Phuket News
Discover the latest news and updates from Thailand’s most famous and beautiful island, The Thaiger’s hometown, having previously operated as the Phuket Gazette.
Our team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Phuket, covering everything from local politics and business to lifestyle and tourism. Learn about the island’s stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and thriving expat community, as well as keeping updated on events, and attractions.
The Thaiger is your ultimate guide to staying connected with Phuket’s ever-evolving landscape. To keep up with the most reliable news source on the island, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
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Sponsored A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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One dead, three injured in Phuket car crash
PHUKET: One man was killed and three others badly injured when their pickup crashed near the Heroines’ Monument in Phuket early this morning. Thalang Police Duty Officer Praman Yomkaphan was informed of the accident at 3:40am. Arriving at the scene, on Thepkrasattri Road southbound near Tha Reua Temple, officers found a badly damaged Suzuki utility truck on the median strip.…
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Questions raised over Phuket’s Big Buddha
PHUKET: The management of Phuket’s renowned Big Buddha image has come under scrutiny for slow progress and alleged misuse of land and donated funds. After more than nine years of construction, land officials are now demanding “a clear deadline” as to when construction at the site, high atop a hill in the Nakkerd Range, will finally come to an end.…
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Phuket Live Wire: Internet access really is getting better
PHUKET: It’s fashionable to squawk and groan about our Internet connections here in Phuket, but the fact is that we’re approaching the speeds one would commonly find in the United States and other developing countries. Err, well, you know what I mean. Scandinavia is much faster, as are Hong Kong, Singapore and much of South Korea. Those places recognized the…
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Phuket stargazers treated to full lunar eclipse tonight
PHUKET: Residents and tourists with clear skies over their heads tonight will be treated to an astronomical phenomenon – literally. The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) earlier today announced through its website that a total lunar eclipse will be visible – weather permitting – across Thailand. The eclipse will start at 1:22am and the moon will be plunged…
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FC Phuket take on Bangkok Christian tonight
PHUKET: FC Phuket will take on Bangkok Christian College FC in the second round of the 2011 Thai League FA Cup tonight. The match at Surakul Stadium will kick off at 6pm. Following Saturday’s 4 -1 victory over Chainat, FC Phuket began a two-week break from Division 1 league play. Anticipating a challenging home match up against southern rivals Songkhla…
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Slipstream leads Phuket’s Lady Pie race series
PHUKET: The Lady Pie Series got underway with its first of three races on June 12 in seasonal monsoon conditions off Phuket’s Ao Yon. Spectators enjoyed a day of close racing amongst the Phuket Tasar fleet and witnessed spectacular capsizes, while crews were on full hike. Slipstream, skippered by Andrew de Bruin, expertly managed the tough conditions to take three…
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Korean ambassador ‘grateful’ for positive Phuket relations
PHUKET: South Korea Ambassador to Thailand Chung Hae-moon today told Phuket Governor Tri Augkadachara that he was “grateful” for the positive support the Korean community in Phuket had received from the local authorities. “We have been cooperating and coordinating very well between Honorary Consul Tosaporn Tephabutra, the law enforcement authorities and the Korean community. “We have not yet faced any…
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Phuket Airport to get first woman director
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport will mark history tomorrow when Duangchai Condee arrives to take up the post of Director. Ms Duangchai, a senior executive at Airports of Thailand, will leave her position as Deputy Director (Commercial) at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok to become the first woman to hold the top position in Phuket. Ms Duangchai, who has received the Thai…
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Tsunami detecting radar coming to Phuket
PHUKET: A high-frequency radar system to monitor ocean currents and aid in the detection of tsunami waves will be set up in Patong by the end of the month, local officials say. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD), in cooperation with Patong Municipality, is preparing the site at a location called Kor Sai Lod, a headland on the south coast of…
