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.
-
Sponsored 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...
-
Long-term tourist visa in the works, Thai Cabinet to discuss next week
A special long term visa is set to be discussed next week. If approved, it would allow visitors entering Thailand to stay for up to 9 months. The 90 day visa would be allowed to be renewed twice, adding up to a maximum stay of 270 days. Tourism Authority of Thailand, or TAT, governor Yuthasak Supasorn says the Cabinet will…
-
Plan for long-term visitors set for October
After months of discussing plan after plan, Thailand will have a solid plan for long-term foreign visitors by the end of October. At least that’s what a senior officer says. (We realise you’re sick of hearing about ‘plans’ but whilst the officials keep rolling them out, we’ll keep reporting them) Long-term travellers would need to do a 14 day quarantine,…
-
Thai Airways offers special international flights this month
Need to leave the country? Just as that visa amnesty is coming to an end (September 26 if you forgot), Thai Airways is offering 1-way flights to 7 international destinations this month. The flights leave from Bangkok and are destined for Munich, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Taipei and Hong Kong. The special flights are for foreigners needing to go back home…
-
The end of the visa amnesty – get your house in order
Up to 500,000 foreigners are now thought to have been part of the Thai government’s visa amnesty which was introduced in April for foreigners, both on tourist and other visas, who were stuck in Thailand and unable to leave. Around the world, planes had been grounded and Thailand closed its borders at the time. Six months later, and following 2…
-
Top 10 ways life is different in the Covid Era
Get used to it. Things have changed. There is no ‘new normal’, there is just NEW. We’re living in the Covid era and all having to adjust to economic calamity, changed schedules and some things, previously easy, are now difficult, or banned altogether. What are some of the things that have changed? Wearing masks Like it or not, the wearing…
-
Missing airline food? Thai Airways has a solution
What’s the deal with airline food? Some people think it’s actually good. Really good. Thai Airways is selling their “high quality” airline meals on land since many flights are grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions. They’ve had such a great response over the past 2 months that they’re extending their weekly lunch special. From 9am to 2pm today…
-
Students mock Culture Ministry guidelines on how to talk to elders
As political differences continue to divide the generations, Thailand’s Culture Ministry has weighed in on the matter, issuing guidelines on how the younger generation should interact with their elders. “Stand straight, hold hands below your waist, bow slightly. Do not stand too close or too far from pooyai. If receiving orders, stand straight, with arms by your side. In other…
-
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,…
-
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
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…
-
Pattaya students get toilet training
Students in Pattaya’s’s Nongprue district attended a unique training course this weekend – on how to properly use public toilets in the Covid-19 era. The course took place yesterday at the Wat Suthawas school. Nong Prue municipality teachers led the training, which several dozen students attended. The course focused on keeping proper hygiene as well as 7 steps for proper…
-
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…
-
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
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…
-
Bangkok running enthusiasts enjoy new pop-up track at Central World
As Bangkok residents enjoy the freedom of Covid restrictions being lifted, the city’s Central World mall has unveiled a pop-up running track to help people get back in shape after lockdown. The mall’s managment team has installed a 500 metre track, which is open to the city’s runners every evening from 5 pm to 8 pm, until July 22. The…
-
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…
-
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
“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…
-
Thailand disease expert says salmon cannot be infected with Covid-19
Fish lovers can relax, says the deputy director-general of Thailand’s Disease Control Department. “It is not possible for salmon to be contaminated with Covid-19.: Dr. Thanarak Palipat’s reassurance comes amid reports that chopping boards used for imported salmon at a market in China could carry the virus. Beijing’s Xinfadi Market is at the centre of a new Covid-19 outbreak, with…
-
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…
-
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
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…
-
6 guidelines issued for schools to re-open in July
The government is considering allowing schools in Covid-19 infection-free areas to open in July, and the Public Health Ministry has issued 6 guidelines to schools nationwide on how to guard against the spread of virus among students and faculty once they reopen. The Department of Health’s director-general made the announcement yesterday. “The first point that must be emphasised is preventing…
-
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…
-
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
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…
-
Officials fix online class glitches, schools may wait on opening
Schools are set to open July 1, but it could change if it seems too risky to have students, teachers and parents crowding schools so soon after the country was in the middle of its Covid-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, the government is working on getting kids set up with virtual classrooms after glitches in the system and many without access to…
-
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…
-
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
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…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.