Thai Life
Discover the latest regional stories and happenings in Thailand with The Thaiger, your source of credible, informative, and reliable updates. Stay informed about important local events, political happenings, social issues, cultural highlights, and entertainment stories, all curated to ensure you never miss out on what’s happening in the Land of Smiles. Our journalists will keep you informed with all the essential Thai life updates and allows you to connect with the community and experience Thailand like a local.
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Sponsored Why is Bangkok's air quality so bad?
Imagine waking up early in Bangkok and you see all the beautiful morning fog from your balcony, but as you sip your coffee you realise it's just Bangkok's air pollution that's making the sun rise aesthetic. Ranked as the 36th...
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Phuket film low-down: Just In Time for Timberlake
PHUKET: A sci-fi flick about immortality starring Justin Timberlake is out now. It’s not great; it’s not terrible – if you have time to spare, then give it a go.Tick, tick, tick – six years have passed since Andrew Niccol, writer of the Truman Show and director of Gattica, did a project of note so it’s about time he got…
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Phuket Lifestyle – going it alone
PHUKET: Canine separation anxiety – part of the joy of having a dog is the tight bond we enjoy with them. However, separation or isolation anxiety in dogs can be a huge problem and, somewhat ironically, is a key reason that many dogs end up in animal shelters or abandoned on the streets. But one of the bigger problems is…
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T minus five weeks for Royal Phuket Marina’s Tri Tim
PHUKET: Now in his 20th week of training for the Laguna Phuket Triathlon (which started off with just a walk around the block), Tim’s activity rate has built up slowly but surely to where he is now stronger, a lot fitter and 12kg lighter. Although he continues to improve, it has not always been smooth sailing. The last four weeks…
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Phuket Lifestyle – Nail Art, fashion at your fingertips
PHUKET: Nothing completes a look like a great manicure. From subtle and chic to striking and bold, your nails say a lot about your style and character, and they can often make or break your look. As with any fashion accessory, the quality of the product should be the determining factor when making your decision. To ensure that you receive…
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Phuket lifestyle – Around the world with solar power
PHUKET: The MS Turanor PlanetSolar, the first solar-powered boat to attempt a circumnavigation of the globe, arrived at Phuket’s Ao Po Marina, en route to the Indian Ocean and the final legs of its 57,000-kilometer expedition. The voyage began on September 27, 2010 in Monaco and has been mapped with stopovers along the equator, where the boat can exploit the…
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Phuket’s Central Festival to expand food zone
PHUKET: Central Festival Phuket will open a number of new food and beverage outlets in its Dining and Bar Circle Zone in December, its management has announced. Central Festival Phuket General Manager Wilaiporn Pitimanaaree told the Phuket Gazette that several new outlets would join the successful Wine Connection restaurant in mid-December as part of a relaunch for the zone, which…
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Phuket Gardening – don’t be bamboozled by big bamboo
PHUKET: Like the coconut, bamboo is an indispensable part of Thai life. Essentially a lover of hot, monsoon climates, most of the genus Bambusa, or giant bamboos, come from the Asian region. Giant bamboo is used as a building material, as scaffolding or ladders, as a source of mats, and as a key ingredient in Thai cuisine, especially the huge…
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Female sleuth equal among Phuket police
PHUKET: Captain Nucharee Longkaew is the only female police detective in Phuket. The single, 27-year-old native of Nakhon Sri Thammarat has been working for the investigations department of Phuket City Police since May of this year and is also working on a master’s degree in law. Here she talks about the life lessons she has learned and what it is…
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Phuket Lifestyle – Helping to save Phang Nga Bay
PHUKET: More than 200 men, women and children gathered recently at pristine Phang Nga Bay to release 200,000 baby shrimp into the sea to enhance the local ecosystem. Phang Nga Bay is a marine conservation zone that encompasses Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi territory. The Phang Nga Bay ecosystem includes mangroves, coral reefs, sea grass, shrimp, squid, molluscs, small fish…
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Phuket Lifestyle – 3 legs, 2 heads,1 aim
PHUKET: Gazette columnist Russell Distance Russell (the Dog Whisperer) and his close friend DJ Jay “Le Shark” Walker are set to become even closer this December as they intend to spend 24 hours strapped together while walking 100.31 kilometers. The three legged charity walk aims to raise funds for the Phuket Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and achieve worldwide fame and…
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Phuket Lifestyle – SSI brings dive training online
PHUKET: Scuba Schools International (SSI) is the second largest school-based diving certification agency in the world, and it’s growing at a rapid rate. It’s one of only two diving agencies that holds a global ISO rating, it has been training divers for over 40 years, and it’s the only diving agency that offers free online training. Operating in over 130…
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Phuket Lifestyle – Book reviews
PHUKET: In 2001, Alexandra Fuller wrote the best memoir of the decade: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight. This was a funny, tender, brutal, harrowing, lyrical account of her childhood growing up on a farm in Rhodesia on the border of Mozambique in the middle of a war between white farmers and black insurgents. She followed this with a…
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Phuket History – The legend of Wat Pranang Sang
PHUKET: Wat Pranang Sang is the oldest surviving temple on Phuket Island. It has a long and fascinating history, serving as an important center of Buddhism for the townspeople of Thalang for centuries. When the Burmese invaded the island in 1785, the temple served as a rallying point for Siamese soldiers who gathered to defend the town. The history of…
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Phuket to put its hat on for the Melbourne Cup
PHUKET: Celebration of Australia’s premiere thoroughbred horse race, the Melbourne Cup, is in sight again with Phuket punters under starters orders and waiting for the off at the Andara Resort in Kamala on November 1. This is the second year that the Soi Dog Foundation has organised another prestigious paddock gathering to mark the “race that stops two nations”, when…
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Phuket cinema – A film that makes you laugh and cry
