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Phuket tour bus plows into cars at busy junction
PHUKET: Brake failure of a Phuket tour bus caused of a major pile-up at the Darasamuth Intersection, near Central Festival Phuket, at about 3pm on Saturday. “In total, 10 vehicles were damaged in the accident. The brakes on a bus failed, causing it to crash into vehicles waiting at the intersection,” Wichit Police Deputy Superintendent told the Phuket Gazette. “No…
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Gold the best remedy for England’s suffering Trott
PHUKET: England’s double Olympic champion Laura Trott, who has been suffering with a kidney infection, claimed gold in a dramatic women’s 25km points race at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday. “I can’t believe it. I felt so bad at times and I’m so glad. I’m not even 100 per cent, I’ve not eaten properly for the last two days and…
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Phuket investors urged to verify land plots near national park
PHUKET: The chief of Phuket’s Sirinath National Park, Kitiphat Taraphiban, is urging prospective investors and private landowners to verify whether or not plots they have bought – or are thinking of buying – are deemed to be within the park. The checks can be made at the park’s land verification center, which was established at the order of Nipon Chotibal,…
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Fighting in Gaza abates, but truce hopes look fragile
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fighting in Gaza abates, but truce hopes look fragile Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fighting subsided in Gaza on Sunday after Hamas Islamist militants said they backed a 24-hour humanitarian truce, but there was no sign of any comprehensive deal to end their conflict with Israel.…
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Deadly car bomb hits Betong
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Deadly car bomb hits Betong The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A car bomb exploded in Betong district in Yala yesterday evening, killing at least two people and wounding 34 others, three of them seriously. The explosion also set nearby buildings on fire and caused major…
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European challengers commit to America’s Cup
PHUKET: Four European teams promised on Friday to compete for the next America’s Cup, ensuring the event would be viable after official challenger Team Australia pulled out because of rising costs. The European rivals from Italy, Sweden, Britain and France said they would cooperate with Oracle Team USA, the holders, to ensure the 35th America’s Cup in 2017 was a…
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Phuket land grab probe: Peninsula not out of the woods yet
PHUKET: Sirinath National Park Chief Kitiphat Taraphiban has confirmed that his office will not withdraw the police complaint against those suspected of illegally issuing land documents to the operators of the long-defunct Phuket Peninsular Spa & Resort. The investigation specifically centers on two people named on the land documents presented as evidence of ownership of the land, he told the…
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Phuket beach vendors given 15 days to clear Tri Trang and Paradise Beach
PHUKET: Businesses encroaching on the sands at Phuket’s Tri Trang Beach and Paradise Beach on Thursday were given 15 days to tear down their illegal structures – or pay Navy officers to do it for them. “We will check in every day. If it is not done by the deadline [August 7], I will have my officers take the structures…
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Hamilton fastest in hot Hungarian practice
PHUKET: Lewis Hamilton started his Hungarian Grand Prix weekend as he meant to continue, with the fastest lap in Friday’s first free practice and championship-leading Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg behind him. The winner of the last two Hungarian Grands Prix lapped the Hungaroring circuit outside Budapest with a best time of one minute 25.814 seconds. Rosberg was second fastest,…
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Opinion: Horrible history of dolphins in Thailand continues in Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand is witnessing an ever-increasing legal and illegal exploitation of local wildlife and marine life. Dolphins have been kept in captivity in Thailand since 1986. The first wild pink dolphin was caught and kept at Laem Singh in Chanthaburi by Vichai Wattanapong at a venue that later became the Oasis Sea World. But it wasn’t until recent years that…
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Thailand ‘Travel Shield’ insurance may be purchased by tourists starting today
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) on yesterday to create low-cost insurance schemes for foreign tourists that start at just 650 baht per person. Thawatchai Aranyik, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and OIC secretary-general Prawet Ong-atsitthikun signed the MOU for the project, which…
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Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket appoints new director of sales and marketing
PHUKET: The Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has announced the appointment of Sanjeev Tandon as its new Director of Sales and Marketing. An Indian national, Mr Tandon holds a master’s degree in Management Studies with a specialization in marketing from the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research at Mumbai University, India. He also comes to the role with extensive experience…
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Phuket Opinion: Going with the flow
PHUKET: When riding my motorbike home yesterday, I found myself lost in thought. With my mind wandering off I’m not sure where (dinner? the weekend?) I missed my turn. Seconds later, without even a moment of hesitation, I turned the bike around, drove 100 meters back, against the traffic, took the missed turn and headed straight for home. The realization…
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Phuket Opinion: Spending a lifetime teaching simplicity
Phra Visutthi Thamma-kanee, 64, is the head of Phuket’s monks and the abbot of Tah Rua Temple in Thalang. He has been in the monkhood since he was 17 years old. He took up the position of acting head of the island’s monks in 2006 and has been their leader since 2008. Here, he talks about what men can gain…
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Phuket Opinion: Service matters
PHUKET: The tuk-tuk gently and purposefully bumped into my motorbike while I was parked in a taxi-only parking zone outside of Patong’s Jungceylon. It had been there for only a few minutes while I ran into the shopping center to grab a bag from a friend, but apparently long enough to have truly offended the driver. With a thuggish arrogance,…
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Phuket progress backslides with Dolphinarium
