As the Pattaya Otter has been on something of a much needed diet recently, the usual ‘Nibbles’ eating out column would be a bit thin this edition (unlike said Otter) so it has been broadened to include some more general reports from around town and beyond. Incidentally the ‘Know Your Pattaya’ tour of the city’s main roads has been temporarily put on hold as on going roadworks on the Beach Road coupled with heavy rains has made traversing these thoroughfares rather difficult for the moment. We hope to resume this feature when the situation improves. So in this feature today we cover:- A new exhibition at Art Café A shopping trip to Bangkok Wine Club Events Two Birthdays Charity Dinner at Casa Pascal Ferraris   A new exhibition at Art Cafe On Monday October 4th the Art Café in the Naklua district of Pattaya staged another in its series of painting exhibitions featuring local artists. The featured artist on this occasion was Khun Jessada Konsommart and the theme of his paintings was ‘The Place I was Born’. Khun Jessada was born in 1975 in Kalasin, North East Thailand, and studied at the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Burapha University in Chonburi. He has staged several exhibitions of his work starting in 1999 and this latest collection reflected what he describes as ‘the warm and peaceful lifestyle’ of the farming community that he was brought up in. As is the custom with these exhibitions at the Art Café, there was a formal opening ceremony during which the café owner Mr Jo Stetton introduced the artist and his sponsors. After this the paintings which had been covered with drapes were then unveiled for viewing. This was followed by a dinner for the assembled guests after which one of the paintings was auctioned off and the remainder made available for sale. The exhibition will remain on display at the café until October 17th. Photos of some of the paintings exhibited follow, as usual to view these in full size, just click on the appropriate thumbnail. Back to Top of Page   A shopping trip to Bangkok. A couple of months ago the Pattaya Otter in need of some photographic and computer accessories, made a shopping trip to Bangkok. Nowadays with the improved roads and transport this can in fact be done in a single day. By catching an early morning bus from Pattaya, transferring to the Skytrain on the outskirts of Bangkok, doing your shopping and returning by the same method it is possible to be back in Pattaya by late afternoon. But this only works if you know where precisely in Bangkok you need to go, which on this occasion I didn’t. So I decided to combine the shopping with a social visit to a friend living in the Big Mango, and so decided to stay a couple of nights, booking myself into the trusty Dynasty Inn in the Nana area of the city. Driving my car to the bus station in North Pattaya I left it parked just outside the terminus and caught the 9 o’clock bus to the Bangkok Ekamai terminal, arriving there just over 2 hours later. A short walk to the nearby Skytrain station and a short ride to the Nana stop had me checking into the Dynasty just after noon, leaving plenty of time for an afternoon’s shopping. Most of that was spent at the Emporium Shopping Mall, a modern arcade of quality shops and there I found a few items I was looking for and obtained the price of a few others for comparison later. Returning to the Dynasty just in time for ‘Happy Hour’ and a very social evening with my good friend Malcolm, the next morning after a leisurely breakfast it was time once again to ‘hit the shops’. This time my travels took me to the MBK (Maah Boon Krong if you want to know) Centre which was one of the original shopping towers in Bangkok and consists of several floors of a myriad of small to medium size shops, a large number of which nowadays are devoted to selling mobile ‘phones and accessories. But amongst these I found the camera equipment I needed, so much so that I ended up too laden to carry on and so had to return to the Dynasty to deposit my wares. With hands free once more, I set out again this time heading to the Mecca of Computer Hardware and Software, Pantip Plaza, a shopping Mall on about 6 floors totally devoted to just about everything you could possibly need in the way of such equipment and all at very competitive prices. There it was not difficult to find what I was after and once again was soon loaded up. Pausing only of a bite of food at a café in another nearby mall, I returned to my hotel all sought for items duly purchased. And all these trips were made easy by use of the Skytrain which has proved a real boon to travelling around the parts of Bangkok it now serves. And certainly saves hours sitting in the notorious Bangkok traffic which can be viewed below as the train glides effortlessly overhead. Incidentally since my visit the new Underground train service has opened, adding easy travel to more parts of the city. Another social evening in the company of Bangkok and after a good night’s