Bangkok

  • Covid-19 News

    Bangkok police arrest 6 Vietnamese in mask hoarding sting

    Immigration police yesterday arrested 6 Vietnamese nationals in a sting operation, for allegedly hoarding hand sanitiser and facemasks. The items are highly prized due to the current Covid-19 coronavirus situation. They were arrested at a house in Bangkok’s Suan Luang district. Police reportedly found 142,500 face masks and 12,000 bottles of hand gels, 13 barrels of alcohol, three gel making…

  • Covid-19 News

    Coronavirus UPDATE: Bangkok NOT being locked down, sobering forecast for US

    Across the world the total number of Covid-19 cases has reached 858,000 (8am Thai time), registering 42,114 deaths and 177,141 people fully recovered. In the US, the number of cases has reached 187,729 – nearly 24,000 new cases in the past 24 hours and 726 people dying over the past day. Here is our page for all the latest Covid-19…

  • Covid-19 News

    No more shutdown announcements in Bangkok, for now

    “Bangkok will not announce any further measures or continue to shut down the city.” This, from Taweesin Visanuyothin a spokesman of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. “Due to the daily number of confirmed cases remaining at a stable level, Bangkok officials have come to an agreement that they will not announce any more measures or force people to…

  • Covid-19 News

    Bangkok monks now sporting bespoke facemasks

    Monks (well, some of them, anyway) in the nation’s capital have begun wearing custom face masks and even facial shields, as they make their daily morning alms rounds. Abbot Phra Maha Somkiat Yansuttho and his novices from Bangkok’s Wat Matchan Tikaram temple, aka. Was Noi, wore face masks while they went out to ask for alms and chat with neighbouring…

  • Covid-19 News

    Red hazardous waste bins spring up in Bangkok for used masks, tissue

    Used face masks and tissue paper are now classified as hazardous waste during this Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, at least in Bangkok. The city’s governor Aswin Kwanmuang is urging people to dispose of used face masks properly, using the new red bins which are designated for hazardous waste. “Used face masks must be put in a plastic bag fastened with a string…

  • Covid-19 News

    Bangkok City Hall closes more venues, but 3 types allowed to reopen

    Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA or City Hall as it’s more commonly known), is closing down more public venues around the capital, effective midnight tonight (Friday) until April 30, as it steps up measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Sites to remain closed are all sport arenas of both humans and animals (boxing arenas, cockfighting and fish fighting…

  • Covid-19 News

    Blue Flag grocery vehicles deployed in greater Bangkok to encourage staying home

    With the state of emergency requiring people to stay home as much as possible and keeping their ‘social distance’ in public to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, the Ministry of Commerce has launched a fleet of Blue Flag vehicles to sell and deliver groceries and other consumer goods at affordable prices, right to people’s homes. Starting yesterday, mobile…

  • Covid-19 News

    Military checkpoints set up to monitor domestic travel

    Under the state of emergency which went into effect around Thailand last night, the military has set up 357 checkpoints to monitor interprovincial travel in an additional measure to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. A statement said the checkpoints are in response to the PM tasking the military command with supervising security measures. The checkpoints are manned by…

  • Covid-19 News

    UPDATE: Thailand confirms 106 new coronavirus cases, 3 more deaths

    UPDATE: New cases announced in Phuket (below). ORIGINAL STORY: Thailand health officials have reported 106 new Covid-19 coronavirus infections today, bringing the total to 827 in the Kingdom. The number of new cases is lower than the 122 recorded yesterday. The Ministry of Public Health has also reported 3 additional deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing…

  • Covid-19 News

    Minor International pleads with Thai PM for a full lockdown

    “I believe that under your strong leadership, the message to stay home, limit personal movement and avoid interaction with others will be taken to heart and will help us overcome this crisis.” Thai hotel chain Minor International has sent a frank letter pleading with the Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang to curb public movement and activities…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Hot days for the North, possible thundershowers in the South

