News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
-
Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
-
PM Prayut cuts ribbon on new ferry service to boost tourism in Thailand
Caretaker Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha celebrated his 69th birthday in style yesterday by cutting the ribbon to officially open a new river ferry service to connect Thailand and Malaysia. The ferry service will transport passengers, cargo and vehicles across the Ko Lok River, connecting Tak Bai Customs House in Thailand with Pengkalan Kubor Customs House in Malaysia. The Narathiwat…
-
Chinese tourists walk around Chiang Mai in traditional Thai clothes
Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai are walking around in traditional Thai clothes during their sightseeing tours. After three years of travel restrictions due to Covid-19, Chinese tourists have returned to Thailand with a thirst for authentic experiences. This has created a trend in which Chinese tourists stand out in their finery at historical temples and other attractions in the northern…
-
Phuket is the backdrop of new season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip
The famous island paradise of Phuket is the stunning backdrop for the third season of the popular US reality TV series, The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. Premiering exclusively on Peacock streaming service tomorrow, March 23, the show will feature a new group of eight fan-favourite housewives from various cities, who will come together for an unforgettable trip to Thailand.…
-
Bangkok Police seize over 5 million baht of fake brand products from Indian mafia store
Bangkok Police conducted a raid on counterfeit band name products at a store on the third floor of MBK shopping mall in Bangkok today and seized goods worth over 5 million baht. The store was reported to be operated by an Indian mafia gang called Babu. The Department of Intellectual Property Protection was alerted to the activities of the Babu…
-
Phuket Food Festival coming up next week
Foodies will rejoice to know that the Phuket Food Festival is coming up next week. This will be the 25th time the festival has been held. The Phuket City Delicious Food Festival 2023 will be held at the Saphan Hin Center Stage area from March 28 to April 3. The festival will be open to visitors from 4pm to 11pm…
-
Wash off the dictatorship: Protesters splash for a cause
For those who love the splashing water of Songkran but wish it was far more serious and political, a protest held yesterday fits the bill. More than 20 protesters from the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, a pro-democracy group, gathered outside the Parliament complex to symbolically “wash off the dictatorship” with water. The rally took place the day after…
-
Really Cool Airlines to fly by 2023 close, schedule in June
New carrier Really Cool Airlines is set to take off in Thailand by the end of this year, according to its CEO, Patee Sarasin. The airline will focus on international flights and is expected to help boost the country’s aviation industry, which has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company will announce its flight routes by the end…
-
Police nab Chinese kidnapper at airport before he flees Thailand, 2 hostages saved
Police arrested a Chinese man before he boarded a flight out of Thailand last night. He is one of three men who abducted a Chinese woman and her brother-in-law in Pattaya on Monday for a ransom of 4.7 million baht. The two hostages were saved by police and returned home at 2am today. On Monday, 33 year old Ma Mingshan…
-
Passport rip leaves TikTok creator unable to fly to Thailand
A passport rip left a TikTok creator unable to fly to Thailand. Arabella Leat’s holiday plans to Thailand with her mum were ruined due to the small rip on her passport, the UK tabloid Daily Star reported. The young woman was left disappointed and unable to board her flight after airport staff deemed her passport unfit for travel. Arabella posted a TikTok…
-
Thai influencer arrested after promising over-valued gift boxes to customers
Thai influencer Nara Crepe Katoey is under arrest for public fraud over online sales of gift boxes that she promised would be worth more than the prices paid. Nara, whose real name is Aniwat Prathumthin, was picked up in Ayutthaya after the Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for her alleged advertising or encouraging illegal acts, defrauding the public, fraudulent…
-
Angry Thai man crashes car into PPRP election poster
An angry Thai man was prosecuted for damaging an election campaign poster belonging to the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP). He deliberately crashed his pickup into the poster. The suspect’s family revealed he was angry at the party because his request for unemployment compensation was rejected. With the General Election set to take place on May 14, every political party has begun…
-
A gorilla’s plight in Thailand continues after 30 years in a concrete hell
A gorilla’s disturbing plight in Thailand continues after staying alone atop a Bangkok shopping mall in a zoo that resembles a concrete hell. Bua Noi, dubbed the “world’s loneliest gorilla” has spent 30 years alone at the top of the Bangkok shopping mall of Pata. Over the years, protests and pressure from celebrity campaigners, such as Cher, have not seemed…
-
First charter flight from Mahan, Iran makes its way to Phuket
The first charter flight from Mahan, Iran, made its way to Phuket on Monday. Mahan Air flight W557/IRM057 landed at Phuket International Airport at 2.30pm. As tourism from the Middle East continues to be a major target market for Thailand, the new charter flight network was warmly welcomed. Officials and staff were on hand to greet passengers as they walked…
-
Chinese woman in Pattaya abducted, 4.7 million baht ransom demanded
A Chinese woman has reportedly been abducted in Pattaya as she went to get her child from school. The suspects have allegedly demanded a 4.7 million baht ransom in exchange for her freedom. Her husband, Ma Mingshan, filed a complaint with the police, saying his 33 year old wife, Shan Qi Qiang, was abducted. The 33 year old man said…
-
German pedophile arrested for producing child pornography in Pattaya
Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) arrested a German pedophile for shooting and distributing child pornography involving his teenage stepdaughter from his home in Pattaya. The 76 year old perverted expat, Wilfried Wilms, was taken into custody on Saturday, March 18 following an alert from the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, which traced child pornography back to Wilms’s Meet4U and…
