Month: December 2017
- News
WEDNESDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
There are two seven-days-of-danger on Thailand’s roads, as designated by the police – one starting tomorrow and the other during Songkran. They are the two worst periods for road deaths, by far. We don’t want you to be one of the statistics this year so we urge you to prepare ahead of any road trips to ensure that you are…
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Tropical storm “Tembin” makes its way across the Gulf of Thailand
Fishermen have been warned of strong winds and high waves in the Gulf of Thailand as the result of typhoon “Tembin”, which has now passed through southern Vietnam yesterday and due to affect the southern coastal areas from Pranchuap Khiri Khan to Songkhla from tomorrow and Thursday. Payao Muengngam, director of the Southern Meteorological Centre for the east coast, is…
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How was the tsunami reported on the island 13 years ago?
Imagine sitting in a news office on the morning of December 26, 2004. You’re working as a journalist in Phuket. It was that morning that an earthquake struck an area about 500 kilometres south west of Phuket. Two hours later the shock waves reached the island in the form of a tidal surge. This was the first report from the…
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Tsunami memorial ceremony in Phang Nga
Baan Namkem villagers from Phang Nga, plus relatives of the the 2004 tsunami victims, gathered this morning at the Tsunami Memorial Park for the 13th anniversary of Phuket’s biggest disaster. The crowd brought flowers to mourn the victims and their loved ones. There was also religious ceremony from the 3 main religions – Buddhism, Islam and Christianity – to bless the…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, December 26
Toon crosses the finish line | Overpass links the two Central Festival buildings | 60 year old British man drowns at Similans | Free helmets being handed out to kids in Phuket Town | Tropical depression heading our way for the weekend.
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Phuket tourism centres launched
Phuket Governor, Norapat Plodthong, together with the Director General of Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Jatuporn Burutpat, hosted the opening of the Phuket Tourist Centres yesterday (December 25) in Patong. Phuket’s Governor says that Phuket is a tourism destination welcoming more than 15 million tourists a year, domestic and international, and there are a lot of tourists heading…
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Traffic police giving away helmets to children in Phuket Town
PHOTO: Bishal Tamrakar This morning (December 26), about 50 helmets were given away to children on motorcycles passing by the Mueang Phuket District Office intersection (in front of Merlin Hotel) following a policy to encourage better road safety awareness by deputy commander of Phuket traffic police, Pol Lt Col Teerawat Liamsuwan. “We want to create better awareness among riders with…
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Toon crosses the finish line, exceeding the fund-raising targets and becoming a national hero
Thailand’s national hero Artiwara Kongmalai, better known as Toon Bodyslam, has completed his epic mission to raise funds for state hospitals via a run from the country’s southernmost corner to its northernmost tip. It is a job well done, exceeding targets in many aspects. Artiwara’s charity run has managed to attract more than 1.1 billion baht in donations, far above…
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British tourist drowns off Similan islands
60 year old Dennis Michael from Britain was pulled out of the seas off the Similan islands on Sunday. The incident happened off the beach in front of Koh Si. Royal Thai Navy Area 3 officers from the Similan marine security unit tried CPR but were unable to revive him. He was rushed to shore by the national park’s speedboat. An…
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TUESDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
Boxing Day in Phuket. Where did the name Boxing Day come from? We’ve done the Googling for you. Have a read HERE. There’s another of these pesky tropical storms heading over the South China Sea at the moment, making landfall with Vietnam today then heading over the Gulf of Thailand and affecting the southern coastal provinces from tomorrow and Thursday.…
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Toon to cross the finish line tonight
Rock star runner, turned national hero, Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai will reach his destination at the northernmost tip of Thailand night in Mae Sai district near Chiang Rai (December 25). Toon and his support team are expected to arrive at around 9pm at the border crossing at the end of Phahon Yothin Road in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, more than…
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18 year old alleged killer arrested in Thalang crackdown
An 18 year old, who allegedly shot a 17 year old couple on December 23, killing the girl, has been arrested along with 33 other people who illegally posses guns and bullets plus another 20 people involved in drug-related cases. This follows a police crime crackdown measures during Christmas and New Year period. The arrests were made between December 22…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, December 25
Car overturns in Kathu | Tragic accident killing two on Saturday night | Thailand’s 13 best beaches announced | 37 dead in Davao City blaze | Toon heads for the finish line today | Another illegal tour guide arrested at Ao Po | Drink driving still the #1 cause of our road deaths.
