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Kirovograd is the capital of Kirovograd region (oblast). Kirovograd oblast was formed in its contemporary borders in 1939. Its territory is 24,600 sq. km which makes 4.1% of the total territory of Ukraine, with the population of 1,168,500 people, which is 2.4% of that in Ukraine. The Kirovograd region is situated in the center of Ukraine, in the Dnieper and the Southern Buh interfluves. A marker of the geographical center of Ukraine was put in the Dobrovelychkivka rayon.

The settlement of the region started in the age of paleolith. In the second half of the 15th century these territories were a part of the lands where the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks appeared. Later, for nearly three centuries these lands were a part of the “Volnist (the Territory) of Zaporizhzhya Army”. It was here that the Cossacks worked and fought.

The first battle of the Liberation War of the Ukrainian people of 1648-1654 near Zhovty Vody took place on the territory of the contemporary Kirovograd oblast. In mid-1700s an intensive Russian colonization of the Ukrainian lands began. In 1952, New Serbia was founded, and in 1754 the Fortress of St. Elizabeth was founded which later turned into the town of Elisavetgrad (now Kirovograd) - an uyezd (rayon) central town in Kherson guberniya (province).

The temperate warm climate, the availability of deposits of radon and mineral waters (reserves of about 150,000 cu. m /year), forest areas, meadows, and rivers create favorable conditions for organization of short- and long-term recreation as well as a network of resort-therapeutically establishments.

The oblast’s position in the center of the Ukrainian crystalline massif determines the origin of large deposits of rare metals. The availability of a whole series of ores manifestations: tungsten, copper, molybdenum, apatite, uranium, gold and silver, bismuth, tin, lead, beryllium, antimony, tantalum and niobium, is the characteristic feature of the Kirovograd metallogenic zone.

The mineral and raw material potential of the region includes above 340 deposits of minerals, 107 of them being developed. These are: brown coal, ore raw materials, raw materials for nuclear power industry (uranium), non-ore minerals.

The main amount of minerals is excavated from open mines which creates favorable conditions for development of the mining sector in the region.

The gold ore deposits, discovered in the recent decades, are the basis for the future creation of gold mining and gold-processing sector in the region. According to geologists’ opinion, the deposits of platinum, diamonds, chrome, tungsten and rare metals may be discovered as well.

The Kirovograd region is known since long ago as a region with well-developed agricultural production. The natural-climatic conditions and rich black soils (chernozems) are favorable for growing agricultural crops. A set of organizational, agro-forest-reclamation, hydro technical and other measures have been taken with the purpose of rational use of the land resources.

The Kirovograd airport corresponds to the 3rd category of ICAO. Transportation by air is performed by the state air carrier “Ukrainian Airlines”. There are two commercial air carriers: “URGA” and “Chaika”, working on international air lines.

The Kirovograd inhabitants were among the first telephone subscribers in Ukraine who could communicate with the whole world. Automatic trunk-exchange 5 ESS (”Utel”) for long-distance calls was put in operation in 1994. A new kind of communications services - cellular or mobile telephone communications - was introduced in May 1996.

The list of Ukraine Airway Companies: Ukraine International Airlines, Volare Airways, Air Travel, Lvov Airways, Niclolayev Airways, Crimea Airways, Aerostar, Donbas Airways, Aerosvit, Ukrainian Cargo Airways, Ukrcopter Airways.

The list of Ukraine Airports: Berdyansk Airport, Borispol International Airport (Kiev), Vinnitsa Airport, Dnepropetrovsk Airport, Donetsk Airport, Zaporozhzhye Airport, Ivano-Frankovsk Airport, Izmail Airport, Kerch Airport, Zulyany Airport (Kiev), Kirovograd Airport, Kramatorsk Airport, Kryvyy Rih Airport, Lugansk Airport, Lvov Airport, Mariupol Airport, Nikolayev International Airport, Odessa International Airport, Poltava Airport, Rovno Airport, Severdonoetsk Airport, Simferopol International Airport, Sumy Airport, Ternopol Airport, Uzgorod Airport, Kharkov Airport, Kherson Airport, Cherkassy Airport, Chernovtsy Airport, Chernigov Airport

The list of the main Ukraine bus and railway directions: Lugansk, Donetsk, Sumy, Nikolayev, Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk, Kerch, Zaporozhe, Kherson, Kirovograd, Cherkassy, Kiev, Chernigov, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Zhitomir, Chernovtsy, Khmelnitsky, Rovno, Ivano - Frankovsk, Ternopol, Lutsk, Lvov, Uzhgorod, Melitopol. Crimea: Simferopol, Sevastopol, Sudak, Evpatoria, Feodosia, Yalta, Bakhchisarai, Alupka, Alushta, Jankoi, Kharkov.

