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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TAT calls Phuket businesses to tourism trade show
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is inviting tourism-related businesses in Phuket and throughout the region to take part in its Thailand Travel Mart 2012 (TTM 2012), to be held June 6 to 8 at Impact Muang Thong Thani Exhibition Center in Nonthaburi. TTM 2012 will feature products and services related to eco-tourism, golf, health and wellness, and weddings…
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FC Phuket to play at Surakul on Saturday, but no cheering allowed
PHUKET: An appeal by FC Phuket to be allowed to play their last home match of the season at Surakul Stadium has been approved by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), but only under the bizarre proviso that home-side fans not be allowed to cheer their team in any way. “Fans will only be allowed to sit still. There can…
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Methee, 7, passes away at Vachira Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette is sad to report that Methee Khunsuinhu, the seven-year-old boy pulled unconscious from a lagoon near Nai Harn Beach on New Year’s Day, has died. Inquiries have revealed that Methee died in the intensive care unit at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town at 7:15am yesterday. He was put on life support after his rescue on…
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Best of Phuket Awards announced on line today
PHUKET: The 29 winners of Phuket’s 2011 ‘Best of Phuket’ Awards in the Business, Service, Environment and Restaurant categories have been announced and go on line today. The winners (4) in the ‘Person of the Year’ category were announced in the Gazette Online on Sunday. They won for their hard work and success over many years with the iconic Phuket…
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Phuket records second day without death on the roads
PHUKET: Today marks the last day of the “Seven Days of Danger” holiday road-safety campaign. No fatalities were recorded in Phuket yesterday, Day 6 of the campaign, with the number of fatalities standing at six. According to official figures from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket Office (DDPM-Phuket) this morning, Day 6 ended with nine serious injuries in…
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Work on Central Phuket underpass to start this year
PHUKET: Pheu Thai MP and former Finance Minister Suchart Thadathamrongvech today announced that work on the much-debated underpass at the Darasamut Intersection (also known as the Central Festival Intersection) will start this year. The news was announced this afternoon at a public meeting at the Phuket Community Hall, near Phuket Provincial Hall, in Phuket Town. Sriyada Palimaphan, Secretary to the…
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Phuket’s New Year revelers start the long journey home
PHUKET: Phuket Land Transport Office Chief Terayout Prasertphol has ordered more buses be provided to ensure that all tourists who came to Phuket to celebrate the new year will get home in time to start 2012 without delay. “I have ordered the [state bus operator] BorKorSor to boost bus services by 20 per cent to ensure that no passengers are…
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FC Phuket to appeal home match ban
PHUKET: FC Phuket has filed an appeal with the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), asking that it be allowed to play its final home match of the season at Surakul Stadium on January 7, as originally scheduled. FC Phuket secretary Soranan Sanae said the appeal follows a ruling by the FAT board that the team lose its right to host…
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Bob Dwyer to hold Phuket rugby clinic
PHUKET: Phuket Rugby in conjunction with Strategic Sports are proud to present the first of three rugby coaching clinics to be held in Phuket this year. The clinics are to be run by World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer and Mike Penistone of Bob Dwyer’s Rugby Workshops. The first of the courses will be held from March 9 to 11,…
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Buakaw wows Phuket’s Muay Thai fans
PHUKET: Muay Thai fans gathered at Patong Boxing Stadium for a special performance of the ancient martial art by Thailand’s number one fighter, Buakaw Por Pramuk. Buakaw exhibited a range of techniques with his sparring partners, Kaolanlek Kaovichit and Paosee Kaovichit. They performed ritual dancing to pay respects to the Muay Thai guardian (Wai Kru) which was followed by an…
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After “bloody’ New Year, Phuket holiday road toll eases
PHUKET: After New Year’s Day claimed the lives of three Phuket motorists, carnage during Day 5 of the “Seven Days of Danger” holiday road-safety campaign was relatively light, with no fatalities and just six injuries reported. According to figures provided by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket Office (DDPM-Phuket), none of the six accidents reported yesterday were attributed…
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ACG official opening dates announced
PHUKET: Dates for the official opening of Phuket’s first dedicated cricket facility, the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG), have been announced with a two-day event scheduled for January 28 and 29, 2012. The ACG has already hosted a number of international touring teams in celebration of the ground’s establishment, including the prestigious Singapore Cricket Club who played in Phuket at the…
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Phuket Poll: Most-needed tourism development project for 2012
PHUKET: The year that was 2011 saw rapid development of the tourism sector in Phuket that was largely led by private-sector development in new hotels and new attractions, as highlighted in our Annual Review in the current issue of the Phuket Gazette on news stands now. [Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.] Meanwhile, several government plans to…
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Parents hold onto hope as boy lies comatose in Phuket
PHUKET: The parents of seven-year-old Methee “Shogun” Khunsuinhu have told the Phuket Gazette they will hold on to whatever time they have left with their young boy. Methee remains comatose on life support in the intensive care unit at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town after being rescued unconscious in a natural pool at Nai Harn Beach on Saturday. Sitting…
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Russian woman dies in Phuket motorbike accident
PHUKET: A young Russian woman died when her motorbike was hit by a car early yesterday, making her the sixth road accident fatality in the first four days of the “Seven Days of Danger” holiday road-safety campaign in Phuket. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket Office (DDPM-Phuket) identified the deceased as 26-year-old Elena Kireeva. According to DDPM-Phuket, Ms…
