Northern Thailand News
Stay updated with the latest Northern Thailand news at The Thaiger, your ultimate source for regional information. Keep informed on local events, business developments, and lifestyle stories in popular locations like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Pai.
Our in-depth coverage includes famous monuments such as the White Temple and Doi Suthep. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, The Thaiger’s Northern Thailand news page is your essential guide to exploring this culturally rich region. Delve into the vibrant community and diverse culture with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you connected and well-informed.
-
Sponsored 5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
-
Unconscious 4 year old rescued from locked car
Pattaya police got a report that a child was stuck in a car in front of a shopping mall. When they rushed to the scene a volunteer rescue team, they found a crowd surrounding a car, trying to wake up a sleeping four year old boy. The boy’s mother was there and was in fact the one to call for…
-
Wall of graffiti art the longest landmark in northeast Thailand
More than 30 graffiti artists are being invited to celebrate the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, more commonly known as Korat. The Nation reports that the city’s Culture Office is inviting works on the theme of “Korat: the art city”. The move comes as the government named Korat, along with Krabi and Chiang Mai, as pilot cities for the arts. Korat…
-
Warrants issued in “Billy” murder case
Arrest warrants have been issued for the former chief of a national park and three other officials, for the murder of Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen. They face charges including robbery and detention. Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn, former chief the Kaeng Krachan National Park, faces murder charges. Police are preparing for their arrest but say they would welcome their surrender. Billy was…
-
Drunk man reports car stolen
A 50 year old man in the northern province of Lampang told police his car was stolen from a local petrol station. As it turned out, he was so drunk he couldn’t remember how he got to the station. He finally realized that a friend had dropped him off. The incident was shared on national television. The man called police…
-
11th species of dinosaur discovered in north east Thailand
Thailand’s Mineral Resources Department says they’ve unearthed fossilised bones believed to belong to a species of mid-sized carnivorous dinosaur previously unrecorded in Thailand. Called the Vayuraptor nongbualamphuensis, it is the 11th dinosaur species to be discovered in the Phu Wat excavation pits in Phu Kao-Phupandam national park in the north-eastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu, between Khon Kaen and Udon…
-
Police suspect land dispute in double murder in Chiang Rai
PHOTOS: Chiang Rai Times Chiang Rai police are investigating a husband and wife that were murdered in the province’s Chiang Saen District last Wednesday. When arriving at the property, police found the bodies of a husband and wife, both with strangulation marks on their necks. There was no sign of a struggle and nothing was stolen. Their pick-up truck and…
-
Officer in krathong copyright entrapment case transferred
A police superintendent in the north east province of Nakhon Ratchasima has been transferred after a sting operation in which a 15 year old girl was arrested and fined 5,000 baht for alleged copyright infringement (the original demand by the ‘officer’ was much higher but was negotiated down). Read original story HERE. The girl was approached by a man claiming…
-
Copyright police sting, arrest 15 year old girl over krathong floats
PHOTO: Prasit Tangprasert A 15 year old girl in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima was arrested and fined 5,000 baht for making krathong baskets showing copyrighted cartoon characters. The baskets were ordered by undercover copyright police in, what appears to be, an attempt to lure the girl into infringing copyright laws. The girl, identified only as “Orm”, says her…
-
Top 10 rules to avoid an elephant squishing your car
PHOTO: Khaosod English After the video of a bull elephant sitting on a car whilst it was trying to drive through Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima went viral, officials have come up with 10 rules to follow when confronted by a wild elephant who has an unnatural attraction to your car. The 35 year old tusked elephant, Duea,…
-
First chamber of Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang Cave now open to visitors
The first chamber of the cave where twelve Thai footballers and their coach became trapped for seventeen days last year, is now open to visitors in Chiang Rai. The Chiang Rai Times reports that, along with the entrance to the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai being open, the first chamber and the Nang Non spirit house are also accessible…
-
Tourists warned about thieving monkeys in Khao Yai National Park
PHOTO: Monkeys coming to get your stuff. Khao Yai National Park – Flickr Officials at Khao Yai National Park, north east of Bangkok, are warning visitors to be aware of rogue monkeys that may steal their belongings. They say tourists who camp overnight need to be particularly vigilant, particularly when preparing food. Thai Residents reports that with the current cooler…
-
Sand dunes exposed as water in Mekong River falls to critical level
PHOTO: AFP Sand dunes are now being exposed for the first time in a century along many sections of the Mekong River, as water levels fall to a new low milestone of 1.5 metres. Sand dunes can now be seen along many sections, causing problems for fishing vessels and cargo boats trying to travel along the river. The Bangkok Post…
-
Elephant chooses bad time for a lie down in Khao Yai national park
A large bull elephant has attempted to crush a car full of tourists that stopped on a road in Khao Yai national park in Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima), north east of Bangkok, prompting national park staff to remind visitors what they should do if they are confronted by one of the mighty beasts as they drive through. The 35 year old…
-
Chiang Rai and Hat Yai airports NOT closing – Thai transport minister
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Airport – mychiangmaitravel.com Chiang Rai’s International Airport is not slated for closure, according to Thailand’s Transport Minister. The comment came after Airports of Thailand’s president announced on Monday October 28 that AOT was ‘considering’ closing Chiang Rai and Hat Yai airports, throwing media, and the staff at the two airports, into a spin. The minister has told…
-
Ambulance driver arrested in north-east Thailand for being on drugs
