PattayaNewsFlash.comcall Navigation Menu
Updated:
Dry Day
Visakha Bucha Day
Visakha Bucha Day is one of the most important Buddhist holidays in the Thai calendar.
It marks the day Buddha was born into a royal family in what is now Nepal. He achieved The Enlightenment (NIRVANA) and passed away on this day at age 80 in India.
Welcome to Pattaya
Welcome to Pattaya
Relax and enjoy the absolute tranquillity of our resort
New Restrictions Updated
Now all of Pattaya is a red light district
New Restrictions April 29th
New Restrictions April 29th
New Restrictions April 29th
Quarantine time for all arrivals, which has previously been reduced to 7 days for Thais and 10 days for foreign nationals, will be extended to 14 days again, regardless of their vaccination status.
Face Masks compulsory
Stay Home at Night
Updated Restrictions as of May 16th
Updated Restrictions as of May 16th
Announcement
Immigration Bureau Announcement
Emergency Decree Updated
Emercency Decree extended
On March 19th, 2021, the Cabinet of Thailand's Prime Minister, Dictator, Songwriter and the man of many words Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the extension of the nationwide state of emergency from April 1st until May 31st, 2021, to prevent a resurgence in coronavirus infections and to help the authorities to enforce mandatory quarantines and streamline disease-control plans.
It is the 11th consecutive extension of the state of emergency since the start of the pandemic.
The emergency was imposed during March 2020 and gives Prayut Chan-o-cha sweeping powers, including a ban on large gatherings that prevents anti-government protests.
According to Natapanu Nopakun, a deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, interagency cooperation and integration under the decree is still necessary to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Thailand.
Power to the Dictator
According to an April 27th, 2021, publication in the Royal Gazette, the Thai Cabinet has approved a broad transfer of some ministerial powers to Thailand's Dictator Prayut Chan-o-cha to improve the efficiency of handling the Covid-19 situation.
The laws in question are:
  • Communicable Disease Act (2015)
  • Drugs Act (1967)
  • National Vaccine Security Act (2018)
  • Navigation in the Thai Waters Act (1913)
  • Air Navigation Act (1954)
  • Development of Digitality for Economy and Society Act (2017)
  • Emergency Medicine Act (2008)
  • Cyber Security Maintenance Act (2019)
  • Public Health Act (1992)
  • Immigration Act (1979)
  • Fuel Control Act (1999)
  • Commodities Control Act (1952)
  • Arms Control Act (1987)
  • Medical Devices Act (2008)
  • Road Traffic Act (1979)
  • Defence Ministry Administration Act (2008)
  • Pathogens and Animal Toxins Act (2015)
  • Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act (2007)
  • Social Security Act (1990)
  • Vehicles Act (1979)
  • Military Service Act (1954)
  • Hazardous Substance Act (1992)
  • Act on Commission of Offences Relating to Computer (2007)
  • Act on Electronic Transactions (2001)
  • Prices of Goods and Services Act (1999)
  • Places of Entertainment Act (1966)
  • Medical Facilities Act (1998)
  • Health Business Establishments Act (2016)
  • National Health Security Act (2002)
  • Government Pharmaceuticals Organization Act (1966)
  • Food Act (1979)
Updated (May 21st):
The CCSA - supervised by Thailand's Dictator - extended the Emergency Decree for another two months through July 31st. This is the 12th extension of the special law since it was enacted March 26th, 2020. The government has insisted that the law has nothing to do with politics, despite its regular use against dissidents.
Amazing Thailand
Foreign convictions don't apply to Thailand
Thammanat Prompao, a convicted heroin smuggler
Thammanat Prompao, a convicted heroin smuggler, is a powerful figure behind the scenes
On May 5th, 2021, Thailand's Constitutional Court rules that assistant agriculture minister Thammanat Prompao can retain his ministerial post depite being allegedly convicted of drug trafficking in Australia. The court said in its verdict that foreign convictions don't apply to Thailand.
For additional information please read the Report published by BBC.
New Tax!
Cash-in on Tourists
New Tourist Tax
Thailand announced that it will collect a 300 Baht Tourist Fee from all international visitors arriving in the country from January 2022 - in addition to the 500 Baht tax it already collects on departure from Thailand.
