Jim and Jum celebrate their 6th birthday

The twin female elephants named Jum and Jim are the only pair of twins remaining alive in captivity, and the Khao Kheow Zoo celebrated their sixth birthday on 28 August by constructing a gigantic cake made from various fruits. Both Jum and Jim and many of their elephant friends took part in the celebration, devouring the cake. Any twins visiting the zoo that day were admitted free.

The Director of the Khao Kheow Zoo, Sophon Damnui, lights the candles on the birthday cake celebrating Jum and Jim’s sixth birthday.

Many activities were put together by the zoo including a drawing contest of the twin elephants, interesting facts about elephants were presented and donations were collected for the animals upkeep.

The twin elephants were born on 27 August 1993, in a location under the bridge crossing the Kwae River in Kanchanaburi Province. The mother of the twins, named Phang Lam Duan, is from the Surin area and gave birth to Jum first at 06:00 a.m. Jim was born 15 minutes later.

Normally an elephant only gives birth to one baby elephant at a time; twin births are very dangerous to the mother elephant’s health due to the amount of food required during pregnancy.

The twin elephants are supported by the generosity of the Ban Pu Company Ltd. who bought Jum and Jim for one million baht and presented the two elephants to the Khao Kheow Zoo to look after in 1994.

The two elephants have represented Thailand as a symbol of Tourism to Thailand 1998-1999 and as mascots during the 13th Asian Games.

Jum and Jim have also promoted many other activities throughout the country.

Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy opens Sattahip’s Mini-Marathon Walk-Run

Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, Admiral Thira Haochareun presided over the opening ceremony of a Walk-Run Mini-Marathon at the Sattahip marine beach in honor of His Majesty the King’s upcoming birthday.

The walk-run competition supports the government’s policy to promote physical fitness in the community.

The competition was divided into two categories including a 10.5 kilometer mini-marathon race and a five kilometer health walk. Trophies were awarded to the first five crossing the finish line.

The first 2,000 crossing the finish line received coins commemorating the event and the birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great.

The first person finishing the mini-marathon was Komed Wasawaphan, a navy student from the Chumphon Naval Academy.

During the marathon closing ceremony, personnel from the Royal Thai Navy and Royal Thai Marines released 3,000 small turtles into the area waters as an added gesture to honor His Majesty the King. A total of 9,972 turtles are scheduled to be released by the Royal Navy in Sattahip waters this year. 1,475 turtles were released prior to this day.

The many visitors and participants in the marathon also had the opportunity to tour the sights in and around the Naval Base. The base has many historic monuments and museums, including the turtle preservation center. The base also has some beautiful beaches.

We couldn’t have done it without you!

It is history now that the inaugural Jesters MC Charity Fair last weekend, at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, was a brilliant success. There is always a tendency afterwards for the organizers to be congratulated (probably hoping they will do it again next year!), but this Fair belonged to Pattaya.

Pattaya put its all into this event. Pattaya got behind it, pushed it, promoted it and made it the success it was. It would be impossible to thank everyone of you who contributed in some way to the Fair, but we would like to put on record the following people and organizations who were outstanding in their support. There have been so many of you, so please forgive us if we have inadvertently left you off.

