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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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Phuket retailers to charge for plastic bags
PHUKET CITY: In a bid to deal with Phuket’s waste management crisis, the island’s top retailers have agreed to start charging customers for plastic bags from December. In a meeting with government officials at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday, the retailers’ representatives agreed to the move, saying they are prepared to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the issue.…
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Phuket firm charged with encroachment
PHUKET CITY: The state prosecutor’s office has charged the owner of a Phuket company with conspiracy to encroach on state land on Yao Yai Island in Phang Nga Bay. The defendant was identified as Chaiyapon Phoojareorn, owner and manager of Ji Liang Phuket Fishing Co Ltd. Mr Chaiyapon was yesterday formally charged in the Region 4 Criminal Court in Bangkok…
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Robson in Thai debut with Phuket Kata Group Cup win
PHUKET CITY, PHUKET: Former Manchester United and England star Bryan Robson made a winning start as the Thai national team manager with a 2-0 win over Yadanarbon FC of Burma at a wet Surakul Stadium last night. Following a goalless first half, two headed goals in the second half were enough to seal a comfortable victory and a place in…
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Snake shock at Phuket hospital, man bitten
PHUKET: A large python was captured at Vachira Phuket Hospital this morning, biting one of its captors during the struggle. A staff member of the hospital’s X-Ray unit was shocked to discover the snake in an enclosed grassy area of the hospital at 9am and called in Phuket’s snake catchers. A team of five snake men, including Environmental Health officer Umnaj…
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Briton killed in Phuket bike crash
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: A successful British advertising director was killed when his motorbike smashed into a six-wheel truck in Cherng Talay in Phuket this afternoon. Wayne David Maule, 56, was riding a Honda Click down Srisoonthorn Road towards Surin when the tragedy happened at about 1:15pm. The truck driver said Mr Maule veered into his truck from the opposite lane…
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Toasted sandwiches: one night only in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: A fire seriously damaged a Subway restaurant in Phuket in the early hours of yesterday morning. No-one was injured the blaze, which broke out at the branch on Taweewong Road in Patong around 3am. It took 25 fire officers in four fire engines until around 4am to put out the fire. — Atchaa Khamlo
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New homes for Phuket sea gypsies
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Seventeen families in the fire-ravaged sea gypsy village of Ban Hin Look Diow will move into new dwellings early next month, thanks to the efforts of Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and Phuket Technical College students. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall last week, Gov Wichai said the new homes would be handed over to the villagers…
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THAI launches direct Phuket – Hong Kong flights
PHUKET CITY: With the high season for tourism almost here, Thai Airways International (THAI) has begun direct flights between Phuket and Hong Kong three times weekly.An Airbus 330-300 leaves Phuket at 1:15pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.Return flights leave Hong Kong at 8am on the same days.Forty-two seats are reserved for passengers in business class, with the remainder in economy.The…
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Phuket Poll Results: Start digging!
PHUKET CITY: Most Phuket Gazette readers think the proposed Patong Tunnel project should go ahead, according to the results of our latest poll. The poll asked readers to give their views on the proposed project, which would involve digging a road tunnel through the hills that divide Patong from the rest of Kathu. Of the 900 readers who voted, 55.6%…
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Friends of Simon Grant invited to join farewell ceremonies
PHUKET: Following the sudden death of Ao Por Marina manager Simon Grant last Thursday after a motorcycle accident in Phuket, funeral rites began today and will continue until Wednesday, when Simon’s body will be cremated in a Buddhist ceremony. Mr Grant, a 45-year-old father of two, was a well known figure in the Phuket expat community. Those who knew Simon…
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Protesters demand intervention in Phuket land dispute
PHUKET: A crowd of about 60 protesters set up camp near Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to demand that the Phuket Governor step in to resolve a conflict over land entitlement where construction of Panason City Village is underway. The protesters claim that some home owners have been tricked into giving up their homes and that others are being pressured…
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Headless baby draws crowds
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: A family in Ron Phibun District have set up a shrine to house the body of a stillborn headless baby. The baby was the second of a pair of twin girls born to 30-year-old Saijai Sriraksa on October 14. After the first healthy twin was born, doctors noticed Mrs Saijai still had a lump in her abdomen.…
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B100 million seized in Phuket drug bust
PHUKET: The Narcotics Crime Suppression Bureau carried out a sting operation in Phuket at 2am yesterday, arresting a man and seizing 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills, 300,000 baht in cash, weapons, vehicles, gold and land. The value of the items seized totals more than 100 million baht, according to the Narcotics Crime Suppression Bureau. The suspect was arrested after a policeman pretended to be a…
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Phuket’s Happy Air ready for takeoff
PHUKET CITY: New carrier Happy Air will launch its Phuket to Haad Yai route on October 31, following on November 1 with flights to Langkawi in Malaysia.Happy Air Marketing Manager Phatcharapon Sontipun said the service will be aboard the carrier’s Swedish-built SAAB 340 A, a 34-seat twin-engine turboprop.The aircraft is expected to arrive in Phuket on Monday.The daily flights will…
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Phuket Vegetable Festival in full bloom
PHUKET CITY: The Vegetarian Festival got into full swing this morning, when the Jui Tui Shrine, in downtown Phuket City, held its annual street procession. Scores of picture-popping tourists who turned out for colorful event didn’t leave disappointed, as those who braved the deafening sound of firecrackers and banging drums were able to catch wave after wave of spirit mediums…
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New sinkhole on Patong Hill road
