Boy, 15, blasted with shotgun - Thaiger

January 6 - 12, 2007Volume 14 Issue 01 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 25 Baht

QUEER NEWS, TRASHING PHUKET4; AROUND THE ISLAND 10; SPAMAGIC 13; HAPPENINGS 16;LARGER THAN LIFE 17; MOTORING

21; TAKE A BREAK 23 & 24;BOOKS, PHUKET DIARY 25; EDI-TORIAL, LETTERS 26; HOROSCOPES

28; YOUTH 'N ASIA 29; BUSINESS,ON THE MOVE 32; MONEY TALKS33; CLASSIFIEDS 40-51.

PLUS

The Gazette is publishedin association with

NEWS: B10,00 reward for es-capee; ‘Chalong bomber’ stillat large. Pages 2 & 3AROUND THE NATION: Special“remedy” leads to prisontime. Page 5INSIDE STORY: Koh Yao piercontroversy. Pages 6 & 7AROUND THE SOUTH: South-ern assassins. Page 8AROUND THE REGION: Norwe-gian bar owner gunned downoutside bar. Page 9PEOPLE: Concert violinist playsfor tsunami charity.

Pages 14 & 15LIFESTYLE: Lovely, lacey, locallingerie. Page 18 & 19CHEAP EATS: Late-night mus-sels. Pages 20NEW! GOVERNOR’S LETTER:

The importance of good sta-tistics. Page 27LAYING DOWN THE LAW: Im-migration blacklist. Page 28AFTER DARK: ResurrectedCrocodile has bite. Page 30SPORTS: Diving, Darts, Bi-cycles and Boxing.

Pages 34 & 35PROPERTY: Home of theWeek: Rawai; Construction:SB Furniture; Gardening; De-cor: Natural Beauty.

Pages 36-39

IN THIS ISSUE

Bombs sparksecurity alertBy Gazette Staff

Boy, 15,blasted

withshotgun

By Supanun Supawong

Key tourism operators expect the number of tourist arrivals to matchthe 4.8 million visitors to Phuket last year – as long as there are nodirect threats to the island’s security.

PHUKET CITY: Piyawuth“Ab” Pattamapaneewong, 19,and Wirat “Dam” Thongsu, 20,both from Phuket City, havebeen charged with gunning downa 15-year-old boy about 12:30 amon December 24.

The victim was identified asChumphon “Toto” Ruengdam,son of Prasert “Phu Yai Soi”Ruengdam, Headman of Ras-sada Village 3.

Police arrested the two sus-pects about 5 am the same dayin a rented room on Samkong Rd,where they were sleepingsoundly. Police found a shotgunalong with four unused cartridgesand a fifth spent cartridge behindthe headboard of the bed.

The officer in charge of thecase, who asked to remainanonymous, said that Chumphonwas riding around Phuket Citywith six to eight friends, when hesaw Ab and Dam at the ClockTower traffic circle.

Ab and Dam were alleg-edly incensed by Chumphon star-ing at them, and followed him toSatree Phuket School intersec-tion, where Ab pulled out asawed-off shotgun from hiswaistband and hit Chumphontwice over the head with it.

Dam sped away, but as hedid so Ab fired at Chumphon,riddling his body with nine pel-lets.

Chumphon managed to holdon to his friend for 200 meters orso after being shot, but then fellto the roadway and died.

The two suspects havebeen charged with murder andunlawful possession of a firearm.

PHUKET: Police Region 8 put50 extra officers on standby inPhuket over the holiday period,to be bolstered by about 100 moreofficers on standby from Janu-ary 5, following the bomb blastsin Bangkok on New Year’s Eve.

Phuket Provincial PoliceCommander Pol Maj Gen DechaBudnampeth told the Gazette thatthe extra officers, to remain inPhuket until the end of the highseason, will be divided among theisland’s eight police stations.

“We are focusing the extrasecurity mostly at popular tour-ism areas, such as Patong and atother beaches. We were luckythat this year nothing bad hap-pened and there were lots of tour-ists,” he said.

Gen Decha said that theBangkok bombings were unre-lated to the ongoing violence inthe Deep South.

The bombs were meant tocause a disturbance rather thanmaximize carnage, he said.

He called on the public tohelp with the security effort. “Ifanyone sees anything suspiciousthey should report it as soon aspossible by calling 191,” he added.

However, tourism industryexperts remain cautiously opti-mistic that the bombings in Bang-kok will have limited impact ontourism numbers in Phuket.

Suwalai Pinpradab, Direc-tor of Tourism Authority ofThailand’s Southern Region 4office in Phuket, said, “We areconcerned about this in Phuket,especially as it comes during apeak period for tourism.

“If similar incidents occurand the violence continues to

spread, we could face problemshere.”

Foreign embassies, includ-ing those of Australia, NewZealand, England and the US,issued warnings advising theirnationals to exercise cautionwhile traveling in Bangkok, shesaid.

“However, I have yet toreceive reports of tourists can-celing plans to visit Phuket,” shesaid on January 2.

“If this string of bombingsturns out to be an isolated inci-dent, I think tourism prospects for2007 remain very good. I havespoken to several hotel operatorsand they have told me businessis very good at the moment,” saidK. Suwalai.

Phuket Tourist Association(PTA) President Maitree Naru-katpichai told the Gazette twodays after the blasts that therehad been no impact on bookings

at the Hilton Phuket ArcadiaResort & Spa in Karon, wherehe is Owner’s Representative.

“I haven’t checked withother hotels yet, but nothing haschanged at my hotel. However,this is bound to have some im-pact on the industry, as securityis very important to tourists. Re-ports about the bombings in theinternational media will damagethe entire country’s reputation,especially coming in the wake ofa military coup,” he said.

Despite his concerns, K.Maitree expects 2007 tourist ar-rival figures to match the esti-mated 4.8 million visitors whocame to Phuket in 2006, providedthere are no more threats to se-curity.

Deputy Patong MayorChairat Sukaban said therewould be little short-term impacton tourism, but that such events

Continued on page 2

N E W S2 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

B10,000 reward forescaped convict

JAILBREAK: Escapee ThiwaWahji, 20, is considered a threatto public safety.

By Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

Security beefed upFrom page 1

PHUKET CITY: The Director ofPhuket Provincial Prison is offer-ing a 10,000-baht reward for in-formation leading to the arrest ofa convict who broke out of PhuketProvincial Prison in Decemberand remains at-large.

Phuket Provincial PrisonDirector Paisal Suwanraksa iden-tified the fugitive as Thiwa Wahji,20.

In his successful bid forfreedom on February 18, Thiwa

scaled the facility’s wall by usinga homemade rope made fromshoelaces, he said.

K. Paisal reported thebreakout to Phuket GovernorNiran Kalayanamit at the annualmeeting of the Phuket ProvincialSecurity Committee held at Pro-vincial Hall.

Thiwa was being held at theprison for four theft-relatedcrimes, including two snatch-and-run crimes in Thalang for whichhe had already been convictedand sentenced to a total of sevenyears in prison, K. Paisal said.

Two other court cases arepending against Thiwa, one asnatch-and-run and the other aburglary, he added.

“He served more than oneyear at the prison and I believehe is still somewhere in the prov-ince,” K. Paisal said.

“As we have searched forhim everywhere without success,I am happy to give a 10,000-bahtreward out of my own pocket toanyone who can tell us where heis,” said K. Paisal.

K. Paisal said having Thiwaon the loose was a threat to pub-lic safety, given his criminalrecord.

The search for the fugitivehas thus far focused on where heis know to have relatives andclose friends, including sites inKrabi, Pattani, Phattalung, PhangNga, Chumphon and Nakorn SriThammarat provinces.

K. Paisal said Thiwa es-caped where a prison buildingwas close to a wall, enabling himto scale the fence and flee. The“weak spot” in the prison’s con-tainment will be rectified, he said.

Anyone with informationabout Thiwa’s whereabouts isencouraged to contact K. Paisaldirectly at Tel: 081-8552749.

THALANG: Medium PaitoonKhopwej, 27, a woodcarver fromChalong, has served 15 days asa guest at Baan Bang Jo prisonfor “deceiving the public” afterskewering a pig’s tongue insteadof his own during this year’s Veg-etarian Festival.

Paitoon took part in the fes-tival as a mah song (“spirit me-dium”). However, he pretendedto skewer his tongue with asword, but in fact ran the bladethrough a pig’s tongue that he hadput in his mouth to fool onlook-ers.

He told police he wanted toimpress the crowds by skeweringhis tongue bottom-to-top with botha long, pointed sword and asharp-tipped saw blade – but thathe was too afraid of the pain.

When his deception was dis-covered, Paitoon was beaten byan angry mob and reported to el-ders at Kathu Chinese Shrine,who then filed a complaint againsthim with Tung Tong police.

Fake MahSong jailedfor 15 days

can have long-term effects thatare not reflected by cancellations.Tourists might choose not to bookin the first place if they feelPhuket is unsafe, he said.

“They may choose anothercountry, such as Vietnam, if theythink it is safer,” K. Chairat said.

To minimize the chance ofa bombing in Phuket, he called onhomeowners and business opera-tors to cooperate by waiting untiljust before scheduled garbagecollection times to put out theirtrash, especially in tourist areas.

“If everyone cooperates,tourist areas can be more secureand more attractive,” he said.

Along Soi Bangla in Patong,for example, garbage is now col-lected every two hours due tosecurity concerns and large gar-bage bins have been replaced bysmaller ones.

Security concerns about theheart of Patong’s red light districthave been high ever since theOctober 2002 bombing in Bali.

Niphon Piromrit, Secretaryof the Phuket Limousine andBusiness Services Cooperative(PBC), told the Gazette that allPBC members are keeping aneye out for threats to security,especially at the airport. “We willremain alert and if we see any-thing suspicious we will report itto airport security,” he said.

“I believe whoever did itwas just trying to stir up troubleand didn’t mean to kill anyone,”he said.

PHUKET: HRH Princess Chula-bhorn Mahidol and HRH Prin-cess Bajrakitiyabha will visitPhuket this month.

Princess Chulabhorn willarrive at Phuket International Air-port January 8, staying at theSimilan Islands off Phang Ngauntil January 14.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha willarrive in Phuket January 18. Aspart of her work with the JusticeMinistry, she will visit the PhuketState Attorney’s Office on themorning of January 19 and willstay at Hilton Phuket ArcadiaResort. She will leave the islandJanuary 20.

The visits of HRHs Chula-bhorn and Bajrakitiyabha followHRH Princess Soamsavali arriv-ing on the island December 28and staying at the Banyan TreePhuket for two nights.

During her visit, PrincessSoamsavali presided over theopening ceremony of a tsunamievacuation site at Wat Pana-snikom in Baan Bang Niang inPhang Nga.

PHUKET: Between the end of the new year count-down and sunrise on New Year’s Day, three peoplewere killed on Phuket roads.

The first fatality of the year on the island’sroads came at 2:30 am, when Suripong Jitsamut,30, was killed when his motorbike crashed into anelectricity pylon.

At 3:35 am, Prakarn Keawdee, 20, andThanachart Rungsrisuk, 18, were killed after theirmotorbike was involved in a collision with anotherbike.

From December 28 to the end of January 1,26 people had been injured in road accidents.

The Governor had earlier set a target of lim-iting road deaths to three and injuries on the roadbelow 40 over the December 28 to January 3 holi-day period.

Police reported that they had stopped 39,286drivers and handed out 2,119 tickets between De-cember 28 and January 1.

The most common offense was driving with-out a license, for which 1,134 tickets were issued.Not wearing a helmet on a motorbike was the sec-ond with 586 tickets, while 247 drivers and passen-gers were ticketed for not wearing a seat belt.Eighty-five people were caught with illegally-modi-fied motorbikes.

Another 67 tickets were issued for drunk driv-ing, but no drivers were cited for speeding.

At 7:30 pm Decemeber 27, the evening be-fore the “danger period” began, three men diedafter the pickup in which they were riding as pas-sengers on the back seat overshot a curve andslammed into a power pole in Mai Khao.

Three die in New Year’s Day road accidents Princesses tovisit Phuket

January 6 - 12, 2007 N E W S P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 3

By Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

‘Chalong bomber’remains at large

One of the incomplete homes blasted by a homemade bomb inNovember. The suspect has so far avoided arrest.

PHUKET CITY: A high-levelprovincial panel investigatingbomb attacks in November onthree new homes off Chao FaEast Rd and a land dispute in thearea has made little progress,despite the Governor’s insistencethat those responsible be broughtto justice as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, home construc-tion continues in the area, part ofwhich may be protected man-grove forest.

Chalong Police Deputy Su-perintendent Pol Lt Col SuwatKaewprom said that police haveprepared a list of key witnessesand have substantial physical evi-dence, including the fingerprintsand a police sketch of the sus-pected bomber.

The suspect remains atlarge however, Col Suwat toldother members of the PhuketProvincial Security Committee atthe group’s monthly meeting atthe Thavorn Grand Plaza HotelDecember 27.

Noting that the three dam-aged homes were being repairedand that construction of anothernew home had begun, he urgedfellow panel members to move asquickly as possible in ruling on thestatus of the land, which is sub-ject to an ownership dispute.

Committee member MuangDistrict Chief Wirawat Janpensaid that his office had conducteda survey that found 123 familiesliving on the land in dispute.

It would take about twomore weeks for the panel to con-clude whether or not some of theland occupied is mangrove for-est, he said.

Phuket Governor NiranKalayanamit urged all commit-tee members to conclude theirparts of the investigation assoon as possible, saying that en-croachment issues are one ofthe island’s most pressing prob-lems.

PHUKET CITY: The Life HomeProject, which supports andhouses mothers and children suf-fering from HIV, has moved toits new premises on Koh Sireh,at 10/11 Rassada, A. Muang,Phuket.

The center’s new telephoneand fax number is Tel: 076-352210, though the mobile phonecontact number Tel: 081-9703750remains the same.

The project’s mailing ad-dress also remains unchanged at12/16 PO Box 105 Montri Rd, T.Taladyai, A. Muang, Phuket83000.

Visitor co-ordinator NuchNulong said that the Life HomeProject had outgrown its previ-ous rented location. The new fa-cilities are larger and the projectwas able to buy it, K. Nuch said.

THALANG: A young angler wasfound shot in the back of the headon a bridge at Layan Beach onDecember 28.

Pol Lt Col Jessada Sang-suree, Investigating Inspector atCherng Talay Police Station, toldthe Gazette that Suthin Srisamut,40, about 10:30 pm that night re-ported that the body of his son,Worayuth Srisamut, 25, had beendiscovered on the bridge.

He said that Worayuth wasfound dead with his fishing rodand two empty cans of Leo beer

PHUKET: Phuket ProvincialHealth Office (PPHO) Chief DrWanchai Sattayawuthipong haswarned that the large number ofillegal migrant workers on Phuketis placing the island’s populationat greater risk of an outbreak ofcommunicable diseases.

Dr Wanchai’s warning fol-lows an order from the Ministryof Public Health in Bangkok tocrack down on communicablediseases by targeting foreign la-borers in order to prevent dis-eases from entering or spreadingthroughout the country.

However, he said that thePPHO already screens incomingmigrant workers as part of theregistration process, and that forthe past two to three years thePPHO has been tracking and re-cording details of foreign labor-

ers with communicable diseases.In that time, he said, the

PPHO has found that the num-ber of foreign laborers in Phuketwith HIV or tuberculosis has in-creased.

In 2004 the PPHO foundthat 38 migrant workers had HIV,but that in 2005 the number hadgrown to 46.

Other communicable ail-ments commonly suffered byThai and foreign laborers on theisland are diarrhea, gastrointesti-nal diseases, pneumonia and skindiseases, he added.

Malaria among foreign la-borers is another main concernof the PPHO, said Dr Wanchai,as it had not been found on theisland until the use of foreign la-borers increased around 1998.

He said that Phuket cur-rently has about 30,000 legal for-eign laborers, but that the totalnumber of migrant workers onthe island may be closer to 60,000or 70,000.

“People should not supportillegal foreign laborers working inPhuket. If Phuket people do notallow foreign laborers to come in,that would help to reduce the in-cidence of communicable dis-eases in Phuket,” he said.

Health Chief warns of‘unhealthy’ foreign labor

Young man executed at Layannext to him. He had been shot inthe back of the skull with a .38-caliber gun.

The body was sent to Tha-lang Hospital for forensic testing.

Col Jessada said that Wora-yuth’s wife had told police thatWorayuth had been worriedabout something, but had not con-fided in her before taking his fish-ing rod to the bridge, Col Jessadasaid.

Police believe that gang in-volvement or mistaken identitywere likely factors in the murder.

Life Home Projectmoves to Koh Sireh

By Supanun Supawong

4 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007N E W S

PATONG: A front-page headlinein the December 30 edition of adaily Thai-language newspapershocked readers with the horrificnews that a mother had murderedher newborn child and left its life-less corpse to rot in a field be-hind a row of low-rent apart-ments.

The headline for the initialreport, roughly translated, read:“Wicked brutality: Mother killschild, stuffs in box.”

The report featured a fuzzypicture of the “newborn”, accom-panied by the caption: State of thecorpse of the newborn, killedby mother with the heart of anogre. The corpse was found ina foam box, which was thrownbehind a row flats belonging tobar girls and alien laborer dur-ing the middle of the night inTambon Patong, Kathu Dis-trict, Phuket Province.

Queer News

The report said that the boxwas discovered at about 5:30 pmon December 28 by workers atthe Damrongphan Wood shop, offSainamyen Rd.

So bad was the state of thesmell emanating from the box thatpolice and workers with theKusoldharm Volunteer RescueFoundation were called in to in-vestigate.

They took the box of rottingflesh to Patong Hospital, whereit was photographed. The reportread that the body of the “new-born” was so badly decomposedthat doctors there found it impos-sible to determine its gender.

The report also quoted anunnamed source in the KathuPolice as saying that the newbornwas probably born to either a bargirl or a poor alien worker wholacked the mental capacity tocare for it, and therefore killed it,stuffed its remains into the boxand threw it away.

When the Gazette calledKathu Police duty officer Pol MajPisit Chuenpet to confirm thegruesome details a different storyemerged. The rotting flesh wasdiscovered by workers as de-scribed, but it was unlikely theremains of a human baby, he said.

“I think that it looked morelike a bag of rotten chicken thana dead baby. We only found a fewbones, and they resembled thoseof a chicken leg. We didn’t find askull or anything else indicating itwas human,” he said.

“It would make no sense forsomeone to wrap a body up likethat and leave it in a place wherepeople could see it. It would bebetter for them to bury it and con-ceal the crime,” he added.

“I do not want people topanic or say things that are nottrue. I remember a case, aroundthe time when they first startedbuilding Jungceylon, when work-ers found something buried nearthe site. People thought it mightbe a dead body, so by the timewe got there there were lots ofpeople standing around, expect-ing to see a human corpse. But itturned out to be the bodies of fourdogs that somebody had poisonedand buried there,” he said.

Just to be on the safe side,the remains would be sent fromthe hospital to a police forensicslaboratory for further examina-tion, Maj Pisit said.

CHICK OR CHEAT?

This magnificent pile can be found onSakdidet Rd, about a kilometer fromthe Deep Sea Port. Given its castle-like

proportions, it is not surprising that it con-sists mostly of construction debris.

But rest assured, concerned reader, thatthis mound will increase in splendor as moremidnight misanthropes learn about it and addtheir odiferous offcasts.

Got a favorite informal dump? Send a pic-ture and a brief description, including the loca-tion, to: [email protected]

TRASHING

Phuket

By Noolek Karaket

January 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 5A R O U N D T H E N A T I O N

Occultist Harn “NainAe” Raksajit wassentenced to a total100 years in prison af-

ter his conviction in 25 cases ofsexual assault against women.

Harn will serve only 20years out of the sentence, how-ever, as that is the maximum com-bined prison term stipulated forcrimes that carry a maximumsentence of no more than fiveyears.

Harn, 46, managed to con-vince his victims that having sexwith him would make them moreattractive to men.

Harn asked clients to un-dress during his charm proce-dures and persuaded them tohave sex with him, claiming thiswould make his magic more po-tent.

The Criminal Court also or-dered him to return a total of910,000 baht to 33 women whopaid him for improving their“charm” in this way.

Harn’s wife, Chamaiphorn,is seeking a divorce after shebecame infected with a venerealdisease she alleges her husbandcontracted from a client.

The one-time Buddhist nov-ice was defrocked after he wasdiscovered producing “magic po-tions” from stillborn infants, anoffense for which he was con-

At a studio inBangkok, modelsPatrick Ribbsaeterand Avi Siwa posewith a bannerencouraging theclosure of all zoos.The photo will beused by animalrights groupPeople for EthicalTreatment ofAnimals (PETA) inan advertisementto be released inthe Philippines,India, Sweden andThailand.

Photo by:TatchadonPanyaphanitkul.

Occultist sentenced to 100 years

victed and jailed in 1995. He wasarrested on the sexual assaultcharges in 2005.

Buddhist authorities com-menting on the case said occultrituals were not part of the reli-gion, but superstition and magicwere often woven into the fabricof everyday practice in manyparts of Asia.

Be my guest: The Ministry ofTourism and Sports and the Tour-ism Authority of Thailand (TAT)have set a target of receiving a

record 14.8 million tourists in2007, while focusing on quality.

Tourism Minister SuwitYodmanee said the agencieswould try to attract internationaltourists, particularly those spend-ing a lot of money, rather thanconcentrating on quantity as theagency was before.

It is expected that the num-ber of foreign tourists will increasefrom 12.4 million to 14.8 millionnext year.

Income from overseas visi-tors is expected to reach 547 bil-

lion, an increase of 13.8% from2006.

Water woes: Drinking water atalmost two-thirds of schools inThailand is substandard, accord-ing to random checks by theMedical Sciences Department.

Department Director-Gen-eral Dr Paijit Warachit said thatstudent health problems couldarise from contaminated watersources, containers, coolers andfilter machines found in 63% ofthe schools surveyed.

Conducted between Marchand August, the random checkscovered 724 schools in variousprovinces.

The checks found largeamounts of cadmium, lead, ni-trate, manganese, aluminum,fluoride and micro-organisms indrinking water at many schools.

According to Dr Paijit, thechemicals could be harmful to thedrinkers.

Too much manganese cancause fever, headaches, loss ofappetite and weakened muscles.Too much iron could cause nau-sea and osteoporosis, he said.

Dr Paijit said the findingshave been given to the relevantauthorities, including the Educa-tion Ministry and schools.

Knocked up, locked up: Cabi-

net approved a proposal put for-ward by the National HumanRights Commission for legalamendments that would delaypunishment for pregnant convictsby a few years.

The move aims to allowpregnant convicts to give birthand take care of newborns be-fore being sent to jail.

There are now up to 130pregnant women in Thai jails, saidAngkhaneung Lebnak, Directorof the Central Women’s Correc-tional Institute.

Correctional facilities havedoctors provide pre-natal carefor pregnant detainees, who aresent to hospitals outside theprison when they go into labor.

The Corrections Depart-ment would also contact theirrelatives to get them to take careof the babies.

“If no relatives show up, wewill take care of the children un-til they reach the age of six yearsold. After that, we will transferthem to the care of the PublicWelfare Department,” she said.

Some female detainees alsogot pregnant while in prison,Angkhaneung said.

Around the Nation news round-up is sourced from the pages ofThe Nation and Kom Chad Lueknewspapers.

6 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007I N S I D E S T O R Y

Construction of a pier and breakwater at Klong SonBeach on Koh Yao Yai is on hold as the National

Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeks to have theproject’s building permit revoked, but the development firmbehind the project says it has all the necessary authori-zation and plans to begin work early this year.

The Gazette ’s Sompratch Saowakhon andStephen Fein investigate the controversy, which has pit-ted Bangkok developers against poor local people – andleft some local officials in hot water.

Koh Yao villagersThe project to build an L-shaped private pier protected by a breakwateroff Klong Son Beach has

stirred up a great deal of contro-versy on Koh Yao Yai, where theheadman of Baan Yamee hasaccused Prayad Srisamut, Presi-dent of the Koh Yao Yai TambonAdministration Organization(OrBorTor), of deliberately con-cealing from villagers the factthat he had given written ap-proval for the project at a provin-cial-level meeting as far back aslast July.

The villagers learned that K.Prayad had approved the projectonly after a meeting at PhuketRajabhat University on Decem-ber 20. That meeting was at-tended by Vasant Panich, one ofthe 11 members of the NationalHuman Rights Commission,which has taken up the villagers’fight on the grounds that the pro-posed pier and breakwater willinfringe on their rights, mainlytheir means to make a living.

Commissioner Vasant’s ac-tive interest in the issue is no smallfeat. High-profile human rightscases he has been involved withinclude the investigation into thedisappearance of of human rightslawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit andthe unsolved killings during theThaksin administration’s “War onDrugs”.

Although the NHRC lacksthe authority to directly punish orprosecute a guilty party, it hasimportant oversight powers, in-cluding the rights to examinecases as it sees fit and report anyhuman rights violations and makerecommendations to both theNational Legislative Assemblyand the Cabinet.

The project, if it goes ahead,will be developed by Bangkok-based firm Naracha, part of theNichada Group of Companies.

Col Pracha Yoosumran, whoidentified himself as a consultantto Naracha, told the Gazette thatthe planned pier will comprise a15-meter main dock running offthe beach and an L-shaped 70-meter floating dock running outinto the sea, where it will be pro-tected by a large breakwater. At5.8 meters wide, the pier wouldbe similar in appearance to docksat the Boat Lagoon in Phuket, hesaid.

