Pattaya News

Welcome to The Thaiger’s Pattaya news page, your one-stop destination for the latest happenings in Thailand’s coastal town, AKA Sin City of the East! Our dedicated team delivers up-to-the-minute news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Pattaya, covering everything from local politics and business to entertainment and lifestyle. Stay informed about the city’s thriving tourism industry, expat community, and vibrant nightlife, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.

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    Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?

    Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...

  • “Free parking” signs placed at Pattaya pier after complaints of scammers

    “Free parking” signs placed at Pattaya pier after complaints of scammers

    After numerous complaints that people were soliciting money for parking spaces at Pattaya’s Bali Hai Pier, some reportedly asking for up to 500 baht, city officials have installed signs announcing that parking is free and to report if they are being charged for a space. The Pattaya News has reported that the free spaces are located at the blue field…

  • Bangkok Hospital Pattaya giving expats free Pfizer vaccines

    Bangkok Hospital Pattaya giving expats free Pfizer vaccines

    A new opportunity has been announced for expats in Pattaya who have yet to be vaccinated to get a free Pfizer vaccine. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, who earlier this month offered free AstraZeneca vaccines to the expat and local foreigner community, has opened registration today for foreigners to get inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccination programme is open to any…

  • Man found dead, tangled in cables in Bang Lamung

    Man found dead, tangled in cables in Bang Lamung

    An internet repairman in Bang Lamung had a morbid surprise when he was repairing internet cables in the evening and spotted a man standing by a tree. He called out to him in the dark, but the man did not reply. When he approached the still man, he discovered to his horror that the figure he saw was that of…

  • Chon Buri Police arrest 30 people in luxury resort gambling raid

    Chon Buri Police arrest 30 people in luxury resort gambling raid

    A luxury resort hosting an alleged gambling den was raided by Chon Buri police with 30 suspected gamblers taken into custody. Chon Buri police raided the resort in Takean Tia sub-district of Bang Lamung yesterday afternoon. Police reported confiscating various gambling paraphernalia and cash in the raid. The raid stretched for over 5 hours with the police arriving around 3…

  • Pattaya Waterfront Condo building requests to resume construction

    Pattaya Waterfront Condo building requests to resume construction

    An infamous Pattaya eyesore has been scheduled for demolition, but the owners submitted a surprise request to resume construction on the Waterfront Condo building on Bali Hai Pier. The 53-story condominium at the entrance to the Bali Hai Pier has been abandoned for years since 2014 and last September authorities served a legal demolition order against the owners of the…

  • Arrested Chon Buri man claims to be close friend of PM Prayut

    Arrested Chon Buri man claims to be close friend of PM Prayut

    When Chon Buri police attempted to take a belligerent man into custody, the man gave a unique excuse of why he should be let go: he is a “close personal friend” of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The 54 year old man was reported to be running along the road, shouting and threatening people walking on the street and attacking cars randomly.…

  • Bangkok Hospital Pattaya offers free AstraZeneca for expats

    Bangkok Hospital Pattaya offers free AstraZeneca for expats

    Bangkok Hospital Pattaya has announced pre-registration is open for free vaccines for foreigners and expats with injections beginning October 15. The hospital will give 2 doses of AstraZeneca to qualifying applicants at no charge. Registration is open until all slots are filled and can be done online at the following link: https://bit.ly/3a6sLpf The vaccination is offered with no charge or…

  • Booster vaccine recipients yesterday included Pattaya Mayor

    Booster vaccine recipients yesterday included Pattaya Mayor

    At a vaccination campaign in Pattaya yesterday, Pattaya City Mayor Sonthaya Khunploem was spotted receiving his third vaccine booster shot and encouraging others to do so. The event took place at Pattaya City 2 school and health officials administered AstraZeneca booster shots for those who had 2 injections of Sinovac previously. The event also provided second doses of the Sinopharm…

  • Vaccination drive accelerated in Pattaya to prepare for November reopening

    Vaccination drive accelerated in Pattaya to prepare for November reopening

    The rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations is being accelerated in Pattaya to prepare for reopening in November. The city’s mayor Sonthaya Kunplome says he expects more than 80% of the population in Pattaya to be fully vaccinated by October 15. Pattaya City Hospital is being used as the main vaccination centre with up to 2,600 doses of AstraZeneca and Sinopharm being…

