The Phuket News 08 June 2018

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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

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Flash floods, landslide after torrential rain

LIFE

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Southern Thai tastes at the Rosewood The view from Maya Bay, without the hordes of tourists. Photo: DNP

MAYA BAY ‘ZERO TOLERANCE’ PROTECTION KICKS INTO FORCE WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECTS The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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he “zero tolerance” environmental protection measures for world-renowned Maya Bay, with no access for any persons other than national park officers until Oct 1, came into force last Friday (June 1).

It is strictly no visitors allowed into the bay or even onto the beach during the next four months, Hat Nopparat-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park Chief Worapoj Lomlim reconfirmed to The Phuket News on Wednesday (June 6).

Visitors are not even allowed to

land at Loh Samah Bay on the far side of the island and walk along a jungle path to view Maya Bay from a distance of some 400 metres, Mr Worapoj explained.

That option will become available after Oct 1, he added, when park officers will aim to limit the number of visitors to Maya Bay to 2,000 persons a day.

However, whether or not boats will be allowed to start entering Maya Bay after Oct 1 remains to be seen. “We are still considering our options on that,’ Mr Worapoj said on Wednesday.

The four-month reprieve is to allow

the marine ecosystem in the bay to recover following increasingly heavy damage to coral reefs by hordes of tourists over the past few years.

Mr Worapoj said that coralrestoration efforts in the treasured bay were “already underway”, but provided no details on exactly what was being carried out.

Steps to protect corals in nearby Loh Samah Bay are also being taken, with a floating pier to be built to allow tourists to disembark without their tour boats dropping anchor in that bay. The pier is still in the design phase, but will be complete by Oct 1, Mr Worapoj assured.

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“Right now this floating dock in Loh Samah Bay is in the process of design and construction by a private company,” Mr Worapoj told The Phuket News in an interview last week, while declining to name the company hired to complete the job.

“I can’t give specific details of the dock to the public right now, but I can confirm that the floating dock will be built from strong and environmental materials. It will be strong enough to be stable during storms and strong waves and it will definitely not cause any harm to reefs,” he said.

“It will take time to build this in the (southwest) monsoon season...

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Lifeguards warn of monsoon surf danger LIFEGUARDS STATIONED at beaches along the west coast have warned people to beware of dangerous conditions following a weather warning issued by Thai Meteorological Department earlier this week.

Somprasong Saengchat of the Phuket Lifeguard Service (PLS), who serves as the chief lifeguard at Patong Beach, told The Phuket News on Monday (June 4), “Tourists can still enjoy the water but only in areas where the yellow-andred flags are flying.

“However, areas where the red flags are flying should be avoided at all costs.

“People are still able swim at Patong Beach as we have 26 lifeguards and volunteers looking after beach safety,” he said.

“The weather is not too worrying right now. The waves are still fine, there are no rip currents. If the rip currents begin to occur I will set up red flags to warn tourists,” he added.

Daren Jenner, Warrant Marine Safety Officer - Phuket Specialist for the International Surf Lifesaving Association (ISLA) warned that swimming between the flags is imperative at Kamala, Laem Singh, Surin, Bang Tao, Layan, Leypang, Nai Thon, Nai Yang and Mai Khao beaches.

Whale-shark catchers’ fish haul auctioned off as evidence > page 5

Blackout sparks fire Huge power outage sets hotel generator alight Eakkapop Thongtub editor@classactmedia.co.th

A woman is apprehensive about entering the surf at Surin Beach this week.

Photo: Supplied “Short period swells are producing one to 1.5 metre surf,” he said.

“There are dangerous shorebreaks and rip currents.

Flash rip currents are possible at any time,” he added.

“Watch for sudden squalls which can produce high winds and sudden increase in wave height. Beware of lightning with these squalls. If thunder roars, go indoors, wait 30 minutes with no thunder before going back outside.

“All the above beaches remain without qualified lifeguards. ISLA recommends expert surfers only at the above beaches. ISLA recommends NO SWIMMING for the general public,” he added.

As of Wednesday, wave heights were expected to reach up to four metres within storm systems continuing through this weekend (June 9-10).

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short circuit in the power supply room is believed to have started a fire at the Dara Hotel last Friday (June 1) after a generator tried to start as a huge power outage affecting large areas of the country also affected Phuket.

All guests and staff were safely evacuated from the hotel, located on the slip road joining Wichit Songkram Rd and Chao Fa West Rd beside the Darasamut Intersection in Wichit, but the fire is estimated to have caused about B1 million in damage.

Lt Col Narong Meungduang of the Wichit Police said the fire started at around 1:30pm, with about 10 fire trucks dispatched to the scene.

“A member of the hotel’s management, Kanit Wacharapin, told us that sparks were seen three times coming from the power supply room before the fire started.

“It took firefighters 30 minutes to put out the blaze,” Lt Col Narong said.

“There were no injures reported as a result of the fire, and it had no effect on the hotel guests,” he added.

Fire teams don breathing equipment as they prepare to enter the Dara Hotel last Friday. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Staff at the hotel reported that the generator attempted to start three times after the power went off after 1pm, the same time that other areas in Phuket were affected by major power supply disruptions caused when the power supply to the national grid provided by a power plant in Laos failed.

The power disruptions affected areas of Bangkok, the Northeast and the Central Plains, and were also felt in Phuket as pockets across the island suffered power outages just after 1pm.

Officials at the Thalang office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) confirmed

that areas in the north of the island were affected, while The Phuket News confirmed that areas as far south as along the bypass road were also left without power.

“We are aware of the problems with the major power supply, but at this stage we have yet to see if Phuket will be severely affected,” one Thalang PEA officer said.

“We know that Mai Khao was without power for at least 30 minutes after 1pm. We are still looking into what caused the blackout, and we are co-ordinating with EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand) about the problem,” he said.

Saharath Boonpotipukdee, EGAT’s Deputy Governor of Renewable Energy, later announced, “Today (June 1, 2018), about 13.06 hours, there were some power outages in the northern area, the Northeast, Central Thailand and Bangkok.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the transmission system 500kV from the Hongsa Thermal Power Plant in Laos failed.

“EGAT in response accelerated power production at the Wang Noi Power Plant in Ayutthaya, the Bangpakong Power Plant in Chachoengsao and the Phranakhon Power Plant in Samut Prakarn,” Mr Saharath said.

“The response was quick and we were able to restore normal power supply to the national grid at 13.55,” he added.

Southern Thailand suffered the country’s worst-ever blackout in 2013 when a major power conduit failed, plunging all 14 provinces in Southern Thailand into darkness.

There is no major power supply production in Phuket, with all electricity on the island delivered by high-voltage cables attached to the bridges that connect Phuket to the mainland.

Maya Bay protection off to a promising start Continued from page 1 ...It will be finished as quickly as possible,” he added.

As for coral-protection measures after Oct 1, Mr Worapoj explained that several areas in the bay had already been roped off with floating buoys and they may well remain in place after the bay is re-opened to tourism.

“We are still thinking about what we can do about that,” Mr Worapoj said.

Meanwhile, Nonthasak Marine, one of Phuket’s busiest speedboat day tour providers, reported that the bay closure had not affected tour sales.

“It has not affected us,” said Sittichai Buaban, Nonthasak Marine’s Sales & Marketing Manager.

“We are still selling the same number of tours, but instead of taking tourists to Maya Bay, we take them to Phi Phi Don and other popular sites,” he said.

“We actually still take them to

Maya Bay for years has been constantly subjected to heavy mass tourism. Photo: DNP the front of Maya Bay where floating buoys have been installed to prevent boats from entering the bay and our tour guides explain to them – and show them – this is as close as you can get for now,” he added.

Regarding the e-ticketing system to be launched to administer the 2,000-person-per-day limit after Oct

1, Park Chief Worapoj confirmed that his officers were still working on developing the system.

“Right now there is no e-ticket system for anyone to use. Anyone who wants to visit the area can just do it the old way and buy a ticket with a tour company,” Mr Worapoj said last week.

“We don’t have an online system for registered tour operators and boat owners. We haven’t got that far yet.

Also, I can’t confirm ticket prices or where or how tickets will be available.

We need to hold more meetings so we can come to some conclusion about it later,” he added.

“Please understand that I very much want to save the environment at Maya Bay and enforce a limit of 2,000 visitors a day there, but making this work is not easy to deal with.

We want private businesses and tour companies to help us push this project together,” Mr Worapoj concluded.

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rain brings Light-rail, Patong tunnel Torrential flash floods, landslide mega-projects hit B53bn The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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huket’s long-awaited light-railproject and the Patong tunnel project are now both in the stages of seeking investors to join as PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) figures, Wilairat Sirisoponsilp, the Deputy DirectorGeneral of the Ministry of Transport’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), announced last Friday (June 1).

Ms Wilairat revealed the news at a meeting held at Phuket Provincial Hall, led by Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong.

The investment needed for the lightrail project now totalled B39.406 billion, Ms Wilairat said.

“This is the total construction cost to build the light rail from Tha Noon (in Phang Nga) to Chalong Circle, to develop tourism and transportation in Phuket,” she said.

Ms Wilairat explained that Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project was submitted in January.

“The Ministry of Transport has now handed over to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) the responsibility of drafting the terms for a PPP for the project.

“The MRTA will work with private investors and the Phuket Transport Com-

Wilairat Sirisoponsilp (centre, left), Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Transport’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), with Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong (centre, right). Photo: PR Dept mittee to draft the terms in accordance with instructions given by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (which approves EIAs),” Ms Wilairat said.

“This will take about four months.

After that stage is complete, the project will be open to bids for eight months,” she added.

Regarding the Patong tunnel project, Ms Wilairat explained that the required investment now totalled B13.917bn.

“Of this, B5.686bn is dedicated to acquiring the land and B8.231bn for the construction,” she said.

The overall plans remain unchanged

since 2015, with the tunnel road comprising two lanes for cars and two lanes for motorbikes. The 900-metre ramp on the Patong side will pass over Phisit Goranee Rd to the hill, and the tunnel itself will be 1.85km long, Ms Wilairat repeated.

The ramp on the Kathu side will be 1.23km long and join Route 4029 (Phra Baramee Rd).

“This project is now also open for private investors, a move approved in May this year,” Ms Wilairat said.

“Now we are having the terms of a PPP for this project drawn up and will presented this to the central government when it is done,” she added.

Governor orders monkey warnings PH U K ET G OV E R NOR Norraphat Plodthong has ordered the local environment chief to expedite the installation of warning signs at key areas to warn to tourists to interact with troupes of wild monkeys appropriately.

Governor Norraphat issued the order to Natawan Jumlongkat, Director of the Phuket Provincial Environment Office, at an early morning meeting last Thursday (May 31).

“Set up regulations on how tourists are to interact with monkeys, and ban feeding any wild monkeys,” Governor Norraphat said.

“It is necessary to ban tourists from giving any food to the monkeys, not even on the footpaths,” he added.

“I want tourists to interact with monkeys in the right way,” Gov Norraphat said.

“Signs warning tourists to beware monkeys must be set up. These sign must be in several languages, namely Thai, English, Chinese and Russian. This is necessary.

Please hurry up to arrange it,” he added.

Governor Norraphat called on local officials to do their part in enforcing the new “monkey rules”.

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Although the National Parks warn tourists may be fined up to B1,000 for feeding wild monkeys, it is not clear whether local officials will do the same. Photo: DNP must provide officials to make sure tourists and other people have to follow the same rules,” he said.

Although the Department of National Parks, Conservation and Wildlife (DNP) warns tourists may be fined up to B1,000 for feeding wild monkeys within national parks, it was not made clear whether local officials would fine tourists for any similar behaviour in Phuket.

Governor Norraphat gave the order after Mr Natawan reported the initial results of the public hearings held to gauge public opinion on what should be done with the growing number of wild monkeys on the island.

So far, public opinion on what action should be taken varies depending on the local

residents in each area affected.

At the meeting at “Wat Khao Rang” (Rang Hill Temple) in Phuket Town on May 28, local residents made their opinion clear for wildlife officials to take steps to control the number of the wild monkeys living on Rang Hill, but asked to let the monkeys stay there.

At the meeting at the Chalerm Sammanakit Hall at Wat Charoen Samanakit (Wat Lang San), located behind Phuket Provincial Court, in Phuket Town on May 25, Phuket Town residents also called for wildlife officials to take steps to control the number of the wild monkeys living on Toh Sae Hill in the heart of Phuket Town, but asked to let the monkeys stay there.

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H EAV Y DOW N POU R S across the island on Tuesday morning (June 5) brought traffic a standstill on major roads and caused a minor landslide on the coastal road north of Patong.

In Kamala, f loodwater run-off pushed a parked Fortuner taxi into a canal. No people were injured in the incident, but many residents’ homes were inundated with floodwater and mud.

The Fortuner was parked in a small residential estate on the west side of the “Kuan Yak” hill when the f loodwaters struck, explained Lt Pasakon Sirichuchot of the Phuket Marine Police, who responded to the call for help with four other Marine Police officers.

“Volunteers and residents are helping to clear the mud out of victims’ houses. In total 14 rental rooms were affected along with 10 motorbikes and the Toyota Fortuner that were damaged,” he said on Tuesday.

“Luckily no one was hurt or killed in the incident,” he added.

The team of Marine Police officers were awaiting assistance from workers from the

The floodwater run-off in Kamala swept a parked Fortuner into a canal. Photo: Pasakon Sirichuchot Kamala Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor).

Lt Pasakon said.

However, many of the OrBorTor workers already had their hands full clearing the debris from a landslide further downhill that partially blocked the coastal road near the U Zenmaya Phuket resort at the northern end of Kalim.

Meanwhile, Traffic Police in Patong warned of flooded roads and intersections in the tourism town, as the police station itself again became surrounded by floodwaters.

The deluge followed the Thailand Meteorological Department (TMD) issuing a severe weather alert for multiple provinces across Southern Thailand on Monday.

The same warning was reissued at 5am Tuesday.

Eakkapop Thongtub

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THEPHUKETNEWS.COM PHUKET SEVEN DAY WEATHER FORECAST

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Rescue workers at the scene.

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GENERAL MANAGER

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Boy, 17, killed in bike crash A 17-Y EA R-OLD T H A I boy died in Pa Khlok last Saturday (June 2) when he lost control of his motorbike causing him to hit the central reservation and then slam into a road sign.

Col Warawut Sensob from the Thalang Police was notified of the accident, in front of the Sitsoonthonbumrung School on the Anusaowaree-Pakhlok Rd at 11:30pm.

Col Warawut together with other officers and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the body of Wasurat “Oat” Palapol from Khon Kaen lying on the road with broken legs and a serious head injury. He was bleeding from the mouth and ears.

Rescue workers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Mr Wasurat at the scene prior to rushing him to Thalang Hospital. However, Mr Wasurat was later pronounced dead.

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Domestic Terminal renovations are over The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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fter 18 months, the initially “year-long” renovations of the Domestic Terminal at Phuket International Airport were declared complete last Thursday (May 31).

Airport General Manager Petch Chancharoen and other Airports of Thailand (AoT) management figures led a press entourage through the facility, which has been plagued with problems since the renovations began on Nov 1, 2016.

“The terminal is fully equipped with facilities for passengers throughout 3,500 square metres of space. There are 66 new check-in counters and eight check-in luggage (xray machines). We have new boarding gates, numbers four through 10, and seven new air bridges at the terminal,” Mr Petch said.

“There are shops and facilities and five bathrooms for men, women and disabled persons, and we have an international-standard security system. All this will increase the capacity of passengers

Phuket Airport General Manager Petch Chancharoen leads the inspection tour last Thursday (May 31). Photo: AoT while the interior of the terminal will be more comfortable and secure,” he added.

“The AoT slogan is, ‘Safety is standard. Service is the heart,” Mr Petch added.

The exact cost of the renovations at the Domestic Terminal have never been revealed as they were carried out under the B5.14-billion expansion of the new International Terminal, which opened on Sept 16 last year, built at a separate cost of B2.45bn.

Regardless, the project has suffered a slew of problems while the work has been car-

ried out, including among all things a repeatingly leaky roof.

A leak that started in January last year, reported as “fixed”, returned to haunt airport officials in December, and was reportedly “fixed” again.

