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FCCT members meet Pattaya city fathers - and the message
was good
by Peter Cummins
In fact, there was almost a carnival atmosphere - created, doubtless, by
the impromptu "cabaret" performed by the HJB staff during lunch - as the group
posed for pictures outside before heading off to City Hall for the day’s OTHER
important business.
Pattaya Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat, Khun Supadit Maneeratcharatsri,
President of Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, Pol. Maj. Supasate Chokechai Chief
of Pattaya Tourist Police and other city officials were at City Hall to greet the FCCT
group and a number of others, from both the public and private sectors who came to attend
this special event.
Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat, Philippe Decaux, President of the FCCT,
and Pattaya Mail’s Peter Malhotra formed the panel, with Peter as moderator and
translator "par excellence".
Peter opened the meeting, pointing out that this, the second FCCT visit to
Pattaya, would become at least an annual event in the future. It was important for the
outside world to know that Pattaya was on the road to vast improvements and it was through
the press and media that this image could be carried to the world at large.
Mayor Pairat thanked the many sponsors for making the FCCT visit possible,
a visit which he and the city administrators also thought most valuable for their efforts
to improve the city"s infrastructure and consequently the city’s image - at home
and abroad.
The meeting spanned a range of relevant topics, ranging from future
utilization of U-Tapao airport as a hub for tourist arrivals, to the water treatment
operations which the group had visited the day before, both in Pattaya and Laem Chabang.
The mayor fielded questions on these and other related subjects,
emphasizing that U-Tapao is currently being used for charter flights and could well
feature in future tourism ventures. It was not within the city’s jurisdiction to
initiate any developments or changes, however.
The mayor, in answer to specific questions about water treatment, noted
that the major treatment plant (a l.8 billion Baht project) will be on-line within 18
months and its operation will be an enormous gain for the environment, especially the sea.
The mayor pointed out that the city had accepted an OCEF grant/loan of 130
million Baht for a massive beautification programme of trees, nature strips and plants to
be implemented all around Pattaya, with the master plan incorporating an upgrading of Koh
Larn in line with Pattaya’s future standards.
At the same time, he lamented the total lack of fiscal and administrative
support from the central government, being forced to operate on a Baht 160 million subsidy
- "totally inadequate," he reiterated strongly.
Khun Supadit informed the group that efforts were being made to
rationalise the "baht bus" system presently used for Pattaya’s main
intra-city transport. Noting criticisms of the water scooter/jet ski proliferatio along
the beaches, the mayor pointed out that funds would be allocated to fence off safe areas
for swimmers and bathers, and the machines themselves would eventually be assigned to
operate from fixed areas at strategic points around the beaches.
The group delved into such areas as the types of ‘undesirables’
who chose Pattaya as a base for operations. The panel observed, however, that as long as
even an ‘undesirable’ stayed within the letter of the law, no one person could
be singled out. In regard to ‘zoning’- keeping certain activities in set areas -
that, too, the panel noted was difficult to police, as long as the particular
establishment had a license for its activities.
The idea of a "waiter race" was mooted and it was agreed that
such an event would be great for Pattaya and it could perhaps be conducted in conjunction
with the Pattaya Festival or the Pattaya Marathon.
To a comment that the upgrading of the physical environment should also
include the cultural aspects, it was observed that the Royal Cliff, under the direction of
the late Executive Vice President, Alois X (Louis) Fassbind, had ongoing concerts,
philharmonic performances and other cultural activities.
A new convention centre, now under construction at the hotel, would also
facilitate such ventures.
FCCT President Philippe Decaux posed the question as to what was being
planned to commemorate the memory of Louis, whose untimely demise last week closed a
chapter on more than 25 years of dedication which had made Pattaya a world-famous tourist
destination.
A number of ideas were placed before the panel, with Catherine Bond,
President of the Pattaya International Ladies Club, suggesting a "Fassbind
Park", with open air concerts, people’s rest areas and other facilities. It
would not only be a great commemoration of "Mr. Pattaya" but it would also
alleviate Pattaya’s acute shortage of green and recreational areas, Catherine added.
The panel agreed to pursue this.
The mayor again urged the FCCT to publicize the efforts of City Hall to
rejuvenate Pattaya, to which President Philippe replied that they would not only publicize
positive stories about Pattaya, but such press would tend to counter hitherto reports of
"crazy journalists" spreading negative, and often unsubstantiated stories about
the resort.
Philippe noted that several water sports of the forthcoming Thirteenth
Asian Games would be held in Pattaya and requested an "Asian Games" night at the
FCCT, before the event, so that the members could be briefed by the Asiad organisers. A
Friday night in November was tentatively set.
