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Mumbo jumbo in Phuket hotel bookings
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Phuket readers of stories from a wide array of ‘media outlets’ are by now well accustomed to conflicts, mumbo jumbo and gobbledygook when it comes to hotel occupancy, forward bookings and other tourism statistics. There are times when…
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Phuket Perspective: Major media did poorly in the protests
PHUKET: While on holiday in Phuket two weeks ago, a Malaysian Sun Daily columnist was disappointed, if not disgusted, by the reports of respected international media covering the protests in Thailand. In his column Down2Earth last week, he wrote about a spectacle that many Thais in Phuket and all over Thailand, including Bangkok itself, had been observing with indredulity for…
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Phuket Airport dismisses “chemtrail’ video
PHUKET: Air traffic control officials have dismissed as “crazy” a video circulating on the Internet purporting to show a mysterious unmarked airplane leaving “chemtrails” in the sky over Phuket. The video was posted on YouTube on May 19 by a user calling himself “robinhoodlum”. “Chemtrails in Phuket. Caught on tape at last,” says the narrator in a British accent, as…
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Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: How has the crisis hit Phuket?
PHUKET: It’s clear that tourist numbers are way down in Phuket right now, but what’s causing the situation? It is, after all, the start of low season and economies around the globe have yet to fully recover from the 2008 financial crisis. How much effect has the current political crisis in Thailand had on Phuket tourism? Have your say in…
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Phuket prisoners taste freedom
PHUKET: As part of a Royal Pardon, 148 convicts were released into civil society from Phuket Provincial Prison yesterday. Phuket’s newest batch of ex-convicts, 138 men and 10 women, were among 490 Phuket prisoners who were either released or had sentences reduced to to mark May 5 Coronation Day in Thailand. Vice Governor Smith Palawatvichai told the ex-cons at the…
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Phuket Fun Fly underway in Rawai
PHUKET: The Phuket Paragliding Club’s first-ever Phuket Fun Fly is underway in Rawai. Hundreds of paragliders from around the world are taking the big leap from the launch site at Laem Phromthep, then gliding along to their final descent at Nai Harn beach. Activities include spot landing and gate passing competitions, as well as ‘fancy dress flying’. Experienced paragliders will…
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Drunk driver in Phuket pile-up
PHUKET CITY: A 30-year-old man tested five times over the legal alcohol limit after smashing his truck into an oncoming pickup, scattering seven motorbikes and their passengers across the road. Nakhon Sri Thammarat native Wirot Songpan was driving his black pickup truck home at rush hour on the morning of May 19 after a night of drinking in Saphan Hin…
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Phuket bars to open late for soccer World Cup
PHUKET: Soccer fans will be pleased to hear that bars in Phuket will be allowed to stay open late to show South Africa 2010 World Cup matches, although alcohol sales regulations will still apply. “Bars can show the soccer matches late, but they still have to follow the law limiting the hours when alcohol can be sold,” said Phuket Provincial…
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British ironman to climb Mont Blanc for Phuket charity
PHUKET: Phuket resident Les Bird is a man who takes pleasure in pain, and a man who has been praying for rain so he can test out his new Size 14 waterproof hiking boots. The 59-year-old plans to climb Mont Blanc – Europe’s highest and most deadly mountain – in July, and hopes to raise one million baht for needy…
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Phuket Police arrest brothers for Rassada slaying
PHUKET: Two brothers have been arrested after nearly two months on the run and charged with stabbing their neighbor to death for ‘making too much noise’.Phuket natives Niphon, 37, and Niphan Kruae-in, 36, were arrested yesterday for the March 21 slaying of 41-year-old Ponsan Noi-oonsaen, a native of Chiang Mai. The brothers were hiding in a hut on a rubber…
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Phuket mall banks open Saturday
PHUKET: Prasarn Trairatworakul, chairman of the Thai Bankers Association, said today that banks in shopping malls can reopen on Saturday and Sunday. The move followed a Bank of Thailand (BoT) announcement that all banks in Thailand would be closed today and tomorrow, opening again for business on Monday. The move will protect bank staff and the public, according to the…
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Phuket wants peace: Dr Sriyada
PHUKET: Former Thai Rak Thai Party leader for Phuket Dr Sriyada Shinawatra doesn’t think the riots and arson attacks in the country yesterday will have a negative impact on Phuket, but insists that fresh elections and a respect for democratic principles are the only solution to Thailand’s current political conflict. Dr Sriyada, who runs a dental clinic in Phuket Town,…
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Sea rescue course in Phuket
PHUKET: A sea rescue course for 40 volunteers and government officers is underway at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) training center in Phuket. The 45-day Andaman Sea Rescue Course, funded by DDPM region 18, began on April 19 and is scheduled to end June 2. The course includes sessions on radio communication and maritime law by instructors…
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RoyFest returns to Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: According to public relations website PR Urgent, anyone in the Karon Beach area of Phuket will be able to hear music from a host of Thai and international DJs, as well as various other artists, at RoyFest 2010.…
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Phuket Airport safe, security stepped up
PHUKET: Security at Phuket International Airport has been beefed up following outbreaks of violence across Bangkok and other parts of the country today. Airport Director Pratueng Sornkham said more police officers were called in to guard the facility from 11am this morning. Stricter security procedures are now in operation and will remain so until the situation changes, he said. He…
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Turmoil in more cities, but top cop says Phuket safe
