PHUKET is set to explode on New Year’s Eve. Fireworks will light up the skies right across the island, the beaches will be full of revellers, and people will be out partying hard everywhere. As the clock strikes midnight on Wednesday night, the boys will be kissing the girls, the girls will be kissing them back, and shouts of ‘Happy New Year’ will echo across the island.

FORMER Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins, has given Phuket top marks. The Australian beauty and her partner, Jake Wall, stopped off at the Chava Resort in Surin Beach for a few days on their way home to Sydney to soak up some sun on Phuket’s famous beaches. “Phuket is very beautiful, and it is a very safe destination for holidaymakers,” she said.

TOURISTS charged with petty crimes could soon have their cases fast-tracked through a special tourist court. Phuket Governor, Dr Preecha Ruangjan has held talks with local police chiefs to discuss plans for a court which would could quickly resolve issues involving visitors to the island. The court would represent a new form of justice for tourists, and would hear cases against foreigners charged with petty crimes such as shoplifting.

PHUKET’S police, including the tourist police, will focus on safety and anti-social behavior over the New Year holiday period. But they are expecting to have their hands full on Wednesday night. Huge crowds are expected to converge on Patong for a night of wild revelry on New Year’s Eve, and teams of police, including 14 volunteers, will patrol the streets, making sure the tourists are safe and behaving themselves.

CRISIS talks were held in Phang Nga and Phuket between top ranking officials from Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket to discuss the ongoing political economical turmoil which is gripping Thailand. The closure of Bangkok’s two airports by PAD protestors last month has already cost Thai Airways International 20 billion baht in lost revenue, hotel occupancy rates throughout the Kingdom have been slashed, in some cases by as much as 50 per cent, and as many as a million service industry employees could be out of work in the coming year.

PHUKET’S kids have been given a new life-line to help them combat problems of teenage pregnancy, domestic violence and anti-social behavior. Phuket Governor, Dr Preecha Ruanjan launched the ‘Child Watch’ project earlier this month in conjunction with Phuket’s Provincial Social Development and Human Security Office, Phuket’s Provincial Health Office, the Educational Service Office and Phuket police.

POLICE and local officials are turning up the heat on pirated-goods pushers and criminals operating in the south of the island. They will also clamp down on crime in Rawai’s bar and nightclub district. In a bid to restore diminishing public opinion on safety in the area, Pol Major General Apirak Houngtong, and Aroun Soroust, Chief of Rawai police, have set in motion 30 new policies to deter offenders.

MINI-motorbikes are revving up Phuket’s automotive market. More than 150 faithful owners of Kawasaki KSR mini-motorcycles have joined the KSR club in Phuket, and are planning to form an Andaman KSR club, merging with members from Krabi and Phang Nga provinces. The KSR began life in Thailand at the Kawasaki production plant in Rayong Province, in eastern Thailand in 2005.

THOUSANDS of people trained in first aid and resuscitation techniques are being warned against stopping to render medical assistance if they see an accident in Phuket. Every one who completes a rescue dive course, anywhere in the world, must undergo first aid and CPR training, which makes them qualified to render basic assistance to people hurt in traffic and other accidents. But in Phuket, some instructors are warning their students they could face hefty bills, or even criminal charges, if they stop to help anyone.

AUSSIE couple, Cameron and Genevieve Neill, are living a real-life fairy tale. Their ‘home’ is a $US7 million luxury yacht, and they spend their ‘working days’ cruising the ocean blue with some of the world’s wealthiest businessmen and their families. Cameron, 30, is captain of the IFA-Phuket, a 26-metre Maiora motor yacht, now based in Phuket, and Genevieve, 31, is his ‘first mate’ who does the cooking and most of the cleaning.

THE Yorkshire Inn is half way up Soi Sansabai, opposite Soi Bangla, but once you step inside the front door, you could be anywhere but in the heart of Patong. The stylish exterior hints at the elegance within and the sophistication continues throughout this recently refurbished hotel. Every consideration has been given to customer comfort, from the open kitchen, to the modern fitness centre and the uncluttered pool area.

BEFORE he moved to Phuket, businessman Warren Crowe was a biker, a cowboy, a successful real estate manager and a trail-blazing restaurant owner. He grew up on Sydney’s North Shore, but when he was sixteen, he headed to the Gulf area of Queensland where he became a stockman, which is an Australian cowboy. “I worked on the largest cattle station in Queensland which had more than 25,000 head of cattle,” he said.

IT is not easy these days to find good quality villas right on the beach, but this week’s Pick of the Crop at Rawai is only a short jump from the sea and the sand. This contemporary beach-front villa features three levels with spectacular sea and island views. It is part of a private resort development managed by Outrigger, which is renowned throughout the world for providing secure, customer-friendly, well-managed estates.

PHUKET developer Gulu Lalvani picked up his second accolade in as many months when he was voted ‘Best Boating and Yachting Personality of the Year’ in the International Boating Awards at Boat India earlier this month. The Hong Kong tycoon and founder of Thailand’s most exclusive luxury lifestyle yachting community, was honoured at a glittering award ceremony at Le Meridian Hotel in Cochin, India.