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.
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Sponsored Pre-existing conditions? These expat insurance plans still have you covered
Many expats feel worried that their pre-existing health problems will stop them from getting insurance in a new country. This fear is common, especially when medical care can be expensive. But the good news is, some insurance, like the plans...
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Study uses mobile data to improve domestic tourism trends
A new study used mobile data from mobile operator DTAC’s customers to analyse their movements and extrapolate strategies for increasing domestic tourism within Thailand. The study was conducted by Chulalongkorn University, the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, and Boonmee Lab, and used data from June 2020 to October 2021 of 10% of DTAC’s customers who fit the travel parameters…
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Woman bitten by cockroach suffers allergic reaction in Thailand
A Burmese woman suffered a serious allergic reaction to being bitten by a cockroach while she slept in Kanchanaburi province, in the central part of Thailand. The 40 year old Burmese woman, Minor, woke with a start, nudging her sleeping husband saying she felt as if she had been bitten. He husband switched on the light to find a big…
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Public park becomes dog-friendly in Bangkok
Finding a green area to walk your furry friend in downtown Bangkok is difficult because pet dogs are not allowed in public parks. Thanks to a petition ran by dog-lovers and support from Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, Benjakitti Park in Asoke has become the first public park to open up its doors to dogs. Despite several inner-city condominiums allowing pets,…
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Proposal would allow small hotels to operate as a homestay
The Ministry of Interior’s proposal for relaxing regulations on small homestay hotels has been met with opposition from the Thai Hotels Association. The plan would expand a “homestay” exemption in the Hotel Act for small businesses with no more than 20 guests in no more than four rooms, increasing the maximum size and occupancy to 10 rooms and 30 guests.…
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Hike on traffic fines delayed, but ticket prices will be consistant
Writing news in Thailand frequently means announcing something and then the next day announcing the opposite. And true to form, the new major hike in penalty fines for traffic violations announced before the weekend and scheduled to go into effect yesterday… have been retracted. But when they do go into effect, repeat offenders will be further penalised, and a new…
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British tourist hospitalised after accident at the Grand Canyon in northern Thailand
A 21 year old British tourist ended up in hospital after a backflip gone wrong off a giant inflatable at the notoriously dangerous ‘Grand Canyon’ water park in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The Grand Canyon – somewhat less spectacular than its American counterpart but still beautiful – is located in a once-deserted quarry in the Hang Dong district. The park…
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Sweary tuk tuk driver tries to rip off tourists in Bangkok
A sweary Thai tuk tuk driver who tried to rip off a Singaporean couple on holiday in Bangkok has been fined by police and ordered to take a good driving awareness programme. The tuk tuk driver, Thongkham Cherdchai, picked up John Chen and his girlfriend on Sunday at about 2.45pm at Central World. The couple wanted to go to their…
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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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Thailand’s caretaker PM caught sleeping on the job
Caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan was caught sleeping on the job this afternoon. The 77 year old was in Krabi province today overseeing a joint meeting with several water and land use agencies to discuss water management issues when he dozed off. The image quickly went viral on Thai social media and drew a number of cheeky comments. Suthaporn Suriyakarn…
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Constitutional Court may make prime minister decision Thursday
The decision on Prayut Chan-o-cha’s future and the prime ministership may be decided this week as the Constitutional Court scheduled a special meeting on Thursday to discuss it. Last Thursday his legal team submitted a 30-page document that lays out his defence against all the arguments regarding his term limits to the Constitutional Court. The court will review this document,…
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Suspected thief electrocuted to death in Bangkok, Thailand
A Thai man was electrocuted to death in a suspected robbery sometime before 5am this morning on the side of a hotel in Bangkok. The hotel said they turn on electric wires during the night to prevent robberies. Lumphini Police Station received a report at 8am that a suspected thief had been electrocuted to death on the side of a…
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Luxury Koh Samui hotel robbed of 70 million baht worth of assets
Six thieves were arrested today in connection with a 70 million baht robbery of a luxury Koh Samui hotel. Police believe more suspects are involved and made it known they are searching for them. The Chaweng Blue Lagoon Hotel is reported to be worth 400 million baht but it will be worth considerably less now after 348 rooms were stripped…
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Market fire in Donsak, gateway to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan
A community market went up in flames in Donsak, the southern port district in Surat Thani province that serves as the gateway to the tropical tourist islands of Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan. The fire erupted in the wee hours yesterday morning and spread to damage two houses adjacent to the Donsak market. The fire erupted in a house…
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Thai minister quits post to fight alleged impropriety charge
Nipon Boonyamanee today quit his position as Deputy Interior Minister to fight an alleged corruption and misconduct case. Nipon is to face trial in the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on a charge of malfeasance, or impropriety, for refusing to pay about 52 million baht to Ponlavit Tech Plus Company for the purchase of two multi-purpose trucks while…
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Malaysian victim of human trafficking dies in northern Thailand
A Malaysian couple travelled to Thailand on Tuesday to look for their son but found out that he died at Mae Sot Hospital in Tak province, northern Thailand, on May 11. The 23 year old man is believed to have fallen victim to a job scam and trafficked to Myanmar. The hospital said Zhan had been “abused.” Zhan Feng, from…
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Rassada Pier cabs questioned over taxi mafia incident