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Wanted: Automatic immigration clearance at airport
PHUKET: Immigration officers at Phuket Airport have told the Gazette they would welcome an automatic passport check-in system like the eight machines that will be installed at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at cost of 76 million baht. “The system will be used first at Suwannabhumi Airport. For now, it seems the machines will not be installed at Phuket Airport any…
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Phuket to ‘paint the world RED’ today
PHUKET: To mark World Blood Donor Day today the Phuket Regional Blood Center and Phuket Red Cross are arranging special activities in Phuket. Phuket Governor Tri Augkadachara kicked off the activities by honoring 100 Phuket Public Health Volunteers with certificates in a ceremony at Phuket Community Hall. Pins are also awarded to people who reached donation milestones in multiples of…
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Pro Am golfers ready to drive off in style
PHUKET: Players in the 2011 Phuket Property Dot Com Pro Am Invitational golf tourney, to be played at the Laguna Phuket Golf Club on Friday, have a chance to win a Mini Cooper S or a 19-foot day boat for sinking a hole-in-one. The course has two par 3 holes. “The inaugural event in 2010 was a resounding success and…
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FC Phuket crush Chainat, 4-1
PHUKET: FC Phuket routed the Chainat “Hornbills” 4-1 on a rainy Saturday night at Surakul Stadium. FC Phuket opened the scoring on 26 minutes with a goal by Niran Panthong, but Chainat equalized just before the break to a goal that drew the vociferous ire of the FC Phuket supporters, (aka “The Hulk”), who booed the officials off the field…
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One dead, two injured in Phuket shootout with police
PHUKET: Two men reportedly known to police as thugs who impersonated police officers to extort money from Burmese workers were gunned down in a street shootout in Phuket’s tourist area of Kata Beach today. One police officer was shot in each leg before returning fire. Duty Officer Lt Col Boonlert Onklang said Chalong Police first received a report of the…
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Khudyakov smashes Laguna Phuket Marathon record
PHUKET: Vsevolod Khudyakov blazed along the 42-kilometer 2011 Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) course today to set a course record of just over 2 hours and 33 minutes. “I really enjoyed my marathon and I’m very pleased that I finished so well,” he said. The ultra-fit Ukrainian probably did not get an opportunity to enjoy the scenic aspect of “Run…
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Khudyakov smashes Laguna Phuket Marathon course record
PHUKET: Vsevolod Khudyakov blazed through the 2011 Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) 42km course on Sunday setting a course record of just over two hours and 33 minutes.“I really enjoyed my marathon and I’m very pleased that I finished so well,” said Khudyakov. The ultra-fit Ukrainian* probably did not get an opportunity to enjoy the scenic aspect of “Run Paradise”,…
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Thepchaiya wins Phuket snooker final as Bingham’s luck runs out
PHUKET: Thailand’s Thepchaiya Uh-nooh is the 2011 Sangsom Phuket Snooker Cup champion, having defeated the world number 17, Stuart Bingham, in a thrilling final this afternoon at the Royal Paradise Hotel, Patong. Bingham was the only ranked player who remained in the tournament which saw Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon (82), Alfie Burden (57), Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm (67) and Issara Kachaiwong (87) all fail…
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Phuket Governor gets married again
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and his wife Mrs Nalinee today renewed their wedding vows this morning at a ceremony in Old Phuket Town as part of a two-day wedding festival to honor Baba Pernankan (“Straits Chinese”) traditions. Gov Tri and Mrs Nalinee were one of four guest couples invited to renew their vows at Hongsyok House on Thepkrasattri Road.…
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“Vote No’ rally takes to Phuket streets
PHUKET: A band of about 30 protesters took to the streets of Phuket Town this afternoon to support their call for people to “vote no” in Thailand’s upcoming July 3 general election. Starting from Queen Sirikit Park on Thalang Road in the heart of Old Phuket Town, the protesters made their way past the Clock Tower Circle in front of…
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FC Phuket’s Rock Rhino looks for first home win
PHUKET: New FC Phuket coach Sompong “Rock Rhino” Wattana will take to the sidelines for his first home match tonight, when Phuket takes on Chainat FC at Surakul Stadium. Kick-off will be at 6pm. All eyes will be on Coach Sompong, whose first outing was a 1-1 draw on the road at Air Force United last weekend. He has reportedly…
