A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[yinyang]

Miss Thailand photoshoot turns dangerous
National
Dec 08. 2020

By The Nation

A harmless photoshoot in Chiang Mai became treacherous when a rope bridge carrying the 30 Miss Thailand beauties snapped under their weight.

The contestants had gathered at Pang Pao Beach Resort to record a video and had gathered on the rope bridge for some photographs.

However, the bridge snapped, landing the women in water. Two of them sustained scratches and one suffered a head wound.

Paramedics who were on standby rushed to treat them immediately.

The resort provided a compensation of Bt500,000 and promised not to let such an accident happen.

 

[Froggy]

K.N.N.

Kup Poh,

Where is this shop.
Rooks clean, tidy and organized.

เซ้ง ก๋วยจั๊บสะท้านฟ้า
812 Pracha Uthit Rd, Samsen Nok, Huai Khwang, Bangkok 10310
081 854 8243
https://goo.gl/maps/KdiVNwv6RkA2Uxx5A

 

[Froggy]

Breakfast today at a countryside food stall I frequent whenever I come here


My $4.90 freshly cooked breakfast

Krapow moo saab (Thai basil pork) with sunny side up

Yam pla kapong (sardine with Thai herb salad)

 

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Beauties cosy up to beasts in Chiang Mai
National
Dec 09. 2020

By THE NATION

Miss Thailand contestants on Tuesday made the most of wildlife at the Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim district and at the Night Safari Zoo in Hang Dong district.

The 30 beauty pageant participants have been on a publicity tour since last week, starting off with a visit to Lamphun, Lampang and finally Chiang Mai. The tour also aims to promote domestic tourism in the North.

The Tuesday programme started with a visit to the “I Love Flower” farm and the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden in Mae Rim district, where the contestants posed for photos. They then headed for the Tiger Kingdom and Night Safari Zoo to take photographs with giraffes, leopards and tigers, before watching the zoo’s Safari Dancing Show that also features wildlife.

 

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[Froggy]

McDonalds breakfast in Thailand

Northern part of Bangkok, Rangsit, McDonald's restaurant

Mr. MaDonald taking a break

Order counter

Diner

McCafe

Breakfast menu

Normal menu

My breakfast (note: each meal comes with 2 hash browns)

 

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After-hours nightclub raided, 150 arrests
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 10 DEC 2020 AT 13:50

Officials from the Department of Provincial Administration’s law enforcement operations centre and territorial defence volunteers raid the Insanity nightclub on Soi Sukhumvit 11 in Watthana district, Bangkok, around 3am on Thursday.(Photo: DPA law enforcement operations centre Facebook page)

About 150 Thai and foreign customers were arrested at a pub operating after hours in a street off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok’s Watthana district in the early hours of Thursday.
The Insanity nightclub on Soi Sukhumvit 11 in Klong Toey Nua area was raided about 3am by officials from the Department of Provincial Administration’s law enforcement operations centre, aided by territorial defence volunteers.
About 150 people were inside, most of them dancing to music.

There was no social distancing to prevent the spread of Covid-19, said Ronnarong Thipsiri, director of the DPA centre, who led the raid.

Most of the people were not wearing face masks. All of them tried to leave when officials arrived; all were caught.
Some discarded drugs were found on the floor and in the bathrooms, he said.
There was also baraku tobacco, or shisha, and many hookahs for smoking it, according the centre's Facebook page.

All patrons, men and women, were made to give urine samples for testing. Some tested positive for illicit drugs, according to the centre. Thai media reported three patrons tested positive. (continues below)

Pub customers line up with their ID cards ready, during the raid on the Insanity nightclub early Thursday morning. ( Photo: DPA Facebook page)

The raid followed complaints from local residents that the pub stayed open beyond legal hours every night. They feared it might be a place where coronavirus disease was being spread.
Mr Ronnarong said investigators discovered the nightclub was operating without a permit, sold alcoholic drinks after hours, and stayed open to around 4am every night. Management also failed to enforce Covid-19 prevention measures.
The pub operator would face criminal action for violating an order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order. The nightclub also faced closure for five years, Mr Ronnarong said.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau has set up a fact-finding panel to investigate the pub being allowed to operate beyond legal hours and the presence of drugs, MPB deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai said.
Asked whether local police would face transfers, he said the panel would look into whether they had demanded money or been negligent in their duty.

