Year: 2015
- Property
Phuket Pads: A hint of Europe in the South
PHUKET: Most villas available on the island are either in Thai or Balinese style and as the Thais say, “Same, same!” But this unusual and well-designed property stands out from the crowd with its European design. One of the main attractions is that it is a perfect family home in which to entertain and comes with great amenities. The house…
Read More » - Business News
Laguna Phuket wins “Best Tourists Destination in Asia’ award
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket was voted one of the “2014 Best Tourists Destination in Asia” at the 11th Annual Golden Pillow Awards, held in Hangzhu, China, under the award’s category for overseas destinations and hotels. Occupying some 600 acres (2.4 square kilometers) of tropical beachfront parkland on the the northwest coast of Phuket, Laguna Phuket wins its first ever Chinese award.…
Read More » - Phuket News
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Phuket light rail is a game changer, says property expert [video]
PHUKET: The long-awaited project to build a “light rail” mass-transit system to ferry tourists and residents the length of the island passed its third and final public hearing on Tuesday, when it was revealed that construction is slated to begin in 2021. The 23.5-billion-baht project has been heralded as an enormous development for the island’s tourism and property industries, with…
Read More » - Thai Life
Environment: Piscine pollution – killing fields
PHUKET: Some time ago a friend rang to say that the beach at Kata was littered with dead fish – mostly of an emerald green color. My guess was that they were reef-dwelling parrot fish and out of curiosity, I decided to venture down to Nai Harn Beach. A scene of carnage awaited me; there were hundreds of very dead…
Read More » - Thai Life
Island Fever: Hey you, get off my cloud
PHUKET: Over the years, old Mick and Keef have amazingly managed to somehow keep the rolling thunder of Rock ‘n’ Roll headed on the upward curve. Sure, it’s been a bit of a zig-zag at times, but still they remain intact. In a manner of speaking that is. I’d of course have a hard time naming a post-1990s Stones tune,…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thai charter clause to prevent media domination
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Charter clause to prevent media domination The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The new constitution will have a clause that is designed to prevent investor domination over media businesses through hostile takeovers, a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) said yesterday. The move follows the…
Read More » - World News
Armed French gendarmes swoop on villages in manhunt for newspaper attackers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Armed French gendarmes swoop on villages in manhunt for newspaper attackers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Armed and masked anti-terrorism police swooped on woodland villages northeast of Paris on Thursday in a manhunt for two brothers suspected of being the Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people…
Read More » - Phuket News
Vendors to be allowed back on three Phuket beaches
PHUKET: Three of Phuket’s most popular beaches, which have been given the green light for a three-month beach vendor trial period, were inspected by officials yesterday to establish vendor-friendly zones. The trial period was announced at a meeting in Provincial Hall last month by Governor Nisit Jansomwong, during which he laid down a stringent list of conditions under which vendors…
Read More » - Property
The Santa Clause: Many happy rental returns
PHUKET; What did Santa Claus bring you via your property investment this Christmas? Was it 5% guaranteed net rental return on your property investment? 6%? 7%? A 60:40 or a 50:50 split of all expenses and rental returns after expenses? Looking at the wide mix of so-called guaranteed returns promised in property ads, online and on billboards in Phuket, it…
Read More » - Business News
Finance: The perfect investment for retirees
PHUKET: The headlines for the past few weeks have not been pleasant. Stocks have been dropping, oil crashed and if that wasn’t bad enough we had the Ebola crisis. When news like this hits, some people want to run and hide, but I look at it as an opportunity to put money to work. I never invest 100% of my…
Read More » - Phuket News
Corpse found in Phuket coconut grove
PHUKET: Police have yet to rule out foul play after a decomposed corpse was found in a Mai Khao coconut plantation yesterday evening. A local resident cutting grass at the site discovered the remains at about 6pm, said Lt Thanom Thongpan of the Tah Chat Chai Police. “When we arrived, there were quite a few locals at the scene trying…
Read More » - Phuket News
Human traffickers claim B300k payoffs to clear police checkpoints
PHUKET: Corrupt Thai officials allegedly accepted bribes of about 300,000 baht per truckload of trafficked people in order to allow smugglers past checkpoints, it has been revealed. The revelation comes after police on Tuesday arrested two of three men who attempted to smuggle more than 50 Rohingya through Takuapa, Phang Nga, north of Phuket, to Malaysia on Monday (story here).…
Read More » - Phuket News
Police take DNA samples in karaoke waitress rape, murder case
