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  • Phuket missing teen turns up safe in Udon Thani

    Phuket missing teen turns up safe in Udon Thani

    PHUKET: Kanyarat “Nong Chor” Kananthai, who was last seen selling her gold necklace in Phuket on Sunday, has turned up safe and sound in Udon Thani. “At about 3pm yesterday, one of my relatives in Udon Thani called me to say that Nong Chor had arrived at her place. I am so relieved that she is okay,” said Ms Kanyarat’s…

  • ‘The Jungle Book’ puppet production swings into Phuket

    ‘The Jungle Book’ puppet production swings into Phuket

    PHUKET: In the next installment of quality island entertainment, Events International and the Phuket Gazette are proud to present the Jungle Book Puppet Theater. Suitable for children of all ages, the sparkling new puppet theater adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book will swing into British International School Phuket (BISP), HeadStart International School and Kajonkietsuksa International School next month. This…

  • Three Phuket tourists tumble, mayor aims to increase safety at Promthep Cape

    Three Phuket tourists tumble, mayor aims to increase safety at Promthep Cape

    PHUKET: Officials are considering more options to boost safety at Phuket’s iconic Promthep Cape after three tourists – two Chinese and one Thai – slipped from the rocks this weekend. However, building a protective fence remains off the table. “During the [southwest] monsoon season, there is a lot of rain and the waves are high. These conditions make it easy…

  • Bag blamed for Phuket speedboat crash [video] | Thaiger

    Bag blamed for Phuket speedboat crash [video]

    PHUKET: The speedboat driver who crashed into a fishing trawler yesterday has blamed a plastic bag for the accident. The Seastar speedboat sank after hitting the trawler, leaving 35 injured and two missing (story here). “About 20 minutes after we departed from Maya Bay [on Koh Phi Phi] the sky got very dark and a black plastic bag flew under…

  • Video Report: Search continues for missing tourists after devastating Phuket speedboat crash

    Video Report: Search continues for missing tourists after devastating Phuket speedboat crash

    PHUKET: The search continues for two tourists who went missing after their speedboat crashed into a fishing trawler about 11 kilometers from Koh Yao Noi, east of Phuket, at about 5:30pm yesterday. The Navy renewed its search for the male and female Korean, who rescuers were unable to recover after the crash, by boat and helicopter at 8am today. However,…

  • Registration remains open for the Challenge Laguna Phuket

    Registration remains open for the Challenge Laguna Phuket

    PHUKET: Registration is still open for the 2014 half-distance Challenge Laguna Phuket in Thailand – and the opportunity still exists to compete in this unique destination event that has captured the hearts of triathletes all over the world. The race, set for November 30, will be the second Challenge Family series race to be staged on this paradise tropical island,…

  • Teen goes missing after selling gold in Phuket

    Teen goes missing after selling gold in Phuket

    PHUKET: A relative of a 16-year-old girl has made a public plea for help in finding the teen, who went missing yesterday. Kanyarat “Nong Chor” Kananthai was last seen at 11am in Kathu selling her gold necklace for 4,300 baht to a shop near her house. “Nong Chor came from Udon Thai province with our grandmother about two months ago…

  • Breaking News: Two missing, 35 injured in Phuket speedboat crash

    Breaking News: Two missing, 35 injured in Phuket speedboat crash

    PHUKET: Two tourists are missing after a speedboat crashed with a fishing boat between Koh Yao Noi and Phi Phi Island, east of Phuket, this afternoon. Marine Police have rescued 35 of the 37 tourists who were on board the speedboat. All suffered varying degrees of injury, it was confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. Rescue workers and hospital staff, prepared…

  • Another one bites the dust: illegal building removed from Phuket beach

    Another one bites the dust: illegal building removed from Phuket beach

    PHUKET: One illegal building was removed from Phuket’s Nai Yang Beach by officials yesterday. Daeng Lawlang, the owner of the illegal building, was ordered to remove it by October 16. Though Mr Daeng has a Sor Kor 1 land title for about two rai of beachfront property, the building and some smaller structures were constructed beyond his property boundaries. “The…

  • Phuket King’s Cup Regatta returns [video] | Thaiger

    Phuket King’s Cup Regatta returns [video]

