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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Phuket Blues Fest star tops blues download chart
PHUKET: Phuket International Blues Rock Festival star Rich Harper is now Number 1 on Airplaydirect.com worldwide blues radio downloads for September with his new “LIVE in Scandinavia” CD. “Downloads for Harper’s music last night passed even the mighty Charlie Musselwhite and his new CD ‘The Well‘, which was recorded on the world’s largest blues label, Alligator,” said organizer Andy Anderson.…
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New Phuket incinerator to burn off landfill waste
PHUKET: The days of the landfill behind the Phuket City Incinerator at Saphan Hin may be numbered, following confirmation that a new incinerator now under construction at the site will use any extra burning capacity to reduce the huge stockpiles of trash. Phuket City Deputy Mayor Thaworn Jeeraphat told Gazette that project contractor PJT is contracted to burn at least…
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Asian Hospitality & Travel Show starts tomorrow in Phuket
PHUKET: The three-day Asian Hospitality & Travel Show, the first Asian trade exhibition bringing together suppliers and exhibitors of every facet of the hospitality and travel industry from all over Asia, kicks of tomorrow at the Häfele Design Center Phuket on the bypass road southbound. The show, proudly sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, will bring together more than 100 exhibitors…
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Phuket businessman and companion die in car crash
PHUKET: Well-known Phuket businessman Pornchai Sawasri and a female companion died in a car accident in Thalang last night when Mr Pornchai lost control of his vehicle and hit a power pole after swerving to avoid a dog. Thalang Police were notified of the crash at 9:30pm. At the scene, on a curved section of Thepkrasattri Road northbound opposite the…
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Phuket police identify horror smash victim
PHUKET: Police have identified the victim of yesterday’s horror smash at Tesco-Lotus junction as Miss Orrasa Pethpattana, a 19-year-old native of Nakhon Thai District in Pitsanuloke. Case investigator Capt Kittiphum Tinthalang of the Phuket Provincial Police told the Gazette Miss Orrasa was riding riding pillion on the motorbike driven by her boyfriend, 27-year-old Yutthapong Deepakdee, when they were hit by…
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Thai police pounce on prolific panty perv
PHUKET: A motorbike taxi driver caught red-handed with a bag full of used bras and panties was later found in possession of thousands of women’s undergarments at his home. After arresting 46-year-old Phanu Phloisuwan on September 26, Samut Prakarn City police found a trove of more than 5,000 undergarments, mostly stolen from washing lines over a two-year period. Most of…
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One dead, two critical following Phuket horror smash
PHUKET: A young student is dead and two other people seriously injured after a 22-wheel tractor-trailer rig slammed into two motorcycles at the Tesco-Lotus junction at around noon today. Witnesses told the Gazette that the truck, traveling on the bypass road southbound, ran a red light as westbound traffic pulled out of Yaowarat Road in the direction of Kathu. One…
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Phuket governor and wife bid farewell
PHUKET: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and his wife Thaisika left the Governor’s Mansion early this morning, his Mercedez-Benz trailed by a van full of Phuket government officers and members of the media who will travel with him all the way back to his home in Nakhon Pathom. Among the 300 people who got up early to send off Gov Wichai was…
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Phuket blackout: No power in Rawai tomorrow
PHUKET: Residents of Rawai should be reminded that there will be another scheduled power outage from 9am to 4pm tomorrow as the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) continues its work on power lines in the area. The blackout will affect Wiset Road, from Saiyaun Road south to Nai Harn Beach, including Soi Khok Yang, Soi Hua Pru, Soi Khok Makham and…
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Scuba Cat team rakes in marine debris off Phuket
PHUKET: Divers of all ages took the plunge Saturday and Sunday as part of dive tour operator Scuba Cat’s contribution to International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday. A total of 31 divers volunteered their time dragging trash from the depths of the Andaman at Koh Racha Yai over the weekend. The team included Scuba Cat staff, repeat customers and 14…
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Phuket Gov farewell wish: Make Saphan Hin road a reality
PHUKET: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop last night called for his successor to continue the fight to complete the Klong Koh Pee road project, which looks set to move forward following a new measure issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) specifically for Phuket. Governor Wichai made the comment during a speech at a farewell press party last night,…
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Phuket Town ‘Pink Bus’ project wins ‘innovation’ award
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s “Pink Bus” project providing reasonably-priced public transport for Phuket City residents has won a national award for “Local Innovation” from the Prime Minister’s Office. The award was one of 61 awarded to local administration offices by a new Prime Minister’s Office committee on decentralization of power to local administration organizations. A total of 1,003…
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Only 15 spots left in Phuket Pro-Am charity golf event
PHUKET: The island’s first-ever Pro-Am charity golf tournament is coming to Phuket with more than 30 big names from the PGA Asian Tour signed up to take part. But time is running out for Phuket amateur golfers to get involved in the exciting event, as there are only 15 places left, the organizers say. The 2010 Phuket Property Dot Com…
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‘India loves Phuket’, travel agents say
PHUKET: The Travel Agents’ Association of India (TAAI) expects at least a 100% increase in the number of Indian tourists coming to Phuket next year, TAAI President Rajinder Rai told the Gazette. Some 1,000 Indian travel agents attended a three-day TAAI conference organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The event, hosted by Phuket Fantasea in Kamala, ended yesterday. “Last…
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Phuket murder suspect still in UK jail: British Embassy
PHUKET: British Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle this morning confirmed that fugitive murder suspect Lee Aldhouse is still in custody somewhere in the UK. British officials will work closely with their Thai counterparts in their efforts to have the kickboxer extradited to Phuket to face charges for the stabbing murder of American Dashawn Longfellow in Rawai last month, he said.…
