Month: April 2011

  • Phuket NewsPhuket tourist forced to pay 180,000 baht in jet-ski repairs

    Phuket tourist forced to pay 180,000 baht in jet-ski repairs

    PHUKET: A group of foreign tourists enjoying the Songkran festival in Phuket found out the hard way that the much maligned jet-ski insurance scheme doesn’t cover all repair costs if a jet-ski is badly damaged. After negotiations with police and the jet-ski owner, British national Nicola Ross Morton agreed to pay an astounding 180,000 baht for damages to a jet-ski…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket tourism industry rakes in B800mn over Songkran

    Phuket tourism industry rakes in B800mn over Songkran

    PHUKET: The Phuket tourism industry enjoyed a solid performance during the recent Songkran holidays, with hotel occupancy rates averaging about 70% across the island, officials say. Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) regional office in Phuket Town, said an estimated 800 million baht (US$ 26 million) in generated revenue over the week met TAT projections. Some…

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  • Phuket NewsDon’t forgot the Phuket Punchline – it’s tomorrow!

    Don’t forgot the Phuket Punchline – it’s tomorrow!

    PHUKET: It’s that time of the month again – no, not that – when Phuket expats head for Patong for an unadulterated dose of one-liners from a trio of comedians. Yes, the Phuket Punchline Comedy is here – well – Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn Patong to be more specific. For more specific specifics, read on. Three very different…

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  • Phuket NewsThailand vows to get tough on frauds against foreign tourists | Thaiger

    Thailand vows to get tough on frauds against foreign tourists

    PHUKET: Thailand’s deputy prime minister in charge of national security has vowed to prevent foreign tourists from being cheated during their visits to the country, including, specifically, Phuket. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said after attending meetings with the Tourist Fraud Prevention Committee that the problem needs to be eliminated. He said that there are many forms of cheating, starting…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket navy base assists Krabi flood victims

    Phuket navy base assists Krabi flood victims

    PHUKET: Officers from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command in Phuket distributed relief packages to people suffering from floods and landslides in parts of Krabi earlier this month. Group Capitan Parinyatham Pulpitaktham, head of the Disaster Mitigation Center’s civilian affairs and public relations department, led the effort to badly hit locales from April 12 to 17. Areas receiving assistance…

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  • Chiang Mai NewsFC Phuket trounce Chiang Mai, 4-0

    FC Phuket trounce Chiang Mai, 4-0

    PHUKET: FC Phuket rebounded from two tough road losses to demolish Chiang Mai FC by a score of 4-0 at Surakul Stadium yesterday. Crowd favorite Sarach Yooyen, just returning to play after suspension, got the scoring underway at seven minutes, finishing a good delivery from Rapeepan Poonsawat. Just before the end of the first half, Nirun Phunthong set up Nene…

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  • Phuket News7 dead, 52 injured in Songkran road accidents in Phuket

    7 dead, 52 injured in Songkran road accidents in Phuket

    PHUKET: Seven people died and 52 were seriously injured in a total of 43 reported road accidents in Phuket during the ‘Seven Days Of Danger’ road safety campaign. Six of the dead, a group of Burmese and their Thai driver, perished on Sunday when the overloaded pickup they were in lost control on a curve on the steep access road…

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  • Phuket NewsBrake failure, overloading cause Phuket hill crash: DDPM

    Brake failure, overloading cause Phuket hill crash: DDPM

    PHUKET: An official report issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office in Phuket (DDPM-Phuket) stated that the cause of yesterday’s crash that killed six people in the Chalong hills was brake failure and overloading. A total of 14 people were injured, seven severely. The names of the dead were listed as the driver, 41-year-old Thongdaeng Piwjun, and…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Big Buddha crash update: 5 dead, 15 injured

    Phuket Big Buddha crash update: 5 dead, 15 injured

    PHUKET: Rescue workers at Phuket Ruamjai Kupai Foundation have confirmed that at least five people died in the head-on collision on Phuket’s Big Buddha hill this morning. Among the dead was a baby girl estimated at only two to three years old. The other deceased were two men and two women. Fifteen others have been taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital,…