An official examines a hookah pipe used for smoking baraku tobacco, or shisha, after the raid on the Insanity nightclub off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok on Thursday morning. (Photo: DPA Facebook page)

 

[Froggy]

Thai Seafood dinner

The restaurant on Ratchada Road

Mimosa

Thai glass noodle in hot wok

Deep fried seabass in fish sauce

Squid

Steamed crab

Love them meat

 

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Miss Thailand beauties dazzle in swimsuits
National
Dec 11. 2020

By THE NATION

Miss Thailand contestants flaunted their beauty in their swimming suits at U Nimman Chiang Mai Hotel on Thursday.
The 30 contestants were a picture of grace in their "Phachara” brand swimsuits.

The Miss Thailand pageant was at first called “Miss Siam”, and held for the first time on December 10, 1934. The present name of the competition was used from 1939, after Siam’s name was changed to Thailand.

 

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2 IN 5 THAIS WENT IN DEBT SINCE VIRUS STRUCK, REPORT SAYS
By KhaoSod
Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter
-December 9, 2020 5:37 pm
https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php...-went-in-debt-since-virus-struck-report-says/
https://vk.com/share.php?url=https:...-went-in-debt-since-virus-struck-report-says/

A woman files complaints to the finance ministry on May 5, 2020, for payment delays in the "No One Left Behind" cash handout program.

BANGKOK — Fried chicken vendor Sontaya Mookon, 39, described his debts over the past year as dried layers of dirt caked on a pig’s tail, using a Thai idiom that means “to keep increasing.”
Sontaya is the owner of Toh Jeen Fried Chicken food stall. He said he went deep into debt since the coronavirus broke out in January, and only managed to have some money to pay it back by selling at recent pro-democracy protests. His experience is far from unique – two out of five Thais may have overborrowed in the pandemic, according to a new survey.

“I couldn’t get any money during COVID. I’m just a cart, so wherever I go, City Hall officials would chase me away,” Sontaya said. “My finances went into the negative.”
A survey compiled by London-based YouGov said lower-income households and middle aged Thais between 35 to 44, like Sontaya, were more likely to borrow money than any other group.

Although household debts have always been a problem in Thailand, the matter appears to be made worse by the coronavirus. YouGov found that eight in ten Thais are currently in debt, and more than two in five said they have more debt since the pandemic began.

Image: YouGov
About two in five said they were spending less overall, but a similar number of respondents said they ended up paying more amid the outbreak.
Food and beverages, housing, and personal care are listed among the items people tend to spend more money on, but less so on clothing, entertainment, and electronics.

Nonarit Bisonyabut, a macroeconomics expert at the Thai Development Research Institute, or TDRI, said the YouGov survey may not account for the super-rich and people with a monthly income of at least 100,000 baht, but he believes the report paints a accurate picture for the middle and lower classes.
“COVID affects people with incomes of less than 60,000 baht per month anyway,” Nonarit said. “The sector of the population with no savings and high debt are already vulnerable, but with COVID, they’re now trapped in a hole of debt.”

Leaving Some Behind

Sontaya Mookon sells fried chicken at the pro-democracy protest Oct. 21 at the Victory Monument.

Sontaya, the fried chicken vendor, said he already incurred some debts from the past couple of years due to “necessary expenses.” But his money situation went downhill when lockdown measures were introduced earlier this year due to the coronavirus, he said.
Travels were discouraged, businesses shut down, and tourists barred from entering Thailand save for a very few.

“I would make as little as 600 baht per day,” said Sontaya, who sold the chicken in Siam area at the time. “Of course I was in the negative. Debt became like dried dirt on a pig’s tail.”
During the pandemic, the government proposed several handout programs, most notably the “No One Left Behind” initiative, which could be applied for through the social security system. Farmers, people living with disabilities, and the elderly were also eligible for separate handout programs.

Protesters at the Ministry of Finance on April 14, 2020.

But “No One Left Behind” proved to be somewhat of a shortfall. The cash handout – 5,000 baht for three months – is too little for many, and some applicants who qualified for the program never got the money, leading to a protest at the finance ministry in April.
“In the end, no one was paid more than 5,000 baht for three months. Honestly, no one can survive on that,” Nonarit said. “Therefore, this resulted in lots of people borrowing money and going into debt.”

He added, “The only people exempt from this are people with enough savings for 6 months or a year. Very few Thais have enough to do that.”

Uncertain Future
Thais often turn to their families first when they need to borrow, and if that fails, their friends.
Sontaya said he had owed money to his chicken supplier and his mother. When buying chicken from the supplier, he would owe 3,000 baht to 4,000 baht with each shipment since he didn’t have cash to pay for them. His mom would then send him both money and food from the upcountry to help him get by.

