10-04-2015

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

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Friday April 10 – Thursday April 16, 2015

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ONE DEAD, ONE MISSING AS FERRY BURNS AND SINKS > PAGE 4

IT’S GOING TO GET WET!

LIFE

PAGE 2

Traditional ways of Songkran

Photo: Prentice Wongvibulsin

SPORT

PAGE 29

Phuket on a roll in Bangkok

YOUR GUIDE TO SONGKRAN VENUES AND EVENTS > PAGE 3

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Natalie goes to the dogs for all the right reasons> page 9

Central underpass is finally, really open Nattapat Tuarob & Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter2@classactmedia.co.th

T

he long awaited opening of the Central Festival underpass finally took place this week after two years and five months, though not without a couple of glitches.

A ceremony was held on Monday (April 6) to mark the opening and saw Minister of Transport Air Chief Marshall Prajin Juntong and Minister of Finance Sommai Phasee together with officials from various local government agencies in attendance.

But motorists had to wait until the following day before they could use the underpass because the Highways Department wanted to make final checks on the lane lights at either end of

Traffic flows both ways through the underpass on Tuesday. the tunnel.

On Tuesday morning northbound traffic was allowed into the underpass and at midday southbound traffic, too, was given the green light.

At the official opening the Minister of Finance, Sommai Phasee said that future transport projects will run smoothly as

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

the Ministry of Finance will provide loans for the Ministry of Transport.

For example, he said, “I think Phuket is a popular tourist destination, but we don’t have adequate bays for aircraft. Those billionaires who come with their private jets and VIPs should have bays at the aiport.

“I want to say that when government agencies work closely with each other, without being cut across, the benefit all goes to the people.

“We are not just supporting Phuket. Many places in the country want money to build roads, and the government has a policy for road building nationwide.

“I want to tell the people of Phuket and relevant officers to take care of the underpass, leave it clean and nice, especially with regards to garbage,” said Mr Sommai.

Director General of Highways Department, Choosak Kewee said, “Phuket will have two more underpasses, at Bang Ku junction and Chalong Circle.

“Contracts for these projects should be signed soon, and within two years Phuket will have four underpasses.”

Travelling blood bank looking for donations PHUKET’S BLOOD BANK is collecting donations of blood this month at a variety of places around the island.

The venues, dates and times for the rest of the month are as follows;

Friday (April 10) Midday-4pm Tesco Lotus bypass (in front of Uniqlo)

Thursday (April 16) Midday-6pm Makro Thalang

Friday (April 17) Midday-6pm Tesco Lotus bypass (in front of Uniqlo) 1-4pm Centara Grand, Karon

Wednesday (April 22) 1-4pm The Front Village, Karon 1-4pm

Coconut Grove Room, Hilton Arcadia, Karon

Friday (April 24) 10am-4pm Departures, Phuket International Airport

Sunday (April 26) 2-6pm In front of SCB Bank, Big C bypass

Monday (April 27) Midday-6pm Tesco Lotus, Thalang

Tuesday (April 28) 1-4pm JW Marriott, Mai Khao

Wednesday (April 29) 10am-3pm Robinson, Junceylon Patong

Thursday (April 30) 1-4pm Swissotel Patong

Fire rips through Super Cheap store in Wichit THE SUPER CHEAP STORE at Phuket Villa 5 burned down early on Wednesday morning (April 8), with damage estimated at several million baht.

As the f lames roared through the building at about 2am, local residents and foreign workers helped to remove flammable items from close by and from neighbouring stores.

Vichit police blocked the road off and electrical workers turned off the source off electricity in the area. At 2am, fire rescue workers from Vichit Municipality and Phuket city helped to control the fire.

A Super Cheap worker

The store at the height of the blaze. who was on duty said, “The fire started near the counter area. No one knows how or why. The fire then spread to the ceiling and display shelves.

We tried to put it out but it was out of hand so we called for help.”

Fire fighters spent two

hours trying to control the blaze and stopping it spreading to an aquarium shop and a house on either side of the Super Cheap. Though they managed to stop the flames spreading, the Super Cheap itself was destroyed, along with a Siam Commercial Bank ATM at the front of the store.

No one was injured.

This was not the first fire alert at the store. In November last year a power cable fell in front of the shop, starting a fire that trashed two motorcycles.

This morning’s fire is the second occasion on which a Super Cheap store has been destroyed by fire. In October 2013 the rambling timber-andtin-roof main store was totally destroyed in a huge fire and had to be completely rebuilt.

It reopened a year ago. thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

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Nine official Songkran party places booked for revellers Patong Songkran Schedule April 11-13

Nattapat Tuarob reporter1@classactmedia.co.th

Saturday, April 11

N

ine public zones have been set for official Songkran partying in Phuket this year.

They are: Loma Park and Bangla Rd in Patong; Kamala Public Park; Saphan Hin and Limelight Avenue in Talad Yai (Phuket Town); Kata and Karon Beaches; Soi Tad Ied in Chalong; Sirinart Marine National Park (south of the airport) in Mai Khao; and Surin Beach in Cherng Talay.

At a meeting of government departments on April 2, Governor Nisit Jansomwong warned, “The Cabinet has laid out eight policy points governing Songkran.”

These are: 1. Dress politely – don’t dress in sexy outfits. If possible, dress in Thai traditional garments or local costume.

2. No alcohol may be sold in the nine areas.

3. When soaking other people, don’t mix powder, ice cubes, or foam with the water.

4. Don’t use high-pressure water guns or other dangerous devices. The government favours the use of water bowls only.

5. Don’t use pick-up trucks to carry drums of water into Songkran venues.

6. Contribute to an appropriate image of Songkran by avoiding impolite or unsuitable dancing or performances.

7. If there are other activities to promote Songkran Festival, organise them in accordance with Thai traditions.

8. Set a clear period of time for Songkran water play so as to avoid traffic congestion and crime.

“These are law, and if people don’t follow them we have an authority to penalise them,” the Governor added.

He continued, “I would like to have uniformed and plainclothes police in each zone,” the Governor said. “I don’t want to see any cases of theft or robbery, especially by people on motorcycles.

“If you see someone drunk, tell them to stop and hold on to them until they are fully sober.

I would also like ambulances stationed in important zones.

“As for marine safety, life jackets must be ready, boats must be in fully-functioning condition, and wheelmen must not be drunk.

“In their zones of responsibility each local administration @thephuketnews

18:30

Pre-opening night, Tessaban officials on Bangla stage

19:00

Traditional Thai dance performance

23:00

End

17:00

Officials on Bangla stage

18:00

– Songkran Festival opening night – Ribbon cutting and opening speech by Gov Nisit Jansomwong – Music – Water blessing ceremony Phra Phutsihing - Water pouring for monks

19:00

Junior Songkran contest with traditional Thai dance performance

Sunday, April 12

A woman pours water over a monk’s hands. The government would like to see more of this gentler side of Songkran. Photo Jimmy the SuperStar organisation should promote safe Songkran practices and keep a sharp eye out in your area. Local authorities should set up slow-down points on minor roads in their area.

“For main roads such as to Patong and Saphan Hin, I think we should have military police enhancing prevention [of road traffic offences].”

“When there are accidents, roads must be cleared quickly to prevent traffic congestion.

The police in the area must get to the scene as quick as

possible, and have tow trucks and cranes ready to use.

He also urged the public to become spotters for the police.

“I have seen road users jumping red lights many times, so I urge all road users to take photos of those who run the lights and send the pictures to the police.”

Pol Col Tassanai Orarikadech, Director of General Staff Division of Phuket Provincial Police, said, “There will be seven main police checkpoints, 11 minor check-

Songkran Event Schule other areas on April 13 Sapan Hin 06:00 06:45

Monks gather at Sapan Hin Park Thai music performance from Plookpanya Municipal School

07:00

– Phra Phutthasihing takes to the altar Gov Nisit Jansomwong presides over the opening ceremony – Altar candle lighting – Monks give blessing – Gov Nisit and Mayor Somjai Suwannasupapana give public blessing and release birds – Merit-making ‘Tak Bat’ alms-giving to monks – Snacks and drinks while waiting to bless Buddhist images and monks – Rot Nam Dam Hua (hand water pouring) for monks, goverment officials and elderly people

Midday

Water splashing fun

07:30

Merit-making ‘Tak Bat’ alms-giving to monks

11:30

Floral floats parade images of Luang Poh Cham, Luang Poh Chuang and Luang Poh Gurm to Wat Chalong

13:30

Songkran Festival with free mini concert featuring Step One band and Kiti Na Thalang.

Chalong - Soi Ta Eiad

Cherng Talay - Surin Beach – Songkran parade from Bang Tao Tesco Lotus to Wat Cherng Talay 8:30-11:30 – Water blessing for Buddhist images and monks – Water blessing for the elderly – Traditional fun and games

Limelight Avenue – Dibuk Rd (Dress code traditional Thai silk)

17:00

– Water blessing for Buddhist images – Travel Thai activities and exhibition – Activities booths – Water splashing – Local stage performances and entertainment – Music concert by Paradox

Mai Khao - Moo 4 Mai Khao Beach Sirinart National Park Sunday, April 12 7:30 Water blessing for Buddhist images 08:0011:00

Educational exhibition feature traditional Thai culture, art and music

Monday, April 13 – Rot Nam Dam Hua (hand water pouring) – Game and activities for the elderly 09:00– Tree planting 11:00 – Fish release – Music

19:30

Miss Songkran contestants announced

20:30

Winner of Junior Songkran contest announced

21:00

Miss Songkran beauty contest with traditional Thai dance performance

23:00

End

Monday, April 13

points and 21 mobile patrols in each area, with patrol officers and bomb disposal officers in each zone.

“Law enforcement will be strict and those who break the law will be charged.

“The police PR campaign during Songkran is, “Slow Down, Protect your Life.”

For a guide to the traditional Songkran, see Life, pages 2 and 3.

07:00

Traditional Thai music

07:30

– Residents and tourists gather at Wat Suwankiriwong – Merit-making ‘Tak Bat’ alms-giving to monks – Water blessing ceremony for Phra Phutsihing

11:00

‘Tawai Aharn Phra’ – presenting food to monks

12:00

Lunch with Buddhist monks

13:00

– Receive blessing from monks – Water blessing for monks and elders (Rot Nam Dam Hua) – Traditional Thai dance at the Bangla stage and 2nd stage at junction of Ratpracha Nukroh Rd and Taweewong Rd

14:00

Water blessing begins inside Wat Suwankiriwong

16:30

Thessaban officials on Bangla stage

17:00

Musical performance by the Phraya Rassada Band from Trang

23:00

End of Songkran festival

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THEPHUKETNEWS.COM Phuket Seven Day Weather Forecast

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FRI APRIL 10

SAT APRIL 11

SUN APRIL 12

MON APRIL 13

TUE APRIL 14

WED APRIL 15

THU APRIL 16

High: +34° Low: +27°

High: +33° Low: +28°

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Wind 4 km/h

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1 dead, 1 missing in ferry inferno Eakkapop Thongtub editor@classactmedia.co.th

fire broke out on the ferry Ao Nang Princess 5 on Wednesday afternoon (April 8), about two kilometres from Nopparatthara Beach in Ao Nang.

Almost all the 117 passengers are reported to have been rescued by nearby boats and the Marine police. There were two exceptions – one person found dead and a 12-year-old Thai girl who is missing.

Divers are now looking to see if they can find the girl.

The fire broke out at 3:30 pm near Koh Met while the ferry, which belongs to Ao Nang Travel Tour Co and was carrying 107 adults and 10 children from Koh Phi Phi, was heading for Nopparatthara Beach near Ao Nang.

Krabi Marine Police, Krabi Marine Office, Nopparathara Park officers and 10 fishing and speed boats hurried to the scene and rescued passengers, taking them to Ao Nang, where rescue workers were waiting to ferry

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Vasilisa is now in a coma.

Cash needed for Russian girl, 3, after pool incident

The ferry burned to the waterline before sinking. Photo Krabi Rescue Centre anyone injured to hospital. In the event, none of those brought ashore was injured.

The skipper of the ferry, Capt Wirat, said there was an

explosion in the engine room, after which he told passengers to put on life jackets. Other boats were on the scene fast, he said, and passengers were

able to step from the burning ferry onto the other boats.

The fire burned the ferry to the waterline, after which it sank.

A THREE-YEAR-OLD Russian girl is in a coma in a Bangkok hospital after almost drowning in a hotel swimming pool in Phuket.

Her parents are urgently trying to raise funds to cover hospital costs as they are now beyond the amount covered by insurance.

The three-year-old, Vasilisa Sagunova, fell into the deep end of a hotel swimming pool without her parents realising.

It was several minutes before anybody noticed.

After being dragged from the pool, Vasilisa was rushed to a local hospital where she was resuscitated.

However, her condition was so severe she was transferred to a hospital in Bangkok where she is still in a coma.

Doctors have recommended that Vasilisa spend a few more days in hospital before being medivaced to Russia.

Russian emergency agencies will cover the costs for the medivac flight but as of now there has been no confirmation that the authorities will also assist with the hospital bills beyond the family’s travel insurance.

Her stay in the hospitals cost between B100,000 and B150,000 a day.

Vasilisa’s parents are therefore asking for urgent donations to help with the hospital bills. Donations can be deposited in Bangkok Bank account No. 955004091-0, Account name: Olga Ratushnaya.

Matt Pond thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Police grab dealer, seize haul of 14,440 meth pills POLICE HAVE ARRESTED a man who, for Phuket, is a big drug dealer, and seized 14,440 methamphetamine (ya bah) pills.

The initial arrest came at 4am on April 2 when officers stopped Mai Khao resident Wutthichai Buthnga, 26, at the Tah Chat Chai check point.

A search uncovered 10 meth pills and 0.77 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

Police then escorted Wuttichai to his home in Moo 4, Mai Khao, which they searched.

They uncovered 74 bags of meth pills totalling 14,430 pills, packed in boxes in the bedroom.

They also seized 638 plastic bags of various sizes, drugsmoking paraphernalia, Wutthichai’s iPhone and a Siam Commercial bank book.

On the phone they found photos that appeared to be of drug sales and money transfers.

Wutthichai was charged with possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell.

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5

Armed gang grab B500k in massage parlour raid P

CCTV screen grab shows the helmeted robbers standing over staff of the massage parlour as they gather the cash.

olice are searching for five men who were involved in an armed robbery of a massage parlour on Sunday night (April 5).

The robbery took place at the Imperial Massage shop in Anupas Manorom Village at 9:10pm while all but one of the massage therapists were at work.

Police arrived to find more than 10 Chinese tourists, along with the parlour’s receptionists, Nattitha Chaiyasopa, 29, and Supawadee Suden, 30, therapist Wanna Chaiyasopa and the parlour’s owner Ein Mikim, all in a state of shock.

Receptionist Nattitha Chai-

yasopa told police “Today is payday. I was with Ein [the owner] counting the money into a basket ready to pay the staff.

“We had more than 10 Chinese tourists who had come to use the spa services and suddenly two men in crash helmets rushed in holding guns and knives.

“One of the men said, ‘Give us all your money, and the money in the basket too,’” said Ms Nattitha.

Police examined CCTV coverage, which showed there were five men involved in the robbery. Two, wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying

knives and guns, walked in the shop and threatened the four women in the reception area, while the other three men waited outside as lookouts.

It is believed the robbers got away with around B500,000 in cash. After grabbing the money the duo left the scene on a Honda Click motorcycle.

Police believe the robbery was possibly an inside job, and that someone connected with the parlour had tipped off the robbers that it was pay day and there would be money to be stolen.

Darawan Naknakhon

Two foreigners found dead in hotel rooms TWO FOREIGNERS WERE FOUND dead this week in hotel rooms, both apparently of natural causes.

On Monday night (April 6) a 33-year-old British man was found drowned in a bath in his room at the Baan Yindee Hotel on Mueanngern Rd in Patong. Staff from the hotel discovered the body after the man

failed to check out on time. Called to the scene at 11:30 pm, police were led to a room where the body of the man was lying on his side in a bath full of water.

Inside the room police found several bottles of alcohol, and two packs of the over-the-counter sleeping tablets Nytol. One was empty.

Police said there was no sign of an assault or fight, or theft from the room.

He had been dead for six or seven hours. A doctor at Patong hospital has confirmed that the man suffered a heart attack, as a result of which he drowned in the bath. The following day a 60-year-old Swiss woman was found dead in her room at Patong Grand

Condo. Police said she is believed to have died from a heart attack. A hotel maid told police “I knocked at the door to clean the room but there was no answer. I opened the door and found her on the bed.” Her body was taken to Patong hospital where an autopsy was due to be carried out to confirm the police diagnosis.

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ATMs resist robbers’ attempts to get cash T

hieves attempted to break into two ATM machines in front of the Index Living Mall early on Saturday morning (April 4) but went away empty handed.

Wichit Police received a call from a security guard stationed at Index, who said that two ATM machines outside the mall had been broken into.

Arriving at the scene officers found an SCB and a Kasikorn Bank ATM had both been broken into. Security officers from both banks joined police to check the ATM’s operating systems and the money held inside. They found that the machines were still in working order and that no money was missing.

It appeared that the amateur thieves, although getting inside the ATMs, couldn’t shut the systems down and get to the money in the internal strongboxes. The security guard

Police inspect the smashed-up ATMs. No money was missing from either of them. said that at around 3am he had heard the sound of something breaking, but when he came out to see what was happening no one was around.

However, he found that the two ATMs had been broken into so he called the police.

Three arrested with guns and narcotics PHUKET CITY POLICE on Saturday (April 4) arrested three men who had in their possession either guns, drugs or both. On Saturday afternoon, Pol Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang first arrested Panupong Srinak, 25, from Phuket with 0.49 grams of crystal meth (ya ice). He was charged with possessing a Category 1 drug.

Later in the day, Pradith Wichitboot, 34, also from Phuket, was arrested for possession of 183 Meth pills, a handmade pistol and a bullet to fit it, and a .38 Smith and

Wesson revolver with thirty .38 bullets.

Pradith was charged with possession of a Category 1 drug with intent for sell, possession of unlicensed guns and ammunitions and also carrying guns in a public area without permission and without reason.

Finally, police arrested Wirat Kongthong, 38, from Nakorn Sri Thammarat with a .22 revolver and six bullets and ten 12-gauge shotgun cartridges. He was charged with possession of an unlicensed gun and ammunition.

The police suspect that more than two people were involved in the attempted theft and that they had first used a screw driver to break into the front of the machines expecting the money to be there. They soon found that the money was in

fact at the back of the machines so they changed their plan and broke the locks at the back.

Although they managed to get into the back of the machines, they could not stop the security system so they cut some wires at the back of the

SCB ATM and tried to open the money box but failed.

With its security system broken the machine stopped working and an alert was sent to the headquarters of the security company contracted by the bank, telling them the machine had been broken into.

Pol Col Kitipong Klaikaew, superintendent of Wichit Police Station Police said he believes that the thieves were amateurs and didn’t have the skills to shut down the ATM’s security system. Fearing they might be arrested, they ran away.

Police have collected fingerprints from the scene and hope to be able to identify the thieves from them.

They have also asked security guards to check all CCTV images from the area and footage from the ATMs themselves will also be viewed to help them with their investigation.

Eakkapop Thongtub

Four die in fiery crash A FAMILY OF FOUR, WHO police believe came from Phuket, died when their car burst into flames after crashing in Songkhla early on Sunday morning (April 5).

At around 5am, Pol Lt Kris Thinnakorn from Thepa Police Station in Songkhla received a report that a car had crashed into a tree at the Leela Resort Curve on Asia Road in the Thepa District in Songkhla.

Police arrived while the Phuket-registered car was still burning fiercely, with all four people – two men, a woman and a child – trapped inside.

After the blaze was extinguished police were able to see that the Black Honda

Local people look at the burned-out wreck of the car.

City was registered in Phuket as belonging to Ismael Sama from Rassada.

Although the dead have yet to be identified, police believe that all four may have been from the same family.

They are still working on putting names to them all.

Police said the car was heading south when it crashed into a tree and burst into flames. They have yet to establish the cause of the crash.

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

281 inmates released from Phuket prison T WO H U N DR ED A N D sixty Thai inmates and 21 foreigners were released from Phuket provincial prison on April 2 as part of a Royal pardon issued by HM the King to honour HRH Princess Sirinhorn’s 60th birthday.

At 5:30pm, Phuket Prison Commissioner, Pichit Wannajit, announced that 232 men, 28 women, and 21 foreigners (17 Burmese, two Belarussians and two Sri Lankans) who had broken immigration laws had all received pardons.

Mr Pichit told inmates to stay away from illegal activities and start life afresh. Their fingerprints were then taken before they were set free.

More than 100 family members and friends of the inmates were waiting outside the prison to greet them.

Some inmates broke down in tears after being freed.

Norwegian arrested for visa overstay A NORWEGIAN WAS ARrested in Talad Neua on April 1 for staying in Thailand after his visa had expired.

Immigration police arrested Arnt Egil Hermansen, 33, on Maeluan Rd after police patrolling the area checking for tourists who might be breaking immigration laws came across him.

“Officers spotted Hermansen. He acted suspiciously so they approached him and asked to see his passport. He failed to show it to them, so he was taken to the Immigration Police Station,” said Col Teanchai.

Checking their records, Immigration police found that Hermansen entered Thailand on December 12, 2014. His visa expired on March 11.

Hermansen was taken to Phuket City Police Station to face a charge of living illegally in Thailand on an expired visa.

HUGE REDUCTIONS on exclusive properties in Phuket, details on page 17

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FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

PHUKET NEWS

7

Bike Week girls take a bow Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter2@classactmedia.co.th

T

he entrants for the 21st Anniversary Phuket Bike Week 2015 were presented at a press conference held at the Andaman Embrace Resort and Spa on Saturday (April 4).

All of the entrants to this year̕s pageant, which has now become a tradition of the annual event, gathered for a photo and video session around the resort’s swimming pool.

This year the competition will comprise two rounds: The first round will be held tomorrow (April 11) in Patong. The entrants will be whittled down to 10 who will go through to next round.

The second round will be held Monday (April 13). In this round the pretties will have to walk the catwalk and answer questions from the judges.

The winners will be announced later in the evening.

The winner will take home B30,000 with B15,000 for second place and B10,000 for third. There will also be

Mayor Kawee Tansukatanonjoint and Santi Pawai, Director of the Ministry of Tourism & Sports Phuket and Anoma Vongyai of the TAT, Phuket.

