The Beer Bar

From The Nation Time magazine has placed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on the cover of its March 25 edition, calling him “The Salesman”. “I want to tell the world that Thailand is open for business again,” Srettha tells Time’s Charlie Campbell, during a wide-ranging interview held in a Government House room “ringed by whiteboards chock-full of scrawled policy objectives: digital wallets, national aviation hubs, potash mining, Tesla”. Srettha stares from the cover with a look of determination on his face, arms crossed over his chest. The prime minister’s efforts since taking office l…

Interesting to know....never gave much thought that most of Africa is cut 🧐

I saw on another forum a guy from the UK asking if Thailand has legal same sex marriage to be recognised in the UK or Australia I can only find news articles from December 2023 saying they are considering it . Anyone here in the ground running know So if you were to bring back a Thai same sex partners to the UK or Australia what South East Asia country can you marry in that is legallly recognised marriage

From The Thaiger The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) announced that a discount of roughly 20% will be applied to early morning and late-night domestic flights during the Songkran holiday. This move is aimed at providing an economical travel option for all holidaymakers. Sarun Benjanirat, the deputy director-general of CAAT, disclosed today, March 11, that the initiative is in response to the call by Transport Minister Suriya Juangruangreangkit for reduced airfares during holiday and festive periods. As part of this initiative, six airlines have scheduled an additional 104 flights, which will provide 17,874 extra seats on April 11, 12, 15, and 16…

From Pattaya Mail The 16th World Wai Kru Muay Thai Ceremony will be held on 16-17 March 2014 in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, about an hour’s drive north of Bangkok. Multiple events are scheduled at Wat Langkha Khao, while the sacred Wai Kru ceremony will take place at Wat Mahathat, with the temple’s ruins serving as a dramatic backdrop. The much-anticipated event is returning after four years of hiatus. Its previous edition in 2019 attracted a record number of participants to Ayutthaya, with more than 1,500 Muay Thai boxers from 70 countries. Muay Thai boxers make it a tradition to participate in the annual World Wai Kru Muay Thai Ceremony in Ayu…

From Thai PBS News The Livestock Development Department has warned cattle raisers be on alert for anthrax, after three Laotians living in Champasak province in southern Laos are reported to have fallen sick after eating raw beef. Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, the department’s director-general, said that livestock officials, based in north-eastern provinces bordering with Laos, have been instructed to prepare to vaccinate cattle. He added that cattle farmers have also been instructed to report immediately to livestock officials in their localities if any of their cattle, goats or sheep become sick and die rapidly and must not move, slaughter or e…

From VN Express China has announced that citizens from six more European countries – Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg – will be able to travel visa-free to China from March 14. "I would like to inform you that starting from March 14, China will further implement the visa-free policy for Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg on a trial basis," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference in Beijing, as quoted by Global Times. Citizens from these countries will be allowed to stay in China up to 15 days for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes, Bloomberg reported. In …

From Thai PBS World From May 1st, Thai commercial banks will charge their customers a 1% Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fee for making cash withdrawals abroad. A similar fee will also be levied on the use of Visa or Master credit cards for transactions made abroad for goods or services or through online stores which are registered outside Thailand. For instance, paying a Netflix membership fee, buying products through TikTok, Alibaba or Amazon or making hotel bookings via Agoda will also be subject to the 1% DCC fee. The banks claim that the DCC charge is in line with credit card practices for transactions abroad adding, however, that customers have…

From AFP Sweden on Thursday became the 32nd member of NATO, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment and capping two years of tortuous diplomacy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered new fears. Days after Hungary followed key holdout Turkey and became the last NATO member to sign off, Sweden ceremonially handed over accession documents to the United States, the leading force of the transatlantic alliance that promises joint security for all. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson late Thursday attended as a guest at the annual State of the Union address of President Joe Biden, whose rival Donald Trump has disparaged NATO as unfairly burdening the U…

