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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More rain on the way for the north and north-east
The Thai Meteorological Department has issued a weather warning that on July 29 and 30 a monsoonal trough will lie across Myanmar, Laos and upper Vietnam, while the moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf. In other words, more rain on the way. They forecast that this will lead to more rain in the North and…
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Resort used by Palang Pracharat over weekend may be on encroached land
PHOTO: 88 Garmonte Resort, Nakhon Ratchasima – Foursquare Thailand’s Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation is mulling the demolition of a venue where Palang Pracharat held a seminar at the weekend. The party has come under fire from opposition MPs about using the forest resort which has allegedly encroached on forest land. Located in Wang Nam Khieo district in…
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No rain in sight, eight Thai provinces on verge of water crisis
Thailand’s water situation is becoming critical with eight provinces now listed as critical. Officials are now describing the situation as the worst drought in 50 years. PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha has allocated 1 billion baht to finance the expansion of local water bodies in drought-hit provinces. The lack of rain has left as many as 17 major dams in the…
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Fake goods valued at 11 million baht go up in smoke in Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai Province’s Customs Department in Mae Sai has incinerated illegal and fake items valued at over 11 million baht. The illegal items are goods that “do not follow the customs law of Thailand”, aka. fakes and brand copies. Most of the items were seized from the Thai-Burmese Border Gate in Mae Sai. The illegal goods were gathered and burned at…
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“Worst drought in living memory”, Thai farmers in the north
Parts of Thailand are facing their worst drought in 50 years. Farmers in some parts of the north and north east say that the situation is the “worst in living memory”, as reported in Sanook. Meanwhile, The Meteorological Department says Thailand will experience the worst drought in at least a decade, with average precipitation across large regions of the country falling…
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Wild animals and wild flowers – tulip season at the Khon Kaen Zoo
PHOTO: Khon Kaen Zoo Blooming fields of colourful Siam tulips are now competing fort attention with white lions, tigers, orangutan, camels, white rhinoceros and exotic animals at the Khon Kaen Zoo. Th zoo, in Khao Suan Kwang district, has a new seasonal attraction to its collection of wild animals. The combination of wildlife and wild flowers makes for an unbeatable…
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Over a million methamphetamine pills seized in Lampang sting
Original story by Pratheep Nanthaparp And man has been arrested and 1,104,000 methamphetamine pills confiscated following a sting Lampang’s main city area in northern Thailand last Saturday (July 13). Provincial Police Region 5 met with the media yesterday morning (Monday) to explain how undercover police purchased a small quantity of pills from 34 year old Sarayuth Rattanadilok. It was agreed…
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‘Irishman’ nabbed after 11 year overstay in north-east Thailand
PHOTO: Naew Na Nakhon Ratchasima Immigration, along with local tourist police, have arrested an Irishman,Samuel Caleb Birch, who has been on an overstay of 4,192 days. That’s nearly 11 years and six months! According to Naew Na, the man was arrested at a restaurant in Soi Moo Ban Yamo 5, Ban Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, north-east Thailand. According to his visa, he arrived…
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Return to Tham Luang Cave – a personal perspective
by guest writer Mikko Paasi Now that is has been a year since the successful rescue of the Thai football team and their coach from the Tham Luang cave, I think it would be appropriate to share some footage from inside the cave to show how it looks like after the operation and without the muddy water. As we know, the…
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Thailand’s Dengue Fever infections highest in five years
The Thai Bureau of Epidemiology, at the Department of Disease Control, reports that there have been 44,671 cases of dengue fever reported in the country, the highest number in five years, indicating that there have been 67.62 dengue patients in every 100,000 of the Thai population, which is 1.6 times higher than last year. The numbers take into account 2019 up…
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Thai Mekong People’s Network takes on China over Mekong River management
PHOTO: Airpaz Blog Local residents and environmentalists living along the Thai banks of the Mekong River spent the weekend in hot debate with the Chinese Embassy about Beijing’s utilisation and management of the River. While the embassy accused Thai media of spreading false information on China’s development projects in Southeast Asia’s longest rivers, the Thai Mekong People’s Network fought back,…
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19 million baht put aside to rehabilitate controversial Doi Suthep land in Chiang Mai
The Thai Judiciary Office says they will allocate 19 million baht for the rehabilitation of land at the foot of Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep – recently the subject of controversy and protests from local activists and environmentalists. The plot was initially set aside, then developed as a site for court officials’ residences, but Chiang Mai locals said the development was…
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Khon Kaen school evacuated over fears building ‘near collapse’
More than 100 teachers and students have been evacuated from a Khon Kaen school in the north-east. The evacuation was sparked by fears the 40 year old building may collapse. The Ban Lao Nadi School in Khon Kaen’s Muang district was evacuated this morning along with school furniture and teaching materials. Khon Kaen Primary Educational Service Area Office 1 deputy…
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Sacked female ex-employee arrested over 7-Eleven heist in Nakhon Ratchasima
Police have arrested a former female 7-Eleven shop staff member in Nakhon Ratchasima for an alleged robbery that netted 2.3 million baht in cash. Read the original story HERE. Police arrested 25 year old Rojana Chongklang at her house yesterday, about 36 hours after the robbery. She used to work at a 7-Eleven store in the Ban Pho community but was…
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FOUND. The day the team were found in Thailand’s Tham Luang caves
It was twelve months, today, that the missing Mu Pa team, 12 young men aged between 11 and 16, and their 25 year old football coach, were finally located after nine days of frantic searching. The team members had visited the Tham Luang cave after their routine Saturday afternoon football practice for a short excursion. After they headed in the…
