News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
-
Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
-
Red shirts plan big Phuket rally
PHUKET TOWN: Leaders of Phuket’s small red shirt movement yesterday declared the group will no longer back down against parties denying them their right to free speech – and say they are planning a large regional rally in Phuket. Four leaders of the ‘Phuket Protect Democratic Group’ [sic], the local branch of the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship…
-
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 to benefit from EVA – Bangkok Air agreement
PHUKET TOWN: Bangkok Airways and Taipei-based long-haul carrier EVA Air have signed a ‘code share’ agreement for services from Amsterdam, Vienna, London (Heathrow) and Taipei to Phuket, Koh Samui, Phuket and Chiang Mai. A code share agreement enables two airlines to sell seats on the same flight. Under the agreement, EVA will operate the international flights and Bangkok Air will…
-
Phuket red shirt rally foiled by residents
WICHIT, PHUKET: Plans by supporters of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to hold a peaceful rally at the Navy Base at Cape Panwa early this afternoon got off to a bad start this morning, when the red-shirts got into a fight with local residents. Following the argument, the red-shirted members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) were…
-
Phuket could benefit from Finnish retirement community plan
PHUKET TOWN: Finland plans to build serviced apartments for retirees in Thailand, the Finnish website aamulehti.fi has reported. The move is intended to help Finnish retirees enjoy their golden years in this country, where their pension savings and other benefits will go much further than in Finland. According to Finnish government projections, the population of people aged 65 years and…
-
USS Nimitz readies to ship out after Phuket visit
PHUKET TOWN: Servicemen and women from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and her two companion vessels USS Pinckney and USS Rentz have been painting the town in recent days, both figuratively and literally. As part of the US Navy’s community relations work during their current visit to Phuket, a team of sailors yesterday painted the canteen at the Baan Ao…
-
Australian tourists shot dead, injured in Chiang Mai
BANGKOK (AFP): An Australian man was shot dead and his companion injured when ambushed by a gang of thieves in northern Thailand, police and embassy officials said today. The 24-year-old man died instantly when four armed men pounced on the couple in the mountain-top Aung Kha National Park in Chiang Mai province, 700 kilometers (450 miles) north of Bangkok, late…
-
TAT moves to keep “zero fare tour’ packages out of Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working to establish a standardized system of ‘branded’ tours to Phuket specifically for the Chinese market. The initiative, intended to keep ‘zero tour fare’ package operators out of Phuket, was discussed at a meeting of tourism industry leaders held at The Metropole hotel last week. Presiding over the meeting was TAT…
-
Phuket firemen battle inferno
WICHIT, PHUKET: It took over fifty firefighters three hours to bring a blaze at a recycling center in Wichit under control last night. The blaze started at about 7:40pm at the Naka Recycle warehouse, located just north of the turnoff to Wat Naka on Chao Fah West Road. A total of 18 fire engines rushed to the scene: six from…
-
Phuket Immigration chief transferred
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Immigration Superintendent Col Chanatpol Yongbunjerd is taking a transfer order to Immigration Headquarters in Bangkok in his stride, saying the new post will allow him to be near his family as he nears the civil service retirement age. Col Chanatpol arrived in Phuket from Pattaya in late 2007. Although initially perturbed about not having been given advance…
-
Phuket Old Town Festival
PHUKET TOWN: The annual festival showcasing Phuket Town’s distinctive blend of Chinese and Thai culture is set to return this month. This year’s Phuket Old Town Festival will take place from February 19 to 21, after the arrival of the Year of the Tiger that falls on Valentine’s Day. The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Phuket City Municipality are promising…
-
Col Grissak to leave Phuket in police reshuffle
PATONG, PHUKET: In the latest police reshuffle, Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark has been transferred to the position of Superintendent of Kuraburi District Police in Phang Nga. His replacement, effective February 19, will be current Tung Tong Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao. Col Grissak seemed saddened by the news of the transfer to rural Kuraburi, Phang Nga’s northernmost district and a…
-
USS Nimitz arrives in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Thousands of US servicemen stationed aboard the USS Nimitz and its support vessels arrived in Phuket yesterday morning for five days of rest and relaxation. Anxious to get off the 333-meter vessel after a month on board, sailors and marines quickly formed a long line extending almost the entire length of the hangar deck. As enlisted men and…
-
From Phuket to California by kayak
PHUKET: Two Phuket kayakers are getting ready for a spot of exercise: the world’s longest paddling expedition, a 14,000-mile voyage from Phuket to California in a 20-foot wooden boat. American Ryan Doran, 26, and Phatum Thani born Piya ‘Mr X’ Sukunthai, 28, plan to leave Nai Harn Beach on March 10 – and they won’t be back for a while.…
-
Phuket camp owner defends berserk elephant
PHUKET: The owner of an elephant that recently went berserk and injured two Swedish tourists has defended the beast, blaming its mahout for the incident. Trin Khanwilaikul, owner of ‘Camp Chang’ in Kalim, said the elephant named ‘Captain’ would not be punished for the rampage, which also damaged a car. “He is a nice elephant, but he had the wrong…
-
No go: Phuket road projects stalled
