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- Thai Life
Phuket Diving: Knowledge trumps beauty of ignorance
PHUKET: A brilliantly colored mantis shrimp (stomatopoda) pops out of its burrow and scurries towards a broken piece of coral. Its legs spin out below it like the Road Runner – but it’s not that fast, at least its legs aren’t. We kneel in the sand to watch the biological wonder. It looks almost comical as it arches its head…
- Thai Life
Phuket History: Remembering an art master
PHUKET: Thai art students and enthusiasts recently celebrated Silpa Bhirasri Day, a Thai holiday, which is designated to commemorate the legacy of the late ‘Father of Modern Thai Art’. “Life is short … art is longer”, was the motto of Professor Silpa Bhirasri, an Italian sculptor who was born Corrado Feroci in 1892. Feroci came to Thailand at the age…
- Phuket News
Phuket Live Wire: iPhone 5 – Caveat emptor
PHUKET: Last week I talked about the importance of fast internet speeds and the evolution of technology in Phuket. This week, man oh man, the pigeons came home to roost. If you’re thinking about buying an iPhone 5, it would behoove you to read and understand this and next week’s column. The money you save could be your own. I…
- Phuket News
Radar, GPS tracking to net foreign charter yacht tax dodgers
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket office of the Marine Department says he is drawing up plans to launch a campaign targeting “hundreds” of visiting foreign yachts that avoid paying tax to Thai officials despite conducting “business” in Thai territorial waters. Named among the visiting yachts to be targeted were charter tour boats for tourist activities, such as snorkeling, diving…
- Thai Life
Go-Eco Phuket takes on the ocean’s silent killer
PHUKET: Rubbish. It is ugly; it costs local communities and economies; and it destroys wildlife. Every year tens of thousands of marine creatures, mammals and birds die because of the litter we drop or the fishing nets we abandon and lose at sea. If you are fed up with seeing your local dive site trashed, or rubbish left on Phuket…
- Thailand News
Woman cheats death with fake funeral
PHUKET: Friends and family of 80-year-old Kulap Chomduang gathered at Sop Tui Temple in the northern province of Lampang for her funeral in early August. Mrs Kulap had been suffering from a variety of health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer of the uterus. But there was a catch: Mrs Kulap wasn’t dead. Since then, Mrs Kulap has…
- Phuket News
Phuket Roads: Pay now, please, for the failure of planning
PHUKET: Work on Phuket’s first underpass is slated to start by the middle of next month, and is expected to shed harsh light on just how deplorably ‘planners’ have failed to develop Phuket’s road infrastructure to keep pace with the island’s development. [See front page, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.]…
- Thailand News
Weird World News: You never know what you’ll get, from a baby to false gold
PHUKET: Forrest Gump famously said, “My Mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.'” In honor of Mrs Gump’s timeless wisdom, this week’s Phuket Gazette Weird World News roundup is popping out a baby, drilling for gold and counting its carats in diamonds all in the name of getting more, or…
- World News
World News: 19 dead as anti-Islam film protests turn violent
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Anti-Islam film protests in Pakistan turn violent, at least 19 killed Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: At least nineteen people were killed and scores injured across Pakistan as widespread protests against the anti-Islam film turned violent, local media reported yesterday. In the southern port city…
- Thai Life
Phuket Gardening: Red for danger
PHUKET: Today’s piece was intended to focus on shrubs, beautiful and not armored, but still unlikely to find a place in a garden frequented by children due to their poisonous qualities. But, another small tree has temporarily upstaged them. I was on a trip around Phuket, and ended up, literally, in a small soi which, as they often do, terminated…
- Property
Phuket Property: Land art made from the heart
PHUKET: Phuket has participated in a project entitled ‘The King’s Land Art Project’ using Niwet Silpa, or ‘Land Art’ inspired by nine different national artists and erected in nine provinces around Thailand. Each of the nine designs across the Kingdom represent His Majesty’s talents and projects and range in size from four to 20 rai. The Phuket project was taken…
- Phuket News
World champion eyes Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 title
PHUKET: The recently-crowned 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Leanda Cave, has signed up for the Laguna Phuket event less than 24 hours after completing her epic World Championship victory in Las Vegas on September 9, and before resuming training for her next title bid at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on October 13, it was revealed by the…
- Phuket News
Where the Phuket buffalo roam
PHUKET: To highlight the diminishing number of buffalo still grazing on the island, Phuket Democrat MP Raywat Areerob joined local farmers on Tuesday at a small country fair that included a bovine beauty contest. The event, organized by the National Farmers Council (NFC) Phuket office and Srisoonthorn Municipality, with support from the Phuket Agricultural Office, was held at the field…
- Phuket News
Phuket Airport officials unveil how they caught their woman
PHUKET: Following the arrest of a woman wanted by authorities in Bangkok for human trafficking charges, Phuket Airport Immigration officers revealed how they caught the suspect before she could fly out of the country. Phuket Airport Immigration officer Lt Col Wannee Songchaisanguan said that Snr Sgt Maj Wanchai Narin was on duty in the departure hall on September 14 when…
- Thai Life
Phuket Environment: Fishing till the seas run dry
PHUKET: There are certain indisputable facts about fish. With very few exceptions, they look good, taste good and they do you good. Dietitians recommend at least two fishy portions a week. So-called “oily fish” – herring, mackerel, salmon, tuna and sardines – are especially good for you since they contain omega 3 fatty acids that help keep immune systems healthy…
- Phuket News
Phuket consuls praise Provincial Hospital
