Tara Abhasakun

A Thai-American dual citizen, Tara has reported news and spoken on a number of human rights and cultural news issues in Thailand. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in history from The College of Wooster. She interned at Southeast Asia Globe, and has written for a number of outlets. Tara reports on a range of Thailand news issues.
  • Phuket NewsPhuket prisoners to dredge drains in new project to fight flooding

    Phuket prisoners to dredge drains in new project to fight flooding

    Phuket prisoners will dredge drains and sewers in a new project to fight the island province’s horrendous flooding problems. Officials held a meeting about the upcoming endeavor at Phuket’s Provincial Hall on Wednesday. Officials said the project aims to prevent a repeat last year’s damage from havoc wreaking floods. Inmates from Phuket Provincial Prison will contribute to society by clearing…

  • Crime NewsPolice nab over 400,000 meth pills in 7 South Thailand provinces

    Police nab over 400,000 meth pills in 7 South Thailand provinces

    Police nabbed over 400,000 meth pills in seven provinces in South Thailand. Some 430,029 meth pills were found in the provinces of Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chumphon, Krabi, Phang Nga, Ranong, and Phuket. Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn said in a press conference on Wednesday that the crackdown aimed to ensure safety in…

  • Thailand NewsThai NGO reports highest number of missing children in 4 years

    Thai NGO reports highest number of missing children in 4 years

    A Thai NGO reports that the country’s number of missing children last year was the highest it had been in four years. The Mirror Foundation, which works to help families find missing children, reports some disturbing numbers. Last year, 252 children went missing from home in Thailand. This was a 25% increase from 202 children in 2021, the foundation said. …

  • Crime NewsCops swoop on 360 million baht gambling den in Pattaya

    Cops swoop on 360 million baht gambling den in Pattaya

    Cops swooped on a gambling den in Pattaya on Wednesday that had accounts with about 360 million baht in its circulation. Officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce raided a luxury condominium in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district and arrested four suspects, one man and three women. The police confiscated two laptops, four screens, three smartphones, and other appliances worth 100,000…

  • International EducationInternational schools in Koh Samui where your kids can thrive

    International schools in Koh Samui where your kids can thrive

    Choosing the right international school in Thailand can be a challenge. Every parent wants to find a school that’s the right fit for their child, where they will thrive academically and socially. In this guide, we have selected five of the most revered international schools in Thailand’s beach paradise of Koh Samui. International School of Samui (ISS) Address: 141 21, Tambon…

  • Phuket NewsRussian woman almost drowns on Patong beach

    Russian woman almost drowns on Patong beach

    It was a close call for one Russian woman who almost drowned on Patong Beach yesterday. The incident happened at the part of the beach near the Bangla Police Box. Tourists pulled the unconscious woman out of the water, and lifeguards, once aware of the situation, rushed to help. The lifeguards, and a tourist who was a doctor, worked to…

  • World NewsGreen comet to be visible after 50,000 years

    Green comet to be visible after 50,000 years

    A green comet is expected to be visible in the night sky for the first time in 50,000 years. Astronomers discovered the comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), in March 2022 at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. Today (January 12), the comet will reach perihelion, its closest point to the sun, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. According…

  • Pattaya NewsMarine Department on Phase 2 of widening Pattaya’s Jomtien beach

    Marine Department on Phase 2 of widening Pattaya’s Jomtien beach

    Thailand’s Marine Department is in its second phase of widening Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach. The department said the beach’s width is expected to increase to an average of 50 metres after the project is finished. The project aims to fight coastal erosion at the beach, as well as woo more tourists to Pattaya, Nation Thailand reported. Now that Covid-19 restrictions have…

  • Crime NewsTourist Police prepare to protect Chinese from Pattaya’s crimes

    Tourist Police prepare to protect Chinese from Pattaya’s crimes

    Now that China has lifted travel restrictions on its citizens, Pattaya Tourist Police are preparing to protect Chinese tourists from the city’s crimes. The chief of Tourist Police Station 4 said yesterday that the lift on Chinese travel restrictions might result in a crime rise in the area. Tourist Police will start patrolling high-risk spots such as Walking Street, South…

  • Phuket NewsHong Kong woman faces charges of reckless driving after crashing into Phuket vendor

    Hong Kong woman faces charges of reckless driving after crashing into Phuket vendor

    A Hong Kong woman faces charges of reckless driving after she crashed into a Phuket som tam vendor in Koh Kaew yesterday. The incident happened on the northbound lane of Thep Kassattri Road. CCTV footage showed that the sedan crashed into the motorbike sidecar vendor, along with two motorbikes. Phuket City Police arrived on the scene to find the damaged…

  • Pattaya NewsCondom usage reportedly drops among Pattaya sex workers, STDs increase

    Condom usage reportedly drops among Pattaya sex workers, STDs increase

    In perhaps the worst city to not wear a condom, Pattaya’s sex workers are reportedly using condoms less than in pre-Covid days, according to disease control officials. A nurse from Pattaya’s Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Department, Nakanya Jantrakard, said the number of reported cases of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases has gone up since 2019. In a meeting…

  • Koh Samui NewsOfficials beautifying Koh Samui’s Fisherman’s Village, hoping to catch more tourists

    Officials beautifying Koh Samui’s Fisherman’s Village, hoping to catch more tourists

    Officials are giving Koh Samui’s Fisherman’s Village a makeover to help businesses catch more tourists. Yesterday, officials started sprucing up Beach Road in Bo Phut with landscape improvements, and general cleaning. The goal of the makeover is to reel in up to 5 million baht of cash for local street vendors. Tourism operators hope to bring out the old charm…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya dwellers not happy with homeless living in abandoned building

