Month: July 2013
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Thanks giving for 4th of July celebrations at Phuket Airpark
PHUKET: We would like to extend a most heartfelt thanks to every one of the many volunteer groups who worked together so well to make last weekend’s inaugural Phuket Airshow and Family Picnic such a successful charity event. The splendid festivities, timed to celebrate the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence 237 years ago, had so much going…
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Phuket Opinion: It doesn’t hurt to give
PHUKET: On this lovely island renowned for its wonderful spas, the place I’ve felt most pampered is not one. It’s the sleek and modern Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) next to the employment office, staffed by professionals delivering five-star service to those of us who give about 45 minutes of our time and about 10 per cent of our blood.…
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Phuket top province for Dengue Fever outbreak
PHUKET: Phuket is now listed as the highest ranking province in Thailand for Dengue Fever outbreaks, Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Deputy Chief Dr Krit Sakulpat confirmed to the Phuket Gazete today. Despite the ranking, there is no reason to panic, said Dr Krit. “For the statistic, the number of patients is divided by the registered population, which in Phuket…
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Phuket Poll: Chalong underpass: six routes diverge in chaos and I choose”¦ eh, um, err….
PHUKET: Underpasses are the new mega-project craze on Phuket as officials scramble to find long-term solutions to the island’s mounting traffic congestion. Work is already well underway for Phuket’s first underpass at the Darasamuth Intersection in front of the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, which was started on November 23 last year (story here). The newest addition to several underpass…
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DSI denounces con artists’ use of department name to squeeze criminals for “protection money’
PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation denied providing “protection services” for illegal businesses in a notification released yesterday, which claimed that con artists in Phuket were using the department’s name to squeeze people for protection money. “We received reports that there are people using the DSI’s name to collect money from business owners who are involved in the illegal employment…
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Man caught on CCTV nicking clean Phuket knickers
PHUKET: Police are now sniffing out the trail of a chronic underwear thief who was caught on CCTV stealing over twenty pairs of drying panties from an apartment complex in Phuket Town.After receiving multiple complaints from residents of Chaloemlarp Apartment about their underwear being stolen, the owner of the complex set up a CCTV camera system.“On July 2 at about…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Army will not meddle in politics; Ramadan peace push; Monk to return with “bigger greatness”
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army will have nothing to do with Thaksin return: Thanasak The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Supreme Commander General Thanasak Pratimapakorn said yesterday that the issue of whether former PM Thaksin Shinawatra will be allowed to return as a free man was not up to the…
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Junior Phuket Raceweek set to ‘come of age’
PHUKET: Junior Phuket Raceweek is set to take place Saturday, July 20 off Phuket’s Southeast coast. Sister event to its bigger brother Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, which celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year, Junior Phuket Raceweek gives budding young sailors an opportunity to race in an international-standard regatta. “There are limited competitive sailing opportunities for youngsters on Phuket, and…
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Phuket Sports: Twenty20 season opener sees old rivalries resumed
PHUKET: THE Outrigger T20 league kicked off at the ACG cricket ground last Sunday with an action-packed double header. In the first match, The Village took on last season’s finalists Island Cricket Club (ICC) while the second match saw defending champions Laguna take on arch rivals Patong. After a disappointing showing in the recently completed senior league season, the Village…
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Phuket Airport Express bus ready to roll on July 19
PHUKET: In what seems to be the last shuffle of dates for the launch of the long-awaited Phuket Airport Express bus service, wheels are now to be rolling by July 19, operator Prakob Panyawai confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “The airport buses will be ready to run on July 19. We thought we could start on July 15, but we…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Northern Ireland troubles flare-up; al Qaeda attack means war; French train crash – 6 dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Violence flares around Northern Ireland marches Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Protestant marchers in Belfast threw objects at police, who responded with water cannon as Northern Ireland’s annual parade season descended into violence on yesterday. Pro-British Protestants march every summer in the British-ruled province, a regular…
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Phuket Poll: blimp takes back seat to light-rail system
PHUKET: In response to the 2.6 billion baht that remains unaccounted for after Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi last month confirmed that Phuket will not be bestowed an International Convention and Exhibition Center “unless they vote for Pheu Thai” (story here) – readers of the Phuket Gazette have opted to have a light-rail system built instead. The latest Phuket Gazette…
