Nightmare islands

Nightmare islands
By THE NATION

1 million stranded as floods rage through South; 9 killed, with Nakhon Si Thammarat hit the hardest; Heavy rain likely to continue for next few days
Nearly a million residents living in flood-hit areas in the South have been left stranded with no access to land and air transport, even as the number of deaths increased to nine, with the grim prospect of heavy rains pounding many of the areas for the next few days.
A storm yesterday aggravated difficulties for the hardest-hit province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, damaging 250 homes in coastal areas and the Talum Phuk peninsula. The raging winds felled a number of power poles, causing blackouts in many areas.
Local residents of the peninsula complained about the total lack of assistance from authorities, and shortages of food and electricity. Fishermen are relying entirely on high-interest loans from illegal lenders to pay for their regular expenses while they are unable to go out fishing.
In Lan Saka district, a large number of people living at the foot of small hills have been evacuated following mudslides, with the possibility of more coming. A large pile of debris has covered farmlands and damaged them.
The situation in the whole region, including the other six hard-hit provinces - Surat Thani, Chumphon, Phang Nga, Ranong, Trang and Phatthalung - will likely return to normal next week if the heavy rains cease.
All train services down from Nakhon Si Thammarat have been suspended due to high flooding of the railway tracks. Villagers living in the foothills of nine provinces have been advised to watch out for mudslides, which have occurred in nine districts in four provinces. There are 1,628 locations facing the risk of mudslides in 14 southern provinces, with a total of 5,593 locations in 51 provinces across the country.
In tambon Pak Phoon in Muang district, desperate villagers seeking to be evacuated made a false appeal for help. When rescuers arrived at the scene, they rejected their request for evacuation citing priority for an incident in which a brick oven had collapsed. A villager then confessed to raising a false alarm to get the attention of rescuers.
Four Navy vessels, including an amphibious landing craft, are on their way to the South from the Sattahip Naval Base, with on-board helicopters hoping to pick up a large number of tourists stranded on many tourist islands. A total of 103 tourists stranded on tourist islands off Phang Nga coast on Andaman Sea side have been rescued by two local Navy vessels.
In Phi Poon district, two reservoirs are brimming and releasing water on an hourly basis to prevent cracks or a collapse. The Kathoon and Khlong Din Daeng cannot accommodate any more water, said district chief Trairat Chaiyarat.
In the latest fatality reported in Phatthalung, a woman drowned when her car plunged into two-metre roadside floodwaters, raising the number of dead to nine, according to unofficial news reports. The latest official update on the disaster yesterday reported seven deaths, with 979,665 people living in 310,406 affected households. The flood areas cover 63 districts in seven southern provinces.
Airports in Nakhon Si Thammarat have been closed because the runways and taxiways have been flooded while the one in Samui Island remains closed as of press time last night.
Ekkarat Sukpetch, a reporter at The Nation, said rain poured down day and night, forcing Bangkok Airways to cancel most of its flights to and from Samui Airport. "Floodwater is also rising to a point that electricity had to be cut off on Lamai Beach," she said.
She added that tap water was not available on the beach as electrical pumps stopped working when the electricity went off on Monday night.
"I've heard that someone was electrocuted. So, power has been turned off," Ekkarat said. Without any access to electricity and tap water on Lamai Beach, she moved to Chaweng Beach instead.
Ekkarat had gone to cover the Samui International Body Painting Competition, which took place during the weekend. She was scheduled to fly back to Bangkok on Monday but the weather conditions made it impossible. Ekkarat showed up again at Samui Airport at 4am yesterday, awaiting a Bangkok Airways flight. "But because there are just two flights, there are not enough seats to carry all the stranded passengers back," she said.

Disaster zones imposed in South after flooding

By The Nation on Sunday.

