Month: January 2011

  • Phuket News

    Phuket revelers gatecrash curry shop

    PHUKET: The owners of a mom-and-pop store in Phuket got a rude awakening early this morning when a car crashed through the front of their home. Thalang Police received a report at 2:45am that a car had crashed into the shopfront of a home on the northbound side of Thepkrasattri Road, opposite the electrical substation in Baan Lipon, Thalang. Led…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket “lucky license plates’ to go under the hammer

    PHUKET: The island’s high-rollers will descend upon The Metropole hotel in Phuket Town on February 26 and 27 for the sixth annual “Lucky” License Plate Auction. Organized by the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO), the event will see 301 license plates go to the highest bidders. The auction will be held from 8:30am to 4:30pm in the Prapitak Grand Ballroom.…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Punchline Comedy returns next month

    PHUKET: Following the success of its sell-out shows last year, the Phuket Punchline Comedy Club returns for its first show of 2011 at the Holiday Inn Resort in Patong next month. Three of the sharpest comedic minds on the UK comedy circuit will take to the stage on February 23. Among the comedians lined up is Nick Doody, rated as…

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  • Phuket NewsBREAKING NEWS: Phuket tour van crashes in Phang Nga | Thaiger

    BREAKING NEWS: Phuket tour van crashes in Phang Nga

    PHUKET: Seven people, including at least five Koreans, are receiving hospital treatment after their Phuket tour van slid off the road and into an embankment in Phang Nga earlier today. Lt Col Songwut Khunjun of the Takuatung District Police said the crash occurred on the Petchkasem Highway in Krasom subdistrict. The vehicle was on its way to Surakul Pier when…

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  • Phuket NewsPOLL: Did the “Seven Days of Danger’ safety campaign make Phuket roads safer? | Thaiger

    POLL: Did the “Seven Days of Danger’ safety campaign make Phuket roads safer?

    PHUKET: Four people died on Phuket roads during the recently-completed ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign, half last year’s toll. Do you think the police road checkpoints set up around the island as part of these campaigns actually make Phuket roads safer? Have your say in the latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll by clicking here or on the icon…

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  • Phuket News

    EXCLUSIVE: One-on-one in Phuket with Bob Sinclar

    PHUKET: More than 3,000 music fans flocked to Famous Nightclub in Patong last Tuesday to see French DJ Bob Sinclar – the man behind the worldwide hits Love Generation and World, Hold On. Here’s the Phuket Gazette‘s exclusive interview with the man himself. If one DJ has stood out from the rest over the past decade it would be Bob…

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  • Phuket News

    New development plan for Phuket’s Saphan Hin

    PHUKET: A proposal has been put forward to develop a multi-purpose tourist center at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town. The plan was pitched to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha by Norwegian maritime engineering company LMG Marin at a meeting last week. Saphan Hin is Phuket Town’s largest park and its seafront has long been earmarked as a location for a major…

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  • Phuket News

    Woman beaten unconscious on Phuket beach

    PHUKET: A young woman selling fruit on Surin Beach was beaten unconscious in broad daylight by attackers allegedly representing a local restaurant, the victim’s father said. Sawang Tonglaw, who heads a group of vendors on Surin Beach, and 15 fellow vendors, took their case to Phuket Provincial Hall today, citing a history of intimidation and death threats against them. The…

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  • Phuket News

    Major Phuket blackouts to start Tomorrow

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts to carry out maintenance on high voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles. The dates and locations of the operations, which will carried out from 9am to 4pm, are detailed below: January 11 – Chalong Luang Por Chuang Road, from the TOT office on Chao Fa…

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  • Phuket NewsTAT takes Deep South kids on Phuket megatrip | Thaiger

    TAT takes Deep South kids on Phuket megatrip

    PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand took 60 poor children from Thailand’s troubled Deep South provinces on a National Children’s Day trip of a lifetime to Phuket on Saturday. The lucky youngsters were chosen from schools in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces, where an Islamic separatist insurgency continues to rage with almost daily acts of violence. Included on the itinerary…

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  • Phuket NewsGazette Poll: Phuket has too many hotels | Thaiger

    Gazette Poll: Phuket has too many hotels

    PHUKET: A clear majority of Phuket Gazette Online readers believe the island’s hotel industry is in a state of oversupply, the results of the newspaper’s latest poll reveal. Overall, more than half of those taking part (58.9%) thought there were too many hotels in Phuket, compared to just 17.1% who thought there were not. Almost a quarter of all those…

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  • Opinion

    PHUKET OPINION: Put the alcohol ban on ice

    PHUKET: While possibly well-intended, the recently announced ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Thailand’s 110 national parks is just one more addition to the long and growing list of regulations that are difficult or impossible to enforce – and that probably do more harm than good. The new rule, announced over the recent holiday period, calls not…

