Tara Abhasakun

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.
  • LifestyleThe spiritual significance of lotus flowers in Thailand

    The spiritual significance of lotus flowers in Thailand

    If you live in Thailand, you’ve probably noticed the country’s scenic lotus flowers blooming in ponds across the kingdom. These flowers add a great deal of beauty to Thailand’s scenery. But did you know that lotuses also hold significance in Thai Buddhism? Lotuses grow from mud, and are therefore believed to symbolise growing toward light and warmth, and rising above…

  • Crime NewsPhuket man caught with meth pills at checkpoint

    Phuket man caught with meth pills at checkpoint

    In the midst of Phuket’s recent spate of drug crackdowns and busts, a man has been caught with meth pills at a checkpoint in Thalang district. The man, 36 year old Pongpan, was caught with 107 meth pills at the Phuket Checkpoint in the Mai Khao sub-district earlier this week. The police had been alerted earlier that the suspect who…

  • Crime NewsDespite floods, Patong drug crackdown continues

    Despite floods, Patong drug crackdown continues

    Despite heavy floods in Phuket, police are continuing to crack down on drugs in Patong, particularly on Bangla Road. Last night, Patong Police and Kathu district officials conducted random drug tests on the road. The team targeted touts working on the road who are registered as living in Kathu. The team tested 117 people out of the 195 on its…

  • Pattaya NewsHotel maids busted for stealing from Pattaya tourist’s room years ago

    Hotel maids busted for stealing from Pattaya tourist’s room years ago

    Two hotel maids were busted yesterday for stealing items including gold jewellery and cash from a tourist’s room in Pattaya years ago. Police arrested one suspect, 44 year old Aranya, at a rental room in the central Ayutthaya province. They arrested the other suspect, 36 year old Pratchalee, in Samut Prakan. Aranya was arrested under a warrant issued by the…

  • South Thailand NewsSouth Thailand province welcomes first female Muslim governor

    South Thailand province welcomes first female Muslim governor

    One South Thailand province welcomed its first female Muslim governor yesterday. The new governor of Pattani, 57 year old Pateemoh Sadeeyamu, is the former deputy governor of Narathiwat, and Yala provinces. Several prominent people in the community hailed the appointment of Pateemoh as the governor of Pattani. One former lecturer at Prince of Songkhla University said that Pateemoh has extensive…

  • Phuket NewsFree concert with renowned Russian Jazz artist coming to Phuket

    Free concert with renowned Russian Jazz artist coming to Phuket

    Jazz lovers in Phuket will soon have an opportunity to attend a free concert with a renowned Russian jazz artist, Igor Butman. Butman is known as a virtuoso saxophonist. The concert, titled “Igor Butman and Friends,” will be held at Karon Beach on Friday, December 13, at 6.45pm. The concert is being held as part of the 125th anniversary of…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya man says friends attacked him with a knife

    Pattaya man says friends attacked him with a knife

    A young Pattaya man says his friends attacked him with a knife. The man, 27 year old Comephee Thungkhun, said the group came to his house in Nong Prue on Sunday night. Comephee said the attackers bludgeoned him with a stick and slit his forehead with a knife. Comephee’s mother told police her son was yelling for help before he…

  • Phuket NewsPatong Police set up checkpoints on Bangla Road

    Patong Police set up checkpoints on Bangla Road

    Patong Police are on the lookout for drugs and weapons, and they’re taking action. On Monday night, police set up two checkpoints at both ends of Bangla Road, a known party hotspot, from 8pm to 10pm. The police checked people for weapons and illegal drugs. They also checked whether people were wanted suspects. The Phuket Express reported that it was…

  • Krabi NewsFisherman finds dead dugong in Krabi

    Fisherman finds dead dugong in Krabi

    In a tragedy for Thailand’s animal lovers, a fisherman found a dead dugong in the southern Krabi province on Sunday. The fisherman found the dugong in the sea and pulled it up onto a pier. A consultant of the Krabi Fishermen Association said the dugong was a male, and around three years old. He said it weighed 100 kilograms and…

  • Pattaya NewsIsland off Pattaya sees 20,000 tourists over weekend

    Island off Pattaya sees 20,000 tourists over weekend

    An island off Pattaya well known as a vacation hotspot saw at least 20,000 tourists over the past weekend. The cluster of young and old tourists swarmed to the island of Koh Larn, flocking to its Ta Waen Beach. The tourists enjoyed traditional Thai massage, as well as food, umbrellas, and other services offered at the beach. Pattaya City has…

