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.

Apparently, and unbeknown to me, Phuket and Thailand as a whole have been experience a bit of a slump in visitor numbers recently.

The latest air passenger numbers tell a different story, however. Even the recent difficulties with Cambodia and the notorious ‘sit-in’ don’t seem to have put them off.

Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, which is the main gateway to Phuket, has seen a rise of almost 30 per cent on last year’s peak season passenger figures.

In total, the amount of happy sun seekers on their way to Phuket’s sunny shores between Christmas Day and January 5^th were no less than 1,668,863 this year. Pretty amazing for just 10 days.

Apparently the biggest resorts in Phuket are already reporting a better month this February than last month, and while I’m pleased that our local business are thriving, I can’t help feeling a bit like a kid with a new toy when I hear about figures like these.

Can’t these people find their own piece of paradise and leave mine alone?

Road rage is pretty common in hectic places such as London and Rome, but who would have thought that driving on Phuket’s coastal roads could ever get that stressful.

Sure, you may come across the odd upperty tuk-tuk driver who’s a bit happy with his horn every now and again, but this latest incident is beyond belief and allegedly provoked by a ‘farang’.

 Pittaya Srijitraporn, 32, this week confessed to stabbing German Wolf-Dieter Eugen Kesselheim, 66, three times in a fight. Mr Kesselheim, who was apparently beeping the his horn and swearing at the motorcyclist near the Chalong Circle on Wednesday, died from his injuries.

 It is not clear why the altercation occurred, but Srijitraporn claimed that he stabbed the German tourist after his was held in a headlock prior to stopping his bike.

The Thai national said that he didn’t think his actions would kill Mr Kesselheim and that he often worked with tourists. He is well known around the Kata viewpoint area for helping photographers take pictures of sea eagles.

Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob this week said that a trial of metered tuk-tuks could be rolled out in Karon and Kata this year.

The move comes as an attempt to solve the transport problems in Phuket that essentially revolve around tourists and expats being ripped off by opportunist tuk-tuk and taxi drivers.

It’s true, that despite living in Phuket for quite a number of years now, tuk-tuk drivers still try it on with me simply because I have a white face. My protests that I actually live here and know what the real price is also doesn’t always cut it, especially in the most touristy areas, as the drivers know they can always refuse me and pretty much guarantee picking up a less difficult customer who will simply take their first price without question.

While I’m sure the tuk-tuk drivers aren’t going to welcome this proposal with open arms, foreigners who are in Phuket for more than just a short holiday certainly will.

While, granted, she had apparently just gone for a dip and was wearing nothing more than a skimpy bikini, surely it hasn’t got quite that cold here yet. And the lack of clothing is no excuse, as I’m told that she doesn’t wear that much more on a night out in the Big Smoke.

Despite living in this part of the world for quite a while now, I am still not accustom to the heat. While the locals and the veteran expats stay as cool as cucumbers in their jeans and sweaters in the baking sun, I am still running for shade wherever I can find it, and you’d be lucky to ever catch me out of a pair of shorts.

I imagine this is also the case with our Kate, as although I have no doubt that she sees her fair share of exotic places, at the end of the day, she still lives in London, and, therefore, has no right to complain about the weather anywhere else in the world.

In reality, however, I am not offended by Kate’s shivering in Phuket. I just hope that the chilly sea winds have not dissuaded her from returning again sometime, when I would be on hand to offer her my jumper as I continue to swelter in the heat.

The island’s court system has seen a similar principle hailed as a breakthrough and so the security forces may soon follow suit.

Phuket chief justice Varangkana Sujaritkul told reporters that she did not see any problem involving corruption with the plans. She added that there would always be a minimum of two parties involved in any process, making the potential for bias negligible.

There were a number of interesting innovations introduced to Phuket in 2009 such as the ‘keep beaches clean’ campaign, ‘Summer on Phuket’ concept of marketing, music on the beach Roy Fest festival, plus jet-ski insurance.

Next year will see the banning of free plastic bags in the majority of the island’s retailers in a bid to tackle excess waste.

While some companies are refusing to be downhearted about recent development, the general picture is one of the need for a ’shakeout’ of the weakest organisations. Some have dubbed the 2009-10 high season the ’sigh’ season as the admittedly large numbers of returning visitors have less money’s to spend on perceived luxuries, such as diving.

The expense of the pastime has pushed some fans to chose other areas to practice their hobby. And many dive instructors working in Phuket shops have been hearing tourists complain about the prices quoted.

The problems experienced within the Phuket industry have been exacerbated by the entry cost to Surin and Similan National Parks. Thailand’s prime diving destinations now charge 200 and 400baht per day for diving.

Around 230,000 people perished in the Boxing Day disaster and tens of thousands of those lives could have been saved if mechanisms existed to advise populations of the impending peril.

And five years after the catastrophe questions are being asked whether the region is ready for an incident on a similar scale.

Geologists have expressed surprise that the Jakarta earthquake of September 30 was not accompanied by a tsunami warning.

The 7.9-magnitude quake killed more than 1,100 people on land and also triggered a minor tsunami, but no warning was issued.

And a tsunami warning buoy donated by the US and located off the coast of Sumatra has not been working for most of the year after its battery expired.

The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami was triggered by an earthquake measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale in the ocean by Sumatra. It was an unusual vertical lift as two tectonic plates collide that caused the huge wave which claimed lives in 11 countries across the region.

Despite many local deaths in Phuket, there are no plans for commemorative event to mark the occasion on the resort island.