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CSR with Cross Bay Swim 2009 keep
Dusit Thani Pattaya on its toes
HRH Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn grants an audience to Dusit Thani Pattaya,
led by General Manager Chatchawal Supachayanont (1st row, right) as the
hotel delivered its donation to His Majesty the King’s Chaipattana
Foundation.
Dusit Thani Pattaya has been busy with its calendar of
events involving projects and activities, the proceeds of which go to
various charitable institutions.
The whole month of October has seen the hotel management on a “Krathin”
(donation) trip to Lopburi province to give goods and financial assistance
to schools and temples as well as hospitals in need of medical and other
equipment.
This was followed by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn granting an
audience to the hotel led by its general manager, Chatchawal Supachayanont,
as they handed their annual donation raised by the management and staff for
His Majesty the King’s Chaipattana Foundation
Recently, the resort has visited the Jittapawan Temple in Naklua to bring
food, money and other basic essentials to the monks and the community.
On November 15, Dusit Thani Pattaya will once again be part of the annual
Pattaya Cross Bay Swim, a charity event organized by the Rotary Club of
Jomtien Pattaya to provide clean drinking water to children in various
schools and villages. The hotel has always supported the event, now on its
6th year, by providing buffet lunch to all the swim participants and
organizers as well as the stage area at one of its beachfronts, Chaba Beach
for the awarding of trophies and certificates at the end of the competition.
Chaba Beach is the culminating point of the 3.5 km and 1.1 km bay swim.
Last year, Dusit International’s Senior Vice President Octavio Gamarra
participated as a guest swimmer. He bested other competitors, but waived his
trophy for Jessica Pisters of the Regent’s School. Another Dusit property in
Pattaya, dusitd2baraquda will also be one of the sponsors alongside its
sister hotel. For more information, visit: www. crossbayswim.com
Chatchawal says, “We are quite fortunate to be given this opportunity to be
part of the 6th Cross Bay Swim to raise funds in order to support a number
of projects for the less privileged children not only in Pattaya but also in
other areas up-country. We believe the event brings out the best in every
competing swimmer, as they make use of their skill while at the same time
contributing to charity.”
Japanese host-turned-hostess wins
International Queen transvestite pageant
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
At the end of an evening of lavish costumes and carefully
choreographed routines, Japanese transsexual Haruna Ai was crowned “Miss
International Queen 2009.”
Ai, a 37-year-old Japanese television host-turned-hostess topped a Thai
university student and a Brazilian to win the transvestite beauty pageant
that again wowed crowds after taking after a year off.
Haruna Ai (center) from Japan
is crowned Miss International Queen 2009, with the first runner up Kangsadal
Wongdusadeekul from Thailand (right) and the second runner up Deniela
Marques from Brazil (left).
The annual event is fashioned after the Miss World beauty pageant, with the
notable exception that each of the contestants has to have been born male.
Shimmering in a tight gold evening gown, Ai - formerly known as Kenji Onishi
- wept and called for greater tolerance as she was given a trophy, the crown
and the $10,000 top prize. Also the winner of the pageant’s talent contest,
Ai also took home a prize basket worth about 1 million baht, including a
$500 surgical voucher and a year’s stay at the Woodlands Hotel and Resort.
“I am very, very, very happy. I love Thailand. Thank you very much,” a
tearful Ai told the press. “I want contests like this to show everyone that
they should love each other and live freely. The way of life in Japan is
more traditional and transsexuals cannot live freely, but in Thailand they
can do what they want,” she said.
 First
runner up Kangsadal Wongdusadeekul from Thailand takes a pose during the
swimsuit competition.
Thailand’s Kangsadal Wongdusadeekul was named first runner up and also took
the Miss Photogenic prize, while third place went to Deniela Marques Correa
of Brazil.
The pageant, canceled last year due to fallout over political protests in
Bangkok, again was greeted with a warm response from attendees at the
Tiffany Show Theater and on nationwide television.
Eighteen contestants from 11 countries, including China, Japan, the
Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States took part in the
contest. Judges whittled down the finalists based on their performances in
gowns, pink swimsuits and talent.
Other prize winners included Sorawee Nattee from Thailand for Best National
Costume; Anna Marie from the Philippines for Miss Ripley’s Popular Vote; and
Godiva Marie Arcachie of the Philippines won Miss Congeniality.
The pageant is held to promote tourism and the rights of gay and transgender
people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The moment of truth - the
winner is announced.
