HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

PDG Gen. Saiyud Kerdphol impresses Rotarians to work in unity

Burns Night celebrated in style in Pattaya

Brewery House turns 2

Underwater World jumps into the spirit of Chinese New Year

PDG Gen. Saiyud Kerdphol impresses Rotarians to work in unity

Tolerance and understanding will lead to world peace

Past District Governor of Rotary International District 335 (now 3350) General Saiyud Kerdphol was the special guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Pattaya recently. Speaking in Thai and English, Gen. Saiyud spoke of the “Importance and necessity of cooperation between the diverse culture and traditions of the human race, if we want to achieve friendship, world understanding and peace.”

Past District Governor Gen. Saiyud Kerdphol addresses a packed room of Rotarians and guests at the Town in Town Hotel.

General Saiyud told of the days when he was the Supreme Commander of the Thai armed forces, and explained that he had the most crucial task of ensuring that the US military and the Thai military understood each other and thus cooperated in dealing with the problems at hand. This was during the Vietnam conflict, which was then at its height as was the Communist insurgency in Thailand.

Gen. Saiyud compared this philosophy and mission to that of the Rotary Clubs. He said that a multi-cultural club is of great benefit to the Rotary movement.

“Admittedly, it is an immense challenge. You must learn to love each other and work together as a team. Rotary is a movement that embraces peoples of all color, creed and sex. The Rotary Club of Pattaya is a good example. To have a bilingual club with meetings held in both the Thai and English languages means you are faced with the daunting task of creating that level of tolerance and understanding of each other. I wish more clubs would do the same,” said Saiyud.

General Saiyud was the district governor of district 335 in 1991-92. Up until then there were only 2 Rotary districts in Thailand, namely districts 335 and 336. In 1992 two new Rotary International districts were created in Thailand.

The 4 districts are: District 3330 in the South, District 3340 in the East and Northeast, District 3350 in the Central Region and District 3360 covering the North of Thailand. Pattaya has 3 Rotary Clubs, namely, the Rotary Club of Pattaya, the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya and the Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya.

Burns Night celebrated in style in Pattaya

Haggis seen running around Marriott Resort and Spa

by Miss Terry Diner

The Marriott Resort and Spa has a new man at the helm in the kitchens, one John Hogg from Scotland complete with kilt and ‘skean dhu’, so it should have come as no surprise that they would celebrate a Burns Supper.

Chef John stabs the Haggis as Dr. Iain addresses it. ‘His knife see rustic Labour dight, An’ cut ye up wi’ ready slight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright, Like onie ditch, And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin’,

This event commemorates the birth of the famous Scottish bard on January 25th 1759 and has as its focal point the ceremonial piping in of the haggis, it being addressed and then stabbed and served. This all involves copious amounts of Scottish whisky as the Scots are well known in that they like a little bit of oiling to get the parties going.

The event at the Marriott saw many Scots attending, some in full dress regalia (plus Thais, English, Australians, Indians, and anyone else who enjoy food and fun). This included the Cochlans and the Coughlans, who were once related, but whose great-great grandfathers fell out over the spelling.

The haggis was brought in by Chef John Hogg himself and was addressed by the Pattaya Mail’s Dr. Iain, starting with the immortal words, “Fair fa’ your honest sonsie face, Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin’ race” and then at the appropriate stanza, John brought out his ‘skean dhu’ (black dagger) from his hose on the right leg and slit open the haggis, leaving it (as Rabbie Burns described) “Warm, reekin’ rich!” The haggis was then toasted (in Knockando Speyside single malt - a beautiful drop) and the guests continued with an enjoyable evening, which of course included more Scotch whisky.

Chef John Hogg presented all the traditional Burns Supper items as Cock-a-leekie soup and the haggis with ‘neeps and tatties’ (turnips and potatoes), but added other Scottish items such as Oak smoked Scottish salmon, Rainbow trout Balmoral, Highland venison, black puddings, with shortcake and fudge in the dessert table. A memorable event and Miss Terry is looking forward to next year.

(Footnote) For those who are unsure of the haggis, it is related to the Canadian jackalope, but is notable by having two short legs on one side to allow it to run around mountains (anticlockwise).

Brewery House turns 2

Damri Muangkaew

The Brewery House in North Pattaya celebrated their 2nd anniversary with a huge celebration, inviting friends, guests and business associates from around the region to join the joyous festivities. The venue, which brews German style beer, officially opened in January 2002 and has successfully maintained a strong clientele and a very loyal customer base.

Chanyuth Hengtrakul MD of Sophon Cable TV and advisor to the minister of tourism and sports wished the Brewery House management team well on their two successful years of operations.

Chanyuth Hengtrakul, MD of Sophon Cable TV and advisor to the minister of tourism and sports was the special guest for the evening. He was greeted by general manager Chachapatr Iamsirisakul, aka Mike to his friends, as guests also presented flowers and good wishes for the future.

The evening’s entertainment featured live music, accompanied by footage on the venue’s giant screen. Gallons of beer were downed and plenty of food was consumed as everyone partied till late.

Underwater World jumps into the spirit of Chinese New Year

Pattaya’s newest and recently controversial tourist attraction jumped into the spirit of Chinese New Year with a special fish-feeding show which featured a diver dressed as the Chinese deity of prosperity, Hok Lok Chiew.

An Underwater World diver dressed as the Chinese Deity of money and prosperity ‘Hok Lok Chiew’ feeds the numerous fish as curious visitors watch.

The Singapore based conglomerate, still in operation after increasing their car park in accordance with city building codes, was promoting its new theme as they gave ‘ang-pao’ envelopes to the first 500 visitors at the attraction over the festival period.

The majority of visitors were Chinese tour groups who flocked to see the brightly colored diver, dressed as the deity of wealthy and prosperity, feed numerous marine life. Completely enchanted, they watched the diver from the comfort of the viewing tunnel.

Piyada Tongsen, customer relations officer said, “Over Chinese New Year there is typically an extra number of visitors and Underwater World has seen an increase in attendance over the festive period and as such decided to get into theme of the period to boost tourism in the region.”

The show proved successful as visitors flocked to the venue to view the spectacle and receive their New Year envelope.

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