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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...

  • One night in Bangkok – 45 arrested for drugs and 91 for street racing

    One night in Bangkok – 45 arrested for drugs and 91 for street racing

    It’s been a busy night in Bangkok with nearly 140 people detained or arrested over street racing and others testing positive for illicit drugs at just one late night venue. Ninety-one motorcyclists and pillion riders were arrested las night (Friday) in an ongoing crackdown on street racing in the capital. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, the deputy commissioner of the Tourist…

  • Had any problems registering your drone in Thailand?

    Had any problems registering your drone in Thailand?

    Over the past few years the sight, and sound, of Chinese-made drones flying overhead has become commonplace, if not sometime annoying. Several times I’ve been struggling to hear the wedding vows, or even the celebrant, at marriage ceremonies with the high-pitched buzz of the wedding videographer’s drone whizzing overhead. They do provide astonishing shots for a cheap price. But I…

  • Phuket street art group calls for justice over Premchai black panther case

    Phuket street art group calls for justice over Premchai black panther case

    Graffiti in Thailand has so far been an instrument to denounce social injustice following the murder of the protected black panther, and Phuket is another location where this street art is being expressed. A local Phuket group has painted their thoughts on the walls in the heart of old Phuket Town. On February 4, a black panther was killed in…

  • Co-ordinated attacks across the South today

    Co-ordinated attacks across the South today

    Suspected ethnic Malay insurgents bombed power poles and burned tyres on the roads of five districts of Narathiwat early on Friday, police said. This follows a similar attack this morning in Yala where mobile phone towers were torched along with the same burning of tyres on main roads. The perpetrators also hung cloth banners criticising the Thai government. Police say…

  • Similan National Park to close for five months

    Similan National Park to close for five months

    The Department of National Parks (DNP) has announced that the Similan Islands in Phang Nga will be temporary closed from May 16 for five months. Today (May 4) there are still many tourists, both Thai and foreigners especially Chinese, at the Similan Islands. Most tourists want to enjoy the beach before the island will be closed in a few weeks.…

  • Six metre python released back to the Krabi forest

    Six metre python released back to the Krabi forest

    Officials of a local foundation in Krabi have released a 6 metre long python back into a forest this morning (Friday) after they captured it at a house in the Muang district the previous evening. The snake, which weighs about 50 kilograms, was captured from a pile of wooden planks near the duck pen of a house in Tambon Tapprik.…

  • Five people in custody after bomb-making equipment and chemicals discovered

    Five people in custody after bomb-making equipment and chemicals discovered

    Five people have been handed over to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) this morning (Friday) linked to the discovery of 1800 bars of ‘Powergel’ in Pathum Thani last month. Powergel is routinely used as a mining explosive and comes in the form of bars. Two of the suspects are 46 year old Yutthana Chidchol, a police officer from Sakoo station in Phuket,…

  • Phuket Court denies bail in alleged property fraud case

    Phuket Court denies bail in alleged property fraud case

    PHOTO: Emerald Development Group Facebook page Bail has been denied at a hearing in the Phuket Provincial Court earlier today in the case of Sawit ‘Mai’ Ketroj who was arrested at Phuket International Airport on May 1 over a case involving alleged fraud related to the Emerald Development Group. Khun Mai’s lawyers say they will appeal the decision of the Court…

  • Couple arrested over Facebook luxury goods scam

    Couple arrested over Facebook luxury goods scam

    A couple has been arrested for allegedly stealing an ID card which they used to set up a fake retail business selling luxury goods through a Facebook page without delivering the goods. The arrest of 34 year old Napat Jun-anporn and 24 year old Suthiwat Mansathit was announced yesterday (Thursday) after they were apprehended at their home in Pathum Thani’s…

  • Only one Patong bar staff failed the ‘purple pee test’

    Only one Patong bar staff failed the ‘purple pee test’

    Only one out of 47 bar staff tested in Patong was found with purple urine (when added to a reagent) in drugs tests conducted in a raid of the party zone last night (Thursday). Officials from Kathu District Office led by Kathu District Chief Somprach Prabsongkram along with Patong Police and medical staff from Patong Hospital were randomly selecting Patong…

