Thailand

  • South Thailand News

    Bottlenose dolphin found dead on Nakhon Si Thammarat beach

    PHOTO: DMCR Following Sunday’s discovery of a dead porpoise on Sunday, a bottlenose dolphin has been found dead on a beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat as well following last Friday’s storm. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) reports that they were informed yesterday by Vachirapong Sakunrat who found the dead dolphin at Nadan Beach in Khanom, Nakhon Si…

  • South Thailand News

    Pabuk: PM visits Nakhon Si Thammarat to survey damage

    Between January 3-6, Pabuk was responsible for the death of four people and has affected the lives of more than 720,000 in 23 southern provinces. The death toll from the storm has now risen to four while three southern provinces are still reeling from its impact yesterday. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Chayapol Thitisak said that his department…

  • Bangkok News

    Saudi teenager allowed to stay in Thailand, for now

    A Saudi teenager who flew to Thailand to escape her family in Kuwait will be allowed to stay in the country for now. Thai officials ended up in diplomatic hot water yesterday after government officials initially said they planned to deport a Saudi teenager who was stopped in Bangkok, en route to Australia to seek asylum, drawing objections from the…

  • Bangkok News

    UPDATE: Standoff at Suvarnabhumi – Thai Immigration reverse decision

    Speaking at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport where Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun is refusing to board a flight back to her family that she fled in Saudi Arabi, Lt. Gen. Surachate Hakparn says now that Thailand has reversed it’s thinking on the matter and will not deport her against her will. “If deporting would result in her death we definitely won’t do…

  • Thailand News

    NLA President urges critics not to blame Coronation for election delays

    The country’s NLA President Pornpetch Wichitworachai is warning critics to refrain from blaming the forthcoming King’s coronation ceremony for causing potential delays in the national election. He says that authorities concerned with planning the election must choose appropriate timing for the election and ensure that it doesn’t affect the auspicious ceremony. “The ceremony would bring joy and happiness to the…

  • Thai Life

    Leo returns to ‘The Beach’

    … well, a beach in Phuket anyway. PHOTO: BACKGRID It’s 19 years since Leo DiCaprio starred in ‘The Beach’. The film made both Leornado and Maya Bay famous. Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi is now closed but Leo has made a return to Phuket island where he shot many of the scenes for the film (including at the On…

  • South Thailand News

    Paralyzed American teacher heads home to US after GoFundMe raises $76,000

    Guillain-Barre Syndrome affects an estimated one in 100,000 people and can cause widespread paralysis Bradner’s family started a GoFundMe account to raise funds to cover her medical care in Thailand, transportation home and rehabilitation in the US Caroline Bradner woke up on the morning of December 22 in Thailand. She couldn’t move and found herself paralyzed from the neck down.…

  • Koh Samui News

    Pabuk: Floods and blackouts along southern Gulf coast as storm moves away

    • Floods and blackouts have left nearly 30,000 people in evacuation shelters across southern Thailand • Relieved tourists stranded on islands further north were spared the worst and are now working on continuing their journeys • Pabuk packed winds of up to 75 kph (45 mph) and brought heavy rains and storm surges as it lashed the much of the southern…

  • Koh Samui News

    Pabuk: The worst is over as southern Thailand mops up

    The potential for any further problems associated with Tropical Storm Pabuk are diminished as the remnants of the storm continue to move westward and out to sea away from the Andaman Coast. The general consensus is that, whilst unseasonal and packing high wind speeds (for Thailand), the storm’s impact was less than predicted causing minimal damage to infrastructure in the…

  • Krabi News

    Pabuk: Now sits over Andaman Sea, moving west

    The south of Thailand awakes this morning to a wet and windy aftermath of tropical storm Pabuk. The storm centre has crossed the Peninsula and now sits west of Phang Nga province as it weakens and continues to move westerly away from the coast. Gale-force winds, storm surges and flash flooding are still predicted as the remnants of the weakening…

