Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Thai actress defies laws to build house on Koh Samui mountain
Locals in Koh Samui in the southern province of Surat Thani filed a complaint with authorities after a luxury house belonging to a Thai actress was built on a mountain area that belongs to the government. Officers from the Department of Land and Royal Forest Department yesterday investigated the house, and land around where the building is under construction, in…
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Over 3 million people in Thailand living below poverty line, census shows
Over 3 million people in Thailand were living below the poverty line as of January this year, according to a government census agency. The Thai People Map and Analytics Platform (TPMAP) surveyed 36.1 million people across Thailand and found that 3.44 million were living without their basic needs being met. This categorised them as poor. The survey found that 1.02…
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Suvarnabhumi Airport offers 7 days free parking for APEC Summit
Suvarnabhumi Airport is offering free parking for one week from November 15-21 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit which will be held in Bangkok this month. Free parking will be available for passengers and service users for a total of seven days at Long Term Parking Zone C, which can accommodate 718 cars. The airport is expected to be…
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VIDEO: Bat-eating YouTuber sparks outrage in Thailand
Netizens in Thailand are outraged at a Thai YouTuber with 400,000 subscribers for eating bat soup – and encouraging others to eat bat meat – on her channel ‘Gin Zap Bep Nua Nua’ (“Eat spicy and delicious.”) The YouTuber confidently rips apart the bats, swimming in a mud-coloured soup with cherry tomatoes, and dips the meat in Nam Jim, a…
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British man sentenced for rape in UK flees to Thailand
A British man sentenced to eight years in jail for rape is believed to have fled to Thailand. A jury found Michael Foster unanimously found guilty of rape in absentia in September, reported Lancashire Police. Yesterday, he was found guilty once more at Preston Crown Court. The 35 year old man, formerly of Fishwick Parade, Preston, was given eight years…
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Thailand pulls the plug on foreign land ownership regulation
The Thai government has already pulled the plug on the draft ministerial regulation that would open up new foreign land ownership options in Thailand. The regulation proposed allowing foreigners who hold a 10-year Long Term Resident visa to buy a property and/or land of up to one rai in Thailand, given they invest a minimum of 40 million baht into Thailand…
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Thai police accused of using power to get free food & drinks
Officers from Krathum Ban Police Station in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok have been accused of using their power to get free food and drinks from a bar in the province. Celebrity Thai lawyer Sittha Biabangkird claimed yesterday that a number of police officers frequent a bar named Good Zone several times a month, order food and drinks and allegedly…
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The ancient story behind Thai film coming in December
A Thai film depicting a beloved character from the ancient Ramayana story is coming up in December. The film, titled “White Monkey” will be in cinemas on December 5. The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic about Prince Rama’s quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from his enemies. In the story, the white monkey is a Hindu god known…
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Unfolding Bangkok – video mapping in city’s hidden temples
Unfolding Bangkok is a new city project offering people the chance to see temples in a new light, via video and projection mapping, from November 12 to December 31. Unfolding Bangkok is a part of the Colourful Bangkok 2022 project. This sub-project is divided into three phases, which include Hidden Temples, Greeting Benjakitti, and Living Old Building. The programme kicks…
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Pattaya NGO to hold fundraiser for abused and trafficked women
An NGO in Pattaya is holding a fundraising event for abused and trafficked women this Friday, November 11. The event, titled “Fashion Rocks, will be hosted by the Rotary Club of Pattaya International at the Pattaya Hilton Hotel. The event’s Facebook page says it starts at 5pm. The fashion show aims to raise funds for children, young women, girls, and…
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Loy Krathong Festival: 17 places to celebrate in Bangkok
Are you in Bangkok but still haven’t decided where to celebrate the Loy Krathong festival this evening? Piers along the Chao Phraya riverfront are the natural choice to behold the picturesque Festival of Lights tonight. However, several Buddhist temples, public parks, and malls are also holding fairs and celebrations each offering unique experiences. Loy Krathong will be even more magical…
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Thai National Parks’ revenue rises 324 million baht from last year
The Ministry of Natural Resources, and Environment of Thailand revealed that the revenue of 133 Thai national parks increased by 324 million baht this year. The Director-General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Ratchada Na Ayutthaya, revealed that the revenue increased because of the border reopening on July 1 and the relaxation of travel restrictions after the…
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Tourists flood to Chiang Mai for Yi Peng and Loy Krathong festivities
Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is teeming with foreign and domestic tourists looking to experience the magical Loy Krathong and Yi Peng festivities from November 7-9. The fusion of Loy Krathong traditions with a night sky glittering with Yi Peng lanterns creates an unmissable atmosphere that draws people to the city year in and year out. During October, Chiang Mai…
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Thai physician raises concerns over Omicron mutations as cases rise
One of Thailand’s top respiratory experts is urging the nation to be on guard for Omicron subvariants of the Covid-19 virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) raised concerns about mutations of the disease. The WHO last week raised concerns about the public health implications of the rise of some Omicron variants, specifically XBB and its sublineages (indicated as XBB*),…
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Pattaya Police taking safety precautions for Loy Krathong festival
Pattaya Police are taking safety precautions for the Loy Krathong festivals coming up tonight. Police held a meeting yesterday about safety measures. The safety measures include: banning all sky lanterns, fireworks, alcohol, and smoking (including cannabis), and ensuring nightlife and entertainment venues close at their legal times between midnight and 2am depending on what zone the venue falls into. Checkpoints…