Permission to construct thepier and breakwater has alreadybeen granted by the local officeof the Marine Department, whichhas authorized dredging of theseabed to accommodate dockingfor boats of up to 20 tons displace-ment, he added.

“Naracha Company has al-ready been granted all the nec-essary building permits by the lo-cal Marine Department office andwe own more than 500 rai of landin the area, where we plan todevelop a holiday home project,”he said.

Col Pracha denied that anyof the land in question was underinvestigation by the Departmentof Special Investigation, as hasbeen reported by some Thai-lan-guage media sources.

The land has long beenowned outright by Naracha andhas no connection with land thatis now the subject of an encroach-ment case involving Malaysian-born Phuket resident Tan TeikHai, aka “Valentino”, he said.

Dredging work and con-struction of the pier and construc-tion of an offshore breakwaterwould begin in early 2007, he said.

However, opposition to thepier project is especially strong inBan Yamee, a part of Koh YaoYai’s Village 3 area. Residentsthere fear the project will destroythe local marine environment onwhich many of them rely to makea living. There are also concernsthat the project will destroyseagrass beds that sustain the lo-cal dugong population, which isalready highly-endangered.

The headman of Village 3,who asked for his name to bewithheld, told the Gazette thatabout 400 people live in the im-mediate vicinity of the plannedpier and that up to 40% of themrely directly on local marine re-sources for a living.

“Most of the people who livehere are poor, including myself,”he said.

Wannakiat Thubthimsang,Director of the Ministry of Natu-ral Resources and Environment(MNRE) Department of Marineand Coastal Resources Phuketoffice, in October told the Gazettethat his office had surveyed thearea of the intended pier. At thattime he confirmed the presenceof both coral and seagrass bedsin the area.

“In my opinion, any changes

to the seabed will have some im-pact on the local environment,”he said.

He noted at that time, how-ever, that the environmental im-pact of the work would dependboth on the final project designand how the work was actuallycarried out.

Representatives from Na-racha and the local Marine De-partment met briefly with KohYao Yai residents in early Octo-ber, informing them about theproject.

After that meeting, Na-racha agreed to reduce the sizeof the pier and to install a break-water in order to address villag-ers concerns about the environ-mental impact of the project, saidthe headman of Village 3.

Naracha claimed to have

Local fisherfolk of Baan Yamee claim they stand to lose theirlivelihoods if the pier and breakwater are built.

January 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 7I N S I D E S T O R Y

Ad-Knight Frank

5x5

K. Anna

Ad-ECC Phuket

2x2

K. Anna

won local support for the project,but this came from canvassingopinion of residents of villages 1,2 and 4, whose livelihoods wouldnot be directly affected by theproject, said the headman.

However, Baan Yamee resi-dents, whose livelihoods stand tobe directly affected if the pier isbuilt, remained adamantly opposedto any offshore construction.

To head off the project, theycontacted the MNRE in Bangkokas well as the NHRC.

At a December 14 meetingbetween local residents and rep-resentatives of the Naracha

Company, officials from the lo-cal Marine Department officeasked Naracha to delay construc-tion, pending review and a deci-sion by the Ministry of Transportin Bangkok.

Then on December 20, af-ter the meeting at RajabhatPhuket University and a visit tothe proposed project site, K.Vasant told the Gazette in a phoneinterview that despite the build-ing permit issued by the Trans-port Ministry’s Marine Depart-ment, offshore construction in thearea is prohibited by law.

The seabed off Klong Son

Beach is protected under legisla-tion put in place after the tsunami.The legislation aims to protectnatural barriers to impede anyfuture tsunamis and to protect therights of local residents who relyon marine and coastal resources,he explained.

In addition, the work wouldinvolve dredging some 100,000tons of sediment. Naracha hasnot specified where this materialwould be stored or disposed ofafter its removal, he added.

K. Vasant said that his panelwould send urgent requests tohalt the project to both the MNRE

and to the Ministry of Transport,which has the authority to revokethe building permit issued by itsMarine Department.

In the meantime, it wasagreed that the project be put onhold until both the MNRE andTransport Ministry review theproject, he said.

On the morning of Decem-ber 25, a group of about 30 vil-lagers presented a petition to K.Prayad. The petition, which theyasked him to sign and send di-rectly to Naracha, noted theiropposition to the project – and byhis signature, his.

“After the big meeting be-tween Naracha company’s rep-resentatives and the NHRC atRajabhat Phuket University onDecember 20, it was decided topostpone the project,” said theVillage 3 headman.

“But on that day, the BanYamee villagers learned for thefirst time that in fact the OrBor-Tor President had already signedoff his permission for the Na-racha project on July 20, eventhough he continued to tell villag-ers after that time that he wouldnot permit the project over theirobjections,” he added.

“After that, the villagers re-quested that OrBorTor PresidentPrayad clear up the issue. So on

December 22, K. Prayad wentto the village, where he admittedthat he had given permission forthe project in July – and then cov-ered up the fact,” he said.

“K. Prayad told the villag-ers, ‘If you don’t accept theproject, then I don’t accept it ei-ther’, when in fact he had alreadysigned off on it, giving Narachathe right to build it,” he added.

However, K. Prayad told theGazette that he had accepted thepetition from the Baan Yamee vil-lagers, saying he would considerit and try to organize anothermeeting between the villagers,Naracha and the OrBorTor.

He admitted that he hadsigned off on the project during ahigh-level provincial meetingchaired by the Governor of PhangNga in July. All the other mem-bers of the meeting had alreadyagreed to the project and signedthe document, which needed onlyhis signature for final approvalwhen placed before him. He de-nied, however, that he had everhid this fact from the villagers.

“It was a matter of publicrecord, I am surprised they neverknew about it,” he said, insistingthat the project’s environmentalimpact and the villagers rightswere always important consider-ations for the OrBorTor.

fight new pier project

This satellite photo shows where the 70-meter floating dock and the large breakwater are planned tobe built offshore from Baan Yamee on Koh Yao Yai.

8 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007A R O U N D T H E S O U T H

Nakhon Sri Thammaratpolice are on the huntfor a gang of assassinswho shot dead three

men and left a fourth seriouslyinjured in an ambush on Christ-mas Eve, as the victims were re-turning from a cockfight in ChangKwang Minor District. The at-tack left the victims’ car riddledwith more than 50 bullet holes.

Killed were Daecho Khun-sri, 41; Suchet Rakthim, 36; andChakhirah Khaokham, 35. Theinjured man, Sutthichai Eotphijit,33, was reported as being in aserious condition as of press time.

The following day, Pol MajGen Sudjai Yannarat, Command-er of Nakhon Sri ThammaratProvincial Police, said that hebelieved the intended target wasSuchet.

Suchet, who had a historyof clashes, recently fled to hishome in Surat Thani’s Wiang SaDistrict to hide out with a well-known gambler and local leaderin Nakhon Sri Thammarat, GenSudjai added.

Lt Col Somchok Janta-manee, Deputy Superintendent ofthe Chang Klang Police, said eye-witnesses reported that the attackhappened very quickly and couldremember only that the vehicleused in the attack was a metal-lic-colored pick-up truck with atleast four gunmen in the back.After the attack, the truck turnedround and headed back in the di-rection of Chang Klang, they toldpolice.

The assassins had a smallarsenal at their disposal to carryout the attack.

“The guns used in the at-tack included an M-16 assault ri-fle, a shotgun, a 9 mm and an 11mm. There were at least 50 bul-let holes in the victims’ car. Thevehicle was left riddled with bul-lets, which we collected as evi-

dence. We are particularly inter-ested in the bullets from the M-16, as we want to find out if theywere fired from the same weap-on that was used to shoot Sucheta few months ago,” Col Somchoksaid.

A source in the police inves-tigation department said thatSuchet was usually very mindfulof security, always carrying a9mm pistol. At the time of theattack, however, Suchet wasspeaking on his mobile phone andwas unable to draw his weaponin time to return fire.

There were many possiblemotives for the killing, includingbusiness disputes over second-hand car businesses and auto ser-vice stations. The victim was alsoinvolved in an ongoing disputewith the wife of a Surat Thanipolitician, the source added.

Despite this latest massa-cre, disputes among influentialpeople in Nakhon Sri Thammar-at have decreased considerably,

M16 OVERKILL

Around the South news roundup is sourced from Kom ChadLuek newspaper.

TIGER TRIUMPH: Songkhla Zoo recorded another success in itsrare animal breeding program last month, with the birth of fourtiger cubs. The two male and two female cubs were born to afemale tiger called “Boh” and her mate “Sah”. A competition willbe held to name the cubs. This is Songkhla’s Zoo’s third successwith breeding rare felines in the past six months. The zoo’s Asiaticgolden cats and flat-headed cats both bore kittens.

said Gen Sudjai.Violence related to disputes

in other areas spreading into Na-khon Sri Thammarat could harmthe province’s image, he added.

Bus burglars busted: Four staffmembers on a Bangkok-SuratThani tourist bus were arrestedon December 27 for stealing pas-sengers’ valuables.

The bus ran a service aimedmainly at backpackers travelingbetween Bangkok and the islandsof Koh Samui and Koh Pha-ngan. The four suspects alleged-ly waited until passengers fellasleep before rummaging forvaluables.

Pol Col Wiraphan Thanjai,Superintendent of Region 5 Tour-ist Police, said the four were busdrivers and attendants workingfor Phukij International Co.

A R O U N D T H E R E G I O NJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 9

Around 2 am December14, Norwegian JohnTerry Peterson, 34,was shot dead outside

his bar, the Opal Lounge, oppo-site Chaweng Boxing stadium onSoi Reggae, a popular nightlifearea.

Eyewitnesses told policethat Peterson and his friend LarsJokim, 35, from Sweden, wereseen arguing with a young Thaiman. When they began to walkaway from the dispute, the Thaiman produced a gun, ran afterthem and opened fire before es-caping with an accomplice on amotorbike.

Peterson was shot in thehead and died soon afterward.Jokim was shot in the chest, butsurvived and was taken to thelocal hospital for emergency treat-ment.

After hearing testimonyfrom several witnesses, includingPeterson’s girlfriend and businesspartner, Dorkged Meesungnern,28, Pol Lt Col Boonma Geawlai-yat, Investigating Inspector atKoh Samui District Police Station,and a team of officers went tothe house of Piyapong Mookras-da, 26, a waiter living in BophutDistrict.

Piyapong escaped througha window, but police arrested himlater the same morning. He wasfound in possession of an unli-censed .32 pistol, the same cali-ber as the one used in the mur-der, loaded with three bullets.

He was taken to Koh Sa-mui District Police Station, wherehe confessed to being involved inthe shooting, but claimed that hisfriend, who had escaped, shot themen.

Col Boonma said that inves-tigations had revealed that Pet-erson was involved in drug deal-ing and investigating officers be-lieve that the motive for the shoot-

ing may be connected with Peter-son’s illegal activities or could bea personal dispute with the gun-man.

Tourism preserve: The TourismAuthority of Thailand (TAT) hasdeployed 500 volunteer lifeguardson the beaches of Koh Samui,Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao fol-lowing rough seas and high windsbattering the Gulf of Thailand.

Regardless, the festive sea-son brought large numbers of vis-itors to Koh Samui. Bangkok Air-ways, the island’s only airline,reported full seats on flights to andfrom the island during the Christ-mas period. Resorts enjoyed sim-ilar high demand, with mostreaching near-100% occupancyduring the holiday period.

Guarded optimism: Despiteanother promising start to the is-

Hotels such as Central Samui Beach Resort employ trained lifeguards to look out for guests’ safety

Norwegian bar owner shot dead

land’s high season, which usuallylasts until late March, some fig-ures in the tourism industry onSamui have expressed concernthat factors such as insufficientinfrastructure and Phuket’s resur-gence as a major tourism desti-

nation could weaken Samui’s en-during popularity.

The head of the Thai Ho-tels Association on Samui, Rueng-nam Jaikwang, recently said thatit was time for Samui to opt for“quality over quantity” and called

for faster solutions to the island’sshortfalls. “It is now essential thatthe authorities catch up with theprivate sector in terms of devel-opment,” he said. “The days ofthe relaxed, old ‘This is Thailand’attitude are gone.”

Initial signs suggest that, forthis year at least, the island willcontinue to boom. An increase invisitors from other Asian coun-tries has so far compensated forfewer European visitors, whilenew high-end hotels, such as thelavish Four Seasons resort due toopen in February and the Conradresort to be built on the island’ssouth coast, are expected to af-firm Samui’s place on the inter-national holiday map.

Legal Execution: The disturb-ingly-named Thai Legal Execu-tion Department has opened abranch office on Koh Samui toassist with corporate legal dis-putes and business re-organiza-tion procedures.

Waragorn Rattanarak, theChief of the Tambon Koh SamuiMunicipality welcomed the newsand said he hoped it would helpthe island’s businesses deal withlegal procedures more swiftly andefficiently.

10 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007A R O U N D T H E I S L A N D

The art of food and the food of art

Whether you are anart lover or justsomeone seeking anice meal in beau-

tiful surroundings, Art Makham inRawai might be just the perfectstop for you.

Art Makham is both a chicart gallery and a cozy five-tablerestaurant, serving European foodwith French flair along with drinksand refreshing cocktails in cool,shady surroundings – with trulyinspiring décor.

Much of the the visual artcurrently on display was createdby French artist Laurent Tou-raine, a graduate of the EcoleNormale Superieure de MusiqueAlfred Cortot in Paris.

The exhibition at Art Ma-kham is his first, after the pianistand music teacher turned to hislove of painting as another ave-nue to express his ideas.

“For each painting it takesme a long time to get the idea.After I start, a piece takes meabout two to three days to com-plete,” said Laurent, who lived inChiang Mai for about six monthsbefore coming to Phuket to ex-hibit his work at Art Makham,owned by his friends SandraMarquis and Olivier Pages.

Sandra is well known on the

island for her work sculpting high-ly sensual, feminine images – aswell as for teaching belly danc-ing.

By Noolek Karaket

Laurent’s current exhibition,comprising 10 paintings, will rununtil January 21. One of hisworks, Le Pianiste, sold for 9,000

baht just three days after it wasput on display in early Decem-ber.

Prices for other works

range from 7,000 baht to 12,000baht, including value added taxand free framing for every pas-tel.

The concept behind ArtMakham is to allow guests toenjoy fine food and drink whileindulging their visual senses withworks that range from Laurent’sabstract paintings to underwaterphotography by Olivier, who alsoworks as a dive instructor. Withrelaxing background music play-ing and comfortable furniture, theoverall effect is classy but re-laxed, making Art Makham a per-fect chill-out venue.

Getting to Art Makham canbe a little difficult, as it is locatedon a small soi off Soi Khok Ma-kham, not far from Wat Rawaiand Rawai Beach.

However, if you find your-self lost in the area just give San-dra a call and she will come andcollect you.

Art Makham is located at 7/39Moo 2, Rawai. Open daily Sat-urday to Tuesday from 6 pm to9 pm. Available for private par-ties, but reservations are re-quested. For more informationcontact Laurent (Tel: 087-2638552, email: laurenttou-raine@ hotmail.com) or Sandra(Tel: 087-2687332, email: [email protected]).

From music to the visual arts: Laurent Touraine at Art Makham with one of his works.

January 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 11

12 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

G O O D L I V I N GJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 13

MAGICSpa

By JanyapornMorel

S wasana Spa

Although it has been twoyears since the tsu-nami, I still havetrouble finding the

courage to step on the beach.But I tell myself that having

a sweet pampering at a beach-front spa is an interesting rewardI shouldn’t let pass by as the yearcomes to an end.

So I muster up the courageto visit Swasana, at the ImpianaPhuket Cabana Resort & Spa atPatong Beach.

Paratree “Tree” Jeyjoo, SpaManager at Swasana, whichopened three months ago, handsme a refreshing roselle drink anda cold towel soaked with laven-der scent. I sit and talk with herin the lobby, where I can smellpeppermint and orange through-out the room.

K. Tree explains that swa-sana means “tranquil” in Malay.The hotel’s parent company, Im-piana Group, is a Malaysian com-pany. There is another Swasanaspa at the Impiana Hotel on KohSamui.

K. Tree shows me aroundthe spa, which is decorated withdark wood and glass windowsand designed in contemporaryThai style. The spa has threetreatment rooms and two Thaimassage rooms with a total offour beds and a foot massageroom with two seats.

There is a private singlesuite with a Jacuzzi, floral bathand steam room; a double suite

for couples, with the same facili-ties as the single suite but withtwo beds; and a one-bed singleroom without facilities which con-nects to the foot massage room.

“We have eight therapists,but only seven are on duty eachday, and our receptionist can ad-minister treatments when we areat full capacity. All our spa prod-ucts, which are very high quality,are from the Lemongrass House,which is easy for us to orderfrom,” K. Tree explains.

The spa menu lists BodyMassages, Body Spa Treatments,Spa Facial Treatments and SpaPackages. The prices range from690 baht for a 30-minute HandMassage to 7,500 baht for TheRoyal Swasana package, all pric-es exclude a 10% service chargeand 7% tax. Floral Bath, Jacuzziand Herbal Steam treatment areoptional.

I choose to have a saunawith the spa signature program“Swasana Massage”, which uses

Swasana oil for the body mas-sage. K. Tree says that theSwasana oil won the Spa Fairaward last year in the “essentialoil massage” category.

“We blend nine ingredientstogether. There are the scents ofpomelo, jasmine, lotus, ylangylang, sweet almond, sandal-wood, Zingiber, jojoba and we usecoconut oil as the base oil,” saysK. Tree. The oil gives a mixed,varied scent I haven’t smelledbefore.

I am taken to the treatmentroom – the single suite – wherethere is a floral bath from whereI can see the white sand and bluesea through the window. I am alittle bit concerned that I can beseen by people outside but K.Tree says that with this window,people outside can’t see me. Re-gardless, unfortunately I don’thave time to enjoy the bath forlong.

The sauna room is nowready. K. Tree says that a herbal

sauna is very good for detoxing,and he suggests that I showerevery five to 10 minutes in be-tween sauna sessions, beforehaving the massage.

I disrobe and shower in thesauna area, which is warmed to40ºC with vapors of lemongrass,galangal, ginger and cinnamoncamphor filling the room. As Ienter the sauna I have difficultlybreathing, but soon I feel veryrelaxed. After the sauna I feelvery fresh, and enjoy the hot teathat is ready for me.

Now I’m ready for theSwasana Massage, and so isNipawan “Nit” Taengmee, mytherapist, who is waiting for me.K. Nit starts by massaging myback, and then massages myshoulders and calves. She appliesthe Swasana oil while massagingand I feel all my worries driftingaway.

It feels like there are 10hands massaging my back andlegs at the same time – lingering-

Seaside sensations

His ’n’ hers: The Sawasana spa’s double treatment room, for destressing stressed couples.

ly and continually. I ask K. Nithow she does it. She replies thatSwasana Massage has beenadapted from the Hawaiian LomiLomi technique, in which themasseur moves harmoniouslywith each massage step.

K. Nit then asks me to layon my back, and she massagesmy legs, feet, stomach and body,and arms ending with my headand neck.

After my treatment, I amserved a hot balé fruit drink tohelp me relax that little bit more.

As I prepare to leave, I re-alize that I’m already thankful toK. Nit and the tranquil Swasanaspa, which has managed to as-suage somewhat my anxietyabout being by the sea.

Swasana Spa. Impiana PhuketCabana Resort & Spa. PatongBeach. Open daily, 9 am to 8pm. Bookings recommended.Tel: 076-340138, 076-342100.Website: www.impiana.com

P H U K E T P E O P L E14 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Stringing togethera global concerto

Concert violinist Aaron Meyers was on aplane heading for Thailand when the 2004

tsunami hit. He continued on and now stagesannual benefit concerts at The Chedi hotel.

Before his third annual concert on December26, he and his wife speak with the Gazette’sLaura Schafer to explain why they want to

help, and why they keep coming back.

‘I love combining the local music with what I do, it’s a joint cross-cultural collaboration’ – Aaron Meyers, in his third annual charityconcert in Phuket on December 26.

On a lazy evening inPhuket you might findconcert violinistAaron Meyers wan-

dering the beach lost in some tunehe has yet to write, or perhapssettled on the beach next to adrinks vendor. As the local manplays traditional Thai melodiesand Western cover tunes on hisguitar, Aaron is likely to be ac-companying him on his violin.

No matter what he’s doingor where he is, Aaron is likelyforming a connection to someonethrough his music.

On one such evening lateDecember, Aaron is preparing forhis third concert at The Chedi, atPansea Bay. The first tsunamicharity concert was held just daysafter the 2004 tsunami, whenAaron and his wife, Renee, werealready on their way from theirhome of Portland in the US toThailand for a New Year’s Eveconcert in Chiang Mai.

They had planned to cometo Phuket, but rethought their va-cation plans after the tsunami rav-aged Phuket’s shore.

With encouragement fromThe Chedi, however, Aaron andRenee stuck with their plans andwithin days of arriving on Phuket,Aaron staged a concert to raisemoney for local villages. Thatevening they collected 400,000baht, and immediately made plans

for another concert in Decemberthe same year, which raised450,000 baht.

This year the concert raisedanother 400,000 baht and hasbecome a tradition for Aaron, onehe says he’ll continue until he’sno longer able. “In Thailand youhave to move on, but people liketo stop and remember and pay

their respects, and I think this isa way we can do it,” Aaron said.

After returning to Portlandin 2004 he gave interviews de-scribing what it was like in Thai-land after the tsunami. Aaronexplained that he did these inter-views to tell the truth about theextent of the damage in Phuket– to tell people that although someareas were hit hard Phuket wasstill safe to visit.

Perhaps it’s inevitable thatAaron is a violinist. His father isa violin teacher. “My dad alwaystaught at home, so kids were al-ways coming to my home [to playviolin]. I thought it was somethingevery kid did,” Aaron said. “I wasimmersed in it, surrounded by it.”

But the spark that launchedAaron’ career was a cake. Whenhe was five years old, one of hisfather’s students won a contestto perform with the PhiladelphiaOrchestra. Seeing the girl in frontof the 110-piece orchestra im-pressed Aaron, but what really gothim was the cake at the afterparty – it was huge and in the

shape of a violin.Aaron told his dad that he

wanted one too, so his dad in-structed him on what he wouldhave to do. “I was motivated,young and had a goal, and he fu-eled the fire,” he recalled.

Aaron did get his cake –after he played with the Philadel-phia Orchestra at age 11.

He admits that it was toughhaving his dad as his violin in-

structor, and there was a timeduring his college years whenAaron gave up playing. At thetime he felt that he couldn’t beinvolved in “serious matters” asa performer, but he gradually be-gan playing again when he real-ized that he could make a differ-ence as an entertainer.

“I’m able to be involvedwith other people and culturesthrough music. Everybody loves

P H U K E T P E O P L EJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 15

Happily Ever After

Dr Naiyana Posaya-anurak and Methasit Anansiriphan were married at Pra Pitak Grand Ballroom ofThe Metropole Hotel on December 25, 2006

Recent weddings in Phuket

Ad-Norbu’s Steakhouse

2x6

K. Able

music. We may not like the samekinds of music but we all like it insome way. To me, music is a uni-versal language,” Aaron said.

“Now I do something that Ilove, and I can be involved withthings through music.”

Perhaps the most notableperformance Aaron has deliveredwas for the Dalai Lama when hevisited Portland in 2001. Aaronwas asked to write and performa piece for him, and he vividlyremembers the intensity as theDalai Lama sat just 15 feet infront of him.

But Aaron’s performanceinvolves more than just playingthe violin. He is fiercely passion-ate about creating and sharing hismusic, and he often plays withhis eyes closed as the music car-ries him away.

“I don’t think it matterswhat Aaron is playing, people justlove to watch him play. It doesn’tmatter if it’s classical or aBeatles’ tune, or an original piecehe wrote, people feel what he’sprojecting, which is love for themusic and love for people,”Renee said.

She added that listeners alsoenjoy hearing the violin differentlyand not necessarily in a classicalsetting, as his band includesdrums, guitar and piano, with theviolin as the lead.

Part of this fusion can beattributed to Aaron’s personalfavorites. This self-professedDeadhead lists Brahms, Beetho-ven, Mozart and Jerry Garcia ofthe Grateful Dead as his favoritemusicians. In a rare momentwhen Aaron isn’t playing or com-posing, he likes to spend timelounging around their home catch-ing up on emails or eating out inPortland.

In addition to his tsunamirelief work, Aaron helps raisemoney for charities around the

world, and he and Renee say theyare lucky to have extra resourcesto share and give somethingback. “If you give you shall re-ceive,” said Aaron.

“A lot of the things he doesaround home have to do with thechildren. Aaron’s heart is with thechildren,” Renee said. She addedthat there was one event he didthat was tied to a school fund-raiser, and after the event, 60schoolchildren were so inspiredby Aaron that they took up play-ing the violin.

Aaron had never played aconcert in Southeast Asia before2004, but since that first concertat The Chedi, he has gone on toplay many concerts throughoutthe region, including one whichcreated one of his favorite memo-ries, performing with the BangkokSymphony Orchestra.

When Aaron returns to playwith the orchestra he hopes tobring in some traditional Thaimusicians for a collaboration andfusion between Thai music andhis own music.

“Maybe I can even writesomething specific – a new com-position. I love combining the lo-cal music with what I do, it’s ajoint cross-cultural collaboration,”Aaron said.

