The chief of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department was arrested by anti-corruption police on December 27th, 2022, for allegedly demanding bribes from subordinates and siphoning off funds meant for parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Police reportedly found five million cash at his office. The money was seized after he failed to explain its source. He's now temporarily released by anti-corruption police after posting 400'000 Baht bail surety late Tuesday, December 27th, 2022. Police said he's not a flight risk as he's a high-ranking official and has a permanent residence .... Thailand still seems to be the hub of corruption, greed and scams.

Thailand's Prime Minister, Dictator, Songwriter and the man of many words Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the Royal Thai Police (RTP) to do everything in their power to bring Red Bull scion Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya to justice after he went into hiding following his fatal hit-and-run accident in Bangkok ten years ago. It sounds like the dictator wants to boost his popularity and be above his corrupt police force. His First Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who would like to become Thailand's prime minister after the upcoming elections, is widely seen as the architect of the 2014 coup, the mentor of Prayut Chan-o-cha, a royalist military man - and is embroiled in some corruption scandals. His brother, Police General Patcharawat Wongsuwan, was formerly Commissioner General of the (widely described as corrupt) Royal Thai Police.

Thailand is called the land of the free. This, like so much in this country, is nothing but a deception of the people. Many of the laws and regulations are designed to protect the rich and influential, the so-called 'Bangkok Elite', and to keep any competition out of lucrative business areas. A new regulation on the production of craft beer is the best example of how people can be deceived by the ruling class.

A parliamentary hearing into a police crackdown on an anti-government protest in November that left dozens wounded was adjourned without any progress on January 4th, 2023, because police commanders failed to show up. Consider what would happen to you if you ignored such a summons ....

Following a road accident, a Bentley driver refused to submit to a breathalyser test after unsuccessfully trying to flee the scene, claiming he had chest pains because the airbag had deployed at the time of the accident. He agreed to a blood test instead. Police claimed the test was conducted within an hour of the incident. However, a source, who did not want to be named, said the test was not conducted until at least four hours after the accident. What would have happened if he hadn't driven a Bentley?

After a Chinese tourist documented on her Douyin app, (the Chinese version of TikTok) that by paying 7'000 baht she not only avoided the queue at Suvanabhumi Immigration, but was also escorted by police to her hotel in Pattaya, the police knew no better than to warn tourists about 'fake policemen'! In the meantime, however, the evidence was so great that at least two of the three (real) police officers involved were suspended from duty .... If you believe the comments in the Bangkok Post, everyone already knows how corrupt Thailand is. In greedy Thailand, you can buy anything and everything. The police should warn residents and tourists about their own people - and not about the (hardly existing) "police lookalikes".

A Taiwanese celebrity called An Yu Ching has taken to Instagram to relate her experience just after New Year (2023): Charlene, her name in English, said she was stopped at a police checkpoint on January 4th, 2023. The police asked for her passport and visa, and she showed them a VOA (Visa on Arrival). But the police gave her a hard time by asking where her real visa was and she was subjected to a body and bag check. She was then taken to the police station where she had to apologise for something she had not done. She was then taken to a quiet corner and asked for 27'000 baht to sort everything out.

The officers deny having demanded money at the checkpoint and say they only warned her for possessing a vaporiser. Who could be telling the truth?

BREAKING (January 30th, 2023): The Bangkok Metropolitan Police issued a statement on Monday, January 30th, confirming that the Huay Kwang Police extorted money from Taiwanese actress Charlene An as alleged. The statement said the investigation is still in its early stages and it is not yet clear if the amount was 27'000 baht.

In the new World Report 2023 the organisation writes that 'The government of Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha continued to restrict fundamental rights, particularly freedom of expression and assembly, and prosecuted human rights and democracy activists, community advocates, environmental defenders, and critics of the monarchy'. As of September 2022, the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that at least 1'860 people had been prosecuted since mid-July 2020 for exercising freedom of expression and assembly.

