Twenty years is a long time to wait for a hospital, even one built for elephants. On September 26, Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine finally cut the ribbon on its new Elephant Hospital building, part of the Center for Elephant and Wildlife Health in Mae Taeng district, and the people who showed up to watch had earned the right to look pleased with themselves. The project trace … Continued
A team of experts from the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity spent three days last week, September 23 to 25, touring Doi Inthanon National Park to size it up for nomination as an ASEAN Heritage Park. The visit followed a cabinet decision on September 15 to formally put the park forward, and by most accounts it went well. The assessors walked the checklist you’d expect: biodiversity, ecosystems and hab … Continued
Mae Ngat Dam is sitting at roughly 241 million cubic metres, about 91 percent of capacity, with the dry season officially set to begin November 1st. Officials say that’s enough to get through, though they’re not exactly relaxed about it. Attaya Annopphet, director of the Mae Faek-Mae Ngat Somboon Chon Irrigation and Maintenance Project, laid out the numbers on September 24th at the project office. … Continued
Riverside flower stalls along the Ping in Mueang Chiang Mai have been packed lately, ever since “malai rat klao,” garlands tied around the hair like a scrunchie, turned into the thing every teenager in town suddenly wants. All day, groups of dressed-up teens have been showing up to pick out garlands, get them tied into their hair by the vendors on the spot, then head straight for Chan Som Bridge t … Continued
Tourist Police and officers from Mae Ping Police Station arrested a 38-year-old Canadian man on a rape warrant this morning, catching up with him in a Chiang Mai hotel room just before he was set to leave the country. The case began when the British consulate in Chiang Mai contacted police on behalf of a British tourist who said she’d been sexually assaulted. According to her account, she’d been o … Continued
A mass of cool air drifting down from China has given Chiang Mai an unseasonal taste of winter, even as the rainy season grinds on. The mild chill settled over the city on Monday morning, and tourists who’d made the climb up to the Doi Suthep viewpoint in Mueang district got an unexpected bonus with their skyline views. Up at the summit of Doi Inthanon in Chom Thong district, the temperature dropp … Continued
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort celebrates Negroni Week 2026 from 21–27 September 2026 with a collection of six original Negroni-inspired cocktails, bringing the flavours, landmarks and stories of Chiang Mai’s Ping River to the glass. Under the theme “From Italy to Lanna. One river, six stories.”, the collection draws inspiration from six landmarks along the Ping River, bringing together Italian aperit … Continued
An elephant went missing in the floodwaters on the mountains of Mae Win subdistrict, Mae Wang district, Chiang Mai, after heavy overnight rain sent a wall of runoff down from the hills this morning. The elephant was swept away around 10:50am, and for a while nobody knew where it had ended up. Its mahout and villagers in the area started searching immediately, wading along the rising water without … Continued
Deputy Interior Minister Phonphir Suwannachawee led a special operations team from the Department of Provincial Administration into two large-scale gambling dens in Mueang Chiang Mai on the evening of September 18, after residents complained about the trouble the operations were causing in their neighbourhoods. The first raid hit “Phatarawan,” tucked into the ground floor of Phatarawan Place on So … Continued
Doi Inthanon National Park has temporarily closed the Pha Dok Sieo nature trail and Mae Ya waterfall, after days of continuous rain triggered flash flooding and left the trails potentially unsafe for visitors. Park officials say the closures will stay in effect until conditions return to normal and the routes are safe to reopen. They’ve apologized for the inconvenience and are asking tourists to f … Continued