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    Why long-term expats in Thailand say insurance is worth every baht

    Thailand’s warm weather, low cost of living, and good healthcare attract many long-term expats, including retirees and remote workers. Life here feels easy and affordable, but medical costs can be high if something goes wrong. Private hospitals are popular because...

  • Whale watching season starts off Phetchaburi coast | Thaiger

    Whale watching season starts off Phetchaburi coast

    The Bryde’s whale has returned to the waters off Phetchaburi and reporters and tourists boarded boats on Monday for the official opening of the official whale-watching season, with about 10 of the huge animals obliging them on the first day. Boonyod Maklai, mayor of Tambon Haad Chao Samran in Muang Phetchaburi, led the outing on Kor Kai Bay and off…

  • Phuket’s underwater neighborhood gets a pre-high season clean | Thaiger

    Phuket’s underwater neighborhood gets a pre-high season clean

    More than 300 volunteers, including divers and local volunteers, joined the cleaning activities held yesterday around Phuket. Rawai Mayor Arron Solos says, “There are many beautiful diving points in the Andaman Sea. In addition, from May to October every year, it is the monsoon season or ‘Green Season’ which can cause some strong wind and waves.” “Garbage and broken fishing…

  • ‘Charm Offensive’ awaits at Don Mueang for Chinese passengers | Thaiger

    ‘Charm Offensive’ awaits at Don Mueang for Chinese passengers

    Knee-jerk reaction #48. The Tourist Police Bureau have dispatched a team of officers to attend to passengers, especially Chinese passengers, at Don Mueang International Airport. More Chinese tourist arrivals are expected to arrive for their Golden Week holiday starting today. The Deputy Commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, Pol. Maj. Gen. Surachete Hakparn, says additional police officers have been deployed…

  • 71 foreigners, including 32 Thais, found safe in Sulawesi | Thaiger

    71 foreigners, including 32 Thais, found safe in Sulawesi

    The National Disaster Mitigation Agency in Indonesia has announced that 71 foreign tourists were affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Sulawesi last Friday evening. Authorities say they have found 66 of the foreigners and declared them safe and accounted for. Two of the rescued tourists, a Singaporean and a Belgian, have now been moved to Jakarta. Of those,…

  • Dead Australian visited shooting range three times – Police | Thaiger

    Dead Australian visited shooting range three times – Police

    Following the death of the Australian 25 year old, who shot himself at a Sakoo shooting range on Friday, police have concluded their initial investigation. The man died at Vachira Hospital on Friday night. Police checked CCTV footage in the shooting range and have spoken to witnesses. Police have announced that Jayden Antony Cook had come to the shooting range…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Monday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Monday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…  

  • 10 vehicle pile up in Krabi | Thaiger

    10 vehicle pile up in Krabi

    Amazingly, no injuries from a 10 vehicle pile up in Krabi City yesterday. Krabi City Police were notified of the carnage on Sri Trang Road near an intersection in the Krabi City Municipality at about noon yesterday (Sunday). Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find a ten-wheeler truck, carrying a machine, on the side of the road…

  • Trami storms through Japan, passes Tokyo last night | Thaiger

    Trami storms through Japan, passes Tokyo last night

    Some of the latest updates from reports coming out of Japan as Typhoon Trami continues its north-easterly trajectory through the Japanese archipelago. It’s currently early morning in Japan, and commuters are trying to get to work whilst contending with the aftermath of the Typhoon in the southern and central islands. The Typhoon unleashed its fury on some of Japan’s most populous…

  • Junta goes for lighter touch on lese majeste laws | Thaiger

    Junta goes for lighter touch on lese majeste laws

    with Kai Chanwanpen – The Nation iLaw experts say they see changes for the better and courts given more leeway in Thailand’s lese majeste cases. Thailand saw the most aggressive enforcement of the lese majeste law after the junta came to power in 2014, but current trends point to an unprecedented relaxation, according to iLaw. “There was a time, after…

  • Central Floresta releases a statement following Tribhum ‘volcano’ fire | Thaiger

    Central Floresta releases a statement following Tribhum ‘volcano’ fire

    Central Floresta has spoken out after a fire almost destroyed a theme park under construction but stressed that the incident hadn’t affected other costumer services at the new shopping centre. The cause of fire is being investigated and a statement will be made after a full check of all systems and interviews with workers on the site, and the new…

