Phuket News: 12 Dec - Dec 26




Pet Festival of Thailand - SuanSampan, Nakhon Pathom 18-20 December.
What is this?







Stopping plastic bags in Phuket - watch this space - February 14th 2010.....................


Australians caught shoplifting at Phuket airport......... 
Point - if you shoplift at night the penalty is greater than if it is during the day - does anyone know when day becomes night - just in case?


Patong Aqua Zone - not visited yet - now I would like a web cam to view this!
Aqua Zone is near to the Patong Garden Bay Garden Resort
Bangtao Night fishing games





Simone - Soi Bangla Ladyboy


Do you recognise them? 
Have you met them?


Lisa Andrews is looking for them






happy air flying from PHUKET to HATYAI. 


PMBC - Rehabilitation of Coral Reefs in Thailand
PMBC - Baby Dolphin dies
PMBC - False Killer Whales (old news)

Getting a taxi in Phuket?




It is expensive to hire a taxi in Phuket, there are metered taxis but they are only available from the airport?
Click here for a blog discussion regarding this situation.


Tantalizing Thai Beer Calendar




Not quite about Phuket but an entertaining story none the less - only in Thailand.  A Company that brews beer in Thailand produce a calendar of Thai women with painted outfits on.
The staff member who distributed the poster has since resigned..... BUT ........



If you would like to see what all the commotion is please watch this video






Read more in these postings:
If you want to have your own set of photographs CLICK HERE
Some people tell me that it is a clever marketing ploy - CLICK HERE
A Bangkok Post Report CLICK HERE

Sand Sculpting in Phuket





Sand Sculpting is here in Phuket - my daughter loved the shark that she found on the beach near where we live - South Phuket.


Where else do they do this?
Who did this?
Can they teach me?


I found some more information about Sand Sculpting - click here.
There are some books about it - click here for Amazon.




What's the weather like?






Well I have to admit to not being the purveyor of this - that belongs to Jamie in Phuket.


You cannot have an overview of the whole island but it does give you a good idea of what is happening today.


Here are 2 links to Phuket's Beach Web Cams


There are a plethora of web cams in Phuket but they are not all of the beach!


Here are 2 links to bars in Patong


What do you think of Web Cams in public places? - Vote in the margin.


Phuket News: Nov 26 - Dec 11




Don't go fishing where you are not allowed - how do we find out? Please email me if you have any details.


Fined for fishing in a public park - Rama IX - in Phuket Town!


Tales of the park;
 - did you know that a man was found shot in the park 2 days previous to this incident?
 - on August 4th men poisoned the fish in the park (80 kilos)


Buy your flowers at the front of the park - Suan Luan Flowers!


This family paid a lot for their excess luggage. The rates for excess baggage on Thai Airways are printed somewhere - if you can find it please email timinphuket.


All I can say is that you should always dress well, speak well and NOT be rude, may be there will not be any charge? Did they follow all these tips?


Is there a need in Phuket for a HI-Tech Car Wash? 
What is wrong with the boys? - our favourite are the ones in Central carpark.

We missed having Ray Clemence at the Cape Panwa Hotel - he stayed somewhere else :-(




The contract for the lifeguards on Phuket has finished? - click here





The market in Phuket Town should be opening in February 2010.  


It cost 167 million Baht, it was completed on the 23rd June 2009 - the buildings are 4 stories and there are a total of 27 shophouses - work that one out?



Phuket King's Cup Regatta - 28 Nov to 5 Dec




Boats, boats and more boats.  Follow the boats on their website - www.


Shall I make a visit?



Phuket News: Nov 6 - Nov 20






I am able to do all of the Suduko's in the Bangkok Post BUT when they put 2 number 1's in the same line then you do question whether the crossword is right! That is my excuse for never finishing a crossword and I am not getting better!





Loy Krathong Celebrations - a Lady boy Miss Noppamas - not my choice but it did make page 2 in the Phuket Gazette.






Phuket International Women's Club celebrates 20 years.


The MV Doulous - the 'World's largest floating book fair' arrived in Phuket Deep Sea Port for a week - i have a plethora of books so I do not think that I will be making a visit


It has recently reported that the ship has been delayed in Singapore.........



A cable car between Cape Promthep and Koh Kaew Pissadan?  Will this go the same way as the tunnel to Patong?


"Keep Phuket Clean" - Friday December the 4th - www.summerinphuket.com


Missed the Great Rubber Duck Race at Canal Village!




The saga of the Jet Ski debate continues - IT WORKS we are told here


Then we are told about all the rip offs in Patong?  Why do tourists still come here / go there?  I go for the shopping!

Miss Belgiums stay at the Cape Panwa Hotel







There are 20 Belgium Beauties staying at the Cape Panwa Hotel - there is a press release from the TAT regarding their stay in Phuket. 
There is a Miss Belgium website 'live' which has a lot of recent photographs of their stay.
TAT and the Cape Panwa Website and Blog will keep you up to date with what they are doing - watch this space.


Claudia's my fav....




If you would like to vote please visit a website organised just for this purpose.


