Month: December 2014

  • Opinion

    Opinion: Phuket, an island haven lost

    PHUKET: A couple of weeks ago, I joined some work colleagues for lunch at a Cherng Talay restaurant. The restaurant is Australian-owned and caters mainly to expats who are homesick for stodgy meat pies and other Western fare. While waiting to be served I noticed, among the restaurant memorabilia, an old black-and-white photograph on the wall. It depicted a group…

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  • Opinion

    Russian expert finds investment paradise in Phuket

    An outstanding representative of Phuket’s international community, Sergey Nesterenko – who has a doctorate in business law and an MA in finance – has travelled the world searching for an earthly paradise to invest in property. At a unique Phuket location on secluded Naithon Beach, he is building the exclusive Vista del Mar villas with breathtaking sea and mountain views.…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket suffers first fatality in New Year “Seven Days of Danger’

    PHUKET: A Mercedes-Benz and a motorcycle collided at 12:10am today, resulting in the first fatality of the Seven Days of Danger safety campaign – which targeted zero deaths. The Mercedes, driven by Chaichana Seaong, 40, collided with the motorcycle in front of the Mook Phuket shop on Chao Fa East Road, near the Kwang Road intersection. Witnesses claim the the…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket New Year gifted International Space Station flyby

    PHUKET: In addition to the New Year’s Eve celebrations held throughout Phuket tonight, stargazers will be treated to the sight of the International Space Station (ISS) passing overhead. If the skies are clear, the ISS will be visible to the naked eye as its substantial bulk will reflect sunlight during its brief south-southeast trajectory, passing to the west of Phuket,…

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  • Phuket News

    Private jets can set down, but not stay at Phuket Airport for New Year, say officials

    PHUKET: Private jets can continue to land at Phuket International Airport over the New Year holidays, but are restricted in how long they can remain parked at the airport, the Phuket Gazette has been told. An order issued by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) mandated that priority be given to commercial flights at Phuket Airport until January 5, confirmed…

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  • Phuket News

    Records tumble at We Freedive Suunto Series final in Phuket

    PHUKET: A number of national records were brushed away as the We Free Dive Suunto Series drew to a close on December 21. All eyes were on American Katie Wierenga, who is ranked third among the USA female Dynamic No Fins (DNF) athletes after an outstanding performance in October. Having surpassed the USA DNF record in practice, Wierenga pushed hard…

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  • Property

    Phuket Pads: Beverly Hills of Thailand hidden in Nai Harn

    PHUKET: The exclusive, very private and tranquil Baan Bua estate of over 60 rai is one of the best-kept secrets in Phuket. It could be described as the Beverly Hills of Thailand – hidden in Nai Harn, in the very south of the island, sheltered and surrounded by the hills on three sides with lakes and its own water supply.…

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  • Phuket News

    Slow lorises touted on Phuket beach

    PHUKET: Cherng Talay Police have vowed to search for a pair of beach touts who were taking photographs of tourists with a slow loris at Surin Beach yesterday. “There were issues with touts offering to take photos of tourists with snakes and iguanas on Surin Beach, but we haven’t had a report about this issue since the beach encroachment crackdown,”…

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  • Property

    Regent Bangtao targets Phuket holiday rentals

    PHUKET: Expats in Phuket live in a tropical paradise, yet many work full time. Holidaymakers surround them while they divide their time between home and the office. Phuket can be a strange place to live – not to call it schizophrenic – but this dual character of island life comes with a distinct benefit, and The Regent Bang Tao is…

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  • Business News

    In Phuket aviation business, the sky is not the limit

    PHUKET: Do what you love and make money doing it – how’s that for a business plan? That is exactly what Sky Club Asia co-owners Mark Silverberg and Paul Derstoff did when they turned their passion into a prospering business. Did their leap of faith pay off? One of the things that Mark Silverberg brought with him when he moved…

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  • Business News

    Phuket Finance: An expat’s guide to the inevitable

    PHUKET: It’s natural to experience culture shock as an expat, but the real shock comes when expats consider just how complicated proper investment or financial planning becomes after they expatriate from their home countries. Here are some of the key areas expats will need to have a plan for and likely consult with knowledgeable experts about. EXCHANGE RATE AND REMITTANCE…

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  • Bangkok NewsTwo flights report problems, turn back to Bangkok | Thaiger

    Two flights report problems, turn back to Bangkok

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two flights report problems, turn back to Bangkok The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A domestic flight of Thai AirAsia – and a long haul Bangkok-London flight of Thai Airways International – both made emergency landings yesterday due to technical problems. Thai AirAsia’s flight FD3254 departed…

