Month: April 2019
- Northern Thailand News
Maha Sarakham districts have no water at all, Phuket gets first decent rain for the year
Tap water has run completely dry in six villages in a Maha Sarakham district, right in the middle of Thailand’s north-east Isaan region, in what’s been described as the worst drought in 40 years. Tap-water sources dried up early this year for 689 households in Phayakkhaphum Phisai district and now all other surface and underground water sources have been exhausted…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Surin man first to die of Rabies in 2019
A 32 year old man in Surin province has become the first person to die of Rabies this year. The Disease Control Department director-general Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai says the man who was bitten by a stray dog last November but never sought an anti-Rabies vaccination. The man developed fever and had difficulty swallowing before lab tests confirmed he had Rabies,…
Read More » - Property
Bangkok home prices among the cheapest in the Key Global Cities report
Hong Kong maintains its position as the world’s most expensive residential city, while Bangkok ranks at #33 out of 35 global cities surveyed. In the fifth annual Global Living Report, CBRE profiles the property markets across 35 key global cities. The results highlight that investments in urban areas such as transport infrastructure, connectivity, retail, cultural centres and housing are key…
Read More » - Things To Do
Phuket ranked sixth Best Destination in the World – Trip Advisor
PHOTO: Patong Beach. Phuket was the only Thai destination in the 2019 list of the World’s Best Destinations Last year’s royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has put the Brexit-obsessed London on top of a list of the World’s Best Destinations in the TripAdvisor’s annual Traveler’s Choice Awards. London beat its close European counterparts, Paris and Rome in…
Read More » - Thailand News
Two out of three Thai workers are happy at work
Most Thai workers say they have a happy work life but are hoping the new government will boost the minimum wage and provide better medical welfare benefits. Just some of the results of a recent National Institute of Development Institution (NIDA) poll. The poll was conducted around the country to gauge worker ‘happiness’ and ask what they expect from the…
Read More » - Thai Life
In love with the lottery – The Thai obsession with the national lottery
Thais love their national lottery. On the first and sixteenth of each month the lottery numbers are announced and people’s favourite numbers either come up, or they don’t – usually not. You will see the lottery ticket vendors either on the pavement or wandering through restaurants selling a once in a lifetime dream of winning the lottery. The National Statistical Office…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thais encouraged to talk about death
by Wannapha Kunakornvong – including excerpts from “Greying nation must talk about death” Refusing life-sustaining medical intervention during a terminal illness is now the right of every Thai. It is not guaranteed under the law. Yet most Thais don’t know about the options or about palliative care services which help terminal patients die “naturally” and comfortably, instead of being kept alive…
Read More » - World News
McDonald’s in Beijing serves chicken wings, with feathers attached
by The Star – Asia News Network Put down whatever you’re eating. OK, here we go… A woman in Beijing, China got an unpleasant surprise when the chicken wings she ordered from McDonald’s arrived with the feathers still attached. Zhou didn’t notice the unwanted additions until after she had fed the wings to her young daughter, according to Guancha.cn. “A chicken…
Read More » - Health
‘Fuell’ opens pre-orders on e-moto ‘Flow’
In its first foray into the electric motorbike scene, Fuell has gone for a reasonably economical build – a side-step from designer Eric Buell’s race heritage (below). But despite its electric roots, ‘Flow’ is definitely not an around-town ‘cheapie’ which you have to charge three times a day. The Flow is a 180 kilogram serious bike with a chunky rear…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Pattaya woman claims she was raped by ‘Filipino tourist’
PHOTO: Run Siam News A Thai woman has reported to police claiming she was raped on Pratumnak Hill by a tourist. 22 year old “An” says she was with three friends opposite Soi 14 on Jomtien Beach when a man describing himself a Filipino tourist approached the group. Run Siam News reports that, according to the woman, the man said…
Read More » - Property
Bangkok luxury poised to push through the US$300 ceiling
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com PHOTOS: Rosewood Bangkok For hotel owners and managers in South East Asia, one of the great mysteries of the past ten years has been the low rate profile of Bangkok’s luxury hotel set. Despite soaring and sustained tourism growth, rising airlift and a strong economy, rates at Bangkok’s top tier properties have remained fairly stagnant. Have…
Read More » - Krabi News
American impromptu speedboat adventurer pays up and apologises
PHOTO: Parker Bishop pays the repair bills and apologises to the owner of the boat Remember our aspiring American speedboat driver, who jumped in a speedboat at Ao Nang Beach and headed off for Koh Phi Phi? “We received a report from Ms Apissamai Sangjan that her speedboat, which was moored at Ao Nang Beach, was stolen on April 19.…
Read More » - Entertainment
‘Endgame’ proves a marvel on opening day
