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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Phuket November: A month of murder
PHUKET: There were five premeditated murders in Phuket last month, according to crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police. Once again leading the number of reported cases and arrests were narcotics offenses. Overall 320 people were arrested in 282 cases, a 4.7% decrease year-on-year. The breakdown of these arrests was listed as follows: Consumption: 116 arrests Possession: 114 arrests…
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Phuket Rotary joins anti-polio effort
PHUKET: Rotary Clubs on the island are joining the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) in the local effort to eradicate polio. Rotarians will lend a hand at the PPHO’s upcoming mobile polio vaccination clinics to be held across the island as part of National Immunization Day for Polio Eradication on December 15. On the day, free polio vaccinations will be…
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Phuket to party for health
PHUKET: In a bid to boost confidence among tourists that local food is safe to eat and that local health services are reliable, the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) will host a “Party in the Park” from December 16 to 18. Lined up for the Public Health for Tourism (Andaman Group) Health Station Expo, to be held at Queen Sirikit…
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Phuket’s sad tale of two Russians
PHUKET: Russian tourist Nikoley Bobrova, 64, rushed to his wife’s aid as soon as he saw her in trouble in Phuket’s surf yesterday but could not save her. Mr Bobrova and his wife Irina, also 64, arrived in Phuket on holiday on December 1. The couple were due to fly home tomorrow. Police said the couple arrived at Karon Beach…
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Phuket not surveyed, but Bangkok now ranked as world’s 2nd cheapest city
PHUKET: In what can only be good news for Phuket and the Thai tourism industry, Bangkok appears as the second most affordable city in the world, according to a list compiled and published by PriceRunner.com yesterday. Oslo tops the list of the world’s most expensive cities, and each of the Scandinavian capitals appears in the top seven. According to a…
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Thai Inflation: Phuket may be at the forefront next year
PHUKET: A national committee on public-sector compensation is expected to seek Cabinet approval on Tuesday to raise the salaries of all civil servants, MPs and senators by 5-14.9%. If approved, it will cost taxpayers an extra 13 billion baht a year, according to a well placed government source. The proposal comes on the heels of news earlier this month that…
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Phuket King’s Cup yachts still stranded
PHUKET: As the sun sets on the last day of 24th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, at least four yachts remain stranded on Kata Beach after a day of relentless hammering by strong waves. More than 10 boats were beached this morning by strong winds and big waves that Regatta Director Simon James described as “abnormal”. A spokesman for the regatta…
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Phuket tsunami warning buoys arrive
PHUKET: The ship bringing the two tsunami direct-detection buoys to be installed off Phuket has arrived at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) ship docked with the “tsunameters” on board at the PMBC pier last night after setting sail from Samut Prakarn on Monday. The ship will depart about 1…
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Phuket’s DEA “drug lord’ souvenirs on hold
PHUKET: The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office in Bangkok has confirmed that its “spot a drug lord” souvenirs will not be available in Phuket until the new year. The souvenir items, a collection of coffee mugs, pens and T-shirts bearing images of some of the DEA’s “most wanted” drug traffickers, were initially intended to be distributed this week to…
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Phuket storm pushes King’s Cup racers aground
PHUKET: Racers in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta are working furiously this morning to recover several yachts pushed ashore by strong winds and swell during the night. The last race of the regatta was canceled as organizers stared at four boats beached at Kata Beach and seven boats caught in the surf break. Many boats have already left the bay…
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Phuket King’s Cup: Ichi Ban scores “hat trick’, Thai Navy pipped
PHUKET: Mixed winds brought mixed fortunes today in the last day of racing in the 24th King’s Cup Regatta. IRC 1 class winner Matt Allen on Ichi Ban lifted his third consecutive class trophy without even racing. They had won the class with an impressive 1-2-1-3-1-1-3 scorecard by sundown yesterday. No racers in the King’s Cup have won three consecutive…
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Evolution Racing wins Phuket King’s Cup 2010
PHUKET: Ray Roberts and his Evolution Racing crew just held onto series honors today to win the 24th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. It was a dramatic start for Roberts. Missing the start gun put Evolution at the back of the pack on the start line. Then the big boat of the fleet, Frank Pong’s Jelik III, along with Song Xia…
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Phuket’s Laem Phromthep now a no-smoking landmark
PHUKET: Laem Phromthep is now a no-smoking peninsular. “The prohibition zone starts at the bottom of the stairs and extends along the hill,” Rawai Municipality officer Sanya Kontien told the Gazette. The ban, which includes the drinking of alcohol, began at the end of last month and signs have been posted to inform visitors at Phuket’s iconic tourist attraction. The…
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Phuket Poll: Fair to have English tests for UK spousal visas?
