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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Campaign to reduce plastic waste launched
PHUKET CITY: In possibly Phuket’s first unilateral move to reduce the volume of trash created each day on the island, the leaders of all 19 local administration organizations on Phuket – as well as representatives of 23 businesses, shops, department stores and resorts on the island – signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at The Metropole hotel on July 9.…
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Southern rebel leader announces end to separatism
Bangkok (Nation): A self-proclaimed spokesman of 11 “underground” separatist groups has announced a ceasefire in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, ending the secessionist movement in the Malay-speaking region.The announcement, delivered by videotape, was broadcast midday today through Thai TV5, an Army-run station and TV 7.Speaking through a translator, the spokesman announced an end to all violent…
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Goat beauties open agricultural fair
CHERNG TALAY: This year’s Cherng Talay Agricultural Fair began today with a beauty contest with a difference – the pageant aimed to find the island’s most attractive goat. Organized by Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), the five-day event offers islanders a chance to cop an eyeful of Phuket’s most attractive fruits, flowers and farm animals. Flowers and other agricultural…
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Abandoned Kancils baffle Customs officers
CHALONG: The discovery of two Perodua Kancil cars, found abandoned at two different locations on the island last week, have sparked a search by Customs officers for the people who left them behind.Customs officers found one of the Malaysian-made cars hidden in a rubber plantation on Sakdidet Rd, Wichit, on July 8.The white four-door Perodua Kancil was not fitted with…
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Floating gas station busted
AO MAKHAM: Phuket Customs officers on July 10 arrested two men found on board a Thai-registered boat carrying 3,000 liters of illegal diesel off the coast of Satun.Customs officers apprehended the vessel at sea 17 nautical miles north of Koh Adang in Satun province at 5:30 pm on July 10, Somchai Poolsawasdi, director of the Royal Thai Customs Investigation and…
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Drug arrests coming down
PHUKET: Crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police show that the number of drug-related arrests in June was down to 44% compared with 66% in May.In June, there were 171 arrests for drug-related offenses, 104 of which involved ya bah (methamphetamine) with a total of 7,052 pills seized.A total of 41 people were arrested for using cannabis, with 4,581.08…
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Bars asked to observe alcohol ban
PHUKET: As a mark of respect for Asarnha Bucha and Buddhist Lent this Thursday and Friday, respectively, bars and other sellers of alcohol on the island are being asked to observe an alcohol ban on the two Buddhist holidays.Businesses are asked not to serve alcohol from midnight on Wednesday night until midnight on Friday night.Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnak told…
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Treasury Dept gets moving on ICEC
PHUKET: Nine months after a provincial government committee decided on a 350-rai plot of Treasury Department (TRD) land in Mai Khao as the preferred site for the Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC), the TRD has now decided the project needs prompt action.Pitak Direksoonthorn, Director of the TRD’s State Property Administration Office, on Wednesday met Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit…
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Inaugural multihull regatta underway
CHALONG: Crews racing in the inaugural SEA Property Multihull Championship got off to an easy start this morning with catamarans and trimarans crossing the start line in light winds.Although the regatta entails only two days of racing, it has attracted a large number of local multihulls, including many of the Phuket designed and built Firefly 850s.Among the Fireflys, which are competing…
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Thaksin on graft charges
BANGKOK (The Nation): The attorney-general has filed a criminal lawsuit against Thaksin Shinawatra, accusing him of abusing power while serving as prime minister by converting telecom concessions to benefit Shin Corp at a cost of 66 billion baht in damages to Thailand.After an initial delay, the attorney-general yesterday took up the policy corruption case involving Shin Corp, which was investigated…
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Chalong Pier operator to quit contract
PHUKET CITY: Following allegations of not fulfilling obligations laid out in the concession offered by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), Choke Aree Tour Co Ltd has asked to annul the contract to operate Chalong Pier.At a meeting at the OrBorJor offices in Phuket City on July 3, OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising said that Choke Aree received 300,000 baht a…
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Lucky escape no laughing matter
RAWAI: Twelve staff from Tamarind Bar on Wiset Rd miraculously escaped fatal injuries when the pickup truck they were traveling in careened off the road and smashed into a power pole, causing passengers to be thrown from the vehicle about 1 am today.Eye-witnesses said the four-door Toyota Hilux Vigo was northbound on Wiset Rd when its left wheels came off…
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PAD members march on Provincial Hall
PHUKET CITY: The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched through Phuket City this afternoon on their way to deliver a letter expressing disappointment at the central government’s handling of the Preah Vihear Temple saga.About 300 PAD members led by PAD leader Natjarong Ekpermsup met at about 1:30 pm in front of the Tourism Authority of Thailand office on Thalang Rd…
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OrBorJor hospital suffers another delay
RASSADA: In the latest snag in the saga of the re-opening of the old Phya Thai Hospital, one of Thailand’s leading interior designers, who has been commissioned for the project, presented interior plans for the five-story building and for only about half of the main building.Wibool Tiramongkol, special instructor at the Faculty of Decorative Arts at Silpakorn University – Thailand’s…
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THAI resumes Tokyo-Phuket flights
PHUKET: Thai Airways International (THAI) has announced it will resume operating direct flights between Tokyo and Phuket from July 17.Flight TG 671, which will operate directly from Tokyo to Phuket to Bangkok, was suspended in February 2005 as passenger numbers plummeted after the tsunami.THAI will operate two flights a week – on Thursday and Saturday – departing Tokyo at 10…
