QUEER NEWS 4; AROUND THE

NATION 7; HAPPENINGS 9;

HOROSCOPES 14; KIDS 17;

HEARD & SCENE, TSOWNDINGS

18; BOOKS; COMPUTERS 19;

EDITORIAL, LETTERS 20; ISSUES

& ANSWERS 21; HEALTH 22;

MOTORING 26; WINE 29; GAR-

DENING 32; CLASSIFIEDS 33-40

PLUS

NEWS: Figures show propertybusiness is soaring; ‘Don’truin your future’ warning toKhao Lak. Pages 2 & 3

INSIDE STORY: Pressure, notpleasure, in paradise.

Pages 4 & 5

AROUND THE ISLAND: SFXColiseum cinema. Page 6

PEOPLE: A new career fromthe depths. Pages 10 & 11

AROUND THE REGION: Greenand lean times in Khao Lak.

Pages 12

LIFESTYLE: Gizmos on the go;Laying hands on glands.

Page 14 & 15

AFTER DARK: Dallying atDiver’s Bar. Page 16

FIRST PERSON: Why Patongshould party 24/7. Page 21

GOVERNOR’S LETTER: Plansfor a local super-aquarium.

Page 22

BUSINESS & MONEY: Localeconomy ‘growing well’; In-vesting down under.

Page 23

SPORT: ACYC results; Diving;Soccer. Pages 24 & 25

GOOD L IVING: Kamala’sRockfish on a roll. Page 29

PROPERTY: Tasty Villa Santi;Home of the Week in Wichit;Construction.Pages 30 & 31

Ease rules forforeigners, Govurges Bangkok

Briton heldfor murderof girlfriend

The Gazette is publishedin association with

IN THIS ISSUE

Gov Udomsak: ‘If the government really wants Phuket to attractinternational investment, then it will have to make it easier forforeigners to get visas, work permits and extensions of stay.‘

August 28 - September 3, 2004Volume 11 Issue 35 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 20 Baht

By Sangkhae Leelanapaporn&Dhirarat Boonkongsaen

PHUKET CITY: Phuket Gover-nor Udomsak Usawarangkurahas told Deputy Prime MinisterSuwat Liptapanlop that Bangkokwill need to make life easier forforeigners if Phuket is ever to de-velop into the “internationalcity” envisioned by the govern-ment.

“Yesterday, I met withDPM Suwat to discuss prepara-tions for the arrival of PrimeMinister Thaksin Shinawatranext week,” he told the Gazetteon August 20.

“I told him that if the gov-ernment really wants Phuket toattract international investment,then it will have to make it easierfor foreigners to get visas, workpermits and extensions of stay.”

The Governor, who re-cently returned from a trip to theUS, said Immigration, the LaborOffice and the Ministry of For-eign Affairs should upgrade theirprocedures and services to inter-national standard.

“The government depart-ments that deal with foreignersare all still using the same oldsystems. When investors arrive,they first have to go to Immigra-tion, then to another agency fora work permit. It’s too compli-cated,” he said.

Gov Udomsak said thatDPM Suwat made no commit-ment, but said he would discussthe matter with the departmentsconcerned.

Meanwhile, the Phuket Im-

migration Office has clarified therules governing deposits foreign-ers must keep in bank accountsin order to qualify for permit-to-stay extensions on the basis ofmarriage or retirement status.

Specifically, foreigners donot need to maintain a minimumbalance in their bank accounts,Pol Capt Krissarat Nuesen,Deputy Inspector of the PhuketProvincial Immigration Office,said.

“Foreigners applying for a

one-year permit to stay based onmarriage or retirement do nothave to freeze the money in theiraccounts,” explained. “They justneed to show us proof of theirnormal income and expenses andprove that they can supportthemselves in Thailand to a goodstandard of living.

“Some foreigners havemisunderstood the minimum bal-ance requirement as meaningthey would no longer be able to

Continued on page 2

By Siripansa Somboon

CHALONG: Briton MichaelJohn Taylor, 40, has been ar-rested on a charge of murderinghis girlfriend on August 17. Heis being held in custody inPhuket Provincial Prison.

Police say they have state-ments from eight people con-firming their belief that Taylor,known locally as “Mick thePom”, murdered 27-year-oldJantra Weangta at the home theyshared in Chalong.

Pol Maj Jessada Sangsu-ree, an inspector at Chalong Po-lice Station, told the Gazette,“We have eight statements thatsuggest Mr Taylor is the mur-derer. The court issued an arrestwarrant, but he still denies theaccusation.”

Maj Jessada said that Tay-lor claims that, around the timeK. Jantra is estimated to havebeen killed, he was drinking atthe Moonlight Bar in Karon andthen having sex on the beachwith a katoey, 21-year-old Fon-noi Khonsau.

Taylor asserts that he foundK. Jantra dead on the bed whenhe and K. Fonnoi went to thehouse.

K. Jantra died from a singlestab wound to the heart. Nearby,police found a large Bowie knifeand a pair of bloodstained trou-sers.

Murder victim Jantra Weangta.

N E W S2 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

From page 1use their own money. In fact,Immigration does not require thatfunds be kept in the bank at alltimes. It does, however, requirethat foreigners be prepared toprove their financial status issound at any time we decide tocheck on them.

“It’s not that we won’t letthem take money out of their ac-count to pay normal living ex-penses, but the required balanceshould be shown properly and fora sufficient period of time.

“There have been manycases in which bank accountswere almost empty just a fewdays after they showed the mini-mum required balance.

“We suspect [that in thesecases] people were borrowingmoney from friends so that theycould meet the requirement onthe day when we checked, thenreturning the money as soon asthat had been accomplished. Thatis wrong,” he said.

To be granted a one-yearextension of permit-to-stay, anymale foreigner applying on thebasis of being married to a Thaimust show a minimum balanceof 400,000 baht. (There is nosuch requirement for foreignwomen married to Thais.) Thosewith retired status must showdouble this amount.

Capt Krissarat added thatproof of guaranteed monthly in-come paid into a Thai bank ac-count in the applicant’s namecould also be used to prove thatthe applicant is financially sound.In this case the figures are 40,000baht or 65,000 baht a month, re-spectively.

Editorial: page 20

Immigrationclarifiesbank depositregulations

PHUKET CITY: Just fourmonths after construction began,the island’s latest superstore,Makro, was due to open on Au-gust 27.

The store, off Wichit Song-kram Rd, is the cash-and-carrywholesale giant’s 27th branch inThailand.

Products for sale will in-clude fresh and frozen food, bev-erages, snacks, electrical goods,stationery, office automationequipment and household prod-ucts.

Makro’s stated strategy is tosell good-quality low-pricewholesale products to peoplewith businesses, who must firstsign up as “members”.

The store will be open ev-ery day from 6 am to 10 pm.

Makro opensfor business

PHUKET: The Phuket ProvincialAdministration Organization(OrBorJor) has launched a“brains trust” to tackle a short-age of teachers in the island’sschools.

The schools are at least 304teachers short, with no fewer than46 schools lacking at least oneteacher.

Now the OrBorJor is ap-pealing to retired teachers to vol-unteer to join the “brains trust”and help to fill the gaps.

Already, 19 ex-teachers

have agreed to support the trust,but the OrBorJor hopes to in-crease that number to 70.

Announcing the creation ofthe trust, OrBorJor President An-chalee Vanich-Thepabutr said,“We want to invite senior teach-ers to join the ‘Phuket BrainsTrust’ project.”

Altogether, 46 out of 50schools which responded to asurvey reported a shortage ofteachers, in a total of eight sub-jects.

The OrBorJor says that 40

teachers are needed to teachmathematics, 30 for science, 50for foreign languages and 34 forThai language, 35 for health edu-cation, 23 for social studies, 47for business and 45 for art.

– Siripansa Somboon

OrBorJor appeals for volunteer teachers

PHUKET: Figures indicatinghow the property industry inPhuket is booming were pre-sented this week by the PhuketReal Estate Club (PREC).

At a conference on thesouthern Thai economy, held atthe Royal Phuket City Hotel onAugust 23, PREC SecretaryThanit Prateepnathalang said thatbetween January and July thisyear, property companies appliedfor permission to build 43 newdevelopments. Of these, 28 hadso far been approved.

The investment in indi-vidual developments ranges from250 million to 700 million baht,he said, noting that most areaimed at European or Americanbuyers.

Last year, according to fig-ures from the Phuket Provincial

Land Office (PPLO), 10 propertycompanies were granted permis-sion for developments.

“The government’s deci-sion [two years ago] to reducetaxes and fees on property invest-ment to 0.01% has made theproperty business grow rapidly,

especially in Phuket,” said K.Thanit. “About 40% of invest-ment in Phuket is in real estate.”

Another indicator of theproperty boom supplied by K.Thanit was the amount of taxcollected by the PPLO. In 2003the figure was about 100 mil-lion baht, he said, whereas inthe first three months of thisyear alone, a massive 456 mil-lion baht in taxes was paid tothe PPLO.

He said, “Land on Phuketis one-fifth the price of land inSingapore, but we expect it toincrease to half the Singaporeprice. It currently sells for [asmuch as] 20 million baht per rai.

“The trend for real estateinvestment is still upward, but Iworry that it may be growing toorapidly, and may result in anotherbubble crisis [like in 1997],” headded.

By Gategaeo Phetsawang

Figures show propertybusiness is soaring

Worrying about a bubble: Tha-nit Prateepnathalang.

KOH KAEW: Three top stand-up comedians from the Londoncomedy circuit will be in Phuketon September 15 to entertain andembarrass punters at The Water-mark bar and restaurant, at theBoat Lagoon. The show will startat 9 pm.

First on stage will be come-dian and magician John Lenahan,whom the UK daily newspaper,the Guardian, hailed as “the mas-cot of a magical renaissance”.

Mr Lenahan, an Americanfrom Philadelphia who now livesand works in the UK, has per-formed all over the world andwith stars including Jack Dee,Victoria Wood, Lenny Henry andMichael Ball. He is currentlystarring in the new prime-time

More top comedians for PhuketBBC 1 show Secrets of Magic,and his BBC 2 series, Stuff TheWhite Rabbit, has achieved re-cord ratings for its time slot.

Also on stage will be Mil-ton Jones, winner of the PerrierBest Newcomer award and the1996 Edinburgh Festival comedyaward for his first solo show. Hisfirst radio series, The Very Worldof Milton Jones for BBC Radio,aired in 1998-9. A follow-up se-ries, The House Of Milton Jones,was nominated for British Com-

edy Awards and won a Sony Ra-dio Award.

Newcastle comedian Mick-ey Hutton, known for roles in UKTV shows Crocodile Shoes andSpender, will wrap up the eve-ning.

Tickets cost 1,700 bahtapiece if booked before Septem-ber 3, and 1,900 baht thereafter.A three-course dinner for 850baht will also be available.

For more information, call076-239730.

Anchaleeslams planto extendof runway

PHUKET CITY: Plans by theAirports Authority of Thailand(AAT) to extend the 3,000-meterrunway at Phuket InternationalAirport by 700m came under firefrom Anchalee Vanich-Thepa-butr, President of the Phuket Pro-vincial Organization at a meetingon August 24 at The Metropole.

The extension is deemednecessary by the AAT to allowfully-laden Boeing 747-400 air-liners – used extensively onroutes to and from Europe – totake off.

However, K. Anchalee saidthat Phuket’s expanding touristmarkets are in Asia rather thanin Europe. Short-to-medium haulaircraft, which require shorterrunways, are generally used onthese routes, she said, adding“For this reason, a 3,700-m run-way is not necessary.”

K. Anchalee said that theexisting commercial air traffic isalready disruptive for local com-munities, mostly Muslim, whoseprayer times, she said, are oftendisturbed by the sound of jet en-gines overhead.

K. Anchalee suggest that acompromise 300-m extensioncould be built, up to the currentboundary of the airport. If a3,700-m runway proves vital, shesaid, then a further 400-m exten-sion could be built out into theAndaman Sea. – Kamol Pirat

August 28 - September 3, 2004 N E W S P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 3

PATONG: A police sergeant from Kathuended up in a coma in Bangkok PhuketHospital after a severe beating by twomen, one of whom subsequently shot him-self with the sergeant’s gun.

The beating took place at 5:30 amon August 22 at a noodle shop in NanaiRd. Reconstructing events, investigatorsfound that Pol Sgt Pramual Thongaugsorn,who was off-duty, went to the shop to eat.

Already in the shop were WisanuBumlungsak, 26, from Bangkok, and an-

Policeman beaten into coma, attacker kills selfBy Kamol Pirat other man from Nakhon Sri Thammarat,

so far known only by his nickname,“Jorm”. Both worked at the My Way Pubin Soi Paradise.

There was already bad blood be-tween the two men and Sgt Pramual, saidPol Lt Col Chawalit Niemwadee of KathuPolice Station. “When Sgt Pramual cameinto the shop the two started shouting athim, making other diners in the shop ner-vous. Sgt Pramual told them to stop shout-ing and asked them to calm down.”

Far from calming down, the twostarted beating the sergeant about the head

with a large Coca-Cola bottle and a pieceof wood until he fell unconscious to thefloor.

Wisanu grabbed Sgt Pramual’s hand-gun and the two climbed on their motor-cycles and fled.

Police received a tip that Wisanu wasliving in Kebsap Village on Sai Nam YenRd. As they approached the house theycould see him packing, but when he spot-ted the approaching officers he ducked outof sight.

Ordered to surrender, he opened fireon the police with Sgt Pramual’s gun, fir-

ing a fusillade of seven shots, all of whichmissed. Police blockaded the home for anhour before hearing Wisanu shout that hewas going to kill himself. This was fol-lowed by a single shot.

Entering the house, police foundWisanu lying on the floor with a hole cleanthrough his head. He is believed to havedied instantly.

The other man, “Jorm”, is believedto have fled from Phuket. Police are nowtrying to find and arrest him.

At the time of going to press SgtPramual was still in a coma.

PHUKET: Phuket is free of ter-rorists, Vice-Governor PongpowKetthong asserted at a recentanti-terrorism seminar at theRoyal Phuket City Hotel.

V/Gov Pongpow told hisaudience of officials that the factthat the gathering was takingplace did not mean there wereterrorists in Phuket, but it wasimportant to take steps to reducethe chances of terrorist activityoccurring on the island.

He said, “I can confirm thatPhuket does not have terrorists.But the government has asked allprovinces to draw up an anti-ter-rorism plan and to practice emer-gency procedures.”

A chain of command hasbeen established among the vari-ous agencies involved, such asthe police and provincial offi-cials, said V/Gov Pongpow.

But he stressed that he didnot believe Phuket was a terror-ist target. “We want to be pre-pared, just in case there is an at-tack, and this plan could also beused in the event of a non-terror-ist emergency such as a fire or a

No terrorists in Phuket,saysVice-Governor

natural disaster that affects manypeople.”

All the same, the policecontinue to work toward mini-mizing the threat from terrorists,by keeping a close eye on touristhot-spots, said V/Gov Pongpow.

V/Gov Pongpow told theseminar he would like an anti-ter-rorism fund to be established, toraise money for “action” to re-duce the chances of a terroristattack. He did not say what thisaction should be.– Kamol Pirat

V/Gov Pongpow: ‘We want tobe prepared.’

PHUKET: Pol Cpl NanthawatThongwanbua, the policeman al-leged to have murdered his golf-caddy girlfriend, has surrenderedto his colleagues at Tung TongPolice Station.

Pol Maj AmpholwathanaSaengruang, inspector of TungTong Police Station, said Nantha-wat surrendered on August 19

and was brought before the courton August 20.

Nanthawat is alleged tohave shot his girlfriend, SupaneeYongtong, a caddy at the LochPalm Golf Course, on the nightof August 8.

Police had set a deadline ofAugust 20 for him to turn him-self in.

Wanted policeman surrenders

PHUKET CITY: Tourists mayturn their backs on Khao Lak ifthe rapid development therecontinues, the Deputy Directorof the local Tourism Authorityof Thailand office has warned,while oversupply of accommo-dation in Phuket is leavingnearly half the island’s hotelrooms lying empty.

Napasorn Kakai told a con-ference on the southern economyat the Royal Phuket City Hotelon August 23 that European tour-ists were going to Khao Lakrather than Phuket because Phu-ket “isn’t as peaceful as it was”.

But, said K. Napasorn, “IfKhao Lak becomes like Phuket,where will the tourists go? Theywill probably go to other coun-tries instead.”

She warned of an “oversup-

ply” of facilities in Khao Lak,where the tourist season is justfour months long.

In Phuket, meanwhile, just57% of the island’s 31,000 rooms– in 500 hotels – are occupied atany one time, she said.

“This is the oversupplysituation that is happening inPhuket,” said K. Napasorn. As aresult, she said, she expects in-vestment in large hotels in Phuketto dwindle.

Despite her warning, K.Napasorn noted that Phuket,Phang Nga and Krabi make animportant contribution to theeconomy of Thailand, because ofthe money they attract throughtourism.

Four million people visitedthe three Andaman provinces lastyear. Because of the proliferationof low-cost airlines in the region,and the rise in the number of

flights serving the island, an in-creasing number of these visitorsare Asian tourists.

Asian tourists come toPhuket for an average of fivedays, she said, usually for shop-ping. Western tourists tend to staylonger and spend more money.

Between January and Julythis year 2.6 million passengersarrived at Phuket InternationalAirport, according to K. Napas-orn.

She said, “Three hundredflights from around the worldland in Phuket every week. In thecoming tourist season, from No-vember to February, we will havemore flights from Germany, Swe-den and Russia, mostly charterflights.

“In addition, Korean Air isupgrading its service to Phuketfrom chartered flights to a sched-uled service.”

‘Don’t ruin your future’warning to Khao LakBy Gategaeo Phetsawang

Phummisak set to turn off free waterPHUKET CITY: The era of freewater supply will come to an endsoon for Phuket City Municipal-ity as the owner of tin mines fromwhich the water comes beginscharging for it.

In the past, much of thecity’s water was supplied free ofcharge from tin mines controlledby former mayor PhummisakHongyok.

K. Phummisak, whose firm,Anuphas & Sons, is developingthe 1,510-rai Chao Fah City

project, told the Gazette on Au-gust 24 that he is still supplyingabout two-thirds of municipalwater from two tin mines, free ofcharge.

The two mines have a totalstorage capacities of 2 millionand 3 million cubic meters re-spectively.

But water from the smallermine will be needed for the ChaoFah City project, he said.

The larger mine will con-tinue to supply the City, but

Anuphas & Sons will begincharging the city 2 baht a cubicmeter for water around May nextyear.

“This will allow PhuketCity to stand on its own,” said theformer mayor.

Asked about the ongoinggovernment investigation intoformer tin mine land, K. Phum-misak said he didn’t know any-thing about it and that his tinmine land “doesn’t have anyproblems”.

I N S I D E S T O R Y4 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

Queer News

Compared with living ina bustling metropolis,Phuket scores high. Itremains a magnet for

those seeking new opportunitiesin pleasant surroundings and witha friendly local population. Ac-commodation and other day-to-day expenses are relatively lowfor most foreigners. Utopia?

Not for everyone.“All I did was exchange one

set of stresses for another,” says“Michael” a 40-something form-er financier from London.

“I was working in Londonin the early ’90s,and stress was allaround me. Therewas plenty ofmoney to be made,but I had a youngfamily and wantedto spend time withthem.”

Michael saysthat he left his joband turned one ofhis interests, food,into a new career.

“I went intopartnership in acatering business,which was fairlysuccessful. But mymarriage broke up.We sold the com-pany and I thenhad the chance totravel. I worked inEurope and thenAsia, before com-ing to Phuket acouple of yearsago.

“The pace oflife, new acquain-tances and partieswere all great tobegin with, but theworkload I and my colleagueshad was immense. I was expectedto work from 7 am or so until 10pm or later most days and I endedup going in seven days a week.

“It was just too much. Per-haps I was naïve; I came toPhuket to both work and relax.But I couldn’t relax. I’d been asocial smoker and drinker, but Iwas soon smoking a packet ofcigarettes a day, having a glassof wine with my lunch and

drinking to excess as soon as Igot home, whatever time ofnight.

“After a while, I realizedthat booze and cigarettes weremy way of dealing with stress. Isuppose I was ‘medicating’ my-

self. I tried goingto a local hospitalfor help. Drinkingand smoking werenot the real prob-lems, stress was.

But the doc-tor I saw wasn’t re-ally interested inhelping me. Or notable to. He gaveme a prescriptionfor antidepressantsand, because I wasexperiencing sex-ual problems, Via-gra, even before Ihad finished de-scribing how I felt.

“Phuket is afriendly place onthe face of it, butrelationships withpeople here tend tobe superficial.There are fewpeople you can ac-tually talk to. I re-alized that I wasgoing over the topand cut back on mydrinking. I ammoving back toEngland in a

couple of months. At least thereis a support network there.”

Michael’s story is notunique. Phuket may be booming,but beneath the apparent surfaceof amiability lurks intense com-petition.

Australian-born “Louise”,41, tells a similar story:

“I had been on holiday inPhuket quite a few times, includ-ing an extended break when Itrained to become a dive instruc-

tor. I then began working the highseasons here in 1998 or so, andrelocated here in 2001.

“I guess that I had begun tosee the place change a little fromthose early years; more tourists,sure, but also more dive compa-nies competing for the custom-ers.

Diving is – or was – one ofmy passions, so to begin with Ithought, ‘Hey, this is great. I candive all I want and get paid forit.’ It was work, but I enjoyed it.But soon the company began tobe less profitable; we weren’tgetting as many customers asbefore.

“We had to go out everyday just to keep profits up, andthe after-diving parties – like thediving – became less of a plea-sure and more of a necessity.Drinking and smoking – bothcigarettes and joints – becamesomething I started doing everynight.

“Our ‘free time’ was spentworrying about the other dive op-erators and how their businesswas. It just got crazy.

I’m not a weak person – Itrained as an emergency roomnurse, so I’m used to stress. ButI couldn’t sleep and I knew that Iwas treating both my mind andbody very badly. The ownersdidn’t care how we felt. Whywould they?

“I knew that the responsi-bility lay with me to sort out myproblems. Who is going to rec-ognize stress in you, or say thatyou’re getting drunk or stonedtoo often, when they are doingexactly the same thing?

