After torrential floods ruined Samui’s weekend, stranding more than 1000 visitors on the island, the situation has almost returned to normal. Flights which were grounded due to adverse weather on Thursday resumed over the weekend, and high waters have begun receding.
The Island was declared a disaster zone after torrential rains pelted Surat Thani province all week. It left central Chaweng beach area under 70cms of water and has caused damage estimated at 100 million baht. The Thai airforce was brought in to help with relief, and six-wheeled trucks were needed to evacuate some people.
Although tourists were in no real danger, many found themselves unable to leave after Bangkok airways suspended all 72 flights on Thursday, mindful of the recent air disaster at Phuket airport caused by bad weather. Their tropical ‘open air’ terminal proved inadequate as a temporary shelter for stranded passengers.
“Never have I seen rain like it before – not even when Hurricane Katrina whistled by me! The cloud cover has been so thick midday is like twilight.” Said one local resident on a web forum.
The storms have been battering the south for more than a week, and although a lull had brough clear sunny weather on Sunday, more clouds had appeared overnight. The flood waters have mostly receded by an expensive clean up operation is now needed on the eve of the tourist season.
“Last week's flooding on Koh Samui had caused up to 100 million baht in damage to roads and public utilities on the resort island”, mayor Warakorn Rattanarak said yesterday. The island is however, still open for business and many resorts remain unaffected. But cloudy weather is forecast for the next week.
On Monday, organizers of the 2008 Asian Tour announced that next year’s purses will be $3 million higher than last year. Eleven tournaments on the tour are offering a purse of over $1 million each with several prestigious tournaments in the Tour taking place in Thailand.
The Asian Tour is the fastest-growing golf circuit and next year will include tournaments in 16 different countries. The game has become increasingly popular both for participants and for spectators in the Asian region.
First opened in 1994, the Asian Tour in 2008 is currently offering a total prize fund of $27 million according to executive chairman Kyi Hla Han.
"Many of our events will raise their prize funds to record figures and this clearly signifies the growing strength of the game across the region and the support from corporate Asia," Kyi Hla Han said in a statement. "Negotiations are also in the final stages for a number of other events to be added to the schedule."
This year two new events joined the Tour. The Pine Valley Beijing Open and the Johor Open will participate again in 2008 and will offer more than double the prize pots awarded this year. The Malaysian Open is offering $2 million for the 2008 Tour but it is the Singapore Open which draws the world’s top players.
Thailand, which boasts some of the regions finest golf courses, will host the Bangkok Airways Open from June 5th to 8th, 2008 in Santiburi Samui. The purse being offered is $300,000.
Later in the year the Volvo Masters of Asia tournament will take place at the Thai Country Club in Bangkok from December 18th to 21st, 2008. The prize is $750,000.
Seven of the events already scheduled will be co-sanctioned with the European Tour. Nine tournaments in 2008 will be hosted within Chinese territories.
The Tour is scheduled to begin on January 24th although the location and prize purse have not been revealed.
A rail strike left thousands of passengers stranded just south of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok. Trade Unions called for workers across the country to go on strike in an effort to dissuade the government from signing a trade pact that would allow Japanese firms to enter the Thai rail market.
As a result of the strike, 2,000 passengers in nine trains were forced to get on buses, according to reports from local officials.
Nine south-bound trains were affected. Director of southern train services, Tanongsak Pongprasert said: "The strike forced State Rail of Thailand to cancel our daily southern schedule of 18 trains to and from Bangkok, which will affect two to three thousand passengers a day."
He added that a further 12 trains had been canceled. On average these trains carry approximately 1,000 passengers per day including many tourists who are heading from the capital to beach destinations. Many travelers to Thailand take trains down the coast, then get on a boat to get to popular island resorts on Koh Samui or Ko Phagn Nan.
Northern service director Surin Piaprasert said that trains to the north had also been affected by the strike. Trains are the best way to get to Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai although several budget airlines such as Air Asia and Nok Air also offer cheap flights.
An official working at the Commerce Ministry said the strike is a simple misunderstanding. The Japanese-Thai Economic Partnership Agreement which will come into force on Thursday this week will not have the effects the union anticipates.
"There's no direct link between JTEPA and privatization of state enterprises. Someone may try to turn this into a political issue," said the official.
The popular tourist island of Koh Samui was flooded recently when heavy rainfalls unexpectedly hit the southern regions of Thailand. Although further rainfall is expected in the days ahead, the flooding is easing and the situation is improving.
