Thai Life
Thailand guides, travel tips, cultural insights, and essential local information—discover everything you need to know about living, visiting, and experiencing the Land of Smiles. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Thailand guides.
-
5 property checks buyers mysteriously overlook in Thailand
by Desmond Hughes In many countries, once a decision to purchase a property has been made, a deposit paid, the parties should be able to sit back and handover legal matters to their lawyers, and concentrate on admittedly stressful practical matters such as furniture removal, checking boilers / heating / air conditioning systems and often working through a ‘chain’ of…
-
Kathu Culture Street Festival until Sunday night
The tenth annual Kathu Culture Street Festival is on until Sunday night (July 29) and is being held on Wichit Songkhram Road, showcasing the cultural heritage of one of Phuket’s oldest and most vibrant communities. Vice Governor Snith says, “this is the second time that I am taking part in the Kathu Culture Street Festival. The festival is important to…
-
Same-sex civil union bill ready for Cabinet in two months
A same-sex civil partnership law should be drafted and discussed before next year’s elections. Pitikarn Sitthidech, the Rights and Liberties Protection Department chief, saystThe law, allowing same-sex couples to formally register as life partners, should be drafted by September. It would then be submitted to Deputy PM and Justice Minister ACM Prajin Juntong, who would decide whether it should go to…
-
Great southern comforts – Narathiwat
by Pattarawadee Saengmanee The southern province of Narathiwat is a great place to chill, unspoilt by mass tourism and full of southern surprises. Narathiwat shares a border with Malaysia. A stone’s throw from the Narathiwat airport are the white sands of Ban Ton Beach where I stretch out while my media friends tuck into a Southern-style lunch in Chulabhorn marine camp’s…
-
Singapore Airlines back on top. Thai Airways in 10th place.
PHOTO: Flyer Talk Singapore Airlines is back on top after a decade held out of the top airline position by middle-eastern competition. It’s their fourth win since the Skytrax World Airline awards started back in 2001. The island nation’s national carrier was named Airline of the Year at the 2018 Skytrax World Airline awards. Singapore Airlines was last top of the…
-
Water Park Wars – Phuket wettest battlefield
by Xinyi Liang-Pholsena of ttgasia.com ttgasia.com is reporting that the water park battle in Phuket is getting very intense as new players enter the marketplace. Among them Blue Tree Phuket, poised to open its doors early 2019 as an upscale family entertainment and lifestyle complex. The sprawling 22.5ha development, located around Cherngtalay, is the result of a joint venture comprising…
-
Pavilions Hotels & Resorts announce two important acquisitions
The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts has made two important appointments as it continues to expand its portfolio and strengthen its management team. Scot Toon takes on a new role as the company’s Managing Director, Asia while Tim Sargeant becomes the Director of Marketing for The Pavilions Phuket. Both are highly skilled and experienced hospitality professionals who join The Pavilions Hotels…
-
Government set to ban trans fats
The Public Health Ministry is poised to ban the production, import and distribution of food containing trans fat. Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids or trans fatty acids, are a type of unsaturated fat that occur in small amounts in nature but became widely produced industrially from vegetable fats starting in the 1950s for use in margarine, snack food,…
-
Trang airport terminal expansion on track for 2019 completion
The Trang International Airport passenger terminal expansion will be completed mid next year. The announcement comes from the director general of the Airports Department. Darun Saengchai says 116 million baht had been allocated to add another 3,000 square metres to the 6,000sqm facility, which was proving inadequate in high tourist season. The expansion would enable the terminal to accommodate 600…
-
Habitat Group launches three projects valued at 3 billion baht
Habitat Group is poised to launch three new projects with a total value of 3 billion baht in the second half of 2018. Recognising the growing trend of buying properties for investment, the company reveals this sector is growing 10-20% per year and foreigners looking to invest in property assets are making up a increasing part of that growth each…
-
The ‘Sano-Tik’ collection – Phuket’s unique batik
Phuket has introduced a new, unique style of ‘Batik’ cloth called ‘Sano-Tik’ collection, inspired by the mineral, tin, an important resource in Phuket’s early days. The project’s opening ceremony was hosted by the Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong and Chief of Community Development Office Kittipon Wetchakun. The ceremony was held at Merlin Hotel. Governor Norrapahat says, “We have introduced a unique…
-
National: July event round-up
By Paul Poole The running season is picking up pace (pun intended) in July with several races taking place around the country. The Sahaviriya-Bangkok Triathlon 2018 is back on July 7-8 after two years hiatus. The ultimate Bangkok race, it takes participants through a gruelling swim in the Chao Phraya river, a bike ride through the city’s back alleys and…
-
Phuket Yacht Club getting kids started in sailing
Twenty three junior sailors aged between seven and fourteen descended on the Phuket Yacht Club last Saturday for a day of fun and excitement in the first O’pen BIC sailing challenge in Thailand. “We were certainly overwhelmed by the response” said the club’s Commodore, Scott Duncanson. “As this was the first time we have held a junior sailing regatta we…
-
10,000 runners expected for this year’s Pattaya Marathon
A major international sporting date in Thailand’s calendar of festivals and events is the Pattaya Marathon, and 2018 marks the 27th edition of this popular race with organisers expecting 10,000 runners from around the world. The event is being held on July 15. The ‘Pattaya Marathon 2018’ race route is designed to impress both participants and spectators. It begins at Central…
-
The first Leopard 50 arrives in Phuket in July
