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HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Dusit welcomes Honda LPGA Thailand 2009 golfers

Pattaya soon to have its own Wiki page

PILC tastes coffee at Asia Pattaya Hotel

‘La Dolce Vita’ ... more than a restaurant

Dusit welcomes Honda LPGA Thailand 2009 golfers

(From left) Dusit Thani Pattaya general manager Chatchawal Supachayanont; world’s #1 lady golfer Lorena Ochoa; Surang Prempee, Channel 7 managing director; and Ai Miyazato of Japan.

Some of the world class lady golfers strike a pose with Honda LPGA Thailand 2009 sponsors during a private dinner at Dusit Thani Pattaya.

The Honda LPGA Thailand 2009 was played last week at the Siam Country Club Plantation course. World ranked lady golfers including Lorena Ochoa, Suzann Pettersen, Laura Davies and Paula Creamer stayed at Dusit Thani Pattaya, the official hotel sponsor of the world class golfing event.
The participants were kept busy with a host of pre-tournament programs including official practice days, Meet the Players Press Conference and private dinner hosted by the sponsors and organizers at the hotel’s extended terrace, The Point and a Charity Night at the Napalai Convention Hall.
Sixty of the world’s best women golfers were in Thailand to compete over the four-day world class golf event, a 72-hole stroke play with no cut in the field offering a prize purse of US$ 1.45 million.

(From left): Thidsida Shingrissri, hotel rooms division director; ‘Pink Panther’ Paula Creamer; and Oranuch Chantramala, Dusit Club manager.

Hotel’s front office, led by Imee Manzo (left)
welcomes Natalie Gulbis from the USA.


Pattaya soon to have its own Wiki page

The regular Sunday meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club got underway at the Amari’s Henry J. Bean Restaurant on Sunday, February 22 when emcee Les Edmonds welcomed members and guests to the meeting.

Website of the day presenter Richard Silverberg showcases the latest online service from Google - which can now translate between Thai and English, as well as other languages.
After the usual announcements, Les introduced Dr. Moryoon Preutthan, assistant director of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, to tell us about a terrific - not to mention rare - opportunity to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. Dr. Moryoon explained that Chonburi Province will sponsor an attempt to create a new activity using Aqua Aerobic Exercise. The idea is to have several thousand people gather on the beach near Pattaya Beach Road Soi 6 to do aerobic exercises in the water. Dr. Moryoon said that a representative from Guinness Book of World Records will come on April 25 to observe the event. Dr. Moryoon wanted to extend an invitation to the all to participate in the event. He said there would be people available to offer instruction in aqua aerobics before the event starts. Further, he said after the event, there will be exhibitions to promote health, on how to exercise, and how to take care of yourself.
Emcee Les then called on the main speaker, fellow member Thor Halland, to enlighten everyone about the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and an associated project called Wiki-Pattaya.

Dr Moryoon Preutthan, assistant director of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, invites PCEC members to become part of a Guinness World Record - the largest number performing Aqua Aerobic Exercise, which will take place on Pattaya Beach on April 25.
Thor began by mentioning the beginnings of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. He said it was originally created 6 years ago by an American who wanted a means to obtain encyclopedia information online. Although there had been earlier efforts by others, they had not been successful because of a lengthy and cumbersome vetting and approval process for contributors. The Wikipedia creator had a different idea - let anyone contribute an article and let others edit the information. So, if someone contributes incorrect or inaccurate information, others will notice it and correct it.
Contrary to what one would expect, Thor said that there has been very little confrontation between writers and subsequent editors, with only about one percent of the 10 million articles on Wikipedia having such problems. Most editing has improved and/or expanded the information making Wikipedia very successful.

Thor Halland is introduced by emcee Les Edmonds, to discuss the soon to be online ‘Wiki-Pattaya’, a reader written ‘encyclopedia of Pattaya’. Will it have enough pages?
Further, the information is available in several languages. As an example, Thor cited the Wikipedia page on Pattaya. The original article appeared to be something one would read in a travel brochure. However, today, the page is totally different and lists factual information about Pattaya (history, climate, government, economy, culture, etc.).
Thor noted that one of the requirements for an article is that it have mutual points of view and a level of significance. Thus, he said, someone writing an article about their daughter’s birthday party would not be allowed to remain on the Wikipedia site. However, he noted that this is where Wikia come in to play. Wikia is associated with Wikipedia, but offers a place for people to post information that does not fit the parameters for a Wikipedia article. For example, he said there is a Wiki-Muppet area where there are at least 30 thousand pages and people are still adding more. Another example is Wiki-StarTrek where there are also numerous articles.

