Year: 2016
- Opinion
Ministry of Farang Affairs: Seduce a sexy Thai lady
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: Security systems go at Phuket International Airport
PHUKET: Ongoing infrastructure improvements at the newly-expanded Phuket International Airport (HKT) have resulted in some long delays for passengers arriving at peak hours. One area, however, where systems were fully in place at the time of launch is Airport security. The Phuket Gazette commends Airports of Thailand (AoT) and their subcontractors for their dedicated work to get security staff at…
Read More » - Thai Life
Keep it green: A big world on a small planet
PHUKET: Louts and hooligans are often accused of ‘behaving like animals’. Unlike most cliches, the expression is a complete fabrication and does a grave disservice to animals everywhere. The world is full of human beings behaving badly. Homo sapiens, not your wild creature, are the louts mindlessly bent on destruction, not only of others but ultimately of themselves. Animals kill…
Read More » - Phuket News
Safety First: Phuket Airport security meets international standards
PHUKET: News about the grand opening of the international terminal at Phuket International Airport (PIA) has littered the airwaves since its official ceremony in September. Like every new, large-scale project in Phuket, and indeed elsewhere in the world, the new terminal has had its fair share of teething problems – something the public has been quick to notice, criticize and…
Read More » - Phuket News
Speedboat sinks longtail at Maya Bay
PHUKET: A minor was injured yesterday after a speedboat smashed into a longtail boat at Phi Phi Island’s Maya Bay. Krabi Marine officials say they “now” plan to boost safety standards in the area after two similar “incidents” over just the past two days, and at least ten such crashes, some of them fatal, at Phi Phi over the past…
Read More » - Phuket News
Freedom Beach land battle heats up
PHUKET: Department of Forestry officers yesterday morning checked up on land at Freedom Beach after some titles were revoked back in May, while the alleged owner threatened to sue them. Foresty and Navy personnel were led by Boonsueb Samakwet, director of Forestry Division 12, at about 11am at the site. These are the long-debated four-billion-baht titles covering 65 rai of…
Read More » - Phuket News
70-year-old mother ‘beaten by son’ attempts bridge jump
PHUKET: Police and volunteers persuaded a 70 year-old woman not to jump off a footbridge in a suicide attempt in Phuket Town on Thursday. The distraught pensioner said she’d had enough of being beaten by her son and wanted to end it all. The woman, whose name has been withheld, was perched atop the footbridge at Komaraphat Junction near the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Speeding biker breaks neck in barrier crash
PHUKET: A speeding motorcyclist broke his neck last night in a fatal high-speed crash with a concrete barrier placed across a back road near Phuket Airport. Witnesses told police that the rider was moving along the road extremely fast in the direction of the airport on a Honda Click motorbike. “It seems he didn’t know the barrier was there,” said…
Read More » - Phuket News
iStink telephone? Man steals mobile, sticks it in his underpants
PHUKET: A Thai man was arrested for stealing and hiding a hapless tourist’s telephone in his underpants at a Patong tour agency yesterday afternoon. Kuwaiti tourist Abdul Nabimh Redha, 38, filed a complaint at 2:30pm with Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of Patong police station. “Mr Redha told us that he put his mobile on the counter at the ‘All in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Motorcyclist killed in horrific rush-hour smash
PHUKET: A 68-year-old man on a motorcycle was killed instantly this morning in a horrific 4-vehicle collision at 7am in front of the SuperCheap store near the Heroine’s Monument on the four-lane road to Pa Khlok. According to police reports, witnesses said the motorcyclist swerved in front of a Subaru driven by Kornthip Kriangkra, 32, heading toward Pa Khlok. He…
Read More » - Phuket News
Isarn rice selling like hot cakes in Krabi
PHUKET: An additional 100 tons of rice was ordered from Isarn for Krabi consumers after two lots of 16 tonnes each were sold out last week. The Agricultural Marketing Co-operative and Krabi Provincial Co-operative offices jointly imported the rice from Sisaket to help farmers in that province sell their product directly to consumers, without having to pass through the pressures…
Read More » - Phuket News
Barriers erected to halt vendors at Patong Beach
PHUKET: About 15 stall holders at Loma Park on Patong Beach pleaded with the governor of Phuket to ask for help after Patong Municipality yesterday cordoned off the area with metal fences in an effort to oust the vendors. The move follows an ‘inconclusive’ meeting between the vendors and Phuket officials on November 1 (story here), during which the vendors…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thailand Yacht Show organizers push to make Thailand Asia’s marine hub
PHUKET: Organizers of the second edition of the Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) to be held December 15-18 at Phuket’s Ao Po Grand Marina aim to inject millions of dollars into the country’s economy as they steam ahead to make Thailand Asia’s marine hub of choice for superyacht owners and marine leisure enthusiasts. Held in partnership with the Thai government, TYS…
