Guides

Thailand guides on travel, culture, cuisine, and lifestyle—discover top destinations, hidden gems, visa information, and essential tips. Plan your journey with The Thaiger, your trusted source for expert Thailand guides.

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  • Top 10 English-language news sources in Thailand (2020)

    Top 10 English-language news sources in Thailand (2020)

    This post is mainly for newbies, tourists and people-interested-in-Thailand news and views. Locals probably already have their favourite daily news sources, or trawl through many of these. All these Top 10s do it well, in their own way. Some do it better than others, whilst punching out daily news. We think they’re all stars because doing media in Thailand, in English,…

  • Don’t break the law, Thai education minister warns student protesters

    Don’t break the law, Thai education minister warns student protesters

    The education minister is warning students to abide by the law when protesting. If they break the law, they can be arrested on campus, he says. The grim advice comes from someone who has been there, done that. Back in 2014, Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan was arrested as a protest leader for the People’s Democratic Reform Committee. Teepsuwan slipped in…

  • Beware bogus beef – online sales and vendors caught with suspicious steak

    Beware bogus beef – online sales and vendors caught with suspicious steak

    Buying beef online? Is it real beef or faux beef? Almost all of the samples of ‘beef” ordered online, or taken as samples from schools in Bangkok and Prachinburi province, were found to be fake. The Halal Science Centre at Chulalongkorn University did the checks and was astonished to find that much of the beef bought online was actually cheaper…

  • Thailand approves use of marijuana in local health promotion hospitals

    Thailand approves use of marijuana in local health promotion hospitals

    The blending of marijuana with other pharmaceutical products for the purpose of medical treatment is being given the go-ahead by the Thai government. Nation Thailand reports that the Ministry of Public Health has approved 17 formulations for use in local health promotion hospitals. “Sub-district Health Promoting Hospitals are hospitals that are operated by either the MOPH or Department of Local…

  • Thai farmers mystified as government classifies harmless herbs as “hazardous”

    Thai farmers mystified as government classifies harmless herbs as “hazardous”

    Following a backlash from the country’s farmers, Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has agreed to update its list of “Type 2” hazardous substances to remove 13 herbs and vegetables. The government says it will instead move these to the “Type 1” list, meaning farmers don’t have to be registered as producers, but will still have to inform officials when exporting…

  • Opposition party threatened with boycott over comments about “haircut” teacher

    Opposition party threatened with boycott over comments about “haircut” teacher

    The president of The Association of Secondary School Administrators says the group will boycott the Kao Klai party unless one of its members apologises for comments he made about the teacher at the centre of the “ugly haircut” debacle. In a report in Thai PBS World, Ratchachai Sornsuwan calls Wirote Lakhana-adisorn’s comments offensive and demands an apology. The MP has…

  • Teacher made to apologise after forcing student to undergo “ugly” haircut

    Teacher made to apologise after forcing student to undergo “ugly” haircut

    A teacher who forced a pupil to submit to a haircut when he deemed her hair too long, has been reprimanded and made to apologise. The unnamed teacher is accused of humiliating the young girl by chopping off her hair in front of other pupils during assembly, leaving her with one side dramatically shorter than the other. The incident took…

  • Thai teacher gives “ugly” haircut as punishment for student’s long hair

    Thai teacher gives “ugly” haircut as punishment for student’s long hair

    A Thai teacher has reportedly angered a student’s mother after cutting her daughter’s hair when she showed up to school with long hair which, until recently, was against government school rules. The mother says her child was given the “ugly” haircut as a punishment in front of her peers and says the teacher was trying to humiliate the girl. Education…

  • Thai virology expert says no need to panic over new swine flu threat

    Thai virology expert says no need to panic over new swine flu threat

    One of Thailand’s leading virologists says that while the new swine flu recently discovered in China does have the potential to become a pandemic, there is no reason to panic at this stage. However, Dr. Yong Poovorawan adds that the catchily named G4 EA H1N1 virus is a mutation of the H1N1 virus, which took hold back in 2009. Because…

  • Thailand may ease up on medical cannabis restrictions

    Thailand may ease up on medical cannabis restrictions

    Thailand may be getting a little more cannabis-friendly. The Food and Drug Administration has drafted a bill to allow private companies to produce medical marijuana. Another stipulation would allow international travellers to bring medical cannabis for personal use if they have the proper import and export license. Attorney Wirot Poonsuwan wrote an article for Khaosod English explaining the legislations that…