He added that they hope toeventually record him playingwith the orchestra and sell thealbum, with part of the profitsgoing to the Bangkok SymphonyOrchestra.

“We’re a giant web,” he saidas he interlocked his fingers.“The work that I do; it’s not workfor me. It’s something I’m reallypassionate about. There’s stilltime to lay on the beach and dorelaxing things. But to me this isexciting and interesting.

“The best part is connect-ing with all the people we get tomeet.”

H A P P E N I N G S16 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

This week

SEA SPA: (Above) Tima Janthima (center), Executive Secretary of Spa Boat Co Ltd, joins guestsfrom Phuket spas, businesses and publications for an evening of spa treatments on Merdeka

Spa Boat on Chalong Bay.

RATING THE RACHA: (Right) Tourism and Sports Ministry Permanent Secretary Sakthip Krairiksh(left) presents to Urs Aebi, General Manager of The Racha Resort, certification confirming TheRacha’s status as a five-star resort at a recent ceremony in Bangkok.

CLEANING CREW: Volunteers from the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa and theMai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation held a beach cleanup at Mai Khao as part oftheir commitment to the environment and to raise awareness of the criticallyendangered leatherback turtles.

HOORAY FOR FINLAND: Finland’s Honorary Consult-General for Phuket PamukeAchariyachai (3rd from left) and Business and Professional Women’s Association ofThailand (Phuket branch) President Thanyarat Achariyachai (4th from left), join FinnishAmbassador to Thailand Lars Backstrom (3rd from right) and his wife Brigitta (4th fromright) and guests at the Finland National Day party at Oriental hotel in Bangkok.

PRETTY BOYS: Cabaret and TV star Dechawut Chantakaro, aka Day Freeman (3rd

from left), recently emceed a ‘beautiful man’ contest at Phuja Nirvana at CentralFestival Phuket. Pictured with Day are Sutthasinee Lovichit (right), Central’s Vice-President of Marketing; Central Sales Manager Kasin Owasuwan (2nd from left);and Phuket International Airport Director Sq/Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree (2nd from right).

SUBURBAN SARDINIA: (From right) Salvatore Cossu and Eric Bayon, owners of VillaSalvatore Italian restaurant in Prangthong Village, enjoy the restaurant’s cocktail partygrand opening with Pierre Louis Desjoyaux.

January 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 17F E A T U R E

Speak softly,and carvea big stick

Former Hyatt GM Detlef Loemker has given posh hotels for fashioning polished wood.

Afriend of mine, DetlefLoemker, makessticks. A regular visi-tor to Phuket, Detlef,

formerly the general manager ofnumerous Hyatt hotels and re-sorts around the world, makes themost expensive sticks in theworld, or at least the most expen-sive ones I have ever seen.

But to clarify, I shouldn’tsay he actually makes the sticks;rather, he shapes them from thewood of olive trees hundreds ofyears old.

It’s a hobby of his. Whenon holiday, he shapes a piece ofolive wood to more closely re-semble an animal that he hadrecognized when the wood wasstill on the tree. The trees arelong dead, killed by deep frosts,but the wood deep inside is pre-served.

But not all of the trees haveusable timber. In fact, Detlefsays, about 70% of them are use-less.

Working with Rolf vonBeuren of Lotus Arts de Vivre,Detlef carves and polishes a pieceand then enhances it with silverand precious stones to form acobra, dragon or whatever Detlefimagines. The first 30 pieces ofhis olive wood collection, whichtook a year to produce, are beingcompleted at a workshop inBangkok.

“The essence of olive woodin itself is linked very closely withthe history of mankind, right intothe present,” Detlef explains.

“Olive wood is mentionedprominently in all three holy booksof the major religions. During theRoman Empire olive brancheswere used as a peace symbol andthey were presented as the tro-

phy in the first Olympics inGreece.

“In addition, the consump-tion of olive oil as a health tonicis well documented. The longev-ity of the Mediterranean peopleis often linked to the use of oliveoil in their daily diet.

“The health benefits of ol-ive oil were such that Cleopatrais reported to having taken bathsin it to provide the glow in her skinthat made her beauty legendary,”he says.

However, carving adds a

different dimension to use of theolive tree, and requires experi-ence and skill.

As the collection catalogsays, the fact that olive wood isclassified as hardwood means itis not easy to work with. One hasto spot the aesthetic structuraldesign offered by nature beforebeing able to carve and transformit into a piece of art.

The wood is then painstak-ingly hand-polished to reveal itsbeautiful dark inner rings. Suchdramatic effect of the dark inner

LARGER

LIFEBy Graham Doven

THANTHAN

rings can be found only in olivewood that has stopped growingdue to extreme cold-weather pe-riods. Hence, selecting a branchto transform is a challenge in it-self.

The culmination of this pro-cess is a set of interesting pieces,even for a person of dubious ar-tistic taste such as myself.

Among people who appre-ciate fine art, including well-known collectors in Europe,Detlef’s works are apparentlyworth paying for.

L I F E S T Y L E18 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

L I F E S T Y L EJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 19

By Laura Schafer

Women are alwayson the prowl forsexy, comfortablelingerie. We might

be looking for something morerisque than usual for a specialoccasion, but year round thesearch for the perfect under-garments continues.

The good news for ladieson Phuket is that Desire lingeriemay have found just what we,well, desire.

Designer Paul Phillipsstarted Desire in Patong Julylast year when he saw a needfor quality yet affordablelingerie in Phuket. His friendshad Thai friends who werealways calling asking them tosend lingerie.

Paul, who owned alingerie store in the UK at thetime, helped his friends selectpieces to send but was sur-prised as he assumed therewere plenty of lingerie shops inThailand.

Four years ago Paul cameto Thailand and discovered thatthere were some internationalstores with high prices here andsome cheaper shops withlingerie, but it was low qualityand lacked style.

“Finding desirable, fash-ionable and sexy lingerie of

good quality in Thailand issomewhat of a rare experi-ence,” says Paul, designer andowner of Desire Lingerie.

“I think that one of thereasons for this is that, becauseof the Buddhist culture,women’s sexy underwear hastraditionally in Thailand been asmuch of a taboo as nudity ornear-nudity,” he says

Western influence hasrecently changed how manyThai women think about theirunderwear. As popular maga-zines, catalogs and the Internetbecome more accessible,international trends havebecome more popular.

“Western trends haveinvaded all corners of Thailandand helped to create a freshapproach to women’s beautyand clothing, giving a muchneeded, fresher approach towomen’s independence andappearance,” says Paul.

Desire’s designs rangefrom lacy yet practical under-wear-and-bra sets to the racyschool girl look, with plenty of –or maybe not so much – satinand lace in between.

Many of Paul’s designstake Western trends and mixthem with local preferences towear something fashionable, yetdifferent.

Some of the bestselling

items at Desire are lingerie setswith attached suspender belts,bustiers, chemises and corsets.In lingerie accessories, Paul’snumber-one seller is stockings.

“The trend is toward top-quality refined and sensuallingerie and away from blanditems that are not sexy or tackyitems that belong more in acabaret show,” says Paul.

Desire’s customers aremostly local Thai women, witha few foreign men buyingsomething for their girlfriends,or foreign couples on holiday.The store also offers whole-sale prices for local bars andclubs.

“Quality and stitching isvery important no matter whatthe design or how beautiful thepiece is. However, most of ourcustomers buy from Desirebecause they can find some-thing different,” Paul says.

“They enter Desire to findsomething special.”

Desire. Aroonsom Plaza, 60/5Rat-U-Thit Pi 200 Rd (nearAndaman Beach suites),Patong, Phuket 83150.Website: www.desirephuket.com, or order online at:www.silk-uk.com. Free deliv-ery in Phuket, cash on deliv-ery. Tel: 087-9087605. Email:[email protected].

Try these

on for SighsTry these

on for Sighs

20 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007C H E A P E A T S

Newcomers to Thailandmight be surprised athow easy it is to findsomething to eat;

there are so many restaurantsand food stalls that it is possibleto sate your hunger at any time,day or night.

The night markets and foodstalls scattered about the islandare especially popular for peopleon a budget looking for a quick,savory meal.

One such venue that pro-vides a variety of tasty Thai dish-es is Tek Kun, on ThepkrasattriRd just a few hundred metersnorth of the Wor Kor Intersec-tion.

The hoi tord, or fried mus-sels, is the most popular item onthe menu.

It is made by dipping greenmussels in flour and egg, fryingthem on a flat pan, then servingthem with bean sprouts and chilisauce.

It is very similar to the Phu-ket dish with mussels and taro

known as ow tow, which is alsopopular at Tek Kun.

Stall owner Thaparat “Rat”Ongpruksa and her husband K.Boonma learned their recipe forow tow from K. Boonma’s fa-ther, Pae Thow, who has beencooking it at the fresh marketbehind Robinson departmentstore in Phuket City for about 30years. K. Boonma’s sister alsoruns a stall at market fairs.

Aside from these two localdishes, Tek Kun has other inter-esting dishes on the menu suchas pad Thai goong sod (Thaifried noodles with fresh shrimp),which is served with the bud of abanana flower, bean sprouts andChinese chives, giving a tastytwist to the traditional fare.

The restaurant also offerspopular dishes such as rad na(flat noodles with gravy andchopped vegetables), pad si-iew(fried noodles with soy sauce),fried rice and more.

All dishes sell for about 30baht. The stall is open from 6 pmto midnight. For more informationcall K. Rat at Tel: 089-4746011.

By Janyaporn Morel

Flexingyourmussels

Above: Tek Kun’s Pad Thai. Right: Hoi Tord. Below right: Ow Tow.

Looking for a place to stay?See more classified ads at www.phuketgazette.net

January 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 21M O T O R I N G

BEHINDWHEELBy Jeff Heselwood

T H ET H E

According to Honda…

The Accord has beenaround since the late’80s and has evolvedinto an advanced ma-

chine with several innovative fea-tures. Imagine a car that can al-most steer itself. Well, the latestAccord is on its way to bringingthat fantasy closer to a realitywith its unique lane-keeping as-sist system (LKAS).

LKAS maintains the posi-tion of the car in lane by provid-ing steering torque when neces-sary, significantly reducing driverfatigue and helping to preventaccidents.

In addition, an adaptivecruise control measures the dis-tance to the vehicle in front andregulates the car’s speed accord-ingly.

Want more? How about aclever high-tech MP3 audio sys-tem that adjusts the volume de-pending on the vehicle’s speed?

There are three engine op-tions available worldwide: a 2.2-liter diesel, and 2.4- or 2.0-litergasoline models. The diesel mo-tor features common-rail technol-ogy, while the gas model incor-

porates variable-valve geometry,a concept that Honda applies tomost of its cars.

The upmarket gasoline en-gine delivers a healthy 190bhp(140kW), while the diesel pro-duces a leisurely 140bhp; torquefrom the latter though is a hefty340Nm at the low engine speedof just 2,000rpm. The 2-liter vari-able-valve motor delivers around150bhp, with peak torque of190Nm, and it is this model thatis likely to be popular in ruralThailand.

A six-speed gearbox is now

available across the range, whileall models – sedan or wagon –feature advanced drive-by-wirethrottle technology.

Although there are subtledifferences to the various Accordmodels, the body shape essen-tially remains the same. There isa new-look front bumper and arevised grille, while Honda alsoclaims new windshield wiperswhich, it says, “increase glass-clearing efficiency while reduc-ing drag and wind noise”.

Other “improvements” area revised rear bumper, new rear

lamps and a so-called new sidesill trim, whatever that is. Despiteall these cosmetic alterations, atheart it is still an Accord.

To be fair, the interior hasreceived significant attention. Thesteering wheel rim is thicker, pro-viding what Honda calls a“chunkier feel” and the gear shiftlever is now easier to maneuverwith a “gun-grip” handle.

The wagon also now has aremote tailgate power switch, anitem sorely missing on the previ-ous model. Other changes includea three-dial information panel in

front of the driver instead of vari-ously located instruments. Backto basics, it seems. The instru-ments are finished in red, blue andwhite, which seems a littlestrange as Honda’s corporatecolors are just red on white.

Honda is still independentand likely to remain so. The com-pany is profitable; it has success-ful operations in the US, the UKand in its native Japan; and thisyear it achieved its first GrandPrix victory in 40 years whenBritish driver Jenson Button wonthe Hungarian race in August.Next year Honda is aiming for theworld title with Button.

Its cars may be verging onboring to look at but they areultra-reliable and tend to holdtheir value. Whether you buy anAccord or the lesser Civic,reviewed this time last year bythe Gazette, you are buying intosomething worthwhile.

Before any readers send mean email complaining that theAccord pictured is not availablein Thailand, it should be notedthat Honda builds three Accordsworldwide: one for Japan, one forEurope and yet another for theUS. All differ in detail, but theyare all still Honda Accords.

Jeff Heselwood can be contacteby email to [email protected]

Verging on boring to look at but ultra-reliable: the new Accord looks rather like, er, the old Accord.

22 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

T A K E A B R E A KJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 23

The Cryptic Crossword

Compiled by Tortuus. © 2006

PPPPPUZZLESUZZLESUZZLESUZZLESUZZLES

Solution, tips andcomputer program

at www.sudoku.com

Sudoku is very simple: each row, each column and each “box” ofnine squares within the puzzle must contain all the numbers from1 to 9 with, naturally, no repetitions. Beware: there is only onesolution to this puzzle, which is on the next page. Answers on next page

The words describedbelow all rhyme with

‘room’.What are they?

1. Flower.2. Weaving

machine.3. Feather.4. Get back into it.5. Smolder with

anger.6. Gorge with

stream.7. Where babies

come from.8. Witch’s

transport.9. Sudanese

capital.10. High-speed

noise.

EZ TRIVIA QUIZ

Can you find the seven

differences between the two

cartoons below? And can you

find them faster than the rest

of the family?

Solution on next page.

Spot the DifferenceSpot the Difference

Answers on next page

RhymeTime

1. In which province isHaad Yai?

2. Which rock banddoes Bono lead?

3. What is the fullname of the schoolHarry Potter goesto?

4. What is the name ofthe school game?

5. Who wrote the bookFrankenstein?

ACROSS

1. Going backward isprudent after worker withsingle timepiece. (13)

8. Inherent aptitude has Dilooking fuzzy. (10)

9. None married – were indebt… (4)

10. …I, for example, havenothing. (3)

11. And French, as in “towardsunrise”. (4)

14. Tailor under the streets?(5)

15. Ratchet catch is quiet,boring tool. (4)

17. Kind of potato for coolweather? (6)

19. Caucasian architecturalstyle. (8)

21. Not stereo, Tony ends inboredom. (8)

23. At 50, I’m with Penthousegirl…and mollusk? (6)

26. Sam takes cardinal to coalsource. (4)

28. Float, hotel above. (5)29. Solely on 50? Yes. (4)32. Enterprise precursor takes

us south. (1,1,1)34. Spa essentials? (4)35. Positive nerve with mist I

went in. (10)36. Twisted Emir’s vendetta

is commercial. (13)

DOWN

1. Not yet dead, Al takesfour to the east. (5)

2. Surges when Delta’s inneckwear. (5)

3. Actors are thrown. (4)

Scribble SpaceScribble SpaceScribble SpaceScribble SpaceScribble Space

6. If you were born inNovember, what isyour birthstone?

7. Where would youfind a proscenium?

8. In terms of fuel, whatdoes LNG stand for?

9. Insulin is use to treatwhich disease?

10. Which Zeppelindirigible burned inthe USA in 1937?

4. Dickens lad has martiniessential, right? (6)

5. Liquid is off, we hear.Ducks, maybe? (9)

6. Bend spoon to investigate.(5)

7. Mars has Commie planfor alien. (3,6)

12. A half a laugh is not quite“Eureka!” (3)

13. A city too, in Kentucky.(5)

16. Boxer Al and I. (3)17. Secret agent’s famed

island. (5,4)18. After canine, some are

very tasty. (9)

19. Chap’s tent piece. (3)20. Stew contains part of a

gumboot. (5)22. By the way, a sports

organization. (1,1,1)24. Wriggler Lee’s back! (3)25. Twins – diamond, maybe

in one. (6)27. Direction in mud,

reflected. (5)30. Dame follows it to

college. (5)31. Boat? Yup, eight in

Germany. (5)33. Long for conifer. (4)

Solution on next page

T A K E A B R E A K24 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Solution below, right

Get your brainGet your brainGet your brainGet your brainGet your brainin gear within gear within gear within gear within gear with

The MonThe MonThe MonThe MonThe Monssssster Quizter Quizter Quizter Quizter QuizKids! Ask Mum and Dad to help you find the answers to these

questions. They’re not easy but, if you do some research, you should beable to find the answers to all of them.

Quick Crossword

Cryptic Crossword

PuzzleSolutions

Sudoku

Quick Crossword

Rhyme Time Answers

MonsterQuiz

AnswersSolution to this week’sCartoon Puzzle

1. Bloom; 2. Loom; 3. Plume; 4. Resume; 5. Fume; 6. Flume;7. Womb; 8. Broom; 9. Khartoum; 10. Sonic boom.

EZ TriviaAnswers

1. Songkhla; 2. U2; 3. Hog-warts School of Witchcraftand Wizardry; 4. Quidditch;5. Mary WollstonecraftShelley; 6. Topaz; 7. In atheater; 8. Liquified NaturalGas; 9. Diabetes; 10. TheHindenburg.

DOWN

2. Effortlessly graceful.3. California/Nevada lake.4. King or ace, for example.5. Beer-drinking vessel.6. Poison.9. 10,000 square meters.10. Crazy person.11. New Zealand.14. Cry of pain.17. Spooky.18. Representation of the world.19. First light.

ACROSS

1. Ruled by the rich.7. It requires scratching.8. Country to the north of

Burundi.9. Trojan beauty.12. Indian garment.13. Animal exhibit.15. Ice cream shape.16. Golf club.20. Leader of the Huns.21. Top of house.22. Met.

1. A type of cow; 2. Nebu-chadnezzar II of Babylon; 3.Zabdiel Boylston; 4. 1721;5. A large bust; 6. Russia; 7.The Pennine Alps; 8. 1021;9. The Amur; 10. China; 11.The Assyrians and Babylo-nians; 12. 1913; 13. ZeppoMarx; 14. The Third Man; 15.An animal developed from afertilized egg; 16. In a Mexi-can town – it’s the townsquare; 17. Sagittarius; 18.Zombi; 19. Switzerland; 20.Two toes pointing forward oneach foot, and two pointingbackward.

1. Who or what is a zebu?

2. Against whom didZedekiah, last King ofJudah, revoltdisastrously?

3. Who was the firstphysician to use small-pox vaccine in the US?

4. In which year did he doso?

5. If a woman is “zaftig”,what does she possess?

6. In which country wouldyou find Zagorsk?

7. In which mountains isthe ski resort ofZermatt?

8. If mega is 106, what iszetta?

9. The Zeya is a tributary ofwhich river?

10. In which country is thecity of Zibo?

11. Which ancient civili-zations built ziggurats?

12. In which year was thezipper invented?

13. By what name was movieactor Herbert Marxbetter known.

14. In which 1949 OrsonWelles movie was thetheme music played on azither?

15. Who or what is a zoon?

16. Where would you find azocalo?

17. Which sign of theZodiac follows Scor-pio?

18. What is the name of thesnake god of thevoodoo cult?

19. In which country wasthe theological doctrineof Zwinglianismdevised?

20. If a bird is zygodactyl,what does it have?

Answers below

F E A T U R E SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 25

Off theSHELFBy James Eckardt

A Shore hand at writingFor three decades Robert Hugheswas the art critic for Time maga-zine, writing with a firm personalvoice that avoided both airy-fairy

pseudo-poetry and the abstruse theorizingof the mullahs of modernism.

He also found the time to write ninebooks, including: The Fatal Shore, the de-finitive history of colonial Australia;Barcelona, a homage to his favorite city;and The Culture of Complaint, a scathingscreed against the flaccid values of con-temporary America.

Things I Didn’t Know: A Memoir(Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006, 395pp)is his memoir of growing up Catholic inSydney in the straight-laced ’50s, fleeingto swinging London and serving his ap-prenticeship to art in Italy and Spain.

The book opens with a bang: his hor-rific 1999 automobile accident on a de-serted road in the outback of WesternAustralia. Three drunk and stoned youngdrug felons off a fishing trawler hadrammed the right side of his car at a clos-ing speed of 150mph.

The list of his injuries fill a long andpainful paragraph: multiple broken bonesin his right leg and right arm, four brokenribs, and shattered collarbone and sternum.I don’t think in all of the world’s literaturethere is a more vivid description of thehallucinogenic horror of a monster autocrash.

Trapped in the wreck for hours,Hughes might have begun to pray, exceptfor his fierce repudiation of his childhoodCatholic faith.

“At one point I saw Death,” hewrites. “He was sitting at a desk, like a

banker. He made no gesture, but heopened his mouth and I looked right downhis throat, which distended to become atunnel: the bocca d’inferno of old Chris-tian art. He expected me to yield, to goin.

“This filled me with abhorrence, ahatred of non-being. Not fear, exactly:more like a passionate revolt. In that mo-ment I realized that there is nothing otherthan life itself, obstinately asserting itselfagainst emptiness and nullity. Life wasso powerful, so demanding, and in myconcussion and delirium, even as my sys-tems were shutting down, I wanted it somuch.”

During his long painful recovery, heresolved to write about this life.

So he returns to an account of hisCatholic childhood in Sydney, his familyfrom a long line of lawyers, his father a

war hero. Hughes provides a stirring ac-count of his father’s adventures as a WorldWar I ace but many of the mundane de-tails of his own suburban childhood are,frankly, boring.

But the narrative flickers back to lifewith his savage account of his Jesuit board-ing school days. “Our religious educationwas, let us say, aggressive. Bellicose, infact,” he writes. After an indifferent aca-demic career, Hughes stumbles into jour-nalism and art criticism.

Five years after flailing about on theoutskirts of Australia’s art scene – full of

wild eccentrics about whom he writes viv-idly – Hughes finally makes his escape in1964 to swinging London. He is swiftlydisappointed.

“I hardly met a single person in the‘underground’ context who didn’t, no mat-ter how sexually available or amusing, turnout in the end to be ignorant and rather abore,” he writes.

“The depths of tedium that can beplumbed by sitting around half stoned, lis-tening to people chatter moonily about re-uniting humankind and erasing its aggres-sive instincts through Love and Dope, arescarcely imaginable to those who have notsuffered them.”

His new English wife turns into adrug-addled groupie and he flees toTuscany. Here, exploring the world of Ital-ian religious art, he has a series of epipha-nies that bring tears to his eyes.

“It wasn’t a question of confusing artwith religion, or trying to make a religionout of art. As some people are tone-deaf,I was religion-deaf…But I was beginning,at last, to derive from art, from architec-ture, and even from the beauty of orga-nized landscape, a sense of transcendencethat organized religion had offered me –but that I had never received.”

The 1969 publication of the bookHeaven and Hell in Western Art bringshim to the attention of Time magazine andthe memoir concludes with his flying offto New York.

PHUKET DIARY www.phuketgazette.net/calendar

January 4 to 30: Moments ofColor art exhibition

This exhibition, at The Wa-termark Bar & Restaurant in theBoat Lagoon, shows the work oflocal artist Varaporn “Map”Ponrit. Daily from 10 am until thebar closes. Entry free. To con-tact the artist call Tel: 081-6963901 or email: [email protected]

February 16-17: 2nd PhuketInternational Blues Festival

The dates for the 2nd An-nual Phuket International BluesFestival have been moved for-ward to the 3rd weekend of Feb-ruary, at the Hilton PhuketArcadia Resort & Spa, for bet-ter chances of great weather

February 16-20: Phang NgaBay Regatta

The 10th Phang Nga Re-gatta organizers are taking regis-trations, with this year’s regattalimited to 45 yachts. Already 22entries are confirmed.

The racing will take placeover the Chinese New Year. Theopening party will be held on Feb-ruary 16, with the racing continu-ing around Phang Nga Bay and

returning to Phuket February 20.To register, visit the website

at www.bayregatta.com or con-tacting the secretary at Email:[email protected].

during the big outdoor event.Eight to 10 Thailand-based

and highly- acclaimed interna-tional artists will descend uponPhuket for two nights of greatblues, R&B and rock ’n’ roll.

The headline band on thefirst night will be British legendVictor Brox, who once had JimiHendrix playing in his band,while the line-up on the secondnight will be headed by the RichHarper Blues Band from theUS.

Other acts already confirm-ed include Kyla Brox (Victor’sdaughter), Phuket’s own GrooveDoctors, The Blues Machinefrom Pattaya, and Blue on Blue,Cannonball and the Soi DogBlues Bank from Bangkok.

Tickets are 500 baht for onenight or 800 baht for both nights.For more information see theevents website at www.phuketbluesfestival.com or contactAndy Andersen by email [email protected] or bycalling Tel: 086-6822639.

Photo

: A

rtasia

Pre

ss

E D I T O R I A L & L E T T E R S26 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

- Since 1994 -

367/2 Yaowarat Rd, AmphurMuang, Phuket 83000Tel: 076-236555Fax: 076-213971Email: [email protected]

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

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

Letters

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

Editor: Parichat UtintuManaging Editor: Chris Husted

Editorial Consultant: Alasdair ForbesChief Reporter: Sangkhae Leelanapaporn

Editorial Team: Stephen Fein, Andy Johnstone, Natcha Yuttaworawit,Janyaporn Morel, Dominic Earnshaw,

Sompratch Saowakhon, Zach Fridell, Laura Schafer.

