Northern Thailand News
Northern Thailand news, Chiang Mai news, business, tourism, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and travel insights from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Northern Thailand news source.
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Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...
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Teen drowns in swamp during Thai boy scout challenge
A teenage scout drowned yesterday after jumping in a swamp during a mock war with teachers who were throwing rocks at the students, acting as if the stones were bombs. The teen was later reported missing when he did not return home. It took divers 4 hours to search the 3-metre deep swamp and find 15 year old Noppakao Sita’s…
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Officials tracking down foreigners with fake IDs opening up illegal businesses in Chiang Rai
Thai news site TNA is reporting that the Department of Special Investigation is investigating 255 foreigners who are allegedly in possession of fake Thai IDs in the Wiang Kaen district of Chiang Rai. The report also claims that they were operating illegal businesses. One of the suspects is Chinese but carried a Thai ID saying that he was a Thai…
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Hospital allegedly offers a meager 5,000 baht initially to dead patient’s family after neglecting him for hours
A northeastern Thai hospital is allegedly offering a meager 5,000 baht to a patient’s family after he died while waiting to be treated. The Bua Yai Hospital director, Charnchai Boonyusays, says he feels “regret” over the 46 year old’s death after hospital staff allegedly neglected to treat him for hours. Sompong Sammor, was admitted to the hospital with a swollen…
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Chiang Mai hotels slash prices amid ongoing slump in tourism
Hotels in the northern province of Chiang Mai have been forced to cut their rates by up to 90%, in a desperate bid to attract more domestic tourists. According to a Bangkok Post report, La-Iad Bungsrithong, from the northern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, says with tourists mainly favouring the southern beach destinations this month, hotel operators in the…
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Head of army band shot dead at military base in north-east Thailand – VIDEO
An army band leader has been shot dead at a military camp in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Phanom, with police launching a murder investigation. 34 year old Rungchalerm Pansawasdi was shot 3 times in the head and neck, at the Phra Yod Muang Kwang army base on Wednesday evening. He had just returned from having dinner with his wife,…
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Thai Public Health Ministry starts cannabis cultivation project in Buri Ram
A cannabis cultivation project is being launched by Thailand’s Public Health Ministry in the Isaan province Buri Ram. 6 cannabis plants will be given to each member of the local Non Malai Community Enterprise as a pilot project on commercial cultivation of cannabis, according to the director of the ministry’s cannabis research group, Kitti Losuwannarak. Cannabis flowers and buds will…
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Man arrested in northeast Thailand, accused of producing fake bank notes
Police in the north-eastern province of Si Sa Ket have arrested a 37 old man accused of producing counterfeit currency. Phichaphob Phankham was detained at a property in the Nong Phai district as part of an investigation into a trail of fake 100 baht notes in circulation in Si Sa Ket and neighbouring provinces. Police say his arrest follows the…
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Mae Sot schools close after just 1 hour reopening when 5 students were found infected
All 15 schools in Mae Sot district of Tak province have been ordered to close again just 1 hour after the first day of school reopenings in the province, as 5 children tested positive for Covid-19. Mae Sot City Municipality Office issued an urgent order to close all schools in the district after a vendor tested positive for Covid-19. At…
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Monk arrested on drug charges, allegedly told police methamphetamine was a merit gift
Police arrested a 45 year old Buddhist monk for allegedly getting high on methamphetamine at a temple in the Isaan province Buriram. The monk allegedly told police that a follower gave him the drugs as a merit gift and convinced him to take it. Satuek district police say they received a complaint from the Baan Kok Mueng temple’s abbot claiming…
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Air pollution reaches “unhealthy” levels in Thailand’s north and northeast
18 provinces in Thailand’s north and northeast are being hit by a wave of smoke and air pollution as the burning season kicks in for the country’s agricultural sector. The next 2 months are the peak of the burning off season for agricultural waste as farmers prepare their land for the next crops of corn, rice and sugar and use…
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Ring road collapses leaving at least 10 injured in Nakhon Ratchasima
An elevated section of a ring road in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima has collapsed, leaving at least 10 workers injured. The incident occurred on Sura Narai Road in tambon Khok Sung in Muang district at around 2pm today. The injured included 1 Thai and the others Cambodian and Burmese nationals. Most had cuts on their bodies while some…
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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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Chiang Mai night markets reopening tomorrow
Night markets in Chiang Mai will be reopened tomorrow after the province went 6 consecutive days with no new Covid-19 cases. According to Chiang Mai Governor, Charoenrit Sanguansat, the province and the provincial disease control committee agreed to ease up restrictions on social and business activities after the number of infections continually dropped and no new infections were reported during…
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Police raid Isaan farm, arrest 2 people allegedly involved in illegal horse meat trade
A 44 year old Thai woman was arrested for allegedly trafficking and selling horse meat illegally after police in the Isaan province Khon Kaen raided a farm and found 44 horses that – they say – were about to be slaughtered. Reports say the farm owner was also arrested, but did not give any additional information. The horse meat was…
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A wild elephant kills 80 year old camper in Khao Yai
A wild elephant killed an 80 year old man camping in Khao Yai National Park early this morning. Park officials believe the bull elephant was in musth, which is when the elephant has rise in reproductive hormones and becomes aggressive. 80 year old Prayot Jitbun was sleeping in his tent when the elephant attacked. Other nearby campers alerted park officials…
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Wildfires hit Mae Hong Son’s Pai district
