Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
PM Prayut invokes Article 44 to sack PPAO President
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha wielded Article 44 of the interim charter to temporarily suspend Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) President Paiboon Upatising from his post without pay. The order signed today names a number of government officials throughout Thailand. Mr Paiboon was the only Phuket official on the list. “The reason the government has temporarily removed me from…
- Thai Life
Blazing Saddles: Safe cycling in Thailand
PHUKET: The tragic events of the past year have raised the title of this article, ‘Safe Cycling in Thailand’, from a mere eyebrow-raising non sequitur, to the status of a full-blown oxymoron. Following the litany of cyclists’ deaths on Thailand’s roads, many would say there is no such thing as safe cycling in Thailand and that the activity should be…
- Phuket News
World Bungy Jump closes doors, tower demolished
PHUKET: World Bungy Jump in Patong closed its doors for good and demolished its bungy-jump tower on Monday after a tourist suffered fatal injuries during a jump last month. “The owner, Vinat Chanthornwiboonkul, decided on his own to close the business. We don’t want to put anyone at risk at our bungy jump, and we are very sorry about the…
- Property
Montara Hospitality Group eyes young, wealthy Chinese
PHUKET: Montara Hospitality Group, owner and operator of Thailand’s ultra-luxury resort brand Trisara is set to increase its presence on Phuket in a bid to capture emerging markets while also expanding locally and abroad for the first time. “More private villa hotels and luxury residences have been opened on Phuket island and that has brought even tougher competition. Many players…
- Phuket News
Governor checks Phuket Airport’s MERS control efforts
PHUKET: Island officials gave Phuket International Airport’s MERS prevention efforts a check-up on Friday to ensure the airport was able to identify passengers from South Korea and the Middle East who may be carrying the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (Mers-CoV). No passengers from these risk countries have been suspected of carrying MERS, said Phuket Provincial Health Organization (PPHO) Chief Kajohnsak…
- Thai Life
Fixie passion gives birth to criterium
PHUKET: One man’s love of fixed-gear cycling races gave birth to the Southern Criterium which took place in Saphin Hin, Phuket Town last month. Vissaves ‘Bon’ Kumphanthong, owner of Cuca Bike, event organizer and director of the Bangkok Criterium, got hooked on cycling only a few years ago. “It was between 2009 and 2010 that I started looking for a…
- Thai Life
Gardening: Design an aerie in Eden
PHUKET: In a previous article, I wrote about an extraordinary mountain top project in Cebu, in the Phillippines. My brief for this project was to suggest plants for such an environment. We started with an obvious choice: bromeliads. Another very different kind of epiphyte (air plant) is the staghorn fern. Ferns traditionally grow in shade and need moisture – there…
- Phuket News
Phuket police not worried about checkpoint warnings on social media
PHUKET: Phuket police are not worried about social media users posting warnings for motorists about standard checkpoints on the island, but will consider pressing charges if a post helps street-racing youths avoid authorities. The news follows a report by The Nation this week that police in Bangkok are considering taking legal action against those who post locations of checkpoints online…
- Property
Property: Boat Avenue goes higher
PHUKET: The Boat Avenue community mall in the Laguna area is in the process of adding seven more shophouses in the main compound and will later build commercial structures along both sides of the newly constructed road. Boon Yongsakul, deputy managing director of Boat Development Company, an offshoot of the famous Boat Lagoon marina, told the Gazette that each of…
- Phuket News
Phuket on alert for MERS virus
PHUKET: Phuket Health officials have ramped up efforts this week in order to identify passengers who are possibly carrying the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (Mers-CoV) to the island from South Korea or the Middle East, where the virus is spreading. “We received an order from the Ministry of Public Health in Bangkok to be on alert for the virus,” Phuket…
- Thai Life
Up in the air: Revamp taking its toll
PHUKET: There has been little reported progress in the ongoing restructuring of Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), and the slow-moving bureaucratic revamp is taking its toll across the entire Thai aviation industry. At the top of the aviation food chain, some Thai-registered commercial carriers have been forced to scrap requests for new routes. A number of important tourist source…
- Phuket News
OAG to tackle corruption in Phuket
PHUKET: The Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) two-day public forum designed to raise the public’s awareness of the negative effects of corruption and what issues are faced in combating it started yesterday at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. “This is about raising people’s awareness of the need for anti-corruption efforts. People need to see why corruption is bad and…
- Food
Food: Welcome to the dark side
PHUKET: The black burger is all the rage in Bangkok lately, but unless one is actively paying attention to food trends from around the nation, one might not have had any idea that such a trend even existed. What makes this particular burger special, and gives it its color identifier, is its black bun, which has edible charcoal powder mixed…
- Business News
Lighthouse Weekend Market a boon to businesses
PHUKET: The new addition of a mini-motor expo at the Lighthouse Weekend Market last month produced four on-the-spot car sales, tagging the event as a business generator on Phuket – one in so much demand that it will continue through the rainy season. The cars that sold were Mini Cooper, Volvo and Subaru models, confirmed Kanittha Prasopsirikul, market organizer and…
- Opinion
Island View: For cyclists’ sakes
PHUKET: There has been a lot of talk lately about bike safety throughout the nation, with even the idea of cyclists needing some sort of licence being considered. Concerns were made ever more vocal after last month’s road deaths up north in Chiang Mai and Bangkok where a total of five cyclists were killed within a two-day span. It wasn’t…
- Phuket News
Police postpone charging owner of fatal Phuket bungy-jump tower
