The Beer Bar

This article raises awareness on how unprepared even some expats are for unanticipated medical emergencies. From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon A long time expat and active businessman in Phuket, who suffered serious leg injuries and concussion in a hit-and-run accident, has made an urgent appeal for cash to complete his cycle of operations at the government-sector Vachira Phuket Hospital. According to notes on the Bangkok-based fundraising platform Weeboon and a report in the Phuket News, he was hit on his motorbike by an unknown SUV driver on March 31. Initially, the requests for assistance were blood donors for his rare blood group, but the updates now spe…

From The Nation The opposition Pheu Thai Party has a 22-point lead over its nearest rival in a recent nationwide survey of more than 160,000 eligible voters by Suan Dusit Poll. Pheu Thai had the support of 41.37% of the 162,454 respondents surveyed from April 10 to 20, according to the results of the poll released on Saturday. Fellow opposition party Move Forward followed with the support of 19.32% of respondents. All other political parties failed to attain double-digit support. The election will be held on May 14. The Bhumjaithai Party, a member of the governing coalition, was third, with the support of 9.55% of respo…

From The Thaiger For all the shopaholics out there, travelling between three different shopping malls in Thailand is about to get easier. In a joint effort by Central Pattana and Klook, a new bus route is being launched to operate between three major malls in Pattaya and Bangkok: Central World, Central Pattaya, and Central Village, with fares of only 190 baht. Yesterday, Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Vice President of the Marketing Division of Central Pattana Plc (CPN), unveiled the new bus route designed to accommodate the jump in the number of foreign tourists in Thailand. Tourists can easily purchase tickets online and reserve them for their travel day, pro…

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon The latest notice from the Thai tourism ministry lists the exceptions to the rule that all foreigners must pay on arrival 300 baht at airports and 150 baht by land or sea. The fortunate ones are diplomats, infants under 2 years, those with work permits, single day and transit passengers and that famous expression: foreign residents in Thailand. The latter phrase is optimistically being interpreted by some expats to include themselves as they see themselves as “residents” by virtue of their annual, renewable extensions of stay based on retirement or marriage or because they are learning Thai. But the contextual meaning of “r…

I happen to be a fan of snooker and am glued to the tv when the main tournaments are being played. One feature of recent years has been the arrival of many young Chinese players. Two in particular have won major events. First was 22 year-old Yang Bing-tao who won the 2021 Masters title. Even more talented is 25 year-old Zhao Xin-tong from X'ian who won the 2021 UK and German Masters titles. His qualities as a player have been praised extremely highly by such greats as Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry. Most of these Chinese players moved to Sheffield in England when they were much younger where there are excellent facillities for their development. Now a huge clou…

From the Thaiger Today, the Ministry of Commerce’s Director of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, Poonping Naiyanapakorn, revealed that Thailand was the champion exporter of five outstanding Thai products in 2022. Thailand exported US$3.21942 billion worth of fresh durian in 2022, with the largest demand coming from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, respectively. Thailand takes up 93% of the global fresh durian market followed by Vietnam (6%) and Malaysia (0.7%). Thailand exported US$1.52380 billion worth of cassava in 2022, the biggest markets being China, the United States, and Vietnam, respectively. Thailand’s cassava represents 46.5% of the world’s cassa…

Well, possums, it had to happen one day. The curtain has finally come down and will not rise again. The good people of Moonie Ponds outside Melbourne are left to mourn their most famous daughter. Dame Edna has died. Barry Humphries, the much loved Australian creator of Dame Edna Everage and a host of other characters including the perpetually inebriated cultural attache Sir Les Paterson, has died at the age of 89. He suffered from complications as a result of hip surgery in Sydney last month following a fall in February. It is unlikely the world of comedy will ever see his like again. Many compared him to the great film comedian Charlie Chaplin. There are …

The death has been reported of Moonbin, a member of the K-Pop Boy band Astro. He was just 25. Apparently his body was found unresponsive in his apartment yesterday evening in an upmarket part of Seoul. No cause of death has been announced but it foolows that of a number of other K-Pop stars in recent years. In 2018 Minwoo of the band 100% died at home with the cause given as cardiac arrest although suicide was suspected. Three months earlier, Jonghyun the leader of the band SHINee is also suspected of having committed suicide aged 27. Two stars in female groups are also suspected of committing suicide after online bullying. In 2019 Goo Hara had also been abused by her boy…

