Phuket Weather and Hotels Blog

Jaspal Tailor.. Patong, Phuket

2009-12-10T15:35:00.007+07:00

I went to the tailor a couple of weeks ago and came out with a couple of lovely cuff links usable shirts, lovely cotton and well made.

I must admit to have never really used a tailor anywhere before and I found the process to be most therapeutic. Raul my tailor was a very mild mannered and kind fella who took measurements in a very professional way and made me feel most welcome.

I choose the materials, light and soft cottons in yellow and was asked to come back in 2 days time with a 'fit out'. As is always the case, some areas of the shirt had taken in to maximize the effect and appearance but all went very well. I moved from a geeza in a shirt to 'Ambassador Phil'!!... they really looked great.

I picked up the completed shirts after another 2 days and felt very happy with myself. I choose Jaspals Tailors for 2 reasons... I know Jaspal from my running club, The Hash House Harriers and as importantly, my brother in-law, Dave, has been using Jaspal's shirts for some years and has had no problems at all with washing them, colours etc.

The guy in the pictures is Dave the brother in-law.... cheers Dave!

Jaspal Tailor : Shop in Patong Beach
Hotels in Patong

Phuket hotel and resort specials in high seaon, Thaksin

2009-11-06T13:34:00.003+07:00

I don't like the sound of Thaksin getting involved with Cambodia. Politics in Thailand gets very messy even though it is one of the worlds safest places to live and calmest places to be. Still watch this space.....

High season is with us again. the full merry go round of drop dead gorgeous weather, amazing beaches, exotic nightlife and streets so full of life it makjes the senses overload. The full hotels don't always have the best deals in this season but here is a link to some of the best specils going the moment, now we are in the new season rates. Free Night Phuket Specials.

Serene Resort Phuket stella deal

2009-10-14T18:45:00.004+07:00

The Serene Resort Phuket has a stella deal on the moment where you pay for 20 nights and only pay 9 nights. That is real madness but greatly appreciated by the people buying hotel rooms stays on line.

The Serene Resort Phuket is at the southern end of Kata Beach one of Phuket's most beautiful where the beach meet the Phuket Highlands and has created a true tropicla paraidise. The Serene Resort Phuket is set back from the beach 400 meters and this probably accounts for the discount as the rooms look like great value and are certainly of quality.

It is worth checking out these deals on hotelatm.com as they find some pretty interesting prices for the budget orientated traveller.

An Serene Resort Phuket image gallery
Interesting Serene Resort reviews

The Serene Resort website

Kata Palm Resort And Spa

2009-10-10T22:33:00.003+07:00

The Kata Palm Resort And Spa has a fine reputation for quality holidays in sunny Phuket. It is just back from the main Kata beach and so it isn't really a beach location so it is best not to expect that. But the rooms are excellent and the resort very complete. I suppose the Kata Palm Resort And Spa is best suited to the adventourous, those that automatically like to explore the place where they stay, visit different beaches and go on some tours.

Meanwhile the Kata Palm Resort And Spa is excellent value so the rooms are above average compared to the prices you would have to pay for the same on the beach. The resort is based around one of those great free form pools that seem to be everywhere. Reviews seem to be consistent and positive and so with their special deal on at the moment for 5 FREE Night - Stay 14 Pay 9 saving an incredible 35% I would say this is a brilliant offer.

Wake up happy!

Patong Jet ski scam

2009-09-18T17:24:00.003+07:00

Prosecution for the VDO makers of Jet Ski extortion.

PHUKET, Thailand: --A video production company that was part of the shooting of a video about tourists who were been extorted from has been prosecuted for sending the recordings abroad for broadcasting without permission. The vdo made was about the extortion practices in the Jet Ski Business allegedly going on on Patong Beach.

The police in Thailand traced the vdo tapes to Black Sheep Productions, Wanasiri Morakul, director of the Thailand Film Office which comes under the Tourism and Sports Ministry, explained.

