Phuket News
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Venerable viewing in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: An exhibition of sacred Buddhist relics from the worldwide Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour will be open for public viewing on Saturday and Sunday in Kamala. Relics believed to be from the Kasyapa Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Buddhist masters will be on display for the first time in Thailand at the Karuna Meditation and Yoga Center. This…
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NEWS Hound: Another Phuket Island in the Philippines?
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. Business Mirror Banyan Tree’s $300-million development project to turn the 60-hectare Diwaran Island, Philippines, into the next tourist paradise in Southeast Asia should start very soon with the release…
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New Phuket Bus Station to open mid-2010, at the earliest
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Land Transport Office appears resigned to run the new Phuket Provincial Bus Terminal by itself after two local governing bodies have lost interest in operating the facility. Work on the new station was completed in early December, but efforts by the Transport Office to find a local government body to administer operations there appear to have…
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Meet Phuket’s most dogged new reporter
PHUKET: Readers of the Phuket Gazette who have been in Thailand for awhile will recall the days of ‘Outside/In’, our regular weekly column summarizing news about Thailand from around the world. We’ve brought it back today, under the watchful eye of Master News Hound, a soi dog with an allergy to ‘long’. While the daily harvests of media scouting in…
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More CCTV coverage for Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: Rawai Municipality has installed 34 CCTV cameras throughout Rawai in order to ensure tourists’ safety. Officers at Rawai Municipality Office are monitoring the cameras by day, while Chalong Police are watching them at night. The municipality has spent 20 million baht on the project. Phuket Deputy Governor Chaiwat Tepee chaired the opening ceremony, which took place on February…
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Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: Do you drink and drive?
PHUKET TOWN: Road safety is always a hot topic in Phuket, especially drunk driving. The latest Phuket Gazette Poll, posted today, asks readers if they have ever operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in Phuket and, if so, how often. Let us know by clicking here or on the icon at the top right corner of…
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Readers’ Poll: Phuket economy after Court ruling
PHUKET: The court on Friday found Mr Thaksin guilty of abuse of power, ordering the seizure of 46 billion baht of the fugitive former prime minister’s 76 billion baht in frozen assets. There were 523 respondents to the poll, which asked readers what they thought the Supreme Court’s ruling would be, and what effect it would have on Phuket tourism.…
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MOTORBIKES: Let’s get honest with tourists
PHUKET: Apart from the obvious need to fit all taxis and tuk-tuks on the island with meters, another pressing topic emerged during this month’s meeting between Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and Phuket’s 16 honorary consuls: the need to give foreign tourists a better chance of returning home alive should they insist on renting a motorbike. Casualty figures alone justify the…
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Deliberate truck crash in Phuket
PHUKET: A tractor-trailer carrying 27 tons of building materials ended up in a roadside drainage ditch Wednesday afternoon after the driver decided to crash rather than risk hitting other vehicles. The 22-wheel rig was on its way from Bangkok to Patong with a shipment of ceramic tiles to be used on a building project at the Baan Laimai Beach Resort.…
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Phuket Police prepared for Thaksin assets ruling
PHUKET: Phuket’s most senior cop says he has no intelligence suggesting there will be political protests in Phuket today, when the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the fate of Thaksin Shinawatra’s Bt76bn in seized assets. Despite this, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said there could be ‘other kinds of mobs’ to deal with, so police need to be…
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Phuket ready for Blues Rock Fest
KARON, PHUKET: Artists taking part in the two-day Phuket International Blues Rock Festival that kicks off at 5pm tomorrow gathered today inside the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort ballroom for a brief pre-event press conference. Festival Director Andy Andersen started by thanking new sponsor Thai Airways, then welcomed the artists and told the media about some exciting new developments for this…
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Accident victims now monitoring Phuket roads
PHUKET TOWN: In a long awaited project to provide accident victims with gainful employment, four disabled people are now monitoring screens in the CCTV control room at Phuket City Police Station. Following a week of training on how to operate the cameras, the four new employees started work on February 11. They are spending eight hours a day watching live…
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Supercheap employee strangled
PHUKET: Police are hunting for the boyfriend of a Supercheap employee found strangled to death in her room yesterday. Miss Thipkasen ‘Khwan’ Heep-phech, 24, was found in her room in Koh Kaew by a colleague after she was absent from work for two days. She had a mobile telephone charger cord wrapped around her neck and a pillow over her…
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Indian navy training in Phuket ends today
PHUKET: Some 900 Indian Navy midshipmen are shipping out from Phuket this afternoon after taking part in training exercises aboard three visiting Indian warships: the INS TIR, the INS Krishna and the ICGS Varuna. An Indian delegation, including Southern Naval Area Commander-in-Chief V/Adm Krishnan Nair Sushil and Indian Ambassador Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, met their Thai counterparts at the Royal Thai…
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Readers’ Poll: Thaksin assets verdict won’t impact economy
PHUKET TOWN: The majority of Phuket Gazette readers do not think Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on Bt76 billion in assets linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin will have an impact on Phuket’s tourism economy, according to the latest readers’ poll. As of this morning, over 475 readers cast votes in the poll. Overall, 66% of readers thought the ruling would…
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Wildfires flare in Phuket
