Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
-
Sponsored Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Here’s your health checklist before the move
Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Thailand is a popular choice for retirees because of its beautiful landscapes, warm climate, and affordable living. Cities like Chiang Mai and coastal areas offer a relaxed lifestyle with friendly communities. The country also...
-
Power to the Phuket people
PHUKET: The official launch of the Koh Kaew transformer station on Friday marked a much needed power boost, said Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sungkaosuthirak at the opening ceremony.The station opened by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is looking to almost double the megawatts the Phuket power system is currently handling, EGAT director Sutad Pattamasiriwat announced.“The main objective is…
-
Fireworks row ignites corruption scandal
PHUKET: Winai Chidchiew, the chief of Karon Subdistrict (Kamnan), has found himself amid another corruption scandal, this time over allegedly threatening municipal officers into allowing firework displays to be held late at night, while facing allegations of paying bribes to the Chalong Police.Kamnan Winai found himself in the center of corruption allegations involving the Chalong Police last year, when he…
-
National anti-drug campaign targets three high-risk Phuket areas
PHUKET: The national anti-drug initiative “X-ray every inch over a 90-day period” will take hold of Phuket starting November 1, Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada announced at Provincial Hall on Thursday.The aims of the project are to get treatment for existing drug addicts, solve family issues associated with drug addiction, and prevent people from becoming criminals to feed their drug habit,…
-
Patong gambling den raid fails to come up trumps
PHUKET: Patong Police and about 50 Kathu Territorial Defense volunteers stormed a venue thought to be a “huge” casino in Phuket’s main tourist town only to “go bust” and be forced to leave the premises without a single chip.Acting on information received though the Prime Minister’s Office’s Complaint Center from anonymous local residents, police and Territorial Defense Volunteers descended on…
-
Phuket Soccer Schools U10s own Patong soccer match
PHUKET: Phuket Soccer School’s (PSS) Academy U10s destroyed Patong Wassaone school 10-1 in a match on Tuesday. A pre-game warm-up and pep-talk fired up the PSS squad, who went on the attack straight from the whistle. Daniel C scored in one of PSS’s first attacks and his goal was followed by a great half-volley from Fard, which left the Wassaone…
-
Phuket Sports: Olympic medalist comes to Phuket
PHUKET: Two-time Olympic medalist David Davies spoke to the Phuket Gazette about his upcoming trip to Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club to teach a Swimming Stroke Clinic tomorrow.Phuket Gazette: What brings you to Phuket and will this be your first time in Thailand?David Davies: It will be my first time in Thailand. Following my third consecutive Olympics, I thought I’d…
-
Phuket Sports: F1 – change, crowds and customs
PHUKET: Sebastian Vettel’s victory in the Korean Grand Prix allowed him to take the Drivers’ Championship lead from Fernando Alonso. Vettel now has a six-point lead and is on track for his third consecutive title. Korea was Vettel’s third successive victory and he is the first driver to win four races this season. His teammate Mark Webber was second in…
-
Phuket FC Season finale: all or nothing
PHUKET: The Islander’s Head Coach Anurak Srikerd has vowed to fans that he will run nine circles around the main ordination hall of Wat Chalong on Sunday morning if Phuket FC prevail in their final match of the season this evening.He did not say, however, what he would do if the Islanders don’t prevail in the match, a home-fixture to…
-
Yingluck’s Cabinet called on to answer Phuket ICEC debacle
PHUKET: Phuket MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutra yesterday stood in Parliament and called for the government to answer why the 2.6-billion-baht project to build a Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) was cancelled. The news of the cancellation was never announced by the government, prompting Ms Anchalee to break the news through her Facebook page last week. Despite being lobbied…
-
Krabi teens claim stabbing of British tourist was a “misunderstanding’
PHUKET: Two teenagers who confessed to attacking a British tourist in Krabi on Monday have claimed that they “misunderstood” the foreigner’s actions and thought he was insulting them.The victim, Daniel Cole, 21, has already undergone surgery for the cut wounds to his temple, chest, right shoulder and right arm and is recovering at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.Anusorn Kullak, 18, and his…
-
Phuket Rotary Fair to mark 35 years
