Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
Red shirts plan big Phuket rally
PHUKET TOWN: Leaders of Phuket’s small red shirt movement yesterday declared the group will no longer back down against parties denying them their right to free speech – and say they are planning a large regional rally in Phuket. Four leaders of the ‘Phuket Protect Democratic Group’ [sic], the local branch of the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship…
- Phuket News
No more free visas for Phuket tourists and expats
PHUKET: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, who oversees the Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates worldwide, today confirmed that visa fees will be levied for all visa classes from March 5, 2010. Tourist visas are valid for a 60 day-stay and may be extended at local Thai Immigration offices. Foreigners entering Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption category (free…
- Phuket News
Phuket Immigration chief transferred
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Immigration Superintendent Col Chanatpol Yongbunjerd is taking a transfer order to Immigration Headquarters in Bangkok in his stride, saying the new post will allow him to be near his family as he nears the civil service retirement age. Col Chanatpol arrived in Phuket from Pattaya in late 2007. Although initially perturbed about not having been given advance…
- Phuket News
USS Nimitz arrives in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Thousands of US servicemen stationed aboard the USS Nimitz and its support vessels arrived in Phuket yesterday morning for five days of rest and relaxation. Anxious to get off the 333-meter vessel after a month on board, sailors and marines quickly formed a long line extending almost the entire length of the hangar deck. As enlisted men and…
- Phuket News
No go: Phuket road projects stalled
PHUKET TOWN: Two controversial road projects slated for Phuket face indefinite delays and the province is already seeking alternatives, the Gazette has learned. A high-ranking source in the Department of Rural Roads said plans to complete a road connecting Nanai Road in Patong to Chalong have stalled, as the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) failed to sign off…
- Phuket News
Phuket telephone book launched today
PHUKET: The 2010 edition of the Gazette Guide, (Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’), goes on sale across the island and in major cities throughout Thailand this morning. Printed on traditional telephone book paper this year, the new directory contains even more information than last year, yet is half the weight of the 2009 edition. It’s significantly lighter in price, too – 50…
- Phuket News
Altared course: TAT to push Phuket as “wedding hub’
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will push Phuket as a wedding and honeymoon destination in selected markets including India, the head of the local TAT office said. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the TAT’s South Region 4 office in Phuket, said the TAT will offer special promotions to induce large wedding parties to Phuket. The announcement follows a recent…
- Phuket News
Phuket Police practice crowd control
PHUKET TOWN: More than 300 Phuket Police donned riot gear this morning for crowd control drills outside Phuket City Police Station. The drills were overseen by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong, who assigned Kathu Superintendent Grissak Songmoonark to command one unit and Thalang Police Superintendent Thammanoon Faiju another. A total of 310 officers from all eight…
- Phuket News
Mediation rooms officially open at Phuket City Police Station
PHUKET CITY: A new mediation center located inside Phuket City Police Station could reduce the number of cases in the provincial judicial system by up to 30%, police say. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit officially opened the center this morning. Also present was Phuket Provincial Court Chief Justice Varangkana Sucharitakul, a well-known…
- Phuket News
Phuket sea gypsies arrested for cyanide fishing
RAWAI, PHUKET: Ten Rawai sea gypsies were arrested by Marine Police late Sunday night and charged with collecting protected species for the illicit trade in tropical fish. The arrests were carried out by Phuket Marine Police and officials from the Phuket Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Center (PMCRCC). Under the direction of PMCRCC Director Paitoon Panchaipum, the officers intercepted two…
- Phuket News
TAT to focus on tourist spending, not numbers
PHUKET TOWN: Juthaporn Rerngronasa, The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s returning deputy governor for international marketing, has unveiled several strategies to approach a range of potential markets this year. Mrs Juthaporn was reappointed to head the international marketing department following an internal management reshuffle supervised by new TAT new governor Suraphon Svetserni. “This year, the authority will not aim at luring…
- Phuket News
Phuket Blues Rock Festival is back
PHUKET TOWN: Presented by Thai Airways International, the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival is back with its biggest bang since its inception in 2005. Once again hosted by the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, the show takes place on February 26 and 27 in Karon, where gates open and beer begins to flow at 5 pm. Music starts at…
- Phuket News
Phuket Governor visits Aussie accident victims
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop rushed to Bangkok Hospital Phuket yesterday afternoon to comfort the 26-year-old widow of the young Australian killed in a jeep crash on Big Buddha Hill today. Gov Wichai told Aimee Malonzo, who married her husband Michael just a week ago, how sorry he was for her loss. The governor offered Mrs Malonzo and the other…
- Phuket News
Aussie killed in Phuket Land Rover plunge
PHUKET: A driver lost control of a jeep full of tourists heading down Big Buddha Hill, killing a 26-year-old Australian man who was on his honeymoon in Phuket. The deceased’s name is known, but is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Several other tourists were injured in the accident, which happened at about 11am this morning. The condition…
- Phuket News
Phuket mourns Mel Purdue
PHUKET: Friends and family are mourning the loss of Briton Mel Purdue, who died at Phuket International Hospital late Sunday night at the age of 55. Mr Purdue died from organ failure after a year-long battle with Hepatitis C. He is survived by his wife of over 20 years, Elizabeth Purdue, his girlfriend Rowena ‘Vicky’ Nonez and his brother Michael,…