Mr Kawee said, “We are happy that bike week activities will take place at Sapan Hin. We are ready to present our city to everyone.”

Mr Santi said, “This event has support from many sectors. I wish the activities will be interesting for both Phuket people and tourists.”

R/Adm Tiensiri raised a laugh with his short speech: “If you want to be happy for a year, just get married. If you want to be happy forever, get a bike!”

Pol Col Chaiwat Uikam Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, which oversees Patong, the focus of the first half of Bike Week, reassured Some of the Miss Bike Week contestants. People may vote for their favourite via the Bike Week Facebook page. those present, “Traffic may be a bit slow [during Bike B5,000 rewards for “Miss by the girl who gets the most photos of the contestants will Navy, to raise awareness Week] but we will look after Social” and “Miss Popular”, heart-shaped stickers attached be posted. of events in the upcoming everything as best we can.” both involving votes from to her by the public during On Tuesday (April 7) Bike bike week.

Among those present Class Act Media is proud to the public. the finals.

Week’s organisers hosted a Miss Social will be deTo “Like” one of the con- gathering at Central Festival were Rear Admiral Tiensiri be a media sponsor of Bike cided by likes on Facebook testants go to facebook.com/ that brought together every- Montrivet of the Royal Thai Week. For full Bike Week before 6pm on Monday while phuketbikeweek after 6pm one from would-be beauty Navy, Governor Nisit Jansom- schedules and more see Life Miss Popular will be decided tomorrow (April 11) when queens to the Royal Thai wong, Phuket City Deputy page 10.

At time of going to press, Inisfail was still stuck fast on Kata Beach. Photo LivingInKata.

Storm puts yacht on beach THE AUSTRALIAN OWNERS OF A SAIling ketch treid again last Friday (April 3) to get the yacht off Kata Beach where it became stranded last Wednesday night (April 1).

According to Kirill Stashevsky of Phuket’s Gokova Sailing School the two Australian brothers, not yet named, bought the ketch, the Scilly Islands-registered Inisfail, from a friend in Ranong.

On the way from Ranong to Phuket, the boat’s engine started to overheat so the duo had to turn it off and try to reach Phuket under sail.

When they reached Kata Beach, after dark, they decided to stop for the night and then sail around to the east side of Phuket Thursday (April 2) to get the engine repaired.

“They told me that in the middle of the night a 15-minute storm came in and unanchored the yacht.

“The owners, who were on board, first @thephuketnews

tried to start the engine but couldn’t. They then tried to set the sails but the boat was washed ashore before they could do so – though I seriously doubt that sail would have helped anyway.

“I gave them all the necessary contacts and Thurday they arranged for an excavator to dig a channel to the sea. One of the brothers told me that the Kata rescue centre had promised to provide a tug-boat but this didn’t happen.

“One possible explanation is that reaching Kata from Phuket Town with a tugboat takes around two hours. Can you imagine a tugboat captain coming all this way without a guarantee that he will be paid even if he fails to get the yacht into deep water? There is always some risk of failure.”

As The Phuket News went to press on Wednesday (April 8) the ketch was still stuck on the beach.

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PHUKET NEWS IN DEPTH

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FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Phuket gets ready for colourful Pride Week P

huket Pride, the island’s annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) festival kicks off on Sunday April 19 with “Stargazer”, Phuket Pride’s first talent contest.

The competition starts at 4pm at CC’s Hideaway in Kata.

Auditions will begin at 5pm and the finals at 8pm, with a prize of B20,000 for the winner.

Entry to the event is free, or people can make a donation of B100 and receive a free beverage and a draw ticket. Anyone wanting to enter the competition should email stargazer@ ccshideaway.com April 20: Opening of a week-long photography show at Jungceylon titled “All love is equal”. Entry is free. To submit photos, email high-res JPG images to photo@phuketpride.org The organisers of the exhibition say, “Our goal is to show the broader community, and visitors to Phuket, that we are just like them, by showing the

many faces of our local Thai LGBT communities.

The evening will see cue experts line up for the pool competition at Sundowners Bar. Competitors must pay an entry fee of B300 for the chance of winning cash prizes. Entry forms are available at Aquarius Guest House/Lounge 69.

Also in the evening, Newspaper Restaurant in Soi Paradise is open for a three-course Thai meal with entertainment.

Tickets, from Newspaper, or Aquarius Guest House/Lounge 69, cost B800, B200 of which will go to the Phuket Loves You Club (PLU) for its outreach programme.

April 21: Gay day-trip to Koh Racha. Tickets cost B1,200 includes transfers, mask, snorkel, life jacket, soft drinks, tour guide, insurance and lunch. For more information call Trevor at 084 852 8142 or email: trevor@ sbyphuket.com.

April 22: Beach volleyball on Patong Beach. Entrance fee per team is B1,000. Winners

will receive cash prizes and trophies, plus free entrance to the Boat Bar ‘Sunset Beach Party’ in the evening.

Entry forms are available at Aquarius Guest House/ Lounge69 or call: Beer (Thai) on 089 8553 207 or Peter (English) on 082 2800 494.

The Sunset Beach Party will be held at Iguana Beach from 5pm to 10pm and for the

entry fee of B300 will feature DJ music, neon dancers, the Boat Bar show and more.

Limited free transport will be available. Thai and International food will be available (at extra cost).

Tickets are available from Boat Bar, Aquarius Guest House/Lounge69 and Club One Seven, or email: info@ phuket-pride.org.

April 23: Phuket Adventure mini golf contest in Cherng Talay. Tickets with transport (B450) are available at Aquarius Guest House/Lounge69 and Club One Seven, or email: info@phuket-pride.org. For tickets without transport (B250) call Phil at 080 7410 925.

In the evening put on all your finery and head for the Beautiful Woman/Sexy Man contest at CC’s Hideaway, from 6pm to 11pm.

Contestants “will come out as their favourite woman and throughout the night slowly transition into a sexy man”.

Cash prizes for the winners.

Entry to watch costs B200.

A Thai buffet meal will be available at B250.For information about competing, email

All sorts get involved in Pride Week – and they are all colourful. Phuket News file photos from last year’s event. msmr@phuket-pride.org April 24: The Gala Diner, including a Grand Charity Auction, at the Novotel Vintage Park from 6pm to 11pm.

The evening will include a Thai and International buffet, a “world famous” cabaret show, guest DJs and entertainers and a recognition award ceremony.

VIP tables, B2,000 per person. Regular tickets, B1,500 per person.

To book a table of 10 email gala@phuket-pride.org. Regular gala tickets are also available

from Aquarius Guest House/ Lounge69 and Club One Seven.

April 25: The Big Event, including a ‘Mr. Phuket Pride 2015’ contest, at the Andaman Embrace Resort from 4.30pm to 10.30pm, with DJs from some of Phuket’s top nightspots and Beach clubs, dancing and entertainment including saxophonist and bongo players.

A BBQ and other food will be available (at extra cost).

The ‘Mr Phuket Pride 2015’ contest will be two rounds of the boys in day wear and swim wear. Cash prizes for winners.

Rhythm and blues, jazz, and funk singer PJae Stanley will sing between the rounds.

Entry is free or partygoers can buy a welcome pack at B200 which includes a free beer, a garland ready to give to your favourite Mr Phuket Pride 2015 contestant and a free Donate & Win (DAW) ticket.

Welcome pack tickets in advance are available from Aquarius Guest House/Lounge69 and Club One Seven For more info about how to enter Mr Phuket Pride 2015 email info@phuketpride.org.

April 26: The week reaches its climax with that great favourite, the Phuket Pride Grand Parade, starting at 3pm on Soi Tan and going along Prachanukroh Rd and the beach road.

After the parade is over, the fun goes on with a street party on Soi Paradise including a Tea Dance and BBQ at Kiss Club and Bistro Restaurant, and the draw for holders of Donate And Win tickets.

For details of the events visit phuket-pride.org/ or the Facebook page facebook.com/ PrideinPhuket.

Class Act Media is a media partner with Phuket Pride.

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

9

Natalie to assist Soi Dog Nattha Thepbamrung

reporter3@classactmedia.co.th

M

Natalie Glebova: ‘It really hurts me when I see animals hurt.’

iss Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova, paid a visit to Phuket Soi Dog foundation in Mai Khao on April 6 for a film shoot for her new website, which aims to help promote a variety of charitable foundations.

“I have been a supporter of Soi Dog for several years and I am happy to help out in

any way that I can by creating awareness, helping raise funds or showing up for publicity.

“Today I brought some friends because we are working on a project that is going to promote a variety of charities,” Ms Glebova told The Phuket News after a tour of the foundation’s facilities.

She explained that she and friends are working on a project that will connect travel businesses with charities, giving more opportunities

for the businesses’ customers to explore Thailand’s many foundations and perhaps decide to support them.

“It basically combines traveling and humanitarian work. We are looking at partnering up with a few travel organisations across Asia so that, when people travel, they will be able to look at and choose which organisation they want to donate to.

“I think Soi Dog is a perfect candidate for this because

it has amazing programs. We want to get some footage to show people what we are going to be working with, what Soi Dog does and how they can help.”

She said she is very impressed with the work of Soi Dog. “I am a huge animal lover so it really hurts me when I see animals hurt.

“I am really grateful to the founders, John and Gill [Dalley] who set this up. They are helping so many animals.”

Man denies hand in toddler’s death A MAN FROM NARATIWAT for whom an arrest warrant was issued last Friday (April 3) for allegedly assaulting a oneyear-old baby boy, resulting in his death, handed himself in to police on Monday (April 6) and was presented to the press on Tuesday.

The incident allegedly happened last Friday at the Summer Hotel in Talad Yai, where Somsak Yakob, 38 was taking care of the boy Nopparat, nicknamed Bow. Somsak told the boy’s mother that Bow had fallen

off the bed. He took the child to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where Bow later died.

The boy’s mother, Montha “Dow” Pimchaisri, went to the Phuket City police the same day, accusing Somsak of assaulting her child.

She told police that Somsak had taken the toddler on March 31 to look after him while she was at work and was supposed to bring him back the following day. He did not.

Montha said, that on Friday she received a call saying

Bow had fallen off the bed and had been taken to hospital. An arrest warrant for Somsak, who works as a motorcycle taxi driver was issued. He initially went into hiding but surrendered on Monday. At the press conference he told a different tale.

“She always asked me to take care of Bow. He was a good boy and I liked him. I treated him just like my own kid and he was quite attached to me.

“I remember that the mother even said she would

Livestock officers check elephant abuse reports PHUKET HAS THE HIGHEST number of working elephants of all the provinces in Thailand, a meeting of the Elephant Committee, chaired by ViceGovernor Panlop Singhasanee, was told last Friday (April 3).

The committee was set up to keep an eye on local livestock agents, especially in light of complaints sent in

by NGOs. “Phuket has the highest number of elephants in Thailand, with 216 registered with the Livestock Office. We need to work out the correct measures to handle them all,” said V/Gov Panlop.

Taveesak Sawasdivej, an official with the Muang District Livestock, said that he had led a team to check three places that were accused of abusing elephants, but had found no evidence of wrongdoing.

“First we went to Phu Thai elephant camp following a report that a two-year-old baby elephant, Pinky, was tied up with chains that had caused a wound in her flesh, and that her food was rotten.

“But when we checked we could find no wound on Pinky, nor any rotten food. The camp @thephuketnews

Best of buddies: A baby elephant with its mahout. Phuket News file photo. representative said the baby elephant is tied up only when her mahout goes to the toilet.

“Another baby elephant, Nadya, at the second place we visited, Marina Phuket Resort, works at night time but only for two hours,” he said, pointing out that this was not burdensome for the elephant.

“A complaint was also received about ATV Sea View, alleging that blind elephants were being used for hard work.

We found two old elephants there, Pang Kanom, 40 and Pang Saonoi, 65, who are bleary-eyed.

“But Pang Kanom is only

used for carrying items for short distances, not tourists, and Pang Saonoi stays near the pond waiting for visitors to bathe her,” he explained.

He said that a big problem for Phuket elephants now is the shortage of land on Phuket for elephant camps, with some camps occupying land illegally.

“The Sea View Elephant Camp in Rawai, on the road to Kata, has been closed by the Phuket Agricultural Land Reform Office because it was using SorPorKor land [degraded forest earmarked for farming only by poor people] for the wrong purposes [for tourism].”

give Bow to me as my son if I paid her B20,000.”

He said that the day the boy fell from the bed he had had to go out for half an hour, leaving the boy alone.

“I came back to the room and found Bow laying face down on the floor. When I checked he was still breathing, but barely, so I took him to Vachira Hospital. I later found out he had died,” Somsak said.

He denied hitting the baby and insisted that he knew nothing about bruises found on Bow’s body.

Montha Pimchaisri at the funeral for her one-year-old son.

Opinion 10 OPINION

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

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editor@classactmedia.co.th

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KODCHANAT THINSEPON Editor

STEVEN LAYNE Managing Editor editor@classactmedia.co.th From the USA; BA in Communication Arts from Bangkok University International College; six years’ experience at Nation Junior Magazine, Bangkok Recorder, Phuket. net, Farangs.com and Phuket Gazette.

ALASDAIR FORBES Executive Editor 087 884 9964 execeditor@classactmedia.co.th From the UK; 40 years as a journalist and editor on magazines and newspapers in the UK, Middle East, Hong Kong and Thailand: Cheshire Observer, Chester Chronicle, Saudi Gazette, Gulf Mirror, Gulf Construction, Gulf News, Hongkong Standard, Asian Business (Editor) and Phuket Gazette (Managing Editor for seven years).

J.P. MESTANZA Sport Editor editor2@classactmedia.co.th From USA; Degree in Journalism and Media Studies, from Rutgers University. Three years experience at The Jersey Journal, Sports Page Magazine, and My9 News.

DALIA HILMI Life Editor

We’re always here if you need help

D

uring a visit to Phuket Thailand’s Deputy Police Commissioner, Pol Gen Dr Wuthi Liptapallop, made an interesting but fair statement. He said, “The most important thing for the superintendent of tourist provinces, border provinces, or special economic zone provinces is they must be able to speak English.

“In the Asean charter, it states in Article 34, ‘The working language of Asean shall be English.’ When the next reshuffles take place, if you want to stay in Phuket, English will be an indicator.

“You don’t have to speak like a native but you must be able to communicate. So, I want you to be prepared, because at the next reshuffle there may well be a measure to test your English.”

Considering Phuket is often claimed to be a “world class

editor1@classactmedia.co.th Originally from Canada; BA in Sociology from the University of Birmingham in the UK and an MA in Online/Print Journalism from the University of the Arts in London. Three years experience for Britain’s third-biggest publisher, Immediate Media, as well as Bauer Media and InStyle magazine.

MATTHEW POND News Editor editor3@classactmedia.co.th Originally from the UK; Has four years experience as editor and reporter for Phuketindex.com magazine and website, and InPhuket magazine.

TANYALUK ‘MANGO’ SAKOOT

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Reporter 089 727 7989 reporter1@classactmedia.co.th

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tourist destination” one might like to think English proficiency would also be high on the agenda for local government agencies. Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case as a recent warning sign placed at the notorious Nai Harn lake shows.

Readers of The Phuket News story on the issue ridiculed Rawai Municipality for its translation of a serious warning sign, which read, “Please be careful to play water is sucked into the sluice water currents careful.”

To most English language speakers this was pretty opaque. More properly translated from Thai it reads “Please be careful swimming in this area. The current is very strong.

Beware of being sucked into the sluice gate.” Much better, don̕ t you think?

The Phuket News received so many negative comments

about the sign we decided to try to fathom how Rawai Municipality achieved their English version. We tried Google Translate. It was better. We tried Bing Translate. That was better than Google and much better than the municipality’s.

In the end we called Rawai Mayor, Aroon Soros, who said that he had left it to the sign writers to do the translating.

It’s clear that there are more agencies than the police alone who need to focus on English proficiency, and as The Phuket News wants Phuket to continue to be a “world class tourist destination” any of them can always call on us to help with translations. We’ve already done it for the beach regulation signs erected by the Beach Management Committee. We’re happy to do more.

Now for Chinese, Japanese and Russian translations. Any volunteers?

TOP 10 STORIES ON thephuketnews.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Norwegian arrested in Phuket for visa overstay Missing tigers remain a mystery at Tiger Temple Nine official Songkran party zones set for Phuket Storm beaches yacht on Phuket’s Kata Beach Koh Pha Ngan sinks all but full moon party Five Burmese arrested in Phuket work camp raids Phuket un d e r p a s s opens – but doesn’t 33-year-old Brit found dead in Phuket hotel bath THAI safety concerns extend to EU Phuket tour bus overturns in Krabi

Visit thephuketnews.com for all the latest news

HAVE YOUR SAY All dried up down south Re: Phuket residents complain they have no water Drought or no drought. Two days without water is nothing in many parts of southern Phuket.

Last year, we relied on truck water for more than 8 months in a row, while still being charged the monthly minimum rate by the government. Now, we get water about twice a week.

Not enough to make it through the week, though. They told us that our only other option was to pay a few thousand baht to get disconnected from the main. They also told me to be patient, they are working on it.

Meanwhile, the pile of pipes abandoned next to the road on Kata Hill has grass growing over it already. They have been there since December 2013, waiting to be put in the ground.

Tinkerbell

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EDITORIAL

A lot less focus on ‘luck’ please Re: THAI safety concerns extend to EU As a frequent flyer in Asia and to & from the UK the recent tragedies have not gone unnoticed. As my UK preferred destination is not served by Thai Airlines! However, I

find Thai Airlines comment of Great Concern: “Fortunately, we [THAI] have not received any more responses from the EU and no word from the FAA, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” the executive told the Bangkok Post. KEEPING THEIR FINGERS CROSSED? They should be reviewing their procedures, checks, inspection & staff to ensure they are not Blacklisted?

Bjay

Hire a professional next time Re: New warning signs placed around notorious Phuket lake This is ridiculous. The English is extremely poor. Not to talk about the Chinese. No Chinese person will understand anything. Why spend money to make the signboard like this and do not use professional translators.

Mj

Police have their work cut out for them

Re: Nine official Songkran party zones set for Phuket “If you see someone drunk, tell them to stop and hold on to them until they are fully

sober”..“Law enforcement will be strict and those who break the law will be charged”.... must...stop myself...the unlimited amount of smart arsed comments potential is so... high!!

Chalongresident Yeah... this is classic... the police telling everyone what kind of crime prevention and law enforcement action to take.

And they know there are going to be lots of accidents, but the priority is to “clear the wreck as soon as possible”. This just shows how clueless this place can be... and when it comes down to it...it will be same same, only same same Ed Sanders

Thais need to learn to help themselves Re: Most Bonanza land gained illegally I don’t understand why you report this kind of stuff? Nothing is ever going to come of it.

So they broke the law and a few people got wealthy... and the rest of Thais get screwed.

That’s the way it is here, and even Thais don’t complain, which is why it will keep happening. A relative few wealthy and influential people will continue to trash Thai resources

for their own gain, and eventually the majority of Thais will be left with a smoldering pile of crap. As a westerner, I will never understand why Thais don’t stand up for Thailand.

Your future generations are getting screwed by your own indifference. Some day, you will regret this.

Ed Sanders

What he said...

Re: Meet the Governor: How the governor sees it I see in patong yesterday about 300 mattresses blue from the old chairs they are same big as the chairs or beds so same space !!!same problem as before kalim beach is one big rubbish rats, beer bottles etc, rest off food from all foodshops who clean ? yes every morning 6 group of farlangs clean! the other beaches? yes tourist not only bring golden eggs and farlangs but also thais leave the garbage same like restaurants yes the quest go also toilet ! so this is for the local municipal mister governor the chinese not drive busses with big black smoke “cancer” this are thai busses, where young hard working people have to inhale black smoke and get sik ! ...

(Sic: comment entertaining as is, and was not edited. –Editor)

Have an opinion? Comment on stories at thephuketnews.com thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Government hands over seized plots to landless T

he government has started distributing land plots seized from those caught encroaching on national forest reserves as part of a project to help the landless poor.

Following the May 22 coup, more than 50,000 land plots have been confiscated from encroachers nationwide under martial law.

The government is now allocating the land plots to landless people nationwide, with Section 44 of the interim charter being invoked to bypass normal legal procedures and fast-track the land allocation project.

Section 44 has been invoked to replace martial law – which was lifted last on April 1 – giving the National Council for Peace and Order’s leader, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, unlimited power to run the country.

Under the land allocation project, residents will be granted land use rights, instead of land ownership rights to prevent them from selling their land to big businesses.

Gen Prayut visited Chiang

Gen Prayut rides into Mae Rim district on an ox-drawn cart.

Mai on Sunday (April 5) to oversee a ceremony in which local people were given the right to make use of land in national forest reserves at Ban Hua Say in tambon Mae Tha of Mae On district.

More than 1,000 residents turned up at the event and waited to receive the land.

Security was tight with more than 2,000 police, soldiers and defence volunteers deployed to Ban Huay Say school, where the ceremony was held.

Chiang Mai residents are the first to have been granted

such rights under the project.

A total of 1,235 families at Ban Mae Tha have been given documents allowing them to use land plots covering 7,282 rai in Khun Mae Tha forest reserve in Mae On district.

The documents are not land title deeds and so they cannot be sold to others.

In the next phase of the project, a total of 1,343 families will be issued documents to use land plots covering 7,926 rai at Tha Than forest reserve in Chom Thong district and at Mae Tan and Mae Yui forest reserves in Hot district.

‘Work’ delays WHO chief’s police visit THE WOR LD HEALTH Organisation’s (WHO) representative in Thailand Yonas Tegegn has asked to delay until today (April 10) reporting to police in Nonthaburi’s Pak Kret district to answer allegations of abusing his domestic helper.

He was scheduled to report Monday (April 6), a national holiday for Chakri Day, but said he was too busy at work.

Dr Tegegn’s Thai lawyer Kittiphum Sinpipatporn sought permission to delay the interview.

“He has always treated his Ethiopian housekeeper with dignity and considered her a part of his family. He respects human rights,” Mr Kittiphum said, denying all allegations on behalf of his client.

The lawyer said Dr Tegegn and his employee, identified only as Annet, agreed she would be paid US$100 (about 3,000 baht) a month.

However, Annet has not been paid in full for the one year and eight months she has been here.

