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 Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort puts sustainability at its heart
The term sustainability is often thrown around as a buzzword in the hospitality industry, but at Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort, it’s genuinely part of their mission. Located in Makham Bay, just south of Phuket Town, the beautiful resort puts...
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Songkran revenues flow whilst hot-season temperatures soar
Songkran Festival has attracted millions of Thai and foreign tourists to popular destinations nationwide, generating significant revenue for local economies. Last week Tourism Authority of Thailand economic forecasters were predicting a 10 percent rise in spending this year. Chuchat on-charern, the Tourism Authority of Thailand chief for the southern province of Phang-nga, said an estimated 155,000 tourists visited the province,…
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Day Three – the carnage continues
The accumulated road death toll for the first three days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) of the so-called ‘Seven Dangerous Days’ over the Songkran holiday, rose to 188 at the end of Friday, the Road Safety Centre announced today. Pol Maj-General Ekkarak Limsangkart, commander of the Special Branch Police Division 3, said the first three days of the road accidents monitoring period…
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Fake notes and drugs found on passenger at Phuket Airport
Police have arrested a man carrying 53 counterfeit 1000 baht banknotes and drugs at Phuket Airport. Police say the 36 year old Nanawa Na Songkhla from Chiang Mai was acting suspiciously whilst going through a security checkpoint. When security staffed checked his carry-on luggage they found 800 methamphetamine pills, nearly 5 grams of crystal methamphetamine, marijuana and the fake 1000 baht…
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Songkran launches around the country
Police continue to push public safety measures but traffic still poses challenge. As holidaymakers and locals heading home started to reach their destinations nationwide yesterday for the traditional Thai New Year celebrations this weekend, various sites confirmed their readiness to host impressive events and also implement public safety measures. At Bangkok’s Khao San Road Thai actors Chatchawal Phetchwisit, Wichan Meesom…
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Murder, rape, dead bodies in pools – The toll of dead young British tourists visiting Thailand
PHOTO: Luke Miller (left) was found dead at the bottom of a pool in Koh Tao in 2016 Why is there a mounting toll of young Brits dying, often in mysterious circumstances, in Thailand? 60 or so unexplained, or poorly explained, deaths in just 24 months actually. Britian’s Daily Mail Online has dug deep into the vault of strange disappearances and…
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The spirit of Songkran – Ajarn Pranee
By Pranee Sakulpipatana, AKA Ajarn Pranee Songkran is one of the happiest festivals celebrated by Thais. When I was young and lived in Phuket, I always found the Songkran celebrations in other provinces such as Chiang Mai to be very unique and beautiful. Over the years Phuket has grown into a hub filled with Thais from all corners of the…
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Songkran activities around the country
Songkran is celebrated across Thailand. It’s the annual celebration of the Thai New Year – a farewell to the hot season and a welcoming of the coming wet season. But it is celebrated in many different ways, from the insane water-fights in Patong, with elephants in Ayutthaya or the Sand Pagoda Ceremony in Chonburi. The word “Songkran” has its origins in…
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656 homes damaged by Spring storms
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation are reporting that the summer storms in the north, north-east and central regions have created damage across 17 provinces during April 2-April 6. The Department’s Director-General reports that storms caused damages to a total of 656 homes in 34 districts. Bangkok was hit by summer storms on Saturday night with torrential rain in…
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VietJet introduces more flights in Thai skies – BKK to Krabi
Thai Vietjet has launched a new service between Bangkok Suvarnabhumi and Krabi with 2 flights daily. The fully booked inaugural flight VZ340, operated by new aircraft Airbus A320 wearing “Amazing Thailand” tourism logo landed safely yesterday morning at Krabi international Airport with a full water canon salute. All passengers and flight crew were greeted with flower garlands from Krabi Governor…
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Thailand Event Round-Up – April
with The Sponsorship Experts – Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co. Ltd. The month of April is typically dominated by a slew of events related to Songkran, the Thai New Year, and this year is no different. One of our favourites is the Singha Songkran Night Run, which returns to Chiang Mai on 13 April. The run, which takes place…
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Nikki Beach to take over management of luxury Chiang Mai hotel
By Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com In a somewhat surprise announcement, Nikki Beach Worldwide has signed on as operator of Chiang Mai’s Dhara Dhevi hotel. Nikki has assumed management of the property and the rebranding process reportedly will be done by the middle of the year. Nikki Beach became known to Phuketians when they launched the Nikki Beach Club at the northern end…
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Four Malaysians arrested over alleged call-centre scam
Tourist police have arrested four Malaysian men who allegedly worked for a call-centre scam gang by transferring victims’ money to Dubai. The arrests were announced today at the Phaholyothin police station in Bangkok today (Monday). Police say the four suspects collaborated with Thai accomplices to steal Internet banking account details and OTPs (one-time passwords) from three Thai victims. They allegedly…
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Phuket gets Number Two in list of Top Asian Destinations
The trip advisor list of Asia’s top 25 destinations is in. Good news… Thailand has five locations in the Top 25 reader-voted list. Bad news, Thailand’s not Number One. The Indonesian island of Bali has come in Number One with Phuket in Number Two spot. Hanoi in Vietnam is in Number 3, Cambodia’s Siam Reap Number 5 and the mega-city…
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Police ban water splashing on main roads for Songkran
The Royal Thai Police are looking to impose a total ban on water splashing activities on main and secondary roads throughout Thailand during from April 11-17, the Songkran holiday break. They are citing road safety as the reason for the drastic plans. In phuket, in the past, Chao Fah east and west, Viset Road in Rawai and parts of Thepkasattri…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, March 19
Wrist band ID for tourists and facial recognition tech. for 7-11s | DNA results are in for the Premchai case | PM encourages Thais to wear traditional costumes when in public | Chiang Mai air pollution ‘sixth worst in the world’ | Fire in BKK factory | Scaffolding collapse on BKK worksite.