Then came yet another leak just weeks later, notably during a month popular for tourists due to the usual lack of rain, which was blamed as “an incident resulting from construction” – and “not related” to the major roof leakage at the airport earlier that month.

Similarly, just getting the

air conditioning to work has proved troublesome.

Back in February last year complaints about that steaming conditions in the Domestic Terminal gained so much traction on social media that AoT posted online its response: “There were a lot of passengers at this moment. Also, the airconditioning at the Domestic Terminal is still being fixed as it is not working well.

“Right now staff are working to fix the problem by placing fans inside the departure lounge. We have ordered new air-conditioning units but that takes time.”

Yet the problem returned and continued throughout this year, finally leading AoT to reveal on May 17 that airconditioning units will be rented temporarily at a cost of B460,000 as a temporary solution to the soaring temperatures in the Domestic Terminal. No mention of the air conditioning was made during the press tour last Thursday, or since.

Instead, to conclude proceedings last Thursday a tsunami-emergency evacuation drill was held.

Record marathon brings road closures THE AWARD-WINNING 2018 Laguna Phuket Marathon this weekend will welcome more than 8,000 runners from more than 50 countries. As such, people are advised to avoid several roads that will be closed during the race.

Saturday, June 9 1. All roads within Laguna Phuket and main road leading into Laguna Phuket (3:30pm – 7pm).

2. Bake Junction - Lagoon Rd to Laguna Homes, Angsana Villas, Baan Suan Layan Restaurant and Soi Layan 2 (5pm – 7pm).

3. Ban Don-Thalang Market – Ban Koktanoad Rd – Layan Beach (5:15pm – 7:30pm).

4. Layan 2 Rd, Banyan Tree Hotel Beach Rd and Laguna Wedding Chapel (5:20pm – 8pm).

Sunday, June 10 1. All roads within Laguna and

Road closures for Saturday June 9 and Sunday June 10.

Images: Supplied main road leading into Laguna Phuket (4am – midday).

2. Route 4030 from ‘Bake’ to Ban Don-Thalang Market, Ban Khai Rd (4am – 11am).

3. Bann Pru Jam Pa Rd, NaKoh-Pruchuak Rd, Nong-Wah Rd & Baan Riang Rd. (4am – 11am).

4. Soi Nai Yang 2 & Nai Yang

16 to Old Airport Rd (4031) (5:30am – 11am).

5. Ban Don Rd – Koktanoad Rd, New Road behind Thalang Victor y Field (6:30am – 11:30am).

6. Layan 2 Rd, Banyan Tree Hotel Beach Rd and Laguna Wedding Chapel (7am – 12pm).

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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Officials ponder ‘Traffy Fondue’ for complaints Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter2@classactmedia.co.th

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huket officials are looking into using a mobile phone app called “Traffy Fondue” as a way of providing local residents with a way of filing complaints about waste pollution, traffic and other issues and being able to see progress by officials in dealing with the problem.

The idea was proposed by Phuket Provincial Environment office Director Natawan Jumlongkat on Monday (June 4).

Mr Natawan met with officials from Nation Electronic and Computer Technology Center (Nectec), which developed the app and is now in use in Bangkok and other areas in the country.

He also met with senior provincial officials, including Phuket Vice Governor Thawornwat Kongkaew, to explain the app and how it could be used in Phuket.

“The application helps officials in their work regarding several different types of complaints, including flooding, water supply, roads and traffic

‘Traffy Fondue’ directly reports complaints to relevant officials. Images: Nectec jams, the dumping of garbage, noise, foul smells, the cutting down of public trees and wild animals in local neighbourhoods, among other issues,” Mr Natawan said.

“However, people are not familiar with the app. They will have to download it and register to use it. Only registered users will be able to see the complaints filed and the progress by officials in dealing with them,” he explained.

Mr Natawan said that using the Traffy Fondue app was

not aimed at circumventing the good work achieved via Phuket’s “Pineapple Eyes” community through their group on the Line online platform, which is open for all the public to see, rather than to complement it.

“It will work together with the Pineapple Eyes Line group, but our goal is to have people send complaints through this (Traffy Fondue) app because all of the information is directly reported to the director of each relevant government

Whale-shark catchers’ haul auctioned THE PHUKET FISHERIES Office on Monday (June 4) auctioned off the catch seized on board the Phuket fishing boat Sang Samut 3 while the captain and crew are under investigation for catching a whale shark then dumping it into the sea.

The Sang Samut 3 remains at the Seang Arun Pier in Rassada, where it was seized by officials on May 19.

All bidders were able to inspect the catch on the boat from 9am, with registration for bidders opening at the Phuket Fisheries Office, on Dibuk Rd in Phuket Town, at 10:30am.

The auction started at 11am, with the catch being sold as one lot, fetching “about B23,000”, Phuket Fisheries Chief Kowit Kao-ian confirmed on Wednesday (June 6).

“The successful bid was not that much as the fish was starting to go rotten,” he said.

The catch sold comprised: Ornate Threadfin bream (Red Sand Fish) 40kg; Brushtooth Lizardfish, 80kg; Purple-Spotted Bigeye, 60kg; Yellow Stripe Trevally, 80kg; Indian Anchovy, 20kg; Short Bodied Mackerel, 200kg; Barracuda, 40kg; Yellowstripe scad, 20kg; Bigeyed scad, 120kg; Horse mackerel, @thephuketnews

Adm Pichet Tanaset of the Navy’s Third Area Command led the boat inspection on May 19. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub 160kg; Squid, 60kg; Cuttlefish, 20kg; Rainbow Runner, 40kg; Largehead hairtail, 40kg; General fish (unspecified), 120kg; Other unspecified fish, 140kg; The total haul weight is 1,240kg.

Two tons of bycatch fish (fish or other marine species caught unintentionally) was auctioned off the same day.

“We are empowered to seize these fish under Section 105 (2) of the Fisheries Act. All money from the auction will be collected and presented to the court as evidence,” Chief Kowit explained.

Meanwhile, Chalong Police have yet to announce whether or not they will proceed with charges against the captain and crew for catching the whale shark after a formal complaint was filed by officers

from the Phuket office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), who accuse the Sang Samut 3 of breaching Section 66 of the Fisheries Act 2015 and Section 16 of the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2535 (1992).

Breach of Section 66 of the Fisheries Act incurs a fine of between B300,000 and B3 million, “or to a fine of five times the value of the aquatic animals caught or brought on board”, while the Section 16 “wild animals” breach may incur up to four years in jail, a fine of up to B40,000, or both.

The complaint by the DMCR followed a video posted online showing the whale shark strung up on the Sang Samut 3’s deck.

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office in the area where the complaint is filed. People can do both if they want to,” Mr Natawan said.

Of note, Traffy Fondue already has followers on Facebook and more than 150,000 followers on Twitter, but no presence on the Line platform.

However, the idea of using the Traffy Fondue app was still in its early stages, Mr Natawan admitted, noting that many local government officials had yet to be made even aware of the app.

PHUKET NEWS

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Greenpeace flagship ‘Rainbow Warrior’ in port THE GREENPEACE FLAGship Rainbow Warrior will arrive in Phuket this Saturday (June 9) as part of its world tour to raise awareness of key environmental issues.

The renowned ship will be docked at the Phuket Deep Sea Port until next Tuesday (June 12) and will sail to Krabi where it will remain from June 13-14 for its 2018 tour of Thailand entitled “Rainbow Warrior Ship Tour 2018: 100% Renewable Energy for All.” “The ship is visiting the country to join local communities in their call to end the age of coal, and to demand solutions through an inclusive and ecological economic development model based on just, affordable and sustainable renewable energy systems,” The Phuket News was told in an email from Greenpeace on Tuesday (June 5).

Various events have been lined up for the duration of the visit, including an “open boat” excursion allowing visitors to board the ship as well as forums on topics related to the tour attended by experts and civil society groups.

Other side events include a photo exhibit on the impacts of climate change, Greenpeace

The ’Rainbow Warrior’ will be in Phuket this Saturday (June 9) Photo: Greenpeace and the environmental movement, and the history of the Rainbow Warrior. There will also be games, green markets, mini-concerts and a showcase of 1,000-Watt solar energy kits.

The Rainbow Warrior will be open to the public for viewing tours from 9am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday (June 9-10) and next Tuesday (June 12).

“Visitors will get to experience and learn about the ship’s legacy of bearing witness and taking action to prevent environmental crimes around the world through various exhibitions and activities,” the Greenpeace release announced on Tuesday.

“There will also be a meeting with the Rainbow Warrior’s captain, Hettie Geenen, one of the few women skippers in the high seas today,” it added.

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Opinion 6

OPINION

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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

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CHRIS HUSTED

Executive Editor

084 307 7408 execeditor@classactmedia.co.th Fifteen years working in news and covering local issues and events in Phuket, with 18-month hiatus spent working for the Brunei Times on Borneo. From Queensland, Australia; 10 years living in the UK before moving to Phuket in 2000. Degree in business management. Spare time spent sailing or with family.

MATTHEW POND

News & Sports Editor

editor3@classactmedia.co.th Originally from the UK; Has over six years experience as editor and reporter for Phuketindex.com magazine and website, and InPhuket magazine.

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Hit pay dirt with budgets

ometimes it seems that officials genuinely believe that by throwing big numbers around people will not actually notice how much money is disappearing into mega-projects. We should weep.

Wilairat Sirisoponsilp, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Transport’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), was in Phuket last week to announce nothing new: that the investment needed for the light-rail project now totalled B39.406 billion and that the Patong tunnel project is forecast to cost B13.917bn. Together the two projects will cost B53.323bn.

To compare, the projected cost of building the Kra Canal is only B55bn, and for that you get a 135-kilometre-long canal excavated from Sikao in Trang to Ranode in Songkhla on the Gulf of Thailand. At least

editor1@classactmedia.co.th From Melbourne, Australia, Mark holds a BA from La Trobe University where he completed a double major in Anthropology and Media Studies.

He has over eight years experience as a journalist, photographer and editor for several magazines and newspapers.

TANYALUK ‘MANGO’ SAKOOT Reporter 091 165 0260 reporter2@classactmedia.co.th

Doomed dwellings

Re: Heavy rain brings island-wide flash floods, landslide north of Patong No surprise the ground gave way under the hotel. They continually build these large buildings on unstable ground on the steep side of the hills. This whole structure is doomed.

The same with so many others.

Foot ..................................................

No forethought NITAD ‘TAE’ MANEE THANAPONG ‘OAK’ KHAO-AMPHAIPHAN NIRAVIT ‘MOS’ VORAVANITCHA Graphic designers

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the Kra Canal is projected to generate US$300 billion (more than B9.5 trillion) in its first 10 years, something the Patong Tunnel and light rail are very unlikely to achieve.

The budget blowouts for these two projects have been phenomenal and officials seem set on keeping the inflated figures. Transport Minister Lt Gen Arkhom Termpittayapaisith himself in March last year cited a budget of B31bn for the light rail, but only three months later the budget had jumped

by B9bn to accommodate six underpasses that were now deemed necessary.

Compare that to the total B3.08bn spent on all five Phuket underpasses either already built or still under construction.

Light-rail tunnels will cost more, but that much more?

As for the Patong tunnel costing B8.231bn for the construction and a further

B5.686bn for acquiring the land alone, we look forward to seeing the land acquisition register to see how much land was bought for that princely sum and who received the payouts, yet somehow if it is difficult to believe that information will become available despite the government project being required by law to have all information publicly available.

You see, projects like these, including Thailand’s most expensive Welcome Gate at the north end of the island, are not “for the benefit of the people”, no matter how much the word “Pracharat” is bandied about.

They serve just one purpose, and regular citizens just don’t factor in the equation.

Remember that these figures are in the billions of baht, where B100 million is just one digit difference in the first decimal place. What would you do with B100mn baht?

TOP 10 STORIES ON thephuketnews.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Heavy rain brings flash floods, landslides Major electricity disruptions hit Phuket Phuket Opinion: It’s time to protect our children Use Phuket beaches with caution, say lifeguards Phuket bus driver dies while repairing brakes Call for investors as Phuket’s light rail, tunnel projects hit B52.9bn Confusion reigns ahead of Maya Bay closure Make marijuana legal, says Phuket Poll Bombs Away: Dangerous refuelling of speedboats directly from beaches comes under fire Phuket taxi driver flees scene after going offroad, hitting power pole

Visit thephuketnews.com for all the latest news

HAVE YOUR SAY

MARK KNOWLES

Lifestyle Editor

EDITORIAL

Re: Khao Lak gears up to take tourism to the next level Great, so before Thais completely kill Phuket, they can get a good start on trashing the Khao Lak area. All the planned infrastructure is focused on getting more people there, but no mention of sewerage/ wastewater treatment or trash management to accommodate new growth. They haven’t learned anything from Phuket, except grab as many baht as you can before the golden goose is dead.

Ben Pendejo ..................................................

Safety last

Re: Bombs Away: Dangerous refuelling of speedboats

directly from Phuket beaches comes under fire It has been going on for years.

But in Chalong Bay they have a refuelling station safe and away from the beach, why don’t the speed boats use that?

In Rawai there is also a bridge long out in the water, why is this not getting used for safe refuelling?

Wilma Maybe they should also look at the Chinese restaurant opposite these speedboats that every day empties their kitchen water into the ocean.

Zib ..................................................

Risky business

Re: Call for investors as Phuket’s light rail, Patong tunnel projects hit B52.9bn Great idea, invest your money into something that will be built with the least amount of thought, no project management, years overdue, years over budget, what could go wrong?

Malczx7r Oh brother, given the total incompetence with the various and largely unnecessary

underpass fiasco around this little island just imagine the utter chaos they will cause with these massive construction projects! Phuket is getting too big for its boots.

Pauly 44 “Phuket’s long-awaited lightrail-project”… this project is only long awaited by the people who stand to profit from it… nobody I know (Thais, expats or tourists) think this is a good plan for Phuket transportation – yet still they press ahead with it.

Stegee 68 ..................................................

Misspent money

Re: Phuket Opinion: It’s time to protect our children Spending B39.406 billion for the light-rail project may not help local folks to go to work or school in their daily life.

It would be better to use the money for a mass-transit system for Phuket to reduce the number of motorcycles and cars on the roads. Too many people are killed or crippled for life by mismanagement about road transportation from decision-makers.

Asterix

Paying lip service to reef protection

Re: Confusion reigns ahead of Maya Bay closure, June 1 Once again, the big puffed up chest when announcing they will save the reef, but lip service and reality in Thailand are poles apart.

My prediction is it will all fall in a heap because it was all a publicity stunt done without even considering the logistics required. I suspect the whole event may cause more environmental damage than before.

Chris 007 ..................................................

Freedom to smoke

Re: Make marijuana legal, says Phuket Poll Wow. So basically 94% of people think it should be OK to be able at least to smoke this naturally occurring, nontoxic, non-carcinogenic and non-addictive substance in their own homes. And without having to pretend to have “night blindness” or “sleep apnea” or any of the made-up maladies people in America and Amsterdam have to declare. Good.

Captain Jack 69

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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

THAILAND NEWS

7

Dead whale sparks fears Short-finned pilot’s death raises concerns about marine debris BANGKOK Bangkok Post

T

he death of a male shortfinned pilot whale with a shocking number of plastic bags in its stomach in Songkhla province has sparked grave concerns about marine debris and the threat it poses to the marine ecological system.

The whale died last Friday (June 1), a few days after it ran aground in Chana district on May 28, and drew wide public attention to yet another case of a marine animal ingesting human refuse after 80 plastic bags, weighing about 8 kilograms, were found in its stomach.

As a result, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources is seizing on this opportunity to raise public awareness about marine litter, especially plastics, which are known to be responsible for the deaths of seabirds and marine mammals.

Jatuporn Buruspat, the department’s director-general, said last Friday, which was also World Ocean Day, that the agency will meet those in the plastic bag supply chain, including producers and users, to discuss how they can work to curb the amount of plastic that ends up

@thephuketnews

Trapping trash in nets or behind barriers near the mouths of rivers and canals can prevent massive amounts of traffic from endangering marine life. Photo: Stormwatersystems.com via Bangkok Post in the sea.

He said more needs to be done to supplement proposed measures to reduce plastic waste which include limiting the use of plastic bags and placing traps at river mouths.