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  • Phuket NewsHead-on smash on Phuket’s Big Buddha hill leaves at least three dead

    Head-on smash on Phuket’s Big Buddha hill leaves at least three dead

    PHUKET: Eyewitnesses to a head-on smash between a pickup carrying about 20 people and a safari bus carrying tourists up Big Buddha hill say the accident has left at least three people dead, including one baby. Australian tourist Alessia Nuccitelli, 19, told the Phuket Gazette that she saw a pickup carrying about 20 Burmese people speeding downhill from the Big…

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  • Chiang Mai NewsFC Phuket play Chiang Mai tomorrow

    FC Phuket play Chiang Mai tomorrow

    PHUKET: Former league leaders FC Phuket will take on Chiang Mai at Surakul Stadium tomorrow night, hoping to find the winning touch again after two tough road losses that have seen them slide from first to sixth in the 18-team Thai League Division 1. They are coming off consecutive losses at Bangkok United and PTT Rayong. FC Phuket went into…

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  • Phuket NewsSongkran 2011: Phuket records first road death

    Songkran 2011: Phuket records first road death

    PHUKET: Phuket’s dream of keeping the road accident death toll to zero throughout the Songkran holiday’s ‘Seven Days of Danger’ safety campaign came to an abrupt end in Thalang this morning when a van hit a motorbike with a sidecar, killing one man and injuring another. The accident occurred at about 5:30am on the Muangmai-Airport Road, near Thalang Technical College.…

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  • Phuket NewsAnother Phuket Suicide: Man found hanged from tree in Chalong

    Another Phuket Suicide: Man found hanged from tree in Chalong

    PHUKET: Family are accepting as suicide the death of a man found hanged in a dense patch of jungle off Soi Nakok in Chalong, south of Phuket Town, this morning. Duty officer Chianchai Duangsuwan of Chalong Police arrived at the scene at 10:30am to find the body of 47-year-old Samer Wongmuang hanging from a tree. Tied around his neck was…

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  • Phuket NewsWelfare ‘gift’ from Bangkok to include Phuket taxi drivers

    Welfare ‘gift’ from Bangkok to include Phuket taxi drivers

    PHUKET: Phuket taxi drivers, not universally popular with the island’s residents and legions of foreign tourists, will soon be among the beneficiaries of billions of baht in central government welfare funds. It was announced earlier this month that the government is expanding its ‘Pracha Wiwat’ welfare program from Bangkok to ten provinces, including Phuket. The program focuses on providing support…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket rides high as Songkran road deaths remain at zero

    Phuket rides high as Songkran road deaths remain at zero

    PHUKET: With just over two days to go in the Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road-safety campaign, Phuket still has yet to record a single death.“It’s better than last year. There have been fewer accidents,” said Lt Col Narong Kittipongwiwat, chief of the Phuket City Traffic Police. Most accidents involved motorcycles, he said. “The roads have been wet and slippery…

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  • Phuket NewsSoldier faces court martial over Phuket pub shooting | Thaiger

    Soldier faces court martial over Phuket pub shooting

    PHUKET: The man who opened fire in a Phuket pub early this morning, killing one person and injuring four others, is a soldier and will be handed over to the Military Police to face a court martial in Narathiwat tomorrow morning. The news was confirmed by Deputy Commissioner of Region 8 Police Pisan Chuldilok, who arrived in Phuket this afternoon…

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  • Thai LifePhuket Lifestyle: Thai firm aims to be e-book center for Southeast Asia

    Phuket Lifestyle: Thai firm aims to be e-book center for Southeast Asia

    PHUKET: Dedicated readers of English-language books in Phuket and throughout Southeast Asia can now enjoy carrying a well-stocked bookstore with them wherever they go. Asia Books, the 42-year-old bookstore chain and distributor of English-language books in Thailand, has launched an e-bookstore service for its 150,000 existing members and newcomers. The company, which handles distribution for the Phuket Gazette in Bangkok…

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  • Phuket NewsOne dead, four injured in Phuket pub shooting