Hawaii Bob, aka ‘Bob the Bird’ is assisted by lovely Rita for PCEC’s Open Forum, where members and guests can get answers to almost any question about life in LOS (the Land of Smiles).
Thor said that Wikia also has a place for cities. But, the Wikipedia folks would not accept a proposal for every city. As an example, Thor mentioned that Naklua would not be listed whereas Pattaya would. This is because Naklua does not have the same public recognition as Pattaya.
Thor said that he and two other individuals had submitted proposals for establishing a page for Pattaya. Of the three, Thor was selected to establish the Wiki-Pattaya page. He said he is in the process of creating and testing it before it goes online for others to contribute or edit articles.
As the originator, Thor has some control over the pages and can designate others to have some authority. However, he emphasized that this authority does not mean he has to approve what is written or edited. Rather, he acts as a referee and if there should be contention over something that has been written and changes made to it, he can “lock” the page.
He said he envisions the site will have many articles, such as the procedures to get a Thai drivers license, listing of businesses and what they offer (not solicitation for business as the site must be noncommercial), tourist information, organizations and their activities, etc. Further, there will be no limit to the number of entries. He said for those that want to create a page, all they need is the ability to use word processing software. In conclusion, he said he primarily wants everyone to know about the Wiki-Pattaya site and to become active participants by creating and/or editing articles.
Emcee Les then called on the club’s internet guru, Richard Silverberg, to share with everyone his latest website of note. Richard said there is a website that most of us living here in Thailand will find very useful. It is a language translation site run by Google. The web address is www.translate.google.com. The site can currently translate between 41 languages including Thai. Richard said for simple phrases, it is fairly accurate. However, the more complex the sentence structure, the less accurate it may become in the translation.
One very good feature is that you can have it translate a Thai web page by typing in or cutting and pasting the URL of the webpage. Google Translate will then provide the web page with the Thai translated into English.
Emcee Les then updated everyone on upcoming events and called on Hawaii Bob to conduct the always informative and sometimes humorous Open Forum where information is shared on living in Pattaya and Thailand.


PILC tastes coffee at Asia Pattaya Hotel

Gillian (left) poses with the club’s newest members.

Gillian Thom
Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC) members had their monthly coffee morning at the Asia Pattaya Hotel recently, and 80 members of this popular group gathered for the first event this year with a new president, Gillian Thom, and her committee.

Gillian (right) says goodbye to Paula, who is returning to Oz.
Gillian advised that the committee has now had their first meeting and has come up with lots of ideas for events, both social and fund-raising, for the year. The club now has almost 180 members, covering 34 nationalities, and yet again, we were pleased to welcome no less than 12 new members who joined on the day.
Of course some of the members also have to leave Thailand, so Gillian thanked Paula Macdonald, who is returning home to Australia, for the tremendous contribution she has made during her sojourn in Pattaya. Paula promised to keep in touch and visit again whenever possible!
Gillian also thanked the staff at the Asia Pattaya Hotel for their delicious spread of savouries and cakes, and Alvi Sinthuvanik, chair of hospitality, for her efforts in sourcing the venues and arranging such pleasant occasions for our luncheons and coffee mornings each month.
PILC members get together twice a month for coffee and lunch, and as well as these social activities, we support a wide range of welfare projects in the area. There is also an extensive range of sports and social clubs within the group, including mah-jong, bowling, tennis, and crafts. Anyone wanting to join the group, or who would like more information about its various activities, should telephone Gillian Thom, President, on 081 7626003 or e-mail to [email protected].


‘La Dolce Vita’ ... more than a restaurant

Kirsten Eh
Was that actually an evening in Pattaya? Or was it a night in Palermo or Pisa? Or in Milan? Or even in Rome? What was offered in the Italian restaurant “La Dolce Vita” was an exquisite dining experience. “The sweet life” pure! It was an event that could have been created in an extravagant lifestyle venue in Rome and just dropped across Pattaya for a splendid night.

Opera theatre at La Dolce Vita.

This was on Saturday, the 21st of February. Paolo Nota, chef of the Italian restaurant “La Dolce Vita”, enchanted his guests with the dinner event “La Serva Padrona”. The opera in two acts from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1733), presented by NUNi Production Bangkok, was served between a culinary three-course dinner. By this the sense of taste was pampered and tempted as well as the senses of hearing and seeing.
Paolo Nota gave his guests a warm welcome and provided a cocktail that was followed by the overture. The first course was garnished with the first act (25 min.). After the interlude a delicious main-course was offered and the second act (25 min.) served. Finally for dessert Paolo Nota created a heavenly Tiramisu that came along with a choice of different coffees and a selection of well known Italian melodies.
All senses became hopelessly bewitched by this gastronomic experience (1,250 baht all inclusive). “La Dolce Vita” pure - like the name of the restaurant promises!
The next dinner event “One Night in Broadway” will take place on Saturday, the 4th of April at 7 p.m. The next food event “Cheese and Wine” expects us already on the 5th of March at 6 p.m.
For reservations and further information, visit www. ladolcevitapattaya.com