Securing a limousine in Miami Beach, Florida can be a great choice. There are many great places to visit in Miami Beach like beaches, shops, restaurants and clubs. With a chauffeured limousine the worries of asking for directions, finding short routes to prime locations and getting lost are eliminated from your excursion-leaving you more time for things that matter.

Miami Beach’s architecture is described as Art Deco. It has the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. It also includes Mediterranean and Streamline Modern architecture.

The most popular tourist scene in Miami Beach is Ocean drive. On one side of the street is a ocean of bar and restaurants. You can sit on the patio and enjoy the beautiful view of the ocean while drinking a mojito. Walk across the street and you are at the beach, were you can enjoy a beautiful day in the sun. Topless sunbathing is tolerated on certain designated areas of the beach.

Here are a few point of interest you can enjoy in Miami Beach:

- Lincoln Road: closed to traffic between Washington Avenue and Alton Road. In that area, Lincoln Road is a popularpedestrian mall lined with shops, sidewalk cafes, bars and galleries.

- The Miami Beach Botanical Garden is located at 2000 Convention Center Drive, The Garden includes a conservatory, over a dozen varieties of subtropicalpalms, Japanese Garden, and orchids, and is open free from Tuesday to Sunday during business hours.

Be sure to consider a limousine rental for your next trip to Miami beach, Florida.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Mr. John Q. Hammons today announced that John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, LLC is acquiring 30 acres of land on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo., for investment purposes. Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, LLC is the nation’s leading independent builder, developer, owner and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites.

Strategically located near U.S. Highway 54 on Fish Hatchery Cove, the acquired property lies along Lake of the Ozarks’ 1,375 miles of scenic shoreline. Located in central Missouri, Lake of the Ozarks is the state’s premier all-around vacation spot and is within a day’s driving time of major cities in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

“We have been considering Lake of the Ozarks as a prime destination for many years,” said Mr. John Q. Hammons, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, LLC. “We look forward to working with the city of Osage Beach to provide new economic growth to this beautiful area, and we are entering into a market study to determine if a luxury hotel or resort, convention and exposition center and/or an upscale condominium development are best suited for the land.”

Editor’s Note: To view Mr. Hammons’ property acquisition, please see the attached Google Earth image, or visit http://earth.google.com and go to the coordinates 38 degrees N 92 degrees W near Fish Hatchery Cove and Grand Glaize Bridge.

Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, LLC is the nation’s leading independent builder, developer, owner and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites, including: Embassy Suites Hotels, Renaissance, Marriott, Radisson, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott brands. With 62 hotels strategically located near demand generators, such as state capitals, universities, airports, corporate headquarters or office parks in secondary and tertiary markets, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts’ properties are dominant in their markets. Over the course of his impressive career in the hotel business, Mr. Hammons has developed 164 hotels.

With the first phase of a $12.5 million renovation completed, the new focus of the Holiday Inn-Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort is on families. In addition to bringing the property’s guestrooms and public areas to “like-new” condition, 75 KidSuites(R) have been added to the resort.

KidSuites(R) is a new Holiday Inn guestroom concept that is designed to allow togetherness and privacy for the entire family. It features an adult guest room, and a smaller area within the guestroom designed with kids in mind. The children’s area contains a color TV, VCP, CD/radio/player, kid-size furniture, a kid’s Fun Phone and Sony Playstation(R). In the adult area, amenities include a king-size bed, 25″ television, refrigerator, microwave oven, coffeemaker, iron and full-size ironing board. The resort also offers supervised kid’s activities. For an unusual dining experience, children may choose dinner from their own special buffet in the dinning room. Accompanied by an adult, kids can eat, sleep and play for free.