She would receive all her wages under the two-year contract when it expires next September, the lawyer said.

Her employers have not paid her wages yet because @thephuketnews

she said she wanted to transfer her earnings to her family in Ethiopia.

She does not have a bank account in Thailand, so she left her money with her employer and told him she would collect the outstanding sum before she returns home.

It is possible that Annet was upset when Dr Tegegn decided not to extend her contract, and decided to file a complaint against his family as revenge, Mr Kittiphum said.

Dr Tegegn and his wife did not seize Annet’s passport as was claimed by the maid and the Lawyers Council of

Thailand, he added.

Dr Tegegn’s wife, Serkalem Guadi, lodged a complaint with Pak Kret police after Annet had been missing for five days.

Mrs Guadi gave the maid’s passport to police to help with their search. Only Dr Tegegn can explain the reason behind this private conflict, the lawyer said.

Mr Kittiphum insisted Dr Tegegn and his family are innocent.

The WHO chief will continue to cooperate with police.

The family is willing to give any information needed because they are confident they have done nothing against the law.

Pol Col Mana Tienmaungpak, the chief investigator at Pak Kret station, said the Foreign Ministry confirmed the Ethiopian housekeeper entered the country legally.

“This case cannot be considered human trafficking because her entry was legal,” Pol Col Mana said.

Police have interviewed Dr Tegegn’s neighbours and also his security guard, but no one has admitted to witnessing any abuse or wrongdoing in this case.

Bangkok Post

Another 793 families will be granted rights to use land covering 2,308 rai in Fang River forest reserve in Fang district.

Addressing the ceremony, Gen Prayut said the government recognised the plight of the landless poor – a problem which has been unsolved for a long time.

He said the invocation of Section 44 of the interim constitution also aims to solve this problem swiftly, adding that state agencies are working to survey land areas for allocation to people.

Invoking Section 44 enables the land plots seized to be distributed directly and immediately to locals. The land distribution is not possible through normal legal channels as land encroachment cases must go through court proceedings which take a long time.

“This is an example of powers under Section 44 being used to help people,” Gen Prayut said, adding that giving people land use rights will help prevent a repeat of past problems.

Bangkok Post

THAILAND NEWS 11

Koh Pha Ngan sinks all but full moon party “PARTY CENTRAL”, ALSO known as Koh Pha Ngan, has become “Party Pooper”. From now, only full moon parties will be allowed on the immensely popular resort island. That means no more dark moon parties, jungle parties, half moon parties and the like.

Koh Pha Ngan district office on Sunday (April 5) officially announced the ban which affects the entire Surat Thani island immediately.

District chief Kriak-krai Songthani said the ban followed complaints by island residents about noisy parties which disturbed their way of life.

The noise pollution problem had reached the ears of provincial governor Chatpong Chatput and he ordered officials at all levels, from the district office down to village chiefs, to sort it out by last Friday (April 3), Mr Kriak-krai said.

A meeting subsequently decided unanimously to ban all parties across the island except for the full moon party.

“The Surat Thani governor on March 25 ordered Koh Pha Ngan district to put up an announcement on the ban for party organisers and others until organisers can find a way to solve the problems. Viola-

tors will face legal action,” the district chief said.

The full moon party is held on Haad Rin every full moon night. It has become a trademark for the island, but is also notorious among foreign and local visitors for drugs.

In December, the Tourism and Sports Ministry decided to rebrand the island’s image from that of a full moon party destination.

Wannee Thaipanich, president of the Koh Pha Ngan Tourism Promotion Association, welcomed the decision to ban other parties which caused trouble for local people on the island.

The full moon party was a principle event that drew foreign and local tourists to Koh Pha Ngan. Tourism on the island generated about B7 billion a year for the country, according to Mrs Wannee.

Bangkok Post

12 ASIA NEWS

Japan to cull its lifesize mascots

J

apan’s swollen ranks of cuddly mascots, once de rigueur for every local government and commercial brand, are coming under increasing threat, with some being culled and others combined.

The move comes after the finance ministry last year ordered authorities nationwide to cut back on the use of lifesize “yuru-kyara” (“laid-back characters”), saying many are a waste of public money.

In Osaka, officials have stamped down on the wild proliferation of mascots, whose number had swelled to 92, including special creations for everything from tax payment campaigns to childcare support services.

"We have decided to select Mozuyan, our oldest one, following doubts about the public relations impact of having too many characters," an Osaka official said.

"The number has now fallen to 69 and there is no plan to create any new ones,"

The life-size Yurukyara Nakano laid back character. Photo by Japanexperterna.se she said.

Their choice of mascot is perhaps emblematic of the brutal fate awaiting many yuru-kyara: Mozuyan's head is modelled on the shrike, a carnivorous bird known for impaling prey on thorns before consuming it, like a medieval monarch displaying the decapitated head of an enemy.

Meanwhile, in the remote district of Rumoi, on northernmost Hokkaido, a patchwork character made up of different elements of eight extant

mascots was being rolled out.

"Ororon Robo Mebius", which resembles the gigantic humanoid robot from the "Mobile Suit Gundam" animation franchise, has legs, arms, a face and a body that all came from different yuru-kyara representing different communities.

"We have concluded that it's better to join forces rather than each of them working individually," said Rumoi official Mayuko Miyaji.

With a population of just 53,000, Rumoi had one mascot

for every 6,500 people.

Japan has thousands of larger-than-life puppets with cutesy but improbable features, which are used to promote everything from regional attractions to public safety messages.

These include Kumamon, a pot-bellied bear who stumps for a lesser-visited part of southern Japan, and Asahikawa Prison's Katakkuri-chan, a square-faced humanoid with a purple flower for hair, who is intended to soften the jail's public image. Bangkok Post

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

A general view of newly opened Neak Loeung Bridge

Cambodia opens Japanfunded bridge across Mekong CAMBODIA ON MONDAY (April 6) inaugurated the Japanfunded, 2.2-kilometre Tsubasa bridge across the Mekong River, the longest bridge in the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony Prime Minister Hun Sen thanked Japan for the assistance it has consistently rendered to his country and said, “Long live the friendship between Cambodia and Japan.”

The suspension bridge, constructed at a cost of 119.4 million yen (B32.3 million), will link not only National Route 1 at both sides of the Mekong River, but other countries in the region, namely Cambodia’s neighbours Vietnam and Thailand.

Calling the bridge a “dream come true,” Hun Sen said it “replaces the costly and time-consuming boats and ferries that have been used by Cambodian people as well as

regional transport operators for ages.”

Japanese Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Vice Minister Akihiro Nishimura, who joined the ceremony, read out a message from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in which Mr Abe said the bridge is expected to not only contribute to economic development of Cambodia, but also the wider Mekong region.

He noted that the bridge’s inauguration coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and Japan and also the year set for formation of an Asean Economic Community.

The bridge in Kandal province is part of linkages in the so-called “southern economic corridor,” a roughly 1,000-kilometre-long stretch of road linking Ho Chi Minh City with Bangkok via Phnom Penh.

Bangkok Post

Indonesia rejects Aussie drug convicts’ final appeals AN INDONESIAN COURT today (April 6) dismissed the latest appeal by two Australian drug smugglers facing imminent execution, taking them a step closer to the firing squad.

The State Administrative Court in Jakarta said it did not have the authority to hear the challenge to President Joko Widodo’s decision to reject their mercy pleas, upholding its own ruling handed down in February.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the so-called “Bali Nine” drug trafficking gang, were sentenced to death in 2006 for trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.

Mr Widodo recently rejected their pleas for presidential clemency, typically the final chance to avoid execution.

They are expected to be executed soon with other drug convicts, including foreigners from France, Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria and Ghana.

Jakarta has said it will wait for all legal appeals to be resolved before putting the group to death at the same

Australian drug traffickers Andrew Chan (left) and Myuran Sukumaran. time. Some other convicts have lodged Supreme Court appeals, which could take weeks to resolve.

The men’s legal team have mounted several attempts to halt the executions. In their latest, they called for the State Administrative Court to hear an appeal against Mr Widodo’s clemency rejection, saying that he failed to properly assess their rehabilitation or give reasons for his decision.

The court refused to accept the application in February, and the Australians’ lawyers appealed that decision.

But at a hearing today, presiding judge Ujang Abdullah upheld the original decision that the court does not have jurisdiction to rule on the matter.

Ruling on Chan’s case, he told the court: “The appeal by the challenger is rejected.”

It was not immediately clear whether the Australians’ lawyers would pursue other legal avenues.

Jakarta originally planned to carry out the executions in February, but following an international outcry agreed to let legal appeals run their course.

Bangkok Post thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Man with artificial heart now fully fit A

man who in August became the second person in France to receive a much-hyped newgeneration artificial heart said in his first interview Sunday (April 5) he had “recovered”, to the point of going on bike rides.

The 69-year-old man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was terminally ill with a heart condition when he received the transplant exactly eight months ago in the western city of Nantes.

The transplant is part of a key trial for a much talkedabout artificial heart created

by French firm Carmat, and the first recipient – 76-year-old Claude Dany – died in March 2014, 10 weeks after receiving the experimental device.

But the second patient has fared much better. He was sent home at the beginning of the year, and said on April 5, in his first interview since his operation, that he had “recovered” and resumed his normal life.

“I walk, I get up and I

The ‘holes’ in this image indicate the two main cardiac arteries. bend over 10 to 15 times a day, without any problem.

I keep my balance. I’m not bothered. I don’t even think about it,” the father-of-two told the JDD weekly.

“In fact, pretty much from the day I was operated, I felt myself come alive again.”

The artificial heart uses soft “biomaterials” intended to lessen the risk of blood clots

and rejection by the immune system. It is powered by a belt of lithium batteries.

The patient said the key was not to forget to charge the batteries.

“I have a spreadsheet in which I mark down the hours and changes, to make sure they last as they should. It’s not complicated,” he said.

“To reach 100-years-old,

CERN Hadron collider restarts after upgrade THE WORLD’S BIGGEST particle collider was back in operation Sunday (April 5) after a two-year upgrade, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said.

As part of the recommissioning process, engineers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) successfully introduced two proton beams, the source material for sub-atomic smashups.

“After two years of intense maintenance and several

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months of preparation for restart, the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful particle accelerator in the world, is back in operation,” CERN said.

“Today [April 5] at 10:42am a proton beam was back in the 27-kilometre (17-mile) ring, followed at 12:27pm by a second beam rotating in the opposite direction,” it added.

CERN director for accelerators and technology described the LHC as “in great shape”.

“But the most important

step is still to come when we increase the energy of the beams to new record levels,” he said.

The upgrade was intended to beef up its maximum collision capacity from eight teraelectronvolts (TeV) to 14 TeV – seven TeV for each of the two counter-rotating beams.

CERN said earlier that if all went well with the start-up particle collisions “at an energy of 13 TeV” could start as early as June.

Bangkok Post

if I can, why not?”

Professor Daniel Duveau, the surgeon who operated on the man, told Europe 1 radio last Friday (April 3) that to his great surprise, his patient was even riding a bike outside.

“As part of his rehabilitation, we made him do a number of physical activities such as riding an exercise bike, and when we last met, he told us ‘of course, I have a bike, a traditional bike and I ride but... don’t worry, I avoid big hills’,” he said.

Duveau added that the patient, a black belt judoka, also wanted to resume the martial art, though his doctors had told him to ask their permission before doing so.

Nearly 100,000 people in Europe and the United States are in need of a heart transplant, according to Carmat, which plans to carry out the first phase of feasibility trials on four terminal patients.

The second phase will see around 20 patients receive an artificial heart, according to Carmat.

Bangkok Post

WORLD NEWS 13

Californian gets 18 years for ‘revenge porn’ site A CALIFORNIA MAN WHO posted thousands of sexually explicit photos of men and women on a “revenge porn” website was jailed for 18 years in what was described as the first case of its kind in US criminal history.

San Diego man Kevin Bollaert, 28, was convicted in February of running a website that hosted more than 10,000 explicit photographs.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said it marked the first criminal prosecution of a cyber-exploitation website operator in the United States.

Bollaert’s website – ugotposted.com – was launched in December 2012, enabling photographs to be posted without the subject’s permission.

Bollaert ran a parallel site that then extorted up to US$350 (B11,200) each to have photographs removed from the revenge porn website.

Victims of the scam spoke in court in San Diego last Friday (April 3) as they described the damage done to their reputations.

“My life has gone through a down-spiral,” one of Bollaert’s victims told Judge David Gill, adding that she had been ostracised by her mother because

Kevin Bollaert was jailed for 18 years for his ugotposted. com website. of the shame she brought on her family.

Another victim, Nicole, added: “I have a hard time acknowledging Mr Bollaert as a human being. I can’t get away from the devastation.”

Unlike other revenge porn websites where photos are anonymous, ugotposted.com required the poster to include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link.

Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation. com, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted. com asking for their photos to be removed from the site, earning thousands of dollars in the process. Bangkok Post

14 BUSINESS NEWS

Thai hotel rates still lagging far behind DEBATE CONTINUES among hotel owners and operators as to whether Thai hotels have fallen into a bottomless pit of underachievement in terms of hotel rates, writes hotel consultant Bill Barnett of Phuket-based C9 Hotelworks.

Last week Asiatraveltips. com ran an article on the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) which documents the huge gap between Thai hotel rates and rates elsewhere. Thai travelers, the HPI concluded, will pay 75 per cent more for a hotel stay abroad than they will when staying in Thailand.

Internationally the average room rate Thai-based travelers paid averaged B4,740 in 2014, versus B2,700 for local stays.

“Over the past few years, Thailand has seen a mass exodus of domestic trade going to Japan and South Korea,” said Mr Barnett.

“Visa-free travel is certainly one of the leading drivers of this shift, though the recent aviation crisis [whereby Thailand has been told by both countries that they will accept no increase in flights from the Kingdom] may limit airlift to North Asia [and] could stem the tide.”

“While the Chinese market is often blamed for driving down room rates, the fact remains that Bangkok hotels, which are among the best in the world, have been underpriced for a least two decades.

“Chinese travelers continue to pay premiums for Hong Kong, Singapore and even Bali, so why does Thailand continue to focus on quantity over quality?”

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Growing problems with labour, skills shortages A

growing labour undersupply has been one of the factors behind Thailand’s sub-par economic growth.

A nationwide survey of companies in six key sectors by the Siam Commercial Bank’s Economic Intelligence Centre (EIC) last year found that at least half had trouble filling vacancies within three months.

Businesses that need workers with vocational degrees were struggling the most, reporting a 23pc shortfall of hires. In other words, for every 100 openings, they can find only 77 recruits. That leaves expansion plans stuck at square one.

Unfilled vacancies are the downside of Thailand’s very low rate of unemployment, which has averaged around 1pc during the past 10 years.

A healthy level of unemployment should actually be higher than that, to allow for factors such as the transition period between positions for job-seekers. (In the United States, 5pc unemployment is considered a healthy minimum rate.)

What is causing the problem? An EIC analysis identifies the following factors.

The demographic dividend is disappearing: The number of Thais of working age will peak in 2018 and shrink thereafter. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the East Asian growth miracle was driven in part by fast growth in the working-age population, a legacy of high birth rates.

This was the period when Thailand experienced what economists call “the demographic dividend”: an economically optimal population structure shaped by a shift

Burmese workers on a building site. Imported labour is cheaper for Thai companies, but does not encourage training of Thais. Photo: Ian Fuller away from farming toward occupations in industry; more women entering the workforce; and fewer non-working dependents including children and old people.

During those years of fast modernisation and after, birth rates fell, in part because urban families have fewer children than their rural peers working the land. Eventually, of course, the working-age population shrinks.

Thailand’s birth rate is now the lowest in Asean, on par with that of Singapore.

Meanwhile, advances in medical care have been increasing the number of elderly. Today there are 10 elderly people for every 100 of working age, and that dependency ratio will double within 15 years.

The upshot is that Thailand is already an “ageing society”.

And this transformation is happening much faster than in nearby countries with comparable levels of development.

In Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the size of the working-age population

is likely to grow throughout the next two decades.

Productivity investment lags: Poor deployment of human resources has worsened Thailand’s labour problem during the past decade, a consequence of short-sighted management and government policy.

From 2007-13, both the state and private sector invested too little in the machinery and infrastructure needed to enhance productivity and to improve working conditions to attract and retain employees.

Thailand’s annual level of capital spending has not recovered to the pre-1997 level during any single year since.

In contrast, capital spending by other Asian countries, including South Korea and Indonesia which were hit equally hard by the Asian financial crisis, has substantially exceeded pre-crisis levels.

W hy have businesses scrimped on tools, technology and infrastructure? One big reason is that it’s simply

cheaper to hire migrant workers.

According to the International Labour Organization Thailand hosts some 3 million migrants, most of them undocumented, from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. The government’s official number of registered migrant workers is 1.2 million.

Migrants are mostly unskilled; their wages are low, often below the official minimum. Businesses therefore lack incentive to invest in new machinery to augment labour.

This limits productivity.

And Thailand’s heavy reliance on migrants can’t be sustained. Living standards, jobs and wages will soon improve in migrants’ own countries and attract them back home.

The Thai labour force lacks needed skills: There is a mismatch between the job skills that employers seek and the skills actually possessed by workers trained in the Thai educational system.

Thai schools and universi-

ties emphasise general education instead of vocational training, engineering and science.

Vocational students account for only 20pc of all students in education in Thailand, a very low fraction compared with Malaysia (50pc), South Korea (45pc) and Indonesia (30pc).

This is a worrying figure, because employers actually have a greater need for vocational workers, with their practical training, than for graduates of universities.

Even professional-level candidates lack many of the skills required by employers.

According to a World Bank survey in 2007, Thai professionals perform poorly in creativity, innovation, IT, English language and mathematics.

The workforce’s skills in English and IT have been trending down, and workers in Malaysia, the Philippines in particular perform much better in these areas.

This probably means that the Asean Economic Community will result in Filipinos replacing many Thai workers in sectors such as hotels and tourism, which require English-language proficiency.

Universities are underperforming. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report rates Thai universities lower than those of competing countries.

In 2014, Thailand ranked th 87 in the quality of its universities, below Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Thailand’s labour shortages, whether caused by too few workers, poor education or too little labour-saving investment, are reducing the economy’s capacity to grow.

Bangkok Post

Asia cruising sees hefty growth ASIA’S CRUISE INDUStry is experiencing robust double-digit growth with historically high numbers of cruise ships, passengers and ports in the region, according to the 2014 Asia Cruise Trends study, commissioned by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

The CLIA’s Southeast Asia chair Ann Sherry, said, “CLIA Asia commissioned the study to give all stakeholders a compelling overview of cruise industry growth in Asia as an

indication of its potential for further expansion.

“With cruise lines hosting nearly 1.4 million Asian guests last year, a 34pc increase in just two years, the global cruise industry has recognised that Asia is quickly becoming a major international market in its own right.”

CLIA Australasia general manager Brett Jardine said the Asia cruise boom was good news for the Australasian region.

“We welcome the continued increase in deployments in

the Asian region and the opportunities this offers for the Australasian market, both in terms of seasonal deployments and as a source market,” Mr Jardine said.

“With more ships based in the region, Australia and New Zealand will likely see a greater number of ships as well as larger-capacity ships.

“This will require infrastructure investment to take advantage of the growth opportunities,” he added.

ETB Travelnews thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

BUSINESS NEWS 15

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Thai bites the bullet

But cuts to fleet and routes may not be enough

T

hai Airways International will embark on a major network and fleet restructuring, but longterm challenges remain, the latest Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) report states.

CAPA said Thai was restructuring to improve the carrier’s long-term outlook after incurring more than B23 billion in operating losses over the last two years.

“It has accelerated the The report draws three phase-out of A340-600s and general conclusions about Boeing 747-400 aircraft and is Asean economics: Inflation dropping freighter operations continues to fall “This has entirely as it cuts long-haul enabled central banks in Indo- capacity,” the report said.

The flag carrier has so far nesia, Thailand and Singapore to loosen monetary policy to decided to axe three of its 15 long-haul passenger destinabolster economic growth.”

Domestic and global devel- tions and one regional route. opments, including a stronger More network reductions US dollar, have put downward are expected as the airline pressure on some major SE shrinks its wide-body fleet Asian currencies. Thailand by 17 aircraft this year.

The airline’s president, was an exception, however, with the baht seeing ups and Charamporn Jotikasthira, downs but generally holding its in a recent TV interview, position against the US dollar. said 22 aircraft would be put Most major SE Asian econ- up for sale, but the airline omies, the report predicts, are continues to take delivery of expected to see faster growth new aircraft.

Most of the capacity cuts in 2015, “although Thailand remains below potential”. will focus on Europe, where

Economy ‘to grow by 4pc this year’ THE THAI ECONOMY WILL grow around 4 per cent this year, according to the Asean Economic Bulletin for the first quarter of the year, released

by Britain’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

“Thailand’s [economy] grew by just 0.7pc in 2014 as the expected rebound after last May’s military coup failed to materialise,” the report notes.

“There are signs of improvement, though. Government spending grew by 5.5pc in the Q4 of 2014 (on a year earlier). Tourist numbers rose 7pc in Q4 (on a year earlier).

“But with consumption, investment and exports still weak, growth is expected to be below 4pc in 2015.”

ATTA elects new president CHAROEN WANGANAnont was elected 36th president of Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) for a two-year term (2015 to 2016) at the association’s annual meeting last week.

Charoen won the election with 409 votes from 693 registered members, while the only other candidate, Vichit Prakobgosol, gained 281 votes.

Mr Charoen, formerly ATTA secretary, campaigned under the slogan of “Together We Can” with the message “Big Move for ATTA”.

@thephuketnews

“We will develop the association based on the performance of the last four years … our team will also create channels to link the government and private sector so the industry can be a leader of tourism in Asean.”

This will involve a marketing policy, creating investment channels, human resource development and having a crisis management system to build stability for all members, he explained.

The association will set a budget to invest in infrastruc-

ture, promotions, education and marketing, and to ensure governance to international standards.

Its management policy will focus on developing ATTA staff to provide better service to members, while working with other organisations in both the public and private sectors.

The new team will also focus on digital technology to improve information access through smart phone apps to provide tourism information, news updates and improve its airport services. TTR Weekly

Thai has already cut all but one route outside Europe and Asia. Photo: Terence Ong Thai has suffered at the hands of Gulf carriers.

