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    Celebrate the festive season with a bang at INNSiDE Hotel by Melià Bangkok

    The season to be merry is rapidly approaching! And INNSiDE by Meliá Bangkok Sukhumvit is preparing for the festive season with a line-up of curated events and dining experiences. Located in Bangkok's lively On Nut neighbourhood, this 208-room urban hotel,...

  • Songkran fully cancelled in Bangkok amid Covid-19 outbreaks

    Songkran fully cancelled in Bangkok amid Covid-19 outbreaks

    All Songkran festival activities throughout every district of the Bangkok province have been officially cancelled to prevent more outbreaks of Covid-19. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced this difficult decision today in light of a rise in Coronavirus infection clusters around the country. Many of these outbreaks have been directly linked to entertainment venues, nightclubs and bars, including in Bangkok’s Thong…

  • Immigration police arrest Frenchman on drug charges, 3 other foreigners for overstay

    Immigration police arrest Frenchman on drug charges, 3 other foreigners for overstay

    Immigration police arrested a French man who was allegedly involved in a crime network who allegedly smuggled cannabis, and arrested 3 other foreigners on overstay charges. Police say the crime network sold cannabis to foreigners living in tourist cities in Thailand. Officers say they suspect there are more people involved in the alleged smuggling operation on the Eastern seaboard, which…

  • Independent candidates polling well in Bangkok governor race

    Independent candidates polling well in Bangkok governor race

    Independent candidates are trending in polls for the Bangkok governor election later this year, with undecided voters leaning independent. Undecided voters have grown to nearly 1/3 of all voters up from just under 30% in March, possibly due to voters being tired of political polarisation. The exact date of the election has not been announced yet but independent candidates have…

  • Thai tourism operators slam government’s inefficient vaccine rollout

    Thai tourism operators slam government’s inefficient vaccine rollout

    Representatives from Thailand’s tourism sector have blasted what they see as an ineffective and disorganised national vaccine rollout. Operators say the scheme will not allow the Kingdom to achieve herd immunity, with tourism possibly affected by a third outbreak. Domestic tourism was starting to recover after taking a hit during the second outbreak late last year, with Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi…

  • Sony, Amazon Falls to set up amusement park in Thailand

    Sony, Amazon Falls to set up amusement park in Thailand

    Sony Pictures Entertainment is setting up an amusement park in Thailand that is based on its Columbia Pictures movies. The entertainment giant is working with Thailand’s Amazon Falls to plan the venture, with an opening date set for this October. The water park, named Aquaverse, will be spread out among 14 acres and feature rides and attractions with Jumanji, Bad…

  • Thailand tourism leaders come together to discuss the industry’s future

    Thailand tourism leaders come together to discuss the industry’s future

    The following story was submitted by Bill Barnett, the managing director for C9 Hotelworks. The Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest global crisis tourism has ever faced. Against this unprecedented upheaval, many of Thailand’s leading hotel operators and other key players came together under the #ThaiTourismUnited banner at an event in Bangkok, creating a single unified voice to drive the Kingdom’s…

  • 2 Cabinet ministers self-isolating after potential Covid exposure

    2 Cabinet ministers self-isolating after potential Covid exposure

    Thailand’s Transport Minister and the newly-appointed Education Minister are both self-isolating after contact with 2 separate Covid-19 patients. Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong is self-isolating at her home in the eastern province of Sa Kaew, after receiving a visitor who subsequently tested positive for the virus. According to a Nation Thailand report, Treenuch’s visitor came to her home on Sunday to…

  • Thailand hoping to be upgraded to a Tier 1 nation in anti-human trafficking efforts

    Thailand hoping to be upgraded to a Tier 1 nation in anti-human trafficking efforts

    Thailand is hoping its newest anti-human trafficking report will earn an upgrade from the US from Tier 2 to Tier 1. The report was submitted to the Washington’s Trafficking in Persons Report. Deputy government spokeswoman, Rachada Dhnadirek, said the government is ready to be upgraded after remaining on Tier 2 for 3 years in a row. Those nations who fall on…

  • Phuket man shot by off-duty police officer now paralysed

    Phuket man shot by off-duty police officer now paralysed

    A 25 year old Phuket man who was allegedly beaten and shot by an off-duty, drunken police officer, will never walk again as he remains paralysed in the hospital. The news, according to doctors at Vachira Phuket Hospital, comes after Aroon Thongplab, was shot from a close range, with the bullet hitting his spine. The man was a noodle vendor and…

