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Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link officially starts commercial services
Transport Minister Sophon Zarum on Monday morning
presided over the inauguration of Bangkok’s Airport Rail Link project,
providing direct rail service to and from Suvarnabhumi Airport and Bangkok.
The long-awaited opening of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail
Link commercial services began with special discount fares offered until the
end of the year, shortened travel times for inbound and outbound air
travelers as well as easing arrivals and departures compared to existing
airport transport.
The 28km rail link connects Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut
Prakan province east of Bangkok and the City Air Terminal (CAT) in Bangkok’s
Makkasan area, where passengers will be able to check in their baggage.
The Airport Rail Link project is owned and will be
operated by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
Services of both the Express Service and the City Line
will be operational on the same tracks at speeds of up to 160km per hour;
the train will serve eight stations and can cater up to 50,000 passengers
daily.
The Express Service is a 15-minute non-stop journey
between the City Terminal and the airport with a fare at Bt150 per trip.
During the opening period, the fare charged will be Bt100.
Meanwhile, City Line commuter trips, with set fares at
Bt15-Bt45, take 30 minutes to reach the airport, departing from Phaya Thai,
Ratchaprarop, Makkasan, Asoke, Ramkhamhaeng, Hua Mak, Ban Thap Chang, and
Lat Krabang stations, and will end at the last stop of Suvarnabhumi.
The promotional fare will be Bt15 for all journeys during
this period.
The baggage check-in system developed by the SRT and
Airports of Thailand (AoT) for Makkasan Station won’t be ready for full
operation until year end. (TNA)
90 Sattahip volunteers march to swat mosquitoes
Patcharapol Panrak
About 90 Sattahip residents sprayed pesticide and handed
out insect repellent in a campaign to rid the area of dengue fever-carrying
mosquitoes.
A worker fogs away mosquitoes to
try and cut down on the number of dengue fever cases in Sattahip.
Mayor Narong Bunbancherdsri led the event, which saw
volunteers walk through the Sattahip Sub-District passing out Abate-brand
repellent and fogging mosquito breeding grounds in the Thung Prong
neighborhood near the Sattahip Naval Base.
Narong noted that dengue fever is a persistent problem in
Thailand, especially during the current rainy season which sees
disease-carrying mosquitoes multiply quickly due the abundance of standing
water and puddles.
The Department of Public Health and Environment
continually wages war against the bugs and was fortunate this month to have
many volunteers to help out, he said.
Pattaya, cancer groups sound alarm about risks of cervical cancer
Marchers head out to
spread the message
that cervical cancer is preventable and curable.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Pattaya officials and two Thai cancer associations have
teamed up to raise awareness about the dangers - and possibility to prevent
- cervical cancer in women.
The Thai Gynecological Cancer Society and the National
Cancer Institute staged a seminar and parade in Pattaya Aug. 13 to outline
the causes, treatment and preventative measures women can take to avoid the
potentially deadly disease.
Dr. Chaiyot Theerapakawong, president of the Thai
Gynecological Cancer Society, led the seminar and walk from the Dusit Thani
Hotel to Central Festival Pattaya Beach. He said cervical cancer remains a
serious threat to Thai women, with 6,000 new cases reported each year and
treatment costing more than 350 million baht annually.
The irony, Chaiyot noted, is that cervical cancer is
largely preventable and very treatable in its early stages. They key to that
treatment is a Pap smear examination. However, due to cultural inhibitions,
most Thai women in the target age group don’t get regular, if any, exams.
The National Statistics Institute said 37 percent of
women between 35 and 59 in 2008 had never had a Pap smear and 50 percent get
one no more than once a year. During those 12 months, the cancer can grow
quickly, he warned. In the countryside, the rates are even worse.
The “Total Power Dream” campaign by the two groups aims
to attract help from local municipalities in getting the word out about the
importance of regular exams and the dangers of not getting treatment.
Blind students among 250 planting 1,000 mangroves in Chonburi
Vimolrat Singnikorn
About 250 visually impaired students joined volunteers
and the Y.W.C.A. Bangkok-Pattaya Center in planting 1,000 mangrove trees in
Chonburi’s Samed district.
Getting dirty is part of the fun when volunteers help
blind students plant mangrove shoots in honor of HM the Queen.
The Aug. 6 activity was held to honor the Aug. 12
birthday of HM the Queen, who long has advocated reforestation of Thailand.
It also was the first chance for many blind children to get their hands
dirty planting trees.
