The Phuket News 13 July 2018

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FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

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Kanitta reveals the skilled science of Physiotherapy Prime Minister Prayut comforts a relative of one of the victims of the ‘Phoenix’ tour boat disaster at Vachira Phuket Hospital on Monday (July 9). Photo: TAT

PHOENIX TOUR BOAT DISASTER WORST ON RECORD, PUTS THAI SAFETY IN INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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he last body sought as still missing from the Phoenix tour boat disaster last Thursday was found on Wednesday (July 11), bringing to a close the week-long rescue and recovery mission of what is now Thailand’s worst single-vessel maritime disaster on record.

The body was found by search teams news Phi Phi Island at about 2pm, and reported as confirmed at 5pm at the disaster command centre

set up at the Phuket Marine Office at Chalong Pier by Rear Admiral Jaroenphon Khumrasee, Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Naval Third Area Command, based at Cape Panwa on Phuket’s east coast.

R /Adm Jaroenphon credited finding the body to the search area determined by the Hydrographics Department of the Royal Thai Navy calculated through their understanding of the prevailing wind, current and wave patterns.

Phuket Gover nor Nor raphat Plodthong, as chief of the disaster

command centre, explained that a bag containing Chinese Yuan banknotes was found nearby, as well as a life jacket.

“We believe the body is from the Phoenix, but the identity has yet be verified,” he said cautiously.

The body discovered on Wednesday brings the total number of bodies recovered from the disaster area to 46, officials explained.

With 42 people surviving the calamity, and one body confirmed at the time as still trapped under the Phoenix lying on the seabed, the find

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on Wednesday accounted for all 89 people believed to be have been on board the Phoenix when it sank since officials revised that number down from 105 for reasons unexplained on Monday (July 9).

R/Adm Jaroenphon explained that attempts to raise the Phoenix enough to recover the body trapped underneath – reported to be that of a male, dressed in jeans – were suspended due to the weather, which made the operation dangerous.

“We plan to try again tomorrow (Thursday),” he said...

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Phoenix fallout spurs Xi call Continued from page 1 ...Prime Minster Gen Prayut Chano-cha arrived in Phuket on Monday to be updated on the search opera­ tion and to ensure appropriate steps were taken to accommodate and facilitate the grief-stricken relatives who had arrived on the island in the hope of finding their loved ones alive – or to claim their bodies.

At Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, where most of the bodies were initially stored, he met with some of the scores of family members of victims, and sought to console them.

At Chalong Pier on Monday, PM Prayut met Chinese Ambas­ sador to Thailand Lyu Jian, who had travelled to Phuket to oversee international relations over the incident after Chinese President Xi Jinping, in response to the disaster, had urged Thailand to recover all victims and to do their best in re­ solving the incident, and thanked the Thai people for their efforts.

“He said he hopes that in the future Thailand will have more laws and regulations to give the tourists more safety than this – as well as transport on land, in the air and on the water… everywhere,” said Tourism & Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat in relating President Xi’s message on Monday.

“They hope that in the future we (Thailand and China) will meet and work together to improve the quality of the tourism in Thailand – and care more about the safety

to improve on this. International cooperation, especially with China, is welcome on these issues and we can exchange experiences.

“This (such disasters) happens not only in Thailand. It can happen in every country,” PM Prayut noted.

Some of the Chinese tourists lucky to survive the ‘Phoenix’ disaster were rescued by passing fishing boats. Photo: Royal Thai Navy and quality of the tours provided, not just focus on the number of tourists,” Mr Weerasak added.

Ambassador Lyu noted, “This incident has shocked the Chinese government very much, and caused much loss. The news has been reported a lot in the Thai and Chinese media.

“The President of China, Xi Jin­ ping, mentioned this case through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Consulate, ask­ ing to resolve the incident and to find the missing persons as soon as possible.

“The Prime Minister of China (Li Keqiang) also stressed that urgent steps be taken to care for the family and friends of victims so they can travel to Thailand,” he added.

In Phuket, PM Prayut said that he had intended to come to Phuket for several days but was unable to due to “equally important” concerns.

“Many issues are all equally important. We must give equal importance to all missions, from the major incident here (in Phuket) to the rescue of children from Tham Luang in Chiang Rai to the administration of land. We are developing in many ways,” he said.

“Tourism is growing very fast, so we have to change and introduce more technology. In the past three to four years, we have tried to in­ crease the personnel and equipment (to respond to such incidents), but it is not enough, especially in the case of big events,” he added.

“It will be discussed further how

RAISE THE PHOENIX Present at the press briefing at the Disaster Command Centre on Wednesday was former Phuket Ma­ rine Chief Phuripat Teerakulpisut, now Director of Marine Office 3.

Mr Phuriphat explained that he had been assigned by the Marine Department Director-General to take care of the aspects of the Phoenix disaster relevant to the Marine Department.

With an ongoing investiga­ tion launched by Tourist Police deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan – acting on a direct order from Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to prosecute “people in the private sector and also government officials” – into how the Phoenix came to be registered while reportedly not passing safety standards (see facing page), his role may become pertinent.

Mr Phuripat has previously served as Phuket Marine Chief for more than 10 years, though under two periods. He left the island only in 2016.

Regardless, Mr Phuripat on Wednesday explained how the Marine Department was working on a plan to raise the Phoenix.

“This operation needs care as not to damage the boat. It needs skilled people who are good at re­ covering boats because the boat is lying at a depth of 45 metres. The recovering boat needs to use a 400ton crane to lift the boat straight and pump water out,” he said.

“This operation does not allow for anyone except officials and skilled staff. The equipment needed to recover the boat has not yet ar­ rived. It might take 10 to 15 days to recover the boat, depending on the weather,” he added.

FINAL FAREWELLS Governor Norraphat on Wednes­ day also confirmed that of the 42 survivors, 10 had returned home.

One survivor remained in care at Phuket Provincial Hospital in Rassada and another remained in care at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, Gov Norraphat said.

Of the 46 bodies, 43 had been identified. Two were waiting for DNA test confirmation, he added.

Following a mass Buddhist prayer at Chalong Pier on Wednes­ day (see below), five of the victims were cremated in Phuket on Tues­ day with another 11 cremated on Wednesday.

Family members had filed re­ quests to have the remaining 30 bodies returned to them.

Meanwhile, religious ceremo­ nies were being held at 11 temples across the island for the relatives of victims for the seven days.

Mass ceremony, funerals held to soothe grieving SOBS OF TEARS FROM HEART­ broken friends and family of victims of the Phoenix tour boat disaster punctuated a mass Buddhist prayer ceremony held at Chalong Pier on Wednesday morning (July 11).

The ceremony, which began at 8am, was held to bring peace to the souls of the departed.

Present to lead the ceremony were Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong and Chen Xiongfeng, Deputy DirectorGeneral of the Department of Consular Affairs of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The mass prayer followed the first cremations of five of the victims at Phuket temples on Tuesday (July 10).

The funeral services began at Wat Kosit Wihan in Sapam, north of Phuket Town, where Governor Norraphat led a mass prayer ceremony on Tuesday starting at 7:30pm.

The mass prayer ceremony was organised by the Ministry of Culture Phuket office in accordance with family’s wishes, reported the Phuket office of the

Respects are paid to the victims during a ceremony at Wat Kosit Wihan, north of Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept Public Relations Department.

Present were Mr Chen of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Zhou Haicheng, who as the Chinese ConsulGeneral in Songkhla is also the leading Chinese official to be represented in Phuket.

Representing Thailand were Army Region 4 Deputy Commander Lt Gen Pornsak Poonsawat and Rear Admiral Ja roenphon K hu m rasee, Deput y Commander of the Royal Thai Naval Third Area Command, based at Cape Panwa on Phuket’s east coast, and a host of other high-ranking officials.

It was reported that the ceremony was

held as family and relatives of some of the victims wanted to bring the epic tragedy to a close quickly, in Phuket.

Meanwhile, the bodies of 41 victims of the Phoenix tour boat disaster are being kept in freezer units on temple grounds nearby.

The Ministry of Culture Phuket office reported that it has made “emergency” reservations for cremation ceremonies for the bodies of the disaster victims at 11 temples on the island: Wat Cherng Talay, Wat Thepwanaram (in Baan Manik), Wat Srisoonthorn, Wat Ladthiwanaram (“Wat Tai” in Chalong), Wat Mongkolwanaram (in Nai Yang), Wat Chaithararam (Wat Chalong), Wat Phra Thong (in Thalang), Wat Phra Nang Sang (in Thalang), Wat Kosit Wihan, Wat Muang Mai, and Wat Thep Krasattri.

Five bodies were cremated in Phuket on Tuesday: three at Wat Thepwanaram (in Baan Manik) and two at Wat Phra Nang Sang (in Thalang).

Another seven were cremated on Wednesday.

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The hammer falls Raids unveil money laundering, safety lapses Eakkapop Tongtub editor@classactmedia.co.th

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n the hunt to bring to justice the people responsible for the dozens of tourists killed in the Phoenix tour boat disaster, Tourist Police and other officers on Tuesday (July 10) raided 11 sites related to two tour operators whose boats capsized and sank in storm conditions off Phuket last Thursday (July 5).

The Phoenix sank about 1.5 nautical miles off Koh Hei (Coral Island), south of Phuket, and the Serenata sank off Koh Mai Thon, some eight kilometres southeast of Cape Panwa.

All 45 people on board the Serenata were safely rescued, but at last report the Phoenix disaster had killed at least 41 people. Although officials are still dodging the label, so far all the dead identified were Chinese.

In Phuket overseeing the operation, Tourist Police deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Surachet “Big Joke” Hakpan said that officials will investigate 11 areas to prosecute “people in the private sector and also government officials” after he received a direct order from Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The two companies targeted are TC Blue Dream Co Ltd, which operated tours on the Phoenix, and Lazy Cat Travel Co Ltd, which operated tours on the Serenata.

In carrying out the campaign, off icers from the Phuket Provincial Police, and other law-enforcement agencies inspected and/or raided the following locales: 1. The assembly point at Nam Chai Pier at Cape Panwa for tourists boarding boats operated by Lazy Cat Co Ltd; 2. A storage unit for Lazy Cat Co Ltd located at 104/2 Moo7 in Wichit; 3. A booking and accounts centre at a building in Panason Village, in Baan Borrae Muangthong; 4. A house and place of work called “Water Beach Club” at Nui Beach, Karon Subdistrict, operated by Itrot Chawanpipatpong; 5. A vacant office at 43/84 Moo5 in Rawai that is still listed on the company registration of TC Blue Dream; 6. The office of TC Blue Dream Co Ltd located at 41/2 @thephuketnews

Officers seize illegal life jackets and other items from the Aqua Dive Center Phuket Co Ltd office near Chalong Pier on Tuesday (July 10). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Moo 5 in Rawai; 7. The house of Rerkchaikarn, located on Wichit Songk ram Rd in Phu ket Town; 8. Aqua Dive Center Phuket Co Ltd located at 46/22 Moo 9 in Chalong; 9. JNK Electric Co Ltd located at 80/12 Moo 7 in Chalong; 10. Seven Plus Travel Co Ltd located at 71/46 Moo 2 in Koh Kaew; 11. The house of Itrot Chawanpipatpong located in Moo 2 in Wichit.

Speaking at Phuket Provincial Police headquarters in Phuket Town on Tuesday, Gen Surachet said that Prime Minister Prayut had ordered Tourist Police co-operate with Amlo and other relevant agencies to “reveal the truth of the boat incident”.

“PM Prayut ordered us to prosecute all people involved in the incident – including people in the private sector that own the Phoenix and the Serenata, as well as any government officials involved,” Gen Surachet said.

Gen Surachet was not alone in revealing the strong mandate. Joining him at Phuket Provincial Police headquar ters were AntiMoney Laundering Office (Amlo) Secretary Gen Chaiya Siriampankul; Police Region 8 Deputy Commanders Maj Gen Damrat Wiriyakul and Maj Gen Chalit Tinthani; Phuket Provicial Police Commander Maj Gen Teerapol Thipchareon; and other topraking officials from other government agencies.

“We have been instructed

by order of Prime Minister Prayut Chayo Ocha to coordinate with all relevant agencies to uncover the real cause for the incidents on the Andaman Sea off Phuket on July 5,” Gen Surachet said.

“And to prosecute all individuals involved in operating the Phoenix and the Serenata, including people in the private sector and government agencies if they are found to be negligent,” he said.

In carrying out the raids on Tuesday, officers seized a cache of 33 business documents in Chinese language as well as nine computers, three laptops, more than 1,000 untaxed products that were illegally imported, 21 non-standard life jackets, and one location device for a boat.

Gen Surachet said that the venues and operators were suspected of using nominee shareholders and involved in money laundering.

“The Anti-Money Laundering Office and other organisations have investigated the source of the boats, taxes paid and a guilty history that leads to money laundering,” he said.

“Foreign nominees come to use the resources in Thailand, but Thailand does not get income. Nominees come to grab areas of the Thai people. If nominees are not suppressed today, local people will not have their own place to stand (tomorrow),” he added.

Investigators had found that Worarak “Yui” Rerkchaikarn was a supervisor at

TC Blue Dream Co Ltd and a year later became the company owner. She initially had B4 million as her registered capital, but later owned the Phoenix boat with investment amounting to B20-30 million, Gen Surachet explained.

“Officials need to check in depth to find the source of the fund and the real owner,” he added.

Regarding their investigations into the Serenata boat, officials discovered that Lazy Cat Travel Co Ltd rented the boat from TCG Yacht Similan Co Ltd in order to serve tourists.

Anchalee Wittaya­ nantapornkul was identified as Lazy Cat’s Managing Director and Perng Ta Pong as Supervisor.

“The business pattern of both boats is to sell tours online as one-day trips. Each day the boats must rush so they can be ready for the next day,” Gen Surachet said.

“From documented evidence, we believe these operations used nominees to exploit Thai people and to conduct business in Thailand,” Gen Surachet said.

Peerapat Ingpongpan, Director of Amlo’s Case Division 1, said that investigators had found that the operators of one of the boats (not specified) was involved in money laundering. “ Fr o m ch e ck i n g t h e source of money, officials found that more than B1 billion had been laundered.

These people had a complex plan to avoid checking from officials,” he said.

Gen Surechet also identified Itroj “Chang” Chawanpipatpong was a Managing Partner of TCG Yacht Similan Co Ltd, which rented the Serenata to Lazy Cat Co Ltd. “We have evidence that identifies Itroj was a manager of Tranlee Co Ltd, which was a nominee company from China that was prosecuted and had B1 billion in property seized in 2015,” he said.

In addition, Itroj is currently facing charges of encroaching on land administered by the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro), land easily identified by being titled with a SorPorKor landuse document. SorPorKor land may be sued for agricultural purposes only, and always remains the property of the state – it can never be bought or sold.

“He is currently facing prosecution for encroachment in the Nakkerd Hills after an investigation confirmed that the land he was claiming was in a protected forest area,” Gen Surachet explained.

“Also, we fou nd that the life jackets seized from

Lazy Cat’s storage unit were not TIS (Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) standard. The life jackets were produced at Lopburi, but the label said that they were produced in Nakhon Ratchasima.

“This information was confirmed by the Office of the Customer Protection Board (OCBD),” he added.

“T he OCBD also i nspected the boatyard where the Phoenix was built and found that the boat was not built to standard. The boat problem and non-standard life jackets led to over 40 dead in the boat incident,” Gen Surachet said.

Gen Surachet on Tuesday also confirmed that two suspects had been taken into custody and faced multiple charges, including trespass on government land as well as illegally importing goods into Thailand.

On Monday night (July 9), Gen Surachet confirmed that the suspects were being held at Phuket Immigration.

However, he did not confirm exactly who had been arrested.

Gen Surachet war ned any persons involved in a company formed through nominee shareholders to cease immediately.

