Year: 2016
- Phuket News
Krabi prisoners released on Royal pardon
PHUKET: Prisoners walked out of Krabi Prison yesterday morning as the Royal pardon instated to commemorate the beginning of the reign of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun came into motion. Friends, families and relatives waited outside the prison walls to be reunited with the 157 released inmates. (A similar scene was witnessed in Phuket last week, when 147 inmates…
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No deaths on Day 2 of “Seven Days of Danger’
PHUKET: The 2nd day of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ in Phuket ended with zero deaths and 9 injuries, according to official statistics provided by the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM). The current road safety campaign, which is held nationwide during peak holiday seasons (only), runs from December 29, 2016 to January 4, 2017.…
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Phuket crocodile show goes wrong
PHUKET: A crocodile show in Chalong went wrong yesterday afternoon when one of the crocodiles attacked a performer. The reptile, measuring more than 6 feet in length, snapped its jaws around the wrist of the man and twisted its body. He, in turn, managed to spin in the same direction and saved his wrist from a possible fracture. He is…
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Paralympian visits Phuket during 10,000km journey
PHUKET: A Thai paralympic athlete stopped by Phuket on Wednesday as part of his mission to travel more than 10,000 kilometers over 74 provinces in his wheelchair in honor of the late Monarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Phuyin Khumnaan, 41, scored a silver medal at the Asian Boat Race in China this year, along with his girlfriend ‘AJ’. He…
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Krabi officials, transport companies team up for holiday road safety
KRABI: A task force to check transport buses and their drivers has set up camp at the Krabi Bus Terminal during the long New Year weekend. The group, formed by the Krabi Department of Land Transport (DLT), has teamed up with 17 bus service companies to ensure that brakes on all buses and vans are operational. The drivers will also…
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Business Buzz: Social Media trends to look out for in 2017
PHUKET: Another year gone and the social media scene has witnessed a lot of changes, with new platforms such as Periscope and Snapchat rising in popularity – while Twitter continues its slide. Video, 360 degree images and smart graphics will likely continue leading the way in content marketing and branding, appealing to our need for instant gratification and shorter attention…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Trying to bribe fish
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
Read More » - Thai Life
Looking Back: Planning a Royal funeral
PHUKET: Royal funerals are solemn affairs that take months to plan. When a monarch or a high-ranking royal passes away, their body is taken to the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace complex. There, the body lies in state while craftsmen build the royal funeral pyre, an intricately crafted structure which takes up to nine months to…
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Patong Beach road to close for New Year’s Eve
PHUKET: The Patong Traffic Police have sent out an official notice announcing the closure of the beach road (Taweewong Road) tomorrow night. The thoroughfare will be shut down from 11:30pm-1am as a security measure, as well as to manage traffic as thousands of people march to the beach for the countdown to the new year.
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Tourist found dead by Phuket hotel pool
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist died while swimming early this morning after a late night out in Kamala. Captain Prasert Thongprom of Kamala Police received the report about 3am and officers found 28-year-old Jian Dong’s body lying by the pool of the hotel where he was staying. Mr Dong was part of a Phuket tour group, and had gone out with…
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Similan coral defaced with Korean name
PHUKET: Dive company operators are urging officials to boost regulations after a piece of coral with a Korean name etched into it was discovered in the waters of Mu Koh Similan National Park last week. The photo was taken last Saturday by a diver from the Sign Scuba company at Turtle Rock, where there are plenty of corals, both dead…
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Phuket drug dealers busted with B1mn of meth
PHUKET: Four suspects, including a minor, were arrested in Rassada yesterday with more than 4,000 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) and 200 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) worth about one million baht. “Our sources informed us that a drug shipment would be delivered from Bangkok to Phuket via a logistics company named Somchai Speed Transport Partnership. We went to…
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New Zealand man falls to his death in Phuket
PHUKET: A Patong Municipality trash collector discovered the body of a tourist at the foot of a Phuket hotel early this morning. The 55-year-old man from New Zealand is believed to have jumped off the balcony of his rented room at the Royal Paradise Hotel & Spa, which is located about 5 minutes from Patong Beach. He had checked in…