“So I quit at the end of 2003and began teaching English. It’sfine, I enjoy it, but I feel a littledisillusioned about Phuket. It’sgreat if you’re on holiday, but itcan be a bitch to work here.

“The pressure put on work-ers here has made it lose a lot ofits charm.”

Stress is hardly limited toPhuket’s foreign community.

Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthi-pong, Chief of the Phuket PublicHealth Office (PPHO) says,“Phuket has a more competitivepace of life than other provinces.It is therefore not surprising thatthe incidence of stress-relatedconditions [among Thais] is highhere.

“The Public Health Min-istry’s Department of MentalHealth has said that leading gov-ernment hospitals in each prov-ince should have a center foremergency mental health cases.In Phuket the center is at PhuketWachira Hospital.”

PARADISE

‘I getheadaches. I

cry for noreason. I snapat people. Theslightest bit ofstupid driving

makes me wantto explode.I have evendriven after

people if theyhave beenunfortunateenough to

annoy me on abad day.

I’m not like thisnormally; it is

down to stress.’

Although pitched as an island paradise, Phuket canbe a stressful place to live for many residents, bothThai and foreign. Andy Johnstone and Dhirarat

Boonkongsaen report on the causes of stress andhow some people deal with it.

BANGKOK: A former security guard at the Israeli Embassy in Bang-kok was arrested on August 8 for impersonating a police officer andfor illegal possession of a firearm, police said.

Following reports of gunfire at 5 am, two police officers fromthe Makkasan Police station went to the scene and found TheerapongSawaiprekon, 30, in a police uniform.

The former security guard told police that he was an officer atHua Mark Police Station, then leapt on his bike and sped off after agroup of motorcycle racers, shooting his gun into the air.

Noting that this was not standard procedure, the officers tookhim to the station for questioning, where he explained that he dressedas a police officer as a way to avoid questions from his wife. He toldher he had to go on duty, but then sneaked off to see his mistress.

Theerapong used to work as a security guard at the IsraeliEmbassy but resigned and had been unemployed ever since. He hadalso been a student at a police training school, but was expelledbecause he had a habit of firing his gun in the air.

The Makkasan area has a distinguished history of police im-personators. Back in November 1994, another man was arrested inthe area for dressing like a cop.

Using a stolen uniform and other equipment stolen piece-by-piece from police boxes, he set up his own extortion point and spenttwo months posing as a traffic cop, extorting money from motorists.The motorists were none the wiser, and there were no reports ofanything out of the usual. He was finally caught out when a seniorofficer passed him on an inspection tour and he saluted his “supe-rior” – with his left hand. Source: The Nation, Caderbooks.com

Less than diplomatic

CHERNG TALAY: A 17-year-old boy high on a cocktail of cola andcrushed mosquito-repellent coils attacked a Buddhist nun with a meatcleaver in her quarters on the morning of August 19.

The nun received 205 stitches for 16 wounds to her head andupper body and was last reported to be in a “worrisome” conditionat Wachira Phuket Hospital.

The attacker, a youth with Dutch and Thai parentage, was ar-rested at his home at 5:20 pm the same day for the attack at BangTao Temple. He confessed to the attempted murder of 62-year-oldCheun Sooksawat and told police that he had stayed up all nightwith friends the night before grinding up mosquito coils, mixingthem with cola, and drinking the concoction in order to get high.

Unable to sleep, he headed off to the nearby temple, meatcleaver in hand. Finding himself thirsty, he entered the nun’s quar-ters looking for water. Once inside, he saw an envelope filled withmoney, and picked it up. As he left, the nun confronted him, block-ing his exit and pointing a broomstick at his face. The youth thenslashed the nun until she fell to the ground, covered in blood.

Repellent behavior

Source: Siang Tai

I N S I D E S T O R YAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 5

Dr Wanchai ex-plains that the centerprovides support andadvice to people forwhom stress be-comes too much andsuicide a temptation.

“Wachira Hos-pital is the only placein the Phuket, Krabi,Phang Nga and Ra-nong that has psychi-atric support ser-vices. The shortageof mental health staffin Thailand is a prob-lem. Phuket has onepsychiatrist workingin the [government]health system. Intheory, the numbershould reflect thenumber of cases.

“The number ofpatients overwhelmsthe department’s re-sources. The most re-cent survey suggeststhat 16% of [Thai]people in Phuket are‘stressed’, approxi-mately three timesthe Ministry ofHealth’s expectedfigure.

Dr Wanchai ad-vocates a more pro-active approachwhen symptoms ofstress arise. He also believesthere should be public awarenesscampaigns encouraging people totake part in stress-reducing ac-tivities such as the “Yellow ShirtPower” group aerobics project.

But this idea draws scornfrom “Ta”, a 29-year-old publicrelations executive from Bang-kok. “Doing group aerobics isnot the solution to stress,” shesays.

“Part of the problem – par-ticularly for my generation ofThais, the more urbanized, West-ernized ones – is that it isn’t ‘thedone thing’ to show that you feelstressed.

“Everyone is so concernedwith ‘face’ and remaining jai yen(cool-hearted) at all times thatThais are sitting on more build-up of stress than people fromother nationalities.

“For me and my friends,male and female, drinking andsmoking is a way of dealing with– no, my mistake – coping withstress,” she says.

“I get headaches. I cry forno reason. I snap at people. Theslightest bit of stupid drivingmakes me want to explode. I haveeven driven after people if theyhave been unfortunate enough toannoy me on a bad day. I’m notlike this normally; it is down tostress.

“There is no one to talk towhen you get stressed; somepeople appear to thrive on it, butI don’t know if I believe them.Trying to talk about it embar-rasses your friends – probablybecause they feel the same way– and so instead, you make an-other coffee, have another ciga-rette or pour another drink.

PRESSURE COOKER“There is always

plenty of alcohol at thekind of parties I go to.It’s just part of the rou-tine. And if you getdrunk, well, peoplejust assume that youare having a good timewhen all you reallywant to do sometimesis to scream. But whatis the alternative?”

Dr Wanchai ad-mits, “For [many]stressed people, join-ing exercise clubs isnot for them, but it re-mains a socially-ac-ceptable way to releasetension. People tend toavoid hospitals be-cause they do not wishto be labeled as ‘a per-son with a problem’.

Recognizing thisreluctance, sports ac-tivities are encouragedto offer stressed peoplesome form of release.”

Others, too, areaddressing the prob-lem – not throughstress management,but by confronting theroot causes of stresshead-on.

P a n o m w a nWongwattanakij, ahealth promotion nurse

at Mission Hospital, recently at-tended a conference in Bangkokwhere the Public Health Minis-try announced a new policy totrain monks to counsel people inways to deal with stress.

K. Panomwan says, “Thesespiritual leaders are part of theircommunities and are consideredfar more approachable and ‘intouch’ than hospital staff.

“What the Ministry is try-ing to do is to focus more onhealth promotion, on preven-tion rather than curing peopleafter they get sick. We were alsotold that hospitals should hostrelaxation programs in coopera-tion with local businesses, todeal with stress in the work-place.”

But stress in Phuket ishardly limited to its workingpopulation, said K. Panomwan,

quoting a recent survey thatshowed students were also un-der considerable stress to suc-ceed.

Rhonda Ann Clarke, whoruns the Movement Center inChalong, sees symptoms of stressin many of her clients.

“The rosy image of Phuketis – some of thetime – just that; animage. It’s reallyhard to work onthis island, orThailand in gen-eral. Let’s face it,all the bureaucracythat foreignershave to put up withjust to get by andlive here is frus-trating in itself,”she says.

Ms Clarkeadds that supportnetworks in Phu-ket tend to be re-stricted to one’simmediate circleof friends and afew centers likehers, where peoplecan exercise tostay fit physically,mentally and spiri-tually.

“A lot of for-eigners come toPhuket after a di-vorce, or whenthey retire or after some othermajor life change. Others relo-cate with their employer. Insome cases they are cut off fromtheir families before they comehere,” she says.

“People, predominantlyforeign men, can find it quiteeasy to go through a string of re-lationships here.

“While these relationships

‘The doctor Isaw wasn’t

really interestedin helping me.Or not able to.He gave me aprescription forantidepressantsand, because I

wasexperiencing

sexualproblems,

Viagra, evenbefore I had

finisheddescribing how

I felt.’

can be very fulfilling on somelevels, on others they are empty– a limited conversation, majorcultural differences, often withlittle interest from either side todo much about it.

“Together with the usual,day-to-day stresses, this can leadto a lot of alienation and disillu-

sionment amongexpats.”

Ms Clarkesays that manypeople visit herMovement Centerto relax and learncoping techniques,such as breathingand relaxation.

“Some peo-ple are decidingthat they don’twant to rely on al-cohol, cigarettes,coffee or otherdrugs, legal or oth-erwise, just to getthrough the day,”she says.

The last wordgoes to Michael.“To anyone read-ing this ahead ofmoving to Phuket,or anyone who hasrecently movedhere, I suggest thatthey keep their feetfirmly on theground and be re-

alistic about the place.“Most of us have to work

damned hard to get by, evenharder to be successful. It mightnot be an easy thing for a man –or anyone, foreign, Thai, male,female – to do.

“But don’t keep too muchbottled-up. If you try to keep toomuch in, the pressure can buildup and it can half-kill you.”

‘We had togo out everyday just to

keep profitsup, and theafter-diving

parties – likethe diving –became lessof a pleasureand more ofa necessity.Drinking andsmoking –

bothcigarettes

and joints –became

something Istarted doingevery night.’

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 August 28 - September 3, 2004

The best seats in thehouse: all of them

By DhiraratBoonkong sean

When the Cen-tral Festivalc o m p l e xopens on Sep-

tember 1, Phuket film buffswill be able to enjoy the lat-est films in seven state-of-the-art movie theaterswhich, the cinema ownerspromise, will be unlike any-thing the island has seen be-fore.

The SFX ColiseumCinema complex is a 200-million-baht joint venturebetween Bangkok-based SFCinema City and local the-ater chain Coliseum, whichoperates the Coliseum Para-dise Cineplex above Robin-son’s Ocean Mall and othermovie theaters throughoutthe South.

SF Cinema City Mar-keting Director SupatNgamwongpaiboon told arecent press conference at theBoat Lagoon’s Watermark res-taurant that the cinemas are be-ing built to “world-class stan-dard” and will feature film open-ings concurrently with thecompany’s cinemas in Bangkok.

With the opening of SFXColiseum, not only will Phuketcease to be a movie backwater –it will leapfrog to include the lat-est innovations and will also hostsouthern Thailand’s first film fes-tival.

The three-day Asian FilmFestival @ Phuket, starting De-cember 10, will feature screen-ings of 25 films from Asia andacross the globe, culminating ina gala awards ceremony on De-cember 12.

Asian film stars and direc-tors are expected to attend, along

with Hollywood studio execu-tives who will be coming downfrom Bangkok after attending theCineAsia Production IndustryConfab that runs from December7 to 9. And for those too lazy topull themselves off the beach totake in a screening, there willeven be free “On The Beach”screenings, the event organizerssay.

Those who do make it to thecinema will enjoy plush, com-

fortable chairs with plenty of leg-room and not a single bad seat inthe house. Seats will cost 100baht for screening Monday toThursday, and 120 baht Friday toSunday.

The six standard cinemaswill offer special VIP seating inthe back row. But for true hedo-nists, there will also be one VIPcinema, where all seats will be500 baht.

Food will be served, and

those who tire of the celluloidoffering can simply recline theirchairs all the way back to hori-zontal and fall asleep – as longas they are not too sensitive tonoise, because the cinemas willalso be equipped with a state-of-the art “surround sound” systemthat will ensure that moviegoerswill not only hear the soundtrack,they will feel it as well.

Given Phuket’s emergingstatus as an international city, the

cinema owners also promise thata good percentage of the moviesshown will be in original lan-guage soundtrack, with Thai sub-titles.

This will be a real bonus forcinemagoers who find it distract-ing to hear the likes of TomCruise and Arnold Schwarzen-egger speaking in perfect Bang-kok Thai.

“D-Day” for opening isSeptember 1, and the openingtitles have already been an-nounced: The Village, The BourneSupremacy, Fahrenheit 9/11 andthe Thai film X-Man.

Tickets may be bought (but not re-served) on-line by credit cardthrtough the website www.sfcinemacity.com or at the boxoffice.

The lobby of the newcineplex has been designedalong the same impressivelines as SF complexeselsewhere (left), and onetheater will be equippedentirely with VIP seats(above).

A R O U N D T H E N A T I O NAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 7

Time to pay for our sins, says minister

Around the Nation news round-upis sourced from the pages of TheNation and Kom Chad Leuknewspapers.

The Excise Departmentwill draw up measuresto tax heavy fuel usersand increase “sin” taxes,

said Finance Minister SomkidJatusripitak.

K. Somkid suggested fueltaxes increase progressively, ac-cording to the amount of fuelconsumed, but he gave no spe-cifics on how surcharges wouldbe collected.

He said the departmentshould also review taxes for all“unnecessary” goods, such ascigarettes, liquor and even theservices offered by bathing mas-sage parlors.

“People who cannot bathethemselves must pay heaviertaxes. Even by the name youknow those places are beyondnecessity,” he said.

Greed at the gate: Privatetravel agents have urged DeputyPrime Minister Suwat Liptapan-lop to order Airports of Thailand(AOT) to cancel its planned hikein landing fees.

At the heart of their argu-ment is that the planned 20% in-crease will make Thailand themost expensive destinations inAsia for aircraft.

“That could reduce thenumber of in-bound tourists,which would definitely hurt thetourism industry,” said ChidchaiSakornbadee of the Associationof Thai Travel Agents.

AOT, which operates Bang-kok International Airport, plansto raise the landing fee by 20%in October and by a further 15%in 2005.

K. Chidchai said the in-crease would make Thailand’sfee, at 87,565 baht per landing,higher than is charged by Singa-pore, Hong Kong or Malaysia.

Monk-key business: PhichitProvincial Court found the abbotof Bang Klan Temple in PhoThale district guilty of libel, sen-tencing him to a three-monthprison term suspended for oneyear and imposing an immediatefine of 10,000 baht.

Sukit Porntadawit, for-merly kamnan of Tambon BangKlan, filed a libel suit againstAbbot Phra Kru Wisisilaporn af-ter the latter sent a letter to PrimeMinister Thaksin Shinawatra lastyear.

The abbot accused Sukit ofinterfering in temple affairs andentrusting a key to the temple’ssafe to a close friend of his –shortly before 400,000 baht incash was stolen from it.

Sukit told the court the let-ter ruined his reputation, whilethe abbot argued that he simplywanted to restore peace to thetemple after putting up withSukit’s interference for twoyears.

Alien illness: Acute diarrheawas the number one cause of ill-ness among foreigners in thecountry in the first seven monthsof this year, said Disease ControlDepartment epidemiologist Pen-sri Chitnamsap.

K. Pensri said 5,133 of12,456 foreign patients had suf-fered from acute diarrhea. Othercommon illnesses among for-eigners were malaria, fever,pneumonia and food poisoning.

Most foreign patients wereworking immigrants and theirfamilies. Only 1,060 of the totalforeign patients were tourists orthose coming to seek medical ser-vices in Thailand.

K. Pensri said only 19 of12,456 foreign patients died froman illness while in the country.

High-tension link: Chiang RaiGovernor Narin Panitchakitwants to build a cable car con-necting Thailand, Burma, Laosand China.

Built with private invest-ment of about 180 million baht,the cable car would run throughthe Golden Triangle from BaanSob Ruak in Thailand to theParadise Hotel in Burma beforespanning 1,400 meters acrossthe Mekhong River to Laos viaa midstream pylon on Chineseterritory to maintain line ten-sion.

Burma has already agreedto the project, but it still needsthe green light from Laos andChina. Gov Narin said the cablecar, along with a four-nation Bud-dha statue that the province isbuilding, would boost tourism.

The projects have alreadybeen approved by Prime Minis-ter Thaksin Shinawatra, and thebudget is expected to be appro-priated within five years.

A man, a plan: Natural Re-sources and Environment Minis-ter Suwit Khunkitti has asked theAnti-Money Laundering Office(AMLO) to investigate 24 influ-ential businessmen and govern-ment officials over suspicionsthey have been involved in for-est encroachments.

Suwit said AMLO wouldinvestigate the incomes of the 24suspects and check whether theirincome-tax payments were up todate.

BUDDHA MOBILE: Hoping to enlightenfellow residents of Nakhon Pathom on themerits of committing good deeds, SuchartMahasittilarp has decorated his Toyota as amobile shrine.

The self-professed medium for holyspirits said he was compelled to put hissedan through its colorful metamorphosisat the instruction of Quan Yin, the BuddhistGoddess of Compassion and Mercy.

He said their assets wouldbe seized if the suspects werefound to have encroached on na-tional forest.

A total of 792 people werearrested in 2,517 cases of for-est encroachment nationwidebetween March and July. Sev-eral were arrested in connectionwith more than one case, hesaid.

Suwit said 5,955 cubicmeters of logs were seized and26,159 rai of forest had been en-croached on in the 2,517 cases.

8 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

H A P P E N I N G SAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 9

T his week

ASEAN ASSEMBLY: At the recent Asean Jaycee Senate Association meeting at thePearl Hotel, in Phuket City, are, from left, Chanchai Chotikitsomboon, President of thePhuket Junior Chamber of Thailand; Asean Jaycee Senate Association (AJSA) Vice-President Tiradetch Petkul; AJSA President Victor Tay; and Jaycee Malaysia SenateAssociation President Prof Dr Wong Eng Kong.

SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED: Sawarach Boonma and Pongsak Komkam performin the professional duo section of the Malibu Flair Bartending Contest at therecent Hotelex Exhibition F&B Show 2004 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel.

SWINGING TOUR: Suraphan Ngamjitsuksri (2nd from right), owner of Mission HillsGolf Resort & Spa, welcomes three visiting golfers from Dubai (from left) AndrewBarker, Brion Gopigian and Darren Cherry.

LOAD OF ABALONE: Sitthisak Muangsin (5th from left), Managing Director ofPhuket Abalone Farm, with National Competitiveness Committee Director Wilai-porn Liwgasemsan (6th from left), and members of the press pose at his recentpromotion of his farm at Koh Sireh.

TOP FLIGHT: Kasco Corporation President Toshihiko Kamada (center), Kasco GolfThailand General Manager Ino Yuji (left) and Blue Canyon Country Club ChairmanSia Leng Yuen (3rd from right) congrulate winners of Flight A of the recent KascoGolf Invitation Open 2004 at Blue Canyon.

FULL CIRCLE: Veerarat Pruksakit (red top), President of the Rotary Club of PhuketSouth, and other Rotary members pose at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, where theyrecently held a charity concert to raise money for the club’s projects.

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 August 28 - September 3, 2004

Ian Robbins arrived in Thailand four yearsago, while traveling throughout SoutheastAsia. At the time he was a construction

worker from Guisborough, England.Little did he know that he would settle down

in the sleepy hollow-cum-boom town ofKhao Lak, where he now works as an

underwater videographer.

Here, he tells the Gazette’s Franky Gun howhe came to work in a profession he never

dreamed of, yet has come to love.

A NEW LIFE COMESGazette: When did you come toThailand ?

Mr Robbins: I first came toThailand in 1999 for a fewweeks’ holiday with my Germangirlfriend, Rita. We planned to dosome island hopping.

At that time, I did not dive.I was a construction worker, andwe had no intention of living inThailand, or even of staying herefor long.

We wanted to travelthrough the whole of SoutheastAsia, but somehow we becameinvolved in diving off Koh Tao,where I did my Open Watercourse. Still, it never crossed mymind that I would become a pro-fessional diver, let alone an un-derwater videographer.

Gazette: So how did your inter-est in diving develop, and how didyou find your way to Khao Lak?

Mr Robbins: I did all the coursesup to divemaster off Koh Tao,and the more I saw and learnedabout the underwater world, themore I wanted to become a pro-fessional diver. What could bebetter than combining a hobbyand a job?

In 2000, we became a bitbored of Koh Tao and started totravel again. We wanted to divethe Similan islands and due toKhao Lak’s proximity to theSimilans, we came here.

I immediately got a job of-fer from a dive shop namedSimilan Divers, where I workedfor a season. Joe, the shop man-

ager, proposed that I should be-come a scuba diving instructor.So I did my Instructor Develop-ment Course in Phuket in 2001.

Gazette: But a scuba diving in-structor is not necessarily an un-derwater videographer. How andwhy did you switch to this spe-cialist area?

Mr Robbins: While doing all thecourses up to divemaster, I al-ways felt that I wanted to bringsomething back to the surface,something that would help meexplain to friends and familyback home in England how I feltabout diving.

Also, I liked the idea of pro-moting the underwater world toincrease people’s awareness ofnature in general, so I started tak-ing underwater photos.

Later, I realized that stillimages could not really satisfyme, so I switched to video. I was

still working as an instructor anda divemaster, so I could take theequipment along only from timeto time and I did not have thefreedom to shoot as much and foras long as I wanted.

The decision to specializein video – and to stop teachingand guiding – came later.

Gazette: How did you manage tomake money with videos then?Besides all the fun of the hobby, ithas to put food on the table, right?

Mr Robbins: I agree. The bestway to make money with under-water videos is to be on a boatwith guests and film them whilethey dive. I would offer them aDVD or video CD of their under-water adventure, an edited ver-sion with music and everything,as a souvenir and reminder oftheir scuba diving holiday.

I started to work as a pro-fessional videographer for the iQ-DIVE center in Khao Lak in2003. Here, I can do videos fortheir guests on a daily basis andthus earn decent money.

Before, I worked freelance.You won’t get rich as an under-

water videographer, but money isnot everything to me. I need tohave fun while I’m working, too.

Gazette: What kind of videoequipment did you start with andwhat do you use today?

Mr Robbins: My first videocamera was a Sony PC 110 withhousing and lights. It was pretty

good, but it had a few disadvan-tages that bother you only if youwanted to use it professionallyevery day.

In 2002 I decided to go forit and shoot only underwater vid-eos. I now have a secondhandCanon MV1 camera with anAmphibico Explorer housing.The MV1 is easy to handle anddelivers high-quality footage.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Ian Robbins inpects his camera, beforeplunging again into the water.

P H U K E T P E O P L EAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 11

Gazette: Have you experiencedany dangerous situations whileworking underwater?

Mr Robbins: Yes, but not dan-gerous sharks or anything thatHollywood would feed you. I suf-fered a mild dose of decompres-sion sickness (DCS) in February,which was rather scary.

