Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
-
Sponsored Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
-
Patong Darts League report
PHUKET TOWN: Defending champs Piccadilly moved to the top of the table in the Patong Dart League with a beer-driven 7-2 win over Boozers last week. Both teams picked up some Scandinavian talent from former members of the Queen Mary bar, which is now under new management. Ronnie from Sweden went to Piccadilly, while his former teammate Steen opted to…
-
Phuket aid for Haiti tops B3m
PHUKET: Money raised in Phuket to help earthquake-stricken Haiti may surpass the 3-million-baht mark, as the Rotary Club of Patong has revealed it has sent more than 400,000 baht to its Canadian-based Shelter Box relief project. Club president Woody Leonhard said matching donations from the Canadian government will result in more than 800,000 baht going to the charity. Shelter Box…
-
FAT Football result: Phuket 0 Phattalung 0
PHUKET: FC Phuket have a new squad, a new nickname and a new kit, but it was the same old story at Surakul Stadium yesterday, when they played to a scoreless draw against Phattalung. The match was the first of the season in Division Two (Southern Section) play in the Football Association of Thailand. Hopes were high for FC Phuket…
-
Aussie air steward dies in Valentine’s Day plunge in Phuket
KARON, PHUKET: A young Australian air steward fell to his death at Phuket’s largest hotel yesterday. Police believe Nathan Edwards, 25, fell five stories at the Hilton Arcadia Resort and Spa in Karon after trying to enter the wrong room. Chalong Police Inspector Boonlert Ongklang said he received a report that a tourist had plunged to his death at the…
-
‘Chang Noi’ born in Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: Tourists have been flocking to the Saiyuan Elephant Camp in Rawai to see a baby elephant, or ‘chang noi‘, born there over the weekend. Prapoj Hoysung, mahout of the 32-year-old mother Phang Phimpha, said the baby was born at 3:16am on Saturday, just as Phuket was preparing for the dual celebrations of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day…
-
Phuket raises Bt 2 million for Haiti
PHUKET TOWN: An island-wide fundraising event by the Phuket Red Cross to provide aid to victims of the Haitian earthquake disaster raised about 2 million baht, organizers say. The campaign culminated in a telethon on local television and donation drive on Soi Bangla on Thursday night. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop was among the many volunteers going from bar to bar…
-
Phuket ready for Chinese tourists
PHUKET: Roughly 800,000 foreign tourists are expected to take part in concurrent celebrations of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day in Thailand today, with many of them having arrived in Phuket on charter flights. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Suraphon Svetasreni said on Friday that 120,000 ethnic Chinese were expected to arrive inn Thailand from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong…
-
Swedes skate from Chiang Mai to Singapore
PHUKET TOWN: Two Swedes who are skating almost 5,000 kilometers from Chiang Mai to Singapore are on course to roll into Phuket next month for a quick respite – and maybe a foot massage or two. Education workers Jim Petersson, 25, and his girlfriend Maria Larsson, 29, have endured high speed spills, heat and exhaustion, but say they’re relishing the…
-
‘Patong Taxi Federation’ formed
PATONG, PHUKET: More than one thousand tuk-tuk, motorbike and car taxi drivers are banding together to form a new ‘Patong Taxi Federation’. One of the organization’s primary goals will be to clean up the image held by many of Patong’s taxi drivers. A second aim will be to improve traffic flow by having a central body that will oversee all…
-
FC Phuket start season on Sunday
PHUKET TOWN: FC Phuket will kick off the new football season against Phattalung at Surakul Stadium on Sunday. The team endured a disappointing first campaign, failing to win a single home game and finishing second to last in the Football Association of Thailand’s second division, southern section. The team, which has changed its name from Phuket FC to FC Phuket,…
-
Paragliders to get high in Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: International daredevils are getting ready to throw themselves from the island’s southernmost cliffs as part of Phuket’s first ever ‘Fun Fly’ paragliding festival in May. The festival will take place at Laem Phromthep, Nai Harn Beach, Ya Nui Beach, and Koh Deang, where Phuket’s only wind turbine is located. The death-defying event is the brainchild of Phuket Paragliding…
-
Human smuggling: soldiers nabbed in Phuket
PHUKET: Two former soldiers face up to five years in jail for attempting to smuggle four Burmese illegal immigrants from Phuket to Kanchanaburi. Immigration Police arrested Cpl Chettha Moonnam, 52, and L/Cpl Prasit Moonnam, 48, on Tuesday night. There were four Burmese women in the back of the men’s pick-up when it was stopped at around 10pm on Thepkrasattri Road…
-
Home invasion: Frenchman fends off Fortuner attack in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Chalong Police are hunting for the owner of a ‘beer bar’ who allegedly drove his Toyota Fortuner into the house of a former friend, then entered the home and began smashing property. When Chalong Police arrived at the house on Soi Saiyuan in Rawai around 2pm yesterday, they found 31-year-old Gabriel Troisgros in a state of shock. Mr…
-
Hammertime in Phuket: counterfeit goods destroyed
PHUKET TOWN: The Intellectual Property Department and Phuket Provincial Police on Monday destroyed over 200,000 counterfeit products valued at 43 million baht. The event, intended to show Thailand is serious about enforcing intellectual property laws, was held at the solid waste incinerator at Sapan Hin. Taking part were the Phuket Provincial Police, Department of Intellectual Property, Phuket Office of Commercial…
-
Tourist safety: Phuket Gov meets honorary consuls
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Governor met with honorary consuls from 16 countries yesterday afternoon to discuss ways to improve safety for foreign tourists on holiday in Phuket. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop chaired the meeting, which was hosted by the Royal Phuket City Hotel. Only the honorary consul from Spain was unable to attend. After all attendees introduced themselves at the…