    Pattaya dwellers not happy with homeless living in abandoned building

    Pattaya dwellers aren’t too thrilled about homeless people living in an abandoned building in the city. On Monday, local media reported that a group of homeless people were camping at an abandoned building on South Pattaya Road in the Nongprue sub-district of Bang Lamung district. The building was home to a former convenience store that lost business during the Covid-19…

  • Phuket NewsCops bust thieving couple who sold items to second hand shops in Phuket

    Cops bust thieving couple who sold items to second hand shops in Phuket

    Cops busted a thieving couple in Phuket on Monday, a husband and wife team who stole items and sold them to second hand shops. Police say the husband has been identified as Banjerd, and the wife as Toon Mathurasorn, The Phuket News reported. A Russian man, Oliver Thurman, alerted Wichit Police on January 6 that a towing rig and a…

  • Phuket NewsPhang Nga’s turtle nesting season continues with more nests discovered

    Phang Nga’s turtle nesting season continues with more nests discovered

    Phang Nga’s turtle nesting season continues and more nests are being discovered. Two more nests were found, bringing the total number of nests unearthed to eight so far, The Phuket Express reported today. The nests were found on the Baan Thung Darp Beach in the Koh Phra Thong sub-district of Kura Buri district. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources…

  • Thailand NewsOver 500 drivers in Thailand have traffic points deducted on first day of new system

    Over 500 drivers in Thailand have traffic points deducted on first day of new system

    Thailand’s new driving penalty point system proved to be a challenge for over 500 drivers on the first day of its implementation. The new system came into effect yesterday, and 540 drivers in the country had points deducted. According to the spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police Major General, Archayon Kraithong, the top three offences that got points deducted were:…

  • World NewsIran sentences young footballer to 16 years for ‘enmity against God’

    Iran sentences young footballer to 16 years for ‘enmity against God’

    Iran’s regime sentenced a young footballer to 16 years of imprisonment for “enmity against God,” several news outlets reported yesterday. The footballer, 26 year old Amir Nasr-Azadani, participated in protests against Iran’s theocratic regime last year, which began after Iranian authorities murdered a young woman for allegedly showing too much of her hair. Nasr-Azadani was found guilty of “partaking in…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesMarine department warns boats after trawler sinks in South Thailand

    Marine department warns boats after trawler sinks in South Thailand

    Large waves are continuing to wreak havoc on boats in Thailand’s waters. The country’s Marine Department warned boat operators to be extra cautious after a fishing trawler sank in South Thailand on Saturday night. The trawler sank in the Gulf of Thailand about 18.2 nautical miles off the coast of Pak Phanang district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Fortunately, marine…

  • Tourism NewsTourism Authority of Thailand plans first roadshow in China after pandemic

    Tourism Authority of Thailand plans first roadshow in China after pandemic

    Now that China has lifted travel restrictions for its citizens, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is once again tapping into the Chinese tourism market. TAT is planning a roadshow in China during the third week of February. This will be the first roadshow after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to TAT’s Regional Director of East Asia Chuwit Sirivejkul. The roadshow…

  • Tourism NewsThai island holds first Full Moon party of the year, draws 20,000 tourists

    Thai island holds first Full Moon party of the year, draws 20,000 tourists

    Thailand’s island of Koh Pha Ngan welcomed its first Full Moon party of the year on Friday night, drawing 20,000 tourists, according to Surat Thani’s vice governor. The party experienced a bit of rain, but after the rain cleared, tourists were able to have a blast dancing on the beach. Vice Governor Choosak Rooying told The Phuket Express that so…

  • World NewsBomb threat against Jetstar flight in Japan (video)

    Bomb threat against Jetstar flight in Japan (video)

    A caller who appeared to be based in Germany made a bomb threat against a Jetstar flight in Japan on Saturday. The suspect called Narita Airport on Saturday morning in Japan time and said in English that he had planted a bomb on Jetstar Flight 501, according to the airline operator. The flight was headed to Fukuoka from Narita. Jetstar…

  • Pattaya NewsBurglar snatches almost 100,000 baht from Hong Kong tourist’s Pattaya villa

    Burglar snatches almost 100,000 baht from Hong Kong tourist’s Pattaya villa

    Pattaya’s thefts against tourists seem to never end… A burglar snatched almost 100,000 baht from a Hong Kong tourist’s rented Pattaya villa on Friday night, according to the victim. The victim’s villa is located in Jomtien Beach. The victim, Ng Ho Hin, told police the thief also nabbed a Bluetooth speaker. Hin said he had been out all day, and…

  • Tourism NewsKoh Samui ferries prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists

    Koh Samui ferries prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists

    Koh Samui ferries prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists this weekend. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese made up Thailand’s biggest tourist group. Yesterday, China finally allowed its citizens to travel abroad again. Thai media said yesterday that ferry companies in Koh Samui’s Angthong sub-district were preparing their ferries to accommodate tourists travelling to Koh Samed, Koh Pha Ngan,…

  • Pattaya NewsBritish tourist jumps off pier in Pattaya, mental health issues suspected

    British tourist jumps off pier in Pattaya, mental health issues suspected

    Pattaya Police suspect that a British tourist who jumped off a pier on Saturday had mental health issues. The man, who was reported to be about 45 years old, suddenly jumped into the sea off Bali Hai Pier. When rescuers tried to help the man, he became aggressive and refused their efforts. The man then tried to hide behind the…

  • Thailand TravelBest Western Hotels continues to expand with 6 new signings across the globe

    Best Western Hotels continues to expand with 6 new signings across the globe

    BWH Hotel Group is a leading, global hospitality network comprised of three hotel companies, including WorldHotels® Collection, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, and SureStay Hotel Group®. Built on the foundation of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, an iconic hotel brand that boasts over 75 years of legacy and experience with more than 4,500 hotels in over 100 countries and territories around…