I had to be treated in a hy-perbaric chamber in Phuket.However, as the discomfort easedvery slowly, even today it’s notclear whether it really was DCS.

The hyperbaric chamberhas no Doppler Utrasound Detec-tor – an instrument needed todetect nitrogen bubbles in thebloodstream. So, whatever themedical staff do will always beguesswork, based on the divingprofile the patient gives them.

I should say, though, thatthe risk of DCS while diving un-der the safety standards taughtduring diving classes is next tozero, and that diving with Nitrox,an oxygen-enriched air mixture,can reduce the risk even more.

Gazette: You said that youwanted to travel more, but you arestill staying in Khao Lak. What isit about Khao Lak that keeps youhere?

Mr Robbins: Khao Lak is asmall community, not a huge city,and I am a country lad, thus itreally suits me. The area is veryinteresting and I like the naturehere very much.

But what really turns me onis the Similan Islands, and KhaoLak is closest to the underwaterjewels there.

Yet I do realize that KhaoLak might grow too fast and be-come too big.

I don’t like the endless rowsof shophouses along the mainroad, so perhaps I will be travel-ing again soon. At the very least,I want to see and video the reefsof Indonesia and Malaysia.

My retirement plans, how-ever, include Phang Nga as myultimate retirement destination,definitely not England. Thaipeople are polite and friendly andthe beauty and culture of Thai-land in general continue to sur-prise me every day.

Gazette: You described the Sim-ilans as “underwater jewels”. Arethey really as good as promotedworldwide?

Mr Robbins: I expected muchbefore I finally dove the Similansin 2000, and my expectationswere met.

But the more experience adiver has, the more demanding hewill be. Today, I would say thatthe Similans are great and I likethem very much; dive sites suchas Elephant Head and East ofEden are fantastic.

However, it would be a mis-take to vote the Similans one ofthe world’s top 10 dive destina-tions because of the overfishingin the surrounding areas and theofficials doing next to nothing tostop it.

Gazette: What do you like mostabout your job as a videog-rapher?

Mr Robbins: Many things. Forone, there is the diversity. Thereis something new and new peopleto meet every day, and, from timeto time, new dive sites are dis-covered.

Some days I get nice foot-age of big fish like manta rays orsharks, which I like the most. Itis an exciting and yet demandingjob, as I have to film the clientsunderwater and swim from groupto group.

In addition, I have to mas-ter problems and learn newthings, such as working with acomputer, and so on.

The best moments of thejob are when I get emails fromclients who send me thanks andpraise. Most of them are backhome before they realize what agreat souvenir they have.

The sentences I hear themost are, “We are so happy thatwe did this video thing with you,”and, “Back home, we watch itover and over again – we want tocome back.” So, finally, I have aprofession where I have funworking in a natural habitat andcan make a living, the clientshave fun and are happy over andover again. Everybody wins andthat makes me feel very goodabout this job.

OUT OF THE BLUE

RAY OF HOPE: Large manta rays, like the one pictured above, are among Ian Robbins’ favoriteforms of marine life, which he hopes to catch on film in the depths off the Similan Islands.

12 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N

ANDAMANCOASTING

B y F r a n k y G u n

While Khao Lak re-mains in a state ofdeep hibernationwhen it comes to

long-haul foreign tourist arrivals,the area is now being blessed bya new kind of domestic weekendtourism – expats visiting fromPhuket in an attempt to have, asthey put it, “a weekend awayfrom the hustle and bustle andbad traffic on the fast-paced is-land of Phuket.”

Almost every weekend Imeet old friends from my ear-lier days in Phuket. Many coup-les, mostly married with kids,come here to enjoy Khao Lak’snatural treasures – which seemto go unappreci-ated by all but asmall minority ofthe expats wholive here.

While localexpats never seemto tire of com-plaining abouthow boring KhaoLak can be, expatsvisiting fromPhuket at week-ends never tire oftalking about what a wonderfuland relaxed place Khao Lak re-ally is.

Well, the grass is alwaysgreener on the other side of thefence, isn’t it?

However, let’s be honest.There are two sides to every coin,and as soon as a new tourist des-tination develops in Thailand itseems inevitable that greed andthe elbow-your-way-in mentalitywill inevitably rear their uglyheads.

Phuket offers a wide rangeof options when it comes to ac-commodation, nightlife, shop-ping, dining and business.

Khao Lak, on the other

hand, is blessed with a 12-km-long stretch of unspoiled beach,a national park area with a pro-tected rainforest, breathtakingviews and five waterfalls withpools, all within easy reach. KhaoLak is also close to the famousSimilan Islands.

Today, Khao Lak and Phu-ket offer completely differentsets of advantages. But let’skeep in mind that Phuket oncewas called “The Pearl of theAndaman Sea”.

At that time, long beforePhuket was deemed to be “get-ting ugly” by the people at theNational Geographic Travelermagazine, the island was a pris-

tine and beautifuldestination too.But the stress hasto be on the wordwas.

Today, manyPhuket expats arefleeing the sceneof the crime for aweekend or twoeach month to re-lax in Khao Lak.Meanwhile, themajority of Khao

Lak’s business community con-tinue to push with frighteningspeed towards providing evermore accommodation, nightlife,shopping, dining and other busi-nesses.

Does this sound familiar? Itwill be obvious to anyone driv-ing along Highway 4 with openeyes that Khao Lak nowadays iswalking a dangerous develop-ment tightrope – with a blindfoldon.

Only time will tell if busi-nessmen, developers and thepeople of Khao Lak will manageto reach the other side of the can-yon without destroying the manyadvantages this area has over

Bored? Just 10 minutes from Khao Lak center is the beautifulSai Rung (Rainbow) Waterfall, one of five waterfalls within easyreach of Khao Lak center. It has a pool where bathers can take acool splash after trekking up to enjoy the view.

competing tourist destinations inThailand, including Phuket.

For better or worse, severalnew resorts will open their doorsin the upcoming high season.Several medium-size resorts arebeing built on Khao Lak beach,at the foothills near the southernentrance of the Khao Lak Na-tional Park.

Many small- to medium-sized resorts and two dive resorts

are also under constructionaround Nang Thong and Bang-niang, on the northern side of thepark.

Fortunately, all of these de-velopments seem to be keepingthe buildings within the regula-tion height – no higher than theheight of the tallest palm tree inthe area. It seems a reasonablerule – provided nobody cutsdown all the palm trees.

Fantasy island: Deputy Trans-port Minister Wichet Kasem-thongsri, has backed a proposalto upgrade a disused World WarII airfield on the island KohKho Khao into a new airport toserve Phang Nga Province, at aprojected cost of 900 millionbaht.

Phang Nga Chief Adminis-trative Officer Surapan Saipanexplained that the idea is to boosttourism in the Phang Nga regionand to give tourists more optionsif they can’t get a flight to Phuketor want to fly to Phang Nga di-rect.

Koh Kho Khao has untiltoday received only minor inter-est from visiting tourists and touroperators.

While the plan to build anairport there has been applaudedby many officials involved, it isin fact a rather senseless invest-ment because there is no plan tobuild a bridge connecting KohKho Khao with the mainland.Doh!

Visitors arriving at KohKho Khao airport, located at thevery northern end of the island,would have to be transported toa ferry station and then board the300-baht vessel to reach themainland.

From there, they wouldhave to arrange for a bus, taxi orminivan to get them to their finaldestination. Welcome to PhangNga, ka-ching!

The total estimated travel-ing time from the proposed KohKho Khao airport to Khao Lakwould be at least one hour.

Well, traveling time byminibus from Phuket airport toKhao Lak is approximately 65minutes. Hello! Is anybodyhome??

Perhaps it would be betterto spend that money on develop-ing Phang Nga infrastructure insuch areas as electric power sup-ply, water, sewage, buildingschools, a proper hospital – any-thing that would really help theregion.

The grass is always greener

August 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 13

AD Central Festival

Full Page

14 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004H O R O S C O P E S

by Isla StarIn The Stars

What do the HEAVENShold in store for YOUin the coming week?

Moving on your

VIRGO (August 23-September23): This weekend those born

under the sign of Virgoshould refuse to takeno for an answer. Itprobably feels as if

your friends are suffering fromlow-season lethargy at the mo-ment, but your get-up-and-gospirit will be more than enoughto cheer everyone up once youhave tipped them out of theirhammocks. If your birthday fallsthis week, use that as the idealexcuse to go out and party.

LIBRA (September 24-October23): Feelings of insecurity

threaten to put adamper on yourweek. This is a timeto remain in the com-

pany of trusted friends and closefamily. Librans who are worriedabout what tomorrow may bringare quite correct to ask somepointed questions. Perhapsyou’ve been keeping an openmind for too long. Wear the coloremerald green to demonstrate thecourage of your convictions.

SCORPIO (October 24-Novem-ber 22): Spiritual matters are

likely to occupy yourthoughts this week.Answers to burningquestions are avail-

able, but consider the sourcecarefully. A relationship dramacomes to a satisfactory conclu-sion mid-week, but you shouldreflect on a lesson learned.Where work is concerned, Sep-tember will bring some surprisesand at least one of them will bepleasant. On Wednesday, thenumber 7 holds promise.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23-December 21): If the atmosphere

has been somewhatstale lately, don’t de-spair. This weekend, astarburst of activity

begins and you will soon be in

the enviable position of beingable to choose which new direc-tion to go in. Those Sagittarianswho are averse to change couldhave problems deciding, but thisweek you will receive advice thatis worth its weight in gold. Leohas some revealing news.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 20): Certain people care

about you much morethan you believe.Lonesome Capricornsjust need to be honest

about their dreams, desires andwho they really are. If you’retired of the company of strang-ers, now is the time to strengthenfamily bonds and re-establishcontact with long-lost friends.Astrological influences duringSeptember will encourage moresecure finances and the travelagent is always just a few stepsaway.

AQUARIUS (January 21-Febru-ary 19): If you aresuspicious that all isnot what it seemsthis weekend, rest as-

sured it’s not the normal island-gray-area syndrome. A veritablespider’s web of intrigue is beingwoven, but the outcome will befavorable for Aquarians. An-swers will not be clear until laterin September, so no matter howdeep you dig it will be to no availuntil then. Conserve energy and

remain patient.PISCES (February 20-March

20): Pisceans shouldbe flapping their finswith happiness as Au-gust gives way to Sep-

tember. Many things are startingto get easier as recent cloudy con-ditions pass. However, you areadvised not to give in to the temp-tation of complacency wherebusiness issues are concerned.There is still one pressing matterthat requires diplomatic han-dling. Monday is your best dayfor conducting important meet-ings. The color silver will en-courage clarity in all matters.

ARIES (March 21-April 20):This week, Arians will start to see

how September is go-ing to unfold. Somerare opportunities areabout to come your

way during the coming fewweeks – a few will definitely betoo golden to miss. However,there will be quite a lot of hardwork to do, and you are advisedto think of ways to increasestamina. The color scarlet shouldhelp to boost your energy.

TAURUS (April 21-May 21):Timid Taureans are about to start

emerging from theirshells. A new, freshermood overcomes youthis weekend; you

will probably find it hard to rec-ognize yourself. Others aroundwill also wonder what is goingon. The reason for your in-creased confidence and frivolousattitude is an improvement inyour personal security. With thatmatter taken care of, the time is

ripe to pay attention to your deep-est emotional needs.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21): Af-ter spending much of last week

floating in the clouds,those born under thesign of Gemini willfeel their feet fixed

more firmly on the ground. Bymid-week, a more familiar senseof reality will have arrived andyour partner will not be the onlyone to appreciate the calmervibes. An important person con-nected with your working life isabout to make an offer.

CANCER (June 22-July 23):Cancerians who are feeling un-

der the weather willthink about an alterna-tive approach to heal-ing. Before making

any radical changes to yourlifestyle, consult friends with rel-evant experience; this is not agood time to risk being different.It could also be that your ten-dency toward hypochondria isgetting the better of you. Thecolor light amethyst will encour-age positive thoughts.

LEO (July 24-August 22): Theromantic side of your nature is

uppermost this week,but you will have tomake a real effort topin your partner down

in order to enjoy some seriouslysensual moments. The best dayfor any kind of business risk isTuesday, whereas Thursday willbring perfect conditions for seal-ing a personal deal. Leos whohave been missing family over-seas will hear of an overdue visit.

View Thailand’s LARGEST portfolioof Classified Ads

– over 2,000 of them –and place your ad for FREE!

See the Phuket Gazette Online atwww.phuketgazette.net

Mobile phones used tobe about nothingmore than Pots –plain old telephone

service – whereby two peoplecould talk to one another whileon the move.

These days, however, man-ufacturers are adding increas-ingly sophisticated options to at-tract new users.

A good example of thistrend is the Nokia 7610’s specialfeature, “movie director”, whichallows users to edit video re-corded on the phone into a 10-minute-long video clip.

Users can cut clips and addeffects such as slow motion, orchange pictures into black andwhite to create the effect of anold film. They can plan theirmovie on a storyboard, then joinsegments together using the tran-sition effects feature, and addaudio, too.

Kanokkan Jiasakul, salesassistant at Amorn Sue Sarn shopon Phang Nga Rd, said of thephone, “There is a built-inmemory of 8MB, while multi-media card are available to addup to 256MB.

“The digital camera is onemillion pixels, and there is anAdobe Photoshop album starteredition that allows users to edittheir digital photos on a PC. Thephone screen has 65,536 colors.”

The 7610 also supportsBluetooth/GPRS and Java appli-cations, and costs 21,500 baht.

Another new-generationphone is the Motorola A768Linux mobile, which has an LCDscreen and a 200 MHz centralprocessor. It runs on a Linux op-erating system with Java J2ME,and has 96 MB of dynamicmemory; it can store five minutesof video clips.

The phone supports MIDI,WAV and MP3 files and its datatransfer systems include IrDA,

Gizmos & Gadgets

The Xplore G88 palm organizer and

August 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 15L I F E S T Y L E

moments mobile

Bluetooth and SyncPC, and it hasa USB port. It costs 21,900 baht.

The Xplore G88 is both apalm organizer and a mobilephone.

Smaller than most palms, itfits easily into a pocket, accord-ing to Chatchai Umro, sales as-sistant at TG Fone shop.

He said, “The Xplore G88has a touch screen that can dis-play 260,000 colors. Its digitalcamera can store more than 1,000pictures of 320x240 pixels.

“The phone supports morethan 13,000 software programsand can transfer data immedi-ately through the Internet. It hasa Thai-English dictionary and anorganizer function.”

He added, “It is suitable forbusiness people who often com-municate via a wireless system.”

The Xplore Limited, withan operating system upgrade, willbe available around the end ofthis year. It costs 19,800 baht andis available from the TG Foneshop at the Big C supercenter.

Amorn Sue Sarn shop can be con-tacted at Tel, 076-232070, 076-232302 and 076-232301 and TGFone shop at Tel, 076-249280.

by Gategaeo

phone easily fits in a pocket.

The Nokia 7610 can store 10

minutes of movie, thanks to its

million-pixel camera

Beauty comes from with-in, or so the old sayinggoes, and that is partlywhy detoxification has

become an integral part of somewomen’s beauty routines.

Advocates of detoxificationclaim that one of the most vis-ible effects of a cleansed body isa clear skin, as it is the toxins in-side the body – the result of poornutrition, stress, chemical over-load and other factors – that makethe skin look tired and dull.

One aid to detoxification isa massage that encourages lym-phatic drainage. The theory goesas follows: lymph is the sub-stance which enables toxins to bepassed into the blood stream –from where they can be excreted– so the better the lymphatic sys-tem works, the more de-toxed thebody will be.

Arttaporn Wesaphan, Man-ager of Baray Spa at SawasdeeVillage in Kata, has had thoroughtraining in both spa treatmentsand Thai massage and has beenin the beauty business for manyyears. She is a proponent of thebenefits of detoxification.

She said, “Skin detoxifyingfocuses on lymphatic drainage.Our skin is damaged by manyfactors around us, both external– chemicals, pollution, strongsunlight, and so on – and inter-nal, such as the food we eat.

“I believe in the expression,‘You are what you eat’. Thechemicals generally found inpresent-day food combine withthe free radicals produced natu-rally by the body. This causesdull skin.

“The lymphatic system isthe part of the body responsiblefor cleansing the soft tissue foundjust under the skin. It’s a networkof vessels throughout the body.”

The lymph network trans-ports toxins, bacteria and dead

cells to the lymph nodes, wherethey are filtered. Most then passinto the blood stream, eventuallybeing excreted along with otherwaste products.

Unlike blood, lymph has noheart to pump it round the body,and this is why lymphatic mas-sage is said to be so useful: itgives the lymph a “helping hand”in its progress around the body.

K. Arttaporn continued, “If

Skin Deep By Dhirarat Boonkongsaen

The gland tour

the lymphatic system has to worktoo hard, it can affect the skin,making it look bad. That’s whywe have to make the lymph flowwell and drain regularly.

“Lymphatic drainage is notso necessary if we make sure wehave chemical-free food, and wealso have protein, fat, carbohy-drate, vitamins and water, andproper exercise.”

Therapists recommend that,

to be truly effective, lymphaticmassage should be carried outonce a month.

K. Arttaporn said, “Mas-sage generally improves bloodflow, and that will also improvethe lymph flow.

“The proper way of mas-saging is to massage towards theheart, and that applies for lym-phatic drainage, too.”

The massage is more effec-tive if the therapist prepares theskin first, by “polishing” the bodywith a loofah, or the face with asoft brush.

Said K. Arttaporn, “In aspa, we can also use water jets tomassage the skin, using water atdifferent speeds and tempera-tures, switching between warmand cold water.”

She added that lymphaticmassage is especially beneficialfor people with dry skin.

K. Arttaporn recommendscombining lymphatic massagewith herbal treatments. She said,“Thailand has many kinds ofherbs for doing this, but the onewe use most for lymphatic drain-age is curcuma or Zingiberaceae[a type of ginger].

“Other parts of the worldhave something similar: Israelhas mineral mud, while in Francethey use a kind of seaweed. Ev-ery part of the world has its ownproduct.”

Baray Spa is at Sawasdee Vil-lage, 65 Katekwan Rd, Kata, Tel:076-330979, website: www.phuketsawasdee.com

16 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004F E A T U R E S

DARKby Sam Vimes

After

This week’s reviewshould actually becalled “During Dark”,as it’s about Phuket’s

ultimate sundowner place, Div-er’s Legends Bar in Surin.

Aussie Ian “Diver” Dickhas been in Phuket for about 16years, and his bar in Surin issurely one of the island’s best-known expat watering holes.

It was here that I had myfirst drink with expatriates; I wastaken there by my Thai businesspartner, who was worried I mightbe missing farang company. Onthat first visit I met some peoplewho are still friends today, sevenyears later.

Diver’s has always boastedthe widest cross-section ofpeople on the island, and it isnothing to have multi-million-aires and beach bums all in thesame legendary “sundownround”.

The bar has not changedmuch in the years since I firstwent there, though recently Diverfinally bought a TV, an event sosignificant it was mentioned else-where in this very paper.

The decor is perhaps a re-flection of the setting, which isso stunning that the addition ofanything else would be a distrac-tion.

Surin Bay is a proper bay,horseshoe-shaped as proper baysshould be, framing the most per-fect sunset on the island.

Even on a cloudy day, thesight can be nothing short ofspectacular; in some ways, theclouds add to the drama.

The main attraction ofDiver’s is that most underesti-mated of activities, conversation,and Diver can always be guaran-teed to keep it flowing; in fact,he is a master of the art.

Anything from “footy” tocomedy to the state of the worldis explored, considered, ex-pounded – and quickly forgotten,when it is time for another round.It is a brilliantly informal spot.

Almost as legendary asDiver himself are his introduc-tions as you arrive at the bar.

After you have visitedDiver’s once, he will know prettymuch all he needs to know aboutyou, and as you arrive at the baron your next visit, he is guaran-teed to give you one of the bestbuild-ups of your life.

I myself did not realize ex-actly how important I was until Ireceived one of these intros. Ofcourse, this is all tongue-in-cheekstuff, but it is a real pick-me-up,guaranteed to turn the end of abad day into the beginning of agreat evening.

There are regulars, but ithas never been a cliquey kind ofplace; everyone who hangs out

there frequently does so largelybecause of the diversity of peoplewho turn up.

Peak time at Diver’s is from3 pm onwards, and it is typicallya proper session until about 9 pm.To call in for just one drink is notpossible; I have tried for years toachieve this and have never man-aged it. Diver carries a decent

stock of all the essential drinks,but don’t ask for anything eso-teric; Diver’s is not aimed at ThePosh.

Every year there are severalset piece events, at which youwill find a full complement of allthe island’s tribes. These eventsare: Diver’s birthday on August12; Australia Day - always a

marathon – and the bar’s anniver-sary in early September.

Each event is punctuated by(what else?) a BBQ and SausageSizzle. Such a gathering is usu-ally followed by Rodney Rude orKevin Bloody Wilson on the hi-fi, or even one of Diver’s legend-ary forays into Patong.

Having been the recipientof a visit from such a raidingparty in the days of Chicago’sFun Pub, I can safely vouch forthe fact that he is a welcome sightin any of Toon Town’s hostelries.

Daily, Diver’s offers amenu of simple food and greatsausages, but Diver has no objec-tion to you ordering food fromother vendors nearby. I recom-mend the garlic chicken from thebar on the right of the steps lead-ing down to Surin beach.

As well as providing amuch needed lifeguard service onSurin Beach – dozens of rescuessince the bar opened – Diver andhis place are true institutions onthe island.

Sure, you may end up get-ting into a round you had notplanned on (“I only called in fora quick one...”), but you will notspend a bad moment in the baror in his company.

As the sun slips below thehorizon and another beer arrives,I can’t think of a better place tostart – or even finish – the ebonyhours.

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portfolio ofClassified Ads –more than 2,000

of them !

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Online at

www.phuketgazette.net

WHAT A DIVEWho’s a millionaire? Who’s a bum? Who’s both? Nature provides a prime attraction of Diver’s Legends Bar.

Ian ‘Diver’ Dick (right) with pals at his hyper-relaxed bar.

