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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  • Volunteers transform into superheroes for fair in northern Thailand

    Volunteers transform into superheroes for fair in northern Thailand

    Look out, here comes the Spiderman! Or is it? Volunteers in Thailand’s northern province of Uttaradit are dressing up as superheroes for a fruit fair held in the main city district this week from September 13-22. The volunteers are working with police to entertain children in their Spiderman, Hulk, Venom, and Captain America costumes. They are also helping children and…

  • Boy in northeast Thailand dies of respiratory disease

    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…

  • Rain flooding likely to dampen third quarter flood of tourism

    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…

  • Chiang Mai hosts Thai style Halloween to make merit for ghosts

    Chiang Mai hosts Thai style Halloween to make merit for ghosts

    Thai people in the Mae Jo Town Municipality of the San Sai district in Chiang Mai province joined the northern Thai-style Halloween event and parade on Saturday to make merit for ghosts and souls from hell. People in the northern part of Thailand believe that ghosts and souls rise from hell to visit their relatives and ask for merits on…

  • NE Thai man kills fiancé & himself after discussing engagement ceremony

    NE Thai man kills fiancé & himself after discussing engagement ceremony

    A man in northeast Thailand yesterday shot and killed his fiance and himself after the couple had reportedly met to talk about their engagement ceremony. The bodies of the man, 62 year old Thongsai, and his girlfriend, 39 year old Kritsana, were found on a cassava plantation. Kritsana’s sister told police that Kritsana had gotten home from work when Thongsai…

  • UPDATE: Police superintendent transferred to “inactive” post after pub raid

    UPDATE: Police superintendent transferred to “inactive” post after pub raid

    UPDATE The saga continues around the pub that was raided in Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province early yesterday morning. The police superintendent of Chiang Rai’s city district police, Colonel Kittipong Sukwattanapun, has now been transferred to an “inactive” post in the operations centre of the provincial police headquarters. The transfer is punishment for his alleged failure to control the operations…

  • Teenage girl’s body found in northeast Thailand forest

    Teenage girl’s body found in northeast Thailand forest

    The body of a teenage girl has been found on Friday in a forest behind her school in Thailand’s northeast province of Buri Ram. The girl, 17 year old Nichada Salangam, had reportedly skipped her last class of the day with two friends before her body was found. Nichada’s friend Chularat said the three friends had skipped class to eat…

  • Officials bust hundreds of Chiang Rai teens drinking underage

    Officials bust hundreds of Chiang Rai teens drinking underage

    A team of officials has busted hundreds of teenagers in the northern Chiang Rai province drinking under Thailand’s legal age of 20. The officials raided a pub in the main city district early this morning and found 325 people drinking underage, with some as young as 16 years old. Many of the youngsters dashed away on motorcycles when they saw…

  • Pervert arrested for sexually violating a Thai heroine’s monument

    Pervert arrested for sexually violating a Thai heroine’s monument

    A naked pervert was arrested by police for trying to have sex with a holy monument in Nakhon Ratchasima, or Korat, in the Isaan part of Thailand. The 30 year old man, Preechar Chumpla, was arrested on Friday, August 26, at the Thao Suranaree or Ya Mo Monument in the Non Somboon sub-district, Seng Sang district, in Nakhon Ratchasima province.…

  • “Parading shrimp” the most unique yearly tourist attraction in Thailand

    “Parading shrimp” the most unique yearly tourist attraction in Thailand

    People talk about the big tourist attractions of Thailand – the temples, beautiful beaches, bustling cities, parading shrimp… wait, what? September brings one of the most unique spectacles in Thailand, and people flock to the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani each year to watch as shrimp climb out of a creek when heavy rains swell the shores. The naturally occurring…

  • School burned down for robbery netting 500 baht

    School burned down for robbery netting 500 baht

    In Buri Ram, a desperate person burned down a school building to cover up a robbery that netted them just 500 baht. The Wat Kok Charoen Temple School was set ablaze on Friday and the unknown suspect in the arson attack left behind a bizarre note saying “I love the Prime Minister. I am sorry, I need money.” The Phlapphla…

  • E. coli contamination found at popular waterfall in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand

    E. coli contamination found at popular waterfall in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand

    A popular waterfall on Doi Suthep mountain in the northern province of Chiang Mai is brimming with E. coli bacteria from human feces, warns Dr Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, a Green Globe award-winning conservationist and professor of cardiology at Chiang Mai University. The doctor warns against drinking or washing your face in the waterfall… “While driving up Doi Suthep mountain, there is…

  • Flooding from overflowing rivers soaks Chiang Rai and the border

    Flooding from overflowing rivers soaks Chiang Rai and the border

    Along the northern borders of Thailand, rains have swelled rivers beyond capacity and caused widespread flooding. The Sai River along the Burmese border started rising on Friday and by Saturday morning the riverbanks burst and flooded a border town in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. Over 2,000 houses were flooded…

  • Tropical storm ‘Mulan’ makes a splash in the north of Thailand

    Tropical storm ‘Mulan’ makes a splash in the north of Thailand

    The tropical storm ‘Mulan’ that meteorologists warned would hit Thailand has now poured down on the country’s north and northeast regions. The regions dealt with flash floods yesterday (Friday), due to heavy rain caused by the depression from the storm. In the northern province of Phayao, villagers in Nam Bong forest were forced to evacuate when flash floods swallowed their…

  • Nigerian and Vietnamese couple found dead linked to drug trade

    Nigerian and Vietnamese couple found dead linked to drug trade

    The two foreign nationals found buried in a forest in northeast Thailand last month might have been linked to the drug trade, according to the national police. The couple, a 38 year old Nigerian man and a 33 year old Vietnamese woman was found buried in a forest in Nakhon Ratchasima province on July 28. Today, Thailand’s national police chief…

  • 2018 Thai cave rescue inspires new attraction in Chiang Rai

    2018 Thai cave rescue inspires new attraction in Chiang Rai

    Taking inspiration from the 2018 cave rescue in the northern province of Chiang Rai, one billion baht will be invested in a new attraction and exhibition called The Caventure. A soft opening is expected in October next year. The 17-day rescue in 2018, or the Tham Luang cave rescue, at Tham Luang Nang Non Cave in Chiang Rai, was an…

  • Tourists can see rare orchids in bloom at northern Thailand waterfall this month

    Tourists can see rare orchids in bloom at northern Thailand waterfall this month

    Tis’ the season for a rare orchid species to bloom in northern Thailand. The orchid species habenaria janellehayneiana is in full bloom at the Man Daeng Waterfall in the Hin Rong Kla National Park. The park is located in Thailand’s northern province of Phitsanulok. The flowers grow on the rocks around the waterfall, creating a colorful scenery. The unique orchid…

  • UPDATE: Sexy Thai model fined 5,000 baht for dancing topless in club

    UPDATE: Sexy Thai model fined 5,000 baht for dancing topless in club

    UPDATE: Thai model and DJ “Oil Kissyface” has been slapped with another 5,000 baht for more sexy antics. Oil was previously fined 5,000 baht under the Public Obscenity Act after a video of her dancing topless at a nightclub in Khon Kaen last week went viral on social media. After news of her fine caught the nation’s attention today, another…

  • 10 year old killed & 5 injured after pickup hits motorbike sidecar

    10 year old killed & 5 injured after pickup hits motorbike sidecar

    A 10 year old child was tragically killed, and four children and a teenager were seriously injured after a pickup truck smashed into the children’s motorcycle sidecar in the Isaan province of Nong Bua Lamphu yesterday. Officers from the Si Boon Rueng Police Station were called to the scene of the accident on Nong Bua Lamphu – Chum Pare Road…

  • Sexy Thai model fined at 5,000 baht for dancing topless in club

    Sexy Thai model fined at 5,000 baht for dancing topless in club

    A sexy Thai model has been fined 5,000 baht for a public obscenity act after a video of her went viral dancing topless at a nightclub in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen. The nightclub was also fined for operating without a license. Paphavee “Oil” Chaimongkol, aka Oil Roi Joob, which means Oil Kissyface, was working as a DJ at…

