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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 to host “Cleanest Toilet” awards
PHUKET CITY: The Department of Public Health has chosen Royal Phuket City Hotel as the venue to present “The Cleanest Toilet in the South Awards”. Privvies are being polished around the south as 13 regional branches of the Public Health Ministry prepare to enter their public conveniences into the contest. The award event on August 20 will start with a…
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Heirlooms for sale: 89,000,001 baht
PHUKET CITY: Pattani-native Rozita Hazan, who owns a busy restaurant in front of Phuket Rajabhat University, is hoping to sell a pair of family heirlooms, passed down through five generations, for a little more than 89 million baht. K. Rozita aims to find a new home for her ring and bracelet, but rather than adhering to a regular auction she…
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More flights added to weekend Bangkok-Phuket service
PHUKET: Bangkok Airways has added more flights to its weekend Bangkok-Phuket service starting Friday August 15.The airline already operates a twice daily Bangkok-Phuket service; departing from Bangkok at 11.45am and 5.30pm and departing from Phuket at 1.50pm and 7.40pm.Flights PG 273 and PG 274 ( Airbus 320 with 162 seats ) have been added to the service and will fly…
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Pet rottweilers kill their owners’ daughter
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The 2-year-old daughter of a Dutch expat and his Thai wife was mauled to death early this morning by the two rottweilers they kept as guard dogs at the family’s home in Nakhon Ratchasima.The mother, Jintana Ploo, who was seriously injured after trying to save her daughter from the two dogs, said her husband had raised the rottweilers…
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Bikini shop bust nets B10m in counterfeit stash
PHUKET CITY: A bikini is normally donned to cover up a woman’s private parts, but a bikini-vending operation in downtown Phuket was found concealing something much larger, and with a different kind of value: a stash of more than 90,000 counterfeit T-shirts.Officers from the Police Region 8 Investigation Center raided a secret warehouse in the center of Phuket City Saturday…
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Supalai Resort to install swim dock
PHUKET CITY: The provincial committee on waterways has approved a request by Best Western Premier Supalai Resort & Spa in Pa Khlok to construct a 200-meter floating dock to give resort guests access to the sea. The committee, chaired by Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima, met at Phuket Provincial Hall on August 7 to discuss the license application. Its members include…
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Rawai mayor bullish on property picture
RAWAI: Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos estimates that investment in property projects in Rawai could reach as much as 2 billion baht this year.Mayor Aroon recently met with four prospective investors at Rawai Municipality Office to “clarify construction laws with regards to building new properties in Rawai”.The meeting is part of an initiative to boost tourism in places like Laem Phromthep,…
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Amputee turtle recovering well
CAPE PANWA: An immature Olive Ridley sea turtle whose badly infected front left flipper had to be amputated by veterinarians at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) in early June is recovering well at the center, where it is eating well on a diet of fish and squid. Named Hope by members of the Mai Khao Sea Turtle Foundation that…
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Sugar daddies duped by pretended pregnancies
UBON RATCHATHANI: Attractive women having relationships with much older and considerably less attractive men for financial benefit is certainly nothing new. In Isarn, however, some girls have allegedly started using an ingenious method to extract more money from their stingy sugar daddies: having their stomachs injected with chemicals to make them appear pregnant. Pukki, a 20-year-old college student from Ubon…
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Hundreds of turtles released in Mothers’ Day ceremony
CAPE PANWA: More than 300 baby green sea turtles were released into the sea at the Third Naval Area Command, Cape Panwa today (August 12) as a way of celebrating the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit, which is also Mothers’ Day in Thailand. Students from schools in the Panwa area helped naval officers, municipality officers and staff from local resorts…
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Kathu bars get green light for Mothers’ Day
PATONG: Despite widespread belief among bar owners that they will not be allowed to operate tomorrow night because of Mothers’ Day, the head of Kathu Police has confirmed that nightlife entertainment venues in the Kathu Police District will be allowed to operate as normal.“I haven’t received any orders to enforce a ban on alcohol sales tomorrow, so all bars can open…
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Funeral held for soldiers
RAWAI: Friends of Australian Jason Gerrard Flynn and James Plunkett Howe from the UK, whose bodies were discovered at a guesthouse in Rawai on July 28, attended a Buddhist funeral ceremony for both men on Sunday at Wat Sawang Arom temple in Rawai.The ex-servicemen were in their early 30s. They died unexpectedly overnight after celebrating during their last few days…
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OrBorJor targets bus service, hotel tax issue
PHUKET CITY: New projects launched by the new Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) include persuading more hotel owners to pay the controversial 1% hotel room tax and improving the OrBorJor bus service in and around Phuket City. OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising told the Gazette the initiatives fall under the OrBorJor policy to improve public services and promote tourism in the…
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Truck crash on Patong Hill
PATONG: This 6-wheel Hino flatbed truck, which lost control on Phrabarami Rd in Patong at about 4 pm Wednesday afternoon, finally came to rest when it hit an electric power pylon.Under questioning at Kathu Police Station, the uninjured driver said his brakes failed.Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark was first at the scene, directing traffic by himself while a tow…
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Southern singer injured in Phang Nga
PHUKET CITY: Southern Thai country singer Jeab Benjaporn is recovering in Bangkok Phuket Hospital today after being injured in a road accident in Phang Nga last night while on her way to Phuket to give a concert. The popular 29-year-old singer was traveling through Thap Put District when a dog darted in front of the car she was in, which…
