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.
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Sponsored Moving with family? Here’s how to cut health costs in Thailand
Relocating to Thailand with your family brings exciting new opportunities, but it also comes with the challenge of managing healthcare costs in a new system. Thailand has both public and private healthcare options, each offering different prices and quality of...
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Phuket Lifestyle: Christmas in the chamber
PHUKET: Though only some divers know all the words to the Twelve Days of Christmas, every diver has heard or knows by heart a couple horror stories of “getting the bends”. From our training and bar room chat we get the the picture of a panicking diver disregarding protocol and bolting for the surface. As they shoot towards fresh air,…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Feat of a dancer
PHUKET: Internet sensation Matthew Harding recently visited Yaowawit School in Phang Nga to record a section for his new video which will feature the schoolchildren performing with “Dancing Matt”. The filming and publicity are part of efforts to encourage donations for the school and to help promote the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s latest campaign “Go Thailand: All that is missing…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Asia is seventh heaven for Chapman’s yacht designs
PHUKET: Born into a family of architects in England, it is hardly surprising that Jody Chapman became interested in product design and eventually graduated with an honors degree in industrial design from the University of Brunel in Surrey. He later went to work for the luxury car manufacturer, Austin Martin, where he used his design talents on the V8 Vantage.…
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A call to arts: ThinkDesign Art Festival at the Royal Phuket Marina
PHUKET: The first annual ThinkDesign Art Festival will be held from December 27 – 30, at the Royal Phuket Marina and will showcase the talents of over 150 visual and performing artists from Thailand and around the world. This is the largest gathering of creativity on the island since the Phuket Andaman Painting Exhibitions held over ten years ago. Michael…
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Phuket Property Watch – Beach Club bingo
PHUKET: For globetrotting party-goers the line up of posh beach clubs has led them for years from Ibiza, to Miami’s Nikki Beach and down to the Caribbean for sundowners on St. Barts. Asia’s beach club evolution kicked off with the iconic Ku De Ta, and has now shifted into top gear with Cocoon, Potato Head and the Rock Bar at…
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Phuket Property – check your project management
PHUKET: When buying property in a managed estate in Phuket, careful scrutiny of the project management might be one of the most neglected points. This may have negative consequences particularly in cases where the applicable laws or regulations do not provide minimum standards and a legal framework regarding project management. Typically, poor management causes disputes between residents and their project…
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Water, water, everywhere!
PHUKET: Property and families have been destroyed by the recent floods in Thailand. What is Mother Nature trying to tell us? When I flew across the Pacific some weeks ago, the final descent took us over the central plains of Thailand. Looking down, there was water as far as the eye could see. It was a scene awash in melancholy:…
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City park high-rise promising
PHUKET: Annual returns of up to 10 per cent are being promised to those who invest in the condotel portion of The Light Suan Luang condominium project in Phuket Town. Backed by Phuket Living Co Ltd, a former partner in the Royal Place Condominium project on the bypass road, The Light Suan Luang is a 447 million baht, 15-storey complex…
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Phuket Lifestyle – an improvement on perfection?
PHUKET: Depending on your concept and interpretation of life, you could take the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach or simply strive to improve what you’re actually already very good at. Silvano Amolini, Executive Chef at Dusit Thani Laguna is most definitely a man of the latter category. And typically of Signor Silvano, he has recently introduced an…
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Phuket’s electronic music and dance festival to hit Karon
PHUKET: Following a trend in electronic music festivals around the world, Phuket is set to throb and pulsate its way into the New Year with its very own festival. Last year Pattaya was host to a Creative Electronic Music and Dance Festival organized by the Department of Intellectual Properties and the Ministry Of Commerce. This year’s Phuket Electronic Music and…
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Phuket Lifestyle – King’s Cup review
PHUKET: It has been quite a few years since I’ve joined the melee of press at Phuket’s King’s Cup Regatta. But this year was special. It was the 25th regatta and the closing party was a celebration of a sailing event that has survived such catastrophes as tsunamis, bird flu, economic disasters, change of venues and unreliable sponsorship. The King’s…
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Mandala Phuket takes home best condo award
PHUKET: Mandala Condominiums took home the prestigious Best Condo Development at The 2011 Thanachart Bank Thailand Property Awards, held recently at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in Bangkok. Mandala Condominiums – a collection of 24 over-sized apartments, all with private pools and located in Phuket’s prestigious Laguna area, was recognized at a gala ceremony attended by more than 600 CEOs,…
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Phuket Gardening – put a cork in your garden
PHUKET: There are small trees around Phuket that you simply never notice until they suddenly burst dramatically into bloom. Millingtonia (Indian cork tree) is one of these. A verdant wayside presence during the monsoon, it comes into its own in October, producing masses of white, fragrant flowers which account for one of its popular names of “tree jasmine”. A more…
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A blistering effort yields stout respect
PHUKET: They may not have made their way into the Guinness Book of World Records, but Jay Walker and Russell Distance Russell made their way into local folklore on December 11 after walking three-legged for over 16 hours and 40 minutes and covering over 70km. The two men, also known on the island by their DJ monikers “Shark” and “Sniffer”…
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Phuket Property – some legends get better
