This morning’s early calm was briefly rattled when the Earthquake Observation Division registered a 3.6-magnitude quake off the northern coast of Sumatra — a little tremor that managed to send mild shudders into parts of northern Thailand. Happily, the shaken-but-not-stirred report is simple: no injuries, no damage, and no reason to panic. The jolt struck at 4:27 a.m. local time on September 13, centred in Indonesia’s northern Sumatra at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres. The epicentre sat roughly 367 kilometres southwest of Satun’s Mueang district — distant enough that southern Thailand never faced a tsunami or significant risk. Still, the event wasn’t an isolated blip. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) noted that, alongside the offshore quake, a couple of smaller local tremors were recorded closer to home. In the predawn hours — when most of us are sharpening snores rather than wits — Mae Hi subdistrict in Pai district,…
Posts published in “Thailand”
The sleepy riverside calm of Ban Aen was shattered on September 12 when locals making their usual rounds along the Ping River stumbled upon a grim and unsettling sight: a decomposed body floating near the bank. The discovery, made in Ban Aen village in Ban Aen subdistrict of Doi Tao district, Chiang Mai, prompted an immediate response from local rescue teams and police and has left the tight-knit community searching for answers. Rapid response, limited answers Rescue groups—including the Dewarit Metta Tham Chiang Mai Rescue Association, the Disaster Response Club of Amphoe Yom Thong, and Hod Rescue—rushed to the scene alongside officers from Doi Tao Police Station. Teams retrieved the remains, which were found face down in the water. Authorities say the advanced state of decomposition suggests the woman had likely been in the river for several days, making visual identification and an initial determination of cause of death impossible…
An anonymous tip, a half-dozen municipal engineers and a sunscreen-scarred house in Rattanakorn 15: that was the scene in Nong Prue around 2pm on September 12, when deputy mayor Wanchai Saenngam led a team to investigate claims that a home was being built taller than permitted and possibly without the proper paperwork. Local officials arrived with tape measures, clipboards and that particular blend of politeness and purpose municipal officers always bring to a neighbourhood quarrel. The initial complaint had been enough to trigger a formal inspection: neighbours worried the structure might breach the eight-metre height limit, and rumours had circulated that construction had continued despite an earlier stop order. What investigators found, however, was less scandal and more bureaucracy resolved. The house in question had indeed been issued a stop order previously — not because it was secretly morphing into a skyscraper, but because permit documentation was incomplete. The homeowner…
Get Ready: Pattaya’s Sky Is About to Explode (In the Most Beautiful Way) Pattaya is turning up the volume — and the pyrotechnics. The Chon Buri Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) has just greenlit an extra 5 million baht to supercharge the Pattaya International Fireworks Festival 2025, and organizers promise the biggest, brightest two-night spectacle the city has ever seen. Block your calendar for November 28–29: from 8:00 p.m. to midnight each night, Pattaya Beach will light up with international fireworks teams competing to dazzle crowds and judges alike. This isn’t just a fireworks show. Think of it as a carnival for the senses: towering multi-colour shells bursting over the Gulf of Thailand, live concerts featuring local and international acts, cultural performances that celebrate Thai heritage, and bustling food markets serving everything from spicy street snacks to global comfort food. Rooftop bars and beachfront hotels will offer premium vantage points for…
When grocery shopping turns into an action movie, you hope the lead will know a few moves. On the night of September 1, a routine trip to a Big C supermarket in Bangkok took a turn for the dramatic — and ended with one quick-thinking shopper choreographing the kind of takedown you usually only see in slow-motion clips. Two Chinese tourists were browsing the aisles when a man allegedly snatched their shopping baskets, which reportedly contained handbags and other valuables, and bolted for the exit. Their startled cries sliced through the fluorescent supermarket buzz and set off a chain reaction. Shoppers looked up, and one of them didn’t just shout — he acted. “Halfway through shopping, I heard loud shouting from the next aisle. I ran over and saw someone being held down,” recalled witness Yun Che Lin in a social media post that quickly caught attention online. “Then I…