    Thailand’s Meteorological Department says today that a low pressure system covers upper Thailand and will make for hot, dry days in the north of Thailand. Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Phuket five day forecasts below. “A westerly trough covers the upper Northeast, while southerly and southeasterly winds blow humidity from the South China Sea into the Northeast, the East, the Central…

  • Covid-19 News

    Bangkok closures – the details and the panic buying

    After today’s announcement from the BMA that the closures around the city would be ramped up, supermarkets started filling up as the shelves started becoming increasingly empty. The additions to the closure list is the latest efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 around the Thai capital. Bangkokians have started to stock up on essential goods after the Bangkok Metropolitan…

  • Covid-19 News

    Army disinfects Bangkok’s Lumphini Boxing Stadium

    Bangkok’s legendary Lumphini Boxing Stadium, which became a local epicentre of many infections of the Covid-19 coronavirus, was sprayed down with disinfectants early this morning. Soldiers from the army’s Chemical Department began spraying overnight at the city’s Central Ramindra Department Store and finished at Lad Pla Khao intersection, focusing on handrails, stairs and bus stops, and any public areas which…

  • Covid-19 News

    Bangkok governor issues stern warning over closures

    Bangkok’s governor Asawin Kwanmuang is warning business owners that they face heavy fines, even jail if they disobey orders to close. And in an apparent warning to police, he said “the same applies” to those responsible for ensuring the ban is enforced. Asawin says six types of establishment have been ordered shut until the end of the month to try…

  • Covid-19 News

    Army disinfecting Bangkok streets

    The Royal Thai Army this morning began spraying roads in Bangkok with disinfectant to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus . the Royal Thai Army units have been deployed to carry out the daily cleaning from 1am to 5am until the end of March. A spokesman says the spraying, approved at a high-level meeting chaired by army chief Apirat…

  • Covid-19 News

    Bars, clubs and cinemas closed, but only in Bangkok and only for 14 days

    Such is the speed of the news cycle at the moment, we can hardly keep up with the updates and changes in the ongoing reactions by the Thai government to the Covid-19 story. This morning the Thai PM was ‘thinking’ about closing down bars and entertainment venues, now it’s actually happened, but only in and around Bangkok. The Cabinet has…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thammasat University cancels classes for a week, Thai universities urged to ‘go online’

    Thammasat University has cancelled all classes for at least one week, saying in a statement that they plan to resume classes again next week (below). The statement from the university mentioned the Covid-19 world pandemic and said it would co-operate to protect its students. “All classes at Tha Prachan and Rangsit will be cancelled during March 16 –22, 2020. Classes…

  • Covid-19 NewsCovid-19 reaching ‘stage 3’

    Covid-19 reaching ‘stage 3’ in Thailand

    Yesterday The public Health Ministry insisted that the country was yet to enter Stage 3 of the covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Despite the discovery of a new cluster of infections, the number of cases still remains at 70. (Update: 5 new cases were announced on Friday morning) The permanent secretary for public health, Dr Sukhum Kanchannaphimai reports some cases can be…

  • Covid-19 News

    UPDATE: 11 new Covid-19 cases announced for Thailand – total now 70 people

    Thailand now has a total of 70 Covid-19 Coronavirus cases with the announcement yesterday of six new confirmed patients and another 11 cases announced this morning. In their daily briefings the Thai Ministry of Public Health added that 34 patients had now fully recovered. One person has died of the disease in Thailand. And Thailand confirmed eleven more cases of…

  • Covid-19 News

    “My experiences with Coronavirus in Bangkok”

    Today, the owner of Ohana Poké restaurant ‘Mr. Jay’ in Bangkok, has recently been placed in quarantine after been confirmed with the Covid-19 coronavirus. Feeling concerned, Jay decided to blog about his experiences battling the disease and his personal experiences in quarantine, in an honest and open fashion. Rumours spread after Mr. Jay travelled from Singapore to Bangkok on February…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thai Airways passengers, flying from ‘at risk’ destinations, now require health certificates

