Koh Samui News
Koh Samui news, tourism, business, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and expat insights from Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted island news source.
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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Meth-dealing Koh Samui bar owner attacked in Thai prison
PHOTO: The Mirror A British man says he had three teeth knocked out and that going to a Thai prison for dealing drugs was ‘torture’. Jimmy Kelly was sentenced to 30 years but ended up spending just three behind bars for selling crystal methamphetamine at the bar on Samui he owned. His sentence was dramatically cut because his brother Gary…
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British man pioneers cannabis tom yum, police are not happy
PHOTO: Khaosodenglish A 58 year old real estate developer, living in Koh Samui for 22 years, is facing some trouble with the police for his ‘medicinal’ innovations in the kitchen. Police have arrested and charged Gary Coughlan with drug offenses after they noticed he was acting a little ‘unusual and erratic’ this morning (Wednesday). He later tested positive for drug…
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Weather for January 16
Bangkok Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. High 33ºC. Winds NE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chiang Mai Generally clear. High 30ºC. Winds ESE and variable. Phuket Afternoon showers. High 31ºC. Winds NNE and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Ko Samui Thundershowers. High 25ºC. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. Pattaya Partly cloudy. High 32ºC.…
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French woman found floating off Koh Samui beach
Samui police report that the body the body of 42 year old Maud Isabeile Bailley was found floating at sea off Ao Thongket beach around 2.30 pm yesterday (Tuesday). The body was first seen floating by hotel staff who called police and rescue workers. Responders then brought the body back to shore. A friend of the deceased has identified the…
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Pabuk: Floods and blackouts along southern Gulf coast as storm moves away
• Floods and blackouts have left nearly 30,000 people in evacuation shelters across southern Thailand • Relieved tourists stranded on islands further north were spared the worst and are now working on continuing their journeys • Pabuk packed winds of up to 75 kph (45 mph) and brought heavy rains and storm surges as it lashed the much of the southern…
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Pabuk: The worst is over as southern Thailand mops up
The potential for any further problems associated with Tropical Storm Pabuk are diminished as the remnants of the storm continue to move westward and out to sea away from the Andaman Coast. The general consensus is that, whilst unseasonal and packing high wind speeds (for Thailand), the storm’s impact was less than predicted causing minimal damage to infrastructure in the…
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Pabuk edges closer to southern Thailand
PHOTO: Aljazeera “Officials expect the conditions to persist into Saturday.” Aljazeera is reporting that tropical storm Pabuk is forecast to make landfall on Friday evening in Nakhon Si Thammarat coastal islands bringing torrential downpours and strong winds to more than a dozen other provinces in the south. The region is home to one of the world’s biggest natural rubber plantations…
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Pabuk: Warnings for coastal residents to stay indoors
by Pratch Rujivanarom Strong gale conditions and surging seas are pounding the coastlines of three provinces this afternoon. The Meteorological Department is warning residentsto stay indoors and away from the coast. The provinces affected so far include Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla. Department director-general Phuwieng Prakhammintara says Tropical Storm Pabuk was expected to have greater affect on southern coastlines as…
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Pabuk: Regular updates throughout today following the storm up the coast
Storm Watch – 8.30am Rough seas off the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday afternoon as tropical storm Pabuk approached land. Tens of thousands of tourists have been evacuated from local coastal communities and some tourists have evacuated the popular islands of Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan which are in the path of the storm today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h86FqX2CzBc Storm Watch…
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Pabuk: Friday awakes with the storm surging up the Gulf coastline
30,000 people are estimated to have been evacuated from coastal districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat whilst some tourists are taking precautions of leaving the Gulf holiday islands, airports close, boats remain at mooring and schools are shut. Thailand’s southern Gulf coast prepares for winds up to 95kph, heavy downpours and floods. From Nakhon Si Thammarat up to Chumpon provinces, emergency…
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Precautions taken in the south for Pabuk
FILE PHOTO With the impending arrival of tropical storm ‘Pabuk’, everyone in the coastal regions are bracing for landfall. Koh Samui officials have been ordered to monitor all shipping and tour boats, while all tourists spots and national parks have been told to prepare to close. Phuket airport is already on high alert, urging all passengers to double check their…
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Pabuk: Heading for Koh Samui, Surat Thani
The projections of ventusky.com show ‘Pabuk’ making its way up the Gulf of Thailand in a north-westerly direction. According to the map model, the storm is likely heading for Koh Samui and likely to make mainland landfall further up the coast around Chumpon. But the fallout from the storm will certainly affect the entire southern coastline from Nakhon Si Thammarat,…
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Pabuk: Koh Samui poised for first New Year tropical storm in 68 years
The mirror.co.uk is reporting that there are fears for residents and tourists on Koh Samui as the island braces for the onslaught of tropical storm Pabuk. Pabuk has formed within a mass of thunderstorms and could be the first cyclone to hit Thailand in January in 68 years. Southern Vietnam has already been hit by torrential rain and the cyclone…
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PABUK: Latest information on the path of the storm across the Gulf
Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada has designated six seaside districts of the central southern coast province as disaster zones and ordered the evacuation of residents by tonight. The evacuations are a safety precaution he said. He says that all schools in these districts will be closed today, while schools in the main city area of Nakhon Si Thammarat will…
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Angthong National Marine Park closed for 3 days due to approaching storm