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Skytrain proposed for Phuket
PHUKET: The latest firm to present itself as a contender for building Phuket’s light rail system yesterday proposed building a skytrain – like the one in Bangkok – as the island’s mass transit system instead. Tophon Kraianupongsa, managing director of Gold Phoenix Construction Consulting (Thailand) Co Ltd, yesterday pitched the idea to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at a meeting at…
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Bingham and Thepchaiya in UK-Thailand Phuket snooker final
PHUKET: Five days of world class snooker in Phuket culminates with the final championship match at the Sangsom Snooker Cup being held at the Royal Paradise Hotel, Patong at 1pm today. Yesterday’s semi-finals saw two of the top 100 ranked players in action with an expected win and another upset thrilling snooker fans in the 200-seat auditorium. Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm (James…
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Phuket gold heist reward upped to B200k
PHUKET: The owners of a Phuket Town gold shop robbed in broad daylight last Saturday have upped the reward to a maximum of 200,000 baht for information that leads to return of the stolen jewelry. Jirasak and Chantana Tarnattanasombut on Wednesday said that those who recovered any stolen items would be given 30 per cent of its value as a…
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“Vote No’ election billboards in Phuket to stay – for now
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Election Commission Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit yesterday confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the billboards urging people to vote “none of the above” in the July 3 elections will stay until he receives from Bangkok an official order to remove them. The Election Commission of Thailand on Thursday ruled that similar billboards in Bangkok were in breach of…
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Patong unites against vote buying and selling
PHUKET: Phuket’s top cop yesterday held a rally in Patong urging the 1,000 or so people in attendance to vote in the July 3 election, and to avoid vote buying and selling. Participants included Patong government officials, police officers, tuk-tuk drivers, local residents, school children and ladyboys. “I have heard a lot of talk about vote buying and selling in…
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Registration drive expected to legalize 30,000 Phuket workers
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) expects 30,000 migrant workers to be processed in the month-long registration drive starting on Wednesday. “About 49,000 workers have already renewed their registration and we expect 30,000 new foreign workers to register [in the upcoming registration drive],” PPEO Chief Noppadon Ployyoudee told the Phuket Gazette. The Employment Office will set…
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New Phuket bus terminal “open by October’: transport chief
PHUKET: The new chief of the Phuket Provincial Land Transport Office, Teerayout Prasertphol, needs to “break” the traffic island in front of the new interprovincial bus terminal on Thepkrasattri Road if the terminal is to start operations by October. Work on the new bus terminal was completed in December 2009, but neither Rassada Municipality nor the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization…
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Bingham battles to earn a semi-final place in Phuket’s snooker cup
PHUKET: Stuart Bingham struggled against a defiant Passakorn Suwannawat in the last quarter-final of the Sangsom Phuket Snooker Cup (updated table of results here) being held at the Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong. The best of seven match started at 7pm with Passakorn looking more at ease than the world number 17. Passakorn took the first frame, but Bingham recovered…
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Phuket police hunt shooter of karaoke bar owner
PHUKET: Chalong Police are investigating whether the shooting on Monday of a karaoke bar owner in Karon, on Phuket’s west coast, was drug related. Three arrests have been made and a manhunt for the gunman and two accomplices is underway. Following a night of drinking with patrons, 42-year-old Somwong “Lui” Saemin was allegedly beaten then shot in the shoulder and…
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Bahrain F1 out!
PHUKET: “Of course it’s not on. The schedule cannot be rescheduled without the agreement of the participants – they’re the facts.” Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula 1, explains that the Bahrain Grand Prix will not go ahead unless all the drivers consent to participate. The FIA have apparently neglected to consider a section of their own code. Article 66 clearly…
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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