The UK company had produced a series of vdo's entitled 'Big Trouble In Thailand' for Bravo All News station which is also in England. Black Sheep Productions admitted it owns the copyright for the recordings.

More here http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2404.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-09-18
More information on Phuket at the Phuket forum, Phuket facebook, and Phuket and Phi Phi Twitter

Legalise prostitution

2009-09-15T19:31:00.001+07:00

From UDON THANI: -- Udon Thani Industrial Council chairman Prayoon Homewong has made a request for the government to look into legalising prostitution.

"We can never get rid of it. So, I think we should pass laws to regulate it," Prayoon said at a meeting.

He described "prostitution" as an old profession, which many foreign countries have recognised legally.

"If there were laws to regulate prostitution, sex workers would be eligible for legal protection and benefits, while the government would earn income from the tax," Prayoon said. "And it would be easier to control."

He also said he though it a good idea for red-light district zones to be set up and working in advance of the legalization.

Conversely the Friends of Women Foundation director Thanavadee Thajeen agreed with imposing zoning and providing prostitutes with access to social security in line with other careers, but thought that regularization without proper consultation with relevant groups would bound to make a system that is unusable or exploitable.

"There are so many karaoke lounges and other night spots with covert prostitution and some are located near temples and schools. Zoning could help solve this problem," Thanavadee said.

"However, I don't agree with the registration system because it could adversely affect sex workers. Registration means a woman is willing to be stigmatised for the rest of her life as a prostitute, which may effect her chance of finding a husband'

"Campaigns among men to deter them from buying sex from women should help - if there are no buyers, there won't be sellers," she said.

-- The Nation 2009-09-15
Source: ThaiVisa.com
The Nation

Supercheap roof collapse in bad weather

2009-09-06T15:54:00.000+07:00

PHUKET: 200 meters squared of the roof of Supercheap supermarket collapsed at 7.30 am during some of the worst weather in Phuket for some time. The roof made of corrogated zinc panels came down suddenly dring some of the heaviest rain this season. Roofing wood and elctrical line all came down in a sudden fall that caught shoppers by surprise. Luckily there were no causalties in an accident that could have really hurt people.

Alot of the merchandise was spoilt by the sudden influx of water though much was quickly moved by staff to avoid more loss.

The store is still open for business and will attract those interested in some of the best prices on the island.

Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket Tops the Travel Polls

2009-09-04T16:02:00.000+07:00

Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket Tops the Travel Polls

Sheraton Grande Laguna, one of the Luxury Collection Resort was given the Top Conference Hotel for Asia by Smart Travel Asia Poll.

Jan Kirstein, General Manager, Sheraton Grande Laguna said They were very happy to recieve this award for the third year running. He also commneted that keeping the level of recognition within the conference and meetings industry is a big goal for his hotel.

The 428 room Sheraton Grande Laguna prides itself for it's key facilites that bring conferences back again and again. These are
*8 dining and entertainment outlets
*18 hole golf course
*on-site corporate teambuilding
*water sports
*luxurious spa
6 private rooms with capacities ranging from 60 to 400 guests
*air-conditioned marquee offers seating for up to 1,000.

For the perfect event please contact Event Sales on eventsales.phuket@luxurycollection.com, call the hotel directly on +66 76 324 101

Sheraton Laguna Phuket
Luxury Collection Phuket Hotels: Sheraton Grande Laguna,

Marijuana haul in Phuket

2009-09-03T21:14:00.001+07:00

Tee Laohasuntaratam, 59, was arrested for having 1 kilogram of marijuana hiddened at his Phuket home. This elderly drug dealer was caught in possesssion on his bike near Chalong and then on searching his house the Police made the arrest.

At a press conference the police displayed both Tee Laohasuntaratam, 59, and 23-year-old Pongtorn Bunpet who was also arrested for having 1 kilo of marijuana.

'Maj Gen Pigad said the majority of marijuana smuggled into Phuket came from northern Thailand.' He also explained that as the high seaon approached the demand for the drug increased and more arrests were likely.

