QUEER NEWS 4; AROUND THENATION 7; AROUND THE REGION

8; HAPPENINGS 9; HOROSCOPES

10; OUTSIDE IN, BOOKS, TIMEMACHINE 16; KIDS 17; PAT-TAYA, MOTORING, STOOL PIGEON18 & 19; EDITORIAL, LETTERS,ISSUES & ANSWERS 20 & 21;COMPUTERS, ON THE MOVE 22;DIARY, WINE 26; GUEST CHEF

27; GARDENING 31; CLASSI-FIEDS 32-39.

PLUS

NEWS: B280m needed for tsu-nami victim ID; Tsunamiarchive to be set up – inBangkok. Pages 2 & 3

INSIDE STORY: Alarming de-velopments in Patong.

Pages 4 & 5

AROUND THE ISLAND: Fetalcare in 4D. Page 6

PEOPLE: Katoey costumierreveals all. Pages 10 & 11

LIFESTYLE: Miss Universebeauties spread their love.

Page 12

STICKER FEVER: Tourist Po-lice show their love for Phu-ket. Page 13

SPA MAGIC: The blissful TheSpa. Page 14

AFTER DARK: Jammin’ till thejam is through at Yoonique.

Page 15

FIRST PERSON: Landbridge‘incompatible’ with tourism.

Page 21

BUSINESS: MICE in Phuket;Business registrations falling;Money Talks.Pages 22 & 23

SPORT: Rugby 10s match-ups; Putting perfectly; ITFWeek 3. Pages 24 & 25

PROPERTY: Home of theWeek: Chalong; Update:Baan Sapum. Pages 28-30

The Gazette is publishedin association with

IN THIS ISSUE

May 28 - June 3, 2005Volume 12 Issue 22 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 20 Baht

Interpol chiefslams lack offunds for DVIBy Alison Winward

THAILAND: Phuket Air hassuspended its Bangkok-Bali ser-vice after passenger numbersslumped following a ban on theairline flying to and from Am-sterdam, imposed earlier thismonth.

Sribenja Semmeesook,Communication Consultant ofAziam Burson-Marsteller, whichhandles public relations forPhuket Air, told the Gazette onMay 20, “Many customers fromthe Netherlands and the rest ofEurope [previously] used PhuketAir to fly from Amsterdam toBangkok and then from Bangkokto Bali.

“But since the airline wasbarred from Amsterdam, the re-sulting drop in passengers hasforced Phuket Air to stop flyingto Bali.”

K. Sribenja said one of theproblems that had caused the air-line to be banned from Am-sterdam – faulty emergencylighting – had been fixed the dayafter the Dutch civil aviationauthorities acted against the air-line.

As regards the other prob-lem – the fact that a Filipino pi-lot held a medical certificatevalid for a year, while the Dutchauthorities insist on six-monthmedical certificates – K. Sriben-ja said only that the certificateswere “not compatible”.

She continued, “As I’msure you can appreciate, it isn’tall that easy to reinstate routesafter being banned – it takes timeto fix everything.

“I’m surprised it has takenas long as it has, though, and Ihope we will be allowed to flyinto Amsterdam again soon.”

By Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

Phuket Airsuspendsflights fromBangkokto Bali

PHUKET: Interpol boss RonaldK Noble, during a visit to the is-land on May 21, lashed out at thelack of funding from the inter-national community for work tocontinue in identifying victimsof the December 26 tsunami.

“We, as a world commu-nity, should be embarrassed thatthe people in the DVI teams, whoshould be [regarded as] heroes,aren’t getting all the support theyneed,” said Mr Noble, who isSecretary General of Interpol.

“These dedicated policeofficers and experts, who havecome here to look at these re-mains and take DNA samples,are having to raise money [fortheir investigations].”

Mr Noble said that he hadheard of DVI (Disaster VictimIdentification) staff having towrite up business plans to getequipment and funding or to con-tact friends and colleagues tosource ink cartridges for print-ers.

The situation had becomeso bad that Mr Noble approvedthe establishment of a 5,000-euro(about 250,000 baht) petty cashfund to cover expenses.

Since January, Interpol –which is based in Lyon, France– has been co-ordinating the ef-forts of DVI teams from aroundthe world to return tsunami vic-tims to their families.

At present, the work of the20 or so DVI teams operating inPhuket is funded solely by theirhome countries. But this system

is “inefficient” said Mr Noble,as it can lead to duplication ofsome resources, but shortages ofothers.

“Individual countries cansay they have been here from thevery beginning and they havedonated enough resources, butreally, that isn’t good enough forthe family members. [They]want their relatives to be identi-fied as soon as possible,” he said.

Mr Noble supported theThai Tsunami Victims Identifi-

cation center’s executive com-mittee in its attempts to secureinternational funding for its workin Phuket.

He said this was particu-larly important because since thetsunami slipped off the frontpages of the world’s newspapersand foreign victims were beingidentified, foreign governmentsare facing less pressure to con-tinue contributing to theeffort,even though it could benecessary for many years.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble: ‘We, as a world com-munity, should be embarrassed…’

N E W S2 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

B20m needed for DNAtests on tsunami dead

Phuket-born Tawat Tongtem, 27, is the latest winner in theGazette's 'We Love Phuket' sticker drive. Spotting the licensenumber of his pickup truck on the front page of the Gazette

issue of May 21, he promptly called up to claim his prize –2,500 baht in cash. He is pictured receiving the money fromGazette Managing Editor Alasdair Forbes. For details of thesticker drive, and how to win fabulous prizes, see page 40 ofthis issue. Tourist Police love Phuket: page 13.

PATONG: The developers of theJungceylon shopping, entertain-ment and hotel complex havedecided to delay opening it untilOctober, seven months later thanplanned, because of the tsunami.

Jungceylon public relationsand events supervisor KhemawatPudpuang told the Gazette onMay 24 that the managementteam, meeting after the tsunami,decided not to open the center inMarch, as originally intended,“because they were worried therewould be no tourists.”

He continued, “We alsotalked with people who were torent space here, and everyoneagreed to postpone the openingbecause there would be no tour-ists immediately after the tsu-nami or during the following‘green’ season.

“We pointed out to themthat it would be better for themif we delayed opening the centerthan it would be for us to openon time and have them payingrent without having customers.

“They accepted what wesaid and decided that it would bebetter to wait until the start of thenext high season.”

K. Khemawat continued,“A few businesses that had al-ready reserved a space canceled

after the tsunami, but most ofthem were small traders.

“The big businesses stuckwith us because the tsunami wasa natural disaster and … they feltit would not really damage thepotential of Phuket tourism.”

Jungceylon opening postponedThe wave actually attracted

new business. “Small traders, theones who had sold souvenirs andsuch things on the beachfront,approached us about rentingspace,” claimed K. Khemawat.

– Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

PATONG: Officers from Kathu Police Station will find it easier topatrol the sands of Patong Beach with the new 4x4 off-roadvehicles presented to them on May 19 by the US Embassy inThailand.

The vehicles, called ST 4x4s, were donated by E-Z-GoCompany, which is owned by Textron, well-known for its BellHelicopter and Cessna Aircraft brands.

Two of the vehicles, which have a top speed of 40kmh,will be used for patrolling Patong Beach, while a third will bereserved for use by American officials visiting Phuket.

Our picture shows Dan Boling (left), of E-Z-Go, and David LTurner, of the Force Protection Detachment at the US DefenseDepartment, taking one of the new “beach busters” for a spinon Patong Beach.

IN BRIEF

KATA: A charity buffet dinner and art auction will be held at MomTri’s Villa Royale on June 18. All proceeds will go directly towardsa scholarship fund for victims of the tsunami.

Donors of art objects for auction include Soul of Asia, thePhuket Art Movement and Phuket Ceramics. All works to be auc-tioned will be on display at Villa Royale from June 10.

For more information contact Donna Tudge at Tel: 076-330015or Email: donna@boathouse.com or Joan Watson at Tel: 07-2820422.

Charity Art Auction at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale

PHUKET CITY: Representatives of English Premiership teamsEverton, Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City on May 20 gavetheir approval for Surakul Stadium to be the venue of a one-daykid’s soccer camp on July 21, run by three coaches and two playersof each team.

Eam Thavornvongwongse, President of the Phuket Sports As-sociation, said, “The purpose of this course is to give about 300children in the tsunami-affected areas in Krabi, Phang Nga andPhuket, the opportunity to study techniques with Premier Leagueteams.”

Derek Fazackerley, Head Coach of Manchester City, said “Thisstadium is in excellent condition for coaching.”

Top English clubs to run soccer ‘camp’ in Phuket

PHUKET: Around 20 millionbaht is needed to pay for testingDNA samples from victims of thetsunami who have yet to be iden-tified, the head of the Thai Tsu-nami Victims Identification cen-tre (TTVI), Pol Gen NoppadolSomboonsap, said on May 22.

An additional 260 millionbaht, or more, may be needed toset up a proposed Thai-run disas-ter victims identification (DVI)center to continue identifyingbodies after foreign teams havegone home.

Altogether, 1,663 victims,Thai and foreign, have now beenidentified. Most of the foreign-ers have been identified throughdental records or fingerprints.

However, investigators areturning increasingly to DNA,particularly to identify the Thaivictims, as many of them – espe-cially from Phang Nga – had nodental records and, in placeswhere buildings were washedaway, it is difficult to find finger-prints to compare with thosetaken from the dead.

The DNA samples are nowbeing sent to the InternationalCommission on Missing Persons(ICMP) in Bosnia for analysis.

Gen Noppadol said, “Wehave already sent about 750DNA samples … but with eachtest costing 10,000 baht, andthere still being nearly 2,000 bod-ies yet to be identified, we arelooking at a bill of 20 millionbaht for DNA analysis alone.”

Gen Noppadol was speak-ing during a visit to Phuket byDeputy Prime Minister and Inte-rior Minister Pol Gen ChidchaiWannasatit.

The minister said the gov-ernment plans to establish a newDVI center to continue the workof the foreign teams after theyhave gone, but added that hecould not give more details atpresent.

Pol Col Pornprasert Kanja-narin, the Joint Chief of Staff,said that around 140 million bahtwould be needed to set up a sys-tem to compare fingerprints, and120 million baht for software toanalyze the results of the DNAtests – but added that these wouldbe only the initial costs. The cen-tre would have a staff of 105.

By Anongnat Sartpisut

May 28 - June 3, 2005 N E W S P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 3

PHUKET: Democrat party leaderAbhisit Vejjajiva took part in a“coffee council” discussion withpeople in Mai Khao on May 23,during a visit to Phuket.

More than 500 people wait-ed to see the opposition leaderarrive with Phuket Democrat MPChalermlak Kebsup and PhuketProvincial Administration Orga-nization President AnchaleeVanich-Thebabutr, both staunchDemocrats.

K. Abhisit said the party’s“coffee councils” were a goodway to learn what voters werethinking and to discuss partypolicies with them.

He explained, “It is difficultfor us to get our message acrossto the voters, that’s why we setup the coffee councils as a wayof having direct communicationwith local people.

“Prime Minister ThaksinShinawatra does a radio broad-cast to the nation every Saturday.We sent a request three weeksago to the Public Relations De-partment to clear things for us todo the same, but we haven’t hada reply from them yet,” he added.

In the afternoon, K. Abhisit

PHUKET: Drugs were yet againthe main cause for arrests inPhuket in April, according to thelatest Provincial Police crime sta-tistics.

A total of 93 people werearrested for drug-related offensesbetween April 1 and April 30,compared with 81 arrests inMarch.

Possession of ya bah (meth-amphetamine) accounted for thelargest number of arrests – 38 –in April, followed by marijuanapossession, for which people 30were arrested.

Of the remaining 25 drugarrests, 20 were for substanceabuse, three were for usingkrathom (a plant that acts as amild stimulant when ingested),one involved Ecstasy and one in-volved hashish.

Three murders were re-ported, with one arrest made ineach of two cases. The remain-ing case is still under investiga-tion.

Four attempted murderswere reported, with no arrestsmade, as well as 26 cases of caus-ing bodily harm, for which 14arrests were made.

Two rapes were reported,with an arrest made in each case,while 24 people were arrested forprostitution.

There were 52 reportedcases of theft, with 35 people ar-rested in connection with 28 in-cidents. Six of the thefts weresnatch-and-run, with two peoplebeing charged in connection withfour of the incidents.

A total of five motorcycleswere reported stolen, with sixarrests made in relation to fourof the thefts. One car was re-ported stolen, with no arrest yetmade.

The PM has TV; the opposition have coffee: Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva (wearing tie)at the ‘coffee council’ in Mai Khao. – Photo by Yodsoi Deechaiya

Democrat leader drops in for coffee Drug casestop crimestats again

PHUKET: ThaiTogether, the tsu-nami aid organization started byMark Weingard of the AnnikeLinden Foundation, has a num-ber of donors coming to Phuketat the end of May to meet withorganizations seeking funding fortsunami-related projects.

There are substantial fundsavailable for successful appli-cants.

Any organizations wishingto be considered should initiallyregister with ThaiTogether byvisiting www.thaitogether.org/yellowpages/ and entering theirorganization and projects details.

After registration they mayalso submit details, includingtheir mission statement and

Donors look for tsunamiaid projects to fund

project proposals, by email tofunding@thaitogether.org.

Successful organizationswill be invited to make presenta-tions to the donors in Phuket atthe end of May. For details visitwww.thaitogether.org.

addressed students at the Princeof Songkhla University, Phuket.

He said, “I hope the stu-dents realize that they are enter-ing an important period in their

lives, during which they can learnuseful things and prepare to taketheir place in society.”

K. Abhisit added that hehad heard the university was re-

considering its controversial de-cision to run courses in casinomanagement in Thailand, wherecasinos are illegal.

– Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

NAI YANG: Some 200 govern-ment officers from Bangkok andthe six tsunami-affected prov-inces gathered at the Pearl Vil-lage Hotel on May 19 to comeup with suggestions as to what

B10m tsunami archive tobe set up – in BangkokBy Anongnat Sartpisut data should be included in the

Tsunami Information Center(TIC), which will be built inBangkok at a cost of 10 millionbaht.

The hearing was organizedby the Fine Arts Department’sNational Archives of Thailand

(NAT) which will consider theinput before deciding on the datato be kept as part of the archive.

Contemporary History Re-cords Officer Sureerat Wongsa-ngiem said the archive will coverfive aspects of the tsunami: whathappened during the tsunami,how victims were helped, thedamage caused, the post-tsunamirecovery process, and measuresintroduced to protect the regionfrom future tsunamis.

“The [TIC] will be built inBangkok. The government hasalready approved a budget of 10million baht.

“The money hasn’t arrivedyet, but when it does, we will startto build the TIC,” K. Sureeratsaid.

Construction of the TIC is

due to start next month. K. Su-reerat added that Phuket RajabhatUniversity has been helping col-lect information from localpeople.

“The NAT has been accu-mulating information about thetsunami since January, and weexpect to continue doing this un-til September,” she said.

With almost 3,000active classified ads, the

GAZETTE ONLINEat www.phuketgazette.netis Thailand’s LARGESTclassified marketplace!

I N S I D E S T O R Y4 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

QueerNews

Until the three NationalDisaster WarningCenter (NDWC) tow-ers are linked by sat-

ellite to their heaquarters inNonthaburi, the job of maintain-ing, testing – and sounding warn-ings if necessary – has fallen toPatong Municipality.

Patong Deputy Mayor Chai-rat Sukbal told the Gazette thatthe municipality has installedphone lines to the towers, allow-ing municipal officials to testthem remotely from Patong FireStation – and test the system theyhave, as often as twice a day.

“The Municipality tests theNDWC alarm tower often be-cause it is connected to the of-fice by a telephone line; we don’thave to walk to the towers whenwe want to test them. We testthem to make sure they’re work-ing well, and every time we do,we make public announcementsusing sound trucks, fliers, send-ing faxes to hotels, and via ourpublic address system,” he said.

K. Chairat doesn’t think thecurrent proliferation of warningsystems will continue.

“We haven’t been con-tacted by any agencies that haveplans to build more towers here,and I think we have enough,” headded.

But while K. Chairat maynot have been informed about it,many more towers are on theway, courtesy of the Royal ThaiNavy, the Tourism Authority ofThailand (TAT) and the PhuketProvincial Administration Orga-nization (see facing page).

Noppadon Pakprot, Direc-tor of the TAT’s Services Promo-tion Division, said his agencyplans to build three more towersin Patong as part of its 200-mil-lion-baht project to “reland-scape” the Patong shore. Thebudget for the project was ap-proved May 10, though the fundshave not yet been made available.Work is scheduled to begin nextDecember or January, he said.

When asked if another setof towers was really needed, headmitted, “After the tsunamithere was a rush by several agen-cies to take action. Without anycentral body overseeing the ef-fort, there has been some dupli-

cation of effort.” He added thatit was too late for the TAT to setup its system in another area thatneeds one because the plan hasalready been granted design andbudget approval.

He said that the proposedlocations of the siren towersmight be changed so that theydon’t annoy tourists during con-struction or “duplicate” theNDWC towers, which are al-

THOROUGHLY After the tsunami, government agencies rushed to set up early

warning systems and establish evacuation plans for risk areas.The National Disaster Warning Center tested its pilot warning systemin Patong on April 29 amid great fanfare.

But while most people think this system alone should be suf-ficient, there are now no fewer than five separate warning systemsfor Patong – two already in place and three more budgeted.

Are so many warning system really necessary? Here theGazette ’s Sangkhae Leelanaporn and Anongnat Sartpisut reviewthe different systems and the confusion they are creating.

ready audible along the entirelength of Patong Beach.

Dr Jirachai Amornpairoj,General Manager of the RoyalParadise Hotel, said the reasonPatong was getting so much at-tention was probably because ofits high international profile andalso because of the death tollfrom the last tsunami.

He told the Gazette that hethinks there is no reason to havemore early warning systems thanis really necessary.

He also disputed K. Chai-rat’s claim that the public hasbeen adequately informed beforetests of the NDWC sirens, say-ing his hotel hadn’t been in-formed— and therefore had noway to warn its guests that thealarm was only a test.

Testing the alarm too often,he pointed out, might also resultin a “boy who cried wolf” effect,with people becoming condi-tioned to ignore it. This couldresult in a real tragedy if a tsu-nami were really on the way, hesaid.

English tourist SuzanneBusby agrees that testing thealarms too often will generatecomplacency.

“I don’t believe there willbe another tsunami [soon], but Ithink there are enough towersalready … we don’t need oneevery 100 meters. That mightscare people. If everyone on thebeach can hear three towers, whybuild 10?” she asked.

Sutin Thongmesuk, whoruns a beach chair and umbrellarental operation at the southernend of the beach, said he had wit-nessed the confusion caused be-cause too few people, residentsand tourists alike, received ad-vance warning when the alarmwas tested on March 18.

“When some people heardthe siren, they began to run in apanic because they didn’t knowit was just a test. People who ex-perienced the first tsunami pan-icked the most, especially peopleliving along Klong Pakbang.

“What they really need is agood system to warn people be-forehand, not 100 different pointsbroadcasting warnings while thepublic has no idea what is goingon,” he said.

Patong Municipality’s warning system, consisting of loudspeakersattached to power poles, was the first to be wired up, but it isnot linked to the National Disaster Warning Center in Nonthaburi.

NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT:A man in Srichon District put ashotgun in his mouth and blewhis brains out after his wife re-fused to let him attend a neigh-bor’s funeral with her.

Arriving at the scene onMay 8 with doctors from SrichonHospital, police found the bodyof 36-year-old Wimol Phetchoolying on a bed, dressed only in aloincloth. A shotgun was foundat his side, the barrel near whatwas left of his mouth.

Pol Lt Col Suchart Chana-khum said K. Wimol suffered asingle blast to the head whichblew apart his cranium, leavinga rather nasty mess all over thebed.

Police suggested that K.Wimol had possibly dischargedthe weapon by pressing his toeto the trigger, indicating a sce-nario similar to the way in whichKurt Cobain, famed frontman ofgrunge band Nirvana, left thisvale of tears.

Col Suchart put the time ofdeath, which must have been in-stantaneous, at two hours earlier.

Police questioned K. Wi-mol’s wife K. Sujit, who toldthem she had left to attend aneighbor’s funeral earlier thatevening, leaving her husband athome and feeling somewhat noijai – slighted.

When she returned home,she found he had shot himself inthe head, she said.

“He killed himself becausehe felt noi jai that I wouldn’t lethim come to the funeral with me,because normally we went every-where together. We loved eachother very much and had a nicelife together.

“But on the night of the fu-neral I told him not to come withme – I said that I would go, paymy respects, and be back shortly.That made him feel noi jai so hetook a gun and shot himself inthe head,” she said.

Source: Siang Tai

A quietnight in

I N S I D E S T O R YMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 5

ALARMINGFIVE IN ONE:

PATONG’S CACOPHONY OF KLAXONSPatong Municipality Warning System: The first “warn-ing system” in operation, this 560,000-baht public ad-dress system was donated by UA Thai Industry Co ofNakhon Pathom and was first tested in early March. Itcomprises seven sets of two loudspeakers installed onpower poles at the following locations: 1. Kalim School;2. Loma Park; 3. Bank of Asia branch; 4. Sai Nam Yenintersection; 4.Baan Yin Dee Hotel; 5. Suwan KereeTemple School; 6. Sea Pearl Hotel Intersection.

The speakers can emit both sirens and voice mes-sages and are controlled from the Patong MunicipalityPublic Relations Office at Patong City Hall, which isusually closed evenings and holidays. Authority to soundthe alarm lies with the municipality.

The system is not linked to the NWDC, but by tele-phone to the Meteorological Department in Chiang Mai,which will send a warning in the event of a major earth-quake. Criticisms of the system are that it is unclear,doesn’t cover the entire Municipality, and thus far hasbroadcast only in Thai.

NDWC Warning System: Comprises three solar-pow-ered siren towers soon to be linked by satellite direct tothe NDWC headquarters in Nonthaburi. the system wastested and declared a success on April 29 after theevacuation drill. The siren towers emit a range of 121-decibel sounds and messages in different languages.

The towers (see picture, right) were donated byBangkok-based Ele Sat Engineering and use commu-nications equipment from Swedish company KockumSonics and an Inmarsat satellite system. They are lo-cated at the Seaview Phuket Hotel, Phuket CabanaHotel and Sunset Beach Resort in Kalim.

Although the NDWC will be able to issue warn-ings direct once the satellite link is established, PatongMunicipality will retain the authority to test and broad-cast messages through the system.

The Municipality will also be responsible for main-tenance of the system, which will be linked by telephoneline to Patong Fire Station so that it can be accessedaround the clock.

OrBorJor Project: Patong will get three permanentwatchtowers as part of this project, which will see a to-tal of 16 towers built around the island at a cost of250,000 baht each. The Phuket Provincal Administra-tion Organization (OrBorJor) said Bangkok Phuket Hos-pital has offered to cover the cost of 10 of the towers.

Each tower will be manned by two OrBorJor beachguards, who will be equipped with walkie-talkies allow-ing them to communicate and relay information thoughthe 8.8-million-baht OrBorJor Emergency Radio Net-work, which is now under construction.

The network will comprise a series of “repeater”antennae spaced at a distance of approximately threekilometers apart. These will form a ring around the is-land and allow local officials to communicate even ifmobile phone networks collapse, as happened after thetsunami and again after the March 28 tsunami scare.

The system is scheduled for completion by Sep-tember 30. Oddly, there are no reported plans to linkthe system direct to the NDWC or to the MeteorologicalDepartment.

Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Project: Patong will get threeof 19 watchtowers to be built around the island at a costof 80,000 to 100,000 baht each.

Atop each 13-meter structure will be 105-decibelspeakers and searchlights capable of illuminating ob-jects as far as 500 meters out to sea to assist in RTNemergency rescue missions.

There appear to be no plans to link the towers tothe NDWC or to the OrBorJor system, though the RTNhas said it will coordinate with the OrBorJor to minimizeredundancy.

The RTN will discuss the towers’ locations inPatong with the OrBorJor, which, along with TambonAdministration Organizations, will be responsible fortheir maintenance after they are built.

Other watchtower locations will be: Mai Khao,Surin, Nai Harn, Rawai, Nai Yang, Chalong, Koh RachaYai, Kata (2), Karon (2), Kamala (2), Bang Tao/CherngTalay (3).

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Project: Patongwill get three more alarm towers to be budgeted underthe TAT’s 200-million-baht coastal redevelopmentproject for the Municipality’s shoreline.

Although few details have been released, the sys-tem will include a siren tower with beacon light and willinitially be linked only to the Meteorological Department,according to the TAT.

More details about the system will be releasedsoon, the agency says, and a similar system with twowarning towers will be installed in Kamala as part of theTAT’s 100 million-baht redevelopment project there.

Until the National Disaster Warning Center getsits satellite link working, its three warningtowers on the beach will be operated by PatongMunicipality.

A R O U N D T H E I S L A N D6 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Womb with a viewBy Rungtip Hongjakpet

For just about all parents, takingphotographs or videos of theirnewborn is almost as natural asthe act of reproduction itself.

