11-05-2012

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FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

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STICK ‘EM UP PHUKET GOLD SHOP BANDIT NABBED IN BANGKOK RAID

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huket gold shop robber Krittasak Heatkeaw, 25, was taken to the Thanet gold shop on Chao Fa Rd on Saturday (May 5) to reenact the robbery last year where he stole more than 3.9 kilogrammes of gold.

Krittasak admitted to having robbed four gold shops since 2008, including the Thanet gold shop in Phuket Town on June 4 last year. He was arrested on May 3 at a Bangkok apartment.

Krittasak admitted to having robbed four gold shops since 2008, including the Thanet gold shop on Chao Fa Rd in Phuket Town on June 4 last year.

Before the Phuket raid, he said he had robbed a gold shop in Surat Thani province in 2008, along with another two gold shops in Bangkok over the following two years.

In one of the gold shops he robbed in Bangkok, he snatched a .38 pistol from a shop attendant and fired a shot. He claimed the shot was accidental.

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Gold robber Krittasak Heatkeaw, 25, reenacts his crime on Saturday (May 5) at the Thanet gold shop on Chao Fa Rd.

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LOAD OF RUBBISH New incinerator to open late May The Phuket City Municipality (PCM) has confirmed that the island’s second incinerator will be up and running by the end of this month.

The statement was made at a meeting held on Tuesday (May 8) between Tawatchai Thongmang, Chief (Palad) of PCM and residents living in the areas surrounding the existing ‘overused’ Phuket incinerator.

Responding to the residents’ recent complaints that the air in the area had become increasingly noxious, Chief Tawatchai and the new incinerator construction team promised to resolve the problem soon.

Chief Tawatchai told The Phuket News the cause of the rancid smell was due to the inability of the existing incinerator to burn all of the deposited 500 tonnes of daily garbage, only managing to

The existing incinerator at Saphan Hin. burn about half. There was therefore still 2,000 tonnes of garbage left in the incinerator, and the amount was growing every day, he said.

“The existing incinerator is very old and its odour and smoke removal function is no longer working. Moreover, the incessant rain causes incred-

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

ibly high levels of humidity which exasperates the odour.”

As a temporary measure, Phuket Town mayor Somjai Suwannasupana has resolved to bury much of the built up garbage in the landfill nearby the incinerator until the new facility is up and running.

There are currently five

landfills on the 120 rai land area nearby the existing incinerator at Saphan Hin. “The new incinerator can burn up to 700 tonnes of garbage per day. Once it is up and running, the old incinerator will be closed for up to two years until the necessary repairs have been made.”

Until that time the old incinerator will continue to burn greatly reduced amounts of garbage.

Chief Tawatchai attributed delays to the opening, which was originally planned for March, to it being a ‘huge construction project’ with many parts being delivered from abroad and taking time to assemble.

“The construction company is checking the system, which still has some problems with the electrics, but they have confirmed that it will be opened by the end of May.”

On the run for 11 months Continued from page 1 In total, police believe he made off with more than 9.4kg of gold, worth more than B11.3 million, from the four robberies.

On May 4, Krittasak appeared at a press conference arranged by Police Region 8 in Surat Thani province.

Officers also presented 225 grams of gold allegedly stolen from the Thanet gold shop, a .38 pistol, six bullets and the clothes he wore during the robbery.

All items were found at his apartment room in Bang Plad, Bangkok.

Krittasak admitted to spending the money he earned from the robberies on buying a condominium unit, a car, a brand-name watch and some electronic goods. He denied using drugs or alcohol.

The Commissioner of Police Region 8, Lt Gen Santi Pensute, said Krittasak had always studied escape routes before each robbery. His criteria were that the gold

shops were located close to junctions, and that they had poor security systems.

His arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by officers from Region 8, who tracked down Krittasak by tracing a rented motorbike that he left abandoned in a housing estate in the Wichit area last year, after he robbed the gold shop in Phuket Town.

After he dumped the bike he took a motorbike taxi to the bus terminal where he took a minibus to Surat Thani, and then transferred to another bus to Bangkok.

Krittasak had rented the motorbike from a person he knew.

Police spent several months get close to the motorbike owner before he eventually identified Krittasak.

Police said Krittasak was in Phuket in June purposely to rob a gold shop, because money stolen during his gold shop robberies in Bangkok had started to run out.

Freedom Beach title deeds

‘issued illegally’ After two months of investigation, the Parliamentary Committee for Anti-Corruption and Misconduct (PCAM) officially declared on May 3 in a meeting at Parliament in Bangkok that two title deeds for 65 rai of land next to Freedom Beach had been issued through illegal processes.

Thai channel 3D News reported on May 6, that the Vice President of PCAM, Prompong Nopparit, said the PCAM would pass the evidence to the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), to investigate government officials who were involved.

The PCAM will also petition the Department of Lands (DoL) to revoke the title deeds.

The Director of Department of Forestry (DoF), Suwit Rattanamanee, told media that he believed the title deeds were awarded through illegal processes, 3D News reported.

With supporting evidence, early last month he requested the DoL to revoke the title deeds. No decision has been made by the DoL yet.

However, the Director of

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Parliamentary Committee for Anti-Corruption and Misconduct and other officials at the Freedom Beach site.

DoL, Booncherd Kidhen, told 3D News that he would demand the revocation of the title deeds urgently, provided the DoF could produce clear evidence.

At the moment, the DoF are reexamining aerial photography images used as supporting documents to issue the title deeds. The DoF suspect some officials within DoF had misinterpreted the aerial photography images on purpose to benefit certain individuals.

In addition, 3D News reported that the approval for the two title deeds had involved more than 10 government officials.

The land is mortgaged with individuals for B520 million, and also listed for sale on a

website for as much as B4 billion. After the debate over the Freedom Beach land hit the headlines, Benja Sawetwaan and Eakchai Sae’ew came forward on February 10, telling the press they were the legitimate owners of the land.

They claimed that the land was occupied before the Nakkerd Forest Reserve was declared in 1973. This, they argued, gave them the right to request title deeds, which were first applied for in 1990.

They also said that a number of relevant authorities, including the Administrative Court, had investigated the case and had come to the conclusion that the land was eligible for title deeds.

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

THE BIGGEST WIENER

ISLAND NEWS

Paper versus radio in hot dog chow down Phuket News sports editor Dane ‘Hot Dog’ Halpin will take on Live 89.5FM host Sam ‘Breakfast’ Clarke in a hot dog eating competition at Home Pro Chalong tomorrow (May 12).

The two competitive Aussies hope to find out once and for all which medium reigns supreme: the printed or spoken word. Or at the very least determine who can fit the most sausage in their mouth.

Sports editor Dane says, “I’m at a disadvantage, for sure. Obviously Sam works in radio so he has a big mouth, and if he can shut up for long enough we all know how much meat he can take in there.”

Dane is also not underestimating Sam’s swallowing credentials, “I know Sam has had a lot of practice swallow-

Live 89.5FM DJ Sam Clarke, left, takes on Phuket News editor Dane Halpin tomorrow. ing wieners, but I’m pretty confident he’ll choke on the day, so to speak.”

DJ Sam, meanwhile, is taking nothing for granted and believes that his sausage-

guzzling opponent should not be underestimated, “When it comes to being a massive

wiener Dane certainly has form and experience behind him.”

Dane added that he had identified a chink in Sam’s armour and was planning on exposing it, “Sam’s main downfall, apart from his hubris, will be his base intellect.

“We all know those radio jocks don’t have too much between the ears, and I’m fairly sure I will be able to use strategy to overcome his supposedly superior hot dog eating abilities.”

D r o p by t h e Phu ke t Homepro Village in Chalong tomorrow (May 12) at 4pm to see the lads going at it. There will also be a B-Boy competition starting at midday.

For more information, contact 086-281-4001 or email: rangsunp@homepro.co.th

Yingluck’s sister makes appearance in Phuket snake show arson case The badly mangled wreck of the pick-up truck.

Rescuers take an hour to free young sisters Rescue staff took an hour to free two young women from their pick-up truck after it overshot a bend on Thepkrassattri Road near Mai Khao on May 3, smashed into a power pole and ended up mangled and upside down.

When they were finally rescued from the wreck by staff of the Kusoldharm Foundation, the driver, 17-year-old Thidarat Intan, and her sister

Jirawan Intan, 24, were taken to Thalang Hospital for treatment. Neither was seriously injured.

Police said the two were coming back to Phuket from Phang Nga province when they crashed.

It is not clear yet whether police will charge Miss Thidarat for driving without a licence. The minimum age for driving a car in Thailand is 18.

The owners of the snake present, but added that she A spokesperson for show that was the target of a was there simply as a friend Chalong Police said that B20 million arson attack on of the snake centre owners. PHN is owned by a Thai April 23 wheeled out a big “She is not involved in business man whose name gun on May 3 for a meeting the [business],” he said. “cannot be revealed during PHN, on Soi Ta-iad in the investigation”. with senior police officers to discuss the attack.

Chalong, is a tourist attracHe added, however, that Accompanying a repre- tion that stages snake shows the businessman first estabsentative of Phuket Healthy and sells herbal products. lished a leather bag shop in CCTV footage showed Phuket 20 years ago.

Nutriment (PHN) to the Five years later, he set meeting was Yaowaret Shi- four masked men arriving in nawatra, sister of PM Yin- a black Honda Jazz, coshing up PHN in Chalong, follow gluck and of exiled former a 25-year-old security guard by PP Rangnok Co, a dispremier Thaksin. and tying him up, and then tributor of swallows’ nests, Maj Gen Pisan Chuldi- breaking into the building and Royal Latex Phuket Co, lok, a Deputy Commander and setting fire to several which produces pillows and of Police Region 8, who parts of it. mattresses. called the meeting to discuss Gen Pisan said on May The police investigation progress in the investigation, 3 that the investigation was is focusing on competitors confirmed Ms Yaowaret was about 60 per cent complete. of PHN.

SilkAir now flies 4 times weekly to Darwin, Australia.

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IN BRIEF Phuket expats in drugs bust An American man and Finnish woman have been arrested in Chalong for drug possession after police found traces of amphetamines in their urine.

American James Edward Sadler, 35, and Finn Nina Maria Rapeli, 30, were arrested on Monday (May 7), after locals reported the two fighting in their apartment.

Police raided their room and ordered urine tests, which tested positive.

Police also seized 0.41 grammes of ya ice, 2 grams of dry marijuana and 10 sets of syringes along with intravenous drugs.

Police charged the two with drug possession. However, they denied the charge.

Tuk-tuk driver caught waving loaded revolver A tuk-tuk driver from Nakhon Sri Thammarat Province, Kittisak Khuntong, 46, was arrested on May 7 after he was caught waving around a loaded .38 caliber revolver and a combat Spartan knife on Soi Moawattana at Patong Beach.

After his arrest, he attributed his bizarre behaviour to fear that someone was trying to kill him. His statement led police to believe he was hallucinating after taking drugs.

Kittisak was charged with gun possession without a licence.

German found dead in Patong hotel room A German man was found dead in a Patong hotel room on May 4.

Kathu Police believe he died from natural causes.

Police were called to the scene, where they found Simmet Iranz, 51, dead on his bed.

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SIMON OSTHEIMER Managing Editor 083 922 9265 managingeditor@thephuketnews.com From Hong Kong; a decade’s experience as editor of magazines and newspapers in Shanghai (City Weekend, that’s Shanghai), Beijing (tbjhome, Urbane), Hong Kong (Time Out Hong Kong), Kuala Lumpur (Vision KL), Bangkok (Bangkok 101) and Phuket. Journalist for Esquire, Fah Thai, Vacations & Travel, Travel & Leisure, CNNGo, Surface and Dwell.

ALASDAIR FORBES Executive Editor 087 884 9964 execeditor@thephuketnews.com 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).

DANE HALPIN Sub Editor editor2@thephuketnews.com From Australia; Degree in Journalism, Charles Sturt University. Four years’ experience at: The Australian, The Central Western Daily, The Leader, The Canberra Times, and The Vientiane Times.

CLAIRE CONNELL Sub Editor editor1@thephuketnews.com From New Zealand; BA (English) from University of Otago; Diploma in Journalism from the University of Canterbury. Five years’ experience at Gisborne Herald and Marlborough Express.

Police general laments chronic staff shortages Phuket is facing problems from an acute and chronic shortage of police officers, says Maj Gen Pisan Chuldilok, a deputy commander of Police Region 8, which includes the island.

Partly this is because of a long-standing government policy limiting the annual increase in government officials to just two per cent across the board.

With some ministries staffing up by more than two per cent, others suffer. This includes the police, the general said. In Region 8 – and Phuket – there has been no significant increase in the number of police officers for eight years.

“The number of police doesn’t correlate with the growth in population,” said Gen Pisan. “This slows police investigations and contributes to inefficiency in looking after the areas they are responsible for.”

He added that the shortage is aggravated by poor pay and welfare for police, factors that have encouraged many

Police at Chalong Police station ready for another day. competent officers to quit, or to move to other government offices such as the Department of Special Investigations, which offer better incomes.

Gen Pisan’s view is backed by a former Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Pol Gen Achiravit Supanpasat, writing in Daily World Today magazine.

“One third of police transfers and appointments are based on merit,” he wrote, “while the other two thirds are based on political considerations.

Sub Editor editor3@thephuketnews.com From the UK; Masters Degree in Journalism, Kingston University. Five years’ experience at Groove Magazine, Metropolis, The Western Telegraph, The Mirror and Phuket Post.

PARITTA ‘MAI’ WANGKIAT Chief Reporter 083 240 5837 reporter3@thephuketnews.com

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“The latter system discourages police from continuing to do their duty.”

In November last year, the Thai Royal Police received approval from the government for an urgent drive to recruit 25,000 new police this year.

The new officers will consist of 10,000 ordinary constables, and 15,000 sublieutenants.

But even if this recruitment succeeds, it seems that it may take another year before the police force can shake down

to the point where all 25,000 new policemen are in police stations.

Just how many of these fresh recruits Phuket will get is not known.

Gen Pisan said the shortage in Region 8 was particularly acute among senior investigation officers, who lead police investigations.

Phuket has just 44 of these officers, roughly one for every 12,000 people on the island.

Twenty are based in Phuket City, two in Thalang, eight at Kathu, four in Chalong, three each in Tung Tong and Tha Chat Chai, and two each in Cherng Talay and Kamala.

They have a huge – and fast growing – case load, with more than half the cases clustered in the Phuket City police station’s territory.

Police records show that in 2009, investigators were heaped with 6,547 cases. In 2010 the number rose to 7,843 and last year it was 9,601, or 218 cases a year for each investigator to handle.

Top cop transferred following raid

JODY HOUTON

SUKUNYA ‘BEAU’ PHOONPONG

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Pol Col Chote Chitchai contemplates the times ahead.

The Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, Pol Col Chote Chitchai, has been transferred to Phuket Provincial Police Office (PPPO) on May 7 after an order from Phuket Police Commander Maj Gen Chonasit Wattanavrangku It is understood that his urgent transfer is a result of a PPPO raid on the JS2 night pub in Phuket City on April 21 – an area under Pol Col Chote’s watch – where 11 underage staff were caught working.

The raid was part of an initiative from Gen Chonasit, who has ordered the island’s police to crackdown on illegal activities in entertainment venues.

Col Chote will be at the Phuket Provincial Police Office for 30 days started from May 7 while a team from the PPPO will continue to investigate the case.

During the absence of Col Chote, Deputy Commander of Phuket Pol Col Sakchai Limjaroen will be charge of Phuket City Police Station.

Year on the run ends Patong officer kills man after arguing

A 44-year-old Thai man, S a mu t Ku k ko n g , w a s arrested in Phuket City on May 7 after being on the run from police for more than one year.

Samut is suspected of killing a Thai man, nicknamed Jack, in Phuket on April 1, 2011. Witnesses told police at the time the killing was motivated by Samut’s anger at Jack, who was said to have threatened Samut’s son.

In addition, Samut was one of six people suspected of being associated with killing a Trang-based policeman, Sen Sgt Maj Jaroon Tumphan, 52, in November

last year.

Samut and other suspects are reported to have used M16 and 9mm pistols to shot Sen Sgt Maj Jaroon from the back of their pickup truck, while the officer was having dinner with his family in front of a small local grocery store.

Trang Provincial Court issued the arrest warrants of the six suspects in March – one of whom is the village headman of Moo 4, Kan Trang District in Trang Province.

Samut was arrested by Phuket City Police at a pool table bar in Soi Hone Sine in Rassada.

A Patong officer was arrested in the early hours of May 4 in Phuket City after he shot dead a Thai man during an argument.

Witnesses told Phuket City officers that Pol Cpl Rachaporn Same-uksorn, 29, and his brother, Dachapon Same-uksorn, 25, arrived on a motorbike around 2am at Poonpon Soi 11, an area known for its ladies of the night.

As the two wandered down the alley weighing up the prospects of an interesting night, they encountered Eakkasit Sangangam, 21, and got into a “Who are you looking at?” stand-off.

The face-off escalated to the point where Eakkasit threw a beer bottle at Rachaporn, whose response was to pull his pistol out of its holster.

Bystanders managed to calm him down, however, and he jumped on the back of his brother’s motorbike.

However, as Dachapon drove away, Rachaporn turned and fired a single shot at Eakkasit.

The bullet went in through Eakkasit’s left eye. He died while being taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital.

The duo fled the scene but bystanders reported the shooting and the duo were arrested on Wichit Songkram Rd.

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Mrs Chum shows damage caused by the April 16 quake.

‘Great quake most unlikely’ – seismologist A seismologist from Sripatum University has said that the Klong Marui fault in Thalang is moving more slowly than others in Thailand, and is less likely to cause a devastating quake.

The head of the university’s Research Centres and Laboratories Faculty, Assistant Professor Phaiboon Panyakapo, told Phuket Governor Tri Augaradacha on May 2, “The Klong Marui fault line moves more slowly than the other 13 faults in Thailand.

“As a result, the quakes do not happen often. The biggest earthquake along this fault is unlikely to exceed 6.0 on the Richter scale.”

The earth’s crust along the fault is moving about a tenth of a millimetre a year, he explained, compared with three or four millimetres along the other faults in the country.

When an earthquake does take place, it releases energy.

It then takes a long time for the energy to build up again to the point when another quake takes place.

There is little likelihood of a great earthquake or heavy damage along this fault, he added.

Prof Phaiboon explained that the way the fault moves means that it is more likely to affect low-rise buildings.

“The movement is horizontal, so the people living on the bottom four floors of a building will feel the quake more than people on higher floors.”

The recent heavy rain in Phuket has resulted in many of Thalang’s earthquakedamaged homes facing water leaks.

More than 400 homes in Bangkham Village, in the Sri Soonthorn sub-district, have cracks in them following the

ISLAND NEWS

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Community halls in arson attacks Police are searching for a gang believed to be behind an arson attempt which severely damaged the Phuket-Austrian Centre in Koh Sirae in the early hours of May 4.

Police Sub Lt Jaroonpong Sainoi, a duty policeman from the Phuket Town Police Station, said police were sure it was an arson attempt by members of a drug gang who used the centre.

The gang had previously tried to damage the centre by setting it on fire on April 21, he said.

“I think they burned and damaged the centre for fun. We found some other related items, including empty cigarette cases, glue and paint thinner cans. We also have reports from local people that there are drug users who visit the centre. It is very lucky that no one was hurt,” Lt Jaroonpong said.

Police are now searching for the gang members believed

The Phuket-Austrian Centre’s bathroom was severely affected by the blaze. to be involved.

The centre was built in 2005 as a joint venture between the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and the Hilfswerk Austria International Foundation, costing B23 million.

In an apparently unrelated incident, the Thalang Community Hall on Thepkrassattri Rd was set on fire in the early hours of Tuesday (May 8) resulting in severe damage to the building’s windows and walls.

Witnesses told police they saw a masked individual running out of the building after it was set on fire.

Police are collecting evidence from CCTV camera footage in the area to try to identify the person.

B400m for water projects Prof Phaiboon Panyakapo. quake on April 16.

Local resident Chu m Niyompong, 56, said her home was one of the quakedamaged houses that was now very wet inside due to the constant rainfall.

“There has been no compensation yet from any provincial authorities, including the Srisoothorn Tambon Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor). We want officials to help us fix our houses urgently – the rain is leaking through our houses,” Ms Chum said.

San Chantarawong, Chief of the Provincial Disaster Prevention Centre said the damaged homes in Bangkham were urgent cases.

Phuket authorities have approved payment of B1.3 million in compensation to 422 Sri Soonthorn households affected by the April quake.

Each household will receive up to B20,000 to make repairs to their home.

Initially, 504 households requested funds from the authorities, but 82 were ruled as not being eligible.

“There is a meeting being held regarding this and I expect we will be able to pay all compensation money by May 10,” Mr San said.

More than B400 million is to be spent this year on two major waterworks projects in Phuket.

Pichai Wetcharangsri, the assistant manager of the Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) said during a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on May 2: “The water production

station at Bang Niew Dum reservoir will be expanded to double its output to 1,600 cubic metres an hour, which will allow us to supply all the north of Phuket including the airport after its expansion, and the international convention and exhibition centre.”

“The other major project

will be the construction of the Klong Kata reservoir in Chalong. This is now at the design stage. I expect to have construction tenders in

by July.

“The reservoir will cost around B220 million and take a year to build, after which it will have a capacity of 500 cubic metres an

hour, or 12,000 cubic metres a day.”

Mr Pichai said that the two projects would ensure sufficient water supplies for Phuket until 2027.

He added, however, that some parts of Phuket, especially on hills, will still require deliveries by water truck.

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ISLAND NEWS

Phuket ‘ready’ for Games With only 23 days to go before the opening of the 28th National Youth Games, this year hosted by Phuket, the island’s sports authorities have declared themselves ready.

The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and the local office of the Sports Authority of Thailand held a ceremony on May 4 at Surakul Stadium to begin the countdown.

Major highlights of the games will the opening ceremony, which will be held on May 26, and the closing ceremony on June 5, both organised by the OrBorJor at Surakul Stadium and beginning at 5pm.

Performers signed up for these ceremonies will include Jaruwat “Dome” Cheawaram, this year’s winner of the TV

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From left, new Honorary Consul of Phuket Andrea Kotas Tammathin, Swiss Ambassador to Thailand Christine Schraner Burgener, and Phuket V/G Sommai Prijasilpa.

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FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

THE PHUKET NEWS

New Swiss Hon Consul meets Phuket V/Gov The Swiss Ambassador to Thailand, Christine Schraner Burgener, visited Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa last Friday (May 4) to introduce the new Honorary Consul of Phuket, Andrea Kotas Tammathin.

Ms Burgener is the first female Swiss Ambassador to Thailand, while V/G Sommai is the first female Vice Governor of Phuket.

Ms Burgener noted there were three women in power in the room, and made wider reference to Thailand’s first female prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra.

Ms Burgener expressed her intention to cooperate with Phuket authorities to discuss problems and look for solutions, such as those relating to taxis and jet-skis.

During the meeting, Ms Tammathin said her vision was to maintain the aesthetic and environmental values of Phuket, which had helped increase tourism on the island.

“You can see how important tourists are,” said Ms Tammathin. “If people see [negative] changes here, they will decide to go somewhere else. And Phuket can’t go back to the tin mine era.”

Third from left, Phuket OrBorJor president Paiboon Upatising, Phuket Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak and Director of Sport Authority of Thailand Phuket Office Virat Patee. competition The Star, and Pavida “Silvy” Moriggi, who competed in the same competition in 2011.

“The opening and closing ceremony are the main events aimed at impressing visitors to Phuket,” said OrBorJor president Paiboon Upatising.

The OrBorJor has spent B70 million on improving Surakul stadium, the OrBorJor swim-

ming pool, tennis courts and other facilities, he said.

The budget for the opening and closing ceremonies is B10 million, he added.

More than 10,000 competitors from around Thailand will compete in 40 sports at various venues across the island, with the main venues being the stadium at Surakul, Saphan Hin, Rajabhat Phuket and Kathu.

Similans close for the low season TTR Weekly

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said the Surin and Similan islands in Phang Nga province have now closed until October 31 to allow the park to recover their natural balance.

According to the DNP, the Surin and Similan National

Parks closed for all tourist activities on May 1, saying the southwest monsoon season that brings with extreme weather conditions making it risky to visit the islands by boat.

However, the main reason is to facilitate the natural rehabilitation of the parks and counter the damage caused by tourism. Additionally, many of the parks are prone to natural disasters, caused by changing

weather patterns, heavy storms and rain that causes flash floods.

Other national parks in Phang Nga province remain open, including Phang Nga Bay, Khao Tapu, Khao Phing Kan, Lod Cave, Khai Island, Thai Mueang Beach, Khao Lak Beach and Koh Kho Khao Island.

