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The Chedi Phuket rebrands as The Surin Phuket
PHUKET: The Chedi Phuket has been re-branded as The Surin Phuket, the name change effective from the beginning of this month. Senior Sales Executive Sureerat Bunpanluek said The Chedi Phuket was managed by General Hotels Management (GHM) as The Chedi since 1995. Last year the resort’s Board of Directors decided not to renew its contract with the management company. “Since…
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Korean Ambassador visits Phuket
PHUKET: The Korean ambassador to Thailand met with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on Friday, asking him to make it easier for Korean tour guides to work on the island. Ambassador Chung Hae-moon made the request at a Phuket Provincial Hall meeting also attended by Korean Honorary Consul and Phuket MP Tossaporn Thepabutr and Korn Suwanasai, head of Phuket Passport Office.…
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Tie game for FC Phuket and Loei City
PHUKET: FC Phuket picked up another point in their bid for promotion to Division 1 of the Thai League this afternoon with a scoreless draw at Loei City. In other matches in Group B play, Chainat FC rediscovered their scoring touch by beating Samut Prakarn on the road 4-2, while Rayong FC drew at Bangkok FC, 1-1. The top two…
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Phuket property massacre: Mother and daughter killed
PHUKET: A well-known real estate dealer and her daughter were killed when their car was riddled with bullets by gunmen in Phuket Saturday evening. A second daughter was seriously injured in the attack, which took place in the Yoojaroen Project 1 estate in village 8, Pa Khlok. Police are hunting the killers and the mastermind behind the slaughter. They believe…
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Aussie ambassador in Phuket: Safety is our priority
PHUKET: The new Australian ambassador to Thailand yesterday named the safety of Australian tourists as his mission’s top priority in Phuket. In Phuket to meet the governor yesterday, Ambassador James Wise said, “The problem that we worry about most of all in Phuket – and anywhere else in the world – is to be very assured that Australians are as…
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Phuket fireworks crackdown during Loy Krathong festival
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Police chief has ordered an island-wide crime crackdown during Loy Krathong celebrations, with police to set up checkpoints in key areas to prevent criminal activities, including illegal use of fireworks. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong said the Loy Krathong festival was an important and beautiful Thai cultural tradition worth preserving. As a…
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Finns find gold in Phuket
PHUKET: A Finnish company has opened its first Thailand branch in Phuket, giving jewelry owners a unique opportunity to cash in old gold – regardless of its karat rating. The ‘GoldToMoney’ shop, located at Chalong Circle, may deceive passers-by because it has not an ounce of gold on display. That’s because the company does not sell gold. It only buys…
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Loy Kratong activities in Phuket
PHUKET: As the weekend approaches, people throughout Phuket and across the Kingdom are preparing for the annual Loy Krathong festival on Sunday. Stages are being set up for entertainment and vendors are preparing for the droves of people who will float their krathong at popular sites in Phuket. For those who have yet to decide where to spend Loy Krathong…
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Loy Krathong losing its luster among Phuket youths
PHUKET: Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for Loy Krathong events to be held across Phuket on Sunday night, yet many young Thais seem to be losing interest in the tradition. From Mai Khao to Rawai, floats adorned with flowers and alight with candles will be set adrift at sea, on canals, lakes and rivers to…
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Point blank: Phuket man dies in Thalang shooting murder
PHUKET: A man was shot dead in front of his mother in his Phuket home last night. Thalang Police duty officer Pratuang Polmana identified the victim as Nipon Lohajan, aged 35. The victim’s mother told police her son answered a knock at the door of their home near the Heroines’ Monument at about 11:30pm. As soon as the door opened…
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Drug cases top Phuket crime statistics for October
PHUKET: Crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police for October this year show decreases in most crime categories, with narcotics-related crimes once again the most common. There was no change in the number of Category 1 (heinous) crimes year-on-year, with 10 cases reported. There were four pre-mediated murders reported with two arrests in October this year and five cases…
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Disaster preparedness drills planned for Phuket
PHUKET: A full tsunami evacuation drill is set to take place in Phuket on December 24, provincial officials have announced. Speaking at a disaster preparedness meeting at Provincial Hall on Wednesday, Phuket Vice Governor Niwit Aroonrat said the drill is aimed at testing emergency response units’ readiness for disaster. The full drill will be the culmination of three days of…
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Entries for Phuket King’s Cup Regatta near 100 mark
PHUKET: Almost 100 boats have already registered for this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, which will get underway off Kata Beach on December 4. Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event attracts participants from around the world and generates in excess of 100 million baht into the local economy annually.…
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Craig Alexander to compete in Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 event
PHUKET: The world’s most successful Ironman athlete of recent years, Australian Craig Alexander will contest the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket on December 5. Alexander is the latest addition to a stellar line-up of elite professional triathletes heading to the island. As Ironman World Champion for the past two years, Alexander is set to face-off against fellow Ironman…
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Ronald Fanelli update: Still no return to Phuket Prison
PHUKET: Legal proceedings against confessed killer Ronald Fanelli are on hold until the American returns to Phuket, the Gazette has learned. Mr Fanelli is currently undergoing psychiatric examination at a facility in Surat Thani. The former US Navy officer was taken to Suan Saranrom Hospital for examination on September 13, reportedly at his own request. The case against him has…
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Phuket mototaxi driver dies of glue overdose
