Phuket News
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Expert demonstrates power of rip current at Phuket’s deadliest beach
PHUKET: It’s that time of year, when the dark moisture-laden clouds tumble into this island paradise and the sea turns into frothing, churning mayhem. But that doesn’t stop people from jumping in for a little dip and next thing they know the beach has dropped out from beneath their feet and constant pounding waves start to wear them out. Such…
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Thai society, Phuket struggle to survive a bender
Special Report Thailand consumes more than twice as much booze as the average Southeast Asian country, and faces the multitude of problems that come along with it, according to the World Health Organization and Phuket experts. Here, the Phuket Gazette‘s Chutharat Plerin investigates. PHUKET: A barrage of statistics released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its “2014 Global report…
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Australian embassy extends best wishes for Ramadan
PHUKET: The Australian Ambassador to Thailand, James Wise, has issued a special message to all Muslim Australians, who will begin celebrating the holy month of Ramadan within the coming days. Amb Wise echoed the Ramadan message by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, issued in a statement on Friday, noting that Thailand’s Muslim community made a vibrant contribution to Thai society.…
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Swedish cyclists bound for Phuket delayed at Iranian border
PHUKET: Despite visa delays, the team of bold Swedish cyclists peddling their way from Northern Europe to Phuket to raise funds for a post-tsunami orphanage (story here) are on target to arrive before the 10th anniversary of the 2004 tsunami that devastated the region on Boxing Day. As of yesterday, the team was just 35km from the border of Iran…
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Phuket’s German honorary consul to retire after 12 years of service
PHUKET: Dedicated German Honorary Consul for Phuket Dirk Naumann will retire next month, after 12 years of service on the island. Mr Naumann will hand the honorary baton over to his daughter, Anette Jimenez Hoechstetter. “My last day will be July 18. That same day, my daughter will take over the position of German honorary consul for Phuket,” Mr Naumann…
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Quicksilver catches breaks at Kata Beach to re-brand Phuket low season
PHUKET: National surf pros glided into Phuket for Quicksilver’s official opening of the Phuket surf season at Kata Beach today. “We used to have our surf event in September, but this year… we just kicked it off to let people know our surf season is starting in Phuket now,” said Surached Mungthong, QS Retail (Thailand) Ltd general manager. “We are…
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Phuket Police arrest first suspect in gang murder of hotel staffer
PHUKET: Police have arrested one suspect involved in the fatal stabbing of a Karon hotel employee last weekend in Phuket Town. Sudjai Treerat, 29, confessed to driving the motorbike spotted in CCTV footage taken after the attack, Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of the Phuket City Police told the Phuket Gazette. “Mr Sudjai has been charged with gang murder,” Col Somsak…
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Breaking News: Debt-trapped Cambodians rescued in Phuket from human trafficker
PHUKET: Officers accompanied by armed soldiers today descended on a clothing store in the heart of Phuket Town to safely recover two Cambodians who were trafficked to Phuket to work for 90 baht a day. The Cambodians, a husband and wife, were taken to Phuket Provincial Hall, along with three other Cambodian women found working in the shop Lai Sua…
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Phuket tour bus driver charged with hit-and run slaying of Kamnan Winai’s son
PHUKET: Police have charged a driver from local bus company Phuket ARS Tour for the hit-and-run accident that killed Kiattisak Chidchiew, the 19-year-old son of Winai Chidchiew, late Wednesday night. Mr Kiattisak was riding his motorbike home along the Karon beachfront road when a bus approached him from behind, caused him to fall off his bike, and then ran over…
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World Cup over for Suarez after record ban for biting
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World Cup over for Suarez after record ban for biting Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Uruguay’s Luis Suarez was hit with the biggest ban imposed at a World Cup on Thursday as FIFA threw the book at one of soccer’s most talented but controversial players for…
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Ronaldo misfires as Portugal and Ghana bow out
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ronaldo misfires as Portugal and Ghana bow out Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of the World Cup but crucially wasted several other good chances in Portugal’s 2-1 win over a haphazard Ghana on Thursday that sent both sides home. The…
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Officials plan future for Phuket’s beaches
PHUKET: Top officials from Phuket’s most popular beach towns gathered at Provincial Hall today to sift through the sands and dream up a new look for the island’s coastline. “We will clear all beach chairs, umbrellas and establishments that do not meet provincial standards from all of Phuket’s beaches,” said Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, who spearheaded the meeting. Provincial…
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Breaking News: Phuket taxi mafia kingpin suspects out on bail
PHUKET: Karon’s “Big Four” taxi mafia kingpin suspects have all been released on court bail, despite Phuket police insistence that they were all to be denied bail (story here). The four high-ranking officials – Kata-Karon Deputy Mayors Ithiporn Sangkeaw and Sompong Dabpetch, Director of the Kata-Karon Municipality Engineering Division Wanchai Sae-Tan and the Kata-Karon Municipality Chief Administrative Officer Weerasak Anekwongsawat…
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Long-term Phuket Police volunteer passes away
PHUKET: Swedish expat Lars Goran Dikander, 66, passed away on Monday in Chon Buri surrounded by his family. He will be missed by many, said Wal Brown, head co-ordinator of the Royal Thai Police Region 8 volunteers on the island. “Lars had been here [in Phuket] and helping people for years – since the tsunami,” Mr Brown noted. “He was…
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One Phuket post office, seven boxes, two days, eight drug arrests
PHUKET: Police arrested eight men over a two-day period as they collected boxes containing kratom from a Phuket post office. Suspicions were aroused when seven well-wrapped boxes, all the same size and all about the same weight, arrived on the same day from Bangkok. “One of the staff at the Phuket Post Office notified us and we sent plain clothes…
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Phuket cobra caught napping in the shade
