The Beer Bar

From Thai PBS World After the 250 junta-appointed senators complete their five-year term on May 10, they will be replaced by a 200-member Senate elected from thousands of candidates via a complex voting system that excludes full public participation. Over 210,000 people have informed the Election Commission (EC) that they wish to run for election to the Senate, and the EC expects at least 100,000 candidates to contest. However, the six rounds of voting required – two each at the district, provincial and national levels – means all 200 seats in the Upper House will not be filled until mid-July. Critics describe the selection system as defined in the 201…

From Thai PBS World Thailand and Vietnam have agreed to elevate their relations to comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry’s press release said yesterday that both countries would announce their upgraded ties in June when their leaders are scheduled to hold a joint cabinet retreat in Hanoi. Vietnam has established the CSP with seven countries including China, Russia, India South Korea, the US, Japan and Australia. In June, Thailand will be the eighth CSP member and the first Asean country. In addition, both sides discussed ways to promote three main areas of bilateral cooperation including t…

From CNBC International travel roared back last year, pushing airports from London to Tokyo up in a global ranking of passenger traffic. Dubai International Airport ranked as the second busiest in 2023, up from fifth place in 2022 and fourth place in 2019, according to Airports Council International’s preliminary ranking, which was released on Monday. Passenger traffic to Tokyo Haneda International Airport jumped 55% last year from 2022, and the airport ranked fifth, up from 16th place a year earlier. Global airports served 8.5 billion passengers last year, up 27% from 2022 but still about 6% below pre-pandemic counts, ACI said, citing preliminary figures. …

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From The Nation The body of a foreign tourist who dropped a water pistol in the Saen Saep canal and jumped in to retrieve it was recovered on Sunday evening. On Sunday at 7 pm, authorities received a report of a missing person near Pratunam Pier along Khlong Saen Saep. They collaborated with a water rescue team and forensic doctors from Ramathibodi Hospital to investigate. The incident occurred at the Khlong Saen Saep Pier, under the Chalerm Lok Bridge. The water rescue team swiftly located the deceased male shortly after arriving. Initial findings suggest that the victim, a foreigner visiting Thailand for the Songkran f…

From Reuters A general view of the department store Kaufhaus des Westens "KaDeWe" in Berlin, Germany January 29, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo © Thomson Reuters DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Thai retailer Central Group has acquired the landmark KaDeWe property in central Berlin from the insolvent Austrian company Signa in what it said was another step towards buying the group. Central said in a statement on Friday that it was optimistic about talks to acquire the entire KaDeWe Group, which includes Alsterhaus in Hamburg, and Oberpollinger in Munich. The Thai retailer already holds a 50.1% majority stake in the group. "The acqui…

NOTE -- Has echoes of the Red Bull cover up. In both situations, the victim was one of their own. From The Thaiger At the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, 15 police officers have been convicted of dereliction of duty for their involvement in a cover-up surrounding the fatal shooting of a highway police officer in Nakhon Pathom last year. Former Krathumban Police Station inspector, Police Major Kiartisak Somsuk, alongside 14 other officers and seven civilians, faced justice for colluding to conceal evidence in the high-profile murder case. Alleged influential figure Praween Chanklay, also known as Kamnan Nok, was implicated in aidi…

From MSN and Tik Tok An Australian wildlife protection group has lots to celebrate after they saved and rescued 16 Asiatic Black Bear cubs from a home in Luang Prabang, Laos. The group, called Free the Bears, say the home belonged to a wildlife poacher who hoped to use the cubs as fodder for a bile farm. Thankfully they found the cubs before the worst happened and have since brought the cubs somewhere where they could be safe. Life has changed overnight for the cubs, who now receive constant care and attention from local and international conservationists. According to Reuters, Free the Bears works with local communities and governments across Asia to pro…

From Forbes As travellers increasingly seek transformative wellness experiences, Indigenous cultural practices have entered the mainstream. From the commercialization of ayahuasca retreats to Mexican sweat lodges (known as a temazcal, it’s now easier than ever to access ancient modalities of healing on your next trip. But many of these cultural practices are divorced from their origins, eliciting criticisms of cultural appropriation. Subsequently, travelers pursuing a more ethical and regenerative approach to travel look to go to the source for their next culturally rooted wellness experience. In Thailand, one such ancient practice that is attracting travelers i…

