Chiang Mai News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the charming and historic city of Chiang Mai with The Thaiger. Our team of seasoned journalists brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this fascinating city, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the city’s rich history, vibrant arts scene, and thriving expat community, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored The Melting Clock: A sophisticated spot for Italian cuisine and exquisite wine in Bangkok
It’s no secret that Bangkok has a lot of excellent Italian restaurants and wine bars, so standing out in the crowd is no small task. But The Melting Clock, the Italian restaurant and wine lounge in Ekkamai, has shown that...
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Phuket tram project seeks private sector investment
(The term ‘tram’ and ‘light rail’ are variously used to describe the new public transport project for Phuket.) The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) is now inviting the private sector and local administrative bodies to get behind and invest in a mass-transit project in Phuket. The project is valued around 35 billion baht. The next rounds of talks…
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Halving Thailand’s road toll by 2020 – The impossible dream
“The WHO report points out that progress has been made in certain areas, such as legislation. But it has not been fast enough to meet the UN goal of halving road traffic deaths between 2016 and 2020.” Thailand draws world attention for its amazing scenery, vibrant foodie scene, raunchy nightlife and local festivals. It also draws attention for all the…
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National road toll – Day Five “Seven Days of Danger”
“Chiang Mai has reported the highest cumulative crashes with 91 cases yesterday.” 314 lives have been lost in 2,761 road incidents over the first five days of the New Year seven day safety campaign. 2,848 people have been injured during the same period around Thailand’s roads. The most cited causes for Monday’s road incidents were drunk driving (44.9 per cent)…
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Chiang Mai soldier caught in gun road rage
PHOTO: Sanook Footage from a dash cam shows a soldier advancing on a family of three, threatening to shoot them with a gun in Chiang Mai. The incident is related to a preceding road rage incident in the Mae Rim district. Footage shows the mother and wife of the man trying to prevent them from continuing to argue as the…
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New Year weather around Thailand
It might be the middle of the annual high season but the ‘high season’ weather isn’t co-operating. Although generally fine weather has been the trend in the past few days there are a few unseasonal fronts coming to different parts of the country, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. In the central/southern provinces, including around Hua Hun and Gulf islands…
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Thailand’s emerging ‘go to’ location for New Year
Tokyo, Paris, New York City… and Chiang Mai. Whilst the first three are perennial favorites to ring in the new year, Chiang Mai has overtaken Thailand’s capital as THE place to be to see in 2019, according to Agoda. Tokyo’s appeal continues with concerts, parades and light shows on offer. For Thais, Chiang Mai overtakes Bangkok’s crown for the top…
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Chiang Mai hosts pageant to promote OTOP
PHOTOS: Daily News Thais often claim the most beautiful women in the country are from the northern provinces, especially Chiang Mai. Which leads us into this swimsuit photo shoot for the forthcoming Miss Chiang Mai pageant in January. Daily News reports that some 30 northern ladies, in a variety of swimsuits, paraded to promote the event at the Chala Number 6…
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“Chiang Mai red buses are a rip-off” – Ratchanont Suprakob
The infamous red song thaews of Chiang Mai are being slammed as a rip-off by a popular Thai actor. The song thaews are a popular public transport around the northern city. “Guy” Ratchanont Suprakob hopped onto his Instagram account with a video of himself walking in the northern Thai capital spraying the local transport option. (Here’s his Instagram account if…
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240 million baht in assets seized in Patong and Chiang Mai counterfeit raids
Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn is continuing his counterfeit goods crackdown in Patong and Chiang Mai where 240 million baht of assets have been seized over the past month. At a media scrum held at the Police Region 8 headquarter in Mai Khao yesterday Surachate said, “We have raided four targeted areas in Patong and four targeted areas at the Chiang Mai night…
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Social media helps re-unite dog and owner in Chiang Mai
