South Thailand News
Southern Thailand news, Phuket news, Koh Samui news, and Krabi updates—stay informed on business, tourism, and local events from Trang, Songkhla, Yala, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Southern Thailand 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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TripAdvisor slaps warning on Thailand’s ‘Sea View Resort & Spa’ review page
Be careful if you want to trash a Thai hotel in the land of fragile egos who use the handy tools of eager lawyers and draconian libel laws. Now TripAdvisor, the review website everyone loves to hate, is warning potential travellers to a particular Thai hotel that they could face severe consequences for sharing negative opinions about their experience. One visitor,…
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Man shot and killed, bomb explosion in deep south
A man was fatally shot and later, as rangers were patrolling, a bomb exploded – both incidents were in the Southern province of Narathiwat, an area plagued with violence from the more than two-decade-long insurgency. Around 6am this morning, 48 year old Sorpree Arma was shot dead in the Sri Sakhon district just as he was leaving his home to go…
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Government to consider rescue packages for tourism businesses in South
The government will hold a mobile Cabinet meeting in Phuket today to consider potential rescue packages for tourism-related businesses that have been ravaged by the closure of international borders. The proposals, which include soft loans for airlines and other businesses, come after PM Prayut Chan-o-cha met with Phuket business representatives and local officials yesterday. The Bangkok Post reports that the…
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PM in 2 day visit to economically-ravaged islands of Phuket, Samui
The PM and his Cabinet are visiting Phuket and Samui today and tomorrow, in order to meet with business leaders and provincial government, to discuss ways to help the decimated local economies. Since the closure of borders in late March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began its worldwide rampage, former tourist hotspots like the southern islands have borne the brunt of…
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Ang Thong National Park – Thailand’s most beautiful islands?
Today Manit takes you to Thailand’s second-largest island Koh Samui and then on to the stunning Ang Thong National Marine Park off the coast of Surat Thani in the Gulf of Thailand to seek the answer to the question… are the Ang Thong National Marine Park islands Thailand’s most beautiful. Then we will explore a magnificent turquoise lagoon, enjoy paddling…
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Bangkok Airways add 3 new local routes to their schedule
Some domestic routes are being added as local routes continue to expand. This time Bangkok Airways has announced it’s resuming its Samui-Phuket, Phuket-Hat Yai and Phuket-Pattaya/Rayong (U-Tapao) flights. The first additions to the schedule will be the Phuket-Samui flights resuming this Sunday, October 25, and the Phuket-Pattaya flights start again next Tuesday, October 27. The Phuket-Samui flights will be operating…
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Thailand’s land bridge plan still floating
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul says the government is still mulling the idea of a land bridge between the southern provinces of Ranong and Chumphon. The project’s aim would be to improve the infrastructure in the region by connecting the Gulf of Thailand directly with the Andaman Sea, “thereby making the Kingdom more competitive”. In a report in the Bangkok…
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Pattani ranger volunteer killed in bomb explosion, 2 others shot in ambush
A ranger volunteer was killed from a bomb explosion after an ambush in Pattani’s Sai Buri district in Southern Thailand. Gunmen in the ambush shot and injured 2 volunteers. A team of officers protecting teachers were driving on motorcycles through the district when they were ambushed by gunmen, police say. The alleged gunmen opened fire on the group, shooting 33 year…
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PM orders probe after top zoo official killed while investigating missing rare deer case at Songkhla Zoo
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered an investigation into the Songkhla Zoo after a top zoo official investigating a missing rare deer case was shot and killed by the zoo’s senior veterinarian in an apparent murder-suicide. After the fatal shooting, some have cited concerns that the 2 rare albino barking deer may have been stolen and sold in the illegal wildlife…
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Koh Phangan hotel probed after complaints of cultural appropriation for Angkor Wat design
A Koh Phangan hotel is saying sorry for using Cambodia’s culture and famous landmarks, including the popular Angkor Wat, in what looks to be a case of cultural appropriation, misusing or misrepresenting a culture and profiting off it. An investigation into the claims of cultural appropriation has been launched by Surat Thani Culture Office. Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is also…
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Officials threaten Ranong pier with closure over Covid violations
A pier in the southern province of Ranong is being threatened with closure after allowing the crew from a Myanmar fishing trawler to disembark and come ashore. This violates restrictions currently in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Myanmar is currently experiencing a surge in virus cases, going from 400 cases on August 20 to 17,794 cases today. The…
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Songkhla senior zoo official carries out murder-suicide after deers go missing
A senior zoo official in Songkhla has reportedly shot himself in his home in an apparent murder-suicide after being investigated over 2 missing rare albino barking deers. Phuvadol Suwanna, chief of the conservation and research section of the state-run zoo, allegedly murdered his boss, Suriya Senpong, the Director of the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand, while he was investigating the…
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The man who wrote the bad reviews for Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort has a criminal record
In the ongoing stoush between the American, Wesley Barnes, and Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort, the story is now reaching way beyond Thailand’s borders, being reported in mainstream media around the world. Much of the media discussion has focused on whether it is appropriate to be able to sue people over a bad review with criminal defamation. Defamation is a…
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Bride and groom shot in Nakhon Si Thammarat wedding
Four people have been killed during a Nakhon Si Thammarat wedding reception in the Tham Phannara district. One other person was seriously injured in the hail of bullets. Local police report that the incident occurred around 11pm on the road outside the house where the reception was being held in the Dusit tambon village. Two of the dead people were…
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Koh Chang resort sues American over bad review
