Year: 2013
- Business News
Laguna Phuket to host record-breaking Nu Skin incentives meeting
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket is playing a major role in a record-breaking annual incentive program being staged over six days, from Sunday April 21, for 4,000 delegates and staff of anti-aging products company NU SKIN Greater China. The delegation is expected to generate a business boom for Phuket and Thailand.NU SKIN delegates from seven cities in mainland China, as well as…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Police say one suspect in Boston Marathon bombing dead, one at large
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police say one suspect in Boston Marathon bombing dead, one at large Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police believe they have shot dead one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing and were searching for another who was at large in the Boston suburb of Watertown, officials…
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Temperatures, tyres and tactics – F1
PHUKET: Before Shanghai, I predicted correctly that Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso would be on the podium, but who would be the third driver to join them? In the event it was Lewis Hamilton, but in truth it could have been any driver in the first half of the field (click here for article). If only Felipe Massa’s car had…
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Malaysian biker dies en route to Phuket Bike Week
PHUKET: A Malaysian biker died in a road accident in Phattalung yesterday afternoon while riding to Phuket to join Phuket Bike Week. Lt Boonthip Wunfai of the Khao Chaison Police told the Phuket Gazette this morning that the accident occurred on Petchkasem Road, the main highway from the southern Thai border to Bangkok, at about 2:30pm. Officers and rescue workers…
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Thailand News: Preah Vihear land dispute update
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Romanian expert becomes star at the ICJ Supalak Ganjanakhundee / Budsarakham Sinlapalavan / The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Alina Miron, co-counsel on the Thai legal team that is presenting the country’s case in the Preah Vihear land dispute before the world court, smiled in surprise…
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Phuket Justice: Hope fades for finding Jintana’s executioners
PHUKET: Police officers’ hopes are dissipating as they once again turn to the public for help in finding the executioners of Jintana Mahattanapak, who was shot in the head on her way home from work in January. With leads running out earlier this year, police were banking on CCTV footage captured in the area to help identify the killers or…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Texas reels from blast, Boston bomb suspects wanted; UN slams Syria crisis; NASA finds life planets
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rescuers search for survivors of Texas fertilizer plant blast Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Rescuers worked in cold rain on Thursday to find survivors amid the rubble of houses destroyed in a fiery explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant filled with hazardous chemical tanks.The death toll in West,…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Paradise found
PHUKET: I lived on Racha Yai Island for five years, teaching English to the staff at the luxury resort there, and I support the local conservation group that wants to ensure that restaurants and hotels deal properly with their wastewater and garbage, and allow streams to flow freely to the sea.I love nature, but I’m no enviro-activist. I don’t have…
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Phuket Opinion: Taking responsibility for Phuket’s garbage
Environmental specialist Nutthakrit Polpetch, 45, is the director of the Phuket office of Natural Resources and Environment. He has a bachelor’s degree in Forestry from Kasetsart University. A native of Phattalung, he has lived in Phuket for 20 years. Here he talks about how managing organic garbage in Phuket can reduce garbage and also create useful products. PHUKET: I am…
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Phuket Opinion: Seeing through the muck
PHUKET: Pollution levels in the Bang Yai Canal strong enough to make residents of Phuket Town’s Samkong area physically ill should spur authorities in all relevant jurisdictions to work together to pinpoint the source of the contaminants and punish any violators. Unfortunately, the official response on all sides has been the opposite. Some local officials are firing off knee-jerk denials,…
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Phuket’s first underpass to open early next year
PHUKET: To alleviate the ongoing traffic tailbacks at the construction site of Phuket’s first underpass (story here), the project managers will open all three lanes of the underpass at the beginning of next year. “So far, the underpass is 11 per cent complete. At the beginning of next year, it will be opened for road users,” Department of Highways’ Bureau…
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Phuket Tiger Disco fire charges parried, delayed
PHUKET: The Phuket Chief Public Prosecutor’s attempt to levy a series of charges against Tiger Group CEO Piya Isaramalai and Sara Entertainment Co Ltd after a fatal blaze killed four people at Patong’s famous Tiger Disco nightclub on August 17 have been delayed for a second time. “The charges were originally given the green light last month [story here],” Phuket…
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Phuket Songkran 2013 road death toll to remain at zero – forever
PHUKET: The nationwide Seven Days of Danger road safety campaign ended at midnight last night, with the official tally of no deaths in Phuket to remain as the formal record forever, the chief of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) has confirmed. Officers at the DDPM-Phuket, when contacted by the Phuket Gazette today, said they had…
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Russian teen student still in coma after horrific motorbike crash
PHUKET: Vlad Abrashko, the Russian student who was driving the motorbike involved in the high-speed accident on the bypass road two weeks ago (story here), has been discharged from hospital with a broken leg. His passenger Sevastian Lukashov, however, remains comatose at Phuket International Hospital, a source close to the teens has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. With Mr Abrashko…
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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…
Read More » - Thai Life
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…
Read More » - Thai Life
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,…
Read More » - Thailand News
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…
Read More » - Thailand News
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…
Read More » - Property
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…
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