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    November 21

    ชนะชีวิตแบบ...บัณฑิต อึ้งรังษี

    ชนะชีวิตแบบ...บัณฑิต อึ้งรังษี
    โดย ผู้จัดการออนไลน์ 20 พฤศจิกายน 2550 20:02 น.
    บัณฑิต อึ้งรังษี
           ใครว่าโชคชะตาเป็นเรื่องที่เอาชนะไม่ได้ เมื่อเร็วๆ นี้ผู้ชายคนหนึ่งได้ค้นพบหลักฐานที่มีข้อมูลเชื่อถือได้ว่า “มนุษย์” ทุกคนสามารถเอาชนะโชคชะตาและสร้างโชคดีได้ ขอเพียงแค่มีความตั้งใจและมุ่งมั่น ก็สามารถฝ่าฟันเอาชนะโชคชะตาได้
           
           ผู้ชายที่ว่าก็คือ “บัณฑิต อึ้งรังษี” ซึ่งเป็นคนไทยคนแรกและคนเดียวที่ยืนอยู่ในวงการดนตรีคลาสสิกโลกอย่างเต็มตัว ด้วยความภาคภูมิใจ กับตำแหน่ง วาทยกร เขาไม่เพียงเป็นวาทยกรที่ได้รับการยอมรับระดับโลกเท่านั้น แต่ยังโชคดีในทุกๆ เรื่อง โดยเฉพาะ เรื่องชีวิตส่วนตัว เขาจึงต้องการนำเรื่องราวความโชคดีทั้งหมดที่ได้รับ มาถ่ายทอดลงใน พ็อกเกตบุ๊ก ที่มีชื่อว่า “30 วิธีเอาชนะโชคชะตา The Luckiest Man in the world” เป็นหนังสือแนว “self-development” เล่มแรกที่ว่าด้วยเรื่องโชคชะตา ซึ่งทุกข้อที่ปรากฏอยู่ในหนังสือเล่มนี้ล้วนผ่านการปฏิบัติจริงของเขา และได้รับผลดีมาแล้วทั้งสิ้น
           
           เพื่อเป็นการยืนยันว่า ผู้ชายคนนี้เป็นบุรุษที่โชคดีจริงๆ เมื่อบ่ายแก่ๆ วันศุกร์ที่ผ่านมา เขาได้จัดงานเปิดตัวหนังสือเล่มนี้ให้คนไทยทั้งประเทศได้สัมผัสท่ามกลางบรรยากาศที่แสนอบอุ่น โดยมีนักร้องนักแต่งเพลงชื่อดังอย่าง บอย โกสิยพงษ์, องอาจ จิระอร ที่มาร่วมความแสดงยินดี แต่ที่ทำเอาเจ้าตัวยิ้มไม่หุบก็คงจะเป็นศรีภรรยา “แมรี่ อึ้งรังษี” ที่อุ้มท้องลูกคนคนที่ 3 มาให้กำลังใจ และร่วมพูดคุยบนเวทีเสวนาเพื่อยืนยันถึงความโชคดีของสามีและของเธอ ที่ร่วมกันฝ่าฟันจนเอาชนะโชคชะตามาได้

    บัณฑิต-แมรี่ อึ้งรังษี
           ขณะเดียวกัน ความโด่งดังของหนังสือเล่มนี้ มีการแปลเป็นภาษาอังกฤษไปเรียบร้อยแล้ว เพื่อเตรียมจำหน่ายที่ประเทศสหรัฐอเมริกาและอังกฤษ รวมทั้งใน Amazon.com ภายใต้ชื่อว่า “The Luckiest Man in the world”
           
           “30 วิธีเอาชนะโชคชะตา The Luckiest Man in the world”     เป็นหนังสือที่เขียนขึ้นมาเพื่อบอกกล่าวแก่คนไทยรุ่นใหม่ว่า แม้ชีวิตไม่ได้ให้ “โชค” ที่ดีมาตั้งแต่ต้น แต่พลังในการเปลี่ยนแปลงโชคชะตาต่างๆ ก็อยู่ในตัวของเราเอง ถ้าคุณเรียนรู้วิธีต่างๆ ในการเปลี่ยนแปลงโชคที่เขาสอน คุณจะ “โชคดี” แค่ไหนก็ได้
           
           บัณฑิต กล่าวเสริมถึงจุดแรกเริ่มของการเขียนหนังสือเล่มนี้ว่า เนื่องจากเขาเป็นคนชอบอ่านหนังสือแนว self-development ทุกประเภท มาเป็นจำนวนหลายพันเล่ม แต่แทบไม่มีเรื่องไหนที่จะพูดถึงเรื่อง “โชคดี” และการนำไปใช้ให้เกิดผลจริงในทางปฏิบัติ หรือแม้กระทั่ง นักเขียนที่เขียนหนังสือแนวนี้ ก็แทบจะไม่เคยปฏิบัติในสิ่งที่ตัวเองเขียนขึ้นมา จึงทำให้หนังสือแนวนี้ดูเป็นเรื่องที่ไร้สาระขาดเหตุผลที่น่าเชื่อถือมารองรับ หรือบางรายที่อ่านจบยังไม่สามารถบอกผู้อ่านอย่างชัดเจนว่าต้องทำอะไรถึงจะโชคดี
           
           ด้วยเหตุนี้ วาทยากรชื่อดังคนนี้จึงเริ่มเขียนหนังสือที่ตัวเองอยากอ่านเมื่อ 20 ปีที่ผ่านมา และสรุปเป็นข้อๆ รวม 30 ข้อ โดยได้ระบุวิธีปฏิบัติให้ผู้อ่านเห็นอย่างชัดเจนว่า ทุกคนต้องปฏิบัติตามอย่างไรถึงจะโชคดี และเอาชนะโชคชะตาของตัวเองได้ และทุกข้อที่ปรากฏในหนังสือเล่มนี้ไม่จำเป็นต้องอ่านเรียงลำดับและไม่จำเป็นต้องทำจนครบทุกข้อ แต่ขอให้ทำเป็นนิสัย เพียงเท่านี้ก็สามารถเอาชนะโชคชะตาได้แล้ว
           
           บัณฑิต เล่าต่อไปว่าเขาไม่เคยปฏิเสธทฤษฎีที่ว่า “โชคดีสร้างได้” เพราะที่ผ่านมาเขาใช้ชีวิตตัวเองเป็น “สิ่งทดลอง” ความเชื่อ โดยออกไปทำในสิ่งที่ไม่มีคนไทยคนไหนกล้าทำมาก่อน คือการเป็น “วาทยกร” ในระดับสากล ฝ่าฟันกับปัญหาจนสามารถเอาชนะอุปสรรค ทั้งๆ ที่ชาวต่างชาติได้เปรียบกว่ามากมาย จนในที่สุด เขาก็ได้ทำในสิ่งที่ “เหลือเชื่อ” คือได้รับรางวัลชนะเลิศการแข่งขันวาทยกรที่ทรงเกียรติที่สุดรางวัลหนึ่งของโลก

           “ในภาวะเศรษฐกิจและการเมืองที่ไม่มั่นคง ทำให้บางคนหันหน้าไปพึ่งสิ่งต่างๆนอกกาย เพื่อที่จะนำโชคมาให้ แต่ได้ละเลยสิ่งที่มหัศจรรย์ที่ยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุด ซึ่งอยู่ในตัวเองนั่นคือ ศักยภาพที่ไม่จำกัดของมนุษย์ ถ้าเราเรียนรู้ที่จะนำเอาศักยภาพนั้นมาใช้ เราจะโชคดีแค่ไหนก็ได้”
           
