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Anzac invasion
PATONG: Almost 60 days after the tsunami hit, the first large group of Australian and New Zealand tourists arrived in Phuket this morning aboard a Star Cruise ship.Among those on hand to greet the 1,800 visitors were Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Region 4 Director Suwalai Pinpradab, Phuket Tourist Authority President Pattanapong Aikwanich and a contingent of students from Patong…
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Festival to give Andaman coast a boost
PATONG (The Nation): Music, sports, a swimwear fashion show and even a bodybuilding contest will be among the highlights of a project to help restore international tourists’ confidence in the Andaman coast provinces.The “Loving Andaman” campaign, organized jointly by Thai Airways International (THAI), the Office of the Supreme Commander and the UBC Group, will also include a damage survey, and…
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For your nose only
BANGKOK: Doctors performing the wrong operations on their patients are the stuff of medical malpractice lore, so perhaps it was inevitable in plastic-surgery-obsessed Thailand: a woman who went in for cosmetic eye surgery emerged from the operating theater with a nose job instead. Nattha Masa, 40, paid the Ruamphaet Clinic in her home province of Samut Prakan 8,000 baht to…
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Mob blocks road in rent protest
SAPAM: More than 200 people blocked Thepkrasattri Rd for half an hour yesterday evening as they protested against plans to make them pay rent on the land where they have lived for 15 years.The rally was sparked by a February 17 visit to Moo 3, Tambon Koh Keaw by city officers, who told the residents they must now pay rent…
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Patong Mayor ordered to get a move on
PATONG: Phuket Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit yesterday ordered Patong Mayor Pian Keesin to pick up the pace in carrying out orders to make Patong Beach more orderly, remarking that the Patong beachfront area appears to be slipping back into pre-tsunami chaos.The order came during a meeting of a special committee set up to oversee the redevelopment of Patong Beach in line…
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Ex-presidents stress local approach to recovery
THALANG: Projects to rebuild tsunami-ravaged areas should be “locally-driven” former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr declared after touring parts of Phuket and Phang Nga at the weekend.Thailand was the first stop in a four-country tour by the ex-presidents, aimed at encouraging private and corporate donors – particularly in the United States – to continue giving to the…
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Four corpse containers “malfunctioning’
PHANG NGA: Four cold-storage containers housing the unidentified bodies of tsunami victims are malfunctioning, causing rapid decomposition of the corpses within and spreading a gruesome stench in the areas where they are located.Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsab, head of of Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Centre (TTVI), said the problem freezers are at Wat Yan Yao and Wat Bang Muang in Phang…
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King of Sweden thanks Thais
PHUKET CITY: Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited Phuket Provincial Hall this morning as part of a state visit to Thailand to thank the Thai people for their efforts in the aftermath of the December 26 tsunami. The royal couple, accompanied by Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiat Sathirathai, were greeted by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and a…
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338 bodies sent home from Mai Khao
PHUKET: A total of 338 tsunami victims buried temporarily at Mai Khao Cemetery have been identified and returned to their families.Thai Tsunami Victim Indentification Centre (TTVI) head Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsab says he expects all 1,890 bodies at Mai Khao to be identified within three or four months.All but two of the bodies identified so far were foreigners, said Gen…
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Clinton, Bush Snr to tour tsunami damage
PHUKET: US former presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton will arrive in Phuket on Saturday as part of a US presidential delegation to inspect tsunami-affected areas throughout Asia.They will arrive at Phuket International Airport at 11:55 am, to be welcomed by Khunying Pojamarn Shinawatra, the wife of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.The former heads…
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Divers break world record off Koh Tao
SURAT THANI: More than 720 people from at least 35 countries have set a world record for the most divers diving simultaneously off Koh Tao, as part of the Koh Tao Underwater Day festival.The event was held to promote awareness of how global climate change is slowly killing coral and to mark the coming into effect today of the Kyoto…
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Swedish royals to visit Phuket, Phang Nga
PHUKET: Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will arrive in Phuket on Friday for a tour of the island and Phang Nga.Their plane will arrive at 9:30 am at Phuket International Airport, and the royal couple will be received at Phuket Provincial Hall by Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and representatives of the Thai government, before visiting the Bangkok Phuket…
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THAI defends decision to cut flights
PHUKET: National carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) has defended its decision to axe a number of flights to Phuket in the wake of the tsunami, including all direct international services.Kalayapha Panich, the Phuket-based District Sales Manager for Upper-Southern Thailand, told the Gazette that the company had decided it could not continue to operate routes at a loss.“So few passengers currently…
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Tsunami family in plea for help
PHUKET: The family and friends of a Finnish man and his son who were listed on an official website as having survived the tsunami, but who have not returned home, have appealed for help in finding out what has happened to them. Michael Gustafsson and his nine-year-old son Alexander were posted as “Swedish” and “Go Home” on the Phuket City…
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Bypass road to close for construction
PHUKET CITY: Parts of the bypass road (Chalermprakiat Ror IX Rd) will be closed for two afternoons a week until April because of construction work.Phuket Provincial Highways Office Chief Thanit Sakiya announced today that traffic will be barred from various parts of the road between 1 pm and 3 pm on Mondays and Thursdays until the first week in April.…
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Crime rate rising after tsunami