Students from Pattaya schools No. 3, 8 and 11; the
Redemptorist School for the Blind; and Srisuvit and Banglamung schools took
part in the planting at Natural Education Center’s Mangrove Preservation
Forest. Assisting the children were teachers from the center’s political
science and public administration departments as well as the Pattaya Tourist
Police.
Many of the blind kids squealed with excitement as guides
led them into the mud along the shore where mangroves help prevent erosion.
Some children sunk up to their thighs in mud, but it was all in good fun,
and for a good purpose.
31 students join Navy environmental youth leadership camp
Youths from Sattahip area schools attend an environmental youth
leadership camp sponsored by the Royal Thai Navy.
Patcharapol Panrak
Students from Sattahip area schools and universities
released marine animals into the wild, cleaned beaches and embarked on
other tasks to preserve the environment at a Royal Thai Navy-sponsored
youth camp.
31 youths from Burapha and Kasetsart universities,
Mareewit, Ban Chong Samae San, and Sattahip schools attended the Aug. 16
activity at the Prince Jetsada Camp in Plutaluang. Organizers included
the Sattahip Naval Base, IRPC (Public) Co, Ltd., and Vinythai (Public)
Co. Ltd.
Capt. Montree Rodwiset, director of the Navy Region 1
Civil Affairs Department, said the event was organized to honor HM the
Queen’s campaign to preserve the environment on her 78th birthday.
Activities included donating blood, releasing marine
creatures - including fish, prawns and clams - into the sea. The youth
leaders were also invited to join efforts of area coastal fisheries
departments.
Chonburi Red Cross, women’s club offer lunch to female prisoners
Members
of local women’s clubs prepare to provide lunch to female inmates
at Chonburi Women’s Prison.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
The Chonburi Red Cross and two women’s clubs helped
female prisoners at the Chonburi Women’s Prison enjoy Mother’s Day as best
they could by providing the inmates a free holiday lunch.
Members of the Interior Ministry Chonburi Housewives Club
and the National Good Mothers Club of Chonburi joined Chorpaka Jittakasem,
chairwoman of the Chonburi Red Cross, and Nonntiya Kaewket, deputy director
of the Thai Red Cross Council Administration Aug. 9 for the Social Welfare
Council-sponsored event.
Lunch was provided to female prisoners as well as local
unemployed and poor people.
Chonburi Province also provided a separate lunch to 935
other female prison inmates to mark HM the Queen’s Aug. 12 birthday.
Pong farmers given occupational training
Vimolrat Singnikorn
About 60 Pong Sub-District residents joined volunteers
from the Nong Ta-Aun Public Health Office in a merit-making and fundraising
activity aimed at providing occupational and health education for locals.
Pong farmers learn new, healthy ways to market their
products from volunteers at the Nong Ta-Aun Public Health office.
The Aug. 11 event at the Soi Siam Country Club health
office gave residents a chance for some merit-making as lunch was offered to
nine Buddhist monks. Afterward they watched demonstrations about Thai
dessert making, planting organic vegetables and about controlling obesity.
A health office volunteer noted that organic gardens are
not only healthier for farmers, but can generate income as well.
Of particular interest to many attending was the seminar
on creating Thai desserts and fruit preserves. Pineapples are a major crop
in Pong and farmers were keen on other ways to turn their crop into cash.
Several other handicraft demonstrations were also well attended.
Volunteers said funds raised at this week’s activity will
go toward organizing more seminars to educate and help local residents.
80 percent happy with disabilities
program as Chonburi plans next phase
Vimolrat Singnikorn
More than 80 percent of Chonburi residents say they are
satisfied with the government’s 500 baht-per-month assistance program for
people with disabilities.
At an Aug. 10 meeting at the Pattaya Redemptorist Center,
Chonburi Administrative Organization President Wittaya Kunplome said a
recent survey showed 81.8% satisfaction with the Persons with Disabilities’
Quality of Life Promotion and Development Act enacted in 2007. The key to
that satisfaction was the 500 baht monthly stipend begun in April.
More than 80 percent of Chonburi residents recently
polled say they are satisfied with the government’s Persons with
Disabilities’ Quality of Life Promotion and Development Act enacted in 2007.
The allowances are given to disabled persons who have
registered with their local government and obtained a disabled person’s
identification card. For disabled seniors over age 60, the stipend is paid
in addition to the government’s 500 baht-per-month elderly support payment.
Wittaya said Chonburi has already begun soliciting input
on how the disabilities act, which expires at the end of next year, can be
improved for a new law envisioned to take effect from 2012-2016.
“If we can review the plan and collaborate on the second
Quality of Life Promotion and Development Act to establish clear goals, we
can determine how many years it will take until all the people with
disabilities in Chonburi are well taken care of,” Wittaya said.
