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Phuket’s luxury villa sales top 3.5 billion baht
PHUKET: Transactions in Phuket’s luxury villa market topped 3.5 billion baht in the first half of 2009, according to figures just released by Phuket-based consulting firm c9 Hotelworks. The report, ‘Luxury Villa Market Update Mid-year Edition’, defines luxury villas in Phuket as those with price tags of 65 million baht (approx US$ 1.9 million) and above, and puts the value…
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OPINION: Is xenophobia damaging Phuket’s prosperity?
A recent front page story in the Bangkok Post claiming foreigners control 90 percent of Phuket’s beach land through Thai nominees stopped many expats in their tracks.The truth of the claim – by the authors of a new study into foreign land ownership in Thailand – is difficult to verify.The authors of the research, a team from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open…
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Minister went missing off Phuket, now back safely
PHUKET: A government vice-minister fell foul of the terrible weather conditions currently spoiling many a tourist’s Phuket vacation when the speedboat returning him from Koh Racha Yai to Phuket got lost in the rain yesterday. Commerce Vice Minister Veerasak Jinarat’s boat set out at around noon. Shortly afterwards, the Immigration officer steering the boat reportedly became confused because of the…
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Patong mayor helps fill the gap
PATONG, PHUKET: A large sinkhole which opened up on the route from Phuket City to Patong following torrential rain last night received quick attention thanks to the vigilance of one Patong Municipal official. The mayor of Patong himself, Pian Keesin, happened to be heading down Phra Baramee Road towards Patong at about 5pm – just as the surface of the…
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Mermaid baby returns to Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ returned to Phuket on Wednesday night after being declared terminally ill by doctors at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Songkhla’s Haad Yai district. The baby girl, named Nichapa, is now back at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where she was born earlier this month. She was rushed to PSU Hospital after…
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FIFA president to open Phuket football center
PHUKET: FIFA President Joseph ‘Sepp’ Blatter is set to visit Phuket next month as part of a whistle-stop three-day visit to Thailand. Mr Blatter will travel to Phuket on September 15 to participate in the grand opening ceremony of the Tsunami Memorial Football Center with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop. Built at the Baan Ao Nam Bor School near Ao Makham,…
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Weekend washout forecast for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Those hoping to spend this weekend basking in sunshine on Phuket’s beaches will be disappointed, if the Met’s predictions are anything to go by. The weekend is expected to be a washout. Chokchai Patarayongphaisarn, a Phuket Meteorological Department forecaster, predicted the heavy rain pouring down over Phuket would continue until Wednesday. And there was worse news to come.…
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Best Western enters Laguna Phuket
PHUKET: Hotel chain Best Western has been signed to manage the Allamanda phase 2 and 3 condo hotel, which is to be re-branded as the Best Western Laguna Phuket Resort. A re-launch of the hotel will be in place by October. With 120 keys in their rental pool, the property will complement a number of other flagged Best Western hotels…
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Phuket’s Prime Place taking shape
PA KHLOK, PHUKET: Work on the 300-million-baht Prime Place Phuket Monument mega-project, set on 20 rai in Pa Khlok, is well underway. The development, located about 800 meters from the Heroines’ Monument on the way to Pa Khlok, features around 120 units built in ‘modern tropical’ style. Prime Place will also include a park and will aim to provide natural…
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Phuket practices for protests
PHUKET: About 1,300 police officers battled it out with ‘protesters’ near Phuket International Airport this afternoon in a mock riot as part of a regional security drill. The simulated riot was a scripted scenario in which a mob of about 400 protesters aimed to force the closure of Phuket’s airport, protesting against construction of a casino in Phuket. The protesters…
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New condos set to tempt Phuket’s golfers
KATHU, PHUKET: The 61-unit Green Golf Residence Condominiums are located in Kathu, in the heart of Phuket. They’re complemented by a full array of facilities and provide easy access to Phuket’s international schools, shopping centers and hospitals. The complex is a 15-minute drive from Patong. Developed by Tamarind Bay Co., Ltd, work on the project began in December last year…
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Phuket governor dishes out money, advice
PHUKET CITY: After dishing out 156,000 baht in cash to some of the island’s poorest families at a ceremony at the Phuket City Municipal Offices this week, Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop dished out some advice. Phuket’s poor must work harder, stop gambling and not spend so much time watching bird singing contests, the governor told his audience. Otherwise, he said,…
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Mermaid baby given less than a month to live
PHUKET: ‘Nichipa’, the Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ in Phuket earlier this month, is still fighting for her life in Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Haad Yai.However, doctors said they did not expect her to survive much longer.Her kidneys remained underdeveloped and her body had stopped expelling waste through the artificial waste orifice created for her, doctors…
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Andaman Sea storms sink Thai bulk-carrier
PHUKET: A Thai bulk-carrier ship transporting millions of baht worth of teak from Burma sank in the Andaman Sea just off Phang Nga province on Sunday. All crew on board the Chart 1 managed to escape on inflatable rafts. Vice Admiral Narong Tesvisarn, Commander of The Third Naval Area Command in Phang Nga, received a distress call from the crew…
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Phuket cultural heritage on display next month
THALANG, PHUKET: The Thalang National Museum will hold a free exhibition of antique beads from Phuket and around the Andaman region next month. The museum will display jewelery owned by collectors from around the South, including Phuket, Surat Thani and Krabi. The exhibits, which are hundreds of years old, will not be for sale, but visitors will be able to…
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OPINION: Do foreigners really own 90% of Phuket’s beach front?