Facebook users in Chiang Mai have banded together to locate a lost dog. 24 days ago it was frightened by the firecrackers on Loy Kratong night and ran away. Thanawat Jinawanit recounts how he and his aunt, Yaowamal Jinawanit, got the dog back from a temple in another tambon last Sunday after a Facebook user called him to report sighting…
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Man jumps to his death from condo rooftop in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai police are reporting that a man, allegedly experiencing depression following a business failure, has jumped to his death from a condo rooftop in front of his relatives. The incident happened this morning. 40 year old Apirak Chansawang died on impact outside a luxurious 32 floor condo in the Wat Ket area of Chiang Mai. His relatives told police…
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UK backpacker needs 1.5 million baht for hospital bills and to fly home
24 year old Sophie Wilson, who has broken her neck in an accident, remains in a Chiang Mai hospital and has to pay £60,000 for hospital bills and to fly back to the UK. inews.co.uk reports that Sophie was injured after diving into a swimming pool and misjudging the depth. She was fished out of the water on December 1…
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Teaching children to avoid sexual predators
“These clips are then recorded and sold to a secret group.” Members of the police-led Thailand Internet Crime against Children (TICAC), Zoe International and the Hug Project are educating students on how perpetrators lure victims and use their sexual information and images to further extort sexual favours. “Their plans are very complex,” said Wirawan ‘Boom’ Mosby, founder and director of…
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Nude couple pictured on top of Egyptian pyramid sparks investigation
“Climbing pyramids is illegal in Egypt, with critics saying the incident shows a disregard for the nation’s laws and its conservative society.” The question of tourists and their behavior at national monuments and popular sites comes up again today. This time in Egypt… Read the report HERE. “A video that shows a foreign couple in a naked embrace at the…
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King leads the way in ‘Bike for Love and Warmth’ – PHOTOS
Yesterday’s Bike Un Ai Rak event proved again that Thai’s love getting onto their bikes and joining in a royally-sponsored cycling campaign. The event was held yesterday, in the capital and provinces. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country took part in the “love and warmth” cycle rides. The main event was held in Bangkok where the ride was…
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The wheels are rolling for today’s Bike Un Ai Rak around Thailand
Cyclists were enthusiastically preparing on Sunday morning for the “Bike for Love and Warmth” ride to be led in Bangkok by His Majesty the King and coinciding with other rides starting simultaneously around the country in the afternoon. Citizens are expected to line the King’s 39km route from Dusit Palace’s Royal Plaza to Lat Pho Park in Samut Prakan. The…
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First ever ‘Elephant Travel Mart 2018’ to promote ecotourism in Thailand
A new ecotourism event, Elephant Travel Mart 2018, jointly hosted by ‘Save Elephant Foundation’ and ‘Asian Elephant Projects’, aims to bring together ethical elephant tour operators and tour agencies in Chiang Mai on December 14. The event, taking place at Khum Kan Toke, Chiang Mai, is conceived by the founder of ‘Save Elephant Foundation’, Sangduen Chailert (Lek), who works tirelessly…
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Chiang Mai football team cries foul over ‘big’ Under 12 team
PHOTOS: Sanook A Chiang Mai football coach is complaining online after his team played another team from Nan province who were much bigger. Sanook is reporting that the coach alleges the Nan team were not Under 12s and complained that this “should not be happening in Thailand 4.0”. The photos clearly indicate the Nan team were much taller. But his…
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Thailand detains Taiwanese citizen over anti-China broadcasts
PHOTO: Taiwan News A Taiwanese businessman has been detained in Thailand for allegedly helping an underground online radio broadcast aimed at Chinese listeners. The allegations have come from Radio Free Asia (RFA). But the manager of the online radio station says Chiang Yung-hsin (蔣永新) has nothing to do with illegal broadcasts, according to the Central News Agency. Police in Bangkok…
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31 year old British tourist arrested in Chiang Mai – Drugs and overstay
