Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Phuket News
Krabi City officials drowning in dead fish
KRABI: Krabi officials are scrambling to find a solution to the tens of thousands of dead fish found in a pond in Krabi City over the weekend. The pond, which houses numerous types of fish for fishing competitions, started emanating a bad smell as the fish started to die off on Sunday. “We tested the water for poisonous substances, but…
- Phuket News
Phuket Airport boosts security after Brussels blasts
PHUKET: A bomb disposal squad is on standby and extra military personnel are on guard at checkpoints in and around Phuket International Airport. “We have raised the security status to ‘level three plus’ and have implemented extra safety measures throughout the airport and surrounding area,” said Phuket Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan. Checkpoints at the airport’s entrance went up at 8pm…
- Phuket News
Bus banned for smoking is alreay back in business
PHUKET: A Phuket bus that was banned from the roads for belching out black smoke and failing an exhaust emission test on Monday was back in business the next day. “The amount of black smoke in the bus’s emissions has been reduced from 99.8 per cent to 12 per cent,” confirmed Jaturong Kaewkasi, chief policy adviser at the Phuket Land…
- Phuket News
Tourists safe after Phuket bus catches fire
PHUKET: More than a dozen tourists are safe after the bus they were taking to Patong caught fire yesterday afternoon. The bus, owned by Jetour Thailand Limited Company, was delivering 14 Chinese tourists from Nonthasak Pier in Rassada to their hotel when the driver noticed smoke emanating from the dashboard. “I couldn’t stop the bus immediately because there was no…
- World News
Explosions hit Brussels airport, one killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Explosions hit Brussels airport, one killed Phuket Gazette / Reuters BRUSSELS: Explosions tore through the departure hall of Brussels airport on Tuesday morning killing one person and injuring several others, the Belgian news agency Belga said. The agency said shots were fired and there were shouts…
- Phuket News
Flat tyre, carelessness blamed for filthy Phuket pier
PHUKET: Officials are blaming a garbage truck with a flat tyre and boat operators’ carelessness for the piles of rubbish and spilled oil spotted on Chalong Pier yesterday. Photos sent to the Phuket Gazette by a reader – showing dozens of garbage bags, bottles and puddles of oil along the pier – were forwarded to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization…
- Business News
The LifeCo: The business of healing
PHUKET: One doesn’t have to look far to find a spa in Phuket, but recent years have seen a marked shift in this trend, as new and established business are looking to cash in on wellness, as opposed to opulence and luxury. The LifeCo Phuket Well-Being Center based in Thalang is the first for the company outside of Turkey, and…
- Phuket News
Krabi raid nets a kilo of crystal meth
PHUKET: A Region 8 Police task force smashed a six-man drug trafficking ring in Krabi over the weekend, seizing more than 40,000 methamphetamine pills (ya ba) and more than a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice), as well as cash and assets with a combined value of more than 4 million baht. Police were able to close in on the…
- World News
Indonesian taxi drivers to rally for ban on online taxi apps
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesian taxi drivers to rally for ban on online taxi apps Phuket Gazette / Reuters JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesian taxi drivers took to the streets of the capital Jakarta on Tuesday to protest ride-hailing apps like Grab and Uber, bringing parts of the city to a…
- Phuket News
PLTO bans bus bellowing pollution in Phuket
PHUKET: Officials banned a pollution-belching Phuket bus from service after it failed its emissions test yesterday. The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) was alerted to the bus’s condition through a complaint made by a concerned citizen who sent in a photo of the vehicle’s plate number. “The black carbon emissions expelled from diesel exhaust cannot exceed 45 per cent. However,…
- Phuket News
Phuket ‘smart city’ set to receive Korean expertise, B430mn-budget
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak yesterday announced a budget of 430 million baht to further the ‘smart city’ project in Phuket. The announcement was made at a conference yesterday where the Deputy PM invited entrepreneurs from the South Korean city of Busan to invest in Thailand. Deputy PM Somkid chaired a signing ceremony between Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada and…
