Events
Thailand events, festivals, cultural celebrations, and business conferences—stay updated on the latest happenings for travellers and residents alike. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for events in Thailand.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival schedule 2021
Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival, also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, has arrived. Spanning 10 days from October 5 to the 15, the festival is iconic for those who like exotic and very, very unique cultural events. It’s a commemoration that invites ancient Chinese spirts to come down from the heavens to witness almost 8 days of fire walking, noisy…
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Floods bring higher prices on vegetables to Vegetarian Festival
The world-famous Phuket Vegetarian Festival is set to begin on Wednesday, but aside from Covid-19, the flooding in Thailand has also proved to be damaging the upcoming festivities by driving up the cost and scarcity of vegetables. The heavy rains from tropical storm Dianmu have damaged many crops including vegetables in the central, north, and northeastern regions. Plus floods have…
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Officials talk turkey about size of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
With Covid-19 still infecting over 200 people per day in Phuket, organisers of the yearly Phuket Vegetarian Festival are fishing for an answer to how big the event planned for October 6 to 14 can be. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew said the event’s scale will be based on the Covid-19 situation in the days leading up to the festival. If…
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Today is Asanha Bucha Day (Wednesday is also a public holiday)
Asanha Bucha Day is a special Buddhist holiday in Thailand marking the day when the Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at Benares in India over 2,500 years ago. The exact date of the holiday is determined by the waxing moon and the lunar months, but is usually held in July or August each year. In 2021 it falls on…
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Visakha Bucha Day 2021, Buddhist holiday
Today is a public holiday in Thailand to mark Visakha Bucha Day, the most significant day in the Buddhist calendar, commemorating three defining events in the life of the Lord Buddha… his birth, attaining enlightenment at 35 years old, and then his death 45 years later, which all occurred on the full-moon day of the sixth lunar month. There is…
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Tuesday’s full moon will be a SUPER full moon
Tonight there will be a full moon. But not just ANY full moon, a SUPER full moon. Whoooaaa! Whilst Koh Pha Ngan’s monthly full moon party has been shelved for the meantime, we can still appreciate this monthly phenomenon (well, not quite monthly). The The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand says that the April astronomical phenomenon coincides with the…
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Burmese students to hold Bangkok cultural event to support Civil Disobedience Movement
Burmese students in Thailand are holding an art and culture concert to raise awareness and funds for the Civil Disobedience Movement. The concert, called “Myanmar Spring,” will be held on April 24 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The event will help fund the movement, which has staged protests over the February 1 coup in Myanmar by the military.…
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Giant monitor lizard visits Thai 7 Eleven store, video goes viral
A giant, nearly 2 metre long, monitor lizard decided to visit a 7 Eleven store looking for food, with customers and staff wondering what he (or she) was going to do next. The lizard climbed up a fully stacked shelf of dairy products, with apparently no cares in the world, as he clumsily knocked off cartons of milk and other…
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Chakri Memorial Day – why is it a public holiday in Thailand?
April 6 is a prominent holiday for Thais as they commemorate Chakri Memorial Day which remembers King Rama 1, the Founder of the Chakri Dynasty, which continues to this date. The current King Maha Vajiralongkorn is Rama X, the tenth Thai King of the Chakri Dynasty. Officially known as ‘King Buddha YodfaChulaloke the Great Day and Chakri Dynasty Memorial Day’,…
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Young Chon Buri couple in debt win 12 million baht in Thai lottery
A young couple in Chonburi, who say they are in debt, has won 12 million baht in the Thai national lottery. The couple won the 1st prize yesterday which is equivalent to US$360,000. 32 year old Saweng Norabut and 29 year old Kotchakorn Norabut went to the Nongkham Police Station yesterday with the set of 2 lottery tickets. The winning…
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Pattaya rounding up the homeless ahead of this weekend’s Pattaya Colorful event
Pattaya is rounding up homeless people ahead of its Pattaya Colorful event this weekend after locals complained. Officers from the Chonburi Social Development and Human Security Division, along with the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division inspected and interviewed homeless people and beggars on Pattaya Walking Street, Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya Beach and Soi Buakhow last night. Officials say most of the…
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Rohingya refugee camp fire leaves at least 11 dead in Bangladesh
A fire at a Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camp has left at least 11 dead. The camp, in Cox’s Bazar was destroyed by the fire leaving at least 10,000 Rohingya families without homes. The Inter Sector Coordination Group reports that those families total around 45,000 people, but say that number could climb as rescue organisations assess the situation. Hospitals, schools, women’s…
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Thai government ditches water fights for Songkran – back to basics for 2021
So we’re going to have Songkran this year but not as we know it. The CCSA and Public Health Ministry have formally taken the ‘song’ out of Songkran for 2021. They have determined that there won’t be any foam parties, no activities where you get together with all your friends for Songkran activities and no ‘water splashing’, a polite way…
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Pattaya to hold logistics forum to renew efforts of making it a technology hub
Pattaya is holding a logistics forum next week with renewed hopes of making the city a major technology and convention hub. The forum will be held on March 25 at the Amari hotel, which will also feature an online format for those who cannot attend. Strict Covid-19 measures will be in place such as temperature checks, mandatory mask wearing, social…
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Thai navy receives PETA award after rescuing cats from sinking ship