It will refocus growth on China and Japan, while offloading unprofitable regional routes to Thai Smile, a 100pc subsidiary that is a hybrid between a LCC and full-service product.

Thai cut Phuket-Seoul and Bangkok-Moscow from March 29 and has also ditched its Madrid route.

The suspension of Madrid and Moscow still leaves Thai with 11 destinations in Europe – Brussels, Copenhagen,

Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Stockholm and Zurich.

There are reports that the airline will reduce flights to London and Frankfurt from twice a day to once.

Thai’s only remaining long-haul destination outside Europe and Asia, Los Angeles, could also be cut.

Thai has stated it is looking to cut about 20 unprofitable routes in 2015. This would suggest another 16 of its nearly 70 international routes could be cut.

The airline incurred a net loss of B15.6 billion for 2014, compared with a net loss of B12.05 billion in 2013.

Thai has suffered losses since early 2013 adding up to seven consecutive quarters.

Over those quarters the group has accumulated operating losses exceeding B23 billion, CAPA reported.

“More losses are expected in 2015, although they should be significantly reduced as the airline benefits from lower fuel prices and higher load factors.”

TTR Weekly

16 WEIRD NEWS

THE BIG LIST Silly Days Pillow fights are just the tip of the ridiculous iceberg.

From melting ice to fire dancing and bridge tug-of-war, here are the silliest days of the year.

Goose Day: The Basque region of Spain is, well, different. For over 350 years, the locals have celebrated Antzar Eguna, also known as Goose Day, where young Spanish men attempt to decapitate a goose that is left hanging from a rope – don’t worry, the goose is already dead. It all goes down in the middle of the town’s harbour so thing usually get a bit wet. If the person falls into the harbor without the decapitated head, it’s considered a fail and another attempt is made. This ecclesiastical festival (celebrated during the Feast of St. Antolin) was celebrated all over Spain before it was decided that it’s simply too weird.

Bridge Game: Other than a vertically-challenged tower, Pisa is also home to an interestingly weird game called Il Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge). Six teams of 20 men, each of which represent six of the historical sections of the city, “battle” each other by playing a large game of tug of war – basically they push a giant wooden cart from one side of the Ponte di Mezzo bridge to the other, while the opposing team tries the same. The game harkens back to the days when men fought bloody battles over possession of the bridge.

Ice Classic: It gets a bit cold in Nenana, Alaska, which is why the locals decided to make a game out of melting ice. The Nenana Ice Classic is a lottery in which locals guess the exact time and day that the winter ice will crack on the Tenana River. Locals place a giant wooden tripod on the ice, with a rope tied to a clock on the shore. When the ice cracks, the tripod falls and pulls the rope, which stops the clock. Over US$10 million in prize money has been given away since the event began in 1917.

Hood Game: A small leather tube and hundreds of men.

This game dates back to 650 years and is played annually in Haxey, Lincolnshire, England. There are 13 participants (the Lord, the Fool and 11 Boggins) and begins with a procession around four pubs. Then the real fun begins as a leather hood is released into the crowd.

The object is for the hood to make its way to one of the four pubs, though the person carrying it cannot run or throw the hood and, instead, the whole crowd “sways” together towards one of the pubs. This process usually takes hours. Once at the pub, the hood stays there until the next year.

Fire Feast: For eight days beginning May 21, revellers in Northern Greece and Southern Bulgaria celebrate the feat of Saint Constantine and Saint Helena (known as Anastenaria) by walking, dancing and stomping on hot coals. Many revellers claim not to feel the flames. At some point during the festival, a sacred bull is sacrificed and every village family is given meat and sandals from the hide. The ritual dates back to the Middle Ages when residents of the local area were unharmed after rescuing several icons from a church fire.

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Fluffy violence on Int’l Pillow Fight Day F

eathers and f luff replaced fists and fury last week.

Thousands of people from over 100 cities around the world participated in the 7th annual International Pillow Fight Day, including large “bouts” in New York City, London and Toronto.

The New York City event, which took place at Washington Square Park, saw over 300 participants bring their own pillows for the event.

According to Pillowfight-

day.com, the event was created to encourage people to use public spaces in urban areas.

In Toronto, hundreds gathered at City Hall as videos on Instagram displayed a myriad of people bash each other repeatedly with their sleep-time fluff.

Trafalgar Square was ground-zero for the London pillow fight as animal-rights group PETA, who were at the event in Britain, encouraged participants not to use feather pillows.

Identical Brazilan triplets say ‘I do’ together GUESTS AT A WEDDING in southern Brazil might have thought they had had too much champagne to drink, but they were not seeing triple. There were indeed three identical brides.

Triplets Rafaela, Rochele and Tagiane Bini were married on March 21 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in a joint ceremony, fulfilling their childhood dream of walking down the aisle together.

The 29-year-old sisters appeared in the same white mermaid gown, with identical hairstyles and matching veils.

Rafaela, Rochelle, and Tagiane Bini. Photo: Facebook The only distinction was the colour of their bouquets.

The trio have done everything together since they were young, and dreamed of getting married on the same day.

Their father was beaming as he gave them away.

“We walked together to the middle of the aisle and from there, I walked each one down the aisle individually,”

said their proud father Pedro.

The brides spent six hours at the salon getting hair and makeup done. A few styles were tested, but the vote on the final look – a low, pulled back bun – was unanimous.

There were 18 groomsmen in attendance, each wearing different colours depending on which wedding party they were with.

After the vows, the lucky grooms – there were three of them too – each dipped their new brides for a kiss for a memorable wedding portrait. AFP

Devils take centre stage at Ecuador Good Friday festival GOOD FRIDAY PROCESsions usually see Catholic worshippers focus on the crucifixion and death of Christ, but in one town in Ecuador it is the devil who takes centre stage.

In the central Andean town of Alangasi, just south of Quito, 24 celebrants paint themselves red, don devilish masks and parade through the streets while carrying pornographic magazines, phallic symbols and wads of cash to symbolise tempting the faithful.

Children scream in terror and hide behind their parents as the red demons romp through

Good Friday in Alangasi includes devils. Photo: AFP the town.

While the ghoulish figures maraud, actors dressed up as Christ and Roman soldiers also

walk the streets, as well as men carrying huge cones on their heads – up to seven metres (23 feet) tall – to represent their

grief over the death of Jesus.

The priest Cesar Arias said the devils are an “expression of popular religiosity” that “represent the struggle between good and evil.”

But he lamented that “Jesus has taken a back seat,” and that the devils had stolen the show.

The devils are “trying to stop us from hearing the word of God,” local resident and devout Catholic Jose Males said.

The festivities run through Easter Sunday, when locals celebrate the resurrection of Christ. AFP

UK scientists develop new sweat perfume SCIENTISTS IN BRITAIN SAID Thursday (April 2) they had developed the first perfume which smells better the more you sweat and reduces body odour.

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast said in a statement that the new perfume “releases more of its aroma when it comes into contact with moisture”. The fragrance uses as a delivery system an ionic liquid – salt in the form of liquid – with no smell. “The perfumed ionic liquid releases its aroma when it comes into contact with water, allowing more of the perfume’s scent to be released onto

a person’s skin,” the Queen’s University Ionic Liquid Laboratories (QUILL) said.

The new perfume could also take away bad odours.

“The thiol compounds that are re-

sponsible for the malodour of sweat are attracted to the ionic liquid, attaching themselves to it and losing their potency,” the scientists said.

Queen’s University said it was already working with a perfume company on practical applications and project leader Nimal Gunaratne said it had “great commercial potential”.

Gunaratne said that it could also be used for other scientific applications when the slow release of substances is required.

“This is an exciting breakthrough,” he said. AFP thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

A crappy idea in the garden that works

4

Phuket Jazz Fest to last three days

14

ALL READY TO RUMBLE

Bikers, babes to show off their assets in 21st Big Bike Week > Page 10

LOOKING FOR THE BEST

PROPERTY DEALS IN PHUKET *FIND THEM ON PAGE 17 @thephuketnews

2 CULTURE

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Sawasdee Pee Mai Phuket!

Steven Layne editor@classactmedia.co.th

T

hese days, Songkran – the Thai New Year – is popularly associated as the grand “water festival”, but there is so much more to the holiday. Not only popular in Thailand, the tradition is also observed in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and even parts of India and Vietnam. Here we’ll look at the ways and whys it’s celebrated – at present and in the past.

Splish-splash

Don’t let water shortages get in the way of fun, for it’s that time of the year for the ultimate wet and wild celebration, a good excuse to cool off in the hot summer.

Huge drums are filled with water from homes, canals, lakes, wells and any other abundant “fresh” water source; a common addition these days are big

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Elders blessing monks. Photo: Tevaprapas

blocks of ice to ensure the ammo is piercing cold, especially for unsuspecting victims.

The troops – toddlers, teens and adults who never quite grew up – are decked in bright tropical summer attire, if not branded by random yet trendy second-hand pop-culture icons.

They pile and pack into the back of pick-ups like migrant workers, only their meaner is much less reserved.

Armed with make-shift suction pipe guns and the latest, plastic super-soaker toys, these Songkran soldiers are voluntarily being deployed for the ultimate street battle.

The enemy? Everyone who crosses their path – other patrolling convoys, and especially the stationery party crowds posted along the road, who you’ll hear long before you see.

The marathon festival is fuelled by lots of bass and booze while possessed revellers dance and howl as they’re doused and smeared – forgetting all their worries, debts and heartaches.

Release and full submission to pleasure.

Anyone who stands out – pretty young girls, wide-eyed farang – are popular targets, not only to be drenched, but for a quick grope, accidentally or otherwise.

The white powder or chalk, which becomes a messy paste when wet, allows the exchanges to get a little more inti-

mate, as faces, limbs and everything in between get smeared.

See also: tinyurl.com/Songkranrules

Party Potty

For fresh tourists and other curious thrill-seekers yearning for some action, by all means, get your fill; find some Thai friends with a fully-stocked beverage cooler and the loudest bass-bumping speakers on a busy street-side. Let loose!

And if you feel so obliged to enjoy the party in motion on the dangerous, under-regulated and slippery roads, do so at your own risk.

Better yet, head to party central in Patong, where the water war carries on for day and night. (See also News Page 3) Or you could be a little adventurous and head to a different part of Thailand, such as Chiang Mai where the festivities last for an entire week.

No matter where you celebrate, the party atmosphere will pretty much be the same – lots of energy, adrenaline, drinking, and likewise, road accidents – double the usual in fact.

What started out as a fun way to cool down at the height of the hot Thai Summer has quickly turned into a massive, chaotic street party that seems to have lost touch with its roots.

Origins

The Thai Songkran tradition – aspects of it anyway – most

The traditional water blessing ceremony performed on an elder: Photo: Tevaprapas thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

CULTURE 3

A modern Songkran fight in Ayuthaya province. Photo: JJ Harrison likely derived from the ancient Indian Hindu “Holi” festival, which typically occurs in March and can be described as a “Carnival of Colours” in which participants play, dance and spray each other with coloured dry powder and water.

From 1888 to 1940, the day April 1 was designated as Songkran in thenSiam, but finally the day was changed to April 13, based on some refined Thai astrological calculations.

Basically, Songkran marks when the sun’s position in the sky transitions from the “March” zodiac (Rasee Meen), and enters the new “April” zodiac (Rasee Mes), which represents an approximately 1-degree shift.

This transition is said to take about three days, so therefore the observance of Songkran officially lasts for three days. Songkran Day, or “Wun Maha Songkhran” is on April 13, while April 14 is known as “Wun Nao” and April 15 is called “Wun Thalerng Sok”.

April 13 marks the start of the transition, while April 14 would be the main transitional day between the two years, and April 15 is the first official day of the New Year.

Superstitions

Up until recent decades, Thai people and their traditions had long been tuned into the phases and trends of the stars, moon, sun and earth.

Traditionally, it was important

A popular depiction of a Songkran Angel, painted by celebrated artist, Sompop Budtarad @thephuketnews

which day of the week Songkran falls on, which coincides with one of seven Songkran angels, or Nang Songkran.

This year, the first day of Songkran falls on a Monday, which coincides with the angel known as Nang Korakathewee, while Wun Nao coincides with Nang Raksathewee and Wun Thalerngsok coincides with Nang Monthathewee.

According to one Thai horoscope interpretation of the implications this year, the government and military leaders will be powerful, fruits will be expensive, while philosophers and scholars will be happy.

Clean blessings

Traditionally, throughout the three days of Songkran, various “cleansing” ceremonies and merit-making activities are performed. This includes cleaning of homes, making alms offering at temples and conducting water blessing ceremonies known as “Rod Naam Dum Hua”.

It involves pouring scented, lustral water on someone while giving a verbal blessing. If it is someone younger giving the blessing to someone elder, the water is poured on the elder’s hands. But if an elder is giving the blessing to someone younger, then the water is poured on the head.

Pouring water on someone symbolises the washing away of bad luck and energy. You may also see people perform this rite on teachers, monks or a sacred Buddha image, for example.

Throughout North, Northeast and Central Thailand, such customs and rites are still prevalent and preserved, especially by the older generations. But in the South and Phuket, less so.

Throughout Phuket Town, there will only be water fights on the streets on April 13, though the festivities will last for several days in Patong.

Some locals may perform blessing rituals at home, the temple or even the mosques, but generally, will just try to enjoy the day off from work.

Therefore, to really experience the Songkran tradition authentically, it is highly recommended you visit the North – Chiang Mai, Lampang or Lamphun, for example – and don’t wait for the fading customs and traditions to die out completely.

In closing, The Phuket News would like to wish you a “Sawasdee Pee Mai” – Happy Thai New Year !

Modular Songkran parties will be regulated this year. Photo: Takeaway

4 GARDENING

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

The fruits of eating flowers

I

t may be disappearing from menus, but banana blossom’s diversity in the kitchen makes it more than just a by-product.

In Thailand, people have found a use for every part of the banana plant. If we were to describe every way in which each part of the plant has been put to use, the result would be a thick book.

Look, for example, at the banana blossom — hua plee in Thai. As it appears on the banana tree, the blossom can look like an extra appendage hanging at the end of the bunch of fruit (bananas are produced as long, hanging bunches made up of many smaller “hands”, each of which contains several fruit).

Many Thais hold that the banana f lower has value not only as food but as a medicine, especially for women who have just given birth. Banana flowers can be eaten either raw or cooked. They can be cut lengthwise or sliced crosswise before briefly boiling or grilling them or serving them raw as an accompaniment for any kind of nam phrik.

Today, the vegetables served with phat Thai have changed. Nowadays we are usually given spring onion and beansprouts. The shop will usually say that people don’t eat those vegetables any more so there is no

need to seek them out, but given that claim it does seem strange that shops that serve khanom jeen nam phrik (fermented rice noodles served with a mild chilli sauce and condiments) always include slivers of banana flower sliced crosswise together with bai maeng lak (a basil variety) and chopped, boiled phak boong vine.

As you bite into the slivers of banana flower cut crosswise cooked into the dish, you enjoy the unique texture of a vegetable that is tender but not overly soft or mushy.

This dish is especially good for the cool season because it has the heat of pepper and the warm flavour of bai maeng lak.

But, there is a whole roster of tasty dishes that can be made from the hua plee. Why not get hold of one and try your hand at one of the many Thai recipes that prove that the banana flower is more than just a by-product.

Bangkok Post

One crappy idea that really works The leaf-eating bug, carrying its excrement on its back.

GARDEN IN SIAM

Alasdair Forbes execeditor@classactmedia.co.th

This article first appeared in the blog Garden In Siam. To read other articles, go to http://gardeninsiam. wordpress.com

A

The bright yellow grub underneath the distasteful disguise.

nyone who’s studied nature for more than five minutes will know that camouflage is an important part of survival for millions of species.

But carrying one’s excrement on one’s back is, some people might think, taking things a bit far.

We recently bought a makok tree, sometimes known as Thai olive. The fruit bears a passing resemblance to olives, but that’s as far as it goes. In fact this tree – Linnaean name Spondias dulcis – is a relative of the cashew tree.

The fruit, crunchy and a bit sour, is a favourite with Thais. According to some theories, Bangkok started off as “Baan Makok”, or Makok Village.

This tree came complete with its own complement of leaf-eating bugs.

The image is pink and black and looks quite like a ladybird, but it isn’t because ladybirds are carnivorous and these bugs are leaf-eaters.

When you examine the underside of leaves that have been nibbled, what you find is a small blob of shiny dung.

Definitely unappetising if you’re a

bird. Nope, I don’t think I want to eat that.

But scrape the dung off gently and underneath you find a fat grub, bright yellow with black feet and head.

Contemplate the Darwinian route whereby this grub ended up doing this. Momma lays a bunch of eggs that hatch into bright yellow grubs that birds can see easily and eat. Not exactly the fittest for survival.

But one of the brood – let’s call him Frank – simply can’t get the hang of wiping his bottom. In fact, he gets crap all over himself.

Momma thinks this is disgusting, but as he grows, all his cleaner, brightly-coloured siblings get gobbled up, until there’s only Frank left to pass on the family genes.

His girlfriend Thelma is none too happy with his grubby habits but since Frank’s the only kid on the block, she has no choice. Mate, mate, mate, lay eggs, lay eggs, lay eggs.

And half of the kids grow up with Frank’s horrible habit. But they survive. Those with Thelma’s ability to use toilet paper don’t. See how this goes?

The momma, or is it poppa? thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

ENVIRONMENT 5

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

RECYCLING RETURNS

Checking in again at the island’s main depot to talk, sell plastic Steven Layne editor@classactmedia.co.th

F

ollowing up on my previous trip to Phuket’s largest recycling depot, Wong Panit in Kathu – where I sold some aluminium and tin cans, plastic bags, old newspaper and cardboard for B215 – I recently returned to sell off some plastic bottles and old batteries.

Reinventing the wheel

ABOVE: aluminium (left) and tin may look similar but fetch a different price in the market. TOP RIGHT, BELOW: staffers at Wong Panit in Kathu separate and weigh various types of recycled refuse for processing, resell.

I loaded up about two hundred empty PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) water bottles into the back of my truck. My wife suggested I separate the lids because the type of plastic they’re made out of (usually HDPE or High-density polyethylene) is supposed fetch a better price – so she was told at a recent environmental seminar. Logically it makes sense, as HDPE and PET are two separate types of plastic, with the former being much more valuable on the world market.

According to recycleinme.com, as of March 30, HDPE resin fetches about US$2.50 (B80) per kg, while PET, due to its abundance, sells by the tonne at $1,896, which works out to $1.89 (B60) per kg.

To my disappointment, Wong Panit Phuket staffers insisted on classifying the HDPE caps as generic “coloured plastic” (พลาสติกส )ี , which only pays B8 per kilo, compared to B10 per kilo for clear PET bottles. According to them, any coloured plastic, irregardless of what type of plastic it is, is worth the same amount in Phuket.

Surely, clearly marked HDPE deserves its own price? After all, plastic categorization procedures have been standard internationally for decades; I even pointed out to the staffer how the caps were clearly marked with a number 2-triangle, just as the PET bottles are marked with a 1-triangle.

But here in Phuket they have their

own way of doing things. The staffer told me that most people just sell the clear PET bottles complete with cap, and considering the higher rate for clear PET, I’ll make sure I don’t waste my time unscrewing the caps off next time!

In the end, I was paid the disadvantageous rate of B16 for 2 kilos of “coloured plastic” which included both HDPE bottle caps and a few old shampoo and automobile oil bottles (also clearly marked as HDPE). Meanwhile, 3.8kg of PET bottles yielded B38.

Based on the HDPE and PET market rates mentioned above, the plastic resin in 5.8kg – once reprocessed for industry resell – would have a value of B388. That’s 10 times more than I got in Phuket. Guess that’s how Wong Panit and others survive.

Aside from these, I also had a few dozen off-white, opaque plastic bottles used to bottle locally produced water.

While they aren’t marked to clearly identify what type of plastic they are, according to an internet query, they are most likely a type of PE or Polyethylene. In Thai, they are called “Kuat Koon” literally “opaque bottle”, and of all the types of plastic bottles, fetch the highest price in Phuket at B18 per kilo.

Since the bottles are in demand locally, they theoretically would not need to be transported all the way up to Central Thailand like other types of plastic.

Sound measures

In previous research, I had been told about a water float test local depots use to identify certain types of unidentified plastic. In short, Thais have once again ignored existing standards to creatively invent yet another category for plastic – “plastic grorp” – literally the “crisp plastic” (พลาสติกกรอบ) category, which includes cd cases, tape cases and some disposable plastic cups (which could be PVC or PP among others).

To determine whether the plastic is “crisp”, two tests are performed. Seasoned “experts” perform a sound test by flicking a piece of the plastic. If it echoes, it’s crisp. If still unsure, they can perform the float test, which entails cutting a small piece of the plastic and putting it in water.

If the piece sinks, it’s crisp, if it floats, it’s classified as general “colour” category, which has a slightly higher value than the crisp plastic, the staffer noted.

Cashing out

Aside from the plastic, I also sold a kilo of coloured cardboard packaging (various consumer product boxes), which yielded B2; this was in addition to 800 grams worth of aluminum cans (B29.6 @ B37 per kilo) plus another 200g of tin cans (70 satang @ B3.5 / kilo).

Last but certainly not least were the old batteries. While they didn’t want anything to do with a bottle full of old alkaline AA and D batteries (officially classified as toxic waste), they bought @thephuketnews

my old, 7Ah dry-cell lead acid battery (the kind of battery you’d find in your computer power saver box), as well as an old discarded motorcycle battery.

Both of these batteries had been long past their shelf life. Previously I had been using them as back up power for solar lights, but being as they were starting to leak acid, it was about time to sell them to someone who could properly restore if not dispose them.

And they made this particular trip worth the petrol.

Together weighing in at 3.9kg (see tips below), these two batteries yielded B85.8 @ 22 per kilo. I’m told old car batteries fetch B24 per kilo, and so for a car battery that weighs 15kg, that’s B424!

Some parting advice

Separate everything as best as you can. If you mix items from separate categories, then you might end up getting paid the lower rate for the whole lot. This can make a big difference in some cases, for example, aluminium cans (soda and beer) which pay as much as 10 times more than tin cans (iced coffee and soup).

Pre-weigh your items. One idea is to use a scale at home, or if you have one, bring in a small weight to check their scales. While I can’t verify my suspicions of rigged scales, a few of my weigh-ins seemed skimpy, especially for the higher-value aluminum cans and batteries. So if you have a 1kg weight, for example, put it on the scale to make sure it’s calibrated correctly.

