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Sponsored Thailand health insurance that covers chronic conditions: What expats need to know
The Thaiger key takeaways Managing chronic conditions in Thailand requires health insurance that covers specialist visits, medications, tests, and hospital stays. Cigna offers high-coverage plans with access to top hospitals, direct billing, and telemedicine support for convenient long-term care. Expats...
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Phuket expat requests A-negative blood donations
PHUKET: A pensioner from the UK currently being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Phuket International Hospital is in urgent need of A-negative blood. “The hospital needs the blood in stock before doctors can perform surgery”, explains an expat relative of the patient. A-negative is a rare blood type found only in 7 per cent of Caucasians, 2…
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A Decade Ago: Election day grumbles, then and now
PHUKET: Election polls were again on page one of the Phuket Gazette at the end of April 2006, after the first round of voting failed to meet the necessary requirements to nominate Phuket representatives to Parliament. The election followed the decision by then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to dissolve the House of Representatives. Five citizens, angry with the government and the…
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Governor letter: Tourists need to obey Phuket laws
Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada started his first day as the Phuket Governor on September 30, 2015. He is a Phuket native with a master’s degree in political and administrative science from the National Institute of Development Administration. Here he talks about a list of dos & don’ts aimed at preventing so many tourists dying on the island and improving Phuket’s reputation…
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Phuket cashew nut industry goes global
PHUKET: Metee Company Phuket Ltd’s unique cashew-nut cooking process and new packaging is bringing the company international recognition and larger revenues. The Chalong-based company is just one of several local businesses that have changed the quality of their products and branding in order to compete in larger markets. The company has since been accredited by the Ministry of Commerce as…
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Krabi woman gives birth on boat
KRABI: Two Krabi police officers helped deliver a baby at sea on Sunday morning, when the mother could not make it to a hospital on time. Capt Prayong Pongsawang of the Khao Phanom Police and Lt Rawi Praekpan of the Krabi Provincial Forensic Police are being called heroes on social media for safely delivering the baby. The Krabi woman, who…
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Krabi officials frustrated by local beliefs
KRABI: Locals believe a serpent is the cause of a sinkhole at the Khao Phanom Temple, but officials disagree. Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Region 4 in Surat Thani arrived to inspect the sinkhole last week. Their findings concluded that the hole outside the temple – roughly five meters wide and four meters deep –…
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Australian in fatal fall photographing fireworks from Patong balcony
PHUKET: An Australian man fell to his death from the 19th floor of a high-rise hotel in Patong as he attempted to take photos of fireworks. Major Pattapee Srichai of the Patong Police was alerted at about 11:37pm on Thursday that Jamie William Brown, 30, had fallen from the balcony of his room at a high-rise hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200…
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Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’ Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Front-runner Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will have essentially sealed the Republican U.S. presidential nomination if he wins Tuesday’s contest in Indiana, where he holds a big lead over chief rival…
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V/Gov cracks down on ‘slovenly’ tour guides
PHUKET: What began as new regulations aimed at curbing cheating and poorly dressed taxi drivers has now turned into an additional island-wide action to imporve tour guides’ dress codes, officials announced last week. “From now on, all tour companies must provide staff uniforms for their employees with company logos and names,” said Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of Tourism…
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Phuket tax-dodging nominees for foreigners to face charges
PHUKET: Police in Phuket expect to arrest soon a number of people in the province who are acting as nominees for foreigners doing business illegally in Thailand. The nominees for Phuket businesses operated by foreigners are among more than 1,000 Thais in the Kingdom set to face charges in a large-scale crackdown on people acting as such, including law firms…
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Glimpse into the mind of Phuket’s Row2Rio adventurer
PHUKET: Australian head coach at Phuket’s Unit 27, Luke Richmond, sat down in an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette after completing a world-record setting rowboat journey from Portugal to Brazil. Divided into three legs, Row2Rio honors the Olympics as the Olympic stadium moved from London to Rio de Janeiro. The test of endurance began with a cycling trek setting…
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Phuket lifeguards warn of deadly rip-currents
PHUKET: Seasonal changes have brought strong rip currents to the shores of Phuket. With them comes a sharp rise in the number of rescues this month, prompting lifeguards to issue stern warnings to would-be swimmers. “Swimmers who ignore warning flags are risking their lives and those of the lifeguards,” said the president of the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC), Prathaiyut Chuayuan.…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Magic buffalo
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.…
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Opinion: Phuket lifeguards need more muscle
PHUKET: After years of contractual disputes leaving Phuket’s beaches devoid of essential life saving services, as the annual southwest monsoon season whipped up deadly rip currents along our west-coast beaches, we applaud the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) and the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) for quickly re-signing their contract and breaking this vicious cycle. Officials consistently blamed the failure to…
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Phuket plays its part in International Jazz Day festivities tonight
PHUKET: More than 40 local and international musicians are putting on a free jazz concert in Phuket Town tonight for the 5th Phuket UNESCO International Jazz Day . Music Matters Collective, in collaboration with Phuket City Municipality, has organized what is expected to be the biggest annual jazz day the island has seen yet to promote music culture and tourism.…
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Fill ‘n’ run leaves gas attendant fuming
KRABI: A gas station attendant was forced to pay for a man who filled the tank of his pick-up truck and then drove off without paying yesterday morning. Harutai Kriangtapong, 25, who works at the PTT petrol station in Krabi Town, had to pay 1,000 baht to cover the cost of the alleged delinquency, which occurred at 7:10am “A well-dressed…
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Big stink in Japan as Chinese tourists asked to stop passing gas
JAPAN: A tourism guide imploring Chinese visitors in Japan to stop belching and passing gas in public has had to be republished in multiple languages so as to lay the blame for uncouth behavior on “foreign” tourists generally, rather than guests from the Central Kingdom alone. According to AFP, as cited in a report in The Nation on Thursday, the…
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Thailand Optimist National Championships to launch in Pattaya
PATTAYA: The next generation of Olympic sailors from Thailand and around Asia are heading to Ocean Marina Yacht Club this weekend to compete in the Thailand Optimist National Championships. Now in its 41st year, the Thailand Optimist National Championships is the country’s second oldest sailing trophy and the pinnacle of competitive youth sailing in Thailand. The Thailand Optimist National Championships…
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Drug mule busted with 1.8kg of chocolate cocaine
PHUKET: A 21-year-old Thai woman who attempted to smuggle 1.8 kilograms of cocaine disguised as chocolate through Phuket International Airport was arrested by customs officers this morning. The chance discovery by officers was made at 4:15am after the woman, named as Oatchara Wikho, arrived in Phuket on a plane from Dubai. The cocaine had been molded into pellets and disguised…
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Massive public support for reclamation of illegal land
PHUKET: Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Phuket Provincial Hall today, flowers and appreciative messages in hand, to thank Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada for reclaiming illegally occupied beach land and restoring it to the public. The controversy and delays surrounding the illegal business demolitions came to a head yesterday, when a local seafood restaurant at Lay Pang Beach was demolished despite…
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Drug addict arrested for Family Mart robbery
PHUKET: Police on Tuesday arrested a drug addict wanted for the armed robbery of a Family Mart convenience store on Thepkrasattri Road last Friday. Police captured Krittanai Maneechote, 20, as he was leaving his rented apartment in Rassada. “The suspect fit the description of the man who held up the staff at knife point, forcing them to hand over 5,000…
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Power cuts in Koh Kaew, Phuket Town
PHUKET: Scheduled electricity shut-offs will affect residents in areas of Phuket Town today and in the Koh Kaew sub-district tomorrow. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced that there will be no electricity along parts of Rassada Road, Yaowarat Road, Phang Nga Road, Thalang Road, Deebuk Road, Takuapa Road, and Soi Sun U-thit from 9am-4.30pm today. Electricity in the Koh Kaew…
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Restaurant torn down despite owner’s last-ditch effort
PHUKET: A local restaurant at Lay Pang Beach was demolished yesterday, despite a final effort by the owner to save it from being razed (story here). Tony Restaurant was torn down after a lengthy explanation by Thalang District Chief Wikrom Jakthee, who read out a court order approving the demolition by the Nakhon Sri Thammarat Administrative Court. This was the…
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More ‘land owners’ step forward in Naka Noi dispute
PHUKET: Three people who allegedly owned land documents for chunks of Naka Noi Island off Phuket’s east coast have challenged the family of Thai actor Puri Hiranpruk with the suggestion that all parties involved in a recent land dispute should donate their property to the public as a conservation area for local wildlife. Jeya Tonkhlang, Dolmanap Tonkhlang and Jessada Thorthip…
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Trump sweeps five states, moves closer to Republican nomination
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Trump sweeps five states, moves closer to Republican nomination Phuket Gazette / Reuters NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA: Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton rolled up wins in Northeastern states on Tuesday in a major show of strength and immediately turned their fire on each other in a…
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Journalists protest against arrest of colleagues in Cairo
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Journalists protest against arrest of colleagues in Cairo Phuket Gazette / Reuters CAIRO: Around 100 Egyptian journalists staged a protest in central Cairo on Tuesday against the arrest of colleagues for covering demonstrations opposing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Security forces arrested at least 33 reporters trying…
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Boy survives savage jellyfish stings
KRABI: A Krabi boy is recovering from savage jellyfish stings sustained while fishing with his father in Ao Nang Monday evening, confirmed doctors at Krabi Provincial Hospital. Suttitaste Tuekkuntos, 12, suffered scarring on both his calves, after diving into the water from his boat to disentangle fishing tackle. The boy’s life was possibly saved by his quick-thinking father, who treated…
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BREAKING NEWS: Restaurant owner makes last stand against beach demolition
PHUKET: Demolition is about to begin on shop houses at Lay Pang Beach after the owner of Tony Restaurant made a last-ditch effort to save his restaurant this morning. Clutching court orders and other documents, restaurant owner Kanokpon ‘Tony’ Somrak made a one-man stand, insisting he had the right to operate his restaurant on the beachfront land. After a brief…
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Couples invited to participate in traditional wedding ceremony
PHUKET: Couples intending to ‘Thai’ the knot are invited by the Thai Peranakan Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to join a traditional ‘Baba Yaya’ wedding ceremony. The June 19 ceremony in Phuket Town celebrates more than 200 years of local traditional weddings and is intended to promote the island as a wedding and honeymoon destination. ‘Baba’ and…
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Volunteers needed to establish Phuket suicide hotline
PHUKET: After a rash of tourists dying of allegedly self-inflicted injuries, Dr Surin Bamrungphol, Phuket’s anti-corruption champion, is calling for volunteers to help establish a suicide hotline. “We see frequent newspaper reports of alleged suicides in Phuket, which is very disturbing,” Dr Surin said. “People are driven to take their own lives for many reasons – they could be stressed…
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