Both the Surin and Similan archipelagos will reopen to tourism on November 1.

Phuket Seven Day Weather Forecast

www.foreca.com

FRI MAY 11

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NATIONAL NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

7

Rayong chemical factory explosion kills 12 people

ONE FOR THE FARMERS: Thai farmers rush out to collect the rice seeds during the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony at Sanam Luang in Bangkok on Wednesday. Thailand’s traditional soothsayers predicted an abundance of food production and an average supply of water during the coming rice growing season in the royal ploughing ceremony, marking the beginning of the planting season.

Photo: AFP

‘Uncle SMS’ dies in jail Agence France-Presse

A Thai grandfather who became a symbol of a budding free speech movement after he was jailed for defaming the monarchy has died in prison, his lawyer said Tuesday (May 8), fanning controversy over the harsh law.

Ampon Tangnoppakul, 62, was convicted by the Bangkok criminal court in November of sending text messages deemed insulting to the royal family to the private secretary of then-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in May 2010.

The European Union said at the time it was “deeply concerned” by the 20-year sentence handed down to Ampon, who was considered a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International.

“His wife called me this morning and told me that he has passed away in prison,” Ampon’s lawyer Anon Numpa told AFP, adding that his client had been hoping for a royal pardon.

The cause of death was still being investigated, according to a doctor at the Corrections Department hospital where

Ampon’s body was taken from the Bangkok Remand Prison.

“His medical record showed that he used to have mouth cancer and currently his stomach was swollen which is under investigation,” he said. “A witness said last night he was fine but this morning he wasn’t moving and was already dead.”

A mpon, who became known in Thailand as “Uncle SMS”, pleaded not guilty during his trial, saying he did not send the messages.

His case was one in a series under the kingdom’s strict lese majeste legislation, which

critics say is used to stifle free speech. “He had come to represent the enormous degree of injustice that is this lese majeste law and yet he wanted nothing more than to be a grandfather and to enjoy his old age,” Amnesty researcher Benjamin Zawacki told AFP.

An explosion that sparked a blaze at a chemical factory in eastern Thailand killed 12 people, injured more than 100 and spewed toxic smoke into the air, the health ministry said on Sunday (May 6).

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated after the fire at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong province, where residents fought for over a decade to try to stop the site expanding over health risks.

Firefighters quelled the blaze, which had sent plumes of acrid black smoke into the sky, but health officials continued to monitor air quality throughout Sunday amid concerns more poisonous fumes may still seep into the air.

A health ministry statement said 12 people had died in the explosion and ensuing fire while 129 were injured, mainly suffering burns.

Most of the victims are believed to be factory workers.

“Doctors said 12 were killed in yesterday’s explosion but we can only confirm

10 so far,” Map Ta Phut police Lieutenant Colonel Charoen Vititkornkul said.

“Police forensic teams are searching for clues to what happened and we are also looking for any more bodies,” he said, adding police were ready to evacuate more residents if necessary.

Rayong province, some 140 kilometres (90 miles) south of Bangkok, is one of Thailand’s biggest industrial areas.

Environmentalists and villagers had stalled construction of 76 projects at Map Ta Phut, before a 2010 court ruling ordered building to be resumed.

Heavy pollution from the estate was first noticed in the 1980s, but it was not until 1997 that villagers began to campaign after children were taken ill and rates of cancer and respiratory illness surged.

Despite the final result, the strident grass roots movement against the industrial site ruff led feathers in a country where local voices often appear to go unheard.

Three die in skyscraper plunge Three men plunged to their deaths from the 69th floor of Thailand’s tallest building on Monday (May 7) when the platform they were using to install advertising split after a supporting cable snapped, police said.

Two other workers were left clinging to the structure suspended high above the Bangkok streets in the accident at the Baiyoke tower.

“Three men fell to their deaths... while another two were rescued from the 68th storey

– probably one floor lower than where they had been working,” police lieutenant colonel Thamarak Reungdit told AFP. He said the two survivors suffered minor injuries and had been treated in hospital. The bodies of the victims were recovered from terraces on different storeys of the building.

“A forensic team will investigate how it happened and whether or not the platform was overloaded,” he said.

thephuketnews.com

8

REGIONAL NEWS

IN BRIEF Malaysia seizes hundreds of cobras and turtles Malaysian wildlife authorities have seized hundreds of cobras and turtles being smuggled out of the country in a shipment of papayas, headed for cooking pots in the region.

“The raid netted 555 cobras and 171 turtles and according to the manifest, these animals, which were hidden among papayas from northern Kedah state, were being shipped to Hong Kong,” Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim, head of the wildlife and national parks department on Penang island said.

Al-Jazeera closes bureau after China bars reporter Al-Jazeera said Tuesday it has shut its English-language bureau in China after its correspondent became the first foreign journalist to be expelled from the country since 1998.

Beijing’s refusal to renew the visa of US citizen Melissa Chan sparked anger among press groups, wh ich li n ked t he decision to a docu ment a r y by the international news

channel on forced prison labour in China.

India court suspends plan to reintroduce cheetah

India’s Supreme Court has directed the government to suspend a move to reintroduce the cheetah, eradicated in India by hunting nearly a century ago.

Earlier, the government h a d a p p r ove d w i ld l i fe groups’ recommendations of two sanctuaries, in Madhya Pradesh and an area in Rajasthan, as potential homes.

Air India cancels more flights amid pilot protest Protests by some Air India pilots entered their second day this week with more international flights cancelled from Delhi and Mumbai, reports say. An Air India spokesman said three international flights to Singapore, New York and Newark have been cancelled.

Earlier the airline fired 10 pilots after dozens of them called in sick amid a dispute over training for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes.

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Under-age call girl scandal shakes Singaporean elite Agence France-Presse

An unfolding scandal over an under-age call girl has shaken Singapore’s political and economic elite after businessmen, civil servants and uniformed officers were charged in the case.

Prostitution is legal in Singapore, but 48 men ranging in age from their early 20s to late 40s have so far been charged under a 2008 law making it a crime to pay for sex with a girl under 18.

Singapore has long been perceived as a conservative, even prudish, city-state, but it has a thriving sex industry dating back to its beginnings as a key trading port of the then British empire.

The latest case has shone a spotlight on its pragmatic approach, which instead of seeking to close down the sex industry aims to tightly regulate the trade to protect minors and ward off criminal involvement.

An elementary school principal who pleaded guilty to engaging the under-aged girl’s services became the

first to be punished when a district court late last month sentenced him to nine weeks in jail for the offence.

Among the remaining accused are five foreigners including Juerg Buergin, a 40-year-old Swiss expatriate who had worked for banking giant UBS. The most prominent of the Singaporeans charged is Howard Shaw, a high-society figure and grandson of Runme Shaw, co-founder of cinema and property empire Shaw Organisation, which is also active in charity causes.

The gossip mill went i nto overd r ive when it was disclosed that Shaw, a 41-year-old with two daughters from his first marriage, had sex with the teenager just a month before tying the knot with his second wife, a former beauty contestant still in her 20s.

The two appeared on a recent cover of high-society magazine Singapore Tatler as the poster couple for an article on “great romances” among the rich and famous in the city-state.

Singapore websites and social media are swirling with speculation that more men will be charged even as the identity of the girl, only 17 when she had dalliances with the accused, is being concealed by court order.

People have also been sharing purported pictures and salacious descriptions of the girl, described by a defence lawyer as a “hardcore prostitute”.

But apart from generating juicy gossip, the highprofile case has also won the authorities plaudits for their rigorous handling of the issue.

“This is the first time that cases of obtaining paid sex from a girl under the age of 18 has been exposed and enforced on such a large scale,” said rights group the Singapore committee for UN Women.

Singapore’s legalisation of the sex trade makes it a “pragmatic” and “unusual” exception in a region where prostitution thrives but is officially banned, said Reuben Wong, a political scientist at

the National University of Singapore.

The under-age prostitution scandal was “an embarrassment for Singapore as a society, because it has such a squeaky clean, puritan image,” but reflected well on the state’s strict laws on the sex business, he said.

Brothels operate openly in Singapore in the notorious Geylang red light district, and self-declared prostitutes are required to undergo health checks.

“We recognise that it is not possible to eradicate it and forcing it underground will lead to the greater likelihood of involvement by triads and organised crime, the trafficking of women, and public health risks,” Ho Peng Kee, then a top official of the interior ministry, told parliament in 2009.

Wong told AFP: “Prostitution was legalised to bring this sector under close government control – for economic, moral, tax reasons....

The main overarching theme is we keep it under government control.”

Hopes for Suu Kyi to visit US after getting passport Agence France-Presse

Senior Senator John McCain said Tuesday he looked forward to someday welcoming Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi to the US Congress after the Nobel laureate and opposition leader was issued a passport.

Her National League for Democracy said earlier Tuesday that Suu Kyi, who spent much of the last two decades locked up in her Yangon home

by Myanmar’s former junta, was issued a passport as she prepares to travel abroad for the first time in 24 years.

“I’m very glad that she’s got it. We look forward to greeting her here in Congress,” McCain, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee and one of the primary shapers of US policy on Myanmar, told reporters.

He did not provide an expected date for a Suu Kyi trip to Washington, but US lawmakers have invited her in order to receive the Congressional Gold medal, the highest US civilian award, which the House of Representatives bestowed on her in 2008.

“We look forward to the

thephuketnews.com

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been issued a passport. presentation,” said McCain, who visited Myanmar in January and met with Suu Kyi as well as government leaders.

“We’re very proud of her and we hope that this progress will continue in Burma,” he said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.

McCain stopped short of describing Myanmar’s reforms as the dawning of a new day in the Southeast Asian nation, but said it was “possible,” adding that he supported a suspension of existing US sanctions on Myanmar instead of a full abolition, as some of his Senate colleagues have suggested.

US authorities last month

ruled out an immediate end to its main sanctions on Myanmar, saying it wanted to preserve leverage to push the regime on ending ethnic violence and other key issues.

Suu Kyi, 66, plans to visit Oslo next month to finally accept her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize in person, and has plans to visit Britain, where she lived for years with her late husband and their two sons before she returned to Myanmar in the late 1980s.

Suu Kyi began applying for her Myanmar travel documents soon after she was elected to parliament in landmark April 1 by-elections.

THE PHUKET NEWS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

SWAN SINGS OF SURPLUS

9

‘Wild Things’ creator dies “Every area of government spending has been reined in in this budget” at age 83 Agence France-Presse

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan declared the “deficit years of the global recession” over on Tuesday, unveiling a A$1.5 billion (B47 billion) budget surplus funded by deep cuts to defence and foreign aid spending.

Swan vowed an ambitious A$33.6 (B1 trillion) billion in savings, slashing A$5.5 billion (B172 billion) from military spending and trimming Australia’s overseas aid by A$2.9 billion (B90 billion), along with a raft of other reforms to tax and welfare benefits.

The measures will only deliver a modest A$1.5 billion (B47 billion) surplus for the 2012-13 fiscal year starting July 1, but the Labor government has been determined to return the budget to black in a bid to salvage its popularity.

“Tonight we make a forceful statement that ours is one of the world’s strongest economies,” Swan said in his budget speech.

“The deficit years of the global recession are behind us.

The surplus years are here.”

The budget forecasts a surplus of A$7.5 billion by 201516, a dramatic reversal of the present A$44 billion deficit

THE FACTS SURPLUS: Australia forecast to achieve a A$1.5 billion surplus in 2012-13, reversing A$44 billion deficit in 2011-12 through a savage round of spending cuts to defence and foreign aid. Further surpluses projected of A$2.0 billion in 2013-14, A$5.3 billion in 2014-15 and A$7.5 billion in 2015-16.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Forecast to hit 5.5 per cent in 2012-13, from current levels of 5.2 per cent, and to stay at 5.5 per cent in 2013-14 requiring some of the deepest cuts to government spending seen in Australia for decades.

Defence was the major target, with A$5.5 billion in spending cut over the next four years, including a delay in the acquisition of 12 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, scrap-

The jobless rate is projected to ease to 5.0 per cent in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

ECONOMIC GROWTH: The economy is expected to grow 3.25 per cent in 2012-13 and 3.0 per cent each of the following three years. Gross domestic product was 2.3 per cent for the 12 months to December.

INFLATION: Currently at 1.6 per cent (year ended March) inflation is expected to hit 3.25 per cent in 2012-13 before moderating for each of the following three years to 2.5 per cent.

ping some artillery purchases and sacking 1,000 civilian staff.

The government vowed there would be “no adverse impact on operations in Afghanistan” or East Timor and the Solomon Islands, where Australian troops are stationed in a peacekeeping capacity.

Overseas aid was also sacrificed, with A$2.9 billion in savings through the scaling back of development targets which Foreign Minister Bob Carr said would see funding “grow at a slightly slower rate” than forecast.

Australia was the only ad-

vanced nation to dodge recession during the global downturn due to the resilience of its mining exports to Asia, and it again leads the major economies by becoming the first to record a budget excess.

Swan said the surplus was a key buffer against renewed turmoil in Europe, where French leader Nicolas Sarkozy and the Greek government were unseated at weekend elections, threatening eurozone austerity plans.

“In these uncertain times there’s an absolute premium on clear and credible fiscal policy and that’s why the government has charted this course,” he told reporters, adding that the “conditions demand a surplus”.

“Every area of government spending has, in one way or another, been reined in in this budget.”

Swan said Europe continued to cast a pall over the global economy, but he expected the Asian region to remain prosperous and buoy Australia, with some A$450 billion in mining sector investment slated for coming years. Australia is forecast to grow by 3.25 per cent in 2012-13 and 3.0 per cent in each of the three following years.

Maurice Sendak, the author who introduced millions of children worldwide to mischievous Max and his monsters in Where The Wild Things Are, died Tuesday from complications from a recent stroke. He was 83.

Critics say it is impossible to imagine children’s literature without Sendak, a New Yorker whose darkly original works across a 60-year career have been translated into dozens of languages.

Although the 1963 Where The Wild Things Are is the best known, being turned into a popular movie in 2009, Sendak penned and illustrated nearly 50 books.

Where The Wild Things Are, in which Max, wearing a wolf suit, is sent to his bedroom by his mother, but leaves for a mysterious land where he tames enormous monsters, was controversial at first.

The New York Daily News said he’d possessed “the highest order of genius.”

Last month, President Barack Obama read Where the Wild Things Are to children at the annual White House Easter egg roll, mimicking the monsters in a loud voice.

Bomber in Al-Qaeda plot was double agent: reports Agence France-Presse

The man ordered by Al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen to blow up a US-bound airliner was a double agent who infiltrated the group and volunteered for the suicide attack, with Saudi intelligence likely playing a key role, US media reported Tuesday.

American officials leaked out details of the extraordinary intelligence coup two days after the White House announced a plot by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had been

successfully thwarted.

The double agent managed to spend weeks with AQAP before handing over information that allowed the United States to launch a drone strike on Sunday that killed Fahd alQuso, a senior figure who was wanted for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, the New York Times and other media reported, citing unnamed US officials.

A senior US official told the Times that a bomb for the would-be attack was sewn

into “custom fit” underwear that would have been difficult to detect even in a careful patdown at an airport.

Unlike the device used in the failed December 2009 plot

by AQAP to blow up an airliner en route to Detroit, this explosive could have been detonated in two ways, in case one failed, the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

The main charge was a high-grade military explosive that “undoubtedly would have brought down an aircraft”.

Take the plunge!

Daily Trips to Phuket‘s best dive sites Special packages for Residents Holiday programmes for Kids Unique customer service e-mail: info@sea-bees.com tel: +66 (0)76 381 765

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10 LETTERS/VIEWPOINT

THE PHUKET NEWS

OPINION

The B300 wage debate

“I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this.

I really don’t know what’s going to happen, and I don’t know of a government programme to help me” > 11

editor@thephuketnews.com

Editor’s Viewpoint

NORACHAI’S WORLD

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Continuing to burn the island’s waste in incinerators is not the long term solution for waste management in Phuket.

As we report this week, Phuket’s second incinerator is expected to be fully functional by the end of May, allowing far more waste to be burned than ever before.

An official has said the new incinerator will “fix Phuket’s garbage problem”, by getting rid of all the waste.

This may be true – for now at least – but it is not solving the core issue: Phuket is producing far too much rubbish. Simply removing it from view does not address this problem.

As our photo on page 2 shows, for such a small island, the amount of waste at the island’s landfills is shocking.

More incredulous is the huge number of plastic and other recyclables contained there, which authorities plan to dig up and burn, too.

Instead of thinking about finding a way to cope with all the waste, authorities should be

Sausage face-off: it’s all in the buns.

Letters to the editor All fished out [Re. Similans close for the low season] At the beginning of every high season there are hardly any fish left in the Similans, plus there are many new fish traps to be found.

By the end of high season there are many, many more fish.

I have no doubt that the vast bulk of the damage to the Similans National Park is caused by unregulated systematic commercial fishing during the low season; the park rangers leave and no-one is left there to take care of the fish or the reefs.

It is a paradox but general fish life actually significantly develops during high season, despite recreational diving activities and then declines hugely during each low season.

There are now hardly any of the shark species left that rest on the bottom at shallower depths, they have all been fished out; even a leopard shark sighting was a rarity this year.

FairlyLiquid

Close up shop [Re. Similans close for the low season] Pity Phuket couldn’t be closed for the low season...

Agogohome

Passion for Phuket Town [Re. City of dead wood] You couldn’t pay me to go to Patong.

I find it rather funny that finding a parking spot in town would be an issue when compared to visiting any of the touristy beach towns. I love Phuket Town and visit it often. It’s wonderful, though some more food options wouldn’t hurt.

Dave

introduce the ‘pink bus’ service that Phuket Town residents enjoy.

Agogohome

A top job [Re. The front of the Q] Well done, Ms Q. Love the story, love the concept, love the pic.

Peterxhosa

Hoping for revocation [Re. Freedom Beach title deeds ‘issued illegally’] I’d like to believe the land title will be revoked, but with so many ‘influential’ figures involved... and so much money at stake, somehow I doubt it’ll happen.

Agogohome

Go for the pink

It’s not just the numbers

[Re. Tuk-tuk driver arrested after waving loaded revolver] Perhaps he was just rounding up a few reluctant tourists for a joy ride to the nearest jewellery or tailor shop. Joking apart, seriously it’s time to remove these guys – and the death traps they drive from the roads of Patong, and

[Re. Police general laments shortage of officers] I agree with all this except that there are plenty of police available, just that they are not effectively managed.

There are always police available to close off the roads so as to enable some minor VIP to get to their desti-

nation five minutes quicker and feel real important seeing all us peons held up waiting for them.

Andy

More enforcement and manpower [Re. Police general laments shortage of officers] It’s sad that so little interest is given by the government on such a critical department.

The entire island would benefit greatly from a more functional police force. The horrible traffic issues would be greatly decreased if police enforced traffic laws and stopped extremely inconsiderate drivers from jumping in line at U-turns, parking in the middle of the road (blocking one lane of traffic on major roads) so they can shop without having to walk a few extra metres, blatantly running red lights, and so on and so on.

Without an increase in numbers and effectiveness, Phuket is going to go downhill even faster... unfortunately.

Dave

Letters may be edited for clarity or length. Email editor@thephuketnews.com or fax 076 612 553. Please include your full name, phone number, and email address.

thephuketnews.com

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

addressing the problem of how Phuket generated, and continues to generate, so much waste in the first place.

What will happen when the second incinerator is unable to cope with the ever-increasing large volumes of rubbish? Will they just continue to build more and more incinerators?

One solution, the island’s plan to stop giving away plastic rubbish bags, has virtually come to a standstill. Admirably deciding to go it alone, Tesco Lotus has launched its own campaign, though the visibility and success of it are still up for debate.

Still, even if Tesco is successful in reducing plastic bag wastage, there are still the hundreds of 7-Elevens, Family Marts, mini marts and other food outlets using large numbers of plastic cutlery, Styrofoam containers, plastic bags and plastic drinking containers.

Phuket needs to sort out its waste problem, before Phuket is left awash in a stinking sea of rubbish.

This week in history ■■ May 11, 1949 – Siam officially changes its name to Thailand for the second time. The name had been in use since 1939 but was reverted in 1945.

■■ May 12, 1941 – Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world’s first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin.

■■ May 13, 1861 – Pakistan’s (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.

■■ May 14, 1870 – The first ever game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.

■■ May 15, 1928 – Mickey Mouse premiered in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy.

■■ May 16, 1918 – The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the US Congress, making criticism of the government an imprisonable offence.

■■ May 17, 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed.

THE PHUKET NEWS

FEATURE 11

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

WORKERS SAY IT’S TOO LITTLE; CHAMBER OF COMMERCE THINKS IT BORDERS ON MADNESS. WHO’S RIGHT ABOUT THE NEW MINIMUM WAGE? Marque A. Rome editor@thephuketnews.com

T

he new B300 rate minimum wage per day is far too little to sustain life and put something by for the future in Phuket. Individuals wishing to consume some of all five food groups per day can easily spend B100 per person.

Rent for anything but dirt-floor hovels exceeds B150 per day.

A 20-kilometre commute, at B4 per kilometre, costs B80.

What’s left to buy a shirt, a tube of toothpaste, or give the kid lunch money? Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) chairman and CEO Dhanin Chearavanont, one of the world’s richest men and head of Thailand’s largest company, said last January that the minimum should be B500, not B300, because the cost of living is rising.

Most businessmen, however, wouldn’t agree with Dhanin. Small business owners especially are being hit hard.

The new rate, which came into force on April 1, represents a steep increase over the old B221 minimum in Phuket, which, when implemented at the beginning of last year, prompted prognostications of increasing bankruptcies.

Workers in seven provinces benefit this year from the B300 minimum; in the other

70 provinces the minimum wage will increase by 39.5 per cent over last year’s minimum (which averaged B165 around Thailand). But come January 1, 2013, all provinces will have the same B300 minimum.

The Cabinet has agreed to fix the rate at B300 through 2015, but the Committee on Wages reserves the right to amend that policy depending on circumstances.

To workers, the raise is little short of amazing. “They used to fight almost to death just to secure a B2 raise,” one said. “Now we go from B220 to B300 in one jump!”

But is it a suicidal jump? A troubled blogger with a small leather workshop and three employees put the problem faced by many business owners succinctly: 1. New employees have no experience and must be trained 2. Training takes time and costs money 3. Employees are not responsible for mistakes in production, the employer pays for them 4. The employer provides food and transport 5. High staff turnover rate adds to costs 6. Bigger companies can afford such costs, small ones can be bankrupted

Of course, not all businesses provide food and transport, but those that don’t must, ultimately, compensate monetarily. Owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises are therefore between a rock and a hard place. Workers are still not satisfied: a survey published April 29 found workers’ groups demanding B400 per day, citing minimum living costs of B400 – B600 per day, price inflation and public transport fare increases effective June 15 and 16.

“I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this,” said a Thai business owner who employs about 50 workers in Phuket City. “I can’t just raise prices to cover the increase, either because they are fixed by contract or because I am competing on price and am already at a disadvantage vis a vis the nation-wide distribution networks. I really don’t know what’s going to happen, and I don’t know of a government programme to help me over the hump.”

He said reducing the labour force through lay-offs is not an option because, under the Labour Protection Act, workers receive a month’s severance pay for each year they work up to 10 years. “It would bankrupt me to lay them off,” he said.

For these and other reasons, the Thai Chamber of Commerce has asked the government to assume responsibility for a portion of payments into Social Security and loan programme to aid small businesses. They also asked for implementation of the new minimum in increments, which has been ignored.

Inflation is the underlying cause of this mess: the Pheu Thai Party’s plank during campaigning last year to raise the minimum was prompted by steep rises in staple commodities. What’s causing the inflation? Excess liquidity.

It’s a problem throughout this region and South America.

The excess is mainly owing to policies set by the US and Eurozone central banks. Western Europe and America are beset by recession and a mortgage crisis. The central banks have determined that the only way out is to spur investment through cheap money.

The policy has indeed spurred investment, but not much in Europe or America.

With interest on sovereign debt too low to cover inflation, most money is going to South America and Southeast Asia.

“Thailand’s f inancial system is... prone to excess liquidity when the world interest rate declines,” wrote

Peter Warr and Bhanupong Nidhiprabha in 1996. “And and this excess liquidity tends to be prolonged.”

Liquidity has been excessive now for almost three years. Thailand is not the only country in the region where prices are rising – not because of loose monetary policy – but because investors seek a place to park money where it won't lose value. Minimum wages have risen recently in Taiwan and Vietnam (where inflation last year was 23 per cent).

“The global economy has entered a phase of fluid global liquidity amid uneven recovery and shifting risk appetite,” wrote Bank of Thailand governor Dr Prasarn Trairatvorakul in April of last year.

