Chiang Mai News
Chiang Mai news, politics, business, culture, and tourism—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and expat insights from Thailand’s northern hub. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Chiang Mai news source.
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Surprise raids seize fake goods valued at 30 million baht in Chiang Mai
The Night Bazaar market in the main city centre of Chiang Mai has been raided by 200 police. They seized 27,000 fake brand products with an estimated street value around 30 million baht. The raid started at 10pm on Wednesday night without warning, surprising shop owners. The police went through 25 outlets seizing fake branded goods – shirts, bags, clothing,…
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Green light for new Chiang Mai light rail project
The Thai cabinet has given the green light for the new light rail transit system in Chiang Mai.The new service will traverse above and below ground over a route of around 35 kilometres. The announcement was made on September 11 by the Thai government spokesman, Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd that the cabinet has approved the light rail transit system in…
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Chiang Mai bids for listing as a World Heritage Site
PHOTOS: Photo courtesy of the Chiang Mai World Heritage Project Chiang Mai may soon be Thailand’s sixth World Heritage Site. Thailand’s current five world heritage sites include the Ban Chiang Archaeological Site in Udon Thani; the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex; the Historic City of Ayutthaya; the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns; and the Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife…
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Bangkok’s MRT given the green light to run Phuket and Chiang Mai light rails
Bangkok’s subway operator. the MRTA (Mass Rapid Transit Authority) has been given the green light to invest in the proposed Phuket/Phang Nga and Chiang Mai light rail services. The MRT is also going to run the service when the services are eventually constructed. The cabinet has approved some of the basic details of the project that will give the MRTA…
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Faculty conducts research on the Doi Suthep land
PHOTO: Chiang Mai City Life The Faculty of Law at Chiang Mai University (CMU) has joined the anti ‘Scar of Doi Suthep’ campaigners in the survey of the controversial plot of land. The survey group set out on August 6, led by Teerasak Rupsuwan, the coordinator of the anti-judicial residences on Doi Suthep campaign, accompanied with Dr. Pedithep Youyueyong, Faculty…
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Despite the heavy rain and floods in some regions, rainfall is up to 50% less than usual
For the man sound of body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every day has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously. – George Gissing Tell that to the people of northern Thailand who have had rain pummeling localised areas for two months and now being warned…
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Chinese setting up shop in Chiang Mai
by Jintana Panyaarvudh The charm and beauty of Chiang Mai, the capital of northern Thailand, has made the province not only a must-see destination but also a golden nest for foreign investors – especially Chinese seeking business opportunities. Take Chinese entrepreneurs like Cherry and Zong Dan, for example. Having fallen for Chiang Mai’s charms, they opted to start their first…
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Dead Australian found in a Chiang Mai condo
PHOTO: Komchadluek The body of a 45 year old Australian has been found at a condo in Chiang Mai. Police and rescue workers were called to the One Plus condo located near the town centre after a maid reported a foul smell coming from the man’s room. The maid alerted the building’s manager who gained access to the room to discover…
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11 US exchange students were lost but now they’re found
A group of American exchange students got lost in a Chiang Mai forest yesterday, stranded on the edge of a cliff and had to be rescued by officials very early today (Thursday). Fortunately, the Nok Kok Cliff above the Tad Mok Waterfall has a mobile phone signal, so the students, one boy and ten girls, managed to call tourist police…
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VietJet upgrades to larger planes for Chiang Mai sectors
Vietjet, the Vietnamese-owned budget carrier, says it will add its newest Airbus A321 aircraft on some flights to Chiang Mai. Vietjet is the first airline to assign the 230-seat aircraft to a domestic route in Thailand replacing the smaller 180-seat A320 on two flights daily to Chiang Mai during the morning and evening peak traffic hours. By mid-September, up to…
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Land expropriation for new Chiang Mai airport expected to start next month
PHOTO: chiangmaicitylife.com Chiang Mai’s second airport is progressing with the expropriation of private land set to start in September. Chiang Mai City Life reports that, following the Airports of Thailand approval of new airport projects in Chiang Mai and Phuket with the budget of 125 billion baht, the board will be proceeding on the expropriation of private land. Story about…
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Thai woman drugs, then steals from two tourists – one of them is dead
Chiang Mai police are on the hunt for a Thai woman they believe has been responsible for the drugging and robbery of two foreigners – one of them has died as a consequence of her crimes. An Indian and US tourist were independently drugged and robbed by a “pretty, short-haired” Thai woman. The Nation is reporting that the Chiang Mai…
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Malaysian tourist caught lying to Chiang Mai police
PHOTO: Chiangmai News A Malaysian tourist is in hot water after telling Chiang Mai police that he’d been robbed by a foreigner in the city centre this morning. He’s now been charged with filing a false police complaint. 20 year old Pravin Krishnan was charged early this morning (Friday) less than two hours after lodging the complaint. Police say that he…
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Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep houses to be immediately vacated
PHOTO: The Nation It’s time to go. The Chiang Mai OrBorJor and protest groups opposing the Doi Suthep housing project for judges and officials have agreed that the 45 housing units for judges must be immediately vacated. As those who still stay at a nine-unit condominium building, the meeting agreed that they must be moved too, to a smaller condo building within…
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Gang violence flares up at a pub, ends up at hospital – Chiang Mai
PHOTOS: Sanook Two gangs of young people went at it late into last night in Chiang Mai. When all the dust had settled one victim was recovering at the Chiang Mai Medical Centre. Sanook is reporting that the trouble started outside a pub in the Nimmanhaemin area of the city. A 21 year old was taken to Chiang Mai Medical Centre…
