News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
The Thaiger is your essential resource for staying connected with Thailand’s captivating blend of tradition and modernity. To remain in the loop with the country’s most trusted news source, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
-
Sponsored
Why Thai retirees are outliving their Western counterparts
Retiring in Thailand has become increasingly popular among Westerners looking for a more affordable and relaxed lifestyle. Surprisingly, retirees in Thailand often enjoy longer, healthier lives compared to their Western counterparts. This longevity isn’t just luck, it’s a mix of...
-
Woman beaten unconscious on Phuket beach
PHUKET: A young woman selling fruit on Surin Beach was beaten unconscious in broad daylight by attackers allegedly representing a local restaurant, the victim’s father said. Sawang Tonglaw, who heads a group of vendors on Surin Beach, and 15 fellow vendors, took their case to Phuket Provincial Hall today, citing a history of intimidation and death threats against them. The…
-
Major Phuket blackouts to start Tomorrow
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts to carry out maintenance on high voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles. The dates and locations of the operations, which will carried out from 9am to 4pm, are detailed below: January 11 – Chalong Luang Por Chuang Road, from the TOT office on Chao Fa…
-
TAT takes Deep South kids on Phuket megatrip
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand took 60 poor children from Thailand’s troubled Deep South provinces on a National Children’s Day trip of a lifetime to Phuket on Saturday. The lucky youngsters were chosen from schools in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces, where an Islamic separatist insurgency continues to rage with almost daily acts of violence. Included on the itinerary…
-
Gazette Poll: Phuket has too many hotels
PHUKET: A clear majority of Phuket Gazette Online readers believe the island’s hotel industry is in a state of oversupply, the results of the newspaper’s latest poll reveal. Overall, more than half of those taking part (58.9%) thought there were too many hotels in Phuket, compared to just 17.1% who thought there were not. Almost a quarter of all those…
-
Park booze ban: Phuket tourism players “shaken, not stirred’
PHUKET: Reactions by key figures in Phuket’s tourism industry are mixed over the recent ban on alcohol inside 110 national parks nationwide. However, many agree that the rule will be very difficult to enforce at marine national parks. Pracha Rachai, Events Manager at Andaman Aqua Trails, said the ban had already caused “a lot” of cancellations by Russian tourists, the…
-
National park booze ban “well received’ by Phuket tourists
PHUKET: The directors of several national parks in the Andaman region have told the Phuket Gazette they have received good compliance with the ban on alcohol inside parks. The ban came into effect late last month. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti issued the ban immediately following the December 26 stabbing murder of a student by a group of…
-
Phuket PIMEX gets down to business
PHUKET: The 2011 Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) is off to a flying start, with Jaguar selling one of their all-new cars and Derani Yachts selling a Monterey 298SS Super Sport on the show’s opening day. Other deals inked include Phuket boat broker Lee Marine selling a 57-foot Jeanneau and a 33ft Fountain powerboat changing hands through a private sale.…
-
Children’s day on Phuket
PHUKET: Children’s Day activities kicked off in Phuket today with addresses to the island’s next generation by the Phuket Governor and head of the provincial council. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) president Paiboon Ubatising both addressed a crowd of youths and civil servants at Phuket Provincial Hall, one of the many places staging special events…
-
New Phuket school library opens
PHUKET: Baan Tungkha School in Rassada has opened a library on its grounds for students and locals alike. Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen presided over the opening ceremony of the 600,000-baht facility, one of the few of its kind on the island. School director Wilas Parinyaniyom explained, “Our school committee wanted to gather secondhand books and computers and make them available…
-
Chinese dive tourist recovering in Phuket hospital
PHUKET: The young Chinese diver airlifted from the Surin Islands to Phuket yesterday is conscious, speaking and able to eat, doctors said today. Zouxin Jie, 26, was early yesterday afternoon airlifted from the Surin Island National Park by a Thai Navy helicopter to Phuket, where she was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital. Dr Weerawat Yorsaengrat, deputy director of Vachira Phuket…
-
Phuket braces for Children’s Day
PHUKET: Phuket will be abuzz with activity tomorrow as kids celebrate Children’s Day across the island. Free activities for children will be available at the following times and locations: Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukhaban will open events at Loma Park at 8:30am. Activities involve games and performances, a bicycle giveaway and a scholarship handover ceremony for about 5,000 lucky recipients.…
-
Worn out woman opts for penal retreat
KHON KAEN: A woman caught shoplifting from a 7-Eleven told police she committed the crime because she was bored with her life and wanted to go to jail. Wipha Chanachuen, 53, said she was tired of working for a living and wanted to rest in an old people’s home – but jail was the next best option. Khon Kaen City…
-
Burmese man murdered in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are investigating the murder of a Burmese man found lying dead in shallow water off Kata Beach in Phuket yesterday. Chalong Police were informed by local residents that a body was discovered in the water at the south end of Kata Beach at about 8am yesterday. Arriving at the scene, they found the body of an Asian man…
-
Phuket holiday death toll halved
PHUKET: The death toll in Phuket during the new year ‘Seven Days of Danger’ national road safety campaign, which ended on January 4, remained at four – half of last year’s figure. The number is well under this year’s theoretical “target toll” of 7.6, which the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) bases on a 5% reduction in fatalities…
-
“Phuket proud to host PIMEX’: V/Gov