           การตัดสินใจที่ผิดพลาด ล้วนเป็นเรื่องธรรมดาสำหรับมนุษย์ทุกคน แต่เมื่อล้มแล้วก็ต้องรีบลุกให้เร็ว (Fail Forward Fast) ยิ่งเจอเร็ว ก็ยิ่งโชคดี เพราะเราจะได้รู้และแก้ได้ก่อน ซึ่งบัณฑิตเองก็เคยผ่านประสบการณ์ร้ายๆ มาเช่นกัน แต่ด้วยกำลังใจที่ดีจึงเป็นพลังส่งเสริมให้พลิกจากร้ายกลายเป็นดีได้
           
           ทางด้าน แมรี่ อึ้งรังษี ภรรยาสุดที่รัก กล่าวถึงแรงดึงดูดที่สร้างพลังแห่งรักระหว่างเธอกับบัณฑิตว่า
           
           “คุณบัณฑิตเป็นคนที่มีความมุ่งมั่น กล้าตั้งเป้าหมายที่คนอื่นคิดว่าเป็นไปไม่ได้ แต่เขาเชื่อว่ามัน “เป็นไปได้” และก็สามารถทำได้จริงๆ ระหว่างทางอาจจะมีท้อบ้างก็เป็นธรรมดาเหมือนทุกคน หน้าที่ของแม่รี่คือทำให้เขาไม่หมดกำลังใจ เพราะฉะนั้นทุกคนควรมีความหวังและพลังใจในการต่อสู้เพื่อเอาชนะโชคชะตาให้ได้ และความโชคดีก็จะเป็นของเราทุกคน”
           
           นี่จึงเป็นบทพิสูจน์ที่ทำให้ทุกคนเห็นว่า มนุษย์ทุกคนสามารถเอาชนะโชคชะตาและสร้างโชคดีให้เกิดกับตัวเองได้ เหมือนดั่ง “บัณฑิต อึ้งรังษี”
           
    5:23 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it
    November 18

    Current Global Warming Issues

    UN panel gives dire warming forecast

    By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer 37 minutes ago

    VALENCIA, Spain - Global warming is "unequivocal" and carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere commits the world to an eventual rise in sea levels of up to 4.6 feet, the world's top climate experts warned Saturday in their most authoritative report to date.

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    "Only urgent, global action will do," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling on the United States and China — the world's two biggest polluters — to do more to slow global climate change.

    "I look forward to seeing the U.S. and China playing a more constructive role," Ban told reporters. "Both countries can lead in their own way."

    Ban, however, advised against assigning blame.

    Climate change imperils "the most precious treasures of our planet," he said, and the effects are "so severe and so sweeping that only urgent global action will do. We are all in this together. We must work together."

    According to the U.N. panel of scientists, whose latest report is a synthesis of three previous ones, enough carbon dioxide already has built up that it imperils islands, coastlines and a fifth to two-thirds of the world's species.

    As early as 2020, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will suffer water shortages, residents of Asia's large cities will be at great risk of river and coastal flooding, according to the report.

    Europeans can expect extensive species loss, and North Americans will experience longer and hotter heat waves and greater competition for water, says the report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Prize with Al Gore this year.

    The panel portrays the Earth hurtling toward a warmer climate at a quickening pace and warns of inevitable human suffering. It says emissions of carbon, mainly from fossil fuels, must stabilize by 2015 and go down after that.

    In the best-case scenario, temperatures will keep rising from carbon already in the atmosphere, the report said. Even if factories were shut down today and cars taken off the roads, the average sea level will gradually rise over the next 1,000 years to reach as high as 4.6 feet above that in the preindustrial period, or about 1850.

    "We have already committed the world to sea level rise," the panel's chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, said. But if the Greenland ice sheet melts, the scientists said, they could not predict by how many feet the seas will rise, drowning coastal cities.

    Climate change is here, they said, as witnessed by melting snow and glaciers, higher average temperatures and rising sea levels. If unchecked, global warming will spread hunger and disease, put further stress on water resources, cause fiercer storms and more frequent droughts, and could drive up to 70 percent of plant and animal species to extinction, according to the panel's report.

    The report was adopted after five days of sometimes tense negotiations among 140 national delegations. It lays out blueprints for avoiding the worst catastrophes — and various possible outcomes, depending on how quickly and decisively action is taken.

    "The world's scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice," Ban said, looking ahead to an important climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, next month. "I expect the world's policy makers to do the same."

    The report is intended to both set the stage and serve as a guide for the conference, at which world leaders will begin discussing a global climate change treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

    That treaty, which expires in 2012, required industrial nations to reduce greenhouse gases and a smooth transition to a new treaty is needed to avoid upsetting the fledgling carbon markets.

    "This report will have an incredible political impact," Yvo de Boer, the U.N.'s top climate change official, told The Associated Press. "It's a signal that politicians cannot afford to ignore."

    The United States opted out of Kyoto in 2001, arguing that the science was unproven and that the burden of mandatory emission cuts was unfair since it excluded fast-growing China and India.

    Chief U.S. delegate Sharon Hays said doubts have been dispelled. "What's changed since 2001 is the scientific certainty that this is happening," she said in a conference call late Friday. She did not indicate that Washington would abandon its policy of voluntary emission cuts.

    China and India have said any measures impinging on their development and efforts to lift their people from poverty were unacceptable — a point likely to be heeded at the Bali talks.

    The report offered dozens of measures for avoiding the worst catastrophes if taken together — at a cost of less than 0.12 percent of the global economy annually until 2050. They ranged from switching to nuclear and gas-fired power stations, developing hybrid cars, using more efficient electrical appliances and managing cropland to store more carbon.

    Ban said a new agreement should provide funding to help poor countries develop clean energy resources, adapt to climate conditions and give them the technology to help themselves.

    He said he witnessed the devastation of climate change in disappearing glaciers of Antarctica, the deforested Amazon and under the ozone hole in Chile.

    "These scenes are as frightening as a science fiction movie," said Ban. "But they are even more terrifying because they are real."

    11:55 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it
    November 16

    สรุปงานในระหว่าง 15-16 พ.ย. 50

    วันที่ 14 พ.ย. 50 มาถึงศสพ. ร้อยเอ็ดตอนเย็น - อ่านเอกสารประกอบ  "การศึกษาความเปราะบางและการปรับตัวของเกษตรกรชาวนาทุ่งกุลาร้องไห้ต่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงภูมิอากาศ"
    Impacts Assessment and Adaptation to Climate Change: The Study of Vulnerability Options of Rain-fed Farmers in Thung Kul Ronghai
    พบว่าตรงประเด็นที่ต้องการเขียนเป็นโครงการเสนอให้อียู
    - ติดต่อ อ. อนันต์ เจริญแก่นทราย และ จ.อ. สุรศักดิ์ แก้วธานี ปลัดอบต. ศรีโคตร
    - เตรียมเอกสารเพื่อไปพบกับทั้งสองท่าน
     
    วันที่ 16 พ.ย. 50 ไปหา จ.อ. สุรศักดิ์ แก้วธานี ปลัดอบต. ที่ อบต. ศรีโคตร แล้วต่อไปที่ อ. อนันต์ที่สนง. พระพุทธศาสนาที่ศาลากลางจังหวัดร้อยเอ็ด ไปดูสถานที่ที่อาจจะใช้เป็นสถานที่อบรมในโครงการ คือ โรงแรมร้อยเอ็ดซีตี้ กับเพชรรัตน์การ์เดน
     