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Festive five per cent financing offered for Laguna Park’s townhomes, villas
Advertorial PHUKET: Investors in Laguna Park’s two-bedroom town houses and five-bedroom villas located next to the Laguna Phuket Golf Course are being offered a special five per cent financing option for the festive period. Aimed at couples and growing families, the homes by the Banyan Tree Group are priced from 9.3 million baht and come ready to move in with…
Read More » - Food
Dining: Something for everyone at Moon Bistro
PHUKET: With the Cherng Talay area filled with flashy eateries, it is often difficult to decide where to grab a bite to eat. Driving down Lagoon Road, a small joint named Moon Bistro and Restaurant catches the eye at first glance. This elegantly-designed restaurant appeals to tourists, as well as long-term expats and locals, with both indoor and outdoor seating…
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Phuket teen killed in stolen motorbike chase
PHUKET: A 14-year-old boy was killed and another badly injured when the stolen motorbike they were riding collided with a car in Saphan Hin last night. Phuket City Police officers and paramedics arrived on the scene, at the Bang Yai Canal intersection, about 9:40pm. The motorbike had been stolen from a house behind Rajabhat University on Monday. The bike’s owner,…
Read More » - Thai Life
Keep It Green: Reefers, rogues and regulations
PHUKET: According to recent statistics, Thailand has the fourth largest seafood export industry in the world, valued at a massive 6.5 billion dollars a year. With its fleet of Phuket-based fishing vessels and substantial shrimp-farming industry, the island is a significant contributor to this figure. However, adverse international publicity in the last few years has caused some decline, following allegations…
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Traffic held up for three hours after truck spills plywood load
PHUKET: Tah Chat Chai Police suspect the driver of an articulated truck that spilled its load of plywood sheets all over the road last night, bringing traffic to a standstill, lost control of his vehicle when he took a sharp bend at high speed in wet conditions. The Phuket-bound 18-wheeler spilled its entire load on the notoriously dangerous curve, a…
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Tsunami remembrance ceremony held on 12th anniversary of disaster
PHUKET: About 200 locals, tourists and provincial dignitaries gathered at Patong Beach yesterday evening to hold a candle-lit remembrance ceremony in front of Loma Park on the 12th anniversary of the deadly tsunami that struck the island on the morning of December 26, 2004. Official figures state that the tsunami killed 5,398 people and that more than 3,700 disappeared in…
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Microsoft aims to use IT to battle human trafficking
PHUKET: Microsoft Thailand last week organized a project to educate youth about computers and Information Technology to equip them with the knowledge and tools to fight human trafficking. The project was chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Teera Anantaseriwidhya, at Prince of Songkla University’s Phuket Campus. The campaign is being held at seven campuses throughout the country, including, in addition to…
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Profile: Thomas and Sonia Baumgartner – all eyes on the finish line
PHUKET: Thomas and Sonja Baumgartner may be two among thousands of athletes who competed in this year’s Laguna Phuket Triathlon, but their story is an inspiring one nonetheless. Hailing from snowy Switzerland, the couple are regular vacationers to Phuket. Although of an active and sporty disposition, they had never thought about taking part in a triathlon event until their daughter…
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Island View: Unchecked road rage in Phuket
PHUKET: As far as road safety in Phuket goes, authorities always highlight ‘speeding’ and ‘helmetless riding’ as the major causes of the appalling number of ‘accidents’ and deaths on the road. However, a relatively overlooked area – in my opinion – is road rage. One recent incident involved a 21-year-old Thai man who threw a large rock at a passing…
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Samkong ‘fields of gold’ attract locals, tourists
PHUKET: A field of sunhemps in full bloom near the Tesco Lotus Samkong junction has become a popular attraction for locals and tourists, who have been stopping off to pose for pictures. Piyaporn Udomsap, the owner of the 23-rai plot, has allowed free access to the public, saying he grows the flowers to maintain the quality and aesthetic beauty of…
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Tsunami memorial ceremonies held in Phuket
PHUKET: The 12-year anniversary for the victims of the devastating 2004 Tsunami was held this morning at several memorials on the island. The Tsunami pulverized the Andaman coast with waves up to 100 feet high. More than 5,000 people died and 3,700 remain unaccounted for to-date. At about 9am OrBorTor Mai Khao arranged Buddhist, Islamic and Christian rites’ services at…
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Phuket drug dealer arrested with B400k of ya bah pills
