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Sponsored Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?
Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...
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The new, non-flammable, Samsung Galaxy Note 8
It’s impossible to appraise the sleek new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 without recalling it’s fiery predecessor, the Note 7. It got somewhat of a reputation for with catching fire or even exploding, being banned on aeroplanes and eventually just about everywhere else. It was a costly and embarrassing gaff for the South Korean electronics giant. The Galaxy Note 8 phablet…
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Phuket’s main soi dog shelter in Thalang gets a make-over
Phuket authorities, led by Phuket Vice Governor, Siwaporn Chuasawat, visited the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter today (August 23) in the Suan Pa Bang Kanun man-made forest in Thalang for a big clean-up event. A one million Baht budget was approved to give the shelter a much-needed make-over. Currently, there are 460 stray dogs living in the 4-rai shelter with only…
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Phuket Town gambling raids – 4 dens and 30 gamblers
Last night (Tuesday), police arrested 30 gamblers in 4 football gambling dens in the Phuket Town area. They started with a bistro calleded Lucky on Takuapa Road where police received complaints from locals that there was football gambling going on inside. The front of the shop looked like a normal bistro selling food and beverages but walking further into the…
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Saphan Hin green upgrades and Old Phuket Town cabling goes underground
Phuket’s Mayor plans to make Saphan Hin Park the ‘lungs of Phuket’ and to put all the electric cables for the whole Phuket Old Town area underground. “Saphan Hin Park is a seaside public park that now needs renovation as it has been decayed because of the content exposure to salt water and the sea air damaging the stone retaining…
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Bus and truck curfew in place for Patong Hill
Following the sucession of accidents involving buses and trucks in recent months, Traffic Police have placed official restrictions on access to Patong over the notorious Patong Hill for during certain hours of the day. Buses carrying 21 passengers or more, 10-wheel trucks, as well as trailers, won’t be allowed on Patong hill (Phra Baramee Road) from 6 am to 9 am…
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Severe Typhoon Hato bears down on Hong Kong and the Pearl Delta
Yesterday we were reporting about the threat of heavy rains in the Central and North-east of Thailand later this week. Today, the tropical storm Hato has been being renamed ‘Severe Typhoon Hato’ as it batters Hong Kong and communities in the Pearl Delta. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and the stock market has been closed as heavy rain and…
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HM Bhumibol Adulyadej commemorative coins popular at reservation locations
Specially minted coins, commemorating the forthcoming funeral of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, are causing long queues at locations around the country. Long queues formed at various designated locations across the country on Tuesday morning as members of the public waited to reserve commemorative coins minted for the funeral of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. There…
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Heir today, gone tomorrow. Tracking down Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya.
The disappearance of difficult-to-find Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya is not a simple police conspiracy to ‘protect’ the hi-so heir to the Red Bull fortune. There is a complex web of strategies by the Yoovidhya family to make sure he is difficult to track down – not just Boss but the whole family, and their money. The Bangkok billionaire family responsible for…
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Mother alleges her 21 year old son was beaten to death at military camp
A complaint has been lodged with Surat Thani police by the mother of a conscript who suspects her son was a victim of a beating at the 45th Military Circle based in Vibhavadi Rangsit Military Camp. The mother of 21 year old Private Noppadol, Mrs Malaiporn Worakitpan has told police that her son was brought home by two conscripts on Saturday.…
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14 injured in van and pick-up crash in Chiang Mai
Eleven Chinese tourists and three locals have been injured after a pick-up truck crashed into a van yesterday afternoon in Chiang Mai. Among the 11 Chinese tourists, five were severely injured and remain in a local hospital. The Chinese consulate general based in Chiang Mai says that the five severely injured tourists are still being treated at the hospital but…
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240,000 methamphetamine pills seized after northern car chase
Police have seized a huge haul of 240,000 methamphetamine pills after a hot pursuit of drug smugglers near Chiang Rai yesterday morning. Acting on a tipoff that a substantial shipment of ya ba was to be smuggled across from Myanmar into Mae Sai, heading south for the capital, police immediately set up road blocks to intervene. At about 1am yesterday…
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NIDA poll shows 81 percent of Thais admire Prayut
The majority of respondents in a NIDA poll are giving PM Prayut Chan-o-cha good poll numbers for his administration’s performance over the past three years following the 2014 coup. Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan was also named the most impressive Cabinet member in the same survey. The poll by the National Institute of Development Administration says that 49 per cent of…
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Ratsada drug purge continues
A 21 year old man from Ratsada sub-district, Wanchana Saelim, was arrested yesterday (August 19) with 589 amphetamine pills plus 50 grams of meth amphetamine. The arrest follows a report from an undercover officer in the Ratsada area who had followed Khun Wanchana for a while and discovered he was trafficking drugs to the locals on a regular basis; the…
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Baggage handler nabbed at Phuket Airport over thefts
Attachai Kaewduang, a 25 years old Baggage Handler working at Phuket Airport, was caught and arrested for stealing a mobile phone and other valuables. Police found that he had repeatedly stole belongings from passengers. Following a complains left on the AOT (Airports of Thailand) Facebook page by an Indian passenger who travelled to Dubai from Phuket International Airport on April…
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Chinese tourists get in trouble in strong Nai Thon surf
Lifeguards saved two Chinese swimmers at Nai Thon beach yesterday after they’d decided swimming in a red flag zone was a good idea. As the shore along Nai Thon has sudden drops off, the red flags were placed along the beach yesterday with quite heavy surf and strong onshore winds. Somporn Wareekul, Head of Nai Thon beach lifeguards, says there…
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Three metre python caught snacking on chickens
A 3 metre python weighing around 20 kilos has been caught in the act swallowing two small chickens near a salvage yard of Mr. Poonsap Sae Ngang at 8am. A Kusoldharm rescue team tried to catch it using a rope lasso but the snake headed for a nearby tree. After a few attempts the team finally got the snake with nobody…
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Animal shows in Phuket. ‘Not in my back yard’!
