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Patong’s beach road closed for an hour for new year celebrations
The Patong beach road will officially close for an hour as Patong revelers celebrate New Year 2019 at the island’s most famous beach. Thaweewong Road (Beach Road) will close from 11.30pm-12.30am. The closure is meant to be a safety measure to stop the volume of tourists and new year revelers from being run over. But last new year the traffic was…
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NACC finds Prawit innocent in relation to luxury watches
“The controversy erupted late last year when Prawit showed up at a Cabinet meeting sporting a Richard Mille designer wristwatch said to be worth nearly 3 million baht.” The National Anti-Corruption Commission has ruled in favour of Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan, saying he was not guilty of falsely reporting or concealing his assets. The national anti-graft commission’s secretary general Worawit…
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Two Koreans drown in freak golf buggy accident in Phitsanulok
FILE PHOTO Two South Korean men have drowned after their golf buggy collided with one driven by their wives in northern Thailand today. The Guardian reports that the group were on a ferry on Wednesday preparing to cross the river that runs through the course in Phitsanulok province when the men were accidentally rammed by their wives in another. The…
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Deputy PM links last night’s Songkhla attack to local issues
Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan, and defence minister, has linked last night’s Songkhla bomb attacks to politics in the southern province. He says he is confident that the incidents had nothing to do with insurgency in the deep South, claiming that security authorities already knew who was behind the Samila Beach attack. “The aim was to cause chaos during the New…
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Blacklisted Egyptian arrested in Krabi, changed one letter in his passport name
An Egyptian man, who had already been blacklisted for 10 years, has now been arrested in Ao Nang, Krabi after entering the country by making a minor change to his name. Krabi Immigration Police Chief Col Supparueak Pankoson says, “27 year old Egyptian man Motazz Aly Mohammed Alyelnoby was arrested on Tuesday.” “We have found that Alyelnoby was suspected of…
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Thailand’s emerging ‘go to’ location for New Year
Tokyo, Paris, New York City… and Chiang Mai. Whilst the first three are perennial favorites to ring in the new year, Chiang Mai has overtaken Thailand’s capital as THE place to be to see in 2019, according to Agoda. Tokyo’s appeal continues with concerts, parades and light shows on offer. For Thais, Chiang Mai overtakes Bangkok’s crown for the top…
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Hua Hin “full for New Year”
Talk News is reporting that a local tourism adviser was expecting 100% occupancy in Hua Hin and Cha-Am hotels at New Year. Though it was not just foreigners but many Thais who were visiting in droves this festive season. Runrot Sileuangsawat was quoted as saying that, at the moment, occupancy rates were an average of 80% in the two seaside…
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Three bombs found on a Songkhla beach after blasts damage famous mermaid statue
A bomb squad has discovered three explosive devices at Samila Beach in Songkhla province, hours after two blasts damaged the landmark mermaid statue. The types of bombs are still unknown. The three explosives were found at the beach during a search after last night’s explosions. The landmark golden mermaid statue at Samila Beach was damaged by two explosions on Wednesday…
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GoAir expands flights to Phuket with daily operations
Budget passenger carrier GoAir has announced that it is enhancing its operations to Phuket with the launch of daily directly flights from Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. According to the airline, it expanded the services effective December 22. “At the beginning GoAir started two direct flights per week to Phuket from Delhi, three direct flights per week to Phuket from…
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Religious ceremonies held at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao
Three religions ceremony were held yesterday at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao yesterday commemorating 14 years since the deadly tsunami that struck the island. About 100 people joined the ceremony conducted in the style of three religions – Buddhism, Islam and Christian. Flowers were placed at the wall by survivors and the families and friends of those that perished…
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Hotel room rates remain stagnant whilst Airbnb continues to grow in Thailand
PHOTO: Airbnb As the head-scratching continues as to why traveller aren’t drinking expensive beers in girlie bars and avoiding ‘traditional’ tourist haunts, Airbnb has a record year in Thailand, signaling more problems for the hotel business as tourists seek alternative holiday experiences. As the number of guests continues to trend upwards with more than 1.65 million inbound Airbnb guests to…
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Prawit’s luxury watch probe, delayed outcome by the NACC
Uncertainty over the fate of Deputy PM Gen Prawit Wongsuwan continued yesterday after the country’s anti-graft watchdog failed to deliver its report on the probe into Prawit’s collection of luxury wristwatches. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) was scheduled to discuss the case and make a decision on the matter yesterday but postponed its meeting yet again, because a commissioner had…
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Thailand approves medical marijuana
CNN reports… Thailand’s interim parliament voted to allow the use of medical cannabis. Recreational use of the drug remains illegal. Lawmaker Somchai Sawangkarn says the passing of an amendment to allow medical marijuana in the country “could be considered as a New Year gift to Thais.” “The amendment (on the Narcotics Bill) was passed on the second and third readings…
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Tourism arrivals in Thailand up 7.5% so far this year
• Chinese tourists are still accounting for nearly a third of arrivals. • Russian, UK and German tourists record strong rises for 2018 • Australian and New Zealand arrivals down just over 1% (average) for the year The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has announced the tourism figures for January-November 2018, providing an accurate indication of what the country can…
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One dead and two injured in ambulance crash in Trang
