Thai News

Roger "Braske" who, after running his own bar on Soi Buakhaow, has been a manager at The Place 2 Bee , at Vikings Corner Bar and at Road House 13 has returned to Belgium. He has undergone a medical treatment of about half a year and is probably staying in Belgium for the rest of his life.  Managing a bar (smoking and drinking included) is not always a healthy job.

Stars Bar

On Soi Khao Talo Stars Bar has changed hands once more.  It is Canadian owned now.

Most of the females there are wives/girlfriends of farangs now who do not want boom boom, but who still do want farang money.  There are no longer ST rooms upstairs anyway.

A complete waste of time and money. Unsurprisingly this bar is mostly deserted.

For those interested: there is again a pool table taking up most of the space.

Bottled Heineken 70 baht, lady drinks (small cognac balloons containing Singha Light) 120 baht (most expensive on Soi Khao Talo, where the norm is 80-100 baht).

Champagne Coyotes

On Soi LK Metro, where Club Malibu used to be, is now Champagne Coyotes , a glass-fronted beer bar.  From time to time one or two coyotes were performing on top of the counter. I could not be arsed to waste time and money there. I wonder when they are finally going to send those "coyotes" back to the prairie, where prairie wolves belong.

Bar de la Poste

On my latest visit to Bar de la Poste on Soi Lengkee there were only fatties and extreme fatties.  They were clad in white plastic fedoras and white T-shirt-like dresses without underwear. For a lady drink they would drop their dresses.

I happened to be the only customer and the ladyboy cashier ordered them one by one to offer me their services.

I was told that the barfines were 300 baht one drink included for the play corners and 400 baht no drink included for the ST room upstairs. Fees for the females were 500 baht for BJ, 700 baht for FS without anal and 1,000 baht for FS with anal.

Bottled Heineken still 80 baht, lady drinks still 110 baht.

Thailand's Land Transport Department has warned of a 2,000 baht fine for motor vehicles installed with ghost stickers at the back windows or rear bumpers

The warning came after the reflective creepy stickers of ghosts were posted on the social media and were widely shared.

Although the ghost stickers were not widely seen in the country, but in China, the action by the department was seen as timely and served as a preventive measure in case they are imported and used by motorists.

According to the director-general of the department, Sanit Phromwong, the ghost stickers could confuse motorists and disturb concentration while driving.

A law change has been published in the royal gazette on December 1st that will therefore come into effect at the new year.

The law will mean that visitors using visa exempt entries are limited to just 2 per year at land crossings. The new restrictions don't apply to arrival at airports though.

From a forum contributor's translation:

Those who enter the Kingdom temporarily for tourism in accordance with Paragraphs 3 by crossing Immigration check points at land borders are entitled to enter the Kingdom in this way no more than two times per calendar year, except for Malaysian citizens or citizens of other countries, as specified by the minister.

Notes: - The reason for this announcement of ministerial regulations is that it has been found that, on examining the time spent in the Kingdom by aliens receiving visa exemptions to enter the Kingdom temporarily for purposes of tourism by crossing Immigration check points at land borders, such aliens have tended to spend more time in the Kingdom than is consistent with the purpose of granting visa exemptions to enter the Kingdom temporarily for the purpose of tourism. Thus, in order to make these land border crossings conform to the stated purpose of tourism, it is necessary to issue these ministerial regulations to limit the number of annual border crossings by individual aliens using visa exemptions for the purpose of tourism.

The long-stay visa for tourists aged 50 or more is to be extended to up to 10 years.

The visa will be valid initially for five years and could be renewed for another five, Col Apisit Chaiyanuwat, vice minister at the Prime Minister's Office, said. The visa fee was set at 10,000 baht, he added. Visa holders must still report to immigration police every 90 days.

Apart from the age requirement, the visa requires eligible foreigners to have a monthly income of at least 100,000 baht or a bank deposit of at least 3 million baht, to be maintained for at least one year after receiving the visa.

Besides, they must have health insurance coverage for at least US$1,000 for outpatient care and $10,000 or more for inpatient care per policy per year.

The revised rule aimed to promote medical and wellness tourism in line with the government's policy. The target groups for the visa are long-stay visitors from Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Taiwan and the United States, Col Apisit said.