  • Journalists urge NCPO to revoke orders that curb press freedom

    Journalists urge NCPO to revoke orders that curb press freedom

    The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) is calling on the ruling NCPO to revoke at least three of their absolute orders which have hindered freedom of the press and people’s liberties for almost four years since it came to power. The TJA demand came as it commemorated World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated worldwide on May 3, to reiterate the…

  • Ten illegal hotels found in Krabi

    Ten illegal hotels found in Krabi

    Yesterday (May 3) more than 50 officers led by the Krabi Vice governor Apinan Pueakpong, along with soldiers from the Royal Thai Army Region 4, inspected the popular Ao Nang tourism area. Officers found 10 illegal hotels. Some of illegal hotels had never sought permission to renovate the buildings or permission to conduct and host tour guide businesses. Some of them…

  • AKSARA Collection appoints new Director of Hotels and Resorts

    AKSARA Collection appoints new Director of Hotels and Resorts

    The Pattaravornee Family of Phuket are very proud to announce that Mr. Matthew C Hindmarch, who joined the company as General Manager for Kata Sea Breeze Resort and part of the development team of The SIS Kata Phuket four years ago, has been promoted to position of Director of Hotels and Resorts. In this role, Khun Matthew who has been…

  • French man killed trying to stop a fight in Bangkok

    French man killed trying to stop a fight in Bangkok

    PHOTO: Thai Visa Sanook website is reporting today (May 3) that police were notified that a foreign man had been stabbed to death at a bar in a guesthouse in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. See story here Sanook Witness at the scene told police that a Thai man named only as ‘Pae’ was drinking alcohol with his girlfriend last evening until…

  • May Event Round-Up

    May Event Round-Up

    with Paul Poole (South East Asia) May is typically the month of the popular Hua Hin International Jazz Festival and this year is no different. For two days from 18-19 May, the seaside resort transforms into a mecca for jazz lovers with performers and fans arriving from all over the world. This year’s highlights include Austrian-born Simone Kopmajer and New…

  • Homesick Chaiyaphum worker (and his dog) bikes 500 kilometres

    Homesick Chaiyaphum worker (and his dog) bikes 500 kilometres

    A homesick Chaiyaphum man was spotted cycling home from Sattahip in Chon Buri with his pet dog. In a viral video clip and Facebook post by a reporter in Prachin Buri, 39 year old Kaen Homsanthia, is seen riding his bicycle on the Kabin Buri-Pak Thong Chai road in Prachin Buri, just to the north-east of Bangkok, yesterday (Wednesday) with…

  • COMMENT: The fall of the Emerald Development Group

    COMMENT: The fall of the Emerald Development Group

    Today is Mai Sawit Ketroj’s birthday. He’ll be spending it behind bars after being questioned by police about alleged fraud involving the Emerald Development Group. In a packed media conference yesterday Tourist Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan outlined the unravelling of the prominent Phuket property development company. “The suspect admitted that he has a lack of financial resources…

  • Phuket Town Gold shop thief arrested within five hours

    Phuket Town Gold shop thief arrested within five hours

    Quick work by Phuket Town police in yesterday’s gold shop robbery case. The Phuket Town Police have arrested 35 year old Sermsin Thepwong from Khon Kaen at 6:30pm last night (Wednesday). Police seized many gold items and a gun during the arrest. He was arrested at a house on Anuphas Phuketkan Road in Phuket Town. Read yesterday’s story HERE. After…

  • Emerald Condo alleged fraud case – CEO arrested

    Emerald Condo alleged fraud case – CEO arrested

    Sawit ‘Mai’ Ketroj arrives at Patong Police Station for questioning this morning The owner of a condominium project development company has been arrested after the condos were sold but the construction had never started. Police say that their current investigation estimates potential losses for buyers could exceed a billion baht. Police commanders have ordered officers to investigate after Patong Police…

  • Four month old foetus found in Chalong canal

    Four month old foetus found in Chalong canal

    Chalong Police were notified about the body of a foetus found in a canal in Soi Kuwattana, Chalong at about midday today (May 2). Chalong Police, along with the Forensic Police and rescue workers, went to the scene to investigate. At the scene they found the foetus of an undetermined gender. The body was covered with a white cloth and…

