Alcohol Sales Prohibited March 3/Anantara Hua Hin Resort celebrates 25 years- ECONOMY: Second-hand homes lead/Bank of Thailand slashes rate/Thai Rice Exports Fall/U-Tapao Airport project/Thai border trade value up/Lazada rides trade-up trend
- TOURISM: 6 million foreign tourists/‘Don’t Go to Thailand’ Video/Australian Tourist Dies After Phuket Assault
- THAILAND EXPERIENCE: Thailand’s street food makeover/10 things you absolutely cannot bring into Thailand/Thai coffee becoming premium product/What’s the point of luxury gyms?/Thai Coconut Pancake Among World’s Top Desserts
- HUA HIN TRANSPORT and LINKS
Alcohol Sales Prohibited in Thailand for Makha Bucha Day March 3
Thailand will enforce a ban on alcohol sales for Makha Bucha Day, which falls on March 3 this year. According to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, sales are prohibited on specific Buddhist holidays.
Makha Bucha Day is celebrated by Buddhists to honor a significant assembly of 1,250 monks who gathered spontaneously during the Buddha’s lifetime. This ban forms part of a broader regulation established in 2008, targeting several key Buddhist holidays, including Visakha Bucha Day and Asalha Bucha Day. Exceptions exist for international airport terminals, hotels, and entertainment venues in popular tourist areas, allowing them to sell alcohol under specific conditions. Continued …
Anantara Hua Hin Resort celebrates 25 years
The Anantara story didn’t begin in Phuket, Bangkok, or Koh Samui – three of the most famous places in Thailand – but in the more low-key coastal town of Hua Hin. It was in Hua Hin that the Anantara brand was born in 2001 with the opening of Anantara Hua Hin Resort.
Known as Thailand’s first beach holiday destination, Hua Hin became a popular vacation spot among well-to-do locals after King Rama VII chose it as the location of his summer palace in the 1920s. Continued …
Property past its low point; second-hand homes lead, 2026 seen steady
Thailand’s housing market in 2025 was like a ship battling rough seas all year, only beginning to see a glimmer of light in the final quarter. Data from the Real Estate Information Center (REIC) show that in Q4 2025, the market started to recover quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) after short-term stimulus measures, or a “Quick Big Win”, including cuts to transfer and mortgage registration fees and relaxed loan-to-value (LTV) criteria.
The momentum immediately lifted nationwide ownership transfers. Transfer transactions totaled 89,198 units, up 5.7% from the previous quarter. Transfer value reached B247.145 billion, up 9.3%. Continued …
Bank of Thailand slashes rate in surprise move to support economy
The Bank of Thailand says the cycle of policy rate cuts has ended, with yesterday’s reduction deemed sufficient to support the Thai economy. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 4-2 yesterday to cut the policy rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 1%, effective immediately.
Two members voted to keep the policy rate unchanged at 1.25%, according to the MPC secretary Don Nakornthab. He said if the Thai economy progresses in line with the committee’s assessment, the downward interest rate cycle can be considered over. Continued …
Thai Rice Exports Fall 17.5% as Baht Strengthens
Thai rice exports fell by 17.5% in January compared with the same month last year, as a strong baht reduced the country’s price competitiveness. Export volume totaled 530,287 tons, down from 643,144 tons a year earlier. Export value dropped to B9.707 billion, a 30.7% decrease.
Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Assn., said the appreciation of the Thai baht to around 31 THB per US dollar was the main cause. For every 1 THB the baht strengthens, Thai rice becomes US$12–15 more expensive per ton. Compared with the same period in 2025, the stronger currency has pushed prices up by US$40 per ton. Continued …
U-Tapao Airport project to kick off on April 3
Chula Sukmanop, secretary-general of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO), provided an update on the B290-billion U-Tapao Airport and Eastern Aviation City development, saying the EECO will issue a notice to proceed (NTP) to U-Tapao International Aviation Co., (UTA) on April 3, 2026. The date will mark the official start of the 50-year project timeline, with the concession due to end in 2076.