    จาก จ.อ. สุรศักดิ์ แก้วธานี ได้รับรายชื่อหัวหน้าส่วนราชการในจังหวัดร้อยเอ็ด ซึ่ง เทศบาลและอบต.ทั้งหมด ได้รับทราบว่า
          ๑. ได้มีการอบรมเจ้าหน้าที่อบต. โดยกระทรวงทรัพยากรฯในเรื่องการจัดทำงบประมาณสำหรับปี ๒๕๕๒ แล้วเมื่อไม่นานมานี้
          ๒. หากจะมีการอบรมตามโครงการของอียู ควรจะได้มีการเชิญนายก อบต. ปลัด อบต. และเจ้าหน้าที่ฝ่ายแผนไปร่วมด้วยเพื่อจะได้มีการติดตามประสานงานต่อกันได้
          ๓. ค่าเดินทาง ถ้าโครงการนี้มีจัดสรรให้ได้ ก็จะเป็นการดี
          ๔. สถานที่ที่ควรใช้เป็นที่ประชุมอบรม น่าจะเป็นโรงแรมเพชรรัตนืการ์เดนที่ร้อยเอ็ด
    เมื่อไปพบอาจารย์อนันต์ ๆ ได้ช่วยเลือกอบต. ที่ควรเชิญเข้ามาร่วมในโครงการและบรรดานายกอบต. ที่ควรเลือกมาเป็นคณะกรรมการดำเนินการงานโครงการนี้ ทั้งนี้โดยใช้รายชื่อที่ได้จาก จ.อ. สุรศักดิ์
    เป็นแนวทาง
    ได้ไปสนง. ทรัพยากรธรรมชาติและสิ่งแวดล้อมร้อยเอ็ด แต่ไม่ได้พบกับทสจ. ร้อยเอ็ด แต่เมื่อกลับมาได้โทรศัพท์ได้คุยด้วย ได้ทราบว่า
           ๑. มีเจ้าหน้าที่น้อย และต้องรับผิดชอบหลายอย่าง วันพฤหัสกับวันศุกร์ ตัวทสจ. ร้อยเอ็ดจึงไม่ได้อยู่ที่สนง.
           ๒. ควรนำเสนอร่างโครงการให้กับ ทสจ. เพื่อพิจารณาและนำเสนอผู้ว่าราชการเพื่อมิให้มีการซ้ำซ้อนงานกัน ก็รับว่าจะนำเสนอในวันพุธที่ ๒๑ พ.ย. ๕๐
          ไปที่โรงแรมทั้งสองแห่ง ได้ใบรายการค่าอาหาร ที่พักและห้องประชุมสำหรับเลือก
    6:41 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    ผู้ว่าราชการจ. สมุทรสาครกับนโยบายวัดดวง

    ตลกมากเมื่อได้ทราบเรื่องนโยบายไม่ส่งเสริมการเป็นอยู่อย่างมอญ พม่าและเผ่าพันธุ์อื่น ๆIMG_0025IMG_0027IMG_0028IMG_0029IMG_0030IMG_0031
    12:25 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    ปูได้ลูกชาย

    แม้จะลำบาก ก็ภูมิใจที่มีลูกชายเป็นลูกคนแรก
    12:11 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    Current Situations In Klong Teoy

    Back from Uthaithani's Reforestation Project in Ban Rai District under the non-formal education of Lardprao 101 Rd. Community College.
    Mini Mart Share is going stronger and stronger: Boonlert, Rathom and many other key persons, excetp Sampao
    White rice share is dead.
    1:47 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it
    November 08

    ฟ้ามิตรและแรงงานข้ามชาติ ที่แม่กลอง

    (จากฟ้ามิตร พ.ย. ๔๙)
      สมุทรสงครามหรือที่รู้จักกันอีกชื่อว่า"เมืองแม่กลอง" เป็นจังหวัดเล็ก ๆ ที่อยู่ไม่ไกลจากกรุงงเทพฯ มากนักคือประมาณ ๖๕ กม. มีพื้นที่การปกครอง ๓ อำเภอ คือ อำเภอเมือง อัมพวาและบางคนที อาชีพคนแถบนี้ส่วนใหญ่ จะเป็นอาชีพการเกษตร การทำสวน การทำประมง และมีโรงงานอุตสาหกรรมการแปรรูปอาหารทะเลเล็กน้อย
      การเข้ามาของแรงงานต่างด้าว การใช้แรงงานต่างด้าวในแม่กลองมีมา ๑๐ กว่าปีแล้ว เป็นเริ่มใช้ในอาชีพประมง คนเรือ ซึ่งส่วนใหญ่จะเป็นแรงงานผู้ชาย สัญชาติพม่า มอญ ทวาย กะเหรี่ยง จนปัจจุบันนี้ การใช้แรงงานต่างด้าวเริ่มมีความต้องการมากขึ้นในทุกอาชีพ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นงานก่อสร้าง ทำสวน ลูกจ้างหน้าร้าน คนใช้ในบ้าน ลูกจ้างร้านอาหาร คนงานตลาดปลาและโรงงานต่าง ๆ ทำให้ทุกวันนี้แม่กลองมีแรงงานพม่ามากถึง ๕,๐๐๐ กว่าคนที่ขออนุญาตทำงานถูกต้องตามกฎหมาย นอกจากนี้ ยังมีแรงงานบางส่วนที่เข้ามาอยู่แม่กลองแบบหลบๆ ซ่อน ๆ รวมไปถึงเด็กและผู้ติดตามที่เข้ามาอยู่กันเป็นครอบครัว ทำให้แรงงานเข้ามาอยู่อาศัยในพื้นที่เป็นจำนวนมากตามชุมชนต่าง ๆ มากกว่า ๒๐ ชุมชน ครอบคลุมทั้งสามอำเภอ
     
        โครงการฟ้ามิตร มูลนิธิรักษ์ไทย ซึ่งเป็นโครงการส่งเสรมิป้องกันเอดส์ในแรงงานข้ามชาติ เข้ามาอยู่ในพื้นที่แม่กลองเป็นระยะเวลา ๒ ปี เศษ ๆ เป็นการทำงานที่ให้ความรู้ด้านสุขภาพโดยเฉพาะโรคเดอส์ ลงอบรมในชุมชนเพื่อให้แรงงานมีความรู้มีสุขภาดร่างกายแข็งแรง ทำงานอยู่ในเมืองไทยได้อย่างปลอดภัย
        โทร. ๐๓๔๗๖ ๗๔๕๒
    10:47 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    The Burmese Group has gone somewhere.

    Monday November 5, 2007; I was reported by Krong that the group has left the factory. She found some of them in a market nearby. There was only one family left behind. The woman was pregnant and the man had to work somewhere to earn some money. Here there were no water and electricity any more for them.A new hopeANewJaneChai&Jane&Da&Fhone&VinChai,Jane, DaDa's FirstSmileFhone&SFhoneFirstGroupHereWe StartJane&Chai (13)Jane&Chai (15)Jane&Chai (2)Jane&Chai (7)Jane&Chai (8)Jane&ChaiJane&SJane&SewingMachineJane, Da, Fhone, AeJane's Special LessonNew EncounterSerious Jane
    10:30 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it
    November 07

    Poipet Experience

    RE: Experience in Poipet
    Standard Header|Full Message View
    Nith Sopha <sopha@fhi.org.kh>
    ViewWednesday, November 7, 2007 6:40:17 PM
    To:sombatth@yahoo.com; Caroline Francis <caroline@fhi.org.kh>
    Cc:Virginia <Virginia@fhi.org.kh>; foo mongkol <mongkol@fry1985.org>; yaninee or <yaninee_k@hotmail.com>
    Find:
    Dear Sambat,


    Let me apology for my late answer to your request. According on your
    information bellow, I try to draft of the sleldule for your trip visit
    in Poy Pet for next coming week. CFDS will help you to find a translator
    from Khmer to Thai, but we do not know the cost for how much per day yet
    ( maybe $50/day). I will inform you latter.