  • Six Kalasin state officials sacked over alleged drugs involvement

    Six Kalasin state officials sacked over alleged drugs involvement

    The governor of Kalasin province, north-east Thailand, Kraisorn Kongchalard, has terminated the employment of six state officials and employees while proceeding with serious disciplinary charges against them involving drugs. A monthly meeting of Kalasin kamnans and village headmen on Wednesday also saw participants undergo urine tests for substance abuse as a proactive measure. Kraisorn instructed all 18 district chiefs and…

  • Panwa Boonak crowned 2018 Thailand Optimist National Championship

    Panwa Boonak crowned 2018 Thailand Optimist National Championship

    131 Optimist dinghies competed at the 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta in Pattaya, all vying for top honours in the Thailand Optimist National Championships, and the three-day competition was fierce, with reigning champion Panwa Boonak (THA) looking to hold off strong challenges from fellow Thai juniors and many of the best young sailors from around Asia. Thailand’s premier youth…

  • British man dies in fall from Pattaya condo

    British man dies in fall from Pattaya condo

    A British man has fallen to his death from the 18th floor of a Pattaya condominium early today (Wednesday), in what is believed to have been a suicide. Pol Lt Col Kamol Uppakarat was alerted at 1am about the death at a luxury condominium in Tambon Na Klua in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. The body of 68 year old…

  • Police hunting for gold shop thief

    Police hunting for gold shop thief

    A thief has broken into the ‘Tanet Hok Gold Shop’ on Hatchananiwet Road in Phuket Town by breaking through the ceiling. The Phuket City Police were notified at 8.40am today (May 2). Police were investigating the scene this morning. They found that the shop had been ransacked and the ceiling damaged. Some gold items and a gun were stolen. The items…

  • Bryde’s whales thrill tourists off Chumpon coast

    Bryde’s whales thrill tourists off Chumpon coast

    People along the shore of Pathiu district in southern Chumphon province have been treated to the sight of a pair of Bryde’s whales today (Tuesday). The whales – commonly referred to as Bruda whales because of the pronunciation of the Norwegian name Bryde – surfaced repeatedly for about an hour near Koh Ran Ped and Koh Ran Kai, about…

  • Residents complain about pet crematorium in Paklok

    Residents complain about pet crematorium in Paklok

    Paklok residents have complained that they are facing problems from smoke from a private pet cremation business. The operator has responded to the complaints at the Damrongdhama Centre saying that they have a legal construction license to conduct the cremation services. Residents are opposing the business after the first three months of operation. The new pet cremation business was established…

  • Untreated wastewater flowing into Karon Beach

    Untreated wastewater flowing into Karon Beach

    News has gone viral in social media stating that “Phuket’s Governor must check this”! The Karon Municipality is investigating the black water caused by heavy rain from the local canal that needs to be urgently dredged. Phuket’s Governor also ordered an urgent solution. Yesterday (May 1) a video clip of black water flowing into Karon beach went viral on social…

  • Two race shoot-out brings 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta to an end

    Two race shoot-out brings 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta to an end

    PHOTOS: Guy Nowell The 2018 Top of the Gulf Regatta has lived up to its reputation for delivering close and competitive racing, and this year the weather made the racing even tougher. Over the past four days sailors have experienced everything from moments of becalm to 25 knot squalls, thunder and lightening, and blue skies indicative of sailing in the…

  • Pattaya tour boat operators continue to use beachfront

    Pattaya tour boat operators continue to use beachfront

    Many boats have continued to use the beachfront area to pick up and drop off tourists despite being ordered to resume using Chon Buri’s Southern Pattaya Pier (Laem Balihai) from today (Tuesday). Boat owners had been using the beach temporarily during the restoration of the pier. They claimed they could not switch back to using the pier as they were…

  • Lights, camera, MONEY – Thailand’s earnings from foreign film makers

    Lights, camera, MONEY – Thailand’s earnings from foreign film makers

    PHOTO: PRLog.org. Behind the scenes, filming The Hangover Part II on Phang Nga Bay. Figures are out from the Department of Tourism showing that revenue from foreign film productions shot in Thailand generated 799 million baht in only first quarter of 2018. The Director-General of the Department of Tourism, Anan Wongbenjara, Department Director General Anan Wongbencharat, says that a total…