S M A L L W O R L DAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 17

Get your brainin gear with

The Monster Quiz

Never aCross Word!

the 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!!A bylaw was recently enacted in the town of

Stubbleton requiring that all men must be clean-shaven but stipulating that no man might shavehimself; the only person allowed to shave otherswas the licensed town barber (who was 50 and

unmarried).Since the barber was bound by the same law,

who shaved the barber?

No one. The barber was a woman.

So

lutio

n t

o

last w

ee

k’s

Cro

ssw

ord

ANSWERS TO

LAST WEEK’S

MONSTER QUIZ

1. Richard Burton; 2. DavidCornwell; 3. Mukhdahan; 4.Occidental; 5. Edvard Grieg;6. Richard Rodgers; 7. TheYardbirds; 8. France; 9.Michigan; 10. Bird cages;11. Quarrel; 12. Luis Firpo;13. In jail in Genoa; 14. TinaTurner; 15. Stealing horses;16. The Bank of England;17. Sagittarius; 18. The rich;19. £500; 20. Greek goddessof victory.

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

Across

1. Fine linen.5. Lager or bitter, for ex-

ample.7. Dead as a ****.8. Phang Nga Bay transport?9. Radio detecting and rang-

ing.12. Wordsworth and Keats, for

example.15. Me! Me! Me!16. Finish your meal! (3, 2)19. Restaurant food lists.23. Eighth month.24. Cut design into metal.25. Internet language.26. Old Faithful, for example.

Down

2. Hawaiian greeting.3. Pleasant smell. 4. Put the boot in.

5. Guitar relative.6. Throw out.9. Fish eggs.10. Used with a dash by Mr

Morse.11. Sales agent, in short.12. What an Aussie may call a

Brit.

13. A long, long time.14. Help!17. Grown-up.18. Normal.20. By no means a friend.21. Mum’s brother.22. Doe’s partner.

Solution next week.

1. What ability does theBlarney Stone confer?

2. What must one do toget the ability?

3. Tamara Press repre-sented the Soviet Unionin which sport?

4. How many worldheavyweight titles didMuhammed Ali fightunder the name CassiusClay?

5. How many peopledance in a quadrille?

6. Who made the firstphone call to the moon?

7. In 1929 Donald F.Duncan launched a toybased on a weaponused by 16th-century

Filipino hunters. What isthe toy called?

8. In which year was Natoformed?

9. The Vinson Massif is thehighest mountain rangeof which continent?

10. What is the capital ofMorocco?

11. What is the correct termfor a female lobster?

12. In which organ of thebody is the pineal gland?

13. What is the “perfectscore” in a game of ten-pin bowling?

14. By what name is actressIlyena Lydia Mironoffbetter known?

15. The song Ain’tMisbehavin’ waswritten by which jazzmusician?

16. In which year was theCharles Bronson movieDeath Wish released?

17. The elephant is theheaviest land animal.Which animal comessecond?

18. How many syllables arethere in a haiku?

19. Thanatology is thestudy of what?

20. In which year wasdynamite invented?

Answers next week.

F E A T U R E S18 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

The Gazette’s Siripansa Somboon went out and about recently and asked,“If you could transform anyperson into a fruit, who would you transform into what, and why?”

&HEARD&scene

TSOWNDINGSBy S. TSOW

Dogellos: a canine controversy

“Dog sex,” thecouncil huffed,

“is for thepurpose of

reproductiononly. There is no

evidence of aproblem with

sexual frustrationamong the city’s

dogs.”

According to a newspa-per report, some timeago the city council ofBerlin, Germany, re-

jected an application to open theworld’s first brothel for dogs.

“Dog sex,” the councilhuffed, “is for the purpose of re-production only. There is no evi-dence of a problem with sexualfrustration among the city’sdogs.”

Well, now, that’s the arro-gance of a dominant species foryou. How does the city council know that the dogs of Berlin

aren’t sexually frustrated?They’re not dogs.

If a dog is sexually frus-trated, he’s not going to write let-ters to the newspapers about it.He’s not going to organize hisfellow dogs into staging massdemonstrations in which thou-sands of frustrated canines marchon City Hall waving placards andbarking in unison, “More sex fordogs!”

No, if he’s a stalwart,manly dog, he’ll hide his hurtand keep his frustrations to him-self. Of course, if an august citycouncilman is strolling along theBundestrasse and a mongrelcomes up to him and startshumping his leg, it would takean obtuse observer indeed not torealize that there is some angstgoing on here. Especially if thecouncilman is not even cute in adoggy sort of way.

Then there is the grandiose

claim that dog sex is for the pur-pose of reproduction only. Howdoes the council know? Is therea Planned Parenthood Associa-tion for dogs to go to for coun-seling whenever they’re thinkingof siring a litter of pups? Judg-ing from the behavior I see in mysoi, dogs have sex any time theyfeel like it.

In fact, the sexual behav-ior of male dogs is remarkablylike that of male humans in theNana Entertainment Plaza, ex-cept that dogs don’t have to paya bar fine.

But there is one peculiarityof canine behavior that makes acompelling case for establishingbrothels for dogs.

Every now and then, a pairof dogs will consummate theirrelationship in my soi and be un-able to disengage. You could callthem conjoined canines. Theembarrassed look on the face ofthe female and the hangdog look(forgive the pun) on the face ofthe male are studies in extremepathos.

This is not only harmful tothe self-esteem of the dogs; it alsosets a bad example for our chil-dren. When youngsters observeconjoined canines limping in tan-dem down the soi, they might getthe socially harmful idea that itwould be cool to be stuck to-gether like that.

Indeed, they might view itas a new kind of togetherness, a

morally exemplary way of bond-ing between the sexes.

So I think we have a respon-sibility, as the dominant specieson this planet, to get conjoinedcanines out of the sois and intorespectable, government-super-vised brothels. We could callthem dogellos,meaning bordellosfor dogs. That hasa fine Italian ringto it that soundsvery dashing.

T h e r ewould, of course,be problems. Inmost countries,prostitution is ille-gal. The sameblue-nosed puri-tans who ban bor-dellos would bandogellos as well.Certainly the reli-gious authoritieswould disapprove.The pope would issue a papalbull condemning dogellos (prob-ably titled Contra Dogellonis),and the ayatollahs would eruptin a flurry of death-dealingfatwas.

The Rev Franklin Graham,Louis Farrakhan, and the ChiefRabbi of Jerusalem might dis-agree on many things, but it’s forsure that they would be united intheir opposition to dogellos.

Then there is the problemof staffing. Will dogellos recruit

their personnel from the femaledogs of the impoverished lowercanine classes? And, if so, wouldthat not constitute yet another sadexample of how the rich exploitthe poor?

Will stray female dogs berounded up and put in dogellos?

If so, would thatnot constitute for-ced prostitution?

Finally, howwill the male dogspay for the ser-vices they enjoy?With bones?

So this entireconcept of bordel-los for dogs re-quires carefulthought before werush to implementit.

In general,though, the prin-ciple of the equal-ity of all species

requires that dogs be granted thesame rights as humans; and if hu-man males enjoy the benefits ofbordellos to which they may re-tire to restore their hormonalequilibrium, male dogs ought toenjoy the same privilege.

There is also the possibil-ity of catellos…

S. Tsow can be flamed at stsow@yahoo.com, except when he is ren-dering assistance to conjoinedcanines in his soi.

Kirkvich SintusakkAge: 28From: BangkokOccupation: Securities trader

I would transform my girlfriendinto a strawberry becausestrawberries are both sweet andsour and contain vitamin C. Ifmy girlfriend had both quali-ties, she would have nice pinkcheeks and be very healthy. Iwould feel happy kissing hercheek, but I’m not sure if hercheeks would be sour or not.

Jittiporn PoonsinpoksabAge: 24From: ChanthaburiOccupation: Marketing officer

I would transform my fatherinto a green apple because Ilike to eat green apples. But ifhe were a green apple, Iwouldn’t eat him. Rather, Iwould put him in the freezerwhen he gets angry with me.That would really chill him out.I want him to calm downbecause I love him.

Nittaya ThongkeoAge: 24From: SongkhlaOccupation: Operations andfinance officer

I would transform myself into apineapple, because pineapplesare sweet and sour and arecovered with eyes. Having somany eyes would let me do alot of snooping. My snoopingwould make me a more talk-ative person, though most of itwould be gossip.

Esa KakvonenAge: 27From: EnglandOccupation: Programmer

If I could transform a personinto a fruit. I would transformmy girlfriend into a longanbecause longans are sweet. Iwould like my girlfriend to besweet to me all the time.Whenever we were apart and Imissed her, I could just buy alongan because they are alwaysavailable in the market.

Jani HollandAge: 28From: FinlandOccupation: Finnair employee

If I could transform a personinto a fruit, I would transformUS President George W Bushinto a banana, even though Ithink he is a fruitcake already.Maybe I would feel happywhen I ate him as a fruitcake. IfI put chocolate on him, hewould be the tastiest fruitcakein the world.

F E A T U R E SAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 19

Woody Leonhard has written anumber of books in the “...forDummies” series on computing.Readers can contact him at:woody@khunwoody.com

Off theSHELFBy James Eckardt

Mixed messages hidden in a dinosaur

A patch in time, a hole lot of fixing

Ian Caldwall and Dustin Thomason’sThe Rule of Four (The Dial Press,New York, 2004, 372pp) has finallypushed The Da Vinci Code off its

perch at the top of the New York Timesbestseller list.

The new novel bears similarities toDan Brown’s clunky clockwork thriller,in that most of the actiontakes place over a 24-hourperiod and the plot centreson the clues offered inanagrams, riddles and se-cret codes – this time em-bedded in an 500-year-oldItalian manuscript knownas the Hypnerotomachia.

The big differencebetween the two novels isthat The Rule of Four hasa warm beating heart at itscenter: this is a novel ofyoung love, friendship,loss and obsession. Thesetting is Princeton Uni-versity in 1999 and there are lyrical pas-sages that rival those of its old alumnus,F Scott Fitzgerald.

The title’s Rule of Four is a math-ematical principle at the heart of the de-coding process, but it also refers to fourclose friends who are rooming together

QWhat is the simplest wayto create the euro currency

sign? I need to use it often, but itis quicker for me to type the wordout in full rather than open theWindows Character Map, copy itfrom there then paste it into thedocument I’m working on.

But having “euro” repeatedthroughout a document or aspreadsheet looks ugly. Is therea handy shortcut I can use?

A There are many ways to in-clude the euro currency

symbol – € – in a document, in-cluding copy-and-paste from thecharacter map.

If you have a fairly new PCfrom the UK, you should have the€ symbol on your keyboard, at thebottom right of the 4 key. If so,simply press Alt+Ctrl+4 and thatshould insert the € symbol.

Alternatively, you mayhave an Alt Gr key to the right ofthe space bar. If you do, and havea € symbol on the 4 key, simplyhold down the Alt Gr key andpress 4. That should do the trickequally well.

If you use a recent versionof Word, pressing Alt+Ctrl+Ewill produce the € symbol.

But the simplest shortcut touse – and to remember – is tohold down the Alt key and punchin 0128 on the numeric keypad(with numlock switched on, ofcourse). This should work withmost of the popular fonts andwith most programs.

Q I am getting confused between the software patches

that I read about seemingly ev-ery day, and the upcoming Ser-

in their senior year. The narrator, TomSullivan, is majoring in literature, CharlieFreeman in medicine, Gil Rankin in busi-ness, and Paul Harris in Italian Renais-sance history, specifically a curious 500-year-old document.

The authors explain, “The Hypner-otomachia Poliphili, which in Latin means

“Polilphilo’s Struggle forLove in a Dream”, waspublished around 1499 bya Venetian man namedAldus Manutius. The Hyp-nerotomachia is an ency-clopedia masquerading as anovel, a dissertation on ev-erything from architectureto zoology, written in astyle that even a tortoisewould find slow. It is theworld’s longest book abouta man having a dream, andit makes Marcel Proust,who wrote the world’slongest book about a man

eating a piece of cake, look like ErnestHemingway. I would venture to guess thatRenaissance readers felt the same way.The Hypnerotomachia was a dinosaur inits own time.”

So what’s it really all about? Writ-ten in a half dozen languages, the book is

susceptible to many interpretations. Theauthor’s name, in fact, emerges from anacrostic in Latin of the first letters of eachchapter.

Brother Francesco Colonna was atfirst thought to be a rather shady Venetianmonk, but Tom’s father unearths aGenovese portmaster’s diarythat reveals him to be ahighly-cultured Roman aris-tocrat – and murderer. Thissets off a firestorm within thesmall world of Hypneroto-machia scholars.

At Princeton, Tommeets freshman classmatePaul, who is an avid followerof his father’s scholarship.Paul plunges into a four-yearstudy of the mysterious text.As he finds intriguing riddlesand coded messages embedded in the textand addressed to an enlightened reader,he entices Tom into the chase. There is asort of Holy Grail involved, a mysterious“tomb”.

A parallel plot is Tom’s romancewith sophomore Katie Marchand. Thisstory is told with much high emotion andeven mawkishness but this is a collegeromance and the young authors are en-titled to a bit of licence here, especially as

they began writing the novel right aftergraduation in 1998. They convey a strongsense of place for Princeton: the eatingclubs, pranks, libraries and balls.

As his obsession with the Hyp-nerotomachia descends into near psycho-sis, Tom abandons Katie and only forces

himself to return to love andsanity by abandoning thechase instead. But on thenight before his thesis isdue, Paul cracks the lastmessage and Tom rallies tohis side as events swiftlyspiral out of control.

By the end of the fol-lowing day, three seniorHypnerotomachia scholarsare dead and three of thefour roommates are in thehospital.

After graduation, the roommatessplit and go their separate ways. Tomwinds up as a software analyst in Texas,Katie as a curator in a New York art gal-lery.

As The Rule of Four is a commer-cial novel, the plot strands are tied upneatly in a bow at the end. But the sin-cerity of the characters and flights ofFitzgeraldian romance elevate it far aboveits predecessor on the bestseller list.

vice Pack 2 that I will apparentlyneed to update my copy of Win-dows. If I have installed all thepatches for Windows, do I stillneed to install the service pack?If so, what’s the point of install-ing the patches? If not, whybother installing the servicepack? Please re-educate me.

A I recently harassed Micro-soft to issue a free update

CD for Windows XP. They cancall it Windows XP Service Pack2. They can call it a “cumulativesecurity patch”. They can call it“canned slop on a recyclablecoaster”. I don’t care. We needan update CD. We need it now.

I bumped into a webpage onMicrosoft’s TechNet site thatexplains why a service pack isbetter than a patch. Permit me toquote Microsoft itself:

WHEN MOST PEOPLE thinkabout keeping their systems se-

cure, they think about securitypatches rather than servicepacks. In fact, one of the mostfrequent mistakes people makewhen performing security main-tenance is to over-rely on patchesand under-rely on service packs.

You may be surprised toknow that there are significantdifferences between the two, andthat service packs, rather thanpatches, should be used for theheavy lifting. Here, we’ll discussthe differences between patchesand service packs, and the mosteffective strategy for usingthem…

A service pack is a periodicupdate that corrects problems inone version of a product. For in-stance, there have been six ser-vice packs for Windows NT 4.0.Some Microsoft products use theterm “service release” rather thanservice pack, but the term meansthe same thing.

A patch is an update thatoccurs between service packs.A patch is sometimes also re-ferred to as a “hotfix”. Mostpatches are built to correct se-curity vulnerabilities, but we alsobuild patches to correct criticalstability or performance issues.

Here, though, we’ll only discusssecurity patches.

You can see that servicepacks and security patches areclosely related. Both are vehiclesby which Microsoft corrects bugsin its products.

But the similarities end

there. Patches and service packshave completely different scopes,and if you understand the differ-ences between them, you canuse each most effectively.

The article goes on. Ah well. Per-haps Microsoft’s brass shouldread and learn, eh? I’ll repeatwhat I said a few months ago:Hasn’t Microsoft made enoughmoney on Windows XP to offerits customers a uniform set ofreliable updates, free and quickly,as a simple courtesy?

Q& AQ& ACOMPUTER

By Woody Leonhard

Instead of copying andpasting the euro symbol(€) from the CharacterMap (left) and pasting itinto the documentyou’re working on, holddown the Alt key andenter 0128 on thenumeric keypad.

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 August 28 - September 3, 2004

- Since 1994 -

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with your views for publication in our next issue.We reserve the right to edit all letters. Pseud-onyms are acceptable only if your full name andaddress are supplied.

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Editor: Rungtip HongjakpetManaging Editor: Alasdair Forbes

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– The Editor

Not all “international cities”are created equal

After much wrangling, the foodstalls along Rawai Beach werecleared, a move many of thelonger-term residents regretted;the stalls did at least providesome indication that we were inThailand, and offered some won-derful seafood.

But Rawai now seems to befaced with the prospect of anamusement park (Toon Town,Gazette issue of August 14). Justwhat Phuket needs; a noisy imi-tation of a British fairground.More than this, someone intendsto bring “the world’s largestcollection”of karaoke CDs toPhuket.

Are the occupants of nearbyvillas now to be subjected to theworst possible aspects of fair-ground culture? Imagine theirdelight at having karaoke musicimmediately in front of theirdream houses.

I wonder who even autho-rized this nadir of taste. The factthat such a development can beconsidered makes me gasp indespair at the future for Phuket.

I suggest that a petition beorganized to fight this proposedblight on Phuket’s landscape, andhopefully dash the project for-ever. If not, what next? A tropi-cal version of a Butlin’s holidaycamp?

Tom UltmannGeneral Manager

Katamanda Estate

Unfair for Rawai

I was pleasantly surprised to seethat Konrad Stalin managed toproduce an interesting article inthe last issue. Well done, andkeep up the better work. I foundit not only interesting but alsoinformative for a change.

No more tea, please

It was much better thanGeorge Bentick’s Downsider de-bacle on George Bush in a previ-ous issue, (Gazette, issue of Au-gust 7). What’s that bloke on?

It was just such a pity thatKonrad had to drag it down byinsisting on mentioning tea bagsand biscuits again. Try to get overthem, will you, man!

Try to keep up the goodwork.

John LockRawai

I’ve just finished reading GeorgeBentick’s column [Gazette, issueof August 7], in which he saysthat Phuket’s sex industry waslaunched by American soldierswho returned from Vietnam tobases in Thailand by flying overPhuket.

Don’t you guys have a mapin your office? Since when hasPhuket been en route from Viet-nam to Korat?

The Gazette has done aworthy job of debunking themyth that the Thai sex industryresulted from the Vietnam War.You’ve also told us how it washippies in the ’70s, not soldiersin the ’60s, who put Phuket onthe tourism map.

But you’ve let Mr Benticktake two giant steps backward onthe bulls**t trail just so he couldsnipe at the US. This isn’t savvypolitical commentary, or evenfolksy joshing. It’s just dumb.

Steve RosseIowa

Baiting Bentick

The embattled George Bentickreplies robustly: During the Viet-nam War, elements of the US AirForce – including B-52 bombers– were based at Udon Thani, Trat,Don Muang, Pattaya, Khon Kaen,

I was here during the VietnamWar and although the beaches ofPhuket were deserted, the bars inPhuket Town were quite popularwith GIs on R&R.

I should know: I was one ofthem, and we weren’t here for thenoodles.

Brian F.Kamala

Georgian saga ends

Sattathip, Takhli, Korat, NakhonPhanom, Lop Buri, and U-tapao.

The scale of the bombingraids against North Vietnameseforces meant that there were toomany bombers airborne at anyone time for them all to land. TheB-52s went into a “holding pat-tern” which meant that they loi-tered for hours making circuitshundreds of miles in diameter –including over Phuket and South-ern Thailand – awaiting clear-ance to land.

The “farang” sex scene be-gan in 1964 when the US estab-lished the first seven militarybases in Thailand. In 1967, Thai-land agreed to provide R&R fa-cilities to American servicemen,which the soldiers themselvescalled “I&I” (intercourse and in-toxication).

Some Thai entrepreneurstransformed their coffee shopsand bars into “anything goes” es-tablishments. Phuket was a laterdiscovery but one made by ser-vicemen fed up with GI-infestedPattaya and Bangkok.

Thailand’s new-found repu-tation spread after the VietnamWar ended, and the “slack” wasquickly taken up by sex tourists.

Mr Rosse may believe thatit was hippies who put Thailandand Phuket on the tourist map, butit was Uncle Sam who placed itbetween the sheets.

In a boldly optimistic statement last December, Deputy Prime Min-ister Somkid Jatusripitak predicted that Thailand would have “10Singapores” among its provinces in the next three to five years.

Phuket, slated for development as Thailand’s “internationalprovince”, IT hub, shopping paradise, etc, is clearly expected to leadthe way in this ambitious push to raise Thailand’s development levelto that of Singapore and Taiwan.

Recent pronouncements by the Tourism Authority of Thailandare no less grandiose, with the agency planning to add 10 more over-seas offices to its existing 22 in an effort to attract 20 million touristsa year by 2008, almost doubling current figures.

Again, Phuket is expected to play a crucial role.Phuket is often compared with Singapore, yet recent events

suggest that comparison with Las Vegas might be more appropriate.(A little-known fact: the “anything goes” Mafia-established city inthe desert is officially “twinned” with Phuket City.)

While gambling in most forms remains illegal in Thailand, thefull-bore race to total “development” being embarked upon by thegovernment nevertheless resembles a Vegas-style all-or-nothing crapshoot, simply because of what is at stake: the island’s already de-graded natural beauty and unique culture.

These are the very factors that made the island attractive toforeigners – and their investment money – in the first place.

In recent years there has been a slew of suicides, murders andother desperate acts involving foreigners who, attracted by a dream,tried to make a go of it on the island.

And for every such tragedy there are countless more stories ofheartbreak and despair (see Inside Story, page 4-5). Does this soundlike Singapore? Or is it more like Vegas?

Phuket can never again be the sleepy paradise that it once was,and any success it will have in emulating Singapore will depend onits ability to attract foreigners who can make a positive contribution.

As Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangura (see News) noted,this effort will involve a vast improvement in the performances ofthe Immigration Police, the Labor Department and the Foreign Min-istry, which issues visas.

Without more efficient, transparent service in granting visas,permits to stay and work permits to those who deserve them – anddenying them to those who don’t – the dream of an international citymay still come true, but it will look more like Las Vegas thanSingapore.

