The latest Absolute property is the Nakalay Beach Resort in Phuket, which opened officially on January 27. Halfway between Patong and Kamala, on the west coast.

Absolute Group boss Brian Lunt has been flying to Koh Samui once a month for dinner with the local dining club, and figured it was about time that Phuket had a similar deal.

If you happen to be on Koh Lone, in the middle of Chalong Bay, on March 24, be careful you don’t get run over by 16 red-faced, sweating hotel people pounding along a 4-km course. If you do get run over, consider it a sacrifice to the well-being of the children of Thailand.

Three resorts in Phuket appear is this year’s Condé Nast Traveler magazine Gold List, which lists the “best places to stay in the world, selected by the readers”.

Andy Andersen, organiser of the annual Phuket Blues-Rock Festival, which takes place on February 26 and 27, has organised a couple of intimate dinners for small groups of people to get to know the two headliners – Charlie Musselwhite and Richard Clapton.

Apparently undaunted by the way the 2009 Phuket Film Festival fizzled out, organiser Scott Rosenberg is gearing up for another go at it, and has issued a call for entries for the 2010 event.

This is a great place to watch the sun dive into the sea. On the evening the Observer was there, a gleaming gin palace to slide across the face of the bay as the sun sank behind it. Sitting in comfort on the classy restaurant terrace with a good cold Mojito to hand, it’s possible to image that this is something the management arranges every night just to add to the sunset experience.

The 11th annual Old Phuket Festival, which this year will run from February 19 to 21, promises a feast of free entertainment along with the chance to mingle with locals who will also be celebrating the Chinese New Year.

The nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Nimitz, with close to 6,000 crew on board, dropped anchor off Phuket yesterday (January 31) for a few days of R&R. It was accompanied by the guided missile frigate USS Rentz and the destroyer USS Pinckney.

For romantics who enjoy jazz, French group Jazz Cool Band (JCB) will play a one-night gig in Phuket Town on February 14 – Valentine’s Day