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This is what Songkran Festival can do to Bangkok roads in the first morning of the traditional Thai New Year.
Thais celebrate the New Year festival with a four-day long holiday from April 13-16.
As most people head back to their home provinces for Songkran for family reunions, the city is left unusually tranquil.
Those who remain in the capital can enjoy the quiet surroundings and escape the usual hustle and bustle of big city life.
Enjoy your peaceful morning Bangkokians before water splashing activities begin later in the afternoon.
The Third Naval Area Command has filed a police complaint against an American man and his Thai wife who set up a floating living platform 12 nautical miles off the coast of Phuket, a practice also known as seasteading.
Staff judge advocates from the command were sent to lodge the complaint at Wichit police station in Phuket on Saturday, according to a source at the command. They accused Chad Andrew Elwartowski and his Thai wife, Supranee Thepdet, with an English alias of Nadia Summergirl, of breaching Section 119 of Criminal Code.The section concerns any acts that cause the country or parts of it to fall under the sovereignty of a foreign state or deterioration of the state's independence.
It is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
The source said officers found evidence which led them to believe the couple was engaging in the setting up of an independent state. Such an act would have a negative impact on the country's shoreline, the source said.
"The regional office of the Marine Department will be contacted to remove the structure from the sea soon," the source said.
"If it is left untouched, it will hinder ship navigation since the route is used for the transport of oil to Phuket."
Referring to claims by the couple that the seastead was set up outside Thai maritime territory, the source said the claim was untrue.
Officers, the source said, are investigating the Thai company in Phuket responsible for building the platform for possible financial misconduct. Mr Elwartowski was rich from bitcoin trading. The Maritime Enforcement Coordination Centre's third area command on Saturday held a news conference about the seastead, covered recently by both domestic and foreign media.
The pair reportedly aimed to set up a permanent shelter out of any state territories by exploiting a loophole in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The practice of attempting to establish micronations that claim to be an independent nation or state but are not recognised by world governments or major international organisations is expanding globally, particularly among those who become rich from cryptocurrency trading, according to officers.
Vice-Admiral Sittiporn Maskasem, commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, on Saturday sent officers to where the structure was set up, 15 nautical miles southeast of Racha Yai island.
Navy officers tried to make radio contact with people on the platform but no one responded, officers said.
Bangkok boils as mercury soars in 35 provinces national April 18, 2019 13:47
By The Nation
The mercury rose to 40 degrees Celsius in Bangkok on Thursday while 35 provinces in upper Thailand also experienced hot to very hot spells amid risk of brewing summer storms.
The Thai Meteorological Department warned residents to avoid outdoor activities and beware of gusty winds by staying away from big trees, unsecured buildings, and billboards.
The department pointed to the hot low pressure cell covering upper Thailand and the southerly and southeasterly winds prevailing over the North, the Northeast, the Central, the East, and the South regions throughout this week.
It said the upper regions would suffer hot to very hot weather. Greater Bangkok saw temperatures in the range of 37-40 degrees Celsius, the North was at 39-43, the Northeast at 37-41, the Central at 37-42 and the East at 34-39.
Outbreaks of thundershowers with gusty winds were forecast for the lower North, the Northeast, the Central and the East. In the South, where the maximum temperature is 33-37 degrees Celsius, there will likely be isolated thundershowers, the department added.
At my regular hangout Bang Sare, with their Songkran festivities today.
But nothing beats the Pattaya madness yesterday. Got stuck near Pattaya Klang stretch of Sukhumvit road for 30mins. Eye opener, with free spirit thais sanuking