Legacy Phuket Gazette

Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.
  • Phuket NewsSurfer Profile: Teiki Ballian

    Surfer Profile: Teiki Ballian

    PHUKET: Nearly 100 of the world’s top surfers are competing at the Quiksilver Thailand Surfing Competition at Patong Beach, Phuket. Fraser Morton profiles a few of the big names at this year’s event. Name: Teiki Ballian Age: 26 From: Phuket, Indonesia (Six months here, six months there). He lives on his family’s surf charter yacht. Division: Short Board and Open…

  • Phuket NewsSurfer Profile: Tipi Jabrik

    Surfer Profile: Tipi Jabrik

    PHUKET: Nearly 100 of the world’s top surfers are competing at the Quiksilver Thailand Surfing Competition at Patong Beach, Phuket. Fraser Morton profiles a few of the big names at this year’s event. Name: Tipi Jabrik Age: 33 From: Bali, Indonesia Division: Open Division and Long Board Division Career Competitions: 200 Career Wins: 3 Fact: Last year’s Quiksilver Men’s Open…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket school inks agreement with Shelton College, Singapore

    Phuket school inks agreement with Shelton College, Singapore

    PHUKET: Phuket’s Kajonkietsuksa School has established an exchange program with Shelton College International in Singapore in a move aimed at preparing its students for bright futures in the travel and tourism industries. The agreement became official after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two schools on Wednesday morning at Kajonkietsuksa School. The terms of the MoU…

  • Phuket NewsSURF REMINDER: Meet the Phuket Surfers awing spectators at Patong

    SURF REMINDER: Meet the Phuket Surfers awing spectators at Patong

    PHUKET: Surfers vying for the crown of the Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surf Competition are donning their rash vests and waxing their boards for today’s heats. But wait, why are you not there? Yes, you, our loyal readers? Why are you reading this story? Are you aware you’re missing one of the year’s best sporting events? This is a reminder to…

  • Phuket NewsDay two of Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surf Competition in Phuket

    Day two of Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surf Competition in Phuket

    PHUKET: Day two (Thursday) of the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition greeted competitors and spectators with clear skies and 1 to 1.5 meter waves on Patong Beach in Phuket. The Open Longboard Division contestants opened proceedings just after 8am and ran until the semifinalists had been decided. Shortly after the longboard event, the Men’s Open Shortboard Division continued through to the…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket truck driver killed in roadside crash

    Phuket truck driver killed in roadside crash

    PHUKET: The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed last night when his fully-loaded rig crashed into the back of another large truck parked along the side of Thepkrasattri Road in Phuket. The driver’s girlfriend, who was asleep in the back of the cab, survived the crash but is being treated for serious injuries at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Thalang Police identified…

  • Phuket NewsElephant rampage: Tragedy strikes Phuket honeymooners

    Elephant rampage: Tragedy strikes Phuket honeymooners

    PHUKET: A Ukrainian couple’s honeymoon turned to tragedy when a bull elephant went berserk on a Phuket trekking tour, attacking the female elephant she and her husband were riding. Tetiana Meia, 26, suffered clean breaks to her left femur, right tibia (shin bone) and right fibula, along with scrapes and bruises all over her body when “Captain”, a bull elephant…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket “Number 3′ in Thailand for AIDS

    Phuket “Number 3′ in Thailand for AIDS

    PHUKET: Phuket has the third-highest reported incidence per capita of HIV/AIDS in Thailand, with Patong having one of the highest concentrations of people in the province contracting the virus, the Health Office has revealed. “The current statistics for HIV/AIDS-infected patients in Phuket is quite shocking,” Dr Wiwat Seetamanotch, Deputy Director of the Phuket Public Health Office, told a recent meeting…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Town gets the musical squirts

    Phuket Town gets the musical squirts

    PHUKET: The light and music fountain under construction at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town will stage its premiere performance next Wednesday. Paiboon Upatising, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) announced the news at a meeting with Kathu Municipality on Tuesday. “We are now testing the fountain’s light and sound system to make sure it will be ready for…

  • Phuket NewsThanyapura nets international tennis event

    Thanyapura nets international tennis event

    PHUKET: Tennis on Phuket has received a spectacular boon with Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) announcing that their facility will host one round of the Chang International Tennis Federation (ITF) Thailand Pro Circuit 2011 tournament. The competition will run from October 29 to November 12 and is the very first tennis event of this caliber to be held in…