  • Chon Buri coffee shop in a converted aircraft ordered to close temporarily – VIDEO

    Chon Buri coffee shop in a converted aircraft ordered to close temporarily – VIDEO

    A novel coffee shop set up in a decommissioned Airbus 330 has been ordered to close temporarily after the business simply became too popular after going viral on social media. It’s understood thousands of customers a day were arriving for a latte or cappuccino from “Coffee War” in Sattahip, a district in the south of Chon Buri province. Manager Suttipong…

  • Health minister wants travel bubbles to begin in July, but not for tourists

    Health minister wants travel bubbles to begin in July, but not for tourists

    “No one will be allowed to arrive masquerading as a businessperson in order to go on holiday.” Thailand’s public health minister and deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday that businesspeople, international students and ‘experts’ will be the first groups of foreigners allowed to reenter Thailand next month under the travel bubble model. Anutin revealed the timetable after discussing a travel…

  • Schools, colleges, universities to reopen, restaurants and hotels can serve alcohol from Monday

    Schools, colleges, universities to reopen, restaurants and hotels can serve alcohol from Monday

    The spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced yesterday that schools, colleges and other educational institutes will be allowed to re-open on Monday, and alcohol can again be served in restaurants and hotels, but NOT in pubs, bars or other entertainment venues. The national curfew is also being lifted as of Monday. International schools and tuition schools are…

  • Bangkok schools to cut class sizes

    Bangkok schools to cut class sizes

    Bangkok schools will need to shrink classes down to 20 students per class with a maximum of 400 students per day to ensure social distancing and prevent the return of the coronavirus. There are 437 schools under supervision from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, or BMA. Schools with more than 400 students will need to split students into two groups or…

  • Thai schools prepare for nationwide reopening July 1

    Thai schools prepare for nationwide reopening July 1

    Thailand’s distance-learning experiment has been declared a failure, after the Education Ministry’s surveys found 60-70% of students aren’t ready to use television as the main channel for their studies. Now the ministry and schools are gearing up for classrooms to reopen nationwide. Thailand’s education minister says the ministry had to adjust its plan of airing lessons via television for long…

  • Parents wary about school preparations for return to class on July 1

    Parents wary about school preparations for return to class on July 1

    Schools are set to re-open on July but parents, whilst keen to see their children back at school again, are rightly concerned about efforts being taken to keep them safe from Covid-19 infection. Although children worldwide have, generally, been spared the ravages of Covid-19, they are still able to become infected and pass it on to older members of their…

  • Top 10 countries for investment in Covid era – World Trade Group

    Top 10 countries for investment in Covid era – World Trade Group

    “Where to invest?”. Where is the next ‘good thing’ as the world starts to look to opportunities and new business models? Looking around the world, and perusing stock markets, there continues to be some traditional businesses failing but others thriving during the Covid-19 era. Investors look to countries with economical and political stability when choosing to invest money and unveil…

  • Thai Doctor faces charges in “wombs-for-hire” scandal

    Thai Doctor faces charges in “wombs-for-hire” scandal

    A Thai doctor faces charges of human trafficking and involvement in a Chinese-funded cross-border surrogacy service, using Thai women to carry babies for Chinese couples. Police say that the doctor, whose name is being withheld, previously worked at a state hospital in the Victory Monument area of Bangkok and allegedly provided “assisted-reproductive services” to surrogate Thai mothers, usually at clinics…

  • Curfew may be shortened another hour – Midnight to 4am

    Curfew may be shortened another hour – Midnight to 4am

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, headed up by the Thai PM, is mulling knocking off another hour from the national curfew. If it goes ahead the curfew would shortened from 11pm – 4am daily to Midnight – 4am daily. It could happen as early as June 1, along with other relaxations of restrictions. The National Security Council is being…

  • Government prepares for safe reopening of schools on July 1

    Government prepares for safe reopening of schools on July 1

    Officials from Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health are working closely with the Education Ministry to facilitate the safe reopening of schools on July 1. There has been recent debate if the schools system would be ready by that date. The rollout of online learning has only been since Monday this week, with early bugs being ironed out and teachers, and…

