baabaabobo

From The Phuket Gazette:

Muggings in Rawai continue

RAWAI: A year after the still-unsolved murder of Norwegian Simen Knudsen, violent robberies against foreigners on motorcycles continue in Rawai – with the the perpetrators now carrying out attacks in populated areas during broad daylight.

The latest victim is 38-year-old Sandra Ullrich, who suffered two fractures to the back of her skull when a pair of Thai men on a motorcycle tried to steal her shoulder bag about 1 pm on Thursday.

The attack occurred as Ms Ullrich, a four-year resident of Phuket, was riding her motorbike past the Banana Corner restaurant, at the corner of the three-way intersection of Saiyuan and Wiset Rd, in the heart of the Rawai-Nai Harn area.

The victim’s husband, Dutchman Hans Ullrich, told the Gazette shortly after the accident he was incensed at the response of the Chalong Police and that he was prepared to “take matters into my own hands” if they fail to take action to catch the perpetrators.

“I just went to the police station. If these guys don’t take care of it, I am going to absolutely freak out. I am going to sit in the bush myself with a couple of my friends and take care of it, because this is absolutely insane. They don’t do [anything] about it, ” said Mr Ullrich, a well-known member of the local dive industry.

“I know these types of things happen everywhere, but it just seems to be getting too much lately,” he said.

Mr Ullrich said he knew of three other similar attacks that have happened over the past six weeks.

Police sometimes patrol risk areas, such as the road from Rawai to the Kata Viewpoint, in the high season, but otherwise only after high-profile cases such as the Knudsen killing, he said.

Mrs Ullrich on Friday was still in the intensive care unit of Phuket International Hospital, where she had yet to regain her hearing, though she is expected to make a full recovery, he said.

The skull fractures, which occurred even though she was wearing a helmet, resulted from the awkward way she fell from the motorbike, he said.

When reporting the incident at Chalong Police Station, he was shown entries in the daily log of two similar attacks over the previous two days, he said.

The attack against his wife came little over a month after Mrs Ullrich’s best friend, American Sheila McCormick, was attacked in similar fashion on the viewpoint road from Rawai to Kata, not far from where Mr Knudsen was stabbed to death on September 24 last year.

In that attack, on August 15, Ms McCormick was riding along the viewpoint road at about 9:30 pm. As she reached the bottom of the hill near the elephant camp, she passed two men on a single motorbike who appeared to be drunk, she told the Gazette.

“Then I knew I was being followed, so I put some distance on them,” she said.

Suddenly they sped up and the man on the back of the bike reached out to grab her bag, but the pair lost control and crashed into the guardrail at the bottom of the hill going about 100 kilometers per hour, she said.

“They didn’t get my bag. They just got really hurt,” she said.

But Ms McCormick also crashed, suffering two broken ribs, bad abrasions and a sprained ankle that left her unable to walk for a week, she said.

“The area has a reputation for this kind of thing happening, but the reputation is for attacks that happen at one o’clock in the morning against people who are alone, possibly drunk… When I went to the police station, I found out that they had attacked another foreign woman on the same hill a few hours earlier, at about 7 pm,” said Ms McCormick.

She added that she got a very good look at her attackers and was told by police that her description of the two men matched that of two men who had carried out the attack two hours earlier.

A simple patrol dispatched to the scene of the first attack could have scared off her assailants and prevented the attack against her, she said.

Chalong Police did not record a police report in the case of her attack, even though she talked to them three times, she said.

“That was the whole point. They didn’t do anything for me and they didn’t do anything for her [Ms McCormick],” she said.

“I really love this place and I really felt safe, even as a woman. So I am really surprised about all the things going on,” she said.

If you read the article properly it is quoting the TNA thus not a Gazette story.

PATONG (TNA, Gazette): The poorly-regulated “motorbike for hire” industry in Patong has contributed to an alarming number of motorcycle accidents in Kathu district, where more than half of the 500 accidents reported to Kathu Police involved unlicensed foreign motorcyclists, the government’s Thai News Agency (TNA) has reported.

For anyone who knew Andrew his body is now at Wat Rawai where he will be cremated tomorrow at midday.

After that there will be a Wake at 'The Islander'.

All friends welcome to celebrate his memory.

PLEASE tell me this is not true. Why would anyone cut off a turtles flippers?

Fishermen prefer to damage a turtle than damage their own nets.

I'm planning a trip to Chiang Mai when my father comes in early October and I want to be sure and make it back for the end of the vegetarian festival in Phuket. I've seen a couple different dates for the vegetarian festival, some say it ends the 6th and others the 7th. What I really want to know is when the large night parade will happen. I think it is the night of the 6th, can anyone confirm this? Also any suggestions on where the best place to watch it from is?

