Hello, welcome! Take a look inside kaa. Here's what I have for you today:​

By the way: I would love to roast your itinerary. First come, first served. Drop your plan here.

After 53 years of the government treating adults like children who can’t handle alcohol between 2-5 PM, they finally suspended the ban. It’s a 180-day trial to boost tourism. Translation: they want your money more than they want to police your drinking schedule. 7-Eleven afternoon beer runs are there, baby.
Tim’s Take: Chokdee! Cheers!

Season 3 dropped and suddenly everyone needed to “set-jet” to Koh Samui. Hotel searches spiked 65%, bookings jumped 44%, and quiet beaches became selfie factories. The tourism council loved it. Locals? Not so much when their favorite spots got overrun by influencers doing the same pose 500 times.
Tim’s Take: Visit Koh Chang.

Biggest change to entering Thailand: the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC). You have to submit it online up to 3 days before your flight. Otherwise: No entry. And your darling (Thai = tilac) takes care of another farang. Benefit for tourists? None.
Tim’s Take: Need help? Grab my free TDAC guide here.

Thailand Trip OS by Tim Travel Taste is coming.

Join the waitlist and get exclusive bonuses on launch day.

Her Majesty Queen Sirikit passed away at 93 from sepsis. After a decade of health struggles, the nation went into a 30-day mourning period. Loy Krathong festivals were toned down, flags flew at half-mast, and the country genuinely grieved the loss of someone who’d been part of Thai life for almost a century.
Tim’s Take: Me so sad.

“Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise” landed like a turd in a swimming pool. Angry comments called it “sensationalist trash.” IMDb rating? 3.2 out of 10. Locals and expats agreed: it was one-sided, biased, and made Thailand look like a war zone. One guy who appeared in it said it was “the worst decision of his life.”
Tim’s Take: Mainstream media is dead.

The weed party is over. The government restricted cannabis strictly to medical use with valid prescriptions. The “Wild West” days of buying pre-rolls on every corner? Gone. You now need a 30-day prescription from a licensed doctor. They weren’t messing around.
Tim’s Take: Classic Thai zigzag.

Walking Street installed a massive 9x12 meter 3D LED entrance sign. It immediately became a selfie magnet—which also means it created traffic chaos because tourists block the street to get their shot.
Tim’s Take: I liked the old sign better.

PM2.5 levels hit 108–119 micrograms per cubic meter—almost 5 times the WHO limit. It got so bad that 352 schools in Bangkok had to close. Bangkok ranked as the 7th most polluted major city in the world. If you were here during “haze season,” you know how brutal it was.
Tim’s Take: Stay inside, kaa!

With AdQuick, you can now easily plan, deploy and measure campaigns just as easily as digital ads, making them a no-brainer to add to your team’s toolbox.

You can learn more at www.AdQuick.com

Six people died in a shooting at Or Tor Kor Market, including the gunman. It was Thailand’s deadliest structural violence incident in years and dominated headlines for weeks. The shooter had a grudge against security guards dating back to 2020.
Tim’s Take: Terrible.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar sent tremors to Bangkok. 92 people died when a 33-story government building near Chatuchak Market collapsed. Thailand’s deadliest structural failure in history. Over 3,600 died in Myanmar.
Tim’s Take: Don’t be scared of Bangkok because of one earthquake. The lifetime risk of dying in an earthquake is no higher than 1 in 20,000. Risk of being murdered? 1 in 1,000. Risk of dying in a traffic accident? 1 in 100 (in Thailand: surely higher).

In short: Disagreements over the nearly 500-mile-long boundary.
Tim’s Take: Does’n affect any tourists at the moment because the clashes are happening at the border. According to the US Embassy in Thailand, tourists should avoid all travel within 50 kilometers of the Thailand-Cambodia border. Bangkok and Pattaya are 160-200 km away.

Investing isn’t about chasing headlines — it’s about clarity. In a world of hype and hot takes, The Daily Upside delivers real value: sharp, trustworthy insights on markets, business, and the economy, written by former bankers and seasoned financial journalists.

That’s why over 1 million investors — from Wall Street pros to Main Street portfolio managers — start their day with The Daily Upside.

Invest better. Read The Daily Upside.

Subscribe free today.

Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch walked out of a promotional event after pageant director Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly berated her during a livestream. What he called her is disputed—she says “dumbhead,” he claims he said “damage”—but either way, it was ugly. She won the crown on November 21 anyway, which sparked rigging accusations. Nawat then filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against her. The whole thing is still in court.
Tim’ Take: Peak Reality TV.

Originally planned for June 2023, delayed to 2025, now delayed again until at least mid-2026. The government keeps talking about it, airlines can’t integrate it, and tourists keep getting a free pass.
Tim’s Take: Don’t hold your breath.

Chokdee!
​- Tim

P.S. I would love to roast your itinerary. First come, first served. Drop your plan here.