Month: October 2011
- Phuket News
Phuket Caveat: Man accused of bestiality says his prostitute turned into a donkey
PHUKET: Expat residents of Phuket are well accustomed to tales bizarre, but this one, reported by local media in Zimbabwe, may trump anything recorded in the Pearl of the Andaman to date.A Zimbabwean court was taken by surprise yesterday when a man accused of bestiality claimed that a prostitute he had hired had transformed herself into a donkey overnight. Sunday…
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Phuket bus crash driver blames brake failure
PHUKET: The driver of the Phuket tour bus full of Russian tourists that ran off the road on a steep curve heading into Patong this afternoon told police that brake failure caused the accident. “The brakes failed. That’s what caused the crash,” said Nakrob Tiewtrakul, 42, from Ratchaburi, who suffered a deep cut on his forehead when the bus plowed…
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Cyclists make the Big Push for Phuket
PHUKET: TEN riders representing the Royal British Legion and the Thai War Veterans Organization are set to cross Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Bridge tomorrow, completing a 855-kilometer bike ride from Bangkok in a bid to raise 500,000 baht for charity. Completing the ride, called the “Spice Roads Royal British Legion Big Push”, are British ex-service folk, the oldest of whom is Tony…
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BREAKING NEWS: Bangkok on full alert for inundation tonight
PHUKET: Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra warned the capital’s city dwellers in all 50 districts to brace for flooding as a significant portion of the backed-up floodwater from the North will hit across the city tonight.The governor made the announcement as he inspected the water level in the Chao Phraya River, which he said is likely to be at 2.40 metres…
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Phuket Breaking News: Bus crash on Patong Hill; many injured
PHUKET: A bus carrying 37 Russian tourists from Phuket International Airport has crashed on Patong Hill, injuring many passengers in the second such incident in four days in Phuket. A Russian passenger told the Phuket Gazette that the bus – emblazoned with the company name “J-Siam Holiday Phuket Co” – was carrying 37 Russians, and four Thais: two tour guides,…
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Phuket Lifestyle – 3 legs, 2 heads,1 aim
PHUKET: Gazette columnist Russell Distance Russell (the Dog Whisperer) and his close friend DJ Jay “Le Shark” Walker are set to become even closer this December as they intend to spend 24 hours strapped together while walking 100.31 kilometers. The three legged charity walk aims to raise funds for the Phuket Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and achieve worldwide fame and…
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Phuket Lifestyle – SSI brings dive training online
PHUKET: Scuba Schools International (SSI) is the second largest school-based diving certification agency in the world, and it’s growing at a rapid rate. It’s one of only two diving agencies that holds a global ISO rating, it has been training divers for over 40 years, and it’s the only diving agency that offers free online training. Operating in over 130…
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Phuket Lifestyle – Book reviews
PHUKET: In 2001, Alexandra Fuller wrote the best memoir of the decade: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight. This was a funny, tender, brutal, harrowing, lyrical account of her childhood growing up on a farm in Rhodesia on the border of Mozambique in the middle of a war between white farmers and black insurgents. She followed this with a…
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Phuket Gardening -a sticky note for gardeners
PHUKET: Despite its unfortunate name, pisonia is a most unusual and spectacular plant. It’s unusual because it’s grown as a garden shrub or small tree entirely for its distinctive foliage, which is sometimes a brilliant light green, but often a luminous golden yellow. It’s spectacular because no other shrub has leaves of quite the same hue. An unlikely member of…
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Floods force Nok Air to cancel Bangkok-Phuket flights
PHUKET: Flood waters have inundated the runway at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, forcing Nok Air to cancel all flights between Phuket and the Thai capital until at least October 31. The immediate cancellation is only temporary, said Prathuang Sornkham, who returned to his position of director at Phuket International Airport about a week ago. “However, if the water does…
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Phuket Town thieves stealing water meters – again
PHUKET: Officers at Phuket City Municipality are urging residents to beware water meter thieves running amok in the town. They are also calling for all scrap metal merchants to be on the lookout for any scrap being sold that suspiciously looks like the ramps used to allow vehicles to ascend curbs and be parked in inner-city garages. The warnings come…
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Phuket prisoners selected for ‘reintegration training’
PHUKET: More than 200 inmates at Phuket Prison today began their first day of rehabilitation training to prepare them for release into society. The two-week course, launched to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 84th birthday on December 5, aims to help the inmates become “good, moral people” and productive members of society, said Phuket Prison chief Rapin Nichanon at the…
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Phuket History – The legend of Wat Pranang Sang
