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 Moving to Thailand? Here are the health documents you should prepare before you go
The Thaiger key takeaways Valid passport, visa documents, health certificate, and vaccination records are essential for immigration and medical care in Thailand. Health insurance that meets visa requirements, like Cigna, provides protection, direct billing, and access to a wide hospital...
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More Thai national parks to close to allow for recovery during monsoon season
The national parks at Mu Koh Similan and Mu Koh Surin have joined Mu Koh Lanta in Krabi province in closing for the monsoon season. The famous tourist attraction of Maya Bay, on Koh Phi Phi Leh, kicked things off recently, when officials announced that it would once again close to allow the bay’s fragile eco-system to recover. Maya Bay re-opened…
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TripAdvisor’s 2022 Best of the Best Awards includes 2 Thai hotels
Online travel company, TripAdvisor, has released its list of the 25 best hotels in the world for 2022 and it includes 2 Thai properties. The “Traveller’s Choice 2022 – Best of the Best Awards” ranks the Pimalai Resort and Spa, on Koh Lanta, in Krabi province, at number 12 and Sukhumvit Park – Marriott Executive Apartments in Bangkok at number…
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Survey shows fear of side-effects preventing Thai parents from vaccinating children
The chief of Thailand’s Health Services Department has expressed concern that parents are refusing to vaccinate their children against Covid-19, due to a fear of side-effects. Dr Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai was responding to a survey that shows many parents won’t vaccinate their kids as they’re more concerned about the effects of the vaccine than the effects of the virus. According to…
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Dengue hasn’t gone away – Dengue fever in Thailand 2022, and how to avoid it
Covid-19, and the controls taken to limit its spread, have clearly disrupted essential health services and other disease control programs worldwide – school closures, lockdowns, curfews and social restrictions, hoping to limit the spread of Covid-19. But those enforced changes have also resulted in the transmission of other infectious diseases, including dengue fever. Despite dropping off the radar in the…
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Visakha Bucha Day 2022. Today is the substitute public holiday.
Today is the substitute public holiday to mark Visakha Bucha Day, the most significant and sacred day in the Buddhist calendar. Sunday was the actual day, according to the Buddhist calendar, but as it fell on a weekend, today is the actual public holiday. On either days, Buddhist Thais will visit their local temples and participate in rituals and ceremonies.…
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Yet another allegation of sexual crimes against Thailand’s Prinn
In the latest allegation against Thailand’s now infamous former deputy leader of the Democrat Party, a woman is accusing Prinn Panitchpakdi of indecent exposure in a restaurant in 2013, and rape in 2014. The alleged rape cannot be investigated because the victim didn’t report it within months of when it happened, and yet, police say they will summon Prinn to…
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Thailand’s officials announce fewest daily Covid-19 cases in months
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry has announced a major drop in the country’s daily Covid-19 case load today (Sunday). The registered 6,094 cases within the past 24 hours are the fewest the country has seen since January 6. Yesterday, a total of 70,775 people were receiving Covid-19 treatment, including 25,527 in hospitals. Out of the 25,527 people being hospitalised, 1,304 were…
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Can your Embassy protect you from the local police in Thailand?
To what extent can your embassy save you from local authorities in a foreign country? How much power do they have and can you rely on them to protect you? Tim newton sits with Ben hart from Integrity Legal to answer all your questions in Part 2 of the role of embassies in a foreign country.
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Thailand’s PM Prayut invites US to invest in supply chains
As part of his visit to the US, Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has attended the 2nd ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington last week. Now, he is inviting the US to invest or set up supply chains in Thailand to fill gaps created by the Russia-Ukraine crisis. And not the least the ongoing disruption of China’s part in the supply chain…
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Phuket tourism hopes for cash flow from the long weekend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office, is hoping for cash to flow over this 4 day weekend (Friday was a public service holiday for Ploughing Day and tomorrow is the substitute holiday for today’s Visaka Bucha Day). TAT Phuket’s director, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, said yesterday that the average hotel room occupancy rate is 44.5%, and it’s expected to jump to…
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Romanian tourist dies after falling from Koh Samui waterfall
A young tourist has tragically perished in Koh Samui yesterday. The woman, 23 year old Romanian national Nane-Iosana Bodea, fell from Koh Samui’s Na Muang waterfall near the centre of the island, and hit her head on a rock. She reportedly had large wounds on the back of her head. There are numerous signs and internet articles warning people about…
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Student accidentally kills shooting instructor in central Thailand
A beginner level student has accidentally shot dead her instructor at a shooting range yesterday in Thailand’s central province of Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok. The student, a 50 year old woman named only as Thacha, said she thought that it was a dummy round after picking up a bullet mixed with others on the floor, according to Thai…
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Bangkok fire kills 2 women
A fire in Phra Nakhon district in central Bangkok has killed 2 women early this morning. The women tragically lost were 33 year old Saengsom Kotchakornkamut, and 75 year old Wararak wangsathitwong. Police believe Saengsom and Wararak died of suffocation, however their bodies were sent to a hospital for a post-mortem examination. The fire engulfed 2 buildings, each 3 storeys,…
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14 year old and older brother arrested in eastern Thailand over human trafficking
A 14 year old boy and his 29 year old brother have been arrested in the Isaan province of Sa Kaew for human trafficking. They offered transportation services for illegal Thai workers in Cambodian casinos who wanted to visit families in Thailand. The Thai army rangers and authorities from the Special Unit Infantryman Department investigated areas along the Thai-Cambodia border…
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University in Bangkok developing new gel to treat cancer
A university in Bangkok is working on an exciting new potential cancer treatment. Mahidol University and Ramathibodi Hospital are collaborating to develop a biopolymer gel with a drug that can be directly injected into a brain tumour without affecting the surrounding area of the brain. This news comes after the two institutions have been collaborating on the potential treatment for…
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Thaiger Weekend Update – Saturday, May 14 – VIDEO
The hot topics remain to be how and when the remaining restrictions are going to be removed, the fate of the Thailand Pass, getting Thailand’s nightlife open again (officially) and the things stopping travellers returning to Thailand at the moment. Throw your comments and questions at Tim as we travel on the good ship ‘Thailand’ for an hour. Good morning,…
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Remember Thailand’s alcohol sales ban tomorrow!