  • Dead bodies in northeast Thailand belong to Nigerian & Vietnamese nationals

    Dead bodies in northeast Thailand belong to Nigerian & Vietnamese nationals

    The bodies of a man and a woman found buried in a forest in northeast Thailand on July 28 have been identified as a Nigerian man and a Vietnamese woman. The man was 38 years old, and the woman was 33 years old. Police believe the couple had been dead for two to four weeks when they were found, making…

  • 2 dead & 5 injured in gunfight between teens in Northern Thailand

    2 dead & 5 injured in gunfight between teens in Northern Thailand

    Two teenagers were reportedly killed and five injured when a gunfight broke out in the car park of an entertainment venue in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani. Eyewitnesses revealed that about a dozen teenagers clashed in the car park of Talat Nikon Thani on Chayangkun Road in the Nai Mueng District of Ubon Ratchathani, and about 70 to 100…

  • Eight women killed in drug driving accident in central Thailand

    Eight women killed in drug driving accident in central Thailand

    A minibus driver allegedly under the influence of drugs who fell asleep at the wheel faces time in prison after killing eight elderly women passengers in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen. The minibus overturned and landed in a ditch on the Khon Kaen – Kalasin Bypass Road in the Phra Lap Sub-district, Mueng Khon Kaen District, Khon Kaen province…

  • Thai police face challenges with identifying bodies in Northeast

    Thai police face challenges with identifying bodies in Northeast

    Police are facing some challenges in investigating the death of a couple in northeast Thailand. The bodies of a man and a woman were found in a forest in Nakhon Ratchasima province on July 28. Police believe the couple had been dead for two to four weeks when they were found, making it harder to identify the bodies. The Deputy…

  • Lightning strike kills seven cows in Nakhon Ratchasima

    Lightning strike kills seven cows in Nakhon Ratchasima

    Deadly lightning struck a forest during a rain storm in the Bua Yai district of Nakhon Ratchasima, killing seven cows instantly. The unusual occurrence happened yesterday and was reported by the Hook 31 Rescue Unit. That unit was called to investigate in the northeastern province in response to the incident that took place at around 12.10pm. The unit hurried to…

  • Meth bust in northeast Thailand, pills worth about 20 million baht

    Meth bust in northeast Thailand, pills worth about 20 million baht

    There was another meth bust in northeast Thailand last night, this time in Nakhon Phanom province. Rangers had been patrolling the Mekong River when they noticed a group of men on a long-tail boat. The men took a sack out of the boat and left it on the riverbank before they sped off in their boat. In the sack, the…

  • Chiang Rai runway closed after Nok Air plane skids off runway

    Chiang Rai runway closed after Nok Air plane skids off runway

    In Chiang Rai, a Nok Air plane slid off the runway while landing due to heavy rains that resulted in slippery ground conditions. The accident took place last night, as a landing Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway at Mae Fah Luang International Airport in the northern province. No one was injured in the crash, but it did force the…

  • UPDATE: Police find clues in likely murder case in northeast Thailand

    UPDATE: Police find clues in likely murder case in northeast Thailand

    UPDATE Police have found clues in a likely murder case in northeast Thailand. This news comes after villagers the bodies of a man and a woman in a forest in Chok Chai district in Nakhon Ratchasima province on Thursday night. Now, police have found microchips in the woman’s silicon breast implants. She also had unique tattoos. These include a tattoo…

  • Northeast woman dies chasing biker thief who nabbed her gold chain

    Northeast woman dies chasing biker thief who nabbed her gold chain

    A woman in northeast Thailand died this week while chasing down another biker who nabbed her gold chain. The woman, 47 year old Somchit, had been driving her motorcycle home after going to the bank when another biker started to move closer to her. The biker then snatched her chain. The incident happened in the main city district of Sisaket…

  • Elderly northeast woman charged with theft after picking plants for curry

    Elderly northeast woman charged with theft after picking plants for curry

    An elderly woman in northeast Thailand just wanted some fresh produce for her curry but ended up being charged with theft. The woman, 70 year old Chaweewan, had headed out on June 11 to pick a handful of galangal sprouts from her village in Phang Khon district of Sakhon Nakhon province. Chaweewan says the area is public land, but one…