The 2007 act is a comprehensive rights-based law for
people with disabilities. It replaced the 1991 Rehabilitation of Disabled
Persons Act, which was the first law on disability in Thailand.
According to 2007 figures from the National Statistical
Office, 1.9 million of Thailand’s 65.9 million people were disabled. The
majority live in rural areas and more than 43 percent became disabled so
after age 60. Only 12.8 percent were born with a disability.
“Chonburi is a national center for the development of
people with disabilities,” Wittaya said. “We are encouraging people with
disabilities to participate in society, do things together with family
members and the community, collaborate with us to express the importance of
building knowledge and to find innovative ways to facilitate people with
disabilities.”
He added that a major goal of the Chonburi government is
to assist disabled residents with finding jobs so they will become more
independent. “We must help people with disabilities by uniting to support
them,” Wittaya said.
Navy releases 779 sea turtles, 90 sharks for HM the Queen’s birthday
The
Royal Thai Navy releases 779 turtles and 90 small sharks
into the wild to mark HM Queen Sirikit’s 78th birthday.
Patcharapol Panrak
The Royal Thai Navy marked HM Queen Sirikit’s 78th
birthday by releasing 779 turtles and 90 small sharks into the wild,
honoring her wishes for Thailand to replenish its marine environment.
Adm. Supakorn Buranadilok, commander of the Royal Thai
Fleet, presided over the Aug. 10 ceremony at the Sea Turtle Conservation
Center in Sattahip, along with other top navy, political and business
leaders.
Among the endangered turtles released back into the wild
were seven reproductive-age Green and Hawskbill turtles. In addition, 90
brown-band bamboo sharks, raised at the Chiang Mai Zoo’s Aquarium and
MarineScape Thailand, were also set free. Officials from both Chiang Mai and
MarineScape were on hand for the occasion.
Rear Adm. Chakchai Phucharoenyot, commander of Air and
Coastal Defense Command, said it was hoped the 16-year-old turtles would
help repopulate the Green and Hawksbill populations, which were nearly
destroyed due to fishing and pollution. Nearby Koh Khram is the main site
for turtles to lay their eggs.
The male turtle population has been especially hard hit
due to global warming, Chakchai noted. Temperature of an egg determines the
sex, with females resulting from eggs heated to more than 32 degrees. As a
result, there are now many more female than male sea turtles in Thailand. HM
the Queen - who has made the environment her cause - is especially concerned
about the turtle population, he said.
Robbed, beaten pop idol on tirade against Pattaya changes tune after drunken escapades exposed
Boonlua Chatree
A Thai pop star who went on a public tirade against
safety in Pattaya after being attacked and robbed now admits he was so drunk
he had blacked out and is begging for forgiveness.
A contrite Chalatit Tantiwut asks his fans forgiveness as
his mother looks on.
“Ben” Chalatit Tantiwut, 29, along with his lawyer and
mother, called a press conference Aug. 9 to apologize for his tantrum, and
the outrageous behavior captured on videotape and in witness accounts.
The music idol explained that he doesn’t remember what
happened between the time he left a friend’s birthday party at Pattaya Beach
Aug. 9 and woke up in the intensive care ward at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya
the next day.
Witnesses, however, filled in the blanks. According to
motorcycle taxi drivers, DVD sellers and others, the drunk singer was
cruising down Beach Road near Soi 13/1 wearing only a pair of shorts,
shouting at ladyboys and prostitutes and trying to pick a fight with anyone
who got in his way.
Both a taxi driver and a movie seller said they got into
altercations with Chalatit, with a Thai newspaper adding that the movie
vendor later broke up a fight between the singer and a gang of teenagers.
It’s presumed it was the youngsters who whacked Chalatit on the back of the
head, stole his iPhone and 20,000 baht in other valuables.
Following the attack, the singer went on an angry tirade
against Pattaya, insisting he was wrongfully attacked and demanded police
devote extra attention to finding his assailants. But when a video surfaced
showing his antics, the singer switched to a softer tune.
His mother, Rotsukhon Tantiwut, told reporters that she
and the rest of her family love Pattaya and consider the community here a
“part of the family” as they have business interests in the city. Pattaya,
she said, is no more dangerous than any other place and an incident like
that which befell her boy could happen anywhere.
She added, however, that if Chalatit were indeed as drunk
as purported, people should have called the police or taken him to the
police station, not robbed him. The family still wants the person who
bludgeoned him on the head brought to justice.
