sino-asean trade -

Thailand’s rains arrive, but will not be enough to fill reservoirs/
Devastating Rainstorm Claims 6 Lives at Phichit school/
Over 10,000 Covid Cases In Chonburi Last Week/
Move Forward’s ‘Government of Hope’ coalition delivers a program promising a new charter/
Foreign investment posts 77% rise in value/
Struggling to survive/
Chon Buri woman discovers pearl in local market oyster/
Farmer in Phitsanulok puts buffalo up for sale for US$1.5 million/
Huge explosion at rocket festival sends locals fleeing in Kalasin/
Unregulated cannabis expected to be curtailed/
Tourism: Two views of elephant tourism in Thailand/Phuket speedboat driver tests positive for meth after crash injuring 37 tourists/TAT to boost safety measures/
International: Sino-ASEAN land-sea trade corridor shows great vitality/Climate: ‘dangerous heat’ could afflict billions by 2100/Chinese researchers discover evidence of ancient ocean on Mars/Brazil faces dilemma: endangered macaw vs wind farm/
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

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Thailand’s rains arrive, but will not be enough to fill reservoirs

Some parts of Thailand will suffer water shortages despite rains this year, the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) announced. According to TMD, Thailand’s wet season arrived on Monday and will last until mid-October.

Some areas are expected to be hit with heavy rain until early June, while thundershowers will hit up to 80% of the east of Thailand and the southern west coast. Continued …

Devastating Rainstorm Claims 6 Lives at Phichit school

As anticipated by the Meteorological Department’s forecast for the onset of the rainy season, heavy rainfall swept through multiple areas of Phichit province, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. The province had braced itself for 20% of the predicted rainfall, and the forecast proved to be spot on.

During the rainfall, strong winds and a cyclonic storm affected the Wat Noinpo School located in Sam Ngam District, Phichit. The school had a large dome building used as a volleyball court, a 7-a-side football field, and for various other sports activities. Continued …

Over 10,000 Covid Cases In Chonburi Last Week

Chon Buri’s Public Health office said yesterday that there were 10,648 new Covid cases and 12 deaths last week (May 14-20), with the majority being the elderly. Of this total, 13 were being treated for pneumonia while 19 require oxygen.

People in this province adjacent to Bangkok were urged to strictly follow Covid prevention measures as follows: Continued …

Move Forward’s ‘Government of Hope’ coalition delivers a program promising a new charter

The deputy leader of the Move Forward Party, tipped to be Thailand’s next Minister of Finance, Sirikanya Tansakul, on Monday spoke about growing confidence that the party would be able to form its proposed government with Pheu Thai, with more support coming from within parliament and positive noises from the Thai Senate.

The proposed coalition, on Monday afternoon, published a memorandum of understanding signed by the eight parties, which did not refer to the controversial Section 112 provision on lèse-majesté and promised a new constitutional reform program would be launched within 100 days with a referendum to be put to the people, which could lead to a new constituent assembly. me of reform being proposed by what the Move Forward Party describes as a ‘government of hope’ for Thailand. Continued …

Foreign investment posts 77% rise in value

The value of investment in Thailand soared by 77% year-on-year to 185.7 billion baht from 397 project proposals between January and March, with South Korea being the top foreign investor in terms of value in the first quarter, says the Board of Investment (BoI).

Foreign investment accounted for 155.2 billion of total investment, a year-on-year increase of 115%. Continued …

Struggling to survive

You are what you eat, but some do not have the privilege to choose. Nai, who is skinny and short for his age, lacks more than just a proper diet. He has been abandoned by his mother, and his father is serving a jail term. As a result, his uncle has kindly taken him into his own family.

But like others, he is living from hand-to-mouth, so providing his nephew with a balanced diet from the five food groups is difficult. Due to a lack of variety in their diet, slum children, though not starving, are suffering from malnutrition. Continued …

Chon Buri woman discovers pearl in local market oyster

A lucky woman in Chon Buri found a valuable pearl inside a large oyster purchased from a local market. The resident, Thevalee Sitonwong, discovered the stunning orange pearl while preparing a meal for her and her husband.

Thevalee revealed that she and her husband had gone to the market to buy some ingredients for their dinner, which included a popular Thai dish named Som Tum. They bought two large oysters, intending to cook them as part of their meal. As per usual, Thevalee cleaned and boiled the oysters before serving, and just as they began to eat, her husband bit down on something hard within the oyster’s flesh. Continued …

Farmer in Phitsanulok puts buffalo up for sale for US$1.5 million

A farmer in Thailand put a giant water buffalo up for sale for 50 million baht (US$1.45 million) yesterday.