PHUKET: Leave it to writer/producer Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express) and actor Seth Rogan (of the same films) to make a movie about cancer that is full of hilarious, raunchy comedy and still manages to possess heartfelt sincerity. 50/50 is a rare kind of film. Its themes of comedy and cancer play out much like a sickness does – calming…
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Phuket Gardening – Keeping the flies at bay
PHUKET: As gardeners, we are all susceptible to mosquito bites every morning and evening in Phuket. Unfortunately, there are few entirely effective natural repellents against the dreaded mosquito bite of Aedes aegyptiae, the mosquito that can spread dengue fever and other maladies. DEET, the chemical ingredient in most sprays, certainly is effective. A high intake of garlic may also help.…
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Phuket Lifestyle – Cheap glasses a sorry sight
PHUKET: Everyone wants to look good in their new shades, but there are some important health issues and practical points to think about before you run out and buy those designer glasses that make you look absolutely fabulous. The main health reason for wearing sunglasses is to shield your eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays found in natural sunlight. Overexposure…
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Phuket Movie Watcher: Arts news from around the world
Steve Jobs the movie THE filmmakers behind The Social Network are planning a biopic of Steve Jobs’ life after buying the rights to the former Apple CEO’s authorized biography. Sony bought the rights to the book, simply titled Steve Jobs, by Time magazine former Managing Editor Walter Isaacson for a seven figure sum just days after 56-year-old Jobs died of…
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Phuket Gardening – Vulgar, but varied
PHUKET: The humble coleus was one of the first houseplants to become generally available in Europe after WWII. In those days, it came in relatively few variations, but it has since been hybridized so extensively that it now has what may be the largest range of foliage colors of any plant. Some people may regard it as a bit vulgar,…
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Phuket Books: ‘State of Wonder’ by Ann Patchett
PHUKET: Ann Patchett’s seventh novel State of Wonder (Harper Collins, New York, 2011, 353pp) made a big splash upon publication, with many critics comparing it to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. This is nonsense. Comparing Kurtz, the cruel conqueror of an African tribe in the heart of the Congo, to Dr Annick Swenson, an elderly, eccentric and cleverly mendacious medical…
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Phuket Comedy: A funny thing happened on the way to Patong
PHUKET: An Englishman, an Irishman and a Kiwi walk into a hotel… well, they will do on October 19 for the Punchline Comedy night at the Holiday Inn Resort, Patong Beach, Phuket. After a four month break, the kings of Phuket comedy return with a truly international show with the three gifted funny men coming from Ireland, New Zealand, and…
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Phuket Music Rewind: Sri Panwa’s night with DJ heavyweights
PHUKET: Looking back at the Sri Panwa party that everyone’s been talking about, and what music fans had to say. The DJ line-up at Sri Panwa’s recent gig (September 28) had music fans buzzing with excitement weeks before the event. Hundreds of locals, expats and tourists shared the dance floor, the balconies and the bars at the five-star resort’s Baba…
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Phuket Gardening – Between a rock and a hard place
PHUKET: Since we all live on Phuket island, seaside plants deserve a bit more attention here. Like the screw pine and sea vine, there are other plants that also stubbornly refuse to lie down when inundated by seawater. Take the casuarina tree. Although this tropical pine normally spreads its extensive roots on slightly higher ground, it still grows close enough…
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Phuket Gardening – Covering a lot of ground
PHUKET: The many virtues of ground cover plants were have already been discussed: their contrasting textures and colors; their capacity to act as a retaining layer by protecting the topsoil during tropical downpours, or as a natural mulch that absorbs much of the sun’s heat and inhibits the growth of weeds. Most importantly, they cover bare and unsightly areas. No…
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Phuket Property Watch: Battle lines are drawn in Koh Samui brand quest
PHUKET: Samui and Phuket continue to be described as the Yin and Yang of resort island destinations. Characteristics that they both share are that both are islands in Thailand that champion tourism as the overall economic prosperity jackpot. But beyond the obvious, many questions remain about how much they differ. After recently completing a mid-year hotel market update for Samui,…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Having a baby?
PHUKET: A friend of mine recently had a baby, which is a wonderful moment in his life, as it is in the lives of countless others. However, it can also be stressful, emotional and (if the rumors are true) quite tiring. But for those of you who also have dogs in the house, you need to think about them too.…
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Go jump off a cliff – in Thailand
PHUKET: Deep water soloing is a pure form of climbing practiced on seaside cliffs at high tide. It relies solely upon water at the base of the climb to protect climbers from injury when free falling from the generally high, difficult routes. This exciting sport has been popular since the mid to late 1990s, but actually originated in the late…
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Phuket’s vegetarian nirvana at Lotus restaurant
PHUKET: The Vegetarian Festival is a yearly religious event held in honor of the nine Taoist Gods (Kiu Ong Iah), who are revered for their power to protect Phuket island and its inhabitants. For ten days during the ninth lunar month, the Chinese community observes a strict code of conduct to purify the body and mind: celibacy, cleanliness of the…
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Phuket Life & Style: Cassie’s colorful cotton collection in Phuket
PHUKET: Island Bliss sits next to the upscale wonders of Surin Plaza and features the designs of Cassie McMillan, an Australian who has settled on Phuket for the wonderful island lifestyle. She is no stranger to Asia as she lived in Hong Kong as a child where her father worked in import/export. She set up her own clothing and interior…
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Phuket Gardening: They’ve got it made in the shade
PHUKET: Planting some ground cover plants is a practical move that will add exceptional interest to your garden. For now, I’m going to pass on the most common ground cover plants in Thailand, such as the spider lily and the spiral ginger, both of which attain heights of over 50 centimeters and are practically employed in undercover environments all over…
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