By Joe Lim/luxuo.com The first Leopard 50 has arrived in Asia, and a special partnership event between Yacht Style Magazine and Lux Inc Media will be held at Ao Po Grand Marina from July 7-8. Since the launch of the Leopard 50 at the Miami International Boat Show, she has proven to be one of the most successful products launched by…
-
Mekong tourism grows 13% – PATA Report
Tourism is booming in the regions bordering Thailand as tourists look further afield of the well-trodden temples and beaches route. More than 59 million travellers visited the five countries that are members of the Greater Mekong Sub-region during 2017, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s Annual Tourism Monitor 2018. Monitoring travel movements in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam,…
-
Law and Order: Tangled Thai defamation laws
PHOTO: Rights defender Andy Hall goes on trial for criminal defamation & computer crimes Living in the Land of Smiles you need to mind your Ps & Qs, as an expat, tourist, company or just about anyone actually. Thai defamation laws can be used to silence people, even in the most innocuous situations. It’s different from the West and, living…
-
Sansiri launches THE BASE Central – Phuket
Sansiri launched another one of their ‘BASE’ branded condos with the launch of ‘THE BASE Central Phuket’. Quoting from their media release, “The design is influenced by an enchanting lifestyle where the native people and Chinese from across the seas come together to create the Peranakan culture under the new concept ‘MARK MY BASE’.” Poomisak Julamaneechot, Vice Managing Director of…
-
Sadvertising: The art of making us cry and selling stuff
“Sadvertising is a consumer advertising trend in which ad creators are using a certain set of strategies to play on people’s emotions and touch off feelings of sadness, melancholy or wistfulness. Touching or emotional advertising has become increasingly popular in recent years as companies work to create strong emotional ties around their products. This is based on a belief that…
-
-
APEX launch Phuket’s most exclusive address
The Residences at Sheraton Phuket Grand Bay on Phuket’s east coast, a four billion baht development, includes a 5-star Sheraton resort and Phuket’s first Sheraton-branded residences of which 70% are already sold. Panoramic views across Po Bay to Ao Phang Nga National Park and the Phi Phi Islands beyond are what greet residents and visitors to Phuket’s most exclusive residential…
-
More than 4 million Asians took a cruise last year – a 20% increase.
PHOTO: Travel Daily Media More than 4 million Asians took to the seas in 2017, aboard an ocean liner. A record-breaking 4,060,000 Asians took an ocean cruise in 2017 according to Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) – a 20.5 per cent increase from the 3,370,000 Asian passengers who boarded a passenger ship in 2016. At 20.5 per cent, the 2017…
-
Changes to the leasehold bill ‘unlikely to impact property market’
Changes to the Leasehold Bill looks likely to update the way foreigners can maintain rights to use land in Thailand. A new bill has been approved by the Thai cabinet and could become law following the public hearing process that finished yesterday. The intention of the changes to the bill, mooted last year, is to make leasehold arrangements more secure…
-
Six Outrigger Hotels sold to Singha Estate
Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort Singha Estate, trading on Thailand’s stock exchange yesterday (Wednesday), has announced the successful acquisition of six properties from Outrigger Hotel and Resorts, a Hawaii-based hotel chain. The acquisition is called at USD 310 million and part of Singha Estate’s strategic investment to expand its presence in high-yield tourist destinations around the world. Singha Estate has…
-
Santiburi Koh Samui ‘launches’ a floating breakfast
Santiburi Koh Samui has created a choice of Exclusive Culinary Experiences for guests staying in one of the resort’s Grand Reserve Pool Villas or Grand Deluxe Pool Villas, as well as introducing more personalised in-room dining options for all resort guests. Those staying in a Grand Reserve Pool Villa or Grand Deluxe Pool Villa can indulge in the ultimate resort…
-
Two more Chinese airlines flying into Pattaya
PHOTO: Planespotters.net More Chinese airlines heading to Thailand. This time they’re adding services to the eastern seaboard. Two Chinese airlines are headed to U-tapao airport, 36 km south of Pattaya. Donghai Airlines is flying from Wanzhou to U-tapao, while Kunming Airlines is launching a service from Kunming this July. Donghai Airlines is already flying three times a week to U-tapao…
-
SPECIAL REPORT: Saving paradise by setting limits
By Piyaporn Wongruang Maya Bay has finally been closed down. On Thursday, park rangers at Had Nopparat Tara-Mu Ko Phi Phi marine national park placed buoys demarcating a no-access zone to prevent tourist boats getting in, as a part of a long-term rehabilitation process for the park’s world-renowned Maya Bay. The bay was made famous by the 2000 Hollywood film…
-
AXN Announces Asia’s Got Talent Season 3 – Open Auditions in Bangkok
PHOTO: Thailand’s “Powerstorm” made it into last year’s finals. Thailand, it’s time to get your act together! AXN has announced that the Bangkok open auditions for Asia’s Got Talent Season 3 will be held at SHOW DC, Thailand’s first entertainment and retail mega complex on Sunday, 17 June, 2018. Bangkok will be the first to kick off the regional Asia’s…
-
Visiting the Elephant Sanctuary Park in Chiang Mai
By Sebastian Jacobitz At the end of last year, I had the opportunity to travel for more than three months through Southeast Asia. I have already stated my travel plans before, and now the time has come where I want to recap on visiting the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai. It was hands down one of the best experiences…
-
13 take-aways from Anthony Bourdain
PHOTO: Paul Robb Anthony Bourdain rarely travelled with an itinerary. Or kept a schedule. And that was a good thing. His work reflected the haphazard nature of the places he visited and the experiences he enjoyed, and shared with millions. Here are 13 ‘take-aways’ from Anthony Bourdain, who died in Paris at the age of 61 on June 8. On…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.