Sontaya Mookon sells fried chicken at the pro-democracy protest Oct. 21 at the Victory Monument.

Many also turn to informal loan institutions, from pawn shops to loan sharks. These loans come with interest rates much higher than the commercial banks, such as 36 or even 48 percent. Loans approved by the banks generally have an interest of 24 percent, Nonarit from TDRI said.
Although most of those surveyed in YouGov said they borrowed from banks (57 percent), a third borrowed via credit card (33 percent), family and friends (28 percent), and “informal loans” (21 percent).

“COVID increases uncertainty for people, who don’t know what their future looks like,” Nonarit said. “Paying off things like a car or motorcycle needs a steady stream of income.”
Sontaya said most of his income goes to his 7,000-baht rent, car payments, and expenses of providing for his family. “I’m very careful with my money. I never go anywhere; I just work for my family,” he said.

Fortunately enough for him, the series of anti-government protests that began in July and escalated in October provided him with new venues to sell the fried chicken and pay back some of his debts. At each rally, Sontaya said, he made almost 9,000 baht a day, compared to the average of 1,500 baht per day when there were no protests.
“I’m really happy to get this money,” he said. “I began to have savings of 10,000 baht, after being more than 40,000 baht in debt.”
But Sontaya said his financial situation remains tenuous since he relies on the sporadic rallies for customers, and no one knows how long the protests will last. “I don’t know what my future will be like,” he said. “I have savings, but to be honest, I only have 14,000 baht to my name right now.”

The YouGov survey was conducted on 2,083 Thais between Nov. 23 and 26 in return for compensation and is representative of the online population. The margin of error is 3 percent.
Thailand’s gross domestic product, or GDP, also shrank 6.4 percent in July-September compared to a year ago, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council.

 

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Lookalike banknotes trigger concern
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 13 DEC 2020 AT 04:00

THE COLOUR OF MONEY: Commemorative banknotes marking the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 2019 make their debut on Saturday. The set comprises 1,000-baht and 100-baht notes.

Commemorative 100-baht banknotes have raised concerns that they could be mistaken for 1,000-baht notes.
Social media on Saturday was abuzz with photos of new 100-baht commemorative banknotes which sport a gold motif, instead of the regular red colour.
The commemorative notes were issued by the Bank of Thailand (BoT) on Saturday to mark the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 2019. The front of the note depicts His Majesty the King while the back shows images reflecting the ceremony.

The set comprises two denominations, 1,000 baht and 100 baht, and the latter can be withdrawn from designated automated teller machines (ATMs) across the country.

Many people who withdrew cash from the machines were taken by surprise when they saw the gold 100-baht notes, instead of the regular red notes. The central bank assured the notes are as legal tender as the red 100-baht ones.
According to social media, some people were concerned about a possible mix-up because the colour of the 100-baht commemorative notes is close to that of the 1,000-baht notes that use the brown colour.
The 1,000-baht commemorative notes have a vertical orientation.

According to the BoT, the 100-baht and 1,000-baht commemorative banknotes are available for exchange at all commercial banks.

THE COLOUR OF MONEY: Commemorative banknotes marking the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 2019 make their debut yesterday. The set comprises 1,000-baht and 100-baht notes. The front shows His Majesty the King while the back shows images from the ceremony.

 

[yinyang]

Mahidol University student wins Miss Thailand title
National
Dec 14. 2020

By THE NATION

Natthaphat "May" Phongpraphan, a 27-year-old student of geosciences at Mahidol University (Kanchanaburi campus), was named 52nd Miss Thailand at the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre on Sunday night.

Besides a cash prize of Bt1 million, the winner also received a diamond tiara, a decorated baton, as well as a scholarship until doctoral level provided by University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, worth a total of Bt2.5 million.

The new Miss Thailand also will serve as a cultural ambassador to promote Thailand’s image and its tourism to international audiences.

 

[Froggy]

My oh my certainly qualified to be added to the German team quickly

 

[Froggy]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Turbulent-Thailand/Germany-doubts-Thailand-s-king-will-return-to-Bavaria?utm_campaign=RN Subscriber newsletter&utm_medium=daily newsletter&utm_source=NAR Newsletter&utm_content=article link&del_type=1&pub_date=20201211190000&seq_num=16&si=44594

Germany doubts Thailand's king will return to Bavaria
Jewellers and gourmet food shops miss spending of his female companions

Unprecedented open criticism of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has prompted a public relations campaign by the palace to rehabilitate his image and make him appear less remote, but there have been no official announcements about whether he will in future reside in Thailand. © Reuters

JENS KASTNER, Contributing writerDecember 11, 2020 17:15 JST

HAMBURG, Germany -- German media that took a close interest in Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn while he was residing in a Bavarian mansion, the Villa Stolberg in Tutzing, have reported that he may not be coming back.