“Miss International Queen
2009” Haruna Ai receives her trophy
from assistant professor Dr. Seri Wongmonta, honorary advisor.
Judges (from 2nd left)
Patumrat Woramalee (Helen) Berger, Miss Thailand World 1989, Peter Malhotra,
managing director of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd.,
and Luana Alapa, producer of the Miss Hawaii pageant prepare for the tough
job ahead. At left is Chyna West, Luana’s niece from Hawaii.
Japanese transsexual Haruna Ai
(center)
was crowned “Miss International Queen 2009.”
Tiffany’s put on a magnificent
stage performance for the event.
All contestants pose in their
swimsuits at Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
Ghosts, goblins & good times
at Halloween Festival 2009
Saksiri Uraiworn,
Phasakorn Channgam and Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Thais and tourists alike were in high spirits as Pattaya’s extra
spooky Halloween festival haunted Beach Road.
 You’re
never too old, or too young, to enjoy a scary holiday.
Much of the street was closed to traffic, giving revelers decked out in all
sorts of costumes the ability to float freely along the beachfront and take
in concerts featuring hip-hop artist Joey Boy, pop-rock band Sweet Mullet
and others.
Pattaya Halloween Festival 2009 also offered games and fireworks to cap off
the weekend evenings.
Those looking particularly scary got to try their luck at the Halloween
Costume Contest, working in teams to vie for 100,000 baht in prize money.
The Errta team took the top prize of 30,000 baht while the Nemo and Orsang
teams won 20,000 baht and 10,000 baht, respectively. The press’s favorite
and winner of 8,000 baht was the Iron Mix.
The Hard Rock Cafe Pattaya, fully decorated for this occasion, also hosted
the Halloween Night event, with Halloween screaming, make-up and costume
competitions with large crowds of dressed-up customers in attendance.
 Children
in ghost costumes, all ready to compete for top prize at Central Center
Pattaya.
Halloween in Pattaya was more energetic this year with the increased number
of visitors. And due to a large number of cars, traffic jams formed during
the evening on the roads in the city, especially the central Pattaya road.
But the Pattaya City traffic police, volunteers, and rescue team from the
Sawang foundation helped resolve the situations doing their best jobs.
Child ghosts scare up a good time at Central Center
Meanwhile, North Pattaya’s Central Center turned into a haunted
house Oct. 31 but the ghosts didn’t scare people away, they collected
prizes.
 “Scary”
nurses from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya compete for prizes at the Hard Rock
Cafe.
The mall along with Big C Supercenter and the Pattaya Orphanage staged
Halloween Fancy Kids Contest for Halloween with the best ghost costume up
for judging.
Mall General Manager Theeraporn Jitnawa handed out 20,000 baht in prize
money and certificates with both tourists and locals taking in the show.
“At this Halloween day event, in addition to the contest, people could join
in workshops for making ghost masks and baking cupcakes and check out the
one and only collection of “Chucky dolls in Thailand,” Theeraporn said,
referring to the plastic star of the toy-doll slasher movie series.
Attendees also donated to the Pattaya Orphanage by dropping off candies and
snacks into a giant pumpkin arranged by the Central Center Pattaya and the
Big C Supercenter.
Tik Shiro performs during the Halloween concert.
Face painting was popular along Pattaya Beach Road.
(Back row, left to right) Jaruek Jewcharoen, general manager of Pattaya Big
C Supercenter, and Theeraporn Jitnawa, general manager of the Central Center
Pattaya, donate candies for Pattaya Orphanage children to Suwanna
Chiawnawin, director of Pattaya Orphanage.
George Hazard (4th left), general manager of Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya,
and Laurent Levraud (7th left), Hard Rock Cafe manager along with
Hard Rockers in Halloween costume celebrate All Hallows Eve.
Zombie cheerleaders perform on center stage.
BCCT and AmCham look for the tunnel
Dr. Iain Corness
The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) and the American
Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AmCham), joined forces last week, looking
for that famous tunnel, from which a light can supposedly be seen, denoting
the end of all our troubles.
 (L
to R) Dueanpen Thohgsombat, senior sales manager for Amari Orchid Pattaya;
Lada Mahutthanasakul, assistant manager of corporate marketing for Hemaraj
Land and Development Public Company Limited; Ong-Ard Amatayakul, marketing
representative for Hemaraj Land and Development Public Company Limited.
