Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
Racha Yai residents protest new resort development
PHUKET CITY: More than 100 villagers from Koh Racha Yai gathered outside Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday to protest a new resort development they claim is disrupting their way of life and destroying the environment. The protesters, led by Chakrit Chandee of the Koh Racha Environmental Conservation and Protection Association, handed a letter to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop outlining their…
- Phuket News
Alleged Aussie perfume thieves out on bail in Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: A young Australian couple accused of stealing three bottles of perfume from a duty-free shop at Phuket Airport have been released on bail, but must remain in Phuket while their court cases are heard. Police identified the couple as 21-year-old Nathan Robert Hinds and his 16-year-old fiancée, whose name cannot be reported because she is a minor.…
- Phuket News
Plastic bag MoU signed in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: An agreement to charge a small fee for plastic bags was signed by most of the island’s major retailers, with Tesco-Lotus and 7-Eleven the only major holdouts. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony took place at Phuket Provincial Hall (Sala Klaang) at 2pm yesterday. The event was chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop. Also attending were new…
- Phuket News
Body found off Karon identified as Australian
PHUKET CITY: Chalong Police have confirmed that the body of a man found floating off Karon Beach yesterday is that of 31-year-old Australian Ben Douglas Richard, who went missing from a villa hotel in the Surin Beach area over the weekend. Chalong Police investigator Boonlert Onklang told the Gazette Mr Richard had been staying at a villa owned by a…
- Phuket News
Brits encouraged to sign up with tracking system
PHUKET CITY: British Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle is encouraging all British subjects who live or travel to Phuket or other parts of Thailand to register their presence here using a new on-line service set up by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Click on this link! campaign encourages British Nationals to use LOCATE, an online system, to register…
- Phuket News
Grass gets greener for Phuket sea cows
PHUKET CITY: The grass will be greener for sea cows (dugongs) visiting Phuket thanks to a seagrass fertilization project currently underway.Bangkok Hospital Phuket and the Mekawanich Foundation are teaming up to produce 20,000 ‘effective micro-organisms’ (EM) balls that will be introduced into the sea off Pa Khlok and into the fetid waters of Klong Pakbang in Patong.The project will be…
- Thailand News
Fear of girlfriend leads to death plunge
BANGKOK: A man fell to his death November 15 as he tried to lower himself onto the balcony of his fifth floor flat – rather than go in through the front door and meet his angry girlfriend. The body of 29-year-old Surasak Kasan was found lying on the ground under the balcony of his apartment in Din Daeng. He had…
- Phuket News
Middle Way meditation on Sunday
PHUKET CITY: There will be a Middle Way meditation training session at the Phuket Meditation Center from 3pm to 5pm on Sunday. The teaching monk will be Phra Thada Jaranatharou, who has re-arranged his busy schedule and will fly in from Bangkok for the session. Fluent in English, Phra Thada has a bachelors’ degree in industrial electrical technology from King…
- Phuket News
Phuket land dispute heats up
PHUKET CITY: The tense standoff at the Panason City construction site heated up this morning when landless villagers set fires to prevent backhoes from covering their modest homes with dirt and warning gunshots were fired by workers. The fires were set at about 10am today and warning shots were fired into the air by backhoe operators around noon, one of…
- Phuket News
One-Two-Go to launch new Phuket flight
PHUKET CITY: Low-cost carrier One-Two-Go will launch a second daily round-trip flight between Bangkok and Phuket starting on December 3. One-Two-Go Public Relations and Marketing Communications Officer Namon Patisang said fares for the flights begin at 1,750 baht, all inclusive. The new flight will depart Phuket at 1:40pm daily and make the return from Don Meuang at 3:30pm. One-Two-Go already…
- Phuket News
Phuket reds, yellows ready to roll
PHUKET: Phuket’s yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters and their red-shirted opponents, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), will both be traveling to large gatherings in the near future.The Phuket PAD will be heading to Bangkok to protest former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s appointment to a high-level advisory position by Cambodian premier Hun Sen.The protest will…
- Phuket News
New Phuket TAT office chief to sell Phuket’s international side
PHUKET: With the possible exception of Bangkok, Phuket is the most ‘international’ of Thailand’s 76 provinces. A ride past the bustling eateries that line Patong’s Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road will confirm it: there are people from every corner of the globe living and working here. It’s this angle that new Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) South Region 4 Office chief…
- Phuket News
Five Phuket teens accused of gang rape
PHUKET CITY: Five teenagers, including two girls, were arrested yesterday for allegedly gang raping a 14-year-old Thai-Japanese girl at a house in Phuket City last week. Police say the two girls held the victim down while the three boys raped her. All five suspects are 14 to16 years of age. Their faces covered with balaclavas, the youths were presented to…
- Phuket News
MV Doulos back in Phuket in mid-November
PHUKET CITY: On the next leg of its mission to bring books to readers around the globe, the world’s oldest passenger liner will make its fifth port-of-call in Phuket later this month. The MV Doulos, built in the US in 1914, will berth at the Phuket Deep Sea Port for a one-week stay starting on November 19. Built just two…
- Opinion
OPINION: Good news at long last
PHUKET CITY: Developments in the aviation industry bode well for Phuket and its tourism industry going into the high season. The most important of these is Thai AirAsia’s decision to establish Phuket as a second ‘aviation hub’ for its growing operations in Southeast Asia. Since entering the Phuket market in 2003, Thai AirAsia has been a consistent performer in an…
