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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5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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New rooftop dining experience overlooking the Andaman at The Nai Harn
Red alert Phuket foodies. The Nai Harn is once again raising the bar on island gastronomy with the launch of Prime @ Rock Salt, a new rooftop venue that promises exclusive dining experiences with spectacular views of the beach and sea. The new restaurant will begin welcoming diners from the end of November 2018. Perched on top of Rock Salt, The…
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The art of Thai massage – Chann Wellness Spa, Kamala
Time to relax, time to be pampered. You deserve some ‘me’ time to get refreshed and be indulged at the Chann Wellness Spa at Thavorn Beach Village Resort & Spa, Phuket in Kamala. Tim Newton headed to Kamala for an hour of well-deserved pampering. Chann Wellness Spa is one of the island’s most established spas combining experienced staff, the right ‘mood’…
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Savoury staples with a touch of the finest Swiss chocolate
Chocolate… mmmmm. But did you consider it as part of a broader savory menu? I enjoyed an evening of chocolate-infused cuisine and, well, it really works! Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket is treating guests to a new menu of savoury dishes with a sweet twist as Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts launches its ‘Chocolate on the Salty Side’ promotion.…
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Embrace ‘slow travel’ this Vegetarian Festival
PHOTOS: Airbnb Airbnb’s tips to travelling well, eating clean and supporting local farming communities… Thailand’s Vegetarian Festival is one of the country’s largest and most colourful annual festivals attracting locals and international travellers each year. A festival about spirituality and food, at its core is the cleansing of mind and body – a common theme amongst travellers today. Travellers now…
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Top 10 World Cities for Overnight Stays 2017
PHOTO: Bangkok, the world city attracting the most overnight stays Where is the world traveling and where are they staying overnight? There is a big move towards Asia in the latest figures out of the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index 2017. Travel and tourism in Asia Pacific is showing no signs of slowing down, with the region dominating visitor arrivals…
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Medicinal marijuana by next year in Thailand
Thailand’s Governmental Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) is starting researching to develop medicines from marijuana in acknowledgement of evidence that the outlawed substance has health-enhancing properties. It is also seeking to initiate a legal amendment that would permit cannabis for medicinal use, possibly by May next year. Recreational use will remain illegal. GPO chairman Dr Sopon Mekthon yesterday says that with the…
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Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts unveils a global menu of savoury dishes and finest Swiss chocolate
ADVERTISING Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, part of the AccorHotels Group, is celebrating Swiss cuisine and the culinary versatility of chocolate with a new global menu of savoury dishes featuring a sweet twist. In Phuket the promotion will be at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach. The brand’s talented ‘food artisans’ have made Mövenpick chocolate the hero of seven dishes in…
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Pavilions Phuket welcomes Chef Rey
ADVERTISEMENT From humble beginnings in New Zealand, Chef Rey developed his profession with guidance from industry leaders, he has since taken his craft to Australia, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi and Vietnam. Before joining the team at The Pavilions Phuket, Chef Rey worked for well-known luxury restaurants and hotels, including the award-winning ‘2016 Top 50 restaurant’, Bracu, in New Zealand, under the watchful…
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Blood tests shows contamination with toxic farm chemicals
“Several farmers have visited Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital since late last month, seeking treatment for exposure to farm chemicals.” Traces of toxic chemicals have been detected in the blood of 1 in every 20 farmers in Nakhon Ratchasima. This is the result of tests across 132 villages in the Bua Yai district. The Bua Yai district’s public-health office arranged blood…
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Are people living in major tourism destinations happy?