-
Danish Prince Henrik coming to Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket is preparing for the arrival of Prince Henrik of Denmark in mid-February. Louis Bronner, manager of Mom Tri’s Boathouse, last week met with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop to discuss security arrangements during the Danish royal’s stay on the island. Governor Wichai said he was notified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Prince Henrik, husband of the…
-
February blood drive in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society in conjunction with the Phuket Regional Office of the National Blood Center has announced the following dates and times for it mobile donation clinics for February: February 10 (10am to 2pm): Phuket Wittayalai School, Phuket Town February 11 (11am to 3pm): Jungceylon, Patong February 15 (1pm to 4pm): Radi…
-
Phuket education fair this Sunday
PHUKET: More than 20 Phuket-based Thai, bilingual and international schools are taking part in the Phuket Private Education Fair at Central Festival this Sunday. The schools will be occupying booths at Central Festival’s Event Hall on the 2nd floor from 11am to 8pm on February 14, giving prospective students and their parents the chance to meet school representatives and find…
-
Car crushes cobra in Mai Khao
PHUKET TOWN: A cobra trying to cross Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang got crushed by oncoming traffic late yesterday afternoon. Estonian freelance photographer Ardo Kaljuvee, who happened to be driving past at the time, was among the many motorists who stopped to view the remains of the flattened serpent, which was at least three meters in length. The snake’s final slither…
-
Phuket fishing boat scuttled after blaze
RASSADA, PHUKET: A wooden fishing boat that burst into flames during repair work this morning was deliberately sunk in the waters of Klong Tha Cheen. After receiving a report of a boat fire at about 9:30am, Phuket City Police, Marine Police and four fire engines from Rassada Municipality and Phuket City Municipality rushed to the scene. Arriving at the Pichai…
-
Man killed in bypass road collision
RASSADA, PHUKET: A young man was killed last night when he drove his motorbike at high speed into the back of an 18-wheel truck parked on the bypass road. Police believe 22-year-old Uthen Thepohol failed to notice the truck because its tail lights were switched off. Mr Uthen, from Nakhon Phanom province, died instantly in the smash, which happened around…
-
Phuket Gazette Readers Poll: Don’t enforce drugs law
PHUKET: Most Phuket Gazette readers think current Thai laws regarding the sale of prescription drugs like diazepam (Valium) should not be enforced, according to the results of our latest poll. More than half of the respondents to the last survey thought over-the-counter sales of such drugs should either be legalized or tolerated, as they are now. The poll followed the…
-
Phuket prepped for Super Bowl
PHUKET TOWN: Super Bowl XLIV (that’s 44), the culmination of the NFL season and the biggest annual sporting event in the USA, will kick off early tomorrow morning, Thai time. The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts will meet in Miami to decide the destination of the next Vince Lombardi trophy. It will be an historic occasion for the…
-
Phuket bar destroyed in arson attack
RAWAI, PHUKET: Police are investigating an arson attack that completely destroyed the popular Roxanne Bar on Wichit Rd in Rawai early yesterday morning. Chalong Police were notified of the blaze at 3:30am. It took two Rawai Municipality fire engines about 30 minutes to put out the flames, but not before they destroyed the bar and everything inside. Located near the…
-
Paddlers go for gold in Phuket
PA KHLOK, PHUKET: One of the more colorful events taking place this weekend is the 6th Annual ‘Hua Tong’ Boat Paddling competition at Ao Por Pier in Pa Khlok. Eighteen teams with ten paddlers each are taking part in the main competition, which began at 9am yesterday with an opening ceremony presided over by Phuket Vice Governor Smith Palawatwichai. In…
-
Phuket passes on swine flu vaccine
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket residents at high risk of contracting swine flu are failing to get vaccinated due to fears of side effects. Fewer than 7% of those identified as being at high risk have taken the vaccine, according to figures from the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO). The PPHO says there are around 10,000 people in Phuket listed as having…
-
Donations sought for Phuket road project completion
PHUKET TOWN: Wichit Municipality is seeking donations to help build a new house for a family of squatters who are holding up completion of a new road running behind Darasamuth School. Wichit Mayor Kreetar Saetan told the Gazette the municipality currently lacks the funds to build a new home for Chamnan Rungklin and his family, even though they already have…
-
American found dead in Phuket home
PHUKET TOWN: Police are investigating whether an Immigration Police Volunteer found dead in his Rawai home committed suicide or was murdered. American national Richard Johnson, 67, was found slumped against his bedroom door with electrical cord around his neck yesterday evening. There were wounds to his neck and forehead. The death was discovered by an unidentified friend of the deceased,…
-
Phuket cops speak on tourist murders
PATONG, PHUKET: Patong’s most senior cop says perceived injustice, drunkenness and robbery attempts are the three factors that lead Thais to assault foreigners. Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark says it is important to examine the underlying causes of Thai-on-farang violence. The comments come just after the announcement of Col Grissak’s transfer from the bright lights of Patong to Phang Nga’s…
-
Phuket villagers burn red flags
WICHIT, PHUKET: Villagers burned flags belonging to a band of red shirts who attempted to rally in front of the Thai naval base in Cape Panwa this morning, warning them: ‘You are not welcome here’. A local man told the Gazette, “I don’t think they’ll come back, but if they do, we’re ready for a fight.” At around 9:30am a…
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.