“This phase is characterised by weak recovery in the advanced economies which prompted loose monetary policy and extraordinary monetary measures such as QE2 in the US that have resulted in artificially low interest rates in the advanced economies.

These record-low interest rates encouraged investors to seek out higher return in risky emerging market assets, particularly here in Asia.”

He did not think the problem would last long. But on April 26 this year, in an address at the Asian Bankers

Summit, he was talking about the need to avoid “overly trusting market mechanisms” and over-regulation. “In Asia, economic and financial liberation is a powerful driving force reshaping our financial landscape...”

Significantly, he did not mention the increased minimum wage as a factor in Thailand’s economic future, which is currently being shaped by global liquidity flows. The result of that liquidity is a growing gap between rich and poor: the top 20 per cent earn 58 per cent of income; the bottom 20 per cent just four, according to Chulalongkorn University’s Sasin Graduate Institute of Business, providing this country with “income inequality among the world’s highest.”

Thus, spreading the money around is advisable. In the opinion of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Economic and Business Forecasting director Thanawat Polwichai, it’s just the right medicine. He expects it will be the economy’s driving force this year.

So it shall, increasingly so in years ahead. But the government will perhaps need to ensure that in guaranteeing the future of workers, they are not putting a period to the businesses that employ them.

thephuketnews.com

12 BUSINESS/TOURISM

THE PHUKET NEWS

BUSINESS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Confidence in the future

Index rises for fifth consecutive month > 14

business@thephuketnews.com

Nikki Beach to open next year in Layan In terms of luxury facilities, Phuket is generally ahead of its Gulf of Thailand rival, Koh Samui. But one thing Phuket has not had up to now is a Nikki Beach Club.

This is to be rectified very soon when Singapore-based Castlewood Group begins a serious drive into Asia in concert with Florida-based Nikki, starting with a hotel, spa and beach club in Phuket, scheduled to open near Layan Beach next year.

Nikki Beach started off in 1998, launching its first “ultimate beach club concept” in Miami Beach. Bringing together dining, fashion, art, music and entertainment, the club was described by the British paper, The Observer, as the “Sexiest Place on Earth”.

The Nikki Beach concept is now international and encompasses a clothing line, global events such as the upcoming London Olympic Games, plus a Nikki Beach music label and a hotel and resort division.

Castlewood Group CEO Chris Comer said, “This will be our first offering to the market and will comprise a five-star hotel with 151 luxurious suites and a mix of 23 sky villas and exclusive villas, pools and gardens.”

Centara names CEO The Board of Directors of Central Plaza Hotel Public Company Limited has named Thirayuth Chirathivat as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Centara Hotels & Resorts, effective from April 2, 2012.

Mr Thirayuth holds a bachelor degree from the Faculty of Political Science of Chulalongkorn University and a master degree in Food, Hotel and Tourism Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, USA. He also attended the Program of Management Development and Executive Education at Harvard Business School and has undertaken management programmes at other well-known universities and institutes.

Mr Thirayuth has more than 21 years of experience in hotel business manage-

Central Samui Beach Resort and Central Sukhontha Hotel, Hat Yai. These two properties are now named Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui and Centara Hotel Hat Yai respectively.

He was appointed Director of Project Management and Procurement in 1999, and subsequently Vice President of Project Management and CEO Thirayuth Chirathivat. Procurement in 2011. He was also director of company ment. He started working subsidiaries Central Hua Hin in 1990 at Hyatt Central Beach Resort Co Ltd, Central Plaza, Bangkok, which is Samui Beach Resort Co Ltd, now Centara Grand at Central and Central Sukhontha Hotel Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, as Co Ltd. F&B Coordinator. He was Prior to being appointed subsequently promoted to CEO of Centara Hotels & F&B Promotions Manager, Resorts, Mr Thirayuth was and then to Project Devel- Senior Vice President for opment Manager. In this Project Management, directly latter role he was directly responsible for overseeing responsible for supervising construction and renovation the successful completion projects for the entire group of two new projects, namely of hotels.

New GM for organic resort South African Shaun Dünhofen has been appointed General Manager of Thanyamundra Organic Resort.

“I welcome the opportunity and look forward to working with the great team around me here at Thanyamundra. My approach is very much based on setting and achieving goals

to serve the community and the environment to enhance our guests’ experiences.”

Mr Dünhofen has spent most of his career in operations and management at luxury boutique resorts including W Retreat & Spa and Per Aquum Resort & Spa in the Maldives, The Fortress in

We believe that the success of a project is essentially based on a serious management

Galle, Sri Lanka, The Manor in New Delhi, Aman-i-Khas in Rajasthan, and Amanusa and Amanjiwo in Indonesia.

The nine-suite Thanyamundra resort and retreat is located among the mountains of Khao Sok National Park.

The resort is part of the Thanyapura sport and leisure club.

liberto@construction-thailand.com

liberto@construction-thailand.com 40 years experience of more than 20 years at your service in Thailand.

Main Contractor:

Study Project Architecture Design Construction & Management

Office 3.L.H & I.C.P. Manufactory 3.L.H & I.C.P.

thephuketnews.com

The reception area at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park.

Novotel Phuket officially opens Accor has announced the opening of Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, a newly build resort located in the heart of Patong.

Herve Duprat, General Manager of Novotel Phuket Vintage Park says, “Featuring contemporary Southeast Asian architecture and modern designs, this resort will appeal to guests who seek for comfort and serene relaxation while just steps away from the lively activities of the Patong area, making this resort a perfect

choice for leisure travellers.”

This newly built 303-room resort has been designed with spacious, modern designs and colourful décor, while maintaining full relaxation and comfort through superb services and facilities.

Novotel Phuket Vintage Park is the 11th Novotel hotel in Thailand and the second Novotel hotel in Phuket.

The hotel is offering a special introductory rate of B2,750 ++ per superior room, including breakfast. novotel.com

California Wow heads for bankruptcy court California WOW Xperience Plc has reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that it is being hauled into the bankruptcy court by major creditor, Bangkok Bank.

The Bangkok Post, quoting the company’s report to the SET, said that fitness centre company was unable to service debts totalling B75.87 million, including default interest of

B3.97 million.

The amount is equivalent to 9.05 per cent of the company’s total assets as of December 31 last year.

California Wow has had difficulties upholding its image in recent years, on a number of levels. For example, it has sold lifetime memberships in clubs, but has frequently closed them.

THE PHUKET NEWS

BUSINESS/ECONOMY 13

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Interest rates stay the same Agence France-Presse

The Bank of Thailand held interest rates at 3.0 per cent on Wednesday for the second time in 2012 to bolster the nation’s fragile economic recovery from devastating floods, the central bank said.

The Monetary Policy Committee said its earlier cuts to the benchmark rate – the most recent in January – had aided Thailand’s rebound from last year’s floods, but warned risks remained to the kingdom’s export-driven growth.

The economy suffered a double-digit contraction in

the fourth quarter of 2011, the sharpest on record, after the worst floods in half a century pummelled industry.

Official data Tuesday showed inflation rose 2.47 per cent in April from a year earlier, a significantly lower rate than in March, encouraging the interest rate hold.

“Inflationary pressure is manageable so the committee has agreed that the current interest rate is suitable for supporting economic recovery,” Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, the bank’s assistant governor said in a statement.

“So the committee unani-

Kingfisher proffered helping hand by PETA Animal rights organisation PETA has made a tempting offer to help keep Kingfisher Airlines out of its financial crisis, while helping meat-eating men rise to the occasion.

In an open letter to Kingfisher Chairperson Vijay Mallya, PETA offered to pay the airline to have its new ad “Want Good Times? Go Vegan. Meat Consumption Leads to Impotence” on the sides of the Kingfisher planes.

Impotence affects more than 50 per cent of males over 40, and it is PETA’s aim that the airborne advertising will help educate that a diet heavy in meat and dairy products has been linked to heart disease, prostate cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity – all of which can cause impotence.

Kingfisher Airlines have not yet accepted PETA India’s offer.

mously agreed to keep the policy rate at 3.0 per cent.”

Economists urged the Bank of Thailand to keep rates on hold for the rest of the year, with exports and manufacturing still shrinking following the floods and inflation seemingly under control.

Usara Wilaipich, senior economist for Global Research at Standard Chartered Bank said the pace of recovery had been “generally disappointing”.

“Exports contracted 3.9 per cent and manufacturing production 7.2 per cent yearon-year,” she said.

“We maintain our call for

the BoT to hold rates for the rest of this year, as inflation is expected to stay well-contained in 2012.”

There are already signs that she is right. Thai consumer prices rose 2.47 per cent in April from a year earlier, official data showed Tuesday, but the rate of increase was significantly lower than in March after manufacturers shied away from hiking prices.

Inflation eased from a 3.45 per cent gain in March, according to Commerce Ministry Permanent Secretary Yanyong Phuangrach.

“Manufacturers are hesitant

to raise their product prices as consumers are still cautious in spending and competition is also high. This resulted in eased inflation in April,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Core CPI, which excludes energy and food costs, increased 2.13 per cent year on year or 0.10 per cent on last month.

Thailand’s central bank was tipped to keep its policy rate unchanged when it meets on Wednesday, Yanyong said.

The ministry had kept its inflation forecast for the whole of 2012 at between 3.30 and 3.80 per cent, he added.

Floods fail to dowse future NNT

A top Thai economist has forecast the Thai economy to expand healthily this year as a result of a successful recovery in the flood-hit industrial sector.

Mr Virabongsa Ramangkura, Chairman of the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development, said that the Thai economy had shown signs of continued recovery in the second quarter, a trend he believes will continue until the end of this year.

He stated that the local

economic recovery had started in the first quarter of 2012 after the manufacturing sector resumed operations that were hit hard by the floods.

Mr Virabongsa added that such a trend, backed by the government’s higher-thanexpected revenue collection, led him to predict that Thailand’s GDP would stand between 6 and 6.5 per cent this year.

Other factors, which Mr Virabongsa considers as supporting his forecast, include the special 120-billion-baht post-flood rehabilitation bud-

get and the allocation of B350 billion for the country’s flood prevention systems.

He went on to say that reports from the Board of Investment (BOI) showed that there had recently been a significant rise in the investment incentive applications.

However, he cautioned that the economic expansion during the second half of this year may be hindered by a shortage of labour, if Myanmar opens its gates to the international community and many Burmese workers return home.

Boost to 2013 budget NNT

The Cabinet has approved a slightly higher budget for the next fiscal year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong revealed that the weekly Cabinet meeting had approved the 2013 fiscal budget of B2.4 trillion; a 0.8 per cent raise on the 2012 fiscal budget of B20 billion.

In addition, deputy government spokesperson Pakdihan Himathongkam said that the 2013 fiscal spending plan includes B449.3 billion for investment, B1.9 trillion for regular expenses and B49.14 billion for the payment of loan principals.

Mr Pakdihan said that projects planned for the next fiscal year include reconciliation projects, drug crackdown campaigns, anti-corruption policies, water resources management efforts and the restoration of peace in Thailand’s deep South.

thephuketnews.com

14 BUSINESS/PROPERTY

Singapore will offer backdoor to owning Thai tour companies TTR Weekly

Asean-based companies will be allowed to own up to 70 per cent of the equity in Thai companies when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) starts in 2015, representing a massive challenge for independent tour companies.

Global tour companies will be able to own 70 per cent of any Asean travel firm by simply establishing a firm in Singapore where they can hold 100 per cent of the shares. The Singapore backdoor will then open the entire Asean business market to international firms as they can own up to 70 per cent of the shares in companies registered in the other Asean member countries.

Former Tourism and Sports Minister and International Institute for Trade and Development executive director, Weerasak Kowsurat, delivered the warning at the Association of Domestic Travel annual gen-

eral meeting on Wednesday.

He told agents not to underestimate the impact of AEC on tourism companies as the free trade regulation allows Asean companies to hold up to 70 per cent in companies in any of the 10-nation community.

“Although the AEC regulation will allow Asean members to hold 70 per cent of the equity in Asean countries up from 49 per cent under Thai law, we already know that through nominees foreigners are already controlling companies,” said Mr Weerasak.

But he warned that under AEC, foreign companies would be entitled to own 70 per cent outright, giving them control without nominees, which is technically an illegal tactic that side steps the commercial registration laws.

He noted that Thailand’s travel companies had to try to understand the AEC regulation to preserve their business advantage.

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Consumer confidence continues to increase NNT

Consumer confidence has increased for the fifth consecutive month in April since the flooding last year, while the cost of living index in the same month has reached a 21-month high.

Director of the Center for Economic and Business Forecasting of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thanawat Polwichai, said the April consumer confidence index stood at 77.6, higher than the March index of 76.6, due to economic recovery after the floods.

In addition, the higher confidence was a result of consumers’ hope that the economy and their future income would improve following the government’s stimulus measures, the B300 minimum wage hike and public spending during the Songkran long holidays.

St i l l, t he con su me r s showed concern over the high cost of living following the spiraling of oil and product prices. They were also worried

April’s consumer confidence index was 77.6, a point higher than the March index. by political instability and global economic volatility.

Mr Thanawat predicted that the Thai economy would see significant expansion in the second quarter this year

and urged the government to expedite rehabilitation and economic stimulus packages in a concrete manner.

He suggested that the government make sure that

energy prices and the cost of living were appropriate and in line with people’s current income so that this year’s growth could reach 5.5-6.5 per cent.

Measuring the Official Value of property Weeraya Imchai Associate Partner

Ownership of a piece of land, a house or a condominium unit is legally transferred by a written registration at the relevant Land Office.

In general, the current fee and taxes payable upon the registration of such change of ownership of an immovable property are the transfer fee; income tax (payable as withholding tax); and stamp duty or specific business tax/local development tax.

The transfer fee and (in the case of an individual) the seller’s income withholding tax – which must be deducted and

thephuketnews.com

paid to the authorities upon transfer – are calculated on the basis of the Land Office’s Official Value of the property.

The stamp duty or specific business tax/local development tax is also required to be deducted and paid to the authorities upon transfer; both are calculated based on the Official Value of the property or the actual transaction value of the property, whichever is higher.

Thus, because the Land Office’s appraised value of the property is one of the key elements used for the calculation of the fee and taxes applicable to and payable upon the registration of ownership of immovable property, you

might wish to know more about this Official Value.

An immovable property’s Official Value is an assessed or appraised value which is generated periodically by the Valuation Committee in accordance with Sections 105 and 105 quinque of the Land Code (1954) (“LC”). However, the process to determine the Official Value of the various types of immovable property, such as land, non-condominium buildings, and condominiums, are all different.

Since non-Thais may generally only own buildings and condominiums in Thailand, we will have a look at how the Official Value of noncondominium building is determined in this, part 1 of this article, and in part of 2 of

this article we will see how the Official Value of condominiums are determined.

Pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Valuation Committee’s Regulations for Determining the Criteria and Procedures for Valuating Immovable Properties for the Purposes of Levying Fees for the Registration of Rights and Juristic Acts (1992) (and as amended in 1998) issued under the LC, the criteria to be taken into account by the Valuation Committee in determining the Official Value of a noncondominium building are, for example: 1) the price of the construction materials; 2) the wages of the construction workers; 3) the administration costs for the construction in that particular province; and

4) the type or purpose of the building.

Each province in Thailand has its own Official Value for buildings that are not condominiums. For example, the following are some of the Official Values for the provinces of Phuket and Surat Thani (in which Koh Samui is located) applicable to the transfer of ownership of non-condominiums buildings during the period from 2008 to 2011: Once the Official Values in any particular province are announced, they are applicable to all such buildings in the province regardless of where the building is located.

For example, the appraised value per square metre of a one-storey concrete villa in the heart of Patong will be

the same as that in the most undeveloped part of Phuket.

In general, the appraised value must be re-evaluated every four years and all provinces generally do so concurrently. The current appraised value for each province is applicable from the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2011.

The next cycle of appraised values will be applicable from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2015.

In part 2 of this article we will have a closer look at the Official Value of condominiums in Thailand.

Duensing Kippen is a multiservice boutique law firm specializing in real estate and corporate/commercial transactional matters as well as arbitration proceedings.

THE PHUKET NEWS

ART 15

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

CULTURE

BIG LIST: Odd theme parks > 20

culture@thephuketnews.com

KNOW WHERE THIS IS? GUESS RIGHT AND WIN!

GERRY’S

editor@thephuketnews.com thephuketnews.com/ login-game-view.php

view

THIS WEEK’S HINT: “This photograph certainly makes this open cut mining operation look realistic, but of course this is a mock-up of a tin mining operation that was active and prosperous many decades ago.

This mock-up and several others are on display with many other pieces of mining equipment, along with different themes of the era such as the Phuket architecture, in a new-build colonial style mansion in the Kathu area that would have housed a wealthy Chinese tin mine owner and his family”.

–Gerry Cummings

EMAIL US ENTER ONLINE

www.photohutgroup.com

editor@thephuketnews.com thephuketnews.com/ login-game-view.php

GUESS THE CORRECT LOCATION AND WIN A B500 GIFT VOUCHER FROM PHOTO HUT

Congratulations go to Michael Archer and Sharon Bennett for correctly guessing that last week’s photo was of the face of a giant grouper at the Phuket Aquarium Sakdidech Road, Cape Panwa.

Daydream drawing

Designed by Woulfe Studio

Baan Wana Park, 177/22 Moo.4, Srisoonthorn Road, Thalang, 076 620 071, designedbywoulfe.com.

Dream Gallery

Jody Houton editor3@thephuketnews.com

Boat Lagoon, 23/122 Thepkasattri Rd, Koh Kaew, 076 273 487, gallery@asiansourcingallery.com, thedreamgallery.asia.

B

angkok-born Isara ‘Ids’ Thaotong believes that art is everywhere and in everything, including in much of the interior design work he is responsible for around the island. For now though, he is happy to be quietly working in his Phuket town studio; sketching, painting and daydreaming.

Ids studied at Rangsit University in Bangkok, where he obtained a Fine Arts degree before moving to Phuket, where he designed the Pearl of Nai Thon nightclub in Nai Thon and the Unity condominiums in Patong, before quitting the profession.

“I stopped doing interior design because it was boring.

I prefer doing my own art because it is solely my creation, whereas the commissioner or the owner of a project tends to give me his or her ideas or orders otherwise, and I am expected to follow,” Ids says.

Four months ago that all changed when he opened up the Drawing Room art studio, located close to the corner of Phang Nga and Phuket Roads in the Old Town.

Ids tends to create two

PHUKET GALLERIES

I Mon Art Gallery

29/2 Phang Nga Rd, Phuket Town, 086 961 8968, montian_29@live.com. Open daily 8am-7.30pm.

Nakonnai Art Museum

84/34 Moo7, Soi Saiyuan 2, Rawai. 085 974 7218, nakonnaiartmuseum@yahoo.com.

P. Fire Studio

Phuket Art Village, Soi Naya 2, Rawai, 085 591 1587, virat-uttakut@hotmail.co.th. Open daily.

Red Gallery

Phuket Art Village, Soi Naya 2, Rawai, 087 323 321, redgallerythai@yahoo.com; phuketredgallery.com. Open daily.

Sarasil Art Galllery

121 Phang Nga Rd, Phuket Town, 076 224 532, somkiatkaewnok@yahoo.com; oilpaintingsphuket.com.

Open daily 8pm-9pm.

Tawan Ook Art Gallery

Phuket Art Village, Soi Naya 2, Rawai, 081 956 5872. Open daily.

Ids (above right) stands by his character Peepho, who here is swinging on a tree. very different styles of work: manga-inspired, bold, black and white doodles, done with a simple marker pen, and more introspective abstract acrylic paintings.

The fun sketches contain the loveable fat character ‘Peepho’ who appears in many scenarios. “These I do for fun and when relaxing. It’s a flight of fancy when I’m day dreaming,” Ids explains.

Ids’ paintings, meanwhile, are more mature offerings that

The Love Art Studio

Phuket Art Village, Soi Naya 2, Rawai, 089 471 5653, pui.t.l.a.s.@hotmail.com; theloveartstudio.com. Open daily.

Veerachan Usahanun

110/34 Cherng Talay, Bang Tao Beach Rd, 081 490 4359, usahanun@live.com; veerachanusahanun.com.Open daily.

Vichen Gallery Bzenter

Behind Da Vinci Restaurant, Saiyuan Rd, Rawai, 087 890 3722.

Open daily 3-9 pm. (Telephone to view before 3pm.)

VR Gallery & Coffee Shop

Next to Mom Tri’s Villa Royale, 12 Kata Noi Rd, Kata Noi, 076 333 568; art@momtriphuket.com, momtriphuket.com.

he does when more focused and emotionally attached, “These express a certain feeling I have, it can be anything but I must feel something.”

T h e D r aw i n g Ro o m

plans to have its first exhibition later this month, but no date has yet been set.

For more informa t ion , contact Ids at: isara380@ hotmail.com or 086-899-4888

Watcharin Art Studio

27 Yaowaraj Rd, Phuket Town, 088 386 1449, watcharintinorodnit@hotmail.com, rindamagicalart.com.

Wua Gallery and Studio

1 Phang Nga Rd, Phuket Town, 076 258 208, wua.artgallery@gmail.com; wua-artgallery.blogspot.com.

thephuketnews.com

16 PEOPLE

THE PHUKET NEWS

Seminars hope Calming classical to brand Phuket playing

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

EVERYDAY PEOPLE

The Phuket PR Network is holding the first of four seminars on May 24 in the hope of creating a brand positioning message for Phuket.

Event organiser Natasha Eldred, the managing director of Shine PR Phuket, says the idea of a marketing strategy and “brand” for Phuket has been floated for a number of years, but so far no successful branding had been done for the island.

She says many people expect the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to create the brand, but realistically the organisation is spread too thinly, and usually focused on other areas of Thailand with the idea that ‘Phuket takes care of itself.’

“The onus is on the private sector in Phuket, we are the ones with the vested interest,” Ms Eldred says.

“We are hoping to explore, research and distill Phuket’s many marketing messages, with the aim of creating a unified message for all Phuket businesses.”

The May event, titled

thephuketnews.com

Natasha Eldred, managing director of Shine PR Phuket.

‘Identifying and Marketing Brand Phuket – Sports Tourism’ will be the first of four events held. The Sports Tourism seminar will be followed

by Culture and Heritage (late July), Patong, and Real Estate as seminar topics in the coming months.

At the end of each event, volunteers will be invited to form a sub committee to summarise the main points and issues of each seminar.

Once all events are completed, the sub committees will join

together and hopefully nut out a brand idea for Phuket.

Then will come the need for funding and the creation of a marketing campaign, something Ms Eldred hopes the private sector of Phuket will be keen to get behind.

Speakers at the Sports Tourism event include Debbie Dionysius, Assistant Vice President of Destination Marketing at Laguna Phuket, who will discuss how the success of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, Marathon and Ironman 70.3

events have helped market Phuket to an international audience.

Next up will be Paul Poole, founder of The Sponsorship Experts, who will explain why sponsorship marketing is integral to the survival of events in Phuket. Duncan Worthington, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta’s Media and Communications Director will discuss the prestige sailing events give Phuket.

David Roberts, Vice President of Thanyapura, will then speak about how its efforts in branding itself as the most desirable sports centre in Southeast Asia can benefit Phuket, and help further the island’s brand positioning as a quality sports destination.

The May 24 event is held at ‘The View’ at Thanyapura. Registration opens at 3.30pm and the event begins at 4.30pm followed by networking drinks. Price: B150.

For more information visit www.phuketprnetwork.com.

To register your attendance email Sheree Tanpensuk at sheree@amchamthailand.com

Norachai Thavisin editor3@thephuketnews.com

Soft music from a classical guitar proved to be the ideal accompaniment for the paintings showcased on the walls of the VR Gallery of Mom Tri’s Villa Royale in Kata Noi this month.

April 28 was the opening night of the exhibition of gentle and whimsical paintings by Somrak Maneemai.

Many of his pieces contain tiny figures of children dancing and jumping along with lots of other incredibly detailed minutia.

Guitarist Suparp Wongwasana sits on a wooden designer bench in the middle of the small gallery, seemingly being lifted up in the middle of a cloud of musical notes rising from his deftly plucking fingers. The night proceeds with a sort of stiff competition between the music and the paintings, battles fought and won and lost every minute as people arrive to view the art.

Originally from Nakhon

Suparp Wongwasana.

Si Thammarat, quietly-spoken Suparp (meaning ‘polite’ in Thai) has been living in Phuket for six years. The musician teaches guitar to 10 regular students on most days at the local Kru U music school in Phuket Town.

He also regularly plays for hotel guests at ‘By The Sea’ at the Evason Phuket Resort in Rawai.

He learned guitar and ukulele at a nationwide chain of musical schools and now enjoys being a teacher of guitar himself. He says his students are keen learners who are all studying to read music as part of their lessons, but unless they can practice regularly, Suparp says, it takes a long time to learn the skill.

