From Nation:

Next weekend, Phuket launches the debut edition of "Roy Fest", a brand new music event that features more than 50 DJs and musicians from around the globe. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has invested more than Bt22 million to convert Karon Beach into the ultimate beach dance party and they're expecting to draw thousands of partygoers to have fun on the white sand.

This is a good idea for Phuket, although I'm surprised they got the green light from the local authorities to put this on. I know people have tried to organize similar events in the past.

Phuket's nightlife scene is rather tame compared to what it could be. A couple of years ago I was singing the praises of Club Lime, but not any more. The places to be in Phuket appear to be the likes of Sound, Stereo Lab and Catch. Phuket isn't a very big island so you see the same faces at the same places every week, so it can seem a little cliquey, especially with the phoniness of many of the island's friendships.

Koh Samui's nightlife is better, but Phuket is doing all right. I recommend people go and check Roy Fest out, if only because you never know with these things if they'll happen again. There is a website, but it doesn't work, so call (02) 503 3878.

Addendum: It was a free event. My apologies for thinking it was a ticket party.

Remember Annice Smoel? Probably not, because she's a nobody. She's the 36-year-old mother of three who was on holiday in Phuket and ended up being accused of stealing a bar mat from the Aussie Bar in Patong. She claimed it was a prank gone wrong and that her friends had somehow snuck the 1.5-metre-long mat into her tiny handbag without her noticing.

Police confronted her outside the bar and she allegedly ran away, evading arrest. She was verbally abusive to the cops, reports said. She spent 48 hours in jail. She defended herself and the world's media had a frenzy. This poor lady, they all said, she's been treated so badly in Thailand.

At one time she also admitted to trying to pay the police off to let her go. In the end, she pleaded guilty to the charges and was released.

She sold her story to the Aussie media for about 650,000 baht, says the Bangkok Post, and she proceeded to get her mug splashed all over the Aussie media while badmouthing Thailand and Phuket at every opportunity, even though the Phuket governor paid her 1,000-baht fine and publicly apologized to her.

Now she wants us to feel sorry for her because she can't take her children to Disneyland with the money she made selling her story. She was denied a visa for America because she has a criminal conviction, but rather than keeping this to herself, she's quoted as saying how devastated her and her family are.

Phuket could really do with fewer people like Annice Smoel.

The big story in Phuket at the moment is about Annice Smoel, a 36-year-old Aussie mum of three who was arrested for allegedly stealing a bar mat from the Aussie Bar in Patong.

She spent two nights in prison and has been released on bail while her passport is in the hands of the cops. The beer mats in question are supposedly worth A$60 and two of Smoel’s friends have since confessed to putting the mat in her bag as a prank.

When confronted by undercover police, Smoel allegedly ran away and had to be chased along the beach before being caught. This is the kicker, from AAP:

The owner of the Aussie Bar, Steve Wood, told Fairfax Radio Network that he believed Ms Smoel had been abusive toward the undercover police who had stopped her in the bar.

"When they talked to her all they wanted to do was chastise her, and they usually let you go, but she did a runner on them… the police had to chase her down the beach," Mr Wood said.

"When they took her back to the police station, she continued to abuse everyone at the police station including the chief of police and I think this is what the problem is.

The Aussie media is all over this, as Smoel is said to be “scared, helpless and alone”. It’s similar to the case of Simon Burrowes, who ended up arrested after being verbally abusive to Immigration officials.

If confronted by the police in Australia, would Smoel have ran away and then unleashed a verbal tirade against them? If confronted by officials in England, would Burrowes have reacted the way he did?

After the debacle that was Pattaya, they are now hoping to get things right in Phuket for the Asean+3+6 summit, reports the Phuket Gazette. Police officers on the island are being schooled in all things riot-related in preparation for the meeting, which is due to be held at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa on June 13 and 14.

A group of motorcycle-taxi drivers played the part of "mock rioters" by throwing water bottles and verbally abusing the police. Phuket's police learned everything from negotiation to using tear gas. There will be more than 2,000 Phuket police on hand during the summit.

What is interesting is that the PM is considering the Internal Security Act, which would "authorize the military's Internal Security Operations Center to issue orders to concerned agencies and control access along key travel routes for the summit".

Nothing is set in stone yet. Hopefully this summit in Phuket will pass without any interference from yellow shirts, red shirts, blue shirts, white shirts or any other kind of shirt. In fact, it's getting to the point where people in Thailand have to so carefully choose what color shirts they wear to work that it makes me wonder if luminous green might make a comeback.

Phuket Wan has a story about how Phuket is still safe for travel, which is good to hear. I've seen a lot of concerned postings on various message boards. Every time this kind of thing happens, tourists immediately start to reconsider their travel plans.

The Gazette reports that 20% of bookings made in Phuket before Songkran have been canceled, but even so, those figures aren't terrible for Phuket and there is still some glimmer of hope. Perhaps most importantly, the airport is operating as usual.

Most of the tourists who canceled their travel plans in Phuket are Chinese and Japanese. It seems that no matter what you do, you can't keep the Brits and Aussies out of Phuket.