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PREVIEW
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On The Cover: Kunt Fu & Condom screaming for blood at Pan Asia 2013, Pattaya, Thailand. Photo by Jimmy Wilkins
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WTF? Pan Asia Legacy of The Lady In Red Saigon H3 Rocks the Region Hashing in America: Interam 2015 Croatia: Zagreb 2000th Bangkok Urban Hashes Amari Midnight Charity Run #16 Luang Prabang hosts 1/2 marathon
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Digital Supplement 49
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“Rasputin told me right up front that the only reason you would take on something like this is to make money from it. When I suggested that was a load of crap, and you do it for the love of it he just scoffed and said, why would you do that?”
-One of Rasputin’s former “partners” in the Pattaya Monkey Hash
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by CIA
ow that Pan Asia hash in Pattaya has concluded, here is a quick review so the next organizers can learn from the experience. Before the event kicked off, Pan Asia was mired in controversy over the lack of financial disclosure. It was this issue that caused the Pattaya jungle hash to withdraw their participation in this event, leaving the Malacca monkey hashers to organize Pan Asia on their own. Organizing an event of this size is daunting enough for any hash, but it’s especially difficult for a group to do this remotely. Most people had low expectations for this event, but nobody anticipated this fiasco. But before I get to that, let us talk about the few positives:
First, free bus transportation was provided from the airport to the HQ hotel on Friday. This was a nice touch as Pattaya is a good two hour bus ride away.
cheap quality. I probably will never wear it. We also got a patch , a magazine, and a backpack which had a separate shoe compartment in the bottom.
Registration was held at the Royal Twins hotel which is in the heart of Pattaya. Nice large hotel with a very big lobby. Registration was in a large ballroom on the second floor. There were some glitches on Thursday morning when registration first opened. I think it was mostly related to their laptop computers but after a reboot of the system, things started going smoothly. On Friday, they set up two tables, one for group registration and one for individual registration. This was a smart move and something that other organizers need to emulate. For some reason, some Asian hash clubs insist on registering everybody together. So you might have a group of 40 or 50 hashers clogging up registration for a half hour. Having a special line for these groups is the way to go. Distribution of goody bags was a bit chaotic. Most people, including myself, were swapping shirt sizes. Sizes were not consistent. One shirt I had to go to a smaller size, XL, and the other shirt I had to go with XXL.. Could have even gone up to XXXL on this one.
Ground floor of the hotel had a large lobby bar where many hashers congregated before and after registration. Two free drink tickets were supplied in the goody bag for beers at this bar. However, beer tickets were plentiful and nobody had to buy a beer. Registration continued until 10 PM on Thursday and quite a few hashers closed the place down.
Hashers who registered on Friday likely got shortchanged on their shirt sizes.. We got a nice mesh performance tshirt which I like in these tropical climates and a hawaiian style aloha type shirt. The latter was made of cotton and is of
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Communications.. This is something many organizers fall short on but is absolutely essential. The magazine in the goody bag was an excellent source of information. Posters in the lobby duplicated the schedule and maps listed in the magazine. However, that was the only thing they did right on this front. Once hashers left on the buses for the runs, the committee made themselves absent and could not be contacted concerning the numerous fuck ups that occurred on Saturday. Note for the future.. Future Committee members.. Put your phone numbers in the magazine, so people can contact you in case of emergencies or fuck ups.. They always happen. People need to be able to get a hold of you guys when they do. Food.. Generally okay on Friday night, lots of it, and no queues with lots of food stations.
PREVIEW Financial accountability.. Where the hell was the money spent? A lot of people feel cheated..
Hashers throw their Pan Asia 2013 badges on the ground in disgust for the worst large event in the history of the hash.
Pissed off at warm beer and crap food at the Pan Asia Hash “Gala Dinner� at the Pattaya Sports Stadium.
Unfortunately, it was a different story Saturday night. Only two food stations.. Food was crap and it was gone almost immediately thanks to the Malaysians and their food hoarding. What is going on in your country? Is there some long term food famine going on there the world does not know about? You guys rush the food stations and grab everything in sight like locusts. I went to a cooler where there were some hot sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil. I grabbed one. But a Malaysian in front of me grabbed 8 of them. When I called her out on it, she just smiled and said, do you want one? What the fuck? She did not even know what it was but grabbed 8 of them anyway. Do you people behave like this in Malaysian restaurants? Do you eat like this at home? What gives you the right to act like absolute pigs at hash events? Show some courtesy to your fellow hashers and leave some food for them. Beer and beverages.. Only beer available was Chang which is vile stuff. It was clear the committee went with the cheapest option. Only way to drink this is ice cold in a cup filled with ice so you can water it down. It is really shit beer. Chang also distributes water bottles, so they had that too. But that was it.. No soft drinks, no wine (lots of women usually want this option). Transportation and logistics.. Staging for all runs was done from the HQ hotel. They had a giant open area in front of the hotel building which was perfect for boarding and unboarding... No long walks a kilometer down the road to get to the staging area (as has been done at some previous events). This went smoothly as far as I could tell. Buses were comfortable and they pretty much left on time for the runs. However, that was the only good thing about transportation. Once we left for the runs, the hash was on its own. No hares on
Continued in Digital supplement
PREVIEW
The Legacy of The Lady in Red by Jay Hopkins
It is bittersweet that in 2013, the Hash House Harriers celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Red Dress even as its members mourn the unexpected loss of The Lady in Red.
