|
Seventh Bangkok Book fair graced by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
Hundreds of thousands turn out for book event of the year
Story and photos by Suwanthep Malhotra
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graciously presided
over the Opening Ceremony of the Seventh Bangkok Book Fair, on October 11 at
the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. HRH the Princess presented
plaques and certificates of appreciation to the supporters, organizers and
to the winners of the Illustrations for Young Readers and the Fair’s
Slogan contests.
HRH the Princess then cut the ribbon to formally open the
fair.
HRH
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graciously cuts the ribbon to formally open
the fair.
HRH the Princess first visited the highlights of the
fair, including the smallest Thai-language magnetic pop-up book in the world
entitled ‘Poh Kong Pandin’ or the Father of the Land, which measures
about 2.1 x 3.2 centimeters. She then proceeded to the culture and
traditional zone, where the evolution of written documents from writing on
palm leaves to the proper volume of books were displayed. She then proceeded
on to the Great Writers’ Corner and to the old bookshops section.
During
HRH the Princess’s visit, Suwadee Chongsatitwattana, president of PUBAT,
organizer of the fair, provided information and insight into the exhibitions
for HRH the Princess.
HRH the
Princess truly enjoyed every exhibit at the fair.
HRH the
Princess showed keen interest in the hundreds of items displayed at the
fair.
During HRH the Princess’s tour of the Exhibition Hall,
she visited almost every booth and said she was very impressed with the
exhibits.
After
arriving at the fair, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presented plaques
and certificates of appreciation to the supporters, organizers and to the
winners of the Illustrations for Young Readers and the Fair’s Slogan
contests.
HRH the
Princess visited nearly every booth at the fair.
At the end of her visit, HRH the Princess bade a fond farewell toall
round her and I could see a sense of pride and emotion on all the faces of
those in her presence. These moments will leave a lasting impression in our
hearts.
Something for everyone at the 7th Bangkok Book Fair
Organized by the Publishers and Booksellers Association
of Thailand (PUBAT), the 7th Bangkok Book Fair, which had its opening
ceremony on October 11, was the event of the year in the book business.
Covering 15,000 square meters at the Queen Sirikit National Convention
Center, the Bangkok Book Fair has been an annual event that has attracted up
to 400,000 book lovers each year. No admission fee is charged; people are
invited to just come on in and browse - a book lover’s heaven.
Khun
Suwadee Chongsatitwattana, president of the Publishers and Booksellers
Association of Thailand (PUBAT).
The
fair was all about encouraging people to read.
Pattaya Mail caught up with the busy organizer of the
fair, Khun Suwadee Chongsatitwattana, president of the PUBAT.
Suawadee said, “The objective of this special event is
first of all to encourage publishers to produce more books and study
materials for youngsters and the general public. At the moment there is not
much quality reading material on the market. We aim to push forward in
promoting the habit and love of reading among the Thai citizens. What I hope
to achieve at the end of the event is the enthusiastic interest of the Thais
for appreciation of literature.
Some of
the classics were on display
Harry
Potter magically appeared at the Book Fair – in the form of an exhibition
booth.
“Mainly there are three intentional themes for this occasion, first is
the cultural literature street where the path has been designed for
everybody to cruise around and visit each booth, experiencing the evolution
of the creation of reading material. Second is the souvenir that was
especially designed for this event, the ‘smallest Thai-language magnetic
pop-up book in the world’. Third is to mark it as the springboard in
promoting next year as the year of reading,” said Khun Suwadee.
‘Bookfet’ - another interesting corner
The ‘Bookfet’ was a new idea for book lovers. It had
the same concept as a food buffet, only here, instead of choosing what food
you wanted to eat, you could choose up to 38 of your own favorite short
stories from the all time favorite authors, as well as from young writers,
at 10 baht per story. These were then bound into your own customized volume.
The idea attracted a lot of readers, which became evident when some of the
stories ran out. Proceeds from the ‘Bookfet’ section will go to the
foundation that encourages youngsters to enjoy reading.
Antique
documents written on palm leaves were on display at a beautiful exhibition.
Your
tireless scribe and photographer took a moment to rest.
When the huge Book Fair came to a close, it was evident
that it was really only the beginning, for it had succeeded in inspiring
everyone to seek higher achievement in life through reading, igniting the
flame of passion for knowledge through literary works and to prepare for the
up coming ‘Year of Reading’ in 2003.
The new
“Bookfet” idea attracted a large crowd and sold out many of the literary
works.
Kru Yai
Napayon (seated left), famous for composing traditional Thai music, provided
his words of wisdom to people who visited the “Great Writers of the past”
corner.
