Pattaya & Thailand LATEST NEWS from Fabulous 103fm (27 March 2023)

Pattaya & Thailand LATEST NEWS from Fabulous 103fm (27 March 2023)

Thai-Myanmar border reopens 
The Thai-Myanmar border crossing in  Mae Sot  was reopened by guards yesterday following its closure Saturday as locals watched heavy fighting on the Burmese side where the military fought resistance fighters.  It was the Burmese that asked for the crossing to be closed, effectively preventing those opposing the government troops from fleeing.   Despite the reopening, even Thai traders, who travel daily, put off their journey to wait a few days , in order to see that nothing more will flare up there.

Flights to Germany canceled
Those flying OUT of Thailand today and early this week are best to check on flight times ahead of traveling to the airport. This, as we are told, Thai airways and others have cancelled flights to Germany, where there are strikes at the main airports.  In addition to leaving planes in the wrong country for their next journey, fights to other European countries MAY be affected.

Bangkok AirBNB’s voted a global favorite 
A few years prior to the covid era, Thailand’s hotels act amendments were accelerated to block unlicensed guest houses operating together with the use of private homes and condos for AirBNB .  Now, it seems, after guesthouse businesses were slayed in many cases, air BNB has seen a massive revival, they report that BKK is the current global favourite for online searches, with Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang mai and other regions coming close.  Chinese visitors make up many looking to rent short time.

30 Prachinburi children ‘had a cold, not radioactive poisoning’
In Prachinburi, after a report that dozens of school children were ill, following the theft of a radioactive isotope container from a local power plant, checks have shown that all have.. a common cold, and nothing serious, according to health officials.   Good news too is that blood and urine samples taken from 70 key staff at the pant have all come back negative.

Smog covers Northern provinces
Northern provinces, from Kamphaengphet to Chiang rai saw heavy smog at the weekend, as temperatures rose to a heady 40 degrees.  With that, most locals simply can’t wallow in their non cooled homes and so WILL sit outside despite the haze.

Pattaya Music Festival ends
The final weekend of the music festival saw soaring crowd numbers for the free of charge event that boasted its best of top entertainers from within Thailand.   With the beachfront busy, roads around saw chaos, but also saw many opting for out of town parking and alternative rides to the seashore venue.

Foreigner caught on CCTV robbing Pattaya exchange booth
When an exchange booth left its customer window OPEN when unmanned, one Non-Thai slid the window to one side,  relieving the owners of a coin box, containing under 1K baht.  The booth owner reported the matter to police, and with many wondering WHY the window wasn’t LOCKED, CCTV was due to be received at the weekend.

Illegal doctors arrested
In Sri racha, officials found a 45 year old , with only basic grade education, passing himself off as a medical doctor in a local clinic.   Turns out his wife owns the clinic and, he claims, the cost of hiring a qualified GP was prohibitive, so he stood in instead, in what was discovered to be an unlicensed clinic anyway.  He wasn’t alone in cells, following a provincial check, as in Saen suk, a 35 yr old woman posing as a doctor was doling out meds AND even facial injections to remove wrinkles, and in Bang saen, another woman was caught doing the same. Both admitted to no formal qualifications but upward of 2 months SELF TEACHING.

Wanted Immigration officer surrenders 
The 4th senior immigration officer sought in the investigation in extortion from a Chinaman in the capital handed himself in at the weekend.  A translator, abducted alongside the foreigner, has filed complaints that the two had been held for ransom by what now appears to have been a gang of high ranking officers, now all in custody. To add to HIS woes, the new arrestee’s girlfriend, who gave him somewhere to hide while on the run, has been charged with harbouring a criminal.

Pattaya clampdown on illegally working foreigners
Pattaya tourist Police are on the prowl, for non thais working as guides here.  Following a nationwide clamp down, resulting from complaints from the thai guide association that they are losing jobs to illegal workers.  Reports from the national police centre indicate that thousands of non-Thais have been nabbed for working as guides, a protected occupation exclusive to Thais only.  Here in Pattaya , numerous Thais have studied and practiced the Chinese language to a level that will allow them to effectively guide groups without misunderstanding and for those who slip in to take their jobs, well they are likely to be reported quickly.

Despite the lack of rain, so no flooding obviously, locals are reporting that filthy effluent is flowing into the ocean on the Naklua shoreline.  Complaints have been made to city hall and it’s likely it will be investigated today AS, naklua beach, is a favourite with holiday makers.

 With the music festival ending, locals can prepare for another festival next weekend and then of course a full on songkran in the region in under 3 weeks time.  Prepare to get wet for sure, and as in the past, many convenience stores will see a rush on the cheap pac a mac cloaks used by bikers in the rain and   CONDOMS.. popular as phone covers to save them from water damage.

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