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5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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Suspect arrested over alleged Norwegian tourist rape at Koh Pha Ngan
Police have arrested a suspect who allegedly raped a Norwegian tourist at Koh Pha Ngan after the weekend’s Half Moon Party. The tourist filed a complaint with the Pha Ngan police station on Sunday morning, telling the officers that she had been raped by a motorcyclist. Read more about her report HERE. Police launched an immediate search for the suspect…
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Konnichiwa – welcome to Thailand’s Top 10 cultural destinations
by Nisanath Kungwanwong Congratulations ‘Hinoki Land’ in Chiang Mai for being recognised by the Thai Culture Ministry as one of Thailand’s Top 10 Cultural Destinations. It looks…so… Thai?!? “Hinoki Land should not be included in the list, as it merely copies a Japanese tourist spot of the same name.” The ministry’s Cultural Promotion Office recently announced the top 10 cultural…
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Off-the-beaten-track destinations in Thailand experiencing explosive Airbnb growth
PHOTO: Rawai, had Airbnb growth of 92 over the past year Off-the-beaten-track destinations in Thailand grew by 53% year-on-year, with some areas like Rawai in Phuket growing by more than 92% year-on-year. Airbnb hosts outside of big cities and major tourist destinations in APAC earned nearly US$1bn through the Airbnb platform in 2018. 12 million guests checked into Airbnb listings…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat Police chief orders “shoot to kill” if necessary
PHOTO: Daily News A police chief in Nakhon Si Thammarat has told his police to shoot to kill if necessary as the hunt for a Thai man continues. Thanakorn Saiyut was described as “armed and dangerous” by Pol Col Suthat Songsayom of the Chawang police who said he wanted the man dead or alive. Nakhon Si Thammarat is just south of…
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Club@Koi explodes in colour, celebrities and fashion for its first anniversary
Koi restaurant, lounge and the Club @ Koi celebrated a their first year of business in their new home in Sathorn Square Building. The night was a celebratory anniversary reception and fashion gala attended by Ambassadors, dignitaries, VIPs and media followed by a sensational fashion show showcasing the latest collection “Single and available” by Munchu’s and a live performance by…
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Water temporarily cleared in Bang Tao Canal, business operators to be checked
PHOTOS: Maann Samran Water in the Bang Tao Canal is now flowing cleaner water thanks to some urgent ‘band aids’ put on the problem this morning. Business operators are now to be checked to find the source of wastewater as well. Earlier today the President of the Cherng Talay OrBorTor Ma’ann Samran admitted that 90% of the businesses in the…
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Surin Islands in Phang Nga closed until November
The Mu Koh Surin National Park in Phang Nga, 100 kilometres north of the Similans, has been closed down for the wet season and will be open again in November. The Mu Koh Surin National Park Chief Puttapot Kuprasit says, “The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) is forecasting that today there will be 60-70% chance of rain and high waves up…
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Prawit plays down Senate appointees coming from NCPO and current cabinet
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has submitted a list of 250 senators to His Majesty the King, while Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan has commented that a new government won’t be set up until after a new PM has been named. This news is coming from the National News Bureau of Thailand and should be read in light of the source. The…
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Two dead, two injured from collision in Suphan Buri
PHOTOS: Samerkun Suphanburi Rescue Foundation Two people have died while another two people have sustained serious injuries after two pickup trucks colliided in Suphan Buri, north west of Bangkok. Samerkun Suphanburi Rescue Foundation was notified of the accident on Danchang – Baan Rai Road in Suphan Buri at 5pm yesterday (Sunday). Rescue workers arrived to find two damaged pickup trucks,…
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Wyndham to manage new condo at Layan Beach Phuket
by Bill Barnett A new Wyndham managed condominium hotel is rising in the Layan Beach area of Phuket. Named the Laya Resort Phuket, the first phase of the project is 300 units of studio and one-bedroom configuration. The new development will be situated about 400 metres from Layan Beach. Pricing starts from 150,000 baht a square metre and a 15…
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Digital dithering: TV operators exit stage right
Almost a quarter of the Thai digital TV industry want to return licences under a junta offer. Six commercial digital TV broadcasters are handing the seven licences they hold back to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission. The move will leave about 1,000 people without a job. Returning the licences are Bright TV for its Bright TV Channel 20, Voice…
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Thailand slashes 2019 exports estimates as trade war escalates
by Phuwit Limviphuwat Thai exporters are expected to pay a heavy price as the ramping up of the US-China trade war continues. The US has now launched a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports. Last Friday US President Donald Trump tweeted: “Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner, there is absolutely no need to rush, as Tariffs…
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90% untreated water flowing into Bang Tao canal
90% of business operators and locals are releasing wastewater into the filthy Bang Tao canal. Cherng Talay Tambol Administrative Organisation President Maann Samran says, “There are some hotels, restaurants and locals still releasing wastewater into Bang Tao Canal where it is flowing into the sea.” “Only 10% of them have connected their wastewater pipe into the wastewater treatment plants.” “Today…
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Vast majority of poll respondents oppose ministers and NCPO members joining Senate
PHOTO: Trying to explain the unexplainable Most Thais are unhappy with the party-list seat announcements and the perceived nepotism in the selection of parliamentary Senate members. A majority of respondents in a Suan Dusit Poll disagree with the ‘formula’ used to calculate party-list seats and with cabinet ministers and members of the military junta taking up new roles in the…
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Booking in advance, standardised tours, limited numbers – Maya Bay’s tourism future
“Both Thon and DNP executives emphasised that mass tourism would not be allowed again at Maya Bay.” by Pratch Rujivcanarom Maya Bay’s visitors will have to book in advance for limited day tours once the popular tourist magnet reopens to the public. After an official inspection of the rehabilitation efforts at Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Ley, local marine…