“You can run, but we will find you,” he said.

“It’s easier just to stop right now,” he added.

“As for this investigation, we owe it to the Chinese people to find what the real cause of the disaster was.

Was it an accident? Was it the nominee shareholders and how they operated the company? Or was it the boat?

We have to find out for them,” Gen Surachet said.

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Deadly rips see more tourists rescued at Phuket beaches The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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angerous rip currents at Phuket beaches have seen tourists along the west coast needing rescuing this week, with two tourists needing rescuing at two different beaches last Tuesday (July 3) alone.

One tourist was rescued at Kata Beach, with the rescue being recorded on video by a bystander who plainly said that he had heard lifeguards tell tourists along the beach many times that it was too dangerous to enter the water.

Regardless, at least one tourist ignored the warning and was quick ly pulled away from the beach by a rip current.

The video, posted online by “Tu Vinai”, shows the tourist being brought back to the beach through the strong waves that were breaking on the shore.

It was later repor ted that the tourist made a full recovery.

Suppachai Chanpetch, Head of Karon Municipality

Heeding warning signs and any lifeguards on duty is vital to stay safe at the beach. Photo: The Phuket News / file Tourist Assistance Centre, told The Phuket News that such rescues were becoming a daily occurrence.

“I have yet to receive an official report from the lifeguards of the rescue [on the Tuesday], but I have seen the video already. This is normal, it happens almost every day,” he said.

“Some tourists do not obey the lifeguards’ warning.

We need tourists to follow t he wa r n i ng s g ive n by the lifeguards, especially because some of them may not be so lucky to survive,”

Mr Suppachai said.

Later that same afternoon, a local surfer and two other surfing enthusiasts had to rescue an Australian man from a dangerous rip at Surin Beach.

The surfer, who asked not to be named, is no stranger to the rip currents at Surin as he has lived – and surfed – in Phuket for about seven years.

Yet, even he rated the rip current at Surin Beach on Tuesday as dangerous.

“It was a very strong rip, about 50 metres south of the lifeguard tower. I was sitting on my board and suddenly I

was about 50 metres away from where I was,” he told The Phuket News.

At about 5:30pm he saw an Australian man, about 30 years old, struggling while he was caught in the rip.

“He was big guy, more than six-feet tall and probably weighed more than 90kg. I pulled him onto my board and it nearly sunk,” the surfer explained.

“I looked up and could not see any lifeguards, so I called a bodysurfer and a boogie board rider over to help me and we got him back to shore safely,” he added.

“It was a situation that really needed lifeguards and proper rescue equipment and flotation devices,” the surfer noted.

"The added danger is that tourists are easily tricked by the current weather and surf conditions into thinking that it is safe to enter the water," he added.

“The waves were not big, they were small waves, but the rip was very fast,” he said.

“Also, it was choppy. I only saw him because I was sitting

up on my board. It would have been very unlikely that anyone on the beach would have been able to see him."

“I really think that if I weren’t there that this man could have drowned,” he added.

“There were red flags all along the beach – I could be wrong, but I could not see a dedicated swim area marked with yellow flags anywhere along the beach,” he noted.

The Phuket News has yet to confirm reports that LP Laikhum Co Ltd, which was contracted by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor) only earlier this year to provide lifeguards at Surin, Bang Tao and Mai Khao beaches, is no longer doing so.

The Phuket News has received reports that a new company has taken up the role. However, again, grave doubts have been raised about whether or not the new lifeguards have been properly trained for surf rescues or whether they have even been provided the correct lifesaving equipment.

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leads big Man arrested for stealing statue Governor clean to honour King A CONSTRUCTION WORKER HAS been arrested for stealing a revered fourfaced “Phra Phrom” statue from a shrine at a petrol station in Srisoonthorn early last Tuesday morning (July 3) in the hope that he could sell it to pay his bills.

However, stealing an image of the Hindu god of creation Lord Brahma – regarded in Thai culture as a deity of good fortune and protection – didn’t work out so well for 47-year-old Montri Sawetdul.

Thalang Police arrived at his room at a construction workers’ camp in Srisoonthorn at 7pm the next night (July 4) and placed him under arrest.

Seized as evidence at the scene was the Phra Phrom statue and the three yellow plastic garlands adorning it. Also seized were Montri’s blue-black Honda Wave motorbike, his helmet, and the blue-white shirt, black pants and shoes he was wearing when he stole the statue.

Lt Col Nathapob Pongsaparn of the Thalang Police and his officers were notified of the theft by Surarak Hatsapak, 36, at 1:40pm on the Tuesday (July 3).

Police arrested 47-year-old Montri Sawetdul at his room at a workers’ camp in Srisoonthorn last Wednesday night (July 4). Photo: Thalang Police Ms Surarak explained that the statue had been stolen from the PPT Jomthong petrol station in Muang Mai, Thalang, at 3:55am that day. The entire incident was recorded on CCTV, she noted.

Officials began their search for the thief, and by last night had their man in custody.

“The suspect confessed that he stole the statue and that he wanted to sell it for money to pay his daily expenses,” Col Nathapob said.

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T H E G OV E R N O R O F Phuket joined a “We Do Good Things With Heart” cleaning activity in Rassada l a s t T hu r s d ay (Ju ly 5) in honour of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun.

At 8am, Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong led heads of gover nment agencies, members of the pr ivate sector and local residents in a cleaning activity to c om me mor at e t o Ma h a Vajiralongkorn at the King Kaew community at Moo 3, Rassada.

The event was aimed at promoting awareness of the value of cleanliness of places and to promote the image of Phuket as clean and beautiful tourist destination.

Governor Norraphat said that the main income of peo-

Governor Norraphat leds the cleaning activity to commemorate to HM The King. Photo: PR Dept ple in Phuket comes from tourism and that with more tourists visiting more wastes accumulates, which in turn will affect tourism.

“Every sector must help to take care of cleanliness of tourist attractions and important places. We must be focused on getting rid of waste at the source and respond to the policy of city development,” he said.

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Joining forces over pollution

Hotels team up with US Embassy to end single-use plastics The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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he Phu ket Hot el s Association has joined forces with the US Embassy Science Fellowship (ESF) Program to tackle the critical issue of waste management in Phuket, with the aim of eliminating singleuse plastics at the island’s hotels.

Founded in 2001, the ESF Program promotes bilateral cooperation in the fields of science and technology. Since it was launched, nearly 300 scientists have provided their expertise to projects around the world.

Under the latest project, Dr Marissa Jablonski, an appointed Fellow of the program, began a 60-day research project in Phuket on July 2.

Using the latest technology and data collection tools, she is investigating plastic use and waste management at the island’s hotels and resorts. At the end of her assignment, Dr Jablonski will create a final report

Dr Marissa Jablonski (2nd from left) with Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong (3rd from left), Phuket Hotels Association President Anthony Lark (4th from left) and other members of the team. Photo: Phuket Hotels Association detailing recommendations for the elimination of singleuse plastics at all Phuket hotels and resorts.

“So much depends on the health of our oceans,” remarked US Ambassador to Thailand, Glyn T. Davies.

“That’s why the US Embassy is very excited to engage in this unique project with the Phuket Hotels Association to reduce and eliminate marine plastic pollution.

“This complex challenge requires creative solutions

such as this public-private partnership. During her time in Phuket, Dr Jablonski will work with business, government, civil society, and others to raise awareness on this issue and put forward concrete solutions,” Amb Davies said.

While Thailand is only the 20th most populous country in the world, it is believed to be among the top six plastic polluters. If urgent action isn’t taken, there could be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050. This would

Local officials (back row) seen here at the press conference held to announce details of the upcoming Kathu Fair 2018. Photo: PR Dept

Phuket readies for Kathu Fair 2018 KATHU MUNICIPALITY is once again set to hold the annual Kathu Fair, this year under the theme “One Decade of the Kathu Cultural Road to Experience Nai Thu, City of Mines, Origin of the Phuket Way”, from July 27-29 on Wichit Songkram Rd in Kathu.

Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok, along with Kathu Mayor Dr ChaiAnan Suthikul, chief of the Kathu Police Col Jakkawat Boonthaweekul, and Deputy Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office Jutarat Nilhat held a press conference on Tuesday last week (July 3) on the upcoming event. @thephuketnews

V/Gov Snith said that this would be the second year he will join the Kathu Cultural Road event and that he is happy to join as it keeps with the identity of the area, promotes Phuket tourism and creates jobs for local people.

“Nai Thu, or Kathu, is home to people from various religions and cultures but the culture of Phuket is very much alive in the area,” he said.

Mayor ChaiAnan said that Kathu Municipality saw the importance of preserving cultural traditions in the area and the annual event helps bring tourism to Kathu.

“This year the event will celebrate its 10th anniversary and will highlight the area’s cultural heritage and feature light and sound entertainment,” Mayor ChaiAnan said.

There will also be a Reign of the 10 Kings procession, parades, art and culture exhibitions, cultural activities, on-stage activities on one main stage and five smaller cultural stages featuring performances, story telling, singing, music performances among other forms of entertainment.

A nd of cou r se it wouldn’t be a Phuket event without the local food.

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have a devastating impact on marine environments and food chains, noted a release by the Phuket Hotels Association issued today (July 10).

President of Phuket Hotels Association Anthony Lark commented, “Plastic pollution is one of the most critical issues facing the planet today.

The world’s oceans and the creatures that depend on them are choking on plastic and it is our duty to tackle this problem.

Our collaboration with the US Embassy is another example

of how the Phuket Hotels Association is taking decisive action to preserve our local environment.”

M r Lark added, “We look forward to welcoming Dr Jablonski to Phuket. Her recommendations will pave the way for our member hotels to overhaul their waste management techniques and eliminate single-use plastics.

If these practices are put into action at all of our 70-plus member properties, it will have an incredible impact on the local environment.”

Reducing plastic is one of the Phuket Hotels Association’s primary goals. It has already set up a working group dedicated to eliminating plastic water bottles in hotel rooms and reducing other single-use plastics within the hotels such as drinking straws, the release today explained.

The association also conducts regular beach clean-up events and hosts staff training and education workshops on the negative impact of plastic on the environment.

To facilitate this, the Phuket Hotels Association has even

translated and created Thai subtitles for the documentary “A Plastic Ocean,” in partnership with the Plastic Oceans Foundation, the release added.

“Teaming up with the ESF Program marks the next major step in the association’s efforts to tackle plastic pollution. Dr Jablonski is an expert in her field and will work alongside the Phuket Hotels Association, member hotels, and local authorities to analyze and evaluate waste management at hotels and resorts across the island. She will also seek to raise awareness within the community about marine plastic pollution, including educational visits to local schools,” the release stated.

“Once Dr Jablonski’s recom mendations are i mplemented at all 70+ Phuket Hotels Association’s member properties, Phuket will become one of the first tourism destinations in the world to eliminate single-use plastics across such a large number of hotels and resorts.”

Visit www.phukethotelsassociation.com for details.

Opinion 6

OPINION

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

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TOP 10 STORIES ON thephuketnews.com

The deadly face of shame 1 2 3 4

J

ust how bad can Thailand handle a disaster situation?

This past week we have seen officials unable to even keep count of how many people were supposed to be missing in the Phoenix tour boat tragedy – the worst single-vessel maritime disaster in Thailand’s modern history – never mind actually attempt to find them.

Mitigation responses included repeated explanations of how to claim your loved one’s body, public assurances that relatives of victims will be paid insurance compensation and the despicable handing out of “commiseration gift baskets” to those overwhelmed with grief at the hospitals.

Another tactic is that no ages of the victims have been made public. Though it must be difficult for officials to quite rightly heap high praise on all the efforts by foreigners to rescue the 12 Wild Boars

boys and their coach from Tham Luang cave, while at the same time have bodies of foreign children being pulled onto tour speedboats, helping with the rescue mission at the other end of the country.

Phuket off icials were warned time and again by a host of foreign envoys of the dangerous game they were playing. Regardless, action to prevent disaster was not a priority.

Pity to Tourism Minister Weerasak who would have been told the same lies that Chinese embassy officials had been told repeatedly in recent months that tourists’ safety was being taken seriously.

Worse, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuawan plainly laying the blame on foreign nominees alone bordered on blank racism, as if to say “We’ll take your money, and we’ll blame you too.” There is

no way this disaster happened without some Thai people playing their part.

To blame foreigners, even just procedurally for such a business to exist, at least three Thai nationals must be culpable: at least one criminal lawyer and at least two officials who failed to perform their duty in checking the company being registered. With the rampant level of corruption on this island, we can all take a guess how that happens. On that note, regarding boat safety, there is one main office that is in the spotlight, and the Prime Minster was standing in it just this Monday.

No, Thailand. This tragedy is yours and yours alone. You can’t tell anyone who lives and works on the island anything different. Royal Thai Government, you have failed the people you promised to keep safe. This shame is yours.

5 6 7 8 9 10

Phuket tour boats struck by storm, rescue mission launched Phuket tour boat disaster: 7 more dead found, dozens still missing Bodies seen in sunken ‘Phoenix’ dive boat off Phuket PHUKET XTRA: VIDEO: Bodies piling in boat disaster! Storm lashes Phuket! Cave rescue casualty! || July 6 First survivors from Phuket storm tour boat sinkings ashore, 53 still missing Ex-Navy Seal dies in Thai cave rescue: official CAVE MAN: Phuket diver Ben Reymenants relives four days in Tham Luang cave rescue mission Weather warning for Phuket remains in effect ‘Divers to check sunken boat for Chinese tourists,’ says Phuket Governor Phuket emergency services ordered ready amid storm warning

Visit thephuketnews.com for all the latest news

HAVE YOUR SAY

DAVID JACKLIN

Lifestyle Editor

EDITORIAL

Grim Reaper behind the Land of Smiles What has the Thai Government done, to actively discourage tourism during the low, monsoon season here in Phuket?

Now whe n you have stopped laughing, here’s the serious point that I wish to make.

Since tourism was invented here in Phuket, Westerners knew before they even packed their bags, that swimming off the West coast beaches was exceptionally dangerous during the monsoon season, and due to the lack of demand, offshore trips to the islands simply wasn’t possible.

Westerners have been replaced by Easterners, but the difference here is that they have not had an education, and for some they might never, ever have even seen the sea before.

To a man when they disembark their planes at Phuket airport, just how many of them would have this Confucian knowledge. For all intents and purposes, you might as well think it’s Phuket’s best kept secret.

So where does this respon-

sibility and accountability for this lemming like policy lie? oes anyone feel a pang of guilt, an ounce of remorse, that more could have been done to save their lives?

Today Thailand probably ranks as one of the most dangerous destination in the world, to spend a holiday vacation. Does the Grim Reaper have to be hiding behind the Land of the Smiles at every turn?

The only question left it seems, is just what kind of volume of loss of life will have to occur, before somebody gives life a value.

David Kirk

Tour boat tragedy

Re: Tour boat disaster search teams recover woman’s body from the sea We were very fortunate to survive that storm having chartered a speed boat from Chalong. Checked twice with boat operators that the forecast was good. When we hit the storm we quickly got lost, no navigation system, no radio.

Had to ask for life jackets.

When we saw land we asked to go into shore but they more concerned about getting the

boat back.

LindaR

Re: Phuket tour boat tragedy sparks foreign owners sweep Typical response...it’s the foreigners fault. I was also curious why the Captain and crew jumped into life rafts, while 40-50 Chinese men women and children were left to go down with the ship unassisted. I am betting that ultimately this tragedy will have the same results as the tsunami disaster. Just wait til the hoopla dies out, then get back to business as usual.

BenPendejo Re: Phuket tour boat tragedy sparks foreign owners sweep Surely the “sweep” should be the competence of the boat captains and the Managers who make the daily decision to “go or not go” scubanicks Re: Phuket tour boat tragedy sparks foreign owners sweep This tragedy did not happen because of dastardly foreigners owning companies in Thailand, it happened because

two captains ignored safety warnings and went to see in a storm. Let’s address the real problems please.