But for parents who justcan’t wait the full nine monthsbefore before catching a glimpseof their precious child, BangkokPhuket Hospital now offers ahigh-tech, so-called “4D” ultra-sound imaging service that pro-vides high-resolution movingimages of the unborn child whileit is still in the womb.

The Gazette visited the hos-pital recently to learn more aboutthe service from radiologist DrUthis Tahratanawong and resi-dent gynecologist Dr RujirekLeelanapapat.

They explained that “4D”refers to images in four dimen-sions: the three spatial dimen-sions of length, width and depth– all over time, the fourth dimen-sion.

In short, the parents can re-ceive VCDs of their child beforeit is even born.

Dr Uthis explained that the5-million-baht Voluson 730 Ex-pert unit by GE Medical Ser-vices, imported from the US, isthought to be the only one of itstype on the island.

It went into service at thehospital about two months agoand has already met strong de-mand from mothers-to-be andtheir doting partners – evenamong visiting tourists.

The reason the service is sopopular is the price, the doctors

explained. Dr Uthis said 4D im-aging in the US and other west-ern countries generally coststhree to four times what it doesat Bangkok Phuket Hospital,where the imaging is just 3,000baht per session.

Dr Rujirek explained thatfor the medical purposes alone,standard “2D” sonograms, whichare also available at the hospitalfor about 1,500 baht, usually suf-fice.

However, unlike trained ra-diologists, most parents see ul-trasound images of their eagerly-anticipated progeny as little morethat a blur of hazy lines, whichin reality seem to bear scant re-semblance to the little bundle of

joy they had conjured up in theirmind’s eye.

That’s where the 4D imag-ing comes in, because it offers farclearer pictures. According toDrs Uthis and Rujirek, it even al-lows the parents to see the fetussucking its thumb, smiling, kick-ing – whatever a fetus might getup to while it bides its time wait-ing for the white light to appearat the end of the tunnel.

The doctors told the Ga-zette that another positive aspectof 4D imaging is that helps par-ents to see with their own eyeswhen there is a health problemwith the fetus, such as a cleft lipor cleft palate.

This helps to prepare the

parents mentally, as well as giv-ing them more time to considertreatment options, such as sur-gery.

“The only problem we oc-casionally have is that the fetusis out of position, so we have toask the mother to come back at alater date,” said Dr Uthis.

How’s that for learning toturn your back to the camera atan early age?

Fortunately, the hospitaldoesn’t charge anything extra insuch cases.

Dr Rujirek explained thatthere were some limitations to theprocedure, however.

It is only appropriate forfetuses well into the third trimes-

ter and the imaging quality de-pends on the amount of amnioticfluid in the womb, which variesfrom mother to mother.

The less amniotic fluidthere is, the less clear the imagesare likely to be.

These restrictions aside, theservice has overall been a big hit.

After finishing the ultra-sound the proud parents-to-be aregiven a CD copy of the images –not a bad head start in puttingtogether the baby’s photo album.

For more information, contactBangkok Phuket Hospital at Tel:076-254421 or visit Web:www.phukethospital.com orEmail: info@phukethospital.com

PRENATAL PAPARAZZO: Dr RujirekLeelanapapat (right) gives a mother-to-be her first view of junior.

A R O U N D T H E N A T I O NMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 7

Around the Nation news roundupis sourced from the pages of TheNation and Kom Chad Lueknewspapers.

On June 1, the govern-ment will launch acomprehensive energy-saving campaign

that will include appealing to thepublic to switch off lights and airconditioners at home – and todrive more slowly.

Minister of Energy VisetChoopiban said the campaign, al-ready approved by the Cabinet,is aimed at saving 15 billion bahta year by cutting annual energyconsumption by 10%. People na-tionwide will be asked to drivebelow 90kmh, turn off air condi-tioners from 12 am to 1 pm andto switch off one light at homeafter 8:30 pm.

Operators of billboards willbe asked to turn off the lights il-luminating their hoardings after8:45 pm, the minister added.

The Cabinet has already in-structed all public offices andstate enterprises to immediatelyreduce their energy consumptionby 10-15%, and an Energy Min-istry committee will randomlycheck to see that they are follow-ing the order, he added.

Plea for justice: On the 13th an-niversary of the 1992 Black Mayincident, the mother of one vic-tim pleaded with authorities todisclose the fate of her son, whodisappeared during the pro-de-mocracy protest.

“I am an old woman and Iwant to perform a funeral for myson before I die,” said SangwianPhomuang, 71.

K. Sangwian said she couldnot find closure because authori-ties had still not concluded theirreports on what happened to thehundreds of people who disap-peared after the protest.

What’s my line? Civil rightsgroups have voiced their opposi-tion to a police proposal that newsecurity laws being drafted to re-place martial law in the DeepSouth should allow authorities totap into phone conversationswithout court permission.

Energy-saving drive beginsPRESSURECOOKER: A policebomb-disposalexpert checks abox left outside atravel agency inPattani’s Muangdistrict after localresidents alertedauthorities to itspresence.

The box was laterfound to containan electric cookingpot.

Gothom Arya, Director ofMahidol University’s Researchfor Peace-Building Center, saidsuch a provision would definitelyviolate basic human rights.

Deputy Prime MinisterWissanu Krea-ngam, who is incharge of drafting the new law,said he might include the pro-posal for police to tap phonelines, albeit with provisions foradvance court permission.

“I’ve instructed officials toconsider if we can include thesuggestion of phone tapping,with court permission, as wehave in the law governing theDepartment of Special Investiga-tion,” he said.

Buri Ram bonanza: Cabinet hasapproved a 340-million-bahtbudget to restore and developPrasat Phanom Rung temple inBuri Ram as part of a 2.3-billion-baht development package forthe northeastern province.

Culture Minister UraiwanThienthong said the project isintended to ensure that the templeremains one of the world’s pre-

mier heritage sites. Work willbegin next year and take about10 years to complete. It will in-clude further digs to study thetemple site, and the relocation ofnearby communities.

Government SpokesmanChalermdej Jombunud said therest of the budget would be spenton developing the province’swater resources and tourism in-dustry.

Death stick displays: Openracks of cigarettes at checkoutcounters across the country willhave to come down on Septem-ber 24, said Narong Sahametha-pat, Deputy Director-General ofthe Disease Control Department(DCD).

The DCD views the dis-plays as a form of advertisingtobacco, which is prohibited inThailand.

Aware of the ban’s poten-tial impact on large retailers, theauthorities have given them fourmonths to adjust, K. Narong said.

Other anti-smoking regula-tions in the works include tax in-

creases on cigarettes, extendingthe use of graphic labels to pack-ets of cigars, and doing awaywith “light” and “mild” labelsthat could mislead smokers intothinking that those types of ciga-rettes would be less detrimentalto their health.

Homegrown violence: The vio-lence in the Deep South is appar-ently motivated by local griev-ances and there is no evidence ofexternal involvement, claims areport by the International CrisisGroup, a multinational organiza-tion committed to preventing andresolving deadly conflicts.

“But if this situation is leftto fester, it could attract jihadistsfrom outside Thailand,” saidproject director Sidney Jones.

The report, entitled “South-ern Thailand: Insurgency NotJihad”, examined three major in-

cidents in the Deep South lastyear – the raid on an army campon January 4, the April 28 upris-ing and the Tak Bai tragedy – ina bid to gain a clear picture ofthe cause of the violence.

Mutant virus: Thailand is beef-ing up its pandemic preparednessin response to a World HealthOrganization (WHO) study thatshows bird ’flu is becoming morecapable of spreading betweenpeople.

The WHO report indicatedthat the deadly H5N1 avian ’fluvirus had the potential to infectpeople and that a pandemic couldbe growing.

The Public Health Ministryplans to call in more than 800,000village health volunteers fromaround the country in June to in-struct them in how to educatetheir communities about thethreat of an influenza pandemic.

Dangerous daughter: ThaptimYossorn, 34, was arrested in NanProvince’s Phu Phiang Districtfor trying to kill her mother,Banyen Mongkolwisut, 58, whohad demanded her daughter re-pay 700,000 baht that had gonemissing from her bank account.

Police said Thaptim at-tacked K. Banyen while they weredriving through Phitsanulok Prov-ince to vistit Thaptim’s sister.

Thaptim allegedly pulledthe car over and tried to strangleher mother with a nylon rope,then beat her head against theground. Two men driving paststopped to help and insisted ontaking the mother to hospitalwhile Thaptim fled in her car.

A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N8 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Senator slams full moon parties

F R O M T H EGULF OFTHAILAND

By CommanderSammy Swan

Cdr Sammy Swan is a writer forSamui’s community magazine.

Negative commentsmade recently by amember of the UpperHouse following an

inspection visit to a full moonparty have prompted an angry re-sponse from officials on KohSamui and KohPha-ngan.

Senator Ra-biat Pongpanitcomplained thatshe saw batik Bud-dha images dis-played next to biki-nis on Samui, andthat during the fullmoon party shewitnessed foreign-ers eating magicmushrooms andhaving sex in pub-lic on the beach.

Several high-ranking local offi-cials, including theGovernor of SuratThani, VichitVichaisarn, havecriticized thesenator’s com-ments, and even suggested thatshe may have been mistaken inwhat she saw.

Gov Vichit stressed that se-curity is now very tight at the fullmoon party, especially in termsof drug control, and that policerarely find anyone taking illegalsubstances at the event, whichsuggests that there are not manydrugs available.

He invited other membersof Parliament to visit the islandand see for themselves, andadded that careless criticismwould not help the Surat Thani

authorities, whom he claims areworking extremely hard to cleanup the image of the full moonparty.

Pornled Chokchai, theChief of the Koh Pha-ngan Dis-trict Office, was also angered by

the comments, andsaid that not oncein three years of in-spections had hewitnessed foreign-ers having sex onthe beach.

He admittedthat the senatormay have seencouples huggingand kissing, whichhe says is quitenormal behaviorfor foreigners. Headded that eventhis is not encour-aged in public, andofficials often askpartygoers to re-frain from toomuch “heavy pet-ting” on the beach.

K. Pornledsaid his two priorities for KohPha-ngan are to make it drug-freeand pollution-free, and thatprojects in both these areas arealready proving very successful.

The head of the Koh Pha-ngan Tourism Association, Chan-chod Piriyasatit, echoed theseassertions, and added how im-pressed he and his colleagueswere by the level of official pres-ence at the monthly full moonparty.

Most tourists, he said, visitthe island to relax surrounded bynature, not to take drugs and havesex, and he expressed concernthat rumors would only encour-age young Thai people to attendthe party as spectators.

Despite strong denials, KohPha-ngan – during the full moonparty in particular – continues to

be thought of as a hotbed of de-bauchery. Some argue that suchpublicity is at least part of the rea-son for its lasting success.

Whatever the attitude of thegovernment, economic concernsseem certain to guarantee that theparty never ends.

Samui airport survey: Follow-ing the completion of a survey byresearchers from Kasetsart Uni-versity in Bangkok, a meetingwas held recently on Samui to

assess again the prospects for asecond airport. Around 50 peopleattended the meeting.

The survey found that a sec-ond airport was feasible, but thatit should be built on land re-claimed from the sea, rather thanon the current proposed site,which is an important agricul-tural area as well as one of theisland’s main water storage ba-sins.

Project director GasenChankeaw said the three most

important questions to answerwere: whether a second airportis necessary; where it should bebuilt, and what impact would ithave in terms of noise pollution?

Meanwhile, a former cap-tain for Thai Airways, AnusornWuntwisudweht, claimed that thecurrent proposed location wasideal, because it allowed accessfrom four different directions.

He commented that a largesegment of the tourism marketwas being lost because of theairport’s limited capacity.

Some of those present, in-cluding Samui Spa AssociationPresident Wanwalee Thantikan,believe that, as a major destina-tion, Koh Samui should have apublic airport, but the meetingappeared to favor negotiation andreconciliation with the owner ofthe existing private airport.

To many people on the is-land, constructing a new airportwhen there is already a busy fa-cility in place seems both ex-travagant and irresponsible.

Koh Tao ministerial visit: Som-sak Thepsutin, the Minister ofTourism and Sport, recently paida visit to Koh Tao to find out first-hand what local residents feelthey need as the island grows intoa major international destination.

Koh Tao has expanded con-siderably over the past two years,especially as a dive destination,but development is taking placewithout either controls or regu-lation.

A number of suggestionswere given to the Minister, in-cluding ideas for improvingtransport services from the main-land, upgrading the supply ofbasic utilities such as water andelectricity, and providing bettermedical services.

OCEAN LOTION: Staff and owners of some 14 Samuian diveshops took part in a clean-up operation as part of Dive Into EarthWeek, on April 25. Photos of the cleanup were taken by CollinParker, a dive instructor and videographer.

H A P P E N I N G SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 9

This week

FISHY BUSINESS: Among fisheries experts leading the Asia Pacific EconomicCooperation (Apec) group’s 18th Meeting of the Marine Resource ConservationWorking Group (MRCWG) were Canadian Donna Petrachenko (black dress) andAmerican Stetson Tinkham. The talks also included a joint session with Apec’sFisheries Working Group.

TOP FLIGHT: Anuphas Group CEO Phummisak Hongsyok accepts a plaquefrom Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura to commemorate thePhuket Golf Association’s naming of Phuket Country Club as the bestcourse in the Andaman Region.

SEA-CONDO: Phuket Marina Residence Managing Director Kavinvit Boonudomsum(left) was joined at Andavana Spa by Bob Andrews, Managing Director of PhuketLandSearch Co Ltd, and others in a press conference to announce the May 14soft opening of the luxury condominium development on Koh Sireh.

CLEAN CUISINE: Royal Paradise Hotel General Manager Dr Jirachai Amornpairoj(3rd from right) hosted a dinner for visiting Public Health Minister Dr SuchaiCharoenratanakul (center), Phuket Provincial Health Office Dr WanchaiSattayawutthipong and other local officials at the Royal Kitchen Chinese Restauranton the 25th floor of the hotel.

PREPPIN’ FOR A PUNCH-UP: Phuket Senator Paiboon Upatising (3rd from left) and PhuketProvincial Administration President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr (hands crossed) were onhand to watch the Southern Thailand Muay Thai Championships on May 11 to raise moneyfor Sawang Arrom Temple in Rawai. The event was organized by Raywat Areerob (4th fromright) and held at the Phuket Muang School in Rawai.

SILKY PARTY: SilkAir, which has a daily service to Singapore, held its annualstaff party for its Phuket office at Laguna Beach Resort. This year’s theme was‘traditional Thai costumes’.

P H U K E T P E O P L E10 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

GEMINI (May 22-June 21): Aperson who you’ve always re-garded as a platonic friend willreveal their true feelings to youthis weekend. If you can’t re-spond with mutual interest, becareful how you handle this po-tentially complicated situation.Ask a third party for advice; Sag-ittarius has had a recent similarexperience. On Tuesday, you’llbe singing in the rain when amonetary bonus boosts yourdwindling bank balance. Wearred to encourage further financialimprovement.

CANCER (June 22-July 23):

The wheels of your social lifewill start to turn more smoothlythis week. If you are dismayedover a fallout with a close friendlast month, you are about to dis-cover the real reason for what hadhappened. The only way to over-come obstacles blocking yourpath to career success is to runright over them; circumnavigat-ing them will eventually result inbigger problems. The number 8has special meaning on Wednes-day.

LEO (July 24-August 22):

Where close relationships areconcerned, many Leos will betempted to play with fire thisweek. If you ignore an instinctthat is telling you to walk awaywith your pride intact, there willcertainly be burnt fingers to tendto later this month. Keeping upwith local news can open doorsto new business possibilities thatwill involve doing little work forimpressive financial gain. Wearthe color indigo to make a seri-ous impression.

VIRGO (August 23-September

23): A spider’s web of intrigueis about to be woven around you.As May turns into June, you areadvised to sharpen your wits andkeep them that way. If you allowothers to believe that the silk caneasily be pulled over your eyes,they will do just that. Luckily,someone close has already gotwind of the situation; listen to awell-intended warning from Li-bra.

LIBRA (September 24-Octo-

ber 23): Librans who are climb-ing the walls in wet weather frus-tration are advised to channel thisnegative energy into somethingmore positive. Aries has been try-ing to run a reasonable proposi-tion past you lately and is aboutto put it to someone who is pre-pared to listen. A passionate at-traction can only lead to a short-lived relationship; if you’researching for something moremeaningful, resist temptation.Number 3 holds the key onWednesday.

SCORPIO (October 24-Novem-

ber 22): Minor health worriesoccupy your attention this week.Try not to blow these out of pro-portion; a visit to a recommendeddoctor will put your mind at ease.Single Scorpios have not beenlooking for true love in the rightplaces. Expand your horizons toincrease your chances of meet-ing a prospective partner. OnMonday, take advice offered byGemini with a generous pinch ofsalt; this is one get-rich-quickscheme that’s certain to sink.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23-

December 21): Your enthusiasmfor life is compromised by part-nership problems during the firstweek of June. If you have beeneconomical with the truth youshould lay all your cards on thetable if you want to continue thisrelationship. Another source ofinterest is about to be revealed,which will probably conflict withyour present commitment. Thecoming weeks are going to be aperiod of change for the better.

CAPRICORN (December 22-

January 20): There will be sev-eral knocks on your door withrequests for help this week. ManyCapricorns have acquired a repu-tation of having a heart of gold,but this could be easily exploited.If there’s someone who you feelgenuinely deserves assistance, itwould still be best not to lendmore than you can afford to lose.Romance is well-starred thisweekend – your partner has a sen-sual surprise in store.

AQUARIUS (January 21-Feb-

ruary 19): Romance is subjectto unsettling cosmic disturbancesduring the first week of June. Buteven if parting is sweet sorrow,it doesn’t mean that the break willbe permanent. This is an auspi-cious time to take stock of whatis really going on in your life anddecide which areas could benefitfrom more of your attention.Grab work opportunities quicklyand firmly – someone else ispoised to sneak one from underyour nose.

PISCES (February 20-March

20): Picky Pisceans may find thatit’s not the right season to be toochoosy. There’s some room fornegotiation where a businesscontract is concerned, but it willbe a tight squeeze. Leo has somefree words of wisdom to offer thisweekend that could cause you towonder if expensive advice re-ceived earlier this year was re-ally worth its weight in gold. Thescent of lavender will help reducestress levels.

ARIES (March 21-April 20):

Arians who are pining for a spe-cial someone who has had toleave temporarily will be cheeredup by a comminiqué this week.It appears that absence really ismaking your heart grow fonder,and the feeling is being recipro-cated. This could even mean thatwedding bells will be ringingover your head before the end ofthe year. On Wednesday, Capri-corn will try to run rings aroundyou concerning a financial mat-ter.

TAURUS (April 21-May 21):

May should have proved to be avery positive time for Taureans.As long as you didn’t dig yourhooves too deeply in the sandconcerning an irritating businesssituation, there are further ben-efits to be reaped during the firsttwo weeks of June. If it’s too wetto venture far out of doors thisweekend, you should consider at-tending to overdue correspon-dence – it will encourage someinteresting information to flowyour way.

In The Stars by Isla Star The Boa How does someone born

in Bangkok as a manand who holds a di-ploma in accounting

end up designing flamboyantcostumes for the Moulin Rose,one of Patong’s leading ladyboyshows?

Pichet “Lek” Orapinpong isonly happy to explain how.

The younger of two sons,K. Lek, now 37, graduated fromDusit Commercial College,Bangkok, with a diploma in ac-counting. She became a ladyboywhile in Bangkok, and moved toPhuket seven years ago.

She said, “I came to Phuketbecause my friends invited me tocome here. One suggested I get ajob in a bar, and offer some kindof sexual service, but I wasn’tprepared to do that. It’s not mystyle.

“So I tried to find otherwork, perhaps involving the per-forming arts. I was offered a jobat Andaman Queen Cabaret,which was what the Moulin Rosewas called then.

“It was only just gettingstarted, and I was the first per-son employed to look after theperformers’ costumes.”

K. Lek had never workedwith costumes before, but be-cause she thought the jobsounded interesting, she took it.

At first K. Lek’s job wassolely to make sure the outfitswere in good repair, and to fetchand carry them for the perform-ers.

However, her employerswere so impressed with her abil-ity and professionalism that theypromoted her to costume man-ager.

Eventually, K. Lek wastempted to try designing cos-tumes as well as caring for them.She said, “I had never studiedcostume design, but I have al-ways loved to learn new things,and to learn more about thingsthat I like.

“I don’t know where myfirst ideas came from; all I know

is that I wanted to make dressesthat suited the song, the chore-ography and the performer.

“I learned by doing, and Iseemed to get good results. Thatmade me feel very proud of my-self.”

Before the tsunami, Mou-lin Rose Cabaret had 30 perform-ers. Now it has just 19, but asthere are 13 routines per show,K. Lek still has many costumesto devise.

She bases her designsaround the performers’ person-alities and the dance routinesthey will be following. Inspira-tion comes from a variety ofsources.

“Sometimes I watch mov-ies on TV, which give me ideas,although I don’t do straight cop-ies. I use them as a guide thencreate my own styles,” she said.

“Our shows are rather sexyin style, so the costumes are sexytoo, and fairly revealing.”

P H U K E T P E O P L EMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 11

Constructor

The costumes K. Lek de-signs are made at a small tailor’sshop in Patong, although K. Lekoften finishes off the outfits byadding trimmings herself.

Sometimes she buys ready-made dresses from the marketand customizes them by addingtrimmings, such as leather.

She continued, “Feathers[also] look great on dresses – themore feathers, the better, butfeathers cost 350 baht each, andour budget is quite limited.

“I have to find materialsthat fit in with our style, butwhich aren’t prohibitively expen-sive.”

The most expensive dressin the show cost 20,000 baht, butK. Lek is adept at re-trimming oldcostumes to give them a newlook, so they can be reused innew routines.

Most of the fabrics andtrimmings are bought locally, onthe grounds of cost.

According to K. Lek,“Many people in the audiencemust think our dresses are veryexpensive, but with a little bit ofimagination, I can make themlook good, without spending toomuch money.”

K. Lek has now becomegeneral manager of the cabaret,and choreographs shows andtrains performers as well as de-signing the costumes.

Away from Moulin Rose,K. Lek has a boyfriend, a for-eigner.

She said, “He is really sup-portive and he always tells mewhat a good job I have done ifhe enjoys the show. He knowshow hard I have worked to getthis far.”

She continued, “My parentsand my older brother, are sup-

portive, too, and understanding,and they don’t try to persuade meto find another job.”

If K. Lek ever decides shehas had enough of the cabaret,she would like to own either acoffee shop or a clothes shop.

She said, “Even now I wantto learn more about designingclothes and tailoring.

“I’m not very good at put-ting my ideas on paper, so I haveto explain to the tailor what Iwant the costume to look like.

“Perhaps if I study more, Iwill be able to design even bettercostumes.

“But I wouldn’t want tomake only cabaret costumes, Iwould like to make clothes forday-to-day wear as well.”

She continued, “Anyone,man, woman or ladyboy can suc-ceed in a job – if they are inter-ested in it.

“It’s the same with design-ing costumes for ladyboys – youdon’t have to be a ladyboy your-self to do it well.

“You just have to be open-minded, and have faith in your-self, and your colleagues.”

–Athiga Jundee

GIRL POWER! (left)Pichet “Lek”Orapinpong (instriped top) trainedas an accountant.She retains a goodhead for figures –and the clothes togo around them.

FEATHER IN HER CAP: (right)‘Our shows are rather sexy in

style, so the costumes aresexy too, and fairly revealing,’

says K. Lek.

FEMMES FATALE:(right) Performers

at the Moulin Roseshow off just a fewof K. Lek’s creative

designs.

L I F E S T Y L E12 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

During the Miss Universe contestants’ recent visit toPhuket, islanders had the opportunity to see first-hand

what the world’s most beautiful women choose to wear inthe tropics, and the message was loud and clear —anything you like as long as it’s cool, colorful andcomfortable.

Here are a few pictures showing what the beautiesdonned as they went out and about during their stay.

Tops inthe tropics

SOUND THE ALARM: A bevy of the beautiful contestants show that bright and light is the key tolooking good on Phuket.

Miss Hungary Szandra Proksa shows that pinkcan still look pretty.

Miss CroatiaJelena Glisic

sports a hat inthe midday sun.

A low-cut neckline with frills keeps Miss Norway HeleneTraasavik smiling.

Big dots and a big smile work for MissGuatemala Aida Estrada.

BIKINI BOMBSHELLS: (from left) Miss Australia Michelle Guy, MissCanada Natalie Globova and Miss Ethopia Atetegeb Tetfaye Workuare happy to wear matching bikinis on board Royal Phuket Marinadeveloper Gulu Lalvani's motoryacht Divia II at the Phi Phi Islands.

May 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 13S T I C K E R F E V E R

PHUKET: Since its launch onMay 7, the Phuket Gazette’s “WeLove Phuket” sticker campaigncontinues to yield surprises.

Originally budgeted for8,000 stickers, the project hasnow printed and placed 14,000.

Conceived primarily toraise spirits, the sticker campaignis now also raising money. Un-expected demand from abroad,where the item is priced at 50baht (plus postage and handling),is currently producing 50-60 or-ders a day.

