Phuket News
-
Sponsored Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
-
Phuket bar operators fined for holiday trading
PATONG Police arrested and fined some 12 bar operators for selling alcohol on the Buddhist holiday, Visakha Bucha Day, on June 4. Comments from bar owners that no warning was given for bars to close for the holiday fell on deaf ears, although one bar owner pointed out that only months ago a senior police officer in Phuket was reported…
-
Thais in Phuket confident in English skills, but foreigners disagree
PHUKET: The results of the latest Phuket Gazette online poll show that a strong majority of foreign and expat residents find English-language skills in the local tourism industry very poor – but the small fraction of Thais who took part tended to rate them quite highly. A total of 1,864 people took part in the two-week poll launched on May…
-
Phuket sports: All systems go for Euro 2012 kickoff
PHUKET: The 2012 UEFA European Championship is set to kick off in Warsaw this Friday and this year’s Championship looks set to be one of the most closely contested in recent history. Four years ago Spain, who until then were labeled as perennial underachievers, started the tournament as clear favorites and duly delivered on years of promise. Their slick brand…
-
Wild monsoon weather interrupts Phuket power supply
PHUKET: The torrential rain and Force 7 winds gusting over 50kmh overnight and throughout this afternoon are causing power disruptions to many parts of Phuket, including the resort town of Patong.“We have been experiencing problems with power supply cables from Thalang to Patong since early this morning,” Somchai Krueapat of the Provincial Electricity Authority confirmed.Power supply to areas in parts…
-
Phuket elections set for June, July
PHUKET: The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has confirmed the results of elections in Rawai Municipality last month, but has yet to set a date for the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) council election because restructuring of constituency boundaries is still underway. PEC Director Kittipong Thiengkunakrit updated the public on several electoral affairs during a ‘Government Meets the Media’ event at…
-
Phuket neighbor Ranong shaken by 4.0 Richter earthquake
PHUKET: An earthquake registering 4.0 on the Richter scale struck Ranong province, just north of Phuket, at about 1pm today, shaking houses along the coast and scattering villagers in fear. Ranong is best known among Phuket expats and long-stay tourists as the jump-off point for “visa runs” to Myanmar. Paiboon Aiamsuwan, director of the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) monitoring station…
-
Phuket alcohol ban for Viskha Bucha Day extends past midnight
PHUKET: The sale and purchase of alcohol is banned in Phuket and throughout the country today to show respect for Visakha Bucha Day. Anyone found breaking the law can receive a prison sentence of up to six months, a 10,000-baht fine, or both.Kathu Police Deputy Superintendent Kittipong Klaikaew today told the Phuket Gazette, “As today is Visakha Bucha Day, one…
-
Phuket Games athlete released from hospital and heading home
PHUKET: The young athlete injured in a motorbike accident that claimed the life of his teammate passenger was released from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital yesterday. Atthapong Noikhamsin, the 13-year-old boy who survived the accident in Rawai on Thursday morning was seen off from the hospital by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising. Young Atthapong’s…
-
Phuket Beach Safety: Man missing after swimming in dangerous surf
PHUKET: A Thai man who entered the pounding surf at Patong Beach over the weekend is still missing and presumed dead, the latest in the ever-growing toll of monsoon-season drowning deaths in Phuket. Atthiwut Prommarat, 18, was visiting his mother who works as a beach vendor when the tragedy occurred, said Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club’s Kata-Karon…
-
Phuket Live Wire: Is the iPad rotting your child’s brain?
PHUKET: In 2010 and 2011, there was a rash of articles in the popular press saying that iPads, iPhones, tablets and the like would rot your kid’s brain. It’s hard to wade through headlines like these from the New York Times and not feel like an iPad is the root of all kiddy evil: “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction,…
-
Phuket’s Bussarin takes tennis gold
PHUKET: Phuket’s Bussarin Raktaengam won the final of the girls’ singles tennis event of the Phuket Games 2012 this morning with a 6-4, 6-3 straight-sets victory over Rongrong Linbanjong of Bangkok. The win made Bussarin the third Phuket athlete to snatch two golds in the games, which comes to their conclusion with a big celebration tomorrow evening at Surakul Stadium,…
-
Phuket marks Visaka Bucha Day
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha this morning led more than 1,000 people in offering alms to 99 monks at a merit-making ceremony in Phuket Town to mark Visakha Bucha Day. Visakha Bucha Day is observed on the day of the full moon during the 6th lunar month, which usually falls in either May or early June. It is a day…
-
The Racha steps up campaign to keep Koh Racha green
PHUKET: Management at The Racha resort on Koh Racha Yai, a popular day-trip island about 25 nautical miles south of Phuket, has stepped up its campaign in environmental care on the island. The news follows environmentalists’ accusations against greedy developers, tour operators and resort owners for blatantly exploiting Koh Racha‘s pristine natural beauty to make a profit, with little or…
-
Phuket Crime: Mutilated body found on Nai Yang Beach
PHUKET: Police in Phuket are trying to identify a mutilated body that washed ashore at Nai Yang Beach yesterday morning as the first step in a murder investigation. Tah Chat Chai police were notified of the discovery in Sakoo Village 1 at about 11am. Arriving at the scene with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, Lt Col Prakob Boonkwan and fellow officers…
-
Phuket Democrats rally against reconciliation bills
PHUKET: Democrat Party members staged a protest in Phuket on Friday to denounce the reconciliation bills set to be discussed in Parliament. The gathering made Phuket the first province to rally against the bill, said Democrat MP Sathit Wongnongtoey.Over 2,000 joined the rally at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town, led by veteran MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr and MP Raywat…
