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Phuket girl wins Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010
PHUKET: Indonesian Tipi “The Tiger” Jabrik took first place in the finals of the Men’s shortboard competition at the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010 yesterday, while 12-year-old Phuket local Annissa Flynn used her knowledge of the “home surf” to take top honors in the women’s shortboard event. Seventy-seven surfers from 10 countries competed in the events, with total cash prizes…
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Diving for debris: Phuket marks Coastal Cleanup Day
PHUKET: Fully-gloved and nets in hand, volunteer divers helped remove about 100 kilograms of rubbish from the sea as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day on September 25. The event was supported by Sea Bees, Scuba Schools International, TDA Diving Association (Thailand) and Green Fins Thailand. Volunteers taking part met at Chalong Pier on Saturday morning for the voyage to…
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Phuket villagers ramp up tunnel protest
PHUKET: More than 100 villagers from Baan Mon community in Patong descended on Provincial Hall last week to hand a formal letter of complaint to the governor against the proposed Patong Tunnel project. The villagers vowed to fight any government effort to expropriate land needed for the project. Current scheduled rates for expropriation set by the Land Department would never…
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Fried chicken vendor is latest Phuket road fatality
PHUKET: A fried chicken vendor was killed instantly last night in Kathu when his motorbike was struck by another traveling at high speed. Thung Thong Police were notified of the accident at 8:10pm. Investigations Inspector Chaowalit Petch-sribia rushed to the scene at the entrance to Soi Boon-erb, a well-known traffic danger spot at the base of Patong Hill. Accompanied by…
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Burmese workers camp burns in Phuket
PHUKET: A Burmese workers’ camp in Phuket burned to the ground in just 20 minutes on Friday night, leading an unknown number of occupants to flee. The fire started around 9pm at the site in Chalong, which housed workers for a stone processing company belonging to a prominent Phuket family. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation staff from Tambon Chalong and Wichit…
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FC Phuket in training in Bangkok
PHUKET: FC Phuket are now in their second week of training for the upcoming “mini-league” playoffs to determine which four of the twelve qualifying teams will move up to Division One of the Thai League. Arjhan Songgamsub, head coach of Division 2 South champion FC Phuket, also known as Southern Sea Kirin, said all of his players are in good…
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‘Toxins for tablets’ with Phuket Safe project
PHUKET: Island residents can now exchange hazardous household waste for medicine at 36 drugstores as part of a new project called “Phuket Safe”. Starting on Monday this week, 20 drug stores displayed stickers showing their participation in the project, which is a joint initiative between Phuket City Municipality and the Phuket Drug Store Association. Club president Jindee Santikayawakul said the…
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Phuket Immigration: No change in visa overstay rules
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration chief today denied there have been any formal changes in the way Thai Immigration Police deal with foreigners who overstay their permits-to-stay or who are otherwise discovered to be residing in the Kingdom illegally. Phuket Immigration Superintendent Panuwat Ruamrak admitted receiving “many” calls today following an online media report stating that foreigners who try to depart…
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Lexus says “take a free ride’ in Phuket
PHUKET: To mark the opening of its 10th service center in Thailand, at the Toyota Pearl showroom on Thepkrasattri Rd in Rassada, Lexus is now offering free test drives of all its models at Central Festival Phuket. The promotional campaign, which runs until Wednesday, was launched by Toyota Motor Thailand Co Ltd vice-president Sittachai Jiratthanyasakul at the Indigo Pearl resort…
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Phuket braces for another anti-smoking crackdown
PHUKET: Patong business operators have been given one month to post No Smoking signs and set up smoking areas in their air-conditioned restaurants and nightclubs, or face a fine of up to 20,000 baht.Smokers found breaking the law will face a fine of up to 2,000 baht.The deadline was handed down by Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao on September 14.At…
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Phuket Muslims prepare for Hajj
PHUKET: A Saudi embassy announcement yesterday that it will issue the 13,000 visas necessary for Thai Muslims to join the Hajj this year comes as welcome news for Phuket Islamic Committee President Bamroong Samphaorat. “Saudi Arabia – under no circumstances – associates its relations with any country, with allowing or forbidding Muslims from performing their fifth pillar of Islam of…
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Hilton deal to boost golf tourism to Phuket
PHUKET: The Hilton hotel chain has joined Golfasian, a leading inbound golf tour operator in Thailand to create the Thai marketing cooperative ‘Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience’. The initiative will make it easier for visitors looking for a premium golf holiday to book a variety of stay-and-play itineraries. It is also hoped that Hilton’s involvement will help…
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Phuket tsunami buoy won’t be redeployed in 2010
PHUKET: Thailand’s Andaman Coast will be without tsunami direct detection capability when the sixth anniversary of the 2004 disaster arrives in late December, the Gazette has learned. Aurasa Paenghom, general manager of Bangkok-based firm Raydant International, which built and maintains Thailand’s tsunami early warning system, estimates that it will take several months before the tsunami buoy that went adrift in…
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Phuket Surf Competition underway
PHUKET: The Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010 is underway at Kata Beach, with finals scheduled for Sunday. Highlights for tomorrow will be a special surf show from 11am to 1pm with two renowned professionals demonstrating their skills. Taking to the surf will be Indonesian Surfing Championship (ISC) president Tipi ‘Tiger’ Jabrik of Indonesia and ISC board member Jake ‘The Snake’…
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‘Phuket 2.0’: Opportunities for the future seminar on October 1
PHUKET: The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand is teaming up with Laguna Property, C9 Hotelworks and Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket for a special business networking event on October 1. Mark Armsden of Delivering Asia Communications will join a panel of industry experts to discuss Phuket opportunities in the following areas: Hotels and property: Michael Ayling of Laguna Resorts and…