‘The smallest magnetic pop-up book in the world’
The smallest Thai-language magnetic pop-up book in the
world, entitled ‘Poh Kong Pandin’ or the Father of the Land, which
measures about 2.1 x 3.2 centimeters, was one of the highlights of the fair.
Part of the proceeds from their sales will be donated to HRH Princess Maha
Chakri Sirindhorn’s Royal Projects.
HRH
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn watches how the miniature pop-up books are
assembled.
Khun Sorawanee Jinayon, the creator of the idea explained
the concept for the book. “The whole project was considered about 7 years
ago, inspired by the love and respect for HM the King. The concept was to
produce something in His honor. But the idea almost had to be dropped
completely due to lack of support, until the last 3 months when the idea was
revived. And so here they are, ready and on time for this very special
occasion.
“It is a wonderful souvenir for book lovers and it
serves as an inspiration for Thais to learn to love reading. Those
interested had to place their order during the fair and it will be sent to
them, as there are a limited number in production. Apart from the printing
which is done by machines, the whole process was done by hand, especially
the last intricate step of assembling the books, which one must do with the
utmost of precision and care. According to sources, it is probably the
smallest magnetic pop-up book in the world,” added Khun Sorawanee.
The 2.1
x 3.2 cm magnetic pop-up book titled Father of the Land on display for
people to place their orders.
Ajarn Tanit Suwanapruk, the artist who drew the beautiful
portraits of HM the King and did the artwork for the book added, “There
are altogether 5 sides when the book is unfolded. One side represents 10
years of HM the King’s duties and projects. The 6th section, the cover,
portrays Thai citizens’ celebratory mood honoring their beloved King.”
(L to
R) Rungratree Thongsaiy from Mahidol University, Sorawanee Jinayon, the
initiator of the idea for the miniature pop-up book, Ajarn Tanit Suwanapruk,
the artist who drew the beautiful portraits of HM the King and did the
artwork for the book, and his friend display what could be the world’s
smallest magnetic pop-up book.
The section begins with a depiction of HM the King’s
coronation and the oath, “We will reign with righteousness for the benefit
and happiness of the Siamese people”.
The descriptions below the drawings are excerpts from works written by
the famous prose composer, Associate Professor Thong-toang Chantharangsu.
ADSL is now in town
Do not despair. ADSL is not a new social superstar in
Pattaya. It is, in fact, a broad band Internet highway. Now you can abandon
your pokey, slow analog modem and step up to DSL’s blazing access speeds.
The best thing is that it is affordable for small businesses and home
Internet users.
Did you know that you can get up to 256 kbps out of your
telephone line, compared to the sloppy 56 kbps you are using now?
ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. It is
a modem technology that transforms ordinary phone lines into high-speed
digital lines for ultra-fast Internet access.
ADSL technology exploits unused frequencies on your
telephone line to transmit traffic typically at multi-megabit speeds. It can
allow voice and high-speed data to be sent simultaneously over the same
line.
So what do you need to use ADSL? You need a telephone
line from TT&T (Thai Telephone & Telecommunications), a modem and an
Internet Service Provider. You may think you have all that, but let’s look
at it a bit closer.
If you are not sure if you have a telephone line from TT&T
or from TOT (Telephone Organization of Thailand), you can find out by your
telephone number. In Pattaya TT&T telephone numbers usually start with a
3 or a 7. TOT numbers start with a 4 or a 2.
TOT does not support ADSL telephone lines currently and
TT&T only installed ADSL equipment (called DSLAM) at their telephone
nodes along Beach Road from Dolphin Roundabout to the beginning of Walking
Street and on Second Road from Dolphin Roundabout to Tops Supermarket.
Telephone numbers in this area that start with 361, 362, 710, 711 have ADSL
service available. Congratulations to the lucky winners.
If you decide to sign up for a telephone line from TT&T
it will take approximately 2 weeks and will cost you 1,000 baht for
installation and a monthly charge of 1,400 baht for 128 kbps or 1,900 baht
for 256 kbps, depending on the speed you require. This only applies to data
transfer and if you make additional telephone calls it will cost you 3 baht
per call for a local buzz.
TT&T will also provide you with the special modem you
need. You have a choice of a single connector modem for 5,000 baht (Zyxel
630), probably the better selection for home users, or a router (Zyxel 642)
for 7,000 baht, most likely to be installed in offices.
The Internet Service Provider (ISP) Loxinfo on 3rd Road
can provide you with an ADSL account. There you have a choice of a “pay
per use” account or a monthly service charge. The monthly service charge
for a 128/64 kbps account (which will give you 128 kbps download and 64 kbps
upload speed) is only 1,100 baht for 50 hours + a one time charge of 1,500
baht (start up). After you run out of your 50 hours, the additional cost is
23 baht per hour.
