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Euro snow will not stall Phuket tourism
PHUKET: The heavy snowfalls that forced airports across Europe to close this week are only a short-term problem and will not dramatically affect Phuket tourism, say key local industry figures. Suchart Hirankanokkul, president of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter), told the Gazette he didn’t think the airport closures would result in mass booking cancellations. “The heavy snow in Europe…
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Scores turn out for PAD meeting in Phuket
PHUKET: More than 1,000 people from throughout the South gathered in Phuket for the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) conference last night. PAD Phuket coordinator Aparat Chartchutikumjorn confirmed that people had come from Krabi, Surat Thani, Phang Nga, Nakhon Sri Thammarat and as far as Bangkok and Phetchaboon to attend the conference. Security for the gathering at the Royal…
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Phuket readers split over UK spousal visa English tests
PHUKET: Phuket Gazette readers are divided over whether it is fair for the UK to require spousal visa applicants to pass an English-language test: Most expats think the requirement is fair, but most Thais do not. The poll question followed a new requirement, effective from November 29, that Thai spouses applying for visas to join or marry British partners in…
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Greater Phuket Chapter for American Chamber of Commerce
PHUKET: The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM Thailand) has announced the formation of a Greater Phuket Chapter. AMCHAM Thailand is the leading foreign business organization in Thailand and has recognized the surging economic importance and prominence of Phuket as Asia’s leading resort destination. Established in 1956, AMCHAM Thailand now has over 660 member companies and almost 2,000 professionals…
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An early Christmas gift for one of Phuket’s poorest
PHUKET: As Christmas fast approaches, one of the poorest elderly residents of Rassada, near Phuket Town, received a special gift this year: a complete renovation for his dilapidated, old house. Put “Uncle Put” Nuengraksa, 73, was identified by Rassada Municipality as the most needy among five candidates living in the sub-district. His ramshackle abode in Soi Ta Tan, near the…
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Airport boss moved to Chiangmai
PHUKET: Suthara Huangsuwan, the boss of the Phuket International Airport, was abruptly moved to a new post in Chiang Mai yesterday. An airport official denied that his transfer was the result of his inability to solve the problem of “black” taxis at the Phuket airport, which came to a head on December 16 when a licensed taxi driver was beaten…
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UFC’s Dana White steps in to save Phuket baby
PHUKET: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White has agreed to cover the cost of a liver transplant for Phuket baby Tuptim Jadngooluem. Ray Elbe runs the mixed martial arts (MMA) program at Tiger Muay Thai in Chalong, where the girl’s father, former World Muay Thai world champion Rattanachai Jadngooluem, is an instructor. Mr Elbe told the Phuket Gazette, “[I…
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Two dead, four injured in drunken Phuket grenade blast
PHUKET: Police suspect an explosion that killed two and injured four people in Rassada, near Phuket Town, early this afternoon was caused by an M67 grenade. Police arrived at the scene near Rassada Pier and found one man dead on a bench in front of a house on Soi Wanich 1. The man, identified as Sutthi Saeung, 25, of Nakhon…
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Phuket, South to be ‘medical tourism hub’
PHUKET: Development and promotion of southern Thailand as a medical tourism hub was the topic of an international conference last week at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. IMT-GT (Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle) cooperative initiative officials participated in the “IMT-GT Medical Tourism” meeting chaired by Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports Permanent Secretary Sombat Kurupan on December 15. Among the 350 people…
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Phuket tsunami warning buoys deployed
PHUKET: The operation to install tsunami direct-detection buoys in the Andaman Sea has concluded and been hailed a success. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) ship used to deploy the buoys returned to port in Phuket on Thursday. “The operation went smoothly. The first buoy was installed 250 kilometers west of Phuket, while the second was installed 150km from…
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Breaking news: FC Phuket trumps Rayong 2-0
PHUKET: Phuket football fans are rejoicing a solid 2-0 victory by FC Phuket over Rayong this evening. The win virtually assures the team’s promotion to Division I of the Thai League next year.Both goals were scored by Ivory Coast import Diarra Ali.The first came on a penalty kick half way though the first half.The insurance goal came half-way though the…
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Woman bites off husband’s penis, then stabs him to death
PATTAYA (Pattaya Daily News): A woman who was forced to have oral sex by her estranged husband bit off his penis. The act annoyed the victim and sparked a fight, during which the man, reportedly a senior official at the Ministry of Defence, was stabbed to death. Pattaya police were notified of the fight by a neighbor, Viroj Siritham, 70,…
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FC Phuket face ‘make or break’ Sunday
HUKET: Sunday is judgment day for FC Phuket as they face a make-or-break promotion clash with Rayong FC at Surakul Stadium. Kick-off is at 4pm. Victory for Phuket will put them in a great position for promotion to Division 1, while defeat will likely spell the end of their promotion dream. With only two games remaining, the Southern Sean Kirin…
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Crowds flock to Phuket Street Festival
PHUKET: The 2010 Phuket Street Show Festival kicked off yesterday evening on a packed Thalang Road with energetic performances by aerial acrobats from Bencha Theater Group. Some of the world’s best street performers have descended on Phuket Town this weekend for the event, which is sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The festivities, taking place in the old…
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Superyachts arrive in Phuket
PHUKET: Beachgoers along Phuket’s west coast would have had a hard time not noticing a flotilla of superyachts massing in Nai Harn Bay this week then moving up the coast to Pansea Bay yesterday. Leading the fleet, in Phuket for the annual Asia Superyacht Rendezvous, is the 74-meter MY Silver Zwei launched just last year. The Silver Zwei is rated…