  • Baby elephant rescued from muddy pit in Chumpon | Thaiger

    Baby elephant rescued from muddy pit in Chumpon

    by Prasit Leehakhunakorn A two year old male elephant, ‘Chao Duan’, has been rescued after it fell into a 70 centimetre deep and four metre wide muddy pit where it was stuck for two days in Chumphon province. The elephant is now recovering under the loving care of veterinarians, although its hind legs remain immobile for now. Nam Tok Ngao…

  • Breakfast in Rome. Dinner in Bangkok. | Thaiger

    Breakfast in Rome. Dinner in Bangkok.

    Air Italy has touched down in Bangkok for the first time as it launches four weekly services into the Big Mango. The company intends to increase services to five weekly by the end of October. Bangkok is Air Italy’s third new international route launched this summer following launches in New York and Miami. It’s the airlines’ first route in Asia. The…

  • Director and security chief of Don Mueang suspended over assault of Chinese tourist | Thaiger

    Director and security chief of Don Mueang suspended over assault of Chinese tourist

    “Immigration police dismissed the tourist’s claim that immigration officials had demanded 2,000 baht from him for a visa on arrival in addition to the normal fee of 2,000 baht.” The Director of Bangkok’s Don Mueang international airport, as well as the director for security, have been suspended from active duty for at least 30 days pending an investigation into an…

  • Typhoon Trami cuts across Japan | Thaiger

    Typhoon Trami cuts across Japan

    Another powerful typhoon is unleashing heavy rain and winds on southern Japan as it slowly trudges its way north-east toward the Japan’s main islands and population centres this morning. Typhoon Trami is the equivalent of Category 2 hurricane. It passed over the Ryukyu Islands on Friday evening after taking a slow right-hand track and heading north out of the Pacific…

  • Fireworks factory explodes in Chachoengsao | Thaiger

    Fireworks factory explodes in Chachoengsao

    PHOTOS: The Nation Extremely hot weather is suspected of causing an explosion at a fireworks factory in Muang Chachoengsao on Saturday afternoon that left one person injured. The roof of the factory owned by 47 year old Karun Raksanont was blown off in the explosion, with the debris raining down on the neighbourhood. The explosion, which could be heard a kilometre…

  • Death toll approaches 400 in Sulawesi earthquake aftermath | Thaiger

    Death toll approaches 400 in Sulawesi earthquake aftermath

    Rescuers are still struggling to reach remote communities on the island of Sulawesi hit by an earthquake and tsunami just before 6pm, local time, on Friday. A spokesperson of the local disaster agency has confirmed that the official death toll is now up to 384, almost all from the coastal township of Palu as a result of a tsunami. A…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Sunday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Sunday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…  

  • Wet wet wet at the Phetchabun’s ‘Um Phra Dam Nam Festival’ | Thaiger

    Wet wet wet at the Phetchabun’s ‘Um Phra Dam Nam Festival’

    The ‘Um Phra Dam Nam Festival’, one of the world’s most unique Buddhist festivals held annually in Phetchabun in Central Thailand. It’s scheduled from October 7 to 12 at Trai Phum temple and at the pier of Bot Chanaman temple. Translated from Thai, Um Phra Dam Nam literally means ‘diving while holding Buddha’s image’. According to local legend, the festival began when…

  • India has highest number of Facebook users but Singapore is Asia’s FB star | Thaiger

    India has highest number of Facebook users but Singapore is Asia’s FB star

    By DataLEADS – Asia News Network Facebook is the most popular social network worldwide and Asia is Facebook’s most active region in terms of active users. India has the most number of Facebook registered users not only in Asia but in the world. Facebook users in India now number 251 million, becoming the largest audience country for the social media giant.…

  • Bangkok and Phuket on the list of the World’s ‘Top City For Visitor Spending’ | Thaiger

    Bangkok and Phuket on the list of the World’s ‘Top City For Visitor Spending’

    According to Mastercard’s annual Destination Cities Index, Bangkok has earned the position as the world’s most visited tourist destination once again in 2017. Phuket also got into the Top 10 list of tourist money magnets. The Thai capital attracted over 20 million visitors over the past year, more than both London (19.83 million) and Paris (17.44 million). But despite scoring…