Officials in Surat Thani say that workers are pumping floodwaters off the island and will continue to work hard. Parts of the island were covered in water up to 30 centimeters deep despite the easing of rainfall on Saturday.
Officials predict that if the light rain continues, the island will be able to return to normal within just a few days.
According to experts from the Meteorological Department, the heavy rainfall was caused by a low pressure system which swept over southern Thailand from the South China Sea.
Unfortunately, the rainfall and the flooding makes the island a less than ideal location for a beach vacation at present. Waves in the Gulf are large and are predicted to reach up to two meters high. Small boats are not advised out on the water at present, making opportunities for scuba diving, an activity tourists can enjoy despite the rain, few and far between.
The Samui Dog Rescue Centre has stumbled on distressing news lately after a number of animals dropped off at its centre were already dead. There had been over 20 dead animals found, mostly in Lamai that had been apparently beaten or poisoned.
10,000 baht was the reward the shelter offered for information about who could be responsible for the cruelty. This perhaps worked more as a deterrent, as the centre reports it has not received any calls to come and pick up dead animals for the last several days.
The operator of the shelter, Brigitte Gomm speculates, “There are many dogs on the beaches and as a result they gather at hotels where tourists feed them. The hotel managers are not always happy about this and some go to awful lengths to control the animal population.”
The alternative she offers is to have the animals treated and neutered at the clinic as opposed to killing them outright in such inhumane fashion. Gomm asks that both tourists and locals alike report any sighting of dogs that appear to be of ill-health.
The Tourist Authority of Thailand has awarded a Thai girl with a certificate of commendation and brought a story out for the general public to show appreciation to the 18-year old resident of Ko Samui, who after having found a misplaced wallet, return it to its owner.
Much to his relief, 33-year old Raffet Hariokru from Turkey found his wallet returned with his three credit cards, and more importantly, 100,000 baht in cash still intact.
Thirdarat Ratsamee, employed at the Tops Supermarket, found the wallet as her shift came to a close. With the aid of her boss, she managed to track Mr. Hariokru to his hotel in the Lamai district.
The wallet changed hands the next morning at the police station, and the grateful tourist gave the honest teenager 3000 baht as a reward.
Four members of the "most wanted" drug-trafficking gang in Belgium were arrested on the resort island of Koh Samui, according to a statement released by Thailand’s police service last Thursday.
The four were wanted after fleeing from Europe in the aftermath of a drug bust by Belgian police last year. The Belgian police broke up the trafficking ring and seized 125 kilograms of heroin, 350 tons of marijuana and 200 kilograms of cocaine, all being brought into Europe from Latin America.
Thai police and narcotics agents arrested the fugitives in their holiday bungalows amidst the island’s coconut trees in the early hours of the morning.
The two Dutch citizens arrested were Ronald Koornwinder, 46, and Paulus Meyer, 44. Two Belgians were also arrested including one woman. Koen Van Staay, 30, and Kelly Cautereels, 25, were taken into custody. However, two other gang members remain at large.
"The Belgian authorities alerted us so we were able to seize the suspects before they got nervous and fled again. They will be extradited to Belgium as quickly as possible," Lieutenant General Vuth Liptapallop said.
The recent flash flood that killed a group of tourists in the southern Thai province of Surat Thani made headlines around the world, with 6 foreigners and 2 Thai tour guides killed by the surging waves that entered the cave where they were exploring in Khao Sok National Park.
There was one lucky one however, 24-year old Helena Carroll, who survived by clinging to the wall of the cave as the waters rose. Carroll remembers getting about halfway into the cave when she heard a ‘sudden roar’ and she describes, “I looked behind and saw this rush of water coming toward us.”
Carroll was there with her boyfriend, and she says “John and I started climbing”, as they were forced to watch their tour mates be sucked away by the water. The water continued to rise.
“We were all alone in the dark. We could not see anything.”
Carroll’s boyfriend thought they had a better chance of surviving if they let the water carry them out of the cave, and he jumped into the water. Later, Carroll saw she had guessed right but paid a high price seeing her man’s body laid out with the rest of the victims.
Samui police along with the Department of Land Transport have cracked down on Samui taxi drivers that are taking passengers off the meter and fleecing unsuspecting tourists for fares much higher than what they would be on the meter.
109 cabbies have been arrested for their cheating practices by not turning their meters on when passengers get in their cabs. The arrested drivers were caught during a checkpoint that was set up after enough momentum had gathered about the issue.
