PEC Program for 8 Apr / Report from 1 Apr 2007

Meeting Programme for Sunday, 8th April, 2007:
News...Our Lucky Draw Prizes are worth your visit alone this Sunday morning, drawn throughout the meeting, up to 14 Prizes are expected this week, dinners at such excellenet restaurants as Globetrotter, Jameson's, Tropical Berts, Plazma Pub, Boxing Roo, Book prizes from Canterbury Tales Café bookshop, and 5 Flower bouquet Prizes. So each club member has a high chance of winning.

This is another periodic club health week courtesy of Pattaya International Hospital with an illustrated Powerpoint digital slides medical talk by Dr Karnchana Kittisarapong M.D. who is a specialist in the field of Allergies and Immunology. The talk theme is Allergic Rhinitis. Dr Karnchana originally trained as a pediatrician in Bangkok's Mahidol University later with a Fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at Ramathibodi Hospital at the same university. She was a visiting doctor at Westcoast Clinical Trial Centre, Long Beach , California and has worked in a number of Thai hospitals including Chonburi, Royal Thai Airforce Hospital , Phayathai hospital's in Bangkok and Sri Racha as a Pediatrician, and specialist in Allergy and Immunology, and most recently at Kasemraj Hospital Bangkok before joining the PIH this year. She is very familiar with Thailand's East coast!

Out in the foyer PIH staff will also give tests and check ups free to our club members including this week Blood Sugar tests. If you want to participate in this one please do not eat from the previous evening until after you take the test.

Our 2nd speaker is the popular motorbike taxi street wise club psychologist Khun Sombat who this week tackles the perennial subject of how to handle Thai Traffic.

Our Master of Ceremonies this Sunday will be enRico, and Brian will host the Open Microphone Forum, so come and listen in at 2nd Rd 's Grand Sole Hotel, and participate with questions and answers about nearly everything for living safely and legally in Pattaya!

The Pattaya People Weekly newspaper is now available worldwide in a PDF format at the following website:
http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

Events Around Town:

NOTE: The Immigration Office on Soi 5 in Jomtien is now closed on Saturdays.

EASTER DAY is on 8th April.

VEGETARIAN CLUB OF PATTAYA. Vegetarian Buffet: for 99 Baht. Every 2nd Tuesday of month. Next: 10th April at 18.00pm . Cafe New Orleans , Soi Pattayaland 2. Everyone welcome. Limited seating. Reservations required. Tel: 038-710-805 info@pattayapeople.com

SONGKRAN FESTIVAL on 13th to 20th April.

Transportation to/from Suvarnabhumi Airport:
Roong Reung's Blue and White coach service departs from the airport bus depot to Pattaya Nua station at the following times: 8 AM, 11 AM, 3 PM and 7 PM. The Ticket office window is in the airport bus station. Price 106 Baht. Bell Travel goes up to the new airport each day from Pattaya Nua Bus Station (ticket office bungalow in the car park to right) at 06:00, 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 19:00. Two ticket prices, depending if you book to be picked up by Bell Travel minibus from your home, 150 Baht or 200 Baht.
A Yellow Bus to the airport leaves from Jomtien's Chaiyaphuk Road, (the office is near Beach Road ). Tickets can be purchased 1 day in advance. The current schedule is:
Pattaya to Airport: 0630, 0900, 1300, 1700, 1930. Airport to Pattaya: 0630, 0900, 1300, 1700, 2030.
At the airport - Transport Depot - this bus to Jomtien is referred to as number 999, but the bus itself does NOT carry this number. The bus is bright Yellow - single deck, with the words Pattaya - Suvarnabhumi Airport written large on both sides, and a large notice in the drivers windshield saying either Pattaya or Airport. The cost is 106 baht in each direction. A recent visitor who used this bus reported a 'good service'. The yellow bus does not have a scheduled stop in Pattaya, but will stop if requested.

We will have our late-morning start time of speakers programme from 11:30 am , with the optional brunch from about 10:30 am till after 12 noon . The meeting entry cost is 80 Baht and for non-members 100 Baht. For that, we enjoy the excellent technical presentation facilities of the Grand Sole Hotel conference room.

Our foyer exhibition displays, throughout the meeting period from 10:30 , are worth a visit for practical advice from experts. In the club's greeting, programme and memberships area you can get Club memberships at only 200 Baht, expiring 31 Dec 2007, or 600 Baht for Life Membership. (Bring two very small 'visa' photos and your card is laminated and ready at the same meeting.)
Display tables have in-depth information from regular expert contributors in their field. Our Microphone announcement at 11:10am confirms who is available to consult free of charge. For example, The Pattaya International Hospital table usually includes regular FREE testing of blood groups, blood sugar, blood pressure and lung function to help you stay healthy.

Advice on insurance policies is available from AA Insurance - including the club member's own low cost 'group' health policy, now in its second year, with a premium at under 11,000 B - please show your member's card to apply. They also have a range of Insurances such as property, house contents and motor cover available.

Tickets are sold from 10:30 AM when hall doors open for seating. The table plan is usually in friendly format tables for eight or ten - so please allow the 'gaps' to be filled by new arrivals at your table.
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And the MC Report from 1 April Meeting:
Programme Manager:- Loran.
Meeting Manager:- enRico.
MC:- enRico.
Open-Forum Moderator:- Brian.