Swedish Man arrrested for drugs in Phuket

Allamanda Condo Hotel rebrands as Best Western Laguna Phuket Resort

2009-08-28T16:25:00.009+07:00

The hotel chain Best Western will now manage the Allamanda Condo Hotel, and this will be re-branded as the Best Western Laguna Phuket Resort. There will be a re-launch of the hotel by October 2009.

Other Best Western hotels on the island are at Bang Tao Beach, Pa Khlok, Karon and there are plans for a new hotel coming up in Patong Beach.

Source:

thephuketinsider.com

Outrage over foreigners "owning" Phuket's beaches

2009-08-27T15:34:00.010+07:00

Local Phuket real estate blog thephuketsinsider.com published an opinion piece on the latest outrage about an article in the Bangkok Post saying that foreigners are in control of 90% of the beachfront land of Phuket -- in an illegal and sneaky way.

The numbers seem to come originally from a research report by the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, but local media has been reporting that -- besides a general concern on nominee issues -- actually no such concrete number is mentioned anywhere in this report.

From the Phuket Insider article:

The front page story in today’s Bangkok Post which quotes a leading research body as saying foreigners own 90% of Phuket's beach front land has certainly struck a sour note against foreign ownership of land in Thailand.
The study, which was put together by the Thailand Research Fund, quotes a professor from Sukhothai Thammathirat University who says these holdings are lodged with Thai nominees. (...)
It’s disappointing to see such a one-sided story hit page one of the Bangkok Post as it's clearly sensationalist. It appears that no facts or supporting documents have been presented; that there have been no hands-on investigations by Post journalists; and that no effort was made to obtain comments from foreigners with an interest in the Thai property industry. The story takes us back about two years, to the days when the Foreign Business Act plunged the nation's property business into a serious flattening of demand.
Examining the claims made in the report, it has to be noted that there is, in fact, little beach front land available in Phuket as a large portion of the island's coasts are rimmed by roads, such as in Patong and Karon. At Bangtao, Laguna Phuket has legal title to its large-scale land holdings through the Thai Government’s Board of Investment scheme. In Mai Khao, Anantara and Marriott are owned by the Thai-listed Minor Group.
Locally-owned hotels such as the Kata Thani, Thavorn, Sri Panwa and Sala occupy considerable areas. Even more noteworthy is the expansive Sirinath National Park which covers much of the west coast, pre-empting land ownership by anyone – Thais and foreigners alike.
The type of tabloid sensationalism in today's Post will only further hamper efforts to encourage foreign investment during the current recession and property downturn. If there is substance in the theme of the report, the Post should publish evidence to support the 90% foreign ownership claim and give a bit of background on the foreigners and their nominees. Surely, that would be far better than inflaming an issue which only damages the country's reputation amongst the investment community.

One comment in the PhuketWan Analysis pretty much sums it up what foreigners living here in Thailand think about this:

Why is it that the Thais want to have their cake, eat it and expect foreigners to pay for it? It's about time things changed ... one way or another.
The Thais need to stand back and make a firm decision. Do they change the FBA and Property Laws to allow sensible ownership of what WE pay for or do they make it so that foreign ownership is forbidden under any circumstances.
The trouble is, while the Thais do not like foreigners owning anything, it is a clear fact that without foreign investment the country could simply not survive. The draconian laws and discriminatory practices needs to stop if this country is to move forward as a democracy.
I, and every other foreigner is tired of listening to the Thais moan about foreigners owning land and businesses ... who sold it to us? Who benefited from the sale? How many rich Thais are there who made their money from foreigners? ... the Thais have never had it so good and with the right passage forward they can have so much more.

