Phuket News
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Sek Loso to play in Phuket
PHUKET: Scandal-battered rock star Seksan “Sek Loso” Sukpimai will be among the acts performing at the second annual Life Music Festival in Phuket Town tonight. GMM Grammy – who tore up Sek’s contract late last year, when he refused to admit he had an increasingly violent drug problem – say they couldn’t be happier. GMM Grammy Chairman Paiboon Damrongchaitham says…
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Transport Minister eyes Phuket traffic black spots
PHUKET: Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan in Phuket last week admitted that despite efforts to resolve traffic jams in Phuket through billion-baht underpass projects, other traffic congestion “black spots” also needed addressing. Mr Jarupong identified the Heroines’ Monument in Thalang and Chalong Circle in the south of Phuket as two areas that specifically need attention. “Projects that improve public transportation in…
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Phuket Sports: Islanders prepared for Bangkok United match tonight
PHUKET: Despite overwhelming odds, Phuket FC’s Coach is confident that his side can share the points in tonight’s away match against Thai Division 1 top-side Bangkok United. Speaking on the phone from the Thai capital this morning, Coach Anuruck “June” Srikerd told the Phuket Gazette that his side’s defensive game is tight and wouldn’t concede goals very easily. “Even though…
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Phuket Town redecorated for Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Ahead of tens of thousands of tourists arriving for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which begins tomorrow, shrine committees and local municipal workers have taken to the streets to post flags along major roads across the island and install huge decorations as part of the festivities. All main roads through Phuket Town, and especially those leading from local Chinese shrines…
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Phuket noise: Villagers’ complaints spark raid
PHUKET: Complaints from residents about noise from two entertainment venues in the Heroines Monument area prompted Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak to lead more than 30 officers to raid the venues last night. Vice Governor Somkiet and officers from the Damrongtham Center (provincial ombudsman’s office), the Muang District and Thalang District Offices, and the Thalang Police raided the Relax Live…
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Phuket rapist blames demon drink
PHUKET: A confessed rapist, Peerayut Moottamara, 29, blamed his drunken state for the rape of a work colleague’s 18-year-old girlfriend in Chalong yesterday.“The woman was cooking in a makeshift kitchen behind the row of terraced worker flats [that both of them lived in] yesterday. I was drinking alcohol earlier in the morning, I was out of control. I saw the…
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Phuket Sports: this weekend’s action
PHUKET: Wayne Rooney will captain England against San Marino in the absence of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. England are currently joint-top of Group H with Poland and Montenegro. The match will be played in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley at 2am Saturday morning, Phuket time. Scotland face Wales in a Group A match, with both teams needing…
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Phuket lawyer takes death plunge after “humiliating’ argument
PHUKET: A Phuket lawyer died after plummeting from his third-floor apartment in Wichit last night, allegedly due to the humiliation of arguing with his girlfriend in front of apartment staff. Puwanart Pijansophon, 48, worked as a lawyer and also helped his relatives run the apartment complex that he fell from on Soi Jai Lau U-Thit 2 off Chao Fa East…
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Phuket United downed by Highways Department in season debut
PHUKET: Playing in their Thailand Futsal Premier League debut, the Island’s professional five-a-side club Phuket United went down 1-2 to the Highways Department Futsal Club (HDFC) yesterday afternoon in Bangkok.The match was one of eight held on Wednesday and Thursday as part of the unofficial GMM 2012-2013 Thailand Futsal Premier League kickoff, held at Bangkok’s Fashion Island Futsal Arena. Taking…
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Phuket Governor calls for direct flights between India and Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitree Insutut who today met with Indian Ambassador to Thailand Anil Wadhwa called for direct flights from major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Kolkata, to serve the burgeoning number of tourists flying to Phuket. After the closed-door meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall this afternoon, Governor Maitree told the press that “Ambassador Anil agreed, and said he would…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival starts with elbow grease
PHUKET: Devotees at three shrines in Phuket began their preparation for the Vegetarian Festival with smiles and elbow grease as they gave the shrines a thorough cleaning yesterday. The cleaning started at 7am at Jui Tui Shrine, Pud Jor Shrine and Bang Neaw Shrine in Phuket Town. Students from Bang Neaw Municipality School joined other locals in cleaning the Bang…
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Phuket Police doubt shooting suicide claim, launch investigation
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a man shot point blank in the head with a homemade gun while watching television in his home on the outskirts of Phuket Town last night. The investigation, headed by Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong, continues despite the widow’s claims that it was suicide. Col Sermphan arrived at the family home in…
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Phuket Police cease investigations into two swimming pool drownings
PHUKET: Police are not continuing their investigations into the drownings of two tourists in swimming pools at two separate luxury resorts in Phuket last week. The two unrelated incidents, which both involved newly arrived tourist couples, occurred in Nai Harn, in the south of Phuket. The first drowning occurred on October 6 at a resort at the north end of…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival vendors protest over street rents
PHUKET: Food vendors to operate stalls near the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town during the upcoming Vegetarian Festival have successfully overturned the shrine committee’s decision this year to hand over the right to collect stall site rents to homeowners in the downtown area. About 30 people representing close to 100 Chinese vegetarian food vendors gathered around noon yesterday to…
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Joyriders nabbed by Phuket Police
PHUKET: In one of his first public press conferences as Phuket’s top-ranking police officer, Maj Gen Choti Chavaviwat this morning announced the arrest of two men for stealing a car to go joyriding around the island. Joining Kamala Police Deputy Superintendent Winai Kongkaew at Phuket Provincial Police headquarters in Phuket Town, Gen Choti announced the arrests of 32-year-old Phuket native…