    To understanding the collaboration with The Government and NGO that we
    work in those area, we need to invite them to meeting with use and we
    have to pay transportation per-diem to them ( 2 person from Sisopon,
    estimated $45/person ).It's save time for your group to see them at the
    provincial town also. If you group need to talk with the peer educators
    we may pay them $3/person for transportation from their palce to DIC(
    maybe 7-10 person).

    Please do not hesitated to ask us if you need any assistance to help you
    or  reservation of your accommodation or any kind of support to your
    team.

    I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

    Nith Sopha
    Technical/ Program Officer, Clients
    Family Health International
    #11, St 302, Boeng Keng Kang 1
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    Mail: P.O Box 2586
    Phnom Penh III( Post Boeng Palit)
    Tel: 855 23 211 914/212565/211198
    Mobile: 855 12 801 989
    Fax: 855 23 211 913
    email: sopha@fhi.org.kh


    -----Original Message-----
    From: sombatth@yahoo.com [mailto:sombatth@yahoo.com]
    Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 7:14 PM
    To: Caroline Francis
    Cc: Virginia; Nith Sopha; foo mongkol; yaninee or; Sombat Thavorn
    Subject: Re: Experience in Poipet

    Hi Caroline,

    I hope things will soon get better.

    This evening here in Bangkok the internet did collapse again. Actually
    I should have got this email of yours yesterday, but I just got it at
    about 16:00 Hrs.

    Now I will try to reprovide you with the information I have previously
    emailed you in case you miss some of it.

    Yesterday I had for you another email that said "We have just been
    informed by our would-be translator that he would not be available for
    our study trip. And, because of that, we have to ask you to provide for
    us a Cambodian-Thai translator. (We will pay for his service.) I hope
    this will not cause you any difficulty.

      We expect that on November 14, 2007 we will be arriving in Poipet
    around 09.00 Hrs. to get our entry visa ready. We would be ready to meet
    you for this study trip at around 13.00 Hrs. Please inform us wher we
    can meet conveniently.

      And here are the two key mobile phones for the main contact persons
    during this trip: Foo - 089 035 4992 and Or - 081 844 7182."

      I hope you will get this information so as to get the whole programme
    ready.

      We very much appreciate your contribution to this study trip of ours.

      Best
      Sombat



    ----- Original Message ----
    From: Caroline Francis <caroline@fhi.org.kh>
    To: sombatth@yahoo.com
    Cc: Virginia <Virginia@fhi.org.kh>; Nith Sopha <sopha@fhi.org.kh>; foo
    mongkol <mongkol@fry1985.org>; yaninee or <yaninee_k@hotmail.com>
    Sent: Monday, November 5, 2007 7:41:32 AM
    Subject: RE: Experience in Poipet

    Thanks Sombat,

    We have been having some difficulties with our email system and I did
    not get your earlier message.  I will have my team and local partner
    (CFDS) prepare something and they should be in touch with you soon.

    Best,

    Caroline

    Caroline Francis
    Associate Director
    Prevention, Mitigation, Strategic Behavioral Communications and
    Monitoring and Evaluation
    Family Health International
    #11, Street 302
    Boeung Keng Kang I
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    Tel: (855) 023.211914
    Fax: (855) 023.211913
    Mobile: 012.804.292
    Email: caroline@fhi.org.kh

    -----Original Message-----
    From: sombatth@yahoo.com [mailto:sombatth@yahoo.com]
    Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2007 12:54 AM
    To: Caroline Francis
    Cc: Virginia; Nith Sopha; foo mongkol; yaninee or
    Subject: RE: Experience in Poipet

    Dear Caroline,

      I am happy that you are back in time for the information. I am certain that during the past week you have been preparing something for us.
     
        Attached herewith is the theme we have for our study trip which we are planning for during November 14 and 15: two days and one night and for which we
    are in need of your assistance. Maybe you have other points to add.
     
      We are certain that your experience to be shared will be useful for us and can be adapted to ours during our future course of action. And, as a consequence, you can arrange the programme for us as you see most appropriate.
     
      For this trip, we would arrange our own transport for our team of  11 members from and back to Thailand. It will be an air-conditioned van. In the team there will be a Thai-Cambodian-English translator.  And, as we are new to your area, your recommendations for accommodations and other related matters (like a map in order to get to your office) are most welcomed. The night stay can be spent in a village or amongst CFD target group.

      And, accordingly, please provide us the various costs that would be incurred during our study trip, including the FHI services, so that we will be well prepared for this.

      As an organization also involved with HIV/AIDS prevention, I am sure we have a lot to share.

      Regards,

      Sombat

    --- Caroline Francis <caroline@fhi.org.kh> wrote:

    Hi Sombat,
     
    So sorry for not getting back to you earlier.  I  have been out of the  office this past week and will also be out of the  office this coming  week, preparing for our new program.
     
    My colleagues Virginia and Sopha, copied above will  follow up with you  (although they too will be with me this upcoming  week).  Can you let us know again the purpose of the visit, what/who you would like to see, the length of time, whether all activities will be confined to Poipet, etc.
     
    If you can provide this information ASAP, it will help us better assist you.
     
    Best,
     
    Caroline
     
    Caroline Francis
     Associate Director 
    Prevention, Mitigation, Strategic Behavioral
     Communications and
     Monitoring and Evaluation
     Family Health International 
    #11, Street 302
     Boeung Keng Kang I
     Phnom Penh, Cambodia
     Tel: (855) 023.211914
     Fax: (855) 023.211913
     Mobile: 012.804.292
     Email: caroline@fhi.org.kh 
     
     
    -----Original Message-----
     From: sombatth@yahoo.com [mailto:sombatth@yahoo.com]
     
    Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 4:00 PM
     To: Sreytoch Nhim; Caroline Francis
     Subject: Experience in Poipet
     
    Dear Caroline,
     
        Please, first, excuse me, if this message has already reached you by this time.
     
        I resend this message while awaiting your response to this email of mine. I am a little bit worried about the preparation for the study trip. However, I hope
     this will not cause you any trouble to respond to my previous email.
     
        Regards,
     
        Sincerely yours,
        Sombat 
    Dear Caroline,
      
        First of all, we very much appreciate your welcome to your organization. And here are more details about our study trip.
      
        Attached herewith is the theme we have for our study trip which we are planning for during November 14 and 15: two days and one night and for which we
     are in need of your assistance. Maybe you have other points to add. 
      
      We are certain that your experience to be shared will be useful for us and can be adapted to ours during our future course of action. And, as a consequence, you can arrange the programme for us as you see most appropriate. 
      
        For this trip, we would arrange our own transport for our team of  11 members from and back to Thailand. It will be an air-conditioned van. In the team there
     will be a Thai-Cambodian-English translator.  And, as we are new to your area, your recommendations for accommodations and other related matters are most
     welcomed. The night stay can be spent in a village or amongst CFD target group.
      
        And, accordingly, please provide us the various costs that would be incurred during our study trip, including the FHI services, so that we will be well
     prepared for this.
      