NOTE -- It would surely make for a wonderful park. However, four words ("some of this space") could also turn out to mean that "most of this space" will be used for high-rise condos. From The Thaiger The Bangkok Port, located in the bustling Klong Toey district, is earmarked for a potential relocation, the Transport Ministry announced. Deputy Minister Manaporn Charoensri revealed plans for a feasibility study into the port’s relocation yesterday, to transform parts of the 32-rai site into a public park. Manaporn, responsible for overseeing the operations of the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT), shared that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin…

Bangkok Pat takes us on casual amble on the other side of the Chao Phraya river and invites us to get lost in its roads and back sois. Swear my blood pressure retreats as I follow in his footsteps.

Twitter (X) has now started flagging all posts as sensitive and I have to click each one. So fucking bad!

From The Thaiger Police arrested an American man, who appeared to be drunk, after he smashed the window of a Thai man’s car in Phuket in the early hours of this morning. The 33 year old Thai victim, Tharathit Na Pattalung, filed a complaint at Wichit Police Station at around 5.30am today, April 11. He told police that a foreign man damaged his car, a white Mazda 3 sedan, parked outside the Seabed Hotel. Tharathit also gave police CCTV footage of the incident. The foreigner, later identified as a 46 year old American man named Danny, was seen in the video wearing a black T-shirt, brown shorts and no shoes. He smashed the driver’s seat window and tried to ope…

From Aviation Week Air Canada will resume seasonal service between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) from October as the carrier continues an Asia-Pacific push with a particular focus on Southeast Asia. The announcement regarding the YVR-BKK route, which will be the only nonstop connection between North America and Bangkok, came just days after Air Canada launched exclusive service between YVR and Singapore. Over the past two years, the airline has operated the YVR-BKK route from December to March, but it has moved up the start of flights for the upcoming northern hemisphere winter season. From Oct. 27, …

From The Irrawaddy It was to be expected. Min Aung Hlaing and his regime have in the last few weeks suffered a series of major defeats in Arakan and Kachin states and most recently in Karen State at Myawaddy, an important border trade town. These defeats are significant for two reasons. First is the humiliation factor: They have inevitably eroded morale among troops while seriously undermining trust in Min Aung Hlaing within the military and its loyalists. Second is the strategic factor: The defeats have cut major supply and trade lines, giving control over important border crossings to anti-junta liberation forces, increasing the resistance’s access t…

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon Following many requests to Pattaya Mail, we provide below a question and answer session based on our recent checks with the authorities. You should notice that local immigration offices have some discretion about the detail and we have given examples. If in doubt, that’s where you need to ask. Why bother? It’s the address form in Thailand for “the housemaster, owner or possessor” of a residence where a foreigner is staying after arrival from a foreign country. It should be filled in and returned to the local immigration bureau “within 24 hours” from the time of arrival at the residence. However, weekends and official holi…

From Thai PBS World The Royal Thai Navy’s (RTN) Ratanakosin-class corvette, HMS Sukhothai, sank in rough seas in the Gulf of Thailand at about 11.30pm on Sunday night. The RTN reported this morning (Monday) that 77 of the 110 officers and men on board have been rescued, with the remaining 33 still floating in the sea. Three were seriously injured. The ship sank after it took on a lot of sea water. According to RTN Spokesman Admiral Pokkrong Monthatphalin, HMS Sukhothai was on routine sea patrol, about 20 miles from the Bang Saphan district of Prachuap Khiri Khan, when it began to list to starboard, allowing seawater to get into the electrical syste…

From Pattaya News A bar staff member and her manager in Pattaya filed a police report against an alleged German dine-and-dasher who reportedly refused to pay his bill and also attacked them on Sunday. At 3 PM on April 7th, Ms. Anchisa Thongpuek, a manager of a Pattaya bar on Soi Lengkee, and Ms. Warunee Yodpromwaen, a staff member, filed a police report at the Pattaya Police Station, accusing an unidentified German man of assault. The two women narrated that the attack occurred around 2:00 AM on the same day that they filed the report. A German man, accompanied by his Thai wife, entered their bar and ordered beers. However, when presented with the bill after…

