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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10 biggest challenges retirees face in Thailand (and how to overcome them)
Retiring in Thailand comes with many benefits, like warm weather, affordable living, and a rich culture. However, it also brings challenges. Retirees must deal with visa rules, healthcare costs, language barriers, and cultural differences. Rising medical expenses, required insurance, and...
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PM Prayuth to lead tsunami memorial services
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha will lead foreign envoys and relatives of the 2004 tsunami victims in a memorial marking the 10th anniversary of the disaster in Khao Lak, north of Phuket, on December 26. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, announced yesterday that his office, the Interior Ministry’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department and the Thai…
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Phuket Beach Club owners face charges for blocking demolition
PHUKET: The owners of The Beach Club restaurant in Nai Yang are facing charges for obstructing officers after they tried to prevent the demolition of their building yesterday – deemed illegally built on public land last month. Owners Aroon Prewphanchoo and Sanya Trirongthong parked a 10-wheeled trailer and several cars in front of their restaurant before officials from the Sakoo…
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Social networks buzz with Phuket police brutality allegations
PHUKET: Social networks are buzzing with allegations of police brutality at a checkpoint in Phuket Town on Saturday night after video footage surfaced of rescue workers treating an injured man. The stir comes from the video footage in which Chaiyarong Trongtor, 25, asks rescue workers, “Why did you hit me with a baton?” “When I arrived, after my team, Mr…
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![Phuket learns: database swimming with leopard sharks [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_2014129121950972_mMChWHiraJrztoRfOWwdhIhTSZhsbwtwdRTUAkta_jpeg.jpeg)
Phuket learns: database swimming with leopard sharks [video]
PHUKET: The database for Spot the Leopard Shark Thailand has grown to more than 500 photographs after the conservation project was launched in August last year (story here), it was announced at a meeting hosted by Siam Diving Enterprises in Phuket last week. “We had the presentation to inform the dive community about the project, as well as about the…
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Video Report: Phuket police face probe for abuse of martial law
PHUKET: Hundreds of people turned out at Phuket Provincial Hall today to support a complaint against Cherng Talay Police allegedly abusing their position of power under martial law in a raid on a family home last week. Srisoonthorn Mayor Worrawut Songyot and his niece Hathairat Songyot today filed the complaint to Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. The complaint states that a…
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Phuket coach conquers 10km keepie-uppie journey in honor of The King
PHUKET: A local football coach played keepie-uppie, the act of juggling a football without allowing the ball to hit the ground, for 10 kilometers along Phuket’s coast in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 87th birthday on Friday. Praphan Khongmuean, coach at Republic Phuket and keepie-uppie marathoner, started juggling the ball at Kata Beach Resort and Spa at 7am and…
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Phuket Police: No foul play suspected in death of English-Thai toddler
PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a Phuket toddler who was found dead in a pool outside of his family’s house in Rawai on Friday. Marcus Pandragon Pearce, 16 months old, was discovered floating in the pool by his mother, Malida Pearce. “Mrs Pearce told us that her English husband, Jass Pearce, had gone out…
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Speed warning issued after Phuket cop crashes car
PHUKET: A rainy-weather driving-speed warning was issued today after a Phuket police officer flipped his car on the way to Phuket International Airport early yesterday morning. Lt Nikom Keawnu of the Cherng Talay Police and his female passenger both walked away unharmed from the accident on the new airport road. “The accident occurred when it was raining. We were on…
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Egat ramps up push for Krabi coal-fired power plant
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egat ramps up push for Krabi coal-fired power plant The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) is pushing ahead with its plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Krabi, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, by 2019. Despite public…
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Hong Kong teams dominate top classes at Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET; The final day’s racing of the 28th King’s Cup Regatta was set up beautifully to host some epic, close-quarters King’s Cup clashes. Winds were good, crews were psyched, and the final day didn’t disappoint. Saturday saw all classes come to a close with a total of 123 keelboat races taking place during the week, in addition to 27 dinghy…
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NFL Week 14: Cowboys crush Bears, 41-28
PHUKET: Quarterback Tony Romo and his Dallas Cowboys blew out a hapless Chicago Bears team 41-28 at Soldier Field in Chicago on Thursday Night Football, the first game of Week 14 of the NFL season. The win raised the Cowboys’ record to 9-4, guaranteeing them their first winning season in five years following a string of three mediocre 8-8 seasons.…
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Opinion: Phuket umbrellas return to paradise
PHUKET: The recent lifting of the ban on tourists bringing umbrellas onto island beaches is a step in the right direction, one the Phuket Gazette hopes will eventually lead to a comprehensive and sustainable solution that meets tourists’ needs while continuing to protect our beaches from encroachment. However, Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), made…
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Fire breaks out on Phuket’s Soi Bangla
PHUKET: Firefighters have put out a fire that erupted at a tailor shop in Phuket’s famous nightlife district – Soi Bangla – this morning. No injuries or fatalities have been reported. Police were notified of the blaze by a tuk-tuk driver who saw smoke pouring out of the shop at about 10:30am. “The driver and a friend attempted to quell…
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Phuket Gazette bumper issue packed with holiday gifts
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette begins the annual festive-season early this week with a record-breaking feast of 124 pages of reading for your enjoyment. We’ve been busy with major foreign media leaders to bring you news supplements from the countries and the markets that matter most – now and in the future – to Phuket. Inside this week’s Gazette, on newsstands…
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Cobra caught by Phuket villagers during cleanup
PHUKET: A group of Phuket locals trapped a large cobra that they discovered while cleaning up their village in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birthday yesterday. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers arrived at the scene in Rassada to find the more than 2-meter-long female cobra trapped inside a large basket. “We had to be careful when we caught her, because…
