Month: May 2015
- Phuket News
Flash flood puts Phuket police station in deep water
PHUKET: Patong Police are scrambling to keep dry after their station was hit by flash floods this afternoon. “The flood happened just after lunch. This morning the weather was fine. However, this afternoon our office began filling up with water,” Lt Col Suttichai Tianpho of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette. “I don’t think there was much damage. Maybe…
Read More » - Phuket News
No gap-guarantee as Phuket lifeguard contract policy remains unchanged
PHUKET: No change in policies in the Phuket lifeguard contract means there are no guarantees that lifeguards won’t walk from the sands again as their contract expires and the dangerous southwest monsoon season begins anew in 2016. “We want the public to be confident about their safety. However, we cannot change the laws or system for the bidding process. We…
Read More » - Phuket News
Article 44 tabled to return ‘stolen’ Phuket park land
PHUKET: Officials have requested the use of Article 44 of the interim Charter to reclaim national park land that was illegally commandeered by investors, the Sirinath National Park chief told the Phuket Gazette. The news follows a meeting on Thursday at the Sirinath National Park Office, during which both Phuket and national officials discussed the progress of an ongoing investigation…
Read More » - Thai Life
Topping charter charts
PHUKET: Northrop & Johnson Asia won the distinguished ‘Best Asia-based Charter Company’ award at the 2015 Asia Boating Awards in Hong Kong earlier this month. Created by Asia-Pacific Boating and China Boating magazines in 2005, the annual Asia Boating Awards recognize the best in the Asian maritime industry and beyond. The awards serve as a benchmark for the industry in…
Read More » - Food
Head to hotcake heaven
PHUKET: Ever wonder what life would be like if all of your favorite foods were made with pancakes? Well, wonder no more. With the moto ‘If there is no pancakes in heaven, I am not going’, the Pancake Corner is making flapjack fantasies a reality with their inventive and creative menu of pancake-themed delights that are available all day, and…
Read More » - Property
Property Watch: Make change, not war
PHUKET: We may all well remember a court case involving a hot cup of coffee and a customer who sued the coffee shop for serving hot coffee. What a preposterous case, we may cry. How do people inhabit this earth and go about their daily lives, and yet still manage to create issues out of nothing by simply complaining about…
Read More » - Entertainment
Books: Failed search for next giant
PHUKET: I’ve long sought for the successors to the twentieth century giants of Brazilian literature, Jorge Amado and Erico Verissimo. So far, I’ve failed. Daniel Galera’s novel Blood-Drenched Beard (The Penguin Press, New York, 2014, 374pp) is the latest disappointment. The prose is pedestrian, the pace leaden and the plot improbable, shading into preposterous. The entire mess limps along in…
Read More » - Thai Life
Looking Back: Friar fights way to Siam
PHUKET: Throughout his life, King Naresuan fought many wars with the Burmese in order to liberate Siam from their control. Toward the end of his reign, in the year 1600, Siam had recovered its independence and peace was restored. During this time, the king worked to restore foreign trade for the Kingdom. Due to ongoing wars between Burma and Cambodia,…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: Think, then click
PHUKET: If you live on Phuket long enough, or pay attention to the news coverage while you are here, it becomes quite apparent how fascinated islanders – both Thai and foreign – are by horrific road accidents. The sheer number of road deaths that occur on Phuket put into sharp focus how dangerous the roads are and exactly how fragile…
Read More » - Property
Southern Asian, Arabic visitors lift Phuket rental market
PHUKET: Although a plunge in the number of Russian visitors hit Phuket’s rental market hard this high season, the unsettling gap narrowed slightly through a small increase in Southern Asian and Arabic travellers, said Dexter Norville, Jones Lang LaSalle’s director for Thailand. This rental market is made up of the usual crowd of Europeans, Australians and Russians, but now more…
Read More » - Business News
Business Buzz: Successfully harness social media power
PHUKET: There is no doubting the power of social media marketing as a business tool. The question is, are you using it, and if so, are you doing so effectively? Social media can be very overwhelming as there are so many options it can be difficult to know where to start. It can also be a case of ‘you don’t…
Read More » - Phuket News
Multilingual beach-safety cards redistributed by Phuket expat
PHUKET: The news that lifeguards have returned to Phuket’s beaches (story here) prompted Tourist Police volunteer Simon Luttrell to return to printing multilingual beach-safety advice cards and distributing them to lifeguards. “Now that all beaches have lifeguards again, I wanted to check that they all had my cards to help warn foreign tourists about the unseen dangers of rip currents,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Fatal Phuket bungy-jumping business ordered closed – temporarily
PHUKET: World Bungy Jump in Patong has been temporarily closed while officials investigate the death of a 25-year-old tourist who was fatally injured at the facility on Wednesday. “The business will be closed for at least a month while police determine if this was an accident or reckless endangerment on the part of the bungy-jump owner,” explained Patong Mayor Chalermluck…
