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 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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Flying lanterns near airports in Thailand is punishable by death penalty, warns govt
Flying a lantern near an airport in Thailand is a very serious criminal offence carrying the harshest penalties, even the death penalty, according to government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek. The spokesperson gave the stern warning at a press conference yesterday while thousands of people prepare to float paper lanterns into the sky to celebrate both Loy Krathong and Yi Peng festivals…
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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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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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German man in Pattaya freaks out as officers move in to arrest him for overstaying
A German couple in Pattaya was arrested yesterday for overstaying their visa. Arresting officers at the scene discovered that the man wasn’t going to go without a fight. Officers from Bang Lamung Police Station were answering a routine nuisance neighbour call at Soi Panya Nimit in Nongprue, but when they arrived on the scene they discovered the couple had overstayed their…
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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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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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Drunk police doctor who crashed Porsche killing 2 in Thailand avoids prison for now
Today, Thon Buri Provincial Court sentenced a police doctor to three years imprisonment and a fine of 101,000 baht for speeding and drink-driving in his Porsche, causing a crash that killed two people and seriously injured one more person in Bangkok back in August 2021. However, although the defendant pleaded guilty on all counts, the court suspended his punishment for…
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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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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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Motorcycle rider dies after crashing into stage on road
A motorcycle rider died in the early hours of this morning after he crashed his bike into a stage set up in the middle of the road for the Loy Kratong Festival in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Officers from Phimai Police Station were notified about the accident at 5.30am. Officers found the dead motorcycle rider, 24 year old…
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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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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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Immigration police show off arrests of foreign criminals in Thailand
Officers from Thailand’s Immigration Bureau held a press conference on Friday to reveal the results of five ‘important’ recent criminal cases in the kingdom involving foreign perpetrators. Immigration police are hunting down foreign criminals in Thailand ahead of the APEC meeting in Bangkok later this month. Police recently announced a crackdown on foreign criminals to ensure the safety and security…
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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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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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American Entrepreneur running a restaurant empire in Thailand ft.Greg Lange | Thaiger Podcast Ep.11
Greg Lange. American Entrepreneur, Restauranteur, Philanthropist and Businessman runs a restaurant empire in Thailand consisting of 12 subway outlets and 14 Mexican food restaurants called Margherita Storm & Sunrise Tacos. One of the more famous and successful expats in Thailand, Greg is not only known for his successful restaurant chain Sunrise Tacos but also for his philanthropic charity work in…
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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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Khon Kaen Zoo treats tigers and hippos to Loy Krathong feeding festival
Today, staff from Khon Kaen Zoo in northeast Thailand held an untraditional Loy Krathong festival for their resident tigers and hungry hippopotami. Loy Krathong translates to “floating banana tree trunk.” Traditionally, Thais celebrate the festival by making a buoyant decorative basket (Krathong) and float (Loy) it on a river. The Krathong floats away, along with all your worries, anger, and…
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Cricket ice cream, anyone? Another quirky food at APEC Summit in Bangkok
On top of noodles with sandworm sauce, another adventurous food is competing at the APEC Summit in Bangkok this month: cricket ice cream. The cricket ice cream is one of several “future foods” competing in the “plate to planet” competition. The competition’s website describes the ice cream, called ProTim Magnet, as a Magnum-style ice cream. It is made with crickets,…
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Delivery driver finds huge stash of Thai, Laos and Japanese banknotes under a tree
A delivery driver stumbled across a stash of Thai, Japanese, and Laos banknotes scattered beneath a tree in Udon Thani city centre, northeast Thailand, this morning. The cash – amounting to over 500,000 baht – is suspected to be fake. The driver, 43 year old Somsak Sirikhan, was sitting waiting for a job with five or six other rides. He…
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Married Thai woman hits younger lover with massive palimony claim
A young Thai man’s married older lover has responded with a massive palimony claim after he tried to break up with her. The lover also claims that the young man raped her. The 24 year old man, “A,” said he met the 46 year old woman last year when he got an internship at a train station. He said he…
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TAT wants US tourists to ‘Feel Thailand’
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) yesterday revealed a deal to bring more tourists to the kingdom from the United States and boost the nation’s ailing economy. TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn announced the state-sponsored industry organized an event this week, Feel Thailand with Delta Air Lines and Korean Air, to take 50 US tour operators to popular tourist destinations in…
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New foreign land ownership law in Thailand can be scrapped if Thais don’t agree
If Thai people aren’t happy with the newly proposed foreign land ownership law in Thailand, the whole plan can be scrapped, said Minister of Interior General Anupong Paochinda in Parliament yesterday. “We can improve the regulation, such as by increasing the investment to 100 million baht. The plan can be scrapped if people have serious concerns. We won’t see it as…
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