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.
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Dubai mystery man offers 10,000 tsunami homes
PHUKET CITY: A businessman from Dubai met with Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura today to offer to build 10,000 houses for tsunami victims.The man, who gave his name simply as “John”, visited Phuket Provincial Hall to request that land be donated upon which to build the Australian-designed structures. The prefabricated homes would be shipped as knocked-down kits to Thailand, enabling them…
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TOT blamed for mobile phone jams
PHUKET: Mobile phone operators, who once touted their services as the solution to the lack of land lines on the island, are now finding themselves victims of their own success.They are fending off waves of customer complaints and trying to find solutions to the overloading of telephone networks in the peak hours between 5 pm and 10 pm.Boonkul Masangchai, Manager…
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Property industry club launched
PHUKET: Members of the island’s property and construction industries, along with related occupations, met last night at the Green Man pub in Chalong to launch a Phuket chapter of the Lighthouse Club, an international networking organization that also does charitable work for construction workers and their families.Officiating at the launch was a founder and former president of the Lighthouse Club…
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Phuket Air jumbo seized in S Korea – twice
SEOUL: A Phuket Air jumbo jet has been seized in South Korea after the carrier’s owner, Phuket Airlines Co Ltd, allegedly failed to settle debts owed to its local sales agent.The Nation in Bangkok reported August 23 that the Boeing 747-300 had been impounded at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul.The aircraft had initially been banned from flying back to…
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Duty-free to tempt Thai tourists
PHUKET: The government is launching a temporary duty-free project in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi Provinces from September 1 through December 31, to entice Thai tourists to the region.The announcement was made by Deputy Finance Minister Warathep Rattanakorn at a meeting dubbed “Recover three Andaman provinces with Duty-Free” at Dusit Laguna Resort on Saturday. K. Warathep explained that the government…
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“Mazhofu’ to allay tourists’ worries
PHUKET: In an effort to attract more Asian tourists to Phuket’s yearly Vegetarian Festival the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office, Phuket Provincial Administration Authority (OrBorJor), Phuket City Municipality and representatives from Phuket’s Chinese shrines will bring a specially-made “Ruby God” or Mazhofu statue from its original home in Meizhou Island in Fujian Province, China.Suwalai Pinpradab, the Director of…
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Work starts on “world’s largest’ Buddha image
PHUKET: Construction of a 1,000-ton concrete Buddha image, touted as the largest of its kind in the world, has started high on the Nakkerd Hills between Karon and Chalong.Suporn Wanichkul, the head of the project committee, told the Gazette yesterday that the Buddha will be 45 meters high and 25 meters wide. He claims that it will be the biggest…
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Cloud seeders back in Phuket
PHUKET: Despite recent rain showers, the Royal Rainmaking Project has been called in again to help stave off yet another looming water shortage in Phuket.Isara Anukul, Chief of the Water Allocation Division of the Phuket Irrigation Office (PIO), told the Gazette on Wednesday, “The water level in Bang Wad Reservoir [Phuket’s main water source] has dropped to 450,000 cubic meters…
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Transportation Office deluged with license applications
PHUKET CITY: Overworked staff at Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO) are rushed off their feet by the demand for new licenses and license renewals.Teerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer of the PPTO, told the Gazette that the office is receiving 80 to 150 applications for new licenses and as many as 200 applications for renewals a day. “There has been a…
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Officials inspect wrecked Kamala resort
KAMALA: Kathu’s top official paid an inspection visit on Wednesday evening to the tsunami-damaged Kamala Bay Terrace Resort, where he asked the hotel’s sole remaining employee to try to organize a clean-up as soon as possible. Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa, accompanied Phuket Provincial Security Affairs Chief Nikorn Torhiranyapreuk, said the visit was prompted by a complaint to the Phuket…
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Gov orders encroachers’ homes demolished
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura yesterday ordered the demolition of 30 terraced houses being built for illegal encroachers on Sirinath Marine National Park land by the Sakoo Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor).The Governor announced his decision at an open meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall, attended by the Sakoo OrBorTor Chief Surapong Panyawai and Sirinath Marine National Park Chief Thanapong Aphaisorn.At the…
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Haze gone, unlikely to return
PHUKET: Blue skies returned to Phuket today as the haze from Indonesia receded, thanks to a combination of local winds and increasingly effective fire-fighting on Sumatra. Chumnong Chitpukdee, Chief of the Meteorological Department‘s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette this morning that the weather in Phuket has already returned to normal. “Luckily for us we have sea breezes…
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Dead man’s next of kin sought
PHUKET: The British Honorary Consul in Phuket, Alan Cooke, has appealed for help in contacting the next of kin of British citizen Keith Alan Jones, 43, who died yesterday afternoon (August 16) of respiratory problems and severe liver damage. Mr Jones, who was born in Taunton, Somerset, had been in Phuket about a year and is believed to have been…
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New charter flights from Europe
PHUKET: One of the biggest names in European tourism is joining forces with a German airline to launch a new Phuket charter service at the start of the high season. Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, founded in 2002 and based at Brussels Airport, and low-cost carrier Condor Flugdienst plan to operate flights to Phuket between November and April next year.“Europe will…
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Sumatra “haze’ reaches Phuket
PHUKET: Hazy atmospheric conditions in Phuket today are the result of forest fires on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra that have left much of Malaysia and Southern Thailand coughing in smoke over the past week.Chumnong Chitpukdee, chief of the Meteorological Department’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), confirmed that Sumatra is the source of the haze, which is being carried here…
