Patong

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Today | Expat “dual pricing” at Thai hospital lawsuit; Patong bars raided | September 23

    Thailand News Today | Expat “dual pricing” at Thai hospital lawsuit; Patong bars raided|September 23 | Next week, Thai authorities will announce the outcome of the highly anticipated “dual pricing” case. As the government prepares to debate the future of the Emergency Decree a new legal amendment means some of its powers could remain. Police in Phuket have begun raiding…

  • Thailand video news

    Good Morning Thailand | Is E-sports a real sport? Covid Visas, Joe Ferrari | Ep. 95

    In todays episode Jay and Tim talk about Covid visa extensions, an update into Joe Ferrari and his situation as well as the latest on the emergency decree and a talk regarding E-sports being considered a real sport.

  • Phuket News

    Police suddenly began raiding Patong bars selling alcohol

    While it’s been illegal for bars to open in Thailand and the selling or consumption of alcohol in public is forbidden, police have been looking the other way as patrons sneak beers in bars in Patong, the famous entertainment and nightlife district in Phuket. But after over a month of this occurring under the radar, police have begun raiding and…

  • Covid-19 News

    Lacking gov’t aid, Phuket nightlife advises opening as restaurants

    The president of the Patong Entertainment Business Association took a harsh stance against the long-term closures of nightlife venues in Phuket and the lack of assistance from the government of Thailand. In a fiery interview, he called on bars and clubs to open as restaurants despite the action being legally dubious and chastised the government for the long-term closure without…

  • Things To Do

    List of budget-friendly SHA plus hotels in Phuket

    If you’re looking for fantastic budget friendly SHA Plus hotels in Phuket, then you’ve come to the right place! Below, we’ve compiled a list of affordable SHA Plus hotels in Phuket. Phuket is finally welcoming vaccinated international tourists with no quarantine restrictions via the Phuket Sandbox scheme. However, there’s one thing you need to keep in mind you have to…

  • Things To Do

    List of SHA plus hotels in Phuket

    Staying at hotels with a SHA+ (SHA Plus) certificate is a requirement for international travellers who are entering Thailand using the Phuket Sandbox. A SHA+ certificate means that the hotel has taken measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus and that at least 70% of the hotel staff have been fully vaccinated. There are currently over 450 SHA+…

  • Phuket News

    Man goes missing off Freedom Beach, Phuket

    Yesterday, a man went for a swim off of Freedom Beach in Phuket and was carried away by a strong current. He was last seen early in the afternoon. Boonyarit Inthakarn from the Patong Police arrived at the beach just after 2 pm. 21 year old Thanakit Srisuwanwichian, told police he, and his then non-missing friend, Akkarapol Pattranonwere, were swimming…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket governor eyes construction camps for stricter Covid measures

    Yesterday, Phuket’s governor Narong Woonciew inspected workers’ construction camps throughout the island. His inspections concerned the disease control measures that were put in effect after 13 workers at a Patong camped tested positive for Covid, which led to officials claiming the camp down in a month of “Bubble and Seal” quarantine. Kathu District Chief, Trithip Sakulpradit, and officers from the…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket governor orders investigation into complaints of taxi drivers overcharging

    Taxi fares charged from the Phuket International Airport are now being investigated by provincial authorities. The Phuket governor ordered the probe after criticism over a Facebook post asking if the 900 baht fare from the airport, quoted by a hotel in Patong, seemed too expensive. Taxi prices in Phuket are notoriously high compared to other provinces. On the social media…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket official says taxi fares have gone down since the pandemic

    Following posts shared on social media on the notoriously high taxi fares amidst Phuket’s reopening under the “Sandbox” model, a provincial transport official is apparently saying the posts are old and the prices do not reflect the current rates. A local transport official says the prices have actually gone down. The Facebook post from a tourist planning a trip to…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket unveils “colour” festival to reinvigorate economy

    In an attempt to build excitement for the reopening of Phuket, Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism, working with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Phuket officials, has unveiled a campaign called “The Colourful Phuket Bring Back the Happiness”. The festival is intended to bring back “engaging” activities and the touristic atmosphere of the island. The project commenced yesterday and extends to…

  • Environment News

    Tar balls spreading along Phuket’s west coast beaches

    Just in time for Phuket’s grand reopening, an oil spill has been depositing tar balls on beaches running the entire length of the island’s west coast. Now Patong Beach, the 3 kilometre-long beach fronting the island’s most popular tourist town, has seen a slew of oil and marine debris washing up on its shores. The tar balls were first found…

  • Thailand News

    Phuket bars to stay closed for July 1 sandbox

    Bars, pubs, and other “entertainment venues” throughout Phuket will remain closed when the province opens for its July 1 reopening, Patong Mayor Chalermsak Maneesri said today. Chalermsak says the entertainment venues will remain closed as a meeting with Phuket officials cited a covid cluster from such an establishment. He further told Thai media today that the Phuket Governor and the TAT…

  • Thailand News

    Patong Thieves cite unemployment for theft

    Yesterday morning in Patong, a town in Phuket, 2 men, 42 year old Samran Luiprasert and 34 year old Amphon Boonchuaynamphon, were arrested by Patong police for stealing a coffee machine and 2 televisions from a restaurant. The men said they needed money to survive. In the police report, it was said the alleged criminals were found after the owner…

  • Thailand News

    Body found in water off Patong

    Yesterday, a man’s body was found in the sea near Tri Trang Beach, a lesser-known beach between Patong and Paradise Beach, south of Patong. Patong Police are investigating the matter. Rescue workers were called in around 3:40 pm to the Coral Beach Bridge at the southern tip of Patong beach. A local fisherman had reportedly hauled the unidentified corpse ashore.…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket police officer who shot noodle vendor denied bail.