      With best regards,
      
        Sincerely yours,
      
        Mr. Sombat Thavorn
        Director 
        FRY 

     
     
    ----- Original Message ----
     From: Caroline Francis <caroline@fhi.org.kh>
     To: sombatth@yahoo.com
     Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 7:44:29 AM
     Subject: experiences in Poipet
     
     
    Dear Sombat,
      
    Thanks so much for your recent email.  We look
    > forward
    > to talking with you in mid-November.
    > 
    > Very best,
    > 
    > Caroline
    > 
    > Caroline Francis
    > Deputy Country Director
    > Family Health International
    > #11, Street 302
    > Boeung Keng Kang I
    > Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    > Tel: (855) 023.211914
    > Fax: (855) 023.211913
    > Mobile: 012.804.292
    > Email: caroline@fhi.org.kh
     

    Theme for FRY Study Trip to Poipet, Cambodia

    Cambodian Family Development Services (CFDS)

     

    November 14-15, 2007

     

     

    TIME

     

    ACTIVITIES

     

    VENUE

     

     

    Responsible Persons

    November 14, 2007

    13:30 – 14: 00

    Introduction of FHI's  program  working with Entertainments

    DIC

    Ms. Nith Sopha, EW/ Clients TA Program officer

     

    14:00- 15:00

    Overview of CFDS program working with  Entertainments

    DIC

    Mr. Meas Yim , CFDS  Program coordinator, BMC

    15:00- 17: 00

    Discussion with  Women Health  Network,  Peer educators

    §         how WHN organized?

    §         how peer educator dev.?

    §         what the tool for education?

    DIC

    Ms. Laekena, and Kunthea, Outreach Staff

    17: 00 18:00

    Break  

     

     

    18:00- 21:00

    Night trip visit to Kara OK shop 

    ( only side visit )  

    Karaok shop

    Sopha and CFDS Team

    November 15, 2007

    8:30 – 9:30

    Meting with provincial AIDS office

    DIC

    Dr. Sin Eap and Dr. Kilin Pisey

    9:30- 11:30

    File visit  to see how the PE use tool for life :

    • Discuss with the member in those area
    • discuss the involvement with shop owners

    EW shop

     

    Ms. Laekena, and Kunthea, Outreach Staff

    12:00 – 14:30

    Lunch break

     

     

    14:30 – 16:00

    File visit  to see how the PE use tool for life :

    • Discuss with the member in those area

    discuss the involvement with shop owners

    EW shop

    Brothel shop?

    Ms. Laekena, and Kunthea, Outreach Staff

    16:00 – 17:30

    brief the information or question concerning to the program area

    DIC

    Sopha and CFDS Team

     

    10:30 PM | Add a comment | Read comments (2) | Permalink | Blog it

    What a big luck!

    THAI INTERNET LOTTERY ORGANIZATION
    Standard Header|Full Message View
    "village@optonline.net" <village@optonline.net>
    AddWednesday, November 7, 2007 5:48:29 PM
    To:
    Cc: 
    Find:
     
     
    THAI INTERNET LOTTERY ORGANIZATION  

    CONGRATULATIONS!

     
    Thailand International Lottery Organization 
    Bangkok Branch Office
    Address: 3 Rajdamnern Avenue
    Bangkok 10200 Thailand
     
    Congratulations from our members of staff. We are THAILAND LOTTERY AGENCY, You don't have to purchase a ticket to enter this lottery, your email indicating you as a winner in the lottery programs held by the Thai Lottery Organization.

    Following official publication results of the Email electronic on line Sweepstakes organized by the Thai lottery corporation, the Slide circular award and in conjunction with the foundation for the promotion of software products, (F.P.S.) held on the 1st of November 2007, in Bangkok Thailand
    .
     
    All 25 winning email addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 50,000,000 international emails each from Canada, Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually, consequently, you have been approved for a total pay out of ONE MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS ( $1, 000. 000.000 USD). 
     
    This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have operational base. Further more your details(e-mail address) falls within our Bangkok representative office in Bangkok Thailand,  as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of ( $1, 000.000.00 USD) will be released to you from this regional branch office in bangkok Thailand.
     
    Your fund is now deposited with our Bank/Security Company Bangkok Thailand and insured in your name. Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award from public notice until your claim has been processed, and your winning Cheque have being sent to you or remitted to your account, as this is part of our security protocol, to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking of advantage of this program by participants, as has happened in the past.

    HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE
    These are your identification numbers.
    Ticket number.....................085-12876077-09
    Serial number.......................51390-0
    Lucky number...................03-05-12-14-28-38
    Ref number...................N.EGS/3662367114/13
     
    To begin your lottery claims, Please contact our Thai Lottery Co-ordinator as follows Mr. Kane Iva.
     
    Name:Mr.  Kane Iva
    Tel: +(66)853516124
     
     You are to send the completed verification form below to the co-ordinator whose email address is given above so that you will be advised on what to do to get your prize money. Congratulations once more!!
     
    1. FULL NAME..........................................
    2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN........................
    3. PRESENT ADRESS...............................
    4.DATE OF BIRTH................
    5. OCCUPATION.......................................
    6. TELEPHONE NUMBER......................
    6. FAX NUMBER .....................................
    7. MARITAL STATUS..............................
    8. WINNING NUMBERS.........................
    9. YOUR PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS..
     
    Remember, all prize money must be claimed not later than 30th of November 2007. Any claim not made by this date will be returned to HIS MAJESTYS DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY.
     
    CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Once again from all members of our staff and thank you for being a part of our International Promotions program.We wish you continued good fortunes.
    Yours  Sincerely,
     
     
    DR.  Raymond Hisashi
    Vice President
    Thai! Lotto Org.
     
    Mrs. Tina Akira,
    President
    Thai! Lotto Org.
    8:51 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it
    November 06

    Eco-tourism South Korea

    Thursday November 01, 2007
    Google
    All-season eco-tourism

    A centuries-old village in central Japan explores the fine balance between nature, culture and technology

    SUPARA JANCHITFAH

    Few Thais may have heard of this small but charming village. But Shirakawa-go, in Gifu Prefecture of Honshu, Japan's largest island, has for over a decade been recognised as a Unesco World Heritage site. And if you are the type who loves nature and culture, and how the Japanese manage eco-tourism so well, this is a place not to be missed.

    You can enjoy the village every season. Even in autumn when it rains quite often, you can still marvel at the sight of the forest bathed in dazzling colours. Or make tea while listening to traditional music for a glimpse of how Japanese farmers lived in the old days.

    At a traditional Gassho-zukuri house which serves as a folk museum, a farmer was boiling water on an old stove and used smoke from the fire to dry fruit, wood and grass inside the house, while his wife narrated stories of yore via a traditional musical instrument. A visitor, sipped green tea from a traditional Japanese vessel and cupped it firmly to keep her hands warm and snug. Outside, it's raining.

    The village much acclaimed Gassho-zukuri roof built in the shape of a steeply inverted 'V' or like hands folded in a prayer was designed to withstand snow and rain.

    The houses' unique architectural style was a reason the village of Shirakawa-go was declared a World Heritage site by Unesco in 1995.

    A farmer translated from a stone inscription at the site that captures the fundamental belief of local people. "Even after we've built roads, we do not sell the trees for lumber. Old trees are allowed to grow on mountains, enriching our hearts. Even if we have no other wealth, to clear the land and till the soil and support ourselves is to obey the laws of nature."

    The houses reflect Japanese wisdom in adjusting to every kind of weather. They are positioned north-south so that they will not "stand in the wind," so to speak.

    Moreover their design allows sunlight to filter in and keep the interiors warm in the winter and stay cool in summer.

    The Gassho-zukuri is a traditional style of Japanese house with wooden beams and thatched roof fused in a steep `V' shape. Most of the traditional houses in Shirakawa-go still serve as homes for the local farmers. The community is like a big living museum.
    Farm tools, baskets and utensils on display in one section of a Gassho-zukuri style house.
    Wind power is an alternative source of energy at the Toyota Shirakawa-go Eco-Institute A Toyota Shirakawa-go Eco-Institute staff with a model of hydroelectric generator.
    Like the dining hall (right), the baths are powered by environmentally friendly energy.

