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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Sponsored Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Here’s your health checklist before the move
Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Thailand is a popular choice for retirees because of its beautiful landscapes, warm climate, and affordable living. Cities like Chiang Mai and coastal areas offer a relaxed lifestyle with friendly communities. The country also...
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Food: Fusion fare at Wok Pagoda
PHUKET: Located 10 minutes from Chalong Circle along the road to Kata-Karon, Mom Tri’s Wok Pagoda fuses gourmet Western and traditional Thai dishes together over an open-air pavilion. Nestled in the steep slopes of Phuket’s mountainous East-West divide, Wok Pagoda’s vantage captures a nearly 180-degree view of Chalong Bay, Phi Phi island and the carpet of lush terrain rising into…
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CoolSculpting: What is it and why is it so popular in Thailand?
“There is a growing trend for alternative body contouring treatments. Consequently, many medical tourists turn to CoolSculpting with some incredible before and after results as well as reduced recovery time without the need for anaesthetic or incisions.” Darren Lyons from MyMediTravel has noticed the upward curve in alternative non-invasive liposuction and vaser liposuction treatments in Thailand. Known as Coolsculpting or…
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Indulge your Italian cravings
PHUKET: My tastebuds had been tingling for some authentic Italian food for a few weeks, so I feel fortunate to have discovered Leonardo DaVinci restaurant located in Kata Hills. The restaurant recently launched a new menu, in addition to a sizable wine list offering a variety of sparkling, white, rose and red wines. The newly renovated restaurant can seat up…
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Treat yourself to Sunday tapas
PHUKET: Good food and relaxation are what Sundays are all about. The Sunday Tapas lunch at Banyan Tree Phuket provides this and more. This weekly event is about a three hour affair, which starts at noon and replaces the resort’s Sunday Seafood Brunch. The ambience at the newly relocated ‘The Watercourt’ complements the meal, a live jazz band, a view…
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Indulge your cheesebuds at Only Cheese
PHUKET: Three hungry Gazette editors with a craving for cheese descended on ‘Only Cheese’ in Kathu for lunch last week, and much to the annoyance of other editorial team members couldn’t stop talking about it for a week afterward. Whether you are a cheese lover or not, there’s something for everyone on the menu. At first glance, it looks like…
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Authentic Phuket cuisine at Wanon restaurant
PHUKET: Located in the lush green surroundings of the Flying Hanuman eco-adventure park in Wichit, Wanon restaurant offers a truly unique and authentic local dining experience. Head chef Kittipong Jaramorn Burapong graduated from the Culinary Arts Institute in New York. He has extensive experience with Thai, Italian and Mexican cuisine, having lived and worked in the US for 20 years.…
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Celebration of good food and good friends at Da Maurizio
PHUKET: It would best be described as a celebration of good friends sharing great cuisine when Rose Maitland-Smith, brand ambassador for Pommery, hosted an evening of fine dining at the beautiful Da Maurizio Bar Ristorante. Invited guests at the event last month included famed vintner Pascal Jolivet, who flew in from his Loire Valley estate in France to taste Chef…
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Meka Sky Lounge: Above the Rest
PHUKET: Our golf cart weaves through The Naka Phuket resort estate, climbing ever higher on the hill as we approach The Meka Sky Lounge. The building is a monolith with clean, modern cement walls rising up toward the vast tropical sky; a guard tower overlooking the enchanting and daringly-designed villa development by Duangrit Bunnag. On an island where stunning sea…
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Fusion food gets down in town at Surf & Turf
PHUKET: December ushered in a new air of excitement to the island. The start of the holiday season brought the streets to an even busier bustle, as did the large number of arrivals at Phuket International Airport. Along with those arrivals was the appearance of new shops and restaurants open and ready to please the hungriest of patrons for the…
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Menu changes mark new ‘season’
PHUKET: The soft sounds of warm hands playing on a baby grand in the bar area of Mom Tri’s Villa Royale rise gently above the sound of the waves splashing onto the rocks at the north end of Kata Noi Beach. It’s already high season, so the waves, catching the light of a three-quarter moon, are rolling in small and…
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Discover La Gritta at Amari
PHUKET: Recently awarded ‘Best Beach Resort in Asia-Pacific’ at the 26th annual Travel Trade Gazette Awards and the ‘2015 Best In Stay Elite Award’ by Orbitz Worldwide, Amari Phuket is a charming and elegant resort located at the southern tip of Patong. One of the greatest gems of this beautiful beach resort is the dining experience you will have within.…
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Planting seeds to grow a community
PHUKET: Late last year Laguna Phuket Resort announced the launch of a new program aimed at helping underprivileged youth, under the slogan ‘Plant A Seed, Change A Life’. The ‘Seedlings Phuket’ initiative includes a nine-month food and beverage training program specializing in career and personal development at Banyan Tree Phuket Resort, with an additional nine-month work experience at the newly…
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Confessions of a Caffeine addict
PHUKET: Located on the very busy Wichitsongkram Road, near Prince of Songkhla University in Kathu, is one of the best places in Phuket to satisfy all Italian cravings. Caffeine Food and Coffee Bar has been part of the Kathu community since October 2013. Opened by Andrea Capucci and his wife Kui, Caffeine offers up some of the best authentic Italian…
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Food: Welcome to the dark side
PHUKET: The black burger is all the rage in Bangkok lately, but unless one is actively paying attention to food trends from around the nation, one might not have had any idea that such a trend even existed. What makes this particular burger special, and gives it its color identifier, is its black bun, which has edible charcoal powder mixed…
