Month: April 2013
- Phuket News
Phuket chef charged with setting alight motorbikes
PHUKET: A chef at a seafood restaurant in Karon has confessed to setting alight three motorbikes after he was shown CCTV footage of himself throwing a live cigarette butt at one of the vehicles.Karon Police arrested Ek Musika, 39, at 5:30pm yesterday after officers tracked him down through the CCTV footage of the incident and by questioning local residents.The incident…
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Portrait of a modern day backpacker
PHUKET: Just as Americans are fond of saying, “We were all immigrants once,” so old expats in Thailand say: “We were all backpackers once.” Though some first came with the military or on teaching contracts, it’s true that most of us first stepped foot in Thailand as backpackers. Technically, I was never a backpacker. In 1976, I carried my kit…
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Phuket Gardening: Wallflowers and blushing violets
PHUKET: The English language has a wealth of expressions for reticent or modest behavior. “Take a back seat” is one; another, with a biblical provenance, talks of “hiding your light under a bushel”. Brought up as children on AA Milne’s tales, older Phuket Gazette readers may recall Winnie the Pooh saying: “it’s not much of a tail, but I’m sort…
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Relearning the balance of life
PHUKET: French national Roland Fabre, 34, was an up-and-coming Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, up until about five years ago, when his life changed forever – seemingly for the worse. Approaching the height of his career, he was just starting to make waves in professional MMA rings in both the US and Japan. Then, during one particular fight in Japan,…
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Phuket Health: What’s happening to all my power?
PHUKET: “I cannot sleep!” That is frequently what I hear in my consultations. Nearly all of us have experienced difficulty sleeping, be it falling asleep or other sleep worries such as frequent awakening, sleep apnea, nightmares, narcolepsy, sleep paralysis or even jet lag.Sleep is the sweet balm that soothes and restores us after a long day of work. It seems…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Gold sales soar as price falls; Teachers charged for toddler’s death; Police corruption probe continues
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gold sales soar as price dips below Bt20,000 per baht weight The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Local gold has been sold below Bt20,000 per baht weight for the first time since 2011, following a sharp fall in global prices over the past few days.Bullion for immediate delivery…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Boston bomb suspect identified; Assad threatens West; Suu Kyi on Myanmar tensions
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boston bomb suspect identified on video, no arrest made Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Investigators believe they have spotted a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing from security video, a U.S. law enforcement source said on Wednesday, but no arrest had yet been made.Police may make an appeal…
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Boston bombing prompts Phuket Airport security boost
PHUKET: Security at Phuket International Airport has been boosted in the wake of the tragic bombing of the Boston Marathon on Monday, which killed three people and injured at least 180 more. The move follows Pongsak Semsant, caretaker president of Airports of Thailand (AOT), announcing the security boost for all major AOT airports in Thailand, including Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang…
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Tourists offer high praise for rescue efforts after storm sinks dive boat north of Phuket
PHUKET: Tourists have heaped high praise on all those involved in the rescue of 30 people from a sinking dive boat and the safe recovery of 425 others after a severe storm left a flotilla of tour boats returning from the Similan Islands stranded at Koh Ta Chai, north of Phuket. The 24-meter dive boat Little Princess, with 30 people…
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Phuket’s first fatality of Songkran Seven Days of Danger hits on day six
PHUKET: Phuket’s run of zero road fatalities during the Songkran Seven Days of Danger holiday period ended early this morning, when 75-year-old Phuket native Jingiang Jamreunnam died from injuries sustained in a motorbike accident.Mr Jingiang was riding an unsafe motorbike when it collided with a pickup truck in Phuket Town at 8:30am yesterday.He suffered a serious head injury and died…
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Phuket People: Siriporn Tantipanyathep
PHUKET: The reception area of the Phuket Passport Office is teeming with people waiting to apply for their travel documents. Officers dressed smartly in Nyonya style – women in sarongs and Kebaya blouses and men wearing Batik print shirts – give an air of friendly efficiency.“It’s part of the governor’s initiative to promote local culture,” says Passport Chief Siriporn Tantipanyathep.…
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Boiling down a life of rice
PHUKET: It’s not easy to find staff for a boiled rice shop in Phuket Town. Sometimes new employees run away after just one day. It might have something to do with the starting time… 4am, or the regular days off… none. But Nalinee “Ann” Sukjaroen has been working at the Boiled Rice Shop on Dibuk Road for the past 25…
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Phuket Tech: What, exactly, is a Bitcoin? – Live Wire
