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…
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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…
A mid‑afternoon welding job in Pattaya turned into a smoke-filled scramble on September 11, when sparks from rooftop work ignited insulation and set a townhouse alight. The blaze erupted at about 2:30pm in Soi Nern Plab Wan, close to the entrance of Chatkaew 9 Village, and quickly drew neighbours, rescuers and a plume of thick black smoke that could be seen rising from the building’s second floor. Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Rescue Centre crews answered the call without delay, sending three fire trucks and teams to the scene. Firefighters, supported by neighbours and other rescue personnel, moved fast to tackle the flames originating at house number 18/38. Local onlookers gathered nearby, anxious but relieved as crews wrestled the fire into submission. Thanks to that rapid response and focused firefighting, the damage was limited: the inferno was contained to the kitchen area and did not spread throughout the house, sparing the structure…
Autopsy reveals how Bangkok zookeeper was fatally mauled by lions — and why safety questions are mounting An autopsy has laid out in stark, clinical detail how a 58-year-old zookeeper at Safari World in Bangkok lost his life after a lion attack, leaving his family and the public searching for answers about what went wrong inside the enclosure. Police Major General Wirun Supasingsiripreecha, commander of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital, spoke to reporters on September 11 after examining the body of zookeeper Jian Rangkarasmee, who was killed inside the lion area on September 10. Jian’s younger sister, 51-year-old Rattana Rangkarasmee, attended the press briefing as the family received the body back the night before. What the autopsy found According to Pol. Maj. Gen. Wirun, the autopsy revealed a series of catastrophic injuries: a broken neck, severe wounds to the thigh that ruptured a major artery, and…