Valentine

Thank you for every recommendation. Can anyone please tell me if it's still possible to find a quality beachfront house (without pool) for rent in Phuket, or are all the beach loactions taken by resorts?

And what about the east coast of Phuket, are any quiet beaches there?

East coast is predominantly mangroves but some great views of Phang Nga bay & many of the islands. The south of the island has probably witnessed more growth than elsewhere as much of it is medium priced compared to the more upmarket prices found on the north west coast. Some of the views south over Chalong Bay & beyond are truly spectacular & as Livinginkata says you are never too far from shopping centres as well as medical facilities & yes beaches close by plus there are a multitude of good restaurants.

From an Aussie one simple word DILLIGAF

If you don't know what this means then open the You Tube thread..... True Aussie humour as only an aussie can say...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxmUKVrT0iI

like it very funny good to see that people can laugh at themselves...

Kevin Bloody Wilson is great & reminds of a T-shirt with a big finger pointing to the left or right with the caption "why don't you talk to someone who gives a F___k"

Same, I have been to BBQ Hut in past times & it was always good but now avoid Patong these days.

For cheap food I often have brunch at food court in Big C, basic but tasty. Kanom jin only 25 Baht.

Most of the telephone counters in Big C can effect repairs for a small fee & they usually warranty the repair for a month.

My condolences to family & friends. Another sad & tragic story to add to Phuket's woeful trafiic accident statistics. Each & everyone of them results in so much heartache & grief along with considerable financial burden for the families.

Wouldn't it be great to have a promotional campaign aimed at cutting down on road accidents. Perhaps Brad through Rotary & myself through IBAP could generate some support

I dont think i would be interested in the government school but the bilingual Thai/Chinese sounds appealing. Where is it and whats it called?

It is called Phuket Thai Hua which is just down from Surakhul Stadium. My twin daughters go to a government high school in Phuket Town which has an English programme although they study in the Thai language programme but have English & Chinese lessons & this year, Matayhom 4 also have the option of japanese, French or German.

I visited a shop in Thanon Kwang recently & the best package (one of many) they had was virtually everything you get on Platinum except Star World but I am sure one of their other entertainment channels would have many of the same shows. Plus 7 sports channels. Initial fixed cost was quite high but monthly fee was low, & you need an ADSL modem.

To all those who are degenerating Phuket & saying prices will go up, have you actually done survey on room prices. Until you do so perhaps you should withold your scurrilous comments or try coming up with some constructive comments & realise there are two ways of looking at a glas, it is either half full or half empty.

Stupid farangs, clever Thais, doom & gloom, swine flu, bad cops, as if the rest of the world does not have any problems.

Ok, I'll try.

I would guess that most expats on the island live in the Chalong area.

Rawai/Nai Harn area, may be tied with Patong IMO

Chalongs great for been one and a half hours from the aorport but those whom still have a life outside of pad thai live in the north westish part of Phuket.

This is a load of BS and shows you have some type of chip on your shoulder.

Agree with HB. The northern part of the island is mostly second home/holiday rentals (currently empty), primarily because of the remoteness in relation to facilities for day-to-day living. Also, I live in Chalong, and it rarely takes me more than 45 minutes to get to or from the airport.

I live in Chalong & if the drive to the airport is a serious reason for living in the NW of the island so be it but the pad thai comment alludes to a kind of snobbery. Parts of Chalong have wonderful sweeping views to the south over the bay & beyond. It is one of the fastest growing areas in Phuket, has a great variety of outside food ranging from the local noodle stall, water side seafood, to top class Italian, including some good bakeries. It has a good road leading to schools, shopping centres, hospitals, plus we have Villa Market in the Home Pro Village.

Phuket post.....

Police Superintendent states owner of bar was present at time of arrest and requested charges be laid......

What the f** he was in australia as he states in his radio interview 3aw.com.au who is pulling whos dick here he clearly stated that he was not there and did not press charges. Sorry thai police badly caught out on this one

You may find there is more than one owner. I have met at least two one of which is Steve & I don't think he has a handle bar moustache.

Both time motorists took off when the red numbers had counted down to zero even though the opposing lights were still green.

How do you know, were you able to see both the numbers and the lights? It sounds to me more like the numbers went to zero, the motorists took off while from the opposing side the lights had turned red but they did not care too much about that.