A 256/128 Account (256 kbps download - when surfing the
Internet you download, 128 kbps upload, for example you upload when sending
emails) costs 1,700 baht (+ start up fee) and extra hours will cost you 35
baht per hour. In case you have any hours left at the end of the month be
warned that they will not be added on to the new month. They will be lost.
The “pay per use” costs are 2,500 baht for a 75 hours
- 128/64 kbps. If you want it all and go for the faster option (256/128
kbps) you pay 3,800 baht. No start-up costs for “pay per use”.
With all these accounts you get an email address
“[email protected]”.
This is definitely an awesome alternative to the unreliable ISDN system,
with which you could get a speed of 128 kbps. Customers have complained
about their ISP, others received extremely high telephone bills from TOT.
Although we have been told to expect down times with ADSL as well.
Unithai Shipyard & Engineering breaks another record
Welcome largest vessel ever to receive maintenance at their floating dry-dock facility in Laem Chabang
The largest vessel to receive maintenance in Unithai’s
Laem Chabang floating dock, the ‘Repulse Bay’ was moored at the
company’s pier last week.
The ship, which is 292 meters in length, has a berth of
42 meters and can carry up to 6,000 containers, spent 14 days in dry-dock
where the hull was cleaned, grit blasted and repainted as well mechanical
and engineering maintenance done before returning to active service.
Jos
Goris, production manager for Unithai, with the largest vessel to receive
maintenance in Unithai’s Laem Chabang floating dock in the background.
The floating dock ‘Karnajnika’ is just 282 meters in
length, 10 meters shorter than the ‘Repulse Bay’. Dry-docking the ship
took 11 hours. Laser-guided positioning a vessel of this size and weight
takes time.
“The ship is like a long piece of steel, strong and
slightly flexible but positioning is very important. If it’s not done
correctly you can damage the dock and the ship,” said Jos Goris,
production manager for Unithai and the man in charge of making sure that the
work is done.
“The dock has reached its length capacity with the ship
(Repulse Bay) but not the weight capacity. The dock can take up to 40,000
tons and this vessel is only 23,000 tons,” added Jos.
Unithai Shipyard and Engineering is Thailand’s largest
shipping maintenance firm. The company has three main core business:
shipping, logistics and metal fabrication.
In the last year, with the addition of the 2nd floating
dock in February this year, the ship repair business has effectively
doubled. Last year during the entire year, the company took care of 59
ships. That number was already surpassed by the end of June this year, and
stands at over 62.
“This is good foreign exchange income for Thailand. We
are already taking business away from Singapore by taking on more specialty
jobs - not just tankers and cargo ships. We have already completed 6 LPG
tankers this year,” said Jos.
The company employs over 1,000 staff, and 90 % are Thai
nationals. Unithai recently broke their own record of 2,400,000 man-hours
accident and incident free and stress that safety is very high on the list
procedures.
Another World Class Wine Dinner to remember
Australian Winemaker’s Gala Dinner October 30
It is with great pleasure that Ranjith Chandrasiri
invites everyone to the Australian Winemaker’s Gala Dinner on the 30th of
October, 19:00 hrs in the elegant setting of the Grand Ballroom, Royal Cliff
Grand. This world-class event is indeed special, as no less than Ms. Anna
Flowerday, the winemaker of the prestigious “Leasingham’ winery in Clare
Valley, along with wine connoisseurs from the BRL Hardy headquarters located
in South Australia, will be on hand to present the wines.
Seven fabulous varieties of Australian wines plus Royal
Canapes will complement a six-course gourmet dinner that will be prepared by
the Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s team of culinary experts. The menu itself
promises to be another hit for Royal Cliff Beach Resort Executive Chef
Walter Thenisch and his team.
All the wines offered at the dinner are produced by
various boutique wineries that now belong to Australia’s largest wine
producer - BRL Hardy. Also included are multi-award winning wines from
Barossa Valley Estate, Stonehaven and Leasingham which have enjoyed
considerable success in recent times winning many accolades at national and
international wine shows.
Diners will also have the opportunity to taste sweet
sticky and gorgeous ‘Noble Riesling’ dessert wine from Padthaway
vineyard. Grapes grown on Padthaway vineyard have a proven record for
producing botrytis affected Riesling of outstanding quality; however,
vintage conditions for such a wine have only occurred three times in the
last nine years. This sensational dessert wine is a worthy successor to the
multi-award winning 1994 Padthaway Noble Riesling and is available in only
limited quantities.