PHUKET: The Rotary Club of Phuket will mark its 35th anniversary by holding a Rotary Fair at Saphan Hin on November 3 to 9. “The objective of the fair is to promote the community development projects and activities that the Rotary Club members and volunteers contribute to the local community. We will also have fund-raising activities to help support our…
-
Phuket tour van flips in rush hour
PHUKET: A Phuket tour van flipped onto its side in rush hour traffic this evening while swerving to avoid a cement truck that cut across its lane.Luckily, the van was empty of passengers and the driver escaped injury.“The van driver said he was driving northbound along Thepkrasattri Road, heading toward the airport, when a cement truck cut into his lane,”…
-
Phuket illegal taxi blitz nets 194 drivers on first day
PHUKET: A total of 194 drivers were charged and fined yesterday for illegally operating a taxi or for not displaying the now-mandatory stickers that publicly identify the drivers on the sides of their vehicles. The haul in arrests came on the first day of an island-wide crackdown on illegal taxi drivers in Phuket as officers from the Phuket Land Transportation…
-
Similan Islands to undergo ‘spring cleaning’ before re-opening
PHUKET: National Park officers, private business operators and locals are set to join forces for a two day beach and reef cleanup at the Similan Islands before the national park re-opens for the tourism high season on November 1.“We want people to realize the importance of preserving the marine ecosystem and feel that it is truly their responsibility to protect…
-
Phuket’s largest readership base brought to bear on expat forum
PHUKET: Phuket’s largest online community just got bigger this morning with its merger into the newly launched Phuket Forum Dot Net. Powered by the Gazette Online, Google’s top-ranked website for Phuket (Source: Google Analytics), the new forum draws from a current daily readership base greater than all other local news outlets combined. All stories appearing in the Gazette Online appear…
-
Local input “critical’ to public awareness campaigns: Online Poll
PHUKET: Having local residents and local Thai officials involved in public-awareness campaigns, such as the Go Eco Phuket’s “Dive Against Debris” underwater cleanup last month, is critical to their success, according to a recent online poll by the Phuket Gazette. Following the “Dive Against Debris” reef cleanup, which set a record as the largest single simultaneous dive “cleanup” event in…
-
Three dead as family car returning from Vegetarian Festival slams into tree
PHUKET: Three people are dead and a mother and her two children are in hospital after the car they were traveling home in from the Phuket Vegetarian Festival slammed into a tree late yesterday afternoon.Duty officer Eakkaphob Phoothong of the Takua Thung Police in Phang Nga received a report of the accident at about 4pm.At the scene, about 500 meters…
-
Phuket mother returns to nurse abandoned newborn
PHUKET: The mother who abandoned her newborn girl, delivered into the world at Thalang Hospital last Friday, has returned to the hospital to nurse her child. However, she has yet to decide whether she will keep the baby. “The mother’s still sick – very tired,’ said Phuket Provincial Health Office Deputy Director Wiwat Seetamonotch this afternoon. “She has had no…
-
Phuket Governor marks Chulalongkorn Day
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut this morning led an assembly of officials in a ceremony to honor Chulalongkorn Day, known in Thai as Wan Piya Maharat. The ceremony, held at the “Chulalongkorn the Great” monument at Phuket Provincial Hall, began at 8am. Officers adorned the statue with flowers and speeches were made honoring the great achievements of HM King Chulalongkorn.…
-
Paris Hilton hails Phuket New Year’s beach party
PHUKET: Hotel heiress Paris Hilton dropped into Bangkok for her first visit to the Kingdom yesterday to publicly endorse the Sydictive Element New Year’s party set for Phuket’s Surin Beach. The New Year’s Eve bash will run from December 30 to the first sunrise of 2013, and has already booked a number of world-class artists and DJs, including Basement Jaxx,…
-
Healthy newborn girl abandoned at Phuket Hospital
PHUKET: The Phuket Public Heath Office (PPHO) has made a public appeal for any information that may locate a woman who disappeared from Thalang Hospital shortly after giving birth to a baby girl on Friday. PPHO Deputy Director Dr Wiwat Seetamonotch said that the 32-year-woman presented herself at Thalang Hospital on Thursday. “She gave her name as Patcharaporn Hawang, but…
-
Phuket Sports: Islanders topple Crowns, survival a win away
PHUKET: The Islanders are well positioned to secure their Division 1 status ahead of the final game of the season thanks to a 4-1 away victory to Rajpracha FC on Saturday evening. Played at Mahidol University’s Salaya campus, about an hour’s drive west of Bangkok, the 33rd match of the 34-fixture season was attended by about 500 spectators — half…
-
Phuket Poll: Should foreigners “pay’ for visa runs with blood?