In what was perhaps the last straw to force action, there was the incident of four tourists who were assaulted by a taxi driver after they refused to pay what they deemed to be an outrageous charge for the distance they travelled.
The Ministry of Transportation has regulated fares on the island, with an initial 50 baht for the first two kilometres, 11 baht per kilometre up to 10 kilometres. Between 11 and 20, the rate is lowered to 9 baht, and over 20 kilometres, the price is 7 baht per kilometre.
Head of the Ko Samui police Major Sathabhorn Sangaunsuk says, “Taxi drivers will have to use their meters but we have to make sure that the rate they are allowed to charge is fair enough to help them cope with Samui’s expensive cost of living.”
Plans were recently unveiled for a new upscale resort on Koh Samui. Hillcrest Residences (Samui) will be building a new, ultra-exclusive Conrad Koh Samui Residences on the island to take advantage of a growing trend in high-end luxury holiday homes.
The new resort will be located on a hill with views looking out over Phang Ka Beach on the southwestern coast of the island. The company will be building 32 pool villas in the middle of a coconut plantation.
The villas should be ready for business in 2009, making the Conrad Koh Samui Residences one of the first brand name luxury properties for sale in the area.
Lyon Lau, the managing director for Hillcrest Residences said: “Hillcrest is delighted to announce the launch of Conrad Koh Samui Residences. This new development introduces to Koh Samui the whole notion of branded residence concept offering truly luxurious and memorable getaways for today’s discerning and market savvy home buyers.”
Each villa will have either two or three bedrooms and a beautiful view out over the Gulf of Thailand. In addition, the property comes with at least 300 square meters of outdoor space, a private pool and a large outdoor sun deck.
The Residences will offer residents access to restaurants and recreational facilities including a spa offering both international treatments and local practitioners.
Koh Samui was once a quiet backpackers haven but is growing into a regional hot spot. With a new terminal recently opened at the Koh Samui airport and more international flights expected in the future, the region is a perfect place to invest. Last year 1.1 million visitors enjoyed the sand and sun on Koh Samui.
Two Thai beaches recently made it into a list of the top ten beaches in Asia compiled by John Borthwick for an Australian news service.
Ko Adang was rated the second best beach in Asia. Located on the southern end of the Anadman Sea cost, Ko Adang is located in a region well known by rock climbers and all night parties. Huge rock formations tower over the clear waters of Ko Tarutao National Marine Park. Ko Adang is one of 51 islands located together about 30 kilometers from the mainland. While the party action is just a boat ride away, on these islands you’ll find only clean, empty beaches and endless silence filled with the sound of waves on the shore.
Thailand’s Mae Nam beach featured in ninth place. Located on the popular island of Koh Samui, Mae Nam is easy to get to. Unlike the island’s eastern shores, the northern beaches are quieter and more secluded. Although the strip of sand is slimmer, there are far fewer people around to share it with. Palm trees shade the beach which enjoys calm, clear waters.
Other beaches which received mention in the list included Kenting Beach in Taiwan, Occheuteal beach in Cambodia, Calangute in India, Dungun in Malaysia and China Beach in Vietnam. China’s Yalong Bay was compared to Hawaii. Sri Lanka’s Bentota beach came in third place, while the first beach to be mentioned was Saud Beach in the Philippines. Thailand was the only nation contributing two memorable beaches to the list.
An unadulterated cheer rang through the collective unconscious of the travelling branch of humanity last month, in what was a blow struck for all of us who have been blatantly ripped off by a taxi driver while on holiday.
On August 6th, on the island of Ko Samui in Thailand, a supposedly metered taxi driver who had gouged his passengers was arrested, and tourists around the island clinked glasses.
Being ripped off in taxis is often the biggest annoyance while travelling in certain countries, and as an Australian tourist wrote to the Samui Express, Samui was no exception.
He writes: “We have traveled to Samui many times (four so far) from Australia and have always found the taxis to be the biggest problem we have to deal with as tourists. I have never, not once, been offered a metered fare on Samui. I have asked many times and been told, ‘The meters don’t work’ or ‘Meter is not for tourists, you pay different fare’ or ‘Meters don’t apply on Samui.’”
The meter/no-meter scam is all too common, but it seems Samui cabbies have become downright malicious in some cases by giving back fake bills to tourists or simply driving off with the money as soon as the fares have left the cab. There; you've been warned.
