Search Results for: fall

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Live Wire: 3G or not 3G, and what’s 3G+?

    Phuket Live Wire: 3G or not 3G, and what’s 3G+?

    PHUKET: First the good news: CAT, like TrueMove-H, is coming out with an HSPA+ service. As you may recall, HSPA+ is the only real “3G” available in Thailand and, at least in theory, it should be substantially faster than other “3G” services currently available – including, confusingly, the service CAT currently calls “3G.” Confused? Yeah, I understand. Let’s start with…

  • Thai LifePhuket Books – I am woman, hear me laugh

    Phuket Books – I am woman, hear me laugh

    PHUKET: Those eminent contemporary philosophers Jerry Lewis and Christopher Hitchens have advanced the proposition that women lack a sense of humor. This notion can be shot down in two words: Tina Fey. The former Second City improp trouper, head writer for Saturday Night Live and creator and star of her own sitcom 30 Rock, has now produced her first book,…

  • Thai LifePhuket Gardening – It’s all about looking pretty

    Phuket Gardening – It’s all about looking pretty

    PHUKET: In the next few weeks, this space will be devoted to small trees suitable for your Phuket garden. The distinction between small trees and large shrubs is a blurred one. So what are the differences between shrubs and small trees? Both are perennials and both live for a number of years, but neither is a herbaceous perennial, as are…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket butterflies to take wings in the wild

    Phuket butterflies to take wings in the wild

    PHUKET: Two-thousand butterflies will be released into the wild on November 26 as part of the fifth annual Butterfly Release Charity event put on by Phuket Butterfly Garden and Insect World.The free-admission event will be held from 9am to 2pm at Bang Pae Waterfall in the Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife Reserve in Thalang.At the event’s auction participants will be able…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Governor pulled into appeal to fix deadly hill road

    Phuket Governor pulled into appeal to fix deadly hill road

    PHUKET: Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukbal today pleaded for Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha to order the damaged road on Patong Hill to be repaired. The road was damaged by a landslide on October 13 after heavy rain fell across Phuket. The road suffered further damage after yet another landslide at the same location on October 19. At a meeting at…

  • Thai LifePhuket Gardening – Keeping the flies at bay

    Phuket Gardening – Keeping the flies at bay

    PHUKET: As gardeners, we are all susceptible to mosquito bites every morning and evening in Phuket. Unfortunately, there are few entirely effective natural repellents against the dreaded mosquito bite of Aedes aegyptiae, the mosquito that can spread dengue fever and other maladies. DEET, the chemical ingredient in most sprays, certainly is effective. A high intake of garlic may also help.…

  • Thai LifeHave Thai house, will travel to Phuket

    Have Thai house, will travel to Phuket

    PHUKET: The concept of a mobile home inspires imagery of rectangular, pre-fabricated structures huddled in a trailer park, but in Kata a unique teak wood, Thai-style home exists which falls into this category of movable accommodation. Built over 100 years ago in Ayutthaya, it was purchased by Mrs Pranee Prayot-amornrakul, 57, from Bangkok, who moved to Phuket 22 years ago.…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket students to learn water survival skills

    Phuket students to learn water survival skills

    PHUKET: In a bid to save Phuket children from drowning, a new project by the Phuket Lifeguard Club, Laguna Phuket and Cherng Talay Municipality aims to teach students in Phuket’s Thalang District how to identify dangerous swimming conditions. The students will even learn how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Held over two school semesters, the project will be open to…

  • Phuket NewsLandslide on Phuket bypass road causes serious damage

    Landslide on Phuket bypass road causes serious damage

    PHUKET: Another landslide on the bypass road last night caused over one million baht in damage to stock at the Adisak Trading Company warehouse in Phuket, which was due to be cleared of stock today. Warehouse chief clerk Natthaphum Ongsala, 28, said the landslide breached the warehouse roof and wall, destroying a wide range of stock including buckets of thinner,…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket prisoners plunge into fight against floods

    Phuket prisoners plunge into fight against floods

    PHUKET: Inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison were dispatched to Thalang over the past two days to clear canals of overgrowth and to improve drainage in flood-affected areas of Pa Khlok. Armed with sickles and under close observation by prison wardens, more than 30 inmates with ‘good behavior’ records took part in the operation, which helped ease the suffering of residents…

