More than 300 guests filled the pool area of the Thai Garden Resort to celebrate the New Year.
Owners Gerrit and Anselma Niehaus invited well-known football trainer Christoph Daum and his family to the Dec. 31 party along with Christof R. Sage, publisher of the “Feine Adressen” magazine, footballer Mario Aller and other German businesspeople and family members.
Making a shorter trip to the fest was German honorary consul Rudolf Hofer and Phuket businessman Axel Brauer.
All the guests got an unexpected surprise: Rain. Everyone ran for cover and munched salad and soup in the lobby.
Hotel staffers quickly put up umbrellas and, when the rain stopped, the party resumed, as did the buffet raids.
Guests were entertained by a Chinese acrobatic troupe whose members mingled with the crowd afterward.
Italian singer Tony Tintinaglia then took to the stage with songs from operas without amplification, as his equipment was left out in the rain. He ended up playing in small groups with his guitar rather than trying to make himself heard across the entire audience.
