While no Thai film was in competition for an Oscar at the 72nd Academy Awards Presentation this year, Thailand was represented by a team of two journalists who were credentialed to cover the presentations on March 26th in Los Angeles (morning of March 27 in Thailand).

Scot Rosenberg, Bangkok based Asia Pacific editor for Film Journal International and Chaiwat Ahantrik broadcast live on radio throughout Thailand from the red carpet arrivals area of the Shrine Auditorium and from inside the auditorium where the awards were taking place. Coverage of the award parties also took place on air as Mr. Rosenberg and Mr. Ahantrik scurried across Los Angeles following the stars. This was the first time that Thailand had broadcast representation at the Academy Awards.

“It was an honor to cover the Academy Awards but it was also an honor for all of Thailand: a payback if you will, for the loyalty and love Thai people have for movies,” said Mr. Ahantrik.

Mr. Rosenberg, who also serves as an international entertainment consultant, carried several messages to present to officials at the awards. The first was an invitation from the organizers of the Bangkok Entertainment Show (BEST), which will be held from December 8-10th at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, to participate in the show which is fast becoming a showcase of Thai and regional entertainment productions. With the cancellation of Reed Midem’s MIP Asia this year, BEST is one of the only regional entertainment productions to take place.

The second invitation was from members of the Thai movie industry who wish increased co-production opportunities with foreign film makers. “Thailand not only has a natural backdrop against which many types of movies can be made, but we have a crew and talent pool who would benefit from technology transfer that would take place from Hollywood studios: not to mention the revenue that would be generated,” said Mr. Rosenberg.

The just-finished Volvo Fireball World Championship, held off the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in South Pattaya, was an outstanding success. It was certainly well covered by the Pattaya Mail in both the written and audio-visual format.

(L to R) Louis Smyth (right), Pattaya’s Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat (2nd right), Volvo President Karl Johan Sandesdo (2nd left) and Varuna Commodore Rut Subniran (left)

What we did not report, however, was the Pattaya Mail support of this most important event which brought more than 100 sailors, supporters and regatta managers to Thai shores, with the positive publicity and good image of Thailand which it portrayed.

But it was much more than that. During the regatta, which was sailed from 13 to 24 March, the Pattaya Mail sponsored one of the races and Managing Director Peter Malhotra went to the Royal Varuna Yacht Club to distribute the day’s prizes.

Pattaya Mail MD Peter Malhotra commends a Volvo winner

It was, indeed, a splendid party at the Royal Varuna seaside bar, with more than 200 people enjoying the ambience - not to mention the copious quantities of Heineken draft beer supplied by the Pattaya Mail.

In addressing the group, Peter pointed out that the Pattaya Mail is totally dedicated to the environment and regards yacht racing as one of the most environmentally friendly pursuits.

Using only the resources of Nature, yachting is a major contributor to the conservation of Pattaya’s fragile eco-system which has already come under severe attack from ill-planned development and exploitation of the waterways, beaches and coastal areas.

“It is time,” Peter pointed out, “that we all learn from such an event as the Volvo World Championship,” and he commended, in the highest terms, the Royal Varuna Yacht Club which, for more than four decades, has been the major organizer of regattas and water sports in the beautiful area of Pattaya-Jomtien.

Peter emphasized the ongoing co-operation between the Pattaya Mail, the Royal Varuna Yacht Club and such resorts as the Royal Garden which have all been instrumental in promoting the resort and its environs as a clean, healthy place for relaxation.

A bottle of the best from Fireball International for the Volvo Chief

Peter also noted that the Pattaya Mail continues to coordinate with the Royal Garden and the city fathers in such promotional and ecologically-sound ventures as the Pattaya Festival which, for the second year, will include a yacht race from the Royal Varuna facility to finish in front of the Royal Garden on Beach Road.

The race this year will be held on the 15th of April, just prior to Pattaya’s own Songkran festivities and, as usual, will be the medium for bringing to the attention of all Pattayans the emphasis on yacht racing. It will bring the sport of yachting, which is usually held a long way offshore and, hence, not really noticed, closer to all Pattayans, emphasizing the fact that it is one of man’s cleanest activities - a message which will not go un-noticed by the crowds expected at the seafront on race day.

Of course, the Pattaya Mail will be videoing the scene and will report fully on the spectacle. To identify the finishing line - which at around 2.30 p.m. will also be the start line - watch out for the large Pattaya Mail banner which will be prominently displayed close to shore.

