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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Ya bah going cheap in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: The arrest of a volunteer soldier on drug charges on Wednesday may indicate the price of ya bah (methamphetamine) is falling on the island. Kathu Police arrested Sornchai Nop in his room at a small hotel on Ratchaprasong Road in Patong at about 2am. Mr Sornchai, an army scout based in Narathiwat, apparently found selling ya bah in…
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Bike in wrong lane causes Phuket truck flip
PHUKET: A motorcyclist driving down the bypass road in the wrong direction caused a truck to flip over in Phuket this morning. The driver of the modified pickup, 27-year-old Niwasan Duangjan, panicked when he saw the bike heading straight for him, and turned sharply on the highway opposite Premium Outlet around 10am. No-one was injured. — Atchaa Khamlo
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Phuket tourism: TAT targets Vietnam
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hopes the establishment of Phuket as a regional air hub will help the country attract more than 400,000 visitors from Vietnam for the first time this year. Pichai Raktasinha, Director of the TAT office in Ho Chi Minh City, said the number of Vietnamese arrivals in Thailand has risen steadily in recent years,…
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Tourists told to visit Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Thailand’s PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has declared a State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. A State of Emergency dramatically increases the power of the government, but it really means little to the average tourist and very much…
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Phuket Lifeguard Club ready to serve
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) plans to sign a 10-month contract with the Phuket Lifeguard Club that will see 83 lifeguards assigned to 13 island beaches by the end of the month. Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut ‘Nut’ Chuayuan said he was still waiting to see the contract and had yet to be contacted by PPAO officials, but…
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Phuket leatherback eggs fail to hatch
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hopes that two clutches of eggs could spell a reversal of fortune for Phuket’s endangered leatherback sea turtle population were dashed last month when the eggs failed to hatch. Mai Khao Sea Turtle Conservation Group member Somporn Anupun said the 130 eggs, laid in mid-January, failed to hatch as expected in March. The two clutches, thought to…
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Malaysia gains edge over Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Etihad Holidays, a division of Etihad Airways, has announced a new cooperative agreement with Tourism Malaysia to promote holiday packages to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu, giving them a clear advantage over Phuket as a popular tourist destination in…
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Songkran splashdown in Old Phuket Town
PHUKET: While getting soaked during Songkran in Patong has long been inevitable, the chances of staying dry in Phuket Old Town used to be somewhat higher. Not this year. In a bid to reduce crowding on Patong Beach, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pushing Phuket Old Town as an alternative setting for the New Year water fight. In…
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Cricket sixes on way to Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Organisers of next week’s (April 14-18) Phuket International Cricket Sixes, to be staged at Karon Beach, today announced that the recently retired captain of Australia, Karen Rolton, will headline the newly introduced Women’s Division at this year’s tournament.…
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Woman charged over Phuket road killing
PHUKET: Chalong Police have charged a 28-year-old Thai woman with causing death by dangerous driving after she ran over a pedestrian in her pick-up truck last night. Sumarin Jaiboon hit Sathit Saenkla, a 57-year-old builder from Phang Nga, at high speed on Chao Fa West Road at the entrance to Soi Yodsane at around 11pm. Mr Sathit, who had just…
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Phuket landlord electrocuted on roof
PHUKET TOWN: A landlord was electrocuted on Saturday while trying to fix the roof of a house in Phuket Town. Phuket native Vissanu Thipsunthornnon, 42, was found dead with his legs dangling off the roof of the house on Wichit Songkhram Road at around 9am. Mr Vissanu’s wife said tenants had complained the roof was damaged in heavy rain the…
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Phuket tours miffed over Phi Phi fee
PHUKET: A 20-baht “entrance fee” levied by the local authority in charge of Koh Phi Phi has sparked a row with Phuket tour operators. On Saturday the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) began collecting the charge from all visitors to fund the cleaning of the island’s piers. Tour operators are complaining the TAO did not officially warn them in…
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Boon for Phuket: Lifeguard training
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The dangers of Phuket’s beaches have been much in the headlines around the world over the past three years amid a spate of drownings and a protracted period during which there were no lifeguards at all. Although safety…
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Phuket murder suspect gets bail
KATHU, PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver who allegedly shot and killed a man last week was released on bail the following day. Two friends of the dead man were injured, one seriously, when the vehicle they used to rush him to hospital crashed on the way. Thung Thong Police were notified of the crash on Phra Phuket Kaew Road at…
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Encroachers ordered off Phuket beaches
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hotels and restaurants in Mai Khao in Phuket have been given one month to vacate illegally occupied beachfront land after a barrage of complaints from local residents. Villagers complained in writing to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop that it was becoming ever more difficult for them to access public beach land because hotels and restaurants have erected barriers…
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Phuket Bike Week: hundreds cancel over protest fears
PHUKET: Hundreds of bikers have dropped out of Phuket Bike Week because of the red shirt protests in Bangkok, according to the president of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter). Suchart Hirankanokkul, who recently replaced Methee Tanmanatragul as head of the association, said 3,000 bikers had been expected to take part in the annual festival. Around 20 percent have dropped…
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Phuket to benefit from a better 2010?
