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.
-
Sponsored Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
-
Thai DJ rounds up stray cats then films killing them for payment
PHOTOS: khaosod.co.th A female DJ has been charged over the killing of 27 stray cats at her home in Thon Buri, according to Khao Sod, a Thai online news portal. According to the police investigation, Miss Wararat Krasae, better known as ‘DJ Sun’, picked up stray cats found on the streets into her home before killing them. The arrest followed…
-
Thai’s go west during rainy season – study
Thailand’s rainy season might be bad for the country’s beach hot spots but is typically associated with travel to the western regions of the country, where nature becomes its most beautiful during the period. New data from Hotels.com reveals a 26% jump in searches among Thai travellers for accommodation in the Western region over the past 12 months. The data…
-
Thai finance minister confident GDP will pick up next quarter
Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak says he is confident Thailand’s gross domestic product will pick up in the fourth quarter as a result of the launch of 316 billion baht economic stimulus package from the Thai government. He claims the new rice price guarantee scheme will also assist the agricultural sector. The Cabinet approved the new packages at its Tuesday meeting.…
-
Two people and 1,000 chickens die in Pathum Thani collision
PHOTO: คนช่วยคน จ.ปทุมธานี สายด่วน 1669 Two trailer trucks have collided in Pathum Thani, to the north of Bangkok, killing two people and around 1,000 chickens. The driver and a female passenger were heard screaming for help as their vehicle burst into flames. The chicken were being transported in the back of the truck. Police were alerted at 3.10am about the…
-
Biologist calls on Thailand to list all sharks as endangered
PHOTO: Wikipedia Marine biologist Thon Thamrongnawasawat, insists Thailand must place all shark species on its list of endangered animals. His warning is accompanied by Facebook photos showing chopped up blacktip reef sharks being sold on Koh Lanta, in Krabi province. As black tip reef sharks are not listed as endangered, no law is currently being broken. And while the waters…
-
British tourist killed at Phuket resort, Norwegian charged
PHOTO: Tourist Assistance Centre A late night fight that broke out at a Karon resort has ended in a Norwegian man killing a British tourist. The fight started at 4.00am, when British national Amitpal Singh Bajaj, who was on holiday with his Singaporean wife and two young children, confronted Roger Bullman over the amount of noise coming from his room.…
-
Chiang Rai collision kills truck driver, injures several Chinese tourists
A tourist bus with 19 Chinese tourists on board was heading to the White Temple of Chiang Rai yesterday, when it was involved in a head-on collision with a pickup truck. The truck driver was killed instantly, and several bus passengers were rushed to hospital with injuries. It comes less than a week after 10 Italian tourists were injured, one…
-
The second baby dugong ‘Yamil’ dies in Phuket
The second young dugong, being cared for by vets at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, has died. Yamil, the baby dugong stranded on a Krabi beach on July 1, died of “shock and cardiac arrest” last night (Thursday) after suffering indigestion and gastroparesis. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources report that Yamil was sent from the Phuket Marine Biological…
-
Official complaint filed with the DSI over The Peaks Residences Condominium in Phuket
PHOTO: Inspections at the property in March this year – Kritsada Mueanhawong Bangkok MP Sira Jenjaka has gone ahead and filed a long list of formal complaints over The Peaks Residences Condominium project being built in the hills above Kata Noi in Phuket. The Palang Pracharat MP has also claimed to have had death threats made against him over his…
-
German tourist dies after falling from Pattaya condo
A German tourist died after falling from the 15th floor of a Pattaya condo this morning. The Pattaya police station report that they were alerted at 6.30am of a foreigner falling from his room on the 15th floor of View Talay Pattaya Beach Condominium. Police haven’t provided the man’s name, but say he was between 40 and 50 years old and…
-
Phuket marine vets report on the progress of dugong calf ‘Yamil’
PHOTO: The Nation A veterinary team at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre has removed the remaining partially-digested sea grass from the 3 month old dugong calf Yamil’s stomach to prevent complications from possible infection. The calf still suffers from excess stomach and intestinal gas, abnormal heart rhythms and occasional seizures. X-ray results showed liquid food is still passing through Yamil’s…
-
More than four million guests stayed in an Airbnb on August 10, 2019
“Airbnb has created an opportunity to meet people from all around the world.” – Pim, an Airbnb Host in Thailand Exactly 11 years since Airbnb was founded, the home-sharing hospitality company and ‘accommodation disrupters’ celebrated its biggest night ever, with more than 4 million people spending the night in an Airbnb listing on August 10, 2019. To date, there has…
-
Arrival projections for Thai tourism downgraded for 2019
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has downgraded the forecast for foreign arrivals this year to a range of 39-39.8 million. This is down from the upbeat projections at the start of the year that 40.2 million tourists would arrive in the Land of Smiles. Thai tourism for the first half of 2019 grew only 1.4%, less than expected, prompting…
-
John Legend & Chrissy Teigen check out the tastes at a Korat Market
American music legend, John Legend, and his Thai-American wife Chrissy Teigen headed to a Nakhon Ratchasima food market only to be surrounded by locals trying to get a quick selfie. The army of fans surround the musician, his wife and daughter to follow them around the market in the 25 minute Facebook post. It was smiles all around but as…
-
Bars and clubs in Thailand open until 4.00am? Not everyone is in favour
PHOTO: Hotels.com Some academics oppose the Tourism and Sports Minister’s idea to allow entertainment venues to remain open until 4.00am. Udomsak Saengow of the Centre for Alcohol Studies is one of those suggesting that more research is needed before such a move. “Civic groups have worked hard to limit access to alcohol and they succeeded in lobbying for shortening the…
-
What did this Bangkok homeowner find on their couch?