A study is underway into setting up buoys in Samut Songkram and Samut Prakan provinces to trap garbage before it flows into the sea, he said, adding that next year the department will buy waste-collecting vessels to clear the litter.

According to Mr Jatuporn, one of the challenges is to engage all

state agencies concerned in dealing with mainland garbage. About 80% of the debris in the sea off Thailand comes from the mainland.

“The rubbish found in the stomach was not from Thailand alone, going by the product names on the plastic bags. The issue of marine debris needs collaboration from several countries in Asean and all stakeholders,” he said.

Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said the whale’s death should serve as a wake-up

call regarding marine debris and plastic waste.

The amount of plastics dumped into the sea stands at between 100,000-400,000 tons yearly, he said, noting that microplastics are also a cause for concern.

According to the Department of Pollution Control, Thailand generates 27.4 million tons of rubbish per year, of which 11.70mn tons is properly managed with 8.52mn tons being recycled. It is estimated that around 80% of marine debris comes from ineffectively managed mainland waste.

Marine conservationist Thon Thamrongnawasawat said on Monday (June 4) that the whale’s death added weight to the claim that Thailand is a major contributor of marine debris.

He said the world community is now watching Thailand after the man-made nature of the whale’s death was reported worldwide.

He also expressed concerns the country could face trade sanctions over “unfriendly practices towards marine life”.

“The death of the whale only adds weight to the claim that we are the sixth-largest contributor of ocean waste. It means that all of what we have done in the past, especially

campaigns concerning appropriate refusal disposal, have failed. We must do something different to limit single-use plastic. If we do nothing, we risk trade sanctions,” he said.

Dr Thon, who is also deputy dean of Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Fisheries, noted that the European Union has already proposed a ban on plastic straws and cutlery.

Dr Thon also urged department stores to come together and charge customers for plastic bags, in order to limit the use of the material.

A campaign by many department stores to reduce plastic bag use has had limited results, he said, adding that while the government initiatives to ban the dropping of cigarette butts on the beach and cap seals on drinking water bottles, its attempts to address plastic bags and straws have been inadequate.

To mark Tuesday’s (June 5) World Environment Day, under the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution: If You Can’t Reuse It, Refuse It”, the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion picked Or Tor Kor market for a pilot project to encourage fresh markets to reduce plastic and foam packaging.

Or Tor Kor is Bangkok’s highestquality fruit and agricultural market in Chatuchak district.

8

THAILAND NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Forensic police arrive at the house of missing businesswoman Pinyada Paenkaew (inset) in Muang district of Songkhla last Saturday (June 2). Photo: Assawin Pakkawan

Suspected murderer surrenders to police SONGKHLA THE FORMER HUSBAND of a missing businesswoman has turned himself in to police after a warrant was issued for his arrest following the discovery of charred human remains in a swamp.

Kritsada “Roj” Maikhao, 49, surrendered to police late last Sunday night (June 3) as deputy national police chief Gen Wirachai Songmetta arrived in the province to supervise the investigation, according to Thai media reports.

During questioning Mr Kritsada denied any involvement in the disappearance of 48-year-old Pinyada Paenchan, who is now believed to have been murdered after ashes and burned bones were found in a marsh in Hat Yai last Friday (June 1).

The suspect was identified as Ms Pinyada's ex-husband.

Yesterday night Gen Wirachai and his team inspected Ms

Pinyada’s house and forensic officers reportedly found evidence suggesting she may have been killed there and that more than one person was involved.

Her black Mercedes-Benz was missing, and Ms Pinyada reportedly also had two pickup trucks and a big motorbike, all of which were also missing.

Ms Pinyada was last seen on May 23, and relatives filed a missing person complaint with Muang district police station in Songkhla on May 26. Relatives told police that Ms Pinyada ran a direct-sales business and sold life insurance and was wealthy.

Last Friday police searching a local swamp found charred pieces of a human skull and other bones, ashes, pieces of broken pavement, burned motorcycle tyres and a diamondstudded ring in a local marsh.

Relatives taken to the scene last Friday said they believed the remains were those of Ms Pinyada.

Bangkok Post

The chart shown by the Tourist Police Bureau showing the forced child prostitution, at a press conference at the Royal Thai Police Office in Bangkok today (June 5). Photo: Tourist Police

Indian, teen arrested for child prostitution PATTAYA

Bangkok Post

P

olice in Pattaya have arrested an Indian man for paying for sex with a 14-year-old girl from Ubon Ratchathani and the 17-yearold girl who was the alleged procurer.

Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, said on Tuesday (June 5) that Parmod Kumar was arrested at Jomtien Plaza Residence in Bang Lamung district, Chonburi, last

Saturday (June 2).

Police obtained a warrant for his arrest last Friday (June 1) for allegedly paying for sex with a 14-year-old girl, identified by police only as “A”, at Marina Inn on Pattaya Sai Song Rd in Pattaya on May 7.

Last Friday police arrested the 17-year-old procurer, called “B”, and found three other girls at the Red Light Guesthouse and Faed Sam Apartment. Two of the three girls prostitutes were not lured into the business, police said.

Maj Gen Surachet said the 14-year-old met B on Facebook

and was invited to visit Pattaya for a vacation. B picked up A in Ubon Ratchathani and she stayed at the Faed Sam Apartment in Pattaya.

B then took A along when she was selling sex services to customers at bars and restaurants. A stayed in the rooms where B was providing the service.

A wanted to return to Ubon Ratchathani but B would not take her back and she had no money of her own. Then B had A allow the Indian man to have sex with her for B5,000, and took a B1,000 share.

Afterwards, A f led the apartment and returned to Ubon Ratchathani where she filed a complaint.

B followed A to the northeastern province, intending to take her back to Pattaya, but she would not go.

Instead, B brought a few other teenage girls from Ubon Ratchathani to Pattaya.

Police laid several charges against the Indian man, who faces possible punishment of up to 20 years in jail and fines of up to B400,000. The 17-yearold procurer faces similar charges and punishment.

Regime under pressure to lift politics ban BANGKOK PRESSURE IS MOUNTING on the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to lift the ban on political activities immediately in light of the Constitutional Court’s ruling in favour of an NCPO order amending the organic law on

political parties.

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday (June 5) ruled that Order No.53/2560 issued on Dec 22 last year by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in his capacity as the NCPO chief did not violate the 2017 constitution.

The court ruling was in response to petitions that

two main political parties, Pheu Thai and the Democrats, earlier filed separately through the Office of the Ombudsman.

The amendments require members of existing political parties to reconfirm their membership and verify their qualifications, as well as pay membership fees, within 30 days of April 1.

Parties are also required to hold general assemblies, elect leaders and executives, write a manifesto and regulations, and set up provincial branches within 90 days of the NCPO ban on political activities being lifted.

The petitioners argued that the amendments did not protect their members and imposed an unreasonably heavy burden on them, limited their rights and liberties and were discriminatory.

However, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled against these charges.

In light of the court’s ruling, Yutthaporn Issarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said that the NCPO must allow political activities straight away.

It is important to allow parties to resume activities so they can prepare for the general election expected in February next year. Otherwise, the poll would not be seen to be free and fair given that

Official spokesman Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd (centre) and aides are tasked with defending the continuing ban on political activities ordered more than four years ago by the NCPO. Photo: Bangkok Post / File some new parties can now proceed with their activities while existing parties are still banned from doing so, Mr Yutthaporn said.

Chousak Sirinil, head of Pheu Thai’s legal team, said that the sooner the ban is lifted, the better.

If and when the ban is lifted, the party must rush to recruit members and set up at least four regional branches as stipulated by the organic law on political parties. Setting up a party branch is no easy task because each branch must have at least 500 members, he said.

Gen Prayut on Tuesday refused to be drawn over his proposed meeting with political parties to discuss issues associated with the poll preparations.

“The election roadmap will remain the same. It will be in February 2019. Don’t criticise or push for an earlier election,” he stated when asked about his timeframe.

Speculation is rife the NCPO will lift the ban this month to allow parties to prepare for the poll, which has already been delayed numerous times.

Bangkok Post thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

ASIA NEWS

9

Vietnam’s death row art A glimpse inside one of the world’s leading execution prisons VIETNAM Jenny Vaughan and Tran Thi Minh Ha

This picture shows a collection of intricately crafted animals and flowers made by Nguyen Van Chuong, an inmate on Vietnam’s death row, in Hanoi. Photo: Nhac Nguyen / AFP

N

guyen Truong Chinh proudly holds up intricately crafted animals, flowers and hearts – secret gifts made from plastic bags by a son on Vietnam’s death row.

The palm-sized creations that his son and other inmates have furtively made and smuggled out of their solitary cells offer a rare glimpse of prison life in Vietnam, believed to be one of the world’s leading executioners.

They’re also an emotional lifeline for desperate parents fighting to free the children they say have been wrongly convicted.

“Any time we receive the gifts from my son I feel like he’s here with me, like he’s come back home,” Chinh said, clenching his jaw to hold back tears.

His 35-year-old son Nguyen Van Chuong, convicted of murdering a police officer a decade ago, is one of a handful of prisoners known to have made the artwork that is officially banned on death row.

The families suspect they made the pieces with discarded plastic bags passed on by fellow prisoners, shredded and woven into figurines.

They were once smuggled out by prisoners released after serving their terms but relatives stopped receiving them a few years ago, leading Chinh and other parents to fear guards have cracked down on the forbidden prison pastime.

They’re too scared to ask about the practice during brief monthly visits closely monitored by prison staff.

But Chinh says the art still drives his decade-long fight to free his son, who he insists was nowhere near the scene of the crime he was convicted of.

“When I see the animals, I know somehow that my son is stable enough to create these things, that he is mentally strong,” said Chinh, sitting with a bag full of documents on his son’s case.

“They motivate our fight for justice.”

Little is known about Vietnam’s prison system, but in a rare report last year the Ministry of Public Security said 429 people were executed between August 2013 and June 2016.

That is an average of 147 per year – putting Vietnam @thephuketnews

among the world’s top executioners along with China and Iran.

Details about prison conditions are scarce and media access is heavily restricted.

But the law requires death row inmates to be held in solitary confinement and monitored around the clock.

Prisoners deemed “dangerous” have one foot shackled for most of the day, released only for 15 minutes to bathe inside their cell, where they also eat and use the toilet.

“In many cases, acts of torture, coupled with the denial of medical care, have resulted in deaths in custody that are almost never investigated by the authorities,” Andrea Giorgetta from International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said.

The MPS report said 36 death row inmates died behind bars between 2011 and 2016, without saying how.

In letters to his family, Chuong said he was tortured in custody: hung upside down and naked with a dirty sock in his mouth and beaten during interrogation.

Police electrocuted his genitals and prodded him with needles until he confessed under duress, he wrote.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry rejected allegations of torture as “false information” in a statement and said it does not do anything to harm the “honour and dignity” of inmates.

Relatives of the death row artists say their work offers a necessary diversion from constant fear of execution.

Prisoners are given little notice before their execution, which since 2010 has been carried out by lethal injection.

Before then, inmates were awakened before dawn, given a final meal and a cigarette, tied to a post and shot by five officers, with one final “humane shot” to the head, according to a 2016 report by the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights.

Today locally manufactured drugs are used to kill prisoners, though advocates complained of inhumane deaths after a man reportedly took two hours to die in 2011.

It’s an unimaginable end for the families who refuse to give up hope their sons will

Nguyen Truong Chinh displaying portraits of his son and death row inmate Nguyen Van Chuong. Photo: Nhac Nguyen / AFP

one day be freed.

Nguyen Thi Loan has sent more than 1,500 letters to the government proclaiming the innocence of her son Ho Duy Hai, 32, and gave up her land, home and job as a vendor to

fight for his release.

“I’m determined to seek justice and fairness for Ho Duy Hai until my last breath,” she said of her son who was jailed over the murder of two women in 2008.

His scheduled execution was called off at the 11th hour in 2014 by the president, raising hopes his case could be reopened.

In his earlier years in prison, Hai sent shrimp, fish and miniature horses as gifts to his lawyers, former teachers and relatives.

But she hasn’t received one in years and fears jailers have banned the practice.

“Making those gifts didn’t harm anyone. Why won’t they let my son do it?” she said in tears.

Supporters hope to raise awareness about Hai’s case through his artwork, which was put on display alongside Chuong’s pieces earlier this year at an underground show by activist artist Thinh Nguyen.

He started collecting the pieces from families years ago after he met them outside government offices calling for their sons’ release.

“When I put these animals on show, their stories are known,” Thinh said. “I look at these and I see a lot of hope.”

AFP

10 WORLD NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Cleaning the ‘sacred lake’

High in the Andes, indigenous women tackle Titicaca pollution BOLIVIA

A group of indigenous women from Bolivia and Peru supported by a NGO carry out the cleaning of garbage washed along the coast of the Titicaca lake in an attempt to mitigate the harmful effects of pollution on native fauna and flora. Photo: Aizar Raldes / AFP

José Arturo Cárdenas

U

nder a blazing sun on the arid banks of Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes Mountains, around a dozen indigenous women work tirelessly to collect cans, bottles and plastic bags.

The women – with their long black braids, traditional red bell-shaped skirts, thick woollen jackets and felt bowler hats – hope to set an example for other local residents and tourists who leave tons of garbage by the lake every year.

But their effor ts may amount to nothing more than window dressing – wastewater from the surrounding region is contaminating the lake, which many local people rely on for fishing to make a living.

At 8,500 square kilometres, Titicaca – which straddles the border between Bolivia and Peru – is as big as the French island of Corsica.

And at an altitude of more than 3,800 metres, it is the world’s highest body of fresh water that is navigable by large vessels.

The local Aymara people call it a “sacred lake” – legend has it that from these waters emerged Manco Capac, son of the Sun God, and his wife Mama Ocllo, who then founded the ancient city of Cusco, the capital of the Inca empire.

On the beach of Santiago de Huata, a town on the Bolivian shore of the lake, the women use latex gloves to lift bits of rubbish one by one and put them in huge biodegradable bags.

Such clean-up days are organised once or twice a year to raise awareness about the devastating pollution.

In the dry season, when the water level is low, the scale of the disaster is all the more evident.

“We find plastic, paper,

bottles and all types of rubbish,” even “used diapers”, says Helena Condori, a tradeswoman in the Peruvian village of Juliaca on the opposite shore of the lake.

“It hurts me that we are cleaning up what others throw away.”

But she is full of enthusiasm despite the immense task at hand, because “it makes us feel that Peru and Bolivia are more united than ever”.

The women have already cleaned the beach at Puerto

Perez, also on the Bolivian side.

But environmentalists and local officials point to a bigger problem: the wastewater now flowing into the lake.

Less than 30 years ago, people could still drink the lake water, but no more.

It is “a problem that is causing serious pollution”, says Fanny Zeballos, an environmental engineer for the non-governmental organisation Agua Sustentable (Sustainable Water).

The organisation supports the clean-up initiative, although Zeballos acknowledges it “will not be enough”.

Bolivian local councillor Reina Silva, who is also taking part in the clean-up day, says the effects of the pollution are all too plain to see.

“Our animals feed on totora (plants) and they die of diarrhoea. Our cows and sheep drink water and die.

That’s how we know that it’s polluted,” she said.

“I feel bad – I feel that

I’m dying too.”

Agua Sustentable puts together the team of local women and provides the equipment to measure the level of pollution in the lake.

This time, they have collected about 100 kilograms of rubbish.

Juan Jose Ocola, head of the bilateral Lake Titicaca Authority operated by the two countries, says pollution is concentrated on some banks but does not affect the entire lake.

“Lake Titicaca is exposed to a serious pollution problem, as it’s the receptacle for all the pollutants that are produced” in the surrounding area, he says.

The contamination comes mainly from three urban centres, home to some 1.6 million people: Puno and Juliaca on the Peruvian side, and El Alto, next to the capital La Paz, in Bolivia.

Ocola said that although the local women are making “major” effor ts, two things are badly needed: the construction of watertreatment plants and new garbage dumps.

Per u has al ready announced the construction of 10 water-treatment plants, at the cost of US$400 million (B12.881 billion), while Bolivia has earmarked US$80mn (B2.562bn) for a similar project in El Alto.

AFP

Farmer begs EU to spare wandering cow A PREGNANT RUNAWAY cow from Bulgaria which roamed into neighbouring Serbia has been condemned to death because she crossed the EU border, prompting a desperate plea from her owner last Thursday (May 31) to save her.