Read More » - Opinion
Island View: The nation grieves
PHUKET: IT IS as many of us had feared; Donald Trump is soon to be the man in the White House and signs of chaos have already begun to erupt in many parts of the United States and even other parts of the world. Markets are tumbling, people are calling for a re-count, others have taken to the streets in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Emergency landing at HKT, one passenger dead
PHUKET: Emirates Airlines pilots called in for an emergency landing at Phuket International Airport yesterday afternoon, after a passenger lost consciousness and required medical treatment. He was later pronounced dead at a Phuket hospital. The passenger, whose name is being withheld until his family has been notified, was reportedly feeling sick on board the aircraft and eventually passed out. It…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thailand visa fees to be reduced to B1,000
THAILAND: Visa fees for entering Thailand, including fees for visas on arrival, are to be reduced for three months starting on December 1. The move is intended to boost tourist arrivals, a key economic engine for the country. “The fees will be cut to Bt1,000,” the Tourism Ministry announced yesterday. The change was announced less than two months after visa…
Read More » - Phuket News
Koh Lanta villagers cash in on seasonal shellfish
KOH LANTA: Enterprising villagers on Koh Lanta are earning up to 3,000 baht a week getting their hands dirty collecting shellfish. The coastal village entrepreneurs are making ends meet by digging in the wet sand at nearby beaches for ‘tapao’ shells – a type of edible clam-like mollusk that appears in the area at the end of the monsoon season…
Read More » - Phuket News
Divers sought for Phuket seahorse release
PHUKET: Phuket Aquarium is recruiting 20 volunteer divers to help release 989 seahorses into the Andaman Sea on December 5. The release of the aquarium-bred thorny seahorses, aged three months to one year old, is in dedication to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The aquarium is based at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources’ Andaman Marine and Coastal Resources…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket pensioner busted with illegal concoctions
PHUKET: A 74 year-old woman was arrested Sunday for ‘looking after’ more than 58 kilograms of kratom leaves and 45 bottles of cough syrup used to make concoctions of illegal sedatives. Acting on a tip-off, military officers led by the 41st Military Circle’s Major Sathit Naikoon arrested the pensioner at 10am yesterday at a house in Soi 6 of the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Worker camp head orders hit, charged with murder
PHUKET: A Myanmar worker suspected of killing a colleague was apprehended within an hour by police Sunday night at a workers camp in Kamala. Lt Col Somnuek Damkaew of Kamala Police arrived at the scene after he received reports of the incident at about 11:50pm. The head of the workers, named as ‘Kyaw Sein Win @ Bun’, had reportedly had…
Read More » - Phuket News
Motorcyclists injured in coach collision on Patong Hill
PHUKET: The driver of a coach carrying Chinese tourists says he ‘lost control’ of the vehicle when its ‘brakes failed’ on Patong Hill last night, resulting in serious injuries to the riders of a motorbike. The coach was heading down the hill into Patong at 10:23pm when driver Uayporn Rattanasaeng, 51, hit the bike and then slammed into a roadside…
Read More » - Phuket News
Russian man stopped at airport with protected sea shells
KRABI: National park officials in Krabi last Thursday decided to educate locals and tourists in that province on animal preservation after they caught a Bangkok-bound Russian tourist with a giant clam and a conch at the airport. The chief of the Krabi office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Wittaya Khunsan, said it was useless to arrest the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket man denies involvement in Thalang riot
PHUKET: A Phuket man has twice denied involvement in a riot last October in Thalang, during which the district’s police station was firebombed. The first denial came in September this year, after police finally hauled him in and charged him with various offenses related to the riot. The riot flared up on October 10 last year after two suspected drug…
Read More » - Phuket News
Germany’s Michael Raeleart wins Laguna Phuket Triathlon
PHUKET: German athlete Michael Raelert finished first at the 23rd annual Laguna Phuket Triathlon yesterday, completing the 1.8km swim, 50km bike race and 12km run in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 13 seconds – beating his own record by 11 minutes, which he set when he won the contest last year. In second and third places in the men’s category…
Read More » - Opinion
Ministry of Farang Affairs: Waiter won’t tell the cook
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 » - Business News
Ten reasons why the market will head higher
