Posts published in “Thailand”

What started as a routine Phuket airport run turned into a viral flap last week when a video showed a local van driver striking a foreign passenger on the head with a plastic bottle outside Phuket International Airport. The driver, later identified as 31-year-old Ratchawit, faces a 1,000-baht fine and a 180-day suspension of his public transport driving licence after authorities reviewed CCTV footage and moved quickly to investigate. The short, sharp clip that swept across social media captured more than just a squabble — it captured a moment that split online opinion. According to police statements and Ratchawit’s own account, he had driven a group of 12 foreign tourists from Patong Beach to the airport for a fare of 1,200 baht. On arrival he discovered rubbish left in the vehicle. When he asked one passenger to pick it up, the exchange escalated and, in a sudden impulse he later…

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convenes in Kuala Lumpur on Monday for what many hope will be a turning point in an increasingly dangerous standoff along the Thailand–Cambodia border. After weeks of renewed fighting that has killed at least 40 people and driven more than half a million civilians from their homes, regional foreign ministers are gathering in a bid to stop the violence from spiraling further. This session in Malaysia is notable for one simple, urgent fact: it marks the first direct, face-to-face engagement between Thai and Cambodian government representatives since clashes flared up again on December 8. With Kuala Lumpur currently chairing ASEAN, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has cast a cautiously optimistic shadow over the talks, saying both Bangkok and Phnom Penh have signaled willingness to pursue a peaceful way out. The conflict’s footprint The fighting has spread across multiple flashpoints along an 817-kilometre border that…

Bangkok is gearing up for its annual New Year exodus — and this year the city’s traffic controllers are bringing more than whistles and cones to the party. The Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) has announced a beefed-up traffic operation to tame the usual surge of vehicles between December 30 and January 5, the notorious stretch when accidents and gridlock spike. Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Thawat Wongsanga says the goal is simple: fewer crashes, fewer fatalities, and smoother journeys for everyone trying to make it home (or to the countdowns) in one piece. What’s changing on Bangkok’s roads Think bigger patrols, a temporary emergency traffic centre, and yes — drones. The MPB plans to activate special traffic lanes during peak hours on key outbound corridors to speed the flow of cars leaving the city. Patrols will be visibly increased, checkpoints set up, and officers will focus hard on the riskiest behaviours…

If you’ve been watching the weather apps with one eye and your suitcase with the other, here’s the good news: Southern Thailand is bouncing back. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reports that, as of December 8 at 10:00 a.m. local time, travel conditions across the flooded provinces have largely returned to normal. Roads, airports and most tourist services are up and running, and the region is steadily getting back to business — from Phuket’s bright beaches to the island-paced charm of Ko Samui. Where things are already back to normal Many of the big-name destinations in Southern Thailand are fully accessible and welcoming visitors again. That means: Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Ranong, Surat Thani, Chumphon, Trang, Satun and Phatthalung have reopened airports, roads, attractions and accommodation. Island favorites — Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao — are functioning normally; marine transport continues, though ferry timetables may shift depending on…

Washington is quietly leaning on Bangkok and Phnom Penh to honor a ceasefire pact they once signed — and, according to U.S. officials, there’s a real chance the two neighbors will fall back into line by early next week. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced cautious optimism in a briefing in Washington, saying diplomats are working “around the clock” to restore the truce first agreed to in Kuala Lumpur last October. Rubio reminded reporters that both Thailand and Cambodia put their names to the agreement in writing, but simmering grievances and renewed skirmishes have since frayed that commitment. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are due to take up the crisis at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Monday — a timely forum, given that the original terms were hammered out there. Diplomacy is clearly in motion. Rubio spoke by phone with Thai Foreign…

Bangkok and Chonburi rang with cheers, whistles and the occasional triumphant roar as the 33rd Southeast Asian Games wrapped up on December 20, 2025. Nearly two weeks of non-stop competition — from December 9 to 20 — showcased the region’s athletic depth, its traditional sporting flair and, perhaps most memorably, a hometown host that refused to settle for anything less than spectacular. A homecoming with history The 2025 edition felt like a full-circle moment for Thailand. The SEA Games first visited the kingdom back in 1959, and this year’s return was both symbolic and emphatic. Thailand once again proved why it’s a regional sporting hub: 13,657 athletes from 10 nations converged across 50 medal sports, blending Olympic staples like athletics, swimming and weightlifting with regional mainstays such as sepak takraw and pencak silat. Who took part — and who didn’t Ten Southeast Asian countries battled for podium positions: Thailand, Indonesia,…

A Smooth, Toll-Free Ride: Thailand’s M6 Motorway Opens for the 2026 New Year Holiday Good news for anyone planning a road escape over the 2026 New Year holiday: the Thai government has announced that the brand-new M6 motorway — the 196-kilometer stretch linking Bang Pa-in and Nakhon Ratchasima — will be open to motorists free of tolls for an 11-day trial period. The announcement came on December 19 from Siripong Angkasakulkiat, spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, and it’s exactly the kind of holiday relief long-suffering drivers have been waiting for. When and how it will be free From December 26, 2025, at 00:01 through January 5, 2026, at midnight, the Department of Highways (under the Ministry of Transport) will allow full trial use of the M6 with no tolls collected. That means a clean 196 kilometers of modern motorway — toll-free — for folks heading north and east out…

Just after 1:20 a.m. on December 20, a fierce blaze ripped through Building B5 of Rong Kluea Market in Pa Rai sub-district, Aranyaprathet — a bustling trading hub that hums day and night along the Thai-Cambodian border. In the small hours, flames lit the sky above one of Thailand’s busiest cross-border marketplaces, reducing a cluster of shops to smoldering shells while sending firefighters and police into an all-out scramble to protect the tightly packed market. Rapid response in the dead of night The radio communications center at Khlong Luek Police Station received the initial alarm and wasted no time. Officers and fire engines from multiple local agencies converged on the scene, where crews fought the inferno for more than an hour before bringing it under control. Authorities emphasized that, despite the market’s dense layout and the ever-present danger of a domino effect, the flames were contained and did not leap…