| Happy Thai New Year 2547 (2004)! April saw all members of
the SA team in Thailand get doused head-to-toe during this year’s
incredible ‘Songkran’
water festival. Thanks to all who came and joined the soak-a-rama!
2004 is shaping up to be a great one with Smiling Albino
visiting Canada and the US from now until the end of July,
a slate of earth-shattering adventures lined up, and tales
of our SA co-founders winning awards and starring in motion
pictures. And some people thought SA was just a great travel
company!
We’re gearing-up to launch a brand new,
multi-sport adventure!
‘Northern Exposure’ will see participants enjoy
10-days of hiking, cycling and kayaking in brand new remote
SA areas in the kingdom’s far north. Stay tuned for
the official launch of this physically challenging adventure.
Start training!
And the winner is… SA co-founder Scott
Coates!
The envelope was opened and Scott was officially declared
the winner of Alberta’s 2004 Provincial Award Celebrating
Excellence (PACE). The award is given to an Albertan who has
used their post-secondary education to grow a career while
benefiting the global community. As such, Scott was whisked
from Thailand and flown to Banff, Alberta, where he received
the award from the province’s Lieutenant Governor Lois
Hole, along with a $5,000CDN scholarship being set up in his
name for Alberta students.
“What an incredible honour”, said Scott. “It’s
great to see the work we do with SA is crossing borders and
making waves the world over. I’m also very proud to
dedicate the award to Bill Dieters, co-founder of Highland
Farm and Gibbon Sanctuary who sadly passed away two years
ago and deeply influenced my direction in life.”
Scott
(bottom left) and fellow nominees at the PACE Awards
SA’s other co-founder, Daniel
Fraser, recently co-starred in Thailand’s first
digital motion picture, ‘The Garuda’. The film
opened on April 1 to great reviews and a recent Fraser fan
club being established in the kingdom. International releases
are planned and we’ll keep you posted should it be in
a theatre near you! Dan will have to wait until 2005 to receive
his Academy Award. Read
a story from the Calgary Herald about Dan’s big movie!
Dan
in a rivoting scene from ' The Garuda'
It’s official - SA is now in North America. SA co-founder
Scott Coates will be taking the Smiling Albino road show to
a city near you. If you or any organization you know is interested
in hosting a Smiling Albino travel show (an entertaining,
non-salesy journey into the world of SA and Thailand), let
us know ASAP so we can swing by and entertain your group.
Dates are as follows:
Calgary/Edmonton: Now – June 15
Victoria: June 16-21
Vancouver: June 21-24
Toronto: June 25-30
New York City: June 31 – July 2
Ottawa: July 3-7
Montreal: July 8-9
Charlottetown: July 12-17
San Francisco: July 20-24
You can also reach Scott during his promotional tour at 403-988-5577.
What are you waiting for? Book
your travel show now.
Two years since our initial English Fun Days (EFD) program
at Doi Mae Salong kicked-off and we’re proud to announce
the 8th EFD session will be held from July 5–16, 2004!
Shari Baldwin and Lynne Current are generously donating their
time and energies to teach at Santikiri School to help continue
making this program a great success. Thanks ladies.
“Happy Birthday…so buy me a drink!”
Huh? Unlike in the West where one’s birthday usually
involves being treated for dinner and drinks by friends, in
Thailand you’re expected to host your own birthday party
– and foot the bill! It makes going to people’s
birthdays lots of fun. Thankfully we only have our own special
day once a year!
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