PHUKET: Last month a contributor to the Phuket Gazette‘s online forum raised a very interesting suggestion concerning blood donations in lieu of visa runs. Even the Acting Director of the Phuket Regional Blood Bank, Pornthip Rattajak, saw merit in the idea, especially considering that foreigners with Rhesus-negative blood groups are especially welcome to make donations, as those types are very…
-
Pressure mounts on PM Yingluck to review Phuket ICEC cancellation
PHUKET: Phuket MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr and Phuket’s sole representative senator, Thanyarat Achariyachai, are calling for Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to review the decision by Cabinet to cancel the 2.6-billion-baht project to build a Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC). Ms Anchalee posted the news that the decades-old project had been shelved on her Facebook page on Thursday.…
-
Phuket hospitals defend fractured pricing
SPECIAL REPORT PHUKET: Top officials at the recently opened Phuket Provincial Hospital this week defended the facility’s practice of charging foreigners greatly inflated fees compared to its prices for Thais. The Phuket Gazette spoke to Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) Vice President Chawalit Na Nakorn, who is also on the Provincial Hospital’s board of directors, about the large gap between…
-
AOT freezes boost in taxis at Phuket Airport until June
PHUKET: The requests by two taxi operating companies to boost the number of vehicles operating at Phuket International Airport have been declined until at least June, while plans for the allocation of business and services under the 5.7-billion-baht expansion project at the key tourism portal are finalized. The news was announced by Wing Commander Pratheep Wichittho, Deputy Director of Airports…
-
Cruise liner rallies against paying Phuket port extra fees
PHUKET: The representative of a major cruise line operator that brings thousands of tourists to Phuket each week has lobbied Provincial Hall to stop the company from having to pay “extra fees” levied every time the Phuket Deep Sea Port is double-booked. At a meeting headed by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sungkaosuthirak on Wednesday, Thanin Thumsuwan of Thoresen Shipping and…
-
Phuket Vegetarian Festival “ma song’ unruffled by media coverage
PHUKET: Phuket native Peerapong Buapetch, 27, spends the majority of his year as a handyman for a local hotel. However, once a year he is called on to take part in one of the most important cultural events in Phuket – the Vegetarian Festival, which this year draws to a close on Tuesday. Chosen by the Chinese god Guan Yu…
-
Phuket death in custody accepted as suicide
PHUKET: A 28-year-old man, with a history of mental illness, was found hanged in the communal bathroom at Phuket’s Bang Jo Detention Center this afternoon. The family of Theerayuth Thorthip, whose body was found at 4:20pm, have accepted the death as suicide, said police. Mr Theerayuth was sentenced on September 10 to serve a minimum 45 days on a minor…
-
Nong Som killer forensic test results “imminent’: Police
PHUKET: Phuket Police expect in the coming days to receive the results of forensic tests that will clear the way for bringing to trial the confessed killer of 17-year-old Sunisa “Nong Som” Saiyoy. Nong Som’s parents returned from their fruit stall in Phuket Town on the night of July 10 to find their daughter dead in her bedroom at the…
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.
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.