Diary Patong
17.December.2004
IS THIS A JOKE?!
I CAN'T BUY A BEER BETWEEN 2-5 PM?
Undercover inspectors are visiting shops and stores to check that they are not selling alcohol outside the permitted times or alcohol and cigarettes to minors, Wisut Romin, the Deputy Secretary of Phuket Provincial Administration Office, has told the Gazette.
Said K. Wisut, “The 253rd declaration of 1972 Revolutionary Council states that shops having liquor licenses are allowed to sell alcohol only between 11 am and 2 pm and 5 pm and midnight.”
This law applies only to shops, said K. Wisut. Entertainment venues can sell alcohol at any time during the hours they are allowed to open.
(Source: Phuket Gazette)
16.2.04
This is paradise man!!!
Quote from the staff at Reggae Bar on Siam Beach, Raya Yai Island.
Raya is not the paradise it was a few years ago, when only a few day trippers and diving boats found their way out here.
Accommodation was restrictet to some basic bungalows overlooking Batok and Siam Bay, and Baan Raya Resort southwest of the island.
At the moment Siam Beach it's still not that much developed, with only some basic bars and restaurants and a few sunbeds.
The main bay, Batok Bay, is another story. A new resort, The Racha, are being constructed at the back of the snow white Batok Beach. Further inland, apartment buildings are under construction. The whole area is now a large construction site.
Trails has been widened to make room for construction vehicles. It's still only dirt roads and that shows when you look at the vegetation. Walking behind a jeep is like going through a dust storm.
For the first time there was not a water buffalo in sight. Raya Island will certainly look very different the next high season. I hope it will look more nice when construction is finished, but it will never go back to be the mostly untouched paradise it was a few years ago.
The sea is still breattaking clear and snorkeling is excellent. But like Phi Phi, sea conditions dictate where you can go snorkeling. On the last trip a few days ago, only Batok Bay had calm sea. Snorkeling tour to the east coast was abortet due to waves.
A speedboat trip out to Raya can be a problem for some people. The sea can be very rough after passing Coral Island, but on the way back in the afternoon the sea should be calm. Like Phi Phi you can't fully appraised Raya without staying at least one night. In low season a bungalow cost only 200 baht a night.
15.2.04
The 3th Chula Phuket Sand Sculpture Festival took place at Karon Beach today, with participating teams from schools, hotels and the general public creating a sand sculpture on the beach. Some of my favorite sculptures is to be found on Karon Photo pages.
I expected more tourists to be around for this event, but maybe they didn't know about it?
10.2.04
Police had set up a checkpoint on the outskirts of Karon today. There was a long queue of tourists waiting to pay their 300-500 baht fine. But strangely enough, some people was wearing a helmet, so either was insurance not paid for motorbike or they left their driving license at home. I has been told that you don't need a international driving license, only a driving license from your home country. But don't take my word for it.
As a passenger, I was not fined for not wearing a helmet. The day when police begin to enforce the helmet law for passengers, I will have to start riding a bicycle instead.
10.2.04
Picture to the left was taken one year ago. Picture to the right was taken a few days ago. Both are from the same spot at the south end of Bang Tao beach. Name of the new hotel is Bangtao Beach Resort & Spa.
There are so much construction going on in Phuket, with new buildings popping up all the time. Where we live in the Nanai area there has never been an end to the construction of new villas, guesthouses, mansions, shops, bars in the last three years.
8.2.04
Soi Bangla
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) Chief Sunart Wongchawalit has declared poultry products grown in Phuket as safe for consumption.
So confident is he that his office is organizing a special event to encourage islanders back into their chicken-eating ways.
We have collected 230 samples of fecal matter
from all parts of the island and sent them to a lab in Surat Thani,” he told the Gazette today. “Of these, 193 tested negative for bird flu. We are still awaiting results on the remainder,” he said.
The testing process takes about one week, and so far none of the samples has tested positive for the virus. K. Sunart said the testing regimen would continue, to ensure all parts of the island remain free of the disease.
He hopes that those now eschewing poultry will be tempted back into the chicken-chewing camp by a free chicken feast scheduled to start at 5 pm on February 7.
(Source: Phuket Gazette)