PHUKET: The fact that a dolphinarium is set to become one of Phuket’s newest tourist attractions (story here) comes as terrible news for the island’s reputation abroad, running counter to all of the positive changes we have witnessed in recent months. Our position on the ethics of keeping sentient creatures like dolphins and other marine mammals in captivity for amusement…
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Big snake rattles Phuket henhouse, and its owner
PHUKET: A local resident received a fright yesterday when she went to investigate what was causing a commotion in her chicken coop near her house in Srisoonthorn, Thalang, in central Phuket, yesterday afternoon. “I heard my ducks and my chickens panicking, so I went to the henhouse to see what was scaring them,” said Wanna Bilabdullar. That’s when she saw…
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Thaksin, Yingluck reunite in Paris
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thaksin, Yingluck reunite in Paris The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra has publicly reunited with her brother former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in self-imposed exile from Thailand. It was the first time the siblings had been seen together in public for…
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At least 15 killed by shelling of Gaza school
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 15 killed by shelling of Gaza school; toll exceeds 760 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Gazan authorities said Israeli forces shelled a shelter at a U.N.-run school on Thursday, killing at least 15 people as the Palestinian death toll in the conflict climbed over…
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Phuket beach vendor fined for burying coolers in sand
PHUKET: A vendor has been fined 2,000 baht for burying her coolers in the sand in an attempt to carry on selling ice-cold drinks to tourists on Patong Beach. Officers discovered three large ice boxes buried in the sand across the road from Burger King while patrolling the beachfront road on Monday. “We asked people in the area who the…
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Germany Ambassador to Thailand bids farewell to Phuket consul
PHUKET: German Ambassador to Thailand Rolf Schulze bid farewell to Phuket legacy Dirk Naumann on July 18 as Mr Naumann concluded 12 dedicated years on the island as German Honorary Consul. Amb Schulze commended Mr Naumann for his years of service, especially his work after the tsunami. “Without your creativity, engagement, help and human feeling it would not have been…
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Tsunami survivor waits for brother before Phuket savior reunion
PHUKET: British woman Emily Willgrass, who was last week reunited via Facebook with a Phuket woman who took care of her and her brother after the devastating tsunami struck Phuket, has arrived on the island. However, Ms Willgrass has yet to meet her tsunami savior in person. Yupin Sengmuang, who helped Ms Willgrass and her brother Ben while their father…
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Phuket taxi call center on hold, ranks wait for green light
PHUKET: The launch of the Patong taxi call center has been deferred indefinitely as officials scramble to prepare staff, taxi drivers and necessary equipment. The service was slated to kick off this month (story here), following the tear-down of illegal taxi stands throughout Patong and the rest of the island (story here). “We have mapped out the proposed locations of…
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Sale of B60mn prime Phuket land plot spooked by suspect land title
PHUKET: A family of farmers trying to sell nine rai of land with an estimated value of 60 million baht have come under scrutiny for trying to upgrade a SorKor 1 deed for the site to full Chanote status. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led officers to inspect the site yesterday after receiving an anonymous complaint asking for the Governor’s…
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Tourists on ‘walk-in’ visa entries to get 30-day extensions
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Immigration Office, Col Sunchai Chokkajaykij, has confirmed that his office has received an official order to begin issuing extensions of up to 30 days to foreigners who enter the country on visa-exemption status. The order, signed by Immigration Bureau Acting Commissioner Sakda Chuenpakdee, is to come into effect from August 29, said Col Sunchai.…
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TransAsia Airways plane crashes in typhoon-hit Taiwan, killing 47
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community TransAsia Airways plane crashes in typhoon-hit Taiwan, killing 47 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A TransAsia Airways <6702.TW> turboprop plane crashed on its second attempt at landing during a thunderstorm on an island off Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 47 people and setting buildings on fire, officials…
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Dutch pot lord arrested in Pattaya
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutchman, Thai wife nabbed for trafficking pot The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Dutchman and his Thai wife were arrested yesterday in Pattaya for allegedly conspiring to sell marijuana via a network in the Netherlands that reportedly earned Bt600 million to Bt800 million per year.…
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Newcastle lead the Premier League jet-setters
PHUKET: By the time Newcastle United kick off their Premier League campaign at home to champions Manchester City in little less than a month’s time the squad would have clocked up an astonishing 24,687 pre-season air miles. Globe-trotting West Ham United will not be far behind while five other clubs would have covered distances in excess of 12,000 miles as…
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Dutch mourn as first MH17 bodies arrive in Netherlands
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch mourn as first MH17 bodies arrive in Netherlands Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The bodies of the first victims from a Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine last week arrived on Wednesday at a military base in the Netherlands – a nation in shock and…
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Dozens of Phuket officials under fire for allegedly issuing illegal land documents
PHUKET: At least 30 officials in Phuket are under investigation for their alleged involvement in illegally issuing land documents for plots in Sirinath National Park. Tawichat Nillakan, chief of the Phuket office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), told the Phuket Gazette that his office had received at least 77 formal complaints against local officials for abusing their positions of…
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