3 Pattaya hotels win ASEAN ‘Green Hotel’ award
Twenty
Thai hotels, including 3 from Pattaya, were recognized at the ASEAN Green
Hotel Awards Ceremony for their high environmental standards.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Three Pattaya hotels have won the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations’ “Green Hotel” award.
The Dusit Thani Hotel, Siam Bayshore Resort & Spa and
Siam Bayview Hotel were among 20 Thai hotels to win the environmental prize
at the ASEAN Tourism Convention Oct. 10-14 at the Pullman Pattaya Aisawan
Resort.
Tanittha Sawetsila Maneechot, deputy permanent secretary
for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports said Thailand’s good showing will
help boost tourism with a public increasingly concerned about global warming
and environmental health factors.
The Green Hotel award was given to businesses in Brunei,
Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Winners were selected based on environmental policy, actions for hotel
operations, use of green products, collaboration with communities and local
organizations, solid waste management, energy efficiency, water efficiency,
and wastewater treatment and management.
Thanittha said Thailand’s push for “green” hotels stemmed
from increasing power prices, refuse-disposal problems, and waste-management
concerns. Being greener, she noted, actually saves money for hotel
operators.
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Royal British Legion Thailand to hold annual Service of Remembrance
Bert Elson
We
are fast approaching the time of year we in the Legion call Remembrancetide, the
time when we place poppy boxes around the Pattaya area and the time we hold our
Annual Service of Remembrance. Over the last few years many people have asked
me, “Do the Royal British Legion have a service in Pattaya” the answer I’m
afraid has been “No”.
That changes on Thursday November 11th this year when we will
be holding our first Service of Remembrance at 10.50 p.m. in St Niklaus Church
on Sukhumvit Road. The service will be open to all nationalities and all faiths
and will be as it should be, both short and simple. Wreaths will be laid by a
number of groups inside the church, outside the church will be a garden of
remembrance where if you wish you may place a small wooden cross with the name
of a loved one you have lost.
Whilst you can of course just turn up, it really would help
us if we had an idea of numbers, especially if you intend to bring a group of
people (we could then reserve your seats).
We have come a long way since 2007 when 15 of us formed the
Thailand Branch, as we now have close to 200 members and cover welfare cases all
over Thailand. We have 9 widows under our wing whom we ensure receive all they
are entitled to as regards pensions and benefits. Last year we spent over
190,000 baht on such things as medical care, rent, household goods, funerals,
visits and a number of other things, and all these were paid for from the local
Poppy Appeal and, when needed, funds sent from UK. We also simply call in to say
“hello” to any elderly ex members of the UK Armed Forces who may have retired
here in Thailand and are alone.
Whilst our primary role is the care and welfare of those who
have served/are serving in the UK Armed Forces and or their dependants we also
have a very active social life, we meet every Sunday from 2pm at Tropical
Bert’s, 2nd Road and have trips to such things as Remembrance Sunday at the
British Embassy, ANZAC Day at the River Kwai, Malaysia every June and whatever
else our Social Secretary lays on for us (a day at the races in Bangkok went
down very well, you can even bet!).
You do not have to have served in the Armed Forces to join
the Legion, simply contact me or come along any Sunday and please contact me if
you intend to attend the Service of Remembrance in Pattaya (seated by 10.40
a.m.) at [email protected]
Finally I would like to thank all those who donated for a
poppy last year, I’m sure you wore it with pride and hope you do the same this
year. It is perhaps a sad sign of the times that due to present day conflicts
the majority of the Legion’s funds and care is directed at those under 35 years
of age.
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Condominium Act explained to PCEC members
Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg welcomed everyone
to the Sunday October 10 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club at the
Tavern by the Sea Restaurant. After the usual opening announcements, he
called on Pattaraporn (Oy) Chantaramaha, Esq. and Phadungphon (Am)
Atthakitpaiboon, Esq., to tell everyone about Thailand’s Condominium Act of
2551 (2008).
Richard
Silverberg, PCEC MC for the day, introduces Pattaraporn (Oy) Chantaramaha,
Esq. and Phadungphon (Am) Atthakitpaiboon, Esq., to tell everyone about
Thailand’s Condominium Act of 2551 (2008).
Oy and Am are with their own law firm, Phadungphon and
Pattaraporn, located in North Pattaya. Oy is also a Barrister at Law. Both
are members of the Lawyer Council of Thailand and the Thai Bar. They have
taken several specialized courses and have experience in various areas of
Thai law. Their office is located on Pattaya Nua (North Pattaya) Road
(Opposite the Health Land Spa & Massage). Their website is
www.pnpesq.com.
Pattaraporn (Oy) Chantaramaha, Esq., tells PCEC members and guests about
Thailand’s Condominium Act of 2551 (2008).
Oy started by pointing out that as a general rule,
foreigners cannot own land in Thailand, but they can own their own
condominium. She said that the actual purchase of a condominium is not
difficult. But, most problems experienced by condominium owners are with the
management.
She then described the various Thai laws that have a
bearing on condominiums and the governmental agencies that have some form of
control over the building and/or operation of condominiums. Although her
talk was mostly on the Condominium Act’s requirements for condominium
management, she did point out that it is very important to have any
advertisements or sales representation in writing. The developer can be held
accountable for their written representations, but only if made in writing.
Hawaii
Bob gives us an update on Frugal Freddy’s Monday Dinner - held at Tequila
Reef on Soi 7 - with its Blackened Chicken worth dying for.
