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Sponsored 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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Tsunami no longer a factor in Khao Lak tourism: Survey
SPECIAL REPORTby Bill Barnett PHUKET: Phuket and other provinces along the Andaman Coast are currently making preparations to mark the seventh anniversary since the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004. However, a market survey just released by brand agency Quo Global has concluded that memories of the 2004 tsunami no longer negatively affect decisions to travel to the Thai resort…
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Business briefs – new airbus for Phuket; 3G; rubber trading
New Bangkok Airways Airbus to fly Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Bangledesh and IndiaPhuket GazetteBangkok Airways recently acquired a new Airbus 319, the airline’s 18th aircraft. With a total of 130 economy seats, the new craft will fly domestic and international routes serving at least five destinations including Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Bengarulu (Bangalore, India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh). The…
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Pornthip Phuket packaging takes to world stage
PHUKET: Pornthip (Phuket) Co Ltd, the island’s most recognized food-gift brand, submitted two of its award-winning products to contest in the AsiaStar Awards 2011, also known as the “Packaging Oscars of Asia”. Having recently achieved national recognition at the ThaiStar Packaging Awards 2011, Pornthip’s Andaman and Sino-Portuguese gift sets will now join the regional ranks along with 54 other submissions…
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Phuket’s labor shortage critical
PHUKET: Industry analysts describe the labor shortage in the Phuket tourism industry as “critical”, with as many as 4,000 vacant hotel positions as the island enters its annual high season for tourism. Bhuritt Maswongsa, a vice president of the Phuket Tourist Association, said, “The lack of hotel employees has now reached a crisis point with 3,000 to 4,000 unfilled positions.…
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Border agreement reached by Thailand and Cambodia; Burma and Thailand economic co-operation
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Agreement reached to withdraw troops from border The Nation / Phuket Gazette Thailand and Cambodia agreed yesterday to comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to withdraw troops from the disputed border area near the Preah Vihear Temple following a meeting of the General…
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Phuket Media Watch – Earth-size planets found outside the Milky Way
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scientists discover first Earth-size planets outside the Milky Way Phuket Gazette U.S. scientists have spotted the first Earth-size planets which are orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system, NASA announced on Tuesday. The planets are unlikely to support life. NASA said its Kepler mission, which…
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Second Phuket incinerator ‘onstream by March’
PHUKET: The second trash incinerator currently under construction at the Saphan Hin facility is expected to be operational by March. Chief Prachum Suriya, Phuket City Municipality, Environmental Division, detailed the progress made so far in the construction of the incinerator, which started in 2009 and is now about 80 per cent complete. The new incinerator is expected to have the…
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FC Phuket call for massive support tonight against Suphanburi FC
PHUKET: FC Phuket players and coaching staff are appealing for a flood of fan support for tonight’s league match against Suphanburi FC, also known as the “Elephant-back Warriors”. Assistant Coach Apichart “Mo” Mosika asked the Phuket Gazette to encourage FC Phuket fans to be at Surakul Stadium tonight for the team’s 31st game of the 2011 Division One schedule. “It…
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Machine gun seized in Phuket meth raid
PHUKET: Police conducting drug raids on three houses in Mai Khao, at the northern tip of Phuket, today seized a slew of guns, including a .45 Thompson submachine gun. Armed with search warrants, officers from Tah Chat Chai Police Station first searched the home of 38-year-old Chaicharn Kao-ian, where they found 60 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills hidden in his washing…
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Phuket DMAT teams take on Japan, Korea in disaster rescue face-off
PHUKET: Disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) from across Thailand yesterday began a four-day intensive training course at Phuket’s Boat Lagoon complex in preparation for the first-ever International Medical Rally to be held at Sirinath National Park, Nai Yang, on December 23. Taking part in the training are DMAT teams from Chiang Rai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Krabi,…
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Phuket Gov to give ‘key to City’ away for Red Cross Fair
PHUKET: This year’s Red Cross Fair will be held from December 29 to January 8, 2012 at Saphan Hin central stage in Phuket Town. The opening ceremony, starting at 6pm on December 29, will feature a fireworks show, and performances by nationally-renowned acts will be staged every night. As in years past, the most anticipated event will be the charity…
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Phuket Business: Bad investments – a fiscal toy story
PHUKET: I often write about things which I think may or may not be worth considering as an investment. Today I would like to try and get my readers to understand some things which generally are considered as bad investments. Professionals in my industry usually will vary greatly on their opinions of what is a good investment at any one…
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Phuket Media Watch – Man confesses to setting elderly woman on fire
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man confesses to setting elderly woman on fire in NYC elevator Phuket GazetteA 47-year-old man has confessed to killing an elderly woman by setting her on fire in a New York City elevator during the weekend, local media reported on Monday. Jerome Issac turned himself in…
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Swede found dead on superyacht in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a Swedish woman whose body was discovered yesterday in the cabin of a superyacht where she worked as a crew member. Devina Marie Lindgren, 21, was found dead aboard a private yacht moored off Patong Beach yesterday. The 90-meter yacht Lauren L, taking part in the Asia Region…
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Phuket Town hotel raises stink over fish factory smell
PHUKET: The Silver Hotel in Phuket Town has complained to the province that odor from a nearby seafood processing plant is costing them up to 400,000 baht monthly in lost revenue. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak met with Silver Hotel Managing Director Monluck Tantipornsawat on Thursday to discuss the issue. The formal complaint followed an inspection of the nearby Phuket…
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Expert panel to lead Phuket tsunami memorial activities
PHUKET: A panel of experts led by Dr Smith Dharmasaroj, former head of the National Disaster Warning Center, will stage a public discussion on disaster management as part of the tsunami memorial services on December 26 this year. Dr Smith, also a former head of the Thai Meteorological Department, is renowned as the man who warned the Thai government to…
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Phuket Media Watch – Death toll nears 1,000 in the Philippines
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death toll nears 1,000 after Tropical Storm Sendong hits the Philippines Phuket Gazette The death toll after Tropical Storm Sendong hit the southeastern Philippines over the weekend has surpassed 950, emergency officials said on Tuesday morning. Dozens more remain missing. Sendong made landfall over the northeastern…
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“Washi’ goes wishy-washy: no effect in Phuket
PHUKET: Tropical storm “Washi”, which killed nearly 1,000 people in the Philippines, will have virtually no effect on the weather here in Phuket, the Phuket Gazette has been told. However, residents of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Trang and Satun provinces could experience unseasonable rainfall over the next two days. A forecaster at the Southern Meteorological Center…
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Don’t judge Thorpe… yet.
