Eastern Thailand News
Stay updated with the latest Eastern Thailand news at The Thaiger, your ultimate source for regional information. Keep informed on local events, business developments, and lifestyle stories in popular locations like Pattaya, Rayong, and Chonburi.
Our in-depth coverage includes famous attractions such as the Sanctuary of Truth and Koh Samet. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, The Thaiger’s Eastern Thailand news page is your essential guide to exploring this captivating coastal region. Immerse yourself in the vibrant community and rich culture with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you connected and well-informed.
-
Sponsored
This Valentine's Day, protect your loved ones with comprehensive health insurance
Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love, care, and the bonds we share with those who matter most. This Valentine’s Day, show your love in a thoughtful and lasting way by choosing health insurance for your loved ones. Unlike...
-
As tourists return, Pattaya’s Walking Street set to close to cars again
Pattaya officials say that starting tomorrow (Thursday), the city’s tourist magnet, Walking Street, will close to cars again, as it did in pre-Covid days. This news comes as more former bars have opened as ‘restaurants’, a loop hole in the Thai government’s Covid restrictions that’s been forced on bar owners so they can get their businesses open again. From 7pm…
-
Man in eastern Thailand tries to sell motorcycle to shop it was stolen from
A man in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat was (rather embarrassingly) busted when he tried to sell a used motorcycle to a shop it was stolen from two weeks before. The man told police in questioning that he got the bike from a friend in Laem Ngob district, who told him to sell it, and they would split the money. But the…
-
Pattaya tourist claims thieves in ‘sexy dresses’ stole his 33,000 baht necklace
An Indian tourist in Pattaya claims that last night, a Thai woman, and a ‘transgender individual’, who both wore ‘sexy dresses’, stole his gold necklace worth about 33,000 baht. The tourist, 45 year old Sathishkumar Govindarju, told The Pattaya News the pair also tried to convince him to sleep with them. “I was walking along the road alone, returning from a…
-
Thai swimmer recovering after being ‘speared’ by Needlefish in Trat
Spearfishing is still a thing, but usually by humans hunting fish, not the other way around. Thai national Noppadol Sringam is now in a stable condition recovering from a freak marine accident. The Thai tourist was left in serious condition after a needlefish skewered him in the neck while he was swimming on the Trat coastal beach of Ao Tan…
-
Tourist who sat on endangered reef faces 10 years in prison, up to 1 million baht fine
A Thai tourist who posted a photograph of himself sitting on an endangered coral reef faces a fine of up to 1 million baht and a 10-year prison sentence. Wisutr Rattanasathian shared a photograph on his Facebook page on Saturday, which shows him sitting on the protected reef off Koh Khram Noi, in the Sattahip district of Trat province, eastern…
-
Tourists turn their backs on Rayong over 330 baht antigen testing requirement
Tourists have hit back at the eastern province of Rayong after officials imposed a mandatory antigen testing requirement on all visitors. According to a Nation Thailand report, all arrivals in the province must have a negative antigen test result, certified by a doctor, no more than 72 hours before arrival. Tourists have expressed their anger on social media, with most…
-
6 European tourists found who disappeared after positive Covid-19 test
After a brief hunt, 6 European tourists who were tested for Covid-19 and left their hotel before the results were returned, test results which came back positive, have now all been located and moved to the hospital. Authorities rounded up 2 French tourists, 2 Polish tourists, a Swiss tourist, and a Norwegian tourist. The 6 tourists had all come to…
-
6 more Covid-19 infected tourist on the run from Koh Chang
Apparently the 2,000 baht fine for the first tourist to ditch out of his hotel while waiting for RT-PCR test results was not as big a deterrent as Thai authorities thought as there now been a number of copycat runners that authorities have had to hunt down. Just 2 days ago, officials were able to track down 2 Indian tourists…
-
Fah Sai, a baby elephant, recovering after she was shot 10 times