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  • Thailand News

    Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court handed down the death sentence to two of six defendants for murdering high-profile and outspoken businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr last year – but the penalty was commuted to…

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  • World News

    Divers set to search for AirAsia wreckage after debris, bodies found

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Divers set to search for AirAsia wreckage after debris, bodies found Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Divers and ships will search for the wreckage and the all important black boxes of a doomed AirAsia plane on Wednesday after Indonesian rescuers found several bodies and debris floating…

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  • Phuket News

    Patong’s Keesin clan yet to face Phuket mafia charges

    PHUKET: The Public Prosecutor has yet to press formal charges against Prab and Pattawee Keesin, both sons of former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, for operating a mafia organization. Pisitpol Phumsawat, chief Phuket public prosecutor, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office was still reviewing evidence presented by the police “I have dedicated a team to investigate the police claims,”…

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  • Phuket News

    Famed director arrested for trespassing to make tsunami horror film

    PHUKET: Famed Thai-film director Anon Mingkwanta, better known as Poj Anon, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport last night after allegedly trespassing at a derelict Phuket resort to film a tsunami horror movie. Charges against Mr Anon were filed at Tah Chat Chai Police Station on September 12 by Nipon Rangsimanwong, a representative of the Toon Maha Larp Company, which owns…

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  • Phuket News

    Teen killed in Phuket Town drive-by shooting

    PHUKET: Police are hunting a man who shot dead an 18-year-old in a Phuket Town drive-by late last night. “Chalong Netphetdang*, 19, was riding pillion with a friend when two men pulled up close to them on a motorbike,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong told the Phuket Gazette. “One of them pulled a gun on the pair and shot…

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  • World News

    Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indonesian rescuers searching for a missing AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday as relatives of those on…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket pick-up truck smash near Mission Hospital

    PHUKET: Emergency medical orderlies at Mission Hospital, north of Phuket Town, rushed out to rescue several injured people from a road accident directly outside the facility yesterday morning. An Isuzu pick-up truck had hit the back of Honda saloon car opposite the Toyota dealership on the southbound side of the road, causing the car to skid and hit a motorcycle…

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  • Phuket News

    Cargo boat sinks off Phi Phi, crewman believed drowned

    PHUKET: Marine Police are continuing their efforts to locate a crewman still missing from a cargo boat that sank in a storm two kilometers off Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. The Sor Jatuporn was carrying goods from Ao Nang on the Krabi coast to Phi Phi Island when it was slammed by a storm, said Krabi Marine Police Inspector Chaiyasit…

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  • Phuket News

    Kiwi arrested in Phuket for drug dealing, wanted for fraud

    PHUKET: A Kiwi charged for dealing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and cocaine in Phuket is wanted on fraud charges in his homeland, The New Zealand Herald has reported. The man, named by Patong Police as Taylor Grainge, 41, is in fact Grainge Taylor, after having changed his name in 2010, confirmed Jeff Montgomery, registrar-general and general manager for births, deaths,…

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  • Phuket News

    Video Report: Khao Lak 10 years on – remembering the tsunami

    PHUKET: Thailand’s primary tsunami 10-year commemoration ceremony – presided over by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha – took place on December 26 at the Tor 813 Police Boat Tsunami Memorial Site in Khao Lak. The program consisted of disaster control drill presentations followed by a number of keynote speeches by dignitaries, including PM Prayut and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket expat, Microsoft MVP Henry Habermacher passes away | Thaiger

    Phuket expat, Microsoft MVP Henry Habermacher passes away

    PHUKET: Long-time Rawai resident Henry Habermacher passed away peacefully on the morning of December 11. Born Heiri Habermacher on July 2, 1961, in Sachseln, Switzerland, he graduated from ETH Zurich in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering, specializing in acoustics project management superconductivity. In 1994, he received a graduate degree in business management from HWV Luzern – IBR University.…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s “naughty maid’ strikes again in Patong

    PHUKET: Reports of Phuket’s infamous “naughty maid” surfaced yesterday, following a police warning about her kleptomaniac behavior in May (story here). Patong Police repeated their warning yesterday, cautioning any prospective employers to be on the watch for the still-unidentified woman. “We received a complaint from a hotel on Nanai Road that a woman took a job as a maid and…

