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.
  • Pattaya News

    Pattaya tourist says security guards beat him “bloody” near Walking Street

    A Pattaya tourist says security guards beat him bloody over a near collision when he was driving near the city’s famous Walking Street in the early hours of this morning. The tourist, an unnamed 31 year old Indian national, said he almost collided with a group of security guards who were standing in front of a venue on Soi 16.…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thailand’s DDC stops reporting positive ATK results

    Thailand’s Department of Disease Control has stopped reporting Covid-19 infections with ATK tests. A spokesperson for the CCSA said that tomorrow, another proposal for changes in Covid-19 reporting will be submitted to the meeting of the Public Health Ministry’s Emergency Operations Centre. The proposal states that, starting June 1, the DDC will only report cases that require hospitalisation. The spokesperson, Dr.…

  • South Thailand News

    Train hits car, killing young girl in South Thailand

    A train hit a car at a railway crossing with no barriers in South Thailand’s Chumphon province yesterday. The crash killed 16 year old Piyamat Nilsuk, and injured her brother, 19 year old Payungsak Nilsuk. Police arrived on the scene to find Piyamat and Payungsak’s car badly wrecked, after the crash had made it turn over several times until it…

  • Phuket News

    Storms rip through areas of Phuket, including food festival

    Even the weather is conspiring against Thailand’s tourism recovery. As the annual monsoon season settles in, areas of Phuket have been damaged by storms yesterday, overnight, and into today. A series of wind squalls, preceding heavy rain, hit parts of the tourist island. One of the spots hit by some sudden wind blasts yesterday was the Kata Karon Food Festival…

  • Thailand News

    Anutin says suspected monkeypox cases in Thailand were herpes

    Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin announced yesterday that suspected monkeypox cases in Thailand turned out to be herpes. The suspected cases were from travellers coming from countries where monkeypox cases have been reported. Anutin said there are so far no confirmed cases of monkeypox in Thailand. Some of the herpes viruses can also present with similar symptoms, including the lesions…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Soldiers in Chiang Rai shoot and kill 8 drug suspects who reportedly opened fire

    Soldiers in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai have shot and killed 8 suspects who reportedly opened fire on them along the Thai-Burmese border last night. The soldiers had been warned that a gang would try to smuggle drugs from Myanmar, according to Thai media. They then went to patrol the border area in Mae Fa Luang district. Later, they…

  • World News

    10 Thailand-Laos bus routes starting June 15

    Starting next month, bus travel enthusiasts in Thailand will have 10 bus route options options in Laos. One of the Thailand-Laos bus routes began earlier this month, from Mukdahan to Savannakhet. Now, the president of Transport Co Ltd, Sanyalux Panwattanalikit, has listed 9 new Thailand-Laos routes starting June 15. The new routes will be: Nong Khai to Vientiane, Udon Thani…

  • Pattaya News

    Burning rage: Chon Buri woman allegedly burns down boyfriend’s friend’s house

    A Chon Buri woman has allegedly burned down her boyfriend’s friend’s house because she was enraged that she couldn’t find her boyfriend. The incident happened between Thursday night and Friday morning, in Bang Lamung district. The house owner, 33 year old Parichat Yongpanya, told The Pattaya News she and her 2 daughters were sleeping in the house, when the woman came in…

  • Bangkok News

    Bangkok’s first ‘real’ Pride parade coming up June 5

    Pride month is approaching cities across the globe, including Bangkok! On June 5, the city is expected to host its first ‘real’ pride parade. Feminist activist Siri “Tata” Nilphruek said at a press conference yesterday that in the past, Bangkok’s pride parades were just street demonstrations. But this year, the organisers hope to make pride parade “an imporant event on…

  • World News

    Almost 200 cases of monkeypox reported across the globe, according to WHO

    After an outbreak of monkeypox, a viral infection similar to smallpox, began last week, almost 200 cases have been reported across more than 20 countries, according to the World Health Organisation. The Associated Press noted that this number seems likely an undercount, though. Meanwhile, various health professionals and officials continue to dispute the cause of the virus. Doctors in the UK,…

