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Complete Thailand Travel Guide (October 2020)
Latest update – October 21. If you are overseas and wish to come to Thailand your FIRST port of call must be the Royal Thai Embassy in your country before you make any bookings. Thailand Longstay is also a valuable resource of information at this time. First ‘tourists’ arrive in Thailand under the Special Tourist Visa In 2019, almost 40 million tourists…
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From 40 million visitors to 41: first STV tourists arrive
In 2019, almost 40 million tourists arrived in Thailand. Yesterday, it was 41. As the Thais say, cha cha… Thailand is slowly, slowly, re-opening its borders after the Covid-19 pandemic forced a total shutdown in March. Yesterday, the Kingdom welcomed its first tourists in 7 months, with the arrival of 41 Chinese tourists from Shanghai. The group landed at Bangkok’s…
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Anti-Corruption Commission official sentenced for pointing loaded gun at taxi driver
A National Anti-Corruption Commission senior official was sentenced by the Criminal Court to 1 year in jail with a 2 year suspension for pointing a loaded .38 Colt pistol, threatening a Bangkok taxi driver back in 2018. Nation Thailand called it a “very lenient” sentence. The assistant secretary general of the commission, 54 year old Piset Nakapan, must also pay a…
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Some tourism officials concerned with political climate, ask government to open dialogue
In the midst of Thailand reopening its borders to foreigners on the Special Tourist Visa, political protests have only grown in Bangkok and are now being held in cities across Thailand. Now tourism operators are worried and are asking the government to engage in dialogue with the protesters. President of the Tourism Council of Thailand Chairat Trirattanajarasporn says he’s worried…
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Man arrested for growing 108 cannabis plants in Samut Prakan
Police arrested an Argentinian man for growing cannabis at his house in Samut Prakan, just southeast of Bangkok. 35 year old Sagas Nur told police he planned to produce cannabis oil. Medical marijuana is legalised – with limitations – while recreational marijuana is still classified as a category 5 narcotic. Sagas is facing charges of producing a category 5 narcotic.…
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Court orders suspension of Thai TV news channel during political protests
The Criminal Court has agreed to suspend the Thai media company Voice TV for allegedly violating the State of Emergency orders which prohibit media content “considered to be a threat to national security”. Talk about the Voice TV shut down has been circulating on social media. It’s not the first time the network has come to the attention of the…
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House Speaker confirms agreement for special parliamentary session
The Speaker of the lower house of Parliament has confirmed that there is cross-party agreement for an extraordinary parliamentary session to be convened in the wake of the ongoing political unrest in Thailand. Chuan Leekpai has notified PM Prayut Chan-o-cha of the agreement to hold the special session in a bid to seek a resolution to the conflict. Anti-government protests…
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Opposition MPs petition for Bangkok State of Emergency to be lifted
A group of opposition MPs and other activists will today petition to have the emergency decree currently in force in Bangkok revoked. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha imposed the state of emergency last Thursday morning, in the wake of escalating political unrest in the capital. Now a number of Pheu Thai MPs and other opponents of the State of Emergency are…
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International travel slow to take off, Covid-19 restrictions evolving
While Thailand is working on safely, and slowly, reopening its borders to foreign tourists after a 7 month border closure, other countries are also adapting to new, pandemic-induced, travel measures and restrictions. Now some are slowly lifting restrictions and resuming flights, while some remain grounded. What’s happening in your part of the world? In all cases, check your local travel…
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First tourists in 7 months arrive in BKK today
5pm today – that’s the time the first groups of “tourists” will arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, announced the arrival of the first group of tourists to arrive in the Kingdom since borders where locked in March. He said they wouldn’t needn’t worry about the political unrest currently rocking the capital, pointing…
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Police deny plans to restrict online access, as media groups issue warning
Thai police have confirmed the legitimacy of a document released by the Free Youth group, which reveals that their Facebook page was targeted by authorities for allegedly spreading disinformation and inciting civil unrest, in breach of the State of Emergency, enacted last Thursday morning. The Free Youth group have now moved to “Telegram”, a popular messaging and telephony app, after…
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Man arrested for allegedly abusing stray cats at Koh Phi Phi hotels
Police have arrested a 30 year old man for allegedly catching stray cats and torturing them at various hotels in Koh Phi Phi following a heads-up from Watchdog Thailand Foundation. Hotel staff cleaning up the man’s rooms found blood, cat nails and fur in the rooms as well as in the refrigerator, according to police. Chi Hang, from China, faces…
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Jailed Thai activists, protest leaders, pro-democracy doctor, released on bail
Thailand’s Appeal Court has granted bail to a number of anti-government protesters and protest leaders, on condition there is no repeat of the offences they’re accused of. They must also report to the court every 2 weeks. Those released include Chaiamorn Kaewwiboonpan, the singer-songwriter known as “Ammy”, as well as Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, spokesperson for the Student Union of Thailand, Natchanon…
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K-Pop fans show their support for the young Thai protesters, donate 3 million+ baht
Art meets politics again, this time with hundreds of thousands of K-Pop fans raising funds in support of the growing student protest movement in Thailand. So far they’ve raised more than 3 million baht (as of 10am this morning) but the amount is rising quickly as Thai and overseas K-Pop fans respond. The most popular band in Thailand at the…
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Thai authorities push to ban, censor news outlets and social media
Police are now cracking down on local media outlets covering the pro-democracy protests as well as activist group Facebook pages because they are a “threat to national security”. In addition to the police’s request to ban the content, the Digital Economy and Society Ministry is attempting to censor the Telegram social media application, saying it too poses a “threat to…
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Dozens of protester arrests since emergency decree was imposed