    One dead, four injured in Phuket pub shooting

    PHUKET: One man is dead and four others, including a woman, are injured after a pub brawl ended in a shooting frenzy in Phuket early this morning. Lt Col Somkid Khaosang of Cherng Talay police station said police received a call at 1am saying people had been shot at the Return Pub, across the road from Cherng Talay Witthayakom School.…

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  • Phuket NewsAsean meet rescheduled for Phuket

    Asean meet rescheduled for Phuket

    PHUKET: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit with dialogue partner countries, delayed following anti-government protests in April last year, has been tentatively rescheduled to take place in Phuket in June this year, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has announced. PM Abhisit said Thailand would first consult with the countries involved to confirm whether their leaders would be free to…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket tourist catches a thief

    Phuket tourist catches a thief

    PHUKET: German tourist Damian Skrzypietz didn’t start Songkran this morning dousing fellow revellers in water fights. He started his Thai New Year chasing a burglar who had just robbed his rented house in Cherng Talay, tearing down the street after him barefoot and dressed only in his boxer shorts. “I was sleeping in the bedroom when my girlfriend woke me…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket celebrates Songkran with “Icy Road’ and Pod of Modern Dog | Thaiger

    Phuket celebrates Songkran with “Icy Road’ and Pod of Modern Dog

    PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is celebrating Songkran (Thai New Year) with a host of activities and stage performances in front of the TAT office at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town. The celebrations, from today through Friday, are part of an island-wide program of events expected to draw an estimated 60,000 tourists to…

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  • Thai LifePhuket’s Home for Life: Now assisting more than 200 women, children with HIV/Aids

    Phuket’s Home for Life: Now assisting more than 200 women, children with HIV/Aids

    PHUKET: There aren’t many places to turn to in Thailand for the many thousands of destitute, HIV-positive women who have been cast out of their home communities due to ignorance, but the Life Home Project (LHP) on Phuket’s Sireh Island accepts such women from all over the nation, warmly welcoming them into their family. Last month, the LHP took in…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Songkran road fatalities still on zero

    Phuket Songkran road fatalities still on zero

    PHUKET: After two days of the Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign, not a single person has died in a road accident in Phuket, but that hasn’t stopped drunk drivers from spilling onto the roads and into the hospitals. According to the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), which is compiling road-toll statistics…

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  • Phuket NewsNo late closing times for Phuket bars during Songkran

    No late closing times for Phuket bars during Songkran

    PHUKET: All bars in Phuket must close at their regular closing times tonight and throughout the Songkran holidays, Governor Tri Augkaradacha has announced. “We have no policy to allow bars and entertainment venues to extend trading hours during this Songkran,” Governor Tri told the Gazette. “It is not like holidays during the high season, when we allow them to stay…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket father of three claims malpractice left wife in coma

    Phuket father of three claims malpractice left wife in coma

    PHUKET: A distraught husband has complained to the local media that his wife is now in a coma following complications after a Cesarean-section childbirth operation at a well-known private hospital on the island. Arthit Boonnark, 47, told reporters gathered at Bangkok Hospital Phuket yesterday that his wife, 38-year-old Pariporn Jantarothai, fell into a coma not long after giving birth to…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket kicks off Songkran with Patong parade

    Phuket kicks off Songkran with Patong parade

    PHUKET: Tourists from all parts of Phuket will be “heading over the hill” this evening to enjoy a special Songkran Parade to mark the arrival of the Thai New Year tomorrow. Featuring entrants representing 28 different groups and organizations, the Patong parade will set off from Phang Muang Sai Kor Road, behind Jungceylon, at 5pm. The parade will head south…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket raises B12.6mn for Japan, flooded South | Thaiger

    Phuket raises B12.6mn for Japan, flooded South

    PHUKET: The Phuket provincial fund-raising effort for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the flooding in the South totaled nearly 13 million baht. The handover ceremony, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on Sunday night, was chaired jointly by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr, Secretary-General to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Among the many…

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  • Phuket NewsSongkran takes to the sky over Phuket