  • Northern Thailand NewsNortheast Thai teen dies after falling from building

    Northeast Thai teen dies after falling from building

    A teenager in northeast Thailand tragically died after falling from his school’s building on November 10. Thai media reported that this recent death came after a few similar cases in Nakhon Ratchasima province this year. The teenager who died was a 14 year old boy. His body was found on the ground next to the school building in the main…

  • Crime NewsPolice seize over 2 million meth pills in central Thailand

    Police seize over 2 million meth pills in central Thailand

    Police seized over two million meth pills, along with other drugs, in Thailand’s central Lop Buri province on Saturday. Officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau confiscated 2,200,000 meth pills, and 40,000 Erimin 5 pills. Erimin is a hypnotic drug. Police said the drug bust came after police were alerted that a large number of drugs were being transferred from a…

  • Phuket NewsA million tourists have arrived in Phang Nga this year

    A million tourists have arrived in Phang Nga this year

    A million tourists have made the trip to Thailand’s holiday hotspot province of Phang Nga this year. Phang Nga’s millionth foreign tourist, Veronika Labajova from Slovakia, was welcomed with gifts from tourism officials on November 6. Now, Phang Nga has set a goal of drawing up to 10 million tourists next year. Governor Ekkarat Leesen spoke on Saturday at the launch…

  • World NewsGen Z, Trump, and the US midterm election

    Gen Z, Trump, and the US midterm election

    With the US midterm election results, Democrats celebrated a narrow victory over Republicans. This was after a Democratic senator won in the state of Nevada, ensuring that Democrats would at least keep a 50-50 majority in the Senate, with VP Kamala Harris holding the deciding tie-breaking vote. The win for Democrats came after the Republicans had hoped for a ‘red-wave’…

  • Pattaya NewsBritish man warns other after he was was hit on a Pattaya crossing

    British man warns other after he was was hit on a Pattaya crossing

    A British man says he was hit by a motorcycle at a “very dangerous” pedestrian crossing in Pattaya. The man, 69 year old Chris Baker, told The Thaiger that yesterday morning a motorcycle hit him at the crossing from Rompho market to Soi 7. The market is located in the Bang Lamung district. Baker says he suffered a broken tooth,…

  • Crime NewsPolice plan new approach to drug problems in South Pattaya

    Police plan new approach to drug problems in South Pattaya

    Pattaya Police are planning a new approach to drug problems in one neighbourhood of the city. Police will push for rehabilitation over arreststoo deal with drug issues in the Thappraya community in South Pattaya. The community surrounds the Bali Hai flyover, under which many homeless people and drug users have encamped. These residents were invited to a meeting with local…

  • Tourism NewsTAT promotes Thailand on London bus

    TAT promotes Thailand on London bus

    Tourism officials launched a new campaign promoting sunny Thailand in cloudy London as winter approaches. A London double-decker bus now has the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s “amazing THAILAND” logo written across it in pink. Beneath the logo are images of boats in the sea, with the hashtags #AmazingThailand and #AlwaysWarm, as seen in photos by Pattaya Mail. TAT’s new…

  • Central Thailand NewsVIDEO: Thai husband chases wife and male friend in car, car crashes

    VIDEO: Thai husband chases wife and male friend in car, car crashes

    A Thai husband chased his wife and her male friend in his car on Friday, and the wife and friend ended up crashing. The incident happened in the central Chachoengsao Province. The Thai husband, 42 year old “A,” said he secretly installed a GPS in his wife’s mobile phone. A then saw that his wife, 33 year old “Ying,” was…

  • Pattaya NewsFire guts abandoned Pattaya sports club

    Fire guts abandoned Pattaya sports club

    A fire gutted an abandoned Pattaya sports club on Saturday. The huge blaze destroyed the Pattaya Land and House Village in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Firefighters took about half an hour to put out the flames. Most of the objects in the one-storey club were destroyed, but luckily there were no injuries. Firefighters said the blaze was believed to…

  • Tourism NewsRussians the biggest tourist group in Phuket in November so far

    Russians the biggest tourist group in Phuket in November so far

    Russians have made up Phuket’s biggest group of tourists so far in November. From November 1-10, Phuket saw 18,370 Russian tourists. The total number of foreign tourists was 75,247, The Phuket Express reported. The next top four countries for tourism in Phuket were: India with 8,939 tourists, Australia with 5,275 tourists, the UK with 4,511 tourists, and Germany with 4,152…

