PMTV reporter Naz becomes one of the Elite
Paul Strachan
The final round of a contest that had started off with a
thousand young hopefuls from around the country took place at Jungceylon
in Patong, where Elite Model Look Thailand 2008 was staged by Elite and
IQ Company.
Naz
flashes her winning smile after her first place finish in the Elite
Model Look Thailand 2008 competition.
One young girl who entered is a student at Garden International School
in Rayong, Nastassia Neufeld, or as viewers of Pattaya Mail
Television will know her, Naz.
Naz, whose father is Canadian and whose mother is Thai, spent a few days
in Bangkok in the early rounds getting used to tottering about on high
heels, and even though this was her first crack at modeling she managed
to make it through to the final twenty.
So before she knew it she was whisked off to Phuket for a five-day trip
that included being filmed by Helicam Company’s mini helicopter. The
company managed to get some great aerial shots of the excited girls on a
tour out from Royal Phuket Marina to Phang Nga Bay aboard a luxury
Sunseeker power boat.
(Right)
Nastassia Neufeld certainly does look like an Elite super model.
The 20 beauties were then whittled down to 10 with young Naz holding her
head high as she stood on the stage with the other nine finalists.
Out of the 10 there were three girls that were winning the hearts of the
crowd and the judges. These were Netnapa Prasongsansuk and Natawanee
Ratanapaitun, both from Bangkok, and one of the smallest models: Naz.
Now looking stunning and a little nervous, the three finalists
resplendent in evening dresses were given an opportunity to speak to the
audience as to why they should be chosen. Naz was the only one who spoke
in English and managed to charm the judges, winning her first place in
the Elite Model Look Thailand 2008 competition.
As well as winning the title Naz has now earned herself a two-year
contract with Elite and will represent Thailand in Beijing later this
year where she will be up against 85 girls from 65 countries.
Naz strikes a pose for a
PMTV promotional spot with presenter Paul Strachan.
Viewers of Pattaya Mail
Television know her as Naz, shown here interviewing
student musicians for PMTV at a Garden International School event.
Snooker ace Hendry makes appearance at the Queen Vic
Auction of autographed shirts raises money for charity
Paul Strachan
Eight times world snooker champion Stephen Hendry MBE was in Pattaya
for a whirlwind visit and spent some time at the Queen Victoria Inn on Soi
6.
Newly
elected Mayor Itthipol Khunplome gets in on the fun.
The poolroom was packed as Stephen took on some local players. Making a
surprise visit on the night was newly elected Mayor Itthipol Khunplome with
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay. Itthipol played a frenetic frame with the
champ.
Then it was autograph time with Stephen posing for the cameras and signing
tour programs for the crowd. In a speedy interview with your correspondent,
Stephen said that he had lost a few games during the evening, explaining
that pool wasn’t really his game - he added that there were a few sharks
here in Pattaya.
Stephen
Hendry signs polo shirts to raise money for charity.
John Smiths and Strongbow sponsored the event. Stephen had pre-signed a
bunch of polo shirts that were raffled off and two of the shirts were then
put up for auction. The first reached 1,500 baht and the second just over
300 baht.
Kevin Fisher, a man who has a long relationship with the Queen Victoria Inn
as well as raising money for charity, told everybody that he was going to
auction the shirt that he had just won to raise money for two people who
desperately need some help.
The first is a man who requires some spinal surgery and the other a baby
girl who sadly fell into an open fire. After the telling of their plight,
many of those who had won a polo shirt handed them back and an impromptu
auction took place. The final tally was a massive 34,000 baht - all from a
few polo shirts and the endorsement by one of the heroes of snooker, Stephen
Hendry.
Vic King (left), proprietor of
the Queen Victoria Inn,
greets eight times world snooker champion Stephen Hendry.
Stephen Hendry pots the yellow
during an exhibition match at the Queen Vic.
Andrew Khoo leaves without
his Hard Rock whistle
Miss Terry Diner
After eight years at the helm of Pattaya’s Hard Rock Hotel, its GM
Andrew Khoo has returned to his native Singapore to run the Concorde Hotel
there. However, he has not deserted HPL, the company that has seen its local
Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya return its initial investment to them in its first
three years, under Andrew Khoo’s leadership.
