Phuket News
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Phuket parties as Patong Carnival gets underway
PHUKET: Heavy downpours stopped just in time last night as thousands of people lined the streets of Patong to watch the parade and opening ceremonies of Phuket’s annual Patong Carnival. The colorful parade comprised of floats from 23 Phuket organizations along with countless more people who joined in the celebrations at the last moment. “Phuket has many beautiful tourist attractions…
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Superyachts arrive for Phuket Rendezvous
PHUKET: Superyacht spotters in Phuket are in for treat this weekend as some of the finest luxury yachts in Asia ply Phuket’s west coast as part of the annual Asia Superyacht Rendezvous. The Rendezvous, now in its 11th year, is the longest-running superyacht event in Asia and boasts the largest gathering of superyachts in the region, explained Nina Larsson, Public…
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Tesco launches ‘green bag’ project in Phuket
PHUKET: Leading retail chain Tesco Lotus launched a pilot project at its new Thalang branch in Phuket yesterday with the aim of reducing plastic bag use nationwide. The project is intended to encourage customers at all its stores in Phuket to use fewer plastic bags in order to help preserve the island’s natural beauty for future generations. The project is…
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FC Phuket scramble to score funding
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will cease its financial support of the island’s professional football club, FC Phuket, starting next season, one of the club’s managers confirmed today.Narubas “Ko Lek” Aryupong told the Phuket Gazette that the team is now seeking new sponsorship channels to pay for players’ salaries and training allowances.He confirmed that Thailand’s Auditor-General’s Office had…
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Phuket businesses agree to minimum wage hike: survey
PHUKET: More than 70 per cent of business owners in Phuket agree to the minimum wage being raised to 300 baht per day, according to a recent survey by the Phuket Provincial Labor Office. The news was announced today at a high-level meeting of Phuket officials to discuss the rollout of the minimum wage hike. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha chaired…
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Phuket police defuse hostage situation
PHUKET: After a 30-minute standoff, Phuket Police on Tuesday rescued a woman held hostage by a knife-wielding glue addict at a local gas station. Chalong Police were notified of the attack at 11am. Arriving at the scene, the PTT service station on Chao Fa West Road in Chalong, they found a Phuket man holding a knife to the throat of…
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Tsunami blamed for Phuket beach encroachment confusion
PHUKET: A Phuket hotel representative yesterday claimed that the 2004 tsunami washed away property boundary markers between his resort and public beach land, thus causing confusion over alleged beach encroachment. The Surin Phuket, formerly known as The Chedi, situated on Pansea Beach on Phuket’s northwest coast, is in the final stages of renovation in preparation of reopening under the new…
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Phuket tourists warned of drink-spiking thieves
PHUKET: Tourists visiting nightspots in Phuket should not leave their drinks unattended as there have been incidents of people having their drinks “spiked” with potent sedatives in recent weeks, Tourist Police volunteers have warned. Frank Tomensen, Group Leader of the Phuket Tourist Police Foreign Volunteers in Patong, has instructed his patrol units to be on the lookout for victims who…
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Phuket Darts: Hemingways A routs Hemingways B
PHUKET: In Week 9 play in the Patong Darts League (PDL), Hemingways A routed Hemingways B 11-2 and moved past them to take the lead in the league table. It appears that the Swedes can excel in something other than building furniture; they can play pretty good darts too. English Tony and Swedish Tony (Hemingways A) were untouchable, as always.…
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Thailand golf championship – a symbol of strength for Asian tour
This week’s inaugural US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship reflects the growing strength of the game in Asia, say the world stars who have gathered for the Asian Tour’s season finale which starts on Thursday. A starry line-up has gathered at the magnificent Amata Spring Country Club on the outskirts of Bangkok and will feature this year’s Major champions Darren Clarke…
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Phuket Island Charity Golf Tournament a huge success
PHUKET: Thailand is Southeast Asia’s premiere destination for its irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty, inspiring temples, outstanding hospitality and superb cuisine. Thailand is often called the “land of smiles”, and rightly so because you will see more smiling people here than anywhere else in the world. What it is not commonly mentioned is also that Thai people are also…
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Phuket Carnival reaches zero hour
PHUKET: The countdown to Phuket’s annual Patong Carnival is over. The six-day event began at 9am today with ceremonial offering of food to monks at Loma Park on the Patong beachfront. After the alms-giving ceremony, at 10:15am the sea of vendors at the park opened their stalls to sell food and drinks. The Phuket Flying Club will join the opening…
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Alcohol pricing important for Phuket tourism: poll
PHUKET: Over 57% of respondents to a Phuket Gazette poll believe reasonably-priced alcohol is either “important” or even “critical” to Phuket’s attractiveness as in international tourist destination. The poll was launched in the wake of Phuket suffering a shortage of alcoholic beverages following floods in central Thailand that disrupted operations at production facilities and distribution networks. Overall, 28% voted reasonably-priced…
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Blaze destroys Phuket fishermen’s homes
PHUKET: A fire believed to have started from an explosion quickly engulfed several fishermen’s huts in Baan Bang Tao, Cherng Talay, on Phuket’s west coast, yesterday afternoon. No injuries were reported. Officials at Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) rushed two fire trucks to the scene on Soi Bang Tao 12, near the southern end of Phuket’s popular Bang Tao…
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Finnish tourist death in Phuket possibly a suicide
PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a Finnish tourist Veijo Armas Vallius, found dead in his Phuket hotel room last week. The body of 52-year-old Mr Vallius was discovered in a hotel room in Kamala on December 8. Somnerk Damkeaw of the Kamala Police told the Gazette today that the body of Mr Vallius remains…