  • South Thailand News

    Pabuk makes landfall as it swirls across the Malay Peninsula

    PHOTO: The National The Meteorological Department is reporting that the outer arms of tropical storm Pabuk made landfall at 12.45 pm along the coast of Pak Phanang, district of Nakhon Si Thammarat today. The storm is weakening as it moves towards neighboring province Surat Thani to the north, moving at around 18 kilometers per hour, with maximum wind speeds of…

  • Thailand News

    40 more people died during Seven Days of Danger

    463 people died due to traffic collisions and chaos over the past week – the seven days of danger – with drink diving and speeding, again, the major cause of traffic incidents. The death toll was up by 40 from last year’s count of 423 and close to the 2017 record of 478. Drink-driving was listed as the cause of…

  • Koh Samui News

    Pabuk: Heading for Koh Samui, Surat Thani

    The projections of ventusky.com show ‘Pabuk’ making its way up the Gulf of Thailand in a north-westerly direction. According to the map model, the storm is likely heading for Koh Samui and likely to make mainland landfall further up the coast around Chumpon. But the fallout from the storm will certainly affect the entire southern coastline from Nakhon Si Thammarat,…

  • Koh Samui News

    Pabuk: Tourists flee Gulf islands of Koh Phangan, Samui and Koh Tao

    “Waves could reach seven meters high in the Gulf of Thailand.” Thousands are departing some of the tourist hot spots including Koh Phangan and Koh Tao as the region’s first tropical storm for January in 30 years heads northwest across the Gulf of Thailand. Tens of thousands of tourists are reported to be fleeing the Thai resort islands of Koh…

  • World News

    Pabuk: Moving past the southern coast of Vietnam

    Vietnam has experienced heavy rainfall and strong winds as Pabuk hovers off the southern coast heading into the Gulf of Thailand. vnexpress.net reports that, as of Wednesday, tropical storm ‘Pabuk’ was stationed around 360 kilometers (223 miles) to the southeast of Con Dao Island off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, with wind speeds of up to 75 kilometers…

  • Koh Samui News

    Unseasonal storms predicted for the South

    Southern provinces are under warnings from the Thai Meteorological Department following official notifications yesterday. They’re also predicting that other parts of Thailand will have cooler temperatures during the forecast period. “Downpours and waves up to four metres are expected in the Gulf of Thailand from Thursday, beginning with Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Krabi, Trang…

  • World News

    Six reasons Thailand’s English skills are the lowest in SE Asia

    by tastythailand.com An article, compiled by tastythailand.com, chronicles some of the key reasons Thailand’s education system battles with the teaching of English. An unnamed author poses the premise…. “In the last few years, as countries like Vietnam and Laos now have English skills surpassing Thailand’s, it’s become obvious Thailand’s education system is to blame. But why?” Thailand’s education is a…

  • Bangkok News

    Happy New Year Thailand!

    PHOTO: The Nation The Amazing Thailand Countdown 2019 was held at the new riverside shopping hub Iconsiam last night as a “New Year present” for Thais and tourists. It was a joint venture between the capital’s newest luxury shopping mall and the TAT. Large countdown crowds and fireworks kicked off 2019 at dozens of venues around Thailand, and a bright…

  • Pattaya News

    CAAT probe crash of light-aircraft that killed South African pilot

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has inspected the wreckage of a private light aircraft that crashed in Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district yesterday. The crash precipitated a fire that killed the 60 year old pilot, Mike Romberg from South Africa. The turboprop light aircraft crashed to the ground when it was about to make a landing at Rajamangala…

  • Pattaya News

    Round the world handicapped pilot crashes in Chon Buri

    A video has captured the final moments of a light aircraft that crashed in Sri Racha, Chon Buri yesterday. Footage also shows the aftermath of the crash. The aircraft was piloted by Mike Lomberg, a South African who was flying through Thailand as part of a round the world flying adventure. The private light aircraft crash-landed yesterday, killing the pilot. The…

