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Bank of Thailand wrestles with cryptocurrency adoption
The Bank of Thailand is wrestling with cryptocurrency – how to adopt its usage and how to regulate it in the face of growing popularity, along with all the dynamics surrounding the new ‘currencies’.. The BOT admits they’re struggling with balancing the innovation in the financial world and protecting investors in a volatile and unstable market. Digital currency fluctuates much…
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Can Koh Pha Ngan’s Full Moon Party recover from Covid-19 hiatus?
After a year long hiatus, can Thailand’s world-famous Full Moon Party recover, or will it evolve in the post-Covid-19 era? Before April last year, Haad Rin Beach on Koh Pha Ngan was invaded each full moon by backpackers and partygoers. The beach hummed to the thump, thump of the music and the buckets of exotic cocktails (and plenty of other…
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64 protesters arrested as Government House protest camp cleared
64 protesters were taken into custody as police cleared the sites of a Government House demonstration camp early this morning. The site, located at Phra Ram 5 by the Khlong Phadung Krungkasem canal near the Government House, was raided at 6am by 4 battalions of the police’s Protection and Crowd Control Division. The protesters, many still asleep at the time,…
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11 countries must still do full 14 day ASQ quarantine when travelling to Thailand
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has announced the names of 11 countries that have been deemed to be carrying new Covid-19 mutations. Any people arriving from these countries will still be required to do the full 14 day quarantine quarantine when they arrive in Thailand. From 1 April the quarantine period will be reduced, but with some restrictions remaining. Read…
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16 year old Thai may be jailed in alleged lèse-majesté case
A 16 year old Thai teenager may be jailed for alleged defamation against the Thai monarchy at a pro-democracy protest last Wednesday by wearing a crop-top with an anti-monarchy slogan written on his stomach. The teen is being charged under Thailand’s lèse-majesté law, informally called “Section 112”, the section that covers defaming, insulting or threatening members of the Thai royal…
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The cost of one stuck ship in the Suez Canal – rising costs of fuel, household goods, food
That container ship is still stuck in the Suez Canal. It’s created a huge traffic jam at either end – some 240 ships. Even if they clear the blockage (get the ship out of the way to let other ships pass) soon, it’s predicted to take most of April to clear the backlog. The cost to world shipping has been…
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Phuket to open on July 1 – first in Thailand
by Andrew J. Wood In a move largely expected after intense lobbying from the huge Travel and Tourism industry here in Thailand, the government approved the waiving of quarantine requirements for vaccinated visitors arriving on Phuket from July 1, the first significant reopening for the popular tourism destination. An economic panel chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday approved the proposal…
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Man who buys truck from auction finds 20 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine inside
A man who bought a truck from a Bangkok auction site got a hefty surprise after finding 20 kilograms of crystal meth (ice) in a secret compartment when he went to install a new audio system. He says the drugs were bundled in gold wrapping when he discovered them and immediately returned the truck to the auction in the Bang…
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Thai man dies after motorbike hits tree in Phuket
A Thai man has died after over shooting a curb and hitting a tree in Phuket Town last night. 36 year old Narongchai Samat, from Phang Nga, became the 23rd person to die on Phuket roads this year. Phuket City Police were called around 10:15pm last night, to the scene of the accident, which was near the Phuket office of…
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5 other provinces adopting Phuket’s sandbox reopening model
5 other Thai provinces will be adopting Phuket’s sandbox model between the months of October and December, with a full reopening of Thailand, set to take place in January 2022. The Tourism Authority of Thailand governor says the plan to reopen the tourism provinces will need local residents’ support and a detailed map of where tourists would be allowed to…
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UPDATE: Phuket’s tourism ‘sandbox’ plan gets approved by CESA
Phuket’s tourism sandbox plan has been approved, as of today, by The Centre for Economic Situation Administration. The meeting was chaired by the Thai PM. The scheme, which would allow vaccinated tourists to skip quarantine starting July 1, still needs to be discussed between the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the CCSA, and the Phuket governor before becoming official. Tourists who…
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Pattaya rounding up the homeless ahead of this weekend’s Pattaya Colorful event
Pattaya is rounding up homeless people ahead of its Pattaya Colorful event this weekend after locals complained. Officers from the Chonburi Social Development and Human Security Division, along with the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division inspected and interviewed homeless people and beggars on Pattaya Walking Street, Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya Beach and Soi Buakhow last night. Officials say most of the…
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Vaccinated visitors still required to undergo quarantine for 10 days from April 1
Despite shortening the required quarantine time for visitors to Thailand, those who are vaccinated won’t be able to skip quarantine just yet. Recently, the Thai government shortened quarantine times from 14 days to 10 starting April 1, but have not announced when or it vaccinated tourists will be able to forego quarantine altogether. The move to shorten quarantine was to…
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Bangkok’s famous airplane graveyard catches fire
Bangkok’s famous “Airplane Graveyard” caught fire yesterday evening. Firefighters believe blaze first started in dry grass nearby before spreading to one of the decommissioned planes. People living nearby reported thick black smoke and strong chemical smells coming from the junkyard, which is home to an abandoned Boeing 747 plane and 2 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft. Fire crews were called at 9pm and…
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Thailand’s richest man buys Pattaya hotel, expects tourism will rebound
Thailand’s richest man is expects tourism will rebound quickly. He’s so confident, that he’s now investing in hotels, including a hotel in Pattaya. Asset World Corp., the property arm of Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s TCC Group, purchased a Pattaya hotel this month. The company is now searching for more properties. With the drastic slowdown of international travel over the past…
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TAT New York office to host a virtual Songkran from Chiang Mai