PHUKET: The front page story in today’s Bangkok Post which quotes a leading research body as saying foreigners own 90% of Phuket’s beach front land has certainly struck a sour note against foreign ownership of land in Thailand. The study, which was put together by the Thailand Research Fund, quotes a professor from Sukhothai Thammathirat University who says these holdings…
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Phuket school celebrates a century of “cultivating knowledge’
PHUKET CITY: Plukpanya Municipal School celebrated its 100th birthday on Saturday with a special Buddhist ceremony attended by pupils, teachers, alumni and other well-wishers. On April 29, 1909, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) opened the school, naming it Plukpanya, which means ‘cultivating knowledge’. The birthday celebration may have taken place a few months late, but it was nevertheless well attended, with more…
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Power cuts in Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced there will be power cuts in some areas of the island tomorrow between 9am and 4pm. The cuts are required so maintenance on high-voltage wires can be carried out. Affected areas will include: Chao Fah West Road, east of Phuket Power Distribution Control Center 2, Thinawut Village Project 2, Thinawut…
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Phuket tsunami drill a success: Suthep
PHUKET: Phuket’s tsunami warning towers sounded the alert yesterday morning, sending crowds running down Soi Bangla to the higher ground further inshore. The exercise was all part of a full-scale tsunami warning and evacuation drill, which Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban pronounced a resounding success. “This will help tourists trust our tsunami warning system and encourage them to return to…
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Phuket to become AirAsia regional hub
PHUKET CITY: Thai AirAsia will begin direct flight services to Phuket from several new major cities in the region starting by the end of the year, the low-cost carrier has announced. AirAsia will base five aircraft at Phuket International Airport as part of its plan to establish Phuket as an aviation hub, Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld told a press…
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Racha Reef to be expanded off Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: Plans are afoot to expand an artificial reef off the coast of Koh Racha Yai Island, south of Phuket. Paitoon Panchaiyaphum, director of the Phuket-based southern regional office of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Department (MCRCD), said the artificial reef had been a great success since its construction three years ago. “Our research shows lots of marine…
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Phuket tsunami evacuation drill this morning
PHUKET CITY: There will be a a full-scale tsunami warning and evacuation exercise in Phuket this morning starting at 10am, the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has announced.The drill, to run until 12 noon, will also be conducted in Phang-Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, and Satun provinces. This is only a drill. Warning tower alarms will go off in all participating areas. The Phuket exercises…
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Phuket’s men of the cloth in plastic purgatory
PHUKET CITY: With the landfill at Saphan Hin continuing to pile up at the alarming rate of about 300 tonnes of waste per day, the provincial government hopes a new campaign promoting the use of cloth bags will help cut down the waste stream until a second incinerator is completed. The island’s sole incinerator, built and operated by Phuket City…
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“Lovely Road, Lovely Phuket’ project launched
WICHIT, PHUKET: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop presided over a tree-planting ceremony along the new road from Wichit to Kathu on Tuesday morning. Dubbed the ‘Lovely Roads, Lovely Phuket’ project, the initiative is one of many around the island in recent weeks marking the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit on August 12. Also in attendance was Senator Phummisak Hongyok, whose Anuphas Vividhkran…
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Phuket’s ‘little mermaid’ putting on weight
PHUKET CITY: The Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ in Phuket last week is now nursing on her own and putting on weight, doctors say. Doctors at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Haad Yai, where the child is in her ninth day of treatment, said little Nichapa is now in stable condition. Last week doctors at the hospital…
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Dangerous dogs rounded up in Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City vets rounded up a group of vicious stray dogs at a temple today following complaints that the dogs were biting worshipers and killing local cats. Phuket City Municipality veterinarian Boonsom Roongudom and two helpers took away at least 10 dangerous dogs from the grounds of Wat Langsarn in Phuket City this morning. The dogs were taken…
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Asean summit venue to be finalized on Monday
PHUKET CITY: Confusion reigns over the siting of the Asean Summit scheduled for October 23 to 25, with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva telling the state-run Thai News Agency that the venue site will not be finalized until next Monday. Mr Abhisit said yesterday that the agencies involved will meet on August 24 to consider the timetable and venue for the…
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Deputy PM orders investigation into Phuket jet-ski scams
PHUKET: Australian diplomats regard the problem of jet-ski rip-offs in Phuket so seriously they have complained to the prime minister, Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop said yesterday.As a result, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has ordered a thorough investigation into scams on the island, particularly those involving jet-skis and motorcycle taxis, Gov Wichai said.There are about 300 jet-skis on five beaches…
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Annissa Flynn wins surf titles in Kamala, Phuket
KAMALA, PHUKET: Eleven-year-old surf sensation Annissa Flynn stole the show on the final day of the King of the Jungle 2009 Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series event on Sunday, claiming both the women’s open and groms divisions on a great day of competition at Kamala Beach. Kata-based Flynn, who learned how to surf just two years ago, successfully defended the groms…
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Community group helps pay off Phuket sea gypsy loans
RAWAI, PHUKET: Threats of beatings and electrocution by loan sharks have abated for scores of Moken sea gypsies since a Phuket-based community organization stepped in to help. The ‘Poor’s Right to Develop Phuket Network’ (PRDPN) paid off debts worth more than half a million baht for 162 Rawai sea gypsies earlier this month. Nevertheless, hundreds of residents of the sea…
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