Guides
Discover the ultimate Thailand Guides from The Thaiger, your one-stop resource for all things Thailand. Immerse yourself in local culture, explore breathtaking nature, indulge in vibrant cuisine, and learn to navigate the country’s lifestyle with ease. Find informative articles to help plan your unforgettable journey to Thailand – from top destinations and hidden gems to visa information and essential tips. Our in-depth guides are expertly crafted and regularly updated to provide you with the latest insights. Experience Thailand like never before with our guides that cater to seasoned travellers and first-timers alike.
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Sponsored Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?
Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...
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Top 10 ways to avoid getting Dengue Fever
There is no specific medicine to treat dengue infection. About 1 in 4 people infected will get sick, some very sick. A severe case of dengue can be life-threatening within a few hours and will probably require hospitalisation. The most common symptoms of dengue include nausea, vomiting, a rash, muscle aches and joint pains. Symptoms of dengue typically last 2 –…
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Special Tourist Visa to visit Thailand approved Monday
The much-debated Special Tourist Visa is set to be approved tomorrow during a meeting chaired by PM Prayut with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The approval comes as government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul says the country expects around 1,200 tourists per month to come in on the new category of visa after the country reopens, but the visa is not…
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Thailand’s Special Tourist Visa to be approved tomorrow
The Special Tourist Visa will be ticked off and added to the Immigration department’s list of available visas on Monday. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting at the start of the business week will pass the much-discussed STV which is hoped to be the first step of a wider re-opening to general tourism in Thailand. CCSA spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul…
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Today marks the ‘official’ end of tourist visa amnesty
“Technically you will still be able to report to immigration and sort out your visa on Monday.” And that, as they say, is that – the end of the twice-extended visa amnesty. Today is the official end of the Thai government’s visa amnesty for those staying in the country on tourist visas. The amnesty was originally given 6 months ago…
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Phuket Immigration handing out ‘conditional’ 14 day visas, pending investigations
Confusion reigns. It was predictable and many people, despite months of warnings, have left their visa extensions to the last minute. Meanwhile Thai immigration don’t appear to be making the process easy as The Thaiger has received multiple comments from foreigners visiting the various immigration offices around the country and encountering ‘local’ applications of the published guidelines and, in some…
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Work permits for top tier Thailand Elite Card members
In an effort to give the economy an extra boost, the government will discuss adding work permit privileges for top tier Thailand Elite Card members who invest a minimum of $1 million USD in Thailand. The scheme will draw more investment to Thailand, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, or TAT, governor Yuthasak Supasorn. While the types of investments…
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Getting a visa before September 26 – VIDEO
Wanting to stay in Thailand and don’t have a visa yet? You need to act quickly or risk being arrested and even blacklisted. Watch this… Tourists have 5 days to renew their visa or they could get arrested. The current visa amnesty ends on September 26 and there isn’t going to be another sudden announcement for another grace period, according…
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This is how to apply to extend your visa in Bangkok 2024
Thailand’s visa extension procedure can seem complicated, especially given the frequently changing laws. But with our help, you’ll notice that extending your visa will be a simple process that will allow you to take advantage of all that the city has to offer without running afoul of the law. The Thaiger also offers to help you extend your visa! Before…
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Special Tourist Visa 2.0 – This is what should happen on September 26
OPINION So here’s an idea. If Thailand truly wants to attract tourists why not offer FREE QUARANTINE for the first 10,000 people who contact their Royal Thai Embassy and register to come as tourists under the new Special Tourist Visa. The Thai government or TAT could pay the hotels directly (I bet it will be a lot less than the…
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Protesters flood Thammasat University for major anti-government rally
Today, Thammasat University’s Tha Prachan campus in Bangkok is seeing thousands of protesters flood its campus in what they say is the biggest rally yet against the Prayut-led Thai government. After unsuccessfully trying to gain permission from university officials, the protesters broke through the gates of the history-laden university and are now gathering for the schedule of anti-government speeches. Earlier…
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Special Tourist Visa – now officials want you to ‘quarantine’ in your home country before coming to Thailand
On one hand the Thai government unveils its big ‘plan’ for a Special Tourist Visa, allowing minimum stays of 90 days, extendable to 270 days (almost 9 months). On the other hand they have put up a list of restrictions that, at best, will severely restrict any return to ‘normal’ tourism in the country. Apart from the local 14 day…
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Things that have changed in Thailand in the Covid Era | Top 10 | VIDEO
Top 10 things that have changed in Thailand during the Covid-era Things have changed. In some cases they’ve changed a lot and may never be the same again. Many people are suffering as a result of the impacts of lockdowns and the border closures. Some people are being forced to re-invent their lives as a result. Here are some of…
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Travel businesses told to prep for long stay tourists, with an October kick-start looming
The first round of long-stay tourists on the newly approved visa will be able to enter Thailand by the start of October and the Tourism Ministry is pushing for tourism business to get ready now (get ready for a predicted 1,200 tourists per month?!). On the other hand, not much as been said about the thousands of foreigners who are…
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Government tentatively approves visa amendments to bring in more investments
In an attempt to bring in future investments to the country, the government has tentatively approved amendments to the criteria of granting permanent residence and smart visas to foreigners. The Centre for Economic Situation Administration says the new amendments may allow foreigners who purchase condominium units under certain rules to gain permanent residency. Such stipulations, however, include applicants purchasing the…
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Tourists on the new Special Tourist Visa will have to arrive on charter flights
After months of pondering when some tourists might actually come back through the turnstiles, the Thai Immigration Bureau says they’re dusting off the finger-print ID and cameras at arrival booths in Bangkok in preparation for the first wave of ‘general’ tourism back to Thailand. But the projected flow of around 1,200 incoming passengers under the new Special Tourist Visa will…
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Long stay tourist visas to Thailand announced today – 90 days, renewable
“Long-stay visitors could begin arriving next month.” The Thai cabinet has approved a plan to allow foreign tourists to come to Thailand but they’ll have to agree to mandatory 14 day quarantine and stay for at least 90 days. The cabinet is hoping the new extended tourist visa will be part of the rebooting of the tourist and hospitality economy.…
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Trials and tribulations 3. Returning to Thailand in the Covid era – on the home straight
by David Jackson Monday morning and I’m on the home straight assuming I pass my final Covid test that I took yesterday morning. The situation hasn’t been too bad over the weekend as I was allowed outside into the hotel’s garden area for 40 minutes each day. On Saturday the threat of rain caused the nurse to request my early…
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Miss airplane travel? Here’s some flight experiences that don’t leave the ground
Since international travel is still on pause, some are getting their flight experience on the ground. Airplane cafes and flight experiences are becoming more and more popular. Thai Airways has not only opened a pop-up café to sell airplane food, but they are also offering flight simulations to the public. The stimulator flying experiences start at 12,000 baht for 30…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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Immigration to provide 30-day extensions after ‘visa amnesty’ ends, in some circumstances
The Thai cabinet has approved a number of concessions on the situation for people stranded in Thailand under any form of tourist visa after September 26. The Thai Immigration Deputy Commander announced that…. • Tourists unable to return home after September 26 (the end of the tourist amnesty), due to sickness or are unable to fly, are to apply for…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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