From Thai PBS World Two Estonian siblings were arrested and fined at Suvarnabhumi International Airport today after they were found smoking on a flight, despite cabin crew telling them that it is illegal. Meanwhile, Thai police are trying to locate a woman who was caught on camera vaping during a flight from Mae Fah Luang airport. After the airline touched down in Bangkok, the Finnair crew reported to Suvarnabhumi Airport officials that the two siblings had smoked in the aircraft’s bathroom during the flight to Bangkok. The cabin crew told them to stop, but they smoked again on five separate occasions. Consequently, they were each fined 20,000 Baht.

From The Nation Police have arrested two men from Hong Kong with a sophisticated mobile tool for sending fake SMS (short message service) text messages to deceive victims into clicking malicious links. Pol Maj Gen Sathit Prom-uthai, commander of Cyber Crime Investigation 3, announced on Tuesday that the arrest of the two suspects was made inside Siam Paragon mall at 6pm on Monday with cooperation from mobile-phone operator Advanced Info Service (AIS). The two suspects were identified as Yip, 44, and Lee, 26. …

About a month ago, I wrote about the wedding planner who had a strict "Don't call me, I'll call you" policy, in which she wouldn't answer the phone at any time under any circumstances. A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from an insurance carrier (Liberty Mutual), where they explained they were no longer offering Umbrella Coverage in California, so I needed to find a new policy. The letter suggested I call my insurance agent, which I did (he didn't reach out to me himself). I called his office (which has multiple agents), and left a voice mail on the Monday of last week, requesting we discuss the matter. When I hadn't heard from him by Friday, I called another insu…

From Pattaya Mail Bangkok’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is set for significant enhancements this year, with the introduction of electric buses in July and a proposed route expansion. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Traffic and Transport Department has finalized a deal with the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC) for a fleet of 23 electric buses from China, part of a five-year plan valued at 465 million baht. These new buses are designed with doors on both sides to accommodate stops along Rama IV Road and the original BRT route, along with low-floor features for improved accessibility. Plans to extend the BRT route include adding two more s…

From Thai PBS World \ Photo by ᴍᴏɴsᴏᴏɴɢᴀʀʙᴀɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɪʟᴀɴᴅ The Marine Department has ordered an urgent investigation into the blaze which broke out this morning on a passenger boat floating near Koh Tao Island, off the coast of Surat Thani province. An initial investigation has revealed that the fire started in the engine room, but its cause is still being investigated, said the department’s Director General, Kritphet Chaihuay, today. The boat, carrying 90 passengers and eight crew, left Surat Thani at about 9:30pm last night, heading to Tao Island, he said, adding that authorities were alerted about the accident at approximately 6:40am this morning. …

NOTE -- A food reviewer from Singapore cited 10 locations for serving the best street food in Bangkok but only one was in the Silom area. If you're not familiar with Soi Phiphat 2, it's the same soi where you'll find Sauna Mania (5-7 minute walk from Silom and Convent roads) Som Tam Jay So Phiphat 2, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand +66 85999 4225 Mon to Sat: 11am – 5.30pm Closed on Sun While numerous eateries across Bangkok offer Isaan cuisine, Som Tam Jay So stands out as the go-to destination for the most authentic papaya salad experience. Nestled in the bustling downtown Silom business district, this small stall attracts hordes o…

From The Thaiger Maybe Thailand should rebrand its Land of Smiles moniker to the Land of Russian Crime after yet another Russian man was nabbed for criminal activity. Yesterday, a 36 year old Russian national added his name to a catalogue of former Soviet block criminals arrested for reportedly operating illegal activities. Russian Ibragim Gaitukiev was arrested for allegedly running an unauthorised cryptocurrency exchange service on the popular tourist destination, Koh Pha Ngan, in Surat Thani, Thailand. The location of his arrest was a property on Sri Thanu Beach in the Koh Pha Ngan district, as disclosed by Police Major General Sermphan Sirikhong, the he…