Contact Mr Suparp on 085 470 8616.

THE PHUKET NEWS

HEALTH 17

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

The Van Damme of yoga from the 80’s muscle pants to skimpy budgie smugglers.

Kim White culture@thephuketnews.com

By now I am hoping that you are all diligently practising the yoga postures I have shared with you in the past few months, and are feeling fan-yoga-tastic.

So much so, that now that you can touch your toes you find yourself delighting in this simple process whenever you can. Standing in the shower: yep, I can still touch my toes.

Waiting for the kettle: no problem there, toes touchable.

It’s always a good conversation opener and impresses the opposite sex no end!

If however, your toes are still out of reach and you find your stride not quite long enough. Then I have the perfect postures for you!

This month, I would like to share with you the wide angle seated forward bend (Upavistha Konasana). I like to call it the “Van Damme”, appropriately named after seeing actor/martial artist Jean Claude Van Damme execute this posture in almost all his movies in a multitude of memory burning outfits

The benefits of Upavistha Konasana: • Stretches the insides and backs of the legs and spine.

• Lengthens your running and walking stride.

• Stimulates the abdominal organs.

• Strengthens the spine.

• Calms the brain.

• Stimulates abdominal functioning.

• Releases the hip joint and muscles of the groins (adductors).

• Improves pelvic circulation.

• Helps relieve sciatic pain.

• Helps calm the mind.

• By engaging the adductors, it becomes more accessible to engage the pelvic floor muscles that contribute to pelvis and sacroiliac stability.

• By learning to relax and open the adductors we can begin to relax your core.

• It also balances the menstrual cycle, stimulates the ovaries, and eases menstrual discomfort and helps to prepare the body for labour and delivery.

• In men, it tones and stimu-

lates the prostate gland.

Let’s get to it!

1. Start by sitting on the floor with your back straight and your legs stretched out in front of you.

2. If you find it difficult sitting on the floor or have a lower back injury, it is best to place a folded blanket under your buttocks.

3. Place your hands on the floor and push your buttocks forward, allowing your legs to widen.

4. Take the legs as wide as comfortable, making sure that your knees and tops of the feet are facing upwards.

5. Press the back of your knees into the floor and stretch your arms out in front of you straight, allowing the hands to reach out onto the floor in front of your hips.

6. Keep your legs straight.

7. If you are comfortable with this hand placement and would like to go deeper in the stretch, drop the elbows to the floor in front of you.

8. The next step after this, is to reach for your toes with your hands and drop your chest to the floor.

1

9. Hold the posture for 1 minute or more. On each exhalation allow the legs, hands /elbows to soften downwards.

10. Come up on an inhalation while keeping the front of the torso long.

11. Gently walk the legs together and give them a little shake.

As we are coming into the rainy season, there are plenty of opportunities to stay indoors as we escape the rain. This is a perfect time to practise the variety of postures we have covered so far and pass the time while we wait for the sun to come out. Happy stretching!

See you next month, Metta

2 3

Kim White is the owner of Sala Suddhavasa, an internal arts centre in Rawai offering private and group sessions in taiji, yoga and meditation: 086-276-9174, info@suddhavasa.com; suddhavasa.com The opinions and advice contained in this column are those of the author only. The Phuket News is not responsible for the outcome or results of following any advice in any situation.

Being Van Damme is as easy as 1,2,3 (muscle pants optional).

This gorgeous cat belongs to Andrea and Bo Dire from Sweden. She is pictured here celebrating New Year.

This beautiful cat, called Ginger, belongs to Phuket News contributor and Jamie’s Phuket blog owner/writer, Jamie Monk.

Jamie says, “Ginger has been with us a few years. He was semi-stray and started hanging out at our house. We made sure he had his jabs and (sorry, Ginger) got him neutered. He’s very friendly, likes to follow us around, is always waiting by the gate in the evening for the first people to get home. He also likes to roll over and have his belly tickled. We wonder if he might have some canine ancestry!”

Want to see your pet here? Email your photos to: editor1@thephuketnews.com thephuketnews.com

18 EDUCATION

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

BRIEF Phuket girl 2nd in national singing competition It is not just Star 8’s ‘Dome’ hard at work to raise the profile of locally-grown Phuket talent. Nutchai Phaisamran, a 7-year-old primary school student at HeadStart International School, recently won 2nd place at the Yamaha Thailand Music Festival’s singing and dancing competition in Bangkok.

Nutcha’s sweet rendition of The Rainbow Coloured Song earned her the second place in the Singing for Kids competition held at the Aksara King Power Theatre in Bangkok on May 2.

She has been interested in music for almost as long as she has been able to walk. She started playing the piano at 3-years-old and is currently at the highest piano grade level of 8. She also plays plays the violin and loves singing and dancing.

Despite her talents for everything musical, her real passion lies in drawing and painting, with art being Nutcha’s favourite subject at school. Perhaps it will not be too long until we see little Nutcha featured in the Phuket News’ Arts pages.

KISP kids crack on with the books and look forward to completion of the football field.

Lennard helps KISP settle in Norachai Thavisin editor3@thephuketnews.com

Despite being the strapping six-foot-plus PE teacher at Kajonkietsuksa School in Phuket, Lennard Kolthof remembers how adamant his mother was that he not travel from his native Netherlands to Thailand to learn Muay Thai... at least until he was an adult.

So when he reached the age of 18, the young Dutchman was off like a shot and became ‘pretty good’ in not only Muay Thai, but also a few other martial art forms.

He spent the majority of his time competing and training in Bangkok, until he eventually found Phuket and began

The impeccably-dressed students at Rassada School.

GOMS go to school Jody Houton editor3@thephuketnews.com

T h e G r u m py Old Me n (GOMS) might not be the most cheery or photogenic charity organisation on the island, but they are definitely one of the most efficient.

The GOMS are made up of around 130 expat males who meet on the first and third Monday of every month to have a beer, a good old gripe, and raise money in a simple, no-nonsense fashion.

Their most recent campaign was to raise funds for students at the Rassada School.

They succeeded and donated the B30,000 needed to buy uniforms for the children earlier this month.

GOMs chairman War-

thephuketnews.com

ren Crowe, who has been a member since the organisation started 2.5 years ago, said, “When I saw the photo of the kids in the uniform, who have never had anything, I have to say I had a lump in my throat.”

The GOMS meet at the Chalong Pier Beer Garden and the way it works is simple, yet incredibly effective. Attendees and members pay B100 entrance fee and then B100 for the raffle, held at every meeting. Prizes are donated by various businesses and sponsors on the island.

A maximum of B50,000 is assigned to a particular cause and any member can suggest and put forward a case of what or whom to collect money for.

For more information, visit: phuketgoms.org

to look for ways of making it his home.

When he graduated from the ancient university of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, he returned to Phuket, sans boxing gloves, to teach at Kajonkietsuksa on Chao Fa West Rd. The affable teacher also manages the marketing side of the school now, and is in the process of completing a masters degree in Education from the Nottingham University International Campus in Kuala Lumpur.

And as if Mr Kolthof has not been busy enough, he is also charged with the move of the English Programme

side to the school’s newly spacious campus, the Kajonkiet International School Phuket (KISP) off Pra Phuket Kaew Rd in Kathu, on the way to Patong Hill.

KISP is still in the development stages, and will eventually comprise three separate buildings. The first, the multilevel main building is airy and bright and already impressively equipped with teaching equipment and facilities.

Construction is ongoing and another large building that will house English-language programme primary school and the swimming pool will be completed by the end of the year.

The spectacular roofed

Lennard Kolthof contemplates his mother’s advice.

football field, and its green Astroturf surface is almsot finished and ready for the

many busy little footballing boots, with teacher Mr Kolthof in the lead.

Scottish artist Mrs Evans looks over her students’ work.

Busy week of art and beach Norachai Thavisin editor3@thephuketnews.com

The first week back from the Songkran break was a busy one at the British International School Phuket (BIS).

On April 26, more than 200 students in a convoy of white mini-buses converged on Nai Harn Beach to help clean the beach of debris left following the busy high-season.

Students separated into groups to start work at both ends of the popular tourist beach.

Students piled bags of rubbish, to be collected by the municipality and transported to the Phuket incinerators and

burned.

BIS secondary school art students were also hard at their creative work that afternoon, being guided in their studios by two artists in residents, Scottish artist Elsie Evans from Bangkok, and Boonkasem Sae Kow, painter and Director of the Krabi Contemporary Art Museum.

Boonkasem, who paints abstract landscapes, was urging his students to make the art that they enjoy. One benefit of making art is the pleasure, that also makes their art better, he told his students.

THE PHUKET NEWS

EDUCATION 19

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Ayta elementary students play a board game at the library at the Camias Resettlement Elementary School at Porac, Pampanga, north of Manila.

Photo: AFP

A long fight begins to save 175 Philippine languages Agence France-Presse

A

r nel Valencia felt humiliated at school when he was barred from using the language he spoke at home, part of a decades-long pattern of linguistic destruction across the Philippines. “‘Stop talking like a bird.

You should use English or the national language,’” Valencia, now 39 and a village elder, said his first-grade teacher told him.

Valencia belongs to a small mountain tribe called Ayta Magindi that has for centuries inhabited the bone-dry, sparsely forested Zambales mountains just three hours drive from the nation’s mega-city capital, Manila.

There are only 3,000 tribe members left living in and around the small sugar farming town of Porac, guardians to one of the dozens of little-known languages in the Southeast Asian archipelago that are under dire threat.

The Philippines, with 95

million people, is home to 175 languages, but some of them have just a few speakers left while others are already considered extinct because there are no more people at all who converse in them.

Up to 50 of the country’s minor languages could be lost within 20 years, according to Artemio Barbosa, chief anthropologist at the Philippine National Museum.

“When they migrate to a certain place and they are assimilated, they no longer speak their own language because their main concern is to have an intelligible language that they can speak everyday,” Barbosa told AFP. Experts say another big part of the problem is that the only two languages taught at school in the former US colony are English and Filipino, which is based on Tagalog that is natively spoken by people in and around Manila.

Valencia, who is a local village council member, complained that his children still

could not use Ayta Magindi in school, while adults had to learn Pampangan, the main local language, to get factory or plantation jobs.

“Our language is not the only thing that we stand to lose, but also our culture,” he told AFP. “The discrimination that we suffer has not abated.”

But there is some hope, according to Catherine Young, an endangered languages expert at the US-based Summer Institute of Linguistics who has spent a lot of time studying many of the little-known languages of the Philippines.

“There’s a growing awareness of the value of languages in the Philippines, if you compare it with other countries in Asia where (some minority) languages are publicly discouraged,” Young said on a recent visit to Manila.

She highlighted a national government decision to implement mother-tongue education from this year as an important step in that direction.

From the start of the new academic year in June, 12 of the most widely used languages will replace English and Filipino as the language of instruction from kindergarten to third grade.

The 12 languages have a combined base of more than 63 million speakers, or two-thirds of the national population.

The Department of Education said the new policy was the result of a Summer Institute of Linguistics-backed project in the 1990s to train local teachers in using Lilubuagan, spoken by 14,000 members of a northern mountain tribe.

American linguist Diane Dekker went to live with her husband and four children in the Cordillera highlands in 1987 to launch the programme, initially to local scepticism.

“The parents were apprehensive that this was going to affect negatively their acquisition of English. That is very important for parents because they know that that’s crucial for getting a job,” Dekker told AFP.

But she said the Lilubuagan-taught children actually became better students because they did not have English and Filipino rammed down their throats as soon as they entered school.

“They were learning to decode a language that they didn’t yet speak, so... of course they had no comprehension of the written form of the language,” Dekker said of the problems having to study in English and Filipino.

Manuel Faelnar, vice president for the non-government group Defenders for Indigenous Languages of the Archipelago, agreed that force-feeding new languages on children when they first learnt to read and write was wrong.

“That’s why many of our kids are considered dull, slow.

The teachers speak to them in Tagalog (Filipino), and if you’re not Tagalog or Englishspeaking, you’re lost,” said Faelnar.

One obvious problem with the government's new

programme is that it covers only the most widely spoken languages, and thus continues to leave the less common ones neglected.

However the hope is that, once the programme is implemented and succeeds, the government will start introducing mother-tongue instruction for the most endangered languages.

Meanwhile, the hilldwelling Ayta Magindi in the Zambales ranges and the local government school have taken it on their own to start mother-tongue instruction from June, said the community’s Protestant pastor Benny Capuno.

Two Ayta Magindi locals have been hired to teach kindergarten at the local school, and will also help prepare mother-tongue teaching materials for the first graders.

“This should restore our young people’s pride and make them treasure our own music, our own language and our unique culture,” Capuno told AFP.

thephuketnews.com

DANE'S WORLD

20 WEIRD NEWS

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

with Dane Halpin editor2@thephuketnews.com

RIDING PLEASURE Amusing Parks THE BIG LIST

Man sues BMW after motorcycle ride gave him ‘20-month erection’

We all know riding motorbikes can be exciting.

But California man Henry Wolf got a little too excited about riding his new BMW bike, which he claims gave him an erection lasting 20 months – and counting.

Mr Wolf said that a fourhour trip on his BMW bike with a “ridge-like seat” gave him a persistent, lasting erection, and he is now suing the motoring manufacturer and seatmaker Corbin-Pacific.

There have been concerns in the past that narrow ‘banana’ bike seats could cause loss of feeling in the genitals

What Henry Wolf’s situation probably didn’t look like. of both men and women, but this ride seems to have caused the exact opposite effect.

In the Wolf v BMW law-

suit, it is claimed that the motorcyclist went for a ride in September 2010, and since then has suffered from a long-

lasting erection that simply will not subside.

The lawsuit for emotional distress reads that Wolf is “now is unable to engage in sexual activity, which is causing him substantial emotional and mental anguish.”

He is suing BMW and Corbin-Pacific for lost wages, medical expenses, emotional distress and “general damage”.

The man puts his situation down to an extreme case of priapism – a condition in which the sufferer has a persistent and usually painful erection that lasts for a number of hours.

Pole position Appy times for Of all the weird and wacky futuristic gadgets and inventions at this year’s CeBIT, the world’s biggest high-tech fair, there was one that took pole position for visitor’s attention.

In case you missed the innuendo, they were pole dancing robots.

The sleek, white, life-sized humanoids, with camera-shaped lights as heads, gyrated suggestively to music, provided by a third “DJ” robot, with a megaphone for a head, who bopped around the stage in time to the beat.

The “dancers”, designed by British robot-maker-cum-artist Giles Walker, are driven by old car motors C oming s o on to a and their moves are controlled by Bangla bar near you. computer via wireless technology.

Irish Pubs • Restaurant • Guest Houses

KARON BEACH

PHUKET

Angry Birds fans

In a true testament to the power of the mobile app, Finland is about to become the second country (behind China) to open an Angry Birds theme park.

And in a testament to the power of copyright infringement, Finland’s park will be the world’s first officially licensed one.

Last September, an unauthorised attraction in China opened allowing visitors to use a giant slingshot to knock pigs off an elaborate structure.

In December, it was announced that Finland would open at least two playgrounds for children based on the game.

The new park will make up part of the existing Särkänniemi Adventure Park, and boast 12 rides, including a roller coaster, a lighthouse and an adventure course, along with themed food areas (possibly serving red birds and green pig meat).

Visitors can also play the

Now you can play Angry Birds while inside an angry bird. game on screens throughout the park, the official opening of which is slated for June 8.

Park manager Miikka Seppälä told Asian Correspondent: “The opening of Angry Birds Land is a really big deal for us. The theme and design of Angry Birds is internationally renowned, so we are delighted to welcome visitors from around the globe to experience the product for themselves.”

TONGUE IN CHEEK Chinese zookeeper gets unconventional

Draft Beer Great Food Cool Rooms Good Music Live Sport

thephuketnews.com

We’re all aware that kissing butt at work can be part of climbing the corporate ladder.

But Chinese zookeeper Zhang Bangsheng, 50, took the metaphorical act to a whole new (and literal) level.

Zhang reportedly did the unthinkable when a leaf monkey in his care couldn’t pass a peanut: he licked its anus for “over an hour” to encourage it to defecate, China Smack reported – after washing its bottom with warm water,

naturally.

Some news outlets are questioning the authenticity of the story – and why Bangsheng used his mouth rather than the more traditional method: a warm cloth.

While most of you probably aren’t getting excited about an Angry Birds theme park, after looking at these alternatives we think firing yourself from a slingshot into a brick wall seems somewhat appealing.

Siege of Stalingrad: Grutas Park is better known by its much more depressing name, ‘Stalin’s World’. Nestled into that barrel of laughs of country known as Lithuania, the park’s unfortunate theme is the half-century Soviet occupation of the Baltic state. For those unfamiliar with Eastern European history, that basically means big on education, short on amusement. The park is a two-mile trek across wooden walkways, enclosed by barbed wire fences and guard towers to help give tourists that authentic Gulag prison camp feel.

And then there’s the variety – visitors can choose to observe the glowering stone face of Lenin or the sullen, unflinching stare of Stalin. So much to do!

All at sea: The Japanese have a thing for technology. Take the Seagaia Ocean Dome, for example, which was listed in Guinness World Records as the largest indoor water park – a great achievement from a publication that also dishes out the honour of having the most snails stuck on your face for 10 seconds. We have to admit though, the beauty of this theme park is undeniable. The dome featured waves for surfers! A volcano that had hourly eruptions! And a retractable roof that could replicate a blue sky when closed! Wow! Amazing!

But this water wonderland was to be undone by a single fatal design flaw – its fake ocean was literally built right next to the ocean. The real ocean. One that also has waves and sand, and doesn’t charge a B2,000 entry fee.

Oh my Buddha! While the Japanese can certainly do technology, nobody does distasteful like Vietnam. Located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Suoi Tien Cultural Amusement Park has it all: water parks, go-karts, rides and parades. It also taps into the oft-overlooked amusement park theme of Buddhism, because we all know how much Buddha loved go-karts. Of course, there’s always the meditative relaxation of the duck pond, where you can hand-feed live ducks. Of course at Suoi Tien they call it Crocodile Kingdom, and instead of ducks it features over 1,500 live crocodiles. And instead of tossing in bits of bread you can tease the crocodiles with raw meat dangling from fishing poles, exactly the way Buddha wanted.

Feeling the love: Love Land was opened in 2004 on Cheju Island off the coast of South Korea. It is an outdoor park featuring 140 sculptures, sex education films and, just for the hell of it, a gigantic stone penis. If you find enormous phallic images intimidating, try watching a mountain finger itself. The idea of stone labia got you down?

Then just enjoy sculptures of couples enjoying their partners company. Remember, it’s not porn if it’s carved in stone.

Trademark pending: China, the land of wonderful, completely original ideas that no one has stolen from anywhere.

Take Shijingshan Amusement Park, for example, which in no way resembles Disneyland. Its central characters include “Duck” and “Girl Cat”, which Disney apparently used as their inspiration to create their derivative Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse characters. Other characters can be seen throughout the park including a goofy dog, a peasant girl turned princess in glass slippers and a sleeping beauty. But the amazing creative visions apparently haven’t just inspired Disney. Popular Japanese cartoon characters are also seen parading around the park. The park’s owners say everything in the park is original and based off of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which seems to be a contradicting sentence, but who are we to question such creative geniuses?

THE PHUKET NEWS

TIME OUT 21

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

BOOK

MUSIC

FILM The Avengers 143 minutes Rating: G

Dane Halpin editor2@thephuketnews.com

An Uncommon Education

by Elizabeth Percer Afraid of losing her sick parents at a young age, Naomi Feinstein single-mindedly prepares for a future career as a doctor.

An outcast at school, Naomi loses herself in books, and daydreams of attending the prestigious Wellesley College. But when she is finally accepted, Naomi soon learns that college isn’t the bastion of solidarity she had imagined.

That is, until she is introduced to Wellesley’s oldest honour society, the mysterious Shakespeare Society, defined by secret rituals and filled with unconventional, passionate students.

But her happiness is soon compromised by a scandal, which brings irrevocable consequences.

This Machine

The Dandy Warhols This Machine is probably the most sober Dandy Warhols album to date, reining in their trademark stoner-rock sprawl in favour of a more melancholic meditation.

At 43 minutes, it’s also their shortest album yet and, mercifully, about half an hour shorter than 2008’s seemingly endless …Earth to the Dandy Warhols...

As the husky, whispered vocals on Sad Vacation and The Autumn Carnival attest, this is a subdued, atmospheric affair. Two of the album’s best songs, I Am Free and SETI vs. the Wow Signal, tone down the melancholy in favour of some more upbeat rock; not that the brooding melancholia is a bad thing, but a more lively Dandys would also be welcome.

The Avengers is more than a movie – it is a cinematic event. No major motion picture has ever before combined four wildly successful blockbuster franchises, each with its own protagonist, and crossed them over into one gigantic film.

Needless to say the plan for The Avengers was audacious to the point of near-hubris, but writer-director Joss Whedon has delivered a film that largely lives up to Marvel’s ambition.

It probably helped that most of the groundwork was already laid with the prequel films; meaning The Avengers

doesn’t waste time with needless exposition.

Instead, the film devotes its energy to bringing a bunch of superheroes together and expanding their individual stories.

Importantly, every character gets equal screen time, and each is imbued with a strong blend of comedy and drama.

Despite varying levels of character development, The Avengers succeeds on a character level because the story is about bringing these superheroes together. It’s engaging to

see these distinct personalities play off each other, and it adds a depth to the film not usually present in the standard superhero fare.

Whedon, creator of cult TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is an avid comic book fan, and it shows – he operates with an instinctive understanding of how someone with the unshakable morality of Steve Rogers (Captain America) is going to handle a wild card like Tony Stark (Iron Man), and how that clashes with the arrogance of Thor or the moodiness of Bruce Banner.

However, one of the film’s few flaws is jumping into several conflicts without providing an adequate set-up to the scene.

The second act of the film lacks flow, and some of the arguments feel manufactured.

Despite this brief stutter in

the middle, when The Avengers swings into the third act it becomes a fine exponent of the ‘blockbuster’ picture.

The destruction of downtown Manhattan bears a striking resemblance to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but while Michael Bay has a greater mastery of 3D, Whedon delivers a much more coherent narrative featuring characters you actually care about.

While this is a genre I’m personally not a huge fan of, The Avengers is absolutely top of its class within the realm of superhero flicks. By combining a cast of wonderful characters, brilliant comedy, and spectacular set pieces, Whedon has created the biggest and best superhero movie in film history.

As some movies and movie times change every Thursday morning, after The Phuket News has gone to press, the accuracy of the following information cannot be guaranteed. For up-to-date information, visit sfcinemacity.com, or phone the cinemas directly: SFX Coliseum Phuket 076-209-000 and SFC Jungceylon Phuket 076-600-555.

SFX COLISEUM PHUKET (CENTRAL FESTIVAL) The Avengers (E/3D) [G]: 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00 The Avengers (T) [G]: 11:10, 11:45, 12:30, 13:15, 14:00, 14:45, 15:30, 16:15,

17:00, 17:45, 18:30, 20:00, 20:45, 21:30, 22:15, 23:00 Battleship (E/F) [13+]: 12:45, 15:25, 18:10, 20:50 Battleship (T) [13+]: 19:15 Home (T/E.SUB) [18+]: 15:20 Lockout (E) [18+]: 11:20, 13:20, 18:10, 20:10, 22:10

SFC JUNGCEYLON PHUKET (PATONG) The Avengers (E) [G]:

11:30, 12:30, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30,

17:30, 18:30, 19:30, 20:30, 21:50

Battleship (E) [13+]:

11:20, 14:00, 16:40, 19:20, 22:00

The Cold Light of Day (E) [13+]: Lockout (E) [18+]:

11:40, 16:30, 22:30 11:35, 13:40, 15:40, 17:40, 19:40, 21:40

BRAIN TEASERS Across

Down 2. Fresh run of New York Times essential. (9)

1. What is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust?

2. Who was the leader of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979?

3. Who wrote the Foundation trilogy of books?

4. In which city do Scottish football club St. Johnstone play their home matches?

5. Which type of rice is traditionally used to make paella?

Questions provided by Peppers Bar in Cherng Talay.

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz: 1. Aluminium; 2. Pol Pot; 3. Isaac Asimov; 4. Perth; 5. Calasparra or Bomba.

SUDOKU

1. Joint rag weapon. (7-6) 9. Argued and powered eight. (5) 10. Point to laboratory or consumed complex. (9) 11. Push down record in clothing. (7) 12. Changed a lieutenant and point to communist. (7) 15. Local region for a nearby airline. (4) 16. Pass in charge of abdominal pain. (5) 17. River smell, it’s said. (4) 20. Teas swapped for food.