PHUKET: The British and Australian honorary consuls in Phuket have heaped praise on the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) Hospital. Martin Carpenter, British honorary consul, and Larry Cunningham, Australian honorary consul to Phuket, also called for local media organizations to publicize the facility so people can take advantage of the new hospital’s services. At the meeting of Phuket’s honorary consul…
- Thai Life
Phuket Lifestyle: Authentic Kopi
PHUKET: If you happen to be in downtown Phuket and want a respite from the heat and a quick bite with refreshing drinks, you’d do no better than dropping at Kopi de Phuket on Phuket Road. Kopi, a Hokkien Chinese term derived from the English word “coffee,” is used up and down the Malay Peninsular to mean either coffee or…
- Phuket News
Live Wire: All I want for Xmas is a 3G tab
PHUKET: Welcome to the fourth and final installment of my series about where the computer industry is headed (click here to see related articles). With the Christmas season just around the corner many people are thinking about buying new electronics – computer, tablet, phone, maybe even a TV. This column will help you stay on top of developments between now…
- Phuket News
Thai woman arrested in Phuket on prostitution human trafficking charges
PHUKET: Immigration officials arrested a Thai woman believed to be at the center of an international human trafficking ring at Phuket International Airport on Friday as she tried to board a flight to Bahrain.Dujdao “Champagne” Yarana*, 27, was arrested at 7pm by Capt Suppachai Moongaew and immediately taken to Bangkok.After questioning by the Anti-Human Trafficking Division (AHTD) she was charged…
- Phuket News
Police set up cordon to capture brazen Phuket gold shop robbers
PHUKET: Police have surrounded a disused fish processing plant on the east side of Phuket Town this afternoon in the hope of capturing two men who shot a gold shop owner with an air pistol before making off with an estimated 3 million baht in jewelry. Phuket City Police were informed at 1:30pm that the Yong Chuan gold shop in…
- Thai Life
Land of smiles: Ye olde Curmudgeon’s imaginary interview
PHUKET: In the wake of the recent Republican convention, I thought I’d do an imaginary interview with US presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Imaginary interviews are always more fun than real ones, because you can make your interviewee say anything you want. This one would go like this:Me: Our readers want to know what experience you have in foreign affairs.Mitt: Well,…
- Phuket News
Phuket to stage biggest PADI “Diving for Debris’ reef cleanup in world
PHUKET: Go-Eco Phuket, a recently established marine environmental group, has announced that it is now looking to stage the biggest PADI “diving for debris” reef cleanup project on record on September 30. The event has escalated from what was originally expected to be a reef cleanup carried out by a coalition of several PADI dive centers on the island to…
- Phuket News
Phuket News: Inaction over Tiger inferno sparks fire-safety blitz
PHUKET: The lack of follow-up on fire safety standards more than a month after the deadly Tiger Discotheque inferno on August 17 that killed four people, has prompted Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha to launch a campaign to improve fire safety at large public venues across the island. Governor Tri told the Phuket Gazette that he had already called on the…
- Phuket News
“We have listened and learnt’
“We have listened and learned.”Narayana Ramachandran, President of the World Squash Federation, is confident that the sport has adapted to become a modern-day game, fit for the 2020 Olympics.Having failed in previous attempts to push squash into the Olympic program, the sport has changed and eradicated any problems that existed. Narayana Ramachandran said: “We have had extensive discussions with the…
- Business News
Phuket Business: PIMEX 2013 International Boat Show dates announced
PHUKET: THE 10th edition of the Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) will be held at the Royal Phuket Marina from March 21-24 next year, the event’s organizers have announced. As one of the region’s largest and most significant marine, boating and yachting exhibitions, the four-day event will showcase leading marine and lifestyle businesses, products and services with a large in-water…
- Phuket News
Phuket taxis agree to standard fares
PHUKET: More than 50 representatives from taxi organizations across Phuket have agreed to a schedule of standard fares to be charged island-wide. The benchmark agreement, which is expected to resolve many of the issues – and violent conflicts – related to fares charged, was forged at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday. The schedule of standard fares will…
- Phuket News
Bogus Phuket tour guides, gem rip-offs in firing line
PHUKET: Phuket jewelry shops that overcharge tourists and tour companies that hire illegal guides are to be targeted by the latest campaign by provincial authorities to preserve a “billion baht” business, officials were told this week.“I want tour companies to follow the law. Their main tour guides must be Thai. If they do not, they will be in trouble,” Phuket…
- Phuket News
Phuket Sports: Quiksilver Open at Patong Beach update
PHUKET: Women’s division competitors were the first to be sent out yesterday morning under sunny tropical skies and two foot waves, to kick off day one of the 6-star ASC/ISC sanctioned Quiksilver Open Phuket at Patong Beach.Local Thai surfer and current ASC rankings leader Annissa Flynn had no trouble winning her heat and looks in fine form to make it…
- World News
World News: Apple device IDs stolen – rumors of FBI involvement denied
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Apple device IDs stolen from Florida-based digital publishing firm Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Identification numbers for more than one million Apple products that were posted online by hackers last week had been stolen from a Florida-based digital publishing firm, not from the laptop of an FBI…
- Phuket News
Phuket blood bank calls for A-, O- donors
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is calling for donations of Rhesus-negative (Rh-) blood types to bolster stocks that are now critically low. “We have only one unit of ‘A negative’ and one of ‘O negative’ blood,” PRBC Director Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette. She explained that Rh-negative blood types are far more common among Caucasians than Asians.…
