In the quiet hours before dawn in Ang Thong province, a 74-year-old woman named Kasorn (spelled Kaesorn in some reports) held vigil over an uninvited houseguest—a huge python that slithered into her home and refused to leave. By sunrise, one of her five beloved cats had vanished. What unfolded at 38/2 Moo 6, Bang Phlap subdistrict, Pho Thong district, was equal parts suspense, superstition, and small-town solidarity—all unfolding on August 10. Living alone with her cats and managing a disability in her left hand, Kasorn is used to handling life’s hurdles. But this one came with scales. It started with a rustle and a bump in the night—strange noises that drew her to the kitchen. There, a gleaming, muscle-bound python, likely attracted by her pets, was making itself at home. In a uniquely Thai twist, she tried to reason with the serpent, gently urging it to leave—after acknowledging, with a…
Posts published in “Thailand”
Under the cover of darkness and the whisper of sugarcane leaves, Thai soldiers and excise officials pulled off a stealthy midnight sting near the Thai–Cambodian border that would make any thriller proud. In the early hours of August 10, a patrol from the Burapha Task Force, working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Aranyaprathet Special Task Unit and the 1204th Ranger Company, stumbled upon a suspicious stash tucked about 10 metres from the Khong Nam Sai canal in Sa Kaeo province. The canal, which marks part of the frontier in Ban Non Khilek, Phansuk subdistrict, Aranyaprathet district, turned out to be the silent witness to a sizeable smuggling operation. It was around 12.30am when the patrol’s flashlights picked out something that didn’t quite belong among the canes: 15 bulky sacks, carefully hidden yet just close enough to be ferried across the border and whisked into Thailand’s interior. What the officers found inside would…
A stare-down on a Bangkok sidewalk spirals into violence In Bangkok’s Thon Buri district, what began as an awkward exchange of glances turned into a chaotic street scene outside a bank in the Wat Kanlaya subdistrict. According to police, a 40-year-old man identified as Akhom allegedly seized a knife from a nearby grilled chicken vendor and stabbed a 48-year-old passerby in the torso—an eruption of violence as sudden as it was senseless. It happened right on the sidewalk, where the everyday soundtrack of sizzling skewers and ATM beeps abruptly gave way to shouts for help. Bystanders reacted fast, swarming to disarm and restrain the suspected attacker even as he suffered a deep cut to his own right hand from the very blade he’d wielded. Swift response from police and medics Police Colonel Suraphat Rattanatraiwong of Buppharam Police Station received the report and dispatched officers to the scene without delay. Emergency…
Thailand’s skies are cracking open—just a little—for the nation’s farmers. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has confirmed that agricultural drone operations will be allowed starting tomorrow, August 11, under strict, no-nonsense rules. Everyone else? Keep your drones grounded. The nationwide ban on non-agricultural drone flights remains in force until August 15 or until authorities say otherwise. If you’re picturing a free-for-all with buzzing quadcopters at sunrise, think again. CAAT’s green light comes with guardrails designed for safety, security, and serious accountability. Here’s what’s actually allowed—and what isn’t. What Agricultural Drone Flights Are Allowed Only farming tasks make the cut, and only during daylight. Operators can fly from 6am to 6pm, below 30 metres in altitude, and solely for spraying or distributing agricultural substances, water, or fertiliser. This is not a backdoor for aerial photography, mapping, or surveying. If your drone is carrying a camera for anything other than…
Pattaya isn’t just about neon nights and beachside sunsets—it’s also where a major loan sharking ring just hit a dead end. Acting on a tip-off, Chon Buri provincial police swept into a luxury pool villa in Bang Lamung district and dismantled an alleged high-interest lending syndicate run by Chinese nationals. The operation ended with 26 arrests and a stash of evidence that reads like a checklist for a shadow finance hub. Inside the Pattaya pool villa raid On August 8, officers moved in on a single-storey home tucked inside a high-end housing project valued at 10 million baht (about US$309,310). The property was no ordinary vacation hideaway: it was ringed with a fence, watched by surveillance cameras, and, according to investigators, buzzing with activity around an online lending business. Inside, police found 26 Chinese nationals—25 men and one woman—who, authorities allege, were orchestrating a slick digital loan scheme targeting Chinese…
