Thai Life
Thailand guides, travel tips, cultural insights, and essential local information—discover everything you need to know about living, visiting, and experiencing the Land of Smiles. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Thailand guides.
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Sponsored Digital nomading in Chiang Mai? What US$1,000 a month really gets you
Chiang Mai has become a popular destination for digital nomads due to its low living costs, rich culture, and active remote work community. The city offers affordable housing, tasty food, reliable internet, and many co-working spaces, making it a great...
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Light up your bathing experience
PHUKET: Many of the villas I have inspected have had one light for a good size bathroom, no wonder we guys miss the toilet so often. If you’re updating, there are many wonderful options. When you visit a lighting supply house you may get a headache from the mind-numbing task of looking at all of the delightful lighting fixtures. To…
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Locals, tourists team up to clean up
PHUKET: The Rawai Nai Harn Business Community organized a beach cleaning event last weekend at Nai Harn Beach. Supported by the Rawai OrBorTor and moderated by DJ Tom Tank of Radio 89.75, more than two tonnes of rubbish were collected from the front and back of Nai Harn Beach. Spearheaded by Claude Baltes of Sunsuri Phuket and in cooperation with…
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On Deck: Better co-ordination in the marine industry
PHUKET: Almost three weeks of back-to-back yachting events in Phuket sounds great, right? December is set to be a veritable orgy of regattas, boat shows, lavish cocktail parties, gala dinners, pomp and glam – it’s an all-out marine love-in and it starts with the 30 year old Phuket King’s Cup Regatta from December 3-10 at Kata Beach Resort & Spa.…
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Multihull winners announced after a brisk day’s racing
PHUKET: With podium places on the line, the nervous excitement and anticipation of a great day’s sailing was clear to see by the feel at the breakfast tables around the Phuket Yacht club. What made it even better, Mother Nature decided to grace Chalong Bay with a westerly breeze of 10 to 12 knots, which promised to grow throughout the…
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B9mn allocated for pier improvements
PHUKET: A budget of 9 million baht has been allocated to spruce up Chalong Pier with plans to improve facilities for the hundreds of tourists who visit the ferry point daily. Transportation Division Chief Prasit Yotharak of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) said last week that renovation plans include more seating, more toilets, shower stalls and a Muslim prayer…
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Across the land: Expats hit by Brexit fallout
PHUKET: Two days after the United Kingdom held a referendum to leave the European Union (EU), now famously known worldwide as ‘Brexit’, the global financial markets suffered US$3 trillion in paper losses. The aftermath is eerily quiet. The consequences of Brexit will unfold in the coming months and years ahead, and they will be far-reaching. Good or bad, they will…
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Gardening: Erotic undertones of orchids
PHUKET: The epithet ‘sexy’ is much overused, not to say abused. It appears in contexts that have nothing to do with people’s erotic appetites at all. Inanimate objects can apparently fit the bill; cars, dishes or even flowers. ‘No Orchids For Miss Blandish’, a raunchy 1939 novel, invoked orchids in its title because author James Hadley Chase knew they possessed…
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Property Watch: Implications of Condo Act and Hotel Act for Phuket
PHUKET: It can be completely legal to operate a hotel in a condominium, but there are lots of laws, regulations and requirements to comply with and meet. Recently, there has been controversy stirred up by announcements of enforcement of existing laws where unlicensed and non-compliant hotel operations are being thrown out of condominiums. I note it is often those who…
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Excuse Buster: Energizing smoothie to jump start your day
PHUKET: A lot of people ask me about how to make the perfect smoothie. Here are my steps on how to build a great green smoothie that is a meal containing fibrous carbs (veggies), protein and good fats, and is packed full of nutrition. A lot of my clients start the day with this formula and tweak it to suit…
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Blazing Saddles: Cycling and your sex life
PHUKET: There is no doubt that cycling is tremendously beneficial for your body and you only have to look at the fine physiques of such super-cyclists with strong Phuket associations as Chris McCormack, Clint Kimmins, Belinda Granger and Anan Duangsopa in order to see how true this is. But how good is cycling for your sex life and does it…
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Looking Back: The siege of Chantaburi
PHUKET: In the year 1767, the Burmese had laid siege to the ancient capital of Siam for many months. Eventually they were able to breach the city’s walls. What followed was an orgy of violence and destruction as the invaders laid waste to the once magnificent city. Ayutthaya was torched, its treasures plundered and hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants…
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Suffering for the sake of education
PHUKET: Just by reading this you are doing something 611,000 children in Thailand cannot do, which is to read at the most basic level. The Asia Center Foundation is a well-established organization doing great work here in Phuket. They provide basic education as well as safe houses for the poorest of the poor – helping not only Thai but Burmese…
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Profile: Trailblazer in Phuket journalism
PHUKET: Janjira Sittabutr, originally from Songkhla, is the president of the Phuket Reporter Club. She has been working at Manager Newspaper for more than 20 years. She’s written many articles about Phuket, especially in-depth and developing stories during and after the 2004 tsunami. “I never expected to end up being a reporter. But it’s been so long that it feels…
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Keep It Green: Care for the natural environment
PHUKET: I was once sitting in an open-air Chalong eatery when six uniformed girls arrived for lunch. Obviously part of a team, they ordered a communal dish, which duly arrived: a large steaming bowl of “tom yam kung” and six smaller bowls. One girl took it upon herself assiduously to clean each bowl by rubbing it with three pink tissues.…
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By the book: The market is ripe for the picking