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Phuket driver survives brutal truck crash after falling asleep
PHUKET: A man had a lucky escape after he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into a streetlamp on Phuket’s bypass road this morning. The metal streetlamp was sheered at the base from the impact of the crash. However, 29-year-old Samart Noonpakdee sustained only minor injuries in the collision. “He was heading home after leaving his job in Patong,…
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Back to business amid good conditions at Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Day 4
PHUKET: Consistent winds made a very welcome return for Day Four of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta yesterday. All classes sailed, with exceptionally tight action and some big winning margins. The King’s Cup this year has played host to an offering of IRC class racing, especially at the high-tech “Grand Prix” end of the classes such as in IRC0, where…
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Phuket goes both ways with first underpass
PHUKET: The underpass near Central Festival Phuket is now open to two-way traffic, as officials scramble to complete the intersection. “We opened the underpass to northbound and southbound traffic on Wednesday,” explained Samak Luedwonghad, director of the Phuket Highways Office. “Meanwhile we will continue to work on the surface streets above it.” The 600-million-baht underpass was originally slated for completion…
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Phuket blood center calls for donations in honor of HM The King
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) has invited all qualified island residents to make a blood donation in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 87th birthday today. Those wishing to honor HM The King in this way will have a chance to sign a get-well message for His Majesty, explained PRBC Acting Chief Pornthip Rattajak. “We currently have 700…
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Phuket joins nation to honor HM The King’s birthday
PHUKET: Although Phuket residents will not be able to welcome the Royal Family at Amarin Vinitchai Hall in the Grand Palace in Bangkok, they will no doubt be glued to their television screens as HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej appears for an audience this morning to mark His Majesty’s 87th birthday. Since yesterday evening, members of the public began gathering along…
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Phuket bar owners called to honor Father’s Day booze ban
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak has signed a formal request to be issued to all bar owners, restaurateurs and other purveyors of alcohol throughout Phuket to refrain from selling booze tomorrow in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 87th birthday. Vice Governor Somkiet told the Phuket Gazette that he understands there is no law to prohibit the sale of…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta battles light winds
PHUKET: Very little early wind yesterday brought most of the fleet competing in the 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta off Kata Beach to a momentary rest, with racing action to resume today. Thursday is traditionally reserved as the “reserve day” to accommodate days of very light weather such as suffered yesterday, but today will be used as a full racing…
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Critical Phuket underpass intersection to close for three months
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have announced that the lanes of traffic flowing between Kathu and Samkong at the Samkong Intersection, the site of the Tesco underpass, will be closed from December 6 to March 1. During that time, motorists approaching the intersection from the east or the west will be forced to make a left turn, and then proceed to…
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Cambodian monks disrobed in Phuket, await deportation
PHUKET: A group of 19 Cambodian monks are awaiting deportation after they were arrested and disrobed for violating several rules of the Buddhist monkhood as practiced in Thailand. The monks were escorted by Wichit Police and Muang District officers to Wat Mongkol Nimit in Phuket Town to be stripped of their monkhood by Phra Kru Mettaphirom yesterday. The monks failed…
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Pregnant mum survives horror Phuket crash
PHUKET: A five-month pregnant woman and five other people are in hospital after the pick-up truck they were travelling in crashed into a power pole on Thepkrasattri Road early this morning. Jantree Harnhong, 30, was on her way to Phuket with her 33-year-old partner Noppol Karnjanaburi and four others when the accident occurred in front of Muang Thalang School at…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Light winds lead to tricky, tight racing
PHUKET: Following Day One’s extremely close racing, Day Two of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta served up a trickier challenge to crews in the form of very light wind conditions. All of the classes were fought in close-quarters positions, reflecting well on this year’s revised class structure, which was designed to encourage very tight and visually impressive racing action. Karl…
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Live grenades found in Phuket residential area
PHUKET: A Burmese trash-burner discovered two live M26 hand grenades at a dump near a Phuket residential area in Rawai this afternoon. The man, named by police only as Mr A, identified the dangerous weapons of war and immediately informed his employer, who promptly reported the find. Phuket’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit arrived shortly thereafter. “The two standard M26…
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Phuket beach vendors protest with national anthem
PHUKET: Dozens of Phuket beach vendors gathered at the Patong Police Station and sang Thailand’s national anthem yesterday, after they were forced off the beach by police and municipality officers. “The Navy told us that we were allowed – that only umbrella vendors were prohibited,” one vendor told the Phuket Gazette. “We are just trying to make a living. Why…
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One dead, three injured in family trip to Phuket
PHUKET: One woman died and a father and daughter were rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital with critical injuries after their car crashed into a roadside canal yesterday in northern Phuket. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene, on Thepkrasattri Road northbound, about 200 meters from the Hongyok Bumrung School in Baan Suan Maphrao, at about 5:15pm.…
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Victories down to seconds at Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: Racing began in earnest in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta yesterday with a fleet of 93 keelboats and catamarans from 16 countries, jostling in close-quarters competition in honor of the birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Neil Pryde’s HiFi team opened their account with a six-second win on corrected times over Team Beau Geste in light winds in Race…
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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