Eastern Thailand News
Eastern Thailand news, Pattaya news, Isaan news, Rayong updates, and Chonburi developments—stay informed on local events, business, tourism, and culture, including attractions like the Sanctuary of Truth and Koh Samet. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Eastern Thailand news source.
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Police nab 3 Chinese nationals for kidnapping, extortion
Police arrested three Chinese nationals in Thailand for allegedly kidnapping and extorting about 3.2 million baht from a Chinese woman. Officers arrested two men and a woman at a hotel in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province. A 23 year old Chinese woman studying for a bachelor’s degree filed a complaint with the Thong Lor police on Friday. In…
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Landfill fire covers district of eastern Thailand province with smoke
A landfill fire covered a district of a province in eastern Thailand with smoke on Monday. The thick blanket of smoke engulfed Sa Kaeo province’s main city district in the afternoon after the city’s main landfill caught fire. Nation Thailand reported yesterday that, as of press time, the fire still had not been fully extinguished due to heavy winds. It took…
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Desperate elephants flee massive forest fires in eastern Thailand
Desperate wild elephants are fleeing massive forest fires in Thailand’s eastern Trat province. The fires have destroyed more than 2,500 rai of forests since February 26, and the poor creatures are trying to escape. A herd of 13 elephants in the Klong Kaew Waterfall National Park have started moving out, Naewna reported yesterday. Rangers flew a drone which spotted the…
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Minivan driver claims he wasn’t asleep, screaming tourists caused crash
A minivan full of Russian tourists crashed either as a result of a screaming passenger or a sleeping driver, depending on who you believe. The minivan crashed into a tree after the driver was seen slumping over in his chair and one of the passengers screamed loudly, either out of fear, or too quickly to wake up the sleeping driver.…
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UTN deputy leader accused of taking King’s name in vain
A Saturday speech at an election rally by deputy UTN leader Trairong Suwankiri that referred to the Thai royal family has set a former election commissioner’s ears buzzing. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s brand new Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (United Thai Nation/UTN) could be in trouble. The new political force is already looking somewhat slightly tarnished, as a senior PM…
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Police in Rayong destroy thousands of guns
Thousands of guns seized by police were destroyed in a ceremony at a Millcon Steel Company facility in Rayong this week. The destruction marks the latest effort by the Royal Thai Police to enforce gun control in the country and combat illegal firearm possession. The national police chief Pol. Gen. Damrongsak Kittiprapas and his deputy presided over the gun destruction…
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Univited hotel guest shoots at resort owner, police
A dramatic pursuit ended in injury for both a police officer and an uninvited guest at a Rayong resort after the guest sharted shooting at the resort owner for denying him a free stay. The incident occurred in the early hours this morning, when police responded to a call from the Klaeng district resort about a reported shooting. Police were…
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Lifeguards save foreign tourist from drowning in Pattaya
Tragedy was avoided on Jomtien beach in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, yesterday thanks to the expert skills of Pattaya City lifeguards who acted quickly to save a foreign tourist from drowning. At 3pm, the Sawang Boon Rescue Foundation was informed that a foreign tourist was dragged out of the sea unconscious near the entrance of Soi 16 at Jomtien Beach in…
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Man sleeps in tent with deadly cobra all night in eastern Thailand
A Thai man is lucky to be alive after sleeping in a tent all night with a venomous cobra in Rayong province, eastern Thailand. Dacha, from the northern province of Phitsanulok province, posted photos on Facebook yesterday of a snake slithering out of the tent he dissembled moments earlier at the Dok Krai reservoir in Rayong province. He wrote the…
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Fire destroys 7 speedboats on Koh Mak
Disaster struck the island of Koh Mak in Trat province over the weekend when seven speedboats docked at Thong Lang Bay were destroyed in a fire. A group of tourists from the mainland who had taken a day trip to the holiday island were briefly stranded as the speedboats to transport them back burned and sank. Local villagers came to…
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Knifed in the neck for disrespecting mum
A cantankerous Rayong grandmother has worn out her welcome in her village and now her fed-up family and friends are conspiring to ship her off to a home. Ban Khai police were called to an address last week where they found Laemthong, aged 52, bleeding from a wound in his neck. According to the Bangkok Post, Kai Sawanmongkol, better known…
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Falling power pole kills woman in Chantha Buri
A woman met a surprising and untimely demise after a power pole fell on her in Chantha Buri province. She’s been walking through a waterfall park in the province yesterday morning when strong winds suddenly felled the power pole, killing her instantly. The freak accident took place in the Priew Waterfall National Park did the far eastern province bordering Cambodia.…
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Unable to find a temple home, monk living in bus terminal
The Thaiger recently covered “The Terminal, Bangkok Edition” – a story of a woman stranded in the terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport for two months waiting for her pickup. Now, in the Trat province, a uniquely Thai version of the Hollywood movie starring Tom Hanks has transpired. A monk in the eastern province of Thailand found himself stranded in a bus…
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Baby elephant found hungry and lost in eastern Thailand
A baby elephant has been found hungry and lost at a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand on Sunday. Officials found the poor little elephant lost from its mother in the early hours of the morning at the Khao Soi Dao wildlife sanctuary in Chanthaburi province. From an examination, the elephant was found to be about one week old, Matichon reported.…
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Island in eastern Thailand listed in ‘Top 100 Green Destination Stories’
A small island in eastern Thailand has been listed in the Green Destination Foundation’s Top 100 Green Destination 2022 Stories. The island of Koh Mak is located off Trat province. The Green Destinations Foundation is based in the Netherlands, and is dedicated to sustainable tourism. Koh Mak’s story is titled, “Koh Mak, the journey to becoming the first low carbon…