The Gazette is donating80% of the proceeds of thesesales to charities monitored andapproved by the newspaper.

The response from the mar-ket of many millions of formervisitors to Phuket, from places asfar flung as Milan, Mindanao,Santa Barbara, Sydney and StTropez, confirms not only fondmemories of Thailand but also adesire to actively spread theword.

The third surprise in thecampaign has been the responsefrom Phuket businesses.

Hotels, many of which nowhand the stickers to guests as theycheck-out, as well as airlines, res-taurants, golf courses and otherbusinesses on the island havethus far donated prizes valued atmore than 240,000 baht.

The prizes, known as RakMak! (Love A Lot!) Awards, aredistributed weekly to owners ofvehicles identified at random byGazette staff as displaying thesticker.

The winning vehicle num-bers are announced on the frontpage of every edition of the Ga-zette.

Stickers are available fromthe Gazette office for local resi-dents, while those wishing toshow their support for Phuketfrom overseas may order thestickers online at www.phuketgazette.net/welovephuket.asp.

Sticker fevercontinuesunabated

LOVE PATROL: Above, Pol MajBundit Khaosutham (left),

Inspector of Phuket TouristPolice, and Pol Sgt Maj WichaiPheawpanchoo show their lovefor Phuket by putting the “WeLove Phuket” sticker on all the

Tourist Police patrol cars.

LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING:Right, Miss Ecuador Ximena

Zamora (left) and Miss ElSalvador Irma Dimas show

they Love Phuket.

Local businesses interested in sup-porting the campaign through do-nation of prizes are invited to con-tact Khun Pam at Email:LovePhuket@PhuketGazette.Netor by calling Tel: 076-236555.

14 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005S P A M A G I C

You don’t become oneof the world’s leadinghotel brands withoutknowing your stuff, so

I was interested to find out howthat knowledge had been appliedto the new spa at the HiltonPhuket Arcadia Resort at KaronBeach.

Developed at a cost of 60million baht, or around US$1.5million, this has to be one of themost – if not the most – expen-sive spas on the is-land.

I was expectingsomething out of theordinary, and some-thing extraordinarywas certainly what Igot as I arrived – apeacock crossed mypath as I walked tothe reception.

The spa was “conceptual-ized” by Hilton International’sDirector of Spa Development –Asia, Simon Littlewood, as a“village” of 15 villas set in itsown garden within the resort’sgrounds.

By my reckoning, after de-ducting the cost of the receptionarea, boutique, beauty salon andjuice bar, the average cost of eachvilla is just under US$100,000 –more than a “real” house in manyparts of the world.

And it shows. From the im-ported-from-France L’Occitainebeauty products on sale in theboutique to the sturdy toiletdoors, to the innovative menu of“spa cuisine” and drinks offeredat the juice bar, the spa simplyexudes quality.

The spa treatment menucould almost be interchangedwith the spa cuisine menu, richas it is with honey, sesame, co-conut, mint, lemongrass, cucum-ber, milk and other edibles.

The similarity ends, how-ever, with the “facials”, whichinclude Rene Guinot’s highly re-garded Hydradermie.

“The menu is a blend ofThai therapeutic ingredients andWestern technology,” said SpaManager Siripen Amornsiri-chutipon.

K. Siripen heads a team of15 therapists, some of whom

Happily taking the blissworked at the previous spa at theArcadia before the hotel wasrebranded and taken over byHilton last year.

All staff received additionaltraining from a Bangkok-basedspa consultancy before moving tothe new spa.

My therapist for the after-noon was K. Waree, and my tem-porary “home” was the spa’smost luxurious villa, which isaimed at couples and has a cru-

ciform marble Jac-uzzi and a pair ofrainwater showers inits own private gar-den. It also featurestwo treatment bedsin the air-condi-tioned interior, aswell as an indoorshower, WC and

steam room.After I had showered and

had a spell in the lemongrass-scented sauna, K. Waree gave meThe Spa’s signature treatment,“Equilibrium Therapy”.

This combines massagewith specially-created wild mintoil and the application of a lukpra kob Thai herbal poultice. Itlasted for around an hour, whichwas probably a lifetime too short.I could have stayed there forever.

But I couldn’t, and, after acup of zingy ginger tea, it wastime for my Tropical Fruit Facial.

In its raw form, this lookedmore like dips for crudités than abeauty treatment: bowls ofmashed papaya, puréed banana,brown sugar, pulped cucumberand yoghurt, to exfoliate, sootheand nourish my skin.

“Putting back a little ofwhat life takes out,” is – accord-ing to the publicity material – theaim of the spa.

Mission accomplished.

Equilibrium Therapy: 2,300 baht;Tropical Fruit Facial: 1,600 baht;herbal steam: 450 baht, plus 10%service charge and tax.

The Spa at the Hilton PhuketArcadia Resort & Spa, 333 PatakRd, Karon Beach, Tel: 076-396433, website: www.hilton.com, email: spa.phuket@hilton.com

ROOM FOR ONE MORE? The only thing better than sampling the delights of the cruciform Jacuzzialone is enjoying it with a friend. Well, it does save water…

WELL BALANCED: A combination of wild mint oil and a luk pra kob poultice makes up The Spa’ssignature treatment – Equilibrium Therapy.

MAGICSpa

By Alison Winward

The Spa

Do Not DrinkTap Water!

May 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 15N I G H T L I F E

Once upon a time therewas a fairy tale location, agreeably off thebeaten track, where

would-be Jimis, Jims and VanMorrisons would gather to actout their musical fantasies.

The alfresco (mostly alcaldo) bar was a rough diamond,featuring old fashioned outdoorpissoirs that brought ammonia-induced tears to punters’ eyes,mosquitoes the size of a single-engine Cessna and grisly ham-burgers that could wilt a vegetar-ian at 20 paces.

It was cheap, tacky and –best of all – it was the musicalheartbeat of southern Phuket.

One could sometimes catchflashes of passing brilliance fromartists traveling through and lo-cal improvisators, often on theirway to or from a hotel gig. Some-times the music was worse thandreadful, driving drinkers awaywith ringing ears, swearing neverto go back, but they usually did.

After all, where else couldthey go for live music at thesouthern end of the island?

That location today has re-alized its commercial potentialwith high-grade accommodation,a swimming pool, a canny chefas well as Sunday afternoon jazzsessions. So where has the roughand tumble stuff gone to? Wherecan you get a good jam for verylittle bread? Where’s the coolestlive music bar in the south of theisland?

It’s at Yoonique, an eclec-tic place just behind the ReggaeBar by NaiHarn’s lake/temporary di-saster area.Here, you cancatch liverock, reggae,soul, blues,folk, Thai“songs forlife” and justabout any-thing else ex-cept Gregorian chant.

The setup is similar to thesouthern funsters’ old haunt, ex-cept for one important thing: it’sa lot quieter, because the live mu-sic is usually performed indoors.

Unusual portraits vie for

wall space with modern artworks. Antiques and curios arecasually strewn around, and thereare piles of interesting books toborrow. John Lennon and JimiHendrix gaze down onto a drumkit and ready-to-use amps andguitars. A red sofa arrangementsits to the right of the stage andseveral pine tables and benchesstand outside in a tropical gardensetting.

There’s a marked mobiletheme to Yoonique’s décor,which features scooters such asa Vespa, an MZ, a Supercup, anold Honda and a glorious Lam-bretta. One could easily imagineOrnella Muti and Giancarlo

G i a n n i n ipropping upthe bar inlightweightcotton suitss i p p i n gespressos, ex-cept for thesad fact thatthey’ve bothmoved on tothe big cin-ema in the

sky. There’s even an ancient Mer-cedes-Benz parked in the fieldoutside that doubles as a kids’playroom.

The clientèle, appropri-ately, is from all walks of life,nationalities, ages and frames of

mind. The fact that people fromSurin, Patong and Kata regularlymake the trip south forYoonique’s Tuesday eveningjams and Friday Mexican foodspeaks for itself. Yoon and Sh-annon Bunna, a young Thai-Ca-nadian couple have succeeded in

DARKby Sam Wilkinson

After

putting the “oo” back into coolwhile their competitors struggleto keep the “er” in beer. Theyrun a successfully smooth opera-tion and still stay musician-friendly.

The music? Check outSpacey Steve’s interpretations of

artists like JJ Cale and Oasis, or“Shorty” Jamie’s version ofPsycho Killer, or Marty’s won-derful Joni Mitchell repertoire. Itall adds up to Yoonique’s happy,ego-free way.

Local bands use the venueas a home away from home, re-hearsing there while enjoying afew beers. There are themenights, open birthday parties,Mardis Gras to Halloween toChristmas celebrations, andmore often than not a party getsstarted at Yoonique at the dropof a hat.

If you’re into tattooed bra-zen ladies of the night and tele-vised sports, don’t bother withYoonique – it’ll likely bore youstiff. But if your idea of a goodnight out is to meet friendlypeople in a relaxed atmospherewith food and drinks at reason-able prices, check this place out– but don’t forget to take yourguitar and to wear flowers in yourhair.

Yoonique: 14/61-62 Wiset Rd, NaiHarn. Tel. 06-6836362. Email:bluephoenixdesign@hotmail.com

Yoonique jammingQUALITY

KARAOKE:Yoonique’s open

‘mike’ policy ensuresa lively variety ofacts, but withoutthe ‘frog squawk’

crowd making ashow of it.

16 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005F E A T U R E S

In recent weeks I’ve gonethrough a hefty 900-wordhistory of colonialism inAfrica, some vintage early

Evelyn Waugh and three price-lessly funny novels by PG Wode-house, a new discovery for me.But since Wodehouse died 30years ago, his books hardly callfor a newspaper review.

Then I made the serendipi-tous discovery ofWake up, Sir!(Scribner, NewYork, 2004, 334pp)by American novel-ist Jonathan Ames.

This purportsto resurrect the char-acter Jeeves, the va-let to Bertie Wooster.

Jeeves, fond ofquoting Latin poetsand Shakespeare, in-variably saves theday for his master BertieWooster, the upper class twit whoattended Eton and Oxford but isan incurable dim bulb.

In Wake up, Sir!, Jeeves be-comes an imaginary playmate tothe narrator, young novelist AlanBlair – like Calvin’s Hobbes.

While the new Jeeves doesa passable imitation of the old –impeccably formal diction al-ways accompanied by “Sir” – thenovel fails badly with the substi-tution of Alan Blair for BertieWooster, who mayhave been a fecklessprotagonist but akeen narrator. Hisrunning jokes justgot funnier eachtime they camearound.

A novel abouta novelist is alwaysa risky proposition,and more so in thisone since Alan Blairjust isn’t very inter-esting. Tedious andself-obsessed, he istrying to be funny but isn’t.

Like Jonathan Ames, whoreceived praise from Philip Rothand Joyce Carol Oates for hisfirst novel, I Pass Like Night,Alan Blair published a preco-cious first novel, I Pity I.

Ames followed his novelwith The Extra Man, about anelderly Manhattan sophisticatepaid to go on dates with wealthywomen. Blair is in the throes ofwriting an identical novel calledThe Walker.

After treatment for alcohol-ism, he is living with an uncle andaunt in a New Jersey suburb.

A lame imitationof a comic gem

When they discover that he hasrelapsed with a couple bottles ofwine each night, they throw himout.

Thus begins a five-dayjourney, first to Sharon Springsin upstate New York, where hegets drunk in a bar and winds upwith a broken nose and two blackeyes, then to the Rose Colony inSaratoga Springs, a refuge for

novelists, poets,painters and sculp-tors.

There are timeswhen the loopy hu-mor of BertieWooster leaks outand here is one ofthem, as the womanadmitting him to theRose Colony in-spects his batteredface and asks if he’sseen a doctor:

“I didn’t go to a doctor, butI’m fine. The nose is swollen andpushed a little to the right, but it’snothing drastic.

“I could stand to be moreon the right. I tend to be too lib-eral in my policies, though I’mnot against prayer in schools,which I thing would help withtest scores.”

Then his reflections onvice:

“That’s always the lure,though, this time it will be better,

different, whichseems to be the hookwith most vices.

“Gambl ing ,sex, alcohol, drugs,Chinese food – youalways give thesethings a secondchance or a hun-dredth chance, butsomething healthy,like kayaking, if youdon’t go for it thefirst time, you nevertry again.”

Blair getsdrunk every night, and stoned onmarijuana to boot, and managesto bed a beautiful sculptress.There is no plot to speak of.

Wodehouse’s plots variedlittle from book to book but at theend each contentious issue wassatisfactorily wrapped to a con-clusion, thanks to the brilliantintervention of Jeeves.

Jeeves plays no part in theresolution of Wake Up, Sir!,which simply shambles to ahighly improbable conclusion.To anyone familiar with the realthing, this novel is a lame trav-esty.

Off theSHELFBy James Eckardt

To put it lightly, it’s hardto get straight informa-tion about Phuket on theInternet.

Take the example of simplefinancial transactions on the is-land. One site states, “Fixedprices are the norm in departmentstores, but at other places (hos-pitals, bars, police stations forexample?) bargaining is accept-able and expected”.

Again, 1stopchiangmai.com gives some hot tips on bar-gaining such as, “Your openinggambit should always be in Thai.This way they will take you for alocal expat (God forbid).”

But then, according to thesite, a typical Thai store ownerwill ignore the canny tourist’sthree-month intensive Thaicourse and reply in pretty goodEnglish – well, good by Phuketstandards, anyway.

“This one is good quality,sure. I buy from factory 150 baht.In Bangkok it’s more expensive,maybe 300 baht.”

Strangely enough, in orderto obtain goods for a premiumprice you are then recommendedto employ pidgin English. “300baht? Where?

“Maybe you buy 300 bahtin Phuket. Tourist in Phuket hehave too much money.”

Transaction concluded.

The truth, pur-lease!

Throbing and whining.

The website goasia.about.comcheerily informs us that “Pa-tong’s nightclubs are throbingwith the beat of disco again.”Well, we’re hapy to hear that.

Reuters claims that “Theannoying whine of jet-skis is nolonger heard.” If only.

Meanwhile, trv.net boldlystates, “When Bangkok goes tosleep Patong really begins torock.”

Yeah, sure. At the 7-Ele-ven?

Patong polemics. Justwhen will anyone out there saysomething nice about Patong? Onthorntree.lonelyplanet.com ayoung lady belches out the fol-lowing invective about the resorttown.

“What a disgusting, taste-less, highly commercialized,tacky sh*tpit. Full of tattooedgorillas on ’roids. I’ve only metone [Thai] there who actuallycomes from Phuket.”

Another contributor to thesite at least tries to balance thesituation: “Although the island

itself must be nice this spot ishorrible! Fat dumb white guyswith Thai girls.”

At the other end of the gen-der question, a girlsofpatong.com reassures the insecure malevisitor that “if you want a vaca-tion where you are treated likeElvis, Patong will be your nextbooking for sure.”

A load of old rubbish. Inmy desperation to find a truly no-holds barred positive statementabout Phuket’s nightlife center, Icheated and went to a Thai sitewww.beachpatong.com, but eventhere things looked a tad rough.

“The official permanentpopulation (of Patong) is 14,797persons but the real number isprobably as high as 60,000, esti-mated from the garbage.”

More confusion. A classicNet FAQ is, “When is the besttime to visit Phuket?”

The Lonely Planet statesauthoritatively “The best time tovisit Phuket is from January toMay” whereas a sister website in-forms us that “The best overalltime for visiting Phuket is be-tween November and February.”

However, bbc.com gliblycites “…December and August”as the peak tourist visiting times.

What the hell, anytime’s theright time if you want to betreated like Elvis.

OUTSIDEIN

By Lis Kinswoman

machineTHE TIME

News from the past

Phuket Gazette

May 1995

PHUKET: Euamporn Jirakan-wisai, Assistant Manager of theSouthern ThailandRegion, TourismAuthority of Thai-land (TAT), dis-closed last monththat the TAT hadreceived a com-plaint from HongKong tourists Mr and Mrs Wi-seen Yuen, who had bought jew-elry in Phuket, only to discoverlater that its value was far less

TAT intervenes in jewelry fraudthan they had been led to believe.

The Yuens were on holidayin Phuket and were approachedby a tout from Bangkok who en-ticed them, with the promise of

b a r g a i n - p r i c ejewelry, into a Pa-tong gem shop.There, they spent162,000 baht, ofwhich 122,000was for gems and40,000 for gold.

Later, in Singapore, theyhad their purchases profession-ally assessed and discovered thatthey had been “severely ripped

off”. They returned to Phuketand, with the help of the TAT,descended on the offending shopand demanded full repayment oftheir money. Despite attempts bythe shop to retain 30% – for han-dling charges – the Yuens werefinally successful in obtaining afull refund.

Helicopter dashfails to save heart

failure woman

Phuket Gazette

May 15-31, 2000

MAITHON ISLAND: The Po-lice Aviation Division’s helicop-ter flew to Maithon Island onApril 28 in an unsuccessful bidto save the life of a woman whohad had a heart attack.

Duangjai Kullawanich, 50,and her husband, Dr SuppachaiKullawanich, a top heart special-ist from Ramathibodi Hospital inBangkok, were walking on thebeach in front of the resort whenher heart failed.

About 50 heart doctorswere on the island at the time, ona break from a seminar they wereattending on Phuket.

Attempts by some of thedoctors to restart K. Duangjai’sheart were unsuccessful and thehelicopter was then called. Shewas pronounced dead an hourafter arriving at Wachira PhuketHospital.

“Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no bet-ter than we deserve.”

– George Bernard Shaw. Irish dramatist, Nobel Laureateand democratic socialist (1856-1950).

Wordly wise

S M A L L W O R L DMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 17

Get your brainin gear with

The Monster Quizthe Fthe Fthe Fthe Fthe Fun Pageun Pageun Pageun Pageun Page

for allfor allfor allfor allfor all

the Fthe Fthe Fthe Fthe Familyamilyamilyamilyamily

KKKKKIDSIDSIDSIDSIDS

Brain Buster!!

SO

LU

TIO

N T

O L

AS

T

WE

EK

’S C

RO

SS

WO

RD

Never aCross Word!

Answer: The truck would have burned off more than 30 gramsof fuel in the first two kilometers of crossing the bridge.Therefore the sparrow’s weight would have had no effect.

Can you find the seven

differences between the

two cartoons below? And

can you find them faster

than the rest of the family?

Spot the DifferenceSpot the Difference

A bridge is four kilometers long and strongenough to hold 10,000 kilograms, but nomore. A loaded truck weighing exactly10,000kg drives onto the bridge. At thehalfway point, a sparrow weighing 30

grams lands on the truck, yet the bridgedoesn’t collapse. Why?

ACROSS

1. Could it be turned into asword?

7. Assassination.8. Bird’s home.10. Software should be

friendly to him.11. Seed used in cooking.12. He was beaten by Will-

iam at Hastings.14. Very important people.15. Desire.17. In wrestling, can be full

or half.18. Device for measuring

temperature.

DOWN

2. State between Texas andMississippi.

3. The first layer of paint,usually.

4. Buffalo’s defenses.5. Mr Lincoln.6. Consume.8. Hometown of C&W.9. Signalling with flags.13. Aussie dog.15. Not dry.16. Opposite SSW.

Solution next week.

1. The book Skellig waswritten by whom?

2. Which famed regimentis sometimes calledLes Képis Blancs?

3. What is the Norwegiannational costumecalled?

4. Which legendaryWWII operation tookplace May 17, 1943?

5. Who designed Colos-sus, the first program-mable digital elec-tronic digital com-puter?

6. David St Hubbins,Nigel Tufnel andDerek Smalls formedwhich rock group?

7. What was the name oftheir 1992 album?

8. Russefeiring is cel-ebrated by whom?

9. Who created the comic-book character Astérix,and when?

10. What, in the Frenchversion, is the name ofhis Druid friend?

11. Adrian, Brodie andStahlhelm are all typesof what?

12. Who was the firstfemale member of thefictional Justice Societyof America (JSA)?

13. What was her first jobin the JSA?

14. Deviation from anintended course due torotation about thevertical axis of a craft iscalled what?

15. The Social GroundCoffee Lounge com-pany operates in whichcountry?

16. Darling, Herzog andHiggo Crescent arethoroughfares in whichmetropolis?

17. Which landmarkedifice in New Yorkopened May 28, 1930?

18. Lexus vehicles areproduced by whichauto manufacturer?

19. Which chemicalelement has the sym-bol Ds and the atomicnumber 110?

20. Noctilucent cloudsgenerally occur whenand between whichlatitudes?

Answers next week.

1. The garibaldi; 2. Peek Frean in 1861; 3. The adjutant stork; 4.The branch of forestry dealing with the development and care offorests; 5. A donut-shaped structure; 6. Tokamak; 7. The Men’sChoir Shouters; 8. Amelia Earhart; 9. The Channel Islands; 10.Kisumu; 11. Nyanza; 12. Helios; 13. The Northern Lights and theSouthern Lights; 14. The Barents Sea; 15. Edward Fitzgerald; 16.Eldrick. 17. The Masters in 1997; 18. Mel Tormé; 19. Where EaglesDare; 20. Canillejas-Casa de Campo with 30 stations.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S MONSTER QUIZ

18 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005F E A T U R E S

F R O M T H ESTREETS

O F

PATTAYABy Duncan Stearn

Pickup truckup in PattayaUnder normal circum-

stances a newspaperitem concerned withthe machinations of

Pattaya City Hall would elicitabout as much interest from meas watching a nil-nildraw in a soccermatch. Yet, an itemin the Pattaya To-day caught my eye.

The articlenoted how theelected representa-tives had rejected arequest by the De-partment of HoleDigging and ShovelLeaning for moneyto buy more ve-hicles. The reasonfor the refusal to re-lease funds wasbased on the knowl-edge that, according to the books,there were sufficient vehicles tospread around the number of em-ployees.

The crunch came in the nextline when it was stated more than100 pickup trucks had gone miss-ing in the past couple of years.That just begged the question:How do you just lose over 100pickups?

Think about it. K. Chitt-furbrains turns up at the depotbright and early on Mondaymorning and is told to go and takepickup No 303 and travel downto the intersection of Third Roadand North Pattaya Road and“look busy”.

Off he goes in a cloud ofdiesel fumes, returning to the de-pot some eight hours and six platesof som tam later … on foot. Youwould think that somebody in thedepot, even if it was only thecleaner, might no-tice that K. Chitt-furbrains was miss-ing something?

OK, let’s as-sume no one no-ticed. Next day, K.Wo t c h m e p u l l -arabbitoutofmyhatturns up at the de-pot and he is told tojump in the nearestpickup and driveoff into the trafficmaelstrom ofPattaya and “dosomething”. Eighthours, five plates ofsom tam and three cans of Changbeer later he returns to the depoton foot.

Does anyone seriously ex-pect the ratepayers of PattayaCity to believe that no one noticedthat he had forgotten to return arather large item to its appropri-ate place?

Did no one ask him whereit was?It does make me wonderabout our overall security.

If City Hall can’t figure outwhat’s happened to 100 pickups,

imagine the surprise they’d get ifterrorists attached a few kilos ofgelignite to an ornamental foun-tain and blew the thing into its nextincarnation.

The minutes of the nextcouncil meetingmight contain acouple of entries –tainted with a hint ofincredulity – such as:“Any ideas aboutwhat happened tothe Dolphin Round-about? Oh, and bythe way, we seem tohave mislaid acouple more pick-ups.”

Of course,there is the chancealiens have becomeso bored withsnatching half the

population of the Mid-Westernstates of the US and performingexperiments on the victims thatthey’ve taken to beaming up pick-ups from Pattaya.

It’s probably more fun anda sad commentary on the aver-age brain capacity of a farmerfrom Incest, Illinois, that a Thaipickup – sans driver – mightprove of greater scientific valueand possibly possess a greaterfrontal-lobe capacity.

I can tell that you’re think-ing, “Well, that’s just typical of theThais.” Perhaps, but it is a qual-ity shared by others, too.

A report in the SydneyMorning Herald newspapernoted that the Australian Depart-ment of Defence (DoD) couldn’taccount for the exact where-abouts of AUD$500 million –yes, a number with more zerosthan a WWII Japanese aircraft

carrier – of hard-ware.

The DoDcommented thatthere is no evidenceto suggest anythingis missing, but thenagain they can’treally be sure.

It was admit-ted in a report thatthe DoD’s financialmanagement prac-tices were not allthey should be.They couldn’t becertain whereitems such as air-

craft engines might be at anygiven time, although they weresure no “crucial” items weremissing.

It’s comforting to know thatwe are not likely to see an Aus-tralian armored vehicle plying thestreets of Pattaya with K.Wotchmepullarabbitoutofmyhatat the wheel, in place of his mis-laid pickup nor K. Chittfurbrainssailing about Pattaya Bay on hisday off in a guided-missile de-stroyer.

The AustralianDepartment ofDefence (DoD)

couldn’t account forthe exact

whereabouts ofAUD$500 million –yes, a number withmore zeros than aWWII Japanese

aircraft carrier – ofhardware.