  • Pattaya News

    Yet another necklace theft against an Indian tourist in Pattaya

    The seventh Indian tourist in the past few weeks says thieves in Pattaya stole his pricey necklace. The tourist, 28 year old Gourab Paul, says 2 women approached him when he was heading back to his hotel with his friends early this morning after a night out in South Pattaya. In a story that seems almost identical in all the…

  • Crime News

    Phuket thief steals 1,000 baht from elderly woman

    A thief in Phuket who stole 1,000 baht from an elderly woman last week was caught yesterday. The victim’s granddaughter said the thief stole the money from a jar on a table at the elderly woman’s home in Phuket’s main city district. Police tracked down the thief, who they so far have only named as “Ms. Davika”, 9 days after…

  • World News

    Former South Korean navy member under fire for fighting in Ukraine

    A former South Korean navy member who fought in Ukraine hasn’t received a warm welcome upon returning home to recover from injuries. The man, Rhee Keun, said that about 10 police officers were waiting for him as he stepped off the plane today. The officers told him to quarantine for a week as a Covid-19 precaution, and said they would…

  • Crime News

    “Mega rich” Bangkok father and daughter arrested in Bahrain trafficking case

    Two members of a wealthy Bangkok family were arrested on warrants for human trafficking earlier this week. The father and daughter, 54 year old Wiraya and 37 year old Wachi, allegedly started recruiting women to work in Bahrain in 2015, saying they would give traditional Thai massages. Instead, the women were forced into sex slavery. Some of the women escaped,…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times, said he needed gaming money

    A Phuket thief allegedly stole more than 30 times in 2 months, and said he needed the money to play online video games and for his living, according to Phuket City Police Chief Colonel Sarawut Chooprasit. Sarawut told The Phuket Express that police had arrested the thief on Wednesday after he broke into a ‘restaurant’ and stole cash. Sarawut said that later,…

  • South Thailand News

    Tourists who went missing in southern Thailand park found safe

    Yesterday, park rangers in Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani found 2 tourists who had gone missing the day before. The women, 19 year old Eliza Rose and 19 year old Matilda Cox, got lost in a jungle in Khao Sok National Park in Phanom district. Eliza is a British national, and Matilda is from Northern Ireland. Eliza and Matilda…

  • Pattaya News

    Chon Buri garage owner found dead after alleged misunderstanding over bike

    The owner of a motorbike garage in Sri Racha district of Chon Buri has been found dead at his home yesterday. The man’s brother says the garage owner, 49 year old Duen Chukampang, had a spat with an excavator driver about a bike the day before he was found dead. Duen’s brother, 65 year old Chaichong Chukampanga, says Duen moved…

  • Economy News

    Thai PM suggest people only drive for “essential journeys”

    Amidst the global surge in fuel prices impacting Thailand, a spokesman for PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is giving drivers some advice. The spokesman, Thanakorn Wangbunkhongchana, said yesterday that Prayut wants to keep prices as low as possible to help people avoid economic hardship. He said Prayut suggests people only use their private vehicles for “essential journeys” since the price of petrol…

  • Pattaya News

    Mayor says more changes to come at Pattaya’s Jomtien beach

    The Na Jomtien municipality mayor says authorities are planning several more fixes to Jomtien Beach in the south of Pattaya. The mayor, Rapeepan Rattanakluang, inspected a footpath at the beach following a request by tourists and locals. Rapeepan said authorities plan to revamp the deteriorated footpath, as well as the road surfacing. She added that there are spots where street…

  • World News

    Deadly Afghanistan blasts target mosque and car

    A series of blasts in Afghanistan yesterday targeted a minivan, and a mosque. An explosion targeting the minivan happened in northern Afghanistan’s Balkh province. The blast killed at least 4 people and wounded over 10, according to the province’s spokesman Mohammad Asif Waziri. Another explosion happened a short time later in the same area. Another blast happened at a mosque…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Prepare for rain and floods in Thailand (again)

