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Travel & Leisure, in and around Pattaya
Terrorists hit Pattaya? No, just spirited fun at
Paintball Park.
by Ken Bailey
Paintball - bruises, exhaustion and
good fun!
The signal to start each game sends both sides frantically
scrambling for cover. The more Rambo-like players run as far towards the
‘enemy’ as possible before the hail of paint balls has them hitting the
deck.
The objective: take the enemy flag and return it to your own timber hut HQ.
Sounds easy? Not quite. Each game lasts only 15 minutes, so daring raids on
enemy positions are needed to beat the clock. The thing is that these daring
raids are often suicidal, in the paintball sense of course.
Not only does running around in hot camouflaged fatigues leave you
exhausted, paintball ‘wounds’ can leave you with the most colourful, yet
painless bruises. In fact the most popular post-paintball discussions seem
to be the proud comparison of bruises.
The fun doesn’t end with the game. An afternoon of paintball provides hours
of excited discussion and debate concerning the victories, defeats, and
thrills, normally over several ice-cold beverages at the players’ favourite
bars.
If you’ve not tried paintball, or are looking for a thrilling social
afternoon, then grab a group of at least eight and head to Pattaya’s
paintball park for the most fun you can have while being shot at.
Bang Saen - Sight of Sam Muk Hill, haunted by the spirit of lost love
A little north of Pattaya, in between Sriracha and Chonburi, lies the
seaside village of Bang Saen. Here Sam Muk Hill (Khao Sam Muk) commemorates
the sincere love of the incredibly beautiful Sam Muk.
Legend has it that this stunning lady from a poor family fell deeply in love
with a lavishly handsome boy, Saen, who was born into a wealthy clan.
Rather than let love run its course, Saen’s father forced him to marry
another girl. Devastated by losing her true love, Sam Muk committed suicide
by jumping off a cliff the day Saen wed. Moved by Sam Muk’s devotion and
sacrifice, locals named the cliff Khao Sam Muk. On the rocks below, the
shrine of Chao Mae Sam Muk commemorates her selfless love.
To this day locals believe that her weeping spirit can be seen atop the
cliff, as it forever haunts the area. Believers make offerings and pray to
Chao Mae Sam Muk hoping that she will bring good luck into their lives.
Scenic and peaceful, it is worth a day trip visit.
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WHO wants liveable cities
Chonburi Province has been chosen by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) as a test area for its ‘liveable cities’
improvement program, Songkram Korsuthithirakul, Deputy Governor
of Chonburi, announced.
Four other cities in Thailand have been chosen for the
organisation’s project. Bangkok, Nakhorn Rachasima (Khorat),
Yala and Phayao. Chonburi has already begun preliminary plans
for the project’s implementation in Phanat Nikom, Nong Sua Chang
Municipality, Khao Sok, Harng Soong and Nong Yai.
The public will be given a large role in the implementation of
projects to improve the environment and public health in homes,
workplaces, factories, schools, hospitals, markets, shops and
other public places.
This will call for an augmentation of people’s self-discipline
in the use of the environment and following existing and new
public health laws.
It is hoped this project will effect statistically provable
gains in public health by the year 2000.
The Phanat Nikom project will begin on July 25th, 1997.
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Rousing scout celebration
As July 1st is the anniversary of the founding of the
scout movement in Thailand by His Majesty, King Vachiravuth, a
ceremony of gratitude is performed throughout the country. The
sea-scouts of Sattahip held a parade to honour Country, Religion
and King this year. One-hundred and fifty scouts were in the
ceremony and parade.
Joke of the week?
The LAPD, the FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they
are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to
give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of
them has to catch it.
The CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the
forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After
three months of extensive investigations, they conclude that
rabbits do not exist.
The FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the
forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they
make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming.
The LAPD goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly
beaten bear. The bear is yelling: “Okay Okay! I’m a rabbit! I’m
a rabbit!”
World news
collected by Tookada
Tallin (AP)
To eat bananas as fast as you can during a
banana-eating competition is nothing special. But the way Mait
Lepik won the last competition in Tallin was quite sensational.
He ate 10 bananas within three minutes - without peeling them.
That gave him the victory over all other competitors who ate the
bananas the classical way. The press-agency BNS didn’t report
how Lepik felt after his victory.
Cologne (AP)
A thievish cockatoo in Cologne stole the dentures of
his owner and fled the scene. The bird itself came back after a
few days, but didn’t bring the dentures with it. The cockatoo
refused to answer when questioned about the whereabouts of the
rather expensive dentures. Police reported the first reaction of
the owner towards his bird was a tooth-less: “I hatche jyou!”
Oslo (AP)
Money doesn’t stink - only to look for it can
sometimes be a stinky affair. Employees of a bank, together with
police, ransacked in despair a huge garbage depot in Tvedestrand
for app. 2,720,000 Baht. The money was locked into the safe two
weeks ago, five days later it disappeared. The managers of the
bank guessed that some employees might have thrown it away by
accident.
Munich (AP)
A judge, who was supposed to preside over a trial
against an alcoholic who allegedly killed his wife, had to be
sent home. As soon as he entered the courtroom everyone became
aware of his alcohol-smelling breath. The decision why he was
sent off was: ‘one drunkard can’t be judging another-one. There
might be too much sympathizing involved’.
Pattaya
A Welsh super-model, currently residing in Pattaya,
had to be rushed to a hospital with minor injuries. She was
quoted as saying: “I’ve just worked out that I have been using
these squat toilets the wrong way and that’s why I kept banging
my head.”
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