Search Results for: cat

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Raceweek sails into view

    Phuket Raceweek sails into view

    PHUKET: The award-winning Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, presented by Mount Gay Rum, is set to take place again on July 17-21. The event is celebrating its tenth anniversary and will feature four days of world-class yacht racing and four nights of magical, beach-side parties at the five-star Cape Panwa Hotel Principal Race Officer Simon James is planning a variety…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Rumors, rivals and Renault – F1

    Phuket Sports: Rumors, rivals and Renault – F1

    PHUKET: The Sports Authority of Thailand has confirmed that a six-kilometer Formula One circuit will be created near the Royal Thai Naval Dockyard in Bangkok, possibly with the main stands in the Chao Phraya river. There are plans for an inaugural F1 night race in 2015. Red Bull is a keen backer. Interestingly, the Malaysian GP at Sepang is probably…

  • Thai LifeBrave diving leads to wondrous discoveries in sands off Phuket

    Brave diving leads to wondrous discoveries in sands off Phuket

    PHUKET: Turn your back on the reef. This isn’t an orientation dive to test your ability to get back to the corals. Turn your back on the safety of the gorgonian sea fans, staghorn corals and saffron-colored clam, and start kicking – be brave. Following the lead of Vince Moy from Kiwidiver, we stomp across the sand of Kata Beach…

  • Thai LifePhuket Lifestyle: Let’s lunch at La Moon

    Phuket Lifestyle: Let’s lunch at La Moon

    PHUKET: On the way to Surin Beach, as you pass through Cherng Talay, if you’re feeling a bit hungry you should make a stop at La Moon restaurant. La Moon’s owner ‘Khun Ging’ is sitting with some local Thai families, sharing a communal meal and exchanging the latest family news when we arrive. Ever the perfect hostess, Khun Ging soon…

  • Phuket NewsVIDEO: Brothers Grimes grill Phuket’s Dylan Young

    VIDEO: Brothers Grimes grill Phuket’s Dylan Young

    PHUKET: Young karters Ben and Sam Grimes, who compete in the 125cc Junior Class in the Rotax Asia Max Challenge (AMC) in Malaysia and the Thai Championships, recently interviewed racing driver Dylan Young about his career. The interview was the perfect opportunity for Dylan to pass on some of his experience to the brothers and for Ben and Sam to…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Mass closure of schools branded unconstitutional; PM website hacker surrenders; Army grip on nation still strong

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Mass closure of schools branded unconstitutional; PM website hacker surrenders; Army grip on nation still strong

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Closing small schools unconstitutional, say rural teachers The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Rural Teachers Society’s Northeastern branch yesterday condemned the Education Ministry’s move to close down small schools.“It’s a violation of the 2007 Constitution,” said society vice president Wittaya Panpeng.He was speaking at a teachers’ forum…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Aussie cruise tourists fall overboard; Boston bomber buried; Mega ATM cybercrime ring busted; Olympic sailor dies in America’s Cup mishap

    Phuket Gazette World News: Aussie cruise tourists fall overboard; Boston bomber buried; Mega ATM cybercrime ring busted; Olympic sailor dies in America’s Cup mishap

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Aussie cruise liner passengers fall overboard Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Australian emergency crews were searching on Friday for two people who fell overboard from a Carnival Corp cruise liner off the New South Wales coast.Police said surveillance camera footage from the ship showed the 30-year-old man and…

  • Phuket NewsCorals allegedly damaged by seawalking company to take years to grow back

    Corals allegedly damaged by seawalking company to take years to grow back

    PHUKET: Corals allegedly damaged by a seawalking company off Khai Nai Island, east of Phuket, could take five to six years to grow back, explained officials as they inspected the decimated underwater habitat yesterday. Over 300 square meters of coral were damaged to create a pathway for tourists to walk on the sea floor, said the Phuket Department of Marine…

  • Phuket NewsSwedish tourist caught in string of Phuket drug arrests

    Swedish tourist caught in string of Phuket drug arrests

    PHUKET: Karon Police arrested a Swedish tourist, along with three others, on drug charges last night. Karon Police led by Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Sophon Borirak arrested a Swedish man and his female companion at a hotel near Taina Road in Karon (map here) at 6pm. Police named the suspects as Jen Peter, 48, and Kwanpana “Tom” Thani, 29, from…