After poachers shot her and left her for dead, a baby elephant has had multiple bullets removed and is recovering now. The baby female elephant named Fah Sai (Thai for “Clear Sky”) was shot repeatedly by what authorities assume to be illegal poachers in the eastern province of Chanthaburi. Reports said the poor baby elephant stepped in a trap and…
-
Pfizer booster shots on offer in Rayong, 1,000 per day for 3 days
3,000 Pfizer vaccines are set to be administered as booster shots in Rayong from Wednesday to Friday, 1,000 each day at Memorial Hospital Sirindhorn Rayong. The vaccines will be given for free for qualifying people who meet the criteria laid out by the hospitals. The vaccines will be available for those who are already fully vaccinated with Sinovac, Sinopharm, Astrazeneca,…
-
Thai man arrested for alleged rape, drowning, burning Burmese woman
A 21 year old Burmese woman died after Thai man allegedly abducted, raped, accidentally drowned her, then set her body on fire. The incident took place in Prachin Buri and police have now arrested a 27 year old man who is alleged to have confessed to his crime, saying he was haunted by her spirit. Boonlai Buaman is working for…
-
FDA warns against smuggled Johnson & Johnson vaccines
In Sa Kaeo province in Eastern Thailand, the Food and Drug Administration is warning people to avoid offers of Johnson & Johnson vaccines that were illegally smuggled into Thailand after a patient apparently brought in a vaccine to a private clinic and paid to have medical staff administer it. The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved for use…
-
2 defence corps volunteers arrested for alleged involvement in stealing defence corps guns
3 suspects have been arrested in Sa Kaeo, an eastern Thai province, for their alleged involvement in stealing 65 firearms from an armoury in the Muang Sa Kaeo District Office in May. 2 of the suspects, 36 year old Weeraphan Nakphitak and 40 year old Lek Khamneung are members of the Sa Kaeo Volunteer Defence Corps and worked at the…
-
Navy rescued Cambodian man floating at sea for 2 days
While garbage in the sea is generally not a good thing, floating debris appears to have saved the life of a Cambodian man in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Rayong. The man was rescued today by the Royal Thai Navy after 2 days adrift at sea, clinging to debris, after falling off his fishing boat yesterday morning.…
-
Man arrested for allegedly stealing plants valued at 18,500 baht
Police arrested a man who allegedly stole four expensive potted plants from outside a home in the eastern province Sa Kaeo. Officers say the plants are valued at 18,500 baht. The stolen plants include the Dieffenbachia valued at 7,000 baht, Variegated Arrowhead Vine valued at 3,500 baht, Syngonium Pink Spot valued at 3,000 baht, and the Monstera Thai Constellation valued…
-
Fruit buyer arrested for allegedly using counterfeit certificates to export durian
The proprietor of a fruit company in Chanthaburi, an eastern Thai province, has been arrested for allegedly using counterfeit Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices certificates to export Vietnamese Durians to China, passing them off as Thai Durians. Alongkorn Polabutr adviser to the agriculture and cooperatives minister, says they investigated the fruit-buying company named ‘lung Tu Odd, which is…
-
Koh Samet marks 100% success rate in vaccinating target group
Koh Samet, in the eastern province of Rayong, has been hailed by the Public Health Ministry after achieving a 100% success rate in vaccinating the target group on the island. Everyone living on the island, including locals, foreign workers, and officials working in the national park, have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine – 1,800 people in total.…
-
Nong Chompoo uncle surrenders to police on murder charges
In an update to the report published this morning when a warrant was issued for his arrest, the uncle of Nong Chompoo has surrendered to the police and is facing murder charges. Chaiphol Wipha, the uncle of a 3 year old girl found dead in Mukdahan last year, turned himself in to the Royal Thai police late this morning. He…
-
Man missing after speedboat capsizes in rough seas off Koh Chang
1 man has been rescued, while another is still missing, after a speedboat capsized in rough waters off the island of Koh Chang in the eastern province of Trat. The Bangkok Post reports that the boat overturned off Khlong Phrao beach around 9am yesterday morning. The chief of Koh Chang district, Chatchai Thonglee, says there had been heavy rainfall on…
-
Rayong closing 5 tourism islands for 4 months
