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5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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Power cut to affect Koh Kaew on May 17
PHUKET: A scheduled electricity shut-off will affect residents in the Koh Kaew sub-district on Tuesday, May 17. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced that there will be no electricity in the area from 9am to 5pm. All areas from Chao Fah Gardens (near 7-Eleven), up to the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, as well as roads in the surrounding vicinity,…
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Work underway to fix B400k damage to Chalong road caused by water trucks
PHUKET: Work is underway to repair 400,000 baht worth of damage done by water delivery trucks to a road behind Chalong Temple. Chalong Municipality confirmed today that work began this week to resurface Luangporgluam Road, which runs alongside the reservoir, an old tin mine, after complaints from locals prompted Chalong Mayor Samran Jindapon to ban water delivery trucks from using…
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Body found in Kathu may be missing Indonesian man, say police
PHUKET: Fresh evidence in a missing person’s case has led Phuket police to order a DNA test to confirm whether an unidentified decomposing body found floating in a Kathu pond on May 9 is that of an Indonesian man reported missing since May 7. The missing man Haiki Muhammad, 28, lived near the Thairath Wittaya School, which is where the…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Going without toilet paper
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Krabi school builders to be charged for deaths of five women
KRABI: Police announced that they will be pressing charges against the construction company involved in a building collapse that killed five female workers at the Institute of Physical Education’s Krabi Campus in March. The workers were killed when fresh poured cement brought down the upper story of the building, crushing them. (story here). “Police investigators have concluded their investigation into…
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Krabi locals use bamboo leaves to boost income
KRABI: This year’s drought is forcing Krabi farmers to diversify their crops. Boonlap Maepeng, 61, was having trouble producing rubber due to a lack of water when she was approached by a Bangkok businessman looking for dried bamboo leaves, which are used as wrappings for Bak Jang (rice dumplings). Ms Boonlap now collects bamboo leaves from her entire village in…
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Paradise Beach venue threatened with demolition
PHUKET: Patong Municipality is to serve a demolition notice to Paradise Beach Phuket next week, giving the party venue in Patong 30 days to move off the land it allegedly occupies illegally. Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup said Paradise Beach Management Co Ltd, which operates the beach club near Tri Trang Beach, will be formally told to remove the buildings said…
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Truck company billed for road damage
PHUKET: Chalong Mayor Samran Jindapon has ordered trucks carrying water to stay off of Luangporglium-Luangporcham Road after they allegedly caused damage to the pavement. Mr Samran also said the municipality is billing the trucking company for repairs. Mr Samran, accompanied by other Chalong officials, inspected the road after villagers complained of potholes and standing water near an old mining site…
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Body of suicidal Brit found outside Phuket Town hotel
PHUKET: The body of a British man believed to have suicidal tendencies was found yesterday at the bottom of a five-story-high fire escape at the Manorah Hotel in Phuket Town. The manager of the hotel on Komalphaj Road discovered the body of Ronald Rymer, 69, on a terrace at the foot of the building’s fire escape yesterday morning, confirmed Capt…
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Two Russians arrested for working as illegal tour guides
PHUKET: Two Russian nationals were arrested at Wat Chalong Temple this morning for allegedly working illegally as tour guides, confirmed officials from the Phuket Provincial Labor Office (PPLO). “They did not have their passports, but identified themselves as Irina Soboleva and Kolia, adding that they were employed by the Anex Tour Company,” PPLO chief Sutthipong Saisakaret told the Phuket Gazette.…
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Burmese man stabbed to death in street fight
PHUKET: Police arrested a murder suspect just a few hours after the body of a Myanmar national was found at Por Pichai fishing port in Rassada yesterday evening. “The body of Rang Gu Au, 29, was found lying in a pool of blood. He had been stabbed in the shoulder,” said Maj Nucharee Longkaew of Phuket City Police. Police named…
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Elderly woman killed in hit-and-run
PHUKET: An elderly woman was left lying dead in the road after a hit-and-run incident in Phuket Town just after midnight today, Phuket City Police confirmed. Ubon Nathip, 67, a resident of Phuket Town, was found dead on Anuphasphuketkarn Road in Talad Yai. Witnesses told police that Ms Ubon was hit by a vehicle while crossing the road. “At this…
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Teenagers busted at Phuket Airport with drugs in bra, handbag
PHUKET: Two teenage girls were busted for trying to smuggle narcotics through Phuket International Airport on Monday, in a joint raid by the Border Patrol Police (BPP) and Phuket Immigration Police. The girls, aged 16 and 19, flew in from Bangkok at about 4:30pm, confirmed Lt Amphol Samothai of the BPP. “We found 1,500 pills of methamphetamine (ya bah) in…
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Thai actor laughs on land claims, for now
PHUKET: The standing committee presiding over a land ownership dispute of 24 rai on Naka Noi Island, just off Phuket’s east coast, has voted to revoke the land ownership of Six Mountains Co Ltd. Further actions are expected to be carried out by the Land Department, Phuket Land Office Chief Watcharin Jetanavanich confirmed yesterday. “The committee’s decision is only an…
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Thailand Yacht Show dates announced
PHUKET: The dates for the second edition of the Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) have now been confirmed for December 15-18, with the massive event to be held once again at Phuket’s prestigious Ao Por Grand Marina. In making the announcement, managing director Andy Treadwell of show organizers SYE Pte Ltd, noted that as a joint venture with the Government of…
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Canadian crash victim’s father appeals for more A-negative blood