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Rassada Municipality officer shot dead
RASSADA: Police believe the killing of Rassada Municipality officer Surin Inkaew, 23, who was found shot dead in his rented room early on Saturday, was motivated by ya bah (methamphetamine).Capt Sathit Noorit from Phuket City Police Station told the Gazette that he was notified of the shooting at 4:20 am.Police arrived at the ground-floor apartment, about 500 meters from Rassada…
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TAT lowers tourism projections
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has sharply cut its projections for the number of international visitors and tourism revenue next year due to soaring oil prices, which are discouraging international travel and have led to cuts in inbound flights.It targets only a 3.3-per-cent growth in the number of international visitors in 2009, a sharp downward revision…
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Tourists stay put as tsunami sirens sound
PATONG: Tourists in Patong opted to soak up the sun rather than run for their lives during yesterday’s tsunami drill. The exercise, held across the six Andaman provinces, included the sounding of all 79 tsunami warning towers operated by the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC).At Patong Beach, a female English tourist told the Gazette, “I heard the siren and knew what it was,…
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Clams, fish move into new digs
CHALONG: A group of Chalong villagers and Erawan Group staff on Friday released more than 1,000 rare marine creatures into Chalong Bay as part of an initiative to support marine populations off the coast of Phuket.Sutha Prateep Na Thalang, leader of a Chalong fishermen’s group, said, “There aren’t many of these animals left in the water because of all the…
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Dolphins rescued from receding tide
CAPE PANWA: Three rough-toothed dolphins were rescued after they were found stranded on mud flats created by the receding tide at Ao Makham on Saturday.The rescue comes one week after the carcass of a female striped dolphin was discovered washed ashore at Baan Dan in Thalang and nine days after a pod of false killer whales beached at Koh Racha.The…
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Nok Air slashes Bangkok-Krabi route
BANGKOK (The Nation): Nok Air’s daily Bangkok to Krabi flight was one of three routes dropped by the domestic airline on July 1 in an effort to reduce costs. Services from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and to Ubol Ratchathani were also terminated.Travelers already booked on flights for those routes are being transferred to Thai Airways International and Thai AirAsia flights,…
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HOGs go the extra miles
PHUKET: It’s official: the 52 Harley-Davidsons and their 74 riders that collectively notched up 21,000 kilometers by riding from Phuket to Krabi and back on Monday have been added to the global tally to set a record for the most miles on that one day by ‘hog’ riders.Bikers from Phuket, Haad Yai, Krabi, Trang and Pattalung set off from the…
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Health chief warns of dengue
PHUKET: Provincial Health Office chief Dr Paisan Worrasathit has issued a warning for people on Phuket to protect against contracting dengue fever, which sees a spike in the number or people contracting the disease each year during the rainy season.Currently, 200 islanders are suffering from the disease, and one victim recently died, Dr Paisarn said.He added that dengue fever was…
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Thai Airways being torn apart from within
BANGKOK (The Nation): Although the board of directors at Thai Airways decided to reinstate its president, Apinan Sumanaseni, last week, the national carrier’s internal problems are still far from resolution. Executives and staff members have been divided largely because of internal conflicts that have arisen from criticism of the board’s major decisions.For instance, THAI will stop direct flights between Bangkok…
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Major Chalong blackout tomorrow
CHALONG: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced a scheduled blackout for tomorrow (July 4) in order to continue its work on high-voltage power lines.The blackout, from 9 am to 5 pm, will affect Chao Fa East Rd, from De Wara Thani Village, Soi Taiad, Land & Houses Park (Seewalee 3 and 4), Choke Thip Villa, Soi Jarin-U-Thit and…
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Chalerm retreats from angry mobs in Phuket and Krabi
KRABI (The Nation): Ongoing protests by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung by surprise in Phuket and Krabi, forcing him to cancel official duties on Tuesday and again yesterday.Chalerm was supposed to meet Phuket’s governor on Tuesday, along with high-ranking police and local government officials. Heeding warnings of the mob at Phuket airport, said to…
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Residents cash in on recycled bottles
CHERNG TALAY: A joint project by the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) and bottle-recycling company Bangkok Glass Co launched in January seems to have hit a snag, a Gazette investigation has found. Since collection efforts have begun, the estimated 190-240 tons of glass waste that the OrBorTor was anticipating to collect from 7-Eleven shops and other businesses has shrunk…
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Chalerm avoids mob in Phuket
PHUKET: To avoid a welcoming party of about 1,000 protesters waiting for him at Phuket International Airport last night, controversial Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung diverted his plane to land in Krabi.After he landed there at 8:15 pm, K. Chalerm checked into the Krabi Meritime Resort.He reportedly checked out of the hotel at 3 am today.Chalerm is due to deliver his new policies to…
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Provinces ordered to be on alert for leptospirosis
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Public Health Ministry has ordered all provinces to be on the alert for the emergence of leptospirosis after it found 587 current victims of the disease. Of those infected, 15 have died.Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said yesterday that most cases were found during the rainy season. People who wade through floodwater with cuts…
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HRH Ubol Ratana to visit Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Ubol Ratana Rajakanya will be in Phuket July 26 to 29 as part of her ‘To Be Number One’ project to steer Thai children and youths away from drugs.Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit made the announcement at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday at the monthly meeting of Phuket Provincial committee members and office chiefs.She will attend the opening ceremony…
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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