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Fried Noodles: Transformer explodes, food cart incinerated
PHUKET: The explosion of an electrical transformer in Phuket this afternoon incinerated a noodle vendor’s cart, injured a woman, and damaged several vehicles. The fire followed the explosion of a transformer in front of a townhouse project across from the Ocean View Phuket Hotel on Sirirat Road, which runs from Patong to Karon. Roadside noodle vendor Kanjana Sonjai, 29, said,…
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Phuket’s 70.3 Ironman gets Kailua-Kona slots
PHUKET: Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket has scored a major coup by securing 30 qualifying slots from the World Triathlon Corporation for its prestigious 2012 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Laguna is one of only three worldwide Ironman 70.3 triathlons to offer 2012 Kona slots and the only one in Asia-Pacific. The legendary Ironman World Championship…
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Phuket’s Gov to bring illegal hotels into the fold
PHUKET: Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket’s 43rd governor, was promoted to the top job on October 1, 2010, when he set tourism promotion as his prime policy objective. Here, in his regular monthly “Governor’s Letter” in the Phuket Gazette, he talks about the problem of unregistered hotels, a stalled road project, and the coincidence that he and PM Yingluck Shinawatra are both…
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Phuket Island View – Soi Dog in it for the long haul
PHUKET: THE recent Gazette online story about Soi Dog Foundation’s new cat hospital prompted a forum comment that justifies a response. The writer queried how the Soi Dog Foundation could justify spending money on such a facility at the same time it was appealing for funds to purchase the remaining land where its shelter and headquarters are based. In 2009,…
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Phuket’s rice prices set to rise
PHUKET: Menus in Phuket and across Thailand will soon be revised with the price of rice set to jump as a result of the Yingluk administration’s changes to the rice mortgaging scheme. Pitched as a mechanism to increase rice farmer’s incomes and spending power, the controversial program – first implemented by the Thaksin administration six years ago – will offer…
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Phuket Live Wire: Choosing the right internet landline
PHUKET: In my last Live Wire column I talked about the three general types of internet connections available in Phuket: landlines, wireless and satellite. This week I’ll explain how to find the right landline. Next week I’ll tackle wireless. The most important point to understand about landlines is that they’re changing all the time. Two years ago, 3BB had the…
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Lengthen your contact, don’t follow through
PHUKET: This week’s tennis tip is on length of contact, comes courtsey of Travis Bertram who is the Tennis Director for Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, Phuket. Length of contact is the length of the swing forwards at the moment of impact with the ball. Forget the term “follow through” and promise to never say it again! Follow through is…
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Rubber barriers saving lives in Phuket
PHUKET: Old car tyres being used to create median strips along Chao Fa West Road in Chalong have reduced fatal accidents by almost 100 per cent, say Phuket police. The rubber barriers comprise tyres stacked three high, tied together and painted red and white. “We have installed these stacks on the median of dangerous sections of road,” explained Chalong Police…
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Phuket sporting action round-up
PHUKET: A round-up of Phuket’s sporting action and players. Young gun slinger Phuket’s speed-merchant Dylan Young raced at the weekend’s JK Asia Racing Series in Singapore, for the Atlantic Racing Team. The 22-year old had secured a place for the premier open wheeler support category to the Singtel Singapore Formula One event and managed to finish in 8th spot on…
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Phuket Rugby Challenge trophy a sizzling success
PHUKET: Blistering heat heralded the first Phuket Rugby Challenge Trophy sponsored by Heineken Thailand played at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, and DEA Tigers from Hong Kong are the inaugural champions. Using the International Rugby Board (IRB) approved synthetic surface at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, Bedok Kings and DEA Tigers from Hong Kong, the Singapore Bucks and host club…
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Haitang fallout batters Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department has issued another tropical storm warning coviering much of Thailand, including the Andaman provinces of Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun. The Thai Meteorological Department issued its initial warning after tropical storm “Haitang” made landfall at Hu, Vietnam at 4am yesterday. The national weather office re-issued its warning at 10:30 last night, following…
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Rampaging Phuket elephant whereabouts unclear
PHUKET: The whereabouts and future plans for Captain, the bull elephant that went on a rampage on September 12 sending a Ukrainian honeymooner to hospital with two broken legs, remain unclear amid dubious claims by the owners of Camp Chang Kalim. In response to claims that Captain was the same elephant involved in a previous rampage in January 2010 that…
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Thailand relinquish Asian volleyball title
PHUKET: Thailand’s hopes of retaining the Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship crown were dashed in Taiwan last week losing to Japan at the semi-final stage. The reigning champions went down 25-13, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-13 to the world number four team, who exacted vengeance for their defeat by Thailand at the same stage last year. Despite the loss, an automatic…
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Kittipong out of Thailand Open
PHUKET: With a round of the Chang International Tennis Federation Thailand Pro Circuit 2011 being hosted at Thanyapura in Phuket next month, it is hoped that Thai number two, Kittipong Wachiramanowong, will participate. Yesterday, the 20-year-old lost in the first round of the PTT Thailand Open to his idol Robin Haase of the Netherlands, going down 6-3 7-6 7-1 at…
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Phuket prisoners to observe Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: About 200 inmates at Phuket Prison are taking part in this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival by observing a strict diet of ‘vegetarian only’ during the nine-day festival. Prison Director Rapin Nichanon said the effort is part of the facility’s on-going efforts to reform inmates so that they can become law-abiding and productive members of society. Taking part in the…
