When the morning tide left behind a mysterious visitor on a Chanthaburi shoreline on January 13, locals and scientists alike did a double-take: the stranded animal was later confirmed as a Longman’s beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) — the first verified record of this elusive deep‑sea cetacean in Thai waters. What might have looked like a sad, solitary beach spectacle quickly became a headline-making clue that Thailand’s offshore waters are home to far more hidden life than we might assume. A first for Thailand — and a rare one at that Marine specialists from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), led in the announcement by Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, confirmed the identification after an initial assessment. The animal was a male, roughly five metres long, with a slender profile and a gently curved dorsal fin — classic hallmarks of the beaked whale family Ziphiidae. Scars streaking its body suggested past skirmishes…
Posts published in “Thailand”
A Flash of Red: Rare Red-Headed Krait Spotted in Kaeng Krachan On January 13, a routine patrol in Thailand’s sprawling Kaeng Krachan National Park turned into a quiet wildlife headline when park ranger Busakorn Kantook photographed one of nature’s most striking — and most dangerous — reptiles. Perched on Phanoen Thung Mountain, the snake was unmistakable: a glossy black body capped with a vivid red head and tail. Park chief Mongkhon Chaipakdee confirmed the find and said the species is a red-headed krait, a rare member of the krait family known for its potent neurotoxic venom and eerie, warning-color pattern. What Makes the Red-Headed Krait So Unforgettable? It’s hard to forget a snake that looks like it’s wearing a tiny warning sign. The red-headed krait’s combination of jet-black scales with bright red at both ends gives it a theatrical look. Add a slightly raised, triangular back and you’ve got a…
It was a painfully familiar scene for anyone who’s ever been stuck in Bangkok traffic: a crowded public bus inching along, tempers simmering, and one passenger loudly fed up. A now-viral TikTok clip filmed on January 13 captures exactly that — a tense back-and-forth between two commuters that quickly escalated into a mini soap opera on wheels. The trigger was ordinary enough: major road closures for a new train station had funneled traffic into fewer lanes, forcing buses to take narrow alleys and detours. What should have been an inconvenience turned into a showdown when a woman dressed head-to-toe in black decided to move to the front of the bus and vocalize her frustration. “Why close the road? It causes a traffic jam,” she mumbled. “Take a picture and complain to the officials. You’re driving too slowly. I want to go home.” Her low, persistent complaints — part grumble, part…
When law enforcement from 18 countries gathered at the Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok on January 13, the meeting didn’t feel like your average roundtable. It was a full-throttle pushback against a modern hybrid threat: human trafficking tangled with forced criminality inside overseas call centre cyber scams. Chaired by Police General Thatchai Pitaneelabutr, deputy national police chief and director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Centre, the session aimed to turn scattered intelligence into coordinated action. Who showed up — and why it matters Representatives from a wide swath of nations attended, including South Korea, China, Japan, Nepal, Brunei, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia — and of course Thailand. International partners such as the FBI and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) were also present, underscoring how these crimes refuse to respect borders. The common thread discussed…
It started as an innocent scroll-and-laugh moment for one social media user — a staged photo, a cheeky caption, and the promise of a little harmless mischief. Seconds later, that same image exploded into a full-blown political controversy that landed a People’s Party parliamentary candidate in Saraburi in the middle of a rumor storm. The actor at the center of the storm is Rungnapa Kotphuthorn, who posted a photo on Facebook showing a 1,000‑baht banknote propped next to a campaign leaflet for Pairoj Buapuean, a People’s Party MP candidate. The leaflet’s orange hues and the tagged location — Thap Sai sub-district, Pong Namron district, Chanthaburi province — were enough to spark social media outrage: viewers accused Pairoj of offering money in exchange for votes. Rungnapa’s caption tried to defuse the scene with humor: “Awesome! Return home to see this. Just kidding. Don’t be drama.” But the internet didn’t take it…
