- Muay Thai Festival starts today at Seapines/
- Kite festival this weekend in Thap Sakae/
- National park in Nan opts for bamboo over plastic/
- Bangkok air pollution worsens/
- Air Pollution Hits Unhealthy Levels in Chiang Mai/
- Summer season starts in Thailand at the end of February/
- Fruit vendor wins 30 million baht lottery jackpot/
- Myanmar citizens in Thailand protest on coup anniversary/
- Tourism: Bangkok police crack down on checkpoints after actress bribe scandal/Tourists ‘told to pay or go to jail’/Thailand is most searched destination for Chinese Airbnb guests/Taxi scam concerns visitors the most/Bangkok opens first free space for street hawkers/Krabi hotel accused of favoring foreigners over Thais/
- Thailand Experience: You Think You Understand Thai Culture Because You Eat at Thai Restaurants?/Restaurant Review: Praça at The Standard Hua Hin/
- International: Philippines to expand US access to military bases/Australia to oust monarch from banknotes/’Surprising’ ancient Egyptian mummy ingredients discovered/
- Links: Calendar of events/airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers
Muay Thai Festival starts today at Seapines
Kite festival this weekend in Thap Sakae
The Fantasy Kite and Flag Festival, featuring more than 100 kites, is set for this weekend in Thap Sakae on Ban Thung Pradu Beach.
The event is organized by the Thap Sakae Beach Love Group, the Thap Sakae Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Thailand Kite Flying Assn., Prachuap province tourism and sports officials and the Ban Thung Pradu tourism community. Map
National park in Nan opts for bamboo over plastic
Sri Nan National Park in northern Nan province is the latest public attraction to go plastic-free by providing bamboo cups and other naturally derived utensils made by people living in adjacent communities.
Staff at the park, known for its campgrounds amid beautiful mountain scenery, worked with a team from Chulalongkorn University and had the support of Thailand Science Research and Innovation to plan the project and recruit craftspeople in Ban Wana Phrai, Ban Nongphum and Ban Nam Pi to make the utensils.
Associate Professor Dr Khemarat Talerngsri, the project leader, said bamboo sheath and pluang leaves are run through specially developed forming machines to ensure good quality and reduced production costs.
Bangkok air pollution worsens
Seventy air-quality monitoring stations reported unsafe levels of air pollution in Bangkok as of 7am today, with the number rising to 80 by noon, the Bangkok Air Quality centrer said.
Four stations detected “red” levels of PM2.5.
PM2.5 refers to fine particles of dust in the air. It can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause premature death from lung and heart conditions, especially among the elderly and those with health complications. Continued …
Air Pollution Hits Unhealthy Levels in Chiang Mai
The northern province of Chiang Mai on Wednesday was blanketed with haze from forest fires, while the visibility was reduced, many people suffered eye and nose irritation.
The PM 2.5 level in the city reached 56 micrograms per cubic meter, while at Hot district of Chiang Mai, PM 2.5 level was measured at 93 micrograms per cubic meter. The air quality index (AQI) in Chiang Mai stood at 203, which is considered harmful to people’s health.
Inside the campus of Chiang Mai University, the air pollution detectors were installed at every faculty to monitor the level of PM2.5, starting on Wednesday morning for real time results hourly. Continued …
Summer season starts in Thailand at the end of February
The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) is predicting a scorching high of 43 degrees Celsius in Thailand this summer, and that the new season will kick in before the end of February.
The TMD reported yesterday that the summer season in Thailand would be delayed by one or two weeks this year. The weather will get warmer by the end of February and the summer season will end around May.
March and April will bring hot, humid weather with thunderstorms, and temperatures will be about 35.5 degrees Celsius, a bit higher than last summer. Continued …
Fruit vendor wins 30 million baht lottery jackpot
A fruit vendor from Rayong province in eastern Thailand won 30 million baht (US$916,310) in the government lottery yesterday. He says it will pay off his debt and pay for his children’s education.
The new-found millionaire, 33-year-old Phongpat Witheethep, was at the market in Pluak Daeng district where he sells fruit for a living when he spotted a lottery ticket that he “liked the look of.”
Phongpat had such a good feeling about the number 297411 that he decided to buy five tickets with the same number. Continued …
Myanmar citizens in Thailand protest on coup anniversary
Hundreds of Myanmar citizens and workers gathered in front of the Myanmar embassy in Thailand to mark the second anniversary of the military coupin their home country, calling for the release of their duly elected leader Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Video
Bangkok police crack down on checkpoints after actress bribe scandal
The Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) has warned officers to abide by Royal Thai Police regulations on setting up and operating road checkpoints.
Station chiefs and their superiors at two levels would be made responsible for any failures to comply with these regulations, said MPB chief Thiti Saengsawang in an urgent order dispatched on Tuesday.