Read More » - Phuket News
Busted at Phuket boarding gate for fake credit card shopping spree
PHUKET: Police arrested a confessed credit card scammer as she waited to board a plane back to Malaysia at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday. Koo Ping Sze, 20, was taken into custody after police received a report from Kasikornbank (KBank) that she had used a fake credit card to make a purchase in Patong. “Kbank identified that the cardholder was…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: Ethics in today’s social media world
PHUKET: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LINE and an assortment of other social media platforms and blogs have transformed the way news is managed worldwide, enabling news outlets to be more in tune with their readership, while also allowing them to offload their ethics and other responsibilities toward their communities. Social media tip-offs have become a foundation for community news, ranging from…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Airport possible base for US military support
PHUKET: Thailand may allow the United States to use either Phuket Airport or U-Tapao in Rayong as a base for planes assigned to monitor the movement of migrants stranded in surrounding seas. “The Foreign Ministry is reviewing the request,” Supreme Commander General Worapong Sa-nganet said on Tuesday. Thailand is setting up the Operations Centre for Patrol and Humanitarian Assistance to…
Read More » - Thai Life
Excuse Buster: Right kind of pressure
PHUKET: The word is out about self myofascial release – foam rolling – and, no, Phuket people, this doesn’t have to do with a ‘soapy’ or ‘happy-ending release’. Foam rolling was once a secretive technique used by professional coaches and therapists, but has become a regular practice for people across the spectrum of fitness levels. Self myofascial release is in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Illegal Thai tour guides busted in Phuket
PHUKET: Three illegal Thai tour guides were arrested in front of their tour groups in Phuket yesterday. Thanachai Sae-yang, 29, was the first of the three swept up in the raid as he lead a group of Chinese tourists through the Kathu Temple grounds. Though Mr Thanachai is a registered tour guide – he was working outside of Chachoengsao Province,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Suit up for the SEA games
PHUKET: Thanyapura’s top swimming stars are hoping to bring home a bounty of medals when they dive into the pool and compete at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA) next week. Swimming sensations Peerapat ‘Garfield’ Loessathapornsuk, 18, Patarawadee ‘Ploy’ Kittiya, 21, Kornkanjana ‘Golf’ Sapianchai, 17, and Tanakrit ‘Nok’ Kittiya, 19, will come up against the best in the region at the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Video Report: Navy flotilla floats humanitarian mission for Rohingya
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy unveiled a patrolling navy fleet in the Andaman on Tuesday that was given the mission of ‘helping on’ Rohingya and Bengali migrants by providing medical services and translators, as well as food and water supplies. “More than 600 officers have been assigned to this mission, which will be running seven boats, two airplanes and two…
Read More » - Business News
Finance: One size does not fit all
PHUKET: When it comes to financial advice, my first words of caution to everyone are “never, ever, do anything yourself that you don’t understand 100%”. If the markets seem too complex, there is no reason you can’t handle your financial affairs without using this tool. Every asset class at the end of the day is just that: a tool. There…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket officials investigate tour companies with foreign shareholders
PHUKET: Officials launched an island-wide inspection of tour companies with foreign shareholders yesterday in an attempt to root out the practice of using Thai nominee shareholders to maintain control over a company. More than 3,700 ‘foreign-owned’ businesses are registered in Phuket, explained Department of Business Development Phuket Office Chief Nimit Kangkajit back in 2013 when a similar investigation was backed…
Read More » - Phuket News
Marine Department to review life-jacket policy
PHUKET: The Marine Department is looking to review its strict policy for life-jacket use on tour boats, which requires all passengers to don the vests before the boat departs, confirmed Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Marine Department. The tough enforcement of safety measures was put into effect in November last year (story here), after a speedboat driver crashed into a…
Read More » - Phuket News
Family of heat-stroke victim donates B200k to Vachira Phuket Hospital
PHUKET: The family of a senior Bangkok official who died from severe heat stroke after leaping into a Krabi hot spring in April has donated 200,000 baht to Vachira Phuket Hospital in honor of their loved one. Somkiat Phatkhun, the deputy director of the Training and Development Institute at the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok, was on vacation…
Read More » - Phuket News
Kuwaiti tourist dies in Phuket bungy-jump accident
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a Kuwaiti tourist who was fatally injured in a bungy-jumping incident last night in Phuket. Abdullah Adel Kadhmbadman, 25, was rushed to Patong Hospital by a World Bungy Jump Patong employee. He was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at the hospital. “The man who brought Mr Kadhmnbadman to the hospital first told…
