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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Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Mor Lam stage collapses during strong winds in northeast Thailand
A newly installed Mor Lam stage collapsed during strong winds in Bueng Kan province in northeast Thailand yesterday shortly before a concert was set to begin, sending performers and attendees fleeing in all directions. Strong winds brewed as Mor Lam fans piled in to watch the Rabiab Watasin Mor Lam Group perform a free concert on a huge stage at…
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Missing woman found dead in a parked car at a petrol station
A Thai rescue team volunteer discovered the dead body of a missing woman in a car parked in a petrol station in the Sikhiao district of the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima on Tuesday. The Thai rescue team volunteer detected an unpleasant smell when he parked his car at the petrol station. He realised it was the scent of a…
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Police step in to rescue 9 year old walking 18km home after fleeing abuse
Police in the Isaan province of Udon Thani came to the aid of a vagrant nine year old boy attempting to walk 18 kilometres back home. The boy fled his home due to an allegedly abusive father and was living alone in an abandoned house. On Tuesday, April 18, a 31 year old officer from Chai Wan Police Station, Anusorn…
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Chiang Rai crash kills 2, injures 13
A crash in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province killed two people and injured 13. The accident occurred on No. 1020 (Chiang Rai Terng) Road in the Baan Pong Chang in Chieng Kean sub-district on Tuesday night at around 7.20pm. Emergency responders arrived at the scene to find several damaged minivans and pickup trucks. The responders found a 14 year old…
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Thief uses 99 baht fake gun to attempt bank robbery in Thailand
A gas station cashier used a fake gun he bought online for 99 baht in an attempted robbery of a Kasikorn Bank brank in Kalasin province in northeast Thailand on Monday. Upon arrest, he told police that he was trying to win back the 300,000 baht which he stole from his workplace and gambled all away. At 4.30pm, officers at…
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Finnish man accused by neighbours of insulting Thai people
A Thai woman in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum claims that her Finnish husband was attacked by more than 10 neighbours on April 14. The neighbours admitted to attacking the foreign man but insisted that they did so because he insulted them and the Thai people first. A 40 year old Thai woman named Aoy took to social media to…
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Thai man dies in paramotor accident on the Mekong River in Isaan
A 39 year old Thai man died in a paramotor accident on the Mekong River in the Isaan province of Bueng Kan yesterday. The cause of the accident is under investigation. The deceased was identified as Watcharapong Khanteetao. He was a member of a paramotor club in the northeastern provinces. The accident occurred after Watcharapong flew the paramotor over the…
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Doi Pui mountain’s TV Tower in Chiang Rai rescued from forest fires
The Channel 9 TV transmitter tower atop Doi Pui mountain in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai had a close shave with destruction as forest fires inched dangerously close last night. Thanks to the relentless efforts of the firefighting volunteers who rushed to save the day! A motley crew of officials from Mae Puem National Park and local volunteers joined…
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Summer storms cause chaos in coastal regions as boats overturn
A severe summer storm has struck the south and northeast of Thailand, resulting in one fatality and causing the sinking of numerous fishing boats, according to reports. A mini-tornado briefly formed during the peak of the storm, with strong winds generating large waves along the coastlines of Pak Phanang, Muang, and Tha Sala districts of Nakhon Si Thammarat around 8am…
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Air pollution increases in upper northeastern regions of Thailand
According to the Pollution Control Department, 23 locations, primarily in the northern region of Thailand, have been found to contain high levels of particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or smaller in diameter (PM2.5). The most severe levels were identified in Chiang Mai. These concentrations are considered detrimental to human health. As of 11am yesterday, PM2.5 dust levels in the north ranged…
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Reunited mother and daughter share tears of joy after 32 years apart in northeast Thailand (video)
Tears of joy flowed when a mother and daughter in northeastern Thailand reunited after 32 years thanks to the power of social media. The heart-rendering story was reported from Ban Si Liam, Khao Khok sub-district, Prakhon Chai district, Buriram province, only three days ago, on April 11. Emotions were high and tears flowed as the mother and daughter hugged each other…
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Scaly thief steals 100 chickens and ducks from farm in northeast Thailand
A four-metre-long python was caught red-handed stealing poultry from a farm in Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand yesterday. The fat snake devoured nearly 100 chickens and ducks in total, causing significant damage to the farmer. The farmer, 58 year old Chaiwichit Sarito, was dumbstruck when chickens and ducks kept going missing from his farm day in and day out.…
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Police bust gang of thieves targetting foreigners in northeast Thailand
Police announced the results of their investigation into a gang of thieves targetting foreigners with families all over the Isaan region this afternoon in front of the Provincial Police Region 3 Headquarters in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand. Police seized stolen assets worth an accumulative 3 million baht. The gang found its victims by sitting in shopping malls around…
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Mother and 8 year old son murdered in northern Thailand
Police have launched a murder investigation after the bodies of a woman and her eight year old son – from Myanmar – were discovered yesterday in a rented room in Lamphun province in northern Thailand. At 7.15pm, officers from Mueang Lamphun Police Station were called to a rented room in Ban Hua Fai in Nong Chang Kwan subdistrict after locals…
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6 elderly Thais killed in collision with soldier’s pickup truck filled with illegal cigarettes
Six elderly Thais were killed in a collision with a soldier’s pickup truck in Buriram province, northeast Thailand, this morning. The soldier – the only person to survive the crash – was carrying 257 sleeves of illegal cigarettes which he attempted to hide in the woods nearby. Six elderly Thais dressed in traditional outfits were on their way to set…
