Sparkling diamond ring draws crowds of devotees to Rayong temple
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
The chance of winning a diamond ring lured hundreds of merit makers to a temple’s annual alms-giving ceremony on Sunday.
A long queue of devotees was spotted at this year’s kathin fair at Wat Yai Chan in Rayong’s Muang district, as they queued up to purchase raffle tickets. The top prize, after all, was a diamond ring worth 50,000 baht, instead of the usual donated items like electric fans, refrigerators, rice and dried food.
The sparkling ring was donated by Somruethai Khumchart, 59, who owns Ban Suan Somruethai orchard – a well-known tourist destination in the eastern province.
She said she had bought the ring 10 years ago for 40,000 baht and its value has risen to 50,000 since then.
Somruethai said she helps organise the fair for the temple every year, and this year she was worried that not enough raffle tickets would be sold, so she decided to put her ring up as a special reward.
No sign of freedom for gorilla ‘Bua Noi’ as Bangkok mall rejects pleas
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
Little can be done about the 33-year-old gorilla who lives in a small cage in a Bangkok shopping mall if the owner refuses to let go, the authorities say.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa tacitly admitted on Sunday that Bua Noi, the last gorilla in Thailand, cannot return to her home in Germany if Pata Zoo refuses to sell her.
“Pata Zoo’s promised to take care of her until her last days. And as her owner, it has the right to do so,” Varawut said. “In principle, we cannot take what belongs to them. So, I’ve said that many things need to be settled first.”
The minister was speaking in response to a statement posted on Pata Zoo’s Facebook page, which said there were no plans to sell the gorilla as claimed by Varawut’s secretary, Thaneadpon Thanaboonyawat.
Bua Noi has spent 30 years in a 20-by-10-metre cage in the zoo located on the top floor of Bangkok’s oldest shopping mall – Pata Pinklao Department Store.
Noticing the gorilla’s sad state, Australian national Jodi Broad launched a campaign on Change.org called “Save Gorilla Little Lotus (Bua Noi)” some nine years ago. As of Sunday afternoon, 116,942 netizens had signed the campaign, though Broad had hoped for support from 150,000 people to step up pressure on the zoo’s management.
“We need the world to help us convince the owner of the Pata high-rise shopping mall zoo to release Little Lotus and the other primates into better environments with family groups of their own kind. They live alone, in a world of concrete and steel, with zero stimulation. A life of boredom and solitude for our great primate cousins is the cruellest fate of all… please sign and share our petition,” Broad’s plea reads.
On Saturday, Thaneadpon told reporters that Varawut was planning to repatriate Bua Noi to a zoo in Germany where she was born, but Pata Zoo had put the price of her relocation at 30 million baht.
He said the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has received complaints from visitors and wildlife activists about Bua Noi’s condition and admitted that she deserves a better life.
Pata Zoo bought the gorilla from Germany in 1992 for 3 million baht when she was three years old. A gorilla’s lifespan is 40 to 50 years on average, the secretary said, adding that the ministry hoped she could spend the rest of her days with her species.
However, the zoo responded to Thaneadpon’s statement by saying no Pata executive had made any agreements with anyone or any agency to sell Bua Noi.
It also said that store executives had rejected the plan to relocate Bua Noi as earlier requested by the ministry because she is too old to adjust to new environs. It also said she is well looked after and claims to spend about 10,000 baht per month on her care.
The management also claims to hold regular meetings about the primate’s well-being, as “we are aware that Bua Noi, Thailand’s last gorilla, can die at any time due to her old age”.
Meanwhile, Varawut said on Sunday that the “free Bua Noi” campaign well began before he became environment minister in 2019 and that discussions between the ministry and the zoo had been held many times before he took over. Hence, he said, he cannot comment on Pata Zoo’s latest statement about the gorilla.
He added that his ministry was well aware that experts, both local and foreign, will have to be consulted and many preparations made before Bua Noi is returned to the wild.
“We won’t make a decision on our own. Many steps have to be taken and that will take time,” he said.
Varawut also called on all zoos in Thailand, both public and private, to take good care of their animals and ensure they are kept in an environment that is closest to their natural habitat.
