Thailand
- Thai Life
How to save $24,000 a year – the move to Chiang Mai
An Australian couple say they’ve saved almost $24,000 a year after a move from life in Melbourne to Chiang Mai. Michelle and her fiance Jason moved from Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria to northern Thai ‘capital’ Chiang Mai at the start of 2018. Freelance journalist Michelle has shared her savings and new lifestyle experiences in International Living. “Before…
- Health
10 million Thais to learn CPR and other life-saving techniques
The King’s Volunteer 904 Central Coordination Centre has assigned the Public Health Ministry to provide training to 10 million Thais in basic life-saving skills, principally learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) machines. The ministry will formulate a curriculum for training the public in CPR and AED and publish the materials online. The project…
- Business News
Thailand cuts rubber exports in a four month moratorium
Thailand is cutting rubber exports by 126,000 tonnes next week for a four month moratorium. This is a delay in implementing the supply cut agreement with two other regional producers, according to the Rubber Authority of Thailand. Originally it was agreed that Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia would cut exports back on April 1, a date agreed by the International Tripartite…
- Northern Thailand News
Weather warnings out for parts of the country
The annual monsoon is here. Bangkok, along with 55 other provinces in Thailand, have thunderstorms forecast over the next 24 hours. The Thai Meteorological Department have issued the warnings this morning. Storms are predicted in the central and northern regions and waves in the Andaman Sea forecast up to two metres, according to the TMD. Seree Supratid of Rangsit University’s…
- Health
Syphilis on the rise again in Thailand
Syphilis is again on the rise in Thailand. Although curable, this sexually transmitted disease can turn fatal if patients fail to recognise their infection and thus lose a chance to get timely treatment. The Bangrak STD centre, which is under the Disease Control Department, recently warned on its Facebook page that the number of syphilis cases had been rising at a…
- Thailand News
Massive corals off Rayong start bleaching
PHOTOS: Thon Thamrongnawasawat Massive and aged corals have started to bleach off the coast of Rayong in the Gulf of Thailand. Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, assistant dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University and a marine biologist says, “The coral in Rayong has started to bleach. From a bird eye view we can see clearly the white coral around…
- Thailand Election News
The Election Commission awards 27 parties with seats in the new parliament
PHOTO: The Thai PM warms up for the next round of musical chairs in the new Parliament “Someone has moved the goal posts and changed the soccer ball to a golf ball.” The new Thai parliament has now officially become unworkable, and that’s before anyone even sits down to take a vote. Today the Election Commission awarded 26 political parties…
- Northern Thailand News
Tham Luang caves to be properly explored and mapped
Local and foreign cave experts have been mapping the Tham Luang-Khunnam Nang Non cave, in the Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai, to create the first detailed map of the cave complex. The mapping follows confusion during the rescue, and mentioned last week by Vernon Unsworth, over the exact location where the boys were found. Mr. Chaiporn Siripornpaibul says the project will take about two years and is intended to discover more…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Summer storms forecast for the central and north of Thailand
The Thai Meteorological is warning provinces in the North, Northeast, Central and East about the threat of ‘summer storms’ until Monday. The latest storm warning was issued at 5am today. The Thai department said the thunderstorms were being caused by a high pressure system from China that covers the upper part of the Northeast and the South China Sea, while…
- Events
HM The King pardons thousands of prisoners
Six former leaders of a political group which was active over a decade ago, the People’s Democratic Alliance (PAD), are among thousands of inmates pardoned by His Majesty the King on the occasion of the Coronation Ceremony which started today and continues through the weekend and Monday. The pardons were announced in the Royal Gazette today. It said that HM King…
- Tourism News
Cabinet announces 13.2 billion baht handouts, also property and tourism stimulus
The Thai Cabinet has given the go ahead to 13.2 billion baht in social welfare spending to low income-earners. The payments would go to parents with children still in school, disabled people and farmers. The same meeting also announced tax packages to boost the real estate and tourism sectors. A spokesperson for the PM’s Office says that under the welfare card…
- Events
His Majesty marries Suthida and names her Queen, days before coronation
FILE PHOTO: Queen Suthida with His Majesty the King and Prince Dipangkorn Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn announced earlier this evening that he has married his bodyguard, Gen. Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya, and named her Queen Suthida, just days before the Royal Coronation this weekend. The announcement was made tonight in the Royal Gazette. In 2014 HM appointed Suthida Tidjai, a…
- Thailand News
Thailand’s first Rabies death for the year
PHOTOS: PR Office The first death from rabies this year was in Surin, north of Thailand. The Public Relation Department today reported that Dr. Suwannachai Wattanaying- Charoenchai, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control says, “We were notified that a 32 year old man in Surin has died from rabies.” “Before he died he was being treated for fever and was…
- Thailand Election News
Future Forward’s Thanathorn says he’s confident he will be endorsed as an MP
Thanathorn had prepared some 27 items of evidence to prove to the poll authority that he had divested his media shares on January 8, well before he registered to run in the election that took place a month later. A defiant Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit emerged from yesterday’s marathon ‘chat’ with the Election Commission over charges he still owned…
- Thailand News
Thai business sector drops 2019 export projections by 1%
The Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade are revising down Thailand’s 2019 export growth projections from 3.1% to 2.1%. They say several unfavorable external factors are contributing to the revised outlook. Thai PBS reports that Mr. Sanan Aung-ubonkul, vice president of TCC and BoT, says that, in order to maintain the 3.1% growth projection, the value of monthly…
- Events
Royal Coronation ceremonies in the inner sanctum of the Grand Palace
The historic Coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn this weekend will be based on long held traditions that were included in coronations of the preceding nine Kings of the Chakri Dynasty since 1782. Three halls in the Phra Maha Monthira section of the Grand Palace will be used for the royal coronation. Off limits to the public, the Phra Maha Monthira…
- South Thailand News
12 women rescued from human trafficking ring at Malaysia border
Officials have raided a karaoke bar in Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district, on the Malaysian border, rescuing 12 Lao women from prostitution. The raid against the Relax Pub in the border town was carried out at 8.30pm last night by officials from the Provincial Administration Department and DSI (Department of Special Investigation), as well as staff of an international non-governmental organisation.…
- Tourism News
Phuket Airport passenger arrivals dip
by Bill Barnett, c9Hotelworks.com To date, 2019 is shaping up to be a slightly volatile year for tourism to the island. Passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport rose 1% year-on-year in January, but took a step backwards in February with a substantial 6% decline. While we are still early in the year, overall visitor arrivals to Thailand on a country-wide…
- Health
Could cannabis cigarettes be available in your local convenience store?