    Thai Airways is now demanding passengers, departing on their planes from China, Italy and South Korea, to Thailand, provide the national airline with health certificates before they can receive their boarding passes. The announcement was the airlines’ latest reaction to the growing coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Here’s The Thaiger’s daily Coronavirus update HERE. The new compliance relates to Thai flights out…

  • Things To Do

    The top 10 most expensive condominiums in Bangkok

    Bangkok is never short on luxury condominiums, and one new project keeps overtaking the others, in terms of price and amenities. Here are the 10 most expensive condominium units in Bangkok for sale, in 2020. The most expensive condominium on the list is priced at 650 million baht (20 million US$). Which one is for you? No.1 98 Wireless –…

  • Crime News

    Shots fired in Nontha Buri mall

    Police rushed to the Central Plaza mall in Nontha Buri province, just northwest of Bangkok, yesterday, after reports of gunshots inside the mall. The sound of shots was reported at about 4:20pm and people fled the building in the city’s Muang district. There were no reports of death or injuries. Local radio station Jor Sor 100 traffic radio later reported…

  • Environment News

    Smoke from plantation fires continues to choke central and northern Thailand

    Smoke from fires, mostly deliberately lit, continue to choke sections of central and northern Thailand today. Light winds are not blowing away the smog and haze produced by the smoke, particularly in the north where Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have readings today from ‘unhealthy’ too ‘very unhealthy’ – in a range from 170 up to 240 (particles of PM2.5…

  • Politics News

    Bangkok police on alert at student rallies

    Authorities in greater Bangkok are keeping a watchful eye on students organising political rallies at universities in and around Bangkok, warning them to strictly adhere to public assembly laws. Last night, activities were held by students at Mahidol University, Silpakorn University’s Tha Phra campus, Chiang Mai University and Maejo University, also in Chiang Mai, following the Constitutional Court’s decision to…

  • Property

    Bangkok has a surplus of 100,000 new condos as Chinese buyers stay home

    Bangkok’s condominium market is facing its biggest challenge in decades with one of its key feeder markets sitting it out at home. The capital’s soaring condo market, once a favourite for Chinese investors, looks towards a bleak year with Chinese investors having other things to worry about, or simply unable to travel to Thailand, due to coronavirus fears. Bloomberg economists predict…

  • Songkran News

    Top 10 dos and don’ts for the 2020 Songkran festival

    Heading to Thailand for the 2020 Songkran festival? Want to know the dates, where to go and the dos and don’ts for this amazing water festival in Thailand? Songkran is a single name given to a series of concurrent events – an astrological ‘new year’, a Buddhist festival, the ‘change’ from dry season to wet season and a humongous water…

  • Bangkok News

    Schoolboy survives 3rd floor fall from escalator in Bangkok mall

    A 12 year old student was seriously injured when he fell from a third floor escalator at CentralWorld shopping complex in Bangkok yesterday afternoon. Police say the student dropped his mobile phone while descending from the third floor, reached out to grab it, over-stretched and fell. The incident occurred about 2:40pm, according to police. The boy, from a school in…

  • Crime News

    Gunman allegedly shoots and kills ex-wife at mall in Bangkok, another injured

    Bangkok police report that a woman was shot and killed and a bystander wounded after a man opened fire in a shopping centre this afternoon. The gunman fled the scene straight after the shooting. He’s still at large. The incident took place in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movie Plaza, near the Victory Monument. The clinic is identified…

  • Crime News

    1 dead, 1 injured in Bangkok mall shooting, gunman escapes

    One woman is dead and a bystander injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in downtown Bangkok on this afternoon. The incident occurred in front of a beauty clinic inside Century Movies Plaza, just steps away from a tourist shopping area. The victim killed was a 28 year old employee of the clinic, while the injured victim…