Cheers

www.phuketvegetarian.com for all the answers.

I use AIA as they cover cancer and will keep you as a customer until 90.

My insurance agent sells BUPA too but says that once you claim they start getting awkward.

Direct line from London gives advice on new PM

The People Power Party (PPP) will ask for opinion from an influential figure in London on who should become a new prime minister after the Constitution Court disqualified Samak Sundaravej over a cooking show scandal, Deputy PPP Spokesman Suthin Klangsaeng said Thursday. "A direct line from London" has voiced opinion, he admitted. "His support will be taken into consideration, but will not be decisive in determining the candidate," he said. "We have to listen to him, because Thaksin is still a Thai national." He did not state clearly who that person is, but it is rather obvious that he was talking about ousted premier and former Thai Rak Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who is

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=130582

The Nation are more clear on the subject:

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is living in exile, made a call from London to make his preference known on who should be prime minister, People Power Party deputy spokesman Suthin Klangsaeng said on Thursday.

Thaksin's call happened ahead of today's party meeting to nominate a sole candidate for the job, Suthin said.

The Nation

The Constitution Court Tuesday convicted Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of having violated the charter by hosting commercial TV shows while in office.

The court voted unanimously to give a guilty verdict against Samak and disqualified him as the prime minister.

The court reasoned that the Constitution was aimed to prevent conflicts of interest on part of Cabinet members so Samak had violated in the intention of the charter although he host the programmes on part-time basis.

The Nation

Make her read books...

From The Phuket Gazette:

PHUKET CITY: In a stunning development, the Phuket chapter of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and its affiliate Phuket Watch have denied involvement in the violence and forced closure of Phuket International Airport that left thousands of tourists stranded over the weekend.

At a press conference at the Phuket office of Manager newspaper today, Phuket PAD leader Natjarong Ekpermsup said he and a few hundred other “real” Phuket PAD members were protesting in Bangkok when the airport was stormed and its runway occupied by protesters.

A statement distributed to the press read that a “third party” bent on discrediting PAD and Phuket Watch went to the peaceful PAD protest taking place at the time, infiltrated it and then turned it violent.

Phuket PAD protests were never staged in a way that would harm or negatively affect people’s everyday lives, the statement read.

Third party members in masks and donning the PAD’s trademark yellow shirts were responsible for destroying airport property and preventing tourists from entering or leaving the airport, the statement read.

A local labor union responsible for organizing workers in 12 of Phuket’s 20 union districts told the press conference that many workers decided to join the protest after watching it on television.

Natjarong told the press conference that he suspected that members of groups such as the pro-government National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) may have been among the infiltrators.

The Phuket Gazette has some good video of the protesters too.

www.phuketgazette.net/tv

PAD-led protesters block road to Phuket Airport

Phuket - Protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy blocked the road to the Phuket International Airport Friday afternoon.

Prayuth Tiraksa, a PAD leader in Phuket, said the protester started blocking the road at 2 pm.

The Nation

Latest reports put the number at 5000

Latest from The Gazette:

Anti-government rally crowd at Phuket Airport reaches 1,000

PHUKET: More police have been called in from around the province to supervise anti-government protesters at Phuket International Airport as crowd numbers reach 1,000. No reports of violence.

Hello,

I would like to find a nice thai restaurant, a bit romantic, with sea view in Phuket and not very expensive if it's possible

Do you know a place? I would like to celebrate his birthday...

That's nice to u

Fred

"HIS" birthday?

Kan Eang@pier next to Chalong pier is romantic and has a great sea view.

At Chalong Circle, take the road to Kata. Just past 7/11 there is a strip of shop houses on the left. There is a Dental Clinic in there and they are fantastic. No bags.

I had a Root Canal there and actually fell asleep in the chair.

Only problem is my Dr. liked to listen to a particular musician that I despise.

I have never fallen asleep in a Dentist chair, but I did there.

And they are really good with the Pain Medicine, the sucky thing, and rinsing.

jb

I believe this dentist is called "Happy Tooth" and is good for small jobs and cleaning but for the big stuff she suggested

Bangkok Phuket Hospital - At both places no bag or mask.

The best I have found is Map Magic by ThinkNet although I think the latest is 2006.

Bilingual Detailed printed map and CD included.

Check out your local B2S bookstore.

http://www.thinknet.co.th/06/eng/product-cd.html

Online there is http://map.longdo.com/longdomap which is less detailed but can be useful.

Can anyone recommend a quality & accurate map of Phuket? I am looking for both online and printed maps.