PHUKET: Police are expected to press charges on Thursday against the owner of World Bungy Jump, the site of the death of a 25-year-old tourist last month. Vinat Chanthornwiboonkul will be charged with reckless endangerment as police continue to investigate the case of Kuwaiti Abdullah Adel Kadhmbadman, who died after jumping from the 30-meter bungy tower (story here). “Even though…
- Phuket News
Video Report: Cyclists roll up for Southern Criterium
PHUKET: The first-ever Southern Criterium attracted more than 300 cyclists to the shores of Phuket and finished without a hitch on May 30, with competitors and organizers already amped up for next year’s edition. Spectators and racers from all around the nation were watching the event results closely at Saphan Hin, as members of the Thailand National Team and professional…
- Phuket News
Video Report: Police arrest Korean gambling racketeers in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are searching for the head of an online gambling operation after eight Koreans were caught on Wednesday running a gambling site out of an apartment in Phuket. The arrests follow a report in March from police in Bangkok about the gambling racket. Phuket Police have been on the trail ever since, said Phuket Provincial Police Commander Patchara Boonyasit.…
- Phuket News
Fatal Phuket bungy-jumping business ordered closed – temporarily
PHUKET: World Bungy Jump in Patong has been temporarily closed while officials investigate the death of a 25-year-old tourist who was fatally injured at the facility on Wednesday. “The business will be closed for at least a month while police determine if this was an accident or reckless endangerment on the part of the bungy-jump owner,” explained Patong Mayor Chalermluck…
- Phuket News
Phuket officials investigate tour companies with foreign shareholders
PHUKET: Officials launched an island-wide inspection of tour companies with foreign shareholders yesterday in an attempt to root out the practice of using Thai nominee shareholders to maintain control over a company. More than 3,700 ‘foreign-owned’ businesses are registered in Phuket, explained Department of Business Development Phuket Office Chief Nimit Kangkajit back in 2013 when a similar investigation was backed…
- Business News
Chanintr Living launches month-long Phuket sale
PHUKET: Chanintr Living has launched a month-long sale at its classy imported furniture outlet in Phuket, providing islanders and visitors the chance to grab quality furniture at a knocked down price. Chanintr Living was established in 1994 and has several outlets in Bangkok and Singapore, as well as one multi-brand location in Phuket. The reputable dealer’s current sale, from May…
- Thai Life
In Focus: Pity the poor pangolin
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette recently reported a gruesome find: a couple strangled and left to rot in a dense rubber plantation in Krabi. People were guided to the spot by the stench; the couple had been dead for about five days. This man and wife were pangolin hunters and the likely explanation for their demise – so far not confirmed…
- Property
Baba Beach Club aims for top tier
PHUKET: Only a perch at the very top is good enough for a 42-rai super project just across the bridge on Phang Nga’s Na Tai Beach, which is being developed by well-known Charn Issara Development Plc in partnership with China-based Junfa Real Estate Company. Called Baba Beach Club, this massive development will have a hotel and a beach club, six…
- Phuket News
Angry woman makes bomb threat at Phuket airport
PHUKET: An angry passenger boarding a Thai Air Asia flight to Bangkok told employees that her bag had a bomb in it, after being forbidden from taking a water bottle on board this morning. All passengers on flight FD 3002* were evacuated, and the plane was moved to an emergency parking area for inspection, confirmed Monrudee Gettuphan, director of Phuket…
- Phuket News
Belgian-Thai local dominates at Annual King’s Cup
PHUKET: Phuket local James Van Herzeele, 12, dominated his age group in both singles and doubles categories at the Annual King’s Cup in Bangkok, a tournament held by the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand. “When I played the championship point I felt so happy and relieved that I could achieve my goal to win this most important tournament of the…
- Phuket News
Video Report: Phuket tsunami drill hailed as a success
PHUKET: A total of about 200 emergency-response officers and locals joined the full-scale tsunami evacuation drill at Koh Sireh, eastern coast of Phuket, on Tuesday. “Every department handled the rescue role-playing situations very well and acted appropriately. However, the locals seemed to be more uncomfortable, as this was their first time,” said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. The drill simulated a…
- Opinion
Opinion: Goodbye, Phuket
PHUKET: In 1997, we travelled to Thailand for the first time – to Bangkok and Hua Hin. It was love at first sight. We fell in love with this beautiful, wonderful country, the warm and heartfelt people, the beautiful beach and the food. The sun and heat made us so happy, as we are used to being in the cold.…
- Thai Life
Up in the air: Thalang Technical College launches aviation industry program
PHUKET: Thalang Technical College (TTC) has launched Thailand’s first vocational program to prepare students for a wide range of careers in the aviation industry and help support the growing need for skilled staff at nearby Phuket International Airport (HKT). TTC Deputy Director Kochakorn Butsaraporn, who administers the school’s aviation program, told the Phuket Gazette that TTC is proud to be…
- Phuket News
Australian English teacher in coma after Phuket motorbike accident
PHUKET: Australian expat Louise Warren is in a coma at Vachira Phuket Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit following a motorbike crash in Patong on Friday night. Ms Warren, working as a teacher at Patong Language School, is expected to be transferred to Bangkok Phuket Hospital today, confirmed a nurse at Vachira Hospital. “Her heart has stopped twice. However, we were able…
- Phuket News
Phuket Gov, Vice Gov return lost wallet to doctor
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong and Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam teamed up to return a lost wallet to a Phuket doctor today. “Vice Governor Suthee’s friend, Sorachai Sirichoti, along with two other friends, found the wallet at Rang Hill yesterday,” Prapan Kanprasang, chief of the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) said. “However, they ended up handing over the wallet to the vice…
