Northern Thailand News
Northern Thailand news, Chiang Mai news, business, tourism, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and travel insights from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Northern Thailand news source.
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Storm Sonca to hit today, if not already here
The Meteorological Department (TMD) issued a warning to people in the northeast, east and central regions of the country to brace themselves for heavy rain as Tropical Storm Sonca hits Thailand today. The storm will bring heavy rain and strong winds to several provinces in the Northeast including Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, and Ubon Ratchathani. The weather guys also warned…
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Drug dealer killed in shootout after high-speed chase
A shootout between Royal Thai Police, army troops, and drug dealers led to one death, an arrest, and 4 million methamphetamine pills seized in a breath-taking, high-speed chase in Chiang Rai last night. Pha Muang Task Force narcotics suppression police and soldiers, tried to pull over a pickup truck with fake Chiang Rai licence plates at a road checkpoint at…
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Ubon Ratchathani Zoo closed due to floods
Thailand has been battered by heavy rains and flooding throughout the nation. In Ubon Ratchathani, the zoo had to close for the foreseeable future due to floods. While the rainwaters persist, officials at the zoo assure the approximately 600 animals living there are safe. The director of the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand said that there’s enough food to take…
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Missing boat racers found dead in northeast Thailand
UPDATE The three boat racers who went missing in northeast Thailand after their boat capsized on Sunday have been found dead. Two bodies were found at the foot of the Tum Lam Chi bridge in Maha Sarakham’s main city district. They were about 4 kilometres away from where the boat crashed into a pillar of the bridge. A fisherman found…
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3 boat racers missing in NE Thailand after boat capsizes
Three boat racers went missing in Thailand’s northeast province of Maha Sarakham on Sunday. The In-Plaeng boat capsized when it hit a pillar of the Tha Tum Lam Chi bridge, just after it had passed the finish line. There were 40 people on the boat altogether. Another boat came to help, but three oarsmen were missing from the boat that…
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5 survivors of northeast Thailand massacre on road to recovery
Five survivors of the horrific daycare centre massacre in northeast Thailand last week are on the road to recovery. These include three children and two adults. Four of the survivors are in intensive care units at Nong Bua Lam Phu Hospital, while one is at Udon Thani Hospital. One boy, Kanpong Suana, or Nong Kan, is moving after he underwent…
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Flooding in Ubon Ratchathani province is dangerous
Thai media today reported the flood situation in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani is deadly serious and dangerous. The flood situation in Ubon Ratchathani is getting worse said reports. The water level is quickly increasing and almost the whole province is affected. Agricultural areas, roads, and bridges have been destroyed while some houses are underwater. Yesterday, one of the…
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British man & wife gives 50,000 baht to massacre victims
A philanthropic British man and his Thai wife donated 50,000 baht to support the victims of the daycare centre massacre in the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu. Joseph Nice, his Thai wife Nipaporn, and two year old child visited the help centre in the Na Klang district of Nong Bua Lamphu province yesterday to make their contribution. Nipaporn told the…
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CNN to be prosecuted for invasive daycare massacre coverage
[UPDATE: Thai news source CatDumb Has reported on Facebook that police have now taken two reporters and a photographer from CNN immigration to have their visas revoked. It was suggested that they did not have the correct type of paperwork and were using a tourist visa instead of a work visa. At any rate, police informed the Immigration Department about…
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Phuket and Chon Buri Governors enact school safety measures
Following the tragic daycare centre massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu, governors around Thailand are legislating tougher safety measures. They hope to prevent the next extreme incident before it can happen. Both Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew and Chon Buri Governor Thawatchai Srithong signed orders to put strict protocols into place. The mass shooting that spurred the governors to action took place…
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Floods in NE Thailand claimed the lives of 3 people
Floods in northeast Thailand reportedly killed three villagers in the northeast province of Sisaket since Wednesday, October 5. The floods reportedly also injured another two people in Sisaket. Seven districts of Sisaket have been impacted by floods, The Pattaya News reported. These include: the main city district, Huai Thap Than, Yang Chum Noi, Wang Hin, Phu Sing, Nam Klieng, and Uthumphon…
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The world mourns mass shooting at northeast Thailand daycare centre
People around the world are mourning with Thailand after a former police officer shot and stabbed to death at least 37 people at a daycare centre yesterday, before killing himself. The sickening crime that happened in the northeastern Nong Bua Lamphu province has now drawn grief and condemnation across the globe. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan released a statement…
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Hip businesses in northeast Thai province offer tasty food and fun experiences
Three hip businesses in Thailand’s northeast province of Nakhon Ratchasima are offering tasty locally made foods, and fun experiences. One business is the Green Me Organic Farm. Visitors can take a tour of the farm and harvest organic vegetables. There is also a farm-stay accommodation with six rooms available. Visitors can also buy organic vegetables, products, dishes, and drinks at…
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Cracks in road to popular mountain in northern Thailand
Adventurers driving on the road to a popular mountain in northern Thailand might have a few obstacles ahead of them. Those obstacles include cracks in the road, along with possible mudslides. Highway officials warn drivers that the main road is fractured to the Phu Thap Boek mountain in Phetchabun province. The officials said there were cracks and subsidence on the…
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Mother seeks justice after a monk slapped her son
The mother of a 17 year old schoolboy slapped by a monk in a Buddhist ethics camp in the Isaan province of Udon Thani wants justice for the assault. The provincial chief monk says his subordinate’s action did not violate monk rules. The child’s 33 year old mother, Waranya, is furious with the monk and seeks justice. She urged the…