The new fee will go toward creating a tourism fund that will help the tourism industry deal with other unforeseen problems or hardships in the future. However, the original idea behind the fee was that the money generated would be used for the management of tourist attractions and help cover the medical bills of uninsured tourists.
Let's be surprised, maybe the authorities will think of other uses in the coming months.
Let's hope at least that the new tax does not enter the pockets of Thailand's greedy officials.
Covid-19
Vaccination helps Updated
Vaccination helps
The daily figures from England clearly show that vaccination is the only truly effective means of controlling Covid-19.
On April 30th, less than 2.13% of the population in Thailand has been vaccinated, always assuming that the published data also correspond to reality.
Update: On May 4th Khaosod English reported that only 0.59 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, with 1'106'071 (+6'611) people received the first dose, while 392'546 (+5'099) received the second dose.
At least in this case, Thailand's Dictator Prayut Chan-o-cha and his handpicked ministers have completely failed.
A mass vaccination program is not scheduled to begin until June with doses from AstraZeneca manufactured in Thailand by Siam Bioscience, a company owned by the country's Crown Property Bureau (CPB).
Thailand's military-backed government even blamed the general public for not doing enough to stem the spread of the third wave of the pandemic and for being one of the causes for its wide reach.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that the third wave emanated from an evening of Thai officials at a Hi-So nightclub in Bangkok.
Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine and the formula by AstraZeneca have both been found to boost antibody responses in almost all vaccine recipients
Graphic by courtesy of Bangkok Post
Please read its report too!
Covid-19
Vaccination for Foreigners
Covid-19 Vaccination for Foreigners
Updated (May 21st)
Covid-19 Vaccination for Foreigners
Covid-19 Vaccination for Foreigners
Covid-19
Mutations
Covid-19 Mutations
Viruses are constantly mutating and producing different versions of themselves. Most of these mutations are insignificant - and some can even make the virus less dangerous - but others can make it more contagious and harder to vaccinate.
In the case of coronavirus, scientists know of strains from Kent, South Africa, Brazil and India. They have all undergone changes to their spike protein - the part of the virus that attaches to human cells.
The Indian variant actually has three different subtypes, all with slightly different genetic mutations, known as B.1.617, B.1.617.1, and B.1.617.2.
The B.1.617.2 variant is of particular concern because it appears to be resistant to current vaccines. According to press reports, 14 elderly residents of an English nursing home, all of whom had been vaccinated, have become newly infected with Indian variant B.1.617.2.
Covid-19
The Achilles heel of the Coronavirus
RNA of SARS-CoV-2
A team of researchers from ETH Zürich and the Universities of Bern, Lausanne and Cork (in Ireland) discovered the Achilles heel of the Coronavirus!
The discovery could be used to develop a new kind of antiviral drugs.
For additional information please read The Achilles heel of the Coronavirus.
Manipulation Updated
Media are manipulating the news
Manipulated Information
The media told you with great fanfare in April that 2020 has been the warmest year since temperature records began.
Did you also wonder why every conceivable channel was turned on just now to spread this news?
The point is clear, because April 2021 was at least 3 degrees cooler than the long-term average in much of the world!
With the worldwide fireworks this fact should be concealed, because the global warming is still a giant business - and a topic that most journalists loves.
Update (May 16th): Temperatures in the first two weeks of May 2021 were also 3 degrees cooler than the multi-year average.
We all know that any kind of vaccination brings not only benefits but also risks. In most cases, however, the benefits of modern vaccines far outweigh the risks.
In recent months, the media have reported some risks associated with vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Russia's Sputnik.
Cases of a rare type of blood clot (CVST) are being investigated to see if they are linked to the coronavirus vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Sputnik.
CVST stands for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Simply put, it is a clot in a large vein in the brain.
In the CVST cases studied, all patients were found to have low platelet counts - these are the blood cells that normally help repair bleeding in the body.
Patients were also found to have a certain antibody (an immune protein that often helps fight infections) in their blood that activates platelets.
The antibody causes the platelets to mistakenly clump together and form clots, which in turn activates other parts of the body's clotting system.
A combination of clots and low platelets is one of the features doctors are now looking for.
The process usually occurs in women under the age of 30. Therefore, some scientists believe there is a link between the vaccines and some brands of birth control pills.