  • Phuket NewsMajor earthquake strikes off Bali; Australian brain damaged by toxic cocktail on Bali holiday | Thaiger

    Major earthquake strikes off Bali; Australian brain damaged by toxic cocktail on Bali holiday

    PHUKET NEWS HOUND – Regional News selected by Phuket Gazette editors for Phuket readers Strong earthquake strikes off Bali, Indonesia Phuket Gazette A strong earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Bali a few minutes ago, seismologists said, but no tsunami warnings were issued. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake at 11:16am local Bali time (10:16 Phuket time) was centered about 143 kilometers…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket meth users hooked by cosmetic claims

    Phuket meth users hooked by cosmetic claims

    PHUKET: Crystal meth dealers in Phuket are attracting new users by claiming the drug has cosmetic benefits. Doctors say that although the stimulant may cause some changes in a user’s physical appearance, it is far from the desired effect. Concerned about a rise in the use of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) in Phuket and nearby provinces, police and health officials…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket landslide update: Ongoing concern over road stability

    Phuket landslide update: Ongoing concern over road stability

    PHUKET: One westbound lane of the road over Patong Hill will remain closed to traffic indefinitely as authorities survey the damage of a recent landslide and draw up plans to stabilize the slope before the situation worsens. Phuket Provincial Highways Office chief Arun Sanae today told the Phuket Gazette, “We are now co-ordinating with Kathu and Patong municipalities to fix…

  • Phuket NewsMystery surrounds Aussie death plunge in Phuket | Thaiger

    Mystery surrounds Aussie death plunge in Phuket

    PHUKET: An Australian tourist on holiday in Phuket died over the weekend after falling off a hotel balcony in Patong. It is believed he was sleepwalking at the time. The story broke in the Thai press by Manager Online news site, which identified the deceased as 33-year-old Dean William McKeon. The site also posted graphic images of the late Mr…

  • Phuket NewsSpecial report: Phuket foreigners losing homes to con men

    Special report: Phuket foreigners losing homes to con men

    PHUKET: Phuket homeowners are a prime target for regional fraud gangs that leave their “marks” heartbroken and penniless, with wives of wealthy foreigners often falling victim. Reports of people being cheated out of tens of millions of baht in such scams are rife on the island, but the victims are often too ashamed to come forward to warn others. Under…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket crash uproots tree, two slightly injured

    Phuket crash uproots tree, two slightly injured

    PHUKET: Two people were injured in Phuket this afternoon when the driver of a pickup truck lost control on the bypass road, hit a tree on the median strip and collided with a sedan heading in the opposite direction. The accident occurred at about 2pm on the stretch of the bypass road in front of the Premium Outlet Mall in…

  • Phuket NewsLandslide threat prompts Phuket evacuation

    Landslide threat prompts Phuket evacuation

    PHUKET: Residents in a landslide risk zone in Phuket have been ordered to evacuate following fears of a major slide that could bury businesses and block the bypass road. The order followed a landslide on Wednesday morning behind the Adisak Equipment store on the bypass road northbound in Rassada. Store owner Adisak Lertchuwongsa said, “The soil slid down suddenly at…

  • Thai LifePhuket Gardening – Between a rock and a hard place

    Phuket Gardening – Between a rock and a hard place

    PHUKET: Since we all live on Phuket island, seaside plants deserve a bit more attention here. Like the screw pine and sea vine, there are other plants that also stubbornly refuse to lie down when inundated by seawater. Take the casuarina tree. Although this tropical pine normally spreads its extensive roots on slightly higher ground, it still grows close enough…

  • Thai LifePhuket Gardening – Covering a lot of ground

    Phuket Gardening – Covering a lot of ground

    PHUKET: The many virtues of ground cover plants were have already been discussed: their contrasting textures and colors; their capacity to act as a retaining layer by protecting the topsoil during tropical downpours, or as a natural mulch that absorbs much of the sun’s heat and inhibits the growth of weeds. Most importantly, they cover bare and unsightly areas. No…

  • Phuket NewsLast day of 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Last day of 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Today marks the final day of the 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival, with the final farewells to the Nine Warrior Gods scheduled to take place amid a deafening street procession along Phuket Road this evening. This year’s festival has been one of the rainiest ever, with over 173mm of rain recorded over the first eight days of the festival at…

