Save the Turtles Event – Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium (01-04/08, all day);
Amazing Thailand Grand Sale – all over Chiang Mai (01-16/08);
Queen of Thailand’s Birthday – all over Chiang Mai (12/08, all day);
Talent Competition – talent show at JJ Mart for budding stars (13/08, from 18:00);
HUG Elephant Concert – Sankham Terrace (Baan Nai Fun 2) (14 & 21/08, from 20:00);
Mini Light and Sound Nopburi Sri Nakorn Ping – Chiang Mai City Arts Centre (21/08);

August 01-04: Save the Turtles
Where: Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium, Huay Kaew Road,
When: all day
Help save the turtles by attending this awareness even at Chiang Mai Zoo with lots of different sea turtle species here to visit.

August 01-06: Amazing Thailand Grand Sale
Where: All over Chiang Mai
When: Various times
Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) has arranged with 5,000 partners including shops, department stores, hospitals, travel agents, hotels, airlines, golf courses, duty-free stores in Chiang Mai to offer a huge range of discounts from 10 to 80 per cent.

August 12: Queen of Thailand’s Birthday
Where: All over Chiang Mai
When: all day
The Queen’s birthday also marks National Mother’s Day when alms-giving ceremonies take place at temples in the morning and many different parties honouring Her Majesty the Queen of Thailand later on.

August 13: Talent Competition
Where: JJ Mart Gate, Chiang Mai Gate
When: starts 18:00
JJ Market is hosting a talent contest for all those talented Chiang Mai residents or tourists who fancy showing off their skills to the crowd. Live bands, singing and lots of dancing ensure a fun time for all.

August 14 & 21: HUG Elephant Concert
Where: Sankham Terrace (Baan Nai Fun 2)
When: from 20:00
Charity concert featuring Baritone Book Kitavadhana with all cash raised going towards the National Elephant Hospital in Lampang. There will be a raffle plus auctions with fantastic prizes to be won plus cocktails, modern Thai fusion dinner including wine. Forty tickets are available at 1,500 baht with 10 VIP tickets on sale at 5,000 baht.

August 21: Mini Light and Sound Nopburi Sri Nakorn Ping
Where: Chiang Mai City Arts Centre
When: starts 19:00
Hosted by the Chiang Mai College of Dramatic Arts, this is a great way to learn more about the city and surrounding area. Tickets for this memorable occasion cost just 299 baht and visitors who want to hear the show in English should arrive at 20:00.

Checks of air-conditioners in Chiang Mai disclosed many contained Legionella bacteria.

A report in the Nation newspaper, this week, alleged that of 100 air-conditioning units investigated, around 40 per cent were breeding grounds for the germs that cause Legionnaires’ Disease.

Checks were made on units in both hotels and commercial premises. An official at the city’s health department said that these high levels of contamination posed the risk of an outbreak of the potentially fatal disease.

To eliminate the danger of infection, hotels and businesses are advised to perform regular maintenance on their air-conditioners. Part of the preventative measures should involve strict cleaning of the unit’s filters, and also of the building’s water supplies.

The initial symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease are similar to influenza. If ignored, or undiagnosed, the symptoms can lead to bad lung infections and pneumonia. People particularly susceptible to the disease are smokers and the elderly.

There have been several cases of Legionnaires’ Disease in the kingdom. In 1995 a British national contracted it in Pattaya. Among additional reported incidences were the six visitors discovered to have caught the disease in Phuket, in 2006.

In 1999, three more Britons were found to be carrying the disease, while holidaying in Chiang Mai.

People entering areas that are suspected to be contaminated by Legionella bacteria, are advised to wear a reasonable quality face mask.

Masks that are required are similar to the ones worn by Chiang Mai residents, when the city occasionally becomes shrouded by smog. The smog is caused by forests burning, and is especially bad just before the onset of the rainy season.

The Mae Sai border closure has affected the flow of goods between the two countries and could affect the many Chiang Mai ex-pats, who use the border to renew their permits to stay in Thailand.

No official reason has been given for the closure, but according to Boontham Thipprasong, of the Mae Sai Chamber of Commerce, customs and immigration officials at Tachilek, on the Myanmese side of the border, were being replaced.

Mr Boontham told the Bangkok Post that the officials had been accepting backhanders from Thai traders in exchange for lower tax assessments on goods being imported into Myanmar.

The closure is also in effect in the western border town of Mae Sot, in the Tak Province. The military junta that controls Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, closed the frontier crossings at Mae Sai and Mae Sot earlier this month in a dispute over Thailand’s construction of an embankment.

