Phuket

Going to Phuket soon, any of you guys have any lobangs or infor? Tried searching thru the site but can't find any infor.

Thanks

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Monday 20 February 2006 :-

Korean illegals upset tour guides in Phuket

Tour guides in Phuket are fighting back against an influx of illegal Korean tour guides whom they claim are stealing their jobs.

Phanomphol Thammachartniyom, who heads the Phuket Association of Professional Tour Guides, said the Korean language-trained local staff were also desperately worried about the government’s policy to allow more foreign guides to work in Thailand.

Phanomphol said there were already a lot of foreign guides in Phuket and most were illegal. But they were taking jobs at tour companies from their countries.

“The biggest group of illegal guides is Korean. There are about 2,000 Korean guides in Phuket at present,” he said. Many had been arrested and deported but returned to Thailand with new names.

Phanomphol said the companies preferred Korean guides who had a better grasp of the Korean language than the Thai guides.

“There are 200 Thai guides who were trained last year for potential development in using the Korean language, but they do not have a chance to do their jobs. The tour agencies bring in Korean guides because they can control them,” Phanomphol said.

He said the tour guides association opposed a suggestion from the Tourism and Sports Ministry to import more foreign guides to service tourists in Thailand.

There are about 2,000 Thai guides speaking foreign languages registered in Phuket and another 1,000 people had come from other provinces to seek temporary jobs there, he said.

These Thai guides had faced a crisis in getting jobs after the tsunami hit the province, he added.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Wednesday 22 February 2006 :-

Phuket body slams foreign guides idea

Panomphol Thummachartniyom, president of the Phuket Professional Guide Association (PPGA), has blasted a proposal to legalise foreign tour guides, arguing that there are already enough qualified locals to do the work. He also slammed the authorities for not cracking down on foreigners working illegally as guides.

“Phuket already has problems with foreigners working as tour guides, especially Koreans and Russians. Thais who have been trained are being used only as ‘sitting guides’,” Panomphol said late last week. “This makes the Thais discouraged about their work, and many choose to stop working as guides.” Tour companies that use illegal foreign guides usually also employ “sitting” Thai guides whose job it is to act as a window dressing should a tour party encounter the police or other officials.

Panomphol’s comments came after Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura floated the idea of legalising foreign guides last Wednesday, saying that Tourism and Sports Minister Pracha Maleenont had asked him to sound out opinions. – Phuket Gazette.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Wednesday 22 February 2006 :-

Phuket body slams foreign guides idea

Panomphol Thummachartniyom, president of the Phuket Professional Guide Association (PPGA), has blasted a proposal to legalise foreign tour guides, arguing that there are already enough qualified locals to do the work. He also slammed the authorities for not cracking down on foreigners working illegally as guides.

“Phuket already has problems with foreigners working as tour guides, especially Koreans and Russians. Thais who have been trained are being used only as ‘sitting guides’,” Panomphol said late last week. “This makes the Thais discouraged about their work, and many choose to stop working as guides.” Tour companies that use illegal foreign guides usually also employ “sitting” Thai guides whose job it is to act as a window dressing should a tour party encounter the police or other officials.

Panomphol’s comments came after Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura floated the idea of legalising foreign guides last Wednesday, saying that Tourism and Sports Minister Pracha Maleenont had asked him to sound out opinions. – Phuket Gazette.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Wednesday 22 February 2006 :-

Phuket body slams foreign guides idea

Panomphol Thummachartniyom, president of the Phuket Professional Guide Association (PPGA), has blasted a proposal to legalise foreign tour guides, arguing that there are already enough qualified locals to do the work. He also slammed the authorities for not cracking down on foreigners working illegally as guides.

“Phuket already has problems with foreigners working as tour guides, especially Koreans and Russians. Thais who have been trained are being used only as ‘sitting guides’,” Panomphol said late last week. “This makes the Thais discouraged about their work, and many choose to stop working as guides.” Tour companies that use illegal foreign guides usually also employ “sitting” Thai guides whose job it is to act as a window dressing should a tour party encounter the police or other officials.

Panomphol’s comments came after Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura floated the idea of legalising foreign guides last Wednesday, saying that Tourism and Sports Minister Pracha Maleenont had asked him to sound out opinions. – Phuket Gazette.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Friday 24 February 2006 :-

Andaman locations popular

Phuket - Three Andaman coastal provinces have become popular locations for foreign film shoots, which brought in almost one billion baht in revenue last year. The number of foreign film productions in Krabi, Phangnga and Phuket provinces increased to 500 last year from 452 in 2004, said Thanittha Maneechote, director-general of the Tourism and Sports Ministry's Office of Tourism Development. The productions included documentaries, advertisements, music videos and films.

Japan made most film shoots in the Andaman provinces with about 170 productions last year, followed by India with 50. The rest were from the United States and other countries.

