The Beer Bar

Somehow I think the license issue will be presently resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. From The Nation The manager of a new Bangkok massage parlour was arrested on Friday night for allegedly running an entertainment venue without permission. However, he was released on a 50,000 bail guarantee and police confirmed on Saturday that no prostitution charges were filed because no evidence of such activity was found during the raid. Lalisa massage parlour in the Sutthisan area was raided on Friday night. During the raid, a customer and a “masseuse” were found inside a room, along with a receipt and a basket containing bathing…

I cannot link this due to paywall. Sorry if the screenshots are not in chronological order.

From Pattaya Mail Khung Bang Kachao in Samut Prakan province has been authorized to become a designated area for sustainable tourism. Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the national tourism policy committee has approved the development of Khung Bang Kachao as a designated area for sustainable tourism. The proposal was made by the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. DASTA director Gp Captain Athikun Kongmee indicated that the agency will work with local communities to develop strategies for the area based on the sufficiency economy philosophy of His Majesty the…

From Coconuts Bangkok Aiming prop assault rifles as they “beat” and “sexually assaulted” civilians, Myanmar nationals brought to a Bangkok street this morning the brutality being visited by the military upon their friends and families back home. Guerilla theater performers acted out scenes of violence in front the Myanmar Embassy, where hundreds of protesters converged on the second anniversary of the 2021 coup d’etat to call attention to the Tatmadaw’s ongoing violent pacification campaign back home. “We want to show the world that, no matter where we are or where we fled to, Myanmar’s people need justice,” said Zayar, who learned of the protest thro…

From The Thaiger To effectively combat the illegal drug trade, a law is being amended in Thailand so that anyone caught in possession of more than one meth pill will now be considered a drug dealer. Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul announced this change yesterday, stating that the current regulation has been exploited by those who actually intend to sell the drugs. The harsh new law will view anyone with more than one pill as having the drugs with intent to sell, instead of the current standard of 15 pills or fewer being considered for personal use only. The amendment, which has already been prepared by the Committee on Treatment and Rehabilit…

From The Nation A 61-year-old Belgian man, who goes by the name Willie, has been earning a living in Singburi by collecting empty bottles. Willie lives with his 32-year-old boyfriend Cherdsak (surname withheld) and the boyfriend’s parents in Khai Bang Rachan district. Apart from collecting bottles, the family also earns a living from gathering raintree leaves to be sold to fertiliser factories for 35 baht per bag. Cherdsak said he met Willie three years ago in Pattaya, adding that the Belgian man left his country after being fed up with life as a family man. He had been forced to marry a woman in his younger years and their…

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon Traditionally, there are two routes for expat foreigners needing or wanting a job here. If offered a post by a registered company or school, the prospective employee needs a non-immigrant “B” (business) visa issued by a Thai embassy or consulate abroad. The employer should provide the bulk of the required documentation, supplemented by the employee’s personal data and confirmed qualifications. If the employer declines to take that basic preparatory responsibility, it can be assumed that the offer of a job is not sincere and that a work permit is a fantasy. The second route is where the foreigner intends to start his own reg…

From The Tourism Authority of Thailand Some selected events: Concert in the Park #30 5, 12 and 19 February, 2023, from 17.30 Hrs., Sala Bhirombhakdi, Lumpini Park, Bangkok Organised by the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra Foundation and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), this latest edition of the much-loved Concert in the Park series promises relaxing evenings of music in a delightful park setting. Along with guest soloists and vocalists, the programme features a mix of light-classical music, Thai and Western pop classics, famous movie soundtracks, Broadway numbers, and Thai traditional tunes. Bangkok Design Week 2023 4-12 Februa…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/28/i-was-a-drunk-for-20-years-the-unlikely-us-priest-revered-in-the-slums-of-bangkok I've never been an admirer of Catholicism- too prescriptive for someone brought-up as a non-conformist Christian- but this guy is worth reading about. Though (sadly) less political, he reminds me of the Liberation Theology priests in Latin America who supported the working-classes and indigenous peoples there....until officially disavowed by conservatives in Rome.