The king has spent virtually all his time as a resident of the large southeast German state since he acceded in 2016 following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

King Vajiralongkorn returned to Thailand for a longer than normal visit to mark the fourth anniversary of his widely revered father's passing on Oct. 13, but ran into regular student-led street protests calling for a new government, amendments to the constitution and reform of the monarchy.

As Germany went into another round of COVID-19 lockdown, there were reports that the king would postpone his return to Germany until the end of December, but there has been no official comment on the matter.

The palace has meanwhile launched an unprecedented public relations campaign to make the king appear less remote from his subjects. He has walked through crowds of royalists, and even posed for selfies with supporters.

Holger Sabinsky-Wolf, a journalist for the Augsburger Allgemeine, a local daily, has closely followed King Vajiralongkorn. He recently reported that diplomatic sources have told him they do not expect the king to return to Germany.

The sources noted a significant development on Oct. 12 when an Airbus 345 of the Royal Thai Air Force departed from Munich for Bangkok with Prince Dipangkorn Rajismoti, the king's 15-year-old son, on board. The prince is the king's fifth son by his third wife, and was enrolled in a school in the Bavarian town of Geretsried that catered to his educational needs.

Berliner Morgenpost, another daily, ran a story on Dec. 9 headlined: "Thai king has left Bavaria - will he ever be back?" It quoted officials who said the king had not previously been away from Bavaria for such a prolonged period. The article reported that local jewelers and gourmet food shops regretted his absence since "twenty accompanying business women" had also left and the significant revenues they generated had dried up.

The district office in Garmisch-Partenkirchen county, where the king and his entourage stayed in a luxury hotel during Germany's first COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year, reportedly asked the German foreign ministry in mid-November if the king would be returning, and how local authorities should handle matters if he did. According to Berliner Morgenpost, there has been no response.

King Vajiralongkorn has attracted considerable adverse publicity in Germany for maintaining an apparent harem in the 21st century, reportedly breaching COVID-19 regulations, possible inheritance tax evasion, and touch-and-go maneuvers in one of his personal aircraft at a small Hamburg airport.

Thousands of young protesters descended on the German embassy in Bangkok on Oct. 26 and delivered a letter personally to Georg Schmidt, the German ambassador, requesting an investigation of the king's life in Bavaria. Among other things, they wanted to know whether the king has been conducting Thai state affairs on German soil, which would violate German law, and if he is liable for inheritance tax in Germany.

The affair has triggered debate among German politicians, mostly Green and left wing. Answering questions in the Bundestag, the federal parliament, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said authorities would "permanently review the goings-on and act immediately if things are found that we perceive to breach the law."

Sevim Dagdelen of the Left party is one of King Vajiralongkorn's strongest critics in the Bundestag. She told Nikkei Asia last month that the German government should stop accommodating the Thai head of state.

Dagdelen represents her party on the Bundestag's foreign affairs committee, and in that capacity asked parliamentary researchers to look into the legal ramifications of an unprecedented situation: a head of state residing virtually permanently in another country through personal choice. A report was completed on Nov. 18, and confirmed that King Vajiralongkorn has been residing in Germany on a private visa -- not a visa for state guests. That places matters in a legal grey area.

The researchers concluded that the sort of measures hinted at by Maas, including surveillance and administrative fines, would breach international law. The head of state personifies a country's dignity, they noted, and therefore enjoys diplomatic immunity -- even when traveling on a private visa.

As to the prohibition against conducting Thai state affairs on German soil, the researchers concluded that the German government could choose to tie the king's visa issuance to an explicit requirement that he appoint a regent in Thailand to act in his place there whenever he is absent in Germany.

That solution would be unlikely to appeal to King Vajiralongkorn who had the regency sections in the constitution modified after his accession. The changes were very controversially rubber stamped by an accommodating, military-appointed legislative assembly after Thailand's 20th constitution had been approved by national referendum in 2016. The revised constitution only received the necessary royal assent -- the king's signature -- in 2017. The changes made appointing a regent when he was abroad an option for the king -- and no longer a constitutional requirement.

However, lawmakers in Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union remain more comfortable with the longstanding hands-off approach.

"I don't see why the issuing of a visa for the Thai king should be linked to Thailand's domestic affairs, and I think the foreign ministry has gone out on a limb," Mark Hauptmann, a lawmaker from the ruling Christian Democratic Union regarded as an 'Asia hand,' told Nikkei last month.