PHUKET: Police investigating the rape and murder of a karaoke waitress in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, are collecting DNA samples from suspects in the hope of identifying the woman’s killer or killers. The manhunt began on Sunday after the body of Ploipailin Ketkeaw, 26, was found in a palm plantation just 300 meters from the Tiew Phai karaoke, where…
Read More » - Entertainment
When in Rome, read Hughes
PHUKET: In the 1950s, Robert Hughes was part of a group of students at Sydney University – including Germaine Greer and Clive James – who went on to lead brilliant careers outside Australia. Hughes became a hugely influential art critic at Time magazine. Besides eight books about art, he wrote a wonderful history about Australia as a penal colony, The…
Read More » - Phuket News
Fighters arrive for Pencak Silat World Championships in Phuket
PHUKET: Fighters from 38 countries arrived in Phuket on Tuesday to take part in the 16th Pencak Silat World Championship, which will get under way at Saphan Hin this weekend. “There will be about 1,000 people, including athletes and support staff, coming to Phuket for the competition,” Nakrob Thongdaeng, deputy secretary general Pencak Silat Association of Thailand (PSAT), announced on…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Aviation: Hold your horses – flying car media frenzy is premature
PHUKET: There has been a great deal of buzz in the global aviation industry this month over the recent unveiling of the AeroMobil 3.0, hailed by many as a great leap forward in the race to create the world’s first practical, mass-produced “flying car”. The concept of flying cars has certainly been around for a long time – almost as…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket parasailer plunges from sky in free fall
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong has vowed to order the Phuket Marine Office to investigate a parasailing accident that saw a staffer free fall from a parachute off Bang Tao Beach on New Year’s Eve. After losing his grip on the parachute ropes, he plunged about 30 meters into the water below. “I will have the Phuket Marine Office look into…
Read More » - Opinion
Hotel compulsory buffets are hard to swallow
PHUKET: There are some things we take for granted in life as being inherently part of it. Death and taxes are two of the most obvious examples, but there are again certain givens foisted on us that have absolutely no right to be there, yet we blithely accept them as being part and parcel of existence. Tourists in foreign climes…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket’s monkey business flouting the law
Edwin Wiek is founder and director of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), an NGO protecting wildlife and nature in Thailand and Laos. He has been living in Thailand since 1989 and in 2001, founded WFFT. Here he talks about the mammoth problems facing wildlife protection forces, including systematic corruption at local level. PHUKET: While most people visit Phuket for…
Read More » - Thailand News
Actress ‘Pinky’ questioned by police, cleared in B1.5bn embezzlement case
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Actress ‘Pinky’ questioned by police, cleared in B1.5bn embezzlement case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Actress Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadej yesterday told police that she didn’t know Kittisak Mattujad, who is believed to be a key person in the Bt1.5-billion embezzlement from the King Mongkut Institute…
Read More » - World News
Police hunt three Frenchmen after 12 killed in Paris attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police hunt three Frenchmen after 12 killed in Paris attack Reuters / Phuket Gazette PARIS: Police are hunting three French nationals, including two brothers from the Paris region, after suspected Islamist gunmen killed 12 people at a satirical magazine on Wednesday, a police official and government…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Fifty-nine Bangkok police station chiefs face transfer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fifty-nine Bangkok police station chiefs face transfer The nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The planned transfers of a large number of police-station chiefs in Bangkok, accused of benefiting from the unlawful display of electronic advertising signboards, went closer to final approval when the Police Commission yesterday…
Read More » - Property
Across the Land: Building a sustainable home in Phuket
PHUKET: Chatting with a local architect who has designed and built homes in Phuket for the past 15 years prompted me to investigate sustainable materials used in home building. The architect had mentioned that current-day building materials have less maintenance issues and are more durable. Sure, the materials are more expensive, but in the long run they save the owner…
Read More » - Thailand News
Drought stalking many provinces, over 1,800 villages hit
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drought stalking many provinces, over 1,800 villages hit The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Drought is now haunting many parts of the country sooner than expected, raising concern that water shortages will be worse this year than ever before. Praphan Upata, a former village head in…
Read More » - Business News
NMG executives brief NRC panel on takeover risk