PHUKET TOWN: A motorcycle taxi driver was found dead in an abandoned cinema in Phuket Town yesterday after an apparent overdose on glue, police said. Police estimated that Bangkok-native Thianchai Atwinit, 33, died three days before his body was discovered. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Somchai Nuboon was alerted to the grim discovery by a local resident at about 7:30pm…
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Phuket motorcycle helmet campaign hits streets of Patong
PHUKET: Over a thousand Patong residents yesterday took part in a parade in support of the “100% motorcycle helmet use” campaign underway across Phuket. The parade, held along the beach road in Patong, is part of the public awareness phase of the campaign. It was organized by Kathu Police, the Patong Taxi Federation, and Patong Municipality. The safety campaign, which…
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Phuket youth rugby club seeks donations
PHUKET: Members of Phuket’s Lomas Rugby club are appealing for donations as they get ready for a busy tour schedule. The club, which relies on contributions to pay expenses, is sending teams to two important youth tournaments in the coming weeks. The under-15 and under-12 squads will compete in the National Sevens Regional Qualifiers to be held in Krabi on…
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Two new vice governors for Phuket
PHUKET: Two new vice governors will take up office in Phuket later this month under the latest civil service reshuffle approved by the Ministry of Interior. The two new vice governors, effective from November 29, will be sitting Krabi Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen and sitting Surin Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak. Their appointments, approved on Saturday, are expected to lighten the…
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Lucky ladyboy in marriage-a-trois
NAKHON SAWAN: A lucky 42-year-old ladyboy is set to marry not one, but two young men in a lavish wedding ceremony in this central Thai province. Somjit Songjaeng has lived with her first husband-to-be, 22-year-old Anurut “Jack” Kraisa, for six years. Not content with one lover, she met her second fiancé, 27-year-old Sathit “Bank” Rawtyoo, at the end of last…
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Phuket poll: Will the strong baht hurt high-season tourism?
PHUKET: With the Thai baht surging against many foreign currencies, the Gazette asks readers what effect they think the strong baht will have on the local economy entering the “high season” for tourism. To vote in the latest readers’ poll, click here or on the icon at the top right of this page. — News editor
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Qatar Airways flight a boon for Phuket
PHUKET: A new daily flight connecting Doha and Phuket is set to benefit the island in a number of ways, including improving travel options among European tourists wishing to holiday in the Andaman region. The first Qatar Airways flight from Doha, with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur, landed in Phuket on October 12. Phuket is one of nine new destinations…
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Phuket International Sportfishing Tournament starts Thursday
PHUKET: Registration for the annual Phuket International Sportfishing Tournament 2010 starts from 5pm tomorrow, with competitors setting out from Chalong Pier over the following three days in search of 11 eligible species, including black marlin, sailfish, cobia, barracuda and tuna. Trophies will go to the heaviest catch in each category, as well as for the most billfish releases. There will…
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Phuket fire: Patong post office damaged
PHUKET: A small fire in Patong yesterday afternoon caused commotion along Phuket’s busiest beach road and water damage to Taweewong Post Office. The blaze reportedly broke out from an electrical short inside an air compressor on the second floor of the True Coffee shop, on Soi Patong Post Office. Six Patong Municipality firefighting vehicles rushed to the scene. Firefighters managed…
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Phuket art galleries to show beach clean-up artwork
PHUKET: Beginning next month, selected art galleries in Phuket will stage a series of “marine debris” exhibitions comprising artwork made from trash collected during beach clean-ups. The grand opening will be at the Nakhonnai Museum, opposite the Golden Tulip Mangosteen Resort & Spa on Saiyuan Road Soi 2 in Rawai. Doors will open at 6pm on December 1. Subsequent showing…
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Phuket private healthcare gets a thumbs-up: poll
PHUKET: A majority of Phuket Gazette on-line readers have a favorable opinion of private health-care services in Phuket, the results of the latest Readers’ Poll reveal. Last week readers were asked: “With two international hospitals and numerous private clinics, Phuket has been much touted as a medical tourism hub. Cost considerations aside, how would you rate the overall quality of…
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Phuket to host Asian Beach Games 2014
PHUKET: Phuket is set to host the fourth-ever Asian Beach Games in 2014 after Thai officials inked a deal with the Olympic Council of Asia on November 13. Thailand was the only country that made a bid, said Olympic Committee of Thailand president Yutthasak Sasiprabha. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradecha said the sporting extravaganza could bring as much as one billion…
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Princess Sirindhorn to visit orphans in Phuket, Phang Nga
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Phuket and Phang Nga on November 23. Her visit, announced by the Phuket Provincial Governor’s Office yesterday, will start at 9am at the SOS Children’s Village in Koh Kaew, where she will chair the opening ceremony for a new school building. The orphanage, built following the 2004 tsunami, is the fifth SOS…
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FC Phuket beats Loei City 2:1
PHUKET: FC Phuket came from behind to beat Loei City 2-1 last night, greatly improving their chances for promotion to Division 1 of the Thai Football League. FC Phuket dominated play in the first half, but failed to convert on numerous scoring chances. A goal by Loei City early in the second half silenced the crowd, but a converted penalty…
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Bizarre murder-suicide in Phuket Town restaurant
PHUKET: A restaurant owner shot his sister-in-law in the head and then turned the gun on himself in front of shocked patrons at a Phuket City restaurant last night. Phuket City Police received a report of the shooting at at the Khrua Pailin Restaurant on Surin Road in Phuket Town at about 9:20pm. Led by Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai…
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