During the first phase renovations, the resort’s lobby, lounge and restaurant areas were renovated and redecorated with new wall coverings, carpet and tile flooring. New tables and chairs were added. In the meeting rooms, carpet, walls and lighting were upgraded and updated with a fresh new look.

Second phase renovations begin in August and include the addition of a kids’ pool and pirate play ship complete with water cannons and slides. The second phase also include the addition of feature towers and new facade to the building’s exterior.

Bob Krypel, general manager of the Holiday Inn-Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort says the KidsSuites(R) concept is great for families with children.

“KidSuites(R) is the concept of the future for resorts. It’s a haven for families with children. I think we will see more and more resorts catering to this segment of the market.”

In addition to focusing on families, the Holiday Inn-Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort also has excellent corporate facilities. There is 15,000 square feet of meeting space to accommodate up to 650 people. Guests have access to voice mail, in-room data ports and a business service area. They may also use the hotel’s spacious fitness center which has virtually doubled in size during renovations.

Located on the Atlantic Ocean, The Holiday Inn-Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort is situated near the Kennedy Space Center and Port Canaveral cruise ships. Not only is the resort is walking distance to shops, restaurants and night life, it is also close to deep sea fishing charters and river cruising. The resort is an hour from the Walt Disney World(R) resort and half an hour from the Melbourne Airport.

Construction on the 500-room hotel, located at 1300 N. Atlantic Avenue, has been ongoing since November, 1998. Guest rooms have been refinished with new furniture, carpet, drapery and bedspreads. The newly renovated hotel offers modern guest rooms with the amenities most highly valued by travelers, including coffeemakers, hairdryers, and full-size ironing boards and irons.

The hotel’s renovation is a part of Bass Hotel & Resorts’ $1.5 billion modernization program of all Holiday Inns nationwide. Initiated in 1994, the program provides for upgrades and renovations to exteriors, public areas and guest rooms. The program is a rolling initiative that will effectively rejuvenate the entire Holiday Inn system every seven years.

When the fishing goes south, smart anglers head south to the fish-laden waters of Cabo San Lucas and the legendary Hotel Hacienda Beach Resort! The renowned Hacienda, at the southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula, is offering serious anglers the chance to fish and stay in Cabo for just $99 per room per night from October 20-28, 2002.

Not that you ever needed an excuse to go fishing, but at $99 a night for luxurious accommodations, why not? Here at the Hacienda Beach Resort we are no strangers to the excitement of some of the best marlin and tournament fishing in the world. In fact, it was the founding pioneer of our second-generation family-owned hotel, “Bud” Parr, who set some of the earliest IGFA records off these shores fishing with friends like John Wayne, Bing Crosby and Ernest Hemingway. In 1972, Parr, known for his fondness of light tackle, caught a mighty marlin weighing in at 210 lbs. on four-pound test! According to IGFA headquarters, Parr held that record for nearly 30 years until it was broken by an East Coast angler who landed a 271-lb. marlin off the coast of New Zealand in Spring 2001.

Deep-sea fishermen can expect some of the best fishing in the world in the late fall in our back yard in “the billfish capital of the world.” And fishing in late October is peak, plus, with kids back in school you’ll have Cabo all to yourself like the quiet unspoiled fishing village of old.

Even if you’re not a fisherman, catch matchless sunshine, snorkel warm seas, or take in magnificent sunsets over cocktails in the whimsical Cosmic Oyster Bar with strolling musicians and the best views in the Sea of Cortez. Dine on your own catch of the day — tuna, dorado, marlin, wahoo — prepared in the award-winning kitchens of the Hacienda or they can prepare, smoke or freeze your catch packaged for travel!

Cabo San Lucas is less than two hours from California by air and under four hours from most U.S. gateways. Non-stop flights are available from Alaska, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Newark, and Chicago and throughout California on American, America West, Continental, Delta, AeroMexico and Mexicana.

Additional specials, packages and holiday rates are also available through February 2003, including fourth night free packages, beginning at just $128 per night. Restrictions apply.

