Month: July 2013
- Phuket News
Phuket Sports: A tour de force for Froome – Cycling
PHUKET: First, the bald facts: Chris Froome has triumphed in the hundredth edition of the Tour de France. Last year, victory was claimed by Froome’s Sky team-mate, Sir Bradley Wiggins. Remarkable? Absolutely. They are the first Englishmen to win the world’s most prestigious and demanding cycle race since its inception. By any standards, it is a most extraordinary achievement.Not only…
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Phuket Sports: Hungary, hunters and hunches – F1
PHUKET: The Lions destroyed Australia, England is cruising through a shattered Australia in the Ashes, Andy Murray triumphed at Wimbledon and Chris Froome won the Tour de France. As Britons tower over world sports, Lewis Hamilton must be considering his chance of continuing this newfound tradition, starting with a win in Hungary this weekend. Can he do it? Mercedes has…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Israel blocks EU aid; Snowden won’t be tortured, executed – US; Strauss-Kahn on pimp charges; Pink Panther jailbreak; Tunisia, Syria sectarian divide deepens
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel blocks EU aid in West Bank Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Israel has blocked the European Union from aiding tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank in retaliation for Brussels’ ban on financial assistance to Israeli organisations in the occupied territories. An Israeli…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Thaksin makes birthday call; Nenkham family to be probed; BRN behind some Ramadan attacks; Police Station fraud charges loom
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Birthday boy Thaksin calls on Thais to rely on one another The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra may have been in Beijing, but his figure was standing right there next to Deputy Education Minister Sermsak Pongpanit as he lit and…
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Russian in lucky Phuket escape as car goes off-road, bursts into flames
PHUKET: A Russian man’s car erupted in flames early this morning after he accidentally veered off a road and hit a concrete water tank in the hills near Phuket’s famed Big Buddha, in Chalong. Maxim Kasutin, 27, was on his way to a friend’s house at about 1:30am when he missed a curve in the darkness, explained Capt Patiwat Yodkwan…
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Phuket official moves to create Patong Beach clear zone
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol has requested Patong Municipality to clear all vendors – including sun bed operators – from a large section of Patong Beach. The affected area will stretch more than 500 meters from Loma Park to the area opposite the Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa (map here). “This part of the beach has been taken over…
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Phuket FC derail ‘Locomotive’ soccer squad in friendly
PHUKET: The Islanders got a strong injection of confidence this afternoon after making minced meat out of local college outfit, Rajbhat Phuket “Locomotive”, winning 9-0 in a friendly match at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club in Thalang.Scoring for Phuket FC were Chana Sonwiset (4 goals), Luiz “Dudu” Purcino (3) and Giorgi Tsimakuridze and Koset Gerd-Suk, who each scored a goal.…
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Phuket Opinion: Our environment down the drain
Pornsri Suthanarak, 50, is the director of the Phuket Environmental Office. She has a PhD in environmental engineering from Florida International University, and was formerly the director of the Environmental Quality and Laboratory Division at the Pollution Control Department in Bangkok. Here, she explains how all of us can help to protect the environment by making inexpensive changes at home.…
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Phuket Opinion: Bus about face
PHUKET: The quiet launch last week of a new bus to shuttle tourists from the airport to Patong (story here) comes as a small dose of good news for Phuket’s ailing public transport sector, which nevertheless continues to suffer from the chronic and very serious effects of collusion, self-entitlement and a blatant, goon-like disregard for the law, common decency and…
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Phuket airport bus services pared back, full service to resume in August
PHUKET: The operator of the recently launched Airport Express bus has suspended some services, but expects to return to the full schedule next month. The Airport Express bus, operating a “hop on, hop off” service between Phuket International Airport and Patong, launched last Friday to little fanfare (story here). Since then, the dwindling volume of passengers has forced the operator…
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Screening out the world – Phuket Gardening
PHUKET: Can you reel off the Seven Wonders of the World without looking them up? The one we all remember is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Nothing to do with hanging baskets. The Babylon one was hanging because it rose to a great height, and its main plants were substantial trees, not municipal petunias or busy lizzies. It was described…
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Phuket firework blast puts teacher in hospital
PHUKET: A beach party in Cape Panwa took a horrific turn after a Phuket English teacher went to light a 49-mortar firework on July 13. Immediately after the fuse was lit, the mostly buried firework exploded, sending one of its rounds directly into the face of Danyel Erickson, 31, while the rest shot off in every direction. Ms Erickson, an…
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The wonderful world of puffies
