Pattaya Expats Club March 10, 2005

Pattaya Expats Club. Est.2001www.pattayaexpatsclub.com
Founder of Association of Thailand Expats Clubs (A.T.E.C)
E NEWSLETTER 10 March 2005
Dear Pattaya Expats Club Members & Friends
SATURDAYS at 1100 AM. PATTAYA EXPATS CLUB PresentsSATURDAY LUNCHTIME KEYNOTE SPEAKERS & CONVERSATION for 12 March 2005.For all Pattaya’s Expats, come and join us at our new venue at THE GRAND SOLE HOTEL, Second Road, Pattaya,
(Mid-way between Central Road and North Road, on the right hand side going towards the Dolphin roundabout.
NEWS One of our members has offered his help:
The What If Helpline is here to support you in times of difficulty.
If you are at the end of your tether and need to talk. CALL NOW!!
If you are just feeling: Frustrated, Confused, Worried or Angry. CALL NOW!!
If you have relationship issues that need dealing with. CALL NOW!!
If you want to learn how to make better life choices. CALL NOW!!
If you want your children to learn how to make better life choices.
Don’t leave it until it’s too late!! CALL NOW!!
Talk to James Lane in complete confidence.
Call the helpline between 11am and 7pm Monday to Saturday.
Helpline number 01 398 7346.
Email: James Lane
Website: www.whatifudo.com GUEST SPEAKERS LINE UP 12 March 2005. As usual, on the second Saturday of the month, the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital brings us a medical personality to inform us on the latest in Health care.This time we will have Dr. Somchai, eye surgeon who will let us know about"SUPERSIGHT SURGERY". This is a new refractive surgery procedure capable of reducing or even eliminating the need for bifocals and reading glasses for certain categories of patients. Want to know more, hear it all at the Grand Sole, and why not bring a friend.In our draw this week, a voucher for a dinner for two at Patrick, BelgianRestaurant,SEE YOU ALL THERE.
MEETING REPORT - PATTAYA EXPATS CLUB MARCH 5 2005
The Grand Sole hotel hosted the Pattaya Expats Club-meeting for the second time and was well prepared for the big crowd of expats that had turned up once more, including yet again several expats signing in as new members. MC Brian cleared us up about the reasonable prices of the beverages and the beers, the absence of caffeine-free coffee, the no smoking policy inside the meeting room, and the necessity of using 3 tickets (2 for the continental and Thai breakfast, 1 for the lucky draw). He also recommended 2 books, for sale at the meeting: The Boss Upstairs, a biography of late father Brennan, revenues from which will go to charity, and the Legal Handbook (in English and Dutch) of Khun Ponthep, the house lawyer of our club, very useful if you seek ownership over here and want to get an insight on the legal consequences of a marriage with a Thai citizen.
The main guest speaker of the day was Hank. He lived in Maui, Hawaii for many years, running a limousine-service, those stretched cars with sofas, bars and room for a bowling lane. He left the American paradise to come to the one over here. In a frank and very witty way he allowed us to peep through the driving mirror of these luxury vehicles and shared some funny anecdotes with us. Although he is also an expert on the stock market, enjoying life is his main purpose and he certainly seemed successful in reaching that goal also. He learned about the Expats Club through our website, which contained important information for him, and he complimented the club for delivering it.
Niels briefed us about his meeting with Colonel Itipon from the immigration police. In their office at Soi 8 they now have a computerised service. You push the button of the service you need and a sign will show you the counter where you will be helped. No queues anymore or losing your turn to pushy clients. In 4 months time a new office will open in Jomtien, Soi 5, that promises to be quite stylish and will provide even better services to the expat community.
Time to bring your spouses!. Khun Laddawan announced yet another new activity from the expats club. In a separate room the girls will have their own get together. Often the meeting is not interesting for them (except for the breakfast), or they don’t understand it properly, so now they can spend time together, socializing and sharing some activities. Khun Laddawan suggested such themes as hairdressing, massage or English lessons. She invited everybody to bring their lady with them to the next meeting ,both Farang and Thai, so they can start things up.
For members there is a free weekly lucky draw. You can win a good time at a restaurant. This time it was a dinner for two at the Rabbit Resort, a peaceful place in a lovely environment on Dongtan Beach. Deborah, the lady of the house, promised the winner a romantic candlelight dinner by the sea and recommended to us their great coffee for only 90 baht. From next week on there will also be 2 movie tickets to win sponsored by C&F Cinema.
The last part of the meeting Brian informed us in fine detail about the ins and outs of the visa policy, the different sorts of visa’s, the exit and re-entry rules and the visa runs. Finally some experiences of the expats health insurance were discussed.