Southern Thailand is suffering from downpour-triggered floods, with all 16 of Nakhon Si Thammarat's districts, eight of Phattalung's districts, and three of Chumphon's districts declared disaster zones yesterday.
In response, the government will open a flood situation follow-through centre at Government House this morning

PM Abhisit Vejjavija said that he had instructed Sathit Wongnongtaey of the PM's Office to coordinate with the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD) to assist flood victims in the South, especially in hard-hit Nakhon Si Thammarat and that he himself would visit the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) today to check disaster warning systems.
Sathit, who chairs the committee following up assistance for flood victims, said that the committee had started working from the beginning and related agencies such as DPMD, NDWC and theMeteorological Department had reported on the situation directly to the prime minister. However since the situation became more and more severe, a flood situation follow-through centre will be opened today at 11am at the Government House. He also commented that, besides the committee's report of flood situation and assistance, the Cabinet meeting tomorrow will table the idea of setting up a central coordinating center to warn the public of disasters and assist victims.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, the bodies of two Buddhist monks who were reported missing in a landslide-hit area of Khanom district were discovered. And 60 tourists were marooned in the popular Nam Priwan Resort in Nopphitam district.
At Nakhon Si Thammarat, where all district were declared disaster zones and flood conditions extended due to ongoing heavy rainfalls, a road linking the province to Surat Thani was damaged and several cars were reported to be swept off the road. The Nakhon Si Thammarat-Thung Song Road was also impassable due to floodwater Officials on 38 flat-bottom boats were dispatched to evacuate at-risk residents to safer grounds.
The bodies of Phra Pattaraporn Jirawara and Phra Apichat Akhathammo, who meditated in the wooded area of Bang Nai Plao in Khanom district and were apparently caught in a landslide, were discovered yesterday about 100 meters away from their original camping spot.
Phattalung yesterday declared its Muang, Kuan Khanoon, Kongra, Srinakarin, Pa Payom, Khao Chai Son, Sri Banphot and Bang Kaew districts as disaster zones. The situation was particularly severe in Muang and Kuan Khanon, where a total of some 8,000 households and 45,000 rai of farmland were under deep floodwater. Chumphon's Mungam Lang Suab and Sawi districts were also declared disaster zones.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department's southern region office continued to warn people on the southeastern coast. especially those in Phattalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Chumphon, of heavy downpours until tomorrow as well as possible flash floods and landslides. Small fishing boats were also urged to remain on shore due to strong winds and 2-3 meter-high waves during this period.
In related news, 150 homes of 1,200 people in 10 tambons of Trang's Muang, Na Yong, Huai Yod and Wang Wiset districts were flooded yesterday, while many areas of Surat Thani were flooded, especially the low-laying Kanchanadit district. The district is now under 50cm-deep water and at-risk residents have been evacuated.
The continuous rainfall prompted Ranong to have its seacoast residents to move their belongings to higher grounds for fear of flooding condition from rising tides. They also watched out for landslides.

Phi Phi Police 'Beat Up Tourists,' says Phuket Expat

AN American told today of ''36 hours of hell'' on Phi Phi in which five young tourists were allegedly beaten by police before they disappeared in mysterious circumstances.
Miller Williams says that the five were English, Australian and American, and he is now keen to have word that they are safe. The 21-year-old wants the incident revealed, he said to Phuketwan, so he can be certain that the five are out of danger.
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''Twenty people were witnesses to the beating,'' said Mr Williams, who... read more

Quakes 'a concern'

Quakes 'a concern', say Thai scientists
By Janjira Pongrai
The Nation

Several fault lines in Thailand have destructive potential, say geologists
A major fault line in Burma that caused Thursday's earthquakes is connected to a fault line in Thailand and both possess "similar seismic behaviours", a Chulalongkorn University geologist said yesterday.
"The quakes in Burma have caused us concern," said Assoc Professor Panya Jarusiri, noting the greater length of the Mae Chan fault line in Thailand, at 250 km, compared to the 150km length of the Mengxing fault line in Burma.
"What is a relief is that the quakes are inland and would cause less devastating effects than those occurring on sea beds," he added.
Asked of the chances of the Mae Chan fault line causing earthquakes in the future, Panya said: "The chances are there, but we can never tell when. A fault like Mae Chan yields the possibility of one quake in a 600year period, at a possible size of 6.07.0 on the Richter scale."
There are two other "locations of concern" in Thailand, Panya said: the Three Pagoda fault line in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces and the Khlong Marui fault in the southern provinces of Surat Thani, Krabi and Phang Nga. Both fault lines regularly cause small earthquakes of 2.03.0 magnitude, with the greatest possible quake being 6.0.
Professor Thanawat Jarupongsakul, another CU geologist, said Thursday's quakes stemmed from fault lines connected to others in China and Laos that have caused a total of 27 quakes of magnitude 6.07.0 since 1973.
The greatest quake in 1988, at 7.1 magnitude in Sichuan, caused 700 deaths, while another three years ago was 6.3.
Of 13 fault lines in Thailand covering 22 provinces, there are four groups of active frontlines: those at Sri Sawat and Three Pagodas Pass in Kanchanaburi province; at Sakaing in the west; and the Khlong Marui fault covering Surat Thani, Krabi and Ranong.
Of the 22 provinces, 11 are in the North, six are in the South, three are in the West and two are in the Northeast.
Despite the tremors felt in Bangkok, the jolts have not impacted or damaged highrise buildings because their foundations are deep below the capital's top layer of soft clay, Thanawat said.
History of quakes in Thailand
The first recorded earthquake was a major quake in 1015 in presentday Lampang province, which caused much of the ancient kingdom of Yonok Nakhon to collapse into a huge crater, the remains of which are now just a large pond.
A moderate quake in 1545, in the heart of the Chiang Mai kingdom, caused heavy damage to property.
In 1935, a 6.5magnitude quake was reported in Nan and a 5.9 quake was reported in 1975 in Tak's Tha Song Yang district.
In 1994, a 5.1Richter quake in Phayao caused damage to buildings and schools.

