Month: November 2005

  • Phuket News

    Tourist complaints spark zoo check

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura inspected the Phuket Zoo on Friday after receiving written complaints from about 10 tourists about the maltreatment of animals and the quality of water in pools there.The Thailand Zoological Park Organization (TZPO), the Tourism Authority of Thailand and a number of NGOs have also received similar complaints about the private zoo, which opened in 1997.The…

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  • Phuket NewsAward for Phuket from vegetarian mag | Thaiger

    Award for Phuket from vegetarian mag

    SAN FRANCISCO: Phuket during the Vegetarian Festival has been named as one of the “10 Best Veg Destinations in the World” by the San-Francisco-based VegNews magazine.In its third annual Veggie Awards, the magazine also singles out places, tours or events in Morocco, Italy, the UK, Mexico, Kenya, Maine in the US, the US Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Costa Rica.Of the…

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  • Phuket NewsTop Condé Nast award for Phuket | Thaiger

    Top Condé Nast award for Phuket

    NEW YORK CITY: Phuket Island has received the “Top Island in Asia 2005” award from New York-based Condé Nast Traveler magazine in its 18th annual Readers’ Choice Award. Bangkok won the “Best Asian City” award.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket Office said, “We sent representatives from Thailand to the event. It is the first time Phuket…

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  • Phuket News

    Four nabbed in B50m heroin bust

    PHUKET: Three foreign men and a Thai woman were arrested yesterday on charges of attempting to smuggle 40 kilograms of heroin out of Thailand in a yacht.The arrests are understood to be the culmination of a four-month international operation involving police from Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Norway and the US.Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) Deputy Commissioner Pol Maj…

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  • Phuket NewsNation V event “a huge success’ | Thaiger

    Nation V event “a huge success’

    KARON: Nearly 2,000 people, mostly from Thailand, Singapore, Japan and the US, joined the first day and night of Asia’s largest gay and lesbian party, the three-day Nation V, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel yesterday.The event features nine parties, each with a different theme, with 18 DJs from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the USA, Malaysia and Australia manning the turntables.Events…

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  • Phuket NewsClinton praises Tilly the heroine | Thaiger

    Clinton praises Tilly the heroine

    NEW YORK: The 10-year-old British schoolgirl whose prompt action saved an estimated 100 lives on Phuket last December 26 has been praised by former US President Bill Clinton.Tilly Smith was welcomed at UN headquarters in New York on November 3 by staff of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, a Geneva-based UN agency that is trying to educate people worldwide…

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  • Cannabis NewsGambling tops arrest statistics again | Thaiger

    Gambling tops arrest statistics again

    PHUKET: September statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling again topped the list, with 137 people arrested for the offense. Twenty-two cases involved the sale of underground lottery numbers.Four murders were reported during the month with two cases solved, resulting in the arrests of two people. One case of attempted murder was also solved, leading to the arrests…

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  • Phuket News19 die on Phuket roads in September | Thaiger

    19 die on Phuket roads in September

    PHUKET: Official figures from Ruampaet and Phuket International private hospitals and Wachira Phuket, Thalang and Patong government hospitals show that 19 people died on Phuket’s roads in September – seven more than in August.Eighteen people died in motorcycle crashes and one was killed in a car crash, whereas in August, 11 died in motorcycle collisions and one in a car…

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  • Phuket NewsTsunami ceremonies program unveiled | Thaiger

    Tsunami ceremonies program unveiled

    PHUKET: Beach locations in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi have been chosen for the holding of official tsunami anniversary commemoration ceremonies on the morning of December 26. Thailand is offering free flights and accommodation for two nights to relatives of those who died or went missing in the tsunami, and to those who were injured in the tsunami, so that…

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  • Phuket NewsSoi Dog Foundation “now official’ | Thaiger

    Soi Dog Foundation “now official’

    PHUKET: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) announced on October 31 that it has been granted official foundation status in Thailand. Margot Homburg Park, President of the SDF, said that it was a huge breakthrough for the charity, and that the move would allow it to expand its operations in Phuket. She added that she looked forward to working closely with…