Are people living and working in major tourism destinations happy and content, or miserable due to tourism? Or somewhere in between? A new global survey of local residents’ happiness in World Heritage sites called Planet Happiness has been launched to address the issue. In an age of escalating overtourism, the initiative aims to show that measuring community wellbeing and happiness…
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Clean The Beach Bootcamp heads to Surin Beach for World Clean Up Day
On Saturday, September 15, the Clean The Beach Boot Camp crew (CBBC) will be heading to Surin Beach to take part in another of their regular clean-ups. Now in its sixth year, the team and its dedicated followers will help celebrate World Clean Up Day, which also happens to fall on the same day, by cleaning Surin Beach. Clean The Beach…
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M Beach Club makes waves at Mai Khao
ADVERTISING Sip champagne by the sea at the new M Beach Club. Set on the broad, sandy shores of the island’s northern coast, M Beach Club welcomes you to drink, dance, dine, lounge and swim against an eminently Instagrammable backdrop. This stretch of Mai Khao Beach, just 14 kilometres north of the international airport, comes with sprawling sea views…
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eSports – legitimate sport or teenage addiction problem?
PHOTO: China Daily The Thai Mental health department is urging the government to rethink any decision to recognise online gaming. Moves to officially recognise eSports (electronic gaming sports) could lead to children becoming addicted to online games, according to health experts. A Mental Health Department adviser Dr Yongyud Wongpiromsarn says the promotion of eSports would likely do more harm than good.…
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Kata Rocks joins the World Wellness Weekend 2018 global event
The Infinite Luxury Spa is hosting an exclusive yoga session to relax the body, mind and mood in celebration of World Wellness Weekend 2018, taking place this year on September 22 to 23. The special ‘Sunset Rocks Yoga’ experience is scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 22 from 5:30 to 6:30pm and is complementary for 10 participants on a…
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Bahrain # 1. Thailand #18. Expat Insider Survey 2018.
Where is the favourite place for expats to settle in the world? Bahrain has won the distinction again in the annual Expat Insider survey of 68 countries in the world where expats like to live. How about Thailand and ASEAN countries? Thailand didn’t even get a podium position this year in the survey. It scored fourth behind perennial favourite, the…
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Surviving Phuket’s rip currents: everything has changed
(12 minute read) By Associate Professor Robert Brander, PhD, Coastal Geomorphologist, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Daren Jenner, Marine Safety Officer, International Surf Lifesaving Association. Rip currents are strong, narrow seaward flowing currents, like ‘rivers of the sea’, that exist on many beaches when waves are breaking across wide areas. These potentially deadly currents are also responsible for…
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Monsoon Valley Dinner @ Ginja Taste Restaurant, JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa
JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, in collaboration with Siam Winery, is hosting the ‘Monsoon Valley Dinner’, an extraordinary 5 course Thai set menu. The food, atmosphere and service are, as you’d expect, spectacular. But there’s a twist to this gastronomic experience. Each course is paired with a Thailand wine. The special dinner is being served until September 7 at the…
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Where do you live? Planet Earth or Planet Sloth?
“Houston … we have a problem” “What’s going on up there?” “Well Sir… we’re just floating around… we want to sit down sir” “Enjoy it up there, we’ve got enough to deal with down here, gravity is pulling everyone down” Let’s face facts. Planet earth is suffering from The Sloth. Remember in the movie SEVEN (SE7EN) – starring Brad Pitt…
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“There is no safe level of alcohol use” – The Lancet
The Lancet, the world’s most respected scientific and medical journal, reports that there is no ‘safe’ level of alcohol consumption in a new report. The journal has editorial offices in London, New York, and Beijing. The findings of the study were released yesterday (Thursday). The report follows up on evidence collected in an analysis of 2016 global alcohol consumption and…
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HoverGlide lightens the backpacker load
PHOTO: Lightning Packs HoverGlide. Marty McFly’s hovering skateboard from ‘Back To The Future 2’? A new monorail in Bangkok? No. TravelWire Asia is reporting that the new HoverGlide by Lightning Packs is being hailed as the “world’s first floating backpack.” They say it’s the perfect back-pack solution for hiking, running, commuting or just strolling around town. But it’s not floating in…
