August 2002 80th Issue

Happy Birthday your Highness

On August 12th the People of Thailand celebrate the birthday of their beloved, Queen Sirikit. The 12th August is declared a Public Holiday, Government and commercial buildings will be floodlit to give a festive touch, religious and civic ceremonials will be held and people, from the smallest villages to the largest palaces. All will lift a glass to toast the health of Queen Sirikit.
Queen Sirikit came into this world on August 12th 1932, of noble parentage, and was named Mom Rajawongse Sirikit which means "Glory and Splendor of the Kittiyakara Family". This name was given to the baby girl by her relative H.M. King Prajadipok (Rama VII). It proved to be auspicious and, indeed, an astrologer predicted that someday the little girl would rise to great heights.
Mom Rajawongse Sirikit's father was a member of the Thai Diplomatic Corps, and was based at the Embassy in Washington D.C., so both her parents were obliged to live abroad. Accordingly, the little girl lived with her grandparents in Bangkok, until such time as her father was able to transfer within the Diplomatic Service and the family was reunited in their Bangkok home on the shores of the mighty Chao Phraya River.
As befitted the heritage of the young girl, she attended the Rajini School and, later, the St Francis Xavier Convent School until she was 13 years of age. Then it was off to London to join her father who, now as Thai Ambassador, had presented his credentials to King George VI at the Court of St James. Two years later, in 1948, the young Mom Rajawongse Sirikit followed her parents to Paris where her father was the Ambassador to the Republic of France. And in that beautiful city, still recovering from its occupation during World War II, she continued her education.
At this point, we will permit our story to digress a little. A young Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej had become King of Thailand in 1946, at the age of 18, due to the untimely death of his elder brother. Coronation ceremonies were postponed until 1950 in order to facilitate the completion of the young King's academic studies. These were being undertaken in Lausanne, Switzerland, and from time to time King Bhumibol would take a break from study routines by visiting Paris. It was during one such visit that he met Mom Rajawongse Sirikit who was to become his future wife and Queen.
The young Royals became firm friends and then, disaster, when the King suffered a terrible car accident and was hospitalised in Switzerland. The future Queen, accompanied by her mother, displayed true friendship and characteristic compassion by travelling to Lausanne where she might visit her friend the King. This she did on a regular basis and, on the long road of the King's recovery and convalescence, the friendship blossomed into a committed, serious, Royal love affair.
To the huge delight of the Thai Nation, King Bhumibol's engagement to Mom Rajawongse Sirikit was officially announced on July 19, 1949. A wedding date was set for April 28, 1950, this being considered a most auspicious day, and national plans were put into motion. The Royal Couple were married with all the pomp and ceremony of Thai Royal Tradition and the nation rejoiced. Further tumultuous rejoicing heralded, a few days later on May 5, the Coronation of His Majesty King Bhumibol of Thailand and, on the same day, his wife Mom Rajawongse Sirikit was honored and elevated to be Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand. Since that day in 1950, Her Majesty has been devoted to her husband The King and she has, likewise, given devoted service to the People of Thailand. She has lovingly perfomed her Royal responsibilities or duties and has been an inspiration to the People of the Kingdom.
Naturally interested in the environment, Her Majesty's principal areas of concern have been associated with conservation. Organizations like the Association for the Conservation of Wildlife (ACW) and the Wildlife Fund of Thailand (WFT) have benefited from the Queen's patronage as have many others. Also, as a regular traveller around Thailand, either individually or with her husband The King, Queen Sirikit has been able to identify areas of need. Being aware of depressed areas where many people struggled to make a living off the land (and denuding the land in the process), Her Majesty was a prime mover in "marrying" two needs together assisting the people by helping the land.
This was done by actually offering conservation work to needy people and this proved a huge success in terms of putting money into the hands of the less fortunate and restoring the environment. The beautiful Botanical Gardens, named for Queen Sirikit, in Mae Sa Valley, is a classic example of how the Queen's influence and help has protected, conserved and developed native plant species and provided much needed employment in the process.
As First Lady, Her Majesty empathizes with other Thai women, their needs and capabilities. So another target for Her Majesty's endeavors was to encourage Thai handicrafts traditional to women. Spinning, weaving and dying of cotton (in fact, the Queen personally financed many of the weaving looms and provided "seed" money for support groups and cooperatives) is one example of traditional skills as is basket weaving in its many forms. Anything from fishtraps to matting to decorative baskets and stylish lampshades all from the hands of industrious Thai ladies. And all thanks to the personal encouragement and financial support from Her Majesty, the Queen.
Join with Thailand in offering her good wishes for a very special day. We at the Observer office take great pleasure in offering our warmest wishes on Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's birthday.