(4) 23. The Spanish follow laboratory to sticker. (5) 24. Play parts? Does! (4) 26. Platforms in which I falter about pea holders. (7) 27. Clipped balance a little medication. (7) 28. Behold! Sin to investigates. (5,4) 29. Note brown-and-white horse reaction to bad joke.

(5) 30. Confusing Bengal Port tip: It soaks up ink. (8,5)

3. Club cow mouthful with hair goop. (6) 4. Discloses, it’s said, Welsh symbols. (5) 5. Er, Bill mostly in charge of Al and connecting tube.

(9) 6. Thug’s underwater weapon. (7) 7. Get degree in Hoffman movie. (8) 8. Angry about point of honey product. (4) 13. Look at typhoon center.

(3) 14. Cardinal follows soft mass to Shakespeare theater. (5) 16. Writer’s support is initially tiny. (9) 18. What Beethoven did after death? (9) 19. Little resolution: I cause depression in occupant. (8) 21. A turn in the past. (3) 22. Bit of tree to adhere to.

(5,2) 25. Vocalize with hotel, a beer. (6) 26. Pallid picket. (4) 27. After tea, Phang Nga Bay feature brief wear. (5)

thephuketnews.com

22 KIDS PAGE

THE PHUKET NEWS

COLOURING CONTEST

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

E

very week, colour in Sophie's drawing, have a photo taken with your work, and email it to editor@thephuketnews.com The winner will be announced on this page next week.

This week, congratulations go to Tammatat 'Namwa' Paothong from Thalang Phranangsang School, for his excellent work above. We look forward to seeing how you colour in Sophie's Promthep Cape illustration!

mail@ sophieillustration.co.uk

Runners-up

Asia, age 7, and Snow White, a g e 7, b o t h from Kajonkiet.

thephuketnews.com

Samantha Macpher so n, a g e 5, w i t h her brother Stuart, age 8, both from PIA.

Otoey, age 7, P h u k e t I nt e r n a t i o nal Academy Day School.

Thanks to all the children at Da r a s a m u t h Ph u k e t S c h o o l, Kajonkietsuksa School, HeadStart, British International School Phuket, Phuket International Academy, and Coconut Club for their entries.

Please keep them coming in, remembering to write your name, age and school on your work.

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

LIFE&STYLE lifestyle@thephuketnews.com

SHOPPING 23 Bollywood princess

Interview with star at Rawai photoshoot > 30

fashion file Have an outfit to show off? Send a photo to:

editor@thephuketnews.com

ALL BLACK Becky Taylor

Personal assistant

Decorative red flower (B125) from New Zealand.

Lit t le bla ck d r e s s (B2,500) bought in New Zealand.

MADE IN SIAM Thanika Subpon Sales executive

Top (B690) bought in Bangkok’s Siam district.

White lacework dress (B390) also from Siam.

Cream and white pumps (B580) found in Siam.

Matching Topshop bag (B1,950) from London.

Black shoes (B1,000) a l so pu rch a se d i n London.

ACCESSORIES

EXPO

MARKET

1

2

1. Sparkly blue shoes 2. Neon wedge heels 3. Multi-colour flat shoes

B159 B229 B120

3

Expo Market, Dilok U-Thit 2 Road, Phuket City.

Open daily 9am-9.30pm.

thephuketnews.com

24 DINING

THE PHUKET NEWS

PHUKET NEEDS A FRESH BREW COFFEE BREAK Danny Hyams lifestyle@thephuketnews.com

Like wine, coffee has made a big impression in Thailand in recent years, with a growing coffee culture, particularly evident in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

Many specialty coffee roasters and great cafés have emerged. Barista skills have improved dramatically and there are a number of expos and competitions, such as the Thailand Barista Championship, held in Bangkok in March.

A decade ago all of this was almost nonexistent.

Along with skills at serving great coffee, growing of coffee itself has also boomed. The north of Thailand has some well-know producers turning out fine coffee, such as Doi Chang, and companies like Peaberry Ltd excel in producing specialty roasted coffee, and training people in the industry to a high level.

The production of fine Arabica coffee has increased in volume and Thai coffee has

become recognised as a quality product.

Phuket, unfortunately, lags behind much of the country in the quality of coffee available.

The two main reasons for this are a lack of fresh high-quality coffee beans and the poor levels of barista skills.

Roasted coffee has a short period of freshness, usually not longer than three weeks after it is roasted. Most of the coffee served in Phuket is many months old.

It’s a matter of education and consumer awareness. If bread lovers had only ever been served stale bread they wouldn’t know what they were missing out on, and the same applies to coffee.

One of the main reasons for this is that too many businesses are seduced by offers of free coffee machines in return for contracting to buy expensive, stale coffee for extended periods with little or no training offered.

Many of these businesses would be surprised to find that buying their own equipment and fresh local coffee will save them money in the long run as well as giving them flexibility and a saleable asset.

The level of barista training in Phuket is low. Good operator skills are needed to operate an espresso machine and produce good consistent espresso and milk-based drinks such as latte and cappuccino.

When I came to Phuket almost four years ago I was already a passionate coffee lover.

Making great espresso-based coffee was a serious hobby.

I had all the equipment I needed to make great coffee but I couldn’t find any locally roasted fresh coffee. I had fresh coffee sent from Bangkok by EMS and later I bought my own roasting machine and started to roast coffee myself.

In these columns I will be discussing types/brands of Thai coffee, ways of making the perfect cup, latte art and the characteristics of world coffee.

Stay tuned for more.

Danny Hyams is an Australian coffee roaster, barista and barista trainer based in Phuket. He runs the Garage coffee shop in Kamala, and also provides advice and sales of a range of coffee equipment, and imports coffees for sale. He can be contacted at dannyhyams@gmail.com

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Left, violinist Jonathon Glonek and pianist Eri Nakagawa. Right, preparing the dishes.

Chocolate set to music Jody Houton editor3@thephuketnews.com

Re Ká Ta Club in Kata hosted a unique evening of classical music, wine and fine dining on May 4.

The chic outdoor dining and lounging area of the Boathouse also has a beautiful indoor section, which provided the ideal setting for the night’s musical and gastronomical entertainment.

The evening began at 7pm with dramatic and majestic flowing masterpieces by Mozart and Beethoven performed by a renowned musical duo: Australian-born violinist Jonathon Glonek and Japanese pianist Eri Nakagawa, who have been touring and playing together for more than 15 years.

Jonathon said of their longestablished working relationship, “One of the difficulties

of playing compositions like Mozart’s Sonata No.17 in A Major is that the pianist and violinist have to play together in perfect sync for it work. The second is that it’s really quite hard music to play!”

Once the concert finished, tables and chairs were brought in and set up for the dinner.

Spanish pastry chef David Inglada was in Phuket to showcase his artistic chocolate creations and, alongside resident chef Bryan Burger, create a fantastic menu that combined seafood, red meat, and vegetables with chocolate.

Yes, chocolate.

David, who is based in Bangkok and has been putting on such events for six years, doesn’t see the use of chocolate has wholly different from any other ingredient.

“Chocolate goes with everything, I’ve been playing

with the flavours for a long time... It’s great seeing which particular mixtures work best: for example, playing around with the amount of cocoa butter.”

Each dish worked exceptionally well, such as the chocolate consommé added to a sous-vide mackerel, Serrano ham, and Asian soy glaze.

Many of the dishes, including the xocolatl and Australian Waygu beef tenderloin, watermelon, braised oxtail and coffee crumble, tasted so good and so ‘right’ that it begs the question of why chocolate isn’t used as a vital ingredient in many cuisines.

In sum, the evening was a collection of marvellous harmonies, where everything from the exquisite music, the delicious food and breathtaking location came together wonderfully well.

Authentic Thai in Patong

Patong’s Millennium Resort has opened new Thai restaurant Straits Dining, headed

by Chef Narong from Chiang Mai. The restaurant offers traditional Thai cuisine from the four different regions in Thailand – northern, northeastern, central and southern.

Signature dishes on the menu include pla nuang ma now (steamed whole fish with chilli and lemon); goong phad staw (wok fried shrimp with staw seeds in a spicy red curry sauce); laab gai (spicy minced chicken) and krao soi gai (crispy noodle curry with chicken).

Straits Dining, Millennium Resort, next to Jungceylon, Patong, 076-601-715. Open daily 6pm-10pm.

Aleenta launches new dinner series Aleenta Phang Nga have launched their “Na Thalang Ancestral Siamese Cuisine Secret Dinner series”, held every Monday at the resort.

Chef Premchit Prateap Na Thalang will create an eight course meal complete with canapes. Dinner is priced at B2,500++ per person. For reservations contact rsvp@ aleenta.com

thephuketnews.com

THE PHUKET NEWS

DINING 25

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

FOOD FUN in Vietnam Phuket friends Sarah Dean and Lindsay Cameron spent two weeks travelling Vietnam from north to south. One of the highlights was a food tour in Ho Chi Minh City, where the pair sampled everything from goat, frog and banana wine, but drew the line at the boiled duck foetus.

M

ost g uidebooks advise taking anything from three weeks to three months to do this trip, but we like a challenge and don’t like to stay put for too long.

We had covered 1,700 kilometres and seen the most beautiful scenery, ranging from bustling cities to remote jungle waterfalls.

We’d been on motorbikes, bicycles, buses, rowing boats and loved every minute of it.

Neither of us dared to even talk about the fact that our trip was coming to an end with only 24 hours in Ho Chi Minh City. We had thought we would just wind down with a little eating and shopping.

However, a couple of days prior to us arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, a good friend in Phuket had emailed us with details of a tour that she thought might be of interest. A four and a half hour evening food tour on the back of a scooter around the southern Vietnamese city, eating and drinking local style. Does it get any better? We booked the tour within minutes of reading the email.

We got picked up by our lovely guides for the foodie tour on the dot at 5.30pm.

They were immaculately dressed in traditional Vietnamese costumes, introduced themselves with big smiles as Ang and Boom (something

Delicious frog, above, and right, boiled duck foetus. like that anyway) and off we went to our first stop.

At 5.30pm in Ho Chi Minh City, like most countries, it’s peak traffic time. There’s something insanely crazy and exciting about riding around a hugely populated city experiencing hundreds of other bikes whizzing past and around you from all directions. Particularly when your guide insists on asking questions such as ‘Do you have any pets?’, or ‘Do you like to go to the cinema?’. Eh no, I’d rather you kept your eyes on the road thanks!

Our first stop was for beef noodle soup at a local restaurant down a back alley. With not a tourist in sight apart from the five other people on our tour, we sat on the usual tiny plastic chairs that force you to sit with your knees almost on your chest and get indigestion, and listened while our guide explained what was in the soup.

Thankfully it was not the tame ‘pho’ that we had eaten up until now, but rather ‘bun bo’ from the central city of Hue, a much tastier and spicier version. Although, when we were presented with green tea to drink with the soup,

neither of us had to speak. The look we gave each other said it all – where was the beer?

However, we drank the tea graciously and off we went to our next stop.

Our next food stop was at an outdoor barbecue restaurant where we were to cook and feast on goat, frog and barbecue prawns and sip shots of locally brewed banana wine (and beer by this stage).

We were told the goat was goat breast. We relaxed.

On looking at it on the barbecue, it didn’t look like the ‘breast’ we are used to, say on chicken. We soon learned that it was in fact the breast, as in the teat, which probably explains the chewiness.

Our drivers and guides were obviously instructed to ‘look after’ us the entire night.

We didn’t have to lift a finger.

They peeled our prawns for us, shelled our crab, kept us topped with beer and, slightly over the top, even held our hands when accompanying us to the toilet.

Our last stop was mainly seafood. Crab in chilli and garlic, crispy quail and the most amazing grilled scallops with nuts and spring onions, followed by a des-

Phuketians Sarah Dean, left, and Lindsay Cameron enjoy a night out on the town in Ho Chi Minh City as part of a motorbike food tour. sert of coconut pudding and a Vietnamese style crème caramel. We tasted it all to a point where our stomachs were full to bursting.

We did, however, draw the line at tasting what can only be described as a boiled duck foetus still in the shell. The feathers did not look appetising. We took the obligatory photos and tried to be polite while hiding our disgust.

Only one of our party was brave enough to try it and it

wasn’t either of us!

The trip took us around five different districts in all so it was a great way to experience the diversity of Ho Chi Minh City: affluent areas, poor areas, shopping areas, market areas – all fascinating in their own way and a great way to see the city if you are short on time.

We had seen parts of Ho Chi Minh that we would never have gone to, experienced driving (and surviving) in

one of the busiest cities in the world, tried some new food, and got to mix with the locals. It was a fantastic way to end an amazing trip through Vietnam.

So with tired eyes and full bellies our guides dropped us back at out hotel. Time for bed? Well, maybe just one more beer...

The motorbike foodie tour is run by XO. For more info visit xotours.vn/Book_Tours/ The_Foodie.html

thephuketnews.com

26 EXPLORE

Thai Hua Phuket History Museum

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

JAMIE’S PHUKET Jamie Monk lifestyle@thephuketnews.com

Phuket has several quite good museums: the Thalang National Museum, Phuket Tin Mining Museum, and Chinpracha House are all worth a visit, as is the Thai Hua Museum.

I first wrote about the latter three years ago when it was newly opened. There was not too much to see then beyond a former classroom and some old school photos and books, but entry was free.

The Thai Hua Museum has changed a lot since then.

There is an entry fee now (B200), but it’s easily worth that, with rooms full of displays and information about the history of Phuket, and the option of picking up a guide to the museum when you pay the admission.

The building itself is an attraction: an old, early 20th

thephuketnews.com

Jamie Monk’s mother gives a lesson to his children.

Phuket’s early 20th century Thai Hua Museum is a majestic sight on Krabi Road.

The museum is full of information on the Thai-Chinese.

century mansion built as a school for the Chinese-Thai families who had flocked to Phuket in the 19th century for the tin mining industry.

Indeed, some parts of the interior look like they’ve hardly changed from those days.

Many of the big Phuket fami-

and we all liked the old school sections – at one point my mum, a former teacher, gave a lesson to my kids.

Certainly worth a look, the Thai Hua Museum has a pretty good website, and can also be visited as part of an Old Town tour with Phuket

lies have Chinese origins and the museum has some good information on this.

Many visitors to Phuket think of it only in terms of beaches and tourism, but the island didn’t really have a tourist ‘industry’ until 1985, when Club Med opened on Kata

Beach. For almost a century before that, Phuket made its money from tin-mining, rubber, fishing, prawn farms and agriculture.

Our family enjoyed the visit to Thai Hua. There were buttons to press on the history displays (always good for kids),

Heritage Trails (www.face book.com/Phuketheritage).

It’s very easy to find, just a bit to the east of Thalang Road on Krabi Road in the old part of Phuket Town.

28 Krabi Road, Old Town, 076-211-224; thaihuamuseum. com. Open daily 9am-5pm.

THE PHUKET NEWS

TRAVEL 27

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

TRAVEL NEWS year absence on the route, linking Doha with the capital Yangon. With political reform taking place in Myanmar at a rapid pace, interest in the Southeast Asian country has gathered momentum from both a business and tourism perspective.

More info: qatarairways.com

Qatar Airways announces launch dates of new routes Myanmar and Iraq are among the highlights of Qatar Airways’ announcement of launch dates for new routes in the Middle East, Africa and Asia with capacity hikes being introduced to a number of other international destinations from the carrier’s Doha hub.

Speaking at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the Middle East’s premier travel trade event taking place in Dubai last week, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker unveiled the expansion plans covering a wide network of markets across the carrier’s global network.

Starting October 3, Qatar Airways resumes operations to Myanmar following a four-

Tickets on sale for Harry Potter: the Exhibition, in Singapore On June 2, Harry Potter: The Exhibition opens at ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, marking the tour’s first stop in Asia. This exciting and interactive exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to view iconic props, costumes and creatures displayed in immersive settings inspired by the Harry Potter film series.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition will showcase its grand collection of props, costumes and creatures from the entire Harry Potter film series. Fan favourites such as Harry’s wand and eyeglasses, the Marauder’s Map, Gryffindor school uniforms and an array of Quidditch equipment will be on display; as well as a collection of magical creatures like Buckbeak the Hippogriff, a Hungarian Horntail dragon,

a centaur, and a giant Acromantula.

These items and many others are displayed in immersive themed settings inspired by Hogwarts locations including the Gryffindor common room, Hogwarts classrooms, the Forbidden Forest, the Great Hall, and much more. Guests will also have the opportunity to pull a Mandrake from its pot in the Herbology vignette, toss a Quaffle in the Quidditch area, and tour Hagrid’s hut as part of the exhibition’s highly interactive experience.

“ArtScience Museum is the museum of creativity, and Harry Potter is one of the most creative cultural works of recent years. The Harry Potter experience crosses the boundaries between the arts of writing and the technologies of filmmaking; it is therefore a perfect alignment with our vision,” said Mr. Nick Dixon, Executive Director, ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands.

“As the fervor for Harry Potter continues to rise, we wanted to better enhance the museum going experience for all visitors to the exhibition. With the new ticketing system in place, visitors can schedule their visit to the exhibition and enjoy the best that Harry Potter: The Exhibition has to offer.”

Harry Potter: The Exhibition will be displayed at ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands from June 2 through 30 September 2012.

More info: MarinaBaySands. com/artsciencemuseum

influential group of over 800 international industry leaders, each selected for their expert opinion of the international restaurant scene.

More info: metropolitan. bangkok.como.bz/eat-anddrink/nahm

Calling all kids: be Anantara’s 2012 roving elephant reporter

Nahm at Metropolitan Bangkok voted amongst world’s 50 Best Restaurants Nahm, the award-winning restaurant at the Metropolitan, Bangkok, has been cited in the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards sponsored

by San Pellegrino.

Nahm, Bangkok is Thailand’s first ever restaurant to earn a place in the awards.

The ceremony took place at Guildhall, London on April 30, organised by the UK’s industry publication, Restaurant Magazine.

Celebrating their 10th anniversary, the awards are created by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an

After last year’s hugely successful worldwide search, Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is once again looking for a keen elephant lover and budding TV star aged between 7 and 15 to become this year’s Roving Elephant Reporter, at the 11th King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament (Sept. 12-16, 2012) in Hua Hin. Created to cover the larger than life games from a perspective that has never been seen or heard before, the young winner will become a media star in the making as they create a video report on the event, as well as enjoying an all expenses paid seven night stay at Anantara Riverside Resort and Spa in Bangkok and Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa, Thailand, with an accompanying adult, including return air fares.

The winner of Anantara’s hunt for a Roving Elephant

Reporter will become a star of the ele polo circuit, delivering a television report with VIP access to all areas. Exclusive interviews with Cherry the Elephant Vet and Director of Elephants, John Roberts and Thailand’s last Elephant Spirit Men will allow the Roving Elephant Reporter to investigate all areas of the tournament with Anantara’s most experienced elephant gurus.

In addition to meeting the pros the lucky winner will also be able to do some celebrity spotting on and off the field during the event.

“Being the winner of last year’s Roving Elephant Reporter was the most amazing experience in my life,” said 2011 winner, fourteen year old, Ann Skelly, from Ireland.

“From helping with actual vet checks, interviewing the elephant experts and the players, including the New Zealand All Blacks and German royalty, to seeing the elephants up close was truly an awe inspiring experience and I wish all the entrants to this year’s competition the best of luck.”

To enter this elephantastic competition, simply submit/ upload a short video lasting between one and two minutes to www.facebook.com/anantara

thephuketnews.com

28 ISLAND SCENE

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

AN iTALIAN CELEBRATION: More than 100 people attended the Grand Opening Sunset Cocktail Party at the Centara Grand Resort’s Ratri Italian Bar & Grill, on the hill overlooking Kata, on May 2.

TRANS-TASMAN RIVALRY: Paresa Phuket hosted its annual New Zealand versus Australia Wine Dinner on May 5, including a delicious five course dinner prepared by Executive Chef Ryan Arboleda (above, far right) paired with wines from both countries.

New Zealand’s wines were voted the winner on the night.

WINNING PURCHASE: Worawut Thongtem, right, Sales Consultant of TSL Auto Corporation Co., Ltd., presented a gold bullion worth B121,250 to Jaroonrat Janyasilanon, who won the prize after placing a car order during the opening of the TSL Showroom and Service Centre.

GIVING BACK: Kongsak Khoopongsakorn, the Vijitt Assistant Managing Director, gives blood at the resort on May 3. The event was organised by the Blood Bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital, as part of the resort’s social service programme.

thephuketnews.com

THE PHUKET NEWS

ISLAND SCENE 29

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

SWISS TWIST: It was a very Swiss affair at Serenity Terraces last Friday night, when

the Rawai resort hosted an official welcoming of Andrea Kotas Tammathin (below: second from left) in the role of the Swiss Honorary Consul. Visiting dignitaries included the Deputy Director General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Komate Kamalanavin, Head of Chancery, Bernard Bienz and Swiss Ambassador to Thailand, Christine Schraner.

HEADSTART ON THE NEW YEAR: Students

at HeadStart International School have had a busy few weeks; bands rocking on Arts and Music Appreciation Day, beach cleanups at Karon Beach. and even a hat fashion show (left) made from recycled items in arts class.

thephuketnews.com

30 ENTERTAINMENT

THE PHUKET NEWS

THE TICKET with Claire Connell

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

editor1@thephuketnews.com

Bollywood star shines at Vijitt Jody Houton editor3@thephuketnews.com

Indian superstar Sonakshi Sinha’s award-winning smile.

Bollywood actress Sonaksi Sinha was in Phuket from May 2-5 to pose for a fashion shoot at the Vijitt Resort, part of a bid by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to promote the island to Indian tourists.

Despite Sonaksi debuting in one of the highest grossing Bollywood movies of all time, 2010’s Dabangg, in which she won numerous awards and received national recognition, acting has taken a more of a backseat role of late.

“I first started as a fashion designer and designed clothes for the movie Mera Dil Leke Deko in 2005. After that my friends pushed me onto the catwalk really, and then I became an actress. Recently though I’ve found myself

returning to my first love.”

Sonakshi shone during the shoot at Vijitt whilst wearing various fabulous and colourful designs, none of which unfortunately were hers.

“Designing requires quite a lot of time,” explained Sonakshi, “Which I find I don’t really have with being an actress and model.

“But I’m working with some of the finest designers in India. The items are summery and flowery as it’s very hot, both here and in India.”

Sonakshi wore a variety of clothes throughout the shoot; delectable dresses, snazzy skirts and literally hair-raising hats, but no saris, (as she often wears them in her movies playing the traditional Indian girl) and absolutely no bikinis or swimwear.

T h is is a lesson she

New Live 89.5 station manager hits airwaves Live 89.5 FM’s new station manager Steve Johnston brings a wealth of international radio experience to the team, and plans on using that experience to improve the station.

Steve replaces former station manager Ryan Jon who left last month to work in Australia.

“I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty – but it will be a softly, softly approach. I’m not going to come in and shake everything up. I want to organically move the station along, give it a shape, and strengthen the product.”

Steve is hosting the station’s new Lifestyle show, which runs from midday to 3pm weekdays. Sam Clarke has taken over the Breakfast show from 7am to 11am weekdays, while Jason Wilder remains the host of the Drive show, from 3pm to 7pm weekdays.

Steve’s Lifestyle show

WHAT’S ON IN CLUBLAND thephuketnews.com

Steve Johnston, Live 89.5FM’s new station manager. is conversational, lively, and often brings guests into the studio.

He also plans to keep things simple, saying that many listeners have English as a second language and he wants to get the whole community involved.

“It’s not just about the expats, it’s about the island’s listening audience.”

Also important to the sta-

Sat May 12

Alex Niggemann

tion’s continued success is its relationship with The Phuket News, he says, and he wants to connect the two more closely.

The Brit has spent 20 or so yea r s work i ng i n radio, including the last f ive based in Dubai and around the Middle East.

Steve’s first job was working for CBS Records (now Sony Music) in the UK, working as a promotions manager

Wed

for 12 years and looking after artists such as George Michael and Bruce Springsteen.

In 1997 he moved to Dubai and helped set up two national English language radio stations, Radio One and Radio Two, plus Rock Radio UAE, as well as a stint working as a DJ on a cruise liner.

He also took on a job with the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) in the Falkland Islands, which included postings to Kosovo, Iraq, Cyprus and Serbia, where he worked on the troops’ inhouse radio stations.

Steve is mad keen on football – he supports Everton in the English Premier League as well as his local team the Tranmere Rovers, based near Liverpool.

He’s also a qualified English FA referee at non-league level and is looking forward to getting involved in the island’s sports scene.