General Manager: Oranee PienprasertkulGeneral Manager - Phuket Gazette TV and Events: Chutimon Srithep

Marketing Manager: Natthira SusangratClassifieds Manager: Phatsara Raktammakit

Publisher: The Phuket Gazette Co Ltd

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Copyright © 1994-2006 The Phuket Gazette Co Ltd

The views expressed in the Phuket Gazette are those of the writers and contributorsand do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher, the editor, the shareholders, or thedirectors of The Phuket Gazette Co Ltd.

– The Editor

It’s our fault

What an interesting situation: thePhuket Governor releases astatement about his road-safetycampaign target of no more thanthree deaths and 39 injuries overthe New Year holidays, yet aDanish man, Mr Persson, isgranted bail despite causing thefollowing carnage: six pedestriansinjured and 16 motorbikes andtwo vehicles damaged, all whiledriving a stolen vehicle.

I find this matter disturbing,not only from a legal standpointbut also as it is grossly unfairwhen there is a European womanin Phuket Prison serving a four-year prison sentence for the theftof two mobile phones.

Surely Mr Persson’s will-fully reckless behavior demandsnot only a stiff sentence, but alsothat his bail be revoked.

Delene WatsonPatong

Heartiest congratulations toFranky Gun on having achieveda commendable milestone – fiveyears of reporting for the PhuketGazette.

I always look forward toreading his passionate columnand wish him many happy daysahead.

John KaplanBy email

I came here looking for a goodtime and, hopefully, a small holi-day romance. But even though Ilook good for my age and I am apersonal fitness instructor, I justcannot find a man.

It seems to me that mostmen of my age here are only in-terested in riding around on verylarge motorbikes wearing aWWII German helmet with ayoung Thai lady riding pillion!

I ought to be able to com-pete, as some of these girls clearlywent to the “Jackson PollockMake-Up School” as they seemto have just “thrown it on in amost haphazard fashion” (themake-up that is).

What is it that can causesome of these lovely youngnymphs to ride around with agranddad whose beer belly girthis far too big for them to wraptheir arms around?

And where are there places

I’ve been reading for months nowthe running complaints in the let-ters column about lost mail. Iagree it’s a drag to lose mail, butlet’s not forget we, the foreign-ers, are the cause of the prob-lem.

In the 1990s, I interviewedan old missionary in Phuket Citywho had come to the island rightafter World War II. He told methat up until the 1980s, whenevera foreigner got a piece of mail thehead guy at the post office wouldget on his bicycle and hand-de-liver the letter himself.

It was a badge of honor tobe the one who delivered afarang’s mail, because a letterwith a foreign stamp was a rarityin those days.

Now air mail probably ex-

Grow up, guys!

Baffled by bail

Coasting along

ceeds surface mail at the PhuketPost Office. The island is over-run with farang.

All the problems peoplecomplain about in your letterscolumn, the bad mail service, thebad traffic, even the packs ofwild dogs, they were never prob-lems here until farang came toPhuket by the plane-load and be-gan throwing money around.

The population boom cre-ated all these problems, and whilethere has been an increase in theThai population on the island, it’snothing compared to the suddenmassive influx of foreigners.

So don’t complain that theThais are causing you problems,because we caused the prob-lems.

PeaceSteve Rosse

for people like me to go and finda little holiday romance? Anyideas?

In Europe some people arenow opting for euthanasia whenthey get old and incontinent, butit seems to me that many Euro-pean men are now opting for“youth-in-Asia”! That is, get areally loud, big stupid motorbikeand get some young Thai chickto change their incontinencenappies every time they dismount!They really ought to grow up andact their age!

Gemima CockingBy Email

In respose to Paul Clark’s letter(Gazette, December 30 issue), Icommend the Gazette’s TrashingPhuket series.

Yes, it is a shame these eye-sores are dotted all over the is-land, and that little is done aboutthem, but at least it raises someawareness of the issue. It gotyour attention, didn’t it?

But I’ll happily see a photocompetition with a bottle ofchampers up for grabs in theGazette.

Come on Gazette, whatabout it?

ThirstyChalong

Treasured Trash

Pier pressureThis week’s Inside Story (pages 6 and 7) on the postponed construc-tion of a pier and breakwater off Koh Yao Yai island in Phang NgaBay captures nearly every aspect of the many environmental pro-tection and human rights issues arising from the rapid developmentof the Andaman Coast region.

Most commendable is the strong determination of the villagersof Baan Yamee in protecting what remains of the region’s most valu-able asset – its rich natural heritage. They are in the frontline: iso-lated, yet unwilling to bow to pressure.

It is understandable that the headman of Village 3 did not wanthis name published. One need only look at the unsolved murder ofLand Department officer Pongtorn Hiranyaburana in April, 2003 orthe bombing of three homes in Chalong (see ‘Chalong bomber still atlarge’, news pages) to see how land ownership disputes are all-too-often settled here.

The developer, Naracha Co Ltd, conducted public hearings, butthe residents of the village to be directly affected for some reasonwere not involved – and their objections either not heard or ignored.

The local office of the Marine Department approved the project,although a thorough Environment Impact Assessment was never sub-mitted. Considering that much of Koh Yao Yai is national park land,one would think an approved EIA would be a critical factor in gainingpermission – not an afterthought.

The fact that the island boasts so much national park land, withlittle private land available for development, makes the area highlyattractive to the real estate industry. However, it has yet to be dis-closed exactly what the project is being built to serve. Is one to be-lieve that an 85-meter dock and a breakwater are being built solely toserve a 500-rai “holiday home” development? Time will tell.

The local Tambon Administration Organization President seemsto have been pressured into signing his approval. Sitting in a meetingin front of the Phang Nga Governor and being asked to sign his ap-proval, after being told that the heads of all the other relevant agen-cies had given theirs, is a predicament few elected officials wouldrelish.

Now that the Human Rights Commission is involved, with noless than Commissioner Vasant Panich leading the fight for the vil-lagers, it seems he is willing to compromise on the matter.

So will the project move forward, as its developers claim? Thedecision now rests in Bangkok, where true power in such mattersultimately resides, to be made by those with little first-hand knowl-edge of the issues involved or understanding of the potential impactof their decision.

P E R S P E C T I V E SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 27

The problem withmathematicsTo solve the many prob-

lems arising from rapiddevelopment, first wemust establish the actual

number of people living and work-ing in Phuket.

We have already talkedwith business owners, asking fortheir cooperation in providing uswith comprehensive staff listsspecifying how many of theirstaff are actually listed on Phu-ket house registrations forms.

Soon we will require allThais who wish to move to Phu-ket and work here to have theirnames appear on a house regis-tration form in the province be-fore they can be allowed to work.We will also tackle this problemfrom the employer’s side and notallow them to hire anyone who isnot included on a Phuket houseregistration form.

Of course, some peoplemay not know where to registertheir names as they do not haverelatives in Phuket, but in caseslike these we can make a sepa-rate house registration for them,even if they are staying in anapartment or condominium. Thesame will also apply to studentsfrom other provinces. We will notallow them to study in Phuketwithout registering with the prov-ince. In cases where people areliving here [such as in unregis-tered dormitories], we will addtheir names to the central regis-try list of each district.

It won’t be easy, but afterwe establish the actual residentpopulation we will be able to re-fer back to this figure in budgetrequests to the government.

To get an idea of the dis-parity, consider vehicle registra-tion. Transport office figures putthe total number of registeredmotorbikes and cars at about400,000 vehicles, but the popula-tion is just 290,000.

Therefore, we have to de-termine the real number of resi-dents in Phuket as soon as pos-sible so that we can get the

government’s attention and begranted budgets for projects thatare necessary to keep up with theactual rate of growth and devel-opment.

Phuket Province remittedabout 850 million baht to the na-tional coffers last year, so I don’tthink the government can reason-ably expect such a large amountwas generated by just 290,000people.

To accomplish our goal, wewill conduct an urgent “residentsurvey project”. The PhuketChief Administrative Officer(Palad) will lead the effort, whichwill include mobile units withcomputers and special softwaretraveling around the island offer-ing special services, such as reg-istering for “smart cards”.

At the same time, peoplefrom other provinces will be ableto transfer their names to Phu-ket. The project is being drawnup right now and we have alreadydiscussed it with business own-ers, who have agreed to cooper-ate.

In places such as China andRussia, citizens are required tonotify the government if theymove to another part of the coun-try. We do not have laws forcingpeople to register in Thailand, butwe will do our best to see thatthey do. We also have to keephuman rights issues in mind aswell.

Another related problemfacing Phuket is the security ofour residents. As we now havemany people moving to live here

from other places, it is increas-ingly difficult for us to providesecurity for all local residents andtourists.

We have a rapidly-risingpopulation, yet the number of po-lice remains static. This is whywe are experiencing an increasein criminal activity.

My predecessor, GovernorUdomsak Uswarangkura, set upa project to check new arrivalsat Tah Chat Chai Rd checkpoint.It is still underway, but we needto be more strict about this in thefuture.

As an island, we still havethe issue of people who arrive byboat. We used to have about fiveoffices where people arriving byboat could check in, but thesehave been replaced by a single

Niran Kalayanamit, 52, was promoted toGovernor of Phuket on October 31, making himthe first Phuket Governor ever to be promoted

from Vice-Governor to the top job within theprovince.

Having already served as deputy governor for fiveyears, the Bangkok native has in-depth

knowledge of the challenges facing the province.In his first monthly letter exclusively for the

Gazette, compiled by Sangkhae Leelanapaporn,Gov Niran talks about the problems arising fromthe great disparity between Phuket’s registered

population and the actual number of people wholive here.

LETTER

TheGovernor’s

Niran Kalanamit,Governor of Phuket

“one stop service” center inChalong.

We don’t have enough of-ficers in other parts of the island,such as Pa Khlok. This makes itdifficult to keep track of who isarriving or departing by sea.

In the future, we might haveCoast Guard vessels inspectboats at sea. It might be a night-mare to train the officers and getthe necessary equipment, but if itis necessary we must considerdoing it.

As an international touristdestination, visitors may ask uswhat security measures are inplace to protect them during theirstay here.

We now can tell them thatafter the tsunami we installed tsu-nami warning towers at 18 pointsaround the island, with construc-tion on another one still under-way.

A buoy with equipment thatcan directly detect tsunamiwaves has already been deployedand more are planned. This shouldgive us better advance warningand more time to conduct anevacuation in the unlikely eventthat another tsunami hits ourshoreline.

Of course we have to bevigilant to ensure that the systemworks properly at all times. Wehave already encountered onecase of thieves stealing electriccable and other parts from thewarning towers, rendering theminoperable.

I would like to take this op-portunity to wish everyone a safeand happy new year.

May Buddha and all theother sacred spirits that protectPhuket look over you to ensureyou prosperity and the strengthto overcome any obstacles youmay face in 2007.

I have been coming to Phuket foryears, and still there are no shuttlebuses going between PatongBeach and Karon. Is there a rea-son? They are the two main tour-ist beaches in Phuket. I know thatthere are public buses to PhuketCity and from Phuket City toKaron.

Peter KaufmannPerth, Australia

Chairat Sukabal, Deputy May-or of Patong, replies:

We really want to haveshuttle buses between Patong andKaron, but the power to allow thatlies with the Phuket ProvincialLand Transport Office. I agreethat there should be a shuttle, but

first we have to talk with the gov-ernor, and then the governor willtake the order to the ProvincialLand Transport Office. I think thegovernor should talk with the Pro-vincial Land Transport Office sothat they can tell Patong Munici-pality what we have to do.

Jaturong Keawkasi, an officerfrom the Phuket ProvincialLand Transport Office, re-plies:

The reason there is noshuttle bus between PatongBeach and Karon is that the dis-tance is very short – only aboutsix kilometers – and it would beable to charge passengers only 10baht each way.

There are no transport en-trepreneurs who are interested inoffering this kind of service, es-pecially because drivers think thatthe hilly road is too hard on their

buses, so it’s not worth running ashuttle bus.

The Gazette published a simi-lar query in May, 2004. At that

time, a senior transportationofficial offered a very differentreply. He said:

“In 1994, we established apublic transport route linkingPatong and Karon.

“After just three days, how-ever, the driver was pulled fromhis vehicle and badly beaten bycompetitors.

“We would still like to havean investor operate a songtaewalong that route, but since 1994nobody has contacted us about it.

“They are probably worriedabout having similar problems andlosing their investment capital.

“Public transport in Phuketfaces many problems of this na-ture.”

Why is there no Patong-Karon shuttle bus?

Want to know how to get something done?Want to pitch an idea to Phuket’s authorities ?Submit your queries or suggestions to us andwe’ll ask the appropriate people to respond.

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

Phuket 83000. Fax 076-213971, or submit your issue at

www.phuketgazette.net

&Issues&ANSWERS

F E A T U R E S28 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

THE LAW

LAYINGDOWN

With Friedrich‘Sam’ Fauma

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 20): If youare celebrating a birthday this week you should bepacking your bags for a surprise trip. Your partnerknows that having a birthday immediately after theholidays is often something of a let-down and wantsto show how much he or she cares. Home improve-ments are highlighted for you this month; so incor-porate so tones of chocolate and cream to encour-age a more serious approach to finances.

AQUARIUS (January 21-February 19): You shouldbe feeling pretty lively at the moment. While othersare looking to remain low-key after a busy coupleof weeks, all the partying has whetted your appe-tite for more fun. If you’re expecting visitors toarrive you must make it clear how long they’ll bewelcome; there are signs that your generosity couldbe taken advantage of sometime this month if youare not careful. The number 6 may bring good for-tune next Monday.

PISCES (February 20-March 20): Too much dream-ing and scheming could cause you to miss out on avery real opportunity that will be briefly revealedthis week. Cancer makes a gesture that tempo-rarily eases a burden you’ve been carrying, but youneed to find a long-term solution to this dilemma.Going back to work isn’t as tedious as you’d ex-pected, as a new colleague will liven up the atmo-sphere considerably. Wear a piece of amber to en-courage harmony.

ARIES (March 21-April 20): A fledgling relation-ship is put to the test when the other person’s ex-flame turns up out of the blue. You should resistmaking unreasonable demands on your partner. In-stead, take the time to attend to overdue personalcommitments, and trust in Cupid to do the rightthing. Love favors you this month, so “all’s wellthat ends well”.

TAURUS (April 21-May 21): Life can be as easyor difficult as you want to make it. If you still don’trealize how much control you have over your des-tiny, you should wake up. If you’ve been harbor-ing a secret crush, the cat’s about to be let out ofthe bag. Committed relationships will be unsettleduntil the middle of this month; the only solution isto remain calm and give each other space tobreathe.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21): You will be under morethan your fair share of pressure as 2007 gets intogear. Resist the urge to throw a cream pie insomeone’s face on Tuesday, when there will beanger in the air. Your finances will grow healthieras the month progresses, but a small setback re-quires careful juggling this week. Wear the coloremerald green to enhance your charisma this Sat-urday. Pisces is already interested.

CANCER (June 22-July 23): You should already

notice improvement to your finances this week. Ifthere is a cloud of debt hanging over your head,make every effort to sort this matter out as soon aspossible. The stars will support your efforts to doso. Where romance is concerned, there’s only oneanswer to your infatuation and that is to get over itand move on quickly. Aries is a much more realis-tic contact to make.

LEO (July 24-August 22): Pace yourself this week.Your natural laziness won’t be evident at the startof 2007, as you feel pressure to get more than oneproject off the ground. However, others aroundyou don’t have the same energy and will not pro-duce the results you expect. Compliments flowyour way at a social gathering this Sunday; Cap-ricorn is particularly impressed, but all is not whatit seems. The number 8 can bring luck next Thurs-day.

VIRGO (August 23-September 23): Your attitudetoward life could use some changes; if you are con-tent to focus on the here and now, you will be un-able to plan your dream future. You need to start tostore something away for rainy days to come.Aquarius has some well-meant advice; don’t letyour pride prevent you from taking this on board.Priorities this week should include making contactwith someone who can help you move up the ca-reer ladder.

LIBRA (September 24-October 23): Exciting plansare afoot in the jungle. If you are prepared to strayfrom your usual path you can look forward to astimulating time ahead. Your reputation is better thanyou imagine; don’t be shy to ask for a work-relatedfavor on Tuesday. To get more support from yourpartner you should be more open about your hopesand fears. The color gold will encourage a positiveoutlook.

SCORPIO (October 24-November 22): You willreceive astral backing in making dramatic changesto your life. During the month of January the starsshould shower you with creative energy and theconfidence to change what is making you feel down.A dream you have this weekend offers a solutionto an irritating romantic issue, but contain the stingin your tail when approaching another Scorpio.Number 4 looks lucky on Wednesday.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23-December 21):Money matters are looking good for you this week,with a windfall forecast to land in your orchard.Your cool-headed approach to doing business putsyou ahead of others who make agreements too im-patiently. The only drawback could occur midweekwhen Gemini fails to meet a deadline. It will beonly after you have discovered the reason for thisthat you will find it easy to forgive their tardiness.The color lotus pink helps you to be more approach-able to a prospective romantic partner.

Mr A, a foreigner liv-ing and working inThailand, workedfor a development

company as marketing director.For convenience, he was also ap-pointed director of the companywith full signatory powers.

When he left the company,he resigned as director andhanded in his work permit to re-turn with his Thaiwife to his homecountry.

After sometime settling into lifeback home again,and after his wife hadgiven birth to theirfirst child, they de-cided to return toThailand for a shortholiday and to bringthe newborn to meetthe grandparents forthe first time.

On arrival atthe airport Mr A was told that hewas allowed to enter Thailand butcould not leave without first hav-ing the Phuket office of the Rev-enue Department clear his namefrom the Immigration blacklist fornot filing taxes in the name of thecompany he was employed byand director of.

Mr A was seriously con-cerned as he had his family withhim and had to get back to workafter his holiday.

Want off the Immigrationblacklist? Start talking

He began investigating thematter, for which he came toPhuket and discussed the prob-lem with the Revenue Depart-ment through his wife, a law firmand the previous accountant ofthe company.

As it turned out, Mr A hadnot been a registered director ofthe company for two years, butthe company had filed tax returns

late, showing hisname as director. Inaddition, since thattime the companyhad even been de-registered.

However, thecomputer at theRevenue Depart-ment office did notshow this informa-tion.

One wouldthink that with allthat information allshould be clear.

However, it took nearly until hisdeparture date to get his namecleared off the blacklist becausethe Revenue Department still hadan issue with the company – de-spite Mr A no longer being a di-rector.

In the end, thanks to an un-derstanding official at the Rev-enue Department, all was clearedand Mr A flew back to his homecountry with his wife and theirbaby.

In The Stars by Isla Star

F E A T U R E SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 29

Youth ’n

By AmyVan de Casteele

ASIA

Don’t kid yourselfDecember certainly is a fes-

tive month. First there’s Christ-mas Eve and Christmas Day –filled with food and fun. Thenthere’s Boxing Day, which unfor-tunately carries a tragic conno-tation since 2004.

Then there’s New Year’sEve, a.k.a. Big Party Night, andthen 2007 begins, with the usualatmosphere of anticipation andfresh beginnings that January 1always brings.

And inevitably, with thedawn of a New Year comes thelists of resolutions that we all feelobligated to make, but which wemost likely will not keep.

In fact, they should renameNew Year’s resolutions “soon-to-be-broken-promises”; becausebasically that’s what they are,promises to ourselves to do thingsthat we know deep down we willnot stick to longer than it takes tofinish the New Year’s leftovers.

The practice of makingthese resolutions is a traditiondating back to the early Babylo-nians – that’s thousands of yearsof people optimistically resolvingto do things and then failing be-cause they were probably a tadtoo ambitious.

The Babylonians’ New Yearresolutions were ever so slightlydifferent from ours. While themost popular modern resolutionsare to lose weight and quit smok-ing, the Babylonians’ most com-mon resolution was to return bor-rowed farm equipment.

Aside from shedding a fewpounds and attempting to stopemulating a chimney, the othermost popular resolutions thesedays are as follows:

1) Spend more time withfamily and friends.

2) Get to the gym more of-ten.

3) Enjoy life more, whatev-er that may involve.

4) Stop drinking.5 Get out of debt.6) Learn a new skill.7) Help others by donating

to a charity or doing some volun-teer work.

admirable and undoubtedly keysto enrich your life, but there areonly so many hours in a day tosee your friends, go to the gym,learn a new skill and then trotdown to the homeless shelter(never mind trying to find one inPhuket).

The most sensible way ofachieving these goals probablyinvolves combining them.

For example, you could al-ways drag a friend to the gymwith you and catch up on somebreathless gossip while walkingside by side on the treadmills.

The new skill that you learncould be bench pressing. Withthe time you save by doing ev-erything in the gym, you’ll havemore free time to go volunteerat a charity, if you can still thetrembling of your exhaustedmuscles.

Resolution 8, “learning to getmore organized”, is probably aresolution our parents dearly wishwe teenagers would stick to.

Anyone who has ever walk-ed into a teenager’s room knowsit’s not a pretty sight – dirty

clothes strewn everywhere, rum-pled sheets, candy wrappers un-der the bed, posters of grim-look-ing wrestlers or surly rock bandsglaring at you from the walls…and then of course all our schoolbooks dumped in some cobweb-by corner where we can pretendthey don’t exist.

A few shelves, a desk anda wastepaper bin would workwonders.

We teenagers, however,have our own sets of resolutions,and in most cases they don’t in-volve tidying our bedrooms be-cause, let’s face it, we’re justdownright incapable of that.

No, our resolutions run morealong the lines of the following:

1) Plot a new, more effec-tive strategy of bribing our par-ents for money.

2) Force our brains to fo-cus on schoolwork for more thanfive minutes before getting dis-tracted by the latest gossip/videogame/party.

3) Gather up all our new-found New Year’s confidenceand ask out that boy/girl we’ve

8) Organize one’s life.These are all very noble res-

olutions, but in reality trying to fitall of them into our already hec-tic lives is a rather daunting task,especially since some of thoseresolutions are at odds with eachother.

How, for example, are wemeant to quit drinking and enjoylife at the same time?

Alcohol is not necessaryfor happiness of course, but itdoes accompany many of thethings that we enjoy, such as go-ing out for dinner with friends,having a picnic on the beach, orspending a few hours in a favor-ite bar listening to eardrum-bursting bone-shattering rockmusic.

As for smoking, many peo-ple turn to nicotine as a weight-loss aid, because it suppresseshunger urges, so asking yourselfto continue with your rigorous dietand quit smoking at the same timeis perhaps a little cruel, althoughundoubtedly it will result in amuch healthier you.

Goals 1, 2, 6 and 7 are all

been secretly in love with sinceour eyes met for a nanosecondthree years ago when he/sheasked to borrow our eraser.

4) Learn to drive – an es-sential teenage skill.

5) Try as many differentalcoholic beverages as possibleOR see how many of the afore-mentioned beverages one candrink before rather inelegantlyregurgitating them onto the pave-ment. (Note to parents: just jok-ing about this one.)

Teenage resolutions mightseem easier to keep than adultones, but they’re surprisinglytricky. Parents, for example, havebecome much more adept at see-ing through our bribes.

As for asking out that spe-cial crush, well, have you everbeen on the receiving end of oneof those withering stares of re-jection that could curdle milk ordraw blood from the proverbialstone?

If so, you will realize thatputting your heart on the linetakes an abnormally large amountof courage.

To lessen the pressure ofattempting to fulfill all these am-bitious resolutions at once, itwould probably be wiser to makeone good resolution and stick withthat one for the year.

That way you’re far morelikely to achieve your goal, whichwill give you a sense of pride.

In turn, this hard-earnedpride will motivate you to achievethe next goal in the coming NewYear.

Yes, you might reach yourgoals much more slowly, but atleast then you’re more certain toreach them; and maybe then youcan actually keep that one cru-cial promise you made to your-self the moment the clock chimedmidnight.

The Babylonians’ New Yearresolutions were ever so slightly

different from ours. While themost popular modern resolutions

are to lose weight and quitsmoking, the Babylonians’ mostcommon resolution was to return

borrowed farm equipment.

30 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007N I G H T L I F E

CROCODILESNAPS BACKNine months after fire

gutted CrocodileDisco, the hotspot atthe end of Soi Moulin

Rouge has been resurrected asthe new “Crocodile dclub”.Nestled at the end of the busy soi,the club’s green sign and over-whelming presence beckon rev-elers to the large dance floor andenergetic atmosphere inside.

On a walk-through of therebuilt venue, the most eye-catch-ing and original design feature isthe pair of balconies overlookingSoi Moulin Rouge, also known asSoi Katoey or Soi Crocodile.These offer a unique chance towatch the throngs of tourists, bargirls and elaborately-bedeckedladyboys on the street below.

Back inside, DJs Simon andSimon – one from England, theother from America – fill the late-night DJ shift with the quality andtype of music found in Westernclubs. When they are on the turn-tables you can expect good dancemusic from track to track. Thedancers in the club were con-sulted for the music selections,ensuring that the DJs play musicthe girls want to dance to.

To that end, the club em-ploys 20 dancers, and thanks to acollaboration with the newErotica bar, trained dancers fromErotica will entertain customersnightly with special shows andchoreographed performances. In

fact, Steve Jordan, one of themanagers at Erotica, helped todesign the rebuilt club.

Club Manager Robin Lee isno newcomer to Phuket’s night-club scene, having worked withNight Station and Rock World,Crocodile’s former incarnation, aswell as clubs in Singapore andTaiwan.

