date: 08 15 2005

TRIP FIVE READY TO GO
Hey all. Hope everyone is surviving the summer. We are happy to report that group five is almost full and Mui has just returned from scouting two new projects for September and October. We will likely work on two sites upon our return - a construction project at Baan Tap Tawaan and a huge mural project at a local school in Baan Nam Khem (where we also had projects for groups two and three). So far, the fifth group has fifteen volunteers and is due to arrive in Phuket on September 18th. The trip will be led by Curt Kluth from trip one, James Quilty from groups three and four and the ever-eager superhero Mui Kabkrue. If you are interested in taking the last few spots, please email Mach or Nancy.

TRIP SIX - WHO'S INTERESTED?
Since we did a pretty good job of quickly filling group five, we are very close to saying GO to a sixth group. If you are interested in traveling to Thailand in October, you will need to arrive in Bangkok by Saturday October 1. The sixth team will work from Monday October 3 through Saturday October 15. At this point, we will take up to 20 volunteers for this sixth group and if you are interested please send an email to Mach or Nancy as soon as possible. If we get an equally strong response from potential volunteers, we will quickly confirm the details of the trip.

RETURNING TO THAILAND
As the monsoons come to an end, the Thais of the southern islands are beginning to plan for the high season, starting in late October and lasting through the late winter. As you plan your holiday, please consider a return to Thailand - even if you are going to simply chill out and relax as opposed to mixing cement and building hopefully stable structures. The Thai economy relies on tourism, and as many of you know, the islands are doing pretty well in terms of facilities, services, and overall rehabilitation. Please spread the word. Since the tsunami devastated businesses in the area, this season will be an important time of recovery for the local Thais.

ARLENE'S GROCERY BENEFIT
We want to say thanks to the folks at Arlene's Grocery in New York City and to Danny Garcia who organized a recent Phuket Project benefit at the well-known Lower East Side music venue. A cd-collection of the 'Best of Arlene's Grocery' was sold at the event and more than 1700 dollars was raised from the two night event. Thanks again to the bands who gave their artistic talents to the show and to all who attended.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS.
For now. Stay in touch. Post something to the Yahoo! group- we all would love to know who is doing what and how life post Phuket is treating all volunteers. And check out some of the new photos we have recently added, especially the before and after ones!

Thanks everybody,

The Team at PhuketProject.org

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