From Richard Barrow Thai Train Guide If you are a seasoned rail traveler, you probably already know that you can pick up paper railway timetables for free at the information counter at most stations. However, there are now alternative ways of checking the timetables. You have a choice of checking online on the official website or by downloading the SRT Timetable Application for your smartphone [App Store] or [Google Play]. You not only get to see the times for the trains for each stop, but there is more information such as pictures of the seats in the carriages and also prices for each class. UPDATED: I also have copies of the printed version of the timetables r…

From Tourism Authority of Thailand The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is organising the ‘Vijitr’ extravagant light-and-sound events across the five regions of Thailand between April and June 2023, in line with the strategy to promote meaningful travel experiences and the drive towards more sustainable tourism. TAT has scheduled to stage the ‘Vijitr’ extravagant light-and-sound events in the five regions of Thailand – Central, Northeastern, Northern, Southern, and Eastern Regions. Central Region: “Mu Light Experiences – Vijitr Mu-te-lu)” 29 April-7 May at ICONSIAM, Central Post Office also known as Grand Postal Building, and Wachirabenchathat Park (Ro…

From The Nation BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): Leading virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan warned that a new wave of Covid-19 has emerged in Thailand after the Songkran festival. Leading virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan warned on Tuesday (April 18) that a new wave of Covid-19 has emerged after the Songkran festival. Yong, who heads the Centre of Excellence at Chulalongkorn University, stressed the need to curb a resurgence of Covid, adding that it may come in the form of a new and more elusive variant. He said the new wave is expected to accelerate from mid-May before peaking in June and then declining in September, in line with seasonal patterns of respira…

From Thai PBS World The Thai cabinet has approved the collection of a landing tax, ranging from 150-300 baht, to be collected from all foreign tourists visiting Thailand, tentatively from June 1st, as proposed by the National Tourism Policy Committee. The landing tax for foreign tourists arriving by land and sea will be 150 baht per head and 300 baht for arrivals by air. The tax is, however, not applied to those who hold diplomatic passports, work permits or special work permits for specific professions as stipulated by the Labour Ministry, children under two-years-old and transit passengers. The cabinet also instructed the Immigration Bureau to st…

Those us who remember the Confirmation hearings during Clarence Thomas's bid to be appointed to the Supreme Court three decades ago will definitely recall that he never once answered Professor Anita Hill's testimony with its allegations of sexual impropriety in the worldplace. Remember the pubic hair on the Coca Cola can? Instead, the veins on his head bulging, he spent some considerable time haranguing the Judiciary Committee members about how this was yet another slur on black men and a means to stop their advancement. The Chairman - Joe Biden, remember? - never asked for his detailed answer to Anita Hill's specific allegations. Nor did he call the other women waiting o…

…. is unfortunately universal everywhere. But I am afraid price discrimination towards tourists is more harsh here in Thailand. I can understand free admission for locals to temples and palaces or other heritage sites etc whilst tourists will be charged a fee. But i am surprised to learn that there are different prices for tourists at certain restaurants too. and i am not sure if it is even ethical to do so with meals e.g. the price difference for a buffet dinner atop Baiyoke sky hotel is almost 200 baht between tourists versus locals. 🧐😞😞😞

From the BBC By Andrew Stillman12th April 2023 While San Francisco and Los Angeles are renowned for their gay scenes, San Diego has long been one of the US' most tolerant cities. California has long been known as one of the most progressive, tolerant and LGBTQ+-friendly states in the US. Los Angeles was home to the US' first gay rights organisation and coined the term "Pride" to refer to gay advocacy. San Francisco hosted the country's first gay rights march and elected the first openly gay man to public office. The state was the first to legalise domestic partnerships between same-sex couples and consistently ranks as the best place in the US for LGBT…

I have to make a trip to see a friend and the business class trips are now 3500 USD. That is as much as I paid to the USA last year and it is only 7 hours. It is insane. I have tried every site and airline but this is about as low as it gets for the days I'm going. I hope these high prices do not keep up for Xmas.