-- The Nation 2011-03-26

Quakes Rock Burma Near Thai/Laotian Borders

Two strong magnitude 7.0 earthquakes have struck northeast Burma, close to the country's borders with Thailand and Laos.

Story here

Discover Thailand (Part I)

Tourism Thailand

Seasons in Thailand

 

Rainy Season: The southwest Monsoon comes from the Indian Ocean with rain-laden clouds, from about June to October. It dose not rain every day so there is still plenty of sunshine. The humidity makes it feel hot and sticky. When it starts to rain, it only takes a few seconds for the roads flood and the traffic to come to a standstill. In most tropical countries there is no point in wearing raincoats as you will get wet from sweating than you will from the rain! "Monsoon comes from the Arabic mawsin (season)". It refers to South Asia's seasonal winds (not heavy rain). In Thailand, the southwest monsoon is the rainy season; the northeast monsoon is dry, called the cool season.

Cool Season: The northeast monsoon from central Asia usually blows from November to February, bringing relatively cool, dry conditions to Thailand. This is the best time to visit Thailand.

Hot Season: Between the two monsoons, March to May, the land heats up, creating an area of low pressure above it. Eventually the high pressure over the Indian Ocean moves inland, and the monsoon cycle begins again. This is the hottest time of the year so the school closes for a two month long break.

Canadian with links to Downtown Hotel becomes 7th mystery Chiang Mai death

Canadian with links to Downtown Hotel becomes 7th mystery Chiang Mai death

A Canadian man from Edmonton has become the seventh mystery death
in a month in a controversy which has rocked the northern Thai capital
of Chiang Mai.
CHIANG MAI: -- Friends and relatives of a Canadian citizen who died in Chiang Mai in January have asked their Embassy to seek clarification over his death from ‘alleged’ natural causes.
They say Bill Mah, 59, had never skipped a day in his life, nor had any heart condition, but he died of chest pains the day after he used the swimming pool and restaurant at the Downtown Inn in Chiang Mai.
They are concerned because the hospital stated his death was due to ‘suspected natural causes, pending toxicology tests’ – but seven weeks on the tests still have not come back. Mah died on January 16th [more...]

Bangkok to be transformed into a cultural attraction

BANGKOK, 21 March 2011 (NNT)-Suthichai Veerakulsunthorn, a Bangkok City Councilor will propose a development plan for Bangkok and its surrounding areas to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to transform the city into a cultural attraction to compete with Hanoi of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
After visiting Hanoi, Mr. Suthichai said the tourism industry in Vietnam has grown quickly during the past 5 years. Vietnam has promoted its tourism sector through local traditions and cultures, a move which brings nostalgia among tourists.
Among Hanoi’s tourist attractions is Van Phuc, a village which dates back 1,200 years ago, members of this village continue to weave silk for a living. Visitors can also enjoy river views on a boat trip.
In an attempt to raise tourism standards of Bangkok, Mr. Suthichai is set to discuss this matter with the BMA to transform communities in Bangkok and its adjacent areas into cultural attractions to boost the tourism industry.
The Bangkok Councilor added later that his trip to Vietnam was to tighten relationship between Thailand and Vietnam while he also had a chance to study the country’s tradition and old values.