If you have a large load of one type of item, ask to weigh your entire vehicle initially and when you leave, which is standard for large vehicles any way. This way you can compare your final receipt weight to the initial weight to ensure that everything was accounted for.

Now I’m not trying to promote paranoya; however, honesty, transparency and accountability are all too often overlooked here, and Phuket is one place that sure could use a lot more of these qualities.

That’s all for now. Happy recycling!

6 HEALTH

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Tools to combat stress

T

HEALTH MATTERS

Sandra Kiesel sandra@santosaphuket.com

RE is short for Tension & Trauma Release Exercises, which is a breakthrough stress management and trauma recovery self help tool, developed by Dr David Berceli, PhD. It involves a process focused on the body that releases deep chronic physical and emotional tension created during traumatic and stressful events. The TRE process consists of a simple series of exercises performed to initiate the body’s innate tremor mechanism to release stress, tension and trauma.

Lets look at it this way, we all know the feeling of the immense energy we experience when something or someone “pushes our button” or more simply put – when we feel threatened/attacked or even taken by surprise.

Our heartbeat increases, our palms become sweaty, our vision narrows and we might feel some sort of heat or tightening of the abdominal area, our digestive system gets turned off along with our immune system and our body is producing the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

Our body is preparing for action, for survival by either fleeing the scene, fighting the threat or, as a last resort, freezing into immobility.

Each time we come into a situation of flight, fight or freeze, an immense amount of energy is released into our body by our nervous system to instinctually make the right choice for our survival. This response to real and perceived threat initiates in the oldest part of the brain – the reptilian brain also known as the brain stem.

As the name gives away we have this part in common with reptiles as well as all other mammals. It is our instinctual center responsible for basic, yet complex tasks necessary for our survival. Then there is the limbic system, which evolved later, that houses the emotional part of us humans. Last but not least evolution’s newest masterpiece is the neocortex, which is responsible for our rational logic mind, our planning brain and our conscious choices.

Unfortunately it’s also the part of the brain that can get into our own way when it comes to dealing with trauma, stress and tension generated by our reptilian brain, which definitely doesn’t work on reasoning.

Photo: Kennguru Let’s look at the following scenario of a traumatic event for one of our fellow mammals – the antelope.

This animal, by the way, doesn’t go to their antelope psychotherapist or any other therapy for that matter.

No Antelopes with PTSD as far as I know.

Now to the scenario – we are in the Savannah Desert and our little antelope is just grazing away just before it senses danger, its reptilian brain kicks in and starts to flee from the predator who is leaping at it from a hiding place. It runs and sprints and manages to get away from the beast that was about to kill it.

Once the threat is over the antelope will start shaking all over. It will be shaking and tremouring to discharge the incredible amount of energy that was set free in its race for survival. After that it will go back to business as usual, enjoying its life as if nothing ever happened. You might even say it has become more resilient to its environment because it learnt from its experience of how to survive.

This is where the key lies, in that innate capacity for the body to release that neurological charge and become more resilient – to actually grow from a traumatic or stressful situation. The body can let go of the built up energy and return to a baseline level of calm and collectedness.

How many of us have encountered a stressful situation in our lives and literally “cracked”. By letting the body “shake off” the accumulated tension we don’t have to go to the point of breakdown – and if we do we can come back to our centre much quicker in order to do what is necessary for the situation. We don’t need to stay in that state of overwhelm.

So why doesn’t our body just do the same as the antelopes?

Back to the neocortex – seeing that we aren’t as “simple” as an antelope we actually possess the capacity to question the appropriateness of our bodily functions.

Due to our neocortex and it being so developed we are able to make the conscious choice of suppressing this innate release mechanism in our body.

Think of all the social conditioning we have gone through as a society – don’t show fear, be strong, no one likes a weakling, stand tall and stick up for yourself, don’t show your fear etc.

This doesn’t apply to you?

Have you ever had to go up on a stage and speak in front of a bunch of people? Did you feel nervous? Did you feel tension and energy pulsating through your body?

Were you trembling or maybe your hands were shaking? Yet you probably wanted to not show people the shaking in your hands or let them hear the tremor in your voice, right? Well it was just your body trying to release some of that immense energy that was mobilised in that situation when you weren’t in your comfort zone – when your body felt threatened.

This is just a simple example and most of us find much more stress in our daily lives than we would like to admit. It has been proven that we have up to 50 fight/lfight reactions per day! This tension can build up over time even if there hasn’t been a big life changing traumatic experience which can result in tension/tightness in the muscles, hyper vigilance/overreacting, poor sleep, aggressiveness, shyness, bad digestion, impaired immune function, mistrust and paranoia and much more. TRE can help release even these “mini” stress/ tension build ups that accumulate over time.

Our mind might not be aware but our nervous system is always on the watch for us and our survival at all times. This is where TRE comes in as mentioned in the beginning: these exercises initiate this tremoring response in the body to let go of this pent up energy, deeply held tension and stress patterns from the muscles, to get the nervous system back to baseline. This practice evokes a neurological response within the reptilian brain to activate the tremor and bypass the ego mind of the neocortex.

Many people cannot speak about what is causing them pain, emotionally as well as physically. They need to release the muscular tension that keeps them reliving their stress through poor sleep, busy thoughts, poor memory, shallow breathing, increased irritability, decreased ability to focus, anxiety and depression.

Based on clinical experience, descriptive studies and case reports it is believed that TRE helps to access the natural relaxation response (from the reptilian brain) Once you have done the exercises you may experience deeper breathing, calmer thoughts, more relaxed muscles and better sleep.

It is important to do these exercises with a TRE Provider for at least the first three sessions in order to learn the exercises correctly and also how to self regulate in order not to stress your system even more, which can happen if you don’t know what to watch out for.

Currently the first private session is free at Santosa, and the following two private sessions are at a heavily discounted price until April 24. We will also be running group classes in the future but the prerequisite to join the class is to do one private session before joining a class. So if you would like to come and see for yourself what all this shaking is about contact Sandra@santosaphuket.com to book your first private session.

Santosa Wellness Center

With views of the Andaman Sea, the Santosa Wellness Center features state-of-the-art facilities, the centre boasts a five-star raw and vegetarian restaurant, a juice and coffee bar, eight colon hydrotherapy rooms, a pavilion with an expansive range of healthy activities, a herbal steam sauna, and a plunge-style ice bath. santosaphuket.com

Child development project begins in health zones

T

he Ministry of Public Health has launched a child development campaign across the country as a tribute to Her R oya l H igh ness, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

The programme began

in all 12 health zones across the country on April 2 with a view to promoting proper physical and intellectual growth in Thai children, following the latest statistics which show that as many as 30 per cent of the four

million children in Thailand are lagging behind their peers in terms of development.

Parents, health volunteers and public health personnel will be urged to keep monitoring and stimulating children’s

development at different stages. The threeyear program applies to newborn children and to those aged below five.

The opening ceremony was held at the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health.

NNT thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Vocational students to service at road stops

V

ehicle check-up service points will be set up by vocational education students to facilitate the commute during the Songkran holidays, says Vocational Education Commission (VEC) Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General of the VEC, Chaipreuk Sereerak, announced that the VEC will launch vehicle check-up services which will be operated by vocational education students, with the campaign’s motto being: ‘Conscious, Discipline, Spirit, Safety: Passing on the Songkran Tradition’ in keep with the government’s policy.

He has said that the campaign will allow vocational students to utilise their knowledge for actual beneficial experience during the Songkran holidays, as a part of the project that has been organised for the second year, for the New Year and Songkran holidays.

Vehicle inspection and repair services will be available at 250 service points on main and local roads nationwide from 8:30am-12:00am.

The campaign is sponsored by many agencies, including the Road Safety Fund, Thai Motorcycle Enterprise Association, and more.

NNT

@thephuketnews

EDUCATION 7

School kids get silly for Songkran events

O

n April 3, Primary children of the British International School Phuket (BISP) raised money for their MAD (Make A Difference) projects by donating B20 to come to school in their Songkran shirts and a silly hairstyle.

Children also had the opportunity to donate unwanted toys and delicious cakes to the table-top sale which took place in the Primary foyer.

Y2, Y4 and Y6 had the pleasure of experiencing a traditional Songkran ceremony.

For more information on the event contact Helen Muñoz: hmunoz@bisphuket.ac.th

Local school celebrates International Day: HeadStart celebrated Inter-

national Day 2015 at FunStart and it was an overwhelming success. Parents, students and HeadStart staff made a great effort to dress in national costume, serve free food from their home kitchens and prepare beautiful dances and songs.

With over 1,000 visitors it was evident that HeadStart is a culturally diverse, active and happy community!

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

TRAVEL 9

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Why you

A rather caddish chap: Mural at Wat Phumin.

shouldn’t go to Nan

Alasdair Forbes exeditor@classactmedia.co.th

N

ame some provinces in the north of Thailand. Chiang Mai. Chiang Rai. Um, Mae Hong Son... Ask most people from outside the north and that’s about where they run out.

But recently more and more people have been paying attention to growing rumours that Nan Province, to the east of Chiang Rai, banging up against Laos, is a must-visit.

It seems to have started when Banthoon Lamsam, chairman and CEO of KasikornBank, discovered Nan. He was so delighted he took most of a year off to research and write a 608-page novel, Sinaeha Montra Lanna (The Seductive Spell of Lanna), much of it set in Nan. It was an immediate hit. After it was published in May 2013, the print run went up to 20,000 in the first two months. Readers felt they just had to see Nan. And it is a delightful place. A small kingdom until the time of Rama V, with a large teardrop-shaped valley surrounded by impressive mountains, it was largely unspoiled by the modern world, prospering from shipping out the vegetables grown in the valley along the meandering banks of the river Nan. The history that can be seen, walked around in, is impressive. There are temples that were founded more than 800 years ago and that are still in beautiful condition. There are regal old teak houses – though most of these can be admired only from outside because they are still inhabited by the original families, who feel no need to turn them into museums or B&Bs. It’s not perfect – one sad aspect is the bare slopes of many of the mountains, slashed and burned by subsistence farmers planting maize and mountain rice – but it has a slow and gentle pace, the people are unfailingly polite and friendly and will invite you home for supper five minutes after they first meet you.

The provincial capital is awash with

The coffee shop at the Nan River Gallery @thephuketnews

A confection in white: Wat Ming Muang and the Lak Muang. temples, some just a dozen steps from the next one. Pride of place goes to Wat Phumin, with its unique cruciform ubosot riding on the backs of two Nagas.

Originally built around 1595 it was restored 150 years ago, with Thai Lue artists brought in to paint the murals.

Apart from the usual lessons to the faithful, the artists also painted delightful scenes from local life, some of them decidedly raunchy. There are also darker references: scenes of Western men and women disembarking from boats, a reminder of how the French empire annexed half of the province.

There is one particular mural of a rather caddish chap with lots of tattoos whispering in a woman’s ear, which has become an icon of Nan. You’ll see copies of it all over the province.

Other temples in the town that delight are Wat Ming Muang, a confection in white, and its “twin”, Wat Sri Phan Ton, painted entirely gold. There’s not a single square centimetre of either that is not decorated with intricate stucco.

On the edge of town is Wat Phra Tat Khao Noi, with a large Buddha image that strides toward the rising sun across the other side of the town. Well worth getting up early for.

As in much of northern Thailand, art still thrives in Nan. Some 20 kilometres north of the city, on the way to the town of Pua, once the provincial capital, is the Nan Riverside Gallery, founded by celebrated Nan artist Winai

Prabripoo. Large airy rooms display his art and that of others, and there is a coffee shop where one could easily spend half the day in serene enjoyment of the calm surroundings.

Many visitors head for the mountains, hiking up to the summits and camping overnight, waking in time to see the sun rise over the ranks of peaks marching away towards Laos.

In February Nan hosted a three-day arts festival, with puppet shows, art exhibitions and musical performances culminating in a concert by Carabao.

That drew plenty of people in, especially with AirAsia and Nok launching cheap flights from Bangkok just months earlier.

And then there was the spectacular banquet, a few day later, in the grounds of Wat Phumin, hosted jointly by HRH Princess Sirindhorn and prime minister Gen Prayuth Chan-Ocha. Press photos and TV coverage of that threw an extra spotlight on the province.

Hoteliers were delighted by the rising tide of visitors that filled Nan Town’s 3,000 rooms, and there wasn’t a hire car available for love or money.

Other people are not so happy. They worry that the influx of thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of outsiders will bring unwelcome changes to their way of life. “I’ve already noticed some people getting more greedy,” a song taeo driver remarked.

That’s why you really shouldn’t go to Nan. But you probably will.

10 BIKE WEEK

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

LISTEN FOR THE ROAD

I

21st Annniversary “Asean Ride Together” 2015 Phuket Bike Week 2015 Schedule April 11-13 2015 at Patong Beach Day 1: Saturday April 11 15:00 - 24:00

Motorcycle festival

16:30 - 18:00

Riding parade around Patong-meeting point is Hatpatong Alley, opposite loma Park

17.30-18.30

Live concert

18:30 - 19:00

17-19 April 2015 At Sapan-Hin, Phuket Town Day 4: Friday April 17 13:00 - 24:00

Motorcycle festival

14:00 - 17.00

Safe riding demonstration

18.00 - 19.00

Thai culture show

Cowboys & Indians show

19.00 - 20.00

Welcome speech by Bike Club president

20.00 - 24.00

Music festival & live bands

19:30 - 20:30

Introduce Miss Phuket Bike Week 2015 contestant Welcome the motercyecle parade and a local culture show Opening ceremony of Phuket Bike Week 2015

21:00 - 01:00

Music festival & beach party

19:00 - 19:30 18:00 - 19:00

Day 5: Saturday 18 13.00 - 15.00

Motorcycle Festival, Gymkhana and Stunt show

16.00 - 18.00

Convoy around Phuket Town then ride to Royal Thai Navy Sea Port to help restock sea animals - meeting point is SapanHin Park

Day 2: Sunday April 12 15:00 - 24:00

Custom bike compettion & motorcycle festival

17.00 - 18.30

Custom bike competition

18:00 - 19:00

Live concert

19.00 - 20.00

19:00 - 20:00

Tattoo compettion

19:00 - 22:00

VIP Grand Dinner (at Patong Graceland Hotel)

20:00 - 01.00

Live concert&Beach party

21:00 - 21:30

Live music by rock band Opening Ceremony and speech from Mayor of Phuket Town and authorities of Phuket Town Miss Phuket Bike Week 2015 winner & finalists

21:30 - 23:45

Music festival and concert

by Carabao

Day 3: Monday April 13 12:00 - 18:00

Celebrate Songkran (Thai New Year) with bikers

18:00 - 19:00

Live concert

19:00 - 20:00

Miss Phuket Bike Week 2015 contest Thank you party hosted by Pra-yai of Big Budha Bike Club Music festival & beach party

20:00 - 20:30 20:00 - 20:30

20:00 – 21:00

t’s known as the Asean Ride Together, and for good reason.

This year it is estimated that over 10,000 riders from 300 Thai Big Bike Clubs and 500 from around the Asean region and beyond will take part in the 21st Anniversary Phuket Bike Week

2015.

And with 50,000 visitors from 30 countries expected to visit Patong and Saphan Hin between April 11 – 19, this is why it is now seen by many big bikers enthusiasts as Asia’s biggest big bike event.

Speaking at a press conference on March 30, event organiser Wittaya Singkalah told The Phuket News, “10,000 motorbikes from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, China and Indonesia will join the parade, and press from a number of countries will be here to promote Big Bike Week 2015.

“The event will be broadcast to a number of countries via TV, radio and global internet, and will published in newspapers and motorbike-magazines worldwide.

“Normally tourists will spend at least B20,000 for food and accomodation when they visit Phuket, so we hope that this event will bring Phuket at least B100M in revenue to Phuket.”

However, it’s not only the big bikes that draw the crowds. Live concerts from artists inluding the legendary Ca-

rabao, the annual Miss Bike Week Pageant, food and ‘pretties’ galore, tattoo contests and a range of other activities and entertainment are what makes the event it has become today.

Phuket Bike Week 2015 will once again brought to you by the Phuket Provincial Administration Office, Patong and Phuket Town Municiplaites, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Ride Thailand magazine and many Phuket motorcycle clubs.

Classact Media is a sponsor of this event

Day 7: Sunday April 19 13:00 - 15:00

Motorcycle festival

16:00 - 18:00

Show from Miss Phuket Bike Week 2014 and 2015

20:00 - 21:00

Dinner party

21:00 - 24:00

Live concert

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

DINING 11

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Hyatt Regency Phuket’s brunch to blow you away

W

eekends are all about relaxing and there is no better way to do this than by enjoying an exquisite and leisurely Sunday brunch by the pool. Make your Sunday a perfect family day!

Enjoy their sumptuous brunch at the pool bar featuring a lavish spread of international delicacies carefully crafted by Head Chef Alessandro Martinelli.

Catering to everyone’s needs, it features a variety of live stations, traditional roasts, a casual seafood BBQ, freshly shucked Fin de Claire oysters, a fresh pasta station, wood-fired pizzas and a children’s food corner. This and more can be enjoyed while sipping from the free flow bloody Mary or white wine sangria beverage stations.

Chill out or swim a few laps in the huge infinity pool overlooking Kamala bay. This 72-metre pool, flanked by

sun loungers and open salas, is one of the largest pools on the island. While you swim or lounge, you can relax to the in-house tunes by the resident DJ. The Sunday Brunch has activities planned for the entire family. Apart from complimentary access to the pool, the kids can enjoy Camp Hyatt club access with activities including an Art and Craft corner, balloon games, game zone and funny face mask making session.

Brunch is available every Sunday from 11:45am to 3:45pm and prices start at B1,500 for adults and B750 for children under 12. Children under six dine with their compliments.

The pool bar is open every day from 9am - 11pm.

For more information or to make a reservation, please contact the Food and Beverage Department on +66 (0)76 231 234 ext. 5106 or email: fnb.phuhr@ hyatt.com

Ko Benz – seven delicious dishes that will leave you spoilt for choice STREET EATS Nattapat Tuarob reporter3@classactmedia.co.th

A

f t er you pa s s t he Patiphat Rd and Ranong Rd intersection in Phuket Town you will reach the Jo Ong Shrine.

Directly opposite the shrine you will see a restaurant located on the corner of the street which is packed with diners every night. This is a “street eat’ restaurant that you cannot afford to miss.

The restaurant is called Ko Benz and having been serving locals for 15 years it is now one of the most popular places for locals to eat at night.

When I last visited at around 7pm the restaurant was already half full, by 9pm it is usually full to capacity. And this is the case nearly every night of the week.

Ko Benz is famous for its Kao Lao Lued Moo (pork intestines and pork blood soup) and Kao Tom Haeng (dried porridge).

The distinctive points of the former are that the @thephuketnews

taste of the entrails isn’t at all how you would expect it to be. The soup also has a rich and robust flavour that is filling.

Ko Benz’s menu only features seven dishes, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble choosing what you want.

Ko Benz is open 7pm– 3.30am every day except Buddhist holidays.

Minimum order B50 No reservations required but if you would like to take away you can do so by calling Rachata Boonyasittisopon or Big on 084-0607799

12 TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF Game of Thrones to premier in Thailand

The world’s most-pirated television series for the past three years will be available in Thailand at the same moment it premieres around the world later this month.

A n H B O sp oke s woman confirmed that Thailand – unlike the United Kingdom – will be among the 170 countries where the season five premiere will be simulcast via HBO Asia. HBO, a premium pay service, has issued beaming press releases confirming the series’ status as mostpirated online and has sought to increase its availability via streaming services that remain unavailable in Asia.

The simulcast may please HBO subscribers but is unlikely to make much of a dent in the massive torrent flow that begins moments after the episodes broadcast. The new season will premiere on HBO Asia at 9am on Monday, April 13.

Coconuts Bangkok

LINE releases selfie app

With 78 filters and full social media integration (obviously) Japanese messaging app LINE has released a new feature (and subsequent app) to take your selfies to another leve.

Dubbed B612 (named after the asteroid in the classic French novella The Little Prince), LINE says the free app already has more than 20 million downloads. B612 doesn’t make a sound when the shutter closes, a feature that LINE says will allow you to “take photos anywhere without being self-conscious”.

The app is available for both iOS and Android devices.

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Fast and the Furious: One Last Ride CHADDER BOX Chad Nolan Meyers chadnolanmeyers@gmail.com

W

ith movie goers flocking to Central and Jungceylon this past week for Fast and Furious 7, it would only be fitting for your local app store to profit on the occasion. As Newton’s fourth law goes: “For every big budget movie, there is a big budget app”.

I’m greeted on screen by Letty,

Roman, and Tej as they walk me through the tutorials. Chapter One takes places amongst the colourful backdrop of Miami, and the graphics are on point. Each chapter has various styles of races. “Street” races take place in congested city streets. Tapping either the left or right side of the screen will move your car to the corresponding next lane. “Drag” races put the clutch in your hands.

Chad Nolan Meyers is a product of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

After falling in love with Princess Zelda at age 4, Chad has been running, jumping and fighting his way through the video game world ever since.

Failure to switch gears at the appropriate time will result in failure and a sly remark. Starting in Chapter Two: Tokyo, “Drift” races will appear. Harness the power of your finger by drifting your vehicle around corners and through parking garages. Keep it up to unlock more cities and more race-styles.

Winning races will net you coins, used to invest in superior parts for the 50+ cars to choose from. Show your stripes and you might just be invited to join a crew, and battle as a unit. But watch out for the Police!

If you’re either a car or Fast and Furious enthusiast, you’ll get a kick out of this game. The loading screens are a tick longer than I’d like, but the physics feel right, the graphics are crisp, the customization is extensive, and it’s just flat out fun.

Enjoy the ride.

Videogames boost skills, but also harmful

G

ood news and bad news for video gamers: new research shows game play boosts visual and cognitive skills, but that too much of the activity is linked to behavioral problems.

In one of two studies published last week, Brown University researchers found gaming not only improves visual skills but also improve learning ability for those skills.

“It may be possible that the vast amount of visual training frequent gamers receive over the years could help contribute to honing consolidation mechanisms in the brain, especially for visually developed skills,” the researchers wrote in the study published last

week in a scientific journal by the Public Library of Science.