  • 25 year old Australian, who shot himself in Sakoo, dies | Thaiger

    25 year old Australian, who shot himself in Sakoo, dies

    The young Australian man who shot himself in the right temple at a Sakoo shooting range yesterday afternoon, has died as a result of his injuries. The man shot himself at the Asian Shooting Range, just south of the Phuket International Airport. The man, 25 year old Jayden Antony Cook, had arrived in Phuket on September 25 for a month’s…

  • Official travel warnings about Phuket issued by the Chinese Embassy | Thaiger

    Official travel warnings about Phuket issued by the Chinese Embassy

    “The embassy reminds Chinese tourists to follow the rules while in Thailand and to stay out of the water when authorities put red flags on beaches, indicating the marine situation is dangerous.” The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok is telling travellers to take particular care in Thailand’s southern resort provinces of Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi. The embassy has issued an official…

  • Chiang Rai hit with mild earthquake | Thaiger

    Chiang Rai hit with mild earthquake

    A minor 3.4-magnitude earthquake hit Chiang Rai’s Phan district this morning. The confirmation from the Seismological Bureau of the Meteorological Department. The bureau said the earthquake had an epicentre situated about 15 kilometres underground at latitude 19.45 degrees and longitude 99.60 degrees. The epicentre was in the Doi Luang National Park. The quake was felt by residents of Phan and nearby…

  • Central’s new volcano goes up in flames | Thaiger

    Central’s new volcano goes up in flames

    VIDEOS: Kristopher and Toribio One of Central Floresta’s new themed feature attractions has been totally guttered today in a dramatic fire that started just after opening time this morning. The ‘Tribhum’ attraction, a walk-thru theme park, scheduled to open before the end of the year, burnt fiercely as the outer skin of the ‘volcano’ caught fire and kept burning until…

  • Thaiger Radio News – Saturday | Thaiger

    Thaiger Radio News – Saturday

    Listen to the daily news from The Thaiger, anytime, anywhere…  

  • Large earthquake in Sulawesi. Palu struck by tsunami. | Thaiger

    Large earthquake in Sulawesi. Palu struck by tsunami.

    Another Indonesian earthquake, this time a shallow 7.5 magnitude tremor that was more powerful than the quakes that killed hundreds on Lombok island during July and August, has hit the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Rescuers are still scrambling to reach villages in central Indonesia to assess the damage after the earthquake hit, causing buildings to fall down and triggering…

  • 40,000 meth pills hidden in model cars | Thaiger

    40,000 meth pills hidden in model cars

    Phuket police have seized 40,000 methamphetamine pills, crystal methamphetamine and heroin from model cars sent via parcels in the post. The three suspects arrested are 29 year old Thai national John Marako Viccos, 29 year old Tipparat Prompramoon and 44 year old Udom Rattanamanee. Police seized 39,820 methamphetamine pills, 18.80 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 0.18 grams of heroin. Police…

  • Chinese woman’s death at a Hat Yai waterfall is now a murder investigation | Thaiger

    Chinese woman’s death at a Hat Yai waterfall is now a murder investigation

    An investigation into the mysterious death of a Chinese woman at a waterfall in near Hat Yai has now become an official murder investigation. A Chinese man has emerged as a prime suspect and Thai police also seeking evidence in China and working with Chinese police. Tourist Police Division’s deputy commander Pol Maj-General Surachate Hakparn says that he was soon…

  • Loei mothers file complaint about local abbot sexually abusing their sons | Thaiger

    Loei mothers file complaint about local abbot sexually abusing their sons

    Four Loei mothers have filed a complaint with police today accusing the local abbot of a monastic centre of sexually abusing their sons. They told Khok Ngam police that the abbot in Tambon Phone Sung, Dan Sai district, had molested their sons while they were novices there. One woman (name withheld by police) says her 17 year old son was…

  • Happy Birthday Sweet 17 | Thaiger

    Happy Birthday Sweet 17

    PHOTO: The Nation Happy birthday Lin Hui. Lin Hui is one of the stars of Thailand’s ‘panda frenzy’ a decade ago. Today she’s 17 years old and fans assembled at the Chiang Mai Zoo to sing “Happy Birthday” and maybe share some special birthday bamboo. Lin Hui’s mate Chuang Chuang got in on the fun as well, sharing her birthday…