As is custom for several of Thailand’s religious holidays, alcohol sales will be prohibited across the country tomorrow (Sunday) for Visakha Bucha Day. The day, the most significant in the Buddhist calendar, commemorates 3 defining events in the life of the Lord Buddha. These include his birth, attaining enlightenment at 35 years old, and then his death 45 years later,…
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Tourists pack Pattaya’s Koh Larn, hotels 100% occupied
Hotels on Koh Larn, and island off Pattaya, are 100% occupied today, according to a hotel operator there. The operator says that tourists who couldn’t find rooms had to return to the mainland after enjoying their day of fun. Thousands of tourists are crowding the island, marking the first night of the 4 day long weekend (public service holiday today…
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Islands in Krabi to temporarily close for restoration
Following last week’s announcement that Krabi’s Maya Bay will close from August to September, other national park tourist attractions in the province also plan to temporarily close for restoration. The Mu Ko Lanta National Park has announced in a legal notice that several islands under its control will close from May 16 to October 14. The islands to close are…
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Monkeys party in hot tub at luxury resort in Krabi, Thailand
A couple were excited for a two night getaway to a luxury resort in Krabi with a sea view room and a private hot tub. But when they arrived, it turned out the hot tub was more communal than they thought. In a video posted on Facebook, a group of monkeys can be seen having the time of their lives,…
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Government hospitals in Thailand allowed to prescribe cannabis oil for free
Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Health announced that 3 types of cannabis oil have been added to Thailand’s National List of Essential Medicines, or NLEM. Now that cannabis is listed as an “essential medicine”, government hospitals may freely prescribe cannabis extract oil to patients in selected circumstances, according to Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, or the GPO. The first type of…
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Birds seized by police during drug raids auctioned off
Yesterday, birds seized by police during drug busts were auctioned off at an event held at Rajamangala University of Technology’s campus in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The stars of the show were 6 South American blue-and-yellow macaws which sold for over 500,000 baht collectively. The event marked the first ever official bird auction in Thailand. A total of…
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More than 600 endangered or prohibited animals seized at Suvarnabhumi Airport
Wildlife officials and the Thai Customs Department have seized more than 600 endangered or prohibited animals at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. The animals were delivered from a middle east country via Egypt Air. The information about the sender hasn’t been reported at this stage of the investigation. Yesterday, the Manager of the Wildlife Checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Yossathon Kongngen, told…
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Sleepy driver crashes into truck, rebounds into canal, doesn’t escape in time
A man died in a serious road accident in Pathum Thani province, central Thailand, at around 6:30am this morning. Thought to be asleep at the wheel, he crashed into a 6 wheel truck, flinging his car into a canal. He didn’t escape the car in time and died at the scene. The truck driver tried to swerve the car, but…
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Thailand’s public health officials proposing ‘Endemic Sandboxes’ to legally reopen nightlife
Thailand is getting closer and closer to the endemic phase of its Covid response. Achingly slow but now with at least a proposal to be tabled at the next CCSA meeting. The Ministry of Public Health will propose ‘Endemic Sandboxes’ as a plan to allow entertainment venues to legally reopen in 3 tourist islands including Phuket, Koh Chang, and Koh…
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Pattaya police announce ‘specialised’ patrol after several gold theft incidents
In the wake of a string of gold theft incidents in Pattaya in the past month, a Pattaya police chief has announced that a ‘specialised’ police patrol force will be formed to monitor any inappropriate incidents in tourist areas, or crimes against tourists. This news comes after four separate occasions in Pattaya where Indian tourists reported thieves snatching their expensive…
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First day of Thailand’s rainy season: heavy rain warning for 36 provinces
Today, May 13, marks the first day of Thailand’s rainy season. A low pressure cell from upper Vietnam is expected to cause heavy rain and potential flash flooding in 36 provinces in the kingdom. The Meteorological Department advises people to be aware of the dangers caused by heavy rainfall. Sailors, especially on the Andaman Coast, should expect tall waves and…
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Depressed delivery driver kills himself by jumping off a Bangkok bridge
A delivery worker who worked for Lalamove, 31 year old Wicharn Pimthikor, jumped from Bhumibol I Bridge on Wednesday afternoon. He had parked his motorcycle on the bridge before deciding to jump. His body was later found floating in the Chao Praya River. A ferry operator said he was on duty nearby when he heard a big splash, like something…
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UPDATE: New details emerge on missing German tourist in Phuket
THE LATEST Phuket police are still on the lookout for the German tourist who reportedly went missing from a hotel in Thalang district on Monday (May 9). The 76 year old woman was originally only identified as Ms. Barbara, however the Thalang district police chief has now told The Phuket Express that her full name is Barbara Elisabeth Monika Glag…
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What you need to know about Thai spirit homes
When travelling around Thailand, it’s impossible not to notice the spirit houses. Sort of like mini Thai temples. They can be found everywhere at every company, hotel, shopping mall, and even some people’s homes. It’s been part of Thai culture for centuries. You often see them with either food and drinks, or flowers and fruits made as offerings to the ‘spirits’.…
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