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Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?
Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...
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Boy, 7, on life support after rescue at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A young boy is on life support in the intensive-care unit (ICU) at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town this evening after being pulled from a popular swimming area near Nai Harn Beach late yesterday afternoon.“His name is Methee Khunsuinhu, 7 years old. He is now in the ICU. He will be transferred to the children’s ward if he…
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Phuket Media Watch: 12 killed in pick-up truck in Buri Ram
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 12 killed were enroute to family funeral Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Police and rescue workers called to the scene of a road accident in Buri Ram province yesterday found a tour bus severely damaged and a pick-up truck in a roadside ditch. Inside the truck,…
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Sunday Opinion: Nesting sustainable development
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to join the Phuket Governor in wishing all of our readers a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012. [Click here to read the governor’s column in the current issue of our newspaper.] The past 12 months have seen continued growth in the tourism sector, but Phuket’s ongoing transformation into a vibrant, international destination has not…
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Phuket’s ‘Persons of the Year’: A Sailor’s Salute
PHUKET: As with our Person of the Year Award in 2009, we have opted for the plural again this year and are delighted to announce that the honor goes to four of the driving forces behind the annual Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Many forces are required to stage an event of this magnitude, but because of the length of their…
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Wishing all a very happy New Year
PHUKET: One would guess that quite a few of Phuket’s residents were up well past their usual bed times last night as 2011 slipped into history and 2012 dawned. It’s probably likely that for an equal number it was business as usual, with 3am considered a respectable time for turning in. Regardless, what to do now that those long made…
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Phuket boosts water-safety as New Year countdown nears
PHUKET: As the Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign continues across Phuket, the Marine Police are joining the effort on the water by stepping up safety checks and deploying vessels to conduct 24-hour operations. The moves comes as Phuket struggles to accommodate the huge influx of tourists who have arrived for the island’s “peak season” in tourism, a period that…
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Gov Tri gets Red Cross Fair underway
PHUKET: Scores of people turned out last night the opening night of the Phuket Red Cross Fair in Phuket Town, with many people among the huge crowd hoping to win the top prize in the popular lucky draw: a brand-new Honda City car. The 11-day fair, being held at the Central Stage Area at Saphan Hin, was declared officially underway…
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Phuket New Year road toll battered as three die
PHUKET: The Phuket authorities’ goal to keep the road toll this year under the four deaths of last year suffered a severe setback when three men died in motorcycle accidents on Thursday night – the first night of this year’s ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign. Polish national Pawel Jack Gilman, 37, died after the limited edition Liverpool FC…
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Phuket Media Watch: North Korea defiant; Fires rage in Los Angeles; Sailor rescued 5 days after ship sinks off Vietnam
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community North Korea warns South Korea on ‘hideous crimes’ Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The North Korean military on yesterday said the South “will pay for its hideous crimes” during the mourning period for Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il, and warned it may launch a retaliatory strike…
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Phuket yachting community remembers lost sailor
PHUKET: Friends of long-term Phuket expat Leslie Beasley, who was found dead on a yacht moored in Chalong Bay on December 23, have told the Gazette about their shock and sadness over the local sailor’s death. Mr Beasley was looking after the yacht for the owner, who is currently overseas. His body was discovered after the owner had repeatedly failed…
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Russians in hospital after tour van smash
PHUKET: Four Russian tourists on their way to a Phuket magic show got a painful dose of reality on Thursday night, when the passenger van they were riding in collided with a delivery truck south of Patong. The accident happened at about 7pm on Wiset Road in front of Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort on the first day of the…
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Weird World News: Time for change as Samoa ditches a day; book 123 years overdue found in Britain; and Chinese opt for year-end pillow fights
PHUKET: New Year is always a time of reflection. To cast out the old and usher in the new. This week’s Weird World News features a trio of time-related happenings from around the world. Samoa skips forward a day … so long Friday, December 30 THE South Pacific island nation of Samoa has scrapped its time-zone alliance with the United…
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Phuket police nab sacrilegious burglar
PHUKET: Phuket City Police on Wednesday arrested a serial thief caught with stolen religious objects, jewelry and other items. Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai said Wichit resident Eakkat Tipmart, 29, confessed to burglarizing the Phuket Town apartment of Saengduan Chaigma. It was just the latest burglary in a string of similar thefts, Col Chote said. Ms Saengduan, 39, reported to police…
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New Phuket Police chief orders holiday crackdown
PHUKET: Newly-installed Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangku has ordered all officers on the island to strictly enforce the law and ensure public safety over the New Year holiday now underway. Chonasit Wattanavrangkul, whose last assignment was as Songkhla Provincial Police Commander, took over the position from Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong in the latest police reshuffle announced on Christmas Day.…
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Phuket employers urged to hire disabled workers
