Pattaya News

Pattaya news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s coastal entertainment hub. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Pattaya news source.

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    Why long-term expats in Thailand say insurance is worth every baht

    Thailand’s warm weather, low cost of living, and good healthcare attract many long-term expats, including retirees and remote workers. Life here feels easy and affordable, but medical costs can be high if something goes wrong. Private hospitals are popular because...

  • Pattaya International Fireworks Festival coming up next week | Thaiger

    Pattaya International Fireworks Festival coming up next week

    Fireworks lovers should mark their calendars for the Pattaya International Fireworks Festival coming up next week. The festival will be held from November 25-26 on Pattaya Beach, and the fireworks will light up the entire city. Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches says the festival will feature more than 600 street stalls selling all kinds of items. There will be pyrotechnic teams…

  • VIDEO: Indian tourist reports theft by Pattaya sex worker, gets informed he broke law too | Thaiger

    VIDEO: Indian tourist reports theft by Pattaya sex worker, gets informed he broke law too

    The conflict between Indian tourists and transgender thieves in Pattaya rages on… An Indian tourist’s night went completely wrong after the sex worker he hired turned out to be a transgender woman. The unnamed tourist said he hired a stranger whom he originally thought was a woman to go to his hotel room on Soi 8 in Bang Lamung. But…

  • HarborLand’s newest branch opens up in Pattaya | Thaiger

    HarborLand’s newest branch opens up in Pattaya

    The newest branch of an indoor playground company has opened in Pattaya. The newest HarborLand is located in Pattaya Terminal 21, on the mall’s fourth floor. The playground has a “Let’s Go to Space” theme, as well as a “Junior Jungle” zone. The playground spans more than 1,500 square metres, The Pattaya News reported. The latest Harborland also has slides,…

  • Dead body of unidentified foreign man found in Chon Buri sea | Thaiger

    Dead body of unidentified foreign man found in Chon Buri sea

    A Thai sailor found the dead body of an unidentified foreign man in the sea off Samae San Island in the Sattahip district of Chon Buri. A one-kilogram rock was found in the man’s backpack. The foreigner’s body was found about 200 metres away from Nam Sai Beach on Samae San Island. He is believed to be about 40 to…

  • Hotel maids busted for stealing from Pattaya tourist’s room years ago | Thaiger

    Hotel maids busted for stealing from Pattaya tourist’s room years ago

    Two hotel maids were busted yesterday for stealing items including gold jewellery and cash from a tourist’s room in Pattaya years ago. Police arrested one suspect, 44 year old Aranya, at a rental room in the central Ayutthaya province. They arrested the other suspect, 36 year old Pratchalee, in Samut Prakan. Aranya was arrested under a warrant issued by the…

  • Police chief suspended as Pattaya pool villa suspects fess up | Thaiger

    Police chief suspended as Pattaya pool villa suspects fess up

    The chief of Chon Buri police has been suspended pending an investigation into his connections with fake suspects organised to confess to an assault and shooting case at a Pattaya pool villa in central Pattaya last month. National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas transferred Pol Maj Gen Kittanate Thanananthavisin to an inactive post at the Royal Thai Police Department…

  • Pattaya man says friends attacked him with a knife | Thaiger

    Pattaya man says friends attacked him with a knife

    A young Pattaya man says his friends attacked him with a knife. The man, 27 year old Comephee Thungkhun, said the group came to his house in Nong Prue on Sunday night. Comephee said the attackers bludgeoned him with a stick and slit his forehead with a knife. Comephee’s mother told police her son was yelling for help before he…

  • Island off Pattaya sees 20,000 tourists over weekend | Thaiger

    Island off Pattaya sees 20,000 tourists over weekend

    An island off Pattaya well known as a vacation hotspot saw at least 20,000 tourists over the past weekend. The cluster of young and old tourists swarmed to the island of Koh Larn, flocking to its Ta Waen Beach. The tourists enjoyed traditional Thai massage, as well as food, umbrellas, and other services offered at the beach. Pattaya City has…

  • Police arrest man for sexually assaulting two street dogs in Pattaya, Thailand | Thaiger

    Police arrest man for sexually assaulting two street dogs in Pattaya, Thailand

    A Thai man was arrested and detained for sexually assaulting two dogs last night in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand. Officers from Nong Prue Police Station received a call from a warehouse security guard who said a drunk man was “committing indecent acts” on a dog near the entrance of Soi Nong Mai Kaen 12 in Pattaya’s Nong Prue…