The Avengers are annihilating the competition. And that’s even before the 22-film franchise’s last hurrah reaches US movie theatres. “Avengers: Endgame” features the entire Marvel Universe of superheroes and has proven an effective weapon for Disney at destroying old opening-day records across Asia, specifically in China. The movie raked in US$169 million on its first day of screening when it…
Read More » - Bangkok News
Taiwanese man arrested at Don Mueang Airport with 7 kilos of heroin
PHOTOS: Daily News 38 year old Chern Kwan Lin from Taiwan was about to board a flight to his home country at Don Mueang International Airport yesterday. But he never reached the plane. The Taiwanese national was arrested with 7.2 kilograms of heroin hidden in prickly heat tins. The drugs were concealed in 18 tins of Prickly Heat powder. Mr.…
Read More » - Travel
Ministry pulls travel cash incentive scheme
Easy come, easy go. The Finance Ministry has scrapped the plan to subsidise Thai’s travel expenses to the tune of 1,500 cash per person. The program was aimed at up to 10 million people for travel in any of the 55 second-tier tourist provinces, part of a scheme to promote domestic tourism outside the well-trodden tourist traps. But the ministry…
Read More » - Thailand News
New iMac models – same, same but 2.4 times faster
by Paisal Chuenprasaeng “The all-in-one design looks elegant and sleek. Everything – display, processor, graphics, storage and memory – is contained inside one simple enclosure.” More powerful yet just as slim and sleek as earlier models, Apple’s new iMac is now powered by 8-core Intel 9th-generation processors and its graphic horse power is unleashed by superfast Radeon Pro Vega graphics.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Omura’s whale sighted of Koh Similan in Phang Nga
PHOTOS: Wow Andaman Omura’s whale has been sighted off the Koh Similans in Phang Nga this week. Tour guides from the Wow Andaman Tour were on a speedboat with tourists at the Koh Similans. They say they sighted an Omura’s whale near the boat. Marine biologist Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat says, “There are many endanger marine species which areoften sighted in…
Read More » - Thailand News
56 elephant skeleton fragments found in a Chon Buri mine
PHOTOS: DNP 56 bones from an elephant skeleton have been found inside a mine area in Chon Buri yesterday. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) reports that officials and veterinarians yesterday examined the 56 skeleton fragments of a male elephant found inside a mine in Chon Buri, just 300 metre from a protection zone. The elephant was…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Family alleging sex abuse of four of their children may be forced to move
PHOTOS: The Nation A family who who have made official reports alleging that four of their children were sexually abused by an ‘influential’ local man in Chumphon’s Lang Suan district, claim they are being harassed and may have to move. They claim that three female family members, aged 6, 10 and 14, and their 9 year old boy, were sexually assaulted…
Read More » - Thailand News
Tourist arrivals stagger and drop 1% – March figures
What goes up must go down, or at least falter occasionally. Newton’s law of gravity applies to just about everything, including’s Thailand’s rise and rise of tourist traffic. At some stage the numbers will actually (horror!!) start to plateau and even go down. For the first quarter this year the numbers have actually stalled. The Kingdom suffered a combined drop in…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thai owner and two Chinese fined for not reporting change of address within 24 hours
PHOTO: Naew Na A Thai property owner and two Chinese nationals have all been fined for not abiding by the law that states that a foreigners’ location must be reported within 24 hours when they have changed addresses. Naew Na used the word “property” in its report so it’s not known if the premises was a private dwelling, Airbnb-style or hotel.…
Read More » - Health
For the love of mangoes
Thailand’s mangoes, famed for their smell and golden colour, often seen in the company of sticky rice and topped with coconut cream, are as local as you get when it comes to Thai cuisine. And is there anything better than a mamuang pun (mango smoothie) on a hot Thai day?! Mangoes have been cultivated around South Asia for thousands of years…
Read More » - Phuket News
Two Aussie cave diving doctors holiday in Phuket
Today at the Phuket International Airport officials welcomed Dr.Richard James Harris and Dr.Craig Challen, Australian divers who were part of the rescue team that recovered the 13 young footballers from the Tham Luang caves in Chiang Rai last July. The two doctors devised the plan to train other divers about anaesthesia and medically sedate the Mu Pa team so they…
Read More » - World News
Thai baht lowest since January
The Thai baht has been Asia’s best-performing currency during Q1, 2019. But things appear to be losing momentum as the baht falls to its lowest since January. The Thai baht weakened to as low as 32.035 per dollar, the lowest level since January 10th and falling through the psychological support of 32 baht in the US dollar. Sentiment for the…
Read More » - South Thailand News
One killed, two injured in Pattani shootings
One person has been killed and two others injured during two separate shootings in Pattani province on Thursday night. In Sai Buri district, a 24 year old Narathiwat-based paramilitary ranger volunteer Pathompong Kaewthong and his 22 year old wife Nureehan Dengla, were shot and wounded in Tambon Kadunong while riding home on their motorcycle after shopping at a local market.…
