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    9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand

    Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...

  • Bangkok’s MRT to start passenger free ‘test drive’ on Blue Line extension this month | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s MRT to start passenger free ‘test drive’ on Blue Line extension this month

    The Mass Rapid Transit Authority is poised to open the MRT Blue Line Thaphra extension for passenger test runs later this month. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) commenced internal test runs on the MRT Blue Line’s Hua Lamphong – Bangkae extension on July 1. The early phase of the test is intended to ensure the preparedness of officials to…

  • ‘Net idol’ arrested over monetising online porn and gambling | Thaiger

    ‘Net idol’ arrested over monetising online porn and gambling

    PHOTOS: The Nation | AsiaOne Bangkok police have arrested a “net idol” (a popular Thai social media poster) for allegedly running a closed online group where pornography was sold and gambling promoted. A police source says that 32 year old Jindarat “Amp” Seripaiboonsap was arrested two days earlier at a home on Phetchkasen Soi 48 in Phasi Charoen district. She…

  • Chiang Mai hotels battle disruptors | Thaiger

    Chiang Mai hotels battle disruptors

    by Bill Barnett Thailand’s northern tourism hub of Chiang Mai has become a victim of its own volume-driven success. According to hospitality data provider STR, market-wide hotel occupancy for the first five months of the year is down 5.1%, compared to the same period in 2018. In the newly released C9 Hotelworks Chiang Mai Hotel Market Update, the comparison between…

  • Nigerian and Thai wife arrested in Chon Buri over $50,000 romance scam | Thaiger

    Nigerian and Thai wife arrested in Chon Buri over $50,000 romance scam

    PHOTO: Naewna Nong Prue police say they’ve arrested a Nigerian man and his Thai wife over their alleged collusion in an online romance scam. Police claim 40 year old Uchenna Joseph Amujiogu and 36 year old Wassana Kanchiak scammed a Thai woman out of 2 million baht. The woman contacted police in June after she realised she had been a victim…

  • Bangkok’s Din Daeng Road area the noisiest in the city | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s Din Daeng Road area the noisiest in the city

    Huh?! I can’t hear you!! Bangkok’s Din Daeng Road in Bangkok is noisiest road in the capital, with the average 24 hour noise levels measuring between 72-82 decibels, exceeding the standard level of 70 decibels, according to the Pollution Control Department Din Daeng is one of the 50 districts of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from north, are Chatuchak, Huai Khwang, Ratchathewi,…

  • Windmill GoGo in Pattaya raided: Three arrested over prostitution and underage sex | Thaiger

    Windmill GoGo in Pattaya raided: Three arrested over prostitution and underage sex

    PHOTO: รอบพัทยา Ok As difficult as it might be to believe, police have found MORE evidence of prostitution in Pattaya. Attention this time turned to the red-light district of Walking Street where regular ‘inspections’ from police and officials in the past have found ‘no prostitution’ (cough…). Police conducted a raid using an ‘undercover informant’ after receiving tip-offs the bar was…

  • Pattaya fund-raiser donates 10,000 baht for disabled sailing | Thaiger

    Pattaya fund-raiser donates 10,000 baht for disabled sailing

    PHOTO: Three Thai national sailing male athletes from the Disabled Sailing Thailand Thai and foreign businesspeople got together in Pattaya to raise about 10,000 baht for the Disabled Sailing Thailand project at a fundraiser in Bang Saray. Peter Jacobs, the Project Founder, hosted the party last weekend for 250 sailors and supporters at the Bang Saray Beach Club that included…

  • ‘Grow up’ , ‘don’t throw tantrums’ – Palang Pracharat spokesperson | Thaiger

    ‘Grow up’ , ‘don’t throw tantrums’ – Palang Pracharat spokesperson

    PHOTO: Uttama Savanayana, left, and Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, deputy spokesperson for Phalang Pracharat Party, is lambasting the opposition for being “childish and narrow-minded” as it filed its petition to censure the PM. He says the opposition should give the new government some time to work before launching no-confidence motions against it. “I want the opposition to be more open-minded…

  • Thailand’s Princess Sirivannavari names Krabi’s baby dugong ‘Yamil’ | Thaiger

    Thailand’s Princess Sirivannavari names Krabi’s baby dugong ‘Yamil’

    Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari has proposed the name ‘Yamil’ for the orphaned baby dugong found stranded in Krabi on July 1. The animal was rescued by villagers and sent for treatment and rehabilitation by marine veterinarians in Phuket. Read about the baby dugong being found HERE. Netizens were invited to name the orphaned baby dugong by officials yesterday. Many…

