Phuket News
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Rolling boulders crash into Phuket resort
PHUKET: The management of an upscale hillside villa resort in Phuket has filed a police complaint after huge boulders tumbled down from a road construction project last Saturday, causing property damage and frightening guests. Wassana Yukhunthon, public relations manager at the luxury L’Orchidee Residences off Phra Barami Road Soi 4 at the north end of Patong, told the Phuket Gazette…
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High hoops for youth basketball in Phuket
PHUKET: THE PHUKET Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and the Phuket Basketball Club’s second annual provincial basketball competition is now underway. The opening ceremony of the “Basketball PPAO Phuket Junior League 2011” was held at Saphan Hin, Gymnasium 1, on June 25 and the league will run until September 23 with matches starting at 4pm every Friday. OrBorJor President, Paiboon Upatising,…
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Phuket Red Cross blood drive for July
PHUKET: Following a successful campaign in June, the Phuket Regional Blood Center has announced the dates for its July blood drive. “By June 28, we had 2,124 blood donations for the month. This was above our target of 1,500-2,000 donors,” said Suphawan Rattanachan, an officer with the Phuket Red Cross. “This month the need for blood won’t be as high…
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Phuket banks closed for mid-year holiday
PHUKET: Banks throughout Phuket are closed today for the annual “Mid-Year Bank Holiday” across Thailand. However, to ensure some access to finances, branches at some major retail centers are open. Somrudee Kanhayuva at the Kasikorn Bank call center in Bangkok confirmed that Kasikorn branches at major department stores are open as usual. “In Phuket, Kasikorn has seven branches open today:…
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Sailing courses at Phuket’s ACYC
PHUKET: Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) is now an officially recognized Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Shore Based Training Center and will be running theory courses at the club in Chalong. Courses are open to members and non-members and apply equally to sail boats and powerboats. Being shore-based, the courses are invaluable to people who have their own powerboat, but have…
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Phuket expo center coming “no matter what’: Raywat
PHUKET: Construction of Phuket’s International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) will begin in three to four months no matter which party forms the next government, a Democrat Party candidate said yesterday. Raywat Areerob, incumbent MP candidate for Phuket constituency two, told the Phuket Gazette the election results would not affect existing plans to build the ICEC in Mai Khao. “[If…
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Officials ‘slash and burn’ 25 tons of pirate goods in Phuket
PHUKET: Counterfeit goods worth more than 58 million baht were destroyed at the incinerator in Phuket Town this morning as part of the nationwide crackdown on copyright infringement. Before the serious destruction began, high-ranking officials and guests used box cutters to slash fake Louis Vuitton bags and Ralph Lauren shirts, while others smashed pirated DVDs with oversized sledgehammers. “This is…
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Phuket restaurants race against coastal erosion
PHUKET: Restaurant owners along the Rawai beachfront on Phuket’s southern coast are racing to repair a collapsed section of the seawall and pavement before monsoon surf causes more damage. The damaged section of the seawall spreads over about 100 meters and includes at least one privately owned restaurant. Rawai Municipality has placed rocks along 60m of the waterfront to slow…
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Federer out, Murray in
PHUKET: “I was just perfect today. I served just unbelievably.” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga doesn’t hold back on describing his performance against six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in Wednesday’s quarter-final at the All England Lawn Tennis tournament.True, it was a fantastic performance, but certainly not perfect. Federer had gone two sets up before the big serving French player clawed his way back…
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Phuket outshines Big Bang in Toyota Cup
PHUKET: In Toyota League Cup second round play last night, FC Phuket downed Division 1 rivals Big Bang Chulalongkorn University (BBCU) 2-1 in extra time in front of a large crowd at Surakul Stadium. The ‘Southern Sea Kirin’, as FC Phuket is sometimes known, got the scoring underway on 15 minutes with slick passing between Niran Phanthong and Nitirote Sukuma…
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Reward offered for help in recovery of missing Phuket rental car
PHUKET: A Hungarian man who rented a car in Phuket in mid-April has yet to return it and the owner is offering a reward to anyone who can help recover it. Supornchai Thuenthin, a 43-year-old car rental operator in Patong, held a small conference at the Tourism Authority of Thailand office in Phuket Town on Monday in hopes of getting…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver questioned over rape of tourist
PHUKET: A Patong tuk-tuk driver questioned by police has denied any involvement in the alleged rape of a 21-year-old British female tourist in Phuket early on Monday morning. The woman went to Bangla Road with friends on Sunday night but later separated from them and went to another bar alone, said Kathu Police Duty Officer Jakkrapong Luang-aon. “She hired a…
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FC Phuket vs “Big Bang” Chula in Toyota Cup action tonight
PHUKET: Second round matches of the Toyota League Cup get underway this evening, with FC Phuket facing a formidable challenge against Big Bang Chulalongkorn University (BBCU). Division 1 rivals, the teams have played once already this season. That fixture, at Surakul Stadium on March 13, ended in a 0-0 draw. BBCU led the league at the time and Phuket were…
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7 rounded up on drugs, arms, theft charges in Phuket
PHUKET: The arrest of one man found with drugs and a handgun on his person at a roadside police checkpoint on Sunday night has led to the arrest of seven more suspects. Col Komol Wattarakorn, Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, presented the eight suspects, along with two others, at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station yesterday. “We…
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Phuket Live Wire: The empire strikes back, TOT steps up
PHUKET: LONG the whipping boy in Phuket’s internet competition, TOT is finally showing signs of life and offering some real alternatives. Some people have had good TOT lines for years, and haven’t found any reason to switch. But an alarmingly large percentage of people I know with TOT lines have given up and gone with competitors – most frequently True…