CaptainJack

World news

Re: Cave rescue and Phuket tour boat disaster ‘equally important’, says PM Well I guess 50+ dead Chinese is equal to the drama of Thai boys stuck in a cave, and he had to show up as Chinese are “among top investors” in Thailand. Sorry but none of this washes with me, I know Thailand too well and why this incident isn’t front page across the world news is perplexing as it’s far worse than the cave circus...

Pauly44

Fake plastic news Re: Phuket hotels team up with US Embassy to eliminate single-use plastics

When the Trump administration and the US EPA finds out that the US Embassy in BKK is involved in counter productive activities to improve the health of the world, Trump will put an end to it.

Island Man

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

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

THAILAND NEWS

7

Thais rejoice cave success

Nations celebrates successful mission to free 13 from Tham Luang NATIONWIDE AFP

T

hailand celebrated the successful mission to free 12 boys and their football coach from a cave Wednesday (July 11), with the nation heaping praise on the rescue team as the triumphant tagline “Hooyah” pinballed across social media.

The nerve-shredding threeday mission ended on Tuesday (July 10) with the final group of four boys and the coach emerging from the cave which had held them captive for 18 days.

The rescue received blanket coverage in Thai media with newspapers The Nation running a “Hooyah! Mission accomplished” and the Bangkok Post emblazoned with “All Wild Boars saved”.

Despite spending days in the dark, dank cave health officials said the boys – who are aged 11 to 16 – are in good physical and mental health.

“It might be because t h e y we r e a l l t oge t h e r as a team, helping each o t h e r o u t ,” T h o n g c h a i Ler twilairattanapong, Inspector General of the Public Health Ministry told reporters, singling out their 25-year-old

Thai students smile as they hold pictures of 12 boys and a fooball coach at a school in front of the hospital where the boys have been brought for observation in Chiang Rai on Wednesday (July 11). Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP coach for keeping their spirits high.

The g roup remain in quarantine in a Chiang Rai hospital where one of the last batch of people to leave the cave has “minor pneumonia”, he said.

Some of the first boys to be freed have been able to see their parents, he added.

The saga of the “Wild Boars” gripped the world, with the lives of the group hanging in the balance as the

threat of heavy rain injected urgency to an already perilous extraction bid.

On Wednesday a few hundred Thai school children gathered opposite the hospital, looking up at the building that will be home to the rescued football team for the coming days.

Their teacher led them in a chant thanking “everyone who came to help make the mission succeed”, in a small reflection of a wider gratitude towards

the foreign experts who helped extract the stricken group.

Rescuers had weighed up several options to save the boys, including keeping them in the cave through the months-long monsoon season.

But they were prodded into the dangerous task of ‘diving out’ the team through submerged chambers and claustrophobic passages as oxygen levels in the cave plummeted and rains menaced.

The group were led out in

three batches by a team of 13 international divers flanked by the Thai Navy SEALs, who greeted each successful rescue with a “Hooyah” on their Facebook page.

That sign off quickly turned into a hashtag shared across social media, where luminaries of business, politics and sport extended their best wishes to the team and the rescuers.

Authorities have shrouded the details of the rescue bid in secrecy, with fragments of

information emerging about the heroic efforts of the dive team.

The dangers of the rescue were brought into sharp relief last Friday (July 6) by the death of a retired Thai Navy SEAL as he ran out off air in the flooded cave complex as the extraction plans were being laid.

“I’m very happy and relieved. I haven’t been able to sleep for days. I’m happy that the boys are out too,” Khamluh Guntawong, grandfather of the team coach Ekkapol Chantawong, said.

“Ekk really loves and cares for the boys,” he added, of a figure who is emerging as something of hero despite bei ng the only adult to accompany the boys into the cave on June 23.

The group became trapped in rising floodwaters and were found nine days later emaciated and dishevelled on a muddy ledge, with water lapping ominously below.

The saga captivated a global audience for over two weeks, rewarding them with a remarkable happy ending.

French football star Paul Pogba dedicated his country’s World Cup semi-final victory over Belgium to “the heroes of the day, well done boys, you are so strong” he tweeted.

Woman, teen arrested for bloody hairdresser slaying SAMUT PRAKAN A WOM A N A N D A preg nant teenager were arrested on Tuesday (July 10) in connection with the killing of a 49-year-old hair salon owner in Phra Samut Chedi district.

The murder, in which the victim had her throat slashed, took place on Monday night (July 9).

Siwaporn Jaisook, 31, was arrested in her room on the third floor of an apartment building located 100 metres away from the victim’s hair salon, while the teenager, who is five months pregnant, was apprehended at a shack nearby.

The arrests came after CCTV footage captured them leaving the scene of the alleged murder and heading toward the apartment building.

Police also seized B6,000 in cash, a gold bracelet weighing one baht, a black purse and bloodstained clothing from the suspects. @thephuketnews

Both confessed during questioning that they killed Wannapat Chakhamnan and fled with her valuables, investigators said.

Siwaporn said she and her young accomplice had known each other for nearly a year and met while working for a firm making electrical fans in the district.

They later became unemployed, ran out of money and hatched a robbery plan, police said.

On the day of the killing, both went to the hair salon posing as customers, according to police.

The teenager then allegedly acted as lookout while Siwaporn dragged Ms Wannapat to the back of the salon and demanded the victim hand over cash and valuables at knife-point.

However, the woman resisted, prompting Siwaporn to slash her throat, police said.

Siwaporn claimed she committed the crime partly because she felt sympathy for the girl who needed money

to take care of herself during her pregnancy.

Phra Samut Chedi police said they were called to the hair salon, named Porn Beauty-Salon, on Soi Laen Phra Mery-Wat Khu Sang in tambon Nai Klong Bang Pla Kot around 1am on Monday.

Upon arrival, officers found the victim dead on the floor at the back of her hair salon with her throat slashed.

A bloodstained knife was found on top of a washing machine next to the body.

Police also found the victim’s yellow purse on her bed above the shop.

Three bloody footprints were found near the bed.

Thanakrit Innangthaen, a 19-year-old neighbour who found the body, said Ms Wannapat had lived alone at the salon.

Her husband and children would visit her once a week, while friends would drop by sometimes.

He said his mother owned a grocery store two shopfronts away from the salon which

normally closed at 7pm.

However, on Monday he noticed the salon was still open at 11pm so went in and found the victim lying face down in a pool of blood.

Not realising she was dead, Mr Thanakrit said he called rescue workers who upon arrival discovered her throat had been slit.

Bangkok Post

Police have arrested a Samut Pr ak an wo m an and a pregnant teenager allegedly caught on CCT V fleeing the murder of a salon owner and robbery of her B6,000 and a onebaht gold bracelet.

Photo: Google Maps

8

THAILAND NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Showing love to big trees

Experts enlisted to look after ailing, royal-loved Ayutthaya Jujubes AYUTTHAYA Bangkok Post

B

ig old trees usually have a trove of stories behind them and the many 130-year-old Jujube trees in Ayutthaya Historical Park are no different.

According to historical records, Jujube trees – known as “pud sa” in Thai – were a favourite of King Naresuan, a great monarch during the Ayutthaya period.

Over three centuries ago, King Naresuan ordered they be planted in the palace area to express his gratitude after an incident where the elephant he was riding stumbled in battle but was prevented from falling by a Jujube tree.

Without it, the king believed he would surely have fallen and been at the mercy of the advancing Burmese hordes.

Much later, King Rama V also ordered hundreds of these trees to be planted in Ayutthaya, and invited local people to freely pick their fruit to engender a sense of civic pride.

Several years ago, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn ordered authorities to conserve 785 Jujube trees found in Ayutthaya Historical Park.

Jujube trees in Ayutthaya Historical Park are set to receive some professional care, such as pruning and coiffuring of their top branches. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill The park has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1991.

Though all of the Jujube trees have survived, many had fallen into a state of ill health.

They had received only basic care from gardeners as the Fine Arts Department, the state agency which oversees historical sites,

has a shortage of arborists who can properly take care of the trees.

To address this lack of expert care, the Ayutthaya Historical Park recently began working with BIG Trees, a Bangkok-based conservation group famous for its urban tree conservation.

The project also includes a

training course on tree care for local staff.

Chanatda Dam-ngern, an arborist from BIG Trees, said the Jujube trees had suffered due to inexpert care.

Branches had been roughly chopped off to prevent them damaging property, and some had holes

plugged with concrete.

“We found that the care of these trees had been handled the wrong way by gardeners who have not been properly trained to deal with big trees,” said Ms Chanatda.

The Ayutthaya Historical Park project is the first such scheme where the state agency has worked with BIG Trees.

The cooperation began last year as part of the “Neramitre Ayutthaya” project, according to Sukanya Baonoed, director of the Ayutthaya Historical Park.

“We hope to find a way to preserve big trees inside the park.

Taking care of them has become a challenge. We are an agency of archaeologists, not expert gardeners,” she said.

“We hope that this collaboration with BIG Trees will provide our people with the skills to take care of the Jujubes, which is important because they are part of the history of the area,” said Ms Chanatda.

Santi Opaspakornkij, BIG Trees’ coordinator, said that the group has written a manual on how to take care of large trees for the department to use.

He added that the group is now working with other historical parks in Lop Buri and Sukhothai.

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

ASIA NEWS

9

Deadly floods hit Japan Rescuers go house-to-house as flood toll hits 156 JAPAN Hiroshi Hiyama

R

escue workers carried out house-to-house searches Tuesday in the increasingly unlikely hope of finding survivors after days of deadly floods and landslides that have claimed 156 lives in Japan’s worst weather-related disaster for decades.

The record downpours that began last week have stopped and receding f lood waters have laid bare the destruction that has cut a swathe through the west of the country.

In the city of Kurashiki, the flooding engulfed entire districts at one point, forcing some people to their rooftops to wait for rescue.

By Tuesday mor ning, rescue workers were going door-to-door, looking for survivors -- or victims -- of the disaster.

“ It’s wh at we ca l l a grid operation, where we are checking every single house to see if there are people still trapped inside them,” an official with the local Okayama prefecture government told AFP. “We k now it’s a race against time, we are trying as hard as we can.”

Hideto Yamanaka was leading a team of around 60 firefighters dispatched from outside the prefecture searching homes.

“I’m afraid elderly people who were living alone may have failed to escape,” said Yamanaka, 53.

“Physically weak people may have been late in getting out when it suddenly started raining hard, swamping the area,” he told AFP. In the Mabi district of Kurashiki, the water left behind a fine yellow silt that has transformed the area into

Two women walk by scattered debris in a flood hit area in Mabi, Okayama prefecture Images Photo: Martin Bureau / AFP

moonscape. Cars driving through kicked up clouds of dust. People walking around wore medical masks or covered their mouths with small towels to protect t he m s elve s a g a i n st t he particulates.

Stores were still closed, and inside one barber’s shop the red sofas, customer chairs, and standing hair dryers were all covered with the same silt.

Fumiko Inokuchi, 61, was inside her home, sorting through the damage caused by floods that submerged the entire first floor. She escaped t he hou se on Sat u rd ay, crossing the street to take shelter in a three-storey care home for the elderly, from where she watched in horror as the waters rose.

“I saw my house sink underwater and I couldn’t do anything at all, there was just nothing I could do. I felt helpless,” she said, retrieving a photo of her children playing baseball.

“I got married here, and we built this house two years afterwards. We raised our three small sons to adulthood here, there are so many memories,” she said, her eyes welling with tears.

The crisis is the deadliest weather-related disaster in over three decades, and has sparked national grief.

On Monday (July 9), Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled a four-stop foreign trip as the death toll rose, and

Rescue workers in Japan battled on July 9 to reach residents trapped after devastating rains. Photo: Martin Bureau / AFP he would visit Okayama on Wednesday.

To p g o v e r n m e n t spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday that at least 156 people had been killed.

Media said dozens more remained missing and the tally was expected to rise further. Around 75,000 police, firemen and troops have been deployed in the search and rescue operation across parts of central and western Japan, Suga said, warning that hot weather posed new risks.

T housands of people remain in shelters, and local authorities in some areas were offering drinking water and

Endangered animals still caged in Chinese circus CHINA A CROW D OF J UST 10 people watched the endangered Si b e r i a n t ig e r r o a r o n command on his hind legs and pounce through hoops inside the big top of the Chinese Prosperous Nation Circus Troupe.

Lions and a young bear with a wound on its snout followed, performing tricks for the few who braved the sweltering heat in southern Guangdong province to help keep the traveling circus going for another day.

The use of wild animals in circus shows has come under growing criticism around the world, with some countries banning the practice, but for the Chinese troupe, the beasts are considered a major attraction. @thephuketnews

“Many Chinese live in big cities where it’s hard to get out into the wilderness. We bring nature to them,” Li Weisheng, the troup’s manager, told AFP. Circuses have a long histor y in China. Called “maxi”, pronounced “mahshi” meaning “stunts on a horse”, they have a history going back more than 2,500 years and would often pair acrobatic performances with stunts on galloping horses. The use of large cats, monkeys and bears is a more recent practice.

China has some of the world’s laxest animal rights laws, and campaigners have long called for toug her regulations on the treatment of animals in traveling circuses.

The two owners of the troupe, Li Rongrong and Li Ruisheng, were arrested in 2016 for illegally transporting rare and endangered animals

A caged Siberian tiger at the Chinese Circus. Photo: Nicolas Asfouri / AFP and sentenced to 10 and eight years in prison, respectively, but were cleared of all charges at a second trial last year.

The troupe’s animals – two African lions, a two-year-old black bear, a pack of dogs and the tiger – spend most of their time in tiny metal cages under a big tent.

The animals are a major draw, Li, the manager, said, although he admitted attendance has dropped in recent years.

The tiger and a lioness with a cut tail, both about a year old, share one cage, in which they restlessly pace around each other. A few times a day, they are allowed to play in the circus ring. The lone bear grasped the top bars of his cage and swung his body back and forth.

In the past few years, multiple videos and images have emerged of apparent animal abuse in China, such as a circus tying down a Siberian tiger for audience members to sit on for photos, which has sparked widespread outrage.

Ch i nese people a re increasingly calling for better protection for captive animals.

The members of the Chinese Prosperous Nation Circus Troupe, however, say they will do what they have to to keep their tradition alive.

AFP

bathing services for those without their own supply.

“It will be over 35 Celsius in some areas... Please be careful about heatstroke if you’re doing reconstruction outdoors, and continue to be vigilant about landslides,” Suga said.

The government said it would tap around $20 million in reserve funds to provide aid to those affected by the disaster. And even with the rains over, the risk of flooding remained, with the town of Fuchu in Hiroshima issuing a new evacuation order as a local river burst its banks.

“Driftwood and dirt has

piled up... and now the water has started overflowing from the river,” a spokesman for the local fire department told AFP. “We are on high alert,” he added.

I n Ehime prefect u re, authorities said they were struggling to get emergency food and water to some cutoff areas.

“We are sending them by boat and air routes,” said Yoshinobu Katsuura, a spokesman for the prefecture’s disaster management department. “It will take a lot of time to see devastated areas recover.”

AFP

10 WORLD NEWS

A night in Mandela’s prison cell: just $300k SOUTH AFRICA FOR RICH CORPORATE e xe c u t i ve s , f i n e fo o d , expensive wine and five-star hotels come as standard.

But one discerning top boss with a spare US$300,000 (B9.96 million) will give up creature comforts for a night in the cramped prison cell that was Nelson Mandela’s home for 18 years.

T hat is accordi ng to organisers of the annual CEO sleepout, an initiative which raises money for various charities.

S ou t h A f r ic a’s f i r s t democratic, black president was kept on South Africa’s Robben Island prison off Cape Town for much of his 27-year incarceration.