First, the business groups - Chonburi Siam Steel Mill Services, Amari Orchid Resort, Au Bon Coin, Auckland Rugby FC, Ban Chang Sports and Social Club, Bartercard (Thailand), Benihana, Big Boy Restaurant, Boots, British Airways, Bubbles, Caf้ Kronborg, Camel Bar, Cape East, Captains Corner, Carousel Bar, Carlsberg Breweries, Celtic FC, Central Wong Amat Hotel, Century Hotel, Chai’s Jewellery, Chelsea FC, City Hotel Sri Racha, Classic Tailors, CMYK Graphic Design, Coca-Cola, Delaney’s Bangkok, Delaney’s Pattaya, Dulio’s Top Class Italian Restaurant, Dusit Resort, Emma and Jeff Malone, England Rugby Union, Estee Beauty Salon, Fobe Sportswear, Fortune Hotel, Foster Wheeler, Frank Smith, Garden International School, Global Silverhawk, Graham Wainwright, Green Bottle Restaurant, the Hare House, Hash House Harriers Pattaya, Icon Restaurant, ISE, ISR, Jam Session, Jarani RFU, Jools, Landmark Hotel Bangkok, Liverpool FC, M&M Pies, Mama Maria, Mata Hari Brasserie, Merlin Pattaya Hotel, Middlesborough FC, Misty’s, Mountain Beach Hotel, New Orleans Restaurant, Patrick’s Belgian Restaurant, Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Sports Club, the Pattaya International Ladies Club, Pepsi, Peter Allis, Planet Rock, Qantas, Rayong Resort, Restaurant de Paris, Ripley’s, the Rovers Return, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Royal Garden Resort and Plaza, Simpatico Restaurant, Samsara Lifestyle, Seafood Market Bangkok, Shamrock Bar, Sher-E-Punjab Indian Restaurant, Sixties Bar, St. Andrews International School, Stephen Leather, Stoney’s, Tahitian Queen 1 & 2, Tip Top Service and Cleaning, Tiramisu Italian Ice Cream, Tony’s Cool Spot, Tower Records, Town-in-Town Hotel, Universe Gym, Vixens, Wild Chicken, Woodlands Resort, Yes! Boutique.

Now the individuals - Niel & Alice Poulsen, Peter, Amorn and Korn Malhotra, Darren Rose, Paul Baker, Neil Smith, Police Col. Pinich Satcharoen, Gen. Kanit Permsub, Mrs. Busyarat Permsub, Neville Pick, Sven and Hansi, Trevor and Mark, Michael Franklin, Mark Greenwood, Don Macneil, Don Robertson, David Edward, Jerry Carpenter, John Sill, Manob Songeim, Mary Fisher, Trevor Allen, Ian Warwick, Stephen Beard, Mick Angel and all of the Pattaya Hash, Dan Dorothy, Dr. Iain and Mirin Corness, Harry Riley, Robbo, Pen, Tawan Thonglim (Aom), David Hoyle, Supradit, Somsak and Bjorn from the Royal Garden Resort, Bernard Trink and the Bangkok Post staff, David Garred from the Dusit Sports Club, Gethan and Jill Thomas, Greg Watkins and the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, everybody at the Pattaya Mail, Rupert Lewis and Boy of Tower Records, Hannah, Sean and Joachim from the Royal Garden Fitness Center, Bjarne and Egon of Caf้ Kronborg, Ian and Trudi Hunter, all the pretty barmaids - Diana Connelly, Jane, Evelyn de Cruyper, Gerri, Catherine Alwood and Ann-Laure Hill, Mon from TQ and last but certainly not least, Paul Dobbs from Global Silverhawk.

On behalf of all of Pattaya and the Fountain of Life Charity we thank you most sincerely. Graham Macdonald, Chairman and Kim Fletcher, Vice-Chairman, Lewis “Woody” Underwood and the Jesters Charity Fair Committee 1999.

The Jester Pub Night

The 2nd Annual Jesters MC Community Charity Drive is not over yet. Following on from the successful Children’s Fair and Family Day, this next event is for the adults! It is the Jesters Pub Night, to be held on the 11th of September at Delaney’s, the Irish Pub on Second Road.

Those who went to the Pub Night last year will attest to the fact that this was THE charity event of the year, with over one million Baht being raised for the Fountain of Life. This year’s event looks like being even better.

Being a Pub Night means there will be plenty of food and drink and the profits from the sales goes straight into the charity coffers. As the organisers say, “When was the last time a night out at the pub did so much good?” Just by coming along and having the usual Saturday night fun you can actually end up helping the disadvantaged kids in our community.

The raffle prizes alone make it worthwhile to be there. First prize being 2 return tickets to Sydney, Australia with Qantas/British Airways, plus other great prizes. There will also be auctions - who could forget Alice Poulsen’s spirited bidding for the “Full Monty” photograph last year? This year’s auctions will be even better!