The highly anticipated InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam Resort has announced its opening date as February 1, 2012. Located on the former site of Baan Taling Ngam Resort, the stunning 22-acre property has a legendary status as Koh Samui’s first ever luxury resort and opens following a 10-month multimillion dollar renovation project led by some of the region’s best known…
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Phuket Lifestyle – treetop dining at Peang Prai
PHUKET: We arrive at Peang Prai after a downpour. As the mist rises from the hills beyond and the drizzle is still apparent on the surface of the nearby lake, we peruse the menu and wonder if the food is as good as the view. The restaurant’s location is indeed unique. The name Peang Prai means ‘like a forest’ and…
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Phuket Property Watch – selling Noah’s Ark on Craigslist
PHUKET: Once upon a time as monsoon rains swept the Earth, Noah had to be content to slip into a comfy sofa and channel surf for some forty days and forty nights. This was before the internet, so entertainment options were sadly lacking. I’m not sure if there was a Mrs Noah, but let’s just say boredom had our biblical…
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Four awards for Phuket developers
PHUKET: The winners of the inaugural South East Asia Property Awards 2011 were announced on November 30 in Singapore. Over 300 industry leaders and guests attended the glittering Gala Dinner and presentation ceremony held at Hotel Fort Canning. Phuket developers walked away with four awards including Real Estate Personality of the Year (South East Asia) which was won by Ho…
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Phuket Lifestyle – monsoon season is here
PHUKET: While Thailand is internationally recognized for its cuisine, it is not generally famous for its fine wines, but Monsoon Valley wines are trying to change that preconception. At a Monsoon Valley wine dinner held at the Ruen Thai restaurant in the Dusit Thani, Laguna Phuket on December 1, German winemaker Kathrin Puff presented the best award winning wines from…
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Phuket Books – Through the gun smoke of Wyatt Earp’s wild life
PHUKET: Resident bookworm for the Phuket Gazette, James Eckardt reviews Jeff Guinn’s The Last Gunfight (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2011, 392 pp), the latest in a long line of books and articles about October 26, 1881, the day when Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp along with Doc Holliday squared off against the four cowboys of the Clanton and McLaury…
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Phuket Lifestyle – wreck diving in Khao Lak
PHUKET: The descent line disappeared below us after we splashed in above the Sea Charter, one of the few diveable wrecks off the coast of Khao Lak. There is a long moment between leaving the sunny surface of the Andaman Sea and the first hint of the ship’s shadow blackening the blue water below us. In that moment I found…
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Mixed messages: Phuket short on teachers, or schools short on job ads?
PHUKET: Last month the Gazette ran a headline that read, “Phuket schools relax rules for hiring English teachers“. The opening sentence of that story read, “The Phuket Primary Education Area Office has relaxed the requirements for foreigners to be hired as English-language teachers at government schools in Phuket.” Almost immediately after publishing the story, optimistic job seekers flooded the Gazette‘s…
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Phuket Gardening – beautiful bauhinias
PHUKET: I was recently asked to offer my advice about landscaping the entrance area to an up-scale estate. After studying photographs of the site area and making a long list of possible plants, I paid a visit to my favorite nursery to discuss tactics, availability and prices with the Thai owner. She knows what she is talking about as her…
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Phuket Lifestyle – Executive Chef Puwin has heart
PHUKET: Mr Puwin Chunesiri, new executive chef of the Sawaddi Patong Resort on Phuket’s west coast, has traveled the globe gaining experience in the culinary arts. Chef Puwin’s career started at age 16 with no experience in cooking but plenty of passion. “I always found the art of cooking fascinating. I was born and raised in a Chinese-Hainanese family, and…
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Phuket lifestyle – organic fashion is cool
PHUKET: Most people know that organic food is good for our health and great for the environment. This idea is spreading quickly from our pantries to our closets as more consumers become aware of the benefits of organic fashion. Major labels are now offering organic lines and top designers are hitting the runways with eco-friendly fibers. By participating in this…
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Phuket cinema – purrfect family fun
PHUKET: From the Shrek movies comes the popular Puss in Boots character voiced by Antonio Banderas with the addition of Kitty Softpaws (Selma Hayek) and Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zack Galifianakis) who are trying to avoid Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris). The usual funny scenes and lines with cat references are there, but there are also many dramatic,…
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Phuket Books – Tortured Hemingway
PHUKET: Paul Hendrickson, a veteran journalist at the Washington Post, has written books on people involved in the Vietnam war and the civil rights movement. His first book, Seminarian, is a favorite of mine because I was a Catholic seminarian too and empathize with his insights about the long-term effects such rigorous training has on character. His latest book is…
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Phuket Lifestyle – the legend of Dark Fiber
PHUKET: Dark Fiber is every telecom executive’s nightmare. “When the internet works, fiber optic cables light up but when it is down or is unused it is known as ‘dark fiber’ and that’s not good news.” says Gary Crause. He’s an ex- telecoms expert whose office, at the entrance of Boat Lagoon, is next to Telecom company 3BB where rolls…
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Phuket Gardening – Wattle it be, mate?
PHUKET: Ask any Australian gardener about the Acacia and they will either look puzzled, or reply: “Aw, you mean a wattle, mate”. And they should know, because these ornamental trees come mostly from Oz. To confuse things further, the Acacia used to be classified in the genus of Mimosa, and in Mediterranean regions is still referred to by this name.…
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Phuket Decor – Blume blurs living lines
PHUKET: When Ralph Lauren began his distressed fashion concept, Grace Carrey was part of the research and development team based in Hong Kong that sourced materials and processes for the American fashion icon. Years later, having built up considerable R&D knowledge of Asian textile and manufacturing industries, Grace struck out on her own to bring Phuket a range of furniture…
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