Phuket

  • Environment NewsAo Kung gets green light for marina despite opposition

    Ao Kung gets green light for marina despite opposition

    Conservationists are opposed to plans to build a new marina in a sleepy bay in Phuket. Developers believe it will reignite tourism blighted by the Covid-19 pandemic but preservationists hit back saying the project will damage the island’s coral reefs and affect marine life in the area. A developer has targeted Ao Kung, a sleepy bay north of Phuket Island,…

  • Phuket News9th and 10th monkeypox infections found in Phuket

    9th and 10th monkeypox infections found in Phuket

    A German man and a Thai woman have become the 9th and 10th confirmed cases of monkeypox in Thailand. The two were identified this week in Phuket and are now receiving treatment at a public hospital there. The Department of Disease Control has released details about the two new infections. Public health officials are already investigating and have traced a…

  • Tourism News5-star squatters evicted from Layan Beach

    5-star squatters evicted from Layan Beach

    Heavy earth-moving equipment was taken to Layan Beach, Phuket, yesterday to demolish the last remaining illegal beachfront buildings. Eviction notices were served in 2017 when the Supreme Court ruled that occupiers were illegally encroaching on state land. Several “final warnings” were issued, with the last eviction notice delivered on September 12. Layan Beach is a beautiful but little-known bay on…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket’s governor Narong braces for storm Noru

    Phuket’s governor Narong braces for storm Noru

    Phuket’s Governor Narong held a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday to prepare the island province for tropical Storm Noru. Narong said officials are ready to handle the storm with water removal, shelter, food, and other assistance. He said… “Every relevant office is ready to help as fast as possible with plans.” Meanwhile, Noru has wreaked havoc on other…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket dwellers honour 10th Lunar Month

    Phuket dwellers honour 10th Lunar Month

    Temples across Phuket have honoured Thailand’s tenth lunar month with food offerings, and traditional puppets. Festivals are held for the tenth lunar month between September and October. During the festival, people offer food to their family members who have died. It is believed that during this time, the spirits of deceased people can come to meet with their relatives. Puppets…

  • Phuket NewsDelivery driver & customer brawl over payment in Phuket

    Delivery driver & customer brawl over payment in Phuket

    A delivery driver and a customer brawled over some payment in Phuket’s town of Chalong at the weekend. The customer, Sorasak, said he had ordered food to be delivered through an online service. Phuket Provincial Police said that during the delivery, “There was an error in the transmission location coordinates.” When the driver, Adisak, finally arrived with Sorasak’s food, the…

  • Thailand NewsCanadian gangster in Phuket killing faces death penalty in Thailand

    Canadian gangster in Phuket killing faces death penalty in Thailand

    Thai police are convinced that Canadian Matthew Dupre and accomplice Gene Karl Lahrkamp gunned down Vancouver gangster Jimi Singh Sandhu on the island of Phuket in February. The extradition hearing of a former member of Dupre began in Edmonton on September 27. Dupre is on the run from Thai police who claim the Alberta man took part in the killing…

  • EventsPhuket Vegetarian Festival underway, avoid firecrackers

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival underway, avoid firecrackers

    The Phuket Vegetarian Festival officially kicked off and will last for nine days. The festival launched yesterday with Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul in attendance at the opening ceremony. The ceremony began the festival which will run daily until October 4. Anutin, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister and is considered a potential Bhumjaithai Party candidate for prime…

  • Phuket NewsForeign women rescued from rip current in Patong

    Foreign women rescued from rip current in Patong

    Jet ski operators and lifeguards rescued three foreign women from a rip current off Patong Beach on Friday night. The women were seen in the water calling for help. Fortunately, some jet ski operators and lifeguards were still at the beach at the time, and the women were taken safely back to shore on a jet ski. The Patong Surf…

  • Thailand TravelPhuket welcomes 4 million tourists in 8 months

    Phuket welcomes 4 million tourists in 8 months

    Phuket welcomed four million domestic and international visitors so far in 2022, pumping 66 billion baht into the economy, according to Deputy Governor Pichet Panapong. In recent months, top holidaymakers in Phuket include Indians (120,000 visitors from May – September) and Australians (around 60,000 visitors between May – September). Even with 3000 – 5000 tourists arriving on the island every…

