Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Yellow shirts active in Phuket
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: Around 100 yellow shirted members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) gathered at the navy base at Cape Panwa yesterday to deliver a letter to the military demanding tough action against the red shirt protesters in Bangkok. PAD members led by Somnuk Tuito and Ms Aparat Chartchutikumjorn gave the letter to Vice Admiral Chumnum Ajwong of…
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Senators tour Phuket mangrove encroachment site
WICHIT, PHUKET: A Senate committee gave its support to Wichit Municipality Tuesday in its bid to secure proper permits for a road and football field it built illegally on mangrove forest land. Led by Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Environment chairman Surachai Liangboonlertchai, the committee members traveled to view the alleged encroachment, which covers five rai. Access to the…
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Phuket police sent to Bangkok
PHUKET: Nearly one-sixth of Phuket’s 1,200-strong police force has been sent to Bangkok to help manage unrest there. Since Monday, 173 officers with crowd control training have been dispatched from police stations on the island. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong denied the move would have any effect on law enforcement in Phuket. “The police left here will do their…
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High fliers in Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: From May 21-23, Phuket will be playing host to its first-ever paragliding competition. Approximately 40 contestants from countries around the world are expected to arrive for the event. Among the challenges that will await the contestants are spot…
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Throat slash murder in Phuket
PHUKET: A 43-year-old man was found murdered in an apartment in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon. Police believe Pirasak Pongchoo, from Phatthalung, may have been killed in anger by his male partner for sleeping with another man. Mr Pirasak’s body was found wrapped in bedsheets in the toilet of his rented room on Wichit Songkram Road Soi 1 around 2:30pm. His…
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Memorial events for Tony Kelsey-Stead in Phuket
PHUKET: In memory of former Phuket resident Tony Kelsey-Stead, who died last week in England, friends and colleagues have arranged two memorial events on the island. The first, organized by The Andaman Players theater group, will feature a free show at The Green Man pub in Chalong at 6:30 pm on Sunday May 2. The performance will feature acts and…
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Phuket to host AFC Cup match
PHUKET TOWN: Instability in Bangkok is once again sending an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup match Phuket’s way. Thailand FA Cup 2009 champions Thai Port FC and NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po of Hong Kong are set to face off in an AFC Cup Group H match tomorrow night at Phuket’s Surakul Stadium. Kick-off is at 6:30pm. Thai Port FC…
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Fake ring puts Phuket woman in jail
PHUKET: Police arrested a woman in Chalong on Saturday for selling a fake gold ring to a gold shop. When she sold the item to the Chao Fa Gold Shop on Chao Fa East Road for 8,200 baht, another shop, allegedly, had already told 25-year-old Sajee Sutthiprapha that the ring was a fake. Phuket’s Chalong Police arrested Ms Sajee, who is…
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Gun crackdown underway in Phuket
KATHU, PHUKET: Thung Thong Police are hoping to cut down on violent crime in their district by cracking down on the illegal possession of firearms. Thung Thong Police Superintendent Kraithong Chanthongbai said there is a particularly high concentration of unauthorized people carrying weapons in tambon Kathu. Many people living in Kathu work nights in Patong as touts and bar workers…
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Compromise needed at new Fresh Market
PHUKET: Pressure is mounting on Phuket City Municipality to reach an agreement with 425 market vendors who have been waiting almost three years for completion of the new fresh market on Ranong Rd. (See story in the current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here.) Most of the vendors have been operating at a temporary market on Wirat…
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Phuket to host Asian bike tour
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: SpiceRoads Cycle Tours has launched an epic journey for cyclists – a 3,000 kilometer bicycle tour from Hanoi to Phuket. Riding through Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, the organizers say it will take 39 days to complete this “trip…
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Hearing on Patong Tunnel in Phuket soon
KATHU, PHUKET: Members of the public will get the chance to air their views on the controversial Patong Tunnel project at a hearing in Phuket on Tuesday. The project, which is currently the subject of a 40-million-baht feasibility study, will see a tunnel bored through the hills separating Patong from the rest of Tambon Kathu. Proponents of the project, including…
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Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: Turning Patong around
PHUKET: Patong Mayor Pian Keesin’s plan to reverse the one-way system in Patong would see traffic on the beach road run south and traffic on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road run north. In general, would this make travel through Patong more convenient for you? Would it inconvenience you? Or would it have no effect? Have your say in the latest Phuket…
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Phuket vies for Indian tourism conference
PHUKET: Around 2,000 Indian tourism professionals will gather in Phuket later this year if the island is selected to host the annual meeting of the Tourism Association of India. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) South Region 4 office director Bangornrat Shinaprayoon said the conference could generate as much as half a billion baht for the local economy if Phuket is…
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Readers’ Poll: Protests damaging Phuket tourism
PHUKET: Most Phuket Gazette readers believe the red-shirt rallies in Bangkok have had a negative effect on the island’s tourism industry, according to the results of our latest poll. With 615 readers casting votes, nearly two-thirds (64.4%) think the demonstrations in Bangkok have damaged tourism to Phuket, despite some earlier industry suggestions that Phuket, as a peaceful destination, could benefit…
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Phuket a super-star for hotel performance