  • Dead dugong, dolphin found off southern Thai beaches | Thaiger

    Dead dugong, dolphin found off southern Thai beaches

    PHOTO: Manoch Wongsuryrat A three-metre long dugong has been found dead off the coast of Trang in southern Thailand. The total number of dead dugong found this year has reached seven, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources when they spoke to Thai PBS. Fishermen found the mammal and towed it ashore for veterinarians to examine. The dugong…

  • German arrested in Phetchabun on Interpol warrant | Thaiger

    German arrested in Phetchabun on Interpol warrant

    A 43 year old German man, Sacha Durst, wanted in Germany for fraud and document forgery, has been arrested in the province of Phetchabun, central Thailand, according to Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Sompong Chingduang. Following a request from their German counterparts, Thai police arrested Sacha Durst who had reportedly been laying low in Thailand since 2015, at a resort in…

  • Petition pushing for Prayut’s disqualification as Cabinet member handed to Constitutional Court | Thaiger

    Petition pushing for Prayut’s disqualification as Cabinet member handed to Constitutional Court

    PHOTO: The Nation Lower House speaker, Chuan Leekpai, has forwarded a petition to the Constitutional Court calling for the disqualification of PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha as a Cabinet member. The petition, signed by 101 MPs, was handed to Chuan by opposition Pheu Thai Party member Chonlanan Srikieo. The petition suggests that Prayut does not qualify as a Cabinet member, according to…

  • OPINION: Thailand – Land of false smiles | Thaiger

    OPINION: Thailand – Land of false smiles

    by Pete Downing, Guest Contributor Every year for the past eight years we have saved and come to Phuket for minimum of a week. More often than not we bring other members of our family, anywhere from four to six at a time, and every time bringing empty cases with a 30kg allowance per person and filling those cases each…

  • New Cabinet list submitted for royal approval | Thaiger

    New Cabinet list submitted for royal approval

    The list of Cabinet members has been submitted for royal endorsement, according to Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam. He was speaking after presiding over the opening of Thailand Social Expo 2019 at Impact Muang Thong Thani. Wissanu declined to give further details, saying that any media questions regarding the matter should be directed to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. He explained to the…

  • Gulf waters flood into Samut Prakan coastline | Thaiger

    Gulf waters flood into Samut Prakan coastline

    High tides last night led to upper Gulf waters flowing over an embankment and flooding the homes of irrigation officials and a nearby community at Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok. Samut Prakan governor Chatchai Uthaiphan says he dispatched officials to help evacuate local residents adding the water was about one-metre high and that officials had helped relocate elderly people and…

  • Competition to name dugong calf in Phuket | Thaiger

    Competition to name dugong calf in Phuket

    PHOTO: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket is inviting members of the public to participate in a contest to name an orphaned baby dugong, found stranded on a beach in Krabi. The dugong calf is now under the care of DMCR vets to save rare marine animals in Phuket. Jatuporn Buruspat, the department’s director-general visited the…

  • Pattaya netizens concerned over dead dolphin found by fishermen | Thaiger

    Pattaya netizens concerned over dead dolphin found by fishermen

    Video of a dead dolphin offshore from the coastal city of Pattaya, east of Bangkok, has upset locals. The video shows the dolphin floating in the waters between Pattaya and Koh Larn in the Gulf of Thailand. The Pattaya Mail reports that the mammal became tangled in a fishing net, with the rope caught in its mouth. The net was cut…

  • Mariam the baby dugong ‘goes live’ soon | Thaiger

    Mariam the baby dugong ‘goes live’ soon

    PHOTO: Hannaret Hripai and Srichai Anuraktichai Officials started installing six CCTVs along the coast of Koh Libong in Trang province today so that netizens will be able to monitor the life of Mariam, the baby dugong that was found washed up on a Krabi Beach in May. Residents and visitors will now be able to ‘bay sit’ (or dugong sit)…

  • Sperm Whale found on Krabi beach had digested plastic bottles | Thaiger

    Sperm Whale found on Krabi beach had digested plastic bottles

    Plastic waste has been found inside a whale that was washed up along Krabi’s shoreline. A sperm whale was washed up near Koh Lanta, in Krabi province yesterday. It was 12 metres in length and was estimated to weigh 11 tonnes. A marine veterinary team completed an autopsy today and discovered 3 plastic bottles inside the stomach of the whale.…

  • Bangkok’s BTS becoming too expensive for Thai passengers | Thaiger

    Bangkok’s BTS becoming too expensive for Thai passengers

    The ultra-useful BTS network around Bangkok is becoming too expensive for many Thais, and is more expensive than international equivalents. The BTS Skytrain system is already too costly when compared to basic wages in Thailand, according to a recent research paper by the The Thailand Development Research Institute. It says that low-income earners can only afford to pay 11.7 baht…