PHUKET: Despite the turmoil engulfing parts of Bangkok and some other Thai cities, Phuket’s top cop insists Phuket remains safe. Commenting on reports that two provincial halls in Northeast Thailand have been set on fire by rampaging red shirts, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said the same could not happen here. Tha Chat Chai checkpoint, where police inspect vehicles…
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TAT must focus on Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: An editorial in eTurboNews opines that political unrest in Thailand over the past few weeks now presents the greatest challenge to the reputation of Thai tourism since the December 2004 tsunami. The travel industry site suggests Phuket and…
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Paternal protection: shooting murder in Phuket
WICHIT, PHUKET: A father lying wounded in a Phuket hospital faces a murder charge after allegedly shooting a young man who had a dispute with his son over the weekend. Withun Khonsakul, 58, allegedly shot and killed 24-year-old Anurak Pawatkunawat at around 6pm on Sunday. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Teerawat Amnartjarernying went to the scene, outside a house in…
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Urgent call for blood in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center is asking for urgent help as Thailand is facing a nationwide blood shortage due to the political unrest in Bangkok. Pareeya Jullaphong, corporate social responsibility project manager at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, said the National Blood Center and Red Cross Society in Bangkok are unable to distribute blood across the country as normal due to…
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Korean, Thai charged over Phuket horror crash
PHUKET: Two men wanted by police for their involvement in a deadly crash on the bypass road earlier this month have reported to police, but only one accepts that his negligence might have played a role in the collision that claimed the lives of a young couple from Kathu. Phuket City Police duty officer Thada Sodarak said that 30-year-old truck…
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Kiwi travel warning includes Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Radio New Zealand says that country’s ambassador to Thailand has advised New Zealanders in Bangkok to “strongly consider” leaving the city. Ambassador Bede Corry says the trouble may spread to other areas like Phuket and that all non-essential…
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American Embassy closed again today
Phuket: Following the United States’ warning to American citizens to avoid non-essential travel to anywhere in Thailand, Americans in Phuket are reminded that the warning is still in force and that the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is closed again today. The key paragraphs of the warning, issued by the U.S. State Department on Friday, May 15, are quoted below: “The…
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PHUKET OPINION: Thanks, but more airport taxis not needed
PHUKET: The compromise agreement ending the latest dispute between rival taxi concessionaires at Phuket International Airport (PIA) may appease both sides in the short term, but allowing 60 more vans and ‘limousine’ taxis onto airport grounds as the low season sets in will only worsen conditions at the airport in upcoming months. Airports of Thailand (AOT), which runs the airport,…
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Phuket Gazette partner journalist shot in Bangkok
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Chaiwat Phumpuang, a photo-journalist in the Nation/Gazette news pool, has become the latest victim of the protest violence in Bangkok. The award-winning lensman, who has covered many political crises, was shot in the leg while recording the demonstrations…
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More Phuket ‘reds’ to Bangkok
PHUKET: More Phuket people are joining the red shirt protest in Bangkok, one of the leaders of the Phuket United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) told the Gazette today. “At the beginning, more than 400 people from Phuket had come to join the protest. Before last night’s fighting, about 100 were left,” Phuket red shirt leader Wisut ‘Ae Inside’…
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Bangkok death toll hits 16
PHUKET: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Emergency Health Center this morning revised its death and injury toll from yesterday’s clashes between troops and protesters, to 16 dead and 157 people injured. Andrew Drummond, a British journalist with decades of experience in reporting news in Thailand and Southeast Asia, told the Gazette that the capital seemed “much quieter” and traffic seemed to…
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Phuket still safe for tourism: Russian Ambassador
PHUKET: The Russian ambassador to Thailand reaffirmed Phuket as a safe tourist destination after a tour of the island last weekend. Santi Udomkiratak, Deputy Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation for Phuket, Krabi and Phang-nga, said that Russian Ambassador Alexander Mariyasov reiterated during his visit that the current political turmoil in Bangkok had very little effect on the safety of…
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Internet outages plague Phuket
PHUKET: Following a week of intermittent internet access, at times leaving consumers with no access at all, Triple Broad Band Internet (3BB) has confirmed that the outages are expected to continue until the end of the month while the company installs a new network. Pongsakorn Yuktawet, General Manager of 3BB’s Upper Southern Region, based in Phuket, said the outages were…
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Windmills planned for Phuket
PHUKET: The Energy Ministry is moving forward with plans to build more wind turbines in Phuket. Mr Wichai Limsawad, head of the Renewable Energy Department’s wind power section, told the Gazette that Laem Phromthep is a good spot to erect more windmills. “We have collected wind energy data at the Phromthep Alternative Energy Station windmill since 1983. The turbine there…
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Blackout in Thalang
THALANG: The Thalang office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced power cuts to carry out maintenance on high voltage wires from 9am to 5pm on Saturday. Affected areas are along the west side of Thepkrasattri Road, from the offices of the Kata Thai Company (near the old Siam City Cement plant) all the way to the Muang Thalang…
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