Noticing a gentleman sitting at the back of the mayoral meeting room,
‘sporting’ a large head bandage, Philippe apologised, fearing that the FCCT
group’s ‘assault’ on Pattaya may have been the cause of poor Amorn being
bashed over the head as he left a rather ‘lively’ night at a local pub the night
before, where the press people were rather high profile.
Michael Vogt, G.M. of the Thai Garden Resort, summed up the most
interesting round table discussion, pointing out that this year’s meeting was so
different to last year when a vitriolic bunch of participants dragged out every peccadillo
from Pattaya’s darkest corners.
While acknowledging that all Pattaya’s sins are still around,
nevertheless this year’s group elevated the discussions to a high level of concern
for the major issues of environment, improvements and the many other positive faces which
Pattaya, through the diligence of the Administration, the hoteliers and many other
concerned citizens, is showing.
Echoing those thoughts, Philippe Decaux observed that he felt this
year’s meeting was so successful that the FCCT will examine the possibility of an
FCCT chapter in Pattaya, to maintain close lines of communication which were evident
today.
All present agreed that Pattaya had changed in a positive way and was now
presenting the "cleaner, smiling face" for which the resort was once famous. As
the weekend for the FCCT group was also in the nature of "R and R" there is
little doubt that there will be repeaters for years to come!
Excellent sponsorship of the Thai Garden Resort, the Central Wong Amat
Hotel, Delaney’s and the Henry J Bean’s who all regaled the press corps with
sumptuous ‘F and B". Accommodation, too, was top rate, with six of
Pattaya’s finest providing the rooms; the Dusit Resort, Garden Beach, Green Park,
Markland, Royal Garden Resort and the Montien Hotel answered the call.
It is no wonder that the ladies and gentlemen of the Fourth Estate want to
come again to talk to the City Fathers.
Dolf Riks: Early arrivals in the new world
The enigmas of how, when and by whom the American continent
was first peopled has fascinated me ever since I was a pre-teenager. It has been accepted
by most archaeologists and anthropologists in the present age that it were not the
"American Braves" we know from the Wild West epics, which were the first to
wander or paddle in their canoes across the barren lands and arctic seas into Alaska. They
were probably the last ones to arrive.
When we speak of American Indians we have to specify whom, because they
are even more diversified than the Europeans in language, race and customs. The savants
are nowadays mostly of the opinion that the first Americans must have been Negroid (not to
be confused with Negroes) or Australoid. The latter were the intrepid travellers who,
millennia ago, peopled the Melanesian islands in the Pacific, the Australian continent, as
well as New Guinea and the eastern islands of Indonesia, with among them Timor and Ambon.
Remnants of these people can still be found in the south of Thailand where they are called
"Sakai" and in Malaysia where they are Orang Asli or "the original
people".
In the beginning of this century it was thought that the first humans
arrived in the New World at the end of the last ice age. This was about 12,000 BC, but
nowadays the general opinion is that it must have been much earlier and probably 25,000 or
even 45,000 years ago. In the northeast of Brazil, French and Brazilian archaeologists
have discovered elaborate rock paintings which are at least 12,000 years old. Considering
that it took centuries to slowly migrate southwards, the people who made these works of
art must have moved out of Asia probably a 1000 years earlier. Astonishing is, however,
that other artefacts in the cave proved to be as old as 32,000 years. Through the haze of
time we are able to imagine how these people travelled or migrated from the Asian side of
the Bering Sea to the Brazilian jungle and even more south to what is now called Tierra
Del Fuego or "Fire Land". The process must have been a slow one sometimes
staying in one place for hundreds of years and then forced by starvation or aggression of
other tribes they moved to greener pastures.
In 1989, at a conference at the University of Maine, a French
archaeologist of the Institute of Advanced Social Science Studies in Paris astounded the
other participants of the gathering, when she said that she had evidence that those caves
were occupied by Homo Sapiens as long ago as 45,000 years. Whether this was disproved
later I do not know. Archaeologist and other scientists are notorious for their
stubbornness to accept new ideas and it was not surprising that her findings were received
by some with a great deal of skepticism.
Through studies of their different stone implements, like spear points,
scrapers and knives, some scientists have come to the conclusion that some might have been
related to the early Europeans, who were almost identical to modern man. They may all have
originated in Central Asia and migrated East as well as West.
Interesting is that certain artefacts like the Kaen Flute, so popular in
Laos and the North East of Thailand, reoccur in Panama and the jungles of South America.
Astonishing is that the scale and pitch is exactly the same as those from this area and
the Solomon Islands (See illustration).
