Phuket News
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Phuket surf zones to mark coastal conservation
PHUKET: At least three surfing locations at Phuket beaches are being shortlisted for recognition as National Surfing Reserves (NSRs). Brad Farmer, global chair of the non-profit organization National Surfing Reserves (NSR), conducted a site inspection at Kata, Kalim and Nai Yang Beaches yesterday. “The surfing reserve concept is a symbolic dedication whereby surfing areas are recognized as coastal resources worthy…
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Phuket officials rally to stave off flood shortages, price hikes
PHUKET: Top officials at Phuket government offices yesterday met to discuss critical issues with product shortages and prices hikes in Phuket brought on by the floods in and around Bangkok. Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising said that his organization had received many complaints from Phuket residents about the product shortages and rising prices. “Even though Phuket Governor…
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Aussies deported over false Phuket robbery claim
PHUKET: The two Australian tourists on holiday in Phuket who were charged with filing a false robbery report last weekend have been deported, the Phuket Immigration Office has confirmed. The Australian couple, Abdul Karim El Rajab, 31, and Zeidan Nouha, 30, were arrested for filing a bogus report of being robbed in Patong last Sunday. Police believe the couple filed…
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China, USA march on at Phuket FIVB volleyball open
PHUKET: The FIVB Swatch Beach Volleyball Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT gave spectators an exciting third round full of action and suspense on Karon Beach today.China’s top-seeded Xue/Zhang earned their 34th final four appearance out of 67 career FIVB Swatch World Tour tournaments together. Second-seeded Kessy/Ross will be in the 30th final four in 61 career FIVB Swatch World…
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Chinese tourist found dead in Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: Police are continuing their investigation into the death of a 30-year-old Chinese tourist who was found dead in her Phuket Town hotel room yesterday afternoon. Miss Hou Juan’s body was discovered by a maid at the small hotel on Patipat Road near Suan Luang Park. The maid had entered the room after Miss Hou failed to check out at…
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Phuket All Stars and Singapore CC open the ACG on Saturday
PHUKET: The Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) officially opens its gates this weekend with two exhibition matches against the Singapore Cricket Club who are traveling to Phuket specifically for this inaugural event.A selection of players from the Phuket Cricket Groups’ Island Furniture Leagues will join forces as the Phuket ‘All Stars’ to face Singapore CC over two games on Saturday and…
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Phuket All Stars and Singapore CC open the ACG today
PHUKET: The Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) officially opens its gates this weekend with two exhibition matches against the Singapore Cricket Club who are traveling to Phuket specifically for this inaugural event. A selection of players from the Phuket Cricket Groups’ Island Furniture Leagues will join forces as the Phuket ‘All Stars’ to face Singapore CC over two games on Saturday…
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Phuket’s Tuptim gets support for life
PHUKET: The Rama Foundation at the Ramathibodhi Hospital in Bangkok has pledged to provide the financial support needed to keep Phuket baby Tuptim Jadngooluem alive – for life. Dr Suporn Treepongkaruna at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok called Tuptim’s father, Rattanachai “Kru Nai” Worvalapol, to confirm that the Ramathibodi Foundation will from now on cover all expenses for any further surgeries…
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Phuket butterflies to take wings in the wild
PHUKET: Two-thousand butterflies will be released into the wild on November 26 as part of the fifth annual Butterfly Release Charity event put on by Phuket Butterfly Garden and Insect World.The free-admission event will be held from 9am to 2pm at Bang Pae Waterfall in the Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife Reserve in Thalang.At the event’s auction participants will be able…
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Phuket truck crash leaves residents in blackout
PHUKET: A tractor-trailer driver overshot a U-turn on Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Road this morning, crashing into several shops, vehicles and a telephone pole, causing an electricity blackout and effectively shutting down the island’s TOT phone service from the rest of the country. A Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation worker told the Phuket Gazette that the driver of the truck, which was loaded with…
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Phuket’s first ITF tennis tournament heads into finals weekend
PHUKET: The Chang ITF Pro Circuit tennis tournament being held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) saw another surprise exit from the competition on Thursday with number two seed Jimmy Wang form Taipei losing to the unseeded Korean, Song-Jae Cho in two sets 6-2, 7-6. Other singles results went with form, but disappointment for Thailand came when their young…
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Thailand U23s all at SEA against FC Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand’s U23 team played their final pre-SEA Games warm up match at Surakul Stadium last night and went out on a low, losing 2-1 to a determined FC Phuket side. Despite the national team dominating possession in the first half and peppering Phuket’s Jonathan Matijas with attempts at goal, it was the local boys who took a one goal…
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Phuket Tourism VP blasts officials over resort blockade inaction
PHUKET: Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) Vice President Bhuritt Maswongsa has lashed out against local authorities for their failure to stop taxi drivers from dictating to Phuket resorts who can and who cannot pick up guests from their hotels. Mr Bhuritt’s rail against the Phuket regime of “transport cooperatives” comes after a driver was refused entry to the Naithonburi Beach Resort…
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Phuket Games 2012 postponed due to Bangkok floods
PHUKET: The 28th National Youth Games, originally scheduled to be held in Phuket from March 18-28, have been postponed. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha announced the news yesterday at a meeting of the organizing committee, attended by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising and Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) Phuket Office Director Wirat Patee. Dubbed the “Phuket Games 2012”,…
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Phuket prohibition: Upcoming elections bring alcohol ban
PHUKET: Alcohol will be off the menu as residents go to the polls on November 19 to elect presidents and council members for six Phuket Tambon Administration Organizations (OrBorTor). The ban on alcohol sales, as is policy for every election in Thailand, will begin at 6pm on November 18 and last until midnight on election day. Residents in Koh Kaew,…
