- News
Maya Bay being closed for three months next year
Park officials say they’re going to close Phi Phi island’s famous Maya Bay from June for three months next year. Officials of the Koh Phi Phi National park authority held crisis talks yesterday where they were told that the bay has been ravaged by too much tourism. So it’s going to be shut to allow the beach side of Maya Bay, as well…
- News
Don’t hold your breath! Unless it’s for a good cause.
Today in Rawai Phuket, a rather unusual challenge took place with Krix Luther, founder of Clean The Beach Boot Camp, Phuket taking to the water in an attempt to hold his breath underwater. For 10 minutes! The purpose of the challenge was to raise funds, through sponsorship, for the Clean The Beach Boot Camp now in its 4th year. The…
- News
Thai PM promises to shorten his weekly Friday night address
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s going to continue with his weekly “Returning Happiness to the People” address on Friday nights, but is promising to cut the speech down by 50%, to around 20 minutes. In a rather candid speech at a seminar in Pattaya, the Thai PM apologised for “not talking politely sometimes with the media”. General Prayut has…
- News
HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn extends time to pay respects at Grand Palace
His Majesty the King has ordered an extension of the final day Thais can pay their last respects to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the Grand Palace from this Saturday to next Thursday, October 5. The Royal Household Bureau had initially set this Saturday as the last day people could pay their respects before the late King’s…
- News
R-Rated BKK fast-food snack gets moral attention
The world’s coming to an end, according to the morally-inclined-online. To quote Khaosod’s story… “A woman who makes penis-shaped waffles stuffed with sausage and cheese is experiencing brisk sales – and a public scolding – for her phallic food.” And that’s about it. The preparation and cooking video from Ketnita Prasertsomboon’s indy market snack store has been watched more than 18…
- Thai Life
Top 10 sources of tourists to Thailand in August, 2017
The rise in tourists to Thailand over the past two decades has been staggering. Whilst there are ebbs and flows in the tourism mix and the occasional political fracas, one thing is consistent – the rise in the tourist numbers flocking to the Kingdom. We may argue the issues in another article but here are the stark statistics which show…
- News
Thailand’s tourism numbers continue to soar
The tourists keep arriving, the numbers keep soaring. Assuming the numbers have to plateau at some stage, when will that be? For the past 20 years, through floods, bombings, coups, political upheavals and a few unsolved, mystery murders, Thailand’s tourist arrival numbers just keep rising and rising, heading into unfamiliar territory. So many people have predicted doom and gloom –…
- News
Hi So Hill in Chiang Mai ends up being an expensive scam
Story from Thai language ‘Manager Online‘ The enticing advertisement online promised a dream: quiet retirement in the beautiful hills of Chiang Mai. Many foreigners thought this was what they deserved after a life of saving so they eagerly signed up to buy houses in the luxurious, quality development. Now they are left with illegal properties that they can’t sell and their dreams are over.…
- News
Aung San Suu Kyi urged to take action ahead of UN speech
From Thaiger affiliate, Voice of America On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Monday, diplomats from the United States, Britain and other countries concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine called for an end to the violence and for measures to relieve Rohingya refugees’ suffering. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said it was a “productive meeting…
- News
Upcycling the Oceans – sustainable solutions for Thailand’s ocean plastic
Photo from Marca España Thailand says it will be the first Asian country to join a global initiative to clean up its oceans and waterways around Bangkok, Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Phuket. Lonely Planet reports that Upcycling the Oceans is an effort spearheaded by the Ecoalf Foundation. The projects gets local fishermen removing plastic from the waters. Once collected,…
- News
The Thai Canal – cutting through the project’s hype
(Photo from mothership.sg) September 11, 2017 was the latest gathering of minds related to the challenges in establishing the much-discussed Kra Canal (now referred to as the Thai Canal) in Bangkok. The canal, if it happens, would slice a new shipping canal through the the slimmest section of the Malay Peninsula, anywhere from Chumpon to south of Phuket. The Thai…
- Thailand News
The mopping up starts in the wake of ‘Doksuri’ in Vietnam
Typhoon Doksuri battered the central coastal areas of Vietnam with strong winds and heavy rains today, causing electrical blackouts, damage to houses and trees being uprooted and thrown around like toothpicks. The high winds prompted mass evacuations after officials had predicted it could be the ‘most powerful storm in a decade’ to hit Vietnam. The typhoon made landfall on the…
- News
1200 athletes heading to the Laguna Phuket Triathlon
During the Governor’s Meet Press event yesterday (September 13), the annual Laguna Phuket Triathlon race updated its progress before the big race day on November 19. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Laguna Phuket this year, Laguna Phuket has arranged the 1st Laguna Phuket Tri Charity Fun Run on the day before the triathlon. The charity run will feature a…
- News
US Ambassador Glyn Davies gives his support for this weekend’s beach clean
US Ambassador to Thailand, Glyn Davies Phuket’s biggest beach clean up is on this weekend with hotels around the island hosting many of the beach cleaning efforts along with locals and expats. You’re invited. Keep Phuket Clean “ภูเก็ตสวยด้วยมือและใจเรา” has been initiated by the Phuket Hotels Association’s Environmental & Sustainability Working Group members and supported by Phuket’s Governor and TAT Phuket:…
- News
California’s Fresno Police release video of the difficult recovery
Fresno County has released video clip of the September 1 operation to retrieve bodies of two Thai students who died in a road accident at the King River in California. The 5 minute video shows different stages of the recovery operation conducted by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team. They say it took a total of eight hours…
- News
AusCham brings together local marine and hotel industries
The Australia-Thailand Chamber of Business (AustCham) held a seminar on Phuket’s Marine & Hospitality Industry Outlook at the Phuket Boat Lagoon last Friday, September 8, 2017. The seminar hosted over 60 guests and was moderated by Harry Usher from Lady Pie. The panelists were Michael Owen from Beacon Sky Hospitality, Wicky Sundram from Phuket Boat Lagoon, Scott Bradley from Precision…
- News
Samui rubbish problem ‘critical’
Story from Thai PBS English… The warning came from Samui mayor Ramnate Jaikwang earlier this week as the garbage problem is getting worse. Mayor Ramnate said at present the island’s 30-rai landfill already holds mountains of garbage of over 200,000 tons, while 150-200 tons keep coming in every day for disposal. The local administration is calling for a bid to…
- News
Jet auction. Starting bid only 30 million Baht.
Need a new way to get around? Need to avoid Phuket’s traffic? Get your own plane! And not just any plane but an Airbus A310. Here’s what Wikipedia says about this fine, slightly used, jet aeroplane… “The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engined wide-body jet airliner that was developed and manufactured by Airbus. Entering service in 1983, it…