PHUKET: In World War I they called it shell shock. In World War II they called it battle fatigue. Nowadays they call it post-traumatic stress disorder (PST). Welcome to the wonderful world of puffies, where run-of-the mill words are puffed up into ornate phrases intended to impress, seduce, and deceive. I call them puffies; others call them euphemisms – or…
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Modern words maketh the man – Phuket Humor
PHUKET: Legendary US comedian George Carlin, who died in 2008, was famous for his love of words and hatred of euphemisms and politically correct language. In his classic 2006 HBO special Life is Worth Losing he opened the show with this piece entitled Ode to the Modern Man:“I’m a modern man, a man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free.…
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Phuket to get B251mn CCTV camera boost for tourist safety
PHUKET: Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak has approved a 251-million-baht budget to have an additional 2,450 CCTV cameras added to Phuket’s current arsenal of 1,419 cameras monitoring the island. “Phuket is the first place about which I have received complaints concerning security from about 20 foreign diplomats [story here], making it clear that we have to boost our efforts…
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The secrets of DaVinci – Phuket People
PHUKET: What is the secret of great, Italian cuisine? It’s all in the quality ingredients. “In Italy they say that a good chef doesn’t need to use more than three or four ingredients. It’s about freshness,” says Jana Sasikova, co-owner and manager of the DaVinci restaurant. Jana is the wife of the restaurant’s supervising chef and deli manager Claudio Pivotto,…
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Phuket People: Renaissance man
PHUKET: Goetz Bauer joined Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa as general manager in April this year. The German national, who also speaks English, Italian and French, brings an energetic and youthful leadership style to Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa. Goetz said his new role presents several challenges and he looks forward to taking them on.“The challenge is to learn how…
Read More » - Property
Phuket Property: Hideaway above Patong
PHUKET: A new luxury 5-star hotel concept by Avista, the Avista Hideaway Resort and Spa in Patong Bay is located on Patong Hill close to Tri Trang beach. The new hotel will build on the island’s reputation for high-end tourism and its strong economic base. The contemporary ultra-luxury property is set on a peaceful hill, and designed in a style…
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Two arrested as Phuket bus delivers nearly 10kg of kratom
PHUKET: Police arrested two men in Wichit last night after they picked up a box of kratom leaves delivered to Phuket by bus. The box had the sender’s and the recipients’ names clearly written on it.The bust came after an informant tipped off the Phuket Internal Security Office (PISO) that a kratom package would be arriving by bus from Chumphon…
Read More » - Business News
7-Eleven – Can’t live without it
PHUKET: Love it or hate it, the local 7-Eleven has become an integral part of daily life for most people living in urban Thailand.From its humble beginnings in 1920s Dallas, Texas, where ice factory employee John Jefferson Green began selling milk, eggs and bread from an improvised store in front of the factory, it has grown to be the largest…
Read More » - Property
Phuket Property Legal: Ensuring land claims are legit
PHUKET: In the last three to four weeks, some changes occurred in the application process and consequently the approval of registration for companies to purchase land, long term land leases, usufruct, superficies and/or lifetime living rights for foreigners. Depending on which land office one is applying for registration of certain rights, the current handling of such registration is not the…
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Sea-view condo in the heart of Patong
PHUKET: Sansiri last week unveiled their latest Phuket medium-rise project – “THE DECK”, a brand-new condominium to be built in the heart of Patong, setting its sights on Phuket’s holiday home market.Speaking at the project’s media-launch event, Mr Uthai Uthaisangsuk, Senior Vice President for Business and Condominium Project Development, Sansiri PCL, revealed that: “THE DECK Condominium has been created in…
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Last Call: A love, loom affair with China
PHUKET: Often, one of the last interview questions to scientists or economic strategists is the ominous, almost motherly line: “What keeps you awake at night?”. In most cases the answer is obtuse and rarely what they call in submarine talk, a direct hit. In my own personal version of Groundhog Day [the blockbuster hit starring Bill Murray] – over and…
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Blazing Saddles pedals through Provence – Phuket Explore
PHUKET: The delights of Soi Bangla in Phuket’s party town of Patong are of course a source of continual distraction, yet even the most hardened acolyte must occasionally take a break from the pleasures of the amber nectar and recharge his batteries in quieter, more bucolic locales. So it was that I recently found myself on a cycling trip down…
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Phuket police arrest armed 7-Eleven drug dealer
PHUKET: Police last night arrested an armed man who confessed to selling ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) to teenagers in front of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Cherng Talay.Lt Col Sommai On-khum and fellow officers moved in and arrested 32-year-old Cherng Talay resident Sitthi Suebprasit in front of the 7-Eleven in Baan Pasak, on the Cherng Talay-Baan Don Road, at 10:30pm.“We…
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Phuket secures B22mn to fix notorious Patong Hill road
PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office (PHO) has secured the 22 million baht needed to permanently fix the large section of the notorious Patong Hill road that washed away nearly two years ago, PHO Director Samak Luedwonghad announced yesterday. “Patong Hill Road in undergoing permanent restoration (story here). A contract was signed on May 15 and the repairs are expected to…
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Phuket policeman escapes injury after slippery road slams pickup into tree
PHUKET: A police officer on his way to work early yesterday morning lost control of his pickup truck on the bypass road and crashed into a tree.Though the impact demolished the front end of his pickup, he narrowly missed a nearby light pole and escaped injury.Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers responding to a 5:30am call found a pickup straddling…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Russians charged over biggest fraud in history; Spanish train driver under guard; Tunisia in turmoil; Bo Xilai charged
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hackers indicted in biggest cyber fraud case in US history Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Federal prosecutors have charged five men for a hacking and credit card fraud spree that cost companies more than $300 million. Two of the suspects are in custody in the biggest cyber crime…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Anti-govt rallies; Bus safety under fire; PM beauty smarts TV; Facebook top Thai news source
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Anti-govt groups plan street protests The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Anti-government groups are firming up plans for street rallies ahead of the parliamentary deliberation on August 7 of an amnesty bill proposed by a group of MPs from the ruling Pheu Thai Party. The protests…
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Cash secured for 22-million-baht permanent Patong Hill road fix
PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office (PHO) secured 22 million baht to permanently fix a large, notoriously derelict section of Patong Hill road, PHO Director Samak Luedwonghad announced yesterday. “Patong Hill road in undergoing permanent restoration [story here]. A contract was signed on May 15, and the repairs are expected to be completed by October 12,” Mr Samak told the Phuket…
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Phang Nga Immigration reclaims Rohingya runaways
PHUKET: Phang Nga Immigration Police last night intercepted five Rohingya refugees who were en route to Bangkok by train after disappearing from a government shelter in Phang Nga, north of Phuket. The refugees, a 20-year-old woman and four children aged 5 to 14 years, were taken into custody at 11:30pm. They were among the 18 Rohingya who disappeared from the…
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DSI gives Phuket mafia 15 days to pack up shop
PHUKET: Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Tarit Pengdith today leveled a warning at all mafia operating in Phuket: cease and desist within 15 days – or else. Mr Tarit arrived in Phuket this morning with Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak and a team of about 10 DSI officials to launch a crackdown specifically targeting illegal taxi drivers and…
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Bangkok News: Croc trainer gets stitches – croc suspended; Police Chief will face investigation; Liverpool kick-off delayed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – News from the Thai capital by Coconuts Bangkok compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Trainer receives 30 stitches; Croc suspended from duty Coconuts BangkokBANGKOK: The crocodile trainer who survived a terrifying croc attack earlier this week spoke out for the first time about the near-death experience that left him with 30 stitches on his…
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Sabah: Journey to the land below the wind
PHUKET: When I was a child, the word Borneo would conjure up images of colonial explorers in pith helmets slashing their way through wild jungle teeming with exotic plants, ferocious animals and roaming tribes of headhunters. As I grew older, my mental picture was expanded by David Attenborough’s wonderful documentaries, which transported me to this remote island in the darkest…
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Trial date set for Phuket taxi driver accused of abducting Chinese teen
PHUKET: The trial of the illegal taxi driver charged with abducting and sexually assaulting a Chinese teen tourist on May 17 will start on September 2. “The case was transferred to the court on July 4,” said Phuket Public Prosecutor Theerasak Srichulalak. Paitoon Kruain, 32, faced five charges: deprivation of liberty; sexual assault; using a Category 1 narcotic; consuming alcohol…
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Slap attack gang members charged for attempted murder in Phuket Town street stabbing
PHUKET: Four members of a teenage gang have been charged with attempted murder after a Burmese man was seriously injured in a knife attack in Phuket Town early yesterday morning. The gang of 10 were riding motorbikes along Tilok U-Thit Road (map here) at about 1:30am when four of them took umbrage with a Burmese man riding his motorbike with…
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Phuket International Boat Show and Royal Phuket Marina partner for five years
PHUKET: The Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) has secured its home for the future with the signing of a five-year host venue agreement with Royal Phuket Marina (RPM), the marine and luxury lifestyle destination on Phuket’s east coast. Having recently announced the dates for 2014 being moved to the popular January 9-12 timing, organisers say they are laying strong foundations…
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