|
Waves of pink prove loyalty,
devotion to His Majesty the King
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome
(foreground) leads city officials and all of Pattaya in a solemn ceremony,
wishing His Majesty good health, long life and the best of birthdays.
Pattaya Mail reporters
Thousands of Pattaya-area residents prayed, gave alms, painted,
jogged, paraded got health checks and sang songs as Thailand celebrated the
82nd birthday of beloved HM the King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
 Banglamung
citizens give alms to 83 Buddhist monks to make merit on this auspicious
occasion.
The Dec. 5 Father’s Day celebrations stretched from north from Banglamung to
south to Bali Hai pier with old, young, public officials and private
residents all paying homage to the monarch.
The day began with Banglamung District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun leading
a ceremony for residents to make merit in HM the King’s name by giving alms
to 83 monks. In Nongprue, sub-district Mayor Mai Chaiyanit led large numbers
of people in placing bowls of golden and sliver flowers and other offerings
in front of HM the King’s portrait.
 A
beautiful Thai dancer performs for His Majesty the King’s birthday
celebration at Bali Hai.
At Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, health checks were offered free as part of the
hospital’s “Good Health Among Family Fair.” Booths offered checkups and
consultations and more complicated services were offered at special prices.
Attendees also were given the chance to sign cards wishing HM the King,
hospitalized for months at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, a speedy recovery.
Good health was also on the mind of Pattaya’s Tourist Police, which hosted a
jog- and walk-a-thon in honor of HM the King. Members of the Pattaya Jogging
Club and others hit the streets, albeit some on bicycles, to exercise and
hold placards up for the public encouraging them to join in.
Healthy glows were much in evidence at Central Festival where children
painted to their hearts desire in the 9th Eastern Seaboard Youth Painting
Championships. This year’s topic was “Do Good Deeds for Father” and ran
through Dec. 7.
 Suwanthep
Malhotra (front) and Elfi Seitz (back) of the Pattaya Mail Media Group,
humbly make an offering in front of His Majesty the King’s image.
Celebration was not just for the young, however. At the Hard Rock Hotel,
senior citizens from the Banglamung Social Welfare Development Center joined
40 students from Ban Amphur School for a dinner reception and
candle-lighting ceremony.
Candles also illuminated the Father’s Day finale at Bali Hai Pier where the
city sponsored a grand parade and birthday party for HM the King. Residents
marched in pink shirts and held up photographs of HM the King as they
paraded from Royal Garden Plaza to the jetty for the evening ceremony and
fireworks.
 Pratheep
Malhotra (left) and Wannapa Wannasri (right) M.C. the evening events in
English and Thai.
Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome emceed the event that included prayers,
alms giving, candle lighting and songs. Devotees waved yellow flags and
joined in unison to sing “Sadducee Maharaja,” and the Royal Anthem. Five
hundred fireworks lit up the sky as they finished, bathing portraits of HM
the King, adorned with flowers, with a warm glow that mirrored the feelings
of Pattaya’s residents.
Military flag bearers
look sharp in the parade down Pattaya Beach Road.
Pattaya Mail staff proudly
marches in the parade to pay loyalty to HM the King.
Fireworks light up the night
sky signaling the climax to a great celebration.
A sea of pink as thousands of
Pattayans light candles at Bali Hai
in a tribute to His Majesty the King.
Mayor passes out condoms, info on World AIDS Day
Beach Road comes alive with AIDS message parade
Saksiri Uraiworn
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome led a delegation of city officials,
volunteers and students in a parade along Beach Road, down Walking Street
and onwards to Bali Hai Pier, passing out free condoms and spreading the
word on World AIDS Day.
 Mayor
Itthiphol Kunplome hands out free condoms to tourists and residents in the
anti-AIDS activity.
The World Health Organization proclaimed Dec. 1 as World AIDS Day with this
year’s message of “Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise.” Itthiphol said in Thailand
organizers were working on a message of “universal access and human rights”
with the emphasis being placed on raising awareness to the risks of
contracting the disease.
They handed out condoms to locals and tourists and preached the safe-sex
message.
Itthiphol said AIDS awareness campaigns in Thailand generally have been
successful with health experts noting slowing infection rates among
high-risk groups such as drug users and prostitutes. However, he said, AIDS
infections among teenagers is a growing problem.