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Phuket FC Islanders devour T-Rex in seven goal thriller
PHUKET: Seven of at least nine goals netted were allowed in Phuket FC’s survival match last night against the Khon Kaen FC T-Rex, with the Islanders earning a convincing three points at home by a 5-2 scoreline. Played at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town, the midweek match was played in front of a humble crowd of 2,100. Languishing in 15th…
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Phuket prepares for important ‘footy’ matches
PHUKET: Both of the island’s national-level sports teams have important matches lined up, today and tomorrow. In 11-a-side football, the Phuket FC “Islanders” are ready to host Khon Kaen FC “T-Rex” at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town with a 6:30pm kickoff this evening. Both sides will be fighting hard for all three points to help them steer clear of relegation,…
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Call for blood donations ahead of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is calling for a boost in blood donations ahead of the upcoming Vegetarian Festival, which begins on Sunday. The PRBC’s blood stocks usually fall dramatically during the festival as demand rises and donor numbers reduce, due to the physical demands made by the festival’s purification rituals. Acting Director of PRBC Pornthip Rattajak told the…
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Phuket misses out on Miss Tourism World 2012
PHUKET: To give other tourist destinations the chance to promote themselves, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has decided that Phuket will not be on the list of places the bevy of beauties from Miss Tourism World 2012 will be visiting.Taking place from December 2-15, this is the first time Thailand will host the Miss Tourism World pageant, which includes…
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Phuket scrubs up ahead of Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Residents in Phuket’s Srisoonthorn area today staged their “Big Cleaning Day” to prepare for the upcoming Vegetarian Festival, which will get underway on Sunday night. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led the event this morning, which began with cleaning the area immediately surrounding the island’s famed Heroines Monument. Leading an army of volunteers and officers from Srisoonthorn Municipality was…
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Krabi farm owners pleads for return of fossils
PHUKET: The owner of a plot of land in Krabi, believed to be the site of a massive shell fossil discovery, has asked for people to return the fossils stolen from his land and not to steal any more of them . Chob Pankaew, 55, announced news of the discovery of a huge collection of fossil shells on his farm…
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US Navy in Phuket to splash out B2mn a day
PHUKET: Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) Vice President Bhurit Maswongsa today estimated that the US Navy sailors currently visiting Phuket are expected to spend 10 million baht during their five-day stay on the island. The USS John C Stennis and USS Mobile Bay dropped anchor in Ao Makham bay, off Phuket’s east coast, on Sunday, to give the 5,350 servicemen and…
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Brazen Phuket snatch artist targets Russian tourist
PHUKET: A Russian tourist in Phuket Town became the latest victim of a snatch theft yesterday when an unidentified man stole her bag in broad daylight. Phuket City Police inspector Lt Col Yongyuth Krongmalai received a report of the snatch at about 3:30pm. Arriving at a retail store on Patipat Road, Col Yongyuth was confronted with the victim, a rather…
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Phuket Airport to suffer overcrowding during expansion project
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport director Prathuang Sornkham, speaking at the airport’s 24th anniversary yesterday, offered an advance apology for passenger delays anticipated while the complex undergoes expansion and renovation over the next three years. Mr Prathuang told the media that the already overcrowded airport would be even more jammed than usual as, adding to the 35 regular airlines and eight…
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Unfinished Bangkok arena forces FIFA to move Futsal World Cup
PHUKET: Organizers of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012 have announced a revision of the match schedule, citing severe weather conditions delaying the construction of the event’s main facility, the 12,000-seat Bangkok Futsal Arena (BFA). Five group matches – mostly involving Thailand’s Group A – initially scheduled to be played at the yet-to-be-completed facility, are now set to be…
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Phuket FC fall in Cavalry charge, stumble on road to survival
PHUKET: The Islanders suffered their third straight loss and subsequently slipped into 15th place of the 18-team team league, following a 2-0 scoreline away at Suphanburi on Saturday night. One goal in each half by the Suphanburi FC Elephant Cavalry’s Yodrak Namangrak and Phaisan Pona on 23 and 53 minutes, respectively, sealed the result, securing the home side’s second-place standing…
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Rescued Phuket dolphin’s health improves
PHUKET: The condition of the injured Spinner dolphin rescued from Mai Khao Beach last month has improved, albeit slightly, thanks to the efforts of staff at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC). However, the one-year-old female dolphin still has only a 50:50 chance of surviving, said Dr Patcharaporn Gaewmong, a veterinarian at the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit (ESU). “We have…
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Rare “hairy leg mountain crab’ spotted in Phuket
PHUKET: A rare type of crab, thought to be extinct on Phuket, was recently found on the island, years after any previous confirmed sightings were reported. An officer at the Phuket Marine National Park Research Center caught a “hairy leg mountain crab” in a mangrove forest at Tah Chat Chai, at the northern tip of Phuket, last Wednesday. “This kind…
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USS John C Stennis and USS Mobile Bay docked in Phuket until Thursday
PHUKET: THE USS John C Stennis and USS Mobile Bay have docked in Phuket to give their complement of 5,350 servicemen and women the chance to grab some ‘R and R’ before possibly being re-deployed in the Middle East. Sailors will be rotated off the ship daily in groups of 1,500 to 2,000. The Stennis is the seventh Nimitz-class nuclear-powered…
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“Ruptured my right testicle….”
“Ruptured my right testicle, got a knee one minute into the second half, had to have it removed.” PHUKET: Warrington prop forward Paul Wood ruptured a testicle during Saturday’s Rugby League Grand Final. Wood suffered the injury at the start of the second half after catching a knee to the groin, but he played on before going to hospital after…
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.
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