Phuket News
-
Sponsored Pre-existing conditions? These expat insurance plans still have you covered
Many expats feel worried that their pre-existing health problems will stop them from getting insurance in a new country. This fear is common, especially when medical care can be expensive. But the good news is, some insurance, like the plans...
-
Four questioned in Horton murder probe
KOH SAMUI (The Nation/Phuket Gazette): Police detained four men last night for questioning as part of their investigation into the murder of Welsh university student Katherine Horton on this popular resort island. They also took DNA samples from the four, all employees of a resort close to the bungalow where Ms Horton, 21, was staying. Witnesses saw the men dining…
-
Phi Phi construction ban eased
PHI PHI ISLANDS: The government has finally allowed construction of tsunami relief homes on Koh Phi Phi Don, along with temporary structures so that locals may conduct business.Phankam Kitithorakul, Chairman of the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), the local authority responsible for the Phi Phi Islands, told the Gazette, “[It is] lucky for us that I had the chance…
-
Thalang man stabbed to death
THALANG: A young Thai man was stabbed to death in the early morning of January 2 at Baan Li Porn. A motive for the murder has not yet been determined.The police received a phone call at around 1 am from a local citizen saying that a man had been stabbed in front of the car tire store Baan Li Porn…
-
UK student found dead on Samui
SAMUI: The policeman in charge of the investigation into the death of British tourist Catherine Horton suspects foul play may be responsible, but said that a preliminary police examination of the body revealed no signs of assault or rape. Pol Maj Thanongsak Aksornsom of the Samui District Police told the Gazette that Miss Horton ‘s body, in a black dress,…
-
One killed and 67 injured over New Year
PHUKET: One man was killed and 67 people were injured in road accidents in Phuket over the New Year celebrations.The fatal accident occurred at 4:30 am in Chalong on December 31 when a motorcycle collided with a pickup truck. The motorcyclist, Suwit Mumngen, was killed instantly.Siriporn Sasu, an officer with the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told…
-
Gambling tops arrests for December
PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling came out trumps once again to top the arrests table, with 256 people arrested from December 1 to 25 for the offense. Thirty-seven cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Two murders were reported during the month, with one case solved. There were two cases of attempted murder in…
-
Bar girl allegedly “added injury to insult’
KARON: Chalong Police are on the lookout for a bar hostess named “Poo” who broke the heart of a Swedish tourist – then added injury to insult by smashing a beer bottle over his head on New Year’s Eve.Report of the incident was made by the victim not long after the attack, which occurred at around 1:30 am on January…
-
Phuket residents on British New Year Honours List
PHUKET: Cindy Ratcliffe, President of the Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC), Martin Carpenter, Chairman of the British Business Association of Phuket (BBAP), UK Honorary Consul Alan Cooke and Lucy Norton have been made Members of the British Empire (MBE) in the UK’s New Year Honours List for their efforts in helping tsunami victims, it was announced on Saturday.“I feel quite…
-
Reward offered for missing catamaran
KATA: Yacht owner Chris Sieber is offering a US$5,000 reward for information directly leading to the recovery of his 46-foot catamaran Kilo, which went missing off Kata Beach on December 18. Mr Sieber told the Gazette this morning that Kilo was last seen anchored offshore from the Kata Beach Resort on December 17, following the King’s Cup Regatta, for which…
-
Tourists hurt as bus overturns
PATONG: A tour bus carrying 37 Israelis overturned on Prabarami Rd in rainy weather about 5 pm yesterday, while it was en route to Patong from Khao Lak in Phang Nga. Two passengers were seriously injured in the crash.All of the passengers were taken to Patong Hospital to be checked for injuries.Theerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer of the Phuket Provincial…
-
Governor calls for continued recovery efforts
PHUKET CITY: At his monthly meeting with provincial chief officers yesterday morning, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura called for the government and the private sector to continue their cooperative efforts to help Phuket to full recovery by next high season.Gov Udomsak said that Phuket had recovered faster than other places affected by the tsunami because the government and the private sector…
-
No closing time on New Year’s Eve
PHUKET: Entertainment venues will be able to stay open as long as they wish on New Year’s Eve, Phuket’s top law enforcement official told the Gazette today.Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, said that the exception to the normal closing time would apply only on the night of December 31-January 1. From the evening of January…
-
She said YES! Tsunami victim to wed doctor who looked after him
PHUKET CITY: In a year when it seemed that almost every story concerning Phuket was relating bad news – with perhaps the exception of Hannes Bergstrom, the “unidentified” Swedish toddler reunited with his uncle and grandmother two days after the tsunami – ending these 12 months with a story of hope is a newspaper’s dream.December 26, 2004 saw Ron Bombiger,…
-
Move for airport taxi meter desk stalls
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s October 31 call for a service counter for metered taxis to be installed inside the terminal at Phuket International Airport has stalled, with his request yet to be reviewed by the Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) headquarters in Bangkok.Gov Udomsak called for meter taxis to have a counter at the airport within two weeks following a…
-
Tsunami dead remembered one year on
PATONG: In an emotionally charged ceremony, survivors and relatives of the tsunami dead congregated in Patong’s Loma Park this morning to remember their lost loved ones. It was one of six official memorial ceremonies in the three provinces hardest-hit by the disaster this day last year.A crowd of about 2,000 people from many countries gathered at Loma Park at 10…
-