James Zabiela

Born in Dusseldorf, Germany Niggemann is James Zabiela is a world-famous DJ and a respected producer, DJ and label owner. May 16 producer from Southampton in the UK. All events are held at Famous, Jungceylon, Patong, Phuket. 076-366-717; famousphuket.com

learned a long time ago.

In 2010, Sonakshi appeared on the front cover of the Indian edition of Maxim wearing a tiny white bikini. The shots were deemed incredibly sexy for the Indian market, the only problem was that the photos weren’t genuine; a crafty graphic designer had photoshopped her unsuspecting head onto a bikini-clad body.

“It was quite upsetting at the time. But it didn’t affect me as much as it should have,” said Sonakshi with a brave smile, “Appearing in a bikini is something I wouldn’t do.”

Sonakshi explained that this is not because she is afraid of being seen as sexy, but rather the wrong type of sexiness.

“Being sexy is fine for an Indian woman, it just has to

be within the confines of the Indian woman’s image. But Indian women are sexy, many countries think so.”

Sonakshi believes that cultural sensitivities and expectations are not necessarily a restriction, “There’s so much you can do with the Indian woman. There’s also so much difference depending on the part of the country, so there’s lots of variation and lots to work with.”

This was Sonakshi’s first visit to our shores, but she was eager to explore more.

She said, “For the Indian community, [Phuket] is known as a party destination with beautiful resorts like the Vijitt Resort for example. It’s a place to come and cheer and have a good time, and that’s certainly a good image to start with...”

WEEKDAYS Breakfast

Sam Clarke

7am-11am

Non Stop Classics

Live 89.5

11am-12pm

Lifestyle

Steve Johnston

12pm-3pm

Drive

Jason Wilder

3pm-7pm

Non Stop Music

Live 89.5

7pm-7am

SATURDAY Box Of Neutrals

Rob James, Peter McGinley & Michael Lamonato

9am-10am

Saturday Morning Glory

Sam Clarke

10am-12pm

Phuket News Radio Dazed and Confused Phuket News Radio

Steve Johnston & 12pm-1pm Simon Ostheimer Bongo Bob 1pm-4pm & Baba Fats Steve Johnston & 4pm-5pm Alasdair Forbes

Going Green

Nick Anthony

5pm-7pm

Saturday Night Fever

DJ Burt

7pm-11pm

SUNDAY Dazed and Confused

Bongo Bob & Baba Fats

1pm til 4pm

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

Jason Wilder

4pm til 7pm

www.phuketliveradio.com Tel: 076-612-895, 090-490-7895

THE PHUKET NEWS

EVENTS 31

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

UPCOMING EVENTS

List your event for FREE at thephuketnews.com/events.php UNTIL JUNE 9

Somrak Maneemai at VR Gallery Somrak Maneemai’s “Lost in the Clouds” collection is his newest work. Somrak has a MFA from Silpakorn University. His Red Gallery was specially mentioned in the New York Times and has recently relocated to the Phuket Art Village in Rawai.

The NYT commended the art village for its originality. The VR Gallery is located adjacent to Mom Tri’s Villa Royale at the entrance of the Baan Kata Estate. Contact 076 333 568. See momtriphuket.com.

- Cajun-style boiled crayfish - Cajun shrimp Creole - Seafood Jambalaya - Fried soft crab with black pepper - Chicken Fajitas - Tacos - Chili con carne - Prawn Quesadillas - Blackened salmon cakes - Fresh oysters - Cheese cake - Chocolate cake - Apple crumble pie Our popular house band will be here all night long. All this and much more B495.

Free-flow Chang Draught and house wine, B795. For reservations 076 330 065 www.twochefs.com, www.facebook.com/ twochefsthailand.

MAY 17-19

a 20% discount on top name cosmetics.

Space is limited, so sign up today.

Please contact K. May 076 291 000 ext 2417, 081 979 3885 or email popanat@ central.co.th.

JUNE 4 Visakha Bucha Day Falls on the full moon of the sixth Thai lunar month (May). It usually falls in May. In the case of a year with an extra eighth lunar month, the Visakha Bucha Day falls on the full moon day of the seventh lunar month.

A Buddhist observance commemorating the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha. Also observed as National Tree Day. On this, the holiest Buddhist holiday of the year, you will find the temples full with devotees receiving blessings and giving offerings. All government and public sector business will be closed, including most bars and pubs.

MAY 11

JULY 23 - AUGUST 31

IBAP Networking

Palazzo Comedy Dinner Show

Ariya Banomyong, Head of Google Thailand, will be speaking on “Getting to know Google in Thailand”, an overview of Google’s business and focus areas in Thailand.

Location: A2 Resort, bypass road. All welcome. Doors open 6.15pm. http://ibapphuket.org.

Surrounded by a timeless atmosphere in a luxurious theatre, enjoy live music, comedy and circus extravaganza during a gourmet 4-course dinner, served by an “outrageous” team of international performers.

An amazing mix of a wonderful meal, spectacular entertainment and a warm atmosphere. Price: B2,200 includes a 4-course dinner, spectacular show, one welcome drink, and free transfer! Location: 86/3 Moo 6 Vichidsongkram Rd., Kathu, Phuket (near Kathu waterfalls).

MAY 11

MAY 19 Free Make Up Class@Central

New Orleans Night Start 6 pm until late at Kata Centre. Large Cajun-Creole style buffet with:

Exclusive offer for expat women living inPhuket. Make up workshop by professional make up artist “Make Up Store” (instruction in English only).

Discover cosmetic styling that will help enhance your unique beauty and enjoy

MAY 12 It's Party Time Come join everyone at the Soi Dog Soiree. At Xana Beach Club, Laguna.

Time: 6.30 pm till late. B2,500 including dinner, free flow beverages and entertainment. Dress code: Black and white.

Special rate of B3,800 net per night including breakfast at Angsana, Laguna.

Contact Cristy for tickets at 084 054 4367 or cristy@soidog-founation.org.

For reservations at Angsana, phone 076 324 101 or email: reservation-lagunaphuket@angsana.com

Learn to Fly - Flying Trapeze “Learn To Fly” Flying Trapeze Lessons at Laguna at Canal Village. Open to the public everyday for all ages 4 years and up! Starts June 23 - August 31, 5pm till late.

We have “Try and Fly” classes, 1/2 hour and one hour sessions And don’t miss “The Laguna Fanatasy Fly Shows” presented by “Ordinary People doing Extraordinary things”. Contact K.Pee 084 837 5726 or K.Gee 086 003 0241, KidzSole@ KidzSole.com www.KidzSole.com.

AUGUST 2 Asalaha Bucha Day It celebrates the first sermon given by the Lord Buddha on the full moon day of the Asalaha (the eighth lunar month). On that day, all Three of the Triple Gem, The Buddha, The Dhamma and The Sangha, had established. It became the day that honored the Sangha, or the community of the monks.

MAY 25 - 27

www.phuketticketmaster.com

thephuketnews.com

32 EVENTS

THE PHUKET NEWS

REGULAR EVENTS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

List your event for FREE at thephuketnews.com/events.php FRIDAY

fast at Paresa with live jazz music, free flow sparkling wine and stunning selection of breakfast dishes. Spend the rest of the day at Paresa’s Infinity Pool or Beach Club.

B600++ per person. Every Sunday 9am to noon. Call 076 302 000.

our bakery and much more. One member from our house band will sing pleasant music during the night. Only B495. See www.twochefs.com, 076 284 155, kata@ twochefs.com.

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Roaring Bhoys Live Music every Monday night. The largest selection of draught beer in Phuket. Irish Times, Jungceylon, Patong.

TUESDAY AA Phuket Meetings @ TGM All meetings are one hour long and held in English at The Green Man Pub, one km from Chalong circle. Call 081 895 4763.

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Pool Competition At 9pm Expat Guesthouse Sports Bar, Patong. See map at www.expatguesthouse. com.

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Curry Fridays at Navrang Mahal Every Friday, all-you-can-eat authentic Indian curry buffet, B449 net per person.

Draught beer B50. 7pm-11.30pm. Call 076 286 464.

WEDNESDAY

SATURDAY Palazzo Sunday Circus Show

Two Chefs Saturday Brunch At Two Chefs Kata Centre. Every Saturday 12pm-3pm, you can enjoy a big delicious buffet with a touch of Scandinavia, and listen to our live music. For example: Our home-smoked salmon, smoked prawns, Swedish meatballs, roasted porkloin, home-made bread, delicious desserts and much more. B395 or B695 include free flow of Chang draught, wine, Sangria.

See www.twochefs.com, 076 330 065, katacenter@twochefs.com.

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All Major Sports Live On the big screen. F1, MotoGP, Tennis, Golf, AFL, NRL. Irish Times Irish Pub, Jungceylon, Patong.

Kids and adults of all ages are invited to our Sunday live circus shows in amazing mirror “Big Top” near Kathu waterfalls. Palazzo Sunday Circus is a colourful modern show where an “outrageous” team of international performers (acrobats, jugglers, aerial gymnasts and clowns) dissolve the borders between stage and audience so that you can be a part of the show.

Price: Children B300, Adults B500. 076 202 277, www.phuket-palazzo.com.

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Sunday Roast Pork Every Sunday 2pm onwards Expat Hotel, Soi Taipan, Patong B290 per person.

Please see www.expathotel.com.

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Best Sunday Carvery in Phuket Roast beef, BBQ ham, chicken, pork and Yorkshire pudding. All you can eat B399.

Irish Times, Jungceylon, Patong.

Two Chefs Tex Mex Night At Two Chefs Karon 6pm-1am. Every Wednesday you can enjoy Phuket’s best Mexican food. Chili con carne, Mexican rice, Mexican springrolls, nachos, pork fillet skewers, salmon quesadillas, grilled corn cob, desserts from our bakery and much more. Our house band will be here to play live music. B495 or B795 include free flow Chang draught and Sangria. See www. twochefs.com, call 076 286 479, karon@ twochefs.com.

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Interactive Pub Quiz Night Starts from 8pm every Wednesday night.

The largest selection of draught beer in Phuket. Irish Times, Jungceylon, Patong.

THURSDAY

MONDAY

BBQ Buffet All You Can Eat Only B325 per person at Shakers. Rat-UThit Rd, Patong. Reservations 081 891 4381.

SUNDAY

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AA Phuket Meetings @ TGM All meetings are one hour long and held in English at The Green Man Pub, one km from Chalong circle. Contact 081 895 4763.

.

Lazy Sunday Jazz Morning at Paresa Kick back and enjoy a lazy Sunday break-

thephuketnews.com

Two Chefs Surf Night

DAILY

At Two Chefs Kata Beach. Every Monday from 6pm-12am. You can enjoy our big BBQ Buffet with Blackened red snapper, beef burgers, Chicken Fajitas, Tacos, Chimi-Churri marinated chicken, desserts from

Watch all the sport that is on TV this weekend with us. Located between Loch Palm Golf Course and Kathu Waterfall. Call 087 471 8747.

Grizzly’s Sports Bar & Restaurant

THE PHUKET NEWS

JOBS 33

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS

Room for Rent in large pool villa B1,500 per day > 35

classifieds@thephuketnews.com

List your ad for FREE at thephuketnews.com/classifieds.php Assistant Branch Manager: Assistant Branch Manager Salary B20,000 + excellent commission and benefits.

Call 081 823 4627, 085 782 1200. Email : ying@ phuketpooltables.com.

Th a i N a t i o n a l A r t Teacher: Phuket International School has an opening for a position of an Art teacher. Requirements: Thai National, good English, education in Art or in the related field. phuketinternational@asia.com.

Accountant: We are looking for a full-time accountant to work in an International School. 5 days a week. 8 am to 5 pm. Thai national. Must speak English. phuketinternational@ asia.com.

Real- Estate Staf f Wanted: Looking for full time young Thai staff, fluent in spoken and written English with real estate business experience.

Please send an e-mail with a photo to info@ molokophuket.com.

hours 4pm-11.30pm, one day off, good salary. Contact: 086 947 5197.

Wedding, w w w.sa- mer. com Email: info@sa-mer. com.

Accom/Development Operations Manager / Manager: With SEO/ Sales: Club Asia Fitness Web design, Real Estate S&M and travel agent / wholesaler marketing exper ienc e searching for contract/temp work. Best suited towards Villa/Condo developments wishing to lease and sell. Email: mr.m.hopkins@gmail.com.

Private Drama Teacher WANTED: Female students aged 6 and 9 years old are looking for someone fun and creative to do some private drama and movement lessons after school (4.30-6pm) twice a week, in the Laguna area. This person must be English speaking and non -smoking. Please email: Sherin.peace@ gmail.com with previous training credentials, photo of yourself and contact details.

- Phuket’s leading fitness centre requires an Operations Manager and a Sales Consultant. Requirements Thai National, degree and must be able to communicate in English. info@clubasiaphuket.com.

Salesperson Required: Thai female – good command of English, confident, and highly-motivated for a Design Agency based in Phuket. Basic salary plus commission. Contact: john@cre8-media.net or call 083 502 5552.

M ar ket ing Per son Wanted: Full-time/parttime. Great opportunity with Phuket-based company.

Must speak good English.

Must have good computer skills & internet knowledge.

Please send resume to: gary@shadesasia.com.

& an enthusiasm to learn & succeed are all essential to start a career in the swimming pool industry. Salary neg. info@mobilepooldoctor.com.

Staff Wanted: Siam Diving Enterprises and Pier 42 Boutique Resort in Chalong are seeking staff for the following positions (Thai nationals only): Reception, c afé staf f, housekeep ing, porter, kitchen staff helper, sales staff, sales supervisor, warehouse/drivers. Interested candidates please send CV to ian@ sde-asiapacific.com. Call: 076 384 476.

Project Manager / Sales: Motivated Thai male 25-30 years. Degree in Civil Engineering or related field. Proficient in English and Autocad. Willing to learn products, travel and sell. Two years mini-

JOBS IN PHUKET mum experience preferred.

Send CV to cj@searasports.com.

Sales Executive: We

have an opening for a field sales executive to promote our range of luxury website and print design products.

See our jobs page on lfrasia.com for more info and details on how to apply.

Email: sales@lfr-asia.com.

Looking for Thai Sales Lady: Good English, with selling experience, own bike/car, positive and outgoing personality.Starting B14,000+fuel+phone+ excellent commission. Call: 085 782 1200.

Reggae Musicians: Looking for a reggae lead guitarist and keyboardist to help form a reggae band in Phuket. The goal is to create a quality Roots Reggae band that does covers, originals, and dub! Contact: movidaflow@gmail.com.

Kindergarten Teacher Wanted: We are looking for a native English kindergarten teacher to join our team to teach 10-12 children aged 3- 6 years of age. Must have a minimum Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent. Contact Daniel 084 520 4978, email: info@ cravensnurseryphuket.com.

Housekeeping staff Vacancy for Cook: required: 5 day work Must be able to cook both Thai and Western Food and be able to speak a little English. 6 day week. Good salary, negotiable. 089 855 3207.

week, service charge, duty meals and transportation.

Experience required but not necessary. Good attitude.

076 372 300.

Japanese Staff: Wed- T r a i n e e M a n a g ding coordinator: Japanese er: Thai national with a female, good English and c omputer skill. Sa- mer

degree,excellent English skills,outgoing personality

Swimming Teacher: Looking for a qualified Thai swimming teacher to teach and assist teaching swimming for HeadStart International school and after school classes at FunStart.

Salary B15,000 plus good commission. Contact: 076 203 185, 087 882 5544.

Receptionist: Receptionist needed for FunStart Family Sports Club in Kathu. Should have a working knowledge of cashier duties, a good command of English and good customer relation skills.

Salary B15,000. Contact Phone: 076 203 185, 087 882 5544.

Looking for Staff: DaVinci Restaurant in Rawai Naiharn is looking for staff.

Waitress and bar tender with experience. Working

thephuketnews.com

34 CLASSIFIEDS

THE PHUKET NEWS

BUY & SELL IN PHUKET

List your advert for FREE at thephuketnews.com/classifieds.php door to the White Room, a lot of people passing because it is between Soi Crocodile and Soi Gonzo. Big screen TV, loud speakers, refrigerator and all else that needed. 082 272 0609.

Speedboat Dive/Snorkelling: Customised speedboat diving, snorkelling, GPS radio, 2x Yamaha engines 200cc. Also available Bauer compressor 40 tanks regs BC DS boat. 900,000 Baht.

Call Joe 087 891 8912, joe@ similan-diving-safaris.com.

BUSINESSES FOR SALE BOATS & YACHTS

Dive Speedboat for Sale: Custom built dive speedboat.A must see; one of a kind in Phuket. Places for 24 divers. 49 feet Glassfiber 675hp Honda Engines. Only 1 year old ready with all licences for business. 084 188 4544.

Custom Build Dive Speedboat: 49ft Fiber-

35 Feet Speedboat for Sale: 35 Feet Speedboat

glass Boat, 24 Diver Seat, one year old, 3 Honda engines 675hp, survey for international Insurance,all safety equipment, VHF radio,side entry and exit doors, 35 places plus 5 staff. 084 188 4544.

with Yamaha 2 x 200 HP-.

Recently spent B380,000 to rebuild like new . Selling it for B1 million. Call 085 064 4806 for more details or alonglee52@googlemail. com.

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

The car for rent: Car in good condition, short and long-term rental with firstclass insurance and delivery service. Call 086 690 6007, email: k.niwatt@hotmail.com.

CARS FOR SALE

Russian Language for Your Kids: Are your children starting to forget Russian? Sign up to our Russian Language For Kids program.

Visit http://PhuketRussian School.com, email us at info@ phuketrussianschool.com or call 082 804 9131.

Want to Practice your Thai?: Thai courses and

Boutique Hotel For Sale: - 4 floors - 6 rooms (television, refrigerator, air-conditioning, safety box and furniture included) - 7 bathroom (1 downstairs bathroom) - Kitchen (c ooker, hood cooker)

Old Clasic 1960 Benz for Sale: Old classic 1960 Benz. Spent B250,000 to recondition. Offers accepted. Call 085 064 4806 for more details or alonglee52@ googlemail.com.

- Reception area (Currently used as coffee shop)

Guesthouse and Shop For Sale: Three-

- WiFi

storey 10-metre-wide double shop premises plus 10 newly-fully- furbished rental rooms above for sale in Phuket Country Club area.

Chanote title. B22 million or nearest offer. Call 081 606 5772.

- Key card and key tag system

Bar In Bangla / Soi Gonzo: Brand new bar next

EDUCATION

- CCTV

lessons for daily life (culture and language) with friendly and energised Thai female teacher. Graduated from university. Negotiable prices can be offered. Plus have outdoor activities for your experience.

Call 080 386 5026.

Cooking School: Fire up your creative flair with Food Services Cooking School. Italian, Western and Thai cuisine.

Try our famous pizza school.

082 816 0126, email: info@ foodservicesth.com.

MOVING & STORAGE

- Good security - Growing area - Good location - Successful business Price B10 million.

Call 088 761 2617, 085 261 3405.

BUSINESS SERVICES Tile It: Thalang. Wana Park on Srisoonthorn Rd. Phuket’s quality tile boutique. Tiles for interior, exterior, residential, commercial. Contact 076 620 168 or 081 424 2828. Email info@tile-asia.com.

Indo Construction: 40 years’ experience and more than 20 years at your service in Thailand. Main contractor: study project, architecture design and construction and management. Contact 076 381 895.

Farang Food Paradise: Your specialist of imported food and drinks in Phuket. Visit our shop at the Billion Plaza, opposite Tesco Lotus. Contact 076 612 733, 076 248 900. www.phuketfood.com.

Benz 2000 E for Sale Benz 2000 E. Was B3.95 million as new, now offering B2.95 million. Has 30000 km. Call 085 064 4806 for more details or alonglee52@ googlemail.com.

CHILDCARE Buds Nursery: Phuket’s oldest bilingual international child care facility. High-quality, time-proven schedule and curriculum. Now in brand new purpose-built school.

Experienced native English teachers to teach ages 1 1/28. Mon-Fri 8am.-5pm. Bus service available from Patong, Karon, Kata, Phuket, Rawai and Chalong. Website: www.buds-phuket.com.

insured. Starts at B12,000 to B18,000 per month. Please call 089 831 4703. Email for more info: a1carrent@gmail. com.

MY STORAGE Self Storage you can buy quality moving and packing supplies like individual boxes, bubble wrap, packing tapes & knives plus secure padlocks. We also help you to move and store. Call 076 292 909.

Safeway Storage -Self storage from B800/M. -Container rental B3,000/M

CLUBS & MEMBERSHIPS Funstart: Family sports and leisure club. Swimming/golf/ playcentre/gaming arcade.

Call 076 203 185, 087 882 5544. See funstar tphuket. com.

CARS FOR RENT A1 Car Rentals: Fully-

We Sell Boxes & Moving Supplies: At

SK A L I n t e r n a t i o n a l Phuket: Skål is a professional organisation of leaders from all branches of the travel and tourism industry. www. skalphuket.org.

- S a l e s / S i te of f i c e A / C B6,000/M -Mobile toilets B2,800/M Chalong - opposite Wat Chalong. Thalang -main Highway. Contact 076 313 235, 081 125 1873.

MOTORBIKE FOR SALE Repossessed Motorbikes: -2011 Finos from 26,000B. -2011 Scoopys from 29,000B. -2011 Clicks from 29,000B.

New Mazda2 & Vios for Rent: First class insurance, special price for long term rental. Call 080 521 9888, email sornin_s@yahoo.com.

thephuketnews.com

Singapore Club Phuket: Calling all Singaporeans in Phuket to join “Singapore Club Phuket”. Contact Robin on 081 803 7189, 076 303 500.

Safeway Asia main Highway Thalang (next to Shell Gas Station). Contact 076 313 235, 081 125 1873.

THE PHUKET NEWS

CLASSIFIEDS 35

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

List your advert for FREE at thephuketnews.com/classifieds.php MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS FOR SALE

111, email info@hhlegaladvi sors.com, www.hhlegaladvi sors.com.

PROPERTY FOR RENT

PET ADOPTION Thre e Cu t e K i t t en s Looking for a Loving Home: These kittens have

1982 Lafitte Rothschild: 1982 Lafitte Rothschild Red Wine for sale, best offer. I bought it for my collection before. Please call me, James on 085 064 4806.

5 Star River Cruise: A fabulous 4 day/3 night riverboat cruise up the River Kwai. B55,000. Price includes 2 persons in one luxury cabin, daily excursions, transfers from Bangkok, meals. www. destinationthailand.tv. +66 (0) 81 938 1728, email: les@capi taltv.co.th.

Air Tickets to Samui:

nearly finished suckling and would love a new home within the next few weeks. At present they are located in Thalang area. Please mail: Sherin. peace@gmail.com.

Why buy a pet?: Soi Dog Foundation have over 300 beautiful dogs and puppies available for adoption. Fully-vaccinated and sterilised.

Contact 085 574 4258. Email: cindy@soidog.org.

65% Off in Low Season!: This Peninsula Villa Phuket is located in Cape Panwa. Phuket. This villa has swimming pool, aircon. and WiFi . Below rates are daily.

Weekly and monthly rates available upon on request.

food in Thailand. Good Karma, all natural healthy, natural and organic products. Contact 082 276 1675. www.goodkar mathailand.com.

Home Stay & Day Care For Dogs: Opening Soon in August 2012!

Dog-A-holics Thailand is ideal for small to medium size dogs. Owner Rose Nattanicha who is a dog lover.

For more information: doga holicsthailand@gmail.com.

PROPERTY FOR SALE Thalang Private Pool House For Rent: Eu-

8/28–29 Moo 9, Chaofah East Road. Contact 076 283 365.

Health Food : Online health

PERSONAL SERVICES

dios, 30-50sqm. Low-season rates from B9,000 for longterm incl rooftop pool, wifi, maid service, full furnishings, big balconies, kitchenette. ht tp://chalongapar tment. com.

Chaofah Pet Hospital:

Need to sell air ticket barter quickly. Substantial savings.

Please email or call me for details. +66 (0) 81 938 1728.

Email : les@capitaltv.co.th.

for rent opposite HeadStart International School by Central and Makro. 2 air-con. ADSL, washer, 2 hideaway sofa, 2 TVs, 3 desks, office with view over shared swimming pool.

B17,000. Contact May 089 973 3276.

Ch a l o n g S e r v i c e d Apartments: Aircon stu-

PET HOSPITAL

PET SERVICES

BUY & SELL/HOMES IN PHUKET

• Standard room, share toilet and shower B1,000 • Deluxe room B1,500 • Superior room B2,500 • Penthouse B10,000. Please call James 085 0 64 4806 or email to alonglee52@gmail. com.

ropean standard, fully-furnished 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, living, dining, kitchen, 2 carparks, garden, Internet and True Vision. Near new Thalang Tesco Lotus and PIA school. Price B40,000 per month long term. Price B75,000 per month. Short term minimum 1 month. Contact: Owner’s mobile 081 606 2827 Email: nij017@hotmail. com.