P E R S P E C T I V E SAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 21

Why Patong needs fun 24 hours a day

Nursing care forAlzheimer’s sufferers

Want to know how to get something done? Can’tunderstand some of the dafter things that seem

to go on in Phuket? Want to pitch an idea toPhuket’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&

Ihave visited many places overseas,such as Spain or America, where theyhave special areas zoned for enter-tainment. In places like these, income

is directly proportional to the hours en-tertainment venues are allowed to oper-ate. The longer they remain open, the moreincome they generate.

Twenty-four hour zoning doesn’tnecessarily mean that every venue shouldcater to guests around the clock. Rather,it means that the premises are allowed tobe open for other purposes as well, suchas for service staff to clean them.

Don’t forget, if we have longer op-erating hours, the employment situationin Patong will improve and the Munici-pality will benefit in every area.

About 90% of Patong’s tourists areforeigners – only about 10% are Thai –and the number of Thais who come toPatong from Phuket City for the nightlifeis very small [so the idea that later operat-ing hours here would somehow lead to awide-scale corruption of local youthdoesn’t stand up to scrutiny].

I don’t think designating Patong asa 24-hour entertainment zone would con-flict with [the government’s goal] of at-tracting “quality tourists” either, becauseI don’t think there is any way to prove ex-actly what constitutes a “quality tourist”.

There are tourists who stay at thefive-star hotels in Phuket, and spend manythousands of baht a night for accommo-dation. Yet 80% of these still visit Patong.We cannot judge the “quality” of tourists– they are all human beings. Many of themcome to Patong because it is popular andrepresents a once-in-a-lifetime experiencefor them.

I also believe the tourists who cometo Phuket spend much more money onentertainment than accommodation.

I plan to make these points clearwhen I present Patong’s case to a centralgovernment committee. I don’t think theywill be stupid, because the committee isexperienced and even comprises memberswith PhD qualifications.

The 24-hour entertainment that Ienvision includes restaurants, pubs, dis-cotheques and activities such as climbing.It doesn’t necessarily mean that discos andbars will be open 24 hours. Daytime ac-tivities, such as sports competitions, wouldalso be provided in the daytime. Perhapswe could hold beach soccer, volleyball orjet-ski competitions, or live concerts.

I think the 24-hour entertainmentzone [if instituted] should cover the wholeof Patong Municipality. I have discussedthis matter with other Patong businesspeople and there is complete agreement.All we seem to lack is the [political] powerto make it a reality.

After the Central Election Commit-tee announces the results of the munici-pal election [and I am appointed DeputyMayor], I plan to discuss this issue withthe committee in Bangkok. After that, theywill have to research the idea in detail.But I will continue to push this project forPatong.

The government need not provideany [financial support] for this plan. Justgive us the time and the chance and wewill increase Government tax incomethrough the additional revenue that willbe generated. One mustn’t forget thatPatong businesses are the single greatestsource of income for the provincial Gov-ernment.

Many foreign tourists complain thatit is a very stupid idea that entertainmentvenues in Patong are forced to close at 2am. Some of them have already changedtheir destinations and are going to othercountries instead.

Chairat Sukbal has been involved in the Phuketnightlife industry for more than two decades, andhas operated the Safari Pub & Restaurant in

Patong for nine years.For a long time Safari was the after-hours spot in

Patong. But now, with the advent of the government’s “So-cial Order Policy” and stricter enforcement of the 2 amclosing time, Safari’s business – like that of most Patong’sdiscos and pubs – has suffered.

If and when Pian Keesin’s election as Patong Mayoris confirmed, K. Chairat will take up one of the three DeputyMayor positions, with responsibility for public works.

Like the majority of nightclub owners in Patong, K.Chairat feels that the 2 am closing time is bad for busi-ness and that Patong should be designated a 24-hourEntertainment Zone. But to K. Chairat this means morethan just letting nightclubs stay open as long as they want.

FIRST PERSON

I will be moving to Phuket soon,but I take care of my 85-year-oldmother, who has Alzheimer’s dis-ease. Is there a nursing home onPhuket that has experience incaring for people with dementiawhere she could stay?

Carol GreenhouseSanta Fe, New Mexico, US

Peter Davison, Manager, Inter-national Services, Phuket In-ternational Hospital, replies:

There are no “Western-style” nursing homes in Phuket.Generally, foreigners with Alz-heimer’s disease and their fami-lies make private arrangementsfor the care of loved ones.

This may include employ-ing nursing staff to take care offamily in their own homes or attheir hotel. Arrangements canalso be made with the privatehospitals for extended or shortperiods.

If you require more detailedadvice, contact me at Tel. 076-249400 ext 1333 or 1321. Email:peter@phuket-inter-hospital.co.th

Arunee Korphanlert, a regis-tered nurse at Wachira PhuketHospital, replies:

We don’t offer the samelevel of service as at the PhuketOld People’s Home, but if yourmother is admitted to the hospi-tal by one of our doctors, then shecan stay here.

You can contact WachiraHospital at Tel. 076-211114.

Tony Nilawan, Manager of theInternational Office at Bang-kok Phuket Hospital, replies:

Bangkok Phuket Hospitalhas many nurses who can speakEnglish and can take care of yourmother.

A private room with airconditioning and a TV costs3,400 baht a day plus 800 bahtper eight hours for a trained nurseto attend to her and/or 500 bahtper eight hours for an assistantnurse to care for her.

For more information, con-tact me at the hospital at Tel: 076-254421, on my mobile phone atTel: 09-9217233, or by email to:info@phukethospital.com

Jiranan Teamjarean, a socialworker at the Phuket OldPeople’s Home, replies:

We have many old peoplehere but we currently have onlyfour staff; that’s one staff mem-ber per 20 old people. So, unfor-tunately, we cannot offer the carethat your mother needs.

Currently we are admittingonly homeless old people orthose who have no relatives tocare for them.

Whenever a good movie is shownin town, the cinema is packed, butthe fire exits at the cinema areoften blocked with spare chairs.Who would be responsible forpeople not being able to exit thecinema during an emergency be-cause chairs are blocking the ex-its?

Roland MuellerPhuket

Wisut Romin, Deputy Secre-tary, Phuket Provincial Ad-ministration Office, replies:

If the cinema caught fireand people died or were injured,the incident would be investi-gated by the police. If the policebelieved that the owner and themangement of the cinema wereirresponsible in their duty of carefor public safety, they would becharged and prosecuted accord-ingly.

Tawee Homhuan, Engineer,Phuket Public Works andTown and Country PlanningOffice, replies:

Our office conducts annualsafety checks on all public build-ings, including theaters, so thatthe premises are safe.

If there is a place you be-lieve needs immediate inspec-tion, you can report it at theDamrongtham Center [at PhuketProvincial Hall in Phuket City,Fax: 076-211102]. The center caninvestigate immediately.

When filing your com-plaint, mark it for the attentionof the center’s Director, WitsawaSathitsamith.

Who’s responsible for blocked fire exits?

F E A T U R E S22 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

Holistic health with a ‘Hai!’

Overseas ideas offerPhuket opportunities

THE GOVERNOR’S

LETTER

Governor UdomsakUsawarangkura

Irecently came back from an inspec-tion tour looking at marine tourismin the US, including aquariums andmarinas. I went to SeaWorld in San

Diego. It’s a huge investment and has somany exhibits you can spend all day there;it contains complete marine eco-systems.It’s in a very good location because it’sclose to the beach.

I also went to the Aquarium of thePacific at Long Beach, Los Angeles. It toohas many things for tourists to look at. Ithink something like this would be appro-priate for Phuket because going around ittakes about half a day.

Phuket is a seaside province, but wehave little in the way of daytime activi-ties. I would like to see more facilities thatallow people to learn about nature. Wehave some places like this, such as theButterfly Garden and Phuket Zoo, but notenough.

We have an aquarium under con-struction at Cape Panwa but that belongsto the Phuket Marine Biological Center(PMBC). Unfortunately, it will be a smallplace and not very exciting.

I’d like to see Phuket have a facilitylike the Long Beach aquarium, whichwould become a landmark day or night,much like Phuket FantaSea.

Maybe we could use the site of thePMBC, along with the expertise of thePMBC staff, but have the private sectorprovide the investment. It would be goodfor everyone involved because once theinvestors make a profit they could sup-port research there.

We are planning to draw up an agree-

Nia is a holistic healingtechnique that startswith fitness and endswith comprehensive

healing of the body, mind, emo-tions and spirit. It has many dif-ferent components that helpmany different problems; it ismovement as medicine.

Founded by Debbie andCarlos Rosas in Portland, Or-egon, Nia is a worldwide fitnessmovement with 20 years ofprogress.

Nia is exceptional in that itadvocates doing things the easyway, and is adaptable to everylevel of fitness.

To get the most out of Nia,start easy. Build intensity gradu-ally. Let your body slowly accli-matize to Nia movements. Allowyourself the freedom to enjoybeing a beginner.

Don’t force a motion, don’t

ment for joint state-privatesector use the PMBC siteand the beach next to it, tocreate an underwater world,but first we must do an en-vironmental impact study.

Already people in theThai private sector whohave access to Americantechnical expertise haveshown interest in investingin this business.

The plan calls for in-vestment of 500 million to1 billion baht for the first phase.

Promoting Phuket: While I was inAmerica I had the chance to promotetourism in Phuket by appearing on theThai-language Nat TV satellite channel,which reaches the US and Canada andabout 15 other countries.

I talked about Phuket’s ambitions asan IT city and I invited movie studios andproduction houses to invest in Phuket todo movie business in connection with IT.

We have already started our firstcourse on digital animation and cartoon-

making but there are nobuyers for the output of thepeople who complete thecourse. They could supplymaterial for movies and fordocumentaries such as onDiscovery Channel.

We can supply Holly-wood via high-speedInternet; we already have agateway through which wecan connect direct to LosAngeles.

This is a concept thatshould attract people from there to movehere to work, or to invest in business here.

Property: We still have many investorsgoing into the real estate business, bothas developers and as real estate agents.

The Phuket Real Estate Club and Iare trying to lay down standards for thereal estate industry in order to stop peoplecheating or lying to customers.

Foreigners are very concerned aboutproblems, such as people selling them landthat has problems or belongs to the state.This creates a bad image for the Phuket

real estate industry. I really want to seethis business running smoothly.

Gasoline hike: In the current climate ofrising gasoline prices, Phuket must followgovernment policy over closing hours fordepartment stores, minimarts and gas sta-tions.

I see many gas stations are alreadyclosing before midnight. Initially this mayhave an effect on the lifestyle of Thaipeople who like everything comfortablebut in the longer term I believe people willadapt and manage their time better so thatthey fill up their cars earlier or go shop-ping before the stores close.

I have seen many place overseas –Singapore and Australia are examples –which long ago took similar steps to saveenergy, and people manage perfectly well.Everyone can adjust to this.

strain. Strive for a balance be-tween control and relaxation asyou listen to your body’s signals.Move in a smooth, lightly-re-laxed way that doesn’t make youbreathless or fatigued.

Get in as much non-stopmovement as possible: listen tomusic and find a rhythmic, easypace, working slower and longerrather than faster and harder.

Nia is the most advancedform of “fusion fitness” – thecombining of classic movementforms. It encompasses the mar-tial arts (Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Doand Aikido), the healing arts(Yoga, Feldenkrais and theAlexander technique) and dance(Duncan, modern and jazz).

This combination creates asynergy that no isolated tech-nique can match.

The key to using the Niatechnique is to make the move-ments an expression of you. Ex-

press your unique rhythm andbody language. Your emotionalbody will help to fine-tune yourphysical body, and vice versa.

For example, use your armsto express your feelings, emo-tions and moods. To maintaincomfort, work in a range of mo-tion that allows you to feel bal-anced and in control.

If you feel tension startingto build in your shoulders, shake

your arms and hands to releaseit.

Add your arms back intothe movement when you feelready. Be jazzy, be luscious, lyri-cal, snappy or sensually smooth.But most of all, passionately beyourself and have fun.

Another Nia technique is tomove the way you walk – by us-ing your whole body. Lead withyour heel when stepping forwardor to the side, gently rolling onto the ball of your foot and thenpushing off to change directions,just as in Tai Chi.

Step back on to the ball ofthe foot, as in the Duncan Dancetechnique, keeping your kneesloose and your heel high as youlower your body weight to a pointof comfort in the muscle andjoint. Avoid stepping back witha locked and rigid leg.

To protect your knees on

sinking motions, periodically liftyour toes to keep your kneessafely aligned over your feet andto keep your calves engaged. Asyou lower your body weight, feelyour buttocks naturally moveback behind you to avoid press-ing your knees to the front.

Also, keep your spinelengthened. Stay upright, fromthe crown of your head down toyour tail bone. Imagine a tinyweight at the end of your tailbone and a ray of light streamingupward through the crown ofyour head. Always let your spineremain soft and flexible.

When doing Tae Kwon Dokicks, draw your knee up towardyour chest before kicking out.Always kick at a level where youcan lengthen your spine andmaintain control, comfort andbalance. Feel along the back ofthe leg as you kick.

Another exercise is bellybreathing. When you inhale, feelyour belly expand, then your ribslaterally expand and then yourchest and clavicle rise. Exhale tocontract your abdominals and toround the spine.

Let go freely with a hearty“Hai” exhalation to tone yourabdominals and protect yourback during kicks and punches.

Breathing is one of the mosteffective ways to strengthen andrelax your body, mind and spirit,so don’t hold back.

For more information about Nia,call Tel: 01-7975065, Email:phuketmoves@yahoo.com or seeour website: www.phuketmoves.com

ALTERNATIVE

HEALTHBy Rhonda Ann Clarke

Not everyone believes thatWestern medicine orconventional exercise regimenshave all the answers tomaintaining good health.

Many alternative forms oftherapy are advocated by avariety of people in Phuket.Here is one such view.

B U S I N E S S & M O N E YAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 23

TALKSMONEY

By Richard Watson

By Gategaeo Phetsawang

6 months of growth for Phuket economy

All-weather entry to Australia

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: 01-0814611. Email: imm@loxinfo.co.th.

PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s economy isgrowing well, according to the latest eco-nomic report from the Phuket ProvincialCommercial Office.

More new businesses were regis-tered and there was more investment dur-ing the first half of 2004 than during thesame period last year.

A total of 138 businesses were reg-istered in June. Of the 335 million bahtinvested in those businesses, 181 millionbaht was from Thai investors and 154million baht from foreigners.

Most of the businesses registered –114 of the 138, were limited companies.The 301 million baht invested in them was

a leap of 77.3% from the figure for Maythis year.

A total of 34 million baht – 13.4%up on May’s figure – was invested in the24 limited partnerships registered in June.

Five limited companies and nine lim-ited partnerships were deregistered.

The new registrations brought thetotal number of registered limited com-panies in Phuket to 6,167 and the numberof limited partnerships to 2,681.

The main focus of business invest-ment during the first half of the year wasreal estate, with shopping and entertain-ment centers, marinas and medical equip-ment manufacture following close behind.

The largest amount of foreign invest-ment came from Britain, followed by the

United States, Switzerland and Australiarespectively.

One new company registered thisyear was supported by the Board of In-vestment (BOI) – Radi Medical SystemCo Ltd. The company, which producesmedical equipment, has 89 Thai em-ployees and was established with an in-vestment of 220 million baht from Swe-den.

It is the first high-tech factory estab-lished on the island since the Pulse elec-tronics factory closed in May 2001.

The province’s trade balance looksgood, with Customs recording exports ofgoods worth 4.969 billion baht betweenJanuary and June this year (an increase of3.31% on the first half of last year) com-

pared with imports of 855 million baht (up1.03%).

The leading exports were rubber,gasoline and tin. Prices for rubber fromPhuket have increased and are likely tocontinue increasing, says the report,thanks to rising demand.

One major product that has sufferedover the past year in terms of exports isgiant tiger prawns farmed in Phuket, be-cause demand overseas has been switch-ing to white prawns.

The top imports in the first half ofthe year were yachts and marine equip-ment, and tin ore.

From January to July this year, thePhuket Treasury Office collected 3.38 bil-lion baht in taxes, the report notes.

ON THE MOVE

Been promoted? Made a careerchange? Know someone whohas? Let us know by email toonthemove@phuketgazette.net.

Meg Evans from the US is thenew Director of Marketing, Thai-

land, for JWMarriott Hotels &Resorts. Beforemoving to Thai-land, she wasArea Director ofSales and Market-ing, Europe, bas-ed in the Marriott

International regional office inEschborn, Germany, where shewas responsible for costing, salesand marketing for 36 hotels in 18countries. Previously she wasalso in the Czech Republic asCluster Director of Sales andMarketing for Marriott’s Pragueproperties, and then in Nazareth,Israel.

Ratchaneekorn Preechawaifrom Bangkok, has been ap-pointed HumanResources Man-ager of The Aspa-sia Phuket in Ka-ta. She studied atChiang Mai Tea-cher’s College,and began work inthe human resources departmentof the Hyatt Orchid, Chiang Maiin 1981. Before joining TheAspasia, K. Ratchaneekorn wasHuman Resources Manager atTropical Garden Resort in Kata,and Group Human ResourcesManager at the South SeaPakarang Resort in Khao Lak.

Nattapong Suwan-in, fromBangkok, has joined McEvily &Collins Law Offices, Phuket. A

business lawgraduate of As-sumption Univer-sity (ABAC), hewas formerly in-house counselwith BakerMcKenzie, at

Unithai Line. He is also an ad-junct Professor of Law at ABAC.K. Nattapong specializes in cor-porate law, commercial transac-tions, real estate and intellectualproperty law.

Expatriates who wish toinvest in Australia arenot exactly overbur-dened with choices, es-

pecially if they wish to enter viaan offshore base.

There is now a fund thatoffers an offshore base, the Cay-man Islands, combined withmanagement in Melbourne andregulation by the Australian Se-curities and Investment Commis-sion.

The Fund is the new Abso-lute Asset Management Aus$Fund. It is a low/medium riskabsolute return fund that has agoal of capital appreciation un-der all market conditions.

The fund will invest in anumber of underlying funds thatwill be primarily denominated inAustralian dollars and, as thename implies, the accountingcurrency of the fund is the Aus-tralian dollar.

Before someone launches afund of this type, considerableresearch is undertaken. The man-agers at Absolute Asset Manage-ment point out that, had the fundbeen launched three years agowith the same portfolio, it wouldhave returned, after expenses,15.64% in 2001, 13.03% in 2002and 11.16% in 2003.

Current asset allocation isas follows: Australian Equities45%, Currencies 15%, Australia/Asian Fixed Interest 15%, Glo-bal Resources 15%, Property In-come 10%. (Note that the fundis not exposed to price move-ments in the underlying propertyinvestments; it is invested sim-ply in order to collect rental in-come.)

We live in a time of signifi-cant economic volatility, whenthe traditional investment modelof simply buying equities andbonds is not producing reason-able returns; in fact, this ap-proach has led to substantiallosses in many cases. For ex-ample, there is hardly a pensionfund in the world that has notsuffered over the past few years.

This has helped to create aninvestment culture where alterna-tives have been sought.

Absolute AssetManagement’s OperationDirector, Matthew Dabbs,said recently that after avery substantial boom inthe residential propertymarket, some of Mel-bourne’s new docklandproperty prices had fallen bymore than 30%.

I don’t know what propertyinvestors call this, but in stock-market terms a fall of 30% iscalled a crash.

Unfortunately, there is noformula for making money out offalling residential propertyprices. However, it is possible toprofit from falling financial mar-kets.

This realization started togrow long before the end of thelast “bull” market in 2000. Thehedge fund industry has grownfrom virtually zero in 1990 toabout US$1 trillion in 2004.

The term “hedge fund”,however, is merely a name givento a huge range of types of in-vestments that seek to profit fromrising and falling markets.

Too many hedge fund man-agers are merely fund managerswho gained their experience ingoing “long”, trying to profit

from falling markets. Going“short” requires a completely dif-ferent set of skills.

The fund manager of Ab-solute Asset Management’s Aus$Fund is Andrew McKay, who hasconsiderable experience in finan-cial markets in both Australia andLondon.

Working for a ShearsonLehman Hutton subsidiary, heprogressed to the position of Se-nior Dealer in futures and op-tions, responsible for implement-ing hedging strategies and trad-ing futures, foreign exchange andoptions.

Returning to Australia in1990, he formed what is now Ab-solute Asset Management. He iscurrently the manager of eight in-stitutional-based funds and anumber of private client portfo-lios as well as managing AAM’sTrading Fund 1.

The Aus$ Fund targets re-turns for investors of 10-13% per

annum. There is no entrycharge and the minimum in-vestment is A$25,000. Thewebsite address iswww.absolute-am.com

When told that his newfund would be profiled in theGazette, Mr McKay gave a

brief additional summary:“The Australian economy

has been strong but it is likely todeteriorate from here.

“Equities have been drivenby the [the strength of the econ-omy] but will not diverge fromthe rest of the world for long.

“The property market hasclearly peaked and any furtherpick-up will force the centralbank, the Reserve Bank of Aus-tralia, to increase [interest] rates,so risks are all to the downside.

“Bond yields, at 5.5%, arebarely better than cash in thebank but carry more risk.”

The Aus$ Fund will belaunched on October 1.

S P O R T & L E I S U R E24 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

Thousands of people re-ceive their certificationto dive in Thailand ev-ery year, and many of

these become more environmen-tally aware as a result. However,not many divers know how to ac-tively contribute to environmen-tal protection efforts such as theprotection of endangered marineanimals, which include manyspecies of shark.

Whether from fear or fas-cination, sharks generate a lot ofattention. They have long beena staple of wildlife documenta-ries and have also been unfairlydemonized as “devils of thedeep” in Hollywood films suchas Jaws.

Few people are aware thatthe overwhelming majority of theapproximately 350 known spe-cies of shark pose little or nothreat to man. In fact, morepeople in Phuket are likely to diefrom having a coconut fall ontheir head as they are from ashark attack.

The sad truth is that it is wehumans who pose a grave risk tosharks, killing off as many as 100million sharks a year of certainspecies – just to serve the Asianmarket for shark’s-fin soup.

The Gazette recently spokewith one dive instructor who isinvolved in the effort to preservethese predators of the deep.

Conservationist Paul Foley,recently the keynote speaker at aconference in Rangoon has dedi-cated himself to shark conserva-tion.

The Rangoon conferencewas organized by a number ofPhuket-based dive operators whooperate in Burmese waters, andone of the topics was shark fish-ing and, more specifically,whether or not it should bebanned in Burmese waters.

