Thailand Just Discovered a New Species

🌡️ Weather: 26-28°C (79-82°F). Cool, wet and grey. Heavy rain continues through today as the monsoon pushes across the central plains. Flash flood risk in low-lying areas. One of the coolest days Bangkok has had this year.

🌫️ Air Quality: 68-152 (Good to Unhealthy). Wide range today. At the upper end, stay indoors if you can. Morning is the cleaner window.

🗞️ TOP STORY

A BAT SPECIES NEVER BEFORE RECORDED IN THAILAND HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN BUENG KAN PROVINCE.

Researchers confirmed the first sighting of the Laotian Leaf-nosed Bat in Thailand after specimens were found in Bueng Kan, a quiet northeastern province on the Mekong River bordering Laos. The species, previously documented only in Laos, had never been recorded crossing into Thai territory. The discovery was made during field surveys and verified through physical examination and genetic analysis. Thailand now adds the Laotian Leaf-nosed Bat to its national species registry, expanding the country's already rich catalogue of bat diversity.

Thailand is home to more than 140 bat species, one of the highest counts in Southeast Asia, and the northeastern region has been producing new findings regularly as researchers push deeper into caves and forest systems that have not been thoroughly surveyed. Bueng Kan itself only became a province in 2011 and remains one of the least visited and least developed parts of the country. The discovery says something about how much of Thailand's biodiversity is still being documented. A species that has been living in caves along the Mekong for who knows how long was simply never formally recorded on the Thai side of the river until now. For a country that makes global headlines for enforcement crackdowns, nightclub fires and airport arrests, a story about scientists quietly finding a bat nobody knew was here is a different kind of headline entirely.

Bottom line: Thailand just added a new species to its national record. The bat was always there. The researchers finally found it. Sometimes the best discoveries happen in the provinces nobody visits.

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THAILAND'S STATE ELECTRICITY COMPANY LOST ฿280 MILLION TO ORGANIZED CRIME BITCOIN MINING GANGS. THE PM MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT PERSONALLY.

PM Anutin raised the figure publicly on July 24, confirming that organized crime networks operating illegal cryptocurrency mining operations had stolen an estimated 280 million baht in electricity from the state grid. The mining operations, which require enormous amounts of power to run rows of high-performance computers around the clock, were tapping into the electricity supply illegally rather than paying for the industrial-grade consumption their equipment demanded.

The number puts a price tag on a problem that has been surfacing in smaller stories throughout the year. Earlier this month, a fire at a three-storey building in Kanchanaburi led police to discover more than 20 damaged bitcoin mining machines and evidence of electricity theft hidden inside. That single operation was one node in a much larger network. ฿280 million in stolen power means these are not hobbyists mining crypto in a spare bedroom. These are industrial-scale operations with serious hardware, serious electricity consumption and serious criminal organization behind them. The PM raising it publicly signals that the government views crypto mining theft as a national infrastructure problem rather than a series of isolated local crimes. The electricity those mining rigs consumed was electricity that the grid produced, that the state paid to generate, and that legitimate customers ultimately subsidized through their bills.

Bottom line: ฿280 million in stolen electricity. Industrial-scale bitcoin mining. And the power they stole was paid for by everyone else's electricity bill. The PM putting a number on it publicly is the first step toward treating crypto mining theft as the organized crime it is.

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⚡ QUICK HITS

Today is Khao Phansa. Buddhist Lent begins. Alcohol ban in effect all day. Temples across Thailand are holding candle processions and merit-making ceremonies marking the start of the three-month Buddhist Lent period, during which monks traditionally remain at their home temples. If you have never attended a Khao Phansa ceremony, it is one of the more visually striking Buddhist traditions, with candle-lit processions winding through temple grounds after dark. Many temples welcome respectful visitors.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan's Kumamoto prefecture on Monday, killing at least 13 people. Power was cut to 48,000 homes across Kyushu. Tsunami and aftershock warnings were issued. If you have travel plans to southern Japan in the coming weeks, check conditions and accommodation availability before booking. Several airports and train lines in the region experienced temporary disruptions.

An Italian content creator living in Thailand broke spaghetti and ate pineapple pizza on camera as a comedic apology to Thai social media. The video followed the BTS student confrontation and the embassy's formal response. The creator leaned into Italian food stereotypes to make a point about cultural humility. It landed well. Thai commenters appreciated the humor.

River of Life festival ends tomorrow. Last chance to walk five historic canal streets across central Bangkok. Mahakan Fort Park, Khlong Lod, Khlong Ong Ang, Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem. Free. Through July 31.

SRT Bangkok Connex launches Friday. Bangkok to Ayutthaya. Air-conditioned. Daily. Two days away.

🍜 SPOT OF THE DAY

RUNG RUEANG PORK NOODLES (THE RIGHT SHOP)

There are two Rung Rueang noodle shops sitting side by side on Sukhumvit Soi 26. The small shop at 10/1 has been ladling clear pork broth into bowls for decades with the kind of quiet consistency that has earned it a 4.2-star rating across 547 Google reviews and a loyal following that treats it less like a restaurant and more like a daily ritual.

The broth is the thing. It is pork bone, slow-cooked for hours until it reaches a clarity that belies how much flavor it carries. The noodles come with sliced pork, minced pork, pork balls, pork liver or pork intestines, depending on how adventurous you are feeling. The deep-fried fish skin is the side dish that regulars add without thinking, thin and shatteringly crisp, draped across the top of the bowl or eaten separately. The lime juice is already in the broth, which gives it a brightness that lifts the whole bowl. "Delicious and one of the most authentic pork noodles in Bangkok," one reviewer wrote. At ฿60-200 per person, this is Michelin-recognized food at street food prices, two minutes from BTS Phrom Phong.

→ See the menu and find them here ←

Insider tip: Make sure you walk into the right-hand shop at 10/1, not the one next door. The deep-fried fish skin is not optional. Go at 8AM opening for the shortest wait.

📍 10/1 Sukhumvit 26, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
📞 090 223 2813
🕐 Opens 8AM (check hours during Khao Phansa)
⭐ 4.2 stars (547 Google reviews)| ฿60-200

Always check opening times before heading out, especially during holiday periods.

📅 WHAT'S ON

See you tomorrow morning. Happy Khao Phansa.

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