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Phuket’s Happy Air relaunches services
PHUKET: Boutique carrier Happy Air will resume services today with flights from Bangkok to Ranong, but the airline still has not set a date to resume its Phuket – Haad Yai service. Speaking from the company’s office at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Happy Air sales and marketing representative Onkanya Chaisit said thrice-weekly (Friday, Sunday, Wednesday) flights between the capital to…
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Phuket convention center project gets Cabinet extension
PHUKET: Following a Cabinet meeting in Bangkok yesterday, the Finance Ministry has been given more time to build a world-class convention center in Phuket. The Treasury Department, which is responsible for bringing the decades-old dream to reality, now has until 2014 to sign a construction contract for the mega-project. Prior to yesterday’s extension, the Treasury Department had expressed mounting concern…
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Phuket property squabble sours Thai-Russian relations
PHUKET: A meeting at Thung Thong Police Station today exposed a rift between partners in a Phuket property company targeting the lucrative Russian market. Outraged by being allegedly cheated by a Russian national, Boonprasert Udommangkorn, owner of ThaiRus Development Co in Phuket’s Kathu District, filed a complaint against former partner Nikita Derkarch. The two met at Thung Thong Police Station…
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Tourist’s keen eye saves green sea turtle
PHUKET: An observant tourist yesterday spotted a young green sea turtle floating in the water off the Yacht Haven Marina in Mai Khao, in the north of Phuket, and by doing so may have saved its life.The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) was immediately contacted, who in turn asked the Phuket Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation for assistance in recovering the turtle.With…
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Phuket speedboats to pay for upkeep of Racha pier
PHUKET: Speedboats on day trips from Phuket that dock at the floating pier on Racha Yai Island will be charged a mooring fee from January 1 to help fund the cost of repairs to the facility. “The Racha Hotel provides the pontoon and allows everyone to use it, but they never ask for money to maintain it,” committee president Sarit…
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Belgian fraud suspect brain dead in Phuket
PHUKET: A Belgian man embroiled in several fraud cases in Phuket is in a coma at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he is being kept on life support until his organs can be removed for donation, the Phuket Gazette has learned. Long-time Phuket resident Yvon Van Eyersen, 58, was perhaps best known to Phuket residents as the manager of the now-defunct…
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Phuket ‘Colorful Countdown’ to ring in 2012
PHUKET: Phuket will spend 10 million baht on festivities to ring in the new year with the “Colorful Phuket Countdown 2012”. The countdown event at Chai Field, opposite Provincial Hall in Phuket Town, will be put on by Tourism Authority of Thailand and Best Four media, among other sponsors. “We set up a budget of 10 million baht for the…
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Wilkinson drops out
PHUKET: “To say I have played through four World Cups, two Lions tours, 91 international games and a ridiculous number of injuries and other setbacks gives me an incredibly special feeling of fulfillment.”Jonny Wilkinson, England’s enigmatic out-half has announced his retirement from test rugby.His international record includes six tries, 162 conversions, 239 penalties and a record of 36 drop-goals. His…
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Phuket schoolgirl still missing
PHUKET: A schoolgirl who vanished after a Facebook session last Tuesday has yet to reappear, leaving the girl’s anguished mother to once again appeal to the public for help in locating her. Samruay Saenthaweesuk, mother of 12-year-old Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya, said she has not heard a word from her daughter since her mysterious disappearance after leaving an Internet cafe…
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Time running out for Phuket Convention Center
PHUKET: Time is running out on the plan to build a world-class conference and exhibition center in Phuket. The project has been stalled by a single strand of red tape as the deadline to use the 2.6 billion baht in approved funding draws near. Naris Chaiyasoot, Director-General of the Treasury Department, which has been tasked with building the mega-project, was…
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Phuket Live Wire – reusing passwords is an expensive bad habit
PHUKET: Here’s a question I see with alarming frequency: Woody, somebody just broke into my Hotmail account. The creep sent messages out to everybody in my Hotmail address book, saying I was in the hospital and needed money sent to me (by Western Union) immediately. What can I do about it? You’ve been hacked, and there’s precious little that can…
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Ironkids nail second successful event
PHUKET: Eight corporate sponsors answered the call for race fees and support of over 90 children at the second IronKids Phuket event held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) recently. The results were as follows: in first place – Quest Laguna Phuket who also sponsored a team of three kids from Ban Manik School. In second place – Team…
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Traffic warning: Phuket Provincial Youth Games today
PHUKET: Motorists be warned: today is the busiest day of the year at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town, where hundreds of primary and secondary school students from all over the province will amass to take part in the annual provincial youth games. The fun got underway yesterday, with kindergarten-age athletes as young as four taking part in running races, long…
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Man on ledge claims being Phuket hitman target for two days
PHUKET: Traffic screeched to a halt on Phisit Gorani Road near Patong Temple about 7pm yesterday as motorists and other passers-by watched a team of Phuket rescue workers snatch a man from the ledge of a three-story building while he was preparing himself to jump. The man, 25-year-old tattoo artist Surasak Buranaphanit, later told Phuket police he was being hunted…
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Team Premier wins Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: The strongest winds of the week at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta boded well for skipper Hannes Weimer and his Team Premier crew as they scored a first place and a second place finish in their two races yesterday to win the IRC Zero Class with 13 points. “We’ve raced in 10 [Phuket] King’s Cups now, but this is…
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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