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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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Taxi boss fails to get cabs into airport
PHUKET: A metered taxi company has been denied space to operate at Phuket International Airport despite repeated applications and high-level discussions. Today the Phuket Land Transportation Office Committee held a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall with involved parties including Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi; Lt Cdr Boonchart Prompoon, Director of Phuket International Airport (PIA); Weera Kruepanich, representative of Phuket Limousine &…
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Classy thief robs government officers
PHUKET TOWN: A well-dressed thief who allegedly specialized in daring walk-in robberies of government offices is being questioned by police. Prayoon Kruekaew, 26, of Phuket, was arrested at his home on Patipat Rd this afternoon after what appeared to be his latest stunt. He confessed to pulling eight robberies in Phuket and five in Haad Yai. His method was to…
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Patong’s status upgraded to town
PATONG: Patong has grown up, from a tambon to a muang, or town, with a bigger budget and changes to the electoral system. Somkiet Kwansuwan, Palad of Patong Municipal Office explained, “It has been proposed for two years that Patong be upgraded from tambon to muang, and this finally come into effect on Saturday (October 5).” Because of the change,…
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He ain&’t heavy…
PATONG: Patong’s dramatic municipal election developed a fresh twist today when the brother of accused Mayor Surasak Maneesri was nominated for the leading role in his place. But K. Surasak stressed his desire to prove his innocence of allegations of disreputable behavior and replace his brother, Chalermsak, as candidate for mayor before the polls on November 16 and 17. While…
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More die on Phuket’s roads
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s road carnage has increased with a total death toll in the first eight months of the year up by 14% on the same period last year. The new figure brought the island’s road toll for the year to 121 dead and 8,714 injured in all accidents. The toll for the same period last year was 106 dead…
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Airport to expand onsite services
PHUKET: On the 14th anniversary of Phuket International Airport (PIA), Tawat Anukoon, Vice-President of the Airports of Thailand Co, yesterday said that airport services will be improved to cope with an expected rise in the number of aircraft landing at and departing from Phuket. K. Tawat explained that the airport authority expected a 3% rise in air traffic here over…
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Buses win funding boost
PHUKET TOWN: Heartened by figures that show as many as 1,200 paying passengers a day using its public bus service, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has set aside 25 million baht to buy a fleet of smaller buses. Free travel is another option being considered by the OrBorJor under expansion plans for the fledgling Green Bus service. OrBorJor Vice-President…
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Prisoners join Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: More than 200 inmates of the Phuket Provincial Prison are taking part in the Vegetarian Festival this year. Although they will not be joining any marches, the 235 prisoners have donned white T-shirts donated by a local motorbike dealership and will be eating only vegetarian food, supplied by the Jui Tui Shrine. Winai Ruengjaruwattana, who is a member of…
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Former Governor in Patong poll wrangle
PATONG: A former Governor of Phuket has complained about his name and photo being used in the Patong municipal election campaign without his knowledge. Prof Yuwath Wuthimethee, who was governor of Phuket almost 10 years ago, demanded that mayoral candidate Pian Keesin remove his picture from election material being circulated by the Palang Patong Party (Patong Power-PPP). Prof Yuwath, now…
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Web domain hunter clarifies position
PHUKET TOWN: A bid to “return Thai names to Thais” was not aimed at taking control of dotcom businesses that had been created by foreign investment, says a leading player in the Internet domain name debate. Samroeng Chaisorn, vice president of the Phuket OrBorJor, denied this week that he would try to use the law to take control of dotcom…
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Purachai orders Surasak out of office
PATONG: In one of his last acts as Interior Minister, Purachai Piemsomboon signed an order instructing Patong Mayor Surasak Maneesri and one of his two deputies to step down because of allegations of disreputable behavior. The order, signed on Wednesday, K. Purachai’s last day at the Interior Ministry before taking up his new post as Minister of Justice, was delivered…
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Weekend of carnival for Patong
PATONG: The annual Patong Carnival, the opener for the tourism high season, will be extended to three days this year from November 1. Until now a one-day affair, the carnival is to grow and take in new attractions that will set Patong Municipality back about 2 million baht. Details of the 17th carnival, which will start on November 1, were…
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Seafront plans win support
PHUKET TOWN: The powerful Department of Town and Country Planning has backed a scheme to develop Saphan Hin as a sophisticated waterfront area, the first major step towards making Phuket Town an “international city.” A firm that specializes in constructing bayfront regions is now undertaking a feasibility study but feedback from residents will be sought before any proposal is formally…
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Friend turns killer as Burmese argue
PHUKET TOWN: Police are hunting a Burmese seaman after an argument between friends that ended with a murder at the weekend. Residents near the entrance to the fish processing plant on Si Sena Rd told police that one friend stabbed the other in the back about 2 am on Saturday. Phuket Town Police Station officers found the body of a…
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Phuket adopts harvest festival
PHUKET TOWN: The Sart Festival, a one-day traditional celebration of the harvest, is to have official support in Phuket for the first time this year. Usually low-key and held at the end of September, this year’s event will be on Sunday, October 6, coinciding with the Vegetarian Festival. Today Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, president of the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) announced…