  • Songkran travel okay to visit elderly relatives, not to party – Health Minister

    Songkran travel okay to visit elderly relatives, not to party – Health Minister

    Despite rising Covid-19 infections in Bangkok and other provinces, Thailand’s Public Health Minister says people travelling from the affected provinces during the Songkran holiday will not have to quarantine. “Although provinces have been divided into zones, designated by colours according to the infection rates, none will be locked down. People can still travel to other provinces without having to go…

  • 16 Thais busted running 10 illegal online gambling sites

    16 Thais busted running 10 illegal online gambling sites

    16 web admins are in custody today after being arrested around the Buriram province today for allegedly operating 10 illegal online gambling websites. The group of Thai nationals are accused of renting a house where they secretly operated a string of websites where people could gamble online including sajoker123.com. Police received a number of complaints in March from neighbourhood residents…

  • Unemployed elephants walk 500 kilometres from Pattaya to Surin

    Unemployed elephants walk 500 kilometres from Pattaya to Surin

    A group of 5 elephants and their owners began the long walk today from Pattaya to Surin after giving up on the return of tourism anytime soon. The 500 kilometre journey has to be done on foot as they couldn’t afford to hire trucks large enough to carry each elephant. After waiting a year for the Chinese tourists that make…

  • Thailand eyes travel bubbles again with low-risk countries

    Thailand eyes travel bubbles again with low-risk countries

    Thailand is eyeing travel bubbles once again with low-risk countries like Singapore, Laos and Vietnam. Sports and Tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, says officials from Thailand and Singapore are discussing forming travel bubbles, as Singapore already has experience forming green routes with other asian countries. “We have acknowledged that Singapore has previously run the travel bubble with Australia and New Zealand.…

  • Weekend party event in Phuket reports positive Covid attendee

    Weekend party event in Phuket reports positive Covid attendee

    A band member from Bangkok who attended three ‘Kolour’ party events in Phuket over the weekend has tested positive for Covid-19. The main Kolour Beachside Main Event was held at Cafe Del Mar, along Kamala’s foreshore. Other pre and post event parties were also held at Shelter and Illuzion, both in Bangla Road, Phuket. The promoters Kolour Beachside have a…

  • First Thai-made satellite to launch in 2023

    First Thai-made satellite to launch in 2023

    The first Thai-manufactured satellite, named the TSC-Pathfinder and designed to survey Earth’s natural resources, is planned to be launched in 2023. The launch is part of a schedule by the Ministry of Higher Education Science Research and Innovation’s developing space technology programme to launch 5 small satellites between 2021 and 2027. Space engineering development and application, research and development, and…

  • Chakri Memorial Day – why is it a public holiday in Thailand?

    Chakri Memorial Day – why is it a public holiday in Thailand?

    April 6 is a prominent holiday for Thais as they commemorate Chakri Memorial Day which remembers King Rama 1, the Founder of the Chakri Dynasty, which continues to this date. The current King Maha Vajiralongkorn is Rama X, the tenth Thai King of the Chakri Dynasty. Officially known as ‘King Buddha YodfaChulaloke the Great Day and Chakri Dynasty Memorial Day’,…

  • Report attributes 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand to air pollution

    Report attributes 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand to air pollution

    According to the State of Global Air 2020 Report, around 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand, back in 2019, have been attributed to air pollution. The report cites the PM2.5 pollution particles as the main culprit as particles in that size range are the most likely to travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs. Exposure to these fine particles…

  • Has the full moon set on Koh Pha Ngan’s Full Moon Party?

    Has the full moon set on Koh Pha Ngan’s Full Moon Party?

    A full moon used to mean a full beach of party-goers along the Haad Rin strip on Thailand’s Koh Pha Ngan. But it hasn’t been like that for a year now as the Gulf of Thailand island waits out the restrictions and border closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The crowds of backpackers and revellers aren’t flocking to the monthly…

  • Songkran: Economy booster or Covid-19 spreader?

    Songkran: Economy booster or Covid-19 spreader?