Many tourists come to Thailand in hopes of obtaining a diving certification, but those wishing to work towards an RYA qualification for sailing can now take advantage of Sunsail’s ‘Milecatchers’ sailing journeys.
Starting at the end of this month, Milecatchers sailing trips will depart from the island of Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand and head south for Langkawi in Malaysia. These trips are longer than most yachting holidays available, and are thus a great way to accrue more sea-miles than possible otherwise. You could feasibly log 500 miles with one of these journeys.
A Sunsail spokesperson explains that: “Our MileCatchers Voyages are a unique initiative to allow sailing enthusiasts the opportunity to accrue sea miles while learning valuable offshore sailing skills under the supervision of Sunsail’s professional skippers. Sunsail MileCatchers Voyages run regularly throughout the year aboard our fleet of luxury Beneteau and Jeanneau yachts amongst some of the most untouched sailing grounds in the world.”
Even if you’re not an aspiring professional, joining one of these voyages is an unparalleled adventure; and groups, couples and singles are welcome onboard to learn the tricks of the trade smell the air and join the fun.
Following Sunday’s air disaster which closed Phuket Airport, the facility has been cleared of debris and re-opened. Flights which were cancelled or diverted to nearby Krabi airport are now landing on the island once more.
More than 90 Thai and foreigner passengers died when Orient Thai’s One-2-go flight OG 269 skidded off the runway while landing in bad weather. The aircraft broke in two and burst into flames, leaving debris on the air field and closing the airport.
Airports of Thailand (AOT) has announced that airport will resume operations from 15:30 pm (08:30 GMT). Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is expected to on the first military flight to land at the airport on Monday.
Commercial flights are expected to resume landing from 16:50, until then they are flying as scheduled to the region and landing at Krabi airport, which is an hour’s drive away.
The Prime Minister has said, Thailand's aviation standards "meet international standards in every aspect ", as the black box was recovered from the wreckage. As of Monday afternoon at least 10 passengers remained ‘missing’, presumed trapped in the remains of the fuselage.
Officials from the Australian, British, French, German and Israeli embassies arrived at the Phuket airport to retrieve 20 corpses of foreign nationals who had been identified, while the identification of 41 additional foreigners are under way. Twenty-four foreign passengers remain in hospital.
The One-Two-Go Airlines disaster is the worst air travel incident in the country in nearly 10 years.
At least 90 persons perished on Sunday afternoon as an Orient Thai One-2-Go budget flight crashed on landing in poor weather. Flight OG 269 travelling from Bangkok to Phuket on 16th of September skidded off the runway, broke in two and was engulfed in flames shortly afterwards.
At least 40 of the 135 passengers have survived the accident with many now in Phuket hospitals suffering burns and other injuries. The airport has been closed to traffic until further notice.
According to Chaisak Angsuwan, director general of the Air Transport Authority of Thailand, the visibility was poor as the pilot attempted to land.
“He decided to make a go-around but the plane lost balance and crashed,". he said. "The plane then fell onto the runway and broke into two. The airplane [had] asked to land but due to the weather in Phuket -strong wind and heavy rain -maybe the pilot did not see the runway clearly," said Chaisak.
More than 55 foreigners were aboard the MD-82 aircraft, many trapped unconscious in their seats as flames engulfed the forward part of the fuselage. Some managed to escape by crawling through windows and cracks in the body of the shattered aircraft.
Mildred Furlong, a 23 year old Canadian tourists, recalls the plane attempted to land once, ascended and then came down hard a second time and crash landed.
“As soon as we hit everything went dark, I felt faint, like you were going to pass out” she said from Bangkok Hospital in Phuket. She eventually located her Thai boyfriend who also survived the crash.
Flights to Phuket have been diverted to nearby Krabi airport, with Phuket airport expected to re-open some time on Monday. Orient Thai, the ten year old company that runs the budget flights, has affirmed it is fully insured and pledged compensation to all victims.
Full list of passengers and deceased
According to experts from one international real estate firm, the backpackers paradise of Koh Samui, an island in the south of Thailand, is becoming more and more up market by the month, with the purchase of million-dollar villas becoming an increasingly popular trend.
Prakaipeth Meechoosarn, the manager of the CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) international real estate firm’s office in Samui said: "Although 50 per cent of the villa developments in Samui are in the $1 million and below price range, we are spotting an emerging market for top-end villas which achieve prices in excess of $2 million.”
