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    See the best of Northern Thailand this winter on a budget

    The Thaiger key takeaways Peak season brings higher prices, but smart planning and local know-how can help you experience Northern Thailand affordably. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Chiang Rai offer plenty of free or low-cost attractions, from temples and canyons to...

  • Alleged gold necklace thief on the loose in Phuket | Thaiger

    Alleged gold necklace thief on the loose in Phuket

    It turns out Pattaya isn’t the only spot in Thailand where thieves snatch pricey gold necklaces. One woman in Phuket says a thief on a motorbike grabbed her gold necklace worth about 35,000 baht last night. The victim, 25 year old Kawissara, said she was also driving her motorbike when the thief drove by and snatched her necklace off her…

  • University in Bangkok suspends lectures following floods | Thaiger

    University in Bangkok suspends lectures following floods

    Thailand’s heavy rains have hit Bangkok hard, and one university in the capital has even suspended lectures today due to flooding. Ramkhamhaeng University announced on its Facebook page today that lectures on both of its campuses are cancelled due to flooding inside and outside the compound. One of the university’s campuses is located on Ramkhamhaeng road in the city’s east.…

  • Thaksin hints he lives rent free inside Thailand PM Prayut’s head | Thaiger

    Thaksin hints he lives rent free inside Thailand PM Prayut’s head

    Exiled Thaksin Shinawatra poked fun at Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha hinting he is living rent free inside the Thai premier’s head. The former Thailand PM took a humorous swipe at the current prime minister on a social media platform saying he is “obsessed” with him after PM Prayut mentioned Thaksin on the first day of the censure debate on Tuesday.…

  • A bad egg: Pattaya’s egg thief scrambles | Thaiger

    A bad egg: Pattaya’s egg thief scrambles

    Pattaya and Chon Buri have had a variety of bizarre thieves: underwear burglars, cactus robbers, and now, an egg thief. In the past week, two egg merchants in Pattaya have complained that thieves stole their eggs. One of the merchants, who was robbed on July 19, said the eggs stolen from her were worth over 8,600 baht. The merchant, 40…

  • Nok Air to make Chiang Mai a new global destination hub | Thaiger

    Nok Air to make Chiang Mai a new global destination hub

    Nok Air announced it is turning Chaing Mai International Airport, in the northern province of Chaing Mai, into a new hub of domestic and global routes. The airline yesterday invited Chaing Mai Governor, Wuttiphum Julangkun, and the media to a press conference at Chiang Mai City Hall, at the Chang Phueak in the Mueng Chiang Mai District, to discuss the…

  • ‘Whiskey prevents Covid-19’ claims monk caught drink driving in northeast Thailand | Thaiger

    ‘Whiskey prevents Covid-19’ claims monk caught drink driving in northeast Thailand

    Police caught a Buddhist monk as drunk as a skunk driving a pickup truck in Loei province, northeast Thailand, yesterday at 9.30am. The monk claims his concoction of rice whiskey and lemons prevents Covid-19. Yesterday morning, police from Loei Provincial Police Station received a report that a drunk monk was asking people for money and “causing mayhem” around the market…

  • Thailand admits using surveillance to spy on democracy activists | Thaiger

    Thailand admits using surveillance to spy on democracy activists

    Less than a day after police denied using the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to track Thai democracy activists a government minister admitted Thailand does use surveillance to monitor individuals. Successive Thai governments have been accused by Human rights groups of using broad definitions of national security as a pretext to prosecute or suppress the activities of their main rivals. And on…

  • Heavy rains cause disruption around Thailand, Bangkok commuters deluged | Thaiger

    Heavy rains cause disruption around Thailand, Bangkok commuters deluged

    Yes, it is the wet season. And, just in case you doubted it, Mother Nature has thrown down the rain in buckets to make sure you don’t forget, including Bangkok overnight. The Thai Meteorological Department has issued warnings of “isolated heavy to very heavy rain in most parts of the country” up to July 24. Some parts of the country,…

  • Thailand’s Zipmex crypto exchange blocks transfers and withdrawals | Thaiger

    Thailand’s Zipmex crypto exchange blocks transfers and withdrawals

    Another cryptocurrency exchange is in trouble, blocking withdrawals of both cash and crypto from its platform as go 6pm last night. Zipmex Thailand, a crypto-trading platform, has announced that the withdrawal of baht and cryptocurrency on its platform “has been suspended temporarily”. In the announcement, the CEO outlined a number of difficulties and challenges facing the Thai crypto exchange. He…

  • Sri Lanka former PM now president, some protesters still aren’t happy | Thaiger

