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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The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...
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Australian tourists shot dead, injured in Chiang Mai
BANGKOK (AFP): An Australian man was shot dead and his companion injured when ambushed by a gang of thieves in northern Thailand, police and embassy officials said today. The 24-year-old man died instantly when four armed men pounced on the couple in the mountain-top Aung Kha National Park in Chiang Mai province, 700 kilometers (450 miles) north of Bangkok, late…
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Cell phone fears grip the North
CHIANG MAI: People in Northern Thailand have been afraid to answer their cellphones in recent weeks, following claims that calls from certain numbers cause instant brain haemorrhages. People are warning each other to watch out for numbers containing the sequence 3333. If the gossip is to be believed, when calls from the numbers are answered the phones send out a…
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TAT moves to keep “zero fare tour’ packages out of Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working to establish a standardized system of ‘branded’ tours to Phuket specifically for the Chinese market. The initiative, intended to keep ‘zero tour fare’ package operators out of Phuket, was discussed at a meeting of tourism industry leaders held at The Metropole hotel last week. Presiding over the meeting was TAT…
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Phuket firemen battle inferno
WICHIT, PHUKET: It took over fifty firefighters three hours to bring a blaze at a recycling center in Wichit under control last night. The blaze started at about 7:40pm at the Naka Recycle warehouse, located just north of the turnoff to Wat Naka on Chao Fah West Road. A total of 18 fire engines rushed to the scene: six from…
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Phuket Old Town Festival
PHUKET TOWN: The annual festival showcasing Phuket Town’s distinctive blend of Chinese and Thai culture is set to return this month. This year’s Phuket Old Town Festival will take place from February 19 to 21, after the arrival of the Year of the Tiger that falls on Valentine’s Day. The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Phuket City Municipality are promising…
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Rawai to set trash collection times
RAWAI, PHUKET: A recycling campaign launched by Rawai Municipality will include the removal of public garbage bins from streets and the introduction of fixed collection times. Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos said locals and tourists visiting Rawai tourist sites generate about 20 tons of solid waste daily in the high season. “The municipality has an ongoing campaign encouraging both local residents…
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Col Grissak to leave Phuket in police reshuffle
PATONG, PHUKET: In the latest police reshuffle, Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark has been transferred to the position of Superintendent of Kuraburi District Police in Phang Nga. His replacement, effective February 19, will be current Tung Tong Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao. Col Grissak seemed saddened by the news of the transfer to rural Kuraburi, Phang Nga’s northernmost district and a…
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USS Nimitz arrives in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Thousands of US servicemen stationed aboard the USS Nimitz and its support vessels arrived in Phuket yesterday morning for five days of rest and relaxation. Anxious to get off the 333-meter vessel after a month on board, sailors and marines quickly formed a long line extending almost the entire length of the hangar deck. As enlisted men and…
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Phuket camp owner defends berserk elephant
PHUKET: The owner of an elephant that recently went berserk and injured two Swedish tourists has defended the beast, blaming its mahout for the incident. Trin Khanwilaikul, owner of ‘Camp Chang’ in Kalim, said the elephant named ‘Captain’ would not be punished for the rampage, which also damaged a car. “He is a nice elephant, but he had the wrong…
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Phuket: More tourists, fewer baht
PHUKET: With hotel occupancy rates on the island currently reported at around 90 percent, hoteliers and other tourism business operators find themselves for the first time in two years unable to complain about a lack of tourists. This is obviously good news, but businesses on the island are finding that strong arrival figures haven’t translated into the kind of revenue…
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No go: Phuket road projects stalled
PHUKET TOWN: Two controversial road projects slated for Phuket face indefinite delays and the province is already seeking alternatives, the Gazette has learned. A high-ranking source in the Department of Rural Roads said plans to complete a road connecting Nanai Road in Patong to Chalong have stalled, as the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) failed to sign off…
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‘Splash Jungle’ opens in Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: ‘Splash Jungle,’ Phuket’s first state-of-the-art water park, opened today on the grounds of the West Sands project in Mai Khao. Among the park’s many attractions are a 335-meter ‘Lazy River’ water ride that meanders through seven themed sections: Inca-Maya, Africa, Asia, Turkey, Northern Europe, North America – and even the North Pole. Two high-octane slide rides are…
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Dead sea turtle washes up at Saphan Hin
PHUKET TOWN: Marine biologists think a dead hawksbill sea turtle that washed ashore at Saphan Hin yesterday morning may have fallen victim to fishing equipment. Kanjana Adulyanukosol of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa said workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation delivered the 30-kilogram carcass to the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit for examination around noon yesterday. Although the…
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Phuket Film Fest in June
PHUKET: Film buffs will be pleased to hear that the second ever Phuket Film Festival is set to take place on the island in June. Organizers are hoping this year’s event, from June 4 to 13, will be bigger and better than the festival debut in 2007. That year the seven-day festival saw the screening of 40 films from 15…
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Phuket expat’s killer: I acted alone
PHUKET: A 32-year-old man has confessed to the murder of German expat Wolf Kesselheim, telling police he acted alone and in self-defense. Chalong police arrested Pittaya Srijitraporn yesterday evening at Kata viewpoint, where he made a living charging tourists to pose in photographs with sea eagles. Mr Pittaya was paraded before the media at a press conference at Chalong Police…
