Vichet Kasemsongsoree, the former Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and his wife Waniporn Kasemsongsoree have jointly sponsored the creation of the Buddha Sutthanatat Sathadat statue in the Naga Sheltering Pose. This statue was commissioned as a birthday Buddha image for Princess Soamsawali, Countess of Suddanareenatat, and is offered as a merit-making deed at Avodya Viksitaram Temple in Bangkok, with the temple's abbot serving as the head of the monastic community.

The creation of this Buddha statue stems from the faith and devotion of its sponsors, with the primary intention of making a merit offering to Princess Soamsawali while opening opportunities for Buddhist devotees to participate in this great merit-making act, preserve and promote Buddhism, and embrace Buddhist teachings as guidance for their daily lives.

The Buddha statue is fashioned in the Naga Sheltering Pose, the characteristic image for Saturday, which coincides with the princess's birthday. This pose symbolizes protection, peace, and steadfast adherence to Buddhist principles even in the face of obstacles and change.

Vichet participated in this merit-making initiative to ensure the continuity and spiritual legacy of Buddhism for future generations of devotees, while honoring the compassion and ongoing social welfare work of Princess Soamsawali.

The creation of this Buddha statue therefore represents not merely a religious idol for worship, but a symbol of collective faith and unity in supporting and preserving Buddhism, offered as a merit deed with blessings for the princess's health, happiness, and long life.

Deputy Prime Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeaw, who chairs the government's special committee for southern border affairs, spoke at Government House on August 24 about multiple unrest incidents across the southern border region. He said he would consult with the Prime Minister and all relevant agencies, including the National Security Council secretary-general and the National Intelligence Agency, to assess the situation and determine next steps. Acknowledging concern over the events, he stated that while the government had advance warning of the operations, it must determine how to respond more effectively. The government needs to evaluate who was behind the incidents and strengthen security preparations at all points. When asked how over 50 incidents occurred despite advance intelligence, Sihasak explained that while authorities may know operations are coming, predicting the exact timing is difficult since such activities are often dispersed. He emphasized the need to review intelligence and prevention capabilities to avoid future incidents and protect civilians, with the Prime Minister ordering full compensation for those affected. On whether Malaysia was coordinating to prevent perpetrators from fleeing across the border, he said this requires further review, noting that Malaysia has expressed readiness to cooperate if informed. Regarding speculation that the unrest was retaliation against state officials for combating smuggling, Sihasak said multiple factors likely contributed and wanted to discuss with all parties before drawing conclusions. He acknowledged the need to assess why incidents have become more frequent recently and said the government must review mechanisms and whether security preparations are sufficiently tight.

Nakhon Ratchasima has launched a cycling route connecting three UNESCO World Heritage sites—Khao Yai, Sakaerat, and the Petrified Wood Museum (Korat Geopark)—to promote linked tourism and build a network of conservation-minded cyclists nationwide. On August 23, 2026, at 7 a.m., Deputy Governor Manas Suwannarin and Sakaerat Environmental Research Station Director Surachit Waengsothern opened the long-distance cycling event along the Korat UNESCO Triple Heritage Ring Road 2026, covering more than 100 kilometers over two days and one night.

A total of 105 cyclists from across Thailand participated in the ride, departing from Khao Yai National Park gates the previous day and spending the night at Sakaerat Environmental Research Station, a biosphere reserve area. This morning, riders completed the final 50-kilometer leg along Highway 304 from Pak Thani to Nakhon Ratchasima, finishing at the Petrified Wood Museum in Suranari Subdistrict. The event was welcomed by Professor Dr. Prathueng Jintasakul, director of Geopark World; Assistant Professor Dr. Nattinee Tongdee, director of the Petrified Wood Research Institute and Northeastern Geo-Resources; and Ms. Getsinee Somboonsilp, deputy director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima office.