“Because of changing lifestyles and values among Thais, cooperation between
different sectors is hoped to bring effective results in solving AIDS
problems in the country,” he said.
Students from Pattaya area
schools wear funny costumes
to bring attention to the fight against AIDS.
Learning early - youngsters
from the To Be Number One
program march in the AIDS Day parade.
The marching band from Pattaya
School #8 leads
the parade down Beach Road in Pattaya.
Transvestites from various
bars in Pattaya have made dresses
out of condoms to help spread the anti-AIDS message.
Mayor Itthiphol stops to pose
with the To Be Number One dancers.
A dolphin (Pattaya’s mascot)
and two Pattaya City Public Health officials wear vests and hats made from
condoms to promote their use in preventing AIDS.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome leads
a delegation of city officials,
volunteers and students in a parade along Beach Road, passing
out free condoms and spreading the word on World AIDS Day.
Representatives from the
Population and Community Development Association (PDA) dress up in condom
costumes to spread the message.
Volunteers from Helping
Friends Shelter and Prasiri Huts Foundations march
in the World AIDS Day parade to spread the message of safe sex.
Women from Pattaya Public
Health Club march past
the police station in the AIDS Day parade.
Community leaders turn out to fete
General Kanit Permsub on his 66th birthday
Vimolrat Singnikorn
A large group of community leaders gathered at the Permsub residence
on Friday November 20, to wish Gen Kanit Permsub, Deputy Chief Aide-De-Camp,
General to His Majesty the King a happy 66th birthday.
 Gen.
Kanit Permsub lights candles during the solemn Buddhist ceremony.
To mark the auspicious day of his birth, which falls on November 26, Gen.
Kanit Permsub held a Buddhist ceremony at his home presided over by nine
monks from Sawangfa Pruettharam Temple.
In attendance were a host of family members, friends and dignitaries who had
come to pay their respects to the much-loved general, who is known for his
infinite loyalty and love for His Majesty the King and the Royal Family.
 Prakhru
Sangarakmonthonsumano chief abbot of Sawangfa Pruetharam Temple presents a
portrait of HM the King to Gen. Kanit Permsub.
General Kanit has always stressed upon the people in all circles that His
Majesty the King loves and cares for everyone, be they Thais or foreigners
who have come to live in Thailand under His umbrella of righteousness,
benevolence and protection. General Kanit respectfully speaks of His
Majesty’s work throughout the 62 years of His righteous reign and how
through his dedication and sacrifice the people of Thailand now enjoy a much
better standard of living than ever before.
Guests were welcomed with the warm and loving care of Khun Busyarat Permsub.
After the ceremonies Prakhru Sangarakmonthonsumano chief abbot of Wat
Sawangfa Pruetharam blessed the Permsub family and presented them with a
portrait of His Majesty the King.
Chief Abbot Prakhru Sangarakmonthonsumano
blesses guests with the sprinkling of holy water.
Gen. Kanit Permsub attends to the monks at the end of the prayer session.
Mai Chaiyanit (right) mayor of Nongprue sub-district
joins General Kanit and Khun Busyarat in prayer.
Khun Jirapha Prajakjit, wife of General Mana Prajakjit attends
the ceremonies to wish her brother in law a happy birthday.
Pol. Col. Nopadol Wongnom, commander of Chonburi provincial police presents
a birthday gift to Gen. Kanit Permsub watched by Khun Busyarat Permsub.
Gen Kanit and Khun Busyarat receive a gift from George Hazard,
GM of the Hard Rock Hotel.
Khun Suchada Polcheewan and her staff from the Golf Time Magazine present
Gen Kanit with a portrait of King Rama V.
General Kanit and Khun Busyarat receive a gift from the Malhotra family.
“Wow” Gala Dinner wows the Wine Club members
(L to R) Paul Whyte, Michael
Diamente,
Judy and Bruce Hoppe sample some of the fine wine.
Dr. Iain Corness
Leading into the festive season, many of the hotels and resorts in
Pattaya have been hosting wine dinners, but the longest established is the
Royal Cliff Beach Resort with its Royal Cliff Wine Club. President and
founder Ranjith Chandrasiri has probably the most popular wine club in
Thailand, and its reputation has spread internationally far beyond the
Eastern Seaboard. For example this wine dinner was booked out within four
hours of the bookings opening!