  • Cannabis NewsPolice seize 400kg of marijuana in single haul

    Police seize 400kg of marijuana in single haul

    PHUKET : Phuket police yesterday seized 400 kilograms of marijuana worth an estimated 20 million baht in a raid in Rawai. Phuket Provincial Police presented suspected drug dealer Sompong “Pet” Tham-u-tok, 23, at a press conference this morning presided by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Chalong Police Superintendent Krittapad Dej-intorrasorn. Also presented were 400…

  • Phuket NewsPATA, Skal join forces to forge Phuket Chapter

    PATA, Skal join forces to forge Phuket Chapter

    PHUKET: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will hold a joint seminar on developing tourism in Phuket at the Movenpick Resort & Spa on Saturday. Joining forces with the formidable SkÃ¥l business network, PATA’s aim for the event is to lay the foundation to form a Phuket chapter. PATA CEO Bill Calderwood, who will be attending the event, explained that…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Poll: Enforcement of 80-meter ban ‘a failure’

    Phuket Poll: Enforcement of 80-meter ban ‘a failure’

    PHUKET: Local authorities in Phuket have done a woeful job enforcing the ban on construction at sites above 80 meters, an overwhelming majority of Phuket Gazette readers think. In the last online poll, readers were asked: In an effort to reduce landslides, flooding and deforestation, the government in 1996 imposed a ban on the construction of all permanent structures above…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Poll: What’s your favorite Thai dish?

    Phuket Poll: What’s your favorite Thai dish?

    PHUKET: In the latest online readers poll, the Phuket Gazette lightens up the subject matter to ask readers which of six popular Thai dishes they would choose to dine on exclusively if stuck on an island for two weeks. To vote in the poll click here or on the icon at the top right of this page. We understand that…

  • Thai LifeTherapy giving hope to people battling fear and phobias in Phuket

    Therapy giving hope to people battling fear and phobias in Phuket

    PHUKET: Heavy rains are expected in all regions along the Andaman coast until tomorrow afternoon, an officer at the Thai Meteorological Department told the Phuket Gazette this morning.Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun will all be affected. Tourists should avoid swimming in the sea for the next two days, as the surf is likely to be particularly dangerous, the…

  • Phuket NewsQuiksilver surf competition underway in Phuket

    Quiksilver surf competition underway in Phuket

    PHUKET: The Quiksilver Surf Phuket Thailand Competition 2011 started today, with famous surfers from around the region taking part in the first round of the men’s long board event. There were 24 men taking part in the first round, which got underway off Loma Park in Patong at 2pm. Tomorrow will see both men and women take to the gnarly,…

  • Phuket NewsPaiboon calls for “dam healthy Phuket’

    Paiboon calls for “dam healthy Phuket’

    PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization President Paiboon Upatising has called for plans to redevelop Bang Wad Dam and Bang Neaw Dam – Phuket’s two main water reservoirs – to include jogging tracks and bike lanes as key recreational features at the sites. Mr Paiboon called for the healthy additions yesterday at a public hearing at Kathu Municipality offices to announce…

  • Phuket NewsHealth checks reveal Phuket police getting heavy

    Health checks reveal Phuket police getting heavy

    PHUKET: Police officers stationed in Phuket are increasingly becoming overweight and suffering high cholesterol, the Phuket Gazette was told today. The news came on the first day of the annual police health checkup at Chalong Police Station, where 160 officers will undergo health checks today and tomorrow. “The preliminary results of the checks conducted so far show that many of…

  • Phuket NewsUse of force “necessary’ in Phuket beach eviction: Police

    Use of force “necessary’ in Phuket beach eviction: Police

    PHUKET: Local police have defended their use of force in removing vendors from a Phuket beach on Sunday, saying that the officers present did only what was needed to arrest the ringleader. Tensions flared when police and municipal officers staged a dawn raid to tear down three restaurants deemed to be encroaching on government land at Karon Beach. The three…

  • Phuket NewsStreet shooting leaves Phuket mother of two in disbelief

    Street shooting leaves Phuket mother of two in disbelief

    PHUKET: A young mother is contemplating her future after her partner and the father of her two children was gunned down outside their rented room in Phuket on Sunday night. “I was watching television with our two children at about 10pm when I heard two loud blasts. I rushed outside and saw my husband lying on the cement, covered with…