Mr Foley told the Gaz-ette,“These [environmental]problems might seem hopeless atfirst but there is always a way tomake a change for the better.

“Tourism and diving de-pend on a healthy environmentwith natural attractions such assharks and pristine reefs teemingwith fish. These have enormouslong-term economic benefits forthe nation and local communities.

“With proper management,

we can ensure that everyone canenjoy eating fish in the future,and that the fishing industry willcontinue to provide a bountifuland sustainable livelihood forfishermen too.”

At the top of the food chainin most marine ecosystems liesthe shark.

“Sharks are very important,not just because ofthe threat they areunder, but also be-cause they symbol-ize what is happen-ing to our seas gen-erally because ofover-fishing.

“Sharks areparticularly vulner-able to over-fishing because oftheir reproductive strategies –producing few young and reach-ing sexual maturity late. The ba-sic problem with sharks-fin soupis that the demand far outstripsthe potential supply.”

Many people may knowthat Hong Kong is the single larg-est market in the trader of sharks’fins, but far fewer are aware that

Europe, where shark fishing isstill legal, is a major supplier.

“According to 2001 HongKong trade data, Spain is theirlargest supplier of shark fins,”said Mr Foley, who is currentlyin Thailand to liaise with Thaiacademics, NGOs and the divecommunity to help raise aware-ness and petition the govern-

ment for the pro-tection of moremarine species atthe upcomingConvention on In-ternational Tradein EndangeredSpecies (Cites),which will behosted by Thai-

land next October.A total of 166 countries are

party to Cites, which providesprotection to endangered speciesby regulating or completely ban-ning trade in 30,000 listed plantand animal species.

Two species now beingconsidered for Cites listing arethe great white shark and thebumphead parrot fish. Mr Foley

Time to take sharkmeat off the menu

hopes that Thailand will supportthe classification of these twospecies, and points to the listingof whale sharks as having helpedthe Thai dive industry. As thehost nation, Thailand’s supportwould carry great weight, hesays.

For people who are inter-ested in making difference to pro-tect sharks, Mr Foley recom-mends the following:

• Do not eat shark’s-finsoup or patronize restaurants thatserve shark meat. Let the ownersof such businesses know the rea-son they are losing your business;

• Avoid using shark prod-ucts, including shark cartilage;

• Encourage PADI and oth-er dive organizations to take moreaction on shark conservation is-sues;

• Support any of the manyorganizations dedicated to theprotection of sharks. These in-clude such groups as Wild Aid,The Shark Trust, Bite Back andWhaleSharkThai.

• Support the forthcomingpetitions to the Thai governmentregarding Cites.

When asked about the en-vironmental situation here inThailand, Mr Foley said thatwhile overfishing has resulted ina great deal of damage, there isalso a positive side to the situa-tion in Thailand.

“There are a lot of goodpeople in Thailand working veryhard for their country; in the uni-versities, the marine biologicalcenters, the national parks, andin non-profit agencies, such asWhaleSharkThai,” he said.

SURFACEBeneath the

By Sylvie Yaffe

Paul Foley: ‘There are a lot of good people in Thailand workingvery hard for their country.’

KATHU: OrBorTor Wichit B’s 4-2 win over OrBorTor Rawai C atBaan Kathu School on August 18took them to the top of the MuangDistrict division in the Thai Cup2004 soccer tourney, cementinga place for them in the provin-cial finals.

Wichit B opened the gamewith good attacking runs, miss-ing their first opportunity at goalin the 3rd minute.

Rawai C replied two min-utes later, with a shot at goal byChalermsuk Sunpawut, but it wasblocked by Wichit B goalkeeperArchanot Saengrat.

In the 10th minute, Wichit’sThanongrit Somboon found hisway past Rawai’s defense to goone-on-one with Rawai goalieAekasit Sa-nguannam, who man-aged to end the solo run just out-side the penalty box with a clear-ing kick.

Anongnat Sartpisut

AO CHALONG: Gray skies,heavy rain and chilling gustsfailed to damp the spirits of theyachting stalwarts who turnedout for Race 10 of the Ao Cha-long Yacht Club (ACYC) Keel-boat and Multihull Race Serieson August 22.

Scott Duncanson’s SomtamExpress took the lead at the start,and stayed there for the rest ofthe race.

Jim Poulsen and the crewon Vino, and Ruby Tuesday skip-pered by John Vause gave chasethroughout the afternoon, whichwas marked with heavy down-pours and strong gusts of wind.

Vino came within a coupleof boat lengths of Somtam by thetop marker after an inspiring per-formance on the first downwindleg, and Ruby Tuesday’s sterlingeffort upwind to the southernmarker brought the three raceleaders together before roundingthe final marker.

During the final leg, how-ever, the race changed into oneagainst the weather, as a hugeblack cloud stretched from Cha-long to Nai Harn. Ruby Tuesdaywas caught with her spinnaker up

when the strong wind precedingthe black mass came, tipping theboat awkwardly. Her crew soonmade amends, and chased Vinoall the way to the finish line.

Top honors in the Racingclass, however, went to StuartCrowe and his crew on Cinders,who rounded the course on a cor-rected time of 2:25:02, with RubyTuesday picking up second witha time of 2:30:40.

Vino’s efforts won themthird with a corrected time of2:31:04, while Somtam Expresswas placed fourth with a time of2:33:58.

Al Boone on Blue Moonfinished the course with a cor-rected time of 2:05:16 to win theCruising class, with John Fenn onThe Four Winds coming secondin 2:28:16.

Although Cyrene and Char-ro were seen out on the bay,Ceberus was the only multihullracing, completing the course in1:48.58, with Mark Horwood atthe helm.

The next ACYC race daywill be on September 5. For moreinformation call Scott Duncan-son at Tel: 01-8924992.

Cinders wins ACYC roundas weather plays a hand

Sylvie Yaffe is a semi-retired diveinstructor. She can be reached byemail to: prodocs_ pkt@yahoo.com

S P O R T & L E I S U R EAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 25

Rawai missed an opportu-nity to level the score three min-utes later when Hasan Boontamfired at goal. The shot wasblocked and the ball returned tohim for another attempt. Thishappened several times, but noneof his strikes made it into the net.

Namchok scored his firstgoal for Wichit in the 37th minute,capitalizing on Rawai goalieAekasit’s mistake of coming outtoo far from goal by simply lob-bing the ball over Aekasit’s headto score.

In the second half, Rawaistepped up their attack, but eachrun was met with committed de-fense by Wichit’s defenders, cut-ting each probing run short withsliding tackles.

In the 62nd minute, Rawai’smounting pressure on the Wichitdefenders resulted in a cornerkick by Wichai Ponrob. His crosswas met by teammate KrissadaKanjanachai, who headed the

Above, OrBorTor Wichit Bcelebrate after topping theMuang District division in theThai Cup with a 4-2 win overOrBorTor Rawai C.

Wichit continued their first-half attack through Thanongrit,who in the 12th minute blasted theball from about 15 meters outonly for it to strike the crossbarand go out of play.

In the 20th minute, Rawai’sWirun Nawin counter-attackedwith a lobbed pass from the rightsideline over two Wichit defend-ers to teammate Somporn Sam-sungwan, who squandered hisunimpeded shot, blasting it wideof the goal.

Wichit finally broke the 0-0 deadlock in the 31st minutewhen Namchok Matong passedthe ball to teammate SampanBoonrat, whose unchallengedshot passed the goalkeeper, slot-ting into the goal.

4-2 victorygives Wichitberth inprovincialfinal of ThaiCup 2004

ball into Wichit’s goal to putRawai on the score sheet.

A minute later, while Wi-chit were recovering from theshock of conceding a goal, Ra-wai’s Krissada scored again witha strike just five yards out.

Wichit replied by steppingup their defense, shutting downRawai’s attacking runs in mid-field with impressive tackles.

In the 76th minute, Wichitturned the run of play and Nam-chok beat an offside trap to re-ceive a long pass unchallengedand score his second goal fromjust outside the penalty area.

With the final minutes tick-ing away, Rawai were forced topush men forward, leaving Aeka-sit alone to defend the goal.Wichit’s Sutthisak Onksomwang,with two minutes of play left,beat the Rawai defense to makea solo run from midfield andscore.

Rawai maintained posses-sion for the remaining minutesand managed a few shots at goal,but none found the back ofWichit’s net. Final score: Wichit4, Rawai 2.

Also in the provincial finalsare Patong City Municipality andKathu City Municipality from theKathu District division. The fi-nal matches of the Thalang Dis-trict division were scheduled tobe played between August 24 andSeptember 1.

The winner of the provin-cial finals will go on to play inthe regional finals for the chanceto enter the national finals inBangkok later this year. The na-tional champions will receive300,000 baht and, of course, thetrophy.

PATONG: Results of August 17matches in the Patong DartsLeague were:: Amigos 5 HappyDays* 4; Champs* 1 Piccadilly8; Didi’s* 5 Fat Boy Saloon 4;Off Shore 5 In-Between* 4;Valhalla 3 Two Black Sheep* 6;Dog’s Bollocks vs Shakers post-poned. (*Winners of beer leg).

August 31 fixtures will be:Amigos v Piccadilly; Champs vIn-Between; Didi’s v 2 BlackSheep; Dogs Bollocks v Fat BoySaloon; Off Shore v Happy Days;Valhalla v Shakers.

Patong Darts League

PHUKET CITY: Teamworkreaped dividends for members ofTessabaan Wat KajornrangsunSchool’s under-13s boys’ volley-ball team, as they overcameTessabaan Plookpanya School 2-1 in the final of the “AreothaiVolleyball 2004” tournament atSaphan Hin on August 21.

Altogether, 14 teams ofboys and girls competed in thetournament.

In the under-13s boys’ fi-nal, former national championsPlookpanya were under pressurefrom the start. Wat Kajorn-rangsun’s Chatchai Kobkit wenton the attack, smashing the ballfrom right and left of the net col-umns, over the net and into thePlookpanya half. Wat Kajorn-rangsun took the first set 25-21.

Plookpanya did better inthe second set, taking a 15-8 leadover Wat Kajornrangsun. Mostof these points came from WatKajornrangsun players faultingas they served, or hitting the ballinto the net, but Nakared NaRanong and Puritad Supabworked together particularly

well for Plookpanya, and theircooperation was one of the rea-sons their team won the secondset 25-10.

The third set went to just 15points. Play was tremendouslyexciting, with the teams level on8, 10 and 11 points. Plookpanyawere by this time blocking Chat-chai’s attacks from the sides ofthe net, so he went to the back ofthe court and spiked from there.

The cheers of the fans gaveWat Kajornrangsun the power topull ahead, and the team won theset 15-12, and the match by twosets to one. It was the first timethe team had won the Phuketround of the Aerothai tournament

In the under-13 girls’ final,Tessabaan Plookpanya Schoolbeat Tessabaan Baan SamkongSchool 2-1 to take first place.

The winning boys’ andgirls’ teams go through to thenext round of the competition,against teams from Phang Nga,Krabi, Ranong and Satun. Thematches will be played in Phuketon a date to be fixed.

– Anongnat Sartpisut

Champions out ofAerothai volleyball

26 p h u k e t g a z e t t e August 28 - September 3, 2004m o t o r i n g

Jeff Heselwood may be contacted by email at jhc@ netvigator.

The market for station wagons in Europe now exceeds those fo r coupés and convertibles

combined, so it’s no wonder that Jaguar has climbed on the bandwagon previously dominated by sister luxury company Volvo and some other “volume” manufacturers.

The new X-Type Estate – Jaguar’s first ever production station wagon – will take the company into a completely new market, and should strengthen the British manufacturer’s return to profitability, sorely needed in recent years by parent company Ford.

The X-Type has been with us for around three years and although sales were initially sluggish, the introduction of a front-wheel drive (as opposed to all-wheel drive) version, and more recently a diesel, have boosted sales to a more satisfactory level. Now the addition of a station wagon will further expand the appeal of the X-Type.

The X-Type Estate is i tself offered with a number of options, including manual o r a u t o m a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n , gasoline or diesel engines and front- or all-wheel drive. In addition, there are three levels of specification and a number of other comfort or performance choices.

When the X-Type was launch ed in 2001, all models had four-wheel drive, in an effort to distance the vehicle from its humble Ford Mondeo origins.

The Mondeo is front-wheel drive, but this was seen as heresy for a brand as distinguished as Jaguar.

So a longitudinal prop shaft and rear differential were add ed to give the X-Type ra the r more distinction.

T h i s baby Jag uar is still built on a Mondeo platform and uses Ford’s familiar Duratec

transverse-mounted V6 engine. But marketing sense eventually prevailed and a front-wheel drive version was introduced last year with a two-liter, four-cylinder engine.

More recently, a two-liter diesel, developed in conjunction with Peugeot/Citroën in France,

has been added to the range, again with just front-wheel drive.

A manual gearbox is standard on the diesel and it is this model that is expected to make up the bulk of the X-Type Estate’s sales, certainly in Europe. Massive torque – 330 Nm at 1 ,800 rpm – makes the car an ideal towing vehicle, as well as coping adequately with any heavy loads that may be carried occasionally.

Performance is modest but still adequate for this class of vehicle, with a top speed of a shade under 200 kmh and the 0-100 kmh sprint taking 10 seconds.

J a g u a r m a k e s s o m e

pretty impressive claims for its load-carrying capabilities: its maximum usable load volume with the rear seats folded is greater than BMW’s 3-series Touring or the Mercedes-Benz C-Class station wagon, and 20% bigger than the Audi A4 Avant. To add a touch of class to the vehicle, the load area is fully carpeted and trim med, and there are four spring-loaded chrome D-rings with which to secure luggage.

There is a host of intelligent interior features unique to the X-Type Estate, including an under floor secure storage area in the rear. This incorporates a power socket, enabling a laptop to be recharged while discreetly concealed under the floor. Ease of loading is helped by a split

BEHINDWHEELBy Jeff Heselwood

T H E

tailgate, with the option of opening either the entire tailgate or just the window.

Jaguar’s demographics indicate that the target market is relatively young – 32 to 35 years old – predominantly male, with a comfortable income and an active lifestyle. Buyers apparently want the extra space of a station wagon, but do not want to sacrifice performance or style. There is also growing resistance to large SUVs on ecological grounds, as well as worries about roll-over safety.

An economical station wag-on such as the diesel X-Type is definitely attractive to this group of potential buyers.

Jagged with an MOVING INTO THE ESTATE: Jaguar’s X-Type Estate, the British automaker’s first ever station wagon, is expected to take the company into a completely new market, and strengthen Jaguar’s return to profitability.

August 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 27

(Wichitsongkram Rd.)

28 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

August 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 29G O O D L I V I N G

W I N E

By Steven Roberto

menuOn the

Andy Johnstonewith

Rockfish

Comfort food reminds usof those who nurturedus when we wereyoung, and creates a

sense of security and love. For aKorean, Comfort Food mightmean kimchi. For an American,meatloaf and mashed potatoes.And for a Thai, a steaming bowlof gaeng som.

It is difficult for us to imag-ine today – surrounded as we areby wealth and modern technol-ogy – what a traumatic time theGreat Depression of the 1930swas for our grandparents. Whenmeat and good food that had beenso scarce were once again avail-able and affordable, they were asource of comfort and reassur-ance, a notion that still survivestoday.

Today, Comfort Food hasbeen elevated to a high and ex-acting form of contemporary cui-sine. From San Francisco toSydney, it appears to have over-shadowed tired and overly-intel-lectual French cuisine to take itsplace at the head of the table.

Chef Robert Falls, of TheRed Room, Cherng Talay, is oneof Phuket’s masters of ComfortFood. He says that simplicitycombined with the freshest-pos-sible ingredients define ComfortFood. It is, he says, “food madeby your mom; some of your firstgreat meals that made you feellike an adult: foods like steaksgrilled over a wood fire, roastedpotatoes dusted with fresh rose-mary, or chocolate cake.”

I recommend the followingwines to accompany ComfortFood: Napa Valley Cabernet andChardonnay, Australia Shiraz orNorthern Rhone Valley Syrah,New Zealand Sauvignon blanc,Oregon Pinot Noir, ArgentinaMalbec, Rioja, the Barbera d’Al-ba and Chianti Classico.

Some of my favorites at themoment include Oliver’s TarangaShiraz from McClaren Vale,Montes Alpha Cabernet fromChile, Saint Clair Reserve PinotNoir from New Zealand, Matan-zas Creek Chardonnay fromSonoma, Odyssey Chardonnayfrom New Zealand and Zind

Apleasant westerlywind has blown awaythe rainclouds in timefor our Sunday

brunch appointment at Rockfish.I say brunch, but we were

late. After three years in ThailandI have switched to TST (ThaiStandard Time). However, thecircuitous drive north, then westand finally south to the KamalaBeach Estate in the welcome sun-shine, whets the appetite for justabout anything.

Phuket inhabitants may re-call an earlier incarnation ofRockfish as The Balcony Restau-rant and Bar, but new manage-ment team Nick Anthony (of In-digo Real Estate) and his brotherRichard have stripped the placebare and started from scratch.

Nick admits to me thatRockfish still needs a few finish-ing touches – the process washeld up by having to employthree separate contractors to fin-ish the job, but the results speakvolumes.

Rockfish is on three levels,wending its way down a shortcliff face from the road to beach.Earthy tones are used throughoutand complement, I later realize,the natural flavor of the cuisine.Of the raw Thai silk used for theupholstery, Richard says, “Wecommissioned a local companyto produce it, as we’d rather havemoney circulating through thePhuket economy than Bangkokor elsewhere.”

Pieces of art – from boldblue triptychs to small panels, alllocally created – shout out fromthe walls. Together with large fi-ery-red glass vases, they make astatement of style. Difficult tomiss, hard to dislike.

There is also the magnifi-cent view across Kamala Bay.Although seemingly exposed tothe elements, the dining area ofRockfish is on the lee side of thehill, so the occasional light rainsexperienced in Phuket blowstraight over the top, like wateroff a … rockfish’s back.

My dining companion’sfirst impression is that it wouldmake an ideal location for a pri-vate function; cocktails in theground-floor terraced bar area,followed by dining downstairs.Nick plans to complete a deckarea at beach level before thehigh season. “Dining and jazz onon the beach,” he hints.

Chef Ukrit, formerly withThe Banyan Tree, goes by thenickname “Dan” but looks any-

thing but desperate decked out inhis er... blacks (chef’s whitesseem a little passé these days).

He presents us with our firstdish: chicken yakitori with char-grilled vegetables. It’s tender, in-fused with the scent of a lemon-grass skewer, and sets the scenefor the dishes to follow.

Next comes a Australianwarm goat’s cheese salad withwalnuts and a blackberry vinai-grette, followed by a set of dimsum spiced with apple and cin-namon, combining excitingly dif-ferent textures and tastes.

A tower of layered pinkpapaya and crab, and a salmonfillet with saffron and orangesauce served with potato puréecauses gasps of gastronomic de-light.

Meaty steamed kingfish,

wrapped in spinach, follows. Theaccompanying coconut rice isserved in what Nick says lookslike a mini teepee although I sug-gest a Harry Potter-style witch’shat. Whatever, with a light currysauce, it brings the taste of hormok whizz-bang up-to-date.

Just as we are getting full,a rare-but-not-too-rare beef ten-derloin with red wine jus andzucchini chutney graces the table.Roast beef on Sunday with a fewglasses of white wine. Oh yes.

Rockfish restaurant is openfor breakfast, lunch and dinner,and also provides room servicefor residents of Kamala BeachEstate. Our dishes were a mix oflunch and dinner items. It’s alsofamily-oriented; children from anearby table were enjoying them-selves as much as the adults.

Island life is all about relax-ing after the stresses and strainsof the week. Rockfish, with itsintimate but relaxed atmosphere,is the perfect antidote to theweek, whichever day you visit.

Rockfish is open every day from7:30 am till late. Tel: 076-279732.

Sipping into thecomfort zone

Humbrecht Pinot Gris fromAlsace. Bold wines like theseare perfect for Comfort Food;they contain higher levels oftannin and acidity, which steadythe food’s richness and refreshthe palate.

Choose assertive wineslike these, which boast a con-nection to their origins and ac-company decadent ComfortFoods like smoky grilled meats,tangy barbeque, hearty stews,herb-crusted chops and salmonsteaks from the Pacific Ocean.

By the way, forget aboutwine with Comfort desserts.Chocolate cake, key lime pieand blackberry cobbler don’tneed wine to unlock the memo-ries they hold for us.

Going down onKamala Beach

Steven Roberto is a winemakerand restaurant consultant fromCalifornia. He is the Wine andBeverage Director for theaward-winning Baan Rim Parestaurant in Patong. Email:stevenroberto @lycos.com

At the Rockfish, Chef Ukrit (right)creates a range of delights,including beef tenderloinwith red wine jus and zucchinichutney (above).

P R O P E R T Y30 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

One of Phuket’s moreinteresting new pro-jects is Villa Santi, aresort-style project

overlooking Patong Bay. It is adevelopment of luxurious villasand apartments with all the fa-cilities of a luxury resort, lushtropical landscaping that in-cludes waterfalls and natural-form swimming pools, and bril-liant views.

The residences have 570square meters of outdoor spaceeach, and boast two master bed-rooms, two guest rooms and aprivate swimming pool. Prettyimpressive.

The project is being devel-oped by a consortium headed upby two long-term Phuket resi-dents, Patrick Blaauw and BartDuykers.

I’ve known Bart Duykersfor a few years. We used to playgolf together sometimes whenthe clubhouse at the Banyan TreeGolf Club was a bamboo shackwith a thatched roof, and thedrinks were served in large plas-

tic cups. As a matter of fact Ithink I liked the bamboo…

The course was new, therewere no buildings around, and alarge variety of snakes lived hap-pily around the course, sunningthemselves on the fairways and

A different flavor of development

not disturbing anyone except theodd silly Englishman on holi-days, who expects every snake toengage him in mortal combat.

Unfortunately, there’s notmuch wildlife left. The snakesand lizards, especially, have been

driven from their natural habitats,as in most parts of Phuket, byanother much more dangerousand unpredictable species of ani-mal – us.

However, getting back toBart Duykers; Bart was GeneralManager of TheBoathouse hotel atKata Beach. Bartwas instrumental indeveloping one ofThailand’s finestrestaurants andwine cellars, whichattracted regular high-calibervisitors such as the late Sir PeterUstinov.

