Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.
  • Thai LifePhuket Aviation: Hold your horses – flying car media frenzy is premature

    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…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket parasailer plunges from sky in free fall

    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…

  • OpinionHotel compulsory buffets are hard to swallow

    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…

  • OpinionPhuket’s monkey business flouting the law

    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…

  • World NewsPolice hunt three Frenchmen after 12 killed in Paris attack

    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…

  • Bangkok NewsFifty-nine Bangkok police station chiefs face transfer | Thaiger

    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…

  • PropertyAcross the Land: Building a sustainable home in Phuket

    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…

  • Thailand NewsDrought stalking many provinces, over 1,800 villages hit

    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…

  • Thailand NewsPolice seeking stolen Misiem Yipintsoi sculpture

    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…

  • Thailand NewsPolice corruption scandal: DSI agent sacked, faces charges; 2 others face probes | Thaiger

    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…

  • Pattaya NewsFugitive bomber Singh arrested, faces extradition

    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…

  • World NewsUS navy commander pleads guilty in Glenn Defense corruption scandal

    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…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket closes Seven Days of Danger with 2 dead, 45 injured

    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…

  • Phuket NewsMass worker brawl delays Phuket airport expansion

    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…

  • Business NewsPhuket’s Boat Lagoon rebrands, sets sail for lifestyle destination

    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…

  • Thai LifeBriefcases for backpacks: One couple’s story of trading a life of work for a life of travel

    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,…

  • World NewsAirAsia crash: Search teams may have found black boxes

    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…

  • Thailand NewsMan rescued after falling off cliff in Prachuap

    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…

  • Phuket NewsFrenchman escapes flaming car on Phuket hill [video] | Thaiger

    Frenchman escapes flaming car on Phuket hill [video]

    PHUKET: A French tourist narrowly escaped injuries after his Thai girlfriend’s car erupted into flames on Patong Hill this afternoon. Bernard Louis Joseph Hazebrouco fled the Toyota Vios after a fire broke out in the engine and then quickly spread, Maj Teerasak Boonsang of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette today. “It took firefighters about 20 minutes to put…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket tourists stranded by Abu Dhabi sandstorm start heading home

    Phuket tourists stranded by Abu Dhabi sandstorm start heading home

    PHUKET: About 100 of the 400-odd tourists stranded in Phuket are about to fly out today, after sandstorms and poor visibility in the United Arab Emirates forced Eithad Airways to cancel its flights to Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The airline transferred the affected passengers by shuttle bus to the Dara Hotel, the Chino Hotel and the Millennium Resort, while alternative…

  • Phuket NewsThree more teens surrender for New Year’s Eve gang slaying

    Three more teens surrender for New Year’s Eve gang slaying

    PHUKET: Three more teenagers have surrendered to police for the gang slaying of a rival in Phuket Town on New Year’s Eve. Suppachai Atwicha, 19; Adisorn Laemka, 18; and a 17-year-old named by police with the pseudonym “Mr Bank” surrendered to officers at Phuket City Police Station at about 4pm yesterday. The three were among the six suspects wanted for…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Red Cross Fair winner yet to claim Toyota Altis top prize

    Phuket Red Cross Fair winner yet to claim Toyota Altis top prize

    PHUKET: The winner of the grand prize in the annual Phuket Red Cross Fair lucky draw has yet to claim the brand-new Toyota Altis after the winning ticket was drawn last night. Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong led the lucky draw on the center stage at Saphan Hin at about 10:30pm. Joining Governor Nisit for the lucky draw was his wife,…

  • Phuket NewsThree human traffickers evade arrest, 50 Rohingya netted

    Three human traffickers evade arrest, 50 Rohingya netted

    PHUKET: Police are hunting three human traffickers who evaded arrest as they attempted to smuggle more than 50 Rohingya, including six children, through Thailand to Malaysia early this morning. The drivers loaded the refugees into three pick-up trucks in a rubber-tree plantation in Takuapa, north of Phuket, before attempting to evade police checkpoints on the main road. “We received a…

  • Phuket NewsTourism, martial law: Looking back at Phuket in 2014

    Tourism, martial law: Looking back at Phuket in 2014

    With 2014 behind us, it is time to reflect on 12 months – that is 365 days, or 8,765 hours – of news that transformed Phuket and deeply affected how the island is perceived by the outside world. Here, the Phuket Gazette‘s Somchai Huasaikul looks through our archives at the game-changing moments of 2014. PHUKET: The year that was 2014…

  • Thailand NewsThai woman killed in Bhutan cliff fall ‘was not taking a selfie’

    Thai woman killed in Bhutan cliff fall ‘was not taking a selfie’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai woman killed in Bhutan cliff fall ‘was not taking a selfie’ The Nation/ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: THE family of a Thai woman who died after falling off a cliff near Taktsang Monastery in Bhutan on Friday dismissed conjecture yesterday that she slipped while taking a…

  • Thailand NewsPolice deem Frenchman hanged on Koh Tao a suicide | Thaiger

    Police deem Frenchman hanged on Koh Tao a suicide

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police deem Frenchman hanged on Koh Tao a suicide The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are treating the death of a 29-year old Frenchman found hanged with his hands tied behind his back on Koh Tao, in Surat Thani, on Thursday as suicide. The incident…

  • World NewsWeather frustrates divers as more AirAsia wreckage found

    Weather frustrates divers as more AirAsia wreckage found

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Weather frustrates divers as more AirAsia wreckage found Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Bad weather forced divers trying to identify sunken wreckage from a crashed AirAsia passenger jet to abort their mission on Sunday and Indonesian officials said they had not yet picked up any signals…

  • World NewsUK’s Prince Andrew steps up denial of underage sex

    UK’s Prince Andrew steps up denial of underage sex

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UK’s Prince Andrew steps up denial of underage sex Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Buckingham Palace stepped up its denial that Prince Andrew had sex with an underage girl introduced to him by a disgraced U.S. financier, and named the alleged victim whose anonymity was preserved…

  • Phuket NewsIsraeli tourist injured in Patong jet-ski accident, police call for care

    Israeli tourist injured in Patong jet-ski accident, police call for care

    PHUKET: In response to an Israeli man suffering injuries in a jet-ski accident at Patong Beach earlier this week, police have urged tourists to be more careful while riding the machines. However, no action will be taken to avoid a similar accident from occurring again at Patong, Phuket’s busiest tourist beach. Two Israeli brothers reportedly hired separate jet-skis at Patong…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket tyre blowout throws driver, flips truck and dumps load

    Phuket tyre blowout throws driver, flips truck and dumps load

    PHUKET: A dirt delivery truck overturned on Sri Soonthorn Road, about 500 meters from the Heroines Monument, this morning after one of the vehicle’s right rear tyres exploded. The truck careened onto its side, spilling its load onto the road and smashing the windshield at about 11:30am. The driver, Ma-een Famangkorn, 49, suffered minor head injuries in the crash. “Mr…