  • Cannabis NewsPhuket monks defrocked after being caught with drugs

    Phuket monks defrocked after being caught with drugs

    PHUKET: Four monks and a lay worker at the well-known Wat Kajornrungsan on Ranong Road in Phuket Town were arrested Tuesday night after a tip-off led police to catch them with drugs.“We went to Wat Kajornrungsan after local residents reported to us that they suspected some monks were using drugs,” Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Prawit Engchuan told the Phuket…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Red shirts call off protest, but the poor stay; Exam cheat teachers to be charged; Plan to close 14,000 schools

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Red shirts call off protest, but the poor stay; Exam cheat teachers to be charged; Plan to close 14,000 schools

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yellows stay as reds head to Parliament The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: After staging a sit-in demonstration for 17 days, the red shirts yesterday announced the end of their protest after a rally motorcade from the Constitutional Court to Parliament to call for the impeachment of five…

  • PropertyIndian tycoon eyes Thailand

    Indian tycoon eyes Thailand

    PHUKET: Asgar Patel, group chairman of India-based multinational House of Patels, and one of the wealthiest people in India and the United Arab Emirates, earlier this week expressed an interest in investing in Phuket’s property market. “We are interested in investing in the Thai property sector not only in Bangkok, but also in other locations such as Hua Hin and…

  • Business NewsA glass of wheatgrass if you please

    A glass of wheatgrass if you please

    PHUKET: Vitality, curative, nutrient-rich, detoxifying, energy – these are some of the most common connotations associated with the plant, Triticum aestivum, more commonly known as ‘wheatgrass’. Another increasingly common association is cancer prevention. “That’s what I like about it. Maybe it’s to do with my age,” says 68 year-old Frank Gunn, an American expat who has lived in Phuket for…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Red shirts to march on Bangkok; Smoking ban at airports; ICT Minister defends web censorship

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Red shirts to march on Bangkok; Smoking ban at airports; ICT Minister defends web censorship

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Concern as red shirts threaten mass protest The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Concern over the announced mass protest by red-shirt supporters – touted to attract some 100,000 supporters – has prompted Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra to instruct municipal police to tighten security at government compounds and landmarks…

  • Business NewsPhuket Italian restaurants make the grade

    Phuket Italian restaurants make the grade

    PHUKET: The Thai-Italian chamber of commerce brought their Ospitalita Italiana project to Phuket recently, awarding five Italian restaurants the ‘Q’ certificate of authenticity. The ‘Q’ for ‘quality’ award judges the restaurants genuinely Italian if they meet 10 criteria concerning the training of their chefs and their use of genuine recipes and Italian products, such as wine and olive oil. Not…

  • Business NewsPhuket to adopt new “4 Ms’ plan to boost tourism

    Phuket to adopt new “4 Ms’ plan to boost tourism

    PHUKET: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has revived its efforts and moved its attention once again to help promote Phuket as a regional hub for corporate and organizational tourism. A new four-year destination promotion strategy was presented to local, regional and national officials at a seminar on April 26 at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. Entitled “Developing…

  • Phuket NewsReaching out for that helping hand

    Reaching out for that helping hand

    Suicide rates have increased 60 per cent worldwide over the past 45 years, according to the World Health Organization. Phuket is not immune, but there is help available for those in need. The Phuket Gazette’s Leslie Porterfield reports. PHUKET: KHEMMANIT Jantharaapa was 38 years old when she walked onto Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge in tears on April 24. She took off…

  • Thai LifePhuket Books: The new wave general

    Phuket Books: The new wave general

    PHUKET: General David Petraeus is justly famous for introducing a sophisticated counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq that averted a catastrophic civil war and led to an orderly American withdrawal. Previously, American troops had been stationed in huge forts from which they would venture forth in under-armored vehicles, which fell prey again and again to roadside bombs. Petraeus introduced a badly needed…

  • Thai LifePhuket Gardening: The ABCs of plant names

    Phuket Gardening: The ABCs of plant names

    PHUKET: “A” is for arbitrary – which is what the articles that follow will inevitably be. How else to describe in the same breath, an array of plants as different as acalyph (also known as the red cat’s tail) and the golden allamanda. “A” also represents excellence, so I hope the ensuing choice of plants will reflect that principle. In…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: B350bn water project hits corruption dam; Khon Kaen killer cop; Cheating teacher investigated

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: B350bn water project hits corruption dam; Khon Kaen killer cop; Cheating teacher investigated