Keynote speakers were Chris Bruton (Dataconsult) and David Nardone (Hemaraj
Land and Development) who did present some interesting statistics about the
tunnel, but unfortunately no guarantees that the light that could be seen
was really daylight at the other end, as it could be the headlight of the
oncoming express train.
 (L
to R) Paul Grimes, financial director for Siam Hunter; and Max Sierachi,
resident manager of the Amari Orchid Pattaya.
Many topics were broached, including Thai politics, with the usual names of
PM Abhisit, Newin Chidchob and fugitive ex-PM Thaksin being mentioned, but
that was all. The Maptaput ecological problem likewise.
For many who attended, there was a sense of disappointment at the end. Much
that was to be revealed was intimated before the addresses, but as so often
happens, anticipation and realization can be different.
However, it was good to see AmCham’s executive director, Judy Benn and the
BCCT’s counterpart Greg Watkins, along with BCCT president, Rodney Bain at
the dinner.
(L to R) Nicholas Brown, associate director of valuation for Colliers
International; David Nardone, president & chief executive officer of Hemaraj
Land and Development Public Company Limited and Mark Bowling, sales manager
for Colliers International.
(L to R) Pattaravadee Wangviriyaphan, marketing executive with the
International Marketing Department at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya; George
Hazard, general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe Pattaya; and Wararat
Sasom, marketing coordinator for the International Marketing Department at
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.
(L to R) Koiryn Walker and Murray Walker, project operations manager
for Foster Wheeler International Corporation Thailand.
(L to R) Max Sierachi, resident manager of the Amari Orchid Pattaya;
Pattaravadee Wangviriyaphan, marketing executive with the International
Marketing Department at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya; and Neil Maniquiz,
marketing executive with the International Marketing Department at Bangkok
Hospital Pattaya.
Wandee and Christopher Bruton, Director for Thailand & Indochina,
Dataconsult Ltd.; David Nardone, president & chief executive officer of
Hemaraj Land and Development Public Company Limited; Graham Macdonald, Vice
Chairman, Eastern Seaboard Committee, British Chamber of Commerce Thailand.
(L to R) Richard Bernhard, associate executive director of Kenan Institute
Asia; Graham Macdonald, vice chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce
Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard Committee; Gary McEwan, business development
manager for Grant Thornton; Chris Thatcher, chairman of the Sutlet Group
(Thailand) Co., Ltd.; and Campbell Gibson.
(L to R) Gregory Pitt, managing director of Mackenzie Smith Law; Rene Anant
Feddersen, managing director of One System Technologies; Pratheep S.
Malhotra, managing director of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd.; and best
selling author Dr. Iain Corness.
(L to R) Gregory Pitt, managing director of Mackenzie Smith Law; Rodney
Bain, chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand; David Nardone,
president & chief executive officer of Hemaraj Land and Development Public
Company Limited; Judy Benn, executive director of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Thailand; Graham Macdonald, vice chairman of the British Chamber
of Commerce Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard Committee; Christopher Bruton,
Dataconsult Ltd.’s director for Thailand and Indochina; Bruce Hoppe, Vice
President Asia Operations of Emerson Electric; Chris Thatcher, chairman of
the Sutlet Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd.; and Max Sierachi, resident manager of
the Amari Orchid Pattaya.
Original Oktoberfest held in Chiang Mai
Elfi Seitz
The site may have been Chiang Mai and the weather hotter than you’d
expect in Bavaria, but that didn’t stop revelers from enjoying the city’s
first authentic Oktoberfest sponsored by German human rights group
Thailandfreunde (Thailand friends).
 Dirk
Weber-Arayatumsopon (left) welcomes John Valentine, the trainer of ‘Flipper’
and ‘Kill Bill’ to the festivities.
The Oct. 17 celebration at Rati Lanna Riverside Spa Resort featured music,
games and non-stop entertainment, a sumptuous German buffet and, of course,
beer. More than 350 attended, including local dignitaries, celebrities and
the last princess of the ancient Lanna state, Chao Duangduan Na Chiangmai.
Festivities started early in the afternoon with a welcoming speech from
Thailandfreunde head Dr. Dirk Weeber-Arayatumsopon and his partner
Wuttipong; and Chiang Mail Deputy Gov. Chumporn Saengmanee. The emcee for
the evening, television host “Miss Bow” then welcomed the princess and
fellow guest of honor TV chef Yingsak Jonglertjesadawong to the stage.
Speeches concluded and partying began with a cannon shot of thousands of
blue and white paper balls into the air.
 This
stunning fraulein shows the men how to drink a yard of ale.