  • World NewsPakistani official says killing of journalist in Kenya appears targeted

    Pakistani official says killing of journalist in Kenya appears targeted

    Pakistan’s interior minister said on Tuesday that a Pakistani journalist killed in Kenya last month appears to have been targeted. Kenyan police shot and killed the journalist, 50 year old Arshad Sharif, near Nairobi on October 23. Police had stated that Sharif was shot after he failed to stop at a roadblock. They also said that it had been a…

  • Phuket NewsVideo of pickup trucks racing in Phuket goes viral

    Video of pickup trucks racing in Phuket goes viral

    A video of pickup trucks racing on a road in Phuket last night has gone viral. The video shows at least three trucks driving at a lightning fast speed, racing from an intersection near the Saphan Hin Public Park in the main city district. The Phuket Provincial Police commander said that officers caught five of the drivers. Commander Major General…

  • Phuket NewsOfficials plan to step up Phuket’s education standards

    Officials plan to step up Phuket’s education standards

    Phuket officials are planning to step up the island province’s education standards. Phuket Governor Narong led a meeting on the issue yesterday. Officials discussed using Big Data to develop Phuket’s entire education system. The aim would be to ensure that all students have an equal education, with no students left disadvantaged. Narong said that this would make Phuket an “international…

  • Pattaya NewsVIDEO: robber snatches 1 million baht worth of jewellery from Pattaya gold shop

    VIDEO: robber snatches 1 million baht worth of jewellery from Pattaya gold shop

    There’s been another gold shop robbery in Thailand, this time in Pattaya. On Wednesday, the robber threatened staff at the Aurora Gold Shop in Tesco Lotus in South Pattaya at gunpoint. The robber reportedly first gave the staff a piece of paper detailing his demands. The staff were hesitant, so the robber then walked behind the counter himself, and took…

  • World NewsUN says the world population will hit 8 billion next week

    UN says the world population will hit 8 billion next week

    The UN says that the world population is projected to reach 8 billion next week. The world population was recorded as 7,922,312,800 as of September this year, according to a US government census. According to the UN’s “Day of Eight Billion” clock, there are now less than five days left until the world population reaches 8 billion. The UN writes……

  • Crime NewsPhuket man arrested with over 10,000 meth pills

    Phuket man arrested with over 10,000 meth pills

    There’s been another methamphetamine bust in Phuket’s main city district this week. Border Patrol Police arrested a man in the Rassada sub-district. They seized 10,504 meth pills from him, in addition to crystal meth. The police arrested Ban at the entrance of Soi Bang She Lao on Thep Kasattri Road, The Phuket Express reported. They then brought him to Phuket…

  • Krabi NewsA fish tale: thousands of fish jump onto bridge on Krabi island

    A fish tale: thousands of fish jump onto bridge on Krabi island

    A fish tale has come to light on an island in Thailand’s iconic southern province of Krabi. On the island of Koh Lanta, thousands of fish jumped onto a bridge. A Krabi resident came across the massive pile of small jumping fish while docking his boat at the pier. The breed of fish is known as “Ta Maew,” or cat-eye…

  • Thailand NewsThai medical experts hold seminar, warn of the risks of HPV

    Thai medical experts hold seminar, warn of the risks of HPV

    Several Thai medical experts discussed the country’s struggles with human papillomavirus (HPV) at a recent seminar. HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection that causes several cancers, most commonly cervical cancer in women. Cervical cancer kills 13 Thai women every day. It is the second deadliest cancer for working-age Thai women, after breast cancer. A shockingly high percentage of people…

  • World NewsVIDEO: Man throws eggs at British royals in explosive incident

    VIDEO: Man throws eggs at British royals in explosive incident

    In an explosive incident, a man has thrown eggs at British King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla. The 23 year old egg thrower hurled the eggs at the royal couple during their visit to the northern city of York yesterday. A video of the incident shows eggs landing close to King Charles as he shook hands with city leaders…

  • Central Thailand NewsThai man drowns after falling into canal on Loy Krathong night

    Thai man drowns after falling into canal on Loy Krathong night

    A man tragically drowned in Thailand’s central province of Ayutthaya on Loy Krathong night on Tuesday, after he and his wife fell into a canal linked to the Rama VI Dam. The couple, a 44 year old wife and 51 year old husband had been invited to a Loy Krathong event after work. They decided to go and float their…