PHOTOS: The Nation An ambulance has collided into a truck in Trang province today. The crash killed an assistant nurse and injured two others. Police say the accident occurred on a bypass road in the province’s Huai Yot district before 6am. The ambulance belongs to the Wattanapat Hospital Trang. The ambulance was on its way back to the hospital after…
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Man kills ex-girlfriend and two others during jealous rage in Lampang
The estranged ex-boyfriend of a university student has killed a security guard before shooting his ex-girlfriend and killing himself in Lampang province. The Nation reports that 39 year old Damrongchai Monotham died at the scene, but not before killing his former 21 year old girlfriend Boonyaporn Kantalah and a 28 year old security guard Weerapong Morpa. Umaporn Srichampa, a female…
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More leather back sea turtle eggs found at a Phang Nga beach
About 80-100 eggs have been found after a leather back sea turtle laid eggs on a beach in Tai Mueang, Phang Nga. The mother leather back sea turtle had laid 93 eggs at the beach in Khao Lak, Phang Nga last week. Now, 89 eggs have been carefully moved to a safe area on the beach whilst four eggs had broken.…
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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…
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Tsunami remembrance ceremony held on Patong Beach
Locals, tourists and provincial dignitaries gathered this morning at Patong Beach for a remembrance ceremony commemorating 14 years since the deadly tsunami that struck the island on the morning of December 26, 2004. The ceremony, presided over by Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup started at nine 9am. Flowers were placed on Patong Beach to remember those that died in the disaster. Official…
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New Chalong Circle traffic conditions for New Year traffic
PHOTO: The Phuket PR Office The Phuket Highway Office has announced new traffic conditions for the Chalong Circle roadworks during New Year. In the announcement there is no date mentioned for the start of what they call “new year festival’ but most of the changes listed are already in force. The map (below) provided by the Phuket Highway Office is…
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Medical marijuana is now legal in Thailand
• Possession of marijuana and krathom within legal limits will be allowed for treatment of certain diseases, for first aid or in cases of emergency •The committee has the authority to give permission to requests for production, import and export of marijuana A new law that legitimises the use of marijuana for medical purposes has sailed through the National Legislative Assembly…
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Cabinet passes civil partnership bill for same-sex couples
If you’re at least 20 years old, and one of you has Thai nationality, then, as a same-sex couple, you will soon be able to marry in Thailand. The cabinet has approved the civil partnership Bill, paving the way for Thailand to become the first country in Asia to endorse same-sex marriage. The current Bill, approved by the Cabinet yesterday,…
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Two Russian tourists from Phuket lost in Phang Nga forest, found safe
Officers were searching more than four hours for two Russian tourists who got lost in the Sa Nang Manora Forest Park in Phang Nga last night. But good news, they were both eventually found safe. Phang Nga police were searching for two Russian tourists, a 28 year old Russian woman and 29 year old Russian man. They were found at the…
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Phuket gears up for Christmas and New Year festivities
Phuket Police have put on a show of force to assure locals, tourists and expats that they’re set up and ready for Christmas and New Year public safety. The Phuket Provincial Police Chief of Operations, Col Kittisak Prasertpon says, “We are ready to look after residents and tourists safety during festival.” He made the remarks yesterday at the Phuket City Police…
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Fire damaged an embroidery shop in Phuket Town, put radio station off air
A fire has damaged an embroidery shop in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon. The damage bill is estimated about many hundred thousand baht. The Thaiger 102.75 FM has its transmitter and tower on the same building. The radio station was off air until 11am this morning as the power had been cut as a precaution. Firefighters were notified of the fire…
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Toll rises, officials warn of potential for more tsunamis
Dateline: Tuesday, December 25, 9am (Local Time) A threat looms of more potentially deadly tsunamis in between the island’s of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, this according to the country’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency. 5,600 people are now reported as officially displaced. That’s on top of 373 killed, 1,459 injured and 128 missing. The toll continues to rise as searches…
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4,600 million baht in assets seized from illegal tour company
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has seized 4,600 baht in assets from the OA Transport Company after a court judgement over their operations in Phuket and other provinces. At a media scrum held at the Police Region 8 headquarter in Mai Khao yesterday, officers made the announcements, led by Royal Thai Police Deputy Chief Gen Rungroj Sangkram, Secretary – General of…
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Political parties urged to push for lifting of media gag
PHOTO: Thai Journalists Association The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) has issued a statement urging all political parties to join its campaign for the revocation of four executive orders issued by the NCPO that have imposed restrictions on press freedom and freedom of expression. Even though NCPO have already rescinded some of the executive orders to pave the way for political…
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With a ‘whoosh’ his village was gone – Tsunami Update
Asep Sunaria says he heard a loud “whoosh” just moments before a wall of water pushed him off his motorbike. The surging waters swallowed up his house and the village he called home until the Saturday night calamity. new.yahoo.com reports that rescuers hunted for survivors of the volcano-triggered tsunami that killed at least 281 people along Indonesia’s coast. At the…
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Defence volunteers robbed of their guns in Pattani
by Pares Lohasan Police a hunting for six males suspected to have seized guns and bullets from 10 village defence volunteers assigned to guard a local school in Pattani province’s Sai Buri district last night. The suspects made off with four shotguns and 20 bullets. Sai Buri police superintendent Pol Colonel Montri Khongwatmai led forensic police to inspect Ban Seu…
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