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Phuket call to save ‘Tuptim’
PHUKET: “Tuptim” is only seven months old, but has a condition that requires an urgent liver transplant or she will die within weeks. She is the daughter of Rattanachai “Kru Nai” Jadngooluem, a well known trainer at Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) in Chalong and a former World Muay Thai world champion. Mr Rattanachai, “Nit”, the child’s mother, and Phuket’s muay…
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Lucky lizard finds loving home
RATCHABURI: Do huge monitor lizards make strange bedfellows? One family in Ratchaburi doesn’t seem to think so. Bunchoo Rotchum, 75, his wife Somya, 65, and their two-year-old granddaughter Donlaya are sharing their bed with a 2.5-meter water monitor, causing a sensation in their village in tambon Pikunthong. The creature, which the family named “Jaothong”, wandered into their home on November…
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High-tech clearance on the horizon for Phuket yachts
PHUKET: Travelers entering Thailand via the new Chalong Marina will have the option of submitting official entrance and registration documents electronically, before reaching the port. The Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) is on schedule to complete the new registration system by February next year as construction on the complex continues. Construction is expected to finish by September next year. SIPA…
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Phuket carnival underway
PHUKET: Thousands of people in Phuket flocked to the streets of Patong to watch or join the annual Patong Carnival parade last night.Starting at 5pm with Patong Municipality’s ‘Pearl of the Andaman’ float, complete with its own angel of the clam, the parade continued for three hours. School bands and the traditional ladyboys dressed in glamorous outfits marched along the…
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Phuket Pirates: Being evil isn’t all it’s cut out to be
PHUKET: The Andaman Players new musical comedy, The Pirates of Phuket, takes to the stage of Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Patong this Saturday evening, offering some sage advice for anyone considering a change of vocation. For instance, it’s well worth thinking twice before settling on “Evil Genius” as your new career path. As the Players ably explain in…
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German’s Phuket stay goes to pot
PHUKET: A 33-year-old German man is facing deportation after being found overstaying his visa and in possession of half a gram of marijuana. Chalong Police stopped Nico Bergmann about midday on Sunday as he drove through a checkpoint in Soi Thanuthep. Officers, led by Lt Col Weerayut Sitthirattanakul, believed Mr Bergmann was acting suspiciously and searched his car. In his…
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Rising fuel costs will not affect Phuket buses: Transport Chief
PHUKET: The move to increase bus fares nationwide will not affect buses operating within Phuket, the local Transport Office chief has confirmed. The news follows Thai Passenger Bus Association Chairwoman Sujinda Cherdchai meeting Department of Land Transport Director-General Tienchote Chongpeepien yesterday. The meeting was called by Ms Sujinda, whose group is seeking to increase bus fares by six satang per…
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Phuket November: A month of murder
PHUKET: There were five premeditated murders in Phuket last month, according to crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police. Once again leading the number of reported cases and arrests were narcotics offenses. Overall 320 people were arrested in 282 cases, a 4.7% decrease year-on-year. The breakdown of these arrests was listed as follows: Consumption: 116 arrests Possession: 114 arrests…
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Phuket Rotary joins anti-polio effort
PHUKET: Rotary Clubs on the island are joining the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) in the local effort to eradicate polio. Rotarians will lend a hand at the PPHO’s upcoming mobile polio vaccination clinics to be held across the island as part of National Immunization Day for Polio Eradication on December 15. On the day, free polio vaccinations will be…
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Phuket’s sad tale of two Russians
PHUKET: Russian tourist Nikoley Bobrova, 64, rushed to his wife’s aid as soon as he saw her in trouble in Phuket’s surf yesterday but could not save her. Mr Bobrova and his wife Irina, also 64, arrived in Phuket on holiday on December 1. The couple were due to fly home tomorrow. Police said the couple arrived at Karon Beach…
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High-speed train may help visa runners, but not from Phuket
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said this afternoon that construction of the Nong Khai-Bangkok-Padang Besar high-speed train will start next year and be completed in four years. Nong Khai is a northern Thai town on the border with Laos, often transited by foreigners in Phuket on visa runs to Vientiene. Padang Besar (PB) is a border town in the…
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Phuket not surveyed, but Bangkok now ranked as world’s 2nd cheapest city
PHUKET: In what can only be good news for Phuket and the Thai tourism industry, Bangkok appears as the second most affordable city in the world, according to a list compiled and published by PriceRunner.com yesterday. Oslo tops the list of the world’s most expensive cities, and each of the Scandinavian capitals appears in the top seven. According to a…
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Thai Inflation: Phuket may be at the forefront next year
PHUKET: A national committee on public-sector compensation is expected to seek Cabinet approval on Tuesday to raise the salaries of all civil servants, MPs and senators by 5-14.9%. If approved, it will cost taxpayers an extra 13 billion baht a year, according to a well placed government source. The proposal comes on the heels of news earlier this month that…
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Phuket King’s Cup yachts still stranded
PHUKET: As the sun sets on the last day of 24th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, at least four yachts remain stranded on Kata Beach after a day of relentless hammering by strong waves. More than 10 boats were beached this morning by strong winds and big waves that Regatta Director Simon James described as “abnormal”. A spokesman for the regatta…
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Phuket tsunami warning buoys arrive
PHUKET: The ship bringing the two tsunami direct-detection buoys to be installed off Phuket has arrived at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) ship docked with the “tsunameters” on board at the PMBC pier last night after setting sail from Samut Prakarn on Monday. The ship will depart about 1…
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