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he 25th anniversary of the Red Dress Run in 2013 is a bittersweet celebration, marked also by the passing of The Lady in Red, the woman who inspired its launch. Since the first one was held in San Diego on June 12, 1988, it has spread across the globe and has become the Hash House Harriers signature event. As most hashers know, the Red Dress Run was held to lampoon the red-frocked blonde, who while visiting a former classmate in 1987, was taken to hash in Long Beach, California. Told to wait in the car by the GM, because of her attire and the fact that she was a woman, the former Playboy Bunny ran into hashing history sporting her red dress and heels. When she hopped into a hot tub wearing the red dress and a smile, the other women were bemused to find they were being ignored; thus their motive for plotting the first Red Dress Run. In a speech accepting a crown given to her at the inaugural Red Dress Run, The Lady in Red suggested that at future Red Dress Runs “a
portion of the proceeds go to worthwhile charities to benefit others and to help build a bit of a positive image for hashers.” It was that request that separated the Red Dress Run from being just another run with a theme. Easily the most visible and most-talked about event in hashing, the unique appeal of the Red Dress Run became the keys to its charitable success. Before her passing, The Lady in Red estimated that over the past 25 years, US $20 million has been raised through the event to benefit deserving charities across the globe. Television news, magazines and newspapers have devoted quite a bit of coverage to the Red Dress Run, helping to build the value of the brand. If the “earned media” was translated into advertising dollars, its value would be in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars. Over the years, running shoe stores, bars, charities, running clubs and other organizations have attempted to cash in on the value of what the Hash House Harriers built, by holding their own Red Dress Run. The Lady in Red astutely
Continued in Digital supplement
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Red Dress Run held in more than 40 countries: Afghanistan Argentina Australia Austria Borneo Botswana Canada Chili Peoples Republic of China Republic of China Cyprus Democratic Republic of Congo Denmark East Timor Fiji Islands Finland France Germany Grenada Guyana Indonesia Israel Japan Kenya Malaysia Mexico Mozambique New Zealand Norway Peru Philippines Portugal Russia Saint Kitts and Nevis South Korea South Sudan Spain United Kingdom (including England, Scotland and St Helena in the South Atlantic)
United States of America Uruguay Vietnam
PREVIEW
Saigon H3
Rocks the Region
Words by: Dingo Dong/John Mort | Photos by: Overdrive/Leif Carlsen
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t’s been called “vibrant”. It’s been called the most politically-incorrect of all. It’s been embraced by lost souls searching for purpose and meaning to their lives and poor souls who in their homeland would be under some sort psychiatric supervision. It’s the most fun you can have in Saigon with your pants still on. It is the Saigon Hash House Harriers. And Saigon Hash is about to celebrate its 1200th Run. It comes up on August 26. Tithe celebrations will be over 4 days from August 23 to 26. Twelve hundred runs, walks, staggers and beersodden bus-rides out into the countryside and train trips further afield, red dress runs, zombie runs, you name it Saigon Hash has given it a go. If something seems too hare-brained to even suggest then it’s a safe bet it’s been tried on the Saigon Hash, hardly ever successfully. Saigon hashers have no fear of failure. If at first we don’t succeed we give up, blame someone else and erase all evidence of having made the
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attempt. It’s very nearly fool-proof. But if Saigon hashers are bunglers they are big-hearted bunglers. An example is when harriers give their hares SDDs (you need to read that again carefully). SDD stands for Saigon Degree of Difficulty. In recognition of our hares’ propensity to balls things up, turning what should be a straightforward hare-set into a shemozzle, the SDD adds 7 points to a run or walk score. The SDD can be a very handy tool, especially if the hares are tools. I must confess it was my idea and the main beneficiary is myself. Saigon hares can pick up an SDD on any given Sunday. We give each other SDDs a lot. Just for fun. You might get one if you come on the Saigon Hash. Don’t worry; it will clear-up before you go home. So how did it all start? Who is responsible for creating this monster? It all started over beers one afternoon way back in August, 1990. What in HHH doesn’t involve beers I wonder? Then new arrivals to Ho-ville Grevil ‘Grovel’ Sharp and Jaqueline ‘Goldilocks’ Gough were introduced to
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