The rain came down in polite sheets, more of a curtain than a storm, but it did nothing to dampen the excitement behind Wat Bot Rat Sattha in Bang Rakam subdistrict, Pho Thong district, Ang Thong province. On the evening of September 12, dozens of locals gathered under umbrellas and awnings for a ritual part shrine visit, part community theatre — and all about one eight‑legged celebrity: Paya Bung, the burrow‑dwelling tarantula locals believe can point the way to lottery fortune. Colorful trays of marigolds, spiralling incense sticks and waxy candles bobbed through the crowd as participants shuffled forward with three folded sets of paper, each printed with the digits 0–9. The papers were dropped carefully into Paya Bung’s burrow as prayers and murmurs filled the air. The ceremony is part devotion, part pageant, with villagers treating it like a team sport: some bring offerings, others bring snacks and umbrellas,…
What began as a messy breakup turned into one of the most disturbing viral scandals to rock Taiwanese social media this year. A 27‑year‑old Thai woman known only as Sunny sits at the center of the storm after footage posted to her Instagram showed her flushing ten hamsters down a toilet. The videos, shared in late August, quickly spread across platforms, igniting outrage, legal action, and heated public debate about cruelty, accountability and immigration enforcement. Sunny’s relationship with her 24‑year‑old Taiwanese boyfriend, identified as Xiang, had already been fraying. The pair met after Sunny arrived in Taiwan on a tourist visa in 2023 and began working at an entertainment venue. She later moved in with Xiang in Taichung City. According to local reports, Sunny left behind a young son in Thailand, cared for by her parents, and was intending to work in Taiwan despite the restrictions of her visa. The…
Thai Lion Air is quietly sharpening its claws. Even as international arrivals to Thailand wobble, the budget carrier is pressing ahead with a targeted fleet expansion and a slate of new routes aimed at some of the region’s highest-demand markets — notably China and Japan. CEO Aswin Yangkirativorn says the airline is taking a pragmatic, data-driven approach: “We’re still optimistic that Thai tourism will eventually improve. We adjusted our fleet expansion based on overall tourism growth.” In plain English: don’t expect reckless growth sprees — expect smart, route-driven additions where demand can be captured quickly. Here’s what that looks like in numbers. Thai Lion Air currently operates a lean fleet of 30 single-aisle Boeing 737s — 21 B737-800s and nine B737-900ERs. The carrier plans to add at least two more B737-900s by year-end, with another four to five aircraft pencilled in for next year. That nudges the fleet toward an…
Late-night dispute in Pattaya condo leaves British man injured; police hunt four transgender women Pattaya police are investigating a violent late-night confrontation that left a 65-year-old British man with a deep head wound after an argument over payment at a high-rise condominium in Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district. The injured man, identified as Duncan Hamish Kirkwood, was discovered bleeding on the 20th floor and rushed to a local hospital after what authorities describe as an escalated money dispute involving a group of transgender women. The incident unfolded just after midnight on September 12. Police Lieutenant Manasak Phonliam, Deputy Inspector at Pattaya City Police Station, received the emergency call and dispatched officers together with Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan rescue workers to the scene. First responders found Kirkwood with a deep laceration in the center of his head; blood was streaming down his face as medics administered first aid before he was taken…
A Thai Businesswoman’s Costly Lesson: How 159 Million Baht Vanished into a Fake Trading App What started as a tempting Facebook ad and the thrill of quick gains turned into a nightmare for a Thai company director identified only as “A.” Between June 24 and July 17 this year, A transferred a staggering 159 million baht to what she believed was a legitimate stock trading app — a scam that preyed on greed, trust and the illusion of effortless profit. The story reads like a modern cautionary tale: in May, A noticed an advertisement for a stock trading application that popped up on her Facebook feed. By June 24 she’d downloaded the app from the Apple Store. The app didn’t just look professional — it used the profile picture of a well-known, highly respected stock trader, which instantly boosted its credibility in her eyes. The Rabbit Hole: From Corporate Account…