Bart left Phuket for a while,leaving the “best” and the “fin-est” restaurants on the island tofight among themselves for alarger slice of the action. Bartwent to Chiang Mai to help insetting set up an exclusive Thaicollege aimed at producing futureThai leaders, and then went toChina for a spell as a hotel GM.

Now Bart is back in Phuketand, as part of the luxury residen-

tial project, has another interest-ing restaurant on the way.

At Villa Santi, there is defi-nitely something in the wind. Asthe brochure says, “At the re-sort’s private entrance a neatcourtyard embraces the culinary

heart of Villa Santi,where the aroma offreshly bakedbread and pastriesfrom the deli fillthe air.”

Bart describ-es the restaurant as

being “a building with glass walls– like a diamond stuck in theground.” The menu, he says, willbe “global food including Thaicuisine, not as a separate menu,but incorporated into the otherdishes.”

Given its location and fa-cilities, Villa Santi should be apopular spot, and would probablymake a good investment. It isworth having at least a look, andwill definitely be worth visitingfor a feed when the restaurantopens.

Construction Update by Anongnat Sartpisut

&PROPERTY

HOMEZONEBy Graham Doven

&

Tamed blue yonder: On top of everything else, Villa Santi hasstunning views.

CHALONG: Ananda GardenHills is an 80-million-baht, 62-home development on 6.2 rai ofland in Chalong.

Builders went on site inApril this year and JiracharaJankaew, project assistant of de-velopers Dachanan Garage Lim-ited Partnership Co, says con-struction should be completed bythe middle of next year.

The estate is on Chao FaWest Rd, about 400 meters northof Chalong Circle. A row of eightshophouses lies between the roadand the other properties.

The three-floor shophouseseach offer a total living area ofat least 96 square meters. Eachfloor has a bathroom, but the restis open space, allowing buyers to

put walls where they choose.K. Jirachara said, “The

door and window frames aremade of aluminium and the win-dows and doors are of mirroredglass, giving a luxury appear-ance.”

Prices start at 3.88 millionbaht a unit.

Behind the shophouses, 24single-story semi-detachedhomes each have at least 140sqmof interior space. Each has twobedrooms, two bathrooms, livingroom and kitchen, along with agarden, terrace and car-parkingspace. Said K. Jirachara, “The

emphasis here is on comfort andconvenience. The interior is Eu-ropean in style, with closets andworktops in the kitchen and fur-niture in the bedrooms.” Pricesstart at 1.66 million baht.

There are also 30 two-storytownhouses, each with two bed-rooms, two bathrooms, livingroom and kitchen, along withwith a terrace and small garden,and one car-parking space. Eachhouse is six meters wide, and hasa minimum interior space of84sqm.

“We have tried to give buy-ers a large, versatile space, witha luxurious interior and a beauti-ful exterior,” says K. Jirachara.

Prices for these units start at 1.68million baht.

K. Jirachara says, “We haveused quality materials through-out. For example, we are usingaluminium from the Thai AustAluminium Co Ltd, which guar-antees its aluminum for fiveyears, and sanitaryware fromAmerican Standard.

“We are aiming first at for-eigners, who want materials theycan trust, and don’t want to haveto bother about maintenance. Oursecond target group is govern-ment employees and middle-to-higher income Thais.”

She continued, “Our firstproject in Chalong exceeded ourexpectations, and our other de-velopment here, Ananda Village3, is already sold out, eventhough we have only just startedbuilding. We expect Ananda Gar-den Hills to be equally success-ful.”

For more information contact thedevelopers at 9/30 Moo 8, ChaoFa West Rd, Tambon Chalong,Muang, Phuket 83000, Tel: 076-280439 email, anandagardenhills@ yahoo.com

Choice of three styles of living

Computer-generated impression of Ananda Garden townhouses.

P R O P E R T YAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 31

For sale in Baan Prang-thong on Kwang Rd inTambon Wichit is alarge house so spacious

that residents hardly feel theyhave neighbors.

The Sino-Portuguese-stylehouse with two floors and threebedrooms is set among theestate’s manicured lawns andtropical plants, with lots ofspace between each property.The estate also has 24-hour se-curity, which gives peace ofmind to the occupants.

The house has lawns ontwo sides with tropical trees andplants.

The front of the house hasa carport, which leads to themain entrance up a small paveddriveway.

The exterior of the houselooks new and the property isin excellent condition through-out. The tiled roof has gutter-ing and drain pipes, which isunusual in this price range.

There is no pool, but thereis enough room to install a rea-sonable-size one. The total landarea is 320 square meters. Thegarden covers 160sqm but looksmuch bigger thanks to the cleverhouse design.

Stylish family home in apleasant country garden

For more information, contactRichard Lusted at Siam Real Es-tate, Tel, 076-280805, website,www.siamrealestate.com, email,info@siamrealestate.com

Inside the house, just to theleft of the entrance, there is a de-lightfully-decorated living room.To the right is a dining room and,off that, a Western kitchen. Thereis also a full bathroom on thisfloor.

The dining room has a mag-nificent display cabinet of glassand teak, and plenty of closetspace.

The living area has a largepanoramic window looking outonto the garden, which gives theroom plenty of light and an at-tractive ambience. This room,too, has built-in teak wall unitsfor TV and book storage.

The floors throughout aregranite and the ceiling surroundsare made of teak, so they blendin with the other teak units.

There is a feel of quality toall the fittings, but the kitchen isprobably the showpiece, with amarble floor, splashbacks andwork tops, and teak storage cup-boards above and below. Thereis also a breakfast bar.

The appliances include anelectric oven, hob, extractorhood, large fridge and micro-wave, all of European quality.

A teak staircase leads to theupper floor, where there are three

bedrooms, two with ensuitebathrooms, and a study room.

The master bedroom hasa dressing area, built-in closetsand a balcony.

The bathrooms are lav-ishly finished, with attractivemarble walls, bath and basins,and floors of black slate.

The floor on the upperlevel is all teak. Windows anddoors throughout the house arehardwood.

Utilities include air condi-tioning, ceiling fans, UBC cabletelevision, a telephone line,mains water, a water-filtrationsystem, three-phase electricity,and both septic tank and mainsdrainage.

The land title is Chanoteand the property is partly fur-nished with a lot of built-inquality furniture.

The price is 8 million baht.The owners will also considerlong term rental at 45,000 bahtper month, with a minimumrental period of one year.

WichitHome of the Week

P R O P E R T Y32 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

Gardening with Bloomin’ Bert

The plant that says ‘Boo!’We are in Thailand.We all know that.As Basil Fawltymight say in a Mas-

termind-style tone, “Bloomin’Bert. Specialized subject: thebleedin’ obvious”. One of thesymbols of Thailand is the el-ephant; it’s so important here, itused to be on the national flag.

How often have you seenan elephant creep? They’re notknown for their stealth orsubtlety, and they are hardlylikely to walk up behind you ontiptoe and shout “boo!”.

In fact, to have elephantsand creepers in the same sen-tence seems pretty bizarre.

At last we get to the pointof my ramblings: a unique plantknown as the elephant creeper.Some people refer to it as the sil-ver morning glory or woollymorning glory. If you are Thaiyou call it a pak la baht.

This native of India andBurma is incredible for one bigreason – I’ve never seen anythinggrow as quickly. Ever. It couldwell be just my imagination, butwhen I first brought one of theseback to Chez Bert, I’m sure itextended itself by an inch or twoa day.

This was perhaps surprisingin view of what it was like when

it first arrived. I had bought it froma local garden center, and I car-ried it home on my motorcycleThai-style, gripped precariouslyunder one arm.

By the time we arrived, itlooked less than magnificent.Quite pathetic, in fact, rather likea snake whose backbone hasspontaneously turned to jelly.

Shift of location? Wind? Ihad no idea. It certainly wasn’tparticularly content. This sorrystate didn’t last, though.

By the following morning, Ihad learned that this plant is mer-ciless to all in its path. Tendrilsshoot out continuously from themain stem like Jurassic pythons,coiling around whatever is in theirreach. That jelly backbone hadbeen transformed into somethingvery different.

It really is best to try toguide the creeper away fromanything you don’t want it tothrottle to death, as it will strangleand smother anything that gets inits way.

Mine decided that thenearby fence should become its

domain, and the fence didn’t getthe chance to argue.

The flowers, though, are alovely surprise; they are big, dra-matic, bluey-mauve trumpets and

they appear without warning.Once the plant is mature, theybloom repeatedly.

The large leaves, unsur-prisingly, are shaped a little likeelephant ears. They’re green ontop, with silvery white hairs be-low, which grow profusely fromlow down on the stem. The un-derside of the leaves feels ratherlike the velvet in your grandmom’sjewelry box.

The elephant creeper canbe grown from a pot or from theground, in rocky, sandy soil. Thetendrils can grow up to 10 metersor so. It doesn’t need muchspace, just something to attachitself to.

Like the elephant, it’s hardyand is quite content in either di-rect sun or shade. It needs plentyof watering, though it isn’t happyif it stands in water.

Want to know moreabout a plant

in your garden?Email Bloomin’ Bert at:

bloominbert@hotmail.com

In India, both the seeds andthe roots of the Elephant Creeperare used for their medicinal prop-erties. It’s used in some types ofmedicine to support the nervoussystem, as a geriatric tonic and amild aphrodisiac.

All parts of the plant aresupposed to have purifying, anti-septic properties. People witharthritis take it to help maintainhealthy joints.

If you crush the leaves andmix them into a paste with water,you have a perfect treatment forskin wounds. Apparently.

There are supposed to bepsychoactive ingredients in boththe seeds and roots that someclaim have aphrodisiac qualities.I can’t say I’ve tested this theorymyself, but if anyone wants to putit to the test, well, answers on apostcard please…

This vine really is outra-geous, and deserves a place inany garden – or even balcony –if for no other reason than for itsentertainment value.

It’s great for covering roofs,walls and posts or shootingskywards up a tree. It may needa little pointing in the right direc-tion every now and then, but it’seasily trained.

I’m not sure you need toworry too much about creepingelephants, but if one ever creepsup behind you and says, “Boo!”,please let me know. The plant willprobably get there first, though.

If you’re notcareful, the fast-growing Elephant

Creeper maystomp all over

your garden.

C L A S S I F I E D SAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 33

Property GazettePropertiesFor Sale

PATONG CONDO

Great opportunity: mountainview, freehold title, 300m tobeach, 1 bedroom, livingroom, 2 balconies, 1 toilet.Price: 1.05 million baht. Con-tact for more information. Tel:09-4740227. Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

1.25 RAI

near Laguna Phuket for saleby owner. 1.25 rai in devel-oping, quiet residential areajust 5 minutes from LagunaPhuket. Chanote title, elec-tricity. Near top of gentleslope. 2.3 million baht.Please contact for details.Tel: 09-8667825. Email:rat_phuket@yahoo.co.uk

LAND IN PHUKET

Land in all areas of Phuket.Ideal for investments andprices start at 400,000 bahtper rai. Please email for com-plete list. Email: landinphuket@yahoo.com

MISSION HEIGHTS

Land available 10 minutesfrom airport, 3 minutes fromnew golf club. Please email:onlineland@yahoo.com

LUXURY HOMES IN

PATONG

New 2-story homes - cover-ing 150sqm - with carport,large living/dining room withaircon, 3 bedrooms and 3bathrooms. Freehold land, 4million baht. Call or email fordetails. Tel: 01-8957597.Email: info@phuket-besthomes.com www.phuket-besthomes.com

PATONG BEACH

condo. 1-room apartment inPatong for cash sale. 450,000baht for freehold title. Pls con-tact for more info. Tel: 09-4740227. Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

RAWAI CONDOS

1-room apartments, with toi-let, kitchen. Prime location,freehold title. 400m to beach.Price: 350,000 baht up. Op-tional finance available. Tel:09-4740227. Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

LAND FOR SALE

directly on Banyan Tree GolfCourse (Laguna property).1,050 sqm/262.4 sq wah.Price: 7.872 million baht.Please contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 076-239864.Email: hktmkt@ksc.th.com

PATONG APARTMENT

for sale. 57-year lease. 1 bed-room, 126sqm. Fully fur-nished, 3 years old. Expat com-munity. Email: beijingkirk@yahoo.com

BEACH CONDOS

Apartments in Patong –300m from the beach and withfantastic views – for sale orrent. 92sqm or 120sqm. Price:2.2 million baht. Contact for de-tails. Tel: 09-4740227. Email:chotip_5@hotmail.com

LAND FOR SALE

509 sq wah (2,036sqm)available in Soi Saliga, Rawai.Only 5.5 million baht. Call fordetails. Tel: 076-288422.

CHERNG TALAY LAND

520sqm plot of land 2km fromLaguna and with Chanote titleand 2m wall. Call for details.Tel: 01-7879701.

LAND FOR SALE

on Taiad Rd, in Chalong. 246sq wah. If interested, pleasecall Lucky at Tel: 09-729-8988.

BANGLA BAR

for sale. Soi Sea Dragon. Fullyfurnished, turnkey, good profit.2 million baht. For more info,please email: buybarpatong@hotmail.com

NEW SINGLE HOUSE

for sale. 560 sqm, in Kathu ,with Nor Sor 3 Gor title. Twostories, 3 bedrooms, 3 bath-rooms, with Jacuzzi. Price:6.9 million baht. Please call forfurther information. Tel: 07-2799500.

2 PLOTS RAWAI LAND

near Evason. 2 Rawai landplots – 36.4 and 36.6 sq wah– next to The Evason Phuket.395,000 baht each. Pls con-tact for more details. Tel: 09-6094611. Email: latkrabang@hotmail.com

NEW PATONG

townhouse. I want to transferdeposit paid on townhouse ina new housing development inPatong. All properties are soldand currently under construc-tion. Completion 2005. Stag-gered future payments. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 09-9704314.

BEST TOWNHOUSE

in Patong. Quiet oasis, yet onlya 5-minute walk to Soi Bangla.Pool, security, mountainviews, and quality! Price onlyUS$119,000. Please contactfor more details. Tel: 06-6828010. Email: pritchah@hotmail.com

30 RAI IN KHAO LAK

30 rai on main road in centralKhao Lak, with Chanote titleand electricity, is available atthe asking price of 3 millionbaht per rai. Please call oremail for more details. Tel: 09-0268481, 09-6482029.Email: bigbhouda5@hotmail.com

6-BEDROOM HOUSE

in Kamala. An exclusivehouse in Kamala, nearPhuket FantaSea, only 10mins walk to the beach. Thehouse is fully furnished to thelatest standards and com-prises 6 bedrooms with en-suite bathroom, air condition-ing, ceiling fans, European/Thai kitchen, own watersupply, Jacuzzi, mature gar-den, total 1,252sqm, livingarea total 475sqm plus atticof 30sqm. This house is anexcellent investment oppor-tunity; rental can easily fetch75,000 baht per month net,or 6% return on investment.The property is also suitablefor business purposes (notfor bar or restaurant busi-ness since the house is lo-cated in a very quiet residen-tial area). Asking price: only15 million baht. Tel: 076-279075, 01-4761415.Email: fbrun@ loxinfo.co.th

LUXURY BEACH

condos. Large - 28sqm -seaview apartment comprising1 bedroom, living room, bath-room and kitchen for sale for1.5 million baht. Freehold titlefor 760,000 baht. Tel: 09-4740227. Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

SEAVIEW LAND

in Chalong. 14 rai of hillsideland with stunning views onChalong Bay, Chalong Templeand the lake of Land & Housespark. 1.6 million baht per rai.Please contact for more info.Tel: 09-7247211. Email:seaviewland@euro.st

NICE HOUSE

in Patong. Villa 200sqm, Land500sqm, 800m beach, 9 mil-lion baht. Email for info & pho-tos. Tel/fax: 076-292596.Mobile: 06-2678477. Email:christian10_7@hotmail.com

RAWAI TOWNHOUSE

2 bedrooms, 2 toilets, largeliving room, kitchen, parking,80sqm, 400m to beach,freehold title. Tel: 09-4740227. Price: 900,000 baht.Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

C L A S S I F I E D S34 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

Property Gazette

Classified ads are charged per line. Each line is 60 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.

PHUKET

K.L. MartPatak Rd, Chalong Tel: 076-280400/3

NAVA Language SchoolPhang Nga Rd, Phuket City Tel: 076-232398/9

Sin & LeeThalang Rd, Phuket City Tel: 076-211230

Taurus TravelAroonsom Plaza Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, Patong Tel: 076- 344521-2

A la CarteKamala main road, Cherng Talay Tel: 076-278019

PHANG NGA

Maew Internet Shop, Khao Lak Tel: 076-420627

Avalon Creative Group Co Ltd, Khao Lak Tel: 076-420539

Agents for Classified Advertising

AccommodationAvailable

PropertiesFor Rent

ROOMS TO LET

in Kathu. Fully furnishedlake-view apartments withair conditioning, fridge, freesatellite TV, hot water andcar parking in a new devel-opment in Kathu, for rent.Rent from 166 baht a day.Tel: 076-202585, 09-196-8449.

PATONG RESIDENCE1- or 2-bedroom apartment forrent. Includes kitchen andpool, and is only 350m from thebeach. 6,000 baht/month.Contact for details. Tel: 09-4740227. Email: chotip_5@hotmail.com

FISHERMAN WAYBeachfront house for rent.Tel: 076-381181, 076-381-189. Please see website at:www.fishermanway.com

LONG-TERM LEASENew houses at Palai Green. 2aircon bedrms, hot shower,kitchen, living, patio, garage.Fully furnished, beautiful gar-den, quiet, peaceful area. PalaiBeach, near Chalong bay. Tel:01-8924311.

NEW HOUSES FORrent. New 2- and 3-bedroomshouses for rent in Lake ViewKathu. Pls call for details. Tel:076-202585 , 09-1968449.

HOUSE FOR RENT3-bed, 2-bathroom house –with2 aircons, UBC TV, some furni-ture and telephone – in good lo-cation near sea. Soi Palai.Please call Tel: 06-2807850.

NEAR DULWICH6km to Dulwich College.Ground-floor flat in two-familyhouse for rent. Two bedrooms(with aircon), kitchen, livingroom, terrace, carport andswimming pool. In Kathu nearLoch Palm golf club. 15,000baht a month for long term.Tel: 01-8916632. Fax: 076-202725. Email: golfandview@gmx.de

APARTMENT NEARDulwich. Apartment of 58sqmwith aircon and fan. One bed-room, kitchen, living room,bathroom, terrace, telephone,swimming pool, hot water.Quiet area in Kathu near LochPalm golf club. 12,000 baht/month for long term. Tel: 01-8916632. Fax: 076-202725.Email: golfandview@gmx.de

ROOM FOR RENTRoom for rent 250m from Ka-mala Beach. 4,000 baht long-term, 6,500 baht short-term.Pls call. Tel: 01-9848288.

SHOP FOR RENT45sqm shop in Karon (PatakRd) is for rent. Suitable foroffice, tour desk, diving shop,foot massage or beauty salonetc. Pls contact for more de-tails. Tel: 01-8105559. Email:jnattapolu@yahoo.com

PATONGapartments for long-termrental. 1 bedroom, 1 TV roomwith cable TV, aircon. Sameapartment with good seaview: 5,000-20,000 baht permonth. Tel: 09-2909567.www.brommathaihouse.com

KATA HILL HOUSEFully-furnished 3 bedroomwith aircon, 3 bathrooms, liv-ing, dining, kitchen, parkingspace, quiet place with phoneline and mountain view. Price29,000 baht a month. Tel:076-216036, 01-6062827.Email: nij017@hotmail.com

PropertyWanted

LUXURY APTSwith seaview. Nice apart-ments, all fully equipped andwith 2 bedrooms, pool, and bal-cony. Total of approx 100sqm.Special rates for long-term rent-als. Prices from 40,000 baht amonth. Contact for details.Tel: 076-344350. Email: info@residencephuket.com

HOUSE/COMPOUNDwith court. English tenniscoach looking for accommoda-tion with tennis court to rent.Please email: darranferre@hotmail.com

LAND IN PHUKETNeed to buy about 1-1.5 raibetween Thainaan restaurantand Wat Chalong, or not morethan 5km from Thainaan.Must be good for office andshould be on the main road.Price range: 2-5 million bahtper rai. Email: supotpac@phuket.ksc.co.th

RENTAL WANTEDLooking for a house or apart-ment near Phuket City, prefer-ably in the Chalong area, forTEFL students. 2-3 bed formonthly rent. Please emailSheri at: baysil@hotmail.com

LAND WITH WATERviews. I am looking for 5 to 2rai on a gentle hillside with avery good water view andwithin 1 km of a beach/wa-terfront. Will consider all areasof Phuket. Tel: 618-93613305, 61-41207212. Email:notime@westnet.com.au

HOUSE WANTEDI am interested in buying a 2-to 4-bedroom house with pool.Must be clean, quiet and pri-vate and in a good area. Allareas of Phuket considered.Must have Chanote title.Please send info and photosby email. Email: gaelic2@eircom.net

4-WEEK RENTALfor xmas. 3/4 bedroom villawanted south of Kata. Senddetails by email to: alanyblack@hotmail.com

APARTMENTwanted. South of Karon, 15-20 million baht. Please sendphotos and details by email to:mvimajica@hotmail.com

HOUSES NEAR LAGUNAfor sale. New, specially de-signed and very luxurioushouses located near LagunaResort and Phuket CountryClub. For more information,see the website at:www.phuketgazette.net/suriyaestate

NEW DETACHEDhouse. Fully furnished house inChalong – close to Palai Beach– for long-term rent. Com-prises 3 bedrooms, 2 bath-rooms, garden, carpark,aircon and phone. Please callfor more information. Tel: 09-7288311.

ANDAMAN SEAview resort. Rooms for renton daily, weekly or monthly ba-sis at very reasonable rates.Rooms are fully furnished andhave aircon, hot and cold wa-ter, cable TV and access to acoffee shop. Call for details.Tel: 01-6285361.

CHINESE MANSIONPlease see our website fordetails: www. graphodesign.com/chinesemansion

OFF-SEASONSpecial off-season rates avail-able. Relax and enjoy poolsideambience in a quiet setting.55% discount off daily rate ifstaying monthly. Also offerweekly rates. Located 2.6kmsouth of Chalong Circle. Youwon’t be disappointed. Friend-ship Beach Bungalow Resort,Rawai. Please call Tel: 09-7272296 for full details.