This progress came after the EECO signed a contract management agreement for the joint investment project with UTA, the concessionaire, on Jan.29, under which UTA agreed to waive certain contractual conditions precedent related to the construction plan and the operation of the high-speed rail link connecting the three airports — resolving the deadlock that had delayed the project for nearly five and a half years. Continued …
Thai border trade value up 11% in January
Thailand’s overall border and transit trade in January reached a total value of 161.1 billion baht, a 10.9% increase year-on-year, with China remaining a leading transit market, said deputy government spokeswoman Lalida Persvivatana.
Exports totalled 87.9 billion baht, up 12.6%, while imports stood at 73.1 billion baht, rising 9.0%. The figures resulted in a trade surplus of 14.8 billion baht for the month. Continued …
Lazada rides trade-up trend in Thai market
Lazada Thailand is shifting its strategy to “confidence commerce”, prioritizing trust and reliability over price or delivery speed. The strategy aims to strengthen LazMall in response to the continued growth of Thailand’s e-commerce market.
LazMall is Lazada’s curated online mall within its main platform, dedicated to offering authentic, branded, and authorized products. Lazada Thailand recorded the highest growth in Southeast Asia last year among Lazada’s regional platforms. Continued …
6 million foreign tourists so far this year
Thailand welcomed nearly six million foreign tourists since the start of this year, generating almost 300 billion baht in revenue, with Chinese, Malaysians, and Russians among the top visitors, the government says.
Deputy government spokeswoman Aiyarin Phanrit yesterday said the government was pleased with the overall tourism performance between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22, which saw 5.94 million foreign visitors enter the country, generating 293 billion baht in tourism income. Continued …
Foreigner’s ‘Don’t Go to Thailand’ Video Goes Viral
A foreign TikTok user has gone viral after posting a tongue-in-cheek video warning people not to visit Thailand, only to reveal that the country made him fall in love with it. The clip, published yesterday, quickly attracted widespread attention online. Thai and foreign viewers responded in large numbers, sharing their reactions and travel plans.
In the video, the man repeatedly says, “Do not go to Thailand. Do not do it,” presenting his remarks as a warning. He then jokes that travelers who book a one- or two-week holiday will eventually have to return home and, once back, will “hate” their jobs and normal lives because they cannot stop thinking about Thailand. Continued …
Australian Tourist, 58, Dies After Phuket Assault
A 58-year-old Australian tourist has died after being seriously assaulted in Patong, Phuket, prompting police to launch an urgent manhunt for the attacker. The victim succumbed to severe head injuries at Patong Hospital late yesterday.
Police were alerted at 11 pm yesterday after the injured tourist was pronounced dead at Patong Hospital. Authorities confirmed the deceased had sustained critical head wounds consistent with a violent physical assault. Continued …
Thailand’s street food makeover, and why it is the street food capital of the world
In Thailand, food is frequently in a paper bowl, handed across a metal cart right near a tattle of pigeons and the glow of a street lamp. Street food in Bangkok is a cultural language — one that continues to define the country’s identity even as its global dining prestige rises.
For decades, Thailand’s capital has been celebrated for its pavement kitchens: open-air stalls where recipes are refined through repetition, instinct, and memory. These spaces operate outside the formalities of restaurant culture, and represent something far more enduring. Street food is daily life made visible, an edible expression of community and shared lives. Continued …
10 things you absolutely cannot bring into Thailand
Your vape just got you arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport. You thought it was fine, legal in your home country, tucked discreetly in your carry-on. But Thailand does not care if what you bring is legal back home. The customs officer is now holding your device, citing a 2014 import ban, and you are facing up to 10 years in prison and a 500,000 baht fine.