The Angthong National Marine Park, off the coast of Surat Thani province, is closing for three days from tomorrow (Thursday) as tropical storm ‘Pabuk’ is expected to hit the southern Gulf coast. The decision has been based on weather warnings from the TMD, which says the storm “Pabuk” will bring unseasonal heavy downpours and high waves in the Gulf of…
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“Pabuk” heads towards southern provinces
An unseasonal, and quite unusual, tropical depression is heading towards southern shores including all Thai provinces south of Phetchaburi. The Thai Meteorological Department is issuing regular warnings about the storm’s progress from the South China Sea and into the southern Gulf of Thailand. “On 2 January 2019, tropical storm “PABUK” over the lower South China Sea located at latitude 6.0…
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Helping Koh Samui fight the garbage glut
Photos and story by Laurie Maitenaz An article by guest writer Laurie Maitenaz, a resident of Koh Samui, seeks to focus attention on the long-term garbage accumulation problems on the island. Most of his 11-point-plan to reduce garbage are things we can all action around the Kingdom. Let’s make 2019 the year of garbage reduction – think globally but act…
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New Year weather around Thailand
It might be the middle of the annual high season but the ‘high season’ weather isn’t co-operating. Although generally fine weather has been the trend in the past few days there are a few unseasonal fronts coming to different parts of the country, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. In the central/southern provinces, including around Hua Hun and Gulf islands…
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Troops on stand-by to assist flooded southern provinces
PHOTO: Thunder Road Reporters, Samui Deputy PM and defence minister Prawit Wongsuwan has ordered the three armed forces to head south with troops and equipment to help the areas hard hit by flooding. The Meteorological Department is warning southerners to brace for more to come. Gulf coast provinces from Chumpon to Songkhla have been battered with heavy rains for the past…
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Southern provinces battered by heavy rains and floods
PHOTO: Flooded Samui roads – Facebook/Thunder Road Reporters “The city Mayor says the municipality had arranged for medical staff to be on stand-by to help patients at evacuation centres already set up to deal with potential flood crisis in Nakhon Si Thammarat.” Heavy rain has been battering the southern regions of the Gulf coast for the past few days and…
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Burmese man arrested for selling ‘ice’ on Samui
FILE PHOTO A Burmese man has been arrested last night while allegedly delivering crystal meth to fellow Myanmar citizens on Koh Samui where he has been illegally living for the past 10 years. Police say 35 year old ‘Chaw’ was arrested while driving to allegedly deliver the drug to his buyers, believed to be other Myanmar nationals working in the…
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Thai couple arrested with ice in Samui
FILE PHOTO A Thai couple have been arrested on suspicion of selling crystal methamphetamine (ice) on Koh Samui. 25 year old Tantikorn Prommet and 23 year old Patsuda Jaisawang were arrested by police at their rented room on the island at 5.30pm yesterday (Monday). Two packs of crystal methamphetamine, weighing 100 grams in total, were found in the room. The…
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Man arrested, 3kg of ‘ice’ seized on Samui
FILE PHOTO A man has been arrested on Koh Samui after police seized more than 3 kg of crystal methamphetamine. In a joint operation between Army troops and district officials, 36 year old Thai national, Ekkachai Prakobwancharone, was arrested at his rented room early yesterday (Tuesday). Authorities seized 52 grams of the drug, popularly known as “ice”, from the room…
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Minister says Samui waste problem a priority
Following international coverage of waste buildup on Koh Samui, the government has promised prioritisation of garbage management nationwide, and has scheduled a meeting on the issue next week. Minister of the Interior Gen Anupong Paojinda has responded to foreign news outlets reporting over 300,000 tons of waste has accumulated on the resort island of Koh Samui by saying the government is…
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‘Rape never happened’. Thai police conclude Koh Tao probe
A teen who claimed to have been drugged and raped on Koh Tao in June has failed to confirm the site of the attack, identity of the attacker or how the attack happened while being questioned in the UK, Thai police officers said. British police also handed over a T-shirt the 19 year old woman wore on June 25, the…
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Koh Tao alleged rape case wrapped up
According to Thai PBS, Thai police have wrapped up an investigation into allegations by a 19 year old female British backpacker that she was drugged, raped and robbed on Koh Tao. Police claim that, following their investigations, there is simply a lack of credible evidence. Speaking at a media gathering this morning, national police chief, Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, declared…
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French trio admit to trying to scam their insurance company
PHOTOS: New TV Police on Koh Samui report that three French tourists claimed that they were robbed at knife point by five Thai men on three motorcycles after they become lost. New TV reports that they claimed that everything was stolen from them and the thieves disappeared without a trace. But they’ve since been shown to have been lying for…
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Koh Tao rape investigation team returns from UK tomorrow
Thai police expect to finalise their investigations next week into the alleged rape of a British tourist on Koh Tao a few months ago. The immigration police chief Maj-Gen Surachate Hakparn has been leading the investigation. Representatives of the Royal Thai Police team travelled to the UK last month to interview the 19 year old British woman who claimed to…
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25 yo British woman claims she was raped on Koh Phangan but later recants
A 25 year old British woman has accepted that she was not raped on Koh Phangan as she had previously claimed. Hospital tests and CCTV indicated there was no evidence a crime had occurred. Sanook is reporting that the woman admits that her fears were completely unfounded. She has been named only as ‘Joanna’. Her distraught father had contacted the British…
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Police swarm into Koh Phangan for tonight’s Full Moon Party
Authorities are out in force at tonight’s Full Moon Party on Hat Rin, the beach-home of the monthly Full Moon party on Koh Phangan. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board has arrived in the Surat Thani province to crack down on drugs in the popular archipelago of islands off the Surat Thani province coast. They say Koh Phangan is…
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