Of course there will be the live bands and fun filled entertainment that you expect of a Jesters Pub Night. There is only one missing ingredient - and that is you! The Pattaya Mail, in conjunction with all the organising committee, just asks that you come along and enjoy yourselves at Delaney’s this Saturday night. You won’t regret it, and there’s a whole bunch of kids who will be saying “Thank you!” See you there!

Local charities travel to the Northeast to bring educational assistance to Phang Thiem School

by Kittisak Khamthong

A group of 16 people, led by Bangkok-Pattaya Y.W.C.A. Chairwoman Mrs. Premrudee Jittiwutikan, departed Pattaya in the early morning on 27 August heading for a small village in Nakhon Ratchasima. In the group were members representing the Pattaya Lions Club, the Pattaya Sports Club and the Y.W.C.A. The benevolent group headed north to bring donations for school supplies, lunches and school uniforms to children in need of assistance at the Phang Thiem School in Phra Thong Kham District.

Khun Premrudee presenting a special donation to a young student with gifted young student with gifted drawing talents that have won national awards bringing much notoriety to the Phang Thiem School.

The group arrived at their destination before the noon hour and were welcomed by the school staff and principle, Professor Prasat Naebsanthia, and Professor Wisut Isaraphayab, who is a former student at Burapha University and the person arranging the educational assistance for the school.

Professor Prasat gave the group some background information about the local area’s depressed economic situation. The soil in the area is unable to produce any crops due to the high alkaline content and the water below ground can only be used to distil salt during the rainy season. This is the only industry in the area providing income for the poverty stricken residents. Many of the town’s men and women go to the provinces looking for employment or to Bangkok and other tourist locations leaving the old people to raise the school children. Professor Prasat said the situation in Phang Thiem is no different from many other rural areas in the Northeast.

Umm! This is good!

A little girl attending the Phang Thiem School named Uthumphorn wrote a letter to the Prime Minister describing her perceptions of everyday life in her village and asked for help. She also related the plight of three boys in the village who have been separated from their parents due to an auto accident. They stay with three other families who are already burdened.

The Prime Minister responded by contacting responsible agencies to insure the village is being attended to. He also provided a sum of money for support. After representatives from the administration and responsible agencies contacted charitable organizations, the three charitable clubs from Pattaya arranged donations to support the village children.

During the group visit, Mrs. Premrudee made a special presentation to one other young girl with genuine artistic skills. The little girl has brought much notoriety to herself and the Phang Thiem School after winning regional and national level drawing contests. Afterwards, the members from the three clubs arranged a noon meal for the 206 students attending grades K - M3, and the school staff. The children seemed to enjoy the meal and especially the ice-cream dessert.

After lunch the three organizations presented the donated funds and educational material to the school staff, including uniforms and athletic equipment. The three organizations from Pattaya donated a total of 30,000 baht.

After witnessing the children at the school it was a heart rendering experience knowing that the donations were going to a worthy cause. Some of the children at the school were without shoes, their clothing was donated by other charitable organizations, they had no athletic equipment and the athletic field was a recent achievement supported by funds from the Misawa Plan.

Phang Thiem students present mementos to the members from three of Pattaya’s Charitable Organizations, the Y.W.C.A., Pattaya Sports Club and the Lions Club.

The school is a 50-year-old, two building structure with another newer building for the children in grades up to M-3. The 13 teachers at the Phang Thiem School are not enough for the 206 students. The shortage of teachers is due to budget cuts, which contradicts the government program to develop human resources in the country.

The members visiting the Phang Thiem School are sure to remember what they saw and heard during their stay, especially the faces of the children as they brightened when seeing the items presented to their school. The hopes are they will be able to return with additional support in the future so the children can continue receiving an education.

The Phang Thiem School is a six hour drive from Pattaya. It is located 40 kilometers from Nakhon Ratchasima between Noon Thai and Phra Thong Kham Districts along the Surnarai Road. If others are interested in providing support the school staff is willing to receive whatever generous people are willing to part with.

Fireballs to Pattaya: Prince Bira’s Legacy

The forthcoming Fireball World Championships, to be held at Pattaya for the second time, hark back to a golden age of sailing on the Gulf when Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh reigned supreme.