After days of tension along the Thai–Cambodian frontier, the mood is finally shifting from fear to forward motion. Thai officials are gearing up to help thousands of evacuees make their way back home, following a breakthrough 13-point ceasefire agreement hammered out at Thursday’s General Border Committee meetings in Kuala Lumpur. For many border families, that means the long wait in shelters could soon give way to the comfort of familiar doorsteps and rice fields ready for tending. Leading the charge in the Northeast, Surin Governor Chamnan Chuentha says stability has returned across most of the province’s border districts. The first wave of returns will focus on the most vulnerable—bedridden residents and those needing special care—coordinated through local shelters and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM). If all goes to plan, the initial phase should take two to three days, a careful, step-by-step approach designed to balance speed with…
Long before dawn, the Yom River announced itself with a roar. Rolling out of Sukhothai and Phitsanulok with unusual speed, the water surged into Phichit and spilled past its banks, catching many residents mid-routine—boots half on, valuables halfway packed, and livestock tugged toward dry ground. What should have been a calm monsoon morning became a race against a river arriving early. The first sign came yesterday, August 8, in Rang Nok subdistrict of Sam Ngam district—the natural gateway where the Yom enters Phichit. From there, the water follows a well-worn path: past Pho Prathap Chang, through Bueng Na Rang, into Pho Thale, and onward until it swells the Chao Phraya River in Nakhon Sawan. This year, that path feels faster and fuller, the river’s shoulders broadening by the hour. By mid-morning, four districts in Phichit were seeing river levels climb with unnerving haste. In several low-lying pockets, the Yom didn’t…
If paying your annual car tax used to feel like a road trip through red tape, Thailand just plotted a faster route. The Department of Land Transport (DLT) has teamed up with Krungthai Bank to launch a slick new way to pay your annual vehicle tax via the Pao Tang app—yes, the same one already sitting on millions of phones. Announced during the DLT’s 84th anniversary celebration on August 8, Deputy Transport Minister Surapong Piyachote called it a leap in public service innovation. Translation: less queuing, fewer forms, and a lot more convenience. Here’s the gist. Open Pao Tang. Tap to pay. You’re done. The official tax mark is then sent straight to your doorstep by Thai Post. While you wait for delivery, the app generates a temporary digital tax mark that’s valid for up to 15 days—perfect for those who like to be law-abiding without leaving the sofa. With…
The tide in Phang Nga carried a terrible secret this week. On August 8, near Ban Tha Yai pier in Mueang district, stunned locals spotted what at first looked like debris drifting close to shore. It wasn’t. Police and Kusoltham Foundation rescue workers soon confirmed the chilling truth: the body of a woman, unknown and unnamed, had surfaced despite what appears to have been a calculated attempt to keep her hidden beneath the water. Police Lieutenant Pheerawit Chaichanyut of Khok Kloi Police Station is leading the investigation, and the details are as stark as they are sobering. The victim, dressed in grey shorts and a brown round-neck T-shirt, showed no immediate signs that could identify her—no ID, no phone, and no personal effects. Officers estimate she had been dead for around two days before the discovery, the murky currents unwilling accomplices in a grim cover-up gone wrong. According to investigators,…
In the quiet pre-dawn hush of Kui Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khun, the calm was shattered at around 5 a.m. today, August 9, when a Bangkok-bound sleeper service suddenly lurched off script. Three sleeper carriages on special express train No. 38/46 slid off the rails as the locomotive eased into a curved section leading to Kui Buri station. Miraculously, the carriages didn’t overturn—but they did detach and derail, leaving 10 passengers with injuries and hundreds more rattled but safe. The express had set out on a long-haul journey from Su-ngai Kolok and Padang Besar, bound for Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (Bang Sue) in Bangkok. As the train negotiated the bend approaching the station, sleeper cars numbered 10, 11, and 12 left the track. Railway staff moved swiftly to secure the scene, while passengers in the remaining nine carriages were evacuated with calm efficiency. Ten injured, most with minor wounds Emergency…