Bangkok Post: Chinese gang links under scrutiny

Bangkok Post: Ex-cop, 2 women face questioning about triad assets

Bangkok Post: Police probe schools linked to Tuhao

Bangkok Post: Mafia pull alive and well

Bangkok Post: Policy-level corruption rife, anti-graft body says

Bangkok Post: Tuhao 'nominee' grilled

Bangkok Post: Immigration Bureau top brass 'took bribes' for triad visas

Bangkok Post: Cop panel to probe IB-triad link

Bangkok Post: Chuwit entitled to 5% of assets seized from triads, says minister

Bangkok Post: Immigration chief vows to tighten visa extension rules

Bangkok Post: Inquiry into Immigration-triad links

Bangkok Post: Luxury resort, cars worth B3bn seized from alleged triad boss Tuhao

The Nation Thailand: 27 Thai immigration police officers found to be aiding Chinese triads

Bangkok Post: DSI enters fray in 'Tuhao' triad case

Bangkok Post: Tuhao's wife faces money-laundering charges

The Nation Thailand: Tuhao’s wife arrested in Bangkok over money laundering charges

Thai Enquirer's Opinion: Prayut's promise of cleaning up Thailand from ‘ills’ falls flat on his face after Chinese triad network seeps to the top ranks

Bangkok Post: Cops will seek to extend Tuhao's wife's detention

Bangkok Post: Criminal charges laid against 10 suspects in triad case

Bangkok Post: 'Triad boss Tuhao' to face money laundering charges

Bangkok Post: 19 arrests in Chinese triad case, but 18 suspects remain at large ....

The Nation Thailand: Surachate to wrap up probe against 80 immigration police on Monday

Published by Khaosod english on November 28th on its Facebook page:

A 27-year-old civil engineer working for a local administrative body in Nong Bua Lamphu province committed suicide on Friday night and left a damming suicide letter saying he decided to take his own life because he couldn't bear the systemic and endemic corruption at his workplace related to inspection and approval of road and infrastructural construction. Panumesuan wrote to final letter to his parents that he couldn't cope with the corruption system where he was instructed to collect bribes from construction contractors to distribute it to local officials at his tampon administrative office. "To dad and mom... I'm sorry I have to be doing this. "I am confronted with an awkward workplace... where I am being coerce into extorting bribe for testing materials," he wrote, adding that the rate is 3 percent of the construction costs. "I am newly employed and not knowing the rules well only to confront with systemic corruption which is a culture of the tambon administrativeorganisation [Or Bor Tor]," wrote Panumesuan, who joined the local administration six months ago but tendered a resignation letter effective Dec 1." "In the end I realized I couldn't habitually adjust to the corruption culture.... The local [administrative] system is like a tool for the administrators to make money and not just politicians but civil servant like the director of the Civil Engineering Section as well... Their bad deeds can be narrated without end. May all of them pay for their graft and corruption... If my body is still well [after suicide] please donate it to Khon Kaen University's Department of Anatomy." Panumesuan's body was found inside his pickup truck where he apparently took his own life by letting the car emissions in. The man also left another letter to the public inside the car.

Bell Travel Services now offers bus transfers not only from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya, but also from Don Mueang Airport to the Pattaya Bus Terminal on North Road. Timetable:

Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya: 08:30 10:30 14:30 18:00
Departure from Level 1 Gate 8, near Airport Street Food hall

Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport: 06:00 09:00 13:00 17:00
Departure from Pattaya Bus Terminal on North Road

Fare (one way): 300 Baht

Don Mueang Airport to Pattaya: 10:30 15:00
Departure from Terminal 2 between Gate 10 and 11

Pattaya to Don Mueang Airport: 06:00 15:00
Departure from Pattaya Bus Terminal on North Road

Fare (one way): 350 Baht

Tickets can be purchased at the relevant departure points or booked online via Bell Travel Services.

Walking Naklua

Unkonscious Beach Festival 2023
Location: Alexa Beach Club, Na Jomtien

Burapa Bike Week Pattaya 2023
Location: Eastern National Sport Stadium on Soi Chaiyapruek 2

After an inspection tour on January 14th, 2023, Pol. Lt. Col. Pichaya Kheawpluang stated that he nor his subordinates could find any signs of prostitution on the city's beachfront or Walking Street. Both the ladies and the gentlemen who are perceived as prostitutes by unconvinced tourists are all entertainers. They make the otherwise dull stay more pleasant for Pattaya's guests.

For additional information please read the report published by The Pattaya News.

Please come back later

Just a few metres from Pattaya's famous roundabout, Kanak has opened a new Indian restaurant in the premises of the former Panchwati on Naklua Road.

Right on Pattaya's famous roundabout, Danq has opened another shop of its well-known cannabis brand on Naklua Road.

The infamous 69 Showcase on Naklua Road Soi 29/1 has prepared well for the announced (and long hoped for) invasion of guests from China.