Peter Cummins reports from Pattaya

Fireball is not a reference to heavenly eclipses, comets or any other such celestial phenomena appearing over Pattaya; rather, it refers to an earth-bound event - or at least a water-borne one, to take place soon. The International Fireball Association, based in Hayling Island, UK, has requested the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, South Pattaya, as the venue for the Fireball World Championships, to be held in March next year.

A Japanese import racing off Koh Larn. Photo Peter Cummins

Former Royal Varuna Flag Commodore and Fireball enthusiast Lawnin Crawford is awaiting official confirmation from the International Association which, he is confident, will be forthcoming shortly.

It was, in fact, 21 years ago, in November/December of 1978, that the late Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh, as Commodore of the Fireball Association of Thailand, welcomed participants in the first world yacht racing championship ever to come to Thai shores - in fact, to Asia. That was the Singha Beer Fireball World Championship which was held off the Royal Varuna Yacht Club at Kasetsin Beach.

Several container-loads of Fireballs were shipped from the United Kingdom and elsewhere - fifty craft in all - to the Varuna beachfront for the event. The (mostly) British competitors could scarcely believe that they had just escaped the depth of a Northern European winter to come to Thailand’s sunny shores and warm waters - to go sailing.

It is a scenario that has been oft-repeated over the two intervening decades, most recently for the first Topcat World Championships two years ago last March and won by Royal Thai Navy Lieutenant Vinai Vongtim. Although Thais have been most successful in regional championships such as the Southeast Asian and the Asian Games, Vinai’s win was a first ever world yacht racing title for a Thai.

On that occasion, many of the participants came directly to Pattaya from Munich where it was -8 degrees C., the day they left. Like the Fireballers, the Topcatter want a repeat also. Highly understandable!

The girls are competent Fireballers, too. Photo Peter Cummins

The Fireball was designed by Britain’s Peter Milne. However, his creation was not to be as well known as that of his famous brother, A. A. Milne who was the author of the adorable “Winnie the Pooh” story which still enraptures children - and, probably, not a few adults - through the years.

Milne’s (Peter, that is) concept was of a craft easy to build by amateurs at a relatively low cost, be fast and exciting to sail. There are some 20,000 worldwide and big fleets in Thailand at the Sattahip Navy base and at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya.

The Royal Thai Navy, in fact, has built most of the Fireballs in the Kingdom, using local timber. Many of these will be brought to Pattaya to compete in the Worlds next March.

Prince Bira’s Legacy

Unfortunately, wonderful Prince Bira will not be around to greet the visitors this time, but his influence on yacht racing in Thailand is still felt, even some 14 years after his death.

Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh - known to all simply as ‘Bira’, or the slightly more formal, Prince Bira - in his prime was arguably the Kingdom’s greatest sportsman.

When he died in London on December 23, 1985 at the age of 71, his contributions to the sporting life of the Kingdom were unsurpassed: a Formula One world champion racing car driver, whose record established in the UK in 1937 still stands. Pattaya’s Bira circuit is named after him and for many years, the Macao vintage car rally featured Bira’s famous “Romulus”.

An Olympic yachtsman (Rome, 1960 and Munich, 1972), Bira was also a daring and skilful pilot who recorded one of the first single-handed flights from the UK to Bangkok.

One could say, then, that he revelled in three of the four elements which the ancient world believed comprised the universe - earth, water, air and fire. He mastered the first three, certainly. But the ‘fire’ was there too - in the guise of the ‘Fire’ball, the sleek racing craft in which he excelled and which he pioneered and promoted in the Kingdom.

On the 19th of July, 1990, Thailand’s National Sports Day was dedicated to Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh - arguably the Kingdom’s greatest sportsman - on the 76th anniversary of his birth. At the same time, the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand also instituted the “Prince Bira Memorial Regatta”.

His lasting legacy to the sailors of the Pattaya-Jomtien and Sattahip waters was a horrendous long-distance race which he called the “Firebird Trophy” race. The inaugural event, held in 1970, was designed by Prince Bira, solely for the two-person Fireball.