PHUKET: Wat Pranang Sang is the oldest surviving temple on Phuket Island. It has a long and fascinating history, serving as an important center of Buddhism for the townspeople of Thalang for centuries. When the Burmese invaded the island in 1785, the temple served as a rallying point for Siamese soldiers who gathered to defend the town. The history of…
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Ex-cop caught smuggling 4.5kg of marijuana into Phuket
PHUKET: Police at Tah Chat Chai checkpoint – the northern tip of the island – yesterday arrested a retired policeman trying to smuggle 4.5 kilograms of marijuana into Phuket.Also arrested was a man who says he was just getting a ride from Ranong to Phuket with the former officer.Police stopped Natthawut Nuengklang, 61, at 2pm to conduct a standard inspection…
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Thai property: Food for thought for Phuket expats
Phuket NEWS Hound – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket readers PHUKET: An item on the BBC website last week caught the attention of Phuket News Hound. Grand in its simplicity and purpose, and unassailable as a means to improve a troubled nation’s economy, a proposal by two United States senators to woo foreign property buyers – yes,…
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Phuket dispatches more flood relief for Bangkok
PHUKET: As Bangkok braces for more floods, which some experts say may last up to a month, Phuket officials yesterday dispatched a second convoy loaded with flood-relief items to help those affected by the disaster. A total of 18 trucks left the Phuket Red Cross center at Saphan Hin. They are expected to arrive in Bangkok tomorrow morning. There to…
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Korean tourist in Phuket ICU after tour van slams into tree
PHUKET: One Korean tourist remains in intensive care and another in general recovery in hospital after the tour van they were traveling in left the road and slammed into a tree in northern Phuket on Saturday. The tourists were returning to Phuket after a day trip to Phang Nga. Lt Col Prakob Boonkwan of the Tah Chat Chai Police reported…
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Phuket set to benefit from national boom in cable and satellite TV
PHUKET: Improved technology and higher quality shows could mean a wider variety of content and lower subscription prices for Phuket’s television viewers. Nationally, cable and satellite television appears to be on a roll, with market penetration expected to reach 80% of the households in the Kingdom this year, up from an earlier projection of 50%. Industry leaders define the market…
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Phuket residents reclaim robbers’ loot
PHUKET: Residents in Phuket’s Thung Thong subdistrict have been trickling into the local police station over the past few days in the hope of reclaiming household goods stolen from their home. Officers at Thung Thong police on Thursday revealed more than 30 items seized as evidence in the arrests of three men charged with conducting a recent spate of break-ins…
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Patong residents win with landslide victory
PHUKET: Residents living in the Kok Makham community in Patong, on Phuket’s west coast, were blessed when the developer of a nearby construction project on Wednesday agreed to pay for damages to their homes and to clean up their streets. Chaianan Ananthanawat, 62, registered with Patong Municipality as the “project owner” of the site, also vowed to have retaining walls…
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Solar boat’s Phuket arrival captures the fancy of local lensman
PHUKET: Having seen the Phuket Gazette‘s report yesterday about the imminent visit of the solar-powered Turanor to Phuket, local expat resident Mark Branson was inspired to watch the vessel’s arrival this morning. With the boat’s arrival at Phuket’s Ao Por marina estimated at 0730, Mr Branson left home at 6am to see the creation that had caught his imagination. He…
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Phuket election canvasser dies in high-speed collision
PHUKET: A man helping to post campaign posters for the upcoming local election in Mai Khao died in a high-speed motorcycle accident yesterday afternoon.Tah Chat Chai Police Lt Col Prakob Boonkwan received a report at 2pm saying that a motorcycle had slammed into a 10-wheeled truck on the road that runs alongside the runway at Phuket International Airport.“Witnesses reported the…
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Phuket Opinion: Patong Police volunteers need careful scrutiny to protect tourists
PHUKET: The safety of tourists visiting Phuket is always a key concern among local officials, and nowhere on the island is the issue more important than in Patong, which has the island’s highest density of visitors and hotels. Several agencies play roles in tourist safety there, but none assume greater responsibility than the Patong Police, who currently have 180 officers…
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Joker in the pack for French rugby
PHUKET: “They have their reasons for being confident. Now maybe it is our turn to play our cards.”Vincent Clerc, France’s rugby winger implies that his team can upset host nation New Zealand in today’s Rugby World Cup (RWC) final to be played at 3pm Phuket time.True, France in the past have thrown a spanner in the works, notably in 1999…
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Phuket medical staff assist Ayutthaya flood victims
PHUKET: Emergency medical staff from Phuket have joined the flood-relief efforts in the devastated province of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Led by Dr Weerasak Lorthongkham, the first Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) from the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) reached the disaster zone on October 5 for a 10-day assignment, said PPHO deputy director Dr Wiwat Seetamanotch. They arrived as…
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World’s largest solar-powered boat to arrive in Phuket