A night in his iconic eightfoot by seven-foot (2.4 metres by 2.1m) concrete cell will now be auctioned for charity to mark the centenary of prisoner number 46664’s birthday.

“The suggestion was to auction the cell to raise money to fund the Prison-toCollege Pipeline… educating incarcerated people in South Africa,” said Liane McGowan, spokeswoman for the CEO SleepOut South Africa adding that details of when the one night only fundraiser will take place, had not been finalised.

Unusual locations Online bidding started at $250,000 (B8.29mn) and has already attracted three bids, reaching $300,000 with the sale set to close on July 16.

The winner will spend one night in Mandela’s cell number seven, while up to 66 other bidders will sleep elsewhere in the island prison that is now a museum and World Heritage site.

The Museum’s management could not be reached for comment. The Nelson Mandela foundation said it was not a part of the initiative and could not be responsible for the usage of

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Bosnia unwilling to be EU’s migration guard BOSNIA

Hiroshi Hiyama

Nelson Mandela was kept on South Africa’s Robben Island prison for much of his 27 years in prison. Photo: AFP Mandela’s cell.

Sixty-seven was chosen as Mandela dedicated 67 years of his life to the fight against the racist apartheid system that governed South Africa until Mandela won the first democratic non-racial elections in 1994.

The initiative is part of the CEO SleepOut movement which auctions nights in unusual locations to wealthy business leaders to raise money for charitable causes.

The Robben Island event will raise funds for the Prisonto-College Pipeline (P2P), a scheme that began in New York to help prisoners access university-level education. The P2P initiative will be launched in South Africa on July 18, Mandela’s birthday.

A similar event will be held on July 11 at the Liliesleaf Farm in northern Johannesburg which was used as a safehouse by several anti-apartheid fighters including Mandela.

The base was raided by apartheid security forces in 1963 and several anti-regime leaders faced the courts at the so-called “Rivonia Trial” which resulted in Mandela being jailed for life.

Executives have previously spent the night under the Mandela Bridge in central Jo h a n n e s b u r g t o r a i s e awareness of poverty and homelessness.

The event was criticised online and in the media by some who accused it of mocking those forced to sleep rough.

AFP

A

s EU states look to stem migrant flows to the conti nent, aspiring European Union member Bosnia is caught in the middle, with thousands of immigrants stuck in the impoverished Balkan country.

T he vast major it y of migrants and refugees aim to claim asylum inside the 28 nation EU and Bosnia is ir r itated at Eu ropean plans which would see their movement halted at its frontier.

In effect making Bosnia the continent’s border guard.

In early June, the European Commission agreed to provide Bosnia with 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) to help cope with the arrivals seeking to reach the EU. As a key section of the migrant route into Western Europe, Bosnia decided to set up a reception centre in Velika Kladusa, in the country’s northwest, near the border with EU member Croatia.

But Security Minister Dragan Mektic, indicating the European Commission has since said they did not want to finance a facility they were concerned was too close to the border, on June 27 vowed “there will be no refuge camps in Bosnia”.

“We cannot turn Bosnia into a “hotspot”. We can only be a transit territory,” Mektic added in a speech last week in Bihac, a western city of some 65,000 currently housing the majority of the newcomers.

Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic warned against what he termed any attempt by the European Union, “and notably Croatia”, to turn Bosnia into “a migrant impasse”.

Yet amid all the political chicanery and despite the

Bosnia is facing a growing headache over what to do with Middle East and North African migrants tantalisingly close to the border with EU member Croatia as they eye a future in Europe. Photo: Elvis Baraukcic / AFP “very bad” conditions in the makeshift camp housing him at Velika Kladusa, Malik, a 19-year-old Iraqi who left Baghdad eight months ago with his family, has no desire to transfer to a shelter further away from the border with passage to the EU now tantalisingly so close.

“People don’t want to stay here, they want to finish the voyage,” he insists at the camp which used to be the site of a cattle market, but where more and more tents are put up daily to shelter people eking out an existence by side of a dusty road.

The border is only three kilometres away. Malik and his family have already tried twice to make it across...so far, in vain.

Municipal authorities have installed running water as well as night lights and mobile lavatories.

For now, the migrants are

just making do as they can, says Zehida Bihorac, a primary school director who, along with several volunteers, is providing makeshift activities for children and helping the women provide meals.

“It’s a truly desperate situation. Nobody deserves to live in such conditions,” says Bihorac.

“There are now many families with children, 50 to 60 kids, some of them babies needing milk and appropriate food.

“These people are being fed by residents, but the residents can’t keep it up for much longer because they are becoming more and more numerous,” she added, deploring the general lack of state intervention.

According to the security ministry, of 7,700 migrants who have registered in Bosnia since the start of the year, 3,000 are still there, mainly

in Bihac where one of them drowned in the Una River last week.

Around 800 to 900 lunches are served to migrants in the city each day in a disused building, according to local Red Cross official Selam Midzic.

With the building overflowing, tents have been erected in a field outside to serve the overflow and other squats have also appeared.

“The number of migrants is rising daily,” says Midzic.

The mayor, Suhret Fazlic, accuses the government of abandoning Bihac as Bosnia f inds itself a part of the “Balkan route” to Western Europe.

“We do not want to be xenophobic, we want to help people, and that’s what we are doing on a daily basis.

But we can’t cope with this situation,” he says.

AFP

Istanbul Festival takes music to Bazaar ISTANBUL FOR TH E FI RST TI M E in its history as an epicentre of trade and commerce in Istanbul, the Grand Bazaar is being used for a concert in the prestigious annual summer Istanbul Music Festival run by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) – the city’s premier musical event since its creation in 1973.

“It is a very intelligent way to use this k ind of

The ‘Melodies of Istanbul’ orchestra perform during a rehearsal ahead of the 46th edition of Istanbul Music Festival at the Grand Bazaar. historical space for concerts and br ing in people for reasons other than their original function,” said Kudsi

Erguner, a celebrated Turkish traditional musician and one of the great living exponents of the traditional musical instrument the ney.

Despite the venue not being built for the purpose, he praised the acoustics of the Grand Bazaar, known in Turkish as the Kapalicarsi, meaning Covered Market.

“The space is curved, there is a nice resonance and a very nice differentiation of sound,” he added.

AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

BUSINESS NEWS 11

Nominee shareholders in sight

Phoenix tour boat tragedy sparks sweep for foreign owners TOURISM The Phuket News

T

he Anti-Money Laundering (Office) has stepped in to freeze the bank accounts of two tour operators whose boats capsized off Phuket last week (July 5) as a fresh crackdown on the use of Thai proxy owners begins.

Tourist Police deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan said on Monday (July 9) that the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) will investigate the two companies based on initial findings they are being run by foreign interests, reported the Bangkok Post.

Gen Surachet explained in a release on Monday that the two companies were also allegedly linked to Tranlee Travel, a company which offered a tour service in Phuket and was raided and shut down – with more than B200 million in assets seized – in 2016 on suspicion of being illegally owned and run on the behalf of foreigners.

He said police will launch a crackdown against 12 foreign

Tourist Police deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan said on Monday that Amlo will examine the assets of the two companies based on initial findings they are being run by foreign interests. Photo: Tourist Police nominees found to operating in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi and will coordinate closely with Chinese tourist authorities to tighten controls on China-based tour operators.

Gen Surachet added that travel companies based in China were allegedly using their nominees in Phuket – and elsewhere in Thailand – to operate the business, which

had not respected safety regulations, involved in the tragedy.

The deputy tourist police chief also threatened to take legal action against any Thai officials found to be complicit with these proxies.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan blamed Chinese tour operators for not respecting Thai safety legislation.

TAT forecasts 40mn tourists next year TOURISM THAILAND’S TOURISM INDUSTRY is expected to expand through next year, with at least 10% growth in revenue from this year, fetching B3.4 trillion. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said strong growth is anticipated from both the international and domestic markets.

Next year, the international market should generate income of B2.28trn, while the domestic market should contribute B1.12trn, he said.

The TAT also predicted international arrivals would increase from a predicted 37.5 million this year to 40mn next year, with domestic tourists making 169mn trips for 2019, up from 160mn this year.

Revenue from domestic tourism will climb to B1.12trn from an estimated B1trn for 2018.

“Tourism contributes 11% to GDP. The industry will continue to grow and that is very challenging for TAT,” said Mr Yuthasak.

Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said the government would continue using tourism as a key tool to drive the economy, reduce poverty and lower income inequality.

The government will also focus on sustainability by promoting responsible tourism.

The ministry is randomly inspecting some resorts on Phi Phi Island to verify their quality, check their licences and ensure they are legally employing staff. The move is aimed at increasing tourism quality and standards.

“Apart from that, the move is intended to eliminate nominees working in the industry for foreign investors. We don’t want them to put Thailand on sale and take the money back home,” said Mr Weerasak. @thephuketnews

Thai tour company representatives speak with potential clients at a TAT-organised Table Top Sales in Shanghai. Photo: TAT / file The minister said in the future tourists entering the country must buy insurance as part of new tourism standards and that the government has additional travel safety initiatives on the cards, he said.

The TAT has called a meeting with directors from its global offices worldwide to map out strategies for next year.

Pichaya Saisaengchan, director for the Dubai and Middle East office, said the TAT would encourage more visitors from this region, particularly female tourists, families and those seeking preventive medical service.

Last year 610,000 visitors came from the Middle East, mainly from the UAE, Iran and Oman. The region accounted for 2% of total international arrivals, but average spending from the segment is B7,200 per head per day, higher than the B5,200 average from other markets.

“The high season for the Middle East falls between July and August, which is good [as it’s] Thailand’s low season. The TAT expects tourist numbers from this region to increase by 3% next year,” said Mr Pichaya.

Bangkok Post

“Some Chinese use Thai nominees to bring Chinese tourists in… they did not heed warnings… which is why this incident happened.

This needs to be remedied,” Gen Prawit said.

He did not elaborate.

C h i n a’s M i n i s t r y of Culture and Tourism issued a n u rge nt ci r c u la r la st Saturday (July 7), stressing

the importance of researching online travel companies when booking overseas trips.

Many of those on board the Phoenix had booked travel independently via online tour operators, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sonti­ jirawong said on Monday that authorities are investigating the two companies involved in the boat accidents to see if they are in compliance with related business laws.

Both were initially found to have properly registered with Thai authorities, he said.

They were identified as Lazy Cat Travel Ltd and TC Blue Dream Ltd by the Department of Business Development.

Gen Surachet confirmed that he had evidence to charge the nominee company behind the Phoenix boat disaster and that the company was linked to the now-defunct Tranlee Co Ltd, which was raided and shut down in 2016.

Gen Surachet explained that he had received a direct order from PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to target “zero-

baht” tours and nominee companies, and to report back to the PM directly on his progress.

“Such companies have groups of investors who hire Thai people as company owners. They provide non-Thai guides and use illegal hotels that do not have permits to accommodate tourists,” Gen Surachet said.

Regarding the Phoenix boat disaster, Gen Surachet added, “We have evidence that some Thai people used to be employees getting B10,000 salary a month, but last last month these people used hundreds of billions of baht (sic) to register as yacht company owners. This indicates clearly that they are nominees from a criminal company,” he said.

“Officials have now arrested all people involved in Lazy Cat Co, and they are now being detained at Phuket Immigration.

“Officials have also revoked their visas because they are now charged with joint recklessness (causing death and/or mental and physical harm),” he added.

12 BUSINESS NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Airbnb gets cosy

Global ‘hospitality’ giant brokers Thai Govt ‘partnership’ deal PROPERTY The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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irbnb has successfully negotiated an “Empowering Local Tourism Entrepreneurs” partnership with Thailand’s Ministry of Interior’s Department of Local Administration (DOLA).

The milestone was hailed as Airbnb’s first official partnership with a government agency in Thailand, the company announced in a release issued last Friday (July 7).

“Through the partnership, Airbnb and the Ministry of Interior’s DOLA will work together to train local provincial officials on hospitality, hosting and compliance standards; and onboard existing homestays onto Airbnb’s global platform,” said the release.

DOLA Director-General Suttipong Juljarern and Mike Orgill, Airbnb’s Director of Public Policy for Asia Pacific, jointly launched the partnership at Chulalongkorn University Alumni Association on July 3.

According to the release, as part of the partnership, Airbnb and the Ministry of Interior’s DOLA agree to: • Conduct training sessions focused on sharing information about Airbnb,

Airbnb has successfully negotiated an ‘Empowering Local Tourism Entrepreneurs’ partnership with the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Local Administration (DOLA). Image: Airbnb and how to use the platform to distribute tourism income to local communities across Thailand; • Train officials on hospitality, hosting and compliance standards to raise the quality of local homestays; • Equip officials with the digital literacy skills to help locals create and manage their own listings on the platform; and • Build a local community

of hosts in each province who can support and learn from each other.

The launch was followed by a country-first joint training workshop conducted by three Airbnb “Superhosts” and “Community Leaders”, and guest speakers from the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Provincial Administration and the Thai Immigration Bureau.

More than 100 Thai officials attended the workshop, including representatives from the Provincial Office for Local Administrations, and selected local administrative organisations in the tourism sector across 11 provinces, which were identified as Chiang Mai, Chonburi, Chiang Rai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buriram, Ayutthaya, Petchaburi, Songkhla, Satun, Ubon Ratchathani and Sukhothai.

The Andaman provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi were not among the provinces represented.

“Airbnb is a global platform, and we have worked with governments around the world to help distribute tourism income to local communities in underserved areas,” Mr Orgill said.

“Through this partnership, we will empower the Muang Rong (secondar y cities), the Tessabaan (municipalities), and the Tambon (subdistricts) to transform themselves into communities of local hospitality entrepre-

neurs, which are an integral part of Thailand’s booming tourism industry.

“This new generation of local tourism entrepreneurs is something envisioned by nations around the globe as a new driving force of tourism,” he said.

Mich Goh, Airbnb Head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, added, “This is an exciting step for ward for our community here in Thailand and a nod to the positive benefits that Airbnb is bringing to local tourism.

“We are committed to working with the Ministry of Interior’s DOLA to support local homestays across Thailand by empowering communities with important hospitality skills and connecting them to an international network of travellers, while promoting responsible and sustainable travel.

“By promoting digital inclusion and the effective use of our platform to attract inbound guests domestically and abroad, we will help drive economic growth in areas that have not traditionally benefited from tourism,” she said.

However, while the “partnership” was explained as a g rand ach ievement i n Thailand, the project is nigh identical to the “Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme” Airbnb launched with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation

(MTDC) for Maharashtra State in India, as recently as June 8.

Regardless, DOLA Director-General Mr Suttipong supported the move.

“The Department (DOLA) believes the partnership with Airbnb will strengthen communities across the country and encourage the formation of a comprehensive ecosystem for tourism management,” he said.

“Digital technology fosters real-time audiovisual communication and connections between local communities and guests around the world, and will surely encourage economic development in rural areas.

“This will help us achieve the United Nations’ and the Royal Thai Government’s goals to alleviate poverty, as this additional stream of revenue for locals means the improvement of their living standards in all respects.

“The training workshop will help promote development in local areas by sustainably building accommodation capacity, and upskilling and empowering officials to become professional community managers.

“It also prepares locals to be ready to host and welcome both Thai and foreign tourists to their communities. This will help them provide the best hospitality experience and further attract returning travellers,” he added.

Also included in the release issued last Friday were comments from Bangkokbased Saroth Oonwattananukool, who was described as an “Airbnb Superhost”.

“As a passionate Superhost, I love to meet guests and share my favourite tips so they can enjoy the local, authentic side of Thailand.

Inspiring people is important to me, and I want my guests to feel inspired by Thai hospitality, culture and modern architecture,” he said.

“I’m than kf ul for the oppor tunity to share my knowledge with local officials, who can impart these hospitality standards and skills to homestay owners in their provinces,” he added.