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is set to host a virtual Songkran celebration from Chiang Mai next month in its New York office to celebrate the Thai New Year. “Spring into Songkran Splendours” will be broadcast live from Chiang Mai and is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8 from 8pm-9pm Eastern Standard Time. Free registration is available online by following this…
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Thai rocker granted temporary bail after court upholds sentence
A Thai rock musician is being released on a temporary bail, after losing his appeal to the Supreme Court. Seksan Sookpimay, known as “Sek Loso,” used his alleged diagnosis of suffering from bipolar disorder as part of his appeal to be let off from serving a 42 month prison sentence for several offences dating back to New Years Eve 2017.…
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Bangkok police vow to press charges against activists from Wednesday rally
Bangkok’s deputy police chief, Piya Tavichai, says 11 activists who addressed participants at a rally at Ratchaprasong intersection on Wednesday will be charged. He says his officers have already identified 10 of the protest leaders and also plan to charge other participants who used loudspeakers or held up banners with insulting messages about the monarchy. Piya adds that any media…
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July re-opening for Phuket expected to get government approval today
Today, the government is expected to approve a quarantine-free re-opening for the southern island of Phuket from July. However, the re-opening does require the island to have achieved herd immunity status by vaccinating 70% of its population before then. Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow says the Centre for Economic Situation Administration will consider the plan at its meeting later today, which…
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Thai lingerie manufacturer ordered to pay workers
A Thai lingerie manufacturer must pay workers that were laid off without compensation, according to the Labour Protection and Welfare Office. More than 1200 employees of Brilliant Alliance Thai Global received no warning when the factory suddenly closed in Samut Prakan province on March 10th. The company blamed Covid-19 for financial failings leading to the closure, but workers were given…
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Man arrested for allegedly harassing PM Prayut’s daughters
Officers from the computer crime division arrested a 40 year old man for allegedly harassing PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s twin daughters on the social media platform Twitter. Police say the man posted a Tweet, encouraging anyone who comes across the twins Tanya and Nittha to rape the women. Prayut immediately had his lawyer file a complaint. The man’s name was not…
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Earth Hour on Saturday, Bangkok to join global “lights off” hour
The city of Bangkok will go dark for an hour on Saturday, joining thousands of cities across the globe for Earth Hour, an annual initiative where lights are turned off to raise awareness about protecting the planet. The deputy governor of Bangkok, Sopon Pisuttiwong, says lights be off from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturday, joining 7,000 other cities in darkness.…
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Thai rocker to finish prison sentence after losing appeal
A Thai rock musician is to remain in prison after losing his Supreme Court appeal in which he claimed he was suffering from bipolar disorder. Seksan “Sek Loso” Sookpimay was sentenced to a 42 month prison term, along with community service, for drug abuse, resisting arrest, and threatening police with a firearm following an incident at his home on New…
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Phuket’s upcoming reopening aims to help residents avoid poverty
Phuket’s upcoming reopening in July is aimed at helping local residents avoid falling into poverty. According to Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong, the average monthly income of local residents before the Covid-19 pandemic sat at 43,000 baht per month. Now, Pichet says it has fallen to only 8,303 baht per month, signaling a drastic fall nearing the poverty line. “If…
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Tour bus operators in Phuket call for government help after a year of no work
Tour bus operators on the southern island of Phuket are calling for government assistance as they face ongoing legal action over missed lease payments on their equipment. Some operators say the threat of bankruptcy looms over them after a year of unemployment. The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc with tourism on Phuket, but tour bus operators say they have never…
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Illegal gambling den owner in Pattaya arrested again in murder for hire scheme
An illegal casino operator in Pattaya is under arrest again after police are accusing him of murdering the man who snitched on him back in February. 56 year old Somchai Jutikitdecha, or Longjoo Somchai, was detained at his residence on Rat Bamrung Road in Tambon Noen Phra of Pattaya’s Muang district early this morning and is being charged with ordering…
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Protesters call for PM’s resignation, release of activists, abolition of lèse majesté law
Protesters gathered at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok last night, calling for the release of fellow activists and the resignation of the Thai PM. The anti-government activists assembled yesterday from around 5pm and listened to speakers blasting the PM and Thailand’s strict lèse majesté law. The protesters are calling for the law to be abolished, for those charged under the…
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Lazada, Shopee go head to head in attracting more online shoppers
The Internet shopping websites of Lazada and Shopee are going head to head as they are competing for more online shoppers. The economic downturn has prompted more efforts to attract new shoppers just as the festive sales season is right around the bend. Thanida Suiwatana, chief business officer of Lazada Thailand, says the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred a new trend…
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Monk kicks Thai teenager in face after he refuses to buy him food
A monk in northern Thailand’s Lampang Province has allegedly taken matters into his own hands by kicking a Thai teenager in the face after he refused to travel 5 kilometres to buy food for the monk. According to the 16 year old boy’s mother, her son was visiting a young monk at the local temple and was playing games with…
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Thailand drafting new regulations for cannabis and hemp seeds
A new regulations for cannabis and hemp seeds imports is in the works by Thailand’s Agriculture Department. With certain parts of the cannabis plant now off the narcotics list, many are tapping into the market for CBD, or cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive component in hemp and cannabis. With the rising demand for hemp and cannabis, the department is revising regulations to…
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