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    Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run

    Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...

  • Heavyweight bike brands gearing up for Phuket market

    Heavyweight bike brands gearing up for Phuket market

    PHUKET: Despite a fall this year in Thailand’s overall sales of motorcycles and automotive parts, big-bike sales are continuing to thrive. In Phuket, a relatively new destination for bikes over 500cc, brands like Ducati and Triumph are pushing the companies’ marketing strategies to make their famed machines accessible to everyone. “Ducati’s market strategy is to move toward developing models that…

  • Phuket honors HM King Chulalongkorn

    Phuket honors HM King Chulalongkorn

    PHUKET: The life and achievements of HM King Chulalongkorn were commemorated in a ceremony at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday. Govenor Nisit Jansomwong led an assembly of officials in adorning the “Chulalongkorn the Great” monument with flowers. After the ceremony and speeches, Governor Nisit presented five 10,000-baht prizes to students who won an “Abolition of Slavery in Thailand” drawing competition, which…

  • Myanmar nationals robbed of 30k cash in Phuket

    Myanmar nationals robbed of 30k cash in Phuket

    PHUKET: Police are hunting a pair of armed robbers who stole 30,000 baht from two Myanmar nationals in Phuket on Wednesday afternoon. Ye Su Or, 21, and Priew, 17, were walking into a SuperCheap when two men drove up on a motorbike and demanded the money at knife-point. “The couple had a lot of cash so that they could buy…

  • Phuket officials conduct safety inspection after fatal speedboat crash

    Phuket officials conduct safety inspection after fatal speedboat crash

    PHUKET: Marine Department officials inspected boats at the Royal Phuket Marina yesterday in an effort to boost tourists’ confidence in the safety of speedboat tours following a horrific crash that killed two Korean tourists on Sunday (story here). Jiraporn Jantarasiri, deputy director of the Marine Department, led officials to the marina for an unannounced safety spot check. “All boats were…

  • Future of Phuket’s jet-ski operators to be decided next week: officials

    Future of Phuket’s jet-ski operators to be decided next week: officials

    PHUKET: Jet-ski operators will meet with the Phuket Marine Office on Monday to discuss their fates, following a decision last week that has allowed them to temporarily park their craft on Kamala Beach (story here). “We have assigned the Phuket Marine Office to take responsibility of the issue concerning jet-ski management, as the operators must seek permission from the office…

  • Dubai Petanque returns to Phuket to make amends for last year

    Dubai Petanque returns to Phuket to make amends for last year

    PHUKET: Dubai Petanque returns to Thailand to take on teams from Phuket and France in a two-day round-robin tournament starting on November 1. Phuket Petanque Club last November shook Dubai Petanque with a 48-20 win, and there is no doubt that Dubai will be looking for revenge. The three-way contest will be a modification of last year’s Grand Slam Tournament,…

  • Video Report: Speedboat-crash victims’ bodies to be taken home

    Video Report: Speedboat-crash victims’ bodies to be taken home

    PHUKET: The bodies of two South Korean nationals recovered from the wreckage of a speedboat that sank in Phang Nga Bay on Sunday will be flown back to Korea early tomorrow morning. Search and rescue divers recovered the bodies of Ko Min Woo, 31, and An Sun Yong, 28, on Tuesday (stories here and here). Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong was…

  • Phuket’s top brass declare beaches ready for high season

    Phuket’s top brass declare beaches ready for high season

    PHUKET: The island’s beaches are ready for the incoming high season, top-ranking Phuket-based officials announced yesterday. “We are confident that we have nice, beautiful beaches to which we can welcome tourists from all over the world,” said Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command. However, Vice Admiral Sayan noted that the beach battle has not yet…

  • Cremation ceremony for “original Phuket expat’ Eric Snyder on Saturday

    Cremation ceremony for “original Phuket expat’ Eric Snyder on Saturday

    PHUKET: Well-known long-term Phuket expat Eric Snyder, 70, who recently succumbed to skin cancer, is lying in state at Wat Chalong this week. The cremation ceremony for Mr Snyder will be at noon on Saturday. Friends are invited to come pay their respects to one of the island’s “original expats”. Mr Snyder arrived in Phuket in 1975 and remained in…

  • Phuket Art Dinner: Dine on all-star chefs’ culinary interpretations of modern art

    Phuket Art Dinner: Dine on all-star chefs’ culinary interpretations of modern art

    PHUKET: Ever wondered what Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa or any piece of modern art might taste like – or at least a gastronomic interpretation? Take your chances this Saturday at 7pm by joining the Think Design Art Dinner at Nikki Beach Club, where six of Thailand’s top chefs will be collaborating to create…

  • Phuket vampires prepare: Blood center to hold Halloween-themed blood drive

    Phuket vampires prepare: Blood center to hold Halloween-themed blood drive

    PHUKET: The Phuket Red Cross has invited all healthy island residents to help replenish much-needed blood stocks by making donations at its Halloween-themed blood drive. The event, called “Nee Pee Ma Hai Luad” or “Run away from ghosts. Let’s donate blood”, will take place at the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) on October 31 from 8:30am to 4:30pm. “Our blood…

  • Australian tourist mauled by Phuket tiger

    Australian tourist mauled by Phuket tiger

    PHUKET: An Australian tourist was mauled by a tiger at Phuket’s Tiger Kingdom yesterday afternoon, Kathu District Chief Sayan Chanachaiwong confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. The tiger attacked Paul Goudie, 49, after he climbed into the cage with the animal at about 1pm to have his photograph taken. Mr Goudie was taken to Phuket International Hospital for treatment. He…

  • Police arrest woman for contracting Phuket killing

    Police arrest woman for contracting Phuket killing

    PHUKET: Police arrested a woman last night for hiring a hitman to kill a Phuket resident earlier this year. Anyanee Jongmun, 29, was arrested outside of her house in Srisoonthorn after the assassin, Chatchai Torkeaw, gave up her name to police. Mr Chatchai, was arrested on Saturday (story here) for the stabbing murder of 42-year-old Nongluk Thavorn, who was found…

  • Russian drowns while snorkelling off Phi Phi island, east of Phuket

    Russian drowns while snorkelling off Phi Phi island, east of Phuket

    PHUKET: A Russian tourist drowned while snorkelling off the tourist island of Phi Phi, east of Phuket, yesterday. “Evgenii Kuznetcov, 54, was taken to Phi Phi Hospital, but sadly he was pronounced dead on arrival,” Krabi City Police Deputy Superintendent Noppadol Mukda told the Phuket Gazette. Mr Kuznetcov and his wife had joined a Phuket speedboat tour to visit Koh…

  • Phuket divers discover body of second Korean tourist killed in speedboat crash

    Phuket divers discover body of second Korean tourist killed in speedboat crash

    PHUKET: Search and rescue divers today are recovering a second body from the wreckage of the speedboat that sank in Phang Nga Bay, east of Phuket, after crashing into a fishing trawler Sunday afternoon. The body was identified by Phuket Marine Police as Korean national Ko Min Woo, 31. About an hour earlier, divers found and began to recover the…

  • Breaking News: Divers recover body of Korean tourist from sunken speedboat

    Breaking News: Divers recover body of Korean tourist from sunken speedboat

    PHUKET: Search and rescue divers pulled the body of one of the two missing Korean tourists from the wreckage of the speedboat that now lies at the bottom of Phang Nga Bay, east of Phuket, confirmed Lt Col Chatchai Sakdee of the Phuket Marine Police. Marine Police named the Korean woman as An Sun Yong, 28. One Korean tourist is…

  • Triple homicide: suspect flees into jungle north of Phuket

    Triple homicide: suspect flees into jungle north of Phuket

    PHUKET: Police in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, are hunting a man who killed his estranged wife and her parents after he was allegedly denied entry into their house. The bodies of Piyawan Jankerdkaew, 28; Prakob Jankerdkaew, 54; and Vas Jankerdkaew, 59, were found with gunshot wounds to the head yesterday afternoon in Kura Buri, Phang Nga. “We were called…

  • Angry mob prevents suspected hired assassin from reenacting Phuket stabbing

    Angry mob prevents suspected hired assassin from reenacting Phuket stabbing

    PHUKET: An angry mob of villagers yesterday prevented police from carrying out a full reenactment of the stabbing murder of a woman by a suspected hired assassin in Phuket earlier this year. “Chatchai Torkeaw, 25, was apprehended on Saturday after he successfully evaded arrest for almost six months,” Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette. He was arrested…

  • Phuket missing teen turns up safe in Udon Thani

    Phuket missing teen turns up safe in Udon Thani

    PHUKET: Kanyarat “Nong Chor” Kananthai, who was last seen selling her gold necklace in Phuket on Sunday, has turned up safe and sound in Udon Thani. “At about 3pm yesterday, one of my relatives in Udon Thani called me to say that Nong Chor had arrived at her place. I am so relieved that she is okay,” said Ms Kanyarat’s…

  • ‘The Jungle Book’ puppet production swings into Phuket

    ‘The Jungle Book’ puppet production swings into Phuket

    PHUKET: In the next installment of quality island entertainment, Events International and the Phuket Gazette are proud to present the Jungle Book Puppet Theater. Suitable for children of all ages, the sparkling new puppet theater adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book will swing into British International School Phuket (BISP), HeadStart International School and Kajonkietsuksa International School next month. This…

  • Bag blamed for Phuket speedboat crash [video] | Thaiger

    Bag blamed for Phuket speedboat crash [video]

    PHUKET: The speedboat driver who crashed into a fishing trawler yesterday has blamed a plastic bag for the accident. The Seastar speedboat sank after hitting the trawler, leaving 35 injured and two missing (story here). “About 20 minutes after we departed from Maya Bay [on Koh Phi Phi] the sky got very dark and a black plastic bag flew under…

  • Video Report: Patong’s first mayor cremated, honored by Royal Household Bureau

    Video Report: Patong’s first mayor cremated, honored by Royal Household Bureau

    PHUKET: Patong’s first mayor, Pian Keesin, was cremated at Wat Laem Singh in Phuket on Saturday. Mr Pian died from a heart-valve disease in his home at the Rock Garden housing estate on October 7 at the age of 70. A fai prachataan provided by the Royal Household Bureau was used to ignite the cremation pyre in recognition of Mr…

  • Video Report: Search continues for missing tourists after devastating Phuket speedboat crash

    Video Report: Search continues for missing tourists after devastating Phuket speedboat crash

    PHUKET: The search continues for two tourists who went missing after their speedboat crashed into a fishing trawler about 11 kilometers from Koh Yao Noi, east of Phuket, at about 5:30pm yesterday. The Navy renewed its search for the male and female Korean, who rescuers were unable to recover after the crash, by boat and helicopter at 8am today. However,…

  • Registration remains open for the Challenge Laguna Phuket

    Registration remains open for the Challenge Laguna Phuket

    PHUKET: Registration is still open for the 2014 half-distance Challenge Laguna Phuket in Thailand – and the opportunity still exists to compete in this unique destination event that has captured the hearts of triathletes all over the world. The race, set for November 30, will be the second Challenge Family series race to be staged on this paradise tropical island,…

  • Breaking News: Two missing, 35 injured in Phuket speedboat crash

    Breaking News: Two missing, 35 injured in Phuket speedboat crash

    PHUKET: Two tourists are missing after a speedboat crashed with a fishing boat between Koh Yao Noi and Phi Phi Island, east of Phuket, this afternoon. Marine Police have rescued 35 of the 37 tourists who were on board the speedboat. All suffered varying degrees of injury, it was confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. Rescue workers and hospital staff, prepared…

  • Jet-skis allowed on Kamala Beach, confirms Phuket Governor

    Jet-skis allowed on Kamala Beach, confirms Phuket Governor

    PHUKET: Jet-ski operators are allowed to park their craft on Kamala Beach until the end of the month, confirmed Governor Nisit Jansomwong to the Phuket Gazette today. Watchara Koysakul, head of the Kamala Jet-Ski Club, said that it was a similar situation to the one in Patong, where jet-ski operators were allowed to return to work in August as long…

  • Another one bites the dust: illegal building removed from Phuket beach

    Another one bites the dust: illegal building removed from Phuket beach

    PHUKET: One illegal building was removed from Phuket’s Nai Yang Beach by officials yesterday. Daeng Lawlang, the owner of the illegal building, was ordered to remove it by October 16. Though Mr Daeng has a Sor Kor 1 land title for about two rai of beachfront property, the building and some smaller structures were constructed beyond his property boundaries. “The…

  • Phuket King’s Cup Regatta returns [video] | Thaiger

    Phuket King’s Cup Regatta returns [video]

    PHUKET: Revered as Asia’s most prestigious sports yachting trophy and attracting crews and boats from every corner of the globe, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta returns to the unpredictable seas of the Andaman, bringing with it split-second racing action, camaraderie and a series of legendary party events. The 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Under Royal Patronage, the region’s largest regatta,…

  • Phuket police raid rounds up pirated goods

    Phuket police raid rounds up pirated goods

    PHUKET: About 1,500 fake brand-name items were seized from three shops in Patong on Thursday. “The retail value of the counterfeit goods is about 1 million baht,” said Kitti Sapaothong, deputy commander of the Economic Crime Division of the Royal Thai Police. The majority of the items seized were polo shirts. However, bags, purses, luggage, watches and other items were…

  • Phuket loses an ‘original’ expat: Eric Snyder departs

    Phuket loses an ‘original’ expat: Eric Snyder departs

    PHUKET: Well known long-term Phuket expat Eric Snyder, 70, has departed the island he loved, succumbing to skin cancer earlier this week. Eric Snyder arrived in Phuket in 1975 and remained in residence here for 39 years. Initially, he lived with a Muslim family on Kamala Beach for several years, growing his own food and catching his dinner from the…