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New Year’s Eve pub murder rocks Phuket
PHUKET: A simmering dispute between two Patong business owners turned deadly on New Year’s Eve when one gunned down his rival outside a well-known Phuket pub just before dawn yesterday. The shooting was reported to Patong Police by 15-year-old Rachain Noonpakdee, said a report in today’s Siangtai Daily newspaper. Rachain said that one of the “big brothers”, 35-year-old Wirote “Baomee”…
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Phuket’s ‘Persons of the Year’: A Sailor’s Salute
PHUKET: As with our Person of the Year Award in 2009, we have opted for the plural again this year and are delighted to announce that the honor goes to four of the driving forces behind the annual Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Many forces are required to stage an event of this magnitude, but because of the length of their…
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A New Year’s message from the Phuket Governor
SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR OF PHUKET Tri Augkaradacha took up the position of Phuket Governor in October 2009 after serving almost four years as vice governor. Having already reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 years, he will finish his career in the civil service at the end of October this year. Since his appointment as Governor, he has…
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Wishing all a very happy New Year
PHUKET: One would guess that quite a few of Phuket’s residents were up well past their usual bed times last night as 2011 slipped into history and 2012 dawned. It’s probably likely that for an equal number it was business as usual, with 3am considered a respectable time for turning in. Regardless, what to do now that those long made…
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Phuket boosts water-safety as New Year countdown nears
PHUKET: As the Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign continues across Phuket, the Marine Police are joining the effort on the water by stepping up safety checks and deploying vessels to conduct 24-hour operations. The moves comes as Phuket struggles to accommodate the huge influx of tourists who have arrived for the island’s “peak season” in tourism, a period that…
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Phuket New Year road toll battered as three die
PHUKET: The Phuket authorities’ goal to keep the road toll this year under the four deaths of last year suffered a severe setback when three men died in motorcycle accidents on Thursday night – the first night of this year’s ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign. Polish national Pawel Jack Gilman, 37, died after the limited edition Liverpool FC…
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Russian tourist dies in fall at Phuket home
PHUKET: A Russian tourist died in a fall from an interior balcony at a holiday rental home in Kathu, central Phuket, early yesterday morning. Thung Thong Police received a report at 2:45am that Russian tourist Anton Oleynikov, 32, had died in the fall at the private residence at Loch Palm. Police Duty Officer Chana Suttimard said that Mr Oleynikov and…
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Phuket yachting community remembers lost sailor
PHUKET: Friends of long-term Phuket expat Leslie Beasley, who was found dead on a yacht moored in Chalong Bay on December 23, have told the Gazette about their shock and sadness over the local sailor’s death. Mr Beasley was looking after the yacht for the owner, who is currently overseas. His body was discovered after the owner had repeatedly failed…
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Russians in hospital after tour van smash
PHUKET: Four Russian tourists on their way to a Phuket magic show got a painful dose of reality on Thursday night, when the passenger van they were riding in collided with a delivery truck south of Patong. The accident happened at about 7pm on Wiset Road in front of Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort on the first day of the…
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Phuket police nab sacrilegious burglar
PHUKET: Phuket City Police on Wednesday arrested a serial thief caught with stolen religious objects, jewelry and other items. Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai said Wichit resident Eakkat Tipmart, 29, confessed to burglarizing the Phuket Town apartment of Saengduan Chaigma. It was just the latest burglary in a string of similar thefts, Col Chote said. Ms Saengduan, 39, reported to police…
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New Phuket Police chief orders holiday crackdown
PHUKET: Newly-installed Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangku has ordered all officers on the island to strictly enforce the law and ensure public safety over the New Year holiday now underway. Chonasit Wattanavrangkul, whose last assignment was as Songkhla Provincial Police Commander, took over the position from Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong in the latest police reshuffle announced on Christmas Day.…
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Phuket employers urged to hire disabled workers
PHUKET: With the Phuket labor shortage reaching critical levels, authorities are encouraging employers to hire more disabled workers and are advising large organizations that they are legally required to do so. Officials from Phuket Provincial Office, Phuket Provincial Employment Office and the Human Development and Security Office held a recent meeting to inform employers about the subject at the Phuket…
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Disgraceful strategy
PHUKET: “We have been done in the past – like with Woodgate. We should have surrounded the referee to get him sent off.” Stephen Hunt, Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder, suggests his team mates need to follow the example of other sides by ganging up on officials to encourage correct or even harsher decisions. Hunt was referring to their recent match against…
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Snakes in a sack seized on Koh Lanta
PHUKET: A fruit seller has been caught smuggling protected snakes onto Koh Lanta in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. Pin Sangduk, 43, was found with eight live snakes stuffed into fertilizer sacks in the back of his pickup truck, which was otherwise loaded with fruit. Mr Pin was caught when Sgt Maj Terdsak Rakdaeng of Koh Lanta…
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Soi Bangla Phuket’s number one attraction: Poll
PHUKET: Soi Bangla is the number one “must see” tourist attraction in Phuket, according to the results of a recent Phuket Gazette online survey. On December 6, the Gazette asked readers: Phuket has so many tourist attractions that most visitors to the island do not have enough time to see them all during their stays. Given this fact, which of…
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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