Phuket

  • Environment NewsTurtle rescued on Nai Harn Beach, Phuket

    Turtle rescued on Nai Harn Beach, Phuket

    PHOTO: Aroon Solos Today (August 15) at about 1pm, the lifeguard team at Nai Harn Beach rescued a small turtle, which had become stuck in a fertiliser sack. They found the turtle washed up ashore with the sack wrapped up around its neck. They tried to carefully remove the sack from the turtle’s neck but found that the turtle had…

  • Phuket NewsChinese tourist almost drowns after ignoring warnings from lifeguards at Patong

    Chinese tourist almost drowns after ignoring warnings from lifeguards at Patong

    PHOTOS & STORY: เสียงประชาชน คนภูเก็ต Phuket People’s Voice Yesterday (August 12), a Chinese tourist almost drowned at Patong Beach. Fortunately, a lifeguard was on duty, noticed the man was in difficulty, rescued him and saved his life. The young Chinese man had already been warned once by the lifeguards about the red flags with lifeguards telling him the red flags…

  • Phuket NewsMystery fire at construction site of The Base Central Condo in Phuket

    Mystery fire at construction site of The Base Central Condo in Phuket

    PHOTO: Bliz Lincoln Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire that broke out at a building site behind Central Floresta yesterday afternoon. The fire caused the road, running behind the shopping mall – Muang Naka Road – on the same road as Headstart international school, to be closed off to traffic for several hours as emergency services…

  • Phuket NewsKamala development is positive – a personal view

    Kamala development is positive – a personal view

    This week The Thaiger posted a few photos and prediction that the vacant corner, as you drive into Kamala from Patong, was going to another backwards step to the sleepy seaside town. The post provoked a lot of comment, including this one. The author’s identity has been hidden. What do you think about his response? https://www.facebook.com/thethaigerphuket/posts/1636282186509280?comment_id=1636333889837443&reply_comment_id=1638894932914672&notif_id=1565318229144276&notif_t=feed_comment “The funny thing about…

  • PropertyLower demand but Thailand is still China’s favourite international property market

    Lower demand but Thailand is still China’s favourite international property market

    The Yuan has dropped in value against the Thai baht and China remains in the midst of a long-running trade spat with the US. But, still, the Chinese investors are still buying up Thailand property although not at the same rate as they did last year. But juwai.com, specialising in Chinese real estate, predicts further growth of Chinese buyers Thai…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket leads the way in managed hotel residences

    Phuket leads the way in managed hotel residences

    by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com – Feature article “Hotel Residences – properties that sell individual units in the real estate market and operate as either hotels or else are branded by hospitality operators. Other often used terms are condotel, hotel branded residences and hospitality-led real estate.” Phuket’s love affair with hotel managed properties started in the late 1980’s with the…

  • Phuket NewsPatong police visit motorbike garages to warn them about illegal modifications

    Patong police visit motorbike garages to warn them about illegal modifications

    PHOTOS: Patong Provincial Police Patong police paid a visit to several motorcycle garages yesterday (July 25) in order to clarify that motorcycle racing is illegal and modifying motorcycles in certain ways can be illegal as well – modified exhausts, removing side mirrors, extra large tyres, air horns, etc. The police ‘drop in’ only asked for cooperation and requested owners and…

  • EventsPhuket fights for sustainable tourism at PHIST 2019

    Phuket fights for sustainable tourism at PHIST 2019

    Phuket readies to host PHIST 2019 in the fight against environmental degradation in Southeast Asia’s idyllic island destinations. PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism) 2019 is a free-to-attend one-day conference that takes place on Thursday, September 23, 2019 at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa. The important event will gather approximately 1,000 delegates, including more than 70 of…

  • Northern Thailand NewsMore rain on the way for the north and north-east

    More rain on the way for the north and north-east

    The Thai Meteorological Department has issued a weather warning that on July 29 and 30 a monsoonal trough will lie across Myanmar, Laos and upper Vietnam, while the moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf. In other words, more rain on the way. They forecast that this will lead to more rain in the North and…

  • Phuket NewsMorning fire in Patong destroys workers camp

    Morning fire in Patong destroys workers camp

    PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket At about 9 am this morning, a fire started at a construction workers’ camp in Patong, destroying about 18 units. Both Burmese and Thai workers were living in the camp. There was no one at the camp at the time as they’d all headed off to work for the day. The camp is located on Sai Kor…

