Chiang Mai

Belgian hit-and-run victim urges driver to come forward

Published

3 months ago

December 18, 2018

The Thaiger & The Nation

Belgian hit-and-run victim urges driver to come forward | The Thaiger

An elderly Belgian woman has been injured in a hit and run in Chiang Mai and now recovering in the Chiang Mai Hospital.

The 78 year old is urging the motorist who injured her to come forward and apologise.

Chiang Mai police deputy chief Pol Colonel Piyaphan Pattharapongsin on Tuesday said police were still trying to locate the driver of black car that hit and injured Gabriel Maria Elle (not official spelling) at 6 pm on December 9.

The woman was hit in front of a 7-Eleven shop on Hang Dong-Samerng Road in Hand Dong district’s Tambon Nong Kwai.

She suffered a broken right leg and bruising to her right cheek and many other parts of the body. The car fled the scene after the accident.

She said she had been crossing the road, after checking there were no vehicles coming, when a car came out from nowhere and hit her, sending her tumbling to the ground.

She said the driver did not come out to check whether she was alright, and merely sped off.

Speaking form her bed in Chiang Mai Hospital, the Belgian said she hoped the driver would come to visit her and show a humanitarian gesture by doing so.

Thassanalai Thiansanti, an insurance representative who is taking care of the woman’s case, urged witnesses who may have seen the incident and might remember the driver’s licence plate to come forward and inform police.

She said a CCTV camera outside the 7-Eleven store had been unable to record the licence plate of the car clearly.

STORY: The Nation

Air Pollution

Chiang Mai ‘s tourism holds up despite smoke and smog

Published

14 hours ago

March 24, 2019

The Thaiger

by Siriarpa Kamjan, ttgasia.com

Chiang Mai’s current poor air quality and smoke haze is raising concerns on the potential impact on tourism as Thailand’s Songkran water festival approaches.

Smog has been a yearly occurrence in Northern Thailand, but this year the situation appears to be the worst with Chiang Mai topping the air pollution ranking and the media tracking daily results.

But La-iad Bungsrithong, president of the Thai Hotels Association (Northern Chapter), says there appears to be a short-term decline in the market.

However, she attributes the current performance to March being part of the traditional low season rather than the pollution, adding that there has been no booking cancellation from leisure or MICE guests.

The Songkran festival typically sees leisure demand for Chiang Mai from South-east Asia, Europe, China and Thailand. According to La-iad, room occupancy in April last year was 65 per cent, reaching 85 per cent during the Songkran period (April 12-14).

She expects similar figures for Songkran this year but also greater competition arising from new hotels around Chiang Mai and Airbnb.

Similarly, a spokesperson of Standard tour, Somchai Sandnee, said the company’s business has not been affected by the air pollution. Chinese tourists are less perturbed by smog issues than political turmoil and recent events such as the boat accident in Phuket last year, Somchai pointed out.

Chotechuang Soorangura, associate managing director of NS Travel & Tours, also says he doesn’t see the smog having an impact on sales.

“The smog is considered an annual situation and our company always (issues) an advice to customers. In the case where customers really want to visit Chiang Mai, we will suggest they limit their stays in the city in favour of other provinces instead such as Sukhothai,” Chotechuang explained.

SOURCE: ttgasia.com

Bangkok

Summer storms on the way for north, north-east

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

Summer storms on the way for north, north-east | The Thaiger

FILE PHOTO

People living in the north of Thailand are being warned to brace themselves for some summer thunderstorms until Wednesday. The Meteorological Department issued an alert today saying the storms will be caused by a high-pressure system from China that will interact with the hot weather over upper Thailand.

Outbreaks of summer thunderstorms will be likely from today to March 27. Thundershowers, gusty winds and hail are possible first in the Northeast and the East then the Central, and the North region.

Are you affected?

March 23-24

North: Kamphaengphet, Phitsanulok, Phichit and Phetchabun.

Northeast: Nong Bua Lamphu, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Udon Thani, Buri Ram, Surin, Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani.

Central: Nakhon Sawan, Chai Nat, Lop Buri and Saraburi.East: Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri, Sa Kaeo and Chachoengsao.

March 25-27

North: Kamphaengphet, Phitsanulok, Phichit and Phetchabun.

Northeast: Nong Bua Lamphu, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Loei, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Surin, Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani.

Central: Uthai Thani, Nakhon Sawan, Chai Nat, Lop Buri, Saraburi and Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya including Bangkok and its vicinity.

East: Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri, Sa Kaeo and Chachoengsoa.

SOURCE: The Nation

Air Pollution

Hazardous: Chiang Mai again leads the world in air pollution

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2019

The Thaiger & The Nation

Hazardous: Chiang Mai again leads the world in air pollution | The Thaiger

Chiang Mai is back on top of the world’s list of most air-polluted cities, according to the AirVisual.com website.

AirVisual reports at 1.45pm that the air quality index (AQI) of Chiang Mai on Saturday stands at 471 (##!!??!!) , much higher than the 100 AQI safety standard (the WHO lists the safety limit as 50 on the AQI scale). It’s been about 350 all day today.

In its six scale listings Chiang Mai is now listed at the bottom as ‘Hazardous’, the scale doesn’t go any lower.

The northern capital has been covered with white, mostly bushfire smoke and smog, for almost two weeks prompting Chiang Mai residents to wear N95 air-filter marks outdoors. Or stay indoors.

The Chiang Mai University, the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna and Chiang Mai provincial administration confirmed that the air quality in the city remained critical.