PHUKET: All Thais must now pass an English-language test in order to be granted a visa to stay in the United Kingdom on the basis of being a spouse or legal companion of a UK national. Is this new restriction, which applies to all non-Europeans, appropriate and fair? Have your say by voting in the new Phuket Gazette readers’ poll…
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Phuket King’s Cup set for “hat trick’ history
PHUKET: The final day of racing in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta tomorrow may go down in the history books as the first King’s Cup in which not one, but two yachts have accomplished a sporting achievement not seen in nearly a decade – winning a King’s Cup Regatta hat trick. The feat was last achieved by Bill Gasson when…
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Phuket divers to clean up Patong Bay
PHUKET: Divers from the Thai Diving Association and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Phuket office will stage an underwater cleanup in Patong Bay next Thursday. “The underwater waste to be collected includes fishing nets thrown overboard by fishermen as well as empty bottles of beer and other alcohol that tourists have thrown into the sea,” Ongart Chanacharnmongkol, Director…
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SDF moves to stave off Phuket distemper outbreak
PHUKET: Soi Dog Foundation, one of Phuket’s leading animal welfare organizations, is calling for help in its efforts to prevent an island-wide outbreak of the dreaded canine disease distemper. “Soi Dog is currently working around the clock doing mass vaccinations of dogs at temples and other locations. Distemper has been virtually eradicated in the west; however this is not the…
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Phuket King’s Cup “lost’ crewman
PHUKET: The crew of Pytheas Aura, a 14-meter cutter racing in the King’s Cup Regatta, woke this morning to find fellow crewman, Canadian Joseph James Patrick, 42, dead on his bunk. Police believed he died of a heart attack. Mr Patrick had lived on Phuket for several years, staying in the Kata area, a friend told the Gazette. He apparently…
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Phuket King’s Cup: Split-second separates Racing class winner
PHUKET: Only 0.49 of a second on corrected time separated Neil Pryde’s HiFi and Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing in race one today at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Frank Pong’s Jelik III took line honors, followed by Sam Chan’s FreeFire then Dubai-based boat Team Premier. But all eyes were on Evolution Racing, which tacked away from HiFi at the bottom…
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Phuket caddie gunned down, killed
PHUKET: A caddie at the Mission Hills golf club in Phuket was killed by single gunshot to the back of the head yesterday morning. Thalang Police identified the victim as Amornrat Petchtrong, 26. Local villagers discovered her body before dawn on an access road about 200 meters from the golf course in Pa Khlok. An eyewitness told police he was…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Day 2 update
PHUKET: With the final provisional results just in for today’s racing in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2010, Ray Robert’s Evolution Racing has kept pole position in the Racing class with arch rival Neil Pryde’s HiFi still in second place. The Evolution crew have so far secured four wins from five races. With three races left in the regatta, the…
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Phuket King’s Cup: Evolution extends lead
PHUKET: Stiff breeze offshore made for good yacht racing today, day two of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2010, with Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing extending their lead in the Racing class by one point. Arch rival Neil Pryde and his crew on HiFi drew first blood yesterday, winning the regatta’s opening race, but Evolution fought back from their disappointing fourth-place…
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Top Thai junior golfers to play in Phuket
PHUKET: More than 140 of Thailand’s best junior golfers will compete at the Thai Golf Association (TGA) Junior Regional Championship at Phuket Country Club this week. The four-day competition, for boys and girls between the ages of nine and 17, starts on Wednesday. Play culminates with the final round on Saturday, when the regional junior champion will be crowned. Featuring…
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Evolution Racing leads Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2010
PHUKET: Defending Racing class champion Neil Pryde on HiFi started the first day of Phuket King’s Cup Regatta (KCR) 2010 today with a win, but it was Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing who closed the day leading the class. After placing fourth in the first race this morning, Evolution recovered to win the next two races. “In the first race there…
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Acrobuffos set to soak Old Phuket Town
PHUKET: Renowned street artists Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, better known as The Acrobuffos, are headlining the entertainment set to take over Old Phuket Town on December 17-19. The comic duo will be performing as part of the first-ever Phuket Street Show Festival, which coincides with the Patong Carnival this month. While the Acrobuffos bill themselves as “laughmakers, street players…
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Anapat, 10, sails to Phuket dinghy race victory
PHUKET: Sailing sensation Anapat Ngarmdee, 10, proved to be one of the stars of the opening weekend of the King’s Cup Regatta by clinching first place in the inaugural Phuket King’s Cup Dinghy Series. The four-series event, featuring a total of 20 races, finished off Kata Beach yesterday. Anapat finished in the top spot, heading a field of 19 Optimist-class…
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Phuket drug detection gone to the dogs
PHUKET: Local authorities expect two puppies now under intensive training at Phuket International Dog School (PIDS) to become effective drug detection dogs by January. The two candidates, Bebe and Boo Boo, are both four months old. Bebe is a four-kilogram female beagle, while Boo Boo is a male pit bull currently weighing in at seven kilos. The project is the…
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O’Donnell wins Phuket’s inaugural Ironman 70.3
PHUKET: Former US Navy lieutenant Tim O’Donnell today dominated the formidable 50-strong field of some 800 competitors to win the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket in just under four hours. The American, whose impressive 2010 season included the Ironman 70.3 Florida title, was first out of the water from the 1.9km swim in 24 minutes 34 seconds.…
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Top-class field set for Phuket’s Ironman 70.3
PHUKET: Reigning Ironman 70.3 world champion Michael Raelert of Germany will head a high-caliber field of international professional triathletes at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship tomorrow. The race will also include a legend an Ironman legend, Ironman Craig Alexander from Australia. It will get underway with the first wave at 7am at Laguna Phuket resort. Ironman is triathlon’s ultimate…
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New Pink Bus route announced
PHUKET: The award-winning Pink Buses in Phuket Town will ply a new route between Saphan Hin and Rassada early next year. Paiboon Upatising, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO), told the Gazette that the new route will be serviced by eight new vehicles, known locally as po thong. It will be the third PPAO Pink Bus route to…
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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