From Thai Enquirer and other sources Six people were arrested after attempting to smuggle 87 animals stuffed in luggage through Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. Five men and one women, all of whom are Indian nationals, were arrested by Thailand's Customs Department after officials found their luggage suspicious during a security check, reported The Independent. The group was allegedly trying to smuggle the creatures to Mumbai, India. According to the Thai Enquirer, the animals seized include: 29 lizards, such as black-throated monitors 21 snakes, including corn snakes and red bamboo rat snakes 15 birds, such as the b…

This issue seems to come to the forefront every two or three years. Personally I think the vendors add more to the Bangkok experience than they detract . Particularly enjoy watching the Screw Boy staff grabbing a quick meal about 11:30. I suppose the following could be filed under: "we're from the government and we're here to help." From Thai PBS World The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has been trying to solve the problem of street stalls stealing footpath space from pedestrians for decades, but with little result. This challenge is a tough one because street stalls don’t just benefit the vendors but are also used by most Bangkokians. Street ven…

NOTE -- I highlighted the sentence about street food because I saw that in evidence nightly on Patpong One nightly on recent trip. From Tourism Authority of Thailand A Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) survey has revealed that foreign tourists have increased their spending on accommodation post-pandemic, showing a preference for luxury hotels or resorts despite higher airfares. The survey, which involved 30,054 tourists in 2023, highlighted that average spending per trip rose to 50,900 baht, up from previous years. Accommodation costs accounted for a significant portion of this expenditure, averaging 23,518 baht per trip. The survey also showed a shi…

From The Nation Justice Minister Thawee Sodsong confirmed that he has approved Thaksin Shinawatra’s parole as he is believed to have completed half his jail term without spending a single night behind bars. Thawee was responding to earlier reports on Tuesday morning quoting a source from the Justice Ministry saying that the former PM was among the inmates allowed to “spend the rest of their jail terms at home”. Thaksin’s name was reportedly added to a list initially approved by a subcommittee of the Corrections Department, before being given to Thawee for the final stamp of approval. The source added that the subcommittee considered T…

From Pattaya Mail Police in southern province of Trang have detained a 60-year-old Swiss national, a retiree, Mr. Straumann Dietermatthias, who is alleged to have assaulted a Thai woman. Natchanan Kikkham, 58, filed a complaint with police on Tuesday March 5, claiming that the man had bumped into her and walked away while in a BigC department store in Muang District. The woman then asked the Swiss man to be respectful, only for him to walk back to her and allegedly assaulted by punching on her face multiple times. Witnesses said that the injured person went shopping in the mall. At the scene, there was an altercation with the foreigner that escalated …

I suppose it's a matter of opinion as to whether he's the world's most handsome or most funny comedian, but he's certainly the most popular. He has gigs booked for the rest of the year all over the globe, and usually sells out months in advance, even in fairly large venues. My best chance to see him will be when he comes to Los Angeles in May. He's sold out for his next 10 appearances (after the LA appearance), but in LA he'll be performing at the Hollywood Bowl, which seats over 17,000, so seats are available. Usually when I see comedians live, it's at comedy clubs, which are intimate. Is there any sense in seeing a comedian at such an enormous venue? https://www.ma…

From VN Express Vietnam Airlines has to ground 12 A321 aircraft, representing 20% of its domestic fleet, for up to 300 days due to engine issues, as supply chain disruptions have doubled the maintenance time, its CEO said. Le Hong Ha said engine issues are plaguing over 3,500 A321/A320neo aircraft worldwide with Pratt & Whitney engines. Vietnam Airlines uses 24 of the engines, he said Thursday on the sidelines of the 2024 International Airline Symposium in Hanoi. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/companies/vietnam-airlines-to-ground-12-planes-for-maintenance-4716762.html

From National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT) The Transport Co. has issued an alert for travelers using the Chatuchak Bus Terminus, cautioning them against taxi drivers at the terminal demanding unauthorized extra fees. The warning comes in response to reports of taxi drivers at Mo Chit 2, a key terminal for buses to Thailand’s Northern and Northeastern provinces, imposing a 50-baht surcharge on passengers. In an effort to manage this situation, the Transport Co., since March 1, has adjusted its operations, directing all interprovincial buses to utilize the departure area for passenger drop-offs. The company affirmed it does not endorse any additional charges by t…