She then described the various items that the new
condominium owner should receive at the time of purchase. One of the items
is the rules and regulations governing the operation of the condominium. She
pointed out that under the Act, these rules should be on file with the Land
Office.
She then explained the difference between the owned unit
and the common areas and the purpose of the maintenance fee. Oy mentioned
the obligation of the unit owner to pay their maintenance fee and the
remedies that can be taken if the fee is not paid. She also described the
duties of the condominium’s juristic person and penalties that can be
imposed if those duties are not carried out in accord with the Condominium
Act. Similarly, she discussed the duties of the condominium manager and the
penalties for not performing their duties required by the Act. This was
followed by a description of the Corporate Board, the requirements for the
initial and subsequent general and extraordinary meetings of the co-owners
including what constitutes a quorum and what is considered a majority vote.
Oy said that although the Act has certain requirements,
the condominium’s rules and regulations will have additional requirements.
Therefore, it is very important for condominium owners to know what is in
those rules and regulations because they apply to the owner’s own
condominium development; not to others. Consequently, the rules for one
development can be different from other developments.
She concluded by describing the Act’s requirements
regarding adopting and changing a condominium’s rules and regulations. She
also pointed out that the Condominium Act requires developers to ensure that
commercial space has a means of entrance and egress that does not disturb
the peacefulness of the co-owners’ use of their units.
As there were many condominium owners in the audience,
there were many questions for Oy and Am. Richard then updated everyone on
upcoming events and called on Judith Edmonds to conduct the always
informative and sometimes humorous Open Forum, where questions about living
in Thailand and Pattaya in particular are asked and answered.
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Queen and Princess of Greece visit Pattaya Floating Market
HM the Queen
of Greece Anne Marie and HRH the Princess Theodora enjoy watching traditional
Thai dance.
Pattaya Floating Market on October 7 was visited by Greece’s
Queen, HM the Queen Anne Marie and HRH the Princess Theodora.
The Queen and the Princess arrived at Pattaya Floating Market
at 10.30 a.m. and were warmly welcomed by all staff, led by Klaus Jurgen,
marketing and PR manager along with his crew.
The Queen and Princess took a boat trip from the newly
constructed pier in the front and spent almost an hour experiencing the beauty
of Pattaya Floating Market. The boat trip finished at the back pier of the
compound before the Queen and Princess spent good time on land. The visit
continued with experiencing the products made by people with disabilities
located just right behind the back pier, then back in the compound they started
in the south region moving to northeastern, central, and north.
The Queen and Princess before leaving gave great joy and
happiness to the management and crew of the floating market and posed gracefully
for photographs.
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Scotsman becomes latest PADI instructor at Aquanauts
Staff reporters
It took a few months longer than planned, but Scotsman Ewan
Greenwood is now the latest new PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor to come from
Pattaya’s Aquanauts Dive Centre.
Aquanauts
Course Director Roger M. Smith (left) congratulates Ewan Greenwood on becoming a
new PADI scuba diving instructor.
Greenwood, 46, came to Pattaya in January 2010 as a newly
minted diver. The former social worker did his course in the U.K. and recalled
it was “freezing,” even in a dry suit. The appeal of changing his life and
becoming a PADI instructor in the warm seas of Thailand seemed like just the
adventure he was looking for.
Greenwood’s training program at Aquanauts, a PADI 5-Star
Career Development Center on Soi 6 in North Pattaya, was originally for three
months, but things slid out of April and into June, when he did his Instructor
Development Course. But a last-minute change saw him postpone actually taking
the Instructor Exam and head back to the U.K. for a few months.
He came back in late September, did a bit of a refresher and
stormed into the I.E. in at the Discover Beach Hotel Oct. 8-10. Unlike several
students from other schools, Greenwood failed nothing and needed no make-ups,
keeping up Aquanauts’ tradition of turning out the area’s best instructors.
Aquanauts now has a 100 percent pass rate for 40 consecutive
months, the longest of any PADI instructor training facility in Thailand.
The I.E., Greenwood said, was a bit easier than his IDC. “The
exams are what spooked me. I knew once I got past those I’d be fine, as I’m
quite happy in the water,” he said.
Greenwood now will spend the next two months with Aquanauts working on his
Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating.
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Royal Cliff Beach Resort wins “Award of Excellence for Convention Hotel Tourist Accommodation” from TAT
The Royal Cliff Beach Resort has received another prestigious
“Award of Excellence” during this year’s Tourism of Thailand’s (TAT) 8th
Thailand Tourism Awards in Bangkok.
Minister of
Tourism and Sports Chumphol Silapa-archa presents Vitanart Vathanakul, the Royal
Cliff Business Development Manager, the Award of Excellence for Convention Hotel
Tourist Accommodation at the 8th Thailand Tourism Awards 2010.
The resort outshone over 300 entries to claim the winning the
“Award of Excellence for Convention Hotel Tourist Accommodation 2010” trophy, by
impressing the board of industry specialists and key academics such as Dr Suvit
Rasmibhuti.
Certified by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), this award
has quickly gained wide recognition both within Thailand and abroad and is
considered to be a mark of glory and assurance of quality in the tourism
industry; a trait that the Royal Cliff Beach Resort has honored for some time.
Over the years, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort has been awarded
for its professionalism, standards, and image within the Thai tourism industry,
and is continuously recognized by TAT as one of the country’s most important
contributors to economic and social development.
Since its inception in 1973, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort has
won 93 prestigious awards and recognitions, including the TAT’s Award of
Excellence in 2004, 2006 and 2008 and the “Best Resort Accommodation Award
(Eastern Region)” in 2000 and 2002.
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