That experience allowedhim, along with fellow managerSean Healey and director MatsWikstrom, to put all the piecestogether for a high-quality venuedespite the fast construction time.

“People like to watch otherpeople,” Mats explained, and thatis why the upper level of the clubhas a clear view of the dance flooralong with the view out to the soi.

The three men also made itclear that the new venture is nei-ther a go-go bar, despite the ele-ments of dancing, nor a disco-theque, despite the large dancefloor and shimmering lights. It isinstead rightfully called a night-club, with a bit of everything, in-cluding quiet areas to relax andhave a conversation at less-than-shouting volume.

An honest review wouldpoint out both the pros and consof the club, but with no covercharge – at least until the end ofJanuary, when the managers willre-evaluate whether or not to in-troduce a door charge – all beersat 100 baht and an “open untilvery late” policy, coupled with en-tertainment and good music, it’shard to fault the club.

Maybe the 200 baht gin andtonics are a bit pricey, but I’m notone to look a gift crocodile in themouth.

Bored?

Check out PhuketDiary on page 25

The view from the balconies across the front ofCrocodile overlooks the throng in the soi below.

DJ Simon spins a mix of Western club tracks.

By Zach Fridell

AFTERDARKCrocodile

January 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 31

B U S I N E S S & M O N E Y32 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

ON THE MOVEJames Firth, 31, from theUK, has been appointedManaging Director ofBeautiful World in Phuket.He has more than 12 years’experience in exporting fur-niture. In 2001 he joinedMaxialto Co Ltd as Mar-keting Manager, exportingfurniture to the US, Italy,UK, Germany, Australiaand South Korea. He wasappointed Sales & Market-ing Director in 2004.

Pipat Pokiaw, from Bangkok,has been appointed PublicRelations Manager at PhuketLaser Center in Patong. K.Pipat is a marketing graduatefrom Burapha University inChon Buri. His experience in-cludes working as SoutheastAsia Representative of Res-piratory Health InternationalLtd for five years. Beforemoving to Phuket he was Gen-eral Manager of Ergo Co Ltdfor two years in Bangkok.

Kunthari Sangchat, fromBangkok, has been ap-pointed Marriott VacationClub International (MVCI)Resort Manager.

She graduated with amaster’s degree in hospital-ity management fromConrad Hilton College at theUniversity of Houston, US.

K. Kunthari joined JWMarriott Phuket Resort &Spa as Director of Events inJune 2004.

OrBorJor reclaims Chalong PierBy Supanun Supawong

Although the OrBorJor has taken back management of Chalong Pier,fees for services there, including parking, remain unchanged.

CHALONG: The Phuket Provin-cial Administration Organization(OrBorJor) resumed administra-tion of Chalong Pier on Decem-ber 1, ending six years of controlby private companies. In theirplace, the OrBorJor hiredChokaree Tour Co Ltd to man-age and improve the pier.

“The OrBorJor took backthe pier because we want tomake it a good image to presentto people coming to Phuket. Forsix years the companies rentedthe pier, but they didn’t develop itor take care of the equipment andthe shuttle buses, and they didn’tkeep it clean,” said OrBorJorVice-President SuthinUthaitamrong.

Chalong Petroleum LtdPartnership, Kikon Marine co Ltdand Seaside Center Ltd Partner-ship previously operated the pier,but did not own the equipmentused on the pier.

Lamphun Tangnoi, Man-ager of Chokaree Tour Co Ltd,said that the old system sawequipment being hired out andtourists transferred to the end ofthe pier by 9:30 am, butChokaree’s goal is to have every-thing transferred by 8:30 am. Thecompany also plans to add twoelectric shuttle buses to the pierarea.

“I will also focus on thecleanliness of the pier. I ventureto guarantee that you will neversee more than 10 pieces of rub-bish. I want it clean because Ithink of Chalong Pier as a win-dow to Phuket that tourists seewhen they visit the island,” K.Lamphun said.

K. Suthin explained that itwill be more convenient for the

OrBorJor to administer the pier’operations because it will be ableto directly oversee work donethere.

“It’s good that theOrBorJor is running the pieragain because we can respond toproblems faster. For example, ifa section is broken, we can re-pair it, and if it is dirty, we canclean and clear it ourselves.

VITAL STATISTICS

INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS JUMP 30%

November, November, %2006 2005 change

Domestic passengers 267,078 226,700 17.8International passengers 156,625 119,845 30.7

Domestic aircraft 1,542 1,259 22.5International aircraft 1,297 1,004 29.0

Domestic Cargo 1,336 1,374 -2.7International Cargo 625 778 -19.7

Source: Phuket International Airport

“We can also improve thelandscaping, build conveniencecenters and increase security atthe pier. We can do these all im-mediately, too, whereas before itwas inconvenient and took muchlonger.”

K. Lamphun estimated thatthe OrBorJor will generate695,000 baht a month in incomefrom the pier during the high sea-son, 360,000 baht a month fromMay to September, and 530,000baht a month from October toNovember.

Predicted costs for Decem-ber are expected to be around405,000 baht, he said, but withexpenses for January reachingfalling to about 295,000 baht.

Chalong Pier should be ableto support more tourists than itcurrently does, K. Lamphun said.

However, he pointed out thatparking and transfer problemslimit the volume of traffic on thepier.

To help solve the problem,he said, new administrators will

introduce a pontoon boat to re-place the speedboats that cur-rently transfer tourists.

“We have many plans forimproving Chalong Pier, such asbuilding a pavilion… and creat-ing shade for tourists at the endof the pier waiting to be trans-ferred,” K. Lamphun said.

Service fees at the pier willremain unchanged: 10 baht perone-off transfer; 100 baht a boatfor daily mooring; 20,000 baht amonth for monthly mooring; 20baht for car parking, or 40 bahtfor long-term parking.

K. Lamphun estimates that600 vessels currently use the piereach day. Of those, 36% aresmall yachts, 30% are fishingboats, 16% are dive boats, 11%are large yachts, 6% are speedboats and 1% are travel motorships.

“We will not stop improvingpier service here, at a profit if wecan, at a loss if we must, but alwayswith high-quality service so we canbe the best local pier,” he said.

B U S I N E S S & M O N E YJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 33

Old Friends offergood assurance

TALKSMONEY

By Richard Watson

Most financial advisersuse insurance com-panies – in the plu-ral. We are essen-

tially brokers and we do not want,under any circumstances, to betied to any particular financial in-stitution. In turn, the offshore in-surance companies do not wantto employ a sales force except tomarket their products and servic-es to independent financial advis-ers.

Any reputable adviser willalways use several insurancecompanies, but normally will keepthe number to a minimum. Thiskeeps administration relativelysimple but at the same time al-lows the insurance companiessufficient business to keep thesituation viable.

Scottish Life International,part of the Royal London Group,is one alternative featured recent-ly in this column.

This article, however, isabout another major group withwhom my company has dailydealings – Friends Provident In-ternational. It is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Friends Provident,which was founded in 1832.

The name “Friends” is de-rived from the Society of Friends,another name for the Quakers.Barclays Bank and Cadbury areother examples of Quaker busi-nesses. For almost 170 yearsFriends Provident remained amutual life assurance companyowned by its policyholders.

Around 2000, they “demu-tualized” the company and listedthe shares on the London StockExchange. Today, Friends Provi-dent manages assets of around£50 billion (3.5 trillion baht).

The group also owns 50%of Foreign & Colonial along withasset manager Ivory & Sime andLuxembourg-based Lombard In-ternational Assurance SA.

Friends Provident is amember of the Financial TimesStock Exchange (FTSE orFootsie) 100 companies andalso is ranked in the Fortune500. Headquarters of FriendsProvident International are lo-cated in the Isle of Man, withoffices in Guernsey, Dubai andHong Kong.

A little-known fact is thatthe parent group, Friends Provi-dent, started an administrationoperation in India 10 years ago,but it is not a “call center”. Thestaff in India has no dealings witheither the public or even brokers(independent financial advisers).It functions as a true “back of-fice”. It has been so successfulover the past decade that theFriends Provident Group hasfound it to be more efficient andto make fewer mistakes thantheir counterparts in the UK.

Normally, offshore assur-ance companies do not sell lifeassurance, but Friends ProvidentInternational bucks the trend. Inreality, it is difficult to buy lifeassurance if you are an expat.Even for Friends Provident Inter-national it is a tiny part of its over-all business.

You may well ask whatbusiness are the assurance com-panies in? The answer is assetmanagement, but it is more com-plicated than that because theoffshore assurance companiesare really in the broadest aspectsof asset management.

This leaves two questions:“What is offshore?” and “Whatare the broader aspects of assetmanagement?” Offshore, in thecase of assurance companies,means they are targeting the ex-pat market by offering productsthat are highly tax efficient, flex-ible and personalized.

For example, Friends Prov-ident has a product known asReserve. It is available in twoversions, collective investmentand personalized. The former isdesigned to hold funds such asunit trusts, mutual funds, invest-ment trusts and so on. In otherwords, registered collective in-vestment schemes commonlyknown as “funds”.

The personalized versioncan also hold individual sharesquoted on any major stock ex-change and bonds/gilts.

What Friends Provident In-ternational, and virtually everyother offshore assurance compa-ny, is offering is often called a“wrapper”. It allows investorsaccess to almost every major in-vestment group in the world at ahuge discount.

If the investor wants toplace funds with an investment

house that normally chargesan upfront fee of, say, 5%, thisis discounted by anything from80% to 100%. Assurancecompanies themselves take noprofit from this. They chargeonly a dealing fee on eachpurchase and sale.

I cannot think of an in-vestment house that does notwant to deal with assurancecompanies. In fact, investmenthouses have to satisfy the assur-ance companies that what theyoffer meets the standard of theassurer. The reason for this is sim-ple – volume of business.

Just as manufacturers ofmany products fight for shelfspace in the giant supermarketsand have to bow to the pressureon pricing, so it is in the assur-ance industry. Fund managersoccasionally find that some oftheir funds are accepted and oth-ers denied. Property funds withhigh gearing are a good example.

Regardless of what invest-ments the client selects, the as-surance company conducts thepurchase and registration of theinvestment. All assurers now of-fer daily updates on the values ofall client portfolios as part of theservice, regardless of the type ofasset or currency.

Some assurers offer freebeneficiary nomination forms.This removes the need and ex-pense of a will for all assets held.In more complicated cases, theywill often supply trust documen-

tation free of charge or, in somecases, they will act as trustees fornominal amounts.

Assurers supply regular in-come streams if required. It is upto the client to state the amountand regularity of the payment:monthly, quarterly and so on.

They also offer free tech-nical advice on potential tax orestate charges. They all havetechnical departments that arededicated to this function.

Offshore assurers are allmembers of the Association ofInternational Life Offices, whichnegotiates on an ongoing basiswith many governments.

Friends Provident is also aleader in ethical investment, andmanages money that complieswith any major restriction onthings such as tobacco, alcoholand firearms. They do not imposethis on the general public, but willconduct it for charities and anyreligious body regardless of be-lief.

A profile could include fundsfor JP Morgan Chase & Co, Fi-delity, HSBC, Allianz, Invesco,Investec, Merrill Lynch; every-body wants “shelf space”. Formany asset managers, assurersare their biggest clients.

Asset managers who do notdeal directly with the public aremore than pleased to accept busi-ness from assurance companiesbecause it then becomes institu-tional business. As anti-money-laundering requirements are com-pleted via the assurer, initially, in-vestment houses are relieved ofthis burden.

Richard Watson runs GlobalPortfolios Co Ltd, a Phuket-based personal financial-plan-ning service. He can be reachedat Tel and Fax: 076-381997,Mobile: 081-0814611. Email:[email protected].

Do Not DrinkTap Water!

S P O R T S34 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Doing the scuba switchWhile some changesin the Phuket diveindustry have beenwidely publicized,

others have been transpiring qui-etly.

Scuba Schools International(SSI) has been growing in mem-bership numbers, as many formerProfessional Association of Div-ing Instructors (PADI) dive shopsand instructors have been sign-ing up to offer SSI certifications.

SSI is an internationally rec-ognized dive agency that certifiesdivers from Open Water/Begin-ner level to Master. The switchhas been brought on, in part, by arecent announcement that begin-ning in 2007 PADI will be in-creasing its fees for open watertraining materialsby 45%.

The pricehike has not beenwelcomed by divecenters and in-structors. PADI iscurrently the domi-nant dive associa-tion in Thailand, but on the gulfside SSI has been gaining in popu-larity, and more than 50% of divecenters are now offering SSI cer-tification. Last month SSI certi-fied more than 120 instructors inThailand, including many in theAndaman region.

SSI Thailand General Man-ager Gary Hawkes explained,“SSI is the largest dive-school-based agency, as opposed tomember-based. Instructors mustbe employed by a dive center, orreport to the SSI headquarters.”

There have been SSI head-quarters on Koh Tao since 2002.“Regional management can makedecisions based on local markettrends, instead of making global-based decisions. Instructors areaffiliated with a dive center andfreelancers must be affiliatedwith SSI headquarters.

“Our instructors preferSSI’s teaching philosophy be-cause we try to create self-sup-porting divers who are aware oftheir own level of training andability. We achieve this by teach-

ing real-world skillsthat work underthe worst possibleconditions.”

SSI servesthe local commu-nity, not just thedive centers. Bybuying materials

manufactured locally, the savingscan be passed on to the customer.For example, since books usedhere are printed in Thailand, thereis no freight cost, he added.

“Our prices on Thai andother foreign-language materialswill be reduced by one third be-cause they are made in Thai-land.” Also, certification cardsare produced in Thailand andhave just a 72-hour turnaroundtime.

SSI also supports Thai na-tionals to reach professional level

at its dive centers. When the divecenter trains them for employ-ment, the certification fees arewaived and materials are pro-vided for free.

Currently on Phuket twoThai nationals are certified SSIinstructors, Dokmai “Born”Chada, working at Sea BeesDive Center, and Gadegumpo“Patrick” Pecharatana, whoworks at Ocean Lovers Diving.

Gary and his team from SSIrecently spent a few weeks con-ducting crossovers for dive op-erators on Koh Phi Phi Don.

SURFACEBeneath the

By Sylvie YaffeNow about 95% of the dive shopson Phi Phi are offering SSI certi-fication.

SSI Instructor and TrainerSimon Speight explained, “We aredealer-based, and SSI Thailandoffers the support and the followup at a more personal level. Ourmaterials, including books andDVDs, and certification costs, arepriced to support the dealer andinstructor, as well as giving thebest value for our customers.”

He added, “I am happy withthe increasing interest in SSI as Ibelieve we must be able to give

customers a choice.”Gary said that at year’s end

SSI would have about 18% of themarket share, and for 2007 heexpects approximately 30%.

Currently in Phuket thereare six affiliated centers, but inthe next three months the num-ber will increase to about 15. Thiswill include long-time establisheddive shops, such as the KaronBeach branch of the PhuketScuba Club and Sea Bees Div-ing.

In Khao Lak there are cur-rently three SSI dive centers, butthe number is expected to doublenext year. SSI also has distribu-tion points for materials at See-mann Enterprise in Chalong andAll 4 Diving in Patong.

An SSI instructor crossoveris relatively quick, as students arealready qualified instructors andmerely require an overview of thedifferent standards and philoso-phy SSI has to offer.

Simon said, “Depending onthe candidate’s experience andwhat level we are crossing themover to, generally an open waterinstructor crossover only takesone or two days.”

For more information visitwww.ssi-thailand.com, or emailGary at [email protected] Speight can be reached [email protected] or Tel: 081-9583695.

SSI instructor trainer Simon Speight (left) and instructor Gadegumpo“Patrick” Pecharatana (2nd from right) with students.

S P O R T SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 35

PATONGDARTS

LEAGUE

PATONG: Coyote Bar pulled fur-ther away from the rest of theleague with another three-pointwin, this time at home on BoxingDay against Beach House.

Some other matches wererescheduled, including Picca-dilly’s tough home win againstFunky Monkey. Funky Monkeysalvaged a point by winning theteam game, but still remain in lastplace, one point behind BeachHouse. Offshore had to forfeittheir road game against QueenMary, ceding all three points.

In addition to sending allmatch results to league secretarySteen, team captains are encour-aged to send reports of highcloses, 180s and other notableevents to: [email protected]

December 26 results: Didi’s*6 Shakers 3; Dog’s Bollocks 5Valhalla* 4; Piccadilly 5 FunkyMonkey* 4; Queen Mary* 9 Off-shore 0 (forfeit); Beach House 3Coyote Bar* 6 (* = winner of beerleg).

Standings: 1. Coyote Bar (19pts.); 2.= Didi’s, Piccadilly (14);4. Queen Mary (13); 5. Dog’sBollocks (12); 6. Shakers (9); 7.Valhalla (8); 8. Offshore (7); 9Beach House (5); 10. FunkyMonkey (4).

January 9 matchups: Didi’s vCoyote Bar; Piccadilly v Off-shore; Shakers v Dogs Bollocks;Valhalla v Queen Mary; BeachHouse v Funky Monkey (hometeam first).

Norwegian Veronika Lundemo trades blows against See Faa fromSurat Thani in their December 29 fight at Bangla Boxing Stadium.The 140-pound women lasted all five rounds. See Faa won bydecision, to a barrage of boos from the audience.

Veronika, fighting out of the Chalong Chi camp and onpromoter Weeraphon Paenchuay’s fight card, had previously wonBangla Stadium’s “Muay Thai World Championship” belt in a first-round knockout, but could not beat See Faa on points.

PATONG: Eight cyclists arrivedat Loma Park in Patong on theevening of December 28 afterspending 26 days cycling the morethan 2,500-kilometer from ChiangMai in the fourth “Tour de Thai-land 2006”.

Fifty-two other cyclists,from the Phuket, Surat Thani andTak Bicycle Clubs, who joined thetour on route, also crossed theline with the group from ChiangMai.

The youngest cyclist thisyear was Forbes Slater, 13, fromthe US. He was also the cyclist

Tour de Thailand ends in PatongBy Supanun Supawong who raised the most money for

the charity event – 240,000 baht.The oldest biker was DanRhatigan, 67, also from the US.

The fourth Tour de Thailand2006 was organized by the Tour-ism Authority of Thailand (TAT)and Tour de Asia Bicycle Tour-ing to support tourism in Thailandand to raise money to help theFoundation for the Blind in Thai-land and the Max Foundation(TMF), which helps patients withblood-related cancers.

One million baht was raisedfor TMF and 250,000 baht for theFoundation for the Blind in Thai-land.

Coyote extendearly lead

Veronika beaten invicious bout

Above: Veronika and See Faa trade blows.

Right: See Faa, bloodied but victorious.

Find more Property Classified ads at

www.phuketgazette.net!

P H U K E T P R O P E R T Y36 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

A REFINED VIEW

The views from VillaSalika, overlookingChalong Bay from itsvantage point in Raw-

ai, take in Phuket City in the dis-tance; Nai Harn Beach andLaem Phromthep are a shortdrive away.

The villa, located in a quiet,privately-owned residential area,includes a reception-living area,five en-suite bedrooms with pri-vate spas, an infinity-edge swim-ming pool, Jacuzzis, a day roomwith spa and showers, sun ter-races, a large sala for dining, awine cellar, a large well-equippedkitchen and a yoga studio.

The main entrance leads tothe reception and living area,which shows an insistence fordetail – the geometrically de-

Home of the Week Rawai

signed, Chinese teak staircaseleading up to the guest rooms, forexample. The room is dominatedby glass doors that open to a chicblack-tiled swimming pool. Onefloor up, also overlooking the bay,is a yoga studio.

An attractive feature of Vil-la Salika is the spacious distribu-tion of rooms; the master bed-room is separate from the guestrooms to ensure total privacy. Toone side of the chamber is a doorleading outside to a sala and alarge Jacuzzi. Above is a roofgarden with views to Cape Pan-wa.

The second guest room ison the ground floor and has twoentrances, one opening directly tothe parking area. This room fea-tures a double bed, en-suite bath-

room and a private spa. Adjoin-ing are the third and fourth guestrooms. The third guest room hasan en-suite bathroom tuckedaway at the back of the room andalso features an open-air privateJacuzzi.

Matching the home in styleare the gardens that were land-scaped by Pieter van Loon fromEurolandscape, Holland.

Set amidst the gardens is theL-shaped, infinity-edge pool withJacuzzi, providing private sunsetbay views.

Villa Salika, suitable as aprivate residence or a boutiqueresort, is for sale freehold at 72million baht, negotiable. Price in-cludes a Honda CRV. For moreinformation call Able Wanama-kok at Tel: 087-8901580.

Left: the house with its Thai-style roof. Above: the huge sala has plenty of space for outdoor entertaining.

P H U K E T P R O P E R T YJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 37

Construction Update by Janyaporn Morel

SB Furniture House CoLtd is building a new fur-niture mega-showroomon a plot of about 10 rai

of land on the bypass road, oppo-site the Big C SuperCenter.

The showroom, set to openin June, will be SB’s first outlet inPhuket and will be named “SBDesign Square Phuket”.

Terapol Temsuk, ExecutiveDirector of Thai Industrial &Engineering Services PLC(TIESCO), the main contractorfor the project, told the Gazettethat work on the project startedin October last year and is ex-pected to take about eight monthsto complete.

The project will comprise atwo-story furniture showroomwith a usable area of about 10,000square meters. The building willalso house a sales office and adesign room, to be situated near

the intersection with Chao FaWest Rd, near a number of otherfurniture retailers.

“This showroom will be SBFurniture’s first in Phuket. Theproperty and furniture market hashigh potential in Phuket as thereare many foreigners coming tolive here and they like to designand decorate their houses in theirfree time. Therefore SB Com-pany believe that now is a goodtime to enter the furniture mar-ket in Phuket,” he said.

On the 10-rai plot, asidefrom the showroom, there willalso be a staff dormitory and a50-space parking lot. The build-ings will be ringed with a six-meter-wide road and there will bea fence around the outer perim-eter of the project.

“The front of the showroomwill be all glass. Inside there willbe large open spaces on the two

floors to display the furniture,” K.Terapol explained.

“The project is now about25% complete. The showroomwill be about 100 meters longand 50 meters wide. Our com-pany is also installing the waterand electricity supply systemsand other utilities for theproject,” he added.

The showroom was de-signed by MMAS Co Ltd archi-tects. The foundations werepoured by DCS Associates Com-pany Ltd and the constructionmanagement company is byConnell Wagner Co Ltd.

“TIESCO is the main con-tractor for the building work. Wehave contracts with about 15 sub-contractors to do specializedwork, such as glass and alumi-num work, and tiling. The sub-contractors are from both Phuketand Bangkok,” he said.

Furniture mega-store setto open opposite Big C

Construction work on the new SB Design Square Phuket is about 25% complete.

P H U K E T P R O P E R T Y38 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2006

Gardening with Bloomin’ Bert

This is Thailand. You’veprobably noticed that lifehere is pretty damn goodoverall. There can be

one of several reasons you’rereading this, come to think of it:1) You live in Phuket; 2) You’reon holiday in Phuket; 3) You’vevisited Phuket and rather like theplace; or 4) You want to live inPhuket. Have I missed anyoneout?

The point is that it’s not abad place to be. But there is aproblem. Branston Pickle. Youcan’t get it here, as far as I’maware. Any non-Brits will haveabsolutely no idea what I’m talk-ing about, but trust me when I saythat this is the stuff that cheesewas invented for. It’s the food ofthe gods that makes a cheese andpickle sandwich a cheese andpickle sandwich.

I’m sure I’m not the onlyperson on the island who hands ashopping list to anyone going backto the UK for a visit; BranstonPickle is always on it. As are sev-eral bags of Liquorice Allsortsand a couple of jars of pickledonions. Anyone visiting the otherside of the Atlantic is given a re-quest for Reese’s Peanut ButterCups. You just can’t get any ofthose things here, which really isa bit of a problem.

The few less-mainstreamWestern consumer goods thatyou can buy over the counter hereare ludicrously priced. Kettlechips at 50 baht a pack. They’regood, but 50 baht? A few micro-grams of imported cheese forseveral hundred baht? An Italianoffice chair I saw recently in In-dex for 40,000 baht? What arethey on?

At least I know that it’s notthe shop owners themselves whoare lifting my leg – that’s “rippingme off” for any confused Ameri-cans reading; I’ll draw you a pic-ture later. No, the fault lies solelyand squarely in the hands of ThaiCustoms. Duty is whacked on atsuch a high rate that all importedstuff costs a fortune.

Have you tried to buy a jarof real English marmalade inThailand? Or Vegemite (onlyAustralians truly appreciate thatbizarre stuff), or a decent bottleof wine? How about a LandRover Discovery, or a La-Z-Boy

reclining chair? All of these willcost you two to three times theprice of an equivalent that origi-nates in Thailand – all these prod-ucts are imported.

Monstrous duties on im-ported products certainly makesthings fairly clear; when it comesto parting with your cash you’rein little doubt about which prod-ucts weren’t made locally.

This country has done atleast one sensible thing; theymake their own version here. Noconfusion; it’s simply a productoriginally from overseas that’snow made in Thailand. And it’sdirt cheap, as it should be.

Plants are no different insome ways; many of the plantshere aren’t native to Thailand.The clever thing is that it doesn’ttake international conglomeratesconsorting with diplomatic mis-sions, or multi-million-dollar fac-tories and government incentivesto get them going. Once here,they just quietly get on with thebusiness of growing, looking goodand reproducing.