Last year, Thailand earned around 1.14 billion baht from foreign film shoots, about two billion baht from pre-production work and about six billion baht from post-production work.

The office will hold a meeting with relevant agencies in the next few months to map out plans to draw more foreign film-makers, said Ms Thanittha.

She said on-location pre-production and post-production facilities would also be promoted. Popular tourist destinations such as Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Samet would be advertised as film locations.

Film-makers from England and America are now using the Andaman areas in their tsunami-themed films. In January this year alone, foreign film shooting generated around 400 million baht for the country.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 11 March 2006 :-

Phuket hospital expands

HEALTH CARE :Siriroj Hospital in Phuket has begun building a new 320-million-baht building as part of its plan to be a centre for medical tourism.

The five-storey building will have a capacity to accommodate 700 patients per day. It will house a number of specialised clinics for plastic surgery, haemodialysis, heart disease and dentistry.

Anurak Tharnsiriroj, managing director of Phuket International Hospital Co, said the existing facility served 300 patients a day, 30% of whom were foreign tourists.

He said the hospital's plastic surgery services, especially those involving gender reassignment, were popular among international visitors.

An average of three patients a week seek gender reassignment, which costs 300,000 baht, substantially cheaper than in North America and Europe.

[natto3]

ha, in my condo there must be at least 6 to 7 korean guides. all girls and one very pretty one at that.

[KatoeyLover69]

Originally Posted by natto3

ha, in my condo there must be at least 6 to 7 korean guides. all girls and one very pretty one at that.

Any chance of getting to know them and do they do FL ?

[natto3]

Originally Posted by KatoeyLover69

Any chance of getting to know them and do they do FL ?

bro i try cannot. they very clickish, stick to their own kind.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Sunday 9 April 2006 :-

Tesco chief invests in Phuket

The chief executive of Tesco has invested millions of pounds in a planned luxury condominium village in Phuket, and which bills itself as environmentally friendly.

At the 100-rai West Sands development on Mai Khao beach in Phuket, the prices of luxury apartments start at around 6.5 million baht, and range up to the most luxurious home, which has a listed sales price of nearly 67 million baht.

The Telegraph newspaper of London said this morning that the chief investor is Tesco CEO Terry Leahy, who "has invested millions of pounds of his own money" in the resort.

Mr Leahy declined to comment on the exact size of his investment in West Sands or to say whether he planned to buy an apartment himself. He said Tesco would have no involvement.

Mr Leahy launched the British end of the development yesterday in London at an exhibition called A Place in the Sun Live! at the hi-so favourite ExCel expo hall.

"This is something I was keen to do. It is a private investment. I like Thailand, I like the people there, the economy is doing pretty well, and it is a popular destination," said Leahy, according to the newspaper.

West Sands is targetting foreigners to buy the apartments, and Mr Leahy singled out Scandinavians and Germans because they favour greenness.

Environmental features include a rainwater collection system, an organic garden, recycling facilities and solar panelling, said the newspaper.

Apartments in the 40-acre resort will be aimed at a "wide range" of buyers, from European expatriates to UK residents looking to retire in Thailand, Mr Leahy said.

.

[natto3]

ya, i met the guy in the gym at royal phuket city.i think they are a consortium. i reckon by the by the looks he likes katoey! hehe.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Wednesday 3 May 2006 :-

$98m paid for Phuket resort

Dubai - The Dubai-based hotel group Kingdom Hotel Investments yesterday announced its first foray into Asia with the $98.5-million (3.9 billion baht) purchase of the Karon Beach Hotel in Phuket. The hotel company, chaired by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, said it purchased the property, currently managed by Crowne Plaza, from LaSalle Investment Management, a division of the property company Jones Lang LaSalle.

The deal included $30.5 million baht in debt.

KHI will rebrand the hotel as a Movenpick. It comprises 352 rooms, including 186 villa-suites with private plunge pools and 30 two-bedroom apartments to be sold as leasehold and run by the hotel.

The hotel opened in 1984 as the Karon Villa Resort and was acquired by LaSalle in December 2003. It was closed during 2004 and most of 2005 for major renovations and reopened in August last year.

KHI said it would raise additional debt and would seek to sell the 30 two-bedroom apartments attached to the hotel within two years.

''The hotel will benefit from the recovery of tourist arrivals to the region and through Movenpick will capture increasing levels of European demand,'' Prince Alwaleed said in a statement. REUTERS

[galvc]

Bro KatoeyLover69,
Thanks for the information... very resouceful.

The next thing is:
1) Where is the best & cheap hotel to stay?
2) Where is the happening street/bar/pub/massage/girls pick up point...etc?
3) What is the price range for a girl (overnight)?
4) What are the Do's and Don'ts at Phuket?

Hope anyone can answer these quiestions