But why is the media only reporting the risks with the Oxford-AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, and Sputnik coronavirus vaccines and not the risks with the Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech vaccines?
To understand the media hype, one must know that the Oxford-AstraZeneca, the Johnson and Johnson, and the Sputnik coronavirus vaccines are (very cheap) vaccines; in the case of Oxford-AstraZeneca, the vaccine is even sold at manufacturing cost.
Incidentally, in India, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is known as Covishield.
These 'cheap' vaccines are a real threat to high-priced manufacturers like Moderna and Pfizer.
So it's not surprising that almost all the bad news about the cheaper vaccines originates from the US, supported by an army of lobbyists.
Both Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik are not being rolled out in the United States. At the time of writing, the U.S. is full of vaccine doses from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and senior medical adviser to the White House, said the United States has enough contracts with other vaccine manufacturers to vaccinate the entire population. The United States may not need AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine even if it is approved in the United States, he said.
Update (May 16th): 129 Swiss have contracted coronavirus despite complete immunization by Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination!
We also learned that a much larger number of fully vaccinated Americans have contracted the virus too. Of the approximately 5'800 Americans who were vaccinated against the coronavirus and became infected anyway, some became seriously ill. 396 of them had to be hospitalized and 74 people died, reports the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Update (May 19th): Latest data from Great Britain show that at least the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines protect against the Indian covid variant.
The cost of a dose of the coronavirus vaccine
BrandEUGER
Moderna€14.69€14.92
BioNTech/Pfizer€12.00€12.00
CureVac€10.00
Sanofi/GSK€7.56
Johnson & Johnson€6.94€7.04
Oxford/AstraZeneca€1.78€1.78
EU = European Union
GER = Germany
A scientist in Europe told us that it is not the vaccine from Oxford-AstraZeneca that poses a problem, the problem is Pfizer, he claimed with a smile.
Myanmar
Does the Dictator tell the true?
Thailand's Dictator
On May 14th, 2021, Thailand's Prime Minister, Dictator, Songwriter and the man of many words Prayut Chan-o-cha told an UN envoy he won't push back Myanmar refugees, but fact is that several thousand villagers from Myanmar's eastern state of Karen fled to Thailand following airstrikes by Myanmar military planes in territory held by the Karen ethnic minority. They were allowed to stay for a few days and then returned to Myanmar.
Thai officials said they went voluntarily.
Prayuth, a former army commander who also came to power by ousting an elected civilian government, is perceived to have a close relationship with the head of Myanmar's military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
Please read the full report published by Khaosud English.
Pre paid phones
Top-up
Dtac
If you top up your prepaid sim card with 100 Baht, the usability of the account will be extended for one month. If you top up with 200 Baht or more, the validity will also be extended for one month, but if you top up with 100 Baht twice in a row, the validity will be extended for two months!
Made in Thailand
The interrupted Lovestory of a Thai Buffalo
The Lovestory of a Thai Buffalo
On April 24th a wild bull escaped from Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani province to start a relationship with a female cow at an oil palm plantation about 500 meters away.
Khao Sok National Park and Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary assigned their officials to monitor the wild bull's behavior, to inform the villagers about the bull's amorous adventure and to lure it back into the forest.
Apparently, the ill-informed animal believes it has the same rights as its superiors.
Mike Baird's Cartoon
Please Click for Mike Baird's Cartoons
Click into the picture to watch more of Mike Baird's great cartoons
Upcoming Festivals
May 2021 Updated
Pattaya Music Festivals
April 30th – May 1st: Pattaya Music Festival at Pattaya Beach
May 7th – May 8th: Pattaya Music Festival at Jomtien Beach
May 14th – May 15th: Pattaya Music Festival at Lan Poe Public Park, Naklua
May 21st – May 22nd: Pattaya Music Festival at Central Pattaya Beach
April 16th: Pattaya City Hall postponed all this events!
Same Same
but different
Omo at Big C
Big C extra!
Omo at Big C
Big C North Pattaya
Please note that at different Big C locations you will also have to pay different prices for the very same goods!
Above prices checked daily from April 19th until April 27th, 2021.
Recycling
@ CentralFestival
Recycling at CentralFestival Pattaya Beach
At CentralFestival at the entrance near McDonalds you can dispose your plastic, papers and small electronics for recycling. It's free of charge.