- Thai Life
Keep it Green: Protecting Our Precious Wildlife [video]
PHUKET: The recent brouhaha about Phuket Zoo’s ‘missing’ orangutan highlights – as every high profile incident does – Thailand’s patchy record with regard to wildlife conservation and care. The facts of Milo’s case are all too familiar to naturalists. Suffice to say that when the primate’s presence in the Phuket Zoo was questioned by animal-rights activist Vicki Kiely, the 13-year-old…
- Thai Life
Books: Our Man in Phuket – Autobiography of Alan Cooke
PHUKET: Our man in Phuket is the autobiography by Alan Cooke, a former British Honorary Consul to Phuket. Alan is a man who has done much for the island. He introduced the Hash House Harriers and British Businessman’s association. He helped build the deepwater port and create the PIMEX Boat Show. As consul, he was instrumental in getting the high…
- Phuket News
Move to regulate diving industry [video]
PHUKET: Independent diving excursions have been banned in Phuket and Phang Nga following a government move to tighten regulations and increase accountability in the previously self-regulated industry. The move comes in the wake of a number of dive-related deaths and serious accidents in the region. “Though the diving industry does have its own regulations, we need to take greater responsibility…
- Phuket News
Calling all HOGs for record Harley convoy in Phuket
PHUKET: Hundreds of Harley-Davidson bikers from across the country are roaring in to Phuket on April 10 to set the record for the longest Harley-Davidson convoy in Thailand. Phuket’s HOGs (Harley Owner’s Group members) are calling on all Thailand chapters to join the attempt to set the record for the longest Harley parade with about 500 bikes and riders. The…
- Hua Hin News
Phuket etiquette course in wake of Chinese tourist prawn gorging [video]
PHUKET: Following Chinese tourists’ chaotic stampede and subsequent gluttonous gorging of piles of prawns at a buffet in Thailand, Phuket will be holding an etiquette course for guides working with Chinese tour companies. The internet was ablaze with vehement criticism of Chinese tourists this weekend after Chinese media company Shanghaiist published a 33 second video clip showing tourists in a…
- Phuket News
A Decade Ago: Beach chairs and a B40mn blaze
PHUKET: Fears that beach vendors’ unrelenting attempts to retake the beaches will eventually wear down Phuket officials’ willingness to enforce the 10 per cent zone and virgin beach regulations are well founded. Ten years ago, in the March 18-24 edition of the Phuket Gazette, we documented rental operators reneging on a deal – struck after the tsunami – between their…
- World News
Russia mourns plane crash victims as investigation begins
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russia mourns plane crash victims as investigation begins Phuket Gazette / Reuters ROSTOV-ON-DON: Relatives gathered to mourn the 62 victims of a passenger jet crash in southern Russia on Sunday and officials warned an investigation could take weeks to determine the cause of the downing. At…
- World News
Suicide bomber kills four, wounds 36 in Istanbul shopping district
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suicide bomber kills four, wounds 36 in Istanbul shopping district Phuket Gazette / Reuters ISTANBUL: A suicide bomber killed four people on Saturday in a busy shopping district in the heart of Istanbul, pushing the death toll from four separate suicide attacks in Turkey this year…
- Opinion
Opinion: Putting up with golf prices
Terayout Prasertphol is the recently appointed chief of the Phuket Golf Association and former chief of the Phuket Land Transportation Office. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Ramkhamhaeng University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA). Here he talks about how Phuket’s expensive golf industry thrives with high-end tourists.PHUKET:…
- Phuket News
Phuket alcohol zones still fuzzy
PHUKET: The Phuket Excise Office (PEO) chief has asked the Cabinet for another six months to measure out potential alcohol zones in an effort to suppress underage drinking in the province. The cabinet initially gave the PEO until January to chart all shops selling alcohol within 300-meters of ‘educational institutions’. However the rules remained foggy as officials tried to clarify…
- Phuket News
Manhunt launched for Mai Khao murderer