 Stonefish
MD Peter Papanikitas addresses the Wow! gala dinner guests.
The most recent dinner was called the “Wow” Gala Dinner and was held in the
Grill Room, with its newly expanded and underground wine cellar, just adding
to the mystique and atmosphere of what was already a wonderful venue. By the
way, Wine Club members can book a table in the wine cellar if you want to
have a very exclusive dinner.
The eight wines were a mixture of Australian and New Zealand with one French
and one Chilean thrown in for the purpose of comparisons. President Ranjith,
in his opening address, mentioned that with some courses two wines would be
served concurrently. Not quite ‘blind tastings’, but enough for everyone to
experience and compare, and the results were very interesting. The wine
sponsor was Wine Dee Dee company, with its Chairman Anirut Posakrisna
enjoying an evening away from Bangkok.
Dr Iain Corness (right) interviews Judy Hoppe (left) and Roseanne Diamente
(center) for Pattaya Mail TV.
The wines included three from the Australian Stonefish label, represented by
its MD Peter Papanikitas and two New Zealand Lightband wines, with its MD
Simon Prattley also in attendance and both men were enjoying the attention
their wines were receiving.
The evening began with the reception wine, a young Stonefish Sauvignon Blanc
(2009), but despite its tender years, it was universally enjoyed. The
members then trooped downstairs to the Grill Room and Wine Cellar and the
‘Wow’ dinner began with a poached Tasmanian salmon terrine with pickled
beetroot in aspic and grain mustard flavoured bluefin tuna tartare. This was
a wonderfully ‘clean’ first course and was accompanied by a Stonefish
Chardonnay 2008, which also received top marks from the diners.
 Chitra
Chandrasiri (left) and Kannikar Ottesen look lovely as usual.
The second course was a lobster soufflé on a Noilly Prat and Pouilly-Fume
concoction, laced with lobster oil. This was simply sensational, and again
shows the depth of talent held by the Royal Cliff’s executive chef Walter
Thenisch. He manages to come up with dishes like the above every time, never
just going back to his notes and presenting something he has made before.
This course was also the first to have two wines to accompany it. The first
was the NZ Lightband Sauvignon Blanc 2008 and the second was a French
Domaine Blondelet Pouilly-Fume 2007. I do not know whether the New
Zealanders beat the French at Rugby this year, but the NZ wines certainly
beat the French at my table at the ‘Wow’ Gala dinner.
The third course of braised duck leg and pan-fried duck foie gras medallion
on almond enhanced potato pouch was accompanied by a Stonefish Cabernet
Sauvignon 2007 and a Swagaroo Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Mudgee, NSW,
Australia. This was interesting, the same grapes and the same year, but from
different sides of Australia, and they were two totally different wines. The
Swagaroo was heavily loaded with tannin, which for me was unacceptable, but
as I always say, wine appreciation is a personal thing, though at this wine
dinner, the general consensus was for the Stonefish label.
The main course of Australian beef tenderloin was extremely tender and was
served with a 2000 Don Aldo Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile and the second of
the Lightband wines, a 2007 Pinot Noir. The younger red was again almost
universally the favorite with the diners in my very rough straw poll at the
end of the dinner.
The evening finished with dessert and coffee, with the Wine Club members all
hoping they could purchase their choices afterwards, though many were
disappointed as the heavily discounted stocks were soon sold out.
If you wish to contact the Royal Cliff Wine Club you may contact Ranjith
Chandrasiri via email [email protected].
Learning about Thai residency at PCEC meeting
Master of Ceremonies (Emcee) Les Edmonds welcomed
everyone to the regular Sunday meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club on
November 29 at the Amari’s Henry J. Bean Restaurant and after the usual
announcements, he introduced the guest speaker Drew Noyes.
Drew, in addition to being a member and former chairman of the club, is also
a well known businessman in Pattaya. He is the managing director of PAPPA
Legal & Visa Services and Pattaya Times Media Group. He is very
knowledgeable on many aspects of living in Thailand that impact on
foreigners and has spoken to the club on numerous occasions on various
subjects of interest. Today, Drew wanted to discuss becoming a Thai
permanent resident including the costs, benefits, and requirements. Drew
said that most would be surprised at how easy it can be.