PHUKET CITY: Conditions on the already-treacherous Patong Hill road took another turn for the worse yesterday, when another sinkhole appeared just meters from a similar cavity that was hastily repaired in late August. Patong Municipal official Sompong Jiumtau said municipal workers put traffic cones around the crevasse as soon as it was first noticed before dusk yesterday. The hole had…
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Phuket celebrates Chulalongkorn Day
PHUKET CITY: Several hundred people this morning gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to mark Chulalongkorn Day. Led by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, the crowd placed a wreath around a portrait of the great monarch at the auspicious time of 9:09am. Many of those who took part were government officers. October 23, a national holiday in Thailand, is the anniversary of…
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Phuket wishes HM The King quick recovery
PHUKET CITY: More than 200,000 people in Phuket have signed a book wishing His Majesty the King a speedy recovery. According to the latest statement from the Royal Household Bureau, His Majesty’s condition is now stable. “His physical strength has increased. His sleep and food intake is normal,” the bureau announced yesterday. Doctors would continue to give antibiotics to His…
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Body of Australian tourist found in Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: The body of an Australian male was found in a Phuket hotel room earlier today. The death appears to be a suicide.The body of the 39 year old was discovered at Horizon Karon Beach Resort & Spa by one of the hotel’s cleaning staff on regular housekeeping duty just after midday.The body was lying in a pool of blood…
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Swine flu under control in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The head of the Phuket Public Health Office has downplayed a report in the state-run media that lists Phuket as one of seven provinces with high incidences of A(H1N1) infection. The figures are skewed because they don’t take into account the island’s large ‘hidden population’, he said. Phuket Public Health Office director Dr Pongsawas Ratanasang said the total…
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Phuket leads the south in A(H1N1) infection
PHUKET CITY: Phuket is among seven provinces in the country with the highest incidence of infection with the swine flu virus, the state-run Thai News Agency has reported. Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr Paijit Worajit yesterday informed the press that there have been three more deaths from swine flu in Thailand, while the total number of fatalities rose to…
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Phuket strengthens ties with Russian sister
PHUKET CITY: A delegation from the Russian city of Nakhodka met the Phuket governor at Provincial Hall this afternoon as part of a bid to tighten the relationship between the two cities. Nakhodka and Phuket became sister cities in September 2006. First Vice-Mayor of Nakhodka Boris Gladkikh presented Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop with a commemorative plate as a gift from his…
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Fo Guang Shan Buddhists visit Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Among the scores of ethnic Chinese flocking to the island to take part in the Vegetarian Festival were some 1,700 Chinese Buddhist monks and followers from the Taiwan-based Fo Guang Shan monastic order. The monks arrived at Phuket Deep Sea Port yesterday aboard the 268-meter Star Cruises SuperStar Virgo. They were aboard the massive vessel for a meeting of Fo…
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Deadline for Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2010 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until 6pm on Thursday, November 12, to enter (or update) their listings. Businesses entered after that date will appear in the Gazette Guide Online only – not in the hard-copy book. Businesses who have entered or updated their listings over the past six months need do…
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Patong tunnel study details revealed
PHUKET CITY: The director of the consulting company undertaking a 40-million-baht feasibility study into construction of a tunnel to Patong has revealed more details about its initial findings. Tanin Pongrujikorn, Director of Epsilon Co Ltd, told the Gazette, “Patong Municipality, which initiated the project, invited six Thai consulting companies registered with the Ministry of Finance and with relevant experience to…
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Chinese acrobats to perform in Patong
PHUKET CITY: About 1,000 people who patiently braved the elements at Saphan Hin last night were treated to a stunning performance by one of the world’s top acrobatics troupes. The troupe, the 40-strong Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy, are in Phuket for two special performances coinciding with the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival. Last night’s show got underway well past the scheduled start…
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Phuket Governor leads prayer for HM The King
PHUKET CITY: Some of Phuket’s most important leaders and around 2,000 other well-wishers gathered at Saphan Hin last night to wish HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej a speedy recovery. The event was held on the occasion of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which began at midnight Saturday with the arrival of the new moon starting the ninth month of the Chinese calendar…
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Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy in Phuket tonight
PHUKET CITY: One of the world’s most fascinating acrobatics troupes will perform a charity performance at Saphan Hin starting at 7pm. The 40-strong Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy perform a wide variety of acrobatic stunts. The troupe are currently in Phuket as part of a nationwide tour that has included stops in Bangkok and the Isarn region. In a recent nationally televised…
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Safe robbery dangerous for Phuket thieves
KATHU, PHUKET: Two bungling robbers broke their legs in a motorcycle crash while trying to drive home with a 25-kilogram safe they stole from a British expat’s house, police said. Jirawat Khongsuwan, 24, and Chanakarn Sukhumdecha, 22, deny taking the box from David Kelleway’s house at the Phuket Country Club in Kathu last Saturday. But Inspector Kittipong Kaikaew of Tung…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival Procession Routes
PHUKET: Following inaugural ceremonies in Phuket over the weekend to summon Chinese ancestral gods to take part in the island’s Vegetarian Festival, Phuket City’s Chinese temples are buzzing with activity and shrouded in the smoke from thousands of firecrackers and incense lit throughout the day.Now that those gods have taken up temporary residence on Phuket in the bodies of believers…
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