Search Results for: cat

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: A reality check born of resolutions

    Phuket Opinion: A reality check born of resolutions

    Susanna Huza, 41, is CEO of Ignite Inspiration Co Ltd, a Communications Consultancy and Training Company. She has a multinational background and earned undergraduate and advanced degrees in law from the University of Hull in the UK. She is also a Master Practitioner and Trainer in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Hypnosis, and a Master Trainer of TimeLine Therapy. Here…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Airport customs nab Vietnamese “monk’ drug mule

    Phuket Airport customs nab Vietnamese “monk’ drug mule

    PHUKET: Customs officers at Phuket International Airport arrested a Vietnamese man dressed as a monk yesterday for attempting to smuggle more than 2kg of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) into Thailand. The drugs had an estimated street value of about 8 million baht. “Officers arrested Nguyen Van Thiet, 64, at 1:50am after receiving a tip-off from undercover officers,” said Phuket Airport…

  • Thai LifePhuket Explore: Escape to Koh Kho Khao

    Phuket Explore: Escape to Koh Kho Khao

    PHUKET: You know it’s going to be a good day’s cycling when you see more water buffalo than you do hurtling pick-up trucks, and when the smiling locals stop what they are doing and rush out to greet you with a hearty “Hello Farang!” Such pleasures are rarely found in Phuket these days, but just 80 kilometers north of the…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket ponders bus ban for lethal Patong Hill

    Phuket ponders bus ban for lethal Patong Hill

    PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) has included a ban on buses travelling over Patong Hill on its list of nine suggestions to prevent more fatal accidents from occurring on the notorious incline. PLTO Chief Transport Technician Jaturong Kaewkasi presented the list of safety recommendations to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday. “Over the years, there have been many accidents…

  • Thai LifeTech: Be forwarned about 4G in Phuket

    Tech: Be forwarned about 4G in Phuket

    PHUKET: Lest you think it’s 3G dejavu all over again, the current state of 4G in Phuket has a few interesting, new wrinkles. In many ways, the impending 4G roll out – which is already under way, at least in theory – isn’t nearly as confusing as the 3G rollout two years ago. Thank heavens! Let’s start with the basics.…

  • PropertyPhuket Property: Centara anticipates tougher times ahead

    Phuket Property: Centara anticipates tougher times ahead

    PHUKET: The insight, influence and impact that the Bangkok-headquartered Central Group employs and exerts across nearly every sector in Phuket is undeniable. The group’s interests encompass retail, infrastructure, construction, real estate, and especially hospitality – through its flagship hotel chain Centara Hotels and Resorts (CHR). The Gazette recently caught up with CHR Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Chris…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep sets for Bangkok seige; Bus terminal brawl bumps holiday death toll; Deep South insurgency deaths double

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep sets for Bangkok seige; Bus terminal brawl bumps holiday death toll; Deep South insurgency deaths double

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Capital siege set for Jan 13 The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee last night announced details of its plan to lay siege to Bangkok from January 13. PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban said the siege could last for a month, or until the…

  • Phuket NewsElection candidate blockade remains steadfast in Phuket

    Election candidate blockade remains steadfast in Phuket

    PHUKET: The Phuket blockade preventing any further candidates from registering to enter the February 2 national election held strong today, the last day for potential candidates to enter the election. “We couldn’t even get inside the building this morning to open the center as the protesters blocked our way,” Kittipong Thiengkunakrit, Director of the Phuket office of the Election Commission,…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: World ushers in New Year; South Sudan peace talks today; Putin vows to take down terrorists

    Phuket Gazette World News: World ushers in New Year; South Sudan peace talks today; Putin vows to take down terrorists

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Sudan peace talks set for New Year’s Day Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: South Sudan’s government and rebels are set for New Year’s Day peace talks in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to thrash out a ceasefire to end weeks of ethnic bloodletting in the world’s newest state.Both…

  • Phuket NewsGovernment floats idea of MP registration in Phuket at military bases, police stations

    Government floats idea of MP registration in Phuket at military bases, police stations

    PHUKET: The government has suggested registering election candidates for constituencies in Phuket and elsewhere in the South at local military bases or police stations if the process continues to be disrupted by anti-government protesters (story here) – but such a move would require the approval of the Election Commission (EC), Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said yesterday. Mr Surapong was…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Thailand’s army moves to allay coup fears; Violence at protests continues; Protesters examine voting options

