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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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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Kathu roadworks to cause tailbacks
KATHU: Motorists traveling between Kathu and Phuket City can expect traffic delays over the next year, as the narrow, hilly stretch of Wichit Songkhram Rd west of Makro is now being widened into a four-lane divided highway with sidewalks on both sides.The work is underway by project contractor Noppawong Kosarng Company, which was awarded the contract after making a 45.9-million-baht…
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Fire engulfs stalls along Patong beachfront
PATONG: A fire broke out on Thaweewong Rd about 4 am yesterday, destroying eight vendors’ stalls and causing an estimated 10 million baht in damages.Firefighters took two hours to extinguish the blaze.The fire broke out in a row of shops near the Holiday Inn Resort. After being notified of the blaze by Kathu Police, 10 trucks from Patong Municipality Fire…
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Work begins on new Bang Tao stalls
BANG TAO: After January 1, 32 beach vendors currently encroaching on Bang Tao Beach will move into small new stalls now being built for them by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor).Thalang District Chief Administrative Officer Nikorn Torhirunyapreuk told the Gazette that work is now underway on the first 11 stalls being built for the vendors, allowing them to hawk…
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Tsunami early-warning buoys to deploy from Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Thailand’s tsunami early-warning system will take a big step forward this month, when a high-tech monitoring buoy able to directly detect tsunami waves will be deployed about 1,100 kilometers off the Andaman Coast, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The announcement came during a meeting on disaster preparedness in the six tsunami-affected provinces held at the Royal Phuket City…
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“Peanut gambling’ gang caught
KAMALA: Four men, including a retired police officer, have been arrested for their participation in a “peanut gambling” swindle after a woman, whose name is being withheld at her request, was conned out of 1 million baht before reporting the racket to the police.The woman reported the con to police on November 8 and cooperated in a sting operation, luring…
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Pencak Silat moved to Turkey
PHUKET: The 13th Pencak Silat Martial Arts World Championship, set to open in Phuket this Saturday, has been moved to Turkey due to the coup.The competition was originally scheduled to be held November 18 to 26, with more than 500 competitors from 25 countries registered for the event.Pencak Silat is a group of martial arts of Indo-Malaysian origin that can…
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Swedish bar owner in knife fight
PATONG: Bar owner Nicolas Cazus, 40, from Sweden, slashed a Thai man with a knife in a fight over a collision with a motorcycle in the early hours of November 7.Pol Lt Col Pisit Chunpet told the Gazette that police responded to a call from Cazus’s bar on Soi Sainamyen at 3:45 am.He explained that Cazus had just parked his…
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Jazz Royale Festival schedule announced
KARON: The Jazz Royale Festival – organized to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 80th birthday – will be held at Karon Beach on December 16 and 17, 2006.Among the big names to perform in the show are Kenny G, The Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band, and jazz great Ahmad Jamal.Tickets are priced at 1,500 baht and are available from the…
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Alcohol advertising ban threatens Johnnie Walker Classic
BANGKOK (The Nation): Riche Monde, distributor of Johnnie Walker whiskey, has urged the government to decide within two weeks whether it can use the logo and brand to promote the upcoming Johnnie Walker Classic golf event at Blue Canyon Country Club in Thalang.If the government bans the use of the logo and brand, as well as prohibits the company from…
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Weapons seized in Kathu
KATHU: Four men were arrested yesterday after a routine inspection of their pickup at the Phra Barami Rd vehicle control point uncovered four pistols, ammunition, a walkie-talkie and two pairs of latex gloves.Tung Tong Police Deputy Inspector for Crime Suppression Pol Capt Wiwut Chumnankit said police pulled over the red-gray Mitsubishi pickup, with a Phuket license plate, at the checkpoint…
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American caught with fake “visa’
PHUKET CITY: Following an American man being caught with a fake permit-to-stay stamp in his work permit application, the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) has warned all foreign workers – and the companies that employ them – to remember that forgery of Immigration stamps and documents is a serious crime.At the “Governor Meets the Press” meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall…
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Pian authorizes Phra Barami 8 evictions
KALIM: Patong Mayor Pian Keesin has reluctantly agreed to demolish three squatters’ homes on Soi Phra Barami 8, the site of a proposed road-widening project that has been delayed by the numerous illegal dwellings there.The three houses are among 61 that face eventual destruction, but are the only dwellings that the court has thus far ordered demolished. Workers will begin…
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Chinese take FIVB gold in Phuket
KARON: It was an all-China final in the Swatch FIVB Phuket Thailand Open international women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday. The last stop on the FIVB world tour pitted third-seeded Xue Chen and Zhang Xi against compatriots Tian Jia and Wang Jie in the final.Xue and Zhang went on to win in the third all-Chinese final of this season’s FIVB tour.…
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Chetwynd-Talbot still in Phuket jail
PHUKET CITY: Briton Paul Chetwynd-Talbot is still being held at Phuket Provincial Prison, though he is expected to be transfered to the more comfortable Klong Prem Prison in Ladyao, Bangkok, before the end of the year.Paisarn Suwannaraksa, Director of Phuket Prison, told the Gazette, “It will be more comfortable for the prisoner because he is a foreigner, and easier for…
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Rape-murder case awaiting forensics results
RAWAI: Police investigating the rape and murder of Phuket native Tada Sa-nguansak, 49, whose body was found in broad daylight on Friendship Beach June 28, are awaiting the results of forensics tests being carried out in Bangkok.Pol Lt Col Peerapan Meemak of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette, “We are waiting for tests results from the Forensic Laboratory Institute in…
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US Olympic champs through to FIVB semi-finals