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Chiang Mai – the sixth worst air pollution in the world
Air pollution in the North continues to be critical, with small dust particles of 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) exceeding safe limits at almost every air-quality testing station. The Pollution Control Department (PCD) revealed on Sunday that although PM2.5 levels had dropped from the previous day at almost every station, the amounts were still higher than safe standards. On average,…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, March 9
Freak storm cells caught on video | Changes for renters and landlords | Russian tourist run over and killed in Pattaya | Raid on Chiang Mai house selling dodgy health supplements | Rabies situation – under control but under watch.
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, February 28
PM responds to ‘sex tourism’ remarks | Extra long Songkran | Shoot-out on Samui’s Chaweng Beach | Big crackdown on illegal immigrants along Soi Cowboy last night | High-speed rail gets go ahead between Don Mueang and Rayong | PM pushes election date forward to February | Two Americans held in Chiang Mai over fake US bills.
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Better driving license procedures for foreigners on the way
The Department of Land Transport has partnered with British Embassy Bangkok to improve driving licence procedures for foreign nationals across Thailand. The improvements will focus on guidelines for obtaining a licence, how to prepare for the driving test, raising awareness of specific risks on the road unique to Thailand, and recaps on internationally recognised driving standards. Deputy director general of…
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Introducing Thaiger Property – 8,000+ listings for Phuket
Phuket Gazette/The Thaiger are proud to launch our new ThaigerProperty.com website. In Phuket, alone, there are more than 8,000 properties for sale on the website and, around Thailand, nearly 40,000 listings – by far the largest selection available. Some of the properties are exclusive, some are ‘motivated sellers’ and there’s also rental listings as well, making it a very comprehensive…
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Thailand’s opium cultivation “down by 40%”
The cultivation of opium is on the decline in Thailand, but the illegal practice persists in several northern districts, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board reported this week. Secretary-general Sirinya Sitdhichai cited remote rural highlands in Chiang Mai’s Om Koi, Mae Taeng and Chiang Dao districts and in Tak’s Umphang, Mae Ramat and Tha Song Yang districts as places…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, January 23
3 killed and many more injured in latest Yala bombing | Another bus with Chinese tourists ends up in a road ditch in Chiang Mai | Later on the Israeli mob hit on Samui | Central Pattana introduce cashless technology at 4,000 stores | Bullets flying in Hat Yai yesterday | Exports up 9.9% over past 12 months.
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UK to shift visa approvals from Bangkok to New Delhi
United Kingdom Visa and Immigration (UKVI) will relocate its visa approval centre from Bangkok to New Delhi, starting in June this year. The move is part of UKVI’s longstanding global strategy to modernise its visa operations and consolidate visa decision-making in large regional hubs, said a press release issued by the British Embassy to Thailand on Friday. There will be…
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TUESDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your news in 3 minutes
Another public holiday today. The Government announced last year that they’d add an extra day to the new year holidays this year in an effort to relieve the rush of traffic as people head home and back for the new year break. Police will be out in force today checking on drunk drivers at checkpoints around the island. Government offices…
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DAY ONE – Seven days of danger. Road toll down.
As Thai holidaymakers journeyed to their hometowns for the annual New Year Festival with accompanying high traffic volumes on highways and crowded transport hubs, the Road Safety Operation Centre on Friday reported a slight decrease in accidents, deaths and injuries on the first of the seven-day road safety promotion period ending January 3. Thursday saw 41 deaths and 500 injuries…
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The new Smart Visa and digital nomads
PHOTO: neverendingvoyage.com The new Smart Visa might be a visa solution for some, but not all, of the ‘digital nomads’ that have been become ubiquitous in Thailand, from all over the world. Whereas the young professionals might have taken off around the world on a break between their schooling and the start of their professional careers, now they’re taking their…
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Three more illegal tour guides arrested in Phuket blitz
Three more Chinese-speaking illegal tour guides have been arrested yesterday (December 27) and the day before following the illegal tour guide crackdown initiated by Phuket’s Governor. Yesterday in Soi Sakdidech, in Phuket Town, a team of Phuket provincial authorities along with representatives of Royal Thai Navy Area 3, Provincial Internal Security Operations Command and Volunteer Defense Corps checked a Chinese…
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THURSDAY MORNING NEWS BRIEFING – All your local news in 3 minutes
Today is the start of the Seven Days of Danger, one of two periods during the year when Thais, expats and tourists die in preventable road crashes. In large numbers. It’s also the day when we’re told we’ll start to feel the effects of the weakening tropical depression Tembin which started off as a typhoon, killing 200 in The Philippines,…
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19 students injured in Chiang Rai van accident
A van carrying students overturned on a road in Chiang Rai province on Wednesday morning, injuring everyone on board. The accident took place on Paholyothin Road in the Mae Chan district at about 6.40am. Most students sustained minor injuries and were allowed to return home following treatment, but some remained hospitalised as of press time. The van had collision insurance…
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26 year old Chinese tourist drowns an hour after arriving in Phuket
A Chinese tourist drowned at Patong Beach yesterday while waiting to check into his hotel. Police say 26 year old An Huifeng drowned shortly after he and his girlfriend went into the water while they were waiting to check in. Police spoke to the man’s girlfriend and found out that the two arrived in Phuket only an hour before and…
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