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  • Phuket News

    Welfare officers tread softly in Phuket sea gypsy child prostitution probe

    PHUKET: Officers are treading warily as they investigate reports of sea gypsy child prostitution and youth drug abuse at Phuket’s Rawai Pier. The pervading fear among all departments involved is that any direct confrontation could drive the children deeper into a world of crime. Pimporn Khorsantiwichai, director of the Phuket office of Social Development and Human Security, confirmed to the…

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  • Thailand News

    NRC votes for Andaman coast to be listed as World Heritage Site

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC votes for Andaman coast to be listed as World Heritage Site The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A National Reform Council panel on natural resources and the environment yesterday agreed to push for a vast marine conservation site in the Andaman Sea to be recognized…

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  • Phuket News

    Russian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus flips, crashes

    PHUKET: Nine Russian tourists were rushed to hospital after the tour bus they were travelling in crashed and flipped onto its roof in Kamala, on Phuket’s west coast, this morning. The bus was carrying 37 Russian tourists from Phuket International Airport to Patong when the accident occurred at about 7:30am. The bus driver, Aroon Yaemkua, told police that he was…

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  • World News

    Indonesia expands search for missing AirAsia jet, US sends warship

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesia expands search for missing AirAsia jet, US sends warship Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Countries around Asia on Tuesday stepped up the search for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that is presumed to have crashed in shallow waters off the Indonesian coast, with Washington…

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  • Thailand NewsWebsites with lese majeste content to be shut down | Thaiger

    Websites with lese majeste content to be shut down

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Websites with lese majeste content to be shut down The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) intends to shut down all websites carrying lese majeste content by the year-end, according to its secretary-general Takorn Tantasith. If websites violate Article 112…

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  • World News

    Greek ferry stricken by blaze fully evacuated, 10 dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Greek ferry stricken by blaze fully evacuated, 10 dead Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Rescue teams evacuated more than 400 people from a car ferry that caught fire off Greece’s Adriatic coast in a 36-hour operation on roiling seas, but 10 people were killed in the…

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  • Phuket News

    Popular Phuket pier needs “facelift’, says Gov Nisit

    PHUKET: Rassada Pier – a bustling arrival and jump-off point for Phuket tourists – needs to be cleaned up, said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong during his inspection of the facility today. “They need to improve the sanitation and general aesthetics of the pier. We will coordinate with the Marine Office, local authorities and private businesses operating at the pier to…

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  • Phuket News

    Krabi monk injured in inferno

    PHUKET: One novice monk was injured when a dormitory at a temple in Krabi was engulfed by flames yesterday evening. Sarawut Likitkarn, 16, suffered from smoke inhalation and rushed to Krabi Hospital. However, doctors have since confirmed that he is in a stable, safe condition. The fire broke out on the second floor of the monks’ dormitory at Wat Keaw…

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  • Phuket News

    Love, humanity ripples through Phuket tsunami memorial service

    PHUKET: The devastating loss of hundreds of thousands of lives to the Indian Ocean Tsunami 10 years ago also brought a wave of humanity among the differing peoples of Phuket and the global community, Phuket Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam told those gathered at the Light Up Phuket memorial event on Patong Beach on Friday. “It is a great honor to…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket police blame lawbreakers, insufficient personnel for runaway tour bus

    PHUKET: Police have blamed reckless drivers and not having enough officers to enforce the law for heavy vehicles, including Phuket tour buses, breaking the ban on crossing Patong Hill during peak traffic hours. “We admit that we cannot have police officers at the checkpoint 24/7. We wish we could but we simply do not have enough personnel. We can only…

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  • Thai Life

    Island Fever: The Bumpy Road To Mandalay

    PHUKET: It’s impossible to travel to Myanmar and not wax lyrically about days long past. Just think of the storied nostalgia of Rudyard Kipling, George Orwell, Norman Lewis and Pablo Neruda, who transport their readers magically through time and space. This piece is set firmly in the present, so let’s focus on the emerging free market of 2014. Hitting the…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket officials stymied by sprawling trash pile

    PHUKET: Officials are struggling to stem the growing tide of trash at what has become a sprawling dump site on the coastal road north of Kalim, between Patong and Kamala on Phuket’s west coast. The news follows the Phuket Gazette receiving a copy of a complaint about the site sent to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). “These…

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  • Pattaya News

    Russian economic crisis hits Phuket, Pattaya

    PHUKET: Russia’s economic crisis is expected to squeeze the hotel and tourism business in Thailand – especially in Pattaya and Phuket – through the current high season and first quarter of next year. “Pattaya has been like a second home for Russian tourists and long-stay guests for many years. They have been contributing huge income to the country’s economy. But…

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