The disputed embankment was being built on the Thai side of the River Moei, near Mae Sot. Myanmar’s government said the construction was damaging their side of the river.

Chavarat Charnvirakul, Thailand’s interior minister, halted construction. At the time, only 200m of the multi-million Baht project was incomplete.

Thai traders are hoping that the latest spat can be sorted out by negotiations between the Thai and Myanmese governments. In Mae Sai alone, goods valued at 300 million Baht cross the border every day.

The centre, first planned in 1996, is not expected to be ready in September. Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa, speaking to the Nation, cited construction hold-ups caused by a 43-day late start.

Mr Silpa-archa added that he did not think the centre would be ready, but if the builders got a move on it could conceivably open before next year. He also said that for each month the centre was late, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would be fined six million Baht.

At the moment, only 10 per cent of the building is complete, with 25 per cent of the total project done. The centre is being built in Chiang Mai’s Muang (City) District.

When the complex is complete it will offer an 8,000m expo area, conference rooms, offices, permanent exhibit space and a banquet hall capable of seating 1,400 diners.

This time, the multi-million Baht project was delayed by differences between the blueprints and overall design. The government has allocated 1.8 million Baht for the project, although Mr Silpa-archa said that an extra 1.1 million would be needed for interior fixtures and fittings, and insect and rodent protection.

TAT will own the completed building, and hopes that it will draw visitors and conventions to Chiang Mai. There are plans for a similar centre on Thailand’s southern island of Phuket.

The man, Karl Joseph Kraus, holds an Australian passport, but was supposedly born in Berlin. A search of the man’s home turned up 100 photographs of nude children and a collection of video footage. Police say that Mr Kraus is posing with some of the children in the pictures.

Mr Kraus enticed the sisters to his home with chocolates and English tuition. The girls told their parents what was wrong, when asked why they had stopped playing outside. The parents made the allegations to police, after their daughters told them Mr Kraus had abused them.

Mr Kraus was detained at his home, in the Doi Saket area of Chiang Mai, last Wednesday. At the time of his detention he was walking with the aid of two sticks. Neighbours say that he is fit and can still drive.

Mr Kraus was taken to a hospital in Chiang Mai, where he complained about diabetes and high blood pressure. A court appearance date has still to be arranged.

In 2008, Mr Kraus started teaching the children. One of the children was only five years old when he supposedly started abusing them. The girls are now aged between 7 and 15.

The Bangkok Post reported, that a maid said she saw Mr Kraus sending videos abroad. Police are now checking whether the man was a part of a larger paedophile network.

Technology Fare – CMU Convention Centre (01-04/07, all day)
Elvis Presley Festival – Suriwongse Hotel, Chiang Mai, (01-31/07, from 21:00)
US Independence Day Celebration – Chang Puak Stadium (04/07, all day)
Talent Competition – talent show at JJ Mart for budding stars (15/07, from 18:00)
Save the Turtles Competition – Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium (deadline July 22)
Khao Phansa – Buddhist candles festival (26/07, all day)

July 01-04: Computer & Digital Mart Chiang Mai 2010
Where: CMU Convention Centre 
When: all day
Computers, cameras, appliances, and many other IT-related products will be on sale here at discount prices. Come and take advantage of many special promotions from leading retailers.

July 01-31: Elvis Presley Festival
Where: Suriwongse Hotel, Chiang Mai, tel: 053 2700517
When: Every day from 21:00
The king of rock n’ roll returns to the Fueng Fah Restaurant at Suriwongse Hotel with Elvis Presley back to sing live every night from 21:00. The four-piece band will run the three ages of Elvis Presley songs.

July 04: US Independence Day
Where: Municipal Park Chang Puak Stadium, Chiang Mai
When: all day
The US Consulate is putting on a grand 4th of July “Independence Day” celebration including all-you-can-eat Dukes BBQ, live entertainment, fireworks and theme park for kids.

July 15: Talent Competition
Where: JJ Mart Gate, Chiang Mai Gate
When: starts 18:00
JJ Market is hosting a talent contest for all those talented Chiang Mai residents or tourists who fancy showing off their skills to the crowd. Live bands, singing and lots of dancing ensure a fun time for all.

July 22: Save the Turtles
Where: Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium, Huay Kaew Road,
When: deadline July 22
Help save the turtles by entering into Chiang Mai Zoo’s drawing competition. The contest is split into two groups with a deadline set for entries to be submitted before 22 July.