OUR CLUBHOUSE THAI LAWYER….Pattaya lawyer Khun Ponthep Werachon is a Board Member of Pattaya Expats Club, and attends regularly in the Saturday Club Meetings to give advice and answer general questions on Law. Khun Ponthep also appears on the weekly news programme “Legal Vision” on Pattaya People Television on Sophon Cable TV and has valuable information about Thailand’s laws. WEEKLY EMCEE
Hi, I'm Brian Maxey
~ 5 March meeting - Well, it wasn't a 1-off. We had a grand attendance for our 2nd meeting at our 'new' home at the Grand Solé Hotel, 2nd Road (north). Very encouraging!
~ My thanks to all the 'backroom' crew who make us look good - I know that they often go unnoticed, but without their efforts we would be floundering - THANKS GUYS & GALS.
~ Khun Ponthep Werachon (our own Legal Professional) had quite a queue for his brochure of advice on 'Expat Ownership' - & - 'Expat Husbands'. At 200 baht this represents excellent value, and after a 50 baht deduction for expenses, the proceeds go to the club's charity recipients. This brochure, also available in Dutch, may be purchased at the meeting, or from his office - 200 baht. You may contact Ponthep's office in Pattaya by dialling 038 300967.
~ Is Roger Speranza still in Pattaya? (Email from a member in California) Some time ago while living in San Diego, California I new a guy named Roger Speranza. At the time he was living in California but later moved to Pattaya Beach. This was roughly 7 years ago. We thought Roger had bought the Las Vegas Club (?). An email a few years ago said 'look me up when next in Thailand'. Do you know Roger Speranza? My name is Thadd Coates, I live in Oklahoma. If you do please give him this message, or, if you have an email address for him, would you be kind enough return it? Thank you so much for you time and assistance. Best regards, Thadd Coates. Afton, Oklahoma USA. Info to: or
~ This information is for US Citizens: Thu-17-Mar-05 to 25-Mar. The ANNUAL INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE visit will be hosted by IRS representative Mrs. Elizabeth Kinney in Bangkok. Please see our PEC website for a link to detailed information, or call Bangkok (ACS) at 02-205-4049.
~ The Bangkok Pattaya Hospital staff was on hand to wish us well, and they told of a new initiative by the Immigration Office (Soi 8).
On the 2nd & 4th Wednesday of each Month (starting 23 March) they will open an office in the Hospital complex for visa extensions. This service is advertised as available for Out Patient, In Patient, Care relatives, Pregnant women, new birth Moms, AND THE RETIRED. As this hasn't started yet, we aren’t sure if it means ALL retirees or just patients of BPH - we shall see. Office hours initially will be 1pm - 2pm, but will be adjusted according to demand.
~ If you need to rent a Safety/Security Box (similar to Hotel Foyer style), there is a company at Jomtien Complex Condotel 038 303863 (near Police Box on Dongtan Beach). 300 baht per month. Mail boxes are 1000 baht per year.
~ This Newsletter is always available on our website http://www.pattayaexpatsclub.com/newsletter.htm, and just became available as a 'BLOG' on http://pattayaexpatsclub.blogspot.com which you can access direct.
~ The Club's 'Chat Forum' link is: http://s8.invisionfree.com/expats/index.php? You will need to set up a username the first time you visit, but the forum is an excellent place to 'talk' to people worldwide about anything you want to know - try it.
~ The 'Open Microphone Forum' each Saturday is a time for you to ask that question that has haunted you for a while. We can usually find someone who has 'been there - done that' to provide the answer. If you cannot attend the meetings why not try our 'website-forum' - same idea. (http://s8.invisionfree.com/expats/index.php?) or via the website. You can always email me direct - see above for email address.
~ Please check your passport to ensure you KNOW when your 'permission to stay' expires. Do not overstay, it WILL be very uncomfortable between the time you are arrested, and deported. The date can be extended, if you apply to an Immigration Office BEFORE it becomes a 'problem'. If you cannot figure out what it says, bring it to the next meeting & we will try to decipher.
~ We have been asked for Decaffeinated Coffee to be supplied at the meeting. We have asked, but the caterers cannot comply. So, we would suggest you bring a dry sachet with you, and hot water is available. Low Fat sweetener is available.
~ A brief explanation of the rules for entry to the meeting room. No smoking in the room. There are two balconies available for you to smoke. Entry to the meeting is by buffet ticket.
The various tickets available are: - YELLOW ticket for Full Breakfast or Thai Lunch 75 baht - PINK ticket for Light Snack 50 baht. There is a 10 baht discount for either ticket if you can produce a current PEC membership card. Tea & coffee is available as part of the meal. A bar is on hand with 'Happy Hour' prices (60 baht for a small Heineken, 25 baht for a small Chang).
A BLUE ticket is occasionally offered to current members when a 'free lucky draw' is available.