PHUKET CITY: Police are reporting a surge in crime brought about by the downturn in the tourism industry following the tsunami disaster, and are advising people to take extra precautions to protect themselves against opportunistic thieves.In a press release issued by the Phuket City Police, Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin said there has been an increase in home and office…
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Hit me with your rhythm stick
PATONG: Tourists on Soi Bangla enjoyed a live concert by the Harvey Thompson Jazz Band and the Waikado Yamato Drummers Sunday night.The show was organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as part of its ongoing efforts to revive Phuket tourism in the aftermath of the tsunami.The Detroit-based baritone, accompanied by saxophonist Paul Fleischer, performed a number of songs…
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Tourists “expect big discounts’ after tsunami
LAGUNA: Thailand used to be the most popular destination for customers of the Thomas Cook company, but the country has “slipped” because of the tsunami, Joanna Edmunds, Managing Director of Thomas Cook Signature, told local tourism operators yesterday.The immediate solution, she said, will be to offer “very, very attractive prices”.She warned the meeting, at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, that…
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Tsunami risk areas being mapped
PHUKET: A map of the areas of the Andaman coast most likely to be hit by flooding resulting from any future tsunami will be ready in March, Pipob Wasuwanich, the Deputy Director of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), said yesterday.Speaking at a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, K. Pipob said that the map will also indicate “escape…
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Bargirl swallows rock
RAWAI: A Patong bargirl swallowed a Frenchman’s diamond ring after he refused to pay her and a friend for services rendered after an all-night menage-a-trois in Rawai. Chalong Police received a complaint from a 62-year-old Frenchman identified as Mr Patrick, who fingered Tawan, a 28-year-old bar girl, as the jewelry-gulping culprit. Mr Patrick told the police that on the evening…
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Emergency number back in service “by end of month’
PHUKET: The 1155 emergency telephone number for tourists should be working properly again by the end of this month, Phuket Tourist Police Inspector Pol Maj Bundit Khaosutham has told the Gazette.Maj Bundit said the line had been damaged during the tsunami, but the police were now pushing to have it repaired so that it will be fuctioning normally soon.Maj Bundit…
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Finnish tourists back in Phuket
PHUKET: Starting today, tour operators bringing tourists from Finland to Phuket expect to be running three charter flights a week until April, although the number of vacationers will be only half what they would have been if there had been no tsunami.A spokesman for Royal Andaman Travel Group, the local partner of travel company Star Tour, said that around 230…
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Businesses back on Patong Beach – for now
PATONG: Owners of small businesses will be allowed to return to Patong Beach, but only until the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) “improvement” plan is implemented, Kathu District Chief Officer Kantee Sinlapa has stressed.K. Kantee said the temporary reprieve applies to businesses such as beach umbrella renters, jet-ski operators, vehicle rental firms and drinks vendors.But, he warned, “When we get…
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B2bn tsunami memorial proposed
PHUKET CITY: Plodprasop Suraswadi, Adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop, today announced that a proposal to build a memorial to remember the victims of the December 26 tsunami with a budget of up to 2 billion baht will be submitted to Cabinet for approval next Tuesday.At a high-level meeting of officials from Phuket and Phang Nga at the Phuket…
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Pornthip to return to Wat Yan Yao
PHUKET: Battling forensic scientist Dr Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunan is to resume her work on identifying tsunami victims after Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkarnjana intervened in the row between her and Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Centre (TTVI) boss Pol Gen Nopadol Soomboonsub.Dr Pornthip and her team left Phang Nga last week after the mortuary at Wat Yan Yao, which had been their…
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US group vows to help boost Phuket tourism
PHUKET CITY: A 61-strong group of Americans met Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana this morning to deliver a message of hope and friendship, along with US$1,200 (48,000 baht) for grants for students affect by the tsunami.The Americans, 42 of whom are from the state of Oregon, are members of the “Flight of Friendship” organisation, which has been set up to…
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WHO offers forensics assistance
PHUKET: The World Health Organization (WHO) has offered to send forensic scientists to Thailand to help identify tsunami victims, and has asked Thailand to support other countries hit by the tsunami.Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO Regional Director for Southeast Asia, said the organization would draw on experience gained after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.“One must always keep…
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Sea gypsies protest at “lack of government help’
PHUKET: More than 50 sea gypsies from Rawai rallied outside the offices of Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura this morning to protest at what they say is a lack of help from the government since the tsunami.The government has said it would make one-off payments of 2,000 baht to anyone who lost his or her job because of the tsunami. But…
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Turkish PM offers help with tsunami warning system
PHUKET: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a visit to Phuket, offered Turkey’s help in the effort to protect the countries around the Andaman Sea from future tsunamis.Mr Erdogan was speaking yesterday at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, after a helicopter tour of tsunami-affected areas in Phuket and Phang Nga, accompanied by Thai Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula.Mr Erdogan, whose…
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Phone fury
PATTAYA: Four innocent bystanders were injured by ricocheting bullets when a bagman for a Pattaya loan shark opened fire on his mobile phone. Witnesses to the slaying of the mobile phone said the man, identified only as “Woot”, was seen at about 3 am yelling into his mobile phone on the ground floor of Niran Condo on Soi Arunothai. He…
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