News
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5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
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Blood loss forces Phuket Vegetarian Festival spirit medium to hospital
PHUKET: An entranced Phuket Vegetarian Festival spirit medium, also known as a ma song, was rushed to hospital due to excessive blood loss today. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to Saphan Hin, the final destination of the first festival street procession (story here), to deliver first aid to the ailing ma song. When they arrived, the ma song, who…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival takes to the streets
PHUKET: Tourists and island motorists were treated to the first street procession of this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival when devotees from the Choor Su Gong Naka Shrine south of Phuket Town marched to Saphan Hin this morning. Scores of tourists and residents lined the streets, with many joining the procession along the way and motorists queuing up behind them waiting…
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Phuket’s first Formula One simulators race into Patong
PHUKET: Grid Racing Phuket (GR Phuket) will become the first dedicated F1 racing simulator of its kind in Phuket when it opens its doors to the public on October 3. Combining his past experience with simulators, Australian national Paul and his partner “Visa” decided to capitalize on the rising popularity of the racing simulator industry and open their own “race…
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Phuket beach wedding ban raises mixed feelings
PHUKET: Weddings have been banned from being performed on at least four of Phuket’s west coast beaches, confirmed one official, but many beach town mayors are hesitant to prohibit seaside nuptials. “No wedding ceremonies are allowed on Surin, Bang Tao, Laypang and Layan beaches,” Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) confirmed to the Phuket Gazette.…
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Buoyant West Ham seek to extend Man United gloom
PHUKET: In-form West Ham United are just about the last team Manchester United would want to face on Saturday as Louis van Gaal’s side seek an immediate response to their Premier League collapse at Leicester City. West Ham, who have lost on their last six league visits to Old Trafford, thumped Liverpool 3-1 on Saturday the day before United twice…
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Customs seizes Bt103m of luxury cars, iPhones
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Customs seizes Bt103m of luxury cars, iPhones The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Customs Department has seized prohibited goods such as counterfeit smartphones, including iPhone 6 models, and tax-evading luxury cars worth a total of Bt103 million, the department’s adviser on customs control systems, Narin Kalayanamit,…
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Pata Zoo fights efforts to move caged gorilla Bua Noi
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pata Zoo fights efforts to move caged gorilla Bua Noi The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The owners of Pata Zoo are fighting back efforts by many people to move the gorilla, Bua Noi, to what they consider “a better home”. “Don’t use mob rule here,”…
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School official faces molestation, rape charges
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community School official faces molestation, rape charges The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A primary school director in Phayao’s Chiang Kham district, who had been accused of molesting five pupils, is facing four counts of molestation and one count of rape. Pol Lt-Colonel Sanit Wongyai yesterday said…
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Orient Thai Airlines mechanics in high-speed Phuket crash
PHUKET: An Orient Thai Airlines mechanic will be charged with reckless driving after he and his colleague crashed into a Phuket used car lot at high speed early this morning. The two mechanics were driving an Orient Thai company pick-up from Phuket International Airport to Phuket Town at about 2am when the vehicle careened off the road. “Witnesses said that…
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Preparing for retirement
PHUKET: Many expats don’t know where to begin when planning for retirement. The key is getting a head start. While it’s best to start planning as soon as possible, it’s never too late to take control of your finances and your own destiny. This is the first of a three-part series outlining the three critical steps that must be taken…
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Patong Police fail to find any illegal tour operators in Phuket crackdown
PHUKET: More than 30 officers led by Patong Police scoured the resort town yesterday afternoon, but failed to find any culprits as part of an ongoing island-wide sweep for illegal tour operators and guides. The officers split into five teams and began inspecting businesses from 2pm as part of the crackdown announced at a meeting on September 5 (story here).…
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Lofty relocation at Boat Lagoon
PHUKET: After 14 years at his original premises overlooking the hard stand at Phuket’s Boat Lagoon in Koh Kaew, Muzza Nordstrand has moved his Canvas Creations to a new loft. “We’re still in the Phuket Boat lagoon, as you drive in from the main road, turn right alongside the football field behind the gas station and you’ll find us in…
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Russian arrested for installing ATM skimmer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian arrested for installing ATM skimmer The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Russian has been arrested for allegedly installing a “skimmer” device to steal PIN numbers of cardholders who used an automatic teller machine (ATM) at a 7-Eleven convenience store in eastern Bangkok. The new…
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Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman’s son
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman’s son The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are looking for the son of a former Koh Tao village headman in their pursuit of the killers of two British backpackers on the night of September 14, after…
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Three Laguna resorts step up to help jobless Phuket beach vendors
PHUKET: Three major hotels at Laguna Phuket have agreed to allow vendors who lost their jobs in the Cherng Talay beach cleanup to work on sections of their beachfront properties. “After the cleanup [in Cherng Talay] we got our beautiful beaches back, but we have been left with many jobless vendors who want to make a living,” said Ma-ann Samran,…
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Burning candle sets Phuket air-conditioning shop on fire