While being touted as a “Superhost”, the release did not explain that Mr Saroth is the owner of the Pridi Hostel located on Sukhumvit 71 Rd, Soi Pridi 35, in Bangkok.

Pridi Hostel’s own website describes the venue as as a “Brand New Boutique Hostel”. However, it makes no mention of the number of rooms the hostel has – a critical aspect amid the crackdown on illegal hotels operating without a licence, which sparked the meeting between Airbnb and government officials on Tuesday.

Unde r t he Hotel Act (2008), accommodation owners with venues with five or more rooms that are rented out for periods of less than 30 days must be registered as hotels and the site must comply with the required building regulations for hotels.

Airbnb in its release also made no mention on what action it would take in making sure venue owners advertising their accommodation venues on the Airbnb platform were complying with the requisite regulations within Thailand.

Instead, as made plain above, it will be teaching officials about compliance while training them how to post their own venues for rent on the Airbnb platform.

The issue came to a head in May when the Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Court ruled that two separate condo owners were guilty of breaching the Hotel Act by renting out their properties at daily or even weekly rates.

The bookings for the condos were made through Airbnb. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Corruption in Siam’s trading ports

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

A MARRIAGE OF MAGIC

14

The skilled science of Physiotherapy

16

Spellbound at The Boathouse New Menu Launch Culinary Sorcerer, Executive Chef Jonathan Bruell David Jacklin editor1@classactmedia.co.th

J

onathan Bruell, the Executive Chef at The Boathouse, has worked as a renowned International chef for over 35 years. His culinary expertise has taken him on a five-star journey from London to Australia, and most places in between. Since joining The Boathouse team seven months ago Jonathan has brought his impressive resume to deliver a carefully crafted marriage of Thai and world flavours to the menu of one of the island’s most established eateries.

Offered the opportunity to attend the new menu launch sitting, only a mad man would have hesitated.

Jonathan is a very affable chef who is often front-of-house engaging with people, discussing his dishes and taking food requests and feedback from diners.

It’s a nice touch, and an encounter all too often missing from a busy eatery.

I asked Jonathan what culinary experience he was looking to create with the new menu selections.

“It’s all about a good, honest menu with simple flavours using fresh food that’s presented well,” he replied. “I cook what people want.

“So often menus are driven by a fad run industry. They are one-off experiences with little interest for diners to return. The Boathouse menu defines us as a culinary destination. We produce dishes that someone comes back for.”

Viewing the new and substantial menu and its medley of choice, it’s clear to see this vision is more than provided for across the servings. For the sitting I @thephuketnews

was indulged with an incredible range of dishes delivering a diversity of flavours and styles throughout each course. So diverse in fact, that it’s impossible to review it all here in this article with any sense of justice. So many crowd pleasers, so little time. I can only implore you to venture to the restaurant and take in the experience for yourself. I shall only serve here to tempt you with a few highlights.

From the lunch menu I was presented with Pan-Fried Foie Gras with mango and black rice. The quality of the foie gras was exceptional. A wonderfully creamy texture that literally melted on the palate. The play off with the sweet mango simply works, and the black rice adds texture and substance.

The Five Spice Pork Ribs had a well balanced glaze that did not overtake the flavour of the tender meat. The crispy chicken wings with black pepper, coriander, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass uses influences from Haad Yai with succulent meat pleasantly finished off with a light, sweet flavour.

Next up I sampled the Braised Beef Cheek Green Curry. An intriguing marriage of ingredients that was a delightful surprise. The cheek is slow cooked and tender to perfection, served with egg noodle and a Thai green curry which is deliberately mild, and fully delivers an unusual but winning combination.

For seafood fans there’s a melange of well-crafted offerings to choose from.

The Grilled Seabass presented was a substantial fillet that had a perfect crispy skin, whilst retaining the succulent soft flesh inside. If that wasn’t

Braised Beef Cheek Green Curry enough it was served with a creamy sieved smoked mash and a diced chorizo sausage salsa thats richness lifts the dish into a flavour combination that will have you grinning from ear to ear.

If I was by then pleasingly satiated by these beautifully presented dishes, I soon found myself wanting again with the incredible desserts that were then conjured. The sweets truly display the chef’s craft and guile at luring you for more. The White Chocolate Parfait with salted caramel was served with a chocolate moulded spoon housing a cube of raw chocolate which delivers a cacao fiend’s ideal combination. The Apple Tart was pleasingly simple with the thinnest of soft crusts, and a balanced blend of fruit, rum raisin and cinnamon spice. Mango Sticky Rice came with a mango jelly, pandan ice cream and a side of anchan flower sauce, giving it an aesthetic blue hue.

Across the board The Boathouse boasts an impressive menu with variety, style and the essential attention to flavour combinations that provoke the diner’s interest, but ultimately work for the palate.

But it’s also the complete service that impresses here. The establishment

Pan-Fried Foie Gras

White Chocolate Parfait comes with two major personalities in the shape of Executive Chef Jonathan Bruell and Pinyo Thippimas, the Food and Beverage Manager. Between them they have over 50 years of fine dining experience, and it shows. If the stunning location on Kata Beach and the refurbished, nautical interior design aren’t enough, the hospitality and depth of knowledge from Mr Thippimas ensures your return.

The Boathouse remains a standing pillar of dining in Phuket.

14 HISTORY

Those dastardly English pirates Photo: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Illustration of The Malacca Straits, 1700s Photo: François Valentijn

The politics of trade A French horticulturist’s account of corruption in Siam’s western ports HISTORY OF PHUKET Colin Mackay

these poor wretches are extremely harassed by the Siamese officials who steal from them with impunity.

P

ierre Poivre, a 27-year-old French horticulturist, visited the Siamese west coast in 1745. He was later to become the governor of the French colony of Isle de France (Mauritius). Poivre had been returning from China on a fleet of three French trade ships during another Franco-British war when his ship was attacked and captured in the Malacca Strait by a British warship.

During the encounter a cannonball smashed Pierre Poivre’s wrist and a surgeon on the British ship had to amputate part of his right arm to prevent the spread of gangrene. The captured Frenchmen were imprisoned in Dutch Batavia (Jakarta) for several months until 60 of them, including Poivre, were set free and given another captured French ship, unarmed and in poor condition. They wanted to sail to Pondicherry, but it was August and the wrong season to sail west against the monsoon, so they sailed up the peninsular west coast to Mergui, a port which was still occasionally visited by French ships.

On their way north, having just passed Phuket, their ship was again attacked, this time by a pirate ship sailed by “twenty four deserter villains of English nationality.” These renegade English pirates stole all of the Frenchmen’s weapons, money and other belongings, but let them go. Poivre and his destitute crew eventually reached Mergui, where they spent several months waiting for the monsoon winds to turn. Poivre gives us a snapshot of life in a Siamese west-coast port in this period.

“It is inhabited by Burmese, Muslims, Portuguese mestizos, Siamese and Chinese… these poor wretches are extremely harassed by the Siamese officials who steal from them with impunity… The inhabitants are extremely poor, since they eat little and wear hardly anything at all, they need little to live… there is nothing so false as what has been published in accounts… touching upon the excess of riches of Siam… a traveler who knows Siam cannot prevent himself from laughing when reading our accounts about the efforts of France in seeking the friendship of this East Indies king.”

Poivre then relates with some bitterness that, “We found a Muslim governor there who treated us well…the same was not true of the (Siamese) viceroy of the province. He issued orders to all the inhabitants forbidding them to supply us with any food. The reason derived from our not having any substantial presents to offer him as having been pillaged by the English we scarcely had any clothes to wear… as we were seized with hunger… we gathered together some handkerchiefs, two or three old mirrors, a gun (which was our sole weapon on board) together with a little areca nut… After a long dispute with the officers of

the viceroy, who were not at all satisfied with the smallness of its value, it was finally accepted… we were not let off the hook by this present alone, it was also necessary to give one to the rajah, to the second Phra Klang, whom the king had sent to this province to examine the conduct of the viceroy.

There was no one down to the scribes of the officials who did not also want to receive a present… is there anything in the world so crude and shameful as this greed… to demand a present from foreigners in order for them just to obtain permission to buy food.”

With little money, the Frenchmen were forced to sell off everything from their ship to buy food to survive, “and to do that on a retail basis as there are no traders in the country rich enough to take on, in a single purchase, a considerable part of the goods… The trade of Siam is not considerable… Tin alone is a subject that is worthy of attention… there is a profit in taking it to the Coromandel Coast [he estimated about 150%-200%]. The tin found in Mergui comes from Tavoy… Additional tin comes from the island of Janselon [Phuket] which can supply 300 bars of it.”

Poivre felt the only other trade products worth buying were elephants of which “ordinary vessels can carry 14 or 15 of them, the king sells them for 1,600 livres and the Muslims resell them (in India) at 6,000 to 6,500 livres (or swapped them for horses to resell in Siam) but one runs the risk of losing everything because if the crossing to the Coromandel coast is a bit long all of them die. The Mughal lords …train them for war.”

Thirty years later, in 1773, James Scott, another independent Scottish trader who lived for several years in Phuket, wrote of obtaining similar fat mark-ups of over 1,000% by buying elephants in Phuket to sell in India: “the island price was 50 dollars, the export price (in India) from 4-800 dollars.” The elephant loading jetty in Phuket was in Pak Pra where we are told in an 1832 report on Phuket that “planks were laid out for the transit of

Regional map from the period Photo: R. Placide Augustin Dechaussé the animals” from shore to ship or back and that this elephant loading jetty was frequented by “vessels from the Coromandel coast.”

Poivre and the stranded Frenchmen in Mergui tried to earn the local viceroy’s favour by volunteering to join the crew of a vessel of the Siamese king based in Mergui to hunt down the same English renegade pirate ship that had attacked them and was still reportedly prowling the nearby coasts, attacking shipping and towns.

Poivre notes that this royal Siamese warship was normally manned by “a mixed company of lascars, Siamese and local Portuguese – all of them incapable and useless.” The Frenchmen joined the ship and searched for eight days without locating the English pirates.

Poivre felt the ship was probably only sent out by the local viceroy “in order to make his master the king believe he was zealous in his service… and [for the viceroy] to have the opportunity, under the fine pretext of service to the king, to demand exorbitant contributions from the local people for his personal gain and to then show to the king imaginary expenses which he was certain of getting repaid as though they were real.”

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

Available from good bookshops and Amazon.com. Order the softcover 2nd edition directly at: www. historyofphuket.com thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

TRAVEL 15

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Fly me to the moon Propose as you orbit our satellite rock with loved one for a mere $145m The Phuket News editor1@classactmedia.co.th

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raditionally an engagement ring is deemed enough. Well, prepare to “level up” to entice your loved one.

Starting in 2022 it will be possible to ask for the beloved’s hand-in-marriage whilst flying over the lunar surface to the sound of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon”. The one-week interplanetary flight will be carried out using a selfcontained and autonomous spacecraft allowing the two lovers to travel alone.

The Apoteo Surprise agency, a French marriage proposal planner who specialises in creating extravagant proposals introduces a whole new service, exclusively yours for a spare US $145 million which will allow 21st century romantics to propose whilst flying around the Moon.

You will quite literally take off together from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. One can assume a rather rocky start…but then, autonomously in the spacecraft, you will then travel more than 500,000 kilometres in space during an epic journey to the Moon.

@thephuketnews

Let’s just hope she says ‘Yes’. Photo: Apoteo Surprise Now of course whilst it’s certainly an extravagant show of affection, it’s going to be a bit of a job to keep it a surprise.

After medical exams and a physical condition assessment, the pair will then have assisted training for three months by aerospace professionals: cardio training sessions, high-G training, acclimation to microgravity, high accelerations and speed changes on board a fighter jet flying over Mach 2, stress management strategies and emergency simulations. Hmm, not quite so romantic. ​On the big day you’ll reach Cape

Canaveral wearing a space suit (yep, the cat’s out of the bag) ensuring your safety in the event of a cabin depressurisation. How cute.

So now you’re ready for the, er, surprise. Strapped to your seats, you’ll wait for the countdown.

The rocket will take off and you will feel the most intense sensations of your life. However, refrain from explaining it quite like that to your partner to be.

With an acceleration of 3G, the first minutes will be challenging, but soon, the first stage of the rocket will sepa-

rate. Separate already?

Soon you’ll catch sight of the Earth and you and the plus one will be jettisoned into the ether at more than 38,000km per hour.

And finally, after nearly three days of whiling away the hours in a zero gravity embrace and a candle-less dinner through a straw, you’ll be orbiting around the ash satellite and will fly over the surface at an altitude of only 200-300km.

The spaceship will slow down, and to take “intimate” to the extreme, you can even propose on the hidden face of the Moon, and not a chance of a paparazzi in sight. To calm the nerves before popping the question all communication with the Earth will be lost, and now totally alone in space you will be ready to propose to your beloved.

“Fly me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra will be played in your headset, really, and then you can pull the engagement ring out of the box that you’ve secretly hidden in your space suit. Good luck with that. Your exhausted partner will muster all the strength they have left to look surprised. ​Never hesitate in such matters of love. Book your romantic interplanetary cruise immediately.

16 PEOPLE

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

Myofascial Release Therapy

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Cupping Therapy

Healing with great hands Kanitta Chatamma explains why prevention is better than cure David Jacklin editor1@classactmedia.co.th

K

anitta Chatamma is the owner and Head of Clinic at the My Physio by Kanitta Physiotherapy and Sport Injury clinic in Lagoon Road Plaza, Cherng Talay.

Ms Kanitta has combined her knowledge of more than 12 years, a quality of service and the very latest techniques and equipment to provide premium treatment and prevention therapies to people across the island.

I met Ms Kanitta at the clinic to discuss her passion for professional healthcare. She is a charming and bubbly individual with a deep and confident knowledge which she readily displays across each topic discussed.

What inspired her to choose a career in physiotherapy?

“When I was young my Grandfather had a stroke. He really had no way to help himself, and I decided early on that I wanted to work in health care,” she replied. “I went for work experience in a hospital before University, and found out that I was rather squeamish.

So being a doctor was not for me. I decided to major in physiotherapy.”

Ms Kanitta completed a four-year medical science degree in physiotherapy at the esteemed Mahidol University in Bangkok. She took her first professional position at Chiva-Som International Health Resort in Hua Hin, the renowned holistic therapy centre. What better way to learn your craft than on global royalty, jet-setting entrepreneurs and those high-maintenance Hollywood celebrities. After only three years she became the Senior Physiotherapist Trainer across the group, which included additional study in complementary medicines such as acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping therapy in Beijing.

After a brief stint setting up a clinic in Moscow – far too cold for our cheery healer – Ms Kanitta was bound for Oman. The invitation to oversee a bigger department at the Medident Madinat Qaboos Medical Centre in Muscat came from a professional client, who just happened to be the owner of the

centre. No better compliment on her skills and ability.

She was Head Physiotherapist for six years in Oman. What kept her so long in the Middle East?

“The people were so kind and gave me such a warm welcome to stay in their society,” Ms Kanitta responded.

“It’s a pleasant and peaceful country, and I managed to travel a lot and explore the region. A great friend who was living there really helped too.”

Ms Kanitta finally decided it was time to come back to Thailand and launch her own clinic.

“As people’s understanding of the benefit of therapy and their knowledge of the latest techniques grows, there’s real health value in what treatment I can offer from the skills I have been developing over my career. I knew it was the right time to start My Physio in Thailand.”

Being a first-time resident in Phuket, what inspired her to set up business on the island?

Ms Kanitta beamed, “There’s such a wonderful mix of city and nature. Everything you need is right here.”

Her client list tends to agree that everything they need is now here too.

International athletes training in the Surin and Bang Tao area are regulars, as well as island-wide residents who understand that prevention is better than cure.

“Of course we offer a range of effective therapies for clients with an injury or rehabilitation from operations, as well as post-neurological diseases such as stroke and muscle weakness.

