- Phuket News
Phuket health workers battle HIV/Aids, STDs – and social stigma
PHUKET: It’s no secret that prostitution, while illegal, is rife on Phuket. While most public agencies turn a blind eye to the reality, the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) however, continues to run its ongoing campaign to ensure sex workers have voluntary regular health checks. On the front lines as head of the PPHO’s HIV/Aids division is Eam-orn Kittitornkul, a…
- Phuket News
Phuket Poll: Are Phuket hospitals up to scratch?
PHUKET: With two international hospitals and numerous private clinics, Phuket has been much touted as a medical tourism hub. But just how good are the services offered at these facilities? In the latest Phuket Gazette poll, we ask readers to rate the overall quality of private healthcare facilities on the island. Have your say by clicking here or on the…
- Phuket News
Phuket cabbie returns German tourist’s purse
PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver saved a German tourist from holiday hell yesterday when he arranged for the purse she left in his vehicle to be returned. The tourist, Hebecca Lexamora, went on a solo shopping trip to Central Festival Phuket yesterday morning. When she was finished at 11am, Central Festival taxi stand manager Pom Sukkasem arranged for driver Sompote…
- Phuket News
Phuket surf claims two more victims
PHUKET: Friends and relatives watched in horror as Thai construction worker Kittisak Thongtirat was swamped by a big wave, then disappeared in rough surf at Karon Beach on Monday. He was one of two people who drowned at the popular beach that afternoon. Duty officer Nitikorn Rawang of Chalong Police said Mr Kittisak, 25, went swimming near the Centara Grand…
- Phuket News
House top prize in 2011 Phuket Red Cross raffle
PHUKET: A new home will be the grand prize in the raffle held during the upcoming Phuket Red Cross Fair. Plans are already well in place for the joint Red Cross Fair and New Year celebrations in Phuket Town, which will take place over 11 fun days at Saphan Hin public park. The “Good Things of Phuket and Red Cross…
- Phuket News
Iced beer is queer: Phuket poll
PHUKET: A majority of Phuket Gazette readers frown on the practice of putting ice in beer as a way of keeping it chilled, the results of a recent readers’ poll reveal. Of the 689 people who voted in the twelve-day poll, 53.7% overall answered: “It’s wrong. Beer isn’t meant to be drunk that way.” However a significant number, 37.7%, approved…
- Phuket News
Phuket City Police investigate spate of car arson attacks
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating a wave of arson attacks, all with the same modus operandi, that have damaged or destroyed six vehicles on the island over the past week The latest attack, at 1am today, took place on a passenger car parked on a small soi off Phang Nga Road, in the heart of Phuket Town. Phuket City Police…
- Phuket News
Phuket picks up Condé Naste awards
PHUKET: Phuket has once again made its way into top global travel rankings, claiming several honors in Condé Naste Traveler’s 2010 Readers’ Choice Awards. Phuket was ranked third in the Top Islands Asia category, with a score of 80.2 out of 100. The Maldives scored 86.4 and Bali 84.4, claiming the top two spots respectively. Koh Samui was 8th, with…
- Phuket News
Krabi – Andaman Festival this weekend
PHUKET: The Krabi Chamber of Commerce (KCC) expects its annual festival, that starts Friday, to generate about 500 million baht for the local economy. KCC President Phuvadit Preechanont told the Gazette that more than 10,000 tourists are expected to join the Krabi – Andaman Festival 2010-2011, which will feature a range of activities designed to highlight Krabi tourist attractions, local…
- Phuket News
Shock and fall: Burmese worker plummets to his death in Phuket
PHUKET: A Burmese laborer fell to his death yesterday after suffering an electric shock while trimming tree branches in Chalong. Chalong Police were informed of the accident just after dusk. At the scene, inside the Andaman residential estate off Chao Fa West Road, officers found the body of 53-year-old laborer Nui Yong. He had suffered severe head trauma after falling…
- Phuket News
PIWC ready for annual Phuket ball