RASSADA, PHUKET: Phuket firefighters have been battling wildfires along the bypass road in recent days. The first broke out in a field opposite Tesco-Lotus in Rassada at about noon on Sunday. Rassada Municipality dispatched four firetrucks and 20 firefighters to try to douse the flames, which were fueled by thick, dried out vegetation. “As we arrived there to put it…
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Phuket drug detectors under fire
PHUKET: The Science and Technology Ministry is set to test the effectiveness of the Alpha 6 ‘molecular resonance’ substance detector in use by anti-drug agencies in Phuket. The move comes after tests on the similar GT200 bomb-detection device revealed it was ineffective. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said double-blind tests carried out by the Science and Technology Ministry showed the GT200…
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Briton, Thai killed in head-on bike crash in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: A young British man and a Thai man were killed in a motorcycle crash in Phuket early this morning. A Danish man was seriously injured. Police found the bodies of Adam William Menagh, 22, and Chainarong Wathana, 24, lying on Chao Fa East Road opposite Soi Thanoothep in Chalong at 5:30am. Mr Menagh was in Phuket for Muay…
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Phuket Readers’ Poll: Thaksin assets verdict
PHUKET TOWN: With the Supreme Court ruling on the fate of 76 billion baht in seized assets allegedly linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra due on Friday, what do you think the judgment will be? What impact will it have on the Phuket tourism industry? Have your say by voting in the latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll by clicking…
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Belgian fraud suspect nabbed at Phuket Bus Station
PHUKET TOWN: A Belgian fugitive wanted by police for nine months in connection with two fraud cases was arrested on February 15 at Phuket City Bus Station aboard a bus bound for Bangkok. Yvon Van Eyersen, 57, was sought for his involvement in the misappropriation of 6 million baht in customer investments from his Phuket Patong Assest Company last year.…
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Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: 2am best closing time for Patong
PHUKET TOWN: Opinion on the best closing time for bars and other nightlife entertainment establishments in Patong varies widely, but overall 2am was the most popular closing time according the results of the latest Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll. In the poll, readers were asked: What do you think is the best closing time for nightlife venues in Patong? Possible answers…
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Phuket water supply update
PHUKET TOWN: Addressing concerns that Phuket may not have enough water to get through the current dry season, the Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office (PPIO) has reported that the Bang Wad Reservoir in Kathu has water to last until May if not replenished with rainfall. Mr Issara Anukool, who heads the PPIO’s water management department, said the reservoir currently hold 5.3…
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IP listing: Phuket Pineapple gets put in its proper place
PHUKET: The iconic ‘Phuket Pineapple’ has been registered on a list of 20 ‘geographical identity’ products by the Department of Intellectual Property. News of the listing, made in November, was announced by Phuket Provincial Commercial Affairs Office Director Sompong Onprasert during a meeting of provincial office chiefs at Phuket Provincial Hall. Also included on the list from the region were…
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Old Phuket Town Festival underway
PHUKET TOWN: Motorists planning to go downtown tonight should take note, as sections of several major arteries are now closed to traffic for the Old Phuket Town Festival that starts today. From 3pm until midnight on all three days of the festival, the following roads will be blocked off: Phuket Road: From the intersection with Dibuk Road south to the…
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Patong Darts League Roundup: Week 4
PATONG, PHUKET: Four weeks into the season Piccadilly remain at the top of the pack after an impressive 7-2 home win against Shakers. Most of the games were close, but Shakers had a case of ‘double trouble’ when it mattered most. Matt of Shakers got the high score with a 140. Queen Mary took a 5-4 advantage over Celtic, but…
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200,000 baht snatched in Phuket heist
CHALONG, PHUKET: Two men on a motorcycle snatched and rode off with a bag containing 200,000 baht in cash outside a rice shop in Chalong yesterday afternoon. Sompon Famangkorn, an employee of Namsaeng Rice Company, was getting out of his pickup outside the Nam Riab Rice Shop on Chao Fa West Road when the heist happened at around 3:30pm. Mr…
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Phuket encroachment problem continues to worsen
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket deputy governor tasked with putting an end to encroachment on the island is calling for more arrests. A provincial anti-encroachment panel chaired by Vice Governor Teerayut Eimtrakul met for the first time this year at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday morning. The following statistics compiled by the panel showed a disturbing increase in the number of…
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Phuket hospital painted pink
PHUKET TOWN: A hospital has become the latest piece of Phuket to get the pink paint treatment. The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization Hospital, now under reconstruction on Anupas Phuket Karn Road in Phuket Town, will now join the Phuket Town buses and the new roadside pavilions which dot the island’s roads in being painted various shades of pink. PPAO President…
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Cherng Talay suffers from drought
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: Cherng Talay is drying up. That’s the fear of many local residents, who voiced their concerns at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday. Phuket Vice Governor Teerayut Eimtrakul chaired the discussion, which saw community representatives explain the area’s water management problems to Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) officials and hydrology experts. Residents say Cherng…
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Phuket gears up for Bike Week 2010
PHUKET: Organizers of Phuket Bike Week 2010 expect the event to generate 200 million baht in tourism revenue from big bike enthusiasts visiting from more than 20 countries. Organizers and local authorities met with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop earlier this month to discuss preparations for the event, to be held from April 8 to 11 this year. Representing the Tourism…
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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