Red cow Penka, due in around three months, wandered away from its herd near the Bulgarian village of Kopilovtsi on May 12, straying over a border checkpoint into non-EU Serbia.

But after it was returned to its owner Ivan Haralampiev by a farmer over the frontier, Bulgarian officials said the animal must be put down because of strict EU rules – despite being given a clean bill of health by Serbian vets.

“The motives are that she had left the borders of the

Pregnant cow Penka accidentally left the EU when it strayed from Bulgaria into neighbouring Serbia.

Photo: AFP EU” and cannot be imported back into the European Union, Haralampiev told public BNT television last Thursday as he pleaded for his cow to be saved.

“A vet comes and orders it to be immediately culled!”

The farmer also lamented how the cow was able to saunter over the border unchecked.

“How come nobody attempted to stop it?” he said.

AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

BUSINESS NEWS 11

End of days for fruit wines?

Excise tax shakes up wine sales as fruit wines take the punch FOOD & BEVERAGE The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

T

he new regime of excise tax on alcohol introduced last year has hit the island with blank shelf space in stores evidencing specific product lines of wines drying up as the market recalibrates demand for wine products under the new taxaffected prices.

The current effects felt in the retail sector are most likely to be fruit wines, explains Bart Duijkers, Area Director – South for major distributor Bangkok Beer and Beverages (BB&B).

“The wine in question is categorised as ‘fruit wine’, which by law is normal wine mixed with at least 15% fruit juice, mainly apple, pineapple, passionfruit juice and so on,” he explains.

“Up until September last year this category enjoyed very low excise taxes, which are levied on many products including wines. Due to this ‘fruit wine’ category becoming very popular the government decided to raise the tax on this category which resulted in approximately

30% price increases.

“Most importers knew this was happening and decided to import a lot of stock before the tax increase. Once that stock runs out, new stock is imported at the higher tax rate,” Mr Duijkers adds.

Further, the same effect is being seen where prices for the same product are on average B100 higher in Phuket than in other expat and tourist enclaves such as Chiang Mai and Samui.

“There is no difference in tax treatment between provinces, so the only reason why Samui may have stock and Phuket doesn’t is because wine sales are much stronger in Phuket and thus stock runs out faster,” Mr Duijkers explains.

Identifying fruit wines shelved among genuine wines in stores has often been perceived as a tricky practice, though Mr Duijkers notes that it is a lot easier than most people think.

“Wines which are in the fruit wine category are always marked ’fruit wine’ on the back label but most labels by law cannot mention the grape variety, such as pinot noir and so on, so usually the label simply refers to wine as a ‘dry white’ or ‘bold red’ or

The new excise tax may spell the end of fruit wines, but that may not be a bad thing, says Bart Duijkers, Area Director – South for major distributor Bangkok Beer and Beverages (BB&B). similar terms,” he says.

In short, the new form of excise tax has levelled the playing field among alcohol products. The tax instituted with effect from Sept 16 last year saw all wines, and other alcohol products, taxed on percentage volume of pure alcohol, not the prices charged in the market.

Banks to sell products via phone, post INSURANCE T H E OF F IC E OF T H E Insurance Commission (OIC) is allowing financial institutions to sell insurance products via telesales and post offices, aiming to expand insurance penetration in rural provinces.

OIC Secretary-General Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn said the OIC’s board of directors recently approved such permission. Bank staff are still forbidden to engage in @thephuketnews

OIC Secretar y - General Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn insurance sales outside bank branches, he said.

The permission awaits regulatory revision as the draft process is ongoing. Once the draft is finished, the OIC will forward

it to the Office of the Council of State for consideration.

At present, banks are only permitted to sell life and nonlife insurance products at their branches and via an online channel. If enforced, such permission would bring structural changes to distribution channels of the insurance industry in the near future.

Insurance premiums for 2018 are projected at B871 billion, an increased of 6.4-7.4% from last year.

Bangkok Post

“A general rule of thumb working example is that the tax is B1,500 per one litre of pure alcohol, and vendors just work out the percentage of alcohol in the unit being sold, say one bottle of wine, from that,” Mr Duijkers explains.

“In general, wine went up about 10-15% in price, and the end net effect has been

that the playing field became level, which was good for us (BB&B).

“Under the new tax, in our portfolio 60% of the wines became cheaper. We actually improved our competitiveness because a lot of our competitors’ prices went up,” he adds.

With the focus on the alcohol content, the tax has even resulted in locally produced Thai wines now being sold not much cheaper than imported wine. The answer for this is simple: “Because the import tax is not the bulk of the tax.

It’s the excise tax,” Mr Duijkers explains.

The tax change in 2017 also moved the tax point and vendors must prove five points in the market where the price is being supplied with only 5-10% variance, he adds.

Where once that was a loophole for vendors to “cook the books”, it is no longer an option without risking genuine legal action and fines by authorities.

“Now they actually check,” Mr Duijkers says. “They now come and ask to see invoices and they will check with other venues in the area and compare the prices for identical products to make sure the difference is not that great.

“If there is a big difference, people can get into quite a bit of trouble… They are tightening up the regulations,” he notes.

What Phuket is currently experiencing may spell the end of fruit wines as a popular consumer choice, and eventually may see wine producers remove the product from the Thai market entirely, but to Mr Duijkers that may not be a bad thing.

“Fruit wine suited a certain price point but not much more.

It was never a true wine and it was created only to serve a specific need in the market,” he says.

Further, the move to even produce fruit wines under the new excise tax may not even prove profitable when competing against genuine wines, even import wines.

“Thailand also has agreements with many countries on a range of products, like coffee as well as wine, where there is no import duty,” Mr Duijkers notes.

“For wine from Australia and even Chile, the import duty is zero, and wine from these regions now have a price perception advantage over locally made wines.”

Meanwhile, for now, distributors are continuing to provide fruit wines, waiting to see if the market will support them – or if the product line will need to be dropped entirely.

“BB&B also brings in fruit wines under the label Belleville and Sol de Chile. We still have stock of Sol de Chile under old prices – for now,” Mr Duijkers notes.

12 BUSINESS NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Build it and they will come

How Thailand’s great infrastructure leap is reshaping tourism TOURISM The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

T

hailand’s great push forward on mega-transportation projects is seeing strong dividends being paid in its tourism industry, reports Bill Barnett, founder and Managing Director of hotel industry expert consultancy C9 Hotelworks.

O ne key ex a mple i s Phuket, where passenger arrivals grew by nearly 19% in the first four months of the year at the newly upgraded and expanded Phuket International Airport, Mr Barnett notes.

“Why Phuket? One only has to look at the upward trajectory of low-cost carriers (LCCs) and supercharged airlift. Underpinning the remarkable growth story is the exponential rise of Mainland China, which registered a 50% year-on-year increase, followed closely by Russia at 47%.

“By year-end, a record high 9.7 million passenger

arrivals are expected to pass through the airport,” he added.

Direct flights to Phuket this year as of May has witnessed 23 new routes introduced to the destination with 19 being from Mainland China according to C9 Hotelworks’ latest market research. Currently there are 33 cities in China that link to the destination, door to door.

“A defined shift in geographic source markets over the past ten years has experienced rising demand for

non-beach centric activities.

With the strong purchasing power of tourists, especially Chinese, Russians and Australians, more retail and tourism attractions are developing on the island,” Mr Barnett explained.

“The changing mix of visitors is ref lected in the island’s hotel performance with leading hotel data benchmarking group STR reporting that in 2018 upper midscale hotels have shown the highest demand growth of 10%

compared to the same period last year,” he added.

“Phuket is gradually transforming to a more urbanised holiday destination rather than a pure beach getaway. Resortoriented retail is a rising force, with our data showing nearly 200,000 square metres of Grade A net lettable area in the pipeline,” he adds.

“Another spin-off of the tourism numbers is a series of impressive upcoming themed tourism attractions including Vana Nava Water Park, Blue Tree Water and Entertainment Park and Aquaria at the new Central Festival mall extension. The powerful mix of retail and tourism is most evident in the island growth belt from Kathu to an ever-

expanding Patong.”

Citing the “Phuket Hotel Market Update May 2018” report by C9 Hotelworks, Mr Barnett points out that Phuket presently has a total of 1,744 tourist accommodation establishments with 84,427 keys as of Q1 2018, which includes both registered and unregistered properties.

The report notes there are 36 new hotels in the pipeline with 27 properties affiliated with international hotel brands. In addition, with the intention to attract real estate buyers, 10 upcoming mixeduse properties will a have hotel residences component, which accounts for 28% of total incoming supply.

Summing up Phuket’s

pathway to sustainable growth, Mr Barnett says, “The announcement that the AoT (Airports of Thailand) is set to invest an estimated US$1.8 billion (B57.87bn) in a second airport just over the Sarasin Bridge in Phang Nga bodes well for fundamentals.

“Creating a broader Greater Phuket Tourism Triangle that includes Phang Nga Bay and the prime west coast beach strip from Natai to Thai Muang on the mainland will bring more diversity and refresh the island’s maturing global appeal.”

To download the full “Phuket Hotel Market Update May 2018” report by C9 Hotelworks, visit c9hotelworks.com

Socially responsible investment grows in trend as decision influencer INVESTMENT SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE investment (SRI) is on the rise in the investing world, raising the questions of how should investors react to the growing trend of socially responsible investment and how to ensure that CSR initiatives are truly impactful and relevant to the market needs, and ultimately how CSR changes our behaviour and society.

This was the message shared at a forum held at the CUHK (China University Hong Kong) Business School

last month, with leading speaking Prof Cao Jie, Coordinator of the MPhil-PhD studies in the CUHK Business School’s Finance Program.

“SRI is an investment discipline that considers not only the financial returns but also the social impact of the firm. It has been growing rapidly recently. In the US, every one out of five dollars goes to SRI and in total there are US$8.1 trillion in assets involved,” said Prof Cao, based on his recent research paper “Investor Preference, Corporate Social Performance, and Stock Prices”.

This growing trend, according to him, will have an effect on their investment decisions.

“When investors find undervalued stocks, they are more willing to buy those with good social performance, rather than those with bad social performance,” he said.

“Similarly, when investors identify overvalued stocks, they are more willing to sell ‘bad stocks’ or those with bad social performance, leaving a negative abnormal return for the ‘good stocks’ in future,” he added.

As for China, SRI is still

in its developing stage but “due to the rising awareness of social responsibility and the supportive policies, it has become more popular and crucial,” explained Elaine Zhang, a PhD student of Prof.

Cao, who was also speaking at the forum.

Prof Cao said that in view of the growing trend, the government needs to educate investors properly to ensure they can differentiate between financial performance and social responsibility performance, and choose the investment products wisely based on personal preferences and investment horizons.

“It is still unclear how SRI will affect the financial market in future, however, we’re certain that its importance will continue to grow,” he said.

Diana Tsui, Head of Global Philanthropy of Asia Pacific at JP Morgan, believes it’s important to approach social responsibility issues with a global perspective.

“As a corporate company, I believe it is important that our strategy aligns and reflects the organisation’s core competence. That’s why in JP Morgan, we focus on economic inclusion and one of our investments is to provide skill trainings to underprivileged

Prof Cao Jie, Coordinator of the MPhil-PhD studies in the CUHK Business School’s Finance Program. Photo: CUHK individuals so that they can enter the workforce and secure quality jobs,” she said. “We want to create economic opportunities for all, not just for a small group of elites.”

To make sure their good effort and work actually offers solutions to market needs, the JPMC Foundation also funded Tsinghua University and Fudan University the New Skills at Work research to understand the skills gaps in the labour market.

“This way we can help validate our effort to make the right intervention, and also help other key stakeholders, including the policy makers, to come up with informed decisions for the current stage

of economic development in China,” she said. “What we really want is to build the industry connection and see that our effort is relevant to the skills needed for the growing sectors.”

To help the company achieve successful and sustainable CSR initiatives, it’s crucial to build a good team with the right talents. “Having the right talent is critical in building relationships with our partner organisations and managing risks,” she added.

This article is provided by China Business Knowledge @ CUHK, the knowledge platform of CUHK Business School.

Visit bschool.cuhk.edu.hk thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

The battle for the best digital assistant app

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

14

Remembering to live every day to its fullest

16

THE REAL DEAL Rotkaew ‘Nun’ and Sangchan ‘Yai’ Suttitummanon bring almost three decades of experience cooking southern Thai dishes to the kitchen at Ta Khai. Photo: Supplied

Rosewood’s Ta Khai restaurant is an elegant showcase for authentic southern Thai cuisine Mark Knowles editor1@classactmedia.co.th

R

osewood Phuket is the newest addition to the island’s ultraluxury hotel market and as such it has been eager to capture the limelight in our very competitive fine dining scene.

I recently visited Rosewood’s flagship Thai restaurant, Ta Khai, to see first hand how the international brand has taken the plunge into Thailand, given that Phuket is Rosewood’s first hotel to open in the Kingdom.

Ta Khai overlooks the serene Tri Trang Beach and sits adjacent to the Rosewood resort at the southern end of Patong. The restaurant has its own roadside entrance (a blessing which allows casual diners easy access) which leads down a set of stairs to a verdant natural amphitheatre that faces the sea at beach level. Ta Khai has been built from the ground up to make the most of this beautiful location and once you are there it feels like you are in a remote island hideaway and quickly forget about the outside world.

As you enter you walk past a rustic market garden on one side and a fish pond and open-air kitchen on the other.

The friendly staff welcomed us and ex@thephuketnews

plained that the garden supplies many of the herbs and vegetables used in the kitchen and the pond allows guests to select and net their choice of fish to be cooked and served.

As we approached our table the view to the water was dominated by an immense and truly majestic fig tree, its base wrapped in multicoloured fabric in reverence of its beauty and the spirits believed to dwell within. We choose to sit outside and enjoy the warm evening air, but there is also an air-conditioned room made from an old Thai farmer’s barn with its side replaced by huge plates of glass. The wooden fixtures used throughout the restaurant are beautifully weathered and lend a timeless, rustic feel to the place. It truly is a seamless match between the man-made buildings and their natural surroundings.

With the authenticity of the surroundings, it would hardly do to have a foreign chef heading up the kitchen, instead Ta Khai has managed to recruit Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai, a married couple from Trang who are both chefs and have honed their culinary skills together over their 30-year union. They are both masters of southern Thai cuisine and bring an incredible depth of knowledge and skill to the kitchen at Ta Khai.

For those who don’t wish to order a la carte there are three set menu options,

the third of which is Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai’s recommended dishes, these vary day by day depending on the availability and freshness of ingredients. It was an easy decision to put ourselves in their capable hands and we sat back to enjoy a refreshing drink and take in the view while we waited for our food.

The first dish to arrive is Miang Kham, a kind of do-it-yourself snack made by putting a pinch each of shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli, peanuts and dried shrimp on a chaplu leaf, then drizzling it with sweet tamarind sauce before wrapping it up and popping the whole thing in your mouth. The individual ingredients explode and combine to create an amazing symphony of textures and flavours.

At the same time we were served some delicious Poh Pia Sod – fresh Phuket-style spring rolls with a soft wrapper filled with prawns, jicama bean sprouts, chilli and a tamarind dip.

Next up was a vibrant Thai salad called Yum Som-O Goong, which has chunks of pomelo, prawns, peanuts, coconut and crispy shallots mixed together to create a superbly fresh and flavourful dish that was one of my favourites.

The next two dishes made it clear that Ta Khai is on a mission to introduce its guests to the wonders of southern Thai cuisine. One was Moo

Hong – melt-in-the-mouth pork slow braised in an intensely rich mixture of soy, garlic and black pepper. Another was Gaeng Poo, a spicy bright-yellow curry filled with chunks of fresh crab meat and served with thin rice noodles, another iconic southern Thai dish. To add to this assortment was some more common, but no less tasty Thai dishes – prawns in tamarind sauce and deepfried tilapia fillets stir-fried with black pepper and garlic. These too were delicious and all the dish’s perfectly balanced flavours stood testament to Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai’s finely tuned skills.

We finished our incredible meal with some simple yet classic Thai deserts including bananas in sweetened coconut milk, water chestnut dumplings with jackfruit in coconut syrup, and of course, some freshly cut Phuket pineapple.