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Swiss man breaks leg in fall from motorcycle
PHUKET: A Swiss man is recovering well following surgery after a motorcycle accident in Thalang yesterday afternoon. Carlo Somaini, 54, was about 300m north of the Heroine’s Monument riding north on Thepkrasattri Road when a motorbike emerged from a soi in front of him. “He was startled,” said Thalang Police officer Thani Petchswee. “He tried to avoid the motorbike, and…
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Phuket mother in debt sells daughter for sex
PHUKET: Phuket police yesterday arrested a mother for selling her daughter for sex. Upon learning that a karaoke bar on Kwang Road in Wichit (map here) was offering sexual services to its customers, police staged a sting operation. “An undercover policeman arranged to purchase sex from a 14-year-old girl in the bar for 3,000 baht,” said Wichit Police officer Passakorn…
Read More » - Thai Life
Save a life, get a friend
PHUKET: My name is Bianca Peace, I am 10 years old and I wanted to share something that I think is very important and must be stopped. At Phuket International Academy (PIA) our end of year project was on a topic of our own choice, but it needed to be about something global, so I chose to explore the dog…
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Phuket Food: A sporty Sunday brunch
PHUKET: Not too many Sunday brunches offer a side order of Zumba, Muay Thai, or Pilates, but Phuket’s Thanyapura brunch comes with a chance to work off the calories using a day pass to their world class sporting facilities and group fitness classes.But before that comes the food.Some of it comes direct from Thanyapura’s own organic farm in Surat Thani…
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Thailand’s Human Rights Commission silent on Rohingya shootings
PHUKET: Thailand’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) yesterday told the Phuket Gazette they were “unable to report” on their own investigation into reports of Royal Thai Navy sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya, allegedly killing at least two of the refugees, in February. The news comes four months after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised the international press the allegations…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket’s footy club turnover doubles
PHUKET: Ticketing and merchandising revenue for the island’s pro soccer club, Phuket FC, doubled year-on-year, while the club’s fan turnout has swelled by 93% during the same period. Now at the mid-season point, business seems to booming for the island’s pro soccer club, at least compared to this time last year when fan support for the club was dwindling. But…
Read More » - Phuket News
Woman rescued two hours after fall from Phuket bridge
PHUKET: A 43-year-old woman was rescued from the fast-flowing water in the channel separating Phuket from the mainland two hours after she was seen standing at the railing of Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge. Rescue workers and Tah Chat Chai Police rushed to the scene soon after 10pm, when villagers reported seeing a woman stop her car halfway across Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge…
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Phuket’s bulging market
PHUKET: In the latest drive to promote the island’s medical tourism industry, Bangkok Hospital Phuket (BHP) recently held an innovative “boob job” seminar. Entitled ” Breast Augmentation Using Contour Profile Gel Implant Live Surgery Workshop”, the seminar was attended by some 25 cosmetic surgeons from Asia Pacific countries, especially Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines Dr. Narongrit Havarungsi, BHP director,…
Read More » - Business News
Low Cost Carriers: Save us from safety savings
PHUKET: Dying in an airplane crash is not exactly my idea of heading off into the hereafter with a veritable big bang. Much less trying to escape from a burning plane about to explode in a widescreen Bruce Willis Die Hard epic. But perhaps let me wind this back a little to pre-Grantville. Last Thursday, a last minute business meeting…
Read More » - Property
Boom in budget hotels
PHUKET: The changing regional and domestic tourism landscape is creating a lot of business opportunities. More budget hotels are opening, with investors out to cash in on the rising number of middle-class and solo travellers, thanks to the tourism boom and economic prosperity.Most operators agree that this hotel segment has good prospects. Thailand is a key tourism destination in the…
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Trail cold but Phuket mother still hopes to meet daughter missing since 2011
PHUKET: A girl who seemed to have vanished into thin air after a Facebook session in Phuket Town in December 2011 remains missing, confirmed Chalong Police. The girl, Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya, was 12 years old at the time of her disappearance (story here). “I transferred the case to the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok before I was transferred to…
Read More » - Property
Preserving Phuket’s old streets
PHUKET: As sprawl and congestion take full-hold of our island, Phuket city municipality planners and engineers strive, yet struggle, to preserve the last remnants of urban historical heritage, yet continue to face a number of obstacles obstructing the way ahead. Indeed, the narrow streets in Phuket’s Old Town district are currently undergoing a drastic makeover. The electrical wires that currently…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Microsoft implicated in NSA Prism scandal; Ireland passes limited abortion law; Russia alleges Syrian rebels used chemical weapons
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Microsoft helped NSA, FBI access user info – Guardian Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Microsoft Corp worked closely with U.S. intelligence services to help them intercept users’ communications, including letting the National Security Agency circumvent email encryption, the Guardian reported on Thursday.Citing top-secret documents provided by former U.S.…