Thanks

Flights back on again

From The Phuket Gazette:

Nok Air resumes Phuket service

PHUKET CITY: Nok Air is resuming twice-weekly flights to Phuket from Bangkok following media reports of Phuket-bound tourists stranded in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

The Phuket Gazette's report as well as other media reports were used by the board in their decision making, Nok Air media and public relations representative Dechavut Vuttisilp told the Gazette.

The limited service, which resumes on August 9, is scheduled to operate on Saturdays and Sundays only. Flights depart from Don Muang airport in Bangkok to Phuket International Airport (PIA) at 9.15 am, with the return leg taking off from PIA at 11.05 am.

However, the Sunday flight for this week will be moved to Tuesday, August 12 to accommodate those wishing to enjoy Mother's Day in Phuket. For the rest of August the flights will be on Saturdays and Sundays.

Many Phuket-bound tourists who already faced limited flight options following the suspension of One-Two-Go's services on July 22 were stranded in Bangkok when Nok Air suspended its Bangkok-Phuket service on August 1. The move followed Nok Air's halt of its Krabi-Bangkok service on July 1.

At that time, Nok Air issued no official statement regarding its marketing strategies, but a source at the budget airline told the Gazette that people would be able to figure it out if they looked carefully at what the airline was doing.

Nok Air also suspended its loss-ridden Phuket-Haad Yai service November last year after a six-month trial period found there were not enough passengers to continue it. It now remains impossible to fly between the South's two major airports, which for decades had regularly-scheduled services.

Angry Finnish tourist Arto Tiitinen called from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on August 2 to inform the Gazette that many other irate Phuket-bound tourists were awaiting standby flights.

"I'm surprised that there are not extra flights; now my family must holiday elsewhere. I have no problem with money, it's just that there aren't any tickets to Phuket available for now at any price," he said, adding that he would instead take his family to Chiang Mai for a holiday.

The Gazette checked the AirAsia website that day, which showed that the airline's seven daily flights to Phuket from Suvarnabhumi were fully booked until Tuesday, August 5. Thai Airways continues to fly two or three flights daily to Phuket from Don Meuang and six flights a day from Suvarnabhumi.

Nok Air, which used Don Mueang International Airport as its main base, started operations in July 2004. Owned 39% by Thai Airways International, the low-cost carrier was set up to compete with the aggressive expansion of rival low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia.

As it celebrates its 4th anniversary, the carrier has also relaunched its "Nok Gives Life" project.

With "Nok Gives Life" the airline works to raise funds for the Cardiac Children Foundation of Thailand, established Under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana. Funds raised enable life-saving surgery and treatment for young heart patients.

FRom the Phuket Gazette:

Elderly Belgian hospitalized after roadside incident

PHUKET CITY: A morning cycle ride turned into a nightmare for a 68-year-old Belgian expat who was hospitalized after allegedly being knocked off his bicycle by a pickup truck and then set upon by the driver.

Paul Cassiens was cycling along Chao Fa West Rd yesterday morning when at 6:30 am his bike came into contact with a bronze Toyota Vigo pickup truck, sending him to the ground, said Mr Cassiens' wife, Khun Rattana, who rushed to the scene after receiving a phone call from a doctor based at Bangkok Hospital Phuket who had stopped to assist Mr Cassiens.

A nearby shop owner who witnessed the collision said the driver of the pickup got out of the truck and proceeded to kick and punch the elderly Belgian, alleged Khun Rattana.

K. Rattana said the pickup driver fled the scene after she asked if the police had been called.

Mr Cassiens is being treated in Bangkok Hospital Phuket's intensive care unit for a broken hip, internal bleeding, a ruptured kidney and several fractures, she added.

K. Rattana filed a report with Captain Krirkkrit Ritnueng of Phuket City Police Station.

Although Captain Krirkkri initially said that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of the driver, the Gazette has learned that the vehicle's owner, whom police have tracked down, was not the person alleged to have attacked Mr Cassiens.

Police are now waiting to speak with the owner of the pickup to determine who the driver was.

If being put into the database means less paperwork to provide every year for a renewal I'm all for it.

Can someone advise if Phuket immigration are Ok if you apply (with all the correct documents) on your own? We have a baby and a two year old which makes it difficult for my wife to attend....3 weeks to go

geoffphuket

I tried and was told to return with my wife.

Was the SUV a black Fortuner? If so it's a power thing. If you were polite then there was no problem just a guy with a bad attitude.

I was referred to a good mechanic on this site by someone I don't remember. Well I have been there 4-5 times with different car troubles, and he seems to know exactly what he is doing. He saved me 10,000Bt on my last visit and even recommended another shop where I should go for tires. He speaks very good English and charges very reasonably. His shop is directly across the road from the entrance to Wat Chalong

Good to know but hardly news or an event.