The fair kicks off on January 1^st at 3:30pm and features food kiosks, booths selling local arts & crafts and souvenirs, carnival attractions and fair games, and is something that people of all ages can enjoy. There is also night entertainment in the form of live music and traditional Thai dancing. The fair is a fantastic way for tourists to mingle with the locals and learn more about the lovely Thai culture, as well as taste Thai delicacies and sweets.

Although this is a popular festival used to bring in the New Year, it is also an important charity event. The fair holds a lottery each year and all ticket sales go to the Thai Red Cross in Phuket, which is great organisation aimed at helping locals in need. The event itself is free, however purchasing a ticket is highly recommended, as last year the first prize was a 3 million Baht home.

The Phuket Red Cross Fair will take place at Saphan Hill Park in Phuket town and will run from the 1^st to the 7^th of January. It will begin at 3:30pm each afternoon and carry on into the evening.

For the remainder of the day health officials will be conducting public awareness activities at the Kaset Market, Big C and Super Cheap, which are all popular locations in Phuket Town. The Patong Municipality is also doing their part by undertaking the same on Soi Bangla, the Jongceylon shopping complex and other popular spots around Patong.

The government offices are not only trying to educate the Thais but foreigners in Phuket as well. It is shocking how many people still engage in unsafe sex, even in this day and age. I urge all people in Phuket, locals, expats and tourists to PLEASE use a condom and lets hope that someday we can bring the numbers down to zero. You can pick up a free condom throughout the day at any of the locations I mentioned above.

First thing to consider when looking for long-term accommodations is location. Villas in the busiest and most populated expat communities will of course also be the most expensive but will offer foreigners the most comfortable facilities. Apartments are great for those not wanting to deal with the maintenance of a villa and can run from a few thousand baht to a hundred thousand. This of course depends on the location; an ocean front penthouse with all the trimmings will of course be more than an apartment in Phuket Town.

Those that want to live in a Thai style environment have the option of renting a house. Houses will be the least expensive in the residential areas of the island, rather than the touristy beaches. Small one and two bedroom unfurnished homes can come as cheap as 5,000 baht per month. There are also very large houses that are two-storeys and consist of swimming pool and are completely furnished for those with more money to spend.

Regardless of which suits you, the best thing to do is tour around the island and look for a suitable place before jumping into the first one available. Visit a few of the local expat hangouts for tips, or try browsing through one of Phuket’s local newspapers.

There are three races, the main event that is a 42km race, a mini-marathon at 13kms and a 4.5km ‘fun run’ (or walk) and anyone from the age of 18 and older can participate. The main marathon will start at 06:00 at Sarasin Bridge and will end at the Saphan-Hin municipality office. The winner can expect to receive 24,000 Baht. The mini-marathon will start and end at Saphan-Hin also commencing at 06:00, while the ‘fun run’ will start at 06:30 at Saphan-Hin.

Those wanting to register should go to Saphan-Hin Park on Saturday July 30 at 10:00. There is a dinner open to all runners at 17:00 that evening. This marathon is an excellent event and is a wonderful way to keep fit while on holiday.

Among the many things Phuket has to offer, now tourists during their vacation on the island, enjoy going for a nice massage. While in Phuket, I would recommend a Phuket massage. If you want a proper Phuket massage, I recommend that you visit an authentic spa, which will provide fully trained massage therapists at least once.

There are a number of excellent Phuket spas located in all the main resort areas of Phuket though the cost of having a massage in at a spa will be higher compared to the massage shops.

Phuket massage shops which can be found nearly every 50 meters in all of the island’s beach areas, normally offer traditional Thai massage, Phuket oil massage, foot massage and many others. The cost of going to one of these massage shops/ parlors should cost more than 250 Baht.

Added to the spas, there are a number of saunas, which can be found a social affair in which the participants disrobe and sit or recline in a certain temperature, which induces relaxation and promotes sweating.

They are a number of saunas on the island and most of them cater for gay population. Infact, some gay people use saunas as meeting place and it is perfectly fine since Phuket is one the gay destinations.