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“Business Landmark’ in the works on Bypass Rd
PHUKET: Keep your eyes on the look-out – Bypass Biz Town, currently under construction right smack along the middle of one of the island’s most lucrative roads, is poised to be Phuket’s latest and greatest “Business Landmark”.Building on previous successes, reputable developer Boat Development Co Ltd, is fulfilling a much-needed real estate niche with its latest project, touted to be…
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Call for A- blood after Brit expat suffers motorbike crash head injury
PHUKET: The Phuket blood bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital is calling for donations of A- blood following an operation on British national Marc Harrington yesterday. Mr Harrington, 66, was admitted to hospital for a head injury sustained in a motorbike accident in Phuket on June 22. “He underwent an operation yesterday, in which we needed to use A- blood. He…
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Severe coral damage prompts DNP to limit dive tourists to Phi Phi Island
PHUKET: Coral reefs at the popular marine national park that covers the famous Phi Phi Islands near Phuket have reached a severe level of degradation due to bleaching, a senior government official revealed yesterday.“Bleaching has affected up to 70 per cent of the coral reefs around Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. Of the affected corals, 47.52 per…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Ramadan peace blown; Credit Union chief got B3bn; PM Yingluck in show of solidarity; Vietnam cat smuggler nabbed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Blast in Yala injures eight soldiers The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Eight soldiers were slightly wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Yala’s Raman district yesterday and authorities believe an insurgent group led by Saifulloh Balor might be behind the attack.Even though it was agreed at the…
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Phuket beauty salon owner overwhelmed by debt, found dead
PHUKET: The 28-year-old owner of a Phuket beauty salon is believed to have committed suicide due to the stress of overwhelming debt. Local residents spotted the body of Dussadee Ngoy-phutorn, from Sakon Nakhon, in a lagoon behind Phuket Rajabhat University (map here) at 7:20am today. Ms Dussadee, owner of the My Mint beauty salon in Samkong, Phuket Town, was last…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Books – A slow death by flashbacks
PHUKET: Well-bred, highly educated and cosmopolitan, a new generation of African women writers – chief among them, the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – has recently claimed their right of place in the publishing world. The newest entrant to this elite club is Taiye Selasi. Half Ghanaian, half-Nigerian, born in London, raised in Boston, a graduate of Yale and Oxford,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Laguna Phuket Marathon to be still bigger and better next year
PHUKET: Now in its ninth year, the Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) is going from strength to strength with numbers of participants expected to break 6,000 next year including runners from Asia, Europe and the Americas. LPIM is the largest destination marathon in Southeast Asia and sees participants push themselves to the limit in order to raise money for charity.…
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Islander’s Thai FA cup hopes crushed by Muang Thong
PHUKET: The Islanders Thai FA Cup dream came to an abrupt halt last night as they were knocked out 5-0 by current Thai Premier League champions Muang Thong United. The round 16 match was played north of Bangkok at Muang Thong’s 15,000 seat SCG Stadium. The first half finished scoreless, but Mario Djurovski put the home team 1-0 up straight…
Read More » - Thai Life
C’est la Fete! – It’s party time!
PHUKET: As the French saying goes – Un repas sans vin est comme un jour sans soleil – a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine. And even though there might not be quite enough sunshine in Phuket these days, there shouldn’t be a lack of wine and great food during the Bastille Day celebrations in Patong on…
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Go Eco Phuket gets going
PHUKET: After hosting the world’s largest underwater cleanup last year, local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket and the Thai Government are joining forces again this year to break last year’s record by garnering support from over 1,000 participants for the reef and beach cleanup in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 81st birthday on August 12. The day after Her…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket Waste 101 – Dousing the burning issue
PHUKET: As you begin to read this article, try to recall your consumer decisions and habits today. Did you go to the convenience store? What did you buy? Was it put in a plastic bag? When you were done consuming, how did you dispose of your waste? What about lunch – did you have takeaway scooped into one of those…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Quebec grieves in wake of train crash; Asiana victims told not to evacuate; No Facebook, no CIA – says Venez minister; UN hits Vatican over child abuse; Mandela responding
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Quebec train set too few brakes, with deadly result Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The handbrake is the railroad industry’s ultimate fail-safe mechanism. It is supposed to help avert disasters like the one that engulfed a Canadian town on Saturday, when a runaway train loaded with oil hurtled…
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