It would seem that it wasthe Europeans who started im-porting plants. The first interna-tional botanist, by all accounts,was a bloke called ChristopherColumbus. The attempted avoid-ance of import duty is nothing

Pretty immigrants

new – that was the original rea-son he went off in search of plantsto bring home, to try and lowerthe prices of existing importedspices from India.

What he first “discovered”were pineapples and chilies, nei-ther of which were unknown tothe locals of South and CentralAmerica, who already had beenenjoying them for thousands ofyears. They were certainly newto Europe, whose later explorersintroduced them to Southeast Asiasoon afterwards, where theyflourished for years to come.

The ti plant, or cordyline(maak phuu maak mia in Thai),with its green leaves, originallycame from Polynesia, where thelocals made skirts from theleaves. At some stage, somebodyobviously thought it would be agood idea to start introducing theti plant to other tropical parts ofthe world. Today, the original longgreen leaves have become amultitude of shapes and colors, tothe extent that it’s now barelyrecognizable as a single species.

In 1768, a French sailorcalled Admiral Louis de Bougain-ville began his long journey to thePacific Ocean and discovered thevine that now bears his name –bougainvillea. Thais know it asfueng faa. He brought it home

and it quickly spread to just aboutevery warm corner of the globe.

Through the followingyears, this distinctive Brazilianbeauty has assumed its place asone of the most popular tropicalplants in the region. It’s every-where. Nobody seems to knowhow it spread so far so quickly,but it’s not a bad looker, which isprobably a big part of the reason.

The same mystery sur-rounds the king of the scentedtrees, the frangipani, or Plumeria(lanthom or leelawadee). Per-haps a Portuguese or Spanish shipbrought over the first cuttingfrom Central America, but overthe centuries it has become acommon sight in Buddhist andHindu gardens and temples allover Asia. It was named afterFrench botanist called CharlesPlumier.

The two best-known mem-bers of the euphorbia family areimmigrants to Thailand. The poin-settia, or kissemass in Thai,which we looked at recently, isoriginally from Mexico – evenless of a reason for it ultimatelyto become the Christmas plant.Its far uglier cousin, the euphor-bia millii, or crown of thorns plant,started out life in Madagascar.Same family, different homes.

Even the water lily didn’toriginate here. It was originallyfound in South America. Again,nobody knows how it made itsway over here.

Gardens in Thailand reallydon’t care where their inhabitantsoriginally came from. We’re justas likely to find heliconia fromSouth America, plumbago fromSouth Africa or peacock flowersfrom Madagascar as we are tofind something that is native tothis region, such as the ixora.

To be honest, nobody reallycares. Does it really matter wherea plant originated? We’re prob-ably best keeping fairly quietabout this. Who knows, if we asktoo many questions, we are likelyto find that we owe import dutyon our gardens. Let’s keep all thisbetween you and me, shall we?

Global Garden: The water lily from South America and the crown of thorns from Madagascar are onlytwo of the many migrant plants you may find in your garden.

Want to know moreabout a plant

in your garden?

Email Bloomin’ Bert at:[email protected]

P H U K E T P R O P E R T YJanuary 6 - 12, 2006 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 39

Decor by Natcha Yuttaworawit

Beautiful World openedits fifth branch in Thai-land opposite Promphansupermarket on Chao

Fa West Rd last month, bringingto Phuket an expanding range offurniture and decor items in con-temporary Asian deigns.

James Firth, the ManagingDirector of the Phuket branch ofBeautiful World, explained thatcustomer demand, although stillmainly in favor of classic Asiandesigns, was leading the compa-ny’s range of products towardmore sleek, contemporary styles.

“What we have found is thatour range of furniture designs arestarting to go a little bit more con-temporary, and not quite so heavy,but a lot of our target market isstill mostly in favor of a heavytropical style,” he said.

The classic Asian materialsof solid wood, water hyacinth,bamboo and coconut inlay are themost popular choices. “All mate-rials [used to make BeautifulWorld items] are from Thailand,Vietnam, China and Indonesiabecause our range is based onAsian designs and materials,” MrFirth explained.

He added that the “tropical”

style of furniture is currently invogue and works very well inhomes throughout Thailand.

In addition to the growingnumber of contemporary piecesavailable at the store, customerscan order furniture custom-madeto their own designs.

In addition to decor, homeaccessory and furniture items,Beautiful World offers an interi-or design consultancy service.

Mr Firth explained thatBeautiful World was attracted toPhuket by the potential of cater-ing to property developments andhotels that have sprung up fromthe current construction boom.“We have five showrooms in to-tal now. We opened the firstbranch on Koh Samui three yearsago, and the second branch is onKoh Pha-ngan.

“Early last year we openedBeautiful World in Hua Hin,which is growing very well, andin the past four months we alsoopened in Pattaya.”

Beautiful World (Phuket). ChaoFa West Rd, opposite Promphansupermarket. Tel: 076-522097.Website: www.beautifulworldthailand.com

NATURALLYBEAUTIFUL

Contemporary but natural: Beautiful World’s stock comes in delightful natural colors and textures.

C L A S S I F I E D S40 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Property Gazette

PropertiesFor Sale

RAWAI 2-STORY

New houses. 160sqm, housesfor sale from 1.2 to 1.8 millionbaht. 400 meters from thebeach. Contact. Tel: 084-3079909. Email: [email protected]

HOT DEAL!

Beautiful, 3-bedroom house,open kitchen, marble floor,separate office, 2 telephonelines, high-speed Internet, 5aircons, includes furniture.Quiet location, 5km to thebeach. Only 3.9 million baht.Tel: 086-2740010. Email:[email protected]

HOUSE FOR SALE

Tel: 087-2799500. For de-tails, please see our website:www.baan-phuttharat-phuket.com

RAWAI

SHOPHOUSES

2 new, connected shop-houses in Rawai, on WisetRd are for sale. Groundfloor: sales office, staffroom, kitchen, dining roomand toilet. Second floor:master bedroom with sepa-rate bath and 2 separatebedrooms with connectingbath. Third floor: living roomand en-suite bedroom. Liv-ing area: 200sqm. Freeholdland: 100sqm. Price 4.5million baht. (US$113,000).Please contact Peter formore information at Tel:081-8928526 or visit ourwebsite at: www.phuket-besthomes.com

KATA SEAVIEW

LAND

Unique opportunity to buy 4rai of seaview land over-looking Kata Beach alongwith Thai company, 2 for-eign directorships and 2work permits. Only need totransfer share ownership.In secluded location in se-lect area with electricity andtown water on site. Ideal forseaview project. 32 millionbaht. Also available, 0.5 raibuilding plot in select devel-opment surrounded by se-cure stone wall and maturetrees with excellent seaviews. Price: 6 million baht.Tel: 081-2735047.Email: [email protected]

4 BEDROOMS &

POOL

New 4-bedroom house. Largeliving and dining room with fur-niture, 5m x 10m swimmingpool. Contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 081-9390176.Email: [email protected]

BEACHFRONT CONDO

Kalim, Patong. High standard,fully-furnished, 2 bedrooms,kitchen, pool, many facilities.Tel: 081-8920038.

LARGE HOUSE

Large house in Chalongarea. 4 bedrooms, 2 bath-rooms, aircon, Western-style kitchen. Quiet street.4.2 million baht ono. Tel:081-7475293, 085-783-9285. Email: [email protected]

BARGAIN HOUSE

For sale. Chalong. 3 bed-rooms, 1 ensuite and bath.Adjacent maid’s flat, self con-tained in private garden, TVsin both buildings & airconthroughout. 2 car ports withlocking gates. Asking: 3.7million negotiable. Tel: 076-330897, 085-7819961.

PATONG VILLA FOR SALE

Very exclusive, completely-furnished, new villa with swim-ming pool in best residential area of Patong. Two floors, threebedrooms with aircon, three bathrooms, Jacuzzi, Westernkitchen and dining area. Living area: 200sqm. Freehold land:150sqm.

Price: 8.5 million baht. Tel: 081-8928526.

HOUSE WITH POOL

IN CHALONG

Beautiful house for sale on224sqm of land, with pri-vate pool. Two bedrooms,big living room, bathroomwith Jacuzzi and shower,European kitchen. Fully fur-nished, 3 aircons, ADSL,UBC. 5 million baht. Tel:086-5336089. Fax: 076-310362. Email: [email protected]

INVESTMENT

Guesthouse in Patong for salewith company, 208sqm withChanote title, 150m fromJungceylon and bypass road.Option to open 3 shops andextend to 7 floors, Very rea-sonable price: 28 million baht.Tel: 086-1062566. Fax: 076-345554. Email: [email protected]

PATONG SEA VIEW

Furnished, pool. 2.2 millionbaht. 36sqm, best location.Tel: 085-7823231. Email:[email protected]

NEW VILLA FOR SALE

With pool. 5 bedrooms, superblocation & best view from topof the hill. The most quiet 1 raiof land overlooking a golfcourse. Lake & valley views.10 minutes to all shoppingcenters, boat/Laguna yachtand hospital, yet 15 minutesto beach. Near BIS. Guarantee9% rental income. 19.5 millionbaht. Call K. Noi, for moredetails. Tel: 087-2698492.

VILLA FOR SALE

PATONG PHUKET

Has private swimmingpool. Fully furnished. Tel:086-2791602. For moredetails, please see ourwebsite at: www.thainorwaymansion.com

BARGAIN HOUSE

KATHU

In popular small develop-ment. 3-bedroom housewith 3 bathrooms, large liv-ing room, kitchen/diner, laun-dry room, covered patio,private parking, walled gar-den. Nearly completed.Rural setting though closeto all facilities. Sale price:4.5 million baht. Tel: 084-843-9579. Fax: 076-323-421. Email: [email protected]

THAI-STYLE HOUSE

In Kamala. Beautiful newhouse in Kamala with pool,Jacuzzi and car port on740sqm land. To be sold be-low market value by owner.Tel: 081-0797121. Email:[email protected]

4 SARABURI VILLAS

For sale/barter 180sqm on100sq wah guarded estate.4.75 million baht. Or barterwith sea view plots. Tel: 081-8142040. www.ziam.com

TOWN HOUSE IN KATA

The house is located in a quiet,safe area, 800 meters fromthe beach. 3 bedrooms, onewith balcony. Kitchen and abig living room. 4 aircons. 2.9million baht, 60-year lease.Tel: 087-0297590. Email:[email protected]

NEW 2-STORY

House on land area of 432sqm. Price: 3.8 million baht.Please contact me for moredetails. Tel: 087-2711270.Email: [email protected]

FREEHOLD/SEAVIEW

Condo sale. Brand new, 2 bed-rooms, 2 bathrooms. Bel AirPanwa unit. Price: 9 millionbaht. Including 500,000 bahtworth of furniture. Agentswelcome. Tel: 076-342673,081-9582705. Fax: 076-342673. Email: [email protected]

BEACHFRONT

Condo in Ao Makham. Greatdesign. Owner going backhome. Nice resale + goodprice. Tel: 086-2670898.

SRISUCHART

Phuket City. 1-story house, 2bedrooms, big living room, 2bathrooms, European-stylekitchen with dishwasher. UBC,telephone line, nice gardenwith sala. Price: 3.6 millionbaht. Tel: 076-204138, 084-060-2497.

SEAVIEW PLOT

1,095sqm in Bang Tao: 3 mil-lion baht. Also 885sqm for1.65million baht. Including in-frastructure. Please contactfor more details. Email:[email protected]

LUXURY HOUSE

Large pool. Private sale atLand & Houses Park Chalong.3-4 bedroom/office, 2 stories,fully-fitted kitchen, privatetropical garden and largeswimming pool. Land area:800sqm. 12.9 million baht.Contact for full details. Tel:076-378361, 081-7722300.Fax: 01-6764849. Or contactvia email: [email protected]

LAND FOR SALE

Kod Sireh. Beautiful land,main road. 92sq wah. Tel:086-8999282.

C L A S S I F I E D SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 41

Property Gazette

VILLA FOR SALENEAR LAGUNA

Newly built. 3 bedrooms, 2bathrooms. Open-plankitchen, living room. Thevilla is fully airconditionedand furnished. Built on 360sqm. 176sqm living area,with a beautiful garden. Thelocation is only 10 minutesto Bang Tao Beach and 5minutes to Laguna. 7.8 mil-lion baht. Tel: 089-813-1447. Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOR SALE

3 million baht. Must sell, dis-counted price. 2 bedrooms,includes all furniture andappliances. Quiet, gatedcommunity, pool, sauna,gym. 1 min from Nai YangBeach.Custom floors, cabi-nets, tiles, lighting. Euro/USstandards. Please contactfor more details. Tel: 089-5878154. Email:[email protected]

LAKE VIEW LANDFor sale in Rawai. Chanotetitle. Tranquil setting and closeto Rawai beach. 1.18 rai for6,270,000 baht. Please callPPH Tel: 086-9060166.

ECO NANUAESTATE

Eco Nanua is located onPhuket's east coast just ashort distance from theHeroines Monument & justbefore the junction to CapeYamu. The project will be-come a gated residentialcommunity comprisingtropical gardens & views ofthe natural rainforest pre-senting a unique opportunityfor its future residents. Landplot sizes range from 2 to 3rai at 3 to 5 million baht arai. Tel: 081-8925649. Fax:076-385293. Email: [email protected]

SEAVIEW, LUXURYFOREIGN FREEHOLD

CONDOMINIUM

2 bedroom, 167sqm high-floor condo with panoramicsea views of Karon beachfrom all rooms. 14.5 millionbaht. Call Jeremy at PhuketLand Search Tel: 081-891-6174.

KAMALA 1 1/2 RAIHouse. Near beach, great op-portunity, 10 million baht. Tel:076-292596, 086-2678477.Email: [email protected]

SEAVIEW LANDIn Ao Por. Nor Sor 3 Gor.380sqm. Price: 1.55 millionbaht. Tel: 081-1719705.Email: [email protected]

NICE PATONG CONDOWith pool. 60sqm, fully fur-nished. Please contact formore details. Tel: 081-7727-100, 081-5657427. Email:[email protected]

FAMILY HOME

Quiet Rawai area, 150sqmliving space, only 4 villas incul-de-sac, 2-3 bedrooms,land size 670sqm, walled in,800 meters to waterfrontand restaurants, superbneighborhood. 8.8 millionbaht. Tel: 076-381490.Email: [email protected]

PRIME LAND ONPHUKET

On Hill, very beautiful over-looking eastside & westsidesea, and 2 golf courses (BlueCanyon & Mission Hill) 19rai (whole sale 2.5 millionbaht/rai) (partial sale 3 mil-lion baht/rai) with Nor Sor 3Kor and no obligation (pricenegotiable) Tel: 081-893-6355.

URGENT SALE

Sea view/breeze. 5 min-utes to Nai Harn beach.320sqm, 2 bedrooms withensuite, master withJacuzzi, guest shower,handcrafted custom bed-room & kitchen furniture.Quality construction, woodfloors, 3 carparks. 6.5 millionbaht. Neg adjoining 320sqmplot available separately. Tel:081-9583513.

RAWAI:2 PLOTS OF 1 RAI

2 plots of 1 rai betweenRawai and Chalong, quietlocation, large coconutpalms. 5 million per rai. Di-rect from owner. Pleasecontact for more details.Tel: 089-8748804. Email:[email protected]

EXCEPTIONALVILLAS

Quiet Rawai-Chalong area,private development of 8villas, security, living area350sqm, open-plan living,swimming pool, stunningand amazing design, 6 villas,17 million baht. Tel: 076-381490. Email:[email protected]

TWO SHOPHOUSESSamkong area. 5 minutes toTesco. 3 floors, 1 with mod-ern shopfront. 3 years old. 2.8and 3 million baht. Tel: 076-254063, 087-2652889.

POOL VILLAIN NAI HARN

2 en-suite bedrooms, big liv-ing area, pool. 4 million baht.Tel: 076-288047, 081-8941660. Email: [email protected]

OFFICE BUILDINGExecutive office building forsale. 102sq wah. Includesaircon, security system andprivate carport. 15 millionbaht. Tel: 076-282211, 081-958-0815. Fax: 076-283251.Email: [email protected]

RAWAI BEACHCondo. Sea view, freehold.350,000 baht. Please contactfor full details. Tel: 084-307-9909. Email: [email protected]

NEW POOL VILLALand & House park. 4 bed-rooms, 3 bathrooms, Eurokitchen. Tel: 081-0918908.Email: [email protected]

JN-TECHConstruction. Spanish-styleVilla for a great price. Availablewith 120, 160 or 220sqm.Best opportunity on the island.German management! Tel:086-7418345. Email: [email protected] For further details,please see our website at:www.1nj.de

MISSION HEIGHTS1 rai. Located in a beautifuldevelopment. Close to airportand golf course. 5km to NaiYang Beach. Tel: 076-281-529, 081-5362138. Fax: 076-281530. Email: [email protected]

LAND 1 RAIAt Kho Ta Node. 1-2-39.9 rai,Chanote, next to new high-end project & near Lagunaproperties. Road & electricity,suitable for private villa orsmall project. 5 million baht arai. Please contact for moreinformation. Tel: 076-325411,081-3701189. Fax: 076-325413. Email: phudtheera@phuket realty.net

FURNISHED HOUSE5 minutes to Laguna Phuket.3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms,UBC, ADSL, solar water heat-ing, 3 aircons, living room,large hall area, pool 5 x 10,usage area 310sqm, land1200sqm. Price: 13 millionbaht. Tel: 089-8738295,086-594-8426. Email:[email protected]

RAWAI, 400SQMChanote title, 100 metersfrom main road, square plot.Asking: 1.6 million baht. Tel:081-5376866.

SMALL PLOT INRawai. 200sqm. Chanote title.Asking 750,000 baht. Goodlocation for house. Tel: 081-5376866.

MODERN 270SQMHome. Two stories, 4 bed-rooms, 4 bathrooms, spa,aircon, tel, pool, garden. Land804sqm. Great location inChalong, 9.9 million baht. Tel:086-2817605. Email:[email protected]

TWIN HOUSE 2.95MNew 2-story house in BannManee-kram. 3 bedrooms, 3bathrooms. 44sq wah. Greatvalue. Tel: 089-7292313.

HOUSE FOR SALEIn Nanai, Patong. 4 bedrooms,4 bathrooms. Please contactfor more information. Tel:089-6620804. Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOR SALENakatani Village, Kalim Bay.Wonderful, fully-fitted outand furnished villa. Utterluxury and fabulous location34 million baht. Tel: 081-9241447. Email: [email protected]

PHUKET VILLASale. Phuket Villa, Suan Luang,semi detached. 45 sq wah. 3bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. 1.85million baht. Tel: 084-059-5577.

C L A S S I F I E D S42 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Property Gazette

BEACHFRONT LAND

295sqm Nor Sor 3 Gor. Hasroad between land and beach,located at Kevin beach AoPor. Price: 1.55 million baht.Tel: 081-1719705. Email:[email protected]

VILLAS FOR SALE

Rawai, exclusive and pri-vate development at 60meters above sea level,374sqm living space,breathtaking sea views, 38million baht. Tel: 076-381490. Email: [email protected]

PropertiesFor Rent

SHOPHOUSE BLOCK

5 terraced houses for rent onthe bypass road. 35,000 bahta month. Please call K.Vachira for more information.Tel: 081-3269495.

RAWAI BEACH VILLA

Rent room. Daily or monthly3,000 to 9,000 baht. Aircon,safe, ADSL, UBC. Tel: 084-3079909. Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOR RENT

Located in secure estate. 3bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, din-ing room, living room, study,fenced garden, UBC, ADSL.For rent long term. 30,000baht a month. Tel: 084-843-9579. Email: [email protected]

NEW HOUSE

FOR RENT

3 bedrooms, 2 bathroomsat Pa Khlok, just 700 metersfrom monument. Furnished,near international school.15,000 baht per month.Tel: 084-8516115. Email:[email protected]

MODERN VILLA

FOR SALE

Private sale in Thalang. Builtto the highest standard. 2bedrooms, 3 bathrooms,pool. Price: 9.5 million baht.Tel: 089-7272822. Email:[email protected]

LAGUNA AREA

House with pool, spa, poolsidebar, aircon, large garden, likeresort. Lease: 39,000 baht amonth. Tel: 089-5944067.

9 RAI FOR LEASE

Located in Kathu. 2 minutesfrom Central. Suitable for long-term invester. For more infoemail: [email protected]

SEAVIEW PATONG

Luxury 2-bedroom apartment.European kitchen, aircon ,UBC, ADSL, large swimmingpool. Available for long- orshort-term rental. Tel: 086-2790837.

BANG TAO

Bungalows for rent at 15,000baht a month + utilities (6months minimum) or 22,000baht a month, or 7,000 baht aweek. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath-room with hot water, tele-phone line. Car park, gated,quiet, 3km from Surin. Call K.Tee at Tel: 086-2786465 orBetty at Tel: 076-270377.

DETACHED HOUSE

For rent. In gated estate closeto British International School.3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms,fully furnished, well main-tained with nice garden.35,000 baht a month. Avail-able Jan 07. Call Piyanute atTel: 081-8926991, or Davidat Tel: 081-8500911.

LUXURY VILLAS

Rawai. SAMAKKEA VIL-LAGE, Soi Samakkea 2. Topquality villas w/ large swim-ming pool, 3-4 bedrooms, fully-fitted kitchens. From 7.3 mil-lion baht. Tel: 083-176-6602.Send email to: [email protected] For further de-tails, please see our website:www.thailandandhome.com

750 RAI BEACHFRONT

Phuket Real Estate has EV-ERY beachfront plot that is lefton Phuket Island. If you're look-ing for a 5-star hotel site or a 5-star development site, we canassist you. Please contact forfull details. Tel: 076-346346,089-8715192. Email: [email protected]

VILLA FOR RENT

Ban Prangthong Villa Es-tate, 400sqm living space,5 bedrooms, open-plan liv-ing/dining, garden withswimming pool, Jacuzzi,80,000 baht a month, mini-mum 12-month contract,Tel: 076-381490. Email:[email protected]

BUNGALOW

For rent. Fully furnished. 2bedrooms with aircon. Nice,quiet & safe Chalong area.22,000 baht per month. Tel:081-6064279.

LONG TERM RENT

Minimum 1 year, 1/2-rai com-plex in Kamala. Total 7 units,which consist of 2 x 2-bed-room apartments, 2 x 1-bed-room apartment, 3 studiorooms. Swimming pool,Jacuzzi, landscaped gardenswith barbecue, etc. Privateroad 5 mins from beach withamenities close by. Tel: 086-2733437. Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOR RENT

3 bedrooms, 1 pool, ADSL,UBC, aircon, Rawai, availablefrom February. 40,000 baht amonth. 2 bedrooms, ADSL,aircon, in Kata. 17,000 baht amonth. Tel: 081-7371687,086-9544155.

HOUSE RENT/SALE

Chalong Bay. 50 meters fromthe beach. 2 bedrooms, 2 bath-rooms, 1 living room withkitchen. Tel: 076-388174,085-7815664.

SURIN BAY AREA

Big garden. Long-term leasenow available on 3-bedroomhouse with aircon, 2 toilets,outdoor kitchen, opening up to1.2 rai of screen-fenced gar-den. Unfurnished or partiallyfurnished as required. Good forpets, kids & privacy. Largecovered outdoor area. Gardenmaintenance provided.27,500 baht a month. Tel:086-9410410, 086-269-2020. Email: [email protected]

RENT A HOUSE

Beautiful house, views of el-ephants and nature, big terrace,130sqm basement, garage, fullaircon, 2 bedrooms, 2 bath-rooms. European style. Long-term rent: 30,000 baht a month.Come look. Tel: 081-2711082.Email: happyjo@ procom.in.th

LUXURIOUS

ESTATE

On 4,500sqm of land, 4separate villas, fully fur-nished, 10 bedrooms, enter-tainment area, swimmingpool, absolute privacy, di-rect beachfront on eastcoast. 84 million baht. Con-tact for more info. Tel: 076-381490. Email: [email protected]

LANTERN PROJECT

Near BIS. Must-see show house!450sqm, water concept, 3 bed-rooms, private lift and pool. SMEGkitchen, penthouse office withpanoramic view. Completion:June 2007. Available for rent at70,000 baht a month. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 081-877-9292. Fax: 081-8779292. Email: prakaisriroj@hotmail. com

Please see our website at:www.grace gardensphuket.com

2-STORY BUILDING

Located on the bypass road,Srisuchart Grand View. Forsale: 20 million baht. Great lo-cation for business. Call oremail for visit. Tel: 076-376-279. Email: scspkt@loxinfo. co.th

FREEHOLD CONDO

Sought-after freehold condo-minium. Thai-style, top floorwith wonderful sea views overKalim Bay. Two bedrooms,modern kitchen. Foreigner canown in his/her name. 9.7 mil-lion baht. Tel: 076-290148,086-2765117. Fax: 076-290148. E-mail: [email protected]

LAND FOR SALE

In Mai Khao area. - 10 rai onthe beach. Price: 170 millionbaht. - 1 rai, 72sq wah seaview. Price: 3.2 million baht. -7.3 rai, 500m from thebeach. Price: 3.2 million bahta rai. - 3.3 rai quiet and privatearea. Price: 2.7 million baht.Tel: 083-1743880, 087-264-6808.

OCEAN FRONT

160M

7 rai opposite Yacht Havenwith 160 meters ocean-front. Very rare opportunityto purchase absolutewaterfrontage in the entirekingdom. Perfect for pri-vate villa, estate, condo orinvestment. 2.6 million bahtper rai. Road, power, wa-ter. Tel: 081-8912688.

