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The Melting Clock: A sophisticated spot for Italian cuisine and exquisite wine in Bangkok
It’s no secret that Bangkok has a lot of excellent Italian restaurants and wine bars, so standing out in the crowd is no small task. But The Melting Clock, the Italian restaurant and wine lounge in Ekkamai, has shown that...
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Two dead in Phuket bungy jumping accident
PHUKET: Two men died and one was seriously injured in a Phuket bungy-jump test last night after the lift they were on crashed to the ground. The owner, Tossaporn Suksri, 27, and his mechanic Pitakchai Wongsricha, 30, were waiting in the lift for their turn to test the jump when a malfunction caused the platform they were standing on to…
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Video Report: Phuket’s B70mn one-stop yacht center to open Monday
PHUKET: Two years behind schedule and 70 million baht in the making, Phuket’s long-awaited one-stop yacht center will open with a two-week trial period, starting on Monday. “Officers involved in yacht-arrival services, such as immigration, customs and the harbor master, are now moving into their new offices,” Phuket Marine Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut told the Phuket Gazette. The rotunda-style building at…
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Avalanche kills at least 12 guides in deadliest incident on Mount Everest
PHUKET: An avalanche sweeping down Mount Everest killed at least 12 Nepali guides on Friday in what may be the deadliest single incident on the world’s highest peak. The avalanche struck a perilous passage on the main route to the summit as sherpas were preparing the way for climbers at the start of the season. Nepal’s tourism ministry listed the…
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Police suspect French national murdered in Phuket
PHUKET: A 37-year-old French national was found dead in his underwear in a rental room in Phuket this afternoon. The Parisian was found in a pool of blood partially under a stripped mattress at the Morgot Resort in Chalong. There was evidence of blunt trauma to the side of his head. Police believe he had been dead for more than…
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Ticking off the Songkran bucket list – respect before revelry
PHUKET: By the time you read this, I hope you took a plastic bag with you to the shop to buy your copy of the Phuket Gazette. Songkran has once again come and gone, having been celebrated by the traditional bucket load. Most Phuket oldtimers I know choose to stay indoors during the Thai New Year, happily avoiding the deluges…
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Sustaining Phuket people and environment
Sayan Chanachaiwong, 56, has been Kathu District Chief for about five months. With a master’s degree in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University, he worked as district chief in the restive Deep South province of Narathiwat for more than nine years, most recently in Su-ngai Padi, before coming to Phuket. Here, he talks about his three priorities for Kathu. PHUKET: My…
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Video Report: ITF Seniors Tennis tournament at Thanyapura a success
PHUKET: Thanyapura Phuket ITF Seniors Tennis Tournament organizers said they were very pleased to see such a great turnout of players at the event, which took place from April 7 to 12. Many players also expressed their gratitude to the event organizers and praised the quality of the facilities where the tournament took place. It was a good start for…
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Phuket closes Songkran Seven Days of Danger with one dead, 22 injured
PHUKET: The Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign drew to a close at midnight last night with Phuket amassing a tally of one death and 22 people injured during the week-long holiday. Saeree Panitkul, the chief administrative officer at the Phuket Provincial Office, reported the news at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) this…
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Shady Business: Phuket beaches kept out of the sun
Special Report Just over a generation ago, there were few chairs or umbrellas on the sands of Phuket. Now, they cover up to 80 per cent of many popular beaches. Last June, the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism said their excessive numbers have a negative impact on tourists’ experiences. What’s happening, and who’s in charge? The Phuket Gazette’s Irfarn Jamdukor…
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Unwanted babies in Phuket are not to be abandoned
Special Report The discovery of a newborn boy abandoned in the bed of a pick-up truck in front of a luxury resort on April 10 has highlighted the issue of unwanted pregnancies on Phuket. Many women, not knowing which way to turn, abandon their babies or seek illegal abortions. The Gazette‘s Chutharat Plerin explores what options are available for pregnant…
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Navy defamation case proceeds against PhuketWan
PHUKET: Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian of local blog PhuketWan were released on bail yesterday on charges of criminal defamation and other offenses in connection with a story they published on trafficking in Rohingya. Mr Morison, an Australian, and Thai national Ms Chutima published a story last July that contained excerpts from a Reuters Special Report alleging that some Thai…
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Phuket Gazette World News: At least nine Nepali guides killed in Everest avalanche
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least nine Nepali guides killed in Everest avalanche Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An avalanche swept down a slope of Mount Everest on Friday, killing nine Nepali mountaineering guides at the beginning of the main climbing season, a Tourism Ministry official said. The avalanche hit…
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Phuket officials threaten protest over Club Med lease
PHUKET: Kata-Karon officials yesterday threatened public protests if the lease for the Club Med resort located on 39 rai of public land along the Kata beachfront is renewed. The 30-year lease, which began in 1985, will expire on September 24 next year. “For 30 years we have been waiting for the contract to expire,” said Kamnan Winai Chidchiew, who led…
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Korean Association Phuket calls for donations to aid victims of ferry disaster
PHUKET: The Korean Association in Phuket is collecting money to help those affected by the sinking of the South Korean ferry on Wednesday – both survivors and victims’ families. As many as 271 of the 475 passengers on board when the ship began sinking are still unaccounted for (story here). Many of those missing are schoolchildren. “We have called on…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Captain not at the helm when South Korean ferry capsized