    Most of the houses were built between the 17th century and beginning of the 20th century. They used to number in the thousands but now only some 150 remain.

    Few locals have kept their houses in their original conditions. "This is because every 20 years or so the roof needs to be replaced. The cost of making a new roof is however very expensive. For a medium-size house, just to re-thatch the roof would cost about 20 to 40 million yen. And the job is also very labour intensive.

    "Moreover, forest fires sometimes destroy these traditional houses," said another farmer.

    Not all houses are open to the public, as some residents would rather keep their lives private. The Unesco tag has led to the number of tourists visiting the village increase tremendously. According to the local administration, prior to its listing as a World Heritage about 500,000 tourists visited the area. But in 2002, more than 1.5 million tourists chose Shiragawa-go as their destination. The villagers have set up a "conservation committee" to deal with adverse consequences resulting from rise in the number of tourists. They have laid down guidelines to balance tourism development and maintain the quality of life of local residents

    Shirakawa-go is a dynamic town as it retains its old character while it has also adjusted to technological changes to suit its needs and the environment. It welcomes outsiders to come and learn from its residents. Nearby are farms and small shops that sell local produce.

    Shirakawa-go being a small village, there are only 25 houses that have been modified to accommodate overnight guests and still fewer hotels. About 20 minutes' drive from the village is the Toyota Shirakawa-go Eco-Institute that was set up to explore and promote co-existence of traditional culture, nature and environmental technology.

    It was established by non-profit organisations such as the Shirakawa-go Nature Coexistence Forum, the Japan Environmental Education Forum, Toyota Motor Corporation and other environmental organisations.

    The institute provides many activities for visitors. Tadashi Inamoto, its principal, said environmental concerns were the main reason why it was set up. "No matter how many laws are passed and no matter how much environmental technology is developed, unless there is a major change in the awareness of the people involved, there is little prospect for improvement."

    Thus one of the institute's objectives is to raise awareness by using the area's beauty at different times of the year to inspire both locals and visitors to learn about the rich natural resources and culture of Shirakawa-go. This is to make people realise the crucial role of nature in their way of life.

    Visitors are able to enjoy their holidays in a new light; they can enjoy nature, good food and bathe in hot springs.

    "I have a better understanding of the co-existence between nature and tourism. This is due to the wide-range of activities that the institute provides," confided a teenager who had spent a few days there.

    "I climbed the sacred mountain of Hakusan which is behind the institute. I enjoyed the scenic alpine walks, the wild flowers and autumnal colours of the forest. On the way back, I comforted myself in natural hot springs," he added.

    Some portion of the income generated from tourism is used to support various activities at the institute and the village.

    The institute, which covers 172-hectare, is home to more than 1,200 species of living organisms. Visitors get first-hand experience of their contribution to the ecosystem, learn the wisdom at the heart of nature and explore the potential for a future in which humans can coexist with nature.

    Most visitors will be surprised that the institute provides accommodation on par with conventional hotels and youth hostels, but its source of energy is not nuclear power or fossil fuel, but solar cell and wind power. (See graphic)

    Fresh air from the forest is drawn into a chamber piled with snow from the previous winter and equipped with fans that direct cool air to the main hall in summer. In winter heating is provided by burning a wood-based bio-mass compressed into pellets. A high-insulation earthen tube is used for conveying cool air in summer and warm air in winter. Visiting the institute one gets to learn that there are a number of technologies that can serve humans with minimum exploitation of Mother Earth.

    Shirakawa-go is a case study of how Thailand should go about eco-tourism, that the tourism industry should learn to respect the locals, for it is they who have preserved their traditional houses and thereby nature for us to enjoy.

    Farm tools, baskets and utensils on display in one section of a Gassho-zukuri style house. Most of the traditional houses in Shirakawa-go still serve as homes for the local farmers. The community is like a big living museum.
    Folklore is told through traditional music. Smoke from cooking fire keeps the place dry. The baths are powered by environmentally friendly energy.  — .Photo courtesy of TOYOTA SHIRAKAWA-GO ECO-INSTITUTE

    MORE INFO

    9:32 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    Poi Pet Experience Sharing: Nov 6, 2007

    Hi Caroline,

    I hope things will soon get better.

    This evening here in Bangkok the internet did collapse again. Actually I should have got this email of yours yesterday, but I just got it at about 16:00 Hrs.

    Now I will try to reprovide you with the information I have previously emailed you in case you miss some of it.

    Yesterday I had for you another email that said "We have just been informed by our would-be translator that he would not be available for our study trip. And, because of that, we have to ask you to provide for us a Cambodian-Thai translator. (We will pay for his service.) I hope this will not cause you any difficulty.

      We expect that on November 14, 2007 we will be arriving in Poipet around 09.00 Hrs. to get our entry visa ready. We would be ready to meet you for this study trip at around 13.00 Hrs. Please inform us wher we can meet conveniently.

      And here are the two key mobile phones for the main contact persons during this trip: Foo - 089 035 4992 and Or - 081 844 7182."

      I hope you will get this information so as to get the whole programme ready.

      We very much appreciate your contribution to this study trip of ours.

      Best
      Sombat



    ----- Original Message ----
    From: Caroline Francis <caroline@fhi.org.kh>
    To: sombatth@yahoo.com
    Cc: Virginia <Virginia@fhi.org.kh>; Nith Sopha <sopha@fhi.org.kh>; foo mongkol <mongkol@fry1985.org>; yaninee or <yaninee_k@hotmail.com>
    Sent: Monday, November 5, 2007 7:41:32 AM
    Subject: RE: Experience in Poipet

    Thanks Sombat,

    We have been having some difficulties with our email system and I did not get your earlier message.  I will have my team and local partner
    (CFDS) prepare something and they should be in touch with you soon.

    Best,

    Caroline

    Caroline Francis
    Associate Director
    Prevention, Mitigation, Strategic Behavioral Communications and Monitoring and Evaluation
    Family Health International
    #11, Street 302
    Boeung Keng Kang I
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    Tel: (855) 023.211914
    Fax: (855) 023.211913
    Mobile: 012.804.292
    Email: caroline@fhi.org.kh

    -----Original Message-----
    From: sombatth@yahoo.com [mailto:sombatth@yahoo.com]
    Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2007 12:54 AM
    To: Caroline Francis
    Cc: Virginia; Nith Sopha; foo mongkol; yaninee or
    Subject: RE: Experience in Poipet

    Dear Caroline,

      I am happy that you are back in time for the information. I am certain that during the past week you have been preparing something for us.
     
        Attached herewith is the theme we have for our study trip which we are planning for during November 14 and 15: two days and one night and for which we
    are in need of your assistance. Maybe you have other points to add.
     
      We are certain that your experience to be shared will be useful for us and can be adapted to ours during our future course of action. And, as a
    consequence, you can arrange the programme for us as you see most appropriate.
     
      For this trip, we would arrange our own transport for our team of  11 members from and back to Thailand. It will be an air-conditioned van. In the
    team there will be a Thai-Cambodian-English translator.  And, as we are new to your area, your recommendations for
    accommodations and other related matters (like a map in order to get to your office) are most welcomed. The night stay can be spent in a village or amongst CFD
    target group.

      And, accordingly, please provide us the various costs that would be incurred during our study trip, including the FHI services, so that we will be well
    prepared for this.

      As an organization also involved with HIV/AIDS prevention, I am sure we have a lot to share.

      Regards,

      Sombat

    --- Caroline Francis <caroline@fhi.org.kh> wrote:

    Hi Sombat,
     
    So sorry for not getting back to you earlier.  I  have been out of the office this past week and will also be out of the office this coming
     week, preparing for our new program.
     
