Monday 6 April 2026

Good morning Bangkok. It's Monday and it's Chakri Day, the public holiday marking 244 years since King Rama I founded the city. We're at 28-37°C (83-99°F) with hot, hazy skies and isolated afternoon thunderstorms possible. Bangkok AQI is moderate, drifting toward unhealthy for sensitive groups. Chiang Mai is deep in the unhealthy zone at 177-198, with one station peaking at 277 (severe) in the last 24 hours as burning season refuses to quit. SET and banks are closed today; Friday's close was 1,454.00, down 0.80%. Gold bars finished Friday at ฿72,000-72,200 per baht weight. USD at ฿32.67-32.69. And the headline number: diesel B7 hit ฿50.54 yesterday, a new historic high. Gasohol 95 EVO at ฿43.95. 7 days until Songkran. Anutin's Cabinet takes the oath this morning. Let's get into it.

The pump reading wasn't a typo. Diesel B7 jumped 2.80 baht per litre from 47.74 to ฿50.54 yesterday, and B20 moved from 42.75 to ฿45.54, after the Oil Fuel Fund Management Committee voted to cut subsidies again. Since the Middle East conflict kicked off on February 28, diesel has been adjusted upward eight times for a cumulative increase of 20.41 baht per litre, the highest level ever recorded in Thailand. The Oil Fuel Fund is already carrying more than 50 billion baht in debt, and was burning through roughly 1.7 billion baht a day just holding diesel down. The latest subsidy cut, from ฿20.71 to ฿18.10 per litre for B7, knocks that daily outflow to about ฿1.5 billion. Deputy PM and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas spent four hours Friday with Thailand's six oil refineries, pushing them to channel excess refining profits back into the fund, the same mechanism that pulled in 24 billion baht during the Russia-Ukraine shock in 2022. WTI is trading around $103 and Dubai crude at $131 per barrel, with both bracing for the US deadline on Iran's energy infrastructure. The Nation reported that every 1-baht increase in diesel shaves roughly 0.02% off Thai GDP. Do the math on 20 baht.

Bottom line: If you drive diesel or take Grab regularly, you're already feeling this, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. Expect taxi surcharges to creep up, food delivery fees to tick up, and wet market prices to follow within two to three weeks as wholesalers pass through transport costs. Songkran is the next pressure point: if you're renting a car or driving upcountry next weekend, price it this week, not next. Practical tip if you drive diesel, fill up Monday rather than Tuesday or Wednesday. The pattern of 2026 so far has been hike, hike, hike, and the committee meets again soon.

At Government House this morning, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul leads his new Cabinet in taking the oath of office, with the first Cabinet meeting scheduled for the same day to approve the government's policy statement for delivery to Parliament on April 9-10. The headline inside that statement is one Anutin has promised since his February 8 election rally: the formal cancellation of MOU 44, the 2001 memorandum with Cambodia on overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand. The short version: MOU 44 was signed in 2001 under then-PM Thaksin Shinawatra in just 44 days of negotiation. For comparison, Thailand spent seven years negotiating a similar deal with Malaysia. Critics argue MOU 44 risks being read as tacit Thai acceptance of Cambodia's "Line 266," which cuts across Koh Kood, and that 25 years of talks have produced exactly zero breakthrough on sharing undersea resources believed to contain significant natural gas reserves. MOU 43, the 2000 land-boundary agreement, is a separate question and remains under consideration. Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen has reportedly blocked any move to scrap MOU 43, while Phnom Penh maintains both agreements are legally binding treaties registered with the UN.

Bottom line: This matters to you in two concrete ways. First, sovereignty rhetoric plays very well domestically right now, which means Anutin is going to lean in hard through the Parliament debate this week, and expect Thai media to be wall-to-wall nationalism through April 10. Second, if you have any business, travel, or investment exposure to Thai-Cambodia border provinces, the next two to three weeks are worth watching. Analysts at the Asian Vision Institute have warned that tearing up the legal frameworks creates a "legal vacuum" that raises the risk of another sporadic border incident. Nobody wants that, but the temperature is rising at exactly the moment the new government needs a flagship win.

This is the one we've been waiting to tell you about. Bo.lan just earned a fresh Michelin star in the November 2025 ceremony for the 2026 Thailand Guide, marking a remarkable comeback for chefs Duangporn "Bo" Songvisava and Dylan Jones. The restaurant originally closed in 2020, reopened in late 2024 at its Sukhumvit 53 location, and has now been rewarded with its first star since returning. Chef Bo was named Asia's Best Female Chef in 2013, and Bo.lan was ranked 19th on Asia's 50 Best the last year before its closure. The concept is samrub-style Thai fine dining, which means courses arrive together as a coordinated set, the way a Thai family actually eats: soup, curry, stir-fry, relish, rice, all at once, meant to be shared. The setting is a refurbished house with a lush edible garden, Thai-craftsman-made furniture, and a zero-waste kitchen philosophy. Three set menus are offered: Bo.lan Brief (10 servings), Bo.lan Balance (13 servings), and Bo.lan Feast (15 servings). Expect regional deep cuts, from Isan's salty cured fish to southern curries that will make you sweat, and central Thailand's chilli-jam-coated rice from an early 1900s recipe.

TIP: Book at least two to three weeks out, especially post-Michelin when the waiting list has ballooned. Lunch (Friday-Sunday, 12-2 PM) is the move for a more relaxed pace. Budget ฿5,500-7,500 per person all-in with drinks and service. Confirm current menu prices directly with the restaurant, they've shifted since the reopening.

Address: 24 Soi Sukhumvit 53, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110. Phone: 02-260-2962. Nearest BTS: Thong Lo (10-12 minutes on foot). Website: bolan.co.th. Instagram: @bolanbangkok.

Cabinet Swearing-In Ceremony (Monday April 6, Government House) — Anutin and his ministers take the oath. Possible road closures around Dusit.

Policy Statement Debate (April 9-10, Parliament) — Government delivers its statement, including the MOU 44 scrap. Expect wall-to-wall Thai news coverage.

S2O Songkran Music Festival (April 11-13, Live Park Rama 9) — Southeast Asia's biggest EDM and water festival. Final ticket push.

Songkran 2026 (April 13-15) — Hotels 20-40% off, six airlines offering 15-30% domestic fare cuts. Book now or pay later.

CentralWorld Summer Fest (through May 10) — Free pickleball court, sport and fashion pop-ups in Siam.

6 April 1782: a general named Thong Duang, known by his military title Chaophraya Chakri, ascended the throne after a rebellion deposed King Taksin of Thonburi. He took the name Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, later posthumously called Rama I, and his very first act as king was to move the capital across the Chao Phraya River from Thonburi to a riverside village called Bang Kok. He chose the east bank because Thonburi was too exposed to Burmese attack. That decision, 244 years ago today, is the reason you're reading this newsletter in a city rather than a memory. And here's the small miracle of history: 244 years later to the day, another man is being sworn in at Government House, leading a Cabinet into a country whose borders and sovereignty he's promising to defend, just as Rama I once did. One founded a city that would outlast empires around it. The other inherits a 50-billion-baht fuel deficit and a border dispute with a neighbour. Different king, different fight, same river. Bangkok has been here before.

See you tomorrow morning.

— Devon