Phuket News
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Phuket police beef up Patong security
PHUKET: Police in Kathu are boosting their presence on the streets of Patong for Phuket’s tourism high season. At a meeting with his top officers earlier this week, Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao called for his officers to boost security, in terms of crime suppression and safety, and to work towards reducing the number of accidents involving tourists during the…
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High-tech clearance on the horizon for Phuket yachts
PHUKET: Travelers entering Thailand via the new Chalong Marina will have the option of submitting official entrance and registration documents electronically, before reaching the port. The Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) is on schedule to complete the new registration system by February next year as construction on the complex continues. Construction is expected to finish by September next year. SIPA…
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Phuket carnival underway
PHUKET: Thousands of people in Phuket flocked to the streets of Patong to watch or join the annual Patong Carnival parade last night.Starting at 5pm with Patong Municipality’s ‘Pearl of the Andaman’ float, complete with its own angel of the clam, the parade continued for three hours. School bands and the traditional ladyboys dressed in glamorous outfits marched along the…
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Phuket Pirates: Being evil isn’t all it’s cut out to be
PHUKET: The Andaman Players new musical comedy, The Pirates of Phuket, takes to the stage of Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Patong this Saturday evening, offering some sage advice for anyone considering a change of vocation. For instance, it’s well worth thinking twice before settling on “Evil Genius” as your new career path. As the Players ably explain in…
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German’s Phuket stay goes to pot
PHUKET: A 33-year-old German man is facing deportation after being found overstaying his visa and in possession of half a gram of marijuana. Chalong Police stopped Nico Bergmann about midday on Sunday as he drove through a checkpoint in Soi Thanuthep. Officers, led by Lt Col Weerayut Sitthirattanakul, believed Mr Bergmann was acting suspiciously and searched his car. In his…
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Rising fuel costs will not affect Phuket buses: Transport Chief
PHUKET: The move to increase bus fares nationwide will not affect buses operating within Phuket, the local Transport Office chief has confirmed. The news follows Thai Passenger Bus Association Chairwoman Sujinda Cherdchai meeting Department of Land Transport Director-General Tienchote Chongpeepien yesterday. The meeting was called by Ms Sujinda, whose group is seeking to increase bus fares by six satang per…
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Phuket November: A month of murder
PHUKET: There were five premeditated murders in Phuket last month, according to crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police. Once again leading the number of reported cases and arrests were narcotics offenses. Overall 320 people were arrested in 282 cases, a 4.7% decrease year-on-year. The breakdown of these arrests was listed as follows: Consumption: 116 arrests Possession: 114 arrests…
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Phuket Rotary joins anti-polio effort
PHUKET: Rotary Clubs on the island are joining the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) in the local effort to eradicate polio. Rotarians will lend a hand at the PPHO’s upcoming mobile polio vaccination clinics to be held across the island as part of National Immunization Day for Polio Eradication on December 15. On the day, free polio vaccinations will be…
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Phuket’s sad tale of two Russians
PHUKET: Russian tourist Nikoley Bobrova, 64, rushed to his wife’s aid as soon as he saw her in trouble in Phuket’s surf yesterday but could not save her. Mr Bobrova and his wife Irina, also 64, arrived in Phuket on holiday on December 1. The couple were due to fly home tomorrow. Police said the couple arrived at Karon Beach…
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High-speed train may help visa runners, but not from Phuket
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said this afternoon that construction of the Nong Khai-Bangkok-Padang Besar high-speed train will start next year and be completed in four years. Nong Khai is a northern Thai town on the border with Laos, often transited by foreigners in Phuket on visa runs to Vientiene. Padang Besar (PB) is a border town in the…
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Phuket not surveyed, but Bangkok now ranked as world’s 2nd cheapest city
PHUKET: In what can only be good news for Phuket and the Thai tourism industry, Bangkok appears as the second most affordable city in the world, according to a list compiled and published by PriceRunner.com yesterday. Oslo tops the list of the world’s most expensive cities, and each of the Scandinavian capitals appears in the top seven. According to a…
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Thai Inflation: Phuket may be at the forefront next year
PHUKET: A national committee on public-sector compensation is expected to seek Cabinet approval on Tuesday to raise the salaries of all civil servants, MPs and senators by 5-14.9%. If approved, it will cost taxpayers an extra 13 billion baht a year, according to a well placed government source. The proposal comes on the heels of news earlier this month that…
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Phuket tsunami warning buoys arrive
PHUKET: The ship bringing the two tsunami direct-detection buoys to be installed off Phuket has arrived at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) ship docked with the “tsunameters” on board at the PMBC pier last night after setting sail from Samut Prakarn on Monday. The ship will depart about 1…
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New Phuket Town road to “open’ Christmas Eve
PHUKET: The new Phuket Town road linking Sakdidet Road and Chao Fa East Road will be officially opened on December 24. “The public should be informed officially that the road is finally finished and ready to use,” said Governor Tri Augkaradacha, who will preside over the ceremony. The 684-meter road, known as Sai Phang Muang Kor Rd, is already open…
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Phuket’s DEA “drug lord’ souvenirs on hold
PHUKET: The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office in Bangkok has confirmed that its “spot a drug lord” souvenirs will not be available in Phuket until the new year. The souvenir items, a collection of coffee mugs, pens and T-shirts bearing images of some of the DEA’s “most wanted” drug traffickers, were initially intended to be distributed this week to…
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Phuket storm pushes King’s Cup racers aground
PHUKET: Racers in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta are working furiously this morning to recover several yachts pushed ashore by strong winds and swell during the night. The last race of the regatta was canceled as organizers stared at four boats beached at Kata Beach and seven boats caught in the surf break. Many boats have already left the bay…
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Evolution Racing wins Phuket King’s Cup 2010
PHUKET: Ray Roberts and his Evolution Racing crew just held onto series honors today to win the 24th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. It was a dramatic start for Roberts. Missing the start gun put Evolution at the back of the pack on the start line. Then the big boat of the fleet, Frank Pong’s Jelik III, along with Song Xia…
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Major Phuket blackouts announced
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced three scheduled blackouts to affect Chao Fa East and Chao Fa West Roads in Chalong – two of the busiest roads in the south of the island. Power supply along these roads will be shut off in order to carry out maintenance on high voltage power lines, install new lines and…
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Phuket’s Laem Phromthep now a no-smoking landmark
PHUKET: Laem Phromthep is now a no-smoking peninsular. “The prohibition zone starts at the bottom of the stairs and extends along the hill,” Rawai Municipality officer Sanya Kontien told the Gazette. The ban, which includes the drinking of alcohol, began at the end of last month and signs have been posted to inform visitors at Phuket’s iconic tourist attraction. The…
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Phuket Poll: Fair to have English tests for UK spousal visas?
