.
 Watch
out katoeys, the thespians are coming! Chris Parsons introduces the Pattaya
Players, a newly formed Pattaya Community theatre group.
This week’s MC Roger Fox started the proceedings by introducing the familiar
figure of John Fishback, a long time member and participant in PCEC
activities. John is a member of the Management Committee at Jomtien Plaza
Condotel and Jomtien Complex Condotel. The latter is currently undertaking
legal action to dispute the construction of a nearby condominium. John’s
talk concentrated on the main points of the Thai Condominium Act 2551 that
will come into force in July. The following are his understandings of the
new Act.
John highlighted a number of the main points with his recommendations. He
commented that it was a requirement when investing in a foreign country to
be conversant with the laws that are in place.
He recommended that all title deeds should be translated so that they can be
fully understood and that the ratio of ownership of common areas outside of
the units is clearly defined. This also includes the land allocated for
common use. The access way to the public roads should be marked so that
there is no requirement to cross private property. The new act may stipulate
that facilities that are described in sales brochures become part of the
registration document but this needs to be confirmed by further
investigation.
John described juristic person entity as the condominium itself and the
people within it. The purpose of the juristic person is to liaise with other
legal bodies. The juristic person manager is the legal representative of the
juristic person entity. The new act specifies the need for an office within
the building to provide a focal point. The juristic person manager must
comply with committee resolutions as under the previous legislation. Two new
requirements are that monthly accounts must be posted on the bulletin board
within 15 days of the closing month and accounts must be audited every year.
 John
Fishback makes a point to PCEC members about the new Thai Condominium Act
2551, due to come into force in July.
The Juristic Person Manager can be dismissed by majority vote at a General
Meeting even though the term of office could have some time to run.
Chapter 5 of the new act describes the management of the condominium and
should be reviewed in detail. The condo rules must be registered and John
recommended that a translated copy should be obtained from the Land Office
if the Condo Management will not provide a copy. He described obligations of
co-owners to pay for the maintenance and operation of the condo.
John received a great deal of questions and subsequently it was decided to
hold a separate meeting for all those who were interested to fully explore
this topic.
Chris Parsons then introduced the Pattaya Players, a newly formed Pattaya
Community Theatre group. The Pattaya Players will present their first
production as an evening of one acts. The group is a non profit organisation
and is seeking members and corporate sponsors and works in conjunction with
the Bangkok Community Theatre. The group’s website is
www.pattayaplayers.org.
Drew Noyes then announced that the Pattaya Directory, revised and updated
every two years was now coming to print. However, he welcomed those who
wished contribute to a directory page by providing a testimonial extolling
the benefits of PCEC membership.
Board member Michel de Goumois provided the reminder that the next club
dinner was scheduled for April 2nd at Le Parrot’s Bistro.
PCEC Chairman Richard Smith also provided the reminder that the PCEC had
been the first foreign organisation to participate in the Chonburi Songkran
Festival on April 13. The governor of Chonburi province and the Banglamung
nai amphur had specifically requested that the PCEC take part.
The regular Open Forum was then underway with Sig Sigworth assisted by Bob
L’Etoile leading the proceedings who immediately announced that the 10th
anniversary of the availability of Viagra had been reached! As always it
provided an opportunity for questions about living in Thailand with an
emphasis on Pattaya to be asked. The Open Forum again proved to be the usual
lively and entertaining session. For more information regarding, not only
PCEC Sunday meetings but also the varied mid week activities, please see the
Community Happenings section of Pattaya Mail or, for more details, visit the
Club’s website at pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
Sea View condominium
project is launched
Frederic Croissant (center)
shows a potential customer
how the smart home system in the condo works.
Rungratree Thongsai (left) and
Tony Malhotra (right), Pattaya Mail’s director congratulate Narongrit
Ajareepipat on this special occasion.
A model displays one of the
new Sea View Boutique Suite showrooms.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Sea View Boutique Suite, a luxury condominium project that is being built on
two rai of land at Pratamnak Road and Soi 5 was launched onto the property
market on April 1.
Frederic Croissant, managing director of developer Sea View Boutique Suite
Co Ltd and Nuntavit Thongchai, legal and investment advisor hosted the
reception for potential buyers and the press.
Nuntavit said the project is being constructed in cooperation with the
Aksorn Group, and was designed by a French architect. There will be one
seven-story building with 28 units. The target market is both Thai and
foreign buyers in the high purchasing power bracket.
Sea View Boutique Suite places an emphasis on modern technology, and has a
CCTV as part of its security system, along with an underground parking
garage and a water reservoir that will hold a year’s supply.
Nuntavit said the foundation works would begin in mid April and that
construction is scheduled for just over a year, completion being due in July
of next year.
Prices begin at about 19 million baht.
Food and beverage association looks
forward to expo in August
The new committee members pose
for a commemorative photo.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
The Eastern Food and Beverage Management Association introduced its
committee members for the 2008-2009 term during a press conference at A-One
The Royal Cruise Hotel on March 26.
 Raewat
Thongsong, president of the Eastern Food & Beverage Management Association.
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn presided over the meeting along with
association head Raewat Thongsong.
Raewat said that the committee had remained unchanged from the previous
administration, and that the conference would be followed by a reception in
which association members could meet and swap stories about their activities
over the year, as this event is held annually.
The aim of the association is to continually raise standards amongst
personnel working in the food and beverage business, through training and
through events. One of the major initiatives organized last year was the
Pattaya Food and Hoteliers Expo 2007. During the exhibition, a bartender
contest was staged for which many hotels sent representatives. The first,
second and third place winners were sent as Eastern region representatives
to take part in the national competition, where their placing was so high
that they then went on to represent Thailand at international contests in
France and in Singapore. In these overseas competitions they were named as
runners-up, which was regarded as a success for the association, and a
classic example of how Thailand’s standards are meeting international
levels.
Raewat said in August this year there would be another food expo for hotels,
resorts and restaurants in Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard.
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