Read More » - Phuket News
Pebbles at Phuket skate park cause a stir
PHUKET: The X-treme skate park in Phuket Town was sabotaged with pebbles, creating a dangerous situation for skaters last week. Phuket resident Phakhawat Jret Na Nakon made the discovery when he and his friends went there, according to his Facebook post. “There are pebbles all over the skate zone. We also found the plastic bag used to carry the pebbles.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Headless turtle found on Mai Khao Beach
PHUKET: Experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) in Cape Panwa are investigating the cause of death of a headless turtle that washed up on Mai Khao Beach this morning. Kusoldham Foundation rescue workers arrived at about 10:20am after receiving a call from a local villager who found the turtle and initially tried to bury it. “We believe the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Petrol tanker driver escapes death in crash with power pole
PHUKET: A man escaped almost certain death early this morning after his petrol tanker crashed into a car and then slammed into a high-voltage power pole, causing a fire and cutting the electricity supply for all of Phang Nga Town. “At Fai Tha junction in Phang Nga Town we found a six-wheeled petrol tanker on its side. It had slammed…
Read More » - Phuket News
Two men on motorbike killed in collision with Phuket tour bus
PHUKET: Two men on a motorbike were killed when they were hit and dragged by a tour bus on Thepkrasattri Road early this morning. The bodies of Thai national Somwang Chuaykamchu, 31, and Myanmar national Aung Myint, 32, were underneath the bus when police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers arrived at the scene near the entrance of Thai Watsadu in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Police work to identify dead body found outside Phuket resort
PHUKET: Police are working to identify a man whose body was found near the Baan Krating Phuket Resort in Rawai on Saturday. “After we received the report at about 8:30pm, we went to the scene and found the body of an Arabic-looking man with a wound on his leg that resembled an animal bite,” said Lt Veerayut Thanyasiri Sukawarakul of…
Read More » - Business News
Chanintr Living launches month-long Phuket sale
PHUKET: Chanintr Living has launched a month-long sale at its classy imported furniture outlet in Phuket, providing islanders and visitors the chance to grab quality furniture at a knocked down price. Chanintr Living was established in 1994 and has several outlets in Bangkok and Singapore, as well as one multi-brand location in Phuket. The reputable dealer’s current sale, from May…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Blazing Saddles: Bicycling in Bangkok
PHUKET: I have long believed the bicycle represents something of a magical chariot with the ability to unleash serendipitous experiences at many turns. So it proved on my last visit to Bangkok, where I had flown to spend some time with my 22-year-old daughter, Olivia, who stopped there en route from Sydney to London. Now it’s probably no coincidence the…
Read More » - Thai Life
Sea Co-working space to bring waves of change to Phuket’s shores
PHUKET: THE SEA Co-working Space and Marine Library Cafe in Phuket Old Town welcomes people of all walks of life to join projects, events and discussions as the co-owners – Saovapa Atsilarat and Krongkaew Soo-ampon – work to make Phuket more sustainable, one minimized carbon footprint at a time. Housed in a 3-storey building, the venue offers complete office infrastructure,…
Read More » - Thai Life
In Focus: Pity the poor pangolin
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette recently reported a gruesome find: a couple strangled and left to rot in a dense rubber plantation in Krabi. People were guided to the spot by the stench; the couple had been dead for about five days. This man and wife were pangolin hunters and the likely explanation for their demise – so far not confirmed…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thalang trounce Patong in Phuket cricket championship cup final
PHUKET: The Phuket Cricket Group Championship Cup Final was played on Sunday May 17 at the Alan Cooke Ground with the Thalang Cricket Team (TCT) taking their second consecutive title with a comprehensive 157 run win over the Patong Cricket Club. Both teams were boasting strong line-ups for the 100 over grand final, with David Thomas and Jean Matthee the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket reporter dies in Surat Thani car crash
PHUKET: A local reporter for the Phuket Daily News and Siengtai newspaper was killed in a car crash in Surat Thani on Tuesday night. Amnuay Korbkum, 46, a well-known member of the Phuket Reporters Club, was travelling from Phuket to Surat Thani to visit his father in hospital when the accident occurred at about 9:50pm. “Panupong Sukaoon, Mr Amnuay’s brother-in-law,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Video Report: Suspects arrested for murder of Kalim man over alleged land dispute
PHUKET: Police have arrested three men for the murder of a 72-year-old Kalim resident on April 24. Eet Chaisit was shot multiple times while driving back from prayer at the local mosque to his home in Kalim, and later died in Patong Hospital (story here). Police first identified the driver of the motorcycle carrying Mr Eet’s shooter from CCTV footage…
Read More »