It was a very special day for a group of very special children last week, when 250 boys and girls from the Pakred Home had their annual “Kids Out”, organized by the Rotary Clubs of Bangkok South and Jomtien-Pattaya and fully supported by UNICEF and the Royal Varuna Yacht Club.

(L to R) Bangkok South Rotary President Koichiro Ishihira with his lovely wife, along with UNICEF Representative for Thailand Gamini Abeysekera and his lovely wife

This represented the fourth time that these little ones have been taken to the Varuna Club’s shore-front facilities where they played in the sea and in the Club swimming pool, felt the caress of the warm south wind on their faces - many, for the first time - and enjoyed life like any child, anywhere - if only for a day.

Rotarians were out in full force, also, to help the youngsters enjoy their special day, serving them food, drinks and, of course, an unlimited supply of ice cream, which they relished (so did a few of the Rotarians!).

Special day for special children

Gamini Abeysekera, the UNICEF Representative for Thailand, and several UNICEF staff attended for the first time. Mr Abeysekera was most happy with the outcome and its beneficial effect on the children. “We are delighted to be here today, to be part of this joyous event that gives special attention to our special children,” Mr Abeysekera noted. “It fills me with great happiness to witness the beaming faces of these children who are less privileged than so many others,” he added. “Children like these here today deserve much greater love and assistance to enable full utilization of their capacities and acceptance by society without any discrimination,” Mr Abeysekera concluded.

The more than 60 Rotarians, assistants, staff of the Pakred Home and medical personnel agreed totally with the UNUCEF approach and voted approval with their feet - attending to the children’s every need and ensuring their well-being, safety and enjoyment on this one special day.

The incomparable “Dr Penguin” was there with a thousand tricks which enthralled the youngsters - and quite a few adults as well, it is worth adding! The Royal Varuna verandah was a sea of Castrol “Kids Out” tee shirts, red caps and happy, grinning faces, as Dr Penguin went through his charming routines.

Kids enjoy a sumptuous lunch on their Day Out 2000

Bangkok South Rotarians Alex Mavro and President Koichiro Ishihira extended the Rotary hand of friendship and President Koichiro gave a heart-felt address, noting the innocence of the Pakred children whose bodies are far from perfect but whose minds radiate an inner beauty which we, the able-bodied, would do well to emulate.

Believe it or not, it was a bottle of vodka which added so much to the children’s fun. Scandalous, you say? Read on! At its weekly meeting, the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya raffled a bottle of vodka and raised upwards of Baht 6,000, all of which was used to buy some little plastic boats and flotation devices for the children. As one of the pictures tells us, the children had so much fun on the sea and in the pool, thanks to that bottle of vodka and the Rotary’s initiative.

Jomtien-Pattaya Rotarians, President-elect Erika Keller, Dennis Stark and Margaret Tomlinson soon inflated the tiny boats, but at one stage it was hard to say who was having the most fun on the water - the kids or the Rotarians like George Tomlinson who was busy ferrying his young charges around.

Finally, it was time to head for the eight buses waiting outside the Varuna gates. As the army of brave, cheerful little people was wheeled, lifted, carried or managed to hobble to the exit, there was a farewell package for each one, the customary cookies from Walter Meyer and a souvenir package from UNICEF, to ease the way back to the Pakred home, the only home they have ever known.

There were many moist eyes on the little and the big people as the buses pulled away. They will be back again next March for the 2001 “Kids Out”!

Buddhism in Thailand is a genuine faith, an essential element in the cultural fabric and integral to the strength of the society. The religion, nonetheless, is concerned with man’s ultimate release from suffering, from the cycles of death and rebirth.

Some 2,500 years ago, Lord Buddha, distressed at the prospect of old age, sickness and death, discovered a path in which the suffering that attends human existence could be alleviated. Its root cause - a sense of identity narrowly defined by the physical body and self-limiting thoughts and emotions - to be transformed into radiant equanimity.

The efficiency of supernatural practices depends on the good conduct of the subject, in a direct parallel with the teachings of Buddhism, but actually, supernatural beliefs and practices exist in every society.

We come to the question whether of not if the Anapanasati Ananda Viriya System has some supernatural power.

Anapanasati Ananda Viriya - Is it Mysticism or Truth?