To contact PEC by email: (info@pattayaexpatsclub.com)

Hi, I'm an occasional MC at the Sunday meetings of the Pattaya Expats Club.
Please think about helping out at the Pattaya Expats Club Meetings, or in the background during the week. A lot of background preparation goes into one of our Meetings. You would be welcome, and you can determine your own level of input. Please contact a 'Maroon Jacket' member at any meeting, or drop us an email. Also, we urgently need to expand our MC group. So if you have stage experience, or would just like to try-out to join our 2 current MCs, contact us. It's not as difficult as it may seem, and we are always looking for different styles to provide variety at our Meetings.

Our main Speaker today was:- Dr.Sopon Pornchokchai, who addressed the club on Real Estate Valuations. Khun Sopon has been a consultant to the UN-Habitat, ILO, ESCAP, FAO, and other international organizations. He is an experienced valuer, urban planner and real estate analyst since 1980. His lectures are usually aimed at Real Estate businessmen, but some areas of his speech were applicable to our guests. He is President of the Agency for Real Estate Affairs (www.area.co.th) which is the largest real estate information centre in Thailand. He also established the Thai Real Estate Business School (www.trebs.ac.th) which is an international real estate education institution located in Thailand. He is president of the Thai Appraisal Foundation, a director of the ASEAN Valuers Association, a board member of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate Board. He also serves as an advisor to the Property Managers Association of Thailand and the Housing Mortgage Association. He is an advisor to the Appraisal Foundation, Washington D.C. and the country representative of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) based in Chicago.

Our second Speaker had good audience participation during her short Thai Language lesson. Khun Yok teaches Thai in group or individually at her school on Naklua Road, 119/77, opposite Wat Po. She demonstrated tones, pronunciation, and coached a few useful & topical phrases. You can contact her at: email (yok_teach_thai@yahoo.co.th), or 08 9166 4899.

Ask those questions on living in Thailand - here at the Meeting - during the Open Forum. This feature occurs each week, time permitting, and has a maximum time allowed of 30 minutes. Come and ask the expat experts! :)

Fancy a 12 hour sea fishing trip off Sattahip? Next trip planned for 28 April 0600 to1800. Contact James 0848717649.

Bangkok's 2nd airport opened 25 march. Don Muang Airport is designated on tickets as DMK, Suvarnabhumi Airport is designated BKK.

All Orange mobile phone numbers have been taken over by True Company. The office is in Royal Garden Plaza 2 floors up. Also UBC is now designated True-UBC.

David came to see us, and left many flyers about UK pensions. He reminds us that British non-UK residents will forfeit any future increase to their government pension, and he wants folks to join him in passing on their response to this situation to the UK authorities. He calls for a concerted response during the week 2 to 8 April by email & letter. I spoke about these flyers and within a few minutes they were gone. Contact David on 0899318061.

Member Glenis is a volunteer helper with the Father Ray Foundation, she is teaching the children. She would like your help with a few low-cost items that you might usually throw away. If you can bring these to the meetings she will collect. Empty Lipton Tea boxes, Dutch Milk half-litre plastic bottles + tops, any water bottle tops.

Derrick McCarrick, otherwise known as 'Roger the Rabbit' invites all members to join him in a Pattaya 'Half-Marathon' (one has to start easy!) July 15. He is performing his 'Roger Rabbit' run to support the Ban Jing Jai Children's home, and would love you to support him for that purpose. He is in his 70's, an ex-London-Cabbie, and fit as a fiddle! Derrick is running the London Marathon on April 22, but it's a bit late for you all to join him, now. (Wow, that's a relief!)

Stuart brought us 5 Draw prizes from - Thai Orchid - flower modelling store, out near the new Condotel just past Bruno's restaurant on the way to Jomtien, along with a promise of more later.

I asked a member what the date was on Sunday. He showed me his new watch, it read Sunday 32 March - Now that's some April-fool Joke!

We were asked if anyone knows of an contact to take care of stray dogs.

I've just checked with the Yellow Bus company in Soi Chaiyaphuk near Jomtien Beach. They do NOT run a bus to the old airport Don Meuang - yet. The timetable to the new airport remains the same.

The British Embassy's Pattaya Office local representative for emergencies, Barry Kenyon can authenticate your UK pension or UK bank statements for Immigration purposes, if you can show original proof. Contact 081 782 7363.
US Embassy local Pattaya representative for emergencies is Gary Hacker. Contact 089 803 0388.

Why not come along next Sunday morning 10:30am (11:30 program start) to the Grand Solé Hotel (in the Theppraya Room, up on the Mezzanine level), 370 Pattaya 2nd Road (north), near the Pattaya Mail Office. Hotel tel: 038 427 555 Fax: 038 427 550. Half way between TOPS supermarket & BIG-C supermarket - bring a friend.
For location: (http://www.grandsolepattaya.com/location.htm)
PEC website:- (http://pattayaexpatsclub.com)
PEC Blogg:- (http://pattayaexpatsclub.blogspot.com)
PEC email:- (info@pattayaexpatsclub.com) & (webhits2000@yahoo.com)

See you soon, MC - Brian.