Steam train passengers celebrate Thai railway’s 125th birthday on Bangkok-Ayutthaya trip through time
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
A special steam train pulled out of Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong railway station bound for Ayutthaya on Sunday morning to mark Chulalongkorn Memorial Day.
The vintage train service is laid on once a year to celebrate the birth of Thailand’s railway under King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).
King Chulalongkorn ordered the construction of Thailand’s first railway, between Bangkok and Ayutthaya, in 1890.
The 71-kilometre route was opened six years later on March 26, 1896.
It went on to form the first section of the Northern Line, linking Bangkok and upper Thailand.
On Sunday, the special stream train chugged out of Hua Lamphong with tourists aboard after a ceremony presided over by Sujit Chaosirikul, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) deputy governor of Electrified Rail Management.
The stars of the ceremony were two vintage Pacific steam locomotives. Engines Nos 824 and 850 were built just after World War II by Nippon Sharyo Company, and are normally kept at Thonburi Locomotive Depot, located at Bangkok Noi train station.
Guests boarding Sunday’s special service paid 299 baht for a seat in the 3rd Class carriages and 799 baht in the air-conditioned carriages.
Snacks and drinks were served to passengers in both 3rd Class and air-con carriages during the six-hour journey.
Those who missed Sunday’s historic trip will get another chance to travel back through time on December 5, when a steam train will leave Bangkok for Chachoengsao to celebrate King Rama IX’s birthday and National Father’s Day.
However, demand for the trips is always high and tickets sell out quickly. Readers interested in taking the historic journey are advised to contact the SRT Customer Service Centre hotline at 1690 or check for updates at Facebook @pr.railway.
Floods will last for at least 3 more weeks in Central Thailand, says NWCC
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
Life in the Central region should return to normal by mid-November as runoffs are expected to start easing soon, the National Water Command Centre (NWCC) said.
Surasee Kittimonthon, secretary-general of the National Water Resources Office and NWCC deputy director, said on Sunday that this forecast was based on the current level of rain and water discharged from big dams upstream.
He added that NWCC was cooperating with relevant agencies and using all possible tools, mechanisms and measures to speed up efforts to return normality to inundated provinces.
Surasee went on to say that the NWCC has been monitoring rainfall in the North, Central and Northeast regions and believes it will start easing and the dry season will start soon.
He added that the Chao Phraya and Ubolrat dams are also cutting down on releasing water, so flooding in downstream provinces should start easing soon.
Surasee added that Thailand had received about 295 millimetres of rain from January 1 to October 20, which is about 21 per cent more than normal and 17 per cent more than last year.
However, he said, it was still on average less than the rainfall in 2011 when Thailand was hit by massive floods.
NWCC said this year, the water flowing through the C2 water station in Nakhon Sawan’s Muang district was recorded at 3,105 cubic metres per second, while the water flowing into the Chao Phraya Dam was 3,704 cubic metres per second.
The NWCC has to ensure the Chao Phraya Dam’s level does not go beyond 17.50 metres above the median sea level, but this year it rose to 17.74 metres. This is why NWCC had to speed up the water discharge to 3,180 cubic metres per second.
Surasee said downstream provinces ended up getting flooded because they can only cope with runoffs of 2,500 cubic metres per second.
As a result, the higher discharge made the Chao Phraya River and its tributary Noi River overflow and flood low-lying areas.
However, he said, the situation has started easing and the NWCC expects the Chao Phraya Dam to reduce its discharge rate to 1,200 cubic metres per second from November 20 and further reduce it to 700 cubic metres six days later.
He added that the floodwaters from Chai Nat, Singburi, Ang Thong and Ayutthaya provinces were moving towards the Noi River and further heading towards the Thung Phak Hai and Thung Pa Mok water-retention fields.
Meanwhile, the water level at the M7 station in Ubon Ratchathani province in the Northeast should start dropping by November 2 and return to its normal level within 14 days.
Surasee said satellite photos showed that about 8.7 million rai of land was inundated from October 1 to 20. He added that the government has allocated 6 billion baht to provide 3,000 baht in compensation to 2 million families affected by flood damage.