PHUKET: US and global markets continue to hold in a tight 2-3 month range near new highs after breaking out of a long 1.5 year consolidation just after Brexit. This is occurring despite all the pessimism out there surrounding the US elections, the Fed, terrorism, Brexit fallout, Deutsche Bank troubles and other concerns. I have ten reasons to believe the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Military removes stalls at Naithon Beach
PHUKET: Military officers removed 29 roadside vendors at Naithon Beach yesterday morning, demolishing makeshift stalls set up among trees lining the beachfront. About 50 Thalang and Sakoo district officers along with national park officers, civil defense volunteers and Navy personnel assembled at the beach at 10am and spent two hours assisting vendors taking down the snack stalls and massage beds…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: No cellphones while re-fuelling
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette wishes the Department of Energy Business (DoEB) the best of luck in its bid to get all motorists to put away their mobile phones while filling up at gas stations – it will certainly be difficult. In May this year, officials of the DoEB confirmed that service station personnel would play a key role in ensuring…
Read More » - Phuket News
Waterways lit with thousands of lanterns for Loy Krathong
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan and all three vice governors arrived at Saphan Hin as honored guests to join the Loy Krathong festival on Monday. The event was organized by Phuket Municipality and led by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana. Loy Krathong, the ‘Festival of Light’, is one of Thailand’s most significant holidays. The annual festival takes place on the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thousands gather at Laem Promthep to honor HM
PHUKET: More than 20,000 people are estimated to have taken part in the historic candle-lit ceremony atop Promthep Cape last Saturday to commemorate the 30th day of national mourning since the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13. At 6pm, Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan and local dignitaries led the public in singing the Royal Anthem alongside the…
Read More » - Thai Life
Athletes, organizers prepare for Ironman 70.3
PHUKET: Some of the world’s fittest human beings are preparing to put their endurance to the test and compete for the US$15,000 professional prize purse at the upcoming inaugural Foremost Ironman 70.3 Thailand and Foremost Ironkids event to be held in Phuket on November 27 and 26, respectively. The Ironman athletes are to set off from Bangtao Beach for the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Eight tonnes of rice sold in 3 hours through co-op initiative
KRABI: Eight tonnes of jasmine rice from Sisaket Province sold out in just three hours in Krabi yesterday in a government-led initiative to supply rice at a reduced price directly from farmers to consumers. The 2pm sell-off of rice stocks was jointly organized by the Krabi Provincial Co-operative Offices (KPCO) and the Sisaket Agricultural Marketing Co-operative (SAMC), with the aim…
Read More » - Phuket News
Public warned of jellyfish dangers in Krabi
KRABI: National park officials yesterday installed warning signs on Koh Hong to educate and warn locals and tourists about jellyfish ahead of the high season. “The signs are in Thai and English, one featuring pictures of jellyfish to help identify which ones are venomous and which not. The other explains what to do if stung by a jellyfish,” said Jampen…
Read More » - Phuket News
Truck blocks coastal road between Surin and Kamala
PHUKET: An articulated truck has jack-knifed on the hilly road between Surin and Kamala beaches, near Laem Singh, blocking traffic in both directions. Police are working to remove the truck but are warning motorists to steer clear of the route if possible. No injuries have been reported. — Winai Sarot
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket’s premium pineapples sold out in an hour
PHUKET: A hundred Phuket-grown premium pineapples priced at 1,543 baht each were pre-booked for sale within an hour last week. The pineapples will be ready for harvest in February next year and sold at the Phuket Pineapple Festival 2017, Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan announced at a press conference at Tu Kab Khao restaurant in Phuket Town. “As we all know,…
Read More » - Phuket News
First direct Frankfurt-Phuket flight arrives
PHUKET: The first Thai Airways direct flight from Frankfurt to Phuket arrived at Phuket International Airport this afternoon. Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan and Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn greeted the passengers after they disembarked from TG 926 following its arrival at 1.30pm. The new Frankfurt-Phuket route comprises three flights a week – Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays – on…
Read More » - Koh Samui News
Samui local reunites tourist with bag full of cash
SAMUI: A Good Samaritan yesterday returned a Swiss tourist’s lost bag, after it had gone missing on Tuesday. The bag, belonging to Markus Joost, contained 16,000 baht in cash, credit cards, an iPhone and a passport. The 32-year-old Samui resident, Sarawut Somsawat, works as a gardener at the Anantara resort. He reportedly found the bag in front of a picture…
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