- Phuket News
Phuket plastic bag MOU: Tesco, 7-11 continue hold-out
PHUKET: Tesco-Lotus and 7-Eleven remain among the few major Phuket retailers yet to sign an agreement to begin charging customers a nominal fee for plastic bags, it was announced during a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Friday. The meeting, chaired by Phuket Vice Gov Teerayut Eimtrakul and three of the project leaders, was attended by representatives of island retailers…
- Phuket News
Phuket kids have their day
PHUKET: Tomorrow is Children’s Day. Around Phuket, many government, public and commercial venues will be putting on free entertainment for the island’s little people and their families. Normally restricted government offices will open their doors and to allow young visitors inside for educational tours and information. Strong moral values, health and education are an important message promoted and rewarded on…
- Phuket News
Canadian confesses, pays fine at Phuket Court
PHUKET: Canadian tourist Ivan Bob Anwar, who was involved in a punch-up with a Patong tuk-tuk driver earlier in the week, has been ordered to pay a 1,000 baht fine after confessing to assault charges. Mr Anwar, 51, paid the fine at Phuket Provincial Court earlier today after pleading guilty to charges of assault against tuk-tuk driver Tassanarit Damthong, 30.…
- Phuket News
Phuket holiday road deaths at provincial average – so far
PHUKET: New Year’s Day in Thailand saw 686 road accidents kill 70 people and injure another 737, bringing the cumulative casualty count for the long holiday to 238 deaths and 2,725 injuries from 2,510 accidents. Of the 238 deaths, 3 have been recorded in Phuket, in line with the average for the country’s 78 provinces. But Phuket’s serious injury count,…
- Phuket News
Phuket Gov pushes for ‘ring road’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s Governor continues to push for new road projects on the island, the latest a ‘ring road’ though the east side of Phuket Town connecting Wichit and Rasada. Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop told a meeting of provincial department heads on Tuesday that he is hoping the controversial Klong Koh Pee (‘Ghost Canal’) Road project will get the green light…
- Phuket News
TAT ‘worried’ about Phuket tuk-tuk gangs
PHUKET CITY: The director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in Phuket says her agency is ‘working on a plan’ to deal with aggressive tuk-tuk drivers in Phuket, the Gazette has learned. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) South Region Four office in Phuket, told the Gazette today that she was aware of the…
- Phuket News
New Phuket flyover under consideration
PHUKET CITY: The Highways Department is studying the possibility of building a flyover or tunnel to relieve traffic congestion at the Darasamuth School Intersection near Central Festival Phuket.The first in a series of five planned public hearings on the issue took place at The Metropole Hotel on Thursday morning.The Highways Department has included the project in its 10-year development plan…
- Phuket News
Colorful Phuket Countdown 2010
PHUKET CITY: With Christmas 2009 now in the past, Phuket is gearing up for the arrival of 2010 with a three-day ‘Colorful Phuket Countdown 2010’ festival to take place at the main stage at Saphin Hin from December 29 to 31…and well into the opening hours of 2010. The event is being jointly organized by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization…
- Phuket News
Phuket ‘EM Ball’ project underway
PHUKET CITY: In a bid to help the environment, a group of activists on Saturday released thousands of ‘effective microorganisms’ (EM) balls into the sea off Pa Khlok and into Klong Pakbang in Patong. The event was presided over by Fourth Army Area Commander Lt Gen Pichet Wisaijorn. Joining him were project manager Pareeya Jullaphong of Bangkok Hospital Phuket’s Cooperate…
- Phuket News
Russian Orthodox Church coming to Phuket
THALANG, PHUKET: A Russian Orthodox Church now under construction in Tambon Thepkrasattri is scheduled for completion by the end of next year. The groundbreaking religious ceremony at 4pm yesterday was performed by Archbishop Hilaion of Volokolamsk from Moscow and other clerics representing the Russian Orthodox Church in Thailand. The service was attended by Vice Governor Smith Palawatvichai and Rasada Mayor…
- Phuket News
Homeless Swedes face deportation from Phuket
PHUKET CITY: A homeless couple from Sweden face imminent deportation for overstaying their permits to stay. Lt Col Boonlert Onklang of the Chalong Police identified the couple as Bjorn Lennart Lundqvist, 59, and his female companion Gabriella Rose-Marie Strand, 58. Officers found the couple lying on the sidewalk in front of the Bangkok Bank branch in Kata at 1pm last…
- Phuket News
New tsunami buoy deployed off Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand’s tsunami direct detection buoy has been successfully replaced and the new unit began transmitting data via satellite at 9:15am Thursday morning.Staff of the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) and technical experts from the US who conducted the mission returned aboard MV Seafdec at 8am yesterday, as planned.NDWC Director Viriya Mongkolveerapan told the Gazette the old unit will be…
- Phuket News
OPINION: Tuk-tuks clearly a bane to Phuket tourism
PHUKET: The past week saw the launch of the Gazette’s new readers’ forum that allows readers to post their comments on news stories. The interactive feature was an instant hit, with more than 120 comments in three days on a single story: the demand by a group of tuk-tuk drivers for a bigger slice of the transport pie at a…
- Phuket News
Phuket seeks highest minimum wage in Thailand
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Labor Office has requested a daily minimum wage increase of nine baht for Phuket workers, which, if approved in full, would give the province the highest minimum wage rate in the country. Labor committees in 70 of Thailand’s 76 provinces have submitted proposals to the Labor Department requesting minimum wage increases of between one and nine…
- Phuket News
TAT accepting Thai Tourism Award 2010 applications
PHUKET CITY: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is accepting applications for its 8th annual Thailand Tourism Awards, with 101 prizes in five categories up for grabs. The five categories are: attractive tourist destinations, tourist accommodations, tour packages, tourism support organizations and health tourism. Categories are subdivided, with destination awards for such classifications as best ‘natural’ tourist destination, best historic…