-
Phuket banks another gold in the games
PHUKET: Despite being one of the smallest provinces in Thailand, Phuket continues to make big waves at the 28th National Youth Games (Phuket Games 2012) now underway on the island. The island’s gold medal tally now stands at 13, following Somkiat Kraisrisombat’s win of the gold yesterday in the Boys’ Singles event at CS Bowl, Big C Supercenter.Steady-handed Somkiat won…
-
Phuket move up to 8th in Youth Games
PHUKET: Phuket now sits in 8th place in the standings of the 28th National Youth Games (Phuket Games 2012), after picking up a number of gold medals in recent days. Phuket has already grabbed medals in many events, including karate, taekwondo, bowling, and wushu. And today many more medals are to be contested. For those seeking to cheer on the…
-
Burmese pedestrian killed in Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: A Burmese man was killed instantly when he was run over by a speeding pickup truck in a hit-and-run accident in Phuket’s Koh Kaew subdistrict last night. Phuket City Police were informed of the accident at 10:30pm. Arriving at the scene, the median strip in front of the Supercheap mini-mart on Thepkrasattri Road in Bang Khu, they found the…
-
Phuket kitesurfer not stung, didn’t drown, say lifeguards
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards have dismissed the assertion that the American kitesurfer who died shortly after being pulled from the sea at Nai Harn Beach yesterday drowned or was stung by a jellyfish. Nai Harn lifeguard Charintorn Naripen told the Phuket Gazette, “Four of us tried for 20 minutes to revive the casualty before the ambulance arrived. We don’t believe he…
-
Yacht club merger marks end of Phuket sailing era
PHUKET: After more than two decades as Phuket’s original yacht club, the Phuket Yacht Club today announced that it will be merging with the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). “After careful consideration we, the Phuket Yacht Club committee, have unanimously decided that it is in the best interests of the members to join forces with the Ao Chalong Yacht Club.…
-
Democrat’s Suthep joins rally in Phuket
PHUKET: Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has arrived for a rally in the heart of Phuket Town to protest the reconciliation and amnesty bills that the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) are have been protesting against in Bangkok this week. Also on the island to join the rally tonight is Sathit Wongnongtoey, current Democrat MP for Trang province…
-
UK inquest rules Phuket tourist electrocution as “accidental death’
PHUKET: A coroner’s inquest conducted in the UK into the death of 21-year-old British tourist Charles Thomas in Phuket has ruled that his electrocution during heavy rain was an “accidental death”. Mr Thomas was electrocuted in Patong in August last year after placing his hand on the cover of an outdoor power socket fitted into the forecourt paving stones in…
-
Phuket Governor issues surf warning after Games athlete rescued
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has issued a formal warning to all head coaches of teams competing in the Phuket Youth Games to not let their athletes swim in the dangerous surf.“The warning was issued to the head of each team to make sure their athletes do not go into the water during the current treacherous windy conditions or swim…
-
Phuket sports: F1 – 6 races, 6 winners
PHUKET: Jackie Stewart famously said, “…qualify on pole and make no mistakes, and Monaco is not a difficult race to win”. Mark Webber qualified on pole, thanks to Michael Schumacher’s five place demotion; he made no mistakes, and he won. This is Webber’s strength – he is infuriatingly calm and does not make mistakes. He got a clean launch while…
-
Phuket Games motorbike crash survivor “will play sports again’
PHUKET: Atthapong Noikhamsin, the 13-year-old boy who survived the motorbike accident in Rawai this morning that killed his Phuket Games teammate, 18-year-old Sutthipong Laphutama, has not suffered serious injury and is being kept in hospital under observation. “We x-rayed Atthapong’s brain, as well as his neck. They are normal. We operated at 2pm to reset his collar bone, which was…
-
Phuket baby elephant DNA test results to be announced
PHUKET: The long-awaited DNA test results of three baby elephants seized from elephant camps in Phuket will be revealed next week, the Phuket Gazette was told today. The three elephants were seized in February from the ATV @ Hill Adventure Tour camp on the road to the Big Buddha image in Chalong; the Elephant Camp at the Laguna complex in…
-
Chinese punt for Phuket consulate as tourist arrivals skyrocket
PHUKET: The dramatic increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Phuket in recent years is causing problems and has prompted Chinese officials to look into establishing a consulate on the island.Xu Mingliang, the People’s Republic of China Consul-General in Songkhla, Southern Thailand, was in Phuket yesterday to hear tour operators’ concerns firsthand and to discuss the issues with Phuket…
-
Phuket beach toll rises as kitesurfing American dies
PHUKET: An American kitesurfer died en route to hospital after being pulled from the surf at Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach around noon today.The man, whose name has not been released to the press, had been kitesurfing earlier that morning. He was seen by beach vendors struggling in shallow water after heading back to shore.“We saw him floating in the shallow…
-
Arson not suspected in Phuket Sports Association VP house fire
PHUKET: Police believe an electrical short circuit started a fire at the house of Sompong Muthitakul, vice president of the Sports Association of Thailand office in Phuket, on Tuesday night.Regardless, officers have not ruled out the possibility of arson and are continuing their investigation to confirm precisely what caused the fire, Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jamroon Plaiduang told the…
-
Two injured in Phuket pickup crash
PHUKET: Two men out enjoying Phuket nightlife were injured, one seriously, when their pickup slammed into a power pole before dawn today. Thalang Police at 1:55am were notified of an accident on Thepkrasattri Road inbound near the Karn Keha Public Housing Estate U-turn in Srisoonthorn subdistrict, Thalang. Arriving at the scene with Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers, police found the extended…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.