Thai Life
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Profile: Santi hopes his legacy will continue
PHUKET: Santi Pawai has been working in Phuket since 2012 as the director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Phuket Office (MOTS). He was promoted last year to oversee Phuket tourism. Mr Santi, who is originally from Lopburi, is the head of Phuket’s Tourist Assistance Center at the airport, as well as the Tourism Business and Guide Registration Office.…
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Keep It Green: Getting our environmental act together
PHUKET: Whether it’s mantas or methane, protection or disposal, the world needs to get its act together. First some facts. Half of the world’s carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans. That the seas are a sink for CO2 is wonderful; it’s just that they are being damaged in the process. Hence, the dramatically increased levels of carbonic acid. One…
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Tribute gig planned for late Phuket music legend Snake
PHUKET: Well-known Phuket-based musician Piboon ‘Snake’ Kayalak passed away on May 25, aged 51. Over the past eight years, Mr Piboon played all over Phuket at some of the island’s top live music venues. A Thai native, Piboon was the bassist for the Colin Hill & Pjae Stanley Band. “He will be remembered as a superb musician, friend and brother,…
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Phuket divers do it in the monsoon season too
PHUKET: Though nearly a month late, the southwest monsoon season finally arrived in Phuket. With the annual torrential rains comes the standard question, “Is there still diving around Phuket?” The simple answer is, yes. Unlike the diving in Khao Lak, which pretty much has its shutters pulled down when the Similan Islands are closed, Phuket continues to offer excellent diving…
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Profile: Making science easy, cheap and accessible for all
PHUKET: Asst Prof Dr Aree Choo-dum, 36, originally from Phatthalung, is currently a professor at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus and also part of a team of researchers who invented cheap effective explosive test kits, for which they were awarded silver medals at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva 2016. Dr Aree is an expert in forensic chemistry…
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Consequences of committing immigration fraud
PHUKET: In February, Sittichai Boonkeian murdered his 13-year-old daughter and committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. His wife, Chonrat Mungmart, believes that Mr Sittichai’s murder-suicide was a result of the anxiety and problems associated with their separation. Mr Sittichai and his daughter were living in Florida and his wife was in Thailand. Ms Chonrat was separated from…
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On Deck: Small boats can be just as much fun
PHUKET: Size isn’t everything in the boating world, although I’m sure some people would like to challenge me on that. The fun you can have on a boat isn’t intrinsically linked to its size or price, it’s more related to how you use the boat, with whom, and how often. While the Thai government is rolling out the red carpet…
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Dealing with the trash problem in Phuket
PHUKET: Hygiene and cleanliness are very personal, and judging by the aroma at the airport and on airplanes, often seem to be an optional affair. But living in our environment is a shared community exercise, and Phuket does suffer from the stresses and strains of tourism, as well as a lack of regard by certain sectors of the community to…
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Marriott to launch new resort in Nai Yang
PHUKET: Marriott Hotels are launching the Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach, next month. Inspired by cultural and architectural characteristics of Thailand, the resort is located about a 10 minute drive from Phuket International Airport. It has 180 rooms and is designed as a combination of traditional Thai style and sophisticated, modern architecture, by using ‘relaxing’ earth tones…
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Gardening: Caring for plants in dry weather
PHUKET: This is the time of year when the prolonged dry weather stimulates certain flowering trees to bloom as if their very lives depended on it. In a sense this is literally true, since an exceptional drought will probably mean that fruits may not form, and even that mature trees may shed so many leaves that they die. Already the…
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Phuket launches first government-run animal clinic
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has established the first government-run small animal veterinary clinic, providing free animal care services in the area. The new clinic is located next to the municipality office, across the road from Provincial Hall in Phuket Town. “We are the first municipality to establish an animal clinic. To my knowledge, we are probably the first ones in…
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Phuket International Academy to join global United World College network
PHUKET: Phuket International Academy (PIA), located within the grounds of Thanyapura, in the north of Phuket, is set to become the first and only United World College (UWC) in Thailand, after two years of preparations and discussions with the London-based organization. With an alumni represented by more than 55,000 graduates from all around the globe, UWC has gained a worldwide…
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Blazing Saddles: Tackling angling and cycling
PHUKET: My passion for cycling evolved at about the same time as my passion for fishing, when I was a slip of a lad of around ten summers. I was lucky enough to find myself in a family of keen anglers and spent many happy boyhood hours with my grandfather, father and sundry Scottish uncles trying to entice trout onto…
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A physiotherapy technique for the elderly at Patong Hospital
PHUKET: Patong Hospital has recently launched a new physiotherapy technique for the elderly, called Methode Mezieres, in collaboration with a French physiotherapist named Eric Lon. Mr Lon, now 65, works as a physiotherapist in France. Mr Lon explained that the origins of the Methode Mezieres technique dates back to World War II, when millions of people in France were adversely…
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Across the land: Dealing with water scarcity
PHUKET: Every April, the weather is blistering hot in Thailand, and it’s been no exception this year if not hotter. According to reports, it has not been as hot as this in Thailand for 65 years. Intense heat, attributed to the El Nino weather phenomenon, is causing a severe drought and water shortage throughout the region. No exception for Phuket…
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Excuse Buster: The link between fungi and depression
