UPDATE
AAP Australian Jaryd Kemp, who calls Patong his '''second home,'' said lightning had hit power lines and a transformer just before the fire. He said the transformer had exploded ''five metres away from me''. ''People on fire (were) running out of the club like you would see in a movie,'' he told News Ltd.
PhuketWatch Daily Media Wrap
PHUKET: A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
guardian.co.uk Four people died have and at least 11 were injured in a fire in a bar on the island of Phuket, police said, adding to recent incidents that have tarnished the reputation of one of Thailand's premier tourist destinations.
bbc.co.uk Thai nightclub safety has been in the spotlight since a deadly fire in 2009. At least 67 people died in Bangkok after a fire broke out at the Santika Club in the early morning hours on New Year's Day. Two men, including the owner of the club, were jailed last year.
cnn.com Police are still trying to determine the cause of the blaze but the officer in charge of the case told CNN that it's believed a transformer near the Tiger Pub, also known as Soi Tiger, on Bangla Road, Patong, caught fire. [The lane is Soi Tiger, not the disco.]
telegraph.co.uk ''There are four confirmed dead. We believe they are foreign tourists but it's not yet confirmed,'' Phuket deputy governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada told AFP by telephone.
ttrweekly.com Five new resorts around Khao Lak are due to open this year, adding 1014 rooms to Phang Nga province's room count. They are Sensimar Khao Lak Beachfront Resort on Khao Lak Beach (151 rooms), Beach Sands Khao Lak by Katathani Resorts on Nang Thong Beach (316 rooms), Mai Khaolak Beach Resort and Spa on Pak Weep Beach (200 rooms), Sentido Graceland Khao Lak Resort and Spa on Bang Sak Beach (338 rooms) and Khao Lak Blue Lagoon Resort on Khuk Khak Beach (nine rooms).
telegraph.co.uk Patong was strikingly different from all of our previous destinations.Touts waved lizards or unhappy looking monkeys under our noses, offered to make me a suit or encouraged us to visit go-go bars where we could see just exactly how one plays ping-pong without a bat. We declined.
industryweek.com Hong Kong Airlines said it is considering cancelling a $3.8 billion order for 10 Airbus A380 superjumbos. Executives say their strategy is to focus on short-haul regional routes between Hong Kong and other leisure destinations in Asia, including Thailand's Phuket, China's Sanya and Japan's Osaka.
bangkokpost.com There's a clear pattern of rising militarism in the forest and national park agency which has long been striving to have its own army to ''fight forest encroachers''. Can militarism and violence save our forests? Never. But if the men in charge keep pushing the wrong buttons, then brace yourselves for a new round of land rights wars.
etravelblackboard.com The Unique Tourism Collection has been appointed as the Australian Representative for SALA Samui and SALA Phuket of the SALA Resorts and Spas; a home-grown boutique operator of luxury Thailand hotels and resorts, including pool villa resorts in Samui, Phuket and Khaoyai, and additional hotels and resorts under development in Koh Samui, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya, Thailand.
Phuket World Sports Wrap
dailymail.co.uk Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed Manchester United will possess arguably Europe's most fearsome strikeforce when Robin van Persie arrives. He should be ready to make his Manchester U debut at Everton on Monday.
smh.com.au CNN television host Piers Morgan has turned to Twitter to vent his anger over footballer Robin van Persie's move to Manchester United from his beloved Arsenal - branding the switch ''a sickening betrayal''.
Phuket Coming Events 2012
September 12-15 Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition, Patong
September 24 Mahidol Day
October 14 Vegetarian Festival
November 25 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
November 28 Loy Kratong Day
December 1 World AIDs Day
December 1-8 King's Cup Regatta
December 5 HM The King's Birthday
December 10 Constitution Day
December 15-20 Patong carnival
December 25 Christmas Day
Phuket Coming Events 2014
November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket
Mai Khaolak Beach Resort and Spa is ex Similana on PakWeb beach, the location is great. And honestly, without Similana or any other hotel that place looked and felt great as well. It looks those days are gone: neraby Kantary terrible architecture already spoilt the view, and Mai Khao Lak Beach Resort with precisely 200 rooms will not add to tranquility of the environment.
Of course, sooner or later all remained blank spots in Khao Lak, in particular at rather quiet nowadays KhukKhak beach, will be eventually developed.
Posted by SUe on August 17, 2012 15:45