KARON: Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, top seeds for the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open being held at Karon Beach this weekend, secured a place in the semi-finals by defeating fourth-seeded Nila Ann Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen of Norway 21-17, 19-21, 15-11 in 48 minutes.The win extended Walsh and May-Treanor’s winning streak in the tourney to 11 matches The duo…
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Foreign teachers: eligible bachelors only need apply
PHUKET: Schools across the island will ask Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit to petition the Ministry of Education (MoE) to ease new regulations requiring all new teachers to have at least a bachelor’s degree and to pass an extensive background check before they can begin work.The decision was made at a meeting at the Phuket Educational Service Area (PESA) office on…
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Jimmy Carter visits tsunami-struck village in Phuket
TAH CHAT CHAI: Former US President Jimmy Carter yesterday visited villagers at the north end of the island who lost their homes to the tsunami. New homes were provided for them by Habitat for Humanity, a charity headed by Carter.Villages gave a heartfelt welcome to Carter and his wife Rosalynn, who were accompanied by US Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce,…
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Phuket beaches fail “5-star’ award
PHUKET: Visitors seeking a “five-star” beach experience in Thailand will have to head to either Krabi or Satun, as none of the eight beaches in Phuket monitored by the Pollution Control Department (PCD) will be awarded the coveted “5-Star Tourist Beach” rating for 2006.Dr Pornsook Chongprasith, Director of the PCD’s Marine Environment Division, told the Gazette that only three beaches…
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Misbehaving medium beaten and arrested
KATHU (Kom Chad Luek): Tung Tong Police are preparing to file charges of “deceiving the public” against a mah song (“spirit medium”) who pretended to skewer his tongue with a sword during this year’s vegetarian festival, but in fact ran the blade through a pig’s tongue that he had secretly concealed in his mouth to fool onlookers.The incident was reported…
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THAI boosts flight services
BANGKOK: Thai Airways International (THAI) on Tuesday increased its weekly number of domestic flights from Bangkok to Phuket from 77 to 82. The increase is part of its route extension and adjustment plans to cope with an expected increase in air passenger traffic during the northern winter period. The extra flights will continue until March 24, 2007. Service on the…
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New Governor warns of ‘problems’
PHUKET: Bangkok native Niran Kalayanamit was promoted to Governor of Phuket yesterday following the weekly Cabinet meeting in Bangkok.Cabinet approved the promotion as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle of 60 Ministry of Interior officials.Governor Niran, 52, has been Phuket Vice-Governor for the past five years, moving to the province after tenure as Director of the Foreign Affairs Division of the…
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New board members take control of Blue Canyon
THALANG: Yongyos Palanitisena has announced that a four-man committee comprising himself, Chaichana Ratanatraiwirat, Wisut Srisangkaew and Nuntaporn Asumpinapong will oversee the running of Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC) in place of the full board of Murex, the company that owns the BCCC.Yongyos made the announcement following an October 29 meeting, at The Metropole hotel, attended by seven newly-appointed members and…
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Valentino and wife released on bail
BANGKOK (The Nation): Well-known Phuket resident Tan Teik Hai, aka “Valentino”, and his wife Suwaphat Kheereephon were released on bail of 600,000 each on October 29 following their arrest on charges of encroaching on a vast plot of beachfront land on Koh Yao Yai in Phang Nga.Tan, a Malaysian national who serves as the honorary consul to Morocco, and his wife,…
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Honorary Consul couple arrested
BANGKOK (The Nation): Police last night arrested Malaysian national and honorary consul to Morocco Tan Tek Hai, known better on the island as “Valentino”, 56, and his wife Suwaphat Kheereephon, 41, who is an honorary consul to Djibouti.The couple were arrested by Department of Special Investigation (DSI) agents at their home for allegedly encroaching on a large plot of public…
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B1m reward for US-Thai fugitive
BANGKOK: Thai and US law enforcement officials today announced a 1-million-baht reward for information leading to the capture of Saner Wonggoun, a most-wanted US fugitive believed to be hiding in Thailand. Saner, alias “Shorty” or “Buck”, is wanted in connection with the 1994 murder of his pregnant wife and their eight-month-old unborn child. Saner, born in Nakon Nayok Province in…
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Thousands turn out to mark Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET CITY: More than 10,000 people took part in a parade on Monday as part of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival. The parade included representatives of 18 shrines, many businesses as well as students from schools around Phuket . The procession started at 4 pm at Queen Sirikit Park on Thalang Road and walked along Phuket Rd to Saphan Hin, where…
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Nominee crackdown halves new company registrations
PHUKET: Only 76 new companies were registered in September – compared with 135 and 132 during the same month in 2005 and 2004, respectively – following the August 15 announcement from the Ministry of Commerce that rules regarding foreign partnerships would be strictly enforced.Veerachai Tantiwathanavallop, Chief of the Phuket Commercial Registrations Office, told the Gazette that the number of new…
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Tuk tuk, taxi drivers to get crash course in English
PHUKET CITY: One hundred Phuket taxi drivers, tuk tuk drivers and airport limousine drivers will have the chance to take a crash-course in English language and in hospitality on November 3, as the Tourism Authority of Thailand Region 4 office holds its first training session for the livery of Phuket. The course will be held at the Phuket Merlin Hotel,…
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The party’s over
KATA-KARON: After six ground-breaking Nation parties – four in Singapore and two in Phuket – the gay and lesbian portal Fridae.com drew the curtains in Phuket when the last track of the three-day event, spun by Australian DJ Kate Monroe, trailed off into cheers at around 8 am this morning at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort & Spa.The 1,500-plus revelers,…
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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