Article Category - Phuket Local News

FORMER Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins, has given Phuket top marks. The Australian beauty and her partner, Jake Wall, stopped off at the Chava Resort in Surin Beach for a few days on their way home to Sydney to soak up some sun on Phuket’s famous beaches. “Phuket is very beautiful, and it is a very safe destination for holidaymakers,” she said.

CRISIS talks were held in Phang Nga and Phuket between top ranking officials from Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket to discuss the ongoing political economical turmoil which is gripping Thailand. The closure of Bangkok’s two airports by PAD protestors last month has already cost Thai Airways International 20 billion baht in lost revenue, hotel occupancy rates throughout the Kingdom have been slashed, in some cases by as much as 50 per cent, and as many as a million service industry employees could be out of work in the coming year.

PHUKET’S police, including the tourist police, will focus on safety and anti-social behavior over the New Year holiday period. But they are expecting to have their hands full on Wednesday night. Huge crowds are expected to converge on Patong for a night of wild revelry on New Year’s Eve, and teams of police, including 14 volunteers, will patrol the streets, making sure the tourists are safe and behaving themselves.

TOURISTS charged with petty crimes could soon have their cases fast-tracked through a special tourist court. Phuket Governor, Dr Preecha Ruangjan has held talks with local police chiefs to discuss plans for a court which would could quickly resolve issues involving visitors to the island. The court would represent a new form of justice for tourists, and would hear cases against foreigners charged with petty crimes such as shoplifting.

PHUKET’S kids have been given a new life-line to help them combat problems of teenage pregnancy, domestic violence and anti-social behavior. Phuket Governor, Dr Preecha Ruanjan launched the ‘Child Watch’ project earlier this month in conjunction with Phuket’s Provincial Social Development and Human Security Office, Phuket’s Provincial Health Office, the Educational Service Office and Phuket police.

POLICE and local officials are turning up the heat on pirated-goods pushers and criminals operating in the south of the island. They will also clamp down on crime in Rawai’s bar and nightclub district. In a bid to restore diminishing public opinion on safety in the area, Pol Major General Apirak Houngtong, and Aroun Soroust, Chief of Rawai police, have set in motion 30 new policies to deter offenders.

MINI-motorbikes are revving up Phuket’s automotive market. More than 150 faithful owners of Kawasaki KSR mini-motorcycles have joined the KSR club in Phuket, and are planning to form an Andaman KSR club, merging with members from Krabi and Phang Nga provinces. The KSR began life in Thailand at the Kawasaki production plant in Rayong Province, in eastern Thailand in 2005.

THOUSANDS of people trained in first aid and resuscitation techniques are being warned against stopping to render medical assistance if they see an accident in Phuket. Every one who completes a rescue dive course, anywhere in the world, must undergo first aid and CPR training, which makes them qualified to render basic assistance to people hurt in traffic and other accidents. But in Phuket, some instructors are warning their students they could face hefty bills, or even criminal charges, if they stop to help anyone.

CHRISTMAS just wouldn’t be Christmas without a traditional pantomime for the kids. And the littlies won’t be disappointed this year when the Green Man pub in Chalong hosts it’s fifth Boxing Day pantomime, Jack and the Green Stalk. The Boxing Day panto has become something of a tradition at the Green Man, and proprietor, Howard Digby-Johns, says he and his staff are looking forward to this year’s production.

MORE than 700 hundred students at a Kamala school have been sent home after 29 students at the school were ‘possessed’ by demons. Children aged between four and 17 started convulsing uncontrollably, while others sat frozen to their seats, or burst into loud screaming. The prestigious H.M. the Kings Rachaprachanakroh Foundation school, which caters mainly for Muslim children, was closed for a week while nine Bhuddist and one Chinese monk exorcised the school grounds, spreading snakes’ blood and pigs’ blood around the playing area to drive off the ‘spirits’.