King's Cup Elephant Polo 2002 at Anantara Resort & Spa

Come witness Thailand's Elephant polo Tournament in Hua Hin at the luxurious Anantara Resort and Spa. Timeless and without worry. The teams come from all corners of the globe to take part in this "Sport of Kings"! The Elephant Conservation Centre presents Elephant Painting and the Elephant Orchestra. Sample the culinary skills of our master chef and a multitude of exotic blends, take time out at the Spa and discover the elixir of eternal youth, or for the more energetic there are six world class golf courses nearby plus a multitude of water sports. Sept 17th - 22nd

Over the coming months we will bring you extracts from travellers journals in several parts, starting this month with 'A trip to Samui'

The Bangkok Airways flight to Samui was uneventful, just the way it should be! You would expect nothing less from an airline who were awarded prizes for dedication to service and technology, reliability, safety and on time performance.
We flew on an ATR 72, which is a very comfortable 70 seater, about half full on the day. At a cost of 3,200 Baht (a promotion price, until further notice) well worth it, considering the time it takes by rail or road. Samui airport is beautiful, but remember there is a departure tax of 400 Baht per person.

Fontana Resort was recommended to us, and very happy we were to take up this recommendation. Situated on the northern beach at Bo Phut, this bunglow style resort is comfortable, homely and very friendly, with an excellent restaurant offering Thai and western dishes and pizzas my son got addicted to. (Ring 661 6770-4, Fax 661 6599 or email: reservation @fontanasamui.com, or check their website at www.fontanasamui.com for more details). An alternative way of getting to the island (and the most economical) is the car ferry from Don Sak. The ferry takes about an hour and a quarter and costs 55 Baht per person. Direct busses to Samui leave Bangkok and stop in Hua Hin at around 10pm and 11pm daily. These take about 7 hours to get to Don Sak (avoiding an inconvenient stop and change in Surat-thani) and go onto the ferry before driving to Nathon on the island. Other methods include a fast boat from Surat-thani (about 2 hours as it’s a lot further than Don Sak) or fly direct from Bangkok or Hua Hin as previously mentioned.
There are so many places to stay on Ko Samui, Chaweng Beach is the biggest resort offering the most accommodation (it is also the priciest). This is the place for those who want to be in the thick of the action with everything from McDonalds to Thai boxing to go-go bars to elephant riding it’s all here, it also boasts one of the best beaches on the island. What started off as a dusty strip with a few bungalows on the beach is now a booming holiday metropolis. Charlie’s and Viking Huts are at the bottom end of the budget scale and Chaweng Regent and Central Samui Beach Resorts being at the upper end. Dwellings range from a 100Baht bungalow on or near the beach to 6000Baht suites in luxury resorts so it all depends on your budget really. Prices do vary depending on the time of year and some bungalow operators have been known to double or even triple their prices when accommodation becomes scarce in the high season. Na-thon has a few cheap hotels with rooms from 250Baht.
Lamai Beach is a little quieter but is more renowned for it’s traveler and bar scene. Accommodation here is a little cheaper with many beach bungalows to choose from ranging from 150 Baht to 500 Baht. Two of my personal favorites are The Weekender (bungalows and resort) and the Varinda Resort.
Quieter destinations around the island include Maenam and Bophut (location of Fontana Resort)on the north coast where the emphasis on ‘getting away from it all’ is greatest. There is a lot of budget accommodation along these two pretty coves but nothing in the way of any nightlife or extensive choice of restaurants.
The highest concentration of eateries can be found at Chaweng which now boasts a Pizza Hut, McDonalds and Burger King all within 2km of each other. There are countless Italian, German, Scandinavian, and English restaurants however good authentic Thai food is hard to come by. Seafood is the most popular and the best local places can be found around the southern villages of Samui but be prepared for a bit of a language barrier! There are many beachside seafood restaurants in Chaweng. Good English ‘pub grub’ can be found at the Mawney Arms and Churchills in Lamai.
Na-thon has a few small Thai restaurants that serve local dishes at local prices. Most of the bungalows and guesthouses have their own restaurant and cook that will cater for Thai and Western tastes.
Samui has a butterfly and crododile park near Lamai and a number of spectacular waterfalls further inland. You can also ascend some of the hills for some fantastic views of the island and across to Koh Pha-Ngan. For a good day out you can hire a bike and take a slow drive around the island (Thailand's third biggest at 247sq/km). Be careful as the roads are not the best (and neither are the local drivers), the road between Lamai and Chaweng is notoriously dangerous and has had its share of deaths ... take it easy, you've got all day.

Article and photography by Martin Young. Next month - A weekend in Kanchanaburi

Dusit Press Release

UK conference organizers welcomed to Dusit, Cha-am.
Five conference organizers from the UK were visiting Thailand recently to inspect for potential future conferences. The trip, which was sponsored by TAT, was known as MOTIV 8 Thailand, and during their stay the organizers visited Dusit Resort and Polo Club, Cha-am/Hua Hin, where they were welcomed by the hotels's General Manager, Victor Sukseree (2nd right)

Hua Hin Welcomes Miss Thailand Universe 2002

K.Wanna, the owner of Hua Hin Shopping Mall, was delighted to welcome K.Janjira Chanchom, Miss Thailand Universe 2002 to Hua Hin last month. She was here on a promotional visit for Nivea and distributed prizes in local raffles.

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