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30 trail runners stuck in Isaan forest due to flash flood
Thirty trail runners in the Ultra-Trail Phu Kradueng Wake Up Run 2022 were stuck in the Phu Kradueng National Park in the Isaan province of Loei due to a perilous flash flood last Saturday. Fortunately, all runners were rescued and are safe. One of the runners, Itthipol Samutthong, sounded the alarm on his Facebook account at 9.03pm, Saturday, October 1.…
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Naga Fireball Festival is coming to Isaan on October 10
Organisers of the annual Naga Fireball Festival are hoping the gala will once again recapture the imagination of all visitors after a couple of barren Covid-19 pandemic years. The festival is back in the Isaan province of Nong Khai on October 10 and promotors are predicting a bonanza event that will help boost the provincial economy by 70% to 80%.…
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Drug chase ends in flipped car, 6 million spilled Yaba pills
Chiang Rai police chased suspected drug traffickers until a truck flipped and nearly six million Yaba pills spilled out. The drug bust was the culmination of an ongoing drug smuggling investigation by the police. Several suspects are still wanted in connection to the incident that was reported yesterday. Police had been alerted to a group of drug traffickers earlier and…
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Viral video: American man joins Thai dance in Isaan rite
A TikTok video has gone viral of a twinkle-toed American man taking part in a traditional Thai dance routine at a religious ceremony in the Isaan province of Sisaket. Thai netizens hailed his nimble footwork, dancing skills, and endeavour. A Thai TikToker, Ryansdiary, posted a video of the 36 year old American man, Scott Spyway, taking part in the parade…
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Large, endangered Indochinamon Bhumibol crab spotted
Officials stumbled upon a nearly-extinct freshwater crab this week in Phetchabun. The Indochinamon Bhumibol crab is the second one that has been found in the northern province in the last year. And it’s just in time, as September is believed to be mating season for the two rare crabs. The crab close to extinction was found in the Wang Pong-Chon…
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6-hour whiskey drinking contest draws criticism
A contest to drink booze straight for six hours? Maybe not the best idea. A rice whiskey drinking competition is drawing criticism online from readers questioning the safety of such an event. The contest was advertised online on Friday and is scheduled to take place on October 11. The location appears to be Donna Kham House farm, in Ban Thaen…
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Police lieutenant in NE Thailand reportedly kills motorcyclist in crash
Last night, a police lieutenant in northeast Thailand reportedly crashed into five motorcycles and killed one motorcyclist. CCTV footage caught the lieutenant ramming his truck into the motorcycles waiting for a traffic light at a traffic island in Buriram province. The motorcyclist killed was a 25 year old waiting to make a U-turn. After the crash, the lieutenant’s pickup truck…
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Fight between teens leads to stabbing in NE Thailand
There was a knife attack involving groups of teenage boys in Thailand’s northeast province of Khon Kaen last night. Students in Grade 9 from the Mathayom Suksa school stabbed three Grade 11 boys at the school in their abdomens and lungs. The attack happened outside the school in the Nam Phong district. One of the injured boys, Narongrit, told police…
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Extreme mud roads not enough to stop commuting teachers
Rain-drenched pavements on city roads are bad enough but, in rural areas of the Tak province, flood waters on the dirt roads have created clay mud swamps. Many roads are practically impassible, but some dedicated teachers are going above and beyond to commute to school each day. In the Umphang district of the northeastern province, roads have been particularly bad,…
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Cannabis-stealing school principal thought plants were free
A principal at a well-known school vehemently denied stealing a cannabis plant from a MotoGP event over the weekend, but backtracked when police presented security footage of the theft. The incident took place at the Chang International Circuit in Buri Ram on Saturday, where the newly-legalised plants were being stored for an event meant to promote cannabis tourism. The principal,…
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Prawit billboard comes with note asking for legal leniency
In the northeastern province of Bueng Kan, billboards have been appearing promoting caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. One recently spotted sign in the province’s main city of the same name along the Laos border came with a note attached asking authorities to go easy on them for erecting the billboard, possibly skirting payment and regulations. The sign features a large…
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World record petrified tree to become geological tourist attraction
After being certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest petrified tree trunk log ever found anywhere in the world, officials in the province of Tak are developing plans to turn the tree site into a geological-based world-class tourist attraction. The world record was verified in July in Tak, a northern province of Thailand lying on the…
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Heroic teen risks life to save boy electrocuted in NE Thailand flood
A teenager in northeast Thailand risked his life to save a young boy who was electrocuted while wading through a flood. The 12 year old boy had been near a power pole near a school in Udon Thani province on Friday. The teenager, 19 year old student Atthachai Argudom, went in to rescue the boy and ended up suffering electric…
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Boy in northeast Thailand dies of respiratory disease
A boy in Thailand’s northeast province of Nakhon Ratchasima died of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on Monday. This is the first death from RSV reported this year, but a doctor from Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital warns that RSV could be more virulent this year. The doctor, Jiraruj Chomchoey, said that at least one child has been admitted to the…
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Rain flooding likely to dampen third quarter flood of tourism
Thailand has been ecstatic to finally welcome back tourists – mostly – but now, after the pandemic, a new threat to tourism has emerged. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said it expects a normally profitable third quarter to be muted by the flooding in 21 provinces across Thailand. The floods are expected to affect corporate travel especially. Much of…
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