ROLL call has barely begun when the radio bursts into life with the night’s first distress call. Two motorbikes have crashed on Cape Panwa and medical attention is urgently required. With a screech of tyres, a six-man emergency response team is on its way. Four minutes later, they are tending to the victims.

YOU only ever meet someone like Dorinda Rose Berry once in a lifetime. And when you do, and I would urge you to do it sooner rather than later, you should prepare yourself for something very special. Dorinda is an harmonic, instinctive, intuitive woman who has a wealth of talents which, if you let her, can change your life forever.

BANGKOK Hospital Phuket has unveiled its new 240-million baht Helicopter Emergency Service, to be known as HEMS. The service is set to reinforce the hospital’s reputation as the figurehead of Phuket’s medical health care services. Hospital director, Dr Kongkiat Kespechara, said the new service would be operating over the Andaman coast and would provide further reassurance to tourists about the standard of

SAPAK takraw is one of Thailand’s most exciting sports, and the rest of the world is starting to catch on. It’s a bit like volleyball, with elements of badminton, football and martial arts thrown in to make it even more spectacular. Thailand dominates the sport throughout south east Asia and plans are already under way to have it included in the 2012 Olympic games.

IN 2005, Tom McNamara, who founded the Baan Rim Pa restaurant group, set out to do something significant and sustainable for the Phuket Island community. He launched the Phuket’s Been Good to Us Foundation and tried to build a better future for Thai children on Phuket. But as the Foundation grew, Mr McNamara’s health began to fail, and he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

THAILAND’S biggest boat show, the four-day Phuket International Marine Expo (PIMEX) opens next week in the Exhibition and Conference Centre at the Royal Phuket Marina. The event, which attracts exhibitors and sailors from around the world has expanded its capacity this year to accommodate as many as 40 yachts on the water and an ‘impressive’ number of boats on dry land. The exhibition hall feature 2500 square metres of air conditioned space, which will be buzzing with regular and first-time visitors checking out the latest yachts and yachting equipment.

TWO Phuket inventors claim to have developed a car engine which runs on water and could save motorists millions of baht in gasoline costs a year. Pongsan Prayochamorngul and Promchot Trivete unveiled their HHO engine earlier this month at Phuket’s Provincial Hall. HHO is the natural energy derived from water, which comes from a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gases in a ratio of two to one, the same proportion as water.

AFTER three years of teaching Thailand’s underprivileged kids to be scuba divers, Reid Ridgeway’s Eco-tourism Training Centre is on the brink of financial collapse. Since it opened in 2005, the centre has trained more than 50 young people to be divers. Fifteen of those students are now certified dive instructors and three are now IDC Staff, two steps below PADI’s highest rating. The rest are fully qualified dive masters and are currently working in the dive industry.

It is with sadness that Phuket Post has learnt of the recent death of long term Phuket Resident Tom McNamara. Tom passed away in the presence of his family late Sunday night in Bumrungrad Hospital after a long fight with Prostate cancer. He leaves behind his wife Pensri and children Casey, Fleur and Pure. Funeral arrangements, both Bhuddist and Christian, are being arranged and close friends will be advised of the details. Phuket Post extends to Tom's family and the staff from Baan Rim Pa Group our condolences in this sad time

PHUKET will join the rest of the nation in mourning on November 15 when Her Royal Highness, Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra is cremated in Bangkok. HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana is the elder sister of His Royal Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. She passed away in January this year, aged 84, after losing a brave battle against cancer. The princess was dearly loved by the entire nation and was a source of inspiration to millions of Thais with her life-long dedication to humanitarian, health and poverty-related causes.

IT COULD be hard to get drink in Phuket, or indeed anywhere in Thailand, the three-day mourning period. Bars and music venues around the Kingdom have been asked to close, or at least tame things down a bit, as a mark of respect to Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, who died in January this year and will be cremated on November 15.