Several wildfires have broken out in Mae Hong Son’s Pai district in Northern Thailand. The governor says he believes that several blazes happening in the area are a result of the dry season arriving earlier than usual. Using the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer system, the local forest fire control centre detected 155 so-called “heat points” in the Pai district from…
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Roi Et records first case of Covid-19 in employee from Chon Buri karaoke bar
The north-eastern province of Roi Et has confirmed its first Covid-19 case since last month’s resurgence of the virus. Governor Chayan Sirimas says the patient is a female employee from a karaoke joint in the Sri Racha district of Chon Buri province, in the east of the country. “She had close contact with another patient from Chon Buri province (her…
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Schools and lottery market in Loei close after family tests positive for Covid-19
Schools and a lottery market in the Northeastern province Loei were ordered to close after a family tested positive for Covid-19. The province is marked as a “yellow zone” under high surveillance with a total of 6 reported Covid-19 infections. Schools will be temporarily closed from today until 24 January, while the lottery market will be closed from today onwards.…
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500 kilograms of methamphetamine found hidden in phone booth call boxes
Police found 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs hidden in 154 phone booth call boxes at a home in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau raided the home yesterday and arrested 6 people who are suspected of being members of a major drug trafficking operation in the Northeast. Along with half a tonne…
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3 people summonsed after allegedly attacking world-renowned Buri Ram dancer
3 young men are being summonsed in connection with the assault of Nopparat Boonrat, a world-renowned dancer and Buri Ram native. Buri Ram is a north eastern province. The men, aged 20-23, whose names have been withheld at this stage, are accused of severely injuring Nopparat last Wednesday night at a restaurant in Lahan Sai district in this northeastern province.…
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Khon Kaen mandates Covid testing for travellers to and from Samut Sakhon
The Khon Kaen governor is taking action after the recent Covid surge in Samut Sakhon by mandating that people returning to the province must undergo a Covid-19 screening. Somsak Jangtrakul says the new measures include those returning as of December 1 after he called a meeting of the provincial disease control today. At the meeting, it was decided that those…
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Festival-goers claim event shut down over pro-democracy content, not Covid-19
Social media users are accusing officials of shutting down a music festival in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima due to its pro-democracy content. The claims follow a statement from governor Wichian Chantaranothai, who says the festival was terminated early due to Covid-19 risks. He accuses organisers of failing to implement adequate preventative measures, saying there was no limit on…
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Returnees from Myanmar account for 9 of 17 new Covid infections today
Today, Thailand has reported 17 new cases of the novel coronavirus found in people entering Thailand from other countries, with 9 infected returnees coming from Myanmar through the Mae Sai district in northern Chiang Rai. All 9 were women who had worked at nightspots in Tachilek, the Burmese border town, featuring the now infamous 1G1-7 Hotel, which was the site…
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Man dies searching for shells while another dies in marathon
A man has died while searching for shells off Jomtien Beach, just south of Pattaya, after running out of oxygen. The man reportedly ran out of oxygen 9 metres underwater, when using scuba diving gear in deep waters. Rescue divers arrived at the scene and found 10 fishing boats about 1 kilometre away from the beach where local fishermen were…
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Public health officers investigate mussel seller after alleged food poisoning death
Public health officers are investigating a mussel seller in the Isaan province Mukdahan, which borders Laos, after a man developed food poisoning symptoms sometime after eating the mussels and died. 35 year old Watchara Mada and his father ate the mussels last week. Although his father ate the mussels, Watchara “feasted” on the shellfish, according to his mother, 52 year old…
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2 local cases in Bangkok contribute to Sunday total of 14 new Covid-19 cases
2 people have been identified in Bangkok as locally infected with Covid-19. The announcement follows a week of revelations coming out of the north from the Chiang Rai border crossing into Myanmar where Thai prostitutes and workers have been crossing back into Thailand, infected, without going through any quarantine procedures. Thailand recorded 14 new cases of the coronavirus today, including…
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Go looking for mushrooms, find 10 grenades – NE Thailand
You’re just walking along, casually foraging for mushrooms when, behold, you come across 10 grenades! 10 LIVE grenades. That was the surprise awaiting a local mushroom picker in Si Sa Ket, North East Thailand, at the Huai Sala Wildlife Sanctuary. 58 year old Supin Thammaporn, was gathering mushrooms around the park when he found the unlikely cache of grenades. Military officials…
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Isaan woman saves her husband from elephant attack
A woman saved her husband from a wild elephant attack by screaming and banging objects together, driving the elephant away with the loud noises. 33 year old Supat Klonsalab, a rubber tapper in the Isaan province Bueng Kan, is being treated at a local hospital. Luckily, his injuries from being stomped by the elephant are not severe. 37 year old…
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12 people arrested for allegedly illegally crossing Thai-Myanmar border
12 Thais were arrested by Chaing Rai Immigration Police for allegedly illegally crossing the Myanmar border back into Thailand. The arrests follow a small coronavirus outbreak in Northern Thailand while Myanmar reports hundreds of new Covid-19 cases each day. Over the weekend, a 29 year old Thai woman tested positive for Covid-19 in Chiang Mai after visiting the hospital with…
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Young monk killed by wild elephant while meditating
A young Buddhist monk was found dead on a mountain in the Northern province Kamphaeng Phet. Reports say the 21 year old was killed by a wild elephant while he was meditating. The monk walks down the mountain everyday at 6am to receive his daily alms, according to the village headman Kraiwan Nontibut in the Saeka district. When the monk…
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