Motel Mist (Rong Ram Tang Dao) is a 2016 Thailand Sci-Fi thriller by Prabda Yoon.
Starring Prapamonton Eiamchan, Vasuphon Kriangprapakit and Wissanu Likitsathaporn.

In just a few hours, at an unusual love motel on the outskirts of Bangkok called Motel Mistress, four (human) lives intertwine and change forever. Sopol, a typical Thai father-like figure with kinky and dangerous sexual fetishes, brings his new young prey, a school girl named Laila, to room number 7, his custom-made erotic chamber. Tul, a former child actor has been reported missing by his mother and causing the media to speculate wildly over his alleged delusional belief that aliens are coming to take him away.

Prabda Yoon, one of Thailand's best-known writers and winner of the 2002 SEA Write Award for his short-story collection, has made his debut feature film, one of the most anticipated Thai movies of the year and which has toured film festivals since January. Rong Ram Tang Dao , or Motel Mist , was scheduled to hit Thai cinemas yesterday, but at the 11th hour on Wednesday night the film's investor, the cable network TrueVisions, has decided to pull it off the screen to the dismay of the filmmaker and his team.

The film's Facebook page cites disagreement between the filmmaking team and the investor regarding the content of the film .

A representative of TrueVisions tried to spin the censorship by weakly claiming that it didn't ban the film... BUT ... [is postponing] the release indefinitely for more appropriate timing .

It is believed that TrueVisions only saw the film recently and decided that it was not to their liking. The postpone indefinitely decision, which is entirely its right, has deprived Prabda's fans -- and there are many -- as well as the audience from seeing one of the year's most unusual cinematic visions on the big screen. TrueVisions also isn't sure when the film will be screened on its channel.

Motel Mist had already passed the Thai censorship board with an 18-plus rating, a liberal decision given the film's sexual content.

Freedom of movement is one of the most fundamental of all human rights and yet it is being denied to foreign visitors to Thailand.

Chonburi immigration has ordered foreign visitor to stay in Thailand where you have registered via immigration arrival form or by 3 monthly registration. People found staying elsewhere will be fined 4,000 baht.

The latest announcements from Chonburi immigration say that officers have been checking their records against foreigners residing in the Pattaya area then fining people for being in the 'wrong' location.

In September seven Indian nationals were all pictured under a sign Transnational Crime Data Centre , they were all fined 4,000 baht for not being at their stated address.

This week a Canadian was similarly fined 4,000 baht for not being at his registered address in Banglamung.

Thailand's Culture Ministry has banned video that promotes Thai tourism through Khon characters.

Scenes showing the Ramakien epic character Thotsakan (Ravana) on horseback, a jet ski, a go-kart, and a tuk-tuk in the music video will be banned. Also facing the axe are scenes showing the imaginary king of giants cooking Thai sweetmeat.

The video's director, Bandit Thongdee, explained:

The Culture Ministry says such scenes are inappropriate. It says Thotsakan should be riding an elephant.

Bandit said the Culture Ministry seemed to want about 40% of the video to be censored.

Culture Ministry permanent secretary Apinan Poshyananda tried to play down the censorship, suggesting that the re-edited version could be even better.

The Thai National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is to proposing the introduction of special SIM cards for mobile or smart phones used by foreign tourists while they are staying in Thailand.

NBTC secretary-general Thakorn Tanthasit pointed out that normally foreign tourists were required to inform immigration officials where they stay while in Thailand. With the introduction of special SIM cards, he said that the visitors would be tracked more easily in case some of them might engage in illegal activities.

Thakorn said he would invite representatives of mobile phone service providers for consultations, especially the technical aspect for the system. He claimed that this is a matter of national security and it should not be deemed as a violation of the right to privacy of individuals.

Update: Further details

9th August 2016. SSee article from khaosodenglish.com

A plan to require all foreigners in Thailand to use a special SIM card that can track their location will be reviewed by authorities Tuesday afternoon.