Sources:

Bangkok Post Cover Story: 90% of Beach Land owned by Foreigners (thephuketinsider.com)
Analysis on PhuketWan

More information:

Original story from the Bangkok Post
Discussion on Thai Visa
Phuket governor responds to explosive land claim (Phuket Gazette)
Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University

Storm sinks Teak Transporter in the Andaman Sea near Phuket

2009-08-26T17:26:00.007+07:00

The current string of monsoon storms have rained on the holiday of many. But not only holiday-makers on Phuket have been inconvenienced, larger calamity has hit a bulk-carrier ship transporting millions of baht worth of teak from Burma; it sank just off the coast of nearby Phang Nga province. All crew was able to escape in a life raft.

From local media:

A Thai bulk-carrier ship transporting millions of baht worth of teak from Burma sank in the Andaman Sea just off Phang Nga province on Sunday. All crew on board the Chart 1 managed to escape on inflatable rafts.
Vice Admiral Narong Tesvisarn, Commander of The Third Naval Area Command in Phang Nga, received a distress call from the crew of Chart 1 just after 7am on August 23. The distress call said the crew were in need of urgent rescue from their sinking ship.
The Thai Navy vessel Tor.214 responded and located the vessel in rough seas still afloat, approximately 5.3 nautical miles from the Phang Nga Naval Base, roughly 55km north of Phuket.
Chart 1 was in the process of transporting 1,200 teak logs in its 3,200-tonne hold from Burma to its final destination in Vietnam.
The old ship was supposed to take a well-known nautical route from Burma, heading across the Andaman Sea, down through the Straits of Malacca and then on to Vietnam. However, the bulk-carrier encountered problems not far from Thailand’s coast, where rough seas and severe weather battered the ship, causing multiple leaks in its hull.
Water also leaked into the engine room and began to sink the vessel. Fearing the ship would sink, the captain alerted the navy, who arrived on the scene within the hour.
By 9.30am, all crew members were safely transported via life rafts from their stricken vessel onto the Thai Navy rescue boat.
The crew comprised seven Thai nationals, including the captain, four Indonesians, and five Burmese, who looked weary and soaked as they watched their vessel sink from the safety of the navy boat.
All crew members were taken to Phang Nga Naval Hospital, most suffering from mild shock and early signs of hypothermia.
On the morning of August 23, the Southern Meteorological Center issued a weather warning for Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Trang and Satun as they were expecting 35 kph winds and two-meter waves. Chart 1 may not have received the weather report.
Following the incident, the Third Naval Area Command marked the site where the boat sank and navy divers visited the site yesterday.
Vice Admiral Narong said recovery of the vessel would have to wait for confirmation of an insurance payout for salvaging the ship. “We are worried about the environmental implications of the sunken ship and the prospect of oil and cargo being released from it, causing problems for the environment,” he said.

Source:

Phuket Gazette

Views of Phi Phi Don

2009-08-25T01:44:00.009+07:00

These are some shots of Phi Phi Don during high season going along from Phi Phi Long Beach round the south east corner of the island before Loh Modee. Phi Phi can be reached by ferry in only 45 minutes form Phuket Island and is one of the most popular daytrip destinations from there.

Twitter on Phi Phi Island and related issues:

http://twitter.com/ThePerfectBeach

Jetstar adds new direct Singapore to Phuket flight

2009-08-24T09:29:00.004+07:00

Just a few days ago, we reported that Thai AirAsia will start new direct flight r outes to Phuket from various cities of the region by end of the year.

Now The Nation posts, that Jetstar Asia also announced the expansion of their Thailand services with a new double daily Singapore to Phuket flight at the end of September, in addition to Jetstar Asia's existing twice daily A320 operations between Singapore and Bangkok and Jetstar Australia's services between Sydney and Phuket.

Jetstar Asia and Valuair Chief Executive Officer Ms Chong Phit Lian said the new services were part of the carrier's next strategic stage to build its low fares services across Southeast Asia under the Jetstar brand.

Phuket will become our 18th destination from Singapore and provides not only Singaporeans low fares access to this popular Thai destination but will work well for passengers traveling through Singapore from Australia or other parts of the Jetstar network and for Qantas interline passengers traveling from Europe.

Jetstar's third daily Singapore-Bangkok service will operate as a middle of the day service, complimenting Jetstar's existing early morning and evening schedule.