Thailand’s import restrictions catch thousands of travelers off guard every year, and the consequences range from confiscation and fines to arrest, prosecution, and deportation. Some items on this list are obvious, but the other things that you cannot bring into Thailand will surprise you. Continued …
Thai coffee becoming global premium product
Thailand’s coffee landscape is being rewritten. Once seen mainly as a local staple or bulk commodity, Thai coffee is evolving into a globally recognized premium product.
A major driver is the Geographical Indication (GI) framework — GI is a form of intellectual property protection that identifies goods as originating in a specific place, where their quality, reputation, or characteristics are essentially linked to that origin. Continued …
What’s the point of luxury gyms?
Luxury gyms are expanding across Bangkok at a pace that feels less like a passing trend and more like a structural shift in how urban space is being used. From private Pilates studios tucked into Thonglor side streets to padel courts embedded within mixed-use developments, these spaces are multiplying in neighborhoods that already signal affluence, and they do so with a distinct confidence.
Their membership fees are high, their interiors deliberately restrained, and their access often limited. What they offer extends well beyond fitness. The growth of these spaces reflects a quiet reorganisation of social life. A decade ago, nightlife functioned as one of Bangkok’s most visible arenas of belonging. Continued …
Thai Coconut Pancake Ranks Among World’s Top Desserts
Khanom khrok, a traditional Thai coconut pancake, has been ranked 24th in TasteAtlas’s list of the 100 best desserts in the world for 2026. This achievement highlights the dessert’s global appeal, surpassing mango sticky rice, which placed 64th. The survey was conducted online with participation from consumers and food critics worldwide.
Khanom khrok is a beloved Thai street food made from rice flour and coconut milk, cooked in large iron pans with small indentations. The process involves creating a crispy batter base topped with a sweet coconut filling often enhanced with scallions, taro, corn, or pumpkin. Continued …
Hua Hin Links and Transport
Calendar of events/Airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/Hua Hin-Pattaya bus schedule/Air pollution index map/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers
A 20-year-old Myanmar national has died following a violent assault at Hua Hin fishing pier, with police arresting three teenage suspects within hours of the incident. The victim succumbed to severe injuries at Hua Hin Hospital after being attacked late on New Year’s Eve, prompting a swift investigation by local authorities.
A total of 145 people were killed and 769 injured in road accidents during the first three days of the New Year holiday travel period, with Bangkok recording the highest number of deaths and Phuket topping the list for the number of accidents, authorities said yesterday.
The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) said yesterday that another moderate to fairly strong high-pressure system from China is extending over upper Thailand and the upper south, bringing cool to cold weather and strong winds in many areas.
In a situation where the Thai economy faces challenges on all sides, especially the high level of household debt, reaching 90% of GDP, and the slowdown in nationwide residential property transfers, projected to fall by 6% in 2026, the Thai real estate market is inevitably dependent on foreign investment.
Thailand’s exports in 2026 are expected to face volatility and challenges due to a global economic slowdown that is dampening demand in key trading nations. High household debt will curb purchasing power, while a sluggish recovery in the global labor market, geopolitical uncertainties, and rising trade protectionism will continue to influence this sector, noted the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC).
Phuket’s tourism industry is calling on the government to urgently resolve what it describes as a deepening infrastructure crisis, warning that the island’s rapid tourism growth is outstripping its ability to cope.
Direct international flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai have officially begun, marking the first such service since the Covid-19 pandemic and strengthening air connectivity to northern Thailand.
At least nine people have died and more than 200 ?have been hospitalized in the central Indian city of Indore after a diarrhea outbreak that officials said was linked to contaminated drinking water, according to a lawmaker and local ?health authorities. 
China’s BYD has surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles (EVs) in annual sales. This marks the first time BYD has outpaced its American competitor, with BYD’s sales increasing by nearly 28% to over 2.25 million vehicles in 2025. Meanwhile, Tesla’s sales dropped by almost 9% to 1.64 million vehicles globally.