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak today officially opened PIMEX 2011 with resounding praise. “Phuket is very proud to host such an international event. It is the only event of its kind in Thailand,” he told the crowd gathered at Royal Phuket Marina. “Phuket is becoming Southeast Asia’s focal point for international-standard tourism and the marine industry. International investment in…
-
Chinese tourist airlifted to Phuket
PHUKET: A Chinese woman is fighting for her life at Vachira Phuket Hospital after a dramatic airlift rescue from Surin Island National Park this afternoon. Lt Cdr Somsak Boonkam of the Naval Air Section, Third Area Command (NASTAC), told the Phuket Gazette that he was among the five rescuers dispatched on the mission. “At about noon we received radio orders…
-
Phuket set for heavy rains
PHUKET: The Meteorological Department is warning of possible heavy rains and rough seas along the Andaman coast over the next 24 hours, as unusually strong monsoonal conditions prevail in what is normally Phuket’s driest month. In a report issued at 11am today, the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) read that a “rather strong” northeasterly monsoon prevails over the southern Thailand’s…
-
Wanted: Phuket scam artists impersonating Governor
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a group of scam artists wanted for impersonating the Phuket governor to solicit donations for an imaginary provincial development campaign. In a meeting yesterday afternoon, Gov Tri Augkaradacha warned people not to fall victim to the scam. The scammers have been calling both government offices and private businesses asking for donations, typically from 30,000 to…
-
Phuket landmark Mom Tri’s Boathouse sold
PHUKET: The owners of the Trisara resort have announced an agreement to buy Mom Tri’s Boathouse, the long-established resort and restaurant complex on the beach in Kata. The Boathouse issued a statement yesterday that Narong Pattamasaevi, Executive Chairman of the Three Dolphins group that owns and operates Trisara, has signed contracts to acquire 100% of shares in The Boathouse Inn…
-
Phuket foreign property sales to grow 25% this year
PHUKET: Real estate sales to foreigners in Phuket are expected to grow 25 per cent this year to 5 billion baht, according to property development firm Seacon. Nevertheless, sales are likely to remain at least 50 per cent lower than during the boom years of 2006 and 2007, when foreign sales came in at 10 to 12bn baht each year.…
-
Phuket police warn over “royal souvenirs’
PHUKET: Phuket police are warning residents to beware of men approaching their homes calling for donations, for which, in return, donors receive souvenir plaques bearing images of His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Queen Mother. The warning comes after a group of about 10 men in a Nissan Navara arrived in a neighborhood near the Tha Reua Shrine late yesterday…
-
All change at FC Phuket
PHUKET: The dust may have barely settled on FC Phuket’s dramatic promotion to Thai League Division 1 last month, but it appears the honeymoon may well be over. It will be all change at Sarakul Stadium when the new season kicks off on February 12 as it has been confirmed that last season’s manager Arjan Songsamssub will not take charge…
-
Tourists get more Phuket beachfront parking
PHUKET: The new parking zones along Thaweewong Road (the beach road) in Patong have finally been unveiled, allowing more room for tourists to park along the beachfront. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on Thursday officially opened the new zones, heralded as the first in a series of steps to solve the tourist town’s traffic and parking woes. The changes make about…
-
Phuket holiday death toll reaches four
PHUKET: A young man killed in a hit-and-run accident is the fourth road fatality recorded in Phuket during the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign, now in its final day throughout Thailand. The victim, 21-year-old Chalong resident Anek Karnchonchai, died after his motorbike crashed near Baan Kata School on Patak Road in Karon at about 6am today. According to…
-
Canadian tourists killed in Phuket New Year smash
PHUKET: A Canadian couple, killed in a pickup truck bus (songtaew) smash just fifteen minutes into the New Year, were the second and third road accident fatalities in Phuket in the new year. Cherngtalay Police duty officer Tatchagrit Ritnuang identified the victims as Aryporn Sunthorn, 50, and Kongseng Sunthorn, 61. Both were Canadian nationals of ethnic Chinese descent. Four others…
-
Rino makes speedy recovery
PHUKET: Rino Mangon Vogt, a 10-year-old boy who has undergone life-saving surgery, is recovering well, the Phuket Gazette confirmed today. Rino, who suffered from the rare congenital heart condition Ebstein’s anomaly, underwent corrective surgery on November 21. However, when the external pacemaker was switched off days later, young Rino fell asleep, indicating that his heart could not cope unassisted. Quick…
-
Cooking oil rations hit Phuket
PHUKET: Retailers throughout Thailand have begun rationing the sale of bottled palm oil in a move to curb seasonal shortages. Big C, on the bypass road, is limiting bottles of cooking oil to two per customer, while The Nation reports that Tesco Lotus is limiting sales to one bottle of palm oil per customer nationwide. Mr Pramarn Urawan, a researcher…
-
OPINION: Mentality change needed for safe water
PHUKET: Water-related issues are a constant source of complaints received both at the Phuket Gazette editorial offices and at Provincial Hall. A recent online poll revealed a great deal of confusion among readers as to whether or not household tap water is safe to drink. Overall, less than 20 per cent of those taking part in the poll thought it…
-
Phuket ushers in 2011
PHUKET: About 1,000 people from across Phuket joined an alms-giving ceremony in Phuket Town this morning to offer food to 229 Buddhist monks to welcome the new year of 2011. Leading the proceedings at Queen Sirikit Park was Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana together with Phuket’s three Vice Governors: Nivit Aroonrat, Weerawat Janpen and Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak. The three Vice Governors…
-
Phuket Person of the Year Award a triumph for charity
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette is delighted to announce that our ‘Person of the Year’ Award for 2010 goes to Khun Wipa Tanmanatragul of the Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC). Khun Wipa, elected this year as the PIWC’s first Thai President, has been selected for her embodiment of “charity for charity’s sake” and her 15 years of quiet, low-profile dedication to…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.