PHUKET: “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” – Baron Rothschild. “You pay a very high price… for a cheery consensus.” – Warren Buffett. While there certainly isn’t blood in the streets here in Phuket, the property market remains slow with a consensus to wait on the sidelines. A faltering global economy, the weakness of the…
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Land & Houses brings new residential project to Koh Kaew
PHUKET: Property developer Land & Houses has opened new doors for families in Phuket with the residential development ’88 Land & Houses Koh Kaew’. Construction of the gated community is set to be completed by 2018. About 50 per cent of the 140 units have already been sold and new owners have started to move in. Located on Thepkrassatri Road,…
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Thai animal cruelty campaign wins top honors at Cannes
PHUKET: An awareness campaign by Bangkok-based advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather won five awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held late last month. Their video shows ‘Leatherworks’, a typical pop-up shop of luxury goods located inside a large shopping center in Bangkok. Unsuspecting shoppers are filmed browsing through rows of snake-skin shoes and crocodile-skin handbags, but once…
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Diving: To splurge or not to splurge
PHUKET: Like most people new to freediving, as well as many experienced divers, I have a desire to go deeper to set new personal bests. Also, like many divers, my head is so full of inaccurate and misleading information that a faulty premise on how to do this is floating in my mind: “I need to buy stiff, carbon fiber…
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Profile: Adisak Pitakrojananont – working his away atop the hospitality ladder
PHUKET: PHUKET: Adisak Pitakrojananont hails from Ratchaburi and is currently the general manager of Mom Tri’s Villa Royale at Kata Noi Beach, Phuket. He graduated from Ramkhamhaeng University with a Bachelor’s degree in hotel management and has more than 10 years of experience in the hospitality business, eight of which have been in management. “I was not born to be…
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Properly maintaining granite counter tops
PHUKET: If you buy new or upgrade, most likely you will choose granite counter tops. First remember that not all granite is equal. Granite is a lot harder than marble and easier to maintain, but experience shows, liquids can soak in to polished granite. If you notice a spill, clean it up right away and you may not be left…
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Unemployed primate released into wild due to ‘depression’
PHUKET: Pom, an eight-year-old unemployed monkey raised by a Bang Jo couple since he was two, has been let go because the family who owned him could not bear to see him depressed. Pom used to work as a coconut picker and also helped to peel coconuts at his owner’s coconut oil factory. A few months ago, coconut prices shot…
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Boat Pattana announces new luxury villa project
PHUKET: Boat Pattana Co Ltd announced a new ‘limited edition’ high-end villa construction in progress in Phuket on June 13. “The project, named ‘Deva Escape’, will be located on the Bypass Road (Chalermprakiat Ror 9 Road) near IKEA, starting at 34 million baht for villas ranging 1157.6-1642.92 square meters,” said Panupong Kritchanarat, chief executive officer of Boat Pattana Co Ltd.…
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On Deck: Large trimarans to the fore
PHUKET: Multihull sailing isn’t something new to Phuket. In fact, some would argue multihulls are the ideal boats for Phuket’s waters. With their shallow draft they can more easily access some areas as compared to their monohull cousins. While everyone has different tastes in terms of size, brand and two hulls or three, what is relatively new to the local…
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Property Watch: Unanswered questions in the Thai property market
PHUKET: I will admit, to anyone who asks, that consultancy services often involve assisting people with the kind of matters for which they should perhaps go to the authorities to receive assistance and guidance. Nevertheless, for one reason or another, consultancy services often involve providing advice to clear up uncertainties over laws, rules and regulations that are difficult to understand…
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Profile: Phuket’s Deputy Chief Judge Boonjuan Panich
PHUKET: Boonjuan Panich from Trang Province is the current deputy chief judge of the Phuket Court. He is also the president of the Trang-Phuket Club – a group of Trang natives living and working in Phuket. Now 49 years old, Mr Boonjuan has achieved much from a humble childhood as the second son of a rubber plantation worker in rural…
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Lub d hostel opens in Phuket
PHUKET: Lub d Phuket Patong is a new hostel set to open on July 19 with the aim of attracting modern-day backpackers who are looking for a laid back, affordable and convenient travel experience. Although the concept is a relatively new one for Patong accommodation, it is the latest in a line of similar successful hostels in Bangkok: Lub d…
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Gardening: Picking the perfect palm
PHUKET: There’s a maxim in the so-called ‘noble art’ that states that a good big ‘un will always beat a good little ‘un. But what is true about boxing will not necessarily be true for the inhabitants of your plot. Small gardens require small trees and shrubs – indeed, they tend to look lost in a grand environment. However, if…
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Tsunami survivor’s tale turned into Regent’s Park stage production
PHUKET: The Regent’s Park Open Air Theater in London staged its largest-ever performance last month, inspired by a true story of resilience, courage and man’s relationship with nature. The play is set during the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck Phuket, and devastated large areas in Southeast Asia more than a decade ago. A cast of more than 50 exceptional young…
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Profile: Jiradech Chittawong – Born with the healing touch
PHUKET: Jiradech Chittawong, or Charlie Arm, as he is better known to his friends, is a physiotherapist from Hat Yai. Just 23 years of age, his clients refer to him as a ‘miracle worker’. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy from the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hat Yai Campus two years ago. “I spent my last year…
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Looking Back: A Brief History of Thong Dee (Part 2)
PHUKET: Picking up from where I left off in part one of the history of Thong Dee, in 1765, the Burmese invaded Siam with the aim of crushing Ayutthaya. King Ekkathat tried desperately to defend his country from the invaders. When Ayutthaya came under siege, the king sent word to Phraya Taksin for assistance. Taksin assessed the situation and believed…
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