PHUKET: A drug dealer was arrested with about 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills at Phuket Bus Terminal 2 on Thepkrasattri Rd on Saturday evening. Sarawuth Koraneesak, 23, had bought the pills in Bangkok for delivery to a customer in Phuket. He was waiting for the customer to come and collect them when he was arrested. The pills were estimated to…
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Phuket prisoners released on Royal pardon
PHUKET: The first batch of prisoners was released from Phuket Prison yesterday morning, following the announcement of a Royal pardon earlier this month to commemorate the start of the reign of King Rama X. Phuket Prison Commander Somkit Kammang presided over the event as a crowd of relatives stood outside the prison walls, waiting to welcome 147 inmates who qualified…
Read More » - Property
By the book: Preparing your property for sale
PHUKET: The onset of high season is here again. The monsoon rains have passed, the sun is out and businesses are preparing for the influx of tourists to Phuket. The next six months are when most buyers will visit Phuket and when most property sales occur. Phuket real estate brokers will have already been short-listing those properties they will concentrate…
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Opinion: Risking life and limb for visa runs
PHUKET: If you are a foreigner living in Thailand, you need a visa. That’s fair enough. It’s like that all over the world. But no matter what kind of visa the foreigner has here, he or she often has to spend time and money, and frequently to risk life and limb, just to stay legal. Last week brought news of…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Festive Season Jingles
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: Adieu, 2016
PHUKET: As the year draws to a close, social media have been flooded with an increasingly common sentiment: ‘Good Riddance, 2016’. Fair enough. The past year has seen so many unprecedented – many would say negative – developments that it would be futile to try to list them all here. But a few do stand out as potentially bellwether. In…
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Royal Thai Navy declares sand-beds “illegal’
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has overturned the Patong Mayor’s ruling regarding beach mats laid out on raised beds of sand at Patong Beach, and declared that they are, in fact, “illegal”. Rear Adm Pisai Sukawin, deputy commander of the RTN Third Area Command, handed down the verdict at a meeting yesterday afternoon, saying that regardless of the beds being…
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More snakes at Patong Police Station
PHUKET: Four snakes, including a king cobra, a cobra and a radiated rat snake, have invaded Patong Police Station three times this week, causing the officers there to panic and send for rescue workers. “The snakes might have come into the building during the floods, but although the floods are gone, the animals remained hiding inside,” said Patong Police Superintendent…
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Phuket officials demolish illegal man-made plantations
PHUKET: Thalang District locals are furious after a joint task force of government officers demolished a man-made plantation in Suan Pa Bang Kanun this week as it was reportedly encroaching on 120 rai of public forest land in Phuket. The first round of demolitions in the area took place on July 14 this year, during which five houses, a palm-tree…
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Wrap-up: Thailand Yacht Show
PHUKET: The second edition of the Thailand Yacht Show saw visitors enjoying sea trials, parties on superyachts, fashion shows, supercars and the latest water-borne toys. With 60 exhibitors, and 55 vessels – including 18 superyachts – on display, the second edition of the TYS closed its doors on Sunday night. Held in partnership with the Thai government, it proved to…
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Public, private sectors unite against coal-fired power plant
KRABI: Representatives from 11 private and government sector organizations met in Krabi yesterday to reiterate their stance against the construction of a coal-fired power plant, which they say will adversely impact the quality of life for locals and cause billions of baht in tourism losses. Officials from the Krabi Chamber of Commerce, Krabi Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), and Krabi…
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Teenage driver killed in high-speed collision with 18-wheeler
PHUKET: A teenage driver was killed in a collision with an 18-wheel truck in north Phuket this morning. The accident occurred about 11:30am at the Sala Deng-Muddokkhao junction (that turns into Nai Yang Beach). “We received a report that a Diahatsu Mira had crashed into an 18-wheeler truck on northbound Thepkrasattri Road. The front side of the car was seriously…
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Phuket Police beef up security over holiday period
PHUKET: More than 280 Phuket police officers and volunteers gathered outside Phuket Provincial Police Station yesterday in a show of readiness to boost the safety of tourists and residents on the island over the Christmas and New Year holidays. “Security measures will be heightened from December 22 to January 15, to instill confidence in both locals and tourists who visit…
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