PHUKET: A burning candle set an air-conditioning sales and repair shop ablaze this morning in Rassada, north of Phuket Town, causing about 300,000 baht in damages. Neighbors alerted shop owner Panya Chunchom, 34, of the fire after they saw smoke coming from the building’s third-floor window. “We lit some candles as an act of worship and put them in front…
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Facebook tip-off leads to Laguna Phuket beach fence teardown
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket today was ordered to pull down a fence at Bang Tao Beach until it could be established whether or not the operators of the resort complex own the land. Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), issued the order after inspecting the site while accompanied by armed soldiers. “Photos of the fence were…
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B15.9mn budget approved to tackle some of Phuket’s water woes
PHUKET: A 15.9-million-baht budget has been approved to manage and develop Phuket’s water-resources in order to increase storage capacity and improve a canal that has become a health hazard. “We have approved a 4mn-baht project to dredge about a kilometer of Bang Yai Canal in Phuket Town to improve the water flow and drainage,” Natural Resources and Environment Minister General…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival to begin tonight
PHUKET: As the sun sets on Phuket tonight, all Chinese shrines taking part in the annual Vegetarian Festival will raise their go-teng poles so that the Jade Emperor, among the Nine Emperor Gods, can descend from the heavens, heralding the beginning of this year’s event. Devotees began pasting gold-leaf papers to the poles last night ahead of the festival’s precursor…
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Patong beach vendor hangs himself amid “no work’ depression
PHUKET: A man who rented umbrellas and beach chairs at Patong is believed to have committed suicide due to depression brought on by the Phuket beach cleanup campaign that left him with no income. Jirasak Sae-Koo, 45, was found hanging by a rope tied to a ceiling beam at the home of his friend Narate Rattanathatchaikul at about 4pm yesterday.…
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Phuket Town to suffer more water shutoffs
PHUKET: The mains water supply will be shut off throughout most of Phuket Town for two nights, starting tonight, so that Phuket City Municipality workers can install larger pipes to serve the growing town. Water supply will be shut off at 8pm and restored at 5am on Wednesday. The second shutoff will see water supply cut from 8pm Wednesday through…
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Koh Tao Murders: Mass DNA tests fail to identify suspects
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao Murders: Mass DNA tests fail to identify suspects The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police hunting the killers of two British tourists on Koh Tao failed again yesterday to link suspects to the crimes, as DNA tests on 30 out of 64 samples collected…
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Reinforced by Thai military, Phuket park chief decides to stay
PHUKET: Emboldened by more military personnel to provide around-the-clock protection, Kitiphat Tharapiban has decided to stay on as chief of Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. Mr Kitiphat was convinced to stay during newly appointed Natural Resources and Environment Minister Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan’s visit to Phuket on Saturday. Gen Dapong’s visit – and the promise of more military security personnel – came…
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Samui’s tourism market hits mid-year glitch
PHUKET: While many of Thailand’s resort destinations think they are immune to what happens in Bangkok, the reality is that they are sadly mistaken. There is little doubt that the events which played out in the nation’s capital had a profound impact on tourism. Be it from martial law or the globally publicized curfews, there has been fallout in the…
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Foul play not suspected in death of former Phuket police officer
PHUKET: Police have ruled out foul play in the death of a former Phuket policeman-turned-money lender who was found dead in his bed Saturday night. “We found Sub Lt Anan Thongkham, 65, dead at his home on Soi King Kaew 5 in Rassada at about 10:30pm,” said Maj Sakchai Chunyong of the Phuket City Police. “There were no signs of…
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Phuket Police probe foreigner over woman found hanged
PHUKET: Police are questioning a foreign man for the possible murder of a woman who was found hanged at her home in Phuket late last night. Police declined to identify the foreigner as the investigation is ongoing. Officers were called to the scene, in Soi Bang Tao 4, Cherng Talay, just before midnight to find Kroramol Chittangkul, 51, from Bangkok,…
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Patong’s one-way system to change by year’s end
PHUKET: Plans to change the direction of Patong’s one-way traffic system in Phuket look set to go ahead by the end of this year, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup has confirmed. “A public hearing was held on Friday to determine whether or not to change Patong’s traffic flow. I believe this could happen by the end of this year,” Mayor Chalermluck…
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European soccer roundup: Lampard haunts Chelsea, Real and Barca on goal spree
PHUKET: Frank Lampard scored against his old club Chelsea to earn champions Manchester City a 1-1 draw but Jose Mourinho’s men stayed on top of the Premier League. Manchester United dropped further down the table after losing 5-3 against newcomers Leicester City. Barcelona and Real Madrid scored 13 goals between them during a memorable La Liga weekend, when Cristiano Ronaldo…
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NCPO will select National Reform Council members
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO will select National Reform Council members The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order yesterday clarified its decision to cancel the appointment of a 14-member committee to select the 250-member National Reform Council. NCPO spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvari said the…
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Vietnamese men arrested for kidnap, extortion and torture
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Vietnamese men arrested for kidnap, extortion and torture The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three Vietnamese men are in police detention for allegedly kidnapping and chopping off their victim’s finger in an unsuccessful attempt to extort Bt1.5 million from his family. The victim, who is also…
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