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Protesters demand removal of the court-owned properties on Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai
The fight over the Doi Suthep houses, deemed illegal several months ago, has taken a new tack over the weekend with an approach to the Department of Agriculture in Chiang Rai to build new offices and housing for judges there. But Doi Suthep protesters that’s not good enough. They say that the resolution to build new offices and residences for the…
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Now everyone can fly – from CNX to Hanoi
It’s getting easier and easier to get around the region with new start-ups opening up the skies and current operators always introducing new routes. Now, the people that brought us the slogan “now Everyone Can Fly”, Air Asia, is launched four direct flights a week between Chiang Mai and Hanoi, Vietnam’s northern capital. The Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday flights start…
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Chinese call centre gang raided in Chiang Mai
PHOTO: Chiang Mai City Life Thai police have had a lot of success recently tracking down call centre gangs in all parts of the country. This time in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai City Life is reporting that a Chinese call centre scam operation was raided yesterday. Four Chinese citizens were arrested. The arrests occurred on August 7 at a housing…
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Warning out for Samui ferry as waves reach 3 metres in Gulf of Thailand
The Samui Harbour Office has issued warnings to the ferry operator to be careful in both directions on the Surat Thani run with waves up high as three metres today in the Gulf of Thailand. The office has also prohibited small boats from leaving the shores of Koh Samui. The ferry boat operator was warned to check lifejackets and all…
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Morning fire at the Chiang Mai post office
The local precinct superintendent, Pol Colonel Chuwit Kongkaew, says a fire, suspected to have been caused by a short circuit, broke out this morning (Sunday) in the local post office. The incident happened at the one-storey post office building of the San Khamphaeng branch. The fire, which occurred at around 7am, took fire-fighters 30 minutes to get under control at…
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Up to 1000 foreign volunteers affected by Chiang Mai immigration work permit stand-off
The head of two foundations in Chiang Mai has revealed to ThaiVisa that a stand-off between the new head of the Chiang Mai labor office and the city’s immigration department is causing trouble for up to a thousand foreigners who are volunteering at charities around the province. Our source – who has asked not to be named – said that…
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Illegal bird feed vendors arrested at Tha Pae Gate, Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai City Life is reporting that the pigeons at Tha Pae Gate have been an ongoing issue for the city as their numbers has been reportedly increasing. In the attempt to prevent an infestation of pigeons in the area, Chiang Mai Municipality enacted a law prohibiting any street vendor in the area to sell bird feed. For tourists and…
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Protesters turn to ‘cursing ritual’ in the latest Doi Suthep protests
PHOTO: File Photo by Nisanart Kangwanwong If banners and peaceful protests don’t work, try a bit of local northern Thai ‘woo woo’ instead. As part of next month’s protests agains the Doi Suthep housing development in Chiang Mai organisers are planning a ‘cursing ritual’. The Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation Network is staging a major protest in late August to pressure…
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Chiang Mai wife grabs husband’s Glock and shoots him dead
PHOTO: Sanook Sanook is reporting that the police were called to a shooting crime scene shooting in a bedroom behind a convenience store in Hang Dong jurisdiction., Chiang Mai 48 year old Sawat, a civil defense volunteer in Chiang Mai was shot in the chest. He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The man’s wife, 60 year…
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Phrae bus crash – 35 university students injured
Thirty-five students from the Uttaradit Rajabhat University have been injured following a bus and car collision on the Rayong to Chaing Mai road last night (Thursday). Four of the students and the unidentified car driver were seriously injured and the rest suffered minor injuries, including the 52 year old bus driver Wichien Phromtha. Pol Lieutenant Apichat Chuathong of Huai Rai…
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Former US pilot shoots himself dead at house in Chiang Mai
PHOTO COMPILATION: Ban Muang A 62 year old former US pilot has shot himself in Chiang Mai on Wednesday. Ban Muang is reporting that the man’s Thai wife heard a single shot ring out at their house on the Rattanakosin Road in Chiang Mai. The woman ran to a bedroom where her husband was dead from a bullet wound to the…
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Miracle as amulet “saves” father and son in Chiang Mai
Sanook is reporting that Thai media are hailing the survival of a father and son as a miracle. The father and his three year old boy walked away from a horror crash on the Chiang Mai-Lampang highway. 30 year old Chat was travelling along Route 11 on his way home with his son from Lamphun to Muang district of Lampang.…
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Bogus ‘botox clinic’ raided in Chiang Mai
PHOTOS: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that a recently opened ‘beauty clinic’ in Chiang Mai has been raided resulting in the arrest of a 26 year old Thai woman. Yapha Nithijindawach claimed she trained as a doctor in South Korea but was unable to produce any evidence of the qualifications. She faces four charges including operating the clinic without…
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86 billion baht budget set for Chiang Mai light rail system
A green light for a go ahead of Chiang Mai’s planned light railway transit system has been issued by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). Chiang Mai City Life is reporting that, following an initial approval for the project back in August 2017, the MRTA has finally given the green light to start the formal planning and construction…
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15 year old dies in Chiang Mai boarding house fire
PHOTO: Chiang Mai City Life A 15 year old girl has died following a fire that engulfed the living areas of a Christian boarding school in Fang district, north of Chiang Mai city, this morning. Fang police were alerted at 1:30am about the fire at the Christian Paolo School that is run by the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand. Ten fire engines…
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