    My colleagues Virginia and Sopha, copied above will  follow up with you (although they too will be with me this upcoming week).  Can you let us
     know again the purpose of the visit, what/who you would like to see, the length of time, whether all activities will be confined to Poipet, etc.

    If you can provide this information ASAP, it will help us better assist you.
    Best,
     
    Caroline
     
    Caroline Francis
    Associate Director 
    Prevention, Mitigation, Strategic Behavioral Communications and Monitoring and Evaluation
    Family Health International 
    #11, Street 302
    Boeung Keng Kang I
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    Tel: (855) 023.211914
    Fax: (855) 023.211913
    Mobile: 012.804.292
    Email: caroline@fhi.org.kh 
     
     
    -----Original Message-----
     From: sombatth@yahoo.com [mailto:sombatth@yahoo.com]
     
    Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 4:00 PM
    To: Sreytoch Nhim; Caroline Francis
    Subject: Experience in Poipet
     
    Dear Caroline,
     
    Please, first, excuse me, if this message has already reached you by this time.

    I resend this message while awaiting your response to this email of mine. I am a little bit worried about the preparation for the study trip. However, I hope
    this will not cause you any trouble to respond to my previous email.

    Regards,
     
    Sincerely yours,
    Sombat 
    Dear Caroline,
      
    First of all, we very much appreciate your welcome to your organization. And here are more details about our study trip.
      
    Attached herewith is the theme we have for our study trip which we are planning for during November 14 and 15: two days and one night and for which we
    are in need of your assistance. Maybe you have other points to add. 

    We are certain that your experience to be shared will be useful for us and can be adapted to ours during our future course of action. And, as a
    consequence, you can arrange the programme for us as you see most appropriate. 

    For this trip, we would arrange our own transport for our team of  11 members from and back to Thailand. It will be an air-conditioned van. In the team there
    will be a Thai-Cambodian-English translator.  And, as we are new to your area, your recommendations for accommodations and other related matters are most
    welcomed. The night stay can be spent in a village or amongst CFD target group.

     And, accordingly, please provide us the various costs that would be incurred during our study trip, including the FHI services, so that we will be well
    prepared for this. 
    With best regards,
      
       Sincerely yours,
      
      Mr. Sombat Thavorn
      Director 
      FRY 

    ----- Original Message ----
     From: Caroline Francis <caroline@fhi.org.kh>
    > To: sombatth@yahoo.com
    > Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 7:44:29 AM
     Subject: experiences in Poipet
     
     
    Dear Sombat,
      
    Thanks so much for your recent email.  We look forward to talking with you in mid-November.
      
    Very best,
      
    Caroline
      
    Caroline Francis
     Deputy Country Director
     Family Health International 
    #11, Street 302
     Boeung Keng Kang I
     Phnom Penh, Cambodia
     Tel: (855) 023.211914
     Fax: (855) 023.211913
     Mobile: 012.804.292
     Email: caroline@fhi.org.kh
    8:50 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    ไก่ย่างวิเชียรบุรี Kai Yang Vichianburi

    v1V2v3V5v6Friday November 02, 2007
             
    A matter of taste

    With recipes from around the country, vendors are clamouring to satisfy the capital's appetite for grilled chicken

    STORY BY VANNIYA SRIANGURA, PHOTOS BY ANUSORN SAKSEREE


    Provincial style ``gai yang'' usually comes with firm lean meat packed with spice and flavours.

    It might not be an exaggeration to say that the number of gai yang, or grilled chicken, vendors on Bangkok's streets reflects the state of Thailand's economy.

    It seems that wherever there's a construction site there's at least one gai yang stall, and as the city is currently enjoying significant economic growth we look unlikely to ever be short of tasty chicken treats.

    Not that gai yang is restricted to construction sites. Thai people love grilled chicken so much that you can find it anywhere from fine Thai restaurants and modern fast food joints to ramshackle street stalls, on every street corner, deep inside obscure sois, alongside highways and at practically any bus station.

    In a nutshell gai yang is traditional Thai rotisserie chicken marinated in a subtle blend of spices and seasoning and cooked over a woodfire grill. Original recipes may differ, but the most common ingredients for the marinades are pepper, garlic and coriander root.

    Most people have a favourite style. Older generations seem to prefer a traditional, classic bird yielding firm, lean meat, while younger folk are more likely to go for softer, juicier, milder and often fattier varieties like the "yellow chicken" from Bang Saen beach.


    Selling Phetchabun-style ``gai yang'' on a quiet corner of a soi, vendor Boonkhem said it's the most profitable job he has ever had.

    One of the city's oldest and most famous grilled chicken restaurants is Likhit Gai Yang, aka Gai Yang Sanam Muay. This restaurant, next to the Ratchadamnoen Boxing Stadium, has been offering traditional grilled chicken for more than 50 years.

    Other notable venues for excellent, old-fashioned grilled chicken include Vises Kai Yang in Bang Pho district and Chan Pen restaurant on Rama IV Road, both of which have been serving up classic lean and chewy chicken, with a strong hint of spice, for more than half a century.

    But while traditional chicken restaurants have retained their popularity, the past few years have seen the city inundated with regional variations.

    Bangkok's dusty streets have become a home away from home for gai yang from Wichian Buri in Phetchabun province, Bang Tan in Ratchaburi, Khao Suan Kwang in Khon Kaen, Huai Thap Than in Si Sa Ket and Tha Chang in Nakhon Ratchasima.

    Opened four months ago at the corner of Soi Soonvijai and Pradit-Manutham Road, Om-Ohn's Gai Yang Wichian Buri is one of Bangkok's 30 or so shops that sell the Phetchabun-style chicken.

    Today, among other offerings such as grilled fish, deep-fried chicken organs, som tam and others Isan delicacies, the rickety stall sells approximately 70-80 chicken per day. Boonkhem Silathulee, the shop's owner, said that he got the recipe and know-how from a famous grilled chicken restaurant in Wichian Buri.

    "We paid 10,000 baht for it," he answered. "But the investment is more than worth it."

    His wife Ladda explained that over the past few years the couple had tried selling other kinds of food - such as chicken rice, chicken noodles and khao gaeng (rice with curry topping) - which only earned them 20-25 baht per order. Now, with gai yang, they are making as much as 100 baht per head, with an average of 70 baht. On top of this they can, and already have, sell the recipe on to other parties.


    Pa Nuek's Gai Yang Khao Suan Kwang sells 300-400 chickens each day.

    Likhit Gai Yang is one of the city's oldest grilled chicken restaurants.

    There are more than 30 Wichian Buri grilled chicken vendors in Bangkok.

    Pa Nuek's Gai Yang Khao Suan Kwang sells 300-400 chickens each day.

    "Gai yang is everyone's favourite and people don't seem to get tired of it," said Ladda. "Our customers range from office workers and doctors to construction workers and massage girls."

    The couple are from Yasothon, a province in the country's northeastern Isan region which known as a grilled chicken hotbed - but they still prefer that of Wichian Buri.

    "We've tried Yasothon's own gai yang Ban Kaen but we didn't like it," Boonkhem said.

    Pa Nuek's gai yang Khao Suan Kwang is another out-of-town recipe that enjoys huge popularity in the country's capital. The nine-year-old shop out in dusty Bang Na sells anything from 300 to 400 birds a day.

    According to owner Sura Sanphrom there are as many as 30 gai yang Khao Suan Kwang vendors in Bangkok, more than half of them Pa Nuek franchises.

    Sura's franchise business has been going strong for almost four years now. "We teach them how to make som tam, larb and so on, and also how to grill the chicken. We teach them pretty much everything except how to prepare the chicken and the marinade. They must buy the pre-marinated chicken from us."