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Spectacular views and the new lunchtime menu – Kata Rocks
Kata Rocks, Phuket has launched a new lunch menu at the Oceanfront Clubhouse. You know the view, you’ll LOVE the new menu. With flavours inspired by both the Mediterranean and regional gastronomy, the refreshing new menu celebrates the summer and island life by using seasonal ingredients and seafood specialities. The new menu aims to make the Oceanfront Clubhouse a destination…
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Top 10 busiest airports in the world – first half of 2018
Beijing Capital International Airport is still the world’s second-busiest airport by passenger traffic, witnessing with nearly 50 million passengers passing through in the first half of this year. This from the Civil Aviation Data Analysis, a civil aviation data platform based in Shanghai. The list, comprising 17 international airports around the world, ranks airports in terms of passenger traffic as…
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Carnage continues on Thai roads
People die on Thai roads, at the scene of the accident, at a rate of 39 per day (average for 2018). This shameful and tragic toll was exceeded on Tuesday this week when 58 people lost their lives on Thai roads. While this was the single worst day for road deaths this month, the figures are still unofficial and grow in…
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Somtam scores number 5 in the world’s top 500 Lonely Planet Eatlist
PHOTO: Somtam, Bangkok’s spicy contribution to the world’s Top 500 foodie finds A list of the world’s top 500 gastronomic experiences seems an impossible task to put together. Lonely Planet have sent out their culinary aficionados and they’ve come back with rankings, 1 to 500. Bangkok’s somtam, the spicy papaya salad, made it into the top ten, number 5! Asian…
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Monsanto says RoundUp is safe. A Californian jury disagreed with them.
A jury in San Francisco has ruled this week that RoundUp, the world’s most popular weedkiller, gave Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper, terminal cancer. The court awarded him $39 million dollars and awarded punitive damages of $289 million to agri-chemical company Monsanto. The man’s victories is poised to set a massive precedent for thousands of other cases that similarly…
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Young Muay Thai fighters exposed to irrepairable brain damage
A swirling kick to the head, followed by some more leaps, direct head punches and dodges. The very Thai sport of Muay Thai is coming under increased examination, especially for younger fighters where evidence is emerging of irrepairable brain damage and developmental issues. Critics say that greedy parents and money is driving many youngsters into a dangerous sporting environment. “The…
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23% of expats get by on less than 45,000 baht per month – Thaivisa survey
PHOTO: matadornetwork.com ThaiVisa has released reports from its recent survey into life of expats in Thailand. The survey was conducted on the Thaivisa website so partly reflects the aspirations and life of readers of the site. They report that a common theme on social media and forums is that Thais think of hooking up with or marrying farangs as their…
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Could ‘Wolbachia’ mosquitoes be the best fight against Dengue
In a big breakthrough in the battle against dengue fever, an Australian research team says an entire city has been protected from viral disease dengue for four years. The BBC is reporting that captive-bred mosquitoes with a naturally occurring bacteria were released in the city of Townsville, northern coastal Queensland, where they mated with local mosquitoes. Dengue fever is a…
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Phuket’s The 9th Floor wins three top awards
The 9th Floor, one of Phuket’s long established fine dining restaurants, has won three top awards in the 2018 World Luxury Restaurant Awards. The restaurant won awards for best fine dining cuisine (country, Thailand), best wine selection (continent, Asia) and best Mediterranean cuisine (regional winner, South East Asia). The 9th Floor owner Bart Duykers commented: “This is a tremendous tribute…
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Phuket lifeguards warn about blue-bottles
Be alert but not alarmed. The Phuket Lifeguard Service are warning swimmers after blue-bottle ‘jellyfish’ that have recently been found on several of the island’s west-coast beaches and spotted along Patong Beach this morning (July 26). “…found some Blue-bottles at Patong Beach and Nai Yang Beach. Swim Safe everyone,” the message reads from the Phuket Lifeguard Service Facebook page. Blue-bottles…
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