The many guests were all in a truly Bavarian Oktoberfest mood and drank down
the beer and wine to quench their thirsts on this unusually hot Chiang Mai
day. They strolled through the many food stalls, enjoying ham, roasted pork
and sausages, as well as traditional Oktoberfest favorite Wies’n pretzels.
Between brews, strong men and women tried their best to pound nails into a
wood block with just a few hammer strikes. “Emil” of Frankenthal, Germany
won the event.
Others tested their luck at a beer-drinking contest. Served as a “yard of
ale” was not as easy as it sounded being more than 2 liters of beer.
Pongkrit Jitpairoth, the son of a friend of HRH Princess Soamsawalee proved
the fastest drinker and still managed to walk straight afterward.
 Dr.
Chao Duangduan na Chiengmai is greeted by Margaret Bhadungzong (left) and
Elfi Seitz (right) at the fair grounds.
Ladies, meanwhile, competed for the most original Bavarian “Dirndl” dress.
The finalists were Beate Heger, a genuine Bavarian who wore an original
Bavarian dress, and Thai Palacha Kosayothin, who won with an unoriginal, but
colorful, costume. Her prize was a three-night hotel stay in Krabi.
Another Thai, Wiwon Thammarit, showed the best moves, however, winning the
limbo contest, dancing like a snake under a pole just 40 cm off the floor.
Tananan Wilson of Chiang Mai, meanwhile, took the prize in the karaoke
contest.
 Beate
Heger (left) and Elfi Seitz (centre) are happy to see Palacha Kosayothin win
the contest for best dirndl.
The shows were something very special indeed, especially an original “wood
cutter” dance performed by the staff of Dr. Dirk Weeber-Arayatumsopon’s
Podology Center. The foot clinic team did two more dances, a “Red Horse and
the Flies” routine and another fantasy dance to the tune of the Erzherzog
Albrecht March.
All the games left many hungry and Yingsak was happy to oblige, producing a
pork leg salad with a Thai twist. Heiko Schmidt won the dish at the charity
auction. Other big prizes included a silk suit from Fashion King, a 12,500
baht bottle of Chateau du Pape and two body treatments from Oasis Spa.
Oktoberfest reached its finale with a memorable fireworks display and all
went away not only having had a great time, but knowing all proceeds would
go toward the Princess Soamsawalee’s HIV-AIDS project.
Photos by Chip Olson, Peeradon Jaohom, Dr. Dirk Weeber-Arayatumsopon, and
Elfi Seitz.
Pongkrit Jitpairoth gulped down the yard of ale in record time.
Wiwon Thammarit performing his extraordinary limbo rock.
Magician Nick Wiczinsky thrilled the kids, young and old.
Koh Ped monkeys go
from famine to feast
Kasem Hosuwan, Klet Kaeo Municipality’s mayor,
with his management team and 30 workers brought 600 kilos of banana,
papaya, peanuts and other fruits to feed the monkeys at Ped Island.
Patcharapol Panrak
Three weeks after Navy officers rescued the monkeys of Koh Ped from
starvation, the island’s simians are smiling over the wave of renewed
support they’re getting.
Kasem Hosuwan, the mayor of Klet Kaeo, which has jurisdiction over the
island, and 30 staff members donated 600 kg of bananas, papayas, peanuts and
other fruits to Capt. Wuttakorn Kamolpetch, deputy commander of Chumphon
Navy School, as food for the monkeys.
The building that is to be restored as a place for the monkeys and the
tourists to rest.
Some of the group voyaged
themselves to the island with the Navy, but, with their tummies a little
more full, the monkeys didn’t rush the boat as they had done to the Navy a
few weeks before. That all changed when the group arrived at Chao Mae Obchei
shrine and blew a whistle. Suddenly dozens jumped from trees and scampered
along rocks for the next meal.
Kasem said he was distressed when heard the news reported in the Oct. 30
Pattaya Mail that, due to stormy seas and a dearth of tourists, the
monkeys of Koh Ped were forgotten and starving.
Capt. Chatchawal Meesawad, the commander of Chumphon Navy School who first
uncovered the monkeys’ plight, has taken the lead in making the island a
better home for the primates by building a water-storage facility and
repairing a building they use for shelter.
Since Oct. 10, when Chatchawal first uncovered the monkey business, four
groups have come to the island to bring supplies and food.
Koh Ped’s monkeys aren’t as famished as they were last month,
but still enjoy a good fruity meal.
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