  • Phuket NewsAnother push for helmet use in Phuket

    Another push for helmet use in Phuket

    Officials once again pushed for more motorcycle riders to wear helmets in Thailand, this time in Phuket. The push is part of another of Thailand’s many road safety campaigns. Local officials handed out helmets to students and other community members in the Wichit area of Phuket’s main city district on Wednesday. The officials also finished painting a crosswalk in front…

  • Phuket NewsPrice hike in vegetables prior to Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Price hike in vegetables prior to Phuket Vegetarian Festival

    Phuket is seeing a jump in its vegetable prices as the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival is coming up on September 26. The prices of many vegetables have shot up on average from five to 20 baht per kilogram. The prices on other vegetarian ingredients have bumped up as well. Vegetable prices usually increase in Phuket before and during the festival…

  • Phuket NewsTAT expects Phuket Vegetarian Festival to make over 3 billion baht

    TAT expects Phuket Vegetarian Festival to make over 3 billion baht

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says it expects Phuket’s upcoming annual vegetarian festival to rake in more than 3 billion baht of visitor money this year. The festival will be held from September 26 to October 4. Some 81,429 travellers on 506 international flights are due to visit Phuket during the festival. Meanwhile, 110,165 domestic travellers are due to…

  • Phuket NewsRussian man killed in Phuket motorbike crash

    Russian man killed in Phuket motorbike crash

    A Russian man has been killed after crashing his motorbike into a minivan in Phuket’s resort town of Karon yesterday. Rescuers arrived at the scene on the Karon–Patong Road to find the unconscious man lying on the road and heavily bleeding from his head. The rescuers rushed him to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. They have not…

  • Thailand TravelThailand to fly in Russian tourists on chartered flights this High Season

    Thailand to fly in Russian tourists on chartered flights this High Season

    Unlike several European countries launching travel bans on Russia, Thailand is welcoming tourists from the former Soviet state with open arms this winter. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) unveiled plans this week to fly Russian tourists into Thailand via regular chartered flights to boost tourism revenue this High Season, which runs from November to February. In the years leading…

  • Thailand video newsBangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to open new theme parks | GMT

    Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to open new theme parks | GMT

      Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to open new theme parks. NGOs plan to boost Thai language skills in migrant workers. Can the space industry revive the Thai economy? Thailand says going backwards is not an option for cannabis. Tour bus incentive by TAT hoped to spur domestic tourism. Weddings record bid for Valentine’s Day.

  • Phuket NewsHundreds of Phuket public school students receive scholarships

    Hundreds of Phuket public school students receive scholarships

    Students at a public school in Phuket are being given more educational opportunities. With funding through various charities and foundations, 418 scholarships were given to students at Satree Phuket School yesterday. The total amount of scholarship money provided added up to almost 1.5 million baht. The president of the foundation organising the scholarships spoke at a ceremony in the school’s…

  • Phuket News“Furious” stray dogs anesthetised after chasing Phuket tourists

    “Furious” stray dogs anesthetised after chasing Phuket tourists

    Three furious stray dogs were anesthetised this week after they chased tourists and residents in Phuket, according to the Phuket City Municipality. The municipality said the dogs had been chasing people near the Toh Sae Hill Public Park in the main city district. The municipality noted that the dogs were not harmed when they were caught. The municipality alerted the…

  • Phuket NewsPolice ask public to help find person who left dead baby at Phuket temple

    Police ask public to help find person who left dead baby at Phuket temple

    UPDATE Police in Phuket’s Kathu district is asking the public to help track down the person who left a dead baby girl at a temple in the district. Monks found the poor newborn baby girl’s body in a plastic bag under a bodhi tree at Wat Anuphat Kritsadaram in Thung Thong on September 9. The body was already decomposing. Yesterday,…

  • Phuket NewsMonkeys barge into new Phuket resort

    Monkeys barge into new Phuket resort

    The monkeys are coming! Well, at least they are coming to one new resort in Phuket’s town of Chalong. The management team at the Noku Phuket resort says that monkeys have been seen on the resort’s grounds and tried to get into the guest’s rooms. Wildlife officers inspected the resort on Tuesday, with the chief of the Wildlife Education Centre…