Asked whether the incident might damage his career,
Chalatit replied that he was sorry and asked his fans to forgive him. He
said he always tells people that drinking is bad and that he obviously
didn’t follow his own advice.
Drug peddler caught dealing
outside Pattaya Provincial Court
Police
put on display the two arrested drug dealers, as well as the drugs
and weapons they were able to confiscate.
Boonlua Chatree
A Thai man arrested for allegedly dealing
methamphetamines didn’t have far to walk to face charges after he was
arrested with a bag full of drugs and cash outside Pattaya Provincial Court.
Pattaya police surrounded the courthouse Aug. 16 after
receiving a report that a drug dealer was parked outside the building and
dealing ya ba from his bronze Isuzu truck. Sure enough, when officers pulled
up to the vehicle, they found three people, 52 ya ba tablets, a loaded gun
and 63,260 baht in cash.
Arrested was Chakkrapan Klomjinda, 33, who admitted to
owning the drugs and gun. Also taken into custody with one ya ba tablet in
his pocket was 24-year-old passenger Ketkan Sakarana of Singburi, who denied
charges of illegal drug possession. A second female passenger was released
without charge.
Chakkrapan told investigators he had planned to deliver
the drugs to a customer inside the courthouse. Asked why he picked a spot so
full of law enforcement, the admitted dealer said that the courthouse was
probably the safest place in a dangerous town.
Chonburi Police arrests 3 for drugs, gun
Boonlua Chatree
Chonburi Police arrested three Udon Thani men carrying
drugs and a gun on Soi Gopai.
Rakrae Polthanad, 33, Apiwat Guaytakhu, 24, and Thepabut
Piewdam, 29, were taken into custody by a team of officers in front of a
South Pattaya home around 1 a.m. Aug. 18.
Police question Rakrae Polthanad, Apiwat Guaytakhu, and
Thepabut Piewdam on drugs and weapons charges.
Rakrae was carrying a 0.3 g. bag of ya ice, a gun and
nine bullets. He didn’t contest the charges of possession of a Class 1
narcotic, but denied charges he was carrying a weapon illegally.
Apiwat and Thepabut were busted with small amounts of
marijuana in their pockets and charged with illegal possession of Class 5
narcotics.
4 Peruvians arrested for elaborate break-in at North Pattaya exchange booth
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Four Peruvian men have been arrested for the botched
burglary of the Bangkok Bank currency-exchange booth in North Pattaya.
Baldomero Freddy Suarez Nunez, 48, Cesar Torres Tapia,
28, Felix Antonio Suarez Jimmenez, 32, and Elmer Eduardo Nurez Correa, 37,
were arrested by a team of national Thai Tourist Police Aug. 19 as they
tried to flee the kingdom through Suvarnabumi International Airport.
The four suspects await processing at the police station.
Police also seized the silver Toyota truck the men
allegedly used to haul tools to burrow through the wall of booth on Soi 6 at
Beach Road in the wee hours of Aug. 17, as well as gloves, a steel cutting
hexagon and file. They were all charged with conspiracy to commit burglary,
which the men denied.
Pattaya Police, who re-enacted the elaborate burglary
Aug. 18, allege the four men cut through the metal shutters at the Stone
Oven restaurant adjacent to the Bangkok Bank booth, broke into the office
and then used relatively quiet jackscrews to drill through the wall into the
bank. They enlarged and supported the hole with wooden bolsters, then once
inside, used a gas-powered blowtorch to try and cut into the safe.
The plan failed when the bungling burglars tripped the
alarm system as they tried to disable it. Realizing the police would soon
arrive, the burglars fled, leaving their tools and 20 pairs of gloves
behind. Ironically, the Pattaya cops who did arrive looked around the
property for several minutes, yet somehow still missed the gaping hole in
the shutter and left. The break-in was not realized until employees arrived
later that morning.
Bangkok Bank Manager Prawit Phukasemwarangkul points to
where the thieves broke through the wall and tried unsuccessfully to open
the safe.
Once witnesses and closed-circuit television cameras
indicated it was a team of foreigners likely behind the break-in, the crime
became a national priority, with national news and law enforcement officers
focusing their efforts on finding the burglars.
Pattaya police quickly indentified the seller of the two
gas tanks, two jackscrews, 20 pairs of cloth gloves, locking pliers, hand
drill, rolling head, screwdrivers, six bolsters, and three large black bags
found at the scene. After the arrest, the retailer obligingly ratted out his
customers, backing up the Tourist Police’s case. Investigators said they
found gloves on the suspects identical to those found at the scene and the
truck matched CCTV footage recovered from a 7-Eleven store a half-block from
the bank.
