News
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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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Bangkok Flood “phishing’ scam sinks hooks into Phuket
PHUKET: A scam email appealing for users’ bank details under the guise of helping to make a flood relief donation of one million dollars for flood victims in Bangkok is finding its way into the in-boxes of many residents in Phuket and probably around the world.“Every disaster brings scammers, and the flooding in Thailand is no exception. We’ve seen several…
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Phuket Poll: How alcohol dependent is Phuket?
PHUKET: The floods in Bangkok and Central Thailand continue to wreak havoc with domestic production of beer and its distribution to Phuket. The disruptions have caused serious shortages, much to the bane of hoteliers, restaurateurs and bar owners across the island. The Phuket Gazette has received many reports of severely inflated prices, up to nearly double for one brand of…
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Phuket’s Patong to transform feces into fertilizer
PHUKET: Patong Municipality will apply for a 65-million-baht loan to build a treatment plant that will convert thousands of tonnes of Phuket’s fecal matter into fertilizer. The Patong Council yesterday carried the motion in favor of building the fertilizer factory, with a plan to profit from the horrendous waste. Residents and tourists in the resort town generate up to 10…
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Three more to be executed in China
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China said to execute thousands annually Phuket Gazette PHUKET: It is unknown how many people are executed in China each year as the government withholds the information as a state secret. But according to an Amnesty International report, the figure is at least “thousands”. Three more…
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Phuket Airport ready for flood-redirected flights
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport (PIA) is ready to take on the role as the Airport Authority of Thailand (AoT) Emergency Operations Center if Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok succumbs to floods.“We held a meeting to discuss the possibility of PIA becoming the alternate [main] airport in case Suvarnabhumi Airport is unable to operate,” said an AoT Phuket spokesperson yesterday.“We are…
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Flood price rises no match for Phuket flower power on Loy Krathong
PHUKET: Floods in Bangkok and Central Thailand forcing the prices of some flowers to double in Phuket have not stopped people from splashing out for the Loy Krathong festival tonight. The krathong, lotus-shaped floats traditionally made of banana leaves, with a small offering of food, flowers, joss sticks and/or candles, are usually adorned with lotus and orchids. Prices of both…
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Phuket models call for votes in Thai Supermodel contest
PHUKET: Two young Phuket models are seeking votes in the Photogenic Model competition, part of the Thai Supermodel Contest 2011. Uraisri “Yim” Watrsang, 16, and Vanessa “Van” Herrmann, 20, have both made it to the final round of the contest to be broadcast on Channel 7. Miss Watrsang attended Phuket’s Plookpanya School before moving on to Srinagarindra, where she is…
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Phuket probe reveals 1,400 meth pills in man’s underpants
PHUKET: The arrests of two low-level Phuket drug users have led to the bust of their suspected methamphetamine dealer, who was allegedly caught with 1,400 ya bah (methamphetamine) stashed in his underwear. Narongrit Metula, Bualin Panachai and Seksan Sritham were presented at a press conference at Chalong Police Station yesterday. Tipped off by an undercover agent, a team of police…
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Phuket Live Wire – Google in English online all the time
PHUKET: How many times have you typed google.com in a browser’s address bar and ended up at google.co.th? Let me show you how to fix Google so it won’t do that any more – and at the same time, show you how to set up your favorite web browser so it brings up the pages you want, whenever you start…
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Phuket officials ordered to crack down on flood price gouging
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak today ordered Phuket Provincial Commercial Affairs acting chief Jarus Phetpakdee to conduct price checks on consumer goods in Phuket and to crack down on any irregularities. At a meeting of top officials convened at Provincial Hall this morning expressly to tackle the issue, V/Gov Somkiat said, “We have received many complaints about the rising…
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Phuket food to be nominated for UNESCO gastronomical prize
PHUKET: Efforts are underway to collate recipes and historical information of local Baba (“Straits Chinese”) cuisine in order to have Phuket Town recognized by UNESCO as a City of Gastronomy. Dr Kosol Tang-Uthai, president of the Thai Peranakan Association, said that 65 local Baba chefs were involved in the process. “Phuket Baba food combines recipes from Royal Thai Cuisine, common…
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Phuket hotels offer “great escape’ deals for Bangkok flood evacuees
PHUKET: At least seven Phuket hotels and resorts have signed up for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) campaign, offering discounted room rates to Bangkok flood evacuees. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the TAT office in Phuket, said Phuket was one destination that many people from Bangkok were fleeing to. “Many are staying in hotels in Phuket Town or returning to…
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Floods force Bangkok buses to Phuket to relocate to brewery
PHUKET: Rising flood waters in Bangkok have forced the Transport Company to relocate bus services to Phuket from the main southern bus terminal, Sai Tai Mai, to the Holland Beer Restaurant on Rama 2 Road in Bangkok’s Bang Khuntien District, Thonburi. “We had to close the southern bus terminal because all the roads around it were flooded,” said Transport Company…
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Phuket longtail fisherman watches helpless as nephew drowns
PHUKET: A longtail boat operator drowned near Phuket’s Ao Por Pier this morning as his uncle helplessly looked on. The drowned man’s uncle, “Rut”, described the series of events to family friend Suriya Dujpayak, but was too grief-stricken to speak to the press. Boonchuay Piewsoy, 35, developed cramps at about 7:30am while swimming out to his boat, which was anchored…
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Training tips for the Phuket Triathlon – fuel for your body
PHUKET: Completing a successful triathlon is not just about swimming, biking and running. You need to fuel your body with the right energy sources and ensure you are properly hydrated. Use the days before the race to load up on fuel. Carbohydrates deliver the most energy. Make a shift in your diet toward this kind of food. Good sources of…
