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Fire rips through shops on Phi Phi
PHUKET: Police believe that an electrical short circuit caused the fire that consumed 10 shops on Phi Phi Don today. The fire broke out in the tourist-dense area of Ton Sai, gutting restaurants, rental rooms, clothing stores and a tour company storefront. Nobody was injured in the blaze. “A house next to the group of connected buildings was burnt too.…
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Phuket aims to allow foreign-flagged superyacht charters
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office will table the idea of creating temporary chartering licenses for foreign-flagged superyachts, as Thailand pushes for the province to become a maritime hub for Southeast Asia. “There will be a public hearing, with an English-language translator, to discuss what legal measures need to be taken to ensure that Phuket becomes the destination in the region…
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Visionary dentist bridges gap in Phuket dental market
PHUKET: Medical tourism and the hordes of foreign customers it brings to Thailand and Phuket’s shores is on a steady rise, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand reporting more than 2.5 million international patients travelling to the Kingdom for treatments in 2012 and predicting an increase of 13% per annum. One dental clinic conglomerate, Dental Corporation Co Ltd, started filling…
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Finance: Exchange rate rigmarole
PHUKET: An issue most Phuket expats deal with in one form or another is exposure to some risk of fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Many earn money outside of the country and then need to convert that to baht for spending purposes. Offshore oil workers are a good example of this, and how best to deal with this situation can…
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PRBC seeks blood donations for monsoon season
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is calling for all qualified island residents to donate blood as the monsoon season – and the dangerous road conditions that come with it – rolls in. PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak said the month-long blood drive is being held to replenish blood supplies for the southwest monsoon season and in acknowledgment of World…
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Mysterious Brit burglar Charlie Machin still on the run
PHUKET: Karon Police are still trying to track down a British thief, known only by his alias ‘Charlie Machin’, who is wanted for robbing a Swedish man’s home of about 200,000 baht in valuables in March (story here). “We only have this name and a few pictures of him. All farang [Caucasians] look the same. It has been very hard…
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Business Buzz: Outsourcing – Imagine hiring an expert from 150 baht
PHUKET: I remember when I started in this industry just how much there was to learn and how many different things I needed to do to get started: build websites, get a domain, hosting, design a logo, create an exciting intro logo, set up social media accounts, start promoting – the list goes on and on! I understand the challenges…
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Opinion: Protecting Nepali victims in exodus
PHUKET: Island residents must come together to fully support local efforts by the Red Cross Society and private-sector groups to provide disaster relief to the suffering people of Kathmandu and other parts of central Nepal that have been devastated by the massive earthquake that struck there last Saturday morning. As of yesterday, the reported death toll had surpassed 6,000 and…
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