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Shopping from China is now easier than ever
Press Release It can be hard to find exactly what you’re looking for when shopping in Thailand! Sometimes you just can’t be bothered to hop on your scooter or hail a tuk-tuk to go to the mall or local market to hunt around, and the selection can be very limited. Luckily for you, Baopals.com has taken Taobao and Tmall – China’s…
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Chadchart worries about the increase of drowning on Loy Kratong Festival day
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt urged people to avoid putting money in banana trunks, or Kratong in Thai, because it encourages coin collectors, especially children, to try and retrieve the money every year on Loy Kratong Day which inevitably leads to a drowning tragedy. The Loy Kratong Festival will be held across Thailand tomorrow. Almost every temple located near a river,…
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Thai PM Prayut happy with increased employment rate
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha hailed the government’s successful employment policy after learning there are more people at work than ever before this year. The Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, Trisuree Trisaranakun, revealed on Saturday, November 5, that PM Prayut was happy with the employment statistics from July to September this year. The spokesperson made known that the unemployment rate decreased, more…
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Watchdog Thailand finds 67 dead cats and dogs in Bangkok house, rescues 80 more
Watchdog Thailand found 63 dead cats, one dead dog, and 80 emaciated but still alive animals inside a house in Bangkok on Friday. Many of the animal carcasses had been stuffed into a freezer. The owner of the house – who tried to flee but crashed her car – had collected donations via Facebook for all the animals she had…
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Pattaya man runs away after plunging pickup truck into pond
A Pattaya man ran away after plunging his pickup truck into a pond yesterday evening. The driver, 39 year old Suphan Pangphimai, had been speeding when he attempted to make a curve and plunged through a fence and into a lotus pond in Chon Buri’s Nong Prue district. Suphan was uninjured, and he swam out of the pond, and fled…
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Doi Inthanon in Chaing Mai spots first frozen dew of the year
The first frozen dew of this year was spotted this morning at Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, in Chiang Mai. The lowest temperature there is four degrees Celsius. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation reported that the very first frozen dew was witnessed at Doi Inthanon National Park appeared for visitors to check out. Snow is rarely…
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Police urge Thailand’s singletons to be wary of online dating perils
Police are urging Thailand’s single women to be aware of the perils of online dating. Commander of Cyber Crime Investigation Division 4, Pol Maj Gen Thitawat Suriyachai, warned Thai singletons at a seminar yesterday to be careful when swiping right on a potential dating partner. He added a number of these online dating profiles are fake and linked to call…
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Middle Eastern tourists steal phones from Pattaya hotel
Pattaya Police are on the lookout for two Middle Eastern men who robbed two mobile phones yesterday from a hotel at Soi Pattaya Sai Song. A 43 year old member of the hotel staff, Siriwan Saeng-Arun, told police that the two Middle Eastern tourists requested to see a room before booking on Saturday, November 5. Siriwan showed the alleged tourists a…
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Thailand to surpass tourism target thanks to Malaysians and Indians
Thailand is set to surpass its target of 10 million tourists by the end of the year thanks to an influx of Malaysian and Indian visitors. Thailand has welcomed over 1 million tourists from Malaysia and almost 600,000 tourists from India so far in 2022. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists topped the list of Thailand’s foreign arrivals year in and…
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Bangkok governor promises more dance space after Thai youth win international comp
Bangkok’s governor has promised to create more space for street dancing in the capital after a Thai youth dance group won several awards at an international competition. The dance troupe won 36 prizes at the UDO World Street Dance Championships 2022 in the UK in August. The categories the group won included “Ultimate Advanced,” “Super crew,” Team under 12,” “Solo…
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Marketing in Thailand as a Foreigner: Volume #2.2 Ad Campaign Crossroad: Global Materials vs. The New Investment
Sometimes, It’s Okay to Wear Socks and Sandals Foreign marketers sometimes need to be bold enough to wear socks and sandals in a tropical country like Thailand to stand out. If you wonder why: READ HERE. I have no space for rewriting all this; otherwise, you would think this article is too long, but it is already long enough that…
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Thailand ends emergency Covid vaccine procurement
The winding down of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit a new milestone as the emergency use procurement of vaccines has now ended. The Ministry of Public Health announced that it has officially cancelled its plans to obtain more vaccines against the coronavirus. The end of the programme was officially published in the Royal Gazette on Thursday and was put into…
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Fly tipping with real flies – ‘Tourist’ trash angers Kanchanaburi villagers
Garbage truck drivers leaving their loads of trash on a local road instead of at the nearby dump has angered residents of Phra Chedi Sam Ong, a village in the tourist district of Sangkhla Buri, close to the Myanmar border in Kanchanaburi province. Residents blame inadequate facilities in the popular destination of Wangka, nearby. Tourists are often blamed for excessive…
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Life of A Sex Worker In Bangkok
Sex tourism is something that happens around the world. A potentially unfortunate byproduct of the tourism industry, it’s particularly prevalent in tourism in Thailand. Statistics for sex tourism in Thailand are hard to come by. Estimates suggest there are anywhere between 250,000 and two million sex workers in the country. Many still like to paint sex workers as a different…
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AoT bans lanterns near airports for upcoming festivals
Loy Krathong is upon us, and with it, Yi Peng, the lantern festival. Thousands of lighter-than-air lanterns drift up into the sky in a peaceful show for celebrating onlookers. But the Airports of Thailand (AoT) have issued a reminder warning that flying lanterns are strictly banned in the areas around the six main airports in Thailand. As beautiful and tranquil…
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