PHUKET: The Turanor, the first solar-powered boat to attempt a circumnavigation of the globe, is scheduled to moor at Phuket’s Ao Po Marina, on Phuket’s east coast, at about 7:30am tomorrow. The stunning piece of technology and craftmanship, will remain in Phuket until Wednesday and will be visited by a delegation from the Swiss embassy in Thailand on Tuesday. The…
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Road reopens after Phuket bus crash
PHUKET: Police have reopened one traffic lane on a section of Patak Road where a Phuket tour bus overturned on the Chalong-Kata Hill earlier this morning, killing at least one person. “They are allowing traffic to pass in one direction at a time to ease the tailbacks on the hill,” said one bystander. “Emergency workers are trying to recover the…
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Phuket Breaking News: Bus overturns on Chalong-Kata hill
PHUKET: A tour bus overturned on a steep section of Patak Road in Chalong this morning, resulting in multiple injuries and at least one fatality. A female Chinese tourist in her 60s has died in the accident, Chalong Police confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. A nurse at the scene said that at least 26 people were injured. The bus overturned…
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Massive earthquake strikes the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning
Phuket NEWS Hound– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket readers PHUKET: A major earthquake struck off the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Ocean early this morning, seismologists report, but no tsunami warning was issued. The 7.6-magnitude quake at 5.57am local time (about 1am Phuket time) was centered about 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Raoul Island, which…
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Matthieu Ricard in Phuket for Buddhist talk tomorrow
PHUKET: The Thanyapura Mind Centre (TMC) is welcoming back world-renowned academic-turned-Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard for an exclusive visit and discussion tomorrow. Venerable Matthieu Ricard will deliver a talk entitled “Towards an education based on co-operation and the cultivation of fundamental human values”. The French-born academic left his distinguished scientific career in 1972 to concentrate on Buddhist contemplative practice. He has…
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Phuket tourist stabbed at Phi Phi beach party
PHUKET: A British backpacker is recovering in Bangkok Hospital Phuket tonight after being stabbed at a beach party on Phi Phi Island. Nicholas Palmer, 22, was rushed to Phuket by speedboat at about 1am today after he was stabbed twice in the middle of a crowded party at Ton Sai Bay. Mr Palmer, from Worcestershire in England, underwent an operation…
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Officials fear Phuket kids “eating themselves dumb’
PHUKET: Poor diet is hampering Phuket children’s mental development, a seminar attended by Phuket school directors and health officials was told this week. “According to research by the Department of Mental Health, poor diet is already causing problems, with many children suffering stunted growth or being under- or overweight,” said Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Chaiwat Taephee. “And it…
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Phuket policeman spared Senate corruption probe – for now
PHUKET: Cleared of allegations of corruption by an internal police investigation just last week, Chalong Police Duty Officer Boonlert Onklang today received another reprieve – the inquiry he also faces by the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism has been postponed until next month. The internal investigation, conducted by the Royal Thai Police Committee on Justice and Police Affairs, ruled that…
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Phuket Rotary joins flood relief efforts
PHUKET: The Rotary Club of Patong Beach staged a collection walk along Phuket’s renowned Soi Bangla on Tuesday night, raising money to help provide aid to victims of the floods in and around Bangkok. “We raised 30,000 baht during the collection drive on Bangla Road. We had four different teams of people out collecting donations,” said former Club President Mark…
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Weird World News: Grrrrrrrrrreat escape in Ohio, monster mistake for giant slipper man and tears for loveable crocodile Pocho
PHUKET: Animals leaped into the world’s news headlines this week with scary, silly and sad stories to report. The great Ohio escape: Monkey still AWOL, feared eaten by lion A FUGITIVE monkey who has been on the run from Ohio police since Tuesday night is presumed dead, eaten by one his “big cat” accomplices. One of the 18 tigers or…
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Phuket cricket round-up
PHUKET: Cricket may not be a sport familiar to many Thais, or expats for that matter, but local school children in Phuket have taken to this skilful pursuit thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers from the Phuket Cricket Group. The youth development officer for the Phuket Cricket Group, Bill Stahmer, and his coaching unit visit local schools around Phuket…
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Kiteboarding lifts off at Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: Organizer’s of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta have announced that the 2011 event will include an invitation-only exhibition of kiteboarding hosted by Kiteboard Tour Asia (KTA). The introduction of such an exciting sport to this year’s event is part of the Regatta’s 25th anniversary celebrations and in recognition of kiteboarding’s development and popularity as a sailing discipline. Kevin Whitcraft,…
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