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Phuket divers gear up for Coastal Cleanup Day
PHUKET: Phuket’s recreational dive community is gearing up for International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, with two major cleanup activities planned. The Thai Diving Association, Scuba Schools International and Sea Bees are holding a “big clean-up dive” off Phuket to help save local reefs. The meeting point will be at the Anchor Inn restaurant in Chalong at 9am. Finger food…
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Fish farming forum underway in Phuket
PHUKET: The world’s leading experts on aquaculture convened in Phuket yesterday for a four-day seminar on the future development of the industry. Phuket’s selection as venue for the “Global Conference On Aquaculture 2010” can be seen as an acknowledgment of the Andaman region’s importance to the industry. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific…
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TCT to push Phuket as ‘high-end’ tourism destination
PHUKET: The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) has laid out an eight-point strategy to help develop the tourism industry that includes promoting Phuket as a high-end destination and issuing longer tourist visas to help prepare for the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta) that goes into effect in 2015. Piyaman Tejabaibul, the new TCT chairman, said yesterday that building unique and…
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Miss Thailand World in Phuket to fulfill sacred vow
PHUKET: Heads were turning yesterday as Miss Thailand World 2010, Sirirat ‘Noo Si’ Rueangsri, paid her respects to the Big Buddha image high up in the Nakkerd Hills in Phuket. Ms Sirirat, a 22-year-old law student from Chiang Mai, was in Phuket for a one-day visit to fulfill a promise she made to herself to revisit the site if she…
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Phuket Town welcomes Full Moon tonight
PHUKET: A Satree Phuket School student presented a “Moon Goddess” costume as part of a fashion show on the first night of the Moon Festival celebration September 20 at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town. The three-day celebration, officially celebrated by the municipality for the first time this year, ends tonight with a Moon Worship ceremony starting at 8:45 pm…
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Sugar palms to revive Phuket’s Laem Phromthep
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop on Saturday led a group of Phuket VIPs in a tree-planting ceremony aimed at increasing the number of palm trees on Phuket’s iconic Phromthep Cape. Accompanying Governor Wichai was his wife Taisika, Phuket MPs Tossaporn Thepabutr and Rewat Areerob, Phuket Senator Thanyarat Achariyachai and Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, Deputy Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office. Local officials…
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Teen hurt after running red in Phuket
RASSADA, PHUKET: A 16-year-old girl was seriously injured after she allegedly jumped a red light on her motorcycle and was hit by a car in Phuket yesterday. Shortly before midnight, Phuket City Police Inspector Chaliao Thaihoo received a report of an accident at the Narisorn Intersection on Surin Road in tambon Rassada. Capt Chaliao rushed to the scene with Kusoldharm…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2010 to serve up tourism treat
PHUKET: Promising signs are emerging for Phuket’s upcoming high season, as reservation rates have reached 50% for the upcoming Phuket Vegetarian Festival, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced. Wanaphapar Suksombul, Deputy Director of the TAT South Region 4 in Phuket, believes the October 8 to 16 Vegetarian Festival will help the 2010-2011 high season get off to a…
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Phuket marks National Fisheries Day today
THALANG: To mark today’s National Fisheries Day today, Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office last week organized the release of 2.4 million baby banana shrimp and 2,000 milkfish to help replenish diminishing stocks in remaining Phuket mangrove areas. The event, led by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, was held at the Phuket Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Center at Laem Sai in Pa…
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Phuket Poll: Should Patong hotels set fixed minimum prices?
PHUKET: Faced with oversupply and price-cutting that threatens to put many small hotel and guesthouse owners in Patong out of business, a group of hoteliers is calling for cooperation in setting fixed minimum prices for hotel rooms. (For the original story click here.) Do you think such a plan should be adopted? Could it ever work? Have your say by…
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Krabi ya bah mules arrested at Phuket checkpoint
PHUKET: Police at Tah Chat Chai checkpoint on Saturday arrested two Krabi men in possession of 3,932 ya bah (methamphetamine) tablets with an estimated street value of nearly 1.2 million baht, police said. At around 11am, officers led by Lt Col Thawat Tansakul stopped the Krabi-registered pickup being driven by Sayan Dumkeaw, 30, with Thirapong Naun-on, 21, as passenger. “The…
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Single Asean visa would benefit tourism: Phuket poll
PHUKET: The results of the latest Phuket Gazette Poll show that a slight majority of readers overall think that a single Asean visa, similar to the Schengen visa used by 15 European countries, would benefit tourism to Phuket. Results of the poll showed that 53.2% of readers overall thought having a single Asean visa would bring more tourists to Phuket.…
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Phuket blackouts continue in Chalong tomorrow
PHUKET: The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has scheduled another blackout in Chalong tomorrow to carry out maintenance on high-voltage power lines. The power cut is set to begin at 9am and expected to end around 4pm. The affected areas will be along the east side of Chao Fa West Road from Wat Chalong to Chalong Circle, including Soi Mae Lamai,…
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Phuket hoteliers seek solution to price-cutting woes
PHUKET: In a bid to keep small hotels and guesthouses in Patong from falling into bankruptcy, a group called the Patong Hotel and Guesthouse Association (PHGA) is calling for hoteliers to end current price wars by agreeing to set minimum room prices. The informal consortium of hoteliers wrote in its “Letter of Awareness Awaking” sent to members last week: “During…
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Thais eye nuclear power; steroids as gay lube; drug bust
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Is Thailand ready for nuclear energy? PHUKET: The Nation reports that energy officials and private operators renewed their support for nuclear power development in Thailand at a seminar on Friday, amid resistance from protesters as well as…
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