General
Kanit Permsub
The final hurrah for both Andrew and his wife Rosalind was held in the Hard
Rock’s Hall of Fame, with a lavish event hosted by General Kanit Permsub and
his wife Busyarat Permsub.
Emphasizing the fact that Andrew had made his mark right across the complete
spectrum of the Pattaya society was the fact that there were representatives
from local government, other hoteliers including Panga Vathanakul (Royal
Cliff Beach Resort) and Sutham Phantusak (Woodlands Resort), the Bangkok
Hospital Pattaya with Dr. Napaporn Ketvatanvet, Dr. Bhakhaporn Bhirommai and
Dr. Iain, the entertainment industry with Alisa Phantusak the GM of
Tiffany’s Show, the security industry with Steve Graham of ESC, Skålleagues
from Skål International of Pattaya and East Thailand of which Andrew Khoo
was the immediate past president, and the media, with Pattaya Mail’s Tony
Malhotra and wife Rung being the emcees for the event.
Andrew
Khoo
General Kanit spoke eloquently about Andrew and how he had accomplished much
in the eight years he had been in Pattaya at the Hard Rock Hotel, right from
the pre-opening and through to its present high profile property in the
local hospitality industry.
In his response, Andrew thanked the many people who had helped him achieve
so much with the Hard Rock Hotel, but also signaled a warning to the local
administrators that an unbridled and poorly planned hospitality sector in
Pattaya would lead to a destabilization of the industry as infrastructure
would collapse. He sincerely hoped that message will get through to the
powers that be.
So the hotelier who made whistling into an art form has now left the local
hospitality scene, leaving his official whistle for the new Hard Rock
Pattaya GM. Pattaya’s loss is Singapore’s gain, and we are all confident
that Andrew Khoo will continue to further his career with HPL Hotels and
Resorts which manages the activities of 10 hotels and resorts in Asia
Pacific and the Indian Ocean, with a total of 2,920 rooms. These include
Andrew’s new posting to the Concorde Hotel Singapore, Concorde Hotel Kuala
Lumpur, Concorde Hotel Shah Alam, Concorde Inn Kuala Lumpur International
Airport, Concorde Hotel Gold Coast - Australia, Hard Rock Hotels in Bali and
Pattaya, Casa del Mar in Langkawi - Malaysia, The Lakehouse in Cameron
Highlands - Malaysia, and Rihiveli Beach Resort in Maldives.
Thank you General Kanit for the evening, and thank you Andrew Khoo for your
hospitality and friendship over the past eight years.
Rosalind and Andrew Khoo,
former mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn,
General Kanit Permsub and Khunying Busyarat Permsub.
Rosalind, Ronakit Ekasingh
Andrew, Itthipol Khunplome,
Chutipol Kamolnart and Amnat Thiangtham.
Rosalind and Andrew Khoo, Tony
and Rung Malhotra,
General Kanit Permsub and Khunying Busyarat Permsub.
Somsak Tanruengsri
Roger Soland
Rattanachai Suthidechanai
Chutipol Kamolnart
Somsakul Ponlachan, Ronakit
Ekasingh and Andrew Khoo.
Father Lawrence Patin
Tanet Supornsaharungsri
Dr. Iain, Steve and Tom.
Pol Lt Col Suwan Aun-Anan and
the Pattaya Tourist Police.
Chaikiri Srifuengfung
Sue K
Tracy Cosgrove
Rungtip Suksrikarn
Andrew Khoo with the Band
members.
Attapol Wannakit, Svetlana
Katorgina, Olesya Tomilova,
Jeff Konstantin and Andrew Khoo.
Rungratree Thongsai, Dr.
Bhakhaporn Bhirommai, Rosalind and Andrew Khoo,
Dr. Napaporn Ketvatanvet and Alvi Sinthuvanik.
Salsa on the beach is a hot hit
Sue K
Salsa fever hit Pattaya once again when Latin events organizers
Latino Sabotaje from Bangkok, in conjunction with Salsa Amante Dance Studio
in Pattaya put together a great Salsa Beach Party for the second year
running.
Sue
interviews Nick Verbeek of Salsa Amante for PMTV.