It seems Rosewood has wholeheartedly embraced Phuket with Ta Khai – it’s up there with the best showcases for southern Thai cuisine anywhere on the island. Combined with its beautiful location, lovely architecture and rustic décor, it is the perfect place for anyone who wants an authentic Phuket dining experience.

For more information and bookings visit: rosewoodhotels.com/en/phuket

14 TECHNOLOGY

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Google Assistant is one of the leaders in AI powered digital assistants

Many smartphones now come with an inbuilt digital assistant.

Cortana is Microsoft’s personal assistant software offering.

Powerful personal assistant apps If you live a busy life these apps can help you use your time effectively APP ABCs Amy Bensema bensema.amy@gmail.com

W

e all know that there is only so much that can be done in 24 hours. Time is precious and we should not be wasting our time on tasks that can be done by someone else. The best way to stay on top of your busy life and the many tasks at hand is to streamline everything that you can.

While most people do not have a personal assistant in their day-to-day lives, many people do need one. Therefore, if you are not in the position to outsource but desperately need some help, these powerful personal assistant apps are worth checking out.

Google Assistant Google Assistant is no doubt the best assistant for Android. Developed by Google, the assistant is made available for almost all Android phones. It can help you with making calls, sending texts, emails, setting alarms and reminders, navigating places, web search, weather reports, news updates and

more. Google assistant is fun and entertaining too. You can play games, ask for fun facts, to take selfies, play music and many more activities. Available for free on Android and iOS. Cortana Cortana is a very advanced personal assistant from Microsoft. It can carry out some things like letting you know when is the right time for you to go back home or leave for a meeting depending on the traffic as well as the weather condition. It’s always ready to answer your queries instantly.

And if you want to spend some time playing around with it, the personal assistant will thoroughly entertain you with its witty answers. The best thing about Cortana is that it becomes even smarter once it knows your preferences.

Available for free on Android and iOS. Lyra Virtual Assistant Lyra is your mobile virtual assistant. She can manage your calendar, update you with the latest news, give directions, assist with notes and handle a number of administrative tasks on a daily basis as long as she’s told. Do you know what else is great about Lyra?

She can also tell jokes! Available for free on Android and iOS.

Hound A fast and accurate independent voice assistant, Hound is great for dealing with daily tasks. The app excels at booking hotels, sending messages, delivering the daily news and even playing your favourite music. Hound recognises your natural voice and can even manage planning a night out or calculating numbers. It is a great voice assistant for those who are always busy and on the go. Available for free on Android and iOS. 24me If you are looking to get organised, 24me is a smart personal assistant app that is up for the task. It puts all of your notes, tasks, calendars and tasks together in one app so that they can be more easily managed. 24me is also capable of paying bills, receiving smart alerts, adding notes, tasks and meetings by using your emails or voice. Available for free on Android and iOS. Accompany If you attend or chair a lot of meetings, Accompany is a great app for you.

The app is unique in that it has one of the most extensive databases of senior decision makers in the world, which

it will use to brief you for upcoming meetings. Accompany is efficient in that it saves hours of time in preparing for a meeting as it has a wealth of information literally at your fingertips.

Available for free on Android and iOS. Trove Trove is a wonderful app for when it comes to email management. Formerly known as Notion, it is an AI-powered assistant that de-clutters your inbox as well as finds the most important connections. Trove also singles out unanswered emails, provides insights, statistics and plenty more through its variety of exclusive features. Available for free on Android and iOS. Butleroy Butleroy is a very cool app. Essentially, the app functions as a calendar assistant with the sole purpose of helping you maintain a healthy work-life balance. Butleroy helps schedule appointments in an efficient manner and can also block out time slots for things that matter in your personal life. The app can also connect to various platforms to help manage your digital life as well, including making dinner reservations. Available for free on Android and iOS.

AI better at finding skin cancer than doctors

A

team from Germany, the United States and France taught an artificial intelligence system to distinguish dangerous skin lesions from benign ones, showing it more than 100,000 images.

The machine – a deep learning convolutional neural network or CNN – was then tested against 58 dermatologists from 17 countries, shown photos of malignant melanomas and benign moles.

Just over half the dermatologists were at “expert” level with more than five years of experience, 19% had between two and five years’ experience, and 29% were beginners with less than two years under their belt.

“Most dermatologists were outperformed by the CNN,” the research team wrote in a paper published in the journal Annals of Oncology.

A computer was better than human dermatologists at detecting skin cancer in a study that pitted human against machine in the quest for better, faster diagnostics, researchers said. Photos: AFP On average, flesh and blood dermatologists accurately detected 86.6% of skin cancers from the images, compared to 95% for the CNN. “The CNN missed fewer melanomas, meaning it had a higher sensitivity than the dermatologists,” the study’s first author Holger Haenssle of the University of Heidelberg said in a statement.

It also “misdiagnosed fewer benign moles as malignant melanoma... this would result in less unnecessary surgery”.

The dermatologists’ performance improved when they were given more information of the patients and their skin lesions.

The team said AI may be a useful tool for faster, easier diagnosis of

skin cancer, allowing surgical removal before it spreads. There are about 232,000 new cases of melanoma, and 55,500 deaths, in the world each year, they added.

But it is unlikely that a machine will take over from human doctors entirely, rather functioning as an aid.

Melanoma in some parts of the body, such as the fingers, toes and scalp, are difficult to image, and AI may have difficulty recognising “atypical” lesions or ones that patients themselves are unaware of.

“Currently, there is no substitute for a thorough clinical examination,” experts Victoria Mar from Monash University in Melbourne and Peter Soyer of the University of Queensland wrote in an editorial published with the study.

AFP thephuketnews

HISTORY 15

Sex in early Siam THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Views on sexual attractiveness have changed a lot over the centuries HISTORY OF PHUKET

Colin Mackay

M

any early observers of local culture in Phuket and the surrounding areas noted that women played the dominant role in commercial trade as well as within their private households.

This dominance by women extended to sex and relationships.

Stamford Raffles in 1815 explained that, among Malays, “If a man was absent for the space of seven months on shore, or one year at sea, without sending any subsistence… the woman could dissolve the marriage and move in with whomever she chooses without any further process.”

Women were usually free to choose their partners. The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) mention one local fighter, Hang Tuah, who was so handsome that “if Hang Tuah passed, married women tore themselves from the embraces of their husbands so that they could go out to him”. Duarte Barbosa, a sailor on Magellan’s world expedition, thought that Malays were “fond of music and given to love”. Edmund Scott, an early British spice merchant who travelled to the East in 1604, described the Siamese as “very lasciviously given, both men and women”.

The Austrian visitor in 1623, Christoph Carl Fernberger, though he only visited Ayutthaya in Siam, where commercial prostitutes worked near the docks, felt the Siamese women were “excessively lewd… they are always approaching the men and urging them to go with them into their houses and have sex with them”. He also visited Muslim Patani and mentioned that the women there also “enjoyed many liberties”.

Hans Morgenthaler, another Austrian, a geologist who came to work in southern Siam’s tin mines in the late 19th century, recalls “suddenly becoming the hero of all womankind whereas I was formerly only one of the crowd… this sympathy which every brown woman betrays in such an unmistakable manner is at first surprising then agreeable”.

This sexually open culture for women stems primarily from the Indian heritage in the peninsula where, since the earliest times, Hindu sculptures publicly depicted overt and often taboo sexual acts, even on temple walls. Indian texts such as the Kamasutra also promoted a more lascivious sexuality in which sex could be enjoyed by both sexes for its own sake.

This power of women may account for the willingness of men in the peninsula and Phuket to undertake the painful insertion of penis balls and bells. Ma Huan, a Chinese visitor in 1434, explains: “When a man has attained his twentieth year, they take the skin which surrounds the membrum virile and with a fine knife… they open it up and insert @thephuketnews

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles observed local customs. tin beads inside the skin and heal it with medicinal herbs… the beads look like a cluster of grapes… if it is a great chief or a wealthy man, they use gold and make hollow beads inside which a grain of sand is placed, making a tinkling sound and this is regarded as beautiful.”

In 1604 the Dutch explorer Jacob Van Neck, a little confused by this custom, was told it was because “the women obtain inexpressible pleasure from it.” The early English trader Ralph Fitch agreed, “women do desire them”. In 1515 the Portuguese diarist Tome Pires tells us that men from Pegu (Burma) would have up to nine penis balls made into bells with different notes, “beautiful treble, contralto and tenor ones… Malay women rejoice greatly when Pegu men come to their country and are very fond of them.

The reason for this must be their sweet harmony”.

Men and women endured another painful form of cosmetic enhancement – having their teeth blackened. Nicolas Gervaise, a Frenchman, noted in 1685, “The Siamese women cannot bear to see our white teeth for they believe the devil has white teeth and it is shameful for a man to have teeth like those of beasts.”

Both girls and boys aged around 15 had to endure a painful three-day toothblackening ceremony using lemon juice and burnt coconut.

Unlike today however, many visiting foreign men were quite un-enchanted by these black-toothed Siamese ladies who wore more or less the same clothes and hairstyles as men. Fred Arthur Neale, a 19th century British doctor who worked in the Siamese king’s medical service, felt that: “Siamese ladies may, without the smallest fear of competition, proclaim themselves to be the ugliest race of females upon the face of the globe. With their hair worn in the same fashion as the men (a porcupine cut or top knot) the same features and the same clothing, the man must be a gay Lothario indeed who would be captivated by their leering glances. But as though nature had not formed them sufficiently ugly… [they] dye their teeth and lips of a jet black colour… and in order that their gums be of a brilliant red… they resort to chewing

A traditionally dressed Thai women.

betel from morning to night… and as they never swallow the juice, the results are very detrimental to the cleanliness of the floors of their houses and of themselves generally.”

Edmund Roberts, an American ambassador to Siam in 1832, held a similar opinion, saying Siamese ladies were “excessively ugly; and when they open their mouths, truly hideous; resembling the inside of a black painted sepulcher”.

Many European observers commented on how young children were when they became sexually active and got married or bore children – usually in their early teens. (This however, was not much different from Europe; in Britain, for example, 12 was the age of consent until 1885.) The Frenchman Pallegoix felt that “This is very wise because if one delays too long, young girls let themselves be debauched by young men and flee far from the paternal nest with their lovers… these flights of their daughters with their lovers are a very common thing.” Premarital sex was regarded indulgently and virginity at marriage was not expected of either party. However, if a pregnancy came of it, the couple was expected to marry.

Virginal blood was in fact seen as unclean and we are told there were men whose official job was to ritually deflower young virgins. One wonders whether they were paid for this, or

did the job out of the goodness of their hearts. There are reports of foreigners in the peninsula being asked to perform this service. The early Bolognese traveller Ludovico de Varthema, while passing through Tenasserim province, north of Phuket, tells us that his partner was requested by a local merchant to deflower his virgin bride, “but we were afraid it was a mockery” The merchant however assured them, “‘do not be dispirited for all the country follows this custom’…

My companion said to the merchant he would be willing to undergo this fatigue… he did himself well, as he told me later, and had wished that the one night would have lasted a month. She was a pretty brown child of sixteen years. But after this night if found with her again he would have forfeited his life”.

According to the English sea captain Daniel Beckman, who came to the region in 1718, married women appear to have been chaste, honourable and “were very constant when married but very loose when single”. In 1544 a visiting Portuguese, Antonio Galvão, noted how chaste Malay and Siamese wives were, “Although they always go round among the men nearly naked … [they] do not fail to be very chaste and good which seems to be quite impossible amongst such a debauched people.”

In 1865 John Cameron, who took over as editor of the Singapore Free Press newspaper, notes that Malay marriages were affectionate due to the ease of divorce. Generally marriage was monogamous, though richer men often had several wives. The Frenchman Gervaise felt that in Siam the wives of polygamous men and nobles: “are accomplished and full of sense. It is rare to find among them flirts and unfaithful ones, either because adultery does not go unpunished, or because they are of a temperament altogether different from that of European women”.

Adapted with kind permission from the book ‘A History of Phuket and the Surrounding Region’ by Colin Mackay.

Available at bookshops and Amazon.com.

You can order the softcover 2nd edition directly at: www.historyofphuket.com

16 CULTURE

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Simple gestures like a hug or a handwritten thank you note can be a way to celebrate life in the face of death.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Finding the joyous circles of Buddhist heaven here on earth ALL ABOUT BUDDHISM Jason A. Jellison mitnoy@live.com

In the end, our lives should be about the decisions that we made; not the decisions that we didn’t.

H

ave you ever taken the time to ask yourself why it rains? It’s a question that many people answer very differently. In last month’s AAB, we spoke about suicide. But, in this month’s column we are going to talk about something that is quite the opposite… a place that I like to call “over the rainbow”.

In this article, we’re going to talk about how to find happiness when we’ve been told that our lives will soon end. In other words, we’re going to talk about how to make heaven a place on earth. But, to get there, we need to revisit Buddha’s last days.

Different scholars and different sects of Buddhism offer somewhat different views of precisely how Buddha died. The most widely-supported version is recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutra, although there’s a Chinese Sutra that offers a somewhat different account. You don’t need to memorise those long, perplexing titles. But, different Buddhists have slightly different ideas as to how Buddha died.

My temple teaches that Buddha knew that his death was imminent. A devoted follower had made Buddha a meal without realising that the meat was bad. Buddha knew that the meat was bad, but he also knew that his time on earth was due to end, so he accepted the meal and endured the pains of death with great peace.

The critical points here are that Buddha accepted death, was not saddened by it, and chose what his last days would mean. Buddha is teaching us that our final days can be whatever we choose them to be.

Buddha’s choice was to celebrate life in the face of death.

Someday, if we live long enough, we’ll all be in the position of counting down our final days. Many of us will have to decide what our last days should mean.

Finding happiness is the best way to react when we’ve been told that our lives will soon end. Photo: E Rolph What they should be is a celebration of life; not a funeral dirge of death.

Dreams come with risk and I won’t lie to you, not all fairy tales end well.

But there’s a lot that we can do to make our final days the best days ever. If you’re in your last days, be careful who you spend those days with. Avoid killjoys and surround yourself only with insanely positive people. In the end, our lives should be about the decisions that we made; not the decisions that we didn’t.

When we’re ill, we tend to lie in bed and watch TV to distract ourselves.

But, if you turn off the TV, you can rediscover that life is really supposed to be a parade of unpredictable and enchanting moments between friends and family.

Why not dedicate your final days to making heaven on earth last a lifetime for those you leave behind? Write a lifetime of birthday cards for your children.

Put 100 Christmas tree ornaments in 100 hand-wrapped boxes to be opened once a year for those who survive you, or take your family on the vacation of a lifetime; leaving memories that will last a lifetime.

And while we’re at it, there is no thank you letter better received than one that’s been penned by hand. There is no greater paradise on Earth for a surviving loved one than a handwritten thank you, or a hand-painted watercolour card.

In a world of smartphones and social media, perhaps we all need to remember that it is our human connection to each other that makes life worth living.

God forbid that we ever get a terminal diagnosis, but if we do, perhaps it’s time

Turn off the TV and rediscover that life is a parade of enchanting moments. Photo: Niels Heidenreich for us to rediscover the heavenly paradise that can be found in nothing more than each other’s simple touch, or a loving hug.

We opened this article by asking ourselves why it rains? Buddha’s last days proved that it only rains when someone is praying for us – when they’re praying for our sadness to be erased.

Heaven on earth is when we become each other’s rain because, when we do this for each other, life becomes a collection of never-ending and breath-taking rainbows… and over those rainbows is a touch of Buddhist heaven on earth.

The best of times truly is now. Would you please be my rain?

All About Buddhism is a monthly column in The Phuket News where I take readers on my exotic journey into Thai Buddhism and debunk a number of myths about Buddhism. If you have any specific queries, or ideas for articles, please let us know. Email editor1@classactmedia.co.th and we will do our best to accommodate your interests. thephuketnews

18 ISLAND SCENE

From left: Ian and Ben.

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Hot topics on the night included new marinas and the best-prospect venues for boat shows.

Grow Boating is a monthly gathering for marine industry professionals and boating aficionados.

From left: Michael and Ojashvi.