News ID: 255403200019

Reporter : NUPPOL SUVANSOMBUT
     News Date : 21 March 2011

Thailand's Got Talent Man or Women

Phuket Gazette reports Italian man gunned down in Phuket

Italian man gunned down in Phuket

The man was gunned down at about 10pm last night.

Three bullet casings and three unspent bullets were found at the scene.

PHUKET: An Italian man in his 40s was shot dead while riding from the Heroines Monument to Pa Khlok at about 10pm last night.
Police know the identity of the man but the Gazette is withholding publication pending notice of next of kin.
The man’s body was found lying on the road about 200 meters from the entrance to the Bang Pae Waterfall, with his red Honda Click rental motorbike lying nearby.
Thalang police found three 11mm bullet casings and three unspent 11mm bullets at the scene.
The man had been shot four times: once in the left of his chest, once in his right collarbone, once in his left abdomen and once in his left wrist.
Police found 22,100 baht cash in the man’s shorts, but not in a wallet.
Police investigating the shooting said that they had contacted the rental bike shop owner.
The man was staying at the Dara Hotel on the bypass road. He apparently had a bungalow business on Phi Phi Island, officers said.
Police are continuing their investigation.

Ladyboy Caught Red-Handed For Pickpocketing

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2011/03/10/ladyboy-caught-red-handed-for-pickpocketing/

 

I bet these two guys are in for a rough ride when they get back to Iran. Their pictures are all over the press.

Pattaya

A warm breeze in Pattaya

Internet ‘Mr. Angry’ takes on Thailand’s jet ski scammers

Link to story

It's about time that something was done about these scams. If you some to Thailand do not hire a jet ski.

Related video of jet ski scam.

Good article on Phuket escape

 

http://thailandmusings.thaivisa.com/how-to-escape-the-phuket-crowds/

Bangkok Post : Reds gathering at Democracy monument

Bangkok Post : Reds gathering at Democracy monument

Massive Tsunami hits Japan

Lets hope Thailand is OK

Teen dead, another injured in Phuket drive-by shooting

PHUKET: One teenager is dead and another man injured from gunshot wounds following a drive-by shooting in Phuket last night.
Thalang Police duty officer Sarit Bootnongsaeng identified the deceased as 19-year-old Somsun Srirat.
Mr Somsun was riding a motorbike with a passenger along the road from Pa Khlok to Muang Mai at about 8pm when two assailants rode up alongside on another bike and fired at them with a homemade shotgun, Lt Col Sarit said.
The bike went down immediately and the assailants continued to fire, he said.
Mr Somsun and his friend, 27-year-old Anusorn Jantawong, managed to flee on foot and found safety in a marshy area inside a golf course.
Witnesses led police and rescue workers to Mr Somsun, who had sustained a shotgun blast to the chest.
He was was rushed to Thalang Hospital, then transferred to the better-equipped Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, where doctors were unable to save him, Lt Col Sarit added.
Mr Anusorn is being treated for shotgun wounds to his left knee and fingers.
Thalang Police are investigating the incident.
This incident follows the January 30 shooting death of 13-year-old Surachai “Neung” Takuasook, who was similarly gunned down while driving a motorbike in Thalang by assailants on another motorbike.

Incidents like this are becoming all too regular in Phuket.

Extradition of Phuket ‘kickbox killer’ suspect ‘may take years’

PHUKET: The City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London has told the Gazette that the extradition hearing of British national Lee Aldhouse “can take months or years”.
Aldhouse remains wanted in Thailand for the stabbing murder of American Dashawn Longfellow in Rawai in August last year.
However, court official Russel Sykes said the former kickboxer remains remanded in custody at Wandsworth Prison in England until March 28, when he is to once again appear in the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The hearing, scheduled at 10am, is marked “for review”, Mr Sykes said.
Aldhouse previously appeared in the same court on February 1 and March 1.
“Extraditions can take months or years, [it] depends on the legal argument,” Mr Sykes said.

I don’t think that this will ever happen because Thailand still has the death penalty in place for murder.

Alcoholic sweets. What next?