PHUKET: Dennis Connelly, the father of Canadian crash victim David Lee Connelly, 40, has appealed for more donations of A-negative blood to help save his son. David Connelly is currently at Bangkok Hospital Phuket waiting for blood platelets to be flown in to Phuket from Bangkok so that doctors at Bangkok Hospital Phuket can perform an operation today. The blood…
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General unperturbed by disenfranchised protesters
PHUKET: Region 4 Army commander Wiwat Pathompak on Sunday visited Phuket to assess the local government’s push to return beaches to their natural state, following the demolition of illegal buildings at Patong Beach, Kamala Beach, Surin Beach (story here) and Lay Pang Beach (story here). Accompanied by Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Teeraphol Thipjaroen and other…
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Video report: Removal of controversial Phuket Town mural begins
PHUKET: Less than a month after the unveiling of a mural painted on the wall of the historic Peranakan Nitat (Baba) Museum in Phuket Town, the artist Alex Face today began painting over his own work. The artist, whose real name is Patcharapol Tangruen, was commissioned by Phuket City Municipality to paint the mural, which was unveiled on April 10.…
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Decomposing body discovered in Kathu pond
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify the decomposing body of a man found floating in a pond near Kathu Wittaya School this afternoon. “A staff member from ‘Jungle Bungy Jump’ company discovered the body, saying it was causing a very bad smell in the area,” said Lt Sawanya Eiadtrong of the Thung Thong Police. Police said the man was naked…
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One dead, four injured in three-vehicle crash
PHUKET: One man died and four others were injured in a three-vehicle crash on the bypass road near the Samkong intersection yesterday afternoon. The three vehicles involved in the accident were a pick-up truck, a Honda Jazz and a Toyota Vios. “Narin Saenganan, 35, a passenger in the back of the pick-up truck, was pronounced dead on arrival at Vachira…
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Canadian crash victim safe after blood donations
PHUKET: A Canadian man badly injured in a motorcycle accident on Friday is now in stable condition thanks to donations of A-negative blood, medical staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital confirmed this morning. Connelly Bavid Lee, 35, required the blood so doctors could carry out a second round of surgery following emergency treatment after Mr Lee was seriously injured in a…
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Diving: Safety regulations in the dive industry
PHUKET: As promised, let’s dig into two of the biggest questions professionals in the industry are faced with in Phuket: “can we bend the rules to take photos on a Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) course” and “what counts as a ‘confined water environment’ for DSD”. Even at the PADI seminar on March 8 (story here), which included some of the…
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A Decade Ago: Crowne Plaza, work permits and Chinese tourists
PHUKET: If you weren’t in Phuket ten years ago, you might not even know what the Crown Plaza was. Nonetheless, it stole page one of the Phuket Gazette in the May 6-11, 2006 issue when it was bought by Kingdom Hotel Investment, which was headed by Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud – the 8th…
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Opinion: A parent’s perspective on homeschooling in Phuket
Homeschooling mother Papatsorn Sompranon, 44, is a Trang native and the proud parent of daughters Nattaya, 14, and Phimphan, 10, whose invention of a ‘Smart Watering Controller’ for house plants won them a bronze medal at the Malaysian International Young Inventors Olympiad last month. Mrs Papatsorn graduated with a nursing degree from Prince of Songkla University and worked as a…
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Opinion: To bike or not to bike in Phuket
PHUKET: A friend of mine recently arrived in Phuket. It is his very first time in Thailand and he intends to hang around for a while so, within the first week of his stay, he bought a motorcycle. Admittedly, anyone who wants to get around Phuket needs some form of independent transport, unless they have the time and patience to…
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Starving fishermen blame government restrictions for loss of income
PHANG NGA: More than 300 anchovy fishermen, claiming loss of income following the introduction of new regulations established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, gathered in protest at Laem Mai pier at Koh Yao Noi on Thursday. Led by spokesperson Tiwakorn Thongkert, the fishermen demand changes to regulations which prevent vessels weighing 10 tons or more from fishing within…
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Alex Face unfazed by the controversy surrounding his painting
PHUKET: Alex Face, the artist who painted the controversial mural depicting a three-eyed child on a wall of one of the city’s most historic buildings, the Peranakan Nitat (Baba) Museum in Phuket Town, is set to remove the artwork today. The Thai artist, whose given name is Patcharapol Tangruen, has been commissioned to paint buildings all over the world, but…
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Finance: Analyzing key market indices for tech stocks
PHUKET: As of the end of March, US stock markets hit some overhead resistance on their technical charts and pulled back a bit, with the rally that started in February looking similar on the technical charts to the rally of September, which ultimately rolled over. There is a strong possibility that the market (or at least the S&P 500) has…
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Phang Nga hailstorm, high winds worst in almost 40 years
KRABI – PHANG NGA: High winds, rain and hailstones caused extensive damage to property in Krabi and Phang Nga on Thursday, marking the onset of the monsoon season. One official said it was the worst storm in almost 40 years. “At least two houses were completely destroyed and 20 others were extensively damaged in Krabi, as well as crops, including…
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Opinion: Artistic controversy through the ages
PHUKET: The persecution of artists has been a popular pastime for people in power since the first paintings were commissioned by the courts and Counts of the Renaissance. Caravaggio was run out of Rome by angry clergymen who disagreed with the artist’s stylistic leap toward the visceral vulgarities of humanity, while many nobles and critics celebrated his work as groundbreaking.…
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