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And then there was three – a new bloc emerges from the political number-crunching
PHOTO: The latest political weapon – an adding machine A third possible bloc is emerging as the phones run hot with major parties trying to persuade the smaller parties and solo MPs to side with them. The magic number is 251 seats to form a workable majority coalition. Any fewer than 250 will mean they risk being defeated on any…
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Thai troops kill four drug couriers and seize large haul of ketamine
Thai troops have shot and killed four alleged drug couriers and seized more than 300 kilograms of ketamine. The incident happened last night in a corn plantation near a bordering river in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai. Acting on a tip-off that the drugs were to be smuggled from Myanmar for delivery to a Thai customer in Ban…
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MGallery brand partners with MontAzure in Phuket
Kamala’s MontAzure “integrated development” along the northern stretch of Kamala Beach, is rolling out a 236 unit hotel branded residences project. The MGallery Residences, MontAzure Lakeside, features both studio and one bedroom units. The development is located in the foothills on the inland side of the beach road. Initial pricing points generally run from 7.2 to 10.2 million baht. Owners…
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Thai government desperately needs a ‘clean air act’
by Pratch Rujivanarom Environment campaigners are urging the government to approve a clean-air act to solve the country’s chronic smog problem and honour citizens’ right to breathe clean air. Dr Wirun Limsawart, a policy analyst at the Society and Health Institute and member of the Clean Air Network Thailand, said at a press conference there was no more time for…
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Thai customs seize medical cannabis oil at Laos border
by Kamthon Kongsombat Nong Khai customs officers have charged a Lao citizen with trying to smuggle medical cannabis oil into Thailand via the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. 45 year old Pornpirom Wichit was arrested in Mueang Nong Khai district after 65 bottles of cannabis oil, estimated to be worth around 195,000 baht, were found in his luggage. Nimit Saeng-ampai, head of…
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“Don’t you know who I am”? Southern judge ridiculed.
PHOTO: Judge Krairat Veerapattanasuwan refuses to show his driving license The police chief of Nakhon Si Thammarat says he has set up a panel to investigate an incident where a man, identified as a local judge, refused to show his driving licence to a policeman when asked, saying he was a friend of the policeman’s boss. The traffic policeman was…
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Prayut sacks the Lottery board and chief, Army Commander-in-Chief Apirat Kongsompong
Thailand’s Government Lottery Office board has been removed by an executive order issued by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The board was chaired by the ultra-loyalist Army Commander-in-Chief General Apirat Kongsompong. The same executive order appointed Mr. Patchara Anantasilp, director-general of the Excise Department, as the new board chairman. The order was made coming into immediate effect. Three other people were also appointed to the new…
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Biometrics ID System being tested at Phuket Airport
A new Biometrics System is currently being installed and tested at the Phuket International Airport before going live this July. The biometrics system, a machine for personal facial identification and finger prints is being installed and tested at the Phuket international Airport today. The system is being installed at 16 airports around Thailand and is about 70% completed. Deputy police…
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Hat Yai’s annual balloon festival bursts into the skies above Songkhla
The International Balloon Festival at Hat Yai 2019 is on again this weekend as Songkhla’s provincial capital bursts into colour with larger-than-life characters. It started on May 10 at the Jiranakorn Stadium in Hat Yai and is sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The three-day festival of inflatable fun features 15 spectacular hot air balloons from Thailand and…
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Family-friendly things to do along Pattaya Beach Road (2019)
Drive out of Suvarnabhumi Airport and turn right, instead of left and going to Bangkok. And in an easy two hour drive you’ll arrive in the seaside resort of Pattaya, one of the worlds most famous, or infamous, playgrounds. Gone are the days where Pattaya is the one-dimensional resort town. In the recent years, it has increasingly evolved into a…
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French man nabbed on suspicion of operating a taxi
PHOTO: Manager Online Koh Samui police interviewed a foreign man who had been accepting money after taking tourists to the port on Koh Samui. The man denied he had been running a taxi service saying he was just helping friends. Thai operators, particularly taxi services on Samui, are claiming that foreigners were increasingly taking jobs reserved for Thais. Locals say Europeans,…
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Maya Bay’s closure could be further extended – Dr Thon
Maya Bay, closed to the public since last June to allow its beach and coral to recover, will remain shut to visitors for at least another two years as its ecology needs more time to heal. “The director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Tanya Netithammakul will have the final say on whether to reopen the…
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Thailand to re-open the export of elephants after a 10 year ban
After more than ten years with a ban on the export of Thai elephants, Thailand’s Foreign Trade Department is now poised to ease restrictions paving the way for the export of the protected species for ‘non-commercial purposes’. The director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, Mr. Adul Chotenisakorn, says the Ministry of Commerce issued a new regulation on April 10 to…
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Ping-pong bombs used in Samut Prakan gang brawl
Samut Prakan police have had to intervene in a confrontation between rival gangs and ended up sending five injured youth to hospital, only for the whole matter to flare up again in the hospital parking area. One group of four young men, wielding knives and wooden clubs, hurled a ping-pong bomb at their rivals in the Koh Bang Chalong community…
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Prawit defends the PM’s brother being appointed to the new Senate
PHOTO: Thai Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan When the media are sceptical, get your wing man to back you up. The deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan has defended the appointment of retired General Preecha Chan-o-cha, the younger brother of PM Prayut, as a senator in the new parliament’s upper house. He said Gen Preecha is qualified as he was a member of…
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