Pattaya Police officials say they have thoroughly
interrogated bank employees, with both police and Bangkok Bank Manager
Prawit Phukasemwarangkul stating that no bank personnel are suspect. One
exchange booth teller said she remembered two of the men coming to change
currency earlier that day and spending extra time chatting with her and
looking into the booth.
While the burglary did occur at 4 a.m., Soi 6 is hardly
vacant at that hour, with both straggling late night bar workers on the
street as well as going to the Buddhist shrine across Beach Road from the
Stone Oven. One of the city’s high-powered street lights - supposedly armed
with security cameras - also shines down brightly on the restaurant after
dark. Top police officials are still trying to determine how the three
burglars and one lookout could operate for an hour on a corner where a
motorcycle taxi stand operates, as well as how patrol officers missed the
crime.
A
policeman points to the equipment the thieves used
to put a hole in the wall behind an ATM in North Pattaya.
Ganesha Chaturthi again to be celebrated with Pattaya festival
Officials meet to announce the Ganesha Chaturthi Festival will be held from
September 2 - 12 at Bali Hai Pier in South Pattaya.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Hindu and Buddhists will again celebrate Ganesh
Chaturthi in Pattaya, using a 10-day festival at Bali Hai Pier to
immerse idols representing the “God of Success” in the sea to fete the son
of supreme deity Shiva.
The Sept. 2-12 event organized by the city and the
Pattaya Shaivites Club kicks off with a parade through Pattaya to display
Ganesha’s image so followers could pray for their own success and obstacles
to be removed. Once concluded, Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and club
president Chaiwat Detnathee will lead followers in an evening
candle-lighting ceremony at the Bali Hai Public Park.
Chaiwat said the festival - the second year it has been
held in Thailand - will be the country’s largest celebration of its kind.
Scheduled activities include fireworks, liturgy prayer ceremony, Ganesha
head-covering ceremony, fire worship and exhibition of more than 2,000
Ganesha figurines.
The centerpiece of event, however, will be the ritual
immerse of Ganesha images made of Plaster of Paris into the sea at 14.59 on
September 12, symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey
towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of
his devotees.
Based on last year, the event should be well attended, as
Ganesha is among the most-transcendent of Hindu gods, worshipped throughout
western and southeast Asia. In India, he is revered not only as a remover of
obstacles, but a “god for everyman” and the “lord of beginnings.” In
Thailand, Buddhists recognize him as the “god of success,” appearing in
Mahayana Buddhism texts in the form of the Buddhist god Vinโyaka as well as
a Hindu demon form with the same name.
Food & Hoteliers Expo offers a
satisfying menu of snacks, services
Phasakorn Channgam
Pattaya beachgoers were able to sample some of the best
cuisine the area has to offer while hospitality professionals took in
classes and exhibits at a Jomtien convention center as the Pattaya Food &
Hoteliers Expo spiced up the city from Aug. 5-7.
One of the beautiful chef’s creations on display.
Beach Road was transformed into a buffet line of Thai and
international favorites with more than 100 restaurants and chefs whipping up
their specialties at musicians and dancers entertained on giant stages.
The serious action took place at the Royal Cliff Hotel’s
Peach Convention Center, however, where Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome opened the
professional side of the Expo sponsored by the Food and Beverage Association
of the Eastern Seaboard.
Nearly 20 contests in everything from fruit carving and
drink-mixing to deserts and Thai set menus unfolded, as well as the
introduction of new events, such as a barista championship, young chef
competition and “Miss Congeniality” pageant.
Cooking contests pitted professional chefs against each
other and offered opportunities for rising university stars to try their
hand at deserts, plate arrangement, Thai and European dishes, flower
arranging and cocktail mixing.
The Sheraton Pattaya Resort took top scores in the
eight-category hoteliers competition with The Zign Hotel and Amari Orchid
Pattaya following. The Royal Cliff Beach Resort took first in the
housekeepers management contest.
In the Junior Chef Culinary Team Challenge 2010, Chonrad
Sadornumrung School took first place with Aksorn Institute of Technology as
runner up. Chefs from Singapore won the first “Pattaya Culinary Cup”
competition, with Thailand placing third.
In the battle of bartenders, Kaseam Wisansup of Chiang
Mai took the 20,000 baht first prize. Pattaya’s top bartender, Yuttawanit
Munkong, placed third.
The event was also a venue for more than 100 business
representatives hawking food and beverage products, tools, equipment and
household items used in the hotel and restaurant industries.
The
exhibition draws a large crowd.
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