sleep, breakfast and check-out for the return trip to Pattaya. With bags fully laden I decided to forsake the Skytrain and instead caught a taxi back to the Ekamai bus station and thence back to Pattaya and into my waiting car. A well worthwhile trip as well as a pleasant break. Back to Top of Page   Wine Club Events The Royal Cliff Wine Club has staged a couple of events since our last edition. Firstly in mid August came an Australian Wine Makers Gala Dinner featuring not one but two wines to taste with each course. These although from the same importers came from two distinct parts of the continent and so were presented to us for comparison, a total of nine different wines in all. As usual the wines were accompanied by a sumptuous feast (didn’t say the diet was total) as can be seen in the accompanying menu, and given the volumes of wine poured into our glasses, this was probably just as well. With all the wines proving extremely drinkable, it became increasingly difficult to render serious judgement as to their individual merits, but all in attendance, leastwise those who could remember being there, agreed that once again the Royal Cliff had surpassed themselves. The second event held in late September was a wine tasting featuring French and again Australian Wines. This was actually the first pure wine tasting as opposed to dinners for some time and something members had been pressing for as it was exclusive to club members unlike the dinners to which members may bring guests. Although not a dinner, an excellent set of canapés was on offer prior to our entry into the Grand Ballroom for the tasting. There, arranged at tables set in long rows we first had an introduction to the art of wine tasting by the club president Khun Ranjith. The guest speaker Mr Michel Conrad then introduced the seven wines to be tasted, four whites and three reds. Although not meant to be a contest between the two countries, all of our group admitted a preference for the Australian equivalent of each variety. But we all agreed that once again the club had provided a most agreeable evening and it was something of a pity that the attendance was somewhat below that expected. We hope this doesn’t deter the club from holding further tastings in the future. Back to Top of Page   Two Birthdays The first day of July saw us at Mags Restaurant just round the corner in Jomtien to celebrate the birthday of Mag, the owner. Due to the popularity of this small establishment the party had in fact to be spread over two evenings and it was with a packed house that we arrived on the second of these. We were greeted by Mag plus two of his staff decked out in what can sort of be described as traditional costume (see photo) and were shown to our table. There we had a set meal of their usual excellent quality accompanied by copious quantities of wine. Later of course the birthday cake arrived (but was placed the wrong way round on the table – see photo) and was duly dished out to all. An excellent evening and a Happy Birthday to Mag. Just 5 days later we were back at the same venue, this time to wish our good friend Allan a Very Happy Birthday – how many is it now Allan?   Unfortunately this was nearly one of the last events there as shortly afterwards the restaurant was sold and although still operating under the same name, no longer has the happy welcoming smiles of Mag, his partner Tim and their effusive and friendly staff. We will miss you very much but wish you all success in your future ventures. Back to Top of Page   Charity Dinner at Casa Pascal. The latest in the current year’s events in support of the ‘Heartt 2000’ Aids charity was a gala dinner held at the excellent Casa Pascal restaurant on the evening of October 5th. For this event, the restaurant owner Pascal Schnyder and his wife Kim laid on what they described as a ‘Truly European Dinner’ consisting of seven courses each one a traditional dish from a different European country. The photo here of the menu will illustrate the point but does not do justice to the excellence of the cooking, nor to the ambience of the evening. Incidentally you will notice that Britain’s contribution to this exotic fare was ‘Bread and Butter Pudding’ - well it is traditional. The usual prize raffle accompanying these events was once again well supported and this plus a portion of the very modest price all added a good sum to the charity coffers. As one of the guests commented ‘It’s good to help others and also have an enjoyable time ourselves’ – very true. Here’s to the next one. Back to Top of Page   Ferraris When walking past the Pan Pan Italian Restaurant opposite my condo the other day I spotted this collection of Ferraris and other exotic Italian cars parked in their forecourt. I have no idea where they came from or why they were there but this must have constituted the largest amount of wealth per square metre for quite some time. Look and Drool.   To view any of the above photos in full size, just click on it. Back to Top of Page