“A lot of people still view video games as a time-wasting activity even though research is beginning to show their beneficial aspects,”

said Aaron Berard, lead author.

The study doesn’t prove whether playing video games improves learning ability or whether people with an innate ability become gamers because they find it re-

warding.

A separate study by Oxford University offered a more mixed outlook. Researchers found that children who play video games over three hours a day are more likely to be hyperactive, get involved in fights and not be interested in school.

But they also found that problems were linked to the amount of time spent gaming, not the types of games played and found no link between playing violent games and real-life aggression or academic performance.

They also found that gaming for less than one hour a day might be positive for children’s behaviour.

AFP

Japan military eyes recruits with cutesy smartphone game

J

apan’s military has released a smartphone game featuring cutesy characters who dodge household objects, marking the latest effort to polish the force’s image and lure new recruits.

The game, launched last week, calls on cartoonish figures in military uniforms to protect a home while the owners are away, including crawling on the floor

and piloting a jet fighter to avoid flying objects including apples.

Called Jieitai Collection, the game can be played for free on iOS and Android devices with new missions to be launched on the applica-

tion every month until June.

Pacifist Japan’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF) launched four promotional videos for the game on YouTube with the tagline “Be an SDF official and protect your home!”

The game is part of efforts to soften the image of the 230,000-strong force, which saw the number of applicants for positions fall 10 percent in 2014 from a year earlier.

AFP thephuketnews

FILM 13

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM 2014 THEPHUKETNEWS.COM FRIDAY, FRIDAY,APRIL APRIL4,10, 2015

IN BRIEF Netflix to premier Ricky Gervias fake news film

7 car stud

FILM REVIEW Kong Rithdee Bangkok Post

FURIOUS 7

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Tony Jaa and Jordana Brewster

Director: James Wan

Running time: 137 minutes

T

he latest Fast & Furious film is a mad rush of fun that still makes room for a heartfelt farewell to the late Paul Walker With Furious 7, the superhero season has begun — and these guys (and girls) are so poised in their invincibility that they don’t even bother to put on spandex costumes.

The juvenile implausibility of the stunts has always been the strength of the franchise.

Even The Hulk has a bad day, but nevermind: The seventh film in the fossil-fuel-burning series is one of its most infectious and thrilling (though Fast Five is still the best), with almost breathless action sequences taking place on cliff-hugging Azerbaijan highways, Abu Dhabi penthouses, and the series’ home turf of LA. That we’ve seen the actors and their characters in seven films in the past 14 years gives the franchise a sense of urban lore. Vin Diesel’s character, Dom, keeps intoning about how his team is not a gang, but a “family” and the longevity of the series has given credit to the tight-knit ensemble.

Walker’s death in 2013 put a mournful dimension to the family angle, and watching him so alive on the screen for the last time is at once sad, exhilarating and surreal (after his death, his character was played by his two brothers, with the help of computer-generated tweaks).

Joining Diesel, Walker and co are

Dwayne Johnson as the crazy cop Hobbs and Jason Statham as the new arch-nemesis Deckard Shaw, a blackops assassin hell-bent on killing Dom and his friends.

Our own Tony Jaa plays Kiet, an angry henchman who has two, quite lengthy hand-to-hand combat scenes with Walker — and who speaks about three words. Oh, we also have Kurt Russell, all creased and shaded, as chief of an undercover agency that assists Dom and his gang in a subplot.

As in the past few films, it’s like an Ocean’s Eleven that ditches suaveness for raw energy. It’s also like Mission Impossible sans spy-craft smugness — only with streetwise camaraderie and outrageous auto stunts.

Then again, a franchise has to grow with its audience. The early films were cocky, youthful and rebellious, portraying street-racing as a form of subversion. (Which is why young riders in Southeast Asia worship Dom and Brian.)

In the latest film, we still have a scene in a racing outpost populated by tattooed guys and women in thongs, and the action is still flashy and brash.

But Dom’s team is basically working with the government now (albeit its underground arm). Their gadgets, cars and guns are more polished, and their mission doesn’t have the intense, personal drive that fuelled Dom’s and Brian’s gang years.

The rest of the team will certainly come back for more. But for how much longer?

Bangkok Post

Woody Allen, Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey at Cannes?

W

ith the Cannes Film Festival set to open in just over a month’s time, speculation is swirling over which films – and which top actors – could be getting their moment under the French Riviera’s sun.

Woody Allen is seen as more than likely to be walking the red carpet with his new flick, Irrational Man. Cate Blanchett might also

be along for her movie Carol.

And fellow Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey could appear for The Sea of Trees the latest film by director Gus Van Sant, which also stars Naomi Watts.

Cannes’s organisers jealously guard their selections for the competition line-up and the out-of-competition programme until a month before the film fest opens.

They also have a dizzying task in choosing which movies make the cut, wading through some 1,800 films to winnow them down to short lists.

This year, the movies to be shown at Cannes will be announced on April 16, and the festival will run from May 13 to 24.

So far the only movie confirmed to be screened is Mad Max: Fury Road.

The dystopian sci-fi movie, the fourth in the franchise and the first to star British actor Tom Hardy in the title role, will be shown out of competition on May 14 just before its worldwide release.

AFP

US BOX OFFICE TOP 10 Film

Weekend

Gross

Film

Weekend

Gross

1

Furious 7

$147.19M

$147.19M

6

It Follows

$2.51M

$8.59M

2

Home

$27.01M

$95.24M

7

Woman in Gold

$2.09M

$2.19M

3

Get Hard

$13.13M

$57.22M

8

Kingsman: The Secret Service

$1.81M

$122.37M

4

Cinderella

$10.18M

$167.14M

9

Do You Believe?

$1.54M

$9.86M

5

Insurgent

$10.13M

$103.51M

10

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

$1.08M

$30.14M

@thephuketnews

Netflix confirmed it will debut in 2016 a new feature movie by British comedian Ricky Gervais about a radio reporter who files fake news about a far-away war from the comfort of a Manhattan hideout.

Special Correspondents, starring Australian actor Eric Bana, is the latest in a growing stable of original productions being rolled out by the online video streaming service. “It’s the kind of great grown-up comedy that studios rarely make anymore, one that’s perfect for Netflix members around the world,” said Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos.

Showbiz trade journal Variety reported in October Special Correspondents would be a remake of a 2009 French comedy, Envoyes Tres Speciaux, by director Frederic Auburtin. AFP

Tom Cruise, Doug Liman reunite for drug drama

Mena, a drama based on true story, will reunite Tom Cruise with Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman.

Newcomer Sarah Wright will also join the cast, Empire Online reported. The film will revolve around the life of Barry Seal, a commercial pilot in the 1970s who was later fired for flying explosives for an an anti-Castro group.

Later, he smuggled drugs between South and North America and became entangle with the Colombian Medellin cartel.

The film is set for a 2016 release.

New George R.R. Martin HBO show

Author George R.R. Martin, the creator of the popular A Song of Fire and Ice book series which spawned the Game of Thrones TV show, is developing a new TV series for HBO. The new series, tentatively called Captain Cosmos, will revolve around a young science fiction writer who lives in the 1949 just as television becomes more popular. The character eventually starts writing daring and fresh stories for the medium.

Michael Cassutt, a producer and screenwriter, will work with Martin for the pilot episode. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 12 (April 13 in Thailand).

14 ENTERTAINMENT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

All that jazz

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

4th annual UNESCO Phuket International Jazz Day event expands to three days

Marque A. Rome

W

hat began four years ago as a labour of love by enthusiastic jazz players in Phuket is turning into a cultural institution, now expanded to three days, with official sponsorship (and modest budget) from the City of Phuket – the UNESCO Phuket International Jazz Day concerts. Organised by pianist Jeffrey Sevilla and his partner, singer Kay Mongolkaew, at their well-known Music Matter jazz club in Phuket Town, the event this year will span three days, featuring jazz workshops at the Yamaha School of Music on April 28; Music Matter’s Wednesday Jam session on April 29; and a full blown street festival on Chana Jaroern Rd on April 30.

UNESCO in 2011 designated April Jazz Appreciation Month and International Jazz Day on April 30, designations approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, when the first Jazz Day was celebrated. Events are now held in 196 countries The Phuket event is the only one organised in Thailand each year (since the beginning) in addition to being the only one to receive municipal sponsorship and a place on the provincial cultural calendar.

On April 3, a meeting to finalise plans

Performers during last year’s UNESCO Phuket International Jazz Day. for this year’s concert series in Phuket was held at the Municipal Hall in Phuket Town, chaired by Vice Mayor Kavee Tansukhatanon, and attended by representatives from the city’s Public Relations Office and Office of Administration; the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Montri Manator; and AVL Wizard Co Ltd’s Sayan Ongwimonkarn, whose firm specialises in light and sound extravaganzas. The meeting agreed that this year’s event would memorialise not only jazz as an international medium contributing to peace and understanding, but acknowledge HM the King of Thailand as a jazz composer and performer of international renown.

In addition, the event will be covered by TAT media experts and promoted through the organisation’s websites. A professional

lighting arrangement and upgraded sound system will be in place, and the city will have the Public Works Department look into tidying up the tiny soi’s electrical cables.

Last year, 14 bands took to the stage and some 800 persons attended.

This year, with performers from abroad flying in, many others lined up, local visual artists installing a display, and a variety of vendors participating – this year’s Jazz Day should be more fun than ever (and it’s always been a blast!).

Performances start at 8pm on the 30th. For more information about workshops at Yamaha Music School, contact tel.: 089-588-2347, or see Music Matter Phuket on Facebook.

Bangkok Comic Con to close out April

T

he 2nd annual Bangkok Comic Con x Anime Festival Asia Thailand 2015 is set to take place bewteen April 27–May 3, and hundreds are expected to take part in the region’s only event of its kind.

Centara Grand Hotel (at CentralWorld), Siam Paragon and Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC) will be the venues for the events which are a celebration of comic books, graphic novels and anime (Japanese cartoons).

The convention will bring together designers, producers, artists, writers and overall enthusiasts from all over Southeast Asia with many expected to dress up like their favourite characters for the entire week! Comic Con takes place all over the world in places like India, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, the United Kingdom, United States, though the biggest event by far

is in San Diego.

This celebration of colourful pop culture will also include special shows from Warner Brothers, 20th Centry Fox as well as Marvel and DC Comics .

In addition, the Thailand Toy Expo 2015 will also take place in conjunction with the event as more than 70 popular brands of action figures and collectible items from the US, Asia and Europe will be on display at Central World Shopping Center.

For more information, visit bangkokcomiccon.com thephuketnews

16 ISLAND SCENE

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

(From left) Phuket FC chairman Pramuke Achariyachai; Jason Beaven, GM of Class Act Media; and Simon Samaan, Managing Director of Class Act Media

CLASH OF THE P-TOWNS It was a fun evening under the Total Lunar Eclipse last Saturday (April 4) as Phuket FC hosted their Yamaha League-1 rivals Pattaya United.

For match report, see Sports page 27.

EASTER BRUNCH @ LES DIABLES Chef Peter and his dedicated team put out a fantastic Easter Brunch spread at Les Diables Patisserie & Restaurant Boat Lagoon for a cheery full-house. Brunch was topped with an exciting Easter Egg Hunt, in which both little and big kids collected 105 Easter Eggs, the winners took home enough chocolate to keep them (and their friends and family) happy for the rest of the summer!

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

ISLAND SCENE 17

CLUB MED PRESENT KATA/KARON MARATHON Many took part in the special race which took place on Sunday April 5 at 6am at Nong Harn Park, Karon. The event was proudly sponsored by Class Act Media, who sent a team to compete (pictured above).

KIDS TAKE PART IN SUPERKIDZ TRIATHLON Thanyapura held a successful SUPERKIDZ Triathlon 2015 on April 4 with over 180 international participants. The objective of the SUPERKIDZ series of events is to prepare the participants for the International Junior Challenge held later this year.

KIS HOLDS ANNUAL SPORTS DAY Kajonkiet International School held their annual Sports Day on April 3, where kids from all ages took part in the fun filled events.

@thephuketnews

18 EVENTS

FRI

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM Cricket Group(PCG). Hosting once again “Live 89.5 Phuket Super Sixes”cricket tournament on 11 & 12 April 2015 at The Alan Cook Ground “PLAY FOR FRIENDSHIP”. Cricket sixes is the shortest format of the game compared to the 50 overs & 20/20 cricket matches played worldwide.

Everybody can play this short format of game. Like us on FB : Phuket Super Sixes, Contact Kash, hi_fashion1@yahoo.com, hi_fashion1@yahoo.com, 0850685719.

10 APR

Suk Singpatong + Sitnumnoi

Pool Competition at Expat Sports Bar The competition at 9pm Expat Sports Bar at the Expat Hotel Soi Taipan Patong.

See map at www.expathotel.com

Every Saturday night, Num Noi Singpatong, the head trainer and owner of Singpatong + Sitnumnoi gym in Patong Beach, hosts an elite fight series “Suk Singpatong + Sitnumnoi Saturday fight night” at Patong Boxing Stadium (Sai Nam Yen Road), where top international and Thai fighters compete. Visit pattongboxingstadium.com for more info. Contact 087 628 2719. Proudly supported by Class Act Media. Remark: Free transportation in Patong, Karon, Kata areas when requested in advance. Proudly supported

by Class Act Media.

FRIDAYS WINE & TAPAS

SUN

12 APR

Indian Curry Night on Fridays

SAT

Lunch or dinner served from 2pm. Your choice of either roast beef, chicken, loin of pork or leg of lamb served with roast and boiled potatoes, three fresh vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Only B320 per person which includes a free glass of house red or white. Opposite Centara Karon Resort. See otools-phuket.com

Rainbow Pool & Foam Party

CASUAL BBQ SUNDAY BRUNCH AT THE POOL BAR

Phuket Bike Week 2015

Come to Navrang Mahal in Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa for an authentic Indian Feast every Friday in Karon Beach. Try out our delicious naans, mutton vindaloo, chicken tandoori, dal makhini, butter chicken, samosas, lassis and many more mouth-watering dishes. For only 499/- nett and special reduced prices on drinks, 076-286464 Ext 4.

Traditional Sunday Roast Angus O’Tool’s Karon Beach

Sunday, April 12, 2015. 3-10PM At Air Rooftop swimming pool at Centra Ashlee Patong. For reservation contact 081 171 0143 / 076 349 800-7 https://www.facebook.com/centrabarandrestaurant/photos, saleschp@chr.co.th

Imagine yourself sitting 50meters above sea level and gazing out over an amazing sunset whilst sipping on a Ginger & Lemongrass Martini and enjoying the unique sophisticated city lifestyle ambiance of Phuket. Every Friday ‘All you can Eat’ Tapas and more with free flow of selected beverages at 1,390 Baht net from 7 – 10pm. Get 30% discount on selected beverages from 5.30-6.30pm everyday. Located at Vanilla Sky Bar, Cape Sienna Hotel-Kamala Call 076-337300.

For THB 499/-nett.

All you can eat

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

PHUKET BIKE WEEK 2015 - The biggest motorcycle event in Asia. Celebrating the 21st anniversary. This event expects to gather over 10,000 motorcyclists and 50,000 visitors from 30 countries, which will take place in Patong Beach on 11th -13th April 2015 and in Phuket Town on 17th-19th April 2015. Visit our website http://www. phuketbikeweek.com/ or call 076 352 069, sumon@ridethailand.com, 081-6919346, Proudly supported by Class Act Media.

11 APR

Traditional Sunday Roast Angus O’Tool’s Karon Beach Lunch or dinner served from 2pm. Your choice of either roast beef, chicken, loin of pork or leg of lamb served with roast and boiled potatoes, three fresh vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Only B320 per person which includes a free glass of house red or white. Opposite Centara Karon Resort. See otools-phuket.com

SUN

Enjoy our sumptuous brunch featuring a lavish spread of international delicacies with a variety of live stations, roasts, a casual seafood BBQ, freshly shucked Fin de Claire oysters, a pasta station, wood-fired pizzas and a children’s food corner plus our free flow selected beverage stations.

With pool access and a Camp Hyatt kids club, starting at 1,500++ THB per person.

For more details and reservations, call 076 231 516 fnb.phuhp@hyatt.com

12 APR Live Seafood & Jazz Sunday Brunch at Banyan Tree

Rainbow Pool & Foam Party BBQ at Expat Hotel Time 8pm, Expat Sports Bar, Expat Hotel, Soi Taipan, Patong. www.expatsportsbar.com

Live 89.5 Phuket Super Sixes on 11 & 12 APRIL 2015 Cricket Festival this Songkran by Phuket

Sunday, April 12, 2015. 3-10PM At Air Rooftop swimming pool at Centra Ashlee Patong. For reservation contact 081 171 0143 / 076 349 800-7 https://www.facebook.com/centrabarandrestaurant/photos, saleschp@chr.co.th

Join Banyan Tree’s indulgent LIVE Seafood Sunday brunch featuring lots of LIVE Canadian Lobsters, Tiger prawns, freshly shucked Oysters, Wagyu rump and Foie Gras. Meander from one live cooking station to the next, and don’t forget to leave room for cheese and dessert. With live Jazz music and a kids club, starting at B2,800++ per person including free flow of selected beverages. Advance bookings are highly recommended, Contact 076 372 400. fb-phuket@banyantree.com

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

SUN

EVENTS 19

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015 NOON and every Saturday from 9AM to NOON. We have a wide and wonderful selection of handicrafts such as educational toys, dolls, puppets, paper art, greeting cards for all occasions, Novelties like tooth fairy pillow, and many more. All proceeds go directly to The Good Shepherd mission. More info visit www.thegoodshepherd.info/shop/ reginatudor@gmail.com, 083 104 0788.

12 APR

Aqua Fitness

Sunday Poolside Chill Out Brunch at Kata Rocks Chill out poolside every Sunday for brunch, with our shared table family style dining along with live chill out music. Chef serves modern Mediterranean inspired plates and platters with an Australasian accent. Relax the afternoon away enjoy the brunch then cool off in our stunning 35 meter oceanfront infinity pool Chilled live beats will set the tone and backdrop to the perfect Sunday session 12 noon till 4 pm every Sunday 1500++ per person for brunch and 2500++ including free flow of selected beverages Reservations required - See more at: http:// www.thephuketnews.com/sunday-poolside-chill-out-brunch-at-kata-rocks-49626. php#sthash.m1ZPXnv8.dpuf

MON

Aqua Fitness classes offer you something different to “high impact” sport but the results, however, will amaze you! Aqua fitness can increase muscle tone and improve your breathing, circulation and heart rate as well as help you to reshape your body: slimming your waist, toning your chest, firming your buttocks and strengthening your back. It’s also an excellent weapon against cellulite!

Aqua Fitness classes are held on Mondays at 17:00 and Wednesdays at 11:00am.

Please go to www.santosaphuket.com ot find us on facebook, Santosa Wellness Center, 076 330 600.

TUE

14 APR

13 APR Zumba in the Jungle We do not consider Zumba a class, it is a fitness party! Making exercising fun, the dynamic Latin-based dance workout has taken the fitness world by storm. Vibrant and energetic, an hour of serious cardio passes by in such a flurry of colourful smiles, that it doesn’t feel like exercise at all! Join us at Santosa, where the formidable Geti Pici transforms our fitness pavilion into a fit-party! To book this class, or to find out the other Zumba class times, please go to www.santosaphuket.com or find us on facebook, Santosa Wellness Center.

076 330 600. Patak Rd, Kata.

Thanyapura Songkran Sports Camps Join us for a fun-filled Songkran Camp running for 2 weeks from April 13-17 and April 20-24. Enjoy a variety of skill improving sports sessions led by professional coaches from Swimming, Tennis, Triathlon to Multi-sports for all levels in a safe and friendly environment. Choose your convenient timing by the hour, half day or full day schedules. Rates range from 2,000 – 6,000 THB per week, depending on the sport, skill level and hours. For more information, please contact reservations@thanyapura. com or call 076 336 000.

@thephuketnews

WED

15 APR

The Good Shepherd Craft Shop Opens every Wednesday from 10AM to

THU

16 APR

Aerial Yoga–Unique to Santosa The fluid, gravity-defying twist on yoga shows how we can learn to fly whilst relieving compressed joints and re-aligning the body. The practice uses graceful, trapeze-like movements which sometimes seem like acrobatics. A wonderful way to do inversion poses, aerial yoga really is an innovative fitness trend, and Santosa are extremely proud to be the only center in Phuket offering suspended movement in every direction along with stimulation of the organs, muscles and bones. To book this class, or to find out the other Aerial yoga class times, please go to www.santosaphuket.com or find us on facebook, Santosa Wellness Center.

076 330 600. Patak Rd, Kata, colleen@ santosaphuket.com

SUN

19 APR

THU

30 APR

Phuket Unesco International Jazz Day 4th Edition 2015 On behalf of Phuket City Municipality. MMC presents Phuket UNESCO International Jazz Day Celebration at Music Matter. Open to the public at 8 PM at Chanacharoen Road near Ocean Mall Phuket City. Main events featuring Music Matter Collective, Phuket local, Intl jazz, blues group & artists. For more info please call 089 588 2347.

SAT

2 MAY

Phuket Pride Week 2015

Battle of The Young Bands 2015 at Hard Rock Cafe’ Phuket Pride Week 19th-26th April 2015.

This event was started in 1999 and is the only Gay Pride Festival still being held in Thailand. “Freedom To Live” is the theme for the week of FUN & Celebration with over 12 events being held around Phuket. All are welcome: LGBT community, straights & the undecided, to join in celebrating Pride week and raising monies to help fight HIV infections in Phuket. , Contact Phil Crown, Ban Patong, Phuket, Thailand 83150 , phil. thailand@googlemail.com. Proudly supported by Class Act Media.

Legend Music host’s their annual Battle of the Young Bands at the Hard Rock Café in Phuket on May the 2nd at 3pm. Young bands with members aged between 8 and 17 years old can enter. Winners walk off with B25,000 in cash, 2nd place takes B15,000 and 3rd place snags B10,000. Cash prizes sponsored by Phuket International Academy. Venue hosts are Hard Rock Café Phuket. More information, Please contact at +66 (0) 84 304 2587 or e-mail : studio@ legendmusic.net. Proundly supported by Class Act Media.

20 TIME OUT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Crossword by Myles Mellor & Sally York Across 1. Where is the port of Acre?