PHUKET: A man sweeping in front of his house in Rassada, north of Phuket Town, yesterday afternoon stood and watched as a brazen three-meter cobra slithered out from under a bush to rest in the shade on his front porch. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation, who are well practiced in catching and releasing snakes found near homes throughout Phuket,…
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Bite set to eat into Suarez’s sponsorship cash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bite set to eat into Suarez’s sponsorship cash Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Luis Suarez risks losing lucrative commercial deals following his bite on a World Cup opponent, with poker brand 888 saying on Wednesday it was reviewing its sponsorship agreement with the Uruguayan. Suarez, who plays for…
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Murray eager to extinguish Blaz in round two
PHUKET: Andy Murray will take a trip into the unknown against Slovenian world number 92 Blaz Rola as he continues the defense of his Wimbledon title in the second round on Wednesday. After overcoming his first-day nerves and David Goffin on day one, Murray will be back to face the little-known Rola – and surprisingly the British hero has been…
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Phuket deputy mayors surrender to face taxi-mafia abuse of power charges
PHUKET: Four high-ranking officials, including two deputy mayors, have surrendered to police to face abuse of power charges in Phuket’s ongoing campaign to rid the island of taxi-mafia operators. Kata-Karon Deputy Mayors Ithiporn Sangkeaw and Sompong Dabpetch surrendered themselves at Phuket Provincial Police headquarters in Phuket Town. Director of the Kata-Karon Municipality Engineering Division Wanchai Sae-Tan and the Kata-Karon Municipality…
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Police ready to take down high-ranking Karon officials in Phuket taxi-mafia raid
PHUKET: A large task force of police officers is marshalling at Phuket Provincial Police headquarters in Phuket Town, ready to deploy to Karon, to arrest at least four top-ranking officials today for their roles in supporting mafia-style taxi operators. Maj Gen Paween Pongisirin, Deputy Commander of Royal Thai Police Region 8 division who is spearheading the Phuket taxi mafia takedown,…
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Colombia crush Japan 4-1 and next face Uruguay
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Colombia crush Japan 4-1 and next face Uruguay Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Colombia striker Jackson Martinez scored twice as they thrashed Japan 4-1 to maintain their 100 percent record and claim top spot in Group C on Tuesday to set up a mouthwatering second-round clash…
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Phuket visa runners caught in “cash only’ immigration scare
PHUKET: A van full of foreigners returning to Phuket from a visa run to Penang were delayed at the Malaysian border for more than two and a half hours today as Thai immigration officers demanded that they all present large amounts of cash to confirm that they each had enough money to fund their stay in Thailand. Any foreigners who…
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New crowd-sourced data shows Phuket yacht sighting, MH370 flight path correlate
PHUKET: Crowd-sourced research plotting the projected flight path of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 by using data from Inmarsat satellites may have confirmed that a British woman sailing from India to Phuket spotted the ill-fated flight over the Andaman Sea. British sailor Katherine Tee, 41, was sailing from Cochin, India to Phuket with her husband when on March 7 she…
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Officers pull down last illegal taxi stand in Patong
PHUKET: Armed soldiers were on guard as Phuket officers pulled down the last illegal taxi stand in Patong this afternoon. The taxi shack, in front of the Diamond Cliff Resort and Spa, had escaped destruction when 12 other stands were demolished on June 6 (story here). Drivers asserted that it had been in position for more than 30 years and…
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Krabi nursery school invaded by mysterious, smelly, burning bugs
PHUKET: An attack of mysterious bugs at a Krabi nursery school has frightened teachers and students and may cause the students to be moved out. The black bugs, about one centimeter long, have a putrid smell and cause a burning sensation when touched, Piyawan Chamnongrak, a teacher at the school, told the Phuket Gazette. “They appeared yesterday afternoon, from where…
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Neymar inspires Brazil, Dutch storm on at World Cup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Neymar inspires Brazil, Dutch storm on at World Cup Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Brazil’s poster-boy striker Neymar fulfilled a nation’s expectations to score twice in a 4-1 destruction of Cameroon on Monday while the Netherlands again showed their potential to win the World Cup with…
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Phuket police slap seahorse, illegal coral vendor with conservation lesson
PHUKET: A vendor selling several pieces of illegal black coral jewellery in a Sea Gypsy village in Phuket was given a stern warning and a lesson on conservation Saturday afternoon. “We got a tip-off about the vendor near Rawai Pier, and asked Chalong Police officers to check it out,” Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources…
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Police beat war drum as arrest warrants issued for ‘untouchables’
PHUKET: Officers are ready to go to war when serving the arrest warrants issued for the “untouchables” of Patong, Deputy Commander of Regional Police Paween Pongsirin told the Phuket Gazette today. “We have enough information to arrest some ‘big people’, including politicians,” Maj Gen Paween said. “At this stage, I cannot reveal how many officers will participate or when we…
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Aussie surf safety expert to teach how to survive Phuket’s deadly rip currents
International specialist on rip currents and beach safety Associate Professor Robert Brander will stage a dramatic visual demonstration of the power of rip currents at Phuket’s deadliest stretch of sand, Karon Beach, this Thursday. Dr Brander is a coastal geomorphologist and senior lecturer at the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales in…
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Slip on Phuket rocks costs fisherman his life
PHUKET: A man fishing on rocks at Laem Sing promontory, on Phuket’s west coast, slipped and fell to his death yesterday afternoon. Sakorn Lamnaonan, 35, had taken a neighbor’s 10-year-old son to fish with him at about noon, Lt Prasert Thongprom of Kamala Police told the Phuket Gazette. “It was very windy and big waves were washing over the rocks,…
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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