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“Garden Village’ plan for Karon
PHUKET TOWN: A new town plan will transform Karon into a “Garden Village”, officials revealed yesterday. Anawath Suwannaded, Chief of the Provincial Town and Country Planning Office, said the Karon project would cover 20 square kilometers. A committee had suggested that Karon should be “an ideal place with green views, where the height of buildings was limited and building colors…
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Big cash boost for ‘villages&’
PHUKET TOWN: The central government will probably increase its loans to “villages” to three million or five million baht soon, a local government official said today. A million baht has already been distributed to each of 114 “villages” on Phuket, fulfilling an election promise made by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Revealing the details today, Suthep Wuthisak of Phuket Provincial Development…
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Blackout mars mayor&’s policy launch
PATONG: A blackout sparked a security scare and interrupted a policy speech by Patong Mayor Surasak Maneesri during the launch of his re-election campaign Saturday night. As the unscheduled lights-out struck the gathering of about 1,000 people, bodyguards rushed to pull the heavily-garlanded mayor down onto the stage and surrounded him in case there had been a security breach. The…
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Non-stop singer sets world record
PHUKET TOWN: He sang for his supper. He sang for his breakfast. He sang for his lunch. And Issarakul “DJ Dedduang” Thamangraksat eventually sang his way into the record books in a 24-hour marathon that ended today at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. The 28-year-old has earned a place in Ripley’s Believe it Or Not! by singing almost 500 songs…
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Police upgrade special skills
PHUKET TOWN: About 60 police graduated today from a three-week course designed to improve their ability to deal with VIP visits, security breaches and a variety of other situations. Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi told the officers that increased crime and marine accidents were byproducts of the growth in tourism and related industries. “Phuket has to prevent crimes and disasters of…
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New work permit fees in force
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette today confirmed that new work permit fees are in operation. Acting on a tip-off, the Gazette visited the offices of the Phuket Provincial Labor and Social Welfare Office, on Sakdidet Rd Soi 1, where the new fees are posted – in Thai only. The new charges, which came into force quietly on September 18, are as…
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Phuket’s ecofuture “starts here’
RAWAI: Key government and private organizations met today to start a serious campaign to protect Phuket’s environment – including Patong, which some say is already “worse than Pattaya”. Backed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the gathering at Rawai sought cooperation across city planning, marine life protection and urban issues such as garbage recycling. Suwan Nantasarut, Director of…
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4,000 invited to mayor’s campaign party
PATONG: Invitations have been sent to 4,000 Patong people to attend the launch of Mayor Surasak Maneesri’s municipal election campaign on Saturday. Festivities, set for the field next to Patong beach, will included a free buffet and drinks and performances on two stages, including sets by popular Look Thoong singers. Mayor Surasak’s Patong Gao-na (Patong Progress) group is running against…
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Seized yacht fails to sell at auction
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Customs sold an impounded dinghy at auction today but retained a yacht that failed to bring a satisfactory bid. The yacht, “Silachai”, was seized at the Boat Lagoon on March 7 last year and sent for auction after the case was closed. Only one bid of 480,000 baht was received today. A new auction date will be…
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Anti-foreigner sentiment runs high at local chamber meeting
PHUKET: Just when foreigners in Phuket were beginning to regain confidence in Thailand as a place in which to invest, a Member of Parliament has once again clouded the skies by suggesting a massive rise in the fees for an initial work permit, from the current 300 baht to as much as 300,000 baht. The astonishing announcement was made today…
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Laguna appoints new Deputy MD
CHERNG TALAY: Laguna Resorts & Hotels (LRH) has appointed American Bill Barnett to the newly created post of Deputy Managing Director of the company. Mr Barnett, 43, will be responsible for overseeing the portfolio of non-hotel businesses at Laguna. These include Laguna Services Co, Laguna Property Sales, the Allamanda Vacation Club, Canal Village Laguna Shopping and Laguna Travel & Tours.…
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Large turnout tipped for King’s Cup
PHUKET TOWN: Organizers expect about 80 yachts and up to 700 sailors from 20 countries to take part in this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. The event dates of November 30 to December 7 were confirmed today at a meeting between regatta officials and Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi. He said the 16th annual regatta would also form a part of…
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Green fuel puts smugglers out of business
PHUKET: Lateral thinking by authorities appears to have won the day with official Green Fuel far outselling smuggled fuel in the Andaman Sea. The green-dyed diesel fuel is sold free of excise tax and VAT to Thai fishing boats as a way to stop them buying cheap fuel in international waters, or smuggled fuel in Thai waters. Pol Maj Prasert…
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84 fined for after-hours drinking
PHUKET TOWN: Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen led raids at the weekend on two nightspots in Phuket Town, netting 84 revelers who were fined 500 baht each for after-hours drinking. During the raids on Variety on Rassada Rd and Mondo on Yaowarat Rd, the urine of three women and two men tested positive for illegal drugs. Samples have been sent to Bangkok…
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Spectacle launches Pian&’s election campaign
PATONG: Former mayor Pian Keesin launched the Palang Patong Party’s (Patong Power – PPP) municipal election campaign at the weekend with a spectacular fair and a stage show that drew an audience of 500 people. PPP supporters who gathered outside the candidate’s house on Phra Baramee Rd enjoyed a free buffet, drinks and the show, plus a big-screen presentation of…
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