ASEAN Leaders Get All the Perks in Cha-am and Hua Hin (27/2/2009)

ASEAN leaders have arrived in Cha-am and Hua Hin for the 14th ASEAN Summit. They have been greeted with a basket of delightful rose apples of Phetchaburi, carefully prepared as the pride of the province.

General Manager of the Dusit Thani Hua Hin Hotel, Watcharavudh Victor Sukseree, described the readiness on the part of the hotel chosen as the summit venue. All the meeting rooms and accommodations are well-prepared. Leaders occupying the super deluxe suites costing 70,000 baht a night at the hotel are from Brunei Darussalam, , and the Secretariat of ASEAN. The hotel has, also prepared crystal sculptures as souvenirs for all leaders.

A for the summit menu, Mr. Watcharavudh said that although it was not yet confirmed, the hotels prominent dishes include Mango Mousse Millefeuille, Tomato Soup, Salmon in Spring Roll, and Lobster Topped with Chili and Spices and Served with Rice. Halal dishes will also be prepared.

For the welcoming and security of ASEAN leaders and their parties, the Provincial Police Operation Center Region 7 has been on full alert for the arrival of ASEAN leaders, who started arriving at Hua Hin or Bo Fai Airport on Friday, February 27. Each leader will be escorted to the hotel by a motorcade.

Live broadcast of the inauguration ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, February 28, from 14.00 hr onwards. The ASEAN anthem, "The ASEAN Way," the award- winning work by three Thais, Mr. Kittikhun Sodprasert, Mr.Sampao Triudom, and Mrs. Payom Valaiphatchra, will be performed by the Royal Thai Navy Symphony Orchestra with a chorus. This is followed by a feature on evolution of ASEAN and the speech by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as Chair of ASEAN to inaugurate the 14th ASEAN Summit.

In the evening, ASEAN leaders have been granted an audience with His Majesty the King at in Hua Hin, followed by a gala dinner given in honor of ASEAN leaders and their spouses by the Royal Thai Government at the .

The Mae Fa Luang Foundation has brought three truckloads of flowers from the Development Project in Chiang Rai to decorate the banquet site, emphasizing diversity in colors and forms of flowers at the front and around the site, signifying the diversity in ASEAN. White orchids are used to decorate the interior, with green leaves in the background, representing sincerity and the green society of Thailand and ASEAN as a whole.

The flowers used are mostly temperate, such as petunia and lobelia, with purple and yellow orchids. About 20,000 plants are being used for the decorations, which will be maintained on show for one week after the gala dinner.

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