  • Phuket NewsPolice believe Fake DSI agent is on the run in Phuket

    Police believe Fake DSI agent is on the run in Phuket

    PHUKET: A career conman who claimed to be a high-ranking Department of Special Investigations (DSI) officer is on the run again after two decades of crime, arrests, womanizing and escaping justice. Witchayut Pansampao, the alleged conman who masqueraded as a DSI officer to defraud people throughout the South, was arrested last month in Haad Yai but has gone missing after…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket News Hound: Thai floods; PM to visit Burma; Thailand’s Boxer going for gold

    Phuket News Hound: Thai floods; PM to visit Burma; Thailand’s Boxer going for gold

    PHUKET NEWS HOUND – news about Thailand compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket readers Thai flood death toll reaches 212 Phuket Gazette The death toll as a result of widespread flooding across Thailand in recent months has risen to at least 212, according to the latest reports released on yesterday. Permanent Interior Secretary Phranai Suwannarat confirmed the number of deaths,…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket minimum wage hike effective October 1

    Phuket minimum wage hike effective October 1

    PHUKET: The minimum wage rise to 300 baht per day will be in effect for all government employees in Phuket from October 1, a panel of experts has revealed. Senator Anothai Rittiphanyawong broke the news at a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel in Phuket Town. The new minimum wage will be passed by Cabinet on October 4, but…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket meth dealers launch ‘white skin’ campaign

    Phuket meth dealers launch ‘white skin’ campaign

    PHUKET: Police are concerned about a rise in the use of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) in Phuket and nearby provinces, and say drug dealers are falsely touting the powerful stimulant as a skin whitening agent to lure in new users. Pramote Phumprakun, superintendent of Narcotics Suppression Bureau Division (NSBD) precinct responsible for the Upper South, described the ya ice problem…

  • Thai Life“Going ape’ in the trees of Chalong

    “Going ape’ in the trees of Chalong

    PHUKET: Phuket’s new Xtremadventures park offers a full-on arboreal experience. Zipping, climbing, crawling, balancing and swinging through the trees of Phuket is no longer left to the domain of the monkey. The island is now home to an adventure park unrivaled by others in size and an innovative first in all of Asia. Xtremadventures Phuket – owned by Frenchman Gilles…

  • PropertyPhuket Property: Foreign currency exchange risks

    Phuket Property: Foreign currency exchange risks

    PHUKET: Many foreigners who have decided to buy a residential property in Thailand are required to use funds held in foreign currency in their country of origin. Property transactions in Thailand utilize myriad ways in which a buyer pays the purchase price to the seller. For instance, a buyer may be required to make payments to the seller upon signing…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket’s Gov to bring illegal hotels into the fold

    Phuket’s Gov to bring illegal hotels into the fold

    PHUKET: Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket’s 43rd governor, was promoted to the top job on October 1, 2010, when he set tourism promotion as his prime policy objective. Here, in his regular monthly “Governor’s Letter” in the Phuket Gazette, he talks about the problem of unregistered hotels, a stalled road project, and the coincidence that he and PM Yingluck Shinawatra are both…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Island View – Soi Dog in it for the long haul

    Phuket Island View – Soi Dog in it for the long haul

    PHUKET: THE recent Gazette online story about Soi Dog Foundation’s new cat hospital prompted a forum comment that justifies a response. The writer queried how the Soi Dog Foundation could justify spending money on such a facility at the same time it was appealing for funds to purchase the remaining land where its shelter and headquarters are based. In 2009,…

  • Phuket NewsRubber barriers saving lives in Phuket

    Rubber barriers saving lives in Phuket

    PHUKET: Old car tyres being used to create median strips along Chao Fa West Road in Chalong have reduced fatal accidents by almost 100 per cent, say Phuket police. The rubber barriers comprise tyres stacked three high, tied together and painted red and white. “We have installed these stacks on the median of dangerous sections of road,” explained Chalong Police…

  • Phuket NewsRampaging Phuket elephant whereabouts unclear

    Rampaging Phuket elephant whereabouts unclear

    PHUKET: The whereabouts and future plans for Captain, the bull elephant that went on a rampage on September 12 sending a Ukrainian honeymooner to hospital with two broken legs, remain unclear amid dubious claims by the owners of Camp Chang Kalim. In response to claims that Captain was the same elephant involved in a previous rampage in January 2010 that…