Warning of raids over alcoholic sweets
By The Nation
Published on March 8, 2011
The Public Health Ministry is planning to raid entertainment places and arrest any people they find selling alcohol-infused sweets, which are allegedly being sold to people under 20.
Saman Footrakul, chief of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Bureau, said the sale of such candies could be in violation of the Alcohol Control Act 2008, which requires vendors of alcoholic products to have a licence. It also prohibits them from selling products to people under the age of 20, at public places or state offices, as well as selling at prohibited times.
Saman said he had also had reports about alcohol-infused ice cream and chocolate being sold freely, adding that both these products could be classed as alcoholic beverages and were thus controlled by law.

Citizenship issue emerges to haunt Abhisit

It's about the highest law of the land.

And yet if something is not spelt out unequivocally, the people in power should know that constitutional wills sometimes dosn't need to be described word for word. It's as much about conscience as it is about legal interpretation. We have heard it all before. Or have we?

At least, we didn't hear it from Chaturon Chaisaeng when his boss, Thaksin Shinawatra, was embroiled in the share concealment scandal, the repercussions of which the whole country is still feeling today.

Chaturon, in a blog post slamming Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva over the UK "citizenship" controversy, sounds right in most, if not all, of his arguments. Abhisit can't say "others can do it" because he's not just an ordinary Thai citizen. That Abhisit has not invoked or abused his UK rights doesn't justify keeping those rights. The Charter isn't clear on the prime minister's post and dual citizenship, but those with good conscience should be able to tell what the constitutional wills are and abide by them. There has been no problem with those "rights" of Abhisit so far, but what about in the future? And so on.

Chaturon's line is that if the Constitution Court rules in Abhisit's favour on this one, "it will be great fun". That is exactly what this newspaper said when the Constitution Court let Thaksin off the hook in 2001 while on the same day finding a Thai Rak Thai MP guilty of a similar offence (which was a lot lesser in magnitude). We don't have to ask where Chaturon was at that time, because we know. He was in the Thaksin government.

(Before we proceed, let's assume that Chaturon's every reference to the "Constitution" was generically speaking. Thaksin, Pheu Thai and the red shirts do not cherish this present Charter, so it doesn't make sense to believe that Chaturon was sticking his neck out for an "undemocratic, military-installed" Constitution.)

Can Abhisit hold the right to claim UK citizenship? That's debatable. Should he keep it? Like Chaturon said, of course not. Chaturon rightly cited the case of a Peruvian president who fled corruption charges to Japan, the country where he also "belonged", in a bid to stay safe from Peru's legal reach. (Let's also forgo the mini irony of the red shirts' legal representatives attempting to use Abhisit's UK "citizenship" as a channel to take him to the International Criminal Court for last year's "Bangkok massacre". The Peruvian case is Chaturon's solid argument, as it demonstrated that a leader holding dual citizenship can lead his country into all kinds of trouble.)

Chaturon's biggest problem is that, where Thaksin was concerned, he failed to use the same logic that has led him to apply the Peruvian example against Abhisit. Chaturon failed to think that although concealed telecom shares - clearly unconstitutional and illegal at the time - were creating no big problem, they could in the future. And they have.

Now, Thaksin is no longer prime minister, but Abhisit is. What should we do? Last week, Abhisit "came out", admitting that he holds the right to claim UK citizenship, but he did not quite come clean. Even newspaper headlines suggested different things, indicating confusion remained. Thai Post, for example, splashed its front page with "PM admits to holding dual citizenship".

There's a huge difference between actually holding UK citizenship and being eligible to claim it. Where is Abhisit exactly? As a prime minister, the latter scenario is inappropriate, but the former sets him up for potential conflict of interest - like when Thaksin was both head of the government and patriarch of the country's biggest telecom company at the same time.

What Abhisit said in Parliament on Thursday is on the record. Shall we presume that he was well aware what it would be like if he were to be caught giving distorted information or telling a lie? The citizenship issue has opened him up to new scrutiny. Like it or not, he must face it, Chaturon or no Chaturon.

This is how Chaturon ended his article: "I'm not telling Abhisit to let go of UK citizenship. I'm telling the man, who knew all along that he was holding UK citizenship (or the right to claim it), and that he could have waived it if he so chose, that he no longer deserves to be prime minister."

This is what Chaturon said in March, 2006, as he voiced strong opposition to any solution to the anti-Thaksin political crisis if the solution breached the Charter: "How could I ever explain to the younger generation if I were to accept a political way out that required tearing apart the Constitution?"

Both statements sound righteous. The much-beloved 1997 "People's Constitution", which exists no more, would have said to that: "The story of my life!