    PHUKET: Revered as Asia’s most prestigious sports yachting trophy and attracting crews and boats from every corner of the globe, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta returns to the unpredictable seas of the Andaman, bringing with it split-second racing action, camaraderie and a series of legendary party events. The 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Under Royal Patronage, the region’s largest regatta,…

  • Opinion: Beach Games to showcase new Phuket

    Opinion: Beach Games to showcase new Phuket

    PHUKET: There has been a great deal of discussion and debate recently about how Phuket should “rebrand” itself as a world-class tourist destination in the wake of the National Council for Peace and Order’s unprecedented anti-corruption drive. Hopefully, the 4th Asian Beach Games next month will serve as the perfect showcase for the so-called “new” Phuket, spreading the message far…

  • Phuket police raid rounds up pirated goods

    Phuket police raid rounds up pirated goods

    PHUKET: About 1,500 fake brand-name items were seized from three shops in Patong on Thursday. “The retail value of the counterfeit goods is about 1 million baht,” said Kitti Sapaothong, deputy commander of the Economic Crime Division of the Royal Thai Police. The majority of the items seized were polo shirts. However, bags, purses, luggage, watches and other items were…

  • Six elephants “unsmuggled’ from Phuket

    Six elephants “unsmuggled’ from Phuket

    PHUKET: Six illegally-imported elephants were rushed out of Noparat Elephant Camp and off Phuket late last night. The pachyderm push-out came ahead of a Phuket Livestock Office raid this morning. “We confirmed that the elephants were removed from the island and taken to Krabi province. The owner has secured a permit allowing them to stay there,” Phuket Livestock Chief Weerasit…

  • Investing time to develop passive income

    Investing time to develop passive income

    PHUKET: I recently became involved in marketing products for the health and wellness industry, which follows a very different business model than any I have previously encountered. In fact, the investment consists mainly of time, as start-up capital required is extremely limited. “Human capital” is developed, rather than the standard brick-and-mortar business. The great thing about this style of investing…

  • Marketing duo to breathe new life into RPM

    Marketing duo to breathe new life into RPM

    PHUKET: A duo of marketing experts have joined the ranks of Royal Phuket Marina to put it back on the Phuket map and in the minds of the island’s residents. “I had forgotten about RPM,” says Ian Spurdle, the marina’s new Director of Sales and Marketing for Luxury Property. “I’ve been in Phuket for 12 years, and have known RPM…

  • Annual Patong carnival to hit sands of Phuket

    Annual Patong carnival to hit sands of Phuket

    PHUKET: Patong’s annual carnival, this year themed “Blissful Beach @ Patong”, is set to hit the beach town’s sands on November 1, ahead of Phuket’s tourism high season. The event, now in its 29th year, will take place from November 1-3, and aims to attract locals and tourists alike with concerts, a mini-marathon, a photography contest (story here) and a…

  • Unattended candles set Phuket house on fire

    Unattended candles set Phuket house on fire

    PHUKET: A Phuket homeowner issued a warning about leaving candles unattended after his house was set on fire today by candles left burning for a personal Chinese shrine. No one was injured in the blaze. However, an estimated 100,000 baht of damage was done, Lt Col Sanit Nookong of the Thalang Police told the Phuket Gazette. “My wife, children and…

  • Phuket shrines gear up for second Vegetarian Festival [video] | Thaiger

    Phuket shrines gear up for second Vegetarian Festival [video]

    A much-anticipated aspect of the Vegetarian Festival is the bountiful array of interesting foods. PHUKET: Kathu Shrine is preparing to hold the second go-round of Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival from October 24 to November 1. Governor Nisit Jansomwong has urged all island-dwellers to take part in this special event, as a few shrines on the island are expected to hold even…

  • Prisoner kingpin implicated in Phuket drug-network raids

    Prisoner kingpin implicated in Phuket drug-network raids

    PHUKET: The kingpin of a major drug ring operating out of a Thai prison was identified after a series of raids in Phuket, police said yesterday. The raids, which began on Sunday, saw more than 2 kilograms of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) seized. “The major dealers arrested implicated a female inmate, who we will name only as ‘Ms B’ until…

