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.
-
Sponsored Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
-
Phuket Live Wire: True 3G dongles all the way
PHUKET: I dropped by the True office in Phuket Town and discovered a number of changes. If you want “3G” HSPA service in Phuket, here’s what you need to know. In Phuket, 3G service (more accurately, HSPA service) is only available from True. True is in the process of extending 3G service on the island. In spite of what you…
-
Phuket Vagabonds develop RSA rugby scholarship
PHUKET: SOUTH African rugby club Kriel Roosters strengthened existing ties with Phuket by inking a deal to develop a scholarship program for promising youth players. The Kriel Roosters, based in Pretoria, have been regular participants at the Phuket International Rugby 10s tournament, winning in 2010 and reaching the finals of this years competition. Many teams remarked on the increase in…
-
Phuket sleepwalker fights for life after two-storey fall
PHUKET: A mechanic is in hospital with severe head injuries after falling from the balcony of his second-storey apartment in Rassada last night. Police believe the man was walking in his sleep at the time. Lt Col Sien Keawthong of the Phuket City Police identified the man as Worrawut Chaleewan. Thought to be in his mid-30s, Mr Worrawut fell from…
-
Phuket bluebottle scare: the coast is clear
PHUKET: The invasion of Portuguese man o’ war “jellyfish” at Phuket beaches over the weekend appears to have ended, but lifeguards are keeping a watchful eye on the situation in order to ensure the safety of swimmers and beachcombers. Vitanya Chuayuan, publicity officer of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, confirmed this morning that there have been no reports of the pseudo-jellies…
-
Stranded Phuket tourists get strategic in face of flight delays
PHUKET: Passengers grounded by ongoing delays and cancellations by Strategic Airlines are upbeat despite little information from the airline. Following a forced landing in Kuala Lumpur last week, the airline canceled their immediate Brisbane-Phuket services and today delayed their Melbourne-Phuket flights. “About 300 [passengers] all up. They did fly one lot of people out to Melbourne, people with children or…
-
Two gunned down in Phuket gangland “misunderstanding’
PHUKET: Phuket police today presented three men charged with the gangland-style slayings of two men in Patong early yesterday morning. Nat “Chit” Nakpetch, 31, from Kathu, Somnuek “Wae” Suwanthanoo and Poochit “Max” Pookham, both 29 and both from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, were presented to media at Patong Police Station today. All three men were charged with planning and carrying out…
-
Russian found hanged in Phuket police cell
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the apparent suicide of a Russian tourist while in a detention cell at Patong Police Station on Saturday night. Patong Police duty officer Pattapee Srichay confirmed the identity of the deceased as Evgeny Otrubyannikov, a 26-year-old Russian national. Mr Evgeny apparently took his life at about 10pm by using his shirt to hang himself by…
-
FC Phuket score first away win against Thanayburi
PHUKET: Three wins in seven days has given new FC Phuket coach Sompong Wattana some breathing room after setting his stall out to not lose three on the trot when he joined the club just three weeks ago. A 1-0 win over Thanyaburi Rose Asia United FC in Saturday’s Toyota League Cup first round gave Phuket their first away victory…
-
Westwood a bitter bridesmaid
PHUKET: “It’s amazing he’s only ever won three tournaments the amount of time he gets into contention.” Former world number one Lee Westwood offering a bitter swipe at the eternal efforts of Rory McIlroy’s to win a Major. For the record Rory is 22-years-old and now has a Major to his name. The magnanamous Mr Westwood is 38-years of age…
-
40,000 voters in Phuket sign up to cast ballots for other provinces
PHUKET: Shedding a little more light on the size of Phuket’s “hidden population” is the fact that more than 40,000 people have registered for absentee ballots in the upcoming general election. According to information released earlier today by the Phuket Election Commission, a total of 40,680 people registered to vote in other provinces during the registration period that ended on…
-
Portuguese Man o’ War invade Phuket
PHUKET: As if monsoon-season rip currents weren’t bad enough, the head of the island’s lifeguard association is warning the public of a new threat lurking in the Phuket surf: the dreaded bluebottle “jellyfish”. Vitanya Chuayuan, publicity officer of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, said two of the pseudo-jellies were spotted at Nai Thon Beach on Wednesday. Over the weekend there were…
-
US Open a father’s day gift from McIlroy
PHUKET: NORTHERN Irish golfer Rory McIlroy won the US Open in stunning fashion early this morning, breaking 12 records in the process. The 22-year-old from the small town of Hollywood, County Down, entered the record books as the youngest player to win the title since Bobby Jones in 1923. But McIlroy etched his name in history in more ways than…
-
Mystery donor gives B1mn for Phuket’s first cricket ground
PHUKET: An anonymous benefactor has stepped up to donate one million baht to the development of the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG), Phuket’s first dedicated cricket ground and clubhouse. Construction of the eagerly anticipated ACG was finally given a green light on May 31. The main financier of the project, Alan Cooke MBE, bought a parcel of land in Thalang specifically…
-
Phuket Public Transport: Residents need reality U-turn, but beware the tuk-tuks
PHUKET: After 19 months of delay, it’s time to break the median strip in front of Phuket Provincial Bus Terminal 2 and finally get the buses rolling from there. [See story, front page, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.] Despite its ill-advised location, the site is an improvement over that of…
-
FC Phuket through to round two of Toyota Football League Cup
PHUKET: A single goal advanced FC Phuket to the Toyota League Cup second round, defeating their lower league opponents Thanyaburi FC in Pathum Thani on Saturday. Having posted two wins in three games and accruing 12 goals in the process, Phuket’s coach Sompong Watana portrayed confidence in his pre-match comments. “Our first [Toyota League Cup] match with Thanyaburi United is…
-
Chinese tourist airlifted after Phuket boat tour
PHUKET: Royal Thai Navy medevac officers scrambled this afternoon after receiving a call to airlift a Chinese tourist from Koh Racha Yai back to Phuket. Cdr Jongjaroen Jangjun, Duty Officer at the Third Naval Area Command Operations Center, told the Phuket Gazette that 53-year-old Xiao Ming Hao was on a boat trip to Koh Racha Yai, about 25 kilometers south…
-
Phuket enjoys a fruity affair
PHUKET: Fruit lovers may want to make a trip to Phuket Town over the weekend, as a fair featuring the best produce from Eastern Thailand’s Chanthaburi province is now underway. Seven different types of fruit from the famed fruit-producing region are now on sale at the central stage area at Saphan Hin. The event, which began yesterday, is open daily…
-
Phuket expat survives high-speed crash
PHUKET: An expat sales executive at a luxury villa resort complex in Phuket was injured when his car slammed into a power pole on the coastal road to the airport just before midnight last night. Called to the crash site, about 200 meters from Nai Yang Temple, Kusoldharm Foundation workers found a badly-damaged Toyota Vios crashed into a power pole…
-
The team in front is FC Phuket
PHUKET: FC Phuket begin their Toyota League Cup campaign this afternoon playing an away fixture to Thanyaburi FC in Pathum Thani. Sixty four teams are entered in the first round with 21 games being played today. A further nine matches are scheduled for tomorrow, June 19 and the remaining two games will be played on Sunday, June 26. Thanyaburi FC…
-
Phuket Poll: What is your favorite chain of convenience stores on Phuket?