This grand event promises to be of high quality and an
excellent value for money - nothing less than what the Royal Cliff Wine Club
has consistently offered in the past.
As more and more guests attend each wine dinner and due
to the fact that these events get booked out very quickly, we recommend that
you reserve your seats early.
The all-inclusive price (including seven varieties of
wines) is only 1500 baht net (Wine Club members and their guests will
receive further 10% discount).
For inquiries or reservations, please call the Royal
Cliff Wine Club at (66) 038-250-421 ext. 2782 (from 09:00 to 18:00 hrs) or
Guest Relations at ext. 2007 or 2037. You can also email [email protected]
Reception Menu
Royal Canap้s with Australian premium brut
sparkling wine
Dinner Menu
Tasmanian salmon and Port Lincoln tuna fillet with
marinated Clare Valley grapes, mascarpone cheese served with fresh herbs
salad in a crispy bread tuile.
****
Carrot and ginger flavoured veloute soup with saut้ed
frog legs
****
Lasagnette of eggplant with lobster, shrimps and mussels
on a delicate saffron sauce
****
Fillet of roasted Gippsland lamb on a tartlet of baked
vegetables and potato served with a reduction of Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz
****
Assortment of Australian boutique cheese with fig and
pear compote and peppered lavosh
****
“Flowerday of Clare Valley delight” (Spiced ice cream
in chocolate petals)
****
Freshly brewed coffee or tea served with hand crafted
chocolate pralines
Rotary-sponsored blood bank, clubs save lives in Bali tragedy
The normally idyllic Indonesian island of Bali is reeling
from the impact of a car bomb that ripped through a nightclub on 12 October,
killing more than 180 people and injuring 300, many foreign tourists.
Members of the 10 Rotary clubs on the island scrambled
alongside other volunteers to help with rescue efforts and to console
families of victims and survivors. The Bali Blood Bank, which was renovated
and equipped in 1999 through a multi-district WCS project supported with
contributions from a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant, became the most
valuable asset in frantic efforts to save lives after the attack.
“If it was not for the blood bank that you and
Rotarians in District 6290 [in Ontario, Canada, and Michigan, USA] helped to
build, things could be a lot worse,” wrote Freddy Subiyanto, a past
District 3400 team leader, to Marilyn Fitzgerald, his counterpart from
D-6290 in a 1998 GSE that resulted in the blood bank project. District 5370,
Alberta, Canada, and the Rotary Club of Hiroshima East, Japan, also
contributed to the effort “Please let all my very dear friends in Michigan
know this! You are such wonderful people.”
Rotarians worked round the clock, taking turns to help at
area hospitals, especially to provide English language translation
assistance to local hospital personnel and to mobilize blood donors. They
also coordinated donations of funds and equipment, mainly syringes, from
Rotary clubs in District 3400 and provided food for hundreds of volunteers
working at health facilities and the scene of the deadly blast.
“We have been working full time to make sure there are
enough supplies,” says Subiyanto. “It is so sad that deaths have
mounted. We probably could have done more but did not know how. We were not
prepared for this kind of cruelty.”
Among the victims were many foreigners who needed a
supply of blood types that are rare among Balinese. Again thanks to the
foresight of the Rotarian coordinators of the project, who had insisted on a
commitment of resources to procure a supply of all blood types, the recent
tragedy found the blood bank prepared to deal with a medical emergency
involving so many injured foreigners.
“The events showed how important a good working blood
bank is,” says Bali Rotarian David Kuper, who was a technical advisor of
the WCS project. “The investments and the imposed commitments paid off, as
the blood bank functioned perfectly during the crisis and quickly mobilized
all the listed Rhesus negative expatriate blood donors.”
While the foreign victims of the explosion have been
evacuated to neighboring countries, Rotary volunteers are faced with the
challenge of mobilizing resources to help injured locals, many of whom are
too poor to pay their medical bills. Rotarians are also working to maintain
a constant supply of ice to the morgues where the bodies of unidentified
victims are being preserved - a necessary measure in the sweltering heat on
the island.
“The Bali Rotarians have been doing what they can, but
this disaster is so big that we need all the help from Rotarian friends from
anywhere to buy medicine, sheets, food, ice, and other medical
necessities,” says Al Purwa, community chairman of the Rotary Club of Bali
Kuta.
Disaster relief accounts have been opened by the Rotary
Club of Bali Kuta and District 3400. Those who wish to contribute towards
either effort can request more details from District 3400 Governor-nominee
Ritje Rihatinah by telephone/fax: 62-361-773152; or e-mail:
[email protected] or Al Purwa of the Rotary Club of Bali Kuta by fax
62-361-752777 or e-mail: [email protected]
|