Use the opportunity!
Dirty Tap Water again
Same procedure as every year!
Dirty Tap Water
As it does every year at this time, The Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) lets dirty water flow out of Pattaya's taps. Apparently, officials consider this a tradition that must be maintained.
The only new thing this year is that the PWA also lowers the water pressure in some parts of the city during the night hours.
Jomtien
More Expat Foods
Tasty Expat Foods
The Pantry at the junction Jomtien Second Road / Tappraya Road, also called the Mach Chanu Junction
Tasty Expat Foods
Tasty Expat Foods
Naklua
No News so far
Pattaya
Pattaya Sweethearts
During the Covid 19 pandemic, only PattayaSweethearts reports on the A Go-Go and Disco scene in Pattaya
Beefeater
New Hotel
Shambhala Hotel
On Pattaya 3rd Road, about 200 meters from Central Road (Pattaya Klang), the brand new Shambhala Hotel is preparing to open. The hotel is located to the right of the Korat Bus Terminal and opposite the famous K Mai Steak kitchen.
Shambhala Hotel
Shambhala Hotel
Fat Coco
Fat Coco
Construction work successfully completed. Now the waiting for the guests begins
The Caddyshack reopens
The Caddyshack
The Caddyshack on Thepprasit Soi 8 reopened.
Mityon sales
Mityon sales
Mityon, Pattaya's dominant motorcycle seller, is looking for a buyer for his only a few years old shop on 3rd Road ....
Closed
Korean Roastbeef Restaurant
The large Korean Roastbeef Restaurant on Soi Phettrakul, a few meters only from Hollywood Disco, closed down and is up to rent.
Closed
The Big & Whistle Pub
The Big & Whistle Pub, formerly known as the Pig & Whistle Pub on Soi 7, closed down and is up to rent.
Closed
LISA for lease
LISA, the Coyote Bar in the northern part of Pattaya Second Road is for rent.
Soi Buakhaow
Pattaya Sweethearts
During the Covid 19 pandemic, only PattayaSweethearts reports on the A Go-Go and Disco scene in Pattaya
Up Up and Away?
Hungry Hippo 's new price hike
Hungry Hippo 's new price hike
Hungry Hippo's new price hike.
Its biggest competitor - Chunky Monkey - has pulled out of the race ....
Hungry Hippo 's new price hike
Hungry Hippo 's new price hike
Optimistic Tree Town
Tree Town Entertainment Area
Tree Town Entertainment Area
Tree Town Entertainment Area
Tree Town Entertainment Area
Some new bars are preparing their stalls in the popular Tree Town area.
Relocation
Witherspoons Soi Buakhao
Witherspoons Sports Bar relocates into the empty rooms of the former R-Con coffee shop opposite Soi Buakhao's Nightmarket.
Witherspoons Soi Buakhao
On May 17th the all new Witherspoons Sports Bar and Restaurant opened across from Soi Buakhao's popular Nightmarket.
Witherspoons Soi Buakhao
Best in Town?
Check yourself!
Best in Town
Let's hope that at least the chef is sober when preparing the burger
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Some businesses are taking advantage of the entertainment lockdown to renovate their space or even create something completely new.
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Construction Fever
Bachelor A Go-Go
We will keep you up-to-date.
Closed
Chunky Monkey
Chunky Monkey, owned by Beer Hubb across the street, is up to rent.
Closed
Nidcha House Bar
Nidcha House Bar, located opposite the entrance to Soi LK Metro, closed down and is up to rent.
Closed
Bar and Restaurant closed
A Bar and a Restaurant, a few meters from the entrance to Action Street, formerly known as Smile Bar, have closed and can be rented.
Closed
7eleven Soi Buakhao Nightmarket
7ELEVEN locatad opposite the popular Soi Buakhao Nightmarket closed down.
Soi 6
Pattaya Sweethearts
During the Covid 19 pandemic, only PattayaSweethearts reports on the A Go-Go and Disco scene in Pattaya
No News so far
Walking Street
Pattaya Sweethearts
During the Covid 19 pandemic, only PattayaSweethearts reports on the A Go-Go and Disco scene in Pattaya
Actual Entertainment
Construction Fever
The one and only available Entertainment on Walking Street ....
