- Opinion
Island View: Plea to Phuket bikers
PHUKET: I don’t tend to be a conspiracy theorist. However, it is evident that motorbike drivers in Phuket have some sort of LINE or Facebook group in which they plot how to subtly commit suicide and irritate those of us with cars. The only other explanation is the hundredth monkey effect, which is described on Wikipedia as “a purported phenomenon…
- Property
Across the land: Unusual times in Phuket tourism
PHUKET: A typical ‘high season’ in Phuket is usually from November to April every year, with the ‘peak season’ being December and January. However, this has not been the case for 2015/2016, where the high season and peak season has passed by hitting a large speed bump. Almost all businesses on the island – tour companies, sailboat hires, hair &…
- Business News
Finance: What is a contrarian investor to do these days?
PHUKET: If you read my columns regularly, you know that I like to try to approach investing from a contrarian viewpoint. This basically means going against the crowd and the current trend, or essentially buying things when they are beaten and battered down and selling when everyone else loves them and thinks the run will last forever. So what does…
- Thai Life
Keep it green: This sceptered isle – speedboats, sunloungers and jet-skis
PHUKET: I recently drove along Rawai Beach Road, and counted the number of speedboats hoovering up passengers for island day-trips to Ko Phi Phi and Racha. There were 27, mostly belonging to one company. Later that day, I took the ravishingly beautiful route round Prompthep Cape, down the twisting road to Nai Harn beach and on to secluded Ao Sane…
- Opinion
Opinion: Skewing statistics – the positive and negative
PHUKET: The recent revelation that Phuket has the highest reported incidence of human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/Aids) cases in Thailand should be a cause for concern and increased personal awareness, but not panic. As pointed out by the local Provincial Health Office, Thailand’s province-based statistical reporting of national trends in the global HIV/Aids pandemic has been…
- Thai Life
Earth Day 2016 on the horizon
PHUKET: Next week, more than one billion people in 192 countries will take action to protect our shared environment. All across the globe, in big cities to small villages and everything in-between, people are organizing, demanding climate action, cleaning up their local communities, meeting with their elected officials, planting trees and teaching their children to protect our planet. This year,…
- Phuket News
“One Last Party’ before iconic Phuket beach clubs get demolished
PHUKET: With the demolition of two of Phuket’s most iconic beach clubs on Surin Beach imminent, it’s time to pull out your sexy white clothes for Twinpalms Group’s ‘One Last Time’ beach party at 8pm on Saturday. “It will be our last chance to say thank you to those who have enjoyed, over the years, the utopia that rose along…
- Thai Life
Let’s not forget the younger expat sailors
PHUKET: There are plenty of young expats around that bring their own passion into the Southeast Asia regattas and races. Want a few names? Elizabeth Schoch, known as Liz to most, and her boyfriend, Alfie, who often crew on competing boats. They are true enthusiasts and communicate their passion for sailing with great vigor. How about Mig Wehrle and Meike…
- Phuket News
48 vehicles seized by day two of Phuket road-safety campaign
PHUKET: A total of 48 vehicles were seized during the first two days of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ safety-road campaign in Phuket, as officers fight to keep the death toll on some of the most dangerous roads in the world at zero. In the first two days of the national campaign, there were 15 accidents and 18 injuries in…
- Phuket News
Untreated wastewater flowing into Patong Bay, allege Phuket beach operators
PHUKET: Patong operators are concerned that untreated wastewater is seeping into the bay after a one- kilometer swath of beachfront water turned brown yesterday. “At this stage, we need to take water samples and conduct some basic tests. However, it is very likely to be the same phenomena as last month – a plankton bloom (story here),” said Suphasit Boonpeinphol…
- Phuket News
Officers hunt for dead whale in Similan National Park
PHUKET: National park officers are searching for a large whale carcass spotted off Koh Bon in the Similan National Park on Saturday. “We have received pictures of the whale, which was reportedly already sunburned and foul-smelling. However, we’ve yet to locate the animal,” said Nut Kongkasorn, chief of Mu Ko Similan National Park. National park officers are hoping to recover…
- Phuket News
Andaman tour guides rally against illegal foreign workers
PHUKET: About a hundred Thai tour guides from the Andaman Guide Association gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday to protest against foreigners ‘stealing their jobs’. The group, led by Andaman Guide Association head Krich Thepbamrung, submitted a letter outlining their demands to Phuket Vice Governor Prajiad Aksornthammakul. “We urge the government to preserve these jobs, which are strictly reserved…
- Phuket News
Surge in registrations of new companies
PHUKET: New company registrations in the country set a two-year high last month, which the Commerce Ministry attributed to the government’s investment promotion measures and strong tourism growth. New business registrations reached 6,176 in March – up eight per cent year on year and 10 per cent from February. Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, director-general of the Business Development Department, said yesterday that…
- World News
Britain finds a buyer for one Tata steel plant, saving a third of jobs at risk
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Britain finds a buyer for one Tata steel plant, saving a third of jobs at risk Phuket Gazette / Reuters LONDON: Tata Steel (TISC.NS) agreed to sell one of its main British steelworks to investment firm Greybull Capital for 1 pound on Monday, saving a third…
- Phuket News
Phuket governor tells motorists to ‘play it safe for Songkran’
PHUKET: ‘Play it safe for Songkran’ was the message put out by Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada ahead of the new year festivities, when he made an inspection visit to the main bus terminal on Thepkrasattri Road in Rassada yesterday. “Please don’t drink and drive. Play it safe for Songkran,” urged the governor, who was at the bus terminal to oversee…