Phuket News: Oct 24 - Nov 5






Headless babies are a tourist attraction - wot is this place in which we live? 
No I am not going to source a photograph.


If you really want to know more please visit the Phuket Gazette for more information - it was published on 26 October 2009 in the Queer News Section.


In a week the Jet Ski debacle in Phuket is over - Politics in Thailand does certainly move fast!!! - and there are insurance companies involved - watch this space.


Interesting concept - 'LadyBoys' are targeted by the police because they take money from tourists in Patong. This is ahead of the visit of US Navy ships - does this mean that the US Navy ships are taken advantage of by them and the girls don't?


Interesting - things to in Phuket for your kids - click here.





Thailand World Sports stacking - coming soon





MBK tattoo contest - missed this one because I was so involved with the Vegetarian Festival - click here for some photos.



The Vegetarian Festival - a Fantastic experience - Mind Blowing





Did I understand it all - not a hope.  The people who were part of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival were people who believed in what it was.


The day started early and we quickly met some people who were part of the Festival.




This MUST have hurt - i am unable to understand how they are able to this unless they are possessed or 'out of it' - click here if you would like to see more of this stomach wrenching displays.


The carnival atmosphere was electric and i was totally drawn into it all - even picking up a wrist bracelet given out by a spirit medium.  There was a plethora of people who were pierced in a plethora of different ways - click here if you want to see some photographs of them.  


The procession included people outside their homes with a table of offerings set up to welcome the blessings of the spirit mediums.




Following this came the noise of the firecrackers and **** they did make a noise - many photographers and people involved in the parade did have ear plugs or ears stuffed with cotton wool - click here for a small flavour of what I saw.




I tried to collate a number of videos together but nothing could encompass the feeling of being in all that chaos.  I have compiled three videos which I have uploaded







The meeting with the Firecracker Man was amazing (above) - I was totally taken aback and it I will certainly be going again to see the Procession next year - I will read more of my text book so I will understand a little more about it - The Chinese Festival in Phuket.

Following this I took a trip into Phuket to watch the Fire Walking - but this was a disappointment - I think that Fire Running would have been a more appropriate title to give it! I did hear that one person did fall over whilst he was running over the flames however ............... BUT I have since read that the injured party failed this because of his own failure to stick to the rules!!


I was interested enough to find out a bit more about Fire Walking and after reading this article about Fire Walking I did feel that it was a con.


The atmosphere in Phuket Town near the Jui Tui Shrine and the Clock Tower was wonderful - a real pleasure to visit and see a wonderful phenomena.



There are a great many more photographs that I have taken, there are links to them and these are accessed best through the Cape Panwa Hotel photographic library - I will add these links later.


There are interesting reports in the Phuket Gazette - have a look.


This video was quite disturbing but interesting - click here



Phuket News: Oct 17- 23




The news that is buzzing around here is that the Vegetarian Festival is coming - I have to tell you to visit Jamie's blog for good information about this spectacular event. Follow Jamie Monk on his facebook to keep up to date of the happenings.


WARNING - DO NOT WATCH THIS IF YOU ARE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION

I will be going to Phuket to visit the Festival on October the 24th - if you can wait that long........

A guest (Bob Nevatte) went on the 20th - click here

WARNING - DO NOT WATCH THIS IF YOU ARE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION

Women's beach volleyball is coming to Karon Beach Nov: 3 - 8

Are they really going to build a road through the hill on the way to Patong?

Thank you to the Phuket Gazette for all their stories.


Not sure about GPS personal trackers............

Thank you to the Phuket Post for their stories.


Kasemkij company expanding into other areas of business
- this is another excuse to visit Chang Mai for me!

Thank you to the Bangkok Post for their stories.

Happy Birthday Jemma - 2 years old




Well I thought a Christmas party with 400 people was hard - that is nothing when compared to a Jemma's small birthday party.......

We started the day off with a visit to the Thai temple - as all Buddhist's do on their birthday. Jemma was taken with all the dogs surrounding the temple. We took a gift for the monks and asked for a blessing from them.

We took some lovely photographs of her at the temple - please click here.

After the Temple visit in the morning Jemma returned home to open her presents - click here - thank you to everybody who brought her something.


After the presents were opened it was time to make the food - too numerous to list but the cook books in the left margin were used.

People arrived slowly and the food was devoured quickly!!

Toys were played with and the children had fun - the biggest fun was trying to blow up "magic balloons", that I can remember from my childhood - please click here for photos.

The day finished and we were all exhausted - sleep came very easily for all of us. Thank you to everybody who made the effort to come and share Jemma's special day with her - what can we do next year?

Miss Poland finalists stay near me!!




I did not visit the ladies; but someone did click here for some more photographs.

But I do have a friend who works where they are staying - this was Sunday!

It did remind me a little of my lucky day when the lovely ladies from Italy - a volleyball team - joined us at the Cape Panwa Hotel in Phuket.


There is gossip at the moment that Miss Belgium will be coming to Phuket next.....and staying at the Cape Panwa hotel - watch this space.