PHUKET: In the past couple of week, three of my friends in Phuket – all of whom are reasonably savvy with their investments – have asked me about Bitcoin. There’s a lot of misinformation floating around, so I figured it’d be worthwhile to bring you all up to speed on the topic. I’ll get into the technical details momentarily, but…
Read More » - Property
Viva la Tri Trang
PHUKET: The Viva Patong is located in the exclusive Tri Trang beach area, south of Phuket’s main tourist town. Tri Trang is home to luxury brands such as The Rosewood, Avista Hideaway and Amari Coral Resorts. The Viva Patong will overlook Tri Trang and Freedom Beach, and you can walk to Paradise Beach and bustle of Patong in only five…
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Phuket’s latest luxury resort
PHUKET: The island recently saw the opening of the new Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort. This 255-room beachfront property offers locally- sourced dining and the first club floor at Laguna Phuket, Bang Tao Beach. Flying in for the VIP gathering were members of the Kelley family, owners of the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort, and senior corporate executives from Hawaii,…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Airports on bomb alert; AEC opportunity for organized crime; Blast kills one in Pattani
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Airports on alert after US bombings The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Security at Thailand’s major airports will be stepped up following the Boston Marathon bombings, according to a senior executive of Airports of Thailand. Pongsak Semsant, caretaker president of AOT, said yesterday the latest violent…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Boston mourns marathon bomb victims
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boy, 8, ‘dream daughter’, Chinese citizen killed in Boston blasts Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Neighbours gathered around a chalk rainbow on a sidewalk outside 8-year-old Martin Richard’s home while friends of Krystle Campbell, 29, posted notes on Facebook, all grieving on Tuesday for two of…
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All safe after dive boat sinks in Similan National Park freak storm
PHUKET: A dive boat with 30* people on board sank today in the Similan National Park after being caught in a freak storm about four miles off Koh Ta Chai. All passengers and crew were immediately and safely evacuated from the boat after the captain and tour leader launched an emergency raft, Stefan Kaesweber of Khao Lak Scuba Adventures told…
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Ladyboy nabbed for topless Songkran show
PHUKET: A deeply-invested transsexual was nabbed by Pattaya Police for dancing topless during Songkran celebrations this past week. Narinmek Phaophan, 21, told cops he/she had spent half a million baht on surgery to be transformed into a woman – and she wanted people to see the results of her investment. On April 13, police were tipped off by local people…
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Phuket Finance: Note the contrarian investor
PHUKET: Contrarian investors are those who generally do the opposite of what the majority do. There are many forms, but basically they can all be summed up by the old Wall Street adage, “Buy Low, Sell High.” As simple and as logical as this advice sounds, in practice the majority of investors in fact do the opposite. The lonely contrarians…
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Phuket Songkran road toll remains at zero dead
PHUKET: The fifth day of the Seven Days of Danger nationwide road-safety campaign came to a close at midnight last night with the death toll for the Thai new year holiday period in Phuket remaining at zero.The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket), which collates all road accident statistics in Phuket during the campaign, reported two motorbike…
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Gimp thief not gold shop killer; identified by chicken-frying ladyboy
PHUKET: It was briefly thought they had snared the Phuket gold shop killer (story here) when Karon Police yesterday arrested a burglar with a limp – one of the key characteristics in the search for the murderer. Phuket City policeman Lt Col Prawit Engchuan joined the questioning of the suspect but said afterward, “We determined that he has no connection…
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Property prices “under the gun’
PHUKET: I thought not once, but twice about putting the word gun into the title of this article, but why not? Live vicariously. Guns and real estate, now that’s an entirely different story altogether. Slowly stirring brown sugar into my inaugural morning café latte, the sound of small talk is in the air. Forget that toxic mock sweet stuff, I…
Read More » - Business News
The rise of technical goods
PHUKET: The Technical Consumer Goods (TCG) market in Thailand last year saw positive annual growth in six out of seven sectors tracked by a recent regional market survey. The strong growth of TCG, which includes everything from smart phones, cameras, washing machines and cooking appliances, to TVs, tablets, air coolers and office equipment, was highlighted in a recent survey and…
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Tesco shopping online
PHUKET: Leading domestic hypermarket chain Tesco Lotus last week launched online grocery shopping and home delivery services for its customers in Bangkok. Asked if the retail giant had plans to launch such services in Phuket, Ms Salinla Seehaphan, Corporate Affairs Director, revealed that: “Our plan is to offer a convenient online grocery shopping service to all of our customers in…
