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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How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Phuket News Hound: Helicopter crash kills one
Phuket NEWS Hound – world NEWS compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Helicopter crash in New York City kills British woman Phuket Gazette A helicopter carrying five people crashed in New York City this morning, killing a British woman, officials said. The accident occurred at around 3:20pm local time yesterday afternoon (3:20am today in Phuket) when a privately-owned helicopter…
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God feels no pressure
PHUKET: “This was my first match and I have no pressure in my new role.” Robbie Fowler has taken over as the new Muang Thong United caretaker coach and says he is aiming to win the Thai Premier League and FA Cup after guiding the club to to a 3-1 victory over SCG Samut Songkhram in his first game in…
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Phuket on high alert for landslides – again.
PHUKET: Residents in hillside areas of Phuket are asked to remain on high alert for the possibility of more landslides, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) warned today. Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket chief San Jantharawong told the Phuket Gazette that his agency had this morning received a second warning message about the possibility of…
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Northern floods prompt Phuket call for blood
PHUKET: The head of the Phuket Regional Blood Center, run by the Red Cross, has called for blood donations to bolster dwindling stocks in the northern, central and northeastern provinces which have been severely affected by floods. “We have enough blood in stock for the six provinces along the Andaman Coast, but I am calling for blood donations because the…
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Police believe Fake DSI agent is on the run in Phuket
PHUKET: A career conman who claimed to be a high-ranking Department of Special Investigations (DSI) officer is on the run again after two decades of crime, arrests, womanizing and escaping justice. Witchayut Pansampao, the alleged conman who masqueraded as a DSI officer to defraud people throughout the South, was arrested last month in Haad Yai but has gone missing after…
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Phuket Live WIre: Choosing the best wireless connection
PHUKET: In my last two Live Wire columns I talked about the three general types of internet connections available in Phuket – landlines, wireless and satellite – and then gave some recommendations about landlines. This week I’ll explain how to find a good wireless connection. Wireless internet may be your best option in a number of circumstances. Of course, if…
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Phuket News Hound: Thai floods; PM to visit Burma; Thailand’s Boxer going for gold
PHUKET NEWS HOUND – news about Thailand compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket readers Thai flood death toll reaches 212 Phuket Gazette The death toll as a result of widespread flooding across Thailand in recent months has risen to at least 212, according to the latest reports released on yesterday. Permanent Interior Secretary Phranai Suwannarat confirmed the number of deaths,…
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Buried alive: Phuket activist survives landslide terror
PHUKET: A Phuket community leader was badly injured this morning when a landslide caused part of a neighboring home to come crashing through his bedroom wall as he lay watching television. At about 9:30am today, 38-year-old Witsanu Yidsua was in his bedroom at the back of his home on Phisit Gorani Road when the tragedy occurred. Mr Witsanu, president of…
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Thai volleyball will challenge the world
PHUKET: Last stop on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour is the Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT, from November 1 to 6, and this popular event is now being used as a springboard for the Thai teams to make a challenge on the 2012 World Tour. Thai teams have rarely made an appearance on the international circuit…
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Phuket downpours prompt weather warning
PHUKET: Following heavy rains across Phuket this morning, the Thai Meteorological Department has issued a weather advisory. Issued at 11am by the Southern Meteorological Center at Phuket Airport, the advisory reads: “Rather strong southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and the Southern Thailand West Coast. Abundant rain and heavy to very heavy rain in many areas over much of the…
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BREAKING NEWS: FC Phuket 1 – 1 Chiang Mai FC
PHUKET: FC Phuket ended their four game winning streak with a 1-1 draw against Chiang Mai FC this evening. Phuket’s Niran Phantong gave Phuket an early lead with a goal in the opening minutes of the first half, but Chiang Mai FC equalized at the start of the second. The star of the match was the Chiang Mai FC keeper,…
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Three injured in Patong truck crash
PHUKET: Three people were injured when a six-wheeled truck hauling sand ran out of control, crushing vehicles and smashing into shops on Phuket’s west coast this morning. Truck driver Rungaroon Ji-nga, 31, was descending the steep hill into Patong from Phuket Town at about 10 am when he failed to negotiate the curve in front of Wat Suwan Khiriwong (Wat…
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Phuket Opinion: Making news a social obligation, and a two-way street
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to thank its readers for their support in our continued growth, not only with the newspaper, which is now on board 10 of the world’s leading airlines, but also on the Web; in the whole new world of handheld ‘devices’; and in broadcasting, where next PGTV goes on UBC/True Visions with two prime time…
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Drunken Dane fails Phuket bar test
PHUKET: A group of young foreigners out celebrating their graduation from the European Bartender School in Patong received a lesson in Phuket bar etiquette this week when one man was chased down and “vigorously apprehended” by tuk-tuk and motorcycle taxi drivers. The objection among the drivers was the rough treatment given to a Thai barmaid following a disagreement late Thursday…
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South African family said to suffer Phuket holiday nightmare
PHUKET: A South African family’s holiday in Phuket turned into a nightmare on their last day here when the father was arrested and detained for almost a month for allegedly being in possession of fake U.S. dollars. According to News 24, Gabriel Sequeira, 43, from Johannesburg, was released only after his family paid out several large amounts of money, totaling…
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FC Phuket fly north for the “winner’