Compensation for damaged crops has yet to be surveyed and evaluated, he added.
Worried you might be holding one of the counterfeit 1,000-baht notes in circulation? Police have advised people they can do a simple check to tell whether their banknotes are real or fake.
The advice came after netizens reported that counterfeit 1,000-baht banknotes were being used to purchase goods in Udon Thani’s Muang and Phen districts.
On Saturday, National Police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong offered an easy way to distinguish between the real notes and the forgeries.
He said people could hold up their 1,000-baht note to the light and check the dashed line that runs from top to bottom. A genuine banknote will show the dashed line printed with “1000 บาท”.
This imprint is missing from the fake notes.
Archayon also advised that the dashed line on genuine banknotes could be damaged or mismatched from heavy use.
He added that counterfeiting coins or banknotes is a crime punishable by imprisonment of 10 years to life and a fine of 20,000-40,000 baht.
It is also a crime to use fake banknotes, even if you do not realise they are counterfeit.
Those caught using fake banknotes without knowing they are counterfeit face up to 10 years in prison, a maximum 20,000 baht fine or both.
Anyone who intentionally uses fake banknotes faces between one and 15 years in prison and a fine of 2,000-30,000 baht.
National Police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong
Archayon said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered police to crack down on counterfeiters as fake banknotes cause trouble to people and the country’s economy.
People with information about fake banknotes or counterfeiting activity can contact 24-hour police hotlines at 191 or 1599, he added.
Police, Navy scour Phuket for missing female Russian tourist; reward offered
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
Phuket officials and locals are searching for a 53-year-old Russian tourist who went missing in Thalang district three days ago.
The search was triggered after friends of Elena Rusradchenko told tourist police that she had not returned to her room after visiting Naithon beach on Thursday.
The friends said she had gone to the beach to swim at 10am but had not answered phone calls since then.
The search team found Rusradchenko’s shoes and towel under a tree at Naithon beach but no other trace of the missing woman.
Phuket governor Narong Woonciew said on Saturday that more than 100 government, police and Navy personnel are searching jungle, beaches and the sea.
The land-based rescue team is searching the Thalang coast, including the area behind the hotel where the Russian was staying, Phuket Tourist Police superintendent Pichetpong Chaengkomkhai said.
Meanwhile Navy and marine police searchers are using rubber dinghies and jet skis.
Police suspect Rusradchenko went missing when heavy rain and strong waves hit Naichon beach at noon on Thursday, causing most tourists to return to their hotels.
Pichetpong said police were still hopeful of finding the Phuket-loving Russian alive.
He said locals and fishermen had been asked to join the marine search being led by Third Naval Area Command aircraft and vessels.
Thalang district chief Bancha Thanu-in added that rescue teams have been warned to beware of dangers from heavy rain and strong waves.
Rusradchenko’s relatives have offered a reward of 380,000 baht (US$10,000) for anyone who comes forward with clues that help to locate the missing tourist.
South to see heavy rain, flash floods on Sunday as monsoon eases in rest of Thailand: Met Dept
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
Upper Thailand will be cool in the morning with light fog and isolated light rain, while the South will have continuous rain and isolated heavy rain on Sunday, according to the Thai Meteorological Department.
It issued a warning of flash floods and runoffs in the South, especially in foothills, near waterways and in low-lying areas.
Waves in the Andaman Sea are expected to rise to 2 metres, and higher in thundershowers, while waves in the Gulf will be around 1 metre, rising in stormy weather.
“All ships should proceed with caution and keep off thundershowers,” the department added.
The 24-hour forecast for different regions:
North: Morning cool with fog and isolated light rain; temperature lows of 21-24C and highs of 31-33C.
Northeast: Morning cool with light fog and isolated light rain; temperature lows of 20-22C and highs of 30-33C.
Central: Morning light fog and isolated thundershowers mostly in Suphanburi, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram; temperature lows of 23-25C and highs of 31-34C.
East: Morning light fog and isolated thundershowers mostly in Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat; temperature lows of 23-26C, highs of 30-34C; waves about 1 metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.