A Koh Chang resort is fighting back and, reportedly, suing an American citizen after posting a nasty online review on TripAdvisor. After recently visiting the Sea View Resort on Trat province island in the Gulf of Thailand, American Wesley Barnes wrote an unflattering, almost bitchy, account of his stay prompting the owner to file an official complaint over the ‘unfair’…
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Mother allegedly kills 3 year old daughter in Surat Thani
A mother allegedly slashed her 3 year old daughter’s throat in Surat Thani’s Phun Phin district. The child was sleeping beside her at their rubber plantation home. Police say they found the child dead on the mattress, soaked in blood. They say the child’s throat had a deep cut. 43 year old Bupha Yuensuk admitted to the murder, police say.…
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Monkeys castrated after causing chaos in Songkhla
Monkeys have become so much of a problem in Songkhla that officials have decided to castrate them. The monkeys relied on food from tourists visiting Khao Tang Kuan Hill, also known by some as “Monkey Mountain.” But since there have been no tourists for months, the monkeys have made their way into the city looking for food. A similar project…
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Body found floating by Khanom fishing pier
A man’s body was found floating by a Khanom fishing pier in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat today. Police say the man looked to be about 25 to 30 years old. They say the man was wearing pants, a black T-shirt and shoes. No identification was on the man and police are investigating. No wounds were reported on the…
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Tuk tuk driver shot multiple times by rival driver in Songkhla
A Songkhla tuk tuk driver is in critical condition after a rival driver allegedly shot the man multiple times for taking his customers. 40 year old Chaowalit Phuthaksin allegedly shot the driver 9 times from behind just as the driver was calling out to potential customers. When police arrived to the scene, they found 40 year old Sao Phuangthong on…
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Tourists flock to Sichon temple, worship a spirit known for granting wishes
Thai tourists destinations have gone quiet due to the pandemic, but one southern Thailand temple is thriving. Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Wat Chedi is known for granting wishes, and apparently many come true (although people don’t tend to talk about the ones that don’t come true). It is packed with visitors not just on the weekends, but every day. Visitors worship Ai Khai, the…
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Ships want a shortcut: Studies to start on Thai canal and land bridge
Thailand could actually sliced in half by a canal right across the Malay Peninsula, linking the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Proposals have been in the works for hundreds of years, but now the idea is popping up again, and alternatives, as shipping companies try and find ways to cut their costs. The Thai government plans to hold…
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Monkeys take over Songkhla home while family away for holiday
Monkeys took over a Songkhla home in Southern Thailand while a family was away during the 4 day long weekend holiday. Monkeys were on the roof, in the trees and on the fence while trash was scattered across the yard and driveway. Luckily, the monkeys couldn’t get inside the home (although we bet they tried). Monkeys frequent the area near the…
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2 insurgents killed, 4 ranger injured in Songkhla clash
Rangers have shot and killed 2 suspected insurgents in the latest clashes in Thailand’s Deep South, this time in Songkhla’s Chana and Thepha district last night. Police and soldiers headed to the area after receiving reports that 4 insurgents were in the ares and travelling on 2 motorcycles. The suspects dispersed as the police and soldiers arrived. 3 separate clashes followed.…
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Foreign tourist dies after falling from cliff at Ranong waterfall
A tourist from Uzbekistan has died after slipping from a cliff edge while taking a photograph in the southern province of Ranong. The man, named in a Nation Thailand report as Soipov Abdullokh, was visiting Ngao Waterfall National Park with 5 Russian tourists. Ngao Waterfall National Park is between Ranong and Chumpon in Southern Thailand. The incident happened around 1.00pm…
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Songkhla pageant ends in shambles, contestant accuses judges of fixing scores
A beauty pageant came under fire after 10 contestants were all declared the winners, ending the Miss Samila 2020 early after a contestant accused the judges of rigging the scores. The 10 finalists split the 200,000 baht of prize money and the top 5 contestants got an extra 10,000 baht. A good deal for those who would’ve lost, bad for those who…
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Southern Thailand insurgents ambush police vehicle
A group of insurgents allegedly shot up a police vehicle while it was travelling in the southern province Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia. 50 bullet casings were found on the ground after the ambush. Luckily, the 5 police officers, including the province’s deputy police chief, were not injured. The police vehicle was equipped with bullet proof windows and the body of…
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Body found with gunshot wound, police open murder investigation
Police have opened a murder investigation after a man’s body was found in a drain in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand. He had a gunshot wound to his head and officers say he was shot from a close range. His hands were found handcuffed behind his back. A local was fishing at the Tha Rua-Hua Trud canal…
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Gunfire exchange kills alleged drug dealer, injures 3 police
An alleged drug dealer was killed and 3 police officers were injured in a gunfire exchange this morning. Police say 46 year old Udom Rattanamanee, who was killed, and his wife Areeya Panthip were allegedly major drug dealers in Phuket. Around 8am this morning, police went to Udom’s house in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat with arrest warrants for…
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Songkhla fisherman found murdered in lake house
A man in the southern Songkhla province was shot dead at a house on stilts in the middle of Songkhla Lake in the small hours of this morning. A Singha Nakhon police duty officer says he was informed of the incident at about 3:40am. Officers were sent to the scene to investigate. Police found the body of the man lying…
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Surat Thani forest ranger found dead
A member of the local forest patrol, who had gone missing after his boat struck a stump near the Ratchaprapha dam in the southern province of Surat Thani, was found dead yesterday. Thanakorn Chana-aksorn, from the Khlong Ya forest protection unit, is suspected to have suffered head injuries from the impact of the crash and subsequently drowned in the incident…
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