It’s critical to find the most effective method for rehabilitation to get the individual back to normal activities and less dependent on others.”

“But prevention cannot be underestimated. Techniques such as body posture analysis and re-alignment can prevent overuse of muscle groups, as well as prepare individuals for specific sports or physical activities.”

I asked Ms Kanitta what recent advances in therapy have had the most impact. Here comes the science part.

“For hands-on therapeutic technique I would say Myofascial Release Therapy. The body is one unit, and a local dysfunction can create problems

Kanitta at her My Physio by Kanitta clinic Physical Analysis

High Intensity Laser Therapy in other areas. This technique is very effective at unlocking and re-balancing connective tissue.”

“In terms of machinery, the latest High Intensity Laser has had a big impact. This is used to heal muscle, tendon or ligament injuries through biostimulation and thermal effect. This increases oxygen at the cellular level and repairs damaged cells in the affected area. Injuries that previously required hospital services can now be treated in this way.”

So, after a long and rather physically demanding day in the office, what does Ms Kanitta do to relax and replenish?

“After work I like to go to the gym or attend dancing classes like Zumba or Body Jam,” she said. “I’ve just started surfing at Kata Beach, so that’s the weekends sorted.”

That all sounds rather strenuous.

Any more relaxing pastimes that you may have picked up on your travels?

“I did ride camels in the Oman,” she mused. “But I’ll just have to stick with horses here.”

My Physio Clinic by Kanitta is currently offering free physical consultations up to August 31. For further information visit MyPhysioByKanitta on Facebook or call 095-7912772. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Misdemenours & Misadventures

ART 17

Two literary titans present tall tales of their experiences at the Writers & Artists Night Baz Daniel

Phuket is like a stage where everyone is an actor in an absurdist comedy of errors. It may be insane, but it’s never boring.

@thephuketnews

T

he iconic Boathouse Resort and Restaurant situated right on the golden sands of Kata Beach is hosting an exciting evening of creativity, gourmet cuisine, fine beverages and abundant fun and conviviality on Saturday July 21, starting at 6:30pm.

Come along for sundowners and enjoy wonderful canapes and drinks as the sun casts its magical sunset spell over The Boathouse, or alternatively seasonal monsoonal blusters pound the panoramic windows… either way it will be highly romantic and uniquely Phuket experience!

The evening will segue into presentations and readings by some of Thailand’s leading writers from their recently published books followed by questions, answers and discussions, and (if I know anything about creative types) ongoing consumption of The Boathouse’s stellar food and beverages, plus lots of laughs and high-jinx!

Doctor Patrick Campbell, an octogenarian former scholar and professor who is now retired in Phuket, will present and read from his louche semi-autobiographical novel “Phuket Days - Life in the Island Fast Lane” in which he runs his own unique lens over such burning issues as making sense (or nonsense) of Phuket’s bar scene and its denizens; opportunities for misadventures with crossdressing harlots; cultural pitfalls in Phuket for the unsuspecting, naïve or mildly inebriated: and how not to deal with Thai lawyers!

Patrick is a consummate raconteur and bon vivant, who was a world authority on the English romantic poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and is responsible for the introduction of the first Master’s Degree course in theatre and drama into the British university curriculum. Certainly, Patrick is a man of many talents, who has written analyses of several books of poetry; intriguing books on psychoanalysis, performance, and on body art, plus several critical studies of poets.

Why then would a man of his erudition and experience move to the hedonistic pleasure ground of Phuket?

The answer is enshrined in “Phuket Days Life in the Island Fast Lane” and this evening will present a wonderful opportunity to understand why a man of Patrick’s extensive accomplishments decided to make Phuket his home. As Patrick says: “Phuket is like a stage where everyone is an actor in an absurdist comedy of errors. It may be insane, but it’s never boring.”

Patrick is joined by Bangkok-based former Advertising Creative Director, Rolling Stone and Playboy magazine writer, and New York nightclub owner, Alan Platt, who will present and read from his new book “Foreign Fool” recording his hilarious misadventures around Thailand, Asia and the globe.

Now in his seventies and retired in Bangkok, Alan lives in a somewhat decadent rooftop garden apartment above a notorious bar-nightclub on Soi Nana Dr Patrick’s ‘Phuket Days’. adjacent to the city’s famous

nightlife area. Alan and his apartment have established an enviable reputation for sociability, although he now tells me that as he is approaching 75 he is starting to think about “settling down”.

“Foreign Fool” is a collection of hilarious misadventures around the globe, always with Alan at its centre as the butt of the pratfalls and ridicule.

Alan has appeared on radio and TV shows reading from his works and is well known as a highly engaging speaker with a wicked sense of humour.

The Boathouse is of course worldfamous for its association with the romantic world of creativity and the arts, for the many famous names that have graced its beautiful portals from Peter Ustinov to Rudolf Nureyev, to many members of Thai and international royalty.

Priced at B899 per person the evening will include canapes and drinks

Your host, Mr Barry Daniel as well as the unsurpassed opportunity of being a part of this unique evening of creativity, fun and food.

The Phuket News are proud sponsors of the Writers & Artists Night.

Please book by calling The Boathouse on +66 76 363 200 OR email: info@ boathouse-phuket.com

18 ISLAND SCENE

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Kit (right) of Leopard Catamarans with friends.

Life at the helm looks easy.

Kicking back with the baby at Ao Por.

Kit explains the Leopard 50.

LIFE BEGINS AT 50 AS LEOPARD CATAMARANS HOLDS OPEN HOUSE AT AO POR The Leopard 50 launch and open house held over the weekend by Leopard Catamarans in conjunction with Yacht Style magazine and Lux Inc. at Ao Po Grand Marina has been a success with the first Leopard 50 in Asia on display and alongside the Leopard 43 Powercat.

Visitors both new and old came to the event by private invitation or through The Phuket News and Live 89.5FM, which were broadcasting live for both days at the event.

The overall verdict from visitors after seeing the Leopard 50 is, “she’s gorgeous, has amazing space with great features and design.” As already proven worldwide, it looks like the Leopard 50 will be popular in Phuket and Asia as well.

Keep an eye out as you’ll soon be seeing more Leopard 50s cruising the Andaman and the region.

MARRIOTT NAI YANG’S BURNING DESIRE FOR SAFETY The Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach held a fire-evacuation drill on July 3 as part of the resort’s efforts to make sure staff and associates are well practised with emergencyresponse procedures. The course trained attendees in types of fuel, fire-safety procedures and prevention, types of fire extinguishers and included demonstrations. The activity was hosted by the Loss and Prevention Team representatives, who champion basic skills and take their training seriously.

The team hands Exec Editor Chris a thank you gift.

Fist pumps for a successful fire-evacuation drill.

Live 89.5 sound engineer Khun Tun (seated) explains the mixing desk.

CHIANG MAI UNI MEDIA EXPERTS DROP BY FOR A REAL CLASS ACT VISIT Faculty and teaching staff from the Faculty of Mass Communication at Chiang Mai University stopped by the Class Act Media office last Thursday (July 5) to check out The Phuket News, Khao Phuket and Novosti Phuketa newspaper production teams and the Live 89.5 radio and Phuket Xtra video broadcasts. It was an education for all. Thank you CMU, and we hope to see you again soon! thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

ISLAND SCENE 19

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

The key organisers stand proud at the Banya centre.

Funds were donated to buy more uniforms.

The 220 children from Myanmar were gifted many treats.

Mascots Minnie and Hello Kitty inspired many smiles.

UFE WISHES BANYA HAPPY BIRTHDAY WITH HEART Members of the global charity organisation UFE PHUKET (Union des Français de l’étranger Phuket) late last month sponsored and led the 2nd Anniversary celebrations of the “Banya Literacy Center”, operated by the International Catholic Association “Good Shepherd School”.

The school houses 220 Myanmar children, under the responsibility of Sister Eupharsia Daruna Mesomklin who was present among the attendees, along with Mickey and Minnie Mouse mascots.

Thanks went to Khun Lian and Khun Kad Head Teacher as well as their entire team of volunteers, and Vivienne Reis, who introduced UFE to the school only a month earlier, along with UFE Phuket Founding President Christian Chevrier, Dao, Anne, Marine, Arawan, Christian and Gilbert. A big thank you to all the sponsors.

Khun Ditapong of Phuket Superyacht Shipyard.

The AGM raised a slew of key issues.

Vincent enjoys a little time out.

Khun Boon was right at home at Boat Lagoon.

The event also provided the opportunity to catch up with old friends.

TMBA AGM + GROW BOATING = FUN-FILLED EVENT FOR SERIOUS YACHTIES The Thai Marine Business Association (TMBA) held its Annual General Meeting at Boat Lagoon Marina last Friday (July 6), with some big changes to come. The AGM on Friday was followed by this month’s installment of the Grow Boating networking event, where leading figures in Phuket’s yachting and marine industry exchanged ideas, contacts and a laugh or two. Another great networking event, with another slated to be held next month - Don’t miss it! Thank you to Alex Runhaar for the superb photos! @thephuketnews

20 EVENTS

FRI

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

13 JUL

vation recommended. 295 baht P.P. shakersphuket@ gmail.com, 081 891 4381.

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

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

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

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

All you can eat Sunday Roast Buffet

An Italian Evening

ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ RIBS

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

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

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

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

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

SAT

14 JUL

Go Live Sunday Seafood Brunch - Only July and August

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

SUN

15 JUL

6PM – 11PM: All you can eat BBQ Ribs served with salad buffet, potato salad & choice of sauces. Reser-

The Banyan Tree Brunch experience offers a generous selection of live fresh, local and imported seafood with exceptional Lobsters dishes, Japaneses starters, mouth-watering meats, Asian wok and Western grill treats. Gourmet cuisine, exceptional service, Live Jazz and tranquil surroundings, The Banyan Tree Brunch has something for everyone! Every Sunday 12.00 - 15.30, Prices start from THB 2,800 net per person. **Come 4 pay 2 so 50% off or come 2 and get 25% off. Reservations, Banyan Tree Phuket, fb-phuket@banyantree.com

16 JUL

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

DAILY EVENT UPDATES ON Sunday Roast All Day, All Night

All you can eat BBQ Ribs night

Premium barbecue main course, including imported Australian Rib Eye, full rack of Lamp or whole Phuket Lobster accompanied by buffet of delicious appetizers.

Live music from 6.30pm. Premium BBQ. 1,700*Baht.

Reservations, Sala Phuket, events@salaphuket.com 076 338 888.

MON

Jazz Night Healthy Vegan Buffet at DiLite Restaurant

Sala Sunday Night Steak & Seafood

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

Featuring: Roast Aussie Beef, Pork Loin and Chicken.

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

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

EVENTS 21

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

MON

16 JUL

300g Australian grass-fed rib eye steak served with a creamy peppercorn sauce, roasted vegetable medley and potato gratin for ONLY B495. Have a sweet tooth? Treat yourself to the Two Chefs banana flambé served with vanilla ice cream for ONLY B95. Sit back and enjoy one of our drink specials as you listen to the famous Two Chefs band performing all your favorite retro hits and more! Live music starts from 8pm and goes late at all of our Two Chefs locations. Reservations are highly recommended. You can book on our website at www.TwoChefs.com or find us on Facebook at Facebook/TwoChefsThailand. Come for the food, stay for the fun! Reservations: Call us directly at Two Chefs Kata Center 076 330 065, Kata Beach 076 333 370, Karon 076 286 479 or Patong 076 344 914.

The Phuket Drum Circle 6th year anniversary

Simmer & Spice Curry buffet, great variety, vibrant flavours. Every Monday from 18.30 - 21.30. Reservations, SALA Phuket, events@salaphuket.com, 076 338 888.

WED

SUN

29 JUL

The Phuket Drum Circle will celebrate the 6th year anniversary on Sunday July 29 in Nai Harn Beach from 4:30pm to midnight. This event is free and open to the public. Participants can drum, dance, or enjoy the scenery and good vibes. Experience the magic of community drumming and dancing! For updates and videos visit the Facebook page: Phuket Drum Circle.

18 JUL

SUN

2 SEP

2018 King of the Mountain Phuket Trail Run The King of the Mountain Trial Run is hugely popular amongst both locals and visitors to the island. The route takes its runners along steep hilly terrain and past beautiful waterfalls within the Khao Phra National Park that surrounds Thanyapura. With a choice of 3 distances (4km fun run, 8km trail and 15km trail), there is something for everyone at this event. Please contact for more details. events@thanyapura.com, 076 336 000.

EVERY DAY PIWC Luncheon – July 2018

BCCT PHUKET BUSINESS NETWORKING BCCT, in collaboration with AMCHAM, AustCham, CanCham, EABC, FTCC and NTCC, cordially invites you to BCCT Phuket Business Networking on Wednesday 18th July. Enjoy great food and drink selections in the relaxing ambience of Thanyapura Health and Sports Resort. Join us to meet and network in Phuket! Cost: - B400 for BCCT members and participating chambers - B800 for non-members. NO NON-MEMBER WALK-INS. Price includes free cocktail food and free flow of drinks. BCCT e-vouchers are accepted. Please state “e-voucher” when making a booking. Booking: Please e-mail Urosesri at urosesri@bccthai.com or call 02-651-5350.

THU

19 JUL

RETRO NIGHT – BACK TO THE 70S & 80S Don’t miss out on our newest, exciting weekly event at Two Chefs. Come and join us for our special Flambé

@thephuketnews

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

SAT

21 JUL

GREG FLEET - AUSTRALIA’S FUNNIEST COMEDIAN

Writers Night at The Boathouse Phuket A romantic evening of food (canapés), drink and creativity at The Boathouse, Kata Beach. On Saturday July 21st featuring two famous local authors and artists presenting excerpts from their most recent works. Doctor Patrick Campbell retired, acclaimed academic and author now retired in Phuket reading excerpts from his recent scurrilous semi-autobiographical book “Phuket Days”. Bangkok-based former Creative Director, Rolling Stone and Playboy columnist and New York nightclub owner Alan Platt presenting his new book “Foreign Fool” recording his hilarious mis-adventures around the globe. Please contact us at +66 76 330015-7, +66 76 363200, Fax: +66 76 330561 Email: info@ boathouse-phuket.com

‘One of the best comedians in the world ever’ - Stewart Lee. Greg Fleet is one of Australia’s most highly respected stand-up comedians. He has performed in 26 Melbourne International Comedy festivals. He became infamous when his character Dave Summers was involved in the killing of Daphne in Australia’s popular soap-opera Neighbours. He has been on screen with Nicole Kidman, made Netflix shows with Jim Jeffries and toured all over the world getting 5-star reviews.

The Scotsman wrote, ‘Brilliant... inspired nonsense, utterly fresh, utterly hilarious’ Now he comes to Phuket at Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach as part of Stand Up Asia’s monthly comedy tour. They brought Doug Stanhope and Bill Bailey to Thailand and promise to bring the best international comedian to Phuket every month. Do not miss this fascinating, Australia comedy genius with special guests Matt Wharf (Australia) and Dusty Moore (South Africa). Sunday, 29 July Buffet 6pm. Doors 7pm and Show 8pm. Early bird tickets from only 500 baht or with buffet for only 1,200 baht. For more information to book your tickets, contact: Magic Rock, Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach.

Website: http://www.ticketflap.com/gregfleet-puk18

All you can eat Thai Tapas menu An array of unlimited tapas-size table serving of travelers’ and locals’ favorite Thai dishes, Kantok is the perfect place to devour the best of the best Thai cuisine at once, from mouth-watering appetizers and savor soup of Phuket specialties and soul satisfying desserts. Only THB 750-net per person. Serving daily from 11am-11pm. Reservations, Kantok Restaurant, Burasari Phuket, 076 292 929.

22 TIME OUT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Crossword by Myles Mellor & Sally York 1. Which messaging app created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown has 150 million daily users?