  • Pattaya police chief battles Thailand’s Iron Chef in cook-off for the needy – VIDEO

    Pattaya police chief battles Thailand’s Iron Chef in cook-off for the needy – VIDEO

    Police in Pattaya are doing more than continue their project to cook food for the needy and unemployed: yesterday they had an upbeat cook-off between the police chief and a famous Thai TV chef. The project is designed for locals who are unemployed or furloughed due to the current Covid-19 crisis. Read more about that HERE. The Pattaya City police…

  • Criticism over bad English lesson in Thai online class

    Criticism over bad English lesson in Thai online class

    Thai schools are pushing for online learning to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but a recent English lesson posted online is just proof that basic English levels remain poor in the country. The video of a Thai teacher with poor pronunciation spread across the internet, with some saying she should be a student rather than a teacher. The teacher…

  • e-learning leaves many students locked out of new school term

    e-learning leaves many students locked out of new school term

    Many Thai children, with no smartphone or internet to access online classes, find themselves unable to begin their new school term and participate in the online learning. The issue has become a hot topic among netizens after cases emerged in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province of children unable to join online classes. One 54 year old woman there says that…

  • Social distancing pandas fill empty seats at Bangkok restaurant

    Social distancing pandas fill empty seats at Bangkok restaurant

    An “X” usually marks the seats in restaurants and other establishments to make sure people are social distancing to prevent spread of the coronavirus. Sometimes the “X” on the empty is marked with red tape, unintentionally sending a negative message. Now one Vietnamese restaurant in Bangkok has found a more fun way to make sure people are sitting apart but…

  • Online learning system to support re-opening of schools

    Online learning system to support re-opening of schools

    Thailand’s Ministry of Education is launching an online learning system designed as a back-up in the event that the re-opening of schools is deemed unsafe. With Thaialnd’s schools set to reopen their doors from July 1, a televised and online system is being tested to supplement children’s learning. The new system, set to be tested next Monday, May 18, will…

  • Obesity on the rise in the Land of Smiles

    Obesity on the rise in the Land of Smiles

    Thailand has a health problem and it appears to be an even bigger concern than the current Covid-19 pandemic. The World Health Organisation says nearly one third of the Thai population is now overweight and 9% of the country is obese. Malaysia currently holds the dubious honour of having the highest obesity rate in Southeast Asia – but Thailand is…

  • Top Benefits of Having Laser Eye Surgery (LASIK) in Thailand

    Top Benefits of Having Laser Eye Surgery (LASIK) in Thailand

    Have you been asking yourself the question of why would people get onto a plane and travel to Thailand to have a LASIK procedure? We are here to answer that question and any other questions you may have. People are willing to travel to Thailand for LASIK because the country offers many benefits that cannot be found anywhere else. What…

  • Cooking with Bibi – let’s make papaya salad (somtam)

    Cooking with Bibi – let’s make papaya salad (somtam)

    Bibi heads out onto the streets to try some home-made Somtam, that spicy Papaya Salad that makes the eyes water of even the most chilli-loving farang. Then she puts on the chef hat and tries for herself. Let’s go cooking on Thailand’s streets with Bibi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIZAzyNwXLE&fbclid=IwAR0EgQmfLX-F0aYBMI7u3YykJXuQ_2T-ZzIJ-OTtD35OzMxUjwpecQLWqmA  

  • Top tips on having Breast Reduction Surgery in Thailand

    Top tips on having Breast Reduction Surgery in Thailand

    Many women want to undergo breast reduction surgery because they have oversized breasts that make them feel uncomfortable. Disproportionally large breasts can stop you from participating in physical activities. Also, women who have large breasts can experience chronic back, shoulder, or even neck pain and can make it difficult for them to fit into clothing and bras. Since a breast…

  • World’s best street food, top 30 cities rated

    World’s best street food, top 30 cities rated

    Where in the world is the best street food? Those living in Thailand will bet Bangkok is going to come out on top, right? Well, not according to research, the Street Food Index, conducted by My Late Deals. In their current surgery, Hong Kong came out on top as the city with the best street food. The city topped the Street Food Index, beating tasty competition from Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh in…