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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Students ride elephants to school in northern Thailand
Some might take a bus, others ride their bike, some will walk. But some Thai kids arrived at school via elephant this morning in Tak province, northern Thailand. Today was the first day of nationwide on-site classes in Thai schools after almost two years of online, remote studying. To mark the occasion, parents from Baan Ya Por School in Phob…
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6 million baht worth of gold stolen in Northern Thailand
Police are on the lookout for an armed robber who fled the crime scene with nearly 6 million baht worth of gold from a Big C Supermarket in Tak, Northern Thailand, on Sunday. The robber burst into the popular superstore, withdrew a handgun, demanded cash and several trays of gold jewelry, before making his escape on a white Yamaha motorbike…
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Chiang Rai businessman gives away cash with a mini treasure hunt
A man in the northern province of Chiang Rai has been giving away money to locals in a make-shift mini treasure hunt. He’s posted videos on TikTok to show people where he has hidden the money, allowing locals to figure out the clues and find the money. He told Thai media that he wanted to help people and encourage tourists…
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In Chiang Rai, monk novices receive condoms as an offering
Teen novice monks in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province received some rather unholy offerings in their alms bowls, according to another monk at their temple. The monk posted on Facebook last week saying that the novices found condoms in their alms bowls. The monk, Phra Chingchai, believes someone might have snuck the condoms in the bowls because there are many…
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Police expand investigation into 11 bodies found at Isaan temple cult
Police are widening their investigation into a cult at a temple in north-eastern Thailand, where 11 bodies were kept. According to a Bangkok Post report, the bodies were discovered during a raid on the temple in the Khon San district of Chaiyaphum province. A 75-year-old man, named as Tawee Nanra, and allegedly the cult leader, has been arrested. Bail was…
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Man steals ฿300,000 from his stepmother and gives it away “to make merit”
A man from the Isaan province of Buriram allegedly stole ฿300,000 from his stepmother because he wanted to “make merit” by giving it away. He gave away ฿109,000 cash at a local market and bought products valued at ฿200,000 which he gave away to locals for free. CCTV footage shows 39 year old Wuttisak sitting on a motorbike and spreading…
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Thai school introduces points system for “bad students”
A school in Surin, northeastern Thailand has introduced strict, conservative guidelines that will deduct points off students for not following the school rules. A photo of the student’s handbook was shared on the “Bad Student” or “Nak Lien Leaw” Facebook page. The school’s principal told students on orientation day if they don’t like the rules, they are free to leave,…
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Thai cult raided, 11 corpses found, followers urged to consume leader’s waste
Police and residents in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum, together with Thai media, have raid the ‘secret’ make-shift compound of a cult hidden in the middle of a rice paddy field after one victim complained that the cult leader “imprisoned followers” and urged them to “consume human waste”. Thai media reported that 11 unidentified corpses were found inside the compound,…
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Man in northern Thailand found dead under palm tree
A man in the northern Thai province of Phitsanulok was found lying dead under a palm tree this morning. The man’s relatives told police he had left his home early in the morning to tap palm milk, as he did every day. They got worried when he didn’t come back at 9am, so they went to search for him, and…
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Jealous husband shoots wife, then turns gun on himself in Nakhon Ratchasima
In Nakhon Ratchasima, northeastern Thailand, a vendor was shot by her jealous husband, who then shot and killed himself at the Tor Chok-anan fruit stand at Suranaree market. The police found a .38 gun at the scene. The wife, 43 year old Anong, was discovered face down in a pool of blood when police arrived at the scene. She was…
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Woman in northern Thailand allegedly planned to have husband killed
A woman in Thailand’s lower northern province of Nakhon Sawan allegedly planned to have her husband run over by a car, so that she and her friend could share his 10 million baht insurance payout. The woman, 48 year old Pratheep, and her friend, 60 year old Jaemchan, allegedly hired Jaemchan’s nephew to do the deed for them, running Pratheep’s…
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Officials warn of upcoming storms in several regions of Thailand
Officials are warning of thunderstorms, gusty winds, and even hail in Thailand’s north, northeastern, central, and eastern regions. This includes the Bangkok area. Last night parts of the city were presented with an impressive thunder and light show to welcome in the start of the annual wet season. The Thai Meteorological Department says that from May 1-2, a moderate high-pressure…
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Isaan province Khon Kaen maintains alcohol curfew at 9pm starting May 1
Last week the CCSA meeting agreed that Thailand provinces in the Blue and Yellow zones could serve alcohol until midnight (an hour later than the earlier curfew set at 11pm). However, the provincial governor of the Isaan province Khon Kaen believes it wouldn’t be safe for his residents and has decided to renew the alcohol curfew at 9pm starting on…
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Thai authorities warn of jail time for catching or selling protected geckos
Rumours in Thailand saying geckos can sell for up to 1 million baht, depending on their size, might actually be true. Many Thai people have caught and sold geckos as a full-time job. But now the nation’s gecko hunters and sellers have to be more cautious since the authorities issued a warning, saying some geckos are on the wildlife preservation…
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GPS tracking collars for Thai elephants to follow their activities
Thailand’s wildlife authorities have successfully tracked and tagged a third of the wild elephant in the Phu Luang wildlife sanctuary in the north-eastern province of Loei (near the Laos border) attaching a GPS collar which will follow the elephant’s activities after many had left their normal grazing grounds for food. The GPS collars are being attached to 5 elephants and…
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Young Thai woman missing for 1 year makes contact with family