    A Phuket Provincial Police officer was denied bail today after drunkenly shooting a noodle vendor on Patong’s Bangla Road while off-duty. Pornthep Channarong, the officer involved in the incident, was off-duty and said to be out drinking all night before shooting Aroon Thongplab in the stomach in the early hours of February 23. The Phuket Provincial Court made the decision…

  • Covid-19 News

    Phuket adds ‘soft’ curfew but sets up checkpoints to enforce

    Phuket is now added to the list of provinces in Thailand that have introduced “soft” curfews – strongly worded requests for residents to stay home during specific hours. Phuket residents are being asked to stay at home between 10pm and 4am daily. The announcement is now in force. Checkpoints are being set up to advise and warn people who don’t cooperate.…

  • Environment News

    TAT says Phuket beaches have been “revitalised” during the pandemic

    Phuket’s beaches are perhaps one of the only silver linings from the Covid pandemic, with marine life visibly rebounding after a long break from tourism, at least that’s what the Tourism Authority of Thailand says. The tourism officials say the huge reduction in tourist traffic has contributed to the Andaman Sea and coastlines becoming clearer than it has been in…

  • Opinion

    Phuket to open on July 1 – first in Thailand

    by Andrew J. Wood In a move largely expected after intense lobbying from the huge Travel and Tourism industry here in Thailand, the government approved the waiving of quarantine requirements for vaccinated visitors arriving on Phuket from July 1, the first significant reopening for the popular tourism destination. An economic panel chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday approved the proposal…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand News Today | Fallout from weekend protest violence, Samut Prakan Covid cluster | March 22

    We apologise for some poor patches of sound in the opening of today’s Thailand News Today… the fallout from the weekend’s protests in Bangkok and the violence that followed, the latest from the Samut Prakan Covid cluster, next door to Bangkok, and a wind-fall for a couple in Nakhon Si Thammarat digging around their backyard. The Thaiger is unable to…

  • Phuket News

    Watch your step, hundreds of red sea urchins wash up on Patong Beach

    Hundreds of red sea urchins washed up on Phuket’s Patong Beach yesterday, prompting marine life experts to investigate and lifeguards to warn beachgoers to watch out their steps to avoid the sharp spines. Marine experts say the sea urchins are the same species that washed up on Patong beach earlier this month. On March 2, hundreds of the red sea…

  • Phuket News

    Rescue workers remove 4 metre long python from Patong resort

    Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation branch in Patong, Phuket, say they have removed a 4 metre long reticulated python from a resort in Karon. The python was estimated to weigh around a whopping 20 kilograms. Vinnie Modell, a rescue worker, told the Phuket News that his team was dispatched to the Novotel Phuket Karon Beach Resort & Spa, near…

  • Tourism News

    Phuket’s nightlife. Yes, bars and clubs are still open | VIDEO

    There was the original Covid-19 outbreak and lockdowns back in April and May in 2020, then again just before Christmas and New Year when the new clusters emerged in Samut Sakhon and the eastern coastal provinces, Patong’s nightlife was quiet enough, almost non-existent. Now when the restrictions are lifted, Nimz will take you through Phuket’s famous nightlife spot Bangla Road,…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket police officer charged with attempted murder for shooting and critically injuring a noodle vendor

    The drunk, off-duty police officer in Phuket who has caught on camera shooting and beating a noodle vendor on Bangla Road is now facing attempted murder charges as well as charges of carrying a firearm in public without a necessary reason and firing a weapon in a public area. The commander of the Phuket police station said he ordered investigators…

  • Covid-19 News

    Patong, Phuket Town, Chalong to fund residents’ vaccination

    Patong and Phuket Town are planning to fund registered residents’ Covid-19 vaccines, Thai and foreign, with the hope to speed up the inoculation process without waiting for the national government. The mayors of both cities say they have already allocated the funds to move forward with purchasing the vaccines after the government approves which ones may be used. Like any…

  • Tourism News

    The Thai government threw a tourist party (sound of crickets) | VIDEO

    The Thai Government, flushed with the success of their containment of Covid-19, decided to market the Land of Smiles to the world as the safe place to travel. With the annual wet season starting to weaken the tourists would flock back to the S E Asian country that had such a remarkable success containing, then almost eradicating itself, of the…

  • Phuket News

    Can Phuket survive? Interview with Bill Barnett | VIDEO

    Interview with Bill Barnett from c9Hotelworks. Phuket has now been hit with a 3rd major crisis, each one more profound than the long-term effects from the 2004 tsunami. Now the island has new restrictions imposed on arrivals on the southern island, imposed by the Phuket Provincial Authority.

  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s Covid High Season Crisis | VIDEO

    https://youtu.be/hK_j52xMwnU We visited Phuket 3 months ago and found the west coast tourist towns empty and devoid of people. Businesses had closed, vendors headed back to their home towns, shops shuttered and streets very, very quiet. The island’s east coast was still busy with the locals and many expats getting on with their daily lives, getting used to the ‘new…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket in a Covid Crisis – VIDEO

    Phuket is facing an existential crisis. Because of its semi-isolation as an island, it doesn’t get much “passing traffic” and is too far away from Bangkok to attract much ‘weekend’ business. Whilst the borders stay closed the island’s businesses face ruin. A year ago, the streets of this tourist island were brimming with a diverse international tourism mix. In fact…

  • Phuket News

    Newborn baby found on bench in Phuket

    A newborn baby was found on a bench at a neighborhood by Phuket’s Patong Road. The baby boy was wrapped in cloth and left inside a reusable shopping bag. The bag also had a bottle of milk, diapers and clothing. A woman walking by early in the morning heard the baby crying. She followed the cries and found the baby…