I have travelled this route for many uears & know it well. In Kathu I could see the reflection of the opposing lights to know they were still green. In Sam Kong it is a T junction & was easy to see the other light was still on green. When the numbers countdown to zero they then turn to 3 bars & remain red but the motorists, generally motorcycles, just take off anyway without nary a second glance.

It is all about dependence on a system & reacting to stimuli, just like Pavlov's dog.

Whatever the motive behind these horrific murders I hope the perpetrators are swiftly bought to justice & punished to the full extent of the law.

A couple of years ago on Chalong, Phuket a very young child was killed during the course of a burglary as it started crying & the burglars feared that someone would hear the cries. Apparently a maid did & they tried to kill her as well but did not succeed. The murderers were caught but I did not see any follow up on their trial.

There is bound to be an increase in violent robberies due to the recession, increasing drug use, lack of moral guidance, etc.

I just passed Don's about an hour ago & there was a banner up advertising speedy breakfast, deli sandwiches from 7 to 9am.

The weather has not been doing the "summer season" any favours.

The farce will unravel when the tourists start drowning at the beaches and the violent muggings that occur continue.

Muggings & drownings occur in tourist spots all over the world. Many years ago I was in Bali during which time they imposed a night time curfew so a vigilante squad could hunt down a serious mugger who had actually killed a couple of tourists in their rooms. I understand that shortly thereafter said mugger found a final resting place buried in the sands along the beach somewhere. The surf in Balia can be big & the rips strong.

On cable TV there are two programmes which follow the daily lives of lifeguards at Bondi beach in Sydney & Piha in Auckland where they often have to rescue people who ignore the safe bathing flags. In Phuket warning signs are put up when the surf is considered dangerous. There are Thai lifeguards along with guys like Diver at Surin & Huggybear at Nai Harn who help out. Some of the lifeguards may not be the best but they have started surf lifesaving carnivals in Phuket & so the standard should improve.

Many years ago the low season was exactly that & many of us living here rejoiced in the fact & drownings, muggings were virtually unheard of. Over the years the low season became more busy & with it came occasional drownings. I realise many tourists leave their common sense at home when they go on holiday but to ignore warning signs is at your own peril.

It is possible for you to post comments on the actual summer website & raise your issues directly as I am sure they are willing to listen to constructive suggestions.

The meeting was well attended by a diverse range of business people throughout Phuket who responded to the panel with many interesting & probing questions. The members of the panel all made informative & thoughtful responses. One of the best IBAP meetings of recent times & the promised Legal Eagles meeting for next month should be the icing on the cake. All of you who have the best interests of Phuket at heart should attend & take part in what should be another very informative & interesting panel discussion.

Over the years I have watched IBAP grow from a small gathering (when first started there were large attendances which dropped off & IBAP eventually had to be rebuilt from the ground up) of business people with occasional, topical speakers to one which constantly strives to provide quality topics every month & succeeds through the hard work of a group of dedicated volunteers who all have their own business to run.

The bar is obviously owned by an influential Thai - policeman or politician.Would a Farang owned Bar have undercover cops working in it? Would the police care if a Farang owned bar got ripped off? Certainly not, because the police are looking to do just that - rip off the Farang owned bar themselves by searching for unauthentic music on the computer or Thai CD's etc or absolutely any other "law" they can make up to extort baht from the owner. (yes, I've owned a Bar in Thailand so I'm talking from first hand experience)

So,this is some Thai scumbags bar and they are putting a tourist in jail for stealing a towel. I suggest you avoid this bar if you're ever in Phuket and tell everyone that you know to avoid it as well.

My understanding is the Aussie Bar is in fact owned by Aussies although no doubt there is a Thai involved in the ownership structure. There must be more to this story than meets the eye.

Today marks the start of the school year's morning & afternoon forays on to Phuket's roads for the purpose of taking my kids to school. There were two incidents, which I have noticed previously, where motorists watch the red numbers countdown & then take off regardless of whether or not the lights have turned green in their favour. It happened at an intersection in Kathu & a few minutes later at the pokey little T junction in Sam Kong. Both time motorists took off when the red numbers had counted down to zero even though the opposing lights were still green.

Is this a case of Pavlov's dog being at fault or just simply sheep.

I got a ticket for that once in the states. IT's called anticipating a green light i believe, and they have some number for the offence to write on the ticket.

,

So, are you saying you don't get ready to go when the last few seconds are ticking off?