When did the Americans become Neolithic? This depends of course on the
location and the circumstances. Some tribes in South America are still food gatherers and
hunters, although with the modern world advancing, this may soon be a thing of the past. A
fact is that without beasts of burden, except for the Llama in the Andes, they achieved
miracles. They discovered and cultivated plants unknown to the Old World. One of them is
maize of which botanists have been unable to find a wild ancestor and which can not
propagate without our help. Pumpkin and other food plants like beans might have preceded
the cultivation of the Indian corn. Ears of maize were found in a cave in Mexico and dated
4500 years ago but to develop corn it must have taken man much longer. Some Botanists
estimate that it may have taken several millenniums to get to the large variety and sizes
of this marvellous plant.
In 1492, when Columbus arrived in the Americas, it was estimated that
there were at least seven hundred varieties of corn growing. Maize is now grown all over
the world. It is one of the most important staples in the world, second only to rice. Not
only eaten by men but also used as fodder for the domestic animals like cows and pigs. It
grows in Canada at a latitude of 58 degrees North and in Argentina at 40 degrees South. It
grows at altitudes of 4000 meters in the Andes and below sea level in the Caspian plains
and in the "polders" of Holland. Some question the theory that it was not known
in Asia in pre-Colombian times, as the Chinese, who kept accurate documentation of
foreign, imported plants, never mentioned Maize. It is also said that the people in the
wild lands of Burma, the Nagas in India as well as the primitive people in Borneo, Sumatra
and Taiwan, cultivate popcorn in the same way as the Incas in South America. Could it have
come with the migrants from Asia? Another point is that Asia has more wild grasses than
America.
Other plants cultivated by the Americans (the list is extensive) are:
tomatoes; potatoes; peanuts; lima and kidney beans; manioc or tapioca; chilli peppers;
pumpkins; pineapples; avocados; strawberries; custard apples; cacao; papaya and tobacco.
There are many more plants on this list while there are numerous plants and vegetables,
which grew in the wild like the rubber tree, the quinine tree, the soursop (fruit) and
wild rice. What would we have done in Europe without potatoes and tomatoes, and what would
the Southeast and Southern Asians have done without the chilli pepper or the Laotians and
Isarn people without the unripe papaya for their Som Tham? It boggles the mind!
Eliminating visas and border barriers
- Asia-Pacific countries seek creative ways around the problem
by Imtiaz Muqbil
Executive Editor, Travel Impact, Bangkok, Thailand
With national tourism marketing funds drying up, and airlines undergoing
major shake-ups, Asia-Pacific immigration authorities are coming under increased pressure
to take the fastest route to increasing visitor arrivals: liberalizing frontier
formalities and visa requirements. At a major seminar on regional travel facilitation in
Phuket, Thailand, between July 28-30, representatives from several major countries
discussed a series of measures that will evolve in the not too distant future to either
waive visa applications entirely or make it eminently easier for people to get visas.
Said Mr. Mohammed Rahmatullah, Director, Transport, Communications and
Tourism Division of the United Nations’ Asia-Pacific economic commission (ESCAP),
"There is growing recognition that visas and frontier formalities are a major
impediment to travel. As countries need all the tourism dollars they can get in these
difficult economic times, they need to study what good these restrictions are doing and
whether in fact many outdated practices can be reviewed and relaxed, if not eliminated
entirely."
Relaxation of visas and frontier formalities will change the structure and
shape of Asia-Pacific travel & tourism, especially road travel which accounts for only
about 10% of the tourism in Asia, as against roughly 60% in Europe. Major new initiatives
like the Silk Road, stretching from Shanghai to Istanbul, and the Asian Highway which
would make it possible to drive from Singapore to London, are bottlenecked at border
check-points. The Asian Development Bank is funding billions of dollars worth of highways
in the Greater Mekong Sub-region where the major hub country, Thailand, has long
complained that of the 23 border check-points it has with neighboring Laos, Cambodia and
Myanmar, only three are crossable by international tourists, the rest being only for
citizens of the two neighbors themselves.
Visa policies, too, range from the Maldives, a Muslim nation where anyone,
even Israelis, can go without a visa, to Australia where everyone needs a visa, except New
Zealanders. Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last year
but still requires citizens of ASEAN countries to have visas, and vice versa. The biggest
problem areas are India and China, which have both the biggest potential for both outbound
and inbound tourism, as well as the most complex and time-consuming processes for inbound
and outbound visa procurements. Certainly, many countries have legitimate fears about
being invaded by hordes of Indians and Chinese illegal immigrants. How countries tap the
potential of legitimate outbound tourism of these mega-million giants without compromising
security is going to be the subject of many a story in the years to come.