I have a bank in the UK which I use for UK income sources and occasional payments over to Bangkok. It is not my main bank. I have generally sent money to Thailand using online banking twice a year in May and November. To do so I have to have use a special log in number plus two passwords. I then get on my Thai phone a 6 digit PIN number which has to be added before I can access my account. For years it has worked well. Nothing since then has changed. But on November 30, for the first time, I did not receive the 6 digit PIN. There is an on-line CHAT function which I then used. Generally I find these hopeless. This one was worse than hopeless. It recommended deleting…

We have used up all the space on a massive server (photos and videos forum) and we have to upgrade SSD Drive. The hosting company will do this and the server may be down for a bit while this is happening. Sorry for the inconvenience. The server has been slow for a few days as the space was slowly eating away the memory. Thanks to those that reached out to tell me this was happening to them as well. Now, we will apply some fixes.

From Thai PBS World More than 10 fossilised footprints, believed to have belonged to a species of carnivorous dinosaur, have been found in a huge sand stone bed in Phu Faek forest park, in Na Khu district of Thailand’s north-eastern province of Kalasin. According to the Department of Mineral Resources, Damrongsak Chusrithong, the head of the forest park, and officials went to the park to investigate, after a villager fromBan Nam Kham, in Phu Laen Chang sub-district, reported the find. The footprints range in length from 21cm to 30cm and are from 17-31cm wide. The officials said that the prints belong to a small meat-eating dinosaur, which sto…

From Coconuts Bangkok Photo: Buakaw Banchamek A Muay Thai fighter has stood up to declare he is indeed Thai amid a widening spat between Thai and Cambodian fans over the sport’s origins. Sombat Banchamek, aka Buakaw, announced publicly this week that, even though he belongs to an indigenous ethnic group called the Kuy, he is of Thai nationality and not Cambodian as some have claimed. “Be proud of Thailand that we have Muay Thai … It is the wisdom invented by Thai ancestors,” Buakaw wrote on social media last night alongside a few very welcome shirtless photos. “Do not forget that it’s our national sport that’s accepted by people around the w…

From Thai PBS World The COVID-19 situation in Thailand is steadily improving, with the number of hospital admissions and the death toll dropping by 30%, to an average of 90 and six respectively, between January 15th and 21st, according to the Department of Disease Control. DDC Director-General Dr. Tares Krassanairawiwong said yesterday (Wednesday) that 627 COVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals, averaging 90 cases per day last week, 277 of whom were suffering from lung infections, including 179 cases requiring ventilators. The death toll in the past week was 44, or an average of six cases a day, representing a fall of 32.3% compared to the previous we…

From Pattaya Mail Motorists who fail to stop their vehicles for pedestrians at zebra crossings face a maximum fine of 4,000 baht and have one point deducted from their driving license immediately under the new law. Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said the new law, which was put into effect on Jan 9 increases penalties and adopts the point deduction system to ensure the safety of pedestrians at zebra crossings. Each licensed driver has 12 points. Any drivers who lose all 12 points will have their licenses suspended for 90 days. At the third complete point loss in three years, licenses may be suspended longer. At the fourth complete point loss…

Today is the first day of the new lunar New Year. Rather than just send everyone best wishes, i thought this pretty inapporpriate Bugs Bunny cartoon might be more fun. For those not acquainted with classical music, most of the music is from Wagner's Ring cycle and Tannhauser operas. It's very cleverly done!

