Visitors Useful Info. Thailand Media

Newspapers & Magazines

There are a number of English papers printed in Thailand. The Bangkok Post and The Nation are the two most popular with readership somewhere in the 40,000 each range. English and European football fans can catch up with the latest scores every Sunday morning. Grid-Iron, baseball, horse racing, cricket, sailing and many other sports are covered in detail. These newspapers also cover international events, business, local news and human interest. They are both printed in Bangkok and arrive in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai at around 10:00 am. There is also a business daily. Mae Hong Son often does not get these papers until the next day. Other small towns won't bother to stock them at all.

A large number of international magazines are available, mostly American. The Herald Tribune can be bought daily and Suriwong Book store offers the Weekly Telegraph and Weekly Express from England. Time magazine and Newsweek are easily found and are quite recent. Magazines and newspapers in a variety of European and Asian languages can be found at these bookstores as well as several specialist newsagents. As with all these publications, expect to pay significantly more than in the country of publication.

Books & Maps

Some reprinted and rare historical chronographs of early European settlements in Siam can be bought at the big bookstores and provide an interesting account of the various groups who traded in the East. Modern novels and pictorial textbooks are easily available at prices comparable to the West. Naturally a large selection of guide books, from Lonely Planet and Footprint books as well as locally produced versions are easily found. Several guest houses and some restaurants have small libraries where their patrons can exchange well-thumbed paperbacks.

Advertisers Magazines

There is no complete list of these types of magazines and booklets but there is over a dozen of them in Chiang Mai. They provide stories for the traveller and information on what to do, where to buy things, where to eat and useful phone numbers. Some are good, others very mediocre with their facts less than accurate. All of them rely on advertisers to pay for publishing and seldom feature, or even list, unadvertised companies. If you have a specific recommendation then call the company yourself. These magazines can be found in coffee shops, cafe's, guest houses, hotels, travel agencies, departure/arrival points, bank exchanges and some government offices.   Le Journal is a French language magazine covers Northern Thailand as well as Laos and can be found at the usual places as well as airports and hotels.

T.V.

UBC cable T.V., ITV and Star satellite are the main stations broadcasting in English and offer a variety of programmes from HBO to sports. Thai stations also carry live English football dubbed in Thai as well as cartoons. Most major hotels have in-house videos and are connected to one of the above systems. Smaller guest houses, and some restaurant, offer communal viewings of the latest video block busters for patrons and visitors.

Radio

Radio Thailand-Chiang Mai is the only English language station available in Chiang Mai with morning broadcast until 8AM and starts at 9PM on FM. Other stations are dj'd in Thai but play western music. BBC world service, Australian, American, Japanese, Swedish and many other international stations can be picked up on Short Wave. Frequencies can be found in the Bangkok Post and Nation newspapers but a twist of the knob can bring up some surprising results.

Cinema

Vista has several cinemas in Chiang Mai which are good value, clean, modern and showing a selection of the latest international films. Film choice generally leans towards the Hollywood current blockbusters although a few minor films do filter through.  The two main complexes featuring English language films are on the top floor of Central Department Store and the small shopping centre across the street.  Both are located on Huey Kaew Road.  Their latest billings are not covered by local publications so it's a case of going along on spec.  With six cinemas screening four times per day, beginning at noon, film buffs should find something of interest.

Videos & Multi-media

You can find videos of the major Hollywood hits in many shops around Chiang Mai's night bazaar. Films available tend to be mainly American blockbusters and the lesser know ones tend not to make it to Northern Thailand. Bootleg copies are harder to find now as a result of police action against the pirates. Legal copies of video's are available around the main shopping areas at attractive rates. Be warned the Thai censor board is much stricter than their compatriots in the West with even topless shots smeared out with a dab of vaseline - or cut out completely. Larger department stores stock video disks but they can be expensive. CD-ROM and DVD titles are not that hard to find around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai although the selection may be far from complete. Cultural Thai CD's in English, German and Thai languages make nice souvenirs or presents.

Related links

On-line book-store