~ Keep the emails coming, tell us what you think of our club in it's new venue, tell us what you like, tell us what you think is missing, always happy to know someone's listening.
~ Plenty of 'parking' at the new venue.
~ See you next Saturday 11:00am (1130 program start) at the Grand Solé Hotel, 2nd Road (north) (between Central Road & Big C) - introduce a friend.
Brian.
FREE OFFER~ a long-time member and frequent contributor to our meetings is Michael Catalanello. He writes a weekly column in the Pattaya Mail. He has sent this email:
As a requirement to maintain licensure as a psychologist in Louisiana, I must provide evidence of continuing education in psychology on a semi-annual basis.
In partial fulfillment of this requirement, this summer I plan to attend the Associate Fellowship Training Program at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City. As a prerequisite to this I need first to submit a minimum of five audio tapes of psychotherapy sessions and receive professional supervision of my work by other psychologists.
I am willing to donate, free of charge, a minimum of five hours of my professional services to any person requiring psychotherapy, provided that I may audio tape the sessions to be submitted for the purpose of qualifying for this training program. The tapes will be treated as confidential, used for this purpose only, and no identifying information will be released to any outside party.
If you know of anyone in the Pattaya area who could benefit from short-term psychological services (up to 5 hour-long sessions), at no charge, please refer him or her to me. Fluency in spoken English is a strict requirement.
The sessions will be held at a location in Pattaya yet to be determined.
Thanks for your help.
Regards, Michael.
Email:
Michael S. Catalanello, Ph.D., Faculty of Liberal Arts, Asian University of Science and Technology, PO Box 15, Baan Amphur Post Office, Chonburi 20250, Thailand. Phone: +66 38 754 457 Ext 2700, Fax: +66 38 754 460, http://www.asianust.ac.th
‘EDITORIAL PAGE’
The Pattaya Expats Club is honoured to have the following
HONORARY BOARD ADVISORS
General Chatchai Tammaraksah,
Personal General to His Majesty King;
Khunying Tidarat Tammaraksah,
Assistant to Her Majesty the Queen;
Khun Niran Wattanasasatorn,
Mayor of Pattaya City
Khun Somchai Manothavorn,
Advisor to the Mayor of Pattaya
Khun Sansak Ngampiches,
Advisor to the Minister of Tourism & Sports.
Khun Poramate Inthornchumnom
Chief Prosecutor of Pattaya Court
Khun Sanga Kitsamrej,
Owner of the SK Group of companies and President of SOS Rice.
Khun Surat Mekavarakul,
Owner of Mike business group.
Khun Sopin Theppajug,
Owner of Diana Group of companies.
Khun Paisan Bundityanond
Founding President of the Real Estate Brokers Association of Thailand and owner of the Rabbit Resort in Jomtien
Dr. Prasan Stianrapapongs,
Specialist in Preventative Medicine at Bangkok and Pattaya Hospital
Kru Yodthong Senanan,
Most respected teacher of Thai Boxing in Thailand
CLUB BOARD MEMBERS
Club President & CEO, Niels Colov
Club Founder & Web-Master, Pete Mills.
Honorary Co-Founder, Preben Hansen
Club Vice Presidents, Pete Mills & Richard Ravensdale
Club Secretary (Memberships & Speakers), Denis Laurin
Board Secretary & Newsletter Editor, Bernard Leach
Club Treasurers, Michael Mayne & Paul Sinclair.
Board Members – Herman van Gucht, William Hurndell, Colin de Jong, Brian Maxey, Peter B. Piedferme, Khun Ponthep Werachon, and Khun Laddawan Yingyong.
DIRECTORS OF P.E.C.CO.LTD.
F. Moret, M. Withers
Here is a calendar of World Events.
~ Thu-17-Mar-05 St Patrick's Day - Ireland
~ Sun-27-Mar-05 UK BST - British Summer Time starts
~ Sun-27-Mar-05 Easter Sunday
~ Sun-03-Apr-05 US DST - Daylight Saving Time starts
~ Wed-06-Apr-05 Chakri day - festival for King Rama 5 Thailand
~ Fri-08-Apr-05 Total Solar Eclipse
~ Wed-13-Apr-05 Songkran festival starts - and goes on & on! - Thailand
~ Fri-22-Apr-05 International Earth Day
~ Sat-23-Apr-05 Passover (Begins at Sundown*) - Jewish holiday
~ Sun-24-Apr-05 Penumbral Lunar eclipse
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REGULAR MEETINGS OF GROUPS IN PATTAYA
Saturday - The Pattaya Expats Club - meet at The Grand Sole Hotel each week at 11.30
Saturday - UK Club of Pattaya meet each week at a different location at 1:00pm (1300). Call 038-426098 for venue
Saturday - The PRILL (a classical music trio) will be performing in the Lobby of the Bangkok/Pattaya Hospital 10:30am to mid-day (1030-1200). Performances every 1st Saturday of the month in the Lobby.