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Illegal Chinese tour guide nabbed at Ao Po
A Chinese national illegal tour guide, 35 year old Yuanhua Li, has been arrested by a provincial office team sent by the Governor, Norapat Plodthong, yesterday morning (December 24) at Ao Po Pier in Paklok, about 500 metres south of Ao Po Grand Marina. Officials are being asked to crackdown on illegal tourist guides following two days of protests…
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MONDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
Merry Christmas from all of us here at Phuket Gazette and The Thaiger. We urge you to be extra careful out on the roads on this day and in the days up to New Year. It’s the busiest time for tourism on the island and there are lots of people here to celebrate. Let’s see which stories are leading the…
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Thalang car crash kills two, including a one year old baby
At midnight on Saturday night, at Saladaeng intersection on Thepkasattri Road in Thalang, a 6-wheel bus crashed into a car, resulting in two casualties and an injured driver in serious condition. The bus was driven by 42 year old Boonyong Linla, who police allege was driving at high speed and ignored a traffic signal, running the red light. He crashed…
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Robber in Chalong caught last night
At 1 am this morning Chalong police received a report about a robbery in Aek Anda Village in Soi Anusorn and managed to catch 27 year old Aed Bangjak, who lives in Rawai. He was carrying a sack with him at the time. Inside the sack police found aluminium parts, a set of screwdrivers and other robbery equipment. Aed confessed…
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Toon ploughs on in 8 degree temperatures
Charity-run hero Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai continued his run in Chiang Rai amid thick morning fog in chilly 8 degrees Celsius weather, determined to cover the final 60 kilometres stretch on Sunday to reach the finish line by December 25 as planned. So far, Toon – who has been voted in a Bangkok Poll survey as the most admirable person of…
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26 year old Chinese tourist drowns an hour after arriving in Phuket
A Chinese tourist drowned at Patong Beach yesterday while waiting to check into his hotel. Police say 26 year old An Huifeng drowned shortly after he and his girlfriend went into the water while they were waiting to check in. Police spoke to the man’s girlfriend and found out that the two arrived in Phuket only an hour before and…
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SUNDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
One more sleep until Santa comes down the chimney. Not there are many chimneys in Phuket – perhaps leave the back door open instead. A final decision on the Thepa Coal Plant seems to be dragging on, a Chinese tourist drowned only an hour after arriving on the island, BKK police have seized 72 modified motorbikes and Toon’s close to…
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Who’s deserving of the title ‘Phuket Person of the Year’?
Charity runner/singer Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai has been voted Thailand’s most admirable person of the year, overwhelmingly beating Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, in a poll conducted by Bangkok University. The survey was carried out by Bangkok Poll who interviewed 1,154 people from December 9 to 12. The survey results announced today reveal that Toon had 83.5 per cent of…
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17 year old couple shot in Thalang
PHOTOS: Kusoltham Phuket Foundation At 11.30pm last night (December 22), Kusoltham Phuket Foundation rescue team reported a shooting in Baan Pa Krong Cheep, Thalang. At the scene the team found an injured 17 year old boyfriend and girlfriend who were both shot in their neck. The man, Rohmat Tumwong, was conscious and sent to Vachira Hospital while his girlfriend, Panilada…
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Ceremony to commence the removal of the Royal Crematorium replica in Saphan Hin
A worship ritual was held yesterday (December 22) to start the removal the replica of the Royal Crematorium of Late HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama 9 in Saphan Hin. The ritual was chaired by Phuket’s Vice Governor Thavornwat Kongkaew, alongside a number of local authorities and local people. The ritual was conducted in front of Late HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej…
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SATURDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
Two sleeps before Christmas and the weekend has brought a bit of Christmas cloud. Possible showers today and an 80% chance of rain forecast for Christmas Eve. Watches are back in the news, a decision to reject wiretapping, moving Rama IX’s Royal Crematorium and the ongoing search for wayward Abbot Phra Dhammachayo. Here we go with today’s briefs… ‘No’ to wiretapping…
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Is Phra Dhammachayo living abroad?
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has found a clue that Phra Dhammachayo, the ex-abbot of Pathum Thani’s Dhammakaya Temple, wanted for a high-profile money-laundering case and separate land encroachments, was hiding abroad. (Read earlier story HERE) The agency is checking the credibility of the clue before doing anything that might waste the state budget, DSI deputy chief Pol Major…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, December 22
Prayut pushes ahead with high-speed train project | Bangkok police start a 100% helmet campaign | Laypang Beach 70% cleared | Thai tour guides protest against illegal guides, again | Pattaya tiger zoo under fire for ‘poking’ video | Less than 200 Km to go for Toon | Missing Koh Lanta boat found.