OPINION by Tim Newton Three years ago the issue came into sharp focus in Phuket when a Ukraine company established ‘Nemo’, the first dolphinarium in Phuket, right next door to the Chalong Zoo. The dolphinarium drew a lot of kick-back from locals who took the NIMBY approach – Not In My Back Yard. They were applying their western values about the…
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New domestic terminal arrival & departure changes from tomorrow.
Heading to the airport? To the domestic terminal? Changes for traffic flow kicks in from tomorrow (Saturday). Check our story here so that you don’t get caught out. Some changes for traffic flow at Phuket International Airport
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A tale of two drug hauls. Drugs found in Ratsada and Tha Chat Chai.
Police arrested 32 year Teerapong “Jane” Wonganansup with 522 pills of amphetamine, 42.47 grams of crystal meth, a 9 mm. semi-automatic pistol, a .22 semi-automatic pistol, 130 bullets and a digital scale. After a report from an undercover officer, police made a visit to Teerapong’s house in Soi Paniang, Ratsada. They initially found 50 pills of amphetamine and 2 grams…
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Two years and no convictions. Erawan Shrine bombing, Bangkok.
Only one person has been interrogated about the horrific Ratchaprasong bomb of August 2015 and it is now feared justice may not be reached for several more years. Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the deadly bomb attack at the famous Erawan Shrine tourist destination in Bangkok, which killed 20 people and injured 125 others. Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw)…
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“It was a Barracuda”. Phuket Provincial Fisheries investigate the mystery bite of Japanese man.
Phuket’s Governor, with the help of a local specialist, says that the mystery fish attacking 36 year old Japanese man, Keira Kosigoe, while surfing 15 metres offshore in Kamala, wasn’t a shark but a barracuda. Following the incident yesterday (August 16), Governor Norapat Plodthong says that after asking the specialist from Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office to investigate the wound, the…
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Vaping could get you ten years in a Thai prison
Vaping, the popular alternative to smoking cigarettes, might be OK where you come from, but in Thailand sucking on your favourite ‘vape’, or even bringing them into the country, could put put you in a Thai prison for ten years. It’s not a new law, with the import of electronic cigarettes and shisha being banned back in October 2014, but…
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Muslim insurgents suspected in this morning’s bombing outside police living quarters
Muslim insurgents are suspected in the detonation of a car bomb in front of a row of townhouses, the official living quarters of staff at Pattani’s Mayo Police Station. No one was killed or injured in this morning’s bomb attack. Luckily police spotted the vehicle while it was being parked around 4am. The official barracks for the local police are…
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Police arrest two men with a kilo of meth-amphetamine
Border Patrol Police are searching for a third man, named only as “Gong”, implicated by one of the two suspects, after the arrest of 23 year old Teerasak “Dome” Somwang and 33 year old Non Rittichai, a Nakohn Si Thammarat resident, with one kilogram of crystal meth valued at 2 million Baht. The arrests follow an investigation by an undercover…
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Air Asia under fire over racial discrimination at Don Mueang
A Bangkok expat has taken to social media to share an open letter to Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, after facing what he describes as “Racial Discrimination” by airline staff at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. Philip Culbertson describes in detail how check-in staff questioned his group for an hour, demanding to see US$800 each from his wife and…
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Dramatic robbery of five pick-ups leaves two dead in Songkla
At least two people are dead after a daring robbery of five pick-up trucks in Songkhla yesterday which set off a dramatic series of events, including a hostage-taking, shootout, explosion and the safe disposal of a bomb. It started about 11am when a group of six or seven armed suspects raided the Wangto Car Centre in Tambon Na Thawi in…
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Japanese man gets bitten by ‘something’ at Kamala
A 25-30 year old Japanese man was calling for help yesterday (Wednesday) after getting attacked by a mystery marine creature at Kamala Beach which left him with some severe, deep wounds. Kamala police and locals in the area have surmised that the wounds seem to have resulted from sharp teeth, perhaps even a shark. The man suffered a deep wound…
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Ten year ‘Geeza Visa’ now available for Retirees in Thailand.
The 10-year visa for foreign retirees is now available at an Immigration office near you. Despite the top Immigration officer’s announcement today many offices are unaware of the change and new availability of the 10 year visa option. Lt. Gen. Natthathorn Prohsunthorn says the new visa comes in two installments, each lasting five years. Foreigners from 14 countries who meet…
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Rocks ain’t clams! Phuket man complains after finding stones in his seafood.
39 year old Kittiphon Chuensrinuan, from Phuket, headed to the Phuket Office of Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) yesterday to complain about overpriced clams sold in a seafood shop in front of the Rawai Sea Gypsy village. The display of clams also contained stones. He took photos and brought some of the stones as evidence. “First of all, the price at…
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Krabi snatch and run thief arrested in Phuket
Phuket police have managed to arrest 35 year old Panuwit Pakamas, a Krabi resident, after he snatched a bag with 10,000 Baht in cash and other valuables from a Chinese tourist and fled the scene. Pol. Lt. Col. Naruebadin Banglisen explained that 40 year old Ms. Yi Weihong reported to the police on August 12 that a Thai man on…
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