“Anapanasati Ananda Viriya” or “mindfulness of blissful breathing” is, among the Buddhist methods of mind training, given most prominence in the Pali (Canon). It is the fundamental energy that sustains life and is present in the vibrating biological processes of every single one of the billions and billions of cells. It drives all the activities throughout the organism. This energy is not uniquely human. Every being shares in and is a natural manifestation of the vast fundamental energy of the Universe. Decades ago, Yogis in the Himalayas, such as the Indians and Tibetans were adept in the science of healing themselves and others. Over the centuries the knowledge of this art and science has been passed on from generation to generation. However, the technique and teaching was lost over the years and only stories ranked around the ‘secret practices’. Guru Yogi Ananda Ong, has, in 1997, re-found the lost technique and teaching and had decided to share it with the public. Ananda Ong has learned all the ‘secrets’, spending many years in the Himalayas with his 850-year old teacher. Yes, that’s right, 850 years! Ananda Ong said that this can be proven, since all the villagers and many generations of their relatives knew this Guru and described him exactly the way he looks now. Is it mysticism or truth? Could it really have something to do with supernatural power?

Modern science has demonstrated the elegant unity and constant inter-relationship of all matter and energy in the elemental structures and processes of our planet and the known cosmos. So too have the cumulative Yogis understanding of inner healing energy, based on minute observation of a correspondingly delicate and interdependent web of energy patterns, flowing through and forming the basis of all that exists.

Ananda Ong has developed a technique for measuring mental and physical energy in humans. Everyone lives a certain rate of vibration. Unfortunately, very few live at the high vibration rate of which the human body is capable, because only a few know how to generate, utilize and replenish their full capacity of energy. With his method, he teaches the secret of the art and science of internal strength, to rediscover and release the powerful energy that is dormant and blocked within everyone. It is based on a dynamic and simultaneous fusion of exertion and relaxation - two apparently contradictory (paradox) activities. This special technique of breathing and other exercises uses the main nervous plexus systems in the body to generate extensive bioelectricity. These energy centers will connect and create both internal and external flow of inner energy. To develop the inner healing, anaerobic techniques and alteration of consciousness are being taught with the Anapanasati Ananda Viriya System. Has the well of youth and health finally been found? Maybe! Yet it needs lot of practice and perseverance.

Ananda Ong is teaching meditation, rhythmic diaphragmatic breathing and alteration of consciousness, relaxation of the mind and the body and vibration synchronization. Whilst the right breathing is one of the most important exercises, the others are needed to complete it. Relaxation, a technique in draining tension from one’s mind and body, will increase its sensitivity and therefore facilitate the internal and external channeling of bioelectricity vibrations. Yet not all vibrations are good for a person’s mind and body. The students are required to “fine-tune” their bioelectrical vibrations to the particular frequency level whereby it becomes an inner energy effective for training. The alteration of consciousness to Alpha level is needed to enter a frequency in the range of 9 - 12 Hertz. The ability to be in this stage, whilst retaining fully consciousness and in control, awakens the latent force and produces “super’ energies. At last, a set of nine movements, choreographed by Ananda Ong, allow energy centers to generate again extensive bioelectricity. The movements are performed while holding the breath in combination with the rhythmic diaphragmatic breathing. These movements promote healing and prevent illness.

Ananda Ong claims that in just 9 short days, with 3 - 4 hour daily training, one will become aware of the inner healing energy. Minimum energy gained will create bioelectrical flow, which may significantly counter minor and some mayor illnesses. To learn more and to be able to heal themselves or others, one will need to go through more training, which is divided into stages. The schedule for all consecutive stages would be a minimum of three months, practicing twice a week. To become a full healer or assistant instructor, one year of permanent training twice a week would be necessary. During this period, one can learn to direct and help to heal diseases such as asthma, circulatory ailments, heart diseases, migraine, cancer, HIV/AIDS, kidney disorder, arthritis and many other diseases.

Talking for several weeks to the students and some people who were healed by the Guru, I ask myself the question again: Is it mysticism or truth? I talked to a woman who suffers from a cyst in her uterus. She told me that it shrunk two thirds of its original size within three days. Another one had a very bad stomach ache for weeks and the doctors could find no reason for it. Ananda Ong healed her, by, somehow, pulling it out only with his energy, without touching her. The woman actually felt a sucking sensation at the same time and her stomach turned burning hot after the treatment. Minutes later, the pain was gone and never came back. There would be more stories to tell, stories I learned from hearsay, but I haven’t talked in person to the people concerned. Like, to a few AIDS patients who claim to lead a normal life now without any medication, or to this one man who couldn’t walk for three years and after just one treatment, walked around the room.

If one believes it or not, is entirely one’s own decision. Yet, if anyone would like to give it a try, go to the Merlin Hotel either on Tuesdays or Thursdays around 6:00 p.m. and talk to Guru Yogi Ananda Ong. The next beginner course starts on April 9th and the cost is 5,000 for one week of daily training.