 PCEC
Board Member and Treasurer Al Serrato advises members to avoid the rush for
renewing memberships at the end of the year.
As with many things in Thailand, one gets different answers from government
officials. Drew and his staff made several inquiries with the office in
Bangkok that oversees the process as well as with others knowledgeable about
the process. Based on the law, published regulations, guidelines, and the
results of their inquiries, he believes that the information he will be
sharing is as complete and accurate as it can be.
Drew said that the law that governs Permanent Residency in Thailand is the
Immigration Act of 2522. The Thai Immigration Act of 2522 empowers the
Immigration Commission to set the requirements for application and approval
of residency. Drew listed the members of this commission noting that they
were all high ranking government officials, including the Under Secretary of
the Minister of the Interior, Director General of the Police Department, and
the Commander of the Immigration Division. He further explained that the
number of approvals is limited to 100 persons a year per foreign country.
The application period is usually open during a period in December and that
the initial application fee is 7,600 baht. The current application period
ends December 31.
Drew said that before you can apply, you must have been permitted to stay in
Thailand for three consecutive years. This does not mean that one has to
remain in Thailand for three years. Three years using consecutive renewals
of your permission to stay is sufficient; it does not matter that you may
have left Thailand to visit your home country or other countries so long as
you kept your permission to stay active using a re-entry permit to return to
Thailand.
 MC
Les Edmonds and Drew listen to one of the many questions from interested
members regarding Permanent Residence.
Although applications are submitted each year, no permanent residency has
been given out since the 2006 coup. When they do start to again award
permanent residency, he said it will not be a on a first in first out basis.
Instead, all applications in process will be reviewed together and those
aliens considered most desirable will be get approval. He went on to say
that those that submitted applications in the past two year application
period did receive a benefit. This is because each applicant under
consideration receives a permission to stay of 180 days. Further, so long as
the application is still under consideration, Immigration will continue to
extend the applicant’s stay for 180 days at a time. So, they do not have to
do the annual renewal of their stay in Thailand, thus avoiding the paperwork
and the 1,900 baht fee.
One requirement that many might consider a major stumbling block is that the
applicants must speak Thai. Drew said that this should not scare people off.
The test for this ability is relatively easy. Based on his discussions with
people who have gone through the process, they were not required to be
fluent. In most cases it was the ability to understand some basic Thai such
as “What is your name?” “Where are you from?” “Where do you live?” In other
words, Drew said the officials wanted to know that the applicant had made
some effort to understand the language and culture of Thailand.
Drew then described the qualifications to become a permanent resident.
Permanent residency is permitted for foreigners that fall within certain
categories. One category is having a qualifying investment in Thailand of at
least 10 million baht. Another is being related to or supporting a Thai
national. If one is considered an expert in an internationally recognized
field, they can also qualify. Drew said that although one might be a
professional in their own country, to qualify as an expert for permanent
residency, they have to have practiced their profession at some point in
Thailand. Drew described the various forms that are required to accompany
the application including information and documents to show income and
assets. They also require criminal background checks in Thailand and the
applicant’s home country. The applicant must also provide their
fingerprints, which are checked against Thai criminal records.
Once the application is approved, there is another fee of about 190,000 baht
to proceed with actually getting permanent residency. This fee may be less
for some categories such as being the spouse of someone already granted
permanent residency.
Drew then cited some of the benefits of being a Thai permanent resident.
There is no annual application for extension of stay in the Kingdom. There
is no requirement for 90 day reporting of residence. The Land Office does
not require proof of money coming from outside Thailand when purchasing a
condominium. A permanent resident has the right to be listed in a Thai House
Book, which can be beneficial if applying for credit from Thai banks.
Drew said that after being a permanent resident for three years, most people
apply for Thai citizenship.
After Drew answered many questions from the audience, emcee Les updated
everyone on upcoming events and then called on his lovely wife, Judith, to
conduct the always informative, interesting, and sometime humorous Open
Forum where questions are asked and answered about living in Thailand and
Pattaya in particular.
|