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NMG executives brief NRC panel on takeover risk The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Top executives of Nation Multimedia Group (NMG), which includes The Nation newspaper, met yesterday with the Media Reform Committee of the National Reform Council (NRC) to express concern over a possible hostile…
Read More » - Thailand News
Police seeking stolen Misiem Yipintsoi sculpture
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police seeking stolen Misiem Yipintsoi sculpture The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Misiem Yipintsoi’s last unfinished sculpture – Coy Girl (1988) – has gone missing from the private Misiem’s Sculpture Museum in Nakhon Pathom province. “It was stolen on December 26. Displayed at the garden along…
Read More » - Thailand News
Police corruption scandal: DSI agent sacked, faces charges; 2 others face probes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: DSI agent sacked, faces charges; 2 others face probes The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two Department of Special Investigation agents face disciplinary probes after initial findings showed they were involved in the contraband petrol trade in the far South, associated with racketeering…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Fugitive bomber Singh arrested, faces extradition
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fugitive bomber Singh arrested, faces extradition The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thai Police have arrested a Pakistani passport holder convicted of involvement in a high-profile bomb attack in India two decades ago that killed 18 people, including the Punjab chief minister at the time, Beant…
Read More » - World News
US navy commander pleads guilty in Glenn Defense corruption scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US navy commander pleads guilty in Glenn Defense corruption scandal Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A U.S. Navy commander pleaded guilty on Tuesday to bribery charges in connection with a wide-ranging corruption investigation of Singapore-based defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Jose Luis Sanchez, 42, was…
Read More » - Phuket News
Patong immigration officer removed amid corruption claims
PHUKET: An official at the immigration office in Patong has been removed after complaints were filed against him for charging foreigners for services that should be free, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong confirmed today. The news comes more than two and half months after Governor Nisit gave the Patong Immigration chief 15 days to explain why his office was charging for…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket closes Seven Days of Danger with 2 dead, 45 injured
PHUKET: The nationwide Seven Days of Danger safety campaign for the New Year holidays drew to a close at midnight last night, with Phuket recording two deaths and 45 people admitted to hospital for injuries in 44 accidents. The last day of the seven-day campaign, which began at midnight on December 30, recorded five accidents in Phuket in which five…
Read More » - Phuket News
Mass worker brawl delays Phuket airport expansion
PHUKET: Work on the Phuket International Airport expansion project was delayed yesterday due to a gang brawl between construction workers from Cambodia and another group from Myanmar on January 1. The fight took place in the workers’ camp, about 300 meters from the PTT aviation fuel warehouse, which is located about two kilometers from the airport. The melee left more…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket’s Boat Lagoon rebrands, sets sail for lifestyle destination
PHUKET: Do you know why the iPod succeeded? After all, it’s just another MP3 player. Yet it’s so much more than that: a fashion accessory, an icon of a certain lifestyle, a symbol of fun and, of course, a music player. It looks beyond the obvious and expands the concept that leads to such a hit. Here in Phuket, it’s…
Read More » - Thai Life
Briefcases for backpacks: One couple’s story of trading a life of work for a life of travel
PHUKET: In the words of Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” This advice resonated quite well with my wife, Farideh,…
Read More » - Property
Seven Seas Condo: Phuket’s downtown island luxury
PHUKET: Seven Seas Condo, a plush new resort-style condominium project, is about to shoot up in the heart of Phuket Town. The 2.5-billion baht Seven Seas Phuket project is located on Hongyok-Uthit Road, near Bangkok Hospital Phuket, and consists of four, eight-story buildings with a total of 975 units – all surrounded by views of Phuket’s lush, green hills. Developed…
Read More » - World News
AirAsia crash: Search teams may have found black boxes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AirAsia crash: Search teams may have found black boxes Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET:An Indonesian naval patrol vessel has found what could be the tail of a crashed AirAsia passenger jet, the section where the crucial black box voice and flight data recorders are located, officials…
Read More » - Thailand News
Man rescued after falling off cliff in Prachuap
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man rescued after falling off cliff in Prachuap The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Thai tourist was rescued yesterday after plunging off a cliff in a national park in Prachuap Khiri Khan province and being stuck there for 18 hours. Khao Ta Mong Lai Forestry…
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