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Over 4,000 civilians evacuated in Isaan as tropical storm Noru hits
More than 4,000 people in Thailand’s northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani have been evacuated as tropical storm Noru advances on the region. The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm as it hit Thailand last night. The Meteorological Department says it will gradually be downgraded to a depression and low-pressure system. But, heavy and strong winds are expected to hit…
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Young pregnant Thai woman found dead in pond, signs of foul play
A young pregnant Thai woman was found dead in a pond in Thailand’s eastern Rayong province on Tuesday. Early reports reveal that she might have been strangled. In an initial examination, Klaeng district police found that the woman, 19 year old Kritsana, had wounds on her lips and neck as well as traces of being strangled. Kritsana had been living…
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VIDEO: 15 students on truck in eastern Thailand get caught in flood
Fifteen students on a songthaew truck in Thailand’s eastern province of Rayong got caught in a flood in the main city district. The students had been on their way to school in the morning when run-off flooded the truck. The water level quickly rose to the middle of the truck’s height. One student tried to get out of the truck,…
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Runner rescued after falling down 200-meter chasm
In the middle of a mountain marathon, one runner fell down a chasm that was 200 metres deep, with rescuers working almost three hours to save him. The incident took place in the Muang district of Rayong province yesterday morning during the “Peak Mountain Khao Yaida Trail 2022” marathon. The parents of the 30 year old runner said he loves…
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Baby’s birthday party turns violent in eastern Thailand
A baby’s birthday party turned violent in Thailand’s eastern province of Rayong between Monday night and Tuesday morning, in the main city district. A group of Cambodian fishery workers had reportedly thrown a party to celebrate one worker’s son turning three months old. At the party, one group of workers allegedly started drunkenly fighting the other. Two workers were stabbed…
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Men in eastern Thailand sentenced for road rage killing last year
Two men in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat have been jailed for killing a man in a road rage incident last year. The three men involved killed the victim after the victim’s girlfriend threw a glass bottle on the road as the men were driving by them. The killers thought the couple had meant to throw the bottle at them,…
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Police arrest alleged gambling operator with reported 5 million baht turnover
There’s been another gambling bust in the ‘Land of Smiles,’ this time in eastern Thailand. Police arrested an alleged gambling operator in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province on August 1. Police raided the suspect’s house and found hints that he was running a website called ‘syclub.bet.’ They found evidence of betting via electronic channels. The site reportedly had…
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Celebrity among thousands of tourists on holiday in Koh Chang
Eastern Thailand’s picturesque island of Koh Chang has been drawing tourists over Thailand’s long holiday weekend, including one celebrity. One of Thailand’s most famous actors, Nadech Kugimiya, was spotted at a show at the Klong Son Elephant camp yesterday. Nadech reportedly donated 160,000 baht for elephant feed. He posted photos and videos of his visit on Instagram. One video shows…
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Police in eastern Thailand give helmets to riders caught without them
Police in one province in eastern Thailand is giving free helmets to motorcycle riders caught not wearing them. The deputy chief of Trat Provincial Police, along with a team of traffic police, started this new approach today. Instead of fining riders caught without helmets, the police passed out free helmets to riders passing by a school in the main city…
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Spanish woman drowns in eastern Thailand, French man missing
A Spanish woman drowned this morning near the island of Koh Chang, located in Trat province in the Gulf of Thailand. The 21 year old woman’s body was found floating a few hundred metres from the island’s Lonely Beach. Her companion, a 22 year old French man, remains missing. The pair had reportedly gone swimming off Lonely Beach during rough…
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UPDATE: Resort in eastern Thailand denies media claims
UPDATE A resort in eastern Thailand has released a statement yesterday denying media claims that police accused its foreign directors of wrongdoing. The statement refuted other claims as well, and said police have not issued arrest warrants on any of the resort’s directors. The accusations are in light of a fire that gutted one of the resort’s villas in March.…
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Police tracking down British nationals after March fire in eastern Thailand
After a fire gutted a resort villa in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat in March, 3 executives are being charged. The charges include causing a fire by negligence, causing damages to people’s property, endangering other persons, and allowing others to use the building for hotel business without obtaining a license from the local officials. The massive fire broke out at…
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Eastern Thailand province plans “Fun On The Beach’ event
Beach lovers get ready! Thailand’s Eastern province of Rayong will hold its “Fun on the Beach” event next weekend, with 2 Thai bands performing on Leam Charoen Beach. The event will take place from July 1-3, Friday to Sunday. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is planning activities and food trucks at the event, as well as fruit buffets. The Thai…
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Driver cheats death after flying object smashes through windscreen
A 43 year old man driving in Chon Buri has escaped with his life after a steel bar crashed through his car windscreen. Motorist Tatsana Panon was knocked out unconscious after being struck in the head by a flying piece of steel approximately 50 centimetres before crashing his Nissan Navara on the Chon Buri bypass in Nong Maidang subdistrict of…
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11 Malaria patients found in Thailand’s east, blood from monkeys on Koh Chang tested
The eastern Thai province of Trat has reported 11 malaria patients, 9 from Koh Chang and 2 from the Bor Rai district. The type of malaria found in the residents is the parasite plasmodium knowlesi. The disease was first detected in the local monkey population and then transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. Blood from random monkeys on Koh Chang has…
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