News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Phuket update: Chalong Marina project
PHUKET: Phase two of the construction of the new Chalong Marina is well underway and scheduled for completion in September 2011. Officials say the opening of the new marina should help reduce drug trafficking in Phuket. Project work is being carried out jointly by Golden Plan Co Ltd and Prommitr Co Ltd. Phase one of the project saw construction of…
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Phuket Opinion: Good news for medical tourism
PHUKET: Results of a recent Phuket Gazette readers’ poll provide an interesting glimpse into how Phuket’s expatriate community feels about private healthcare services on the island. (See statistics in this week’s issue of the newspaper. Digital subscribers click here.) The poll question asked readers to rate the overall the quality of treatment offered at private hospitals and clinics in Phuket.…
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The Chedi Phuket rebrands as The Surin Phuket
PHUKET: The Chedi Phuket has been re-branded as The Surin Phuket, the name change effective from the beginning of this month. Senior Sales Executive Sureerat Bunpanluek said The Chedi Phuket was managed by General Hotels Management (GHM) as The Chedi since 1995. Last year the resort’s Board of Directors decided not to renew its contract with the management company. “Since…
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Korean Ambassador visits Phuket
PHUKET: The Korean ambassador to Thailand met with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on Friday, asking him to make it easier for Korean tour guides to work on the island. Ambassador Chung Hae-moon made the request at a Phuket Provincial Hall meeting also attended by Korean Honorary Consul and Phuket MP Tossaporn Thepabutr and Korn Suwanasai, head of Phuket Passport Office.…
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Phuket property massacre: Mother and daughter killed
PHUKET: A well-known real estate dealer and her daughter were killed when their car was riddled with bullets by gunmen in Phuket Saturday evening. A second daughter was seriously injured in the attack, which took place in the Yoojaroen Project 1 estate in village 8, Pa Khlok. Police are hunting the killers and the mastermind behind the slaughter. They believe…
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Dengue control inititiative launched in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has designated four city temples as “pilot areas” in the battle to stop the spread of dengue fever. Phuket Town Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana told the state-run MCOT news agency there have been 693 confirmed cases of dengue in the city so far this year. The number of new cases being reported is on the rise. Monsoon…
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Aussie ambassador in Phuket: Safety is our priority
PHUKET: The new Australian ambassador to Thailand yesterday named the safety of Australian tourists as his mission’s top priority in Phuket. In Phuket to meet the governor yesterday, Ambassador James Wise said, “The problem that we worry about most of all in Phuket – and anywhere else in the world – is to be very assured that Australians are as…
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Phuket fireworks crackdown during Loy Krathong festival
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Police chief has ordered an island-wide crime crackdown during Loy Krathong celebrations, with police to set up checkpoints in key areas to prevent criminal activities, including illegal use of fireworks. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong said the Loy Krathong festival was an important and beautiful Thai cultural tradition worth preserving. As a…
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Loy Kratong activities in Phuket
PHUKET: As the weekend approaches, people throughout Phuket and across the Kingdom are preparing for the annual Loy Krathong festival on Sunday. Stages are being set up for entertainment and vendors are preparing for the droves of people who will float their krathong at popular sites in Phuket. For those who have yet to decide where to spend Loy Krathong…
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FC Phuket primed for success in Loei
PHUKET: The FC Phuket promotion bandwagon is back on the road this weekend, with the team traveling north to face Loei City on tomorrow afternoon. Kickoff for the AIS Regional League Division 2 playoff match will be at 4pm. Last Saturday the Phuket team came from a goal down to beat Loei 2-1 on the home turf at Surakul Stadium.…
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Loy Krathong losing its luster among Phuket youths
PHUKET: Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for Loy Krathong events to be held across Phuket on Sunday night, yet many young Thais seem to be losing interest in the tradition. From Mai Khao to Rawai, floats adorned with flowers and alight with candles will be set adrift at sea, on canals, lakes and rivers to…
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Point blank: Phuket man dies in Thalang shooting murder
PHUKET: A man was shot dead in front of his mother in his Phuket home last night. Thalang Police duty officer Pratuang Polmana identified the victim as Nipon Lohajan, aged 35. The victim’s mother told police her son answered a knock at the door of their home near the Heroines’ Monument at about 11:30pm. As soon as the door opened…
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Disaster preparedness drills planned for Phuket
PHUKET: A full tsunami evacuation drill is set to take place in Phuket on December 24, provincial officials have announced. Speaking at a disaster preparedness meeting at Provincial Hall on Wednesday, Phuket Vice Governor Niwit Aroonrat said the drill is aimed at testing emergency response units’ readiness for disaster. The full drill will be the culmination of three days of…
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Aussie carrier Strategic Air to launch Phuket services
PHUKET: Australian carrier Strategic Airlines is preparing to launch non-stop direct flights to Phuket from Melbourne and Brisbane early next year, the Herald Sun has reported. The full-service carrier will offer twice-weekly flights, Tuesday and Fridays, from Melbourne to Phuket starting from February 22, 2011. The move follows Virgin Australia’s decision to end its Phuket service. Strategic’s service will be…
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Entries for Phuket King’s Cup Regatta near 100 mark
PHUKET: Almost 100 boats have already registered for this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, which will get underway off Kata Beach on December 4. Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event attracts participants from around the world and generates in excess of 100 million baht into the local economy annually.…
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Craig Alexander to compete in Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 event