Saturday - Free Masons, Lodge Pattaya West Winds. Every 2nd Sat of the month. Call Jon Morgan 012999574
Sunday - The Scandinavian Expats of Pattaya - meet at Soi 4 Tower Condo every second Sun. Call John 015236080 or Per 070833834.
Monday - Rotary Club of Pattaya - meet at Town in Town hotel each Monday from 7:00pm (1900)
Monday - Pattaya Bridge Club. 2pm every week in the coffee shop, Pattaya Beach Tower, Soi 4
Tuesday - Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC) Morning coffee meeting every 3rd Tuesday of the month. Also PILC Lunch meeting every 1st Tuesday of the month. Special meeting for 'newcomers' 4th Monday of each month. Contact Patricia Cromwell for locations and speakers, or email PILC262@yahoo.com
Wednesday - Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya, Royal Cliff Grand from 1830. Call Judy Hoppe 099302004
Wednesday - Lions Club of Jomtien - meet at Town in Town hotel each 2nd Wed of the month. Call Peter 038303072.
Thursday - Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya meet each week at Woodlands Resort 1900. Email tropicfr@gmx.ch
Thursday - Lions Club of Pattaya meet each 3rd Thursday of the month at A-One Cruise hotel.
Friday - Dutch Expats Club meet last Fri of every month at Sea Breeze Hotel Jomtien Beach Road (near Soi 10), email koger@Loxinfo.co.th
Friday Night - The Pattaya Motorcycle Club meets at the "Old Speckled Hen" pub, Soi 9, Jomtien Beach from 8 p.m. Meet new friends and enjoy "Bike Club Happy Hours" 8 till 10 with 10 baht off all beers and soft drinks and 15 baht off all spirits. New runs to be organized from day trips to the beach to 2, 3 or 4 day tours to?? Contact Martin 09 9909342 or Az 09 9356011
Every Day - Alcoholics Anonymous meet every day of the week to help. Call Jim 038303285, Craig 019967852, Tony 068403055, Hanns 019849501, Christain (German) 018634581
CONTACTS & CONTRIBUTIONS to our weekly E NEWSLETTER. Bernard Leach is the editor of our Club Newsletter, members with NEWS OR ANNOUNCEMENTS should email in by Wednesday 12 noon at bernjill@hotmail.com. Club Members seeking advice on practical topics such as Visas, work permits or services needed, please send an email direct to our MC and Open Microphone Forum specialist Brian Maxey at kop1bj-pecmc@yahoo.com. If Brian cannot answer your question from his own knowledge of Pattaya he'll forward on to someone who can. Member's emails on club business and policy issues please send to either Club President, Niels Colov dragone@loxinfo.co.th. Club Founder & Vice President Pete Mills on info@pattayaexpatsclub.com or Vice president Richard Ravensdale richardexpatsclub@yahoo.co.uk
ADVANCE SPEAKERS PROGRAMME. Please think of offering the Club a speaker of your choice on a theme you think members may find interesting. Contact Pattaya Expats Club Secretary, Denis Laurin djlauri@loxinfo.co.th with the details.
MEMBERSHIP CARDS. We produce our Club's laminated photo ID cards in just a few minutes at the same Saturday meeting in which you join or renew your membership. So if you are a past Pattaya Expats Club member and you can bring in a past ID card with the words 'Pattaya Expats Club' on you will get a new membership FREE of charge to expire 31 Dec 2005. The cards identify our members to staff at many shops and businesses around Pattaya where Club Members can claim our discounts. There are two membership options one expiring 31 December 2005 for 150 Baht or a Life Membership for 600 Baht. To get a new card please bring in two small driving licence style photos and see Paul Sinclair, Michael Mayne or Denis Laurin
PATTAYA EXPATS CLUB ….ON SOPHON CABLE TV. 5 times per day. Watch Club news during the week. President of the Club, Niels Colov, who is the Chief Executive of 'Pattaya People News Channel' on Sophon Cable, Pattaya City's cable TV operator, has very kindly provided a regular segment of each show, devoted to Pattaya Expats Club news. This is a wonderful regular 'free gift' to our Club of highly valuable TV time! This is a 60 minute local News bulletin five times per day at the following times:On Cable Channel 5 showing at 0800 hrs and 1200 noon.On cable Channel 2 at 1600hrs and 2400 midnight.Plus peak evening bulletin at 2000hrs on Cable Channel 4.(These are the channels which show English language movies on Sophon Cable.)
Best Regards to all
From Pattaya Expats Club