The event was held at Golden Cliff Resort on Saturday May 10.
Francisco Zamora, cultural event representative of the Embassy of Mexico
officially opened the evening.
The event kicked off with a rumba and guaguanco workshop performed by Dr
Salsa himself, otherwise known as Roland Amoussou, a lawyer from Bangkok who
also teaches salsa and believes in educating dancers in the history of the
dance so it can be properly understood.
Guests were then entertained by various performances of Argentina’s tango, a
salsa shine demonstration by instructors and students from Steps and Rhythm
Dance Academy and finally, for the first time ever, Thai Dust from Salsa
Amante Dance Studio performed hip-hop.
It was an evening packed with dancing and partying. For anyone who missed
out, don’t worry, there is always next year. Latino Sabotaje and Salsa
Amante have definite plans to promote salsa and South American dance and
music in Pattaya in the future.
More information at: www. salsaamante.com
Latino Sabotaje from Bangkok,
in conjunction
with Salsa Amante Dance Studio in Pattaya, put together a great Salsa Beach
Party.
The event kicked off with a
rumba and guaguanco workshop performed
by Dr Salsa himself, otherwise known as Roland Amoussou.
New man at Mantra
Alexander Parry takes over as premier restaurant’s manager
Sue K
The new man on the Pattaya block is a good-looking chap from Scandinavia,
who is new in town but experienced in his profession.
Alexander Parry was born in Oslo, Norway and raised in Sweden along with his
younger sister and brother.
Sue
interviews Alexander Parry for PMTV.
First taking up finance as a profession, Alex found this too stressful to be
good for his health, so in 1997 he moved to the United States and walked
into the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel enquiring about a job. He was hired
immediately as a guest service agent.
After enough experience and a lot of fun, he worked for two other Four
Seasons properties in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas, and then in New York for
three years, for the New York Palace Hotel (5 star 5 diamond), and
Millennium Hotels Premier Hotel where he managed a fully serviced 5-star
hotel with 125 rooms in the middle of Manhattan.
After that it was time again to move, so he chose to live in London and was
involved with serviced apartments.
The yucky London weather and coincidental meeting with people who convinced
him to move to Thailand for work landed him in the Amari Don Muang Airport
Hotel, as assistant manager. He was soon asked by Amari to take on this
challenge at Mantra as the operations manager, and here he is.
When asked what makes a good OM, Alex said: “Make sure you get along with
the staff so you can get things done without having to use a hammer. Gaining
respect is important as well as knowing what good service is all about. Know
the structure, the engineering of the job, your customers, and make sure to
have a good daily plan. You also have to be a good PR, and know the guests’
preferences in food and wines, of which I’m still learning as you can never
learn enough to constantly improve yourself.”
And the challenges?
“Culture. There is still a lot for me know about, but the best thing about
Thailand is the smiles. You smile at someone and they smile back. Anyone
who’s been to New York will agree that it’s not always the case there. You
may get the truth, which is also important, but here the smiles do make you
feel good.”
Alex finds Pattaya to be very exciting with many dining options. With so
many cultures in such a very small spot, there is a lot more variety in this
little beach city than most others.
How does Mantra stand out from the crowd?
“Mantra offers an impressive design that makes people feel comfortable while
they eat and drink, combined with excellent food. This is all combined with
excellent service and cool music ... if you put all of this together you’ll
find that we are somewhat unique and it gives our guests a ‘wow’ feeling.
“It is very exciting to go to work every day and meet people from around the
world and how surprisingly impressed they are about everything here. Usually
people go to a restaurant for a few specific dishes, but when visiting
Mantra our guests come to try something new each time.”
Alex said that with seven kitchens under one roof, every taste is catered
for, be it Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Western, Mediterranean, charcoal grill
and seafood. There are specialty dishes such as sushi, dim sum, tandoori,
Angus steak, Kobe beef, foi gras, oysters, lobsters, pizza and much, much
more.
“As far as the drinks go, we have anything your heart desires ... wines from
all over the world, signature drinks, healthy smoothies and more.”
Visit Alexander at Mantra and find out what “more” they can offer.
Bar opens from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., while the restaurant opens from 6 p.m. to 1
a.m.
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