The Thai navy is celebrating receiving a PETA award after rescuing a group of cats from a sinking ship that had caught fire in the Andaman sea. The Hero to Animals Award was given to the naval officials by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals group after Facebook user “Nookool.b” posted photos of the feline rescue mission. The ship’s…
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Houseowner discovers 3,000 year old skeletons on land in Ang Thong province
A houseowner in the central province of Ang Thong, has discovered 3 skeletons on his land that are thought to be over 3,000 years old. 54 year old Somkiat Briboon says this most recent discovery isn’t the first, as the first lot of bones was found last year after preparing his 17 rai worth of land, in Sawang Ha District,…
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Phuket Monopoly game creators need your help with token designs
Phuket is set to get its own version of the popular game MONOPOLY and its creators want your help with ideas for the specialised tokens. ‘MONOPOLY: Phuket Edition’ was announced last month which will see the street art on the board game replaced with that of famous places around Thailand’s famous tourist destination. Such art will include beaches, hotels, shops,…
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Thai police officer gets slap down after trying to marry mistress
A Thai policeman is making headlines after getting a slap down from his own mother after he attempted to marry his mistress. The man went as far as scheduling a wedding, with monks present to bless the union, but his mom and real wife of 16 years, along with their kids, aged 5 and 15, crashed the party. Nipapan Peuchpen,…
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Australians wake up to Facebook news blackout
Facebook is under fire as Australians accuse the social media giant of censoring news along with emergency services in an apparent blackout. This morning, residents logged in, saying they weren’t able to post links to news articles or view the Facebook pages of any news outlets worldwide. The move that has essentially blocked Australia from being in the loop, comes…
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Thai and Chinese officials come together for Chinese New Year
Thai and Chinese officials are coming together to celebrate the Chinese New Year by marking 46 years of diplomatic relations with each other. The ceremony in Bangkok was led by Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports and China’s Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Thailand. The ceremony also included other high-ranking government officials who…
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Thai government steps into the matchmaking game
Looking for a hot date? Don’t worry, the Thai government is stepping in the matchmaking game in case you haven’t found your soulmate. The Bureau of Reproductive Health is launching a campaign this week with the hopes of boosting Thailand’s birth rate. The bureau is hosting a singles’ meetup on May 14 with registration for the event opening up today.…
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Florida is ready to host Olympics if Tokyo draws back
If Tokyo backs out of hosting the Olympics, Florida might step in. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rescheduled for this July. With a fairly unpredictable future, Tokyo could back out of its plan to host the Olympics. Florida’s chief financial officer says the Sunshine State is ready. The CFO, Jimmy Patronis,…
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Son lights himself on fire after asking mom for lottery money
A woman’s 32 year old son, in northern Thailand’s Phrae Province, is in critical condition from lighting himself on fire after falsely believing that his mother had won the lottery and would not share her winnings with him. Police at Denchai Police Station were alerted of a man who burned himself in Ban Mai Jua, Denchai District and notified a…
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Why Thailand celebrates the New Year not once, not twice, but 3 times
While the year just gone may be referred to as 2020 by most of us (with perhaps a few expletives thrown in, given the year it was), we are currently in the year 2563 in Thailand. As everyone who lives here knows, Thailand uses the Buddhist calendar, as well as the Western, or Gregorian, calendar, adding to our eternal confusion…
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Thailand remembers the 16th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami
It was Boxing Day, now 16 years distant, when the Andaman Coast of Thailand, and coastlines around the Indian Ocean, suffered one of nature’s most disastrous events of our generation. The tsunami reached Phuket and provinces nearby around 10am on Boxing Day, December 26, 2004, and caused uncountable losses. Official Thai government statistics estimate 4,812 souls were lost to the…
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A very merry Christmas from The Thaiger team
Caitlin, Champ, Earth, Jett, May, Austin, Tim and Mike would like to wish every single one of our readers a heartfelt Merry Christmas. Whilst the challenges of 2020 have brought grief, confusion and sadness to many, it’s also reminded us about the importance of family and friendships. It’s also been a year of change for us too… we’re all in…
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Reasons to celebrate being in Thailand for Christmas
Let’s face it, if you live in Thailand but normally spend Christmas in your home country or elsewhere, that’s unlikely to be happening this year. And if you don’t live in Thailand but have found yourself stuck here (and what a place to be stuck!), then consider yourself incredibly lucky. There are far worse places to spend Christmas – and…
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Merry Christmas, Thai style
Technically, Christmas is not celebrated in Thailand. The April holiday of Songkran, or Thai New Year, is probably the closest equivalent, when families come together in a celebration centered around Buddhist practices. But December 25 is not a public holiday, and in most cases, the only time you’d find a Thai having Christmas Day off, would be if it happened…
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Chiang Mai New Year countdown events still on
New Year countdown events in Chiang Mai are still on, despite Thailand’s record spike in Covid-19 cases. Cancelling the celebrations would hurt the already battered economy and local officials decided not to ban the events due to the economic impact, according to director of the Public Health Promotion Division Chiang Mai municipality, Danai Sarapruek. Danai says measures are in place…
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The best places to see 2020 Christmas lights in Bangkok
If you live in Bangkok and you’re a fan of all things Christmas, you won’t want to miss out on some of the best light installations in the capital. With the city alive with Christmas decorations, trees, and Santa installations, here’s a round-up of some of the must-see attractions. Let’s Celebrate at Central Embassy Santa Claus is everywhere at this…
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