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Thai and royal flags ‘disrespected’ in Pai, northern Thailand
PHOTO: Khaosod English “It was farangs.” Locals in Pai, northern Thailand, are reacting angrily to tourists who damaged a royal insignia flag and Thai national flag. The two flags were found crumpled on the shores of the Pai River. Locals say the tourists had walked along a nearby street, stolen the flagpoles and flags, and marched around the town in…
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Loei teacher accused of sexually assaulting male students
A male teacher in the Loei province, near the Laos border, has been accused of sexually harassing teenagers at the Loeipittayakom School, one of the best-known educational institutions in the northeastern province. The teacher, named by the parents but whose identity has been withheld at this stage, has not yet directly responded to the allegations, but locals allege he has…
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Wayward rocket lands in passenger seat of pick-up in Roi-et during annual rocket festival
A local north-east rocket festival entry has made an unexpected landing, into trees hanging over a road, then dropping straight into the passenger seat of a passing pick-up. The rocket, part of the annual Bun Bang Fai rocket festival in Suwannaphum district of Roi-Et, was a wayward entry that ended up in a tree after being launched. Over the two…
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Police raid Khon Kaen factory over Doraemon copyright violation
Police arrested a business owner and seven employees after they found 300,000 baht worth of illegally-manufactured goods in her warehouse in Khon Kaen’s Chumpae district that violated the ‘Doraemon’ copyright. Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio, the pen name of the duo Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko. The series has also been adapted…
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75 tonnes of marijuana and Kratom destroyed in Nakhon Phanom
8.4 tonnes of marijuana and 67.3 tonnes of kratom leaves have been destroyed by Nakhon Phanom provincial administration officials in a ceremony to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The ceremony was held in an open field in front of the Muang district office. As part of the ceremony, officials also launched local campaigns against drug abuse.…
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Four arrested as police intercept 572 kilograms of marijuana heading south
Four suspects have been arrested after police intercepted an attempt to smuggle 572 kilograms of marijuana from Mukdahan to Songkhla. The deputy Phatthalung police chief says that two suspects were arrested in Phatthalung in a pick-up truck carrying the drugs, along with a couple who were arrested in a car that was driving ahead to advise of any checkpoints ahead.…
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Thai Air Asia pulling the plug on its Chiang Rai-Singapore service?
from ttrweekly.com The Thai AirAsia’s direct flight between Chiang Rai and Singapore is unlikely to survive. That’s the outlook of travel website ttrweekly.com Launched early 2019 with little fanfare, the new international route was one of four direct services that use Chiang Rai as a hub. The others were direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, Macau and Phuket. So what’s gone…
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Truck carrying 30,000 bottles of beer rolls over
PHOTO: INN News A 22 wheeler truck has flipped on its side in Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok. The truck was carrying 30,240 bottles of a famous brand of Thai beer. The driver was 53 year old Tas Nirankum from Chaiyaphum Province. Tas reported that he was on Suwinthawong 304 Road delivering 2,520 boxes of beer to Chonburi from Khon Kaen Province.…
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Thousands throng to Chiang Rai to remember the 1st anniversary of Tham Luang saga
PHOTO: Thai PBS Thousands of locals plus tourists, along with some of the key players in the search and rescue of 13 Mu Pa (Wild Boar) footballers trapped in the flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, celebrated the first anniversary of the day the team stumbled into the Tham Luang caves setting off the epic drama…
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26 year old Thai gored to death by wild elephants in Buri Ram
FILE PHOTO: Expert Vagabond A Buri Ram man has been gored to death by a wild elephant in his tapioca plantation. The incident happened late yesterday (Wednesday). His wife told police she “played dead” to escape harm from the marauding elephants. None Din Daeng police were informed that 26 year old Surasak Phijaranakhonburi had been fatally gored on his left side…
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Syrian nabbed in north eastern Thailand on four year overstay
PHOTO: NawawNa.com A Syrian national has told immigration officials that arrested him in Mukdahan that he didn’t know how to get an extension to his visa. 45 year old Ghassan Bajbouj was arrested after he presented his passport to Pol Capt Wilailuk Thawacharee at the Friendship Bridge 2 checkpoint in Bang Sai Yai in the north eastern Thai city. His…
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4,500 endangered baby turtles seized from passenger van in Thailand’s northwest
Customs officials and soldiers have seized more than 4,500 endangered baby turtles along with tropical fish from a passenger van in Tak, northwest Thailand. The van was stopped on the Mae Sot-Tak highway in Mae Sot district. northwestern province Thai PBS reports that the seized turtles include 586 Indian star tortoises, 75 common snapping turtles and about 3,800 Japanese turtles.…
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Bus conductor fired, company fined for molesting ladyboy passenger
An inter-provincial Thai bus conductor has been fired and the bus company fined 5,000 baht after he allegedly molested a transgender passenger on-board. The bus was travelling to Nong Bua Lamphu, near Udon Thani, north-east Thailand, from Bangkok. The bus company, which Land Transport officials have declined to name, was fined 5,000 baht by his office for providing substandard bus…
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Chiang Rai woman shot in market car park by spurned ex-lover
PHOTO MONTAGE: Chiang Rai Times A 27 year old Thai woman, Sawitree Phromwong, was allegedly murdered last week by a scorned ex lover after he confronted the woman and her new boyfriend at the Pa Sak market in Chaing Rai. She was sitting in the back of a car when shot. The man then jumped back into his car, along with…
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Toon thanks the north-east for amazing support
PHOTOS: facebook.com/pg/kaokonlakao Bodyslam lead singer, and mega charity runner Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai, has expressed gratitude for the support and donations his Foundation received from Isaan residents at the end of the two day running event to assist small public hospitals in the north-east. Toon, other Thai celebrities, local north-eastern identities and leading officials, ran a staged 187 kilometre route from Nong…
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