  • Transport NewsThailand’s taxi and tuk tuk scams and annoyances

    Thailand’s taxi and tuk tuk scams and annoyances

    “Where are you going?”, they shout from across the road. A Tuk Tuk driver wants to help you get to your next destination but the willing smile and lure of a ride in a local jalopy may have switched off your trusty scam-detector. Tuk Tuks and taxis, and the motorbike taxis too, are a convenient, safe and reasonably cheap way…

  • Phuket NewsMissing Filipino’s body found in Phuket, identified by family

    Missing Filipino’s body found in Phuket, identified by family

    PHOTO: AsiaOne A body, found washed up on Freedom beach in Phuket on Friday, has now been identified by family to be one of the two missing Filipinos. The family of Noah Ibay arrived at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday to identify the body and meet the Phuket Governor, Pakkapong Tawipat. Mr. Val Simon Roque from The Philippines’ Embassy in Bangkok also…

  • Phuket NewsMan stabbed by street vendor in Chalong

    Man stabbed by street vendor in Chalong

    PHOTO: Facebook A foreigner, known as ‘Mahmoud’, was stabbed in Soi Ta-iad in Chalong, southern Phuket last night outside a Family Mart. The man was taken to Bangkok Phuket Hospital and is now reported to be in a stable condition following surgery. Doctors have told friends he will have to remain in hospital for observation for at least two days.…

  • Crime NewsBritish expat arrested over dog attack in Phuket. 15 year old dog ‘ok’.

    British expat arrested over dog attack in Phuket. 15 year old dog ‘ok’.

    PHOTO: Shop surveillance footage of the attack A British expat, Mervyn “Merv” Harding, has now been charged over his attack on a 15 year old dog outside a massage shop in southern Phuket on Tuesday. CCTV footage caught the man parking his motorbike, pulling a metal rod from under the bike seat and then repeatedly beating the animal as it…

  • Transport NewsUPDATE: Thai PM tells Phuket people to “stop ripping off tourists”

    UPDATE: Thai PM tells Phuket people to “stop ripping off tourists”

    PHOTO: Two Australians file their report with Karon police this morning Everyone is having their say about a van charging two Australian tourists 3,000 baht for a trip from the Phuket International Airport to Kata, even the Thai PM. The PM took time out today to issue a warning to “Phuket people” that its reputation as a tourist destination will…

  • Phuket NewsUPDATE: Search for Filipinos lost off Freedom Beach, Phuket

    UPDATE: Search for Filipinos lost off Freedom Beach, Phuket

    PHOTO: siangtai.com Officials are still trying to push on with a search for two Filipino tourists who were washed out to sea by waves at Freedom Beach in Phuket last night around 5pm. With nearly 24 hours having passed since the pair’s disappearances grave fears are now held for their survival. Conditions have been quite rough and squally for most…

  • Opinion“Thailand shouldn’t have water problems” – a personal view

    “Thailand shouldn’t have water problems” – a personal view

    OPINION Post from a concerned Phuket resident who is worried about the future of the island’s most precious resource, fresh water. Despite being surrounded by water, potable water supplies are in peril for the forthcoming high season with lower-than-usual rainfall and the dams still at historically-low levels at the time of publishing this story. The person has asked to be anonymous……

  • Phuket NewsDigging into the Phuket hotel data

    Digging into the Phuket hotel data

    by Bill Barnett, c9hotelworks As Phuket’s hotel operators and owners face a disruptive 2019, we thought it was time to do a deep dig into the island’s accommodation performance metrics. Global hospitality data and analytics group STR was the logical resource, so we spoke to their Area Director Asia Pacific, Jesper Palmqvist. The following are key takeaways from the highly focused…

  • EventsWhite caps & tight racing – Day two of the Multihull Solutions Regatta in Phuket

    White caps & tight racing – Day two of the Multihull Solutions Regatta in Phuket

    PHOTOS: Phuket Yacht Club The racing multihull boats sailed two races on Sunday – the second day of racing in the annual Multihull Solutions Regatta off Chalong Bay in Phuket. The first race was a three-lap windward-leeward in Chalong Bay and the second a longer course out to the safe water mark just before Cape Panwa. Whitecaps and winds gusting to…

  • Phuket NewsThai TV star faces legal battle to regain custody of her daughter after daylight abduction in Phuket

    Thai TV star faces legal battle to regain custody of her daughter after daylight abduction in Phuket

    PHOTO: says.com A baby has been abducted in Phuket as Thai police investigate a complaint filed by her mother. Last Friday, police were seeking to interview the father and husband of the UK Thai former ‘supermodel’. It follows a dramatic midday abduction on the outskirts of Phuket where the 25 year old woman was ‘imprisoned in her car’ as a…

