Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
Clean Phuket toilets to impress Songkran tourists, say officials
PHUKET: Armed with brushes and detergent, Phuket officials put on gloves and face masks to scrub down some of the island’s public toilets in an attempt to impress Songkran tourists this month. Last week, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and Public Health Minister Piyasakon Sakolsattayatorn launched the WC OK: Happy Tourist Toilet campaign in Bangkok, which has since trickled…
- Thailand News
Police seize 30kg of heroin smuggled on Taiwanese boat
BANGKOK: Police have detained at least three Taiwanese suspects for allegedly smuggling more than 30 kilograms of heroin into Thailand. An informed source said the suspects were nabbed at about 1:45am yesterday at Terminal 1 at Bangkok Port in Klong Toei district. They were aboard the Taiwanese-registered cargo ship Yang Ming, the source said. Police were looking for the captain…
- Phuket News
Phuket to splash out B450k for animatronic Sea Gypsy Museum exhibit plans
PHUKET: Local officials are searching for a private company to draw up the exhibit plans for the soon-to-be animatronic Sea Gypsy Cultural Center, Rassada Municipality Chief Administrative Officer (palad) Dechakanee Leelanont told the Phuket Gazette today. “The Phuket Rajabhat University study group concluded their research into the history of the sea gypsies and the viability of using a 4D-exhibit model…
- Thai Life
Profile: Building high-end healthcare from grass roots beginnings
PHUKET: Dr Somrit Jantarapratin (MD, MBA) recently took on a new role as director of Bangkok Hospital Phuket. One might expect a position of such prestige to require extensive study and experience from foreign medical institutions, but this is not the case with Dr Somrit, who is an example of the world-class advancements that Thailand’s grass-roots medical institutions can help…
- Phuket News
Tsunami towers at popular Phuket beaches fail to sound
PHUKET: Five of the 19 tsunami warning towers in Phuket failed to work properly during the tsunami and earthquake drill yesterday afternoon. “The warning towers in Kata and Karon failed to sound, while the one in Mai Khao couldn’t be heard from 500 meters away,” said Trakul Thotham, director of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Region 8…
- World News
Thailand eyes luxury tourists, operators say keep them safe
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand eyes luxury tourists, operators say keep them safe Phuket Gazette / Reuters BANGKOK: Thailand needs to do more to keep its tourists safe if it wants to achieve its objective of attracting more high-end travelers, operators say, or it risks losing out to its up-and-coming…
- Phuket News
Phuket police hunt bank machine vandal
PHUKET: Police are hunting a man who allegedly damaged an Automatic Deposit Machine (ADM) at a Bangkok Bank in Patong early this morning. Police were alerted to the incident after a local found the damaged machine near the Mae Ubon Market on Nanai Road. “According to the witness, he saw a man leaving the area as he drove up to…
- Phuket News
Lawyers of Koh Tao murder convicts prepare for appeal
PHUKET: The legal team of the Myanmar nationals convicted for the Koh Tao double murder is focusing on the DNA evidence used against the men in their trial ahead of the appeal being filed next month, assisted by leading foreign lawyers and forensic experts. Lawyer Nakorn Chomphuchart told The Nation that he had got advice from many foreign legal experts,…
- Thai Life
Law and Order: Beware of double taxation
PHUKET: Clients who have businesses in multiple countries have called me in fear of the tax man. Their fears are based on the unknown. They don’t understand the tax laws in Thailand and fear the confiscatory powers of the revenue department for errors in their filings. For foreign nationals living in Thailand, Thai tax laws and forms are written in…
- Koh Samui News
Property Watch: Less is more for Koh Samui
PHUKET: We live in a world where percentages seem to matter and growth dominates our horizon. I still recall growing up and marking off on a wall in our house how tall I was. I could not wait to be older, and the irony today is how I wish that I could instead roll back the clock. In Phuket’s crowded…
- Phuket News
Phuket property management firm shrugs off “military threats’
PHUKET: Unhappy foreign tenants will be filing an official letter of complaint with the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) and the Army as they battle a property management company on the island. The move follows the tenants allegedly bringing representatives of the DSI and Army onto the property to ‘resolve’ the dispute with the company. “If we were to receive…
- Opinion
Opinion: Travelling at light speed
Sirigate Apirat is the project secretary of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTPP). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Ramkhamhaeng University and has been serving as an analyst at the OTPP since 1995. Here he talks about the issues and benefits of the proposed light rail system on Phuket. PHUKET: Phuket’s light rail…
- Phuket News
Superyacht crew member killed in anchoring accident
PHUKET: A crew member on the superyacht Ocean Victory was fatally injured yesterday in a freak accident as the ship was anchoring off Koh Tachai in the Similan Islands archipelago. The Bulgarian national was reportedly caught up in a chain mechanism while the 140-meter superyacht was weighing anchor at about 2pm. The 33-year-old man sustained massive injuries to both his…
- Thailand News
Deal offered to mafia who mend their ways
BANGKOK: Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has offered to conditionally let off mafia-style figures with ‘dark influence’ in cases where evidence is weak. However, he warned that they will have to mend their ways. Hundreds of police and military officers are on the lists of ‘dark’, influential figures who are being targeted in the government’s ongoing crackdown. “If there is…
- Thai Life
Up in the Air: Phuket-Hat Yai: truly boutique flights
PHUKET: Bangkok Airways daily flights connecting Southern Thailand’s two busiest airports – Phuket (HKT) and Hat Yai International – are currently experiencing average load factors ranging from 60 to 70 per cent, with the overwhelming majority of passengers being Thai nationals, an airline executive has revealed. Pannaphorn Preechachan, Bangkok Airways chief of regional corporate communications for Southern Thailand, said the…