GROW BOATING NETWORKING EVENING AT ROYAL PHUKET MARINA Another great night at the Grow Boating networking evening last Friday (June 1), this one at Royal Phuket Marina, with much to talk about including new marinas and best-prospect venues for boat shows. Grow Boating is initiative by Royal Phuket Marina to promote the marine industry in Thailand. It is a monthly gathering for marine industry professionals and boating aficionados.

Tha Anantara team with the garbage they collected as part of the campaign.

Anantara team members with bales of plastic and aluminium ready for recycling.

ANANTARA MAI KHAO HOLDS ‘KEEP PHUKET CLEAN’ LITTER CAMPAIGN A group of leaders and team members from Anantara Phuket Villas and Anantara Vacation Club, Phuket, gathered in Mai Khao on Monday (June 4) and collected more than 20 sacks of garbage from the hedgerows that border the entrance to the resorts. The effort was part of an ongoing campaign to ‘Keep Phuket Clean’.

Early years and primary donned their helmets and scootered and biked around the school.

An incredible total of B250,000 was raised from the events.

BISP HOSTS RIDE-A-THON IN SUPPORT OF RIDE 4 KIDS British International School, Phuket (BISP) held a ride-a-thon and bake sale last Thursday (May 31) in support of Ride 4 Kids V2.0. The B250,000 raised from the events will support three children’s charities. The Phuket News was a proud media partner for the event. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

ISLAND SCENE 19

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok (left) with Red Cross Phuket President Sudawan Plodthong.

Government officials donned traditional style clothing for the event.

LITTLE MERMAID HOSTS SOI DOG CHARITY DINNER

Khun Goy (right) co-owner of The Little Mermaid, presents the money raised from the dinner to Soi Dog.

On June 2, The Little Mermaid Patong Restaurant held a charity dinner from 4pm to midnight in order to thank Soi Dog Foundation for its work on in Phuket. This special occasion featured great food and drinks as well as fun activities and raised a total of B22,805 to be donated to Soi Dog Foundation, which will go towards improving the lives of the dogs and cats at Gill Dalley’s Sanctuary.

The event was hosted by PIA General Manager Phet Chan-charoen (centre).

Officals wore traditional Baba style clothing.

PHUKET PROVINCE HOSTS AN EVENT TO HONOUR LATE KING Phuket province on Monday (June 4) hosted an exhibition and showed a Thai film in remembrance of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej at SFX cinema Central Festival Phuket. Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok lead the opening ceremony alongside Red Cross Phuket President Sudawan.

Airport employees took part in a traditional basket-weaving workshop.

PHUKET INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HOSTS “HKT LOVE PHUKET CULTURE” Phuket International Airport (PIA) hosted its “HKT Love Phuket Culture” project on June 4. Activities included a workshop on traditional basket weaving aimed at passing on traditional skills. The event was hosted by PIA General Manager Phet Chan-charoen together with other PIA executives.

From left: Charlotte and her younger sister Lucy.

From left: Ratchanida Hararak, David Ippersiel, Nishant Grover, Potjanee Darakamas, Sabrina Cai and Francois Poletti

CHARLOTTE IS TRASH HERO PHUKET’S WINNER FOR MAY

PHUKET MARRIOTT RESORT, NAI YANG MARKS SECOND ANNIVERSARY

Charlotte from BISP is 11 years old and got some help cleaning the beach at Nai Yang with her younger sister Lucy (10) on their recent holiday.

Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach celebrated its second anniversary with a ceremony on Monday (June 4) that included a traditional Buddhist blessing. The blessing took place on May 5, 2018 at the auspicious time of 9:39am.

@thephuketnews

20 EVENTS

FRI

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

8 JUN

SAT

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

9 JUN All you can eat Sunday Roast Buffet

Mussels night @ Shakers

All you can eat BBQ Ribs night

1.2kg mussels served with French fries, your choice, your style: natural, marnière, Provençale, garlic and cream or Thai style. Reservations recommended B295 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

6PM – 11PM: All you can eat BBQ Ribs served with salad buffet, potato salad & choice of sauces. Reservation recommended. 295 baht P.P. shakersphuket@ gmail.com, 081 891 4381.

Beef, Pork and Lamb – Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas, Carrots, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes – Yorkshire pudding – roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes – gravy, mushroom sauce, mint sauce. Reservations recommended. B350 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

An Italian Evening Enjoy a selection of Italian antipasti, cold cuts, premium cheese, marinated olives, grill vegetables, homemade pickles, caprese skewers, bruschetta and homemade breads - all complemented by free-flow Italian beverages. B1,999 net per person for antipasti buffet and free-flow Italian beverages. Enjoy 25% OFF when you dine with four persons or more. Reservations at Dusit Thani, Laguna, Phuket: dtlpfb@dusit. com or call 076 362 999 ext.7303.

ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ RIBS Come join us for our WEEKLY BBQ EVERY FRIDAY served ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT at Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong. Indulge in All You Can Eat BBQ Pork Ribs, Chicken and Sides for ONLY 445 BAHT! Our BBQ is famous at Two Chefs!

Come try us out and enjoy our mouthwatering pork ribs, flavor-bursting chicken and more! Join us for Live Music from 8-Late Performed by Our Famous Two Chefs Band! Come for the FOOD - Stay for the Fun. www.twochefs.com

World Cup League @ BISP Term 3 Dates: May 12, May 19, May 26, June 2, June 9 and June 16, 2018. Age / Time U9: 9:30-10:30; U11: 10:3011:30; U15: 11:30-12:30 *Girls may play down one age group. Package Includes – World Cup Team Kit, Participation Medal and Seven Saturdays of Matches.

Price: B3,000 if you register and pay before April 8, B3,500 if you register any time after April 8, 2018. To register for the World Cup League please contact: infobisp@cruzeirothailand.com

WANNA TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT? Come on over to our Filipino Fiesta at Two chefs Karon On Saturday the June 9. There will be a large buffet with lots of your Filipino Favorites like Lechon Pork roll, Sisig and much more. Happy hours in the bar! And of course, our awesome Filipino house band will rock the house until the late hours. Price is ONLY B495 per person, so make your reservations now at: karon@ twochefs.com or 076 286 479.

Healthy Vegan Buffet at DiLite Restaurant Come to Thanyapura’s DiLite Restaurant to enjoy a healthy vegan buffet every Monday to Saturday. Lunch: 12pm to 3pm Dinner: 6pm to 8:30pm. Price: Lunch B350 and Dinner B550. Information and bookings call 076 336 000 or visit: thanyapura.com/hotel/dining/

SUN

10 JUN

Jazz Night at Mom Tri’s Wok Pagoda Kitchen, Every Saturday night from 18:00 - 20:00 with Canape & Cocktail. For more infomation & reservation please contact 076-333-568 or fb@villaroyalephuket.com THB 850 per person. Mom Tri’s Wok Pagoda, fb@villaroyalephuket.com, 076-333-568.

Phuket Business Sundowners (PBS) is a relaxed and informal networking meeting held the 2nd Friday of every month. A small entry fee of B500 per person includes the first three drinks and a light buffet.

Make sure to bring lots of business cards, as getting to know each other is what PBS is all about. The Jun 8, 2018 meeting will be held at Grizzly’s Sports Bar, Kathu. Please let us know you are coming in a private message on FB. https://www.facebook.com/ events/178587919526284/

SOUTH EAST ASIA’S LEADING DESTINATION MARATHON Laguna Phuket Marathon was launched in 2006 and is owned and organised by Go Adventure Asia. Now in it’s 13th year, Laguna Phuket Marathon won GOLD for “Best Amateur Sports Event of the Year in Thailand” at the 2017 Asia Sports Industry Awards (SPIA Asia 2017), the race is sanctioned by AIMS. For more information please visit www.phuketmarathon.com

The Banyan Tree Brunch experience offers a generous selection of live fresh, local and imported seafood with exceptional lobster dishes, Japanese starters, mouth-watering meats, Asian wok and Western grill treats. Gourmet cuisine, exceptional service, live jazz and tranquil surroundings, The Banyan Tree Brunch has something for everyone! Every Sunday 12pm 3:30pm, Prices start from B2,800 net per person. For reservations email: fb-phuket@banyantree.com or call 076 372 400.

MON

11 JUN

All you can eat BBQ night

Sunday Roast All Day, All Night

Phuket Business Sundowners #2

Served from 2pm. Your Choice of either Roast Beef, Chicken, Loin of Pork or Leg of Lamb Served with Roast & Boiled Potatoes, 3 Fresh Vegetables, Yorkshire Pudding & Gravy. Only 350 Baht. Includes a Free Glass of House Red or White. See: www.otools-phuket.com

Go Live Sunday Seafood Brunch Filipino Fiesta

Jazz Night

Traditional Sunday Roast at O’Tool’s

Come enjoy a Traditional Sunday Roast EVERY SUNDAY at Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong. Indulge in our Traditional Sunday Roast ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT for ONLY 445 Baht! Enjoy a Large ALL YOU CAN EAT selection of your favorites!

Featuring: Roast Aussie Beef, Pork Loin and Chicken.

Roasted or Mashed Potatoes. Roasted Mixed Vegetables Flavored with Thyme and Garlic. Yorkshire Pudding and Red Wine Gravy. Enjoy Live Music from 8-Late Performed by Our Famous Two Chefs Band!

Come for the FOOD - RESERVE Your Table Now Online at bit.ly/TwoChefsReservations Check out more details on our website at bit.ly/TwoChefsEvents Reservation, Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong. Kata Beach 076-333-370 Kata Center 076330-065 Karon 076-286-479 Patong 076-344-914.

6pm – 11pm: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Burgers, Sausages, Prawns and Squid, Salad buffet, Choice of potatoes and sauces, bread, buns and garlic bread. Reservation recommended. B395 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

Jason Derulo is coming to Illuzion Author of the World Cup 2018 Official Anthem “Colors” Reservations, Illuzion show and discotheque. Contact: 093 583 4766.

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EVENTS 21

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

MON

11 JUN

and finished it off with a bread and butter pudding.

DJQ will keep the soul flowing and your toes tapping as you wash down those tender ribs with a bucket of craft brews. Full Rack set B1,600, Half Rack set B1,200, bucket of craft brews B800. Reservations, SALA Phuket Resort and Spa. Email: events@sala phuket.com or call 076 338 888.

THU

14 JUN

THU

Ride 4 Kids Ride 4 Kids V2.0 is in full swing, 20 riders will be cycling 700kms from Phuket from June 11 to 16, 2018.

All to raise money for The Good Shepherd, PHBGTU and Outrigger’s Share4Change. Join the coming home party at Metzos on June 16 and meet the team, tickets available for B2500 per ticket, please email donna.thethaiger@gmail.com and visit www. ride4kids.co for more information.

TUE

12 JUN

Celtic Comedy Legends PHIL KAY & AIDAN KILLIAN Celtic Comedy Legends which is a duo’s split show described by The Australia Times as “..nothing short of genius” Irishman, Aidan Killian teams up with the hyperactive Scotsman, Phil Kay. Both of them present individual material but they compliment each other wonderfully in this truly legendary mix. Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach. Time: 8pm (door 7:30pm, LAUGHTER INVESTMENT: B500 (advance booking), B700 (on the door), B1200 (including buffet) Tickets: ticketflap.com/celticlegends-phuket18.

WED

13 JUN

Devour our succulent pork rib set complete with sweet corn chowder, blue cheese salad, moist cornbread

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21 JUN

RETRO NIGHT – BACK TO THE 70S & 80S Don’t miss out on our newest, exciting weekly event at Two Chefs. Come and join us for our special Flambé 300g Australian grass-fed rib eye steak served with a creamy peppercorn sauce, roasted vegetable medley and potato gratin for ONLY B495. Have a sweet tooth? Treat yourself to the Two Chefs banana flambé served with vanilla ice cream for ONLY B95. Sit back and enjoy one of our drink specials as you listen to the famous Two Chefs band performing all your favorite retro hits and more! Live music starts from 8pm and goes late at all of our Two Chefs locations. Reservations are highly recommended. You can book on our website at www.TwoChefs.com or find us on Facebook at Facebook/TwoChefsThailand. Come for the food, stay for the fun! Reservations: Call us directly at Two Chefs Kata Center 076 330 065, Kata Beach 076 333 370, Karon 076 286 479 or Patong 076 344 914.

Live Organic Blues Rock Colin illy Hill Band, every Thursday from 9pm till midnight @ Expat Sports Bar. No cover charge, Car parking available. Visit: facebook.com/ExpatSportsBar

FRI

15 JUN

The Third Laguna Phuket Hospitality Challenge charity golf tournament will take place on the June 15, with an amazing day of gourmet golf at Laguna Golf Phuket Course all in aid of The Children First Fund.

Why not come and join the event with some great local hole sponsors treating all the golfers to some fun challenges and exciting Food and Beverage service. We are proud to have Live 89.5FM and Phuket News TV as our Media Partner and Sponsor. Visit www.aseanevents.com or email mark@asean-events.com Laguna Golf Phuket Course, golf@lagunaphuket.com, 076 324350.

MISUMMER ABBA PARTY! On Friday the June 22 we are serving up our large Swedish Smorgasbord again! This year we are combining Midsummer celebrations with a Tribute to the awesome band ABBA. The buffet is served at 7pm and the Two Chef’s house band will start the show at around 8:30pm. The all you can eat-buffet is ONLY B795 (B395 for children) For more information or reservations please contact us at: katacenter@twochefs.com or call 076 330 065.

SAT

23 JUN

PIWC Luncheon – June 2018 Etho’s at Kalim Bay - B700 for members and B850 for guests. Arrive at 11:30am for registration for the 12pm lunch. Please book at: info@PIWC-Phuket.com

FRI

22 JUN

KIS End of Year Show

Hospitality Golf Challenge 2018

Sala Wednesday nights ribs, beats, brews.

Meeting - Rotary Club Patong The Rotary Club of Patong Beach cordially invites guests and prospective members to attend its regular meetings. The cost for non-members is B500 and includes lunch. The meeting begins at 12pm at the Millennium Resort in Patong. For additional information please visit: www.rotarypatong.org.

Each June since opening in 2011, Kajonkiet International School, Phuket has hosted an end of academic year theatre production. This June, our End of Year Show is Dr.Dolittle JR. The production will be held at Kajonkiet International School, Phuket, 125/1 Soi The Valley 1, Praphuketkaew Road Kathu, Phuket on Friday 22 June and Saturday 23 June. This exciting production, filled with unforgettable songs and characters is a fun-filled presentation of music and drama by KIS students to be enjoyed by both the school and the wider community. We warmly invite you to participate in this particular event!

Andaman Hotelier and Tourism fair 2018 See the creative ideas to help improve the skills that our world needs. You will see the combination of hotel people and touring people going head to head in “World Love” , competition, such as bartending, barista, towels folding, flowers arrangement, bed making and more. Come and cheer the winner of Mister & Miss Andaman Hotelier 2018. For more special promotion such as discounted hotel rooms, come and see us at HomeWorks on June 22-24 from 10am till 9pm. To register please contact; Facebook – Andaman Hotelier or call 095 234 2451. Supported by Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Beverage Public Company limited.

P-REA Charity Golf 2018 Raising funds for medical equipment for Thalang Hospital. Teams of 4 - B11,000, individuals - B2,900 includes Green fees, T-shirt, cap, dinner, drinks, prizes, awards and more. Carts - advance booking - B700 shared. Rego - 10:30am, Shotgun start - 12:29pm, Dinner 6:30pm. Hole in One - Volvo V60 (B1.9M) from Stockholm Auto. prea.news@gmail.com, 086 471 4874, 081 982 9208 (Sam).

THU

19 JUL

PIWC Luncheon – July 2018 The July Lunch will be held at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale. B700 for members and B850 for guests. Arrive at 11:30am for registration for the 12pm lunch. Please book at: info@PIWC-Phuket.com.

DAILY EVENT UPDATES ON

22 TIME OUT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Crossword by Myles Mellor & Sally York 1. What nickname did Manchester, England, have during the early 19th century owing to its many textile factories?

2. On which Hawaiian island is the capital Honolulu?

3. What’s the name of the United States Army base in North Carolina that’s the largest military installation in the world?

4. Fort Knox, best known as the site of the United States Bullion Depository, is in which American state?

5. The HEH, an initiative by the European Parliament, is a recently opened museum in Brussels. What does the acronym HEH stand for?

