Thursday 11 June 2026

Good morning Bangkok. Happy Thursday.

🌡️ Weather: 28-34°C (82-93°F). Cloudy with scattered showers through the afternoon. A slightly cooler day as the monsoon brings cloud cover across Bangkok. Morning is the better window for outdoor plans.

🌫️ AQI: 68-127 (Good to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). At the lower end, genuinely good air. Check your local sensor if you are at the upper end.

The circular island attracted widespread attention online after aerial footage revealed an unusual formation near the Chao Phraya River, now dubbed the El Ojo of Thailand and the Eye of Thailand. The footage was shared on June 8 by Thai legal specialist Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, who posted images from a river survey conducted about one kilometer from the Pathum Thani shoreline. The formation is an almost perfectly circular patch of land surrounded by water, visible clearly from drone footage, with vegetation growing across its surface. The images spread rapidly across Thai social media, drawing comparisons to Argentina's famous El Ojo del Iberá, a circular floating island in the Paraná Delta that gained international attention in 2016 after being featured in a documentary and satellite imagery.

The Thai version has generated the same mix of fascination and speculation that the Argentine original did. Some commenters suggested natural explanations: sediment deposits shaped by river currents, vegetation growing on a stable sandbank, or tidal patterns creating a circular erosion effect. Others went further, as the internet always does. The formation sits in an area where the Chao Phraya widens and slows, which could create the hydrological conditions for sediment to accumulate in unusual shapes. Whatever the explanation, the aerial footage is genuinely striking, and the fact that it appeared without warning in one of the most surveyed river systems in Southeast Asia makes it a better mystery than most of what the internet produces in a given week.

Bottom Line: Is it aliens? No. Is it worth looking at the aerial footage? Absolutely. Search "Eye of Thailand" or check Prinya Thaewanarumitkul's social media for the original drone images. Sometimes the best story of the week is the one that does not involve a crisis, a crackdown or a price hike. It is just a circle in a river that nobody can fully explain yet.

This hidden gem has been serving kuay jab on Yaowarat Road for over 50 years, and the queue that forms every evening is the only review you need. Kuay jab is Bangkok's Chinatown at its most fundamental: rolled rice noodles in a deeply peppery pork broth, with slices of crispy pork belly, offal, soft-boiled egg and enough white pepper to clear your sinuses and your evening plans simultaneously. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, Condé Nast Traveler featured it as one of the essential Chinatown stalls, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand notes there is always a long line, all of which tells you the same thing: the food is worth standing for. The portions are generous. The pork belly is the anchor, crackling on the outside and tender underneath, sitting in a broth that is rich and peppery without being heavy. The rolled noodles are tender but chewy, and the offal, for anyone who is willing, adds a depth that the cautious version of the dish cannot match. Prices sit under ฿200, which for a Bib Gourmand meal in the heart of Bangkok's most iconic food street is the kind of value that makes you question every ฿400 bowl of ramen you have ever ordered on Sukhumvit. The stall closes at midnight, which means a Thursday evening Chinatown trip is very much on the table.

TIP: Go between 7PM and 9PM for the best balance of fresh cooking and manageable queue. Order the full version with offal if you are adventurous. The line moves fast. Address: 408 Yaowarat Road, Chakkrawat, Chakkaphat, Bangkok 10100. MRT: Wat Mangkon, walkable. Phone: 061 782 4223. Hours: Open daily until midnight. Rating: 3.9 stars, 1,522 Google reviews. Bib Gourmand, Michelin Guide Thailand. Price: Under ฿200.

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Have a great Thursday, and see you tomorrow morning.

— Devon