The plan would require anyone, not just tourists but everyone who doesn't hold a Thai passport, to use the new SIM card which would enable the authorities to track its owner's location at any time, said Takorn Tantasith, the Secretary General of the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission. No exceptions would be made for resident aliens on long-term visas such as those for employment, marriage or retirement. Takorn said:

We will separate SIM cards for foreigners and Thais. The location will always be turned on in this SIM card for foreigners. And it cannot be turned off.

Foreign tourists would be able to continue to use SIM cards brought in from other countries under roaming service and would not be required to turn their location on.

Takorn said he was unconcerned about any rights or privacy issues raised by the system. He expects the policy to come into effect in six months.

Update: Invasion of privacy approved by military junta

10th August 2016. See article from bbc.com

Thailand's plans to force foreigners to use SIM cards specially made to enable location tracking have made the world's press with the BBC reporting that the plans have been approved by the military government.

The plans have been approved in principle by Thailand's telecommunications authority and have been backed by other parts of Thailand's military government.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said the special Sim cards would come with tracking enabled, which the user could not turn off. The commission said that the facility will be used to track visa overstayers and people on the run from the police.

The basis of the idea is that the tracking information of either GPS or the less accurate signal triangulation is already available to carriers, but the Thai Government would prefer perhaps to have an immediate realtime update without asking carriers for the data. The Government would then effectively operate as the carrier for these designated foreigner sims.

While the proposal has been approved by the NBTC, Secretary General Takorn Tantasith said the organisation would consult with police, tourism authorities and tour operators before deciding whether to implement it.

I don't suppose that many visitors will be keen on the police being able to have a 24 hour realtime display of their locations as they check out the upstairs rooms of bars and GoGos.

The Phuket Provincial Land Office has issued a formal warning to owners, developers and managers of condominiums that renting out their properties on a daily basis is a breach of the Hotel Act that may incur a fine or even jail time.

Renting condos out for periods of less than 30 days, the prime length of stay for holidaymakers, may bring the owner a fine of up to B20,000 or even up to one year in jail.

The Phuket warning notice read:

To managers/developers of condominiums,

Today, there is a lot of news about condominium developers/owners renting out rooms or buildings that they have ownership of to foreigners or tourists on a daily basis (daily rental) rate that generate income as if they were a hotel (under the Hotel Act 2004).

This type of operation is causes a public nuisance for renters in the same complex and creates unsafe places for tourists, which may lead to loss of life and property. It is inacceptable to operate an illegal hotel. The penalty for this is up to one year in jail or a fine of up to B20,000, or both.

Presumably the same law applies to Pattaya.

Thailand's Public Health Ministry has ludicrously warned football fans to avoid getting overly excited while watching Euro 2016 lest those heart-stopping moments literally prove fatal.

The minsitry published advice calling on fans to ward off heart attacks by making sure they get enough rest and avoid long binges of football-fuelled excitement. Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai, the deputy permanent secretary for public health, told reporters:

The ministry would like to advise all sport lovers -- teenagers, students, working people and the elderly -- to watch sensibly, Allocate appropriate time for watching and resting.

The ministry urged those with diabetes and heart problems to make sure they continue to take medication. It said those who work hard, even the young, should also take care. Suwanchai continued:

If your bodies are weak, fans should only watch the matches they are interested in or watch replays instead. Do enough rest, exercise, eat healthy foods and avoid alcohol.

Somehow the health and safety minister didn't mention the more pertinent advice of avoiding Russian football thugs.

Police said that during the 2014 World Cup, more than 800 football gambling websites in Thailand were shut down and almost 1,000 people, mostly gamblers, were arrested.

A British couple with their grown up son were violently beaten up by Thai thugs in a crowded street in Hua Hin.

The footage was captured on video and has gone viral around the world. In the UK the Daily Mail went to town with extensive coverage of the disgraceful incident. The Daily Mail described the attack:

CCTV footage captured the extremely violent attack in the popular tourist resort of Hua Hin, where the elderly couple and their middle-aged son were celebrating Thai New Year.

The row appears to escalate from nowhere, as the woman is punched to the ground while the men are being overwhelmed by punches and kicks in the background. As she tries to sit back up, one of the gang kicks her violently in the jaw and knocks her out.

