Posts published in “Thailand”

The sight was equal parts devotional, theatrical, and oddly festive: a pickup truck rolled up to Wat Mai Samakkhi in Nong Phai District on Sunday, not with floral wreaths or incense bundles, but with 5,000 chicken eggs stacked so high they towered over the couple who brought them. By the time family members had carefully unloaded and arranged the cartons, the column of eggs rose above human height — a glittering, fragile obelisk that drew a crowd of curious villagers, merit-makers and tourists to Wat Luang Pho Ham Jon in Huai Pong Subdistrict, Phetchabun. The donors were Mr. Narongrit, 44, a real estate salesperson, and his wife, Ms. Sirirat, 45, who came with more than 10 relatives to fulfill a vow made to Luang Pho Ham Jon, a beloved Buddhist figure in the region credited by devotees with protecting worshippers from poverty and bringing financial stability. The date was December…

When an 80-Year-Old Icon Decided to Celebrate the Old-Fashioned Way: By Throwing Fights For eight decades Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium has been a crucible where Muay Thai earns its reputation the hard way — on canvas, under lights, and in front of unforgiving crowds. This year, for its 80th birthday, the venerable hall didn’t stage a polite tea and slideshow. It did what it knows best: it staged a night of war. The “R80 Rajadamnern Anniversary” wasn’t a nostalgia tour. It was a statement, equal parts spectacle and soul-stirring sport. The theatre was packed, the air thick with incense and anticipation, and the sound that mattered most — the heel of a glove on flesh — echoed round after round. Fighters from Thailand and overseas answered the call, delivering a showcase of power, pinpoint technique, and the ritual respect that separates Muay Thai from mere combat sports. If you wanted proof…

Chaos quietly stacked itself into neat cardboard piles inside a Yala warehouse on December 28, as tens of thousands of parcels sat waiting — some for days, others for an unknown stretch — while frustrated customers, reporters and local officials scrambled for answers. What began as delivery delays rapidly ballooned into a full-blown logistics crisis after a sudden mass resignation of delivery drivers and sorting staff effectively ground operations to a halt at a major shipping company’s regional hub. Inside the backlog: a warehouse full of questions Reporters who toured the facility found corridors of boxes crammed into sorting bays and storage areas, a visible sign that last-mile delivery had become last-mile limbo. With far too few hands left to process incoming shipments, the inflow of packages quickly outpaced any ability to move them onward. Customers told of missed delivery dates, tracking updates that froze mid-transit, and phone lines that…

Thailand’s political stage warmed up considerably on a bright Sunday at the Government Complex in Laksi district, Bangkok, as representatives from 52 political parties filed their party-list names and prime ministerial nominees with the Election Commission. The registration was held under the watchful eyes of election officials at the Centara Life Government Complex Hotel, where the atmosphere mixed the businesslike precision of officialdom with the low hum of campaign season anticipation. That tally of 52 parties is notable — an increase from the 47 that contested the 2023 general election — and it signals one thing clearly: competition has sharpened. More parties mean more voices, more policy debates and a busier ballot paper. Party delegates were asked to draw numbered lots to determine their position on the party-list ballot — a small ritual with outsized practical importance, since a higher or lower placement can affect how easily voters spot a…

Bangkok’s early-morning calm was broken today when a quick-thinking tourist, a handful of alert passersby and prompt police work turned what could have been a clean getaway into a very short-lived caper. At roughly 6:15–6:19 a.m. on December 28, outside the Dubai restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 4, 29-year-old British visitor Liam Robertson found himself the target of a brazen street theft. According to reports, two men approached Robertson as he stepped out of the eatery to hail a taxi. They allegedly pretended to know him, struck up a conversation — and then, in an instant, snatched the gold necklace from his neck and sprinted toward an alley beside a 7-Eleven. It sounds like something from a movie, but this was very real: the necklace in question was later valued at around 150,000 baht. What the would-be thieves didn’t count on was Robertson’s reaction. He chased them, managed to hold them,…

In a courtroom drama that reads like a financial thriller, Bangkok’s Criminal Court handed down what may be one of the harshest symbolic punishments in Thailand’s recent history: businessman Prasit Jeawkok was sentenced to a staggering 1,210 years in prison for orchestrating elaborate illegal loan and investment schemes. The headline number is jaw-dropping, the details are complex, and the legal reality is a reminder of how Thai sentencing limits work in practice. The case was brought by prosecutors from the Economic and Resource Crime Division after an extensive probe into a web of fraudulent financial activity. Defendants included Nuea Lok Co., Ltd., Web Sawasdee Public Co., Ltd., Prasit himself, and several associates accused of luring a large number of victims into seemingly lucrative but fraudulent investment schemes. Charges ranged from general fraud to violations of the Public Borrowing Act and the Computer Crime Act — a modern mix of old-fashioned…

The Bangkok authorities have waved a yellow flag — figuratively speaking — as the capital heads into its busiest holiday stretch. The Bangkok Air Quality Information Centre has released an updated outlook spanning December 26, 2025 to January 3, 2026, warning that PM2.5 levels could climb as air ventilation weakens across the city during the New Year celebrations. Translation: if you’re planning rooftop toasts, midnight fireworks, or long drives home, keep one eye on the skies and the other on your lungs. Good news first: ventilation on December 26 and 27 is expected to be “fair to good,” which will help disperse fine particulate matter and keep PM2.5 concentrations relatively manageable for most areas of Bangkok. Those two days are your best bet for outdoor activities without the extra worry of heavy haze. Enjoy the markets, the parks, and the last-minute shopping — just don’t forget basic common-sense precautions. Things…

After 65 years missing, a beloved bronze Buddha has come home — and the return to Phayao felt less like news and more like a communal, long-awaited celebration. Phra Chao Tong Song Khruang, a historically important statue once housed at Wat Ban Tom in Mueang district, was ceremoniously brought back to its original place, stirring pride, relief and, perhaps unsurprisingly, a flurry of lottery fever. A statue with stories to spare Phra Chao Tong Song Khruang is no ordinary find. Cast in bronze and posed in the Maravijaya posture — the classic seated, cross-legged pose signifying the Buddha’s triumph over Mara — the statue’s restrained decoration and classical lines point to a refined aesthetic. Art historians classify it within the Phayao (or Pa Daeng) style, with clear influences from southern Buddhist traditions and Ayutthaya-era art. Believed to have been created in the 22nd Buddhist century, it was unearthed at an…