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: According to data compiled by STR Global Hotels and reported by Hotel News Now, the Asia/Pacific region, and most notably Phuket, experienced increases in all three key performance metrics for March 2010. “The Asia/Pacific region is still leading…
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Phuket People Network to PM: stay the course
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket People Network is planning a large rally at Saphan Hin to show support for embattled PM Abhisit Vejjajiva. The PPN is a group of Phuket residents who claim to be neither ‘red’ nor ‘yellow’, but are deeply committed to democratic rule with the Thai Monarch as head of state. Members have been holding daily rallies at…
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Phuket hotels count costs of flight bans
PHUKET: Island hotels are counting the costs to the local hotel industry of the volcanic eruption in Iceland that forced airlines to delay and cancel flights between Europe and Phuket for a week. More than 600 tourists remain stranded on the island days after direct flights to Germany and Belgium were canceled, while many more travelers remain stuck here because…
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Grenade attacks rock Bangkok
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community THE NATIONFive grenades were fired from M-79 launchers at BTS Saladaeng Station and nearby areas last night from unknown launch sites in Bangkok, killing a Thai woman and injuring 75 others including three foreigners, officials said. Ten are in…
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Mystery surrounds Phuket car fire
RASSADA, PHUKET: Police continue to investigate the mysterious explosion and fire that left a Honda Accord a charred wreck on the bypass road in front of Tesco Lotus at about 5:30pm yesterday. The driver, 35-year-old construction contractor Supachai Jongchanasetthakul, was rushed to nearby Bangkok Hospital Phuket, where he was treated for burns to the right side of his stomach. He…
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Will Air Asia become Phuket’s favorite airline?
PHUKET: Given its penchant for quickly fleeing the scene by abandoning routes (such as Phuket-Perth and Phuket-Singapore) when business turns bad, and following notorious fare hikes on routes into Phuket earlier this month, THAI Airways has exposed itself to disenchantment across a wide swath of Phuket’s resident market. And now the island resort province has an increasingly credible suitor –…
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Phuket Governor lobbies AoT for lower airport taxi fees
PHUKET: In a bid to lower taxi fares on the island Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop is lobbying to reduce fees for taxis operating out of Phuket International Airport (PIA). Land Transport Department director Kanok Siripanichkorn told the Gazette today that Gov Wichai sent a letter to Airports of Thailand (AoT) management in Bangkok requesting a meeting by the end of…
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Phuket Police mediate Phanason City dispute
WICHIT, PHUKET: A tentative agreement has been reached between parties involved in a violent confrontation earlier this month at the Phanason City project on Chao Fa East Road in Phuket. In the latest face-off between the two sides, project workers on April 9 demolished local villagers’ vehicles purposely blocking the entrance to the development. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong,…
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‘Phuket People Network’ shows support for PM Abhisit
PHUKET TOWN: Around 500 Phuket residents assembled at Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon to deliver a show of support for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Manoon Kiowkram, leader of the newly-formed ‘Phuket People Network’, handed a formal letter to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop around 4:15pm. The letter urged the embattled prime minister to resist red shirt demands to dissolve parliament. The group…
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Foreigners in 25% of Phuket road accidents over Songkran
PHUKET TOWN: About one-quarter of the injuries recorded in Phuket during the recent Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’ holiday road safety campaign were foreigners, according to official statistics. Figures released by the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM-Phuket) show 60 reported accidents resulting in two deaths in the province from April 12 to 18. Of the total number of…
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“Ironman’ thief nabbed in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: Chalong Police on Monday arrested a man with a motorbike sidecar full of pilfered iron, including drainage grates stolen from local roadways.Amnaj Suebsin, 33, was caught with two stolen iron drainage grates, three car ramps, two supports designed to hold exhaust pipes, an industrial pipe-cutter and various other large pieces of iron.Chalong Police became increasingly concerned about public…
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New Phuket market still on hold
PHUKET TOWN: With the opening of the new market on Ranong Road on hold more than a year after its completion, would-be tenants have filed a complaint charging the municipality with overcharging them on construction costs needed to build food stalls. Work on the project got underway in March 2007, after vendors agreed to move off the site of the…
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Man found dead in Phuket Town jungle
PHUKET TOWN: A 47-year-old man was found dead in a forested area just half a kilometer from the Phuket governor’s house. On April 15, police were searching for evidence in an unrelated case when they discovered the body of Khamkong Yodsaeng from Udon Thani. Duty Officer Chukiat Chaiwiset said it looked like Mr Khamkong had been dead for more than…
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Phuket flights: can Tiger tame THAI?
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Phuket flights: can Tiger tame THAI? Tiger Airways has launched a promotion with special fares for travel from Singapore to Phuket. Asia Travel Tips reports that the deeply discounted tickets, on sale until 21 April, are priced from…
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Serial rapist arrested after day of mayhem in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: A serial rapist has been arrested in Phuket following a Songkran crime spree that left a man fighting for his life in the hospital. Phuket native Sathian ‘Sakai’ Reungjinda, 36, has confessed to raping or attempting to rape 11 women in Phuket in a spate of attacks that began in December last year. Police arrested him at his…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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