News
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Sponsored Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort puts sustainability at its heart
The term sustainability is often thrown around as a buzzword in the hospitality industry, but at Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort, it’s genuinely part of their mission. Located in Makham Bay, just south of Phuket Town, the beautiful resort puts...
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Draft charter rejection meaningless to Phuket tourism, says official
PHUKET: The rejection of the draft charter voted on by the National Reform Council (NRC) will not have any impact on the tourism industry in Phuket, confirmed Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) Vice President Bhuritt Maswongssa. “Tourists simply don’t care about Thai politics,” Mr Bhuritt said. A majority of the NRC – 135 members – voted against the draft, compared to…
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A Decade Ago: Buses zoom around, as do katoeys
PHUKET: When was public transport not an issue on the island? It seems to sneak into headlines week in and week out with the occasional big splash when authorities attempt to launch a new initiative. This week, it’s the 50-baht Phuket Town to Patong van service – which deserves the butts and bahts of those going from the island’s cultural…
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First Person: Weeding out touts
Suwat Suksiri, 43, has been Chief of the Thung Talay Non Hunting Zone since 2010. He is originally from Chumphon Province and earned his bachelor’s degree in Forestry from Sukhothai Thammathirat University. He has been working in the forestry field since 1993. Here he talks about why animal touting is a serious problem for foreigners and not locals, and how…
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Airport extension to finish on time
PHUKET: The Phuket Airport Authority has confirmed that the 5.7-billion-baht expansion of the international terminal will be completed by its February 14, 2016 deadline, as promised. “The latest update from the contractor states that the building is almost 80 per cent finished and that construction is flowing steadily as the rainy season clears up,” said Amnuay Sarachart, executive vice president…
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Navy settles beach vending squabble
PHUKET: A ‘misunderstanding’ about vendors on Kata Beach garnered a visit from Navy personnel and Damrongtham Center Chief Prapan Kanprasang on Thursday. About 40 officials, assembled by the Royal Thai Navy’s Phuket-based Third Area Command and Phuket Provincial civil defense volunteers, were on hand after the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) received a complaint about old vendors prohibiting new vendors and…
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Asian Weightlifting Championships start tomorrow
PHUKET: Due to the devastating earthquake in Nepal, the 26th Senior Women’s and 45th Senior Men’s Asian Weightlifting Championships are now taking place in Phuket starting tomorrow. Between September 6 and 11, almost 400 athletes from 38 countries will be flexing their muscles as they battle against gravity at Saphan Hin’s 4,000-seat Indoor Sports Complex. The event’s opening ceremony, chaired…
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Phuket Yacht Show dates confirmed
PHUKET: Dates for the first edition of the Phuket Yacht Show, now known as the Thailand Yacht Show, have finally been confirmed by organizers Singapore Yacht Events Pte Ltd (SYE) following a partnership agreement signed recently with the Marine Department of Thailand’s Ministry of Transport. The event is destined to become the focal point of the luxury charter yacht business…
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Vegetarian Festival dates announced
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong has announced the dates for this year’s Vegetarian Festival with the new addition of a parade in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The nine-day festival is slated to take place from October 13 to 21. “The parade to honor HM the King will take place on Wednesday, October 14 at Chai Field. There will also…
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Island View: End of circus show
PHUKET: I was deeply relieved to see justice served when the court in Phuket delivered a ‘not guilty’ verdict last week in the case against Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison of local news blog PhuketWan. Though there was a great amount of grandstanding, showboating and circus entertainment for the international media leading up to the trial, it was important that…
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New food fair comes to Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket will play host for the first ever ‘Amazing Tastes of Thailand’ food fair from September 19 to 20, confirmed Anoma Wongyai, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket. Selected food from across the nation, as well as popular Phuket dishes, will be available for visitors to enjoy on Thalang Road in Phuket Town. “There will also…
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Bargains galore at Boat Arcade Garage Sale this weekend
PHUKET: Bargain hunters can rummage through a treasure trove of used and second-hand items at the first East Meets West Weekend Garage Sale to be held at the new Boat Arcade community mall this weekend from 10:00am to 4:00pm. About 100 stalls will be popping up to offer everything from household items and furniture to boat parts, books, toys and,…
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Business Buzz: Five tips for content creation for your business
PHUKET: The first priority in marketing through social media is to decide what you want to achieve. Is it for people to find out about a new service; to get them to visit your Facebook page; to educate them on something unknown; to be funny; or to shock with facts; or just to create brand awareness? Also think about where…
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Frenchman busted for passing counterfeit euros
PHUKET: A French national was arrested while attempting to exchange a counterfeit 100 euro banknote on Soi Bangla yesterday. Rene Louis Regrault, 59, was apprehended by Tourist Police after the bill he went to exchange at the Shino Money Exchange counter was flagged by an employee. “After confirming that the banknote was fake, we accompanied Mr Regrault back to his…
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Khao Sok diving ban maybe lifted
PHUKET: In a knee-jerk reaction, national park officers enforced a ban on all diving in the Chio Lan Reservoir, the center piece to the extraordinary Khao Sok National Park, following the death of two experienced cave divers in a diving accident on technical rebreathers last year (story here). However, the ban might not last, Khao Sok National Park Chief Chaichana…
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Phuket flyover plans grounded by locals
PHUKET: Locals rejected two government approved 100-million-baht flyover plans that were designed to reduce traffic congestion on Thepkasattri Road. The flyovers were planned for the u-turn at the first set of traffic lights just north of Thalang Town and the Baan Koh Kaew Tha Ruea u-turn in front of Baan Jee Teng (story here). About 180 people joined the public…