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Phuket girl wins Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010
PHUKET: Indonesian Tipi “The Tiger” Jabrik took first place in the finals of the Men’s shortboard competition at the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010 yesterday, while 12-year-old Phuket local Annissa Flynn used her knowledge of the “home surf” to take top honors in the women’s shortboard event. Seventy-seven surfers from 10 countries competed in the events, with total cash prizes…
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Phuket villagers ramp up tunnel protest
PHUKET: More than 100 villagers from Baan Mon community in Patong descended on Provincial Hall last week to hand a formal letter of complaint to the governor against the proposed Patong Tunnel project. The villagers vowed to fight any government effort to expropriate land needed for the project. Current scheduled rates for expropriation set by the Land Department would never…
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Fried chicken vendor is latest Phuket road fatality
PHUKET: A fried chicken vendor was killed instantly last night in Kathu when his motorbike was struck by another traveling at high speed. Thung Thong Police were notified of the accident at 8:10pm. Investigations Inspector Chaowalit Petch-sribia rushed to the scene at the entrance to Soi Boon-erb, a well-known traffic danger spot at the base of Patong Hill. Accompanied by…
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Burmese workers camp burns in Phuket
PHUKET: A Burmese workers’ camp in Phuket burned to the ground in just 20 minutes on Friday night, leading an unknown number of occupants to flee. The fire started around 9pm at the site in Chalong, which housed workers for a stone processing company belonging to a prominent Phuket family. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation staff from Tambon Chalong and Wichit…
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FC Phuket in training in Bangkok
PHUKET: FC Phuket are now in their second week of training for the upcoming “mini-league” playoffs to determine which four of the twelve qualifying teams will move up to Division One of the Thai League. Arjhan Songgamsub, head coach of Division 2 South champion FC Phuket, also known as Southern Sea Kirin, said all of his players are in good…
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Phuket Immigration: No change in visa overstay rules
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration chief today denied there have been any formal changes in the way Thai Immigration Police deal with foreigners who overstay their permits-to-stay or who are otherwise discovered to be residing in the Kingdom illegally. Phuket Immigration Superintendent Panuwat Ruamrak admitted receiving “many” calls today following an online media report stating that foreigners who try to depart…
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All systems go for Phuket Veggiefest 2010
PHUKET: Final preparations are being ironed out for this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which will kick off with an opening ceremony at Saphan Hin Park at 9am on October 7. The raising of go teng poles to welcome the Chinese Warrior Gods down from their celestial abode will take place at participating shrines later the same day. The ceremony “proper”…
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Lexus says “take a free ride’ in Phuket
PHUKET: To mark the opening of its 10th service center in Thailand, at the Toyota Pearl showroom on Thepkrasattri Rd in Rassada, Lexus is now offering free test drives of all its models at Central Festival Phuket. The promotional campaign, which runs until Wednesday, was launched by Toyota Motor Thailand Co Ltd vice-president Sittachai Jiratthanyasakul at the Indigo Pearl resort…
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Phuket braces for another anti-smoking crackdown
PHUKET: Patong business operators have been given one month to post No Smoking signs and set up smoking areas in their air-conditioned restaurants and nightclubs, or face a fine of up to 20,000 baht.Smokers found breaking the law will face a fine of up to 2,000 baht.The deadline was handed down by Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao on September 14.At…
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Hilton deal to boost golf tourism to Phuket
PHUKET: The Hilton hotel chain has joined Golfasian, a leading inbound golf tour operator in Thailand to create the Thai marketing cooperative ‘Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Golf Experience’. The initiative will make it easier for visitors looking for a premium golf holiday to book a variety of stay-and-play itineraries. It is also hoped that Hilton’s involvement will help…
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Phuket tourists face jail for long immigration overstays
PHUKET: The Thai Immigration Bureau in Bangkok is now arresting and jailing foreigners with long “overstays” before permitting them to leave the Kingdom, ThaiVisa.com reports. Immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport are apparently fed up with foreigners flouting Thai Immigration law by turning up at the checkpoint with a valid air ticket and the maximum fine of 20,000 baht in hand.…
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Phuket tsunami buoy won’t be redeployed in 2010
PHUKET: Thailand’s Andaman Coast will be without tsunami direct detection capability when the sixth anniversary of the 2004 disaster arrives in late December, the Gazette has learned. Aurasa Paenghom, general manager of Bangkok-based firm Raydant International, which built and maintains Thailand’s tsunami early warning system, estimates that it will take several months before the tsunami buoy that went adrift in…
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Phuket Surf Competition underway
PHUKET: The Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010 is underway at Kata Beach, with finals scheduled for Sunday. Highlights for tomorrow will be a special surf show from 11am to 1pm with two renowned professionals demonstrating their skills. Taking to the surf will be Indonesian Surfing Championship (ISC) president Tipi ‘Tiger’ Jabrik of Indonesia and ISC board member Jake ‘The Snake’…
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Phuket divers gear up for Coastal Cleanup Day
PHUKET: Phuket’s recreational dive community is gearing up for International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, with two major cleanup activities planned. The Thai Diving Association, Scuba Schools International and Sea Bees are holding a “big clean-up dive” off Phuket to help save local reefs. The meeting point will be at the Anchor Inn restaurant in Chalong at 9am. Finger food…
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Phuket’s budget airlines under fire; Phuket surf; Gas leak
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Phuket’s budget airlines facing heat PHUKET: The Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) is summoning low-cost airlines to respond to complaints of unfair charges. The OCPB has issued letters to all low-cost airlines operating in Thailand…
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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