PHUKET: Police have launched a manhunt after the lacerated body of a 25-year-old man was found lying in a pool of blood in front of a shack at a rubber plantation in Mai Khao yesterday morning. The body of Myanmar worker, known only as Mr Sor, was discovered in the plantation near Phuket International Airport at about 10:50am on Sunday…
- Thai Life
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[Video Report] Profile: Knight from the wrong side of the tracks
PHUKET: The last thing on the mind of 14-year-old Nick Faldo, when he was on his knees rummaging around in bushes looking for lost golf balls so he could practice his swing, was to one day be kneeling in front of the Queen of England to receive a knighthood. Hailing from ‘the wrong side of the tracks’ in Hertfordshire, England,…
- Opinion
Island View: Banning climbing and scuba diving will not prevent stupidity [video]
PHUKET: We are all capable of stupidity; for some it is easy, for others – myself included – the stupidity starts when the dawn breaks. Whether it’s walking into doors, tripping over cats, sticking the car in reverse instead of drive, or falling off mountains, none of us intends to do these obviously stupid things… but they still happen. Which…
- Property
Video Report: Trends in Phuket’s Sustainable Hospitality
PHUKET: Grace Kang is a managing partner at Greenview, a Singapore-based sustainability advisory company that specializes in tracking and measuring sustainability performance for hotels, convention centers and commercial buildings. Ms Kang shared some pearls of wisdom on sustainable practices with local industry specialists at the recent American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) meeting at the Keemala Resort, Phuket.During her talk on…
- Phuket News
Checkpoint police nab 21 taxi drivers, most for poor dress sense
PHUKET: Police have arrested a total of 21 taxi drives at a checkpoint in Patong in the past two days, 19 of whom were fined for being inappropriately dressed. Patong traffic policeman Ekkarat Plaiduang and Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit led the checkpoint in front of the Patong Police Station in order to crack down on fixed-price taxi services and…
- Business News
Finance: Building a larger stream of future income
PHUKET: I am often contacted by people without massive amounts of cash asking me what they can do to prepare for the future. Early in my career I tended to take the approach most people in the industry do, which is to focus on the rich and let everyone else know that you are sorry about not being able to…
- Opinion
Ministry of Farang Affairs: Speeding Taxi Drivers
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
- Phuket News
Visa overstayers get a watery warning from Immigration
PHUKET: Water bottles with labels displaying the newly implemented overstay rules will be handed out to attendees at a public meeting with Immigration Commissioner Natthorn Phrosunthorn next week. The meeting, to be held at Boat Lagoon on March 25, is aimed at clarifying the new rules as part of the Immigration Bureau’s national campaign on reinforcing rules on foreigners who…
- Opinion
Opinion: Time to rethink Thailand’s wildlife protection laws [video]
PHUKET: The online petition by the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) calling for an end to the illegal use of protected animal species as photo props by touts working in tourist destinations in Thailand deserves the full support of locals, expats and tourists. The petition statement summarizes just how damaging this illegal trade is to the many affected species. These…
![Keep it Green: Protecting Our Precious Wildlife [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/3_2016321232755492_OvSCOJovYfZBHgHJXgZrwYWgVDKGRVPfQiifrWbQ_jpeg.jpeg)
![Move to regulate diving industry [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_201632120393789_KVmrAUqqnAPKOZiyZhXiITzjdoSDWAHgWuYWOOMB_jpeg.jpeg)
![Phuket etiquette course in wake of Chinese tourist prawn gorging [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_201632115610933_gnpleYgwzcooVzsOFmsDgBCWxgvrJJwpwmbaKIXJ_jpeg.jpeg)
![[Video Report] Profile: Knight from the wrong side of the tracks | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/24_201632112850691_aIewlsBDzgxGqCcXQhXzItRXCdYqeVCEdgAPZCSY_jpeg.jpeg)
![Island View: Banning climbing and scuba diving will not prevent stupidity [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/14_2016321112438843_tNRsmiXKoigNSxwKHzeqXtJeCTjmvcVppmhbUFmJ_jpeg.jpeg)
![Opinion: Time to rethink Thailand’s wildlife protection laws [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/14_20163199191941_gUEsFEudXRhmfFhWJBcaYjcPTgnpNtuuNynTDhwa_jpeg.jpeg)