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation announced today that they plan on closing 5 popular tourism islands in the Rayong province in the east of Thailand. The islands – Kham Island, Kruay Island, Ku Dee Island, Pla Teen Island, and Talu Island – are set to be closed for 4 months. The announcement stated that the islands…
-
Koh Samet to close from today for at least 2 weeks, Koh Chang may follow
The island of Koh Samet, in Thailand’s eastern Rayong province, is closing to visitors and non-residents for at least 14 days to help stop the spread of Covid-19. The province saw 21 new infections yesterday, with at least 1 being linked to Koh Samet. The shuttering is effective as of today with another popular island, Koh Chang, also possibly following…
-
Officials investigating woman’s alleged attempt to sell national parkland for 350 million baht
Officials in eastern Thailand are investigating a Facebook post in which a woman allegedly attempted to sell 298 rai of national parkland. According to a Bangkok Post report, the land is located on Koh Wai, part of the Mu Koh Chang Marine National Park, in the eastern province of Trat. Damras Phoprasit from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and…
-
Be a private island castaway on Koh Munnork, Thailand | VIDEO
Stranded on your very own private island in Thailand. Well, not quite stranded. Chris takes us on a tour of the relatively tiny Koh Munnork (Munnork Island), off the coast of Rayong in east Thailand. The prices for a stay on the private island vary and usually start around 10,000 baht a night but there’s always promotions on and, depending…
-
Roadtrippers take a break at petrol station only to find dead body under car
A group of holiday road trippers from Pathum Thani got a horrifying surprise after finding a partial human body underneath one of their cars. The group was on their way to Koh Chang when they stopped at a petrol station this morning in the eastern province of Khao Saming. The 10 holidaymakers reported the discovery at Sawang Sawai PTT petrol…
-
Bars, nightlife, re-open in Rayong after 9 days with no new cases of Covid-19
The governor of the eastern Thai province of Rayong has given the go-ahead for bars and other entertainment venues to re-open after they were closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The province has now gone 9 days without a new case of the virus. On February 1, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration changed Rayong’s status from red to…
-
Massage workers in Pattaya call for reopening of spas and massages shops
A group of about 50 workers from Pattaya massage shops and spas gathered together to call for the reopening of their businesses after being closed for the past month due to Covid-19 restrictions. The group called themselves the “Pattaya Health Massage” presented a letter signed by 60 massage shops, spas and gyms to Bang Lamung District Sheriff this morning. Chon…
-
Eastern provinces growing impatient with safety measures as Covid cases decrease
Thailand’s eastern provinces are growing impatient as local businesses and residents await a relaxation in Covid-19 safety measures after seeing a drop in cases. Chonburi, Chanthaburi, Trat and Rayong are under a “highly controlled” status set by the CCSA (Samut Sakhon, south west of Bangkok, also falls into the same category at this time). These provinces, along with Samut Sakhon…
-
Bangkok website lists 11 “high risk” areas, urges visitors to identify themselves
A Bangkok website, known simply as BKK Covid-19, has listed 11 areas and venues now considered “high risk” and urged recent visitors to come forward. The places in question are spread across several provinces in the centre and east of the country. Those who have visited the following since December 15 are urged to register. 1. Samut Sakhon province 2.…
-
Rayong police chief transferred over Covid-19 outbreak at alleged gambling den
Following his claim that there was no illegal gambling den involved in a Covid-19 outbreak in the eastern province of Rayong, provincial police chief Papatdet Katephan has been transferred. The order came from national police chief Suwat Chaengyodsuk, following a cluster of infections linked to an alleged illegal gambling venue. One of the patients has since died. There were bizarre…
-
Rayong identifies 49 new local Covid cases today
Rayong, south of Chon Buri province, has declared 49 new local cases of Covid-19 today, bringing today’s total number of new cases nationwide to 170 for the day. Channa Iamsaeng, the Governor of Rayong province, has told AP that the new cases were recently confirmed by local authorities and have not yet been reported to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.