PHOTO: Sanook A 31 year old man has been arrested in Chiang Mai yesterday for alleged use of crystal methamphetamine (ice) and overstaying his visa. Police arrested British tourist, Benjamin John Soulsby at his rented house in a housing estate in Tambon Tonpao, Kamphaeng district, following a tip-off from the house owner that his tenant appeared to be high on…
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Chiang Mai official says the hotel sell-off is “because there were too many tourists”
PHOTO: This hotel is not for sale! Manager Online is claiming that a senior tourism official in Chiang Mai says the reason people want to sell hotels in the northern city is not because there are so few Chinese tourists now. It is because there are so many. Chiang Mai’s former tourism industry chief Pornchai Jitranawasathian, who now runs the…
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Temperatures plunge on Thailand’s highest mountain
The temperature has plunged sharply from around 7 degrees Celsius yesterday to only 1 Celsius today at the summit of tourist destination, and Thailand’s tallest mountain, Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai. This was reported by an official stationed on the mountain this morning. Wasan Chanthep, the assistant chief of Doi Thanon National Park, said the temperature at Kiew Mae Pan…
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Chiang Mai wall vandal arrives home in Canada
PHOTO: 23 year old Canadian tourist Brittney Schneider returned to Alberta, Canada on Friday: Facebook/Brittney Schneider 23 year old Canadian tourist Brittney Schneider has returned home after being charged with vandalism for spray painting graffiti on an ancient wall in Chiang Mai. ‘I’m super happy and was super thrilled to see my family. I thought I’d never see them again.’…
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Enjoy the Bua Tong Blossom Festival in Mae Hong Son
The blooming of the Dok Bua Tong – or wild sunflower – is on now around the hills and valleys of Mae Hong Son in Northern Thailand. The Bua Tong Blossom Festival 2018 in Mae Hong Son takes place until to December 10. The Bua Tong flowers are yellow to orange in colour and are smaller in size than the typical sunflower. Originating in…
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South Korean local company owner falls to his death in Chiang Mai
PHOTO: Sanook Sanook has reported that a Korean man has died after jumping from a flat roof on a department store in Huay Kaew Road, Chiang Mai. CCTV shows the man at the view point yesterday, according to Chang Pheuak police. Three or four other tourists were also enjoying the view at the same location. Another person came onto the…
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Chiang Mai tourism operators paint gloomy outlook
Tourism in Chiang Mai has been decimated by the downturn in Chinese arrivals. Tour operators and officials are hoping that more Western tourists would fill their place, especially during the next few months. The Chiang Mai News reports that a hotel operator in the Prapokklao area says her business had been terrible the last few months. She was now forced…
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Indonesian woman arrested over Chiang Mai August drug/robberies
Police have arrested an Indonesian woman for the alleged drugging of two tourists in Chiang Mai back in August, one of whom was found later dead in his hotel room. The suspect fled to Chantaburi, where she was apprehended, and has been transferred back to Chiang Mai police. Read the original report about the suspect HERE. Acting Chiang Mai police…
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Despite a ban, permission has been sought to launch 64,000 lanterns for Loy Krathong
Enthusiasts are seeking permission to fly 64,000 lanterns on the night of Loy Krathong in Chiang Mai, despite a nation-wide ban. Loy Krathong is on this Thursday. Meanwhile, the Chiang Mai provincial administration has imposed strict regulations on the release of flying lanterns into the sky as well as on the sale and ignition of firecrackers and fireworks on Loy…
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66 yo Austrian arrested in Chiang Mai for possessing child porn
The Thai immigration says they’ve arrested a 66 year old Austrian for downloading and possessing child porn. The Thailand Internet Crime Against Children (TICAC) division learned about someone using the Dark Web to access child porn in September. Thai police identified the person living in the Pa Daet district in the Chiang Mai city and obtained an arrest warrant. The…
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Canadian and British graffiti vandals spared jail
Canadian media is reporting that a Canadian citizen and a British man have been able to avoid jail time over the spray painting of the Tha Pae historical wall in Chiang Mai. Read the original story HERE. There was 10 years jail staring them in the face after police nabbed them over the matter. But instead of ten years in…
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