Mr Coconut Man




I visited the guests on a Sunday at Breakfast and found that there was a
draw to somewhere else – guests were staring out to the sea.
I expected to see a big vessel or the US Navy had come back but
I saw a little old man climbing the trees.

This little old man has been coming to the hotel ever since I remember
he trims our coconut trees!! It is a skill that must be seen
as there are no lines, harnesses and hats – just a piece of rope!



I wonder how this would be viewed as Health and Safety for employees?
Claude (our General Manager) did tell me that I could not learn the skill when
I was Father Christmas one year – but I live in hope.

Phuket News: Oct 10 - 16




The Phuket Gazette is always an entertaining read and I am glad that that the Phuket Regional Blood Center is launching a fresh donation drive - apparently in time for the Vegetarian Festival.

I will be visiting the Festival with some of the guests so watch this space for a plethora of photographs and videos.


My thoughts are turning to Education at the moment - and imagine my horror when I read about a Social Studies Teacher at a school giving a pupil a kicking because of an argument they had whilst they were playing football!

I am getting old though - there was a party on Karon Beach for two nights - a RoyFest.....


Then I read that Bryan Robson - THE BRYAN ROBSON is coming to Thailand and he will be managing their National Team........ with Peter Reid being here previously I wonder if it is the right move....... BUT as long as they visit Phuket it doesn't matter - and if he manages to bring Manchester United then it matters even less.....

Watch this space - or watch Sepp Blatter visit Phuket

Footwear in Phuket


Jemma's choice at the moment are the pink boots!!

But this is my favourite photo - but the boots - where are they?


A Hospital in Phuket



Well I had to tell you about allll of the facilities on Phuket island.

In the early hours of Wednesday the 23rd I asked my wife to take me to the Phuket International Hospital.

The support and service I received there was impeccable - surpassable by none!

Not a place that I wanted to be taken to but I am glad that I was taken there.


Teeth Braces - a fashion statement?

I am getting old.........

On one of my excursions out with my family we went to a Weekend Market in Phuket Town.

This market is only open on Saturday and Sunday evenings from about four o'clock and it is near to the Central Festival. Take the left turn (South from Central Festival) before Prompan supermarket - a good place for fresh Ciabatta bread and cheap alcohol - near Wat Naka.

This is predominantly a market for Thai people and it does not have the array of items that one would find in the street market in Patong - if you want that sort of stuff then you won't find it here.

This is a wonderful market and an amazing array of different things to see - we always buy some clothes for our daughter Jemma and she has a play on the train.

As we were allowing (encouraging) our daughter to choose some hair grips and girly bits I noticed a strange item - a piece of wire with a number of coloured flowers on it. I innocently asked Chuen (my wife) what on earth they were - they looked 'cute' and she told me that they were braces to put on your teeth and cost ten baht.

I was shocked - a fashion accessory?
As a child I was scared that I was going to have to wear braces. Ridiculous!

Later I made a silly comment on twitter and imagine my shock when I read the Bangkok Post - someone had died from having them fitted!

On Saturday there was another article published about Beauty Shops and Clinics and markets undertaking cosmetic operations!

This is Thailand - but is this the rest of the world?

Cheers - a drink with a dog?



Not quite what you think - well it is exactly what you think.

At Cape Panwa Russell has picked a spot where his guests can watch
the sun go down and hide from the rain.


Say hello - sunsetbarphuket@yahoo.com

Bright red turtles - can you eat them?


During this period their ancestor’s spirits revisit their homes - Por Tong (the God of the Devils) opens the gates to the spirit world for this. They believe that these spirits will stay on the earth for one month and we give gifts and offerings for their stay.

A prominent feature of this celebration was the number of red turtle shaped cakes – Ang Koo.

The tiny shrine was hidden down a back street - we had to ask the driver Mardchahood to come to find it for us – it was amazing. We were welcomed like old friends into the shrine and we met two lovely Thai / Chinese people who told us what to do.

We took the turtle into the shrine and purchased 18 joss sticks and 4 candles all carefully wrapped together with paper.

We lit 2 candles at the front of the shrine from a perpetual flame.

We lit the joss sticks and placed 3 of them at the front of the shrine.

We paid our respects to the Buddah before entering, on our knees and bowing 3 times.

We lit the joss sticks, placed 3 of them at the front and entered the shrine.

We were led to a very small corridor behind the shrine where we were in a tiny corridor with tiny ornate Chinese figures – similar to those at the Chinese Temple that I had previously visited with the guest. In here there were 5 places to put 3 joss sticks in. We moved carefully through here and back to the front.

We were then led to a small ceremonial stove outside where we undid the roll of papers The papers were held together with a smaller bit of tissue paper and I can find no information as to why it is like this. Watch this space.

We lit the tissue paper from a perpetual flame and threw it into the oven.

One by one we then lit the pieces of paper from the flame in the oven – this was to create a flame to tell the spirits that we have honored them!

We were then told to stay because there was some Thai Dancing in a few minutes – we waited 2 minutes and the there was some Thai dancing – this was a truly amazing and wonderful experience for us all.

Click here to see my mp4.