PHUKET: The world’s most successful Ironman athlete of recent years, Australian Craig Alexander will contest the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket on December 5. Alexander is the latest addition to a stellar line-up of elite professional triathletes heading to the island. As Ironman World Champion for the past two years, Alexander is set to face-off against fellow Ironman…
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Phuket mototaxi driver dies of glue overdose
PHUKET TOWN: A motorcycle taxi driver was found dead in an abandoned cinema in Phuket Town yesterday after an apparent overdose on glue, police said. Police estimated that Bangkok-native Thianchai Atwinit, 33, died three days before his body was discovered. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Somchai Nuboon was alerted to the grim discovery by a local resident at about 7:30pm…
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Phuket star gazers hope for clear skies
PHUKET: Weather permitting, the annual Leonids meteor shower should be viewable with unaided eyes after midnight tonight. The show will reach its peak between 3am and 5am, according to the National Astronomical Research Institute. Phuket people might not want to do an all-night vigil hoping to catch a glimpse, however. The northeast monsoon continues to prevail over Southern Thailand’s west…
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Phuket motorcycle helmet campaign hits streets of Patong
PHUKET: Over a thousand Patong residents yesterday took part in a parade in support of the “100% motorcycle helmet use” campaign underway across Phuket. The parade, held along the beach road in Patong, is part of the public awareness phase of the campaign. It was organized by Kathu Police, the Patong Taxi Federation, and Patong Municipality. The safety campaign, which…
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Phuket youth rugby club seeks donations
PHUKET: Members of Phuket’s Lomas Rugby club are appealing for donations as they get ready for a busy tour schedule. The club, which relies on contributions to pay expenses, is sending teams to two important youth tournaments in the coming weeks. The under-15 and under-12 squads will compete in the National Sevens Regional Qualifiers to be held in Krabi on…
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Lucky ladyboy in marriage-a-trois
NAKHON SAWAN: A lucky 42-year-old ladyboy is set to marry not one, but two young men in a lavish wedding ceremony in this central Thai province. Somjit Songjaeng has lived with her first husband-to-be, 22-year-old Anurut “Jack” Kraisa, for six years. Not content with one lover, she met her second fiancé, 27-year-old Sathit “Bank” Rawtyoo, at the end of last…
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Phuket Amateur Golf Open event at Laguna on Sunday
PHUKET: There are a number of places still available for the Phuket Amateur Golf Open event at Laguna Golf Club on Sunday. The event is the fifth in a series of 11 events to determine who is Phuket’s best amateur golfer. First and second place winners in each tournament will qualify for the 11th and final tournament, the Phuket Amateur…
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Phuket poll: Will the strong baht hurt high-season tourism?
PHUKET: With the Thai baht surging against many foreign currencies, the Gazette asks readers what effect they think the strong baht will have on the local economy entering the “high season” for tourism. To vote in the latest readers’ poll, click here or on the icon at the top right of this page. — News editor
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Qatar Airways flight a boon for Phuket
PHUKET: A new daily flight connecting Doha and Phuket is set to benefit the island in a number of ways, including improving travel options among European tourists wishing to holiday in the Andaman region. The first Qatar Airways flight from Doha, with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur, landed in Phuket on October 12. Phuket is one of nine new destinations…
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Phuket fire: Patong post office damaged
PHUKET: A small fire in Patong yesterday afternoon caused commotion along Phuket’s busiest beach road and water damage to Taweewong Post Office. The blaze reportedly broke out from an electrical short inside an air compressor on the second floor of the True Coffee shop, on Soi Patong Post Office. Six Patong Municipality firefighting vehicles rushed to the scene. Firefighters managed…
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Phuket Police nab drug dealing cousins
PHUKET: Phuket Police arrested two young cousins from Ratchaburi for possession of 2,600 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills with intent to sell on Saturday. The pair were identified at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station this morning as Natsuda Nakprasit, 20, and her cousin Naret Radomkij, 19. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said the pair were approached by…
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Phuket art galleries to show beach clean-up artwork
PHUKET: Beginning next month, selected art galleries in Phuket will stage a series of “marine debris” exhibitions comprising artwork made from trash collected during beach clean-ups. The grand opening will be at the Nakhonnai Museum, opposite the Golden Tulip Mangosteen Resort & Spa on Saiyuan Road Soi 2 in Rawai. Doors will open at 6pm on December 1. Subsequent showing…
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Phuket private healthcare gets a thumbs-up: poll
PHUKET: A majority of Phuket Gazette on-line readers have a favorable opinion of private health-care services in Phuket, the results of the latest Readers’ Poll reveal. Last week readers were asked: “With two international hospitals and numerous private clinics, Phuket has been much touted as a medical tourism hub. Cost considerations aside, how would you rate the overall quality of…
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Princess Sirindhorn to visit orphans in Phuket, Phang Nga
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Phuket and Phang Nga on November 23. Her visit, announced by the Phuket Provincial Governor’s Office yesterday, will start at 9am at the SOS Children’s Village in Koh Kaew, where she will chair the opening ceremony for a new school building. The orphanage, built following the 2004 tsunami, is the fifth SOS…
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Volleyball challenge: Let’s keep Phuket a winner in tourism and sports
PHUKET: By all accounts, this year’s Phuket Thailand Open, the globe-trotting women’s beach volleyball tournament, was the biggest, best and most entertaining to date. A real boon for tourism at the tail end of the low season, the competition showcased the considerable talents of these professional athletes and culminated in an exciting day of finals with a rivetting tie-breaker for…
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