Thai massage. The verywords evoke a range ofimages as diverse as thedesires of those who

aspire to get one: from the entic-ing and exposed back of the beau-tiful faranglady, flower inher hair, under-going “aroma-therapy treat-ment” at anover-priced ho-tel spa all theway down – lit-erally in somecases – to thesmelly old man getting a down-and-dirty hand job or oral equiva-lent in a smoke-filled rabbit war-ren along a seedy soi.

But between these twoblack-and-white extremes lie theshades of gray that make up therich tapestry that is Thai massage.But just how does one approacha topic so vast – and so inscru-table to most foreigners?

No person, apart from ahuman sponge with unlimitedfree time and financial resources,could possibly hope to reviewevery massage service offered inPhuket.

So, rising to the challenge,

Stool Pigeon has chosen to ignorethe overpriced and/or excessivelyimmoral elements of the localmassage industry – at least forthe purposes of this review – andnarrow his field of reference to a

precise geo-graphical entity,Phuket City.

But even inthis limitedrealm thereseems to be anew establish-ment offeringsome sort ofmassage ser-

vices popping up every day – andjust about everywhere you look:beauty parlors, fire-trap shoppingarcades, nondescript shophouses,and as adjuncts to restaurantswith low turnovers … the list goeson.

Phuket is becoming to mas-sage what Nevada is to gambling.In Nevada, you can’t even pullinto a highway gas station with-out being confronted by a row ofslot machines.

And if you think getting amassage – perhaps with a lubejob thrown in – at the local Shellstation sounds rather far-fetched,guess again. It’s already here.

The Pattaya Mail recentlyreported that the Department forthe Development of Thai and Al-ternative Medicine – the samepeople who last year were en-couraging us to drink our ownurine – has now opened its 17th

“motorist massage” venue, thisone at a Bangchak filling stationin Sing Buri. But now I am reallystarting to digress …

Stool Pigeon has alreadybeen to about 20 different placesin the city, yet feels he has onlyjust begun to scratch the surfaceof this dynamic, ever-expandingdomain.

As a result, this reviewdoesn’t claim to be comprehen-sive, nor completely up to date.

But for what it’s worth,here is Stool Pigeon’s guide to thetop three places offering tradi-tional Thai massage in PhuketCity at reasonable rates – 120baht an hour or less.

Let’s give them a hand, asfor sure they’ve given many ofus one or two in the past.

1. Madam Massage (PhuketMerlin Hotel, 158/1 Yaowarat Rd,at the intersection with ThungkaRd, open daily 10 am to 10 pm,Tel: 076-212866)

Aye, there’s the rub…

The Lexus

The Lexus brand has beenaround for 16 years butit is only now that third-generation models are

coming into their own and prov-ing just what masterpieces of en-gineering these cars really are.

Strangely, Lexus does notintroduce new models on a regu-lar basis, perhaps demonstratingthe strength of the brand. It has

become ultra-successful – par-ticularly in the US, where it ismarket leader in its sector – al-most despite itself.

To maintain this position,Lexus has recently introduced thenew GS430, a revised four-doorsports sedan of the previousGS300 and GS430 models.

The original GS series waslaunched in 1993 but it did not

receive the same kind of criticalacclaim as the LS400, despitecarrying much of the same hard-ware.

In 2000, the model was up-graded and a 4.3-liter V8 wasmade available, to complementthe existing 3-liter V6.

The 2005 GS430 is shortlyto go on sale in Europe, sportinga revised 300bhp (220kW), 32-

F E A T U R E SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 19

BEHINDWHEELBy Jeff Heselwood

T H E

Jeff Heselwood may be con-tacted by email at: jhc@netvigator.com

Here you can get two hoursof relaxing, traditional Thai mas-sage for 120 baht per hour. Theyhave 30 massage beds and all ofthe masseuses are professionallytrained – most with years ofhands-on experience. It’s also theonly massage joint in the city Iam aware of that actually en-forces the no-smoking ban thatsupposedly applies to all air-con-ditioned, public venues – and youcan smell the difference.

Like most hotel massageplaces, the beds are divided bypartitions that can be opened orclosed to cater to group or pri-vate massage, but unlike mostother places set up this way, itdoesn’t result in the massageebeing blasted by cold air condi-tioning, loud music, or both.

The entire operation is calmand relaxing; they have nice, cleanbathrooms with a sauna (80 baht/hour), along with complimentary

hot towels and herbal tea. Unlikemany of the 20 or so places I vis-ited, sheets here are changedpromptly after every guest.

This is an important consid-eration for Stool Pigeon, who hascaught the cooties in less well-run establishments.

Regular clients here tend tobe local businessmen with the oddexpatriate thrown in. The girls dothe full two hours and keep themobile phone chatter to a mini-mum.

The only thing Madam Mas-sage is missing is marketing.There isn’t even a sign on Yao-warat Rd in front of the hotelalerting passers-by to its exist-ence. Stool Pigeon passed by thisplace for years, on the way todingier venues, not even awareof its existence.

2. Rome Place Hotel (23/8Phuket Rd, Tel: 076-213425)

Likely the biggest massagevenue in Phuket City, the tradi-tional Thai massage section herecomprises the entire second floorof the hotel, with 24 massagerooms and three massage bedsin each – 76 beds altogether.

Officially it’s open frommidday to 2 am daily. The best

time to turn up is at 8 pm whenthey have the evening shiftchange and the display cabinet-cum-goldfish bowl is full.

The girls tend to be cuterand younger than at other ven-ues in this price range, but theydo get a good deal of in-housetraining and most are capable ofgiving a competent massage.Expect fairly frequent mobilephone interruptions, however.

Rates are 120 baht an hour,minimum two hours. Herbal teacomplimentary. (Note: this re-view only encompasses whatgoes on at the second floor; wan-der up two more floors and you’reon your own.)

3. Manohra Hotel (17/4 Kom-arapaj Rd, Tel: 076-219842)

A bit dingy and subject tohigh turnover among staff, butwith a core of highly-competentmasseuses. The rate here is areasonable 100 baht and hour,with VIP rooms (hotel roomswith king-sized beds and firmmattress, and TV) charge at anadditional 100 baht an hour.

Brickbats to The Metropolehotel, which although it has alarge massage facility, chooses toemploy a double-pricing policy of

A guide to Phuket City massage parlors120 baht an hour for Thais and220 baht for foreigners. Theypriced themselves out of this re-view.

Finding a good masseuse islargely a matter of chance, and –like playing the lottery – it allcomes down to choosing the rightnumber.

Phuket’s oldest massage parlor, Fairy Barber & Thai Massage,opposite the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel, has been laying on handsfor almost 20 years.

nexusvalve V8, or a new direct-injec-tion V6.

Both engines are mated toan all new, close-ratio, six-speedautomatic transmission, completewith steering wheel-mounted se-quential manual shift.

A numberof other innova-tive features arepart of the com-p r e h e n s i v eequipment list inthe GS, includingvariable dampersettings: normalmode for every-day comfort orsports mode for improved han-dling.

A new, variable-assistanceelectric power-steering system isfitted, while there is a sonar sen-sor that detects obstacles in frontof the car and activates a pre-crash safety system that will au-tomatically optimize seat belt andemergency braking efficiency.

By comparing the informa-tion received from the radar withthe speed of the vehicle, thesteering angle and the yaw rate,the system takes up any excessslack in the front seat belts andactivates the brake assist to aidemergency braking.

Other safety features in-clude vehicle stability control –now able to detect the onset of askid and automatically correct it

– traction control, wa-ter-repellent glass forthe front doors and theusual side-impactdoor beams and de-formable front andrear structures.

Adap-tive head-lamps aref i t t e d ,w h i c hmove ac-cording tothe steeringangle, an innovationpioneered by BMWand fellow Teuton

Mercedes-Benz.As with all previous and

current Lexus models, there is asuperb, concert-hall reproductionaudio system fitted as standard,complete with multiple speakersand an dashboard-mounted, six-disc CD player.

When the first Lexus hit thestreets in 1989 it was the soundsystem that received the mostcompliments and Toyota shouldbe congratulated for continuingthis high-quality audio in its luxurybrand.

Similarly, the quality of thewood trim cannot be bettered.Using the same walnut veneer asYamaha pianos, the GS430 is su-perb throughout, including thewalnut-and leather-trimmedsteering wheel.

The steering wheel itself isfully adjustable for both rake andreach, and incorporates a tilt-away mechanism when thedriver’s door is opened.

Standard on the GS430 butoptional on the GS300 is a fea-tures a memory that adjusts thedriver’s seat, exterior mirrors andsteering wheel position.

Other nice touches includeautomatic headlamps, a dual-zone automatic climate-controlsystem with a smog sensor andautomatic recirculation mode –useful in Bangkok traffic jams –and a universal transceiver thatwill operate electric gates, garagedoors or home security systems.

This is thebest Lexus yet andshould stem the tideof European im-ports that threatenToyota’s supremacy in NorthAmerica.

Despite the excellent BMW5-series and the success of theE-Class Mercedes-Benz in manycountries, including it’s near-dominace of the market through-out Southeast Asia, the newGS430 is certainly worth a closerlook.

FAR LEFT: A true thoroughbred, the new Lexus GS430is built upon the bloodline of its previous incarnation toproduce a vehicle that should see its dominance in theNorth American luxury car sector continue. It evenhas a sonar safety system.

TOP: A dual-zone automaticclimate control with a smogsensor and a recirculation modeshould mean that even a drivethrough Asia’s polluted citycenters will be like a drive in thecountryside.

INSET: With an audio system theenvy of a concert hall and acresof walnut and leather, the GS430 cossets you from themoment you get in.

E D I T O R I A L & L E T T E R S20 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

- Since 1994 -

367/2 Yaowarat Rd, AmphurMuang, Phuket 83000Tel: 076-236555Fax: 076-213971Email: info@phuketgazette.net

The Gazette is pleased to receive mail from read-ers. Please write to us at 367/2 Yaowarat Rd,Amphur Muang, Phuket 83000, fax to 076-213971or send an email to editor@phuketgazette.net with

your views for publication in our next issue.We reserve the right to edit all letters. Pseudonymsare acceptable only if your full name and addressare supplied.

Letters

Editor: Rungtip HongjakpetManaging Editor: Alasdair Forbes

Deputy Editor: Chris HustedChief Reporter: Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

Editorial Team: Stephen Fein, Andy Johnstone, Anongnat Sartpisut,Alison Winward, Athiga Jundee

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Copyright © 1994-2005 The Phuket Gazette Co Ltd

The views expressed in the Phuket Gazette are those of the writers and contributors anddo not necessarily reflect those of the publisher, the editor, the shareholders, or the direc-tors of The Phuket Gazette Co Ltd.

Letters conveying views and suggestions are published here. Those seeking comment from governmentofficials and/or business owners are published in Issues & Answers on the facing page.

– The Editor

Dengue fever threatmust be countered

The recent announcement that Dulwich College in London has sev-ered its ties with Phuket’s Dulwich International College is only thelatest in a string of setbacks for the island in the past six monthsstarting, of course, with the tsunami.

Despite the efforts of the tourism industry and the governmentto lure back visitors, there can be little doubt that the next six monthswill give new meaning to the term “low-season”.

Already there has been a sharp drop in bookings from impor-tant sources of low-season tourists such as Taiwan, where ancientChinese beliefs deter people from traveling to areas where manyhave died.

While there is little that most island residents can do to preventevents such as tsunamis, rising oil prices and the re-branding of pri-vate schools, the island is faced with another threat that each andevery one of us can and should take steps to combat. That threat isdengue fever.

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has urged the public toprotect themselves from the bite of the vector mosquito, Aedesaegypti, and also to drain, cover or chemically treat any standingwater where the mosquito larvae can develop into the adult form.

This year we need to be more vigilant in this effort than ever.Despite spraying of insecticide in coastal areas after the tsunami,the incidence of dengue on the island, with 68 reported cases fromJanuary 1 to April 30, is already about twice what it was during thesame period last year.

The MoPH is also investigating the possibility that a new, dead-lier sub-type may have mutated from one of the four serotypes of thedengue virus that are common in Thailand.

Many factors have contributed to the continuing rise of dengueas one of Thailand’s most serious public health problems. Foremostamong them is rapid urbanization, with Phuket being a prime ex-ample.

Our inadequate water, sewage, and waste-management systemsare creating perfect conditions for the Aedes aegypti to thrive.

Each new housing project or resort becomes a potential breed-ing site for the insect, and the concurrent rise in the human popula-tion increases the odds of dengue completing its life cycle, passingback and forth between its human and insect hosts.

We should all do our part to prevent the spread of dengue, notjust to protect ourselves and our loved ones but also to preserve thehealth of the tourism industry on which we all rely.

I read that Richard Wagner hasopened an automatic car wash inRawai [Around The Island, Ga-zette, May 14], but I will not beusing it.

I’d rather give my 100 baht

Wagner’s Twilightof The Suds?

Can someone please explain thereasons behind the introductionof entertainment license fees now(News, Gazette, May 21) whenwe still have so far to go to re-cover from the tsunami?

We need our money to re-build [our businesses]; taxes andthese new fees will kill us offforever.

VictorBy email

Why now?

plus tip to the guy and his fourkids who clean, vacuum and drymy pickup truck every couple ofweeks.

I can’t imagine a machinebeing better than the four or fivepairs of eager hands that removeevery trace of dirt from the in-side and outside of my vehicle.

Okay, they may take 40minutes, but my pick-up is re-turned in showroom condition.Mr Wagner’s jibe that using the“wrong cloth” to wash a vehiclewill damage the paintwork wasalso pretty feeble.

No, Mr Wagner, you cankeep your high-tech Western-style car wash; I prefer the Thaiway.

And if you think you’regoing to make a small fortunefrom of this business, I hope youare starting with a big one.

Roger NeillChalong

I like Phuket and I spend timehere almost every year. The thingthat I do not like is that every yearI see a large increase in concreteconstruction along the coastline,with a large decrease in the greenlandscape that once edged theshoreline.

The beauty of the coastlineshould be considered one of themost precious treasures that na-ture has given to the island. Iwould strongly suggest that thegovernment do something to stopthis destruction, perhaps byevaluating what the Indian au-thorities have done to protect thecoastline in Goa.

Although India is not a richcountry, people there recognizethat the coastal landscape is asource of wealth, both now andfor the future. For this reasonthere is a simple law in Goa thatforbids any permanent construc-tion within 500 meters of theshoreline.

In this way, people are al-lowed to build both tourist ac-commodations and homes forthemselves without destroyingGoa’s beauty.

I am afraid that in 15 years’time the beauty of the Phuketcoastline will be almost com-pletely lost. Meanwhile, Goa’scoastline still will remain intact,continuing to attract tourists gen-erating money for local people.

Federico ParodiItaly

A concretecomplaint

Two questions arise from theGazette’s May 21 news story,“Police blitz late-night venues”:Why do the police and the gov-ernment officials make these

Blitz bullsh*t

claims? And why does the Ga-zette publish this nonsense whenanyone who lives in or aroundPatong knows that many enter-tainment venues remain openway past the 1 am curfew?

Walk along Soi Bangla, SoiSea Dragon, Soi Tiger, Rat-u-Thit 200 Pi Rd and you can seethat most places stay open untilat least 2 am, with some openuntil 3 am or 4 am, or later stillelsewhere.

Most bar owners and ex-barowners would admit – off therecord – that they have been of-fered dispensation to stay open.If they refuse or are unable tomeet the requirements, then theymust abide by the law or facetemporary or permanent closure.

Many of the venues thatstay open past the curfew are alsothe ones that ignore the rules gov-erning the maximum level ofnoise (91dB) in an entertainmentvenue.

The laws that apply to en-tertainment venues are inappro-priate in a tourist location but asthey are law, they should be en-forced, irrespective of who ownsor manages the venues – or pays“tea money” to officials to keepthem open.

Paul BrentPhuket

Far be it from us to change theutterances of public officials, orto shield the public from them.

– Editor

The beaches of Phuket are beau-tiful; must officials now litterthem with land-roving vehicles[see news pages of this issue]?

I certainly hope they areused on an emergency-only ba-sis, and not as “cruise” vehicles.

ScottBy email

Cruise control

P E R S P E C T I V E SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 21

Want to know how to get something done?Can’t understand some of the dafter things thatseem to go on in Phuket? Want to pitch an ideato Phuket’s authorities or institutions? Then this

is the forum for you.Submit your queries or suggestions to us andwe’ll ask the appropriate people to respond to

them.

Write to: The Phuket Gazette, 367/2 Yaowarat Rd,

Muang, Phuket 83000. Fax 076-213971, or submit your

issue at www.phuketgazette.net

ANSWERS&Issues&

Iam glad the SELB projecthas been delayed because itis incompatible with [PhangNga’s] tourism-based econ-

omy.At this point in time, the

government needs to target itsfunding toward post-tsunami re-covery of the tourism industry,including infrastructure redevel-opment and other efforts that willbring tangible benefits to thepeople of Phang Nga.

If the government had goneahead with the SELB project, itwould have harmed our tourismwell into the future, because tour-ists are less likely to want to visita place that is home to a petro-chemical facility.

I can’t comment on howmuch money or other benefitssuch a project might have gener-ated for the country, but I can sayfor sure that it would have af-fected tourism.

In fact, I couldn’t see anyreal benefits it would havebrought to local people.

Even with the best availableenvironmental protection con-trols in place, there would always

The shelving of the Ministry of Energy’s (MoE) controver-sial Strategic Energy Landbridge (SELB) oil pipeline projectfrom Phang Nga’s Tab Lamu to Nakhon Sri Thammaratcame as much-needed good news for the Phang Nga tour-ism industry, which is still reeling from the effect of the tsu-nami.

Phang Nga Tourist Association President Anupong Sa-Nguannam spoke with the Gazette and explained why theproject was a bad idea for the province.

PERSONFIRST

Landbridge was ‘never a good idea’

remain some risk of leakage [ofoil] into the environment.

It wouldn’t take a large re-lease of oil into the environmentto impact upon tourism.

Even a small oil slick wash-ing up on our beaches could harmour image among tourists evenmore severely than the tsunami,which destroyed only about 10%of the coral reefs [in the area].

A [large] oil spill couldhave an even worse impact thanthat and would be even harder toclean up after.

I recognize that oil costs arehigh at the moment, but we haveto ask ourselves how much theSELB project would have re-versed that situation – especiallyas Thailand is not [a major] oil-producing country and has no

ability to control the price ofcrude oil.

The project would haveonly served to reduce our needto buy refined oil from Singa-pore. I think it would be betterfor us to start looking at alterna-tive sources of power.

Most people in Phang Ngaknew very little about how theproject was proceeding, but ev-

erybody here knows about thebenefits of tourism and how theyare spread throughout all sectorsof the economy.

On average about 30% oftourist spending goes on hotelaccommodation, another 30% onfood and beverages, and the restis spent on souvenirs and sun-dries, so everyone can benefit.

Tourism generated some 9billion baht in revenue for theeconomy last year, but we expectto lose about 4 billion baht [be-cause of the tsunami] during thefirst five months of 2005.

In the past, we had 5,000 to6,000 hotel rooms available; nowonly 500 to 600 are rooms stillopen.

Of these, only about 50 or60 rooms are occupied at present,and most of the guests are actu-ally government officers or vol-unteers [working on the tsunamirecovery].

We need to reverse this direeconomic situation, and rebuild-ing our tourism infrastructure isa far better way to do it thanbuilding a large petrochemicalproject.

Friends of mine, a Swiss couple,would like to build a house in thePatong area on land I own.

They would like to have thehouse registered in their name.

They submitted the plansand all the details almost threemonths ago to Patong Municipal-ity but have still not received per-mission to build.

The Municipality said thatforeigners cannot have a houseregistered in their own name butour lawyer says that they can.

Can foreigners have ahouse registered in their name?How long does it take for permis-sion to be granted?

Building regulations for foreignersI have heard that it is nor-

mally between a month and sixweeks. My friends have beenwaiting at least twice this lengthof time.

Many people have told methat my friends should just takesome money to the Municipalityand after that everything willhappen very fast. Should they dothat?

Please help them. Theylove Thailand and Thai peoplevery much, but now they feel dis-couraged and have lost faith inthe Thai local government.

GracePatong

Following the government’s pro-posal to tighten control of phonesusing prepaid cards, many retail-ers seem confused as to whetherthey will be allowed to sell pre-paid SIM cards to people who donot hold Thai ID cards.

Will we be allowed to buySIM cards on production of ourpassports?

Martin GrundyUK

Angkana Wongprasert, Direc-tor of Public Relations at the

Ministry of Information andCommunications Technology,replies:

Thailand introduced regu-lations governing prepaid SIMcards on May 10, as a way ofhelping prevent bombs attacks inthe country’s southern borderprovinces [using explosive de-vices triggered by mobile tele-phones].

Both Thais and foreignersmay buy prepaid SIM cards.Anyone wanting to do so mustproduce an ID card or a passport,

Pongtap Fongsee, Assis-tant Officer at the Phuket Pro-vincial Land office, replies:Foreigners may have a house reg-istered in their name.

However, I do not knowhow long it will take them to getbuilding permission.

If you are in Patong, youmust ask for permission from thePatong Municipality.

If you are in Kamala, youhave to apply for permissionfrom the Kamala Tambon Ad-ministration Organization, and soon.

I can’t suggest anythingelse.

My shop in Patong was destroyedby the tsunami. Is the Thai gov-ernment helping shop owners ornot.

If it is, where do I apply forassistance?

I am an Indian citizen but Ihave been working and payingtaxes in Thailand for the pastseven years.

Nakorn Tipsat, Chief of thePhuket Office of Disaster Pre-vention and Mitigation(ODPM), replies:

First, you should declarelosses and damage at the nearestpolice station and bring the po-lice report to Patong Municipal-ity (or the relevant local govern-ment authority) to register as atsunami victim so that you canreceive assistance.

Patong Deputy Mayor ChairatSukbal replies:

Victims may declare theirlosses at the Municipality’s of-fices.

Because of the enormousscale of the damage [from the tsu-nami] we are cooperating with avariety of other organizations.

Which of these can helpyou depends on the circum-stances.

For example, if someonehas lost a house, they need tocontact the Social Developmentand Welfare Office.

For basic day-to-day help,they can contact the ODPM.

You can contact the Mu-nicipality and we will decide howmuch help we can give you, andadvise you on what other organi-zations can offer aid.

How can I get tsunamiaid from the state? and the name of the customer, the

salesperson and the shop must berecorded by the retailer.

The person buying the SIMcard must be the person who willuse it.

In the three southern borderprovinces only, those who al-ready have prepaid SIM cardsmust contact the relevant mobilephone operator to register per-sonal details. This does not ap-ply in other provinces, whereonly new users must produceidentification documents.

Do new SIM card anti-terror regulations apply to all?

We wish to sell our house –which is owned by an offshorecompany – in Phuket.

Can someone please tell uswhat taxes and fees will have tobe paid in Thailand and whenthey will have to be paid?

John HamiltonPhuket City

How much does it cost to trans-fer property out of Thailand?

SM2005 Malaysia

Pongtap Fongsee, AssistantOfficer of the Phuket Provin-cial Land Office, replies:

The two main payments to

be made are the transfer fee (2%of the estimated value of the landand/or house) and company in-come tax (maximum 2.5% of theestimated value of the land and/or house).

These and other minor fees,including government stamps,are due when the sale is finalized.

What fees are incurred when selling a house?

F E A T U R E S22 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Dual-speed ADSL inPhuket: slow and stop

COMPUTERKHUN WOODY’S

Been promoted or got a new job? Know someone else who has? Let usknow by email to onthemove@phuketgazette.net

The pace of British eco-nomic growth is slow-ing and this trend is ex-pected to continue. How

can one be confident about thissituation? The best guide is tolook at the politicians.

Prime Minis-ter Tony Blair tookthe Labour Partyto the polls in earlyMay and won a un-precedented – forLabour – thirdterm of office.However, as Lab-our had one moreyear of their then-existing five-yearterm to run, theycould have held anelection in 2006.

A number offactors made 2005 an obviouschoice to call an election. PMBlair’s government has, in thepast four years, embarked on amajor spending plan which ex-pired at the end of the last finan-cial year, April 5, 2005.

This spending on infra-structure and health care gave awelcome stimulus to the UKeconomy but, because of its size,was not sustainable in the longterm.

The UK’s central bank, theBank of England (BoE), has inmeasured steps lifted interestrates 1.75% from a low of 3% inlate 2003 to the current 4.75%.Normally, central banks raise in-

JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa has ap-pointed Lenka Juraskova, from the CzechRepublic, as Director of Marketing Com-munications.

Formerly an interpreter for the Czechgovernment, she took up a position atMarriott Phuket last year as MarketingCommunications Manager.

She holds a master’s degree in En-glish, American Studies and philology fromthe Charles University, Prague.

The new Head Chef of Cucina ItalianKitchen at the JW Marriott Phuket Re-sort & Spa is German AndreasHameder.

Mr Hameder has worked in restau-rants across Italy, including La Rosettaand the Cul De Sac restaurants in Romeand Berlin before moving to Thailandin 1999. He was formerly Group Execu-tive Chef of La Piola Italian restaurantsin Bangkok and Pattaya.