2. How many Grand Slam titles has Andy Murray won?

3. Which American department store organises the world famous annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City?

4. “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so” is a line from which book?

5. Which toy was the first toy to be advertised on television and made appearances in the Toy Story films?

Answers below, centre

SUDOKU

Medium

Across 1. Savory jelly 6. “The Forsyte ___” (novel series) 10. Nudge 14. Hound’s trail 15. Billy ___ 16. Moneyed one 17. Baked, in Bologna 18. Hot spot 19. ___ book 20. Said to defend an assertion of one’s rights 23. Rivet 24. Gardener’s need 25. Bean counter, for short 28. Censor’s target 30. Alter, in a way 34. Parentheses, e.g.

36. Potpourri 38. Snake, e.g.

39. Movie snack 42. Bury 43. Lots of bucks 44. Paul and Elton 45. Catmint 47. “Nerts!”

49. Not dis 50. Spawning fish 52. “God’s Little ___”

54. Bob Marley tune 61. Colossal 62. Meteorological effect 63. Nary a soul 64. Insect stage 65. Fruit spray 66. Catnapped 67. Drug ___ 68. Minus 69. Twists

26. Shriveled fruit 27. Malfunction 29. Flowed to and fro 31. Duck 32. ___ Mater (Roman goddess) 33. Young’s partner in accounting 35. San Francisco sight 37. Wheeler dealers Down 40. Maze marking 1. Go see ____ Fi 41. Spinach-like movie plant 2. Kind of check 46. Warm 3. Plants, in a way welcomes 4. Smidgens 48. Fashions 5. Boats and planes 51. Opera house 6. On the calendar ending 7. Nautical adverb 53. Digital tome 8. Narrow gorge 54. Part of U.S.D.A.: 9. Flowering abbr.

10. Branch of 55. Numbered work acoustics 56. Mangrove palm 11. Undivided 57. Hate group 12. ___ the air 58. Fall through the 13. Naysay cracks?

21. Buzz 59. From the top 22. Take forcibly 60. Poet Hughes 25. Deckhouse and others

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz: 1) Snapchat; 2) Three; 3) Macy’s Manhattan (first held 1924); 4) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (by Douglas Adams); 5) Mr Potato Head

GOT YOUR NUMBER

ISLAND VIEW

9

percent of Americans don’t know what country New Mexico is in, according to a recent survey.

20

percent of Tweets are explicitly threatening to women.

50

percent of the American population will be obese by the year 2030.

5,000

heart transplants take place around the world annually – almost 85% of those patients live at least one year with their new heart.

100,000 speeding tickets are issued in the US each day, averaging one in six Americans fined each year and totalling roughly 41 million tickets a year.

Source: Uberfacts

Sa Nang Manora Waterfalls in Phang Ng. Photo: Jethro Rimando Abagao Got an unusual or particularly beautiful picture of Phuket? Email it to execeditor@classactmedia.co.th

This week in history July 13, 1923 The Hollywood Sign is dedicated in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. It originally reads “Hollywoodland”, but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.

July 14, 1969 The US Treasury withdraws the $500, $1000, $5000, and $10,000 bills from circulation. Since then, only $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills have been in use.

July 15, 1910 In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gives a name to Alzheimer’s disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.

July 16, 1941 Joe DiMaggio hits safely for the 56th consecutive game, a streak that still stands as an Major League Baseball (MLB) record.

July 17, 1402 Zhu Di, better known by his era

Admiral Zheng He to undergo major sea voyages across the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

July 18, 1992 A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes (left) becomes the first photo posted to the World Wide Web. name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming dynasty of China. He later builds the Forbidden City and orders

July 19, 1947 Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated. Source: Wikipedia thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Jobs

@thephuketnews

CLASSIFIEDS 23 The Phuket News @thephuketnews

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CLASSIFIEDS 25

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Trades & Services

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

ADVERTISING SERVICES

CLEANING SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

MARINE SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

MARINE SERVICES

MARINE SERVICES

MARINE SERVICES

@thephuketnews

26 CLASSIFIEDS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

Trades & Services

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

classifieds@thephuketnews.com

MARINE SERVICES

MOVING SERVICES

POOL SERVICES

PROPERTY SERVICES

OTHER

ADVERTISE HERE

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

CLASSIFIEDS 27

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Buy & Sell

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

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

GE UR

NT

Bar staff wanted

Blondie Bar 2 at Otop Market Patong requires Bar Staff. Thai nationals only.

Good salary and room provided. Phone Mick: 081 087 6114.

BOATS, YACHTS FOR SALE FOR SALE AIR BERTH M320

250,000THB INC.VAT FOR BOAT UP TO 32 FEET/ 9.5 METRES. CONTACT: ASIA YACHT AGENCY CO.,LTD VIA CONTACT@ASIAYACHTAGENCY.COM, 081-894 -3234- FRENCH / ENGLISH — 086-269-0808 THAI / ENGLISH. GE

S NT

AL

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Boat For Sale

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

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

UR

BUSINESS FOR SALE UR

GE

N

A TS

LE

SURIN: LUXURIOUS BAR-RESTAURANT SALE

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

CARS, TRUCKS FOR SALE

Hyundai Veloster TURBO

Hyundai Veloster Turbo 39,000km, Price from new 1,749,000 THB, full service book, 4 original rims with tyres with only 6,000km, all options. m.arnskjold@gmail.com, 0836351440 ENG / 084-3058363 TH.

Amazing Deal!

2016 Toyota Vios Model E with only 35,000 Km on it. Is an automatic, with fog lights, windows are tinted already, has the plastic insert for the trunk, rubber floor mats for all seats, rain shields on all windows. Only driven locally in Phuket. It is kept in great condition and is available to view in Chalong.

Only 495,000 THB. Adam 091 016 1167.

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N GE

TS

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2012 Ford Ranger 2.2 Open Cab

78,000km. Six-gear manual transmission.

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

CARS, TRUCKS FOR RENT G UR

EN

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CARS FOR RENT

We offer car rental at affordable prices.

Monthly from B10,000. Daily from B400.

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

HOME IMPROVEMENT Flat roof waterproofing

We do flat roof waterproofing with 20 year warranty by installing quality four layer slate spotted bitumen torch foil + crack repair! Andreas Ruthe, 22/5 Moo1 Kamala Kathu, office@tcm-asia.com, 086-9439834,076-385081.

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE For Sale

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

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

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

OTHER Accountancy,Bookkeeping,Tax

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

POOL TABLES AMAZING DEAL NOT TO BE MISSED!

Like new English Riley Pool Table for sale. Measures 320cm long by 170cm, comes with six pool cues and cue rack as well as game counter. Pick up in Chalong no delivery.

Only 50,000 THB. Adam 091 016 1167.

Rasson Victory 2 Pro Tounament

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

REAL ESTATE SERVICES CHATTHA Property and Rental Management Service in Phuket

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

Chattha Management.

28 CLASSIFIEDS

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Buy & Sell

PROPERTY FOR SALE 4 Pool villas - 1 Rai for sale

Reduced price from 32.9 MB to 24MB (only 6 MB for 1 villa). Bali-Thai Style pool villa 3 bed, 3 bath. Located Pasak, Bangtao beach, Phuket. More info: (+66) 96-8956392,(+66) 94-282-2893 or Umaphorn.fg@gmail.com

Luxury Villa

With private boat morning and jacuzzi.

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

Land & House for sale

Villa 155sqm, on Land 1 to 6 rai. Freehold Chanote on Sukorn Island, Trang province. Price THB 7,150,000 - THB 15,250,000.Owner, 081 537 1957.

New Modern Villa – 5 Mins to Ao Po Grand Marina

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

80m2 freehold condo in Patong

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

RPM owner direct

Unique luxury condo 2 bed, 2 bath, 155sqm.

Foreign FREEHOLD. Architect remodel.

New Jacuzzi. Views to lake, mountain, marina, pool, etc. Completely furnished to a high standard, toothbrush only required. Owner leaving Thailand. Priced at 16MB for quick sale. Contact Brian (Owner): 089 054 4354, 076 360 943. bggvirgo@gmail.com RoyalPhuketMarina Condos.com

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

PROPERTY FOR SALE Chalong Office, Workshop/ Store

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

Chanote 0.5rai. B12,000,000, Simon Jupe, 29/4 Soi Nayai, Chalong, Phuket 83130. Email: simonj@ cscoms.com or call +66 (0)87 883 2542

5-bed pool villa, 1.2 Rai

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

Unique Investment Opportunity

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

COMMUNITY

PROPERTY FOR SALE

PROPERTY FOR RENT

Kamala Condo

Modern fully furnished 2B/R, 2 bathroom condo , 90 SM, min 3 months. Quite & secure. Wifi&cable TV included. 4 condos in this building. Small garden.12,000, bkeenan2010@hotmail.com, 084 716 0502.

Ready 01/07/2018

Rent. The Heritages Suites, nice 2 bedrooms, 2 bathroom, Jacuzzi, 160sqm. Modern furnished. Lease long term (minimum 1 year). Parking, pool, fitness. Close KIS, Lotus. 39,000 per month, Owner, Kathu, Thai 089 552 9303 / Eng 093 717 9343.

Pool Villa For Rent PhangNga

Penthouse for Sale

432.44 SQM Penthouse for sale: 320 Degree view of Patong bay and city.

Private pool. 22nd floor (top floor) at the Andaman Beach Condominium, Patong, Phuket, Thailand.

Condo Facilities: Two tennis courts, 10 x 24-metre swimming pool, fitness & game room, restaurant, parking. 60 Million Baht O.N.O., Songpan, songpanpirom@hotmail.com, 081 737 8662.

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

PROPERTY WANTED Looking for property in Laguna

Willing to sell or rent your property in the Laguna area? Please contact me: raisa@ rl-property.com or +66(0) 81 737 1687 (you can use Viber, Whats App or Line) raisa@rl-property.com

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

SPORT 29

PPL sees seven-ball frenzy

Three seven-ball games in thriller between Natalie and Wombat POOL

LEAGUE STANDINGS

Matt Pond editor3@thephuketnews.com

T

he sixth round of Patong Pool League (PPL), sponsored by Thailand Pool Tables, Genius 2 Garden and Restaurant and Tualek Whisky, was played last Thursday (July 5), and in a thrilling game between Natalie and Wombat bars there were a surprising three sevenball matches, two going to Wombat, the other to Natalie.

However, results from last Thursday’s action still kept Caddy Shack at the top of the league table, now with a lead of four points.

Last Thursday’s game between Natalie and Wombat was already billed to be a thriller with both teams having some really talented players. However, even those players were surprised by what they witnessed.

It started with Wombat owner Azza seven-balling his opponent from Natalie Bar. However, Nue from Natalie Bar then seven-balled his opponent from Wombat the very next game. Then in the doubles, Darren from Wombat potted the black ball straight from the break and kept all other balls on

Martin Swiss hosted PPL leaders Caddy Shack last Thursday with Caddy Shack winning the game but losing the beerleg. Photo: Supplied the table, resulting in the third seven-ball match of the evening.

This meant that it went right the way to the beerleg as the decisive game, which went to all three sets and resulted in a 7-5 victory for Natalie Bar. Meanwhile, Red Light Bar played at home against Kwan’s Birdie Team. Mike and another Mike won both their singles and doubles games for Kwan’s Birdie Team, but Gwen kept up his recent form also winning his singles and

doubles games, as did Tony also playing for Red Light Bar. The beerleg was a three setter and was finally won by Kwan’s Birdie Team who won the match with a 7-5 score.

Genius Bar played away at Happy End Bar, who had several players on holiday meaning they had to borrow players from Kiki Sports Bar who were free from the league this week.

Happy End started really well with both William and Gervais winning their singles and doubles games. However,

Genius’s Vu, Aye (also known as Monlisa) as well as Captain Tommy each played well, all winning their singles and doubles games.

Again, this match went to the beerleg, which was won in three sets by Genius. The final score was 7-5 in favour of Genius, a great team who play well but also like to enjoy a good night out.

Elsewhere, Simon & Oils played at home against Ting Tong Bar with Nick from Ting Tong playing well to win his singles and doubles games.

However Tai, Luke, Thong and Bruce also won their singles and doubles games for Simon & Oils.

T h e b e e rleg w a s a n exciting round-off to the match and it was won in three sets by Ting Tong. However, this was not enough to keep Simon & Oil from a 7-5 victory.

Finally, Martin Swiss hosted PPL leaders Caddy Shack with the Shack gang getting off to a great start with their first four players; Justin, Lek, Marc and Elvie all winning their singles and

Caddy Shack

45

Natalie

41

Simon Oil

39

Kwans Birdie Club

37

Wombat

31

Genius

29

Kiki Sports

29

Martin Swiss

25

Ting Tong

25

Happy End

23

Red Light

23

doubles games giving them a 7-2 lead as they headed into the beerleg.

However, Martin Swiss did not give up and won the beerleg in three sets leaving the final score at 8-4 in Caddy Shack’s favour and meaning they still lead the Patong Pool League, now by four points.

Any people interested in playing as well as visitors are all welcome to attend at one of the 11 participating bars. You can also visit their Patong Friendly Pool League Facebook page.

Did Greenpeace bite off more than they can chew?

FISHING

CAST AWAY Jimmy Stewart info@fishinginphuket.com

WELCOME TO JULY ME cockle-shell heroes.

I see that Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior visited Phuket last month. Boy have they got their work cut out for them, steaming into the lion’s den (or rabbit warren) of Thai conservation plans and achievements. Greenpeace – you have my most sincere best wishes; I just hope you did not bite off more than you can chew during the visit, with “No Feeding the Fish” and “No Smoking on the Beaches” being two of their latest conservational achievements.

June 10 saw the passing of my fishing partner of more than a dozen years, Nareen. R.I.P. my friend, you will be a sad @thephuketnews

loss to the fishing community, even though you could get seasick on a jetty. Condolences to his family, please know, I will also miss him.

Mid-month, towards the end of Ramadan, the hatches were well and truly battened as the island’s west coast received its annual onslaught from the sea. So here we go again, more flip-flops on the beaches and you have no idea how difficult it is to find a PAIR. While looking I said to a guy I met on the beach, “I see you’ve lost a flip-flop.”

“No mate” was the reply.

“I’ve just found one.”

Amazingly I had two separate inquiries to go out fishing during the recent big storm which resulted in three -metre by seven-second seas.

I explained that the weather was too bad, to the extent of being bloody dangerous. As if they couldn’t look out of the window and get hit by a falling tree – with a bit of luck.

Unlike a few years ago, it is now blatantly obvious

to me that it takes extremely little brain power to travel the world these days, especially when you watch the Chinese going out on speedboats during atrocious conditions.

At least the Thais and their other operating partners have their insatiable greed as an excuse for their corporate insanity.

Sticking with stupidity, discussing the state of the roads in Australia with a friend from down under, the now “Internationally Infamous” Chalong Circle reared its ugly head. Quote: “You could get the boats to leave from Rawai wharf.” Oh wait – that was a project of the Chalong Underpass and Pier Building Company wasn’t it? Maybe the bloke who made your “Falkirk Wheel” has got a spare few days; he could create a dock down there!” Cheers Roy. As regard this month’s fishing, the few boats that did go out said there is an abundance of Tuna, all around the 1.5 kilogram mark, as the

young fish continue to put on weight, gorging themselves on Flying Fish and Squid before leaving the shallow, warm waters of the Andaman Sea and venturing out into the Indian Ocean.

As usual, tight lines all round!

Jimmy - fishinginphuket.com

One of Jimmy’s favourite family fishing pictures. An oldie but a goodie.

Photo: Supplied

Rawai Pool League winners: The 13th season of the Rawai Pool League ended on Monday (July 9) with a play-off between the first four ranked teams. The biggest winners on Monday were White Hart A, who overturned a 4th place ranking to finish 1st. Coming in at 2nd were Shot, followed by Black Sheep in 3rd and Pita Bar A in 4th.