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Thailand’s army moves to allay coup fears; Violence at protests continues; Protesters examine voting options

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand’s army moves to allay coup fears Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand’s powerful but politicised army sought to ease fears on Monday that it might step in to resolve a festering political crisis, while anti-government protesters entrenched positions around Bangkok as they seek to disrupt…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Second bomb blast in Russia; Volcano in El Salvador; Aussie cyclone heads inland; Four journalists held in Egypt; China says Japan PM ‘shut door’

    Phuket Gazette World News: Second bomb blast in Russia; Volcano in El Salvador; Aussie cyclone heads inland; Four journalists held in Egypt; China says Japan PM ‘shut door’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second blast in Russia’s Volgograd kills 10 on trolleybus Reuters / Phuket GazetteAt least 10 people were killed when a bomb blast ripped through a trolleybus on Monday in the second deadly attack in the Russian city of Volgograd in two days, law enforcement authorities said.The explosion…

  • Phuket NewsDruggy Grinch confesses to Phuket holiday robbery, Russian assault

    Druggy Grinch confesses to Phuket holiday robbery, Russian assault

    PHUKET: A 42-year-old drug addict confessed to attacking a Russian woman and multiple accounts of robbery after he was arrested by Karon Police on Boxing Day. Boonrit Saeteaw was nabbed after having stolen several items on Christmas Day, including a mobile phone. His failure to turn off the phone’s GPS system, allowed police to track him down, Lt Col Teeradej…

  • Phuket NewsSpeed cameras operational, but speed limit signs continue non-existent

    Speed cameras operational, but speed limit signs continue non-existent

    PHUKET: Motorists speeding in Phuket now face a fine of 500 baht if they are caught by one of four speed cameras that became operational on Christmas Day. The cameras are in undisclosed locations: one within Phuket City limits; one on the bypass road; one on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang; and one in the Tah Chat Chai area (story here).…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Beware the water

    Phuket Opinion: Beware the water

    PHUKET: I’ve been losing sleep lately thinking about all the poison I’ve subjected myself to during 12 years in Thailand – alcohol, sugar, fatty and acidic foods, traffic smog, secondhand smoke and perhaps the biggest culprit of them all: water. I’m referring to fluoridated water, and the “forced-medication” of the planet’s prime life supply – drinking water. The practice, which…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Teaching that it’s not rude, it’s just culture

    Phuket Opinion: Teaching that it’s not rude, it’s just culture

    Madunan Chehteek, 47, is a native of Yala who left school at age 15 and came to Phuket to work at age 19. He held various positions at Phuket resorts, working his way up to receptionist, then was a tour guide for five years. He opened his shop, the Madunan shirt and souvenir shop, on the bypass road in 1997.Here,…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Vice Governor calls for police protection of election candidates

    Phuket Vice Governor calls for police protection of election candidates

    PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak has called on the police and the Royal Thai Navy to protect candidates enrolling in the national Member of Parliament (MP) election scheduled for February 2. “We have to accept that the current situation [in Bangkok] is not stable, and we need to be prepared,” Vice Governor Somkiet said, referring to the violence yesterday…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Egypt arrests dozens under new anti-terrorist law; Plane crash in Siberia; American al Qaeda captive in plea to Obama

    Phuket Gazette World News: Egypt arrests dozens under new anti-terrorist law; Plane crash in Siberia; American al Qaeda captive in plea to Obama

    Egypt arrests dozens under anti-terror law, one killed in Cairo Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Egypt stepped up pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood a day after declaring it a terrorist group, using the new classification to detain dozens of its supporters on Thursday, while one person died in street clashes ignited by political tension.A bomb blast in a Cairo suburb wounded…

  • Pattaya NewsPhuket Marine Office launches New Year boat safety drive

    Phuket Marine Office launches New Year boat safety drive

    PHUKET: Officers from the local Marine Office led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut today conducted safety inspections of ferries and other tourist boats operating out of Rassada Pier as part of a safety drive for the new year. Rassada Pier, located on the east side of Phuket Town (map here), is a major jump-off point for tourists boarding ferries and…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket captain, meth user sunk

    Phuket captain, meth user sunk

    PHUKET: Two men who had just returned tourists by speedboat to the pier at Phuket Boat Lagoon were arrested yesterday afternoon for using ya ice (crystal methamphetamine); one was also charged for possession of over eight grams of the drug.The men were apprehended as part of a holiday drug-sweep in the area, Marine Police Inspector Chatchai Sakdee told the Phuket…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Protesters storm Bangkok stadium; Yingluck plan shot down; Thaksin calls for calm; DSI shoots for PRDC arrests