  • Phuket NewsUPDATE: Phuket pad thai blamed for putting Perth couple out of action for two years

    UPDATE: Phuket pad thai blamed for putting Perth couple out of action for two years

    A Perth couple, Stacey Barnes and her husband Ryan Prigg, who ran their personal wellbeing business, ended up unwell for nearly two years, because of a debilitating parasite that they say they caught whilst holidaying in Thailand in 2017. The have blamed the incident on a rogue plate of pad thai they ate at a food court at an ‘upmarket’…

  • Phuket NewsDolphin sightings in Phang Nga Bay near Phuket – VIDEO

    Dolphin sightings in Phang Nga Bay near Phuket – VIDEO

    Rangers working in the Phang Nga Bay Marine National Park have reported sightings of bottlenose dolphins in Phang Nga Bay. They say it’s a good sign, thanks to the extensive rehabilitation of aquatic animals, seagrass and natural vegetation in the area. The rangers managed to take a picture of a 150 centimetre-long dolphin in front of Koh Panyi, Amphur Muang…

  • Tourism NewsIndian tourists filling the gap as Chinese eschew Thailand

    Indian tourists filling the gap as Chinese eschew Thailand

    PHOTO: The Vijitt Resort, Rawai, Phuket Thailand’s currently patchy tourism industry, down but not out, is getting some interim support from visitors from the population colossus to its west, India. The new arrivals are filling in the gap, not quite a gaping hole as yet, of bumper arrivals from China. At a beachfront hotel on Phuket’s south west coast, the occupancy…

  • Thai LifeTop 10 world locations where people go to play

    Top 10 world locations where people go to play

    Where do people travel in the world for ‘play’, not business? Mastercard unveils the Top Ten locations where people travel to play. International travel continues to grow at an incredible rate, transforming local economies and enabling people to broaden their horizons – whether they travel for work or for play. Building on nearly a decade of insight into international travel trends,…

  • Tourism NewsOPINION: Thailand – Land of false smiles

    OPINION: Thailand – Land of false smiles

    by Pete Downing, Guest Contributor Every year for the past eight years we have saved and come to Phuket for minimum of a week. More often than not we bring other members of our family, anywhere from four to six at a time, and every time bringing empty cases with a 30kg allowance per person and filling those cases each…

  • Environment NewsCompetition to name dugong calf in Phuket

    Competition to name dugong calf in Phuket

    PHOTO: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket is inviting members of the public to participate in a contest to name an orphaned baby dugong, found stranded on a beach in Krabi. The dugong calf is now under the care of DMCR vets to save rare marine animals in Phuket. Jatuporn Buruspat, the department’s director-general visited the…

  • Tourism NewsPhuket’s tourist evolution – Diversity is the best option Part 1

    Phuket’s tourist evolution – Diversity is the best option Part 1

    by Guest Writer Today’s guest writer has been managing resorts around Phuket for two decades and has represented his brand at international expos along with promotions for Phuket over the years. His knowledge is first-hand and steeped in local experience. He has asked to remain anonymous. At the end of the 1990’s into the early 2000’s Phuket saw the drastic…

  • Environment NewsSea turtle rescued from sea garbage off Phuket – VIDEO

    Sea turtle rescued from sea garbage off Phuket – VIDEO

    PHOTOS: Marokus Chundee / Koh Racha Lifeguards A sea turtle has been rescued from sea garbage off the coast of Koh Racha, south of Phuket, yesterday. At about noon lifeguards on Koh Racha were helping to bring a big pile of sea garbage back to the beach. In amongst all the flotsam and jetsam they found a sea turtle stuck…

  • Phuket NewsWater shut-off along parts of Phuket’s west coast

    Water shut-off along parts of Phuket’s west coast

    The Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority says the mains water supply will be shut off around Patong, Karon and Kata from today until next Friday (June 28). Areas mostly affected will be homes and residences in elevated areas. Works are being carried out on the water-treatment plant in Karon. The water supply to the affected areas will be shut off from 9am to…

  • Thai LifeAnd the winner of Miss Mom Phuket 2019 is…

    And the winner of Miss Mom Phuket 2019 is…

    The annual beauty pageant run by Lifestyle in Thailand, Miss Mom Phuket 2019, officially celebrated its winner this year – K. Sangjan Modnok, the owner of Royal Thai Villas, who also won Miss Angel Lifestyle by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The first runner-up title was bestowed upon K. Sakunya Suthaharuetai and the second runner-up went to K. Arista…