Thailand & Pattaya HEADLINE NEWS (18 October 2022) Fabulous 103fm

Thailand & Pattaya HEADLINE NEWS (18 October 2022) Fabulous 103fm

Despite the threat of more storms, an island wide cleanup was underway yesterday in Phuket following record floods causing damage to infrastructure and chaos for locals. As the provincial capital saw water levels recede, they quickly discovered that what was left behind was the most pleasant of residue.  With some roads remaining closed due to damage, and several bridges reportedly damaged too, power companies working through the night to restore services and the worry that raw sewerage had become part and parcel of the flood water,  residents were quick to rinse and clean as fast as possible, seeing the historic area look pretty normal by mid day.   Landslides around the island saw engineers called out with diggers to clear roads in some areas.

Thai media is awash with reports, backed up by video clips of a swish duo of frenchmen attacking a local thai couple  who, it’s said, were admiring their Porsche car. Video clips of at least one of the two men beating the Thai man went viral at the weekend, as of yesterday the man was still in ICU allegedly with brain juries.  The two followed the Thais, on a motorcycle, in their red plated nearly new sports car. According to the injured man’s wife they thought the foreigners were lost and when they approached were ready to give directions BUT instead the Thai man was beaten and thrown onto the footpath.  Both were easily recognisable from the video clip and, obviously, from the new vehicle purchase. Reports tell us that they are being held in custody without bail.

Exchange rates, not normally a new item here, but worth a mention as the dollar hit 38.1 baht but the pound recovered slightly to 42.7 as it, along with the baht, is seen as struggling on the world exchange right now.  Concern remains for tourism globally over the next 12-18 months, as a world recession is seeing a huge effect of free capital in households. With the cost of living taking a steep hike and interest rates on the rise, many are pulling back from big ticket holidays BUT there is a good chance that air tickets will soon return to pre-covid pricing which will attract more visitors for sure.

You watched the news, you saw the kids in the cave, you’ve maybe seen one of the several movies but NOW, it seems, a popular trend is to visit the caves themselves where the youth footballers were rescued in Chiang Rai.  Seems the caves have been worked on by the parks teams to make them safe even for large numbers of tourists and hundreds visited daily over the long weekend.

HRH the Princess Maha Chakri Sinrindhorn made a global appeal for all to prioritise the rights of all to basic food, peace and equality.  As the UN’s food and agricultural ambassador to Asia and the pacific, her recorded speech marked Monday being world food day.  Despite improvements, we are told, the Asian and pacific regions still see many facing hunger and poverty.

Weirdo of the week award can be given out early this week, to a 37 year old canadian fined a 1000 baht for.. rollerblading in and out of heavy traffic on the Sukhumvit in the capitol.  Claiming he had no idea that it was illegal to rollerblade around moving traffic, as if it were perfectly legal in his own country which it isn’t, he got his 5 minutes of fame, and at the same time was lucky to have survived his moment of stupidity.

Terminal 21 looks busy , and there’s a reason for that, according to Megan, who will be covering it in depth in the what’s on guide, Friday sees a huge seafood festival kick off there. Running through to the end of the weekend, music concerts are promised along with rows of market stalls busy with food vendors offering food from around the country.

Reports from immigratin offices tell us that unless it’s urgent, it’s best to wait until toward the end of the week for any unnecessary visits,  as queues are extra long after the long weekend.  Mame at the power companies and banks, too, recommend doing what you can and avoiding branches. The city itself saw the mass exodus of visitors but is readying for a 3 day weekend this coming weekend too, so, another busy time here in fun city.

For more of the latest local & national video news updates, subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqqv5O_uGcm-BdVXfgrZyWg
For more news: https://alwayspattaya.com/news/
Listen to the radio online from our homepage!: http://www.alwayspattaya.com