PHUKET TOWN: Two controversial road projects slated for Phuket face indefinite delays and the province is already seeking alternatives, the Gazette has learned. A high-ranking source in the Department of Rural Roads said plans to complete a road connecting Nanai Road in Patong to Chalong have stalled, as the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) failed to sign off…
-
‘Splash Jungle’ opens in Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: ‘Splash Jungle,’ Phuket’s first state-of-the-art water park, opened today on the grounds of the West Sands project in Mai Khao. Among the park’s many attractions are a 335-meter ‘Lazy River’ water ride that meanders through seven themed sections: Inca-Maya, Africa, Asia, Turkey, Northern Europe, North America – and even the North Pole. Two high-octane slide rides are…
-
Phuket telephone book launched today
PHUKET: The 2010 edition of the Gazette Guide, (Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’), goes on sale across the island and in major cities throughout Thailand this morning. Printed on traditional telephone book paper this year, the new directory contains even more information than last year, yet is half the weight of the 2009 edition. It’s significantly lighter in price, too – 50…
-
Dead sea turtle washes up at Saphan Hin
PHUKET TOWN: Marine biologists think a dead hawksbill sea turtle that washed ashore at Saphan Hin yesterday morning may have fallen victim to fishing equipment. Kanjana Adulyanukosol of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa said workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation delivered the 30-kilogram carcass to the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit for examination around noon yesterday. Although the…
-
Phuket expat’s killer: I acted alone
PHUKET: A 32-year-old man has confessed to the murder of German expat Wolf Kesselheim, telling police he acted alone and in self-defense. Chalong police arrested Pittaya Srijitraporn yesterday evening at Kata viewpoint, where he made a living charging tourists to pose in photographs with sea eagles. Mr Pittaya was paraded before the media at a press conference at Chalong Police…
-
Patong Darts League underway
PATONG, PHUKET: Play in Phuket’s Patong Darts League (PDL) got underway on Tuesday night, with Queen Mary downing defending champs Piccadilly at home, 6-4. Piccadilly’s Jim hit a 180 to take the high score, while Queen Mary’s former owner Steen had an upset singles win over Tony, one of the best players in the league. In other matches, newcomers Ryan’s…
-
More deforestation in Phuket
THALANG, PHUKET: Human encroachment has laid waste to more than two-thirds of a large forest reserve in the north of Phuket, it emerged last week. The Bang Khanoon forest reserve in tambon Thepkrasattri originally covered more than 5,000 rai, but just 1,500 rai of virgin forest remain. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop last week accompanied an inspection team from the Ministry…
-
Phuket coast under threat: park chief
PHUKET: Sirinath Marine National Park is under siege, the park’s chief warned this week. Leatherback turtles recently returned to Sirinath’s Mai Khao Beach to lay their eggs after an absence of years. Despite this unexpected good news, park director Nonthawit Chaturabandit is warning that unless something is done about encroachment and coastal erosion, there may not be much left of…
-
German stabbed to death in Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: A German expat was stabbed to death last night outside a 7-Eleven shop on a busy road in Rawai. The dead man has been identified as 66-year-old Eugen Wolf-Dieter, a resident of Ban Saiyuan in Rawai. Police are on the hunt for three teenage suspects who beat and stabbed Mr Wolf-Dieter before fleeing on a motorbike. From their…
-
Leatherbacks return to Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Sirinat National Park and a local conservation organization have set up watches to protect leatherback turtles returning to lay eggs on Mai Khao Beach this nesting season. Nonthawit Chaturabandit, chief of Sirinat National Park, said that in the past many leatherback turtles nested on beaches inside the park. Local residents used to set up camps by the…
-
Stranded Aussie passengers finally fly from Phuket
PHUKET: Passengers booked on a Sydney-bound Jetstar flight were stranded in Phuket on Australia Day after their aircraft developed mechanical problems. Jetstar Flight JQ28, due to depart from Phuket at 9pm on Monday, was canceled by the no-frills carrier for safety reasons. The cancellation left about 270 of the passengers stranded on the island. Passengers, put up in a Phuket…
-
Phuket Police practice crowd control
PHUKET TOWN: More than 300 Phuket Police donned riot gear this morning for crowd control drills outside Phuket City Police Station. The drills were overseen by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong, who assigned Kathu Superintendent Grissak Songmoonark to command one unit and Thalang Police Superintendent Thammanoon Faiju another. A total of 310 officers from all eight…
-
Five finalists in Phuket Bt300m park design battle
PHUKET: Five architects have emerged victorious in the opening skirmishes of a battle for the right to design a new 300-million-baht historical park commemorating the Battle of Thalang. The new park is expected to become a major tourist attraction showcasing Phuket’s colorful history. For our previous report, click here. A committee comprising architecture experts, historians and local politicians has whittled…
-
57 alleged prostitutes rounded up in Phuket Town
PHUKET TOWN: A team of provincial civil defense officials and volunteer police on Sunday night raided three well-known entertainment venues, in the heart of Phuket Town, suspected of serving as fronts for prostitution. A spokesperson from the Phuket Provincial Office Public Relations Bureau said the raids were ordered by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop following complaints from local residents that the…
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.