The event aims to promote the three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Nakhon Ratchasima, raise awareness of natural resources, geology, and biodiversity, and encourage sports tourism and eco-friendly travel. It also seeks to stimulate local economics and tourism while building a nationwide network of cyclists and conservation-focused travelers. The cycling route, spanning over 100 kilometers in two stages, connects all three major heritage sites.

Industry peers and fans are offering merit to renowned singer Pi Sadeud, who has announced a three-month Buddhist Lent observance and will decline all concert bookings. Pi Sadeud, known as the legend of Isaan rock music, posted an announcement stating: "Pi Sadeud is observing Buddhist Lent for three months and will not accept concert work from the start of Lent until the end. Thank you to all my generous patrons. #PiSadeud #Lent." Friends and fellow musicians in the industry, along with music fans, have flooded the comments section with messages of merit-offering support, including phrases such as "Wishing you well in this merit," "May the merit be blessed," and similar well-wishes.

Most people arrive on Koh Lanta having read a great deal about its beaches and almost nothing about the people who live on it. Then they notice the call to prayer drifting across the road at dawn, and realise they have not been told something fairly central.

The long-established population of this island is mostly Muslim. That is not a footnote about the interior somewhere. It is the island.

How many, honestly

Here the sources stop agreeing, so we will give you the range rather than pick the tidiest number.

Thailand's census counted 23,499 people in the Ko Lanta district in 2000 and 26,805 in 2010. Other accounts put the resident population around 30,000 to 34,000, which likely reflects registration data rather than a census. On the religious split, the figure most often repeated is that around 80 per cent of the island's long-settled population is Muslim.

We have not found an official religious breakdown for the district, so treat that 80 per cent as the widely-quoted estimate it is, not a government statistic. What is not in dispute is the direction: this is a Muslim-majority island in a Buddhist-majority country.

Three communities, not one

It is worth being precise, because guidebooks tend to blur this into a single "local" category.

The island's established population is usually described in three parts: Thai Muslims, whose families largely came from the Malay peninsula and Sumatra; Thai-Chinese families, who arrived on the nineteenth-century tin wave and built Old Town; and the Urak Lawoi, the sea people, who were here first and are a separate community with their own traditions.

They are not interchangeable, and the Urak Lawoi in particular are not simply "the Muslim locals" by another name.

What this means on an ordinary day

Very little, if you are on the beach strip. The west coast runs on tourism and behaves like it.

Inland and on the east side it is different, and the difference is mostly about attention rather than rules. Villages are quiet places where people live, not scenery. Covered shoulders and knees when you are away from the sand costs you nothing and is noticed. So is asking before photographing somebody, which is true everywhere and forgotten most places.

Friday midday prayers matter. There are several mosques across Lanta Yai and Lanta Noi, and if you happen to be driving through a village at that hour you will meet a lot of traffic on foot.

Alcohol is served widely on the tourist side and much less so away from it. Nobody will lecture you. It is simply not everywhere, and in some places it is nowhere.

Ramadan, which catches visitors out

This is the practical one, because it changes how the island works for a month and almost nobody warns you.

During Ramadan, Muslim residents fast from dawn to sunset. A number of local restaurants and shops close during daylight and open again in the evening. If you are staying outside the main tourist strip and wondering why nowhere is serving lunch, that is why.

The evenings are the opposite. Fast-breaking after sunset is social and generous, night markets appear, and the month ends with Eid, which is the biggest community celebration of the year.

Ramadan follows the lunar calendar, so it moves roughly eleven days earlier each year and its exact start depends on the sighting of the moon. That means a date printed in an old guidebook will be wrong. Check the year you are actually travelling.

The thing worth saying plainly

None of the above is a warning, and none of it requires anything difficult of a visitor. It is simply information that is oddly hard to find in English, on an island that hundreds of thousands of people visit.

You can spend a week here and never leave a beach that has been arranged for you. Or you can know whose island you are on.

We would like to improve this piece with first-hand voices rather than second-hand description. If you live here and we have got something wrong, or put it clumsily, please tell us and we will correct it.