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Healthy growth for local television
PHUKET: After recently extending its network from local provincial cable and the Web, where PGTV appears as Number One in Google under the prime search term “Phuket Television”, the Phuket Gazette’s daily English-language television content has now been added in healthy doses to all patient rooms at Phuket International Hospital, and to the 15-inch touch-screen monitors on all of the…
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OrBorJor back in charge at Chalong Pier
CHALONG: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) was on August 1 back at the helm running operations at Chalong Pier after cutting ties with Chokaree Tour Co Ltd, the company previously enlisted to collect berthing fees and run the pier on the OrBorJor‘s behalf. A team led by OrBorJor Vice-President Chaowalit Na Nakorn visited the pier on August 1 to…
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Cypriot MP calls on Gov Niran
PHUKET CITY: Cypriot MP and European Parliament Member Marios Matsakis on August 1 met with top Phuket officials to follow up on Phuket’s progress in disaster prevention measures since the 2004 tsunami. Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit and Chotnarin Kerdsom, chief of the Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention (DDPM-Phuket), were both on hand to brief him. Mr Matsakis, who is…
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Nok Air resumes Phuket service
PHUKET CITY: Nok Air is resuming twice-weekly flights to Phuket from Bangkok following media reports of Phuket-bound tourists stranded in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. The Phuket Gazette’s report as well as other media reports were used by the board in their decision making, Nok Air media and public relations representative Dechavut Vuttisilp told the Gazette. The limited service, which resumes…
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Elderly Belgian hospitalized after roadside incident
PHUKET CITY: A morning cycle ride turned into a nightmare for a 68-year-old Belgian expat who was hospitalized after allegedly being knocked off his bicycle by a pickup truck and then set upon by the driver. Paul Cassiens was cycling along Chao Fa West Rd yesterday morning when at 6:30 am his bike came into contact with a bronze Toyota…
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Superlover meets sticky end
NAKON PATHOM: Many a wife would be happy that her aging husband can still “go all night” without the aid of those little blue pills. As the saying goes, however, you can have too much of a good thing – and a high sex drive can be troublesome, even fatal, as one unfortunate lothario found out at the end of…
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Wasp wipe out a blast
PHRAE: Two teachers in Phrae province were left fuming on June 23 after asking their local council for help in ridding their house of a wasps’ nest only to come back and find that the fumigators had rid them not only of the wasps, but also of half their house. Praphan Saisa-aat, 51, and his wife, K. Rachanee, 53, were…
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Yachting events giant acquires PIMEX
PHUKET: World-class yachting events organizer Informa Yacht Group has acquired the Phuket International Marine Expo (PIMEX), adding Phuket’s premier boating exposition to its calendar of international yachting events.The announcement was made at a press conference at Royal Phuket Marina today, attended by more than 100 press and VIPs, to announce the opening of the new Royal Phuket Marina Exhibition and…
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Backlund murder trial enters final days
PHUKET: The final hearing of witnesses in the Hanna Backlund murder trial will be held this Friday, Phuket Provincial Court Registrar Sittipong Engchuan told the Gazette today.Akaradech Tongay is accused of stabbing Ms Backlund to death in broad daylight at Mai Khao Beach on March 15.He will be given a final chance to add to his confession and Pol Lt Col Somkit…
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New orphanage nearing completion
KOH KAEW: Construction of the Phuket SOS Children’s Village on 10 rai on the road from Thepkrasattri Rd to British International School (BIS) is expected to be completed by the end of this month. The SOS Foundation of Thailand, under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, is a member of the Austria-based charity SOS Kinderdorf International (SOS-KDI). The…
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Phuket-bound tourists stranded in Bangkok
PHUKET: Now that One-Two-Go and Nok Air have stopped flying to Phuket, many tourists are unable to find flights to our southern isle.Angry Finnish tourist Arto Tiitinen called from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok this morning to inform the Gazette that many other irate Phuket-bound tourists were awaiting standby flights.“I’m surprised that there are not extra flights; now my family must holiday elsewhere.…
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Land brokers in murder-suicide
THALANG: A local land broker shot dead his female business partner and then turned the gun on himself in a murder-suicide last Sunday.The incident occurred at Manas House rented apartments on Thepkrasattri Rd in Srisoonthorn.After the owner of the apartment block heard gunshots, he called the police, who arrived at the scene about 5 pm, Pol Maj Prakob Boonkwun told the Gazette.The…
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Soldiers of fortune found dead in Rawai
RAWAI: Two men who worked for a “security” company in Iraq died from suspected drug overdoses in Rawai on Monday while on holiday in Phuket.Australian ex-soldier Jason Gerrard Flynn, 32, from Perth, and James Plunkett Howe, 34, from the UK, were staying in Soi Sammakkee 2 with their Australian friend Mark Leo, who discovered their bodies on Monday morning.“Both of…
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Nok Air ceases Phuket flights
PHUKET: From August 1, low-cost carrier Nok Air will no longer operate flights between Phuket and Bangkok, the Gazette has confirmed.The move follows Nok Air ceasing its services between Krabi and Bangkok on July 1.“Nok Air has no official statement regarding its marketing strategies, but if one looks carefully at what we are doing they might be able to figure…
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“Wave watcher’ may predict tsunamis
PHUKET: An automatic weather station to be installed on Koh Racha Noi will also measure wave and tidal movements, which may be able to help warn against impending tsunamis.The proposal has been approved by the Royal Thai Navy and the Town & Country Planning Department, though the budget required has yet to be determined, said Chumnong Chitpukdee, Director of Southern…
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