    Sri Lanka former PM now president, some protesters still aren’t happy

    Sri Lanka’s parliament yesterday elected former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new president. He won 134 votes from a possible 223. This news comes after protesters set fire to Ranil’s house on July 9, and also stormed the presidential palace in Colombo. After over 100,000 enraged protesters stormed the palace, former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and has…

  • Phuket residents welcome the new ‘Khao Daeng Glass Bridge’ to be built in Rawai | Thaiger

    Phuket residents welcome the new ‘Khao Daeng Glass Bridge’ to be built in Rawai

    A community meeting in Rawai on Tuesday agreed to get behind the latest tourist attraction, the Khao Daeng Glass Bridge, a new viewpoint and tourism focus for the quieter south of the island. President of Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, Rewat Areerob, presented details about the new attraction and said it was good to have the Rawai community backing the project.…

  • Investigation begins into Thailand’s latest maritime incident off Chumpon | Thaiger

    Investigation begins into Thailand’s latest maritime incident off Chumpon

    Thailand has logged another maritime mishap with the fire on a passenger ferry, about 5 kilometres off the coast of Chumpon. The sea conditions were reported as “rough” at the time of the incident off the uninhabited Koh Thong Lang. This time 20 people were on board, but the 18 passengers jumped into the water and were all rescued. A…

  • US upgrades Thailand to Tier 2 in human trafficking report, but… | Thaiger

    US upgrades Thailand to Tier 2 in human trafficking report, but…

    The US has promoted Thailand from the “Tier 2 Watch List” up to “Tier 2” in their annual Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report, as confidently predicted by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan back in May. However, Thailand still has a long way to go, according to the report. The report praised Thailand’s “significant efforts” to eliminate human trafficking, which include…

  • Three Asian countries have the most useful passport | Thaiger

    Three Asian countries have the most useful passport

    For years, Europe has had the most powerful passports for travelling, but as the world emerges in the post-Covid-19 era, three countries in Asia hold the top spots now. Japan holds the top spot, with Japanese passport holders having easy access to 193 different countries. Singapore and South Korea are tied for second with 192 countries easily accessed with a…

  • 18 passengers rescued after ferry explodes off South Thailand coast | Thaiger

    18 passengers rescued after ferry explodes off South Thailand coast

    Eighteen people were rescued after a ferry exploded on its way from Chumpon to Koh Tao today at about 2.30pm. All 18 passengers suffered injuries. The ferry, named Lom Phraya, caught fire about 4-5 kilometres off the coast of the Haad Sai Ree sub-district, Mueng district in Chumpon province in the south of Thailand. The rescue team reported on its…

  • Thailand’s heavy rain is coming back | Thaiger

    Thailand’s heavy rain is coming back

    After a brief break, Thailand’s heavy rain is coming back with a vengeance for the rest of this week. The Thai Meteorological Department said there should be heavy to very heavy rain throughout most of the kingdom from today, July 20, until Sunday, July 24. This includes the North, Northeast, Central, East, and South regions. Those living near the coast…

  • Electric vehicles are now available to rent in Phuket, Thailand | Thaiger

    Electric vehicles are now available to rent in Phuket, Thailand

    Phuket has entered a new era of sustainability by welcoming the island’s first ever rentable 100% electric vehicle (EV). Tourists can rent the Nissan Leaf from SIXT Thailand and cruise around Phuket without producing any harmful emissions at all. SIXT Thailand partnered with InterContinental Phuket Resort on the project, who have installed a series of EV charging stations compatible with…

  • Plan underway to screen Thailand’s no-confidence vote | Thaiger

    Plan underway to screen Thailand’s no-confidence vote

    Four universities and four free TV channels in Thailand are working together to find a way to screen this week’s censure debate for the public. The idea is to give the nation’s citizens a vote on each cabinet member’s performance from 6pm on Friday, the last day of the censure motion. The vote result won’t be taken into account, but…

  • No confidence debate – Day 2. Transport minister asked to explain 5.7 trillion baht budget. | Thaiger

    No confidence debate – Day 2. Transport minister asked to explain 5.7 trillion baht budget.