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  • Phuket News

    Park booze ban: Phuket tourism players “shaken, not stirred’

    PHUKET: Reactions by key figures in Phuket’s tourism industry are mixed over the recent ban on alcohol inside 110 national parks nationwide. However, many agree that the rule will be very difficult to enforce at marine national parks. Pracha Rachai, Events Manager at Andaman Aqua Trails, said the ban had already caused “a lot” of cancellations by Russian tourists, the…

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  • Phuket News

    National park booze ban “well received’ by Phuket tourists

    PHUKET: The directors of several national parks in the Andaman region have told the Phuket Gazette they have received good compliance with the ban on alcohol inside parks. The ban came into effect late last month. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti issued the ban immediately following the December 26 stabbing murder of a student by a group of…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket PIMEX gets down to business

    PHUKET: The 2011 Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) is off to a flying start, with Jaguar selling one of their all-new cars and Derani Yachts selling a Monterey 298SS Super Sport on the show’s opening day. Other deals inked include Phuket boat broker Lee Marine selling a 57-foot Jeanneau and a 33ft Fountain powerboat changing hands through a private sale.…

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  • Phuket News

    Children’s day on Phuket

    PHUKET: Children’s Day activities kicked off in Phuket today with addresses to the island’s next generation by the Phuket Governor and head of the provincial council. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) president Paiboon Ubatising both addressed a crowd of youths and civil servants at Phuket Provincial Hall, one of the many places staging special events…

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  • Phuket News

    Investors target Phuket as tuna-industry hub

    PHUKET: In a move that would more than double Phuket’s tuna-fishing fleet – already the third largest in Asia – a delegation of Taiwanese investors are looking to set up an operations center in Phuket to take advantage of increased tuna stocks in the Andaman Sea. The delegation of executives from Singapore-based Seaspire International floated the idea yesterday at a…

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  • Phuket News

    New Phuket school library opens

    PHUKET: Baan Tungkha School in Rassada has opened a library on its grounds for students and locals alike. Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen presided over the opening ceremony of the 600,000-baht facility, one of the few of its kind on the island. School director Wilas Parinyaniyom explained, “Our school committee wanted to gather secondhand books and computers and make them available…

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  • Phuket News

    Chinese dive tourist recovering in Phuket hospital

    PHUKET: The young Chinese diver airlifted from the Surin Islands to Phuket yesterday is conscious, speaking and able to eat, doctors said today. Zouxin Jie, 26, was early yesterday afternoon airlifted from the Surin Island National Park by a Thai Navy helicopter to Phuket, where she was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital. Dr Weerawat Yorsaengrat, deputy director of Vachira Phuket…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket braces for Children’s Day

    PHUKET: Phuket will be abuzz with activity tomorrow as kids celebrate Children’s Day across the island. Free activities for children will be available at the following times and locations: Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukhaban will open events at Loma Park at 8:30am. Activities involve games and performances, a bicycle giveaway and a scholarship handover ceremony for about 5,000 lucky recipients.…

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  • Thailand NewsWorn out woman opts for penal retreat | Thaiger

    Worn out woman opts for penal retreat

    KHON KAEN: A woman caught shoplifting from a 7-Eleven told police she committed the crime because she was bored with her life and wanted to go to jail. Wipha Chanachuen, 53, said she was tired of working for a living and wanted to rest in an old people’s home – but jail was the next best option. Khon Kaen City…

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  • Thailand News

    Gruesome offering for pig-headed spirits

    PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: Villagers tried an usual rain-making method last week after two years of drought ruined their coconut harvests. Instead of appealing for the cloud-seeding techniques famous across the land, they instead decided what was needed was an offering of 249 severed pig heads to the spirits of the land. Despite parts of the country experiencing the worst floods…

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  • Phuket News

    Burmese man murdered in Phuket

    PHUKET: Police are investigating the murder of a Burmese man found lying dead in shallow water off Kata Beach in Phuket yesterday. Chalong Police were informed by local residents that a body was discovered in the water at the south end of Kata Beach at about 8am yesterday. Arriving at the scene, they found the body of an Asian man…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket holiday death toll halved

    PHUKET: The death toll in Phuket during the new year ‘Seven Days of Danger’ national road safety campaign, which ended on January 4, remained at four – half of last year’s figure. The number is well under this year’s theoretical “target toll” of 7.6, which the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) bases on a 5% reduction in fatalities…

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  • Phuket News

    “Phuket proud to host PIMEX’: V/Gov

    PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak today officially opened PIMEX 2011 with resounding praise. “Phuket is very proud to host such an international event. It is the only event of its kind in Thailand,” he told the crowd gathered at Royal Phuket Marina. “Phuket is becoming Southeast Asia’s focal point for international-standard tourism and the marine industry. International investment in…