The order was issued after Huay Kwang police reportedly admitted to extorting 27,000 baht from a Taiwanese actress in exchange for turning a blind eye to her illegal vaping device. Continued …
Tourists ‘told to pay or go to jail’
A Singaporean man who was with a Taiwanese actress who alleged earlier that her group was extorted said police told him to pay up or spend two days in jail for having vaping devices he’d bought in Bangkok. Continued …
Thailand is most searched destination for Chinese Airbnb guests
Thailand is the most searched destination for Chinese Airbnb guests. According to Airbnb’s data, Thailand was the most searched spot for Chinese guests within 24 hours of the government’s announcement on Dec. 26 to lift inbound quarantine requirements.
The top cities within Thailand that Chinese guests searched for were Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya.
Searches among Chinese guests have spiked for the categories of historical homes, domes, boat houses, and camping tents. These became the most anticipated searches by Chinese users in 2023. Continued …
Taxi scam concerns visitors the most
Overpriced taxi services are the leading complaint among foreign tourists, along with poor garbage management and facilitation at the airport, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT).
TCT’s quarterly survey, which polled 200 Western tourists in Thailand during the final quarter of 2022, showed satisfaction with taxi services received the lowest score of 3.5 out of 5, with tourists indicating this is the most critical problem that should be solved immediately.
The survey of tourists in Bangkok found they were not satisfied with what they deem to be unfair treatment, as taxi drivers often only take passengers who agree to pay a fare without using the meter, which means drivers can arbitrarily charge higher prices for their service. Continued …
Bangkok opens first free space for street hawkers
Bangkok kicked off a project to offer space free of charge for hawkers and street vendors in the heart of the city on Wednesday, clearing cluttered pavements.
City Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt presided over the launch of the “Hello Hab-Re” (Hello Hawkers) project outside Samyan Mitrtown on Rama IV Road.
The project will reorganize hawkers and street vendors in the city by allocating suitable areas that do not block public footpaths. The operator of Samyan Mitrtown, a mixed-use shopping complex, has agreed to provide space next to its building in Soi Chula 42 for registered vendors to use for free from Monday to Friday, 8am-2pm and 3pm-8pm. Continued …
Krabi hotel accused of favoring foreigners over Thais
Thai tourists condemned a hotel in Krabi for discriminatory service standards after they claimed the hotel provided better treatment to foreign guests and neglected domestic tourists. They claimed that the hotel prioritized foreign guests with higher purchasing power over them for financial gain.
A Thai man posted three videos to share his bad experience at a hotel on Railay Beach. The incident was reported to have happened last Sunday.
In the videos, the man and his friends explained to the hotel staff that they booked the hotel for 5,000 baht per night. The fee included a shuttle golf cart from a car park to the Nam Mao Pier and a boat trip from the Nam Mao Pier to Railay Beach, where the hotel was located. Continued …
You Think You Understand Thai Culture Because You Eat at Thai Restaurants?
Growing up in the American South, I was usually the only Thai person in any room. I’m used to seeing the limited knowledge that many Americans have about Thai culture, often reducing it to a takeout order or an object of fetishization.
As a Thai-American person, I find myself thinking a lot about my own experiences, as well as my family’s of being Thai restaurant owners, and I come back to this quote by scholar Jennifer Ho: “I understood my identity through my family and foodways.
Food has played a significant role in the ways people perceive my family’s identity in America. Witnessing members of my family being expected to fulfill a role of being easy-going (Thailand is marketed as “The Land of Smiles”) and serving delicious food compels me to explore the origins of this concept of “Thainess.” Continued …
Praça at The Standard Hua Hin
Be it at home or when traveling, the Let’s Eat team is always on the lookout for a great bar serving original quality drinks.
Such appealing watering holes receive bonus points if they are beach side in an idyllic, tropical, Insta-worthy setting. Double bonus if they have a food selection perfect for nibbling or sharing. Triple points if that food offering is inventive, appealing, and veers from the “usual” food and drink selection.
One such example is in Hua Hin, and it’s called Praça. Blessed with a prime beachfront location at the modish The Standard Hua Hin Hotel, Praça, is Portuguese for plaza or piazza, signifying a local meeting place. With its seaside garden setting and restored heritage beach house, Praça must be one of the coolest meeting places on Hua Hin’s beachfront. Continued …
Philippines to expand US access to military bases
The United States and the Philippines are expected to announce a deal Thursday that will give U.S. troops access to another four military bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the longtime allies seek to deter Chinese aggression in the region. Continued …
Australia to oust monarch from banknotes
Australia will erase the British-based monarch from its banknotes, replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II’s image on its $5 note with a design honoring Indigenous culture, the central bank said Thursday. Continued …
‘Surprising’ ancient Egyptian mummy ingredients discovered
The discovery of dozens of beakers and bowls in a mummification workshop has helped reveal how ancient Egyptians embalmed their dead, with some “surprising” ingredients imported from as far as Southeast Asia, a study said Wednesday. Continued …
Hua Hin-Suvarnabhumi bus schedule
The VIP bus service from Hua Hin to Suvarnabhumi Airport has a new Cha Am boarding location in front of Government Savings Bank. The one-way fare is 325 baht.
- 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 bus from Hua Hin to Pattaya departure time remains unchanged at 11am, at 473 baht. Tickets