- Phuket News
B4bn Phuket land seizure not to impact Big Buddha
PHUKET: Despite photographs of Phuket’s Big Buddha appearing along side news stories about the seizure of land valued at 4 billion baht in the same area, the iconic statue will be unaffected by the Anti-Money Laundering Office’s (AMLO’s) investigation. The AMLO transaction board resolved to seize a 45-rai plot and a 19-rai plot of land along Freedom Beach and in…
- Phuket News
Phuket blood donors save American’s life
PHUKET: Thanks to the generosity of at least 20 blood donors in Phuket, an American car crash victim is now out of danger and recovering from a second round of surgery. Chonita Michelle Cleary, 24, and two of her friends were involved in a collision with a taxi when heading from Cherng Talay to Thalang town at about 1am on…
- Business News
Building a medical tourism hub
PHUKET: Phuket has the potential to become a leading regional hub for medical tourism, an industry that is well positioned for exponential growth primarily led by the demand for aesthetic treatments. Investment opportunities in medical facilities and premises are increasingly attractive amid the backdrop of a global economic slowdown. Despite the diminishing legacy market for ‘Gender Reassignment’ Surgery (GRS), more…
- Business News
Board of Trade plans SME matchmaking fairs
BANGKOK: Thailand’s Board of Trade is inviting newly established businesses across the country to join a ‘Business Matching’ event in Bangkok. The event is aimed at giving SMEs the opportunity to meet consumer giants such as department stores and retailers. The event will take place at the Bangkok Convention Center in Lat Prao on April 26. Board of Trade Chairman…
- Phuket News
Krabi police scoop up reef thieves
KRABI: Krabi officials arrested three men yesterday after they were apprehended illegally collecting coral and sea anemone near Koh Pu. Samart Janlamoon, 39, Natthapol Watjinda, 21, and Somrit Suksai, 41, were found in possession of 15 boxes of the precious marine life after officers inspected their boat, confirmed Jaroenchai Srisuwan, chief of the Krabi Fishery Management Center. “Last night, five…
- Phuket News
Public asked not to rely on social media for tsunami warnings
PHUKET: Officials are warning the public not to rely too heavily on social media when it comes to earthquake and tsunami warnings. There are currently 40 seismometers throughout the Kingdom, which alert the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) in Bangkok of any seismic activity in the area, confirmed Deputy Director-General of the Meteorological Department Burin Wechbunthung. “The NDWC evaluates data…
- Phuket News
Blood donations flow in for injured American teacher
PHUKET: At least 20 people have donated blood following an urgent call this morning for O-negative blood for an American woman requiring emergency surgery after a road accident, confirmed the Phuket Regional Blood Center (story here). “Chonita Michelle Cleary, 24, and two of her friends – who declined to be named – were involved in a collision with a taxi…
- Phuket News
Urgent: Blood needed to save American, 24
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) has issued an urgent call for O-negative blood to save the life of a 24-year-old American woman involved in a road accident in Phuket. “The patient is being treated at Bangkok Hospital Phuket,” said PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak. “They have completed one operation. However, more blood is needed for a second one.” Only…
- Thailand News
Student loan debt to be deducted from salaries
BANGKOK: This year, some 2 million overdue student-loan debtors will face deductions from their salaries to pay off outstanding debt, as the new Student Loan Bill comes into effect, the Student Loan Office disclosed on Tuesday. The Cabinet approved the Student Loan Bill, which makes it binding on business owners to collect student-loan debts for the Student Loan Office in…
- Pattaya News
Phuket food top of the tags on Instagram
PHUKET: Though the sultans of Instagram selfies reign in London, it’s Phuket food that gets the most publicity on the social media giant, according to research by airport transfer company Hoppa. “In the modern era, the holiday experience doesn’t just live in the moment and in the memory, it isn’t even resigned only to traditional photo albums… Because now, the…
- Phuket News
Patong awaits bid to bury beachfront cables
PHUKET: The project that will see unsightly power cables along Patong’s beachfront moved underground is awaiting finalization of the bidding process. The 230-million-baht project will be jointly funded by the Phuket Provincial Electric Authority (PEA) and the Patong Municipality (story here). “Contractors have submitted their bids to the PEA headquarters in Bangkok and one will be chosen by March,” confirmed…
- Phuket News
Russian demand to drive increase in Phuket-bound flights
PHUKET: The island will reportedly be doubling its weekly flights to and from St Petersburg, Russia, due to a sharp increase in demand, a national-level government spokesperson said. During last week’s Thailand-Russia aviation conference held by the Ministry of Transportation in Bangkok, officials agreed to increase the overall weekly flights between Thailand and Russia from 42 to 70, Deputy Spokesman…
- Phuket News
Delivery truck downs power lines, throws rider over wall
PHUKET: A fish delivery truck left a trail of destruction down a back road in Rassada yesterday morning when the high-sided vehicle snagged overhead power lines and pulled down a row of five electricity poles like dominoes. Meanwhile, the oblivious driver charged down the road towards his depot. Caught up in the entanglement and lucky to escape serious injury was…
- Phuket News
British backpacker found safe and well in Krabi
PHUKET: Police in Krabi have tracked down a 21-year-old British woman who disappeared for six days while travelling in Thailand, prompting a social media frenzy to help find her. Krabi Tourist Police confirmed that they found Ms Taylor at Krabi International Airport earlier today. Tourist police stayed with her to ensure her safety, while awaiting the arrival of a family…
- Opinion
Island View: Pollution in Paradise
PHUKET: In 2015, Delhi was named the world’s most polluted city. When I first saw this report, it made me think back 10 years ago when I was a university student in Phuket and went to Bangkok for a three-month internship. Nearly a decade ago, everything in Bangkok was good – except for the air pollution. The main reason was…