- Phuket News
Berlin Air deal a boost for Phuket tourism
PHUKET CITY: More good news for the Phuket tourism industry came earlier this week when it was announced that German carrier Berlin Air has entered into a codeshare agreement with Bangkok Air. A codeshare agreement enables two airlines to sell seats on the same flight. In this case, Air Berlin customers will benefit from a wider choice of flights and…
- Phuket News
Phuket firm charged with encroachment
PHUKET CITY: The state prosecutor’s office has charged the owner of a Phuket company with conspiracy to encroach on state land on Yao Yai Island in Phang Nga Bay. The defendant was identified as Chaiyapon Phoojareorn, owner and manager of Ji Liang Phuket Fishing Co Ltd. Mr Chaiyapon was yesterday formally charged in the Region 4 Criminal Court in Bangkok…
- Phuket News
OPINION: TAT should do more for Phuket festival
PHUKET: The Vegetarian Festival ends this evening – not just here in Phuket, but also in other ethnic Chinese communities all over the country. Phuket’s Chinese community rightfully takes great pride in their town being the birthplace of the festival in Thailand – as well as the fact that Chinese communities in other provinces have followed suit. The event is…
- Phuket News
B100 million seized in Phuket drug bust
PHUKET: The Narcotics Crime Suppression Bureau carried out a sting operation in Phuket at 2am yesterday, arresting a man and seizing 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills, 300,000 baht in cash, weapons, vehicles, gold and land. The value of the items seized totals more than 100 million baht, according to the Narcotics Crime Suppression Bureau. The suspect was arrested after a policeman pretended to be a…
- Phuket News
New sinkhole on Patong Hill road
PHUKET CITY: Conditions on the already-treacherous Patong Hill road took another turn for the worse yesterday, when another sinkhole appeared just meters from a similar cavity that was hastily repaired in late August. Patong Municipal official Sompong Jiumtau said municipal workers put traffic cones around the crevasse as soon as it was first noticed before dusk yesterday. The hole had…
- Phuket News
Swine flu under control in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The head of the Phuket Public Health Office has downplayed a report in the state-run media that lists Phuket as one of seven provinces with high incidences of A(H1N1) infection. The figures are skewed because they don’t take into account the island’s large ‘hidden population’, he said. Phuket Public Health Office director Dr Pongsawas Ratanasang said the total…
- Phuket News
Phuket leads the south in A(H1N1) infection
PHUKET CITY: Phuket is among seven provinces in the country with the highest incidence of infection with the swine flu virus, the state-run Thai News Agency has reported. Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr Paijit Worajit yesterday informed the press that there have been three more deaths from swine flu in Thailand, while the total number of fatalities rose to…
- Phuket News
Phuket Governor leads prayer for HM The King
PHUKET CITY: Some of Phuket’s most important leaders and around 2,000 other well-wishers gathered at Saphan Hin last night to wish HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej a speedy recovery. The event was held on the occasion of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which began at midnight Saturday with the arrival of the new moon starting the ninth month of the Chinese calendar…
- Phuket News
Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy in Phuket tonight
PHUKET CITY: One of the world’s most fascinating acrobatics troupes will perform a charity performance at Saphan Hin starting at 7pm. The 40-strong Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy perform a wide variety of acrobatic stunts. The troupe are currently in Phuket as part of a nationwide tour that has included stops in Bangkok and the Isarn region. In a recent nationally televised…
- Phuket News
Phuket to stage ‘National Anthem Singing’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s iconic Phromthep Cape will be in the national spotlight on October 29 when a large crowd is expected to turn out for a nationally televised singing of the Thai National Anthem. The announcement that Phuket’s southernmost tip has been chosen for the event came at meeting chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday.…
- Phuket News
Phuket power cuts announced
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced the following scheduled power cuts to carry out maintenance on high voltage wires, starting with parts of Chalong on Thursday.October 15 (9am to 4pm): ChalongAffected areas include parts of Patak Rd, left hand side, from Chalong Circle to the Phuket Shooting Range. Patak Villa is among the…
- Phuket News
Hearing held for two Phuket road megaprojects
PHUKET CITY: If Friday’s public hearing is any indication, there appears to be little grassroots opposition to two major road projects being considered for Phuket.The event at Royal Phuket City Hotel combined two public hearings into one.By coincidence, the two hearings were scheduled to take place at the same time in the same hotel, causing a great deal of confusion…
- Phuket News
Phuket bungee jumper in near-fatal accident
KATHU, PHUKET: A British tourist was nearly killed in a bungee jumping accident at the Jungle Bungy Jump center in Phuket, it emerged today. Rishi Baveja hit the water below the 165-foot high platform at around 130km/h after the harness slipped from his legs during the jump. Luckily he took the full force of the impact on his chest, escaping head…
- Phuket News
Phuket Tourist Police promote 1155 hotline
PHUKET: Foreign tourists arriving at Phuket International Airport (PIA) are being introduced to their ‘first friend’ on the island, the Tourist Police, with the distribution of bookmarks displaying important telephone numbers, including that of the Tourist Police hotline.The nationwide public relations campaign, titled ‘Your First Friend’, was launched by the Tourist Police last month with the aim of putting a…
- Phuket News
Polish beauties bound for Phuket
PHUKET: Gentlemen at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday evening (Oct 7) will get a generous eyeful when 25 Miss Poland 2009 contestants arrive aboard their Bangkok Airways flight. The Slavic beauties are spending 10 days in Thailand as part of a ‘preparation camp’ ahead of the final competition in Poland. As well as Phuket, the girls are set to visit…