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Water projects may break corruption law The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The government might run into another serious legal problem; barely escaping the Administrative Court’s injunction last week, the Bt350-billion water-management project could be found to violate the Counter Corruption Act BE2542 (1999).A source at the Comptroller…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Tourist Police arrest illegal Chinese guides

    Phuket Tourist Police arrest illegal Chinese guides

    PHUKET: Tourist Police arrested two Chinese nationals in Phuket Town yesterday for working illegally as tour guides catering to Chinese tour groups. Phuket Tourist Police Inspector Urumporn Khundejsumrit named the two men as Hung Jin Tia, also known as “Mr Tawan”, 34, and Cao Jiandong, 40. Accompanying Tourist Police in the raid on the men’s tour kiosk on Phun Pol…

  • Phuket NewsPolice await fingerprint results over Phuket yacht thieves’ knife attack

    Police await fingerprint results over Phuket yacht thieves’ knife attack

    PHUKET: Police are waiting for fingerprint test results to determine whether the two yacht thieves arrested last weekend also carried out a knife attack on a Frenchman who disturbed the duo while they were trying to rob his yacht just two days earlier. Niwat Duangmanee and Theeraphol Malasan, both 21, were charged with using knives to commit armed robbery, using…

  • Phuket NewsNew Phuket court to deliver tourists justice

    New Phuket court to deliver tourists justice

    PHUKET: A new series of courts will be established in Phuket and other key vacation destinations in Thailand, including Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phang Nga and Krabi, to assist foreign visitors.“Tourists who are the victims of thefts and robberies may have to face a lengthy trial and experience inconvenience because they only stay in the country for a short time,”…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Israel bombs Syria, war touted; Razak wins Malaysia election; Neo-Nazi trial stuns Germany

    Phuket Gazette World News: Israel bombs Syria, war touted; Razak wins Malaysia election; Neo-Nazi trial stuns Germany

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel strikes Syria, says targeting Hezbollah arms Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars of flame into the night sky in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah.Local people…

  • Phuket NewsFresh push to give Phuket beaches lifeguard boost

    Fresh push to give Phuket beaches lifeguard boost

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) is pushing to get extra lifeguard watchtowers set up at five tourist-popular beaches on Phuket’s west coast. The move comes as the contract with the Phuket Lifeguard Club expires at the end of this month, coinciding with the regular arrival of the annual rainy season, when the island’s beaches claim tourists’ lives each…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Year-long road safety in Phuket

    Phuket Opinion: Year-long road safety in Phuket

    PHUKET: The nationwide Songkran Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign was deemed to be a raging success on Phuket, with only one fatality on the island’s roads during that period. The strong police presence and abundance of police checkpoints definitely made a difference. But the checkpoints have vanished along with the police. Is that their work for the year done?…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Partners for life

    Phuket Opinion: Partners for life

    Jeerattakarn Nuannum, 30, was born in Phuket and graduated from Phuket Rajabhat University. After joining Phuket’s renowned Simon Cabaret Show as a performer in 2002, the Phuket native became a fashion model at Phuket Pop Top Model in 2008. Here, Jeerattakarn explains what rights the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community expect to be granted if Thailand moves ahead…

  • Phuket NewsGovernor proposes solution for Rassada water pollution

    Governor proposes solution for Rassada water pollution

    PHUKET: After inspecting the site in Rassada where highly polluted wastewater is pumped directly into the Bang Yai Canal in Phuket Town (story here), Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut has drawn up a plan to solve the problem. Before drawing up his plan, Gov Maitri broadened his scope of appraisal and inspected drainage ditches behind the Radio of Thailand official residences…

  • Phuket NewsTourist Police arrest illegal Thai tour guides

    Tourist Police arrest illegal Thai tour guides

    PHUKET: Seven Thais working illegally as tour guides catering to Chinese tourists in Phuket were arrested in the wake of a mass protest on Monday demanding the government take action against illegal guides. The protest on Monday focused on Chinese nationals “stealing” the jobs of Thai tour guides, though those protesting also asked Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak to raise…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket’s Top Cop calls for more CCTV cameras to fight crime

    Phuket’s Top Cop calls for more CCTV cameras to fight crime

    PHUKET: Phuket’s top brass highlighted the importance of CCTV in police investigations and the need for more cameras on the island at a meeting to discuss unsolved high-profile crimes with the Deputy Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8 this week.“The Phuket Provincial Police only have about 300 CCTV on the island, which is not enough to cover everywhere,” said Phuket…