- Phuket News
Boat crew members nabbed for suspected drug use
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police apprehended four tour boat crew members for suspected drug use yesterday. “We randomly tested about 30 tour boat crew members at Chalong Pier as part of our Songkran safety campaign,” said Phuket Marine Police Chief Lt Col Panya Chaichana. “Four crew members tested positive for drug use. They were transferred to Chalong Police Station for legal…
- Phuket News
Phuket Immigration offices closed for Songkran break
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration offices, as well as other government offices on the island, are closing for the Songkran break from Wednesday April 13 to Sunday April 17. The Phuket Immigration office in Saphan Hin opens again on April 18, confirmed Phuket Immigration Chief Sunchai Chokkajaykij. The Patong Immigration Office on the beach road (Taweewong Road) is also closing for the…
- Phuket News
Propeller kills Phuket fisherman taking a leak
PHUKET: A Myanmar fisherman urinating off the back of a boat was killed after getting caught in the propeller on Saturday. The 30-year-old fisherman, named by police only as Mr Nai, reportedly fell off the edge of the fishing boat, Eakmomgkolchai 111, and into the spinning blades below. “Nitikorn Sangklapo, 43, the captain of the boat, reported that the incident…
- Phuket News
Phuket police prevent violent clash in sea gypsy property dispute
PHUKET: Police and military officers rushed to Rawai this morning to prevent a violent clash between private investors and local sea gypsies in a beachfront property dispute. “Men hired by Baron World Trade Co had gone to the disputed plot to start developing the property, but locals were trying to stop them – filling up holes that were being dug,”…
- Phuket News
‘Red jellyfish’ prompt Phi Phi warning
PHUKET: Blooms of ‘pink jellyfish’ spotted off the coast of Krabi have prompted officials to issue a warning to tourists about swimming at Phi Phi National Park. “We are not certain exactly what species of jellyfish within the Pelagiidae family they are,” said Charatsee Aungtonya, a marine expert from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR). “However, based on…
- Thai Life
Appeal of traditional Songkran
PHUKET: For many visitors to Thailand in mid-April, Songkran festivities appear, on the surface, to be just a fun and boisterous way to keep cool, but the traditions of the Thai new year celebrations are rooted in a much gentler aspect of Thailand’s Buddhist culture. The four-day festival is a highly significant astrological event in the Buddhist calendar. It marks…
- World News
Brussels bombers had planned new attack in France
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brussels bombers had planned new attack in France Phuket Gazette / Reuters BRUSSELS: The militant cell behind bombings in Brussels had been plotting to hit France again after carrying out the Paris attacks in November, but was forced to strike closer to home as police closed…
- World News
Philippine troops clash with Muslim rebels; 23 killed, 73 hurt
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Philippine troops clash with Muslim rebels; 23 killed, 73 hurt Phuket Gazette / Reuters MANILA: Philippine soldiers battled a group of about 120 Muslim rebels linked to Islamic State in a ten-hour assault on a southern island that killed 23 people, an army spokesman said on…
- Business News
Cold business for Songkran
PHUKET: Songkran can be a lucrative time of year for the island’s ice makers as sales rise with the summer heat. Many revellers load barrels onto pick-up trucks, filling them up with water and a big block of ice. In fact, Songkran ice sales are a good barometer for measuring the state of the tourism industry on the island, according…
- Opinion
Opinion: Road safety during the holidays
Phuket Provincial Police Commander Teeraphol Thipjaroen, 56, took up his position on the island last year. He is a graduate of the Royal Police Cadet Academy and has been working in Phuket since 1983, except for brief postings to Krabi and Surat Thani. Here he talks about the roles and responsibilities of the police and citizens during Songkran to help…
- Phuket News
A Decade Ago: Parliamentary elections and cable thieves
PHUKET: In A rare move, the Phuket Gazette dove into politics in the April 8-14, 2006 edition as the Democrat Party announced a boycott of the parliamentary election polls, despite Thaksin Shinawatra announcing that he would step down from the Premiership. “What the PM did last night was for his own benefit; ordinary people who do not understand politics in…
- Pattaya News
Tough new laws to help clear Phuket beaches of animal touts
PHUKET: The stakes will be raised for those engaged in the illegal, exotic-animal trade once the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment signs a new law draft, which is expected to take place after the Songkran break. “For more than 20 years we have witnessed the illegal killing and exploitation of endangered and protected wild animals for tourism. Every day,…
- Thai Life
Profile: Live to ride, ride to live
PHUKET: As CEO of Power Station Motorsport, Erik Svensson is responsible for the commercial operations of Harley-Davidson of Bangkok and the newly opened Harley-Davidson of Phuket. However, this 74-year-old man’s love affair with motorcycles started more than 60 years ago, when he was at boarding school in Canada. Mr Svensson had picked up boxing after moving from his hometown in…
- Phuket News
Famous actor hit with computer crimes act in Phuket land case
PHUKET: The alleged owner of 24 rai of land on Naka Noi Island yesterday filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against a famous Thai actor involved in the land dispute on the small island off Phuket’s east coast. The owner of Six Mountains Co Ltd, Chanwit Kitlertsiriwattan, who bought the land in 2014, claims that allegations made by the actor could…
- World News
Paris attacks suspect Abrini arrested
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Paris attacks suspect Abrini arrested Phuket Gazette / Reuters BRUSSELS: Mohamed Abrini, wanted over November’s Islamic State attacks in Paris, has been arrested in Brussels, Belgian public broadcaster VRT said on Friday, adding that he was probably involved in last month’s Brussels bombings. Public prosecutors confirmed…