PHUKET: All Thais must now pass an English-language test in order to be granted a visa to stay in the United Kingdom on the basis of being a spouse or legal companion of a UK national. Is this new restriction, which applies to all non-Europeans, appropriate and fair? Have your say by voting in the new Phuket Gazette readers’ poll…
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Phuket divers to clean up Patong Bay
PHUKET: Divers from the Thai Diving Association and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Phuket office will stage an underwater cleanup in Patong Bay next Thursday. “The underwater waste to be collected includes fishing nets thrown overboard by fishermen as well as empty bottles of beer and other alcohol that tourists have thrown into the sea,” Ongart Chanacharnmongkol, Director…
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Gang slays Phuket security guard
PHUKET: After standing up to a gang of young thugs, a security guard was gunned down at a municipal parking lot in Phuket yesterday. Phuket City Police were notified of the murder at 7:40am by residents at the new government workers’ housing complex off Rattanakosin 200 Pi Road in Wichit. Officers led by Phuket City Police chief Wanchai Ekpornpit rushed…
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SDF moves to stave off Phuket distemper outbreak
PHUKET: Soi Dog Foundation, one of Phuket’s leading animal welfare organizations, is calling for help in its efforts to prevent an island-wide outbreak of the dreaded canine disease distemper. “Soi Dog is currently working around the clock doing mass vaccinations of dogs at temples and other locations. Distemper has been virtually eradicated in the west; however this is not the…
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Phuket King’s Cup “lost’ crewman
PHUKET: The crew of Pytheas Aura, a 14-meter cutter racing in the King’s Cup Regatta, woke this morning to find fellow crewman, Canadian Joseph James Patrick, 42, dead on his bunk. Police believed he died of a heart attack. Mr Patrick had lived on Phuket for several years, staying in the Kata area, a friend told the Gazette. He apparently…
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Phuket caddie gunned down, killed
PHUKET: A caddie at the Mission Hills golf club in Phuket was killed by single gunshot to the back of the head yesterday morning. Thalang Police identified the victim as Amornrat Petchtrong, 26. Local villagers discovered her body before dawn on an access road about 200 meters from the golf course in Pa Khlok. An eyewitness told police he was…
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Phuket Gazette poll: Will the Patong Tunnel ever see daylight?
PHUKET: A majority of Gazette online readers think the Patong Tunnel will become a reality some day – but they disagree on when that day will come. In the latest readers’ poll, readers were asked: Do you think the proposed tunnel beneath Patong Hill will ever be built? And if so, when? Overall, almost two-thirds of respondents (64.4%) thought the…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Day 2 update
PHUKET: With the final provisional results just in for today’s racing in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2010, Ray Robert’s Evolution Racing has kept pole position in the Racing class with arch rival Neil Pryde’s HiFi still in second place. The Evolution crew have so far secured four wins from five races. With three races left in the regatta, the…
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Phuket King’s Cup: Evolution extends lead
PHUKET: Stiff breeze offshore made for good yacht racing today, day two of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2010, with Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing extending their lead in the Racing class by one point. Arch rival Neil Pryde and his crew on HiFi drew first blood yesterday, winning the regatta’s opening race, but Evolution fought back from their disappointing fourth-place…
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Evolution Racing leads Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2010
PHUKET: Defending Racing class champion Neil Pryde on HiFi started the first day of Phuket King’s Cup Regatta (KCR) 2010 today with a win, but it was Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing who closed the day leading the class. After placing fourth in the first race this morning, Evolution recovered to win the next two races. “In the first race there…
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Phuket ramps up Christmas blood drive
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center is stepping up its blood donation campaign in the run-up to the”Seven Days of Danger”, when more supplies will be needed to meet an expected increase in road accidents over the holidays. The Phuket chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society has announced that the center’s mobile blood collection clinic will accept donations at…
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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