PRIME LAND -LUSH, PRIVATE

Three rai on Phuket's lushNorthwest Coast. Set highon a quiet mountain, thisland offers spectacular seaand valley views. Ten min-utes to two world class golfcourses, the island's mari-nas, and the airport.Chanote title. 5.2 millionbaht per rai, call Janpen.Tel: 09-8736166. Email:property@phuketgazette.net

C L A S S I F I E D SAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 35

Property GazetteHouseholdProducts

Get your Phuket Gazette fromthese outlets in Bangkok:

Bangkok

Don Muang AirportTel. 02-5731120

Se-Ed’s, Mahboonkrong Building, zone B, Phayathai Rd,PhaThumwanTel. 02-6117165

Se-Ed’s, Silom Complex, 4 thfloor, Silom Rd, BangrakTel. 02-2313244

Se-Ed’s, Silom Center, Rama 1 Rd, PathumwanTel. 02-6581153

Se-Ed’s, Panthip Plaza, M-floor, Petchaburi Rd, RajatheweeTel. 02-6566070

Se-Ed’s, Fortune Town Building, Ratchadapisek Rd, HuaykwangTel. 02-2485668

Se-Ed’s, 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

PropertyServices

HAVING BUILDING

problems? Planning to build ahouse in Phuket? We have so-lutions for you! Qualified en-gineers. Hands-on projectmanagement. Good trackrecord. Based in Phuket.Please contact us for more in-formation. Tel: 06-6864860.Email: beehivephuket@hotmail.com

AccommodationWanted

RENTAL HOUSE

desired. Want to rent a housein the Bang Tao area on amonth-to-month basis, fromSeptember 12. Up to 20,000baht/month. Single Westernmale, no smoking, no drinking,vegetarian. Email: raf064@hotmail.com

ACCOMMODATION

I’m a Swedish man and look-ing for an apartment or housein Patong Beach. I will stay 1month from December 23.Please email details to:bbempa@yahoo.com

RENTAL WANTED

TEFL students seek a 2-3 bedhouse or apartment nearPhuket City, preferably in theChalong area, for monthlyrental. Please send details toSheri by email at: baysil@hotmail.com

APARTMENT

I need accommodation inPatong for six months fromOctober. I am prepared to payin advance. Double room,aircon, bath, shower, kitchen.I am in the UK at the moment.Willing to pay 5,000 to 6,000baht a month. Please email:free26844spirit@yahoo.com SPAS R US

Steam room/sauna and acces-sories, and portable hot tubsfrom USA. Quality equipment,designed and installed for yourneeds. Business and residential.California Spa Design. Call Tel:076-263269, 09-1950610.

P-CON

Phuket Constructionand Home Services Co Ltd

Roofing, floor, walls, tilesClearing, painting,plumbing, aircon,

electrical systems, repairsand other work done by our

professional team.

Call 09-1960852

Fax: 076-263204

Email: p-con@chaiyo.com

The Stone DoctorSpecialist European stone careproducts and services.All your maintenance,protection and cleaning needsfor natural and manufacturedstone.

Scratches, stains, dull patches,slippery shower floors, mildew,oxidizing, builders’ residue, useof inappropriate cleaningproducts, algae removal andprevention, etc.

Tel: 07-2824930, 076-271217Fax: 076-271218Email: info@stonedoctor.co.th

• Marble • Slate• Ceramics • Granite• Terracotta • Sandstone• Pebblewash, etc.

HOUSE TO RENT

in Patong, Kata or Karon areasneeded from October 1. Maxrent: 15,000 baht/month.Need 2 bedrooms, aircon,phone line, and satellite TV.Tel: 09-5935086.

FURNISHED HOUSE

Furnished 2-bedroom housewanted in the Kata, Karon orRawai area. Must be in a quietlocation. Required from Octo-ber for long-term lease. Email:safesurfer@lycos.co.uk

HOUSE WANTED

Careful, older tenant requireshouse for long-term rental.Unfurnished, 2 bedrooms, 1-2 bathrooms. Prefer smallgarden. Tel: 01-1906177.Email: ozzydom@yahoo.com

APARTMENT WANTED

Furnished condo/apartmentwanted in a quiet location inPhuket from December 21,2004 to January 4, 2005.Email: hugobaur@yahoo.com

ACCOMMODATION

near Mai Khao. Looking forlong-term, low-cost accommo-dation near Mai Khao Beach(JW Marriott hotel area) fromSeptember 15 for at least 6months. Will consider houseshare with Thai or farangpeople, or cheap, one-roomstudio apartment. I am 32,English, quiet and clean. Email:mysammy11@yahoo.com

JEET CONSTRUCTION

Co Ltd. Michael Swanton spe-cializes in every type of build-ing work, including tiling, elec-trical work, plumbing, paintingand aircon units. Please call formore details. Tel: 076-323-620, 09-2877241.

Building Services

PHUKET WATER

Gardens. Water featureconstruction (Koi ponds, wa-terfalls, etc.) Please call formore information. Tel: 07-8814984.

$ DOLLAR

Curtains for all your win-dow furnishings. Please callfor more details. Tel: 07-2760529.

THAI - DIEN CO LTD

Tel: 076-242025,

076-391680.

Fax: 076-391680.

Email:

thaidien@hotmail.com

Please contact us formore information.

Top quality electricalinstallation products,

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C L A S S I F I E D S36 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

Island Job Mart

LE PETITE ORIENT2X2”

SECRETARY/CLIENT

support. Property develop-ment company seeks an en-thusiastic and hardworkingperson to run the administra-tion office and to assist withsales/client support. Must havevery good computer skills aswell as good written and spo-ken English. Contact to apply.Tel: 076-271188. Email:tony@maan-tawan.com

NURSERY TEACHER

QSI Phuket seeks a quali-fied nursery teacher. Startdate: August 23, 2004.Please contact for details.Tel: 076-354077 Fax:076-354076. Email:qsi@phuketinternet.co.th

EXTRA INCOME

Need extra cash? Work athome at your own pace.Large company looking forreps. Email for details. Email:phuketcash@hotmail.com

NEWS REPORTERS

and photographers. After sev-eral years, we are giving oneof Phuket’s oldest and best-known travelers’ websites arelaunch. We need local onlinereporters and photographersto get fresh articles, informa-tion and recent pictures. Wepay by article (min 1,000words and 3-5 pictures). Pho-tographers will be paid by pic-ture series. Good command ofwritten English is mandatory.Applicants should be familiarwith every aspect of touristand expat life on Phuket.Please email: juergen@trv.netor for further details, pleasesee our website at: www.trv.net

ADMIN/MARKETING

trainee. Two interestingtrainee positions in PhuketCity office for Thai nationals.Requirements: good spokenand written English, basiccomputer skills, bright per-sonality. Salary 5,500–7000baht per month. Contact fordetails. Tel: 076-232960.Fax: 076-232961. Email:rob@ sailing-thailand.com

ADMIN/MARKETING

Permanent supervisory posi-tion for Thai national in PhuketCity Office. Requirements –excellent English, good com-puter, organisational and com-munication skills, driving li-cense and a bright, outgoingpersonality. Salary 15,000–18,000 baht per month. Tel:076-232960. Fax: 076-232961. Email: rob@sailing-thailand.com

INTERNET CAFÉ

Wanted: Thai female, ableto speak and write Englishfairly well with basic com-puter skills and typing.Training will be provided.Contact to apply. Tel: 076-296617, 06-2810515.Fax: 076-296617. Email:kdbusser@hotmail.com

5 MASSEUSES

wanted. 1-year contract.Malaysian government certi-fied. Very high salary. For fullinfo, contact as above now!Tel: 01-3974291.

GENERAL MANAGER

Phuket Programmers,Thai accounting softwarespecialists, urgently re-quire a General Managerto take this young com-pany forward. We arelooking for an enthusiasticperson to lead our team,responsible to the direc-tors. Bachelor’s/master’sdegree, excellent com-mand of English, mini-mum 3 years’ manage-ment expertise, good in-terpersonal and organiza-tional skills, computer lit-erate, Thai national 30+.Accounting, marketingand sales experience anadvantage. Attractiverenumeration package.Relocation package avail-able. Resume’, includingcurrent salary to: PhuketProgrammers, 249/11Thepkrasattri Rd, Moo 8,Thalang, Phuket 83110.Tel: 076-313137, 01-8912934. Fax: 076-313269. Email: mick@phuketprogrammers.com

SECRETARY

Fluent in English, officeorganization background,pleasant and service-minded. Tel: 076-273321.Fax 076-238974. Email:suporn@thaimarine.com

Find more classified ads atwww.phuketgazette.net!

The Home Show AsiaDon’t miss.......

More information, see page 3.

LUXURY BOUTIQUE

Resort. Seeking Chef dePartie, Demi Chef andCommis chef. Experiencedin Western food. SpokenEnglish an advantage. Lo-cation Kata Beach. Pleaseemail resumé to: chef@aspasiaphuket.com or callthe Executive Chef at Tel:076-284430.

C L A S S I F I E D SAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 37

Island Job Mart

BUDGETING-FINANCE

Manager. Must be fluent inEnglish, have accountingbackground and knowledgeof QuickBooks software andbudget planning. Tel: 076-273321. Fax: 076-238974.Email: suporn@thaimarine.com

URGENTLY REQUIRED

Sales Representatives (twopositions) with excellentspoken and written Englilsh.Also require Sales Rep whocan speak English and Swed-ish (one position). Tel: 01-7191438.

SECRETARY

WANTED

for friendly Canvas shopin the Boat Lagoon. Rea-sonable English and com-puter skills a must. Canyou deal with farangsokay? Come and join theteam. Phone Muzz atCanvas Creations. Tel:076-238946, 01-370-1600. Fax: 076-238946.Email: canvas@loxinfo.co.th

FASHION SHOP

staff needed for new fash-ion shop in Central Festival.Please contact for details.Tel: 076-385385, 06-276-1506. Email: nattakarn_aasa @yahoo.com

WAITRESSES & BAR

supervisor. Luxury small bou-tique resort in Kata requires at-tractive waitresses and a fe-male bar supervisor. Englishspeakers please. Contact K.Ratchaneekorn, HR Manager.Tel: 076-284430. Email:hr@aspasiaphuket.com

CHALLENGING

opportunity. A small boutiqueresort in Phuket is looking fora Hotel Manager/GM whowill be able to commit himselffor a long-term period (atleast 2 years). Work experi-ence in Thailand is a plus. Thefunction entails managementby objectives with bonusesas benefits. Previous educa-tion, preferably Hotel School,and Dutch nationality. Pleasesubmit a resumé and if pos-sible a color passport photo.Email: doubledutches@yahoo.com

Find more Recruitment Classified ads

at

www.phuketgazette.net!

C L A S S I F I E D S38 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004

Tout, traderTout, TraIsland Job Mart

EmploymentWanted

DANISH ENGINEER

Male engineer, 39, with 12years’ experience in steel/weld-ing technology, computers,economics, seeks freelance orfull-time work in the Phuketarea. Also speaks English andGerman. Please contact withdetails. Tel: 01-0868044.Email: la@danlike.com

Articlesfor Sale

HAMMER DRILL

New hammer drill – with ac-cessories – for sale at 14,500baht. Please call Tel: 09-4075281.

FURNITURE

FOR SALE

20" Sanyo TVs, teak deckchairs, fridges, tables,desks, chairs, double &single beds, display units& many more items, ingood condition. Reason-able prices. Must see atthe Kata Plaza. Tel: 01-7192821.

DAY TRIP DIVE BOAT

for sale. 15-meter LOA x 5mBeam Fiberglass Randall. TwinHino EK 100 marine diesels275hp engines. It has just un-dergone total engine overhauland service at Boat Lagoon inPhuket. The hull was sandeddown to the fiberglass and to-tally restored to better-than-new-condition with epoxyresin, high-build primer, vinylsealer, bond coat and anti-foul-ing. Seals and bearings werereplaced on steering and rud-ders, and on the prop shafts,all with new anodes. It has anew, spacious dive platform,new carpeting and new aw-ning. The boat comfortablytakes 24 divers and gear onthe dive deck. It has a hugeupper, covered lounging deck.We have too many other busi-ness interests to run a dive op-eration as well, so you cansteal this boat, in fantasticcondition, for 6,000,000 bahtif you act today. Also for sale:48 aluminum tanks andvalves, just inspected andcurrent on hydrostatic tests;two dive compressors (oneColtri; one L&W) just rebuilt atDive Supply in Patong; low-pressure compressor (for usewith nitrox system); Nitroxanalyzer; satellite phone. Allthese extras for 525,000baht. Boat with all accessoriesbaht 6.25 million baht. Tel:076-280737, 09-8121084.Fax: 076-281102. Email:elliot@seadawgs.biz

BOAT FOR SALE

29-foot fiberglass motoryacht with Thai registation.2 x 280hp Mercruiser en-gines. Price: 3.5 million bahtono. Tel: 076-239864.Email: hktmkt@ksc.th.com

Boats &Marine

MARKETING

Manager wanted for advertis-ing firm. Driving license re-quired. Pls call between 8 amand 4 pm. Tel: 076-203011.

Tout, Trader &Trumpet

QUICK SEAL BOAT

37-foot wooden speedboat forsale at 350,000 baht. Call fordetails. Tel: 01-6931425.

Bulletins

HAPPENINGS

at Yoonique’s. There’s alwayssomething happening at TheYoonique Bar in Nai Harn.Tuesdays: Open Jam. Wed-nesdays: movie night. Fridays:free Mexican soft shell tacobar (make your own). Checkour website regularly to seewhat’s going on (movies areposted) or email us to recieveour newsletter. You’ll find usbehind the Reggae Bar in NaiHarn. Tel: 06-6838166. Email:bluephoenixdesign@hotmail.com or see our website at:www.yoonique.uni.cc formore details.

BusinessOpportunities

BAR/RESTAURANT

Bar/restaurant in Kata for saledue to ill health of owner. Theowner will accept offers from450,000 baht. Tel: 09-290-8030. Email: bar_grillforsale@hotmail.com

PARTNERSHIP

A German, working in a spe-cialized banking business forover 30 years, internationallysuccessful, etc, offers part-nership for the right person.Terms: must have English-language ability and be com-puter literate; 50% partner-ship for 25,000 euros. Startnow without wasting time.Possible to operate in all partsof the world. Pls fax or emailfor more info. Tel: 001-1-320-2139083 (USA). Email:passport@diplomats.com

MARINE ENGINES

FOR SALE

- Cummins marine engines,kta 19- Cummins marine engine5.9- ZF gear- Yamaha outboard engines- GeneratorsTel: 04-0453041. Email:johnlim6@yahoo.com

MINI-RESORT

Fully furnished mini-resort inthe heart of Bang Tao Beachnow available for lease. Pls callfor details. Tel: 01-6285361.

Do Not Drink

Tap Water!

Find more classified ads at www.phuketgazette.net!

C L A S S I F I E D SAugust 28 - September 3, 2004 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 39

der & Trumpet

4 x 4s

Saloon Cars

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

TOYOTA SOLUNA1997. 260,000 baht. Full op-tions. Call Tel: 06-2723391.

HONDA CIVIC COUPÉSeptember 2000. VTEC en-gine, automatic, only 43,700km. Six-pack CD system,leather interior, blue, immacu-late condition. Reason for sell-ing: need pickup truck for busi-ness purposes. Selling price:500,000 baht, with 1st-classinsurance. Tel: 01-8919461.Email: daveskylight@hotmail.com

GOOD CAR FOR SALESeat Cordoba, 1800cc, manual,green, metallic, 54,000km, 4-door, stereo. 230,000 baht. Tel:01-3670991.

NISSAN NVNissan NV with Carryboy, magwheels and twin aircons forsale. Very good condition.165,000 baht. Please call Tel:07-2760529.

Pickups

PAJERO FOR SALEor rent. Blue 3-door 4x4 Pajero– imported 1995 model –with turbo engine. Drives well.Price: 350,000 baht for saleor 15,000 a month to rent.Contact for more details. Tel:09-4740269, 06-6821117.Fax 076-356009 .

A1 CAR RENTALS4-door Isuzu High Lander auto:28,000 baht/month. NewToyota Altis auto: 28,000baht/month. New Toyota Viosauto: 22,000 baht per month.Toyota Soluna: 15,000 baht/month. All insured and speciallong-term prices offered.Please call Tel: 09-8314703.

Wanted

MOUNTAIN BIKEI am looking for a large usedmountain bike. I’m 6 ft 3inches and need an XL or XXLframe. All offers considered.Send details by email or fax.Tel: 076-280590, 076-281-024. Email: eric@insurance-in-thailand.com

TOYOTA 4WDTIGER

Hilux 3.0 liter GLTD auto-matic. Leather/wood dash,CD, new 2004. Fully ser-viced by Toyota. Cost over800,000 baht. Will sell for670,000 baht. Tel: 01-9066243.

Wheels& Motors

INVESTOR(S)

wanted. Small residential de-velopment in Phuket seeksinvestor(s) for up to 50%share or outright purchase.Project concept and masterplan complete for a 2.5 rai de-velopment. Up to 10 raiavailable. For further informa-tion please email us. Email:phuket_development@hotmail.com

“BUY OR SELL ABUSINESS”

www.sunbelt-phuket.com

VERY NICE BAR& restaurant in Nai Harn forsale. Includes pool table. Callfor details. Tel: 01-0887971.

INVESTORS WANTEDWe are seeking investors forexciting Danish fast foodchain in Patong. Invest175,000 baht or, as franchiseconcept, 350,000 baht.Please contact for more de-tails. Tel: 06-2989500.Email: la@grillhousedk.comwww.grillhousedk.com

INTERNET INVESTMENTWorld’s best online invest-ment. No-lose situation. Fordetails, Email: winalot@financier.com

EXCEPTIONALinvestment opportunity in landin the Patong area. Own yourown shares 100%. Call fordetails. Tel: 07-8893838.

GUESTHOUSE 4 SALEGuesthouse near the Shera-ton and Central Sofitel re-sorts, Krabi, for sale. 60mfrom the beach. Tel: 01-3703109, 06-6823119.

450-SQM BUILDINGwith 3 businesses, 2 compa-nies, 1.5-year-old pickupwith 22,000km on the clock,2 six-month-old HondaCBR 150 motorcycles and atour operator’s license. Tel:076-263478. Website:www.thaichanote.com

PATONGguesthouse & bar. 4.5 millionbaht for lease transfer (sameas 72,000 baht/month) +monthly rent. Nothing hidden.5 rooms + 1 suite guesthouseand upscale bar (can alsoserve food). Existing custom-ers. Has all licenses, includingliquor, food and entertainment.Central Patong location. Over5 years remaining on the lease.Owners must focus on otherbusiness. Financial detailsavailable. Don’t risk construc-tion or licensing problems. Beprofitable this high season.Tel: 06-9486850. Email:serfthai@yahoo.com

Business Services

VISA RUN TO

RANONG

1,299 baht. Includes visastamp fee, insurance, trip byboat and minibus (both ingood condition), and lunchwith soft drinks. Daily tripstarts at 7 am at KFC atTesco-Lotus supercenter.Please contact us for reser-vation. Tel: 076-289201 or01-5352637. For further in-formation, please visit ourwebsite: www.phuketdir.com/expressvisaextension

Computers

NIA: GET FITthe body’s way. Nia classes atThe Movement Center,Chalong, every Monday andWednesday at 6:30 pm, andat the Alba Wellness Centerat TwinPalms Phuket, Surin,every Tuesday and Thursdayat 6:30 pm. Visiting practitio-ners coming from Sept toMarch. Contact for details.Tel: 01-7975065. Email:phuketmoves@yahoo.comWebsite: phuketoves.com

Pets

WEIMARANER & LABSSix puppies : three Weimaranerand four black Labradors. Nopapers, but puppies are huge, allshots, and house-trained. Theyare now eight weeks old. Thisis a chance to have a fantasticdog for almost nothing. 6,000baht for Labs and 8,000 bahtfor Weimers. Email: troysai@yahoo.com

Busabun Tel: 06-6864860.

Email: beehivephuket@

hotmail.com

BusinessProducts &Services Personal

Services

PLEASE SAVE THEIRlives. I have three lovely dogsthat need homes, I am leavingvery soon. I don’t want tohave to put them down. Theyare very well-behaved and Ilove them all. Tel: 076-388-349, 09-4701249. Email:erikapotgieter55@yahoo.co.uk

Motorbikes

Others

NEW TUK TUKfor sale. Pls contact for de-tails. Tel: 662-7087527, 01-8403203. Fax: 02-7087526.Email: yourtuktuk@yahoo.com

NSR 250Two stroke. Built 1996,58hp, yellow,farang owner.No accidents, nothing to re-pair, all papers. 65,000 baht.Tel: 01-1876944, 01-187-6944. Email: roger_ sommer1@hotmail.com

HONDA WAVE 100 S2003 model, electric starterand disc brake. The bike hasrun only 5,000km and looksand drives as new. 25,500baht. Tel: 076-258343, 06-9487852. Email: hwa39@loxinfo.co.th

VISO WANTEDI am currently looking for asecondhand Toyota Viso. Ifyou have one, kindly contactme soon. Tel: 06-7428781.Email: memory_b1@hotmail.com

LOOKING FORHonda Civic. I’m looking for a3-door Honda Civic. Please callor email me if you have one forsale. Tel: 09-9707444. Email:micha@aquadivers.com

MIO SCOOTERI would like to buy a YamahaMio scooter. If anyone has onefor sale, please email me withdetails, age, mileage, askingprice, etc. Email: winalot@financier.com

Rentals

COMPUTER PARTSComputer parts and accesso-ries delivered free. New andused PCs and notebooks. Mo-bile repairs. Please call for helpand full details. Tel: 09-473-5080.

Looking for a job?

See www.phuketgazette.net

Don’t miss...

The Home Show Asia

1-3 October 2004

INT'L DRIVERS

International driver’s li-censes. 5,000 baht valid upto 10 years. 6,000 bahtvalid up to 20 years. 100%legal. Please call for details.Tel: 04-0068736.

DJ FORPRIVATE PARTIES

DJ for hire for private par-ties. Europe’s best Techno/Trance DJ on Phuket isready for private bookings.For further details, pleasesee our website at http://www.dj-sounddiver.com

BEEHIVECONSTRUCTION

CO LTD

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40 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E August 28 - September 3, 2004