POLICE in the southern Surat Thani province yesterday intensified the search for a Russian tourist who went missing two weeks ago, amid suspicions she might have got in trouble while snorkelling off Koh Tao.

Valentina Novozhenova, 23, disappeared from a Koh Tao hotel on February 16, the day she was supposed to check out after a week-long stay.

“The initial investigation suggested no clues of an attack or murder,” said Surat Thani provincial police chief Apichart Boonsriroj. “Her latest communications via social media indicated she wanted to free dive deeper than 22.3 metres without an assistant or equipment.”

Police are seeking co-operation from diving groups in the area to help to search for her, he said.

Russian Sergey Busagin, a relative of Novozhenova, has contacted police.

Novozhenova is 1.7 metres tall and a passionate swimmer who often brought a purple towel or coat with her while diving or snorkelling, police said.

In her room at the hotel, her belongings, including a passport, clothes, bags and cellphone, were found. That suggested she intended to return to the room, police said, adding that there was no evidence of a struggle having taken place in the room.

Her communications on VK, a social network platform popular among Russian users, showed that she left Moscow for Bangkok on February 7 and arrived the same day. She posted pictures of her touring the Thai capital a day later as well as pictures of a hotel and beach in Koh Tao on February 10.

On February 11 at 8.44am, she posted a message saying her mobile phone was broken and she would have it fixed, and a minute later she posted that she was on a beach and would find something to eat.

At 10.26am, she posted that her mobile phone was working and she was heading to Chalok Beach to take pictures, with many pictures posted up to 2.45pm.

Her last posts on social media were on February 13, when she posted about cats and the Indian food roti as well as diving activities. She said she loved free diving, which involves deep dives without a scuba air cylinder.

She said that she could free dive to a depth of 22.3 metres, and posted a picture to show how deep that was.

She added that she would dive deeper next time.

Police said Novozhenova mentioned on Whatsapp that she had consulted a psychiatrist on February 3 because she feared something but could not indicate the cause. The psychiatrist advised her to enrol in long-term therapy.

In a notorious case that made international news, two British backpackers were murdered on Koh Tao in September 2014.

Bali has so much to offer that one visit is never enough. Hence the saying, once you are in Bali, you will always want to come back.

However, for King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, going through all the diplomatic protocols to make another visit to the magical resort island could be a big hassle.

Hence, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta announced on Tuesday that the Saudi Arabian monarch would extend his stay by three days on the Island of the Gods.

“We hereby announce that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud wants to extend his vacation in Bali to March 12,” the embassy said in a statement. King Salman arrived in Bali for a vacation last Saturday and initially planned to leave on Thursday.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the 81-year-old ruler spent Tuesday visiting tourist spots, including Uluwatu and Nusa Penida, both of which are famous for their beautiful beaches perched alongside beautiful rocky steeps.

Arief also said the king visited Tampak Siring in Gianyar regency, which is well known for its temples and archeological remains.

Arief further said King Salman’s footsteps in Bali’s tourist spots would be recorded and the trail would be branded “The King Salman Road” to attract tourists, especially those from the Middle East.

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2017-03-02 11:50:22

Photo Gallery

Saudi king visits Indonesia bringing along huge entourage, limos, escalators

Source:

AFP

Reuters

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“Later in 2017, we will introduce tour packages, such as the ‘King Salman Road’ one-day trip in Bali. Visitors can trace King Salman’s vacation [in Bali],” Arief said in Jakarta.

He added that the king’s decision to extend his stay meant he was content with his vacation on the resort island. “We express gratitude to King Salman for extending his vacation in Bali,” he said

The government has aimed to get maximum gain in the tourist sector from the king’s visit to Indonesia because it could promote Indonesian tourism to Middle Easteners who are known to be among the big spenders.

Middle Eastern tourist arrivals in Indonesia stood at around 180,000 in 2015, accounting for only 2 per cent of the total 9.4 million foreign tourist arrivals. It rose to 240,000 arrivals last year, said Arief. “[This year] I have increased the target to 360,000 people. I’m sure King Salman is the greatest endorser [of Indonesian tourism] due to his visit here,” he said, adding that similar packages would also be introduced in other tourist destinations across Indonesia.

The octogenarian king was accompanied by an entourage of 1,500 people, including 25 princes, 10 ministers and more than 100 bodyguards. They used six passenger jets carrying more than 500 tons of cargo, including two limousines and two escalators for the king’s personal use.

The Saudi Arabian ruler is staying at the luxurious St. Regis Bali Resort located just a few steps away from Geger Beach, Nusa Dua. The hotel’s management has built walkways to the beach and erected bamboo fencing covered in white fabric to provide privacy for the king.

While King Salman enjoyed tourist spots, some members of his entourage reportedly took part in other activities, such as shopping. Some of them visited Discovery shopping mall in Kuta and purchased several items from popular international brand stores.

Members of the king’s entourage visited the mall using several black luxury cars, according to I Wayan Puspanegara, the general manager of PT Bali Unicorn, which operates the shopping mall.

“On the first day, there were only two cars [that came here]. Then there were 20 cars the day after and then 22 cars the next day,” Wayan said.

He added that he could not estimate the amount of money spent by the Saudi Arabian visitors, but said each of them carried at least five shopping bags.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Osama bin Mohammed Abdullah Al Shuaibi previously said the king had chosen Bali as a vacation spot because he liked the sea. The king is the first Saudi Arabian monarch to visit Indonesia in nearly 50 years.

BEIJING – A first draft of a code of conduct for behaviour in the disputed South China Sea has been completed, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday (March 8), adding that tension in the waterway had eased notably.

Since 2010, China and the 10 members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been discussing a set of rules aimed at avoiding conflict among rival claimants in the busy South China Sea.

Speaking at his annual news conference on the sidelines of China’s parliamentary session, Wang said talks last month had made “clear progress” and had formulated a first draft of a framework for the code. “China and ASEAN countries feel satisfied with this,” he said.

Wang said tensions in the South China Sea had not just “somewhat dropped, but had distinctly dropped” over the past year.

But in a nod to the United States and its regular freedom of navigation naval patrols in the region, Wang said those who still wanted to “stir up trouble” will be condemned by countries in the region. “We definitely will not allow this stable situation, which has been hard to come by, be damaged or interfered with,” he said.

The United States has criticised China’s construction of man-made islands and its build-up of military facilities in the sea, and expressed concern that they could be used to restrict free movement.

China has long called for what it terms “countries outside the region” – generally a reference to the United States – to stay out of the dispute, saying China and South-east Asia are determined to resolve things peacefully.

China lays claim to almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion (S$7 trillion) worth of trade passes each year.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the waters that have rich fishing grounds, along with oil and gas deposits.

Tensions reached a flashpoint after the Philippines filed an arbitration case against China in The Hague and as China started militarising artificial islands it built up on reefs in the South China Sea.

The tribunal ruled last year in Manila’s favour, but the election of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has seen a dramatic U-turn in his country’s approach.

Duterte has said repeatedly he wants to avoid confrontation with China and saw no need to press it to abide by the ruling.

Philippines Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay has said he hoped the code of conduct would be completed by the middle of this year and help de-escalate tensions.