Forget a pool villa in Phuket, for the same price you could bag yourself one of the biggest buffaloes Thailand has ever seen. “Petch Lamkhong,” a three-year-old water buffalo (“kwai“) from “Big Ice Farm” in Phitsanulok, weighed in at a whopping 1.4 tons at the 6th Phitsanulok Giant Buffalo Contest yesterday. Continued …

Huge explosion at rocket festival sends locals fleeing in Kalasin

A dramatic display unfolded during the annual Bun Bang Fai Talai Lan Festival in Kalasin Province’s Kuchinarai District as a single 20-million-fireworks rocket lifted off and exploded mid-air. The festival, which took place yesterday, is uniquely celebrated in this province, with numerous rockets being launched into the sky, attracting numerous local and international tourists.

At around 7pm, footage of the 20-million-fireworks rocket explosion was shared on the Facebook Page “Taxi Roi-Et 092-9030306.” The one-of-a-kind rocket was seen bursting mid-air, causing sparks and debris to shower down on frightened spectators. Fortunately, no one was injured as the event organizers had taken necessary precautions and arranged security measures. Continued …

Unregulated cannabis expected to be curtailed

The ease of buying marijuana on the streets of every province in Thailand will soon come to an end, as nearly all parties who contested Thailand’s election are calling for the repeal of the law that famously decriminalized the cannabis plant.

In the absence of strict regulations, the cannabis industry has flourished in Thailand. With over 250,000 growers and more than 4,500 dispensaries selling ganja in every province, the industry was valued at $1 billion by 2025 by University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. Thailand has become so notorious for cannabis this is prompting law enforcement agents in other countries to screen returning travelers for cannabis use. Continued …

Two views of elephant tourism in Thailand

The history of people and elephants in Chian Mai goes back thousands of years. Centuries ago, Thai kings rode these giants into battle. Elephants were used in harvesting timber until Thailand banned logging in national forests in 1989, prompting many owners to turn to tourism.

Then came the dramatic halt caused by the pandemic. Elephants are expensive to keep (they can eat more than 300 pounds of food a day). Most elephant attractions closed their doors, and many elephant owners – who rented out their animals to tourism operators – brought them back to their villages, some walking along the road for days. Continued …

Phuket speedboat driver tests positive for meth after crash injuring 37 tourists

The man who crashed a speedboat into a channel marker in Chalong Bay in Phuket, southern Thailand – injuring 37 Thai and foreign tourists – on Wednesday tested positive for methamphetamine.

The 29-year-old tour boat driver, Sathit Mardchai, underwent a blood test for alcohol and drugs following the incident, commander of Phuket Provincial Police Maj. Gen. Sermphan Sirikong said yesterday. Continued …

TAT to boost safety measures

With the number of Chinese visitors hitting 1 million, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Tourist Police Bureau have committed to strengthening safety measures for travelers.

Tanes Petsuwan, TAT deputy governor for Asia and the South Pacific, said the TAT still has work to do to reach the target of 5 million Chinese tourists this year, with about 70% expected to be independent tourists with high purchasing power who are unfazed by deflation in China. Continued …

Sino-ASEAN land-sea trade corridor shows great vitality

The new International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a major international logistics project, has achieved great success, as a recent report shows that its development index in 2022 surged to 135.2 from 122.6 in 2021 and 102 in 2020. Continued …

Climate: ‘dangerous heat’ could afflict billions by 2100

Current policies to limit global warming will expose more than a fifth of humanity to extreme and potentially life-threatening heat by century’s end, researchers warned Monday. Continued …

Meta hit with record 1.2-billion-euro fine over EU data rules

Facebook owner Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for transferring EU user data to the United States in breach of a previous court ruling, Ireland’s regulator announced on Monday. Continued …

Chinese researchers discover evidence of ancient ocean on Mars

Chinese researchers have uncovered direct evidence of an ancient ocean on Mars’s northern plains, according to a team from the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan. The discovery, recently published in the journal National Science Review, has the potential to further solidify our understanding of the Red Planet’s geological history. Continued …

Brazil faces dilemma: endangered macaw vs wind farm

A wind farm in northeastern Brazil sounds like a welcome climate-friendly energy solution, but it is causing controversy over another kind of environmental worry: the impact on the endangered Lear’s macaw. 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