In the days when both economies and tourism were booming, Asia-Pacific
immigration and military authorities could afford to resist pressure for change, citing
security concerns. Losing a handful of tourists made little difference. Now, there is a
realization that waiving a visa requirement could be the cheapest way of promoting
tourism. Thailand has a visa-free and/or visa-on-arrival policy for 158 countries. As many
of these same nationalities do not require visas in other ASEAN countries, the entire
region benefits. By contrast, South Asia loses, largely because of the nuisance
visa-requirements of India, the hub country for visitors who may be planning an extension
into Nepal, Sri Lanka or Pakistan. As the ASEAN countries expand their list of visa-free
countries, they will take further market share from the SAARC countries, especially as
advance travel booking periods become shorter and shorter.
For many, visas are also a source of funds. Vietnam charges US$25 for a
visa on arrival. India levies US$100 for five-year multiple entries. Reciprocity is also
cited as a reason for visas but this is generally considered to be bunkum. Europeans,
Japanese and Australians are allowed visa-free access to many Asia-Pacific countries but
do not reciprocate.
During the seminar, which was co-organized by the World Tourism
Organization, some discussion centered on the fact that countries can prove damage to
national economies by estimating how many visitors have been lost due to visa
restrictions. Just as econometric models can reliably show much foreign exchange travel
& tourism generates for economies, delegates were told that it should be possible to
prove how much economies are losing by continued restrictions. If the results can be
communicated to their respective ministers of trade, finance, transportation and
security-related agencies, a better case can be built for relaxing restrictions. If the
same information is conveyed to the media, it takes on a whole new dimension. Said Mr.
Rahmatullah, "Facilitation is not just a tourism issue but also a trade,
transportation and security issue. It involves everyone, and the more they are involved,
the better."
Indeed, there is no shortage of options and alternatives to
visa-restrictions, and facilitation of visa applications. These include smart cards, the
Australian Electronic Ticketing Authority, Schengen visa, machine-readable passports,
finger- and hand-recognition technology, etc. Converting many of these options into
reality is potentially expensive and politically explosive. Even so, the Schengen visa
interests the Mekong region countries. The Uzbeks want to explore visa-issuance over the
Internet which today is already being used by many countries to provide precise
information about where and how to get visas. The Indian embassy in the US has posted its
visa application form on its website. However, that form is only for applicants in the US.
Why can’t one form be posted for use world-wide? No-one knew.
Delegates also exchanged views on the area they consider having the
greatest potential - road travel. It makes for great packaging of products with rail, air,
sea and river transportation. Most significantly, road travel can help raise visitor
arrivals without requiring national tourism organizations to go cap-in-hand to national
airlines and aviation authorities with requests to liberalize traffic rights agreements.
The seminar also heard another unique suggestion; use the visa application
data as a direct-mail mechanism to generate repeat traffic and customer loyalty. If people
have been to a country, and enjoyed the experience, they may respond well to receiving a
letter from the NTO of that country thanking them for their visit and encouraging them to
come back. But security officers don’t think like marketing people. As the seminar
was told, visa applicants mostly are considered guilty until proven innocent. As the
people who impose the visa regulations seldom have to actually apply for one, they
don’t realize that a visa-office is the least friendly place to begin a travel
experience.
Nevertheless, papers presented at the seminar showed clearly that
Asia-Pacific countries are beginning to think outside the box in their efforts to bring
about change. One idea being floated, for example, is to waive visas universally for
senior citizens over 65. Authorities also know that efforts to liberalize their economies
and investment regimes cannot be segregated from efforts to liberalize entry/exit
barriers. But political tensions and suspicions run high, and old-guard bureaucrats and
militaries still rule the roost. As they fade from the scene, so too, will the
restrictions. That process is now well under way.
Postcard from Khao Yai
Story and photo by Margaret GraingerIf a serene, peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the working
life appeals for a holiday and magnificent mountain views, forest walking and exotic
animals attract, then Khao Yai is the place to visit.
 An inquisitive
gibbon approaches.
About 200 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, Khao Yai is one of
Thailand’s largest National Parks covering 2200 square kilometres of mostly
mountainous terrain. Declared a Nature Reserve in 1959, it is home to 153 species of
animals protected by law.
Khao Yai National Park includes intact jungle, with pretty mountain
streams and spectacular waterfalls. Animals within the vast park include wild elephants,
buffaloes, deer, porcupines, monkeys, parrots and huge hornbill birds.