2. Who or what is the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street?

3. Which BBC star was recently fired for punching a producer?

4. Who was the last person to beat Muhammad Ali in the ring?

5. What is the term used for a line connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure?

Answers below, centre.

SUDOKU

1. Clark’s Lois 5. Prison head 11. Monopolize 14. Religious figure 15. Lady of Arthurian romance 16. Lab eggs 17. Don’t give a raise 20. Wriggler 21. Holiday ___ 22. Animal catcher 23. Marks of shame 27. Myrmecologist’s study 28. Five iron 31. Collectively 33. Choir member 34. Belittle 38. Discourage 42. Guard 43. “___-Pro,” Ferrell flick 44. Innocent 45. Grew 47. Construct 50. Virtuoso composition 52. Pronouncement 54. “Peace Piece” artist 55. Bug

58. Warm welcome’s opposite 63. Heap 64. Bully 65. Insipid 66. Electees 67. Arrogance 68. Ashcroft’s predecessor

like ___ Lee” 28. They may provide relief 29. Cosmetic additive 30. Leave slackjawed 32. Kit and caboodle 35. Mars, to the Greeks 36. Heavy reading Down 37. Arthurian lady 39. Tom Clancy subj.

1. Vitality 40. Sleep ___ 2. Realtor’s unit 3. “O Sanctissima,” 41. Prefix for scoliosis e.g.

45. Hindu wives 4. Course setting: Abbr.

46. At the summit of 5. Twerp 47. Civilian clothes 6. Beside 48. Canton neighbor 7. Did a marathon 49. Unstable mesons 8. Fizzle out 51. Spherical 9. Naval rank: Abbr. bacteria 10. The latest 53. Mark permanently 11. Navajo home 12. For all to see 55. Let go 13. Some are inert 56. Butcher’s cut 18. Pasta choice 57. Bring to ruin 19. Absence of pain 59. “___ Send Me” 23. Truncation 60. Fighter at Chancellorsville 24. Piano key 61. Lapse 25. From scratch 26. “Nobody doesn’t 62. Feather’s partner

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz:

1. Haifa Bay, Israel; 2. The Bank of England; 3. Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear; 4. Trevor Berbick; 5. Isobar.

GOT YOUR NUMBER

ISLAND VIEW

This week in history ■■ April 10, 1755

Birth of Samuel Hahnemann, German physician and creator of the alternative medicine called homeopathy.

■■ April 11, 1913 The Nevill Ground’s cricket pavilion is destroyed in a Suffragette arson attack.

■■ April 12, 1961 The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space.

■■ April 13, 1997 T i g e r Wo o d s b e c o m e s t h e youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.

1:112,994 Proportion of surgical procedures in which the surgeon operates on the wrong body part – or the wrong person.

4-7

Number of dreams the average person has in one night.

300,000

Approximate number of millionaires in the USA

11

Number of lions kept in the Tower of London by King James 1 (1603-1625). He also had 2 leopards, 3 eagles, 2 owls, 2 mountain cats and a jackal.

■■ April 14, 1865

20

Percentage of people who regularly confuse left and right.

Source: Uberfacts

Phrom Thep Cape does not have a monopoly on sunsets. This one was shot from Kalim.

Photo by Tanyaluk Sakoot Got an unusual or particularly beautiful picture of Phuket?

Email it to editor1@classactmedia.co.th

US President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth. He dies the following day.

■■ April 15, 1912 The passenger ship RMS Titanic, on its maiden voyage, sinks after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.

■■ April 16, 1947 Bernard Baruch coins the term “Cold War” to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Source: Wikipedia thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

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FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

HEALTH

MARINE SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

PRODUCTION SERVICE

GUARDIAN SERVICE

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

STORAGE Reserve Your Storage Space

Call 076 29 29 09

or visit mystorageasia.com

 Sizes to Suit all Budgets  Personal & Business Storage  Motorcycle Storage  Left Luggage Service  We Sell Boxes  Storage Insurance Inclusive

Secure, Clean & Cost Effective Self Storage Jungceylon Shopping Center, Patong, Phuket

ELECTRIC

STORAGE

MARINE SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

PACKAGING

REMOVALS

ADVERTISE HERE

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Jobs

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/thephuketnews

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @thephuketnews

classifieds@thephuketnews.com

Vacancies for property sales reps

Housekeeper wanted- live in

1.Sale English,Chinese,Russia (Good commission)Have experience in line of Sale 2.staff at booth for Property(17,000 + Lunch + Commission) Can communicate Good English, Kaew, kaew@agtropical.com, 094 807 3434.

Housekeeper wanted to live in Kata. Must love dogs and have some knowledge of english. Ideal position for couple. Call on 080 690 5248 or email lil@ladolcevitare.com.au, Lillian Dinic , Address : 31/3 Soi Plakjae Kata Phuket.

The Terminal Phuket Phuket Sirinath Property & The Terminal Phuket Sales Staff 2 (2 years Experience) Marketing 1 (3 years Experience) Accounting 1 (5 years Experience) A & S Supervisor 1 (10 years Experience) M & E Engineer 1 (10 years Experience) HR, Naiyang Beach, k.taksakorn@gmail.com, 076 327 590.

Data Entry Administrator Data Entry Admin Staff required for Phukets leading property agent, LivePhuket the exclusive property partner to The Phuket News. Must have the following qualification for this position. - High vocational certificate or Bachelor’s degree graduate in any related field - Good command of MS Excel - Hard-working, self-disciplined, and positive working attitude - Ability to handle multiple priorities and meet deadlines - Can work from Monday to Saturday (every other Saturday) - Must have excellent English reading and writing skills.

Contact Paul Trayman, Kamala, 092 474 6157, Email paul@livephuket.com

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Excellent THAI CHEF Looking for an excellent Thai Chef to work abroad. I am looking for an excellent Thai Chef to work overseas in Sri Lanka at a new Thai Restaurant. Would require to speak little bit of english but what I am looking for is a really good chef who can make Authentic Thai food. Will provide great salary and accomodation. Please contact me on suranga.sd@ gmail.com to discuss further.

TELE SALES WORK FROM HOME Earn up to 3,000 - 5,000 baht/day. International organization specialized in holiday rentals listing is expanding to new areas of interest. The ideal candidate is a responsible and diligent person with experience as a telemarketer or in sales. Good English and excel skills are essential.

Thai or foreigners can both apply. We offer: full training, telephone and email support, high commissions, Email: recruitment@holiplanet.com

Animal caregiver WANTED Starting 1st March, full time, caring for sick animals, dog walking, grooming, medicating & running errands, some overnight & weekends expected, experience with animals a must, please send resume to : jellinecastro@ yahoo.com

Web Project Manager Senior DEV

Bitsiren is looking for a talented senior web developer with a positive and “can do” attitude to join us and work in a fun and creative working environment!

BitSiren offers a competitive compensation package including: 5 day work week, work permit, paid vacation, health insurance and social insurance contribution. For more information please visit http://www.bitsiren.com/ about-bitsiren/career/senior-web-developer.html

Assistant Branch Manager 20 K

We are hiring!!!!! Both positions for our new branch in Phuket and to be part of our energetic team. Excellent commission & benefits. Email info@thailandpooltables. com, 20,000 THB per month, Ying.

Join an International Team, Princess Yachts Phuket is hiring 1 Position Urgently: Marketing Assistant; good English, good knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite, basic Photo and Video production and Website, Thai national Please call Rico Stapel at: 086 690 0444 and send resume to rico@princessyachtssea.com

Class Act Media is southern Thailand's most comprehensive media company, incorporating Phuket’s leading English newspaper ‘The Phuket News’, Russian language newspaper 'Novosti Phuketa', Phuket’s leading English radio station ‘Live 89.5’, Phuket English TV 'Phuket News TV' and a a host of publications & services including ‘The Phuket Colouring book’ & ‘Phuket Ticket Master’.

Full Time Public Relations/ Marketing manager Responsibilities :

● PR and marketing of our products & services ● Identifying sponsorship opportunities & liaising with event organizers ● Building relationships with local organizations, government & private companies

Qualifications:

● Thai National ● Excellent personal skills ● Good command of English ● Experience in PR/Marketing in print media or radio would be an advantage but not essential ● Existing relationships/network of contacts in Phuket an advantage ● Own car & ability to work flexible hours and attend events during non-work hours

We offer:

● Competitive salary & bonuses depending ● 5 day work week – (Monday – Friday 8.30 am – 6 pm) ● Friendly work environment & excellent progress opportunities ● Time in lieu policy for any overtime hours worked Interested candidates are invited to send application with full resume in English indicating qualifications, experience, expected salary with recent photo via email to hr@classactmedia.co.th or fax your resume to 076-612-553

Class Act Media Co., Ltd.

99/7 Moo 1 T. Kathu A. Kathu Phuket 83120 Tel: 076 612 550-2 ext 100 Fax: 076 612 553 www.thephuketnews.com

Are you looking for a Nanny?

Job Wanted!!! If you are looking for someone who can look after your child, pets or house when you plan to get away at night or during the weekend, Pls contact Email : jj_icu@hotmail.com, 081 476 7570.

Class Act Media is southern Thailand's most comprehensive media company, incorporating Phuket’s leading English newspaper ‘The Phuket News’, Russian language newspaper 'Novosti Phuketa', Phuket’s leading English radio station ‘Live 89.5’, Phuket English TV 'Phuket News TV' and a host of publications & services including ‘The Phuket Colouring book’ & ‘Phuket Ticket Master’.

SALES REPRESENTATIVES Qualifications:

Class Act Media is southern Thailand's most comprehensive media company, incorporating Phuket’s leading English newspaper ‘The Phuket News’, Russian language newspaper 'Novosti Phuketa', Phuket’s leading English radio station ‘Live 89.5’, Phuket English TV 'Phuket News TV' and a a host of publications and services including ‘The Phuket Colouring book’ & ‘Phuket Ticket Master’.

RADIO/TV REPORTER

● Works well under pressure and has a will to succeed.

Class Act Media is looking for a writer/reporter for our radio and TV teams. They would need to have good English-speaking skills and will be writing and reporting news and information on Live 89.5 FM and Phuket News TV. We have a small team of local and international staff.

We offer:

Qualifications:

● Thai or Expat. ● Excellent communication and negotiation skills in Thai and English. ● Highly motivated self-starter with a positive attitude.

● Competitive salary, bonuses and travel expenses. ● A friendly work environment. ● Social security paid by the company. ● Excellent career progress opportunities.

Interested candidates are invited to send application with full resume, in English, indicating qualifications, experience, recent photo and expected salary.

Apply online at thephuketnews.com/job.php

Class Act Media Co., Ltd.

99/7 Moo 1 T. Kathu A. Kathu Phuket 83120 Tel: 076 612 550-2 Fax: 076 612 553

● Good english writing and speaking skills ● Full time position with flexible working hours ● Presenting radio news and information ● Some TV news reporting

Interested candidates are invited to send application with full resume, in English, indicating qualifications, experience, recent photo and expected salary.

Apply online at thephuketnews.com/job.php

Class Act Media Co., Ltd. 99/7 Moo 1 T. Kathu A. Kathu Phuket 83120 Tel: 076 612 550-2 Fax: 076 612 553

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CLASSIFIEDS 25

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Buy&Sell

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/thephuketnews

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @thephuketnews

BOATS & YACHTS 3.1 RIB Yacht tender dinghy 3.1m Stingray RIB with 9.9hp 4 stroke Suzuki outboard, storage cover, fuel tank etc. Great size yacht tender dinghy, as new 140,000b, Price : 140,000, sc@ acronautic.com, 0898734044.

33/F Gulf Craft W/A Two suzuki 225 HP outboards - only 300 hours, custom made RIB-dinghy with small outboard, engine electronics and hydraulics, ray marine GPS/radar/depth sounder, many extras. 3,850,000. THB, 089 873 3713.

4.1M/40HP RIB, 09/2014 AS NEW! BOUG HT IN SEPT. 2014,14HRS O N LY! SUZU KI ENGINE+BOAT UNDER WARRANTY (SUZUKI PHUKET).

BIMINI+TRAILER+TUBE COVERS. 0935840565 (RUS/ ENG) 0987086632 (FR/ENG, 350,000 THB,)

Silver Princess Yacht PC530 A 53 ft Power Catamaran by Silver Princess Yachts.

Beautiful design, compact yacht with space & modern interior. Dimensions: 53 ft length, 21 ft beam, 4 ft draft, 50 passengers, 22,000,000 THB, Sonny, 669 8810 5024, www.silver-princess.com, sonny@silver-princess.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES German bakery & deli & snack Main road, 8 years clientele, take over + incl. training complete equipment, staff room, 3 or 5 years leasing contract. Yearly volume 4 mio. hansibakery@ gmail.com, Price: 3.5 million, Contact Mr. Stark, ansibakery@gmail.com

Bar For Sale O Top Markets Bar For Sale with full trading history showing increasing growth. Includes 4Mil Bht Thai company & 1 Work Permit. Great Location, good customer base, Price : 2,000,000, Person : charlie Kenyon, 0841858719. charlie@paddymalones.com.au

Bar Bangla Road for sale Bangla Soi Crocodile - Good situation (n3) Fully furnished (alcohols,TV,fridge,Cash register...) Contract until 01-01-2016 Key money : 185 000 Baths 09 87 26 82 84 or arnaud270@ hotmail.fr

Restaurant Khao Lak for Sale

Large profitable restaurant. 1.6 mio THB, ONO Central location, high turnover, includes all furnishings, website.

Extra income from shops on premises, good TripAdvisor reviews, Price 1.6 mio THB, anders@siamthaihouses. com, 0848470577.

Bangla bar for sale Newly refurbished and

fully fitted out sports bar. Cheapest rent in Bangla road area. 3 year renewable contract. Great business opportunity, Contact Steve, stevepearcergj@ hotmail.co.uk, 089 587 0819 (EN)

Patong Nightclub for Sale Newly developed Nightclub in Patong on Bangla Road. A turnkey operation with a fully fitted light, sound system and bars. Long renewable contract available.

Serious enquiries only. Brokers welcome. Contact Steve, stevepearcergj@hotmail.co.uk, 089 587 0819 (EN)

CAR FOR SALE

Mitsubishi Pajero Sports Mitsubishi Pajero Sports 2012, A1 condition, 14,000 KM, Silver Colour. 950,000THB Eng: Ph. 0993614582 Thai: Ph. 080 383 3060.

Car For Sale 1996 Toyota Corolla Sedan, Silver Gray. Automatic power steering, good aircon, good tyres. 173,00kms. New Stereo, tinted windows.

Bargain at 175,000 Baht. Kamala. Call Norm 083 182 2797.

TOYOTA Fortune 2006 7 seats, Black, Family car, Petrol 2,982cc Blue book, Service history Toyota Pearl, 160,000kms. AUTOMATIC transmission, golfguru2005@yahoo.co.uk, 076 615 827.

Nissan Teana 2.5Lt Model 2014 17,000km. New price 1.7Mln NOW 1,050,000Baht Eng: 081 788 8280 Thai: 090 163 2140, Contact Maurice, maurice.phuket@gmail.com , 090 163 2140.

Nissan Teana Special 6 cyl Nissan Teana Special 6 cyl November 2013 17000 Km New price 1.700.000.THB Price NOW 1,100,000.THB, Maurice, Email: Maurice.phuket@gmail.com, 099 302 7071, Thai: 090 163 2140.

TOYOTA Fortune 2009

2012 Toyota Fortuna 24,000km

7 seats, Silver, GPS video, Family car Diesel 2,694cc, Blue book Service history Toyota Pearl 78,000kms.

AUTOMATIC transmission, golfguru2005@yahoo. co.uk, 076 615 827.

2012 Pearl white Toyota Fortuna For Sale. 3.0 D4D VN Turbo Great condition- Baht Black leather interior. Tax / insurance till 2016, 900,000, Loch Palm, Kathu, Phuket, glawre123@gmail.com, 0898668825.

One of a kind retail space One of a kind retail space for rent!! Road front building, 36-50 SQM price from 12 to 16,000 THB per month. Call now 085 797 0005.

Best MC5 Price On Market

NEW!

Restaurant & Bar For Rent

A long established fully equipped Restaurant with Bar for Rent in an excellent location on Nanai Rd, Patong.

The 105 M2 premises includes a fully equipped Kitchen, Restaurant and Bar with ample seating for 50 customers and excellent parking facilities., Peter Wesche, info@phuket-besthomes.com, 081 892 8526.

FREEDOM BAR FOR SALE Good situation (Middle Line 4) Fully Equiped chairs fridges TV alcohols 1 YEAR Contract (End February 2016) 1,4MB [Value 1,8MB] 093-575-1969 afternoon, 1400000 THB, thai-pascal@hotmail.com, 093 575 1969.

Benetti Tradition 100 – USD 6,455,000

2006 Fountaine Pajot Lavezzi 40 - USD 240,000

2013 Monte Carlo 5 – EUR 585,000.

2013 Lagoon 450 – EUR 550,000

www.simpsonmarine.com

@thephuketnews

2015 Lagoon 630 Motor Yacht – EUR 2,060,338

1999 Nauticat 44 – USD 347,000

26 CLASSIFIEDS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

BUY & SELL IN PHUKET

List your classified now at thephuketnews.com COMMUNITY

CALLING THE DOG LOVERS OF PHUKET

MEMBERSHIPS Blue Canyon Membership Blue Canyon Membership for sale. 1 corporate nominee for sale THB 630,000 inc transfer fee. grahamhaslam@hotmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE CAMERA baby car seats for sale BAKLONG Car Seat - Very good condition, suitable for newborn to 25KG. Prices are THB 4,000 per seat, buy both for only THB 7,000. Call 086 479 7471.

PETS FOR ADOPTION Neo and Cookie We are 15

weeks old. We are very sweet with people and can get along easy with other dogs too! We hope you are the one who can give us a home. We will protect your house and love to cuddle.

We already got some basic training. If you are interested in us you will get 2 dog training lessons for free.A dog is often happier when they have a friend around. These are best friends, so it would be best if they can stay together, Diana Koster, info@phuket-dog-resort.com, 083 599 6017.

OTHER Best Deal

Rawai business for sale. Area approx 2Rai, can do restaurant or other business.Five mins from beach. Long term lease, yearly rent B200,000. 4 bedrooms house included. Reduce from B980,000 to B520,000. Contact Khun Asoke at 089 646 7176 / big_redchili@yahoo.com

Soi Dog are looking for dog lovers in Phuket to come and spend time with our 300+ street dogs in residence at our shelter in Mai Khao, North Phuket. We need volunteers to help socialise and walk our dogs - as this is fundamental in preparing our lovely dogs for adoption in Phuket and around the world. Whether you can spare one day a week or can come every day, we would love to have you help our dogs. Volunteering at Soi Dog is an amazing experience and may well change your life. For more details, please email Diana at volunteering@soidog-foundation.org

COMPANY FOR SALE

For Sale

Industrial over locker. Whitehouse Brand. 3 Thread.

Brand new never used. Full tool kit. Bargain at 12,000 Baht. Call Sandi 087 264 0778.

FOR QUICK SALE Sea-View Land & Luxury Villa project in Kamala including architect plans & building permit for 9 villas, 4000m2 sale only THB 30 MB, MIO, pupillopascal@gmail.com Call:088 768 0942.

Ocean View Land Kamala

Half rai 797sq.m. cleared and leveled, power connected, sealed road, MUST SELL 6.75million. For ENG 090 492 3101 THA 093 768 6694.

Company for sale - Owner retiring Well known 12 year established company specializing in sales and rental of containers, site/sales offices, Porta Loos as well as Self Storage. Customer base includes Tesco Lotus, Laguna, Marriot, Boat Lagoon and many more.

Enormous potential for expansion and export. A conservative value of company assets exceed 11MB which is included in the sale price of 14MB. Call Gordon 081 892 4804, www.safewayasia.com.

thephuketnews

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SPORT

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

27

Phuket FC take well deserved 3 points against Pattaya Utd FOOTBALL Matt Pond editor3@classactmedia.co.th

I Celebrations after Andres Lopes’ goal. Photo: Steven Layne

Moussa Sylla with the ball. Photo: Steven Layne

@thephuketnews

t was a battle between two of Thailand’s most popular beach destinations at Surakul Stadium on Saturday evening (April 4) as Phuket FC took on Coach Daeng’s old team Pattaya United.

The final score showed that not only do Phuket have the better beaches, but on the night also the better football team, with the Ronins coming away with a well-deserved 3 points winning 2-0.

The Ronins started the first half brightly and captain and fan’s favourite Yusuke Sato was unlucky not to give the Ronins an early lead when his header from a corner went just wide of the goal.

Pattaya also created some chances but were unable to

Photo: Steven Layne find the magic to give them any real scoring opportunities.

Phuket showed some great flair throughout the first half with some great passing and defensive tactics, and the home fans would have been disappointed to see them go in at 0-0 at the first half whistle.

But they showed the same passion at the start of the second half, and Brazilian Andres Lopes and Belgian striker Berlang Nlome-Ndebi were immediately giving the Pattaya defense problems with

their speed and quick breaks.

And it was Lopes who gave the home fans their first chance to celebrate.

In the 65th minute, midfielder Wasan Samansil played a nice pass to Lopes inside the box and he made no mistake in slotting the ball past Dolphins keeper’ Pattara Piyapatrakitti to give the Ronins a 1-0 lead.

The Dolphins tried hard to make a comeback, but a long ball forward gave Phuket a break. Forward Pipat Thonkanya took the ball nicely and

made a great pass to Berlang who went around the keeper and slotted the ball home bringing the score to 2-0.

Phuket FC gained three points, which shoots them up to 6th place (10 points) in the 20-team Yamaha League-1.

Three other teams are tied with 10 points, though the Ronins remain in 6th due to their goal differential (0).

T he next Phu ket FC home match will take place on Wednesday, April 22, against Samut Songkhram FC followed by a match against Chiang Mai FC on April 26.

Both matches will take place at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town at 7pm.

The Phuket News went to press before the Phuket FC vs Air Force Central match on April 8 Class Act Media are proud media partners of Phuket FC.

28 SPORT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Thalang take victory lap after ICC win in Phuket 40-Over League CRICKET Andrew McMillan editor2@classactmedia.co.th

D

espite the absence of both captain Bill Stahmer and key runscorer Justin Thomatoes, Thalang Cricket Club still managed to defeat Island Cricket Club (ICC) in a nailbiting match 17 of the Phuket 40-Over Cricket League last Sunday (April 5) at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) Thalang stand-in captain Andrew McMillan chose to field first and in the 4th over ICC's main run-scorer Junaid Mohammad (9 runs) picked out Thai cricketer Pao in the deep and was caught.