  • Fire guts abandoned Pattaya sports club | Thaiger

    Fire guts abandoned Pattaya sports club

    A fire gutted an abandoned Pattaya sports club on Saturday. The huge blaze destroyed the Pattaya Land and House Village in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district. Firefighters took about half an hour to put out the flames. Most of the objects in the one-storey club were destroyed, but luckily there were no injuries. Firefighters said the blaze was believed to…

  • Threesome couple retaliates against victim’s story | Thaiger

    Threesome couple retaliates against victim’s story

    The man accused of forcing a woman into a long-term sexual relationship with him and his wife has denied the woman’s accusations while confirming most of her story. Accompanied by his wife, the man travelled to Bangkok on Friday evening to give his side of the tale following bizarre accusations against the couple. The couple claims the woman chose to live…

  • VIDEO: robber snatches 1 million baht worth of jewellery from Pattaya gold shop | Thaiger

    VIDEO: robber snatches 1 million baht worth of jewellery from Pattaya gold shop

    There’s been another gold shop robbery in Thailand, this time in Pattaya. On Wednesday, the robber threatened staff at the Aurora Gold Shop in Tesco Lotus in South Pattaya at gunpoint. The robber reportedly first gave the staff a piece of paper detailing his demands. The staff were hesitant, so the robber then walked behind the counter himself, and took…

  • Luxury casino in Pattaya raided before grand opening | Thaiger

    Luxury casino in Pattaya raided before grand opening

    Police raided an under-construction building in Pattaya after being tipped off it is to become a luxury casino. The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, ordered police officers to raid the gambling house at the Chalerm Phra Kiat 6 on the Pattaya Sai Sam Road in the Bang Lamung district of Pattaya. Police met a…

  • 1 thousand people celebrate start of Buddhist festival at Pattaya temple | Thaiger

    1 thousand people celebrate start of Buddhist festival at Pattaya temple

    About 1,000 people celebrated the start of a Buddhist festival at a temple in Pattaya on Sunday. The Nong Or Temple had a kick-off event for the Thod Kathin Festival with about 1,000 people in attendance. Photos show a happy crowd of attendees smiling and clapping, as well as attendees presenting offerings to a monk. The Thod Kathin Festival begins…

  • Chon Buri man attacks beachgoer with knife | Thaiger

    Chon Buri man attacks beachgoer with knife

    A Chon Buri man attacked a beachgoer with a knife in the Sri Racha district on Monday night. The attacker pulled up in a white pickup truck, and suddenly jumped out and cut the victim’s elbow with a knife, according to the victim. The incident happened at an early Loy Krathong site on Ban Laem Chabang Beach. After cutting the…

  • Pattaya NGO to hold fundraiser for abused and trafficked women | Thaiger

    Pattaya NGO to hold fundraiser for abused and trafficked women

    An NGO in Pattaya is holding a fundraising event for abused and trafficked women this Friday, November 11. The event, titled “Fashion Rocks, will be hosted by the Rotary Club of Pattaya International at the Pattaya Hilton Hotel. The event’s Facebook page says it starts at 5pm. The fashion show aims to raise funds for children, young women, girls, and…

  • Pattaya Police taking safety precautions for Loy Krathong festival | Thaiger

    Pattaya Police taking safety precautions for Loy Krathong festival

    Pattaya Police are taking safety precautions for the Loy Krathong festivals coming up tonight. Police held a meeting yesterday about safety measures. The safety measures include: banning all sky lanterns, fireworks, alcohol, and smoking (including cannabis), and ensuring nightlife and entertainment venues close at their legal times between midnight and 2am depending on what zone the venue falls into. Checkpoints…

  • Egyptian men who allegedly stole mobile phones from Pattaya guest house arrested | Thaiger

    Egyptian men who allegedly stole mobile phones from Pattaya guest house arrested

    UPDATE Three men who allegedly worked together to steal two mobile phones from a Pattaya guest house have been arrested. CCTV footage showed the second and third suspects walking down Pattaya Second Road the night before. The first and second suspects were also seen heading down Pattaya Second Road to Pattaya Central Road after they left the guest house. The…

  • Pattaya man runs away after plunging pickup truck into pond | Thaiger

    Pattaya man runs away after plunging pickup truck into pond

    A Pattaya man ran away after plunging his pickup truck into a pond yesterday evening. The driver, 39 year old Suphan Pangphimai, had been speeding when he attempted to make a curve and plunged through a fence and into a lotus pond in Chon Buri’s Nong Prue district. Suphan was uninjured, and he swam out of the pond, and fled…

  • Middle Eastern tourists steal phones from Pattaya hotel | Thaiger

    Middle Eastern tourists steal phones from Pattaya hotel

    Pattaya Police are on the lookout for two Middle Eastern men who robbed two mobile phones yesterday from a hotel at Soi Pattaya Sai Song. A 43 year old member of the hotel staff, Siriwan Saeng-Arun, told police that the two Middle Eastern tourists requested to see a room before booking on Saturday, November 5. Siriwan showed the alleged tourists a…

