Wednesday, 8 April 2026

Good morning Bangkok. It's Wednesday and the heat is not taking a day off: we're at 35-40°C (95-104°F) under hazy skies, driven by a heat low-pressure system that's been sitting over upper Thailand all week. AQI in Bangkok is holding at 87-89 on the US scale, moderate but creeping toward unhealthy for sensitive groups by afternoon, so mask up if you're out at midday. Chiang Mai is still classified as "Smoke," and PM2.5 exceeded safety limits in 41 provinces as of Monday, with 12 public health emergency centers activated in the North. Markets: SET closed Tuesday at 1,464.43, up 10.43 points. Gold at ฿71,850 buy / ฿72,050 sell. USD/THB at ฿31.22-32.75. Diesel B7 at ฿38.95 per liter, Gasohol 95 at ฿43.58. Five days to Songkran. Let's get into it.

Immigration Division 1 officers raided an unlicensed international school in Bangkok's Prawet district last week after a tip-off, and what they found was a full operation: kindergarten and primary-level classes, more than 100 enrolled students, and 10 foreign nationals working as teachers and support staff, none of whom held valid work permits. The nationalities involved were Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Nigerian. The school had no Ministry of Education licence to operate as an educational institution at all, meaning it had been running in violation of the Private Education Act for over a year before anyone shut it down. All 10 foreign staff were arrested and transferred to Prawet police for legal proceedings. Thailand's Teachers' Council has since launched an urgent parallel investigation into whether unlicensed individuals were practising a regulated profession, which carries its own criminal exposure: up to one year in prison and a ฿20,000 fine for practising without a licence, and up to three years and ฿60,000 for the school itself for employing them. Pol Maj Gen Prasart Khemmaprasit, commander of Immigration Division 1, issued a direct warning to parents in the wake of the raid. Separately, similar raids on unlicensed childcare centers on Koh Phangan the same week suggest this is a coordinated national crackdown, not a one-off.

Bottom line: The families who paid tuition to this school are now scrambling for new options mid-term, and their kids' academic records from this institution are effectively worthless. This story is a direct warning for every expat parent in Bangkok: a school that looks legitimate, charges real fees, and runs real classes can still be completely illegal. The verification steps are simple. Every licensed school must have a Ministry of Education licence number, ask for it and look it up at the MOE website. Foreign teachers must hold a Non-B visa and a physical work permit booklet tied to that specific school. If a school hedges on either of those requests, that is your answer. If you suspect an illegal setup, report it to the police hotline at 1599 or the Immigration Bureau at 1178, both operate around the clock.

As Thailand monitors the Hormuz situation (Bangchak crude is still expected sometime this month and three Mayuree Naree crew members remain missing), Iran has now signaled through Houthi intermediaries a possible closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the narrow waterway between Yemen and Djibouti that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The Nation Thailand reported Monday the threat came in direct response to U.S. President Trump's warnings of strikes on Iranian infrastructure, while Iran has simultaneously made clear it will not reopen Hormuz under any temporary ceasefire deal. In Bangkok, Anutin said the government is adjusting its oil management plan for a prolonged crisis, tightening work-from-home guidance and urging reduced private car use and more carpooling. Energy Minister Auttapol Rerkpiboon confirmed Thailand holds 107 days of oil reserves, and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow has been canvassing Brazil, Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan as alternative suppliers.

Bottom line: Two chokepoints is a categorically different problem than one. Hormuz controls the Persian Gulf exit; Bab el-Mandeb controls the Red Sea route that most tankers use after passing the Suez Canal. If both are seriously disrupted, rerouting around Africa's Cape of Good Hope adds weeks and meaningful cost per shipment. Thailand imports roughly 80% of its crude. The "107 days of reserves" line is designed to prevent panic buying, and it should, but reserves won't hold pump prices flat indefinitely. If you're running a Bangkok business with any fuel-sensitive cost structure, start stress-testing your numbers now.

Bangkok's coffee scene just landed a genuine world-class act. The founder of Roast8ry is a World Latte Art Champion, originally based out of a flagship in Chiang Mai's Nimmanhaemin, and this Bangkok outpost on Anuwong Road near the Chinatown fringe is the capital getting its own piece of that reputation. The setup is built around a long, sleek bar that functions as both service counter and performance space. Watching a pour here is legitimately mesmerizing: intricate, precise, the kind of craft that makes you forget it's already 35 degrees outside.

The coffee underneath the art earns its own attention. The Chiang Mai original has built a loyal following over years of careful work, and this Bangkok branch delivers the same standard in a sharper urban package. The space is compact and serious without being cold, the light falls well, and the whole thing has a focused energy that's rare in a city this chaotic. It also sits in a genuinely interesting pocket of Bangkok, steps from the old town's temples and markets.

TIP: Sit at the bar and watch the pour. Photograph before you drink, they welcome it. Budget ฿100-180 per drink. Excellent pairing with a morning walk through Tha Tien or the Grand Palace area. Address: 25/1 Anuwong Road, Chakkrawat, Samphanthawong. Hours: 9AM-6PM daily. Instagram: @roast8ry. Nearest MRT: Sanam Chai or Hua Lamphong. Nearest Chao Phraya pier: Tha Tien (N8).

8 April 1820: A French farmer digging in a field on the Greek island of Melos unearthed a marble statue in pieces. The fragments were shipped to France, reconstructed, presented to King Louis XVIII, and installed in the Louvre as the Venus de Milo. She is considered one of the finest examples of ancient Greek sculpture. The arms were never found. Two hundred and six years later, in a city that now hosts more aesthetic clinics per square kilometer than arguably anywhere else on earth, Bangkok continues to pursue ideal form with impressive dedication and considerably more options. The Venus de Milo is just standing there in a glass case, armless and eternal, getting photographed by tourists on their lunch break. She doesn't have to deal with a 60°C heat index. She wins.

See you tomorrow morning.

— Devon