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King’s College take Phuket rugby cup
PHUKET: As waters continue to inundate Bangkok and travel advisories assist with reduced visitor numbers to Phuket, it was a privilege to see the efforts made by a few rugby playing schools and organizations to travel and participate in the first Phuket Lomas International Youth Rugby Tournament hosted by Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) recently. King’s College from Bangkok…
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Phuket gets cooking for Bangkok flood victims
PHUKET: The cafeteria at Phuket Vocational College in Phuket Town has been dedicated to cooking at least 12,000 meals a day to be delivered to flood victims in Bangkok. “The Ministry of Interior has asked all provinces with the potential to help to provide assistance to flood victims in Bangkok,” said Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak. “Phuket has been assigned…
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No “nipple gangs’ in Phuket: Police
PHUKET: Phuket police today were firm in the assertion that there are no “nipple gangs” at work in Phuket. The news follows a report by a Chinese daily newspaper saying that Singaporean men on holiday in Phuket had been drugged by knock-out drops smeared onto women’s breasts. Once drugged unconscious, the men were robbed, the report said. Other newspapers and…
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Hit-and-run slams Phuket woman off the road and into a ravine
PHUKET: Phuket police are searching for the driver of a pickup truck that was involved in a hit and run on the Chalong-Kata Hill on Sunday. Witnesses reported seeing the pickup collide with a motorbike, resulting in the woman rider plunging over the edge of the steep slope and landing in a ravine about eight meters deep. The accident was…
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Phuket roads blamed for traffic accidents: Poll
PHUKET: More than half the people who took part in a recent Phuket Gazette poll responded that the island’s roads were either the primary cause or a large contributing factor to the number of road accidents that occur in Phuket. In the poll, readers were asked, “Do you believe that the condition of Phuket’s roads endangers residents and tourists?” Overall,…
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China’s Xue, Zhang win gold at Phuket FIVB beach volleyball final
PHUKET: China’s Chen Xue and Xi Zhang defeated Americans Jennifer Kessy and April Ross to win the final of the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour at Karon Beach today. Favorites Xue/Zhang defeated the second-seeded Kessy/Ross 21-16, 21-14 in 40 minutes, rounding off a perfect tournament of six wins, zero losses. In the battle of former Phuket champions, the…
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Body of foreign man found floating off Phuket
PHUKET: A Thai fishing boat this morning found the body of a caucasian man floating in the waters between Racha Yai Island and Coral Island, to the south of Phuket. Samnieng Srisan of the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center at Chalong Pier told the Phuket Gazette that the squid fishing boat Sor Naja made the discovery at about 10:15am. “The body…
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Mystics fail to reveal bodies of missing Phuket lovers
PHUKET: The families of the man and woman who have yet to resurface since disappearing from Thepkrasattri Bridge last week have called in soothsayers to help find the bodies. However, despite at least five mystics proffering descriptions of where to look in the fast-flowing waters under the Phuket bridge, divers have yet to find the bodies of troubled young lovers…
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Bangkok floods hit Phuket bars with ‘beer crisis’
PHUKET: Phuket’s critical tourism and entertainment industries are struggling to cope with the disrupted supply of consumer products and price rises brought on by the floods in Bangkok and central Thailand. The latest shortage to take hold on the island is alcohol, with reports flooding in to the Phuket Gazette of bars either running dry or short of stock and…
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China, USA to face off in Phuket FIVB beach volleyball final today
PHUKET: China’s top-seeded duo Chen Xue and Xi Zhang will take on the second-seeded team of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross from the United States in the gold medal final of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour at Karon Beach this afternoon. Both teams ground out semifinal match victories yesterday to advance to the internationally-televised final, scheduled to start on…
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BIS Phuket calls for boats, life vests to help Bangkok flood victims
PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BIS) is appealing for donations of boats and life vests to help those affected by the floods in Bangkok. “Due to the flooding problems in Bangkok, Rangsit University has formed a group of rescue team to help the Rangsit and Muang Eak communities and they are desperately in need of additional supplies as the water…
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Phuket readies for Loy Krathong 2011
PHUKET: Loy Krathong, the “festival of light,” is on November 10 this year and will be celebrated by communities across Phuket and all of Thailand. Thousands of people across the nation will be releasing krathong, lotus-shaped floats traditionally made of banana leaves, with a small offering of food, flowers, joss sticks and/or candles into the waters of Thailand. This annual…
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Phuket surf zones to mark coastal conservation
PHUKET: At least three surfing locations at Phuket beaches are being shortlisted for recognition as National Surfing Reserves (NSRs). Brad Farmer, global chair of the non-profit organization National Surfing Reserves (NSR), conducted a site inspection at Kata, Kalim and Nai Yang Beaches yesterday. “The surfing reserve concept is a symbolic dedication whereby surfing areas are recognized as coastal resources worthy…
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Aussies deported over false Phuket robbery claim
PHUKET: The two Australian tourists on holiday in Phuket who were charged with filing a false robbery report last weekend have been deported, the Phuket Immigration Office has confirmed. The Australian couple, Abdul Karim El Rajab, 31, and Zeidan Nouha, 30, were arrested for filing a bogus report of being robbed in Patong last Sunday. Police believe the couple filed…
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China, USA march on at Phuket FIVB volleyball open
PHUKET: The FIVB Swatch Beach Volleyball Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT gave spectators an exciting third round full of action and suspense on Karon Beach today.China’s top-seeded Xue/Zhang earned their 34th final four appearance out of 67 career FIVB Swatch World Tour tournaments together. Second-seeded Kessy/Ross will be in the 30th final four in 61 career FIVB Swatch World…
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