PATONG CONDO

300m to beach. Clean, mod-ern, comfortable, new aircon,furnished, ready to move in,TV, pool, parking. Please call.Tel: 081-0825707. For fur-ther details please see ourwebsite at: www.phuket-accommodation.info

GREAT VALUE!

1.½ rai Chanote house lots.1.5km north of Mission HillsGolf Course. Governmentroad. Power nearby.960,000 baht full price! (8lots only)

2. 14+ rai behind PointeEast in Pakchit area. Gov-ernment road access. Year-round stream. Nor Sor 3Gor title. 550,000 baht perrai! Financing available.

3. Beautiful fully-modernized1000sqm (10,000sqf), 2-story building in Nai Yangarea. 3.9 rai Nor Sor 3 Gortitle.

Underground electric, solarhot water, many amenities.44 rooms including 8 bath-rooms.

Excellent as clinic, spa, of-fice, school or residence.Large parking area, furtherbuildable land. 36 Millionbaht. Financing available.See to appreciate!

Creative solutions for for-eigners wishing to purchase.

Please call Chris Fisher atTel: 086-9421930.

Email:[email protected]

5% Commission toBrokers.

HOUSE FOR RENT

Land & houses park Chalong.New house, 3 bedrooms, 2bathrooms, furnished aircon,free access to pool, fitness400 Gym. Tel: 081-788-4655.

C L A S S I F I E D SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 43

Property Gazette

NEW HOUSE

Phaklong, Thalang. 3 bed-rooms, 2 bathrooms, fur-nished kitchen. 13,500 baht amonth. Palm Garden 56/6.Tel: 081-6063525.

VILLA FOR RENT

Beautiful, new 2-bedroom villa.Fully furnished, aircon. 2 min-utes to Rawai beach. Privatepool and walled garden. Avail-able mid-Jan minimum 6-month let 35,000 baht amonth. Tel: 081-9701716.

HOUSE FOR RENT

7 rooms. 540sqm, free space300sqm on 1 rai, Sapam,Phuket City. Looking for long-term renter. Please call formore information. Tel: 086-6893289.

PATONG TOWER

Sea view. 1-bedroom apart-ment, 100 meters frombeach. UBC, pool, parking.Tel: 084-8473304.

COMMERCIAL

Building, Chalong. Near trafficcircle, 3 stories. Tel: 081-9895487. Email: [email protected]

NEW KATHU HOUSE

For rent or sale. 3 bedrooms,2 bathrooms, furnished, gar-den, aircon. Near Lotus, Cen-tral and Patong beach. Forrent at 25,000 baht a month.For sale at 4.5 million baht.Please call for more details.Tel: 081-7356684, 084-187-1939.

KAMALA BEACH

Nice apartments or houses forlong-term rental, furnished orunfurnished, 2 or 3 bedrooms.20,000-25,000 baht amonth. Tel: 084-3059606.

2-BEDROOM HOUSE

In Boat Lagoon, furnished, ser-viced. Short term: 40,000baht a month. Long term:35,000 baht a month. Nowavailable. Tel: 086-2820567.

PATONG HOLIDAY

Studio apartment close tobeach. Nice decor, clean andcomfortable. TV, fridge,double bed, new aircon, pool,parking. Tel: 081-0825707.Please see: www.phuket-accommodation.info for de-tails and photos.

3-BEDROOM HOME

Chao Fa Rd, 207sq wah, 3bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, niceliving room, good kitchen, coolgarden, parking for 3 cars.Fully furnished. For rent at40,000 baht a month or forsale at 6.7 million baht. Tel:081-5978315. Email: [email protected]

PHUKET B.L.

Apartment. New in Kathu. Bigroom, 1 bedroom, aircon,cable TV, ADSL, hot shower,garden, car park. 8,000 bahta month. Tel: 081-6923163.

CONDO FOR RENT

1 room, newly renovated.Aircon, small kitchen. NearRawai Beach. 6,500 baht amonth. Tel: 081-4899868.

BUNGALOW

1 bedroom bungalow in frontof Chalong Bay beach for rent.Has terrace, kitchen, aircon,car park 15m from house.Fully furnished. 12,000 baht amonth. Tel: 084-658-4437,089-7297978. Email:[email protected]

FAMILY HOUSE

Chao Fah Rd. 4 bedrooms, 5bathrooms. Nice garden. Safeand quiet. For long-term rent at38,000 baht a month. For saleat 7.3 million baht. Tel: 081-7872201. Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOR RENT

65sq wah. 3 bedrooms, 2bathrooms near Laguna, fullyfurnished, air, carpark. Tel:081-3678093.

HOUSE FOR RENT

Aircon, phone, 2 bedrooms,near Chalong. 6,000 baht amonth. Please call for moreinformation. Tel: 087-292-9967 081-7425884.

QUIET HOUSE

For rent, Bang Tao. 2 bed-rooms, secluded mountainsetting near waterfall, qualityfurnishings, kitchen, appli-ances, plates, linen, Internet,cable TV. 25,000 baht amonth or 9,000 baht a week.Tel: 086-2670157. Fax: 076-324493. Email: [email protected]

BUILDING SHOP

For rent 1,000sqm, fully fur-nished & car parking area. Lo-cated near Heroines’ Monu-ment. Tel: 089-4711585. Email:[email protected]

SHOP FOR RENT

1,000sqm, fully furnished,with parking area. Locatednear Heroines Monument.Contact for more information.Tel: 089-4711585. Email:[email protected]

SHOPHOUSE

Near SuperCheap. 4 stories(300sqm) with 5 rooms, 7aircons and 5 phone lines. Forrent at 30,000 baht a month.Tel: 076-238777, 081-7371-678. Fax: 076-239739. Email:[email protected]

MODERN OFFICE

For rent/sale. Situated min-utes from Phuket City, thisnewly-built small office offersgreat value for a company of15-30 employees. Allamenties available. Move inand start work right away.Sell for 4.3 million baht. Long-term rent: 25,000 baht amonth. Tel: 081-537-5970.Email: info@yourrooms .com

LONG-TERM RENT

Chalong. 3 bedrooms, 2 bath-rooms, aircon, car park, fur-nished. Please contact formore information. Tel: 089-7288311.

MARINA VIEWS

Limited selection of varioussizes of offices & apartmentsfor rent, from December. Stun-ning views. Use of pool andgym. Contact for details. Tel:076-206704. Email: [email protected]

LAND IN PATONG

For long-term lease. 2.5 & 3.5rai. 200 Pi Rd. Tel: 081-6424280 (No brokers).

HOUSE FOR RENT

Newly built, fully furnished, 3bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. 1kmto Phuket City & 7km toPatong Country Club. Avail-able Feb 1 for 1 year rent.27,000 baht a month. Pleasecontact for further informa-tion. Tel: 076-203060, 081-0904786. Email: [email protected]

SURIN APARTMENT

Modern, well-furnished, 2-bedroom 100sqm apartmentincluding: 42" Plasma TV,washing machine, SMEG ce-ramic hob, breakfast bar.Great views. Available longterm for 30,000 baht a month.Tel: 085-8882022. Email:[email protected] For details,please see our website at:www.slees.com/photos/LersuangApartment

KATA PENTHOUSE

And rooms to rent near beach.Swimming pool, cable, TVfridge, etc. Clean views.7,000 baht a month. 400 bahta day. Please call for moredetails. Tel: 086-276-6597.

CHALONG NEW HOME

2 bedrooms, swimmingpool villa for rent with aircon,UBC & telephone.

Tel: 089-6521473.

KAMALA BEACH

Apartment & houses for rent.New, two to four bedrooms.20-40,000 baht per month.Tel: 084-3059606.

FOR RENT OR SALE

In condotel Sky Inn. 2 singlerooms/1 double room. Tel:089-8756803. Email: [email protected]

LUXURY

PENTHOUSE

Bungalow, Kathu. Stunningview overlooking a lake andgolf course. Europeankitchen, aircon, Cable TV,telephone line. 20,000 bahta month. Tel: 076-202-585, 085-5071216. Email:[email protected]

LAKEVIEW APT/LOFT

office. 2 bedrooms, 2 bath-rooms, 3 floors, near Lotus.Furnished, cable, phone,aircon. 20,000 baht a month.Tel: 081-8928208.

DETACHED HOUSE

For rent or sale. just 7 min-utes from Internationalschool. Fully-furnished housewith 3 bedrooms, 2 bath-rooms and ready to move in.Rental price 20,000 baht amonth or selling price: 2.45million baht (negotiable). Tel:081-539-9269.

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C L A S S I F I E D S44 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Property Gazette

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HouseholdServices

LAND WANTED500-900 rai beachfront.Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi.Please call K. Lek for moredetails. Tel: 081-2717222.

PRIVATE CASH BUYERSearching for house + land inPhuket. Up to 5 million baht tobuy or long-term lease.25,000 baht a month. No of-fers from estate agents.Please call for more informa-tion. Tel: 081-3697968 (Thai).084-9173480 (German/En-glish).

WANTED FOR RENTA house in Nai Harn or Rawailong term from January on-ward. 2 bedrooms, preferablyunfurnished, and with a pool,but anything considered. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 087-0429482. Email:happimax@ hotmail.com

GUESTHOUSEWanted, take-over or partici-pation (long lease). Guest-house should have a minimumof 5 rooms and be in/aroundPatong, Karon, Kata, NaiHarn or Rawai. Budget: 2 mil-lion baht. Please emailfriendly offers or recommen-dations. Please contact formore information. Tel: 085-7813814. Email: [email protected]

PRIVATE CASH BUYERSearching for house + land inPhuket. Up to 5 million baht tobuy or long-term lease. No of-fers from estate agents. Tel:081-3697968 (Thai). 084-9173480 (German/ English).

1-2 RAI,Chanote only. I want to rent1-2 rai of land in the south ofPhuket with Chanote title(only). This is for long term.Please, reasonable offers only!Tel: 086-1203660. Email:[email protected]

1 RAI+ SEA VIEWLooking for up to 2 rai ofChanote land with a sea view,preferably on west coast ofPhuket. Must have road accessand utilities. Email: [email protected]

PropertyWanted

BUNGALOWIn Ao nang 2-room bungalowwith aircon for short-termrent (minimum 1 week): 5,000baht a week. Wireless inter-net. Contact for more details.Tel: 084-8411240. Email:[email protected]

UKSENIIGUESTHOUSE

Kata. Located at Kata NightBazaar. New guesthouse "UKsenii" has 7 fully-furnishedrooms with aircon, TV, hot& cold shower. Call Tel: 076-284238. For further details,please see: www.ksenia-guesthouse.com

ROOMS IN PATONGYour own hot shower, 24-hour security, close to beach.Please contact for more in-formation. Tel: 076-342280,081-9781956. Email: [email protected]

KATA APARTMENTSea view. Quality 1-bedroomapartment with lounge,kitchen, cable TV, wirelessADSL, swimming pool, seaview. 15,000 baht/month longterm. Short-term rates avail-able. Tel: 081-2705374. Email:[email protected] Formore details, please see ourwebsite at: www.orcella.com

HILLTOP VIEW KATHUKathu home master bedroom+ private bathroom, bambooloft, view, pool. Please contactfor more information. Tel: 086-7653326, 081-4961100.Please see our website at:www.vrdepot.com/room

AccommodationWanted

APARTMENTPATONG

Quality 1-bedroom apart-ment with lounge, kitchen,private patio, wirelessADSL, cable TV, aircon.Nanai hillside. 12,000 bahta month long term; short-term rates available. Tel:081-270 5374. Email:orcella@ phuket.ksc.co.thPlease see our website at:www.orcella.com

PATONG APARTMENTCouple seeking clean apart-ment with balcony and seaview in Patong area. Onemonth's rental from 6th Janu-ary to 7th February. Pricerange up to 28,000 baht. Pic-ture and location needed. Email:[email protected]

TAMCONSTRUCTION

Quality building services, alljobs done by qualified staffwith English-speaking boss!Fair price, free estimates.Renovations, shopfitting, elec-trical and metalwork, built-infurniture. Tel: 089-6500133.

Specialist European stone-careproducts and services:

Prevent: rust, stains, mildew,algae, scratches

Remove: builders’ residue,incorrect sealants, rust, stains,

mildew, etc. Daily care & cleaningproducts also available.

Tel: 07-2824930, 076-271217Fax: 076-271218

Email:[email protected]

• Restoration• Sealing/Protection• Maintenance

All your maintenance,protection & cleaning needsfor natural and manufacturedstone.

• Marble • Sandwash• Granite • Terracotta• Slate • Terrazzo• Sandstone • Ceramics, etc

The Stone Doctor

BANDHITCONSTRUCTIONHouses, buildings, office decor,projects, renovation, painting,tiling, ceiling, aircon, electricitysystems, sand wash, steelwork, plumbing. Tel: 087-2636337, 089-5913996.Email: [email protected]

CONSTRUCTIONAll kinds of construction.Houses, ceiling, paint, aircon,steel, renovation. Please con-tact for more information. Tel:089-5913996, 087-2636337.Email: malaisiam @gmail.com

PHUKETCONSTRUCTIONServices. Building or renovat-ing a property? Frustratedwith the standard of work-manship? We'll do the jobprofessionally and efficiently,with an English-speaking Thaimanager to oversee all as-pects of your buildingproject, making sure it'scompleted to the standardsyou expect. Please contactfor more information. Tel:081-9697260. Email: [email protected]

JN-TECH

Construction Company withGerman management havefree capacity to build yourhouses or commercial build-ings. Good quality for acheap price. Please contactfor more information. Tel:086-7418345. Email: [email protected] Please see ourwebsite at: www.1nj.de

BIG HOMEConstruction, building, reno-vation, shopfitting, electrics,metalwork, built-in furniture.Contact for more details. Tel:087-3835520.

WANTED: RATTANOR REED SOFA SET

I would like to buy a rattan orpreferably a water reed sofaset. Ideally 2 x three seaterand 2 x two seater. Pleasesend a few pics via emailalong with the price youwant. Tel: 081-9583561.Email: [email protected]

MOVING HOME SALEVarious household items andfurniture for sale. All items nomore than 6 months old. Auto-matic washing machine,fridge, gas cooker, blender,king-size spring mattress (3months old), wardrobe, etc.Tel: 076-581733, 086-9473113. Email: [email protected]

DINING SETIn solid teak (mai sac) wood.Dining table is 2 metres by 1metre, with classic style ovalscalloped edges. There are 6matching curved-back chairs.Perfect condition. 38,000baht. Tel: 085-7959105.Email: [email protected]

PHUKET HOMEMAINTENANCE

Construction, renovation,electricians, plumbers, car-penters, painters, tilers, gar-deners, aircon servicing, pestcontrol and electrical goodsrepairs. Call Khun Rin at Tel:084-1935124. Or email :[email protected]

FURNITUREA 3-seater couch and 2 singlechairs are for sale at BanKalim. Asking price is 6,000baht ono. Tel: 076-340456,087-0151955.

PATONG ROOMSAircon rooms in Patong withsea view, balcony & ADSL.Call for further informationand photos. Tel: 076-345018, 081-8182720.Fax: 076-341982. Email:[email protected]

PATONG TOWER

Seaview condo newly re-modeled 1/1, 14th floor,100 meters to beach. Fullkitchen, granite floors,teak furniture, safe, 2aircons, 2 TVs, maid ser-vice. Short or long term.Please contact for moreinformation. Tel: 084-1590501, 081-3753970.Email: [email protected]

C L A S S I F I E D SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 45

Boats & Marine

63' POWER

CRUISER

Complete new refit, builtfor luxury, 4 double cabins,Twin Cummins engines, fullgalley, water maker andhuge top deck. Please con-tact. Tel: 081-9390176.Email: [email protected]

PICK YOUR

ENGINES AND GO!

Brand-new "Steppa 36" fly-bridge monohull fully fittedand ready to go. Just pickyour engine preference -we'll fit them, then you'reaway! Value, versatility, du-rability, speed, stability, shal-low-draft, passenger-ca-pacity and enough shade forPhuket. "Steppa" designsoriginated in Phuket forcommercial operations inthe Andaman Sea. ThisFlybridge 36 is simply superbat 2.5 million baht + VAT -without engines. Be smart -buy local and save yourselfa small fortune and a bunchof ongoing maintenanceheadaches. Please contactTel: 076-270547, 081-8912895. Fax: 076-270-548. Email: [email protected] For furtherinformation, see our web-site at: www.phuketwatertaxi.com

YACHT FOR SALE

Fairways Freedom 25. Veryseaworthy, just finished fullrefit including new rigging,sails, engine, etc. She's alovely little ship, reasonablypriced. Tel: 081-9252155.Email: [email protected]

Gazette Online Classifieds – 10,000 readers every day!

SAILING BOAT

Maxi 95 MD11, GPS autopilotand more. In very good condi-tion. Tel: 081-0815947.

35 FT PLEASURE

CRUISER

Great condition. Seats 25,2 x 200HP Yamahas. Boatcomes with tour company:lease earning 20,000 -40,000 a month. Price:850,000 baht. Tel: 084-6111913.

C L A S S I F I E D S46 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Island Job Mart

HR MANAGER

Male/female, experience inHR with multi-national com-pany, possess in-depth knowl-edge of HR management andThai labor laws. Excellent En-glish communication skills. Tel:076-328599. Send CV to:[email protected]

SALES MANAGER

Male/female, Thai nationality,efficient English communica-tion skills. 5 years’ experiencein sales development in airline,hotel or travel industry. Excel-lent presentation skills withability to generate new busi-ness opportunities. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 076-328599. Send CVto: [email protected]

PROJECT MANAGER

At least 5 years’ experience inconstruction or engineering,ability to establish and imple-ment project plans, well orga-nized, problem-solving skillsand proficiency in Englishcommunication. Tel: 076-328599. Send CV to email:[email protected]

ACCOUNTANT

Male/female, with Englishcommunication skills and expe-rience in bookkeeping & taxa-tion. Please call. Tel: 076-328505. Send CV to email:[email protected]

URGENTLY REQUIRED

Sales Officer- Reservations Of-ficer- Administrative Officer.Male/female with experienceand knowledge relevant to theposition applied for. Tel: 076-328505. Send CV to email:[email protected]

PROPERTY CARE

SERVICES

PCS Phuket urgently re-quire Site Managers experi-enced in janitorial field. Pre-ferred applicants are aged30 up, computer literate,and have basic English-speaking skills and adriver's license. Tel: 076-224658-9, 081-6949088.Fax: 076-254774. Email:[email protected]

CUSTOMER

SERVICE EXECUTIVE

Position available in Hy-giene & Pest Control Divi-sion. Preferred applicantsare female, aged 25 - 40,university grads with salesand operations experience.Drivers license and ownvehicle required. Tel: 076-224658, 081-3702488.Fax: 076-254774. Email:[email protected]

SECRETARY TO MD

Executive Secretary re-quired for a very excitingproject in Phuket. Marketingand Sales experience essen-tial. Must be a hard worker,highly motivated and withgood English/communica-tion skills. An opportunity toearn a very good salary. Ini-tial trial period: 4 weeks. Tel:087-8974541. Email:[email protected]

RESERVATION

STAFF

Diethelm Travel is lookingfor highly qualified and ser-vice-minded operationsstaff. Good command ofEnglish and computer skillsare required, experience intourism is a plus. Tel: 076-209163, 081-8927714.Fax: 076-209174. Email:[email protected]

STAFF WANTED

NEW RESTAURANT

The Steakhouse is now hir-ing all positions. Call KuluPJ. Tel: 076-341116.

PHOTOGRAPHER

Needed for 3-hour daytimephoto shoot. Experience work-ing with models helpful. Textor call Phil Tel: 085-2212883.

MODEL WANTED

Need female for beach photoshoot. Must be attractive, thin,blonde. Age between 18-30years old. Tel: 085-2212883.

Looking for a job?Still haven’t found the perfect candidate?

Find more Recruitment Classifieds at www.phuketgazette.net!

STAFF NEEDED

New property office openingJanuary 2007 needs femalestaff. Contact for details. Tel:076-273460, 089-4740461.Fax: 076-273460. Email:regmgr_solid@hotmail. com

TOUR GUIDE

Thai- Must have very goodspoken English, for new ven-ture in Phuket. Own transport[car] and live in Phuket. Con-tact us to arrange an inter-view. Tel: 076-289- 044, 088-4376427. Email: [email protected]

SALES ADMIN

Female, 25-35 years withgood written and spoken En-glish. A year’s experience insales would be greatly appre-ciated. Please contact formore details. Tel: 076-215710. Fax: 076-224368. Email:[email protected]

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Fluent in English, MS Office isa must, good in reporting. Driv-ers license is a plus. Pleasecontact for more details. Tel:076-239111, 081-9583095.Fax: 076-238974. Email:[email protected]

RESERVATION

Officer: 3 positions. Urgentlyneed online reservations agentfor airline booking system.Male/female Thai nationalwith English-communicationand computer skills. Energetic& hard working, own trans-port and able to work on shift.Tel: 076-328598. Email:[email protected]

C L A S S I F I E D SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 47

Island Job Mart

LOOKING FOR 1 OR

2 MAIDS

Foreign couple is looking fora long-term maid/s withbasic English. Working loca-tion: Kamala, in a newhouse. Must be honest andself-motivated. Good salaryfor the right candidate. Wecan offer private maid'sroom with bathroom, TV,etc. Please call or email forinterview. Previous experi-ence of hotel or house clean-ing and laundry is required.Tel: 086-1727974. Email:[email protected] Forfurther details, please seeour website at www.romsai.ch

MIDDLE MANAGEMENT

Officer.

- Thai female, aged 26-45years.

- B.A. or Master's degree.

- Very good English (esp. lis-tening and speaking).

- Good communication andcomputer skills.

Tel: 076-264770-2. Email:[email protected]

WWW.

GLOBALHOME.EU

Needs advertisement salesrep to visit realtors. Earn50,000 baht a month. Con-tact. Email: [email protected]

Gazette Classads – 10,000 readers a day!

PHUKET FREE PLUS

MARKETING

We are looking for sales andmarketing staff (female)Thai nationals. All customerswill be Thai but some Englishwill help. Top salary andexcellent commission. Con-tact K.Nutthanun. Tel: 076-245971, 085-888- 0636.

EmploymentWanted

LOOKING FOR A JOB

Singaporean lady, 27 yearsold. English spoken & written.Experience in real estate &law firm in Thailand. Anythingconsidered. Tel: 089-289-7180.

LOOKING FOR A JOB

Male, 33, Belgian. Anythingconsidered, hard-working, canspeak Dutch, English, Spanish.Please contact for more de-tails. Tel: 089-2897180.Email: [email protected]

CASHIER

& bartenders. For bar onRawai Beach.Good English andexperience required. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 076-288887, 089-1961773. Email: cindyjcochrane@ hotmail.com

C L A S S I F I E D S48 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Tout, Trader & Trumpet

ArticlesFor Sale

MASSAGE CHAIRS

In good condition. Equippedwith system timer. For sale:8,000 baht. Negotiable withquantity. Tel: 087-272-4330.

TWO BIG NEW 3-DOOR FRIDGES

2x1.8m glass doors, suit-able for food/drinks. 25,000baht each. Contact me forfurther details. Tel: 076-388621, 084-8519072.Email: [email protected]

SCUBA

Mares Ruby, buddy com-mando BCD. 15 liter steeltank, Avanti Quattro fins,Sunnto Solution computer,Nomad sea kayak. All ingood condition, sell 40,000or will split. Call for price.Tel: 081-6064649.

CAR PARK AWNINGS

PVC 3.3x5.5m, 5,000baht. 6.5x4m, 6,000 baht.Tel: 089-7280996.

AIR CONDITIONER

21,000 BTU. First reason-able offer accepted. Tel:089-7280996.

AIRCON TOSHIBA

Two new unused Toshibaaircons with warranty, in-stallation included. Newprice 18,000 baht each,now 15,000 baht each.Tel: 089-4724841.

FITNESS EQUIPMENTMint condition cardio stepperand cardio bike, both havecomputers. Smooth, quiet,like new. Paid 12,000 bahteach. Price: 6,500 each. Tel:081-088- 2179.

MOVING SALEDenon AVR2805 surroundwith JBL E90 speakers,Samsung 30" widescreen TV,mountain bike, 4-burnergolden gas grill. All 1 year old.Tel: 084-5078966.

WINDSURF BOARDBeginner sail rig, still packednew. 50% price. KawasakiKSR 110, Mongoose alu-minium mountain bike . Nearnew. Please call for more in-formation. Tel: 087-888-8244.

SCUBA CONSOLEHas depth gauge, pressuregauge and compass. 12,000baht. Please call for more in-formation. Tel: 085-785-5365.

Bulletins

BusinessOpportunities

ESTATE AGENCYFor sale. This is one ofPhuket's largest real estateagencies (established 2003),with over 300 listings, 500web pages, and excellentdouble beachfront leased of-fices surrounded by 5-starhotels. Excellent profits withhuge future potential. Sensibleoffers. Tel: 087-2837161.Email: [email protected]

QUICK SALEGo-go bar in a prime Patonglocation. Only 500,000 baht.Call Kevin Tel: 084-7300190.

RESTAURANTfor sale. In the heart of Patong,all furniture and materials withcompany, low-rent 3+3-yearlease. Reasonably priced at 1.9million baht. Tel: 084-850-0375. Email: [email protected]

FITNESS CLUBFOR SALE

Phuket's leading fitness clubis open to offers. Over 800members, swimming pool,spa. Priced for a quick saleas owner is relocating. 10year lease available. Tel:081-8926710.