The LED trees and heart-shaped arcs of light are the new attraction on Pattaya's beach promenade at night. The light show is expected to last until Valentine's Day, causing hundreds of thousands of cameras and mobile phones to click. The showpiece is located on Pattaya Beach at the entrance to Pattaya Central Road (also known as Pattaya Klang).

Part of the new Street Food Market in Soi Phettrakul has already opened! It is located opposite Hollywood Disco and offers drinks, food, clothes and entertainment with live music in a small Chang Beer Garden.

The photo shows the remains of the Sabai Room Body Massage Parlour and Sabai Resort Hotel, once known far beyond the borders of Thailand and located between Pattaya Second Road and Soi Phettrakul.

The once popular Super Star Karaoke had to leave its location in Soi Phettrakul. The venue moved to Pattaya Third Road into a building of a former buffet restaurant in front of the still closed Black Show Showcase.

Daiso, the Japanese gadget shop in Terminal21, has closed for good. However, the Central Pattaya (formerly known as CentralFestival) branch will remain open until further notice.

Banaras has moved into the former Cupid Club. Drink Dance Dine is the motto of the new club on Pattaya's Central Road, which not only presents Indian music but also Thai go-go dancers for entertainment. However, the club has been closed again since the beginning of the year.

In a building that has been empty for a long time on Pattaya Central Road, a very well-kept Japanese Restaurant has taken up residence. The new restaurant is located diagonally opposite the entrance to Soi Buakhao.

Little Brother has opened its Thai restaurant on Pattaya South Road. The simple but cosy restaurant serves popular Thai dishes at reasonable prices and good quality. Little Brother's Thai Restaurant is located just a few metres from the famous Wat Chai Mongkhon (temple). For an excerpt from the menu of Little Brother's Thai Restaurant (and other cheap eateries in Pattaya) click Affordable & Tasty Foods 2023.

A Korean BBQ restaurant has now been set up where the Julie Grill & More eatery on Soi 32 (off Sukhumvit Road) was before the pandemic.

A Ketogenic Pizza Restaurant has opened in a former Indian restaurant, which, according to the information on the front door, offers both noodels and noodles. Versatility is obviously the order of the day these days. This restaurant is also located diagonally opposite the entrance to Soi Buakhao.

Since November 11th, 2022, The Quba Boutique Hotel in Pattaya Klang Soi 12 has been open for guests. It is now in full swing with room rates starting at around 1'400 baht/night (or much cheaper when booked through Agoda and/or similar travel agencies).

The new restaurant on Soi Lengkee, off Soi Buakhao, long billed as Woodstock - and announced as an American barbecue joint - will be called Flame. According to our research, the new venue has no connection to the well-known Flames restaurant at Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort in North Pattaya (Naklua).

The Pattaya Beach Club in the Tree Town area has been closed since the beginning of January.

The Wet Spot replaces Screamer Bar. Screamer had a short life in Soi 6: it only lasted about 2 months. The Wet Spot Bar, which opened last year in Soi Yamato, remains open.

The Catwalk A Go-Go, a bar on the second floor, has reopened. The main sign and 'preview window' are on Walking Street, but the entrance to the venue is on Soi 15. The Go-Go club had been closed since June 30th, 2019.

On the second floor of the new Dhaba Restaurant is the Anarkali Indian Mujra Club, also new. The new venues are located on Soi 16, off Walking Street, directly opposite Titanic Bar, known as the bar with the most powerful sound system in the world.

Roof Top Club, a venue on the second floor, has reopened. Its bar on the ground floor got some refurbushing and is now called Muja Bar & Lounge.

The former Russo Lounge in a side alley of Walking Street has changed its format and name: It is now a "coffee shop" for Cannabis lovers called Blow Laguna Lounge & Pool Bar.

Opposite the Panda Club, Rhino Bar has set up camp in the open air.

As before the pandemic, the men's strip club XO Club presents mainly ladies from the Soviet Union - with correspondingly adjusted consumption prices.

Bollywood Club, a second-floor Indian discotheque with an imposing LED sign, has just reopened in the still struggling Soho Square, off Walking Street.

After a long lean spell, Russo Touristo, a well-known meeting place for Russian visitors before the pandemic, is again full almost every evening.

LUX, an Indian nightclub advertised with many words, had a short life: It closed only one month after its opening.

Cavalli, an Indian disco near the entrance to Walking Street, fared no better: it was closed in the second week of January.