  • Mario Kleff sets a new standard for construction sites in Pattaya

    Mario Kleff sets a new standard for construction sites in Pattaya

    Majestic Residence on Phra Tamnak Hill in Pattaya hit the headlines over the summer of 2021 when architect Mario Kleff demolished two villas and started building a new one, utilising the finest in German engineering. The construction company Wandeegroup Asia, under the direction of CEO Mario Kleff, began work in June of this year. The Substructure work, consisting of 100+…

  • Thai woman rescued from near-drowning on Pattaya Beach

    Thai woman rescued from near-drowning on Pattaya Beach

    A 22-year old Thai woman was rescued by lifeguards yesterday early evening after nearly drowning in the waters of Pattaya Beach. The incident took place just before 5 pm yesterday with emergency responders receiving word of the near-drowning at 5 pm. The young woman said that she had been travelling alone and had gone to the beach. She waded into…

  • Pattaya beach vendors see domestic tourist business increasing

    Pattaya beach vendors see domestic tourist business increasing

    Beach vendors along Pattaya beaches say that they are starting to see earnings increase due to domestic travellers in recent weeks. Their revenue is still far below the levels they were before Covid-19, but they are seeing an uptick of weekend and holiday travellers. Vendors selling food, massage, beach umbrellas and more are slowly seeing improvement, with each weekend seeming…

  • Alleged drug dealer busted in Chon Buri, police seize drugs and gun

    Alleged drug dealer busted in Chon Buri, police seize drugs and gun

    An alleged drug dealer has been arrested in Chon Buri, a province to the south of Bangkok, with 780,000 methamphetamine pills, a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine, 6 kilograms of ecstasy, and a gun, yesterday. The police did not release the name of the alleged drug dealer as they say they don’t want to compromise their investigation into the suspect’s contacts.…

  • Pattaya mayor confirms Pattaya reopening postponed to November

    Pattaya mayor confirms Pattaya reopening postponed to November

    The Mayor of Pattaya City has officially confirmed the city’s reopening to vaccinated foreign tourists has been delayed to November. The announcement follows a similar one made by the centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, yesterday. The Pattaya City Mayor Sontaya Khunplomek says many provinces have delayed their reopening from October to November, including Chon Buri, the province Pattaya is situated…

  • Pattaya readjusts tourism goals for high season

    Pattaya readjusts tourism goals for high season

    Pattaya officials are trying to set more modest goals for the upcoming tourism season as an unnamed official says it is unlikely Pattaya will get a million tourists a month during the high season. Well, yeah! Tourism Business Association figure Bunawan Patanasin says if 200,000 visitors travel to Pattaya each month of the high season it will be considered a…

  • Pattaya Man goes looking for food, later found dead in graveyard

    Pattaya Man goes looking for food, later found dead in graveyard

    A man went looking for food and was later found dead in a Pattaya graveyard earlier this week. The 35-year-old man’s family says he wasn’t suffering from any illnesses prior to his death. Nongrue Police were alerted to the above-ground corpse residing at the new graveyard, which was built by the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation. The police and local news…

  • Pattaya restaurant busted selling alcohol, 15 arrested

    Pattaya restaurant busted selling alcohol, 15 arrested

    15 people were arrested at a restaurant in Bang Lamung, accused of drinking illegally in violation of Covid-19 restrictions in Pattaya. Last night, Pattaya City Police raided an unnamed restaurant in Jomtien that was suspected of selling alcohol. Officers arrived at the restaurant early in the evening to discover 9 foreigners and 5 Thai nationals plus the person running the…

  • Pattaya tourism focusing on Russian and Indian travellers

    Pattaya tourism focusing on Russian and Indian travellers

    Chinese travellers have been the bread-and-butter for Pattaya tourism, but with Covid-19 restrictions, The Pattaya Business and Tourism Association is focusing on Indian and Russian tourists instead for the planned reopening on October 1. The president of the PBTA had announced that while other cities and provinces have postponed reopening plans, Pattaya stands ready to reopen to international travellers in…

  • October Pattaya reopening on schedule according to mayor

    October Pattaya reopening on schedule according to mayor

    Despite Chon Buri having the fourth highest Covid-19 infection rate in the country, the mayor of Pattaya City said that they are ready and on schedule to reopen international tourism on October 1. While there has been a lot of doubt over partial or full reopening next month for Thailand, the mayor assured that the “Pattaya Move On” Sandbox program…

  • Pattaya laundry shop reports ladies’ underwear thief is on the loose

    Pattaya laundry shop reports ladies’ underwear thief is on the loose

    Pattaya women who dry their clothes outside beware: a panty snatching thief was recently captured on CCTV as he stole women’s undergarments from a laundry shop in Pattaya. The 36 year old shop owner who is referred to as Onuma says that last week a motorbike driving man stole 8 women’s panties that were drying on a clothesline in front…