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Gamblers top arrest stats – again
PHUKET: Gambling, for the third successive month, topped Phuket’s arrest statistics, according to figures released recently by Phuket Provincial Police, who made 144 arrests for gambling in July. Seventeen of the cases involved the sale of underground lottery tickets.Sixty-seven people were arrested for the illegal possession or use of narcotics, with 1,521 ya bah (methamphetamine) tablets seized.Of the five murder…
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“Nation Party’ gay festival plans in doubt
PHUKET CITY: Despite Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura having already given his blessing for Asia’s largest gay and lesbian festival, the Nation Party, to be held in Phuket, the event may be staged elsewhere because Karon Municipality is worried about the possible consequences of hosting the party.The news broke yesterday following a closed-door meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday between…
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Patong, Kamala revamp still 8 months away
PHUKET CITY: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says that the number of tourists is on the rise since it launched a promotion for tsunami-affected areas.The only place that has not benefited, the TAT says, is Khao Lak, which it believes needs more time to recover before it can be promoted.The TAT’s plans to continue bolstering the recovery of tsunami-affected…
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Miss Teen Canada delivers the ‘bear necessities’
PHUKET CITY: Miss Teen Canada International 2005, 18-year-old Amanda Klyn, donated some 2,000 teddy bears to children affected by the tsunami, during her visit to Phuket and Phang Nga from August 7 to 9.Miss Klyn was invited to visit Thailand by Sananchart Thephasadin, the Thai Ambassador to Canada, after winning her title in January.She explained that the teddy bears were…
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Airport limo problem gets committee treatment
PHUKET CITY: The problem of transportation at Phuket International Airport has been dumped into the laps of at least 10 ad-hoc committees, who have been given the vaguest of briefs – to discuss solutions to the problem – and no deadline to report back with their conclusions.The decision to set up the committees was made at a public meeting at…
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Jungceylon working out money woes
PATONG: Junceylon, the new entertainment complex in Patong, has hit liquidity problems, but these are being worked out and the giant center will still open in November, a source told the Gazette yesterday.The source, who asked not to be named, said that Jungceylon’s money woes started in April and the company has applied for help from the Bankruptcy Court in Bangkok…
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Méridien Patong to reopen August 15
KARON: Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort, just south of Patong, one of hotels worst hit by the tsunami, is to re-open on August 15.Philippe Seigle, Regional General Manager of Le Méridien Thailand Resorts, and General Manager of Le Méridien Phuket, told the Gazette that the areas that suffered the most damage were the entire beach and pool space, the ground…
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International rugby comes to Phuket
PHUKET: Rugby fans are in for a feast in the coming week as the first International 80-80 Rugby Tournament is staged on the island.Matches in the four-team tournament will be played this weekend and in the evenings next week, culminating with the play-offs and final on Sunday, August 14.80-80 rugby is a new format whereby players must weigh no more…
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Two brothers stabbed to death
PHUKET CITY: The bodies of two brothers from Udon Thani who had been beaten and stabbed to death were found near an ice factory about 700 meters north of Sri Suchart Grand View housing estate, on the bypass road, about 6 am on Wednesday.Pol Lt Col Chokechai Suthimek, of Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that the men were…
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O’Hanlon murder suspect surrenders
PATONG: Paul Chetwynd-Talbot, sought for the murder of his girlfriend, Debra O’Hanlon, who was found dead on Tuesday afternoon (see story here), turned himself in to the police last night. Pol Col Teeraphol Tipjaroen, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that Talbot had come to the front of the police station at about 8pm last night and had…
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British woman murdered, boyfriend sought
PATONG: A 31-year old British woman, Debra O’Hanlon, was found dead in the Eric Guesthouse on Nanai Rd around 2 pm yesterday. Police say they are searching for her boyfriend, Briton Paul Chetwynd-Talbot, also 31 and also British, in connection with her death.The two were apparently staying in the same room in the guesthouse and police told the Gazette that…
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Patong and Kamala revival budgets finally settled
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) budget for renovation of Patong and Kamala has finally been settled, at 291.4 million baht, a source in the TAT’s Bangkok headquarters revealed yesterday.The source, who asked not to be named, told the Gazette that the original landscaping plans, proposed in January, foresaw spending of 750 million baht for Patong and 600 million…
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Patong Bay “cleaner’ after tsunami
PATONG: When people noticed that, right after the tsunami, the water in Patong Bay seemed to be the clearest it had been in years, they were not imagining things.Levels of harmful bacteria in the bay were reduced to nearly zero right after the tsunami, researchers from the Pollution Control Department (PCD) learned when sampling the water on January 20.The announcement…
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“Hilal Town’ attracts big crowds
KAMALA: Thousands attended the grand opening of the “Halal Food Hilal Town” Muslim festival at Kamala Beach last night.Organized by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the event is scheduled to run until Monday (August 1).Privy Councilor Gen Surayud Chulanont declared the festival open in a ceremony followed by the presentation of a play about…
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Gov under siege from limo drivers
PHUKET CITY: Some 100 furious limousine drivers today blocked Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s car, preventing the Governor from leaving Provincial Hall for lunch.The drivers arrived at Provincial Hall at 7:30 this morning, angered by a report in the local newspaper Siang Tai, in which the Governor was quoted as threatening to use the army to bring order to the increasingly…
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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