  • The Kings Cup Scrabble competition is on in Bangkok | Thaiger

    The Kings Cup Scrabble competition is on in Bangkok

    The 34th Brand’s International Scrabble Championships will be held at Central Westgate in Bang Yai, Bangkok, for four days starting today running through to Sunday, July 7. It’s one of the largest Scrabble tournaments in the world, in terms of the number of players, drawing as many as 8,000 players. Thailand has produced two world champions as well as many top…

  • Ja New thanks those that support him and updates his health | Thaiger

    Ja New thanks those that support him and updates his health

    PHOTO: Facebook/Sirawith Seritiwat Thai political activist Sirawith Seritiwat, aka. Ja New, has posted on his Facebook page for the first time since last Thursday’s brutal attack in Bangkok. In the post, typed by a friend, Sirawith says that he was touched by everyone’s kindness, acknowledging the activity relating to his case and calling for justice both inside and outside parliament.…

  • TAT reach out to the NY Pride March to attract more LGBT tourists to Thailand | Thaiger

    TAT reach out to the NY Pride March to attract more LGBT tourists to Thailand

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand is reaching out to the US LGBT community to help broaden Thailand’s tourism base and attract more travellers. The TAT sent a contingent to New York’s annual pride parade, held on World Pride Day, to lure more tourists to the Kingdom. The parade was held last Sunday. TAT are using the branding “Go Thai Be…

  • British expat catches world’s biggest carp in Thailand | Thaiger

    British expat catches world’s biggest carp in Thailand

    PHOTO: Bournemouth News 42 year old John Harvey from the UK has caught a fish that was THAT big! The world’s largest carp was a Siamese carp weighing 232lbs (105 kilograms). It beats the old record by 10lbs (4.5 kilograms). John was fishing at the Palm Tree Lagoon at Chedi Hak, just west of Bangkok. The property investor from the UK…

  • Sukhumvit Gallery showcases images from a bygone era in Bangkok | Thaiger

    Sukhumvit Gallery showcases images from a bygone era in Bangkok

    The Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit has launched a photo gallery and Artistic Afternoon Tea themed around Sukhumvit’s rich history. The new photo gallery, in one of Bangkok’s most culturally diverse areas, is giving guests a glimpse into another era with a permanent exhibition on the history of Bangkok’s most important boulevards – Sukhumvit Road. Sukhumvit Gallery, located on the fourth…

  • ‘No problems’ in the Palang Pracharat Party – Thai PM | Thaiger

    ‘No problems’ in the Palang Pracharat Party – Thai PM

    Move on, nothing to see here… The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says there is no problem in the Palang Pracharat party which would warrant his intervention. Asked yesterday by waiting reporters whether he will step in to address conflicts in the coalition alliance, caused by the Palang Pracharat’s ‘Sam Mitr’ faction’, the PM snapped back “What problem? No problem.” Interior…

  • Thailand goes to the dogs – International Dog Show 2019 | Thaiger

    Thailand goes to the dogs – International Dog Show 2019

    This year’s Thailand International Dog Show is being held at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok from July 4-7. The event, which takes up more than 10,000 square metres of exhibition space, will be open from 10am to 8pm each day. Over 200 local and international exhibitors will be showcasing the latest dog care products and services to the expected 200,000…

  • Blackwater at Phuket’s Nai Harn beach due to ‘natural causes’ | Thaiger

    Blackwater at Phuket’s Nai Harn beach due to ‘natural causes’

    ‘Blackwater’ has returned at one of Phuket’s favourite beaches, this time in the lagoon behind Nai Harn beach, which flushes out naturally when the tide conditions are right. For now, it is dammed up by the sand and has developed into an ugly cesspool for passersby to see. Responding to complaints from local residents, Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos has denied…

  • Cha-Am blackwater flowing into the beach is “natural in origin” – District Chief | Thaiger

    Cha-Am blackwater flowing into the beach is “natural in origin” – District Chief

    PHOTOS: Daily News The Cha-Am district chief and a posse of officials have inspected a patch of ‘black water’ flowing into the Gulf of Thailand after social media posts showed “sewage” flowing into the sea at a beach north of Hua Hin. Not surprisingly, and without evidence, Khajornsak Somboon admitted the offensive outflow was “smelly” but denied it was effluent from…

  • Mall Group shopping centres to charge customers 1 baht for a plastic bag | Thaiger

    Mall Group shopping centres to charge customers 1 baht for a plastic bag

    PHOTO: Mall Group The Mall Group, that runs some of Bangkok’s leading shopping centres, including Bluport in Hua Hin, will charge customers for plastic bags from July 3. The initiative is to mark International Plastic Bag Free Day which falls on July 3. They are the first Thai retail company to take the bold step. Customers will be encouraged not to…