The company has offices in Bangkok and Phuket but recently opened the third office on the island in order to take advantage of the new trend for luxury villas. The international property consultant works in various Asian countries.
Tourism only really hit the island in the 1980’s and until recently, it has drawn a crowd of largely backpackers and budget travelers. But, like Phuket, that’s starting to change in Koh Samui. A large number of foreigners are looking at the island as the ideal place to acquire a second home or a retirement get away.
Koh Samui has its own airport with daily flights to Bangkok operated by Bangkok Airways. In addition, flights arrive on the island from Hong Kong and Singapore.
The easy accessibility of the island is one of its draw according to CPRE’s chairman Richard Simister. "These flight connections to the island allow property owners to commute conveniently between their workplace and holiday homes in Samui with greater convenience than Phuket," he said.
Book by the end of August and take advantage of a few good deals but low-cost carrier Air Asia. Flights between Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok and several locations are being discounted for travel between August 27th and September 30th.
Both Khon Kaen and Nakorn Sri Thammarat are available for as low as 799 baht, including all taxes and surcharges each way. In order to qualify for the savings, travelers should book their tickets online with Air Asia at least five days in advance.
Khon Kaen is located in northeastern Thailand and is most well known for its production of silk. The city is a gateway for traveler entering Laos and Vietnam and consulates for both countries are located within the city of some 150,000 residents.
Nakorn Sri Thammarat is located in Thailand’s southern provinces, a few hour’s drive north of Krabi. The town’s temple is said to be over a thousand years old and the market is renowned for its local handicrafts. What really makes Nakorn Sri Thammarat special is its proximity to Surat Thani and the ferry to the island of Koh Samui where tourists come in droves to sun themselves on some of Thailand’s most beautiful beaches.
It has been announced that running from August 9th to the 15th, the 5th Samui Food and Product fair will be held in Bophut subdistrict’s Chaweng Lake. The fair will showcase local farmer’s produce in a bid to encourage growth both at the farming level as well as hoping restaurants on the island will increase their local purchasing of foodstuffs for their businesses.
Ko Samui is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Southern Thailand and it is known for its many delicious dishes, savoured by visitors from around the world. The Samui mayor Varakon Rattanarak said in a statement that he also saw the fair as way for local food producers to increase their income and create lasting supply relationships with restaurants on the island.
There will be many events over the week to give visitors a sampling of the many local specialties, competitions between products and just to make sure even folks that aren’t so into food will show up, the old faithful attention grabber, a beauty contest to crown Miss Samui will be held.
In what appears to be the result of some kind of personal rivalry, a man was found in a house in Moo 2, in the sub district of Bophut on the island of Ko Samui, that had been shot to death.
Any hint that the killing could have been a robbery was quickly discounted as all the man’s personal belongings, like his wallet, mobile phone and keys were still in the house.
The man showed sings he had been brutally beaten. Police said there were bruises covering his entire body, he had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and had bullet wounds from a 38-millimeter pistol in his forehead, neck and back.
The victim was identified as 27-year-old Charit Khao-thong from Ko Phalouy in Angthong subdistrict. Chakrit had a bit of a reputation in the neighbourhood as a gambler and a ladies’ man.
The police guess that the killing must have been linked with some of his more nefarious habits, such as a gambling debt from a cockfight, or perhaps the Don Juan made a pass at the wrong girl. Either way police are sure the motive was vengeance.
Since August 1st, Thai AirAsia began offering domestic travelers more options for low-cost airfare on new flights from Bangkok to Suratthani. Suratthani is the gateway for many travelers to some of Thailand’s most popular island getaways including Koh Samui.
In an attempt to become the most popular airline for travelers from Bangkok, Thai AirAsia decided to increase the frequency of flights to Suratthani to two per day.
Mr. Tassapon Bijleveld, chief executive officer of Thai AirAsia, said, “Surat Thani, is among our guests’ favorite destinations. We are adding flights to this exciting city to allow more guests to fly there and to fly there more often. Our very low fares will allow more people to visit this city and thus contribute to the growth of tourism there.”
The additional flight will allow travelers to stay longer on the beach before they must leave for the airport to return to Bangkok.
Thai AirAsia offers no-frills, budget flights to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Narathiwat, Phuket, Surat Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani. They also operate several international flights from Bangkok including routes to Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Yangon, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Singapore, Xiamen, Macau and Shenzhen.Tickets can be booked through the airline’s website as well as by phone or at ticket counters in some Tesco Lotus stores in Thailand.