Dozens of people have been arrested since the State of Emergency was imposed early Thursday morning to break up a pro-democracy protest. The government order bans people from holding public gatherings of more than 5 people until November 13, but hundreds and thousands of people have continued to gather. Police warn they can arrest those who violate the order. 74…
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“Open the borders, safely”, Bill Heinecke, Minor International interview – VIDEO
Bill Heinecke speaks to Bill Barnett. The two heavy-hitters of Thailand’s hotel and hospitality sector, mull over the current Covid situation and the reopening of Thailand’s borders to some form of tourism. Bill Heinecke is the Chairman and Founder of Minor International. Bill Barnett is the Managing Director of c9hotelworks.com Now the Thai government has approved the special long-term tourist…
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St Mark’s International School ‘breaks ground’ with their new Bangkok campus
St Mark’s International School celebrated a groundbreaking event last Saturday by literally ‘breaking ground,’ by conducting a ceremonial dig on their new proposed campus in Bangkok. The successful Christian International School has been operating out of their current Rama 9 Campus for the last 20 years and is now planning to expand exponentially when the new campus in Sri Nakarin Road…
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Koh Samui tourism operators want cheaper flights to lure tourists
Koh Samui needs more visitors, from anywhere. A number of hotels on the island, one of Thailand’s popular tourist destinations hit by the pandemic-induced travel bans, are certified for alternative local state quarantine, or ALSQ, and now tourism officials are looking to lure travellers in with cheaper flights. Getting the prices lower could be difficult. President of the Tourism Association…
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Isolated heavy showers forecast, but rainfall set to ease overall
Heavy wet season rainfall is taking its toll on 25 provinces around the country, with flash flooding and landslides affecting over 25,000 homes. 11 provinces are thought to be the worst-affected, as they continue to battle heavy flooding. They are Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Ratchasima, in the north-east of the country, Sa Kaeo in the east, the central provinces of…
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House Speaker proposes extraordinary parliamentary session in wake of political unrest
The speaker of the lower house of Parliament, Chuan Leekpai, is proposing an extraordinary session of parliament as the political protests around the country intensifies, especially around Bangkok. Nation Thailand reports that Speaker Chuan plans to discuss the matter with government and opposition politicians today. Anti-government protests, which began in mid-July, have grown in intensity and frequency, as activists demand…
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The 3 finger salute. Why did it become the symbol for Thai protesters? – VIDEO
The 3 finger salute, now adopted by Thai protesters as their “go to” symbol in the current round of rally’s and protests against the Thai government and establishment, emerged originally from pop culture. In the Hunger Games movie franchise, the residents of a dystopian future North America, forced to compete in a televised death match for the pleasure of…
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Former Thai PM Yingluck reminds Prayut of protests calling for her resignation
Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra has taken to social media to remind the current Thai leader of the situation she found herself in 6 years ago, when she faced mounting calls for her resignation from Prayut Chan-o-cha and the People’s Democratic Reform Committee. The PDRC were instrumental in organising anti-government protests between 2013 and 2014, which culminated in a military coup…
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Thai PM adopts more conciliatory tone with protesters
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has switched to a softer tone with the young protesters calling for his resignation, as anti-government protests sweep the country… there were several smaller protests in other provinces over the weekend. The new, more conciliatory approach, is in contrast with his recent declaration that he had no intention of resigning, and that the police had acted “within…
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Saturday night protests around Bangkok end peacefully
Four different locations, between 15,000 – 20,000 protesters, all ending peacefully. Police were not far away from any of the gatherings but a clear message has come from the top to avoid another violent display like Friday night at the Pathumwan intersection in Bangkok’s central shopping district. Police and government officials tried to short-circuit the protesters plans early yesterday afternoon…
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Protests continue at 5 locations around Bangkok this evening – VIDEO
With the latest announcement from protesters about a new round of protests today, from 4pm, Police scrambled their resources to try and second guess the locations. Whilst the protesters are out-gunned by brute force and equipment, they remain nimble, digitally connected and committed to continue the latest round of protests, defying demand from the police that they are breaking the…
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Thai PM says he won’t resign as he has done “nothing wrong”
Unsurprisingly, Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is dismissing calls for his resignation as protests continue to escalate and protesters defy bans to rally in the streets of Bangkok. Rally organisers have already announced that they will be massing again today from 4pm, rumoured to be at numerous BTS stations around the central capital area. Out of a list of 10 key…
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Another protest scheduled in Bangkok at 4pm, police deny using tear gas last night
Another pro-democracy rally has been called today by protest organisers. With many of the original leaders now in custody, many more have stepped up to take their place and are using a sophisticated network of messaging and social media to stay one step ahead of the police and authorities that are trying to intercept their plans. Another rally is planned…
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Pathumwan intersection protest kicks off in defiance of police and government orders
In the latest cat and mouse game between police and protesters, the students waited for Bangkok police to close down the Ratchaprasong intersection, the site of last evening’s rally, and then scheduled tonight’s rally at the nearby Pathumwan intersection instead, one of the busiest intersection in the city. The posted the switch of location at 4pm, after police had sealed…
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Mae Sot immigration chief transferred after inmate escape
Following the escape of 2 inmates, the immigration chief in Tak’s Mae Sot district has been transferred while an investigation takes place. The 2 Uighur inmates escaped by using soap to corrode the iron cell bars. They rubbed dish soap on the cell bars routinely. Over time, the iron started to rust and they were able to break the bars.…
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