Put on your whites and head for the greens. Tee time? Hardly. Cricket, equivalent to baseball in form and passion, is the rave in the Caribbean. If you’re serious, you’ll need batting gloves, leg guards, and a sturdy cap. If you’re lucky, you’ll get playing pointers from the members of one of the many international cricket teams who stay at Jolly Beach Resort to practice when they’re in Antigua for a match. Their cricket pitch (think baseball diamond) is first rate. The cricket clinic is for aspiring amateurs.

It’s only one of the special features at Antigua’s all-inclusive Jolly Beach Resort. The historic island property is owned and operated through a 50-50 joint venture between the island and the Commonwealth Development Corp. of London. Designed so that guests can enjoy Caribbean culture, it is truly an Antiguan experience.

Located in St. Mary, Jolly Beach is a lavish, 40-acre, 462-room beach resort–the island’s largest hotel. It’s serious island business, but it feels like an island home. Service is friendly and efficient, and pride in ownership is apparent. Antiguans are warm and friendly people who are quite hospitable upon your arrival.

All rooms face west with openings onto terraces or patios toward the bright, blue sky, and blue-green seawater. Read, meditate, or daydream by the sea. You never have to worry about finding a quiet spot on the beach, or fending off aggressive craftsmen. It’s the largest stretch of white-sand Caribbean tranquility on the island.

Looking for social exchange? Saunter down to the Vendor’s Village, a vibrant hub of Antiguan merchants selling, jewelry, crafts, and other wares. Browse, shop, or engage a local in banter. Antiguans love to chat about local and international issues, among other topics.

Worked up an appetite? There are five restaurants from which to choose, including one for fine dining. But your taste buds will dance for the breezy, open-air beach bistro, Lydia’s at Crab Hole Village. Serving fresh seafood daily, her blackened red snapper and mango chutney dishes are among those that make it hard to choose just one.

Jolly Beach Resort also offers great rates. Now until the holiday season, a superior room, based on double occupancy, is approximately $135 a night. A junior suite averages $165. The rate for a single superior room is currently $203 per night. For the holiday, season rates are slightly higher (by about 25%), and will drop again after January 1.

Off property, Antigua, the sister island to Barbuda, is a popular boating destination. The Antigua Sailing Week, which takes place in April, attracts boaters from all over the world. It is the largest regatta in the Caribbean and ranks among the top five in the world.

True, the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens has plenty of attractions besides golf. But if you’re hooked on the game, then this place is paradise.

Dr. Rick Jensen is warming up to his subject, “Essentials of Champions: Business Lessons Learned from the World’s Greatest Athletes.” He is delivering his message to a dozen executives who have come to the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens to learn how to become more effective in business. They are learning this through the practice of golf.

“What is it that people do in their business to dominate?” Jensen asks the group. “People who dominate are masters of the essentials,” he answers for them. It’s the same with professional athletes. “What people do in professional sports is what top CEOs do to succeed,” Jensen tells them. “The process is the same.”

This is music to the ears of the executives who have come to the PGA National to learn the principals of high performance on the job — and to improve their golf game at the same time. “In my business consulting I always use sports analogies,” says Jensen, a hybrid sports psychologist/business management guru. “I use golf as a platform to discuss business enhancement.”

Jensen runs his clinic for corporations which typically enroll eight to 12 executives for a three-day seminar. With help from resort golf pro Charlie King and health club director Randy Myers, the course includes liberal amounts of actual golf instruction to illustrate its principals. “Most groups think it’s way cool to come and play golf and learn from guys who teach the pros’ says Jensen. “But I use it to teach them about their businesses.”

Jensen’s course is an example of how the PGA National Resort & Spa is leveraging its core attraction of golf to broaden its appeal. Ten years ago, the spa was added to lure spouses who might not he crazy about golfing. It was an instant hit, and has since evolved into a charming complex of 31 treatment rooms with 120 therapists and a unique Waters of the World area where pools duplicate the therapeutic H20 of places like the Dead Sea in Israel and the Sales de Beam in France.

The PGA National has another six regular swimming pools, a 19-court tennis compound, a 34,000-square-foot gymnasium/health club, ballrooms for corporate meetings and an eye-opening array of wildlife on its grounds. For years it was also the headquarters of the US Croquet Association; until three years ago, the resort’s five professional-quality croquet courts (still open) represented the highest concentration of such courts in the Western Hemisphere.

