- Cyclone Mocha to bring heavy rains to much of Thailand over the weekend/
- ‘Monster’ Asian heatwave and arrival of El Niño signal severe drought crisis/
- Thai parties make push to woo voters ahead of Sunday election/
- Thailand’s long and winding election road/
- Even wild elephants no match for Chachoengsao dogs/
- Exploring the peace corps’ 60-year history in Thailand/
- Thailand’s experiment with weed goes up in smoke/
- Thailand’s Economy: Number of registered businesses at highest level in a decade/EV Primus angles to create EV supermarket/Chon Buri to get new EV battery factory/Asia Biomass eyes 20% revenue growth in 2023/El Nino May Slash Thai Rice Crop and Spur Inflation Across Asia/
- Tourism: Thai tourism rebound evident with surge in new business registrations/‘Entry Thailand’ website introduced to provide useful information to visitors/
- International: Russia Retreats North Of Bakhmut, Mercenary Boss Calls It A ‘Rout’/G-7 finance chiefs boost Ukraine aid, propose supply chain plan/
- Links: Calendar of events/Airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/Hua Hin-Pattaya bus schedule/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers
Due to the election tomorrow, there will be no alcohol sales from 6pm tonight until 6pm Sunday.
Cyclone Mocha to bring heavy rains to much of Thailand over the weekend
The north, central, eastern and southern regions of Thailand will experience isolated heavy to very heavy rains from Friday to Monday due to the influence of tropical cyclone “Mocha”, the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) said on Friday.
The cyclone, which was hovering over the central Bay of Bengal as of 4am Friday, was moving north at about 10 km/hr with sustained winds of about 105 km/hr. It is expected to make landfall over Myanmar on either Sunday or Monday. Continued …
‘Monster’ Asian heatwave and arrival of El Niño signal severe drought crisis
Thailand is susceptible to the effects of El Niño, which is forecast by the Department of Meteorology and weather experts to commence in June. The world, Thailand included, is expected to face an intense drought due to the occurrence of El Niño, leading to reduced rainfall during the rainy season, or possibly no rain at all.
El Niño is the warm phase of a cyclical climate pattern known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, when temperatures in the Pacific reach more than 0.5 degrees Celsius above normal. Continued …
Thai parties make push to woo voters ahead of Sunday election
Surrounded by adoring crowds packed inside stadiums and halls, the main prime ministerial candidates of Thailand’s political parties made a final push to rally supporters on Friday, two days before a crunch general election.
After nearly a decade of a government that was led or backed by its royalist military, some 52 million eligible voters in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy will head to polling stations on Sunday when voters will choose whether to stay the course with military-linked conservatives or opt for change. Continued …
Thailand’s long and winding election road
When Thais go to the polls on Sunday, the challenge is how to help lay the groundwork for a system that can prevent the next election from being held under similar circumstances. It’s a tough ask, but every election presents a fresh hope, no matter how difficult the path remains.
The major paradox is there for all to see. It can’t be an election without heroes and villains, and it can’t be an election without everyone wanting to be a hero at the expense of others. It’s the way things are, but it’s not the way things are supposed to be. Continued …
Even wild elephants no match for Chachoengsao dogs
An amusing scene of wild elephants being chased out of a residential area by a pack of domesticated dogs was captured on film by villagers on Friday evening.
A herd of some 20 wild elephants had wandered into Ban Khlong Mahad village in Chachoengsao’s Tha Takiab district, said Somwong Chanthachote, chief of the village’s “Elephant Watch” volunteer group. Continued …
Exploring the peace corps’ 60-year history in Thailand
The Peace Corps is a United States agency established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to promote peace and friendship worldwide. Peace Corps volunteers have been working in Thailand since 1962, assisting Thai government agencies in various fields.
Currently, they operate in two main projects: teacher collaboration for development and youth development. Over 5,500 volunteers have worked with Thai communities for more than 60 years, but their work was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, Peace Corps volunteers returned to Thailand and underwent a 10-week training program before being dispatched to 29 provinces across the country. Their swearing-in ceremony coincided with the 60th-anniversary celebration of Peace Corps cooperation in Thailand. Continued …
Thailand’s experiment with weed goes up in smoke
After four years of support from the ruling coalition government, Thailand is expected to vote against the decriminalization of marijuana in Sunday’s general election. The current free-for-all and weed shops lining the busy tourist streets appears unlikely to continue in the months after the election and a new parliament is settled.