July 26: Khao Phansa
Where: all over Chiang Mai
When: all day
This festival marks the start of Buddhist Lent and is also known as the Candle Festival. Lay people visit the city’s ancient temples and present ornate candles to monks.

Khao Phansa is also known as the Candle Festival. Lay people visit Chiang Mai’s ancient temples, and present ornate candles to resident monks.

Temples in Chiang Mai’s old city quarter, contained within the moat, are the final destination for parades. People, wearing traditional clothing, give the sculptured candles to monks, as well as other necessities of life to sustain them through Lent.

The candles are placed in front of the biggest Lord Buddha statue in the temples’ chapels. The candles are big enough to burn for the whole three months of Lent, although few temples actually light the candles nowadays.

Visiting central Chiang Mai temples, such as Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh and Wat See Soda, as well as the city’s iconic hilltop Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, will give visitors a unique opportunity of seeing this time-honoured tradition.

When exactly Khao Phansa falls each year is dictated by the moon. Buddhist Lent commences with this festival in the eighth lunar month, and finishes with the Och Pansa festival three months later.

During Buddhist Lent, in historic times, monks were not supposed to leave their temples for fear of standing on insects or plants that were growing in the wet season.

During Lent, lay people get merit by giving up eating meat, gambling, smoking or drinking alcohol.  

William (Bill) Thomas Douglas, 61, is to be freed from jail after serving slightly more than two years for the slaying of Gary Bruce Poretsky.

Douglas was originally sentenced to two years for the March 2008 murder of Mr Poretsky, a 46-year-old American citizen. An extra 18 months was added on to his sentecne for weapons offences.

The Australian was eligible for parole in December this year, but has been given an early release under a general amnesty. Mr Poretsky’s family were dismayed at Douglas’s light sentence, and want to know why he is being released even earlier.

After a disagreement at the Keari Restaurant in Chiang Mai, the killer is said to have shot Mr Poretsky twice in the chest. As the victim lay on the ground, Douglas then shot him in the head.

Mr Poretsky’s mother, Sandra Fall, said that Douglas should have got life imprisonment for cold-blooded murder. She added that Douglas is vicious and should not be allowed to kill the next person who disagrees with him.

At Douglas’s trial, prosecutors asked for four years for the killing. This was cut to two years by the judge as Douglas had pleaded guilty. Family and friends of the victim were unhappy with this short sentence and had been asking for an investigation.

Mr Douglas, a one time soldier, had lived in Chiang Mai for 28 years. He speaks the local Northern Thai dialect fluently. At the time of his arrest, he claimed to be an under-cover informant working for the Thai police on drugs cases.

The festival opened on June 5 and will run until August 4. The Governor of Chiang Mai, Mr Amonphan Nimanan, presided over the opening ceremony, attended by senior zoo officials and special guests.

Chiang Mai Zoo is holding the turtle festival in the hope of alerting people to the dangers faced by turtles in the wild and to help them appreciate these wonderful creatures.

Although many of the turtles at the aquarium are of Thai origin, the festival features turtles from all over the world. Visitors to the turtle festival will also be able to enjoy the myriad other marine creatures housed here.

The aquarium only opened in 2008 and is a state-of-the-art facility with glass tunnels that allows visitors great views of the exhibits. Feeding times are the perfect time to be walking through the tunnels.

The aquarium is a separate part of the main Chiang Mai Zoo. The facility has additional entry fees of 520 Baht for adults and 390 Baht for children. Thai nationals gain discount prices of 290 Baht for adults and 190 Baht for children.

The aquarium opens daily from 08.00 to 18.00. Further details, and images of the aquarium’s creatures, are available at http://www.chiangmaiaquarium.com/en/index.html. Telephone enquiries at +66 5389 3111.

The name for the baby koala was proposed by a four-year-old girl and picked out of nearly 500 entries.

Lapassarada Mung-opas’s entry of ‘Prong-Dong’ was thought to be the most appropriate name considering the bloodshed and violence all over Thailand recently.

Nipon Wichairat, Chiang Mai Zoo assistant director, said: “The situation now is so dire, people can’t look each other in the eye. It’s a reminder for us to turn to each other.”

Although the koala, a native creature of Australia, was born last year, it has only just left the safety of her mother’s pouch to greet the world.

Lapassarada, who comes from Nonthaburi Province north of Bangkok, will receive 10,000 baht  and free lifetime admission to the zoo.

She submitted her entry during the political protests last month when her entire family visited the zoo.