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American Fanelli sentenced to 10 years for Phuket bar girl murder
PHUKET: American Ronald “Mad Yank” Fanelli has been sentenced to 10 years and three months imprisonment for the stabbing murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai last year. Phuket Provincial Prison Director Rapin Nichanon today confirmed that the court’s decision was handed down on Tuesday. The sentence will be reduced by the 471 days Fanelli has already been detained, he added.…
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Eight teams advance at Phuket FIVB beach volleyball tourney
PHUKET: Eight teams from six countries advanced from today’s two-round qualification tournament to the 32-team main draw of the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour.This is the sixth time in Thailand has hosted the women’s season-ending US$190,000 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT at Karon Beach.Filling the final eight main draw spots are…
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“Bar girls’ nabbed for spiking drinks, robbing Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Phuket police last night arrested six women for spiking tourists’ drinks and robbing them after they fell asleep. The women all worked in bars on Patong’s famed Soi Bangla, Phuket’s main center for tourists enjoying the local nightlife. Police named the six women as Saeng Nuansri, 47, from Phuket; Kemporn Pooseedin, 45, from Maha Sarakham; Wanida Yusuk, 36, from…
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Aussie couple in Phuket arrested over fake robbery claim
PHUKET: An Australian couple on holiday in Phuket have been arrested for filing a bogus report of being robbed in Patong with the aim of filing a fake insurance claim. Abdul Karim El Rajab, 31, and Zeidan Nouha, 30, were arrested at the Sunset Beach Resort on Phra Barami Road in Patong yesterday. According to a police statement, the couple…
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New Phuket bus terminal hits “breaking point’
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has been roped into resolving the ongoing dispute between local residents and the Phuket Highways Office over work that may see the bus terminal north of Phuket Town finally open. The 128-million-baht facility was completed nearly two years ago, but has yet to be used. The delay in opening stems from complaint after complaint being…
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Patong Cricket make it 3 from 3
PHUKET: The 2011/2012 Island Furniture Cricket League is edging ever closer and the final pre-season friendly was played out at Cherng Talay School between arch rivals Patong CC and Laguna CC – 35 over champions and T20 title holders, respectively. Lijo Hose and Val Guiraud opened the batting for Laguna and looked in control until Guiraud was caught on 18.…
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No gain without the pain – Phuket’s own ironman explains
PHUKET: Emma Bishop speaks to Laguna Phuket’s Jaray ‘Ray’ Jearani after he competed in the Ford Ironman World Championships. Ray’s latest journey on the big island at the biggest triathlon event in the world has given the smiling 31-year-old a lot to think about and a fresh ambition to go faster and inspire more of his countrymen to take up…
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Phuket Sports: Khao Lak charity golf returns to Navy golf course
PHUKET: Following last year’s successful event, the second Khao Lak Charity Golf Tournament is teed up for another great outing on November 19 at the Tab Lamu Navy Golf Course in Phang Nga. Organizers are expecting to draw 100 entries this year, far in excess of participating numbers at the 2010 competition – a testament to the growing popularity of…
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Race-specific workouts for the Laguna Phuket Triathlon
PHUKET: You’ve registered for the Laguna Phuket Triathlon or the 70.3 Ironman. You have adhered to your swim-bike-run workouts regularly. But you may not be 100 per cent prepared for race day. You need to use “race specific” workouts to beat the competition. Practice the Swim Start situation. Running into the ocean together with a few hundred others is an…
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Singaporean recovers in Phuket after crash kills friend
PHUKET: Singaporean Anthony Chaw Tat Soon, 39, is recovering at Phuket International Hospital with three broken limbs – a lucky escape from a head-on crash in Phang Nga last Thursday that killed fellow rider and friend Charlene Jade Tay, 31. A hospital staffer today told the Phuket Gazette that Mr Chaw was rushed from Phang Nga Hospital to Phuket on…
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Organizers undaunted as floods cost Phuket FIVB beach volleyball 15 teams
PHUKET: A lack of clarity in understanding which parts of Bangkok were flooded and how travelers could transfer to flights heading to Phuket has resulted in 15 teams pulling out of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour, which starts on Karon Beach tomorrow. However, tournament director Geoffrey Rowe of Pentangle Promotions today pointed out that the teams who have…
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Phuket pedestrian killed on merit-making journey
PHUKET: A Phuket woman was struck by a car and killed yesterday, moments before embarking on a merit-making tour to a temple in Ranong Province. Police received a report at 5:30am that a woman had been hit by a car in the southbound lane of Thepkrasattri Road in front of Thepkrasattri Municipality. At the scene police found Somboon Keawprasert, 60,…
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Drug use among Phuket children “worrying’ officials
PHUKET: There is growing concern about drug use among children in Phuket, who reportedly make up more than eight per cent of all participants in drug rehabilitation programs across the island. Phuket Provincial Health Office statistics show that out of 1,414 people in drug rehabilitation programs in Phuket, 114 of them are children under the age of 18. Prajiad Aksornthammakul,…
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Thailand U23 outshine Phuket All Stars
PHUKET: In the first of two friendly charity games scheduled for Surakul Stadium, the Thailand U23s annihilated a Phuket All Stars team by a score of 6-1 on Sunday evening.The All Stars team was in fact an FC Phuket ‘B’ team given the opportunity to showcase their abilities against the junior national team preparing for the SEA Games, due to…
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Phuket Tennis: Chang ITF tournament main draw starts today
PHUKET: The first Chang ITF Tournament Pro Circuit to be held in Phuket gets underway in earnest today with both Men’s Singles and Doubles main draw matches gracing the tennis courts of the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club in Thalang. Seven seeded players will face their first test with number four seed Laurent Rochette of France (ranked 374 in 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.
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