Showing 1 - 10 of 10
The fifth Meliá in Thailand
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 13/10/2025
» Meliá Pattaya Hotel, the fifth Meliá in Thailand, is a 12-storey building on Pattaya Sai Song. Grand Sole Pattaya has been given a major glow-up and emerges anew as Meliá Pattaya Hotel. Had I not been told, I would have thought it was a new property built from the ground up.
'Monet & Friends Alive Bangkok' immerses visitors in impressionist spectacle
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 26/09/2023
» Following the end of the digital art show "Van Gogh Alive" earlier this month, another art master is honoured with an immersive digital art extravaganza.
New movies out this week: Sept 13-19
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 13/09/2023
» New titles that hit Thai cinemas for your viewing pleasure.
Your well-being, your way
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 22/07/2022
» Over the last two years, self-care and well-being have become buzzwords in our collective zeitgeist like they never have before. And if you're looking for a practical kick-start -- yours truly included -- you may want to consider Banyan Tree Veya Phuket, the new well-being resort by the world's leading hospitality group Banyan Tree Group. It is an intimate pocket of 23-villa resort dedicated to personalised and flexible well-being concept, located within the vast 89 acres of Banyan Tree Phuket.
Tea on Miss T
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 25/06/2021
» Despite the name, to say that Miss T Cafe & Restaurant is just another eatery is definitely selling it short. Given the eight rai of land it sits on, various activities and beachfront location, Miss T is a worthwhile destination in itself.
How to Name Your Car Like You're One of the 0.1%
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 19/02/2021
» The 0.1% of Thais (not 1% 'cause Thailand has the highest wealth inequality in the world, you see) may rejoice at the recent news that soon you can pay an extra fee to give your vehicle a real name on a licence plate instead of the two-alphabets-and-numerals combo the 99.9% are familiar with. The new rules will allow a combination of more than two alphabets, vowels, tone marks and numbers in a vehicle registration plate for a personal car with no more than seven seats. In short, you can name your car after you or give it a person's name. For example, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha can name his "ประยุทธ์ 2 กรุงเทพมหานคร (Prayut 2 Bangkok)" to commemorate his second term. The plan is expected to be implemented around the middle of this year and you can bid for such a plate with starting price of B1 million. Money raised this way will be spent to improve road safety.
The first week of "new normal"
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 08/05/2020
» Last Sunday, Covid-19 curbs have been eased as 13 types of businesses were allowed to reopen after a month-long halt while four airlines resume domestic flights to 14 provinces since last Friday. Markets, public parks, food shops, barbershops, pet groomers and more resume operations under safety conditions, giving us back a sense of quasi-normalcy. The silver lining is that more businesses may be reopened if the daily tally of Covid-19 remains low (keeping fingers and toes crossed). In case you want to head out this weekend, you can look forwards to this.
Street art in Samui
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 13/12/2019
» You can now add a photo-taking spree to your Samui itinerary. Central Festival Samui, in co-operation with TAT and various partners, is hosting a mini street art fest for the inaugural edition of "Samui, The Island of Happiness" campaign until January. Six noted artists -- three Thais and three foreigners -- have adorned six landmarks on Samui so tourists and locals can add cool shots to their IG feeds. I checked in at all of them to give you a gist.
Out of comfort zone
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 09/08/2019
» Every Bangkokian knows that the MRT has launched a trial run for its five new stations. This is perhaps, one of the most gleeful news we have received this year (we haven't had much of that lately) as it allows you and me an easier way to explore beyond the three S's of Bangkok: Siam, Silom and Sukhumvit. Not that these three areas are guilty of anything but there's so much more to Bangkok that awaits your discovery.
#ForbiddenPoll
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 02/02/2018
» Earlier this week, the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) Poll Director Dr Arnond Sakworawich, who had been in his job for only two weeks, resigned after his rector asked him not to publish the results of a nationwide survey that his team did on Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon's ongoing watchgate. Bangkok Post reported that NIDA president deemed the poll unfair and untimely. Arnond cited lack of respect and academic freedom as his main reasons to quit. Kudos to him for doing this as he is actually pro-regime.