The three holidaymakers were left knocked out cold and lying in the street as their attackers disappear into the crowds of passersby during the Songkran festivities. The victims were hospitalised but the long term injuries were limited to the need for cosmetic dental work.

The police have made arrests but it is not yet clear whether these will result in prosecutions. The incident also made Thai TV news so hopefully there will be some pressure on police to bring the thugs to justice.

There is a long list of news stories building up of British tourists being killed, raped, murdered and beaten up whilst holidaying in Thailand.

Update: Sentenced

9th June 2016. See  article from dailymail.co.uk

Four thugs who attacked a family of British holidaymakers in an unprovoked attack in a Thai resort have been jailed.

Suphatra Baithong and Yingyai Saengkham-in, both aged 32, and Siwa Noksri and Chaiya Jaiboon, both 20, were each sentenced to two years in prison. The sentences took account of confessions from all four of the attackers and were reduced from a baseline of four years.

A Thai trade group representing expensive massage options, the Federation of Thai Spa Associations (FTSPA), is petitioning the authorities to close down cheaper competitors in the name of a reputation for offering sexual services.

Apichai Jearadisak, an adviser to the FTSPA, revealed that some government officials and influential people have used growing spa services and legal loopholes to open pretty spas or massage parlours where tourists can buy sexual services. He claimed:

This has damaged the image of Thai spas. The government should do something to crack down on this problem.

The low-end spa segment is highly competitive. Clients can pay only 150 baht per hour for general massage, while Thai spas overseas in countries such as Japan often charge 1,600 baht per hour.

Rangsiman Kingkaew, president of the Phuket Spa Association, said the government should seriously supervise the Thai spa business by setting standards and growth directions. Rangsiman said the government should speed up setting standards to prevent misunderstanding between real Thai traditional massage and poor massage services on beaches and roadsides.

People in Thailand will soon be banned from possessing piranha, plus electric eels or electric catfish, including their eggs and sperm. Cabinet on Monday approved in principle a ministerial regulation about this by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.

People who have these fish - except state officials who have them for academic purposes - will be required to submit them to authorities within the regulation's given timeframe.

The species noted will be banned because they could harm people or other marine life and the environment, the regulation says.

Foreign nationals residing in Thailand are being asked to disclose personal information to the government, including their bank details and where they hang out online and offline.

In recent days, a number of people have reported on Twitter and online forums frequented by expats that they have received the new forms at the Immigration Division 1 office and One-Stop Service Center at Chamchuri Square. Both are in Bangkok.

Apart from the basic information, the form requires details about what social media they use, details of vehicles they use including license plate numbers, and places or premises visited often by the foreigner â?¦ such as club, restaurant, shop, hospital and other places. The form also asks for their bank account numbers.

Chatchawan Wachirapaneekhun, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau's crime suppression unit, claimed providing the information was not mandatory, and added ominously:

We won't bother with their social media -- if they aren't doing anything wrong.

Chatchawan said in the past, immigration lacked sufficient information about foreign nationals living in Thailand. He said the new information was being sought to help track down foreigners when problems arose.

A British man has fallen victim to the Thai police and has been prosecuted for no more than enjoying Songkran water festivities whilst not wearing a shirt. He was fined 100 Baht for waht police claim to be indecent dress.

In fact there has been a general police action against girls wearing t-shirts that may be a little revealing when soaked with water. People locally have been responding to the police threats and have been covering up with traditional flowery patterned shirts. However in Pattaya things are a little freer perhaps because there is safety in numbers.

The police have also been banning pick up trucks with water tubs on board. Police road blocks and a few example arrests have been enough to get general compliance, albeit less so in Pattaya.

There's still plenty of water flying around though, and plenty of people enjoying the fun.

Sukhothai, Thailand's former capital, has registered a temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, the highest the province has ever registered in April, and nearing the highest ever recorded in the country of 44.5 degrees in Uttaradit.

Weather forecasters have warned people against staying in the sun too long given the risk of potentially fatal heat stroke.

Because of a low-pressure zone covering the upper part of Thailand, many provinces have witnessed record-breaking temperatures this month. Lampang's Thoen has seen 43.2 degrees, Kanchanaburi 43.5, and Nakhon Ratchasima at 43.2.