Athiga “Joy” Jundee, 22, from Surat ThaniProvince, has recently joined the PhuketGazette as a reporter.

A graduate of the Faculty of ServiceIndustry at Prince of Songkla University,Phuket Campus, she majored in hotel andtourism management.

K. Joy spent three months training inthe public relations department at the JWMarriott Phuket Resort & Spa before tak-ing up her position at the Gazette.

terest rates to curb potential in-flationary trends but in this caseit was one of the BoE’s lesserconcerns.

The UK has enjoyed unin-terrupted economic growth sinceearly 1993. The slowdown of

2000-2003, whichpushed a numberof countries – in-cluding the USand Germany –into recession hadlittle effect in theUK. Naturallyenough, elementsof the Britisheconomy felt thechill wind fromsome of their ma-jor trading part-ners, but on thebroader front the

economy remained firmly ontrack.

The BoE raised interestrates for two reasons: to reign inbooming residential propertyprices and to dampen massiveconsumer spending, both ofwhich were fueled by borrowedmoney.

At the start of the currentperiod of economic growth inearly 1993, the British residen-tial property market was in thedoldrums. “Negative equity” wasrife, and around 2 million prop-erties were repossessed by banksand building societies from thoseunable to meet repayment costs.This was caused by the then Con-

For the past three weeksI’ve been regaling youwith my experienceswith running the 1,000-

baht-a-month ADSL Internetlines from TOT (Cybergold) andTT&T (Hi-Net). Both govern-ment-sponsored services are sup-posed to operate at 1 million bitsper second (1 Mbps) when down-loading data into your computer,and 256 Kbps when you senddata out.

A quick glance at the graphwill show you that TT&T wonthe speed race. But the graphdoesn’t tell you who lost.

Both TOT and TT&T havecompletely ineffective customersupport. I’ve spent almost amonth trying to get straightfor-ward problems resolved withboth of them, and to date I’vecome up with absolutely zip.

TT&T’s sporadically mal-functioning Domain Name Ser-ver, which occasionally bars mefrom getting to specific websites,continues to fail at times. Thepeople at TT&T have been kindand responsive – but they haven’tsolved the problem. The fact thatthe sporadic error may be indica-tive of DNS Cache poisoning anda hacker attack (as explained lastweek) doesn’t seem to faze any-body. I’m not sure anyone atTT&T has the slightest inklingwhat’s going on.

I’ve talked to TOT’s broad-band people on the phone at least20 times, and sent a handful offaxes. They still won’t give mean email address to contact them,so I have to re-explain my prob-lem every timethey (or I) call.Their most re-cent piece of ad-vice was tochange my modem – but theyfaxed me the instructions for thewrong modem. I still can’t getinto any secure websites, such asHotmail, amazon.com, any bank-ing site, and so on.

TOT continues to insist thatnobody else has reported thesame problem, but I’ve heardfrom Gazette readers who saythey can’t get to any secure siteswith their TOT ADSL connec-tions, either.

I feel confident in sayingthat Bangkok-based tech supportfor both TOT and TT&T broad-band is, basically, clueless. Af-ter living in Phuket for four anda half years and working in thecomputer biz for 30 years, I’mcertain this is a competence, nota language or cultural, problem.

On to the speed tests. If yourun TT&T’s speed test (at www.tttbroadband.com) on a TT&TADSL line, TT&T will tell youthat your connection is blazinglyfast. Cool. No doubt TOT has asimilar speed test squirreledaway somewhere. I completelyignored those tests, of course, andinstead relied on an industry stan-

dard ADSL test,measuring up-load and down-load speeds froma server in Seattle

that’s connected directly to theInternet backbone. You can readabout the test and its limitationsat www.dslreports.com/stest?loc=97.

The results in the graphshown are not definitive. Therewas no attempt to be statisticallyaccurate, to adjust for outlyingdata or to construct proper sam-pling regimens. These are theraw results of 90 tests, taken onthe same computer, with standardWindows XP SP2 settings, at dif-ferent times between April 24and May 16.

The TOT line went down ahalf-dozen times during the tests.The TT&T line went down, too,but not nearly as often. TT&Tgenerally gave out at the sametime as the TOT line, which prob-ably means that all ADSL com-munication with Phuket brokedown at those points. Reliabilityis still a problem.

Both TOT and TT&T ad-vertise 1 Mbps service for 1,000baht a month. In the morning,TT&T comes close to living upto its billing; TOT doesn’t evendeliver half of what they say they

offer. By noon, TOT’s speed, onaverage, isn’t much faster than adial-up modem – and it stays thatway for the rest of the day.TT&T’s speed in the afternoonand evening is about twice thatof TOT – which isn’t sayingmuch. I found that weekendswere only a little faster thanweekdays, and that TOT, in par-ticular, is slower now than whenI started testing, and it’s gettingworse.

The fundamental problemis obvious. TOT and TT&T areoffering cheap ADSL service,knowing full well that they don’thave the hardware to support it.In most countries that would becalled “fraud.” In Thailand, how-ever, there might be anothername for it. Consumers look atthe TOT and TT&T 1 Mbps of-ferings, and they can’t under-stand why the government’s com-petitors charge five or six timesas much for the same service.Now we all know how TOT andTT&T can charge so little.

Phuket Governor UdomsakUsawarangkura, last week Ipromised I would tell you aboutthe third problem with ADSLservice in Phuket. Here it is: TOTand TT&T’s service is laughablyslow. In South Korea, everybodygets full 8 Mbps Internet access,all the time, for the same pricethat we pay in Phuket for one-hundredth of that capacity. HongKong, too. Singapore isn’t quitethat fast, in general, but it’s close.Anybody who tells you thatPhuket is an IT City is pulling thewool over your eyes, Governor.We don’t have a good Internetconnection. Never have had.

The graph shows the win-ner in the TOT v TT&T stakes.The loser? Easy; all of us are los-ers.

Until Phuket has reliable,cheap, fast Internet access, wecan’t even begin to compete withother regions in Asia, much lesswith the rest of the world. Any-one who thinks they can tele-commute from Phuket need onlysit down at any Internet café, any-where on the island, and giveADSL a try.

If Phuket’s ADSL were a racehorse, the poor thing would besent to the knacker’s yard.

– Woody Leonhardwoody@khunwoody.com

TALKSMONEY

By Richard Watson

Will Britain and

ON THE MOVE

B U S I N E S S & M O N E YMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 23

By Rungtip Hongjakpet& Anongnat Sartpisut

MICE drive still in low gear

Richard Watson runs Global Port-folios Co Ltd, a Phuket-based per-sonal financial planning service.He can be reached at Tel and Fax:076-381997, Mobile: 01-081-4611. Email: imm@loxinfo.co.th.

servative government’s stupidityin trying to maintain fixed ex-change rates during a recessionin what is now the “Euro Zone”.

This resulted in interestrates of 10% during a recessionalthough inflation had – at anaverage of 1.6% – all but disap-peared in the UK. Britain’s over-night exit from fixed exchangerates allowed interest rates to fallrapidly and the economy to rally.

In 1993 conditions startedto improve and by the middle ofthe ’90s, the property market wasagain moving briskly forward,with property prices rising steep-ly in the second half of the de-cade.

Another boom, that of thestock market, came to an abrupthalt in early 2000. The Britishpublic took to the residentialproperty market as the only “sen-sible” method of investment and,in general, completely ignoredwhat had transpired after thehousing bubble of the late 1980s.

The BoE, keen to keep theUK economy on track, followedthe lead of many other countriesand reduced interest rates to aida slowing British economy. Thiswas fuel to the fire of the hous-ing boom; it made borrowingeven cheaper.

Considering that 92% ofBritish mortgages are “adjust-able” – that is, linked to move-ments by the BoE on interestrates – any downward movementis widely welcomed.

The man in the street foundhimself in a comfortable position.He was earning an income fromemployment or business, andthen suddenly had a new tax-freeincome from the increase in thevalue of his property.

For manyhomeowners, prop-erty prices rising by20% a year offeredthem an income orcapital gain thatwas better than anormal income. Afeeling of affluenceprevailed and natu-rally people wantedto spend some ofthis new foundwealth.

The mortgagefinance sector inthe UK is an in-tensely competitive business andlenders were only too willing tolet people increase their borrow-ing on existing loans. After all,the tenders themselves were be-ing cushioned by appreciatingreal estate prices.

The credit card sector alsosaw a vast increase in businessas people wanted to flex theirplastic on a wide variety of pur-chases.

Consumer spending on bor-rowed money included every-thing from cars to consumerdurables to holidays. Even if youdid not own your own property,the urge to keep up with the

“Joneses” was there. It was alsoeasy to achieve; financial insti-tutions were competing with eachother to lend money.

Another trap was the Brit-ish mindset. Over decades, Brit-ain had experienced higher-than-

average inflationaccompanied byhigher-than-aver-age interest rates.By the first fewyears of the 21st

century, interestrates were at 50-year lows; it wasjust too good an of-fer to resist borrow-ing money. Finan-cial institutionswere almost givingit away.

What was notrealized was that

British inflation was at multi-de-cade lows. Real borrowing costsstill existed.

With interest rates risingover the past 18 months, at amuch faster pace than inflation,people are starting to realize thatperhaps things are not as good asthey might have seemed.

The British consumer hasborrowed to levels never seenbefore in history; there is a debtmountain.

Housing prices have movedfrom rising to falling but mort-gage and credit card bills are ris-ing.

The additional income gen-

Blair weather a bleak fiscal future?erator – increasing house prices– has disappeared and is startingto reverse.

UK retail sales have stalledand even moved into negativefigures. UK manufacturing is suf-fering from the same problem.Rising interest rates have in-creased the attraction of holdingsterling as an asset and the cur-rency is overvalued by about20% against the US$ and around10% against the euro.

The BoE will be watchingthe economic data very closelybut, if current trends continue,they will see that they have beenvery successful in their politics.Late summer or early autumncould easily see the reversal ofinterest rate rises.

This will undoubtedly

Another trap wasthe British

mindset. Overdecades, Britainhad experienced

higher-than-average inflationaccompanied by

higher-than-average interest

rates.

cause the value of sterling to fall,which is positive for the UKeconomy.

The BoE’s task will then beto stop the spending pattern of theconsumer from turning from adefeat into a rout.

Two million mortgages inthe UK, which had a fixed inter-est element in them, expire in thesecond half of 2005 and becomeadjustable.

No wonder PM Blair tookthe country to the polls in May2005.

PHUKET: In the four monthsfollowing the tsunami, registra-tion fees for new businesses onPhuket fell by more than 546,000baht compared with last year’sstatistics.

A total of 473 new busi-nesses were registered betweenJanuary 2 and April 30, and 91businesses closed, according tothe Phuket Provincial BusinessDevelopment Office (BDO). Inthe same period last year 510 newbusinesses were registered, with87 businesses closing down.

In April, 113 businesseswere registered, of which 88were limited companies and 25were partnerships.

Of the business registra-tions, 45 were property or landsale companies, followed by 15tourist-related businesses and 12sub-contractors. The remainingconcerns were in catering com-panies, architecture firms andmerchants.

The BDO figures show thatat the end of April there were10,001 businesses registered inPhuket – 7,159 limited compa-nies, 2,827 partnerships and 15private businesses.

Businessregistrationsfall in wakeof tsunamiPHUKET: Panu Maswongsa, the Vice-Presi-

dent of Marketing for the Phuket TourismAssociation is aggrieved. “Why did the gov-ernment hold a meeting about the tsunami inChiang Mai earlier this month? Why didn’tthey hold it instead in Phuket, Krabi or PhangNga, the provinces hit by the tsunami?”

According to K. Panu, the MICE (Meet-ings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibi-tions) market offers the tsunami-affectedprovinces their best hope of filling theirrooms in this post-tsunami “green” season.

But so far there have been few takers.“The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) isoffering special MICE packages, and somepeople have contacted the TCT about thesepackages, but not many,” said K. Panu.

He questions whether the governmentis doing enough to support post-tsunami tour-ism in Phuket, in terms of promoting the prov-ince as a MICE venue, or in using the facili-ties itself. “We don’t think the governmenthas done much at all,” he said.

But Uraiwan Tohom, Front Office Man-ager of the Royal Phuket City Hotel, dis-agrees. She said, “I’m happy that the gov-ernment is helping to try to bring tourismback to the Andaman region, although we aretrying to help ourselves, too, by joining Tour-ism Authority of Thailand (TAT) roadshowsand so on.”

Before the tsunami, the Royal PhuketCity’s MICE facilities had an annual occu-pancy rate of 80%.

But, said K. Uraiwan, “After the tsu-

nami, things changed. In the first two monthsafter the tsunami, we got a lot of tsunami-related MICE business, from both the privateand the public sectors, from foreign embas-sies and aid organizations and so on. Thehotel was actually quite busy then, eventhough we didn’t have many tourists.”

But since March, groups based inPhuket because of the tsunami have beenpulling out, and, according to K. Uraiwan,there are no MICE bookings for June or July.

“From January until now it has been80% government. I suspect private firms aregoing elsewhere for economic reasons. Theyare going to places that are cheaper,” she said.

Laddawan Somniyam, Director of Salesfor Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa,which has the island’s largest conference fa-cilities, believes that attempts to lure backthe MICE market have a better chance ofsucceeding if individual hotels promote them-selves as part of the destination of Phuket,rather than as separate entities.

“The ability of MICE to boost tourismdepends on the image of the whole province… One hotel cannot work on its own, it hasto work as part of a destination. And whenthe image of Phuket recovers, so will tour-ism,” said K. Laddawan.

Last year, the MICE market generated46.87 million baht in revenue for the Hilton– around one quarter of the hotel’s total rev-enue – and that was when many facilities,such as the ballroom and function rooms,were closed for renovation.

But following the tsunami, around 80%of the MICE events booked for the Hiltonhave been cancelled or postponed.

Said K. Laddawan, “Even organizerswho had already paid their deposits pulledout. Between January and March, we lostaround 10 events – and potential revenue ofaround 35 million baht.”

The keys to surviving, said K. Ladda-wan, are reducing rates, attracting businessback – and getting government support.

She said, “We are fortunate that we havemany facilities suitable for MICE, so cur-rently we are attracting government events.”

Phuket is a popular MICE destinationbecause it is easily accessible from Bangkok,Singapore and Hong Kong. But, said K.Laddawan, “I have just come back fromSingapore, where I visited a destination man-agement company to promote Phuket as aMICE destination.

“But the people I spoke to said the TATshould be working harder at public relationsto re-launch tourism to Phuket.”

However, K. Laddawan is optimisticthat the market will recover by November.

TCT President Vichit Na Ranong, too,feels that the government could be doingmore to stimulate the MICE market here, bypromoting Phuket as a destination, and bychoosing the province as a destination for itsown MICE events.

At present, Phuket accounts for onlyabout a tenth of the country’s MICE busi-ness.

“The government can do more to helpthan it is at the moment. It should be con-ducting more aggressive public relations, andbe stimulating the market to travel here. AndThai Airways could help, too, by offeringspecial packages.”

24 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005S P O R T S

Swinging forthe perfect putt

Getting ever closer tothe moment when Iam to stride – resplen-dent in the full uni-

form of a golfer – onto the fair-way and take a tentative swingat a ball, the lesson today is put-ting.

I entertain the idea that Imight not be too bad at this as-pect of the game. Hours spent oncrazy golf courses and a nattylittle portable putting green athome convince me that I mayimpress Bruce Whitehead, theLaguna Phuket Golf Club pro.

I aim perfectly with my toesin a straight line to the hole,which is some six yards away andmove the club, gently tapping theball.

I tap it too gently, and itwithers to a halt halfway to thehole. Not only that, but I swungmy arms and let dreaded flexiblewrist back into the stroke.

Bruce invites me to formmy shoulders, arms – pointedslightly inward to my ribcage –and hands, and by definition, theclub, into an inverted isoscelestriangle and to move it as such,rather like a pendulum.

I make a few practiceswings – pivoting, nay rockingthe triangle – before addressingthe ball.

The aim looks perfect andthe ball has the legs – too much,in fact – to reach the hole but itsuddenly veers off to the left,ending its run about a yard wideand beyond its mark.

I know that golf balls do nothave an iron core,but I still lookaround expectingto spot a fairwayfaery or a putting-green gremlin witha large magnet.

Lesson 1:

Whereas my mini-putting green athome is set up ona dead flat floor, areal putting greenis anything but billiard-tablesmooth.

And let’s be honest, itwould be pretty dull if puttinggreens were that flat. The minutepeaks and valleys, the rises andthe falls, add spice to the gameand test the skill of the player.

Although it is fairly easy tospot if a green is on a slope, theeyes of the novice golfer mustlearn to read the micro-topogra-

phy of each inch of the greenfrom the ball to the hole.

Viewed with a pair of eyessome six feet above the ground,it looks deceptively smooth. “It’sbest to crouch down and checkthe line before you aim,” notesBruce. “Every little bump or un-dulation will send the ball off tar-get.”

Bruce scat-ters a few balls ina random arc somedistance from thepin and I, heedinghis earlier words,squat down on myhaunches and readthe terrain fromthe first ball to thehole.

The groundslopes up, then

down. There are other, almost im-perceptible undulations betweenme and the target, a tuft of grasshere for example. I attempt tomemorize the terrain to plot thepath of my ball, like a Tomahawkcruise missile’s guidance system.

Playing a so-called “break-ing putt” requires the golfer to de-termine the very point where theball will reach the undulation andaim for that. The ball will break

left or right once it reaches thispoint – an element of trial anderror, luck and a basic under-standing of physics will lead youto determine which way it willgo.

Once you have chosen theline, all that remains is to putt theball with the right amount offorce. Obviously enough, if youstrike the ball too hard, you willhit the putt right through thebreak. Hit it too softly and eventhough you may have aimed cor-rectly, it will still miss on the lowside.

I prepare to putt again, ig-noring the inner chattering mon-key, the “yips” and in full knowl-edge that the ball will either goin, or it won’t.

Rejecting any doubt, thegray areas of what might happen– and not lingering too long overmaking the shot – are vital.

I relax, make my back-stroke, putt the ball, and followthrough. The ball reaches thebreak point, arcs sweetly to theright and disappears into thehole.

Next stop, a round of golf.

For more information about La-guna Phuket Golf Club’s begin-ners’ and improvers’ lessons, con-tact Bruce Whitehead or AndyCombe, LPGC Pros at Tel: 076-324350 or Email: golf@lagunaphuket.com

By Andy Johnstone

Once you havechosen the line,all that remainsis to putt the ball

with the rightamount of force.

A critical factor in making a good putt is to put out of mind anythoughts of what might – or might not – happen.

PHUKET: The 7th AirAsia Inter-national Phuket Rugby 10s willbe held at the Karon MunicipalStadium on May 28 and 29, withprofits going to a scholarshipfund for children orphaned by thetsunami.

Patrick Cotter, Chairman ofthe Phuket Vagabonds RFC, said,“It’s the kids who will need ourhelp, as they have lost not onlytheir parents but their futures aswell. To this end the AirAsiaPhuket International Rugby 10swill be raising donations for thefund not just this year but for theforeseeable future.

“The annual Phuket Air-Asia International Rugby 10s isseen as a possible conduit for[helping these children], espe-cially as the timing of the [event]in May will come as internationalinterest in the victims of the tsu-nami subsides.”

This year, US$100 of theUS$400 entry fee for each of the24 teams in the event will go tothe scholarship fund.

In addition, Sports travel

agents Gullivers have offered toarrange for former England inter-national and popular after-dinnerspeaker Gareth Chilcott to host acharity dinner on the Mondayevening following the event.Chilcott will be en-route to NewZealand for the Lions tour andhas offered his services free.

Gullivers has also offered a“Lions package” as a prize forraffle or auction. The packageincludes tickets for the first Li-ons’ test against the All Blacksat Christchurch on June 25 andthe match against Manawatu atPalmerston North, along withaccommodation aboard the P&Ocruise liner Pacific Sky.

For more information aboutother fund-raising efforts inPhuket’s rugby community, con-tact Patrick Cotter by email at:phuketvagabondsrfc@yahoo.co.uk.

Meanwhile, the preliminaryrounds of this year’s competitionwill be played on May 28, fol-lowed by the playoffs for the fi-nals on May 29.

Schedule for the preliminary matches (May 28)

Rugby 10s to raisefunds for orphans

Patong Darts LeagueMay 17 Results: Didi’s* 7 Piccadilly 2; Nag’sHead* 4 Two Black Sheep 5; OffShore 6 Pickles3*; Valhalla 2 Dog’s Bollocks 7*; Amigos v QueenMary postponed. (* = Winners of beer leg)

Standings: 1. OffShore (43pts); 2. QueenMary (34); 3. Shakers (29); 4. Pickles (27); 5. =Amigo’s, Didi’s (26); 7. Piccadilly (25); 8. Valhalla(21); 9. Nag’s Head (20); 10 Dog’s Bollocks (15);11. Two Black Sheep (9).

May 31 fixtures: Pickles v Shakers; Didi’s v

Patong Pool and Darts Leagues

Amigos; Piccadilly v Dog’s Bollocks; Two BlackSheep v Queen Mary; Valhalla v Nag’s Head(Home teams first).

Patong Pool LeagueKnockout Cup results, Round 1, May 19:OffShore Bar* 10 Queen Mary 2 (3-0); Amigos8 Pickles* 4 (2-1); Anchor Bar 10 Sports Cor-ner* 2 (2-1); Dog’s Bollocks 7 Tatum Mansions*5 (2-1); Nags Head 6* Shakers 6 (2-1). (*Win-ners of beer leg)

Time Pool Fixtures8:00 am A ASRU Warriors v Alabang Eagles8:17 am A Osan RFC v HKCC Aberbeen8:34 am B Hong Kong FC v Taipei Baboons8:51 am B Rainbow Warriors v Ram Hyenas9:08 am C Cruiser Rams v Samui Simians9:25 am C Wanderers v Manila Nomads9:42 am D British Club Bangkok v Bucks Rugby ‘B’9:59 am D Penang All Blues v Pattaya Panthers10:16 am E Phuket Vagabonds v Tequila Mockingbirds10:33 am E Bangkok Japanese v Bucks Rugby ‘A’10:50 am F CNCF v RSC Hot Dogs11:07 am F Bedok Kings v Pot Bellied Pigs11:24 am A ASRU Warriors v Osan RFC11:41 am A Alabang Eagles v HKCC Aberbeen11:58 am B Hong Kong FC v Rainbow Warriors12:15 pm B Taipei Baboons v Ram Hyenas12:32 pm C Cruiser Rams v Wanderers12:49 pm C Samui Simians v Manila Nomads1:06 pm D British Club Bangkok v Penang All Blues1:23 pm D Buck Rugby ‘B’ v Pattaya Panthers1:40 pm E Phuket Vagabonds v Bangkok Japanese1:57 pm E Tequila Mockingbirds v Buck Rugby ‘A’2:14 pm F CNCF v Bedok Kings2:31 pm F RSC Hot Dogs v Pot Bellied Pigs2:48 pm A ASRU Warriors v HKCC Aberbeen3:05 pm A Alabang Eagles v Osan RFC3:22 pm B Hong Kong FC v Ram Hyenas3:39 pm B Taipei Baboons v Rainbow Warriors3:56 pm C Cruiser Rams v Manila Nomads4:13 pm C Samui Simians v Wanderers4:30 pm D British Club Bangkok v Pattaya Panthers4:47 pm D Buck Rugby ‘B’ v Penang All Blues5:03 pm E Phuket Vagabonds v Buck Rugby ‘A’5:20 pm E Tequila Mockingbirds v Bangkok Japanese5:36 pm F CNCF v Pot Bellied Pigs5:52 pm F RSC Hot Dogs v Bedok Kings

S P O R T SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 25

Phuket is Jones’ townin ITF tennis tourney

Clean sweep for Savnac and Lermanin Ao Yon weekend dinghy regattaAO YON: Four 59ers sailed fiveraces in near-perfect sailing con-ditions on May 22.

Michael Hallager and Rus-sell Huebschle had the downwindpace, but they just couldn’t keepthe boat under them; they cap-sized in the first two races, lead-ing to solid last place finishes. Itwasn’t pretty.

By the third race, though,they had sorted themselves out,and they stayed close to the raceleaders around the course andultimately finished second.

Richard Buckminster andRobert Warnes did well consid-ering helmsman Buckminster felloff the boat twice during the rac-ing.

Nevertheless, the pair hada strong second-place finish inthe last race. This proved to becritical, as both Buckminster/Warnes and Hallager/Huebschlewere tied on points overall (both

with 16 points) and the “lookback” ultimately looked to be thelast race sailed. Buckminster/Warnes took third overall for theday.

Andrew DeBruin and Alas-

tair Purves were consistent, withthree second-place finishes andrespectable boat handling and –despite a reputation for capsizingoften – no swimming.

They were in the lead dur-ing the second half of the secondrace and it was only a slow spin-naker douse around the last markthat let Savnac/Lerman slipahead and finish in front. De-Bruin/Purves placed secondoverall for the day.

Azzum Savnac and RussellLerman rounded the weathermark first and hoisted their redspinnaker first in all five races.