GREAT BUSINESSBar, restaurant & Internet fa-cilities for sale in Patong. Busymarketplace location. 2 bed-rooms, 1 with aircon, bath-room, many new fittings. Lowrent. Regretfully owner hasother obligations. Genuinesale at 750,000 baht. Tel:081-2716742. Email: [email protected]

KAMALA RESTAURANTFully furnished and staffed.Best location in Kamala. Avail-able at 6.2 million baht with along lease. This is an excellentopportunity. Call Kevin atTSBA. Tel: 084-7300190.

PATONG BARCentral location, double bar,available to open immediately.Call Kevin at TSBA. Tel: 084-7300190.

HOTEL RESTAURANTThis well-established Italianrestaurant has become avail-able as the owners are relocat-ing. Call Kevin at TSBA forfurther details. Tel: 084-7300190.

BAR FOR SALEPopular and successfulAmigos Bar in Soi Seadragonfor sale. Pool table, darts, ownsound system. Price nego-tiable dependant on length oflease required. Tel: 087-883-8721.

FOR SALEGuesthouse and restaurant.Located opposite the mainentrance from Royal ParadiseHotel. 6 guest rooms withshower, aircon, TV. Luxury,beautiful restaurant withkitchen, high standard. 14million baht. Tel: 081-895-6587. Email: [email protected]

RESTAURANT/BAR/café, Internet. Good locationNanai road. Sale/rent. Contactfor more information. Tel:086-2720113. Email:[email protected]

GUESTHOUSELEASE, PATONG

22 spacious, clean rooms,cable TV, minibar, aircon.- Elevator, wireless Internet- Restaurant, bar area- No maintenance needed- Very qualified staff- 4-min walk to the beach- Unbelievable potential- Rent for Jan-Feb paid

Key money:2.6 million baht.

Email:[email protected]

PATONG BARFor sale. The Office bar, SoiGym. Low monthly payments.100,000 baht key money forone year. Tel: 089-8171060.

BEAUTIFULGUESTHOUSE

For sale. 5-minute walkfrom Kata Beach, newbuilding. Has bar/restau-rant, Internet, massage,laundry, seven beautifulrooms. The best- equippedguesthouse in Thailand.Buy the company, startbusiness now in fully-booked high season. Tel:081-8948446. Please seewebsite: www.southernfriedrice.com

WOW! PAY LESSMONEY

Get big return on your in-vestment. K's Car Clinic isavailable for a serious andcreative entrepreneur.Land lease 3 years. Prop-erty is sustainable and hasa special design for highperformance. Easy to man-age. Tel: 081-5698649(Thai), 086-2828213 (En-glish, German, French,Dutch).

BASIC FOOD & BARSpecializing in retail & whole-sale home-made pies. We sup-ply throughout Phuket and inPattaya. Western and Thaifood,burgers, fish and chips,etc. Located in Chalong shopwith 5 accomodation rooms.2+2-year lease, cheap rent,huge growth potential. Priceincludes all stock, training,recipes. Has loyal staff. Genu-ine reason for sale, 995,000baht. Tel: 087-0245036.

BOOK SHOPFOR SALE

Patong OTOP book shop &Nanai book shop. 2 shopsfor 980,000 baht. Tel: 084-1705552.

KAMALARestaurant & bar. Famous forpizza & Tex-mex. 40 seats, airconditioning, equipment, stockand furniture. For sale at500,000 baht + rent 6,000baht a month. Contact formore details. Tel: 086-287-8966. Email: [email protected]

DRIVING RANGE

Mountain-view golf centerfor sale, or invest for furtherprojects. For more details,Tel: 081-5574560.

MASSAGE + BEAUTYKata beach, 3 + 3-year lease.Fully equipped. For sale: 1.5million baht. Tel: 089-47176298. Please see our websiteat www.phuket-beautymassage.com

BEAUTY SALONBeauty salon on Nanai Rd.Rent: 12,000 baht a month.Key money: 250,000 baht.Tel: 089-6459453. Email:[email protected]

GUESTHOUSE LEASENo rent. 5-year lease remain-ing, no rent until May 2007,close to beach, will sell withland. Tel: 076-342280, 081-9781956. Email: [email protected]

RESTAURANTFor sale. 50 seats with modernkitchen. Good corner locationwith low rent. Tel: 089-729-1113. Email: [email protected]

GYM FOR SALEThree-story building, KamalaBeach. Excellent shape.Please contact for more de-tails. Tel: 084-3059606.

OWN A BUSINESSFor expert advice on buying abusiness in Phuket contactKevin at TSBA. Tel: 084-730-0190. Email: [email protected]

RESTAURANTfor sale. Prime location atKamala Beach. Well estab-lished with seating for 100.Owner retiring. Please con-tact. Tel: 081-6777185.Email: [email protected]

INVESTMENTBoutique hotel opening De-cember 2007, only 9 sharesavailable. Great return andyearly holiday. Please contact.Email: [email protected]

INVESTOR/PARTNERwanted for real estate projectwith excellent return! Tel:084-0572743, email: [email protected]

BusinessProducts &Services

VISA & LEGALSERVICES

Company registration 2,229baht; one-year visa 5,999baht; retirement visa 5,999baht; work permit 5,999baht; UK & US visa 16,999baht. No more visa runs –get a one-year visa for only5,999 baht. Establish yourThai company today, buyland or start your businessfor only 2,229 baht! Prop-erty title search, sales con-tract and land registration.Thailand’s largest legal ser-vice network. Always lowprices by our licensed Thailawyers. Please contact forfurther information. Tel:076-345277. Email: [email protected] Website:www.siam-legal.com

JEAB'S JUMPINGCASTLES

8 models.For children's parties.Tel: 081-8939742.

www.phuketjumpingcastles.com

OSTEOPATHpractice. Garnett B SymondsDo Hom Hmd. Please call formore information. Tel: 076-388524, 081-6072343.

RICKY ZENEntertainment. Booking fe-male singers, dancers, musi-cians, bands. Please contactRicky for more information.Tel: 081-0884965. Email:ricky@ rickyzen.com. Pleasesee our website at www.rickyzen.com

BEST VISA& accounting prices in Thai-land! With guarantee! Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 081-0808557. Email: [email protected]

C L A S S I F I E D SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 49

Tout, Trader & Trumpet

PARTYOR WEDDING

Kois Bar has 2 bars/restau-rants in Kamala and canprovide an excellent locationfor your function's buffetfor 20+. From 2,000 baht.Please contact for more in-formation.

Tel: 087-9037933(Eng/Thai)

TEFL LANGUAGEschool. Seasons greetings!Teacher training Wednesday,January 3. Tel: 076-219241/251. Email: [email protected]

BAO’S CUSTOMFURNITURE

For all your custom-madewoodwork please. call MrBao. 081-6935405.

Computers

CHEAPEST TONERSPC devices. Phuket-basedonline computer store. Cheap-est toners in Phuket. HP ton-ers (remanufactured) for A4printers: 730 baht! HP toners(remanufactured) for A3 prin-ters: 995 baht! Second-handcomputers for 3,000-5,000baht. To-your-door delivery.Credit cards accepted. Pleasecontact for more info. Email:info @phuket-computers.comFor further details, please seeour website at: www.phuket-computers.com

Miscellaneousfor Sale

FEAR BLASTERNo more phobias and fears inhours. Trauma, water, height,public speaking and more.Money-back guarantee.Email: [email protected]

Personals

BACKGAMMONRetired Businessman lookingfor Backgammon Players onPhuket Island. Please call formore information. Tel: 076-386113, 081-5778443.

Pets

ENGLISH BULLDOG

Female English bulldog forsale. We have beautifulAKC English bulldog com-panions. Home-raised, vetexamined, shots and de-wormings current to age.Health guarantee. Shippingand delivery available. Con-tact. Tel: 415-415775303.Email: petbreed11@yahoo. com

WE WILL TEACH YOUEnglish, guaranteed! 5 lessonsfor the price of 4, will travel.Private/group lessons, 3 quali-fied ESL teachers. Tel: 084-9584255.

WILSON STAFFGolf set. Nano Tech with Ignite+ woods and Odyssey XGputter and bag – all brandnew. Price: 40,000 baht.Please contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 081-2739279.Email: [email protected]

BEER BAR AWNINGSThree 6-meter beer bar aw-nings. Excellent condition. 1year old. Cost 7,500 baht eachnew. Will sell for 5,000 bahteach. Please contact for moreinformation. Tel: 081-0781-914. Email: [email protected]

PersonalServices

ENERGY MEDICINESuccess when all else fails. Al-lergy, asthma, migraine andmore. Money back guarantee.Please contact for more de-tails. Email: [email protected]

THAI LESSONSI am a Thai teacher. If youwant to learn Thai or yourfriends want to learn English,I can teach privately at yourplace. Please call for moreinformation. Tel: 084-992 5882 .

MODELS WANTEDHello! I am a freelance pho-tographer specializing in stockphotography. If you would liketo have your photo taken forfree please contact me. Email:[email protected] see website at: www.gina.homestead.com

LEARN THAIAt home. Charming Thai ladyteacher gives Thai lessons atyour home. Full course withconversation practice andhome study material. Begin-ners or more advanced. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 081-7971497. Email:[email protected]

DRIVINGIN SWITZERLAND

We are pleased to offer apackage tour: "Travel bycar with a driver guide inSwitzerland". Enjoy yourvacation in Geneva, Zurich,Lucerne, Lausanne, Bern,Jungfraudjoch - Top of Eu-rope, and many more.Priced at US$1,200 perpax, including hotel, trans-portation, admission, localguide and tour. Please con-tact for more details. Tel:66-25378698, 66-8632-28947. Fax: 66-2537-8014. Email: [email protected]

MASSAGE

In your home or hotel. Formen by a man - only. Pleasecontact for more details.Tel: 089-2228206.

TEACHINGGERMAN

Reasonable price at yourtime convenience. Pleasecontact for more details.Tel: 084-1849828.

COPIER SALES +Repair. Farang fixes printers &copiers: laser, refills & toners.Please call George for more in-formation. Tel: 086-972-4805.

XDA 2 MINI O2Pocket PC. Seldom used, hasretractable keyboard, case,adaptor. 15,000 baht. Pleasecall for more information. Tel:084-8404300.

ADVANCEDHOSTING SERVICES

We provide reliable, afford-able web hosting services.Professional 24/7 technicalsupport. Free setup. Allweb hosting plans are fea-tures packed, including aneasy-to-use control panel.Please contact for more in-formation. Email: [email protected] For fur-ther information, pleasesee our website at: www.gasserweb.com

ESCORT, COMPANION,Tour guide. Do you want to bemy companion and care forme during my vacation inPhuket in February? Do youspeak English and are you afunny and pretty Thai girl? I amGerman, slim, sporty, goodlooking and generous. Inter-ested? Please answer soonwith a photo to email: [email protected]

DOBERMANPinscher. Male, almost 1 yearold. Black and rust color. Cham-pion bloodline (w/ certificate)and KC Registered (w/certifi-cate) in Thailand. Tail dockedand ears cropped. Pet pass-port fully up to date withinnoculations and jabs. Finelooking, strong dog withloveable and friendly charac-ter. Good with other dogs butdoesn't like cats. Available togood loving home, ideally withsecure garden or yard.15,000 baht. No time wastersplease. Contact for details.Tel: 084-8507170. Email:[email protected]

FOUR KITTENS

Four kittens, 9 weeks old,are looking for a home.Male and female. 3 blackand 1 multi-color. Pleasecontact for more details.Tel: 081-0793248. Email:[email protected]

HOLIDAY HOUSEExchange. Couple (experi-enced exchangers) comingFeb/March seek exchange forbeach house Spain. Non-si-multaneous exchange pos-sible. Please contact for fur-ther details. Tel: 34-63907-4433. Email: [email protected]

C L A S S I F I E D S50 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007

Wheels & Motors

Pickups

Saloon Cars

4 x 4s

VOLVO 850 GLT

For sale. 150,000km. Price:195,000 baht. Owner goinghome. Ask Alan. Tel.081-2907908. Email: [email protected]

2006 HONDA JAZZ

VTEC black. 620,000 baht (or130,000 to take over bankpayments of 10,450 a month).Used privately by farang owner.In immaculate condition withABS brakes, air bags, CD/MP3player. Tel: 089-8134369.Email: [email protected]

CRV + VIOS

Honda CRV, 2003, red ,27,000km. Asking: 700,000baht. Toyota Vios 2003, autogold, 52,000km. Asking400,000 baht. Contact formore details. Tel: 089-4744704. Fax: 076-284198.Email: [email protected]

92 TOYOTA CORONA

New paint, good interior,160,000km, manual trans-mission. Runs well. Price:175,000 baht. Tel: 089-8171060.

TOYOTA COROLLA

For sale. Year 1996, goodcondition, CD player, wellmaintained. Price: 220,000baht. Contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 076-239111,081-9583095. Fax: 076-238974. Email: [email protected]

TOYOTA VIOS

TURBO

TRD limited edition 143hp,black, full options, 40,000km, 09/04 Toyota warrantytil 09/07. Paid: 830,000baht. Sale: 580,000 baht.Tel: 084-0603477.

DAIHATSU MIRA -

1996

Very good condition. Pro-fessional maintenance.157,000km. 110,000baht. Sale directly fromowner. Tel: 087-2715780.Email: [email protected]

JAZZ COOL II

6-month use, 190,000km.Excellent condition, full in-surance. Please contactfor more information. Tel:087-3829407.

BIG JEEP FOR SALE

Fully-restored engine, paint,stainless bars, etc. Great is-land car. 150,000 baht firm.PX or trades. Please contactfor more information. Tel:087-8914882. Email: [email protected]

BLUE TOYOTA ALTIS

1.8l, top line. 57,000km, year2003, original farang owner.575,000 baht. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 087-2698492.

TOYOTA AVANZA

End of 2004, auto, full options,62,000km. 445,000 baht.Please contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 084-8411438.Email: [email protected]

NISSAN CEFIRO 1992

For sale, Nissan Cefiro 1992. Inmint condition. 150,000 baht.Power steering and windows.Leather seats. If interested,please contact me on mycellphone. Cheers! Tel: 076-215829, 089-7764200.

BMW FOR SALE

BMW 530i. 6,000km, likenew inside and out. Excellentcondition, have always usedcar cover. Has had 3 oilchanges. Price: 2.7 millionbaht or best offer. Call for moredetails. Tel: 076-280709,085-7950779.

VIOS TURBO

Only 3 in Phuket. Recaroseats, alloy wheels, only 12months old. 19,000km.595,000 baht. Call for moredetails. Tel: 087-2696174.

NEW YARIS LIMITED

Top spec auto airbags.Down 290,000 baht and 36x12,500 baht. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 081-0918908.

NISSAN WINGROAD

Aussie owned, 2002, carry-boy, 5 speed, electric tintedwindows, excellent condi-tion, 65,000km. 230,000baht. Tel: 084-8462978.

TOYOTA COROLLA

DX, running condition, one-hand drive, very good looking,dark green, new cassetteplayer. Only 54,000 baht. CallSam for more information. Tel:081-7375909, 086-6874308.

HONDA CITY ’03

Full options in top condition.Metallic “satellite silver”paint. Only 60,000km.450,000 baht. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 087-2801390 (Thai) or081-8935709 (English).Email: intertek@ loxinfo.co.th

OPEL ASTRA

Hatchback. GL 5-door, auto,1.6i, year 1995, green, goodcondition. 120,000 baht.Please contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 081-8920618.

TOYOTA CAMRY

2003 special edition.30,000km only, mint con-dition, every extra, ga-raged. 950,000 baht. Tel:081-5975091.

SAAB 900 4-DOOR

195,000 baht. Model ‘93.Nice condition, 5 speed, aircon,140,000km. Foreign ownedfor three years, very reliable.Best offer! Contact for moredetails. Tel: 077-826355,087-0403007. Email: tomcox100 @hotmail.com

SALE MAZDA 323

1993 model, blue color,126,000km, 4 doors, autogear, aircon, CD-radio player.Fixed price: 140,000 baht.Call after 6 pm. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 084-8491037. Email:tomdexter2001@ yahoo.de

LANCIA 1800 BETA

1975 Coupe. 1,800cc, 5-speed manual, original parts,good condition. 125,000 baht.Tel: 076-345018, 081-903-9862. Email: [email protected]

2002 FORD RANGER

XLT 4X4

4-door, Turbo, farangowned, only 19,600km,with carryboy, silver, im-maculate condition, looksand smells like new.490,000 baht. Tel: 077-248188, 086-2689460.Email: [email protected]

TOYOTA VIGO 3.0G

4X4

Black, 4-door, 18 months old,only 12,000km. Also hasfirst-class insurance. A1condition: 700,000 baht.Call for more details. Tel:089-7292846.

MERCEDES 280SE

LPG GAS! 2jz, automatic,full options, perfect condi-tion. 215,000 baht. Tel: 086-9488139. Email: [email protected]

FORD RANGER 2002

60,000km, carryboy, chrome,big stereo. First hand, goodcondition. Farang owned.370,000 baht. Please call formore information. Tel: 081-8954112.

TOYOTA HILUX

X-tra Cab, 1997 model, verygood condition, 2.8l engine,155,000km. 150,000 bahtono. Leaving Thailand so mustsell urgently. Contact for moreinformation. Tel: 076-288500,087-8957810. Email:[email protected]

NEW VIGO HILUX

D4D, 1 month old, 2,000km.Reason for sale: no longerneeded. 530,000 baht.Please call for more informa-tion. Tel: 076-323214-5,081-0803414.

NISSAN NV

With cab. 5 speed manualgears, 90,000 miles, year2000. 180,000 baht. Contactfor more details. Tel: 086-9270293. Email: [email protected]

NISSAN NV 1600 CC

2 seats, custom-made tarp. 2new tires, taxed & insured,recently serviced. Excellentcondition. 130,000 baht. Callfor more information. Tel:089-6489694.

FORD RANGER 2001

Very good condition, very re-liable truck, strong engine.New tires and 1st-class in-surance. 310,000 baht. Callfor more details. Tel: 081-3679561.

NASTY ISUZU

2-year-old D-max loaded,31,000km. 6-disc stereo, hardblack cover. This is a strong &beautiful truck. Must see.Please contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 084-5078966.

TOYOTA SPORT RIDER

Very good condition. Auto-matic. Just 7 years old,165,000km. 450,000 baht.Please contact for more infor-mation. Tel: 084-8459178.

HONDA CRV

Aug 2002. 75,000km. Sil-ver, auto, 1 owner, full op-tions. 650,000 baht. Pleasecontact for more informa-tion. Tel: 089-8736533.

REFURB 1961 JEEP

Refurbished Jeep. The cool-est car for Phuket. 230,000baht. Contact for more de-tails. Tel: 086-2833930.Email: taxiregio@ freenet.de

C L A S S I F I E D SJanuary 6 - 12, 2007 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E 51

Wheels & Motors

Rentals

Motorbikes

Car Services

Need wheels? Check out

www.phuketgazette.net/classifieds

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Please use this form to write your classified advertisement.

Then hand it to any of our agents.

Classified ads are charged per line. Each line is 95 baht,with a minimum of 4 lines (heading included) per ad.

All advertising must be paid for in advance.

Deadline for Wheels & Motors page: Saturday 12 noon.

Wheelsheelsheelsheelsheels & MotorsotorsotorsotorsotorsAdvertisements

HONDA CRV FORSALE

2003 black color, ABS,airbags, leather seats, mp3player. 715,000 baht. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 089-8192313. Email:peterc_33 @yahoo.com

KIA 20 SPORTAGEFOR SALE

For quick sale, KIA 20Sportage 4WD, 137,000km, good condition, year1996. Price: 285,000 baht.Tel: 081-0868044. Email:[email protected]

CHEROKEE FORSALE

Jeep Cherokee, 4L, auto,cream leather seat. Ladyowned, good condition. Main-tenance by Mercedes ser-vice. For quick sale: only320,000 baht. Tel: 081-3430777. Email:[email protected]

KIA SPORTAGE 4X4One owner, no accidents, lowmilage, year 1996, serviced byKia, history receipts availablefrom new. Color black/silver.Very reliable. Price: 195,000baht. Please contact for moreinformation. Tel: 076-279647,086-2706044.

YAMAHA 400CC CHOPBills for 60,000 baht. VGCcomplete engine, paint.85,000 baht. K. Tom. Tel:087-1789273.

HONDA CHOPPERPhantom 200cc with only950km. 3 months old, usedoccasionally. 68,000 baht(new: 90,000 baht). Tel: 086-5948543.

HARLEY DAVIDSON

2005 15th anniversary FatBoy, very low km, immacu-late, registered, 15". 1 mil-lion baht ono. Please contactfor more information. Tel:081-3619277.

CHOPPER

Honda 600. Excellent condi-tion, new paint. Price:260,000 baht. Tel: 081-2732409.

CAR FOR RENTNew Jazz for rent. Short orlong term. Please contact formore information. Tel: 084-8516121, 087-3829407.

2002 FORD RANGERXLT 4x4. 4-door, turbo, farangowned, only 19,600km, withcarryboy, silver, immaculatecondition, looks and smells likenew. 490,000 baht. Contactfor more details. Tel: 077-248188, 086-2689460. Email:[email protected]

TOYOTA FORTUNER2005. 3.0D for exchange forauto gear or sale. Tel: 089-0219504, 086-2791602.

JEEP FOR SALEWhy rent when you can buya good reliable vehicle. Easyto maintain, fun to drive jeep.Removable doors/windows.Price: 79,999 baht. Tel:087-2676024.

CHEROKEE, 4.0LBronze, perfect, new Sonystereo, new paint andleather seats. All servicesby Benz. 91,000km. Only420,000 baht. Please con-tact for more information.Tel: 081-0780014. Email:[email protected]

MITSUBISHI 4X4Mega cab. 1999, 2-door, 5-speed, aircon, foreignowned, very nice condition,never used for work,100,000km, CD. 375,000baht. Tel: 077-826355,087-0403007. Fax: 077-813145. Email: [email protected]

HONDA CRV34,000KM

Black metallic. 800,000baht. Woman owner, first-hand. Call for more details.Tel: 087-8822462.

MIRA FOR RENTDaihatsu Mira. In good con-dition. Easy to drive andeconomical. For rent at just9,500 baht a month. Pleasecontact for more informa-tion. Tel: 081-5371050.

P.M.P. CAR RENTAnd taxi service. ToyotaWish, Camry, Vios, Yarisand Honda Jazz for rent.Short term or long term.Minibus on tour, taxi ser-vice. Call for more details.Tel: 087-2646808, 083-1743880.

NOUVO & MIOFor rent or sale. Nouvo 1 yearold: 40,000 baht or 4,800baht a month. Mio 7 monthsold: 35,000 baht or 4,500baht a month. New car:17,000 baht a month. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 089-5885692.

SUZUKI CARIBIANSFor rent with full insurance.600 baht per day. 3,500 perweek. 11,500 per month.Call Kois Bar Car Rent, Ka-mala for more details. Tel:087-9037933.

CHEROKEE FOR RENTJeep Cherokee, 4L, auto,leather seats, CD. For rentwith first class insurance.Only 23,000 baht per month.Tel: 081-5371050.

BMW F650 GS 1997

Black, 16,000km with book,perfect condition. 230,000baht. Please contact formore information. Tel: 089-9715664.

ONE MUST GOHonda Shadow 600, 1994,black-chrome, 160,000 baht.OR Yamaha Super TenereXTZ 750, 1994, dark green,170,000 baht. Both bikeshave registration, tax and in-surance. Good condition. Noaccidents or rentals. Registra-tion in your name, tourist visapossible. Call for details. Tel:076-296621, 081-6916147.Fax: 076-344689. Email:[email protected]

JRD TORNADOFor sale. Nicely modified. Ex-cellent condition. 57,000 bahtor for rent 10,000 baht permonth. Contact K.Oh at Tel:086-6823200.

SIDE BOX YAMAHAMotorbikes.Yamaha 2CL, 6speed, 115, 3-wheeler box,new, strong. 19,000 baht firm.Tel: 084-0571420.

KAWASAKI KSR 2006110cc with only 650km, ex-cellent condition. 48,000baht. Tel: 089-9715664

HONDA CBR 1,100XX2002 model, black, Phuketplate, like new, only 200km.295,000 baht. Tel: 081-5376465, 081-8924077.Email: [email protected]

HONDA CHOPPERShadow 600. Beautiful newtires, chain, color, exhaust,battery. 130,000 baht. After5 pm. Tel: 087-2790572.

HONDA WAVE 100CC20,000km, 2 years old, verygood condition, regularly ser-viced, black color. 16,000baht. Please call for more de-tails. Tel: 087-1789273.

SUZUKI INTRUDER 7501991, powerful, Harley-stylechopper in very good condi-tion. 115,000 baht, includingbook. Tel: 08-99087350.Email: [email protected]

SUZUKI BEST 1101 lady owner, year 2000,electric start, serviced atSuzuki. 15,000 baht. Pleasecontact for more information.Tel: 087-2689123. Email:[email protected]

YAMAHA TENERE 7501995, green, 27,000km, withbook, perfect condition200,0000 baht. Tel: 089-9715664.

CHOPPER FOR SALEYamaha Virago 750, nice.Modified. 100,000 baht. Tel:087-1466622.

52 P H U K E T G A Z E T T E January 6 - 12, 2007