From Coconuts Bangkok Free shuttles linking Bangkok’s downtown rail terminal to the capital’s new main station will commence Thursday. To ease the transition of rail services from the Bangkok Railway Station to the Krung Thep Apiwat Grand Station – located about 10 kilometers away – regular buses will shuttle travelers between them. Thursday is when nearly half of the trains operating out of the former station (aka Hua Lamphong and actually a terminal) will move to the new national “terminal” (actually a station) in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district. Blue NGV buses will travel between the two stations every half hour between 4:30am and 11pm. So, where…

The Bangkok Post is reporting separately that ALL visitors must show proof of at lest two covid vaccinations. From Thailand News Agency BANGKOK, Jan 5 (TNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand was well prepared to welcome visitors from around the world including those who would start to arrive from China next week while relevant officials would be monitoring the COVID-19 situation. After chairing a meeting on measures to welcome visitors, Mr Anutin said that existing disease control measures in the country were effective enough and would be applied to all visitors regardless of the countries from which …

From The Thaiger A new public park in Bangkok is opening soon. The construction of Pathum Wananurak Park was finished five years ago but it has never been opened to the public because two squatting families refused to move off the land. Pathum Wananurak Park is located next to CentralWorld shopping mall. The park took over a residential area called Rong Poon Community where 1,000 houses were situated. According to Khaosod, the 15.8-acre area is a public space but that did not stop a number of residents from building houses on the land with a view to staying there permanently. But, the Crown Property Bureau had other ideas and revealed a plan to turn t…

From Pattaya Mail Pattaya police are calling the death of a Chinese tour guide who fell from the roof of a Naklua condominium suspicious. The body of Chen Pu Lin, 33, was found wearing only underwear outside the unnamed condo on Naklua Road Jan. 16. While Chen’s room was not ransacked, there were signs of forcible entry. A blood trail was found leading to the fifth floor and a pool of blood at the entry to the roof. Furthermore, security cameras captured Chen, with a head wound, running. His fall was not recorded, however. Colleagues told police four tour guides had come to Pattaya on Jan. 13 to scout out accommodations and attractions. But, this day, C…

A few days ago at JFK airport in New York, what's known as a runway incursion occurred involving a 777 and and a 737. If an air traffic controller hadn't intervened, a high-speed collision appeared inevitable. Here's the audio between air traffic controllers and the pilots. Because the 737 had to make an emergency take off rejection, it could not continue its flight until it underwent detailed checks by mechanics. The 777 did not and was was permitted to continue to London. The 737 was traveling at 115 mph when it braked. It took 661 feet to come to a stop. It looks like the 777 crew may have mistook runway 4L for runway 31L. …

From Thailand News Agency BANGKOK, Jan 13 (TNA) – A taxi fare rise for the first time in eight years took effect for taxis in Bangkok on Friday as Prime Minister Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha ordered relevant agencies to assess its impact on people. Effective today, the fare starts at 35 baht for small taxis and 40 baht for big ones and then climb up depending on traveled distances. Then the fare will be 6.5 baht per kilometer from the 2nd to 10th kilometer, 7 baht per kilometer from the 11th to 20th kilometer, 8 baht per kilometer from the 21th to 40th kilometer, 8.5 baht per kilometer from the 41th to 60th kilometer, 9 baht per kilometer from the 61…

From The Nation The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aims to increase the number of flights in a bid to boost tourism during the high season. "The flight load capacity must reach 90 per cent during the high season this year," TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said on Friday. The high season in Thailand is from November to March. He added that Chinese authorities have requested information from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand to boost the number of flights to 2019 levels, before the Covid-19 pandemic. Yuthasak said the TAT aims to attract high-spending tourists to Thailand to help achieve the goal of generatin…

From Thai PBS World Bangkok’s Bang Sue Grand Station – touted as Southeast Asia’s most modern rail terminus – opened with little fanfare last year as COVID-19 dominated headlines. Its role as the national rail hub has also been delayed by well over a year. However, the pandemic also made Bang Sue Grand Station a household word among Thais. Hundreds of thousands flocked to the station between May 2021 and September this year to get vaccinated against the new coronavirus. Bang Sue served as the city’s main vaccination center, delivering more than 6 million shots over 16 months. Now that the infection rate has fallen and a central vaccination center is n…