Pa to n g:Ni c e A p a r tment for Rent: Condo with swimming pool, security 24/7, furnished, 46sqm. Daily/ monthly. 089 728 4005, tha mad17@ya hoo.com.

Space for Rent in Patong: Of fice, Busin e s s s p ac e f o r r e nt o n fifth floor of Patong Towe r. C a l l 0 7 6 3 41 3 7 0 .

POOL TABLES Phuket Pool Tables:

4 Bed/5 Bath HomeB30k month: Immaculate 4 bed/5 bath custom home with full western kitchen. Gated entry in quiet development across from Boat Lagoon, near BIS. ADSL, Satellite, Only B30k per month. Martin 087 850 4684.

Mission Heights Residence

Designed specially for families, the Mission Heights Residence offer very spacious 540 Sqm houses, all with 12 meter long swimming pool, 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, guest bungalow, maid quarter and a nice garden in a very secure, children friendly environment only couple of minutes from Phuket International Academy.

Located only 10 minutes from Airport, Grand Ao Por Marina, new Tesco Shopping center, 2 golf courses, Naiyang beach, Thanyapura sport / leisure center and international school, the Mission Heights Residence is a perfect place to live for families without traffic in a very peaceful, secure and natural surrounding.

www.phuketpooltables.com.

Your number one billiard and snooker supplier in Phuket.

Sales, rent and profit-sharing.

All accessories and services.

Call 081 823 4627.

Bon Café Phuket: A

PROPERTY CONCIERGE

producer of premium coffee blends and powdered mixes as well as selling, maintaining, servicing and repairing all major brands. 076 355 600-1.

Haris & Hawryluck - Attorneys at Law: Unit 6D CCM Complex, call 076 510

one bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, air-con, internet and cable TV. Price B9,000 per month. Contact: Owner’s mobile 081 606 2827. Email: nij017@hotmail.com.

Private Pool Villa: Private

Buon A pp et i to: D e li market and bistro. Number one supplier of Italian Deli in Phuket. Call 076 384 273, info@buonappetitogroup.com, www.buonappetitogroup.com.

Kata Hill House For Rent: Fully-furnished,

Selling or Renting Your Property?: We have buyers for foreign freehold, sea view properties and land. Call 080 143 2929 or visit realestate.phuket. net.

pool villa for rent, Rawai area, 5 minutes to Chalong centre, fully furnished. Please contact : 089 472 9870, e-mail: dchaibut@gmail.com

Furnished 3bed 2bath + Office Near Central for Rent: Furnished house

The Heights Apts & Villas: Superb 195-215 sq metre modern apartments, as well as enormous 3 bedroom pool villas. Huge terraces, free WiFi. Estate features gym, sauna, 4 pools.

Kata beach/town less than 5 minutes walk. info@kata gardens.net.

The Villas currently under construction being built to highest western standard and are launched at only 13.9 million Baht for the first 3 houses.

For appointment or more details contact project director, Khun Montha at 088 75 11 750 or email mission_ heights@yahoo.com.

6.1 Rai Land for Sale: House for Rent Near Heroines Monument: Two bed, one bath, cable TV, internet, fully-furnished house at B8,000 per month. 080 521 9888.

THE SUNRISE OCEAN VILLAS

10,000sq metre. B2,500,000 p e r r a i . To t a l p r i c e : B15,600,000. 5 minutes to Naithon Beach, 10 minutes to Naiyang Beach, 10 minutes to airport, 7 minutes to new Tesco Lotus. Roadside land and chanote title. 085 793 2718.

After a great success of the first phase, the Sunrise Ocean Villas is now starting to build the 8 other villas of "Phase2". The price of 17.9 million baht makes the project one of the most compettitive on the island for being only 60m from the beach.

Each villa has an living area of over 300 sqm, has 3 spacious bedrooms, all sea views, 5 bathrooms, a 10x4m infinity pool, maid's quarter and a covered 2-car parking. The houses are specially designed to guarantee a complete privacy, with an open panoramic view of the sea.

Come visit the villas and you will be wonderfully surprised by the quality of the project as well as the quality of life you can find here.

For appointment or more details, contact the project director Khun Montha at 081 343 0777 (Thai, English & German) Email: thesunri sevillas@yahoo.com.

www.thesunrisevillas.com

Thai Style House for Sale: Teak wood f loors, stairs, walls, 2 bedrooms. Land 330 sq metre, peaceful location, five minutes to Patong, Chanote title. B5.5 million.

086 268 8701, email: f430spiderf1@hotmail.com.

Land for Sale: 11 rai, one kilometre from Naiyang beach. B6.5 millions per rai.

Please call : Siriporn +66 (0) 896 499 939.

thephuketnews.com

36 CLASSIFIEDS

THE PHUKET NEWS

HOMES IN PHUKET

List your advert for FREE at thephuketnews.com/classifieds.php

PROPERTY FOR SALE CONT.

B1.9 Million New Condo: New Studio (1 bedroom) condominium in The Point, across from Phuket International Hospital and BigC. Beautiful four-year-old central atrium building with no stuffy hallways. 36 m2, high-speed internet, cable TV, and swimming. Parking under building. Third floor with nice view.

B1.9 m. Contact Walter at wp drake2@yahoo.com, 083 301 3470.

Bargain Land Rawai: Quite location for sale: 1 plot 724 sq metre, perfectly developed behind excl project, Bali wall, 16m well, electric, freehold, Building permit for pool villa, private street. Price B4.5m. www.phuketlivingart. com, residler@gmail.com.

Eng.German 080 890 5187/ Thai 081 817 4805.

Exclusive Pool Villa with Class & Style.

(English, Thai, German) email: utaipan@yahoo.com.

Discount Rentals

condo unit, half of a deluxe twin house, fully-furnished and equipped, set direct on the picturesque lagoon with balcony right over it. 3 bedrooms each with shower/bathroom, roof terrace with sala, etc. For sale or long-term rent.

Phone (66) 081 737 0365

Info: 089 594 4067

Luxury Private Pool Villas: Brand new Bali style

3 and 4 bed villas 1 km to Nai Harn Beach. High rental guaranteed investment.

Prices from B12.9m (incl. full furniture pkg). Enquiries sakt27@gmail.com +66 878 974 42.

Incredible investment: Five bed, four bath pool villa.

Luxuriously- furnished. Wood pizza oven, 14x4 metre salt water pool. Chanote, Thai company and finance available. B14.9 million. www.villademeo-phuket.com, call 087 897 4421 or sakt27@gmail. com.

1 bed, fully-furnished, WiFi, maid service, sea view. Call 081 893 5188.

Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Lease LUXURY VILLAS NEAR LAGUNA

sion Hills half rai plot, quiet select location, chanote, water, electricity. Price B1.6m. Six rai hilltop, sea/mountain views, chanote, water, electricity and office. B4.2m per rai. Call 087 978 5804.

full bath, air- con, western kitchen, spacious living room, garage with laundry/ overhead storage, large covered patios, security doors/ windows, garden, company name available. B5.5 million.

Call 081 131 5751, email: seadog5000@yahoo.com.

Condo in Phuket Town for Sale/Rent: New condo,

Land 700 sq metre. Big pool with sala, 400 sq metre living area, 4 sleeping room, dining, guesthouse, garage, 6 bathroom.

Full basement. Private street. Bargain price B16 million. www. phuketlivingart.com, residler@gmail.com. Call Rene: 080 890 5137 Yupin: 081 817 4805.

Land for Sale: Land Mis-

Allamanda (Laguna) Residences/Phuket: 1

Nice Villa for sale: Three bedroom villa with separate bedroom/office, opposite pool.

Khao Khad Road, two minutes walk to river, four km to Ao Makham beach. Secure parking for two cars, government water, six ring oven, fridge, washing machine, satellite TV, cable TV, Wi-Fi, nature gardens, plot size 104 sq metres.

Asking price B7 million. Call owner 084 304 6723 Thai/ English.

SEAVIEW LAND FOR SALE: Near Chalong pier,

150 metres from the sea.

Three rai and one ngan plot.

Chanote title. Price: B25 million per rai. No agent. Call 087 278 7206

Land For Sale: 6 rai Hilltop, sea/mountain views, chanote, water, electricity and office. B4.2 million per rai, Contact : 087 978 5804.

WRITE YOUR CLASSIFIED FREE ONLINE: 189 CHARACTERS + 1 PICTURE Headline:

Living space 200 m2, balcony. terraces, three beds, two baths, furnished, ADSL, tropical garden, calmly gated village, clubhouse pool/tennis court, near Phuket Town, shopping, Rawai-Naiharn beach. Call 089 593 8690, ruen_narayan@hotmail.com.

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DEADLINE: MONDAY 11.59PM (MIDNIGHT) FOR THAT FRIDAY’S ISSUE Hand this in at agent shops, our office or fax: 076 612 553

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room/4 bathroom European style single-storey house with self-contained guesthouse and pool on 736m2 plot. Large master bedroom with en-suite, walk-in wardrobe. Modern western-style kitchen with granite tops, built-ins throughout and 4 air-cons. Electric gate, TV and phone line. Large verandahs, carport, and established garden. Chanote title B11m, 087 891 9349.

Sea View Villa: Luxury seaview Patong-Karon villa, four bedrooms, private pool.

Sell for B22 million, and also available rental daily and monthy basis. www.awphuket.com.

Kata House For Sale: 5 minutes to beach, large modern house, three floors, furnished, three beds, two

New Townhouses in Kamala: This is a development of affordable 3-bedroom townhouses, located in Kamala, approximately 1.5 km from the white sandy beach of Kamala and about 10 minutes drive to Patong. Prices from only B4,900,000. 087 882 2856 or email luc@phuket-tropicalrealestate.com.

Perfect Land for Villa: Approx three rai, with chanote title, 2 km south of Thai Muang town centre. Just 24 km north of Sarasin Bridge. Good road access and electricity. Very quiet, green area. Urgent sale for just B5 million total, nonnegotiable. 089 652 1951 or email phuket.pn@gmail.com.

Modern Pool Villa: Stunning three-bedroom pool villa, five minutes from Laguna 600 sq metre plot in peaceful location. Finished to a very high specification. MUST SEE. Selling price B12.9 million. Please contact 084 994 9303 or email phuketpoolvilla.info@ gmail.com.

Modern, New Two Storey Villa for Sale:

Online upgrades:

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Home/Self-Contained Office: Fully-established estate between Patong and Kamala. Ground floor: selfcontained office with own entrance (approx. 70sq metre) First floor: entrance, kitchen, dining, living plus games room. Second floor: Two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. Master with separate living room/third bedroom.

Price: B5,500,000. Sold with 20-year lease (B23,000 per month equivalent). Contact Paul +66 89 586 2959.

Kamala Two Brand New Villas: Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, Western kitchen, 130 sq metre. Nice garden with large pool in quiet area. Price: B5.5 million or minimum threemonth rental. Call 081 496 9070 (Eng/Swedish) or 081 719 1175 (Thai). Email:diod@ telia.com.

REAL ESTATE SERVICES

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TRADES 37

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

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38 ISLAND SPORT

THE PHUKET NEWS

SPORT

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

PLAYING CHICKEN

Blackburn fans respond to team’s relegation > 42

sport@thephuketnews.com

Kenyans blaze Phuket trails ATHLETICS Dane Halpin editor2@thephuketnews.com

Phuket may no longer be off the beaten track for tourists, but it certainly was for around 320 runners on Sunday (May 6) morning.

The athletes – men and women of all ages – were competing in the second episode of the innugural Columbia Trail Masters was held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Centre (TSLC).

Yet despite a strong local showing, it was an elite group of Kenyan runners who dominated both the 10km and half marathon (21.5km) events.

The Af r ican athletes snatched first and second overall in the 10km race, as well as all three podium places in the main event.

The winner of the half marathon, Johnson Kipkosgeitarus, was jubilant after dominating in unfamiliar conditions. Having

KENYAN CONTINGENT: Far left, 10km winner Samson Tenhi, and far right standing, 21.5km champ Johnson Tarus. arrived in Thailand just four months ago, this was his first event running offroad.

“It was very slippery. Not easy. But it was fun, I like it,” he said.

Kipkosgeitarus, who completed the race in just one hour 26 minutes, said it was difficult to adjust to the varied terrain

of an off road race.

“When I reached the end, I was very tired, more than normal [after a road race]. I also fell down three times.”

But this is what makes trail running so much more interesting, according to Neil Biggadike, Senior Trainer at Active Management Asia (AMA),

who organised the race.

“Road runners can switch their brain off during the race and get into a rhythm. Trail running doesn’t work that way.

“Timing – forget it. You simply don’t know what the terrain is going to be like.”

He said when setting a trail running course, the event

organisers look for a course that has dirt roads to start with and then goes into single track, preferably with as much forest and as many hills as possible.

“The beauty of off-road running is that it’s just more beautiful. You’re close to nature,” Biggadike said.

“We are the first company

21.5km Overall Results 1 Johnson Tarus 1:26:58 2 Simion Ruto 1:27:31 3 Jared Mokua 1:32:03 10km Overall Results 1 Samson Tenhi 0:40:16 2 Sila Kipruio 0:40:49 3 Teerachai Rayabsri 0:42:00

to bring off-road marathon to Thailand, and we would like to spread these events around the country... This is a sport that I think is going to grow.”

While the event has not been confirmed for next year, the success of last week’s Phuket event means it is “most likely”.

Phuket packs in for Rugby 10s RUGBY The defending champions may be a notable absence, but that won’t stop a true feast of international rugby arriving on Phuket’s doorstep later this month.

The 14th Phuket Heineken International Rugby Phuket 10s tournament will kick off on May 25 and run through to May 27, with all the action taking place at the Kata Group Sports Ground on Chao Fa West Road.

Friday (May 25) will see proceedings kick off with the Coffin Dodgers Vets tournament, while Saturday and Sunday will see teams compete in the main competition.

Previous champions Kriel Roosters (South Africa), Morrabbin Rams (Australia) and the Emirates Airlines Flying Muppets will all be hoping to replicate their previous success, though defending champions the Royal Thai Police will not be competing.

Lining up alongside old favourites The Bucks, Bedok Kings and Wanderers (all from Singapore), The Thai Legends and the Asian Japanese Dragons, will be a few newcomers, with a strong contingent from Australia in the South Coast Black Cocka-

thephuketnews.com

Action from last year’s Phuket Rugby 10s tournament.

toos, Newcastle Crockatoos and Groote Eylandt Mudchooks.

First timers YCAC from Japan will also be serious contenders for the title, as will the Abu Dhabi Saracens, The Assassins from UK, Hong Kong Raiders, Lanka Lions and Taipei Baboons.

Hosts the Phuket Vagabonds will continue their long rivalry with old friends the Bangkok Bangers in what should be an explosive tournament for both sides.

The Phuket News will be checking up on the Vagabonds’ tournament preparations in next week’s edition.

THE PHUKET NEWS

ISLAND SPORT 39

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Fish fly high at BIS SWIMMING

FOOTBALL Kazira Hans sport@thephuketnews.com

Dane Halpin editor2@thephuketnews.com

Lightning storms may have interrupted the second day of competition, but it didn’t stop the records tumbling as the British International School Flying Fish swim team dominated their home event.

Held over the weekend (May 5-6), the Flying Fish Invitational attracted 330 swimmers from schools across the Asia Pacific region.

One of BIS’s top swimmers, Andy Heinz, relished the international competition.

“It’s fun because we get to meet new people and show off our skills,” he said.

And Andy apparently has some pretty impressive skills to show off. The 15-year-old is a member of the Thai National youth swim team, and will be representing Phuket at the upcoming National Youth Games later this month.

But he wasn’t too happy with his performance on Saturday, despite winning the 50m butterfly and earning a podium finish in the individual medley.

“I know I could do a lot better. I just got back from a school trip, so my preparation wasn’t ideal.”

The young swimmer said his success in his sport had helped justify the hard work he had put into it, adding that his “dream” would now be to compete at the Olympic Games.

Fellow teammate Sam Gartner, 15, was more pragmatic in his ambitions. “I want to be a golfer,” he said.

“I wanted to be a swimmer, but then I found out you can make a lot more money as a golfer.”

But whatever their goals or respective talents, the swim meet gave the kids a chance to compete against international

Warlords conquer hapless Sea Kirin FC Phuket is only one step short of hitting rock bottom after suffering yet another loss on the weekend.

The 0-1 result on Saturday (May 5) against Saraburi FC sent them crashing down to 17th on the Thai Division 1 ladder. There are 18 teams in the competition.

Saturday’s game at Surakul Stadium once again kicked off at 4pm as the stadium’s flood lights have still not been completed.

The Southern Sea Kirin were without Marcio Santos, who was confined to the bench after his red card last weekend in their loss to Sriracha. Suphat Ontthong was also missing after accumulating too many yellows.

With those key players missing, coach Miloš Joksić was struggling to find his best 11 men, and it showed on the field.

Both teams were fighting to get out of the relegation zone, and it was FC Phuket who got the first opportunity when Niran Phanthong passed ball to Watcharapong Chan-ngam, but the forward’s header went wide.

When Saraburi’s Panuwat Phromyen took a 28 yard shot not long after, he made no mistake, netting his attempt

Above, Archie Plunkett, Andy Heinz, Alisa Bebbington and Sam Gartner.

FC Phuket forfeit FA Cup FC Phuket withdrew from their Thai FA Cup match against Trat, which was due to take place on Wednesday night (May 9).

The forfeit means the Southern Sea Kirin will play no part in the national competition.

Club officials are citing their focus on the Thai Division 1 competition, where the side is currently languishing in secondlast place after registering just one win this season.

to put ‘The Warlords’ 1-0 up, a score which carried through to the half time whistle.

In the second half, FC Phuket played a more aggressive brand of football, but didn’t look cohesive as a side. They were creating chances, but sending too many shots wide or high.

Ibrahim Kanoute almost scored twice but was both times denied by superb effort from the Saraburi goalkeeper.

And in the end, after what was a fairly uninspiring game, Saraburi walked away with a very valuable three points, while FC Phuket were left languishing at the bottom of the table, having won only one game from eight this season.

The Kirin’s next game will be away to Phattalung on Sunday (May 13).

Island take third competition, something that Helen Sweeney, head coach of the Flying Fish swim team, believes is invaluable.

“It gives them more motivation in training, as well as some tough competition.”

She said the numbers in the BIS team had increased 17 per cent this year, reflecting the success of the school’s swimming programme.

Other notable performances from the weekend event included Syakirah Frost, who broke the girls 11-12 100m

backstroke record in a time of 1:18.96. She also broke the 50m backstroke record in 36.30, though this record was broken just one heat later

by Hannah Murphy.

The Flying Fish also had some outstanding swimmers in the 13-14 boys age group, setting a number of new records.

Raymond Windsor was first in the 50m backstroke and 100m breaststroke, while Marcus Goetz was first in the 50m freestyle, setting

the new record for the boys 13-14 at 26.99.

The Flying Fish also broke the boys 13-14 freestyle relay record by just 0.03 second with a the team of Andy Heinz, Sam Gartner, Tree Jeamsinkul, and Ray Windsor.

Rainer Oeijord and Isabella Cook were also awarded high point trophies in the sixand-under division, enabling the Flying Fish team to take out the Overall Team Points Trophy.

CRICKET Defending champions Patong capped off what has been a fairly disappointing season, losing to the Island Cricket Club (ICC) on Sunday (May 6) in a rain affected match.

The result meant ICC claimed third place honours in the Island Furniture Cricket League (IFL), while Patong had to settle for fourth.

A brutal unbeaten 100 from M Milan helped ICC on their way to 7-284 off their 40 overs.

But just 17 overs into Patong’s reply, the heavens opened up.

The downpour meant the game had to be decided on relative run rate, taken at the 12 over mark. Since Island had scored 87 runs after 12 overs, and Patong had managed only 58 after 12, the match was awarded to ICC.

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thephuketnews.com

40 INTERNATIONAL SPORT

IN BRIEF Hockey player killed during match

An elite field hockey player died after being hit in the head by a ball in a weekend club match in Australia, Hockey Australia said on Monday.

Elizabeth Watkins, 24, was fatally injured while playing for her North Coast Raiders club in a Western Australian State League game in Perth on Sunday.

Watkins, a former state junior representative, collapsed unconscious when the ball deflected off a stick and hit her on the head, match officials said.

Watkins died in an ambulance on the way to hospital after attempts were made to revive her at the ground, officials said.

Runner-up finish puts McIlroy back at No. 1

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy reclaimed golf’s world number-one ranking on Sunday despite falling to Rickie Fowler in a playoff at the US PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship.

McIlroy, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday, regained the summit a week

after he was supplanted by England’s Luke Donald.

The two have exchanged the top spot for the past two months, and McIlroy needed only a top-seven finish at Quail Hollow to return to number one.

West Indies ready to welcome back Chris Gayle

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson and captain Darren Sammy have said they would have no problems with Chris Gayle returning to the squad after he promised to end his international exile.

Former West Indies captain Gayle, renowned as a big-hitting batsman, has not played international cricket for more than a year following a dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) sparked by critical comments he made about officials.

But the 32-year-old Jamaican currently starring in the Indian Premier League (IPL), said he would not be honouring his contract with county side Somerset so as to make himself available to the West Indies during their tour of England, even though he’d received no guarantees about selection.

THE PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

STARC SITUATION Cricket Australia denies any part in fast bowler being deported from UK CRICKET Agence France-Presse

Cricket Australia have denied having anything to do with Test bowler Mitchell Starc being thrown out of Britain, as the paceman attempted to play down the visa problems that saw him deported.

The left-armer was due to leave London Tuesday evening with his English side Yorkshire, coached by former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie, blaming either Cricket Australia or Starc’s agent for problems with his paperwork.

The 22-year-old arrived at Heathrow Airport at the weekend and was initially cleared to remain, but will not now make his Yorkshire debut against Gloucestershire on Wednesday.

Cricket Australia said the issue had nothing to do with them.

“Mitchell is on annual leave and decided to organise a short-term contract with Yorkshire. It has absolutely nothing to do with us,” a

Test bowler Mitchell Starc at a NSW Blues net session. spokesman said.

“We have sent plenty of people to England and know all the requirements. Saying that, we have made it clear that if Mitchell needs our help, we are happy to do that.”

While Cricket Australia

have been blamed by some, Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves has also fingered Starc’s agent for the “fiasco”, according to the Guardian newspaper.

Starc was keen to play down the embarrassment as he

prepared to fly out of Britain.

“Well round the world here we go... Off to aus now,” he tweeted, apparently from Heathrow.

“Just to be clear guys, not cricket aus or Yorks fault. No one to blame, was some miscommunication from Australia.

“Common sense isn’t so common these days!” he added.

Starc was due to begin an initial five-week deal with Yorkshire to help offset the departure of English seamer Ajmal Shahzad, who joined county champions Lancashire on loan this week.

Yorkshire coach Gillespie said it was a pity Starc would miss the Gloucestershire clash, but said he would be back, hopefully in time to face Hampshire next week.

“So everyone is clear, the paperwork for Mitchell’s visa was incomplete from Australia,” he tweeted.

“It will get done and Mitchell will be back before we know it. Rules are rules and we will all crack on and get the job done,” Gillespie added.

British woman Claire Lomas is the first woman to complete a marathon in a bionic suit.

Bionic woman finishes marathon Agence France-Presse

A paralysed British woman became the first person to complete a marathon in a bionic suit as she crossed the finishing line in London on Tuesday (May 8) – 16 days

after the race began.

Claire Lomas was in tears but said she was “over the moon” as she completed the 42.2 kilometre course in her bionic ReWalk suit, which mimics the response that the wearer’s joints would make

if they were not paralysed.

Hundreds of people lined the streets and three mounted members of the Household Cavalry gave the 32-year-old a guard of honour as she finished the course on The Mall in central London.

Haye vows to knock out Chisora BOXING Agence France-Presse

Former world heavyweight champion David Haye vowed to knock out Dereck Chisora on Tuesday as a controversial July grudge match between the British fighters was confirmed.

Chisora was stripped of his licence in March after an ugly press conference

thephuketnews.com

brawl with Haye following his unsuccessf ul heav yweight title challenge against reigning world champion Vitali Klitschko the previous month.

Haye does not hold a valid licence to box in Britain after announcing his retirement last year following his defeat to Wladimir Klitschko.

But Chisora’s promoter Frank Warren has confirmed that a fight against Haye

would now go ahead at West Ham football club’s Upton Park stadium in east London on July 14.

Haye and Chisora’s camps were separated by a sevenfoot steel fence at a press conference to announce the bout on Tuesday.

But the wire barrier did not prevent the two men from trading insults as the prefight hype machine cranked into gear.