Or you just patiently wait until you are sure it's really really going to be green? (if so i would really really think you are in the minority, especially here in Thailand)

I admit the showing of the seconds left could be a dangerous trait in some circumstances.

However, there are much worse things going on in the "safe driving " department here in the LOS.

How about the rules of who has the right of way in a traffic circle for one?

I too get ready to go by looking at the countdown, I just know those two sets of lights are a problem especially around 7am. Regards baabaabobo's posting I sometimes feel that manual control is not the way to go as I have seen many instances of the lights being down at Central intersection where everyone approaches cautiously & generally use common sense & good manners with no build up of traffic in any direction waiting to get through.

As you say there are many issues regarding our road driving conditions which no doubt have been discussed on this forum but my query was really about people's mindset. Of course the mindset of the drivers can lead to numerous unsafe & ill mannered driving scenarios.

A simple example. Yesterday when I was pulling out of my driveway to turn left on to the main road & of course I am looking right to gauge the traffic & wait for a chance to go. When I go my GF yells motorbike & I have to quickly stop in order to naroowly miss a motorbike who is on the wrong side of the road & had no intention of stopping for me plus giving me look like "what the hel_l do you think your are doing". I realise after all these years I should know better but occasionally forget & revert back.

Today marks the start of the school year's morning & afternoon forays on to Phuket's roads for the purpose of taking my kids to school. There were two incidents, which I have noticed previously, where motorists watch the red numbers countdown & then take off regardless of whether or not the lights have turned green in their favour. It happened at an intersection in Kathu & a few minutes later at the pokey little T junction in Sam Kong. Both time motorists took off when the red numbers had counted down to zero even though the opposing lights were still green.

Is this a case of Pavlov's dog being at fault or just simply sheep.

Really what volume of private jets fly into here ??

How much will be spent to satisfy how many ?? And who pays for it ??

Basic things dont get touched, but grand design ideas always get the go ahead..

I agree. Spending millions on a VIP terminal is totally out of order when there are much more pressing issues at the airport where money can be better spent. Surely the addition of a single VIP room would suffice & be much cheaper. Will the VIPs be charged a special service fee for their exclusive rights & if so what will happen with the proceeds?

There is not any intent on my part to create humour but I always thought wellies were for good Kiwi boys in case a pretty one passed by.

C'mon Val, not 'wellies' in Aotearoa.

Kwi kids wear, 'gummies', gumboots.

You should know better.

My only excuse is that I lived in Scotland for a while where gumboots were called wellies & definitely the preferred mode of footwear. Jandals were not at all suitable for the climate. The house we stayed in was so cold I often woke up with hoar frost on the top blanket & everyone would stay in bed hoping someone else would get up first & light the fire. So glad to be living the summer in Phuket lifestyle where jandals can be worn everyday.

I may sound cynical but I have to agree with Pagallim that you seem to be after a free market survey. You have been a member of the forum for a while already in which there is a wealth of information about Phuket along with a multitude of other sites & if it is a genuine query then you would be naive to base your decision on coming here to live & work on some scurrulous market survey. The suggestion of renting in Phuket for a while & getting to know the lay of the land is quite sensible. There is no particular expat haven, we are scattered all over the island.

I also planned to go this morning & glad I did not. Announcing a promotion & then not having the service available is not very sensible in these tough times. I am sure Don will sort it out but for some it might be the horse & the stable door scenario.

If the true crime statistics in Phuket & the rest of the country were published the figures would show a quite horrific picture not to mention all the ones which go unreported due to a lack of trust, inactivity, undertstaffed, investigative methods etc.

I agree with GK in that it is quite obvious crime will rise including the minor ones of short changing & over charging.

Did anyone know that there is some kind of new strain of Dengue Fever?

My Thai wife told me it was on the Thai news.

Probably no connection to this but...........?

any thoughts?

FYI & quoting from The Nation. It is very similar to dengue.

"The move came as another mosquito-borne disease, chikungunya, continued to ravage the South.

In the South, where chikungunya has already infected more than 15,000 people, Chumphon is fighting a two-front battle with both chikungunya and dengue fever, said provincial governor Karun Supakitwilekkan."

Scubabudda's thongs do not look very comfortable but quite a few have been spotted on Patong Beach many worn by middle aged men with pot bellies. They do appear more suited to the denizens of Bangla's night life.

During the rain yesterday I discovered the radial treads on my jandals were not as good in the wet as I thought them to be but still better than anything else I have tried in the past.