PHUKET: Could the fungus Candida play a role in mental health? Lawrence Wilson MD believes that a yeast overgrowth is a common cause of brain fog and in some cases dementia, because this fungus produces substances that directly affect the brain. Acetaldehyde is one of these substances and is a common neurotoxin affecting the lives of tens of millions of…
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Airport completion fails again – this time mooted for December
PHUKET: Completion of construction work on the new international terminal at Phuket Airport has been pushed back to September, admits Airports of Thailand Plc President Nitinai Sirismatthakarn in an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette last week. Mr Nitinai was in Phuket to ‘assess progress’ with the new terminal but could not give a fixed date for the opening. “We…
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Profile: Phuket’s own Ironman Jaray Jearanai [video]
PHUKET: If we mentioned the terms ‘Ironman’ or ‘triathlon’ 10 years ago, not many people on the island would have known what it meant, or paid much attention. These days, however, when a sporting trend becomes popular, the number of interested athletes on the island increases rapidly. Dominating the top of the triathlete rankings since 2011 is Thai athlete, Jaray…
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Looking Back: A brief history of Thongdee
PHUKET: During the late Ayutthaya period, around the year 1750, there lived a boy named Joi in the district of Pichai. His father was a farmer and often tasked him with taking care of the family’s buffalo. Joi was intelligent and fearless. Although slightly small in stature, he was not easily intimidated and often got into fights with bigger kids.…
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Keep It Green: Beware of chemical pesticides
PHUKET: Readers can be immensely helpful, especially when they know more than you do. Come in, Victor Alvarez, who emailed me after I had sounded off about Roundup, the world’s most popular herbicide. I had recommended it in these pages for removing grass and weeds from the cracks in a local mountain road. In fairness, I did suggest that Paraquat…
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Phuket cyclists bag numerous trophies in Tour of Friendship
PHUKET: Siam Bike Tours and Z-Coaching Phuket joined forces to produce a team of eight strapping cyclists, ready to take on the Tour of Friendship (TOF) five-day race from April 30-May 4. The event took place in Bangkok and Kanchanaburi, where the recent heat wave has been even more intense than in Phuket. Now in it’s 28th year, the event…
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Free mobile cinema to entertain Phuket crowds for a week
PHUKET: A mobile movie theater will be touring Phuket this month, airing free film screenings to school children and members of the public. The Cine Mobile, sponsored by the Thai Film Archive, will be on the island from May 26-June 1, before continuing its tour of the southern provinces. The mobile cinema will screen five films per day – at…
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Property Watch: The great balcony debate
PHUKET: Life on the edge is never easy, as Romeo and Juliet would have told you. One of my many (and growing) property nightmares is the great debate over condominium and hotel balconies. Is it really a balcony, terrace, veranda or even that exotically-tinged Hawaiian tropical lanai? Let’s just stick to balcony for now. Through the ages, architects have struggled…
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Chillva Market brings fun, food and excitement to Phuket
PHUKET: After a successful soft-opening, Phuket’s newest container market is officially open to the general public. Located off of Yaowarat Road, the 20-million-baht Chillva Market’s piece de resistance is a shipping container park, situated around a central bandstand and pond. Phakanan Daowatthanakij, the owner, said that the market is arranged into three zones by stall type: a tent zone sells…
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Royal Photographic Society of Thailand calls for photos for ‘The Fifth Chang Fine Art Photo Contest’
PHUKET: Thai Beverage Public Co Ltd (ThaiBev) and The Royal Photographic Society of Thailand are calling on photographers to prepare submissions for ‘The Fifth Chang Fine Art Photo Contest’. This year’s theme is ‘Social’ and photographers can enter submissions from June 15-30. The contest is free and open to the public regardless of age, race, nationality or gender. Candidates are…
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Law, Life and Society: Benefits of premarital agreements
PHUKET: In Thailand, it is not unusual to see established men marrying younger Thai women. There are also instances where couples are in their second relationship and both bring their own assets into a marriage. In these circumstances, it may be prudent to sign a premarital agreement. A premarital agreement outlines the division of the property, debts, and spousal maintenance…
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Dice Travels: Exploring the world on the roll of a dice
PHUKET: After five years with the Phuket Gazette, our managing editor, Isaac Stone Simonelli, has quit his job and is taking his chances on the road – quite literally. After upgrading his motorcycle, emptying his bank account, going through the bureaucratic nightmare of obtaining a Thai driver’s license as an American, and finalizing a few other preparations, Isaac will be…
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Family fun and adventure at Hanuman World
PHUKET: Zip-lining, abseiling and sky walking are among the adventurous activities on offer for thrill-seeking nature lovers at the recently opened Hanuman World, located in a forest off Chaofah Road in Wichit. The family-oriented treetop attraction is an opportunity for adventurous visitors to ‘fly’ through the forest and take in a bird’s-eye view, and if lucky, spot a rainbow across…
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Property Watch: Impact of tourism on real estate
PHUKET: Statistics are regularly reported by tourism organizations – public and private, which break down the number of visitors arriving in Phuket. Are Phuket visitors domestic travelers, or business-people commuting? Do we count arrivals and departures, or just arrivals? How do we know the information received is accurate and are people leaving Phuket by other means? Just as this information…
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Profile: Adriano Trapani’s journey from Milan to Phuket
PHUKET: Adriano Trapani left Kamala Beach, heading up the steep northern hill, when the tsunami struck Phuket’s west coast. “Initially, I thought it was my bike breaking down again, so I stopped and checked it. Everything was fine with the bike, but soon after, people on foot, bikes and in cars started gathering around me, as I was in a…
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