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Gang attacks Swedish tourist for defending waitress in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A Swedish tourist was brutally attacked by a gang of young men after he tried to stop them from assaulting a waitress at a karaoke bar in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Friday. The gang also stole the victim’s gold necklace before throwing him into a canal. Yesterday, police arrested three men of Tai Yai ethnicity (an ethnic group from Shan state…
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Former Lotus Go Fresh employee steals 298,000 baht from supermarket in Isaan
A former Lotus Go Fresh employee turned from gamekeeper to poacher to steal 298,000 baht from the supermarket in the Isaan province Sa Kaeo. A 21 year old Thai man was arrested yesterday in connection with the theft. The robbery took place at a supermarket located on Thetsaban 6 Road in the Mueang district of Sa Kaeo. One of the staff members…
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Thai monk does goal celebration after escaping military conscription (video)
A Buddhist monk ran around the room like a celebrating footballer upon drawing a black card at a military conscription draftee selection event in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeast Thailand on Sunday, meaning that he won’t be required to serve in the military. Cheers erupted from the crowd when a black card was drawn for 24 year old Phra Phuwanai Gayputsa…
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Thai man fatally electrocuted trying to steal electrical cable in Khon Kaen
The dead body of a Thai man was found wedged in a small crevice beneath a commercial building on Lang Mueang Road in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen on Monday. According to reports, the man was attempting to steal the electrical cable and was fatally electrocuted during the act. Residents living near a commercial building notified Mueang Khon Kaen…
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Forest fire kills another firefighting volunteer in northern Thailand
A firefighting volunteer was tragically caught in the flames while extinguishing a forest fire in Nan province in northern Thailand yesterday, where a thick layer of smog continues to blanket the region. The body of 62 year old Sriwan Mirayot was found in the forests surrounding Doi Sa-ngud mountain in the Bor Suak subdistrict in Mueang Nan district. His fellow…
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Palang Pracharath MP candidate’s king cobra stunt hisses off Thailand’s Election Committee
Thailand’s Election Committee (EC) swiftly removed a Palang Pracharath Party (PPP) MP candidate from Khon Kaen Community Hall in northeast Thailand when he paraded around the busy hall with a deadly venomous king cobra around his neck during a registration event yesterday. At 8.30am, MP candidates from all 11 political parties, from the 11 districts of Khon Kaen province, travelled to…
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Mystery surrounds death of man with stab wounds found at community college
Phitsanulok Provincial Police are investigating the mysterious death of a man found dead with stab wounds at a community college this morning. The unidentified man with long hair, a tattoo, and two stab wounds was discovered dead at approximately 8.30am today at a well-known college located in the Mueang district. According to Pol. Capt. Chayanan Chaikawin, deputy investigation chief at…
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Chiang Mai ranks as most polluted city in the world for 9 days running
Northern Thailand continues to battle a thick layer of smog with Chiang Mai being ranked as the world’s most polluted city by PM2.5 rating for nine days in a row, according to the IQAir website, reports ThaiRath. The highest air quality index (AQI) value was found at the Health Hospital in Ban Khai Hospital in Mae Na Wang subdistrict, Mae…
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Raging wildfire engulfs mountains in northeast Thailand
A wildfire that started on Khao Chaplu mountain in Nakhon Nayok province in northeast Thailand on Tuesday has spread to engulf 700 rai of land on several mountains in Khao Laem, Khao Kaew and Khao Tabak. Strong winds blew the flames to the peak of Khao Laem mountain yesterday, which looks like an erupting volcano in photos taken from behind…
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3 police in northeast Thailand arrested for taking bribe to free drug suspect
Three police officers in Thailand‘s northeast Kalasin province were arrested on charges of soliciting a bribe to free a drug suspect. The crooked cops were officers at Mueang Kalasin Police Station. Police launched a sting operation to bust the crooked cops after ‘A,’ the sister of the drug suspect, reported that the crooked cops had contacted her and demanded 500,000…
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Thai police bust suspects over Ponzi scheme of over 1 billion baht
Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) Pol. Col. Krisana Pattanacharoen reported a group of suspects involved in a Ponzi scheme was busted by Thai police. He added that over 1,000 individuals had invested more than 1 billion baht in the scheme. The CCIB arrested seven people and seized several assets from two companies that allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme luring people…
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Gold mine reopens in northern Thailand to the dismay of residents
A gold mine has reopened in northern Thailand shocking locals who say the mine had poisoned their livestock, produce, and themselves. According to the Straits Times, the Chatree complex in Pichit province was closed more than six years ago due to health and environmental concerns. Now, despite legal disputes and protests by villagers, the controversial gold mine is back in…
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Angry Thai man stabs wife to death after dispute over saving water
An angry Thai husband stabbed his wife to death at their home in the northern province of Mae Hong Sorn. The man was reportedly angry after the woman advised him to conserve the water for the upcoming dry season. Police officers and locals are now on the hunt for the murderer who fled into the forest after the incident. Officers…
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Phuket and Isaan make TIME’s Top 50 World’s Greatest Places of 2023
Iconic New York-based news magazine Time released their ‘World’s Greatest Places‘ list of 2023, including two Thai locations: Phuket and Isaan. Phuket making the cut might come as no surprise given the island’s reputation as a much sought-after holiday destination. Isaan, however, is not hot on tourists’ radars despite its rich culture and temples, vast landscape, amazing traditional music and…
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Bones found behind man’s house who committed suicide suspected to belong to missing wife
Police believe that bones and “human-like body parts” discovered behind a man’s house yesterday who committed suicide in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand could belong to his wife who has been missing for over one week. The missing woman’s parents believe their daughter was murdered by her husband before he hanged himself. At midday on March 13, 30 year old…
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