PHUKET: With the Phuket labor shortage reaching critical levels, authorities are encouraging employers to hire more disabled workers and are advising large organizations that they are legally required to do so. Officials from Phuket Provincial Office, Phuket Provincial Employment Office and the Human Development and Security Office held a recent meeting to inform employers about the subject at the Phuket…
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Khon Kaen crazy nicking knickers
PHUKET: Police in Khon Kaen nabbed a thief with an unusual haul mid-December – more than 1,000 pairs of used women’s underwear. The kinky culprit, Pathanin Kawikul, 26, told officers he used the undergarments – which he stole over a period of more than five years – for sexual gratification. Police were alerted to Mr Pathanin’s bizarre activities when Phornphat…
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Phuket events slated to inject B370mn into local economy
PHUKET: A number of large events being held in Phuket this month are expected to generate as much as 370 million baht in revenue, government officials were told yesterday. The news was announced at a meeting yesterday morning at Phuket Provincial Hall. Phuket Governor Tri Aukaradacha chaired the meeting, which was attended by representatives from various government departments. Buayan Suwanmanee,…
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Snakes in a sack seized on Koh Lanta
PHUKET: A fruit seller has been caught smuggling protected snakes onto Koh Lanta in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. Pin Sangduk, 43, was found with eight live snakes stuffed into fertilizer sacks in the back of his pickup truck, which was otherwise loaded with fruit. Mr Pin was caught when Sgt Maj Terdsak Rakdaeng of Koh Lanta…
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Soi Bangla Phuket’s number one attraction: Poll
PHUKET: Soi Bangla is the number one “must see” tourist attraction in Phuket, according to the results of a recent Phuket Gazette online survey. On December 6, the Gazette asked readers: Phuket has so many tourist attractions that most visitors to the island do not have enough time to see them all during their stays. Given this fact, which of…
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Let Phuket’s Countdown to the New Year begin
PHUKET: The holiday season kicks into high gear today with the opening of two important annual fairs in Phuket Town and the launch of police checkpoints all over the island as part of the nationwide “Seven Days of Danger” road safety campaign. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha is a busy man today, presiding over the openings of both the Phuket Red…
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Phuket raids land 15mn baht in pirated goods
PHUKET: Two separate raids in Phuket over the past week have netted pirated copyrighted goods with a combined street value of more than 15 million baht. Prayut Maneechote, director of the Customs Bureau regional head office in Haad Yai, on Monday announced that a team of his officers had traced an illegal importing network of pirated goods to a warehouse…
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Phuket Media Watch: Russian round-up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russia’s first hybrid vehicle to go on sale next year Phuket Gazette / News Wires Russian automobile manufacturer Yo-Auto on Tuesday announced that it will be offering the country’s first hybrid vehicle late next year. The company’s billionaire co-owner Mikhail Prokhorov spoke on national television on…
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No short-term solution for Phuket Airport Immigration bottleneck
PHUKET: Tourists waiting up to an hour and a half to clear immigration during peak periods at Phuket Airport are unlikely to receive any reprieve until a separate international terminal is completed. Pol Maj Wannee Songsanguan of Phuket Airport Immigration told the Gazette that her office was well aware of the situation, but could do nothing more to speed up…
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Phuket’s annual ‘Best of Phuket’ Awards to be unveiled tomorrow
PHUKET: The winners of the Phuket Gazette‘s ‘Best of Phuket’ awards for 2011 are announced in a special four-page supplement tucked into the newspaper’s December 31 issue, due out on the streets at noon tomorrow. The awards comprise 33 winners in five major categories: Person of the Year (4); Business (4); Service (6); Environment (2); and Restaurants (17). Our winners…
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Phuket Business: a collective island soul
PHUKET: Life in the brick house is in full holiday swing. Gargantuan cement trucks ante for position alongside monster buses teeming with an endless array of travelers. Despite a rising urban swell that is pushing development heavenwards, there has to be more to Phuket’s economic success story than bricks, mortar and an endless amount of infinity swimming pools. I tend…
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Phuket Media Watch: Hope for Kashmir; Girl Rescue; Virginity tests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community India, Pakistan consider demilitarizing Kashmir border Phuket Gazette / News Wires The governments of Pakistan and India are considering a proposal to demilitarize the border of the disputed region of Kashmir, according to media reports yesterday. A senior Pakistani foreign ministry official told The Express Tribune…
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FC Phuket fans attacked by blog site
PHUKET: “The club, with its finances and its future as up in the air as a corner kick, also has to pay a 20,000 baht fine.” A local blog uses this woefully inappropriate simile in commenting on FC Phuket’s uncertain future and the aggressive actions of a few supporters at the club’s last home game. Perhaps the blogger is unfamiliar…
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Phuket parade marks New Year road safety campaign
PHUKET: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket staged a parade at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town today ahead of the nationwide ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign for the New Year holiday. “Phuket has a lot of tourists, and the roads will be busy during the new year. During this time, the number of accidents on…
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Club Med Phuket sets up swim zone at Kata Beach
PHUKET: A second swim area has been cordoned off at Kata Beach in Phuket, but lifeguards continue to worry about the safety of swimmers and snorkelers who venture outside the float ropes and into the path of speedboats and jet-skis. Safety issues at the popular west coast beach were highlighted earlier this month when Russian tourist Nikolai Nefedov, was hit…
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Phuket Media Watch: Man dressed as Santa kills family members
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man dressed as Santa kills six family members at Texas home Phuket Gazette A man dressed as Santa Claus shot and killed six of his family members at a home in Texas on Christmas Day, police said yesterday. He then turned the gun on himself. The…
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