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protesters storm Bangkok stadium; Yingluck plan shot down; Thaksin calls for calm; DSI shoots for PRDC arrests

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police battle protesters at Thai-Japanese Stadium The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police used teargases and rubber bullets to fend off protesters from storming into the compound of the Thai-Japanese Stadium Thursday morning.Police started firing teargases at about 7:20 am after protesters led by the Students and People…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket’s Nai Harn Bay gets artificial coral reef

    Phuket’s Nai Harn Bay gets artificial coral reef

    PHUKET: Villagers and marine officers joined together yesterday to drop concrete frames into the sea at Nai Harn Bay as substructures for artificial coral reefs.“There were over 50 people there to help drop 200 concrete frame-cubes,” said Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Phuket Office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).“Coral reefs are important resources for marine animals.…

  • PropertyPhuket Town’s Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel acquired by Accor Group

    Phuket Town’s Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel acquired by Accor Group

    PHUKET: Some good news for the property market in the heart of Phuket Town: the old Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel has been acquired by an owner affiliated with the Accor Group of hotels and is now undergoing a complete renovation for a scheduled rebranding under one of that group’s many hotel chains. Work at the site had been underway for…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket cows freed to honor HM The King’s birthday

    Phuket cows freed to honor HM The King’s birthday

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led a ceremony at Saphan Hin on Sunday to free 22 cows and over a million marine animals in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 86th birthday on December 5th. “Making merit by releasing life is a wonderful activity, as it feels so good to give something so special,” Gov Maitri said. “It makes you…

  • Phuket NewsGhost riding Russian injured in Phuket motorbike crash

    Ghost riding Russian injured in Phuket motorbike crash

    PHUKET: A ghost-riding Russian was injured in a crash just after midnight yesterday on Thepkasattri Road.Eyewitnesses told police that the man was driving as if he was drunk. He allegedly took a spill near the Thai Watsadu megastore, then got back on his bike and drove toward the Heroine’s Monument, where he continued heading south toward Phuket Town, but in…

  • Phuket NewsRecord drug bust in Krabi nets 48K meth pills, B17mn assets

    Record drug bust in Krabi nets 48K meth pills, B17mn assets

    PHUKET: Police in Krabi province, across the bay from Phuket, have arrested three suspects and seized more than 48,000 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) in what is being hailed as the largest drug bust in Southern Thailand.The arrests were announced at a press conference today, when Krabi Governor Prasit Osathanon presented Bancha Janchamroen, 36; Sompot Janchamroen, 30; and Pattara Dechaporn,…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket beach pollution readings to remain secret

    Phuket beach pollution readings to remain secret

    PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) will not post the pollution readings of its seawater quality tests online, the Phuket Gazette has confirmed. Instead, the center will publish only its self-determined star rating system, PMBC Director Ukkrit Satapoomin told the Gazette this week. The PMBC issued a press release last week announcing that the reports were now available online…

  • Phuket NewsPolice raids uncover drug dens in Soi Ya Bah, Phuket Town

    Police raids uncover drug dens in Soi Ya Bah, Phuket Town

    PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested two men after separate raids on the same small street in Samkong, Phuket Town, resulted in the seizure of 1,818 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) and 4.99 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Acting on a tip-off, officers arrived at the house of Worasak Bamrung, 30, in Soi Prayoon 3/1 (map here) at 3am. A search…

  • Phuket NewsBad egg arrested at Phuket Prison

    Bad egg arrested at Phuket Prison

    PHUKET: A woman delivering an omelet to an inmate at Phuket Prison was arrested yesterday when guards discovered that the food concealed anti-anxiety pills.When Thitiporn Janerop, 20, was in the prison visiting room, officers conducted a routine search of the food that she had brought. Inside the omelet they found 40 pills of Alprazolam – popularly known as Xanax –…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep for cash; Baht falls; Temperatures plummet; Feb 2 polls to go ahead

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep for cash; Baht falls; Temperatures plummet; Feb 2 polls to go ahead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community People show support by handing over cash to Suthep The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Apart from addressing social issues, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee led by former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban has now started focusing on collecting donations.During the march down Bangkok yesterday, Suthep was seen waving…