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Phuket Songkran: Four days without death on the roads
PHUKET: For the first time in years, Phuket has maintained its zero death toll for the first four days of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket), which collates all road accident statistics for Phuket during the campaign, reported three road accidents, injuring three people, from midnight Saturday…
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Phuket Police release graphic YouTube video of gold shop robbery
PHUKET: In an effort to identify an armed robber of a Phuket gold shop, police have released a graphic YouTube video of the man entering the C.P. Gold Master & Jewelry store and shooting dead one of the customers (story here). In addition to releasing the video compiled from CCTV camera footage, police will be plastering Phuket with wanted posters,…
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Eight injured as Phuket bus overturns in Krabi
PHUKET: Eight passengers received minor injuries when a bus heading from Phuket to Trang ran off the road and overturned in Krabi on Sunday.The accident occurred at about 2pm, Lt Panom Parnmart of Ao Luek Police told the Phuket Gazette.“Rescue workers rushed to the scene to find the bus on its roof in a roadside ditch about two meters deep.“Arjara…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Bombs devastate Boston Marathon, killing 3
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bombs kill three people, wound dozens at Boston Marathon Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Two bombs ripped through the crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday, killing three people and injuring dozens, with some victims suffering amputations in what a White House official said would…
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All silent on Phuket Tourist Police kratom shootout
PHUKET: The two survivors of a lethal shootout at an apartment near Phuket Town last month have both refused to give police statements describing the events that led to the fatal gunfight. Sen Sgt Maj Pinchai Piyadilok of the Phuket Tourist Police remains at the Prince of Songkla University Hospital in Haad Yai, where he is recovering from gunshot wounds…
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Phuket Police bust ATM card fraud gang
PHUKET: Tourist Police have arrested two French nationals and a Tunisian man for operating an ATM card fraud scam in Phuket.The foreigners – named by police as French nationals Mahamond Mhoussin, 22, and Zaidi Ganzouai, 29, and Tunisian national Ramzi Adjemi, 31 – were presented to the press at the Phuket Tourist Police headquarters in Phuket Town this morning.“Tourist Police…
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Phuket Gazette World News Exclusive: Lion Air crash pilot felt jet ‘dragged’ from sky
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Exclusive: Lion Air crash pilot felt jet ‘dragged’ from sky Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The pilot whose Indonesian jet slumped into the sea while trying to land in Bali has described how he felt it “dragged” down by wind while he struggled to regain control, a person…
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Phuket seawalkers deny destroying corals
PHUKET: About 200 square meters of coral have been damaged off Khai Nai island in Phang Nga, say local marine officials, in order to create a pathway for tourists to walk on the sea floor. The manager of the seawalking company at the site, however, has defended his business, telling the Phuket Gazette it is environmentally friendly and had not…
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Phuket Songkran: Zero road deaths through Day 3
PHUKET: Phuket maintained its zero death toll for Day 3 of the Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign for the Songkran Thai new year holiday period, while nationwide the death toll grew to 173. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket), which collates all road accident statistics during the campaign, reported nine motorbike accidents, injuring 10…
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Phuket Gazette World News: All safe after Bali airplane ditches into water
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All passengers safe as Lion Air plane lands in water in Bali Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: All 108 passengers and crew survived when a Lion Air Boeing 737 missed the runway on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Saturday and landed in shallow water, an airline…
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Phuket Songkran: 48 hours with no road deaths
PHUKET: The second day of the Seven Days of Danger nationwide road-safety campaign for the Songkran Thai new year holiday period passed on Phuket without recording any deaths, leaving the island’s road toll for the period so far at zero. The Seven Days campaign began at midnight on Wednesday (story here). The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office…
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French tourist cries robbed after Phuket spending spree
PHUKET: A French tourist, afraid his wife would be angry at him for spending too much money on holiday in Phuket, was arrested yesterday for filing a false report to police, in which he claimed he was robbed by two teenagers. The Frenchman, named by police as Marc Forestier, 54, arrived at Karon Police Station at about 2:30pm to file…
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