Bears and tigers live here but are difficult to see. A nightly spectacle
is the flight of a million bats which depart each evening at dusk like a river in the sky
in search of food.
Organized wildlife tours are readily available and the assistance of a
guide allows one to explore the jungle in safety. Long and short treks are possible. Nine
hundred and fifty baht buys a one and a half day jungle trek.
This includes visiting underground limestone caves and seeing the bat
caves at sunset. At night there is spot lighting for the elusive animals. The second day
includes a trek to see gibbons and other animals such as wild elephants and deer. There
are also jungle walks to scenic lookouts and waterfalls.
Khao Yai offers an abundant choice of accommodation at nearby Pak Chong
and on the road from Pak Chong into the Park. Prices range from 100bt a night to about
2300bt.
The Garden Lodge Resort, run by Klaus Derwanz, is located in the mountains
16 kilometres from Park Headquarters. Wildlife tours depart from here and Klaus is happy
to tailor a special itinerary. Accommodation is comfortable. Meals are reasonably priced
and the menu includes European and Thai favourites.
Khao Yai is accessible by car, bus or train. Buses depart from
Bangkok’s Northern Bus Terminal every thirty minutes for Pak Chong. From there catch
a motorcycle taxi or baht bus to the Park or to accommodation.
Trains depart from Hua Lampong Station in Bangkok three times each
morning. The journey to Pak Chong takes three to four hours.
Car access to Pak Chong is easy as it is via major highways. The drive
from Pak Chong to Khao Yai is very picturesque with temples, large Buddha images on
mountainsides and fresh produce markets.
Alternatively, the Garden Lodge offers a door to door service from Pattaya
or Bangkok. Ring 044-313567 or 044-312143.
Khao Yai is one of the world’s best national parks. It is not to be
missed.
Successfully Yours: John Adamson
by Mirin MacCARTHY
John Adamson is the Academic Co-ordinator of the Laem Chabang School of
Engineering. At thirty-six, he is young to be in this position and is an unabashed,
totally immersed academic. "Gosh, why would you want to interview me?" he said
shyly on first meeting.
It was during his Grammar School years in the U.K. that he found he had an
extra-ordinary gift for languages. He excelled in German and French in addition to his
native English. That gift was later to become his life, his raison d’être and his
consuming passion.
Not from an academic family background, John perhaps developed his passion
for linguistics and teaching in spite of that. He recollects, "My father was a
draughtsman, though he couldn’t teach me anything. He would always blow his top, so I
became the opposite and developed patience."
John studied with the Royal Society of the Arts to gain his diploma in
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. He also believed it was important to get European
qualifications, so he did an M.A in Business Administration in Germany. John glosses over
the difficulty of doing exams in a foreign language although admits it was exciting for
him when he finished his degree and got his first job there in automotive component sales.
 With English
teaching becoming prominent for him, he went to Japan in 1986 and taught there for eight
years. "It was terrific fun teaching business English in Japan," he said.
"It is a big responsibility, you are the manager of your own classroom. Being a
teacher, a "sensei" in Japan, has a lot of respect attached to it like an
"ajharn" in Thailand."
All John’s pastimes involve his first love - language. He reads about
language learning and linguistics and even lists serious reading as his recreation, not
for him airport novels! John’s favourite author is the Czech, Milan Kundera who wrote
the "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". John recommends everyone read his
latest novel entitled "Identity".
John Adamson is more than simply in love with his profession, he is
married to the entire concept of language teaching. He believes it is important to impart
core values, not only the language. For English, this would include such items as
punctuality and team participation, safety, and work quality, even body language itself.
All-important aspects for two cultures to be able to work together effectively. "It
is rewarding, not only getting the language across but also the whole socio-linguistic
message." That reward spells success for John.
He has been in Thailand at the LCSE for eight months. Interestingly, he
gained this position while in the UK, by being interviewed at length on the Internet.
"I answered questions for over a week. It was rather daunting," he admitted with
his shy smile.
John believes the qualities necessary to make a good teacher are patience,
valuing the students’ cultural backgrounds, teaching them to be culturally open
minded and motivating them. His eyes twinkled behind the academic glasses as he said
enthusiastically, "Teach them that it is cool and fun to read. Show them that reading
is a painless way to absorb literacy and vocabulary."
John is a firm advocate that the secret of success is in continuous
education. He is applying this principle to himself and is excited about completing his
Doctorate in Linguistics which he is currently studying part time. His advice to those
contemplating being foreign language teachers is to become qualified first. "Take a
basic diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, then after that learn the
methodology and continue to study for further degrees in the science of language." It
is certainly working for John Adamson.
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