The Thai military authorities have announced a miserable crackdown on key ingredients in the modern celebration of Songkran.

Public celebrations have over the years turned into several days of dance parties and alcohol-fuelled water fights where locals and tourists soak each other with buckets and pump-action water guns.

Thailand however is currently beset by its worst drought in decades and is ruled by a junta keen to break the country's reputation for sybaritic excess.

There were initial calls for voluntary restraint and suggestions that celebrants should simply sprinkle drops of water on others or use mister-spray bottles. The authorities have now announced a series of measures and bans in an attempt to curb the fun.

In Bangkok, the celebrations in the backpacker haunt of Khao San Road will be cut back from four days to two, while in the business centre of Silom, one day is being lopped off. They are also supposed to end at 9pm rather than run past midnight. The city government will no longer run or allow free water distribution centres and public consumption of alcohol is also supposed to be banned.

The country's military rulers are also determined to curtail the sybaritic excess that has become associated with the celebrations as skimpily-clad party-goers throng streets or dance on top of parade vehicles to booming techno music. The main Silom celebration will now feature a cultural parade rather than a dance party.

Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the junta leader aid that displays of sexuality by Thais would give foreigners the wrong message by encouraging them to behave in similar fashion.

Don't do anything that make farangs [foreigners] think they can do anything. They come here for Thainess. Please don't do anything that shames the country and please do conserve water.

In Chiang Mai, the governor has announced a ban on X-ray pants which turn translucent when soaked. He also said his officials would prevent displays of sexy dance moves and sexy muscles .

Also banned by the junta this year are red plastic water bowls bearing a Songran message from Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed prime minister. The message reads:

The situation may be hot, but brothers and sisters may gain coolness from the water inside this bucket.

More than 100 police raided nightclubs along Pattaya's Walking Street early Friday morning and took dozens of foreigners in for interrogation because they were not holding passports or ID.

Police from the Central Investigation Bureau and soldiers from the 14th Military Base went into five venues finding at least 30 foreigners without their passports.

All of them were taken in for criminal record checks and were reportedly released after they were able to show their passports to police.

There seems a consensus of opinion that carrying a copy of your passport (with the main page + arrivals stamp + visa if held) is sufficient to satisfy such police checks.

Netflix has surprised the tech community, and perhaps some of the world, when it announced at a CES, a US technology show, that its streaming service is now available everywhere in the world except for China, North Korea, Crimea, and Syria.

And altering its original content to some of the more censorial of the new territories is something Netflix may have to confront. So far, however, Netflix hasn't censored any of its content, Anne Marie Squeo, a Netflix spokesperson, told Tech Insider:

We're an on-demand service that allows people to choose to sign up and decide what, where and when to watch, Squeo wrote in an email to Tech Insider. The service includes ratings guides and episode synopses to help people decide, and we also provide a PIN-code system to ensure children can't view certain content.

But Reed Hastings, the company's CEO, hasn't ruled out censoring its programming in the future. The Verge's Ross Miller asked Hastings about the company's policy with regard to such censorship, and he didn't exactly give a straight answer:

As to your question about... different versions like airplane cuts, we'll have to see and we'll have to learn, Hastings said, according to The Verge . I think entertainment companies have to make compromises over time... the thrust of what we're trying to do is have the artistic vision be consistent through the world.

The Bangkok Post outlines some of the issues about localised censorship requirements where the standard definition package costs 280 Baht ( £ 5.30) a month for 1 screen.

While opening the doors to Thai viewers , Netflix has not added any new Thai-language content beyond the small selection of films it already had. And while the company on Thursday added support for three new languages, Thai was not among them. Neither the website, app or subtitles are available in Thai yet.

Another significant difference Thailand viewers may not look forward to is the same type of censorship used for movies showing in Thai movie theaters.

Netflix already applies censorship to movies showing in different markets around the world to adhere to local media laws. Eg Netflix already sanitises content in Japan, pixelating full-frontal nudity seen, for example, in the Marco Polo series produced by Netflix as well as other content .

In Thailand, the service could follow standard practice at movie theaters (cinemas) by pixelating smoking, drinking and bloody violence , as well as censoring nude scenes .