    Songkran takes to the sky over Phuket

    PHUKET: PHUKET is in for a spectacular treat this afternoon and tomorrow (April 13) when the island’s first “Sky High” show occurs over Patong Beach – weather permitting. The highlight of the show will see world renowned stunt pilot Les Vorosmarthy performing breathtaking aerobatcs in his 350 horsepower, Extra 300L stunt plane. Les will be performing spins, stalls, slips, slides,…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Live Wire: Watching the CAT suck through the same straw

    Phuket Live Wire: Watching the CAT suck through the same straw

    PHUKET: Live wire reader “RT” recently compiled a one-day profile of international Internet download speeds in Kamala, on Phuket’s west coast, from CAT’s wireless network. The raw data is posted on PhuketInternetSpeed.com. I’ve heard of problems with CAT’s CDMA/EV-DO network in Kamala for years. People who try to connect from different parts of Kamala get very different speeds, depending on…

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  • Phuket NewsBrit arrested in Phuket coke bust | Thaiger

    Brit arrested in Phuket coke bust

    PHUKET: A 43-year-old British man was arrested for possession of cocaine at his Phuket home earlier today. The man was caught at 4:45am with 33 packages of cocaine weighing 0.9 gram each at a house on Nanai Road in Patong. The arrest followed a police complaint by a Thai woman claiming to be his wife. She told Patong Police he…

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  • Phuket NewsWarehouse gutted in Phuket Town blaze

    Warehouse gutted in Phuket Town blaze

    PHUKET: A warehouse blaze took Phuket firefighters about 30 minutes to extinguish early this morning. Phuket City Police at 2:30am received a report of a fire on Wirat Hongyok Road, a few doors down from the Lotus Express shop. By the time Phuket City and Wichit Municipality firefighters arrived, there was little they could do to save the warehouse, which…

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  • Phuket NewsFC Phuket vs PTT Rayong live on TV tonight | Thaiger

    FC Phuket vs PTT Rayong live on TV tonight

    PHUKET: FC Phuket coach Surachai Jirasirichote has expressed confidence that his team can pick up its first road win of the season at PTT Rayong tonight in a football match that will reportedly be televised live on the Internet. Coach Surachai said he thought his players stood a good chance of winning at Rayong because Phuket is well aware of…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Bike Week rolls on

    Phuket Bike Week rolls on

    PHUKET: The official festivities for Phuket Bike Week 2011 draw to a close in Patong tonight after another full day of big bike fun and games, live music and road trips around the island. At 4pm today, a convoy of riders will leave Loma Park on Patong Beach, the main rallying point and concert venue for Phuket Bike Week this…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Public Transport: Cartels continue in the driver’s seat

    Phuket Public Transport: Cartels continue in the driver’s seat

    PHUKET: The latest fiasco at Phuket’s Deep Sea Port once again underscores the need for an immediate overhaul of the island’s public transport system, but the results of the talks that ended this latest blockade confirm that reform will not be coming soon. (See front-page story, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full…

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  • Phuket NewsCambodia outlaws ‘sham’ marriages – is Phuket next?

    Cambodia outlaws ‘sham’ marriages – is Phuket next?

    PHUKET: If you are a non-Khmer male and over the age of 50, or make less than US$2,500 a month – and you’re seeking a bride – roughly five million women of marrying age have now been put off-limits for you. If you’re a Khmer woman, you have, as of this month, effectively been denied the right to freely choose…

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  • Phuket NewsSick dolphin dies in Phuket

    Sick dolphin dies in Phuket

    PHUKET: Despite the best efforts of veterinarians, the bottle-nose dolphin rescued off Phuket on Saturday died earlier today. Patcharaporn Kaewmong of the Marine Endangered Species Unit at the Phuket Marine Biological Center confirmed that the two-meter-long cetacean took its last breath at around 3am, following five days of intensive treatment at the facility. An initial examination of the body was…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Poll: Is everybody happy?

    Phuket Poll: Is everybody happy?

    PHUKET: The results of a recent Abac Poll indicated that people living in Phuket report themselves as the “least happy” among residents of all 77 Thai provinces. Rather than delve into the accuracy of the polling methods or dwell on what they mean, the Phuket Gazette in our latest poll asks our readers directly: On a scale of 1 –…

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