New direct flights to Phuket by Thai AirAsia

2009-08-21T21:22:00.003+07:00

As local media reported, Thai AirAsia will begin direct flight services to Phuket from several new major cities in the region starting by the end of the year.

AirAsia will base five aircraft at Phuket International Airport as part of its plan to establish Phuket as an aviation hub, Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld told a press conference at the Royal Phuket City Hotel last week.
The cities include Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City and Chiang Mai. The first of the new flights will begin in November.

In related news, the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) is pushing Thai Airways International (THAI) to launch a direct flight to Singapore and a twice-weekly Frankfurt to Phuket route, either directly or via Bangkok. Thai Airways currently offers direct service to Phuket only from Hong Kong, Narita Airport in Japan, and Perth, Australia.

More information:

Phuket Boost as AirAsia plans more flights (hotelATM facebook)

One day tour to Phi Phi from Phuket

2009-08-11T12:42:00.005+07:00

The One Day Tour to Phi Phi Island is a classic trip from Phuket and very popular. It can be seen promoted all over the beach resorts in Phuket and Krabi, but it is from Phuket where you see this the most.

phi-phi.com has some great image galleries of this one day tour to Phi Phi trip and care should be taken to choose the right boat and package as they can vary wildly.

There are so many options here I will not mention them yet and see what reponse the general public gives but there is a lot of useful information at the Phi Phi transfer page.

See more galleries here:

hotelatm.com on Facebook

2009-07-30T21:16:00.003+07:00

hotelatm.com has just created a new page on facebook, with lots of news and special hotel deals for Phuket and the rest of Thailand.

Visit this page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/hotelATMcom/113917387138.

More news on the hotelATM facebook page:

Thai cooking lessons in Phuket's Sri Panwa

2009-07-29T19:48:00.007+07:00

Just caught this on the wire, Cookery lessons in Thailand + complimentary upgrade & 25% off spa treatments in the super luxury spa at Sri Panwa on Phuket.

Stay in your luxury villa surrounded by tropical jungle and complete with wrap-around pool for five nights, including a free upgrade to private ocean view pool villa, a complementary Thai cookery class, complementary mini bar and 25% off all spa treatments from £2300 per person.
This price includes international and domestic flights, transfers and everything in the offer described above.
This offer gives you a saving of £600 and runs until the end of October 2009.

Source:

blacktomato.co.uk

July weather on Phuket

2009-07-06T15:46:00.004+07:00

Cloudy with rain every now and again but still bright enough to need sunglasses!!!

Phuket rain in June

2009-06-16T17:08:00.003+07:00

Phuket rain for the last 2.5 days... a shame it has been amazing weather for the first 10 days

Beautiful Phuket

2009-06-04T15:22:00.002+07:00

Sunny!!!!

Bright and Hazy Phuket at the beginning of June

2009-06-02T15:33:00.005+07:00

It's sunny again today, but I'm expecting rain again around 6pm (same as yesterday). Sea conditions are quite calm as there's only a slight breeze (aprox 5 Km/h).

I'm not sure if you've ever seen this site but i really like it for phuket weather... it also give info on wind and waves etc. http://www.windguru.com/int/index.php?sc=310

Just had another look outside the window and although it's quite sunny it's faily overcast as well. So not blue sky but it's still bright out.

Phuket Hotel transfers

2009-05-28T23:40:00.003+07:00

Cool new inexpensive Phuket Hotel transfers to the airport and to the pier + ferries out to Phi Phi Island.

I'm lovin it..............

Poor weather in Phuket

2009-05-27T19:56:00.006+07:00

poor weather the last couple of days, rain has now cleared and it is just cloudy

uuugh

Normal May Weather on Phuket

2009-05-26T16:04:00.006+07:00

Weather has been mixed recently, 2 days of rain and then 2 days of brilliant sunshine, a day of rain, a half day of sunshine etc etc.. Normal hot May weather.........