PHUKET: The Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC) annual ball will take place on the night of November 13 at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa. The PIWC has been hosting extravagant parties for more than 20 years to raise funds for its local scholarship program for needy students. Under the exotic theme ‘One Night in Rio’, this year’s ball…
- Phuket News
FC Phuket draw with Bangkok FC; Camara improving
PHUKET: FC Phuket drew 1-1 with Bangkok FC in the Division Two “Champions League” on Saturday, their first match since midfielder Camara Ahmed suffered a heart attack during a match a week earlier. FC Phuket supporters at the match wore white t-shirts bearing the stricken midfielder’s image. About 5,400 baht raised through shirt sales will go towards his growing medical…
- Phuket News
US wins Phuket Thailand Open
PHUKET: American Kerri Walsh won her 39th career FIVB world tour gold medal, part of a historic day in the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open, the women’s beach volleyball finals played here yesterday. Along with partner Nicole Branagh, the US side defeated surprise opponents Marta Menegatti and Valeria Rosso of Italy, 21-23, 21-14, 15-11. Carolina and Maria Clara Salgado of Brazil…
- Cannabis News
PHUKET OPINION: Saving lives is not an ‘internal affair’
PHUKET: The dismissal en masse of Patong-based volunteer rescue workers by the Kusoldharm Foundation once again raises the need for better standards in emergency medical rescue services – not just in Patong, but across all of Phuket. As a privately administered organization, the Kusoldharm Foundation has the right to dismiss volunteers whose conduct is inappropriate, but to terminate the services…
- Phuket News
Phuket keeps on truckin’ for flood relief
PHUKET: Hundreds of people descended on the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town yesterday to donate items for flood relief. The hotel meeting room was overrun by people handling the donations, while more than a hundred donor organizations were setting out their stockpiles in the car park. With Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at the helm, many lent a hand stowing…
- Phuket News
Phuket Thailand Open final: US vs Italy
PHUKET: Marta Menegatti and Valeria Rosso defeated Brazilians Carolina and Maria Clara Salgado in a semifinal match in the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open to become the first Italian team to ever compete for a gold medal on the FIVB women’s beach volleyball world tour. Their opponents will be Americans Nicole Branagh and Kerri Walsh, who swept Sanne Keizer and Marleen…
- Phuket News
Phuket rescue volunteers seek redemption
PHUKET: Volunteer rescue workers in Patong are demanding a clear explanation after being sacked by the Kusoldharm Foundation. The September dismissal affected all 33 Patong volunteers, who were locked out of their operations center near Kathu Police Station. The move leaves just seven paid foundation workers to continue the rescue work in Patong, despite the fact that Phuket’s thriving tourism…
- Phuket News
Foul weather may prompt Phuket seafood price hike
PHUKET: The severe rains that have plagued the country over the past two weeks may cause significant revenue losses for Phuket’s fishing industry. Teerapong Apaip-atdee, a researcher at the Phuket Fisheries Operative Center, said the rains may cause damage to livestock in ponds that are used to farm saltwater fish and shrimp. “It may cause the salt content in saltwater…
- Phuket News
Phuket Thailand Open: Dutch, Brazilians first through to semis
PHUKET: A team from the Netherlands and another from Brazil are through to the semi-finals of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open after another day of world-class volleyball at Karon Beach today. The top match saw Salgado sisters Maria Clara and Carol from Brazil upset tournament favorites Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China. Despite a comeback in the second set…
- Phuket News
Phuket tsunami warning “a rumor’: NDWC
PHUKET: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has denied local government reports that tsunami warning towers mistakenly sounded the alarm yesterday morning. However, the Phuket governor and top officials at Kamala and Mai Khao have confirmed that tsunami alarm towers went off at around 10am yesterday, causing people in the area to panic. “More than a hundred people on Nai…
- Phuket News
“Factory’ funplex to open on Phuket’s Soi Bangla