PHUKET: It seems that you can’t turn a corner on Phuket without bumping into yet another new convenience store opening its doors on Phuket. Supercheap and Tops Daily convenience stores are now adding to the ever increasing number of 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Tesco Express and “mum and pop” stores on the island. Some stores sit side by side. But with…
-
Mystery surrounds death of Swiss woman found floating off Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket City Police traveled to Koh Maphrao today to investigate the discovery of a Swiss woman’s body found yesterday in waters off the island’s east coast. The body was identified as 61-year-old Ursula Balzan by her relatives who lived nearby on Koh Maphrao. Her neck was broken and there were bruises around her body and mouth. Officers told the…
-
Driver flees scene of lethal Phuket crash
PHUKET: The driver of a pickup truck fled the scene of a fatal crash with a motorcycle on Phuket’s west coast early this morning. The accident, involving a Honda Wave motorbike and an Isuzu D-Max, occurred near a Chinese cemetery on Srisoonthorn Road between Cherng Talay and Bang Tao at 3:30am. The motorcycle was found 15 meters from the truck,…
-
Phuket gets cooking for halal food expo
PHUKET: Representatives from 70 halal organizations from 35 countries have been invited to join the ‘Phuket Halal International Forum and Andaman Muslim Expo 2011’, which gets underway at Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa in Patong on June 22. The two-day international forum will focus on halal certification in each respective country, seeking to reach consensus on a standard in order…
-
Keeping dolphins in captivity is inhumane: Poll
PHUKET: A strong majority of Phuket Gazette readers who voted in a recent online readers’ poll say that keeping dolphins in captivity is inhumane. Readers were asked: “Do you think it is humane to keep dolphins in captivity?” Four answers were available: 1) Yes; 2) No; 3) It depends on how they are acquired and treated; and 4) I don’t…
-
Taxis, tour agencies ink MoU to end blockades at Phuket Deep Sea Port
PHUKET: An hour of intense negotiations today finally ended with taxi drivers and tour agencies signing an agreement to end blockades at Phuket’s Deep Sea Port. Most, but not all, parties present at the meeting at Provincial Hall today signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was outlined by verbal agreement following the blockade of tourists attempting to disembark the…
-
Police rally against vote selling in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket police today held their second rally to encourage people to vote for the candidates they support and not to “sell” their votes to canvassers who come knocking at their doors in the run-up to the July 3 general election. Carrying banners and walking to music played by school marching bands, the crowd paraded south from a market on…
-
Russian honeymoon tourist in Phuket dies after dangerous surf rescue
PHUKET: A young Russian tourist on honeymoon in Phuket died earlier today after she was pulled unconscious from dangerous surf at Nai Thon Beach late yesterday afternoon. Irina Tsyz, 24, was swimming with her husband Alexander Ovsov, 25, when she started to flounder in the large waves, Tah Chat Chai police told the Phuket Gazette. “It was windy and she…
-
Phuket PEA issues blackout notice
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority, Thalang office, has announced a scheduled blackout to carry out maintenance work on high-voltage power lines. The work will be carried out on Tuesday, June 21, from 9am to 5pm. Affected areas include the road from Baan Mai Khao to Baan Suan Maprao, including Mai Khao Soi 8, Mai Khao Soi 9, Soi Suan…
-
Early vote registration in Phuket ends tomorrow
PHUKET: Tomorrow is the last day for Phuket residents who will be out of town on July 3 to register to vote early on June 26 in the upcoming general election. Phuket Election Commission Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit is urging all such residents to register at the District Office or subdistrict (tambon or municipality) office where they reside. The early vote…
-
Phuket “Miniature World’ expo starts tomorrow
PHUKET: The annual Amazing Thai Miniature World exhibition returns to Phuket tomorrow at the Jungceylon shopping complex in Patong. Set to take place at Silang Boulevardon the ground floor, the exhibition will feature glimpses into the Thai way of life, both past and present, as represented by tiny carvings and other intricate artwork produced by expert craftsmen. The event, going…
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.