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Siam Niramit Phuket set for December opening
PHUKET: The new Siam Niramit Theater off the bypass road in Phuket is almost complete and should be ready to open in December, its operators say. Ratchada Niramit assistant managing director Wallapa Phokawat said work on the 2-billion-baht project is now almost 90 per cent complete. The 50-rai complex is located behind the Hino dealership off the southbound bypass road…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival blasts into 2011
PHUKET: Devotees at Chinese shrines across Phuket raised their go teng poles at dusk last night and began reciting incantations to invite the Jade Emperor and Nine Emperor Gods to descend from the heavens. Among the VIPs joining Kathu Mayor Chai-anan Sutthikul in declaring the Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2011 officially open at the Kathu Shrine – the “original home” of…
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Procession routes for Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival unofficially starts at sunset tonight with the raising of the go teng poles for the Jade Emperor and the Nine Emperor Gods to descend to our earthly realm. Each year, the Vegetarian Festival attracts thousands of tourists to Phuket to witness the various activities held across the island. To assist tourists and help motorists…
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“Monk’ hash mule nabbed at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: A Nepalese “monk” was caught on Saturday at Phuket International Airport (PIA) with eight kilos of hashish in his luggage. The haul was said to be worth an estimated 800,000 baht. The suspect, Hise Chhiring Tamang, was presented at a press conference yesterday by PIA Customs Director Montira Cherchoo. Also present was PIA Deputy Director Thani Chuangcho, who said…
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Phuket Town cable burying on hold for Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Work installing underground utility cables in Old Phuket Town has been suspended for the duration of nine-day Vegetarian Festival, which starts with the arrival of the new moon tomorrow. “There will be many processions along the streets of the Old Town. The traffic jams would be a nightmare if they continued working while the annual festival was going on,”…
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Rondi wins Men’s Open Final at Phuket’s Quiksilver 2011 Surf Competition
PHUKET: The Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surf Competition came to a thrilling finale on Saturday with Bali’s Raditya Rondi claiming victory in the Men’s Open Shortboard Division. Rondi gave a master class of producing big moves on small waves for the crowds which packed Patong Beach, Phuket. Along with the title, Rondi was awarded 30,000 baht, accommodations from Ibis hotels and…
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40,000 liters of smuggled fuel seized in Phuket
PHUKET: Police on Friday seized 40,000 liters of smuggled fuel aboard a modified fishing boat at the Phuket Deep Sea Port. The arrests were made just before dusk by a regional police special task force set up to prevent smuggling of fuel, together with the Marine Police in Phuket and officers from the Phuket Provincial Excise Office. Acting on a…
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Phuket Opinion: Scofflaw hotels have little to fear
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette wishes Governor Tri Augkaradacha the best of luck in his efforts to make legal the unknown thousands of unregistered hotels on the island – he is certainly going to need it. According to figures from Gov Tri’s office [see page 8, current issue of the Gazette, or click here for our digital version], there are just…
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Two boys drown in canal along Phuket’s Phang Nga Bay coast
PHUKET: Two young boys drowned late yesterday while playing in an estuary near a popular tourist area on Phuket’s east coast. The boys – Pinitchnan Na Roied, 5, and Wannawut Thanakarn, 7 – were last seen playing in the Klong Mudong canal (map), a large tidal estuary that flows into mangroves along the Phang Nga Bay coast. A Kusoldham Foundation…
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German safe after Phuket paraglide plunge
PHUKET: A German man paragliding over the popular tourist area of Nai Harn Beach luckily escaped serious injury yesterday after plunging into the jungle behind the Royal Phuket Yacht Club resort. German national Ralph Gunper Lüdtke, 50, better known in paragliding circles by his nickname “Nino”, was reported missing at 2pm after setting off from a cliff above Nai Harn,…
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Lifeguards look to becoming career life-savers
PHUKET: More people are looking to become lifeguards as a career choice, says Prathaiyuth Chuayuan, president of the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC). The news comes after the Phuket Lifesaving Carnival, held at Kata Beach last Saturday, saw a record 56 entrants compete in the annual beach sports event. “It is very good thing that once they finish training with us,…
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Toyota Motorsport heralds Phuket “pulling power’
PHUKET: Engines will be revving at Saphan Hin next weekend, when Phuket hosts the fifth leg of the Toyota Motorsport “Sprint to Win” series. Toyota executives on Thursday joined Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen, sexy-model-turned-racer Natalie Davis and other dignitaries at a press conference at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to announce the event. The Phuket event is the second…
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Phuket’s Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surfing Competition finals day today!
PHUKET: The Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surf Competition finals are being held today – so get on down to Patong Beach in Phuket and catch the region’s best surfers in action! Day three report: All surfing divisions were in action on Friday in the last day of qualifying for today’s finals. Thirteen competitors enjoyed one meter waves in the Women’s Division…
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FC Phuket look to quench PTT Rayong ‘Fire Power’ on Sunday
PHUKET: FC Phuket will host PTT Rayong FC this Sunday evening at Surakul Stadium in a match sure to set the tone for the remainder of the Southern Sea Kirin’s season. Kickoff is set for 6pm. The last time the two sides met was back in April in Rayong. In that match, PTT Rayong “Fire Power” won with a single…
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Thorpedo in the water!
PHUKET: “I’m excited about being part of an Australian team again.” Ian Thorpe will compete in his first international swim meeting since 2006 when he swims at the World Cup in November. The five-time gold medalist has been named in Australia’s squad of 26 for the Asian legs of the World Cup in Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo. Thorpedo with his…
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