About 900 academics from 52 countries joined an international conference on dengue fever organized by the Ministry of Public Health at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia, 15-17 October 2008. The World Health Organization (WHO) invited the Ministry to host the Phuket conference, which provided an excellent opportunity for Thai doctors and scientists to share with peers from around the world their professional knowledge and experience regarding the improving, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the different forms of the dengue virus. Dr Prat Boonyawongwiroj, Permanent Secretary for the Public Health Ministry, said this event followed on from another conference on dengue held seven years ago in Chiang Mai. The recent The Phuket conference also focused on ways local communities and the larger society could contribute to preventing dengue fever.

Nearly 1,000 members of the international media and tourism VIPs joined a “Mega Fam” Phuket familiarisation tour 12-14 October, part of a government plan to promote tourism in Phuket after negative news reports emanating from the late August closure of Phuket International Airport by anti-government protesters. For the Mega Fam, Wanchai Saratoontad, president of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT’s) governing board, joined with tourism companies and local leaders to showcase the peaceful situation in the Andaman region and to highlight tourist safety in and around Phuket during the three-day event. “Visiting three provinces at this time is meant to promote tourism in the provinces along the Andaman coast of Thailand,” Khun Wanchai said. “We want to support tourism and inform international media about the hospitality of the provinces in the Andaman coast, that the provinces are pleased to welcome all tourists from around the world.

A meeting of environmental and meteorological representatives of regional nations agreed to organise workshops involving experts and agencies aimed at improving reporting of weather and other effects from smoke from Indonesian fires. The sixth meeting of the Subregional Steering Committee on Transboundary Pollution at the Dusit Laguna Hotel on October 22, brought together delegations from Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand to examine issues surrounding seasonal haze and to officially congratulate the Indonesian government for making headway on a plan to reduce burning by 50 percent over the past two years.

Phuket’s coordinated response to rebuild faith in the region as a safe destination for tourism brought a handful of European and Southeast Asian ambassadors to the island on 2 October. The aim was to showcase the peace and stability of Phuket and to underscore that political unrest in the nation’s capital does not extend south to the pearl of the Andaman. Hosted by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit and Tourism and Sport Minister Weerasak Kowsurat, the official group was joined by Methee Manatantrakul, president of the Thai Hotels Association Southern Chapter, and Somboon Jirayus, president of the Phuket Tourist Association. Ambassadors from Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Singapore attended the two-day regional survey, stopping in Krabi and Phang Nga as well as Phuket.

As the global financial crisis ripples out from troubled institutions in the US, UK and Europe, local businesses attempt to gauge the impact of gloomy economic news on prospects for the coming high season. Somboon Jirayut, president of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA), joined Chana Kiatchawanasaree, deputy chairman of the Phuket Chamber, on 6 October at the PTA’s Ratsada offices to understand the new business environment and to begin developing marketing plans to address it. Khun Somboon noted that worries about the economy would surely affect tourism, especially visits from the European markets. He said that local businesses hope to motivate intergovernmental groups working on tourism promotion to refocus efforts on supporting outreach to Asian and Thai markets. He added that the full impact might not show up in the numbers of people arriving on flights to Phuket but rather in the duration of their stay. For example, he said, the average stay could drop from two weeks to 10 days during this high season.

Now that street sweepers have piled up and hauled away the spent husks of millions of firecrackers, local officials note that the annual festival this year provided a boost to tourism income that had been sagging as a result of political unrest and the global economic downturn. Nongnit Tengmanee, assistant director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s local office, said that hotel bookings rose by 65 percent during the time of the festival. All told, tourism income from the festival is expected to rise above 500 million baht. The big winner locally was Phuket City, the centre of most of the festival’s events. Patong, which is typically Phuket’s tourist hub, saw fewer tourists, as visitors from China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Korea opted to stay in Phuket City during the festival. However, Kathu shrine did bring its parade to the Patong Beach area this year. The largest parade of the festival belonged to Phuket City’s Jui Tui shrine, drawing crowds estimated above 10,000 people and more than 1,000 maa song (“enchanted horses”). Some observers thought the piercing displayed by maa song included bigger items than in the past, such as tree branches, umbrellas, lamps and other household items.