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No danger from morning tremor
PHUKET CITY: An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, centered in the sea off the west coast of Sumatra this morning, posed little danger to Phuket, where its shock waves passed largely unnoticed.The US Geological Survey website put the epicenter at 1.901ºN, 97.099ºE, about 120 kilometers west of the Sumatran coast, and at a depth of 30 kilometers.Chamnong Chitpukdee,…
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Motorbike gang accused of arson attack
PHUKET CITY: A second police booth has been destroyed by fire, leading police to believe that a earlier, similar incident was not due to an electrical fault, as was previously thought.Police received reports of the latest fire, at the police booth at the intersection of Wichit Songkram Rd and the bypass road, at 2:30 am yesterday. Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart,…
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US Sec of State Rice to visit Phuket
PHUKET: US Secretary of State (foreign minister) Condoleezza Rice will inspect reconstruction work in tsunami-affected areas of Phuket and Phang Nga Provinces on July 11, after being welcomed at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Dr Rice will arrive at Phuket International Airport on a special flight on the evening of July 10. The following morning she…
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Phuket landing fees to be cut by half
PHUKET: Airports of Thailand (AOT) is set to cut as much as 50% off landing fees for both international and domestic arrivals at Phuket International Airport (PIA) until December, in an effort to boost the region’s flagging tourist industry.The Director of PIA, Sq/Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree, confirmed that AOT had had a meeting in Bangkok to discuss the cut in fees.…
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New land committee sees first arrest
KAMALA: The new special committee set up by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura to investigate land encroachment and abuses of environmental protection has garnered its first arrest – that of Boonchuay Reungpetch, 40, on June 25, for encroaching on and building three homes on national forest land in Kamala.The arrest came days before the Governor had even officially ratified the committee,…
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Irish, Danish get local representation
PHUKET: Requests by the Republic of Ireland and Denmark to establish consular representation in Phuket have been approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The Deputy Director-General of the Ministry’s Department of Information, Kiattikhun Chartprasert, told the Gazette on Friday that both countries had proposed setting up official consulates on the island in order to serve their nationals living and traveling in…
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Phuket and Andamans “twinned’
CHERNG TALAY: Delegations representing the City of Port Blair and Phuket Province have signed an agreement “cementing the friendship” between the two geographic entities and effectively making them “sister cities”. The two sides also agreed in principle to try to establish direct air links and promote regional tourism. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on Wednesday at a late-afternoon ceremony…
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Taiwan finally cancels travel warning
PHUKET: Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has finally lifted its “orange” alert, which warned against travel to Phuket.The ministry announced on Tuesday that it had received a report from Taiwan’s representative office in Thailand confirming that Phuket’s tourism facilities and transportation networks have been successfully repaired and rebuilt. Daily living for locals has returned to normal, the report said, and…
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Art exhibitions “to boost tourism’
PHUKET CITY: In an attempt to revitalize post-tsunami tourism, the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC) is organizing a series of art exhibitions in Phuket between July and December.“Unique Andaman”, which will be held at Central Festival Phuket in July – the exact date has not yet been decided – will feature works entered in a contemporary art contest…
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Mystery over suicide case’s real identity
BANGKOK: The New Zealand Embassy has appealed for help in identifying a man who committed suicide in a Phuket hotel on June 18 (the previous story can be seen here. The man, who was found dead in the Phuket Merlin Hotel after apparently swallowing a large number of antihistamine and tranquilizer pills, was initially identified from the hotel register as…
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THAI to double domestic fuel surcharge
PHUKET: From Friday July 1, Thai Airways International (THAI) will double the surcharge levied on domestic fares because of the continuing rise in the cost of fuel on the world market.The increase will take the surcharge for a round trip from the existing 200 baht to 400 baht. For a one-way journey it will rise from 100 baht to 200…
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Fine behavior
BANGKOK: The daughter of a retired police general ran amok at Dusit Police Station after suffering the indignity of seeing her boyfriend fined for driving without a license. The incident occurred at about 11 pm on June 26. Kwanreuthai Taensawat, 31, and her 25-year-old brother Supakorn were in a pickup truck being driven by her boyfriend, Thongchai Khombaramee, when it…
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Phuket and Andamans to be twinned
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Province will be officially “twinned” with Port Blair, capital of India’s Andaman & Nicobar Islands, at a signing ceremony to take place at Phuket Provincial Hall tomorrow. At a meeting yesterday to prepare for the arrival of the Indian delegation, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura told attendees that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was keen to expand trade and tourism…
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Volunteers sought for Samaritans’ office
KHAO LAK: The legacy of emotional trauma left by the tsunami is generally unquantified, but perceived to be widespread throughout the affected communities.In response to this, the Samaritans of Thailand is seeking volunteers to man telephones, answering calls from people in distress at the Samaritans’ office at the Mental Health Recovery Center in Khao Lak.The Samaritans have also asked Thai…
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Phuket to be “C-Commerce’ guinea pig
PHUKET CITY: Phuket and Chiang Mai are to pilot a new e-commerce scheme that will allow tour operators and travel agents anywhere in the world to give tourists up-to-date information on destinations, and to make hotel and tour bookings.Under the “Tourism C-Commerce Outlet” initiative, tour operators will be able to link to tourist attractions, spas, hotels, restaurants and other places…