PHUKET: “It’s not a concern now. Maybe later, but now it’s too premature. I’m in training at the moment. I don’t look at where I come in the race.” Ian Thorpe, former Olympic and world swimming champion, said it was much too early to judge his recent comeback results in Italy. Thorpe finished 16th overall in the 100m freestyle and…
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Dispute between Phuket expats may lead to charges of extortion
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a restaurant owner in Phuket’s busy tourist town of Patong, on Phuket’s west coast, after he visited another Patong restaurant owner and threatened him if he didn’t “repay” 7 million baht. Lt Col Tammasan Boonsong told the Phuket Gazette today that he arrived at Orient Restaurant at 7pm last night with a squad of police officers…
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Chalong Marina ready in 2012
PHUKET: Work on the 70-million-baht Chalong Bay Marina project is now about 90% complete and should be finished early in the new year, officials say. Phuriphat Teerakulpisut, Chief of the Marine Department Region 5 office in Phuket Town, said opening of the 44-slip facility will improve the island’s ability to accommodate the growing number of yachts that port in Phuket…
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Update – North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies of heart attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies of heart attack Phuket Gazette Kim Jong-il, the mysterious Communist leader who ruled North Korea for more than seventeen years, died of a massive heart attack on early Saturday morning, the government announced today. He was 69 or 70 years old.…
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MMA bar brawler Junie Browning: “not in Phuket’
PHUKET: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Junie Browning, who is wanted by Phuket Police for his role in two serious brawls, has contacted the Phuket Gazette with his detailed version of events. At the time of posting, the Gazette was seeking comments from people and institutions mentioned in Mr Browning’s version of events. In his email below, Mr Browning did…
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Yvon Van Eyersen cremated in Phuket
PHUKET: A small group of friends and Red Cross officials gathered at Wat Saen Suk on Wednesday for the somber cremation ceremony of long-time Phuket resident Yvon Van Eyersen of Belgium. Mr Van Eyersen passed away early Tuesday morning, immediately after staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital turned off his life support apparatus. The Belgian suffered a stroke early some time…
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Phuket Youth Sailing Club stars in King’s Cup dinghy events
PHUKET: A strong fleet of 34 Optimist and eight Lasers took part in the recent King’s Cup International Dinghy Regatta, with fifteen sailors from the Phuket Youth Sailing Club (PYSC) between the ages of seven and 15 who joined other sailors from Phuket, Phang Nga, Samui, Songkhla and Sattahip to take part in the three-day event. On day one, the…
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Phuket’s Flynn second on Asia Pro surf tour
PHUKET: Thirteen-year-old surfing star Annissa Flynn from Phuket closes her 2011 surfing season with top-ranking success. Phuket’s own super surfer has returned home after three weeks on the road to finish up the 2011 surfing season on a high. Having posted three wins and a second place at competitions held in Hong Kong and Malaysia, Annissa has finished second overall…
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Phuket Gazette breaking news – North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies during train ride Phuket Gazette The Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, died on early Saturday morning, state-run media announced today. He was 69 or 70 years old. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim died at…
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Phuket’s ‘labor shortage’ more imagined than real
PHUKET: Government assistance to help solve the chronic “labor shortage” in the island’s tourism industry is unlikely to have much impact this high season, given Phuket’s reputation as an expensive place to live. (See page 11, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full issue.) A scan of the comments in popular online forums…
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Facebook ‘predator’ arrested as Phuket mum pleas for help
PHUKET: Eleven days after her disappearance from a Phuket Town internet cafe, 12-year-old Phuket schoolgirl Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya remains missing. Nong Pin’s mother Samruay Saenthaweesuk told the Phuket Gazette this morning she has yet to receive any leads regarding her daughter’s whereabouts and continues to fear she might have been abducted by someone she met online while using the…
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Phuket port expansion to get Cabinet push: Kittisakdi
PHUKET: Deputy Minister of Transport Kittisakdi Hathasongkorh yesterday vowed to support plans to expand Phuket’s Deep Sea Port, which have run aground over its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. At a meeting at Phuket’s Deep Sea Port, Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut yesterday explained to Mr Kittisakdi that his office had been working for more than a year on…
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