After a row involving tourists being blocked from using a van ride they ordered by an alleged “taxi mafia,” police have intervened to question the drivers and assess the claims. The confrontation took place at Rassada Pier in Phuket on Friday, with three female and one male tourist trapped in the middle. The travellers had just returned from Koh Phi…
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Thailand provides over 600,000 free cancer treatments in 9 months
Under the universal healthcare ‘Gold Card’ scheme, the government of Thailand provided 603,060 free cancer treatments in nine months. The free cancer treatments were provided by the National Health Security Office between October 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, according to Deputy Spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek. The number exceeded the government’s expectations by almost double. The government initially predicted that the…
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Corrections Dept. to sue Thai talk show for creating fake news
A female talk show host faces up to a year in prison after insulting the Department of Corrections and spreading fake news about Thai prisons. On August 31, the Thai talk show, Unfold a Secret or Chae (แฉ), invited a female influencer, Leena Jangjanja, to host a discussion about the Forex-3D scam involving a leading Thai actress, Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadej.…
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Bridge over troubled waters for Thailand-bound Russian snowbird tourists
Russian travellers have ritually sought out islands in the tropical sun since the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Hellbent on escaping bitterly cold winters, these snowbirds in the lead-up years to the pandemic became the second largest international source market for Phuket’s mass market tourism surge. Now, coming out of the pandemic in the age of a return…
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Cat goes missing in Hat Yai, turns up 1000km away in Bangkok, Thailand
‘Moota’ the stripy cat turned up in Bangkok after going missing more than one month ago, almost 1000 kilometres away near the border of Malaysia in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, southern Thailand. On Wednesday, the Facebook page ‘Traffic on the Si Rat – Outer Ring Road Expressway of Bangkok‘ posted pictures of a beautiful striped cat with a red collar…
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Croc randomly shows up in Phuket temple pond
A crocodile randomly showed up in the pond of a Phuket temple on Friday. Monks at the temple on the Toh Sae Hill in Phuket’s main city district say they have no idea who released the croc there. The monks were afraid that the croc would hurt people who feed turtles in the pond. Luckily, the Phuket Fisheries Office removed…
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Machine invented to replace monkeys climbing coconut trees
Monkeys climbing coconut trees have been an icon in Thailand for years, but have also drawn the ire of animal rights groups like People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Now the Agriculture Department has invented a machine that can help farmers climb coconut trees themselves, eliminating the need to train and use monkeys to harvest coconuts. PETA released…
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UPDATE: Police superintendent transferred to “inactive” post after pub raid
UPDATE The saga continues around the pub that was raided in Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province early yesterday morning. The police superintendent of Chiang Rai’s city district police, Colonel Kittipong Sukwattanapun, has now been transferred to an “inactive” post in the operations centre of the provincial police headquarters. The transfer is punishment for his alleged failure to control the operations…
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Nirvana naked baby album cover subject loses lawsuit
Perhaps the most famous naked baby of the 90s, the iconic photo that graced the cover of the seminal Nirvana album “Nevermind” has been the subject of a lawsuit that was just dismissed. Spencer Elden is not a household name, but most people who were teens or in their early 20s in the early 1990s remember the photo of him…
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Ice Woman: Interview with the world’s first Thai Wim Hof Method instructor
Kam Waritsara, aka ‘Thai Ice Woman,’ is the first Thai-certified Wim Hof Method (WHM) instructor in the world. Once Kam tried and tested the WHM, it became such an important part of her life that she vowed to make the technique accessible to Thai people. The WHM – discovered by Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof – comprises three pillars: breathwork,…
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Teenage girl’s body found in northeast Thailand forest
The body of a teenage girl has been found on Friday in a forest behind her school in Thailand’s northeast province of Buri Ram. The girl, 17 year old Nichada Salangam, had reportedly skipped her last class of the day with two friends before her body was found. Nichada’s friend Chularat said the three friends had skipped class to eat…
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UPDATE: Governor rushing to feed over 800 Phuket flood victims
UPDATE Phuket Governor Narong is rushing to get food to over 800 victims of the island province’s recent floods. A total of 871 people, making up 372 households, have been affected by heavy floods that hit Phuket on Friday. Narong yesterday led officials in handing out 1,800 meals to people at Wat Nai Yang temple in the Thalang district. This…
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Hopefuls assess and prepare to run for prime minister
While the Constitutional Court is mulling over when Prayut Chan-o-cha’s term as prime minister officially ends, with the suspended PM submitting his defence on Thursday, several hopefuls eyeing the premiership have assessed their chances and taken steps in preparation. The Sang Anakhot Thai Party (translating to “Building Thailand’s Future”) intends to nominate former Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and has…
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Trying the Wim Hof Method Workshop in Bangkok
Thailand is one of the most popular countries for medical tourism in the world. In fact, Thailand ranks 5th among 195 countries in the global health security index released in 2021. Before the lockdown, about 5 million international travelers entered the kingdom to get medical procedures done. That’s over 600 million USD entering the country from medical tourism alone. And…
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Australian man kills 2 teens in Songkhla crash, another seriously injured
An Australian man hit and killed two teenage girls on a motorcycle with his car in the southern province of Songkhla, Thai media reported on Friday. Another teenage girl who was also on the motorcycle was seriously injured in the accident. The tragic accident happened on a road in front of a Royal Navy Shooting Range, and officers found the…
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