Answers below, centre

SUDOKU

Hard

Across 1. TV giant 4. List for the day?

8. Split soup 11. Part of a score, maybe 13. Bribed 14. Ayatollah’s land 15. Movie food 18. Hormonal years 19. Sewing machine foot pedal 20. Family head 22. Upbeat 23. River feature 27. Nice goodbye?

31. Consummate 32. ___ Station 33. Old coin from Barcelona 36. Dessert without frills 40. Type measures 41. Seaweed 42. Shot glass capacity 43. Choir offerings 44. Quark-plusantiquark particle 45. Engine purr 48. Adam’s madam 50. Cause of ruin 53. Fragrant oil 57. Creamy dessert 61. Slow movement

30. Compass direction, abbr.

33. Quills 34. Chalupa alternative 35. You can say that again Down 37. Ballad 1. Get 38. Total 2. Man’s cologne 3. Quote as authority 39. Greatly regret 4. Wed, with the knot 43. Parade honoree 45. Blood of the gods 5. Prehistoric 46. Something 6. Cabinet div. bizarre 7. Quality 47. ‘’Fortune’’ founder 8. Goads 49. Femme fatale 9. At dawn 10. One of the 50. Sean Connery is Windsors one 12. Scarfed up 51. It keeps things 13. Approximately together 14. Aviation acronym 52. End in London 16. The ultimate 54. Bath receptacle purpose 55. On a deck, 17. Lima’s land perhaps 21. It’s incendiary 56.

Invitation request 23. Half gainer, e.g.

58.

Large cask that 24. Dutch treat sounds heavy 25. Camera 59. Century, for attachment example 26. Randy’s rink 60. “Red ___” thriller, partner starring Rachel 28. Think fit McAdams 29. Just __ 62. Seize by force 63. Loads 64. Risk 65. Mediterranean volcano 66. Emulate

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz: 1) Cottonopolis; 2) Oahu; 3) Fort Bragg; 4) Kentucky; 5) House of European History

GOT YOUR NUMBER

ISLAND VIEW

3

year-olds who napped after learning new verbs had a better understanding of the words when tested 24 hours later.

30

percent of people who have had a one-night stand end up in a long-term relationship because of it.

10,900

steps a day taken by employees makes them less likely to let a bad day at the office spill over into their home.

211,487

The sign reads; ‘Free food for the poor, the handicapped and the elderly… Contact here’. Photo: Sutharat Khaodee Got an unusual or particularly beautiful picture of Phuket? Email it to execeditor@classactmedia.co.th

homicides in the US between 1980 and 2010 saw no arrests made at all.

300 million

US dollars a year is what the population of Japan spends on mushrooms alone.

Source: Uberfacts

This week in history June 8, 1949 George Orwell’s Nineteen EightyFour is published.

June 9, 1885 Treaty of Tientsin is signed to end the Sino-French War, with China eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam – most of present-day Vietnam – to France.

June 10, 1997 Before fleeing his northern stronghold, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot,

who also called himself “Brother Number 1”, orders the killing of his defence chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen’s family members.

blames recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek US$15 billion in damages.

June 11, 1184 BC Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations

by Eratosthenes.

June 12, 1665 England installs a municipal government in the newly renamed New York City (the former Dutch

settlement of New Amsterdam).

June 13, 1994 A jury in Anchorage, Alaska,

June 14, 1789 Mutiny on the Bounty: HMS Bounty mutiny survivors including Capt William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 7,400km journey in an open boat.

(Painting by Robert Dodd.)

Source: Wikipedia thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Jobs

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CLASSIFIEDS 25

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Trades & Services

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

ADVERTISING SERVICES

CLEANING SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

MARINE SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

MARINE SERVICES

MARINE SERVICES

MARINE SERVICES

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Trades & Services

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

classifieds@thephuketnews.com

MARINE SERVICES

MOVING SERVICES

POOL SERVICES

PROPERTY SERVICES

OTHER

ADVERTISE HERE

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CLASSIFIEDS 27

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Buy & Sell

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

JOBS T EN Live-in housekeeper wanted G R ULive-in housekeep wanted for house in Kata. Must understand English and love dogs. Excellent conditions. 31/3 Soi Plukjae Kata Phuket. Contact: Lillian Dinic: lil@ladolcevitare. com.au or call 080 690 5248.

GE UR

NT

Bar staff wanted

Blondie Bar 2 at Otop Market Patong requires Bar Staff. Thai nationals only. Good salary and room provided. Phone Mick: 081 087 6114.

BOATS, YACHTS FOR SALE T EN

SA

LE

FOR SALE SILVERCRAFT 31

ALMOST NEW 35 HOURS ONLY, STILL UNDER WARRANTY EXTRAS GRAB RAILS COVERS. AVAILABLE NOW THAI REGISTERED AND TAX PAID SEA TRIAL AT SHORT NOTICE OK, new price inc reg & extras B4,863,000 offers over B4.6 million considered. Please contact William at: wfphelps@me.com or call 00 44 11 89 841 627.

G UR

G UR

T EN

SA

LE

Boat For Sale

72’(22m) Thai Trawler partially-converted as Tour Boat Business. Rebuilt from top to bottom 3 years ago (spent just over 1MB) including engine as was planned to use for a tour business, owner had to return to the UK unable to return (very ill son).

Some weather damage and need some repairs. Engine has only done only 6 hours, has new 12 kua generator. Currently in Hua Hin. Viewing can be arrange. Must sell within the next few months. Offers over THB 500,000. Contact Shayne on 0934 189 529 or shayne.inbox@gmail.com

BUSINESSES FOR SALE MINI RESORT - Near Laguna

Luxury Villas, 4- and 3-bedroom, pool, office/Apt, 1/2 Rai, well furnished – tropical garden setting. Now on vacation rentals, a money maker. Only B13.5mn - 089 594 4067.

UR

GE

S NT

AL

E

SURIN: LUXURIOUS BAR-RESTAURANT SALE

Totally renovated, Italian design and furniture, all-new imported kitchen and bar equipment, ready to operate. Large Bar, DJ booth, garden lounge, rooftop. Seats 50 indoors, 50 in garden and 40 rooftop. Pablo: 080 143 5541. info@dedos-restaurant.com

CARS, TRUCKS FOR SALE UR

G

T EN

SA

LE

2012 Ford Ranger 2.2 Open Cab

78,000km. Six-gear manual transmission.

Looks and feels like a new car, treated like a baby by its single owner. Engine clean as. Full set of new tyres. B500,000. Call 081 427 5168.

CARS, TRUCKS FOR RENT GE

NT

N RE

T

CARS FOR RENT

We offer car rental at affordable prices.

Monthly from B10,000. Daily from B400.

Call us and find out what we offer. B10,000 monthly. Stig Johansson, 110/78 Moo 2, T Paklok, A Thalang, 83110 Phuket. Contact: stigisaan@gmail.com, 084 847 4377.

UR

HOME IMPROVEMENT Flat roof waterproofing

We do flat roof waterproofing with a 20year warranty by installing quality four layer slate spotted bitumen torch foil + crack repair! Andreas Ruthe, 22/5 Moo1 Kamala, Kathu. Contact: office@tcm-asia.com, 086 943 9834 or 076 385 081. @thephuketnews

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE For Sale

New set of Kasco G7 golf clubs RH R FLEX. Driver 10.5°, 3 Wood 15°, U4 Hybrid 19°, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, P, S irons.

Milled head putter. 11 clubs, 4 head covers, graphite shafts except putter. B25,000. Bob Mather, Kathu.

Contact: bobmather_4@hotmail.com, 095 549 2748.

OTHER Accountancy,Bookkeeping,Tax

Accountancy, Bookkeeping, Australian Taxation, GST, VAT, Business Advisory Anabel Da Silva, PO Box 161, Palmyra, Western Australia, 6957, anabel@dasilva-accounting.com, +61 40 400 6236.

POOL TABLES Rasson Victory 2 Pro Tounament

Style is forever! The Victory Tournament 9 ft. pool table is a tournament-style, highquality pool table designed with commercial and private use in mind, slate bed. B228,000.

REAL ESTATE SERVICES CHATTHA Property and Rental Management Service in Phuket

Our services: Housekeeping, Garden, Swimming Pool, Maintenance and Repair. www.chatthamanagement. com office: 076 636 244 or mobile: 090 179 6635.

Chattha Management.

PROPERTY FOR SALE Freehold studio at low price

Freehold 36m2 studio, opposite the Lotus Tesco hypermarket of Phuket Town, freehold condominium; perfect for long stay or for investment B1.9 million. Email: mguillien@gmail.com or call 097 920 2339.

PROPERTY FOR SALE OFFERED FOR SALE

OFFERED FOR SALE A profitable and intimate 20room garden resort situated on Koh Lanta, Krabi at the end of Long Beach just a 2-minute stroll to the sea. Set in lush gardens, the bungalows are tastefully finished each with their own full-length verandas. Ideally located in Phra Ae village, with many amenities in the immediate area. The resort benefits from: • A delightful swimming pool (guest use only) • Car-park • Free-WIFI throughout the resort • Room-service • A combined restaurant & bar adjacent to the pool with state of the art Western kitchen • A beautiful tropical garden • Private manager’s accommodation (screened from the resort) • staff quarters • Private electricity supply • Ample water supply & storage For further information, please Email gardenisland.pp@ gmail.com For the attention of Ms. Chorladda CHUANCHOM with the following details: 1. Full name of potential Buyer 2. Full contact details, i.e. , Mobile phone number 3. Brief explanation of experience (if any) in the service industry The Vendor is genuine & the price is opportunistic. Genuine inquiries only please.

80m2 freehold condo in Patong

Freehold 80m2, 2-bedroom apartment in quiet condo with swimming pool in Patong. Ideal investment in most active tourist area in Phuket. B5.9 million. Contact Michel GUILLIEN, Andaman Beach Suites, Unit 1604, Patong, Phuket. Email: mguillien@gmail.com or call 097 920 2339.

Penthouse for Sale

432.44 Sqm.Penthouse for sale: 320 Degree view of Patong bay and city. Private pool. 22nd floor (top floor) at Andaman Beach Condominium, Patong, Phuket, Thailand. Condo Facilities : Two tennis courts, 10 x 24 Meters swimming pool , fitness & game room,restaurant, parking. 60 Million Baht O.N.O., Songpan, songpanpirom@hotmail. com, 081 737 8662.

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Buy & Sell

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

PROPERTY FOR SALE Nicklas Klodner

Two-storey villa in a gated community @ Pruksa The Plant, Kathu. Corner land plot 170 sqm, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Indoors 140 sqm. With furniture ready to move in B8,100,000, Nicklas Klodner, The Plant 144/15. Email: nicklas.klodner@gmail.com or call +66 80 519 7719.

RPM owner direct

Unique luxury condo 2 bed, 2 bath, 155sqm. Foreign FREEHOLD. Architect remodel. New Jacuzzi. Views to lake, mountain, marina, pool, etc. Completely furnished to a high standard, toothbrush only required.

Owner leaving Thailand. Priced at 16MB for quick sale. Contact Brian (Owner): 089 054 4354, 076 360 943. bggvirgo@gmail.com RoyalPhuketMarina Condos.com

Amazing 1-bedroom house in great area

Brand-new one bedroom house with full kitchen and car parking and ready to move in, right in the heart of Rawai. Perfectly priced home on the most desirable street of Rawai, so don’t miss out! B2.9M for quick sale. Contact Benni by email at: b_gholami@ hotmail.com or call 088 168 5032.

New Modern Villa – 5 Mins to Ao Po Grand Marina

200 sqm, land 500 sqm, 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, swimming pool, close to UWCT school. Including: pool/garden/wifi/TV.SAT/services. Google map: tiny.cc/deltaho. Contact owner (Alain): mrdupouy@yahoo.fr. 65,000/ month, Alain, 57/3 Moo 3 Soi Ban Bang Pae, T. Pa Khlok, T. Thalang, Phuket 83110. Email: mrdupouy@yahoo.fr or call 081 893 5270.

Building for Sale

One-unit building for sale in business area Boat Avenue near Villa Market Laguna. Three and a halfstorey, 24 square wah. Khun Mhee (owner), 49/23, Cherng Talay. Email: anmehee@hotmail.com or call 095 545 0017 or 086 346 2622.

Unique Investment Opportunity

Unique investment opportunity Not to be missed: 5 pool villas, big land, large entertaiment areas, parking garages and private gates.

More info www.thegardenkptphuket.com www.thegardenkptphuket.com

5-bed pool villa, 1.2 Rai

3 detached buildings, L-shaped open plan living, Western kitchen, guest suite, pool 11mx5m, quiet residential area. 1.2 rai plot. THB19,750,000. Contact Mrs Simpson by email: thaivillaonline@gmail.com or call 084 447 7248. More info at: thaivillaonline.com

Chalong Office, Workshop/Store

300sqm office on 2 floors with all services incl.3 phone lines + 300sqm undercover workshop/store with 4m ht & 3 phase. Chanote 0.5rai.

B12,000,000, Simon Jupe, 29/4 Soi Nayai, Chalong, Phuket 83130. Email: simonj@cscoms.com or call +66 (0)87 883 2542

Single house for sale

Located the way to Yamu Pa Khlok, from the main road 500m, 55 SQW, 3 bedrooms, 2 restrooms, with modern kitchen, 2 cars parking, free space 140 SQM. 3.5 Million Baht, K. Suwit: suwitlap5@gmail.com, 081 895 6969.

PROPERTY FOR SALE Boat Lagoon

With private boat morning and jacuzzi.

Email paradise11@mac.com for pictures, plans and price.

PROPERTY FOR RENT Ready 01/07/2018

Rent. The Heritages Suites, nice 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Jacuzzi, 160sqm.

Modern furnished. Lease long term (minimum 1 year). Parking, pool, fitness. Close KIS, Lotus. 39,000, Aouiche, Kathu, Thai 089 552 9303/Eng 093 717 9343.

Pool Villa For Rent PhangNga

4-Bed Pool villa nearby Natai beach. Surrounded by nature. North of Phuket, 25 mins from airport. Idea for retired/long term stay family. Yupadee: miakcg@yahoo.com, 081 926 3286.

New Rawai Villa Rent & Sale

PuriAnda Villa: 2 Bed, Furnished, Kitchen, Private Pool, Sala, Land 350m2, House 165m2, 2km to Nai Harn. Short or Long Term Rent Only B60,000, Sale: 8.9m. info@ purimasproperty.com, 0815384588

COMMUNITY

PROPERTY FOR RENT

Property 5 Mins to Ao Po Grand Marina

Very big house 750sqm, Land 4,000sqm, available 15 June, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, swimming pool, jacuzzi, close to UWCT school, including pool, garden, service, wifi-tv/sat.

Google map: tiny.cc/deltaho, Contact owner (Alain): mrdupouy@yahoo.fr. Long term 145,000/Month, Email Alain: mrdupouy@yahoo.fr or call 081 893 5270.

PROPERTY FOR RENT 3-Bedroom Western Villa

Near Laguna, has all, full kitchen, quality furniture.

Live in tropical garden, good security, secluded.

6/M lease: B20,000/M. Call 089 594 4067.

For Rent Kata Beach

Nice one-bedroom apartment, modern furnished, 68sqm first floor close to indoor pool-sauna-elevator. B25,000 per month. Exclusive electric, minimum rental period 6 months. Tel: English 064 532 3637, Thai 094 803 5944. Email English: villaonroof@ gmail.com or Thai: maliwan_kaewmeesri@yahoo.com thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

SPORT 29

Hellos and goodbyes PPL welcomes new teams, bids farewell to long-standing player POOL

LEAGUE STANDINGS

Matt Pond editor3@thephuketnews.com

T

he latest installment of the Patong Friendly Pool League ( PPL), once again sponsored by Thailand Pool Tables, got underway last Thursday (May 31) with 11 teams vying for the championship title.

The most noticeable name missing from this edition of the tournament is current champions Hole in One bar, however, they have now been become Kwan Team and are joined by two newcomers, Kiki Sports Bar and Genius bar.

In addition, Genius 2 Garden & Restaurant and Tualek Whisky have also joined to be co-sponsor for this edition of the league.

The new edition of the league will run until October with the “End of Season” party already scheduled to take place on October 26 at Genius 2 Garden and Restaurant.