    Thailand’s wet season is still alive and well. From tomorrow, May 27, until May 31 (Tuesday), expect heavy to very heavy rains in the country’s northeast, central, east, and southern regions. The current Monsoon in Thailand’s southwest is expected to get stronger. As has been the case in Thailand for the past month, expect strong winds and high waves in…

  • Phuket News

    UPDATE: German tourist who went missing in Phuket is headed home

    THE LATEST Barbara Lange, the 76 year old woman who went missing from her Phuket hotel earlier this month, is now headed back home to Germany. Yesterday, a team from the Phuket Tourist Assistance Center helped Barbara and her family at the Phuket International Airport. This news comes after Barbara was released from the hospital earlier this week. Barbara and…

  • Pattaya News

    Pattaya officials say Walking Street should be repaired by August

    After Pattaya’s famous Walking Street welcomed back visitors last month for the first time since Covid-19 broke out, the city’s officials have put in a big budget to give the street a ‘makeover‘. Pattaya city officials announced yesterday that the city has now spent 13 million baht on road repairs for the street, and these repairs are expected to be…

  • Phuket News

    Official in one Phuket district plans to step up English teaching

    Even though Thailand’s English language proficiency ranked 100 out of 112 countries last year, an official in one Phuket district isn’t giving up on teaching the language. The chief of Phuket’s Kathu district, Siwat Wangkun, says he has looked beyond the walls of the district’s schools for teaching English, since some school staff lack proficient English teaching skills. The groups Siwat…

  • Phuket News

    UPDATE: German tourist who went missing in Phuket released from hospital

    THE LATEST Barbara Lange, the 76 year old woman who went missing from her Phuket hotel earlier this month, has been released from the hospital on Monday. She was being treated for exhaustion and weakness at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, after rescuers found her during a helicopter search in Sirinat National Park. Lange and her family thanked everyone who helped rescue…

  • Economy News

    As fuel prices climb, Thailand’s delivery workers struggle

    As Thailand’s fuel prices climb, some delivery drivers are saying the country’s attempts at subsidies aren’t helping them much. One motorcycle taxi driver told Thai PBS World that, even though the government offers a 250 baht discount per month on benzene or gasohol, it’s not worth it when he has to travel a long distance for it. The driver added that…

  • South Thailand News

    Notorious hitman arrested in southern Thailand

    Yesterday, police and military forces in Thailand’s southern province of Ranong arrested a notorious hitman. The hitman, 41 year old Nirut Krajang, had fled to Myanmar when a Chumphon court issued an arrest warrant for murder. There, he worked for 4 months in forestry before his eye was injured and he returned to Thailand for treatment. But coming back home…

  • Pattaya News

    Body found on Chon Buri beach

    Tourists spotted a body on a beach in the main city district of Chon Buri province yesterday. Emergency workers said in a report that the body found on Bang Saen Beach belonged to 40 year old Phu Sao, a Burmese boat worker who had gone missing after he fell into the ocean. One emergency responder estimated that Phu had been…

  • Pattaya News

    Alleged drug dealer from Estonia arrested in Chon Buri after hiding for 4 years

    An alleged drug dealer who managed to hide from police for 4 years has now been arrested in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri province last week. Police arrested him for having a visa that expired in 2018. The alleged dealer, 39 year old Estonian national Janno Ojaste, was sentenced to three years in prison and a 4,000 baht fine…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket officials announce plans for 2 big tourism events next month

    Phuket’s Deputy Governor Pichet has announced yesterday that the island province will host 2 major tourism events in June, which will each host hundreds of guests. One event is the Thailand Tourism Congress 2022, which will be held at Beyond Resort Kata from June 6-8. The other event is Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2022, which will be held at Angsana…