BANGKOK — A shophouse went up in flames Thursday in Chinatown just as the community there was gearing up to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The fire broke out at a shop selling “hell money” – piles of mock banknotes and gold and silver colored papers – on Texas Alley before it spread to a nearby building. After an hour of struggling to control the flames in the narrow and crowded alley, firefighters extinguished the blaze at about 11am.

Full story: khaosodenglish.com

By Teeranai Charuvastra
Khaosod English