Police to set up New Year road safety checkpoints
PHUKET: Police will set up checkpoints across the island from December 29 to January 4 in a campaign to reduce the number of road fatalities during the New Year celebrations.The checkpoints, manned by police, volunteers and officers from the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), will be set up at:– Thepkrasattri Rd (in front of the Muang Mai…
-
Work on B46m “Welcome Gate’ under way in Tah Chat Chai
TAH CHAT CHAI: For most of next year, the northern tip of the island will become a building site as heavy machinery is used to transform scrub forest in the area into a landscaped “Welcome Gate” rest stop and vehicle control point (VCP).Work on the 46-million-baht project, the brainchild of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepbutr, officially began…
-
Gov prepared to pay B2.05m missing tsunami money
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is prepared to pay 2.05 million baht out of his own pocket should he be found ultimately responsible for the tsunami aid money that was reported missing from Phuket Provincial Hall on February 15.“Under administrative law, there is no way that government funds can just disappear,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “But don’t worry; if…
-
Jet-ski victim still in ICU
BANGKOK: Australian Antonio Scognamiglio, 19, who was involved in a jet-ski collision off Patong Beach on November 23, is recovering in intensive care after undergoing brain surgery at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.Mr Scognamiglio sustained his injuries when a fellow jet-ski rider crashed into him. He was rushed unconscious to Patong Hospital where his heart stopped. Staff managed to revive him…
-
Tsunami memorial service for Australians
PATONG: There will be a tsunami memorial service for Australian families in front of the Graceland Hotel on Patong Beach, from 8 am to 9 am on Monday. The memorial service, organized by the Australian Embassy, will precede formal Thai ceremonies at Patong Beach, commencing at 10 am, and other venues throughout the day. For more information contact the Australian…
-
Gov sets Dec 26 deadline for bypass road
PHUKET: In a meeting this morning to check on final preparations for the upcoming tsunami memorial services, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura ordered that work on the bypass road widening project be completed before December 26.“Work on the bypass road must be finished before December 26 so we can provide comfortable transport for our visitors,” Gov Udomsak told those at the…
-
Sort out Nai Yang problem, Gov demands
NAI YANG: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is angry that almost half of a 15-million-baht government budget to beautify Nai Yang Beach has already been wasted – and that bickering between the two government agencies involved now puts the rest of the money at risk.At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, Gov Udomsak ordered the Tambon Sakoo Administration Organization (OrBorTor…
-
Phinij to open clinic for gay men
PATONG: Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat will tomorrow preside over the official opening of Patong Hospital’s “Sabaidee Clinic”, which will cater to the medical needs of gay men, whether residents or tourists. The ceremony will take place at the auspicious time of 7:09 am.The hospital’s Deputy-Director, Padungkiet Utokasenee, told the Gazette that the clinic, part of a network known as…
-
Hundreds get the blues
KARON: A bit of rain and blustery winds couldn’t dampen the spirits of the hundreds of people who turned up for first night of the two-day Phuket Blues Festival 2005, in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Arcadia Resort and Spa yesterday. The event kicked off with the all-Thai Blue on Blue band from Bangkok, followed by Phuket’s own Big…
-
B2bn boost for Blue Canyon Country Club
MAI KHAO: Even the deafening barrage of fireworks, set to the strains of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture to mark Blue Canyon Country Club’s (BCCC) 15th anniversary on Wednesday night, could not eclipse an announcement beforehand of a 2-billion-baht investment in the golf club.The investment comes as part of a “strategic partnership” between RREEF Global Opportunities Fund II – an investment fund…
-
Rain damps enthusiasm for tsunami drill
PATONG: The sirens went off (click here for a sound clip), but only about 200 people joined a tsunami evacuation drill in Patong yesterday afternoon, with rain being blamed for the poor turnout. Boonchai Somjai, Head of Phuket Provincial Office Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told the Gazette, “I was in Patong when the evacuation drill began. It went satisfactorily,…
-
Tsunami memorial finalists chosen
KHAO LAK: Design teams from Finland, the US, Spain, China and Australia have made it into the finals of the competition to design a tsunami memorial, which will be erected on Lek Beach in Khao Lak Lamru National Park.The five teams that made the cut are Anu Puustinen and Ville Hara, from Avanto Architects of Finland; Raveevarn Choksombatchai and William…
-
Reservoir 70pc full
KATHU: Despite unusually high rainfall during a month that traditionally marks the onset of the dry season, Phuket’s only reservoir is still far from full – and has only enough water to meet demand until the end of April.Isara Anukul, Chief of the Water Allocation Division of the Phuket Irrigation Office (PIO), told the Gazette yesterday that there is now…
-
Poor response to tsunami free visits offer
PHUKET: Only 180 hotels rooms in Phuket have been reserved thus far under a government plan to subsidize accommodation for tsunami victims and their relatives coming to attend memorial services to mark the first anniversary of the disaster, it was revealed at the CEO Governor’s meeting on Wednesday.Lack of interest in the plan – the number is less than 2%…
-
Officials seize illegally felled hardwood
KOH KAEW: A team of government officials recovered hardwood planks valued at an estimated 1.5 million baht from an illegal logging and wood processing operation on forest conservation land in the Phanthurat Hills on Wednesday morning.The loggers, tipped off to the operation by a helicopter surveying the area before the raid, used their knowledge of the difficult terrain to evade…
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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.