-
Thailand welcomes 5.5 million foreign tourists so far this year
In the first three months of 2023, more than 5.5 million foreign tourists entered Thailand, generating over 200 billion baht for the economy, government spokesperson Trisulee Trisoranakul reported this morning. Between January 1 and March 18, 5,578,721 foreign tourists arrived in Thailand, generating 215 billion baht in tourism revenue, according to data provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.…
-
Former German police officer found dead in his house in Chon Buri
Police conducted an investigation at a house in the Satthip district of Chon Buri yesterday after the body of a 66 year old former German police officer was found dead in the kitchen. It is believed that the man succumbed to a chronic disease more than 10 days before being discovered. The deceased was identified as German man Scutt Axel,…
-
Teacher’s physical punishment causes bruises, outrage
Parents in Samut Prakan reached out to Thai media to bring attention to an alleged incident of excessive physical punishment by a male teacher at a primary school. The incident, which occurred on Monday in the Bang Bo district, sparked outrage among parents and education authorities in the area. An 11 year old boy in P5 recounted to reporters from…
-
Phuket Marine Police bust jet ski operators over licenses
Jet skiing is a popular activity for tourists in Phuket, but not all operators seem to be following the rules. The Phuket Marine Police last week busted jet ski operators for crimes involving improper licenses. This news comes as the police have been ramping up jet ski inspections at popular tourist beaches. The six operators on Bang Tao Beach were…
-
3 police arrested for kidnapping Chinese man and Thai woman
Din Daeng Police Station apprehended three police officers from Immigration Division 1 yesterday following allegations made by a Thai woman that they kidnapped and extorted 1 million baht from a Chinese man. The three suspects denied the accusations, and one officer involved in the incident is currently on the run. According to the complaint filed by a 38 year old…
-
2 killed and 3 rescued in boat collision near Koh Samui
A fishing boat and an oil tanker collided near Koh Samui, an island in the southern province of Surat Thani. Three of the five fishermen were rescued, while the other two died. The Fisheries Checkpoint Management Centre Region 7 in Surat Thani notified the relevant departments at 2.20pm yesterday that the fishing boat named Talay Nam Chok 8 (Lucky Sea…
-
SUV crashes into mall in Thailand, plummets 4 floors into basement
An SUV last night somehow crashed into a famous mall located in Pathum Thani province, situated to the north of Bangkok, Thailand. The vehicle then drove over the railings by the escalator and plummeted four floors into the basement. The SUV driver miraculously survived the accident, sustaining only minor bleeding to the head. The crash happened yesterday around midnight at Zeer…
-
Thai and Indian couple allegedly scammed Americans of over 3 billion baht (video)
A Thai and Indian couple allegedly scammed Americans of over 3 billion baht. Police arrested the couple after raiding a house in Bang Lamung district in Pattaya yesterday at around 10am. Officers raided that house following a notification from the US Embassy stating that the house was being used as a hideout by scammers. The raid was conducted by a…
-
Winnie the Pooh movie banned in Hong Kong amid President Xi links (video)
The British horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has been cancelled by Hong Kong prompting speculation that the movie was pulled because of the resemblance between the character and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It’s not the first time China has scrapped a movie. US netizens made such comparisons between Winnie the Pooh and President Xi when the latter…
-
Thailand election to be held May 14
UPDATE Thailand’s Election Committee (EC) confirmed today that Thailand’s general election will be held on May 14, 2023. The vote will be held on May 14 with early ballots cast on May 7. Over 52 million people are required to vote. The election follows Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s dissolution of the House of Representatives, endorsed by His Majesty King Maha…
-
Revered Thai monk’s body defies decomposition 20 years after death
More than 20 years after revered Thai monk Luang Phu Woraphon Thawitan passed away, his body remains displayed in a glass case at his temple in Khon Kaen province, northeast Thailand. Not only has the deceased monk’s body not decomposed – defying science – but his skin has turned emerald green, reports Sanook. Yesterday, Phra Khru Sri Pattarasan, the current…
-
10 top destinations near Bangkok for summer and Songkran 2023
As the summer season and the Songkran Festival approach Thailand next month, The Thaiger team recommends 10 top destinations to visit in April to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a great water fight. The list includes a wide range of interesting places from waterfalls, seas, mountains, and spectacular natural scenery. With Songkran Festival set to…
-
Hong Kong tourist narrowly survives bungee cord snapping midair in Thailand
Distraught onlookers thought the moment a Hong Kong tourist’s bungee cord snapped after he leapt from a height of ten storeys in Pattaya, Thailand, would surely send him plummeting to his death. But, he survived. One of Mike’s colleagues went first and had a blast, and Mike was up next, raring to go. The staff tied the bungee cord to…
-
Model prisoners hired by Thai fruit exporter due to worker shortage
A fresh fruit exporting company in the central province of Chantaburi hired 30 model prisoners as factory employees to tackle the worker shortages in the agricultural sector. The director of the Tung Benja Correctional Institution in Chantaburi, Thitinai Patikabut, took 30 well-behaved prisoners to work at the Orasa Fruit Company in the Combang sub-district of the province yesterday. Thitinai reported…
-
Yachts: Hua Hin Mini Boat Show this weekend
Fans of yachting can enjoy the first-ever Hua Hin Mini Boat Show this weekend. Pak Nam Pran, a picturesque coastal town in central Thailand, is all set to host the first show of its kind in the region from March 24 to 26. The event will take place at the Racer Marina and showcase a range of boats, yachts, and…
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.