While such amenities give the PGA National an allure well beyond the smacking of a small white ball, golf is still king. Four golf courses emanate from the hotel complex, with a fifth nearby. The Academy of Golf at PGA National is adjacent to the hotel, with fields of training greens, fairways and bunkers. And although the resort itself is not owned by the Professional Golf Association — it’s the creation of Palm Beach Gardens developer Llywd Ecclestone — the grounds house the official headquarters of the PGA. Basically, this is golf heaven.

“There was nothing out here when we started,” says Ecelestone, a modest man who developed significant parts of Palm Beach Gardens. “The PGA thought I was crazy coming west of the Florida Turnpike. But this is where the land was.”

Twenty years later, the PGA National is a 339-room resort that is AAA four-diamond rated, an Exxon Mobil Four Star award winner, and a Zagat ’s top-five hotel in Palm Beach County. It recently underwent a $12 million renovation, including the restoration of its famed Champion golf course.

“The Champ” was restored by the Nicklaus Design Team under the direction of the famous golfer’s son, Jack Nicklaus II. At a January press conference to officially reopen the course, local officials took the podium to thank Ecclestone for his contributions to Palm Beach Gardens. When the younger Nicklaus got to the microphone, he referred to him as Mr. Ecclestone.

“I’m unable to call him Llywd,” Nicklaus told the audience. “I grew up down the street from Mr. Ecciestone [in Palm Beach Gardens], so I’ve known him since I was a kid. He’s always been Mr. Ecclestone to me.”

It’s 11 P.M. at the Paradise Complex, a large cluster of gay venues and hotels in Patong Beach on the island of Phuket. Less than three weeks after the December 26 tsunami killed thousands here in Thailand, the sidewalks are quiet. The tourists are gone, and many of the go-go boys have either gone back to their villages or moved on to unscathed Pattaya, the country’s other large gay beach resort area.

“Not too many [gays] died on the beach that fateful day,” says Bangkok-based tour operator Khun Chatt, who runs Naga Rainbow Tour. “It was too early in the morning.”

The calm after the storm is the latest threat to Phuket’s existence as the hub of an international gay following. Unless the tourists return, reports the Bangkok Post, the tens of thousands of workers in the tourism industry who drive the Phuket nightlife scene–from restaurant and hotel employees to sex workers-face financial disaster.

Ulf Mikaelsson, who runs the Connect Guest House and Coffee Bar, untouched by the tsunami, worries that Phuket’s gay businesses face difficult times ahead. “Many annual visitors will return,” Mikaelsson says. “They know there is no reason to stay away, but new arrivals may not understand that the island paradise known the world over is alive and well.”

In the wake of the disaster, Phuket’s gay community is busy raising relief funds and helping in the recovery; even drag queens from the Tangmo Club are collecting donations. Connect, Mikaelsson says, initially helped survivors to make international phone calls or send e-mails and “tried to have the kitchen open and provide food to everybody.” Gay residents are staying put. “There is no reason for me to leave,” says one British retiree. “This is my home.”

* Hilton Grand Vacations Co. opened a 283-unit timeshare resort in Las Vegas. The resort is the third HGVC destination in Las Vegas. The company also is developing a Hilton Grand Vacations Club in the Kalia Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa in Honolulu. A renovation of six floors will convert 138 hotel rooms into 72 studio suite and one-bedroom condominium-style accommodations. The project is expected to open this month. HGVC is a division of Hilton Hotels Corp.

It’s early 2005, and I accept an invitation for an on-the-house drink at the Flying Handbag, a gay card in Phuket run by Ray Jevons. Jevons is a limey with a thick northern British accent and the gift of gab–which is perhaps why some locals call his lace “The Flying Windbag”–making it a must for barhopping gossips. The walls of the cafe-cum-bar are adorned with, you guessed it, handbags brought in by customers from all over the world. From the seats in the open-air establishment one can freely catch another cabaret revue across the alleyway, with drag queens lip-synching, gyrating, and sweating under a ton of makeup, sequins, and feathers. “‘Tis a pity, isn’t it?” rues Ray, nursing his drink “Only a week after Christmas, and the ‘girls’ wiggle their tits off to empty seats–thanks to the bad press from the tsunami.” Well the seats weren’t totally empty–but it certainly wasn’t as crowded as it should have been in winter, usually peak season.

