Thailand is beefing up security in Bangkok and other tourist destinations ahead of its December 23 general election in case political disputes escalate into violence, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont had ordered more security cameras to be installed in the capital, and an increase in army and police street patrols in towns such as Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Samui and Hat Yai, Chaiya Yimwilai told reporters.
"We are preparing all the necessary plans even though there are no reports of attacks," Chaiya said.
Chaiya gave no details of the number of police or troops to be deployed, but said the government would not impose martial law in the capital even if violence broke out.
Many analysts say the December 23 poll is likely to lead only to further polarization between supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the royalist military establishment and Bangkok middle class that removed him in a bloodless 2006 coup.
In the worst-case scenario, Thaksin's friends and foes could face off in the streets, making military intervention inevitable. [via Reuters]
Ed. Do they know something they're not telling us?
Sierra Tangos
- Thai Visa are reporting that no alcohol will be served nationwide from 6.00pm on Dec 14 to midnight on Dec 16. The following week no alcohol will be served nationwide between 6.00pm, Dec 22 and midnight Dec 23.
Thai Anxiety are suggesting that bars may open for soft drinks and ST and this will surely be put to the test on Sunday, Dec 16 when two of the biggest games of the Premiership season are being played. Liverpool v Man U (k.o. 8.30pm Thai time) and Arsenal v Chelsea (k.o. 11.00pm Thai time) would normally guarantee big gates for the bars so I am sure bar-keeps around Pattaya will be doing their legal best to be open by 8.30pm, Sunday. Let's hope they can do it.
- I had lunch at The Avenue today and thought I'd try out the Pizza Corner/Coffee World/Fudge Factory shared outlet just next to Starbucks. The Frappe, Crappie, Mocha, Fokka with cream on top that I ordered from Coffee World was 140Baht and tasted very ordinary for such a fancy name and it took them the best part of 10mins to serve it up. At the Pizza Corner I had to find the staff so I could order and when I did order a regular Hawaiian and garlic bread I was told the garlic bread was finished. At noon!!! Must have been a crowd fall in with the doors at 10.00am. Again, it took some time for the order to arrive and when it did I was massively underwhelmed. I've made better pizzas at home. The base was like plastic and the cheese and pineapple topping were tasteless and all for the princely sum of 160Baht. Total outlay 300baht to check out a new joint which in the west would be sued under the Trade Descriptions Act for having the words coffee and pizza in their names. Operating multi-franchises in one outlet may bring convenience but in this case does little for the quality of service or the quality of the end product. You have been warned. They did have wi fi though......
- Occupancy rates at major resorts in Thailand are approaching the record-high level of 99 percent for the Christmas season, said the director of Thailand Tourism Taiwan Division (TATTPE) during an interview with The China Post yesterday, adding that Thailand is the top destination for local tourists, with an average 450,000 travellers heading toward the Kingdom of Thailand every year.
"You'd better book your trip to Thailand earlier this year," said TATTPE Director Samporon Maneenmaitreejit, who cited medical tourism, quality services and world-famous Thai hospitality as a reason for the increasing popularity of Thai culture worldwide. [via The China Post]
- The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will be at the Dusit Resort, Pattaya this Friday, Dec 14. Consular staff will be available to provide consular services from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Please look for signs in the hotel lobby for the location of the outreach.
- A leisure company headed by former British tennis player David Lloyd has formed a joint venture with Thai property developer Sea Pearl Business to develop a Bt100-million sports resort in Phuket. Sea Pearl Business will own 51 per cent of the complex, which is due for completion in May 2009, and the rest by the David Lloyd Group.
- Compared with China's bumpy property market, the market for condominiums in Thailand has been more stable, possibly because half of the buyers are end-users. Yet, premium projects can still bring an annual return of at least 30 percent.
"Condominium buyers in Thailand are not speculative. A significant number of buyers purchase them to live in," said CB Richard Ellis Thailand executive director James Pitchon.
Thai condominium prices have surged, according to CB Richard Ellis figures, to about 123,000 baht (HK$28,400) per square meter - a 13.5 percent increase from a year ago. Property prices in the country are mainly driven by three factors: land cost, construction cost and developers' anticipated gross profit margin, which is usually 20 to 30 percent.
Unlike Hong Kong, Thailand has low land cost, allowing project prices in the country to stay at relatively low levels. Pitchon noted that the average land cost for net saleable area is about 55,000 baht psm. But there are some projects that command higher prices as they are located in areas with limited land supply. One example is the land near Lumpini Park in Bangkok. And prices are expected to grow, said Raimon Land chief executive Nigel Cornick.
Raimon Land's premium luxury projects in Bangkok on average are selling at about 250,000 baht psm, translating into about S$1,000 (HK$5,400) per square foot - less than a third the price of premium projects in Singapore. Similar projects in Hong Kong, in comparison, cost five to six times more. [via The Standard, HK]
It is the British group's first foray into Thailand. It currently operates 87 sports complexes around the world, including in the UK, Dubai and Barbados. David Lloyd, a former tennis professional turned businessman, said his group was planning to open three more sports complexes in Thailand after the one in Phuket: in Bangkok and Pattaya and on Koh Samui. Each will cost about Bt100 million, depending on the size of the property.
- Megan Fox Boobage..... She's so hottttttttt
- Take Control of an Unresponsive PC with AntiFreeze - take control of your unresponsive computer next time it freezes up with freeware system tray app AntiFreeze. After you've installed it, just wait for the next time your computer hangs an
d hit Alt-Ctrl-Win-Home to activate AntiFreeze, suspend your running programs, and free up your memory and CPU cycles. You can then use AntiFreeze's interface to selectively resume processes or end the process that you suspect is to blame. You probably won't use it a lot, but it does seem like a good alternative to the reset button as a last resort. I've installed and tested AntiFreeze, but I'll admit that I wasn't able to put it to a full test because I haven't hit any significant hangs, so your mileage may vary. If you get a really good test case, let's hear how it worked for you in the comments. AntiFreeze is freeware, Windows only. [via Lifehacker]
- Guide To The Big Mango is a great site in the making. All you'll ever need to know about nightlife and services in the big city.
- Times Magazines Top 10 Political Cartoons Of 2007
- Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick has been sentenced to 23 months in prison. But that's well over a decade in dog years. [via Jake Novak]
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Q. Doctor, doctor, my little boy's swallowed a bullet. What shall I do?
A. Well, for a start, don't point him at me.
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