From Thai News Agency BANGKOK, April 4 (TNA) – The police can identify the hacker who claims he holds personal data of 55 million Thai people, stolen from a government agency. The police are now investigating to find out if more people are involved in the data hack. Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas ordered the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau to accelerate investigation into the hacker named “9near” who posted on BreachForum, claiming that he had personal data of more than 55 million Thais leaked from a government agency, said Pol Lt Gen Archayon Kraithong, spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police. Initially, the police know what agency the hacker got the d…

From Pattaya Mail Josh Richardson is the latest among the 7 current tragedies of British holidaymakers in Thailand appealing for charity funds after a serious accident. Holidaymaker Josh Richardson, from Lancashire, lies in a Bangkok hospital after a motorbike accident several weeks ago in which he suffered substantial head injuries. His Chorley family says that an initial operation to make him well enough to return to UK by business class travel was not successful, so he now needs a full intensive care team onboard which would cost around 170,000 pounds or around 7 million baht. he total cash required is in excess of 200,000 pounds as the Thai hospit…

From Pattaya Mail The Water Festival 2023 is taking place from 13-16 April at the 11 charming sites along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. Five famous temples – Wat Pho, Wat Rakhang Kositaram, Wat Arun, Wat Kalayanamit, and Wat Prayurawongsawat Five popular riverside attractions – Yodpiman River Walk, Tha Maharaj, Lhong 1919, SOOKSIAM at ICONSIAM, and Asiatique The Riverfront Destination One shrine – Guan Yu Shrine (Khlong San) Free shuttle boat service is available throughout the 4 days at all 11 piers from 08.30-17.00 Hrs.

From Associated Press More than 60 asylum-seeking members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained last week in Thailand are en route to the United States, a religious freedom advocate who has been aiding them said Friday. A colonel in Thailand’s police immigration division confirmed that the group left Thailand on Thursday night. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not his agency’s spokesperson. Thai police on Wednesday said the 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, would be deported within a week, likely to a third country. The U.S. Embassy has declined comment on the fate of the group but was …

From The Thaiger Global aviation has taken off to a promising start this year, with the Pacific Asia Travel Association predicting a 71% growth rate for the region. The downside is that the recovering industry can’t get enough labour to keep up and the massive swell in demand has brought with it a massive swell in flight prices. Travel restrictions have been lifted worldwide, allowing for easier and more convenient air travel. Even ultra-locked-down China has allowed travel to resume post-pandemic. But their delay in reopening left Asia lagging in recovery, as the World Tourism Organisation believes Europe and the Middle East will reach 80-95% of its pre-pandemi…

From Bangkok Post Kasikornbank (KBank) has warned people to be cautious of links sent via text messages, or SMS, which encourage them to download additional applications or add Line accounts under the bank's name in an attempt to trick them into giving away information or access to their accounts. The accounts typically have heading about erroneous transactions with hyperlinks. ================== From The Nation Songkran revellers get an extra day to party this year The Digital Economy and Society Ministry confirmed that Monday, April 17, is an extra day added to the Songkran holidays that kick off next Thursday. The ministry said o…

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The name Ryuichi Sakamoto is not so well known outside Asia even though he is both an Oscar and a Golden Globe winner. One of Japan's finest musicians and actors, he first made his name with the ground-breaking avant garde rock group The Yellow Magic Orchestra, even though at University he had studied 20th century's classical composers like Stockhausen, Ligeti and Boulez. Michael Jackson covered their song "Behind The Mask" and intended to incclude it in his album, Thriller, but a royalty disagreement prevented that. Deciding he wanted to be more than a pop star, Sakamoto ventured into acting and writing music for films, both of which he did with great success. He wo…

As widely reported, the head teacher of a Florida School has resigned after sixth-grade students were shown images of arguably one of the greatest statues ever created - that of Michelangelo's David in the Accademia in Florence.The students were being given a lesson on Renaissance art. A copy of the statue stands proudly for all to see, adults and children alike, in Florence's main square. All because one parent deemed the statue pornographic and two others felt they should have been told about the 'reveal' beforehand. All this for a figure who features prominently in the Bible which presumably all these holier-than-thou people worship weekly if not daily! …