Volume 12 Issue 52 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555 December 24 - 30, 2005 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 20 Baht The Gazette is published in association with IN THIS ISSUE NEWS: Governor furious at squandering of budget; Rain damps enthusiasm for tsu- nami drill. Pages 2 & 3 INSIDE STORY: Life Home Project expands on to Koh Sirae. Pages 4, 5 & 7 AROUND THE REGION: Cop SPECIAL killed on Koh Samui. Page 8 SUPPLEMENT AROUND THE ISLAND: Do dilly- Dali. Page 11 WITH THIS PEOPLE: Weddings; Blues ISSUE Festival. Pages 12 & 13 LIFESTYLE: Knife work, if you can get it; Belt up. Bypass must be Pages 14 & 15 Ideas submitted by the five winners were far from conventional, as this conceptual illustration from SPA MAGIC: Is Paradise twice completed by as nice? Read on…Page 18 the Spanish team shows. TAKE A BREAK: Crosswords, Dec 26 – Gov quizzes and Sudoku. PHUKET: In a meeting Decem- Pages 21 & 22 ber 20 to check on final prepara- BETWEEN THE LINES: Thai tions for the upcoming tsunami Wave memorial memorial services, Phuket Gov- Temperance tantrum. Page 27 ernor Udomsak Uswarangkura ordered that work on the bypass BUSINESS: Blue Canyon boost road widening project be com- bang on target; Money Talks. pleted before December 26. Page 31 finalists chosen “Work on the bypass road SPORT & LEISURE: Ladies’ must be finished before Decem- Masters; Darts; Int'l football. By Natcha Yuttaworawit The names of the five “This is the first time that such ber 26 so we can provide com- Pages 32 & 33 teams were announced on De- an international competition has fortable transport for visitors,” KHAO LAK: Design teams cember 15 at Le Meridien Khao been organized in Thailand. The Gov Udomsak told people at the PROPERTY: Decor: Jingle from Finland, the US, Spain, Lak Beach & Spa Resort, where competition was perfectly orga- meeting at The Metropole hotel. Bells? No, knobs and knock- China and Australia made it into the five finalists’ designs will be nized and the entries were world- Many foreign dignitaries ers; Construction: Layan Sun- the finals of the competition to on display from December 23 to class.” and Thai government officials are set; Home of the Week: Boat design a tsunami memorial, which 28. The next step will be a con- expected to attend memorial ser- Lagoon. Pages 34-37 will be erected on Lek Beach in Each team will receive a ference from January 21 to 24 vices at Patong, Kamala and Mai Khao Lak Lamru National Park. million baht for making it into the at which the memorial project Khao beaches – requiring them PLUS The five teams that made final of the design competition, will be discussed in detail so that to travel along the bypass road. the cut are Anu Puustinen and with the eventual winner receiv- the five finalists can make any Phuket Highway Depart- QUEER N EWS 6; HAPPENINGS 16; Ville Hara, from Avanto Archi- ing the contract from the Thai necessary changes to their pro- ment Engineer Boonyakiat MOTORING 17; WINE, PHUKET tects of Finland; Raveevarn government to work on the me- posals. The amended proposals Kongketyai is charged with car- DIARY 19; GUEST C HEF 20; OUT- Choksombatchai and William morial itself. must be submitted to the panel rying out the near-impossible or- SIDE IN, BOOKS 23; DOVEN, HORO- Oren of VeeV Design of the US; A total of 379 individuals of judges by May 2. der. SCOPES, THE TIME M ACHINE 24; Ana Somoza Jiménez, Angel and teams, from 43 countries, The panel’s choice will be “The road might not be TSOWNDINGS, TOON TOWN 25; Martínez, Eva Sebastián Peñín submitted designs for the com- presented to the government on 100% complete by December 26 and Raquel Lozano from Spain; EDITORIAL, LETTERS 26; ISSUES & petition. These were cut down to May 15, with the winner being because there are many details Liang Hou of China; and Rich- the final five by an international announced publicly a week later. that need to be finished, such as ANSWERS 27; ON THE MOVE, ard Weller and Gary Marinko of team of judges. The winning design will also be painting lines, erecting signs and COMPUTERS 28; GARDENING 34; the University of Western Aus- One of the judges, architect showcased in an exhibition in doing clean-up work,” he admit- CLASSIFIEDS 38-48. tralia. MR Chanvudhi Varavarn, said, Bangkok from June 1 to 15. ted. 2 PHUKET GAZETTE NEWS December 24 - 30, 2005 Gov furious over lack of solution to park problem By Anongnat Sartpisut then 60% complete, did not fol- much to ask for, to solve this en- low the specified design. croachment problem … if you NAI YANG: Phuket Governor On August 16, Gov Udom- weren’t