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: According to Travel Weekly, Phuket and Bangkok can look forward to improved tourism in 2010. The influential US-based weekly newspaper for the travel industry says that Thailand was one of the most beleaguered tourist destinations in the world…
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Phuket Pilot on course to fly again
PHUKET: Cathay Pacific airline pilot Scott McDonald is back on the golf course – and playing better than ever. Mr McDonald, whose right foot and lower leg were sliced off in a freak motorcycle accident two months ago, had a new prosthetic foot fitted on March 14. The American has already played six rounds of his favorite sport at the…
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Phuket Bag Plague: carrot or stick?
PHUKET: What works best, the carrot or the stick? It’s an age-old question, and one brought to the fore here in Phuket with the launch this week of the Tesco Lotus ‘Green Bag Green Point’ scheme. [See details, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here.] Lotus will reward shoppers who reuse bags – instead of using new…
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Cambodia may tweak Phuket property
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Cambodia is trying to encourage international investment by relaxing laws on property ownership by foreigners. The Financial Times reports that Cambodia’s draft law is under discussion at the National Assembly and would allow non-nationals to fully own residential…
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Phuket resort scam: British CEO arrested
PHUKET: The British chief executive officer of a Phuket resort company has been arrested on fraud charges for allegedly cheating customers out of millions of baht. Mr Steven James Granville, 43, CEO of Puravarna Resort Co, was arrested at the company’s office in Rawai. Crime Suppression Division police had received information from Mr Anand Kumar Sen, managing director of Tycoon…
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More Phuket forest destroyed
KATA, PHUKET: Two men were arrested on March 19 in what appears to be a large scheme to slash down and develop protected forest land in Phuket. During a routine patrol of land near the Kata viewpoint along Kata-Sai Yuan road, Karon Sub-District Chief (Kamnan) Winai Chitcheiw discovered around five rai of deforested land. Although most of the trees cut…
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Phuketians march in support of prime minister
PHUKET TOWN: Around 200 Phuketians and members of the Phuket People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took to the streets on March 31, voicing their objections to the red-shirted United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) rally in Bangkok. The crowd marched from Queen Sirikit park to Phuket Provincial Hall waving banners and parading a huge national flag. In a show…
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Phuket Airport snubbed
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: Bangkok Airways, Thailand’s largest privately owned carrier, plans to turn Samui Airport, rather than Phuket International Airport, into a second international air hub, after Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, in…
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Phuket water woes averted
PHUKET: Recent heavy downpours have ensured that Phuket should now have enough water to last until the rainy season, according to the Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office (PPIO). Mr Issara Anukool, who heads the PPIO’s water management department, said that before the recent rains there was enough water in the Bang Wad dam to last until the end of May. “After…
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Phuket to benefit from second airport
CHALONG, PHUKET: Plans for a second major Phuket airport, to be situated in Chalong, have been tendered and construction could begin as early as February next year. A 140-million-baht feasibility study and pro forma environmental impact evaluation of the project are nearing completion, according to Jet Terminals Co (JTC) of San Diego, California. “On the basis of the research and…
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Phuket meeting to urge end to protests
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: More than 1,000 local tourism sector representatives and tour operators will gather in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Pattaya and Samui tomorrow afternoon to urge anti-government red-shirt protesters to end their political rallies. The protests resulted…
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Phuket trash crisis: Tesco goes it alone
PHUKET: Tesco Lotus yesterday launched its own answer to Phuket’s long-delayed plastic bag charging scheme. The UK-based retail chain’s “Green Bag Green Point” initiative rewards customers who reuse old shopping bags with points which can be exchanged for cash coupons. Customers also receive “green points” when they buy certain environmentally friendly products. The project was launched in Bangkok on March…
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Accused Australian bailed tonight
PHUKET: An Australian man accused of sexually assaulting a four-year-old boy at an international school in Phuket is set to be released on bail this evening. Andrew Clements, 51, posted 800,000 baht in bail and will be released from Phuket Provincial Prison. Mr Clements, from northern Tasmania, was arrested at his house in Chalong by Thalang Police at 8:15pm on…
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Phuket Immigration closed during holiday
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) will be closed for a week during the upcoming Songkran public holiday, the Gazette has learned. The Phuket Town Immigration office will be closed from April 13 until April 18 and any foreigners who need to register with immigration during that period are urged to do so by April 12 or on April…
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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