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Captain not at the helm when South Korean ferry capsized Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A junior officer was at the helm of a South Korean ferry when it capsized and the captain may have been away from the bridge, investigators said on Friday as the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: B10mn watch heist; CAPO warns courts; Hezbollah suspects to be deported
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three Chinese sought in B10mn watch heist The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three Chinese suspects have left the country after allegedly stealing a Mont Blanc wristwatch worth over Bt10 million from a luxury shopping mall in the heart of Bangkok, Immigration Police Bureau chief Lt-General…
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Phuket hit-and-run Russians now fugitives
PHUKET: Chalong Police are seeking arrest warrants for two Russians who have fled the country amid an investigation into a fatal hit-and-run of a 16-year-old boy in Phuket in the early hours of April 5. Thananbavorn “Lotus” Durongpan was struck and killed while riding his motorbike along Patak Road near Chalong Circle, just after 1am, explained Capt Thada Sodarak of…
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Wolfpack gore the Galahs to retain Cricket 7s title
PHUKET: Australia’s Wolfpack retained their title by winning the 11th Annual Phuket International Cricket Week 2014 Kata Group International Cricket 7s at Republic Phuket Football Ground last weekend. Captained by Australian Indoor Cricket Team champion Will Badger, the Wolfpack fought back to defeat the Galah Cricket Team, who had been admirable opponents during the Kata 7s. Wolfpack had defeated Phuket…
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Phuket survives Day 6 of Songkran road-safety campaign
PHUKET: No road deaths were reported in Phuket yesterday, the sixth day of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign, but one more injury was added to the official tally. During the 24 hours from midnight on April 15 to midnight on April 16, only one victim of a road accident was reported admitted to a hospital for…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Search continues for South Korea ferry sinking survivors
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Search continues for South Korea ferry sinking survivors Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korean coastguard and navy divers resumed searching on Thursday for about 290 people still missing, many of them students from the same high school, after a ferry capsized in sight of land.…
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Miss Universe Australia 2010 plays in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket hosted Miss Universe Australia 2010 for the Songkran holiday while she was in town shooting an Australian TV program to showcase tourist destinations in Thailand. Jesinta Campbell, 22, was chosen by Australian travel show The Getaway to be the face of a six-episode series covering tourist hot spots in Phuket and Phang Nga, said Anoma Wongyai, Director of…
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Phuket Gazette World News: More than 300 people missing after South Korean ferry sinks
More than 300 people missing after South Korea ferry sinks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: More than 300 people were missing after a ferry sank off South Korea, the coastguard said on Wednesday, with a three-fold increase in the number of passengers unaccounted for put down to a miscalculation by officials. The ferry was carrying 477 people, of whom 164…
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Phuket Songkran heatwave claims three lives on same day
PHUKET: Doctors at Patong Hospital have confirmed that three foreigners died yesterday after collapsing from heatstroke. Russian tourist Igor Kiselev, 59, was rushed to hospital for medical treatment after he passed out at Karon Beach, Patong Hospital Director Sirichai Silpa-archa confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning. “He died en route to the hospital. Medical staff tried for one hour…
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Road death tally holds steady on fifth day of danger
PHUKET: Phuket’s road death toll remains at one after “five days of danger”, but four injuries were added to the casualty tally after yesterday. Between midnight on April 14 and midnight on April 15, four road accidents were reported, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket). Three involved motorcyclists, two of whom had blood alcohol…
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Get ready to shred some waves in Kao Lak
PHUKET: The high season is nearly over, traffic is fading to near tolerable levels and the lines of beach chairs are slowly receding. However, for those who brave monsoon weather and killer rip tides to test their skills on the west coast surf breaks, the high season is just beginning. Surfing in Phuket is definitely a seasonal undertaking, with surfable…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Prem mediator plan falters; Songkran toll hits 204; Police chief wants proactive officers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Toll hits 204 as revellers start returning The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: As large numbers of people yesterday started to travel back to work from the Songkran holidays – and many others continued to enjoy water splashing in their home towns – the Road Safety…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Hundreds rescued as cruise liner sinks off South Korea
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cruise liner sinks off South Korea Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One person has been found dead in a South Korean ferry that is sinking off the southwest coast, a coast guard official said on Wednesday. There was a loud impact and noise before the ferry…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Jordanian ambassador seized in Libya
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Jordanian ambassador seized in Libya, kidnappers demand prisoner release Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Jordan’s ambassador to Libya was kidnapped on Tuesday by gunmen who demanded an Islamist militant be released from a Jordanian jail in exchange for the diplomat’s freedom. The masked gunmen shot and…
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Former police volunteer tests positive for drugs, case goes to Phuket public prosecutor
PHUKET: Drug test results came back positive for former tourist police volunteer Garry Halpin, who has spent the last four months in Phuket Provincial Prison. The drug test results were the last piece of evidence the police needed before sending the case to court (story here). It has now been handed over to the public prosecutor. “The prosecutor will formally…
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Phuket Songkran road toll stands at 1 dead, 17 injured
PHUKET: After four days of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road safety campaign, Phuket’s death and injury toll stands at one dead and 17 people injured in 17 accidents. Five accidents which resulted in five people being admitted to hospital for treatment of injuries occurred in the 24 hours ending at midnight last night, the Department of Disaster…
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