Their boat handling, bothupwind and downwind, wassolid. Only in race two, where thelead swapped back and forththree times, was there any realpressure on them.

Savnac/Lerman won theday’s regatta with five straightvictories.

PHUKET: Australian Alun Joneslifted his second title in threeweeks when he won the last tour-nament of the current ITF series,the US$10,000 TAT PhuketOpen, at the Phuket City tenniscourts on May 21.

The Canberra-based player,who won the opener of the three-event circuit two weeks ago,stemmed the surprise run ofAsian-American Phillip King ofthe US with a straight-sets 6-3,6-1 victory in the final.

The 25-year-old Jones pick-ed up US$1,300 while King re-ceived US$900. The Australian,who was born in Boksburg,South Africa, has now accumu-lated three titles in his career. Thefirst came in Berri, Australiathree years ago.

The US$25,000 ITF Wo-men’s Circuit contest was due totoake place on May 23 at thePhuket City Tennis Club, withmost of Thailand’s big namestaking part.

Fed Cup players NapapornTongsalee and Monthinee Tang-

phong were two local hopes af-ter Thai No 2 Suchanan Vira-tprasert opted to play in China.Rising stars Thassha Vittaya-viroj, Nudnida Luangnam andPichittra Thongdach were alsodue to compete.

Meanwhile, in Ho ChiMinh City in Vietnam, Napaporn

Alun Jones (right) poses with surprise runner-up Phillip King ofthe USA (2nd from right), whom he beat 6-3, 6-1 in the final.

reached the semi-finals of theUS$25,000 Toyota Women’sOpen 2005 following an upsetwin over second seed EmilyWebley-Smith of England, 0-6,6-3, 6-3. She was beaten by theWynne Prakusya of Indonesia, 6-0, 6-3, who went to be the even-tual winner.

Despite their reputation, An-drew DeBruin and AlastairPurves (above) managed not tocapsize throughout the day.

26 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005G O O D L I V I N G

May 28-29The 7th AirAsia Phuket International Rugby 10s. Teams fromaround the world will be competing for the Clive WilliamsonMemorial Trophy in the 7th AirAsia Phuket International Rugby10s. Entry for spectators will be free, but funds will be raised foran orphans’ scholarship fund in Khao Lak.

Location: Karon Municipal Stadium Event time: 8 am to 6pm both days. Contact Patrick Cotter on Tel: 09-8731190 orEmail: phuketvagabondsrfc@yahoo.co.uk

June 22Punchline Comedy Club. Top UK comedians Paul Zerdin, Ri-chard Blackwood and Andy Askins from London's Comedy Storewill perfom a one-night adults only show. Watermark will alsoput on a three-course set dinner before the show, strictly by res-ervation only. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Location: Watermark Bar Restaurant at the Boat Lagoon.Event time: 7pm-11pm. Contact: Stuart Bird. Tel: 01-7376184.Email: info@watermarkphuket.com. Websites: www.watermarkphuket.com and www.punchlinecomedy.com.

July 21Asarnha Bucha Day. Asarnha Bucha Day public holiday com-memorates the first occasion when the Buddha, his teachingsand five disciples were present together after his enlightenment.

July 21Vassupanayika – Buddhist Lent Day. Following Vassupa-nayika, monks are obliged to remain in a certain place, prefer-ably a monastery, for a period of three months from the day afterAsarnha Bucha Day. It is a public holiday.

August 12Birthday of HM Queen Sirikit. August 12 is the birthday ofHM Queen Sirikit, a public holiday and, by tradition, Mother’sDay in Thailand.

Phuket Diary

W I N E

By Steven

Roberto

Among the thousands ofgrape varieties thathave been identified,only about 20 are fa-

miliar to most consumers. Whenit comes to white wine, just threevarieties seem to dominate.

The first, the Chardonnaygrape, grows well in a wide vari-ety of locations around the worldand makes consistently excellent,rich and complex wines. It iswithout doubt the best known –and most adored – of all the whitewines. Winemakers consider thisgrape variety, or “selection”, themost versatile and easiest to workwith.

At its best, Chardonnay of-fers bold, ripe, rich and intenseflavors of green apple, fig, melon,pear, peach, and pineapple, alongwith spice, honey, butter and ha-zelnut flavors.

Burgundy, California’sRussian River Valley and Son-oma Coast, Australia’s BarossaValley and Margaret River are

White wines: Thepick of the bunch

home to the world’s most cel-ebrated Chardonnay producers.

My favorite white winegrape, however, is Riesling. Ilove its intensity, crisp acidityand distinctive floral, lime,piecrust, mineral slate and hon-eysuckle flavors. There is noother wine like Riesling, whichis also one of the most food-friendly of white wines – andprobably the only one that canaccompany barbecued andgrilled foods.

Germany’s Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Pfalz, Rheinhessen andRheingau wines are probably thebest-known Riesling regions, butRielsing also achieves brilliancein France’s Alsace Valley, inAustria, in New Zealand – andeven in parts of Canada. Thegrape is also used to create somedelectable dry table wine andexquisite – yet phenomenallyexpensive – sweet dessert wines.

The third of the triumvirate,Sauvignon blanc, has a distinc-tive aroma many describe as ei-

ther “grassy” or “musky”. OneBritish wine critic went so far asto describe it as “tomcat piss ona gooseberry bramble”.

It is often blended withother grape varieties, but aloneand at its best, Sauvignon blanccan yield amazingly complex andrichly-flavored wines with citrus,fresh-mown grass, sweet pea andother aromas of perfume.

New Zealand’s South Is-land and France’s Loire Valleyare home to the world’s most cel-ebrated Sauvignon blanc produc-ers. The sweet dessert wines ofBordeaux and Australia madefrom the grape variety are alsowell known.

Other important – but lesserknown – white wine grape vari-eties include the Chenin Blanc,one of the longest-lived whitewines grown in South Africa andFrance’s Loire Valley; Gewürz-traminer, a pink grape that makesa white wine whose name no onecan pronounce; the newly redis-covered and exciting Pinot Gri-gio from Italy and Alsace, withits distinctive guava and sourcream flavors; and Bordeaux’sown lemon-and-beeswax-fla-vored St Emillon, which is per-haps now best known in its Aus-tralian form.

Future articles will describethese other exciting grape vari-eties in greater detail.

Steven Roberto is a winemakerand restaurant consultant fromCalifornia. He is the ManagingDirector of enVision Phuket, aPhuket-based wine importer andconsultant. Email: stevenroberto@lycos.com.

May 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 27G U E S T C H E F

Whether it’s hot andhumid, or rainingand chilly, Medi-terranean cuisine

suits the climate in Phuket ratherwell. One restaurant where youcan enjoy a home-cooked Italianmeal is Al Capriccio at KataBeach.

Owner Giuseppe Grecosays he plans to remain openthroughout the long, low seasonthis year. “Normally we closeduring the quietest time, but thisseason I don’t want to my staffto be without an income becauseof the short-lived high season,”he explains.

Giuseppe and wife, An-tharin “Wun” Sanguan, openedAl Capriccio four years ago andoffer a selection of dishes includ-ing fresh pasta choices and piz-zas baked in a traditional oven.

“I enjoy experimentingwith using ingredients,” Giu-seppe explains. “For instance,mascarpone cheese is more usu-ally associated with the desserttiramisu, but I think it works re-ally well in other dishes, such asthe antipasto and risotto recipeshere.”

Antipasto

For 2 people

Ingredients:

8 slices Parma ham;200g mascarpone cheese;50g gorgonzola cheese;2 stalks scallions, chopped finely

(only use the green part);1 cup roughly chopped green

salad leaves;2 artichoke hearts, cut into

halves;8 green olives;1 tomato, chopped medium;1 tablespoon extra virgin olive

oil;1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar;Freshly ground black pepper and

salt to taste.

Method:

Blend the two cheeses well to-gether and mix in the choppedscallions. Place some of this mix-ture onto each slice of Parma hamand carefully roll up, reservingseven teaspoons of the mixtureto put separately onto the plates.Mix the salad ingredients to-gether in a large bowl, adding the

oil, vinegar and salt and pepperto taste. Arrange some salad oneach serving plate and stand fourof the Parma ham rolls onto eachplate, with a teaspoon of the fill-ing placed on the side.

Risotto with Peppers and

Mascarpone

For 2 people

Ingredients for the

vegetable stock:

1 white celery stalk, choppedroughly;

1 onion, chopped roughly;1 large carrot, chopped roughly;Salt to taste;4 cups of water;

½ yellow bell pepper;½ red bell pepper;

200gm risotto rice (no other kindwill work properly);

150gm mascarpone cheese;2 tablespoons finely chopped

onion;

2 tablespoons extra virgin oliveoil;

½ glass white wine;Fresh basil leaves to decorate.

Method:

To prepare the vegetable stock,put all the vegetables and waterinto a large pan and bring to theboil. Simmer for 30 minutes, thenstrain. Grill the bell peppers forabout 8 minutes and cool beforeremoving the skins and chopping.Put the oil into a large pot andfry the onion until it is soft andyellow. Turn the heat down verylow and add the rice slowly, stir-ring constantly and moving to thesides of the pot. Pour the whitewine carefully into the middleand mix with the rice. Cook gen-tly until the wine has evaporated,then add the stock liquid slowly.Simmer the risotto for 20 min-utes. Halfway through this cook-ing time, add the bell peppers.The rice should be al dente whenserved. After removing from the

chefGuest

By Jenna Wise

heat, add the mascarpone cheeseand mix well. Decorate withfresh basil leaves before serving.

Fish Fillet in Lemon Garlic

Sauce

For 2 people

Ingredients:

2 fillets from a 700g white snap-per;

½ glass white wine;Salt and pepper to taste;Plain flour to dust the fish;2 tablespoons extra virgin olive

oil;

For the sauce:1 tablespoon chopped fresh pars-

ley leaves;1 tablespoon chopped fresh ba-

sil leaves;2 tablespoons finely chopped

garlic;The juice of ¼ lemon;3 tablespoons extra virgin olive

oil;Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

To prepare the sauce, simply putall the ingredients into a blenderand blend until smooth andcreamy. Serve cold. Dust the fishin flour. Heat the oil in a skilletand cook the fish for 3-4 min-utes on each side over a mediumheat. Add a little salt while cook-ing.

When the fillets are almostcooked, add the wine. When thishas evaporated, remove fromheat and serve with salad. Pourthe sauce over the fillets just be-fore serving.

Al Capriccio Italian restaurant,46 Taina Rd, Kata. Tel: 076-333176 or 01-7889517. Opendaily from 12:15pm-3:30pm andfrom 6pm to 11pm.

Daring to be differentwith homemade recipes

LEFT: Giuseppe’s specialantipasto with Parma ham andmascarpone and gorgonzolacheeses.

ABOVE: Giuseppe with hisAntharin “Wun” Sanguan andtheir children.

P H U K E T P R O P E R T Y28 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Sapam No reservations aboutbuying into resorts

LARGER

LIFEBy Graham Doven

THANTHAN

Construction Update

How many times haveyou heard a travelingbusinessman or hotelexecutive say, “I am

sick and tired of hotel rooms. I’vehad enough of living out of a suit-case with nowhere to hang myhat.”

Now, it seems, there arepeople who are actually payingmoney to live in a hotel, or evenbuying apartments or villaswithin a hotel. This is nothingnew on the island; Amanpuri hashad villas for years, but the con-cept is fairly new in the lower endof the market.

According to Bill Barnett ofC9 Hotelworks, this is a new di-rection for Phuket’s propertymarket. He said, “The buyers arecoming in and looking for re-turns. The market is changing,and it’s no longer just about theconcept of buying into a purelyresidential project, but insteadit’s about investing into a hotelor resort.

“This is showing a more in-telligent property market, whichhas existed overseas but [untilnow] was not here. It’s an advan-tage to the buyer to be part of theresort because you get to use allthe facilities of the resort and youget the benefits of the existingrental market.

“Mixed-use developmentsare also loweringthe risk for the de-veloper. They aremore advantageousbecause you areselling off some ofthe risk. It helpsboth the developerand the investor,” he said.

Mr Barnett has been in-volved in setting up The Resi-dences at Crowne Plaza KaronBeach Phuket.

This was a long-standinghotel in Phuket known as KaronVillas and Royal Wing. It wasbought by an overseas, institu-tional investment group that re-alized the potential for better re-

turns of selling off private prop-erty.

Crowne Plaza Karon BeachPhuket will benefit from the newprivate investment, as buyers feelthat by buying in to a hotel, theyare buying in to a business thatalready has income.

The project includes 32 re-sort apartments,which will go onsale in July atprices ranging from12 to 14 millionbaht each. They arelocated at the frontof the hotel, which

is on the beach road, and whilethere will be swimming pool ex-clusively for the resort apart-ments, tenants will also have theuse of all the resort’s facilities.

Other examples of this con-cept are Pavilions at LayanBeach, which has 21 villas thatare owned by the hotel as well asnine residential villas that weresold at around 22 million baht

each. The operators already havea property in Bali and plan toexpand in Thailand. Meanwhile,Layan Gardens is combiningresidential with vacation clubownership.

Grove Gardens on CapeYamu is a new resort-style resi-dential project that gives buyersan opportunity to benefit frombeing run by a hotel company thatholds properties such as the JivaResort in Kata. Even Sheraton atLaguna is now taking on the man-agement of Laguna Villas.

PHUKET CITY: A sea view overAo Sapam is one of the attrac-tions of a new development un-der construction off Thepkra-sattri Rd.

Baan Sapum Resort is a 55-unit development by CenturyEstate Co Ltd on 48 rai close toPhuket City, the bypass roadshopping area and two privatehospitals.

All the properties in thedevelopment have two stories,but there are three different stylesof home for buyers to choosefrom.

Type A, of which there willbe seven units, has floor space of400 square meters, with four bed-rooms, four bathrooms, a livingroom, dining room, kitchen,maid’s quarters, laundry area andtwo car parking spaces. Pricesstart at 8.9 million baht.

Type B homes, which willcost from 5.8 million baht, eachhas 300sqm of floor space, withthree bedrooms, three bathrooms,a living room, dining room,kitchen, office area and two carparking spaces. There will be 14type B units.

There will be 34 Type Chomes, boasting 250sqm of floorspace, with three bedrooms, threebathrooms, a living room, diningroom, kitchen and two car park-ing spaces. They cost from 4.8million baht.

The homes are situated sothat each has a sea view from theupper storey.

Shared facilities at the de-velopment include a swimmingpool with a Jacuzzi and slide, ten-nis court and a clubhouse, and24-hour security.

Project Sales and Market-ing Manager Teera Thaworn-nuvong said all facilities will befor the use of residents only.

Said K. Teera, “As wewon’t allow outside membersand all facilities will be for resi-dents alone, residents’ privacy isguaranteed.

“Residents will have to paya maintenance fee at first, butonce 50% of the homes are oc-cupied, we will allow residentsto form a committee to take overmanaging central areas and ser-vices, such as gardening and gar-

There could be an interest-ing scenario this high season withthe hotel market competing forpotential villa customers after aa depressed low season.

In a way, Phuket does mir-ror Bali in that the holiday-villa-rental market, which has beensuccessful there for 20 years.

The market is just startingin Phuket, but it heralds the ad-vent of existing hotels with in-ternational marketing contactsselling individual units to privateinvestors.

More and more people are buying property within resorts or hotels, such as at the Pavilions atLayan Beach (pictured above and below) to take advantage of the high-end lifestyle and to accessthe rental markets available through the resorts.

P H U K E T P R O P E R T YMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 29

A three-bedroom Type B home, which costs from 5.8 million baht, stands complete as workcontinues on another alongside.

sea views near the cityby Anongnat Sartpisut

bage collection.”Construction of the project

started at the beginning of lastyear and should be completed bythe middle of 2006. So far, 10homes have been built, alongwith the tennis court, pool and

clubhouse.K. Teera said that sales

have been slow but steady, with17 properties already sold.

He said, “Foreigners andThais have bought or intend tobuy these properties, although

most of the buyers are Thai.”For further information, visit 65/19 Moo 1, Tambon Koh Kaew,Muang, Phuket 83000. Tel: 076-239007-8 or Fax: 076-239229,Email: info@phuket-baansapum.com or visit the website: www.phuket-baansapum.com

P H U K E T P R O P E R T Y30 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Home of the Week Chalong

This large two-story con-temporary-design houseis located on the Land &Houses Park estate in

Chalong, which features its ownclubhouse, restaurant, bar, gymand a sizable communal swim-ming pool. The housing estate isa short drive from Phuket Cityand the island’s major shoppingareas, and is also convenientlyclose to Rawai and Nai HarnBeaches.

The two-year-old prop-erty, located well away from themain road, is two minutes’ walkfrom the clubhouse. The houseboasts optimum security, withhigh walls and ornate corrugatedrailings and an automatic gate, alarge carport with room for threecars as well as a rear storage area.

The outside area is agenerous 900 square meters, witha 35sqm swimming pool over-

looking the lake behind, set in amature garden with a neat lawnand mature tropical plants

Internally, the house oc-cupies 440sqm, with four bed-rooms and two en-suite bath-rooms. One of the bedrooms hasa walk-in wardrobe and two ofthe smaller bedrooms are split-level, making them ideal for achild’s play or study area. All ofthe bedrooms are situated on theupper level with an office areafeaturing large windows, afford-ing a generous lake view.

Large-scaleliving inChalong

Downstairs, there is botha Western kitchen and a Thai-style kitchen with a breakfast bar.There is also a large, high-ceil-ing open-plan living and diningarea with wide windows, highcolumns and patio doors openingthrough to a terrace, pool andgarden area.

The maid’s room is alsodownstairs, with a shower and

toilet, and a separate toilet andlaundry room.

The property has a Chanotetitle and is for sale at 14.3 mil-lion baht.

For further information contact:Richard Lusted, Siam Real Estate,at Tel: 076-288908. Email: info@siamrealestate.com. Website:www.siamrealestate.com.

P H U K E T P R O P E R T YMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 31

Looking good is amatter of containment

Want to know moreabout a plant

in your garden?

Email Bloomin’ Bert at:bloominbert@hotmail.com

Gardening with Bloomin’ Bert

CORNERED: Pottedgolden cane palms, withtheir fronds splayingout, are perfect formaking corners lookmore attractive.

After last week’s merci-less attack on ourAmerican friends, Ithought that this week,

in the interests of fairness, I’d tryto redress the balance and have ago at the Canadians. So I satdown and thought about it, butunfortunately couldn’t come upwith a great deal. No, I tell a lie –there is one thing, apart from thecompulsion to finish every sen-tence with the word “ay”.

And why are they obsessedwith their national flag? It’s ev-erywhere Canadians are. I wouldeven suggest that there isn’t asingle Canadian in Phuket whodoesn’t have some representationof a red maple leaf within a meteror two of them right now.

The Canadian maple leafwould be an ideal introductioninto my gardening article, butthere’s a slight problem – maplesdon’t grow here, as far as I’maware. So there’s not a great dealI can say about them, apart fromthat there are probably a lot ofthem in Canada.

Instead, I’ll attempt to fin-ish what I started last week – con-tainers. We looked at variousways you could grow plants inpots, but we didn’t really talkabout what plants to put in them,so here are a few ideas.

The “experts” will try to tellyou that you should consider as-pects such as color, form, com-position and texture when select-ing and designing your pottedplant choices. This is completenonsense of course. Plant whatyou like, wherever you like – justremember that white flowersagainst a white wall won’t ex-actly leap out at you.

The great thing about potsis that if you don’t like whereyou’ve put something, you couldalways pick it up and move itelsewhere.

If you have a fairly largeconcrete area that needs liveningup, palms are ideal. Royal palms,with their single stems, or goldencane palms (the ones that thatcascade all over the place), areperfect for corners.

I was nearly evicted from ahouse I where I used to live be-

cause of these. The landlady wasconvinced that the weight of halfa dozen huge palms on her bal-cony would cause them to end upon – or through – the carport be-low.

Once palms are in pots,there’s no shifting them. Theweight of the soil alone meansthat once the tree and the soil areunited, the only way of remov-ing them is to lift them out bycrane, which is exactly what I hadto do in order to remain a tenantat that house.

You might want to put a fewtall plants toward the back, justto hide the wall and provide alittle shelter for the smaller stuffat the front. Canna are alwaysgood for that – they flower yearround, and give a bright splashof color.

The foliage of these thingsis bold and banana-like. You cantry planting them singly initially,but you’ll find that it won’t takelong for them to multiply.

Hibiscus, or cha-baa inThai, is also a favorite. It’s a fast-

growing, shrubby plant, which isgrown for the exotic, brilliantburgundy, five-lobed leaves.Loud tropical shirt designerswould be lost without them.

Just remember that theflowers last for only one day, af-ter which they lose interest anddrop off. This is totally normal –they’ll be replaced with newblooms the next day.

For leaves with some color,the best bet is sanchesia speciosa,or ue-ang-thawng in Thai. Unlikethe hibiscus, its flowers are noth-

ing to write home about, but theleaves are certainly distinctive.Each leaf has an impressive setof bright yellow ribs.

Sanchesia speciosa needsplenty of water if it’s in a pot; aday of neglect will result in a se-rious sulk.

You might want a few low,filler plants as well, either in potsof their own, or set around thebases of lager plants and trees.Coleus, or painted nettle, is per-fect for this. Thais know it as rue-sii-phasom-laeo.

The term “nettle” is spot-on, as that’s exactly what theylook like in shape, but with bur-gundy-colored leaves. You’ll bepleased to hear that they don’tcarry the self-defense mechanismof their European namesakes.

Lantana (phakaa-krong) isa sprawling shrub, which is of-ten considered a weed here, butin my opinion, I think it lookspretty good in pots. It has smallclusters of bright, vibrant flow-ers in various colors. Dependingon variety, they can be uprightand shrubby or sprawling, weep-ing or trailing.

“Container gardens” – fullof containers and pots of allshapes and sizes – give plenty ofoptions, as you can create themabsolutely anywhere that space isavailable, and put virtually any-thing you want into them.

Canadians should be awarethat their national symbol prob-ably isn’t an option, though.

C L A S S I F I E D SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 32

Property Gazette

PropertiesFor Sale

BAYVIEW PALMS

Patong. 6 luxury apartmentswith stunning sea views.180sqm, with master bed-rooms with en-suite bathrooms& whirlpools. Guest bathroom,spacious lounge, Americankitchen, large balcony, largecommon gardens with swim-ming pool, car parking. Pricesfrom 6.75 million baht. Tel: 07-8893838, 09-2911112.Email: bayviewpalms@yahoo.com

NAI HARN HOUSE

for sale. Thai style, 3 bed-rooms, pool, sala, ½ rai, 6.9million baht. Please contactfor more information. Tel:076-288047, 01-8941660.Email: cottrell@loxinfo.co.thFor further details, please see:www.homesinphuket.com

HOUSE FOR SALE

or rent. A new two-story homewith attic rooms. Six bed-rooms with aircon, 2 livingrooms, 1 family room, 1 of-fice/study, 5 bathrooms, 1gym room, 2 kitchens (Thaiand European). Large swim-ming pool with Jacuzzi. Lo-cated in a village close to de-partment stores and hospital.Asking price: 65,000 baht/month, or 15 million baht. Tel:01-5301276; or send email to:svanunge @hotmail.com

SEAVIEW LAND

at Kata Beach. 2 rai of landwith sea views over beautifulKata and Karon beaches. 5million baht per rai. Tel: 01-6913362. Email: wisaroot@yahoo.com

BAAN MANEEKRAM

house. New house available inBaan Maneekram (betweenChalong and Phuket City).440sqm of land, 250sqm+ ofliving area; 3 bedrooms, 3 bath-rooms, phone, UBC, Chanotetitle. 4.9 million baht (nego-tiable). Please contact formore details. Tel: 09-292-2038. Email: simoncree@hotmail.com

NEW HOUSE IN KATHU

Two stories, 5 bedrooms, 3bathrooms, overlooking LochPalm Golf Course in Kathu.3.5 million baht. Click on thewebpage, turn up your speak-ers and watch the video.Please contact for more info.Tel: 09-6461378. Email:jim@motorcowboy.com Forfurther details see our websiteat: www.motorcowboy.com/product/HOUS1

RAWAI TOWNHOUSE

for sale. 950,000 baht. All-new interior, freehold, 160sqm, beachfront. Please con-tact for more info. Tel: 09-4740227. Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

RAWAI-NAI HARN

land. Land plots & house forsale. Located on hillside, withsea view. 3,500 baht persquare meter. Please contactfor more information. Tel: 09-4740227. Email: freehold_prop@yahoo.com

HOUSE FOR SALE

IN PHUKET

A lovely detached bungalowis available for sale by ownerin the “Iravadee” private es-tate in Kathu, Phuket, nearthe Phuket Country Clubgolf course. Price: 2.75 mil-lion baht ono. Please contact.Tel: 09-8729149. Email:klaus_harbauer@hotmail.com For further details,please see our website at:www.phuket-house-for-sale.com

PATONG CONDO

Beachfront, 56sqm, freehold,for sale: 1.4 million baht. Pleasecontact for more info. Tel: 09-4740227. Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

NEW HOUSE

for sale. House in PhuketCity, with European kitchen.Price: 1 million baht. Call Tel:01-8915932 for details.