    Pa Nuek's chickens come from Khon Kaen, where Sura has a farm and a slaughterhouse. His franchising fee starts at 5,000 baht for a logo sign and a lesson. For 15,000 baht you also get all the cooking equipment.

    As to whether he has tasted the product from his 20 or so franchises, he says: "Not yet. Business here is so good that I don't have time for anything else."

    The chicken doesn't only migrate from the country's Northeast. Gai yang Bang Tan, which has recently gained in popularity among Bangkok's consumers, is from a small village in Ban Pong district, Ratchaburi, in the western region.

    According to Theerachai Theera-anantchai, one of the first gai yang Bang Tan vendors in Bangkok, each of the 10 gai yang Bang Tan shops in Bangkok come from the village itself.

    "We never do franchising. All of us are like family and we strictly follow the same recipe that has been passed on for generations."

    Theerachai started his business in the city many years ago, from the back of a pickup truck. Today, his flourishing two-unit restaurant in Prachachuen sells up to 200 chickens a day.

    The popularity of provincial-style grilled chicken in Bangkok - as well as in other cities - may keep growing, but it has also created some concern among those who promote authentic, original recipes.

    According to Pongsak Kandern, owner of Phetchabun's Bua Tong restaurant and chairman of the Wichian Buri Grilled Chicken Group, the name gai yang Wichian Buri was first introduced in 1961, when a local hawker started to sell free-range chicken to truckers at a highway junction. Back then a chicken cost only three baht.

    He said that his hometown received plenty of attention from the media in 2003, when it gave away free grilled chicken to the public to promote safe chicken during an outbreak of avian flu. After some of the district's 30 gai yang restaurants were featured on national television and in publications, the whole country seemed to develop a craze for Wichian Buri's famous dish.

    "I've tried Wichian Buri-style chicken in Phuket, Pattaya, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Khon Kaen and Ang Thong - just to name a few - but they weren't up to our standard," Pongsak noted, explaining that the genuine article must be crisp and dry, preferably free-range and never frozen. And if it's farm chicken, it must be small - a 1.1-1.3 kilogramme bird is perfect. The dipping sauce should be made with sweet tamarind puree, a speciality of Phetchabun. However, the chicken is so tasty and pungent that it doesn't really need extra sauce.

    "The more famous it has become, the more negative responses we've had," said Pongsak. "When people try bad gai yang Wichian Buri, from somewhere else, it definitely affects the reputation of the original. So we try to focus on maintaining good quality, not revelling in the fame."

    The Wichian Buri Grilled Chicken Group has been established for more than 10 years. Today it has 27 members, all of whom are local shopowners and vendors, and the Wichian Buri Grilled Chicken Festival, a nighttime food fair organised by the group and the municipality, now in its eighth year, is held around September/October every year.

    Huai Thap Than district in northeastern Si Sa Ket province is the home of the famous gai yang Huai Thap Than aka gai yang mai madan. The chicken, which was first served some 80 years ago at Huai Thap Than railway station, has recently gained favour in Bangkok.

    "In the past, because we liked to promote our product, we gave our recipe to anyone who asked," said Pheepakorn Hengrattanakulseth, chairman of the Huai Thap Than Gai Yang Mai Madan Group. "But then we realised that our recipe was somehow being altered and the chicken was of a lower quality, so we stopped. Right now we are thinking of a new way of franchising. In the future we'll offer pre-grilled chicken that is vacuum packed right here [in Huai Thap Than] so at least we can control the quality."

    6:16 AM | Add a comment | Read comments (1) | Permalink | Blog it

    Nov 3, 2007: Payao Passed away

    A simple bishop of Korat Diocese has passed away at about 04:00 Hrs. on Nov 3, 2007. I was lucky to pay a last tribute to him.IMG_0114IMG_0115IMG_0118IMG_0119IMG_0120IMG_0121IMG_0122IMG_0123IMG_0124
    6:01 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    Big People with a "from rags to riches" life

    BREAKING NEWS

    Sex lives makes Asian Godfathers a best-seller

    The recently published Asian Godfathers, a book that claims to debunk the myths around the region's famed billionaires, has sold 10,000 copies in its first three months, British author Joe Studwell said Monday.

    Studwell, who was in Bangkok Monday to promote his book, said he decided to focus on Asia's well-known billionaires in his overview of Southeast Asia's economic experience as a "sexy" vehicle for getting readers interested in an otherwise not-so-sexy topic.

    Southeast Asia's economic miracle went bust in 1997, and the region has since been overshadowed by the high-growth economies of China and India.

    In the course of his three years of research for the book, Studwell discovered insights about the region's "godfathers" of business, starting with their sex lives.

    "They do have enormously rapacious sex lives," Studwell said. "I didn't know that so many 80-year-old men had sex lives before I researched this book."

    Studwell, former editor of the China Economic Quarterly who said his book has irked several of its subjects, was also surprised to learn that many of the myths behind the 40 to 50 families that have dominated the economies of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong in the post-World War II era were myths.

    "I set out expecting to find some rags to riches stories, but in the course of doing the research, I was struck by how few rags to riches stories there are," Studwell said at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand

    While Asian dictators such as the Philippines' Fidel Marcos and Indonesia's Suharto created a crop of "rags to riches" entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia's ethnic Chinese communities, the vast majority of the region's billionaires married into wealth or inherited it, Studwell concluded in his book.

    For instance, Li Ka-Shing, Hong Kong's property tycoon, got his entry into business by marrying a first cousin who was from a wealthy Hong Kong business family.

    Thailand's telecommunications tycoon and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who cultivated a "rags to riches" persona for political purposes, also came from a fairly well-to-do business family.

    What most Asian business godfathers have in common is political connections and a government concession that formed their core cash flow, such as Thaksin's concession to run one of Thailand's first mobile phone services, Studwell said.

    His book criticied Southeast Asian governments for failing to create economic environments that encourage technological innovations and global companies, preferring to rely on their handful of "merchant capitalists" instead.

    Looking to the future, Studwell recommended that the four largest economies in Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand - form a common market and put up trade barriers against imports to encourage technological innovations in the region and the nurturing of global companies, much as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have done.

    "They should either leave Singapore out of the market or at least make sure it is playing a constructive role, such as by providing more information on capital flows, rather than just sitting on their island like a giant money-laundering mat," he said. (dpa)

    5:55 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

    Nov 5, 2007: Back in FRY Office

    1. Still had to wait for the car release, a rather late action
    2. Foo was still not ready to send the APIE Evaluation Report to FRY's directors yet.
    3. Something about Poo's birth delivery leave unsolved
    4. A small change in Poipet issue: need for a translator
    5. Something to watch for from Foo's: His second leave request last Sunday
    6. Scheduling of activitiesbarge1barge2barge3barge4
    5:53 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it
    November 01

    The Only Condition for All on the A380

    BREAKING NEWS

    Sex is out on the Airbus A380's double beds

    Singapore (dpa) - Sex is out in the luxurious suites with double beds aboard Singapore Airlines' new A380 plane, the carrier said Thursday.

    "We ask all customers, wherever they are on our aircraft, to observe standards that do not cause offence to other customers and crew," SIA's spokesman said.

    "Nothing different applies for our SIA suites customers," he added.

    The private cabins aboard the world's largest commercial jetliner give two couples the option of taking a double bed screened off by sliding doors and roller blinds.

    The cabins are not sound-proofed or completely sealed off, the spokesman said. The sliding doors are 1.5 metres high and have a netted window.

    Since SIA started flying the double-decker jet between Singapore and Sydney last Sunday, speculation has focused on the prospect of joining the so-called mile-high-club in style and comfort.

    4:05 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it