Turning now to last Thursday’s action, Scott Griffin played his last game for Red Light Bar as he is moving on to pastures new in the Chok Chai district of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Scott was the long-time owner

Scott Griffin hits his last balls for Red Light bar.

Photo: Gwenegan le Hen of Dirty Nellies bar in Patong and was, for a long time, the organiser of the Patong Pool League.

Scott was always seen as a decent player by those inside and outside of the league but since selling Dirty Nellies – which is now run as a “reggae bar” (if you know what that means) – almost twelve months ago he has had real problems winning games in the league.

However, he played his last match with true Scott class by seven-balling his opponent from Ting Tong Bar. The score in Red Light’s game

against Ting Tong was 7-5 to the home team.

Simon & Oils were set against the new Genius team and the latter’s captain, Tommy Hanssen, was clearly out of league shape losing both his singles and doubles matches.

It was a good start of the season for Simon & Oils as they walked away 7-4 victors over Genius.

Bruce, Brett, Tai and Thong all won their singles and doubles games and the four week break from the league obviously done them the world of good.

After a big day of semi-finals last Saturday (June 2), with a lot of goals and exciting matches, it has now been decided the teams that will be playing each other in the big finals tomorrow (June 9) at British International School, Phuket for the Cruzeiro Soccer Schools World Cup League.

In the U9 age group Argentina will take on Germany in the Final while Brazil and England will fight it out for 3rd and 4th place. In the U11s, Brazil and Germany face each other in the Final and Argentina take on England for the bronze medal. While for the U15s, it’s an all South American Final with Brazil facing Argentina and England play Germany to decide who takes 3rd and 4th places.

RESULTS

U9 SEMI-FINALS U11 SEMI-FINALS U15 SEMI-FINALS

Brazil

2-4

Germany

Argentina

4-2

England

Brazil

9-0

England

Argentina

0 - 11

Germany

Brazil

8-0

England

Argentina

3-0

Germany

FIXTURES - JUNE 9 FINALS

U9s

Argentina

vs

Germany

3rd & 4th PLAY-OFF

Brazil

vs

England

U11s

FINALS

Brazil

vs

Germany

3rd & 4th PLAY-OFF

Argentina

vs

England

Brazil

vs

Argentina

England

vs

Germany

U15s

FINALS 3rd & 4th PLAY-OFF

PLAYERS OF THE MATCH

U9: Josh Pond and Valentine Igolkin. @thephuketnews

U11: Charlie Hussey and Mathis Jolivet.

Micah Duchowny, Tony Simpson, Matti Puno and Max Stowe.

Caddy Shack

7

Natalie

7

Red Light

7

Simon Oil

7

Martin Swiss

6

Kwan Team

5

Ting Tong

5

Wombat

5

Genius

4

Kiki Sports

4

Happy End

0

Meanwhile, Caddy Shack were welcomed by newcomers Kiki Sports Bar and reports from Caddy Shack’s Paul say it was one hell of a night which included a multi-player singa-long and even some dancing.

However, it was closely fought match at the table which eventually finished with the score at 7-5 to Caddy Shack.

Elsewhere, Martin Swiss played at home against Wombat. Both teams struggled to find enough players but luckily three players from Happy End – who had a free week last

Thursday due to the odd number of teams – came to help them out.

Jerry, playing for Martin Swiss, did not disappoint team host Pom as he won both his singles and doubles games.

It was said that Jerry got a great treat of Pom’s delicious food in return.

Martin and Noi also had a good start and won their singles and doubles games and these wins helped Martin Swiss take a 6-5 win over their opponents.

Last but not least, the two top teams of last season were playing against each other.

The former Hole in One team, now known as Kwan Team, is made up with the same players from the last league but it has been reported that they’ve spiced things up a little with the addition of some attractive pool-playing ladies.

Last season Natalie led the league for 16 weeks but the last two weeks saw Kwan and co. take over the top spot.

However, last Thursday Natalie got their revenge taking a 7-5 over Kwan Team.

People interested in playing in the PPL can contact one of the participating bars make contact via their Facebook page.

30 SPORT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

Not for the average golfer Over 8,000 tried to qualify in 2018, only 150 made the grade

Continued from page 32 ...degree of difficulty, it’s just around the corner.

How did the US Open start? Where is it now?

The first US Open was played in 1895 by ten professional golfers and one amateur playing a 9-hole course, 36 holes in one day, and was won by British golfer Horace Rawlins. British golfers won primarily up until 1911 but then in 1913 the first America golfer won.

Francis Ouimet, being an American amateur, totally broke the spell of the British powerhouse golfers at the time including Harry Vardon and it was Ouimit’s win that made golf more popular in America.

After that American players dominated the US Open up until 1965 when Gary Player from South Africa won.

Since then there have been many international winners coming from countries including South Africa, England, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Northern Ireland and Martin Kaymer from

The US Open has been won by golfers from various countries, last year it was Brooks Koepka from the States who took the title. Photo: Andrew Redington / AFP Germany winning in 2014. So from its humble beginnings the US open has become the second golfing Major with global status.

Can any golfer qualify for the US Open?

Any golfer in the world

with a handicap low enough as an amateur or professional can enter and try to qualify for the US Open. However, in percentage terms their chance of qualifying is 0.86%.

This year 8,537 people attempted to qualify and this dwindled down to 500

advancing, plus exemptions who have qualified in a different way.

Just 74 have actually advanced to play in the US Open, plus 76 exempted known players who don’t have to quality, making a field of 150 players, and that’s why it’s called an open championship.

How is a golf course selected for the US Open?

Due to the roots of golf in America being 130 years old there are golf courses from the past to the present. Even though the USGA say there is not a strict rotation, the following golf courses have hosted the US Open on more than one occasion; Oakmont Country Club (eight times), Wingfoot, Pebble Beach, Olympic Club, Merion Oakland Hills and Shinnecock

Hills, Torrey Pines, Bethpage, Pinehurst, Beltusrol, Congressional, with only a handful more.

This is very much unlike golf’s first Major which is played at the same golf course every year. Generally, most of these golf courses have stood the test of time when it comes to degrees of difficulty and the way they are set up for the US Open.

One of the sternest of tests is that when playing an 18-hole golf course over four rounds, fairways should be narrow, the rough of the fairways should make it difficult to get your golf ball back in play and it should have very fast greens.

If the course has been created correctly, a high scoring score (rather than low scores), sometimes even around par, can win the US Open.

Who runs the US Open ?

The USGA is the game’s governing body and is dedicated to serving all golfers.

The association is proud to include more than 8,000 country clubs, public, daily-fee and municipal golf courses, qualified practice facilities and clubs without real estate as member clubs because they have the same mission – serving all the men, women and children who play and love golf.

Still, to this day, the United States Golf Association, which is an Amateur body but run as a business, organise all the professional tours from around the world which adhere to its tournament regulations.

The USGA has a tried and tested format, from the setting up of the golf course and financial gains that can be made from the US Open.

The USGA has a give back policy to help grow the game of golf for new as well as existing golfers and throughout the world with children being the future golfers.

Long may the US Open continue to grow the game of golf, and I for one am looking forward to the upcoming US Open.

Good golfing to all!

Martin Platts (British) P.G.A., Director of the Golf Guru International Golf Academy, has been involved in competitive golf for 40 years, 30 as a professional. He has coached players of all levels from beginners to Ryder Cup tour professionals. Visit TheGolfGuru.com

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS Run #1688: Saturday June 9 Run Start Time: 4pm Hares: No Hope, Singha Location: Mai Khao Directions: Head north along the main highway towards Bangkok.

Approximately 9.3 kilometres after the airport traffic lights (4026) turn left at the mosque (HHH sign) – this is 2km after the Yacht Haven bend. Follow the road for approximately 1.7km to the laager site in the rubber. HHH truck will be marked.

Bus pick-up: Patong @ Expat Hotel: 2:15pm Kamala @ Black Cat’s Bar: 2:45pm More info: phuket-hhh.com

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

SPORT 31

Honda in recovery milestone Could this be engine maker’s last shot at sealing F1 partnership?

FORMULA 1 Matt Pond editor3@classactmedia.co.th

T

he high-speed Canadian Grand Prix has caused much angst for Honda and its underpowered engines over the past three years, but this season Montreal could be the Japanese company’s last shot at creating a partnership with one of Formula One’s biggest teams.

Honda’s torrid return to Formula One is well chronicled, with its first three seasons partnered with McLaren ending in acrimony and an ugly divorce at the end of last year.

The automotive giant would have found itself out of the sport had a deal not been reached to partner with Red Bull Racing junior team Toro Rosso, and against expectation it has begun to flourish in the lower key setting of the midfield.

Its engines remain the least powerful on the grid, but not by so much that drivers Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley haven’t been able to contest the top 10 in qualifying

Toro Rosso's driver Brendon Hartley drives during the third practice session at the Monaco street circuit on May 26. Photo: Andrej Isakovik / AFP

or for points on any Sunday.

More importantly, barring an embarrassing forced change of some power unit components after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix the Honda engine has proved reliable, reversing a damaging trend of engine stoppages when supplying McLaren.

Honda’s upturn in performance is in parallel with Red Bull Racing’s souring relationship with Renault. Despite the pair winning four world titles between 2010 and

2013, Renault’s own underpowered and unreliable engines have marked it out as the third best supplier in the sport, embittering its Austrian partner.

The contract tying the two together expires this season, leaving the team free to partner with another engine supplier, but with Mercedes and Ferrari already supplying the theoretical maximum of three teams apiece, Honda is the only alternative.

Choosing the least worst engine between the two is therefore Red

Bull Racing’s unhappy task, but the competitiveness of the team to the end of 2020, when the engine formula will change, depends on management making the right choice.

Shaping as key to the decision is this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, where both Renault and Honda, along with Ferrari and Mercedes, are likely to bring their second of three power unit iterations for the season. Where they end up relative to their competitors will be taken as an indicator of their potential.

Both Renault and Honda have a history of underdelivering on upgrades. Honda’s inability to meet upgrade deadlines was a principal motivator in McLaren’s decision to pull the divorce trigger last season, while Renault is yet to deliver the update to its kinetic motor generator unit (MGU-K) it promised at the beginning of 2017, citing reliability concerns.

The MGU-K is the engine component that failed on Daniel Ricciardo’s car at the last race in Monaco, threatening to rob the team of a win at the sport’s most famous race.

Russian province cherishes World Cup cheer WORLD CUP H A LF WAY BET W EE N Moscow and Saint Petersburg in a city abandoned by time, the ball pings across the slushy snow as boys emulate the stars who will shine at the World Cup. More than a thousands years old, Veliky Novgorod has followed the fate of many other historic Russian cities, losing its lustre and burdened by the grim realities of provincial life.

But social problems seem that little bit less important as the world’s most celebrated sports event approaches, filling abandoned corners of Russia with the thrill of the beautiful game.

@thephuketnews

Watchful parents are bundled up in parkas while their children zip around a fenced-in courtyard stripped down to their sweatshirts and woolly hats, elastic scarves around their necks.

The fence is made of steel beams covered in peeling rust, painful to bounce off of and emblematic of the life of hard knocks Veliky Novgorod has endured since the Soviet Union’s fall.

Yet the focus here is squarely on football, which in the northern Russian springtime is played by kids in conditions more suitable to skiing.

The boys come prepared.

They split up into teams, dressed in jerseys with numbers on their backs.

Boys play football in a snowcovered yard in the city of Veliky Novgorod. Photo: Konstantin Chalabov / AFP Each has his own pair of football boots, some new and some worn, which surprisingly maintain a solid grip on the mix of snow and ice packed tightly into the ground.

A deep-blue sky above and decrepit apartment blocs around

them, the boys hop, skip and dream – each conjuring up a fantasy of playing in a World Cup of their own.

A flock of pigeons spring up from the skeletal trees, scared off by the shrieks of sheer joy that football brings to every corner of Russia – even ones unfamiliar with big city comforts.

They kids take breathers plunked down on mounds of snow, puddles forming around them under the first licks of the sun’s warmth.

And once completely exhausted, the boys pack up their footballs in a big net sack, toss them in the car trunk along with their dreams – until the next game.

AFP

That failure means Ricciardo has already used the maximum of two MGU-K units allowed per driver per season, and Red Bull Racing has confirmed that he will take a 10-place grid penalty for a new unit in Canada. Further penalties for other parts may also be incurred.

This in itself is a reason for the team to consider partnering with Honda. Whereas Renault’s engine development timeline complements Renault’s own works team, partnering with Honda would give Red Bull Racing the opportunity to become a de facto works team for the Japanese company, giving it greater chassisengine synergy.

With Red Bull Racing keen to extricate itself from its loveless Renault marriage, the ball is now in Honda’s court to prove it’s finally up to the task of delivering for a top team in Formula One, making Canada a potentially momentous weekend for the famous Japanese marque.

Don’t forget to listen to Live89.5 each and every Saturday at 9am and 5pm for the Box of neutrals radio show.

Live Sports TV Schedule *Times may be subject to change

SPORT

START STOP

EVENT

TEAMS / INFO

Friday 08th June 17:00

23:00

French Open

Men’s Semi Finals

Rugby League 15:00

Tennis

17:00

NRL

Raiders v. Panthers

01:00

Test Match 1, Trinidad

West Indies v. Sri Lanka, Day 3

Cricket

21:00

Saturday 09th June Rugby Union

11:00

13:00 Summer Internationals

Japan v. Italy

Rugby Union 14:30

16:30 Summer Internationals

Chiefs v. Waratahs

17:00

19:00 Summer Internationals

Reds v. Highlanders

22:00

00:00 Summer Internationals

South Africa v. England

21:00

Western Force v. Rebels

Rugby Union 19:00 Soccer Tennis

Friendly

17:00

19:00 Toulon U21 Tournament

SF1: Mexico v. Turkey

19:00

21:00 Toulon U21 Tournament

SF2: England v. Scotland

17:00

20:00

French Open

Women’s Final

Motor Racing 01:00

02:00

Formula 1

Qualifying, Montreal, Canada

01:00

Test Match 1, Trinidad

West Indies v. Sri Lanka, Day 4

Cricket

21:00

Sunday 10th June Soccer

19:00

21:00 Toulon U21 Tournament

Soccer

21:00

23:00 Toulon U21 Tournament

Tennis

17:00

20:00

French Open

Soccer

3:4 Playoff Final Men’s Final

21:00

23:00

International Friendly

Austria v. Brazil

Motor Racing 00:00

00:45

Formula 1

Raceday, Montreal

00:45

03:30

Formula 1

Canada Grand Prix

Cricket

17:30

01:00

ODI,

Scotland v. England

Cricket

21:00

01:00

Test Match 1, Trinidad

West Indies v. Sri Lanka, Day 5

Sport

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

editor3@classactmedia.co.th

FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018

PPL bids a fond farewell to longterm player > p29

THE 118TH US OPEN

The Golf Guru gives an insight into the year’s 2nd Major golf tournament GOLF Martin Platts

T The 118th US Open will be played at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. It is now the 5th time the event will be held there, the last time being in 2004. Photo: Timothy A. Clary / AFP

he second golfing Major of the year, the 118th US Open Championship, will be played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, New York from June 14-17.

This will be the 5th US open at Shinnecock Hills course, the first was in 1896. The golf course is described as an inland links golf course meaning it was originally a barren piece of land where nothing grows with a sandy texture above and below the

ground. Cosmetically it doesn’t look like that any more.

How difficult is a US Open golf course?

Blue Canyon Golf Course in Phuket, which is a wonderful golf course to play, is a stern test of golf off the back and does feature black tees, which are usually used for championship play, for example professional or strong amateur tournaments. The course has hosted professional tournaments such as the Johnnie Walker Classic, which Tiger Woods won in 1998.

The rating of the golf course tells you how difficult it is. The par at Blue Canyon is 72, however, the course rating means the degree of difficulty is 2.8 above the par, therefore 74.8 (an amateur can play to a zero handicap by playing to 74.8 not 72).

Shinnecock Hills is par 70 with a course rating of 74.7 and includes six par 4 holes which are over 475 yards. From the good old days, any hole over 475 yards is classed as a par 5 making the natural par of the golf course 76. So if you want to experience how difficult a US Open is in...

Continued on page 30

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