    While the government is encouraging people to enjoy themselves and spend money in the struggling economy for the upcoming Songkran Festival, some Covid-19 experts are warning that this may bring about a third or even fourth wave of infections. The past has shown that people letting loose and partying free is often the source of viral outbreaks, as was the…

  • Thailand to discuss travel bubble with Singapore

    Thailand to discuss travel bubble with Singapore

    Thailand is looking into setting up a travel bubble with Singapore. Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry will discuss the idea this week with officials from the Singapore Embassy. Tourism officials are also looking at potential travel bubbles with other neighbouring countries with a low number of active Covid-19 cases, such as Vietnam and Laos, according to sports and tourism minister…

  • Foreigners charged with DUI teach English to Koh Samui probation staff

    Foreigners charged with DUI teach English to Koh Samui probation staff

    Foreigners on Koh Samui who have been caught driving while intoxicated are now teaching English to probation officers as part of their community service. Those with a drink driving charge are ordered by the court to complete 24 hours of community service. The foreigners have been teaching probation staff basic greetings and conversational English as well as grammar and legal…

  • Phuket’s pilot program to reopen Thailand – Interview Bill Barnett | VIDEO

    Phuket’s pilot program to reopen Thailand – Interview Bill Barnett | VIDEO

    There’s a lot more of Thailand besides Phuket, but the southern Thai island has received a lot of attention in the past few weeks because of the intention to remove quarantine for vaccinated international arrivals from July this year. There’s a lot at stake as the rest of Thailand will be watching the pilot program, eager to see it work…

  • Thai man arrested after beating and killing dog for being “mangy”

    Thai man arrested after beating and killing dog for being “mangy”

    A 24 year old Thai man has been arrested in northeastern Thailand’s Udon Thani province, for beating and killing a dog because it appeared to be “mangy.” Watchdog Thailand, posted a graphic video clip on Facebook of the man assaulting the dog several times with a knife and pipe in front of its owner’s house. Later that day, the dog’s owner…

  • Thailand unlikely to join ASEAN in pressuring Myanmar junta to stop bloodshed

    Thailand unlikely to join ASEAN in pressuring Myanmar junta to stop bloodshed

    Thailand’s government is unlikely to join other members of ASEAN in calling for Myanmar’s junta to stop the bloodshed. Fears over receiving a flood of refugees across the Burmese border and damages to its military ties may be of more importance to the Kingdom, despite the government’s recent claims that it is “gravely concerned” over the situation in Myanmar. If…

  • Travellers around the world eager to return to Phuket

    Travellers around the world eager to return to Phuket

    Travellers of 28 nationalities have indicated that they would like to come to Phuket after mandatory quarantine is done away with for those that have received their Covid-19 vaccination. This according to the Phuket Tourist Association. The popular destination for foreigners will be the first location in Thailand to remove quarantine restrictions in the government’s long-term plan to reopen the…

  • Tourism Authority of Thailand aims to attract expat golfers

    Tourism Authority of Thailand aims to attract expat golfers

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand is poised to organise golf events targeted at Thailand’s expatriate community as part of efforts to restore confidence in domestic tourism under the banner “Stay Play Safe”. Minister of Tourism and Sports Phipat Ratchakitprakarn says that the motivation behind the campaign is “to re-energise a sector that has been badly hit closures and restrictions brought…

  • Man’s genitals cut and flushed by jealous girlfriend

    Man’s genitals cut and flushed by jealous girlfriend

    Ever felt like your sex life has been flushed down the toilet? A man in Taiwan experienced that literally when his girlfriend cut off his genitals while he slept and flushed them down her toilet on the evening of March 30. The story, first published by the website Mothership the day after the incident, involves a 52 year old man…

  • 16 German tourists kick off Phuket’s tentative re-opening plans

    16 German tourists kick off Phuket’s tentative re-opening plans

    3 months away and Phuket will be Thailand’s first province to waive the mandatory quarantine stay for foreign travellers who have been vaccinated. Well, that remains the plan as Thailand starts to work through a 4-phase re-opening schedule which will take the rest of 2021 to roll out. The subjects of these re-opening experiments will be the expected tourists who,…

  • Busy in BKK – dust off the planes, Thais are travelling again! VIDEO

    Busy in BKK – dust off the planes, Thais are travelling again! VIDEO

    BKK is busy, well, compared to the last 10 months in Thailand. Bangkok’s two airports were closed as part of the 2020 ‘lockdown’ and only reopened at the end of May after about 8 weeks, and only to domestic traffic (with some limited international repatriation, cargo, and a few passenger flights). Over the past 10 months Tim has been flying…

  • Phuket Airport welcomes first 7 day quarantine travellers

    Phuket Airport welcomes first 7 day quarantine travellers

    In the early hours of Saturday, a flight arrived at Phuket International Airport welcoming the first travellers to benefit from the reduced mandatory quarantine launched on April 1. The reduction of the isolation period is part of the 4 stages of fully reopening Thailand to international tourism, planned to roll out over the next 8 months (and probably into early…