Update: Indonesian censors are the first to whinge about worldwide Netflix

11th January 2016. See  article from en.tempo.co

Netflix's expansion to Indonesia has agitated the Indonesian Censorship Agency (LSF).

LSF Chairman Ahmad Yani Basuki, together with the agency's members, held a meeting to discuss the online streaming service. During the meeting, Ahmad said that some of the movies provided by Netflix are not appropriate for Indonesian viewers There are some movies that we have forbid from being screened in the cinemas, Ahmad said, without mentioning the titles.

Several scenes that must be cut out from a movie before it can be screened in Indonesia include scenes that exhibit violence, gambling, drug abuse, pornography, scenes that may well lead to sectarian conflict, blasphemy, encourage criminal acts, and degrading human rights. Ahmad said too many of the abovementioned scenes in a movie will resulted in a ban.

In relation to Netflix, Ahmad underlined that Law No. 33/2009 on Movie Industry stated that movies that are going to be screened in Indonesia must first obtain a censorship letter from LSF. On the other hand, the American-based online streaming service company is yet to file a request for censorship. Without the requirement, we will recommend the Communication and Informatics Ministry to block the service, Ahmad said.

Update: Kenyan film censors bid to censor Netflix turned down

13th January 2016. See  article from telecompaper.com

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has differed with the Kenya Films and Classification Board (KFCB) over the handling of US online movie streaming service Netflix, which has launched operations in Kenya.

The CA said Netflix will not be asked to apply for a local broadcasting licence, meaning the US firm is exempt from local broadcasting censorship rules that are part of the licensing conditions.

Previously KFCB had announced that the US firm would not be exempted from the censorship law because it will be selling foreign content, adding that it had identified inappropriate programmes hosted by the on-demand service provider that are wrongly rated for children aged 13 years.

Update: Vietnam is none too impressed

15th January 2016. See  article from english.vietnamnet.vn

Netflix's video-streaming service is winding up Vietnam's censorial authorities. Lawyers have apparently raised questions about the legitimacy of Netflix's service providing in Vietnam and how it would affect Vietnam's own pay-TV market.

Ngo Huy Toan, inspector of the Ministry of Information and Communication, affirmed that all foreign firms which provide services to Vietnam but do not register their business and do not have licenses are violating Vietnamese laws. Also according to Toan, the government of Vietnam allows foreign firms to team up with Vietnamese to provide pay-TV services. However, the firms must complete business registration in Vietnam, pay tax to Vietnam and respect Vietnamese laws.

Vietnam sets very restrictive regulations on TV program content editing, translation and content censoring. This means that movies and TV shows all must go through censorship before they can be shown in Vietnam.

Update: Malaysia considers censorship a must

15th January 2016. See article from themalaymailonline.com

Netflix's movies and television series that are streamed online will still have to comply with local regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commision (MCMC)'s content censorship minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak has said.

According to the New Straits Times (NST), Salleh told the paper that the MCMC can take action against Netflix if it makes offensive content available in Malaysia and breaches the regulator's content rules.

The communications and multimedia minister said MCMC will be asked to meet with Netflix to notify them of local content standards and their obligations.

Netflix still has to meet the local regulator's content standards even if it is exempt from getting a license as an over-the-top content application (OTT) provider like Facebook, Salleh said.

Malay Mail Online reported a US-based Netflix staff as confirming that there will be no censorship of television series and movies made available here, although certain content may be unavailable due to regional licensing restrictions.

Update: Indonesian censors block Netflix

27th January 2016. See  article from cnet.com

Indonesian 's largest telco, PT Telkom Indonesia, announced that as of 12 a.m. Wednesday morning they had blocked access to the Netflix streaming service on all of its Internet platforms.

Dian Rachmawan, Telkom's Director of Consumers, said the ban was put in place due to Netflix not following the country's broadcast laws and for having violent and pornographic content. Rachmawan told Daily Social that he didn't want to ban Netflix completely from the country ...BUT... rather wants to ensure they follow local regulations.

This blocking action will not have an impact to our customers. They [Netflix] are still small here. While they are still small, we will teach them to follow the rules here.