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Brutal execution
PHUKET: “This is going to be the most brutal execution of a boxer that you’ve seen for many, many years. Don’t go to the hospital with your brother. Make sure you’re there, don’t go with the ambulance.” WBA Heavyweight Boxing Champion David Haye, 30, from Great Britain voiced and illustrated his intentions towards the Klitschko brothers (Wladimir, 35, – IBF…
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Hotel cook drowns at Phuket beachside lake
PHUKET: A hotel cook drowned last night at Nong Harn Lake, at the northern end of Phuket’s tourist-popular Karon Beach, sparking a three-hour search for his body. Kasin Wirachod, 41, employed by a prominent Karon hotel, supplemented his income by catching fish in the lake, an old tin mine quarry surrounded by resorts and restaurants. Mr Kasin, originally from Sakon…
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Phuket beachfront cables buried, but road awaits resurfacing
PHUKET: The power cables along the Karon beachfront, on Phuket’s tourist-popular west coast, have been finally buried, but the road still needs resurfacing. “We are now seeking tenders for a construction company to pave the road,” Norasak Phuriphattaraphan, an engineer at Kata-Karon Municipality’s Public Works Division, told the Phuket Gazette today. “We expect to have selected a company to carry…
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Election Thailand: Poor turnout at Phuket ‘absentee’ polls
PHUKET: Despite more than 40,000 people taking the time to pre-register to cast “absentee ballots” for the July 3 election, only half that number actually turned up at polling stations in Phuket yesterday. “A total of 20,874 people cast ‘absentee votes’, which is 51% of the 40,630 people who registered to do so,” said Phuket Election Commission Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit.…
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FC Phuket take Songkhla by the horns
PHUKET: Saturday’s “southern derby” at Surakul Stadium lived up to expectations for an exciting match, but failed to produce any goals for FC Phuket and regional rivals Songkhla FC. The game was originally scheduled for March, and with the fixture filled Phuket and Songkhla are now up to date for league games played. Each of the 18 teams in League…
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Phuket’s young voters want job security and stronger tourism policies
PHUKET: Students at Phuket Vocational College rate job security and sustainable development of Phuket’s tourism industry among their top criteria in selecting which candidates to vote for in Thailand’s general election next Sunday. About 300 students from the college on Thursday attended a rally at Saphan Hin, where the three candidates contesting Phuket Constituency 1 urged the students to exercise…
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Nice one: FC Phuket sign French goalie Matijas
PHUKET: FC Phuket have signed goalkeeper Jonathan Matijas from France and have their eyes on other foreign players, the team has announced. FC Phuket General Manager Ahsin Arammethapongsa this morning confirmed the club has signed an agreement with Matijas, a tall 21-year-old from Nice who comes from Amiens SC in the French Ligue 2. Matijas will join Phuket at the…
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Phuket Tourist Police volunteers branch out
PHUKET: Phuket’s newest Tourist Police Volunteer Center opened at Chalong Circle this week and is already helping foreigners in need in the south of the island. Within hours of opening their doors on Monday, officers at the center were called on to assist a Russian couple whose rented motorbike was involved in a minor accident at the roundabout. The motorbike…
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McEnroe on Murray
PHUKET: “Murray has now put himself in a very good position, once again. He had to step it up against a more experienced player and he did just that and showed signs that he could go all the way – he was brilliant at times.” Former Wimbledon champion and a true legend of the sport, John McEnroe remarking on the…
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School van crash: Police to pursue charges against pickup driver
PHUKET: Police will pursue charges against the driver of a speeding pickup that crashed into a school van on Tuesday morning, killing two and leaving many others injured. The driver, 41-year-old Nikom Kaewmanee, told police he was driving at about 100kmh when he tried to overtake the van, which had 15 occupants, Thalang Police told the Phuket Gazette . The…
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FC Phuket braces for Songkhla stampede
PHUKET: League Division One’s southern derby is sure to bring herds of fans to Surakul Stadium tomorrow, when a resurgent FC Phuket aim to tame the “Fighting Bulls” of Songkhla FC. In addition to those travelling with the team, massive support is expected at the game from a huge population of Phuket residents who hail from Songkhla. The fixture tomorrow…
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Phuket rubber tapper killed by hoe
PHUKET: Phuket Police are questioning the girlfriend of a rubber tapper found bludgeoned to death in the hills behind Layan Beach earlier today. Thalang Police responded to a report of a murder in Cherng Talay Village 6 at 9:20am. At the scene, inside a small hillside shack, they found the body of a 49-year-old man thus far identified only as…
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Phuket caught in nationwide alcohol ban this weekend
PHUKET: The sale of alcohol will be banned throughout Phuket this weekend ahead of the polls opening for the absentee and early voting on Sunday, Phuket Police Commander Pekad Tantipong has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “The sale of alcohol will be prohibited from 6pm on June 25 [Saturday night] through to midnight on June 26 [Sunday night],” Maj Gen…
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Bogus timeshare operators under fire in Phuket
PHUKET: A high-powered task force set up by the Phuket Governor yesterday declared war on illegal timeshare operators in Phuket. The focus is on those that use bait and switch and other illegal tactics to bilk up to a billion baht from unsuspecting tourists. “Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha is very serious about solving the problems with timeshare companies and he…
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Swiss son finds mom’s suicide note
PHUKET: A son of 61-year-old Swiss woman Ursula Balzan, whose body was found floating off Phuket’s east coast last week, has confirmed the handwriting in a suicide note as that of his mother, say police. Roman Balzan, 36, one of Mrs Balzan’s two sons, flew to Phuket from Switzerland last Sunday, Phuket City Police duty inspector Sien Keawthong told 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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