Read More » - Koh Samui News
German hotelier claims he paid 800,000 baht bribe to operate his unlicensed villa on Samui
PHOTOS: Channel 7 A German man has told investigators yesterday that he paid ‘some Thais’ 800,850 baht after they threatened to shut down his luxury villa during construction. 47 year old Ulrich Schmidt claims he was visited during the construction phase of his Best World Vision Villas project and he paid the ‘tea money’ in the belief it would allow…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Boat carrying a Bangkok school group sinks at Chumpon pier
A boat carrying up to 40 schoolchildren has sunk after hitting underwater rocks next to a pier in Chumpon province last Monday. The vessel “Mattha” was carrying around 50 people, including the group from a school in Bangkok on a snorkelling day trip around the nearby islands. But when the boat returned later in the day, the tide was out…
Read More » - Phuket News
Man found dead in pickup with charcoal burner in Rassada, Phuket
A man has been found dead inside a pickup truck with a coal burner also inside the vehicle in Rassada this morning. Police were notified of the situation in Soi Muen Sri in Rassada. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the man’s body in the parked pickup truck. The man was identified as 28 year old Weerawat Pakdeewirot from…
Read More » - Phuket News
Injured Brahminy Kite (bird) rescued in Karon
An injured Brahminy Kite has been rescued by locals in Karon, Phuket. The mature Brahminy Kite was found in Karon this week. Locals who found the bird contacted the head of Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area, Pongchart Chueahom. The Brahminy Kite had a wound similar to a bite wound under its wing. It was unable tp fly. It is now…
Read More » - Phuket News
Army commander visits Phuket residents to discuss water shortage
Lt Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, the Commander of the Fourth Army Region (Southern) in Nakhon Si Thammarat, came to Phuket to visit residents over water shortage issues in Rassada. Lt Gen Pornsak says “we were contacted from the Phuket Governor that Phuket is facing serious water shortages. We have come here with water trucks to help residents to join with other…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Five metre king cobra caught in Trang – VIDEO
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Trang DDPM (Kantang) / Rak Trang News / Maetee Mueangkaew A five metre king cobra has been caught in Trang, in southern Thailand, yesterday. 74 year old Amphon Srisombat, a resident at a house in Kantang district, Trang, called staff at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation to explain that the king cobra was inside her house. A DDPM…
Read More » - World News
Sri Lankan death toll revised down
The Sri Lankan Health Ministry has revised down the death toll from last Sunday’s deadly terror attacks on churches and upscale hotels. The latest official toll is now 253, down from the previous death toll, which stood at 359. In a statement, the health ministry claimed the previous death toll released by the ministry was 290, and not 359 as…
Read More » - Thailand Election News
Thanathorn says he’s confident he won’t be penalised by the EC
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of Future Forward Party, says he’s confident he won’t be penalised by the Election Commission over allegations he breached the Constitution and the election by holding shares in a media company, V Luck Media, when registering for the March 24 election. Thanathorn says he will submit his defence with the commission by next Monday and insists on…
Read More » - Thailand Weather Updates
Freak storm batters Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok
A random summer storm has struck Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport this afternoon. The freak storm affected more than 18 flights and stranded 3,000 passengers whilst the storm battered the area north of the main city. At least one flight was re-directed to the nearby Suvarnabhumi Airport and another to U-Tapao Airport. Strong winds caused a Lion Air mobile airstair to…
Read More » - Thailand News
3.6 million coronation souvenir coins ordered
The Treasury has reported that orders have been placed for more than 3.6 million souvenir coins of different models that are being especially minted to mark the May 4 coronation of His Majesty the King. The orders include 200 for the highest value platinum coins worth 1 million baht apiece, and 10,000 for gold coins, department chief Amnuay Preemonwong said.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Power outage hits parts of Thalang
Electricity was shut off in Thalang today. The The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced the outage. Residents of Thalang have had to endure blackouts from 9am to 4.30pm today as the PEA continues its work on high power voltage systems in the area. Areas being affected are from Makprok PTT Gas Station to Baan Mueang Mai Intersection and from Baan…
Read More » - South Thailand News
Chumpon plantation owner faces accusations of child sex abuse
“Jan said ‘Surin’ often took her daughter to his home. When the girl was seven years old, however, it was revealed that ‘Surin’ had allegedly molested or raped her over the previous five years.” In the latest in a string of serious child abuse cases, relatives of the alleged victims, in this case three girls aged 6, 10 and 14…
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