I might rename this blog Death Watch. Juan Jose Gonzalez Jnr, 41, from Britain died while swimming of the coast of Koh Pha-Ngan. He lived in Brighton and was in Thailand as part of a round-the-world trip. (theargus.co.uk)

There have been too many cases of tourists drowning while on holiday in Thailand. People, even strong swimmers, often underestimate the water. With very few lifeguards, swimmers can easily get into trouble.

I’m told that the best way to survive being caught in a rip current is to ride it out and allow yourself to be taken with it. Struggling against a rip current will only tire a swimmer out. I’m not saying Mr Gonzalez Jnr was caught in such a current, but a number of people have died in Thailand because they tried to move against the flow of water.

In every foreign-language book store in Thailand there is a section devoted to books written by foreigners about their new home. I sometimes pick one up and read through a few pages, only to be greeted with re-hashings of some bloke’s sexual exploits or else anecdotes that would be better in the form of a blog than in a book.

There are a few exceptions of course — Jake Needham and John Burdett have written some excellent stories — but for the most part, the book scene is a bit one-dimensional.

Having said all of that, I’ve been sent a couple of books over the past few months that it’s only fair to mention. I haven’t had time to read either and, in all honesty, I may never have time, but I’ll do my best to tell you what each is about.

The first is called Miss Bangkok, subtitled Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute. The book tells the story of Bua, a Thai prostitute, in her own words — or at least her own words through Nicola Pierce.

This book brings to life prostitution from the point of view of a Thai woman. The reason why I may at some point decide to read Miss Bangkok is because it has the potential to tell a great story if the main “character” is effectively portrayed.

I had a flick through the book and I think this type of story would be most enjoyed by someone who hasn’t spent much time in Thailand. Most of us who have been here for any length of time know what goes on at least some degree.

The second book I have before me is called Farang. I’m not keen on the title or the subtitle, which reads Thailand through the eyes of an ex-pat [sic]. It’s written by a Dr Iain Corness, who was actually born in Northern Thailand before moving to Scotland, then Australia and then back to Thailand.

Dr Corness is, according to the sleeve notes, a correspondent for the Pattaya Mail. The premise of the book is that he can look “in from the outside while also getting to see things most foreigners don’t”.

Looking through the book, it’s a collection of anecdotes written in the first person about his time in Thailand. It’s not a story as such, but rather a collection of musings and tales, the likes of which we (expats) all have and some of us choose to blog about from time to time.

Both of these books are available in B2S and other large book shops. Pick them up if they catch your interest.

Yet another case of foreigners suspected of paedophilia being arrested in Thailand. This time the arrests were made in Pattaya. From AFP:

Two Britons have been arrested on paedophile charges in the Thai beach resort town of Pattaya, police said Wednesday, adding that one of them had been detained twice before on similar charges.

They were arrested Tuesday in an apartment in Pattaya and charged with molesting children aged under 13, police said, declining to reveal their identities.

Well that didn’t take long. After a regional manhunt, Akkaradej “Chon” Tunkae has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Swedish tourist Hanna Charlotta Backlund. Although he’s been hung, drawn and quartered by the Swedish press, it’s important to remember that this guy hasn’t been proved guilty yet.

I don’t have any more details because we just got word of this.

Addendum: A little update. It looks like the suspect actually gave gave himself up, which means he won’t face the death penalty. Apparently he was found in Ranong on his way to Burma.

Full story on the Gazette later today. I’ve had enough with this story for now.

Swedish national Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 26, was found murdered at Mai Khao in Phuket on Saturday. According to reports, the body was dressed in a swimsuit and her throat had multiple stab wounds. There were also lacerations to her back, midriff and hands.

Police said that this was an attempted rape. When looking for a motive for an attack on someone wearing nothing but a swimsuit and with no valuables on them, this is clearly not an attempted mugging. Police also said that a group of three or four people are responsible.

“Emma [Hanna’s friend] left the resort to buy some water and she told Hanna that she will join her sunbathing later. About 30 minutes later, she returned to find Hanna dead,” police told the Gazette.

Emma, told police that the pair often sunbathed topless. Although she said that they normally did it when no-one was around, it’s open to speculation whether this played a part in Hanna’s tragic death.

This is eerily reminiscent of the Katherine Horton incident in which the British tourist was raped and murdered on Samui in 2006. When that happened, Thaksin made a song and dance about catching the killers because of the potential impact such a case could have on tourism. Now that we have another young woman murdered in a possible botched rape, there really is nothing the current government can do to prevent a backlash.

With no witnesses and a recent spate in Phuket of unsolved cases involving murdered foreigners, this could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. At least in the case of Katherine Horton her killers were brought to justice and given the death penalty.

At the moment, the Post, Nation and, obviously, the Gazette have picked up this story along with IHT.

Addendum: CNN has also picked this up.

Addendum II: Remember what I said about Thaksin stepping in to speed up the case after Katherine Horton was murdered? Well, we have a similar situation with this case. From The Nation:

Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat visited Phuket late Sunday night to ask police to speed up probe into the murder of a tourist on a popular beach of this island province.

Weerasak arrived at the Phuket International Airport at 11:55 pm to find out the progress of the probe into the murder of Charotta Hanna, 27.

Weerasak asked police to brief him the details of the beach and the attack.

Phuket Police chief Pol Maj Gen Decha Butrnamphet reported to him that the Phuket Tourism Association offered Bt100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the murder.

There is clearly some concern how much this will affect tourism, much more so than with previous murders. One hundred thousand baht is a hefty sum. I predict that there will be arrests made by the end of the week.