On the morning of January 14, a routine commute turned tragic in Nakhon Ratchasima when an elevated-construction crane collapsed onto Train No. 21, leaving at least four people dead and more than 20 injured — some reports suggest the wounded could top 30. The collapse happened at about 9:00 a.m. near the Baan Thanon Kot community in Sikhiu district, directly beneath works for the Bangkok–Nong Khai High-Speed Railway. What should have been a typical weekday journey became a chaotic rescue scene and a stark reminder of the risks that shadow large infrastructure projects. Train No. 21, operating the Bangkok–Ubon Ratchathani route, had just departed Nong Nam Khun station when the construction crane gave way and plunged onto carriages below. Witnesses described a loud crash followed almost immediately by a blaze. Firefighters and volunteer rescue teams were on the scene within minutes — foundations and groups including Hook 31, Phromtham Sikhiu,…
Pre-dawn Rampage in Satun: 19 Cars Smashed, One Man Arrested What began as an ordinary early-morning hush in Moo 6, La-ngu subdistrict, erupted into a metal-on-metal symphony that jolted an entire neighborhood awake. At roughly 3:00 a.m. on January 13, CCTV footage captured a 45-year-old man identified only as Saw methodically smashing parked vehicles along the roadside in Satun’s La-ngu district. By the time officers intervened, 19 cars lay dented, scratched, and scarred — the aftermath of an inexplicable, violent spree. The scene: stones, a digging tool, and stunned residents Neighbors say the ordeal started with the dull thud of stone against metal. Saw was first seen picking up rocks and using them to shatter windows and dent car bodies in front of several houses. When the stones proved either too slow or too ineffective for his purpose, he reportedly swapped them for a steel-handled digging tool — about 29…
It was just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, January 11, when a quiet night shift at a Bangkok cannabis shop turned into a viral moment of confrontation. CCTV footage released by the shop owner captured 26-year-old employee Jirayu rushing out of the store and repeatedly punching and kicking three men standing on the footpath outside. Then, as if nothing dramatic had just happened, he calmly walked back inside and went on serving customers. The clip has since been shared widely, sparking debate, sympathy and a steady stream of questions: what provoked such an abrupt eruption of violence, and how had things escalated to that point? In a Channel 7 interview following the incident, Jirayu explained that the three men were Cambodian customers who frequented the shop and had been repeatedly disrespectful. His account paints a picture of persistent harassment rather than an isolated outburst. According to him, one man repeatedly…
A Tourist, a Viral Clip, and a Language Mix-Up: What Happened with Ann Berdin in Thailand When a short video clip goes viral, it can do more than rack up views — it can reshape a conversation. That’s exactly what happened to Filipina tourist Ann Berdin, who found herself at the center of an online firestorm after a now-deleted clip in which she complained that “English is useless” in Thailand. What began as a frustrated travel rant turned into a lesson about tone, context, and the sticky business of cross-cultural communication. The Original Clip: Frustration, Not Malice (or So She Says) In the original video, Berdin voiced annoyance that many locals — including Grab drivers — didn’t seem to understand English, a problem she said made navigating Thailand “difficult.” The clip quickly spread across social media, attracting criticism from Thai netizens and comments from public figures, including popular Thai influencer…
When a caller claiming to be a mobile network manager told 18-year-old “Ikkyu” he was implicated in an 8 million baht money‑laundering case, the morning of January 12 in Chai Nat could have turned into a nightmare. Instead, thanks to a cool head, a little theatrical acting, and fast family teamwork, what began as a ruthless call centre con ended with the scammer unwittingly handing over the key piece of evidence: a bank account number. The scam was textbook: an urgent accusation, doctored photos to “prove” officialdom, and a demand to transfer nearly 50,000 baht to clear the student’s name. The caller kept Ikkyu on the line from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., piling pressure and insisting that the transfer was the only way to verify his innocence. To maintain appearances, Ikkyu asked a neighbour for a lift to the bank. But as the drive continued, suspicion crept in. Rather…