RAWAI CONDO

Beachfront, sea view, 28sqm.For sale: 350,000 baht; foreignfreehold. Tel: 09-4740227.Email: chotip_5@ hotmail.com

MISSION HEIGHTS

225 talang wah, 900sqm.Building plots for sale at2.25 million baht. 100%deposit, 18 months to pay.Call Brian at Tel: 01-344-4473 or for further informa-tion see our website at:www.missionheights.com

NICE KAMALA HOUSE

House 160sqm + garden320sqm: 3.5 million baht.Also have land 400sqm: 1.3million baht. Tel: 076-292-596, 06-2678477. Fax: 076-292596. Email: christian10_7@hotmail.com

5-BEDROOM HOUSE

in Kathu. New three-story,550-sqm Thai-style houseoverlooking Loch Palm golfcourse. Five bedrooms, 5baths. Walled land plot of800sqm. Nor Sor 3 Gor title.Unique house design, builtaround a uniform, centralizedstaircase. Fitted wardrobesand en suites in all rooms, and7 separate private terraces.Full Western kitchen, 3 recep-tion rooms. Awesome viewsof Kathu valley. Permanentlyrented out for 45,000 bahtper month. Could be used as asmall guesthouse as bedroomsare self contained and locatedbelow the top floor living quar-ters. Contact Chris for moredetails and pics. I’m movingback to the UK, so would ap-preciate a quick sale and notime wasters. Serious inquiriesonly, please. 16 million baht,negotiable. Tel: 65-983-70340. Email: chris_winter@veritasdgc.com

1 RAI PATONG

Super sea view, ready to build.Fully developed: 14 millionbaht. Unique! Tel: 04-842-3992. Email: phuketestates@yahoo.com

BOAT LAGOON

exclusive home. Located in oneof the quietest parts of theBoat Lagoon, this 2-year-oldend terrace provides you withlevels of quality and comfortyou won’t find elsewhere.With a 10-meter berth for yourboat at your back door, thishome has everything you couldwish for: UPVC windows, secu-rity, closed-circuit TV system,air conditioning throughout,cherry wood timber kitchenwith stainless-steel appliances,carport, spacious, open planliving areas, 3 bedrooms plusstudy, balconies and rooftopentertaining terrace. Simplystunning and ideal for travel tothe airport, Phuket City,Dulwich College and nearbyislands. Price: 12.5 millionbaht. Finance available. Tel:072-768272, 01-0780014.Email: andamanproject@myway.com

DRAMATIC SEAVIEWS

Phang Nga Bay. 30 mins fromairport. 2 to 25 rai, from 1million baht per rai. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 04-8423992. Email:phuketestates@yahoo.com

180º SEA VIEW

Cheap. Bang Pae waterfall,beautiful. 1 rai or 2 rai, 2.7million baht per rai. Pleasecontact for more details. Tel:04-8423992. Email:phuketestates@yahoo.com

1 RAI 5 MIN

from Laguna. Flat plot, fullydeveloped, 2.4 million baht.Tel: 04-8423992. Email:phuketestates@yahoo.com

YAMU SEAVIEW LAND

2 rai plots in small develop-ment, 3.5 million baht per rai.Tel: 04-8423992. Email:phuketestates@yahoo.com

C L A S S I F I E D SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 33

Property Gazette

PropertiesFor Rent

STUDIO APARTMENTSCentral Patong. 28sqm. Newinterior. Aircon, TV, fridge, bigbedrooms, pool, parking. Tel:01-0825707. Please see ourwebsite at: www.phuket-accommodation.info

LUXURY KATAbeach apartment. Large,210sqm. 2 bedrooms, bath-room. Pool, spa, ADSL, gar-den. Quiet, exotic oceanfront.Available June-October 15.50,000 baht/month. Tel: 09-9726017, 06-6483559.Email: asiasail@yahoo.com

LONG-TERM LEASENew, fully-furnished house inPalai Green, with 2 aircon bed-rooms, hot shower, kitchen,living room, garage and beau-tiful garden. Located in a quietarea near Chalong Bay. Tel: 01-8924311.

PATONG STUDIOApartment for rent, 350m tothe beach. 6,000 baht/month.Tel: 09-4740227. Email:chotip_5@hotmail.com

BEAUTIFUL VILLAFully furnished, 3 bedrooms,3 bathrooms, pool, garden, 3mins from Nai Harn Beach.Tel: 07-8935351. Email:sophyvanpelt@planet.nl

Property Wanted

PATONG SEA VIEW3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms.500sqm of land, option for ex-tra land. Price: 8.5 millionbaht. Tel: 01-4775306. Email:patriklambert@hotmail.com

HOUSE AND LAND2-story house in Patong. 4beds, 2 baths, nice garden, largebalcony, store, carport; withroad access. Price: 5.9 millionbaht. Tel: 01-8957908. Email:rungtiwap@asianwind.biz

LAND AND HOUSESPark, Chalong. 2 bedrooms, 2bathrooms, built-in kitchen,nice private garden, 344sqm,quiet area, safe, aircon everyroom. For sale at 3.9 millionbaht. Call Lec at Tel: 01-8950711.

LAND FOR SALELand for sale, Kwang Rd. 119sq wah, just 3km to Big C.Selling for 1.9 million baht. Tel:05-8833470.

LARGE, 2-BEDROOMapartment. A301 The Sands:148sqm, 2 bathrooms, lounge,dining room, kitchen, balconywith views over lake and run-ning track. 150m from NaiHarn Beach. Price: 6.5 millionbaht fully furnished & ready tomove in. Tel: 076-273304,01-8919729. Fax: 076-273303. Email: bobyapp@mac.com For further details,please see our website athttp://homepage.mac.com/bobyapp/A301_TheSands/PhotoAlbum4.html

LAND: 1,300 SQMCorner plot with 43m offrontage. Electricity, water,6m-wide road. Rent: 11,000baht per month, or we candiscuss joint development.Tel: 02-6881753. Email:emrusadi@samart.co.th

PHUKET PALACEcondo. Lovely condo in Patong:beautiful pool, seaview, aircon,minibar, TV, security. Largeroom. Long term, 12,000 bahtper month. Tel: 076-344154,07-0738433. Fax: 076-341312. Email: info@phuket-palace.com For further de-tails, please see our website at:www.phuketpalace.com

LUXURY APARTMENTPatong hills. Spectacular seaview, huge balcony, bedroom,bathroom, living room,kitchen, large swimming pool,security, UBC, telephone,aircons. 30,000 baht short-term, 25,000 baht long-term.Call Mike. Tel: 07-2681170.Email: mriley42602002@yahoo.co.uk

ONE FAMILY HOUSEThalang. Long-term rentonly. Tel: 04-6291462, 07-2849541.

SHOP ON MAIN ROADLarge shop with living accom-modation available on ChaoFa Nai Rd. Directly next toMook Phuket (opposite thebatik shops) and on a verybusy road. Rent is 20,000baht per month and keymoney is 100,000 baht withplants, etc, and 70,000 bahtwithout. Total size is 240 sqm.Tel: 076-244225, 06-266-2786. Email: travellingben@hotmail.com

AVAILABLE NOWA stunning & luxurious 2-bed-room apartment with an el-evated view across Patongcity & beach. Private accessto pool & entertainment area.40,000 baht per month, in-cluding UBC, water & mainte-nance fee. Tel: 09-6498703.

PATONG 1-BEDROOMapartment. 1-bedroom open-plan ocean-view apartment,fully furnished. Access toswimming pool, phone line,aircon. 17,000 baht per month.Tel: 09-6498703.

PATONG GUESTHOUSEfor sale. Six rooms, living quar-ters and minimart. Chanotetitle. Price: 4.9 million baht.Tel: 07-8887676. Email:homeawaypatong@hotmail.com

FOR SALEAttractive 3-bedroom houseat bargain price, includes 3bathrooms (1 en suite), largeliving room, kitchen/diner, in-ner verandah living area, Park-ing area, 145sqm coveredspace, 340sqm land area.Convenient golf courses, su-permarkets, 9 mins Patong.Price: 3.5 million baht. Tel:076-321954, 04-8439579.Fax: 076-323421. Email:somsrijenner@lycos.com

4+2 BEDROOMhouse in Kamala. An excellent,top-quality 4+2 bedroomhouse near Phuket FantaSea,1.5km from the beach. Thehouse is located in a very quietand safe area, next to a lake. Allbedrooms with en-suite bath-room, aircon and ceiling fan.European kitchen + Thaikitchen. Mature garden withoutdoor Jacuzzi. Own watersupply, hot water supplied bysolar-heating system. Formore details, contact FranzBrun in Kamala. Asking price:only 18 million baht, negotiable.Tel: 076-279075, 01-476-1415. Email: fbrun@loxinfo.co.th

LUXURY CONDOCondo for sale in Kamala.Breathtaking views, ready foroccupancy in September. For-eign freehold, 20 million baht.Tel: 01-9312866. Email:phuketlawyer@yahoo.com orphuketcondo@yahoo.com

LUXURY APARTMENTLuxury apartment on30+30+30 year lease. Stun-ning views, Jacuzzi in masterbedroom. 15 million baht, fullyfurnished. Tel: 01-9310866.Email: phuketcondo@yahoo.com

GOLF COURSE LIVING1-rai fully-serviced lots, ex-clusive gated community.Tel: 09-9725226. Email:bgbphuket@yahoo.com

BANG TAO BEACH124sqm & 240sqm furnishedapartments 1 min from beach.6.5 million baht and up. Tel:06-2806624. or visit: www.bangtaobeachgardens.com

PRIME BUILDINGland – Kathu. Ltd Companywith 1,200sqm ready forhouses or apartments. 4 millionbaht. Tel: 076-202473, 07-0628070. Fax: 076-202473.Email nik@indigosiam.com

SURIN BEACH

New apartment of thehighest standard. 2 bed-rooms, bathroom, Westernkitchen, marble floor. Tel:07-2731548. Email:peternumber2@hotmail.com

FOR RENT – QUIET2 bedrooms with aircon, 2bathrooms, fully furnished, 5mins to Central. Price:10,000 baht per month. Tel:01-9560473.

PHUKET PALACEapartment. beautiful pool,lovely seaview, fully up-graded, working kitchen,aircon, TV, security, 14,000baht per calendar month. CallColin. Tel: 05-0692542.Email: coltat1962@yahoo.com

HOUSE FOR RENTNew 3-bedroom house inKathu. Furnished, aircon,cable TV, phone line. 25,000baht per month. Tel: 09-196-8449.

ROOM FOR RENTin Chalong. Thai-style, aircon,with swimming pool, gym,tennis court. 30,000 baht permonth. Tel: 01-8917875.

ROOMS FOR RENTin Patong. Thai-&-Bali-style,with aircon, Cable TV, fridgeand coffee. Tel: 076-344-427-8.

OFFICE FOR RENT50sqm decorated office, tele-phone line for rent. If inter-ested, contact at Tel: 076-273464 or Email: insurance@thaimarine.com

DON’T MISS THISChance to rent a brand newshophouse with 3 bedroomson Chao Fa Rd. 22,000 bahtper month. Tel: 01-8926991,01-8500911.

PHUKETK.L. MartPatak Rd, Chalong Tel: 076-280400/3

NAVA Language SchoolPhang Nga Rd, Phuket Town Tel: 076-232398/9

Sin & LeeThalang Rd, Phuket Town Tel: 076-211230

Taurus TravelAroonsom Plaza Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, Patong Tel: 076 344521-2

Agents for Classified Advertising

LAND FOR SALEMission Hills golf course, PaKhlok 1 rai. Tel: 02-2525441,01-8011563.

HOUSE FOR RENT

New 2-story townhouse with3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.Located at Baan Kookoo, 5mins to town and major banksand hospitals. Quiet andpeaceful. Please contactKhun Lek. Tel: 01-8223977.

LAND URGENTLYwanted. in Sapam/Koh Kaewarea. Need 100-200 sq wahfor house construction.- Chanote title- Reasonable priceTel: 09-4880955. Send picsand price to Email: space_free@myway.com

CHANOTE LANDLand needed for buildinghouse. I am looking for plots of150 to 200 square wah. Cha-note title, reasonably flat, atside of road, power available.Price range: not over 1,500baht/sqm or 6,000 baht per sqwah. Tel: 09-4704478. Email:av58@phuket.ksc.co.th

WANTED: HOMEfor rent. I am currently inquiringabout a condo or a one- ortwo-bedroom apartment/house for long-term rent inPhuket. I would like to rentJanuary until March 2006. Ialso would like to be located asfollows, in descending order ofpreference: Kata, Karon,Patong, Kamala, Surin. Shouldbe a nice place in a nice area;furnishing and environment areimportant for me. The rentshould not exceed 50,000 bahtper month, but if the place isvery special I am quite flexiblewith regard to the budget. Tel:61-7230940, 79-4145605.Email: b.rusconi@bluewin.ch

HOUSE FOR RENTWanted: spacious 3- or 4-bed-room house, with workingADSL line, to rent from January’06. Minimum contract will be3 months. Ideally, the propertyshould be fully furnished and fit-ted with modern appliances ac-cordingly. Location flexible.Email: ian@evocation.net

PHUKET CITY& Chalong Circle. Want to buy2-5 rai of land on main roadaround Phuket City, ChalongCircle or Kathu area. Only re-alistic prices, please. Tel: 076-238776, 01-7371678. Email:supotpac@phuket.ksc.co.th

STUNNING 12 RAI300 meters from Nai YangBeach, close to airport, next toNational Park; great forproject. Bargain at 2.9 millionbaht. Usual price for landaround that area is 5-9 millionbaht/rai. Tel: 01-5376866(Thai), 07-8938747 (English).

BEACHFRONT CONDOKalim, Patong, fully furnished,high standard. 2 bedrooms, fit-ted kitchen, pool, many facili-ties. Tel: 01-8920038.

Do Not DrinkTap Water!

HOUSE FOR RENT

New house by the lake inLand & Houses Park. 3 bed-rooms, 2 bathrooms, fullyfurnished. Telephone, aircon.Tel: 09-8718327.

C L A S S I F I E D S34 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Property Gazette

Get your Phuket Gazette fromthese outlets in the capital:

Don Muang AirportTel. 02-5731120

Se-Ed, Mahboonkrong Building, zone B, Phayathai Rd,PathumwanTel. 02-6117165

Se-Ed, Silom Complex, 4th floor, Silom Rd, BangrakTel. 02-2313244

Se-Ed, Silom Center, Rama 1 Rd, PathumwanTel. 02-6581153

Se-Ed, Panthip Plaza, M-floor, Petchaburi Rd, RajatheweeTel. 02-6566070

Se-Ed, Fortune Town Building, Ratchadapisek Rd, HuaykwangTel. 02-2485668

Se-Ed, Central Rama 3, Satupradit Rd, YannawaTel. 02-6736342

Q Mart, Grand Hotel, Sukhumvit Rd, Soi 11, KlongtoeyTel. 02-6511200 ext. 3452

C Mart, Centre Point, Petchaburi Rd, Soi 15, RajatheweeTel. 02-6536690-8 ext. 4030

Duangkamol, Sukhumvit Rd, KlongtoeyTel. 02-2526261

Bangkok

AccommodationWanted

BuildingServices

HouseholdServices

HouseholdItems

HOTEL PROMOTIONLow season, long stay. Spa &pool, many facilities, beach-front, only 17,500 baht/month. Please call for more in-formation. Tel: 076-345518,01-8920038.

EXCLUSIVEapartments, fully equipped andwith access to pool. Patongarea. Short- or long-term from20,000 baht monthly. Call formore info. Tel: 01-8930307.

APARTMENTnear Loch Palm Golf Club. 1 bed-room, living room, kitchen, bath-room, terrace, hot water, cableTV, telephone line, swimmingpool, for rent at 12,000 baht/month. Tel: 076-202725, 01-8916632. Fax: 076-202725.Email: golflandview@gmx.de

Specialist European stone careproducts and services:

Prevent: rust, stains, mildew, algae,scratchesRemove: builders’ residue, incorrectsealants, rust, stains, mildew, etcDaily care & cleaning products alsoavailable

Tel: 07-2824930, 076-271217Fax: 076-271218Email: info@thestonedoctor-asia.com

• Restoration• Sealing/Finishing• Maintenance

All your maintenance, protection &cleaning needs for natural andmanufactured stone.

• Marble • Sandwash• Granite • Terracotta• Slate • Terrazzo• Sandstone • Ceramics, etc

The Stone Doctor

LOCKUP STORAGEIndividual storage unitsfrom 4 cubic meters. Wellventilated, 24hr security,sensor floodlights. Pleasecall for more info. Tel: 01-0825707.

PropertyServices

PHUKET THAI HOMEcompany. If you can’t sellyour home, land or other prop-erty, let us sell it for you. Freeconsultation. Tel: 04-626-8105 (English) or 01-7291391(Thai). Email: phuketthaihome@hotmail.com

HOUSE WANTEDfor long term. Unfurnishedhouse required for long-termrental (2 years minimum) forresident who has lived inPhuket for eight years andhas excellent references.Need two/three-bedroomedhouse with garden, tele-phone, etc, in quite area.Prefered areas are PhuketCity and surrounding areas,Thalang, East coast, Kathu.Tel: 01-7192458. Email:marks@phuket.ksc.co.th

HOUSE NEEDEDMy family will arrive aroundJune 9 and we would like torent a house near a beach inPhuket for about 5 days. Noth-ing too pricey. Would be usefulif you also have a car for rent.Please send details as soon aspossible. Tel: 09-6503002.Email: kamil.tyebally@gmail.com

PATONG LUXURYapartment. Central Patong, 1-& 2-bedroom apartments.Email for info & photos. Email:suites247@yahoo.com

HOUSE WANTEDI need an unfurnished, 2-bed-room house for rent in Chalongat 6,000-10,000 baht/month.Should have aircon and cur-tains. Tel: 01-5358137. Emaildeepak.raj.r@gmail.com

AccommodationAvailable

ACCOMMODATIONin Phuket. Want to rent room orapartment with aircon, fridgeand a balcony in the Patongarea for about 3 months. June20 to Sep 12. Max 8,000 baht/month. Email: l-mk@telia.com

SIAM HOME

& CAR SERVICES

Building renovation,repairs, maintenance

• Electrical

• Aircon/lights

• Woodwork/furniture

• Stone, cement, sandwash

• Steel, aluminium, tiles

• Grass screen landscaping.

Contact Khun Chuat

01-4083800, 076-325391

VARIOUSTV, FURNITURE, ETC.- Diamond TV, 6 months old:2,750 baht (cost 4,190)

- Koncept chest of drawers,five drawers high, top drawerlocks, mint condition

- food blender: 1,000 baht

- small CD/radio/cassetteplayer: 1,000 baht

- 20 band SW radio: 750 baht

- Minolta 35mm compactcamera with 35-70 zoom, 2spare batteries, and 4 x 36mmfilms: 1,500 baht. Email:detnon@hotmail.com

ROOMS TO LETLake-view apartments in Kathu.Fully furnished, with aircon,fridge, cable TV, hot water, carpark. 183 baht a day. Tel: 076-202585, 09-1968449. Email:ketmaneeclayton61@hotmail.com

PATONG SPECIALStoney Monday Oasis hotelsuper special: 12,000 baht permonth ’till Oct 30. New airconrooms with full hotel services.Located only 350m frombeach. Book now. Tel: 076-290363. Website: www.stoneymondayhotels. com

C L A S S I F I E D SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 35

Boats & Marine

BOAT ITEMS

- 3kg Bruce anchor with 2.5meters of stainless chain andstainless shackles.- sea anchor drogues for abouta 20ft boat- Quicksilver grease gun- safety belt- new boat cover, 2 x 2.5m- HH-life jacket- King’s Cup bagEverything to go quickly andcheap! Pls contact. Tel: 076-281479. Email: palmtree@loxinfo.co.th

16M CATAMARAN

I’m looking for partner(s) formy catamaran, made for char-ter work. US$12,000 =20% of the boat. Tel: 07-8919620. Email: catnoina@yahoo.de

JET BOAT

(super toy). Searider, Thai reg-istered, built in 2000. New135hp engine (no hours on it);can see bill. 5 seater. In greatcondition. Very fast – put inyour driveway and go in thewater. Easy to handle and nomarine fees. A bargain at430,000 baht, includingtrailer. Be fast! Go fast! Tel:01-0823240, 01-5376866.Email: bigbhouda5@hotmail.com

MARINA BERTH

Freeze your monthly pay-ments for the next 14 yearson this 15-meter Boat Lagoonberth. Please contact formore information. Tel: 076-383670, 09-6459470. Fax:76-383670. Email: beeguy@phket.loxinfo.co.th

STEEL-HULLED BOAT

Length: 40 meters; beam: 8.6meters; price: 2.8 million baht.The boat was designed as aluxury live-aboard. Please callor email for more infomation.Tel: 04-0511944. Fax: 076-243089. Email: boat_phuket@yahoo.com

SPEEDBOAT

380,000 baht. 2 years old,Thai registered, 27ft, cantransport 15+1+1 people.Wood frame with glass fiber,sunroof, 200hp Yamaha en-gine (1½ years old). Please callfor more information. Tel: 01-8924282 or contact me byemail at: taxiregio@freenet.de

20M LIVE-ABOARD

CRUISER

MV Ariel has been fully refit-ted and refurbished. She islicensed by the Harbor De-partment for 40 pax. She iscurrently based at KohChang and can be inspectedthere. All details are avail-able on our website. Offersover 5 million baht are in-vited. Please contact formore information. Tel: 01-7253960, 06-8871196.Email: derek.levitt@onetel.net For further details,please see our website at:www.ariel-cruises.com

21FT

POWER BOAT

Only 150,000 baht. 21 footfiberglass powerboat with200hp Mercury outboard.Seats 10 people. 2 stainlesstanks, 165 liters each. Lo-cated at Boat Lagoon. Tel:076-319003, 01-8932575.Email: pjsunset@samart.co.th

Gazette Online Classifieds 10,000 readers every day!

LOOKING FOR

longtail boats for tsunami relief.I am looking for a few second-hand longtail boats in good con-dition. They must be minimun10 meters long and have anengine. My average budgetruns around 50,000-70,000baht – no more! Please call Tel:09-6498218 for more informa-tion or contact me by email at:makebetter2005@yahoo.com

CUSTOM BOAT

BUILDER

Custom professional boatbuilder. Our mission is tomanufacture enjoyableboats that will last for yearsand that carry the value ofworkmanship. Boats withthe traditional look and clas-sic lines are pleasing to theeye. Custom craft that arefulfilling and rewarding toown and use. We build forpeople who seek the maxi-mum value without spend-ing a fortune, realized inThailand under professionalItalian management super-vision, using best materialsand new technologies, suchas the vacuum infusion pro-cess. You will be surprised byour prices and quality. Cur-rent projects: new 30ft Lob-ster Boat; new 6.5m Italianplaning Gozzo. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 038-706060, 01-3854058; or Email to:info@andamanboatyard.com For further details,please see our website at:www.andamanboatyard.com

C L A S S I F I E D S36 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Island Job Mart

JUNIOR SECRETARY

Tilleke & Gibbins Interna-tional, established in Thailandsince 1893, is coming toPhuket. We are establishinga full service legal office atCherngtalay and we require:JUNIOR SECRETARY- Secretarial diploma- Good command of English- Good and accurate typingskills- Able to operate MS Office- Experience is a plus- Good coordination skills- Service-minded and orga-nizedPlease contact for more in-formation. Tel: 06-9890919.Send resumé to: trw@tillekeandgibbins.com

SENIOR SECRETARY

Tilleke & Gibbins Interna-tional, established in Thailandsince 1893, is coming toPhuket. We are establishinga full service legal office atCherng Talay and we re-quire:OFFICE MANAGER/SENIORSECRETARY- Bachelor’s degree an advan-tage, preferably with a majorin English or Business Admin-istration- 3-5 years’ experience in sec-retarial or office administra-tion- Excellent command of spo-ken and written English- Accurate typing skills- Able to operate MS Office- Good interpersonal andcommunication skillsClosing date: May 30, 2005.Please contact for more in-formation. Tel: 06-9890919.Send resumé to: trw@tillekeandgibbins.com

E-COMMERCE

opportunities. PhuketsailGroup, Thailand’s yachtequipment leader is seekinghighly qualified candidates:- Accounting Manager- E-Commerce Manager- Franchise Operations Man-ager- Yacht Insurance Manager- Business Sales ManagerTel: 076-238804, 09-6521-159. Email: info@phuketsail.com For further details,please see our website at:www.yachtsupplyasia.com/join_us.htm

KINDERGARTEN

teacher. Need 2 kindergartenEnglish teachers. Nativespeakers only, please. Email:info@kajonkiet.com

IT SUPPORT OFFICER

At least 2 years’ experiencein Networking and hardwaremaintenance. Good com-mand of spoken Englishwould be an advantage. Tel:076-272572, 01-5358041.Fax: 076-273447. Email:wilawan@greatglove.com

INVESTOR STAFF

wanted. Danish grillhousechain seeks investor for thelast 29% of shares. We have3 shops, with turnover ofabout 20 million baht. We arealso looking for franchisees inKata, Kamala, Phuket City,Krabi. Franchise investment400,000 baht. Staff wanted:Thai, 28-40 years, must haveskills in Word and Excel andbe English-speaking. Adminwork, 3-4 hours/day. Con-tact Mr Kim Kristiansen. Tel:06-2989500. Email: la@grillhousedk.com For moredetails please see our websiteat: www.grillhousedk.com

WEB SHOP DESIGNER

I need to hire some profes-sional Web shop builders todo updates, create newshops, etc. I work with OS-Commers and Shop-Factory(PHP, MySQL). Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 09-8093566. Email:lennartviberg@hotmail.com

BOOKKEEPER

wanted. Min 3-years’ expe-rience, Quickbook Pro know-ledge, office near Wat Cha-long. Email: bic1@phuket.ksc.co.th

25% Discount on Classifieds for Shopper Card Holders

IF YOU...Place your ad in these pages;Present your Shopper Card; andPay for the ad at our offices,

you’ll enjoy a 25% discount* AND have your ad appear free ofcharge in the Phuket Gazette Online.