A Fireball drives hard along Jomtien shore. Photo Peter Cummins

He also sculpted and cast the massive bronze “Firebird Trophy”, for he was “fed up”, he told me one day, “with winners walking away with Royal Varuna’s permanent trophies and often not returning them.” He made sure that this fate would never befall his beloved “Firebird”, which, weighing in at a mere 200 kg., was not likely to be ‘carried off’ by a winner.

The time limit was seven hours and the Prince himself won the inaugural event. The trophy is thus a slice of the history of yacht racing in Thailand and the “Firebird” is the Fireball “Hall of Fame”: Svend Rom, John Hornett, Hartmut Schneider, the two Jenses - Kellinghusen and Overgaard - Bob Kennett, Panasarn Hasdin and, more recently, Anirut Posakrisna and Vinai Vongtim are all immortalized on the trophy.

Gradually, the Firebird event was phased out; the human race - or at least the Fireball sailors thereof - had become “soft”. The race was replaced by the Prince Bira Memorial Regatta in 1990 which Princess Lom, Prince Bira’s surviving Royal Consort, graciously permitted to be made into an open event for all classes of sail-boats.

The Fireball World Championships will be is a fitting tribute to the memory of Royal Varuna’s beloved sailor, Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh who did so much to promote this great and challenging dinghy.

Harness the Electronic Power

A few more simple tips for travel agents on how to mount a cost-effective and productive electronic marketing campaign

by Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire

Last year, travel and tourism became the Internet’s leading business-to-business consumer retail product world-wide and the continuing migration of the PC into the home will ensure that use of the Internet will spiral.

One of the most beguiling spin-offs of Internet connection, e-mail and its impact in personal lives, is becoming significant. With this in mind, Travel Impact aims to explain how travel agents can harness this phenomenon to mount a cost-effective and productive electronic marketing campaign.

The advantage of e-mail is that you can push timely and targeted messages to your customers and prospects for a fraction of the cost of designing, printing, handling and posting direct-mail material.

It should be remembered, though, that e-mail, like junk mail, can alienate, so messages should be useful and correctly targeted.

The form of your e-mail massage can be varied and could cover:

— A regular weekly message covering specials.

— A sales letter to promote specific products or services.

— An e-newsletter to keep your customers and prospects abreast with new products and services.

— A personal note for valued customers marketing, perhaps, anniversaries or birthdays.

Here is a step-by-step approach to help you get started in the right electronic direction:

Step 1 - Develop an e-mail list

Capture addresses for current customers as well as telephone inquirers and walk-in prospects. Coach staff and receptionists to include e-mail addresses along with any other contact information gathered from clients and prospects. Also ask the person if he or she would like to receive periodic announcements about specials and perhaps a newsletter.

Step 2 - Decide who will receive e-mail responses and inquiries

It is usually best for e-mail to funnel into one person in your office. This will allow you to monitor the effectiveness of your campaign and ensure that each response is answered promptly and efficiently.

Step 3 - Secure your customers’ information

Having one person receive all your e-mail allows you to control privacy issues such as birth dates, unlisted phone numbers, credit card numbers and other confidential information. This desk can also manage your master e-mail list to ensure that it is up-to-date, secure and backed up.

Step 4 - Follow up leads quickly

Any positive response is worth its weight in gold, so do not drop the ball when it arrives. Answer all requests and confirm the orders you receive.

Step 5 - Be prepared to answer questions

Studies show that you will receive 80% of your responses to a direct e-mail campaign within 36 hours and that you can expect a 2% to 5% response rate - twice that of a postal direct-mail effort. Most people, however, will expect a response to their e-mail inquiry within 24 hours, if not sooner. So, before you start sending, make sure you are prepared to manage the activity your campaign will generate. Expect to receive requests for additional information and even questions that will require someone to follow up by phone.

Step 6 - Create e-mail form letters

Using standard e-mail responses to answer common requests will improve your level of communication and save time. For example, develop a standard message to welcome someone requesting information about your office hours or other routine details. Craft these response carefully, making sure the information is kept current, accurate and is personalized.

Copyright 1998 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek.