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Snakes in a sack seized on Koh Lanta
PHUKET: A fruit seller has been caught smuggling protected snakes onto Koh Lanta in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. Pin Sangduk, 43, was found with eight live snakes stuffed into fertilizer sacks in the back of his pickup truck, which was otherwise loaded with fruit. Mr Pin was caught when Sgt Maj Terdsak Rakdaeng of Koh Lanta…
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Soi Bangla Phuket’s number one attraction: Poll
PHUKET: Soi Bangla is the number one “must see” tourist attraction in Phuket, according to the results of a recent Phuket Gazette online survey. On December 6, the Gazette asked readers: Phuket has so many tourist attractions that most visitors to the island do not have enough time to see them all during their stays. Given this fact, which of…
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Let Phuket’s Countdown to the New Year begin
PHUKET: The holiday season kicks into high gear today with the opening of two important annual fairs in Phuket Town and the launch of police checkpoints all over the island as part of the nationwide “Seven Days of Danger” road safety campaign. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha is a busy man today, presiding over the openings of both the Phuket Red…
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Phuket Media Watch: Asian regional round-up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Explosions at Myanmar warehouse kill at least 15 Phuket Gazette / News Wires At least 15 people were killed on early yesterday morning when a fire caused a series of explosions at a government-owned warehouse in the former Myanmar (Burma) capital of Yangon, officials said. Dozens…
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Phuket Media Watch: Russian round-up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russia’s first hybrid vehicle to go on sale next year Phuket Gazette / News Wires Russian automobile manufacturer Yo-Auto on Tuesday announced that it will be offering the country’s first hybrid vehicle late next year. The company’s billionaire co-owner Mikhail Prokhorov spoke on national television on…
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No short-term solution for Phuket Airport Immigration bottleneck
PHUKET: Tourists waiting up to an hour and a half to clear immigration during peak periods at Phuket Airport are unlikely to receive any reprieve until a separate international terminal is completed. Pol Maj Wannee Songsanguan of Phuket Airport Immigration told the Gazette that her office was well aware of the situation, but could do nothing more to speed up…
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Phuket’s annual ‘Best of Phuket’ Awards to be unveiled tomorrow
PHUKET: The winners of the Phuket Gazette‘s ‘Best of Phuket’ awards for 2011 are announced in a special four-page supplement tucked into the newspaper’s December 31 issue, due out on the streets at noon tomorrow. The awards comprise 33 winners in five major categories: Person of the Year (4); Business (4); Service (6); Environment (2); and Restaurants (17). Our winners…
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Brazilian found dead in Phuket guesthouse
PHUKET: A Brazilian tourist was found dead in his Phuket hotel room on Tuesday after he and a male friend brought two Patong bar hostesses back to their room. The body of the deceased, 30-year-old Daniel Rocha Jordan Brasileiro, is under examination at Patong Hospital. A member of the staff at the guest house where the pair were staying said…
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Phuket Media Watch: Hope for Kashmir; Girl Rescue; Virginity tests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community India, Pakistan consider demilitarizing Kashmir border Phuket Gazette / News Wires The governments of Pakistan and India are considering a proposal to demilitarize the border of the disputed region of Kashmir, according to media reports yesterday. A senior Pakistani foreign ministry official told The Express Tribune…
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FC Phuket fans attacked by blog site
PHUKET: “The club, with its finances and its future as up in the air as a corner kick, also has to pay a 20,000 baht fine.” A local blog uses this woefully inappropriate simile in commenting on FC Phuket’s uncertain future and the aggressive actions of a few supporters at the club’s last home game. Perhaps the blogger is unfamiliar…
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Phuket parade marks New Year road safety campaign
PHUKET: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket staged a parade at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town today ahead of the nationwide ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign for the New Year holiday. “Phuket has a lot of tourists, and the roads will be busy during the new year. During this time, the number of accidents on…
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FC Phuket’s ‘Ko Lek’ to step down
PHUKET: FC Phuket manager Narubas “Ko Lek” Aryupong revealed today that he will withdraw from running the team next season due to the current financial crisis.“A lot of money is needed to run a football team in Division 1. Yearly expenses reach over 40 million baht and I cannot afford that anymore. I will run a team in Division 2…
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Phuket Media Watch: Man dressed as Santa kills family members
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man dressed as Santa kills six family members at Texas home Phuket Gazette A man dressed as Santa Claus shot and killed six of his family members at a home in Texas on Christmas Day, police said yesterday. He then turned the gun on himself. The…
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Phuket aglow with tsunami memorial ceremony
PHUKET: A dignified silence settled over Patong Beach yesterday evening as hundreds gathered to light candles in remembrance of the people who were killed or went missing in the 2004 tsunami that devastated Thailand’s west coast. The Light Up Phuket memorial service was attended by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising and Dutch Honorary…
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Phuket Live Wire: Is Phuket cheaper?
PHUKET: Hardly a day passes when somebody doesn’t ask me, “Woody, should I buy a laptop (phone, desktop computer, iPad, printer, camera, TV) here in Phuket, or is it cheaper in the US (or Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seoul, Europe)?” Once upon a time, it was relatively easy to answer that question. Times have changed. Three or four years…
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Phuket Business: a modern gold rush
PHUKET: As my latest trip to the UK continues, I was thinking “What can I get my dearest for Christmas this year?” I’m not the biggest fan of shopping trips and love nothing more than having a fixed plan in place to minimize the whole experience. Being Christmas, though, I thought I should give this a little more time and…
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Phuket’s superyacht industry flourishing
PHUKET: Migratory birds aren’t the only ones moving south to escape plummeting temperatures in the northern hemisphere. South Asia is rapidly becoming the preferred winter destination for owners of superyachts – motor yachts in excess of 30 meters or 100 feet. Indeed, an increasing number of these luxurious leisure ships can be sighted off the shores and islands across the…
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Phuket’s ‘special case’ officer ready for duty
PHUKET: Detective Nucharee Longkaew, 27, of Phuket City Police Station, recently tasked with the formidable job of interviewing female victims of sex crimes in Phuket Province, is now ready to start her challenging duty. Despite having received no specialized training for dealing with traumatized women, who may have been violently abused or raped, Capt Nucharee is confident that her police…
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Girls saved in Phuket, safely back in France
PHUKET: The two French girls who spent eight months on the streets of Phuket are now back in France, where they are undergoing evaluation by social workers. The girls, 12-year-old Manel and her sister Chaima, 11, have been reunited with their paternal grandmother and are now in the care of French social services. Meanwhile, the Gazette has been informed of…
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Finance Ministry to press for Phuket ICEC
PHUKET: Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala has pledged to accelerate long-delayed property projects run by the Treasury Department, including the Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (Phuket ICEC). The Phuket ICEC, slated to be built on 1.5 rai of Treasury Department land in Mai Khao, has 2.6 billion baht in funding approval from the department. However the project is on hold…
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Phuket tsunami memorial service honored by few
PHUKET: A somber air hung over the tsunami memorial service at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao this morning as about 50 people turned up to remember those lost to the killer waves that struck Phuket in 2004. Thai official figures state that the tsunami killed 5,398 people and more than 3,700 disappeared in the waves that day. Hundreds…
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Phuket Police chief transferred
PHUKET: Phuket Police Chief Pekad Tantipong will transfer out of the province following a nationwide reshuffle of commanders and superintendents released yesterday by Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok. Maj Gen Tantipong, who took up the Phuket posting in early May 2009, took the Christmas Day surprise in stride. “I have not seen the official order yet, but I heard…
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Phuket “anti-Santa’ behind bars
PHUKET: A Russian man was arrested by Kamala Police yesterday on suspicion of robbing several homes during the festive holidays. The 35-year-old, Pavel Zhuravlev, was arrested at 3am at a house where he was staying on Soi Massayid Naka in Kamala. He was found in possession of 800 milligrams of ya ice (methamphetamine) and drug-taking paraphernalia, as well as many…
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Top Muay Thai kickboxer takes the stage
PHUKET: Renowned Muay Thai kickboxer Buakaw Por Pramuk, the holder of three national-title belts, steps into the ring at the Patong Boxing Stadium, Phuket, tonight (December 26). Buakaw, who won his third national title on December 18, is not scheduled to fight at the stadium competitively. However he will spar with a partner to demonstrate his skills and techniques to…
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Villagers in southern provinces panicked by high waves; Phuket not affected
PHUKET: Christmas brought panic to many villagers in southern Thailand yesterday when high waves hit several coastal provinces, just one day short of today’s seventh anniversary of the December 26 tsunami, which killed thousands and shocked the whole country. But there were no reports of panic in Phuket yesterday, although high winds prevailed throughout much of it, accelerating toward dusk.…
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FC Phuket 1 – 1 Air Force Utd
PHUKET: FC Phuket conceded a last-minute goal to hand a 1-1 draw to Air Force United in an entertaining yet inconsequential match at Surakul Stadium this evening. The modest crowd that turned up at Surakul Stadium enjoyed a scoreless first half under relatively cool and blustery conditions in Phuket. The Southern Sea Kirin drew first blood at 56 minutes after…
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Phuket FC ready for Air Force Utd tonight
PHUKET: Phuket FC are hoping for a large fan turnout this evening when they kick off against Air Force Utd at Surakul Stadium at 6pm. Phuket FC will go into the match coming off a disappointing home loss to Suphanburi FC on Wednesday, while Air Force Utd greatly improved their chance of avoiding relegation with a 1-0 home win against…
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Phuket Opinion: Taking a gamble on cruise ships
PHUKET: With Phuket’s Deep Sea Port being targeted for a huge upgrade, the island has great untapped potential in the global cruise ship industry – not just as a port of call but also as a port to call home. (See page 5, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.) Mention the…
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Have a very Phuket Christmas!
PHUKET: With scattered thundershowers forecast across Phuket today, the tens of thousands of people who have come to spend Christmas here will be doing their best to enjoy our beaches. Without a doubt, Santa, like so many others, will be making a stop on Phuket during his annual circumnavigation, so make sure you’re not too naughty this weekend. Santa will…
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Siam Niramit opens in Phuket
PHUKET: After six years in the making, the Siam Niramit Phuket theater is now staging its “Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam” art and culture show before packed houses of people who are taking advantage a limited-time, 399-baht-per-ticket promotional offer. Last night, members of the Phuket media were treated to a complimentary viewing of the show, related attractions and…
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