  • Phuket NewsMore wet weather for Phuket: TMD

    More wet weather for Phuket: TMD

    PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued a “heavy rain” warning for Phuket and almost all of Thailand. The warning, simply entitled “Heavy Rain over Thailand”, was issued at 5am today by the TMD’s Weather Forecast Bureau in Bangkok. The source of all the precipitation over the central plains region is a monsoon trough slowly moving across central Thailand,…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket-bound yacht crew rescued from southern Thailand storm

    Phuket-bound yacht crew rescued from southern Thailand storm

    PHUKET: Two foreigners sailing to Phuket from Langkawi in Malaysia are safe after being rescued from turbulent seas by the Royal Thai Navy off the coast of Satun early this morning. Vice Admiral Choomnoom Ardwong of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command at Cape Panwa, Phuket, was notified of a distress call from the sailing yacht Aqua at 1:45am.…

  • Phuket NewsMoF voices support for Phuket convention center

    MoF voices support for Phuket convention center

    PHUKET: Ministry of Finance General Inspector Prasit Suebchana met Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak today to reaffirm that his ministry will fight for Phuket’s convention center to go ahead. The international convention and exhibition center (ICEC) project stalled early this month when the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) announced that the project’s plan had failed its initial environmental…

  • Phuket NewsBoy, 15, stabbed at Phuket’s Chalong Pier

    Boy, 15, stabbed at Phuket’s Chalong Pier

    PHUKET: A 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the back last night while sitting with friends on Chalong Pier, a main departure point for tourists and divers heading out to the islands and reefs off Phuket. One of the security guards at the scene told the Phuket Gazette that the incident happened at about midnight. “Taweechai [Jansamud] probably had a fight…

  • Phuket NewsHotel supply cap “pointless’ for Phuket

    Hotel supply cap “pointless’ for Phuket

    PHUKET: Hotel operators are lukewarm to an effort by the Thai Hotels Association to lobby the government to limit the number of new hotel licenses it issues, saying the real problem is the number of accommodation establishments that operate illegally. Following reports that the association planned to lobby returning Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa to help develop the industry…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket rubber tapper injured by falling tree

    Phuket rubber tapper injured by falling tree

    PHUKET: A Phuket rubber tapper was left unconscious and unable to move yesterday when a para rubber tree he was cutting down fell on him. The rubber-tapper, 29-year-old Seree Thongampol, went out to fell mature rubber trees in a plantation in Paklok Village 8 yesterday afternoon.Working alone, he used a chainsaw to cut the tree at its base. To his…

  • Phuket NewsFC Phuket trump Songkhla in deep south battle

    FC Phuket trump Songkhla in deep south battle

    PHUKET: FC PHUKET got their second road win of the season last night, with a well-deserved 1-0 win against Songkhla FC in a hard-fought match at Tinsulanond Stadium in Songkhla Town. The lively match was played under clear skies, following light showers earlier in the day. Some 23,000 fans turned out making it the largest crowd Phuket has played in…

  • Phuket NewsBeach Volleyball: Phuket Thailand Open ready to decide World Number One

    Beach Volleyball: Phuket Thailand Open ready to decide World Number One

    PHUKET: Seventeen of the world’s top 20-ranked teams have confirmed their participation in the PTT Phuket Thailand Open, the final round of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour, which will take place on Phuket’s Karon Beach from November 1 to 6. The Phuket tournament is the world’s largest women’s beach volleyball event and will see the teams competing this…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket ‘security guard’ confesses to stabbing murder | Thaiger

    Phuket ‘security guard’ confesses to stabbing murder

    PHUKET: A security guard has confessed to the murder of a maid at a workers’ guesthouse in Phuket last night. Patong Police duty officer Weerapong Rakkito identified the deceased as 39-year-old Nuanchawee Sarating, until the time of her death the maid at a workers’ guesthouse in Kalim. At about 9:45pm, her body was found face-up outside her room under the…

  • Phuket NewsWorldwide Photo Walk: Phuket event to focus on Vegetarian Festival

    Worldwide Photo Walk: Phuket event to focus on Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Shutterbugs should move quickly to sign up for the Phuket event of the Fourth Annual Worldwide Photo Walk on October 2, when local and visiting photographers will capture images of the colorful spectacle that is the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival. Part of what is described as “the largest global social event for photographers”, the Photo Walk in Phuket will…