South (east coast): Fairly widespread thundershowers and isolated heavy rain in Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla; temperature lows of 23-24C, highs of 30-33C; waves about 1 metre high, rising in thundershowers.
South (west coast): Scattered thundershowers in Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun; temperature lows of 23-25C, highs of 31-33C; waves 1-2 metres high, rising in thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Morning light fog and isolated thundershowers; temperature lows of 24-25C and highs of 32-34C.
Tono completes charity swim as donations reach THB57m
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Singer-actor Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak successfully completed his charity swim across the Mekong River to Laos and back shortly before 5pm on Saturday.
His daring “One Man and the River” charity stunt raised funds for hospitals on either side of the Mekong — Khammouane Hospital in Laos and Nakhon Phanom Hospital in Thailand.
Donations reached 57 million baht by the time he arrived at the Thai bank of the river in Nakhon Phanom province, according to organisers.
Tono began his swim back from Khammouane province in Laos at about 4pm and reached Nakhon Phanom at 4.50pm.
The star looked weary and was helped out of the water by waiting officials.
Welcoming him on the riverbank were thousands of people, including his mother. Tono hugged his mother who washed him down with freshwater and wiped him dry with a towel.
Thailand donates children-formula Covid-19 vaccines to Myanmar
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Thailand has donated 100,000 doses of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine for children to Myanmar at the request of its health minister.
Pfizer’s mRNA paediatric formulation, which comes in orange-cap vials, is meant for children aged five to 11. Each 1.3ml vial of the vaccine is diluted with the same amount of saline. Children are given a 0.2ml dose, each containing 10 micrograms of the vaccine.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday that, “This is part of continued collaboration between the Thai Public Health Ministry and neighbouring countries and Asean member states in coping with Covid-19″.
In August, Myanmar’s Minister for Health Dr Thet Khaing Win voiced his country’s need for Covid-19 vaccines to help protect children from Covid-19. He was in Thailand to attend a ceremony to open the Secretariat of the Asean Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED).
Thailand offered to share some of its Pfizer’s mRNA paediatric formulation stocks.
The donation, approved by the Cabinet and made through the Myanmar Red Cross Society, involved cooperation between the Foreign Ministry, the Thai Embassy in Myanmar, the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Disease Control, and Zuellig Pharma Co Ltd, the importer of Pfizer vaccines.
Earlier, Thailand had donated 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to its western neighbour.
Tono battles currents and critics to complete first half of Mekong swim
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Singer-actor Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak shrugged off strong Mekong currents and criticism to complete the first half of his daredevil swim to Laos and back on Saturday.
He stepped into the water in Nakhon Phanom province at 10.19am before reaching Khammouane province in Laos over one and a half hours later at about noon.
The daring “One Man and the River” charity stunt is raising funds for hospitals on either side of the Mekong — Khammouane Hospital in Laos and Nakhon Phanom Hospital in Thailand.
Donations exceeded 41 million baht shortly after Tono touched down on the Lao side of the river at midday, according to organisers.
The star was accompanied on his mission by dozens of local swimmers and former athletes, all under the close watch of emergency teams in boats and kayaks.
Thousands of Lao locals lined the riverbank to greet Tono as he emerged from the river. The Thai celebrity towelled off and took part in a ceremony at a local temple before heading to greet a welcome committee at Khammouane Hospital.
He will swim the return leg to Thailand this afternoon and expects to complete his quest by reaching Nakhon Phanom at about 4.30pm.
Tono is also swimming against a tide of criticism, with detractors condemning him for “making merit with other people’s money” while others blame him for “burdening” rescuers by undertaking the swim.
The haters weighed in with negative comments on social media even as the swim was livestreaming on Saturday.
His supporters said much of the criticism was politically motivated, after Tono had resisted calls to take sides during last year’s crackdown on anti-establishment protesters. Some said his critics were attacking Tono and his project to gain free publicity for their cause.
Meanwhile, the water level at the M7 station in Ubon Ratchathani province in the Northeast should start dropping by November 2 and return to its normal level within 14 days.
National Police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong
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