  • Russian man who disappeared into sea found drowned in Phuket

    Russian man who disappeared into sea found drowned in Phuket

    PHUKET: The body of a Russian man who walked into the sea and disappeared on Wednesday night after an argument with his girlfriend was discovered this morning. “We were alerted by a local that a body was found floating between Freedom Beach and Paradise Beach at about 9am,” Sampawat Wannasangkam of the Patong Municipality Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation…

  • Phuket Governor wants English speaker to assist foreigners filing complaints

    Phuket Governor wants English speaker to assist foreigners filing complaints

    PHUKET: In order to cope with the increasing number of complaints made to Phuket authorities by foreigners, Governor Nisit Jansomwong is looking to hire an English speaker to assist staff at the island’s Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office). The Damrongtham Center was established to provide advice and information for people – both Thai and foreigners – about any issue they might…

  • Man caught peeping in Phuket restroom to fuel sexual fantasies

    Man caught peeping in Phuket restroom to fuel sexual fantasies

    PHUKET: A Myanmar national has confessed to watching women use a public restroom to fuel his sexual fantasies. The 18-year-old, named by police only as “Mr Joe”, was caught looking through a crack in the wall of the bathroom at Star Wash car care yesterday afternoon. “I saw his eyes watching me through the crack while I was using the…

  • Russian man walks into Phuket sea, presumed drowned

    Russian man walks into Phuket sea, presumed drowned

    PHUKET: Rescue workers have given up a search for a Russian man last seen walking into the sea after a fight with his girlfriend in Phuket. “We saw four people – two men and two women – walking on the beach. They all looked drunk,” said eyewitness Apirat Chanpradab. “They sat down, then after about 30 minutes one of the…

  • Chalong Bay Marina shut down for one year

    Chalong Bay Marina shut down for one year

    PHUKET: Boats will be prohibited from mooring within 200 meters of Chalong Bay Marina for one year, effective today, as seawall construction and renovations take place, confirmed the Phuket Marine Office chief. The order handed down and signed off by Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut was followed by the expulsion of all boats moored in the marina. “The marina…

  • Phuket python caught devouring duck

    Phuket python caught devouring duck

    PHUKET: A Phuket resident was caught off guard when he discovered that a four-meter python had swallowed one of his favorite ducks this morning. “I heard my one of my ducks quacking in alarm, so I ran outside to its cage to make sure everything was okay,” said the duck owner, who asked not to be named. “My duck had…

  • Phuket mystery: Autopsies yield no results for reef fish deaths

    Phuket mystery: Autopsies yield no results for reef fish deaths

    PHUKET: Autopsy results of dead fish collected at Koh Racha Yai off the southern coast of Phuket have yielded no clues as to why scores of reef fish are being found dead in the area (story here). “We have yet to determine the cause of death. Experts conducted autopsies, but the results were inconclusive,” Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) Director…

  • Six illegal elephants to be expelled from Phuket

    Six illegal elephants to be expelled from Phuket

    PHUKET: Six elephants with no valid documentation to stay in Phuket are to be booted off the island within the next few weeks, Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. Phuket Livestock Office personnel will re-check documents which were presented by the owner of the elephants to officers at the Phuket Animal Quarantine Station at Tah Chat Chai…

  • Phuket ready to host 16th World Pencak Silat Championship

    Phuket ready to host 16th World Pencak Silat Championship

    PHUKET: Phuket will host the 16th World Pencak Silat Championship next year, touted to be the biggest gathering of martial arts competitors ever held in the sport, with more than 600 athletes from 47 countries. “Thailand has hosted many international sporting events in the past with great success. We expect this to be the biggest gathering of athletes yet for…

  • Phuket’s bypass road says goodbye to big sinkhole

    Phuket’s bypass road says goodbye to big sinkhole

    PHUKET: Traffic is flowing normally again on the bypass road as construction to fix a gaping sinkhole left behind after days of heavy rain storms last week, was completed today. “The road repairs are done. The lane has been re-opened and is now in use,” Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “The hole was…

  • Officials scramble to dismantle human trafficking network north of Phuket

    Officials scramble to dismantle human trafficking network north of Phuket

    PHUKET: Officials north of Phuket are attempting to unravel a human trafficking network after the arrest of a Thai “caretaker”. “It is clear that locals are part of this network. We will dismantle it,” vowed acting Phang Nga Governor Prayoon Rattanasenee today. Songphol Klaimee, 20, also known as “Boss K”, confessed to police that he had been assigned the task…