With more than 10,000 visitors a day, the Island Trader Online isThailand’s most active classified marketplace.

*Ads may be submitted in person or online (phuketgazette.net/classifieds), butmust be paid for at the Gazette offices. The discount is not available when

payment is made at our agents.

The Phuket Gazette Co Ltd367/2 Yaowarat Road, Phuket CityTel: 076-236555 Fax: 076-213971

Find more Recruitment Classifieds

at

www.phuketgazette.net!

NANNY

Basic English required. Mon-day-Saturday, 9am-6pm,Chalong circle area, refer-ences. Tel: 09-4744083,076-281391, 01-9872821.

PIMALAI RESORT

& Spa, a member of SmallLuxury Hotels of the World,is currently looking for guestservice officers. English re-quired, computer literate.Fidelio front office a plus.Other positions available:Graphic Designer, Bell Boy,Admin Secretary. Tel: 075-607999. Fax: 075-607987.Email: rdm@pimalai.com Forfurther details, please see ourwebsite at: www.pimalai.com

JOB VACANCIES

Krabi La Playa Resort is nowrecruiting for the followingpositions:- Reservations Manager- Restaurant Manager- Personnel Manager- Sales ExecutivesA minimum of 3 years’ expe-rience in the hotel field is re-quired. Please contact formore information. Tel: 075-637- 500, 01-8812317.Fax: 075-695497. Email:worasuda@krabilaplaya.com For further details, plssee our website at: www.krabilaplaya.com

SAILING SKIPPER

required. Kia Ora CatamaranCharters, located on KohSamui, requires an experi-enced skipper to operate our52-foot day-charter sailingcatamaran. Please contactfor more information. Tel:077-425264 or Email: mark@kiaorathailand.com Pleasesee our website at: www.kiaorathailand.com

ARCHITECTS/

draftsmen. Junior/senior ar-chitects/draftsmen neededfor rapidly expanding archi-tectural practice. Please con-tact for more info. Tel: 076-279643 or send your CV byemail to: shadows_and_light@yahoo.com

EXPERIENCED STAFF

wanted for property develop-ment company in Phuket.For more information, check:www.immobilienplus.com/jobs

LAW FIRM

Looking for paralegal & Thailawyer. Please email resuméto: scphuket@yahoo.com

C L A S S I F I E D SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 37

Island Job Mart

EmploymentWanted

Classified ads are charged per line. Each line is 80 baht,

with a minimum of 4 lines (heading included) per ad.

All advertising must be paid for in advance.

Deadline for Property Mart page: Friday 3 pm.

Deadline for all other pages: Saturday 12 noon.

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Classified Advertisements

Please use this form to write your classified advertisement.

Then hand it to any of our agents.

THAI CHEF WANTEDWe are looking for an addi-tional chef for our team. Theapplicant must be a Thai na-tional, experienced in Thai cui-sine and the hospitality busi-ness. English language is anadvantage. Applications inwriting by email or call formore information. Tel: 076-344834. Email: info@lim-thailand.com

ACCOUNTANTwanted. Fluent English, 5years’ experience in AR/AP/VAT, filing social security.Please contact Tim for moreinformation at Tel: 01-927-9328.

SALES & MARKETINGAssistant. We are looking fora female w/at least 3 years’experience, good English andstrong presentation skills. Sal-ary is 20-25,000 baht permonth. Contact for more in-formation. Tel: 076-263737,01-5354108. Fax: 076-224-113. Email: recruitment@bowentraining.com

TEACHERS WANTEDPhuket Wittayalai School re-quires native English-speakingteachers with TOEFL certifi-cates and a degree. Pleasecontact K. Boonthong at Fax:076-213922 or send Emailto: boonthong_a@pkw.ac.th

MEDIA SALES REPSwanted. Good basic salary+commissions. Thai nationalsonly. Excellent spoken Englishessential. Please contact formore information. Tel: 02-6556070, 01-5357944. Fax:02-6556070. To apply pleaseEmail your resumé and recentphoto to: terry@csloxinfo.com

CRUISE DIRECTORCruise Director wanted forPhinisi Charter operation.Good customer relations andEnglish-language skills. To ap-ply, send your resumé by emailto: neil_dibb@litigold.com

MY NAME IS DONCopley. I am a West Australianwho has been visiting Phuketfor nearly 20 years. I have aThai partner and intend totake up permanent residencein Phuket. I have spent 40years consulting in real estateand related fields. I hold li-cences for real estate, valua-tion, land conveyancing andauctioneering, and have vastexperience in subdivision andproject management. I amlooking for full- or part-timeconsultancy or related work.Excellent references can beprovided. Email: ccopleya@bigpond.net.au

BUSINESSmanagement. Do you havebusinesses in the followingareas: Hotel, apartments,cafe, bar, restaurant, vehiclerental, retail, fitness andmore? Friendly British manwith English-speaking Thaiwife available to manage yourbusiness while you are awayon a month-by-month basis.Experience in Thailand andoverseas businesses. Integ-rity, care and quality of ser-vice assured at all times.Why not give us a call today?Tel: 076-202473. Email:nik@indigosiam.com

RESERVATIONS, GSAI am looking for a customerservice or GSA position. I havean active and joyful personal-ity. I can speak both Englishand Thai and can get alongwith people quite well. I have5 years’ experience in the res-ervations department of atravel agency, plus 2 years ina hotel as a tour coordinator.Tel: 07-8884647 or Email:wanliya28@hotmail.com

ENGLISH TEACHERavailable. English teacheravailable for part-time work inschools, hotels or private tu-ition. Own transport and veryflexible. Tel: 04-846022.Email: scott_mclaughlinuk@yahoo.co.uk

Find more Classified ads at www.phuketgazette.net!

HOUSE MAID/NURSECare-giver/maid available forChalong, Rawai, Cape Panwa.References. Please call Tel:01-6935015.

Problems with an extra-marital affair?Questions about Thai culture?Having communications problems?Need somebody to Love?

ASK KHUN WANIDA! MOMMA DUCK

Fax 076-213971 or email momma@phuketgazette.net

Read her advice in the Phuket Gazette.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTPhuket-based advertisingcompany is looking for a hard-working Executive Assistant.Education or experience incommunication arts, market-ing or related field or will be fa-vored. Applicants need tohave a good level of spokenand written English; computerskills in MS Office, Word,Excel and PowerPoint is amust; and have a bright per-sonality, be good at workingwith members of a team, bemature. Must have a driver’slicense. Email applications toK. Bee at: bee@leadingedge-media.com or call Tel: 076-239746 for an interview.

C L A S S I F I E D S38 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005

Tout, Trader & Trumpet

ArticlesFor Sale

BABY COCKATOOS

Electus parrots, sunconures and many morebirds for sale at PhuketBird Paradise. Tel: 01-5979255.

ARIES VANEwith new rudder and re-build kit: Only US$1,000.Tel: 05-0784313. Email:balboa@procom.in.th

ArticlesWanted

BusinessOpportunities

Bulletins

50% OF COMPANYAND BUSINESS

Lucrative company con-sisting of self-storage on-site container rental, siteoffice, sales and rental. Allmachinery and rental prod-ucts fully owned. Newventure involving exportspending. Unlimited poten-tial: 5 million baht. Onlygenuine inquiries. Pleaseemail to: intrade@phuket.ksc.co.th For more infosee our website at: www.safewayphuket.com

COMPANY FOR SALECorporation for sale: 15,000baht. Please contact formore information. Tel: 07-8934960.

INVESTOR WANTEDEuropean-Thai company,Phuket. Tel: 01-5697618.Email: investor_wanted@hotmail.com

BAR FOR SALEPatong. Entertainment li-cense, Thai company, workpermit. See our website at:www.homebarphuket.com

BAR FOR SALEin Kata Center, 6,000 baht/month. Price: 270,000 baht.Please call for more informa-tion. Tel: 07-8814415.

MASSAGE SHOPMassage shop in Nanai Rd forsale – rent is only 12,000baht a month. For quick saleat 95,000 baht ono. Theshop has everything. Callnow! Tel: 09-8093566.Email: lennartviberg@hotmail.com

MASSAGE SHOPfor quick sale. Massage shopin Nanai Rd, Patong, for rent12,000 baht per month, nokey money. Has everythingyou need. Moving to BKK;make me an offer now!Please contact me for moreinformation. Tel: 09-809-3566. Email: lennartviberg@hotmail.com

TSUNAMI RESORTActive investor/partnersought for redevelopmentof eco-resort on Phra ThongIsland in Phang Nga. Site isa world-class setting, withtwo beautiful beaches,abundant wildlife, years ofsuccessful operation basedon a love of nature. Email:simi@losthorizonsasia.com

RESTAURANT/BARfor sale. Kamala, main road.Aircon, 40 seats, well-estab-lished walk in. Take over:6,000 baht/month; 900,000baht for sale. Please call after4 pm. Tel: 076-385940.

RESORT FOR LEASEMin 10 years, on about2,500 square meters. 15bungalow units with swim-ming pool, surrounded by atropical garden. Key money5 million baht, then 80,000baht per month. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 076-330980, 07-2849-690. Fax: 076-330284.Email to: fullmoonbeach@hotmail.com For more infor-mation, please see ourwebsite at: www.fullmoon-bungalows-phuket.com

BusinessProducts &

Services

DAY TRIP TORANONG

New double-decker tourbus (not minibus), non-smoking and smoking ar-eas, toilet, films/music,snacks and drinks, on-boardbuffet lunch. No extra topay, fully inclusive. Only1,300 baht. Every Mon,Wed, Fri, Sat, Sunday. Tel:04-7457024.

SWIM IN DRINKINGWATER

* almost no chlorine* no burning eyes* no bleached hair* no salt or corrosionCaribbean Clear WaterTreatment Systems forpools, spas and ponds.

Tel: 06-6822639.Email:

nomochlo@yahoo.com

COMPUTERservices. New + used. Re-pairs, GPRS, ADSL, WLAN.Internet: no phone, no prob-lem. English Computerman.Tel: 09-4735080

Computers

ClubMemberships

Available

Miscellaneousfor Sale

Personals

BACKGAMMONRetired businessman lookingfor backgammon players onPhuket Island. Please call ifinterested. Tel: 076-386-113, 01-5778443.

QUICK SALEBanyan Tree Golf Club: 17years’ membership. Tel: 01-9092265.

INT'L DRIVERSLICENSE

5,000 baht, valid up to10 years, 6,000 bahtvalid up to 20 years. Soleagent in Thailand. Freepick up & delivery, open365 days a year. Pleasecontact Khun Christinefor more information. Tel:04-0068736.

HOMEPAGEExcellent webmaster canmake you a professionalhomepage. Email berger@phuket.ksc.co.th

PersonalServices

TRIP TO EUROPEEasy-going European guy(46), living in Phuket, is trav-eling to Europe for a coupleof weeks in August, anddoes not want to go alone. Ifyou are a nice, charming,uncomplicated and slim Thailady between 20 and 40 andwant to join me, then I wouldlike to invite you. All youneed is a passport, and I dothe rest. Don’t wait too long,and send me an email with apicture of you. Let’s go.Email: bpaiduai@yahoo.de

HOME/OFFICEinsurance. Protect yourhome and office against allrisks. I come to your place tomake arrangements. Con-tact Agent Smith. Tel: 07-2674342. Email: agentsmith@ji-net.com

BOAT/HOUSEcarpenter. Experienced car-penter for boat and housework at reasonable prices.Tel: 04-051- 1944. Email:boat_phuket@yahoo.com

HOT TUB, SEATS 8Two-year-old hot tub, cost800,000 baht . New condi-tion, very seldom used. Nowjust 400,000 baht. Tel: 076-383670, 09-6459470. Fax:076-383670. Email: beeguy@phuket.loxinfo.co.th

POOL TABLEBrand new. 8’ x 4’, surplusto requirements. Must be col-lected in Buri Ram. 30,000baht. No offers. Tel: 07-802-4688. Email: brennanie@hotmail.com

GOLF CLUBSFull set of left-handed, mid-size graphite clubs. 1, 3 and5 woods, 3-9 irons, pitchingand sand wedges, putter,bag and 2m retriever (water).All in excellent condition.13,000 baht. Tel: 076-333-244, 09-9091917. Email to:porterat@phuket.ksc.co.th

SHARP FLAT SCREENTelevision. 25-inch, perfectcondition, 2½ years old.Dual language, stereo, re-mote control, silver finish.8,000 baht or nearest offer.Tel: 01-9366284. Email:khunmark@gmail.com

ROAD/MOUNTAINbike for 168cm female con-sidering Triathlon. Must be inreasonable condition. Pleasecontact for more more infor-mation. Tel: 06-9537624.Email: michaella_trigg@yahoo.com.au

BABY STUFFLooking for baby capsule andpram, in good condition andat a reasonable price. If youhave one, please contactwith full details. Tel: 07-909-895. Email: antoniobruno@hotmail.com

PRIME RETAIL SPOTHighest traffic, best expo-sure on the island. Please callfor more information. Tel:01-8920528.

PROFESSIONAL DATArecovery with Phuket-data-wizards.com All kinds ofcomputer magic. Please callTel: 06-6827277.

DV CABLE WANTEDI am in urgent need of a newor used DV cable that allowsme to connect my Sharp digi-tal video camera to my desk-top and laptop computers.Tel: 06-6853121, 04-060-3787. Fax: 076-240622.Email: phuketholidays@yahoo.com

ROMANCEI am 52, physically fit, andtraveling to Phuket early nextmonth. Hoping to meet an at-tractive and sincere Thaiwoman 25 to 33 years old.Email: ydelk@hotmail.com

FEMALE FOR FUNon Phi Phi. Looking for a fe-male companion, romance,friendship, just to have a fewdays of fun at the Phi Phi Is-lands with me, around June6. Email: timesreporter@tscnet.com

BUSINESS FOR SALEin Kata Plaza. Options No.1Internet café, with flat screenmonitors and ADSL+ USB;motorbike & chopper rentaltour counter with high turn-over. Price: 750,000 baht.Please call for more informa-tion. Tel: 04-8374429.

NO CAPITAL?No problem! Company reg-istration, work permit andvisa within 1 month (also forbars). Don’t have 2 millionbaht? No problem; just call!Tel: 075-378805, 09-472-7205. Fax: 075-378873.Email: nakhon@mail.com

LOOKING FORsea lovers. Looking for part-ners for our three-year-oldcompany speedboat servicearound the beautiful islands.Please contact. Tel: 01-737-0164, 06-2699484. Email:simbaseatrips@yahoo.com

VISA RUNSingapore. 3,300 baht. BySilkAir, excluding tax. Dailydepartures during June. Con-tact Taurus Travel. Tel: 076-344521-2.

Pets

DVD EDITOR

Looking for video editor forweddings, should be pro-ficient in Adobe PremierePro. Tel: 01-0789159.Email: info@sa-mer.com

RATTAN BEDfor sale. Beautiful rattan bed,queen size, very good condi-tion: 3,500 baht. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 076-281479. Email:palmtree @loxinfo.co.th

C L A S S I F I E D SMay 28 - June 3, 2005 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 39

Wheels & Motors

Saloon Cars

Motorbikes

Pickups

4 x 4s

Rentals

Vans

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Please use this form to write your classified advertisement.

Then hand it to any of our agents.

Classified ads are charged per line. Each line is 80 baht,with a minimum of 4 lines (heading included) per ad.

All advertising must be paid for in advance.

Deadline for Wheels & Motors page: Saturday 12 noon.

Wheelsheelsheelsheelsheels & MotorsotorsotorsotorsotorsAdvertisements

Phuket’s Most Trusted &

Reputable Supplier of the Finest

Quality Used SALOONS,

SEDANS, JEEPS & PICKUPS

New cars or trade-ins –we have what you’re

looking forFor more info pls call us at

Tel: 076-224632, 216243

www.suremotor.com

SPECIAL PRICE

Daihatsu Mira, good condi-tion, easy to drive, economi-cal. For rent with insurance:8,900 baht per month. Tel:01-5375010.

HONDA WAVE 125S

For sale by owner. 2003model, electric starter,front disc brakes. Excellentcondition. 30,000 baht.Tel: 06-9534642. Email:egmoulton@yahoo.com

MITSUBISHILANCER

Toyota twin-cam, 16V,fuel-injected motor, sportgearbox, air conditioning,mechanically excellent,rustproofed, registered in-surance: 69,000 baht.Tel: 06-2699141.

MAZDA PICKUP

4 door, 2.2L, diesel, goodcondition, stereo, 1992:120,000 baht. Call KhunWofgang. Tel: 01-079-2583.

TOYOTA SPORTCRUISER

4 doors, 4WD, 3.0L turbodiesel, automatic, Nov 2003model, 5,000km, full op-tions: 720,000 baht. Tel:07-2731548. Email:peternumber2@hotmail.com

NEW CARSFOR RENT

Many types of new carsfor rent; Honda, Toyota,Chevrolet, good price forlong term, auto, CD player,airbag, insurance. Pleasecontact for full details. Tel:01-8915296. Email:jikkycar@yahoo.com

SUZUKI CARIBIANFOR SALE

Suzuki Caribian for sale,year 1995, gray, 4 seats.Price: 130,000 baht. Tel:01-6078567.

JEEP CHEROKEE 4WD

Only 320,000 baht. 1997,excellent condition, manualtrans. Call Alan. Tel: 076-288287, 04-0529034.

CAR FOR RENT

Honda Jazz for rent, 1 yearold, silver color, automatic.Long lease: 13,000 bahtper month. For more infor-mation, please call Tel: 07-0170135.

LOW PRICELow rates for long-termrentals. Many types of newcars, with CD players, insur-ance and proper mainte-nance. Call now! Tel: 05-8833470.

A1 CAR RENT

Cars, trucks, jeep, 7-seatminibus for rent; fully-in-sured. 12,000-30,000 baht/month; special long-termrates. Tel: 09-8314703.

SUZUKI SMASH

Blue/black, 2 years old, ingood condition, 1 year’stax+insurance, no tsu-nami damage. 17,500baht. Tel: 06-9400069.Email: wijittra_nammata@yahoo.com

TOYOTA VIOSFOR RENT

Black Toyota Vios, 1.5L,ABS, central locking, alarm,good stereo, perfect condi-tion. For rent long-term only,minimum 3 months. First-class insurance. Contact formore information. Tel: 06-9400069. Email: andrea@loxinfo.co.th

NOUVO FOR RENT

Blue, good condition: 3,500baht a month; or blackNouvo, new model, 2months old: 4,000 baht amonth. Can view first, butboth long-term rental only.Tel: 06-9400069. Email:wijittra_nammata@yahoo.com

SUZUKI JEEPRed Caribian for sale, goodcondition. Price: 120,000baht. Tel: 01-8915474.

250 NSR 25000BBeautiful Honda 250 NSR rac-ing bike, with green book, newtires, etc. Tel: 06-9488139.Email: jefdejong@hotmail.com

FORD RANGERFour-door pickup, year 2000,2.5-liter turbo diesel, withCarryboy. In good condition,80,000km. Extra alarm, newCD, timer for engine stop.460,000 baht or 110,000 +9,100 per month over 3 yearsand 8 months. Tel: 01-585-8788. Email: runo9@hotmail.com

MAZDA ASTINA1999, automatic, ABS. Only80,000km. Bronze-gold color.Service book. Only 365,000baht. Tel: 076-242719, 01-2721123. Email: ganokitty@hotmail.com

1999 ISUZUTurbo 2500 pickup. Darkgreen. Quick sale: 250,000baht. Tel: 09-6506221. Email:ek_phuket@hotmail.com

KAWASAKI BOSS175cc motorbike. All blackcolor and chrome finish. 2years old, excellent condition.59,000 baht ono. Tel: 076-286112, 01-2704504. Email:info@protechdivers.com

TOYOTA HILUX4WD, year 2000 model, GOAcab, 87,000km, insurance toSept. 385,000 baht ono.Email: detnon@hotmail.com

99 JEEP CHEROKEEDark red, full options, all extras.Bullbar, 6-disc stereo, newtires, aluminum wheels,leather interior. Built and reg-istered in 1999. 85,000km.Garage maintained. Farangowner buying new car. Photosavailable. A bargain at430,000 baht. Be fast anddrive with class. Tel: 07-893-8747. Email: bigbhouda5@hotmail.com

2002 TOYOTA 4WDpickup. Toyota Tiger ExtraCab. 38,500km, metallic goldcolor, chrome bumpers, vinylliner, 2.5-liter engine, excellentcondition. No accidents or tsu-nami damage. 500,000 baht.Tel: 05-0685860, 06-278-5265. Email: alanmat@ozemail.com.au

NV CHEAPfor quick sale. 1996 Nissan NVSlx. Power steering, cloth seatsand stereo. New tires andbrakes. Super, reliable littletruck. Fair condition on thebody. Want to buy another carso will sell to the first 140,000baht. Tel: 01-8954480. Email:matlat@ loxinfo.co.th

VERY NICE BMW 525Immaculate 1993 model. En-gine very recently rebuilt, trans-mission rebuilt, new exhaustinstalled, new radiator, newcomputer, etc. Great importedCD stereo with amp, preampequalizer, subwoofer, etc.Very popular red/maroon color,which looks great with no peel-ing or fading. Runs great andhas less than 100,000km.430,000 baht ono. I don’t haveroom for a new car, hence thesale. Tel: 09-8733996. Email:eljefe3@gmail.com

GREAT CARHonda Civic, metallic red, 1993model. Tel: 09-8759586.

TOYOTA SOLUNA1.5 GLI Automatic. ABS, air-bag, blue, first owner (newAugust 2001), 54,000km,superb condition. Only365,000 baht, with mainte-nance book. Tel: 076-280-374, 07-2680110. Email:police1@phuketinternet.co.th

HONDA DREAM7 years old, good condition,white, everything justchecked. 7,500 baht, includ-ing insurance and tax until2006. Tel: 04-8383688.Email: mastinchen@hotmail.com

Wanted

NEED CARI would like to rent a car (au-tomatic) for one month. Will-ing to pay around 10,000baht. No Daihatsu or Jeeps,please. Tel: 06-9513157.

1996 CBR 400 RRWell maintained, CBR 400 RR’96 is the original fireblade, re-cently resprayed to Ferrarired. A very quick bike, alldocuments in order. Will partwith it for about 80,000 baht.Tel: 01-8022800. Email:count.slackula@gmail.com

LARGE FAMILY SUV575,000 baht. Powerful 3.0-liter turbo-diesel, Isuzu GrandAdventure model, 5-speed.Bought Nov 15, and has83,000km. Very economical,with comfortable leather seatsthat can fit 7 adults. Price in-cludes German-made roof-topluggage box, which can hold upto 4 golf bags. Great conditionand well-maintained. Seriousinquiries only please. Tel: 09-7299619. Email: wpm@hong-kong-hotels-network.com

Others

SOCKET WRENCH SET10-24 mm, ½ ", good quality,used once only. Half price:1,000 baht. Tel: 076-281479.Email: palmtree@loxinfo.co.th

TOYOTA VIOSYear 2004, 1.5S, airbag, ABS,6-CD player, tape etc. Urgentsale. Call Khun Karn at Tel:06-7885672.

TOYOTA VAN8 seats. Metallic silver, 6 cyl-inders/24 valves, 180hp, auto-matic transmission. Top con-dition, no rust. Price: 270,000baht. Also for rent or lease.Photo on request. Tel: 076-333242, 09-6517818. Fax:076-333243. Email to:horstkaron@yahoo.com

Need wheels?Check out

www.phuketgazette.net

WEDDING CARRENTAL

Looking to hire a luxury car– Toyota Camry, HondaAccord, Volvo, Benz – anddriver for weddings. A fullday rental for each wedding.Tel: 01-0789159.

VOLKSWAGEN 1968

Type 3. 1,600cc, creamcolor. Price: 160,000 baht.Also Saab 99, year 1969.1,700cc, dark green color:130,000 baht. Owner leav-ing Phuket. Contact Alec.Tel: 01-8950711.

40 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E May 28 - June 3, 2005