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Navy completes home-building on Lanta
KOH LANTA: The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) yesterday handed over the last 16 of a total of 60 homes it has built for tsunami victims on Koh Lanta. The Navy builders will now move on to Koh Khor Khao, near Baan Nam Khem in Phang Nga, to build a further 28 houses.Adm Phirasak Watcharamul, Deputy Commander of the RTN, handed…
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Dulwich no more
KOH KAEW: As of midnight tonight Dulwich International College (DIC) will no longer exist, as the island’s premier private school becomes the British Curriculum International School, Phuket.This afternoon, on the school’s final day as DIC, the annual secondary school prizegiving assembly was held.During his speech to the assembly, the Academic Director, Dr George Hickman, said, “Yes, we are undergoing a…
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Patong to get B20 tuk-tuk service
PATONG: A fleet of 24 tuk-tuks will ply a circular route through the streets of Patong for no more than 20 baht per passenger by the time the next high season arrives, Teerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer at Phuket Provincial Transportation Office, announced today.K. Teerayuth explained that the tuk-tuks will pass along the route every five to 10 minutes, though…
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Korean airlines suspend direct Phuket flights
PHUKET: South Korea’s two leading air carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, will suspend their direct flights to Phuket from next week.South Korea’s Construction and Transportation Ministry said on Tuesday that it had accepted the airlines’ applications for suspension of operations to Phuket, blamed on an abrupt decline in the number of passengers.Asiana will stop flights between Seoul and Phuket…
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Wissanu recommends tsunami complaint centers
BANGKOK (The Nation, Gazette): Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, back in Bangkok after reviewing the tsunami aid situation on the ground, will ask the Cabinet to set up complaint centers in the six disaster-hit provinces to field queries about the distribution of state funds and private donations to tsunami victims.Government spokesman Chalermdej Jombunud said K. Wissanu would inform the Cabinet…
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Phuket Immigration to open Saturdays
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Immigration Office is to extend its service hours by opening Saturdays from 8:30 am until midday and staying open during the lunch hour on weekdays.Pol Capt Krissarat Nusen of the Phuket Immigration Office told the Gazette that the new hours for the office, in Phuket City, came into force on Saturday (June 18).“From Mondays to Fridays…
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Deputy PM checks on stalled relief funds
PHUKET: Six months after the tsunami, local people in the stricken areas are still asking the same question; “When will we receive our compensation?” The man given the job of answering that question, Deputy Prime Minister Vissanu Kreangam, appointed by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as chairman of the Tsunami Victim Administration, came to the region on June 18 for a…
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Tsunami “causes rise in piracy’
PHUKET: The national commander of the Marine Police, Pol Maj Gen Suraphol Thuanthong, visited Phuket on June 18 to discuss ways of protecting vessels going through the Straits of Malacca from pirate attacks, which he said have become more frequent since the tsunami.Gen Suraphol explained, “We don’t really have accurate statistics, because not all cases are reported, but I think…
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Police booth demolished after fire
PHUKET: A police booth at the intersection of Patipat Rd and Ranong Rd has been demolished after being badly damaged in a fire at 3 am on Saturday.Phuket City Police Station Superintendant Col Paween Pongsirin discounted rumours that the fire had been started by vandals, or by a bomb placed by gangsters. He told the Gazette it was thought the…
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“Bike racer’ found dead in hotel
PHUKET CITY: The body of a 45-year-old New Zealander was discovered in a room at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on June 19, in what police believe was a case of suicide.Terrance Hicks, from Auckland, was found dead at 3 pm, surrounded by discarded pill containers, Pol Lt Thivakorn Kongpeth of Phuket City Police Station told the Gazette.Investigators estimate that Mr Hicks took…
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May sees decrease in road deaths
PHUKET CITY: Official figures from Wachira, Thalang and Patong hospitals, as well as Phuket International and Ruampaet private hospitals show 10 people died in motorcycle accidents on Phuket’s roads during May.In addition, two people were killed in car accidents.The figures represent a decrease of 45% on those for April when 22 people died in Phuket – 18 on motorcycles and three in…
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Japanese club together to boost Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The number of Japanese tourists visiting Phuket is recovering – albeit slowly because of misperceptions and feelings of guilt about visiting the tsunami disaster region. Now, to give the island’s image a boost in Japan, a “Japanese Love Thais” festival is to be held June 25 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel.Phuket Japanese Association President Kazushi Miyashita said…
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Tsunami aid payouts top B1bn
PHUKET CITY: The new chief of the Phuket Provincial Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), Boonchai Somjai, yesterday released figures showing that, so far, more than a billion baht has been spent in Phuket on helping people recover from the December 26 tsunami.K. Boonchai, who took up the position of Phuket ODPM chief on Thursday, said that aid from…
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Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Almost six months after the tsunami, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is hoping to turn the first anniversary of the disaster into a major public relations coup for the island.At his weekly CEO meeting, Gov Udomsak unveiled a “wish list” of promotional events aimed at attracting the world’s attention. An international beach volleyball competition, a property show, and cancellation of…
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Change of plan delays completion of park
PHUKET CITY: Because of a change of plan, part of a 40-million-baht park being built in honour of HM Queen Sirikit remains a muddy wasteland five months after the main part was finished.Under the original plans, six rai of the 10-rai site, on the south side of Dibuk Rd, was earmarked for the Queen’s Park; three rai was set aside…
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