  • Phuket News

    One death in Phuket on Day Four of ‘seven days of danger’ – Total death toll reaches 3

    PHOTO: The Phuket PR Office According to statistics issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket Office, the island registered seven accidents and one death on Day Four (December 30) of the annual road safety campaign. Total of the first fours day of the campaign in Phuket is now three deaths. The one death yesterday was an…

  • Bangkok News

    New Year weather around Thailand

    It might be the middle of the annual high season but the ‘high season’ weather isn’t co-operating. Although generally fine weather has been the trend in the past few days there are a few unseasonal fronts coming to different parts of the country, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. In the central/southern provinces, including around Hua Hun and Gulf islands…

  • World News

    Malaysians citizens being warned about travelling to Thailand’s south

    The Malaysian Foreign Ministry is advising Malaysians residing in Thailand or travelling to the Kingdom to “remain vigilant and exercise caution at all times”, in the wake of bomb explosions and shooting incidents in the country’s southern provinces. Officials say bomb explosions and shootings had been reported in different parts of Narathiwat and Songkhla. No Malaysians were affected by the…

  • Bangkok News

    HRH Princess Sirindhorn offers New Year wishes

    Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has expressed her best wishes to the staff of the Thai Red Cross Society and members of the public after presiding over the offering of alms to 100 monks to mark the arrival of the 2019 New Year. Organised by the Thai Red Cross Society, the annual event was held in front of…

  • Business News

    Sporting events, meetings and Indian weddings spur Phuket tourism in 2018

    PHOTO: WeddingSutra.com by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Phuket’s surging MICE market is now valued at 10.9 billion baht, as meetings, incentives and exhibitions attracted over 800,000 visitors to resort island in the last year. The islands increasingly prolific MICE market nearly doubled in year-on-year growth in 2017. As revenue for the segment skyrocketed from 5.9 billion baht to a record-high 10.9…

  • Phuket News

    Foreigner woman caught on video spray painting road in Rawai

    PHOTO: Patthama Bruno Facebook A video is being shared on social media of a Russian speaking woman caught red handed spray painting all across a road in Rawai, Phuket. Facebook user Patthama Bruno was out on her morning run when she saw something a little out of the ordinary and decided to share it online. In the video we see…

  • Health

    Battle of the Buddha Bulge – Tackling the monk obesity crisis

    Or “Too Much Junk for Chunky Monks” “Monks often live an unhealthily, sedentary lifestyle but exercise is a particularly sensitive subject. They must not be seen to be vain, and also cannot wear shoes, two factors that make working out and fitness something of a spiritual minefield.” Contrary to the well-known depiction of a Buddha as a man with a…

  • Bangkok News

    Thai authorities visit airports following reports of thefts and food overpricing

    PHOTO: King Power With over 3 million people expected to pass through Thailand’s airports during the new year, authorities are focused on ensuring safe and ‘fair’ travel conditions. A report by Channel 3 tv news says Thailand ombudsman, General Withawat Ratchatanan and airport authorities were seen inspecting Suvarnabhumi airport. The number of CCTV cameras at the airport has been increased…

  • Phuket News

    Watch leather back sea turtle eggs on Phang Nga beach via cams

    PHOTOS: DMCR Fences have been set up on Kuek Kak Beach in Khao Lak, Phang Nga to prevent thieves and animals from disturbing turtle eggs that were laid there earlier last week. There are now six CCTVs monitoring the area. A mother leather back sea turtle laid 93 eggs at the beach in Khao Lak, Phang Nga last week. The 89…

  • Thailand News

    Free internet for low income earners with registered welfare cards

    Photo: Backyard Travel The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has announced a project where some 1.8 million registered low-income earners, especially in remote areas, will receive internet in their home for three years. As part of a Universal Service Obligation (USO) project, the aim is to close the ‘digital gap’ providing internet access to 2.1 million households or 6.3…