Since Phuket has a large gay community, there so many spas and saunas which only cater for gay people and in many of them, you will find highly qualified lady-boys offering the services.

I simply can not name the spas and saunas because there are so many of them and are located virtually all over the island, I can only say that if you are in need of aromatherapy, body treatment, facial, hair removal, massage and many more types of treatment, Phuket is the best place for you.

Below is a guide to Phuket’s red light district.

Patong:

Once known as the sleazy red light district of Phuket, has undergone a period of transformation in recent years. The area’s once notorious nightlife has been tamed some what to make friendlier to women, couples and families. Now it has something for everyone.

Anyone interested in the red light district of Phuket, it begins in Patong discos and dance clubs, so let your hair down and get your boogie on.

The discos and dance clubs are Tiger Disco which is located on Soi Tiger, off Bangla Road, Tai Pan located at the intersection of Bangla and Rat-U-Thit road, Baya Beach, a more mellow place with a tropical theme, Banana disco, just to name a few.

Go-go bars in Patong Beach are the reason why many people come to Patong in the first place, sexy young girls barely wearing bikinis swaying seductively to the music; go-go bars aren’t raunchy circuses they used to be, nut they still provide plenty to look at.

You can check out the beer bars or bar beers, sports bars music pubs, upscale bars, cocktail lounges, cabarets and transvestite shows and muay Thai in Phuket. In all the above mentioned places, you will find what you are looking for, gay or straight that is why Phuket is a top destination in Thailand to those who love red light district and those who just enjoy fun and having a good time.

So it was a delight to be back at Kamala Beach again and to enjoy a much more laidback atmosphere to the region. No go-go bars or pushy publicans vying for your custom, just a beautiful stretch of sand, calm water and reasonably-prices seafood eateries with lovely ocean views.

Although there are lots of holidaying families on Kamala, there is also a large expat community who shun the more expensive areas for a little peace and quiet. And although the sand may not be the brilliant white of Kata, it certainly is far from spoilt and there is still plenty to occupy visitors with all manner of watersports available.

So town is set to be a bit livelier from the 3^rd to the 7^th of March, as homesick sailors from USS Patriot, USS Rushmore and USS Cleveland enjoy ‘morale, welfare and recreation’ (MWR). What exactly this means is not clear, but apparently many sailors take the opportunity to go on diving trips and catch up on sleep.

Now maybe times have changed, but I’m sure that’s not the traditional image of sailors on shore leave I’ve been brought up with, and I have no doubt you will find at least of few of them enjoying the less-wholesome delights of Phuket.

Both tourists and locals have been advised not to hang bags from the handlebars of their motorcycles or leave things in the front baskets, as petty crime is set to increase on the island.

The news comes after a man was arrested on Friday after robbing the 7-Eleven on Wiset Road, Rawai, and getting away with no more than 360 baht.

He entered the store brandishing a brick at 4:00 and demanded that the shop assistant hand over all the cash.

Unfortunately for him, the small amount was delivered in 10 baht coins and he was arrested soon afterwards.

Mongkhol Pintajan, 33, was arrested after the police examined the CCTV footage of the incident.

He said he robbed the shop as he had no money.

It’s a sorry state of affairs for all involved if the current hard times lead some to such desperate measures.

 The funds from the parties, which have been designed to match the success of the Full Moon Parties on Koh Phangnan, will go towards some sort of charity which aims to help tourists ‘in trouble’.

What is meant by ‘trouble’ is pretty unclear, as is what sort of help you would received if you happened to get yourself in a pickle, but as the Full Moon Parties have been condemned in certain circles for encouraging binge drinking, it seems rather comical that the funds for this charity will increase with the amount of beer that is drunk.

I have some friends in Karon Beach who have been complaining recently about the increasing noise at the weekends from the beach parties that have been held there.

It has also been a rather long and controversial decision process which will finally result in the first official party tomorrow night.

I like a party as much as the next person, but I can’t help wondering whether this ‘Tourist Assistance Fund’ will cause more trouble than it solves.