Thailand’s Tobacco Authority is continuing to lobby for a license for the production of cannabis-based cigarettes but has a few legal, and moral, hoops to climb through before anything happens. Using the ‘health benefits’ argument, the Thai tobacco industry is hoping it can get the go ahead to manufacture cannabis-based cigarettes which could, if given permission, be as available in…
- Bangkok News
Nakorn Pathom woman dies after centipede bite
PHOTO MONTAGE: Thai Rath A 54 year old Thai woman, Chutikarn Worachote, from Nakorn Pathom, just west of Bangkok, has died after being bitten by a centipede, or “takhap” in Thai. She was bitten in the right foot on Saturday and taken to hospital. She was administered an injection and given medication to take home to her accommodation in Samphran district.…
- Thailand Election News
EC dogged by new controversy after poll re-run in Nakhon Pathom
Five times they counted and five times they got different results. The re-run of the election and the counting of votes in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok, couldn’t have gone worse for the Election Commission, coming under fire from all directions over irregularities, forced recounts and hundreds of small errors in the counting process. The credibility has come under renewed…
- Events
The Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn
PHOTO: His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn together with his father, the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej Special report from our media partners, The Nation This Saturday, May 4, is the start of a three day ceremony to crown His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn as he ascends the throne as King Rama X, succeeding his beloved father, His Majesty the late King Bhumibol…
- Travel
Strong growth from key markets compensate for slight dip in Chinese tourists
by Thanchanok Phobut | Senior Coordinator, Thailand CBRE, international property consultants, believe that the Thai tourism market is still as resilient as ever. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports announced they are expecting more than 40 million tourists to visit Thailand this year, up from the record-breaking 38.3 million last year. According to the latest figures, the…
- Property
Buyback Option at VIP KATA Condominium by Phuket9
Phuket9 Company announces a buy-back option for VIP KATA Condominium Project with a rental return of 56% over 8 years. The first two buildings of VIP KATA Condominium were launched in July 2018. After one month in August 2018, Phuket9 commenced construction of the second phase – 2 more buildings including 209 apartments, 2 common swimming pools, rooftop gardens, restaurants and a kids club.…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s seastead couple remain elusive
The Seastead may be under 24 hour guard at the Port of Phuket but the couple who were staying in the structure offshore from Phuket, and have become the international face of the seastead experiment, remain elusive. According to Phuket’s deputy police chief Pol Colonel Witoon Kongsudjai, their mobile phone signal identified the couple’s last known location as Tarutao Island…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Phuket faces critical water shortages if the monsoon doesn’t arrive soon
Phuket is now, officially, experiencing water shortages, with water in the province’s three catchments just enough for the supply of tap water until the end of May, and the condition is expected to get worse if the annual monsoon doesn’t kick in soon. The annual south-west monsoon usually starts dragging in moist air and the ‘wet season’ begins sometime around…
- South Thailand News
SUV catches fire sitting in Trang’s hot sun
PHOTOS: Earn Benjakun A SUV has caught fire while it was parked in the hot southern sun in Trang over the weekend. Fire fighters in Trang were notified of the burning SUV in Yan Ta Khao District in Trang at 2pm on Sunday. Fire fighters arrived to find the SUV ablaze. It took about 15 minutes to control the fire.…
- Thailand News
Thailand is ‘least miserable’ country in the world again
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he’s delighted over Thailand’s rating as the “least miserable” economy in the latest Bloomberg Misery Index. The annual Misery Index is calculated as the sum of a country’s inflation and unemployment rates. The index compares the average of economists’ forecasts for each country. The US moved six places to 13th least miserable and the UK improved four spots to 16th least.…
- South Thailand News
Commerce Ministry talks up benefits of palm oil for generating power
While the Thai government is promoting the use of palm oil to produce power, the latest price of the oil remains lower than the cost of producing it because the volume of output was 30% more than the expected quantity. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives will survey the real quantity of palm oil to be released onto the market…
- Environment News
Mae Hong Son continues to be plagued with fires
Mae Hong Son province continues to be plagued by forest fires despite the ban and the raging haze and smoke problems. In recent months, Mae Hong Son has been struggling with haze most of the time with flights to its airport limited at the height of the crisis. Exposure to the serious air pollution has become a threat to the…