A 30 year old ambulance driver has been taken into custody after he was found to be under the influence of narcotics while on duty. Thai Residents reports that the man had collided with a motorbike, injuring both the driver and his pillion passenger. The ambulance driver told police that he had turned on the vehicle’s emergency light and siren…
-
Thai Met Office reports dropping temperatures from tomorrow until Friday in North and North East
Temperatures in the north and north-east of Thailand are set to drop 2-4°C from Tuesday to Friday this week due to a cold front moving eastward and south through southern China, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. The Meteorological Department reports that the intense high-pressure cell from China is moving south to cover the northern parts of Thailand as well…
-
Ubon Ratchathani collision kills seven, seriously injures four
An accident between a mini-bus and a six-wheel truck has left seven dead and seriously injured four others. Thai PBS World reports that the collision happened in Ubon Ratchathani, northeast Thailand, yesterday morning. Witnesses say the mini-van was travelling at high speed when the driver lost control, crossing into the path of oncoming traffic and colliding head-on with the truck.…
-
Police foil attempt to smuggle one million yaba pills from north to south of Thailand
Thai Residents reports that acting on intelligence reports, Border Patrol Police (BPP) in Chiang Mai have busted a drug smuggling operation that was attempting to transport a million yaba pills from the north of the country to the south. The operation began on October 22, with the gang planning to transport the pills from Chiang Dao district through the forest…
-
Hotel guest in Chiang Mai runs up bill of nearly 50,000 baht before fleeing
A man who claims to be a doctor stayed in a Chiang Mai hotel for 21 nights, running up a bill of nearly 50,000 baht, before instructing the hotel to invoice the Ministry for the Interior and then fleeing the premises. Employees of the hotel say they didn’t expect the man to abscond as he has stayed there on three…
-
Tourism Council of Thailand cites Thai baht as biggest challenge to tourism
The strong Thai baht is proving to be the biggest obstacle in trying to lure tourists, according to The Tourism Council of Thailand who have had to lower its projection of over 40 million foreign visitors this year down to 39.7 million. The president of the council says the surging baht is the main reason for the decline. “It’s frightening…
-
Italian busted in Australia smuggling heroin
An 49-year-old Italian has been charged with drug smuggling after arriving at Perth Airport from Chiang Mai. He allegedly had about 300 grams of heroin, worth about 135,000 Australian dollars, hidden inside his body. After trace technology during a baggage examination showed positive for narcotics, Australian Border Force officers referred him to the Australian Federal Police for an internal exam.…
-
Earthquake could hit Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
A magnitude 4.1 tremor shook seven districts of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai on Friday night, prompting the Department of Mineral Resources to warn that the two northern provinces could face a magnitude 5 earthquake within ten years. The prediction is based on analysis of movements in the Mae Tha fault lines, including the 5.1 ML quake in December 2006,…
-
Another illegal concrete structure has to be removed from Thai national park
PHOTO: ชมรมstrong-จิตพอเพียงต้านทุจริต จังหวัดนครศรีธรรมราช A website run by anti-corruption activists has posted a picture of a concrete platform built into a Nakhon Si Thammarat waterfall by food vendors, accusing authorities of failing in their duty to prevent such encroachment. This is the second pouring of concrete encroaching into the creek pointed out by police for immediate removal over the past week.…
-
Police arrest con man who left bride to pay for 3.5 million baht wedding
PHOTO: Immigration Police A man who conned his bride into believing he was a billionaire, then absconded after their wedding leaving her to pick up the tab, has been arrested at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok. He remains in custody and is currently being questioned by police. 49 year old Thananat Siripiyaporn was detained after getting off an Air Asia…
-
Jump in national park visitor numbers as ‘winter’ arrives in northern Thailand
As northern Thailand moves into the ‘cold season’ (well, cold for Thailand) and temperatures drop, national park officials are reporting an increase in visitor numbers. Whilst the temperature is cooling down on the local northern mountain tops, the ground level temperatures are still around 30 (forecast below). But later in December the temperatures sometime reach as low as zero for places…
-
Earthquake rattles north-east Thailand
A 3.9 magnitude earthquake has shaken Loei province in north-east Thailand, near the Laos border, although there are no reports of any damage. But residents were certainly talking about it yesterday as it shook the region. The quake was felt at around 12.30pm yesterday, in the main business district of Loei and several of the surrounding sub-districts near the border.…
-
Bodies of 8 dead elephants risk contaminating reservoir in Thai national park
PHOTO: Thai PBS Officials are concerned that the bodies of eight elephants who died after plunging down a waterfall in Khao Yai national park, central Thailand, now risk contaminating the park’s water flowing into a nearby reservoir. Thai PBS World reports that officials at the Khun Dan Prakan Chon reservoir plan to take a boat upstream to Khlong Ton Sai…
-
Over 100 million baht worth of assets seized from Thai drug dealers
The homes of three alleged drug traffickers have been raided in a joint operation between Thai police and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Thai Residents reports that two of the alleged drug traffickers are women and the raids took place in Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi and Sukothai provinces. It’s understood that more than 100 million baht worth of assets has been…
-
Less monitoring, more enforcement – Prawit warns northern officials
PHOTO: The Thaiger Thai Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa were in Chiang Mai yesterday to give provincial governors and state agency officials a ‘heads up’ in preparation for another looming season of forest fires and haze. The North suffers perennial choking smog from approximately February to April, and Prawit passed on a message…
-
World Ganja Festival comes to NE Thailand early 2020
Following the liberalising of cannabis laws, related to medical use of the drug, marijuana is now being seen as a potential cash crop which which could benefit Thailand’s economy. The Association of Researchers of Thailand is now joining members of the public and the private sector to organise the World Ganja Festival 2020. The event will be held in Mukdahan,…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.