prepared to part with a Udomsak Uswarangkura has sak visited the site and ordered little land, then why did you re- expressed anger that almost half the buildings torn down, agreeing quest the budget from the TAT in of a 15-million-baht government with the park authorities that they the first place?” he asked. A father and child place candles in a pit in the sand during the Light budget to beautify Nai Yang were an eyesore and blocked The park has a total area of Up Patong commemoration in February this year. Beach has already been squan- views of the sea from the road. 56,250 rai, and its facilities include dered – and that bickering be- More than six million baht 10 public restrooms. tween the two government agen- of the 15-million-baht budget was The Governor said that he 100,000 candles to light up Phuket cies involved now puts the rest spent on building the structures – had seen some new public toilets PHUKET: Three kilometers fected beaches in 2006 – of the money at risk. and then demolishing them. built deep inside the park. “Who of Patong Beach will be bath- hence the change of name to At a meeting at Phuket Pro- In August, the Governor or- gave approval to build these?” he ed in candlelight for “Light “Light Up Phuket”. vincial Hall on December 19, Gov dered the two sides to find a com- asked angrily. Up Phuket”, starting at 5 pm Other memorial activi- Udomsak ordered the Sakoo promise whereby the remaining Park Chief Thanapong re- on December 26, when ties taking place on Patong Tambon Administration Organiza- 8.4 million baht of the TAT bud- plied that they had been built un- 100,000 candles will be placed Beach the same evening in- tion (Sakoo OrBorTor) and Siri- get could be used to build 30 new der a budget provided by the in the sand in front of Loma clude a performance by the nath National Park to settle a dis- units at a more appropriate site, Phuket Provincial Administration Park in memory of the victims Benjamarachutit School or- pute over encroachment on park also on park land. Organization. Gov Udomsak re- of the tsunami. chestra, and a recitation by land at Nai Yang Beach by year’s torted that he would not autho- NO AGREEMENT Sutin Uthaitamrong, SEAWrite award-winning end, otherwise the remaining 8.4 rize the construction of any more Vice-President of the Phuket poet Naowarat Pongpaiboon, million baht in state funding would Meanwhile, the encroachers con- restrooms inside the park, as they Provincial Administration Or- who will read his poem enti- have to be returned to the Tour- tinue to peddle their wares from were too remote to be of use to ganization, said that “Light Up tled Fah Sai Andaman (The ism Authority of Thailand (TAT). illegal stalls along the beach – and the public. Patong” in February this year Clear Andaman Sky). At the meeting, Sakoo Or- the park has still not granted ap- He also insisted that his ap- attracted about 10,000 people A list of official tsunami BorTor President Surapong Pan- proval for building at the new site. proval be requested, in writing, for to the beach. memorial events is included yawai and Sirinath Marine Na- At the meeting, the Gover- any future construction work in- The idea is that it will be in the One Year On special tional Park Chief Thanapong nor grew angry when it became side the park. extended to other tsunami-af- supplement in this issue. Aphaisorn presented their cases clear that the two sides had been before the Governor, but without unable to reach an agreement. “If offering solutions. there’s no movement, I’ll just re- In December last year, the turn the 8.4 million baht when the Phang Nga ‘poaching tourism staff’ park arranged for Sakoo OrBor- deadline for it to be spent is Tor to begin construction of 30 reached on December 31 – and PHUKET: Employers in Phu- area recovers from last year’s Phang Nga because [employers] single-story shophouses for rent then I’ll never have to deal with ket’s hotel and tourism industry tsunami. are offering double the salaries to encroachers, using a budget of this issue again,” he said. are losing skilled staff to Phang “Phuket’s higher cost of liv- and higher positions to workers. 15 million baht granted to the park He also had harsh words Nga businesses – which are re- ing is making working in Phang “They can get skilled labor, by the TAT. for the Park Chief, saying he did portedly offering up to double the Nga more attractive to workers and don’t need to train them... The park halted construction not understand why the park workers’ current salaries. on the island, and businesses in why wouldn’t they do it?” he said.