30 SPORT

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

ICC smash Patong selection Prakash scores 112 as Island Cricket Club cruise to victory CRICKET Neil Quail

E

njoying a break from league formalities, the ACG hosted a friendly encounter between Island Cricket Club (ICC) and a Patong selection last Sunday (July 7) to tide the C&C Marine 8 by 20 scheduling gap leading into the second round of this exciting cricketing format.

Opting to bat first on a slow wicket, ICC’s captain, Divan Mydeen sent Prakash Jha and Arun Virdikar in to face the pace attack of Matthew Kohler and Shivam Bhattcharya in the hope of setting a challenging total for a hungry Patong batting line up.

While expectations may have been high to force an early breakthrough, ICC’s opening pair were clearly undeterred and began racking

Patong’s Michael Flowers and Umpire John King watch the ICC bowling action. Photo: Neil Quail up a sizeable run rate, aided by decidedly complacent fielding from the Patong side.

By the 10-over drinks break, ICC had managed 80 runs without loss, dashing any hopes that this would be a walk-in-the-park for Patong, and that this game would be a struggle, especially if Jha and Virdikar were allowed to continue their free-flow of run scoring.

Matters certainly did not

improve for Patong on resuming play, with Jha sublimely pummelling each Patong bowler faced over boundaries in every direction. Indeed, there was concern that the game would have to be suspended due to the amount of match balls being dispatched into the surrounding lake area to the extent that umpire, John King, began running out of replacement balls and – in jest – even threatened the

batsmen with fines for losing any more.

Event ually, and with his personal tally on 112, Prakash swung wildly at a delivery from Neil Quail that uprooted both off and middle stumps ending a fine innings of only 49 balls faced, and a substantial few of which can still be seen bobbing in the local lagoon.

Soon after, with the score on 166, Virdikar (54) decided

to unselfishly retire – after also taking a vicious blow to the chest from a cracking on-drive

by Jha – in order to give his teammates an opportunity to add their mark on the game.

This they did, boosting the total with an additional 30 runs for the fall of three wickets, those secured by the bowling of Bhattcharya and Michael Flowers before their 20-overs innings concluded.

Patong’s chase began with Kohler and Flowers, but any hope of competition was soon quashed with the cheap dismissal of the big hitting Kohler. Flowers (15) admirably backed Anthony Van Blerk (25) then skipper, Seemant Raju, for a time before succumbing to the slightest of edges taken by ICC’s wicket keeper, allowing Ike Bekker to visit the crease.

By the 10-over break, ICC had restricted Patong to 60 runs for two wickets, but worryingly well behind on

the run-rate.

For a brief time, Raju and Bekker (15) built a decent partnership, upping the run rate to a more respectable level, but the end result was never really in any doubt.

Entering the final over, Patong needed 55 runs to win, a mathematical and physical improbability, with the final result an emphatic 49 run victory for ICC. Man of the match was awarded to Prakash Jha, while Shivam Bhattcharaya was the pick of Patong’s bowling claiming two wickets for 22 runs.

If you would like to get involved with cricket as a player or a coach, please contact the Phuket Cricket Group through Facebook or by email at jason@acgphuket. com. Or check out the ACG Cricket and Sports Facility Fa c e b o o k p a ge fo r a ll upcoming events.

Catching up with Phuket’s Pickleball scene PICKLEBALL A BOU T T H R EE MON T H’S ago, via the new-formed Phuket Pickleball Association (PPA), The Phuket News introduced readers to what is quickly becoming the fastest growing racquet/paddle sport in the world.

Since then Pickleball has grown quickly in Phuket but the PPA say there is still room for many new pickleballers at the Phuket Sports and Tennis Club in Rawai.

The PPA is inviting all interested to join for two hours of FREE court time with all equipment also provided for FREE. All you need to do is show up at the Phuket Sports and Tennis Club in Rawai (Google it) any Tuesday and/or Thursday from 4pm to 6pm

and on Sunday morning from 9am to 11am. Just wear a pair of sport shoes, shorts and a shirt.

Members of the PPA will be onhand to teach you the basic rules, give you a FREE lesson and get you into games.

A play as you learn approach is taken.

Just as a recap, Pickleball can be played by all ages from teens through your golden years both by male and female.

In a recent interview with The Phuket News PPA founder Gene Van Lyuk explained that at his Pickleball club in Hawaii, a 92-yearold is playing a very decent game against people half his age.

“It’s a very healthy sport. It requires simple eye to hand coordination, and there is a lot less movement or strength required than

tennis. And most importantly, the only thing you really need to play well is a good attitude and a little practice.”

“It can be played indoors and outdoors. Plus, it’s great fun,” Van Lyuk told The Phuket News.

Van Lyuk also said that not only are the USA and Canada having a revival of this sport, which originally started over 30 years ago, but it has geometrically progressed into the newest sport phenomenon of the last five years throughout the world.

“Thailand is no exception with groups now set up in Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Bangkok and now for three months here in Rawai, Phuket,” he said.

Not getting ahead of himself, and realising that many expats, retirees, locals and visitors to Phuket are not familiar with Pickleball,

Van Lyuk wanted to explain a little about the game.

“The game is a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong.

It’s played with a paddle about twice the size of a ping-pong paddle, but much sturdier, a tennis type net and a court size similar to a badminton court. Balls used are similar to a US size baseball but made of plastic with a number of holes in it, similar to a Whiffle Ball.”

Anyone interested in Pickle Ball should check out the PPA’s website: phuketpickleball.com, email pickleballgene@yahoo.com or text/ phone 065-8098565 (from Thailand) or 66 658098565 from abroad for more information. Or you can just stop by the Phuket Sports and Tennis Club in Rawai any Tuesday and/or Thursday from 4pm to 6pm and on Sunday morning from 9am to 11am.

Pickleball can be played by teens through those in their golden years and by males and females alike.

Photo: Chad Ryan / Flickr If you know how to play, have a group, and want to play on any day other than the Tuesday and Thursday, you can book a court by calling or texting Pat, the owner/manager of the Phuket Sports and Tennis Club, at 081 6072805 while in Thailand or 66 816072805 from abroad.

Rackets and balls are available for rent at a nominal charge.

Let’s go Pickleball!

Matt Pond

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS Run #1692: Saturday July 14 Run Start Time: 4pm Hares: Tootsi, Assterix Location: Chalong – Froggy’s Restaurant Directions: If coming from Chalong Circle go along Chao Fah West Rd for 2.3 kilometres and immediately turn left after the PTT petrol station. Drive on for 300 metres to laager site at Froggy’s restaurant. If coming from Central Festival Phuket go along Chao Fah West Rd and turn right immediately before the PTT petrol station and continue as above.

Bus pick-up: Kamala @ Black Cat’s Bar: 2:30pm Patong @ Expat Hotel: 3pm More info: phuket-hhh.com

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

SPORT 31

‘We’ll try to kill their magic’ Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone fairytale turns into a nightmare BOX OF NEUTRALS

Ferr ari's German driver Sebastian Vettel kisses his winner's trophy on the podium a f te r t h e B r i t i s h Formula One Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit last Sunday (July 8). Photo: Andrej Isakovic / AFP

Michael Lamonato michael@boxofneutrals.com

T

he British Grand Prix was supposed to be a Lewis Hamilton fairytale, but instead it turned into a nightmare for the Briton and his legion of fans.

“We’ll try to kill their magic,” said Ferrari driver and championship leader Sebastian Vettel at the beginning of the British Grand Prix weekend.

British sport was having a moment, and the historic Silverstone Circuit, bathed in glorious summer sunshine, was to write the next chapter.

Lew is Ha m ilton, t he United Kingdom’s most successful Formula One driver, needed one more win to make himself the undisputed king of the British Grand Prix with an unprecedented six wins.

Silverstone belonged to the Silver Arrows, with Mercedes undefeated in England since Nico Rosberg won for the German marque in 2013.

Ferrari, on the other hand, hadn’t tasted success there since 2011. Even last season, its most competitive in recent times, the British Grand Prix was amongst its weakest weekends.

History and emotion were against the Scuderia, but the Italians had come to Britain in 2018 to reverse the sentiment that this race belonged to Lewis Hamilton.

With a raft of upgrades equipped, Vettel came agonisingly close to pole, but a Hamilton last-lap special snatched it back from him at the death – fittingly by 0.044 seconds, 44 being Hamilton’s race number – thrilling the throngs of British fans

@thephuketnews

packed into the Silverstone grandstands.

The unusually warm British summer was only just hotting up, and when England comfortably put away Sweden in that afternoon’s

World Cup quarter-finals tie, there was a palpable sense of destiny in the air. Hamilton would surely bring home a record-breaking sixth British Grand Prix trophy gilding an already golden month for

Live Sports TV Schedule *Times may be subject to change

SPORT START Friday 13th July Rugby Union 14:30 16:40 Tennis 19:00 Cricket 14:00 Rugby League 15:00 Saturday 14th July Rugby Union 12:10 14:30 16:40 20:00 22:10 Tennis 20:00 21:30 Soccer 21:00 Cricket 17:00 Motor Bikes 17:00 Sunday 15th July Rugby League 13:00 15:30 Soccer 22:00 Tennis 20:00 Cricket 11:00 Motor Bikes 15:30

STOP

EVENT

TEAMS / INFO

16:30 18:30 01:00 22:00 17:00

Super XV Super XV Wimbledon ODI1 - Bulawayo NRL

Chiefs v. Hurricanes Reds v. Sunwolves Men’s Semi Finals Zimbabwe v. Pakistan Panthers v. Sharks

14:15 Super XV 16:30 Super XV 18:40 Super XV 22:00 Super XV 00:00 Super XV 21:30 Wimbledon 23:30 Wimbledon 23:00 World Cup 3/4 Play-Off 00:00 ODI2 - Lords 21:20 MotoGP, German GP 15:00 17:30 00:00 22:00 18:00 21:30

NRL NRL World Cup Final Wimbledon Test 1, Galle, Day 4 MotoGP, German GP

Highlanders v. Rebels Crusaders v. Blues Waratahs v. Brumbies Lions v. Blues Sharks v. Jaguares Ladies’ Final Men’s Doubles Final Belgium v. tbc England v. India Qualifying, Saxony Dragons v. Wests Tigers Titans v. Roosters France v. tbc Men’s Final Sri Lanka v. South Africa Main Races, Sachsenring

sport in England.

But with 130,000 Britons clambering for a view of their hero, to cheer him on to his inevitable victory, Hamilton fluffed his lines.

The Mercedes driver spun

his wheels when the lights went out, ceding places to Vettel, his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. Kimi Raikkonen would’ve had him too had the Finn not locked a wheel and sent the Mercedes driver spinning off the track.

Hamilton dropped to the back of the field, his Silverstone dream fading as fast as the hear ts of his fans sank, but with impressive haste he sliced through the midfield to rejoin his front running rivals, and then a slice of luck: a crash further down the order triggered a safety car, enabling him to close the gap to the front and battle wheel-to-wheel for the podium in a nail-biting final 15 laps.

It was a conclusion that enthralled, but by the time the cars crossed the line on lap 52, Hamilton was still only second, a desperate 2.264 seconds behind Vettel. It had indeed been a magic drive by the Briton, but magic wasn’t enough to overcome Ferrari’s iron will.

British hearts were broken.

“Here in their house!”

Vettel exclaimed over team radio in Italian. “Now we’ll take the English flag to Maranello.”

The British Grand Prix delivered Formula One an intriguing proposition for the final two races before the mid-season break: Sebastian Vettel leads Lewis Hamilton by a slender eight points in the drivers title standings, while Ferrari heads Mercedes by just 20 points on the teams table. After 10 unpredictable rounds there’s little to differentiate Formula One’s 2018 championship contenders.

And though Hamilton left Silverstone lamenting the lack of a fairytale ending, the Briton has the opportunity to wreak revenge when Formula One returns to Hockenheim for Sebastian Vettel’s home German Grand Prix on July 22.

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

Sport

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

editor3@classactmedia.co.th

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018

Nataile downs Wombat in sevenball thriller > p29

READY FOR ‘THE OPEN’ A look back at the oldest of all golfing majors first played in 1860

Irishman Padraid Harrington was the last person to win the The British Open at Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland back in 2007. Photo: Pierre Verdy / AFP

GOLF Martin Platts

T

he 147th Open Championship is set to take place at the Car noustie Golf Links, Scotland from July 19–22.

The British Open, often referred to as The Open Championship or The Open, is the oldest of all the golfing majors and was first played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland.

The Open is administered by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews – the oldest and most prestigious golf club in the world – which has been running the rules of golf since 1754, thus making it one of the governing bodies of golf.

Located at the St Andrews Golf Club in Fife, Scotland, also known as the ‘Home of Golf’, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is affiliated to the United Golf Association, and in 2004 The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews handed over this role to a newly formed companies collectively

known as The R & A. The Open Championship is played on rotation at various golf courses throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland, this year it’s Carnoustie Golf Club in Scotland’s turn to host.

Carnoustie has a long and proud history. It was formally instituted in 1842 but records show that the club existed for a number of years prior to that. This makes Carnoustie one of the ten oldest golf clubs in the world, giving the club a unique position in world golfing history.

Members of Carnoustie Golf Club have won many prestigious golfing events. They have also played an active part in the worldwide development of golf in the United Kingdom, America and Australia. In fact they have had their hand in many other countries such as Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland, helping to grow golf even more.

The seven previous winners of the Open Championship at

Carnoustie are Tommy Armour (US) in 1931, Henry Cotton (Eng) in 1937, Ben Hogan (US) in 1953, Gary Player (SA) in 1968, Tom Watson (US) in 1975, Paul Lawrie (SCO) in 1999 and Padraid Harrington (IRE) in 2007.

In this article we are going to focus a little on Ben Hogan.

I n 1953, Be n Hoga n , t he legendary American golfer, came to Scotland a few weeks early to get used to the conditions as a first timer to British Links golf, and the Scottish fans appreciated Hogan’s meticulous approach of how to play the course.

First he walked the golf course from the 18th green to the 1st tee.

Backwards this creates a more open prospectus of the golf course and also makes you less worried about the Hazards the golf course has to offer.

Legend has it that he hit three tee shots off every tee on to the fairway, one tee shot left of centre, one tee shot to the middle of the fairway and one tee shot right of centre, to find the best angle into the green

from his next shot.

Furthermore, Hole 6 on the Championship Course at Carnoustie is a par 5 with a split fairway. The safer play is to go up the much wider right side, but the better line (leaving the better set-up for the approach shot into the green) is up the narrower and more dangerous left side.

During the 1953 tournament, Hogan played up the more dangerous left fairway – bunkers on one side of the tight landing area, out-of-bounds on the other – all four days. All four days he hit his target. And he won the tournament.

After that, the hole became nicknamed “Hogan’s Alley”.

During a ceremony in 2003, Carnoustie officially renamed the hole Hogan’s Alley. (The hole’s original name was “Long”.)

Though the Scots adored Hogan, he wasn’t too keen on the course. It was his first, and last, appearance at the British Open.

So in 1953 Ben Hogan played in six tournaments winning three majors, two main tour events and

picked up a 3rd place in a nonofficial tournament. Because the British Open that year clashed with the PGA Championship in America it made it impossible for Ben Hogan to win all four majors in one year, so the press dubbed it the “Hogan Slam” or “Hogan’s Triple Crown”.

After returning to New York from Scotland, Ben Hogan, affectionately known by the Scottish golf fans as “Wee Ice Mon”, was greeted with a ticker-tape parade.

It was the first time a golfer had been so honoured since Bobby Jones in 1930.

Let’s hope that the Open Championship this year will create another great golfer.

Happy golfing to all!

Good golfing to all!

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

Visit TheGolfGuru.com thephuketnews