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The Phuket King's Cup Regatta, Asia's largest keel boat regatta, was announced 'Asian Regatta of the Year' at the inaugural Asia Marine & Boating Awards, held in Shanghai, China, from April 8 to 11. Award presenter Alistair Skinner said, 'The Asian Regatta of the Year award went to the Phuket King's Cup Regatta who continue to innovate and lead the way in regional sailing regattas. Its international recognition is evident with participants coming each year from all corners of the globe to take part, including more boats and crew from China each year.'
 
The Phuket King's Cup Regatta, now in its 24th year, continues to expand its participant-base with over 2,000 people of 33 nationalities taking part in the 2009 Regatta. Showing continued year-on-year growth, the Regatta's organisers continue to work closely with the global yachting community to make each year better than the previous. Phuket is also a popular destination for leisure sailing, with Phuket yacht charters being one of the top visitor attractions on the island. (Source: Sail-World.com)

Koreans dreaming of a perfect Phuket wedding will have the chance to learn more about the honeymoon island in the upcoming Phuket tourism road show in South Korea from April 25-30. Representatives from Phuket's tourism authorities and businesses will visit Seoul and Busan with the aim of attracting more Koreans to the island.
 
About 250,000 Koreans visit Thailand every year, a number that is expected to rise in the coming years. There are currently four airlines operating direct flights between Seoul and Phuket. (Source: Brunei.fm)

Phuket Town's historical district, known as 'Old Town', will be host to plenty of family activities over the Songkran Thai New Year's festival from April 13 to 15. Traditional new year's rituals including merit-making and sprinkling water on Buddha statues will be performed, as well as some serious water fights up and down the streets. Games, outdoor movie screenings, streetside fairs, ice-carving demonstrations and stage shows will also be held throughout the festival.
 
In Phuket's nightlife centre, Patong Beach, the not-so-historic yet infamous Bangla Road will be the site of a two-day water festival, complete with a parade and music shows, on April 12 and 13.

April in Phuket has traditionally been the month where farmers take a break and businesses shutter their doors for a spell, but since the arrival of those air-conditioned marvels called shopping malls, the hot-season month has become a time to indulge in a shopping frenzy in search of good deals. Prices on many name brand items at Phuket's major shopping malls including Central Festival and Jungceylon are slashed, while sales of 50% discounts or more on beach wear and sporting goods in particular are offered in many shops.
 
Keen to entertain as well as offer bargains, a number of 'summer' festivals and special events marking the Songkran New Year also take place at most shopping centres around Phuket.

Phuket's first literary event of the season kicks of with an evening with Bjorn Turmann, author of The Last Tobacco Shop in the World, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally!, Good Daughter and The Karaoke World of Cortous Haire. A fiction, non-fiction and screenplay writer, Turmann is also a public speaking expert, so his talk is sure to be entertaining and enlightening.
 
The evening takes place on April 29, from 7pm to 9pm, at Mom Tri's Boathouse resort in Kata Beach.

Phuket ranks among the 10 best places in the world for someone seeking a new lease on life, according to the famed Lonely Planet's '1000 Ultimate Experiences' travel guide. While Dubai, UAE, was ranked as the world's top place to feel young again, Phuket shared sixth place with Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Mumbai. All were recognised as being great places for restorative surgery. "Considering a little nip and tuck or two, but worried about showing your post-op bruises in public? Cheap prices coupled with recuperation in the sun is the ticket," said a report about the travel guide.
 
Also named in the top 10 were Petra in Jordan, Las Vegas, Macau, Silverstone in England and Monte Carlo. (Source: Reuters)

Phuket tattoo artists will have the chance to show off their designs at the first-ever Phuket International Tattoo Convention at Jungceylon shopping centre in Patong from April 6 to 8. More than 30 tattoo exhibitions will be featured, demonstrating a variety of tattoo styles from around the world.
 
The event is being held in conjunction with the Phuket Bike Week festival, turning Patong Beach into a happy, sexy centre of skin art, roaring choppers, leather and chrome.

Phuket conservationists are putting some plans in motion that closely resemble the plotline to the popular Disney cartoon, 'Nemo'. A host of fish and coral recently seized from dodgy marine life traders will be released back into the sea on April 3, off the coast of Thai Muang Bay just north of Phuket.
 
The Phuket Marine and Coastal Resource Conservation Centre is in charge of the release ceremony, in which giant clams and sea turtles will also be set free. All of the released marine life will be closely monitored to ensure they remain safe in the ocean.

April 6 is an important day in Phuket and across the country, marking the founding of Thailand's Chakri Dynasty in Bangkok in 1792 -- a royal lineage that today is helmed by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or King Rama IX. King Bhumibol is the world's longest-reigning monarch, having held the throne since 1950.
 
Chakri Day is typically celebrated with religious ceremonies and merit-making activities at Phuket's Buddhist temples, while in Bangkok throngs of people come out to see members of the Royal family pay respects to their ancestors at the royal chapel.