PHUKET: Construction crews are working overtime to ensure the site of the old Bangla Boxing Stadium in Patong will be ready for a grand opening on November 13 as the Factory Bar nightclub. Hailed as the largest capacity night entertainment venue in Phuket, able to accommodate nearly 1,000 party goers, the club will feature a 26-meter-long bar, dance floor and…
- Phuket News
The Great Phuket Rubber Duck Race returns
PHUKET: In the wake of its highly successful first fund-raising Race Day in November last year, the Phuket Community Foundation (PCF) today announced the popular fun event will return on January 23. Making the announcement at the Blue Elephant restaurant in Phuket Town, Alasdair Forbes, Vice President of the PCF and chair of the Race Day organizing committee, confirmed the…
- Phuket News
World champs stumble at Phuket Thailand Open
PHUKET: Spectators at the opening matches of today’s play in the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open were treated to an impressive display of raw determination on Karon Beach. Underdogs Heather Bansley and Elizabeth Maloney from Canada, seeded 26th, scored two upset wins – including a three-set win over defending world champs Jen Kessy and April Ross. “It’s pretty surreal to beat…
- Phuket News
Phuket coconut husker’s hand mauled
PHUKET: The new Phuket City Municipality fresh market on Ranong Rd claimed its first emergency early this morning when rescue workers were called to free a young man’s hand that was jammed in a coconut peeling machine. Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation workers arrived at about 4am and took more than an hour to free the hand, still attached to 19-year-old Burmese…
- Phuket News
Call for Phuket hotels to join tourist registration seminar
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office is calling for hoteliers across the island to attend a seminar about registering their guests with Immigration. Phuket Immigration Superintendent Panuwat Ruamrak told the Gazette yesterday that more than 300 hotels have already registered in the system, including the Hilton Arcadia, Sri Panwa and Marriott hotels. The seminar will be held at the ICT Center…
- Phuket News
Phuket buses, planes resume services to the South
PHUKET: The sun shining on Phuket brought good news for travelers this morning when bus and plane services from Phuket to destinations throughout the South resumed. Nearly 100 foreigners expecting to board flights to Koh Samui and other travelers bound for southern provinces by bus were left stranded this week due to the lethal flooding in the region. Phuket Airport…
- Phuket News
Thai qualifiers bounce out at Phuket Thailand Open
PHUKET: It wasn’t a good round for Thai hopefuls in the qualifying rounds of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open women’s beach volleyball tournament in Karon, as all three qualifiers bounced out in Round 1 yesterday. The pairing of Phupanee-Numwong went down in straight sets to the Canadian pairing of Valjas-MacTavish in 39 minutes (16-21, 21-23). The Japanese pairing of Ozaki-Kaneda…
- Phuket News
Prayers for stricken FC Phuket star Camara tonight
PHUKET: Players, coaches, fans, friends and family of FC Phuket will hold candlelight prayers tonight for stricken star midfielder Camara Ahmed. Camara, from the Ivory Coast, collapsed on field from a heart attack at Surakul Stadium on Saturday during the FC Phuket match against Chainat FC. He was revived en route to hospital, but has been in a coma since.…
- Phuket News
Longtail boats run aground at Bang Tao Bay, Phuket
PHUKET: Wind-driven waves damaged seven longtail boats anchored in Bang Tao Bay this morning, but it looks as if Phuket has been spared serious damage from the tropical depression that has ravaged other parts of the South in recent days. After receiving a report that the effects of the tropical depression passing over Phuket would start to be felt at…
- Phuket News
Phuket donations sought for flood victims nationwide
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Office and the Phuket Red Cross are asking for the public to donate items for flood victims nationwide. Donations of cash, clothes and dried or sealed foods will be accepted at the Jamjuri Ballroom at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town on Saturday between 1pm and 5pm. Money transfers can be made to: Account name:…