After the break, Thalang turned it up as ICC lost regular wickets to be 76/5 after 20 overs. Neill Culpan was in good form with the ball picking up 2 wickets from his first 4 overs.

Darshan Vaigankar and Balesh Desai (33) led a recovery for ICC in the next 10 overs as they reached 135/6

from 30 overs. In the last session, Vaiganker became another victim of Culpan's speed, an LBW for (64 runs).

Even with the return to the crease of Mehra, ICC were all out for 174 runs in the final over.

Best with the ball for Thalang was Culpan 3/18, Craig Murphy 2/19.

Thalang began their innings terribly with Simon Wetherell caught in slip, Pao adjudged LBW and Jean Mat-

thee caught in slip. All three wickets were off the bowling of Arun Virdikar in the 4th over. Thalang were 11/3 but ICC were playing with a fielder short after Mehra was sent off with an injury.

Culpan and McMillan exposed the gaps in the field as they hit a 48 run partnership from the next five overs.

At drinks Arun Virdikar had the tremendous figures of 5/28 and bowled ICC into a very strong position in the match.

Jones Lang LaSalle Cricket League Team

Played Won

Lost

Draw No Result

Points

1

Patong

7

5

2

0

0

58.400

2

Laguna

7

4

3

0

0

52.080

3

Island

7

4

3

0

0

47.000

4

Thalang

7

3

4

0

0

43.730

5

Village

6

1

5

0

0

22.750

Carl Baxter joined McMillan at the crease but both were soon caught by Shah Ullah.

Thalang were 7/102 in the

18th over when Craig Murphy and Garry Lane took Thalang through to the 25th over before Lane (28 runs) was dismissed.

Thalang's season was on the line with 46 runs needed with two wickets in hand. On a day when the bowlers were reigning supreme, Runhaar and Murphy showed that cricket is still a game for batsmen as they worked the ball into the gaps for 10 overs before Murphy sent the last ball of the 35th to the fence to seal a victory for Thalang.

Virdikar was the star of the ICC bowling attack with 5/42 while Yedu finished with 3 catches and 3/39. Murphy (36 runs), McMillan (35 runs) and Lane (28 runs) had done just enough to keep last years premiership team Thalang in the finals hunt.

Next up, the ACG will host the Live 89.5 Phuket Cricket Sixes tournament on April 11–12, starting at 10am. The final three rounds of the Phuket 40-Over Cricket League will continue on April 18. All things point towards Phuket Cricket League final places being decided in the very last match of the season where ICC may need to beat Laguna.

Singapore clinches deal to host sevens event RUGBY SINGAPORE HAS CLINCHED A FOURyear deal to host a leg of the Sevens World Series at its state-of-the-art National Stadium starting next year, World Rugby said Tuesday (April 7).

The city-state will join Vancouver, Sydney and Cape Town as new stops on the 10-leg tour, the sport’s world governing body said in a statement.

World Rugby said Singapore – which last staged a Sevens World Series tournament in 2006 – beat 24 other destinations bidding for hosting rights. Dates have yet to be announced. The deal is a shot in the arm for the SRU, which last October lost out to Japan as

the preferred host nation for Super Rugby’s 18th team.

The Singapore sevens tournament will be held at the 55,000-seater National Stadium, which opened in June last year and features a domed, retractable roof and an innovative cooling system.

The complex already has the rights to host tennis’s season-ending WTA World Tour Finals until 2018.

The 2015-16 season of the Sevens World Series will consist of 10 tournaments – up from nine this year – at which national teams compete for points.

The top four-ranked nations at the end of the current campaign in May will qualify directly for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio where rugby sevens will make its Games debut. AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

SPORT 29

Phuket gets its roll on at Copa de Bangkok MARTIAL ARTS JP Mestanza editor2@classactmedia.co.th

Phuket Super Sixes set for this weekend CRICKET THE PHUKET CRICKET Group (PCG) is once again hosting the Live 89.5 Phuket Super Sixes Cricket tournament at the Alan Cook Ground (ACG) in Thalang this weekend (April 11–12). This year’s Live 89.5 Phuket Super Sixes will put 12 teams to the test in a tournament-style event that.

The Singapore Cricket Club took home the top prize at last year’s event and will look to repeat as champions.

The competition will also feature a team from Pakistan and one team from Bangkok as they take on several local clubs, many of whom regularly play in the Phuket 40-Over Cricket League.

The Phuket Punters, Kashmiri Tigers, Noor Cabana, Phuket Blasters are some of the teams that will compete.

A team of thai youth players will also compete and is filled with skillfull players who have developed their skills thanks to a programme by the PCG. The competition will serve as a break from the intense action of the Phuket 40-Over Cricket League, which will continue the week following the Live 89.5 Phuket Super Sixes Cricket. The final match of the 40-Over League will take place in May. After that, the cricket calendar continues with the Phuket 20/20 matches, where touring teams from other countries challenge the all-star PCG team, in June. All games are played at the ACG.

W

hile Muay Thai is the king of the martial arts world in Thailand, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is quickly growing in the Kingdom and with three world-class facilities on the island Phuket is home to a vibrant grappling scene.

BJJ is a martial art in which participants grapple with one another, primarily using leverage and technique over strength, while wearing a gi or kimono.

Last weekend, representatives from all three Phuket gyms – Phuket Top Team (PTT) , Tiger Muay Thai (TMT), and AKA Thailand (AKA) – participated in the Copa de Bangkok BJJ event in the capital city. The event, which is the first major BJJ competition in Thailand for two years, brought out competitors from all over the country and Southeast Asia.

“For many students, regardless of which gym, it’s tournaments that help elevate your progression in the art.

Nothing gives you a harder reminder of what you need to fix than a loss. The gyms in Phuket attract a large variety of athletes and hobbyists from all over the world so you can’t assume anything from the guys – they bring it,” said organiser

Phuket Super Six League: Season 9, Round 9 THE ACTION JUST KEEPS getting closer as Division 1 rivals Phuket Condos & Homes and Pita Bar Phuketeers are both tied with 15 points each, though TT Boys are not far behind and can easily make a come back.

The race for tops in Division 2 comes down to Black Dragon FC and TEFL Campus as only one point separates both teams. In Division 3, Naraya United are continuing to put up points as they score 10 goals for the second straight week, extending their lead four points over ConF. For more information, visit phuketfootball.com

Super six Naraya FC (pink) keep a tight grip on the top spot in division 03 after eight victories in as many games and a 10-5 win against PSV this week. Photo: Karl Ward

SUPER SIX SOCCER: Season 9, Round 9 Division 1

Team

P

W

D

L

F

GD Pts

1

Phuket Condos & Homes

6

5

0

1

28

12

2

Pita Bar Phuketeers

6

5

0

1

29

9

15

3

TT Boys

6

4

0

2

24

1

12

4

Blue Horizon

6

3

0

3

19

-2

9

5

Shakers FC

6

2

1

3

15

3

7

DIVISION 1

6

Daohang

4

2

0

2

14

3

6

Phuket Condos & Homes 3 – 2

7

Sam Kong FC

3

0

1

2

4

-5

1

8

Two Chefs

7

0

0

7

15

-21

0

Two Chefs Blue Horizon 3 – 5 TT Boys

DIVISION 2

15

Division 2 1

Black Dragon FC

9

6

3

0

20

12

21

2

TEFL Campus

9

6

2

1

21

7

20

3

USSR

7

4

1

2

21

4

13

Phuket Condos & Homes B

4

Irish Times

7

3

2

2

23

11

11

0 – 2 TEFL Campus

5

Zaleng FC

8

3

0

5

25

1

9

6

Phuket Condos & Homes B

7

2

1

4

13

-5

7

USSR 3 – 1 Talon FC

7

Vintage FC

8

1

2

5

17

-15

5

Irish Times 0 – 1 Black Dragon FC

8

Talon FC

9

1

1

7

21

-15

4

DIVISION 3

1

Naraya United

8

8

0

0

61

40

24

ConF 3 – 3 Healthy FC

2

ConF

9

6

2

1

43

20

20

3

Thailand Weightloss

7

5

0

2

22

7

15

Jugqrue FC 4 – 4 Shambala United

4

Phuket Serenity Villas

8

3

2

3

31

3

11

Naraya United 10 – 5

5

Novotel

9

3

0

6

27

-10

9

Phuket Serenity Villas

6

Shambala United

9

2

2

5

31

-7

8

7

Jugqrue FC

7

0

3

4

18

-25

3

Thailand Weightloss 4 – 1 Novotel

8

Healthy FC

7

0

1

6

17

-28

1

@thephuketnews

Division 3

Eric Mccrary wins gold.

Luke Chaya. PTT brought home the most prizes back to the island with four gold, four silver and six bronze medals.

Romario Sobreira (White Belt 76kg division), Richard Mearns (White Belt 82.3kg division), Chris Clarke (White Belt 88.3kg division), and Alexey Glushchenko (Purple Belt 100.6kg division) all took home gold in the competition.

“The guys did great but its not about the result that matters. How you fight is the most important for me,” said Olavo Abreu, the head BJJ instructor at PTT. “I think in Thailand, the sport is growing so much, in Phuket ecspecially with PTT, TMT and AKA. Five years from now I think this will be a BJJ land.”

Meanwhile, Issey Buangala of AKA Thailand brough home a gold medal

Olavo Abreu (far left) coaching. in the Blue Belt 88.3kg division after submitting some opponents. Buangala has recently made a transition to MMA though he remains a student of sport BJJ. Athletes from Tiger Muay Thai in Chalong brought home medals across different categories, including Eric Mccrary (gold in White Belt 94.3kg division), Alex Schild (gold in Purple Belt 64kg division), Sayat Abdrakhmanov (gold in Purple Belt 70kg division), and Anna Kushnikova (silver in Blue Belt 74kg and silver in Blue Belt Absolute).

“Copa de Bangkok was a great event, it’s great to see Thai’s and foreigners competing in a big competition like this.

Hopefully Phuket will see more events of this caliber as well,” said Schild, a BJJ instructor at Tiger Muay Thai.

30 SPORT

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

PREMIER PREDICTIONS: ENTER NOW AT THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

Palace leve City’s title bid in tatters FOOTBALL

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MONTHLY STANDINGS 1.

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anchester City’s Premier League title defence is in tatters after a surprise 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace left the champions nine points adrift of leaders Chelsea on Monday (April 6).

Manuel Pellegrini’s side were rocked as Glenn Murray’s first half goal and Jason Puncheon’s excellent free kick immediately after the restart gave Palace the cushion they needed to withstand late pressure after Yaya Toure had given City hope with a 78th minute strike.

City’s third successive away league defeat, their fifth loss in their last seven games in all competitions, leaves them languishing in fourth place with Chelsea also having a game in hand on them.

Their predicament was simply summed up by Pellegrini before this game when City’s manager admitted his side needed a perfect end to the season and a Chelsea stumble to regain pole position.

Yet, while Pellegrini had his eyes set on tracking down the leaders, the weekend victories for Arsenal and Manchester United confirmed City

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TOTAL STANDINGS 32 26 26 26 26 23 23 23 20 20

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English Premier League 2014 - 2015 1 2 3 4

Crystal Palace’s Scottish midfielder James McArthur (2nd L) vies with Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder David Silva during the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park. Photo: AFP/Glyn Kirk are now in a testing battle to finish in top three, which guarantees a place in next season’s Champions League.

In the circumstances, next weekend’s Manchester derby has assumed even more significance than usual.

“For today I’m very happy with the way the team played, but I’m very disappointed with the score,” Pellegrini said.

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that the Premier League title is still beyond his players despite their emergence as the English

top flight’s form side ahead of the season run-in.

Last Saturday’s (April 4) 4-1 demolition of Liverpool took Arsenal another step closer to securing the season’s minimum objective of qualification for the Champions League.

For all the optimism engendered by his side’s excellent form, Wenger believes they have too much work to do due to a sluggish start to the season.

“Mathematically we can do it,” said the Frenchman. “But

we need to be perfect and for Chelsea not to be perfect. Let’s focus on what we can master, which is our performance.

Three goals in eight firsthalf minutes wrapped up the victory as Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez all struck. Liverpool responded via a Jordan Henderson penalty, but the damage was already done.

In other news, Jermain Defoe scored a sensational long-range volley as Sunderland leapt three points clear of the Premier League relega-

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Team Chelsea Arsenal Man Utd Man City Liverpool Tottenham Southampton Swansea West Ham Stoke Crystal Palace Everton Newcastle West Brom Sunderland Aston Villa Hull QPR Burnley Leicester

MP 30 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 32 31 32 31 30

W 21 19 18 18 16 16 16 13 11 12 10 9 9 8 5 7 6 7 5 5

tion zone by beating derby rivals Newcastle United 1-0 on Sunday (April 5).

Defoe struck in first-half stoppage-time, crashing a sublime left-foot volley into the top-right corner from 25 yards after Steven Fletcher headed on Costel Pantilimon’s punt downfield.

The goal sparked celebrations at the Stadium of Light and Defoe, who returned to EPL in January after a disappointing spell at Toronto FC. Meanwhile, Chelsea weathered an extraordinary 65-yard goal by Charlie Adam to reestablish their seven-point lead at the Premier League summit with a 2-1 defeat of Stoke City

D 7 6 8 7 6 6 5 7 9 6 9 10 8 9 14 8 10 5 11 7

L 2 6 5 6 9 9 10 11 11 13 12 12 14 14 12 17 15 20 15 18

F 63 62 55 63 45 50 42 37 41 35 38 39 33 28 24 23 29 38 26 29

A 26 32 28 30 36 45 22 39 39 39 42 42 49 43 44 45 43 58 49 49

GD 37 30 27 33 9 5 20 -2 2 -4 -4 -3 -16 -15 -20 -22 -14 -20 -23 -20

Pts 70 63 62 61 54 54 53 46 42 42 39 37 35 33 29 29 28 26 26 22

last Saturday (April 4).

A twist appeared when Adam cancelled out Eden Hazard’s 39th-minute penalty in show-stopping fashion.

A minute before half-time, Adam picked up a loose ball deep inside his own half and launched a raking shot that went into the back of the net.

Diego Costa limped off with a hamstring injury 10 minutes after half-time. But Loic Remy gave Chelsea victory in the 62nd minute.

“Every victory is one step ahead,” Mourinho said. “The others know they have to win every game. For us, we have to think about ourselves and forget about the others.”

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, ARRIL 10, 2015

Phuket swimmer Fukang takes national record SWIMMING JP Mestanza editor2@classactmedia.co.th

WHEN BRITISH INTERnational School, Phuket swimmer Fukang Wong touched the water at the Malaysian Open Swimming Championships on March 26, very few at the Bukit Jalil Aquatic Centre in Kuala Lumpur thought they were about to witness history.

The 16-year-old started fast and finished at an intense pace. Fukang would later tell The Phuket News that he just wanted to go fast – real fast.

But he didn’t realise that, by the time he left the water, he had broken a 15-year-old Malaysian open swim record for the men’s 100M breaststroke.

“I honestly didn’t expect to qualify for the world championships or Olympics. I just want to go as fast as I can. So I was really surprised when I saw the time I got,” Fukang said.

He clocked in at 1:02:56 to beat former record-holder Elvin Chia’s mark of 1:02:59 set in 2000. The time qualifies Fukang for several events.

If you ask the coaches of the High Performance Team at BISP, where Fukang has

trained and studied for the past six months, it’s no accident. “[Fukang] has done a really great job of dialing in, focusing on what the wants, and his performance has really keyed him in to having the mentality of possibly making it to Rio [2016 Olympics],” said coach Chris Gaffney.

Gaffney says Fukang’s standout performance has infected the rest of the squad as well.

“It’s affected a lot of our kids. Their all getting better, they all see it and they all feel it. We really make sure our kids have clear cut goals and it’s our job to make sure they are on track. For someone like Fukang to come in and do this well, not just in the water but academically, it’s great.”

Fukang has competed in the Southeast Asia Games as well as the Asian Youth Games, among other big events. Swimming alongside Malaysian teammate Eric Tan, Fukang – who has been swimming since age six and competitively since age nine – says he still has better days ahead.

“I am competitive. Swimming is a good way to express myself. I want to win so I train hard and it helps me keep onto my goals,” he said.

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS Run #1520: Saturday, April 11 at 4pm Hares: Thai Connection & Cartoon Location: Kathu - Tessaban One School nearby Phuket Mining Museum Directions: From Kathu Caltex station toward Loch Palm Golf continue past Kathu Waterfall light approximately 400 m then turn LEF T toward British International School & Phuket Mining Mu seum. Continue 3.8 km and turn RIGHT HHH into School area & laager site.

From Rt 402 turn on Rt

3030 past British International school and continue toward Loch Palm. Beyond the Mining Museum 100 m turn LEFT HHH into Tessaban school & laager site.

Bus pick-up: Kamala (Baan Rim Klong) at 2:30pm; Patong (Expat Hotel) 3pm

More info: phuket-hhh.com @thephuketnews

SPORT 31

Laguna Phuket International on track to sell out MARATHON

W

ith less than three months to go until the 10th edition of the Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) on June 7, the family friendly event is set to be sold out with growing numbers of runners.

Since registrations opened in September last year, more than a thousand runners have booked their slot to “run paradise”, an increase of 20 per cent. Entries will be open until the end of May, but with the increase in early registrations, the organisers expect the total entry limit of 6,000 runners to be reached before the deadline.

“Running is booming in Thailand right now and this is not only reflected in the sharp increase in entries for our event, but can be seen at other major running events all over the country which are all selling out at record pace now,” said Roman Floesser, Events

Photo: Go Adventures Asia/Laguna Phuket Director from organiser Go Adventure Asia.

Apart from the marathon, there will be a half marathon, 10.5km run, a 5km community walk as well as a 2km kid’s run, giving everyone an opportunity to participate. All races start and finish at Laguna Grove, Laguna Phuket.

LPIM, which began in 2006, is currently Thailand’s

second largest international marathon event to ever reach over 1,000 participants in the full marathon (42km) category.

“In addition to the vibrant and energetic ambience the Laguna Phuket International Marathon brings to our destination each year, the event has been a great platform to raise funds for Laguna Phuket Foundation, supporting the worthy

cause of implementing sustainable social programmes,” enthused Mr. Ravi Chandran, Managing Director of Laguna Phuket.

Online registration is available until May 31 or until sell out. Visit lagunaphuket.com/ events/marathon or phuketmarathon.com with special accommodation deals at Laguna Phuket hotels.

Phuket on top after week two victory FUTSAL STARTING THE 2015 SEAson off in fantastic form, Phuket United are at top of the 14-team table of the Futsal Thailand Premier League, with six points and a goal difference of +3, following their 2-1 win on April 4, away to Samut Prakarn.

Scoring for the Andaman Pearl back-to-back were Jackson Santos and Pratchaya Simanta in the 18th and 19th minute while Samut Prakarn’s Ulit Rotnakan scored his side’s

only goal on 32 minutes.

A new Futsal Thailand turn-out record was set this past weekend in Surat Thani’s match with CAT FC, as a total of 4,600 futsal fans packed the indoor futsal stadium in Surat Thani.

The previous record was held by Phuket when they hosted Chonburi Blue Wave last June in front of 3,476 fans at the Saphan Hin Indoor Sports Centre.

And, now the only other team to also have six points is the reigning champs, Chonburi, who Phuket will host in

Photo: Steven Layne their next match on April 18 at Saphan Hin Sports Centre.

Bringing the record back to Phuket is not likely since the maximum capacity of the centre is only 4,000 seats.

- Steven Layne Class Act Media are media partners with Phuket United

All FTPL Results Week 2 Samut Prakarn 1-2 Phuket Utd Khon Kaen 2-2 Ayuthaya City Nakhon Ratchasima 1-1 Thai Port Chonburi 4-3 Royal Navy Nonthaburi 5-7 Samut Sakhon Sisaket 2-6 Bangkok FC Suratthani 4-4 CAT FC

Sport

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

editor2@classactmedia.co.th

British Int’l swimmer breaks 15-year-old record > page 31

F1 hopes to stay on song in Shanghai BOX OF

NEUTRALS Michael Lamonato michael@boxofneutrals.com

M

omentum will be the name of the game for a revitalised Formula One at the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

However, though the sport as a whole will be focused on finding and replicating successful formula that delivered the action-packed Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago, key battles will be fought up and down the grid.

At the front, the equation is simple. Mercedes and Ferrari are both poised to pour

significant money into their development programmes, but exactly where their respective strengths and weakness lie requires further examination. The chillier climes of the Shanghai International Circuit will enable them to paint a clearer picture of their true pace after the extreme heat of Malaysia, with Mercedes likely to regain a slight advantage.

“We have been looking very carefully at every area where we could have performed better. We have the weapons at our disposal and we need to make the most of them this weekend,”confirmed Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff.

Williams, meanwhile,

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015

Photo: AFP will be seeking to recover the momentum it lost during the off-season and rejoin the title fight.

In 2014 its qualifying pace could occasionally overpower

Mercedes, but this season it has been left to compete with the struggling Red Bull and Toro Rosso cars for the third row on the grid. Though it makes up some ground on

Sunday (April 12), finishing more than a minute behind the leaders was a stern wakeup call to the team the last time out.

Of most interest this weekend will be the contrasting fortunes of Red Bull Racing and McLaren – the former is seeking to halt its slide into obscurity while the latter continues to build on its potential.

Red Bull, in particular, is keen to avoid the embarrassment of being beaten by its junior team, which operates on a fraction of the budget, for the second race in a row.

“There is the need to wake up in England,” Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko told the Austrian press.

“There are some things in

Photo: Iwiteza the chassis that do not work optimally.”

The mea culpa from the top of the Red Bull tree was unthinkable pre-Malaysia, when Renault was exclusively blamed for the team’s woeful start to the season.

Heading into China, however, the tables have turned.

“We have had only the second race,” said Renault F1 chief of operations Remi Taffin. “In neither race has Red Bull been able to show what is really possible.”

Though it’s still early days, Shanghai will provide key evidence as to which teams’ trajectories are true, and which will be furiously working at the drawing board for a reset come the European season.

thephuketnews