Please read The last nail hammered into the coffin of Pattaya's Walking Street published May 3rd by Pattaya Mail.
Mike Baird's Cartoon
Please Click for Mike Baird's Cartoons
Click into the picture to watch more of Mike Baird's great cartoons
The Fun starts here
Collecting the Husband
Collecting the Husband
Four legged Camel in Pattaya
xxx
Do not eat
(this detergent)
Do not eat this detergent
Official in Thailand
Official in Thailand
Bicycle made by Nature
Bicycle made by Nature
Sofa on bicycle
Sofa on bicycle
The result of a lack of education
The result of a lack of education
Safety first
Safety first
Unsuccessful parking
Unsuccessful parking
Promotion failure
Promotion failure
Promotion failure
Our staff will be black
Our staff will be black
Amazing Switzerland
Learned from Thailand
Learned from Thailand
Same same but different
Mike Baird presents:
Pattaya Tourist Guides


These Tourist Guides were designed by Pattaya's #1 Cartoonist Mike Baird.
Please click on the images above to see more and larger copies of his work.
Virus Warnings Updated
Dengue Fever
Outbreak of Dengue Fever
While Thailand seems to have the corona virus under control, the situation with dengue fever, another viral disease, is extremely worrying in the Kingdom, especially during the rainy season.
Thailand's Public Health Officials advise people to make sure that there is no standing water around their homes, as this is a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus.
Be Aware of Dengue
Chikungunya
Another dangerous virus in this area is the Chikungunya virus. It is spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito.
The most common symptoms of infection are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.
The Chikungunya virus was found for the first time in the Americas on islands in the Caribbean in late 2013.
The virus was imported by infected travellers into new areas such as Thailand.
Currently there is no vaccine for prevention or medication to treat a Chikungunya virus infection.
Measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus.
Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than 40°C, cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes. Small white spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms. A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms.
Measles is an airborne disease which spreads easily from one person to the next through the coughs and sneezes of infected people.
No specific treatment is available but the measles vaccine is effective at preventing the disease and is exceptionally safe.
Kill the Virus Updated
How to Handwash
Please click into the picture to download the WHO Original
  • Wash your hands with a good soap.
    Hands are one of the most common ways that a virus spreads from one person to the next.
    Most viruses and some bacteria have lipid membranes that resemble double-layered micelles. These membranes are studded with important proteins that allow viruses to infect cells and perform vital tasks that keep bacteria alive.
    These lipid (fatty) bilayer are the weakest link of a virus.
    When you wash your hands with soap and water, you surround any microorganisms on your skin with soap molecules. Soap dissolves the fat membrane and the virus falls apart.
  • The coronavirus is spread from person to person when someone with the virus coughs or sneezes. So people in close contact are at high risk.
    The influenza virus is spread in a similar way. A study shows when healthcare workers are within 1.8 metres of patients with influenza, their risk of being infected is increased.
    We therefore recommend to stay away from mass gatherings and to keep a distance of 2 meters to other people.
    Nowadays this behaviour is called social distancing and is a tool to slow down the spread of a disease that is passed on from person to person.
  • There have been reported outbreaks of COVID-19 in some closed settings, such as restaurants, nightclubs, places of worship or places of work where people may be shouting, talking, or singing.
    In these outbreaks, aerosol transmission, particularly in these indoor locations where there are crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces where infected persons spend long periods of time with others, cannot be ruled out.
    Aerosols are very small droplets that can contain the COVID-19 virus and are able to stay suspended in the air for longer periods of time.
  • A virus can not enter your body throught the skin. The virus get into your body through your eyes, nose or throat.
    Therefore it is important to protect your eyes, nose and mouth, at least if you are one of those people who likes to touch the face with the hands.
    Keep in mind, that the average person touches the face 23 times per hour.
  • Avoid the polite but unsanitary greeting by shaking hands.
    Rather nod your head or use the WAI that is common in Thailand.
  • Do not kiss your partner or any other people
  • Refrain from sex or use a condom!
  • Wear a face mask and/or a face shield
  • Stay at home - and wait for better times!
Recommended Pages
NightWalker's Pctureshow
All the Discos in Pattaya
Indian Nightclubs in Pattaya
Pattaya Sweethearts