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  • Phuket NewsGov takes tough line on airport taxis | Thaiger

    Gov takes tough line on airport taxis

    PHUKET: Within two weeks meter taxis will have a desk inside the arrivals hall of Phuket International Airport, and three cabs at a time will be allowed to park right outside arrivals – the sacred territory of the island’s airport limousines.The decision was made by Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura after a meeting yesterday to discuss the simmering dispute between meter taxis…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Carnival kicks off in Patong

    PHUKET: The celebration to launch Phuket’s tourism high season starts today and runs through November 3, from 9 am to midnight daily. Previously known as the Patong Carnival, it has been revamped and dubbed Phuket Carnival 2005.The annual parade, from near Phuket Simon Cabaret, along Prachanukhro Rd to Thaweewong Rd and then north to Soi Bangla, takes place from 4…

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  • Phuket NewsTravel deal “should boost Chinese tourist numbers’ | Thaiger

    Travel deal “should boost Chinese tourist numbers’

    PHUKET: Nineteen Chinese tour operators yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to sell 25 standardized travel packages to Chinese tourists. The MOU, signed at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, will be effective for six months starting today.Prapan Yukumyat, President of the Phuket Office of the Thai-China Tourism Association, told the Gazette that since the year 2000 the number of…

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  • Phuket NewsAustrian in bizarre suicide | Thaiger

    Austrian in bizarre suicide

    PATONG: An Austrian tourist died of knife wounds to the chest at around midnight on Saturday. Police say that he purposely inflicted the wounds on himself.The dead man was named as Wolfgang Rodlauer, 36, a ski instructor. Pol Lt Col Prathung Pholmana of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that Mr Rodlauer was seen walking about the streets of Patong…

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  • Thailand NewsRough justice for knicker nicker | Thaiger

    Rough justice for knicker nicker

    SAMUT PRAKAN: Stealing women’s underwear might be considered nothing but a prank in some countries, but it is a serious crime in Samut Prakan’s Muang District, where residents of Tambon Bangpoomai took the law into their own hands and nearly beat to death a man after he was caught pilfering panties. Yoybangpoo District Police reported the man’s arrest, which occurred…

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  • Thailand NewsCroc makes good pillow and a snappy companion | Thaiger

    Croc makes good pillow and a snappy companion

    PHICHIT: Some people like to argue about which breed of dog makes the best four-legged home security system, but a coffee vendor in this province has found that his 70-kilogram pet crocodile is just as effective at keeping burglars at bay as any Rottweiler, Pit Bull or Doberman. Prayoon “Khiat” Thong jorn, 43, bought the crocodile for 3,000 baht as…

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  • Thailand NewsThe Poodle Poo incident on Soi Green Soda | Thaiger

    The Poodle Poo incident on Soi Green Soda

    KARON: The owner of two Karon beer bars has filed a complaint with the Chalong Police against a neighbor who, she says, threw dog excreta at her. Yindee Sutipakdi, 39, filed the complaint against 22-year-old Piyathida Muangbang, after the latter drove up to her home on a motorcycle and hurled a bag containing poodle poo at her. The two women…

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  • Thailand NewsNot so sty-lish behavior | Thaiger

    Not so sty-lish behavior

    KHON KAEN: A man accused by villagers of having sex with a neighbor’s pig has agreed to pay the owner 500 baht in compensation. Sa-ngad Hapanna, 39, a resident of Baan Tonnoi in Muang district, filed a complaint with the village headman after neighbors alerted her the night before that they saw the man having sex with one of her…

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  • Thailand NewsMonkey man says he’s there to stay | Thaiger

    Monkey man says he’s there to stay

    KAMALA: A man living alone in a tree high up in the Kamala Hills has drawn so much interest that the local tambon president has had to order improvements to the path leading to his jungle hideaway, lest his many curious visitors continue injuring themselves in their efforts to reach him. News of the modern-day Tarzan hit the headlines on…

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