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Phuket academic institute’s booze ban gets wider
PHUKET: The booze belt around academic institutes (story here) in Phuket is set to get significantly wider after it was announced yesterday that the ban would be applied to all businesses within a kilometer of Phuket Rajabhat University. The university is the province’s pilot project for the national ‘Campus Safety Zone’ campaign, which will see security measures ramped up around…
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Phuket’s infamous inflation linked to economic growth
PHUKET: Phuket inflation grew at a rate of 4.1 per cent in 2014, according to data released in C9 Hotelwork’s new Economic Overview of the island. What is clearly demonstrated in the numbers is how important tourism is as a driver of the economy. Using Gross Provincial Product (GPP) as the lead indicator, tourism directly accounts for 35.6 per cent…
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Finance: Cut to chase: advice or pitch
PHUKET: How do you know if the financial advice you are receiving is solid, or if it is a sales pitch in disguise? The first line of due diligence you should always employ is to check the educational background of the advisor. Ask where they did their financial studies and then verify with the institution that they do have the…
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Experts divided over Phuket “shark bite’ culprit
PHUKET: Experts are split, with many on the fence, about what species of marine animal is the culprit in the recent non-fatal ‘attack’ on an Australian tourist in shallow Phuket waters (story here). At the forefront of suspected species is the bull shark. However, black tipped reef sharks, giant barracuda, trigger fish and even puffer fish have been tabled as…
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Understanding the PhuketWan “not guilty’ verdict
PHUKET: All charges filed by the Royal Thai Navy against Big Island Media, Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian were dismissed yesterday. However, the Navy’s right to file those charges was upheld. Judge Chaipawat Chayaanantapat addressed a courtroom packed with international journalists, but was noticeably devoid of members of the navy and the prosecuting team. According to the court hearing, the…
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Pregnant Aussie’s tendons severed in “shark attack’
PHUKET: The pregnant Queenslander who was attacked in the shallow waters of Phuket, by what experts believe was most likely a shark, will remain in the care of doctors for several more days. Bangkok Hospital Phuket doctors have explained to Jane Neame, 6-months pregnant, that she needs to remain under observation to ensure there are no infections following her surgery.…
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Australian “most likely’ attacked by shark, says expert
PHUKET: An Australian tourist in Phuket sustained a non-life threatening injury from an unidentified marine animal, believed by experts to be a shark, while swimming at Karon Beach this morning. Jane Neame, 37, shouted for help about 200 meters from shore after she felt like she had been bitten twice, explained Karon Municipality Tourist Rescue Center Chief Supachai Janpen. “When…
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A Decade Ago: Parched ground trembles and Big Buddha construction starts
PHUKET: Ground was broken a decade ago for the iconic Big Buddha image, which has already become a reassuring and dominating fixture on the skyline of southern Phuket. “The world’s biggest meditating Buddha [Pang Manravichai] should be finished in the next three years,” Suporn Vanichakul, who remains the head of the project committee, told the Gazette in 2005. Ten years…
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Police arrest Chalong killer
PHUKET: Police have arrested the gunman who shot and killed a man in the Chalong Pier parking lot on Friday. Kanawat Thingwai, 21, and his two accomplices, 18-year-old Ekkasit Kongsomot and a 17-year-old minor named by police only as ‘Don’, were arrested yesterday at a house in Rawai, Provincial Police Commander Patchara Boonyasit said this morning. The three men drove…
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First Person: Small hospital with big debt
Dr Sirichai Silpa-archa has been the director of Patong Hospital since 2013. Prior to becoming hospital director, he worked at Vachira Phuket Hospital for 26 years. He earned his medical degree from Chulalongkorn University, and later a specialist degree in urology from Chiang Mai University. Here he talks about the trials and tribulations of managing a small, local hospital trying…
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‘Not guilty’ says judge in PhuketWan Computer Crimes Act verdict
PHUKET: A Phuket judge dismissed the Royal Thai Navy Computer Crimes Act case against Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, of local news blog PhuketWan, this morning. “We’ve been waiting for two years for today. The judges have done his job,” Ms Chutima told the Phuket Gazette. “It is great to know that Thailand has freedom. This is good for Thai…
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U.S. Supreme Court denies Kentucky clerk request on gay marriage licenses
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Supreme Court denies Kentucky clerk request on gay marriage licenses Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a Kentucky county clerk’s request for anemergency order allowing her to continue to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples while she appeals…
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Phuket police hunt illegal fishermen
PHUKET: Police are searching for the owner, or owners, of illegal fishing equipment found at Bang Yai Canal in Phuket Town yesterday. Phuket Marine Police Chief Panya Chaichana led his team in collecting 24 illegal fishing nets, also known as ‘ai ngo‘ from the site. Ai ngo is one of four types of fishing gear made illegal by the National…
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Governor vows to resolve underpass problems
PHUKET: Protesters this morning handed Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong a formal letter of complaint about the dangerous road conditions along the Samkong intersection underpass construction site. More than 50 signatures were garnered by about 20 peaceful protesters at the much-delayed project site yesterday. “The protest started because people had been posting photos of potholes and accidents at the construction site,”…
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Monkey Beach gibbon tout arrested
PHUKET: Quick action by officers after receiving a tip-off from a Phuket Gazette reader saw a gibbon tout photographed working on the sands of Monkey Beach put behind bars last week (story here). Anan Nadee, 20, was arrested along with Bancha Songkhai, 24, in front of the Andaman Resort on Phi Phi Don while using ther illegally owned gibbons as…
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