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Head to hotcake heaven
PHUKET: Ever wonder what life would be like if all of your favorite foods were made with pancakes? Well, wonder no more. With the moto ‘If there is no pancakes in heaven, I am not going’, the Pancake Corner is making flapjack fantasies a reality with their inventive and creative menu of pancake-themed delights that are available all day, and…
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I did it all for the gnocchi
PHUKET: Tucked away in a small soi off Rassada Road in Phuket Town, just after Krungsri Bank, you will discover one of the island’s many hidden gems. Unlike the ever-changing coffee shop and restaurant scene in town, Spaghetti & C has been around for longer than I can remember. Nee, the owner, has been serving up some of the best…
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They say: “A pizza a day’
PHUKET: At a mere seven months old, the OSOT Apotheke Cafe and Pizzeria on Phuket Road in town has already begun to stand out as one of the best places to grab a coffee, all-day breakfast and, yes, even a pizza. With fresh ingredients, homemade food and a very cool atmosphere, OSOT has locals and expats excited and full of…
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A Phuket high from Smokin’ Fish
PHUKET: THERE has been a lot of buzz lately about new and upcoming restaurants popping up all over Phuket Town, but there is one restaurant that made its mark long ago and has locals and expats alike lined up at the door. Smokin’ Fish on Phang Nga Road is a sight for sore eyes and a haven for the hungry.…
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The art of Food Gallery
PHUKET: In Phuket Town, there are many options for your culinary taste buds to explore. In one block, you can find street food, Thai cuisine, Chinese-inspired dishes, breakfast and an array of coffee shops, so it’s nice when you find a place that you want to go to over and over again. For many people, this place is The Food…
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Brunch with a bang at Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort
PHUKET: Tucked away in scenic Kamala you will find the Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort. With a beautiful view of the Andaman from up in your room or from the refreshing infinity pool down below, it’s clear that luxury is only steps away. This quality carries over to the resort’s newest attraction, the Sunday brunch, which kicked off on March 29.…
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From brunch to beach: Nikki Beach Club’s Amazing Sunday Brunch
PHUKET: At the end of most Sunday brunches, as the meal winds down and champagne diminishes, you start to think about the day ahead, and how to make the most of it, so the impending doom of an inevitable Monday doesn’t seem so bad. The focus of the event is often only the food – as delicious as it may…
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Hotpot: Sharing is caring
PHUKET: There are two ways to make your food taste better: eat it fresh and share it with friends. There are few dishes out there fresher and easier to share than an Asian hotpot. To try the latest incarnation in Phuket, visit Karon Beach Square’s Orient Asia restaurant. The concept of Karon Beach Square is based on a simple goal:…
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Teeing up a new menu at Banyan Cafe
PHUKET: If you’re looking for a change from all the sea-view dining on the island, head for Banyan Tree in Laguna Phuket and grab a table at the Banyan Cafe. A meal with a lush-green golf-course view will surely provide a break from the norm. Even if you are one of the many returning customers of the Banyan Cafe, there…
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Dining among the gods at Le Versace
PHUKET: The journey to Le Versace began with an exciting climb up an impressive hill. It felt like we were ascending to a restaurant for the gods. Our anticipation of what was to come heightened with the trek. On arrival, we were ushered to the balcony, where we were treated to a spectacular view of Patong Beach – a much…
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Aziamendi: Breaking culinary boundaries
PHUKET: Some restaurants are defined by their menu, others by their location or wines. Iniala’s Aziamendi is difficult to define. It gets everything right – the menu, the location and the wines. But, if there is one thing that sets it apart, it’s the boundaries that it breaks. Where to begin? Take the chef, for a first example. Eneko Atxa…
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Beefing up the classic lazy Phuket beachside Sunday BBQ
PHUKET: To live on a tropical island like Phuket and not to go to the beach? It’s a crime! And yet, busy schedules, early sunsets and impossible heat during the day, all seem like good excuses for not making it there. At times, it feels like we only see the beach in our friends’ Facebook posts. Luckily, Sunday is here…
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Food: You say Kobe, I say Saga
PHUKET: Have you ever heard of Saga beef? Most of us haven’t. Many of us, though, are familiar with Kobe beef – if not with its fabled flavor, than at least with its lore, which tells of pampered cows enjoying lives filled with Beethoven’s symphonies, gentle massages and buckets of sake before they meet their fate at the slaughter house.…
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Enjoy a crackin’ meal at The Crab House in Patong
PHUKET: Get ready to get your hands dirty. With shells cracking, sending fragments flying all over the place, dining at the The Crab House in Patong isn’t your average meal out – it’s an experience. “We have something very special here, something nobody else has – the biggest mud crabs in Thailand. They come from a secret location, and we…
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Local flavors with a stunning Phuket view
PHUKET: Phuket is a unique island, unlike any other in Thailand, and many consider it to be more of a separate entity with its own culture, history and cuisine. All three can be discovered in the narrow lanes of Old Phuket Town. But, if your main focus is food and you like to dine while enjoying a sea view, Senzees…
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Senzanome: No name, just flavor
PHUKET: Confidence is silent, insecurities are loud. In a world of bragging loudmouths, marketing talk and aggressive advertising, food at Phuket’s Senzanome restaurant speaks for itself. At the far end of Phuket Boat Lagoon, right on the edge of a yacht pier, is a quiet place. There are no crowds here and no motorbikes zooming back and forth, just an…
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