  • Phuket NewsBusinesses encroaching Layan Beach in Phuket get final eviction notice

    Businesses encroaching Layan Beach in Phuket get final eviction notice

    Phuket officials handed a final eviction notice to four businesses illegally occupying Layan Beach. Their patience finally snapped after a string of notices were ignored dating back to 2017. They now have to remove all structures from three kilometres of public land by the end of the month. Several businesses have been operating along 178 rai of beachfront land for…

  • Phuket NewsUPDATE: Phuket Police order investigation into allegedly abusive school director

    UPDATE: Phuket Police order investigation into allegedly abusive school director

    UPDATE Phuket Provincial Police have ordered an investigation into reports that a school director physically assaulted an eight year old boy. A relative of the boy had said that the school director on Thursday, September 8 pushed the boy’s head into a wall. He also allegedly used his hands to forcefully open her nephew’s mouth. The boy’s mother, 30 year…

  • Phuket NewsDead baby girl in a plastic bag found in Phuket temple

    Dead baby girl in a plastic bag found in Phuket temple

    A dead newborn baby girl was left in a black plastic bag at a temple in Kathu in Phuket and police are searching for answers. The bag with the baby’s remains was found yesterday at Wat Anuphat Kritsadaram in Thung Thong in Kathu, with police receiving a call at around 5pm to report it. Three monks walking through the area…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket woman says school director injured her nephew

    Phuket woman says school director injured her nephew

    A grandmother says that a director of a private school in Phuket’s main city district has assaulted and injured her eight year old nephew. The woman says that on Thursday, September 8, the director held her nephew’s head against the wall before knocking him into the wall. He also allegedly used his hands to forcefully open her nephew’s mouth. The…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket prisoners could have sentences reduced in new community project

    Phuket prisoners could have sentences reduced in new community project

    Prisoners in Thailand’s island province of Phuket are being given a chance to have their sentences decreased in a new community project. In the project, called “Public Work for Society,” inmates from Phuket Prison who have shown good behaviour will be selected to do community service work. One day of monitored work reduces the inmates’ sentences by one day. Phuket…

  • Thailand NewsFire breaks out at Indian restaurant in Patong

    Fire breaks out at Indian restaurant in Patong

    A fire broke out at an Indian restaurant in Phuket’s famous tourist town of Patong in the early hours of this morning. Firefighters rushed to the restaurant on Taweewong Road to find it ablaze. The firefighters took 40 minutes to bring the flames under control. The restaurant was damaged, but luckily no injuries were reported. The restaurant owner said there…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket man arrested after allegedly beating ex with iron rod in May

    Phuket man arrested after allegedly beating ex with iron rod in May

    Justice is finally being served on one Phuket man who allegedly beat his ex-girlfriend and her friend with an iron rod and held them against their will back in May. Police arrested the 26 year old man, named Worawat, at his residence in Chalong town on Monday. The man, Worawat, allegedly messaged his girlfriend on May 21, asking her to…

  • Phuket NewsIntoxicated Phuket man whacks cars and houses with iron bar

    Intoxicated Phuket man whacks cars and houses with iron bar

    An intoxicated Phuket man yesterday wreaked havoc in a housing estate in Phuket’s main city district. The man went around whacking cars and houses in an estate with an iron bar that had a sharp end. Residents alerted Wichit Police of the carnage the man caused to damage cars and houses, and the police arrived on the scene to find…

  • Things To DoBeautiful national parks in Phuket you need to visit in 2022

    Beautiful national parks in Phuket you need to visit in 2022

    From pristine beaches to limestone cliffs, Phuket’s natural beauty is unrivalled. And if you want to really immerse yourself in nature, there’s no shortage of national parks on the island to visit. Travelling to the national parks can be exciting in itself, as taking a boat can help you get to many areas that are off the beaten path. Moreover,…

  • Things To DoBest day trips and tours in Phuket for a short gateway (2022)

    Best day trips and tours in Phuket for a short gateway (2022)

    Phuket, by far one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, has a lot to discover both on and around the island. It has something for everyone, from wonderful cultural events and delectable traditional foods to stunning beaches and exotic islands. Since the island is so diverse, a great way to experience its many facets and spice up your…