  • Police bust 2 drug parties, arrest 43 teenagers | Thaiger

    Police bust 2 drug parties, arrest 43 teenagers

    Move over adults, it’s time for the kids to join in. After a series of high-profile raids on entertainment venues around Thailand, in part as a crackdown on drugs after the meth ties to the daycare centre killer, police busted two parties full of mostly teenagers in Chon Buri this week. Police officials announced that in the early hours of…

  • U-Tapao Airport expansion plan approved by Cabinet | Thaiger

    U-Tapao Airport expansion plan approved by Cabinet

    For tourists to Pattaya, travel may be getting a lot easier. The Cabinet has approved a plan for a massive expansion of U-Tapao Airport, the hub in Rayong province nearest to the popular tourist town. The project would grow the airport’s capability for commercial flights to land. It would expand by building a new runway and adding facilities to accommodate…

  • Fight breaks out on island off Pattaya | Thaiger

    Fight breaks out on island off Pattaya

    A fight broke out in front of a resort on an island off Pattaya on Wednesday night between two groups of people. Security footage captured 6-8 people on motorbikes passing by the resort on Koh Larn and glancing back at another group that was marching toward them on foot. After the group on motorbikes exited the footage, the group was…

  • VIDEO: Korean tourist in Pattaya says transgender person pickpocketed him | Thaiger

    VIDEO: Korean tourist in Pattaya says transgender person pickpocketed him

    Even though Pattaya’s thieves have largely targeted Indian tourists this year, it appears that when picking targets, people of all nationalities are fair game. A Korean tourist in Pattaya told police that a transgender person pickpocketed him on a beach on Wednesday night. The tourist, 43 year old Sanghyeon Lee, said he was walking on Pattaya Beach with friends when…

  • Aussie surf star dies in Pattaya motorcycle crash | Thaiger

    Aussie surf star dies in Pattaya motorcycle crash

    A well-known Australian surfboard designer has died after crashing his motorcycle in Chon Buri. Kym Thompson smashed into an electricity pole while avoiding a truck turning at a junction on November 1. CCTV shows how Thompson was flung from his bike and skidded along the road. Rescuers said the entrepreneur died at the scene having broken his neck, arms and…

  • Vandalised tourist service centre gets makeover in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Vandalised tourist service centre gets makeover in Pattaya

    An abandoned vandalised tourist service centre in Pattaya has been cleaned up after several crimes in the area. Pattaya Police, along with City Councilman Nikom Sangkaew, worked together to change the light bulbs and clean up the police box opposite the Royal Garden Plaza on Beach Road. The box has barely offered any services since 2019. Photos by Pattaya Mail…

  • Pattaya captors of Chinese man may have had illegal student visas, says “Big Joke” | Thaiger

    Pattaya captors of Chinese man may have had illegal student visas, says “Big Joke”

    UPDATE More details are emerging on the kidnapping of a Chinese man in Pattaya in the early hours of Sunday morning. The captors cut off one of the man’s pinky fingers. The man’s captors may be Chinese nationals in Thailand on illegal student visas, according to the Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn. An investigation…

  • Famous Pattaya chef serves food to disadvantaged children | Thaiger

    Famous Pattaya chef serves food to disadvantaged children

    A famous Pattaya chef has taken some time out to help those less fortunate than others. Last week at the Father Ray Children’s Village, chef Harlan Goldstein served gourmet hamburgers and cake to 118 children and 32 staff members. Goldstein also handed the children free T-shirts with his name on them. The Father Ray Children’s Village is a home for…

  • Chinese man in Pattaya has finger cut off, allegedly by gang who held him captive | Thaiger

    Chinese man in Pattaya has finger cut off, allegedly by gang who held him captive

    Pattaya Police say that a Chinese man had his finger cut off by a ransom gang who held him captive. The man, 41 year old Ren Haibo, suddenly disappeared at midnight on October 30, according to his Thai girlfriend, 20 year old Alisara Supasiribundit. Alisara said that Ren and his car were both gone. She said Ren’s brother contacted her the…

  • Largest Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia opens in Pattaya | Thaiger

    Largest Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia opens in Pattaya

    The largest Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia has opened in Pattaya. The restaurant, named “MumbaiSe,” is located at the Stardice Pub on the Pattaya-Naklua road. The restaurant held its opening ceremony on Saturday night, with many Pattaya officials attending, including Mayor Poramese Ngampiches. The founders are two Indian businessmen who have invested 25 million baht in the restaurant. The restaurant will…