Almost all of the political parties involved in the 2023 national election are in favor of returning to the previous policies of marijuana prohibition and confining its use to medicinal purposes only. Only one party is still seeking some sort of policy that would allow and regulate recreational use. Continued …
Number of registered businesses at highest level in a decade
A total of 6,041 new businesses were registered in April, an increase of 12.37% over the same period last year, according to data released by the Department of Business Development under the Commerce Ministry.
The total number of registered establishments in operation during the first four months of this year reached 32,223, the highest in the past decade. The tourism sector saw 100% growth, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit disclosed on Friday. Continued …
EV Primus angles to create EV supermarket
The growing electric vehicle (EV) market in Thailand is leading car dealers to consider what EV brands should be featured in their showrooms.
Instead of relying on one brand, EV Primus sells a variety of brands, focusing on cars that match the different lifestyles of drivers. Continued …
Chon Buri to get new EV battery factory
Chinese high-tech enterprise Anwha (Shanghai) Automation Engineering has chosen Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor as its first overseas production base to make batteries for electric vehicles (Evs) under the MG brand.
“The factory will be located near the MG plant in Chon Buri,” said Anwha’s business development consultant Jay Teo, referring to a car assembly facility operated by Thai-Chinese joint venture SAIC Motor-CP, the manufacturer of MG cars. Continued …
Asia Biomass eyes 20% revenue growth in 2023
Asia Biomass Plc (ABM), Thailand’s largest biomass fuel producer and trader by volume, expects revenue to grow by 20% this year to more than 3.6 billion baht thanks to its business expansion amid growing concerns over global warming.
The company’s sales volume is projected to be 1 million tons in 2023. Last year, ABM revenue grew by 41% to 2.71 billion baht, up from 1.92 billion in 2021. Continued …
El Nino May Slash Thai Rice Crop and Spur Inflation Across Asia
Thailand, the world’s second-biggest rice exporter, is asking farmers to grow only one crop this year — instead of the usual two — as a likely El Nino looks set to reduce rainfall.
Rice is highly water-intensive and is dependent on irrigation and enough precipitation. It’s an early sign of how the disruptive weather pattern is threatening global food production. The resulting drop in rice output also has the potential to push up prices of a staple food for more than half the world’s population. Continued …
Thai tourism rebound evident with surge in new business registrations
Thailand’s tourism sector has witnessed a strong rebound, as evidenced by the significant surge in new registrations for tourism-related businesses during the initial four months of this year.
The Ministry of Commerce revealed yesterday that the number of new tourism-related business registrations had doubled year-on-year, reaching 2,579 in the first four months, with a total registered capital increase of 135% to 6.66 billion baht. Continued …
‘Entry Thailand’ website introduced to provide useful information to visitors
Thailand’s Department of Tourism has introduced “www.entrythailand.go.th,” a website that contains useful information, news, related websites, and applications for travelers on arrival and during their stay in Thailand.
The website features:
– Thailand information
– Real-time, in-depth flight information
– SHA/SHA+ accommodation booking
– Reservation home and camping
– Cultural calendar
– Weather warnings
– Thai disaster alert mobile application
– Thailand tourism directory
– VAT refund for tourists. Continued …
Russia Retreats North Of Bakhmut, Mercenary Boss Calls It A ‘Rout’
Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine’s battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, in a retreat that the head of Russia’s Wagner private army called a rout. Continued …
G-7 finance chiefs boost Ukraine aid, propose supply chain plan
Group of Seven (G-7) finance chiefs put more aid on the table for Ukraine, set up a new supply chain initiative and vowed to fill regulatory gaps in the banking sector in a show of unity on global geo-economic issues after three days of talks. Continued …
Hua Hin-Suvarnabhumi bus schedule
- Leaving Hua Hin: 6am, 8am, 10am, 12:00, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm
- Leaving Suvarnabhumi: 7:30am, 9:30am, 10:30am, 12:00, 2:30pm, 4pm, 6pm
The one-way fare is 325 baht.
The VIP bus service from Hua Hin to Suvarnabhumi Airport has a new Cha Am boarding location in front of Government Savings Bank.
Hua Hin-Pattaya bus service twice a day
Hua Hin now has twice-daily bus service to Pattaya, leaving Hua Hin at 9am and 3pm, and departing from Pattaya at 8am and 4pm. Tickets are 473 THB.
Tickets can be bought in person at the Hua Hin bus station or online. Buses depart from the Hua Hin bus station and in front of Government Savings Bank, Cha Am.. Tickets
Hua Hin-Chaing Mai flight schedule through October
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