PHUKET: FC Phuket should be well rested for tomorrow night’s away match against Chiangmai FC, having flown up to the northern capital yesterday afternoon on a flight operated by team sponsors AirAsia. Despite prolonged flooding that has swept across Thailand’s central and northern regions, which in only the past week saw Chiang Mai added to the list of “disaster area”…
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Phuket taxi thugs apologize, pay damages for attack on tour driver
PHUKET: The three taxi drivers who assaulted another driver working for a Phuket elephant camp have apologized for the attack and paid 40,000 baht in damages. Kamala Police Duty Officer Anek Mongkol confirmed today that the three taxi drivers – Wasan Sanae, 35, Sitthikorn Boonsri, 28, and Thanawut Poksakul, 25 – were each fined 1,000 baht for the attack. The…
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Phuket construction worker dies of high blood pressure
PHUKET: Police believe that a Cambodian construction worker found dead this morning died from high blood pressure. Thalang Police Duty Officer Praman Yapphayak said he was notified of the death at about 7:30am. Arriving at the scene, at a workers’ camp in Srisoonthorn, Thalang, police found Wanna Mon, 48, dead in his room. He was lying facing up with blood…
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Bangkok student trumps Phuket as national winner in Thailand’s Dublin Literary Awards
PHUKET: Sirada Chatikavanij, a 17-year-old student from Triam Udom Suksa school in Bangkok has won the Junior Dublin Literary Award for Thailand in a contest that saw close to 1,000 English-language essays submitted. As the Grand Prize winner, Khun Sirada received a check for 50,000 baht. The award was announced at a presentation ceremony in Bangkok last night, attended by…
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Park chief preps Similan Islands for tourist high season
PHUKET: The chief of the Similan Islands Marine National Park is calling for all tour boat operators to register in order to be able to legally enter the park when it reopens on November 1. Operators found entering the park without permits will be fined, warned park chief Mana Phermpool. “So far we have received permit applications from 35 boats.…
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Soft opening: Aphrodite lands in Phuket
PHUKET: The Aphrodite Cabaret Show held its soft opening party in Phuket last night with a performance that featured a wide variety of dance styles from classical Thai, East Asian and Indian, to bawdy numbers like “Cheeky Girls”, the inevitable “I Will Survive” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”. Before a capacity crowd at their venue opposite Tesco-Lotus on the bypass…
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Phuket meth dealers launch ‘white skin’ campaign
PHUKET: Police are concerned about a rise in the use of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) in Phuket and nearby provinces, and say drug dealers are falsely touting the powerful stimulant as a skin whitening agent to lure in new users. Pramote Phumprakun, superintendent of Narcotics Suppression Bureau Division (NSBD) precinct responsible for the Upper South, described the ya ice problem…
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Coffin’s out for the new Phuket cricket season!
PHUKET: The cricketing fraternity on Phuket is preparing for the upcoming 2011/2012 Island Furniture League, and all fixtures will be played at the sport’s new dedicated facility – the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) in Thalang. Martin Foster, club affairs representative of the Phuket Cricket Group, which is responsible for organizing and running the league, is looking forward to seeing the…
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Phuket Veg Fest threat: your “fake’ meat might be real
PHUKET: Officials are conducting inspections of food stalls taking part in the Phuket Vegetarian Festival following reports that some unscrupulous vendors have been lacing “artificial meat” dishes with real meat products in order to make them more attractive to potential consumers. “Artificial meat” dishes are a staple among many who take part in the annual 10-day purification ritual, during which…
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Phuket Veg Fest processions hit the streets
PHUKET: Day three of the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival today was highlighted by a loud and colorful procession through the streets of Phuket Town by members of the Sapam Shrine in Koh Kaew. Adherents, including many mah song spirit mediums, were up early to prepare for the walk, which took place under relatively dry conditions, given the recent rainfall on…
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Officials admit fear of reprisals killing Phuket bus plans
PHUKET: Top Phuket officials have openly admitted that fear of reprisals by taxi and tuk-tuk drivers is preventing people from launching affordable bus services between Phuket’s main tourist beaches. Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen yesterday chaired a meeting at the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) to discuss strategies to resolve the decades old problem of tourists being cheated by “transportation…
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Phuket lays claim to Thailand’s biggest “musical fountain’
PHUKET: Phuket is now home to Thailand’s biggest musical fountain after a grand opening ceremony and premiere performance at Saphan Hin on Monday night. More than 100 people turned up to see the first show. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha lauded the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) for creating a tourist attraction outside central Phuket Town, a factor he said would…
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Phuket Debacle: Bus Terminal 2 may never open
PHUKET: As Phuket Bus Terminal 2 approaches its second birthday, the Phuket Land Transport Office [PLTO] is determined to open the facility by the end of the year, despite continued resistance from Rassada Municipality where it is located (click here to see PGtv footage). The latest discussion about the problems facing the station came at a meeting of the Phuket…
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Phuket Airport tipped to reach breaking point
PHUKET: With tourism numbers surging, Phuket International Airport is expecting a record four million passenger arrivals for the year 2011. As arrivals to Asia’s leading resort destination in the first half of the year increased 20% over the same period in 2010 and an unprecedented number of new hotel rooms opened, sagging infrastructure is creating a widespread danger to the…
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Fried Noodles: Transformer explodes, food cart incinerated
PHUKET: The explosion of an electrical transformer in Phuket this afternoon incinerated a noodle vendor’s cart, injured a woman, and damaged several vehicles. The fire followed the explosion of a transformer in front of a townhouse project across from the Ocean View Phuket Hotel on Sirirat Road, which runs from Patong to Karon. Roadside noodle vendor Kanjana Sonjai, 29, said,…
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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