  • Pattaya reopening likely to snub nightlife, favor other attractions

    Pattaya reopening likely to snub nightlife, favor other attractions

    While Pattaya and indeed the rest of Thailand are struggling to figure out when and how they will really be able to reopen for international tourism, it looks likely that when Pattaya does reopen the entertainment and nightlife the city is famous for may not be open. As reopening comes into sight welcoming back international travellers that would be free…

  • Motorbike accident kills 26 year old woman near Pattaya

    Motorbike accident kills 26 year old woman near Pattaya

    A 26 year old woman from Chiang Rai died in an accident when her motorbike crashed into a power pole in Bang Lamung late Monday night. The Nongyai Police received word of the accident at around 10:45 in the evening. They arrived along with emergency responders at the crash site at Soi Chaiyapruek 1 in Huayyai. The woman was found…

  • Chon Buri man allegedly kills man for staring at him

    Chon Buri man allegedly kills man for staring at him

    A man has been arrested for allegedly killing another man with a hand truck in Chon Buri, a province on the Gulf of Thailand, for staring at him. The 34 year old suspect, Wisathorn Tawanna, has been charged with murder after he allegedly beat 42 year old Sawasdee Moonta to death with a handcart. Wisathorn has allegedly confessed to the…

  • Tourism Minister says Pattaya will become part of “Sandbox 7+7” extension

    Tourism Minister says Pattaya will become part of “Sandbox 7+7” extension

    Pattaya’s forthcoming re-opening to foreign tourists will see it join the Phuket Sandbox 7+7 extension programme, according to Thailand’s Tourism Minister. According to a Pattaya News report, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn confirmed the plan while on a visit to the area on Sunday. It’s understood the proposal will go to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration this Friday, along with proposals for…

  • Fire breaks out at Pattaya nightclub, millions of baht in damage estimated

    Fire breaks out at Pattaya nightclub, millions of baht in damage estimated

    A nightclub caught on fire last night on Walking Street in Pattaya. Officials estimate the fire has caused millions of baht in damage. The fire happened at the Nashaa nightclub around 9:30pm, last night. There were no reported injuries or fatalities as a result of the fire. More than 10 Fire department units attacked the blaze, which could be spotted…

  • Crash wakes family as a drunk driver plows into their house

    Crash wakes family as a drunk driver plows into their house

    A family in Bang Lamung got a rude awakening when a pickup truck lost control and smashed through the front of their house late last night. The crash happened around midnight during curfew hours for Chon Buri, and fortunately, the children and adults inside the house had already gone to bed when the accident occurred. The crash involved a grey…

  • 2 dogs found dead in Pattaya, owner suspects poisoning

    2 dogs found dead in Pattaya, owner suspects poisoning

    2 dogs have been discovered dead in Pattaya, a city in Chon Buri. The owner of the dogs suspects they were poisoned. The dogs, a golden Labrador about 8 months old, and a pit bull about 5 months old were found dead in front of a house in Nongprue. Residents discovered the dogs foaming at their mouths and seemingly immobile.…

  • Foreign investors keep a close eye on struggling Pattaya hotels

    Foreign investors keep a close eye on struggling Pattaya hotels

    With Pattaya hotel operators in dire financial straits brought on by the lack of tourists during the pandemic, foreign investors are apparently keeping a close eye on the situation. The hotel operators in the tourist city are being warned that if they do not get assistance for their outstanding loans, then their businesses could be taken over by foreign investors.…

  • Pattaya rocked by heavy rains and floods with more predicted

    Pattaya rocked by heavy rains and floods with more predicted

    Pattaya has been pummelled by heavy rains over the past few days causing local flooding in roads and neighbourhoods around the area. And weather forecast calls for more torrential downpours over the next few days. Around Pattaya and Bang Lamung, roads flooded last night and locals spent the day cleaning up the messes of the night before. The heavy rains…

  • Monkey taken to Si Racha veterinary hospital following electrocution and fall from tree

    Monkey taken to Si Racha veterinary hospital following electrocution and fall from tree

    A monkey has been rescued after it received a severe electric shock and plummeted from a high tree in Si Racha, a district in the Chon Buri province. A motorbike taxi driver alerted Si Racha firefighters to the simian’s plight yesterday. Veterinarians from the National Park Wildlife and Plant Conservation Si Racha Office and officials from the Si Racha Electric…