A Thai woman who was filed as a missing person over a year ago made contact with her elder sister on Friday. The 23 year old, from the northeast province of Buriram, reportedly said she broke off contact with her family because she didn’t want them to find out that a Phuket debt collector was chasing her for 100,000 baht.…
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UPDATE: Daughter has contacted missing family, police suspect economic hardship
Following the report on the missing family in the central province of Sukhothai, Thai media has updated the story that the daughter has been able to contact her family today and everyone was safe. However, she didn’t share more details about where her family was or why they had been impossible to contact. Police speculate that it may have been…
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Thai policemen accused of faking crimes to advance their careers
A woman has claimed a group of 17 police officers in the Isaan province of Amnat Charoen invented a ‘fake crime’ involving her to advance their careers. She claimed she had been working as a ‘spy’ for the local police for more than 20 years. But the officers wanted to get promoted, so they conspired with her, insisting that the…
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Political activist and Move Forward member found hanged in Isaan province
A male political activist and finance officer of the Move Forward Party has been found dead in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Initial reports suggest that he hanged himself at a bus stop near a police booth in front of the district office. But his mother believes her child was murdered as wounds and “mysterious evidence” have been identified.…
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Political activist and Move Forward member found hanged in north-east Thailand
A member of the Move Forward political party, who disappeared on Monday, has been found hanged in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Thai PBS World reports that the body of 27 year old activist Anan Lokate, aka “Boy”, was found hanged by a police kiosk in the district of Chaloem Phra Kiat yesterday. The secretary-general of the Move Forward…
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Two Thai women escape sinking car after GPS leads them into a canal
Another GPS horror story occurred this morning when 2 women driving home for the Songkran holiday ended up trapped in their sinking car in a canal in Prachin Buri province, northeast Thailand. Their GPS navigation system led them off the edge of the road, causing their car to drop 10 metres and land in a drainage canal. The women managed…
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Gold valued around 4.5 million baht stolen in Nakhon Ratchasima – VIDEO
A gunman has stolen gold valued at 4.5 million in the form of gold necklaces at a Lotus supermarket in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeastern Thailand. He ambushed the shop yelling… “This is a robbery. I have a gun.” The incident was caught on camera, and nobody was hurt during the heist. Other gold heists have not ended peacefully. Many Thai-style…
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Chiang Mai elephant camp invites tourists to visit for free this Songkran
If you can’t splash each other this Songkran, splash an elephant instead — in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai’s Maesa Elephant Camp invites tourists to splash in the water with elephants during the Songkran holidays, which will be celebrated this week from April 13 – 16. The camp is open from 9am – 3pm every day and admission is free. After…
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48 ‘restaurant’ goers test positive for drugs in Northeast Thailand
48 ‘restaurant’ goers tested positive for drugs in Khon Khaen province in Thailand’s Northeast in the early hours of this morning. Police found 62 customers in the restaurant. Apart from food, they found alcoholic drinks and packets of crystal methamphetamine on the tables. Empty packets were found in trash cans. Officers from Ban Pet police station had been tipped off …
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Songkran, and traffic, are in the air as Bangkok dwellers head ‘upcountry’
The spirit of Songkran is in Thailand’s air, as is heavy traffic, as Bangkok residents make road trips ‘upcountry’ to the Northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima and beyond. Motorway 6, or M6, in Pak Chong district, is not yet open to public travel. It will be open to drivers for two periods: April 11 to 14, and after Songkran from…
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Police seize nearly 1.4 billion baht assets from alleged drug network in Chiang Rai
The Department of Special Investigations seized nearly 1.4 billion baht in assets after searching three houses in Chiang Rai province yesterday. The houses belong to suspected members of a drug network. The assets included 246 bank accounts, 155 cars and motorcycles worth about 130 million baht, and land title deeds for 232 blocks of land worth about 1.3 billion baht.…
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Doing it alone: Surin province to declare Covid-19 endemic from April 1
The authorities in the north-eastern province of Surin say they will declare Covid-19 endemic from April 1, adding that they will become the first province in Thailand to do so. With the central government seemingly taking its time over lifting restrictions and moving to a “living with Covid” approach, Surin is going it alone. According to a Nation Thailand report,…
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Thai university expels hazing students, father of dead victim rejects financial compensation
15 senior Thai university students, involved in the violent and fatal hazing (bullying) of a freshman on March 13, have been dismissed from the Rajamangala University of Technology Isaan, Thailand. The ritual involved a total of 30 2nd year students and 37 freshmen, and resulted in the death of 19 year old Padyos “Prem” Chonpakdi. 10 other students, involved directly…
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Human rights official claims DNA tests infringe on Lahu hilltribe, Chiang Mai
In 2021, soldiers and police found large amounts of illegal drugs on the border in Fang district of Chiang Mai, according to a member of the National Human Rights Commission. The soldiers and police investigated nearby areas, which happened to be where 51 Lahu hilltribe members lived. The authorities then collected DNA samples from the 51 residents, suspecting they might…
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Chiang Rai officials detain 12 Chinese nationals after illegal border crossings
Border officials in the northern province of Chiang Rai have caught 12 Chinese nationals, in 3 separate operations, after the men entered Thailand illegally. According to a Bangkok Post report, the arrests happened in the Chiang Khong and Chiang Saen districts of the province in recent days. The detainees claimed they worked in casinos in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos and…
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