Yes, the T word, or rather TS word, was on everyone’s lips, painted or otherwise. Although the gay community suffered little during the actual tsunami–because, as I was told, most gay establishments are far from the beach, and most gay tourists are late risers (the tsunami struck around 9 A.M.)–gays turned out to lend a helping hand. The tragedy galvanized the community, and many businesses opened their doors to those in need. Miss Watermelon, who works at the drag bar Tangmo, proudly informed me that she and her “girls” had selflessly collected over 300,000 Thai baht (about $8,000 American) in the 10-day period after the tsunami. They sent 200,000 to Patong Hospital, 50,000 to a wat (a Buddhist temple or monastery), and 50,000 to a police benevolent society. After the tsunami struck, many of the go-go boys either went back to their villages or moved on to unscathed Pattava or Chiang Mai in the north, I was told. Overall, it’s the “economic tsunami”–the lack of tourists–that hurt the gay establishments the most. Having written a gay guidebook on Thailand, and being a contributor to a Thai gay Web site and newsletter, I was no stranger to Phuket. But I had never seen the usually bustling Patong Beach area so empty in high season.

I had come for a post-tsunami inspection tour of the island regularly voted by Conde Nast Traveler readers as among the top 10 resort islands in the world. When I arrived at Phuket’s airport, I felt like I’d entered a war zone. Makeshift signs Scotch-taped to the walls directed various foreign nation’s to tables set up to expedite the hasty exodus of thousands after tragedy struck the day after Christmas, 2004.

The drive into town may surprise first-timers with its sparsely populated and undeveloped terrain. However, Phuket’s appeal as a tourist destination soon becomes more apparent as you pass billboards advertising various tropical attractions such as Fanta Sea, an apparently typical family theme park–except with drag shows. Later, you pass a statue of the twin patriotic, mannish-looking Siamese lasses who helped fight off the invading Burmese, then there are cashew factories and robber plantations. Although tin-mining and rubber once represented the main wealth of the island–drawing in many Chinese laborers–the tourism industry is now the major source of the island’s income.

As you near Patong Beach, shopping malls mushroom in the middle of nowhere, as does advertising for KFC, Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, and even Hooters, the trashy U.S. restaurant chain. Thailand, as Thais proudly recall, is one of the few Asian countries that has never been colonized by Europeans. But judging from the number of American fast-food franchises found here, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the island of Phuket is somewhere just east of Honolulu. (Phuket, by the way, should be pronounced poo-GET, rhyming with coquette–be sure not to make the common mistake of saying “fuck it.”)

Remarkably; Patong Beach has reverted to its former self–a placid cove dotted with colorful sails and beach umbrellas. The damaged beachfront resort businesses have been busily buzzing and whirring back to life, getting new windows and interiors refitted. The latest reports are that things are quickly returning to normal, with the Beach Road area nearly restored. Signs announcing WE ARE OPEN or OPENING SOON appear in front of beach establishments such as Starbucks and Holiday Inn. Each day more bars, shops, and restaurants are reopening, with only the larger premises taking longer to refurbish.

The reappearance of noisy Jet Skis means that the chartered flights from Scandinavia have resumed, pumping kroners and euros back into the battered local economy. With the Tourism Authority of Thailand airing testimonials on satellite TV of ordinary folk enjoying themselves on Phuket, savvy tourists are beginning to realize that the inaccurate media reports, plus exaggerated “Calamity Jane” government travel advisories about alleged disease, pestilence, and plague in Phuket, are “just a crock of BS,” as Siam Palm and Jungle Boyz nightclub owner Khun Allen puts it. “It may apply to certain other areas affected by the tsunami–like Aceh, which never had much tourism anyway–but definitely not here.” Even in January; Allen’s Siam Palm reported 50% occupancy–mainly from returning gay guests who weren’t scared off, and new ones who wisely enquired ahead.