PHOTOS: Kapook The owner of a Bangkok house has returned home to find this on their couch… a) a piece of left-over pizza? b) a thousand baht note behind one of the pillows” c) a 2 metre monitor lizard sleeping peacefully? The correct answer is ‘c’. The home-owner of a house in Suksawat 26 walked inside, turned on the light,…
-
Over 1,800 illegal foreign workers arrested in Thailand
On Wednesday, a government official confirmed that over 1,800 foreigners have been arrested for working illegally in the kingdom, in jobs that are legally reserved for Thais. Over 1,500 have now been deported. Over 9 million baht has been collected in fines from illegal workers, with fines ranging from a minimum of 5,000 baht to a maximum of 50,000 baht,…
-
13 rescued dogs under the care of His Majesty the King
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times Thai PBS World reports that 13 Great Danes were rescued from a house in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, by the Department of Livestock Development (DLD). The rescue followed a phone call to their hotline by a concerned member of the public. The dogs were all suffering from severe malnutrition and given emergency treatment at…
-
Motorbike riders on Bangkok sidewalk told where to go
Internet users in Thailand are cheering a Japanese student, currently studying at Kasetsart University in Sakon Nakhon province, north-east Thailand, who stood up to two motorbikes trying to make her move out of the way so they could continue driving on a sidewalk whilst she was in Bangkok. On Wednesday, a Facebook video went viral showing the student waiting on…
-
Thai coalition government may not last more than two years, experts caution
PHOTO: The Nation Economic concerns and doubts over the government’s legitimacy may mean it only maintains a grip on power for two years, according to academics. The situation is not helped by Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan being made chief strategist of the Phalang Pracharat party. According to Titipol Phakdeewanich, Dean of Ubon Ratchathani University’s Political Science faculty, this only…
-
Thailand and South Korea partner on development of electric buses
Original story by Shin Ji-hye An all-electric bus sits on the campus at King Mongkut’s University of Technology in Thonburi, Bangkok. The electric bus is a joint project between Korea and Thailand, led mainly by Korean automaker Edison Motors, which currently provides public transport services with eco-friendly buses at Namsan in Seoul and on Jeju Island. The project involves 11 organisations from both…
-
Central opens first luxury outlet at Suvarnabhumi on August 31
Central Village, “Thailand’s first international luxury outlet”, located near Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, will officially open on August 31. The Nation reports that the design of the 5 billion baht facility, owned by the Central Pattana group, will “highlight Thai architecture and cultural identities” and shoppers will find at least 130 well known international luxury and lifestyle brands. “More than half…
-
Phuket Governor and Vice Governor deny million baht bribe accusation
Recently, an audio clip went viral, claiming to have recorded a conversation between an anonymous man and an employee from a project accused of having encroached on Sirinat National Park (in Phuket’s north west). Phuket Governor, Pakkapong Tawipat, says that he had nothing to do with the voice recording, which detailed a 7 digit negotiation deal to end an encroachment…
-
Saving Thai Airways
PHOTO: The pleasant smile and wai won’t fill aircraft seats anymore Whilst it’s always a generally pleasant experience flying Thai Airways, the airline, in a business sense, is a basket case racking up nearly a decade of losses, first under the Yingluck Shinawatra Government and then the military government of the NCPO. Most people in aviation circles agree on the…
-
New Thai law means traffic police cannot confiscate driving licences
PHOTO: Pattaya Today From September 20, a driver stopped for a traffic violation under Thailand’s new Land Traffic Act can no longer be asked to surrender his or her licence to the police. However, the new law stipulates that drivers must carry a driving licence, a photocopy of the licence, or electronic information about the licence at all times and…
-
65 year old tourist from Finland found dead in northern Thai resort
PHOTO: Tourist Police Division 2 กองบังคับการตำรวจท่องเที่ยว 2 A tourist from Finland has been found dead at a resort in Pai, Mae Hong Son, yesterday morning, north-west of Chiang Mai. The 65 year old, Kari Rajasolo, was found dead in his room by a caretaker at the small resort in tambon Mae Na Toeng about 8am. The resort is situated in…
-
Daytime closure looms for Patong beach road
The mayor of Patong, Chalermluck Kebsup, has announced that from August 25, Thaweewong Road, better known as the Patong beach road, will be closed during the day while power and communication cables are installed. Apologising for the inconvenience, Mayor Chalermluck explains that the closures will be between 6.00am and 4.00pm and expected to last until September 30. She says the…
-
How to raise rats and other livestock: lessons from a north-eastern school
PHOTOS: The Nation A school in Surin province, north-east Thailand, is teaching students how to make a living raising small livestock such as wild rats and voles. Local farmers will often pay up to 1,000 baht for breeding rodents, with fully-grown ones sold for meat at 120 baht a kilo. Rodent meat remains a traditional food source in some parts…
-
Former finance minister says government shouldn’t bail out Thai Airways
Former Thai Finance Minister and current Democrat list MP Korn Chatikavanich is voicing his concerns over the financial crisis gripping Thai Airways and objects to any plan to use taxpayer money to rescue the ailing legacy airline. Korn says Thai Airways’ financial current troubles are similar to the situation in 2008, when the company struggled to find money to repay…
-
TAT proposes 4am closing time at nightspots to promote tourism…ummmmm
The Thai government are coming up with new ideas to actually lure people to visit Thailand. Go figure!?! Now the Tourism Authority of Thailand is suggesting to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to extend the closing hours of night entertainment establishments in Thailand’s party zones by another 2 hours, from 2am until 4am. Of course, in most of the…
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.