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  • Phuket News

    Chinese tourist airlifted to Phuket

    PHUKET: A Chinese woman is fighting for her life at Vachira Phuket Hospital after a dramatic airlift rescue from Surin Island National Park this afternoon. Lt Cdr Somsak Boonkam of the Naval Air Section, Third Area Command (NASTAC), told the Phuket Gazette that he was among the five rescuers dispatched on the mission. “At about noon we received radio orders…

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  • Phuket News

    Locals fight to preserve Phuket mangroves

    PHUKET: Out of fear of losing their community and way of life to “selfish people” allegedly encroaching on protected mangrove forests, Pa Khlok villagers submitted a formal complaint to the Phuket governor yesterday. About 20 villagers, led by chief Cha-euan Hemhong and community leader “Uncle” Jurun Ratchapol, handed the letter to Gov Tri Augkaradacha requesting immediate investigation into the matter.…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket set for heavy rains

    PHUKET: The Meteorological Department is warning of possible heavy rains and rough seas along the Andaman coast over the next 24 hours, as unusually strong monsoonal conditions prevail in what is normally Phuket’s driest month. In a report issued at 11am today, the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) read that a “rather strong” northeasterly monsoon prevails over the southern Thailand’s…

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  • Phuket NewsWanted: Phuket scam artists impersonating Governor | Thaiger

    Wanted: Phuket scam artists impersonating Governor

    PHUKET: Police are hunting for a group of scam artists wanted for impersonating the Phuket governor to solicit donations for an imaginary provincial development campaign. In a meeting yesterday afternoon, Gov Tri Augkaradacha warned people not to fall victim to the scam. The scammers have been calling both government offices and private businesses asking for donations, typically from 30,000 to…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket landmark Mom Tri’s Boathouse sold

    PHUKET: The owners of the Trisara resort have announced an agreement to buy Mom Tri’s Boathouse, the long-established resort and restaurant complex on the beach in Kata. The Boathouse issued a statement yesterday that Narong Pattamasaevi, Executive Chairman of the Three Dolphins group that owns and operates Trisara, has signed contracts to acquire 100% of shares in The Boathouse Inn…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket foreign property sales to grow 25% this year

    PHUKET: Real estate sales to foreigners in Phuket are expected to grow 25 per cent this year to 5 billion baht, according to property development firm Seacon. Nevertheless, sales are likely to remain at least 50 per cent lower than during the boom years of 2006 and 2007, when foreign sales came in at 10 to 12bn baht each year.…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s PIMEX on track for another record year

    PHUKET: The Phuket International Boat Show, PIMEX 2011, is set for yet another record-breaking year, organizers say. The annual international event gets underway tomorrow at Royal Phuket Marina and runs through Sunday, January 9. “PIMEX 2011 is really shaping up to set a new benchmark this year,” said Andy Dowden, Show Director of Informa Yacht Group. “The event has attracted…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket police warn over “royal souvenirs’

    PHUKET: Phuket police are warning residents to beware of men approaching their homes calling for donations, for which, in return, donors receive souvenir plaques bearing images of His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Queen Mother. The warning comes after a group of about 10 men in a Nissan Navara arrived in a neighborhood near the Tha Reua Shrine late yesterday…

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  • Phuket News

    All change at FC Phuket

    PHUKET: The dust may have barely settled on FC Phuket’s dramatic promotion to Thai League Division 1 last month, but it appears the honeymoon may well be over. It will be all change at Sarakul Stadium when the new season kicks off on February 12 as it has been confirmed that last season’s manager Arjan Songsamssub will not take charge…

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  • Phuket News

    Tourists get more Phuket beachfront parking

    PHUKET: The new parking zones along Thaweewong Road (the beach road) in Patong have finally been unveiled, allowing more room for tourists to park along the beachfront. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on Thursday officially opened the new zones, heralded as the first in a series of steps to solve the tourist town’s traffic and parking woes. The changes make about…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket holiday death toll reaches four

    PHUKET: A young man killed in a hit-and-run accident is the fourth road fatality recorded in Phuket during the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign, now in its final day throughout Thailand. The victim, 21-year-old Chalong resident Anek Karnchonchai, died after his motorbike crashed near Baan Kata School on Patak Road in Karon at about 6am today. According to…

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  • Phuket News

    Skills shortage hampers Phuket MICE market

    PHUKET: Human resources shortages may be stunting the growth of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry in Phuket and elsewhere in Thailand. Universities and other educational institutions are being engaged to tackle the problem. Akapol Sorasuchart, president of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), says that MICE is a rapidly growing sector in the Thai tourism industry,…

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