THE PHUKET NEWS

INTERNATIONAL SPORT

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Carter could be kicked from All Blacks 10 spot RUGBY

Agence France-Presse

The groin injury continuing to trouble Dan Carter may see the All Blacks ace relieved of kicking duties and shunted from f ly-half to inside centre, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has suggested.

Such a move for the three Tests against Ireland next month would be bad news for the incumbent number 12s Ma’a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams.

Carter has made a slow recovery from the injury suffered in last year’s World Cup and of his six Super 15 appearances for the Canterbury Crusaders this season the last four have all been at inside centre to ease his kicking duties.

The 30-year-old sees the move as temporary and recently wrote in a website column that he had no desire to switch positions late in his career.

But Hansen said that while Carter’s best position is fly-half, if he is not playing to his full potential then a sideways shift is almost a certainty.

“DC (Carter) in my mind is the best (fly-half) in world rugby,” Hansen said, answering fans’ questions in a video

released by the New Zealand Rugby Union.

“Right now, though, he is coming back from a groin injury which is limiting his kicking at the moment so, wisely, the Crusaders are playing him at 12.

“When he comes into our camp if he’s able to kick goals then he’ll certainly be starting at 10. But through necessity, from time to time he may also have to play 12, depending on what we have on the bench and how that groin is.”

Carter’s ability to direct play has seen a marked improvement in the Crusaders Super 15 fortunes after he missed the first five weeks of the season.

But his kicking form was poor in the first two games as he continued to be troubled by the groin and he has since been moved to inside-centre with rookie Tom Taylor taking on the kicking role.

A si m i la r p osit ion a l switch for the All Blacks would li kely see Aa ron Cruden recalled to fly-half, with the prospect of only one midfield back on the bench, a move which could favour the more versatile Williams over Nonu.

Hansen also suggested that Richard Kahui, who partners Williams in the centres for the Super 15 lead-

Agence France-Presse

Manly f ullback Bret t Stewart turned in a superb defensive effort to help the defending champions to an 18-12 win over Canberra in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) on Sunday.

Manly moved back into the top six with the win while the Raiders are languishing four from the bottom with just three wins for the season.

Stewart staked a claim for State of Origin selection and kept Manly in the match with three try-saving tackles, the last with Manly leading 16-12 and 20 minutes still to go.

“I don’t think there was any great attacking displays today but the defence was very tough,” Manly coach Geoff Toovey said.

“I thought our defence on

Dan Carter shakes off a tackle, but cannot seem to do the same with his groin injury ers Chiefs, could appear at either wing or fullback for the All Blacks.

“We thought he played particularly well (at wing) during the World Cup,” Hansen said, adding he had also played well at 15 earlier this year for the Barbarians “so we’ll also consider him for that position.”

The All Blacks will have two brief training camps in late May before the 30man squad to play Ireland is named on June 3.

The first Test in Auckland is played a week later.

NRL

Team

P

W

D

L

B

F

A

Pts

1

Storm

9

9

0

0

0

286

109

18

2

Broncos

9

7

0

1

0

210

132

14

3

Sharks

9

6

0

3

0

182

151

12

4

Cowboys

9

5

0

4

0

220

156

10

5

Bulldogs

9

5

0

4

0

192

132

10

6

Sea Eagles

9

5

0

4

0

162

149

10

7

Dragons

9

5

0

4

0

138

160

10

8

Rabbitohs

9

5

0

4

0

195

206

10

9

Roosters

9

5

0

4

0

146

194

10

10

Knights

9

4

0

5

0

142

141

8

11

Warriors

9

4

0

5

0

208

216

8

12

Tigers

9

4

0

5

0

169

183

8

13

Raiders

9

3

0

6

0

159

192

6

14

Titans

9

2

0

7

0

120

183

4

15

Panthers

9

2

0

7

0

133

221

4

16

Eels

9

1

0

8

0

133

270

2

the line and our last-ditch efforts to save tries was outstanding, particularly from the fullback (Stewart)”.

The Sydney Roosters also moved back into finals contention, beating Newcastle 24-6.

Sydney coach Brian Smith paid tribute to the performances

IN BRIEF Rossi denies quit rumours Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi on Tuesday denied newspaper reports that he is about to retire from Moto GP. The once all-conquering speedster has suffered a miserable time since leaving Yamaha to join Ducati, finishing seventh in last year’s championship and managing only one podium finish. After three races in this campaign he is down in ninth.

Japan comic barred from Cambodian Olympic run

Super 15 Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

1

Chiefs

10

9

0

1

275

183

BP Pts 4

44

2

Bulls

9

7

0

2

311

206

6

42

3

Brumbies

10

6

0

4

265

212

7

35

4

Stormers

9

8

0

1

210

144

1

41

5

Crusaders

10

7

0

3

268

217

5

37

6

Highlanders

10

7

0

3

244

231

2

34

7

Sharks

10

5

0

5

230

234

7

31

8

Hurricanes

10

5

0

5

288

289

6

30 26

9

Reds

10

5

0

5

187

242

2

10

Cheetahs

10

4

0

6

277

287

6

26

11

Waratahs

10

4

0

6

232

242

6

26

12

Rebels

9

2

0

7

189

282

4

20

13

Force

10

2

0

8

197

246

6

18

14

Lions

9

1

0

8

171

260

2

14

15

Blues

10

1

0

9

206

275

4

12

Conference leader

Wild card team

Stewart stars in Manly triumph R. LEAGUE

41

said. “We are working hard to play grinding footy and reduce errors and that was largely on the back of our lesser lights.”

The Melbourne Storm stayed on top of the table and remained unbeaten after their dominant 44-10 win over Penrith on Saturday. However, second placed Brisbane Broncos

slipped up when they were beaten 30-20 by New Zealand Warriors in Auckland.

In other matches Tigers squeezed past Titans 15-14, Cowboys moved to fourth place with a 30-6 win over St George and Canterbury thrashed the lowly Parramatta Eels 46-12.

A Japanese comedian has been barred from representing Cambodia in the men’s marathon at the London Olympics, after the athletics world governing body said he was ineligible.

Kuniaki Takizaki has not been a Cambodian citizen long enough to compete internationally, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in an email Tuesday.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said Takizaki could not run for his country until October – one year after he obtained citizenship. The men’s marathon takes place on August 12.

Djokovic fumes after debacle on blue clay

Novak Djokovic scraped and slid to an opening victory at the Madrid Masters on Tuesday, then let loose with a blistering appraisal of the event’s controversial blue clay courts.

“That was not tennis, either I need football shoes or some advice on how to play on this court,” said the Serb top seed after beating Spain’s number 137 Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

of his lesser known players, singling out Mose Masoe for special praise as his side bounced back from a loss last round to climb into the top eight.

“I’ve never seen Mose have a game like he did today, he was our catalyst,” Smith

thephuketnews.com

42 INTERNATIONAL SPORT

THE PHUKET NEWS

THE PHUKET NEWS TIPPING COMPETITION: 35

One game to win it all FOOTBALL Chelsea will have to win the Champions League final if they are to compete in next season’s edition after a 4-1 defeat by Liverpool on Tuesday (May 8) ended their hopes of a top four Premier League finish.

Just three days after beating Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley, Chelsea were 3-0 behind inside half an hour at Anfield following an owngoal from Michael Essien and goals from Jordan Henderson and Daniel Agger.

Ramires scored for Chelsea early in the second half before Jonjo Shelvey ended any hope of a comeback with his first Premier League goal.

The defeat means a top four position is now beyond the reach of Chelsea, who will finish in sixth spot, currently sitting five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with just three on offer – if they likely beat already relegated Blackburn in their final league match of the season on Sunday (May 13).

Ten-man Tottenham, meanwhile, also spurned the chance to

Michael Essien’s own goal helped Chelsea on their way to a 1-4 loss against Liverpool. go third in the Premier League after a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa, for whom a point all but assured their top-flight survival.

Ciaran Clark gave the hosts the lead at Villa Park via a deflected first-half opener and their cause was aided further

still when Spurs were reduced to 10 men when Danny Rose was sent off for a challenge on Alan Hutton.

Harry Redknapp’s team soon responded though via Emmanuel Adebayor’s penalty, yet they were unable to force a

winner, meaning they remain a point adrift of North London rivals Arsenal in fourth place going into next weekend’s final round of fixtures.

It leaves their Champions League prospects hanging in the balance, with fifth-placed Newcastle still just a point behind.

Manchester United ensured the race for the Premier League title will go to the final game of the season as they beat Swansea City 2-0 at Old Trafford.

First-half goals from Paul Scholes and Ashley Young saw Sir Alex Ferguson’s side draw level on points with City at the top of the table, but with a vastly inferior goal difference.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini meanwhile adopted a cautious approach after a 2-0 victory at Newcastle left his side on the brink of the Premier League.

Yaya Toure’s two goals at St James’ Park here on Sunday left visitors City top of the table.

City, who haven’t lost at home in the league all season, will welcome strugglers QPR for their final match.

FOWL PLAY

Venky’s ducks press after Blackburn relegation FOOTBALL

Agence France-Presse

The Indian owners of relegated Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, chicken farm operators Venky’s, ducked the media on Tuesday amid a storm of criticism of their disastrous 18-month management.

Br itish press repor ts slammed the absence of the Venky’s family at the club’s make-or-break Monday night clash with Wigan which saw the club lose 1-0 and confirm their drop from England’s money-spinning top division.

Fans, who have vented their anger at Venky’s and hapless manager Steve Kean all season, released a chicken onto the pitch during the game wrapped in a Blackburn flag with a one-word message for the owners: “Out.” Arvind Chauhan, spokesman for the company based in the western city of Pune which paid 23 million pounds (US$37 million or B1.15 billion) for

thephuketnews.com

PLAYING CHICKEN: Fans vented their anger at Venky’s by releasing a chicken onto the pitch wrapped in a Blackburn flag with a one-word message for the owners: “Out.” Photo: AFP Blackburn in November 2010, declined to comment when contacted by AFP. Reaction in the Indian media was muted, with pundits saying Venky’s had failed to generate any excitement in their home market despite

interest in the English Premier League (EPL) taking off.

Their main promotional effort was in October last year when Blackburn travelled to the subcontinent for an exhibition match, becoming the first EPL team to play in the vast

market of 1.2 billion people.

But barely 6,000 fans turned out for the game against a local side, and the trip was noted mostly for an advertising campaign that featured leading players eating fried chicken in the dressing room.

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

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At the other end of the table, Blackburn Rovers were relegated to the Championship with a match to spare after a 1-0 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic on Monday, and Stoke threw away a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 against West Bromwich Albion.

Everton extended their unbeaten run to eight league games on Sunday but had to settle for a point in a goalless draw away to already-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Meanwhile, Martin Petrov

536 516 495 490 487 484 470 469 460 455

put Bolton on their way with a 24th minute penalty before a 72nd minute own goal from Billy Jones looked set to hand Wanderers a vital three points at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday.

As The Phuket News tipping competition enters its final week, it will now taken a near miracle for anyone to catch ‘gafferworld’, as he closes in on the return flight to the UK, courtesy of Albatross Lufthansa City Center.

‘Give Hodgson a fair go’ – Taylor Former England manager Graham Taylor has urged all those who have been questioning Roy Hodgson’s suitability for the post to lay off the new man in charge.

Hodgson was only confirmed in the post last week, but the way some sections of the British media have reacted to his appointment has stirred some uncomfortable memories for Taylor.

The Sun tabloid, Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper, responded to Hodgson’s elevation to the England job by mocking the West Brom manager’s manner of speech with a headline of ‘Bwing on the Euwos!’ (We’ll see you in Ukwaine against Fwance)’.

Taylor was not alone in being dismayed but he had more reason than most to sympathise with Hodgson.

In 1992, Taylor was depicted as a turnip in the Sun after England’s defeat by Sweden ended their involvement in that year’s European Championships.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp had long been championed

throughout the British media as the man to succeed Fabio Capello.

The Italian resigned from the England post in protest at the Football Association’s decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy of the national side.

But the FA opted instead for Hodgson.

He is vastly more experienced than the Spurs boss in international football, having managed Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Finland. His globetrotting career has also included spells in charge of several European clubs including Italian giants Inter Milan.

Taylor said he hoped the 64-year-old Hodgson would be spared criticism for not being Redknapp.

“There is a small section of people who have already made their minds up about Roy,” he said. “Harry was their lad – and he hasn’t got the job.

“I just hope they are fair and deal with Roy in a fair way because it can have a significant effect.”

INTERNATIONAL SPORT 43

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

THE PHUKET NEWS

CECH WANTS TECH Chelsea keeper says it’s time to modernise Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has responded to his role in the FA Cup final’s biggest talking point by calling for football’s authorities to introduce goal-line technology.

Cech made a remarkable one-handed save to deny Liverpool’s Andy Carroll a dramatic late equaliser at Wembley on Saturday and in the process effectively clinched Chelsea’s fourth FA Cup triumph in six seasons.

But it was initially unclear whether Cech, who pushed the ball to safety via the crossbar, had actually managed to reach Carroll’s header before the ball crossed the line.

Television replays were inconclusive,

Photo: AFP

English Premier League Team

MP W

while one computer image suggested most but not all the ball had crossed the line.

Cech is adamant he made a legitimate save, but the Czech Republic international still believes goal-line technology must be introduced to ensure teams aren’t unjustly wronged in such high-stakes occasions.

“I’m sure it didn’t go in. I haven’t seen the replay but at that moment I was sure I got it on time,” Cech said.

“But I have been saying bring in technology for 10 years. Every time in the big competitions you see a goal which is not allowed when it is a goal or vice versa.”

French Ligue 1 Team

Old Lady tastes victory Juventus won the Serie A title for the 28th time following a 2-0 win at Cagliari as nearest rivals AC Milan crashed 4-2 in their city derby against Inter on Sunday.

That gave Juve an unassailable four-point lead at the top with just one game left.

It was Juve’s 41st match in the league and cup in this campaign without suffering a single defeat.

That statistic is partly due to a technicality as Juve

did in fact lose 2-1 to AC Milan over 90 minutes in their Italian Cup semi-final second leg, but that result brought extra time and the Old Lady of Turin equalised to finish the supplementary period level and preserve their unbeaten run.

It was Juve’s first title since 2003 in the record books, due to the fact they were stripped of their 2005 and 2006 crowns for matchfixing.

Italian Serie A

D

L

F

A

P

D

L

F

A

P

D

L

F

A

1

Manchester City

37

27

5

5

90

27

86

1

Montpellier

MP W 36

23

7

6

65

33

76

1

Team Juventus

MP W 37

22

15

0

65

19

P 81

2

Manchester United

37

27

5

5

88

33

86

2

Paris Saint-Germain

36

21

10

5

70

40

73

2

Milan

37

23

8

6

72

32

77

3

Arsenal

37

20

7

10

71

47

67

3

Lille

36

20

11

5

68

37

71

3

Udinese

37

17

10

10

50

35

61

4

Tottenham Hotspur

37

19

9

9

64

41

66

4

Lyon

35

18

6

11

57

45

60

4

Lazio

37

17

8

12

53

46

59

5

Newcastle United

37

19

8

10

55

48

65

5

Rennes

36

16

9

11

48

41

57

5

Napoli

37

15

13

9

64

45

58

6

Chelsea

37

17

10

10

63

45

61

6

Saint-Étienne

36

16

9

11

45

39

57

6

Internazionale

37

17

7

13

57

52

58

7

Everton

37

14

11

12

47

39

53

7

Bordeaux

36

14

13

9

49

39

55

7

Roma

37

15

8

14

57

52

53

8

Liverpool

37

14

10

13

47

39

52

8

Toulouse

36

15

10

11

36

31

55

8

Parma

37

14

11

12

53

53

53

9

Fulham

37

14

10

13

48

49

52

9

Evian

35

13

10

12

52

50

49

9

Bologna

37

13

12

12

41

42

51

10

West Brom

37

13

8

16

43

49

47

10

Marseille

36

11

12

13

42

40

45

10

Catania

37

11

15

11

47

50

48

11

Sunderland

37

11

12

14

45

45

45

11

Nancy

36

10

12

14

34

42

42

11

Atalanta

37

13

13

11

40

40

46

12

Swansea City

37

11

11

15

43

51

44

12

Valenciennes

36

11

7

18

37

48

40

12

Chievo

37

11

13

13

34

45

46

13

Norwich City

37

11

11

15

50

66

44

13

Lorient

36

9

12

15

34

46

39

13

Fiorentina

37

11

12

14

37

43

45

14

Stoke City

37

11

11

15

34

51

44

14

Nice

36

9

11

16

34

42

38

14

Siena

37

11

11

15

46

41

44

15

Wigan Athletic

37

10

10

17

39

60

40

15

Caen

36

9

11

16

37

53

38

15

Palermo

37

11

10

16

52

60

43

16

Aston Villa

37

7

17

13

37

51

38

16

Ajaccio

36

8

13

15

37

60

37

16

Cagliari

37

10

12

15

37

46

42

17

Queens Park Rangers

37

10

7

20

41

63

37

17

Sochaux

36

9

9

18

36

59

36

17

Genoa

37

10

9

18

48

69

39

18

Bolton Wanderers

37

10

5

22

44

75

35

18

Brest

36

6

17

13

29

38

35

18

Lecce

37

8

12

17

40

55

36

19

Blackburn Rovers

37

8

7

22

47

76

31

19

Dijon

36

9

8

19

37

57

35

19

Novara

37

7

11

19

34

63

32

20

Wolves

37

5

10

22

38

79

25

20

Auxerre

36

7

13

16

45

52

34

20

Cesena

37

4

10

23

22

57

22

Arsenal 3 - 3 Newcastle United 0 - 2 Aston Villa 1 - 1 Bolton Wanderers 2 - 2 Fulham 2 - 1

Norwich City Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur West Brom Sunderland

QPR 1 - 0 Wolves 0 - 0 Manchester United 2 - 0 Blackburn Rovers 0 - 1 Liverpool 4 - 1

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Friday, May 11 816, 107

14:30

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Rugby Union

Super XV

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811, 107

16:35

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Super XV

Waratahs v. Bulls

102

18:30

23:00

Tennis

ATP 1000

Madrid Open Quarter Finals

Saturday, May 12

Evian TG Olympique Lyon Valenciennes Auxerre Lille

2-1 1-1 3-4 2-4 3-0

Ajaccio Brest PSG Bordeaux Caen

Lorient Saint-Étienne Sochaux Toulouse Stade Rennes

0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-2

Dijon Marseille Nancy Nice Montpellier

Spanish Primera Liga Team

Lecce Roma Siena Novara Palermo

0-1 2-2 0-2 3-0 4-4

Fiorentina Catania Parma Cesena Chievo

Udinese Atalanta Bologna Cagliari Internazionale

2-0 0-2 2-0 0-2 4-2

Genoa Lazio Napoli Juventus Milan

German Bundesliga

MP W

D

L

F

A

P

D

L

F

A

P

4

2

117

31

97

1

Borussia Dortmund

34

25

6

3

80

25

81

6

3

112

27

90

2

Bayern Munich

34

23

4

7

77

22

73

10

10

59

43

61

3

Schalke 04

34

20

4

10

74

44

64

53

55

4

Mönchengladbach

34

17

9

8

49

24

60

46

53

5

Bayer Leverkusen

34

15

9

10

52

44

54

50

52

6

VfB Stuttgart

34

15

8

11

63

46

53

42

52

7

Hannover 96

34

12

12

10

41

45

48

59

51

8

VfL Wolfsburg

34

13

5

16

47

60

44

46

49

9

Werder Bremen

34

11

9

14

49

58

42

49

10

FC Nuremberg

34

12

6

16

38

49

42

1

Real Madrid

37

31

2

Barcelona

37

28

3

Valencia

37

17

4

Málaga

37

16

7

14

53

5

Atlético Madrid

37

14

11

12

52

6

Levante

37

15

7

15

51

7

Mallorca

37

14

10

13

41

8

Osasuna

37

12

15

10

40

9

Sevilla

37

13

10

14

47

49

Team

MP W

8, 813, 109

18:45

20:55

Motor Racing

Formula 1

Barcelona Qualifying

8, 816, 107

14:30

16:35

Rugby Union

Super XV

Highlanders v.

Hurricanes

10

Athletic Club

37

12

13

12

49

8, 816, 107

16:35

18:30

Rugby Union

Super XV

Rebels v. Crusaders

11

Getafe

37

12

11

14

40

49

47

11

1899 Hoffenheim

34

10

11

13

41

47

41

Aviva Premiership SF Aviva Premiership SF

Harlequins v.

Northampton

12

Real Betis

37

13

7

17

45

54

46

12

SC Freiburg

34

10

10

14

45

61

40

13

Espanyol

37

12

9

16

45

55

45

13

FSV Mainz 05

34

9

12

13

47

51

39

Leicester v. Saracens

14

Real Sociedad

37

11

11

15

45

52

44

14

FC Augsburg

34

8

14

12

36

49

38

15

Granada

37

12

6

19

35

55

42

15

Hamburger SV

34

8

12

14

35

57

36

16

Villarreal

37

9

14

14

39

52

41

16

Hertha BSC

34

7

10

17

38

64

31

17

Rayo Vallecano

37

12

4

21

52

73

40

17

FC Köln

34

8

6

20

39

75

30

18

FC Kaiserslautern

34

4

11

19

24

54

23

8, 816, 107

20:40

22:45

Rugby Union

8, 816, 107

23:25

01:30

Rugby Union

815, 111

18:30

00:00

Golf

Spanish Open

Seville, Day 3

811

16:55

19:00

Soccer

J-League

Yokohama v. Sendai

102

21:00

02:00

Tennis

ATP 1000

Madrid Open Semi-Finals

Real Zaragoza

37

11

7

19

34

61

40

11:00

12:50

Rugby Union

HSBC Asian 5 Nations

18

812, 109

South Korea v. Japan

19

Sporting Gijón

37

10

7

20

42

68

37

813, 101

23:10

01:45

Soccer

FA Cup Final

Chelsea v. Liverpool

20

Racing Santander

37

4

15

18

26

59

27

817, 103

23:30

01:30

Soccer

EPL

-

813, 109

15:00

16:47

816, 108

18:30

21:00

Tennis

ATP Series

Stoke v. Arsenal

18:45

Motor Racing

Formula 1

Circuit de Catalunya Raceday

Rugby Union Asian 5 Nations

-

Real Zaragoza Athletic Club Mallorca Granada Sevilla

2-1 0-0 1-0 1-2 5-2

Racing Santander Getafe Levante Real Madrid Rayo Vallecano

Barcelona Sporting Gijón Atlético Madrid Valencia Osasuna

4-0 2-1 2-1 1-0 1-0

Espanyol Real Betis Málaga Villarreal Real Sociedad

Dortmund Werder Bremen Hannover 96 Mainz 05 Nürnberg

4-0 2-3 2-1 0-3 1-4

Freiburg Schalke 04 Kaiserslautern Mönchengladbach Bayer Leverkusen

Champions League Relegation

Stuttgart

3-2

Wolfsburg

Köln

1-4

Bayern München

Augsburg

1-0

Hamburger SV

Hertha BSC

3-1

Hoffenheim

Champions League qualifiers

Premier League promotion

Europa League

Premier League play-off

Sunday, May 13 813, 109

18:00

813, 109

18:45

20:45

Motor Racing

Formula 1

Spanish Grand Prix

8, 816, 107

13:10

15:15

Rugby Union

Super XV

Reds v. Chiefs

109

21:30

00:00

Rugby Union

HSBC Sevens

World Series Man City v. QPR

812, 101

20:55

23:00

Soccer

EPL

817, 102

20:55

23:00

Soccer

EPL

TBC

20:55

23:00

Soccer

EPL

Sunderland v.

Man United West Bromwich Albion v. Arsenal

TBC

22:55

23:00

Soccer

EPL

Stoke v. Bolton

TBC

20:55

23:00

Soccer

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Everton v. Newcastle

TBC

20:55

23:00

Soccer

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Tottenham v. Fulham

TBC

20:55

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Chelsea v. Blackburn

102

23:30

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  

 

         

                             Project Owner : Supalai Public Company Limited, ���� Supalai Grand Tower, Rama III Road, Chongnonsi, Yannawa, Bangkok �����  Managing Director Mr. Atip Bijanonda, Registered capital of �,��� million baht (Paid �,���.�� MB)  Supalai Park @ Phuket City location, Nakorn Road, Mueng Phuket District, Phuket. Total Project Area: around �-�-��.� rai; Title deed no.: ����� (Part of the title deed) High Rise Condominium �� Storey, � Towers, ��� Units and Start Construction in July ���� and Expect Completion in September ����. Construction permits during the operation.  The project will be a registered condominium once construction is completed. The project supported by Commercial Bank. The information is subject to change without prior notice.  The pictures are simulated concept.