"The foreign ministry should keep a low profile on this issue," Hauptmann said.

Government spokespeople in Bangkok had not responded to Nikkei by the time this article was posted.

 

[Froggy]

This is a modern Isaan restaurant in Siam Paragon known as Chili

Mordern yet old decor, really beautiful restaurant

Passion fruit smoothie (passion fruit is known as saowarot in Thai)

Raw crab somtam

Lunch spread

Starters in a basket

 

[yinyang]

Mask up at Suva airport

 

[Froggy]

This is a heavy lunch I would assume

Starters

Caesar salad

Mushroom soup

Scallops

Foie gras

Tomahawk

Brunello for the meat

 

[yinyang]

WHERE TO FIND UNIQUE 2020 HOLIDAY CARDS IN THAILAND
By
Khaosod English
December 14, 2020 11:00 am

Bangkok Snow Removal / Courtesy

BANGKOK — Cards with impossible Thailand winter scenes, meticulous quilling art by the deaf, and a whimsical holiday eggplant are just some of the holiday cards you can purchase as we say goodbye to 2020.

Bangkok Snow Removal
Greeting cards sold by Bangkok Snow Removal depict what Bangkok would have looked like if it snowed – a common childhood wish of many Bangkokians. The scenes include Tuk-tuk drivers huddling for warmth, sweatered dogs hanging outside a snowy 7-Eleven, and Yaowaraj streets filled with snowdrift.
Tim Cornwall, 67, has been running his small greeting card and calendar company for 15 years. The idea came to him after a conversation with too many beers led to the topic, “What would be a company you could start in Bangkok that nobody would copy?”

Bangkok Snow Removal / Courtesy

Soon, a joke turned into a dare, and Bangkok Snow Removal is now selling 18-month calendars (300 baht), greeting cards (six for 200) and postcards (six for 150 baht).

“They’re exactly what Bangkok would look like if it snowed,” the Ottawa native who moved to Thailand in 1997 said. The current set of snowy landscapes is drawn by French artist Caroline Sellier.

Domestic and international shipping available. The desktop calendar’s wooden holders are sourced from a school for handicapped children. Order via [email protected]. The shop will also have a booth at The Hive on Dec.19.

Deaf Catholic Association of Thailand
The delicate filigree cards with Christmas trees and nativity scenes sold at a downtown Catholic church are solely made by Sumalee “Wan” Mookpaksacharoen, 64, one of the 20 members in Bangkok’s Catholic Association for the Deaf.

Ephphata cards sold at Assumption Cathedral.
Sumalee learned the craft from a Singaporean volunteer, with her club mates helping with other parts of the craft that don’t involve quilling.
Narong Thanomlek, 41, founder of the association and a Catholic who graduated in sign language, founded the group in order to provide pastoral care for deaf Catholics, such as sign language support during mass.

Sumalee making cards. Photos: Narong Thanomlek
“We named the card brand ‘Ephphata,’ a Greek word that means ‘Be opened,’ which Jesus said when he healed the man who was deaf and dumb,” Narong said.
The handmade cards cost 99 baht to 149 baht, and include both religious and non-religious imagery.

The cards have no online presence and can be purchased only at the Assumption Cathedral’s shop on Oriental Road in Bang Rak, Bangkok. Narong can also be contacted at 087-918-9969.

COVID-19 has been a nightmare for producers of small business entrepreneurs, including artists like May Waikittipong, the owner of Pianissimo Press paper goods.
“Small artist businesses were really affected by COVID,” May said. “Usually we can produce a lot of goods since we have somewhat stable sales, but since the pandemic people have been more careful in spending on superfluous goods.”

May has been creating cards and notebooks with her own designs for about 7 years – but when the pandemic struck and closed malls for three months, her income from selling her design goods dropped to zero. She’s even had to pull her goods from storefronts and even close up one of her shops in Thong Lor.

Business has started to perk up in the holiday season – possibly thanks to the eggplant character named “Little Joy” mascoting on her festive cards.
“I saw an eggplant while eating and thought it looked so cute, like a baby,” May said.
Little Joy is the brand’s most prominent mascot and even has his own Instagram account, where May draws him with topical art: with viral rural temple figures, for example. An illustration of Little Joy with a rubber duck hints at his pro-democracy leanings.
Pianissimo Press’s cards sell for 125 baht online and will have a booth at the Glowfish Market in Sathorn on Dec. 19 to 20, where cards will be on sale.