From The Thaiger An unnamed Thai police officer revealed that his superiors attempted to suppress a story about the arrest of a British backpacker for selling Category 1 drugs on a notorious island in Thailand. Andrew Brett was arrested on Thursday, February 29, for allegedly selling ecstasy and LSD to other foreign tourists at the Ecco Bar on Koh Tao island in the southern province of Surat Thani. The Thai officer, who wished to remain anonymous, informed a reporter that the police had been monitoring the drug dealer for several months before they swooped to nab him. The Thai cop made known they wanted to conceal the crime because the drug dealing took pla…

Putin is holding another US citizen hostage. Any US citizen should know better than to travel to Russia. Her "crime" was donating $50 for the Ukrainian aid. I think it's important that the US government put its foot down and state unequivocally that we won't be trading any Russian spies in order to secure her release. Shame on her. https://abc7.com/ksenia-karelina-russian-court-denies-appeal-arrest-for-treason-ukraine-help/14479902/ "A court in Siberia has denied 33-year-old Ksenia Karelina's appeal and she will remain in prison. The court extended her pre-trial detention until at least April 6. Karelina, who has dual Russian and American citizenship and lives …

We've decided to take our honeymoon in the Galápagos Islands (cruise). The American Airlines flight leaves MIA for Quito at 10:05 AM. The airlines and cruise lines would rather we take an "overnight" flight of some 5 1/2 hours to make this connection (leaving late at night, arriving early morning), but I'd much rather take a flight earlier that day (say around noon), then spend the night in a hotel by MIA, and catch the flight the next day. In fact, I'd rather fly Main Cabin Extra than do the overnight flight in 1st Class, especially since it looks as though AA has gotten rid of Flagship service between LAX and MIA. The nominal cost of a hotel (looking at rates, shouldn't…

From Thai PBS World The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Offices acquitted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and five other co-defendants today, from charges of abuse of authority over the bidding for the “Thailand 2022 Roadshow” project, worth 240 million baht. The court also revoked the arrest warrant issued against Yingluck. The Supreme Court voted unanimously to acquit the six defendants on the grounds that there is no evidence to prove that the successful bidder of the project was afforded any special treatment. The charges were filed against Yingluck and her co-defendants by the National Anti-Corruption Com…

Arriving for my first visit to what was then known as “BKK” in aviation speak, I was startled to look out my window seat in a Northwest 747 to see people playing golf a few hundred feet off the right wing, from Thai PBS World The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has agreed, in principle, to hand over the Kantarat golf course, located between the two runways of Don Mueang airport, to Airports of Thailand Public Company (AoT) for the expansion of the airport. The RTAF is in the process of working out the details of compensation that it expects to demand from the government for the surrender of about 57.6 hectares occupied by the golf course, with the money to…

California's Sierra Nevada sure got a wolloping of snow over the last couple of days. I wouldn't want to be there. Imagine opening your front door to this: Some places received over 3 meters of snow! https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/02/weather/californias-sierras-blizzard-snow-saturday/index.html "A dangerous winter storm is slamming Northern California with rare blizzard conditions and fierce winds as it threatens to unload up to 10 feet of snow in the mountains and snarl travel. In the Sierra Nevada, the storm is delivering heavy snow, reduced visibilities, toppled power lines and hurricane-force winds over 75 miles per hour, which are expected to roar t…

A new law in the US has required the covering up and closure of exhibits of Native American culture. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/arts/design/native-displays-museums-law.html?te=1&nl=the-morning&emc=edit_nn_20240222 "When new federal regulations took effect last month requiring museums to get consent from tribes before exhibiting certain Native cultural items, museums across the country began to remove objects from cases, cover up displays and even close entire halls...". The New York Times gives an example, which I believe demonstrates the over-reach: Accession Year: 1893 Description: These oblong ear ornaments made of shell were …