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, December 21
New Drink Drive Death campaign | Laypang finds her new home | Police still investigating pick-up fatality | EU demands release of journalists | Toon gets some celebrity encouragement.
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Two illegal tour guides picked up but blitz is on for illegal Chinese guides
Two illegal Thai tour guides have been arrested following a protest lasting two days from other local Thai tour guides crying foul over illegal Chinese guides taking their jobs. Yesterday (December 21) at 5 pm police visited the popular tourist spot following the local tour guide protest at Promthep Cape. Phuket’s Governor ordered a team to conduct a random check…
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Strong winds in Krabi sweep a speed boat off its mooring
A speedboat belonging to a Swedish man, that was tied up in the bay at Koh Lanta, went missing after strong north easterly winds on Wednesday night. The 9 metre speedboat named ‘Baghera’ was reported missing. A team of Marine Security Unit of Royal Thai Navy, Koh Lanta Noi, headed out on Thursday morning in search for the missing vessel.…
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70% of the illegal businesses on Laypang beach cleared. A few remain.
Cherngtalay’s OrBorTor President, Ma-Ann Samran, visited Laypang Beach yesterday (December 21) with about 30 military officers and local police to follow up on the progress of the demolition of encroached restaurants on Laypang Beach. The team found that 70% of the restaurants have already been removed. After the Supreme Court passed down its judgement on November 1 that the 178…
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Less than 200 Km to go – Toon reaches 2,000 Km milestone mark on Day 52
Rock star Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai reached the 2,000km mark of his 2,191km charity run early this morning (Friday) amid chilling weather of 10 degrees Celsius. Toon and his group started the day’s first lap at 3:20am from their rest point in Ban Mae Prao village in Tambon Ban Huad in Lapang’s Ngao district when the mercury was about 10C or…
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FRIDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
Friday. Only three more sleeps until Christmas. But we’ll be posting the latest news from around Phuket and Thailand right through the ‘silly season’. We urge you to take extra care on the roads in the traditional ‘seven dangerous days’. If you do head out to celebrate, catch a taxi or get someone sober to take you home. We want…
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Accolade for Samui resort at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2017
Thai boutique collection, Manathai Hotels and Resorts proudly announced that its Manathai Koh Samui was voted Best Luxury Island Resort at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2017. The prestigious accolade was given during a gala dinner event hosted at the Kulm Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Khun Chatri Rattanarangsri, the resort’s Executive Assistant Manager says, “This recognition confirms what we…
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Local tour guides protest over illegal Chinese tour guides
A group of local tour guides, who lead Chinese tours, protested today (December 21) at Promthep Cape against workers, they claim, are illegal Chinese tour guides taking their jobs in tour companies. https://www.facebook.com/phuketgazette/videos/1557310141013475/ The protest started yesterday (December 20) but continued again at the same place today. The group is calling for help from local authorities, saying that the tour…
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Krabi supporters of the coal power plant voice their support
More than 400 Krabi residents gathered in front of Klong Nua District Office to support the coal power plant today (December 21). The group of villagers, led by Baan Pakasai Moo 3 Village Chief, Kijja Thongthtip, says the group under the name ‘Representative of Krabi people network’, filed a letter to the district officials to pass to PM Prayut Chan-Ocha…
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Tiger-poking at a Pattaya Zoo sparks social media outrage
A Thai zoo in Pattaya is sparking outrage after a video of staff repeatedly prodding a tiger to elicit roars for tourist photos went viral, renewing criticism of Thailand’s notorious animal tourism industry. https://www.facebook.com/edwin.wiek/videos/10154902077257443/ Video by Edwin Wiek, the founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand The clip, which has garnered more than one million views since it was posted on…
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Amazing Thailand Countdown 2017 @ Phuket
Phuket is ready for an Amazing Thailand Countdown 2018 @ Phuket on December 30-31, expecting to generate at least 200 million Baht. Last night (December 20), at Blue Elephant, Deputy Governor of Domestic Marketing, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Noppadon Pakprot, alongside Phuket Governor Norapat Plodthong and the President of Phuket Old Town Community, Don Limnantapisit, held a press conference announcing…
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