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Patong Darts League underway
PATONG, PHUKET: Play in Phuket’s Patong Darts League (PDL) got underway on Tuesday night, with Queen Mary downing defending champs Piccadilly at home, 6-4. Piccadilly’s Jim hit a 180 to take the high score, while Queen Mary’s former owner Steen had an upset singles win over Tony, one of the best players in the league. In other matches, newcomers Ryan’s…
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Phuket coast under threat: park chief
PHUKET: Sirinath Marine National Park is under siege, the park’s chief warned this week. Leatherback turtles recently returned to Sirinath’s Mai Khao Beach to lay their eggs after an absence of years. Despite this unexpected good news, park director Nonthawit Chaturabandit is warning that unless something is done about encroachment and coastal erosion, there may not be much left of…
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Altared course: TAT to push Phuket as “wedding hub’
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will push Phuket as a wedding and honeymoon destination in selected markets including India, the head of the local TAT office said. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the TAT’s South Region 4 office in Phuket, said the TAT will offer special promotions to induce large wedding parties to Phuket. The announcement follows a recent…
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German stabbed to death in Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: A German expat was stabbed to death last night outside a 7-Eleven shop on a busy road in Rawai. The dead man has been identified as 66-year-old Eugen Wolf-Dieter, a resident of Ban Saiyuan in Rawai. Police are on the hunt for three teenage suspects who beat and stabbed Mr Wolf-Dieter before fleeing on a motorbike. From their…
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Leatherbacks return to Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Sirinat National Park and a local conservation organization have set up watches to protect leatherback turtles returning to lay eggs on Mai Khao Beach this nesting season. Nonthawit Chaturabandit, chief of Sirinat National Park, said that in the past many leatherback turtles nested on beaches inside the park. Local residents used to set up camps by the…
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Phuket Police practice crowd control
PHUKET TOWN: More than 300 Phuket Police donned riot gear this morning for crowd control drills outside Phuket City Police Station. The drills were overseen by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong, who assigned Kathu Superintendent Grissak Songmoonark to command one unit and Thalang Police Superintendent Thammanoon Faiju another. A total of 310 officers from all eight…
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Blood needed for Finnish accident victim in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center is calling for urgent donations of the rare blood type A- for a Finnish national currently in ICU at Bangkok Hospital Phuket. The Finn, 31, is breathing with the help of a respirator and requires an emergency leg operation after having an accident on January 22. He is also suffering from an abdominal blood…
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Five finalists in Phuket Bt300m park design battle
PHUKET: Five architects have emerged victorious in the opening skirmishes of a battle for the right to design a new 300-million-baht historical park commemorating the Battle of Thalang. The new park is expected to become a major tourist attraction showcasing Phuket’s colorful history. For our previous report, click here. A committee comprising architecture experts, historians and local politicians has whittled…
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57 alleged prostitutes rounded up in Phuket Town
PHUKET TOWN: A team of provincial civil defense officials and volunteer police on Sunday night raided three well-known entertainment venues, in the heart of Phuket Town, suspected of serving as fronts for prostitution. A spokesperson from the Phuket Provincial Office Public Relations Bureau said the raids were ordered by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop following complaints from local residents that the…
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Photo contest in Phuket
WICHIT, PHUKET: Wichit Municipality is holding a photo contest under the theme ‘Travel the Thai Way in Wichit’ to promote local tourist attractions. The contest, open to Thais and foreigners, offers cash prizes of 10,000 baht, 6,000 baht and 4,000 baht respectively for the top three photos. There will also be five consolation prizes of 1,000 baht each. Wichit Municipality…
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Phuket nursery to hold Haiti fundraiser
RAWAI, PHUKET: A local nursery is throwing open its doors to Phuket kids on Saturday afternoon to raise money for Haitian children suffering in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and aftershock. From 2pm, ABC Nursery in Rawai will host an afternoon of fun for kids of all ages. Activities at event, which ABC is dubbing ‘Kids Love Kids’, will…
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Bangla Cup football tourney in Phuket
PA KHLOK, PHUKET: The 14th annual Bangla Cup football tournament will start on February 28 at the Ban Bangla Football Field on the road from Pa Khlok to Muang Mai, near the Supalai Village housing estate in tambon Pa Khlok. The seven-a-side football competition will be divided into an open division and a senior division for footballers 35 years of…
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Pad Thai feast turns fatal
PHETCHABURI: A pensioner died on stage after choking on a clump of noodles while participating in a pad thai eating contest. Until his collapse, sixty-six-year-old Hing Laichan was leading the competition on his second plate of the famous fried noodle dish, nationalistically named by prime minister Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram during the World War II era. Onlookers took Mr Hing…
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Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: CCTV won’t help
PHUKET: Most Phuket Gazette readers believe new CCTV cameras won’t make any difference in the fight against crime, according to the results of our latest readers’ poll. The poll was prompted by the news that the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization is going to spend 17 million baht on 53 new CCTV cameras in and around Phuket Town. We asked readers…
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Phuket “Local Food Fair’ ends tonight
PHUKET TOWN: Tonight is the last night of the ‘Local Food Fair’ at Saphan Hin, a family-friendly event which has been getting rave reviews by attendees. Organized by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO), the festival has over 100 booths and an overwhelming variety of low-priced specialty dishes to choose from. Each night has featured a wide range of staged…
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