    Opposition MPs have, so far, failed to lay a knockout punch on the Thai PM or any of his ministers, at this stage of the four-day censure debate. Today the opposition has been targeting Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob over one of Thailand’s mega projects – the MR Map. The MR Map is a list of mega projects around the country,…

  • Driver surrenders to police after dumping injured 5 year old boy in front of hospital | Thaiger

    Driver surrenders to police after dumping injured 5 year old boy in front of hospital

    The pickup truck driver who fled the scene after dumping an injured 5 year old boy outside a Bangkok hospital has finally surrendered himself to police. The 5 year old boy was dropped in front of Suksawat Hospital in Rat Burana district at about 3pm yesterday by pickup driver Arnon Nantra. The boy was suffering from a broken hip, wounds,…

  • Thai police deny ever using Pegasus spyware on dissidents | Thaiger

    Thai police deny ever using Pegasus spyware on dissidents

    After a bombshell report revealed that dozens of Thai democracy activists were targeted by an Israeli spyware programme called Pegasus over the past two years, Thai police forces are denying that they ever had any hand in the spyware. The Deputy National Police Spokesman said that Pegasus spyware was not used to hack anti-government dissident’s mobile devices, despite claims in…

  • Police arrest man wanted for South Thailand murder | Thaiger

    Police arrest man wanted for South Thailand murder

    Police arrested a man wanted for a murder in South Thailand in March. The suspect, 37 year old Somsak Plano, had allegedly shot at three brothers, killing one of them and injuring another. Somsak’s alleged crime was believed to be related to a personal conflict. The incident happened in the Phato district of Chumphon province on March 2. According to…

  • US thug gets 5 years for brutal assault of Thai model in subway | Thaiger

    US thug gets 5 years for brutal assault of Thai model in subway

    The serial offender who launched a violent attack on a Thai model in a New York City Subway will be jailed for five years after pleading guilty. Thug Kevin Douglas admitted second-degree robbery for the brutal assault of Bew Jirajariyawetch while she waited at the 34th Street-Herald Square station for a train home on November 22 last year. Douglas struck…

  • Pattaya man allegedly stabs relative after drinking together | Thaiger

    Pattaya man allegedly stabs relative after drinking together

    A Pattaya man allegedly stabbed his relative earlier this week after the two of them drank together. The suspect, 22 year old Amnart, allegedly stabbed 42 year old Songklod in his stomach. The incident happened in front of their home in the Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri province. Songklod’s sister, Kanissara Mahamat, told Bang Lamung police… “The suspect and…

  • Lottery ticket vendors stage a protest against the new digital lottery app | Thaiger

    Lottery ticket vendors stage a protest against the new digital lottery app

    With the rush to a digital, and more convenient form, of legal gambling in Thailand, the Government Lottery Office appears to have thrown the lottery ticket vendors under a bus. Now the ticket vendors are fighting back in a protest calling on the GLO board to resign and increase quotas for the thousands of private citizens and small street-side shops…

  • Police superintendent and 4 others charged in 6 million baht corruption | Thaiger

    Police superintendent and 4 others charged in 6 million baht corruption

    A British man desperate to get out of jail was cheated out of 6 million baht which he used to try and buy his freedom, with five people charged in the scheme. A Mae Hong Son police superintendent claimed to be using his connection to the assistant national police chief to curry favour and was the highest ranking officer charged.…

  • “Climate change is here,” UK Met Office – heatwaves sweep over the northern hemisphere | Thaiger

    “Climate change is here,” UK Met Office – heatwaves sweep over the northern hemisphere

    Records were broken, people were staying inside and shops were doing brisk sales of fans. Temperatures in the UK hit 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in recorded history yesterday, making it the country’s hottest day ever. With UK houses better designed to keep the cold out and the heat in, the unseasonal heat was challenging people across the…

  • Thai PM hits back at opposition “try and bring back Thaksin” | Thaiger

    Thai PM hits back at opposition “try and bring back Thaksin”

    “I know you may admire some people who previously held this position and praise them for doing a better job than me. That’s fine. Just bring them back if you can.” The first day of the no confidence debate saw some fiery exchanges between the PM and the opposition MPs goading him on his record and time as premier. Prime…

  • Transport Minister gives Koh Samui-Khanom Bridge thumbs up | Thaiger

    Transport Minister gives Koh Samui-Khanom Bridge thumbs up

    The Transport Minister, Saksayam Chidchop, approved a project to construct the Koh Samui – Khanom Bridge connecting the island with the mainland of Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The media reported yesterday that Saksayam gave the green light on five projects to develop and improve the motorways, rural roads, and expressways of Thailand. Koh Samui – Khanom Bridge is one of…

  • Pro-Prayut James Bond “008” posters mocked by opposition | Thaiger

    Pro-Prayut James Bond “008” posters mocked by opposition

    A pro-government Facebook page, Priang News, (เปรี้ยง) which created several James Bond-type 008, No Time to Die posters, in support of Cabinet members during this week’s censure debate, has been mocked by the opposition. Priang News created posters saying PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will not be “killed” stating the Bond movie No Time to Die and using the hashtag #FightEveryProblem. Pheu…